COMMENT- Musharraf rewarded for ‘Services’

By Majed Iqbal-Musharraf, the Darling of the west and dedicated comrade in the War on Terror has landed in London for a new chapter of his life and has been officially inaugurated in the House of commons. He now moves into his new £500,00 house with his family as he plans ahead his life in a country to whom he has been very close with in the last decade under his self- declared positions as General, Chief Executive and President of Pakistan.

After providing his support to the Americans and the British in steering Pakistan for their agendas and providing his ‘unstinting support’ in the war on Terror, Musharraf, the one who sacrificed Pakistan’s strategic depth with Afghanistan, the one who massacred men, women and children in Lal Mosque, the one who allowed over fifty FBI offices  in the country to abduct Pakistanis at will, the one who silenced media and ordered torturingof outspoken journalists and editors of newspapers, the one who made foreign Western culture readily available to the youth through the Cable and Media channels and heir own version of MTV to distance them further from Islam, the one who said that i know more about Khilafah than Hizb ut-Tahrir and began harassing, jailing and torturing its members, the one who allowed America to use its airspace to bomb Pakistan’s citizens since 2005, the one who sold off the gas and Electricity utilities to foreign multi–national companies making the people in Pakistan suffer and the one who talks about ‘Pakistan first’ and then does everything to destroy the country has been warmly received and accepted in Britain.

ASIAN NEWS ARTICLE- Manchester Muslim Women gather to discuss challenges in Britain today

By Majed Iqbal-Over 150 women attended a seminar on Saturday 20th June in Manchester , Longsight, organised by the women chapter of Hizb ut-Tahrir that addressed the various challenges Muslim women are currently facing in Britain today

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The seminar titled “Muslim Women in Today’s Britain- The Challenges and the Solutions” aimed to tackle the pressing questions that have been a huge discussion point in government circles, the press, media, on the lips politicians and a cause of concern in the Muslim community throughout the country.

Dr. Nazreen Nawaz, the Women’s Media Representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain presented a picture of the current climate where a Muslim woman living in Britain is constantly under pressure to re-evaluate who she is, whether their Islamic identity is relevant for modern life, to question whether their Islamic beliefs are appropriate for British society, being asked to question the relevance of Shariah in her life, being continuously examined if her Islamic views are tolerant and compatible with ensuring a cohesive society and to adopt values that are at odds with their religious convictions.

“The hijab, the role of women, Islam’s punishments, liberation of occupied land, prohibition of homosexuality, the Global Islamic bond between Muslims and championing the call for a caliphate for the Muslim World are all been labelled oppressive, backward, intolerant, barbaric, and unacceptable and a threat to British society.” Said Dr. Nazreen Nawaz

Leaked Government document “Contest 2” says you are an Extremist

 By Majed Iqbal- The Muslim community has been taken back by a new leaked document by the government which plans to ban traditional Islamic ideas, equating them with extremism.

The document titled ‘Contest 2′ was leaked to the press last month in the Guardian Newspaper and covered on a BBC Panorama episode where the classification of an extremist was broadened to include anyone whose views do not correspond to the ‘government’ definition of shared British values.

The new proposals in the leaked document plan to tackle people who are not involved in violence or support terrorism. Under the current proposals, British Muslims would be considered “extremist” if they advocated non-participation in UK elections, called for the creation of a caliphate, promoted Shariah for the Muslim world and argued that homosexuality is a sin in the eyes of God.

Additionally, extremist views would include supporting armed resistance by Palestinians against Israel as seen in the current Gaza conflict – and a failure to condemn the killing of British service personnel in Iraq or Afghanistan.

POEM- ‘3/3′

POEM- ‘3/3′ By Poet 786

That was the day we shall remember forever
When they said the Giant will arise again never

When the skies over the Ummah became clouded
When the Qur’an was in a dark cloth shrouded

The light of the world was now extinguished
The darkness could no longer be distinguished

They claimed the sun shall never set in their Empire
They declared our defeat & fulfilled their evil desire

They had eventually rid themselves from the “Sick-man”
They began to carve out our land handspan by handspan

Our body ripped into pieces as the predators attacked
Awaiting like vultures our rulers watched and backed

Chief Justice Lord Phillips and his Misconceptions on Shariah Law

By Majed Iqbal- What was sparked off as a major discussion in February this year by Archbishop Rowan Williams on Shariah law has once again re-surfaced in the Media. However, this time its not a religious figure who will be maligned by the nation for promoting values of Islam instead of his own faith.

Joining the discussion this time round is Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers who has said “There is no reason why sharia principles, or any other religious code, should not be the basis for mediation or other forms of alternative dispute resolution“.

The judge said the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, had been misunderstood when it was reported in February that he said British Muslims could be governed by sharia law. “Dr Williams suggested that sharia could play a role in aspects of marital law, the regulation of financial transactions and authorised structures of mediation and conflict resolution. It was not very radical to advocate embracing sharia law in the context of family disputes” he said.

Whilst one would warm to the comments made by the Chief Justice in appreciating how Shariah has the ability to resolve disputes in a manner in personal lives in a decent and befitting manner, much to the contrary of what is seen in wider society, his understanding of how shariah deals with crime and punishment in societal life seems to be marred with the same images of ‘Kangaroo courts’ displayed in Tabloid press and documentaries that have hit our screens.