It has been announced today the Asif Ali Zardari will take of oath of office today as President of Pakistan. Does this imply that Zardari is even keener top serve the US interests than Prime Minister Gilani?  What is the truth behind the quartet summit in Damascus?

Anti-Muslim DVD Boosts McCain

The Clarion Fund supported by friends of Israel has paid dozens of newspapers across the country including The New York Times to distribute the "Islam terror" DVD "Obsession" with their home delivery packages. The documentary showcases scenes of Muslim children being encouraged to become suicide bombers, interspersed with shots of Nazi rallies. New York Times Co. spokeswoman Diane McNulty justified its support for the DVD. She said: "We believe the broad principles of freedom of the press confer on us an obligation to keep our advertising columns as open as possible..."An estimated 28 million copies have been distributed so far, also through the mails and other magazines. The supporters of Israel believe that by distributing such material undecided American voters will vote for John McCain in the US general election scheduled for this November.

Making bus dawa in Seattle

Running on the sides of several Metro buses in Seattle, the advertisements say: "Q: Islam. A: You deserve to know," with a phone number and Web site. "We feel often Muslims don't have a voice," said Aijazi, one of about six people who helped coordinate the local effort to get the ads onto the outside of six Metro buses and the inside of about 25. About 10 local Muslims contributed to the nearly $5,000 campaign. "This is just a way to present the community with a source of information about Islam that comes from Muslims themselves," he said. A 2007 poll from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life showed that 58 percent of Americans surveyed said they knew little or nothing about Islam - a figure that's changed little since 2001. And Americans' attitude toward Muslims and Islam appears to have gotten slightly more negative in recent years. The same Pew poll showed that 43 percent of those surveyed had a favorable opinion of Muslims, down from 48 percent in 2004. Muslims in the West should not cower under the banner of fear; rather they should take every opportunity to expose the fallacies of Western liberalism and present Islam as the only alternative.

Britain unveils Shariah courts

On 14/9/2008 the Sunday Times reported that Islamic law had been officially adopted in Britain, with sharia courts given powers to rule on Muslim civil cases. The government has sanctioned the powers for sharia judges to rule on cases ranging from divorce and financial disputes to those involving domestic violence. Previously, the rulings of sharia courts in Britain could not be enforced, and depended on voluntary compliance among Muslims. It has now emerged that sharia courts with these powers have been set up in London, Birmingham, Bradford and Manchester with the network's headquarters in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. Two more courts are being planned for Glasgow and Edinburgh. Politicians and church leaders expressed concerns that this could mark the beginnings of a "parallel legal system" based on sharia for some British Muslims. However, the reality is that the British government wants enforce its own version of Islam and having shariah courts at its disposal is one way of accomplishing this feat. The government has already introduced its version of the nikah contract, under which a wali amr is not a mandatory requirement. Hence, if a Muslims objected to this contract, his/her objection would be over ruled by Britain's Shariah court.

Kill Muslims for fun

An Australian-made video game that encourages players to massacre Muslim people has caused furor amongst Muslims."Muslim Massacre" is promoted as taking place after the United States "declares war" on the religion of Islam and encourages players to wipe out followers."Take control of the American hero and wipe out the Muslim race with an arsenal of the world's most destructive weapons," the "Muslim Massacre" Web site says. The targets appear as bearded men wearing normal clothes or characters in black outfits with facemasks. Later levels include suicide bombers and a "boss" opponent resembling Osama Bin Laden. So far no western government has taken any action. Had a Muslim produced a game about killing Jews for fun there would have been international outrage, condemnation and calls for boycott against those Muslim countries selling it.

Saudi clerics call for death penalty but remain silent about Saudi Arabia's systems of kufr

A senior Saudi cleric has said that purveyors of horoscopes on Arab television should be sentenced to death. "The Muslim consensus is that the apostate's punishment is death by the sword," Sheikh Saleh al-Fozan told al-Madina daily. "Those who call in these shows should not be accorded Muslim rites when they die," the prominent cleric added. Earlier Sheikh Lohaidan, another prominent cleric who is the head of Saudi Arabia's Islamic shariah courts, told Saudi radio: "I want to advise the owners of these channels that broadcast programmes with indecency and vulgarity and warn them of the consequences. They can be put to death through the judicial process." How ironic it is to find such scholars calling for stern punishments for indecency, but they remain silent at the kufr systems that pervade Saudi society.

Pakistani army unable to decide whether it wants to help or repel US forces

On 15/9/2008 the Pakistani media reported that Pakistani troops fired shots into the air to stop US troops crossing into the South Waziristan region of Pakistan. Local witness said that seven US helicopter gunships and two troop-carrying Chinook helicopters landed in the Afghan province of Paktika near the Zohba mountain range. US troops from the Chinooks then tried to cross the border. As they did so, Pakistani paramilitary soldiers at a checkpoint opened fire into the air and the US troops decided not to continue forward. Reports state that firing lasted for several hours. Local people evacuated their homes and tribesmen took up defensive positions in the mountains. However, a Pakistani military official in Islamabad confirmed there was firing but denied that Pakistani troops were involved. Later, military spokesman Athar Abbas said no incursion will be tolerated and military commanders were told to prevent any incursion into Pakistani territory. It is exactly this type of ambiguity that blights the reputation of the Pakistani army both at home and abroad. What is required is a firm response both in word and deed by the Pakistani army to dissuade the US crusaders from violating Pakistan's sovereignty.

 A special reporter of the Media Office of Hizb ut-Tahrir has recently informed us that in the past few days, a letter has been sent to the rulers of the Muslim lands - from the edges of the Pacific Ocean and Indonesia in the East, to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean and Morocco in the West.  

The reporter added that the majority of the responses to the letter from those rulers were rejection of the letter with enmity, while some rejected the message without violence.

A senior official of Hizb ut-Tahrir informed the special reporter of the Media Office of Hizb ut-Tahrir that, "the response of these rulers reminds us of the response of the tribal leaders towards the request of the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) to give him Nusrah, after calling them to Islam.  The Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) approached Bani ‘Aamir, Ghassan, Farazah, Bani Murrah, Bani Haneefa, Bani Sulaym, Bani ‘Aabs, Bani Nasr, Bani Kinda, Kalb, Bani Haarith, Bani ‘Uthrah, Bani Shaybaan and Thaqeef, all during the Messenger's (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) last years in Makkah, before his Hijrah to Madina. The response of those tribal leaders was also rejection, and some of their responses were violent and bloody, leaving the Messenger (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) covered in blood from the stones pelted at him and other forms of attack. But after those violent rejections, the Victory of Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) came through the Ansaar, the second Bay'ah of Al-‘Aqaba, followed by the Hijrah and the establishment of the Islamic State, which brought about the honouring of Islam and the Muslims."

The senior official concluded his statement by saying that the Hizb - remembering the harsh response of those tribal leaders towards the request of the Messenger (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam), which was followed by the Victory of Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) - sees glad tidings in these events; that the response of the rulers will be followed by a new period of goodness.

"And also (Allah will give you) another (blessing) which you love: Help from Allah (against your enemies), and a near victory. And give glad tidings to the Believers." [Al-Saff: 13]

The full text of the letter

 Muslim MP condemns Muslims for being pre-occupied by foreign policy

UK MP Mr Sadiq Khan claimed that Muslims in Britain are pre-occupied by foreign policy and not concerned enough about day-to-day political issues. "Muslims need to recognise childcare is as important as Kashmir ," he said.   He said there was no question that people coming to live in Britain should learn English and he criticised "liberal anxiety" about the issue. "The requirement to learn English is not colonial. English is a passport to participation in mainstream society - jobs, education and even being able to use health services," he said.  Rather than stand up for the Muslim community, Mr. Khan has turned on them and cannot wait to see his fellow Muslims secularised and de-politicised.

 A new US report calls for greater engagement with the Muslim World

After 18 months spent examining the deteriorating relations between the United States and the Muslim world during the Bush administration, a diverse group of American leaders release a report entitled "Changing Course: A New Direction for U.S. Relations with the Muslim World,". The report calls for an overhaul of American strategy to reverse the spread of terrorism and extremism. It recommends more diplomatic engagement, even with Iran and other adversaries, and a major investment in economic development in Muslim countries to create jobs for alienated youth. It calls on the next president to use his Inaugural Address to signal a shift in approach, to immediately renounce the use of torture, and to appoint a special envoy within the first three months to jump-start negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. The report was produced by 34 leaders drawn from religious, business, military, foreign policy, academic, foundation and non- profit circles. The group included Democrats like Madeleine K. Albright, who was secretary of state under President Bill Clinton, and two former Republican congressmen, Vin Weber and Steve Bartlett.

 Islam on the rise in Germany

Some 90 percent of Muslims in Germany are religious of which 41 percent are very religious, according to a special case study released by the Bertelsmann Foundation on Monday 22^nd of September. There are 3.5 million Muslims living in Germany of which 2.5 million are Turks. Most of Muslims reside in what used to be traditional blue-collar cities like Cologne , Duisburg , Essen , Berlin , Frankfurt and Mannheim .

Islam has also become one of the fastest growing religions in Germany , as some 4,000 Germans converted to Islam between July 2004 and June 2005 which is four times as many as in the prior space of time. Some 14,352 out of 3.5 million Muslims in the country are of German-origin, according to figures released by the Islam-Archive Central Institute.

US Missiles reign on Pakistanis; its leaders admire Palin's beauty

On 25/9/2008 during the UN meeting   Pakistan 's information minister Sherry Rehman, greeted Palin as she entered and said. ''And how does one keep looking that good when one is that busy?'' ''Oh, thank you,'' Palin, McCain's Vice Presidential nominee said. When Zardari walked in, he he told Palin that she was ''even more gorgeous'' than he had expected. ''You are so nice. Thank you,'' Palin responded, seeming to change the subject, but Zardari continued. ''Now I know why the whole of America is crazy about you.''

Indian panel absolves BJP of the Gujarat massacres in India

On 25/9/2008 a controversial panel probing one of India 's worst spates of communal attacks in the western state of Gujarat in 2002 submitted its report absolving the Hindu nationalist government that was believed to be behind the slaughter of innocent Muslims. The report, which was tabled in the Gujarat state assembly, also gave a absolved the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who is from the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying there was no evidence to incriminate him or any member of his cabinet. The Supreme Court of India had earlier indicted Modi in an unprecedented manner calling him a "Modern day Nero" for failing to protect the lives of Muslims. It is widely believed that the 2002 violence was organised and carried out by Hindu nationalist groups.