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London Blasts
salaampeaceshalom
07/07/05 at 06:44:59
[slm] Is everyone ok?  :o Alhumdulilah we're fine, just still trying to get through to some people  :(. I'm quite scared...especially cos I think most ppl are going to think Muslims are responsible for this, despite what evidence may emerge later...can everyone please make du'aa for all the brothers and sisters in case people start retaliating?  BarakAllaahu feekum.   Wa'salaam
07/07/05 at 06:48:39
salaampeaceshalom

re
Fozia
07/07/05 at 06:47:31
[slm] All well here alhumdulillah. All friends and family accounted for too. Blasts happened on every single stop on my work journey.... I had the day off today..... Hope everyone on the board are well. Love & Duaas
07/07/05 at 06:51:00
Fozia

Re: London Blasts
Nadeem
07/07/05 at 07:59:05
[slm] Alhamdulillah, I'm ok.  Just been ringing round trying to make sure everyone's alright. It's definitely shocking.  Perhaps not so suprising as everyone seems to have been anticipating an attack on London for some time now.  But its still a shock. Right now, I think there is a lot of confusion.  According to the TV there were 7 bombs that have gone off, although police have cordoned off most of the roads, and are not allowing anyone to leave. Well, technically they're saying "we advise everyone to remain where they are" which in British speak means "Nobody move". The blast on the bus, in Russell Square.  I was just there yesterday.  All the stations that got hit.  I use them regularly.  Feels kind of weird. Within minutes of it happening the "experts" on TV where pointing the finger at al-Qaeda.   One major channel had a British terrorism expert saying that "This is what the Israelis have to deal with on a daily basis, the twisted mind of the terrorist".   Not sure how helpful that comment is with the current situation. Anyway, its all a bit mad at the moment. Update later. Fe aman Allah, to you all, especially to fellow Londoners. [wlm]

update, 1:45 pm GMT
timbuktu
07/07/05 at 08:23:57
[slm] 1st of all, glad you three OK. We pray for all. May Allah (swt) protect all. aameen http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,12780,1523169,00.html A series of explosions ripped through London's transport system today as suspected terrorist attacks on tube trains and a bus plunged the capital into chaos. At least two people are known to have been killed, and hundreds of wounded are being treated in London hospitals. Officials shut down the whole of the London Underground system and the Docklands Light Railway, and also cancelled all central London bus services as they tried to comprehend the scale of the disaster. The prime minister, Tony Blair, said it was "reasonably clear" that the blasts were the work of terrorists, and added that it was "particularly barbaric" that attacks had been timed to coincide with the start of the G8 summit. He said he would leave Gleneagles, in Scotland, to return to London. With the leaders of the G8 nations lined up behind him, Mr Blair said: "We condemn utterly these barbaric attacks. "All of our countries have suffered from terrorism ...we are united in our resolve to confront and defeat this terrorism that is not an attack on one nation but on all nations and on civilised society everywhere," he said. He insisted the G8 leaders would continue their discussions and would not allow the terrorists to halt a summit aimed at helping the world's poorest people. The home secretary, Charles Clarke, confirmed that there had been four blasts: one on a tube train between Aldgate and Liverpool Street, one on a train between Russell Square and King's Cross, one on a train at Edgware Road station, and the last on a bus at Tavistock Square. He told the Commons in an emergency statement: "The situation is developing, and I am not yet in a position to give a conclusive account of all that has happened." Earlier, the Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Ian Blair, reported seven explosions. "We are concerned that this is a coordinated attack," Sir Ian said. The only attack visible to the general public was that on the double-decker bus. A bomb ripped the bus apart at Tavistock Square, near Russell Square, leaving its seats exposed and the roof blown away. Union officials said they had received reports of two more bus explosions, but police did not confirm those reports. Coordinated attacks across London The police and government did not say who had carried out the attacks. However, BBC Monitoring said it had found a website carrying a brief statement in which an al-Qaida-related organisation claimed responsibility for today's blasts. Police said two people had been killed in the explosion at Aldgate, and an unknown number had died at Edgware Road. A policeman at the scene of the bus explosion at Tavistock Square said people had been killed there, and the ambulance service spoke of "a number" of fatalities. Sir Ian said there had been many casualties, but would not give estimates of the numbers of people involved. He said the most seriously injured were currently being operated on. Both Sir Ian and Mr Clarke urged people to stay at home until further notice, telling them not go into central London. People currently working in the centre of the capital are being advised to stay where they are. "We are gradually bringing order to the city. Just stay where you are for the time being until the situation clears," he said. Hospitals deal with horrific injuries Julian Nettle, of St Mary's hospital, said the hospital was dealing with four people with critical injuries, including the loss of limbs, and eight people with serious injuries including head wounds. He said a further 14 people were being treated for more minor injuries including temporary hearing loss, which he said appeared to have been caused by involvement in an explosion. The Royal London hospital said it had treated 95 people, including seven with critical injuries. Laura Matthews, a press officer at Universities UK, which has offices in Tavistock Square, said she had seen bodies lying around the bus explosion, some of them without arms or legs. "Get people down here quickly," she sobbed. She thought a bomb had gone off and was trying to evacuate her office. "We believe there have been a number of fatalities and a number of people who are seriously injured," a policeman at the scene said. Union officials said sources had told them there had been at least one explosive device on the Underground. British Transport police initially said power surges had caused explosions across the network. The blasts began just before 9am, as commuters made their way to work. Emergency services attended to wounded passengers outside Aldgate station, and there were reports of passengers covered in soot emerging from King's Cross. Commuters came out of tunnels covered in blood. A passenger on the train that exploded at Edgware Road said he had seen several bodies in the wreckage, the Press Association reported. A Scotland Yard source said the force would be setting up a casualty bureau with a telephone number for people to call if they were worried about loved ones. Downing Street emergencies committee meets Mr Clarke said the public would be kept updated on the situation. He confirmed there had been "terrible injuries" in the explosions across the capital. Speaking outside 10 Downing Street soon after the blasts, he said the Cobra civil emergencies committee of senior ministers had met. The police had taken "operational command" of the situation, he added. "Health services are in support to deal with the terrible injuries that there have been, and I want to express sympathy on behalf of the whole government," he said. 'There were loads of people screaming' Eyewitness Belinda Seabrook said she saw the explosion rip though the double-decker bus as it approached Tavistock Square, between Euston and Russell Square stations. "I was on the bus in front and heard an incredible bang. I turned round and half the double-decker bus was in the air," she said. Simon Corvett, 26, from Oxford, was on the eastbound train leaving Edgware Road tube station when an explosion happened. "All of sudden there was this huge bang. It was absolutely deafening and all the windows shattered. The glass did not actually fall out of the windows, it just cracked. The train came to a grinding halt and everyone fell off their seats," he said. Mr Corvett, who works in public relations, said the commuter train was absolutely packed. "There were just loads of people screaming and the carriages filled with smoke. "You couldn't really breathe and you couldn't see what was happening. The driver came on the Tannoy and said 'We have got a problem, don't panic'," he said. Mr Corvett, whose face was covered in soot, joined other passengers to force open the train doors with a fire extinguisher. He said the carriage on the other track was destroyed. "You could see the carriage opposite was completely gutted. There were some people in real trouble." Eyewitnesses reported "multiple casualties" at Liverpool Street. A spokesman for the Airport Express Alliance, which operates the Heathrow Express, Gatwick Express and Stansted Express train services said: "They are operating on injured people on the concourse at Liverpool Street station." One witness who had been in a train at the time of the explosions reported seeing "bodies everywhere" in the carriages and limbs lying on the floor. Emergency services reported several injuries. The shutdown of the London Underground system is thought to be unprecedented. Public told to avoid London The public were warned to stay clear of London for non-essential journeys. A Network Rail spokesman said southbound services into the capital were terminating at Watford, with no onward bus transfers. "Some trains are being cancelled and others are getting as far as Watford," he said. "The message we are trying to get across to passengers is don't travel if you don't have to." Mr Clarke said the Tube network would remain closed for some time, and certainly for the rest of the day. News of the explosions caused the FTSE 100 index of leading shares to plunge by more than 200 points. __________________ I think this is not what the Israelis have to deal with on a daily basis. This is what the Iraqis have had to deal with from the US and UK airplanes for many, many years. Not that this justifies bombing civilians.
07/07/05 at 08:37:09
timbuktu

Salam
thezman
07/07/05 at 11:26:45
Bismillah    [slm] Alahmadulillah you guys are alright, may Allah {swt} protect you and may he ease the pain of the families who lost loved ones. Fi Amanillah Ziad.

wlm
jannah
07/07/05 at 13:38:41
wlm, inna lillah wa inna ilaihi rajeoon... i just don't know why anyone would do this... there is no political message, there is no one that claims responsibility, everyone blames al-qaida and muslims and things just become worse for us :( i'm glad you guys are ok.. may Allah protect us all...

A truly sad day
Caraj
07/07/05 at 14:03:47
This is so sad and such an awful thing. I fear it will turn the world more so against all Muslims. Do these people who do such deeds have a clue what they are doing to Islam? To their fellow brothers and sisters? Jannah the news here is reporting someone claimed responsability some secret sociey of Al Quida in Europe. ::) Are you hearing something different? I hear 40 killed and 700 wounded Has anyone heard from Bro Hanif? He lives in the UK but I can't remember where in the UK. I am so happy to hear the sisters and brother who posted from there are ok. How weird that it is a path you all take and were off today. And what a blessing. My eyes are teary thinking it could of been one of you who were killed or hurt. This is so sad. Does anyone else know who on our board if in London?
07/07/05 at 14:06:11
Caraj

london
Orange_Tree
07/07/05 at 14:08:42
[slm] i went with my school on a trip to London today to visit the museums.  we didn't get far as we had set off late and found out the news on the way there.  Alhamdulillah for our lateness.  if we had arrived on time, we would have been in the middle of absolute chaos and maybe worse.  back at school, the phones were ringing non-stop from anxious parents.  Alhamdulillah, Allah had a different plan for us today.   The scale of the news is starting to hit me now.  :(

london bombs
Saffiya
07/07/05 at 16:14:05
[slm] Couldn't help thinking..this is what my muslim brothers and sisters in Iraq and Afghanistan face every day, yet no one cares to say a word... The faces of the wounded...I recall I had seen similar images of children in Iraq being injured by bomb attacks. All I can think about is my muslim brothers and sisters. I think people over here are quite upset with Tony Blair, I heard people saying...whats he going to do now...go and invade another country?? Hope everyone is ok ... [slm]

london bombs
Saffiya
07/07/05 at 16:41:57
[slm] Concerns are that Muslims are going to be arrested left, right and centre - just like hundreds were arrested in America following 9/11. I think there have already been reports of muslim women being harrassed, one report suggest that the scarf of a muslim woman was removed??   A lot of confusion- although Al Qaeda in Europe have claimed responsibility for the attacks. The numbers of dead seem to be increasing from 2 to 37 now, although I suspect there are much more than that. I mean, did you see the picture of that bus? If that bus was packed (as is usually the case) there must have been a lot of casualties and even deaths. Allah SWT knows. I think the government are deliberatly witholding this info. from the public to avoid them going mad! Blair has said there are going to be 'intensive investigations'. I presume every Muslim will be a suspect! Things are going to get bad for Muslims in UK - I can feel it. [wlm]

Bizarre
BrKhalid
07/07/05 at 18:09:35
Asalaamu Alaikum ;-) [quote]All the stations that got hit.  I use them regularly.  Feels kind of weird[/quote] It is very strange when you see pictures of carnage of places you travel through regularly. I was in late today so was evacuated from the Tube after the initial bombs went off. [quote]Things are going to get bad for Muslims in UK - I can feel it.[/quote] Allah knows best how these events are going to pan out going forward but what it should do for us in the UK and London, in particular, is to bring us closer to our Lord and remind us how one day you can be travelling to work in the morning and not return in the evening. [quote]Has anyone heard from Bro Hanif? He lives in the UK but I can't remember   where in the UK.[/quote] Bro Hanif lives in north England so inshaAllah should be okay.

I've just heard...
Trustworthy
07/07/05 at 20:01:52
[slm] wrmtwbt... al-hamdulillah that you three are good.  insha Allah more will be.  when I first read this, my first thought was "her we go again.  Allah (SWT) please make our ummah strong and safegaurd us from evil. ameen."  I got teary eyed cause I felt my heart just dropped thinking about what you guys will have to go through now like what we went through here.  insha-Allah we will all past this test and all will be safe. as far as i know, it was not confirmed to al-quida, the attack just looked like one.  kind of like an imitation of them (forgot the criminal term to it).  but we all know how that goes. keep us informed of your well being, insha-Allah. Allah (SWT) bless.... Ma-assalaamah.....

update
Trustworthy
07/07/05 at 20:07:29
[slm].... Copycat that's what it's called.  There al-quida source they got was from an Islamic website blaming the attacks due to the British army in Iraq and Afghanistan.  So it has not yet been confirmed.  So the US has now gone from orange to red alert as well.   [wlm]
07/07/05 at 20:29:02
Trustworthy

Sad Day...
ummnajmah
07/08/05 at 05:32:15
[slm]It's a sad day for muslims  :(, whether  it was muslims or not who carried this attack, the whole Muslim Ummah will be feeling the repurcussions. It has been hard for muslims in the US especially after the incident here, I fear that it will be the same for our bros and sisters in the UK. May Allah(SWT) protect us from such repurcussions. My heart goes out to the poor innocent people who were hurt or killed by these acts. I hope all the bro/sisters in UK are fine, and please tread with caution, it will be hard on you to venture out.It will just not be the same for you anymore, we know, we go through that each day we are out and about our business.

re
Fozia
07/08/05 at 08:43:52
[slm] After the initial shock (and head count, as I said all friends (muslim and non-muslim) accoujted for alhumdulillah). We had a serious panic when my new assistant didn't turn up luckily she's fine. I am feeling seriously irritated, just when I started feeling less of a beacon in my abaya..... My husband has forbidden me to step out the house in a jilbab or abaya. He reckons (and he's probably correct) that I'll probably draw unwelcome attention to myself...... The hijaab obviously stays no discussion there. So how'd the sisters on the board handle the 9/11 aftermath?? I am going to have to take that route Monday morning and I'm feeling really uneasy, not about a repeat perfomance but more about how the other commuters are going to treat me..... Am seriously hoping the British attitude will come to the fore and nobody looks in my direction. My husband is being chivalrous ::) and doing overtime to help out, as a few of his workmates relatives got hurt. The BBC are currently saying 50 dead and 700 seriously injured. I doubt the count as well as the bus was ripped to pieces and had been packed as the people turned away from Russel St Station were all on it. Did anybody else feel like giving Bush a black eye when he anounced 'the war on terror continues' (or something equally inane)?? Wassalaam

Re: London Blasts
Nadeem
07/08/05 at 09:10:14
[slm] Jazakallah for all the dua's everyone. Alhamdulillah, everyone I have been in contact with so far, has been ok.   I just returned from Juma prayers.  There were police around the mosque.  Not sure if its to monitor what people are doing, or to protect the worshippers from the backlash attacks which are expected.  I'm hopin its the latter. The khutbah was good, trying to instill hope and steadfastness, I think.  The Imam talked about sabr in these times.  He also mentioned that in the UK, and especially London, we as Muslims have accomplished many victories (maybe insignificant to some, but accomplishments just the same) such as the fact that our sisters can walk around with niqab without being abused (on the whole).  This may seem like a basic right, but if you go across Europe you will see that in places like France, our sisters don't have this freedom.  Come to think of it, Turkey, a supposedly "Muslim" country, bans the wearing of headscarves in all government buildings and universities. Anyway, I digress. I'm just reading the Evening Standard (London newspaper) whose page 1 Headline simply says "Missing" and has the pictures of three people who are... well... missing. Their families must be frantic with worry. Fozia, I think you are a courageous sister.  I applaud and admire your resolve to keep your hijab. Yes, we could start shaving off our beards, and taking off our hijabs, in order to keep a low profile.  But then in a sense, this would be defeatist.  There's also the danger it would also give a message of saying, "yeah we know Muslims are bad, we're trying to disassociate from them".  That would be far from anyone's intentions, but this is how it may come across. Also let's remind ourselves why people wear hijab or sport a beard.  Although it gives a distinct identity to the Muslim, this is not why we do it.  The beard or hijab is essentially an act of worship.  So, unless it gets real tough, we can try to keep on as normal. As for going around, and your journey to work on Monday... I'm getting calls from several friends who've just gone straight back to work.   My own brother called me to say that he was in such-and-such a place, and I said "How did you get there?" and he said "The Tube".   And then he said something which made me smile: "If you're planting the tree, you gotta keep planting right?" :) Stay strong, inshallah. [wlm]

Re: London Blasts
gift
07/08/05 at 09:24:33
[slm] We are all fine alhamdulillah - a few hours of panic, trying to get through to family and friends to make sure they were okay.   It was bad at work yesterday, we had 1 person who saw the bus explode, and 2 people who narrowly missed the tube explosion.  We spent several hours ringing around trying to make sure everyone was accounted for. I'm glad the rest of you guys are okay. [wlm]

alhemdulilah
amatullah
07/08/05 at 10:09:42
[slm] Alhemdulilah you guys are ok. What really i noticed is the difference between americans and british. yes they are saying it's tragic but no one is screaming why us and revenge. Personally I don't believe it's Muslims. It doesnt' do anything to benefit any of us nor does it make any points. On the other hand Bush gets more support for what he is doing. Bush had a chance to show real sympathy, but instead, he did a very inappropriate response to the circumstand: "The war on terror goes on." He is already using this tragedy to justify a war in a country where Al Qaeda *didn't even exist* until after he invaded. I think we have to be careful and not be naive and believe all the media says. There is no way to confirm who did this. Anybody can put a site and call it Islamic or whatever. Also, Muslims are courages and brave men. They fight in a "dar harb" in a country where there is war I can see why some so called "civilian" non natives of the country would be hurt coz after all we are far removed and do not know what it is that anybody really is doing there in the middle of war. But this...it just isn't a Muslim to do that. There is no room even to say maybe there is confusion. As an ummah we need to come closer to Allah or our trials are not going to get any easier. At least when we each as individual person doing what is right, inshaAllah we will rest in a certain peace that whatever is happening is for our benefit and not result of our wrongdoings. Anyway, I got this in mail I am guessing writen by an american not sure Muslim or no: If we as a country should repudiate and renounce acts of terrorism, then perhaps we should address some of our moral blind spots too. While civilian terrorist attacks are widely despised, it's worth noting that the terrorists, by attacking civilian targets inside London, attacked targets which were arguably far more valid than many of the civilian targets which are routinely attacked inside Iraq. By bombing London, they attacked targets that were as valid in many ways as those destroyed during Sherman's March to the Sea, the bombing (and subsequent firestorms) of Hamburg, Dresden, and Tokyo, the atomic blasts at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the B-52 carpet bombing of cities in North Vietnam, and arguably about as valid as many of the civilian targets in Iraq which the coalition have attacked at times. Approximately 130,000 Iraqi civilians have died as a result of the war so far, with the majority of the deaths credited to Coalition attacks. Prior to the war, another million or so Iraqis died as a result of sanctions -- sanctions which the U.S. kept racheting up, despite the reported civilian deaths, the increasing poverty and hunger, the inability of Iraqi hospitals to obtain needed medical supplies, and the inability of their country to obtain goods needed to supply their people with fresh drinking water. It was a sanctions program so ruinous that the head of the UN program stepped down in protest of the humanitarian disaster. The attacks on London were horrible, awful, inhumane, and unacceptable, but... The Iraqis lose over five times as many people per capita to the war every day. Imagine over a thousand such attacks and you start to get the full picture.

Stay strong.....
Trustworthy
07/08/05 at 14:12:13
[slm]... This could be as bad as Oklahoma or as bad as 9/11.  No matter what, we are already branded and our STUPID gov't isn't helping much.  Bush-sh*t.  But Allah (SWT) tests us not to see if we would fail but to make us more responsible as Muslims and as an Ummah.  Insha-Allah we will all pass this test. Al-hamdulillah you all are staying strong.  Post 9/11 I just went about my day, but we had non-Muslim supporters too.  The police Bro was there for us for our protection because they knew we had racism in our area and this would be justification for them to re-start their terror attacks upon us.  So insha-Allah they're their to protect you. I will not post anything from 9/11.  So as to dress wear, stay strong Sisters.  We are still Muslimahs and PROUD.  We did nothing wrong.  However, some people might not see it our way so my advice is to stay strong and be especially cautious.  Always have a Brother with you where ever you go.  Stay safe and know that we are all supporting you especially Allah (SWT). Insha-Allah we will prevail. My condolences goes to the victims and families of this notrocious attack.  Allah (SWT) will bring those to justice. Allah (SWT) bless..... Ma-assalaamah......

Some more perspectives
bhaloo
07/08/05 at 23:48:16
Asalaam alaikum, Alhumdullilah I'm glad to hear that you are all ok, and I pray that Allah (SWT) helps and protects the Muslims through this difficult time.  I'm going to put up some of the responses from major Islamic sources as well as perspectives of some Muslim Londoners.  There's a lot of information, feel free to read what you want. From: http://islamiblog.blogspot.com/2005/07/aafiyah-ya-allah-make-ignorance.html#comments Quote: Wayfarer said... Assalamu alaikum... To say the least, Blair has made some very irresponsible comments after these explosions. What with the usual rhetoric of an attack on our values and the way we live, etc., I just want to ask him, how can he deduce all this without even a shred of evidence as to what caused this all? Let alone WHY they did it. I have to say though, that despite the fact that what is on every non-Muslim's mind is probably the same as after 9/11, in terms of who they think actually did it (and adding to that this time it's happened at home), I feel more prepared and confident to actual leave the house! The 9/11 attacks happened a year after I moved to East London and found that it was difficult for visible Muslims to reach out and actually communicate with non-Muslims because they had over 20 or so years become so ghettoised within our own communities (be they cultural or more deeni). Insha'Allah perhaps we have learned from our mistakes, and will be able to effect a more positive contribution to this aftermath. Remember that despite the crime of the perpetrators all of this happened due to the Divine Will of Allah; perhaps it is time to ask ourselves why this happened, and perhaps learn this time to organise our da'wah more efficiently and systematically than last time. Wassalam

IHRC Press Release
bhaloo
07/08/05 at 23:49:42
[slm] IHRC Press Release: URGENT ALERT: Precautionary advice for UK Muslims 07 July 2005 There has been an increase in anti-Muslim feeling , particularly after 9/11. IHRC urges caution on the part of the Muslim community, after today's events. ------------------------------------------------------------ Islamic Human Rights Commission ------------------------------------------------------------ 7th July 2005 URGENT ALERT: Precautionary advice for UK Muslims 1. Precautionary measures for the community 2. 24 Safety Tips for Muslim Women 3. A final note from IHRC 1. PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES FOR THE COMMUNITY There has been an increase in anti-Muslim feeling across Europe, the USA and Australia, particularly after 9/11. Whilst we all pray for no such backlash after the attacks in London today, IHRC urges caution on the part of the Muslim community. Incidents have already reported to the Islamic Human Rights Commission. In light of the present situation, IHRC urges that precautionary measures be taken: • Be vigilant • Do not open suspect packages • Monitor access to car parks and other enclosures under your control. Report suspicious vehicles to the police. • Review security arrangements regularly to ensure they are adequate for any event you intend to host. • Ask your local crime prevention officer to carry out a crime prevention survey of your building. • Encourage staff to take security seriously and establish regular training for them. Ensure they are aware of contingency plans and procedures for the building. Make guidelines readily available to all staff including ‘out of doors’ house keeping staff. • Consider having a fire safety review carried out by the London Fire and Emergency planning Authority. • Consider installing CCTV. If you do have CCTV ensure it records properly & images are of good quality. • Report all harassment, whether it is verbal, physical or psychological, to the police and the Islamic Human Rights Commission (020 8904 4222, info@ihrc.org) • If a satisfactory response is not received from the police, contact the IHRC • Liaise with the police, and get advice on how to best tackle the problem of harassment. As Muslims, we must remain firm in our beliefs and have patience. We should remember that: Allah does not lay on any soul a burden except to the extent to which He has granted it; Allah brings about ease after difficulty. (65:7) If Allah assists you, then there is none that can overcome you, and if He forsakes you, who is there then that can assist you after Him? And on Allah should the believers rely. (3:160) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. 24 Safety Tips for Muslim Women By Samana Siddiqui courtesy & copyright soundvision.com http://www.soundvision.com/info/ter...sistertips2.asp As Muslims and their institutions become targets of harassment in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attack, Muslim women, especially those who dress Islamically, have become major targets. Reports of Muslim women being yelled at, threatened, having their Hijabs pulled off and having guns pointed at them have surfaced. It is necessary that the whole community rallies to defend Muslim women. But sisters also have to take personal precautions when they go outside. Like it or not, they will be targets. Here are some safety tips for sisters: 1. Always be aware of your surroundings This applies whether you are traveling alone or in groups. Don't just focus inwardly on your thoughts if you are alone, or your friends if you are together. Keep one eye out for your environment, looking out for suspicious characters, possible danger, etc. Also, don't assume that because your area has been "safe" thus far, that it will continue to be so. 2. Travel in groups "There is safety in numbers" is not just a cliché. It's true. Make a point of travelling together with other sisters, whether it's on public transportation, on campus, in cars, etc. 3. Change the route you normally travel by If you've taken the same bus, train or highway to get to work or school, change your route. Even if it takes you a little longer, your safety is more important. By changing your route, you can avert possible attacks or harassment from those who know your schedule, method and route of travel well. Please note though that you should avoid short cuts that take you through unfamiliar or unsafe areas. 4. Look confident Walk with a straight posture and your arms swinging by your sides. Avoid slouching or walking like a victim. This makes you an easy target for attackers. 5. When riding by public transportation choose the right seat If you are riding by bus or train, do not sit on the window seat as you may be "blocked in" by a potential assailant. Always select the seat next to the aisle so that you can quickly leave if necessary. If you are taking public transportation alone after peak hours, sit as close to the driver as possible and/or choose the section of the bus/train that is most crowded. Try to get a seat near the exit as well. 6. If you are driving alone Don't think that if you are in a car, you're safe. Windows should be up and doors locked even when driving to avoid unwanted passengers at intersections. When you are walking to your car, always have your keys ready, so that you can quickly get into your car. But don't just get in right away. Always check your car before entering, especially the back, for any intruders. 7. Never leave your car door unlocked Even if it means for one minute to drop something off in the mailbox that's a few feet away. Attackers have been known to lie in wait for such an opportunity. 8. Be careful in parking lots Always be alert in parking lots, especially when it's dark. Ask someone to escort you to your car. Between cars and inside cars, it's easy for someone to hide and wait until an unalert person comes along. 9. If you are travelling by taxi Always check the identification of the driver (usually located near the visor) and ensure that it matches the driver. Once inside, don't sit behind the driver as it may be easy for the driver to lock the rear passenger door. Always choose the adjacent seat . In addition, avoid flagging taxis. Always order taxis so the driver can be traced if something happens. 10. Don't use the walkman If you're used to listening to your walkman while outside, drop this habit, especially in isolated areas. With your walkman on, you cannot hear the approach of a possible attacker. 11. Note "safe houses" along your route Mentally note houses at intervals on each route you take that can be used as "safe houses" if you are attacked, such as shops or houses that you know to be occupied by a friend or acquaintance. 12. When you make a call from a phone booth After dialling the number you wish to call always turn around so that you have your back to the phone and may see who or what is coming your way. You will then be able to tell the person to whom you are speaking that you may be in trouble and you may be able to use the weight of the phone as a weapon. The door of a telephone box could be used to wedge in the limbs of the attacker. 13. Do not open the door of your home without checking DO NOT open the door to your home without first checking from a window, peephole or by asking and verifying who it is. Instruct children to do the same. 14. Report any suspicious activity around your home If you see people loitering on the streets near your house, call the police on a non emergency number and report it. 15. Invest in a cell phone This is an invaluable safety device. Keep it with you at all times and keep emergency numbers on it. Also, keep it next to your bed before you go to bed at night. Cell phones were first popularized by women as a security device, business people came later. 16. Parking tips Avoid parking in areas that are not well lit. Where possible, park close to a school or work entrance or in a parking garage that has an attendant. If you see a suspicious person approaching or hanging around near your parked car, turn around and go back to an area where there are other people. Try to get an escort to your car through the campus or job security or local police. 17. Tell others about your whereabouts Parents, spouses and friends should know where you are going and when you will be back, so that your absence will be noticed. Arrange a call in system with a friend if you live alone, whereby you call when you arrive home. 18. Trust your instincts If you are walking somewhere and feel strange or scared, don't ignore this feeling. Take extra precautions by walking a little faster to get to a more populated or well-lit area or change the route you've been driving on. 19. If you think you are being followed, change your route and activity. You can cross the street, change directions, or enter a populated building or store. Do whatever is necessary to avoid being alone with the person who is following you. Inform a police officer or security official about the follower. 20. Attract attention if you are in a dangerous situation. Get others' to pay attention to what's happening to you if you are under attack or being harassed. You can alert others by honking a car horn or loudly describing what is happening. 21. NEVER admit that you are alone If someone calls your home and asks if you are alone, NEVER admit it. Ask who the caller is. If they refuse to identify themselves, calmly hangup. Keep the radio on in the house so that callers will get the impression that others are in the home too. Instruct children to do the same when they pick up the phone. 22. Obscene phone calls If you receive an obscene call or a crank call, do not talk to the caller. Hang up if the caller doesn't say anything, or as soon as s/he shouts obscenities. Hang up the phone calmly and do not slam it down. Note down the date and time of the calls. If they are persistent, inform local police. 23. If you are a student Avoid studying in isolated classrooms in parts of the college campus that are not regularly patrolled by the school's security officers. 24. In large buildings take the elevator, not the stairwell Stairwells are usually quiet and dark. Most people take the elevator. But if someone creepy gets on, don't hesitate to get off at the same time. Or, if someone is already on the elevator who you feel strange about, do not get on and wait for the next elevator. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. A final note from IHRC At times like this, it is essential to realise that the only superpower is Allah subhana wa ta ala, the All-knowing, the All-powerful. To Him belongs all in the heavens and the earth, and we should not forget the power of praying and turning to Allah. We would like to recommend taking every opportunity to pray for peace and security for all. You can ask your Imam to do a special Qunoot during Jumuah prayers, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) did at the time of calamity. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To subscribe to the IHRC mailing list send an email to subscribe@ihrc.org To unsubscribe from the IHRC mailing list send an email to unsubscribe@ihrc.org --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “And what reason have you that you should not fight in the way of Allah and of the weak among the men and the women and the children, (of) those who say: Our Lord! Cause us to go forth from this town, whose people are oppressors, and give us from Thee a guardian and give us from Thee a helper.” Holy Qur’an: Chapter 4, Verse 75 Join the Struggle for Justice. Join IHRC. Islamic Human Rights Commission PO Box 598, Wembley, London, United Kingdom, HA9 7XH Telephone (+44) 20 8904 4222 Fax (+44) 20 8904 5183 e-mail: info@ihrc.org web: http://www.ihrc.org.uk

MCB Press Release
bhaloo
07/08/05 at 23:51:12
[slm] MCB Press Release 07 Jul 2005 British Muslims Utterly Condemn Acts of Terror The Muslim Council of Britain utterly condemns today's indiscriminate acts of terror in London. These evil deeds make victims of us all. It is our humanity that must bring us shoulder to shoulder to condemn, to oppose and to overcome those who would spread fear, hatred and death. Our sympathies and our prayers are with the victims, their families and friends.We extend our support and gratitude to the emergency services, the police and all the frontline services charged with our collective security. "The evil people who planned and carried out these series of explosions in London this morning want to demoralize us as a nation and divide us as a people. All of us must unite in helping the police to capture these murderers. Yesterday we celebrated as Londoners, euphoric that our great city had secured the Olympic Games. Today we watch aghast as we witness a series of brutal attacks upon our capital city. We were together in our celebration, we must remain together in our time of crisis," said Sir Iqbal Sacranie, Secretary General of the MCB. "We must and will be united in common determination that terror cannot succeed. It is now the duty of all us Britons to be vigilant and actively support efforts to bring those responsible to justice," he added. [Ends] Tel: 07762 791 714 or 020 8432 0585/6, Fax: 020 8432 0587 For further information please contact the MCB: The Muslim Council of Britain Boardman House 64 Broadway Stratford London E15 1NT Tel: 020 8432 0585/6 Fax: 020 8432 0587 admin@mcb.org.uk

from a blog
bhaloo
07/08/05 at 23:53:26
[slm] http://madhabirfy.blogspot.com/2005_07_07_madhabirfy_archive.html Thursday, July 07, 2005 To London Muslims - Speak Out Or Be Condemned For Your Silence The last 24 hours will have been an emotional roller coaster ride for the people of London. Following the elation of winning the right to hold the 2012 Olympic Games, at least 7 deadly explosions have brought death and tears to this ancient city. The Olympic win promised to be an enormous boost to the East End, home to many impoverished groups including sub-continental Muslim migrants. Now these same migrants and their brethren in communities across the Western World will once again be asked to explain and prove their loyalty. And how should we Western Muslims respond? Should we cry discrimination? Should we remind our fellow citizens that we are just as English or American or French or Australian as they are? Or should we appreciate their fears and uncertainties? Should we empathise with their feelings of vulnerability as they feel besieged by what appears to be yet another attack by extremists using our faith as an ideological weapon? When western citizens are kidnapped by extremists with Muslim-sounding names, the reputation of Islam is hijacked. When western citizens are murdered and executed, Islam is also being murdered and executed. When western citizens are the target of injustice, Islam is treated unjustly. Islam is a word that means ‘peace’. How can peace be established with bombs and suicide attacks and kidnappings? How can peace be spread through killing peaceful civilians? Islam is a word that also means ‘surrender to God’. Our Lord never taught us to kill and maim civilians. Our God never taught us to harm people who do not harm us. The English people recently delivered a severe blow to their government over its involvement in the Iraq invasion and occupation. Even before the war, some of the largest protest crowds marched through English cities including London. The hearts of English men and women are on the side of the victims, of innocent Iraqi children and women and men who die each day in Iraq and elsewhere across the Muslim world. England has provided sanctuary to hundreds of Muslim refugees and dissidents fleeing repressive Muslim regimes. For over a decade, London was home to the late Abdul Majid Khoei, one of Iraq’s most senior religious figures. Muslim dissidents and activists speak their minds more freely in London than perhaps anywhere else in the world. The time has come for these English Muslim dissidents and activists to raise their voices and condemn the attacks on the city that has provided them with freedom and sanctuary. One of the best remembered incidents from early Islamic history is the story of repressed Muslim refugees fleeing from Mecca to Abyssinia at the orders of the Prophet Muhammad. This small band of Muslims sought protection and refuge from a Christian King, known in Islamic tradition as Najashi. Notwithstanding strong submissions from the Meccan authorities and support from his advisers, Najashi granted the Muslims a fair hearing and natural justice. Following an impassioned speech by the Prophet’s cousin, Jafar, Najashi orders that the refugees be granted sanctuary for as long as they wished to remain in his kingdom. The Christian kingdom of Abyssinia proved a safer place for Islam than the Arabian peninsular. While the Prophet and his remaining disciples faced famine, exile and war, his cousin and some 70 other Muslims enjoyed peace and security under the auspices of a Christian king. London has been to many Muslims what Abyssinia was to the early Muslims who fled to its Christian government seeking sanctuary and protection from their oppressors. And just as the King of Abyssinia granted the early Muslims a fair hearing, natural justice and security, so has London done the same. The Mayor of London has been a prominent supporter of human rights for Muslims, particularly for Muslim women struggling against discrimination based on dress. The English Parliament has welcomed Muslims into its hallowed halls. Muslims are free to participate at all levels of English society. The nation that cheered for its cricket team even when captained by one Nasser Hussein deserves to feel secure in the knowledge that its Muslim citizens openly and publicly condemn the perpetrators of these attacks. Muslim Englishmen and women must echo the condemnation of terrorist acts and ideologies already expressed by prominent English Muslim scholars such as Tim Winter and the late Martin Lings. The time to speak is now. Muslims must speak out now. Or else they will be condemned by their silence. And at a time of terror-induced pain and tears coming so soon after Olympic elation, English Muslim silence will speak louder than any detractors’ words. © Irfan Yusuf 2005

Muslim Association of Britain
bhaloo
07/08/05 at 23:54:58
[slm] http://www.mabonline.info/english/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=421 The Muslim Association of Britain while continuing to monitor developments in London and information regarding who may have been behind these horrendous attacks, reiterates its total condemnation and its unconditional denunciation thereof. The perpetrators, whoever they turn out to be, carried out a callous crime which Islam and all human values disown. Whatever the objectives or motives that the attackers may ultimately declare, there can be no doubt that it was an attack that targeted London, the city and its people, all its people. With the numbers and names of victims yet to be announced, it is highly likely that these attacks claimed the lives and injured people from all races, religions and cultural and ethnic backgrounds. With London priding itself on being one of the most multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious cities in the world, this crime clearly targeted everyone living, working in or travelling into London. MAB has no doubt that the strength and resolve of the people of London and Britain as a whole, will see us through these extremely difficult times. For more information please contact Mr Harris Bokhari: 07958 329 879 The Muslim Association of Britain 7th of July 2005

London Central Mosque Trust & the Islamic Cultural
bhaloo
07/08/05 at 23:56:46
[slm] London Central Mosque Trust & the Islamic Cultural Centre Press Release: PRESS RELEASE http://www.iccuk.org/media/press_releases/condemnation_of_london_bombings__call_for_unity.htm 7 July 2005 The London Central Mosque Trust & the Islamic Cultural Centre Condemnation of London Bombings - Call for unity Our thoughts, our prayers and condolences go out to all the victims of this terrible terrorist attack. As citizens and co-workers of this great city, we share the concerns and fears of fellow Londoners. We use the same transport and live and work in the same buildings and any attack is an attack on us all. Islam expressly condemns the use of violence against civilians and innocents. We call on the Muslim community to be fully cooperative in this situation, so we may all live in peace and harmony and continue to make London the vibrant, tolerant and peaceful city it is.

FOSIS Condemns London Attacks
bhaloo
07/08/05 at 23:58:00
[slm] FOSIS Condemns London Attacks http://www.fosis.org.uk/sac/londonattack_pressrelease.htm .................................................. .................................................. ................... Press Release. 07.07.2005 The Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS) is extremely disturbed by the attacks which hit London transport links this morning. We are extremely saddened by the extent of injuries and deaths that this has caused. Fosis President Wakkas Khan commented, "We are shocked and distressed by these incidents which has hit our country's capital and our thoughts and prayers are with all those who suffered injuries and the families of those who have lost their lives. We continue to condemn in no uncertain terms all such cowardly acts of violence." We would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of Muslim students to offer our support and assistance to the emergency services who have reacted swiftly and efficiently. For more information please contact: Press Officer: 077 4747 0819 or 07888 667422

IFE Press Release:
bhaloo
07/08/05 at 23:59:19
[slm] IFE Media Release: Muslims shocked by London blasts http://www.islamicforumeurope.com/live/ife.php?doc=articleitem&itemId=239 The Islamic Forum Europe (IFE) has reacted with shock following this morning’s explosions across London tube stations and buses. The president of the IFE, Musleh Faradhi said “Our immediate concern is for all those who have been hurt and killed.” “Many people across London will be anxiously trying to contact family and friends to make sure their loved ones are safe.” IFE extends its resources and support to help all those in need, in particular the emergency services who are undoubtedly overwhelmed with the pressures coping with the effects of this morning’s blasts. [END] Note for Editors: The Islamic Forum Europe / IFE (www.islamicforumeurope.com) is a pan-European Muslim organisation, which represents large sections of the Muslim community in Europe. IFE has an active community engagement programme and is committed to religious tolerance and community cohesion. Enquiries: Tel. 020 7423 9766 Mobile. 07947 787 222 / 07956 527 926 E-mail. media@islamicforumeurope.com Fax. 020 7456 1062 – IFE Head Office, 3rd Floor, LMC Business Wing, 38-44 Whitechapel Road, London E1 View poster image Article ref no: ATC239, 07 Jul 2005

UKIM Press Release
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:00:20
[slm] UKIM Press Release: http://www.ukim.org/DesktopDefault.aspx Quote: UKIM condemns act of terrors Press release for the Web 07-07-2005 (1.00PM GMT) Revulsion and Shock The UK Islamic Mission unequivocally condemns these barbarous acts of criminality, perpetrated in the heart of London. It appears that these incidents were coordinated and indiscriminate, which has resulted in the loss of innocent lives and caused an untold number of injuries. We continue to monitor the developments very closely and are ready to offer our help to all the emergency services. Our thoughts and prayers are with the friends and families of the bereaved and injured.

Muslim Safety Forum (MSF) Press Release
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:01:24
[slm] Muslim Safety Forum (MSF) Press Release http://www.muslimdirectory.co.uk/viewarticle.php?id=51 Last updated: 07 July 2005 The members of the MSF, including the Muslim Directory, watched with dismay, shock and deep sadness the events that unfolded today in London. As Londoner’s, our first thoughts are with those who have been injured or lost their lives and with their families. Following early indications that the blasts this morning are likely to have been a coordinated terrorist attack, the MSF would like to express its total condemnation of such terrible acts and gross violations of the law of humanity. The MSF would like to re-iterate that the true message of Islam is one of Peace, Justice and the love of humanity. Islam holds the sanctity of human life in the highest possible regard and shedding the blood of an innocent person is seen as a most heinous and repulsive crime. The MSF would like to assure the people, police and emergency services of London that regardless of who perpetrated this terrible crime, the Muslim community, who number over 1 million in London, will do its utmost to help in whatever way possible. Note for Editors: The MSF is an umbrella organisation made up of national and regional Islamic organisations including: Muslim Directory, MAB, IHRC, IFE, MCB London Affairs Committee, YMO UK, Muslim College, FAIR, Amal Trust, The London Central Mosque, London Muslim Centre, Muslim Parliament, FOSIS, ISB, Muslimaat UK, Avenues School, Somali Muslim Community, UKIM, MPAC, Stop Political Terror, Ershad Centre, BanglaMedia, Iqra Trust, Association of Muslim Police, Al-Khoei Foundation, UMO, Muslim Welfare House, Women's Relief. The MSF is the key advisory body for the Police Service and has signed a working protocol with the Metropolitan Police to build better police / community relations. It has been advising the police on matters of safety and security from the Muslim perspective for over four years now. It meets on a monthly basis with senior representatives of ACPO and the MPS, the MPA, Home Office and the IPCC amongst others. Contact MSF Press Officer Abdurahman Jafar or Naeem Darr on 07905 891299 or 07887 553419 respectively.

MQI Press Release
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:03:01
[slm] MQI Press Release Muslims condemn the barbaric attacks in UK http://www.minhajuk.org/default.asp?dismode=article&artid=38 Minhaj-ul-Qur’an International (MQI) UK and its associate organisation Minhaj Welfare Foundation (MWF) condemn the series of barbaric attacks in the capital of UK in the strongest form ever possible. The founding leader of MQI and MWF Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri has expressed his shock and grief and condemned the dreadful attacks in the UK. MQI UK expressed their sympathy and grief with the families of all victims of this indiscriminate act. Our prayers are with the victims and their families of this terrible event, the Muslim community of the UK is uniting in its condemnation of these attacks. This attack has a message to convey which is disunity and disorder; however, all communities within the UK have to stay calm and united in such a difficult and testing time. Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri and MQI also convey their appreciation to the efforts of the well-prepared emergency services operating in London as well as the Police and other security services. For further information: Mr Asif Habib Malik: 07957687013 General Secretary of MQI UK Mr Shahid Mursaleen: 07970705927. Media Secretary of MQI UK Note for Editors: Minhaj-ul-Quran International represents the Muslims of the UK with thousands of regular members from all over the UK. Minhaj-ul-Qur’an International aims to create harmony between the societies with social interaction, social cultural interfaith dialogues and with the message of peace. It promotes general education for the youngsters, has welfare projects running around the world, and works for the human rights. It regularly organises conferences, seminars, and study circles for the education of youngsters and for a religious and social harmony, promoting peace and tolerance within the society. It is active in the UK since 1992, mainly in the fields of education, welfare, religion, and social harmony, promoting peace, tolerance, and moderation. It has centres in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Nelson and Bradford with regular computer courses, weekend schools, outdoor and indoor game clubs and also advice and guidance facilities about social and personal problems. It also has libraries including books and audio/visual facilities. Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri is founding leader Minhaj-ul-Qur’an International. He is a prominent Islamic scholar and authority in the Muslim world and a political leader. He is also author of more then 300 books, has delivered more then 6000 lectures at various International conferences, seminars and at universities. For further information please contact: For further information please contact the MQI: Minhaj-ul-Quran International 292-296 Romford Road Forest Gate London E7 9HD media@minhajuk.org

Yusuf Islam Press Release
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:04:32
[slm] Yusuf Islam's Reaction to London Attacks 7th July 2005 ________________________________ I am horrified at the nightmarish acts of carnage we have just seen inflicted on London and its people in what authorities are describing as co-ordinated terror attacks. What on earth these murderers think they can gain by blowing up innocent men, women and children is impossible to imagine. No doubt the fatalities will include people of all religions and races without discrimination. My heartfelt sympathy goes out to all those who have suffered loss or injury. After such devastating barbarity the most important thing now is vigilance and clear thinking. All right minded members of society should realise this is an act of vile madness and should not respond to it in a reflex action. It is possible that the perpetrators may have links to Al-Qaida and carry foreign or Arabic sounding names, but may I remind the press and all people with a voice, that such a discovery would not make all the rest of British Muslim citizens and workers, who are unanimously opposed to such extreme ideologists, brandable or guilty. The present state of the world would move that much closer to bedlam if everybody loses balance at times like these. No. But it must be the job of the police and authorities to identify clearly the guilty parties associated with these attacks and deal with them as swiftly as possible. We all want to know who they are. ________________________________ http://www.yusufislam.org.uk/londonattacks.shtml

BMF Press Release
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:05:22
[slm] BMF stands united with the British people We unequivocally condemn the barbaric attacks inflicted upon London. Such acts of violence and terrorism are cowardly and inhuman and totally unacceptable. The perpetrators of such insane acts must be sought and brought to justice and appropriately punished for their vile acts. We call upon the authorities, the media and the public at large to react to this tragedy sensibly and with dignity. Gul Muhammad, the Secretary General of the British Muslim Forum said: “At this moment our prayers and thoughts are with the innocent victims and their relatives. We are united with all society in grieving over those who have lost their lives in such a brutal and senseless manner and we pray for the speedy recovery for all those who were injured.” “We would also like to express our admiration to all those brave members of the emergency services and security personnel who are doing a marvellous job.” The British Muslim Forum calls upon all Imams in mosques across Britain to condemn acts of violence and terrorism on the Friday prayers and to pray for peace and security throughout the world and particularly in London. [ENDS] http://www.britishmuslimforum.org/

CAIR Press Release
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:06:25
[slm] News Releases Thursday, July 07, 2005 CAIR Condems 'Barbaric' London Terror Attacks (WASHINGTON, D.C., 7/7/05) - A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today condemned this morning's bomb attacks in London as "barbaric crimes." In its statement, the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said: "We join Americans of all faiths, and all people of conscience worldwide, in condemning these barbaric crimes that can never be justified or excused. American Muslims offer their sincere condolences to the loved ones of those who were killed or injured in today's attacks and call for the swift apprehension and punishment of the perpetrators." The Muslim Council of Britain and other British Islamic groups issued similar condemnations of the attacks and urged Muslims to help in the recovery effort. In 2004, CAIR launched an online petition drive, called "Not in the Name of Islam," designed to disassociate Islam from the violent acts of a few Muslims. SEE: http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=169&page=AA The "Not in the Name of Islam" petition states: "We, the undersigned Muslims, wish to state clearly that those who commit acts of terror, murder and cruelty in the name of Islam are not only destroying innocent lives, but are also betraying the values of the faith they claim to represent. No injustice done to Muslims can ever justify the massacre of innocent people, and no act of terror will ever serve the cause of Islam. We repudiate and dissociate ourselves from any Muslim group or individual who commits such brutal and un-Islamic acts. We refuse to allow our faith to be held hostage by the criminal actions of a tiny minority acting outside the teachings of both the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him." CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding. To read CAIR's Mission, Vision Statement and Core Principles, go to: http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=About - END - CONTACT : Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair-net.org ; Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail: rahmed@cair-net.org NOTE : CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a journalist's window to the American Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called ISLAM-INFONET, receive news releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on issues of importance to our society. To SUBSCRIBE to ISLAM-INFONET, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/islam-infonet/ http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1647&theType=NR

MPACUK Press Release
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:07:10
[slm] Press Release: Muslims Shocked By Attack http://www.mpacuk.org/content/view/4/776/103/ London’s Muslims are shocked as our city has been the victim of what appears to be a co-ordinated terrorist attack. Home to an estimated 1 million Muslims any disruption of logistical, economic and human activity affects all the communities in London including the Muslim community. All indications appear to point to what seems to be a terrorist attack, MPACUK expresses deepest sympathy with all the families of those affected and commends the emergency services for their fast response to the attacks. The perpetrators of this horrific crime need to be caught and brought to justice, but no matter who is responsible for this attack British Muslims and MPACUK do not have any sympathy for those who continue to use violent methods to raise very important issues. MPACUK urges all mosques around the country to be aware of a sharp rise in Islamophobia following the attack. London Mosques should immediately inform their congregations to take due care and to give blood at the earliest possible opportunity. Mosque media teams around the country need to start brainstorming ideas to counter a rise in Islamophobia, and Mosque leaders should start condemning the attacks and calling for a rethink in the root cause of these horrific incidents that affect our country. The British government and present politicians seriously need to consider how the effects of their dangerous foreign policy are putting at risk lives of innocent Britons at home. British citizens have been at the forefront of raising these issues with the current government and we hope the government keeps these in mind as we all go through what will be a very difficult time for our country. All Muslims and non-Muslims alike are urged to donate blood as soon as possible. Hundreds of our fellow Britons are lying injured, trapped underground in London. The Blood Transfusion Service will be running short of blood today and we must all find time to visit our local hospital and make a donation of blood. Visit the National Blood Transfusion (England and Wales) service site here. Telephone 0845 7 711 711 for details of your nearest centre. Visit the Scottish National Blood Tranfusion Service here. Telephone 0845 90 90 999 for details of your nearest centre. Visit the Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service here. Telephone 028 9053 4662 for details of your nearest centre.
07/09/05 at 00:07:44
bhaloo

IndyMedia Press Release
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:08:49
[slm] Indymedia UK Statement on London bombs http://publish.indymedia.org.uk/en/static/londonattack Short statement on the bombs in London today: "Indymedia UK stands in solidarity with all the victims of today's horrific attacks in London. We share the disgust felt by all about these acts and their perpetrators, our thoughts are with the victims and their families. We are also acutely aware that these events will be exploited by the most reactionary elements of the British media and political establishment for their own selfish purposes. We are particularly concerned about a possible backlash against Britain's Muslim community as we saw following 9/11 in the USA. We urge all activists involved in progressive politics to do everything they can to stop this from happening. Now is the time to be building bridges between all communities as we have seen with the anti-war movement. Don't feel helpless, do something. We will continue to give a voice to all who have an opinion on these events and have little or no voice in the mainstream media. Our usual editorial guidelines apply. IMC'ista, 07.07.2005 16:15

From another blog
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:10:47
[slm] Thursday, July 07, 2005 http://ihsan-net.blogspot.com/2005/07/british-muslims-dont-subscribe-to.html#comments British Muslims - Don’t subscribe to the notions of collective shame and guilt! April 19th, 1994 - The Alfred Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed. Media reported sightings of middle-eastern looking men. Terrorism experts in the media analyzed the middle-eastern/Muslim connection with the bombing. Even Clinton responded to a reporter that he would bomb the country the "perps" came from. All thru this some mosques were razed to the ground, few "middle-eastern looking" businessmen were pulled off planes and questioned/harassed. An unfortunate one, who had a jogging suit and sneakers in his baggage was detained and brought home from Europe to be questioned, and bias attacks against muslim looking people spiked upwards. But the bomber turned out to be a white supremacist, former soldier of the US Army. However, Like his other promises, Clinton failed to deliver. He didn't bomb the US! Different media experts were called upon to divert public attention and the Muslims unjustly affected were told to fugget-a-bout-it! July 7, 2005 – The string of bombings in London may be the work of a Muslim group. Or it may not be. As of 15:46 today(about 20 minutes ago) London time, BBC reported that “London police say there have been no arrests in connection with the blasts so far and that they are "keeping an open mind as to who the perpetrators might be".” Regardless of who the perps are, it is the civic duty of the British Muslims to help the victims in any way they can and condemn the attack on innocent commuters. Offering apologies, even if the attackers are Muslims, implies acceptance of guilt! And then it becomes so much easier for others the blame on Muslims. The Muslim Council of Britain along with other religious leaders have already condemned the attack. To the malevolent racists in the media, the condemnation will never be enough. After 9-11, the Fox News claimed for years that Muslim Groups failed to condemn the attacks. When reminded by a CAIR representative, the number of times and dates, Muslim leaders and groups condemned the attack, the accusation shifted to “failed to condemn enough”. Fact that 600 out of 3000 (20%) of the casualties in the WTC attack were Muslim was conveniently forgotten by the media and our leaders as well! posted by Jafar at 7/07/2005 08:44:00 AM

sadiq khan's blog
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:12:08
[slm] Thursday, July 07, 2005 Terrorist Attacks in London http://www.sadiqkhan.org.uk/blog/sadiqblog.htm Today has been a complete contrast to yesterday. Whereas yesterday was a day to rejoice and celebrate, today has been a stark contrast. This morning was one of the worst mornings of many Londoners' lives. I, like many others, spent frantic moments ringing family and friends to make sure that none of them were near or at one of the areas where the explosions occurred. Thankfully, everyone in our office and all of our friends and family are safe and well. My thoughts and prayers are with all victims of these attacks and their families and friends. Innocent people, carrying out their daily routine, have been targeted. The attacks appear to be coordinated, but we do not know at this stage who is responsible. Whoever is behind these cowardly attacks has behaved in an outrageous and savage manner, and should be condemmed unequiviocally. It is astonishing how calmly Londoners have responded. The way that the emergency services have been dealing with the aftermath has been extremely reassuring and brave. It is important that none of our citizens are victims of a backlash or reprisal for these acts. My advice to the community is to be vigilant regarding suspect packages, and to be vigilant of reprisals. The Police are working hard to reassure the community that there is high visibility policing around all mosques. I am meeting with Chief Superindendent Joe Royle, the Borough Commander in Wandsworth tonight to disuss the security implications for our local community. In Wandsworth, the Council is responding to the London Emergency Planning arrangements, and the Wandsworth Borough Emergency Control Centre has been set up to deal with any demands. The Mayor for London, Ken Livingstone’s office has responded magnificently to these attacks and are coordinating the emergency services to ensure that the rescue operation is carried out in an effective manner. The Home Secretary, Charles Clarke MP, made an emergency statement to the Commons around lunchtime today which was widely reported in the media. Tony Blair has also spoken from Gleneagles and has returned to London now. The next few days are going to be crucial and I am confident that all Londoners will play their part in showing these terrorists that we stand together and will support each other to ensure that terrorism never wins. Sadiq

Respect Party Press Release
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:13:16
[slm] Respect Party Press Release http://www.respectcoalition.org/?ite=819 Statement on the London bombings by George Galloway on behalf of Respect 07/07/2005 We extend our condolences to the families and loved ones of those who have lost their lives today and our heartfelt sympathy to all those who have been injured by the bombs in London. No one can condone acts of violence aimed at working people going about their daily lives. They have not been a party to, nor are they responsible for, the decisions of their government. They are entirely innocent and we condemn those who have killed or injured them. The loss of innocent lives, whether in this country or Iraq, is precisely the result of a world that has become a less safe and peaceful place in recent years. We have worked without rest to remove the causes of such violence from our world. We argued, as did the security services in this country, that the attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq would increase the threat of terrorist attack in Britain. Tragically Londoners have now paid the price of the government ignoring such warnings. We urge the government to remove people in this country from harms way, as the Spanish government acted to remove its people from harm, by ending the occupation of Iraq and by turning its full attention to the development of a real solution to the wider conflicts in the Middle East. Only then will the innocents here and abroad be able to enjoy a life free of the threat of needless violence.    * George Galloway, Respect MP for Bethnal Green and Bow Press Statement by Fausto Bertinotti, Chair of the European Left Party "What occurred in London is the atrocity of a barbarism. The peaceful people should mobilise" Once again violence is upsetting the world. Any place, any city, any country may become and becomes a stage for devastation and death. Women and men of any ethnic group, any age, any social condition are seeing their own innocent life destroyed. This is the atrocity of a barbarism. Today terrorism is upsetting London and the world. The spiral of war and terrorism is its terrifying background: they are both enemies of humanity. Last Saturday in Edinburgh a big white-clad march has addressed a peaceful and nonviolent language against poverty and war. Now the anti-war movement should become a key player of a worldwide mobilisation against terrorism and war. Only people can stop this horrible violence.

Arab Media Watch Press Release
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:14:14
[slm] Arab Media Watch Press Release http://www.arabmediawatch.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2878 Arab Media Watch condemns London terror attacks Posted on Thursday, July 07 @ 14:44:02 BST Arab Media Watch unreservedly and strongly condemns the July 7 terrorist attacks in London, which have caused innocent civilian deaths and injuries. Our prayers and thoughts are with all those affected. While it is not yet confirmed who is responsible for the attacks, there are reports that an Al Qaeda-affiliated organisation has claimed responsibility. We urge the media and public to avoid any backlash against the Arab and Muslim communities in Britain, who unanimously abhor these atrocities. If the perpetrators turn out to be Arabs or Muslims, we remind everyone that they do not represent their wider communities. AMW spokespeople are available for media interviews. Please call 07956 455 528, or if networks are busy, call 0207 589 5095. Please visit www.arabmediawatch.com for further press releases and updates as the situation develops.

MPUK Statement
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:15:02
[slm] London Bomb Blast Thursday, 07 July 2005 http://www.muslimprofessionals.org.uk/ We at MPUK are deeply upset with the coordinated bomb blasts in London. We deplore such criminal activity with evil intent to injure or kill human life. We are deeply concerned for those people who's friends, families and colleagues have been hurt in anyway. Our prayers are with them at this most distressing time. The Qur'an repeatedly reminds us of our common origin: (O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other)). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).) (Al-Hujrat 49:13)

HT Statement
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:16:33
[slm] London Explosions - A message from Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain to the Muslim community “And surely, We shall try you till We test those who strive hard (for the Cause of Allah) and the patient ones, and We shall test your facts (i.e. the one who is a liar, and the one who is truthful).” [TMQ Muhammad:31] Dear brothers and sisters. Today several bomb explosions created havoc through London - although information about the events is still coming in, it is clear that many have died and have been injured. It is also clear that the world’s leaders congregating at the G8 summit in Gleneagles have quickly taken the opportunity to further their rhetoric to justify their ‘war on terror’. The media have already started speculating - talk of suicide bombings and ‘Islamist websites’ claiming responsibility for the explosions will only further the suspicion against our community. At such a time - where our community faces questions, accusations and calls for condemnation - we need to reflect upon how we react, for this time is a test for us and like all tests, Allah (swt) will question us on how we overcame these tests. After thought and contemplation about the consequences of these events for our community, we want to make the following points as to how we can deal with the aftermath of these events:   1. At a time of tests Islam mandates sabr (patience). Sabr does not mean we give up the truth at the first test. Rather it means to rely upon Allah (swt), ask for His (swt) help and follow His (swt) command without leaving it due to the test.   2. Allah (swt) raised this Ummah to carry the message of Islam and continue speaking the truth, despite provocation and despite the great tests we face. Indeed speaking the truth about the colonisation of the Muslim world and the killing, murder and rape of our Ummah by Western governments is of the highest obligations. The events in London will be used by these governments to silence our Ummah and detach us from the feelings of our Ummah. We must also carry da’wah to the non-Muslims about Islam in order for them to sense the greatness of our deen and our solutions.   3. At a time when fingers will be pointed at us from the wider community we need to come together as a community with one voice. Yes, the rules of Islam do not allow the harming of innocent civilians, but at the same time the rules of Islam do not allow us to condemn Muslims with little evidence in order to remove the pressure from ourselves. Condemnation with scant information will only aid the leaders of the West who want to use fear as a tool to change our Ummah and our Deen as well as allow them to arrest more Muslims unjustly under draconian terror laws.   4. It is possible in the days ahead that symbols of the Muslim community such as mosques and schools may be targets for vandalism; it is also foreseeable that our Muslim sisters may be at the forefront of verbal abuse or even attack. We advise the community to come together and collectively prepare the most appropriate arrangements to protect ourselves from such dangers.   5. Lastly we must make dua. The best dua is to ask Allah (swt) to raise our Ummah and our message so that we once again can live under a just Islamic rule (Khilafah State) and that our Ummah can implement Islam which will become a shining light in the darkness facing the world. Brothers and sisters! Stay strong and firm to Islam, for if we stay firm with Islam, Allah (swt) will assist us and raise our situation. "No reason have we why we should not put our trust on Allah. Indeed He Has guided us to the Ways we (follow). We shall certainly bear with patience all the hurt you may cause us. For those who put their trust should put their trust on Allah." [TMQ Al-Ibrahim: 12] Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain 7 July 2005 / 1 Jumada al-Thani 1426

OCCRi Press Release:
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:18:20
[slm] In the Name of Allah the Most Compassionate, the most Merciful OCCRi Press Release: Statement on the bombing of London http://www.occri.org.uk/Articles/LondonAttack.htm The appalling acts of violence against innocent civilians such as we have seen this morning in London is condemned both in the revealed Words of the Quran and the received wisdom from the Prophet Muhammad. On behalf of the Muslims of Oxford and all Muslims in this country, I extend my sincere condolences to the families who have suffered in this tragedy and pray for patience and protection for all those who live in this land that has offered us sanctuary and freedom to practice our faith. If, indeed, the perpetrators of this act, were of Muslim extraction, I say to them ‘in your misguidance, you have aided a cause against Islam and have harmed Muslims in this country and beyond. Dismiss as much as you may my words today but on the Day of Judgement, if you believe, justice will be served and you will be wrong.’ If, however, this is the act of agent provocateurs, then I say to them ‘know with full certainty that sooner or later the truth will prevail and when it does evil and conspiracy will not avail. Provoking racial and religious hatred may harm many but, in the ultimate analysis, never benefits the provoker.’ “God is never unjust even in the smallest of degrees…” (Quran 4:40) Shaikh Riyad Nadwi, PhD Director, OCCRI 7th July 2005

MWH Press Release
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:19:12
[slm] MWH Press Release http://www.salaam.co.uk/themeofthemonth/september03_index.php?l=56 The Muslim Welfare House, London: MWH Condemns gross act of terrorism MWH has been shocked and deeply disturbed by the seemingly orchestrated acts of terror across London this morning. We reiterate our position as wholly and utterly opposed to all acts of terrorism and hold that the perpetrators of this barbaric crime should be sought and brought to justice. The harrowing images of innocent commuters caught up in this tragedy serves to reinforce our will to continue to work against the destructive and dogged determination of terrorist elements. In these efforts we reach out to others in society, including friends from other faith communities, strengthened by a common religious opposition to terrorism and a common desire for peace and calm.

Saudi Embassy Press Release
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:20:12
[slm] Saudi Embassy Press Release http://www.mofa.gov.sa/Detail.asp?InSectionID=42&InNewsItemID=37575 Statement concerning the terrorist attacks in London this morning 07/07/2005 : On behalf of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, I wish to assure the people of the UK that our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the terrible crimes that took place in London this morning. In Saudi Arabia we have suffered at the hands of terrorists and we stand by the UK in every effort to bring the perpetrators of terrorism to justice. Saudi Arabia has always and continues to condemn all terrorism wherever it may be and whatever its cause. HRH Prince Turki Al-Faisal Ambassado

From DeenPort
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:21:08
[slm] We are united with our compatriots of Britain against the brutal attacks on our valiant and proud capital, rejecting the callousness of the perpetrators, whose travesties were against every civilised code of conduct known to man. "He who has killed an innocent soul, it is as if he had killed all humanity" - Qur'an 5:32 In the aftermath of these attacks, Muslim hearts are with the innocent and their families. We urge our hands to be used in bringing serenity back to our capital, supporting our courageous emergency services, and continuing in the efforts of bringing humanity to inhumanity, here and around the world. No amount of intimidation, whether from the terrorists who set off the bombs, or from bigots who may mindlessly retaliate against innocents, will cow the Muslim community from upholding the best interests of Great Britain

ABM Press Release
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:22:04
[slm] ABM on London Bombs Statement by the Association for British Muslims on the London Bombings Incidents such took place in London on 7 July are absolutely to be condemned by Islam and Muslims. They are in flagrant violation of the Shari’ah and all the Laws of God. They constitute “banditry” (qat’u-t tariq) under the laws against “outrages” (baghy), and are capital crimes. It is the duty of believers to help hunt down the perpetrators and have them suitably punished. We endorse and re-iterate the fatawa of the late Shaykh ‘Abdu-l ‘Aziz bin Baz (after the Riyad Bombing) and Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi and other eminent scholars after September 11 2001. The perpetrators of these acts cannot be Muslims, for in committing them they have exited Islam. Muslims, however, must resist any attempts to identify them with these outrages. This equally applies to the London bombings. No evidence whatsoever has beej produced by the Americans or the Spaniards to identify the perpetrators of the atrocities in New York and Madrid. Until they publish in extenso all the evidence they have that identifies the culprits we are obliged to refuse to accept their assertions and innuendoes. The onus is on the authorities to clearly identify the culprits and prosecute them openly in courts of law. Anything short of this is injustice, and we Muslims are required to resist injustice. It is therefore an absolute obligation on the government and its agencies of the United Kingdom to be transparent and lawful in its dealings with the Muslim communities and with the perpetrators of the London incidents. http://members.tripod.com/%7Ebritish_muslims_assn/contents.html Daoud Rosser-Owen Amir/President of the Association for British Muslims London 7 July 2005

Mayor of London Statement
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:23:12
[slm] Mayor's Statement http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/mayor_statement_070705.jsp 7 July 2005 This was a cowardly attack, which has resulted in injury and loss of life. Our thoughts are with everyone who has been injured, or lost loved ones. I want to thank the emergency services for the way they have responded. Following the al-Qaeda attacks on September 11th in America we conducted a series of exercises in London in order to be prepared for just such an attack. One of the exercises undertaken by the government, my office and the emergency and security services was based on the possibility of multiple explosions on the transport system during the Friday rush hour. The plan that came out of that exercise is being executed today, with remarkable efficiency and courage, and I praise those staff who are involved. I'd like to thank Londoners for the calm way in which they have responded to this cowardly attack and echo the advice of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair - do everything possible to assist the police and take the advice of the police about getting home today. I have no doubt whatsoever that this is a terrorist attack. We did hope in the first few minutes after hearing about the events on the Underground that it might simply be a maintenance tragedy. That was not the case. I have been able to stay in touch through the very excellent communications that were established for the eventuality that I might be out of the city at the time of a terrorist attack and they have worked with remarkable effectiveness. I will be in continual contact until I am back in London. I want to say one thing specifically to the world today. This was not a terrorist attack against the mighty and the powerful. It was not aimed at Presidents or Prime Ministers. It was aimed at ordinary, working-class Londoners, black and white, Muslim and Christian, Hindu and Jew, young and old. It was an indiscriminate attempt to slaughter, irrespective of any considerations for age, for class, for religion, or whatever. That isn't an ideology, it isn't even a perverted faith - it is just an indiscriminate attempt at mass murder and we know what the objective is. They seek to divide Londoners. They seek to turn Londoners against each other. I said yesterday to the International Olympic Committee, that the city of London is the greatest in the world, because everybody lives side by side in harmony. Londoners will not be divided by this cowardly attack. They will stand together in solidarity alongside those who have been injured and those who have been bereaved and that is why I'm proud to be the mayor of that city. Finally, I wish to speak directly to those who came to London today to take life. I know that you personally do not fear giving up your own life in order to take others - that is why you are so dangerous. But I know you fear that you may fail in your long-term objective to destroy our free society and I can show you why you will fail. In the days that follow look at our airports, look at our sea ports and look at our railway stations and, even after your cowardly attack, you will see that people from the rest of Britain, people from around the world will arrive in London to become Londoners and to fulfil their dreams and achieve their potential. They choose to come to London, as so many have come before because they come to be free, they come to live the life they choose, they come to be able to be themselves. They flee you because you tell them how they should live. They don't want that and nothing you do, however many of us you kill, will stop that flight to our city where freedom is strong and where people can live in harmony with one another. Whatever you do, however many you kill, you will fail.

from another blog
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:24:18
[slm] A ticking time bomb Thursday, July 07, 2005 A ticking time bomb... Assalamu alaikum, I guess from the title of this post u might have an idea of what im talking about. Today in London many people died as a result of explosions on the tube, trains and buses. This post isn't here to talk about WHY the attack happened, but its more about the fact that life is a ticking time bomb. You see, Me and my little brother use one of the buses that blew up to go to uni and college during term time so its a bit closer to home. Russel Square station is where all my friends get off to come to uni... Life is a ticking time bomb. There is no predictability, you never know when what is going to happen. Had it been term time, I could have easily been on that 30 bus, my freinds could have easily been at Russel Square station on the tube without having known that our last moment was written there. Alhamdullilah, ALLAH (swt) saved us from the destruction and we are all well. Being saved doesn't however mean that we should just get on with it...theres more to it then just getting on with it. ALLAH (swt) has given those of us who could have easily been there in the midst of those moments another chance. Another chance to turn back to HIM ALLAH (swt), to thank him for all we have, to turn to him in our times of need, to spend the time we have in ibaadat and to praise HIM swt and his beloved rasool (saw). Life IS a ticking time bomb....think about it, imagine u were on one of those buses or trains. Think about your last thoughts...would you have have been able to say LA ILLAHA ILLALLAH as ur last words?If you had died then, would you have had any regrets? would you have wanted more time to make up for the time you wasted? Would you have wanted to repent? Theres alot to think about but, one thing I'd like to say is those of us who have been saved from this calamity should express our shukr to ALLAH (swt) by praying, giving sadaqah and spending our spare time dedicated to HIS causes. Thank Him (swt), that you arn't one of those people who lost someone, who lost a limb, or an eye, or has become disabled for life... Express your love to every single person that you love truely. Imagine if you had died never being able to tell the people you love so much how much you really love them.... May ALLAH (swt) give us the tawfeeq to spend our time wisely in his rememberence and in the rememberence of his habibihi wa rasoolihi sallalahu alayhi wasallam. May we all realise that life IS A TICKING TIME BOMB ready to explode. May we make the most of what we have, and thank HIM swt for this. Ameen. Wassalam. http://www.mujahidah-an-nafs.blogspot.com/

From Yahoo Islamic Events List
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:25:55
[slm] ****************************EDITORIAL NOTE***************************** ATTACKS IN LONDON We wish to express our condemnation of the recent attacks in London. Our thoughts lie with those who have lost their lives, the injured ones, and their families. In these difficult times, let us look out for one another and be ready to offer help and advice where needed. Let us avoid getting embroiled in heated debates about what happened and who did it, and refrain from pointing fingers. Over the next few days there is likely to be considerable media focus on the Muslim community and possibly a backlash. Do not try to become spokespeople for the Muslims if you cannot express yourself in a calm, accurate and articulate manner. If you are a mosque or organisation leader, please ensure that you assign capable people who can speak clearly and keep things simple. There is no need to give an analysis of the issues based on our limited understanding, because we may end up playing into the hands of unscrupulous elements within the media. Instead, let the sincerity, good character and genuine concern of the Muslims speak for itself. "Whosoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak good or remain silent" (Bukhari and Muslim) We ask Allah, the Exalted, that He eases the suffering of all those who are innocent. Be careful, make du'a and remain steadfast. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/islamic_events/

from Ihsan's blog again
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:27:07
[slm] Friday, July 08, 2005 http://ihsan-net.blogspot.com/2005/07/bombs-that-silence-dissent.html#label Bombs that silence dissent Most of the bloggers I read live outside the UK, which probably explains the sudden increase in traffic to my blog during the last 24 hours. Perhaps people appreciate that its not always easy to understand events – specifically the London bombings and its aftermath - from the perspective of another nation and culture. This was evidently true in the views of one otherwise astute blogger-friend from the USA, who thought Massoud Shadjareh, Chairperson of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, was probably sensible in advising British Muslims to "remain vigilant and calm and stay indoors." Of course, there is an issue of safety, but Massoud Shadjareh’s comments – like his ill-conceived Islamophobe of the Year awards – were utterly counterproductive, disproportionate and irrelevant to the real threat facing Muslims in Britain post 07/07. Iqbal Sacranie, the Muslim Council of Britain frontman recently knighted by Bliar's government for his service to grovelling, was quite right to describe Shadjareh's advice as 'irresponsible'. But Shadjareh is symptomatic of a wider problem. When one Oxford-based Muslim scholar recently lamented that British Muslims simply "didn't have the people" to build a leadership base comparable to the Jewish and other minority communities, he was thinking of self-appointed ‘leaders’ like Shadjareh, who was not entirely alone in responding to yesterday's tragic events in London with his brain switched off. Thankfully, there have been sufficient sensible voices, mostly from coalitions like the Muslim Council of Britain and the Muslim Safety Forum, to ensure British Muslims were better advised following yesterdays attacks, but not before Shadjareh’s appeal to paranoia had found a sympathetic ear in the offices of the Press Association. Muslim blog-comment following the events yesterday partly focused, quite rightly, on the political injustice surrounding the terror and counter-terror of Al-Qaeda and Empire. Worthy as they are, these responses need to be put into the context of what the mainstream British press and TV and the majority of politicians are saying. Most of the media, typically, have downplayed the political nature of the bombings, focusing instead on personal narratives and issues of the emergency services’ technical efficiency. Both media and government have highlighted the usual nationalist tropes of British stoicism and resolve. But in the interstice permitted for political comment, Bliar’s spokespeople have been keen to deny any political motivation to the bombers whatsoever. Appealing directly to the mass circulating tabloid press, the assertion is that the “terrorists responsible for this outrage” are insanely irrational and driven solely by a demonic nihilism. Next to the senseless loss of life and the suffering of those injured and traumatised as a result of yesterday’s attacks, the greatest tragedy is that the voices raised against Empire, so vocal around the Gleneagles G8, voices which were beginning to filter their way in the mainstream media and popular thinking, have now been either silenced or debased by the bombs of the 07th July. Now these voices are struggling to be heard, because media and politicians consider it legitimate to denigrate and deny platform to anyone voicing such opinions. Why? Partly because of the shift in media attention, of course, but also because Some of al-Qaeda’s grievances are shared by anti-globalization protesters and Muslims, particularly the occupation of Iraq. Most British people know that. And Bliar's government knows that. So from now on, don't mention the war - or at least the REASONS for the war and its wider political context - because someone might think you're on the side of terrorism. The silencing of dissent was a fact fatefully acknowledged by Iqbal Sacranie when he appeared on BBC Newsnight yesterday evening, in his reluctance to even get drawn into the politics surrounding this attack, instead seeking refuge in the fact that claims of responsibility made by an al-Qaeda group have yet to be “officially” verified. Media-savvy Sacranie, whose ardent call for British withdrawal of troops from Iraq have rarely found a platform in the mainstream media, understands all too well the need to stay schtum on such matters whilst he works with journalists, senior government officials and police to ensure post 07/07 British Muslim safety. It may seem plausible to argue that the terrorists who perpetrated yesterday’s outrages and events such as the Coalition’s decimation of Falluja are equivalent crimes against humanity, and that the blood of British and American citizens is always seen as more valuable than that of Muslim towel heads and sand-niggers. But this line of thinking fails to take into account what the London bombers ‘achieved’ yesterday, which was to silence dissent against Empire. They didn’t just kill and injure innocent people; they wounded the hopes of those Muslims and others who want to wake up the world to the post-Soviet political settlement, which has seen neoconservative economics walk fist in glove with American militarism. There is a great evil in the world; but a more sinister evil emanates from those who, even by default, silence its critics. That is why I condemn yesterday’s attacks in London as the greater outrage. posted by Yakoub at 7/08/2005 02:56:00 AM

another blog
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:29:25
[slm] Thursday, July 07, 2005 Blair's war brings bloodshed to the streets of London http://www.craigmurrayfriends.blogspot.com/ With the death toll at 38 and likely to rise, and wounded at around 700, the extent of the human misery caused by the attacks is becoming clearer. Like many other Londoners, due in at the office in city center tomorrow, the days events leave more than a shadow of doubt and apprehension at the thought of stepping onto a tube train or bus. Maybe my long held plans about cycling to work will finally come to fruition. Probably much more dangerous but somehow far less scary right now. It all seems somewhat dream-like at the moment. What I expected to happen for the last two years finally has and a subdued sense of tragic inevitability, almost deja vu pervades. These feelings no doubt derive from having travelled through Liverpool Street station so many times, idling away some waiting moments by speculating what it would feel like when it happened. A slow motion disaster movie, with a poor script and highly predictable outcome, set in motion in March 2003, has finally reached its all to obvious climax - or so we hope... When the dust settles, the blood is washed away, and the political rhetoric quietens down, the real debates on causes and strategies for future prevention can begin. This will be a key time and lets hope a real opportunity for calm reflection on recent security and foreign policy mistakes. Real and horrific threats need smart, tough and effective strategies to combat them. Will Blair be able to move from his entrenched dishonest and defensive justification of the unjustifiable? Will he be able to admit that he disregarded the advice for British intelligence about the increased risk of terrorism if we invaded Iraq? Unless he does the chances of coming up with something that will work are extremely remote. The US led and UK followed "war on terror" has been a self-defeating, counter-productive and very bloody mistake. It has failed to deliver security and the people of London today have paid a heavy price for Blair's trans-Atlantic obsessions

From Isla's blog
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:31:39
[slm] Friday, July 08, 2005 Isla's 7/7 Diary http://islameetsworld.blogspot.com/2005/07/islas-77-diary.html It was a normal morning. Unsuspecting tube-goers avoided eye contact with each other, bleary-eyed and in need of some coffee to get the day going. For some reason I'd had to be in work early, and so the tube I was on wasn't as packed as they normally are. As we moved away from Holborn station there was an announcement that the train would not be stopping at Liverpool Street. No one batted an eyelid, after all, it's pretty normal these days for the tube to be delayed, or stations to be closed. I jumped out at Chancery Lane at a few minutes to nine, completely oblivious at this stage of what was happening a few stops on down the line...

Aaminah's blog
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:32:30
[slm] London Bombing NOT Islamic I wanted to send condolences to all those in London or who have family and friends in London that they are concerned about. I also want to reiterate that no matter who claims responsibility for this atrocious crime, or what they claim motivated them, they in NO WAY reflect the correct behavior of Islam and Muslims. There is no excuse in Islam for taking innocent lives, or for ever taking the lives of women, children or elderly persons. Whatever grievances may be had, rightly or wrongly, with governments, it can never be taken out on the people. Before you think this is just my own opinion, you should know that these are part of the rules of engagement laid out in the Qur'an and exemplified and detailed by the Prophet Muhammad (salalahi alahi wa salaam) during his lifetime. http://writeoussister.blogspot.com/

Yusuf Smith's Blog
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:35:11
[slm] Yusuf Smith's Blog http://www.blogistan.co.uk/blog/ July 7, 2005 @ 10:50 pm · Filed under London bombings Alhamdu lillah, I’m still around. Thanks to all the people who wrote to me and commented here to check whether I was safe after this morning’s bombings in London. I actually had a rather interesting day, and I guess as a blogger I should tell the world what I saw and heard of today’s events. I live in New Malden, and my work today was out of an industrial estate in Mitcham, which is a bus and a tram ride away. I had to pick up a Ryder truck from Croydon, drive it to Manston airport, which is right out at the far end of Kent near to the port town of Ramsgate, pick up a truckload of baggage belonging to a party of American tourists who’d taken a charter flight from an undisclosed place in the USA (by the tags on their bags, it seems they came from Nebraska!), and drive it to the Hilton Hotel in Park Lane, London. I headed out of Croydon and picked up the M25 ring road at junction 6, and stopped off about five miles east at Clacket Lane service station. I used the toilet, bought one bar of chocolate marzipan (their coffee is way too expensive, and I’d already had my fill of coffee at the AMT bar at Wimbledon station), and went back to the truck. This was about 9:25am, and Jon Gaunt’s phone-in show was on. They were talking about some strange occurrences, like bangs on the underground which people thought were caused by light fittings falling onto the tracks in front of trains and that sort of thing. They said the tubes were closed down and there was obviously a lot of disruption. When I got to Maidstone around 9:45am, the BBC London station’s signal was fading, so I tuned it to Radio 4. At 10am, it was still “power surges”, and Woman’s Hour and the 10:45 drama (The Reef by Edith Wharton) passed off as normal. Then at 11, they put on an extended news bulletin and then said they were suspending normal programmes, and joining the BBC’s rolling news channel, Radio 5 Live. (Interestingly, we were also joined with the BBC Asian Network.) It was at this point that we got the news that the incidents in London were explosions and that not only tube trains but also a bus had been hit. I told one of the other drivers who said it wasn’t a surprise that London had been bombed - if Paris had got the Olympics, he said, that city would have been hit instead. We were hearing that there were injuries and possible fatalities. At that time, our main concern was how we would get through the chaos the bombings were said to be causing. We had to go from one side to the other. Given that our guests were Americans, I mentioned to the other lads that perhaps the Americans might be told that we’d just had a big terrorist attack, so that they could decide whether they wanted to continue their trip (which I later discovered was by courtesy of the State Farm Insurance Companies Group and was a reward for selling insurance!) or go home. For a while, it looked that I might be going home, as the luggage did not like it would fill three, let alone four, trucks. In the end, I did get some, so it looked like I was in it for the long haul. I made frantic phonecalls to the boss, to my agency, and my family; my Dad works at Vauxhall, and he told me that the traffic was flowing OK round there. I stopped three times on the way to make calls, and answer one from my Mum. She did not know until I told her that the incidents were terrorism and not accidents. I also called the hotel and asked them about the traffic situation and whether there had been any change of plan. There hadn’t been, and it seemed the traffic was OK, despite Edgware Road (which starts at the far end of Park Lane) having been closed due to the bomb attack at the station. But before every jump-off point on the road to London, there were light-matrix signs saying “Avoid London, Area Closed”. Just before the M25 the signs added “Turn on radio”. I turned BBC London back on just before I crossed over the M25 at Dartford. They were running a “rolling news” feature, and their normal afternoon presenter (Robert Elms) had been replaced with the evening phone-in team of Eddie Nestor and Kath Melandri. Nestor and Melandri made it perfectly clear that nothing would be announced on their show other than what had happened - there would be no speculation. There was a great emphasis on keeping things calm and so there wasn’t much on who was behind the attacks, because it wasn’t known. The Ramsgate road is a non-stopping highway all the way from east Kent to the Kidbrooke traffic lights. About a quarter of a mile north of there, if you’re going into London, you turn off the dual carriageway onto the Shooters Hill Road. I carried on across Blackheath, down the hill into Deptford, through New Cross and into Peckham, where I hit the usual slow traffic. I kept wondering when I would meet the inevitable gridlock. On through Camberwell, past the Oval, round the big junction at Vauxhall, up the Vauxhall Bridge Road … I could see heavy traffic everywhere, but the way I was going was mostly blissfully clear. At Victoria, less than a mile from my destination, I met my first police cordon. Traffic was being diverted back along Wilton Road, parallel to Vauxhall Bridge Road. I asked a policeman how I might get to Park Lane, and he suggested going back to Vauxhall Bridge Road, which of course would lead me straight to the point where I was talking to him! I headed for the Belgrave Road, an old double for the VBR, which also led into a police cordon. I ended up driving round in circles in Pimlico, a part of London I’m not too familiar with. In the end, I found myself on Lupus Street which leads to Grosvenor Road. Grosvenor Road runs along the north side of the Thames, and there is a set of traffic lights at which, if you turn right, you will drive up to Sloane Square and then Knightsbridge. But … you can’t turn right. So I had to drive across the river, down to the roundabout (where the Shell/Sainsbury’s garage is) and back across the river. I got to the hotel (after driving round one of London’s maze-like one-way systems) to find the other guys already there, and indeed already off-loaded. In the end, they departed for Mitcham before I could even start off-loading, so when I finally got started, I had to bring the luggage from front of truck to back on my own, while the helpers picked them up at the back, an arrangement which didn’t impress me much. If there was any of this so-called “bulldog spirit” in the air this afternoon, it was not in evidence in Park Lane. I finally hit the road about 4 (I was so annoyed and tired that I thought it was 5pm, which increased my annoyance of course!) and headed for Chelsea Bridge. They were telling people on the news to go home if they could, without stampeding or everyone flooding out at once. So we got an extended rush hour - perhaps because a lot of delay in getting kids out of school. Chelsea Bridge Road and Queenstown Road were slow. So was Clapham Common South Side, as it always is, due to roadworks just south of the busy junction with the South Circular SO THEY CAN BUILD A TESCO STORE!!!!! And Tooting was jammed up as it so often is. By this time I was really desperate to get back home, as I hadn’t had much sleep last night. So far (remember, the morning papers haven’t hit the streets yet), I’ve been impressed with the radio coverage, although I’ve only listened to Radio 4 and London Live. I have to say, I find some of the LBC presenters usually pretty calm and reasonable; Jon Gaunt has used “hand-wringing” as some sort of insult, while I’ve heard one of LBC’s guys say openly that he couldn’t find any easy solution for some issue or other, but Nick Ferrari’s reputation is something else entirely, not that I listen to him. I’m at a loss to what this “bulldog spirit” they were talking about means. A “bulldog” is otherwise known as a bull terrier, a dog bred for fighting which used to be known for mauling infant children and for its appeal to morons and drug dealers; the breed has been strictly controlled since a few nasty incidents in the early 1990s. I wasn’t so impressed with the absence of coverage on any other issue - such as, for example, an arrest related to the murder of 13-year-old Amanda “Milly” Dowler in 2002; I read the news on the Evening Standard’s headline boards, and really wanted to hear the news, but the bombings edged literally everything else out. Tory Bliar’s mid-day speech was as unimpressive as I thought it would be; Ken Livingstone’s, which I believe was delivered in Singapore where he had gone to bid for the Olympics, increased my confidence in him - it was based on appeal to “Londoner” solidarity rather than patriotism. He also pointed out that the bombs were aimed at ordinary, working-class Londoners of every race, caste, age and religion. Bliar, on the other hand, was talking about “our way of life” in a way reminiscent of Bush or Ronald Dumbsfeld, which gave the impression that it would be used as an excuse for ever more intrusive “security” measures. Yeah, he pointed out that most Muslims were decent people. But nobody pointed out that two Muslim areas were hit. Until 10:17pm, when I heard Trevor Phillips making the first such reference; as I write, at 10:18, they are interviewing one Ayman Slama in his Egyptian restaurant. Who did this is, at present, not clear; an unknown al-Qa’ida type outfit is said to have posted a “claim of responsibility” on a forum, on which anyone can post anonymously. Sa’ad al-Faqih was interviewed and he said that the Arabic on the claim was dodgy and that the Qur’an was wrongly quoted, which led him to suspect that it wasn’t the “real” al-Qai’da, although it could perhaps be a home-grown Qa’ida-influenced group. (Does anyone see similarities with the “9/11 suicide notes” that everyone’s forgotten about?) I have no idea why al-Qa’ida would deliberately attack two Muslim areas. There is suspicion that at least one device was set off inadvertently. One observes that this doesn’t look like a catastrophic attack, unless you’re one of the people killed or seriously injured or bereaved. There have been four trains hit and one bus. What have we been threatened with over the years since 9/11 - “dirty bombs”, smallpox, anthrax … I heard that back in 1995, there was a programme shown on TV which said that a nuclear terrorist attack was in some way overdue. But what we have seen is basically four IRA-style bombings. By the exorbitant standards of al-Qa’ida (huge truck bombs, attacks on ships, planes into skyscrapers), this looks rather like a barrel-scraping of the order of the infamous bomb hoax at the 1997 Grand National (a big horse race). Sinn Fein, the IRA’s political wing, signed a power-sharing deal the following year; if this was al-Qa’ida, it probably means they are close to exhausted. But really, I don’t expect anyone to ask me to condemn this bombing. These people will not find many friends among the Muslims in London, because today they made four attempts to kill us. Most Muslims know that our deen does not give us the right to kill indiscriminately; the reasons such attacks are un-Islamic are so numerous and so obvious that any attempt to spell them out would seem inadequate. We know that there are Muslims in London who despise other Muslims, who do not care if they bring well-meaning fellow believers campaigning against state terrorism into disrepute. I’m not saying they are the same people - I’m pretty sure that they are so full of wind and stupid slogans that they would not have the brains to make a bomb. But they are our enemy as well, and the reason we can’t offer much help in dealing with them is mostly that, well, they don’t tell us before they bomb us.

Kashif's Blog!!!!!!!!
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:36:06
[slm] Thursday, July 07, 2005 Today http://peacebruv.blogspot.com/ jazakallahu khair for your concern q8i and sr. Hawa, alhumdulillah, i am fine I tend to get in for work at around 8am everyday so i was already in the office when the mayhem started. I usually get off at Whitechapel and then walk 20 minutes to my office (so that i don't have to pay for a zone 1 travelcard) and on that route i walk past Aldgate & Aldgate East stations to the office. Today i actually went in via Liverpool Street. So either way it could have been ka-blamow for me. But alhumdulillah, Allah spared me and my family from any grief, and we have nothing bad to report. I did try to visit the scene during my lunch break but the police had cordoned off the area around Aldgate station and i couldn't get there. It is a bad day for London, but i couldn't help but laugh when my brother told me that he was watching the afternoon news when the news presenter asked an expert "but could this have been the IRA?" and the expert replied, "oh no. This is too clever for the Irish." hahahaha posted by Kashif @ 9:26 PM 6 comments

From Abu Sinan's Blog
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:38:21
[slm] Ashamed? Far from it! From Abu Sinan's Blog http://abusinan.blogspot.com/ The response to the recent bombings in London have been a bit odd in places. How can one be ashamed of their religion based on the actions of some lunatics? Were Christians ashamed when their co-religionists murdered 10,000 Muslims in Sbrenecia? Were Christians ashamed to be Christian when 1,000,000 Ugandans have been killed by radical Christians seeking to impose their version of Christianity on that country? Some have speculated that the attackers were probably Arabs, maybe North African. I don't think so. I could be wrong, but I would bet my next pay packet that the attackers were Pakistani or from the Indian sub continent somewhere and had help within the local immigrant community. Anyone who seriously thinks that the attacks were planned and carried out by North Africans, or even Arabs, doesn't really have a clue on the make-up of the Muslim community in the UK. The Muslim community in the UK is mostly from the Indian sub-continent, with splatterings of smaller communities from elsewhere in the Muslim world. I think, when it comes out, it will be found to be the actions of a small group of people from this community, maybe with some outside help. People have pointed to various things to try and say that major outside help was needed, ie the coordination of the attacks. I don't buy it. The first and last attack were almost an hour apart. That is hardly a sign of real professional coordinated attack. The bombs were small and didn't cause much in the way of damage. The double decker bus is a good example. I believe, at current count, there were 2 deaths on the bus. Compare that with the deaths of similar attacks in Israel and you'll see where I can coming from. This was during the rush our in London. A well prepared and sophisticated attack would have caused hundreds of deaths, not a few dozen. Look at Madrid to see what a well conducted attack can do. I am not ashamed to be Muslim because the actions of fanactics, nor do I think Muslims should be asked to be ashamed. I wouldn't ask Jews to be ashamed for 50 years of occupation of Palestine. I never thought about heading to the local Eastern Orthodox Church to ask them to be ashamed for being Orthodox when their co-religionists were murdering hundreds of thousands of men women and children, nor would I have headed to the local Serbian society to demand they be ashamed at the mass murder being done in their name. Such self hatred and self loathing is not only sick, it is counter productive. I think some Muslims and Arabs all too easily fall to their knees in self loathing because they think this will somehow make them acceptable to the West. It wont, at the end of the day you are still a rag head, still a devil worshipper, and prone to violence. Sure, they have some of the people they call the "good Arabs" or the Muslims that are okay because they "aren't really Muslim" because they don't practice their faith. At the end of the day these people are nothing more than what we would call here in the USA an "Uncle Tom" or a "House Nigger." When push comes to shove you will be put into the same lot as the rest of your Arab and Muslim brothers and sisters. Don't delude yourself otherwise. The only reason you are accepted is because you keep your mouth shut at the right times, and speak up when you know that your words will court favour with those you seek to impress. Mention any issue that you might find important, Palestine, the Iraqi occupation, support of dictators, US foreign policy, and you will end up right in the rubbish heap with the rest of us Muslims, you will loose your status as the "most favoured wog" and you will be treated like anyone else. If you don't believe it, it hasn't happened to you yet. But don't worry, it will. Remember me when it does, and hopefully God will remember you and be forgiving as He is when you go on your knees to Him for acceptance, not to those who hated you from the minute of your birth. I know some of you out there wont like this post because it hits too close to home. Sorry, too bad. Have some self respect, get off your knees and have pride in your history and where you come from. Stop the self flagilation and dont demand of yourself what is not asked of others. Next time some one asks you to apologise for Islam tell them that Islam is no more to blame than Christianity. Next time someone attacks you for being Arab say you have no more to answer for than anybody else, Italians, Germans, Dutch, English, anyone. Hold your head up high and fear God! posted by Abu Sinan at 1:21 AM

From Risama's blog
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:39:19
[slm] http://izzymo.blogspot.com/ Thursday, July 07, 2005 Ya Latif!!! Most Kind and Merciful Lord, there is no power or might save in You. You are the Magnificient One, swift in His mercy but strong against those who trangress Your will and make much mischief on the Earth. Ya Latif, may this terrorist attack being their undoing. May You bless the people of London, the United Kingdom, Iraq, Afghanistan, New York City, Istanbul and Bali--all those who have lost loved ones due to violence and murder. I woke up this morning and turned on the TV to see something so horrible I almost puked. Immediately, I was sick. Not again, not another cowardly shameless attack. I did something that I was too shocked and angered to do on September 11th...I started to cry. Of course my mom was worried about me. I almost called in sick today because I was in no shape to deal with anyone. I just wanted to stay home, cry, pray and try to touch base with my friends in the UK. Alhamdulillah, they are okay and posting on Deenport. Brother Yusuf is alright and well. I love my British Muslimeen and admire them for all they have accomplished in the way of Islam. My stepdad told me that you can't get upset or blame yourself over something you can't control, especially over something that you didn't do. Why am I crying while the people who did this are happy and free? Why as Muslims should we feel ashamed when we are innocent while the guilty feel nothing. No remorse or shame. I don't care who did it--Al-Qaeda, IRA or the Muhaja-LOONIES. It's just appalling and quite disgusting. Since the 9/11 attacks, I've been so angry that I didn't have room for tears until today. Well, no more of that. Really, I'm sick of this foreign and domestic terrorism. I am tired of seeing young men in my city shoot themselves to death over turf they don't own or people strapping bombs to their chest and calling it jihad. I hope the Prophets (alayhum wasalaam) can't see this cuz it would make anyone cry tears of blood. I hope the British Muslims learn from our mistakes and stand in solidarity against terrorism. May we Muslims wake up and rise to the challenge. La howla walaa quwatta illa billah. Most Kind Lord, give us strength in these times of fitnah. May you bless the family and friends of the victims. posted by Risama at 8:39 PM

From Potwari's Blog:
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:40:21
[slm] http://potwariblog.blogspot.com/ Friday, July 08, 2005 By now the whole world has heard about the horrific and inhuman terror attacks in London yesterday.It is difficult to find strong enough words to condemn such madness. Words seem empty in comparison to the real sense of human loss. Whoever the pepetrators are they should know that they have not just taken the lives of a "few" innocents but rather as the Qur'an states "taken the life of all humanity". We must all unite against ALL forms of terrorism!

From MK's Blog
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:41:16
[slm] Friday, July 08, 2005 London Bombing I'm still in shock about what happened yesterday. My day started as any other. I got the bus from my house at around 8am to my tube station. Most of the journey was normal, the only idea that there were problems on the tube was when the train driver informed us that there had been 'power surges' on the underground and that most tube lines were closed, except for ours, and that we would be carrying on. We got to Waterloo station and after about five minutes were told to evacuate the station, again nothing new here, this happens quite often. I got out the station and rang my wife to tell her that I was stuck at Waterloo station. I rang my manager who told me that it would be difficult for me to get to work so I should try and get home. I got a bus going back up towards East London and about five minutes into the bus ride I had a call from my wife who was upset and told me that there had been bombs across central London and that if I was at a tube station or bus, to get off. I was shocked, I couldn't believe that something like this had happened. I calmed down and began to recite durood sharif and making dua that everything would be ok. The bus I was on then suddenly stopped two stops before I was about to get off and terminated, saying that the bus would not be continuing any further. I was then stranded for about an hour, I couldn't get any transport back home, on top of that my phone battery died meaning that I couldn't get hold of my wife to let her know I was ok. I eventually managed to flag down a taxi who was willing to take me home, I was relieved but, still shocked about the events of the past few hours. I count myself very lucky, or I should say grateful to Allah that my life was spared, I have been to all the stations that have been affected before, although none of the stations affected are on my work route. As Muslims we condemn these attacks. Whoever carried them out should be brought to justice. Islam condemns indiscriminate killings, it is not part of our faith and never will be. In this time of tribulation our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by these terrible events. Words cannot adequately describe my feelings, I am angry, frustrated and feel a sense of violation that this has happened in a the city that I live in. May Allah grant us patience in these troubling times. http://reflectionsofamuslim.blogspot.com/

Nur-ul-Ihsan's Blog:
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:42:22
[slm] Nur-ul-Ihsan's Blog: http://theeminence.blogspot.com/ 2005/07/07 London Blasts Oh no, not again...I thought, as I heard the news of the London blasts on the bus home yesterday. The thing is, this kind of thing, can happen to anyone of us. Even in Singapore - they would have bombed the Yishun MRT (Mass Rapid Transit), had the government not stopped them in time, some years back. Do they care who they target? I don't think so. Everyday, Chinese, Indians and Malays board the train, so Muslims and non-Muslims alike, were targets. So, all of us have a right to be angry that innocent people are killed. But each time something like this happens, somehow or other, Islam is put on trial. Because these people commit these acts in the name of religion although Muslim religious leaders all over the world condemn the killing of civilians. Yet it goes on. Meanwhile, in Iraq, we have a rising number of Americans and Iraqis dying. And then we have Palestinians and Israelis dying everyday at the Gaza Strip. But who cares about them, eh? It makes me wonder who we mourn? I guess it's not who you are but whether your death has political implications. I mean, who knew about Rachel Corrie, an American youth who died defending the home of a Palestinian? She's American, she's a hero to hundreds of Palestinians, but she's not important. So, the world mourns...rightly so, coz the London blasts affect all of us, but I hope we are mourning for the right reasons. It is a war against an enemy we cannot see. Let us not be blinded by hate. I join fellow Brit and American bloggers who believe in what Martin Luther King said: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

From Ibrahim N. Abusharif's Blog
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:43:19
[slm] Friday, July 08, 2005 Violence and Soul http://fromclay.blogspot.com/ Is it any wonder why we cry when we come into this world? Out of the safety of a blameless existence, the inner sanctum of purity, we are yanked by hands or forceps to an existence that moves steadily to answerability. From spotlessness to sin, that’s our mapquest, a migration of a lesser developed brain but superior spirituality to higher intelligence and character flaws from within and without. We exchange the sounds of our mothers’ heartbeats for the misdirections and stunts of the world and its minions who always want something from you and will take it by force if need be. When we’re finally old enough to be consumers of the media, baptized by men who tell us things, we learn fast that there’s no shortage of conflict in our world. With spears, stones, missiles, and prose, the sons and daughters of Adam aim their vengeance at one another without discretion, if such a concept even applies. The words and dramas are familiar enough, a veritable slaughter of language to celebrate human violence. So what is it? Aggression or defense? Heroes or villains? Security or terrorism? Love or hate? God or ego? Suicide or martyrdom? Fences or land grab again? The beat goes on. The cacophony of phraseology and the resultant cleaving of human flesh has another damnable mutilation, namely the ultimate distraction, anything to keep us from realizing the other conflict, the drama that we are born with, the battle between our two natures: the clay of our bodies and the spirit breathed into us all that clearly is not of this world. It is in this battleground, this tumultuous Gettysburg or Badr, where the problems of our external world are imbibed and sponsored. We want answers, and talking heads, the experts of course, give them. And we still don’t know where to begin. A world leader thinks the answer is in a lasso, just round them up and kill them; a man in a cave and his sycophants believe that chaos will produce order, murder yields justice; hatred paves the road to peace; and shrapnel will generate civilization; they have certainty that God guides their bomb-makers. People see him and think of Islam and a noble Prophet. Now that’s the greatest of tragedies.

Baraka's Blog
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:44:34
[slm] Thursday, July 07, 2005 Requiem http://barika.blogspot.com/ www.artmag.com/events/ m-k/requiem.html I woke up bleary eyed for a conference call here on the Pacific Coast, so had no time to check the news. During the call, when someone mentioned the bomb blasts in London my heart leapt--so many loved ones there, all the innocents. It makes me so angry and sad that these few, mad, intolerant, vicious people are tearing up people's lives, causing pain, and spreading hatred. They've made us all hostages to fear through their hate. This isn't about religion. One of the areas bombed in London is an Arab majority area. In Iraq, the insurgents take fellow Muslims as hostages & behead them, most recently the Egyptian ambassador today. This is about pure, indiscriminate terror, & if we don't outright condemn its use against everyone it will come to our door. We have to stand together upholding the values of a common humanity & justice, and not be swayed by divisive tribal lines. And those values must be upheld by governments and individuals. We cannot have double standards for those in Guantanamo and those elsewhere. We have to say no to notions of collective guilt, and to fear overturning the liberties and laws that make this country great. Here's to London--sweet London & her people today. May God rest in peace the souls of those who have died such a tragic death, and grant support & patience to those who have lost loved ones or suffered this day. ------- First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me. - Pastor Martin Niemöller------- Yes... I can’t believe the news today Oh, I can’t close my eyes and make it go away How long... How long must we sing this song? How long? how long... ’cause tonight...we can be as one Tonight... Broken bottles under children’s feet Bodies strewn across the dead end street But I won’t heed the battle call It puts my back up Puts my back up against the wall Sunday, bloody sunday Sunday, bloody sunday Sunday, bloody sunday (sunday bloody sunday...) (allright lets go!) And the battle’s just begun There’s many lost, but tell me who has won The trench is dug within our hearts And mothers, children, brothers, sisters torn apart Sunday, bloody sunday Sunday, bloody sunday How long... How long must we sing this song? How long? how long... ’cause tonight...we can be as one Tonight... Tonight... Sunday, bloody sunday (tonight) Tonight Sunday, bloody sunday (tonight) (come get some!) Wipe the tears from your eyes Wipe your tears away Wipe your tears away I wipe your tears away (sunday, bloody sunday) I wipe your blood shot eyes (sunday, bloody sunday) Sunday, bloody sunday (sunday, bloody sunday) Sunday, bloody sunday (sunday, bloody sunday) (here I come!) And it’s true we are immune When fact is fiction and tv reality And today the millions cry We eat and drink while tomorrow they die The real battle yet begun (sunday, bloody sunday) To claim the victory jesus won (sunday, bloody sunday) On... Sunday bloody sunday Sunday bloody sunday... -U2

Bilal Patel's Statement
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:47:14
[slm] Young Muslim Leader Speaks Out On Attack http://www.mpacuk.org/content/view/4/786/103/ One in seven Londoners are Muslim. Half of all UK Muslims live in the city and most of them live in the East End. Yesterday [Wednesday], we were overjoyed to hear that the Olympic games were going to be staged where we live. As an Eastender, this must have been one of my happiest moments. I am so proud of this city. It's diversity and tolerance is unique and unmatched anywhere else in the world. It's amazing how quickly events turn around barely a day later. None of us are immune to the effects of terrorism. Muslims have been victims of IRA bombs. Our community was one which was specifically targeted by the Soho nail bomber. We bleed too. Two of today’s [Thursday] bombs went off in Whitechapel and Edgware Road, places where there is a heavy Muslim presence. We too made frantic phone calls, left voice mails and sent text messages to make sure that our friends, families and colleagues were not caught up in the bombings. However, we have concerns over and above that of the risks of suffering terrorist attacks. All of the calls I received from other Muslims were also fearful of the now predictable blame which will be fixed on our community. There is already speculation from some officials and media commentators about attacks from Islamist extremists? Rest assured that the finger of suspicion will be pointed at us yet again. It is not enough that Muslims have to suffer one set of attacks from terrorists. We will have to face many more from the politicians, press and security services in the weeks and months to come. As at the time of writing, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Ian Blair and the Home Secretary Charles Clarke, have warned against the dangers of speculation as to who exactly is behind these attacks. Turning us against one another, as Shadow Home Secretary David Davis warned, is exactly what the terrorists want. I agree with these sentiments. Londoners have in the past shown remarkable resilience and unity in the face of terrorist attacks. We have refused to let them affect us and I believe that, left to their own devices, people will unite and deal with this latest threat as they have dealt with every other. They will brush it off, things will go back to normal and all will be as it was. These attacks, stated Blair in his reaction, were designed to coincide with the opening of the G8 summit at Gleneagles. Yet in the same breath he talks about a threat from extremists determined to enforce their views on us. From the language he used, I presume that what he is talking about is the elusive Al Qaeda (whatever that is) and not those G8 demonstrators who physically attacked the police barricades and businesses in Edinburgh and other places. Excuse me, but the usual sanctimonious expressions about Al Qaeda are not enough this time. Tough rhetoric on tackling terror won’t stop attacks. They have happened. In London of all places, despite all the bragging about the successes of the war on terror? Fine words and condemnations might look good for the TV cameras, but they don’t address the issues. Are we really to believe that someone woke up one day, declared that he was an extremist, and decided to enforce his extremist views through bombs? Did Al Qaeda suddenly decide to bomb London for the sake of mere ideology? If it really was a so-called? Islamist? or Middle Eastern group behind these attacks, then I have no doubt that it happened because of Blair's insistence that we invade Iraq, and on the basis of a lie which is something that has infuriated the Muslim world. Like others, I further believe that our blinding acquiescence to the Israeli occupation of Palestine is something that marks us out as enemies in certain quarters, as does our tacit support of various dictators parading as kings and presidents in places like Saudi-occupied Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan. If politicians really are concerned about stopping terrorism and making this country and the world a safer place, then let’s leave out the macho tough talk and get down to business. I believe that in order to prevent terrorist attacks, we first have to sit down and talk with those who are behind these attacks, like we did with the IRA. Secondly, we have to recognise that if we go out and invade other countries, or support oppression in other countries, then this is not cost-free and it will eventually rebound on us. Thirdly, we will get nowhere if we don’t have the support of the Muslim community - at least here in the UK. Blair's government has alienated the community through its draconian anti-terror legislation and this has to be reviewed, as we will need the support and help of the community if it really is so-called Islamists behind these attacks. Frankly though, I am not hopeful that such a thing will happen. Once again our politicians will parade themselves with expressions of sanctimonious self-righteousness while the rest of us have to suffer as a result of their actions. It is high time that we called them to account. Bilal Patel. Bilal Patel is a British Muslim Leader in East London. Here, he gives his views on the latest attacks against his city. To contact him, please email: info@bright2000.com or call 07980 541 48

Stop Political Terror Press Release
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07/09/05 at 00:48:13
[slm] Stop Political Terror Press Release http://www.stoppoliticalterror.com/index.php?pageid=20&id=26 PRESS STATEMENT Source: Stop Political Terror Issue Date: Thursday 7th Jul 2005 Stop Political Terror condemns Attacks in London STOP POLITICAL TERROR CONDEMNS ATTACKS IN LONDON. PLEA FOR CALM AND UNITY AT THIS CRUCIAL TIME. Stop Political Terror is a coalition which is campaigning against recent anti-terror legislation, which we believe unfairly targets the British Muslim community. We are shocked at the news that there has been a series of explosions across London, with reports of loss of life. We utterly condemn these actions. We applaud the courage of Londoners and others who have shown calm and have refused to be terrorised by these incidents. We further appeal for restraint and unity at this crucial time. We respectfully ask the media not to engage in idle speculation against the Muslim community, as this will inevitably lead to a further breakdown in community relations. Half of Britain's Muslims live in London and we have all been the target of terror attacks before, ranging from IRA attacks, through to individuals, such as the Soho nail bomber, who specifically targetted Muslims and other minorities like Blacks and Homosexuals. The latest bombings also took place in areas where there are large Muslim communities, like Whitechapel and Edgware Road. Londoners have shown remarkable resilience and unity in the face of terrorist attacks before. We have no doubt that they shall do so again. MEDIA CONTACTS FOR STOP POLITICAL TERROR: SAGHEER HUSSAIN 07971 277 731 BILAL PATEL 07980 541 481 ADNAN SIDDIQUI 07956 196 229

Liberty Press Release
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07/09/05 at 00:49:04
[slm] Liberty Press Release http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/press/2005/statement-on-clarke-s-response.shtml Statement on Home Secretary's 'Today' Programme Comments 8 Jul 2005 Liberty shares everyone’s horror at the senseless and vindictive acts of terror carried out in London. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families and our respect and profound gratitude to the emergency services. We have no doubt that the whole of society will support the police and security services in the task of bringing the perpetrators of these terrible crimes to justice. Liberty has also been heartened by the response to these attacks from leading politicians across the political spectrum whose statements have been a proportionate response to these events. Responding to the comments made by the Home Secretary on the Today Programme on Friday 8th July concerning the attacks Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty, said: “I want to express my unequivocal respect and admiration for the leadership shown by the Home Secretary on this morning. He signaled effective but proportionate responses to the threat, which distinguish between the innocent and the guilty. In the difficult times ahead we may not agree on every detail but Charles Clarke will have Liberty’s general support for the values he outlined today.” Liberty Press Office: 020 7378 3656 or 07973 831 128

Hamza Moin's Site
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07/09/05 at 00:50:12
[slm] Hamza Moin's Site Croissants & London  July 7th,  Site news: In response to last year's Hijab ban: a new Fake News article. France Bans Croissants Not all too unrealisitic World news: I know it's a stressful day for those living in London due to the bomb blasts. Certain groups have supposedly claimed to be responsbile for the attacks and as a result, Muslims everywhere will once again be cast in a dark light thanks to the stupidity of a few individuals. Those who orchestrated this attack are cowards and as Muslims, we don't believe in innocent people dying for "causes". A murder to an innocent person is NEVER justifiable. On behalf of mainstream Muslims, our hearts and prayers go out to those who died in the London bomb blasts. I encourage all Muslims everywhere to make dua for them. I also understand that some of these bomb blasts are occuring near major Muslim pockets of London. May Allah (SWT) ease the pain and backlash. http://www.maniacmuslim.com/

Sher Khan's Statement
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07/09/05 at 00:51:23
[slm] Sher Khan's Statement Religion has no part in this Londoners of all faiths and none will remain united Sher Khan Friday July 8, 2005 The Guardian It was 7am and I felt a spring in my steps. The joy of our city's success in winning the right to stage the 2012 Olympic games was lingering on. It had been so long since our country and our capital felt so united in joy. So it was a calamitous shock to learn of what appears to be a series of coordinated attacks in London that have led to dozens of fatalities and scores of casualties. Lives that were united in celebration were now under threat from people who have no respect for the sanctity of life. Nothing can justify the slaughter of innocent lives. While the perpetrators of this crime have succeeded in afflicting injury and damage on our great city, they must not be allowed to destroy what we stand for. Lord Coe in his winning presentation distinguished London from all others by bringing to attention the richness of our diversity. He demonstrated, with visual examples, how people of so many different cultures and faiths could forge an identity that all could unite under. It is our ability to debate, to disagree and yet work together for the common good of our society while living in peace, which such atrocities threaten. They cannot and must not be allowed to win. The spirit that brought our country together in our campaign for the plight in Africa, and united us against the injustices in our world, must lead us to overcome and overwhelm the evil of those who are prepared to commit such horrors. There are people claiming responsibility for these atrocities, calling on the "nation of Islam and the Arab nation to rejoice" as these acts are "retaliation for the massacres Britain is committing in Iraq and Afghanistan". These people give the lie to religion. Whatever people feel about the current UK foreign policy, this cannot be used as an excuse to murder innocent people going about their business. Islam does not sanction such murder. Indeed, there is no one with a genuine belief in God who can have sympathy for such evil acts. The pursuit of justice cannot be used as an excuse for committing injustices against others. People who have lost their way in life have challenged our values. We must reply with a united voice. Two of the areas targeted have large Muslim communities. In fact, one in seven Londoners is a Muslim. This should make us all realise that the perpetrators of these crimes do not believe that any life has value: Christian or Muslim, Jew or Hindu, Buddhist or Sikh. They value no race either. Rather, they revel only in the indiscriminate killing of the innocent, and thus we are all their victims. However, out of such darkness there can be a dawn. Although there will be some who use these atrocities to sow division and hatred, amid some hate mail to UK Muslim websites there have been many messages of concern. People simply wanting to extend the hand of friendship and to make sure that as Muslims we do not feel vulnerable and exposed, as was the case after September 11. Such is the great spirit of London that I am convinced Londoners of all faiths and none will stand firm and resolute against this aggression. · Sher Khan is chair of the public affairs committee of the Muslim Council of Britain. http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,12780,1523812,00.html sherkhan31@hotmail.com

US Saudi Ambassador, Prince Bandar bin Sultan's
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07/09/05 at 00:52:17
[slm] US Saudi Embassy Reply 07/07/2005 Saudi Ambassador to the US condemns attack in London Saudi Ambassador to the United States Prince Bandar bin Sultan today condemned the terrorist attacks in London [Washington, DC] – Saudi Ambassador to the United States Prince Bandar bin Sultan expressed his sorrow at the death of civilians in today’s terrorist attacks in London. Prince Bandar condemned the attacks as vicious crimes carried out by cowards, and extended, on behalf of the people of Saudi Arabia, the “deepest condolences to the families of the victims of the attacks.” “As victims of terrorism, the people of Saudi Arabia express their deepest sympathies to the families of the victims, as well the British people and government, and pray to Almighty God to bring those who carried out this barbaric act to justice.” Prince Bandar further added that the criminal attacks in London are a sad reminder that no nation is immune from terrorism and encouraged the international community to continue to work together and remain vigilant in combating terrorism. http://www.saudiembassy.net/2005News/Press/PressDetail.asp?cIndex=275

Embassy of Jordan  - US
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07/09/05 at 00:53:29
[slm] Embassy of Jordan - Washington, D.C. Information Bureau http://www.jordanembassyus.org/new/pr/pr07072005.shtml Jordan Condemns Terror Attacks in London July 7, 2005 - Jordan strongly condemns the series of terror attacks that occurred in London today. The government and the people of Jordan send their sincerest and profound condolences and sympathy to the families of victims of this heinous crime, and to the British government and people. Jordan will continue to be steadfast and resolute in the fight on terrorism and its perpetrators with all possible means and to continue working closely with the international community to eradicate this phenomenon and bring those responsible to justice. Jordan reiterates its full rejection of all forms of terrorism and their justifications. Jordan strongly believes that such terror attacks defy the basic tenets and teachings of Islam; of peace, tolerance and coexistence.

ISNA Press Release:
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07/09/05 at 00:54:21
[slm] ISNA Condemns the Terrorist Attacks in London http://www.isna.net/index.php?id=35&backPID=1&tt_news=220 07- 7-05 10:42 Plainfield, Indiana – The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) expresses its strongest condemnation of the horrific bombings in London today. We abhor these acts of mindless violence that violate all Islamic principles regarding the sanctity of life and the safety and security of innocent civilians. ISNA urges the swift apprehension of those responsible and offers condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. Irrespective of the sociopolitical implications, this act violates the Islamic principles of the sanctity of life and the safety and security of innocent civilians. “Attacking civilians who are going about their daily business is a criminal act that violates Islamic principles, and must be condemned by all Muslims. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families,” Dr. Syeed, ISNA’s secretary general, stated. Contact resource: Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed Secretary General Phone: 317-839-8157 ext 222 Email: ssyeed@aol.com

NCC Press Release
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07/09/05 at 00:55:30
[slm] NCC Press Release http://www.ncccusa.org/news/050707LondonBombing.html July 7, 2005, New York -- The mass transit bombings in London Thursday will not advance the cause of terrorists, the National Council of Churches said, and will only strengthen the resolve of those who are attacked. NCC General Secretary Bob Edgar released the following statement Thursday: "The National Council of Churches joins in prayer for those who were injured and offers its sympathy to those who lost loved ones in the mass transit bombings in London today. Such violence reminds us not only of our need to be ever vigilant and to bring the perpetrators to justice; it also reminds us of our need to strenuously pursue peace with justice. While we recognize that religion is sometimes used to legitimize such acts of violence, we together with other mainstream religious organizations, including many in the Muslim community, thoroughly and unequivocally condemn such violence and enjoin all religious communities to pursue peace in a thousand ways."

ICNA PRess Release
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07/09/05 at 00:56:27
[slm] ICNA condemns the bomb attacks in London (New York, 7/7/2005) - The Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) is shocked and horrified at the several attacks on the people of London during the rush hour mass transit. We join everyone in condemning such acts of terror and senseless violence. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their loved ones at this tragic moment. We trust that the authorities will determine those responsible for these barbaric acts and bring them to justice quickly. Islam holds the sanctity of human life at the highest regard, and shedding the blood of innocent people is considered most heinous crime. As Muslims we condemn the killing of innocent people for any reason. This is an attack on all of us, and all communities of faith need to stand together in calm and resolute purpose against terrorism, hatred and extremism. We urge the people of England to remain calm. As citizens we also hope innocent people will not be targeted in backlash following this terror attack. Learning from experience after 9/11, we also express the profound hope that civil liberties will not be a further casualty of this tragic event, in the Great Britain or around the world. Here in the US, we urge Muslims to remain cautious and in communication while continuing their daily work, to avoid fear and confusion and remain measured in response, and above all, to put our trust in the Mercy of Allah, All-Mighty, which will sustain us during the coming days, Insha Allah. http://www.icna.org/pr_london_attacks.htm Contact Information: Dr. Khurshid Khan Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) (718) 658-1199

Jimas Website:
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07/09/05 at 00:58:09
[slm] Jimas Website: Barbaric Acts Against Humanity in London 7th July 2005 Prologue From the Noble Quran Our Statement/Advice From the Prophet Tony Blair's reaction Comments on Claim Visit the Muslim Council of Britain here Download PDF file from here PROLOGUE London Mayor Mr Livingstone - still in Singapore following London's successful 2012 Olympic bid said: "I want to say one thing: This was not a terrorist attack against the mighty or the powerful, it is not aimed at presidents or prime ministers, it was aimed at ordinary working-class Londoners. "That isn’t an ideology, it isn’t even a perverted faith, it’s mass murder. "We know what the objective is. They seek to divide London." The Mayor added: "Black and white, Muslim and Christian, Hindus and Jews, young and old. It was an indiscriminate attempt to slaughter irrespective of any considerations for age, class, religion ... whatever." We cannot agree more. These acts represent the darkest malice and evil the world suffers to harbour from the vilest scums of the earth. Never for a moment could we entertain the idea that such people exist among the Muslims in Britain. Words fail to truly condemn the unspeakable horror and wickedness behind these utterly callous and inhuman acts of barbarism. The cowardice of the perpetrators is beyond description. Let the whole world and the criminals associated with these acts know that we absolutely condemn these barbaric acts against humanity and that our hearts go out to the friends and families of those who are victims of this despicable tragedy. We fully share the grief and sorrow of the nation and extend our wholehearted condolences to the victims.We anxiously await with confidence that our law enforcement authorities will soon discover the identity of the perpetrators and bring them to task with the full force of the law. BACK TO THE TOP FROM THE NOBLE QURAN If any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people. [Surah al-Maidah (5): 32] If a man kills a Believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell, to abide therein: and the wrath and the curse of Allah are upon him, and a dreadful penalty is prepared for him. [Surah an-Nisa (4): 93] BACK TO THE TOP OUR STATEMENT AND ADVICE In the year 2000 Tony Blair at the Eid Party at 12 Downing St. said, "We have to rectify the false images created by a few." This is primarily the responsibility of those whose religion is distorted and misinterpreted to justify actions that sicken the human conscience and cause revulsion in every decent human being on earth. We expect all British Muslims and non-Muslims to stand together in opposition to terrorism and to help in safeguarding our society and country from people who are acting outside the values of religion and law. Islam shares with Christianity not only the nobility of the 10 biblical commandments but completely agrees with the understanding behind the so-called 7 cardinal sins. A Muslim cannot but treat human beings with dignity and respect due to God's statements in the Quran and the Prophet's kind behaviour towards all, in light of the inherent dignity of mankind espoused by Islam. There are many examples in the Quran and the prophetic traditions that one can study in this respect to verify this. To pronounce the central creed of Islam (shahada) is to act before God with respect for His creation, because faith (iman) is actually a public trust (amana). Relations between human beings are based on respect, trustworthiness and, above all, on an absolute faithfulness to the agreements, contracts or treaties which have been explicitly or tacitly made. Fulfil (every) engagement, for (every) engagement, will be enquired into. [Surah al-Isra 17:34] Those who faithfully observe their trusts and their covenants; [Surah al-Muminun 23:8] This is true to the point that if Muslims are unfairly treated or persecuted in a country with which another Muslim community has signed an agreement, it is impossible for the latter to intervene for respect of the contract comes first. This is clearly stated in the Qur’an. But if they seek your aid in religion, it is your duty to help them, except against a people with whom you have a treaty of mutual alliance. And (remember) Allah sees all that you do. [Surah al-Anfal 8:72] The Quran says, "God forbids you not, with regard to those who fight you not for (your)faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them; for God loveth those who are just." It is one of the functions of Islamic law to protect the privileged status of minorities, and this is why non-Muslim places of worship have flourished all over the Islamic world. History provides many examples of Muslim tolerance towards other faiths: when the caliph Omar entered Jerusalem in the year 634, Islam granted freedom of worship to all religious communities in the city. Islamic law also permits non-Muslim minorities to set up their own courts, which implement family laws drawn up by the minorities themselves. Within our free society in Britain of welfare rights, universal suffrage, equality before the law, freedom of expression and religions, people of different faiths are not only able to discover the teachings particular to them but to foster and promulgate the values inherent in them in a pluralistic, multicultural environment. Muslims can establish organisations, teach and promote their faith both with ease and a large degree of respect and make autonomous representation. Many otherwise non-practising Muslims rediscover Islam and become committed to it at various levels in our country at different periods of their age due to the supportive conditions that prevails in this land. Our country affords that in principle, as a matter of free choice. Muslims may face some difficulty in needing to avoid involvement in activities which contradict their religion, but in the UK, the majority of such activities which are morally incorrect in Islam are not imposed on Muslims but are rather legally allowed, e.g., pre-marital sex or drinking alcohol. William Booth, the son of a builder, born in Nottingham in 1829 converted to Christianity at the young age of fifteen and became a revivalist preacher. Booth developed strong views on the role of church ministers believing they should be "loosing the chains of injustice, freeing the captive and oppressed, sharing food and home, clothing the naked, and carrying out family responsibilities." Each of these social aims have great significance in Islam and carry high merits before God. They are deeply encouraged by both Allah and His messenger Muhammad (may the peace & blessings of God be upon him) that should form the bulwark of any Islamic presence in a society. One needs to only take a cursory look at the rights of neighbours and treatment of neighbours encouraged in Islam to convince oneself of this. In Islam, absolutely no distinction is made between a Muslim and a non-Muslim neighbour. The Church of England were at first extremely hostile to Booth's activities. Lord Shaftesbury, a leading politician and evangelist, described William Booth as the "Anti-Christ". One of the main complaints against Booth was his "elevation of women to man's status". Members of the Salvation Army were imprisoned for open-air preaching and their support for the Temperance Society made them the target for gangs of men who became known as the Skeleton Army. Muslims can similarly expect misunderstanding and criticism from their own faith communities but need to take heart from the blessed Messenger Muhammad (may the peace & blessings of God be upon him) who taught us through sacrifice and selfless perseverence how to reach out to one another and most significantly, also to the wider community, in justice, toleration, admiration of good qualities and unstinted benevolence. He weathered the storm of criticism and opposition with magnanimity and gracious patience. If Christianity in modern times can produce the likes of William Booth then every Muslim should check their heart and see if we are at least as good as him if not better, being as we claim to be the true worshippers of Allah in His Oneness. William Booth was a Christian activist who saw his twin objectives as the saving of lost souls and righting the social injustices of his time. He never lost his zeal for the Gospel, his love of his Lord or his heartfelt compassion for the poor. These qualities should be the aim and aspiration of all Muslims - zeal for the Truth, love of God and genuine help for the poor. This is an extract from his last public address given on May 9th 1912: While women weep as they do now, I’ll fight; while little children go hungry as they do now, I’ll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I’ll fight; while there is a drunkard left, while there is a poor lost girl on the streets, while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I’ll fight – I’ll fight to the very end. Three months after that speech, on 20th August 1912, William Booth was ‘promoted to Glory’. To a sincere Muslim who has a modicum of knowledge of Islam, these words are not only inspirational but echoes the Islamic ethos of being human. Anas reported that everything the Messenger of Allah was asked in return for embracing Islam, he gave. Once a man came to the Prophet, who gave him a herd of sheep that filled the area between two mountains. That man went back declaring, 'O my people! Embrace Islam, for Muhammad gives away like the one who does not fear poverty.' [Muslim] We need to develop more examples of British Muslims like Abdullah William Henry Quilliam(1856-1932). He accepted Islam while travelling in Morocco in 1889 and studied the religion at the University of Fez. Back in England he established a Mosque, a publishing House, a library, a Debating Society, a School and an Orphanage in Liverpool. He faced local and national hostility due to anti-Muslim sentiment and later when war broke-out. However, he lived up to the true values of Islam without resorting to what Allah and His Messenger forbade or hate. It is not through accident that the Arabic word rahma, meaning mercy or the capacity to forgive, comes from the word rahm meaning a womb. Islamic law draws the radical conclusion, that God Himself can only forgive offences against Himself. ‘For transgressions between man and God, repentance atones. But for transgressions between man and his fellow man, repentance does not atone until he has obtained forgiveness from his fellow man.’ The sin of harming a neighbour is compounded and far more serious, let alone killing or not preventing a neighbour's death when one is able to do so. Muhammad the Messenger of Allah (may the peace & blessings of God be upon him) asked the people about adultery, and they said, "(It is) Haram; Allah and His Messenger have forbidden it." He said, "Verily, for a man to commit adultery with ten women would be a lesser sin for him than if he commits adultery with the wife of his neighbour". He then asked them about stealing. They said, "(It is) Haram; Allah and His Messenger have forbidden it." He said, "If a man were to steal from ten houses it would be a lesser sin for him than if he were to steal from his neighbour’s house." [Ahmad] Thus it is imperative that Muslims in Britain do their utmost to cooperate with responsible bodies in the UK to uproot terrorism and especially such as from those who seek to connect it to Islam. Our history also records the contributions of the Unitarians who believed that social evils were humanly created, not God inflicted, and therefore could be remedied by human efforts. In the the late 18th and early 19th century, Unitarians were closely identified with the campaign for social and political reform. Unitarians such as Joseph Priestley, Jeremy Bentham, Harriet Martineau, James Martineau and John Stuart Mill were all advocates of universal suffrage. Other leading radicals of the period such as Tom Paine and Thomas Muir were described by their critics as Unitarians. After the publication of Paine's Rights of Man, religious radicals in London formed the Unitarian Society to promote the cause of parliamentary reform. In the 19th century Unitarians were very active in the movements for factory reform, public health, prison reform, temperance, women's rights and the abolition of slavery. Every single aspect mentioned should naturally appeal to a true Muslim who seeks virtue in life and not vice because of the clear prescriptions of Islam. Unitarian reformers included Edwin Chadwick, Florence Nightingale, Jenkin Lloyd Jones and Charles Booth. Islam stands for uncompromising pure monotheism. If the Unitarians of our country can rightfully boast of such achievements and contributions how much more Muslims should aim to excel in similar endeavours. It is extremely easy to be rightly motivated if one draws on the unadulterated teachings of the noble Quran and the way of the Prophet Muhammad (may the peace & blessings of God be upon him). Evidence abounds regarding monotheistic persons before the advent of Muhammad (may the peace & blessings of God be upon him) who stood up for social justice and against malpractice in society. Muslims need to reflect on the monsters within and how we intend to contribute to our country and society better than our unitarian forbears in the UK. Muslim clerics in Britain must not only speak out against terrorism in this difficult time but do their best to educate those who listen to them against extremism and distortion of their faith. We must disassociate ourselves from any organisation or individual, Muslim or otherwise, which carries out criminal acts in the name of Islam and help make Britain a better country for all who live in it - free from the turmoils of violence, crime and worst of all, religious extremism. BACK TO THE TOP FROM THE PROPHET Muhammad the Messenger of Allah (may the Peace & Blessings of God be upon him) said, “Do not kill any old person, any child or any woman.” [Abu Dawud] Muhammad the Messenger of Allah (may the Peace & Blessings of God be upon him) said, “Do not kill the monks in monasteries.” [Ahmad] Muhammad the Messenger of Allah (may the Peace & Blessings of God be upon him) said, “Do not kill the people who are sitting in places of worship.” [Ahmad] Muhammad the Messenger of Allah (may the Peace & Blessings of God be upon him) once saw a dead woman and said, “She was not fighting. How then did she get to be killed?” Muhammad the Messenger of Allah (may the Peace & Blessings of God be upon him) said, “Punishment by fire does not behove anyone except the Master of the Fire.” [Abu Dawud] Muhammad the Messenger of Allah (may the Peace & Blessings of God be upon him) said, “Do not attack a wounded person.” Muhammad the Messenger of Allah (may the Peace & Blessings of God be upon him) forbade killing anyone who is in captivity or tied. Aby Ayyub al-Ansari who narrated this said, “I vow by the name of Allah in whose Hand is my life, that I will not slaughter even a chicken after tying it with a string.” Muhammad the Messenger of Allah (may the Peace & Blessings of God be upon him) has prohibited the believers from loot and plunder. The Messenger of Allah (may the Peace & Blessings of God be upon him) said, “The loot is no more lawful than carrion.” [Abu Dawud] Abu Bakr the first caliph used to say to the soldiers, “Do not destroy the villages and towns. Do not spoil the cultivated fields and gardens. Do not slaughter the cattle.” In fact he would tell them not to even use the milk of milch cattle without the permission of the owners. Muhammad the Messenger of Allah (may the Peace & Blessings of God be upon him) has prohibited Muslims from mutilating corpses of the enemies. In the battle of Ahzab the unbelievers presented 10,000 dinars to the Messenger of Allah (may the Peace & Blessings of God be upon him) and requested the dead body of their fallen warrior. The Messenger of Allah (may the Peace & Blessings of God be upon him) said, “I do not sell dead bodies. You can take away the corpse of your fallen comrade.” When sending an army Muhammad the Messenger of Allah (may the Peace & Blessings of God be upon him) used to say, “Do not be guilty of breach of faith.” When Abu Jandal came bound and blood stained to Madina crying for help the Muhammad the Messenger of Allah (may the Peace & Blessings of God be upon him) said, “Since the terms of the treaty have been settled, we are not in a position to help you. You should go back with your father. Allah will provide you with some other opportunity to escape this persecution.” Many Muslims were touched at this plight and wept openly but when the Messenger of Allah (may the Peace & Blessings of God be upon him) declared, “We cannot break the agreement”, not a single person came forward to help the unfortunate prisoner and he was forcibly dragged back to Makkah. BACK TO THE TOP Tony Blair: Terrorism statement in full http://www.epolitix.com/EN/News/200507/e5f989e6-8b65-4e5b-962f-97fea2c33b7b.htm Tony Blair gives his reaction to the London terrorist attacks The full text of Tony Blair's initial response to the suspected terrorist attacks in London on Thursday morning. Speaking from Gleneagles on the second day of the G8 summit, the prime minister said at the present time officials were still trying to establish exactly what has happened. But he said: "It's reasonably clear that there have been a series of terrorist attacks in London there are obviously casualties. "There are people who have died and people who are seriously injured and obviously our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. "It is my intention to leave the G8 within the next few hours and go down to London to get a report face-to-face with the police and the emergency services and the ministers who have been dealing with this and then return later this evening. "It is the will of all the leaders of the G8 however, that the meeting should continue in my absence that we should continue to discuss which we were going to discuss and reach the conclusions that we were going to reach. "Each of the countries around that table have some experience of the effects of terrorism and all the leaders share our complete resolution to defeat this terrorism. "It is particularly barbaric that this has happened on the day when people are meeting to try to help the problems of poverty in Africa and the long term problems of climate change and the environment. "Just as it is reasonably clear that this is is a terrorist attack, or a series of terrorist attacks, it is also reasonably clear that it is designed and aimed to coincide with the G8. "There will be time to talk later about this; it is important, however, that those engaged in terrorism realise that our determination to defend our values and our way of life is greater than their determination to cause death and destruction to innocent people in their desire to impose extremism upon the world. "Whatever they do it is our determination that they will never succeed in destroying what we hold dear in this country and in other civilised nations throughout the world." BACK TO THE TOP Our Comments on Claim A group calling itself "The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe" posted a claim of responsibility for the blasts: "Rejoice, Islamic nation. Rejoice, Arab world. The time has come for vengeance against the Zionist crusader government of Britain in response to the massacres Britain committed in Iraq and Afghanistan," said the statement, which was translated by The Associated Press in Cairo. The authenticity of the message could not be immediately confirmed. "The heroic mujahedeen carried out a blessed attack in London, and now Britain is burning with fear and terror, from north to south, east to west," the statement said. "We warned the British government repeated. We have carried out our promise and carried out a military attack in Britain after great efforts by the heroic mujahedeen over a long period to ensure its success." "We continue to warn the governments of Denmark and Italy and all crusader governments that they will receive the same punishment if they do not withdraw their troops from Iraq and Afghanistan," the statement went on. It was signed: "The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe." Our comments are, if you people are for real and if this statement is an accurate rendering of what you wrote then we hate to dignify you with our response. But it is more important for you to know that no true Muslim rejoices at the misfortune of others. We do not speak the language of vengeance when it is proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that Islam is a religion of Mercy. The people behind the attacks are the most cowardly beasts of murder and have nothing to do with martyrdom with God. If people do this in the name of Islam and the Muslims then they are the worst of innovators in Islam and great sinners to say the least. It was an accursed attack and Britain, far from burning with fear and terror is united, Muslims and non-Muslims, in anger, dignity and resolve to defeat the Satanic murder and mayhem you bring in the name of God and Islam. You will be defeated because God never supports injustice and will not allow anyone to denigrate the honour of the Mercy to Mankind, the final messenger of Allah, Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of God be upon him).

AMCRAN Press Release
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 00:58:57
[slm] AMCRAN Press Release Media Release: Muslim Civil Rights Group condemns terrorist acts in London Friday, 08 July 2005 Sydney - 8 July 2005 - The Australian Muslim Civil Rights Advocacy Network (AMCRAN) joins other civil rights and Muslim organisations in condemning the apparent acts of terrorism in London. "Such attacks are barbaric and totally inconsistent with any kind of civil tradition, whether it be secular or religious," AMCRAN co-convenor Dr Waleed Kadous, said. "Such disrespect for life is a symbol of barbarity." "Regardless of who committed these acts, we unequivocally and unambigiously condemn these attacks." "We would like to express our condolences to the people of London, and let them know that we stand with them, and that we will support them in the pursuit of those involved in these criminal acts and their punishment under the law." For more information contact: Dr Waleed Kadous Co-convenor Australian Muslim Civil Rights Advocacy Network Ph: 0403 440 586 E-mail: wkadous@amcran.org http://amcran.org

From Ousman Ceesay's Blog:
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 01:00:50
[slm] Terror hits London. http://gambian.blogspot.com/ What a difference a day make... Londoners reveling July 6th on their selection to host the 2012 Olympic games awake to the tragedy of terrorist attacks today. In the wake of the horror that is terrorism the Pope has this to say in a message sent to the arch bishop of westminister:    The pontiff describe the [London] attacks as "inhuman and    anti-Christian," in a telegram to the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal    Cormac Murphy O'Connor. Okay, inhuman I'll buy. But "anti-Christian?" Please. Right now, we're not even certain who coordinated these blasts. Of course, it looks like al-Queda or some similar group. But how helpful is it, if this proves to be the case, to frame this as "anti-Christian?" Do we really want to fan a religious butchery crusade in the most stunned and painful hours after this attack? I can think of a dozen other ways to view this: anti-Western culture, anti-democracy, anti-imperialism, anti-capitalist, anti-invasion (feel free to add to the list). It's bad enough to have the Catholic pontiff declaring this an anti-Christian event. God help us all if our evangelical wingnuts ( here in the US) get hold of this meme and froth up an anti-Muslim frenzy. (And yeah, don't tell me. I know. Of course, they will.) I was just hoping that world leaders, including the pope, could express sorrow in terms of humanity in general for just one day. This really may not be, after all, about individual leaders' personal bugaboos. This really irks me. Why on earth did he feel compelled to issue a statement such as this? Did he really think this would help calm or comfort a grieving world right now, by framing it immediately as a Muslim versus Christian event?

Atif Imtiaz's Blog
bhaloo
07/09/05 at 01:02:16
[slm] Friday, July 08, 2005 A time to grieve The attacks in London yesterday in which at least fifty people have been killed are forbidden by Islamic law. The war on terror is such that we all must have a position in relation to it. And in the rush of opinions that have followed the atrocities, various people from Tony Blair to Tariq Ali have reasserted their positions vis-à-vis the war on terror. This is because there is a huge price to pay for being wrong. It remains however unclear as to who the perpetrators were and more importantly why they decided on such a course of action. Instead, I wish to suggest that now is a time to grieve and reflect. Those of us in the Muslim community should consider whether this event is hopefully an aberration or whether it is the beginning of another chapter. Whatever the case, we have to consider our response. May God return peace and calmness to this land. http://bradfordmuslim.blogspot.com/
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