Muslim Burial for Boston Bomber? NO!

Some are raising the question if Boston Bomber; Tamerlan should receive a Muslim burial. No one except the media has declared him a Muslim. His uncle and aunt have both said that he showed interest in Islam but he was raised as a Christian. There has been no verification from FBI to that affect either. Then why raise the question if he should receive a Muslim burial? He was NOT a Muslim! He may have gone on Muslim websites but that does not make him a Muslim. Media has been very irresponsible in declaring him a Muslim.

Mosques are also shying away from giving him a Muslim burial.
Imam Talal Eid of the Islamic Institute of Boston, told Huffington Post.
"I would not be willing to do a funeral for him, this is a person who deliberately killed people."

Baby Girls Should Wear Burqa

A Saudi cleric claims the best way for his country to prevent sexual molestation of young girls is to require them to wear burkas.

The comments, made by cleric Sheikh Abdullah Daoud, come in the wake of the Fayhan al-Ghamdi verdict. Al-Ghamdi is a Saudi cleric accused of raping and torturing his five-year-old daughter to death. On Saturday, Digital Journal reported al-Ghamdi was ordered to pay "blood money" to the slain girl's mother, but was spared a jail sentence. Following the verdict, Manal al-Sharif, a women’s rights activist, launched the "Ana Lama" campaign via Twitter. The campaign is aimed at forcing the Saudi government to enact legislation that would criminalize violence against women and children. Under Saudi Arabia’s current Islamic law, a father cannot be executed for murdering his children, or for murdering his wife. Daoud, whose critics have dubbed his idea the "baby burkas” campaign, made the comments in October of last year. However following the al-Ghamdi verdict, the comments are just now beginning to receive widespread attention. During a television interview on Islamic Al-Majd TV, Daoud said wearing veils that completely covered the face would help prevent baby girls from being molested. He went on to claim that unnamed medical and security sources say there is an increase in the number of babies and young girls being molested, citing the case of a 49-year-old man accused of raping his daughter no less than 288 times as an example. Former Saudi Board of Grievances judge, Sheikh Mohammad Al-Jzlana, is publicly criticizing Daoud for his comments, telling Al Arabiya that the comments were denigrating to Islam and Shariah and “made Islam look bad”. Read more
 
How will burqa prevent girls from being raped by their own fathers or brothers? Every woman in Saudi Arabia is covered in burqa and are completely segregated. There have been wide spread cases where men have dug up the graves of women and raped the dead women. They can hide them in burqa or bury them, these monsters will not leave them alone. Almost always foreigners are hanged publicly for these crimes but Saudis pay blood money and go free. What a shame!!!
 

No School; it's Missile Day

There is no bound of happiness among children when snow falls from the sky and schools are closed, it's snow day! Parents complain that their routine is interrupted because now they have to make arrangement for the child care so they could to go to work. Most of the kids sit by the windows waiting for the snow to stop so they could go sledding.

What happens when the schools close and it 'missile day'. When it's not the beautiful snow falling from the sky but missiles, when parents are not worried about going to work but worried about saving their young ones, when there is is no sledging other than sledging into bunkers. Missiles were being launched by Gaza into Israel indiscriminately, and they were landing at schools and populated ares. Same way Israel was sending missiles into Gaza killing hundreds, including children. Pictures coming out of Gaza were horrific, wounded children, veiling mothers and helpless grand parents.

Schools were closed on the both side of the border and children were traumatized on both side of the border. Will these children get any therapy and consoling? Will the the adults work towards the lasting peace? When these children look at their missing limbs will they hold the their adults accountable or will they hold grudge for the enemy? These children have deep wounds both physically and emotionally. My fear is that if these children are ignored and they will turn into the new crop of extremists.

We need two State solution, we need the parties to come to the table and work toward peace. Israel is here to stay and no one can will it away. Sooner Palestinians realize that the better it would be for them and the World. Children need to be children where they ran and laugh and not have a care in the World and not worry about the loud blasts that would rupture their ear drums or worse kill them.

Pakistan Will Not Protect It's own Border

By R. Maryam
Pakistan Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar said Pakistani troops will pull out from Afghan/Pakistan border in reaction to the suspension of $800 million worth of  U.S. militarily aid. This is the same region that is hot bed of terrorism and U.S. continuously kill insurgents with drone attacks.

This once again is an irresponsible statement coming from Pakistani official. Maybe he should pay attention to his own words 'Pak/Afghan border.' This is not U.S./Afhgan border that Pakistan troops are protecting, this is their own border. United States will eventually pull out of Afghanistan and it's only in Pakistan's interest to control the influx of terrorists on that border.

In my opinion Pakistan is the only country in the world that needs to be bribed to protect it's own people. More that 34,000 innocent Pakistan's have died in terror attacks since 2003 and the incompetent, corrupt Army and the government has been unable to keep it's people safe. Pakistan does not have a very small Army, it has 612,000 active troops and it budget is $6.41 billion and ranks 35th in the world. It is a very big Army for it's size. Pakistan Army does not want to fight the real enemy on Pak/Afghan border but it is obsessed with an imaginary enemy called India.

Pakistan Safe For Cricket amidst Terrorism

Pakistan’s cricket chief insisted Wednesday that his country is safe enough to host international matches, saying the current tour by lowly-ranked Afghanistan sends a positive message to the world.

More Revelations in Wikileaks About Pakistan

by R Maryam
Most Pakistanis probably already know that United States can not keep violating the sovereignty of Pakistan without the Pakistan's consent, as it was reveled in Wikileaks today.

Pakistan Struck a Deal with U.S. 10 Years Ago About Osama

Guardian U.K. is reporting that US and Pakistan struck a secret deal almost a decade ago permitting a US operation against Osam-Bin-Laden on Pakistani soil similar to last week's raid that killed the al-Qaida leader.

'Bin-Laden had inside support' Says President Obama

In an interview with 60 minutes President Obama said Bin Laden had “some sort of support network” inside Pakistan to be able to live for years at a high-security compound in Abbottabad, a city that houses numerous military facilities. Like many in Congress he stopped short of accusing Pakistani officials of harboring the man who planned the 9/11.

Reaction from Muslims on Osama's death contributed by Saira Mirza

Muslims around the world must celebrate the death of Osama-Bin-Laden along with the civilized world. As President Obama said  “He was a mass murderer of Muslims,” the terror attacks in United States, London, Bali and

Congress may Cut Aid to Pakistan

Obama administration and Congressional leader demonstrate disbelief that Osama was hiding in a walled compound 2 hours from country's Capital city of Islamabad.

In light of those concerns, some lawmakers are raising questions about whether the U.S. should provide Pakistan with billions

As World celebrates the death Osama, it brings shame to Pakistan

The evil spirit that visited New York on 9/11 was finally killed today. The man who gave fatwa to kill Americans, was killed by brave Americans in uniform.

Talks with Taliban by R Maryam

U.S. President Barack Obama is open to the idea of reaching out to moderate elements of the Taliban, The New York Times reported on Saturday. Many ordinary Afghans remain deeply uncomfortable with the idea of reconciling with the Taliban. The Karzai government advocates talking to the Taliban, but this is far from the will of the Afghan people, who have lived amid the violence and intolerance for years and they are far less naive than those in the West about their destructive intentions. From all accounts Taliban are even more extremist today than they were before. Violence is also at its highest in Afghanistan since U.S. led forces toppled the Taliban in 2001. President Obama, sees the Afghan conflict far more pressing concern than the unpopular war in Iraq. A majority of Americans now see the war in Afghanistan as not worth fighting, More than six in ten Americans oppose the U.S. war in Afghanistan, according CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey, it also indicates that 56 percent of the public believes that things are going badly for the U.S. in Afghanistan.

Admiral Mike Mullen traveled to Islamabad to repair the strained relationship between United States and Pakistan. Speaking to Pakistani TV, the Admiral directly and publicly accused elements of the Pakistani military, as well as Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI, of supporting extremist groups.

Admiral Mullan said, "The ISI has a long-standing relationship with the Haqqani network, that doesn't mean everybody in the ISI, but it's there. I also have an understanding that the ISI and Pakistani military exist to protect their own citizens." The Haqqani is one of the most deadly obstacles to US and NATO operations in Afghanistan, it is accused of  launching attacks on foreign troops from its Waziristan bases.

It is no secret that Pakistan needs billions of U.S. dollars in aid because it's economy is in dire strait, but U.S. in returns expects a strong and reliable ally. Over the past 10 years U.S. has become increasingly frustrated at Pakistan's ineptness at tacking Taliban forces in the region.

U.S. is facing a very difficult challenge, on one hand the support for the war is dwindling at home and on the other side Talibans and Al-Qaida are still strongly operating in the region.
 
 Maybe President Obama is thinking of cutting the middle man out and having direct talks with the moderate elements of Talibans, but there is no evidence that any such group exists. It seems talibans and Al-Qaida are bidding their time until U.S. withdraw it's troops and they are back in the business of hanging people in the soccer field.

Three Cups of Tea Investigated by R Maryam

The book about "one man's mission to promote peace, one school at a time," was investigated by 60 minutes, and it charges author with fabrications and misuse of the charity funds. The book has sold millions of copies and became a must read for the US troops deployed to Afghanistan. Mr. Mortenson was a twice nominate for Nobel Peace Prize and was awarded Sitara-i-Pakistan, for service to Pakistan; the highest civilian honor rarely awarded to a foreigners.
Greg Mortenson, an author of the bestseller Three Cups of Tea, is also charged by CBS that he is using his foundation as “ a personal ATM” and that a number of his personal stories in Afghanistan and Pakistan were false. According to the book Mr. Mortenson was kidnapped in Waziristan for eight days and later released when he won the trust of kidnappers by asking for the copy of Quran.

The Central Asia Institute took in  $60 million in donations, including $100,000 from President Barack Obama from his Nobel Peace Prize fee. Mr Mortenson claims to have built more than 140 schools, mostly for girls. Accorded to CBS they visited or checked 30 schools and found they were "roughly half were empty, built by somebody else, or not receiving support at all".

Mr. Mortenson denies the alligations

 Mortenson, 53, founder and executive director of the Central Asia Institute, defended building schools for children, especially girls, in remote Pakistani and Afghan villages.

“I hope these allegations and attacks, the people doing these things, know this could be devastating for tens of thousands of girls, for the sake of Nielsen ratings and Emmys,” Mortenson told the Chronicle in a phone interview Friday.

“I stand by the information conveyed in my book,” he wrote in a statement, “and by the value of CAI’s work in empowering local communities to build and operate schools that have educated more than 60,000 students.”

Mortenson said CAI’s success in fundraising, $23.7 million last year means it can build 63 new schools this year, in addition to more than 170 already established.

He denied several “60 Minutes” allegations, and defended his financial dealings, but appeared to concede that one key story in his book was not literally true.

“I stand by the story of ‘Three Cups of Tea,’” Mortenson said in a written statement,“As the co-author of the book, along with David Oliver Relin, I am responsible for the content in the book. There were many people involved in the story and also those who produced the manuscript. What was done was to simplify the sequence of events for the purposes of telling what was, at times, a complicated story.”

Now that the allegations are out there, surly Pentagon will investigate the matter. As far as the Government of  Pakistan is concerned they should also investigate before bestowing someone with the Sitara-i-Pakistan.

The book is no doubt a good read and hopefully Mr. Mortenson will be more vigilant and continue building 63 much needed schools this year in Pakistan and Afghanistan. 

Is pakistan a Sovereign Country by R Maryam

Pakistan urges US to halt all operations in Pakistan, after CIA operative Raymond Davis' arrest, the relation between the two countries have been  strained. The day after Raymond's release, 40 people were killed in the drone  attack in Wazistan. Anti American sentiment is growing on the streets. People of Pakistan are extremely unhappy and they want US to leave them alone.In a secret meeting btween Pakistani Intellegence chief, Lt. Gen.Ahmed Shuja Pasha urged the CIA Director Leon Panetta to halt the drone attacks on the tribal areas of Pakistan.
It is one thing for Gen. Pasha to make such demands on US and it is absolutely different for Director Panetta to oblige. Talibans are real threat for both US and Pakistan, and so far we have not seen Pakistani government seriously eliminating them. United States Government pays for the services it receives from Pakistan,the cash strapped government of Pakistan cannot take billions of US dollars and claim sovereignty. It's the people of Pakistan who are incited by the Mullah and corrupt politicians to take to the streets of Pakistan, screaming death to America They do no not understand why America has so much power over their country. They are very frustrated and want the same kind of security as the people of America have.  America will defend the security of it's people at all cost. Each government has the obligation to protect it's people and Pakistani government has failed its people on every level.

France Bans Burqa by R Maryam

France banned burqa, and women wearing it would be first warned and then fined $200. As a result lot woman took to the streets to protest against it. I agree with President Nickolas Sarkozy who said "it's sign of enslavement and it will not be welcome in French Republic." France is hardly alone, many more European countries are now on verge of passing such laws. Syria's Education Ministry has also announced ban on nikab and anyone wearing niqab would not be allowed to register in colleges.I wonder how many of these women wear burqa of their own freewill? In most Islamic countries woman wear burqa or nikab because of the custom of that country and not because it is Islamic, other wise this would be the law in all of Islamic counties. Muslim countries like Turkey and Egypt have already banned burqa.
I fully support the law and hope that many more countries would do so. This is right political climate for Saudi women to protest against burqa, and demand more freedom. Saudi Arabia is the only country in the World that doesn't allow women to drive. All women regardless of their age are required to have a male guardian. King Abdullah would agree to anything to stay in power.

Pastor Jones Burns Quran by R Maryam

          

Pastor Jerry Jones burned Quran on March 21, which was not widely reported by the media, and I think that was a very responsible thing to do. Later on March 24, Mr. Karzai condemned the act as “a crime against the religion and entire Muslim nation,” this subsequently sparked deadly rioting in Afghanistan. The message heard by his people probably was that whole of America is burning Quran. In reality it was condemned by most. The act of Mr. Jones was no doubt very reprehensible and so was the reaction. The Muslim World needs to take a deep breath and reflect on their own actions. The Muslim youth has been committing suicide bombing through out the world and killing innocent people. No Muslim leader or country has come forward to condemn such acts, or given Fatwas against it.  On top of that man made Shariah law has also put Islam and Quran under heavy scrutiny.

 In Quran it is said, ‘Allah is Most Gracious, Most Merciful’, and then why Mr. Karzi didn’t emphasize on that instead of inciting his people. The blood of innocent lives killed in Afghanistan is solely on the people who killed them and no was else. It is the leaders of the Muslim World who are preaching intolerance and hatred.

As a Muslim I feel that we need to speak out and let the world know that all of us Muslims are not fundamentalist or extremist, but there are moderate Muslims out there who can and will condemn people like Mr. Karzi.