Miracle News Inc.

BC Canada

THE

BRINGING HARMONY TO ALL THE COMMUNITIES

Bi-Weekly & Bilingual

MIR A LE www.miraclenews.com

Volume 10 Issue 276 Safar 23, 1432 AH / January 28, 2011 - $1

Moscow blames

'security breaches'

Former President of Pakistan, Gen. Pervaiz Musharraf visits Vancouver The two-day visit of Mr. Musharraf began with a speaking engagment at the Vancouver Club in Downtown Vancouver on Jan 19 where he was greeted at the door by many protestors from the local community. He also held a private meeting with local community members as well as a press conference on Jan 20.

Photos by: M.N.Pirzada

Three dead in Egypt protests Two civilians and a police officer have died after a wave of unusually large anti-government demonstrations swept across Egypt, calling for the ouster of longtime president Hosni Mubarak. In central Cairo, crowds numbering in the thousands protested and clashed with police throughout the day.

Shortly after midnight on Wednesday morning, security forces violently dispersed those who remained in Tahrir Square, the heart of the city, Al Jazeera's Adam Makary reported. Security officers fired tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets to drive the protesters from the square, where they had chosen to remain throughout the night in protest. An Al Jazeera cameraman was shot with rubber bullets several times, including once in the face, Makary said. Telephone communication with people in central Cairo was nearly impossible, but Makary reported that the crowds, which had been peaceful,

had been forced to escape the police, who fired dozens of tear gas canisters. The protests in Cairo were reportedly the largest in the country on Tuesday, a date chosen by activists to emulate the recent uprising in nearby Tunisia. But demonstrations occurred throughout Egypt. Two civilians died in the eastern city of Suez, according to an interior ministry offical. One, who had respiratory problems, died after inhaling tear gas; the other died after being hit with a rock thrown during a protest, the official said. In Cairo, a police officer died after being hit in the head with a rock during earlier protests in Tahrir Square, the official said. The demonstrations were reportedly the largest in years, rivaling those held against the Iraq War in 2003 and in favor of free elections and civil society reforms in 2005. On Tuesday night, hours after the countrywide protests began, the Continued on pg 27

Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, has blamed a lapse in security at Moscow's biggest airport for a blast that left 35 people dead and more than 150 injured. The explosion occurred on Monday afternoon when a suspected suicide bomber detonated a bomb in the arrivals hall near the baggage area at Domodedovo airport. Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, has vowed to avenge the attack, saying that "retribution is inevitable". Security sources have suggested that a female suicide bomber from the North Caucasus could be behind the attack.

Previous attacks in Russia have been blamed on so-called Black Widows from the predominantly Muslim North Caucasus, comprising women who volunteered for suicide bombings after losing their separatist fighter husbands. A spokeswoman for Domodedovo said that all the security procedures had been followed correctly and that the airport was not to blame. Sergei Martirosian, another airport spokesman, said that the inspection of people coming into the arrivals area, where the bomb went off, was the responsibility of transport police. Neave Barker, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Moscow, said authorities may have known about the potential of the attack at least a week earlier, according to an unnamed security source. It is the second time in seven years that Domodedovo has been involved in an attack. In 2004, two female suicide bombers were able illegally to buy tickets from the airport, board jets that exploded in flight and killed 90 people.

TERMS

1Year 3Year 5Year Our Rates* 2.54% 3.19% 3.66% 2.20% (Variable) * Rates are subject to change without notice

Office: 115-13740 72A Avenue Surrey BC V3W 1N5

Continued on pg 5

2

Issue 276 - Safar 23, 1432 / January 28, 2011 THE

MIR A LE

3

p

a

k

i

s

t

a

n

Issue 276 - Safar 23, 1432 / January 28, 2011 THE

MIR A LE

Terrorists strike double blow Two terror strikes within two hours shook Lahore and Karachi on Tuesday despite a heightened security alert on

account of Chehlum, leaving 15 people dead and wounding more than 70. A teenager blew himself up in Lahore near a Chehlum procession, killing 11 people. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they had targeted police. About 90 minutes later, a motorcycle bomb went off in Karachi’s Malir, killing four people, including three policemen. The Lahore bombing took place near the Urdu Bazar when a teenager tried to join a Chehlum procession before detonating close to a police checkpoint. “The bomber had strapped bombs to his body as well as carrying explosives in a bag,” the city’s police chief said. “He tried to sneak into the procession and exploded himself when police stopped him for a body search at an outer checkpoint.” An hour and a half later, a second attack hit Karachi. “It was a suicide bombing.

The bomber was riding a motorbike and carrying a bag in his hand, which had explosives in it. He struck one of our police mobile vans. The police were the target,” a senior police offi-

cial said. At least 11 people were killed and 71 injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a security picket at the Urdu Bazaar intersection on Circular Road on Tuesday. The bomber, described by police officers to be in his early teens, was apparently seeking to get through to one of the two big congregations taking place in the city on the day. The dead included three policemen and a woman who was apparently passing by when the bomb exploded. According to hospital sources, 15 of the injured were in critical condition. The human bomb went off sometime before the procession to mark the Chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain was to pass by the Mori Darwaaza-Urdu Bazaar square, approaching the spot from the north, through the narrow lanes of the walled city. Only a few hundred metres away, to the west of the square, a large number of devotees had gathered at the Data Sahib’s shrine, observing the last day of the sufi saint’s urs.

The blast damaged windowpanes of dozens of buildings and 15 vehicles, including three police vans. The bombing also caused a three-foot deep crater. A policeman said the boy threw a grenade before blowing himself up. A majority of the injured were rushed to the Mayo Hospital on rickshaws and motorcycles because all roads leading to the route of the procession and the shrine had been barricaded for security purposes. Rescue 1122 and Edhi personnel also carried out rescue work. It was one of the three main entry points to the main procession and Hazrat Ali Hajveri’s shrine, a police official said. The bombing site was littered with human flesh and blood with scores of injured people crying for help, eyewitnesses said. Mayo Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Zahid Pervez said nine bodies, including those of three policemen, had been received and over 50 injured people admitted to the emergency ward. An injured policeman, Sohaib, told Dawn

We specialize in Pakistan, India, Middle East, Fiji, Europe, South America and South Pacific.

We do Hajj, Umrah packages, Cruises and Disney Land tours etc.

Abdul Rauf (President)

galaxytravel@live.ca

www.galaxytravel.ca

Free Estimate Call all type of painting Interior/Exterior Residential/Commercial

Tel: (604) 543-2680 Cell: (604) 506-0258

N O TA RY P U B L I C

SHAHNAZ RAHMITULA CGA #202 -7288 137 Street, Surrey

604-591-7171

Continued on pg 28

Pakistan warns against India nuclear support Pakistan warned on Tuesday that growing international support for rival India’s nuclear programme would force Islamabad to bolster its deterrence and destabilise the region. In the opening session of the 2011 Conference on Disarmament, Pakistan’s ambassador Zamir Akram sharply criticised reported moves to bring its neighbour into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and other bodies that allow trade in nuclear materials, including for weapons. “Apart from undermining the validity and sanctity of the international non-proliferation regime, these measures shall further destabilise security in South Asia,” Akram said. “As a consequence Pakistan will be forced to take measures to ensure the credibility of its deterrence. The cumulative impact would be to destabilise the security environment in South Asia and beyond,” he told the conference. He said Pakistan maintains its opposition to negotiations on a ban on the production of new nuclear bomb-making material, a lone public stance that has blocked the Conference on Disarmament despite pressure from major powers. US disarmament ambassador Laura Kennedy

told journalists last week that negotiations on a ban, a Fissile Material Cut off Treaty (FMCT), were a priority for Washington.

“We believe that this is long overdue, it’s a priority. And this sense of urgency is not, again, simply one of the United States, but is widely shared, ”Kennedy said. Akram earlier told journalists that Pakistan “would like a treaty that deals with stocks not just future production. ” Nuclear powers broke more than a decade of deadlock in May 2009 by agreeing on a work plan at the world’s only multilateral arms control forum, which can only make decisions unanimously. The plan included full negotiations on a fissile material ban, as well as talks on nuclear disarmament, the arms race in space and security assurances for non-nuclear states. However, the disarmament conference has slumped back into deadlock since then, as Pakistan raised fresh objections. “We believe that we need to build a capacity that is a credible deterrence at the lowest levels,” Akram explained earlier, adding that Pakistan would nonetheless not seek to entirely match India’s nuclear capability.

REAL ESTATE CONSULTANT

Muhammad Afzal Malik Cell: 604-518-4459 Bus#:604-581-8400 mafzalmalikn@yahoo.com

Sutton – Premier Realty www.sutton.com

DELTA/SURREY 9341 Scott Road 604-584-1411 VANCOUVER 6550 Fraser St. 604-324-2277 ABBOTSFORD 2-2488 Clear Br. 604-854-6088

FOR EXTENDED HOUR SERVICES PLEASE CALL MR. RAFIQ MOHAMMAD AT 604-507-0565

PAKISTAN

INDIA

BANGLADESH MIDDLE EAST

$839 $737 $980

AFRICA

FIJI

IRAN

$840 $750 $998 $870

Taxes & fees extra

Visit: bainstravel.com, indiatour.ca and cruiseconcepts.net

4

i

n

t

e

r

n

a

t

i

o

n

a

l

Issue 276 - Safar 23, 1432 / January 28, 2011 THE

MIR A LE

US sentences Guantanamo detainee A judge has sentenced the first Guantanamo detainee to have a US civilian trial to life in prison, saying anything the Tanzanian man suffered at the hands of the CIA and others "pales in comparison to the suffering and the horror" caused by the bombing of two US embassies in East Africa in 1998. US District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan on Tuesday sentenced Ahmed Ghailani to life, calling the attacks "horrific" and saying the deaths and damage they caused far outweighs "any and all considerations that have been advanced on behalf of the defendant." He also ordered Ghailani to pay $33million in restitution.

Kaplan announced the sentencing in a packed Manhattan courtroom after calling it a day of justice for the defendant, as well as for the families of 224 people who died in the twin 1998 al-Qaeda bombings of embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The victims included a dozen Americans, and thousands more who were injured. As survivors and vic-

tims' loved ones spoke behind him, many in tears, Ghailani bowed his head and closed his eyes while gripping the edge of the defence table with both hands. The judge said he wanted a sentence that "makes it crystal clear that others engaged or contemplating engaging in deadly acts of terrorism risk enormously serious consequences." He said he was satisfied that Ghailani knew and intended that people would be killed as a result of his actions and the conspiracy he joined. Ghailani, 36, was convicted late last year of conspiring to destroy government buildings but acquitted of more than 200 counts of murder and dozens of other charges. The charge carries a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison and a maximum of life. He had asked for leniency, saying he never intended to kill anyone and he was tortured.

Ghailani, a Tanzanian, was captured in Pakistan in 2004 and later interrogated at a secret CIA-run camp. He was moved to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2006 before

being transferred to New York for prosecution in 2009. The trial late last year at a lower Manhattan courthouse had been viewed as a test case for a goal stated by Barack Obama, the US president - putting other terrorism detainees, including selfprofessed September 11, 2001 attacks mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed, on trial on US soil. So far, Ghailani's is the only case to be tried as such and on Wednesday, it was reported that the Obama administration will be lifting the ban on military tribunals, allowing them to resume at the Guantanamo Bay prison facility. The judge rejected Ghailani's pleas for leniency, saying whatever Ghailani suffered at the hands of the CIA and others "pales in comparison to the suffering and the horror he and his confederates caused." Evidence at trial showed that Ghailani helped purchase bomb components prior to the attacks, including 15 gas tanks designed to enhance the power of the bombs, along with one of the bomb vehicles. Written descriptions of

FBI interviews quoted Ghailani as saying he realised a week before the bombings that they were intended to strike a US embassy. The jury did not see those descriptions, but they were submitted for Kaplan to consider for sentencing.

Ghailani's lawyers argued that he was duped by friends into participating in the attack and was upset when he saw the damage done. Before sentencing, Peter Quijano, Ghailani's defence attorney, portrayed his client as a hero, saying he had provided US authorities with "intelligence and information that arguably saved lives and I submit that is not hyperbole." He also said Ghailani cried when he learnt about the attacks. Ghailani declined to speak on his own behalf. But outside the courthouse immediately after the life sentence was announced, US Attorney Preet Bharara said, "Today, our goal was achieved, as Ahmed Ghailani will never again breathe free air.�

Source: Al-Jazeera

US must 'unite', Obama says in State of Union speech A revitalized President Barack Obama bluntly said America must reinvent itself and unite to survive in a fast-changing global economy powered by rising giants like India and China. Obama belted out a confident State of the Union address mixing straight talk with a patriotic call to action, as he rode a tide of improbable political momentum less than three months after a Republican mid-term election rout.

The president spoke to a television audience of millions from the House of Representatives, seeking to unleash a torrent of innovation to transform the economy after the most brutal meltdown in generations. Obama conjured up a sepia-tinted vision of an America left behind after globalization changed the rules overnight, bemoaning the loss of a working class lifestyle bankrolled by a decent paycheck and benefits. But he added Americans should not give up the fight. With its offer to redo corporate tax rates, the address also seemed another tack to the political center ground where US presidential races are won. The speech was however sparse on policy nuts and bolts, and the idealistic call for unity appeared at odds with the ugly politics of Washington. Obama announced a plan for a five-year freeze on nonsecurity discretionary spending in a bid to tackle the 1.3 trillion dollar US deficit, but he warned Republican plans for huge tax cuts would thwart the recovery. He said cutting the deficit by gutting investments in education was like "lightening an overloaded airplane by removing its engine." Republicans rejected his prescriptions however.

Reflecting divisions among Republicans, despite their rise to power, Ryan's was not the only response by his party. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann delivered an address specifically tailored to the ultra-conservative "Tea Party" grass roots movement, which has challenged the authority of establishment party leaders in Washington.

The speech came with Congress chastened by the Arizona shooting rampage targeting a lawmaker -- which sparked calls to quell explosive rhetoric. In a powerful reminder of the tragedy, First Lady Michelle Obama sat next to the parents of a nine-year-old girl killed in the attack, and an aide who helped save congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, in her box in the House chamber. Dozens of lawmakers meanwhile ditched the usual partisan seating plan to sit side by side, in a nod to Obama's soaring call for political civility after the shooting. They wore black and white ribbons to honor Giffords. Obama also defended his health care reform program which House Republicans have already voted to repeal, and offered to work with them to make it better, though vowed not to return power to insurance giants. He warned US politicians should ditch partisan sparring, saying that Americans faced a "Sputnik" moment -- similar to the time of 1950s national crisis when the Soviet Union launched the space race. On foreign policy, Obama Tuesday renewed his vow to start withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan in July but warned of "tough fighting ahead." He reiterated that America would defeat AlQaeda and noted his vow to bring all troops out of Iraq would become a reality later this year. Obama also lauded tough sanctions against Iran's nuclear program and insisted North Korea keep its commitment to shelve its nuclear weapons. Source: AFP

20 dead in Colombia mine blast Twenty people have been killed and six injured after an explosion in a mine in north-eastern Colombia. Officials say there were 26 people in the La Preciosa mine at the time of the explosion, which was caused by a build-up of methane gas. Source: ABC News

Elections BC threatens to vacate Heed's seat Elections B.C. is threatening to boot former solicitor general Kash Heed from his seat if Heed doesn't refile an election expense report he says he had nothing to do with. It's the latest trouble for Heed, a former police chief and police officer for more than 30 years and the Liberals' only star candidate in the 2009 election. In a letter sent to Heed on Dec. 2, 2010, Elections BC's acting chief electoral officer Craig James demanded an updated expense report for the 2009 campaign. Last year, three of Heed's former former campaign workers -- Barinder Sall, Satpal Johal and Dinesh Khanna -- were charged with offences under the Criminal Code and Election Act in connection to the distribution of election pamphlets during the 2009 provincial election, as well as an election financing report filed on Heed's behalf. Last week, search warrant documents filed by the RCMP indicate Heed is under investigation for breach of trust allegations connected to his 2009 campaign. A former campaign volunteer has alleged campaign workers were paid out of constituency funds, which are public money. Heed has not been charged with any offence and the allegations have not been heard in court. He has been relegated to the back benches of Premier Gordon Campbell's cabinet since last year after the ongoing investigations into his 2009 campaign prompted him to resign from cabinet twice. An affidavit filed in B.C. Supreme Court by Heed on Dec. 24 said the former Vancouver Police officer and West Vancouver police chief was new to politics when he ran in 2009 and

relied on his backroom team to manage and coordinate his campaign. An affidavit filed on Jan. 10

by Elections BC states that Elections BC received an audited report on June 3, 2010 indicating the election expenses for Heed's campaign were $74,135.70 - more than $4,000 above the legislated $70,000 limit. The Opposition New Democrats called on Heed to comply with Elections BC and file a new expense report. Interim NDP Leader Dawn Black did not call for Heed to resign, but said he appeared to be rejecting the rules that govern all politicians in British Columbia. Black called on Liberal leadership candidate George Abbott, who received Heed's endorsement earlier in the campaign, to denounce his attempt to defy Elections BC. Abbott issued a statement Tuesday afternoon saying Heed has voluntarily stepped away from Abbott's campaign. The controversial flyers and a series of radio ads were distributed during the 2009 campaign attacking the Opposition NDP. The pamphlets and ads were in English and Chinese and didn't indicate they were paid for by anyone connected to Heed's campaign.

A special prosecutor said Heed had nothing to do with it, but charges were recommended against the three campaign workers. Their cases are still before the courts. A new special prosecutor is reviewing that decision after the first special prosecutor stepped down and revealed his firm had made financial donations to Heed's campaign.

Source: CTV News

5

i

n

t

e

r

n

a

t

i

o

n

a

l

Issue 276 - Safar 23, 1432 / January 28, 2011 THE

Call for Kosovo organ theft inquiry The Council of Europe has demanded a "serious investigation" into allegations that Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) fighters were involved in organ trafficking and other crimes in the late 1990s. The organisation, which has a particular emphasis on human rights, endorsed a report on Tuesday by Dick Marty, its investigator, which linked a faction of the KLA, known as the Drenica Group, to organised crime. The group was led

by Hashim Thaci, the Kosovo prime minister and one of the KLA's most prominent leaders during the 199899 Kosovo war. Thaci has previously hit back in several interviews denying the allegations and vowing to sue Marty for libel. Al Jazeera's Laurence Lee said: "The task now falls to the European Union team in Kosovo to investigate further. "But given that a number of Western countries, including the US, have now formally recognised Kosovo it's an open question whether there's the political will to pursue Hashim Thaci."

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in February 2008. The 27-page report, which was published last month, alleges that the Drenica Group engaged in crimes including organ trafficking, drug smuggling and assassinations. The report says the organs were removed from Serb prisoners in the aftermath of the Kosovo war. The Council of Europe's parliamentary assembly also called for a probe into the "existence of secret detention centres and inhuman treatment" against Serb and Albanian prisoners from Kosovo. The Strasbourg-based organisation adopted the resolution by 169 votes. "We are ready to face and we as Kosovo want to face [the report]," Jakup Krasniqi, Kosovo's acting president, said on Tuesday. "We are convinced that this cannot be proven in any way." Krasniqi said Kosovo wanted "promptness" in a European investigation of the "pretencions" raised in the report. "We are interested in the truth about that, whatever it is," he

said. "Even if it is painful, let us know it." A separate report leaked on Tuesday also accuses Thaci of being a major crime boss in Kosovo. NATO intelligence reports obtained by the Guardian, a British newspaper, showed that Western powers saw Thaci as one of Kosovo's "biggest fish" in organised crime. The Guardian said the documents, produced by KFOR, Nato's peace-keeping force in Kosovo, also described a senior aide to Thaci as having ties to the Albanian mafia. Xhavit Haliti, a former head of logistics for the KLA and now a senior politician, is said to be the "power behind Thaci" and "highly involved in prostitution, weapons and drugs smuggling". A government spokesman dismissed the allegations in the documents, saying they were "based on hearsay and intentional false Serbian intelligence". NATO has said it will investigate the document. "KFOR has initiated an internal investigation about the origin of this document and other questions related to it," spokesman captain Hans Dieter Wichter told the AFP news agency. The Guardian has not said how the secret military cables had been leaked and its report did not elaborate in detail on accusations against Thaci contained in the cables.

Source: Al-Jazeera

Amid ongoing protests, Tunisian government mulls Cabinet changes Tunisia's new interim government has worked to replace ministers who quit and weighed possible deeper changes to the Cabinet as protesters continued to complain that the old guard still holds too much power.

Demonstrators are angry that members of former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's regime have clung to leading posts in the interim government in place since last week. Ben Ali fled the country Jan. 14 after 23 years in power, pushed out by weeks of deadly protests driven by anger over joblessness, corruption and repression in the North African nation. Anti-government protesters have demonstrated every day since Ben Ali's ouster. For the first time Tuesday, hundreds marched in the capital in support of the caretaker government, which is trying to stabilize the country after five weeks of unrest. One banner read, "Long live democracy, no to anarchy!" Foreign Minister Kamel Morjane, among the ministers under Ben Ali who kept their jobs in the transition, told The AP that he would be willing to walk away from his job if he is deemed an obstacle to having the broadest government possible.

"I'm ready myself to leave the government at any moment," he said in an interview. Morjane and government spokesman Taieb Baccouche said the prime minister was carrying out consultations Tuesday on ways to strengthen the government. The interim premier must replace five ministers who slammed the door on the new government soon after they were named, echoing protesters' concerns. The new lineup will be announced Wednesday, the official news agency TAP said. Tunisia's so-called "Jasmine Revolution" has sparked scattered protests and civil disobedience in the Middle East and North Africa, and much of the world is watching to see how the birth pangs of Tunisian democracy play out. In Egypt on Tuesday, thousands of anti-government protesters, some hurling rocks, clashed with riot police in Cairo in a Tunisia-inspired demonstration to demand the end of Hosni Mubarak's nearly 30 years in power. Tunisia's protests started

about five weeks ago, when a 26-year-old set himself on fire in desperation at unemployment and harassment under the Ben Ali regime. That desperate act sparked violent protests that eventually forced Ben Ali to flee to Saudi Arabia. Some 78 civilians were killed in the unrest that preceded and followed Ben Ali's departure, many shot by police, according to the government's official count. The opposition says the overall toll is much higher. Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi, who took that post in 1999 under Ben Ali and has kept it through the upheaval, has vowed to quit politics after upcoming elections. But he has insisted that he needs to stay on to shepherd Tunisia through a transition to democracy. Ben Ali — while roundly criticized for cracking down on opponents, curbing civil liberties and presiding over a police state — was a staunch ally with Western powers in the fight against terrorism.

Under his watch, Tunisia was relatively untouched by the kind of Islamic extremist violence that wracked neighbouring Algeria, except for a 2002 attack on a synagogue on the Tunisian resort island of Djerba that killed 21 people, mostly German tourists. Investigators linked the attack to al-Qaida.

Source: Canadian Press

MIR A LE

China creates world's biggest metropolis China is planning to create the world's biggest "megacity" by merging nine cities to create a metropolis twice the size of Wales with a population of 42 million. Planners in south China have laid out an ambitious plan to merge the nine cities that lie around the Pearl River Delta. The scheme will create a 16,000square mile urban area that is 26 times larger geographically than Greater London. The new megacity will cover a large part of China's manufacturing heartland, stretching from Guangzhou to Shenzhen and including Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Zhuhai, Jiangmen, Huizhou and Zhaoqing.

Together, they account for nearly a tenth of the Chinese economy. A megacity is usually defined as a metropolitan area with more than 10 million people. The world's largest mega-city is currently Greater Tokyo, with some 34.2 million inhabitants.

Guangzhou, thought to be home to almost 25 million people, ranks second, with Seoul third at 24.5 million. During the next six years, around 150 major infrastructure projects will mesh the transport, energy, water and telecommunications networks of the nine Chinese cities together, at a cost of some $300 billion. An express rail line will also connect the hub with nearby Hong Kong. "The idea is that when the cities are integrated, the residents can travel around freely and use the health care and other facilities in the different areas," said Ma Xiangming, the chief planner at the Guangdong Rural and Urban Planning Institute and a senior consultant on the project. However, he said no name had been chosen for the area. "It will not be like Greater London or Greater Tokyo because there is no one city at the heart of this megalopolis," he said. "We cannot just name it after one of the existing cities. "It will help spread industry and jobs more evenly across the region and public services will be distributed more fairly." Ma said that residents would be able to use universal rail cards. Twenty-nine rail lines, totalling 5,000 kilometres, will be added, cutting rail journeys around the urban area to a maximum of one hour between different city centres. According to planners, phone bills could also fall by 85 per cent and hospitals and schools will be improved.

"Residents will be able to choose where to get their services and will use the Internet to find out which hospital, for example, is less busy," said Ma. Pollution, a key problem in the Pearl River Delta because of its industrialization, will also be addressed with a united policy, and the price of petrol and electricity could also be unified. It is hoped that the southern conglomeration will wrestle back a competitive advantage from the growing urban areas around Beijing and Shanghai. By the end of the decade, China plans to move ever greater numbers into its cities, creating some city zones with 50 million to 100 million people and "small" city clusters of 10 million to 25 million. In the north, the area around Beijing and Tianjin is being ringed with a network of high-speed railways that will create a super-urban area known as the Bohai Economic Rim. Its population could be as high as 260 million. A new train link between Beijing and Tianjing allows the 120-kilometre journey to be completed in less than half an hour, providing an axis around which to create a network of feeder cities. As the process gathers pace, China's total investment in urban infrastructure over the next five years is expected to hit $1 trillion according to an estimate by the British Chambers of Commerce, with an additional $475 billion spent on high speed rail and $110 billion on urban transport.

Source: The Gazette

Sweden : Continued from pg 1 According to initial reports, Monday's blast had the force of between five and seven kilograms of TNT. Around nine foreigners are believed to have been killed in the attack, including at least one Briton, one man from Italy and another from France, as well a Serb national and Zuzana Fialova, an actress from Slovakia. In March last year 40 people were killed and 100 wounded when two female suicide bombers attacked the Moscow metro system. The city's second devastating attack in less than a year prompted media commentators to link the blast to the continued violence in the North Caucasus and lament that little had been done to improve security in recent years. Tensions between ethnic Russians and the 20 million Muslims who make up one seventh of Russia's population, led last month to a string of clashes, which involved thousands of Russian nationalists who attacked passersby of non-Slavic appearance, many of them from the North Caucasus.

Source: Al-Jazeera

6

e

d

i

t

o

r

i

a

l

Issue 276 - Safar 23, 1432 / January 28, 2011 THE

MIR A LE

HOUSING BUBBLE INCHING TOWARDS ITS PEAK The ongoing low interest rate policy really worked well to keep the Canadian economy going on for so long. However, creating a mad frenzy where the buyers constantly kept heading out to purchase a house in hurry - was not really pretty.

Psychologically driven panic buying spree has always been magically convincing and hooking up the innocent first time buyers who have joined joy riding the bandwagon. Yet, one of the most disturbing issues looming over the minds of many Canadians today is the overheated housing market, which has continued to drive higher due to easy credit facility, low interest rates and encouraging government tax breaks.

In some cases, there were multiple offers on resale properties, which were sold with ease way over the asking price.

Surprisingly, every new location attracted extraordinarily long line ups, as if the houses would be given away almost free of cost. This of course was an invitation to the sellers to keep raising the prices and in some cases on daily basis. The buyers unaware of the gimmicks including catch 22 situation, usually ended up as the biggest losers. Actually, purchasing a house at lower price and paying higher interest rate is not different than buying a house at the higher price and paying lower interest rate. Manipulating the first timers worked really to the vendors’ advantage.

In fact, lowering rates was more beneficial for the speculators and the experienced buyers, who enjoyed flipping properties knowing the market psychology. Most of the credit goes to the new immigrants who kept such a market going on for so long.

Under a scenario, when the rental payments are more than total monthly payments of mortgaged house, the tendency will be buying rather than renting.

On the contrary, home buying spree due

to temporary affordability creates a furious demand leading to the reduced inventory of available new and resale homes. And the Real Estate experts do their professional convincing in selling under the rules.

Overpowered by emotional factor and the convincing factor, the new immigrants are easily pushed into a mental state where they are made to believe to “buy now or never.”

“Buy now before it's too late” actually creates panic among the potential buyers.

However, there are negative signs due to fat inventory of homes and the reduced demand caused by many factors including recent government efforts to tighten lending rules, decreased number of employed youths, the retiring baby-boomers.and the reduced immigration. Difficult economic situation has been impacting the potential buyers with frozen incomes. Resultantly, the house prices are on their way down to hit Canadians really hard. Thus, the housing market has been cooling off since last summer reflecting 30% drop in larger cities.

In Canada it has been so easy to get mortgages with only 5% down and payments amortized over 35 years. More than 65% of Canadian mortgages are fixed for five years, but now the Canadians face more stringent renewal terms and most likely higher interest payments under newly announced rules. Government data shows that the average Canadians with a twostory home are spending almost 50% to 70% of their combined household income on mortgage servicing, thus, affordability level is still within a safe range in Canada.

The federal government plans to control borrowing and is currently focused on the condominium sector, with new rules in the works to make it harder to qualify for a loan on a high-rise apartment. Most probably, the government would add 100% of

L

Questionable Indo-Pak Sugar &Onion Trade By: Aftab Alam, Vancouver There was a news item on Geo as well as international Tribune that Pakistan is exporting onions to India. There was also news from Chandigarh India that Indian importer had imported 100 tons of onions and will be importing another 400 to 500 tons of onions in the next few days.

The price quoted by the Indian importer is 18 to 20 Indian rupees per kilogram.

Even if we take currency exchange into account this comes to 36 to 40 Pakistani rupees per kilogram. Onions, nowadays, are being sold in Pakistan at Rs85 a kilogram. It is hard to imagine who makes these decisions and at what levels they are made. Most nations look after their own

E

T

T

E

R

S

citizens prior to exporting to other countries. These kinds of decisions tell us that either the people making these decisions are insensitive to the needs of our people or they don't care. There was news from Shehbaz Sharif, Chief Minister of Punjab, that we should be growing onions and other vegetables in our backyards. It is a very good suggestion but to put it in practice the chief minister will have to start from himself. He should grow onions and other vegetables like Garlic, Coriander, Ginger, and other vegetables in his own backyard. He should also instruct his ministers that everyone should do the same and not only that but also make sure that these steps are implemented in their constituencies.

Same situation exists in the case of sugar.

We need leadership at federal as well as provincial level to solve this problem. We

Founder : Nusrat Hussain Miracle Media Group Inc. ©

Contact Info Mailing and Office Address

9160-136A Street Surrey bc. v3v 7z8 canada Fax: 604-582-7809 Phone: 604-690-0400

Managing Editor: M. Naseer Pirzada Sub-Editors: Misbah & Sabeeh Hon. Chief Editor & Urdu Editor Mohammad Rafiq Advertising Ph: 604-690-0400 Email: naseer@telus.net

&

condominium fees to the list of expenses that is measured against income to decide whether a buyer can afford a mortgage.

Whereas only 50% of the fee is currently considered. This means that there is a great potential of thousands of consumers to be out of the market soon.

Last April, new mortgage rules went into effect forcing consumers to qualify based on a higher interest rate. It also required all housing investors, as opposed to people who use a home as principle residence, to have a 20% down payment which mostly affected the condo industry.

Now, the prices are way higher than they were before the recession, and construction activity has been healthy. But home sales are now under pressure from the threat of higher interest rates, and Government’s latest move to curb 35-year amortizations is actually aimed at kicking a number of potential buyers out of the market.

Finance Minister Mr. Flaherty’s main worry is the Canadians are concentrating on too much long-term debt. Therefore, the government would no longer insure mortgages that are amortized longer than 30 years to pay off. Tightening the rules for existing homeowners who want to refinance their homes is also part of new policy. The maximum amount available for refinancing won’t exceed 85 per cent of the property’s value.

Since Canadian household debt has reached the enormous discomfort level and major portion of that debt belongs to real estate, so mortgage tightening is the answer, yet there is a risk of triggering a broader housing correction that is likely to hurt both consumer spending and the economy.

On the other hand, a number of Canadians are in a state of denial saying that the country's housing market is

O

P

I

N

I

O

N

know sugar has been on the quota system since partition as well as before the partition. This problem has been growing from bad to worst. It is the simplest problem of all. It takes the simple solution of allowing every Pakistani to build sugar mills as well as to import sugar from abroad. That will solve the problem for ever. It seems this problem has existed for ever as well. I request the leadership to take this important action on sugar as well as other actions that I have suggested to solve these problems once and for all.

important note: We do not publish anonymous letters or the letters of the people who do not disclose their identity to ‘The Miracle.’ A writer can use a pen name or request ‘The Miracle’ to withhold his / her identity. Please include your daytime telephone number for the confirmation of your letter. We regret the inconvenience.

unlikely to have much of a correction of inflated prices.

Luckily, most mortgages were written under tighter regulations. And, sub-prime mortgages accounted for only 5% of the mortgages taken out in Canada, compared with 25% of those obtained in the United States. This indicates that Canada’s sound financial system provides some security for now.

Resale home prices are headed downward and are expected to drop by 7% on the average in the next 12 or so months. When almost a thousand boomers are turning 65 every day in Canada, what can you expect?

Naturally, they are dumping their houses creating an oversupply into the market not having enough buyers. Hence, the added inventory is likely to increase the downward pressure every day causing an economic chaos unless the government and the consumers remain vigilant enough to take all appropriate actions just in time.

Otherwise, the declining home value would be gradually followed by painful level of diminished equity in the property hurting the home owners.

Without exaggeration, quite a large number of younger foreigners are needed desperately to replace the rapidly retiring Canadian population right away. An important key factor still remains an action by the federal government to enhance immigration quota from all around the world on equality basis in order to regenerate the lost economic activity leading to stable markets, sooner the better.

Waan laysa lil insani illa ma’ sa’aa That man can have nothing but what he strives for.

S

Nationalism in the Muslim World By: Hossain Chow I appreciate the article Nationalism in the Muslim World written by Brother Abdul-Majid Jaffry. Also thanks for one-line about his background, being an aircraft engineer I think he saw many countries and got a global exposure/viewpoint. Dear editor, you might have given more space to publish the article with bigger fonts.

I liked the Muslim world map, it could have expanded wider for more clarity. My opinion is that India should have had some scattered dots to show huge presence of Muslims, say in north, in Bihar, etc. One Muslim state vanished is Arakan, no one talks about Arakan now-a-days, it is a province of Burma bordering Bangladesh. The

Editorial Board : Mr.Shums Jillani, Mr Aslam Hayat, Mr. Shams Siddiqui & M.A.L. Naumani Graphic Design: Design Teams Copyright ® 2001 Miracle Media Group Inc. All Rights Reserved Printed in Canada

Attention: The opinions expressed herein contain positions and viewpoints that are not necessarily those of ‘The Miracle’. These are offered as a means for ‘The Miracle’ to stimulate dialogue and discussion in our continuing mission of ‘Bringing Harmony To All The Communities.’

Email:

miraclenews@telus.net

Website:

www.miraclenews.com

Continued on pg 7

Cotents Editorial & Letters Int. News Local Articles Interview Faith Politics Lifestyle Sports Classified /Cont.

Urdu

7 5,6 9 14.15.16 11 8 16 26 27 28 29-40

7

f

a

i

t

h

Issue 276 - Safar 23, 1432 / January 28, 2011 THE

MIR A LE

THE HOLY QURA’N AND THE RELATIVETY THEORY OF EINSTEIN According to time dilation concept of Einstein, when an object approaches the speed of light, its perception of time ebbs slower and slower. At the speed of light, time perception goes to zero and slows down infinitely. At this speed, mass increases infinitely as well. To explain time dilation concept of his theory, Einstein brought the following example. If a 20 years old man is put in a rocket, and thrown into the outer space with a speed of light; time and mass of that person varies as mentioned above. Assume that he stays traveling at speed of light for a period of 50 years i.e until his age becomes 70 years while he is traveling in that rocket.

When this person comes back to earth he finds that the time elapsed on earth is not 50 years, but many million years.

Einstein relates all motions to speed of light.

Almighty Allah, creator of the universe, describes himself as Light “Nur” in the following verse “Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. 35, An-Nur” . This gives feeling as if all universal affairs are managed

by Allah at a speed of light. Time in our planet is a relative thing, and is different from the time considered by Almighty Allah as shown in this verse “Verily a day in the sight of thy Lord is like a thousand years of your reckoning, 47, Al Hajj,” Also, if we read in Surt As-Sajdah “He manage and regulates the affairs from the heavens to the earth then it ascends unto him, on a day the measure of which is a thousand years of your reckoning, 5, Aa-Sajdah”.

When you calculate the outer space journey of 50 years of the above-mentioned rocket at a speed of light, on basis of one day in the sight of Allah is one thousand years of our planet time, these 50 years would equal to 50 x 1000 x 365 = 18,250,000 years on our planet. So the time that was elapsed on earth upon the return of the person who traveled in space for 50 years at a speed of light would be more than eighteen million years.

Now, when a human dies, and buried, he goes through a Barrier that is called the Barzakh. How long is the Barzakh? Allah knows how long it is. Allah raise up all dead people from their graves on the resurrection day “The Trumpet shall be sounded, when behold! From the sepulchers (people) will rush forth to their Lord. 51,Yasin”. Also “It will be but a single Saihah (shout), so

behold they will all be brought up before Us! 53, Ya-Sin”.

On the day or resurrection, Almighty Allah re-creates all buried people “And he puts forth for Us a parable, and forgets his own creation. He says:” Who will give life to these bones after they are rotten and have become dust: “Say: (O Muhammad)”He will give life to them Who created them for the first time!

And He is the All-Knower of every creation!” 78 and 79, Ya-Sin. On the day of resurrection, Almighty Allah brings all people alive; i.e. brings back the Ruh for every recreated person “The Trumpet will just be sounded, when all that are in the heavens and on earth will swoon, except him who Allah wills. Then will a second one be sounded, when, behold, they will be standing and looking on. 68, Az-Zumar”.

When Allah raise up people from their graves, Almighty informs us in Qura’n as to what people will say about the length of time they spent in their graves “The day when the Trumpet will be sounded: that Day, we shall gather the criminals, Bleareyed (with terror). In whispers will they consult each other: “You stayed no longer than ten (days); We know best what they will say, when the best of them in judgment will say: “You stayed no longer than a day!

102, 103 and 104, Ta-Ha. Also, in Surt Al-Isra you read “It will be on the day when He will call you, and ye will answer (His call) with (words of) His praise, and ye will think that you stayed but a little while. 52, Al-Isra’.

All of us know Uzair’s story in the wholly Qura’n. Prophet Uzair passed by the city of Jerusalem after it was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. He looked and said “How shall Allah bring this city to life again” 259, Al-Baqarah. Allah wanted to show him that it is easy to bring this city to life. Thus Allah caused his death for a hundred years, and then brought him up again to life. When Allah asked prophet Uzair after he raised him up alive again, “How long did you remain dead? He said: a day or part of a day.

Allah said: Nay, you have remained dead for a hundred years. 259, Al-Baqarah.

Allah tells that on the day he raise up people, they think that they staid in their graves only one hour “And on the day when He will gather them together: (It will be) as if they

had stayed but an hour of a day. 45, Yunus.

Also, read in Surat Al Ahqaf ”And be in no haste about the (Unbelievers) . On the day that they see the (Punishment) promised them, (it will be) as if they had not stayed more than an hour in a single day. 35, Al Ahqaf.

Companion of the prophet (pbu) asked about the resurrection day. Allah answers “The Day they see it, (It will be) as if they had stayed but a single evening, or (at most till) the following morn. 46, An Nazia’t Why people feels on the resurrection day that they stayed in their graves a very short time. The explanation of that, Allah knows better, is that when a person dies, his body stays in the grave, but his soul (Ruh) goes out. Allah knows where Ruh goes to, but it goes at a very high speed; speed of light or even at a speed higher than a speed of light.

Allah gives us the answer as to the speed of soul when it goes out of the human body in this verses “A questioner asked about a Chastisement to befall. Upon the unbelievers, which none can avert. A Penalty from Allah, Lord of the Ways of Ascent. The angels and the Spirit (Ruh) ascend unto Him in a Day the measure whereof is as fifty thousand years. 1-4, Al-Ma’Arij. In this verse we see that the speed of Ruh when it goes out is 50 times more than the speed of light which was earlier assumed, on basis of the following verse of Surt An-Nur “Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. 35, AnNur” , and Surat As-Sajdah mentioned above “He manage the affairs from the heavens to the earth then it ascends unto him, on a day the measure of which is a thousand years of your reckoning, 5, As-

Volume 1, Book 3, Number 57: Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Amr: Once the Prophet remained behind us in a journey. He joined us while we were performing ablution for the prayer which was over-due. We were just passing wet hands over our feet (and not washing them properly) so the Prophet addressed us in a loud voice and said twice or thrice: "Save your heels from the fire."

Sajdah”. When the Ruh travels with a very high speed out of the body of a dead person, and back to it on the day of resurrection, the time element approaches zero according to Einstein theory, as was mentioned above, and the recreated person feels as if he stayed in his grave, one hour, two hours, or part of a day depending on length of time he spent in his grave. This same reason explains the Hadeeth which means that status of people when they are raised on the resurrection day is their same status the moment they died; the Muhrim is back to life making Talbiyah.

Similarly, if a person died due to a car accident, when Allah raises him again on the resurrection day, that person tries to avoid the accident as if it is happening that moment. This is because the time he spent in his grave, The Barzakh approached zero.

Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un Mohammad Yaqub Mian father of Farooq Mian has passed away on Jan 25th in Surrey ------------------------Mr. Saif Pannun's Mother-in-Law passed away in Pakistan on Jan 19th .

------------------------Mr. Mohammad Ashfaq Mann, brother- in- law of Mr. Zamir Mann passed away on Jan 18th in Surrey.

---------------------------------------------Mr. Jawaid Gehlen (brother of Saleem Gehlen and father of Furqan, Irfan and Rizwan) passed away in Pakistan on January 18th.

We pray to Al mighty Allah(SWT) for His mercy on the departed souls, to forgive all their sins and reward them with the best place in paradise and to give patience to the familes. (Ameen)

letter : Continued from pg 6 most western province of China is full of Muslims, their culture is more of Central Asian than Chinese (with Arabic alphabets), some introduce them as East Turkistani, however they belong to political China.

I liked Br Abdul-Majid reference to nationalism from the times of French emperor Napoleon (to Turkish empire to WW-I to what our Middle East now looks). Actually nineteenth century is the time when we got definition of a modern country e.g. by Abraham Lincoln, however nationalism should be present even before, say in the form of kingdoms, for Muslims it should be in the form of tribes, caliphates, dynasties, etc. We all know the painful political history of Imam Hussain in Karbala.

Br Abdul-Majid agrees the need for nationalism for identity purposes with reference to The Quran but missed scientific / natural needs why people need separation. Despite having same religion people can't understand each others need unless geographically close or similar. Language, food, clothing, behavior etc varies or must be varied based on local need.

Muslims from low-lying watery humid country like Vietnam will sweat to bath if wearing a dessert land Muslim clothing, similarly he will suffer from digestive problem if always eating dessert land dry food in the name of religion. Our religion is global (or universal) and we should be able to differentiate Arab culture from Islam.

Br Abdul-Majid proposes a single Anthem and flag for the whole of Muslim world, to begin with. However the start should be softer, or may never happen, say a common currency and a common calendar i.e. a lunar-date-line for Hijri calendar. Malaysia, an educated non Arab Muslim country, introduced Islamic currency but are we accepting this?

GCC is trying to start a common currency. OIC should find an all-acceptable solution for moon sighting. I heard from my grandfather that OIC stands for zero by zero which has no answer mathematically.

From January 28-Feb 11, 2011 (Safar 23 -Rbi ul Awaal 6, 1432H) Safar

22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 *3 0 R.ul Aw1 2 3 4 5 6

Jan8 28 29 30 31 Feb 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Day Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri

Fajar Sunrise Zawal Dhuhr 6:02 7.47 12:25 12:32 6:01 7:46 12:26 12:33 6:00 12:26 7:44 12:33 5:59 7:43 12:26 12:33 5:58 7:42 12:26 12:33 5:57 7:40 12:26 12:33 5:56 7:39 12:26 12:33 12:26 5:55 7:37 12:33 7:36 12:26 5:53 12:33 7:34 12:26 5:52 12:33 7:33 12:27 5:51 12:34 7:31 12:27 12:34 5:49 12:27 7:29 12:34 5:48 7:28 12:27 12:34 5:46 7:26 12:27 12:34 5:45

Asr Maghrib 5:07 3:18 5:09 3:19 5:11 3:21 5:12 3:23 5:14 3:24 5:16 3:26 5:17 3:27 5:19 3:29 5:21 3:30 5:22 3:32 5:24 3:34 5:26 3:35 5:27 3:37 5:29 3:38 5:31 3:40

Isha 6:43 6:44 6:46 6:47 6:49 6:50 6:52 6:53 6:54 6:56 6:57 6:59 7:00 7:02 7:03

Source: Masjid Al Noor

AQEEM USS SALAAT(Establish Prayer)

8

l

o

c

a

l

Issue 276 - Safar 23, 1432 / January 28, 2011 THE

Former President of Pakistan meets the press and Pakistani community While in town for a speaking engagement, former President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan Mr. Pervaiz Musharraf took the time to meet with few members of BC’s Pakistani community members as well as Hon. Consul General of Uganda in Vancouver, Mr. John Halani at a private meeting at the Westin Grand Hotel in Downtown Vancouver. Mr. Liaqat Ali Bajwa, the coordinator of “Pakistan First”, Mr. Nusrat Hussain (moderator of the event), Mr. Syed Wajahat Shah and Mr. Asad Syed were amongst the organizers. Mr. Bajwa introduced every member to Mr. Musharraf, who spoke candidly and answered questions about his rule in details with facts and figures. Mr. Mushraf had met with numerous supporters during his two days in Vancouver, as chapters of his newly-formed political party, All Pakistan Muslim League are being established here, in Toronto and in Calgary. “We are inviting people to join the AMNL, and we expect them to project the good of this party, and the good of my tenure as president,” said Mr. Musharraf. Mr. Mohammad Rafiq presented a book from Colonel Shafaat Ali in which Col. Ali wrote about his meetings with Mr. Musharraf during their time together in the army in the junior years of Musharraf ’s service.

Following the private meeting, Mr. Musharraf was directed to a press conference which was hurriedly organized at the same venue and a number of mainstream and ethnic electronic and print media were invited. Sqn. Ldr. (R) Nusrat Hussain mod-

erated the conference in which Mr. Musharraf fielded questions about various aspects of his nine years of rule as Pakistan’s Army chief and President were raised including NRO, Indo-Pak Relations, his eventual return to Pakistan, Judiciary, Dr. Afia Siddiqui, Akbar Bugti assassination, Canadian-Pakistani relations, and court cases against him. He was also asked why he wanted to be head the Pakistani Government after his tenure of nine years, what he plans to achieve if he is elected to power again and if he would like to become a President or Prime Minister.

Drawing upon facts and figures, Mr. Musharraf replied all questions in details. “I don’t have the military and I am not wearing a uniform, so how could I grab power?” he told reporters. “The people of Pakistan will bring us to power. I am playing on the turf of politicians and trying to get elected, and that is exactly what democracy is”. He said that he has announced in London that he and his party would contest the next general elections, scheduled for 2013.

He also rejected charges that there were politically motivated killings of tribal opponents during his watch. “Everything was to enforce the writ of the government. I am the last person who will allow Pakistan to be called a banana republic.”

He claimed there were only nine drone attacks on Pakistani targets by the United States between 2003 and 2007, while he was president. “In the past year, there have been over 150,” he said.

While speaking about the dispute over Kashmir, he called himself a man of peace who does not believe that war is the answer.

He believes that the menace of extremism and terrorism can only be controlled when this highly sensitive issue is settled by India and Pakistan.

MIR A LE

9

l

i

f

e

s

t

y

l

e

A Happy Home Prophet Muhammad's Manners at Home

By Adil Salahi All human societies uphold certain values and try to promote them. These include truthfulness, honesty, sincerity, caring for others, courage, patience in adversity, forbearance, pursuit of knowledge, and so on.

Parents try to instill in their children the importance of developing such qualities and maintaining such values. Teachers endeavor to show their pupils that even when any of these qualities may land a person in a bit of trouble, the end result of holding on to them is always better. Yet people normally have some of these qualities and remain lacking in others. A person may be honest and truthful, but may lack patience. Another may acquire broad knowledge through diligent learning but remains unable to handle a family crisis. To hold on to all superior values all the time is very rare, and to ensure that these are upheld by everyone in one's household is a very difficult task. The home of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), however, provided a unique example of holding on to every superior value and reflected a standard of moral characteristics that is second to none in all human history. When we look at life in the Prophet's home, we find that it was a life of poverty in every respect: barely enough food to eat, small and basic housing, little furniture and a clear lack of comfort.

Prophet Muhammad married several women, and his marriages were for social, political, and legislative reasons. When we read that each one of his wives had her own home, we tend to imagine that the Prophet had several houses competing to give him a comfortable living. That is totally wrong. Each of his wives had a single room, adjacent to the mosque.

Each was no better than a small hut, built of mud bricks or uneven stones, with a low ceiling that a tall man can reach by merely lifting

his hand. Such simple housing was coupled with equally simple furniture. Often there was nothing to sit on except a rough rug or a straw mat. Once Umar ibn Al-Khattab visited the Prophet and looked around. He expressed his sorrow that the Prophet's home had no facilities other than the bare essentials. He remarked that the emperors of Byzantium and Persia had so much comfort while the Prophet lived under such conditions. The Prophet told him that such worldly comfort is transitory and he would rather have nothing of it. What is important to realize is that this was by choice. All of us strive to have a comfortable living. This is natural. Nothing is wrong with this as long as the means we use to achieve it are right and legitimate. The Prophet, however, preferred a life of poverty because he realized that this present life is only transitory.

The real life is that of the hereafter. Seeking a good outcome in that future life should be the goal of every believer. Islam does not advocate a life of hardship. The Prophet realized that he had to provide the best example for his followers throughout human generations, since Islam is the final divine faith addressed to all human generations and societies. He used to spend much of his nighttime in voluntary worship. He used to sleep on a folded leather mat, which did not give him much comfort.

Once, one of his wives wanted to give him more comfort, so she folded the leather mat twice, so as to provide him with a four-layer sort of mattress. As a result he slept longer than usual. When he woke up late for his night worship, he told his wife that she should never do that again. A woman from the Ansar (Muslims of Madinah) once visited Hazrat Aishah (RA) and saw that the Prophet slept on a rough, hard bed. She felt sorry for him.

When she went home, she sent the Prophet a

Issue 276 - Safar 23, 1432 / January 28, 2011 THE mattress filled with wool. When the Prophet saw it, he was not pleased. The Prophet used to pray "My Lord, give Muhammad's household a basic standard of living." (Muslim)Yet the Prophet was always concerned for the poor in his community. He felt for those who did not have enough to eat, or looked weighed down by poverty. Hence, whenever he had some food, in large or small quantities, he would immediately give it away, sharing it between those poor people. He may give it all away while he himself would remain hungry.

Suhail ibn Saad said: The Prophet and his family never had their fill of wheat bread on three consecutive days from the first day he came to Madinah until he departed this life.

Indeed, by the time he died, he and his family never had a full meal of bread made with barley. (Al-Bukhari)On more than one occasion, the Prophet had nothing to eat other than bread and vinegar. He would dip a piece of bread in vinegar and eat it, saying "Vinegar is a good food to have with bread." Yet the

MIR A LE

Prophet did not forbid himself and his family any type of good and tasty food. He liked sweets and honey, whenever they were available. Nor did he ever encourage anyone to deprive themselves of good food. He only advised moderation, encouraging people not to overeat. He used to say,"A human being can never fill a worse container than his own belly.

It is enough for any person to have a few bites so as to feel well." ( At-Tirmidhi). Hazrat Aishah (RA) describes his attitude to food, which is one of total satisfaction with anything, simple as it may be. Needless to say that they only served him what is permissible in Islam.

Our lives could be more peaceful and less complicated if we follow the example of Prophet Muhammad. He taught us that peacefulness and serenity at our homes could be reached by our ability to always be satisfied and grateful for what we have.

Adil Salahi is the Executive Director of AlFurqan Heritage Foundation.

Zafar & Associates IMMIGRATION & EMPLOYMENT SERVICES Skilled, Business, Family, Student, Visitor, Work permit, IAD Appeal, H & C, PNP, HRSDC, ATI others

Sharandeep Mann: CSIC M084691 Zafar Chaudhry President Graduate of Canadian Immigration Practitioner Program from University of British Columbia. Canada B.A.LLB (Pakistan) Advocate Lahore High Court Pakistan Member of Chamber of Commerce Tri-City Quest Program. Ministry of Advance Education & Employment. BC

*Vancouver office: # 202- 5955 Fraser Street (In Khalsa Credit Union Building) Monday & Tuesday *Coquitlam office: #37-1150 Johnson St- Coquitlam (Near Coquitlam Centre) Wednesday to Saturday

Tel off (604) 839-8124 Fax (604) 944-8124 Email: workerservices@gmail.com

10

l

o

c

a

l

Issue 276 - Safar 23, 1432 / January 28, 2011 THE

Former President Musharraf greeted

by Protestors in Vancouver On Jan 19th, more than 50 members of the local Pakistani community expressed their anger and frustration at the Vancouver Club on Hastings Street in Vancouver. The protest was geared against Pakistan’s former president and dictator General Pervaiz Musharraf who had been especially invited by conservative Bonmot Book Club, to deliver a paid lecture.

Protestors condemned his policies during his nine years rule over the country.

They began marching at the Main

entrance of Vancouver club at 5 pm. They were holding banners and chanting slogans like ”Go Musharraf Go”, “No Musharraf No”, “Shame Musharraf Shame”, “Musharraf is Butcher of Balochistan” and much more leading up to the arrival of Musharraf at location.

The protesters were there to remind him that he adopted wrong policies and took the wrong decisions for Akbar Bugthi case, Lal Masjid, Dr. Afia Siddiqui, NRO, Judiciary and missing persons of Pakistan

etc.

The rally was a collective effort of many organizations. Individuals from other communities including Sikh, Hindu as well as Caucasian Canadians also joined the protest.

The protestors were able to create a bit of frenzy for the security squad as the vehicle carrying Mr. Musharraf had to circle the building a few times to avoid confrontation with the protestors. The protestors kept up by running along the car and

PM guarded about unrest in Arab world during Morocco stop

By Mark Kennedy, Postmedia News Prime Minister Stephen Harper arrived in this North African nation Wednesday with plans to foster better trade and with guarded comments about the profreedom demonstrations erupting elsewhere in the region. Harper was scheduled to have a full day of meetings and public appearances on Thursday. He will meet with Moroccan Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi, and among the items on the agenda are prospects to increase two-way trade between the countries.

But before departing for Morocco Wednesday from a United Nations commission meeting he was attending in Geneva, Harper was asked at a news con-

ference about the wave of protests occurring in other Arab nations.

In Egypt this week, thousands of protesters have taken to the streets demanding more freedom from President Hosni Mubarak.

Several young Egyptians have set themselves on fire in recent weeks, mirroring similar incidents in Tunisia, where the unrest began. In Yemen, protesters have staged several days of protest.

And although widespread demonstrations have yet to hit Morocco — which is ruled

by King Mohammed VI as part of a longstanding monarchy — there have been reports of some self-immolations in the country.

Harper was asked if his message for those yearning for democracy is that they have his support, or whether his view is that stable governments in the region are more important.

"Our government has been very consistent in our support for fundamental values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law," said Harper.

But that's as far as he would go, apparently avoiding saying anything further for fear that he might damage relations with African nations. Still, he did say he expects that the contentious issue of democratic freedoms will be discussed in meetings

MIR A LE

finally, the controversial leader emerged from his car. Despite tight security, many protestors got very close to Mr. Musharraf and their slogans were heard by the former President who, for a short while, appeared to be irritated and even raised his fists in the air twice as an answer to their slogans.

As the former President entered the building, the protestors continued chanting slogans and reciting poetry. At the end, protestors distributed sweets for staging a successful protest. Meanwhile, he addressed the audience inside the Vancouver Club.

with Moroccan government officials on Thursday.

Nonetheless, the purpose of the quick trip to this country is clear — to boost trade ties that are already strong.

"Canada has important economic interests in that country and we see a lot of potential for furthering economic relations," said Harper.

In 2009, Canada's exports to Morocco were valued at $375.1 million. About two thirds of that involved agricultural products, including wheat.

Also in 2009, Canada imported $138.3 million in products from Morocco such as fruits, woven goods and footwear.

Two years ago, Canada launched public consultations on a possible free trade agreement with Morocco and exploratory talks about such negotiations have been occurring with the country since then. The federal government says Canada has significant cultural ties with Morocco, sharing French as a common language. Moreover, Canada is home to about 45,000 Moroccan expatriates, many of them living in Quebec.

11

l

o

c

a

l

Issue 276 - Safar 23, 1432 / January 28, 2011 THE

MIR A LE

Liberal Candidate de Jong holds Dialog with the BC Muslim Community in Masjid As-Salaam On Jan 21st, Mike de Jong, MLA, former Attorney-General of BC held an open dialog with the BC Muslim Community in Masjid AsSalaam in Burnaby. Br. Musleh Hakki was the master of ceremony of small gathering. He introduced de Jong to everyone in the audience.

Dr. Naiyer Habib, Mr. Feroz Dean

and Mr. Imad Ali talked about current state of party leadership in BC and promised their support Mike in this Premier race in BC. Mike de Jong has served in the provincial legislature since 1994. His campaign for the leadership of the B.C. Liberal Party promises to focus on open and transparent government,

sound fiscal management, economic growth and diversification, protecting and improving healthcare and education, and democratic renewal. De Jong discussed many issues faced by outgoing BC Liberals leader Gordon Campbell and answered the Muslim community about many issues.

De Jong makes campaign stop at Taj B. Hall On Jan 23, Mike de Jong, candidate for the leadership of the BC Liberal Party, addressed more than 500 supporters at a rally in Taj Banquet Hall in Surrey. Before Jong’s speech, Ms. Patty Sahota and Dr. Gulzar Cheema, former MLAs of BC Liberals spoke about him and his achievements. Ms. Sahota intro-

duced Mr. Michael de Jong, who was greeted by wide applause in the hall. “I think we’ve surprised some people with our turnout today,” said de Jong. He mentioned that in the past month, thousands more have joined his campaign for a fresh start for B.C. He also explained his stand on health and educa-

tion policies and his plans after wining the leadership campaign. De Jong also introduced Christine Dargahi, a student from Surrey who is getting involved in politics for the first time.

www.a2zmortgage.ca

TERMS Our Rates*

1Year 3Year 5Year 2.54% 3.19% 3.66%

2.20% (Variable) * Rates are subject to change without notice

* * * * *

Purchase Renewal Pre Approval 1st & 2nd Mortgages Self Employed

* * * *

New Immigrants Debts Consolidation Construction/Renovations Commercial Mortgage

ISHMA

Mortgage Consultant

778-316-9255

ishmaalvi83@gmail.com

Office: 115-13740 72A Avenue Surrey BC V3W 1N5

12

p

o

l

i

t

i

c

s

Issue 276 - Safar 23, 1432 / January 28, 2011 THE

MIR A LE

A Special Column from Miracle’s Founder

Democracy--- Hypocrisy--- and Dictatorship in Pakistan

By Nusrat Hussain Sqn. Ldr. (R) Recent visit of General (R) Pervez Musharraf to Vancouver not only sparked an influence of opinions, but also exposed the behavior of Democracy lovers of Pakistani--Canadians living in Vancouver.

You-tube footage of a handful of people protesting against Musharraf ’s visit was far from being decent. Violent, abusive and aggressive protestors against Musharraf reached at dangerously close distance to the General. It also airs questions about the security provided by the local Canadian authorities.

Demonstrators considered Musharraf a traitor for abrogating the constitution by Army Take over.---They are to be reminded of the fact that on 12th October 1999 on the orders of then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the aircraft carrying General Musharraf as chief of Pakistan Army Staff was refused landing anywhere in Pakistan. The aircraft was ordered to divert and land in India. The army came to know and in order to save its Chief took over the government. The General as such was forced to the power due to the foolishness of the time’s political leadership.

Protestors called him killer of Nawab Akbar Bugti.---They should be aware of the anti state activities headed by Bugti in Baluchistan. Recently, on 22nd December, 2010 Shah Zain Bugti, grandson of Akbar Bugti was arrested after crossing into Pakistan from Afghanistan. He carried massive quantity of illegal weapons that included two 14.5 and two 12.7 Machine Guns, four Light machine Guns and fifty Sub machine Guns. The seized arms also included 43 Kalashnikovs, 2 rocket Launchers and hundreds and thousands of different rounds.

To demonstrate is a right given by Democracy and to display it in a cultured fashion is the responsibility demanded by Democracy. It is unfair to exhibit the right and breach the responsibility. The very value preached by Democracy was violated by its lovers.

Let us embark on the joy ride of the recent birth and demise of Democracy in Pakistan.

Considering brevity, this piece is restricted to modern Champions and Stalwarts of Democracy in Pakistan.

Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto is proclaimed to be the champion of modern Democracy in

Pakistan. He launched Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Lahore on 30th November 1967 and became the Chairman of his party. Ever since its inception about 44 years ago, the party has never elected a leader outside the Bhutto clan.

Nusrat Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto were both self nominated and life time Chair persons of the PPP. After the demise of Benazir Bhutto; her son Bilawal Zardari according to a questioned will of Benazir, became the co-chairperson of the PPP along with his father Asif Ali Zardari. Shockingly, he also changed his name to Bilawal Zardari ‘Bhutto’ to easily take over PPP’s leadership.

Z.A. Bhutto’s political career started from the cabinet of Dictator Field Marshal Ayub Khan; where he served in 1958 as the Minister of Commerce, in 1959 as the Minister for Information and National Reconstruction, in 1960 as the Minister for Fuel, Power and Natural Resources. From 1963 to 1965 he served as the Foreign Minister of Pakistan before resigning from the cabinet in 1966.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto also remains to be the only civilian to take over as Chief Martial Law administrator in the world history.

When General Yahya Khan resigned, Bhutto was inaugurated as president and chief martial law administrator on 20th December, 1971.

Mr. Nawaz Sharif identified as the stalwart of Democracy started his political career in Punjab during the tenure and with the blessings of Dictator General Mohammed Zia-ulHaq. He initially joined as a member of the Punjab Advisory Council in 1981, and later served as the Minister of Finance with additional charge of Minister of Sports.

Sharif was appointed by General Zia- UlHaq as the Caretaker Chief Minister of

Punjab when he dissolved the assemblies. In 1988, after the death of Pakistan's military ruler General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Muslim League (N) was formed under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif.

Ever since its inception about 23 years ago, Muslim League (N) continues to be led by Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shabaz Sharif. None out of the family clan of Sharif has ever dared to challenge the top position of the party so far.

The champions and stalwarts of Democracy in Pakistan have collaborated with dictators in order to gain access to the power. They have established political parties in the name of Democracy on the one hand and at the other hand have introduced dictatorship and monarchy for the leadership of party.

Imran Khan is a respected name in the dirty political arena of Pakistan. He founded Tehrik-e-Insaf in 1996. Yet, he continues to be the only one on the helm of affairs without any one challenging the party leadership.

He too has maintained the top position in a fashion where none other can think to lead.

Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman and Asfand Wali yar Khan, of Khyber Paktunkhawah, Chaudries of Punjab, Bugtis of Balochistan and Altaf Hussain of Sindh out of all are few prominent names clinging to the top party positions. They are running Democratic political parties by holding firm to the dictatorial values.

Democracy of Pakistan, in essence, is a Monarchy mindset of the still prevailing political system that created Double Standards and Hypocrisy in every department of life.

It was due to the incompetence of corrupt politicians and the Hippocratic mind set of society that Generals came to the power in larger interest of saving the country. That is why Martial law has also been greeted and celebrated with distribution of sweets by ordinary people of Pakistan.

A look at the less than three years report card of the present democratic government of Pakistan depicts a depressing state of affairs.

Law and order is in disarray. People are selling their kidneys and committing suicide because of poverty. Ordinary use items are far from the reach of larger poor populace.

Present rulers are not tired of making billions by stealing from the government treasury.

Politicians in opposition are anxiously waiting for their turn to loot.

General Musharraf ‘s stature is clean of any unfair personal financial gains and hence is a serious threat for the greedy natured politicians. They would not like him to be back in the country and are using all tactics to discourage his return.

Any unambiguous mind can analyze that the General’s quest to power this time is not dictatorial. He simply has chosen to democratically contest in the coming elections of Pakistan by forming a political party. He plans to return to Pakistan before the elections and has the experience and the will to improve the lives of people and the image of Pakistan.

Instead of stooping to indecent plans, the advocates of Democracy should face the General on the democratic battlefield of elections in Pakistan.

Sometimes ignorance is blessing- intent to stay ignorant any time is a curse.

AFA-LA-TATAFAKKAROON WHY DO YOU NOT THINK

Muslim Youth & Community Center

3889-Keith St. Burnaby Allhumdulillah

First JUMMAH (Friday prayer) starts at this Community centre from February 4, 2011@12:30pm

Contact: Br, Tarek 604-781-9956 iic.mac.vancouver@gmail.com

13

l

o

c

a

l

Issue 276 - Safar 23, 1432 / January 28, 2011 THE

MIR A LE

Safer communities begin with government action: Layton By: Brett Barden, President Surrey North NDP On Jan 22, New Democrat Leader Jack Layton was in Surrey outlining the NDP’s practical solutions for reducing crime, promoting community safety and preventing young people from being recruited into gangs. He was joined by Surrey North NDP candidate Jasbir Sandhu.

Following a meeting in Surrey with representatives from local non-profit groups and a retired police officer, Layton and Sandhu said the government must do more to improve public safety and provide young people with viable alternatives to street gangs.

“People have a right to feel safe in their homes and communities,” said Layton. “Through his work at the Justice Institute of B.C., Jasbir Sandhu has the direct, hands-on experience in tackling crime and building safer communities. Jasbir knows that people want to see more investment in crime prevention, more focus on at-risk youth,

and proper resources for the RCMP to fight organized crime and gang violence.”

Sandhu said there needs to be an immediate focus on high-crime neighbourhoods and community-driven solutions. He also called for more support for crime victims.

“I am proud of the NDP’s plan to strengthen victim’s rights and protect their personal safety,” Sandhu continued. “I will work hard to establish a victims’ support fund, financed in part from the proceeds from criminal activity.”

Layton said people are disappointed by Stephen Harper’s approach. “We don’t need hollow announcements and recycled policies that never see the light of day,” he said.

“We need realistic measures to reduce crime and increase public safety.”

Layton’s stop in Surrey was part of his cross-country tour prior to the return of Parliament at the end of January.

Jasbir Sandhu, Candidate for Surrey North NDP, joins Jack Layton, along with June Laitar and Tom Oleman from the Surrey Aboriginal Cultural Society (Kla-how-eya)

Home Safe Program Prevents Fires and Reduces Damage Surrey – A new report shows that the City of Surrey’s HomeSafe program has resulted in a 50 per cent reduction in residential fires and prevented close to $1.5 million in fire-related damages.

HomeSafe is a fire prevention home visitation initiative that was launched two years ago and is the first of its kind in British Columbia. To date, 18,473 homes have been visited, representing 14 per cent of all street level entry homes in Surrey.

The program involves Surrey firefighters going door-to-door in the neighbourhoods that were identified in a study conducted by the University of the Fraser Valley as areas with significantly higher than average incidences of fire. The firefighters distribute fire prevention information to residents and conduct checks to confirm that the homes are fitted with working smoke alarms. Free smoke alarms are installed in homes where the

detectors are absent or non-functioning. Free follow-up home safety inspections are also available.

“The City of Surrey is taking a multi-faceted approach to public safety and the HomeSafe program is a great example of an innovative, practical and evidence-based solution to residential fire safety,” says Mayor Dianne Watts.

“We know that smoke alarms save lives. So, we are taking a hands-on approach and making it as easy as possible for people to access and install properly-working alarms.”

To evaluate the impact of the program, historical fire data was used to estimate how many fires would have occurred in the target neighbourhoods, based on the trends that were evident prior to the initiation of the program. It was estimated that 26 residential fires would have occurred in the target neighbourhoods over the two-year period. In fact, only 13 fires occurred in those neighbour-

hoods, which is a 50 per cent reduction. The neighbourhoods in Surrey that were not targeted saw a 26.6 per cent reduction in fires over the same period.

“The findings also show that the fires that did occur were less severe and this public education program prevented over a million dollars in fire-related damages,” says Surrey Fire Chief Len Garis. “We are so fortunate to have such a progressive work force and their cooperation has significantly influenced the success of this program.”

Overall, the City of Surrey has been experiencing a decline in residential fires, despite rapid growth. Between 2001 and 2010 there was a 27 per cent increase in the number of residential units in Surrey. During this same period residential fire losses declined by approximately 10.5 per cent. There was also a 49 per cent decrease in injuries and deaths resulting from residential fires, despite a 24

per cent increase in population.

The City attributes this overall pattern of decline in residential fires in Surrey to a range of initiatives that have been implemented, including: · The Electrical Fire Safety Program; · The HomeSafe Program; · Becoming more aggressive in relation to boarding up and demolishing vacant and derelict buildings; · A targeted cooking-fire awareness campaign; and · Providing fire prevention information at community forums for elderly residents in Surrey For more information on Surrey Fire Service programs and services, please visit: http://www.surrey.ca/city-services/4696.aspx

FREE Local & Long Distance Never Pay a Phone Bill Free Free Free Free • Free • • • •

Directory Phone Number Call Waiting Voice Mail Caller ID

Serving the Community from 3 Years

Our Other Services: • Cell Phone Repair & Unlocked • Computer Repair & Upgrade • All type of Cell Phone Accessories

Wise Electronics

E-Shop (Inside Price Pro Store)

Unit 104 -7945 132 St, Surrey Contact Gulzeb Agha: 604-507-8808

6911 King George Blvd, Surrey Contact Arif Sheikh: 604-518-7867

14

p

o

l

i

t

i

c

s

Issue 276 - Safar 23, 1432 / January 28, 2011 THE

MIR A LE

Will Pakistan ever heal?

By Tariq Mian, Toronto Better late than never, the government finally realizes that a smaller cabinet with lesser ministries is the best option to begin breaking the ice initially. A gradual rightsizing has begun with the immediate elimination of five federal ministries while another five will be chopped off in February, and it is likely that downsizing will continue for some time to come. This is a step in the right direction. Trimming the fatty ministries should have been done long time ago.

Painfully, the last three years have been severely rough and tough for the vulnerable masses that are facing yet another round of price hikes and a country wide food shortage. The economic stability is nonexistent.

The patience of suffering population has already exhausted.

Despite the World Bank’s approval of $250 million loan and a $35 million grant to support recovery efforts in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), there are other economic issues of immense national importance that haunt the nation day and night. Most likely, the government will have to borrow from the State Bank of Pakistan with all its adverse consequences for the economy and the people.

Indeed, the bitterest reality is the ongoing pile up of heavy foreign debt load. Whereas the poor governance, zero economic growth, a missing financial sovereignty, and the nonexistent foreign investor’s confidence have been hindering Pakistan’s recovery – is extremely disturbing and thought provoking of course.

Unfortunately, the evil of falsehood dominates in Pakistan, which is responsible for blind folding the naive masses about horrible consequences of prolonged political instability and economic stagnation. Unless Pakistan comes out of the “never ending cycle” of misfortune, ignorance and poverty, there isn’t any hope for betterment.

Politically motivated economic decisions made by the politicians with respect to allowing multinationals virtual monopolies, permitting corporate farming, building new dams, power plants and education system always lead to non justified actions.

Shameful sabotage of gas installations has not only disrupted the supply of Sui gas to the nine districts in Baluchistan, but the gas supply to some parts of Sindh, the whole of the Punjab province and other parts of the country have also been severely hampered in deed. Nevertheless, the responsibility has been claimed by a militant nationalist organization. Yet, similar attacks on the gas

supply system have been carried out successfully in the past. Unfortunately, it is virtually impossible to protect every inch of the pipes that stretch out from the gas fields in Sui to other parts of the country; therefore, an increased or stepped up security won’t be able to handle the menace in the normal manner.

So disappointing is the badly crippled revenue generating capacity which is beyond an easy fix. The industrial sector has been severely hit sending a large majority of workers home for good. The government miserably failed to deal with load-shedding and the poor gas supply.

Among several other factors, the curse of feudalism seems to be one of the leading sources for Pakistan’s economic disability and disparity leading to criminal activity including misappropriation and looting the resources. Since its independence, Pakistan has not been able to have a true democracy just because of the prevalence of feudalism.

There is a stubborn hurdle in educating the masses, and such a constant lack of education leads to a massive economic retardation. Feudal lords get elected to the parliament due to their dominance. No importance is given to integrity and merit at all.

Furthermore, the poor people cannot move an inch against the wish of this elite class.

Even the independence of national institutions is corrupted by this group. They always prefer to have their dear ones selected for the positions of power and authority in the police and civil bureaucracy.

Competence stands no chance at all.

Inherently defective political system of Pakistan has always enabled the feudals, industrialists, bureaucrats and the generals to go beyond limits. The environment is ripe for the insincere, incompetent, inefficient, corrupt and selfish class of people to flourish.

Beyond doubt, without a viable economy, the political environment will stay non-stable. Thus, a weak government poses the greatest threat to the economy and national security.

Now the good news: Fortunately, Pakistan has huge untapped coal reserves, one of the largest in the world, which if explored with the right investment would certainly overcome the current electricity crisis.

Furthermore, Pakistan is also blessed with one of the world's largest copper and gold reserves. In fact, just with one mine in REKO DIQ (BALUCHISTAN) is worth more than enough to pay off its entire foreign debt.

Although, according to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the country’s total liquid foreign exchange reserves witnessed an increase of 190 million dollars during the week ended January 15, 2011, climbing to a record high at 17.28 billion dollars. The for-

eign exchange reserves held by SBP were 13.65 billion dollars and net foreign reserves held by banks (other than SBP) 3.62 billion dollars. Yet, the government has no funds to continue with the required payments to debtors nor does it have any financial capacity to carry out national projects of extreme economic importance.

What needs to be done: Broaden the tax base including the RGST and directly taxing the agricultural income. There should be capital gains tax on the stock market and the real estate as well.

Get fiscal house in order on urgent basis.

Chronic condition of the national economy requires urgent attention too. A consensus is required to facilitate a peaceful revolution to rid the country of all corrupt elements. Such operation must start indiscriminately from the very top and of course - gradually climbing down to the grass root level.

Special constitutional amendments through the national Parliament are needed to affect all areas regardless of the immunity.

Since, Karachi is the commercial hub of Pakistan which is being reduced to a war zone between ethnic groups. Target killing scenario is a danger sign of a strong possibility of Anarchy and Civil War. There is an urgent need for an overhauled governance mechanism in place before it is too late.

The best solution is: All politically motivated recruitments in the judiciary and the police in Karachi must be reversed right away in the best interest of the country. If Karachi bleeds and descends into total chaos, the repercussions will be catastrophic not only for the Karachites but also for the whole country.

It is strongly suggested that strengthening

the federal set up is the way out to tackle all the economic and political ills. Provincial powers should be delegated to the Divisional Commissioners throughout the country for the sake of better administration. There is no need of provincial administration, provincial assemblies or provincial governors. Deputy commissioner/district magistrate is good enough to have a better grip on the corrupt people.

A simple system of governance means an effective control on lavish spending.

Remedying mismanagement and eliminating corruption within the government will pave the way for further remedial activity.

Some kind of mechanism to protect the vulnerable sections of the society should be in place before it is too late. A coherent strategy is needed to genuinely develop the economy by investing in its key sectors to resolve Pakistan's chronic and systemic issues.

General sales tax reforms and land reforms will definitely be beneficial to the whole society.

In addition to restructuring, reshuffling and reducing federal ministries, the 10-point agenda must be fully implemented by the deadline. As claimed, the said agenda is aimed at addressing the crucial problems including price control formula, electricity and gas shortages, lawlessness and the messy financial crisis. All political parties should be on the same page when it comes to eradicate economic woes.

Our Goal is to help our children become confident and practicing Muslims according to the teaching of Quran and Sunnah.

(Admission Open) Welcome Boys & Girls from ages 5-13yrs.

Duration 2 Hours, $20/ semester fee

Newborn and Children Circumcision (Khatna)

Classes will be held on every other Sunday.

Location: Surrey Jamea Masjid (Basement)

Dr. Kim-Sing is a practicing Pediatrician in Burnaby with over 20 years of experience.

The Circumcision is performed under local anesthetic and virtually complication free.

12407-72nd Ave. Timings: 10:00am-12:00pm

For appointment and inquiry Contact Dr. Malcolm Kim-Sing, MB, FRCP

604-433-5750 108-3825 Sunset Street, Burnaby, B.C V5G 1T4

To register or for more info: Ph: 604-496-4462, 604-583-0016 604-599-4100 Email: mcnasurrey@yahoo.ca

15

s

p

e

c

i

a

l

Issue 276 - Safar 23, 1432 / January 28, 2011 THE

MIR A LE

Generalizing Tunisia: Context Overrides Story By: Ramzy Baroud When faced with problems, most authoritarian regimes maintain a policy of rigidity when the appropriate response would be flexibility, political wisdom and concessions. This policy gives authoritarian leaders their ability to control their populations to serve the interests of a few individuals and political and military elites. It can also, however, usher their downfall, for populations can only be oppressed, controlled and punished to a point.

President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, who controlled his population with an iron fist since his arrival to the presidential palace in 1987, must have crossed that point. He was forced to flee the country amid the angry chants of thousands of Tunisians, fed up with growing unemployment, soaring inflation, government corruption, violent crackdowns and lack of political freedom. These mounting frustrations led to relentless protests throughout the country. The government's subsequent crackdowns only stirred emotions beyond any crowd control strategy, and eventually Ben Ali's plane left to seek refuge outside his own country.

The upheaval in Tunisia is certainly worthy of all the headlines, media commentary and official statements it has generated. But many of these reactions contain generalizations that hype expectations, worsen an already terrible situation and provoke misguided policies.

Indeed, the current political storm, dubbed both the "Youth Intifada" and the "Jasmine Revolution", has inspired many interpretations. Some commentators wished to see the popular uprising as a prelude to an essentially anti-Arab regimes phenomenon that will strike elsewhere as well, while others placed it within a non-Arab context, noting that popular uprisings are growing in countries that struggle with rising food prices. Even al-

Qaeda had a take on the situation, trying to score points to find a place in the looming political void.

Many commentators have focused on the Arab identity of Tunisia to find correlations elsewhere. Hadeel al-Shalchi's Associated Press article "Arab activists hope Tunisia uprising brings change," presented the uprising within an Arab context. Reporting from Cairo, she wrote of the growing optimism among those whom she dubbed "Arab activists" that other Arab leaders will share the fate of Ben Ali if they don't ease their grip on power. Hossam Bahgat is one such activist. He told AP, "I feel like we are a giant step closer to our own liberation... What's significant about Tunisia is that literally days ago the regime seemed unshakeable, and then eventually democracy prevailed without a single Western state lifting a finger."

True, both Tunisia and Egypt are Arab countries with many similarities, but expecting a repeat of a scenario that was uniquely Tunisian and implicitly suggesting that Western states serve as harbingers of democracy is illusory, to stay the least.

Now that Ben Ali is out of the picture, Western governments are cautiously lining up behind the Tunisian uprising, but hardly with the same enthusiasm of their support of the Iranian riots of June 2009. British Foreign Secretary William Hague merely denounced the unrest, calling for "restraint from all sides." He stated, "I condemn the violence and call on the Tunisian authorities to do all they can to resolve the situation peacefully."

US President Barack Obama added, "I urge all parties to maintain calm and avoid violence, and call on the Tunisian government to respect human rights, and to hold free and fair elections in the near future."

Cliched statements aside, both the US and the UK must fear the repercussions of a pop-

ular uprising in an area so close to the heart of American-British interests in the Middle East. Both countries are careful not to appear to oppose democratic reforms, even if they are forced to disown their friends in the region. Their response is largely representative of official responses from many Western capitals - the very capitals that lauded Tunisia as a model for how Arab countries can help win the war on terror.

One must not let confusing media headlines sideline the fact that neither the US nor the UK had Tunisia on their radar for circumventing democracy or violating human rights. Ben Ali was celebrated as an icon of moderation, notwithstanding his atypical Arab stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Ben Ali's authoritarian regime was not the type that required much chastising. It was the benign kind that allowed a tiny space for secular opposition while cracking down on any Islamic opposition group. For 23 years, such practice was barely problematic, for it served the interests of both Ben Ali and various Western powers. The countless calls for respect of human rights from international and local organizations were mostly unheeded. Washington and London rarely found that irksome.

Now that the Tunisian people's fight for rights has taken a sharp turn, many of us find it difficult to examine the specific context of this case without delving into dangerous generalizations. Western governments now speak of democracy in the region - as if there were ever a genuine concern; commentators speak of the next regime to fall - as if every Arab country is a duplication of another; and technology bloggers are celebrating another 'twitter revolution.'

Perhaps generalizations make things more interesting. Tunisia, after all, is a small coun-

try, and most people know little about it aside from the fact that it's a cheap tourist destination - thus the need to place it within a more gripping context. Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is using the opportunity to read the Tunisian uprising in a unique way.

The AQIM leader, Abu Musab Abdul Wadud, has called for the overthrowing of the "corrupt, criminal and tyrannical" regimes in both Tunisia and Algeria and the instatement of al-Sharia law. This call has promoted American commentators to warn of the future Islamization of Tunisia and will likely result in Western intervention to ensure that another "moderate" regime succeeds the one that just fled.

There is no harm in expanding a popular experience to understand the world at large and its conflicts. But in the case of Tunisia, it seems that the country is largely understood within a multilayer of contexts, thus becoming devoid of any political, cultural or socioeconomic uniqueness. Understanding Tunisia as just another "Arab regime", another possible podium for al-Qaeda's violence, is convenient but also unhelpful to any cohesive understanding of the situation there and the events that are likely to follow.

Ramzy Baroud (www.ramzybaroud.net) is an internationally-syndicated columnist and the editor of PalestineChronicle.com.

We repair all makes and models 4 less. Complete auto repair 4 less!

Special Offers

• By 28 years experience licensed Mechanic • Specialized in Air Cares Failed Autos

OIL CHANGE Up to 5L

$24.99

+ Enviro Fee

+

FREE MAINTENANCE CHECKUP

FRONT BRAKES LABOUR

$29.99

+ parts

+

FREE MAINTENANCE CHECKUP

TUNE-UP 4Cyl

6Cyl

8Cyl

$59.99

$69.99 $79.99

INCLUDES: • Installation of spark plugs • Set timing & idle speed • Complete safety check

FREE OIL CHANGE With front brake pads & rear brake shoe replacement

BEST PRICES ON: • New & used tires • Suspension • Cooling system • Starter • Alternator • Clutch • Water pumps • Special rates on timing belts 3 months warranty on new parts

Business Hours: Monday to Saturday 9 -6 Friday Closed for juma Prayer Sunday By Appointment only

Unit 113-12465-82nd Ave. Surrey, BC Contact Muhammad or Amir @ 604-572-7861

16

l

i

f

e

s

t

y

l

e

The Mouth Wash However much we may try to insulate our lives and loved ones from vulgarity and sacrilegious language, it nonetheless floods our ears and is a flame in the worlds we move in. From television to the Internet, it is ever present, and even in the public spaces of work, the market, and the campus. The truth is for us Muslims nowadays, it is evermore likely to insinuate itself into the speech of our very homes.

Profanity is a sly thing. It seeps into the heart almost undetected. And there it quickly oxidizes the sterling eman that lives there.

For most teenagers, swearing or "cussing" is a rite of passage. Based on the media we provide them and the models before them, many see the use of expletives as a way to appear cool and grown-up in front of there peers. Muslims are just as susceptible to cursing, as are our non-Muslim counterparts.

Foul language may seem a small thing to worry about in a world terrorized by bloody bombardments, sieges, ecological assault, and rapacious economics. Yet sins of the tongue are often the most dangerous of all. They spark from parted lips with effortless case and even less thought. The Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, warned against the evil of our words, saying: "He is a Muslim who avoids harming Muslims with his tongue and hands. And the Muhajir (Emigre for the sake of God) is one who gives up all that Allah has forbidden" (Bukhari).

Worse yet, swearing is exceptionally habit forming. Once you start, it's difficult to stop, especially when the pressure's on or strife is at hand.

We can all benefit from a dose of 'mouth wash' to help get a handle on swearing before it takes hold and becomes an unbecoming, and spiritually dangerous, feature of our personalities.

Here are five rules to prevent descent into swearing and to uproot it if it is already there.

1. Respect Others Respecting others is a major ethic in Islam.

The use of profanity, whether directly or indirectly, negates the rights of others not to be subjected to such filth. For Muslims especially, whose hearts have tasted the sweetness of Islam, the use of expletives sours the human heart, which is the seat of all of our affections. Over time, cursing definitely pollutes and weakens the spirit, making it susceptible to the wiles of Shaytan. Keeping your speech clean and free from profanity shows others not only that you respect them but also that you respect yourself.

2. Zero-Tolerance Rules Making the choice of refraining from vulgar language means taking the crucial step of surrounding oneself with like-minded peers. People that support your elevated linguistic aim and uplift your efforts will truly help you break the impulse to curse.

If you keep the company of people for whom swearing is like breathing, you are setting yourself up for failure. It will be beyond tempting for you to join in on the profanity to fit in, or just by default. Many of us face peer pressure when it comes to swearing. If we don't engage in bad language, or are so bold as to openly oppose it, we will likely be labeled as "puritans" or moralizers, open demonstrations of purity and morality being notably great failings in the mind of modern society. We must remember that our Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, never used profane language and spoke only when speech was of a benefit to himself and others. Useless and idle talk is notorious for wreaking social havoc.

3. Guarding Your Tongue If you've ever stubbed your toe on a piece of unseen furniture in a darkened room or burned your hand on an open flame, then you know just how easily a swear word can come to mind, let alone sail right out of your mouth. It's kind of like a raft going over the edge of the falls. Guarding your

LIVING IN REGRET Shabnam Khan M.P.C.P., R.P.C. Family Counsellor It is surprising to see how much energy and time is wasted feeling guilty or remorse about the past. Some of what we regret can be changed, and some cannot. Some regrets about the career choices they made years ago. Some regret that they haven’t experienced more adventure in their lives, done more travelling, made more friends, changed jobs, taken more risks, been more charitable and on it goes.

Every time we think and rethink about something we regret, the emotional impact of our thoughts continues to grow. The more attention we pay to something, the harder it is to stop thinking about it. That is the reason why so many of us struggle with regrets. We get stuck in a cycle, and the regrets become increasingly difficult to dispose of.

It is in our interest, however to take a step forward and eliminate all the outstanding regret in our lives. Regret always

has it’s orientation in the past. It’s something you wish were different or something you wish you handled differently.

You may well want to make decisions in your life to remedy past mistakes if you can, but remember “ crying over spilled milk” does not help.

The best way to eliminate regret is to commit to a new mind-set, one of forward motion. As thoughts that contain regret comes up, the trick is to be aware of them and then let these thoughts go. You have to reinforce the change you’ve just made.

Follow up with a positive, life-affirming thought.

To reiterate, the change to make regarding regrets is to first understand that regrets come from the past and that you can’t go back in time. Secondly, you must realize that you have the power to rid yourself of regret. You created it and now you must get rid of it. All you need to do is to notice your thoughts of regret and catch them if you can. Drop these thoughts, knowing that they are self-destructive and useless. Remember always reinforce your change emphasizing that from this point forth, you will live in the present and look forward toward the future.”I promise you won’t regret making this change” For more information regarding the services, please contact The Miracle.

Issue 276 - Safar 23, 1432 / January 28, 2011 THE tongue is an around the clock affair. Yet the benefits of a "clean" mouth far outweigh the restraint this imposes. Change the way you react to certain circumstances. Instead of releasing a verbal bomb when you are upset, physically bite your lips together and literally swallow it. Use the opportunity as a chance, not to get enraged but rather to engage in a deed pleasing to your Creator, such as sincere supplications. Say asthafirullah, O Allah forgive me. Wa atubu ilayh, And I repent to Him. Or send prayers of blessings upon the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam. Or ask Allah to remove from you, sins for your pains. These kinds of positive, spiritual exclamations very quickly become noble habits. You may have hurt your toe immensely but you can be thankful to Allah that the injury did not result in a broken bone, which would have been exponentially more painful. Sure your finger now has a molten red blister the size of Kansas City on it, but you can certainly be grateful that you did not set your home or even yourself on fire. Before engaging in something as destructive as cursing, open your eyes to the blessings hidden beneath your displeasure.

4. Paying The Consequences It may be naive to think that one could simply stop cursing over night, "cold turkey," especially if one has been doing it for an extended period of time.

Establishing hefty consequences for transgressions or slip-ups can go a long way in deterring future relapses, thus ensuring that you annihilate the habit once and for all. Hold yourself accountable for every swear word that escapes your lips. Perhaps you can donate 10 minutes of your time for a worthy cause for every expletive you utter in a single week. Or charge yourself a quarter for every curse you utter in the

MIR A LE

course of a month. Fill a jar with all of the coins and donate it to charity.

Accountability is the key to success when it comes to breaking the chains of any habit.

So hold yourself to a higher degree and be responsible.

5. Responsibility First Most likely, you learned how to swear from an adult when you were a child. And now the student has the potential of becoming the teacher. Every word that comes out of your mouth carries great weight and can influence a young (or older) child around you. Be responsible with your speech and take great care not to use swear words in front of your impressionable offspring.

The last thing you need on your conscience is the fact that you are responsible for introducing someone you care about to something as heinous as cursing. Instead, speak only words that are necessary and fill the air with proper speech that serves a halal purpose.

Keeping a firm grip on every syllable that passes between your lips should be a source of great achievement. These days, the power of human speech has been lost in a veritable sea of slang and laziness. All Muslims must remember that speech is a gift from Allah Almighty. It should be used wisely and with great care so as not to bring harm upon oneself or others.

Breaking bad habits is often an uphill battle. So arm yourself with the shield of eman and the sword of sabr, patience, and the knowledge that cleaning up your speech is an achievable goal with countless rewards.

Article provided by Al Jumuah Magazine, a monthly Muslim lifestyle publication, which addresses the religious concerns of Muslim families across the world.

Blame Game

By Mrs. Zanbka Malik It is the ‘fingers pointing’ exchange among people who refuse to accept the sole responsibility for the immoral, bad and evil deeds done by them. In other words they don’t take responsibility of their wrongdoings and shift the blame onto others. The blame game is practiced so much that it has almost become viral and contagious. It has started to affect us and our family system with its harm.

It is noticed that our Kids are increasingly getting involved into this game too. A good example, and one that seems to happen quite often, will be of interest and is mentioned here .A daughter brings a cup of tea for the father and the son is clowning around in the room. Suppose she looks at her brother by chance and spills some tea on the new carpet. Immediately, before anybody can even say anything, she starts to shout at the brother for making her spill the tea. If she is asked how he can do that when he was on the other side of the room at that time! Very likely answer can be, since he made her look at him so he was responsible for the incident.

Pointing the finger of blame to the wrong place.

What could be the possible outcome of this? In my view their room can become a war zone with each one sniping at the other. With similar episodes, in due course of time, their relationship can turn sour for the rest of their lives. One Hadith of prophet Muhammad (SAW) says ‘A true Muslim is the one from whose tongue and hands every other Muslim is safe’. Many of us mention this Hadith very often, without caring to understand the meaning and bringing it into our own lives. The

purpose and meaning of this is to be careful with the use of our strength and words as both can harm others. Verbal abuse is generally not taken as seriously as physical abuse because there is no visible proof.

However according to this Hadith both can be detrimental to the other person.

Quoted above is a small example. The ‘Blame Game’ can really get into a higher gear, when each person starts blaming the other for everything wrong in their lives.

The only way out of playing the Blame Game, is to change your thinking and start taking responsibility for your actions, accept your mistakes, correct them and learn to forgive others. It’s no good holding onto painful experiences and using them as convenient excuses from time to time for blaming others.

"Blaming creates a culture of fear / hatred and this leads to a host of negative consequences for individuals and families".

What can be the benefits and positive consequences of avoiding it? · You gain respect and love from others and become friendly and amicable · You acquire a pleasant personality and find peace tranquility and harmony within yourself, with your family and with people of the world · You can achieve self -control, selfrestraint, self-discipline, and self-obedience to Allah (SWT) the Creator · You can get rid of inferiority or superiority complex. · Can stop exploitation of others · Undoubtedly combined with other good qualities you can improve health ,personality, Character and good behavior · Your rewards will be many folds in this world and hereafter Inshallah ….Ameen

17

p

o

l

i

t

i

c

s

Issue 276 - Safar 23, 1432 / January 28, 2011 THE

MIR A LE

What if Jared Lee Loughner Were a Muslim Arab Immigrant?

Jared Lee Loughner born September 10, 1988, is an American who is charged in the January 8, 2011 Tucson, Arizona shooting that killed six people, including Chief U.S. District Court Judge John Roll, and left 14 others injured, including U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords.

Loughner was indicted by a federal grand jury in Tucson on January 19, 2011.

The repercussions of the attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson last week, in which six others were murdered and 19 wounded, continue to resonate. Discussion - and discussions about the discussion continue. Discussions rise and fall about how to achieve the real changes that will make a repeat of this tragedy impossible. Will we stand up to the National Rifle Association (NRA) and work to enact real, stronger gun-control laws? Will we do anything to make mental health care truly accessible for those who so desperately need it? Will anything change in the nature of the governmental and media discourse that still allows not just hostile but eliminationist rhetoric featuring cross-hairs, "second amendment remedies," and offers to "shoot a fully automatic M-16" as a campaign souvenir?

We don't know yet. There's way too much work ahead to even predict if there will be any change at all. President Obama's

funeral oration at the Tucson memorial hit all the right notes - urging all who listened to live our lives and make our country into the people and nation that nine-year-old Christina Taylor Green was just beginning to claim as her own. It was a powerful moment.

He didn't say a word about the alleged gunman Jared Lee Loughner, or about the vitriol and the violence that has infected the political debate possibly having consequences. Maybe that was a good call for President Obama at that moment.

Certainly Loughner is mentally disturbed, and while there's no question his delusional rants reflect some of the right-wing tirades all too common on the Internet, it's certainly possible those ideas didn't have anything to do with his targeting of a politically moderate congresswoman.

And yet. What if? What if things were just a little bit different? What if the alleged gunman wasn't named Jared Loughner but instead was named Ali Mohammed? What if he wasn't a mentally ill white, ChristianJewish native-born U.S. citizen but rather a mentally ill Muslim Arab immigrant? What if his delusional rants seemed to channel not those found-on-the-Internet rightwing American rants about the gold standard and government invasion, but rather those found-on-the-Internet calls for vio-

lent jihad? Would we still be so careful not to place any blame on those who spew hateful, violent rhetoric? Would we still be so certain that there's no link between violent rhetoric and the response of an unstable mind to that rhetoric?

Did anyone even bother to find out if the would-be underwear bomber is actually mentally ill or unstable? How about the army psychiatrist accused of shooting 13 people at Fort Hood? Do we care? Or do we simply assume that anyone who carries out an act of violence inspired by some warped version of Islam is "sane," but that someone who may have been inspired or influenced by "don't retreat, reload" rhetoric when they carried out their shooting spree, but who looks and talks a little more "like us" must be inherently "crazy"?

What if his delusional rants seemed to channel not those found-on-the-Internet right-wing American rants about the gold standard and government invasion, but

rather those found-on-the-Internet calls for violent jihad? Would we still be so careful not to place any blame on those who spew hateful, violent rhetoric?

What if? What if things were just a little bit different? What would be our response to the Tucson shootings then?

Phyllis Bennis is director, New Internationalism Project - Institute for Policy Studies. The author of "Ending the US War in Afghanistan:

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Allhumdullillah,

The Miracle will soon be entering its second decade of publication.

We would like to request you to send us your suggestions for making our future issues better, including events coverage, contents of English and Urdu sections as well as the Artwork.

Your comments, criticism are valuable for us and will be featured in the “Journey of Miracle 2001-2011” feature to be printed in our

“Special anniversary edition of February 23, 2011” On its 10th Anniversary Miracle would also publish our Special FREE messages of Advertisers for Miracle Please send us your letters before Feb. 12, 2011, and please keep visiting our website regularly updated on a biweekly basis.

Ph: 604-690-0400 Email: miraclenews@telus.net & naseer@telus.net

18

Issue 276 - Safar 23, 1432 / January 28, 2011 THE

MIR A LE

19

Issue 276 - Safar 23, 1432 / January 28, 2011 THE

Leadership

|

Efficiency

|

Productivity

We see more than just numbers.

Because we understand all aspects of business, we know the ways to help you maintain a stable, financial footing.

Because we know the human element, we've got the caring it takes to help you achieve your goals.

Azim Dahya (BSc, CGA) • Compilation Engagement (Notice to Reader)

• Review and Audit Engagements • Bookkeeping • HST and Payroll Services

Advanced Tax Service • Business and Corporate Income Tax • Personal Income Tax • Tax Planning & Consulting • CRA Audit Management

AAD Consulting • IT Consulting including Financial and Operational Computerized Information Systems • Business Consulting including Business Startup, Strategic Planning and Business Development • Business & Personal Financing Solutions • Financial & Estate Planning

210 / 235-11590 Cambie Rd, Richmond, BC (Above the Public Library at No. 5 & Cambie) Richmond Tel: 604.214.3487 Surrey Tel: 604.780.0232 Fax: 604.648.8786 azim@advancedtax.ca

www.advancedtax.ca

MIR A LE

20

Issue 276 - Safar 23, 1432 / January 28, 2011 THE

MIR A LE

21

Issue 276 - Safar 23, 1432 / January 28, 2011 THE

Now Serving Under Muslim Management Proud to serve 100 % Halal No change in Menu and Chef as they are most wanted to the unique style of cooking No more Alcohol served at this restaurant

Contact: Mrs. Farzana & Mr. Tanveer Babar 9436-120th St. (Scott Road) Surrey (Sabzi Mandi Complex)

604-582-8388 Business Hours Mon, Wed & Thur 11:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m.

Fri 11:00 a.m.-10:30 p.m.

Sat 12:00noon-10:30 p.m.

Sun 12:00noon-10:00 p.m.

Tuesday Closed.

10% Off on Pick-Up (Except dinner Combo) Order Over $20.00 before taxes

MIR A LE

22

Issue 276 - Safar 23, 1432 / January 28, 2011 THE

ALLIED INSURANCE SERVICES INC.

Fast Efficient And Friendly Service For All Your Insurance Needs

Home • Tenants • Condominium • Business • Travel • Medical • Life • Accident • Sickness We’ve Got You Covered!

DELTA / SURREY Nordel Annex #105 – 12025 Nordel Way (x Scott Rd)

604-596-4588 FLEETWOOD Fleetwood Town Square #103-15988 Fraser Hwy., Surrey

604-572-3311 GUILDFORD Guildford Plaza #60-10330-152nd St., Surrey

604-582-8644 NEWTON Newton Town Centre #121-7135-138th St., Surrey

Open 7 days 9am to 9pm

604-572-9292 NEW WEST/BURNABY

WHALLEY

Burnaby Square #106 – 7885 6th Street, Burnaby

Plaza 102 10235 King George Hwy., Surrey

604-523-0900

604-582-8699

MIR A LE

23

Issue 276 - Safar 23, 1432 / January 28, 2011 THE

MIR A LE

24

Issue 276 - Safar 23, 1432 / January 28, 2011 THE

MIR A LE

ADHERENCE TO THE VALUES OF RELIGION HINDERS DEGENERATION

T

he most distinctive characteristic of societies not bound

tury should be free and unrestrained" is instilled into unsuspect-

by the principles of religion is the prevalence of degen-

ing minds by disbelieving ideologists.

eration and its deep penetration into all levels of society,

Whole generations are introduced to immorality at very early

which becomes more chronic with each passing day. Since peo-

ages. Indeed, there is a considerable increase in the number of

ple do not follow Qur'anic precepts and are bereft of values like

children who commit murder in America and Europe. From the

the fear of God or the necessity to earn God's approval, there is

Far East comes the grievous news of children being exposed to

nothing to hinder this degeneration. There are, of course, some

every sort of sexual abuse for commercial purposes. During the

traditions, customs and social laws developed by individuals or leaders, which shape the general conduct of society. But, be-

HARUN YAHYA

cause these have been developed by man and are not grounded

www.harunyahya.com

in the fear of God, their impact on society is feeble. Ultimately, they fail to restrain behaviour which is cruel, unconscientious and inhuman.

To give an example, there is no reason why one who conducts himself immorally should not indulge in more immorality. Think of an employer. If he

80's, sexual perversion was a subject people were too embarrassed even to talk about. Today, however, people are apt to perceive such relations as a part of the modern way of living and even feel sympathy for those having perverted relations. Those opposing

them, on the other hand, are accused of not being modern. Allah deplores this critical attitude of people living in disbelieving societies in the Qur'an:

act unconscionably and hence becomes a person ready to take any opportunity

Those who love to see immorality being spread (or publicized) among those who believe will have a painful punishment both in this world and the hereafter. God knows and you do not know. (Surat an-Nur: 19)

to put this decision into action. The reason for this is that, not obeying the com-

On the contrary, it is unlikely that moral degeneration should exist in a soci-

mandments of the Creator or appreciating the favours granted by Him are al-

ety where the morality of religion prevails. After all, with their deep fear of God,

ready the most serious examples of unconscientious behaviour. Therefore, from

individuals avoid immorality. To this end, it suffices to comply with the com-

his own personal standpoint, there is no reason why this employer should not

mandments of the Qur'an. For instance, in the following verse, the moral crite-

mistreat his employees at the workplace, offend them, or try to make them work

rion set by God is clear:

does not have faith in God and feels no fear of Him, he has already decided to

the maximum time for the minimum wage. Within his own understanding of conscience, these are reasonable attitudes for him to take. Towards his partners, he takes the same improper attitude; he cheats them or resorts to illegal ways to quickly amass a fortune, and there is nothing to restrain him from doing so.

As stated earlier, when divine rules are not the source of social criteria, moral understanding will differ greatly from one person to another. An immoral attitude

God commands justice and doing good and giving to relatives. And He forbids indecency and doing wrong and tyranny. He warns you so that hopefully you will pay heed. (Surat an-Nahl: 90)

Believers who acknowledge these commandments of the Qur'an pay meticulous attention to observing the limits set by God. Thus in a community of true believers, there is very little immoral behaviour.

rejected by one, may well be perfectly normal for someone else. Hence, wherever

If exceptional cases arise and some individuals do wrong, this will again not

religious values have no influence, people, societies, ages, regions, cities, and

become a problem in society since true believers will not allow this immorality.

countries set their own moral values, which are different from one another. In the

Furthermore, contrary to the state of affairs in ignorant societies, it is unlikely

absence of a unified perspective regarding moral values, society becomes the set-

that this immorality would be encouraged or become widespread in society as a

ting for numerous disputes and conflicts over what is right and what is not right.

whole. That is because one of the main duties of believers is to "command what

Every new generation becomes more degenerate than the previous one.

is right and forbid what is wrong," as Allah states in the following verse:

Moral degeneration corrupts societies at an ever increasing rate every year.

Societies rapidly become corrupt when there is incomplete faith in God. In this way, a form of conduct, perceived to be extreme one year, is embraced by the same members of society, the following year. This progressive decline surely brings ruin to society, and immorality, a conse-

True believers, both men and women, are friends to one another. They command what is right and forbid what is wrong, and attend to their prayers and pay alms, and obey God and His Messenger. They are the people on whom God will have mercy. God is Almighty, All-Wise.

(Surat at-Tawba: 71)

quence of disbelief, spreads with each passing day.

Hence, a society where Qur'anic values are observed is also a morally elite

What is interesting is that, immorality is presented as

community, because, there, "‌believers compete in doing the good." (Surah Al

"modernity" and becomes the greatest topic of indoctrination in societies. A way of thinking which is summed up in the motto: "The man of the 21st cen-

'Imran: 114) Another virtue of believers is alluded to in the following verses: Who could say anything better than one who summons men to the service of God and acts rightly and says, "I am one of the Muslims"? (Surah Fussilat: 33) Those who listen well to My precepts and follow what is best in them, are the ones whom God has guided. They are people endowed with intelligence. (Surat az-Zumar: 18)

God spells out the attributes of a community whose members live by the principles of religion: You are the best nation ever to be produced before mankind. You enjoin the right, forbid the wrong and believe in God‌(Surah Al 'Imran: 110)

In one of his sayings, our Prophet also stated that "a believer is a mirror to another believer," (Abu Dawud) and invited believers to set an example to each other by evincing good character, saying, "The believers whose faith is most perfect are those who have the best character." (Abu Dawud) It is obvious that such a society is morally superior to a disbelieving society.

To purchase the works of Harun Yahya, please visit: www.bookglobal.net or contact: GARDEN OF ISLAM Bay 10, 2820 Center Ave. N.E., Calgary, Alberta, T2A 7P5 CANADA Tel 403 313 0068 contact@garden-of-islam.ca

25

y

o

u

t

h

Issue 276 - Safar 23, 1432 / January 28, 2011 THE

MIR A LE

Ibrahim Shahid set a new world record by scoring 18 As in Cambridge O level exams A very modest, Ibrahim Shahid, a student of Beaconhouse School System, Boys Branch, Margallah Campus, has come into limelight as he has secured 18 As in the recently announced O Level Exams.

This is the first time any student has attempted 21 subjects in O Level Exams and secured 18 As in it. Ibrahim Shahid is the son of an educationist, Shahid Anwar, who is a lecturer in FAST University.

While talking to ‘The News’ here Thursday, Ibrahim said that his friends motivated him to appear in multiple subjects and of course he couldn’t deny the fact that this idea came from the achievement by Ali Moeen Nawazish, who is notable for being the only person in the world to take 23 As in A Level exams. He said that his friends were confidant that he would definitely make it big in the O Level exams, as he was the best student around. Although it was tough for his parents as his father was a salaried person but they encouraged him to take up all the 21 exams and then excelling in 18 subjects. Some subjects in which he appeared were Sociology, World Geography, World History, Travel and Tourism, Adittional Mathematics, Human and Social Biology and Economics besides other compulsory subjects.

Ibrahim Shahid is not only an extraordinary student, but he also takes part in other extracurricular activities with the same dedication and enthusiasm. He took part in Model United Nation in which the won the awards of best delegates and outstanding diplomacies. He has also done parliantary style debates, tree plantations with CDA, Member of Student Council and has been the President of Science Society and President of Environmental Society. Sometimes he plays a tune or two on his guitar in his spare time and enjoys volleyball and football in school.

While revealing about his methodology on studying, he said that he just focused on the subjects with consistency and the result is in front f everybody. “One has to concentrate on good revision schedule and there would be no problem in studying then. The most

important thing is that don’t let anyone say to you that you can’t do it. If there is a will then there is a way,” he said.

Ibrahim feels that his generation can take Pakistan to the next level. “First one has to change oneself and then the others would follow. We can show the world that we are not only the best students in Pakistan but we are also love our environment and know how to take care of it,” he said.

Beaconhouse School System, Boys Branch, Margalla Campus Headmistress Mrs. Mehr Asad while talking to ‘The News’ said that she congratulates Ibrahim on his achievement and the credit of this brilliant result goes to the hardworking and dedicated teachers.The news

Do new exercise guidelines send the right message?

By Andrea Gordon New guidelines The big picture is quite clear: Canadians need to move a lot more and sit a lot less. It's the details that have caused some confusion.

While the new exercise guidelines released Monday are straightforward, the rationale is leaving some people scratching their heads.

That's because while the message is to exercise more often and more intensely, the recommended minimum levels of physical activity for children and adults have been reduced — from 90 minutes to an hour a day for kids and teens, and from an hour a day to 150 minutes a week for adults.

Some health experts worry that at a time when Canadians are in the worst shape than ever, the changes send a puzzling signal.

“It really caused concern for us when they lowered the minimum guidelines,” said Alice Aiken, president of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association.

While the new targets may make sense for sedentary Canadians because they are more attainable, Aiken worries it could have the opposite effect on the many people who are moderately active and still should continue to push themselves further.

“I don't think they'd stop, but they could say ‘I'm doing enough' and ‘I don't have to challenge myself any more.' If they're in a time crunch, people may be thinking they can cut some of that (exercise) out,” said Aiken, a rehabilitation therapy professor at Queen's University.

“It's a dangerous road to proceed down.

People will work to the minimum.”

The new guidelines were developed by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, the country's research body on fitness and health.

They were developed over the course of four years of research and are based on the latest evidence from 21 international studies on the impact of activity on health, said Mark Tremblay, chair of the society's physical activities guidelines committee.

They replace earlier guidelines created in 1998 for adults, 1999 for seniors and 2002 for children. The previous kids' guidelines called for children to start with a half-hour of exercise a day and work up to a minimum of 90 minutes daily.

But comparing the new and old recommendations is like comparing apples and oranges, says Tremblay. He says the old minimum was based on a sliding scale while the standards are firm. However, the new minimum levels have stirred controversy in the weeks leading up to the official release.

They also come on the heels of two alarming studies from Statistics Canada last week that measured activity levels. They found only 15 per cent of Canadian adults met the 150minute-per week exercise target. Children fared worse, with only 7 per cent getting the hour a day of exercise they need for healthy growth and development.

“I think (the lower minimum) is sending the wrong message,” says fitness expert Hal Johnson of Body Break.

New Jersey Governor Appoints Muslim to High Bench In a stark contrast to many politically who have been sounding a warning cry against the non-existent threat of "Sharia Law" spreading in the United States, Republican Governor Chris Christie has made news for a different reason -- appointing a Muslim to the state's Superior Court. Gov. Chris Christie said Thursday that one of his seven nominees for Superior Court judgeships would be a lawyer who represented many detainees swept up by the government in the post-9/11 dragnet. The lawyer, Sohail Mohammed, worked in the aftermath of the attacks to try to foster trust between American Muslims and law enforcement, particularly federal officials. He is a board member of the American Muslim Union.

Mr. Christie, a United States attorney, was a regular guest at that group’s annual

Ramadan dinner and spoke highly of Mr. Mohammed’s work. Mr. Mohammed helped arrange a law enforcement job fair at a Paterson mosque in which young Muslims were encouraged to apply for jobs with law enforcement agencies. The session also featured a question-and-answer session for mosque members with the police and prosecutors. He was also asked to give many training sessions to F.B.I. agents on Islam and Muslim culture.

With one state banning Sharia Law in the courts and congressional members claiming Muslim Americans aren't real Americans, it's good to see someone can get beyond his party's fear mongering and attempt to form a bridge between the two cultures.

The athlete and former U.S. college baseball player is known for the fitness television spots he's been producing for 22 years with partner Joanne McLeod.

Johnson says the perception that the bar is being lowered at a time when Canadians are in declining health won't motivate people to get off the couch.

“It's like a dietitian saying you should eat 2,000 calories a day but you eat 3,000 so I'll just say eat 2,500. But you'll still gain weight.”

The debate was not limited only to those in the fitness field. In a piece in Law Times, Ottawa lawyer Geoffrey White questioned the logic.

“The premise that less is more — in this case that less is more than what we're doing — is a defeatist resignation to mediocrity analogous to lowering academic standards with the expectation that more students will enrol and do better as a result,” wrote White, who recently co-launched a fitness firm to encourage people to become physically active.

“Changing the guidelines because they were wrong in the first place is one thing, but making them easier because most people weren't meeting them seems to muddle science, social policy and marketing.”

The new guidelines bring Canada in line with recommendations from the World Health Organization and other countries such as the United States. But Aiken notes the U.S. minimum used to be 45 minutes five days a week for adults and questions why Canada needs to be in line with a country that has the worst

obesity problem in the world.

“I think the big message in general is we all need to move more and sit less,” said Jennifer Cowie Bonne, director of partnerships and public affairs with Ophea, a non-profit that promotes physical activity in schools and communities.

She said guidelines are important for those who set policies and design programs at schools, recreation centres and elsewhere.

They provide a consistent standard, she said.

“At the end of the day, we're not really expecting less, we're expecting more.”

Children and youth (5 to 17): At least an hour a day of moderate to vigorous physical activity that makes them breathe harder and sweat a little, such as bike riding, playing in the playground or skating.

At least three days a week, this should include vigorous exercise that cause them to sweat and get out of breath, such as running, swimming or rollerblading, and activities that strengthen muscle and bone.

Adults and seniors: At least 150 minutes a week of moderate to vigorous aerobic activity in bouts of 10 minutes or more. In addition, at least two days a week of muscle- and bonestrengthening activities involving major muscle groups. There are no recommendations on how the 150 weekly minutes should be broken down, as there is no evidence that 50 minutes three days a week, half and hour five days a week or any other combination offers an advantage.

Masjid Al-Salaam and Education Center Education Fund Raising Dinner Masjid Al-Salaam is inviting All Parents Join us to learn what we have to offer and future plans…

Date: Saturday, Feb 5, 2011 Time 5:00pm to 8:00pm Location: Masjid Al-Salaam and Education Centre 5060-Canada Way, Burnaby.

Tickets: $10.00 (Per person) or $30.00 (Per Family of 4) For this event we will arrange: Baby Sitting/Kids Play Activities for 4-7yrs old For Sponsorship, Donations and volunteering for this event, please contract us by email.

Contact: education@bcmaburnaby.org ~ http://www.bcmaburnaby.org

26

s

p

o

r

t

s

Issue 276 - Safar 23, 1432 / January 28, 2011 THE

MIR A LE

Bloc wants $175M for Quebec City arena

The Bloc Québécois wants cash for a Quebec City arena, warning federal Conservatives that voter support in the provincial capital region may ride on it.

Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe asked Ottawa to earmark half a billion dollars for the

provincial capital region, including $175 million for an NHL arena that opponents say does not warrant federal funding.

Duceppe made the demand during a Tuesday news conference, held ahead of the Bloc's twoday caucus meeting in the city. Ottawa's contribution to a future arena should match whatever amount Quebec fronts, even if the private sector gets involved, Duceppe said. Voters are watching the issue closely, said the Bloc leader. Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau has already pledged millions of dollars for a future arena, in a bid to bolster efforts to resurrect an NHL franchise

in the city. Arena speculation is fuelling discord within the Conservative ranks, according to several reports.Government sources say the Prime Minister's Office is still considering funding an arena through a little-used federal corporation called PPP Canada, which invests in projects with the private sector. In recent days, cabinet ministers have done nothing to suggest the matter is closed. Quebec MP Maxime Bernier, who has been openly critical about federal funding for the arena, was quoted in a Tuesday media report as warming up to the notion. Bernier later wrote on his blog that he still believes the private sector should be mainly responsible for these types of projects. "Moreover, at a time when we have a big budget deficit to eliminate, financing sporting infrastructure should not be a priority," said the MP, who represents the Beauce region. The National

Citizens Coalition stressed its opposition to federal funding for any sports stadium.

Public money should be used to reduce the deficit and grow the economy, said coalition director Stephen Taylor. "There's no good evidence that such an investment by the government of Canada would result in the economic development that it suggests would happen in Quebec," he said. On Tuesday, a rumour that a future arena could be named the René-Lévesque Forum left political commentators buzzing.

Rumours reported on several Quebec blogs suggested Péladeau was keen on the name, in honour of his late father, an ardent fan of Lévesque, the province's beloved separatist premier. Political columnist Jean Lapierre slammed the rumour as fear mongering.

Source: CBC News

Kesler scoring lots and at the right time Ryan Kesler has been making his goals count this year for the Vancouver Canucks. Of his career-high 27 goals so far this season, only six have come when the Canucks weren’t involved in a one-goal or tie game at the time. In other words, his goals matter, they don’t come in garbage time. “To be honest, I really don’t like playing in games like that (the 7-1 win over Dallas on Monday),” Kesler said Tuesday. “I like playing when the game is on the line. “When it’s close, if you need a goal to spread your lead out, that’s when I pick up my play.” It’s no accident that when Kesler scores, the Canucks are 16-0-3. When he doesn’t score but sets up at least one goal, they’re 9-1-2. When he’s held pointless, well, the record is whatever’s left over (5-9-4). Others have taken notice of Kesler’s play at crucial times and he was rewarded by being named one of the alternate cap-

PACKERS TO FACE STEELERS IN SUPER BOWL The Pittsburgh Steelers will face the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV. The Steelers beat the Jets to win the AFC and advance to their third Super Bowl in five years. The Packers defeated the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship Game.

SA survive Yusuf blitz for series win

tains for the all-star game. “It’s nice, it’s obviously a great honour to be named one of the alternates,” Kesler said. “It’s something I’ll never forget.” After he was named to the all-star roster, Kesler told anyone who asked that he just hoped he wouldn’t be the last one picked in Friday’s draft by captains Eric Staal and Nicklas Lidstrom, but his teammates never bought the shtick. “That’s the way he is,” Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa said. “He was obviously never going to be picked last, everybody wants him on their team. “It’s an all-star game, you could pick any one of them to be a captain or an assistant. It’s a credit to Ryan that they chose him.” Kesler and Daniel Sedin are both on pace to score 45 goals. Daniel is third in the NHL points race with 63 heading into Tuesday night’s NHL action, Kesler was 13th with 47. For Daniel, his goals pace isn’t too surprising, given he’s scored 36 before and was on that pace during his injury-shortened season last year, too. But Sedin claims he’s not surprised that Kesler is on the tear he’s on, just that he’s established a career high with 33 games yet to go. “Now that he plays in front of the net on power plays, he’s really good at tipping shots,” Sedin said.

“I always looked at him as a goal-scorer, so it’s not a surprise to me.

“Well, 27 goals (by now), maybe, but he’s got a great shot.” Maybe the most exciting thing for the Canucks is Kesler’s age — he’s only 26. “He’s a complete player and a leader who’s been growing in front of our eyes the five years I’ve been here,” Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said.

Source: The Province

Yusuf Pathan's incredible counter-attacking century proved in vain for India as South Africa won the fifth and decisive one-day international by 33 runs to take the series 3-2. India were in desperate trouble at 119 for eight before Pathan resurrected their hopes by thumping 105 off 70 balls - the fastest ever for India against South Africa - before the tourists fell short at Centurion. "It was a lot closer than I thought it would be," Smith said on Sunday. "Pathan was incredible. He hits the ball so sweetly and when he's on a roll he's so hard to stop. "I think we have learned some important lessons in this series. It's been hard cricket and we have had to play well."

Morne Morkel bagged four wickets and Dale Steyn and Lonwabo Tsotsobe two apiece for the hosts who dismissed India for 234. India had been set a Duckworth/Lewis revised target of 268 to win in 46 overs following a rain delay. Hashim Amla had earlier batted through the South African innings, his 116 not out anchoring a total of 250 for nine in 46 overs.

The pace and aggression of Morkel and Steyn undermined the Indian innings until Pathan staged a clas-

sic counter-attack. The powerful right-hander slammed eight fours and eight sixes in his remarkable innings before man-of-the-series Morkel eventually ended the entertainment when he had Pathan caught at mid-off after a skied drive. "The whole tour was good for both sides and it was good cricket but our batting department didn't perform in the series," India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said.

"Two hundred and sixty-odd, we should have got that. But I guess the biggest positive out of this game is that we have learnt that in the last 10 overs we can chase anything." Because South Africa's innings was interrupted by rain on 226 for three after 42 overs, the Duckworth/Lewis calculation handed the home team an extra 17 runs. South Africa's innings ended in turmoil after the 78-minute delay, the hosts losing six wickets for 19 runs in four overs, including two run outs. Amla shared a stand of 97 for the second wicket with Morne van Wyk (56) and added 102 for the fourth wicket with JP Duminy (35).

Source: Al-Jazeera

27

Issue 276 - Safar 23, 1432 / January 28, 2011 THE

MIR A LE

Bride Wanted 25 Years old, fair and six feet tall boy, Bachelors of Engineering-Electronics from SFU, presently working in Qatar as a Project Engineer, raised in Canada, Canadian Citizen, Sunni Syed family settled in BC

BCMA – Burial Notices

MATRIMONIAL

If you would like your contact information to be added on the burial notice mailing list, please reply to burial@thebcma.com

BCMA Social Service To all newly arrived brothers and sisters of immigrants, refugees or moving from other province into B.C. we welcome you among us and would like to connect with you. Please introduce yourself to the bcma@shawcable.com or reach us on this number (604 270 2522) and leave a message in English or in your own language. We will get in touch with you as soon as possible.

Egypt : Continued from pg 1 interior ministry issued a statement blaming the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's technically banned but largest opposition party, for fomenting the unrest. But the Brotherhood denied the accusation and had earlier stated its intention to stay out of the protest; indeed, some observers noted the lack of Brotherhood mobilization on Tuesday. Inspired by events in Tunisia, thousands of protesters gathered in Cairo and elsewhere, calling for reforms and demanding an end to Mubarak's presidency, which has now lasted for nearly three decades. The scale of the demonstrations prompted US secretary of state Hillary Clinton to assert during a press conference that "Egypt's government is stable."

Protests also broke out in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, the Nile Delta cities of Mansura and Tanta, and in the southern cities of Aswan and Assiut, witnesses reported. The rallies had been promoted online by groups saying they speak for young Egyptians frustrated by the kind of poverty and oppression which triggered the overthrow of Tunisia's president.

More than 80,000 people signed a Facebook group saying they would participate in the protests. Egyptian blogger Hossam El Hamalawy told Al Jazeera that new media had been important in facilitating "the domino effect" needed for demonstrations like this one to progress, but he noted that it was the people in the street making the difference. El Hamalawy told Al Jazeera the protests were necessary "to send a message to the Egyptian regime that Mubarak is no different than Ben Ali and we want him to leave too." Black-clad riot police, backed by armoured vehicles and fire engines, were deployed in a massive security operation in Cairo. They were said to concentrate on a few likely flashpoints, including the Cairo University campus, Tahrir Square, and a main courthouse. Coinciding with a national holiday in honour of the police, a key force in keeping president Mubarak in power for 30 years, the outcome in Egypt on Tuesday was seen as a test of whether vibrant web activism can translate into street action.

Source: Al-Jazeera

Lahore: Continued from pg 3 the bomber tried to cross the security barriers and blew up himself when police tried to overpower him. Aslam Tareen, the Lahore city police chief, said Tuesday’s

YOU CAN BE HERE! Special Deal!

Advertise in our classifieds sections for two issues and receive the third ad FREE! Call now to book your space: 604-690-0400

Matrimonial ads in Miracle Newspaper are for Muslim and Non Muslim community, where they serve as a facilitating process for arranged marriages. They are essentially dialogues between families, using the medium of newspapers, where particulars of the individual to be married and the family are detailed, as well as the requirements from prospective partners and their families.

All information is reserved under the private and confidential policy of

Miracle Marriage Bureau.

Contact: naseer@telus.net

Bride Wanted bomber appeared to be aged about 15. He was wearing a suicide jacket and holding a black bag. According to one television report, he could well have been an innocent vendor asked to deliver the deadly parcel by men who could have then blown him up by remote control. Lower Mall Station House Officer Naveed Azam said the bomber came on foot from Shah Alam Market to hit the main procession but exploded himself when confronted by policemen. Another report said the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan had claimed responsibility for the attack, leading to doubts being expressed once again about the ability of the intelligence network. Meanwhile, at least four people, including three policemen and a passerby, were killed and four others wounded after a bomb rigged to a motorcycle went off in Malir on Tuesday. The blast took place near a medical centre in Darakhshan Society on the Sharea Faisal, between Malir Halt and Malir 15, at a time when mourners were returning to their homes in Malir after taking part in a Chehlum procession. The IG identified him as police constable Kamran Qureshi, who was under training at the Razzaqabad police training college. Mr Khattak said although police initially described the bombing as a suicide attack, it later turned out to be wrong. It emerged through facts gathered later that the bomb was rigged to a motorcycle, which was first initially spotted by several policemen who then called the area mobile for assistance. As soon as the van reached the spot, the bomb went off, Mr Khattak explained. The method used in Tuesday’s explosion was similar to the one applied in last year’s attacks on Chehlum processions, a Police official said. The blast shattered window panes of a number of houses and shops. An electricity pole listed to one side from the impact. The SP responsible for investigation could not come out with details even two hours after the tragedy. “I was doing duty at the Chehlum procession.

Now I am heading to the scene of the blast,” SP Manzoor Khatian told Dawn. Senator Abbas Kumali of the Jaffaira Alliance condemned the Lahore and Karachi blasts, saying that the terrorists were carrying out attacks in desperation.

Source: Dawn

29 Years old, suitable match for a good looking, handsome, fair and 5ft 9 inch tall, boy, having MBBS degree, working as head director of Overseas Unviversaties in China, earning C$55K/year -----------------------------------------28 years Old from frontior prov.of Pakistan, good looking, by profession Cook, wanted a second marriage partner with any widow around 30 years old or same age group

GROOM Wanted 26 Years old pretty Girl, tall, educated,US citizen, degree in BA. Economics. Parents looking for match in BC. If interested, please contact by above email.

27 Years old pretty Girl, 5ft6 inch tall, educated, New Jersey US citizen, degree in BA. Political Science. Parents looking for match making in BC. If interested, please contact by above email.

32 Years old pretty Girl, tall 5 ft 8 inch, Law Graduate Works in Washington DC, Highly paid, Parents are looking for best match make in BC or Washington DC. Groom

Partner Wanted For 42 Years Fiji-born man Sunni Muslim, fair color, height 6 ft, divorced having 2 kids’ boy (13Y) and girl (14Y) reside part time with him, earning looking 32-39 years old women.

For above all Matrimonial Ads Please send email for inquary at naseer@telus.net

PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS Canadian Women Community Network Society is organizing Mothers & Daughters Conference on the occassion on the birth of the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h). The conference will focus on the teachings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) regarding parenting.

There will also be a launch of a new community initiative which will enhance communication among diverse women in business and community services and their access to the community at large.

Food will be served.

For more information please call at 778-859-9164 or 778-863-2584 Saturday, Feb 12, 2011 at 1:00 PM Venue: Conference room # G 1205 A, B, C Kwantlen Polytechnic University, 12666 72 Ave, Surrey,

ALL SISTERS 15 YEARS AND OLDER!!

Please come to the Muslim Youth Centre from Wednesday, February 2, 2011 at 6 pm to learn Quran with Tajweed and Arabic. \PLACE: Muslim Youth Centre, #209-7750-128th Street, Surrey, BC DATE: Every Wednesday, starting on February 2, 2011, 6 pm - 7:30 pm

CONTACTS: Sr Enas @ 778-773-8071 or Sr Hind @ 604-596-5618

28

Grand opening of Pak Can Motors Office building soon!

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

www.alwatantandoori.com

Chicken Leg $1.49 (Whole Box) Rao Fish $1.99 Fresh Vegetables from Bangladesh are Available

BCMA approved ~ Halal Meat Shop