By Carolyne Meng-Yee

Sonny Bill Williams (right) and Anthony Mundine (left) after the bout with Scott Lewis. Photo / Getty Images

He’s converted from a rugby league teen sensation into an All Black juggernaut, and along the way become a promising heavyweight boxer.

But Sonny Bill Williams has also made a spiritual conversion to Islam.

While rumours of the 25-year-old sporting superstar’s religious beliefs have circulated for some time, the Herald on Sunday can reveal he made the leap of faith two years ago.

He has since become the first Muslim to wear the All Black jersey, and requested halal food during the Northern Hemisphere tour last year.

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when followers are forbidden from eating between dawn and sunset, falls in August this year – when the All Blacks play three Tri Nations matches. It is during the final build-up to the Rugby World Cup.

Williams regularly attends Friday prayer sessions at a Christchurch mosque, according to friends.

Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand first vice-president Javed Khan said his allegiance was commonly known among the Muslim community.

“He is practising the religion and he is a great role model for the youngsters. We will pray to Allah that he will win the World Cup for us. Everyone talks about it you know. The Muslim community, everyone knows everyone, you know.”

Williams’ manager Khoder Nasser and mentor, league star and boxer Anthony Mundine, are both Muslims, as is his brother Johnny, who lives with him in Christchurch.

Williams’ friend Tairek Smith said he had regularly prayed with the 1.91m, 108kg second five-eighth since he embraced the Sunni branch of Islam during a ceremony at the Regent’s Park mosque in Sydney’s western suburbs in 2008, where former Canterbury Bulldogs teammate Hazem El Masri attends.

All Black manager Darren Shand said the star’s religious beliefs had a “minimal” impact on the team.

He said: “He has talked to us about his dietary needs and we do make some concessions there. We request halal beef and so on but he doesn’t make a big deal of it.
“We always leave players’ religious affiliations and a lot of those holistic things outside of the game. That’s their personal life and they decide what they do.”

When asked if his faith clashed with the All Blacks’ philosophy for encouraging players to jbe free thinking and self reliant, Shand said Williams was a “sponge” for information.

“That’s why he is so good at all the sports he has been involved in. He just ticks all the boxes. He wants to be the best.”

He is in training for the Crusaders’ Super Rugby campaign and was unavailable for comment.

– Herald on Sunday

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By Adil James, TMO

Rep. Tlaib meets with community members from her 12th congressional district.

Michigan congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (who represents Michigan’s 12th congressional district in Michigan’s House of Representatives) has announced she will contest for the 4th District Michigan State Senate Seat.  Michigan’s 4th senate district is a heavily gerrymandered, heavily democratic district which stretches from 8 Mile Road down through parts of Dearborn, from MI 39 across to MI 53.
Michigan’s senate only has 38 members, far fewer than the 110 representatives and definitely a step up in Tlaib’s political weight class.  Senators are term limited to two terms  of four years each (8 years) and the incumbent, Virgil Smith, was first elected to the senate in 2010 and will be completing his first term when the November 2014 election cycle comes.

Rashida Tlaib is the pride and joy of the Muslim community in Michigan–a woman from a very large immigrant family from Palestine, without money, who rose quickly through the educational ranks, through university and law school, and then dedicating herself to community service without thinking of advancing her own personal star–she was advised by her employer, the previous holder of her current seat in Michigan’s House of Representatives, to run for office herself (which speaks to both of their sincerity and integrity since her predecessor Rep. Tobocman is Jewish); and she did all of this before anyone from the Muslim community’s institutional power structure really noticed what she was doing or acted to help.

But now Muslims throughout Michigan feel pride to know that she has ascended so far through her good heartedness, strong willingness to help others, and devotion to community service.

In a press release her staff sent recently, Rep. Tlaib emphasized her strengths of working “hard to elevate the voices of our community in a unique and powerful way, exemplified by creating one of the strongest constituent services programs in the state—my local Neighborhood Service Center.”

She emphasized especially all of the community service she has been able to do as a representative.

“Although my hard work in Lansing is significant,” she said,  “I am most proud of the accomplishments of the neighborhood service center because it is about improving the lives of people right here at home. The service center:

•    Helped over 400 families save their homes from tax foreclosure
•    Increased access to weatherization programs to over 250 families
•    Stopped utility shutoffs for hundreds of families
•    Gained better city services for thousands of residents
•    Provided free tax preparation services to over 1,500 families, bringing in over $1 million in refunds that refueled our local economy
•    Promoted childhood literacy by distributing over 20,000 free books.
•    Increasing resources available to local block clubs by obtaining over $25,000 in public safety grants.
•    Connected hundreds of our youth with college admissions representatives and assisting graduating seniors with their financial aid applications.”

“I am fully committed to providing strong representation, and serve as a forceful voice in the Michigan State Senate, for the residents who elect me. As my advocacy and legislative record demonstrates, my work ethic and principles are unwavering in the face of corporate interests and political lip service that does not put our community first. I will remain steadfast to the values of fairness and justice, even when special interest groups such as the Ambassador Bridge Company, or the billionaire Koch Brothers, try to take advantage of our families.

“Please join me in doing more for our families by making a donation to my campaign or signing up to volunteer.

“As your State Senator, I will expand the work I have started to serve more families and demand we get our fair share of resources to make our neighborhoods cleaner and safer…because we deserve no less.

Sincerely,

Rep. Rashida Tlaib

Rep. Tlaib’s hard work has been recognized by both the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News.

“Rashida…has an unshakable work ethic and visibility in her district that makes her an indispensable member of the House.” Detroit Free Press July 15, 2012

“There’s no harder worker or stronger voice for her constituents than two-term veteran Rashida Tlaib, who goes the extra mile with a neighborhood center where thousands have been helped with issues ranging from tax preparation to utility shutoffs.” Detroit News, July 2012

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Free Syrian Army fighters fix a weapon inside a safehouse in eastern al-Ghouta, near Damascus October 26, 2013. REUTERS/William Ismail

By Abdulla Tarabishy, TMO

There have been many claims made about who is fighting in Syria, and perhaps more importantly, what goals they are fighting for. At the beginning of the crisis almost three years ago, nobody believed Assad and his regime when they said that the unarmed protestors being killed were “terrorists” and “Al Qaeda.”

Branding the opposition in this way was a desperate manner of justifying the killing of unarmed Syrian protesters. Yet it was more than that. It was also a carefully calculated method of discrediting the opposition.

The first rebels were nothing more than defectors from the Syrian Army who had refused to follow orders to shoot at their fellow citizens. Assad’s claim that these men were terrorists was ludicrous, and the international community called his bluff on it. But as the situation in Syria has been transformed, those claims have suddenly become much more credible.

As Assad was reinforced by his allies in Lebanon and Iran, and Islamic Extremists seeped in from neighboring Iraq, and from the wider Middle East. Slowly, but surely, the moderate opposition found themselves without a benefactor, and were increasingly sidelined.

Then came some increasingly disturbing reports about rebel actions. There were several reports of attacks using indiscriminant weapons of suicide bombings and attacks. Images surfaced showing rebels assassinating regime forces, and a video was circulated purporting to show a rebel eating the heart of a soldier.  Despite the infrequency of these occurrences, they have been exceptions portrayed as the norm.

Perhaps the most disturbed by these images were the moderate rebels themselves. The religious extremists could not care less how they are portrayed in the American media, and Assad’s forces were overjoyed at the ammunition for their propaganda war against the rebels.

But the moderate opposition has had the most to lose from these images. Since the early stages of the war, most international media has not differentiated between the rebel groups, and as a result the Free Syrian Army has been associated with horrific acts that it did not commit.

These perceptions have affected international observers as well. Polls have shown overwhelming opposition among the American (and European) public to intervention in Syria. They see this as a war between a ruthless dictatorship on one side, and the equally undesirable Al Qaeda forces on the other.

That has been Assad’s goal from the very beginning.  He has effected an intense public relations campaign to portray himself as the modern leader fighting an evil group of terrorists.  He has magnified every rebel misstep or wrongdoing, and in doing so has succeeded in preventing widespread western intervention.

The threat of Al Qaeda was credible enough to make American and European leaders question whether they should give aid to the rebels. After all, nobody wants Syria to end up like Afghanistan, where dangerous extremists were supplied by the Americans with advanced Stinger Missiles, still posing a threat today.

Western nations hesitated long enough that moderate rebels, under-funded and under-supplied, were sidelined in favor of extremists. In effect, the fear that ‘Islamists’ could increase in power indirectly led to that occurrence.

The FSA are not perfect by a long shot. Many of them are disorganized, and a few of them are no better than crooks. But the fact is that the vast majority of them have good intentions. If we continue to associate them with the extremists on the ground, then the moderates will continue to be sidelined. We must put our faith in those rebels who are genuinely fighting for a better future for Syria.

I went to an event recently where several FSA leaders spoke live via Skype. After hearing so much in the media about ‘how badly the rebels are losing the war,’ and how ‘extremists have taken over,’ I was surprised by how optimistic the FSA commanders still were. They still believe that they can win the war, and their hopes of establishing a free and stable democracy have not waned. If the commanders have not given up on fighting for democracy, then we have no right to give up on them either.

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By Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration sought on Wednesday to limit any damage to the long-standing U.S. alliance with Saudi Arabia in a rift over America’s role in the Middle East that has underscored growing strategic differences.

A spate of unusually public complaints from leading members of the Saudi ruling family has shed new light on the kingdom’s frustration with the United States over its perceived inaction on Syria, its diplomatic engagement with Iran and its coldness toward the military government in Egypt.

While no one is expecting a rupture in a strategic relationship that has served for more than half a century as a pillar of U.S. policy in the region, some of the mutual interests that brought the two allies together have started to fray.

A Saudi warning that it is considering a “major shift” away from the United States caught the Obama administration by surprise but it did not set off alarm bells in Washington. The White House has shown an increased willingness to risk strains with allies in order to pursue U.S. goals of avoiding military intervention in Syria and seeking a nuclear deal with Iran, Saudi Arabia’s chief rival.

U.S. officials have taken pains to avoid the impression that they are not taking the Saudi concerns seriously.

But they are also showing no signs of giving ground, despite the warning by the Saudi intelligence chief to European diplomats earlier this week that Riyadh was contemplating a shift away from the United States.

White House spokesman Jay Carney acknowledged disagreements with Saudi Arabia but said: “We work those out in a candid and forthright way as we maintain the basic foundation of a very important relationship.”

“We’re going to keep working with our Saudi partners because that relationship is very important economically and in national security ways,” he told reporters.
Some current and former U.S. officials privately have likened the Saudi outburst – all but unprecedented for a kingdom that prefers to conduct diplomacy in the shadows – to a temper tantrum that will have little lasting effect on bilateral ties.

There has been no sign, for example, that the Saudis want to scale back or close U.S. military installations, including a base used to launch unmanned drones against Islamist militants in neighboring Yemen, a U.S. national security source said.

Washington and Riyadh have long been close partners in the fight against al Qaeda, and there is mutual benefit seen in the long-standing U.S. role as ultimate security guarantor for oil supplies flowing from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf exporters.

“I would not say it’s a fundamental breach. There are too many ways we depend” on one another, said a former senior U.S. official who has extensive experience dealing with Saudi Arabia.

“It’s a family spat (between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia). But it’s a serious one.”

INTERESTS DIVERGE

Still, some Washington-based analysts say views have become so divergent on issues like Syria, Iran and Egypt that it will be all but impossible for the United States and Saudi Arabia to ever return to being as closely aligned as they once were.

Saudi anger boiled over last week when it renounced a coveted seat on the U.N. Security Council, in protest at what it called international failures to resolve Syria’s civil war and grant Palestinians a state.

Behind its concerns was a fear that its closest major ally had failed to respond robustly on Syria – both with threatened military strikes and the arming of anti-government rebels – and would give away too much in any negotiations with Iran.

Simon Henderson, an expert on the Gulf states at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the Saudi message was that it regarded President Barack Obama and his administration as “tone deaf to Saudi interests.”

Saudi Arabia, like Israel, is dismayed at the prospect of a U.S.-Iranian thaw because of what it sees as a threat to its own security if Tehran is given freer rein in the region.

The United States is also at odds with Saudi Arabia over Egypt, where Washington has curbed military aid after the overthrow of an elected Islamist government and Riyadh has pledged to replace any foreign assistance that is cut.

Prince Bandar, the kingdom’s intelligence chief, has created the biggest diplomatic waves with his stark warning that Saudi Arabia would begin distancing itself from the United States.
Though questions have been raised in Washington whether Bandar was speaking for the Saudi leadership or just offering his personal opinion, diplomatic sources in the Gulf said the message from the prince – an outspoken former ambassador to Washington – reflected the views of King Abdullah.

The king once famously advised the United States to “cut off the head of the snake” by launching military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, according to a 2008 U.S. diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks.

When Obama met Abdullah in 2009 on a visit to the Sunni Muslim kingdom, he had to sit through the monarch’s lengthy monologue on Iran, Saudi Arabia’s Shi’ite Muslim regional rival.

But the Saudis ended up helping Washington by filling the gap in global oil supplies created by Obama’s drive for international sanctions that hit Iran’s energy sector hard.

Some analysts now believe a shakeup of Obama’s second-term national security team may have contributed to tensions by failing to name a high-level point person to deal with Saudi Arabia, and they suggest the president should now send an envoy to mend fences.

As Obama’s counterterrorism chief, John Brennan, now CIA director, often went beyond his brief to handle issues related to Saudi Arabia, where he was CIA station chief for six years.

“If they perceive that they don’t have a go-to person at a senior echelon, that’s a problem because they’re such a key partner,” said Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress think tank in Washington.

(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick; Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball and Warren Strobel; Editing by Eric Beech)

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By Parvez Fatteh, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

Pakistani tennis star Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and his Dutch partner Jean-Julian Rojer secured another doubles title, defeating Sweden’s Jonas Bjorkman and Robert Lindstedt 6-2, 6-2 in the final of the Stockholm Open this past weekend.  Qureshi and Rojer were the top-seeded team in the draw, and they cruised in the final against the hometown Swedes, winning in just over an hour’s time. After the match, Qureshi dedicated the victory to the nation of Pakistan as an Eid gift.

This was Qureshi and Rojer’s second Masters doubles title this year, after having won the Sony Open earlier this year. This was the second Stockholm Open doubles title for Qureshi after previously winning the tournament with former doubles partner Rohan Bopanna of India in 2011. That duo was famously known as the Indo-Pak Express.

The Stockholm title has boosted the Pakistani-Dutch duo’s chances of qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals in London in November, which would be their second consecutive trip to the prestigious end-of-year tournament. Ironically, Qureshi and Rojer currently sit tied for 15th in the world in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) individual men’s doubles rankings. As a team, Qureshi and Rojer are ranked number six overall.

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Police are More Dangerous to the Public Than Criminals

By Paul Craig Roberts

The worse threat every American faces comes from his/her own government.

At the federal level the threat is a seventh war (Syria) in 12 years, leading on to the eighth and ninth (Iran and Lebanon) and then on to nuclear war with Russia and China.

The criminal psychopaths in Washington have squandered trillions of dollars on their wars, killing and dispossessing millions of Muslims while millions of American citizens have been dispossessed of their homes and careers.  Now the entire social safety net is on the chopping bloc so that Washington can finance more wars.

At the state and local level every American faces brutal, armed psychopaths known as the police. The “law and order” conservatives and the “compassionate” liberals stand silent while police psychopaths brutalize children and grandmothers, murder double amputees in wheel chairs, break into the wrong homes, murder the family dogs, and terrify the occupants, pointing their automatic assault weapons in the faces of small children.

The American police perform no positive function. They pose a much larger threat to citizens than do the criminals who operate without a police badge.  Americans would be  safer if the police forces were abolished.

The police have been militarized and largely federalized by the Pentagon and the gestapo Homeland Security. The role of the federal government in equipping state and local police with military weapons, including tanks, and training in their use has essentially removed the police from state and local control.  No matter how brutal any police officer, it is rare that any suffer more than a few months suspension, usually with full pay, while a report is concocted that clears them of any wrong doing.

In America today, police murder with impunity.  All the psychopaths have to say is, “I thought his wallet was a gun,” or “we had to taser the unconscious guy we found lying on the ground, because he wouldn’t obey our commands to get up.”

There are innumerable cases of 240 pound cop psychopaths beating a 115 pound woman black and blue.  Or handcuffing and carting off to jail 6 and 7 year old boys for having a dispute on the school playground.

Many Americans take solace in their erroneous belief that this only happens to minorities who they believe deserve it, but psychopaths use their unaccountable power against everyone. The American police are a brutal criminal gang free of civilian control.

Unaccountable power, which the police have, always attracts psychopaths.  You are lucky if you only get bullies, but mainly police forces attract people who enjoy hurting people and tyrannizing them.  To inflict harm on the public is why psychopaths join police forces.

Calling the police is a risky thing to do. Often it is the person who calls for help or some innocent person who ends up brutalized or murdered by the police.  For example, on September 15 CNN reported a case of a young man who wrecked his car and went to a nearby house for help. The woman, made paranoid by the “war on crime,” imagined that she was in danger and called police. When the police arrived, the young man ran up to them, and the police shot him dead.

People who say the solution is better police training are unaware of how the police are trained. Police are trained to perceive the public as the enemy and to use maximum force. I have watched local police forces train. Two or three dozen officers will simultaneously empty their high-capacity magazines at the same target, a minimum of 300 bullets fired at one target. The purpose is to completely destroy whatever is on the receiving end of police fire.

US prosecutors seem to be the equal to police in terms of the psychopaths in their ranks.  The United States, “the light unto the world,” not only has the highest percentage of its population in prison of every other country in the world, but also has the largest absolute number of people in prison. The US prison population is much larger in absolute numbers that the prison populations of China and India, countries with four times the US population.

Just try to find a prosecutor who gives a hoot about the innocence or guilt of the accused who is in his clutches.  All the prosecutor cares about is his conviction rate.

The higher his conviction rate, the greater his success even if every person convicted is innocent. The higher his conviction rate, the more likely he can run for public office.

Many prosecutors, such as Rudy Giuliani, target well known people so that they can gain name recognition via the names of their victims.

The American justice (sic) system serves the political ambitions of prosecutors and the murderous lusts of police psychopaths.  It serves the profit motives of the privatized prisons who need high occupancy rates for their balance sheets.

But you can bet your life that the American justice (sic) system does not serve justice.

While writing this article, I googled “police brutality,” and google delivered 4,100,000 results.  If a person googles “police brutality videos,” he will discover that there are more videos than could be watched in a lifetime.  And these are only those acts of police brutality that are witnessed and caught on camera.

It would take thousands of pages just to compile the information available.

The facts seem to support the case that police in the US commit more crimes and acts of violence against the public than do the criminals who do not wear badges. According to the FBI crime statistics in 2010 there were 1,246,248 violent crimes committed by people without police badges. Keep in mind that the definition of violent crime can be an expansive definition. For example, simply to push someone is considered assault.  If two people come to blows in an argument, both have committed assault.  However, even with this expansive definition of violent crimes, police assaults are both more numerous and more dangerous, as it is usually a half dozen overweight goon thugs beating and tasering one person.

Reports of police brutality are commonplace, but hardly anything is ever done about them. For example, on September 10, AlterNet reportedthat Houston, Texas, police routinely beat and murder local citizens.

The threat posed to the public by police psychopaths is growing rapidly. Last July 19 the  Wall Street Journal reported:  “Driven by martial rhetoric and the availability of military-style equipment–from bayonets and M-16 rifles to armored personnel carriers–American police forces have often adopted a mind-set previously reserved for the battlefield. The war on drugs and, more recently, post-9/11 antiterrorism efforts have created a new figure on the US scene: the warrior cop–armed to the teeth, ready to deal harshly with targeted wrongdoers, and a growing threat to familiar American liberties.”

The Wall Street Journal, being an establishment newspaper, has to put it as nicely as possible.  The bald fact is that today’s cop in body armor with assault weapons, grenades, and tanks is not there to make arrests of suspected criminals.  He is there in anticipation of protests to beat down the public for exercising constitutional rights.

To suppress public protests is also the purpose of the Department of Homeland Security Police, a federal para-military police force that is a new development for the United States.  No one in their right mind could possibly think that the vast militarized police have been created because of “the terrorist threat.”  Terrorists are so rare that the FBI has to round up demented people and talk them into a plot so that the “terrorist threat” can be kept alive in the public’s mind.

The American public is too brainwashed to be able to defend itself.  Consider the fact that cops seldom face any consequence when they murder citizens. We never hear cops called “citizen killer.”  But if a citizen kills some overbearing cop bully, the media go ballistic:  “Cop killer, cop killer.”   The screaming doesn’t stop until the cop killer is executed.

As long as a brainwashed public continues to accept that cop lives are more precious than their own, citizens will continue to be brutalized and murdered by police psychopaths.

I can remember when the police were different.  If there was a fight, the police broke it up.  If it was a case of people coming to blows over a dispute, charges were not filed.

If it was a clear case of assault, unless it was brutal or done with use of a weapon, the police usually left it up to the victim to file charges.

When I lived in England, the police walked their beats armed only with their billysticks.

When and why did it all go wrong?  Among the collection of probable causes are the growth or urban populations, the onslaught of heavy immigration on formerly stable and predictable neighborhoods, the war on drugs, and management consultants called in to improve efficiency who focused police on quantitative results, such as the number of arrests, and away from such traditional goals as keeping the peace and investigating reported crimes.

Each step of the way accountability was removed in order to more easily apprehend criminals and drug dealers.  The “war on terror” was another step, resulting in the militarization of the police.

The replacement of jury trials with plea bargains meant that police investigations ceased to be tested in court or even to support the plea, usually a fictitious crime reached by negotiation in order to obtain a guilty plea.  Police learned that all prosecutors needed was a charge and that little depended on police investigations.  Police work became sloppy. It was easier simply to pick up a suspect who had a record of having committed a similar crime.

As justice receded as the goal, the quality of people drawn into police work changed. Idealistic people found that their motivations were not compatible with the process, while bullies and psychopaths were attracted by largely unaccountable power.

Much of the blame can be attributed to “law and order” conservatives.  Years ago when New York liberals began to observe the growing high-handed behavior of police, they called for civilian police review boards. Conservatives, such as National Review’s William F. Buckley, went berserk, claiming that any oversight over the police would hamstring the police and cause crime to explode.

The conservatives could see no threat in the police, only in an effort to hold police accountable. As far as I can tell, this is still the mindset.

What we observed in the police response to the Boston Marathon bombing suggests that the situation is irretrievable.  One of the country’s largest cities and its suburbs–100 square miles–was tightly locked down, while 10,000 heavily armed police, essentially combat soldiers armed with tanks, forced their way into people’s homes, ordering them out at gunpoint. The excuse given for this unprecedented gestapo police action was a search for one wounded 19-year old kid.

That such a completely unnecessary and unconstitutional event could occur in Boston without the responsible officials being removed from office indicates that “the land of the free” no longer exists. The American population of the past, suspicious of government and jealous of its liberty, has been replaced by a brainwashed and fearful people, who are increasingly referred to as “the sheeple.”
Paul Craig Roberts is a former Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury and Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal. His latest book The Failure of Laissez-Faire Capitalism. Roberts’ How the Economy Was Lost is now available from CounterPunch in electronic format.

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By Noor H. Salem

blackbeanbrownies.wordpress.com

Question:

Am I supposed to avoid all salt in my foods to really achieve a healthy life style?

Answer:

Believe it or not, you shouldn’t omit sodium completely from your lifestyle. Strictly avoiding sodium in your diet could actually have reverse effects including lightheadedness and dizziness due to very low blood pressure. Sodium actually is essential for bodily functions like muscle and enzyme operations. The problem today is, people are getting way too much sodium, and of the wrong kind.

I’m not telling you to rain salt on your food next time you dine out, or toss it in your food when cooking. The white table salt you see in restaurants is definitely not the best for you. It’s processed, stripped of its natural nutrients and minerals, and full of chemicals. This type of salt, you definitely want to avoid. A diet high in salt could cause high blood pressure and hypertension.

I must mention the rising scam of “Sea Salt”. White Sea Salt is not any better than regular table salt- both are white in color and deprived of essential minerals and nutrients. Both are processed like table sugar and stripped of the natural nutrients. To make matters worse, read your labels! Some, and the majority of, salt brands put not only chemicals with your salt, but sugar! Yes, sugar. Iodized Salt is not natural; iodine is chemically added in there. If you want your natural nutrients in minerals, opt for the real stuff: Celtic Salt or Himalayan Pink Salt.

If you’re looking for the real stuff, coming straight from the earth, well, you should opt for Celtic Sea Salt or Himalayan Pink Crystal Salt. None of these are white in color, so it’s pretty easy for you to recognize whether you’re buying real stuff or not. Celtic Sea salt has a very light brownish tint to it, and Himalayan Pink Crystal Salt is a very light pink color.

Both Celtic Sea Salt and Himalayan Pink Crystal Salt can be found at your local farmer’s market, grocery store, supermarkets, or even online. They are not that costly, about $9 a pound for Celtic Sea Salt and $14 for real Himalayan Pink Crystal Salt.

So next time you hear someone say “I’m cutting out sodium because it’s bad” laugh it off in the back of your head and know that the salt you’re eating is actually benefiting, and not harming you.

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By: Noor H. Salem

Another gathering at the Islamic Center of Detroit for Eid Al-Adha celebration took place on Tuesday, October 15th. Every local masjid and center holds an Eid prayer, and the ICD is one of the fastest growing ones- with over 10,000 people attending. Every Eid, it seems more and more people decide to head to the ICD to celebrate this day with their families. The ICD had fun for people of all ages, including moonwalks and giant slides, cotton candy, popcorn, sandwiches, fresh cheese, zatar, and meat pies and lots of ice cold drinks.

The takbeer began around 8:20AM but the prayer wasn’t until 9:45AM. After the prayer Dr. Hani Ayyad gave the short sermon. Quickly, the prayer halls emptied as everyone rushed for the fun waiting in the parking lot. Children ran to the moonwalks, adults stood and chatted and wished others an Eid Mubarak. For hours people gathered in the parking lot, eating, taking, playing, and having a wonderful time.

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By Aijaz Zaka Syed

Iran finds itself in the media spotlight for all the right reasons, mana for a change. The smooth and event-free presidential elections in June surprised many, including the Iran ‘experts’ in the West. This time around the breathless excitement that had marked the international media coverage in the last presidential elections had been missing, probably because the West couldn’t clearly identify the ‘dissidents’ or ‘reformists’ who could challenge and take on the regime. There had been no protests roiling the streets of Tehran either, presenting a ‘cause celebre’ to be readily embraced and championed by the ‘international community.’

Hassan Rowhani is not the first Iranian leader to have been “democratically elected” though. Except for the 2009 election that was fought violently and bitterly in the streets of Iran, the country has conducted successive and largely peaceful elections. And although these carefully calibrated and vetted polls under the watchful gaze of the Guardian Council have come to be accepted by the majority of Iranian voters, they have been dismissed by Western observers as ‘dubious and staged.’

That is hardly surprising, given the vilification the Islamic republic has been subjected to since the 1979 Revolution which, in turn, has contributed to the defiant and isolationist approach and posturing of the Islamic republic.

The past few years have easily been the most arduous and difficult in Iran’s history as unprecedented international financial and political sanctions — driven by the US and its allies — have crippled the oil-driven economy, trade and everything else, not to mention the untold hardship inflicted on its people. Besides, Iran has lived perpetually under the shadow of an imminent Israeli attack with Washington’s direct or indirect support and blessing.

If the country has managed to hang on in the face of great opposition and odds, it is largely because of the enduring spirit of its proud and resilient people. The culture of self-reliance and indigenous solutions that the country has evolved as a response to punitive Western sanctions and the long and disastrous war with Saddam Hussain’s Iraq has also helped.

One had hoped things would change with the ascent of an unassuming and unconventional politician at the head of the government in Tehran eight years ago. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad earned himself many an ardent admirer and built his own constituency in and outside Iran with his understated style of leadership and his constant defiance of the ‘Great Satan.’

However, in his preoccupation and confrontation with the West, the Iran leader squandered a historic opportunity — and the people’s mandate — to turn the country around and guide it to a new dawn of hope at a time of great promise and possibilities. Unfortunately, the two tenures of the former academic saw him forever obsess over Iran’s nuclear ambitions at the expense of everything else at a time when there were far more serious challenges demanding his attention. Of course, this would not have been possible without the express blessings of Ayatollah Khamenei, the supreme leader.

The people of Iran have paid a monumental price for this magnificent obsession. The Iranian foreign policy has come to be a single-point, one-dimensional agenda characterized by endless and pointless nuclear negotiations and international inspections that were never aimed at resolving anything — except keeping Iran down.

Of course, as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran enjoys an inalienable right to peaceful nuclear power. It is also right in challenging the double standards and hypocrisy of world powers in denying nuclear energy to the rest of the world while they sit on the piles of nuclear weapons.

One can also see that the question of nuclear power has become a matter of national prestige and pride for most Iranians, including those who are opposed to the Islamists. Many feel that, given the history of Israeli reign of terror and what happened to Iraq and others in the neighborhood at the hands of its friends, one can probably understand if Iran eventually went nuclear although it continues to insist that its aspirations are purely peaceful in nature.

But one single issue, however important, does not and cannot define a mature and farsighted nation and people and dictate their whole existence. It is a great injustice to an enterprising and accomplished people with a rich past. There is something called ‘hikma’ (wisdom). Nations, as individuals, have to make temporary compromises for long-term goals and interests. Confrontation in international affairs seldom works and does more harm than good.

Iran’s new leader stares, as Ahmadinejad did eight years ago, at a momentous opportunity to make a fresh start — both at home and in the country’s engagement with the world. As a scholar and member of the religious establishment as well as a former military commander and nuclear negotiator known for his pragmatism, President Rowhani is uniquely placed — and qualified — to give his nation a new and positive direction.

For far too long has Iran remained isolated and cut off from the rest of the world largely because of its refusal to accept Western diktats. In recent years, it has also found itself dangerously sequestered in its own neighborhood. Its Arab and Muslim neighbors have been understandably concerned over its nuclear and military ambitions. The frequent military exercises and muscle-flexing in the Gulf waters and the talk of a coming West vs Iran war haven’t helped either.

Since the 2003 Iraq war, both Western powers and Al-Qaeda extremists have preyed on the virtually non-existent Sunni-Shiite rift to fuel the so-called Arab-Persian jostling for power across the region – from Syria to Lebanon to Bahrain. Iran’s support to a bloodthirsty Bashar Assad in Damascus, ignoring his continuing persecution of his people, has only added to the tensions.

A more affirmative and wise leadership in Tehran may not put an end to all this. But it can go a long way in repairing the country’s relations with its immediate neighbors and the rest of the world and help restore peace and harmony in the volatile region. Iran needs the support of its Arab and Muslim neighbors in the face of challenges posed by world powers.

The warm and enthusiastic response from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Pakistan to Rowhani’s election, therefore, augurs well for the Middle East. The new Iran leader’s talk of “moderation winning over extremism” and his recent public relations blitzkrieg at the United Nations has also struck a positive chord in the West.

It’s time for Iran to engage the world and play a positive role in the region. And to do so, it doesn’t have to give in to anyone or give up its pride and self-respect. It is past time the country broke free out of its mold and shackles for the sake of its people and their future.

Like many other Muslim countries, the majority of Iranians today are young. Most of them born after the revolution, they yearn for meaningful change and their rightful place in the world. Iran’s leaders cannot keep this lot forever waiting or indifferent to the winds of change sweeping the region. In the change of guard in Tehran, there is a chance for both Iran and the world community to make a new beginning after years of missed opportunities. Is Rowhani up to the challenge?

Email: aijaz.syed@hotmail.com

15-44

By Asma Khan

Egypt has an old and long tradition of revolutions. The one that happened in 2011 was a defining moment in recent history.

If you think yourself a man, come with me on 25 January. Whoever says women shouldn’t go to protests because they will get beaten let him have some honor and manhood and come with me on 25 January. Whoever says it is not worth it because there will only be a handful of people, I want to tell him, ‘You are the reason behind this, and you are a traitor, just like the president or any security cop who beats us in the streets.

This tirade by Asma Mahfouz , a social activist , on YouTube is said to have begun the great revolution against the Mubarak regime. We as kids used to play a game, where, the next song had to begin from the last word of the song just ended. Perhaps life too plays such games, same as the Egypt revolution began with Asma and ended with another Asma, (perhaps). This time it was, Asma Beltaji, the seventeen year old girl with an angelic smile, a teacher to young kids, and daughter of Ikhwan leader Mohammad Beltaji was serving the injured , when she was killed by a sniper fired from an Egyptian army tank, at Masjid e Rabaa al-Adawiya. At that time, this mosque had become a pro- Mursi camp, an eye sore for the military regime. Ikhwanul Muslimeen has a long and bitter history of resistance against the ruling establishment, in the Land of the Pharaoh where the former ruler for 34 years Hosni Mubarak took pride in saying, Anaa Abd e Firaun, that he was proud to be the son of Pharaoh, enemy of Prophet Moses PBUH (Peace Be Upon Him).

The rise and fall of Ikhwanul Muslimeen in Egypt is, to put it mildly, is astonishing; its degeneration and rapidly losing of all the cards, in its hands is a lesson to the Islamic parties the world over. I first came to know about Ikhwan when asked to deliver a lecture about Zainab Al Ghazali, a fiery leader from the ranks of women cadres of Ikhwan. Now banned, this Islamic party is based on the teachings of Syed Qutb, Hasan Al Banna and who in turn are said to be inspired by Moulana Abulaala Moudoodi, came up with the idea of owning a school and a sports facility along with a mosque, wherever it wanted to establish a base. Earlier too it had remained banned for 85 years and It’s beyond belief to see how an organization which remains banned for years, gains power after the huge protests of January 2011, only to lose it all over again!. One more noticeable fact is that the skirmish Ikhwan had with the military; carved up, the Muslim world in distinctly two halves. One saw the symbolic images of the four upheld fingers, protesting the killings at Rabaa al-Adawiya , while the other group condemned the event and the sign harshly.
 

Caption:  Egyptian men walk through debris and rubble inside the burnt down mosque of Rabaa al-Adawiya on August 15, 2013 in Cairo, Egypt. Islamists vowed to rally later in the day in support of deposed president Mohamed Morsi despite a violent crackdown that sparked Egypt’s worst day of violence for decades, with over 500 people killed. As the death toll from the carnage soared, condemnation of the previous day’s crackdown on two Muslim Brotherhood protest camps in Cairo poured in, with Britain, France and Germany summoning the country’s ambassadors to express concern. AFP PHOTO/KHALED DESOUKI/Getty Images, Image Source: Huffington Post

The Salafis were at the forefront. Their Noor party had come only second to the Ikhwans in the last Egyptian elections, losing power only by the margins and didn’t take kindly to the fact of remaining at the margins. There were reports of the Saudi King Abdullah, doling out huge sums of money for the ousting of President Mursi. There were not just people for and against the Rabaa signs but also to the existential question of whether to open or shut mouths on the issue. A Salafi scholar, opined that, in a scenario where two factions of Muslims are fighting against each other, it’s better to not take sides. Unless and until you have the capacity to, bring amicable solution to a conflict, you should not be speaking for or against it, he is reported to have said. The scholar from the other camp was ready with the retort, Speak the truth only when you are able to influence the events ? Who says so? And our FaceBook warriors continued their online battle.

The Arab Spring, refreshing as it may have felt some three years ago, now seems to be a gush of the cold wind, which numbs the senses of the Middle East. One wonders whether the purpose was/is to create one more scary demon for the Muslim rulers of these parts, after years of living with the fear of Israel and a Shia Iran.

Talking about the women of the Arab Spring, be it , Asma Mahfouz, Asma Beltaji or Mona Altahwy, a journalist ,who led credence to the theory of Asma Mahfouz’s angry outburst , to have started the revolution, there is something interesting to take note of. While the two Asmas are or were traditional in outlook ,and clad in hijab, Mona Eltahwy has famously written about how hard it was for her to get rid of the guilt of promiscuity. A sort of red herring for the mullahs! This is the world of Islam today struggling with its own and grappling with the fragments of a myriad hues, Salafis, Ikhwans, moderates and those who just wish to believe in everything their Fatwa-ists give them to follow in.

Asma Beltaji , many failed to recognize her right to a peaceful protest. Her death didn’t turn her into Malala of the Middle East.

But mourning for the innocent dead anywhere in the world should never be a contentious issue or is it? One never knows, in today’s (Muslim) world.

Masjid e Rabaa bin-Adawiya:

We Weep for Thee

Your majestic walls
Turn ghostly
Splintered arches, broken pillars
Rip open our masks
The bowed heads
Splutter!
A red splash!
You become crimson bright
Masjid e Rabaa bin Adawiyya
We weep for thee
We named you after Rabia
When misery came to her, cried
I thank you, O Allah,
You haven’t forgotten me!
Listening to my passion cries
Rabia spoke softly
You were, ’Occupied’ when Aqsa was seized
Now why do you weep for me?