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http://www.islam101.com/religions/hinduism/Mhs.htm

ABDUL WAHID OSMAN BELAL

--- On Tue, 1/12/09, aasia shahana <aasia2@...> wrote:

From: aasia shahana <aasia2@...>
Subject: Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in Hindu Scriptures
To: aliyaf4@..., aliyafirdous88@..., awobelal@..., habeeba_kh@..., jannathlamb@..., mmariawajid@..., rabta2525@..., rashida_wali@..., riasath_ali@..., sana_asma2009@..., shabana08@..., sumi.jabin@..., tahzeeb_mazhar@..., talat_ar@..., zafarmj@..., zaroor007@...
Date: Tuesday, 1 December, 2009, 9:32

Note: Forwarded message attached

-- Original Message --

From: noor-e-islaam noor.e.islaam@...
To: Siraat-al-Mustaqeem@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Siraat-al-Mustaqeem] Dawah to Non-Muslims Lecture 013 : Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in Hindu Scriptures

AsSalaam O Alaikum (Peace be always with you. AMEEN.)
Remember: Visible and Invisible Auliyaas are Protectors and Helpers of DEEN. Global Auliyaa Thinks Globally.

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in Hindu Scriptures

by Dr. Zakir Naik

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJHbEWs-m_s

1> Muhammad (pbuh) prophesised in Bhavishya Purana

According to Bhavishya Purana in the Prati Sarag Parv III Khand 3 Adhay 3 Shloka 5 to 8.

"A malecha (belonging to a foreign country and speaking a foreign language) spiritual teacher will appear with his companions. His name will be Mohammad. Raja (Bhoj) after giving this Maha Dev Arab (of angelic disposition) a bath in the Panchgavya and the Ganga water (i.e. purifying him of all sins) offered him the present of his sincere devotion and showing him all reverence said, "I make obeisance to thee. O ye! The pride of mankind, the dweller in Arabia, Ye have collected a great force to kill the Devil and you yourself have been protected from the malecha opponents."

The Prophecy clearly states:

a) The name of the Prophet as Mohammad.

b) He will belong to Arabia. The Sanskrit word Marusthal means a sandy track of land or a desert.

c) Special mention is made of the companions of the Prophet, i.e. the Sahabas. No other Prophet had as many companions as Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

d) He is referred as the pride of mankind (Parbatis nath). The Glorious Qur’an reconfirms this

"And thou (standest) on an exalted standard of character" [Al-Qur'an 68:4]|

"Ye have indeed in the Messenger of Allah, a beautiful pattern (of conduct)". [Al-Qur'an 33:21]

e) He will kill the devil, i.e. abolish idol worship and all sorts of vices.

f) The Prophet will be given protection against his enemy.

Some people may argue that ‘Raja’ Bhoj mentioned in the prophecy lived in the 11th century C.E. 500 years after the advent of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and was the descendant in the 10th generation of Raja Shalivahan. These people fail to realise that there was not only one Raja of the name Bhoj. The Egyptian Monarchs were called as Pharaoh and the Roman Kings were known as Caesar, similarly the Indian Rajas were given the title of Bhoj. There were several Raja Bhoj who came before the one in 11th Century C.E.

The Prophet did not physically take a bath in the Panchgavya and the water of Ganges. Since the water of Ganges is considered holy, taking bath in the Ganges is an idiom, which means washing away sins or immunity from all sorts of sins. Here the prophecy implies that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was sinless, i.e. Maasoom.

According to Bhavishya Purana in the Pratisarag Parv III Khand 3 Adhay 3 Shloka 10 to 27 Maharishi Vyas has prophesised:

"The Malecha have spoiled the well-known land of the Arabs. Arya Dharma is not to be found in the country. Before also there appeared a misguided fiend whom I had killed; he has now again appeared being sent by a powerful enemy. To show these enemies the right path and to give them guidance, the well-known Muhammad (pbuh), is busy in bringing the Pishachas to the right path. O Raja, You need not go to the land of the foolish Pishachas, you will be purified through my kindness even where you are. At night, he of the angelic disposition, the shrewd man, in the guise of Pishacha said to Raja Bhoj, "O Raja! Your Arya Dharma has been made to prevail over all religions, but according to the commandments of Ishwar Parmatma, I shall enforce the strong creed of the meat eaters. My followers will be men circumcised, without a tail (on his head), keeping beard, creating a revolution announcing the Aadhaan (the Muslim call for prayer) and will be eating all lawful things. He will eat all sorts of animals except swine. They will not seek purification from the holy shrubs, but will be purified through warfare. On account of their fighting the irreligious nations, they will be known as Musalmaans. I shall be the originator of this religion of the meat-eating nations."

The Prophecy states that:

a) The evil doers have corrupted the Arab land.

b) Arya Dharma is not found in that land.

c) The Indian Raja need not go the Arab land since his purification will take place in India after the musalmaan will arrive in India.

d) The coming Prophet will attest the truth of the Aryan faith, i.e. Monotheism and will reform the misguided people.

e) The Prophet’s followers will be circumcised. They will be without a tail on the head and bear a beard and will create a great revolution.

f) They will announce the Aadhaan, i.e. ‘the Muslim call for prayer’.

g) He will only eat lawful things and animals but will not eat pork. The Qur’an confirms this in no less than 4 different places:

In Surah Al-Baqarah chapter 2 verse 173

In Surah Al-Maidah chapter 5 verse 3

In Surah Al-Anam chapter 6 verse 145

In Surah Al-Nahl chapter 16 verse 115

"Forbidden to you for food are dead meat, blood, flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other than Allah".

h) They will not purify with grass like the Hindus but by means of sword they will fight their irreligious people.

i) They will be called musalmaan.

j) They will be a meat-eating nation.

The eating of herbivorous animals is confirmed by the Qur’an in Surah Maidah, chapter 5 verse 1 and in Surah Muminun chapter 23 verse 21

According to Bhavishya Purana, Parv - III Khand 1 Adhay 3 Shloka 21-23:

"Corruption and persecution are found in seven sacred cities of Kashi, etc. India is inhabited by Rakshas, Shabor, Bhil and other foolish people. In the land of Malechhas, the followers of the Malechha dharma (Islam) are wise and brave people. All good qualities are found in Musalmaans and all sorts of vices have accumulated in the land of the Aryas. Islam will rule in India and its islands. Having known these facts, O Muni, glorify the name of thy lord".

The Qur’an confirms this in Surah Taubah chapter 9 verse 33 and in Surah Al Saff chapter 61 verse 9:

"It is He who hath sent His Messenger with Guidance and the Religion of Truth, to proclaim it over all religion, even though the Pagans may detest (it)".

A similar message is given in Surah Fatah chapter 48 verses 28 ending with, "and enough is Allah as a witness".

2> Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) Prophesised in Atharvaveda

In the 20th book of Atharvaveda Hymn 127 Some Suktas (chapters) are known as Kuntap Sukta. Kuntap means the consumer of misery and troubles. Thus meaning the message of peace and safety and if translated in Arabic means Islam.

Kuntap also means hidden glands in the abdomen. These mantras are called so probably because their true meaning was hidden and was to be revealed in future. Its hidden meaning is also connected with the navel or the middle point of this earth. Makkah is called the Ummul Qur’a the mother of the towns or the naval of the earth. In many revealed books it was the first house of Divine worship where God Almighty gave spiritual nourishment to the world. The Qur’an says in Surah Ali-Imran chapter 3, verse 96:

"The first house (of worship) appointed for men was that at Bakkah (Makkah) full of blessings and of guidance and for all kinds of beings". Thus Kuntap stands for Makkah or Bakkah.

Several people have translated these Kuntap Suktas like M. Bloomfield, Prof. Ralph Griffith, Pandit Rajaram, Pandit Khem Karan, etc.

The main points mentioned in the Kuntap Suktas i.e. in Atharvaveda book 20 Hymn 127 verses 1-13 are:

Mantra 1

He is Narashansah or the praised one (Muhammad). He is Kaurama: the prince of peace or the emigrant, who is safe, even amongst a host of 60,090 enemies.

Mantra 2

He is a camel-riding Rishi, whose chariot touches the heaven.

Mantra 3

He is Mamah Rishi who is given a hundred gold coins, ten chaplets (necklaces), three hundred good steeds and ten thousand cows.

Mantra 4

Vachyesv rebh. ‘Oh! ye who glorifies’.

i) The Sanskrit word Narashansah means ‘the praised one’, which is the literal translation of the Arabic word Muhammad (pbuh).

The Sanskrit word Kaurama means ‘one who spreads and promotes peace’. The holy Prophet was the ‘Prince of Peace’ and he preached equality of human kind and universal brotherhood. Kaurama also means an emigrant. The Prophet migrated from Makkah to Madinah and was thus also an Emigrant.

ii) He will be protected from 60,090 enemies, which was the population of Makkah. The Prophet would ride a camel. This clearly indicates that it cannot be an Indian Rishi, since it is forbidden for a Brahman to ride a camel according to the Sacred Books of the East, volume 25, Laws of Manu pg. 472. According to Manu Smirti chapter 11 verse 202, "A Brahman is prohibited from riding a camel or an ass and to bathe naked. He should purify himself by suppressing his breath".

iii) This mantra gave the Rishi's name as Mamah. No rishi in India or another Prophet had this name Mamah which is derived from Mah which means to esteem highly, or to revere, to exalt, etc. Some Sanskrit books give the Prophet’s name as ‘Mohammad’, but this word according to Sanskrit grammar can also be used in the bad sense. It is incorrect to apply grammar to an Arabic word. Actually shas the same meaning and somewhat similar pronunciation as the word Muhammad (pbuh).

He is given 100 gold coins, which refers to the believers and the earlier companions of the Prophet during his turbulent Makkan life. Later on due to persecution they migrated from Makkah to Abysinia. Later when Prophet migrated to Madinah all of them joined him in Madinah.

The 10 chaplets or necklaces were the 10 best companions of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) known as Ashra-Mubbashshira (10 bestowed with good news). These were foretold in this world of their salvation in the hereafter i.e. they were given the good news of entering paradise by the Prophet’s own lips and after naming each one he said "in Paradise". They were Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, Talha, Zubair, Abdur Rahman Ibn Auf, Saad bin Abi Waqqas, Saad bin Zaid and Abu Ubaidah (May Allah be well-pleased with all of them).

The Sanskrit word Go is derived from Gaw which means ‘to go to war’. A cow is also called Go and is a symbol of war as well as peace. The 10,000 cows refer to the 10,000 companions who accompanied the Prophet (pbuh) when he entered Makkah during Fateh Makkah which was a unique victory in the history of mankind in which there was no blood shed. The 10,000 companions were pious and compassionate like cows and were at the same time strong and fierce and are described in the Holy Quran in Surah Fatah:

"Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; and those who are with him are strong against unbelievers, (but) compassionate amongst each other." [Al-Qur'an 48:29]

iv) This mantra calls the Prophet as Rebh which means one who praises, which when translated into Arabic is Ahmed, which is another name for the Holy Prophet (pbuh).

Battle of the Allies described in the Vedas.

It is mentioned in Atharvaveda Book XX Hymn 21 verse 6, "Lord of the truthful! These liberators drink these feats of bravery and the inspiring songs gladdened thee in the field of battle. When thou renders vanquished without fight the ten thousand opponents of the praying one, the adoring one."

a) This Prophecy of the Veda describes the well-known battle of Ahzab or the battle of the Allies during the time of Prophet Muhammed. The Prophet was victorious without an actual conflict which is mentioned in the Qur’an in Surah Ahzab:

"When the believers saw the confederate forces they said, "This is what Allah and His Messenger had promised us and Allah and His Messenger told us what was true." And it only added to their faith and their zeal in obedience." [Al-Qur'an 33:22]

b) The Sanskrit word karo in the Mantra means the ‘praying one’ which when translated into Arabic means ‘Ahmed’, the second name of Prophet Muhammed (pbuh).

c) The 10,000 opponents mentioned in the Mantra were the enemies of the Prophet and the Muslims were only 3000 in number.

d) The last words of the Mantra aprati ni bashayah means the defeat was given to the enemies without an actual fight.

The enemies’ defeat in the conquest of Makkah is mentioned in Atharvaveda book 20 Hymn 21 verse no 9:

"You have O Indra, overthrown 20 kings and 60,099 men with an outstripping Chariot wheel who came to fight the praised one or far famed (Muhammad) orphan."

a) The population of Makkah at the time of Prophet’s advent was nearly 60,000

b) There were several clans in Makkah each having its own chief. Totally there were about 20 chiefs to rule the population of Makkah.

c) An Abandhu meaning a helpless man who was far-famed and ‘praised one’. Muhammad (pbuh) overcame his enemies with the help of God.

3> Muhammad (pbuh) prophesised in the Rigveda

A similar prophecy is also found in Rigveda Book I, Hymn 53 verse 9:

The Sanskrit word used is Sushrama, which means praiseworthy or well praised which in Arabic means Muhammad (pbuh).

4> Muhummad (pbuh) is also prophesised in the Samveda

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is also prophesised in the Samveda Book II Hymn 6 verse 8:

"Ahmed acquired from his Lord the knowledge of eternal law. I received light from him just as from the sun." The Prophecy confirms:

a) The name of the Prophet as Ahmed since Ahmed is an Arabic name. Many translators misunderstood it to be Ahm at hi and translated the mantra as "I alone have acquired the real wisdom of my father".

b) Prophet was given eternal law, i.e. the Shariah.

c) The Rishi was enlightened by the Shariah of Prophet Muhammad. The Qur’an says in Surah Saba chapter 34 verse 28

"We have not sent thee but as a universal (Messenger) to men, giving them glad tidings and warning them (against sin), but most men understand not." [Al-Qur'an 34:28]

KAL – KI – AUTAR

http://www.universalunity.net/kalki.htm

1-GOD <--> 1-Religion <--> 1-Holy Book

The Glorious Book of Allah (swt), the Holy Quraan, says in Sura Al-Fatir (35:24): Surely We have sent you (O Muhammad) with the truth as a bearer of good news and a Warner; and there is not a people but a Warner has gone among them.

A highly controversial book titled ‘Kalki Autar’ (a guide and Prophet for the whole universe) has recently been published in India. Pundit Vaid Prakash, the author of this monumental work, is a Brahman of Bengali descent and is a professor and researcher of Sanskrit (a classic Hindu scriptural language) at Ilahabad University. He, after a great deal of research, study and hard-work has presented his work to as many as eight great Pundits, all established Sanskrit and religious scholars in their own right and they have duly declared Professor Parkash’s work unambiguous, scholarly and authentic.

Important religious books of Hindu India give a vivid description of the "Kalki Autar" and prophesies of his coming. To great amazement and delight of Professor Prakash, this description fits perfectly on the Holy person of the Prophet Muhammad (saw), the Last Prophet to humanity.

Here are some specific quotes from the Hindu sacred book, Veda:

1. The 'Kalki Autar' will be the last Messenger / Prophet of Bhagwan (Allah) to guide the whole world.

2. The 'Kalki Autar' will be born in an island/peninsula (may refer to 'jazeeratul Arab').

3. The 'Kalki Autar's father’s name will be 'Vishnu Bhagat' and his mother's name will be 'somanib'. The Sanskrit word ‘Vishnu’ means Allah; the word ‘bhagat’ means slave or servant (The name ‘Vishnu Bhagat’ refers to ‘the Slave of Allah’ or Abdullah, the Holy Prophet’s father); the Sanskrit word Somanib stands for ‘peace/tranquility.—this will go for the Holy Prophet’s mother, Amina which means the same in Arabic.

4. The 'Kalki Autar' will live on olives and dates, will be true to his words and will show exemplary honesty. The Prophet Mohammad was popularly known as Siddique (truthful) and Ameen (honest).

5. The Veda mentions 'kalki Autar' to be born in the respected and noble dynasty of his land; this is true for the Prophet Muhammad (saw) as he was born in the respected tribe of Quraish who enjoyed great respect and high place in Makkah.

6. The prophesied 'Kalki Autar' will be taught in a cave by the Bhagwan through a very special messenger; history reveals that the angel Jibrail visited the prophet in the cave of Hira to reveal the first five verses of the Holy Quraan.

7. The 'Kalki Autar' will be provided by the Bhagwan with the fastest of a horse that will he will ride to visit the Seven skies/Heavens. This is a reference to the Burraq taking the prophet (sws) to the Seven Heavens.

8. The 'Kalki Autar' will be assisted and strengthened in a big way by the Bhagwan Himself. We know that Muhammad (saw) was divinely aided and reinforced by Allah (swt) through His angels in the battle of Badr.

9. The Veda mentions that 'Kalki Autar' will be well versed in horse riding, arrow shooting, and swordsmanship; Pundit Vaid Parkash hastens to point out that the use of horses and spears is long gone and the followers of Veda would be ill-advised to wait for the 'Kalki Autar' bearing sword and arrows or spears in this day and age.

Many other world scriptures clearly point out to the same "Last Prophet" - none other than the Prophet Mohammad (sws). According to Abdul Haq Widyarthi’s monumental research in a book titled "Mohammad in the World Scriptures" similar clear, unambiguous prophesies have been laid down in many other religious books, such as, the Bhudda’s Tripitika, several Hindu scriptures including Purana (prophesies the coming of ‘Mehmed’), Upnishads, Athra Veda, and Rig Veda, and also in the Zoroastrians’ Avasta. All one needs to do is have a clear, open mind and heart to pay attention to this very special, single message Allah (swt) has preserved uncorrupted in these books of wide following. May Allah, the Most High, give the inner light to those waiting for the ‘Kalki Autar’ and ‘Mehamed’ to realize that he has already come and gone more than 1400 years ago--and the Vedas, Upnishads, Avasta, Bible, and Taura are now replaced for ever by the one and only, the untamed, uncorrupted Book of God—the Glorious Quraan!

Alahamdolillah-e-rabbilalameen!

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#18221

From: Kunju Mon <monkunju@...>
Date: Tue Dec 1, 2009 11:46 am
Subject: Palestine: God's Covenant with Abraham

monkunju@...

Palestine: God's Covenant with Abraham

One of the arguments given for the occupation of Palestine by the
European Jews and supported by Christians is that God promised Abraham
that his progeny would be given Palestine; therefore, Jews are the
only descendants of Abraham and inheritors of the land. This promise
is in the Jewish Tanakh (Christian Old Testament) and it is,
therefore, incumbent upon the Christians to help the Jews in attaining
the goal of the Jews.

by M. Amir Ali, Ph.D.

Let us examine the claim that God promised Palestine to the Jews in
the light of the Bible and the Qur'an.

(i) We read in the Bible: "Now the Lord said to Abram, 'Go from your
country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I
will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless
you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.'" Gen.
12:1-2. "Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, 'To your
descendants I will give this land.'" Gen. 12:7 (RSV)

(ii) We read in the Qur'an: "Recall when Abraham's Lord tested him in
certain matters and when he successfully stood the test He (God) said:
'Indeed I am going to appoint you a leader of humankind.' When Abraham
asked: 'And is this covenant also for my descendants?' the Lord
responded: 'My covenant does not embrace the evil doing
transgressors.'" 2:124

Muhammad Asad (his original name was Leopold Weiss, Austrian-Polish by
nationality), a convert to Islam from Judaism, wrote in his Message of
the Quran, Translation and Commentary, commenting on this verse: "This
passage, read in conjunction with the two preceding verses, refutes
the contention of the children of Israel (modern day Jews) that by
virtue of their descent from Abraham, whom God made 'a leader of men',
they are 'God's chosen people'. The Qur'an makes it clear that the
exalted status of Abraham was not something that would automatically
confer a comparable status on his physical descendants, and certainly
not on the sinners among them."

Does Bani Israel (Jews) qualify to inherit the covenant of God with Abraham?

When one reads the Bible he/she finds that this is the most
anti-Semite (anti-Jew) book in the world. The following is in no way
an exhaustive study of the Bible for finding God's condemnation of the
Jews but an introduction to the study of the topic. I hope that
someone will undertake a thorough study of the Bible and history of
the Jews to present truth to the world. My very scanty and brief study
of the topic is presented below.

Evils and transgressions of Bani Israel and God's anger

The Bible agrees with the Qur'an, commented by Muhammad Asad.

1. The first transgression of Bani Israel (children of Jacob or
Ya'qoob) was committed by the ten sons of Jacob against his eleventh
son, Joseph or Yusuf. Due to their jealousy the ten half-brothers cast
him into a dry pit so that he may die there or they may sell him in
the hands of an Ishmaelite caravan (Gen 37:23-24).

2. Joseph's father, eleven brothers and their families entered Egypt
and joined the aristocratic class of the people. Apparently, it was
because of Bani Israel's transgressions that God caused them to be
sold into the slavery of the Egyptians where they remained for
centuries until God sent Moses to free them.

3. Moses was sent by God to free the Bani Israel from the Egyptians.
He brought them to Sinai when God gave him commandments and the law
but they disobeyed Moses (Ex 16:19-20, 20:11-26, chapters 21-23 and
Deut 31:27).

4. When God called Moses to the mountain for giving him the law, Bani
Israel fell into the worship a golden calf (Ex chapter 32) and God
called them "stiff-necked" (Ex 33:3-4). Even in our time we find Jews
are worshippers of the golden calf in the form of the worship of money
and wealth (crass materialism) rather than righteousness.

5. Moses conveyed the order of God to them to enter and take over
Canaan (Ex 34:11-16) but Bani Israel refused to obey him (Deut
9:21-24, Num 11:1-6, Num 14:1-4) and Moses complained to God (Num
11:12-15). Naturally, God's anger fell upon Bani Israel (Num 12:9-10,
Num 14:10-34).

6. God sent commands against nakedness, adultery and homosexuality but
Bani Israel disobeyed (Lev 18:6-23) and they continued to disobey even
in our time in the name of freedom and sex between consenting adults.

7. God is just and He punishes all those tribes and towns who disobey
His commands. We find that God punished Damascus (Amos 1:9-10), Edom
(Amos 1:11-12), Ammonites (Amos 1:13-14) and Moab (Amos 2:1-3). God
announced His punishment for Judah and Israel (Amos 2:4-8). God
mentions His favor to Judah and Israel of taking them out of Egypt and
taking them out of the desert after forty years of punishment (Amos
2:10-11) yet they disobeyed Him again and again.

8. Another crime mentioned was when the prophets warned the Bani
Israel and prophesied God's punishment, they warned the prophets and
commanded them not to mention prophecies of doom: they threatened them
(Amos 2:12). Finally God's decision came that Bani Israel would be
destroyed but not completely (Amos 9:9-10). In Amos 9:11-15 we find
God's promise to Bani Israel to raise them again, which was fulfilled
in the 6th century BCE during the time of Cyrus. No one can present
establishment of Israel as fulfilling of God's promise because the
modern state is filled with racism, injustice and committing all the
sins mentioned in the Bible for which these people were punished for
three millennia.

9. We read: "And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight
of the Lord, forgetting the Lord their God, and serving the Ba'als and
the Ash'roth. Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against
Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cu'shan-rishath'im king of
Mesopota'mia; and the people of Israel served Cu'shan-rishath'im eight
years" (Judges 3:7-8).

10. We find that Israel again did evil against the Lord and this time
He sold them into the slavery of Eglon the king of Moab for eighteen
years (Judges 3:12-14).

11. The people of Israel again did evil against the Lord and this time
He sold them into the slavery of Jabin king of Canaan, who oppressed
them cruelly for twenty years (Judges 4:1-3).

12. We find that the people of Israel did evil again and this time the
Lord sold them into the slavery of Mid'ian (Ishmaelites) for seven
years (Judges 6:1-2).

13. The next time Israel did evil the Lord sold them into the slavery
of Philistines and Ammonites for eighteen years (Judges 10:7-9).

14. The people of Israel did again what the Lord forbade them from
doing, the Lord again gave them into the hands of Philistines for
forty years (Judges 13:1).

15. God brought destruction upon Bani Israel by the hands of Chaldeans
and Prophet Habakkuk cried to the Lord (Hab 1:1-17). The God of Bani
Israel declared Himself to be a jealous God and wrathful (Nahum 1:2,
2:13 and 3:5).

16. When Bani Israel performed the rituals, they were free of
sincerity and they despised God-given food (Malachi 1:14, 2:2-3), God
cursed them (Malachi 2:7-9) and declared that their offerings were not
acceptable (Malachi 2:13 and chapter 4).

The fate of Bani Israel is sealed

Finally, God's decision was announced in the Bible:

"Behold, I will make you small among the nations, you will be utterly despised.

The pride of your heart has deceived �" (Obadiah verses 2-4). We find
that in our time, Jews are only fifteen million out of the world
population of over six billion. Also Jews are despised and no gentile
likes to be called a Jew or Jew-like because he will take it as an
insult.

"The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame,
and the house of Esau stubble; they shall burn them and consume them
and there shall be no survivor to the house of Esau; for the Lord has
spoken." (Obadiah verse 118)

Jesus said, "Therefore, I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken
away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it." (Matt
11:43). Evidently, Muslims fulfilled the prophecy of Jesus Christ.

The Qur'an agrees with the Bible and has very stern warning to Bani
Israel as we read:

"And lo! We (God) accepted your solemn pledge that you would not shed
one another's blood, and would not drive one another from your
homeland � whereupon you acknowledged it; and thereto you bear witness
[even now]. And yet, it is you who slay one another and drive some of
your own people from their homelands, aiding one another against them
in sin and hatred; but if they come to you as captives, you ransom
them � although the very [act of] driving them away has been made
unlawful to you.

Do you, then, believe in some parts of the divine book and deny the
truth of other parts [by ignoring some laws and commandments]? What,
then, could be the reward of those among you who do such things except
utter disgrace in the life of this world and, on the Day of
Resurrection, commitment to most grievous punishment? For God is not
unmindful of what you do. (The Qur'an 2:84-85)

This happened to Bani Israel after God delivered them after centuries
of slavery under the Egyptians. It seems that the Bani Israel was
stubbornly bent upon disobeying the Lord except for brief periods of
good conduct. There had to be a time when God would turn away from
them and never to deliver them from the slavery and torment under the
gentile nations. In America today some states have laws of "three
strikes, you are out" meaning that after three convictions of felonies
there is mandatory life imprisonment. Why should God not pass such a
judgment against Bani Israel after numerous crimes worse than felonies
over a period of 1800 years? It is obvious that the God of Israel has
removed them from inheriting the covenant of Abraham. If Jews want to
live in Palestine, their only choice is to live there in peace as a
respected minority as they have lived for almost thirteen centuries in
the Muslim world.

God's covenant with Ishmael

We find God's covenant with Ishmael:

"As for Ish'mael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and make
him fruitful and multiply exceedingly; he shall be the father of
twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation" (Gen 17:20)

In Gen 17:20 God treats Ishmael even better than Isaac because Isaac
did not have twelve princes that were given to Ishmael right away. The
twelve tribe of Bani Israel came from Jacob. I will discuss the point
of making a great nation further down this article.

Historical evidence that Bani Israel were excluded from God's covenant
with Abraham

Bani Israel Rule over Palestine. The Prophet Abraham perhaps lived
around the 18th century BCE (before Christian era). The exodus under
the leadership of Moses took place around 1290 BCE. Canaan (later to
be known as Palestine) was conquered under Joshua around 1250 BCE. God
appointed Saul (Talut) as the king of Bani Israel around 1020 BCE who
ruled for about twenty years. David succeeded Talut and ruled for 39
years until 961 BCE. Solomon succeeded his father and ruled for 36
years until 925 BCE. Shortly afterwards the Assyrians defeated Israel
and occupied a part of the kingdom. The Babylonian king Nebuchednezar
occupied Judah, independent kingdom in 586 BCE. He destroyed the
Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, and took thousand of Bani Israel in
chains as captives to Babylon. However, in 520 BCE King Cyrus allowed
Bani Israel to return to Palestine and he sponsored rebuilding of the
Temple, which was completed in 515 BCE. Israel was never to become an
independent state until 161 BCE. Around 330 BCE Israel came under the
rule of the Greek kings. From 161 to 104 BCE for 57 years Maccabees,
an Israeli freedom movement, made Israel a free and independent state.
Maccabees were defeated by the Romans and entire Palestine and Syria
came under their rule. In 70 CE (Christian era) Titus exiled Jews from
Jerusalem and in 135 CE all Jews were either murdered or exiled from
Palestine by the order of the Roman emperor with the decree never to
enter Palestine again. Under the Roman rule and later in the Byzantine
rule, Jews were barred from entering Palestine. Jews were allowed to
enter Jerusalem again by the second caliph of Islam, Umar ibn
al-Khattab in 638 CE. They began to trickle into Palestine and lived
happily as a respected and protected minority under the Muslims until
1930s when they began terrorism to drive the Palestinians out of their
homes and properties rendering almost 800,000 of them as refugees.
Finally, the state of Israel was established by Arab and Muslim hating
western powers under the cover of a U.N. resolution in 1948. From the
beginning of time until 1948 Bani Israel were able to rule Palestine
for a total of only about 382 years out of 32 centuries of Bani Israel
(Jewish) existence, even that in broken periods. Does it look like God
gave Palestine to the Bani Israel or made them a great people? I don't
think so. On the contrary the God of Bani Israel made them a most
despised people and kept them alive as a lesson to mankind. This is
the fate of Jews collectively but among them there are numerous good,
decent, justice and peace loving people. Muslims do not hold anything
against the Jews; in fact, Muslims have been their best friends and
protectors from 638 until the 1930s. However, Muslims are against the
Zionist movement that exiled the natives of Palestine from their
ancestral home, robbed them of their properties, killed them by the
hundreds of thousands; murder and plunder of Palestinians by the hands
of Jews using American money and armaments continues to date. This is
the way the Jews have rewarded Muslims for their hospitality, good
treatment with respect and allowing the return of the Jews to
Palestine.

Muslim Rule over Palestine. In 638 CE Umar ibn Al-Khattab, the second
Caliph of Islam, conquered Jerusalem without a war and until 1918
Palestine remained under Muslim rule except for a period of 88 years
(1099 to 1187 CE) of the rule of the Crusaders. From 1918 to 1948
Palestine came under the rule of the British and then it was divided
between Israel and the Palestinians. Only after the 1967 war,
initiated by Israel, did Jerusalem came under the rule of the
Israelis. It is worth noting that the Muslim rule over Palestine for
thirteen centuries was due to the power of Muslims themselves not by a
proxy power; whereas, the rule of Israelis in Israel since 1948 is
maintained not by the power of the Israelis but by the power of the
Americans. If Americans withdraw their support, Israel may fall as a
ripe fig into the hands of Muslims in a matter of days.

The historical evidence shows that the Jews were excluded from the
covenant of God to Abraham because He did not allow them to have a
hold over Palestine but for brief periods, whereas God gave the power
to the Muslims to rule for the longest period of time in the history
of the land. Evidently God's covenant to Abraham was meant to be for
the Arabs, the children of Ishmael.

The meaning of heir

In the line of the prophet Abraham, heir may have one or both of two
meanings. Those who are (1) in the line of genealogy of Abraham, and
(2) in the line of the faith of Abraham and carriers of his mission.
Both, the Jews and the Arabs claim to be the heirs of Abraham through
genealogy. Neither of these two nations' claim holds true for 100% of
the people in our time. Arab by definition is anyone who speaks Arabic
language that may include all non-Arabs who moved to the Middle East
and adopted Arabic language and culture. Prophet Muhammad and his
contemporary Arabs of the Arabian peninsula belonged to Abraham as
they were descendants of Ishmael. Bani Israel due to their jealousy
tried to remove Arabs from the genealogy by claiming that Hager, the
mother of Ishmael, was a slave girl but not truly a wife of Abraham.
This contradicts the Bible itself. The Bible declares, "So, after
Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, Sar'ai, Abram's wife,
took Hager the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to Abram her husband
as a wife" (Gen 16:3). Note that the adjective wife has been used
twice, once associated with Sar'ai and second time associated with
Hager indicating no superiority of one wife over the other. This
shows, according to the Bible, the original Arabs were equally
descendants of Abraham as were the original Bani Israel. Christian and
Jewish apologetics may have some irrational rationalization to exclude
children of Ishmael from God's covenant to Abraham. Some Muslims have
found historical evidence to show that Hager was an Egyptian princess
not a maid of Sar'ai; it is evident from Gen 17:20 where God called 12
sons of Ishmael as 12 princes perhaps because their mother was a
princess. Among the modern Jews there are three groups by genealogy,
(a) Saphardic Jews, (b) Ashkenazi Jews, and (c) miscellaneous other
claimants to Judaism. Historically, only Saphardic Jews appear to
belong to Abraham through genealogy. According to Arthur Koestler (see
his book The Thirteenth Tribe) Saphardic Jews make up fewer than ten
percent of the world Jewish population. Something like 85% of the
world Jewry are Ashkenazi Jews, which are Caucasian converts as they
have light color hair, fairer skin and light color eyes like all other
gentile Europeans. The rest of the Jews are either Negroid indicating
no Semitic features or belong to other races and nations.

The other type of heir is by faith. The true monotheists in the faith
of Abraham are Muslims and deserve to be called the inheritors of
God's covenant with Abraham. Muslims propagated the faith of Abraham,
true monotheism (tawhid), all over the world.

The Jews have corrupted the monotheism of Abraham and in the past they
became pagans and idolaters frequently for which God disgraced them.
This point has been discussed above under the subheading, "Evils and
transgressions of Bani Israel�" The worst transgression of the Jews of
our time is their crass materialism, that is, worship of the wealth
and power. Besides, Jews made Abraham's faith exclusively for
themselves making other people unworthy to invite and convert. In
fact, Jews considered themselves to be a superior race worthy of many
of God's special privileges denied to other nations. There is a lot of
racism in the teachings of the Mishna and Talmud rendering people
other than the Jews to the level of animals and insects to be
trampled, used and killed at will. Abraham was neither a racist nor an
idolater.

Christians do not even have a claim over the covenant of Abraham;
therefore, they are not included in this discussion.

The meaning of making Abraham's name great

When God told Abraham that He will make his name great, what did God
mean? It may mean that his true descendants will (a) promote his faith
worldwide; (b) it may mean that they will be the largest single faith
in the world; (c) it may mean that Abraham's faith will be the only
faith remaining in the world and all other faiths and -isms will die
out; (d) it may mean that Abraham's descendants will create a great
civilization in the world; (e) it may mean that his true followers
will fill the world with economic justice and equality of mankind
removing all kind of prejudices and discrimination based on race, skin
color, gender, origin of birth, social and economic status; (f) it may
mean that the children of Abraham will multiply exceedingly, spread
and rule the largest geographical area of the world, if not the whole
earth.

In Gen 12:2 God promised Abraham to make him a great nation and in Gen
17:20 God also made a similar promise to Ishmael to make him a great
nation. This shows that Gods promise of making Abraham a great nation
was to be realized through the descendants of Ishmael but only the
righteous ones, which is the same promise appeared in the Qur'an 2:124
quoted in the beginning of this article. Bani Israel themselves
canceled out any covenant made to the children of Isaac and Jacob
through their refusal to obey God's prophets, a few examples have
already been given above. Let us look at the possibilities of the
meaning of a "great nation".

(a) Promoting the faith of Abraham. Bani Israel became a racist people
and refused to promote the faith of Abraham to mankind whereas Muslims
did promote his faith worldwide providing the opportunity of accepting
the faith of Abraham. Consequently, people of every nation, every race
and color have come to Islam making it the most successfully
proclaimed pluralistic faith in the world. Muslims today constitute
20-25% of the world (1.2 to 1.5 billion) spread over the entire globe
and increasing. Jews are fewer than 15 million (and declining), that
is 0.25% of the world population or 1% of the Muslim population.
Naturally, Muslims make a much greater nation than the Jews.

(b) The largest homogenous single faith in the world. It is believed
that Christians are the largest single faith in the world but this
claim could easily be refuted. Christians are divided into three major
sects, Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants. Each of the three claims
that they are the only true Christians and the others are
non-Christians or pagans. If we study these religions, we find that
each one is a separate religion; therefore, Christianity is not a
homogenous single faith; only Islam is. Some may argue that there are
Shi'as and Sunnis but this objection is not true. Those who claim one
or the other is out of Islam are a negligible minority; the
fundamentals of Shi'ah and Sunni are one and the same. The Jews are
only fifteen million worldwide making them a negligible minority and a
cult-like group. Such a small group is further divided into three
groups of Orthodox, Conservative and Reformed; Orthodox and Reformed
are so far apart that they cannot see each other eye to eye.
Sunni-Shi'ah conflict is endemic and local and limited to a few
people.

(c) The only faith surviving in the world. We have not reached that
stage yet. Judaism is shrinking whereas Christianity and Islam are
still expanding. However, it is noteworthy that the rate of expansion
of Islam is higher than Christianity. There are millions of Christians
converting to Islam and the reverse flow is negligible.

(d) Creating a great civilization. Jews have not created any unique
civilization in the world with any lasting impact. Western
civilization is a mix of Greek-Roman-Christian-Islamic civilization
with some impact of the Jews, Chinese, Indian and other nations.
Muslims created a new civilization that is unique in art,
architecture, education, philosophy, sciences and embracing every
other area of human activity. The impact of Islam may been seen
worldwide. Muslims truly became a great nation fulfilling God's
covenant to Abraham. In Islam Arabs played an overwhelming role in
developing "Islamic" civilization. Major impact is seen from the
periods of the Umayyad and the Abbasid era, both belonged to the
Quraysh, direct descendants of Abraham through his son Ishmael.

(e) Justice and equality for mankind. The Muslim civilization filled
the earth with justice and equality the way no other system achieved
it. Islam initiated the process of freeing slaves, gave property
rights for women fourteen centuries ago, Qur'an declared women to be
equal with men (Qur'an 16:97) and gave them dignity rather than making
them an object of pleasure for men. Equality of people was declared in
the Qur'an (49:13) and taking money from the rich and giving to the
poor was mandatory (Qur'an 57:7, 59:7, 2:177, 2:215, 2:219, 2:261-273,
9:60). In law it was made mandatory to give true witness (Qur'an 4:135
and 5:8). This was the Islamic justice that induced Spaniards to
invite Muslims to conquer their country and establish a just rule.
Similarly, earlier Syrians had preferred Muslims to their
co-religionists, Byzantine, as rulers. This is an independent topic
and a lot has been written by the Muslims. Jews on the other hand
became known as loan sharks becoming rich at the expense of others,
merciless exploitation of the gentiles as well as weak and poor of
their own.

(f) Rulers over the world. Muslims established the largest empire in
the known world of the time and remained as the Super Power of the
world until the rise of European colonialism. We are seeing the
shrinkage of hold of the West over the world. We have not reached the
end of time yet and time will show the truth of Islam and God's
covenant will be fulfilled by the hands of Muslims. Jews never ruled
an area larger than Palestine and remained an insignificant power even
during the periods of David and Solomon, the mightiest Bani Israel
power.

Arabs and Muslims are not anti-Semite

1. Arabs who constitute nearly 20% of the Muslim world population are
themselves Semitic people; naturally, they will not hate themselves.
Then, how can other Muslims hate their own brethren? Muslims have no
reason to hate Jews but rather hate the Zionist philosophy and
activities.

2. Unlike Christians, Muslims do not blame the Jews for crucifying or
killing Jesus because Qur'an absolved the Jews of this allegation. We
read in the Qur'an, "they (Jews) did not slay him (Jesus Christ), and
neither did they crucify him�" (4:157).

3. In the 13 centuries of history from 638 to the 1930s, there was no
animosity between Muslims and the Jews. There have been rare and
isolated occasions when a "Muslim" ruler persecuted Jews but he was an
equal opportunity persecutor who persecuted Christians as well as
Muslims except his own narrow sect. In fact, Muslims have been best
friends of the Jews throughout Islamic history.

4. After 9-11 George Bush declared, "You are either with us or against
us" meaning that if you are not an ally of the U.S., you become
automatically an enemy. George Bush did not invent this idea but
adopted the Zionist policy. The Zionists use the whip of anti-Semitism
against anyone or any people or a government who are not 1000 percent
supporters of the Zionism and Israel. There is no room for even-handed
policy or neutrality in the Middle East. I think it was William
Rogers, Secretary of State in 1970s who said that he would follow
"even handed" policy in the Middle East; he was immediately haunted,
labeled as an anti-Semite and was removed from the administration.
There is a need to remove this blackmailing whip of "anti-Semite" from
the hands of the Zionists and Israelis.

Conclusion

The claim of the Israelis, supported by the Christians of the West,
that only the Jews are inheritors of God's covenant with Abraham has
been examined above. The following is concluded:

1. In the light of the Bible and the Qur'an, God's covenant would not
extend to the sinners and transgressors from Abraham's progeny.

2. In the light of the Bible, the Jews have proven themselves to be
sinners and transgressors making them unworthy of inheriting God's
covenant with Abraham.

3. God made an independent covenant with Ishmael to make him a great nation.

4. The political history of Palestine shows that Bani Israel ruled the
land for less than 400 years whereas Ishmaelites ruled it for 1280
years of the 3200 years of the existence of Bani Israel. Ishmaelites
got control over Palestine within 28 years of the rise of Islam
whereas Bani Israel got power over it more than five centuries after
the birth of the tribes of Bani Israel. It shows that God's choice to
pass on the inheritance of Abraham was for the people of his faith
more than his descendants. Ishmaelites fit both criteria under Islam.

5. Making Abraham's name great or making him a great nation may have
several meanings. Six criteria have been studied under this heading
and found that only Arabs (Ishmaelites) and Muslims fulfill the
criteria whereas the Bani Israel are left behind and lost in the dust.

After this study, it will take courage and neutrality to accept the
Muslim's claims to Palestine. The prejudiced West, due to its hatred
of Islam and Arabs, appears to be incapable of accepting the obvious.
It will take only God's miracle to convince the West about the Truth.
Obviously, the claim of the Jews to Palestine supported by the western
Christians is absurd and laughable.

July 10, 2003

#18222

From: new george <newgeorge_@...>
Date: Tue Dec 1, 2009 1:08 pm
Subject: RE: [IFDC] Palestine: God's Covenant with Abraham

My worry here is the reason why you are saying these things. It is quite clear to anyone who reads the bible that the Jews are judged and found wanting over and over again in the Old Testament. This, to me, is not an occasion for self-righteous gloating - whether it be by Christian or Moslem - and anyone who does so has clearly misunderstood the whole point. It is not the Jews that God is judging so much as all of us. 'All like sheep have gone astray'.
The very fact that the Jews themselves have allowed such extreme self-criticism in their sacred texts seems to me more a sign of their real calling as the first of God's people, and it is surely important for us to note that, were it not for the Jewish people who did remain faithful (and they are many) that there would be neither Christian nor Moslem faith at all. Abraham is indeed our father in faith and we are called (both Moslem and Christian) to honour our father and mother above all are we not?
To even consider questioning the right of the Jewish people to a land of their own seems to me - after all that has happened - totally unacceptable.
The problem is not now so much that the Jews need a homeland (we know this) but it is more a question of how to let them feel safe enough in that homeland (after all that has happened) for them to put aside their defensive and warlike stance re both Palestinian and other neighbours. Something which posts like the one below can scarcely help us to achieve.
Jesus tells us to look to the beam in our own eye before we try to remove the splinter in someone else's.
ng

> To: interfaithdialoguecenter@yahoogroups.com; bibleandquran@yahoogroups.com
> From: monkunju@...
> Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 14:46:03 +0300
> Subject: [IFDC] Palestine: God's Covenant with Abraham
>
> Palestine: God's Covenant with Abraham
>
> One of the arguments given for the occupation of Palestine by the
> European Jews and supported by Christians is that God promised Abraham
> that his progeny would be given Palestine; therefore, Jews are the
> only descendants of Abraham and inheritors of the land. This promise
> is in the Jewish Tanakh (Christian Old Testament) and it is,
> therefore, incumbent upon the Christians to help the Jews in attaining
> the goal of the Jews.
>
> by M. Amir Ali, Ph.D.
>
> Let us examine the claim that God promised Palestine to the Jews in
> the light of the Bible and the Qur'an.
>
> (i) We read in the Bible: "Now the Lord said to Abram, 'Go from your
> country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I
> will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless
> you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.'" Gen.
> 12:1-2. "Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, 'To your
> descendants I will give this land.'" Gen. 12:7 (RSV)
>
> (ii) We read in the Qur'an: "Recall when Abraham's Lord tested him in
> certain matters and when he successfully stood the test He (God) said:
> 'Indeed I am going to appoint you a leader of humankind.' When Abraham
> asked: 'And is this covenant also for my descendants?' the Lord
> responded: 'My covenant does not embrace the evil doing
> transgressors.'" 2:124
>
> Muhammad Asad (his original name was Leopold Weiss, Austrian-Polish by
> nationality), a convert to Islam from Judaism, wrote in his Message of
> the Quran, Translation and Commentary, commenting on this verse: "This
> passage, read in conjunction with the two preceding verses, refutes
> the contention of the children of Israel (modern day Jews) that by
> virtue of their descent from Abraham, whom God made 'a leader of men',
> they are 'God's chosen people'. The Qur'an makes it clear that the
> exalted status of Abraham was not something that would automatically
> confer a comparable status on his physical descendants, and certainly
> not on the sinners among them."
>
> Does Bani Israel (Jews) qualify to inherit the covenant of God with Abraham?
>
> When one reads the Bible he/she finds that this is the most
> anti-Semite (anti-Jew) book in the world. The following is in no way
> an exhaustive study of the Bible for finding God's condemnation of the
> Jews but an introduction to the study of the topic. I hope that
> someone will undertake a thorough study of the Bible and history of
> the Jews to present truth to the world. My very scanty and brief study
> of the topic is presented below.
>
> Evils and transgressions of Bani Israel and God's anger
>
> The Bible agrees with the Qur'an, commented by Muhammad Asad.
>
> 1. The first transgression of Bani Israel (children of Jacob or
> Ya'qoob) was committed by the ten sons of Jacob against his eleventh
> son, Joseph or Yusuf. Due to their jealousy the ten half-brothers cast
> him into a dry pit so that he may die there or they may sell him in
> the hands of an Ishmaelite caravan (Gen 37:23-24).
>
> 2. Joseph's father, eleven brothers and their families entered Egypt
> and joined the aristocratic class of the people. Apparently, it was
> because of Bani Israel's transgressions that God caused them to be
> sold into the slavery of the Egyptians where they remained for
> centuries until God sent Moses to free them.
>
> 3. Moses was sent by God to free the Bani Israel from the Egyptians.
> He brought them to Sinai when God gave him commandments and the law
> but they disobeyed Moses (Ex 16:19-20, 20:11-26, chapters 21-23 and
> Deut 31:27).
>
> 4. When God called Moses to the mountain for giving him the law, Bani
> Israel fell into the worship a golden calf (Ex chapter 32) and God
> called them "stiff-necked" (Ex 33:3-4). Even in our time we find Jews
> are worshippers of the golden calf in the form of the worship of money
> and wealth (crass materialism) rather than righteousness.
>
> 5. Moses conveyed the order of God to them to enter and take over
> Canaan (Ex 34:11-16) but Bani Israel refused to obey him (Deut
> 9:21-24, Num 11:1-6, Num 14:1-4) and Moses complained to God (Num
> 11:12-15). Naturally, God's anger fell upon Bani Israel (Num 12:9-10,
> Num 14:10-34).
>
> 6. God sent commands against nakedness, adultery and homosexuality but
> Bani Israel disobeyed (Lev 18:6-23) and they continued to disobey even
> in our time in the name of freedom and sex between consenting adults.
>
> 7. God is just and He punishes all those tribes and towns who disobey
> His commands. We find that God punished Damascus (Amos 1:9-10), Edom
> (Amos 1:11-12), Ammonites (Amos 1:13-14) and Moab (Amos 2:1-3). God
> announced His punishment for Judah and Israel (Amos 2:4-8). God
> mentions His favor to Judah and Israel of taking them out of Egypt and
> taking them out of the desert after forty years of punishment (Amos
> 2:10-11) yet they disobeyed Him again and again.
>
> 8. Another crime mentioned was when the prophets warned the Bani
> Israel and prophesied God's punishment, they warned the prophets and
> commanded them not to mention prophecies of doom: they threatened them
> (Amos 2:12). Finally God's decision came that Bani Israel would be
> destroyed but not completely (Amos 9:9-10). In Amos 9:11-15 we find
> God's promise to Bani Israel to raise them again, which was fulfilled
> in the 6th century BCE during the time of Cyrus. No one can present
> establishment of Israel as fulfilling of God's promise because the
> modern state is filled with racism, injustice and committing all the
> sins mentioned in the Bible for which these people were punished for
> three millennia.
>
> 9. We read: "And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight
> of the Lord, forgetting the Lord their God, and serving the Ba'als and
> the Ash'roth. Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against
> Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cu'shan-rishath'im king of
> Mesopota'mia; and the people of Israel served Cu'shan-rishath'im eight
> years" (Judges 3:7-8).
>
> 10. We find that Israel again did evil against the Lord and this time
> He sold them into the slavery of Eglon the king of Moab for eighteen
> years (Judges 3:12-14).
>
> 11. The people of Israel again did evil against the Lord and this time
> He sold them into the slavery of Jabin king of Canaan, who oppressed
> them cruelly for twenty years (Judges 4:1-3).
>
> 12. We find that the people of Israel did evil again and this time the
> Lord sold them into the slavery of Mid'ian (Ishmaelites) for seven
> years (Judges 6:1-2).
>
> 13. The next time Israel did evil the Lord sold them into the slavery
> of Philistines and Ammonites for eighteen years (Judges 10:7-9).
>
> 14. The people of Israel did again what the Lord forbade them from
> doing, the Lord again gave them into the hands of Philistines for
> forty years (Judges 13:1).
>
> 15. God brought destruction upon Bani Israel by the hands of Chaldeans
> and Prophet Habakkuk cried to the Lord (Hab 1:1-17). The God of Bani
> Israel declared Himself to be a jealous God and wrathful (Nahum 1:2,
> 2:13 and 3:5).
>
> 16. When Bani Israel performed the rituals, they were free of
> sincerity and they despised God-given food (Malachi 1:14, 2:2-3), God
> cursed them (Malachi 2:7-9) and declared that their offerings were not
> acceptable (Malachi 2:13 and chapter 4).
>
> The fate of Bani Israel is sealed
>
> Finally, God's decision was announced in the Bible:
>
> "Behold, I will make you small among the nations, you will be utterly despised.
>
> The pride of your heart has deceived �" (Obadiah verses 2-4). We find
> that in our time, Jews are only fifteen million out of the world
> population of over six billion. Also Jews are despised and no gentile
> likes to be called a Jew or Jew-like because he will take it as an
> insult.
>
> "The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame,
> and the house of Esau stubble; they shall burn them and consume them
> and there shall be no survivor to the house of Esau; for the Lord has
> spoken." (Obadiah verse 118)
>
> Jesus said, "Therefore, I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken
> away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it." (Matt
> 11:43). Evidently, Muslims fulfilled the prophecy of Jesus Christ.
>
> The Qur'an agrees with the Bible and has very stern warning to Bani
> Israel as we read:
>
> "And lo! We (God) accepted your solemn pledge that you would not shed
> one another's blood, and would not drive one another from your
> homeland � whereupon you acknowledged it; and thereto you bear witness
> [even now]. And yet, it is you who slay one another and drive some of
> your own people from their homelands, aiding one another against them
> in sin and hatred; but if they come to you as captives, you ransom
> them � although the very [act of] driving them away has been made
> unlawful to you.
>
> Do you, then, believe in some parts of the divine book and deny the
> truth of other parts [by ignoring some laws and commandments]? What,
> then, could be the reward of those among you who do such things except
> utter disgrace in the life of this world and, on the Day of
> Resurrection, commitment to most grievous punishment? For God is not
> unmindful of what you do. (The Qur'an 2:84-85)
>
> This happened to Bani Israel after God delivered them after centuries
> of slavery under the Egyptians. It seems that the Bani Israel was
> stubbornly bent upon disobeying the Lord except for brief periods of
> good conduct. There had to be a time when God would turn away from
> them and never to deliver them from the slavery and torment under the
> gentile nations. In America today some states have laws of "three
> strikes, you are out" meaning that after three convictions of felonies
> there is mandatory life imprisonment. Why should God not pass such a
> judgment against Bani Israel after numerous crimes worse than felonies
> over a period of 1800 years? It is obvious that the God of Israel has
> removed them from inheriting the covenant of Abraham. If Jews want to
> live in Palestine, their only choice is to live there in peace as a
> respected minority as they have lived for almost thirteen centuries in
> the Muslim world.
>
> God's covenant with Ishmael
>
> We find God's covenant with Ishmael:
>
> "As for Ish'mael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and make
> him fruitful and multiply exceedingly; he shall be the father of
> twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation" (Gen 17:20)
>
> In Gen 17:20 God treats Ishmael even better than Isaac because Isaac
> did not have twelve princes that were given to Ishmael right away. The
> twelve tribe of Bani Israel came from Jacob. I will discuss the point
> of making a great nation further down this article.
>
> Historical evidence that Bani Israel were excluded from God's covenant
> with Abraham
>
> Bani Israel Rule over Palestine. The Prophet Abraham perhaps lived
> around the 18th century BCE (before Christian era). The exodus under
> the leadership of Moses took place around 1290 BCE. Canaan (later to
> be known as Palestine) was conquered under Joshua around 1250 BCE. God
> appointed Saul (Talut) as the king of Bani Israel around 1020 BCE who
> ruled for about twenty years. David succeeded Talut and ruled for 39
> years until 961 BCE. Solomon succeeded his father and ruled for 36
> years until 925 BCE. Shortly afterwards the Assyrians defeated Israel
> and occupied a part of the kingdom. The Babylonian king Nebuchednezar
> occupied Judah, independent kingdom in 586 BCE. He destroyed the
> Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, and took thousand of Bani Israel in
> chains as captives to Babylon. However, in 520 BCE King Cyrus allowed
> Bani Israel to return to Palestine and he sponsored rebuilding of the
> Temple, which was completed in 515 BCE. Israel was never to become an
> independent state until 161 BCE. Around 330 BCE Israel came under the
> rule of the Greek kings. From 161 to 104 BCE for 57 years Maccabees,
> an Israeli freedom movement, made Israel a free and independent state.
> Maccabees were defeated by the Romans and entire Palestine and Syria
> came under their rule. In 70 CE (Christian era) Titus exiled Jews from
> Jerusalem and in 135 CE all Jews were either murdered or exiled from
> Palestine by the order of the Roman emperor with the decree never to
> enter Palestine again. Under the Roman rule and later in the Byzantine
> rule, Jews were barred from entering Palestine. Jews were allowed to
> enter Jerusalem again by the second caliph of Islam, Umar ibn
> al-Khattab in 638 CE. They began to trickle into Palestine and lived
> happily as a respected and protected minority under the Muslims until
> 1930s when they began terrorism to drive the Palestinians out of their
> homes and properties rendering almost 800,000 of them as refugees.
> Finally, the state of Israel was established by Arab and Muslim hating
> western powers under the cover of a U.N. resolution in 1948. From the
> beginning of time until 1948 Bani Israel were able to rule Palestine
> for a total of only about 382 years out of 32 centuries of Bani Israel
> (Jewish) existence, even that in broken periods. Does it look like God
> gave Palestine to the Bani Israel or made them a great people? I don't
> think so. On the contrary the God of Bani Israel made them a most
> despised people and kept them alive as a lesson to mankind. This is
> the fate of Jews collectively but among them there are numerous good,
> decent, justice and peace loving people. Muslims do not hold anything
> against the Jews; in fact, Muslims have been their best friends and
> protectors from 638 until the 1930s. However, Muslims are against the
> Zionist movement that exiled the natives of Palestine from their
> ancestral home, robbed them of their properties, killed them by the
> hundreds of thousands; murder and plunder of Palestinians by the hands
> of Jews using American money and armaments continues to date. This is
> the way the Jews have rewarded Muslims for their hospitality, good
> treatment with respect and allowing the return of the Jews to
> Palestine.
>
> Muslim Rule over Palestine. In 638 CE Umar ibn Al-Khattab, the second
> Caliph of Islam, conquered Jerusalem without a war and until 1918
> Palestine remained under Muslim rule except for a period of 88 years
> (1099 to 1187 CE) of the rule of the Crusaders. From 1918 to 1948
> Palestine came under the rule of the British and then it was divided
> between Israel and the Palestinians. Only after the 1967 war,
> initiated by Israel, did Jerusalem came under the rule of the
> Israelis. It is worth noting that the Muslim rule over Palestine for
> thirteen centuries was due to the power of Muslims themselves not by a
> proxy power; whereas, the rule of Israelis in Israel since 1948 is
> maintained not by the power of the Israelis but by the power of the
> Americans. If Americans withdraw their support, Israel may fall as a
> ripe fig into the hands of Muslims in a matter of days.
>
> The historical evidence shows that the Jews were excluded from the
> covenant of God to Abraham because He did not allow them to have a
> hold over Palestine but for brief periods, whereas God gave the power
> to the Muslims to rule for the longest period of time in the history
> of the land. Evidently God's covenant to Abraham was meant to be for
> the Arabs, the children of Ishmael.
>
> The meaning of heir
>
> In the line of the prophet Abraham, heir may have one or both of two
> meanings. Those who are (1) in the line of genealogy of Abraham, and
> (2) in the line of the faith of Abraham and carriers of his mission.
> Both, the Jews and the Arabs claim to be the heirs of Abraham through
> genealogy. Neither of these two nations' claim holds true for 100% of
> the people in our time. Arab by definition is anyone who speaks Arabic
> language that may include all non-Arabs who moved to the Middle East
> and adopted Arabic language and culture. Prophet Muhammad and his
> contemporary Arabs of the Arabian peninsula belonged to Abraham as
> they were descendants of Ishmael. Bani Israel due to their jealousy
> tried to remove Arabs from the genealogy by claiming that Hager, the
> mother of Ishmael, was a slave girl but not truly a wife of Abraham.
> This contradicts the Bible itself. The Bible declares, "So, after
> Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, Sar'ai, Abram's wife,
> took Hager the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to Abram her husband
> as a wife" (Gen 16:3). Note that the adjective wife has been used
> twice, once associated with Sar'ai and second time associated with
> Hager indicating no superiority of one wife over the other. This
> shows, according to the Bible, the original Arabs were equally
> descendants of Abraham as were the original Bani Israel. Christian and
> Jewish apologetics may have some irrational rationalization to exclude
> children of Ishmael from God's covenant to Abraham. Some Muslims have
> found historical evidence to show that Hager was an Egyptian princess
> not a maid of Sar'ai; it is evident from Gen 17:20 where God called 12
> sons of Ishmael as 12 princes perhaps because their mother was a
> princess. Among the modern Jews there are three groups by genealogy,
> (a) Saphardic Jews, (b) Ashkenazi Jews, and (c) miscellaneous other
> claimants to Judaism. Historically, only Saphardic Jews appear to
> belong to Abraham through genealogy. According to Arthur Koestler (see
> his book The Thirteenth Tribe) Saphardic Jews make up fewer than ten
> percent of the world Jewish population. Something like 85% of the
> world Jewry are Ashkenazi Jews, which are Caucasian converts as they
> have light color hair, fairer skin and light color eyes like all other
> gentile Europeans. The rest of the Jews are either Negroid indicating
> no Semitic features or belong to other races and nations.
>
> The other type of heir is by faith. The true monotheists in the faith
> of Abraham are Muslims and deserve to be called the inheritors of
> God's covenant with Abraham. Muslims propagated the faith of Abraham,
> true monotheism (tawhid), all over the world.
>
> The Jews have corrupted the monotheism of Abraham and in the past they
> became pagans and idolaters frequently for which God disgraced them.
> This point has been discussed above under the subheading, "Evils and
> transgressions of Bani Israel�" The worst transgression of the Jews of
> our time is their crass materialism, that is, worship of the wealth
> and power. Besides, Jews made Abraham's faith exclusively for
> themselves making other people unworthy to invite and convert. In
> fact, Jews considered themselves to be a superior race worthy of many
> of God's special privileges denied to other nations. There is a lot of
> racism in the teachings of the Mishna and Talmud rendering people
> other than the Jews to the level of animals and insects to be
> trampled, used and killed at will. Abraham was neither a racist nor an
> idolater.
>
> Christians do not even have a claim over the covenant of Abraham;
> therefore, they are not included in this discussion.
>
> The meaning of making Abraham's name great
>
> When God told Abraham that He will make his name great, what did God
> mean? It may mean that his true descendants will (a) promote his faith
> worldwide; (b) it may mean that they will be the largest single faith
> in the world; (c) it may mean that Abraham's faith will be the only
> faith remaining in the world and all other faiths and -isms will die
> out; (d) it may mean that Abraham's descendants will create a great
> civilization in the world; (e) it may mean that his true followers
> will fill the world with economic justice and equality of mankind
> removing all kind of prejudices and discrimination based on race, skin
> color, gender, origin of birth, social and economic status; (f) it may
> mean that the children of Abraham will multiply exceedingly, spread
> and rule the largest geographical area of the world, if not the whole
> earth.
>
> In Gen 12:2 God promised Abraham to make him a great nation and in Gen
> 17:20 God also made a similar promise to Ishmael to make him a great
> nation. This shows that Gods promise of making Abraham a great nation
> was to be realized through the descendants of Ishmael but only the
> righteous ones, which is the same promise appeared in the Qur'an 2:124
> quoted in the beginning of this article. Bani Israel themselves
> canceled out any covenant made to the children of Isaac and Jacob
> through their refusal to obey God's prophets, a few examples have
> already been given above. Let us look at the possibilities of the
> meaning of a "great nation".
>
> (a) Promoting the faith of Abraham. Bani Israel became a racist people
> and refused to promote the faith of Abraham to mankind whereas Muslims
> did promote his faith worldwide providing the opportunity of accepting
> the faith of Abraham. Consequently, people of every nation, every race
> and color have come to Islam making it the most successfully
> proclaimed pluralistic faith in the world. Muslims today constitute
> 20-25% of the world (1.2 to 1.5 billion) spread over the entire globe
> and increasing. Jews are fewer than 15 million (and declining), that
> is 0.25% of the world population or 1% of the Muslim population.
> Naturally, Muslims make a much greater nation than the Jews.
>
> (b) The largest homogenous single faith in the world. It is believed
> that Christians are the largest single faith in the world but this
> claim could easily be refuted. Christians are divided into three major
> sects, Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants. Each of the three claims
> that they are the only true Christians and the others are
> non-Christians or pagans. If we study these religions, we find that
> each one is a separate religion; therefore, Christianity is not a
> homogenous single faith; only Islam is. Some may argue that there are
> Shi'as and Sunnis but this objection is not true. Those who claim one
> or the other is out of Islam are a negligible minority; the
> fundamentals of Shi'ah and Sunni are one and the same. The Jews are
> only fifteen million worldwide making them a negligible minority and a
> cult-like group. Such a small group is further divided into three
> groups of Orthodox, Conservative and Reformed; Orthodox and Reformed
> are so far apart that they cannot see each other eye to eye.
> Sunni-Shi'ah conflict is endemic and local and limited to a few
> people.
>
> (c) The only faith surviving in the world. We have not reached that
> stage yet. Judaism is shrinking whereas Christianity and Islam are
> still expanding. However, it is noteworthy that the rate of expansion
> of Islam is higher than Christianity. There are millions of Christians
> converting to Islam and the reverse flow is negligible.
>
> (d) Creating a great civilization. Jews have not created any unique
> civilization in the world with any lasting impact. Western
> civilization is a mix of Greek-Roman-Christian-Islamic civilization
> with some impact of the Jews, Chinese, Indian and other nations.
> Muslims created a new civilization that is unique in art,
> architecture, education, philosophy, sciences and embracing every
> other area of human activity. The impact of Islam may been seen
> worldwide. Muslims truly became a great nation fulfilling God's
> covenant to Abraham. In Islam Arabs played an overwhelming role in
> developing "Islamic" civilization. Major impact is seen from the
> periods of the Umayyad and the Abbasid era, both belonged to the
> Quraysh, direct descendants of Abraham through his son Ishmael.
>
> (e) Justice and equality for mankind. The Muslim civilization filled
> the earth with justice and equality the way no other system achieved
> it. Islam initiated the process of freeing slaves, gave property
> rights for women fourteen centuries ago, Qur'an declared women to be
> equal with men (Qur'an 16:97) and gave them dignity rather than making
> them an object of pleasure for men. Equality of people was declared in
> the Qur'an (49:13) and taking money from the rich and giving to the
> poor was mandatory (Qur'an 57:7, 59:7, 2:177, 2:215, 2:219, 2:261-273,
> 9:60). In law it was made mandatory to give true witness (Qur'an 4:135
> and 5:8). This was the Islamic justice that induced Spaniards to
> invite Muslims to conquer their country and establish a just rule.
> Similarly, earlier Syrians had preferred Muslims to their
> co-religionists, Byzantine, as rulers. This is an independent topic
> and a lot has been written by the Muslims. Jews on the other hand
> became known as loan sharks becoming rich at the expense of others,
> merciless exploitation of the gentiles as well as weak and poor of
> their own.
>
> (f) Rulers over the world. Muslims established the largest empire in
> the known world of the time and remained as the Super Power of the
> world until the rise of European colonialism. We are seeing the
> shrinkage of hold of the West over the world. We have not reached the
> end of time yet and time will show the truth of Islam and God's
> covenant will be fulfilled by the hands of Muslims. Jews never ruled
> an area larger than Palestine and remained an insignificant power even
> during the periods of David and Solomon, the mightiest Bani Israel
> power.
>
> Arabs and Muslims are not anti-Semite
>
> 1. Arabs who constitute nearly 20% of the Muslim world population are
> themselves Semitic people; naturally, they will not hate themselves.
> Then, how can other Muslims hate their own brethren? Muslims have no
> reason to hate Jews but rather hate the Zionist philosophy and
> activities.
>
> 2. Unlike Christians, Muslims do not blame the Jews for crucifying or
> killing Jesus because Qur'an absolved the Jews of this allegation. We
> read in the Qur'an, "they (Jews) did not slay him (Jesus Christ), and
> neither did they crucify him�" (4:157).
>
> 3. In the 13 centuries of history from 638 to the 1930s, there was no
> animosity between Muslims and the Jews. There have been rare and
> isolated occasions when a "Muslim" ruler persecuted Jews but he was an
> equal opportunity persecutor who persecuted Christians as well as
> Muslims except his own narrow sect. In fact, Muslims have been best
> friends of the Jews throughout Islamic history.
>
> 4. After 9-11 George Bush declared, "You are either with us or against
> us" meaning that if you are not an ally of the U.S., you become
> automatically an enemy. George Bush did not invent this idea but
> adopted the Zionist policy. The Zionists use the whip of anti-Semitism
> against anyone or any people or a government who are not 1000 percent
> supporters of the Zionism and Israel. There is no room for even-handed
> policy or neutrality in the Middle East. I think it was William
> Rogers, Secretary of State in 1970s who said that he would follow
> "even handed" policy in the Middle East; he was immediately haunted,
> labeled as an anti-Semite and was removed from the administration.
> There is a need to remove this blackmailing whip of "anti-Semite" from
> the hands of the Zionists and Israelis.
>
> Conclusion
>
> The claim of the Israelis, supported by the Christians of the West,
> that only the Jews are inheritors of God's covenant with Abraham has
> been examined above. The following is concluded:
>
> 1. In the light of the Bible and the Qur'an, God's covenant would not
> extend to the sinners and transgressors from Abraham's progeny.
>
> 2. In the light of the Bible, the Jews have proven themselves to be
> sinners and transgressors making them unworthy of inheriting God's
> covenant with Abraham.
>
> 3. God made an independent covenant with Ishmael to make him a great nation.
>
> 4. The political history of Palestine shows that Bani Israel ruled the
> land for less than 400 years whereas Ishmaelites ruled it for 1280
> years of the 3200 years of the existence of Bani Israel. Ishmaelites
> got control over Palestine within 28 years of the rise of Islam
> whereas Bani Israel got power over it more than five centuries after
> the birth of the tribes of Bani Israel. It shows that God's choice to
> pass on the inheritance of Abraham was for the people of his faith
> more than his descendants. Ishmaelites fit both criteria under Islam.
>
> 5. Making Abraham's name great or making him a great nation may have
> several meanings. Six criteria have been studied under this heading
> and found that only Arabs (Ishmaelites) and Muslims fulfill the
> criteria whereas the Bani Israel are left behind and lost in the dust.
>
> After this study, it will take courage and neutrality to accept the
> Muslim's claims to Palestine. The prejudiced West, due to its hatred
> of Islam and Arabs, appears to be incapable of accepting the obvious.
> It will take only God's miracle to convince the West about the Truth.
> Obviously, the claim of the Jews to Palestine supported by the western
> Christians is absurd and laughable.
>
> July 10, 2003
>
>
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#18223

From: InterfaithDialogueCenter@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tue Dec 1, 2009 3:32 pm
Subject: File - IFDC Message

InterfaithDialogueCenter@yahoogroups.com

Dear IFDC friends,

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Reply | Messages in this Topic (65)

#18224

From: Kunju Mon <monkunju@...>
Date: Tue Dec 1, 2009 3:38 pm
Subject: Re: [IFDC] Palestine: God's Covenant with Abraham

monkunju@...

The reason for posting the article was the response I received to my earlier posting 'the faithful Jews are our brothers'.� They could not even tolerate posting intended for better relations.� They are stiff necked and want to prove that they are the only chosen people and favorite of God and there is no need for Islam or Christianity.

God has no special relation to anyone based on�genealogy, but faith and obedience to God. A people who are evil have no right to any of God's favors. The zionism to me is terrorism. Palestinians are willing to accept this pain in their neck, but they are together with their supporters are in no way willing to even recognize the basic human rights to palestinians and there is no hope in the near future it is going to happen.

�

2009/12/1 new george <newgeorge_@...>

�

My worry here is the reason why you are saying these things. It is quite clear to anyone who reads the bible that the Jews are judged and found wanting over and over�again in the Old Testament. This,�to me, is not an occasion�for self-righteous gloating - whether it be by Christian or Moslem - and anyone who does so has�clearly misunderstood the whole point. It is not the�Jews that God is judging so much as all of us. 'All like sheep have gone astray'.
The very fact that the Jews themselves have allowed such extreme self-criticism in their sacred texts seems to me more a sign of their real calling as the first of God's people, and it is surely important for us to note that, were it not for the�Jewish people who did remain faithful (and they are many) that there would be neither Christian nor Moslem faith at all. Abraham is indeed our father in faith and we are called (both Moslem and�Christian) to honour our father and mother above all are we not?
� To even consider questioning the right of the�Jewish people to a�land of their own seems to�me�- after all that has happened - totally unacceptable.
The problem is not now so much that the Jews need a homeland (we know this) but it is more a� question of how to let them feel safe enough in that homeland (after all that has happened) for them to put aside their�defensive and warlike stance re both Palestinian and other neighbours. Something which posts like the one below can scarcely help us to achieve.
Jesus tells us to look to the beam in our own eye before we try to remove the splinter in someone else's.
ng
��
> To: interfaithdialoguecenter@yahoogroups.com; bibleandquran@yahoogroups.com
> From: monkunju@...
> Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 14:46:03 +0300
> Subject: [IFDC] Palestine: God's Covenant with Abraham

>
> Palestine: God's Covenant with Abraham
>
> One of the arguments given for the occupation of Palestine by the
> European Jews and supported by Christians is that God promised Abraham
> that his progeny would be given Palestine; therefore, Jews are the
> only descendants of Abraham and inheritors of the land. This promise
> is in the Jewish Tanakh (Christian Old Testament) and it is,
> therefore, incumbent upon the Christians to help the Jews in attaining
> the goal of the Jews.
>
> by M. Amir Ali, Ph.D.
>
> Let us examine the claim that God promised Palestine to the Jews in
> the light of the Bible and the Qur'an.
>
> (i) We read in the Bible: "Now the Lord said to Abram, 'Go from your
> country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I
> will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless
> you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.'" Gen.
> 12:1-2. "Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, 'To your
> descendants I will give this land.'" Gen. 12:7 (RSV)
>
> (ii) We read in the Qur'an: "Recall when Abraham's Lord tested him in
> certain matters and when he successfully stood the test He (God) said:
> 'Indeed I am going to appoint you a leader of humankind.' When Abraham
> asked: 'And is this covenant also for my descendants?' the Lord
> responded: 'My covenant does not embrace the evil doing
> transgressors.'" 2:124
>
> Muhammad Asad (his original name was Leopold Weiss, Austrian-Polish by
> nationality), a convert to Islam from Judaism, wrote in his Message of
> the Quran, Translation and Commentary, commenting on this verse: "This
> passage, read in conjunction with the two preceding verses, refutes
> the contention of the children of Israel (modern day Jews) that by
> virtue of their descent from Abraham, whom God made 'a leader of men',
> they are 'God's chosen people'. The Qur'an makes it clear that the
> exalted status of Abraham was not something that would automatically
> confer a comparable status on his physical descendants, and certainly
> not on the sinners among them."
>
> Does Bani Israel (Jews) qualify to inherit the covenant of God with Abraham?
>
> When one reads the Bible he/she finds that this is the most
> anti-Semite (anti-Jew) book in the world. The following is in no way
> an exhaustive study of the Bible for finding God's condemnation of the
> Jews but an introduction to the study of the topic. I hope that
> someone will undertake a thorough study of the Bible and history of
> the Jews to present truth to the world. My very scanty and brief study
> of the topic is presented below.
>
> Evils and transgressions of Bani Israel and God's anger
>
> The Bible agrees with the Qur'an, commented by Muhammad Asad.
>
> 1. The first transgression of Bani Israel (children of Jacob or
> Ya'qoob) was committed by the ten sons of Jacob against his eleventh
> son, Joseph or Yusuf. Due to their jealousy the ten half-brothers cast
> him into a dry pit so that he may die there or they may sell him in
> the hands of an Ishmaelite caravan (Gen 37:23-24).
>
> 2. Joseph's father, eleven brothers and their families entered Egypt
> and joined the aristocratic class of the people. Apparently, it was
> because of Bani Israel's transgressions that God caused them to be
> sold into the slavery of the Egyptians where they remained for
> centuries until God sent Moses to free them.
>
> 3. Moses was sent by God to free the Bani Israel from the Egyptians.
> He brought them to Sinai when God gave him commandments and the law
> but they disobeyed Moses (Ex 16:19-20, 20:11-26, chapters 21-23 and
> Deut 31:27).
>
> 4. When God called Moses to the mountain for giving him the law, Bani
> Israel fell into the worship a golden calf (Ex chapter 32) and God
> called them "stiff-necked" (Ex 33:3-4). Even in our time we find Jews
> are worshippers of the golden calf in the form of the worship of money
> and wealth (crass materialism) rather than righteousness.
>
> 5. Moses conveyed the order of God to them to enter and take over
> Canaan (Ex 34:11-16) but Bani Israel refused to obey him (Deut
> 9:21-24, Num 11:1-6, Num 14:1-4) and Moses complained to God (Num
> 11:12-15). Naturally, God's anger fell upon Bani Israel (Num 12:9-10,
> Num 14:10-34).
>
> 6. God sent commands against nakedness, adultery and homosexuality but
> Bani Israel disobeyed (Lev 18:6-23) and they continued to disobey even
> in our time in the name of freedom and sex between consenting adults.
>
> 7. God is just and He punishes all those tribes and towns who disobey
> His commands. We find that God punished Damascus (Amos 1:9-10), Edom
> (Amos 1:11-12), Ammonites (Amos 1:13-14) and Moab (Amos 2:1-3). God
> announced His punishment for Judah and Israel (Amos 2:4-8). God
> mentions His favor to Judah and Israel of taking them out of Egypt and
> taking them out of the desert after forty years of punishment (Amos
> 2:10-11) yet they disobeyed Him again and again.
>
> 8. Another crime mentioned was when the prophets warned the Bani
> Israel and prophesied God's punishment, they warned the prophets and
> commanded them not to mention prophecies of doom: they threatened them
> (Amos 2:12). Finally God's decision came that Bani Israel would be
> destroyed but not completely (Amos 9:9-10). In Amos 9:11-15 we find
> God's promise to Bani Israel to raise them again, which was fulfilled
> in the 6th century BCE during the time of Cyrus. No one can present
> establishment of Israel as fulfilling of God's promise because the
> modern state is filled with racism, injustice and committing all the
> sins mentioned in the Bible for which these people were punished for
> three millennia.
>
> 9. We read: "And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight
> of the Lord, forgetting the Lord their God, and serving the Ba'als and
> the Ash'roth. Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against
> Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cu'shan-rishath'im king of
> Mesopota'mia; and the people of Israel served Cu'shan-rishath'im eight
> years" (Judges 3:7-8).
>
> 10. We find that Israel again did evil against the Lord and this time
> He sold them into the slavery of Eglon the king of Moab for eighteen
> years (Judges 3:12-14).
>
> 11. The people of Israel again did evil against the Lord and this time
> He sold them into the slavery of Jabin king of Canaan, who oppressed
> them cruelly for twenty years (Judges 4:1-3).
>
> 12. We find that the people of Israel did evil again and this time the
> Lord sold them into the slavery of Mid'ian (Ishmaelites) for seven
> years (Judges 6:1-2).
>
> 13. The next time Israel did evil the Lord sold them into the slavery
> of Philistines and Ammonites for eighteen years (Judges 10:7-9).
>
> 14. The people of Israel did again what the Lord forbade them from
> doing, the Lord again gave them into the hands of Philistines for
> forty years (Judges 13:1).
>
> 15. God brought destruction upon Bani Israel by the hands of Chaldeans
> and Prophet Habakkuk cried to the Lord (Hab 1:1-17). The God of Bani
> Israel declared Himself to be a jealous God and wrathful (Nahum 1:2,
> 2:13 and 3:5).
>
> 16. When Bani Israel performed the rituals, they were free of
> sincerity and they despised God-given food (Malachi 1:14, 2:2-3), God
> cursed them (Malachi 2:7-9) and declared that their offerings were not
> acceptable (Malachi 2:13 and chapter 4).
>
> The fate of Bani Israel is sealed
>
> Finally, God's decision was announced in the Bible:
>
> "Behold, I will make you small among the nations, you will be utterly despised.
>
> The pride of your heart has deceived �" (Obadiah verses 2-4). We find
> that in our time, Jews are only fifteen million out of the world
> population of over six billion. Also Jews are despised and no gentile
> likes to be called a Jew or Jew-like because he will take it as an
> insult.
>
> "The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame,
> and the house of Esau stubble; they shall burn them and consume them
> and there shall be no survivor to the house of Esau; for the Lord has
> spoken." (Obadiah verse 118)
>
> Jesus said, "Therefore, I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken
> away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it." (Matt
> 11:43). Evidently, Muslims fulfilled the prophecy of Jesus Christ.
>
> The Qur'an agrees with the Bible and has very stern warning to Bani
> Israel as we read:
>
> "And lo! We (God) accepted your solemn pledge that you would not shed
> one another's blood, and would not drive one another from your
> homeland � whereupon you acknowledged it; and thereto you bear witness
> [even now]. And yet, it is you who slay one another and drive some of
> your own people from their homelands, aiding one another against them
> in sin and hatred; but if they come to you as captives, you ransom
> them � although the very [act of] driving them away has been made
> unlawful to you.
>
> Do you, then, believe in some parts of the divine book and deny the
> truth of other parts [by ignoring some laws and commandments]? What,
> then, could be the reward of those among you who do such things except
> utter disgrace in the life of this world and, on the Day of
> Resurrection, commitment to most grievous punishment? For God is not
> unmindful of what you do. (The Qur'an 2:84-85)
>
> This happened to Bani Israel after God delivered them after centuries
> of slavery under the Egyptians. It seems that the Bani Israel was
> stubbornly bent upon disobeying the Lord except for brief periods of
> good conduct. There had to be a time when God would turn away from
> them and never to deliver them from the slavery and torment under the
> gentile nations. In America today some states have laws of "three
> strikes, you are out" meaning that after three convictions of felonies
> there is mandatory life imprisonment. Why should God not pass such a
> judgment against Bani Israel after numerous crimes worse than felonies
> over a period of 1800 years? It is obvious that the God of Israel has
> removed them from inheriting the covenant of Abraham. If Jews want to
> live in Palestine, their only choice is to live there in peace as a
> respected minority as they have lived for almost thirteen centuries in
> the Muslim world.
>
> God's covenant with Ishmael
>
> We find God's covenant with Ishmael:
>
> "As for Ish'mael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and make
> him fruitful and multiply exceedingly; he shall be the father of
> twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation" (Gen 17:20)
>
> In Gen 17:20 God treats Ishmael even better than Isaac because Isaac
> did not have twelve princes that were given to Ishmael right away. The
> twelve tribe of Bani Israel came from Jacob. I will discuss the point
> of making a great nation further down this article.
>
> Historical evidence that Bani Israel were excluded from God's covenant
> with Abraham
>
> Bani Israel Rule over Palestine. The Prophet Abraham perhaps lived
> around the 18th century BCE (before Christian era). The exodus under
> the leadership of Moses took place around 1290 BCE. Canaan (later to
> be known as Palestine) was conquered under Joshua around 1250 BCE. God
> appointed Saul (Talut) as the king of Bani Israel around 1020 BCE who
> ruled for about twenty years. David succeeded Talut and ruled for 39
> years until 961 BCE. Solomon succeeded his father and ruled for 36
> years until 925 BCE. Shortly afterwards the Assyrians defeated Israel
> and occupied a part of the kingdom. The Babylonian king Nebuchednezar
> occupied Judah, independent kingdom in 586 BCE. He destroyed the
> Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, and took thousand of Bani Israel in
> chains as captives to Babylon. However, in 520 BCE King Cyrus allowed
> Bani Israel to return to Palestine and he sponsored rebuilding of the
> Temple, which was completed in 515 BCE. Israel was never to become an
> independent state until 161 BCE. Around 330 BCE Israel came under the
> rule of the Greek kings. From 161 to 104 BCE for 57 years Maccabees,
> an Israeli freedom movement, made Israel a free and independent state.
> Maccabees were defeated by the Romans and entire Palestine and Syria
> came under their rule. In 70 CE (Christian era) Titus exiled Jews from
> Jerusalem and in 135 CE all Jews were either murdered or exiled from
> Palestine by the order of the Roman emperor with the decree never to
> enter Palestine again. Under the Roman rule and later in the Byzantine
> rule, Jews were barred from entering Palestine. Jews were allowed to
> enter Jerusalem again by the second caliph of Islam, Umar ibn
> al-Khattab in 638 CE. They began to trickle into Palestine and lived
> happily as a respected and protected minority under the Muslims until
> 1930s when they began terrorism to drive the Palestinians out of their
> homes and properties rendering almost 800,000 of them as refugees.
> Finally, the state of Israel was established by Arab and Muslim hating
> western powers under the cover of a U.N. resolution in 1948. From the
> beginning of time until 1948 Bani Israel were able to rule Palestine
> for a total of only about 382 years out of 32 centuries of Bani Israel
> (Jewish) existence, even that in broken periods. Does it look like God
> gave Palestine to the Bani Israel or made them a great people? I don't
> think so. On the contrary the God of Bani Israel made them a most
> despised people and kept them alive as a lesson to mankind. This is
> the fate of Jews collectively but among them there are numerous good,
> decent, justice and peace loving people. Muslims do not hold anything
> against the Jews; in fact, Muslims have been their best friends and
> protectors from 638 until the 1930s. However, Muslims are against the
> Zionist movement that exiled the natives of Palestine from their
> ancestral home, robbed them of their properties, killed them by the
> hundreds of thousands; murder and plunder of Palestinians by the hands
> of Jews using American money and armaments continues to date. This is
> the way the Jews have rewarded Muslims for their hospitality, good
> treatment with respect and allowing the return of the Jews to
> Palestine.
>
> Muslim Rule over Palestine. In 638 CE Umar ibn Al-Khattab, the second
> Caliph of Islam, conquered Jerusalem without a war and until 1918
> Palestine remained under Muslim rule except for a period of 88 years
> (1099 to 1187 CE) of the rule of the Crusaders. From 1918 to 1948
> Palestine came under the rule of the British and then it was divided
> between Israel and the Palestinians. Only after the 1967 war,
> initiated by Israel, did Jerusalem came under the rule of the
> Israelis. It is worth noting that the Muslim rule over Palestine for
> thirteen centuries was due to the power of Muslims themselves not by a
> proxy power; whereas, the rule of Israelis in Israel since 1948 is
> maintained not by the power of the Israelis but by the power of the
> Americans. If Americans withdraw their support, Israel may fall as a
> ripe fig into the hands of Muslims in a matter of days.
>
> The historical evidence shows that the Jews were excluded from the
> covenant of God to Abraham because He did not allow them to have a
> hold over Palestine but for brief periods, whereas God gave the power
> to the Muslims to rule for the longest period of time in the history
> of the land. Evidently God's covenant to Abraham was meant to be for
> the Arabs, the children of Ishmael.
>
> The meaning of heir
>
> In the line of the prophet Abraham, heir may have one or both of two
> meanings. Those who are (1) in the line of genealogy of Abraham, and
> (2) in the line of the faith of Abraham and carriers of his mission.
> Both, the Jews and the Arabs claim to be the heirs of Abraham through
> genealogy. Neither of these two nations' claim holds true for 100% of
> the people in our time. Arab by definition is anyone who speaks Arabic
> language that may include all non-Arabs who moved to the Middle East
> and adopted Arabic language and culture. Prophet Muhammad and his
> contemporary Arabs of the Arabian peninsula belonged to Abraham as
> they were descendants of Ishmael. Bani Israel due to their jealousy
> tried to remove Arabs from the genealogy by claiming that Hager, the
> mother of Ishmael, was a slave girl but not truly a wife of Abraham.
> This contradicts the Bible itself. The Bible declares, "So, after
> Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, Sar'ai, Abram's wife,
> took Hager the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to Abram her husband
> as a wife" (Gen 16:3). Note that the adjective wife has been used
> twice, once associated with Sar'ai and second time associated with
> Hager indicating no superiority of one wife over the other. This
> shows, according to the Bible, the original Arabs were equally
> descendants of Abraham as were the original Bani Israel. Christian and
> Jewish apologetics may have some irrational rationalization to exclude
> children of Ishmael from God's covenant to Abraham. Some Muslims have
> found historical evidence to show that Hager was an Egyptian princess
> not a maid of Sar'ai; it is evident from Gen 17:20 where God called 12
> sons of Ishmael as 12 princes perhaps because their mother was a
> princess. Among the modern Jews there are three groups by genealogy,
> (a) Saphardic Jews, (b) Ashkenazi Jews, and (c) miscellaneous other
> claimants to Judaism. Historically, only Saphardic Jews appear to
> belong to Abraham through genealogy. According to Arthur Koestler (see
> his book The Thirteenth Tribe) Saphardic Jews make up fewer than ten
> percent of the world Jewish population. Something like 85% of the
> world Jewry are Ashkenazi Jews, which are Caucasian converts as they
> have light color hair, fairer skin and light color eyes like all other
> gentile Europeans. The rest of the Jews are either Negroid indicating
> no Semitic features or belong to other races and nations.
>
> The other type of heir is by faith. The true monotheists in the faith
> of Abraham are Muslims and deserve to be called the inheritors of
> God's covenant with Abraham. Muslims propagated the faith of Abraham,
> true monotheism (tawhid), all over the world.
>
> The Jews have corrupted the monotheism of Abraham and in the past they
> became pagans and idolaters frequently for which God disgraced them.
> This point has been discussed above under the subheading, "Evils and
> transgressions of Bani Israel�" The worst transgression of the Jews of
> our time is their crass materialism, that is, worship of the wealth
> and power. Besides, Jews made Abraham's faith exclusively for
> themselves making other people unworthy to invite and convert. In
> fact, Jews considered themselves to be a superior race worthy of many
> of God's special privileges denied to other nations. There is a lot of
> racism in the teachings of the Mishna and Talmud rendering people
> other than the Jews to the level of animals and insects to be
> trampled, used and killed at will. Abraham was neither a racist nor an
> idolater.
>
> Christians do not even have a claim over the covenant of Abraham;
> therefore, they are not included in this discussion.
>
> The meaning of making Abraham's name great
>
> When God told Abraham that He will make his name great, what did God
> mean? It may mean that his true descendants will (a) promote his faith
> worldwide; (b) it may mean that they will be the largest single faith
> in the world; (c) it may mean that Abraham's faith will be the only
> faith remaining in the world and all other faiths and -isms will die
> out; (d) it may mean that Abraham's descendants will create a great
> civilization in the world; (e) it may mean that his true followers
> will fill the world with economic justice and equality of mankind
> removing all kind of prejudices and discrimination based on race, skin
> color, gender, origin of birth, social and economic status; (f) it may
> mean that the children of Abraham will multiply exceedingly, spread
> and rule the largest geographical area of the world, if not the whole
> earth.
>
> In Gen 12:2 God promised Abraham to make him a great nation and in Gen
> 17:20 God also made a similar promise to Ishmael to make him a great
> nation. This shows that Gods promise of making Abraham a great nation
> was to be realized through the descendants of Ishmael but only the
> righteous ones, which is the same promise appeared in the Qur'an 2:124
> quoted in the beginning of this article. Bani Israel themselves
> canceled out any covenant made to the children of Isaac and Jacob
> through their refusal to obey God's prophets, a few examples have
> already been given above. Let us look at the possibilities of the
> meaning of a "great nation".
>
> (a) Promoting the faith of Abraham. Bani Israel became a racist people
> and refused to promote the faith of Abraham to mankind whereas Muslims
> did promote his faith worldwide providing the opportunity of accepting
> the faith of Abraham. Consequently, people of every nation, every race
> and color have come to Islam making it the most successfully
> proclaimed pluralistic faith in the world. Muslims today constitute
> 20-25% of the world (1.2 to 1.5 billion) spread over the entire globe
> and increasing. Jews are fewer than 15 million (and declining), that
> is 0.25% of the world population or 1% of the Muslim population.
> Naturally, Muslims make a much greater nation than the Jews.
>
> (b) The largest homogenous single faith in the world. It is believed
> that Christians are the largest single faith in the world but this
> claim could easily be refuted. Christians are divided into three major
> sects, Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants. Each of the three claims
> that they are the only true Christians and the others are
> non-Christians or pagans. If we study these religions, we find that
> each one is a separate religion; therefore, Christianity is not a
> homogenous single faith; only Islam is. Some may argue that there are
> Shi'as and Sunnis but this objection is not true. Those who claim one
> or the other is out of Islam are a negligible minority; the
> fundamentals of Shi'ah and Sunni are one and the same. The Jews are
> only fifteen million worldwide making them a negligible minority and a
> cult-like group. Such a small group is further divided into three
> groups of Orthodox, Conservative and Reformed; Orthodox and Reformed
> are so far apart that they cannot see each other eye to eye.
> Sunni-Shi'ah conflict is endemic and local and limited to a few
> people.
>
> (c) The only faith surviving in the world. We have not reached that
> stage yet. Judaism is shrinking whereas Christianity and Islam are
> still expanding. However, it is noteworthy that the rate of expansion
> of Islam is higher than Christianity. There are millions of Christians
> converting to Islam and the reverse flow is negligible.
>
> (d) Creating a great civilization. Jews have not created any unique
> civilization in the world with any lasting impact. Western
> civilization is a mix of Greek-Roman-Christian-Islamic civilization
> with some impact of the Jews, Chinese, Indian and other nations.
> Muslims created a new civilization that is unique in art,
> architecture, education, philosophy, sciences and embracing every
> other area of human activity. The impact of Islam may been seen
> worldwide. Muslims truly became a great nation fulfilling God's
> covenant to Abraham. In Islam Arabs played an overwhelming role in
> developing "Islamic" civilization. Major impact is seen from the
> periods of the Umayyad and the Abbasid era, both belonged to the
> Quraysh, direct descendants of Abraham through his son Ishmael.
>
> (e) Justice and equality for mankind. The Muslim civilization filled
> the earth with justice and equality the way no other system achieved
> it. Islam initiated the process of freeing slaves, gave property
> rights for women fourteen centuries ago, Qur'an declared women to be
> equal with men (Qur'an 16:97) and gave them dignity rather than making
> them an object of pleasure for men. Equality of people was declared in
> the Qur'an (49:13) and taking money from the rich and giving to the
> poor was mandatory (Qur'an 57:7, 59:7, 2:177, 2:215, 2:219, 2:261-273,
> 9:60). In law it was made mandatory to give true witness (Qur'an 4:135
> and 5:8). This was the Islamic justice that induced Spaniards to
> invite Muslims to conquer their country and establish a just rule.
> Similarly, earlier Syrians had preferred Muslims to their
> co-religionists, Byzantine, as rulers. This is an independent topic
> and a lot has been written by the Muslims. Jews on the other hand
> became known as loan sharks becoming rich at the expense of others,
> merciless exploitation of the gentiles as well as weak and poor of
> their own.
>
> (f) Rulers over the world. Muslims established the largest empire in
> the known world of the time and remained as the Super Power of the
> world until the rise of European colonialism. We are seeing the
> shrinkage of hold of the West over the world. We have not reached the
> end of time yet and time will show the truth of Islam and God's
> covenant will be fulfilled by the hands of Muslims. Jews never ruled
> an area larger than Palestine and remained an insignificant power even
> during the periods of David and Solomon, the mightiest Bani Israel
> power.
>
> Arabs and Muslims are not anti-Semite
>
> 1. Arabs who constitute nearly 20% of the Muslim world population are
> themselves Semitic people; naturally, they will not hate themselves.
> Then, how can other Muslims hate their own brethren? Muslims have no
> reason to hate Jews but rather hate the Zionist philosophy and
> activities.
>
> 2. Unlike Christians, Muslims do not blame the Jews for crucifying or
> killing Jesus because Qur'an absolved the Jews of this allegation. We
> read in the Qur'an, "they (Jews) did not slay him (Jesus Christ), and
> neither did they crucify him�" (4:157).
>
> 3. In the 13 centuries of history from 638 to the 1930s, there was no
> animosity between Muslims and the Jews. There have been rare and
> isolated occasions when a "Muslim" ruler persecuted Jews but he was an
> equal opportunity persecutor who persecuted Christians as well as
> Muslims except his own narrow sect. In fact, Muslims have been best
> friends of the Jews throughout Islamic history.
>
> 4. After 9-11 George Bush declared, "You are either with us or against
> us" meaning that if you are not an ally of the U.S., you become
> automatically an enemy. George Bush did not invent this idea but
> adopted the Zionist policy. The Zionists use the whip of anti-Semitism
> against anyone or any people or a government who are not 1000 percent
> supporters of the Zionism and Israel. There is no room for even-handed
> policy or neutrality in the Middle East. I think it was William
> Rogers, Secretary of State in 1970s who said that he would follow
> "even handed" policy in the Middle East; he was immediately haunted,
> labeled as an anti-Semite and was removed from the administration.
> There is a need to remove this blackmailing whip of "anti-Semite" from
> the hands of the Zionists and Israelis.
>
> Conclusion
>
> The claim of the Israelis, supported by the Christians of the West,
> that only the Jews are inheritors of God's covenant with Abraham has
> been examined above. The following is concluded:
>
> 1. In the light of the Bible and the Qur'an, God's covenant would not
> extend to the sinners and transgressors from Abraham's progeny.
>
> 2. In the light of the Bible, the Jews have proven themselves to be
> sinners and transgressors making them unworthy of inheriting God's
> covenant with Abraham.
>
> 3. God made an independent covenant with Ishmael to make him a great nation.
>
> 4. The political history of Palestine shows that Bani Israel ruled the
> land for less than 400 years whereas Ishmaelites ruled it for 1280
> years of the 3200 years of the existence of Bani Israel. Ishmaelites
> got control over Palestine within 28 years of the rise of Islam
> whereas Bani Israel got power over it more than five centuries after
> the birth of the tribes of Bani Israel. It shows that God's choice to
> pass on the inheritance of Abraham was for the people of his faith
> more than his descendants. Ishmaelites fit both criteria under Islam.
>
> 5. Making Abraham's name great or making him a great nation may have
> several meanings. Six criteria have been studied under this heading
> and found that only Arabs (Ishmaelites) and Muslims fulfill the
> criteria whereas the Bani Israel are left behind and lost in the dust.
>
> After this study, it will take courage and neutrality to accept the
> Muslim's claims to Palestine. The prejudiced West, due to its hatred
> of Islam and Arabs, appears to be incapable of accepting the obvious.
> It will take only God's miracle to convince the West about the Truth.
> Obviously, the claim of the Jews to Palestine supported by the western
> Christians is absurd and laughable.
>
> July 10, 2003
>
>
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#18225

From: new george <newgeorge_@...>
Date: Tue Dec 1, 2009 4:06 pm
Subject: RE: [IFDC] Palestine: God's Covenant with Abraham

To say "A people who are evil " is to talk in the same way as Hitler. It is bigotry and cannot be accepted. This kind of talk leads only to violence.
ng

To: InterfaithDialogueCenter@yahoogroups.com
From: monkunju@...
Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 18:38:45 +0300
Subject: Re: [IFDC] Palestine: God's Covenant with Abraham

The reason for posting the article was the response I received to my earlier posting 'the faithful Jews are our brothers'. They could not even tolerate posting intended for better relations. They are stiff necked and want to prove that they are the only chosen people and favorite of God and there is no need for Islam or Christianity.

God has no special relation to anyone based on genealogy, but faith and obedience to God. A people who are evil have no right to any of God's favors. The zionism to me is terrorism. Palestinians are willing to accept this pain in their neck, but they are together with their supporters are in no way willing to even recognize the basic human rights to palestinians and there is no hope in the near future it is going to happen.

2009/12/1 new george <newgeorge_@hotmail.com>

My worry here is the reason why you are saying these things. It is quite clear to anyone who reads the bible that the Jews are judged and found wanting over and over again in the Old Testament. This, to me, is not an occasion for self-righteous gloating - whether it be by Christian or Moslem - and anyone who does so has clearly misunderstood the whole point. It is not the Jews that God is judging so much as all of us. 'All like sheep have gone astray'.
The very fact that the Jews themselves have allowed such extreme self-criticism in their sacred texts seems to me more a sign of their real calling as the first of God's people, and it is surely important for us to note that, were it not for the Jewish people who did remain faithful (and they are many) that there would be neither Christian nor Moslem faith at all. Abraham is indeed our father in faith and we are called (both Moslem and Christian) to honour our father and mother above all are we not?
To even consider questioning the right of the Jewish people to a land of their own seems to me - after all that has happened - totally unacceptable.
The problem is not now so much that the Jews need a homeland (we know this) but it is more a question of how to let them feel safe enough in that homeland (after all that has happened) for them to put aside their defensive and warlike stance re both Palestinian and other neighbours. Something which posts like the one below can scarcely help us to achieve.
Jesus tells us to look to the beam in our own eye before we try to remove the splinter in someone else's.
ng

> To: interfaithdialoguecenter@yahoogroups.com; bibleandquran@yahoogroups.com
> From: monkunju@gmail.com
> Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 14:46:03 +0300
> Subject: [IFDC] Palestine: God's Covenant with Abraham

>
> Palestine: God's Covenant with Abraham
>
> One of the arguments given for the occupation of Palestine by the
> European Jews and supported by Christians is that God promised Abraham
> that his progeny would be given Palestine; therefore, Jews are the
> only descendants of Abraham and inheritors of the land. This promise
> is in the Jewish Tanakh (Christian Old Testament) and it is,
> therefore, incumbent upon the Christians to help the Jews in attaining
> the goal of the Jews.
>
> by M. Amir Ali, Ph.D.
>
> Let us examine the claim that God promised Palestine to the Jews in
> the light of the Bible and the Qur'an.
>
> (i) We read in the Bible: "Now the Lord said to Abram, 'Go from your
> country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I
> will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless
> you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.'" Gen.
> 12:1-2. "Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, 'To your
> descendants I will give this land.'" Gen. 12:7 (RSV)
>
> (ii) We read in the Qur'an: "Recall when Abraham's Lord tested him in
> certain matters and when he successfully stood the test He (God) said:
> 'Indeed I am going to appoint you a leader of humankind.' When Abraham
> asked: 'And is this covenant also for my descendants?' the Lord
> responded: 'My covenant does not embrace the evil doing
> transgressors.'" 2:124
>
> Muhammad Asad (his original name was Leopold Weiss, Austrian-Polish by
> nationality), a convert to Islam from Judaism, wrote in his Message of
> the Quran, Translation and Commentary, commenting on this verse: "This
> passage, read in conjunction with the two preceding verses, refutes
> the contention of the children of Israel (modern day Jews) that by
> virtue of their descent from Abraham, whom God made 'a leader of men',
> they are 'God's chosen people'. The Qur'an makes it clear that the
> exalted status of Abraham was not something that would automatically
> confer a comparable status on his physical descendants, and certainly
> not on the sinners among them."
>
> Does Bani Israel (Jews) qualify to inherit the covenant of God with Abraham?
>
> When one reads the Bible he/she finds that this is the most
> anti-Semite (anti-Jew) book in the world. The following is in no way
> an exhaustive study of the Bible for finding God's condemnation of the
> Jews but an introduction to the study of the topic. I hope that
> someone will undertake a thorough study of the Bible and history of
> the Jews to present truth to the world. My very scanty and brief study
> of the topic is presented below.
>
> Evils and transgressions of Bani Israel and God's anger
>
> The Bible agrees with the Qur'an, commented by Muhammad Asad.
>
> 1. The first transgression of Bani Israel (children of Jacob or
> Ya'qoob) was committed by the ten sons of Jacob against his eleventh
> son, Joseph or Yusuf. Due to their jealousy the ten half-brothers cast
> him into a dry pit so that he may die there or they may sell him in
> the hands of an Ishmaelite caravan (Gen 37:23-24).
>
> 2. Joseph's father, eleven brothers and their families entered Egypt
> and joined the aristocratic class of the people. Apparently, it was
> because of Bani Israel's transgressions that God caused them to be
> sold into the slavery of the Egyptians where they remained for
> centuries until God sent Moses to free them.
>
> 3. Moses was sent by God to free the Bani Israel from the Egyptians.
> He brought them to Sinai when God gave him commandments and the law
> but they disobeyed Moses (Ex 16:19-20, 20:11-26, chapters 21-23 and
> Deut 31:27).
>
> 4. When God called Moses to the mountain for giving him the law, Bani
> Israel fell into the worship a golden calf (Ex chapter 32) and God
> called them "stiff-necked" (Ex 33:3-4). Even in our time we find Jews
> are worshippers of the golden calf in the form of the worship of money
> and wealth (crass materialism) rather than righteousness.
>
> 5. Moses conveyed the order of God to them to enter and take over
> Canaan (Ex 34:11-16) but Bani Israel refused to obey him (Deut
> 9:21-24, Num 11:1-6, Num 14:1-4) and Moses complained to God (Num
> 11:12-15). Naturally, God's anger fell upon Bani Israel (Num 12:9-10,
> Num 14:10-34).
>
> 6. God sent commands against nakedness, adultery and homosexuality but
> Bani Israel disobeyed (Lev 18:6-23) and they continued to disobey even
> in our time in the name of freedom and sex between consenting adults.
>
> 7. God is just and He punishes all those tribes and towns who disobey
> His commands. We find that God punished Damascus (Amos 1:9-10), Edom
> (Amos 1:11-12), Ammonites (Amos 1:13-14) and Moab (Amos 2:1-3). God
> announced His punishment for Judah and Israel (Amos 2:4-8). God
> mentions His favor to Judah and Israel of taking them out of Egypt and
> taking them out of the desert after forty years of punishment (Amos
> 2:10-11) yet they disobeyed Him again and again.
>
> 8. Another crime mentioned was when the prophets warned the Bani
> Israel and prophesied God's punishment, they warned the prophets and
> commanded them not to mention prophecies of doom: they threatened them
> (Amos 2:12). Finally God's decision came that Bani Israel would be
> destroyed but not completely (Amos 9:9-10). In Amos 9:11-15 we find
> God's promise to Bani Israel to raise them again, which was fulfilled
> in the 6th century BCE during the time of Cyrus. No one can present
> establishment of Israel as fulfilling of God's promise because the
> modern state is filled with racism, injustice and committing all the
> sins mentioned in the Bible for which these people were punished for
> three millennia.
>
> 9. We read: "And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight
> of the Lord, forgetting the Lord their God, and serving the Ba'als and
> the Ash'roth. Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against
> Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cu'shan-rishath'im king of
> Mesopota'mia; and the people of Israel served Cu'shan-rishath'im eight
> years" (Judges 3:7-8).
>
> 10. We find that Israel again did evil against the Lord and this time
> He sold them into the slavery of Eglon the king of Moab for eighteen
> years (Judges 3:12-14).
>
> 11. The people of Israel again did evil against the Lord and this time
> He sold them into the slavery of Jabin king of Canaan, who oppressed
> them cruelly for twenty years (Judges 4:1-3).
>
> 12. We find that the people of Israel did evil again and this time the
> Lord sold them into the slavery of Mid'ian (Ishmaelites) for seven
> years (Judges 6:1-2).
>
> 13. The next time Israel did evil the Lord sold them into the slavery
> of Philistines and Ammonites for eighteen years (Judges 10:7-9).
>
> 14. The people of Israel did again what the Lord forbade them from
> doing, the Lord again gave them into the hands of Philistines for
> forty years (Judges 13:1).
>
> 15. God brought destruction upon Bani Israel by the hands of Chaldeans
> and Prophet Habakkuk cried to the Lord (Hab 1:1-17). The God of Bani
> Israel declared Himself to be a jealous God and wrathful (Nahum 1:2,
> 2:13 and 3:5).
>
> 16. When Bani Israel performed the rituals, they were free of
> sincerity and they despised God-given food (Malachi 1:14, 2:2-3), God
> cursed them (Malachi 2:7-9) and declared that their offerings were not
> acceptable (Malachi 2:13 and chapter 4).
>
> The fate of Bani Israel is sealed
>
> Finally, God's decision was announced in the Bible:
>
> "Behold, I will make you small among the nations, you will be utterly despised.
>
> The pride of your heart has deceived �" (Obadiah verses 2-4). We find
> that in our time, Jews are only fifteen million out of the world
> population of over six billion. Also Jews are despised and no gentile
> likes to be called a Jew or Jew-like because he will take it as an
> insult.
>
> "The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame,
> and the house of Esau stubble; they shall burn them and consume them
> and there shall be no survivor to the house of Esau; for the Lord has
> spoken." (Obadiah verse 118)
>
> Jesus said, "Therefore, I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken
> away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it." (Matt
> 11:43). Evidently, Muslims fulfilled the prophecy of Jesus Christ.
>
> The Qur'an agrees with the Bible and has very stern warning to Bani
> Israel as we read:
>
> "And lo! We (God) accepted your solemn pledge that you would not shed
> one another's blood, and would not drive one another from your
> homeland � whereupon you acknowledged it; and thereto you bear witness
> [even now]. And yet, it is you who slay one another and drive some of
> your own people from their homelands, aiding one another against them
> in sin and hatred; but if they come to you as captives, you ransom
> them � although the very [act of] driving them away has been made
> unlawful to you.
>
> Do you, then, believe in some parts of the divine book and deny the
> truth of other parts [by ignoring some laws and commandments]? What,
> then, could be the reward of those among you who do such things except
> utter disgrace in the life of this world and, on the Day of
> Resurrection, commitment to most grievous punishment? For God is not
> unmindful of what you do. (The Qur'an 2:84-85)
>
> This happened to Bani Israel after God delivered them after centuries
> of slavery under the Egyptians. It seems that the Bani Israel was
> stubbornly bent upon disobeying the Lord except for brief periods of
> good conduct. There had to be a time when God would turn away from
> them and never to deliver them from the slavery and torment under the
> gentile nations. In America today some states have laws of "three
> strikes, you are out" meaning that after three convictions of felonies
> there is mandatory life imprisonment. Why should God not pass such a
> judgment against Bani Israel after numerous crimes worse than felonies
> over a period of 1800 years? It is obvious that the God of Israel has
> removed them from inheriting the covenant of Abraham. If Jews want to
> live in Palestine, their only choice is to live there in peace as a
> respected minority as they have lived for almost thirteen centuries in
> the Muslim world.
>
> God's covenant with Ishmael
>
> We find God's covenant with Ishmael:
>
> "As for Ish'mael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and make
> him fruitful and multiply exceedingly; he shall be the father of
> twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation" (Gen 17:20)
>
> In Gen 17:20 God treats Ishmael even better than Isaac because Isaac
> did not have twelve princes that were given to Ishmael right away. The
> twelve tribe of Bani Israel came from Jacob. I will discuss the point
> of making a great nation further down this article.
>
> Historical evidence that Bani Israel were excluded from God's covenant
> with Abraham
>
> Bani Israel Rule over Palestine. The Prophet Abraham perhaps lived
> around the 18th century BCE (before Christian era). The exodus under
> the leadership of Moses took place around 1290 BCE. Canaan (later to
> be known as Palestine) was conquered under Joshua around 1250 BCE. God
> appointed Saul (Talut) as the king of Bani Israel around 1020 BCE who
> ruled for about twenty years. David succeeded Talut and ruled for 39
> years until 961 BCE. Solomon succeeded his father and ruled for 36
> years until 925 BCE. Shortly afterwards the Assyrians defeated Israel
> and occupied a part of the kingdom. The Babylonian king Nebuchednezar
> occupied Judah, independent kingdom in 586 BCE. He destroyed the
> Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, and took thousand of Bani Israel in
> chains as captives to Babylon. However, in 520 BCE King Cyrus allowed
> Bani Israel to return to Palestine and he sponsored rebuilding of the
> Temple, which was completed in 515 BCE. Israel was never to become an
> independent state until 161 BCE. Around 330 BCE Israel came under the
> rule of the Greek kings. From 161 to 104 BCE for 57 years Maccabees,
> an Israeli freedom movement, made Israel a free and independent state.
> Maccabees were defeated by the Romans and entire Palestine and Syria
> came under their rule. In 70 CE (Christian era) Titus exiled Jews from
> Jerusalem and in 135 CE all Jews were either murdered or exiled from
> Palestine by the order of the Roman emperor with the decree never to
> enter Palestine again. Under the Roman rule and later in the Byzantine
> rule, Jews were barred from entering Palestine. Jews were allowed to
> enter Jerusalem again by the second caliph of Islam, Umar ibn
> al-Khattab in 638 CE. They began to trickle into Palestine and lived
> happily as a respected and protected minority under the Muslims until
> 1930s when they began terrorism to drive the Palestinians out of their
> homes and properties rendering almost 800,000 of them as refugees.
> Finally, the state of Israel was established by Arab and Muslim hating
> western powers under the cover of a U.N. resolution in 1948. From the
> beginning of time until 1948 Bani Israel were able to rule Palestine
> for a total of only about 382 years out of 32 centuries of Bani Israel
> (Jewish) existence, even that in broken periods. Does it look like God
> gave Palestine to the Bani Israel or made them a great people? I don't
> think so. On the contrary the God of Bani Israel made them a most
> despised people and kept them alive as a lesson to mankind. This is
> the fate of Jews collectively but among them there are numerous good,
> decent, justice and peace loving people. Muslims do not hold anything
> against the Jews; in fact, Muslims have been their best friends and
> protectors from 638 until the 1930s. However, Muslims are against the
> Zionist movement that exiled the natives of Palestine from their
> ancestral home, robbed them of their properties, killed them by the
> hundreds of thousands; murder and plunder of Palestinians by the hands
> of Jews using American money and armaments continues to date. This is
> the way the Jews have rewarded Muslims for their hospitality, good
> treatment with respect and allowing the return of the Jews to
> Palestine.
>
> Muslim Rule over Palestine. In 638 CE Umar ibn Al-Khattab, the second
> Caliph of Islam, conquered Jerusalem without a war and until 1918
> Palestine remained under Muslim rule except for a period of 88 years
> (1099 to 1187 CE) of the rule of the Crusaders. From 1918 to 1948
> Palestine came under the rule of the British and then it was divided
> between Israel and the Palestinians. Only after the 1967 war,
> initiated by Israel, did Jerusalem came under the rule of the
> Israelis. It is worth noting that the Muslim rule over Palestine for
> thirteen centuries was due to the power of Muslims themselves not by a
> proxy power; whereas, the rule of Israelis in Israel since 1948 is
> maintained not by the power of the Israelis but by the power of the
> Americans. If Americans withdraw their support, Israel may fall as a
> ripe fig into the hands of Muslims in a matter of days.
>
> The historical evidence shows that the Jews were excluded from the
> covenant of God to Abraham because He did not allow them to have a
> hold over Palestine but for brief periods, whereas God gave the power
> to the Muslims to rule for the longest period of time in the history
> of the land. Evidently God's covenant to Abraham was meant to be for
> the Arabs, the children of Ishmael.
>
> The meaning of heir
>
> In the line of the prophet Abraham, heir may have one or both of two
> meanings. Those who are (1) in the line of genealogy of Abraham, and
> (2) in the line of the faith of Abraham and carriers of his mission.
> Both, the Jews and the Arabs claim to be the heirs of Abraham through
> genealogy. Neither of these two nations' claim holds true for 100% of
> the people in our time. Arab by definition is anyone who speaks Arabic
> language that may include all non-Arabs who moved to the Middle East
> and adopted Arabic language and culture. Prophet Muhammad and his
> contemporary Arabs of the Arabian peninsula belonged to Abraham as
> they were descendants of Ishmael. Bani Israel due to their jealousy
> tried to remove Arabs from the genealogy by claiming that Hager, the
> mother of Ishmael, was a slave girl but not truly a wife of Abraham.
> This contradicts the Bible itself. The Bible declares, "So, after
> Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, Sar'ai, Abram's wife,
> took Hager the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to Abram her husband
> as a wife" (Gen 16:3). Note that the adjective wife has been used
> twice, once associated with Sar'ai and second time associated with
> Hager indicating no superiority of one wife over the other. This
> shows, according to the Bible, the original Arabs were equally
> descendants of Abraham as were the original Bani Israel. Christian and
> Jewish apologetics may have some irrational rationalization to exclude
> children of Ishmael from God's covenant to Abraham. Some Muslims have
> found historical evidence to show that Hager was an Egyptian princess
> not a maid of Sar'ai; it is evident from Gen 17:20 where God called 12
> sons of Ishmael as 12 princes perhaps because their mother was a
> princess. Among the modern Jews there are three groups by genealogy,
> (a) Saphardic Jews, (b) Ashkenazi Jews, and (c) miscellaneous other
> claimants to Judaism. Historically, only Saphardic Jews appear to
> belong to Abraham through genealogy. According to Arthur Koestler (see
> his book The Thirteenth Tribe) Saphardic Jews make up fewer than ten
> percent of the world Jewish population. Something like 85% of the
> world Jewry are Ashkenazi Jews, which are Caucasian converts as they
> have light color hair, fairer skin and light color eyes like all other
> gentile Europeans. The rest of the Jews are either Negroid indicating
> no Semitic features or belong to other races and nations.
>
> The other type of heir is by faith. The true monotheists in the faith
> of Abraham are Muslims and deserve to be called the inheritors of
> God's covenant with Abraham. Muslims propagated the faith of Abraham,
> true monotheism (tawhid), all over the world.
>
> The Jews have corrupted the monotheism of Abraham and in the past they
> became pagans and idolaters frequently for which God disgraced them.
> This point has been discussed above under the subheading, "Evils and
> transgressions of Bani Israel�" The worst transgression of the Jews of
> our time is their crass materialism, that is, worship of the wealth
> and power. Besides, Jews made Abraham's faith exclusively for
> themselves making other people unworthy to invite and convert. In
> fact, Jews considered themselves to be a superior race worthy of many
> of God's special privileges denied to other nations. There is a lot of
> racism in the teachings of the Mishna and Talmud rendering people
> other than the Jews to the level of animals and insects to be
> trampled, used and killed at will. Abraham was neither a racist nor an
> idolater.
>
> Christians do not even have a claim over the covenant of Abraham;
> therefore, they are not included in this discussion.
>
> The meaning of making Abraham's name great
>
> When God told Abraham that He will make his name great, what did God
> mean? It may mean that his true descendants will (a) promote his faith
> worldwide; (b) it may mean that they will be the largest single faith
> in the world; (c) it may mean that Abraham's faith will be the only
> faith remaining in the world and all other faiths and -isms will die
> out; (d) it may mean that Abraham's descendants will create a great
> civilization in the world; (e) it may mean that his true followers
> will fill the world with economic justice and equality of mankind
> removing all kind of prejudices and discrimination based on race, skin
> color, gender, origin of birth, social and economic status; (f) it may
> mean that the children of Abraham will multiply exceedingly, spread
> and rule the largest geographical area of the world, if not the whole
> earth.
>
> In Gen 12:2 God promised Abraham to make him a great nation and in Gen
> 17:20 God also made a similar promise to Ishmael to make him a great
> nation. This shows that Gods promise of making Abraham a great nation
> was to be realized through the descendants of Ishmael but only the
> righteous ones, which is the same promise appeared in the Qur'an 2:124
> quoted in the beginning of this article. Bani Israel themselves
> canceled out any covenant made to the children of Isaac and Jacob
> through their refusal to obey God's prophets, a few examples have
> already been given above. Let us look at the possibilities of the
> meaning of a "great nation".
>
> (a) Promoting the faith of Abraham. Bani Israel became a racist people
> and refused to promote the faith of Abraham to mankind whereas Muslims
> did promote his faith worldwide providing the opportunity of accepting
> the faith of Abraham. Consequently, people of every nation, every race
> and color have come to Islam making it the most successfully
> proclaimed pluralistic faith in the world. Muslims today constitute
> 20-25% of the world (1.2 to 1.5 billion) spread over the entire globe
> and increasing. Jews are fewer than 15 million (and declining), that
> is 0.25% of the world population or 1% of the Muslim population.
> Naturally, Muslims make a much greater nation than the Jews.
>
> (b) The largest homogenous single faith in the world. It is believed
> that Christians are the largest single faith in the world but this
> claim could easily be refuted. Christians are divided into three major
> sects, Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants. Each of the three claims
> that they are the only true Christians and the others are
> non-Christians or pagans. If we study these religions, we find that
> each one is a separate religion; therefore, Christianity is not a
> homogenous single faith; only Islam is. Some may argue that there are
> Shi'as and Sunnis but this objection is not true. Those who claim one
> or the other is out of Islam are a negligible minority; the
> fundamentals of Shi'ah and Sunni are one and the same. The Jews are
> only fifteen million worldwide making them a negligible minority and a
> cult-like group. Such a small group is further divided into three
> groups of Orthodox, Conservative and Reformed; Orthodox and Reformed
> are so far apart that they cannot see each other eye to eye.
> Sunni-Shi'ah conflict is endemic and local and limited to a few
> people.
>
> (c) The only faith surviving in the world. We have not reached that
> stage yet. Judaism is shrinking whereas Christianity and Islam are
> still expanding. However, it is noteworthy that the rate of expansion
> of Islam is higher than Christianity. There are millions of Christians
> converting to Islam and the reverse flow is negligible.
>
> (d) Creating a great civilization. Jews have not created any unique
> civilization in the world with any lasting impact. Western
> civilization is a mix of Greek-Roman-Christian-Islamic civilization
> with some impact of the Jews, Chinese, Indian and other nations.
> Muslims created a new civilization that is unique in art,
> architecture, education, philosophy, sciences and embracing every
> other area of human activity. The impact of Islam may been seen
> worldwide. Muslims truly became a great nation fulfilling God's
> covenant to Abraham. In Islam Arabs played an overwhelming role in
> developing "Islamic" civilization. Major impact is seen from the
> periods of the Umayyad and the Abbasid era, both belonged to the
> Quraysh, direct descendants of Abraham through his son Ishmael.
>
> (e) Justice and equality for mankind. The Muslim civilization filled
> the earth with justice and equality the way no other system achieved
> it. Islam initiated the process of freeing slaves, gave property
> rights for women fourteen centuries ago, Qur'an declared women to be
> equal with men (Qur'an 16:97) and gave them dignity rather than making
> them an object of pleasure for men. Equality of people was declared in
> the Qur'an (49:13) and taking money from the rich and giving to the
> poor was mandatory (Qur'an 57:7, 59:7, 2:177, 2:215, 2:219, 2:261-273,
> 9:60). In law it was made mandatory to give true witness (Qur'an 4:135
> and 5:8). This was the Islamic justice that induced Spaniards to
> invite Muslims to conquer their country and establish a just rule.
> Similarly, earlier Syrians had preferred Muslims to their
> co-religionists, Byzantine, as rulers. This is an independent topic
> and a lot has been written by the Muslims. Jews on the other hand
> became known as loan sharks becoming rich at the expense of others,
> merciless exploitation of the gentiles as well as weak and poor of
> their own.
>
> (f) Rulers over the world. Muslims established the largest empire in
> the known world of the time and remained as the Super Power of the
> world until the rise of European colonialism. We are seeing the
> shrinkage of hold of the West over the world. We have not reached the
> end of time yet and time will show the truth of Islam and God's
> covenant will be fulfilled by the hands of Muslims. Jews never ruled
> an area larger than Palestine and remained an insignificant power even
> during the periods of David and Solomon, the mightiest Bani Israel
> power.
>
> Arabs and Muslims are not anti-Semite
>
> 1. Arabs who constitute nearly 20% of the Muslim world population are
> themselves Semitic people; naturally, they will not hate themselves.
> Then, how can other Muslims hate their own brethren? Muslims have no
> reason to hate Jews but rather hate the Zionist philosophy and
> activities.
>
> 2. Unlike Christians, Muslims do not blame the Jews for crucifying or
> killing Jesus because Qur'an absolved the Jews of this allegation. We
> read in the Qur'an, "they (Jews) did not slay him (Jesus Christ), and
> neither did they crucify him�" (4:157).
>
> 3. In the 13 centuries of history from 638 to the 1930s, there was no
> animosity between Muslims and the Jews. There have been rare and
> isolated occasions when a "Muslim" ruler persecuted Jews but he was an
> equal opportunity persecutor who persecuted Christians as well as
> Muslims except his own narrow sect. In fact, Muslims have been best
> friends of the Jews throughout Islamic history.
>
> 4. After 9-11 George Bush declared, "You are either with us or against
> us" meaning that if you are not an ally of the U.S., you become
> automatically an enemy. George Bush did not invent this idea but
> adopted the Zionist policy. The Zionists use the whip of anti-Semitism
> against anyone or any people or a government who are not 1000 percent
> supporters of the Zionism and Israel. There is no room for even-handed
> policy or neutrality in the Middle East. I think it was William
> Rogers, Secretary of State in 1970s who said that he would follow
> "even handed" policy in the Middle East; he was immediately haunted,
> labeled as an anti-Semite and was removed from the administration.
> There is a need to remove this blackmailing whip of "anti-Semite" from
> the hands of the Zionists and Israelis.
>
> Conclusion
>
> The claim of the Israelis, supported by the Christians of the West,
> that only the Jews are inheritors of God's covenant with Abraham has
> been examined above. The following is concluded:
>
> 1. In the light of the Bible and the Qur'an, God's covenant would not
> extend to the sinners and transgressors from Abraham's progeny.
>
> 2. In the light of the Bible, the Jews have proven themselves to be
> sinners and transgressors making them unworthy of inheriting God's
> covenant with Abraham.
>
> 3. God made an independent covenant with Ishmael to make him a great nation.
>
> 4. The political history of Palestine shows that Bani Israel ruled the
> land for less than 400 years whereas Ishmaelites ruled it for 1280
> years of the 3200 years of the existence of Bani Israel. Ishmaelites
> got control over Palestine within 28 years of the rise of Islam
> whereas Bani Israel got power over it more than five centuries after
> the birth of the tribes of Bani Israel. It shows that God's choice to
> pass on the inheritance of Abraham was for the people of his faith
> more than his descendants. Ishmaelites fit both criteria under Islam.
>
> 5. Making Abraham's name great or making him a great nation may have
> several meanings. Six criteria have been studied under this heading
> and found that only Arabs (Ishmaelites) and Muslims fulfill the
> criteria whereas the Bani Israel are left behind and lost in the dust.
>
> After this study, it will take courage and neutrality to accept the
> Muslim's claims to Palestine. The prejudiced West, due to its hatred
> of Islam and Arabs, appears to be incapable of accepting the obvious.
> It will take only God's miracle to convince the West about the Truth.
> Obviously, the claim of the Jews to Palestine supported by the western
> Christians is absurd and laughable.
>
> July 10, 2003
>
>
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#18226

From: Kunju Mon <monkunju@...>
Date: Tue Dec 1, 2009 9:00 pm
Subject: Re: [IFDC] Palestine: God's Covenant with Abraham

monkunju@...

You are picking up words unnecessarily.� A people who are evil of course have no right to any of God's favors, regardless they claim to be Jews, Muslims or Christians.� I did not mean all Jews. Zionism should not be equated with Judaism or all Jews.�

�

I still believe faithful Jews are brothers of faithful Muslims.� And I believe we should talk against evil such as injustice, oppression, mass murder regardless who do it and it is not bigotry.��Defending or keeping silence to monstrous deeds is in fact indirectly supporting them.

2009/12/1 new george <newgeorge_@...>

�

To say "A people who are evil�" is to talk in the same way as Hitler. It is bigotry and cannot be accepted. This kind of talk leads�only to violence.
ng
�

To: InterfaithDialogueCenter@yahoogroups.com
From: monkunju@...
Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 18:38:45 +0300
Subject: Re: [IFDC] Palestine: God's Covenant with Abraham

�

The reason for posting the article was the response I received to my earlier posting 'the faithful Jews are our brothers'.� They could not even tolerate posting intended for better relations.� They are stiff necked and want to prove that they are the only chosen people and favorite of God and there is no need for Islam or Christianity.

God has no special relation to anyone based on�genealogy, but faith and obedience to God. A people who are evil have no right to any of God's favors. The zionism to me is terrorism. Palestinians are willing to accept this pain in their neck, but they are together with their supporters are in no way willing to even recognize the basic human rights to palestinians and there is no hope in the near future it is going to happen.

�

2009/12/1 new george <newgeorge_@...>

�

My worry here is the reason why you are saying these things. It is quite clear to anyone who reads the bible that the Jews are judged and found wanting over and over�again in the Old Testament. This,�to me, is not an occasion�for self-righteous gloating - whether it be by Christian or Moslem - and anyone who does so has�clearly misunderstood the whole point. It is not the�Jews that God is judging so much as all of us. 'All like sheep have gone astray'.
The very fact that the Jews themselves have allowed such extreme self-criticism in their sacred texts seems to me more a sign of their real calling as the first of God's people, and it is surely important for us to note that, were it not for the�Jewish people who did remain faithful (and they are many) that there would be neither Christian nor Moslem faith at all. Abraham is indeed our father in faith and we are called (both Moslem and�Christian) to honour our father and mother above all are we not?
� To even consider questioning the right of the�Jewish people to a�land of their own seems to�me�- after all that has happened - totally unacceptable.
The problem is not now so much that the Jews need a homeland (we know this) but it is more a� question of how to let them feel safe enough in that homeland (after all that has happened) for them to put aside their�defensive and warlike stance re both Palestinian and other neighbours. Something which posts like the one below can scarcely help us to achieve.
Jesus tells us to look to the beam in our own eye before we try to remove the splinter in someone else's.
ng
��
> To: interfaithdialoguecenter@yahoogroups.com; bibleandquran@yahoogroups.com
> From: monkunju@...
> Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 14:46:03 +0300
> Subject: [IFDC] Palestine: God's Covenant with Abraham

>
> Palestine: God's Covenant with Abraham
>
> One of the arguments given for the occupation of Palestine by the
> European Jews and supported by Christians is that God promised Abraham
> that his progeny would be given Palestine; therefore, Jews are the
> only descendants of Abraham and inheritors of the land. This promise
> is in the Jewish Tanakh (Christian Old Testament) and it is,
> therefore, incumbent upon the Christians to help the Jews in attaining
> the goal of the Jews.
>
> by M. Amir Ali, Ph.D.
>
> Let us examine the claim that God promised Palestine to the Jews in
> the light of the Bible and the Qur'an.
>
> (i) We read in the Bible: "Now the Lord said to Abram, 'Go from your
> country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I
> will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless
> you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.'" Gen.
> 12:1-2. "Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, 'To your
> descendants I will give this land.'" Gen. 12:7 (RSV)
>
> (ii) We read in the Qur'an: "Recall when Abraham's Lord tested him in
> certain matters and when he successfully stood the test He (God) said:
> 'Indeed I am going to appoint you a leader of humankind.' When Abraham
> asked: 'And is this covenant also for my descendants?' the Lord
> responded: 'My covenant does not embrace the evil doing
> transgressors.'" 2:124
>
> Muhammad Asad (his original name was Leopold Weiss, Austrian-Polish by
> nationality), a convert to Islam from Judaism, wrote in his Message of
> the Quran, Translation and Commentary, commenting on this verse: "This
> passage, read in conjunction with the two preceding verses, refutes
> the contention of the children of Israel (modern day Jews) that by
> virtue of their descent from Abraham, whom God made 'a leader of men',
> they are 'God's chosen people'. The Qur'an makes it clear that the
> exalted status of Abraham was not something that would automatically
> confer a comparable status on his physical descendants, and certainly
> not on the sinners among them."
>
> Does Bani Israel (Jews) qualify to inherit the covenant of God with Abraham?
>
> When one reads the Bible he/she finds that this is the most
> anti-Semite (anti-Jew) book in the world. The following is in no way
> an exhaustive study of the Bible for finding God's condemnation of the
> Jews but an introduction to the study of the topic. I hope that
> someone will undertake a thorough study of the Bible and history of
> the Jews to present truth to the world. My very scanty and brief study
> of the topic is presented below.
>
> Evils and transgressions of Bani Israel and God's anger
>
> The Bible agrees with the Qur'an, commented by Muhammad Asad.
>
> 1. The first transgression of Bani Israel (children of Jacob or
> Ya'qoob) was committed by the ten sons of Jacob against his eleventh
> son, Joseph or Yusuf. Due to their jealousy the ten half-brothers cast
> him into a dry pit so that he may die there or they may sell him in
> the hands of an Ishmaelite caravan (Gen 37:23-24).
>
> 2. Joseph's father, eleven brothers and their families entered Egypt
> and joined the aristocratic class of the people. Apparently, it was
> because of Bani Israel's transgressions that God caused them to be
> sold into the slavery of the Egyptians where they remained for
> centuries until God sent Moses to free them.
>
> 3. Moses was sent by God to free the Bani Israel from the Egyptians.
> He brought them to Sinai when God gave him commandments and the law
> but they disobeyed Moses (Ex 16:19-20, 20:11-26, chapters 21-23 and
> Deut 31:27).
>
> 4. When God called Moses to the mountain for giving him the law, Bani
> Israel fell into the worship a golden calf (Ex chapter 32) and God
> called them "stiff-necked" (Ex 33:3-4). Even in our time we find Jews
> are worshippers of the golden calf in the form of the worship of money
> and wealth (crass materialism) rather than righteousness.
>
> 5. Moses conveyed the order of God to them to enter and take over
> Canaan (Ex 34:11-16) but Bani Israel refused to obey him (Deut
> 9:21-24, Num 11:1-6, Num 14:1-4) and Moses complained to God (Num
> 11:12-15). Naturally, God's anger fell upon Bani Israel (Num 12:9-10,
> Num 14:10-34).
>
> 6. God sent commands against nakedness, adultery and homosexuality but
> Bani Israel disobeyed (Lev 18:6-23) and they continued to disobey even
> in our time in the name of freedom and sex between consenting adults.
>
> 7. God is just and He punishes all those tribes and towns who disobey
> His commands. We find that God punished Damascus (Amos 1:9-10), Edom
> (Amos 1:11-12), Ammonites (Amos 1:13-14) and Moab (Amos 2:1-3). God
> announced His punishment for Judah and Israel (Amos 2:4-8). God
> mentions His favor to Judah and Israel of taking them out of Egypt and
> taking them out of the desert after forty years of punishment (Amos
> 2:10-11) yet they disobeyed Him again and again.
>
> 8. Another crime mentioned was when the prophets warned the Bani
> Israel and prophesied God's punishment, they warned the prophets and
> commanded them not to mention prophecies of doom: they threatened them
> (Amos 2:12). Finally God's decision came that Bani Israel would be
> destroyed but not completely (Amos 9:9-10). In Amos 9:11-15 we find
> God's promise to Bani Israel to raise them again, which was fulfilled
> in the 6th century BCE during the time of Cyrus. No one can present
> establishment of Israel as fulfilling of God's promise because the
> modern state is filled with racism, injustice and committing all the
> sins mentioned in the Bible for which these people were punished for
> three millennia.
>
> 9. We read: "And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight
> of the Lord, forgetting the Lord their God, and serving the Ba'als and
> the Ash'roth. Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against
> Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cu'shan-rishath'im king of
> Mesopota'mia; and the people of Israel served Cu'shan-rishath'im eight
> years" (Judges 3:7-8).
>
> 10. We find that Israel again did evil against the Lord and this time
> He sold them into the slavery of Eglon the king of Moab for eighteen
> years (Judges 3:12-14).
>
> 11. The people of Israel again did evil against the Lord and this time
> He sold them into the slavery of Jabin king of Canaan, who oppressed
> them cruelly for twenty years (Judges 4:1-3).
>
> 12. We find that the people of Israel did evil again and this time the
> Lord sold them into the slavery of Mid'ian (Ishmaelites) for seven
> years (Judges 6:1-2).
>
> 13. The next time Israel did evil the Lord sold them into the slavery
> of Philistines and Ammonites for eighteen years (Judges 10:7-9).
>
> 14. The people of Israel did again what the Lord forbade them from
> doing, the Lord again gave them into the hands of Philistines for
> forty years (Judges 13:1).
>
> 15. God brought destruction upon Bani Israel by the hands of Chaldeans
> and Prophet Habakkuk cried to the Lord (Hab 1:1-17). The God of Bani
> Israel declared Himself to be a jealous God and wrathful (Nahum 1:2,
> 2:13 and 3:5).
>
> 16. When Bani Israel performed the rituals, they were free of
> sincerity and they despised God-given food (Malachi 1:14, 2:2-3), God
> cursed them (Malachi 2:7-9) and declared that their offerings were not
> acceptable (Malachi 2:13 and chapter 4).
>
> The fate of Bani Israel is sealed
>
> Finally, God's decision was announced in the Bible:
>
> "Behold, I will make you small among the nations, you will be utterly despised.
>
> The pride of your heart has deceived �" (Obadiah verses 2-4). We find
> that in our time, Jews are only fifteen million out of the world
> population of over six billion. Also Jews are despised and no gentile
> likes to be called a Jew or Jew-like because he will take it as an
> insult.
>
> "The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame,
> and the house of Esau stubble; they shall burn them and consume them
> and there shall be no survivor to the house of Esau; for the Lord has
> spoken." (Obadiah verse 118)
>
> Jesus said, "Therefore, I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken
> away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it." (Matt
> 11:43). Evidently, Muslims fulfilled the prophecy of Jesus Christ.
>
> The Qur'an agrees with the Bible and has very stern warning to Bani
> Israel as we read:
>
> "And lo! We (God) accepted your solemn pledge that you would not shed
> one another's blood, and would not drive one another from your
> homeland � whereupon you acknowledged it; and thereto you bear witness
> [even now]. And yet, it is you who slay one another and drive some of
> your own people from their homelands, aiding one another against them
> in sin and hatred; but if they come to you as captives, you ransom
> them � although the very [act of] driving them away has been made
> unlawful to you.
>
> Do you, then, believe in some parts of the divine book and deny the
> truth of other parts [by ignoring some laws and commandments]? What,
> then, could be the reward of those among you who do such things except
> utter disgrace in the life of this world and, on the Day of
> Resurrection, commitment to most grievous punishment? For God is not
> unmindful of what you do. (The Qur'an 2:84-85)
>
> This happened to Bani Israel after God delivered them after centuries
> of slavery under the Egyptians. It seems that the Bani Israel was
> stubbornly bent upon disobeying the Lord except for brief periods of
> good conduct. There had to be a time when God would turn away from
> them and never to deliver them from the slavery and torment under the
> gentile nations. In America today some states have laws of "three
> strikes, you are out" meaning that after three convictions of felonies
> there is mandatory life imprisonment. Why should God not pass such a
> judgment against Bani Israel after numerous crimes worse than felonies
> over a period of 1800 years? It is obvious that the God of Israel has
> removed them from inheriting the covenant of Abraham. If Jews want to
> live in Palestine, their only choice is to live there in peace as a
> respected minority as they have lived for almost thirteen centuries in
> the Muslim world.
>
> God's covenant with Ishmael
>
> We find God's covenant with Ishmael:
>
> "As for Ish'mael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and make
> him fruitful and multiply exceedingly; he shall be the father of
> twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation" (Gen 17:20)
>
> In Gen 17:20 God treats Ishmael even better than Isaac because Isaac
> did not have twelve princes that were given to Ishmael right away. The
> twelve tribe of Bani Israel came from Jacob. I will discuss the point
> of making a great nation further down this article.
>
> Historical evidence that Bani Israel were excluded from God's covenant
> with Abraham
>
> Bani Israel Rule over Palestine. The Prophet Abraham perhaps lived
> around the 18th century BCE (before Christian era). The exodus under
> the leadership of Moses took place around 1290 BCE. Canaan (later to
> be known as Palestine) was conquered under Joshua around 1250 BCE. God
> appointed Saul (Talut) as the king of Bani Israel around 1020 BCE who
> ruled for about twenty years. David succeeded Talut and ruled for 39
> years until 961 BCE. Solomon succeeded his father and ruled for 36
> years until 925 BCE. Shortly afterwards the Assyrians defeated Israel
> and occupied a part of the kingdom. The Babylonian king Nebuchednezar
> occupied Judah, independent kingdom in 586 BCE. He destroyed the
> Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, and took thousand of Bani Israel in
> chains as captives to Babylon. However, in 520 BCE King Cyrus allowed
> Bani Israel to return to Palestine and he sponsored rebuilding of the
> Temple, which was completed in 515 BCE. Israel was never to become an
> independent state until 161 BCE. Around 330 BCE Israel came under the
> rule of the Greek kings. From 161 to 104 BCE for 57 years Maccabees,
> an Israeli freedom movement, made Israel a free and independent state.
> Maccabees were defeated by the Romans and entire Palestine and Syria
> came under their rule. In 70 CE (Christian era) Titus exiled Jews from
> Jerusalem and in 135 CE all Jews were either murdered or exiled from
> Palestine by the order of the Roman emperor with the decree never to
> enter Palestine again. Under the Roman rule and later in the Byzantine
> rule, Jews were barred from entering Palestine. Jews were allowed to
> enter Jerusalem again by the second caliph of Islam, Umar ibn
> al-Khattab in 638 CE. They began to trickle into Palestine and lived
> happily as a respected and protected minority under the Muslims until
> 1930s when they began terrorism to drive the Palestinians out of their
> homes and properties rendering almost 800,000 of them as refugees.
> Finally, the state of Israel was established by Arab and Muslim hating
> western powers under the cover of a U.N. resolution in 1948. From the
> beginning of time until 1948 Bani Israel were able to rule Palestine
> for a total of only about 382 years out of 32 centuries of Bani Israel
> (Jewish) existence, even that in broken periods. Does it look like God
> gave Palestine to the Bani Israel or made them a great people? I don't
> think so. On the contrary the God of Bani Israel made them a most
> despised people and kept them alive as a lesson to mankind. This is
> the fate of Jews collectively but among them there are numerous good,
> decent, justice and peace loving people. Muslims do not hold anything
> against the Jews; in fact, Muslims have been their best friends and
> protectors from 638 until the 1930s. However, Muslims are against the
> Zionist movement that exiled the natives of Palestine from their
> ancestral home, robbed them of their properties, killed them by the
> hundreds of thousands; murder and plunder of Palestinians by the hands
> of Jews using American money and armaments continues to date. This is
> the way the Jews have rewarded Muslims for their hospitality, good
> treatment with respect and allowing the return of the Jews to
> Palestine.
>
> Muslim Rule over Palestine. In 638 CE Umar ibn Al-Khattab, the second
> Caliph of Islam, conquered Jerusalem without a war and until 1918
> Palestine remained under Muslim rule except for a period of 88 years
> (1099 to 1187 CE) of the rule of the Crusaders. From 1918 to 1948
> Palestine came under the rule of the British and then it was divided
> between Israel and the Palestinians. Only after the 1967 war,
> initiated by Israel, did Jerusalem came under the rule of the
> Israelis. It is worth noting that the Muslim rule over Palestine for
> thirteen centuries was due to the power of Muslims themselves not by a
> proxy power; whereas, the rule of Israelis in Israel since 1948 is
> maintained not by the power of the Israelis but by the power of the
> Americans. If Americans withdraw their support, Israel may fall as a
> ripe fig into the hands of Muslims in a matter of days.
>
> The historical evidence shows that the Jews were excluded from the
> covenant of God to Abraham because He did not allow them to have a
> hold over Palestine but for brief periods, whereas God gave the power
> to the Muslims to rule for the longest period of time in the history
> of the land. Evidently God's covenant to Abraham was meant to be for
> the Arabs, the children of Ishmael.
>
> The meaning of heir
>
> In the line of the prophet Abraham, heir may have one or both of two
> meanings. Those who are (1) in the line of genealogy of Abraham, and
> (2) in the line of the faith of Abraham and carriers of his mission.
> Both, the Jews and the Arabs claim to be the heirs of Abraham through
> genealogy. Neither of these two nations' claim holds true for 100% of
> the people in our time. Arab by definition is anyone who speaks Arabic
> language that may include all non-Arabs who moved to the Middle East
> and adopted Arabic language and culture. Prophet Muhammad and his
> contemporary Arabs of the Arabian peninsula belonged to Abraham as
> they were descendants of Ishmael. Bani Israel due to their jealousy
> tried to remove Arabs from the genealogy by claiming that Hager, the
> mother of Ishmael, was a slave girl but not truly a wife of Abraham.
> This contradicts the Bible itself. The Bible declares, "So, after
> Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, Sar'ai, Abram's wife,
> took Hager the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to Abram her husband
> as a wife" (Gen 16:3). Note that the adjective wife has been used
> twice, once associated with Sar'ai and second time associated with
> Hager indicating no superiority of one wife over the other. This
> shows, according to the Bible, the original Arabs were equally
> descendants of Abraham as were the original Bani Israel. Christian and
> Jewish apologetics may have some irrational rationalization to exclude
> children of Ishmael from God's covenant to Abraham. Some Muslims have
> found historical evidence to show that Hager was an Egyptian princess
> not a maid of Sar'ai; it is evident from Gen 17:20 where God called 12
> sons of Ishmael as 12 princes perhaps because their mother was a
> princess. Among the modern Jews there are three groups by genealogy,
> (a) Saphardic Jews, (b) Ashkenazi Jews, and (c) miscellaneous other
> claimants to Judaism. Historically, only Saphardic Jews appear to
> belong to Abraham through genealogy. According to Arthur Koestler (see
> his book The Thirteenth Tribe) Saphardic Jews make up fewer than ten
> percent of the world Jewish population. Something like 85% of the
> world Jewry are Ashkenazi Jews, which are Caucasian converts as they
> have light color hair, fairer skin and light color eyes like all other
> gentile Europeans. The rest of the Jews are either Negroid indicating
> no Semitic features or belong to other races and nations.
>
> The other type of heir is by faith. The true monotheists in the faith
> of Abraham are Muslims and deserve to be called the inheritors of
> God's covenant with Abraham. Muslims propagated the faith of Abraham,
> true monotheism (tawhid), all over the world.
>
> The Jews have corrupted the monotheism of Abraham and in the past they
> became pagans and idolaters frequently for which God disgraced them.
> This point has been discussed above under the subheading, "Evils and
> transgressions of Bani Israel�" The worst transgression of the Jews of
> our time is their crass materialism, that is, worship of the wealth
> and power. Besides, Jews made Abraham's faith exclusively for
> themselves making other people unworthy to invite and convert. In
> fact, Jews considered themselves to be a superior race worthy of many
> of God's special privileges denied to other nations. There is a lot of
> racism in the teachings of the Mishna and Talmud rendering people
> other than the Jews to the level of animals and insects to be
> trampled, used and killed at will. Abraham was neither a racist nor an
> idolater.
>
> Christians do not even have a claim over the covenant of Abraham;
> therefore, they are not included in this discussion.
>
> The meaning of making Abraham's name great
>
> When God told Abraham that He will make his name great, what did God
> mean? It may mean that his true descendants will (a) promote his faith
> worldwide; (b) it may mean that they will be the largest single faith
> in the world; (c) it may mean that Abraham's faith will be the only
> faith remaining in the world and all other faiths and -isms will die
> out; (d) it may mean that Abraham's descendants will create a great
> civilization in the world; (e) it may mean that his true followers
> will fill the world with economic justice and equality of mankind
> removing all kind of prejudices and discrimination based on race, skin
> color, gender, origin of birth, social and economic status; (f) it may
> mean that the children of Abraham will multiply exceedingly, spread
> and rule the largest geographical area of the world, if not the whole
> earth.
>
> In Gen 12:2 God promised Abraham to make him a great nation and in Gen
> 17:20 God also made a similar promise to Ishmael to make him a great
> nation. This shows that Gods promise of making Abraham a great nation
> was to be realized through the descendants of Ishmael but only the
> righteous ones, which is the same promise appeared in the Qur'an 2:124
> quoted in the beginning of this article. Bani Israel themselves
> canceled out any covenant made to the children of Isaac and Jacob
> through their refusal to obey God's prophets, a few examples have
> already been given above. Let us look at the possibilities of the
> meaning of a "great nation".
>
> (a) Promoting the faith of Abraham. Bani Israel became a racist people
> and refused to promote the faith of Abraham to mankind whereas Muslims
> did promote his faith worldwide providing the opportunity of accepting
> the faith of Abraham. Consequently, people of every nation, every race
> and color have come to Islam making it the most successfully
> proclaimed pluralistic faith in the world. Muslims today constitute
> 20-25% of the world (1.2 to 1.5 billion) spread over the entire globe
> and increasing. Jews are fewer than 15 million (and declining), that
> is 0.25% of the world population or 1% of the Muslim population.
> Naturally, Muslims make a much greater nation than the Jews.
>
> (b) The largest homogenous single faith in the world. It is believed
> that Christians are the largest single faith in the world but this
> claim could easily be refuted. Christians are divided into three major
> sects, Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants. Each of the three claims
> that they are the only true Christians and the others are
> non-Christians or pagans. If we study these religions, we find that
> each one is a separate religion; therefore, Christianity is not a
> homogenous single faith; only Islam is. Some may argue that there are
> Shi'as and Sunnis but this objection is not true. Those who claim one
> or the other is out of Islam are a negligible minority; the
> fundamentals of Shi'ah and Sunni are one and the same. The Jews are
> only fifteen million worldwide making them a negligible minority and a
> cult-like group. Such a small group is further divided into three
> groups of Orthodox, Conservative and Reformed; Orthodox and Reformed
> are so far apart that they cannot see each other eye to eye.
> Sunni-Shi'ah conflict is endemic and local and limited to a few
> people.
>
> (c) The only faith surviving in the world. We have not reached that
> stage yet. Judaism is shrinking whereas Christianity and Islam are
> still expanding. However, it is noteworthy that the rate of expansion
> of Islam is higher than Christianity. There are millions of Christians
> converting to Islam and the reverse flow is negligible.
>
> (d) Creating a great civilization. Jews have not created any unique
> civilization in the world with any lasting impact. Western
> civilization is a mix of Greek-Roman-Christian-Islamic civilization
> with some impact of the Jews, Chinese, Indian and other nations.
> Muslims created a new civilization that is unique in art,
> architecture, education, philosophy, sciences and embracing every
> other area of human activity. The impact of Islam may been seen
> worldwide. Muslims truly became a great nation fulfilling God's
> covenant to Abraham. In Islam Arabs played an overwhelming role in
> developing "Islamic" civilization. Major impact is seen from the
> periods of the Umayyad and the Abbasid era, both belonged to the
> Quraysh, direct descendants of Abraham through his son Ishmael.
>
> (e) Justice and equality for mankind. The Muslim civilization filled
> the earth with justice and equality the way no other system achieved
> it. Islam initiated the process of freeing slaves, gave property
> rights for women fourteen centuries ago, Qur'an declared women to be
> equal with men (Qur'an 16:97) and gave them dignity rather than making
> them an object of pleasure for men. Equality of people was declared in
> the Qur'an (49:13) and taking money from the rich and giving to the
> poor was mandatory (Qur'an 57:7, 59:7, 2:177, 2:215, 2:219, 2:261-273,
> 9:60). In law it was made mandatory to give true witness (Qur'an 4:135
> and 5:8). This was the Islamic justice that induced Spaniards to
> invite Muslims to conquer their country and establish a just rule.
> Similarly, earlier Syrians had preferred Muslims to their
> co-religionists, Byzantine, as rulers. This is an independent topic
> and a lot has been written by the Muslims. Jews on the other hand
> became known as loan sharks becoming rich at the expense of others,
> merciless exploitation of the gentiles as well as weak and poor of
> their own.
>
> (f) Rulers over the world. Muslims established the largest empire in
> the known world of the time and remained as the Super Power of the
> world until the rise of European colonialism. We are seeing the
> shrinkage of hold of the West over the world. We have not reached the
> end of time yet and time will show the truth of Islam and God's
> covenant will be fulfilled by the hands of Muslims. Jews never ruled
> an area larger than Palestine and remained an insignificant power even
> during the periods of David and Solomon, the mightiest Bani Israel
> power.
>
> Arabs and Muslims are not anti-Semite
>
> 1. Arabs who constitute nearly 20% of the Muslim world population are
> themselves Semitic people; naturally, they will not hate themselves.
> Then, how can other Muslims hate their own brethren? Muslims have no
> reason to hate Jews but rather hate the Zionist philosophy and
> activities.
>
> 2. Unlike Christians, Muslims do not blame the Jews for crucifying or
> killing Jesus because Qur'an absolved the Jews of this allegation. We
> read in the Qur'an, "they (Jews) did not slay him (Jesus Christ), and
> neither did they crucify him�" (4:157).
>
> 3. In the 13 centuries of history from 638 to the 1930s, there was no
> animosity between Muslims and the Jews. There have been rare and
> isolated occasions when a "Muslim" ruler persecuted Jews but he was an
> equal opportunity persecutor who persecuted Christians as well as
> Muslims except his own narrow sect. In fact, Muslims have been best
> friends of the Jews throughout Islamic history.
>
> 4. After 9-11 George Bush declared, "You are either with us or against
> us" meaning that if you are not an ally of the U.S., you become
> automatically an enemy. George Bush did not invent this idea but
> adopted the Zionist policy. The Zionists use the whip of anti-Semitism
> against anyone or any people or a government who are not 1000 percent
> supporters of the Zionism and Israel. There is no room for even-handed
> policy or neutrality in the Middle East. I think it was William
> Rogers, Secretary of State in 1970s who said that he would follow
> "even handed" policy in the Middle East; he was immediately haunted,
> labeled as an anti-Semite and was removed from the administration.
> There is a need to remove this blackmailing whip of "anti-Semite" from
> the hands of the Zionists and Israelis.
>
> Conclusion
>
> The claim of the Israelis, supported by the Christians of the West,
> that only the Jews are inheritors of God's covenant with Abraham has
> been examined above. The following is concluded:
>
> 1. In the light of the Bible and the Qur'an, God's covenant would not
> extend to the sinners and transgressors from Abraham's progeny.
>
> 2. In the light of the Bible, the Jews have proven themselves to be
> sinners and transgressors making them unworthy of inheriting God's
> covenant with Abraham.
>
> 3. God made an independent covenant with Ishmael to make him a great nation.
>
> 4. The political history of Palestine shows that Bani Israel ruled the
> land for less than 400 years whereas Ishmaelites ruled it for 1280
> years of the 3200 years of the existence of Bani Israel. Ishmaelites
> got control over Palestine within 28 years of the rise of Islam
> whereas Bani Israel got power over it more than five centuries after
> the birth of the tribes of Bani Israel. It shows that God's choice to
> pass on the inheritance of Abraham was for the people of his faith
> more than his descendants. Ishmaelites fit both criteria under Islam.
>
> 5. Making Abraham's name great or making him a great nation may have
> several meanings. Six criteria have been studied under this heading
> and found that only Arabs (Ishmaelites) and Muslims fulfill the
> criteria whereas the Bani Israel are left behind and lost in the dust.
>
> After this study, it will take courage and neutrality to accept the
> Muslim's claims to Palestine. The prejudiced West, due to its hatred
> of Islam and Arabs, appears to be incapable of accepting the obvious.
> It will take only God's miracle to convince the West about the Truth.
> Obviously, the claim of the Jews to Palestine supported by the western
> Christians is absurd and laughable.
>
> July 10, 2003
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
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#18227

From: "Yehuda Stolov" <yehuda@...>
Date: Wed Dec 2, 2009 12:40 pm
Subject: UK donations & Galilee Women's Interfaith Encounter - two encounters in March

y_stolov

iea-announcements-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Dear friends,

If you are in the UK and wish to make a tax-deductible donation – please consider doing it through the Global Giving website: http://www.globalgiving.co.uk/pr/1600/proj1520a.html

Please also find below two updates from IEA's Galilee Women's Interfaith Encounter group.

Yours,

Yehuda

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(�� – اللغة العربية والانجليزية تتبع اللغة العبرية Arabic & English follow Hebrew)

In March 2009

We went together, 17 women, to Germany for five days in the Frankfurt area. We enjoyed it very much as the German hosts really treated us in the best possible way. They organized a special party for us, for Easter, with a specially decorated hall, giving us gifts and preparing a royal dinner for us. Every day we used to go in a bus, with three people from the municipality, to visit the city and all our needs were very well taken care of. In the evenings we were having social activities t help consolidate our group and get to know each other's culture. It was a genuine opportunity for inter-personal and group acquaintance between the Jewish and Christian women, especially that we were just before Pesach and Easter. The Holiday atmosphere had great impact on the spirit of all the women and brought lots of positive energy to the circle and to all visits and activities in the Frankfurt area.

We returned full of hope, love and desire to continue in encounters and geeting to know each other better.

March 22^nd, 2009

15 Jewish women and 6 Arab women came to the encounter and it was great.

The atmosphere was very pleasant with lots of good will. Especially the Jewish women wanted to hear and get to know the Arab culture so they asked many questions to which the women from the village answered willingly.

It was very interesting and the food was very delicious. We decided that in the next encounter we will start early so we have the chance to visit the village before we eat.

Reported: Randa Zrik-Sabag

�� 2009

�� 17 �� , �� 5 ��, �� . �� , �� , �� . �� 3 �� , �� . �� , �� , �� , �� .

�� , �� .

22/3/09

�� 15 �� -6 ��

�� ,��

�� -�� -�� ظ

�� : �� – ��

في شهر اذار 2009

سافرنا 17 امرأة معا الى المانيا بقينا في منطقة فرنكفورت لمدة 5 ايام سعدنا جدا وكانت متعة رائعة غير طبيعية وتدليل مدهش استقبلونا الالمان بشكل مدهش واقاموا لنا احتفال خاص بمناسبة عيد الفصح القاعة كانت مزينة بشكل رائع ومميز وفي نفس الامسية قاموا بتوزيع الهدايا علينا وقدموا لنا وجبة عشاء مثل الملوك , في كل صباح كنا نخرج في الباصات لجولة في البلد برفقة 3 اشخاص من المجلس واهتموا بكل طلباتنا وهذا الشيء ادهشنا وفي المساء كنا نسهر ونقضي وقتنا في قاعة الفندق كنا نقوم ببعض النشاطات والفعاليات والتعارف وتنسيق البرامج والاقتراحات كانت فرحة لا توصف وكانت فرصة للتعارف على بعض اما بشكل فردي او جماعي بين الزميلات اليهوديات والمسيحيات وخاصة اننا كنا هناك قبل عيد الفصح والفصحة لدى الطائفتين, اثرت اجواء الاعياد في مشاعرنا وعلى مزاجنا فزودتنا بالطاقة في عمل النشاطات والجولات في منطقة فرنكفورت.

عدنا وكلنا فرح وسعادة على امل في استمرارية مثل هذه اللقاءات.

في شهر اذار 22.3.09

التقت مجموعة نساء الجليل في هذا الشهر وكان لقاء ممتاز شارك في هذا اللقاء 15 إمرأة يهودية و 6 نساء عربيات كان جو مريح ولقاء شيق ذو رغبة خاصة لدى النساء اليهوديات اللواتي اردنا الاطلاع ومعرفة الثقافة العربية فبدأنا بطرح الاسئلة المتنوعة ونساء القرية اجبنا على أسئلتهن بكل سرور وكذلك الطعام الذي قدم لهن كان رائع ومثير فقد حددنا موعد اللقاء المقبل ان يكون بعد عيد الفصح عند الطائفة اليهودية وان يكون مبكرا حتى تسنح لنا الفرصة العمل اكثر وتقديم تقرير بذلك.

تقرير رندة زريق – صباغ

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Interfaith Encounter Association

P.O.Box 3814, Jerusalem 91037, Israel

Phone: +972-2-6510520

Fax: +972-2-6510557

Website: www.interfaith-encounter.org

Board:

Ms. Evelyne Savir (Chair)

Dr. Shlomo Alon

Ms. Nadia Tutunji-Nuseibeh

Ms. Saheer Siam

Mr. Rizk Azam

Ms. Randa Zreik-Sabag

Dr. Yehuda Stolov, Executive Director

E-mail: yehuda@...

Mr. Salah Alladin, Assistant Director

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO THE INTERFAITH ENCOUNTER ASSOCIATION. SUPPORT ONE OR MORE OF OUR PROGRAMS AND JOIN US AS A MEMBER IN WORKING FOR INTERFAITH UNDERSTANDING AND PEACE.

All contributions are welcome, small and large!

NEW: Donate securely on-line (tax deductible in the US) at: http://www.interfaith-encounter.org/donations.htm

Contributions made from the U.S., Switzerland and the U.K. are tax deductible.

You and others are welcome to join our e-mailing lists by sending a blank message to:

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Please note that the reports we send out do not necessarily represent the views of the Interfaith Encounter Association or even of the people who wrote them. The reports represent the views of the people who attended an encounter and their primary purpose is to give you a glimpse of what happened in the encounter.

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#18228

From: Siraj <ksiraaj@...>
Date: Wed Dec 2, 2009 10:59 am
Subject: Fw: [wp] FW: Tariq Ramadan on Swiss ban on minarets ( source Guardian)

ksiraaj

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: S A Hannan <sahannan@...>
To: dahuk@yahoogroups.com; witness-pioneer@yahoogroups.com; mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com; khabor@yahoogroups.com; inquisitivesisters@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wed, December 2, 2009 10:49:48 AM
Subject: [wp] FW: Tariq Ramadan on Swiss ban on minarets ( source Guardian)

# guardian.co. uk, Sunday 29 November 2009 20.00 GMT # Article history

My compatriots' vote to ban minarets is fuelled by fear

By Tariq Ramadan

It wasn't meant to go this way. For months we had been told that the efforts to ban the construction of minarets in Switzerland were doomed. The last surveys suggested around 34 percent of the Swiss population would vote for this shocking initiative. Last Friday, in a meeting organized in Lausanne , more than 800 students, professors and citizens were in no doubt that the referendum would see the motion rejected, and instead were focused on how to turn this silly initiative into a more positive future.

Today that confidence was shattered, as 57 percent of the Swiss population did as the Union Dï¿½mocratique du Centre (UDC) had urged them to -- a worrying sign that this populist party may be closest to the people's fears and expectations. For the first time since 1893 an initiative that singles out one community, with a clear discriminatory essence, has been approved in Switzerland . One can hope that the ban will be rejected at the European level, but that makes the result no less alarming. What is happening in Switzerland , the land of my birth?

There are only four minarets in Switzerland , so why is it that it is there that this initiative has been launched? My country, like many in Europe , is facing a national reaction to the new visibility of European Muslims. The minarets are but a pretext -- the UDC wanted first to launch a campaign against the traditional Islamic methods of slaughtering animals but were afraid of testing the sensitivity of Swiss Jews, and instead turned their sights on the minaret as a suitable symbol.

Every European country has its specific symbols or topics through which European Muslims are targeted. In France it is the headscarf or burka; in Germany , mosques; in Britain , violence; cartoons in Denmark ; homosexuality in the Netherlands -- and so on. It is important to look beyond these symbols and understand what is really happening in Europe in general and in Switzerland in particular: while European countries and citizens are going through a real and deep identity crisis, the new visibility of Muslims is problematic -- and it is scary.

At the very moment Europeans find themselves asking, in a globalizing, migratory world, “What are our roots?”, “Who are we?”, “What will our future look like?”, they see around them new citizens, new skin colors, new symbols to which they are unaccustomed.

Over the last two decades Islam has become connected to so many controversial debates -- violence, extremism, freedom of speech, gender discrimination, forced marriage, to name a few -- it is difficult for ordinary citizens to embrace this new Muslim presence as a positive factor. There is a great deal of fear and a palpable mistrust. Who are they? What do they want? And the questions are charged with further suspicion as the idea of Islam being an expansionist religion is intoned. Do these people want to Islamize our country?

The campaign against the minarets was fuelled by just these anxieties and allegations. Voters were drawn to the cause by a manipulative appeal to popular fears and emotions. Posters featured a woman wearing a burka with the minarets drawn as weapons on a colonized Swiss flag. The claim was made that Islam is fundamentally incompatible with Swiss values. (The UDC has in the past demanded my citizenship be revoked because I was defending Islamic values too openly.) Its media strategy was simple but effective. Provoke controversy wherever it can be inflamed. Spread a sense of victimhood among the Swiss people: we are under siege, the Muslims are silently colonizing us and we are losing our very roots and culture. This strategy worked. The Swiss majority are sending a clear message to their Muslim fellow citizens: we do not trust you and the best Muslim for us is the Muslim we cannot see.

Who is to be blamed? I have been repeating for years to Muslim people that they have to be positively visible, active and proactive within their respective western societies. In Switzerland , over the past few months, Muslims have striven to remain hidden in order to avoid a clash. It would have been more useful to create new alliances with all these Swiss organizations and political parties that were clearly against the initiative. Swiss Muslims have their share of responsibility but one must add that the political parties, in Europe as in Switzerland have become cowed, and shy from any courageous policies towards religious and cultural pluralism. It is as if the populists set the tone and the rest follow. They fail to assert that Islam is by now a Swiss and a European religion and that Muslim citizens are largely “integrated”. That we face common challenges, such as unemployment, poverty and violence -- challenges we must face together. We cannot blame the populists alone -- it is a wider failure, a lack of courage, a terrible and narrow-minded lack of trust in their new Muslim citizens.

Tariq Ramadan, a Swiss citizen, is professor of contemporary Islamic studies at Oxford University, and hosts Islam & Life at Iran ’s Press TV.

(Source: The Guardian)

This email was sent to ahmadtotonji@ yahoo.com, by United Muslims of America (UMA). The preceding document was posted on UMAnet - a service of United Muslims of America http://www.umanet. org - Opinions expressed in the above post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official views of UMA

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#18229

From: Rebel News <editor@...>
Date: Wed Dec 2, 2009 7:46 pm
Subject: Paul Craig Roberts: The World’s Least Powerful Man – The Obama Puppet

Paul Craig Roberts: The World’s Least Powerful Man – The Obama Puppet

It didn’t take the Israel Lobby very long to bring President Obama to heel regarding his prohibition against further illegal Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land. Obama discovered that a mere American president is powerless when confronted by the Israel Lobby and that the United States simply is not allowed a Middle East policy separate from Israel’s.

Obama also found out that he cannot change anything else either, if he ever intended to do so.

#18230

From: Rebel News <editor@...>
Date: Wed Dec 2, 2009 5:58 pm
Subject: Christopher Bollyn: Why Afghanistan?

Christopher Bollyn: Why Afghanistan?

In a nationally televised speech at the U.S. Military Acadamy at West Point, President Barack Hussein Obama announced that he will send another 30,000 American soldiers to Afghanistan. Why is Obama sending so many troops to Central Asia? What is the U.S. military really fighting for in Afghanistan? Why are we still there?

#18231

From: Rebel News <editor@...>
Date: Wed Dec 2, 2009 11:00 pm
Subject: Rebel Newsflash on Wednesday, 02 December 2009

Half of US Debt is Owed to Fed (by Henry Makow, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 19:10)

Chelsea Clinton's engagement today to Jewish banker Marc Mezvinsky, who works for Goldman Sachs, is another reminder that America is ruled by the Illuminati clan, joined by marriage, money and love of Lucifer. (Al Gore's daughter married the grandson of Jewish banker, Jacob Schiff.)

The source of Illuminati power is the Fed which has pilfered the US government's credit card and used it to buy politicians and everything else worth owning, creating trillions in tax payer debt.

Why Afghanistan? (by Christopher Bollyn, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 17:36)

In a nationally televised speech at the U.S. Military Acadamy at West Point, President Barack Hussein Obama announced that he will send another 30,000 American soldiers to Afghanistan. Why is Obama sending so many troops to Central Asia? What is the U.S. military really fighting for in Afghanistan? Why are we still there?

Global Warming: 'Fixing the Climate Data around the Policy' (by Michel Chossudovsky, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 16:38)

More than 15,000 people will be gathering in Copenhagen for COP 15: the 15th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Official delegations from 192 nations will mingle with the representatives of major multinational corporations, including Royal Dutch Shell, British Petroleum, The representatives of environmental and civil society organizations will also be in attendance. Parties Observers

'My Name is Rachel Corrie' and Israel's waning impunity (by Charlotte Silver, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 16:20)

On 19 November 2009 the play My Name is Rachel Corrie , was staged at Stanford University. Amanda Gelender produced the play as a part of her Stanford senior thesis. Amanda is my friend and was also my college classmate. We worked together in several campus political organizations, including the student-led Israel divestment campaign.

Palestinian Battle Cry in Cyber Warfare (by Bishop Donald Corder, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 16:13)

Palestinian Battle Cry: "No credible Goldstone Investigation no International Holocaust Remembrance Day!" Echoing the demand for justice in response to the UN General Assembly's endorsement of the 'Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict' (document A/HRC/12/48), informally referred to as the "Goldstone report", after Richard Goldstone, the South African Justice who headed the mission. Goldstone Report provides for litigation in the International Criminal Court...

Read more...

The World’s Least Powerful Man – The Obama Puppet (by Paul Craig Roberts, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 12:13)

Obama also found out that he cannot change anything else either, if he ever intended to do so.

The military/security lobby has war and a domestic police state on its agenda, and a mere American president can’t do anything about it.

President Obama can order the Guantanamo torture chamber closed and kidnapping and rendition and torture to be halted, but no one carries out the order.

Afghanistan: Here We Go Again (by Robert Scheer, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 10:20)

It is already a thirty-year war begun by one Democratic president, and thanks to the political opportunism of the current Commander-in-Chief the Afghanistan war is still without end or logical purpose. President Barack Obama's own top national security adviser has stated that there are fewer than 100 Al Qaeda members in Afghanistan and that they are not capable of launching attacks. What superheroes they must be, then, to require 100,000 US troops to contain them.

Interview with David Duke (by Greg Johnson, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 08:23)

I think only a very few have done so. Even more unfortunately, most of them had no real organization, woefully inadequate finances, and very little political savvy. Often they ran for offices far beyond their reach, such as US House of Representatives, rather than local races or what I think is the best starting point: the state legislature.<

Inside Story: Swiss minaret ban (by Al Jazeera English, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 08:20)

On Sunday, 57 per cent of the Swiss population voted in favour of blocking any new minarets being built attached to mosques. Does the vote reflect a rising tide against Islam across Europe? Is it a rare departure from Swiss neutrality? And is the vote even legal in the first place?

Let's not forget about 'Ziongate' (by Steve Amsel, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 08:17)

Extraordinary efforts by the White House to scupper Britain’s attempts to tackle global warming have been revealed in leaked US government documents obtained by The Observer.

The above is taken from a piece that was written over 4 years ago. There is no doubt that what is written there is a serious threat to mankind. It has become to be known as ‘Climategate’. If you do a Google search on ‘Climategate’ you will come up with close to 13 MILLION entries. It is the talk of the...

Read more...

Abolish the Fed and Return Money Creation Power to Congress (by Stephen J. Lendman, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 08:15)

In her extraordinary book, "Web of Debt," financial writer Ellen Brown tells "the shocking truth about our money system, (how it) trapped us in debt, and how we can break free." She quotes banker/developer Reed Simpson saying:

"Credible evidence (reveals) a world (banking) power elite intent on gaining absolute control over the planet and its natural resources, including its subservient human (ones)." It's the Bilderberg Group classless society idea of rulers, serfs, and no middle class by...

Read more...

Lord Christopher Monckton releases the definitive report on ClimateGate (by F. Swemson, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 08:06)

The whistleblower deep in the basement of one of the ugly, modern tower-blocks of the dismal, windswept University of East Anglia could scarcely have timed it better.

In less than three weeks, the world’s governing class – its classe politique – would meet in Copenhagen, Denmark, to discuss a treaty to inflict an unelected and tyrannical global government on us, with vast and unprecedented powers to control all once-free world markets and to tax and regulate the world’s wealthier...

Read more...

Climategate: it’s all unravelling now (by James Delingpole, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 08:06)

Australia’s Senate rejects Emissions Trading Scheme for a second time. Or: so turkeys don’t vote Christmas. Expect to see a lot more of this: politicians starting to become aware their party’s position on AGW is completely out of kilter with the public mood and economic reality. Kevin Rudd’s Emissions Trading Scheme – what Andrew Bolt calls “a $114 billion green tax on everything” – would have wreaked havoc on the coal-dependent Australian economy. That’s why several...

Read more...

The Rothschild Octopus (by Vlada Sindjelic, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 07:05)

Marxism, globalism, the new world order, liberalism...All these are euphemisms for a phenomenon embodied in the invisible empire of the Rothschild family.

Jacob Rothschild

The Rothschilds do not die, they simply depart into history, and their place is inconspicuously taken by their sons and grandsons. Word goes that the old master Jacob has left the scene, and that his place has been occupied by his son Nathan (Nathaniel Philip Rothschild, who bears the name of the founder...

Read more...

Hezbollah's New Manifesto: The 'Rebirth' (by Franklin Lamb , published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 04:17)

Like many liberation and resistant movement 'Manifestos', 'Charters' or 'Declarations' issued to the public early in its founding - the African National Congress, Palestine Liberation Organization, Hamas, Algerian FLN, and various “Sons of Liberty” groups during the American Revolution, come to mind - Hezbollah has been criticized by its detractors over the years for some language in its 1985 “Open Letter” manifesto. Some have urged Hezbollah to remove ‘controversial language” such...

Read more...

Australia hosts war criminal Ehud Olmert (by Sonja Karkar, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 03:39)

The news that former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was in Australia and was welcomed by the honorable members of our parliament came as somewhat of a shock. It is one thing to have allowed a man charged with corruption and suspected of war crimes into Australia at all; it is another thing that he was listed as a distinguished guest in Hansard -- the official record of parliamentary proceedings -- and received a resounding "hear, hear" from our elected representatives.

Will the Church Act to Save the Children of Gaza This Christmas? (by Stuart Littlewood , published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 02:27)

Two years ago, on returning from Gaza and the West Bank, I wrote about the dire conditions and the British government's complicity in the crippling blockade, and reminded prime minister Gordon Brown that Gaza was formerly entrusted to Britain under mandate, which was reason for us to feel a special responsibility.

I urged him: “Go see for yourselves the misery, the human tragedy and the devastation you have heaped on these nice people. Feel the pain and weep.

Time Marches on but not for Obama (by George S. Hishmeh , published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 02:27)

It is par for the course for the mainstream American media to adopt the U.S. official line on U.S. foreign policy, especially when it concerns the Arab-Israeli conflict, rather than take an independent stance. This does not mean, much to the delight of some foreign policy observers, that this position is universally true since there are few liberal groups, including American Jewish organizations, who do stick their neck out but regrettably with little impact in the halls of government.

One Palestinian Prisoner Could Change the Balance (by Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler , published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 02:27)

The fate of one prisoner locked in an Israeli jail could release the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process from its own jail – provided the timing is right.

The political timing is definitely ripe.

This week a major residual source of tension between Israelis and Palestinians may just be about to be resolved – if German mediation finally overcomes last-minute hitches to the long-awaited exchange – a thousand Palestinian prisoners for the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Lebanonizing Hezbollah or the obverse? Updating Resistance Projects (by Franklin Lamb, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 02:17)

Like many liberation and resistant movement ‘Manifestos’ ‘Charters’ or ‘Declarations’ issued to the public early in its founding – the African National Congress, Palestine Liberation Organization, Hamas, Algerian FLN, and various “Sons of Liberty” groups during the American Revolution, come to mind—Hezbollah has been criticized by its detractors over the years for some language in its 1985 “Open Letter” manifesto. Some have urged Hezbollah to remove ‘controversial...

Read more...

The Magic Negro Hallucinations (by Phillip Marlowe, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 01:34)

Tonight, in his West Point speech, Barry Soetoro (AKA Barack Hussein Obama) committed another 30,000 American soldiers to the infernal Jew wars this country has now been plagued with since 2001. And along with his expansion of the war, Obama gave us another slick dose of America’s moral rights in the world and the usual double-talk about “exit-strategies,” that we once again have to wait to see if it comes true. Some change, huh?

Hamas 'on verge of Gaza war probe' (by Al Jazeera English, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 10:11)

Hamas says that it is on the verge of starting its own investigation into whether it committed war crimes during Israel's war on Gaza.

The probe is one of the main requirements of the recent UN-backed Goldstone Report into the conflict, which took place during December and January. Most of the report's criticism was reserved for Israel.

Israeli police arrest mayor in West Bank settlement (by PressTV, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 10:03)

Israeli police have apprehended the mayor of a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank after protesters prevented security forces to enter the community and enforce a construction freeze.

Mayor of the Beit Arieh settlement in the central West Bank, Avi Naim, was arrested on Wednesday after he and a number of settlers blocked the entrance to the settlement when Israeli troops arrived. Naim later engaged himself in a quarrel with a police officer.

Currency reform sparks anger in North Korea (by PressTV, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 10:03)

North Korea's currency revaluation has sparked anger and frustration in the communist state, as its citizens are seeing much of their savings being wiped out.

Foreign embassies in Pyongyang have confirmed that North Koreans have been given a week to exchange old notes for the new ones.

Iran to enrich uranium to 20 percent for needed fuel (by PressTV, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 10:03)

Days after Iran announced that it would start building ten new industrial scale enrichment plants, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Iran will start enriching uranium to a level of 20 percent.

Addressing a crowd in Iran's central province of Isfahan, President Ahmadinejad said the West has been making efforts to get in the way of Iran's nuclear progress.

Joining the tunnel diggers in the Gaza Strip (by Deutsche Welle, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 12:14)

Tania Krämer joins the tunnel diggers in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas commander killed in central Gaza (by PressTV, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 08:02)

A senior commander for the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Hamas movement, has died in the central Gaza Strip.

"Yasser Sabri Radi, 37, a field commander in the Qassam Brigades from Nuseirat Camp in central Gaza, was martyred on Wednesday morning while undertaking a jihad-related task," AFP quoted a statement released by the resistance group.

Israel strips more Palestinians of Jerusalem status (by Douglas Hamilton, Reuters, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 10:11)

Israel stripped Palestinians of Jerusalem residency status last year at a faster rate than at any time in the history of the Jewish state, an Israeli rights group said on Wednesday, citing official Israeli statistics.

"Revocation of residence has reached frightening proportions," said Dalia Kerstein, executive director of Israel's HaMoked Center for the Defense of the Individual.

NATO pledges 5,000 more troops to Afghanistan (by PressTV, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 10:03)

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says the alliance will send at least 5,000 more troops to fight militancy in Afghanistan.

On Wednesday, Rasmussen told reporters in Brussels that the NATO member states were ready to throw their support behind US President Barack Obama's new Afghan strategy.

Australia Rejects Carbon Emission Laws (by Telegraph.co.uk, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 08:23)

The defeat by parliament's upper house Senate ends Rudd's hopes of taking his legislated climate commitments to next week's global talks in Copenhagen, where world leaders will discuss new targets to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

The rejection gives a legal trigger to allow him to call an early election on climate change that could come in early 2010, and to then ram his laws through a special joint sitting of both houses of parliament if he is returned to power.

Obama's hard sell of war policy (by Al Jazeera English, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 08:20)

Eight years of war in Afghanistan have left many Americans questioning the costs of the war and whether US commitment should continue.

With Barack Obama, the US president, expected to announce an increase of 34,000 troops for Afghanistan on Tuesday, he faces a hard sell of his war policy.

Afghanistan: 'Graveyard of empires' (by Al Jazeera English, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 08:20)

Afghanistan has been called the 'graveyard of empires' - a land that has never been conquered by a foreign force.

Russia's red army spent a decade there and returned to the Soviet Union broken and defeated.

As the US sends more troops to Afghanistan, it could learn from the former Soviet Union's experience there.

US anti-war activists step up protests (by Al Jazeera English, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 08:20)

Even before Washington announced the deployment of more troops to Afghanistan, US public support for the war was at an all time low.

Anti-war activists say the decision to send more troops will leave many Americans disappointed.

Merkel expresses regret for Afghan air strike (by PressTV, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 02:51)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel expresses "regret" for an air strike in Afghanistan three months ago that resulted in the death of dozens of Afghan civilians.

Merkel made the remarks after a meeting with visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Obama's Afghan gambit to cost $30bn (by PressTV, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 02:51)

The financial burden on the US military has increased, as US President Barack Obama announced that a recent troops surge will cost $30 billion this year.

After months of mulling over a new strategy for the deteriorating mission in Afghanistan, Obama finally announced on Tuesday that the US would increase the number of American soldiers in Afghanistan by some 40 percent — or 30,000 extra troops.

Iran releases five British yachtsmen (by PressTV, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 01:43)

Iran has released five British nationals who were detained by Iranian naval forces after their yacht strayed into southern Persian Gulf waters.

"Five Britons, who have been detained after their illegal entrance into the waters of the Islamic Republic near Siri island, were freed a few hours ago," Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday.

US to deploy 30,000 troops to Afghanistan: Obama (by PressTV, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 00:11)

US President Barack Obama has decided to dispatch 30,000 more soldiers to Afghanistan and has asked NATO allies for more troops.

In a live televised speech at the US Military Academy at West Point, New York on Tuesday, he said the troops will be deployed in the first part of 2010.

He stated that the fresh troops would target the resurgent Taliban, secure key population centers, and train military personnel.

The Arab street - Amman (by Al Jazeera English, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 02:26)

The future of Palestine and Iraqi refugees, and women's equality all issues which excite strong opinions and arguments in Amman, Jordan's capital.

Prisoner deal with Israel likely in December, Hamas says (by PressTV, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 00:11)

The Hamas interior minister says that a prisoner exchange with Israel is likely to take place this month as a German mediator is in Gaza City to deliver Israel's final response to Hamas' demands over the impending deal.

“We hope, and we are endeavoring to complete the deal on December 14, which commemorates the 22nd anniversary of Hamas. It will also be close to the first anniversary of the Israeli war against the Gaza Strip on December 27. The two anniversaries will mark a holiday for...

Read more...

General Motors boss Henderson quits (by PressTV, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 08:02)

The Chief Executive of General Motors, Fritz Henderson, has resigned after eight turbulent months as head of the largest US automaker.

The firm's board of directors accepted Henderson's resignation Tuesday, while praising him for doing a "remarkable job" in leading the company through an unprecedented period of challenge and change.

Chairman Ed Whitacre is now to temporarily replace Henderson.

Japan to pump $115bn in loans to stem deflation (by PressTV, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 04:03)

The rising value of the yen against the US dollar has forced Japan to pump $115 billion into the market to revive the island's economic growth.

The move came after the yen climbed to a 14-year high against the dollar last week.

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) says it has also kept the lending rate at 0.1 percent to stem deflation.

IMF concerned of overvalued euro (by PressTV, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 00:25)

The eurozone finance ministers as well as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conclude in a meeting of 16 countries that use euro as a single currency that it is "overvalued".

Marek Belka, Director of the IMF's European Department, said some adjustment had to be made regarding the overvaluation of the euro.

Irish churches desperately look for priests (by PressTV, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 06:06)

Ireland's Catholic churches may soon be left without sufficient priests to run their routine affairs, the Time magazine writes.

Earlier this month, the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, had made a grim prediction about the future of the church in Ireland: "If more young priests aren't found quickly, the country's parishes may soon not have enough clergy to survive," Archbishop Martin said.

Stem cells can repair damaged hearts (by PressTV, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 10:03)

Bone marrow stem cells can be used to help the heart that has been damaged after a heart attack repair the injury, a new study finds.

Previous studies had reported that the injection of stem cells extracted from the patient directly into the heart can treat heart attack patients.

Mammograms cause breast cancer, groundbreaking new research declares (by S. L. Baker, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 08:23)

Ever since the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force took a look, finally, at the scientific evidence and announced new recommendations earlier this month for routine mammograms -- specifically that women under 50 should avoid them and women over 50 should only get them every other year -- the reactions from many women, doctors and the mainstream media have reached the point of near hysteria. Not getting annual mammograms, some say, means countless women will receive a virtual death sentence...

Read more...

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#18232

From: Rebel News <editor@...>
Date: Wed Dec 2, 2009 7:27 pm
Subject: Henry Makow: Half Of US Debt Is Owed to Fed

Henry Makow: Half Of US Debt Is Owed to Fed

Chelsea Clinton's engagement today to Jewish banker Marc Mezvinsky, who works for Goldman Sachs, is another reminder that America is ruled by the Illuminati clan, joined by marriage, money and love of Lucifer. (Al Gore's daughter married the grandson of Jewish banker, Jacob Schiff.)

The source of Illuminati power is the Fed which has pilfered the US government's credit card and used it to buy politicians and everything else worth owning, creating trillions in tax payer debt.

#18233

From: Yoshe Revelle <yosherevelle@...>
Date: Wed Dec 2, 2009 10:59 pm
Subject: (: Be joyful THIS moment :) ...

yosherevelle

and THIS moment :) ...

#18234

From: new george <newgeorge_@...>
Date: Thu Dec 3, 2009 4:11 pm
Subject: RE: [IFDC] (: Be joyful THIS moment :) ...

this could be quite a long thread :O

To: Stand4SomethingPositive@yahoogroups.com; unionews@yahoogroups.com; stormingheaven@yahoogroups.com; InterfaithDialogueCenter@yahoogroups.com
From: yosherevelle@...
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 2009 14:59:00 -0800
Subject: [IFDC] (: Be joyful THIS moment :) ...

and THIS moment :) ...

Add other email accounts to Hotmail in 3 easy steps. Find out how.

#18235

From: Siraj <ksiraaj@...>
Date: Thu Dec 3, 2009 4:06 pm
Subject: Jesus' teachings about greed

ksiraaj

Jesus' teachings about greed
12/1/2009 - Religious - Article Ref: IC0911-4004
Number of comments:
By: Tarif Khalidi
IslamiCity* -

A man once accompanied Jesus, saying to him, "I want to be with you and be your companion." They set forth and reached the bank of a river; where they sat down to eat. They had with them three loaves. They ate two loaves, and a third remained. Jesus then rose and went to the river to drink. When he returned, he did not find the third loaf, so he asked the man: "Who took the loaf?" "I do not know," the man replied.

Jesus set forth once more with the man, and he saw a doe [a female deer] with two of her young. Jesus called one of the two, and it came to him. Jesus then slaughtered it, roasted some of it; and ate with his companion. Then he said to the young deer, "Rise, by God's leave." The deer rose and left. Jesus then turned to his companion and said, "I ask you in the name of Him who showed you this miracle, who took the loaf?" "I do not know," the man replied.

The two of them then came to a body of water in a valley. Jesus took the man by the hand and they walked upon the water. When they had crossed over, Jesus said to him, "I ask you in the name of Him who showed you this miracle, who took the loaf?" "I do not know," the man replied.

They then came to a waterless desert and sat down upon the ground. Jesus began to gather some earth and sand, and then said, "Turn to gold, by God's leave," and it did so. Jesus divided the gold into three portions and said, "A third for me, a third for you, and a third for whoever took the loaf." The man said, "It was I who took the loaf." Jesus said, "The gold is all yours."

Jesus then left him. Two men came upon him [Jesus' companion] in the desert with the gold, and wanted to rob and kill him. He said to them, "Let us divide it into three portions among us, and send one of you to town to buy us some food to eat." One of them was sent off, and then said to himself, "Why should I divide the gold with those two? Rather, I shall poison the food and have the gold to myself." He went off and did so.

Meanwhile, the two who stayed behind said to each other, "Why should we give him a third of the gold? Instead, let us kill him when he returns and divide the money between the two of us." When he returned, they killed him, ate the food, and died; The gold remained in the desert with the three men dead beside it. Jesus passed by, found them in that condition, and said to his companions, "This is the world. Beware of it."

This story is excerpted from the book "The Muslim Jesus" by Tarif Khalidi. The book presents in English the largest collection of the sayings and stories of Jesus in Islamic literature.

Reference:

Abu Bakr ibn Abi al-Dunya (d. 281/894), Kitab Dilamm al-Dunya, in Mawsu'at Rasa'il, 2:49, excerpt no. 87. Cf. al-Ghazali, IIIya', 3:267 (Asin, pp. 383-384, no. 54; Mansur, no. 136; Robson, pp. 97-99); al-Makki, Qut, 1:255 (Asin, pp. 387-388, no. 54 quater; Mansur, no. 26); al-Thriushi, Siraj, pp. 79-80; Ibn 'Asakir, Sirat, p. 95, no. 82; al-Abshihi, al-Mustatraf 2:263-264 (Asin, p. 385, no. 54 his and pp. 386-387, no. 54 ter; slight variation).

#18236

From: Yoshe Revelle <yosherevelle@...>
Date: Thu Dec 3, 2009 9:12 pm
Subject: RE: [IFDC] (: Be joyful THIS moment :) ... new george

yosherevelle

Sometimes there are also tears of release.

--- On Thu, 12/3/09, new george <newgeorge_@...> wrote:

From: new george <newgeorge_@...>
Subject: RE: [IFDC] (: Be joyful THIS moment :) ...
To: "interfaith" <interfaithdialoguecenter@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Thursday, December 3, 2009, 8:11 AM

this could be quite a long thread :O

To: Stand4SomethingPosi tive@yahoogroups .com; unionews@yahoogroup s.com; stormingheaven@ yahoogroups. com; InterfaithDialogueC enter@yahoogroup s.com
From: yosherevelle@ yahoo.com
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 2009 14:59:00 -0800
Subject: [IFDC] (: Be joyful THIS moment :) ...

and THIS moment :) ...

and THIS moment :) ...

Add other email accounts to Hotmail in 3 easy steps. Find out how.

#18237

From: Siraj <ksiraaj@...>
Date: Thu Dec 3, 2009 8:52 pm
Subject: IUMS Statement on the Swiss Minarets Ban

ksiraaj

Yusuf Al-Qaradawi is the Head of the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) and the President of The International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS). He has been active in the field of da`wah and the Islamic movement for more than half a century.

IUMS Statement on the Swiss Minarets Ban

IUMS Calls on Swiss Muslims to Remain Calm and to Avoid Agitation

By Dr. Yusuf Al-Qaradawi

President, the International Union for Muslim Scholars — Qatar

Doha, 14 Dhul-Hijjah, 1430 (1st December, 2009)

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) and upon his family, Companions and all those who follow his guidance.

The International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS) has received with shock and surprise the results of the Swiss referendum on the proposed amendment to Article 72 of the Swiss Constitution, to include a new clause banning the building of minarets. As the results of the referendum show that 57.4% of voters approved of the amendment, it reveals a clear contradiction between the Swiss peoples' flaunting and boasting of democracy and religious freedom, and the racist and "Islamophobic" content of this referendum, which contradicts with all human rights constitutions and conventions, religious freedoms, and cultural diversity. Today, they ban minarets, and tomorrow they may ban the mosques themselves! What could prevent it as long as the racist right wing movement that is intolerant towards foreigners is leading this campaign! It is well known for all that minarets only constitute a signpost for the places of worship and that they have no other significance, whether political or otherwise. Rather, they represent a beautiful architectural symbol that is a witness to the country's tolerance and cultural and religious diversity.

Indeed, those who drew up such a resolution among narrow-minded right wing extremists have taken advantage of the nurtured fear from Muslims by warning of the alleged expansion of their religious demands in the Swiss state, and went as far as claiming that Muslims work for "Minarets today, and the application of Shari`ah tomorrow!" Well, this is sheer delusion and a flight of fancy. If most Muslim countries themselves do not apply Shari`ah, how can a sound minded person believe that people in Europe, who are mostly non-Muslims, would apply Shari`ah?

And though the current parliament and government did not approve of holding the referendum in the first place, and the church bishops opposed it, still the result of the referendum is disappointing for the Muslim minority living among the Swiss society who represent a bright example in their moral and humanitarian dealings through their integration, co-existence and openness towards all members of the Swiss society. Besides, such a result has thwarted all the expectations of Muslim minorities living in the West in general, and stirred their apprehension of such moves that could possibly be adopted by similar right-wing parties in other countries. Those right-wing parties, in turn, could follow similar steps as a means of applying more restrictions against Muslims in any European country, and exploit the Islamophobic environment that has intensified due to incessant instigation by the media machine that distorts the image of Islam and Muslims and portrays them in other than their true nature.

Likewise, this result has frustrated the expectations of all Muslims around the world, and we think it will lead to substantial revisions and raise questions about the feasibility of dialogue and rapprochement between Muslims and non-Muslims in the Islamic world in general, and especially in the West, since the status of some Muslim religious symbols and places of worship in this cultural environment have become susceptible to debates, laws and referendums every now and then! So, what is then the point of holding dialogue, if it enhances the stance of extremist elements among Muslims who say that the West with whom you call us to dialogue and cooperate hates you and chases you away!

Building on this painful reality and also on our responsibility towards these Muslim minorities, the IUMS maintains the following:

1- The result of this referendum, even though it represents the view of the majority of Swiss voters, reflects a new pattern of hostility towards Islam and Muslims in this country, in particular, and in Europe, in general. In fact, the extremist right wing party in The Netherlands declared within less than 24 hours of the referendum their approval and endorsement of the results, and announced their determination to hold a similar referendum for banning minarets in The Netherlands. This, then, is an evil practice that has intensified hatred and racial prejudice against Muslims.

IUMS calls on the Muslim minority in Switzerland to remain calm, to avoid agitation and to follow peaceful civilized and legal means

2- In spite of the opposition of the Swiss government to this referendum, they are required to assume full responsibility for the consequences that could entail it, mainly the aggravation of the phenomenon of hatred towards Islam and Muslims in Switzerland. Indeed, they are required to take all necessary measures to prevent the spread of this phenomenon, which is manifested through the media campaign that preceded this referendum.

3- Undoubtedly, the result of this referendum will help extremists on both sides raise their voices in support of enmity, violence and terrorism, and this would have negative impact on the moderates on both sides who call for peaceful coexistence, mutual respect and positive integration of Muslim minorities into their European environment.

4- The IUMS calls on the Muslim minority in Switzerland to remain calm, to avoid agitation and to follow peaceful civilized and legal means in response to this matter. One of the top priorities is cooperation with local and international organizations that declared their opposition to this referendum and its consequences on the grounds of its contradiction with basic human rights, including the right to freely establish places of worship in the way people deem suitable and to practice religious rituals. It is therefore important that the Muslim minority works with these organizations for raising a complaint before Swiss and European courts and before the European Court of Human Rights to challenge the legality of this referendum.

5- The IUMS calls upon Muslims all over the world to express their rejection of this racist Islamophobic referendum in peaceful ways, such as sending protest messages to Swiss embassies in all countries in order to show their opposition to this provocative act, which is a sign of ignorance of the reality of Islam as a universal religion that teaches love, mercy, and mutual acquaintance among nations and peoples. This position could also be expressed through interviews and demonstrations in front of Swiss embassies in different countries.

6- The IUMS requests that the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), on the occasion of this referendum, launches an international campaign in countries that have Muslim minorities, especially in the West, to explain the dangerous impact of this referendum on the future of coexistence between Muslims and non-Muslims in other societies, and to expose the double standards and contradictions in the western discourse that grants western citizens the freedom of expression to curse the Prophet of Islam and mock religious sanctuaries, while in the meantime deny freedom of expression in the form of a structural symbol that neither harms nor involves transgression against anyone!

7- We would like to seize the opportunity and address this message to all wise and judicious people in the West, rather in the whole world, among politicians, intellectuals, priests and monks, telling them that moving towards racial discrimination and inflicting harm on Muslims and restricting their freedom through enacting laws that are unjust to them would never be of interest to any of us, Muslims and non-Muslims. Rather, it would blow on the embers of enmity and feud in the world. The interest of all parties is in mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and propagation of the culture of love and tolerance.

The IUMS also affirms that the Muslim minority in Switzerland should deal with the Swiss society from the perspective that they are part and parcel of it, to maintain their loyalty and sincerity to the homeland where they live, to work hard and honestly for the progress of that homeland, and to pay no regard to those who instigate and feed the flame of hatred. Rather, they should invite them with wisdom and argue with them in a way that is better, and they should never despair of persuading them of their point of view. And if anyone does wrong to them, they should pardon them as Almighty Allah (Exalted be He) says, (Repel (Evil) with what is better: Then will he between whom and thee was hatred become as it were thy friend and intimate!) (Fussilat 41:34).

All praise is due to Allah.

Yusuf Al-Qaradawi
President of the International Union for Muslim Scholars

#18238

From: Siraj <ksiraaj@...>
Date: Fri Dec 4, 2009 11:40 am
Subject: In Cold Blood

ksiraaj

http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2620/stories/20091009262001000.htm

In cold blood

ANUPAMA KATAKAM

A magisterial inquiry report slamming top police officers in Gujarat for a fake encounter opens a can of worms.

AMIT DAVE/REUTERS

The body of Ishrat Jahan, who was killed in an alleged fake encounter in Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004.

FOR five long years, the families of Ishrat Jahan and Javed Sheikh have been crying themselves hoarse saying the two were innocent and were killed in a calculated move by the Gujarat Police. But the police claimed that the duo were Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives on a mission, along with two others, to kill Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, and that acting on intelligence information, they had intercepted the car in which Ishrat and Javed were travelling and shot all the four passengers therein.

The families got the first taste of justice on September 7 when Ahmedabad Metropolitan Magistrate S.P. Tamang submitted his statutory inquest report of the incident, which occurred on June 15, 2004. In a detailed, scathing and honest account of the “encounter”, Tamang sums up that the four were murdered in a “systemic manner, cold bloodedly, mercilessly and cruelly”. The report will be part of a special investigation that has been set up to probe into the unnatural deaths of Ishrat and Javed and the two alleged Pakistani LeT operatives who were in the car. Tamang’s report has opened a can of worms. As he reconstructs the events and the actual killing, a horrific and disturbing picture unravels itself. The report says innocent people were brutally killed in the name of protecting the Chief Minister. Tamang accuses a few top police officers in the State of carrying out these encounters in order to get promotions. He states quite bluntly that the entire Ishrat-Javed “encounter” was stage-managed.

DIFFERENT VERSIONS

According to the Gujarat Police, Ishrat and Javed, LeT operatives who were out to assassinate Modi, also had on them ammunition and weapons to blow up the rath yatra that was to be held in Gujarat at the time. The police maintain that they intercepted them and two other men, allegedly Pakistanis entering Ahmedabad and, after an exchange of gunfire, killed the quartet in the car.

The families of Ishrat and Javed, their counsel, and human rights groups, however, have a completely different story to tell. According to Javed’s father Gopinath Pillai (Javed had converted to Islam), his son and family, who had driven from Pune to Kerala to spend a week with them, returned on June 8 and reached Ahmednagar en route on June 10. Javed told his wife, Sajeda, that he needed to go to Mumbai for a day and would return by June 12 to pick her up. Sajeda corroborates this by saying that Javed left for Mumbai telling her that he needed to collect some money and would be back within a day. Her last conversation with him was on June 11.

According to Ishrat’s mother, Shamima Kausar, whose family lived in Mumbra (near Thane), Ishrat had started working for Javed a few months before the incident. The family was entirely dependent on her for an income. Javed had said Ishrat would need to travel with him occasionally. Therefore, it was not unnatural for her daughter to leave the city on work, she said. Javed had apparently asked Ishrat to meet him on June 11 for some job, and Ishrat left a message for her mother saying she would be in touch.

“We kept calling her but it kept saying, ‘out of coverage area’. We got the news of her death on June 15,” said Shamima Kausar.

Little information is available on what happened to Ishrat and Javed between June 11 and June 15. A human rights activist alleges that the duo were kidnapped and kept in a secret location until the Gujarat Police figured out how to plan the encounter.

When the killings were made public, there were many missing pieces to the puzzle. For instance, why did Ishrat’s family not know where she had gone? What were they doing in Gujarat? Who were the other two men in the car?

Film-maker Shubradeep Chakravorty, who has done extensive research and documentation on the incident, says there are no missing pieces. By talking to family members and friends, it is generally believed, the events up to June 11 can be pieced together. No one knows anything after that.

“They were picked up by the police. I can confirm that. And in all likelihood it was done in collusion with the Maharashtra Police,” said a former Gujarat police officer.

Why was Javed targeted? A source in the police said Javed fitted the bill of a “suspicious” person who could be involved in anti-national activities. The most incriminating evidence they had against him was that he had two passports with different names. He had also travelled to Gulf countries on many occasions and hence the conclusion that he had been recruited by the LeT. He was an easy target. Many of these men are profiled and their movements are tracked by the intelligence wing, said the officer.

Ishrat, on the other hand, appeared to be a classic case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, said the source. When Javed was kidnapped, she might have been present and taken too. Perhaps, she saw too much and, therefore, had to be done away with.

Ishrat’s background has nothing dubious about it. She came from a poor family that lives in Mumbra. She was a second-year B.Sc. student aspiring to become a teacher. Just days before the encounter, she had been tutoring children. As the summer holidays had begun, she needed money and, therefore, took up the job Javed offered.

TAMANG’S REPORT

A file photo of Ishrat Jahan, reproduced from the family album.

The Tamang report is the first move in the legal battle, said lawyer Mukul Sinha, who has helped Ishrat’s family in the judicial process. The silver lining is that names have been named and the cloud of doubt that Ishrat and Javed may have been terrorists has been lifted. For the families it is very important. Magistrate Tamang debunks the police claim that the four were LeT operatives who were on a terror assignment to kill Modi. By scrutinising the autopsy reports and recording statements of Ishrat’s and Javed’s relatives, and by piecing together other forms of evidence, he says the police officers colluded “with each other, for their personal interest, which included to secure their promotion, to maintain his posting, so as to falsely show excellent performance, to get special appreciation from the Hon’ble Chief Minister and to gain popularity…”.

Some of Tamang’s key findings are:

1. From the autopsy report he finds that the deaths must have occurred much ahead of the time given. The police say Ishrat and Javed were shot around 4 a.m. on June 15, 2004. Rigor mortis normally sets in two to three hours after death occurs. In their case, Tamang says, rigor mortis was well developed when the post-mortem was conducted at 3-40 p.m. on June 15. If they had been killed at 4 a.m., rigor mortis would not have been so severe.

2. Tamang says the victims were never in a confrontation with the police. He proves this by stating that the bullet injuries on the bodies were from being shot at close range. He says that when shot at close range the exit wound would be bigger than the entry wound. And this is the case in each of the bodies. For instance, one of Javed’s bullet entry wounds measured 1 cm. The bullet’s exit point measured 1.5x1.0 cm. “As per the principle of medical jurisprudence, the deceased was shot dead from close distance, and at the time when said deceased was in sitting position….” Javed was shot 16 times, says the report.

3. If they were in a confrontation, why were there no casualties among the cops, asks Tamang. He states that the weapons found near the bodies were unlicensed and were planted by the police to make the scene look genuine. Hand-washes taken of the dead prove that none of them had held a weapon.

4. He believes the identity cards of the two alleged Pakistani men were false and planted. The names on the card were in English. Tamang construes that if they were Pakistani, the language should have been Urdu.

5. An amount of Rs.2,06,610 was found in a suitcase in the boot of the car. Tamang says such an amount would normally be kept under lock and key, but it was not. He believes the police planted that cash. Furthermore, if the victim was travelling, he should have money on his person. Not a single rupee was found on Javed.

6. Also, if this was a chance encounter, where were the normal possessions of the passengers, asks Tamang. For example, wrist watches, mobile phones, wallets, and so on. None of these was found on the bodies.

7. Tracing the events that led up to the encounter, Tamang says the victims were kept under unlawful detention and then mercilessly shot in a set-up. He says there is no evidence linking Ishrat and Javed to the LeT.

8. What comes as most damning for the Gujarat government is the detailed list of police officers involved in the encounter. Among the high-ranking officers, Tamang names K.R. Kaushik, Commissioner of Police, Ahmedabad; P.P. Pandey, Joint Police Commissioner, Crime Branch; D.G. Vanzara, Deputy Inspector-General of Police (at that time a Crime Branch officer); G.L. Singhal, Additional Police Commissioner; and N.K Amin, Assistant Commissioner of Police.

Ironically, Vanzara was arrested in April 2008 for confessing to the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kauser Bi in an encounter in Ahmedabad in November 2005.

A question that begs to be asked is why the police thought they could get away with the killing? They tried to make it look like an encounter, but from the emerging evidence it is becoming more and more apparent that it was a planned killing.

The former police official said: “After the riots, the police were given a free hand in doing away with any threat to Modi. Perhaps they got a little ahead of themselves and thought they would get away with this too.”

The Modi government has rubbished Tamang’s report, stating that it was “bad in law” and would be challenged in an appropriate court. State Minister Jay Narayan Vyas said the report by the Metropolitan Magistrate did not have any sanction of appropriate law as the Gujarat High Court had ordered a committee to probe the same incident. The Gujarat High Court has since stayed the report.

A lawyer in Ahmedabad said the magistrate’s report was a statutory requirement in the case of encounter deaths. Vyas also said an affidavit filed by the Home Ministry in the High Court had made clear references to the terrorist connections of the four. Quoting from the affidavit, Vyas said the Centre had received specific inputs that the LeT had been planning to carry out terrorist activities in various parts of the country, including Gujarat, and that it was planning to assassinate top national and State leaders. When Ishrat and Javed were shot, the Centre had made some noises about having intelligence evidence proving the duo’s link to militant groups. That evidence is yet to be shared.

Following the 2002 Gujarat pogrom, there have been five major encounter killings in the State. The police have justified each incident by saying they had adequate information to prove that the victims were militants on a mission to murder Modi.

A petty criminal, Sameer Khan, was shot dead in Ahmedabad on October 22, 2002, for allegedly conspiring to kill Modi. Sadiq Jamal Mehtar was killed on January 13, 2003, also for the same reason. Shubradeep Chakravorty, who tracked Mehtar’s killing, said the man had been charged in a small gambling case. He was very poor and had been in the Gulf for employment, but was not paid. When he returned the police caught him and said he was in the Gulf training under the LeT and killed him when he tried to “escape”.

Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Kauser Bi were arrested from a bus on their way from Hyderabad to Gujarat. Both were killed by the Gujarat Police accusing them of being part of a conspiracy to assassinate Modi. Kauser Bi’s body was never found. Geeta Johri, Inspector-General of Police, Gujarat, was asked to probe into this incident. A consequence of her report was the arrest of top police officers Vanzara and R.K. Pandiyan.

Reply | Messages in this Topic (4)

#18239

From: Rebel News <editor@...>
Date: Thu Dec 3, 2009 2:06 pm
Subject: John Kaminski: We're on the wrong road

John Kaminski: We're on the wrong road

When you make money the centerpiece of your existence, you guarantee your daughters will become whores and your sons criminals. Really, you guarantee your children will be killed for no good reason. Just take a look at 20th century history. Just turn on the TV.

The great reporter Christopher Bollyn recently made one of the most important points that possibly can be made in his recent story "Why Afghanistan?," which examined President Obama's false reasoning for continuing to torture that luckless Central Asian nation.

#18240

From: Rebel News <editor@...>
Date: Thu Dec 3, 2009 2:18 pm
Subject: Stephen Lendman: Obamathink on Afghanistan - Escalate to Exit

Stephen Lendman: Obamathink on Afghanistan - Escalate to Exit

Ahead of his address to the nation on December 1, The New York Times broke the news in an Eric Schmitt article titled, "Obama Issues Order for More Troops in Afghanistan," saying:

During a late November 29 Oval Office meeting with top Pentagon brass, "Obama issued orders to send about 30,000 additional American troops to Afghanistan (over the next six months in) what may be one of the most defining decisions of his presidency." Compounding months of public betrayal, it's perhaps another outrage that will make him a one-term president, the way Vietnam ended Lyndon Johnson's hope for a second term.

#18241

From: Rebel News <editor@...>
Date: Thu Dec 3, 2009 11:00 pm
Subject: Rebel Newsflash on Thursday, 03 December 2009

Ron Paul: Obama Is Preparing for Perpetual War (by Steve Watson, published Thursday, 03 December 2009 16:04)

In comments before the House and during a televised interview yesterday, Congressman Ron Paul pointed out that with the decision to increase troop presence in Afghanistan and into Pakistan, president Obama is preparing to continue on the path of "perpetual war for perpetual peace".

"I think it's a bit misleading." The Congressman told Fox Business, following Obama's speech to the nation last ...

Read more...

Jewry's War On White America (by Nathanael Kapner, published Thursday, 03 December 2009 14:50)

Jewry has been waging a relentless war on White America ever since its first large scale wave of immigration to America from Eastern Europe and Russia beginning in 1880.

The first attack on White America, (perceived by the Jews as a power bloc that would oppose their lust for power and control), took place in the public school system at the turn of the 20th Century.

Desperate Obamanoids Cite al-CIA-duh to Justify Afghan Escalation (by Kurt Nimmo, published Thursday, 03 December 2009 14:04)

It’s another example there is absolutely no difference between the Bush and Obama administrations, the lamentations of Dick Cheney not withstanding. Bilderberg doorstop and current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Bush era leftover Secretary of War and Destruction Robert Gates have mounted a corporate media defense campaign in favor of Obama’s widely condemned mass murder escalation in Afghanistan.

We're on the wrong road (by John Kaminski, published Thursday, 03 December 2009 13:52)

When you make money the centerpiece of your existence, you guarantee your daughters will become whores and your sons criminals. Really, you guarantee your children will be killed for no good reason. Just take a look at 20th century history. Just turn on the TV.

The great reporter Christopher Bollyn recently made one of the most important points that possibly can be made in his recent story "Why Afghanistan? ," which examined President Obama's false reasoning for continuing to torture that...

Read more...

Accessory vs. Perpetrator (by Gilad Atzmon, published Thursday, 03 December 2009 13:29)

German State Prosecutors Hans-Joachim Lutz announced yesterday that Mr John Demjanjuk, 89, is accused of being an ‘accessory’ of the death of 27,900 Jews.

Many of us may not understand what the legal notion of ‘accessory’ stands for. An ‘accessory’ is a person who assists in the commission of a crime, but who does not actually participate in the commission of the crime as a joint principal.

Inside Israeli jails, the Real victims of a Cry for Justice (by Jesse Rosenfeld, published Thursday, 03 December 2009 10:14)

Amid the growing media fever over a possible prisoner swap involving the release of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier held by Hamas, another young captive has a less visible public profile – but personifies Israel’s chokehold on Palestinian self-expression.

Mohammad Othman, 33, from the West Bank town of Jayyous, and an activist with the grassroots Palestinian organisation Stop the Wall, was arrested on September 22 at the Allenby Bridge crossing on the Jordanian border. He was on his way...

Read more...

The Salahi Scandal: Homeland Security or Homeland Enslavement? (by Chuck Baldwin, published Thursday, 03 December 2009 10:12)

By now, most readers are familiar with the story of how a Virginia couple, Michaele and Tareq Salahi, crashed the White House State Dinner last Tuesday evening. President and Mrs. Obama were entertaining Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the first official State Dinner of the new administration. The Salahis were not on the invited guest list, but were still allowed to walk right into the White House . They even had face-to-face conversations with both President Obama and ...

Read more...

Obamathink on Afghanistan: Escalate to Exit (by Stephen J. Lendman, published Thursday, 03 December 2009 08:16)

Ahead of his address to the nation on December 1, The New York Times broke the news in an Eric Schmitt article titled, "Obama Issues Order for More Troops in Afghanistan," saying:

During a late November 29 Oval Office meeting with top Pentagon brass, "Obama issued orders to send about 30,000 additional American troops to Afghanistan (over the next six months in) what may be one of the most defining decisions of his presidency." Compounding months of public betrayal, it's perhaps another outrage...

Read more...

Cartoon Exposes 'Hate Crimes' Law Insanity (by David Duke, published Thursday, 03 December 2009 08:08)

A Mallard Fillmore cartoon has caused political controversy among the politically correct, so much so that one of the cartoons’ syndicated publications, Newsday , issued an apology. After all, a large newspaper in America has an obligation to censor anything that challenges the orthodoxies of our times. We can’t have anything in our papers that make us think!

The Threat (by Manti al-Tayr, published Thursday, 03 December 2009 08:03)

Okay folks here goes. Islam is the single biggest threat today facing the United States, the West, India and Easter Island. The Muslims want to kill you and eat your children. They are lying in wait for us to kill us wherever they can find us. Muhammad Ata, Sirhan Sirhan, Butros Butros Butros Ghali, the Blind Shaykh, Hosny Mobarak, King Abdallah bin Hussein, Umm Kulthum, Daoud al-Gaubatz, Amr Khaled and Shaykh Muhammad Tantawi all have one thing in common. They speak Arabic [except for...

Read more...

Jesus was NOT a Jew (by Benjamin Freedman, published Thursday, 03 December 2009 06:17)

The utterance by the Christian clergy which confuses Christians the most is the constantly repeated utterance that "Jesus was a Jew." ... That misrepresentation and distortion of an incontestable historic fact is uttered by the Christian clergy upon the slightest pretext....

Jesus Christ was not a so-called or self-styled "Jew". During His lifetime Jesus was known as a "Judean" by His contemporaries and not as a "Jew", and Jesus referred to Himself as a "Judean" and not as a "Jew".

Disengaging from a war we are escalating (by Jerry Mazza, published Thursday, 03 December 2009 06:02)

Huh, did I hear Obama’s speech right? We’re sending 30,000 troops at a cost of a million per soldier to equal the $30 billion budget, bringing the troop level to over 100,000. But we’re doing all this to give ourselves time to train the Afghan Security Forces and the Pakistan Forces as well, wherever they are, who will then root out remaining Al Qaeda and Taliban members in both countries. All this will happen over the next 18 months, so that in the first part of 2010 troops can start...

Read more...

How states can escape the credit crisis: own a bank (by Ellen Hodgson Brown, published Thursday, 03 December 2009 05:19)

Since President Obama's stimulus plan went into effect in February, according to a report from the House Ways and Means Committee, the nation has actually lost nearly as many jobs as the plan was projected to create. Instead of adding 3.5 million new jobs, 2.7 million jobs have been lost. California, which was supposed to gain 396,000 jobs, has lost 336,400 jobs. Arizona, which was supposed to gain 70,000, has lost 77,300. Michigan, which was supposed to gain 109,000, has lost 137,300. A total...

Read more...

Elie Wiesel, a ludicrously unreliable survivor (by Bradley Smith, published Wednesday, 02 December 2009 22:02)

Let’s agree that one ideal of the university is to promote intellectual freedom, and one ideal of the professorial class is to teach students to honor it. Yet this is not true in Holocaust Studies. There, if students express doubt about “eyewitness” testimony, for example, even if it is demonstrably false, dishonorable or both, they understand they run the danger of being accused of being “hateful.” Consider eyewitness testimony given by Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel.

Knesset drafting bill to unfreeze settlement construction‎ (by PressTV, published Thursday, 03 December 2009 17:33)

Some Israeli Knesset members opposed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's partial settlement freeze are drafting a bill to unfreeze settlement construction.

Opposing Likud and Kadima parties' members said on Thursday that they are drafting a resolution that will exclude large settlement blocs from a 10-month building lull, which applies to areas in the West Bank, Maan news agency quoted the Ma'ariv as saying.

The left-leaning Kadima party's Otniel Schneller said he will support the plan.

Ukrainian kids, new victims of Israeli 'organ theft' (by PressTV, published Thursday, 03 December 2009 10:03)

An international Israeli conspiracy to kidnap children and harvest their organs is gathering momentum as another shocking story divulges Tel Aviv's plot to import Ukrainian children and harvest their organs.

The story brings to light the fact that Israel has brought some 25,000 Ukrainian children into the occupied entity over the past two years in order to harvest their organs. It cites a Ukrainian man's fruitless search for 15 children who had been adopted in Israel. The children had clearly...

Read more...

US middle class hit hard by current economic vows (by PressTV, published Thursday, 03 December 2009 10:03)

America might witness the fall of its middle class as findings by a Congressional committee reveal disturbing data on the latest economic recession woes.

A recent study by the Congressional Oversight Panel on the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) illustrates the exposure to economic dangers of an increasing number of middle class families in the years to come.

The late November research conducted under the supervision of the TARP chair, Professor Elizabeth Warr

Italy rallies support for US Afghan war (by PressTV, published Thursday, 03 December 2009 08:02)

Italy has been quick to throw its weight behind the US Afghan strategy by declaring that Rome will also increase its troops in Afghanistan.

"We are looking at figures ranging between 500 and 1,500," a source in the Italian defense ministry told AFP. The final number would likely be "fairly close" to 1,000, he added.

Addressing the nation on Tuesday, US President Barack Obama unveiled his new initiative to raise the number of US forces in Afghanistan by some 40 percent which would see...

Read more...

Saudis show anger over floods on Web (by PressTV, published Thursday, 03 December 2009 08:02)

The Saudi people express their anger in the wake of recent floods through the Internet as street protests are banned in the country.

Citizens upset with how authorities handled the recent torrential rains that killed 106 people in the south of Saudi Arabia are looking to the internet and its social networking sites to vent their anger, France 24 reported.

Over 26,000 net users have joined a Facebook group, which was launched five days ago, called the “Popular Campaign to Save the City of...

Read more...

Israel delays settlement demolition (by PressTV, published Thursday, 03 December 2009 08:02)

Israel says it has to delay the evacuation and demolition of the illegal settlement outposts it has built on the Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank.

Tel Aviv was expected to inform Israel's High Court of Justice on its position on the court's three petitions, including one over the demolition of the Yovel neighborhood in the settlement of Eli and seven homes in Harasha, and another for the Netiv Ha'avot outpost in Gush Etzion, for which the government was also ordered to provide a...

Read more...

Iran slams US troop surge in Afghanistan (by PressTV, published Thursday, 03 December 2009 06:02)

Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki says Washington's decision to dispatch 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan will not stabilize the war-torn country.

"The real solution for Afghanistan is to respect its sovereignty and let the Afghan people determine their own political fate," the Iranian official said late Wednesday.

"Increasing forces in Afghanistan will not resolve the crisis in that country," he added.

The world welcomed US President Barack Obama's slogan of change when he took...

Read more...

Germany still paying WWI debts (by PressTV, published Thursday, 03 December 2009 04:05)

Years after accepting the guilt and responsibility for the First World War, Germany still continues to pay off reparations to the Allies.

According to Boris Knapp of the German Finance Agency, the country still has some €56 million ($84 million) outstanding agreed at the peace treaty of Versailles in 1919, German daily Bild reported on Wednesday.

Russia backs US Afghan strategy (by PressTV, published Thursday, 03 December 2009 04:05)

Russia has embraced the US president's newly announced Afghan strategy to deploy 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, says the Russian foreign ministry.

"The measures relative to the new American strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan set out by US President Barack Obama are all welcomed positively in Moscow," the ministry said in a statement.

"Russia, as well as the international community, has an interest in seeing Afghanistan become, as soon as possible, an independent, prosperous,...

Read more...

Honduran congress rejects Zelaya reinstatement (by PressTV, published Thursday, 03 December 2009 02:02)

Honduran lawmakers have rejected a proposal to reinstate the ousted President Manuel Zelaya, snubbing the international community's criticisms of the coup-installed government.

The Central American nation's congress voted off a bill floored in a 10- hour session meant to consider the reestablishment of Zelaya by 111 parliamentarians disfavoring his return, compared to 14 demanding a default in power.

UK banks' exposure at Dubai World is $5 bn (by PressTV, published Thursday, 03 December 2009 06:02)

UK banks have a total of $5 billion exposure at Dubai World, making them the largest foreign creditor group of the troubled Dubai corporation.

A week after the news came out regarding Dubai's financial turmoil, it is now clear that many UK banking institutions have an exposure of about $5 bn at Dubai World, with the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) having the most, the Financial Times reported.

Big UK banks such as HSBC, Standard Chartered and Lloyds have been named as other creditors in the...

Read more...

Bank of America to repay bailout (by PressTV, published Thursday, 03 December 2009 06:02)

Bank of America Corp. says it is to repay $45 billion in federal bailout funds to avoid pay restrictions that have obstructed its search for a new leader.

The planned repayment will facilitate the bank's effort to replace Chief Executive Officer Kenneth D. Lewis, who announced his departure in September as he will receive no salary or bonus for 2009.

Washington Times announces job cuts (by PressTV, published Thursday, 03 December 2009 04:05)

American newspaper The Washington Times has announced plans for major layoffs and media restructuring due to the “current marketplace realities”.

In a Wednesday statement, the paper's director Jonathan Slevin declared the publication's intention for a “significant staff reduction” in order to rescale the conservative US news outlet.

“We have developed plans to secure our position and advance our vital role in an evolving media marketplace and through challenging economic times,”...

Read more...

Will Chelsea Clinton become Jewish? (by Captain Eric H. May, published Thursday, 03 December 2009 17:12)

In June CNN wrote a hit piece against Ghost Troop, the All-American cyber militia, because we don't observe the official line about Jewish influence. Accordingly, I'm using an article from Ha'aretz to establish that Chelsea Clinton is going to marry a Jew:

It's official -- Chelsea Clinton to wed Jewish boyfriend

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131963.html

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#18242

From: new george <newgeorge_@...>
Date: Fri Dec 4, 2009 12:12 am
Subject: RE: [IFDC] (: Be joyful THIS moment :) ... new george

To: InterfaithDialogueCenter@yahoogroups.com
From: yosherevelle@...
Date: Thu, 3 Dec 2009 13:12:22 -0800
Subject: RE: [IFDC] (: Be joyful THIS moment :) ... new george

Sometimes there are also tears of release.

--- On Thu, 12/3/09, new george <newgeorge_@hotmail.com> wrote:

From: new george <newgeorge_@hotmail.com>
Subject: RE: [IFDC] (: Be joyful THIS moment :) ...
To: "interfaith" <interfaithdialoguecenter@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Thursday, December 3, 2009, 8:11 AM

this could be quite a long thread :O

To: Stand4SomethingPosi tive@yahoogroups .com; unionews@yahoogroup s.com; stormingheaven@ yahoogroups. com; InterfaithDialogueC enter@yahoogroup s.com
From: yosherevelle@ yahoo.com
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 2009 14:59:00 -0800
Subject: [IFDC] (: Be joyful THIS moment :) ...

and THIS moment :) ...

and THIS moment :) ...

Add other email accounts to Hotmail in 3 easy steps. Find out how.

Have more than one Hotmail account? Link them together to easily access both.

#18243

From: Rebel News <editor@...>
Date: Thu Dec 3, 2009 4:15 pm
Subject: Ukrainian kids, new victims of Israeli 'organ theft'

Ukrainian kids, new victims of Israeli 'organ theft'

An international Israeli conspiracy to kidnap children and harvest their organs is gathering momentum as another shocking story divulges Tel Aviv's plot to import Ukrainian children and harvest their organs.

The story brings to light the fact that Israel has brought some 25,000 Ukrainian children into the occupied entity over the past two years in order to harvest their organs. It cites a Ukrainian man's fruitless search for 15 children who had been adopted in Israel. The children had clearly been taken by Israeli medical centers, where they were used for 'spare parts'.

#18244

From: Abdul Wahid Osman Belal <awobelal@...>
Date: Thu Dec 3, 2009 3:57 am
Subject: Fw: ATTORNEY TELLS COURT U.S. EMBASSY IN ISLAMABAD DIRECTS TERRORISM IN PAKISTAN

awobelal

ABDUL WAHID OSMAN BELAL

--- On Thu, 3/12/09, PRESS REPORT <pressreportusa@...> wrote:

From: PRESS REPORT <pressreportusa@...>
Subject: ATTORNEY TELLS COURT U.S. EMBASSY IN ISLAMABAD DIRECTS TERRORISM IN PAKISTAN
To: "The Report Press" <reportpress@googlegroups.com>
Date: Thursday, 3 December, 2009, 8:42

INFORMATION PRESS - News Views Media - http://www.InformPress.com -
USA

ATTORNEY TELLS COURT U.S. EMBASSY IN ISLAMABAD DIRECTS TERRORISM IN
PAKISTAN

U.S. DynCorp International Allegedly Bribes Pakistani Officials -
Interior Ministry Officer Arrested
- http://www.ahmedquraishi.com/latest_col.php?id=112

How PPP Corrupt Traitors A. Rehman Malik and Tasneem Ahmed Qureshi
Aided U.S. Embassy to Import illegal Weapons Without Telling the
Pakistan Army's ISI
- http://www.ahmedquraishi.com/article_detail.php?id=816

LHC Moved For U.S. Embassy Search

LAHORE, Pakistan, 2 December 2009 (Daily Times) - Barrister Zafarullah
[Khan] of the Pakistan Watan Party has moved an application before the
Lahore High Court (LHC), seeking directions for the [Pakistan]
Government to search the U.S. Embassy [in Islamabad] and recover the
illegal weapons kept there.

The petitioner alleged that illegal weapons, that were used in
sabotage and subversive activities in the country, were dumped in the
[American] Embassy [at Islamabad]. He said U.S. nationals were
involved in "terrorism in Pakistan" and evidence of this report had
been provided to the [U.S.] CIA. He alleged that terror activities and
suicide attacks at public places had been increased ever since the
[American] Blackwater [Xe Services] security agency [and U.S. DynCorp
International mercenary company] had come to Pakistan.

"Article 22 (1,2,3) of the [Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations
(18 April 1961)] deals with immunity and inviolability, but this does
not extend to all staff of foreign missions because there is local
staff in the embassy and other staff which cannot claim immunity," he
said.
- http://fletcher.tufts.edu/multi/texts/BH408.txt

He requested the court to issue directions to the [Pakistan]
Government to search the U.S. Embassy [in Islamabad] and take action
against U.S. nationals involved.

LHC Moved To Search American Embassy

LAHORE, Pakistan, 2 December 2009 (The News International) - The
[Pakistan] Watan Party has filed a petition at the Lahore High Court,
seeking directives to search the U.S. Embassy for the recovery of
illegal weapons and evidences for the alleged U.S. involvement in
terrorist activities in Pakistan.

The counsel for the petitioners, Barrister Zafarullah Khan, cited
reports that the ISI Director General [Lt. General Ahmad Shuja Pasha]
had shown proofs to the visiting [American] CIA chief [Leon Edward
Panetta] last month about his organisation's involvement in the
terrorist activities in Pakistan.

He referred to Article 22 (1,2,3) [of the Vienna Convention on
Diplomatic Relations (18 April 1961)], which deals with the immunity
of diplomats, but contended that its scope could not be extended to
all types of embassy staff, comprising subordinates and locals, which
were out of this ambit.
- http://untreaty.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/9_1_1961.pdf

He prayed to the court to allow this petition and make it a part of
his main petition already pending with the court, which challenged the
alleged activities of the U.S. private army, Blackwater [Xe Services,
LLC].

INTERNET-WEB LINKS:

(1) Lahore High Court Moved to Disarm U.S. Diplomats, Marines

http://www.axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_57441.shtml

U.S. Blackwater (Xe Services) Mercenaries Spread Fear in Pakistan

http://pakalert.wordpress.com/2009/08/22/us-blackwater-mercenaries-spread-fear-in-pakistan

Pakistani-Pashtuns Say U.S. Blackwater (Xe Services) Exploded Peshawar
Bomb - Death Toll Over 115

http://www.axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_57439.shtml

American DynCorp Reportedly Caught Bribing Pakistani Officials

http://www.analyst-network.com/article.php?art_id=3244

Blackwater Founder, Erik Prince, Feels Thrown Under Bus

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/12/02-11

American Journalist Webster Tarpley on U.S. Blackwater (Xe-Services)
Bombings & Killings in Pakistan, Wall Street, Dollars & Oil

http://www.haqeeqat.org/2009/11/20/webster-tarpley-on-blackwater-xe-services-bombings-killings-in-peshawar-pakistan-wall-street-dollar-oil

American Journalist Wayne Madsen on U.S. Blackwater (Xe-Services)
Targeted Assassinations in Pakistan

http://www.haqeeqat.org/2009/11/26/wayne-madsen-on-blackwater-xe-servicess-targeted-assassinations-in-pakistan

http://www.haqeeqat.org/category/blackwater

(2) 12 Cartons/Boxes of Documentary Proofs About Zardari-Benazir Swiss
Money Laundering Crimes illegally Moved from a Swiss Lawyer's Office
in Geneva, Switzerland, to the London, UK, Home of PPP Corrupt Envoy
Wajid Shamsul Hasan

http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=211405

http://groups.google.com/group/reportpress/t/3d12f9b181e68af

Massive Corruption of Traitor Zardari and the Sharif Brothers Exposed

http://www.ahmedquraishi.com/article_detail.php?id=865

Crook Zardari's Front Man Admits Pakistan's Land was illegally
Purchased for Criminal Zardari and his Son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari

http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=211402

(3) Rape of Iraqi Girls by U.S. Mercenaries and Soldiers was Rampant
in Baghdad, Iraq

http://www.aztlan.net/nineyearoldrapevictim.htm

http://www.aztlan.net

(4) Bring Little Britain's Big Mouth War Criminal Gordon Brown to
Justice for his Crimes Against Humanity

http://www.ahmedquraishi.com/article_detail.php?id=873

- http://www.petitiononline.com/GBPT001/petition.html
- http://www.petitiononline.com/BWCF/petition.html
- http://www.petitiononline.com/BlairWar/petition.html
- http://www.petitiononline.com/iraqwmd/petition.html

(5) Pakistan Interior Ministry's Corrupt Official in FIA Custody for
Allegedly Accepting Bribes from U.S. DynCorp

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/02-Dec-2009/PS-to-State-Minister-of-Int-in-FIA-custody

- The Report Press - http://www.ReportPress.net - Wednesday, 2
December 2009
- Chief Editor - Journalist SYED ADEEB - http://www.SyedAdeeb.net
INFORMATION PRESS - News Views Media - http://www.InformPress.com - USA

#18245

From: Yoshe Revelle <yosherevelle@...>
Date: Fri Dec 4, 2009 2:36 pm
Subject: RE: [IFDC] (: Be joyful THIS moment :) ... new george

yosherevelle

Thanks :)

--- On Thu, 12/3/09, new george <newgeorge_@...> wrote:

From: new george <newgeorge_@...>
Subject: RE: [IFDC] (: Be joyful THIS moment :) ... new george
To: "interfaith" <interfaithdialoguecenter@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Thursday, December 3, 2009, 4:12 PM

:)

To: InterfaithDialogueC enter@yahoogroup s.com
From: yosherevelle@ yahoo.com
Date: Thu, 3 Dec 2009 13:12:22 -0800
Subject: RE: [IFDC] (: Be joyful THIS moment :) ... new george

Sometimes there are also tears of release.

--- On Thu, 12/3/09, new george <newgeorge_@hotmail. com> wrote:

From: new george <newgeorge_@hotmail. com>
Subject: RE: [IFDC] (: Be joyful THIS moment :) ...
To: "interfaith" <interfaithdialoguec enter@yahoogroup s.com>
Date: Thursday, December 3, 2009, 8:11 AM

this could be quite a long thread :O

To: Stand4SomethingPosi tive@yahoogroups .com; unionews@yahoogroup s.com; stormingheaven@ yahoogroups. com; InterfaithDialogueC enter@yahoogroup s.com
From: yosherevelle@ yahoo.com
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 2009 14:59:00 -0800
Subject: [IFDC] (: Be joyful THIS moment :) ...

and THIS moment :) ...

and THIS moment :) ...

Add other email accounts to Hotmail in 3 easy steps. Find out how.

Have more than one Hotmail account? Link them together to easily access both.

#18246

From: Yoshe Revelle <yosherevelle@...>
Date: Fri Dec 4, 2009 2:55 pm
Subject: Re: [IFDC] In Cold Blood, I hate killing ...

yosherevelle

Instead of killing, we should seek to SAVE lives.

Peace,

Yoshe :) :) :)

--- On Fri, 12/4/09, Siraj <ksiraaj@...> wrote:

From: Siraj <ksiraaj@...>
Subject: [IFDC] In Cold Blood
To: "Interfaith Dialogue" <interfaithdialoguecenter@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Friday, December 4, 2009, 3:40 AM

http://www.hinduonn et.com/fline/ fl2620/stories/ 2009100926200100 0.htm

In cold blood

ANUPAMA KATAKAM

A magisterial inquiry report slamming top police officers in Gujarat for a fake encounter opens a can of worms.

AMIT DAVE/REUTERS

The body of Ishrat Jahan, who was killed in an alleged fake encounter in Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004.

FOR five long years, the families of Ishrat Jahan and Javed Sheikh have been crying themselves hoarse saying the two were innocent and were killed in a calculated move by the Gujarat Police. But the police claimed that the duo were Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives on a mission, along with two others, to kill Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, and that acting on intelligence information, they had intercepted the car in which Ishrat and Javed were travelling and shot all the four passengers therein.

The families got the first taste of justice on September 7 when Ahmedabad Metropolitan Magistrate S.P. Tamang submitted his statutory inquest report of the incident, which occurred on June 15, 2004. In a detailed, scathing and honest account of the “encounter”, Tamang sums up that the four were murdered in a “systemic manner, cold bloodedly, mercilessly and cruelly”. The report will be part of a special investigation that has been set up to probe into the unnatural deaths of Ishrat and Javed and the two alleged Pakistani LeT operatives who were in the car. Tamang’s report has opened a can of worms. As he reconstructs the events and the actual killing, a horrific and disturbing picture unravels itself. The report says innocent people were brutally killed in the name of protecting the Chief Minister. Tamang accuses a few top police officers in the State of carrying out these encounters in order to get promotions. He states quite bluntly that the entire Ishrat-Javed “encounter” was stage-managed.

DIFFERENT VERSIONS

According to the Gujarat Police, Ishrat and Javed, LeT operatives who were out to assassinate Modi, also had on them ammunition and weapons to blow up the rath yatra that was to be held in Gujarat at the time. The police maintain that they intercepted them and two other men, allegedly Pakistanis entering Ahmedabad and, after an exchange of gunfire, killed the quartet in the car.

The families of Ishrat and Javed, their counsel, and human rights groups, however, have a completely different story to tell. According to Javed’s father Gopinath Pillai (Javed had converted to Islam), his son and family, who had driven from Pune to Kerala to spend a week with them, returned on June 8 and reached Ahmednagar en route on June 10. Javed told his wife, Sajeda, that he needed to go to Mumbai for a day and would return by June 12 to pick her up. Sajeda corroborates this by saying that Javed left for Mumbai telling her that he needed to collect some money and would be back within a day. Her last conversation with him was on June 11.

According to Ishrat’s mother, Shamima Kausar, whose family lived in Mumbra (near Thane), Ishrat had started working for Javed a few months before the incident. The family was entirely dependent on her for an income. Javed had said Ishrat would need to travel with him occasionally. Therefore, it was not unnatural for her daughter to leave the city on work, she said. Javed had apparently asked Ishrat to meet him on June 11 for some job, and Ishrat left a message for her mother saying she would be in touch.

“We kept calling her but it kept saying, ‘out of coverage area’. We got the news of her death on June 15,” said Shamima Kausar.

Little information is available on what happened to Ishrat and Javed between June 11 and June 15. A human rights activist alleges that the duo were kidnapped and kept in a secret location until the Gujarat Police figured out how to plan the encounter.

When the killings were made public, there were many missing pieces to the puzzle. For instance, why did Ishrat’s family not know where she had gone? What were they doing in Gujarat? Who were the other two men in the car?

Film-maker Shubradeep Chakravorty, who has done extensive research and documentation on the incident, says there are no missing pieces. By talking to family members and friends, it is generally believed, the events up to June 11 can be pieced together. No one knows anything after that.

“They were picked up by the police. I can confirm that. And in all likelihood it was done in collusion with the Maharashtra Police,” said a former Gujarat police officer.

Why was Javed targeted? A source in the police said Javed fitted the bill of a “suspicious” person who could be involved in anti-national activities. The most incriminating evidence they had against him was that he had two passports with different names. He had also travelled to Gulf countries on many occasions and hence the conclusion that he had been recruited by the LeT. He was an easy target. Many of these men are profiled and their movements are tracked by the intelligence wing, said the officer.

Ishrat, on the other hand, appeared to be a classic case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, said the source. When Javed was kidnapped, she might have been present and taken too. Perhaps, she saw too much and, therefore, had to be done away with.

Ishrat’s background has nothing dubious about it. She came from a poor family that lives in Mumbra. She was a second-year B.Sc. student aspiring to become a teacher. Just days before the encounter, she had been tutoring children. As the summer holidays had begun, she needed money and, therefore, took up the job Javed offered.

TAMANG’S REPORT

A file photo of Ishrat Jahan, reproduced from the family album.

The Tamang report is the first move in the legal battle, said lawyer Mukul Sinha, who has helped Ishrat’s family in the judicial process. The silver lining is that names have been named and the cloud of doubt that Ishrat and Javed may have been terrorists has been lifted. For the families it is very important. Magistrate Tamang debunks the police claim that the four were LeT operatives who were on a terror assignment to kill Modi. By scrutinising the autopsy reports and recording statements of Ishrat’s and Javed’s relatives, and by piecing together other forms of evidence, he says the police officers colluded “with each other, for their personal interest, which included to secure their promotion, to maintain his posting, so as to falsely show excellent performance, to get special appreciation from the Hon’ble Chief Minister and to gain popularity…”.

Some of Tamang’s key findings are:

1. From the autopsy report he finds that the deaths must have occurred much ahead of the time given. The police say Ishrat and Javed were shot around 4 a.m. on June 15, 2004. Rigor mortis normally sets in two to three hours after death occurs. In their case, Tamang says, rigor mortis was well developed when the post-mortem was conducted at 3-40 p.m. on June 15. If they had been killed at 4 a.m., rigor mortis would not have been so severe.

2. Tamang says the victims were never in a confrontation with the police. He proves this by stating that the bullet injuries on the bodies were from being shot at close range. He says that when shot at close range the exit wound would be bigger than the entry wound. And this is the case in each of the bodies. For instance, one of Javed’s bullet entry wounds measured 1 cm. The bullet’s exit point measured 1.5x1.0 cm. “As per the principle of medical jurisprudence, the deceased was shot dead from close distance, and at the time when said deceased was in sitting position….” Javed was shot 16 times, says the report.

3. If they were in a confrontation, why were there no casualties among the cops, asks Tamang. He states that the weapons found near the bodies were unlicensed and were planted by the police to make the scene look genuine. Hand-washes taken of the dead prove that none of them had held a weapon.

4. He believes the identity cards of the two alleged Pakistani men were false and planted. The names on the card were in English. Tamang construes that if they were Pakistani, the language should have been Urdu.

5. An amount of Rs.2,06,610 was found in a suitcase in the boot of the car. Tamang says such an amount would normally be kept under lock and key, but it was not. He believes the police planted that cash. Furthermore, if the victim was travelling, he should have money on his person. Not a single rupee was found on Javed.

6. Also, if this was a chance encounter, where were the normal possessions of the passengers, asks Tamang. For example, wrist watches, mobile phones, wallets, and so on. None of these was found on the bodies.

7. Tracing the events that led up to the encounter, Tamang says the victims were kept under unlawful detention and then mercilessly shot in a set-up. He says there is no evidence linking Ishrat and Javed to the LeT.

8. What comes as most damning for the Gujarat government is the detailed list of police officers involved in the encounter. Among the high-ranking officers, Tamang names K.R. Kaushik, Commissioner of Police, Ahmedabad; P.P. Pandey, Joint Police Commissioner, Crime Branch; D.G. Vanzara, Deputy Inspector-General of Police (at that time a Crime Branch officer); G.L. Singhal, Additional Police Commissioner; and N.K Amin, Assistant Commissioner of Police.

Ironically, Vanzara was arrested in April 2008 for confessing to the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kauser Bi in an encounter in Ahmedabad in November 2005.

A question that begs to be asked is why the police thought they could get away with the killing? They tried to make it look like an encounter, but from the emerging evidence it is becoming more and more apparent that it was a planned killing.

The former police official said: “After the riots, the police were given a free hand in doing away with any threat to Modi. Perhaps they got a little ahead of themselves and thought they would get away with this too.”

The Modi government has rubbished Tamang’s report, stating that it was “bad in law” and would be challenged in an appropriate court. State Minister Jay Narayan Vyas said the report by the Metropolitan Magistrate did not have any sanction of appropriate law as the Gujarat High Court had ordered a committee to probe the same incident. The Gujarat High Court has since stayed the report.

A lawyer in Ahmedabad said the magistrate’s report was a statutory requirement in the case of encounter deaths. Vyas also said an affidavit filed by the Home Ministry in the High Court had made clear references to the terrorist connections of the four. Quoting from the affidavit, Vyas said the Centre had received specific inputs that the LeT had been planning to carry out terrorist activities in various parts of the country, including Gujarat, and that it was planning to assassinate top national and State leaders. When Ishrat and Javed were shot, the Centre had made some noises about having intelligence evidence proving the duo’s link to militant groups. That evidence is yet to be shared.

Following the 2002 Gujarat pogrom, there have been five major encounter killings in the State. The police have justified each incident by saying they had adequate information to prove that the victims were militants on a mission to murder Modi.

A petty criminal, Sameer Khan, was shot dead in Ahmedabad on October 22, 2002, for allegedly conspiring to kill Modi. Sadiq Jamal Mehtar was killed on January 13, 2003, also for the same reason. Shubradeep Chakravorty, who tracked Mehtar’s killing, said the man had been charged in a small gambling case. He was very poor and had been in the Gulf for employment, but was not paid. When he returned the police caught him and said he was in the Gulf training under the LeT and killed him when he tried to “escape”.

Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Kauser Bi were arrested from a bus on their way from Hyderabad to Gujarat. Both were killed by the Gujarat Police accusing them of being part of a conspiracy to assassinate Modi. Kauser Bi’s body was never found. Geeta Johri, Inspector-General of Police, Gujarat, was asked to probe into this incident. A consequence of her report was the arrest of top police officers Vanzara and R.K. Pandiyan.

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#18247

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Subject: Fw: [wp] an important speech by Jamal Badawi

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#18248

From: Rebel News <editor@...>
Date: Sat Dec 5, 2009 2:17 am
Subject: Why Is The ADL Promoting Alex Jones?

Why Is The ADL Promoting Alex Jones?

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#18249

From: "Nooruddin Malilakath" <nooruddin@...>
Date: Sat Dec 5, 2009 5:09 am
Subject: Re: [IFDC] In Cold Blood, I hate killing ...

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