The only respite is an escape to the Boxing Day sales where one can be pulled, pushed and crushed whilst simultaneously grabbing random items off shelves in a desperate stockpiling free-for-all as if one was amassing a hoard in anticipation of a zombie apocalypse. The penultimate event in this culinary and emotional roller-coaster is an all-night alcohol fuelled bender. On the 1st of January, when bleary eyes groggily open and slowly chronicle the aftermath of the holiday – the bulging waistline, the depleted bank account, the awkward memories of the office Christmas party – it is little wonder that a certain amount of soul-searching goes on.
For Muslims whose year runs from Muharram to Dhul Hijjah; and in whom self-questioning reflection should be a way of life rather than an annual event, the turn of the years should be no more than an administrative speed-bump on the highway of life. It does however provide an opportunity to stop and see how far we have come in the past year, as well as allow us the opportunity to identify the possible trends for the coming year. In this vein UmmahPulse presents its yearly round up of the news – not by any means an exhaustive list but rather the events that struck a chord with our writers and made an impact.
The Iraq War – a View by Numbers
Jamal Anderson
This year Obama announced the withdrawal of the remaining American troops from Iraq. Thousands of soldiers left Iraq in 2011 after a war that was started in March 2003 by the Bush administration. With undoubtedly many more statistics to come, we have taken a look back at the Iraq war - from the false claims made to take a nation to war, to the amount that was spent and lost during the war, to finally the consequences of the war.
237 - Minimum number of misleading statements on Iraq made by the Bush Administration’s top officials since March 2002 (Committee of government reform Washington D.C).
0 - the number of weapons of mass destruction discovered, which can be deployed in 45 minutes.
As for the money:
$802billion - estimates of how much the US will have spent on funding the war by the end of fiscal year 2011.
$3 trillion (£1.2tn) - What Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz and Harvard’s Linda Bilmes put the true cost at once additional impacts on the US budget and economy were taken into account.
$6.6 billion - the amount of U.S. taxpayers’ money Lost and Reported Stolen. The money was earmarked for Iraq reconstruction. On June 14, 2011 Special Inspector General for Iraq reconstruction Stuart Bowen called it “the largest theft of funds in national history.” (Source – CBS News) Last known holder of the $6.6 billion lost: the U.S. government.
$1.4 billion – Halliburton Overcharges Classified by the Pentagon as Unreasonable and Unsupported.
$20 billion - Amount paid to KBR, a former Halliburton division, to supply U.S. military in Iraq with food, fuel, housing and other items
$3.2 billion - Portion of the $20 billion paid to KBR that Pentagon auditors deem “questionable”.
$20.2 billion - U.S. Annual Air-Conditioning Cost in Iraq and Afghanistan – (Source – NPR)
$15.098 trillion - US gross debt in 2011.
And the results of all this?
3.6: Factor by which an Iraqi in 2006 was more likely to die than in the last year of the Saddam regime.
120: Factor by which the cause of death was more likely to be violence.
3/4: Portion of Baghdad residents in 2007 who had a family member or friend wounded or killed since 2003.
32,226: Number of US Troops Wounded, 20% of which have serious brain or spinal injuries. (Total excludes psychological injuries.)
30%: Percentage of US Troops who develop serious mental health problems within 3 to 4 months of returning home
179 - The number of UK servicemen and women who have lost their lives, 136 were killed in action.
4487 - number of US soldiers who have has lost their lives, according to the latest figures from the US Department of Defense.
200 - The minimum number of extraordinary renditions that the United States has made since 2006.
8 - The minimum number of detainees who were tortured to death in U.S. custody. Gitmo is still open despite election promises and the Baghram theatre of torture continues to operate.
50,000 – 600,000 - estimates of the civilian death toll. A UN issued report dated Sept 20, 2006 stated that Iraqi civilian casualties have been significantly under-reported. Casualties are reported at 50,000 to over 100,000, but may be much higher. Some informed estimates place Iraqi civilian casualties at over 600,000.
180,000: Number of private contractors operating in Iraq. [Human Rights First, Private Security Contractors at War] – so Americans still continue to have an armed presence in Iraq. Did someone say withdrawal?
Pakistan
Wazir Uddin
A novelist could not imagine the intrigue and suspense that defined events that unfolded in Pakistan. The political drama is punctuated with:
- The killing of Osama bin Laden in a garrison town of Abottobad and dumping his body in the sea.
- The apprehension and subsequent release of US spy Raymond Davis; revealing the massive number of CIA and other quasi-military organisations operating in Pakistan.
- The ‘Memo-gate scandal’: which is set to expose the incumbent government of calling on the US government to intervene in Pakistani politics to contain the military so as to preserve its own rule, a rule that has led to governance becoming a by-word for corruption.
- The incumbent government, led by the late Benazir Bhutto’s widower, enters into alliance with an opposition party that Benazir Bhutto named as being likely to be involved in an assassination attempt on her – the so called ‘Qaatil’ league (PML-Q).
- Widespread collapse of state-run enterprises such as the coal, steel, rail and airline industries. This is paralleled with a deeply embedded crisis in the country’s economy.
- US drone attacks were responsible for killing hundreds and injuring thousands more in Pakistan in a covert war that reflects a nascent new form of warfare in the new millenium.
- The so far failing attempts to socially engineer the post-colonial sentiments that are emerging in Pakistani society by that erstwhile British ‘Kaala Sahib’ Majid Nawaz through his ‘Khudi’ movement. Recall that the Khudi movement is an ideal-type Rand Orgnisation ‘moderate muslim network’ that emerged from the Quilliam foundation in the UK.
This all in the name of democracy and a particularly shameless attempt at silencing any dissent in the face of these crises as anti-democratic.
What then for 2012?
- The phenomenal political gains by the ex-cricketer Imran Khan – most recently the joining of senior politicians, from the countries leading parties, into Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf. A useful vehicle for diverting mass unrest to a manageable post-colonial outcome or a solution to Pakistan’s many problems?
- A strategic realignment of Pakistan with China in an attempt to secure itself against an increasingly dominant US-Indian alliance. Though this alignment would be led by the Pakistani military, the ‘democratic’ government has already shown it is willing to ally with the US hegemon if this means preserving its rule. Will this bring the country to the brink of another military take-over?
- Most likely the near 180 million population will continue to suffer from the increasing deterioration of energy supplies, education and health services while its political and feudal elite will continue to build palaces across Europe. Any chance of a ‘Pakistani Spring’ seems to be unlikely while the people are steeped in nationalistic, linguistic, feudal and sectarian scripts.
Our hope is in Allah (SWT) alone and it is only by His Mercy that the situation will change. Earthquakes and flooding are signs for us all, natural calamities are frequent where there is much corruption. Corruption is to divert from obedience to Him.
Debt-Based Growth?
Muhammad Tahir
“Interest (Riba), no matter how bountiful it may become, ultimately results in poverty.” (ibn Majah, Ahmad, Mustadrak)
The statements of the Blessed Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) reflect the Divine Wisdom with which he was inspired – they give us insights into the Divine Order to which all of Creation must submit. The above statement, however, could have just as easily been uttered by a student of economics (or a citizen of Greece, or Iceland, or Ireland….you get the idea). 2011 brought the latest round of a financial crisis which actually has been unfolding continuously since 2007 – the year the bottom finally fell out of the sub-prime loans market.
You remember that one – loans being given to people with no hope of ever repaying them. In 2007 the lenders were bailed out, in 2008, the big banks which repackaged and resold those loans were bailed out (who in turn used the bailout cash to pay back their friends at other banks), and in 2011, the rot seeped deeper, infecting entire countries that had borrowed to invest in schemes that were never worth half what the speculators had hoped. In the meantime, the bankers got extremely rich, and nothing changed – the rules and regulations which allowed this to go on and on were left essentially untouched (not to mention the bankers’ bonuses).
It is important to appreciate that the “economic prosperity” that has been enjoyed in the Industrialized World over the last 15-20 years has been almost completely driven by the expansion of credit. This is the great lie of measuring “progress” by how much the economy grows every year: Johnny goes to the bank and borrows a dollar. He uses that dollar to buy a new house. The builder uses that same dollar to buy a new car. The economy just grew by three dollars. Meanwhile, Johny defaults on his loan and the bank would rather demolish his house than maintain it. To make matters worse, there was never a real dollar in the first place – the bank created it out of thin air. How long can this go on? We might just find out in 2012.
The Highway of Postmodernism
Karima Hamdan
I often wonder how certain years are to be remembered. What tag line will be attached to them in order to call them up from memory in later times? For example, in the US 1965 will be remembered by the Watt Riots and the catch phrase “Burn baby burn” which was chanted by African American rioters as they set fire to looted shops. Equally, ask any Briton of a certain age about 1979 and the words “The winter of our discontent” will probably feature in their answer.
Sadly it seems that 2011, despite being chock full of extraordinary events, heartbreaking calamities and singular oddities will probably have no inscription on its tombstone. No epithet or epitaph, but perhaps a hasty tweet along the lines of “goin 2 protest bout rampant neoliberalism’s FXs on world economy but went shopping instead LOL”.
Forget Islamo-fascism, Dhimmitude or indeed any other ludicrous portmanteau so beloved of maniacal wild-eyed Muslim-hating zealots that frequent the “Have your say” pages of the internet. No, the self-immolation of western thought and culture will not be at the hands of Islam but will rather be laid at the door of this X-Factor generation’s need to continuously express their innermost thoughts in under 140 characters whilst simultaneously selling their soul for the next Nike trainer.
This stark reality became readily apparent in 2011 as London burned and was looted, not by hoards of marauding Visigoths but rather its own disenfranchised, uneducated, underclass, immersed in their own individualism and emboldened by their amorality. And as these rioters looted shoes and flat screen TVs and depressingly left bookshops untouched, the City of London looted the rest of the country – ensuring that this bleak recession will cause a generational decline in living standards and decades of hardship and deprivation.
But does any of this matter? Of course not! It only matters that Wills and Kate finally got hitched. And didn’t she look lovely in her dress, and didn’t he look handsome in his uniform and watching them wave at the crowds made us all happy and fulfilled – and the potholes in the roads, the over-crowded schools, the underfunded hospitals, the closed post offices, the playground equipment fallen into disrepair, the infirm elderly shivering alone at home covered in their own urine and filth, simply didn’t matter anymore because Awww…..they kissed on the balcony…..isn’t that sweet? And like true dung-covered, turnip-eating peasants, we celebrated even harder because our monarch gave us the day off.
At every turn we are lulled into a continual comatose stupor in front of which every media outlet is feeding us contentment. And just like battery-fed chickens, we passively swallow whatever is put in front of us without ever questioning its source or its veracity even though the facts are usually hidden in plain sight. Sadly, we reserve our questioning for that part of our life whose source is beyond reproach – our deen.
At UmmahPulse we seek to expose this decline and hope and pray that in the coming year we all stop being such torpid automatons lulled by LOLs and insensible to our intellectually sluggish oblivion. We pray that we stop buying-in wholesale to the lie that true freedom and enlightenment resides with those that turn away from or deconstruct their deen, and see those who do this for what they truly are – roadkill on the highway of postmodernism.
The Arab Spring
Kamal Nuruddeen
This year saw the addition of a new season to the four we would normally expect. In between a damp, dreary English winter and a searing, dry Californian summer, we had the Arab spring – fresh, invigorating and promising great, hope-infused things to come. As the domino effect of one western-backed, totalitarian regime crumbling after another seemed to gain unstoppable momentum, it seemed for a naive few moments as if the Muslim world was really changing.
At the time, UmmahPulse cautioned against assuming things at face value. The popular narrative – of an evil regime being overthrown by sheer people power to be replaced by a progressive, democratic government that respects human rights – did not fit the stark facts. In both Tunisia and Egypt (both held up as icons of the Arab Spring), the incumbent power structures that existed before the revolution are still in place almost a year on. Faces have changed, but that is small comfort to the men and women being beaten and tortured by the same security apparatus as before.
So what will the next year bring at a time of great turmoil in the Middle East? Of course, no one can know for sure but in this complex world of competing interests and cynical politics, any simple fairytale explanation of world events is likely to be hopelessly romantic. Nice Mr Obama will not banish those nasty, hurtful regimes as long as they prove useful to him.
The real world is messy, the sort of messiness that leaves a lot of dead people in its wake. Yet we pray for Allah to make the coming year one of peace for our war-weary and oppressed Muslim brothers and sisters – even as we recognise that Allah will help us only when we turn to Him for help rather than any worldly power.
Palestine 2011
Abdullah Saleh
2011 has seen the political landscape change dramatically across the Middle East. In Palestine, many things have stayed the same: the indiscriminate killings of innocent Palestinians continue on a daily basis; Palestinians who have lived in their homes for generations are being evicted weekly and replaced by Zionists who hang Israeli flags to rub coarse salt into old and tired wounds. The settlements increase amidst international condemnation and the struggle of the Palestinians especially in Gaza gets worse day by day. The recent attacks on ancient mosques are a real sign of the hatred which still exists.
What has changed is public support for the Palestinian cause. Following the UN report into the Gaza Flotilla incident on the Mavi Marmara where it found that Israel had used “excessive and unreasonable” force, Turkey immediately expelled the Israeli ambassador and cut military ties with Israel.
The Palestinian Authority submitted their application to the UN for permanent membership in the UN council. Although this will do little for Palestinians on the ground, it did bring a few things to light: the overwhelming support of the international community to admit Palestine as a permanent member and the amount of effort (and sweat) President Obama used to try to stop the Palestinian Authority from submitting their application. His speech was so close to the Zionist rhetoric, one could have mistaken where he was reading from. Obama’s opposition to the Palestinian state is another one of his many U-turns; a year earlier, he gave a speech to the UN stating that within a year, there would be a Palestinian state.
Palestine successfully became a member of UNESCO in October by an overwhelming majority. More interesting is that the United States announced soon after that it would be cutting funds to UNESCO. I am definitely starting to see a pattern! The Barack Obama and Sarkozy microphone incident showed what the international leaders think of the Israeli prime minister and the daily conversations that President Obama has with Tel Aviv; I am sure this and the strength of the Jewish lobby in America is strongly driving his agenda.
On the ground, Hamas and Fatah have agreed to unite to support the cause of the Palestinian people, which included Hamas participating in their first PLO meeting. The Israeli prime minister has unsurprisingly stated that he will not deal with a party linked to Hamas. You can guess what Washington will soon be saying.
For the Muslims, we must continue to remember our brothers and sisters in Palestine in our prayers. We must make each other aware of the importance of Palestine in a Muslim’s belief and the injustice which takes place each and every day. The mainstream media will present a warped image of what is happening and I pray that UmmahPulse can take a lead on presenting what is actually happening on the ground.
Finally, although there is some cause for hope, we should ultimately have hope in Allah SWT, who has the power and strength to change the condition of the people. No person, no organisation and no international power will yield true change.
Not Connecting the Dots: Killing in the Name of Israel
Muhammad Tahir
You have to wonder what would have happened if “Ahmad Barakat” had bombed the local Marks and Spencer before heading to a youth rally put on by Christians for Israel, massacring several dozen unarmed teenagers who had just received the Foreign Minister, who had pledged support for Zionism. Do you think people would be avoiding the topic of anti-Semitism – or beating to death the threat of violent Islamic extremism?
And yet, that’s exactly what happened in Norway this summer. First Anders Breivik bombs the main offices of the Norwegian National Oil Company after it announces that it is withdrawing support for several Israeli companies involved in construction on occupied Palestinian land. Then he heads to a Norwegian Labour Party youth wing rally (see photo) where the day before, the government’s Foreign Minister had confirmed the government’s willingness to recognize an independent Palestinian state. Not to mention Breivik submits a 1500 page manifesto supporting Zionism, mentioning Israel 364 times.
And yet the mainstream press only mentions the Breivik-Israel connection in passing, if at all. The Norway shooting definitely gets UP’s vote for 2011′s most willful attempt to not connect the dots.
Reformation
Kamal Nuruddeen
2011 has been another year of reformation attempts at the core of Islam – some wild and fanciful, others a little more subtle. All have been bold in their folly; the proposition of trying to improve on Allah’s religion for our time and context has all the pompous audacity of an artist demanding that the Sun change its colour so as to fit in with the hues of his latest landscape masterpiece.
Still, folly is not a commodity in short supply and we have seen numerous reformers ply their trade in doubt and obfuscation. We have also seen new organisations and foundations launch with great fanfare (and not a little government-funded petty cash to smooth their way), only to end up cast into the dustbin of history. (Who has heard anything lately of the Sufi Muslim Council, British Muslims for Secular Democracy, Inspire, Quilliam Foundation?) We have also seen evolutionary absurdities and attempts to kick off a new Muslim haskalah.
In the coming year, we can be fairly sure of a gaggle of new projects and initiatives to cajole, corral, confuse and coerce ordinary Muslims into aligning themselves with a western Islam (read western-sponsored Islam) “liberated” from the tradition of centuries of piety, devotion to Allah, sacrifice of wealth and self by men and women of real iman.
So keep your eyes peeled for newcomers and old faces in new guises with new tricks – it’ll be like Springwatch but a few shades more sinister.
UmmahPulse: Keeping it Real
Muhammad Tahir
“Oppression will be darknesses on the Day of Judgment” – Hadith of the Prophet (Peace and Blessings be upon Him) reported in Sahih Bukhārī.
“Don’t shoot, don’t shoot, what did I do to you?” – last reported words of Col. Moammar Gadhafi.
While indeed, the Arab Spring may not have been quite the revolution that many first envisioned, it still reminded the world that Muslims remain a people of remarkable bravery and resolve. Before dragging their despotic leader from a sewage drain, Libyans had to face his thugs, mercenaries and heavy weapons.
In facing the tanks and clubs of their oppressors, Muslims reminded the world that they will not tolerate injustice forever. Essential in this process is the reminder of what is right and what is wrong. While there are many who criticize UmmahPulse for sniping from the sidelines, in a world obscured by the spin of Fox and Murdoch, the pull-no punches, tell-it-like-it-is voice of UmmahPulse is more important than ever.
To those Muslims who may occasionally feel the pinch of a UP reality check, our intention is not for you to withdraw from the work of Deen, but to realize that the duty to advise and remind is a responsibility we take very seriously at UmmahPulse:
“A believer is a mirror for a believer, and a believer is the brother of a believer; he safeguards him from destruction and protects him in his absence.” (Abū Dāwūd, Tirmidhī, Bukhārī, Al-Adab al- Mufrad)
Dark Clouds, Dark Energy and Stark Realities of Ignorance
by Husain Al-Qadi
Among the top ten 2011 science stories chosen by the world famous Michio Kaku for his year end round up were: “Wacky Weather… 2011 was haunted by the specter of ’100-year storms’, i.e. 100-year flooding, 100-year heat spells, 100-year droughts, 100-year forest fires, etc.”; the Fukushima Tsunami “…the horrendous news that there were three simultaneous meltdowns at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan, in March, sparked by a gigantic 9.0 earthquake and a monstrous tsunami. It was recently revealed that the accident was much more severe than previously thought. The uranium core of Unit 1 completely liquefied (the first time this has ever happened) and melted right through the vessel and into the containment, almost setting off a China Syndrome-type disaster (where the core melts down, theoretically all the way to the other side of the planet).”; Giant Black Holes “…Black holes, once considered science fiction, now appear all around the universe. Astronomers recently identified the biggest black holes of all time, one weighing in at over 20 billion suns in mass. Our own Milky Way galaxy has a black hole with about 3 million times the mass of the sun.” and Dark Energy “…The Nobel Prize in Physics in 2011 went to three astronomers who have discovered that the expansion of the universe is accelerating, rather than slowing down, and that a mysterious ‘dark energy’ may be responsible. This is embarrassing, since only a few decades ago, it was widely believed that the universe was mainly made of atoms. Now, we realize that 73 percent of the matter/energy comes from dark energy (the invisible energy of the vacuum), 23 percent from dark matter (invisible matter that surrounds the Milky Way Galaxy), 4 percent from stars, and just a paltry .03 percent from higher elements which comprise our body and the planets.”
So basically, we have little to no understanding of what makes up 96% of the matter/energy of the Universe…
Allah Almighty says:
“…And mankind have not been given of knowledge except a little.” (al-Qur’an 17:85)
“Or [they are] like darknesses within an unfathomable sea which is covered by waves, upon which are waves, over which are clouds of darknesses, layer upon layer. When one puts out his hand [therein], he can hardly see it. And he to whom Allah has not granted light – for him there is no light.” (al-Qur’an 24:40)
“O People of the Scripture, there has come to you Our Messenger making clear to you much of what you used to conceal of the Scripture and overlooking much. There has come to you from Allah a light and a clear Book. By which Allah guides those who pursue His pleasure to the ways of peace and brings them out from darknesses into the light, by His permission, and guides them to a straight path.” (al-Qur’an 5:15-16)
“And when Allah intends for a people destruction, there is no repelling it. And there is not for them besides Him any patron. It is He who shows you lightning, [causing] fear and aspiration, and generates the heavy clouds. And the thunder exalts [Allah] with praise of Him – and the angels [as well] from fear of Him – and He sends thunderbolts and strikes therewith whom He wills while they dispute about Allah; and He is severe in assault.” (al-Qur’an 13:11-12)