Egypt Sets Presidential Election, Amid Worry Over General's Power

Speculation Grows About Intentions of Army Chief

Source: The Wall Street Journal
By Tamer El-Ghobashy and Matt Bradley, Updated Jan. 27, 2014 4:49 a.m. ET

Egyptians gathered Saturday at Tahrir square in Cairo on the third anniversary of the Arab Spring revolt. Reuters

CAIRO—Egypt's military-backed government said it would hold presidential elections before a parliamentary vote, a reversal that stands to give the next president considerable legislative authority.

That next leader looks increasingly likely to be the military's chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, who has indicated he is considering a bid for the nation's highest office, buoyed by massive popular and political support. Few other potential candidates have emerged.

On Sunday, people outside Cairo carry the coffin of a victim of clashes with the military a day earlier, the anniversary of Egypt's 2011 revolution. Agence France-Presse / Getty Images

Sunday's decision changes the electoral schedule set by the military after it ousted Mohammed Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president, in July. The new sequence will put the nation's next leader in a position to influence voters to back the parliamentary candidates he supports.

The decision sets the stage for more clashes with the Muslim Brotherhood, the now-outlawed Islamist group from which the deposed president hailed. The Brotherhood on Sunday called for more demonstrations.

On Saturday, the anniversary of the 2011 revolt that unseated former President Hosni Mubarak, clashes between security forces and protesters led to 49 deaths and more than 250 injuries, officials said. A coalition of independent rights groups said at least 60 people were killed. Security forces arrested more than 1,000 people, officials said.

A day earlier, several bombings in Cairo, for which an al-Qaeda-inspired group claimed responsibility, killed six people and at least 12 supporters of Mr. Morsi were killed when police dispersed protesters, officials said.

Saturday's violence exposed deepening rifts in Egypt over the military government's "road map to democracy," which set a path for civilian-led rule. Although they aren't allied, Brotherhood supporters and many secular-leaning activists oppose Gen. Sisi's growing profile.

Through antiprotest and antiterrorism laws, non-Islamist activists and some foreign and local journalists have been ensnared in the crackdown that rights groups have criticized as a campaign to suppress dissent.

Egypt's government says the measures are necessary in its "war against terrorism" and to bring calm to the nation's streets after three years of instability. "The preservation of the nation of Egypt is an awesome responsibility and a sacred trust, which we, god willing, will live up to," said President Adly Mansour. "We will not hesitate to undertake any exceptional measure, if necessary."

The Muslim Brotherhood on Sunday dismissed the government's recent moves. "We don't recognize a road map that was brought on top of military tanks against the will of the Egyptian people and in an environment of extreme repression unprecedented in Egypt's history," said spokesman Abdullah El-Haddad.

Saturday's violence came as a raucous event attended by thousands in Tahrir Square took on the appearance of a campaign rally for Gen. Sisi. Many of Egypt's political and business elites have called on Gen. Sisi to run for president.

But with thousands of leaders and members of the Brotherhood—the biggest opposition group—killed, arrested or cowed, few signs have emerged of a competitive election. Only Hamdeen Sabahi, a presidential candidate in 2012, has said he would run even if Gen. Sisi does.

In announcing the electoral schedule, Mr. Mansour said the government had met "with some of the major political stakeholders and representatives of the different political groups which indicated a majority in favor of holding presidential elections first."

Mr. Mansour, in a short televised speech, noted that the decision was a reversal from the military government's original road map. He announced no dates for the elections. Egypt's constitution calls for a vote within 90 days of the document's ratification.

Mohammed Abul Ghar, head of the left-leaning Egyptian Social Democratic Party, whose founders include the prime minister and deputy prime minister in the military backed interim government, said flipping the order of elections was necessary to bring order to a chaotic transition.

"We believed that it would quiet things in Egypt and the street would be…calm and this would be a positive signal if the elections are very fair and proper," he said. "This is a step toward democracy."

Egypt's amended constitution, overwhelmingly approved in a referendum with just over one third of the eligible voters, says that in the absence of a legislative body the next president would have complete legislative powers until a parliament is elected. Once seated, the body would have 15 days to ratify the laws enacted by the president in the interim.

Some observers said that having a president elected before parliament would give a popular leader heavy influence over the parliament's composition.

Given Egypt's political instability, Egypt's next president could lend considerable weight to friendly political forces in their bid for parliamentary seats, they said, resulting in a loyalist parliament—a hallmark of Mr. Mubarak's nearly 30 year autocratic rule, observers say.

"People are desperate for a leader, and a winning president would just say, anyone who accepts my presidency should vote for a certain alliance and it would be very easy for that alliance to get 50% of the seats," said Zaid Al-Ali, a constitutional expert with the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, a Stockholm-based intergovernmental group that promotes democracy. The approval of laws would be "just a formality if the president and parliament are of the same political color, and that's probably what is going to end up happening."

While that could help organize a more united and efficient legislative body, Mr. Al-Ali said, the parliament would become less diverse and it "would be easier to pass legislation that doesn't conform to best practices and fundamental rights."

Source: The Wall Street Journal

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Al-Azhar Takes Centre Stage in Struggle for Egypt

CAIRO — A venerable center of Islamic learning in Cairo has become a new battlefield in the Muslim Brotherhood's struggle to keep its battered cause alive against Egypt's army-backed rulers.

When General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi appeared on television in July to tell Egyptians he had deposed their first freely elected leader, the grand imam of al-Azhar was among those at his side.

Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, who looked on as the army chief of staff promised new elections, was falling in with al-Azhar's decades-long practice of lending its prestige to those in power.

But Tayeb now faces a maelstrom of unrest at al-Azhar's main campus in Cairo, where students are demanding the reinstatement of President Mohamed Mursi, a Brotherhood leader.

"We find it dishonorable to have a grand imam who supports a bloody military coup," said Youssef Salahein, 21, an undergraduate in Islamic studies and English.

"We are not going to stop until he is out of al-Azhar and he is judged for his crimes alongside all the military leaders."

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Egypt Accuses Morsi of Vast Terrorist Plot

CAIRO — The military-backed government filed new criminal charges on Wednesday against Mohamed Morsi, the deposed president, accusing him of participating in an epic terrorist plot that involved killing protesters and leaking state secrets to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

A statement from the chief prosecutor described the case against Mr. Morsi as the biggest of its kind in Egyptian history. Human rights groups strongly disagreed, calling the allegations preposterous, in part because of their vast scale and complexity.

Prosecutors accused Mr. Morsi, a former leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, of having allied with the historic enemies of the security forces and the military. Prosecutors charged that, in addition to colluding with Iran, Mr. Morsi plotted with the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah and with the Palestinian Sunni group Hamas, and that he planned to work with extremists to declare an Islamic emirate in Sinai.

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Dulu komunis, sekarang syiah, akan datang...?

Sumber: HarakahDaily
Dec 11, 2013 | MOHAMAD SABU

Daripada saya bersekolah pada tahun 1961, kita mula ingat dengan berbagai-bagai peristiwa sejak daripada darjah 3, 4, 5, 6 dan seterusnya ke sekolah menengah, sampailah kepada institut pengajian tinggi. Cerita yang popular pada waktu itu ialah kejahatan komunis, buruknya ideologi komunis, iaitu komunis kerjanya ialah membunuh orang ramai, menjahanamkan infrastruktur kerajaan, tidak percaya kepada Tuhan, mereka adalah pengganas dan amat ganas.

Melawan komunis adalah merupakan satu jihad, kerana pada waktu itu British dan kuasa barat mengahadapi komunis “insurgent” di Eropah, di Russia dan di Malaya. Komunis dan rangkaiannya bangun menentang penjajah British dan juga berusaha untuk menghalau British daripada Malaya dan tanah jajahannya.

Selepas merdeka, kerajaan Malaya yang merdeka menghadapi serangan atau pun penentangan daripada komunis yang berterusan. Di luar daripada Malaya pula berlaku peperangan Vietnam. Vietnam Utara dengan ideologi komunis, manakala Vietnam Selatan didokong oleh Amerika dan negara-negara barat. Malaya atau Malaysia bersama dengan rangkaian Amerika dan negara-negara barat menentang kemaraan regim komunis di Vietnam pimpinan Ho Chin Minh.

Mao Tze Tung yang berjaya membentuk kerajaan melalui “long march” yang dibuat pada tahun 1949 memang menggegarkan kuasa-kuasa serantau, khasnya Britain dan Amerika yang menguasai rantau Pasifik dan Asia Tenggara.

Manakala Russia pula, semakin hari semakin kuat menguasai negara-negara yang sekarang disebut CIS, dan pada tahun 1978 telah menguasai Afganistan. Oleh itu komunis, sosialis dan ideologi negara yang didokong oleh mereka menjadi musuh yang amat sangat kepada Malaya (Malaysia) negara British, Amerika dan sekutu Eropah Barat.

Ribuan menjadi mangsa, bahkan ratusan ribu telah menjadi mangsa hasil pertarungan komunis dan non-komunis, sama ada di Malaya atau di negara-negara lain. Bahkan di Vietnam sehingga jutaan rakyat telah terkorban.

Di Malaya (Malaysia) polis dan tentera dan orang ramai terkorban, begitulah juga di pihak yang mendokong komunis terkorban begitu banyak dalam pertarungan ideologi, pertarungan negara, pertarungan kuasa (adi-kuasa) di atas muka bumi ini.

Pada tahun 1975, peperangan di Vietnam telah tamat, Vietnam Utara berjaya mengalahkan Amerika dan juga sekutunya di Vietnam Selatan. Richard Nixon telah melawat China dan membuat satu hubungan diplomatik baru di dunia ini. Russia pula membuat pembaharuan di atas konsep “glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring)” menarik keluar tentera dan kuasa politiknya di Afganistan dan di negara-negara CIS yang lain.

Malaysia menandatangani perjanjian damai dengan Parti Komunis Malaya pada tahun 1989 iaitu Rundingan Damai Haadyai. Pemimpin-pemimpin Parti Komunis Malaya boleh pulang ke tanah air jika mereka mahu, kecuali Cin Peng dan abunya tidak dapat kebenaran pulang, tetapi yang lain-lain boleh pulang atau diusahakan untuk pulang.

Selepas peristiwa Demontrasi Baling pada tahun 1974, aktivis jalanan dan juga penunjuk perasaan yang membela tunjuk perasaan di Baling diburu di bawah ISA, puluhan pelajar dan juga pensyarah ditahan di bawah ISA termasuk Anwar Ibrahim, Syen Husin Ali, Kamaruzaman Yaakob dan ratusan para pelajar dikejar di bawah buruan ISA. Aktivis pelajar berhaluan kiri iaitu Hishamudin Rais melepaskan diri ke luar negara hasil daripada buruan ISA. Selepas perjanjian damai pada tahun 1991, aktivis pelajar dan juga pemimpin kesatuan pelajar serta pemimpin Kelab Sosialis Universiti Malaya pulang ke tanah air, dan kemudiannya menjalankan aktiviti sosial dengan begitu hebat sekali.

Pada tahun ini, apabila timbul cerita Aishah yang kononnya di rekrut oleh komunis dan menganut fahaman Mao Tze Tung diberitakan ingin dibawa pulang ke Malaysia. Aktivis sosialis dan menjadi buruan ISA iaitu Hishamudin Rais ke England, dan beritanya ke England disiarkan oleh berbagai media di Malaysia, bahkan beliau dikatakan bersama dengan pihak kedutaan Malaysia mencari Aishah dan berusaha menemubual Aishah, dan diberi publisiti tentang aktiviti Hishamudin Rais di London untuk membawa pulang Aishah ke Malaysia.

Apa yang hendak saya tekankan di sini, ialah komunis yang menjadi buruan di tahun 50-an, 60-an, 70-an dan 80-an, sekarang boleh pulang, bahkan dipelawa pulang ke tanah air. Ertinya sesuatu ideologi yang diperangi itu bukanlah kekal, di mana ia hanyalah sementara. Apakah giliran memerangi ideologi Syiah ini berpanjangan atau sementara? Kita ikutilah perkembangan seterusnya.

Oleh itu permusuhan kepada komunis, sudah menjadi reda. Sekarang China telah muncul sebagai negara ekonomi, bahkan dua ke tiga tahun lagi akan menjadi kuasa ekonomi nombor satu dalam dunia mengatasi Amerika Syarikat dan sekaligus Eropah Barat.

Perdagangan dengan China sudah menjadi rebutan, bahkan setiap negara menunjukkan peningkatan angka “billion dollar” dalam urusan berdagang dengan China. Presiden China ialah seorang komunis telah datang ke Malaysia dan disambut dengan hamparan permaidani merah. Begitulah juga Russia muncul sebagai negara yang kuat dengan ekonomi, dengan hasil minyaknya yang begitu tinggi menguasai pasaran Eropah sekarang ini. Dan dianggap satu negara yang kukuh dalam bidang ekonomi dan ketenteraan.

Maka permusuhan kepada komunis, seolah-olah tidak ada lagi, walaupun hanya ada sentimen di sudut sejarah, apabila saya cuba menimbulkan isu Mat Indera pejuang kemerdekaan, telah dimarahi oleh pemerintah di atas sentimen lama, bukan pembaharuan untuk membenci dan menentang komunis seperti yang berlaku di tahun 50-an, 60-an atau 70-an dahulu.

Pada tahun 1979, berlaku Revolusi Islam di Iran. Revolusi ini dianggap mengancam kuasa barat dan kuasa Amerika di Timur Tengah. Yang dijatuhkan ialah kerajaan Shah yang disokong dan didokong oleh Amerika dan Israel. Oleh sebab Iran ialah sebuah negara Islam, maka pengaruh revolusi itu boleh tersebar ke mana-mana dunia Islam yang lain, untuk rakyat membuat penentuan supaya mereka tidak dikuasai oleh Amerika dan British. Maka untuk menyekat kemaraan itu isu Syiah ditimbulkan.

Sebelum itu rakyat Malaysia, khasnya ketika zaman saya di peringkat persekolahan rendah, menengah dan dikampus, tidak tahu apa itu Syiah. Datuk Mahfuz Omar apabila dituduh atau ditanya “Adakah beliau seorang Syiah..?” Beliau mengatakan “Syiah itu sejenis kuih kah?” Ertinya rakyat Malaysia umumnya tidak tahu apa dia itu Syiah? Apa dia itu mazhab yang lain? Mereka hanya tahu hanyalah Islam, dan bukan Islam.

Kita tahu hal mengenai Iran ialah kerana ia mempunyai atau memiliki permaisuri yang jelita, iaitu Farah Diba, yang popularnya seperti Lady Diana di England. Kita tahu Iran kuat dalam pasukan bola sepak. Kita tahu juga Iran selalu menang dalam pertandingan ratu cantik di peringkat Asia dan di peringkat dunia. Selain daripada itu kita tidak tahu.

Tetapi digelombangkan isu Syiah selepas revolusi pada tahun 1979, kemudiannya diikuti oleh peristiwa-peristiwa yang berlaku di Teluk, khasnya apabila kemunculan Hizbullah untuk menghadapi Israel dan kancah politik di Lubnan. Maka isu Syiah itu disemarakkan lagi.

Berlaku pula pertembungan di Syria, di mana munculnya kumpulan FSA yang disokong oleh pemain utamanya iaitu Saudi, Qatar, dan negara-negara barat seperti Amerika, Perancis, British dan sebagainya. Kebetulan Basyar al-Asad telah dikatakan bermazhab Syiah Alawi yang kita pun tidak tahu soal-soal mazhab di Syria itu. Maka isu Syiah menggantikan tempat komunis yang telah reda beberapa tahun kebelakangan ini.

Jikalau pertarungan hal komunis itu menyebabkan jutaan dan ribuan rakyat di kedua-dua pihak terkorban dan menjadi mangsa, kita tidak tahu hal isu Syiah ini pula, iaitu golongan yang pro dan yang menentangnya apa pula yang akan dihadapi oleh pemerintah dan juga rakyat. Saya yakin peristiwa ini tidak berpanjangan seperti isu komunis.

Iran berusaha untuk menjadikan negaranya, salah satu negara nuklear, di mana hujahnya untuk tenaga, untuk penyelidikan kesihatan pada masa sekarang dan pada masa yang akan datang. Barat cuba untuk memboikot perdagangan dengan Iran, sehingga rakyat Iran yang berada di luar, yang berada di atas sekatan yang mana mereka tidak boleh membuka akaun di mana-mana bank. Mereka hadapi tekanan yang begitu dahsyat. Inflasi di dalam negara mereka naik seperti roket. Tetapi kegigihan rakyatnya, akhirnya mereka berjaya mencapai pengkayaan nuklear melebihi 20 peratus.

Melebihi tahap 20 peratus, adalah satu tahap pada bila-bila masa boleh pergi kepada membuat bom nuklear dan sebagainya. Yang sukar ialah daripada 5 peratus sehingga kepada 20 peratus. Itulah yang diberitahu oleh IEAE kepada masyarakat dunia.

Mahu atau tidak mahu, Iran telah menjadi sebuah negara nuklear. Pada dua minggu yang lalu, satu kejutan telah berlaku di mana negara 5+1 bersetuju membuat perdamaian. Secara ringkasnya dengan Iran, dan mengizinkan Iran meneruskan pengkayaan uraniumnya (nuklear) tetapi tidaklah sampai kepada peringkat untuk menghasilkan bom nuklear.

Oleh itu, dalam masa 5 bulan lagi, jikalau perundingan ini berterusan maka “sanctions” atau sekatan ekonomi, teknologi, peralatan kepada Iran akan berkurangan ataupun akan beransur-ansur pulih. Maka dianggarkan Iran akan muncul sebagai negara yang kuat dengan ekonomi, kerana kekuatan minyak dan teknologinya yang ada sekarang ini. Dan dengan Iran sekarang ini menjadi pemain utama di rantau Timur Tengah sama ada di Iraq, di Syria, di Lebnon dan di Afganistan, sudah tentunya ia akan muncul sebagai satu kuasa baru di Timur Tengah.

Gendang anti Syiah pada waktu itu akan berkurangan, Amerika dan sekutu baratnya akan mengubah haluan serangan entah ke mana pula. Ideologi “Awang Liku” mana pula akan menjadi ancaman pada waktu itu.

Oleh sebab itulah, saya berkeyakinan penuh isu Syiah yang dimainkan termasuk saya sendiri yang menjadi mangsa dalam isu ini. Bagi pandangan peribadi saya, ini hanyalah isu sementara, dan akan lebih cepat padam daripada isu komunis yang berlarutan secara hebatnya iaitu jikalau di Malaya ini semenjak dari tahun 1948 di zaman “emergency” sehinggalah perjanjian damai pada tahun 1989, yang memakan masa yang panjang iaitu hampir 41 tahun. Tetapi isu Syiah ini akan berkurangan tidak lama lagi, apabila negara barat mula bersahabat semula dengan Iran. Dan propaganda anti Syiah ini akan berkurangan.

Walau bagaimanapun dalam setiap pertarungan ideologi ada yang akan menjadi mangsa, sama ada tuduhan itu palsu, rekaan dan sebagainya untuk memperkuatkan sesebuah kerajaan itu, atau sebuah parti politik itu, demi menunjukkan yang mereka “concern” terhadap keselamatan negara, ataupun sebagai propaganda untuk mereka meneruskan kuasa di suatu tempat. Pertarungan ideologi ini akan berterusan.

Walau bagaimanapun kita akan konsep keadilan sejagat, ada jenayah universal yang tetap dianggap jenayah, seperti membunuh orang tanpa sebab, memukul isteri, memukul anak, memukul menantu, memukul bakal menantu yang tak jadi, menggunakan kuasa untuk melindungi kesalahan, rasuah, mencuri wang rakyat, menindas rakyat, memakan riba. Semuanya itu adalah merupakan kesalahan-kesalahan walau apapun ideologi, ia akan tetap dianggap satu jenayah.

Begitulah juga mereka yang menolong anak yatim, membantu orang miskin, melawan rasuah, menentang penindasan, menjaga dan kasihan kepada binatang dan tumbuh-tumbuhan, alam sekitar, menggalakkan kehijauan, mewujudkan keharmonian antara kaum, memperjuangkan kebenaran sejagat, ideologi apa yang berkuasa, kumpulan apa yang naik, diterima umum sebagai perkara yang baik, yang perlu ada.

Oleh itu perjuangan hak dan batil akan berterusan “Ila Yaumil Qiamah…” tidak kira samada ideologi apa, keadaan apa yang berlaku di suatu tempat atau di sesuatu negara.

Saya berpegang di atas konsep perjuangan berdasarkan Islam, iaitu menegakkan yang ma’aruf dan menentang yang mungkar, dan beriman kepada ALLAH dan berusaha untuk mewujudkan keharmonian semua kaum di atas sifat apa yang diberitahu oleh kitab suci Al-Quran.

“Wama Arsalnaka ‘illa Rahmatal Lil Aalamin..” ,

“…Dan tidaklah Kami utuskan Engkau Muhammad kecuali untuk membawa kesejahteraan kepada sekelian alam…”. Itulah pandangan saya untuk kali ini.

Sumber: HarakahDaily

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Promote unity among Muslims – Universal Justice Network

We regret the suggestion by the Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to amend the Federal Constitution to recognise that only the teachings of Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah is the faith of Muslims in Malaysia. We appeal to him to reconsider it because it has serious implications for Muslim unity and Malaysia’s international commitments.

We believe the suggestion is in response to the anti-Shia campaign currently being carried out by certain groups influenced and supported by extremist Salafi scholars.

Islam is one and there is no Sunni Islam or Shia Islam. There are different schools of jurisprudence (mazhab) and a Muslim is free to follow any of these mazhab. Any attempt to exclude a mazhab would only lead to disunity and conflict among Muslims and undermine any efforts to unite the ummah to face the daunting challenges coming from hegemonic powers, dictators and autocratic rulers.

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Pupuk perpaduan sesama Islam – SM Mohamed Idris

Kami dukacita di atas cadangan oleh Timbalan Presiden Umno Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yang mahu meminda Perlembagaan Persekutuan untuk menjamin ajaran Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah sebagai kepercayaan umat Islam di Malaysia dan merayu supaya mempertimbangkan semula perkara itu kerana ia mempunyai implikasi serius ke atas perpaduan umat Islam dan komitmen antarabangsa Malaysia.

Kami percaya cadangan yang dibuat itu adalah respons kepada kempen anti Syiah pada masa ini yang sedang dijalankan oleh kumpulan tertentu yang dipengaruhi dan disokong oleh ulama Salafi yang bersikap melampau.

Islam itu satu dan tiada Islam Sunni atau Islam Syiah. Terdapat perbezaan mazhab dan orang Islam bebas untuk mengikuti mana-mana mazhab. Sebarang cubaan untuk menafikan hak sesuatu mazhab akan hanya membawa kepada perpecahan dan konflik dalam kalangan umat Islam dan melemahkan usaha yang sedang diusahakan untuk menyatupadukan umat Islam bagi menghadapi cabaran dari kuasa hegemoni, diktator dan pemerintah autokratik.

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Putrajaya should reconsider Allah ruling as it goes against the Quran, says US scholar

Imam Shamsi Ali says the Allah ruling has reduced the greatness of God. - The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, December 7, 2013.

A well-known New York-based Muslim scholar and community leader has urged Putrajaya to seriously look into the ruling prohibiting Christians from using the word Allah, saying that it is against the teachings of the Quran.

Imam Shamsi Ali told The Malaysian Insider that as a Muslim, he could not accept the Court of Appeal ruling as it "reduced the greatness of God".

"I cannot accept it because for me, it is a matter of faith.

"It (the ruling) is reducing the authority of God as the powerful, the creator, the God of All, to being the God of only 1.5 billion people in the world," said Shamsi, adding that the ruling was unfortunate as it had the tendency of limiting God to Muslims.

He was speaking to The Malaysian Insider on the sidelines of the 2013 Global Peace Convention.

Some 500 participants from 40 nations are attending the four-day convention titled, "Unity in Diversity: Building Social Cohesion for Sustainable Peace through Universal Aspirations, Principles and Values".

The topics of the convention include "Global ethic for inclusive and moderate societies", "How young people today shape the world tomorrow" and "How globalisation impacts the institution of family".

Commenting further, Shamsi said the first chapter of the Quran does not say the Lord of the Muslims, or the King of Muslims, it says the Lord of the Universe and the King of Human Beings.

"So when the government limits god to God of Muslims, basically that contradicts the teaching of the Quran, which is universal," he explained.

Shamsi said that in a previous interview with FoxNews where the topic was over the use of the word Allah by Christians, he had advocated that God can be called by any name as long as it was the proper name to refer to the Almighty God.

He added that during his time living in other Muslim countries, he had never come across attempts by Muslims to limit the use of the word Allah by other religions.

Shamsi also pointed out that the Allah issue in Malaysia was not merely a legal question, but one that was related to faith.

The Muslim scholar was commenting on the Court of Appeal ruling on October 14 where a three-member bench led by Datuk Seri Mohamed Apandi Ali allowed Putrajaya's appeal on the banning of the word from the Catholic weekly, Herald, as there was a 1986 directive by the Home Ministry which prohibited non-Muslim publications from using four words – Allah, Kaabah, Solat and Baitullah.

Apandi, in his judgment, said the prohibition was to protect the sanctity of Islam and prevent confusion among Muslims.

The decision sparked an outcry among Christians and other non-Muslims in the peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak.

On Thursday, Putrajaya and seven Muslim organisations said they are opposing the Catholic Church's leave application to appeal against the Court of Appeal ruling.

The eight respondents maintained that the Court of Appeal ruling was correct and that it was not worthwhile for the Federal Court to determine the question of law outlined by the church. - December 7, 2013.

Taken from : http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/putrajaya-should-reconsider-allah-ruling-as-it-goes-against-the-quran-says

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How The Sunni-Shia Schism Is Dividing The World

The Muslim world’s historic – and deeply tragic – chasm between Sunni and Shia Islam is having worldwide repercussions. Syria’s civil war, America’s craven alliance with the Sunni Gulf autocracies, and Sunni (as well as Israeli) suspicions of Shia Iran are affecting even the work of the United Nations.

Saudi Arabia’s petulant refusal last week to take its place among non-voting members of the Security Council, an unprecedented step by any UN member, was intended to express the dictatorial monarchy’s displeasure with Washington’s refusal to bomb Syria after the use of chemical weapons in Damascus – but it also represented Saudi fears that Barack Obama might respond to Iranian overtures for better relations with the West.

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Journey of a lifetime ends successfully

HAJ MABROOR: After arriving in Makkah from Mina on Thursday, pilgrims circumambulate the Kaaba marking the end of Haj. (AN photo by Khidr Al-Zahrani)

The once-in-a-lifetime journey of faith, endurance and determination for hundreds of thousands of Muslims from nearly 200 countries came to a successful end on Thursday.

Relief was writ large on the faces of pilgrims, many in the autumn of their lives as was evident from the deep furrows on their brows. Here at Mina, they were the personification of sheer determination.
Many pilgrims woke up early on Thursday and straight after sunrise began throwing seven pebbles at each of the three huge concrete structures representing the devil.

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The Revolution Egypt Needs

Pasadena, California — When I was a boy in Desuq, Egypt, a city on the Rosetta branch of the Nile, about 50 miles east of Alexandria, my family lived steps away from the local landmark, a mosque named for a 13th-century Sufi sheik. Five times a day, we would hear the call to prayer. Our imam encouraged us to study, telling my friends and me, again and again, of the message revealed by the Prophet Muhammad: “iqra” — read! Education was in the fabric of our culture and religion. 

I left Egypt in 1969 for graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania. I have been on the faculty at Caltech for 37 years and carried dual citizenship for 31. But my commitment to the country of my birth never wavered. Political tumult — two uprisings, and the overthrow of two regimes, in the space of two years — has left Egypt in deep political uncertainty. But what’s been lost in the deadly machinations among both the secular liberals and political Islamists is what touched off the revolution: the aspirations of Egypt’s youth. 

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A Warning to Egypt’s Generals

President Obama’s decision to reduce but not terminate military aid to Egypt is a measured attempt to protect American interests in a tumultuous region while affirming the president’s support for democracy. One message is that the relationship between the two countries remains crucial to regional stability. The other is that America cannot sit by while the Egyptian Army tramples on Egypt’s political opposition, foments violence and turns increasingly authoritarian, thus ensuring further turmoil. 

Whether partial measures will be a sufficient warning to the generals is unclear, especially now that senior American officials have said the decision to reduce aid is “not meant to be permanent.” But if the military insists on its repressive path, Mr. Obama will have to go further. 

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Egypt’s Coming Civil War

Three months ago, Egypt’s military seized power in a coup that it said was necessary both to prevent civil war and to restore democracy. By now it is clear that the military is failing on both counts.

Today, suspected Islamists killed at least nine soldiers and police in attacks. Yesterday, security forces killed 51 pro-Muslim Brotherhood protesters at a rally in Cairo that, according to witnesses, had been entirely peaceful. Meanwhile, the country continues to live under a nightly curfew.

None of this resembles what Egypt’s defense minister and de facto ruler, General Abdelfatah al-Seesi, continues to say he wants for his country: reconciliation, economic growth and a quick return to rule by elected civilian governments. Indeed, civil war looks like a far more real threat today than when al-Seesi and the military deposed the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Mursi, Egypt’s first elected president, on July 3.

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Egypt: dozens of protesters killed as rival factions tear Cairo apart

At least 51 people died in clashes across Egypt as the country's two largest political factions gathered in rival commemorations of Egypt's participation in the 1973 war with Israel, a day of deep significance for many Egyptians.

Both opponents and supporters of the country's ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, rallied in their thousands – ostensibly to mark the 40th anniversary of the Yom Kippur war which is viewed in Cairo as an Egyptian victory, despite ending in a stalemate that favoured Israel.

But rather than emphasising Egypt's unity, the different messages conveyed by each faction's demonstrations underscored divides. Morsi's supporters, whose marches filled highways in west Cairo, used the day to protest against his ousting, while his opponents took to Tahrir Square to praise General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's role in his overthrow. Deadly violence flared when tens of thousands of Morsi supporters tried to reach Tahrir Square. Soldiers, police and armed vigilantes blocked their path and started firing.

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Noam Chomsky: The "Illegal" US Threat On Syria And 9/11

"He (Obama) can maintain the threat of force, which incidentally is a crime under international law, that we should bear in mind that the core principle of the United Nations Charter bars the threat or use of force, threat or use of force. So all of this is criminal."

September 11, 2013

Part 2

Chomsky on 9/11

"My own view is that we should be concentrating on the first 9/11, the one in Chile, which was a much worse attack, by any dimension."

Taken from http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article36201.htm

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Reality Check: More Americans Are “Rethinking” 9/11?

September 10, 2013 "Information Clearing House - Did you know that a 3rd building fell on 9-11?  That bill board is today over Times Square.  It was placed there through donations to a campaign called Rethink 9/11.

In fact, that group has placed posters and signs across the world, from Australia, to Canada, from San Francisco to right here in New York City.

So what is Rethink 9/11?  Wouldn’t only a fringe group of people would still question 9/11?  Perhaps not, because today we will tell you about new polling that shows a majority of those polled either question the official 9/11 story or don’t believe it at all.  Is that possible?

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