By M. Zajam,

It is always stated that History repeats itself but we rarely get chance to see one. But boarding of Israeli commandos on Mavi Marmara full of peace activists bound for Gaza provided just that. In 1947, the ship SS Exodus carried Jewish emigrants, who had no legal immigration certificates, to Palestine. The British Royal Navy foiled this effort by boarding the vessel. This incident is considered very important in establishment of Jewish state.

A book titled “The Exodus 1947: The Ship that launched a Nation” by Ruth Gruber and a documentry made by Elizabeth Rogers and Robby Henon sums up its importance.

Ship Exodus 1947, originally called the “President Warfield,” took part in Normandy Invasion. After World War II it was acquired by the Hagana (an underground Jewish military organization). Hagana personnel arranged to dock the ship in Europe in order to transport Jews who sought to illegally immigrate into Palestine. The British Royal Navy cruiser Ajax and a convoy of destroyers trailed the ship from very early in its voyage, and finally boarded it some 20 nautical miles (40 km) from shore. The boarding took place in international water and was challenged by the passengers. British soldiers used force which resulted in death of two passengers and one of the crews and several injured. British government deported emigrants back to France. British could not offload emigrants in France, due to non cooperation of French government. Finally they were settled in Germany. Scuffle took place between emigrants and British troops while disembarking in Germany. A large, homemade bomb with a timed fuse was found on one of the three ships. It was apparently rigged to detonate after the Jews had been removed.

The whole saga was widely publicized in international media, and caused the British government much public embarrassment. This incident also made USA actively involved in finding a solution brokered by United Nations after rejecting British mandate for Palestine. This forced British to return this mandate to UN. In November 1947, the United Nations voted in favor of the partition of Palestine, proposing the creation of a Jewish state, an Arab state and an UN-administered Jerusalem. Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948.

Now question is that similar incident which provided Jews a state will provide freedom to Palestinians?

Ship Mavi Marmara

Since 1948, world has failed Palestinians and Palestine state repeatedly. All the champions of democracy have punished Gaza population for upholding democracy and electing a government. When this government refused to act as puppet of western power, whole population was made to suffer. Champions of freedom refused to act when whole population of Gaza was denied freedom.

Gaza is under blockade since June 2007. UN termed this blockade as “medieval siege” and Amnesty International has called it “collective punishment”. Gaza’s 1.5 million population is surviving on less than 25% of imported supplies than they use to receive in December 2005. As per UN figure, 80% of population is surviving on some kind of food aid. Charity group Oxfam’s research showed houses across Gaza without power for 35-60 hours a week. Israel has not allowed petrol or diesel from Israel for vehicles since November 2008, except for fuel for UN cars and five other shipments in three years. WHO highlighted the fact that Gazans had only half the water they needed according to international standards, and 80% of water supplied did not meet WHO drinking standards. The World Health Organization says the blockade has led to a general “worsening of the health conditions of the population” and “accelerated the degeneration” of the health system.

Israel has successfully used and continue to use its favorite weapon “Self Defense” to kill, harass, imprison, starve and isolate whole Palestinian population. Latest show of self defense was onboard Mavi Marmara. This vessel carrying aid for Gaza was intercepted and boarded by Israeli commandos in International waters against the International Law. After boarding the vessel, commandos shot dead many unarmed peace activists.

Israel’s well oiled and funded propaganda machinery Hasbara is back in action. They are busy in planting old pictures even dating back to 2003 showing off as seized weapons on Mavi Marmara. They have managed to get away with propaganda in the past so they are confident this time too they will get away. Some passionate bloggers have exposed their lies. Some other pictures are showing items seized which are found in fact required by shipping law on ships like fire axes and some are regular inventory on ship like spanners, grinder, chains, spanners, wheel spanners, binoculars and kitchen knife. We had glimpse of Hasbara during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza when Israel Foreign Ministry mobilized volunteers to flood news websites with pro-Israeli comments.

Neither violation of International Law nor killing unarmed civilian by Israel sprung any surprises.What has really caught attention is widespread condemnation of this act even from its closest allies except USA. United Nations Security Council, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and the Human Rights Council have all called for an “impartial” and “independent” investigation into the flotilla crisis. Obama administration as usual worked overtime to curb some of its harsher language.

Failure of UN to enforce earlier resolution on Israel had given it a chance to treat all countries and international bodies as powerless and ineffective. Earlier Israel tested strength of Arab nations and now it is turn of European countries. Israel has started mocking at the USA and Western countries. Israel humiliated USA when it announced construction of settlement in disputed East Jerusalem during US Vice president Joe Biden visit. Israel freely used cloned British, German, Australian, French and Irish passport for its agents to carry out murder of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai. All these nations let Israel go without any severe punishment or even reprimand. Effect of this was visible in incident involving Liberty Flotilla, when citizens of European nations were attacked. If these governments fail to take action, in future they should prepare for more.

Flag of Arab League

Arab countries’ apathy towards Israel and its atrocities committed against Palestinians are shocking. In spite of Arab Nations being closest allies and biggest business partner of West. they wield no power when it comes to Israel. It seems all these Arab Kingdoms and west sponsored democracies have found an issue to keep its people distracted from internal problems. Whole Arab population is very much emotionally attached with Palestinians and any atrocities committed on them evoke strong reactions. These Arab rules are more than happy to offer aids of millions of dollars after every Israeli atrocity as long as it keeps their people busy. This issue is helping these rulers to run their empire and rigged government smoothly. For them Palestine problem is blessing in disguise and they are not interested in solving this. Egypt is partner of Israel in this Gaza blockade.

Arab and Muslim countries should learn a few tricks from Israel especially in the field of public relation and lobbying. They have been puppet of western power too long only to get humiliated, isolated, neglected and targeted. Now they should ignore west and work towards improving relation with upcoming power like Russia, China, India, South Africa and Brazil. They should also work on plan to create awareness among masses in these countries about atrocities committed by Israel. This in turn will help pressurize their government to act against Israel. If they fail to do so they will continue to suffer even in next century. Israel has realized the importance of these nations and already started working on those lines by improving relation.

World is looking towards West and USA for long overdue action against this lawlessness. West is very good in creating monsters but when it comes to controlling they fail miserably. West always claims to stand for Freedom, Justice and Democracy but their action must match their claim. Inaction on the part of USA, UN and West, the Axis of Good will give so called Axis of Evil something to smile about.

Advertisement: A Muslim among non-Muslims

By Dr. Omar Khalidi,

At the dawn of the twentieth century, British India contained slightly over 70 million Muslims–more than the collapsing Ottoman Empire. The Indian Muslim elite—of which many claimed descent from various Arab, Iranian and Turkish ethnicities—were always conscious of membership in trans-Indian, pan-Islamic world ummah beyond the borders of their own homeland. Trade and pilgrimage to the Haramayn Sharifayn in Hijaz, Jerusalem in Palestine, Karbala and Najaf in Iraq, kept a steady, annual stream of Indian travel to and from the Middle East. In addition, some Muslim princely rulers such as the Nizam of Hyderabad welcomed migrants from Hijaz and Hadramawt to settle in his Dominions from late eighteenth century.[1] The Indian Muslim elite maintained deep interest in the affairs of the Ottoman Empire, considering it to be the last vestige of Muslim political power as the rest of the Islamic world had been colonized or controlled by the European powers.[2]

The Indian Muslims’ interest in the Ottoman Empire manifested in at least four ways. One was through political support to the independence and territorial integrity of Ottoman Empire as shown by the Khilafat movement;[3] the second was financial support to projects like the Hijaz Railway;[4] the third was the monetary aid for relief from natural and man made calamities in the Empire,[5] and fourth, through financial assistance to the advancement and preservation of Muslim religious and cultural institutions. Indian Muslim financial support to the Haramayn Sharifayn, Karbala and Najaf is manifested by the Nizam of Hyderabad’s involvement in the preservation of the Prophet’s Mosque in Madina and Awadh nawabs in Shiite shrines. In 1924, the Nizam deputed an engineer to undertake the repairs to the Prophet’s mosque in Madina.[6] The Shiite nawabs of Awadh in northern India gifted endowments for the shrines in Najaf and Karbala.[7]

A View of Zawiyah Hindiyyah, 1945. © Ahmad al-Ansari.

This article is concerned with Indian Muslim support to the projects of religious and educational purposes in one part of the former Ottoman Empire, Palestine during the British Mandate, from 1918 to 1948. In Jerusalem, Indian Muslim presence dates back to thirteenth century CE, exemplified by the case of Zawiyat al-Hindiyyah or Zawiyat Faridiyyah. With the spread of Sufism in Jerusalem during the 16th Century, many Sufi centers  or  Zawiyas  were established to accommodate the followers of Sufi Orders. There were over 70 Sufi orders in Jerusalem at the time.  The Indian Sufis of the Chishti order took the “Chilla” (the word stems from the Persian, Urdu word for the 40, symbolizing the number of days spent in seclusion in prayers) where Shaykh Farid al-Din spent 40 days, as a meeting place for them, which was originally  the Zawiyah of the Rifai Order. The Indian Sufis purchased this piece of land and declared it as Waqf in the name of Shaykh Farid, later on the Indian residents purchased the surrounding lands to be as a Waqf  as the Takiya Faridi in Jerusalem. This Zawiyah is thus named after Farid al-Din Mas’ud, (1175-1265), a Sufi shaykh hailing from the Punjab province in northern India. Farid al-Din Mas’ud is also known by his Persian/Urdu honorific Ganj-i Shakar, repository of sugar. The Zawiyah, now a public, non hereditary utility Waqf property measuring nearly 1.5 acres is a prime real estate site meant as a home for visiting Indians.

The Islamic Higher Council of Jerusalem is the overall supervisor of all waqfs including the Zawiyah. The Zawiyah has been extensively documented.[8] The medieval traveler Evliya Chelebi identified it as one of the largest Zawiyahs in the city in 1671. The old structure was largely replaced by a new building in 1869-1870, according to Taysir Jabbarah.[9] In 1922, Hajj Amin al-Husayni (1895-1974) requested the Indian Khilafat movement leader Mawlana Muhammad Ali (1878-1931) to send someone to look after the Zawiyah. Consequently, Khwaja Nazir Hasan Ansari (1880-1951) of Saharanpur, U.P. arrived in Jerusalem in 1924 to look after the Zawiyah.

Khwaja Nazir Hasan Ansari © Ahmad al-Ansari.

Hajj Amin (center) presenting Palestinian flag to Mawlana Shawkat Ali, (left of Hajj Amin) a leader of Indian Khilafat movement; next to Shawkat Ali is Shaykh Khwaja Nazir Hasan Ansari, 1931. © Ahmad al-Ansari.

Upon arrival, he found “the Hospice in a dilapidated condition with a few old houses which were later badly damaged during the 1927 earthquake.” [10] Ansari made several trips to his native India to raise funds for the rebuilding of the hospice between the two world wars. In 1931-1940, Shaykh Nazir Hasan Ansari successfully raised money in India from the Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan (reigned 1911-48), the Nawab of Rampur and the Nawab of Bahawalpur. The main building in the hospice was named as Osman Manzil after the Nizam’s name.

A View of Osman Manzil, the main building in Zawiyat Hindiyyah, 1945. © Ahmad al-Ansari.

During 1939-1947, the Zawiyah became a leave center for the Indian army soldiers stationed in the Middle East. Two large dormitories built by the Indian army were named Travancore Wing and Delhi Wing. By 1945, the construction of the Zawiyah was completed changing it from merely a name to a living institution. The visiting Commander in Chief of the Nizam’s army Major General Sayyid Ahmad al-Aydarus wrote in the visitors’ book of the hospice, “Shaykh Nazir has converted a bit of Jerusalem into a little India.”[11]

Indian Muslim pilgrims in al-Quds, in the center is Begum Mariyam Ansari, wife of Shaykh Khwaja Nazir Hasan Ansari, 1945. © Ahmad al-Ansari.

Indian Muslim pilgrims in front of the Dome of the Rock, in the center is Begum Mariyam Ansari, wife of Shaykh Khwaja Nazir Hasan Ansari, 1965. © Ahmad al-Ansari.

The hospice was partly damaged during the Israeli air raid on Jerusalem on June 9th during 1967 war killing Shaykh Nazir Hasan Ansari’s mother, sister and her nephew. The Shaykh’s Indian wife Maryam was badly injured as were her two daughters and son. At the Indian government’s request, the family was transferred to Beirut by the British Consulate in Jerusalem. The Indian government’s help enabled the hospice trustees to repair the damage but more remains to be done, according to a former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral.[12] A series of distinguished Indians visited the Zawiyah since the 1930s culminating in the visit of Gujral in 1996, where he found the hospice to be “an oasis of Indian hospitality.”[13] Currently, the Shaykh’s Palestinian wife and her son Munir al-Ansari are in control of the Zawiyah.[14] Evidently, the Zawiyah is only one of the many Indian Islamic (and some Indian Christian) endowments in Palestine. In the Islamic court of Jerusalem, Taysir Jabbarah found a record dated 1656 CE/1067 A.H. documenting a Waqf created by Salih, son of Jawhar al-Hindi al-Kashmiri.[15] The Waqf in question was a house to accommodate pilgrims from Kashmir. Beyond Jerusalem, Indian Muslims purchased lands in Ramallah and Gaza dedicated as Waqfs.[16] In Gaza town of Gaza Strip, on Sharia al-Zawiyah, located near Suq al-Khudaar near Omar Mukhtar Street are a number of shops built as waqfs for Zawiyat al-Hindiyyah. The Waqfs were created out of money given by Shaykh Nazir before 1948 to late Hasan Yusuf Abu-Shaaban. The official document of the Waqf is held by Ihsan Abu Shaaban in Gaza town. The income of the shops goes to Dairat al-Awqaf in Gaza.[17] The former Indian diplomat in Ramallah, Zikrur Rahman has identified Waqfs in Gaza (the Indian mosque with attached shops), Haifa, Jaffa, Jusur Binat Yaaqub, Lod, and is documenting Indian Muslim and Indian Christian endowments in all parts of Palestine, before and after 1948 to inventory the Indian legacy in the Holy Land.[18]

As noted earlier, India’s Muslims constituted the largest segment of the Muslim ummah until the partition of the subcontinent in 1947. Before the era of large scale oil revenues in the Middle East, many in the Arab world looked up to India’s rich princes and businessmen for financial aid for religious and charitable projects. A Palestinian delegation to the Hijaz allegedly issued an appeal in 1922 to “India and other Muslim countries to help foil an attempt to convert the al-Aqsa Mosque into a place of worship for Jews,” consequently “fears of an intense Pan-Islamic response to this matter threw the British Colonial Office into a dither.”[19] It was under these circumstances that a three man Palestinian delegation headed by Jamal al-Husyani (1892-1982), Secretary of Palestine Muslim-Christian Association visited India from November 1923 to June 1924 to collect funds for the restoration of the al-Aqsa Mosque.[20] The other two members of the delegation were Shaykh Muhammad Murad, Mufti of Haifa and Shaykh Ibrahim al-Ansari.[21] In addition to the first delegation, Hajj Amin himself headed another delegation that went to India via Syria, Iraq and Kuwait. The Palestine High Commissioner sent a message to his counterpart in Iraq asking him to assist the delegates in Baghdad and Indian cities. During this trip Hajj Amin collected some funds which were sent through the High Commissioner of Palestine to the SMC.[22] The visit also provided Hajj Amin to build lasting bonds with Indian Muslim elite leadership. Thus he visited India again in 1933, 1952 and 1961. He also had close ties with the leaders of newly created Pakistan in the late 1940s till his death in 1974 in Beirut.

Leaders attending the World Islamic Congress, Jerusalem, 1931. From right, Riyad al-Sulh, a prime minister of Lebanon, fourth, Mawlana Shawkat Ali, leader of the Indian Khilafat movement, ninth from right is Hajj Amin; third from left is Shukri al-Quwatly, a President of Syria. © Ahmad al-Ansari.

Respecting Indian Muslim sensitivities and driven by fears of revolt, Lord Reading, the Viceroy of India received the Palestinian delegation on 6 November, giving it the official sanction and approval. The delegates subsequently toured several cities in India collecting funds. The Indian Muslim leaders of the time, the brothers Muhammad Ali and Shawkat Ali, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Sayf al-Din Kitchlew, and Dr M.A. Ansari accompanied the delegates. The Palestinians goal was to raise £1, 50,000 but they could collect only £25,000, of which major amounts—over Indian Rupees 100,000 came from the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Bohra Dai Mutlaq Tahir Sayf al-Din.[23] In addition to donating funds, the Nizam wrote to the Turkish leader Mustafa Kamal Ataturk urging him to send funds and restoration experts. But the Turks were engaged in fighting back invading armies, and Ataturk responded that no money or experts could be spared at the time.[24] Evidently, a rivalry between al-Husyani and al-Nashashibi clans in Palestine played part in a relatively small collection made in India.[25] According to Raef Yusuf Najm, a Jordanian scholar, “the enemies of Supreme Islamic Council wrote to the princes and leaders of Arab and Islamic countries warning them against making contributions and claiming that the members of the Islamic Council used these contributions to assassinate their political opponents, not to restore the al-Aqsa Mosque.[26] Regardless of the amount collected and irrespective of Turkish preoccupation with the war of liberation, the renowned Ottoman architect Ahmad Kamal al-Din restored the al-Aqsa mosque between the years 1922 and 1926 earning him worldwide acclaim.[27] The opening ceremony of the restoration was held on 30 August 1928, when the Mufti thanked all the financial contributors to the project. He was hailed throughout the Muslim world as the “restorer of al-Haram al-Sharif and the defender of holy places.”[28]

During the three decades of British Mandate in Palestine (1918-48), twenty-one assets were turned into Waqfs. The largest of them was the donation of the Nizam of Hyderabad. The man who was instrumental in getting the donation was Hajj Amin al-Husayni (1895-1974). Hajj Amin was appointed by High Commissioner Herbert Samuel as Grand Mufti of Jerusalem on 8 May 1921, a post on which he remained until 1937. He was also appointed by Samuel as President of the newly established Supreme Muslim Council (SMC) in Jerusalem in March 1922. He led a campaign between 1928 and 1929 rousing the Arabs of Palestine to stand against the threat to the Muslim holy places in Jerusalem. Hajj Amin took his campaign beyond the border of his native land to neighboring Trans Jordan, Syria, Iraq and India. Accompanied by the Egyptian Pan-Islamist Muhammad Ali Allouba Pasha, the Mufti arrived in Hyderabad on 21 July 1933. The duo was the guests of the state. Among others, the Mufti met Bahadur Yar Jang, (1905-44), the leader of Muslims in Hyderabad, and a steadfast supporter of the Palestinians who had met the Mufti in Jerusalem earlier.[29]

Shaykh Nazir Hasan al-Ansari calling on H.M. King Abdullah of Trans-Jordan during the first visit of the King to Jerusalem, 1949. © Ahmad al-Ansari.

After the visit, the Mufti wrote a long letter to the Nizam on 27 July thanking him for his philanthropy for the al-Aqsa project. The Mufti further requested the Nizam as a pious Muslim ruler to donate funds for a projected Islamic university in Jerusalem, which the SMC had resolved to establish.[30] The Nizam, whose fabulous wealth and famed generosity toward Islamic causes had spread outside India into the Middle East, obliged. Soon, correspondence ensued between the Prime Minister of Hyderabad and the British Residency, through which the colonial authorities compelled the Nizam to conduct his foreign affairs. Through British diplomatic channels, the Nizam contributed £7, 543 for the Islamic university.[31] The sum was deposited in a bank and not sued until 1938. According to Yitzhak Reiter, “Hajj Amin al-Husayni used this money to purchase 1,000 donums [properly dunum, unit of land measure, four dunum equal approximately one acre or 1,000 square meters] of agricultural land in Kafr Zayta (in Tulkaram sub district) as part of the struggle over land purchases in Palestine, and to dedicate that land as a Waqf for the foundation of the Islamic university in Jerusalem (rather than using the funds directly for university, as the founder had intended). His purpose was to keep the land out of Jewish hands…The land purchase by SMC was to set a pattern fro the Muslim community to thwart land acquisition by Jews.”[32] It is thus unsurprising that the Palestinian leadership of the time held a high regard for Indian Muslims. When Mawlana Muhammad Ali, the leader of the Khilafat movement in India and the staunch backer of the Palestinians died in London on 4 January 1931, Hajj Amin requested his survivors to bury him in the sacred precincts of Masjid al-Aqsa.[33]

Hajj Amin in Hyderabad, Deccan, India, July 1933. From right to left, Unidentified; Muhammad Ali Alluba Pasha, an Egyptian leader accompanying Hajj Amin; Maharaja Kishen Pershad; Hajj Amin, Nawab Bahadur Yar Jang; the rest of the two are unidentified. © Omar Khalidi.

The idea of burying Muhammad Ali in Jerusalem was to “strengthen the attachment of Muslims all over the world to the sanctuary…and to encourage Muslims of India to look to Jerusalem as the seat of their religion equal to Mecca and Medina…The Mufti invited Muslims from abroad to come to Jerusalem to attend the funeral which was to be held on 24 January 1931.[34] Attended by a large gathering of Muslim leaders, Muhammad Ali was laid to rest in the company of some of the most famous men of the time who lie buried in the same area: Ahmad Hilmi Abd al-Baqi, al-Shahid Abd al-Qadir al-Husyani, Musa Kazim al-Husyani, and Abd al-Hamid Shoman, founder of the Arab Bank.[35] The funeral helped Hajj Amin achieve his purpose. Few Indian Muslims had visited Jerusalem before 1931, but after Muhammad Ali’s funeral, Indian Muslims visiting Jerusalem increased to hundreds.[36] Shortly after Muhammad Ali’s funeral, the Hyderabad leader Bahadur Yar Jang came to visit the Mufti on 7 June 1931. Since then, there have been numerous Indian visitors to Jerusalem in general and to al-Haram al-Sharif in particular. In turn, some members of the Palestinian elite turned to the ruler of Hyderabad for aid for their projects in Jerusalem and elsewhere, inspired by the Nizam’s bequest to the restoration of al-Aqsa and the Islamic university project.[37] This is exemplified by the pleas made to the Nizam for mosque building projects in London and Washington, D.C.[38] The year 1948 was tragic both for Palestine and Hyderabad. The departure of British heralded a nationalistic era in Indian subcontinent and the Nehru administration demanded Hyderabad’s immediate accession to India, despite its distinct history and culture. Even while engrossed in complex negotiation with the Nehru administration, the Nizam announced a donation of “one million rupees (then US$300,000) for Palestine Arab refugees in response to an appeal by King Abdullah of Trans-Jordan,” on August 25, 1948 as reported by Reuters and published in international press.[39]

Maulana Muhammad Ali’s grave is within the complex(ihata) of Al Aqsa Mosque. Incidently, he is the only foreigner to be buried here. [Picture: Niloufar Haque, 2006.]

Through the activities of the Mufti and the fundraising in India for causes in Palestine, Jerusalem became firmly embedded in Indian Muslim consciousness as the first Qibla to which the believers had turned for prayers, and thus the third holiest city in Islam’s sacred geography. Thus, it is unsurprising that when an Australian madman tried to burn the al-Aqsa mosque on 21 August 1969, there was massive outrage all over India. One of the largest processions condemning the mosque burning took place in Bombay where an estimated 100,000 people poured out into the streets to demand action against the perpetrator. Despite the division of India into Pakistan and Bangladesh, the Muslims of the Subcontinent remain the most steadfast supporters of Palestine. The Indian government has changed its policy of supporting Palestinians since the early 1990s leading to a vast increase in cooperation between the military and intelligence establishments of Israel and India. However, the Indian Muslims remain firmly behind the Palestinians. The visit of Sheikh Ikrima Said Sabri, Mufti of Jerusalem to India in 1998 and the warm welcome he received was a reminder to everyone of the unbroken ties between Palestine and the Subcontinent.[40]

Author’s note: I am grateful to Dr. Salim Tamari whose fellowship at MIT in Spring 2009 inspired me to finish the research on Indian Muslim waqfs in Palestine; many thanks to Ahmad al-Ansari and to Aliya Khalidi for improving the text.

References:

1. Omar Khalidi, “Sayyids of Hadramawt in Medieval and Early Modern India,” Asian Journal of Social Science 32, 2 (2004): 329-351, Arabic translation by AbuBakr Baqadir, in al-Masar (Virginia) 3:2 (2002): 59-74. idem, “The Hadhrami Role in the Politics and Society of Colonial India, 1750s-1950s,” pp. 67-81, in Hadhrami Traders, Scholars and Statesmen in the Indian Ocean, 1750s-1960s, edited by Ulrike Freitag & William G. Clarence-Smith, (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1997).

2. Azmi Ozcan, “The Ottomans and the Muslims of India During the Reign of Sultan Abdulhamid II” pp. 299-303, in The Turks, v. 4 edited by Hasan Celal Guzel et al, (Ankara: Yeni Turkiye, 2002).

3. Azmi Ozcan, Pan-Islamism: Indian Muslims, the Ottomans and Britain, 1877-1924, (Leiden: Brill, 1997); Gail Minault, The Khilafat Movement: Religious Symbolism and Political Mobilization in India, (New York: Columbia University Press, 1982); A.C. Niemeyer, The Khilafat Movement in India, (The Hague: Nijohff, 1972).

4. William Ochsenwald, The Hijaz Railroad, (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1980), pp. 69-74. Syed Tanvir Wasti, “Muhammad Inshaullah and the Hijaz Railway,” Middle Eastern Studies 34, 2 (April 1998): 60-72.

5. Takashi Oishi, “Muslim Merchant Capital and the Relief Movement of the Ottoman Empire, 1876-1924,” Journal of the Japanese Association for South Asian Studies 11 (October 1999): 71-103.

6. Islam: Political Impact, 1908-1972: British Documentary Sources, V, edited by Jane Priestland, (Slough, UK: Archives Edition, 2004), p. 530, identifies Engineer Ata Husayn surveying the Prophet’s tomb in 1926.

7. Meir Litvak, “Money, Religion and Politics: the Oudh Bequest in Najaf and Karbala,” International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 33, 1 (2001): 1-21; idem, “A Failed Manipulation: the Oudh Bequest and the Shii Ulama of Karbala and Najaf,” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 27, 1(2000): 69-89.

8. Taysir Jabbarah, al-Muslimun al-Hunud wa Qidyat Filastin, (Amman: Dar al-Shuruq, 1998), pp. 57-60.

9. Taysir Jabbarah, al-Muslimun al-Hunud wa Qidyat Filastin, op.cit. p. 57-60.

10. Ahmad Nazir Hasan Ansari, “How Jerusalem’s Indian Hospice Lost Hindi Touch,” The Milli Gazette (16-31 October 2007), p. 13. Ahmad Ansari is completing a thesis on Indian Islamic Heritage in Jerusalem, email from the author living in Beirut to the present writer dated 12 April 2009.

11. Information provided by Ahmad Ansari, Beirut, June 11, 2009.

12. I.K. Gujral, “Saga of Indian Hospitality in Jerusalem,” India Abroad (New York, 15 March 1996).

13. I.K. Gujral, “Saga of Indian Hospitality in Jerusalem,” India Abroad (New York, 15 March 1996).

14. Ahmad Nazir Hasan Ansari, op. cit.

15. Email from Dr Taysir Jabbarah, 10 March 2009.

16. Taysir Jabbarah, al-Muslimun al-Hunud, op.cit., p. 58.

17. Information provided by Ahmad Ansari from Beirut 11 June 15, 2009.

18. Conversation with Zikrur Rahman in New Delhi, 16 July 2009 at Arab Cultural Center, Jamia Millia Islamia. He is also publishing a book in Arabic entitled Alhind wa Filastin.

19. Sandeep Chawla, “The Palestine Issue in India Politics in 1920s,” pp. 27-42, in Communal and Pan-Islamic Trends in Colonial India, edited by Mushirul Hasan, (New Delhi: Manohar, 1981), p.29.

20. Muslim Outlook (Lahore) 7 June 1924, as cited in Sandeep Chawla, “The Palestine Issue in India Politics in 1920s,” pp. 27-42, in Communal and Pan-Islamic Trends in Colonial India, edited by Mushirul Hasan, (New Delhi: Manohar, 1981), p. 31, footnote 23, citing Colonial Office to India Office 4 August 1922, unpublished archival documents preserved in the British Library’s India Office Records. Further details in Taysir Jabbarah, al-Muslimun al-Hunud, op.cit. pp. 107-124.

21. British Viceroy Lord Reading’s Telegram to Secretary of State for India in London dated 7 August 1923, as cited in Sandeep Chawla, op.cit. footnote 39, page 39.

22. Taysir Jabbarah, Palestinian Leader Hajj Amin al-Husyani: Mufti of Jerusalem, (Princeton, NJ: The Kingston Press, 1985), p. 63.

23. British Resident at Hyderabad’s telegram to Political Secretary, Government of India 14 December 1923, as cited in Sandeep Chawla, op.cit., p. 29.

24. Nizam of Hyderabad’s letter and Ataturk’s response in Turkish Presidential Archives, located in the Presidential Palace, Ankara. I am grateful to Professor Yildirim Yavuz of Middle East Technical University for this valuable information. Email dated 10 June 2009.

25. Taysir Jabbarah alludes briefly to conflict between the clans, Palestinian Leader Hajj Amin al-Husyani, op. cit. p. 121.

26. Raef Yusuf Najm, “Jordan’s Role in Ensuring the Protection of Islamic and Christian Holy Sites in al-Quds al-Sharif,” posted on the website of Isesco, see
http://www.isesco.org.ma/english/publications/Protection%20of%20islamic%…accessed on 6 June 12, 2009. Najm lists the amount of contributions received worldwide, which seems to have been obtained from p. 114 of Taysir Jabbarah, al-Muslimun al-Hunud, op. cit. For the documents in Hyderabad about the restoration, see Sayyid Dawud Ashraf, Awraq-i Muarrikh, op.cit. Chapter, Masjid-i Aqsa ki Maramat aur Tazin-i Nau, pp. 126-130.

27. Yildirim Yavuz, “The Restoration Project of the Masjid al-Aqsa by Mimar Kemalettin (1922-26),” Muqarnas 13 (1996): 149-164. The article is available online via Archnet.org
http://www.archnet.org/library/documents/one-document.jsp?document_id=52…

28. Taysir Jabbarah, Palestinian Leader Hajj Amin al-Husyani, op. cit., p. 65.

29. Nadhir al-Din Ahmad, Sawanih Bahadur Yar Jang, (Hyderabad: Bahadur Yar Jang Academy, 1986), p. 298.

30. Taysir Jabbarah, al-Muslimun al-Hunud, op. cit. pp. 201-214.

31. Sayyid Dawud Ashraf, Awraq-i Muarrikh, (Haydarabad: Shugofa Publishers, 1998)., pp. 1091-114, the Urdu book’s chapter entitled “Filastin University ke Liye Giran Qadr Atiya,” is based on archival records in State Archives, Haydarabad, India.

32. Yitzhak Reiter, Islamic Endowments in Jerusalem under British Mandate, (London: Frank Cass, 1996), p. 68.

33. Taysir Jabbarah, Palestinian Leader Hajj Amin, op. cit., pp. 104-105.

34. Taysir Jabbarah, Palestinian Leader Hajj Amin, op. cit., pp. 104-105.

35. Taysir Jabbarah, al-Muslimun al-Hunud, op. cit. see the chapter Darih al-Zaim Mawlana Muhammad Ali al-Hindi fi Bahat al-Masjid al-Aqsa al-Mubarak, pp. 171-178.

36. Taysir Jabbarah, Palestinian Leader Hajj Amin, op. cit., p. 105.

37. Letter from Muhammad Said al-Husyani Al Abd al-Qadir, 14 February 1927, cited in Nadhir al-Din Ahmad, Sawanih Bahadur Yar Jang, op. cit. pp. 393-396.

38. London’s largest mosque began as Nizamia Mosque in 1936, see A.L. Tibawi, “History of the London Central Mosque and the Islamic Cultural Center, 1910-1980,” Welt des Islams 21 (1981):193-208; Islamic Cultural Center of Washington DC.

39. “Nizam Gives to Refugees Aid,” The New York Times (25 August 1948).

40. Omar Farooq, “Al-Quds Imam Gets Great Response in Hyderabad,” Saudi Gazette (19 December 1998), p. 12.

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Or the Middle East:

source

The refugee camp Gaza, home to the grandchildren of the 1948 dispossession of native Palestinians initiated by the “architect of the nakba“, David ben Gurion, has no background to it in the media. Nor is there any reporting of the fact that of the 80% of refugees in Gaza, several are ironically from Ashkelon, the town previously known as Askalaan and have been deprived of the right of return for 60 years because they are not Jews.

When reporting on the rocket attacks by Hamas [the "terrorists"] there is no mention that they are a democratically elected group, which includes over 500 PhDs, many of whom were educated in the west. Nor is it relevant that 45 members of the Hamas parliament were kidnapped and are imprisoned by Israel.

Far more ominous is the suppression of information that directly affects the present conflict:

1. The ceasefire of the last 6 months was based on Israeli promises of lifting the crippling economic seige imposed since 2006, when Hamas won the elections.

Earlier, government spokesman Mark Regev said Israel planned to ease its months-long siege of the Gaza Strip so long as the truce deal was implemented as planned.

“If the fighting indeed ceases Thursday as planned, Israel will ease its blockade of Gaza next week,” Regev said. At the same time, talks to release Shalit will intensify, Regev said.

The blockade was never lifted, ie Israeli promises were null and void from day one. Hamas promised to stop its suicide bombing. There has been no suicide bombing.

2. The last ceasefire was announced by Hamas, Israel stopped short of claiming it a ceasefire. The IDF broke the ceasefire two months ago by targeting the tunnels that were being used by the Gazans to smuggle in food and medicines as well as fuel. The Israeli press admitted they invaded Gaza and killed several Palestinians.

In addition to running out of food for 750,000 Palestinians, about half of Gaza’s population, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said it would be forced after Thursday to suspend cash assistance to 98,000 poor Gazans because of a shortage of currency in the territory.

Barak acknowledged in the radio interview that the violence was touched off by the Israeli raid, which the army said destroyed a tunnel at the frontier that Gaza militants dug and could have been used to try to seize Israeli soldiers.

More than a dozen Palestinian fighters have been killed in in the past two weeks. Several Israelis have been slightly wounded by dozens of rockets.

3. Hamas asked for a truce on better terms i.e. no more attacks on Palestinians, lifting the blockade and no more assassinations. They refused to continue the ceasefire as is, because with the blockade, it was pointless. What were Gazans to do? Starve? Israel refused. They wanted a truce on better terms for themselves. Considering they already impose a complete blockade on Palestine, what are these better terms???

4. On the day that the current conflict started, last Saturday, no Israeli had died of rocket attacks in the intervening weeks [several Palestinians had died due to accidents].

But in some ways the elections have made it impossible for officials like Mr. Barak not to react, because the public has grown anxious and angry over the rocket fire, which while causing no recent deaths and few injuries is deeply disturbing for those living near Gaza

Four Israelis have died since [including one Israeli Arab]. 435 Palestinians have died, 2000 are injured [as I write, the Palestinians are still under attack] and the humanitarian crisis still goes on, the bombing continues and refugees are still waiting for justice.

As I watch the unfolding of the pseudo-reality that passes for news, I feel a strange epiphany. Gaza is the last bastion, not only for the Palestinian state, but also for the two state solution. In a strangely self destructive manner, Israel is destroying all future possibility of a two state solution. It will have no choice, if it defeats Hamas, but to inherit the Palestinians. In a one state solution.

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Israel, the world’s only country with no internationally-declared borders, has begun the deadly dance of death and destruction in Gaza city which is located in 1.5 million strong Gaza strip, the world’s most densely populated area. As Israel prepares for a long haul with tanks massed along the Gaza after the aerial strikes, the official silence of Egypt and Jordan has resulted in mental agony for the hapless Palestinians. Palestinians have been betrayed not only by Israel alone but by their “own” people. This fact can be gauged from Egyptian government’s decision to seal its border along the Gaza strip at Rafah Crossing thus aggravating the humanitarian crisis fuelled by a country whose does not believe in human rights. Israel is the only country in the world which has violated the maximum number of United Nations’ resolutions since it came into existence in November 1948 with the help of a United Nation’s resolution!

Israel’s history of complete disregard to human rights and international law will put any human being to shame. Five years ago, Rachel Corrie, an American human rights activist with International Solidarity Movement was crushed to death by an armoured Israeli bulldozer as she was protesting against the destruction of Palestinian homes in Gaza strip.

The current situation was propelled by an economic blockade by Israel two months ago as a response to what it says “rocket and mortar fire” by Hamas, the ruling militant organization in Gaza strip. An Egyptian-brokered peace truce between Israel and Hamas was broken ten days ago. This situation was exploited by Israel to intensify an already existent economic blockade thus making ordinary life miserable. Just a day before the Israeli offensive, Rami Almeghari, a lecturer of Islamic University of Gaza could not find bread in Gaza!

An empty stomach has a right not only to hunger but anger as well. It is in this context that Hamas rocket attack into Southern Israel must be interpreted.

BBC reported on November 13 that “Gaza may be without United Nations food aid from November 15 after Israel has refused to allow in emergency supplies.” The Israeli blockade was not merely economic but academic as well. 27-year old Belal Bedwan, a resident of Nuseirat Refugee Camp in Central Gaza told BBC that he had twice missed the chance to study abroad since he was not allowed to move out of Gaza although he had got admission in Malaysian University as late as July 2008! “The Israelis stopped me leaving Erez in the north and the Egyptians stopped me at Rafah in the south,” he had told BBC.

A Palestinian noise is never heard through voice. Al-Qassam rockets are the only means to draw the world’s attention.

Shifa hospital, where most of the injured are being treated does not have adequate medical wares. Laila El-Haddad, a Gaza-based journalist wrote that medical supplies like face masks, surgical gloves, gowns etc. are in short supply.

She wrote that the heading in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz ‘Over 50 targets by 60 warplanes’ sounds like a “movie tagline or a game.” She sarcastically termed the Israeli offensive as “Neatly packaged war in a gift-box.”

Among 300 dead bodies, there are at least 20 children. Perhaps this war is the Jewish states’ New Year gift to a Palestinian mother.

Israeli has lost one war against Lebanon’s Hezbullah in 2006. Israel will lose this war against democratically-elected Hamas again because the days of age-old saying ‘Might is right’ are dead. Israel may win this battle but it will lose the war. An increasing number of non-Muslims are raising their voice against the Israeli barbarism.

An American Christian had this to say in a letter to a Palestinian:

I apologize for what is happening to your people and your family. I wish the U.S. were coming out more strongly in condemnation of the Israeli violent actions. I have called the U.S. Secretary of State office and expressed my concern and my desire that the U.S. more strongly condemn today’s Israeli actions. I sent an email of condemnation to the Israeli Foreign Ministry. I also sent an email to the American Jewish Committee, and expressed very strongly my disapproval of that organization’s statement today in support of the Israeli action.

With the ongoing global recession the downfall of Israel’s biggest ally has already begun. Empires don’t fall overnight; first comes the decline and then fall. The Mughal Empire’s decline began after the death of Aurangzeb in 1707. But the fall came 150 years later in 1857. At present America is sinking in a sea of debt. Afghanistan and Iraq wars have severely wounded the backbone of America’s economy.

Israel is heading the same path of destruction. It is digging its own grave.

Photo Courtesy: Khalil Hamra / Associated Press

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In a highly charged situation shooting the Koran is tantamount to shooting the albatross, the bird of good omen. The war in Iraq is purportedly fought also for winning the hearts and minds of the people. When the wind of anti insurgency seems just to have started blowing shooting the holy book could wreck the very ship in which the Americans and the Iraqi government are sailing.. This is not a theological perception of any presentiment but rather a gauge of geopolitical realization of the facts on ground.

An enlisted soldier of the US army used the holy book to practice shooting target. This incident has come full several years after the flushing of the same holy book in the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay. Both are contemptible outrageous deeds. Instead of winning hearts and minds such odious acts would create cataclysmic reaction. It is like carrying gunpowder for the al Qaeda cannon aimed at the so called crusaders besieging the Muslims.

In the fist place it is a symbolic action. A thin wire far away or gravel would have done the job better. But choosing the thick book with hundreds of pages the American soldier wants to signify certain things that are fixated in his mind. It is objectification of his hate. He can shoot even without bothering the crossed hair in the view. In the words of Najam Sethi such deliberate wilful act of vandalism is seen ‘as evidence of how America and the West make the war against terrorism synonymous with the war against Islam.’ [Somini Gupta and Salman Masood, “Guantanamo Comes to Define US to Muslims” New York Times, May 21, 2005]

It also lends credence to the fact that there is design behind all the incidents of desecration. It was no other than a two-star general in charge of the hunt of Osama bin Laden, William G ‘Jerry” Boykin who told in 2003 a gathering of Christians that America was cast as a Christian nation locked in a battle with Satan. The general made such a statement wearing full military uniform. He also described his god as greater than the god of the Muslims. It is for nothing that some 4000 Christian missionaries landed in Baghdad after the invasion began in 2003.

On May 9, 2008 American soldiers were practicing target shooting in the police station of Radhwaniya on the western outskirts of Baghdad. They had clearly marked the centre of a copy of the Quran for this purpose. Afterward the bullet ridden copy was retrieved by an Iraqi policeman, Abdullah. There were fourteen bullet marks and the pages of the holy book were scrawled with graffiti. Since then the Americans have pulled the particular sniper soldier out of the country and flown him to US.

In the past US officials were dismissive in their attitude and did not tender any apology. Their attitude is summed up what the soldier in charge said when US planes had bombed a marriage party. A senior officer had remarked: “Hey, bad people can have parties too.” In the case of the shooting the Koran the New York Times reporter described the reaction of the people as irrational popular anger [May 20].

The blogger site Abu Muqawama devoted to fighting insurgency merely called the soldier stupid and the American response to apologize: quick.

A meeting of tribal leaders was called on May 17 where a grim looking officer, General Jeffrey Hammond said: “I come before you here seeking your forgiveness, In the most humble manner, I look in your eyes today and I say please forgive me and my soldiers.”

President Bush who was lecturing the Arabs on democracy and asking for more oil around the same time spoke to the Iraqi Prime Minister Noori al Maliki and expressed his concern. There was no extraordinary effort on his part as was in evidence during his visit to Israel. He ignored to dilate on the kind of attitude his soldiers had for Islam and the Muslims. He had won the hearts and minds of the people of Israel when on that foreign soil of the ally he had castigated Barack Obama for daring to speak with radicals and terrorists. The Americans know whose hearts and minds they really want to win.

Many others in America justified saying that shooting the holy book is of the same class as beheading Daniel Pearl and Nicholas Berg. For them Jehovah was guidance: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. They did not bother that such attitude puts the soldiers in the rank of the terrorists. Of this Matthew Arnold had said of armies clashing in the dark of the night when the sea of faith was ebbing. But now it is full.

So full that every event has a biblical justification. Some took strong exception to American soldiers kissing the Quran by way of tendering apology. They also felt angry at army officers’ submission to the tribal leaders and their demand. Submission as a metaphorical substitute of Islam is a bete noire to many.

However, when all is said and done, what really matters is that US is a secular country and yet such regrettable incidents happen, that too in the army. Another is the absence of chain of command in the episode. The higher officers on duty enjoy the cloak of anonymity. No one seems to question what they were doing when the incident transpired. Call it what you will, debasement or demoralization. Occupation of a foreign land has queer ways of recoiling on the occupiers.

President Bush had attacked talking to radicals or ‘terrorists’ as appeasement. What else were the army officers in Baghdad doing when they met the tribal leaders? True, real politick is necessary, but the Americans and their allies in the Noori government have much longer to stay together, if at all staying the course is feasible. It is for this that many people recall how Britain had to deal with the IRA for a hundred years. In a world where IRA, yes, but Hamas and Iranisns, no, the Reformation is still needed in the West.

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Suicide terrorism. A term that in today’s political climate carries a certain image, like the one depicted to the left. One of irrationality and illiteracy, with fanaticism, religious zeal and 70 virgins promised in heaven for the martyr.

Etymology

The term “terrorism” comes from Latin terrere, “to frighten” via the French word terrorisme, which is often associated with the Regime de la Terreur, the Reign of Terror of the revolutionary government in France from 1793 to 1794.

Maximilien Robespierre, a leader of the revolution, proclaimed in 1794, “Terror is nothing other than justice, prompt, severe, inflexible; it is therefore an emanation of virtue; it is not so much a special principle as it is a consequence of the general principle of democracy applied to our country’s most urgent needs…If the basis of a popular government in peacetime is virtue, its basis in a time of revolution is virtue and terror — virtue, without which terror would be barbaric; and terror, without which virtue would be impotent.”

The Committee of Public Safety agents that enforced the policies of “The Terror” were referred to as “Terrorists.”

The English word “terrorism” was first recorded in English dictionaries in 1798 as meaning “systematic use of terror as a policy.”

History

The earliest known organization that corresponds to modern terrorism was the Zealots of Judea, also known as the Sicarii, or the dagger men. They were an underground organization of Jewish revolutionaries in 66CE in Judea, whose religious zeal led them to fight to death the Roman occupation. They also killed or persecuted Jews who collaborated with the Romans.

Their motive was an uncompromising belief that they could not remain faithful to the dictates of Judaism while living as Roman subjects. Eventually, the Zealot revolt became open, and they were finally besieged and committed mass suicide at the fortification of Masada. (Global Terrorism;James M Lutz, Brenda J Lutz)

Common Myths

The general image of the suicide terrorist is that of a religious fanatic, uneducated, poor and irrational. However, research on the social and psychological background of terrorists show they tend to be more prosperous and better educated than most in their societies, and no more religious or irrational than the average person.

1. Poverty

A study of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad suicide terrorists from the late 1980s to 2003 found only 13 per cent were from a poor background, compared with 32 per cent of the Palestinian population in general, according to a New Scientist report.

2. Education

Modern suicide terrorism finds its origin in the Marxist LTTE of Sri Lanka. “The assasination of Sri Lanka’s foreign minister …has once again raised the question of how the conflict on this ill-fated isle will end.

What bedevils conflict analysts most about Sri Lanka is that it defies the most common causal factor raised by terrorism experts — a lack of education. Among all South Asian countries, Sri Lanka has the highest literacy rate of an astounding 92 percent.

Yet this is the country where the cult of suicide bombings finds its origin with more than 200 suicide attacks since 1970 that have claimed thousands of lives. The victims include several politicians including the former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was killed by a female suicide bomber in 1991.

Clearly the educational development in this country has not had a direct correlation with conflict reduction.�?

In December 2001, the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, conducted a public-opinion poll of 1,357 Palestinians age 18 or older in the West Bank and Gaza on topics including the September 11 attacks in the United States, support for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, and attacks against Israel.

The poll reveals several things. First, support for attacks against Israeli targets by the Palestinian population is widespread (from 74 percent to 90 percent, depending on the subgroup), though it is important to emphasize that there is a distinction between support for attacks expressed in a poll at a particular moment and participation or active collusion in such attacks.

Second, a majority, more than 60 percent of the population surveyed, believes that attacks against Israeli civilians have helped to achieve Palestinian rights in a way that negotiations could not have.

These results offer no evidence that educated people are less supportive of attacks against Israeli targets. In fact, the support for attacks against Israeli targets is higher among those with more than a secondary-school education than among those with only an elementary-school education, and the support is considerably lower among those who are illiterate.

The study showed also that support for attacks against Israeli targets is particularly strong among students, merchants, and professionals. Notably, the unemployed are somewhat less likely to support such attacks. If poverty were indeed the wellspring of support for terrorism or politically motivated violence, one would have expected the unemployed to be more supportive of attacks than were merchants and professionals, but the evidence points the other way.

Similarly, Claude Berrebi, a graduate student in economics at Princeton, has studied the characteristics of recent suicide bombers in Israel. From information on the Web sites of Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas, he was able to paint a statistical picture of suicide bombers. He compared that to survey-based data on the broader Palestinian population of roughly comparable age.

His results indicate that suicide bombers are less than half as likely to come from impoverished families than is the population as a whole. In addition, more than half of the suicide bombers had attended school after high school, while less than 15 percent of the population in the same age group had any post-high-school education. Its not a mental disease.

“In writing my book on suicide attackers, I had researchers scour Lebanese sources to collect martyr videos, pictures and testimonials and the biographies of the Hezbollah bombers. Of the 41, we identified the names, birth places and other personal data for 38. Shockingly, only eight were Islamic fundamentalists.

Twenty-seven were from leftist political groups like the Lebanese Communist Party and the Arab Socialist Union. Three were Christians, including a female high-school teacher with a college degree. All were born in Lebanon.�? (Pape, Robert A. The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism. American Political Science Review 97:343-362 August 2003)

3. Religious Fanaticism

Contemporary suicide terrorists from the Middle East are publicly deemed crazed cowards bent on senseless destruction who thrive in poverty and ignorance. Recent research indicates they have no appreciable psychopathology and are as educated and economically well-off as surrounding populations.

A first line of defense is to get the communities from which suicide attackers stem to stop the attacks by learning how to minimize the receptivity of mostly ordinary people to recruiting organizations (Scott Atran, Science, 7 March 2003:Vol. 299. no. 5612, pp. 1534 – 1539)

Ariel Merare, a psychologist at Tel Aviv University in Israel, said he had changed his view that most suicide bombers were mentally ill after studying the background of every suicide bomber in the Middle East since 1983.”In the majority you find none of the risk factors normally associated with suicide, such as mood disorders or schizophrenia, substance abuse or a history of attempted suicide,” he said.

“With a queue of willing participants, how do terrorist or militant groups choose their suicide bombers? A planner for Islamic Jihad explained to Nasra Hassan, a relief worker for United Nations (New Yorker, November 19, 2001), that his group scrutinizes the motives of a potential bomber to be sure that the individual is committed to carrying out the task. Now, a high level of educational attainment is probably a signal of one’s commitment to a cause, as well as of one’s ability to prepare for an assignment and carry it out. For this reason, the stereotype of suicide bombers being drawn from the ranks of those who are so impoverished that they have nothing to live for may be wildly incorrect.

This interpretation is also consistent with another of Hassan’s observations about suicide bombers: “None of them were uneducated, desperately poor, simple-minded, or depressed. Many were middle class and, unless they were fugitives, held paying jobs. More than half of them were refugees from what is now Israel. Two were the sons of millionaires.�?

Common explanations are not based on fact:
A 64-year-old Palestinian woman blew herself up as a suicide bomber in Gaza [ 23 November 2006] in an attack on Israeli troops. Hamas, which claimed responsibility for the attack, named the woman as Fatma Omar An-Najar and said that she lived near the refugee camp. Her oldest daughter, Fatheya, said she decided to become a bomber because her grandson had been killed. “They [the Israelis] destroyed her house, they killed her grandson – my son,” she told the Associated Press. “Another grandson is in a wheelchair with an amputated leg,” she said.

Suicidal attacks are broadly correlated with certain conditions – economic deprivation and human loss – along with policy outcomes (closures and other structurally damaging policies); eroding the individual motives to support and participate in violence would necessarily include improving the structural health of Palestinian society.

Does Al-Qaeda conform to the myths?

Marc Sageman’s findings from biographical material from more than 400 al-Qaida-affiliated terrorists (Sageman, Marc Terror Networks (Philadelphia, Penn.: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004).

* The vast majority of terrorists in the sample came from solid middle class backgrounds, and its leadership came from the upper class.

* Only 13 percent of terrorists went to madrassahs, and this practice was specific to Southeast Asia, where two school masters, Abdullah Sungkar and Abu Bakar Baasyir, recruited their best students to form the backbone of the Jamaah Islamiyah, the Indonesian al-Qaida affiliate. This means that 87 percent of terrorists in the sample had a secular education.

* The vast majority of al-Qaida terrorists in the sample came from families with very moderate religious beliefs or a completely secular outlook. Indeed, 84 percent were radicalized in the West, rather than in their countries of origin. Most had come to the West to study, and at the time they had no intention of ever becoming terrorists. Another 8 percent consisted of Christian converts to Islam, who could not have been brainwashed into violence by their culture.

* About two-thirds of the sample had attended college, a sharp contrast with the less than 10 percent of their original communities who did so. Despite their education, they did not know much about religion; however, many had studied engineering, which made them doubly dangerous. Their relative lack of religious education made them especially vulnerable to an extreme version of Islam, and they had the skills to build bombs.

* Some argue that lack of sexual opportunity for young Muslim men transforms their sexual frustration into suicide terrorism to reap the rewards of heaven, especially access to the 72 virgins. In fact, three-fourths of al-Qaida terrorists are married, and two-thirds of them have children (and many children at that). This apparent paradox is explained by the fact that they want many children to pursue the jihad, while they sacrifice themselves for their cause and comrades.

* About 60 percent of al-Qaida terrorists in the sample have professional or semi-professional occupations.

* There was a near total lack of mental disorders in the sample.

* Recruitment into al-Qaida was through friendship and kinship rather than dedicated recruiters.

Why is it necessary to understand terrorism?

Suicide terrorism is rising around the world, but the most common explanations do not help us understand why. Religious fanaticism does not explain why the world leader in suicide terrorism is the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, a group that adheres to a Marxist/Leninist ideology, while existing psychological explanations have been contradicted by the widening range of socio-economic backgrounds of suicide terrorists.

In contrast to the existing explanations, Robert Pape’s study, which has collected biographical information of 188 suicide terrorist attacks worldwide from 1980 to 2001, shows that suicide terrorism follows a strategic logic, one specifically designed to coerce modern liberal democracies to make significant territorial concessions. Moreover, over the past two decades, suicide terrorism has been rising largely because terrorists have learned that it pays. Suicide terrorists sought to compel American and French military forces to abandon Lebanon in 1983, Israeli forces to leave Lebanon in 1985, Israeli forces to quit the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in 1994 and 1995, the Sri Lankan government to create an independent Tamil state from 1990 on, and the Turkish government to grant autonomy to the Kurds in the late 1990s.

In all but the case of Turkey, the terrorist political cause made more gains after the resort to suicide operations than it had before. Thus, Western democracies should pursue policies that teach terrorists that the lesson of the 1980s and 1990s no longer holds, policies which in practice may have more to do with improving homeland security than with offensive military action.

Rohan Gunaratna, head of terrorism research at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said the findings had overturned popular ideas about terrorists. “They are like you and me,” he said. The experts said resistance groups tended to adopt suicide tactics when they were losing political ground to rival groups, and used psychological techniques to ensure recruits went through with the act. Suicide attacks are a kind of tactic, planned and organized by extremely committed military or paramilitary groups.

According to Robert Pape, director of the Chicago Project on suicide terrorism and expert on suicide bombers, ninety-five percent of such attacks in recent times have the same specific strategic goal: to cause an occupying state to withdraw forces from a disputed territory. It is the only way small, disaffected groups can fight a powerful enemy.

The Islamic Position on Terrorism:

According to Islamic jurist and scholar Khaled Abou Al-Fadl, The classical jurists, nearly without exception, argued that those who attack by stealth, while targeting noncombatants in order to terrorize the resident and wayfarer, are corrupters of the earth. “Resident and wayfarer” was a legal expression that meant that whether the attackers terrorize people in their urban centers or terrorize travelers, the result was the same: all such attacks constitute a corruption of the earth. The legal term given to people who act this way was muharibun (those who wage war against society), and the crime is called the crime of hiraba (waging war against society). The crime of hiraba was so serious and repugnant that, according to Islamic law, those guilty of this crime were considered enemies of humankind and were not to be given quarter or sanctuary anywhere. … Those who are familiar with the classical tradition will find the parallels between what were described as crimes of hiraba and what is often called terrorism today nothing short of remarkable. The classical jurists considered crimes such as assassinations, setting fires, or poisoning water wells – that could indiscriminately kill the innocent – as offenses of hiraba. Furthermore, hijacking methods of transportation or crucifying people in order to spread fear and terror are also crimes of hiraba. Importantly, Islamic law strictly prohibited the taking of hostages, the mutilation of corpses, and torture.

References and Further Reading:

All it Takes to Make a Suicide Attacker. New Scientist 182:3 May 15, 2004.

Bennett, James. Gingerly, Arabs Question Suicide Bombings. New York Times, p.A1, Op, July 3, 2002.

Bennett, James. HAMAS Urges Iraqis to Make Suicide Attacks on the Invaders. New York Times, p.B13, Op, March 22, 2003.

Bennett, James. Rash of New Suicide Bombers Exhibit No Patterns or Ties. New York Times, p.A1, Op, June 21, 2002.

Bond, Michael. The Making of a Suicide Bomber. New Scientist 182:34-37 May 15, 2004.

Dying to Kill Us. New York Times, p.A17, Op, September 22, 2003.

Eshel, David. Israel Reviews Profile of Suicide Bombers. Jane’s Intelligence Review 13:20-21 November 2001.

Gunaratna, Rohan. Suicide Terrorism: A Global Threat. Jane’s Intelligence Review 12:52-55 April 2000.

Gunaratna, Rohan. Terror From the Sky. Jane’s Intelligence Review 13:6-9 October 2001.
Describes the evolution of suicide terrorism and the use of airborne attacks.

Hecht, Richard D. Deadly History, Deadly Actions, and Deadly Bodies: A Response to Ivan Strenski’s ‘Sacrifice, Gift and the Social Logic of Muslim “Human Bombers.”‘ Terrorism and Political Violence 15:35-47 Autumn 2003.

Hoffman, Bruce and McCormick, Gordon H. Terrorism, Signaling, and Suicide Attack. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 27:243-281 July-August 2004.

Israeli, Raphael. A Manual of Islamic Fundamentalist Terrorism. Terrorism and Political Violence 14:23-40 Winter 2002.

Kondaki, Christopher. Suicide Terrorism, an Age-Old Weapon, Adds Technology. Defense & Foreign Affairs Strategic Policy 29:8-9 2001.

Kushner, Harvey W. Suicide Bombers: Business as Usual. Studies in Conflict and Terrorism 19:329-337 October-December 1996.

Luft, Gal. The Palestinian H-Bomb. Foreign Affairs 81:2-8 July-August 2002.
Article discusses the Palestinian’s growing acceptance of suicide bombings as a legitimate tool of war.

Moghadam, Assaf. Palestinian Suicide Terrorism in the Second Intifada: Motivations and Organizational Aspects. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 26:65-92 March-April 2003.

Pape, Robert A. The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism. American Political Science Review 97:343-362 August 2003.

Perina, Kaja. Suicide Terrorism: Seeking Motives Beyond Mental Illness. Psychology Today 35:15 September-October 2002.

Pope, Hugh. HAMAS Official Won’t Rule out Suicide Bombings. Wall Street Journal, p.A10, Op, April 21, 2003.

Sprinzak, Ehud. Rational Fanatics Foreign Policy 120:66-73 September-October 2000.

Strenski, Ivan. Sacrifice, Gift and the Social Logic of Muslim “Human Bombers.” Terrorism and Political Violence 15:1-34 Autumn 2003.

Telhami, Shibley. Why Suicide Terrorism Takes Root. New York Times, pA23, Op, April 4, 2002.

Waldman, Amy. Masters of Suicide Bombing: Tamil Guerrillas of Sri Lanka. New York Times, p.A1, Op, January 14, 2003.

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One of the great advantages of staying in Saudi Arabia is that you get to visit these blessed places often. Alhamdulillah, Sameer and I visited Madinah & Makkah in the Holy month of Ramadan and enjoyed the hospitality of Muslims who inhabit this lovely place.

Wednesday 2100 hours

We took a budget flight to Madinah after office hours and reached there just after Isha (night) prayer. After the Taraweeh¹ prayer, we decided to call it a day hit the sack.

The Dawn of Madinah – Thursday 0500 hours

There is something about Madinah which makes you fall in love with it instantly. The divine peace or sakeenah, which God Almighty has blessed this city with, enables people to reach a reach a level of contentment and selflessness which can rarely be experienced anywhere else. After the Fajr prayer, Sameer & I went to the Roza-e-Mubarak, the place where Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon Him) is buried along with his illustrious companions Abu Bakr and Umar (May Allah be pleased with them).

One of the corridors of the Prophet’s Masjid

Jannath-ul-baqee graveyard

After giving the greetings to our beloved Prophet (peace be upon Him), we decided to visit the neighboring graveyard of Jannath-ul-Baqee where hundreds of the companions of the Prophet and noble Muslims of later generations have been buried.

Jannath-ul-baqee graveyard after Fajr prayer

The simplicity of the graveyard struck me profoundly. These unmarked graves house some of the noblest souls that mankind has ever known, yet the graveyard is bereft of any symbols of worldly pride such as elaborate tombs etc. This asceticism and piety reflects the character of the first three generations of Islam who despite being world leaders were yet humble in their life and death. We Muslims who claim to be inheritors of the salaf (the best three generations of Islam starting from Prophet Mohammad peace be upon Him), would do well to emulate such examples of Zuhd (asceticism).

More often than not, we can find some self appointed custodians of the salaf who raise hell regarding the finer points of Aqeedah (Islamic belief), yet the society which they live in reeks of bad manners and unjust behavior. What good is faith if it does not soften a persons’ heart and lead him to deal justly with others? What good are mere words if they don’t affect our actions? Rhetoric may provide the basis of a state but it is only faith and deeds which ensure its survival.

Any Muslim society which does not make kindness and justice its cornerstone is bound to fail in the long run, despite all the rhetoric and scholarly hair splitting about authenticity. The Umayyad dynasty used to pride itself on being the most authentic but the example which they set for Muslims at large left a lot to be desired because they had become corrupt and extremely materialistic. The Abbasid revolution, (supported by disillusioned Arabs and Persians) took place and swept the Umayyads into the dustbin of history. In this is a great lesson for every Muslim society.

An open grave in Jannath-ul-baqee serves as a reminder

We spent the day in Ziarah by going to the well known Masjid’s of Madinah such as Quba and Qiblatain before retuning to Masjid-e-Nabwi.

Preparations for Iftar begin – 1700 hours

The time for breaking fast at sunset during Ramadan is a unique moment for Muslims across the world. For people to break their fasts in the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah is an even more blessed and surreal experience.

For many people, sharing a snack with fellow Muslims is an exhilarating experience. During iftar in the two holy cities, people often sit with strangers of different nationalities and languages, and with whom they only share one thing in common — that they are fasting in obedience to Allah. In fact, many say the experience helps them develop an ethos of brotherhood.

Muslims in Masjid-e-Nabwi making Iftar preperations

What makes these gatherings special, which for many is an once-in-a-lifetime experience, is the variety of people from different cultures and nationalities that gather in the holy cities. Most of the food that is on offer in the holy mosques is brought by local people, who also bring along local Saudi dishes. It is remarkable to see these people laying tablecloths, setting cups, distributing coffee, tea and dates and often delaying their own iftar to ensure visitors to the holy mosques are at ease and comfort.

As sunset approaches, silence descends on the two mosques as people begin turning toward God in supplication. Islamic theology says prayers are answered at the time of breaking fast. What better place to beseech the Almighty than the two holy mosques while one is in the state of fasting in the month of Ramadan. One cannot help notice the fervour with which people supplicate as their eyes swell with tears. Through the humming of people reciting prayers one can hear the odd pilgrim bursting out in tears pouring out his or her heart’s contents to the Almighty.

Pilgrims from across the world can be seen busily praying in their own languages asking for Allah to cure their loved ones, grant them lives that are lived in His servitude, forgiveness of sins and for the needs of both this world and the hereafter.
Once the iftar sheets are laid, there is no hierarchy in where people sit. Everyone is the same. In a remarkable expression of brotherly love, the rich and the poor, and the black and the white, can be seen sitting together and sharing the same food.

A Yemeni kid waiting to break the fast

One of the things that made me want to come for Umrah during Ramadan is the feeling of brotherhood which is present. If you look around you, this is the true picture of Islam, unlike the negative image that exists outside. I wish the whole year was Ramadan so we wouldn’t lose the beautiful feelings for each other.

As soon as the call for prayer starts, people immediately start collecting the ‘sufras’ (dining sheets) and place them in garbage bags to be thrown away. Within 20 seconds the place is clean. Food is removed and people are ready to pray.

A Saudi teenager arranging the food and serving pilgrims. 

To Makkah – Friday 2200 hours

We left for Makkah in a SAPTCO (state transport) bus and Alhamdulillah the journey was comfortable and uneventful.

The Kaaba

The hustle and bustle of Makkah is quite a contrast to the peaceful and serene Madinah. Yet Makkah has its own charm because one prayer in the Haram Sharif is equivalent to a hundred thousand prayers else where.

The first thing we noticed were the enormous three 70 storied towers of the King Abdul Aziz Waqf project which are being constructed just in front of Haram Sharif. I really appreciate the necessity of creating more housing space for the pilgrims but the location of such a prestigious project could have been a bit more apt.

King Abdul Aziz Waqf Project (This picture was taken few months before Ramadan)

Well, it’s easy to be an arm chair analyst, but after seeing the space problem around Haram Sharif, I realised that maybe the Saudi authorities did not have any alternative. Allah o Alam!

Malls in Makkah

The booming trade and expansion in Makkah is causing some Muslims to object to the commercialization of a Holy city. Such Muslims fail to realise that Makkah has been commercial centre for all of Arabia since time immemorial. Islam is not against lawful and honest trade as long as it does not cause the society to become overtly materialistic and lax. Some Muslims also object to the ‘Mall culture’ and to the presence of foreign brands in cities holy to Muslims, but such objections are not quite justified. I would be happy to see Muslim companies develop products which can compete in the world market but to shut ourselves to the world is not quite right.

Jabal Omar project (This picture was taken few months before Ramadan)

Some people also object to the destruction of some historical monuments which are close to Haram Sharif but such objections are unfounded and are reminiscent of her Majesty’s (Britain) propaganda against the Muslims of Saudi Arabia. The ill effects of the virulent lies spread by the British Empire have decreased by quite an extent but successor of the Anglo Saxon empire is trying to repackage the lies so as to whip up hatred and misunderstanding between Muslims.

The Grand Mosque in Makkah (This picture was taken few months before Ramadan)

Iftar in Makkah – Saturday 1800 hours

In Makkah, the Iftar situation is similar. Many pilgrims inside the Grand Mosque and in the courtyards outside do not miss the opportunity to join their fellow Muslims on this very unique and annual occasion. A young Saudi was busy laying iftar food.

“This is a family tradition that we carry out each year. There is no better feeling than helping fellow Muslims and visitors to the House of God to break their fasts,‿ he said.

“We are seeking reward from Allah so with every halala spent on preparing and buying the food we hope to be rewarded in the life after. My three brothers and I take four locations and we serve people food. We do not have much on the table except for dates, yogurt, water and some juice. Other people join in the table and bring their food with them,‿ he said.

The Return from Jeddah Airport – 2300 hours

Our return budget flight was delayed by more than an hour and we reached home early next morning yet these few days had been worth their weight in gold. These moments will remain etched in our memory untill we meet our Creator, InshAllah.

- Abdul Mateen

References
1.) Taraweeh prayer – Special Ramadan prayer performed in the night after Isha prayers.
2.) Arab News – Breaking Fast in the Two Holy Mosques (Badea Abu Al-Naja & Hashem Ahmad).

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The Battle of Badr was the first Muslim resistance against the Arab pagans. It was March 624, Muslim army consisting of “Ansars, host from Medina�? and the Meccan exiles, against the powerful and arrogant Quraish, the lord of Mecca. This daring was not for pride, glory or kingship, this unequal battle was fought for a simple but magnificent belief, to worship Allah alone, “La Ilaha Illallah�?. All negotiations with Mecca had failed; some of Muhammad’s followers were tortured and killed. Even a bid to Muhammad’s life was made.The Meccans assembled that day in great numbers, well equipped with armed fighters and 300 horses, numbering close to 1000 warriors. The believers, with 300 fighters, 70 camels and 2 horses didn’t had much to bank on except belief in Allah, Prophet and standing up for the noble cause. The Muslims stood confidently in a straight battle formation, patiently and sturdily. The Meccan spy went back to his masters saying he saw the “Muslim camels carrying death�?, was dismissed as a dreamer. Victory over Muslims was certain, the confidence of Meccans rode high.

To the Arabs, pagan to the core, then for them there was no resurrection, no heaven or hell. A man was known through the glory of his ancestors and the genealogy chain, the virtue and strength of his tribe, and yes, through poems, man would live forever, made famous for his generosity and acts of bravery. Mecca housed the ancient Kaaba, and every year people from all Arabia would gather in Mecca for HAJJ, circumambulates by Kaaba and offer sacrifices. Though the Arabs believed in Allah as the supreme lord, they also worshipped many other deities. The Kaaba housed more than 360 idols, representing different gods for each occasion. It was pride in pre Islamic Arabia to bury daughters alive, alcoholism, killing and pillage was considered a part of life. The arid and harsh landscape of Arabia worked very well for this temperament. Muhammad opposed such acts and invited them back to the religion of Abraham, to give charity, make no partners with Allah, rights for women, to live a noble and pious life, abstain from “riba�?, looking after relatives, defending the weak in society, helping neighbors, no to adultery, gambling or alcohol. It was too much to ask for, and the Arabs had only been following their ancestors, and how possibly they could leave all this.

Just before the battle Muhammad prayed to Allah for Muslim victory, Saad ibn Muadh the representative from Medina, spoke his famous words to Muhammad, “ We believe in you, we declare your truth and we witness that what you have brought is the truth, and we have given you our word and agreement to hear and obey; so go where you wish and we are with you; and by God, if you were to ask us to cross this sea and you plunged into it, we would plunge into it with you; not a man would stay behind. We do not dislike the idea of meeting your enemy tomorrow. We are experienced in war, trustworthy in combat�?. As per the battle tradition those days, one to one dual was fought before the final call of battle, from Muslims came Ali Bin Abu Talib, cousin of Prophet, Hamza Bin Abdul Muttalib, uncle of Prophet and Obeidah Bin Al Harith, cousin of Prophet. They faced the Meccan, “Sheibah, Al Waleed and Utbah, all 3 Meccans fell to Muslim warriors. The battle started and by mid day the once strong Meccan’s were routed, many killed and taken as prisoners of War, Prophet intervened and asked that prisoners be looked after well, with no disrespect or added injury to them. Later many of these prisoners accepted Islam, after experiencing its mercy and compassion from Prophet.

The battle of Badr was crucial to the new Muslims and Islam as an entity, had the Muslims lost this battle, the picture of Islam would have been very different. After suffering torture, humiliation and exile from the hands of Quraish, the day saved their existence, word spread fast among the tribes and desert Bedouins, that Muhammad and his Religion was to be taken seriously. The Arabs soon realized the truth in Muhammad’s voice and accepted Islam en mass, shunning their old beliefs and accepting the call of purity and accepting that “There is no God but Allah�?, offering obligatory prayers, giving charity and living a pious life.From that day onwards the flag of Islam and followers of Muhammad never stopped growing, till day Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world.

Muhammad the Prophet of Allah and Seal of Prophet hood, May Peace be upon Him.

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The Indo-Iranian gas pipeline project is an ambitious one. We will immensely benefit if we can get some natural gas from Iran.

When the pipeline is completed, we shall have a steady supply of gas. Gas is more environment friendly. Oil creates a lot of noxious chemicals and gas during processing and burning. Natural gas is much cleaner in that respect. We shall breath cleaner Indian air, InshaAllah. Gas will be probably cheaper than oil, too.

However, the US government does not like the idea. They had been creating diplomatic pressure on both India and Pakistan not to go ahead with this project. It is part of US’s foreign policy to control the energy sources. If India draws energy from the Iran, then that supply will not be in US’s direct control. So they don’t want it.

I don’t see any reason why we should abandon the project which is beneficial to both India and Iran to satisfy US.

So far, it looks that the government is committed to it. However, the project seems to be moving very slowly.

Red tapes!

Darn!

A quick decision and a quick commissioning of the pipeline will benefit our industries. Prices will only go up with time, as oil reserves are drying up. The earlier the deal is struck, the bettter.

These are fast moving times(the cliche goes- time is money). Time to take quick decisions.

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Sadia Dehlvi recently reviewed the captioned book for the weekly Outlook. The author of this book is Asra Nomani whose life story is quite fascinating.

In a charming personal narrative, Nomani navigates through a crisis of faith brought upon by the murder of close friend Daniel pearl by Islamic militants and an affair with a Pakistani man in Karachi that leads to a child out of wedlock. Wrecked with guilt and seeking to hold her son without shame, the young Indian born American Muslim back straps the infant and along with supportive parents embarks on a pilgrimage toMecca wrestling with contradictions of feminism and Islam.

The adventures of this tremendous unification in faith could interest non Muslim readers as the roads to
Mecca and Madina clearly read “Muslims only” but the detailing of the motions of ablutions, prayer and the pilgrimage can be skipped by those who have been there and done that.

The geographical journey to the holy cities provides glimpses of the repression and countless hypocrisies that describe Saudia Arabia ‘s social and political life but what is engaging is Nomanis spiritual search through Islamic history that questions and instructs about the rights of women in Islam. Nomani exposes the roots of the purantical Wahabbi Islam funded by the Saudis through their outreach programs which emerged to curb Sufism and pushed women to the second rank.

In the deserts of Mecca, Nomani finds strength in the forgotten legacy of women in Islam including the prophets mother, wife and daughters. What is particularly endearing is Nomani’s tale of soul bonding with Hagar, Prophet Abrahams second wife whom he married to have a child since Sarah was infertile.(In the old testament Hagar is an Egyptian slave hired as a surrogate mother) Prophet Ishmael was born of this union and in a test of faith, Abraham went off with a jealous Sarah leaving Hagar alone near the Kaaba in the custody of God. Four thousand years ago, Hagar stood alone in

Mecca and in a desperate search for water to quench the crying baby’s thirst , ran seven times between the two hills of Safa and Marwah appealing to God for mercy. Hagar passed the trial of isolation and water sprang from where the baby kicked. The ritual of running between the hills in the tradition of Hagar is an important ritual in the pilgrimage and the water that sprang from the ground is the holy water of “zam zam” carried back home by pilgrims.

Nomani is surprised to find liberation in Islam and discovers prophet Mohammad as a social reformer who built a community on ideals of justice, equity and tolerance that honoured women. The inspired pilgrim comes home to challenge the norms of local mosques in America urging them to allow women to pray alongside men as they did in early Islam and continue to do so at the Kaaba and the mosques at Madina. The writer makes a strong plea for “ijtehad” or judicial scholarly reasoning used to mediate question of Islamic law to resolve issues of the modern world.

The book affectively argues that Muslim societies that punish women for alleged crimes of the body contradict the fundamental principles of forgiveness, privacy and motherhood in Islam. Without being insulting, Nomani confronts her faith over sex, sin and female sexuality emerging as powerful leading voice for change, plurality of expression and egalitarianism in the Muslim world..

Standing Alone in Mecca
A Pilgrimage into the heart of Islam
Author Asra Q Nomani
Pages 413
Published by Harper Collins
Price: Rs.395

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