An Eyewitness’ Account of Death, Horror And Misery

Re: Earthquake and Rss/BJP Politics

Calamity has this strange knack of bringing people together. When you are battling for survival, caste and creed do not matter. Roving Editor Ramesh Menon details one such incident, which could have been a landmark in communally strife-torn Ahmedabad. Only, it was too good to last.

When the earth shook violently on January 26, the residents of Sarangpur Chakla -- like everyone else in Ahmedabad -- ran out of their homes. Many of them moved into the large courtyard of Rani`s mosque, a 15th century monument. Located in an area that is dominated by Hindus, the mosque has been closed for over 32 years. But, as a protected heritage monument, it is being looked after by the Archaeological Survey of India.

It proved to be a safe shelter during the quake, since it is surrounded by an open area, while Sarangpur is dominated by narrow lanes and old buildings.

Soon after, a group of elderly Hindus approached Muslims in the Panchkuva area of Kalupur and asked them to begin offering namaz at the mosque again. They hoped it would please the Gods and the anger within the earth would subside. The Muslims happily acquiesced.

On January 31, a dozen-odd Muslims went to the mosque to offer namaz early in the morning. It was the first time since the 1969 communal riots in the city that this had happened.

The Hindus in the locality got together and organised water; before offering namaz, the Muslims are required to wash their hands and feet. ``The residents thanked us and said our prayers would ward off danger to their area. Though the tremors continued, we thought it brought us together,`` remembers Mohsin Sheikh, a small-time businessman who deals with bags and plastic sheets.

For the next namaz, there were about two dozen Muslims offering prayers.

The one held in the afternoon saw four dozen devotees.

Though the numbers swelled to 250 for the namaz after sunset, the Muslims could sense the tension in the air. One of them walked up to a policeman outside the mosque and told him that, if there is a problem in them offering prayers there, they would stop immediately. The policeman said there was no problem; that the prayers -- which were for everyone`s well-being -- should continue.

Yet, by the time of the night namaz, they were told not to come to the mosque, thanks to strident protests from a handful of vocal residents associated with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Bajrang Dal and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

The residents themselves had no complaints about the namaz. The area`s right wing elements, though, felt the presence of so many Muslims -- the numbers were increasing with each namaz -- should not be allowed since Sarangpur borders Muslim-dominated areas.

The last namaz of the day did not take place.

The amity between the two communities did not last 24 hours. Those who reached the mosque for the last namaz say the policemen were beginning to worry about communal tension and did not want anything to spark it.

Today, the iron gate leading to the mosque has been locked. The courtyard is silent except when the wind blows; then, one can hear the sound of rustling leaves.

Four policemen are sleeping in front of the gate; which is covered with their damp clothes. One of them views me with suspicion. ``Have you come here to read namaz?`` he demands.

I tell him I am, like him, a Hindu. Still suspicious, he says I cannot go in. ``The mosque had been closed for years and will not open again. We are here to ensure that.``

Sad Really,

Asim

urstruly #2: I would request Sadna & Mohajir Inc. to keep this thread clean .. this is not the time and place.

urstruly #23: REPORT CARD: KASHMIR

Which one is the true urstruly?

dear tahmed321 #: 17

i have provided my presentations to this forum with detailed evidences from the authoritive sources of islamic law.

kindly please forward your evidences from islamic law for your supositions to the contrary of the islamic views i hold. based upon the detailed evidences i have presented.

general statements without any substance or evidence will not suffice.

many thanks.

Allah (swt) says: “ Whosoever does not judge by that which Allah has revealed, such are disbelievers” [5:44]

The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “Any action which is not according to our matter (Deen) is rejected.”

“ But no, by Your Lord, they can have no (real) faith until they make you judge in all disputes between them and find in their souls no resistance against your decisions, but accept them with the fullest submission” [4:65]

Ahmer Sajid

Barrister-at-Law

Member of Hizb ut-Tahrir

for more info plz visit

http://www.khilafah.com.pk

REPORT CARD: HINDUSTANI PERFORMANCE IN KASHMIR IN YEAR 2000

Following is the report card representing the performance of Hindu-stani Government in Kashmir for the year 2000. I take this moment to make an appeal to all the good people with good conscience in the world to voice against this genocide of Kashmiri people. I would also request all decent Hindus to act and stop the rabid actions of their government. It is just a matter of time when all of those who committed atrocities will be dragged in front of International Court of Justice. But before that they will have to answer to the Kashmiri people. Now that when practically each and every household has suffered at the hands of rabid Hindus, it is time that all of those with live conscience should wake up. The time to act is now:

Report Card for year 2000:

Kashmiris who gave their lives for their motherland
3401 (ave. 283/mo)

Deaths/Shahadats in Army/Police Custody
363 (30/mo)

Wounded
3844 (320/mo)

Arrested
3058 (254/mo)

Rapes by Hindu Army and police
281 (23/ mo)

Property Damaged (number)
1604 (133/mo)

A month by month breakdown is available at following site:

http://www.jang-group.com/jang/index.html

I would request all people with live conscience who value human life, to forward this link and the figures to your human rights organization.

Thank you.

Long post.
http://www.latimes.com/print/20010205/t000010713.html
Monday, February 5, 2001
Quake`s Toll on a Young Psyche
India: Horrific scenes leave thousands of children with mental wounds that may never heal.
By PAUL WATSON, Times Staff Writer
ANJAR, India--A falling chunk of concrete broke Yusuf Khumbar`s arm, which was easy for a doctor to fix this weekend once it was X-rayed.
If only it were so simple to see and repair the fractures in a boy`s mind. The enormity of India`s Jan. 26 earthquake is hard for even an adult to comprehend, as the estimates of the dead and the damage keep rising. Authorities now say that as many as 30,000 people were killed and 600,000 left homeless in the western state of Gujarat.
The number of confirmed deaths reached 16,425 on Sunday, and the federal government says that more than 55,000 people were injured. Not included in these staggering statistics are the thousands of children who suffered mental wounds that may never heal. In a developing country of more than 1 billion people, still struggling to feed and find shelter for survivors, injured psyches fall far down the long list of emergencies.
When the quake struck and reduced much of this town to rubble in seconds, Yusuf, 13, was one of three boys walking at the front of a schoolkids` Republic Day parade as it headed along a narrow street. The buildings crashed down on them from both sides, and a piece of debris pinned Yusuf to the ground. His cousin, Kasim Ismail, 12, pulled the boy free quickly enough to save his life. Their friend, Iqbal Yunnis, 8, was killed. Behind them, a cascade of broken concrete crushed to death more than 400 schoolmates and 50 of their teachers. Just over a week later, it is hard for a child survivor like Yusuf to know where the memories end and the nightmares begin.
``He`s afraid to sleep alone now,`` Yusuf`s aunt, Amena Bai, 35, said through a translator Saturday as he waited for a doctor to set his left arm. ``And he refuses to sleep in any closed structure. He wants to sleep only in the open. ``He used to scream at night, and for the first two days would not leave the company of his female relatives,`` she added. ``But now he`s more dazed than anything else. He doesn`t talk much.``
Once a ``fairly active and delightful child,`` Yusuf ``is more sad now because he`s lost a friend,`` said the boy`s mother, Halima Bai, 37. In the middle of a hot day, he was wearing a wool cap, tied tightly under his chin, to fight off chills.
Yusuf`s demeanor contains textbook warning signs of severe trauma, and psychiatrist Sohan Derasari estimates that anywhere from one-third to half of the children who survived the quake are now suffering from ``acute stress disorder.``
In many cases, their parents are too traumatized themselves to get them treatment. Sufferers from acute stress disorder look as though they are simply in shock, but the syndrome is worse. ``The person gets really numb, and they are in a daze,`` Derasari said from Ahmadabad, Gujarat`s commercial capital. ``They cannot remember things properly. They remain a little irritable and angry.``
Some will recover on their own in a couple of weeks, the psychiatrist said, while others risk sinking into the still more serious post-traumatic stress disorder, which can require drugs and long-term care to reverse. ``One of the biggest complications is that they do not seek any help,`` Derasari said. ``They remain withdrawn for a long period of time. This is primarily because the biochemical changes in the brain do not allow them to process information and other things.``
If parents languish, so will their traumatized children, who ``will remain scared and withdrawn for a long period of time, not going to school and not resuming normal activity,`` Derasari added. For many Indians, seeking therapy is akin to announcing to the neighbors that you`re crazy, and Derasari said relief workers who could help ensure that traumatized children get treatment often don`t know how to spot the symptoms.
He is working with a small group of Indian physicians and educators to set up a rehabilitation program for child quake survivors that will include not only counseling but advice to parents and teachers on how to handle traumatized children.

Derasari said he knows of only about 10 psychologists and psychiatrists in Bhuj, the biggest town in the worst-affected area--a region where there are a few million people. ``I don`t know what you can do with 10 persons,`` he said. ``We are finding it difficult even to get people motivated to get trained.`` If traumatized children don`t get help soon, ``they are going to have problems with learning and development,`` Derasari said.
Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee admitted last week that his government had failed to get a coordinated rescue and relief effort going soon enough after the quake. Private groups such as charities and political parties have delivered food, clothing and emergency aid to many villages where residents say they are still waiting for government help.
But even as they shiver under thin blankets next to small fires each night, or run barefoot along dirt tracks to catch a scrap of used clothing or a bag of water tossed off aid trucks, many of the homeless children still laugh as if it were all great fun. In reality, the children are probably so overwhelmed by what`s happened that they are trying to switch it off, like a scary movie, said Mamata Pandya, project coordinator for the government-funded Center for Environment Education. The center is leading local efforts to provide treatment for child quake survivors.
``What we are afraid [of] is that this trauma is going to be so deep that it`s going to leave lifelong scars,`` she said. ``We really have to do a lot of learning ourselves to start working with traumatized children.`` The Nehru Foundation for Development`s compound, a green oasis of calm where Pandya`s center is based in Ahmadabad, has become a home for 30 people who can`t--or in most cases are simply too afraid to--return to their homes in the city. ``Right now, it`s a big holiday for the children,`` Pandya said. ``There`s no school, they`re all together running around and playing. They`re not manifesting their anxieties, but we are sure those anxieties are very deeply ingrained.``
In a Red Cross field hospital 150 miles to the west in Anjar, Vanay Chauhan, 14, lay with his bandaged left hand tied to a pole to keep it upright and draining. The top halves of the fingers were crushed under concrete rubble, and when Vanay`s father brought a knife to cut him free, the boy yanked his hand hard enough to sever the fingers himself. Vanay isn`t afraid anymore, only a little unsettled by the wailing and moaning of injured patients all around him, said his father, Himat Chauhan, 45.
In the wrecked city of Bhachau, meanwhile, Dr. Bharad Gadia, an orthopedic surgeon, is trying to move 5-year-old Puri Nagar from a cot in a tent clinic to his hospital more than a 200-mile drive away in Bhavanagar, so he can treat her fractured and dislocated left shoulder. But Puri refuses to go. A tiny medallion of the minor Hindu god Ramdev hangs on Puri`s forehead from a chain that her mother strung through the child`s braids in hopes that the talisman would protect her.
The child`s arm was in a gauze sling Saturday, wrapped tightly against her chest. She was crying, as she has constantly since the ground shook and reduced her family`s house to rubble in the village of Kakarva. Puri hasn`t stopped repeating one thing, the doctor said, and she said it again as he stood at her bedside: ``I want to go home.``

Barrister Amir

........ i am embarrased for you ......although i am given to praying only twice a year and at jewish weddings, i dug up the old janamaz and prayed to the almighty to punish you for your wickedness ..... so, if tomorrow you have a flat tire or the old hemmoroids flare up you wll know why ..........

.... i am sure he is merciful and will forgive me for invoking his wrath on you ........ but then again nothing might happen to you .... he might have bigger fish to fry - like plunging a school bus off a cliff or a famine in ethiopia or another earhquake to punish those dastardly turks and hindoos ........

Looks like ``Barrister Amir`` is not (got a) brief . . .

Barister sahib,

can you enlighten us on the following?

Is khalifah a divinely appointed entity/institution?

if khalifah is not divinely appointed then khilafa is a political entity/institution... right?

how do we elect our khalifah? ... through an adult franchise voting system? or is he elected/selected by a group of eminent Muslims/Momins for the rest of ummah through the process of ijmaah?

what Muslim ``sect`` should he belong to?
are shias allowed to vote for him?
if not, then would shias be declared non-Muslims under a khilafa?

would khalifah be a religious authority? would he interpret fiqah and shariah for us? If so, what happens to those who belong to a different fiqah than the khalifa? or would khalifa abolish all existing fiqahs?

Please elaborate on your vision of the institution of khilafa keeping in mind the realities of the times we live in.

Thanks!

I received the following from a friend, who is managing a mailing list. She has been actively involved in the relief work and has been forwarding information to various groups. Hope the following provides some info.
------
Questions have been raised whether, apart from financial contributions, it`s possible for Indian-Americans to make donations in kind, such as
clothes, for the relief of our suffering brethren in Gujarat.

From past experience, it`s learnt that clothes and similar items are difficult to transport. Moreover, at this point the things in kind that are urgently needed are:

1) Tents & Sleeping bags
2) Medicines - U/V Fluids, Antibiotics, Pain Killers, Antacid, Anti-Bacterial medicine, Asthma medicine, Bandages, Syringes; Oral Dehydration Kits, Dysentery/Diarrhea prevention medicine; Plaster; First-aid kits; Water Purifiers;
Orthopedic medical equipments.

AIR-INDIA COORDINATION
Air India will lift relief material from various parts of the world on a priority basis at free of charge for the Gujarat quake victims. The relief
material would be accorded priority keeping in view the urgency of its requirement for the victims.

In the United States, the Air-India flies from Chicago and New York. The Consulate General in Chicago & New York will coordinate between Air-India and the donors. Authorization from the Consulate would be necessary for free transportation by Air India to Ahmedabad.

CHICAGO
Mr. Ashok Das
Head of Chancery
Consulate General of India, Chicago
455 N. Cityfront Plaza Drive, Suite 850
Chicago, IL 60611
Tel: (312) 595-0414
Fax: (312) 595-0417

NEW YORK
Mr. Azad Toor
Consulate General of India, New York
3 East, 64th Street
New York, NY 10021
Tel: (212) 774-0625
Fax: (212)734-1595
Email: indcprny@aol.com

For people who have collected items such as clothes who still wish to try to get them to Gujarat, I am told, their best bet is to get in touch directly with some of the airlines which fly the India route, such as Singapore
Airlines, Thai Airways, Asiana Airlines, Virgin Atlantic etc. Some of these airlines have in the past, it seems, carried such items free of cost in
similar situations. Hopefully, they may do so again. It may be worth trying.Meanwhile, Indian-Americans will be happy to know that yesterday, the U.S. Congress passed a concurrent resolution praising the courage of the Indian people and pledging support to their efforts in rebuild in their cities and their lives.

The resolution expressed support for:
a) continuing and substantially increasing the amount of disaster assistance being provided by the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) and other relief agencies; and
b) providing future economic assistance in order to help rebuild Gujarat.

It also urged President Bush to back economic assistance efforts by international financial institutions.

Best wishes!

Ram Narayanan
On-Line Resource for Indian-Americans
http://www.indiatogether.org/us/lobby.htm

Barrister Amir #15 You dare to take a human tragedy in India and in Turkey, and claim that you understand God`s purpose behind these tragedies? You once again are in violation of the Quran, you fool. Once again, I remind you to repent your evil ways while there is still time. Have some fear of the Judgement Day, and of the eternal life in Hell that the Quran says is reserved for all those who do not obey.

RE #15

What a crock of BS

Do they not see that they are tried every year, once or twice? Yet they turn not in repentance, and they take no heed`` [Tawbah:126]



Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim

On the night of the 17th of August, 1999 at 3:02 after midnight, the earthquake (measuring 7.4) struck violently in the Marmara region in Northwest Turkey. The quake`s epicentre was in Golcuk, the site of the naval and armed forces bases (these bases have played an important role in what is called the `period of the 28th of February` i.e. the place from which Islam is fought).

``Those before them indeed plotted, but Allah struck at the foundations of their building, and then the roof fell down upon them, from above them, and the torment overtook them from directions they did not perceive`` [al-Nahl:26]

``Do then those who devise evil plots feel secure that Allah will not sink them into the earth, or that the torment will not seize them from directions they perceive not? Or that He may catch them in the midst of their going to and fro, so that there be no escape for them (from Allah`s Punishment) Or that He may catch them with a gradual wasting (of their wealth and health)`` [al-Nahl:45-47]

This is to strike fear and remind the people so that they take heed and fear Allah. Allah (swt) sends it according to the laws of the universe with which Allah has organised the motion of the universe.

In this earthquake approximately 40,000 people died and a similar number were injured. Tens of thousands of houses were destroyed and many industrial complexes (such as that in Tibrash) were terribly damaged. Many roads were also damaged. This earthquake inflicted damage on the whole of Turkey, billions of dollars have gone to dust and the state is planning to impose taxes on the people ...!!

Indeed, if the people do not take a lesson from the earthquake that took place in Turkey and return to their Lord, then their hearts have been seized by sins and evil deeds. Especially, the people in power and authority who, since 1924, have been publicly declaring their open Kufr and committing Munkar. The situation has gone from bad to worse:

1. On the 3rd of March, 1924 the Khilafah was destroyed, the foundation for applying the Shari`ah. Through its abolition Islam was removed from the battlefield of life and the Jahili system became dominant. The birth of the republic was announced and Shirk against Allah was committed. They rejected and attacked the Khilafah and still (to this day) continue to attack it. For society`s part it did not defend the Khilafah and nor did it adopt it. It even joined the enemies of Islam in their (evil) deed and the republic came to be considered a good thing.

2. After this, secularism was adopted and Islam was in actuality removed from life. They declared a comprehensive war on Islam, the basis of which was secularism, considering the application of Allah`s rules and the adoption of Islam as a basis of the social and political life to be of the greatest sins. They disbelieved in the Law (Shari`ah) of Allah under the name of secularism and the society took the stance of an onlooker until, at times, it even defended secularism.

3. They forced the Azan to be given in the Turkish language and for worships to be performed in Turkish and forged other such lies. With these lies they wanted to distance the people from their deen. Also they wanted to introduce `Turkish Islam` or `Islamic Turkism` so as to distance the people from what they called `the Islam of the Arabs`. They forbade the Azan to be given in Arabic (in the beginning) and they prohibited the learning and teaching of the Qur`an. Even today, the learning of the Qur`an and its teaching is banned for those under the age of 12. All of this takes place, and the society stands as a bystander as if nothing had happened.

4. They forbade the lawful Hijab of women. Up to the present moment, most women, female students and employees are banned from wearing the legally prescribed dress. Many women wearing Hijab have been compelled by force to take off their Hijab and the society does not show any reaction. As if that has no effect on its emotions. The reactions came only within the framework of human rights and the freedoms and other such un-Islamic sayings.

5. The usury that Allah forbade is still openly used in bank transactions, as if they are declaring war on Allah and His Messenger. Allah (swt) said:

``O you who believe! Fear Allah and give up what remains (due to you) from riba (usury) (from now onward), if you are really believers. And if you do not do it, then take a notice of war from Allah and His Messenger`` [al-Baqara:278-279]

The society does not budge an inch until even some government Shaykhs gave Fatwa permitting it.

6. At a time when schools for the memorisation and teaching of the Qur`an have been closed down, places such as clubs, casinos and brothels still operate publicly day and night. The state even, at times, does not hesitate in rewarding them with badges and medals. The society does not move in the slightest, adopting the stance of an onlooker. Thus in Turkey, the consumption of alcohol increases, in this she is at the forefront amongst the countries of the world. Indecency and fornication spreads and the people`s morals are corrupted.

7. At a time when the state bans people from saying the truth and fact, it allows the publication of books by apostates such as, Salman Rushdie, Aziz Naseen and others, under the slogan of freedom of thought and expression. The society remains apathetic adopting the position of a spectator.

8. In all transactions the orders and prohibitions of Allah are not heeded. All treaties and contracts are concluded on an invalid basis. The haram continues to spread, there is hardly a belly into which a morsel of haram has not entered.

9. Since the period of 28th February and until today the state has incessantly taken decisions under the slogan of what is called fighting against backwardness. They declared a comprehensive war against Islam and the Muslims. This war still continues in all its guises. On the other hand, the society does not support the truth, even to the point of not defending those who do speak the word of truth.

These, in short, are the actions which are undertaken by a handful of the Jews of Dunma (the hidden state) who are in charge of the affairs of this country and afflicting it with a horrible torment. We have noticed the reactions shown by sections of society in terms of the leaders, organisations, wealthy, Ulama and writers that they are not what should be, and that they have not stood in the face of oppression and Munkar as they ought to have done.

The potentials today are plentiful and many, the society has the ability to show its reaction on the level demanded of it in the face of the oppressive group. However, this has not happened. The people are silent, they do not say the truth. They have displayed humiliating and disgraceful attitudes. Thus, this reminder has come to them from Allah (swt):

``And if the people of the towns had believed and feared Allah, certainly, We would have opened for them blessings from the heaven and the earth, but they belied (the Messengers). So we took them (with punishment) for what they used to earn.`` [al-A`raf:96]

And He (swt) says:

``And fear the Fitna (affliction, trial) which affects not in particular (only) those of you who do wrong, and know that Allah is Severe in punishment`` [al-Anfal:25]

Abu Dawud has narrated on the authority of Qays b. Abi Hazm: ``That Abu Bakr (r.a.) after he had glorified and praised Allah (swt) he said: O people! You read this ayah but you do not understand it: ``O you who believe! Guard your own souls: If you follow the right guidance none can hurt you from those who have gone astray`` [al-Maida:105] I heard the Messenger of Allah say: ``The people when they see the tyrant and do not restrain his hands, Allah will be about to punish them all``. And I heard the Messenger of Allah say: ``Any people amongst whom sins are committed, and they could change them but they did not (change), Allah will be about to bring a punishment which engulfs all.`` [Abu Dawud: Book of Battles/3775]

And the Messenger of Allah said: ``By the One in Whose Hands my soul rests, you must enjoin the good and forbid the evil or Allah will be about to send upon you a punishment. Then you will make du`a to Him and He will not answer you`` [Ahmad b. Hanbal:22212]

The Messenger said: ``The example of the person abiding by Allah`s order and restrictions in comparison to those who violate them is like the example of those persons who drew lots for their seats in a boat. Some of them get seats in the upper deck, and the others in the lower. When the latter needed water, they had to go up to bring water (and that troubled the others), so they said, `Let us make a hole in our share of the ship (and get water) saving those who are above us from troubling them`. So, if the people in the upper deck left the others to do what they had suggested, all the people of the ship would be destroyed, but if they prevented them, both parties would be safe`` [Bukhari: Book of Partnership/3775]

* O leaders and politicians!: Take heed of what has befallen you, fear Allah and leave your transgression and oppression. And be servants of Allah so that you may gain success. If you do not take heed then perish in your rage. And know that you and your Kufr system will be in the lowest depths of the hellfire. And your end will come at the hands of the Muslims in the immediate future. In shaa Allah.

* O officers and people of responsibility in the army!: Fear Allah and be His servants and not the servants of the republic. Be a guard over the Aqeeda, the source of your power and dignity. Do not be the agents of Shaytan but the army of Allah. Do not be a puppet in the hand of a handful of the Jews of the Dunma but defenders of the Ummah. Know that martyrdom can never be attained except by fighting jihad in the path of Allah to raise the word of truth. Do not shed your blood in vain in the path of Shaytan. Strike on the hands of the Jews of Dunma in the army. Know that if you go with Shaytan your fate will be one of utter loss in the Hereafter.

* O Ulama and Imams!: Fear Allah and do not hide the truth while you know the truth. Or else you deserve the curse of Allah, His Messenger and His angels. Be good Imams to the Ummah and let not your knowledge and establishment of the prayer be a means for earning a living. Do not sell the Ayaat of Allah for a filthy price. Know that the torment of Jahannam is severe and that Power belongs to Allah and not to the republic. Speak the truth and be firm. Do not clothe truth with falsehood. And do not utter what the state has written for you in terms of the Khutbah`s that are filled with Kufr and falsehood from the Minbar on the day of Juma`a. Do not call to falsehood but work for the establishment of Islam, you will attain success in the Dunya and Akhira.

* O leaders of groups!: Fear Allah! Be an example of Taqwa and not disobedience. And instil in the hearts of people the vitality and courage of Iman, not cowardice or fear. Put an end to your obstinacy and do not slacken in applying what Allah has obliged on the Muslims. Work sincerely to establish the Khilafah state, to establish the sovereignty (Hakimiyya) of the deen of Allah and carry the Message of Islam as a guidance to the world. Be among the believers and do not stand as an obstacle between your groups and those believers who are working to establish the rule of Allah on earth by establishing the Khilafah.

* O writers and publishers!: Fear Allah! Let your books be for the truth and do not mix the truth with the falsehood in your books. Do not publish or propagate what the Orientalists and the enemies of the Ummah carry in terms of poisons and diseases.

* O wealthy people of the Ummah and landowners!: Fear Allah and know that whatever you possess will run out and whatever Allah owns will last forever. Defend your deen more than you defend your property. Spend your money in the path of Allah and work, using your wealth, to establish the righteous Khilafah state in order to carry the guidance and light of Islam to the whole world. Fear the Day when no wealth or sons will be of benefit to you.

* O Muslims!: Fear Allah and know your enemy from your friend. And know that this republic is your enemy and the reason for the calamities and disasters that have befallen you. As long as the republic is above your heads you will not be rid of these calamities. It does not attach any importance to you. So in most government circles you see for yourself the bad treatment you face. It keeps raising the price for you. It hates your deen and beliefs and bans you from Allah`s commands, His Messenger and His Book under the slogan of backwardness. Thus, they consider Hijab to be a dress that is incompatible with the time and they prohibit it from entering government circles. The book that you believe in `the Qur`an` they have banned it from being taught to your children. Just as you have witnessed in the recent earthquake, that the Republic was not concerned about your dead or injured. Your dead were left in the courtyards until one could smell their stench. Without any value or respect given to them they were discarded in mass graves using bulldozers! Is it reasonable for a state which does not attach any importance to you while you are living that it should see you as important after you are dead ?! If that is the case, then why do you carry the burden of the Kufr state on your necks?

* O Muslims!: If you desire power, dignity and respect then work for the rule of Allah`s Shari`ah on the earth by establishing the righteous Khilafah. Otherwise your end in the Dunya will be one of dishonour and dismissal from the Mercy of Allah in the Akhira.

Answer the Da`wa carriers who call you to that which will give you life, and lead you to the path of happiness and liberation. Do not listen to those who forbid you from this and do not attach importance to those they call `Ulama` if what they wish is to forbid you from the Call to Allah. Because those people do not fear Allah but fear the state. They will make you fear imprisonment, torture, poverty and hunger. It is incumbent on you, O Muslims, that you do not fear any of these but fear Allah only.

O strange Da`wa carriers who call to Allah!: Have patience and put your trust in Allah and know that Allah is your Helper. And work until you deserve the glad tidings of Allah. And know that Allah does not break His promise. He (swt) says:

``The decision of the matter, before and after is only with Allah. And on that Day, the believers will rejoice. With the help of Allah, He helps whom He wills, and He is the All-Mighty, the Most Merciful`` [Rum:4-5]

The Messenger of Allah said: ``Verily, the deen began strange and it will return strange. So, blessed are the strangers who make good what the people after me have corrupted of my Sunnah`` [al-Tirmidhi:Book of Iman/2554] And he said: ``Then there will be a Khilafah on the way of the Prophethood`` [Ahmad b. Hanbal/The book of Kufans:17680]



12 Jumada I 1420

24/8/1999

Hizb ut-Tahrir

Wilaya of Turkey



for more details visit

http://www.khilafah.com.pk

Remember, it also took an earthquake for a good many Greeks and the Turks to realize that the other side wasn`t as made out to be.

Even though this is scary, the only thing worse in magnitude would be a nuclear attack and this is something both sides should realize.

Hopefully...

Thanks very much for this article.

``But you must not underestimate your ability as an individual to help.`` and `` Just trying to be a little more proactive than reactive.``

I like these quotes the most, its great to hear this from someone so young and I salute the interviewer, too.

Incidentally, The New York Times has been covering the earthquake and its aftermath daily in extremely painful detail. Today`s article is at
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/03/world/03QUAK.html and links can be found for the earlier ones.

The very first day, there was a photograph of a young boy 10 years old or so, trying to get his mother(who was no more) out from under the concrete which had fallen on her. I donot think anyone or anybody can ever compensate that child for the world having caved in on him. It also highlighted how frustrating is the inability to assist human being-to human being(rather than merely with cold cash). Umang is extremely courageous and compassionate in that he personlly returned to Gujarat do all he could.

I strongly believe we should take advantage of having a `300 million-strong middle class`( of which 10 million-odd are able to gather in an organized fashion at events like the Kumbh) and train ourselves to be organized and mobilized when needed most, ie in national emergencies.

We should set up a volunteer corp of ordinary citizens trained for emergencies and disasters, perhaps in major towns and cities. This corp could be like a reserve force which would respond swiftly and automatically to emergencies like the Orissa Cyclone and the Gujarat earthquake and provide organized manpower in the earliest moments after such events when the most lives can be saved. This would help supplement government/relief agencies efforts which are usually delayed by breakdown of administration at the site of the disaster, lack of preparedness and procedures and logistics.

Sadhana

Veeresh,

Thanks for the article. It is one thing to read about things in the newspapers. It is another to read about individual suffering in the way described in your write-up. I see one good possibly coming out of this: the two governments have shown they can work together quite easily, and the two leaders have started talking. Let us pray that we see this as the start of a peace and reconciliation process between India and Pakistan. That would not only be a profound memorial to the lives that have been lost, but also a blessing for hundreds of millions of poor people in the sub-continent and for coming generations as well.

Death is misery for the survivors, not for the dead.

This article was heartbreaking.