Israel Reopens Al-Aqsa to Diffuse Anger

AL-QUDS – After its first closure in decades, Israel reopened Al-Aqsa Mosque compound ahead of Friday prayer, October 31, imposing restrictions on male Muslim worshippers under 50.

“Israeli crimes are systematically increasing to target Jerusalem through killing, detentions, assaults, demolishing houses, and preventing worshipers from praying inside the compounds of the Al-Aqsa mosque,” the secretary-general of the Fatah movement in Jerusalem, Adnan Ghaith, told Ma’an

Israel reopened Al-Aqsa mosque on Friday, a day after the closure of the holy site for the first time since 1967.

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The Israeli closure of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound followed incidents in which extremist Jewish rabbi Yehuda Glick was injured in a drive-by shooting in Al-Quds (Occupied Jerusalem) late Wednesday.

Yehuda Glick is an American-born Israeli and the chairman of the Temple Mount Heritage Fund, an extremist Jewish organization focused on “strengthening the relationship between Israel and the Temple Mount.”

Later on Thursday, Israeli police announced killing Moataz Hejazi, 32, a Palestinian who had spent 11 years in an Israeli jail and was released in 2012.

“They took him upstairs and then they shot him” Hejazi’s cousin told BBC.

Al-Aqsa is the Muslims’ first Qiblah [direction Muslims take during prayers] and it is the third holiest shrine after Al Ka`bah in Makkah and Prophet Muhammad’s Mosque in Madinah, Saudi Arabia.

Its significance has been reinforced by the Islamic incident of Al Isra’a and Al Mi’raj — the night journey from Makkah to Al-Quds and the ascent to the Heavens by Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him).

Jordan has been supervising Al-Aqsa Mosque and other endowments in Al-Quds since 1948.

Rebuke

Thursday’s closure of Al-Aqsa mosque was widely condemned by Arab and Western leaders.

A spokesman for Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas considered the full day closure of Al-Aqsa as a “declaration of war”.

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Calling for reopening Al-Aqda compound for Muslim worshipper, the US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said: “We’re extremely concerned by escalating tensions across Jerusalem and particularly surrounding the Haram al-Sharif, Temple Mount [Al-Aqsa Mosque].”

“It is actually critical that all sides exercise restraint, refrain from provocative actions and rhetoric and preserve the status quo on the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount [Al-Aqsa mosque] in word and in practice,” Psaki added.

Meanwhile, the Fatah movement in the occupied Jerusalem called for a day of range on Friday over the killing of Hijazi by the Israeli police, whose funeral was held amid heavy security presence on Thursday, October 30.

Deeming it an “act of terrorism”, Fatah leaders said that Hijazi was denied the right of defense, shot without a proof after being accused of killing the extremist Jewish rabbi Glick.

Israel occupied the holy city of Al-Quds, the West Bank and Golan Heights in the 1967 war and later annexed them in a move not recognized by the international community or UN resolutions.

Since then, Israel has adopted a series of oppressive measures to force the Palestinians out of Al-Quds, including systematic demolition of their homes and building settlements.

Sweden officially recognized the state of Palestine on Thursday, the first EU country in Western Europe to do so, reflecting growing international exasperation over the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Al-Aqsa Closure is Declaration of War: Abbas

AL-QUDS – For the first time since 1967, according to several reports, Israeli authorities have closed on Thursday, October 30, Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Al-Quds (Occupied Jerusalem) following the shooting of a far-right Jewish rabbi.

“This dangerous Israeli escalation is a declaration of war on the Palestinian people and its sacred places and on the Arab and Islamic nation,” Abbas’ spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina quoted him as saying by Agence France Presse (AFP).

“We hold the Israeli government responsible for this dangerous escalation in Jerusalem that has reached its peak through the closure of the Al-Aqsa mosque this morning,” he added.

Synagogues Choke Al-Aqsa Mosque

Israel To Divide Al-Aqsa Mosque

Al-Quds: The Olive City (Folder)

On Temple Mount – Q & A

Islamic Holy Sites Under Israeli Attacks

Announced by Israel’s public security minister early on Thursday, Muslim worshipers were prohibited from entering the mosque “until further notice”.

Following the announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered “a significant hike” in the number of police forces patrolling Jerusalem.

“Israeli authorities shut the Al Aqsa Mosque entirely since dawn,” Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib, head of the Jordan-run Organization for Muslim Endowments and Al-Aqsa Affairs, told Anadolu Agency.

Al-Khatib said that the holy site has never been shut since 1967, when Israel occupied Al-Quds.

“We are holding contacts to reopen the mosque to Muslim worshippers,” al-Khatib said.

The Israeli closure of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound came shortly after Jewish rabbi Yehuda Glick was seriously injured in a drive-by shooting in Jerusalem late Wednesday.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld confirmed to Ma’an only that a “known right-wing activist” had been shot.

The attack was reported after a conference focused on the reconstruction of a Jewish temple on top of the al-Aqsa mosque was concluded at the center, with top right-wing Jewish officials and activists in attendance.

Yehuda Glick is an American-born Israeli and the chairman of the Temple Mount Heritage Fund, an extremist Jewish organization focused on “strengthening the relationship between Israel and the Temple Mount.”

He has been previously banned by Israeli authorities from entering the compound due to provocations while on the site.

Later on Thursday, Israeli police announced killing Moataz Hejazi, 32, a Palestinian who had spent 11 years in an Israeli jail and was released in 2012.

Condemnations

The Israeli decision to close Al-Aqsa, the world Muslims’ third holiest site, has been described irrational and dangerous through several words of condemnation.

“We lay responsibility for this decision on the Israeli government and police,” Al- Omar Al-Kiswani, director of Al-Aqsa Mosque, told Russia Today.

Kiswani added that the decision would lead to destabilization and a strengthening of tensions not only in Al-Quds, but in the entire region.

Earlier this month, Abbas warned his government would appeal to international law to deal with alleged Israeli “aggression” against Al-Aqsa.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas warned that his government will seek international “legal measures” to deal with Israeli “aggression” against Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque.

Al-Aqsa is the Muslims’ first Qiblah [direction Muslims take during prayers] and it is the third holiest shrine after Al Ka`bah in Makkah and Prophet Muhammad’s Mosque in Madinah, Saudi Arabia.

Its significance has been reinforced by the incident of Al Isra’a and Al Mi’raj — the night journey from Makkah to Al-Quds and the ascent to the Heavens by Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him.)

Jordan has been supervising Al-Aqsa Mosque and other endowments in Al-Quds since 1948.

Israel occupied the holy city of Al-Quds, the West Bank and Golan Heights in the 1967 war and later annexed them in a move not recognized by the international community or UN resolutions.

Since then, Israel has adopted a series of oppressive measures to force the Palestinians out of Al-Quds, including systematic demolition of their homes and building settlements.

Sweden officially recognized the state of Palestine on Thursday, the first EU country in Western Europe to do so, reflecting growing international exasperation over the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Bangladeshis Mourn Ghulam Azam’s Death

DHAKA – Professor Ghulam Azam, a key name in the history of the Islamic movement of Bangladesh and Muslim world, died earlier this week at the age of 91, leaving behind a huge vacuum in the Islamic movement in the country.

“Professor Ghulam Azam played a key role in the global Islamic movement in the world, I strongly believe that his demise does not mean the death of the Islamic movement in Bangladesh,” Brigadier General (retired) Abdullahil Amaan Azmi, his son, told OnIslam.net.

“My father, Ghulam Azam, had to travel extensively throughout Bangladesh to preach and establish Islam in Bangladesh during his whole life,” he added.

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Over the past 60 years, the late professor played a key role in Bangladesh and Pakistan politics.

He has been an active partner and ruler of Bengali language movement in 1950’s democratic movement in Bangladesh, formerly known as East Pakistan.

Promoting unity between Pakistan and Bangladesh, his role in the 1971 Bangladesh “independence” war has put him in the middle of a controversy of the claimed war crimes committed during this era.

However, he remained as a preacher, and leader of the Islamic movement in the world as well as in Bangladesh.

Azam, whose imprisonment on war crimes charges set off violent protests last year, died on October 23 at the prison ward at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical Univrsity (BSMU) in Dhaka, a state run hospital, Bangladesh; he was then buried in their family graveyard at Dhaka on October 25.

Azam, a former chief of the Jamaat-e-Islami Party,was sentenced to 90 years in prison on 61 charges of war crimes during the 1971 Bangladesh war of independence from Pakistan.

The former East Pakistan declared independence from Islamabad in December 1971 at the end of a nine-month civil war in which the government says three million people were killed.

Independent estimates put the figure much lower.

A dozen of defendants are being tried by the Dhaka-based International Crimes Tribunal, which was set up in March 2010, over their alleged role in the war.

But all the defendants are either members of the Jamaat-e-Islami party or of the main opposition Bangladesh National Party (BNP), prompting accusations that the process is politically-driven.

Baseless

Mourning the Islamic leader’s departure, Bangladeshi leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami vowed to continue the message of the deceased leader.

“Professor Ghulam Azam worked to establish an Islamic society in Bangladesh for his entire life,” Professor Mujibur Rahman, Nayebe Ameer means vice president of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami said this in his brief speech before namaje janaja, funeral prayer, at Baitul Mukarram Mosque in Dhaka.

“We will continue to do what he did as he is dead now, May Allah forgives all his sins,” he added.

Dr. Abdullah Al Mamun, teacher of Bangladesh Islamic University, has also mourned the late figure.

“Professor Ghulam Azam tried heart and soul to unite all Islamic forces and parties in Bangladesh to establish an Islamic society and state in Bangladesh,” Dr. Al Mamun told OnIslam.net

He said that Ghulam Azam was the true Muslim leader and source of Muslims’ inspiration, “but secular, left forces and present government were doing false propaganda driven by political agenda only.”

Being a renowned leader of Islamic movement, Azam was also praised as a language hero in Bangladesh language movement.

“Muslim Bangladesh has lost her great leader as Professor Ghulam Azam who was leader of Islamic movement as well as a language hero in Bangladesh,” Advocate Zahangir Hossain, pleader of Bangladesh Supreme Court, told OnIslam.net.

Advocate Zahangir said that Professor Azam was a source of inspiration for Islamic movement and icon for Bangladeshi and world Muslims as well.

Who Is Ghulam Azam

Ghulam Azam was born on November 7, 1922, at Dhaka in Bangladesh.

He obtained his master degree in political science from Dhaka University in 1950. He was renowned student leader of Dhaka University in 1940’s and General Secretary of Dhaka University Central Student Union in 1947-48 and 48-49.

He started his carrier as a teacher of political science at Rangpur Karmical College in Bangladesh. During his teaching profession, he worked with Tableeg Jamaat as regional Ameer of Tableeg Jamaat up to 1954.

Professor Ghulam Azam joined Jamaat-e-Islami in 1954 as general member and served as its secretary from 1957 to 1969.

He was elected Ameer of East Pakistan [now Bangladesh] Jamaat-e-Islami in 1969-1971 and again taking responsibility of the Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami from 1978 to 2000.

He was a pioneer thinker of Care Taker Government system which is practiced in Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and many other countries in the world.

“His whole life was so (full of) disciplines and true Islamic ways, his time management was 100 percent systemic,” Najmul Haque, Private Secretary of Ghulam Azam told OnIslam.net

Najmul said that Professor Ghulam Azam sincerely tried to unite all Islamic forces in Bangladesh.

“He was really a leader and soldier of the Islamic movement. We have lost our pious religious leader,” Abdullah Al Amin, 22, told OnIslam.

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Saudi Pastry Shut Over Anti-Islam Cakes

CAIRO – A pastry shop in Saudi Arabia has been shut and its staff arrested after selling controversial cakes deemed offensive to Islam which used anti-Islam flag promoted earlier this year by far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders.

The arrests, made by Saudi Arabia’s Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, followed a tip from a client who found the offensive cakes in the pastry shop, Gulf News reported.

The controversial cakes featured a plane and anti-Islam messages which depicted the idea by Wilders for a new Saudi flag that changes the Islamic declaration of faith into anti-Islam, anti-Qur’an and anti-Prophet words.

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In his latest anti-Islam slurs, Wilders distributed stickers last May with the Saudi flag, replacing the text of the shahadah, declaration of faith, by profanities towards the Islamic faith.

The slurs have affected a long lasting relationship between Netherlands and the Kingdom, threatening to influence four billion dollar annual business between the two countries.

Later on, the Council of Saudi Chambers received an order from the Saudi government banning Dutch firms from taking part in future projects in the Kingdom.

The Kingdom announced intentions to significantly reduce the number of visas for Dutch companies and investors who are not part of vital projects in the Kingdom.

Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans said then that the sanctions had hurt the country’s business interests, and later visited then kingdom to calm tensions.

The shop staff are believed to be from different Arab countries while the manager is from Lebanon, local news site Sabq reported on Monday.

Social media users have condemned the use of cakes to target Islam or local values and traditions and called for stiff action against offenders.

The controversy is not the first in the pastry shop.

Last June, the shop managers offered their apologies after one of the employees made a cake that reportedly denigrated the moral police for tailing an open truck driven by a woman and transporting women.

The shop management deplored the incident and said they fired the employee who conceptualized and made the controversial cake.

“It was an individual act by an employee who prepared the cake as requested by a female client,” the management said.

“The company was not involved and we conducted a probe that resulted in firing the man who made it and the employee who took a picture. We do condemn this act even though the employee explained that he had acted in good faith and with good intentions.”

Boston Gets First Muslim Police Captain

CAIRO – The first Muslim police Captain has been appointed in Massachusetts’s largest city of Boston, setting a role model for the devoted American Muslims on how to fight violence with education.

“I can be a voice to denounce violence, and let people know that the 1.6 billion Muslims [in the world] are just like them,” Haseeb Hosein, the first Muslim police Captain in Boston, told the Boston Globe.

“I hope to be that voice that speaks out loud.”

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Hosein’s new post was announced on Wednesday, October 22, in a ceremony at police headquarters where he received his Captain’s shield.

Assuming police leadership in Mattapan district, Hosein became the highest-ranking Muslims in Boston police department and “one of three minority captains”, police spokesman stated.

The Muslim police captain, who has been serving in police for 26 years, is a former science teacher in Florida and then middle school science in the Boston school system.

Moving from Trinidad to the US with his parents when he was 10, Hosein could earn his bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts and a master’s in criminal justice from Boston University.

Joining the police department, the father of three has worked as a police officer in different places all over the city “including a stint in Roxbury from 1993 to 2004, before serving as a lieutenant in Hyde Park.

“I know Boston, I know it real well,” he said.

“I feel very committed.”

Though there are no official figures, America is believed to be the home of nearly 7-8 million Muslims.

A recent Pew research found that American Muslims are the most moderate around the world.

It showed that US Muslims generally express strong commitment to their faith and tend not to see an inherent conflict between being devout and living in a modern society.

Violence Vs. Education

Unfolding his new policy in the police department, Hosein said he will be focusing on violence prevention and education, aiming to change the negative image of police officers.

“I want my guys to go into the schools and spend 30 minutes and read” with a child, said Hosein.

“I hate that police officers are always the bad guy. We should be an asset.”

With about nine homicides cases in 2014 so far, Mattapan is considered as one of most “violent” districts in Boston.

“For me, gun violence and education is going to be the emphasis,” said Hosein.

Warning troublemakers, the 52-year-old Captain said: “I’m going to introduce myself to them. I’m going to have a keen, dedicated focus on them,” said Hosein.

“We’re going to know them better than they know themselves.”

In a bid to engage police with the community, Hosein said continue “a boat cruise for the elderly that Boyle started, as well as the district’s partnership with churches and the clergy”.

“Engaging the community really works for getting guns off the streets,” he said.

“If we can really truly get them on board, have them believe that they’re partners, we’re here with them. We’re not an occupying force.”

Hosein’s promotion was praised by his managers who stressed that his new post will be a positive step towards inclusion and reflecting diversity in Boston.

“The promotion to captain of Haseeb Hosein goes directly to my commitment of making the police department more reflective of the community we serve,” Police Commissioner William Evans said in a statement.

“It is both historic and an honor for me to promote the first black Muslim captain to my command staff.”

A similar praise was shared by the mayor who deemed Hosein’s promotion as “a fantastic addition to the leadership.”

“He is an exceptionally skilled, qualified officer, with over two decades of experience in our neighborhoods,” Mayor Martin J. Walsh said in a statement.

“He will be a strong advocate and continue to build upon the strong community relationships we have developed in Mattapan.”

Saudi Grand Mufti Criticizes Twitter “Evil”

RIYADH – Noticing the widespread usage of Twitter among Saudi people, the Kingdom’s grand mufti has urged youth to pay attention before posting any tweets on the social network site, asserting that enemies of Islam are using it to spread lies about Islam and Muslims.

“Those who speak badly of Islam are without shame, have no faith and don’t fear God,” Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh said in a show on the Saudi television, Arab News reported on Wednesday, October 23.

Al-Asheikh, who is also the president of the Council of Senior Scholars, made the remarks as a social media agency, The Social Clinic, found earlier this year that there are more than 3 million active Twitter users in Saudi Arabia.

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These users generate over 50 million tweets a month, a percentage greater than the global average.

An earlier report by the same agency has warned that some Western media outlets use Twitter to observe and monitor Saudi public opinion, attitudes and trends.

He said Twitter has become a site that promotes all kind of “evil and harm. If people use it for their benefit, it would be better, but unfortunately it is being used for trivial things.”

He said the Holy Qur’an states: “O you who believe, if an evil-doer comes to you with a report, look carefully into it, lest you harm a person out of ignorance, and then be sorry for what you have done.”

The mufti called on Saudis using Twitter to think carefully about what they post or talk about what was published on the social networking site.

“They think that whatever is tweeted or written about is reliable information and news, but it is all lies and falsehoods,” he said.

This is not the first time that Al-Asheikh has commented on the use of Twitter.

In a sermon last year, he said some tweeters were seeking to spread discord and chaos in the country and inciting people to rise up against the leaders of the nation.

Saudi Mulls Banning Kids from Hajj

CAIRO – Saudi Arabia discussions to ban children below 10 years of age from performing Hajj next year have been reported in several media outlets as a precautionary measure to protect them from scorching sun and large crowds.

“When the talks reach an advanced stage, the proposal to impose the ban will be referred to the high scholars’ commission for its views,” a source at the Saudi Hajj ministry were quoted by the local daily Al-Watan on Sunday, October 19.

“The decision will be naturally based on the need to protect lives, a highly significant tenet in Islam.”

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The proposal to ban children under 10 has appeared following last hajj season in which thousands of young children appeared in the crowded rituals with their parents.

Asserting that hajj is obligatory only for adults who can afford it once in their life, officials at the Hajj ministry said that children would face huge problems dealing with the high temperatures that reach 44 degrees in the summer months.
This year, pilgrimage was held in October. Yet, with the Islamic calendar based on lunar months, the annual event will gradually be marked in the summer with soaring temperatures in the region.

The Islamic calendar is made up of 354 days, 11 days short of the Gregorian year.

According to official reports, most of the children were accompanying parents or family members who did not have regular tents and slept on the roadsides.

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Around 65 per cent of the children were under the age of six and 20 per cent were aged less, the reports added.
The reports estimate the number of children who were at the hajj to be between 5,000 and 7,000.

During the rituals, medical officials at the Kingdom received several children who were offered medical treatment for problems related to the high temperatures and the large crowds.

The sources quoted by the daily said the talks to impose the ban have not reached the point of becoming a binding decision.

Controversial

The call to impose the ban has triggered contradictory reactions, with some welcoming and others criticizing it.

“We have a high demand and limited quota, and we would like that quota to be used by pilgrims who are fully aware of the religious obligations,” said one diplomat from a South Asian and Southeast Asian country told Arab News.

“Certainly, Hajj is not some kind of picnic; it is a grueling task and children should not be put in harm’s way,” he said.

Yet, for other expats families who had no one to take care of their children during hajj, bringing them to the rituals was the only solution.

“Who would want to bring little ones to Haj?” said Sadiya Anam, a teacher at a school in Riyadh who performed hajj this year with her husband and two small children.

“We had no option but to bring them and so we went the legal way and paid for their permits.”

Other Western pilgrims said that bringing their children to hajj will help their kids to feel the grandeur and passion for Islam.

“I brought children from London this year to let them see and feel for themselves the real beauty of Islam,” said Rafi Patel, a British citizen.

“We may keep telling our children about how everyone is equal in Islam but it is only at hajj you see that in practice and you cannot imagine the impact this has on young and impressionable minds.”

Tareq Angawi, head of the establishment for pilgrims from Turkey, Europe, America and Australia, was among those who backed the proposal.

“The majority of families who came from abroad to perform Haj this year with their children were mostly British, but their numbers were limited and they had only brought their children because they had no one to take care of them back home,” Angawi was quoted as saying in Al-Watan newspaper.

“Our group was very organized and we left children in big tents under the supervision of qualified assistants.”

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The Ultimate Source of Mercy


“When Allah created creation, He wrote words that were placed at His throne. They said,”My mercy will prevail over my anger.” (Al-Bukhari)

Knowing that the mercy of Allah will prevail over His anger is reason never to lose hope. When we are overcome, we should remember that all is never lost. If you ever think there is no point in living because you have reached a dead end, committed too many mistakes and are doomed, you are in fact shutting out an ocean of forgiveness and second chances. It is all there for the taking. So long as we breathe, the way ahead can be filled with light and mercy.

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Never think that it is too late to change. Our mistakes, no matter how many or how huge, are never beyond the mercy of Allah. We are small and insignificant, so it is nothing for Allah to forgive us. In fact, He loves to do so. Only with His mercy can we amount to anything, and that is why we should not be too overwhelmed to the point of despair by our own flaws. Yes, His anger is there, but His mercy is much closer.
We complicate our life stories by over-thinking and making assumptions of Allah. Sometimes, we rush to judge ourselves instead of leaving the judging to Allah. His mercy is there for those who ask. Only in Him can we find completion, only in Him can we find fulfillment. With that humbling knowledge, we can always remember to hope for better and continue striving. When we are troubled by our thoughts toward Allah, when we are tempted to run away from Him because we are afraid, we should remember these words.

Mercy, peacefulness, and forgiveness are indications of inner strength.
Just as Allah favors mercy over anger, so we should aspire to exemplify mercy in whatever way we can. Mercy and forgiveness are better than anger and revenge. Sometimes we think that forgiveness and making peace in the face of provocation is a sign of weakness.
Rather, mercy, peacefulness, and forgiveness are indications of inner strength. We should not judge harshly or condemn, but rather rush to pardon as we hope to be pardoned one day. We should not hesitate to grant others the same mercy and forgiveness that we wish for ourselves.