Sydney protests & Islam-Liberalism divide | Uthman Badar interview with ...

REPORT HATE CRIMES TO MUSLIM LEGAL NETWORK (MLN)

 

http://www.muslimlegalnetwork.com/

The Muslim Legal Network is a gateway for all Australian Muslim lawyers and law students to engage with a wider community of lawyers and fellow Muslim students. It grants an avenue for those in the legal profession to engage with the minds of Australian Muslim Law Students and provides students with insight and advice regarding their future professions.

The network also provides for the sharing of community concerns that may require action from the network as a representative body.

Our mission

The MLN ethically strives towards protecting the civil liberties and human rights of Muslims living in Australia. A framework has been created in which Muslim legal practitioners and law students can associate and provide mentoring and support regarding the legal profession.

Furthermore, The MLN works diligently towards building a better understanding of the Islamic faith within the wider Australian community through the development of various bodies, projects and dialogue and providing assistance to other Islamic organizations.

To empower Muslims to become productive, respected and law abiding members within the wider Australian community.

Individuals, organisations, Mosques are encouraged to report any hate crimes - threatening messages of physical violence, vandalism, assaults etc.

MLN states: Proactivity is key to having an effective community that can deal with challenges thrown its way.

In the wake of the Sydney protests, there may be hate crimes committed against you purely for being a Muslim. Know that neither YOU nor your FAITH is to blame.

As Australian Muslims, we condemn injustice, whether by a Muslim or upon a Muslim.

REPORT HATE CRIMES TO MLN (anonymously if you wish):
http://www.muslimleg...rt-an-incident/
http://www.muslimleg...-to-incidents/"

A request from a Prisoner

Please spread this stick it in the noses of our " leaders " infact stick everything relivant to the continued oppression against muslims in their noses , we dont expect anything from them but at least they can be shamed by their inaction to defend those they are meant to support the list is long death is near judgement day is heading our way may Allah Azza wa Jall reward you for caring and sharing Ameen

 Bismillaah ir-Rahmaan ir-Rahiim,

18th September, 2012

As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatUllaahi wa barakaatuh,

I would ask that this short piece be translated and spread around to the Arabic, French, and Urdu websites, and that it be printed out and passed around at the protests in the various lands in the coming days, in shaa-Allaah. The people need to know about this, because it exposes the true face of America.

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The War on Salaah

Bismillaah ir-Rahmaan ir-Rahiim:

My name is Abu Talhah Zakariyya al-Amriiki (legally "Zachary Chesser) I am a Muslim prisoner in America, who has been arrested in the War on Islaam, the American Inquisition. I am in a unit which is known in the media and elsewhere as Guantanamo North, because it is used to house many of the Islaamic cases, and the only reason they even have non-Muslims in this unit is to prevent lawsuits over discrimination. What I am about to relate is part of the hidden war on Islaam being waged by the United States. They cannot possibly justify it as anything but an assault Islaam, because it has nothing to do with jihaad, politics, terrorism, or whatever word they want to use for what they supposedly claim to be fighting.

Yesterday, during the Maghrib prayer, number of inmates and I were praying together. One of the guards came in upon us, and when we were finished he took down our names. He then went to write us all incident reports as a retaliation over the protests on behalf of the Prophet, sallAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam. When they write us incident reports, they take away our ability to communicate with our families for long periods, and they do other things which are very painful for the brothers here. In this unit, they have banned Muslims from praying together, because they want to suppress Islaam.

This same guard is the one who wrote me the incident report for praying which was published by the Senate's top counter terrorism advisor Seamus Hughes, and he has also assaulted a Muslim inmate, who has lung cancer and cannot even lift twenty pounds, by throwing a padlock at him while he was sleeping. Now he has come and he wants to sever people's ties with their wives and children before the upcoming 'Iid, all in order to defend a person for mocking our beloved Prophet, sallAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam.

However, these anti-Islaamic policies which are a part of the American Inquisition are not limited to this one guard. In the year and four months I have been in Guantanamo North, I have received four incident reports for praying, and I have been sent to isolation twice for speaking about it in the Senate report which was published on me. I was also sent to isolation for trying to have a religious question answered. I spent three months in isolation and I have spent four other months without being able to communicate with my family due to being accused of praying. Now, I am likely to face another three months without communication with my family, just because I am fulfilling a basic obligation which every Muslim attests to.

I am not the only one who has gone through this. Many brothers have received incident reports for praying, rolling their pants above their ankles, fasting, and other religious activities. We do not engage in violence, drugs, or other things which the regular criminals engage in, but we receive the most penalties out of anyone for doing nothing but peacefully obeying our Lord.

It is not enough that they have thrown us in prison, taken from us our parents, brothers, sisters, wives and children. It is not enough that the older members of our families are dying without being able to see their children and grandchildren. It is not enough to lock someone in a small space for decades. No, they have to take our prayer, our fasting, our religious books, our copies of the Qur-aan, everything that involves serving our Lord... they have to take it.

Al-hamdu Lillaah, I will have a lawsuit against these people soon, although I am waiting to receive a fatwa about whether or not it is permissible, so at least when they reject our right to pray, unless Allaah wills, the whole world will see how their arguments against the prayer have nothing to do with security and everything to do with their hatred of Islaam. At the sister unit to our facility one of the brothers already has a lawsuit about to be ruled on, exposing that facility, so in shaa-Allaah I will have one to expose the people here shortly.

Please spread this message, and do not let the issue slide. Call on the real A'immah to pressure these people to leave us alone in the worship of our Lord. In the upcoming protests, please carry signs demanding they let the Muslims pray.

And I praise Allaah, the Lord of all that exists.

It's Not A Joking Matter(Muslims Mocking Islam 'Niqaab - Hiajb - beard.....

Who's Afraid Of Terrorists?

 

by Mohamad Tabbaa

Muslim leaders need to stop apologising and start defending their communities' legal rights. Endless condemnation of terrorism fuels the demand for more, says Mohamad Tabbaa

The terror raids in Melbourne this week have revived the question of "home-grown terrorism", and have again focused the spotlight on Melbourne’s Muslim community. In Sydney, the Hyde Park protests have had a similar effect.

As has become increasingly common in the aftermath of such situations, Muslims are pushed in certain directions, and asked to respond to certain criticisms: do you condemn terrorism? Does the group in question represent Muslim views? Does Islam condone violence?

Unfortunately, many Muslims have taken comfort in the usual, reactionary responses to such questions, and many have thus jumped on the condemnation bandwagon as a result. We are hearing more of the common responses put forward by Muslim groups: "Islam denounces violence", "Muslims are law-abiding citizens", "Islam means peace", and a bunch of other catch-cries apologising for the fact that Muslims are not perfect.

So what is the problem with such responses? Surely the logical thing to do is to allay the fears of an already anxious public, who perhaps already look toward their Muslim neighbours with slight suspicion?

In fact, there are a number of problems with this approach.

Apologising for such actions only further entrenches the false idea that terrorism is a Muslim problem; after all, why would someone apologise for something they were not responsible for? Condemning terrorism only fuels the demand for more condemnation, and the past decade has convincingly illustrated this fact.

The more serious and harmful results of such responses, however, stem from the fact that reactions such as these serve to further criminalise and marginalise the Muslim community. How so? Well, by distancing ourselves from groups considered "radical" or "on the fringe", we open up the discussion about what makes a "good" Muslim, and, by default, what makes a "bad" Muslim.

These discussions quickly enter the public discourse, which means that the definition of what constitutes a good or bad Muslim is open to things like political manipulation, prejudice, racism, and even mere ignorance. We see this occurring often, as TVpresenters, radio commentators, politicians and even the general public throw in their two cents as to what they believe a good Muslim ought to be. The core identity of the Muslim community is thus left to the purview of the general community, who, it’s safe to say, are not well-versed in all things Muslim.

The Muslim community becomes fragmented as a result; we basically create a radical minority within a minority, and the usual characteristics of exclusion quickly ensue. Verbal distancing (marginal group, on the fringe) and vilification (radicals, extremists, terrorists) become commonplace. Once this occurs, it becomes very easy for individuals or groups to harass this minority, safe in the knowledge that they are not really harming Muslims, but only "radicals" or "terrorists". In the case of the terror raids in Melbourne, the police authorities could violently raid the houses of a number of innocent citizens — terrorising the inhabitants — while still claiming to have been engaged with and respectful of the Muslim community. But which community exactly is being referred to here? Were the people raided not part of that Muslim community, or do they no longer belong? And who exactly has made that decision?

A number of other disturbing trends also usually follow such raids, and this case is unfortunately no different. For example, rather than focusing on the rights of those raided, on their presumption of innocence, or even on the excessive powers police now posses to carry out such raids, instead the focus is elsewhere, on issues of little to no relevance. The Herald Sun, for example, discusses a neighbour’s reaction to a family that was raided, who importantly states that, despite the fact that they "would say hello back…they were not that friendly".  Of course, the demeanour of the family in question towards a complete stranger is the most important fact in this case, and so obviously requires mentioning.

Worse yet was a media release by the Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV), who, instead of defending the rights of the Victorian Muslims it claims to represent, found it more pressing to mention that those raided came from a "marginalised group…with a handful of followers"; that their group Al-Furqan was not part of the ICV; that their leader Harun was not part of the Board of Imams; while also complaining about the group’s tone, manner and language. The ICV has since altered their media release after numerous complaints from the Muslim community. Distancing themselves from the targeted group appeared to be more important to the ICV than actually defending them or questioning the police about their intelligence or approach.

What relevance do a neighbour’s feelings have on the outcome of this case? Why is it so important for the ICV to strenuously distance itself from a group which, by all standards, is entirely innocent?

Focusing on these irrelevant aspects of the case serves to realign our sympathies and refocus our attention. Our sympathies are aligned away from the terrified children and their parents, whose doors were kicked in by heavily-armed police at the break of dawn, and shifted instead toward the poor neighbour who felt that these people were not as friendly as she would have liked them to be. The neighbour here comes to represent the anxious public, who seem quite happy to allow for blatant rights violations and damaging discrimination merely to feel safe — similar to the reaction towards asylum seekers.

Our focus then shifts away from the fact that, rather than defending their community from harassment, the ICV is instead siding with repressive government authorities. Sadly, what is focused on is the fact that the tone used by this group was not as nice as the ICV would have wished. Such tactics only further marginalise a minority group already under much pressure, facing constant discrimination and violence, including over-policing.

These responses and tactics, unfortunately, are not restricted to the ICV, and are common amongst Muslim leaders both in Victoria and across the country.
Similar condemnation and distancing has now been targeted towards Sydney’s protesters, with some Muslim leaders publicly condemning them as "criminals", despite the fact that they have not even gone through the legal system yet. Again, as with above, this shifts our focus away from the fact that such leaders ought to be defending their right to the presumption of innocence, even if they have committed crimes, rather than labelling them as criminals; defending their right to peacefully protest; and also interrogating the harsh police tactics used, and calling for investigations into the disturbing claims that it may have been police who actually instigated the violence in some circumstances. Instead, as with the terror raids, certain leaders seem to be more concerned with preserving their own image as ‘good Muslims’, than with the rights and well-being of their community members.

What results from characterising ourselves as "good" Muslims, and attacking "bad" Muslims in this way, is that the "bad Muslims" group gets criminalised and charged — not for crimes they have committed — but merely for being "bad people"; they basically get criminalised for not being mainstream or nice enough, as if that in itself were a crime. So rather than critiquing the ever-increasing powers of the state and police authorities, we find ourselves stuck demonising a "handful of people" for speaking in a disapproved manner while possessing a USB stick.

If we’re as passionate about free speech as many have proudly professed to be — especially in light of the latest Muslim-bashing movie — then we really ought to be defending the rights to speech of those whom we disagree with most; otherwise, freedom of speech becomes little more than the "freedom" to sound like the majority.

Beautiful Islam vs the ugly Muslim

Much of the analysis of the Muslim demonstrations has implied that Australian Muslims must create an image as good citizens before the righteousness of their resistance can be acknowledged. Yassir Morsi disagrees.

In a recent article about the Muslim Incredible Hulk Waleed Aly suggests that the Sydney Muslim protesters are pointless and only anger brings them into existence.  His commentary is yet another example of a failed apology in the disguise of an informed Muslim's explanation.

To put it simply, Aly is offloading the failure of his own commentary onto Sydney's Muslim protesters. It is an article that does little to help Australians understand a Muslim minority. 

Aly makes an insulting assumption about the protesters: they protest for "a shortcut to self-worth". With a swift movement of his pen, Aly denies hundreds of Muslim protesters of any political agency, self-determination and self-worth. They are instead passionately drunk on humiliation, inconsistent, unaware of outcomes, fuelled by the moment, swinging punches and unthinking. Consider his choice of words: orgy, wildly, frustrated, drunkenly, stupidity, scandal, cyclical, humiliated, disease and pointlessly.

Ironic, then, that in the same Islamophobic rhetoric, that I assume Aly wants to oppose, he himself writes about Muslims by describing how their emotion is their politics. The piece says nothing sophisticated about the world the Muslim youth inherits, but instead turns their reaction into their world. It is a strange circular logic that defends his argument. 

Aly does, however, hang his hat on one point. The protesters did not see the movie, he says. This is only partly true. Some did see the trailer, others read about it on the net, and most described the details through word of mouth.

Considering that Islam forbids them to watch any movie that depicts the Prophet, it is not surprising that many did not watch the movie. But does it matter? The movie was offensive and the protesters got it right. Why question their method when they were spot on?

Maybe Aly exaggerates this point to make a more scathing underlining point. The protesters were swinging around with no balance and self worth, who did not even know what they were protesting against. This ape-like caricature does little to help society's understanding of the Muslim minorities various struggles to find a place in a secular society. More importantly, it denies the agency and responsibility of free citizens who speak in self-interest.

If we assume a lack of agency in these protesters we deny that they exist politically. Is this not a convenient way to dismiss grievances from those Muslims who do not speak the high language of a well-spoken liberal?

That is exactly what moderate Muslims want. They want to wish away a violent Islam and pretend the embarrassing action of those on the fringe of their community has nothing to do with them or their religion. Since Sunday, major sections of the Muslim community have mauled the protesters without a single hesitation, obsessed with their image, none entertaining any suggestion that maybe police provoked the protesters.

These voices on online forums matched Aly's and called the protesters backwards, uneducated, but, most tellingly, they called them un-Islamic. They accused the protesters themselves, and not the movie, as the biggest insult to the Prophet.

All this a couple of days after the Islamic Council of Victoria, Victoria's peak Islamic body, delivered an incredible media release in response to the AFP raids in Melbourne. ICV in its release decided to highlight the "marginalised" status of those raided. They spoke about them as a "minority" and how they had "little followers".

They congratulated the AFP for cultural sensitivity: between 20 and 30 officers barged into a home with only a wife and her children inside. On last report, by the group in question, the ICV did not offer any legal advice to the group in question. They simply distanced themselves. 

This act of distancing ourselves from troublesome Muslims has become more and more common, but, from yesterday it is becoming part of our future planning. In response to Saturday's riots, The Australian reported how Islamic leaders were calling for a halt to all future demonstrations. When considering the past ten years this call was the logic of society over-policing the Muslim. 

The passivity hidden within the insecure 'image' driven moderate Muslim expresses itself best through the conservative clerics who call for calm and no protests. The logic follows that all forms of resistance, in a nuanced community, has its fringe and ugly quality, and thus the best way to get rid of the fringe and ugly is to get rid of the whole act of protesting.

Now Muslims are convincing themselves that the act of not protesting against an Islamophobic film is the ultimate act of protesting against a film. They have figured out that passivity is the only form of resistance. 

Could it be that our community leadership have over time reached a silent compromise: we will trade in our political voice for a fragile security. How is that a solution?

To put it most controversially, many Muslims are now trying to rescue a beautiful Islam from an ugly Muslim, or better put: an abstract Islam from the everyday Muslim, an image of their religion divorced from the reality of their religion's struggles.

It is so telling, then, that Aly laments the hollowing out of the Muslim condition, a 'pointlessness' to it all, yet it is his commentary that signals a growing trend. He holds the spoon that hollows the Muslim out of Islam. 

It represents a moderate movement that assumes the righteousness of resistance exists in perfecting one's image as a good citizen rather than pushing back the police picket line to create new forms of citizenry. 

We should not be so hard on the protesters for all minorities throughout history fighting for their rights have clashed with police. In every struggle for minds and values there is the struggle of bodies and batons. It happens. 

Yassir Morsi lectures in Islamic Studies at the University of Melbourne. View his full profile here.

The "Sam Bacile" of The Prophet Muhammad's Time - Shiekh Ahmad Musa Jibril