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Rabi ul II 17,1439 January 5, 2018

O P I N I O N

Trump’s tweet on Pakistan sparks war of words

IW

SLAMABAD/ ASHINGTON:

Ties between Pakistan and the United States, strained for the past several weeks, suffered a New Year setback on Monday when President Donald Trump accused Islamabad of being a liar, inviting a series of sharp responses from the Pakistani leadership.

In his first message, directed at a foreign nation in the new year, the president pledged to change the nature of a relationship he claimed was based on “nothing but lies and deceit”.

“We are MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, and much faster than anyone thought possible,” he wrote.

At 4:12am, on Monday, Mr Trump tweeted his warning to Pakistan: “The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools.”

Foreign minister says Islamabad will not do more after US president calls it ‘liar’

He said: “They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!”

The message was retwee­ted and liked by tens of thousands of his followers.

It took only an hour for Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif to come up with a rejoinder.

“We will respond to President Trump’s tweet shortly Inshallah...Will let the world know the truth...difference between facts & fiction,” he

tweeted.

The timing of Mr Trump’s tweet — at 4 in the morning and more than 12 hours after his last tweet — has caused much speculation in the US capital, with some linking it to reports of a further escalation in India-Pakistan tensions.

In a related development reflecting on worsening ties, the US ambassador in Pakistan was summoned to the Foreign Office and a strong protest over Mr Trump’s remarks was lodged with him, informed sources told Dawn.

Mr Trump’s tweets come a few days after Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) chief Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said Pakistan had done enough and it was time for the United States and Afghanistan to do more. He was referring to accusation by the US and Afghanistan regarding the presence of militant bases in Pakistan.

He urged the US to “check India’s anti-Pakistan role not only from inside of Afghanistan but also through the enhanced and increased ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary”.

His news briefing last week was considered the strongestever reaction from Islamabad since Washington began alluding to the possibility of unilateral action.

According to sources, Foreign Minister Asif soon after Mr Trump’s tirade against Pakistan held a meeting with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to discuss the

situation.

In an interview with a private news channel in the evening, Khawaja Asif said Pakistan had already done enough.

“We have already said no more [to the Americans] so Trump’s no more is of no importance now,” he added.

“We are ready to publicly provide details of the US aid that has been received by the country,” said the minister, adding that Mr Trump was disappointed with the US defeat in Afghanistan and was accusing Pakistan in retaliation.

He suggested the US should try and negotiate with the Taliban in Afghanistan instead of using the armed forces.

Defence Minister Khurram Dastagir Khan in a separate tweet said: “Pak as antiterror ally has given free to US: land & air communication, military bases & intel cooperation that decimated Al-Qaeda over last 16 yrs, but they have given us nothing but invective & mistrust.

They overlook cross-border safe havens of terrorists who murder Pakistanis.”

Khawaja Asif said: “The claim by Trump regarding the funds, if we account for it, they include reimbursements too for the services rendered by Pakistan.”

“Our land, roads, rail and, other different kinds of services were used for which we were reimbursed. A proper audit took place for the reimbursements,” he said.

He asked the US to hold accountable those who failed in

Afghanistan.

He also said that only Afghanistan’s neighbours can find a peaceful solution for regional peace and security.

Asked as to what would be Islamabad’s response if the US carried out drone strikes in Pakistan’s settled areas, he said: “The country will defend its sovereignty”.

He said the foreign policy direction is dictated only by the national interest.

A senior military official when contacted said it was time for a united front and single national narrative. He recalled that the ISPR chief in his presser on Dec 28 had said, “we are receiving threats but once it comes to Pakistan we all are one. No more do more for anyone. We fought two imposed wars”.

The ISPR spokesperson had clarified that the Coalition Support Fund, received from the US, is reimbursement of money spent for operations in support of the coalition for regional peace. “Had we not supported, Al Qaeda would not have been defeated,” he had stated.

Another source said the federal cabinet will hold an emergent meeting today (Tuesday) to ponder over the situation arising out of the harsh remarks. A national response is expected after the cabinet meeting to be chaired

by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

Courtesy By: Anwar Iqbal | Iftikhar A. Khan

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

ISCC and MAT Strongly Condemn Today’s Terrorist Attacks on Muslims in Kabul, Afghanistan

By: ISCC and MAT (Calgary) The Islamic Supreme Council of Canada (ISCC) and Muslims Against Terrorism (MAT) strongly condemn today’s terrorist attacks at the Shia Muslim Cultural Centre in Kabul Afghanistan in which more than 40 people were killed including several children and more than 80 were injured.

Once again, these terrorist attacks

prove that Daesh (ISIS) attackers are imposters and do not belong to the Muslim community. Brushing off these attacks by labeling them sectarian is a distraction and cover up. Regardless of sectarian and denominational differences among Muslims it is not possible a Muslim would commit such a heinous crime against fellow Muslims.

These attacks clearly indicate that anti-Muslim anti-Islam hate-mongers are responsible.

ISCC and MAT demand that United Nations Secretary General Mr. António Guterres must appoint an independent international committee to investigate terrorist attacks around the world and bring the criminals, their behind the scene facilitators, trainers, financiers and brainwashers to justice.

We pray for our brothers and sisters who were killed in these attacks in Afghanistan. Our prayers and deep sympathies are with the victims and their families.

Happy New Year!

By:Melanie Mark MLA, Vancouver-Mount Pleasant BC’s New Democrats I want to take this moment to thank you for supporting our work this year to make BC more affordable and accessible for everyone – especially children and their families.

Here are just some of the changes British Columbians were told for years were not possible, but that our team delivered in less than six months, even as the BC Liberals did everything they could to stop us: 1.Real access to education for people who need it. We eliminated tuition for Adult Basic Education and English Language Learning programs. And made post-secondary learning free for youth in care.

2.More child care spaces across

BC. We created 3,800 new child care spots in 52 communities from Vancouver to Prince George.

3.Safer schools for our kids. We moved quickly to fund more seismic upgrades in schools.

4.Homes and rental protections.

We invested in 2000 homes for the homeless, and closed loopholes so renters are no longer vulnerable to unfair rent increases.

5.Helping people get good jobs. We funded 2,000+ new trades training spots at post-secondary institutions in BC. 6.Democracy that works for people, not corporations. We banned big money from politics, and now we’re giving you the power to modernize our electoral system. … and, with your support in 2018, I mean it when I say we are just getting started.

The BC Liberals are going to keep attempting to derail us, but if we keep working together, so much more can be achieved.

Bringing THE

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Rabi ul II 17,1439 January 5, 2018

PAKISTAN

Ahsan Iqbal reminds Trump of Soviet-Afghan War, calls it the root cause of modern conflict

Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday lashed out at the incumbent US administration, saying that no one has the right to label Pakistan a ‘liar’ given its sizable contribution to the so-called ‘War on Terror’.

In a strongly worded speech, he also reminded US President Donald Trump how the region’s terrorism-marred past is actually the US’s own doing.

Speaking at the Police Lines in Islamabad, the interior minister was responding to the US president’s recent criticism of Pakistan as a ‘lying’ and ‘deceiving’ nation.

“No one has the right to call Pakistan a liar when it has made the biggest sacrifices in the war against terror,” the minister said. ”The US president’s recent remarks are akin to belittling our sacrifices. We are a dignified nation and no one has the right to attack our dignity.”

Iqbal also brought up the Soviet–Afghan War of the late ‘70s and ‘80s to remind Trump that the radicalisation of Afghanistan, which the US now detests, actually began at its own behest..

“I want to remind the US that these thorns are your inventions,” said Iqbal. “As soon as the war against the Soviets ended, you withdrew and went home without thinking

what your radicalizing of Afghanistan to create an antiSoviet narrative would lead to. The seeds of the extremist views you used to win that war weren’t going to suddenly start producing computer chips: they were going to breed terrorism and extremism.”

“The Pakistani nation is still paying for those seeds that you planted,” he said.

The interior minister further said that the US did nothing for the 3.5 million Afghan refugees Pakistan allowed into its territory during the Soviet-Afghan war.

“Not one Syrian refugee is given entry into the US but we allowed 3.5m Afghan refugees who had come to Pakistan to fight your war against the Soviets; what did you ever do for them?” he questioned.

The minister also said that Pakistani forces’ anti-terrorism drive is the very reason terrorism remains in check in the region.“We are playing an integral role at both international and regional levels to maintain international peace,” he said.

“We have battled forces that are headquartered in Afghanistan. We have sacrificed our troops in [Operation] Raddul Fasad to rid this region of this menace.”

Iqbal also advised the Trump administration to not let itself get manipulated by India, saying: “If President Trump and company want peace in Afghanistan, they should see it from their own perspective and not India’s.”

Reiterating that Afghanistan’s stability is of utmost importance to Pakistan, he said: “Pakistan is the only country that shares such a large border with Afghanistan. Hence, I want to respectfully tell President Trump that no one has more at stake in Afghanistan’s stability than Pakistan. We not only have brotherly relations with Afghanistan but will also do all we can for its peace.” Source: dawn.com

History teaches us not to trust the United States, says Khawaja Asif

In response to US President Trump’s tirade against Pakistan, Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif through a series of tweets reminded the United States of the services Pakistan had rendered during the past several years, particularly in the war against terrorism.

The foreign minister said, “The history teaches us not to blindly trust the US.” “You have asked what did we do? A dictator surrendered [before the US] on a single phone call, our country wit-

nessed the worse bloodbath, you carried out 57,800 attacks on Afghanistan from our bases, your forces were supplied arms and explosives through our soil, thousands of our civilians and soldiers became victims of the war initiated by you,” he tweeted.

The minister also highlighted the sacrifices rendered by Pakistanis in the war against terrorism. He also talked about the cost Pakistan paid for its participation in the said war.

“We considered your enemy as our own, we filled the Guantanamo Bay, we served you with such an enthusiasm that we left our country with load shedding and gas shortage. We tried to please you on the cost of our economy, we provided tens of thousands of visas as a result of which the networks of Black Water spread across our country,” he wrote in another tweet. “For the past four years, we have been clearing the debris. Our forces are fighting in an exemplary manner, there is an unending saga of sacrifices. The past teaches us not to blindly trust the US. We are feeling sorry as you are not happy but we will not compromise on our prestige anymore,” he concluded. Source: dawn.com

ATC grants bail to Imran Khan in 4 cases

Anti Terrorism Court (ATC) has granted bail in four cases against Pakistan-Tehreek-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan including attack on the state television building, Parliament and the then Islamabad SSP Operations Asmatullah Junejo.

The decision was reserved by ATC judge Sharukh Arjumand after Imran’s legal counsel Babar Awan and prosecutor Shafqaat Chaudhry presented their arguments.

Awan said the PTI chairman was not present on the incident spot when SSP Asmatullah Junejo was tortured.

On the other hand, the prosecutor Shafqaat Chaudhry had requested the court to reject Imran Khan’s bail plea, maintaining that he provoked party workers to attack the police.

Prosecutor pleaded before the court for recovery of Imran’s mobile phone which he used to instigate his party workers adding he urged court to order arrest of Imran otherwise case would be disturbed.

“NADRA identified 20 people from PAT and PTI who attacked PTV,” told Shafqaat Chaudhry.

Prosecutor presented record of telephonic conversation between Imran Khan and Dr. Alvi that was objected by PTI counsel, Dr. Babar Awan questioning that under which law personal conversation was recorded?

“Government only wants to get mobile phone of Imran but Imran has nothing to do with PTV attack,” Babar Awan told the court. Prosecutor pointed out that Alvi had informed Imran about attack on national TV channel which the later praised.

Later on, the court confirmed bail of chairman PTI, Imran Khan. Talking to media outside the court, Imran Khan said: “The decision proves that I am sadiq (truthful) and ameen (righteous), not a terrorist.”

“I am not a favorite child, I abide by law, cases are being lodged against me because I face them, if I become ‘double shah’ or ‘Khursheed Shah’, cases against me would also be withered away but we are competing against a mafia,” said Imran while talking to journalists.

“If NRO be given to Nawaz, I would request the apex court to open jails and release all the prisoners,” he mentioned.

He also posted a similar statement on Twitter: My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist. Moreover, the SC has pronounced me Sadiq and Ameen and I am coming after them crooks! Imran Khan said that he had been proven ‘Sadiq’ and ‘Ameen’ by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in its earlier judgment as well. “I handed over to the court documents

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that dated back 40 years to prove my innocence,” he said.

Earlier, Khan hit out at US President Donald J Trump for his recent criticism on Pakistan, stating that he was ignorant of the basics of the war in Afghanistan.

“Pakistan had encountered a huge loss amounting to US$100,000 billion due to America’s War on Terror,” he added.

The PTI chief said that when he was at first critical of America’s invasion of Afghanistan and sending troops to Pakistan’s tribal belt, people called him ‘Taliban Khan’.

“You can access the footage of my speeches in National Assembly,” he said. “I was against fighting America’s war for dollars and had spoken out against it,” he added.

Imran Khan said that Pakistan had destroyed itself in fighting a war that was not its own to begin with for the sake of dollars.

“We lost 70,000 lives in America’s war,” he said. “Trump’s recent statement should serve as an example for all of us.

Regardless of whatever aid a country offers, we should not go to war for it,” he added. Source: thenews.com

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Rabi ul II 17,1439 January 5, 2018

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Iran accuses ‘enemies’ as US seeks Trump’s first 2018 tweet: Pakistan has ‘given us nothing but lies & deceit’ emergency UN session Iran’s supreme leader has blamed external “enemies” for heightening turmoil in the country, as the death toll in ongoing nationwide anti-government rallies has passed 20.

The comments by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s top authority, on Tuesday came hours before the US said that it would seek emergency United Nations talks on the protests in the Islamic Republic. At least eight people were killed on Monday night, according to state media, taking the number of people killed since the demonstrations began on December 28 to at least 22. In his first public remarks since the rallies began, Khamenei said that “enemies” of Iranhave allied and used the various means they have available, including “money, weapons, politics, and intelligence services”, to stir unrest.

“The dignity, security, and progress of the Iranian nation are owed to the self-sacrifice of the martyrs. What prevents enemies from exerting their atrocities is the spirit of courage, sacrifice, and faith within the nation,” he said in a statement posted on his official website. “I have something to say on these events, and I will speak to the dear people when the time is right. “The Iranian nation will forever owe the dear martyrs, who left behind their homes and families, to stand against the wicked enemies.” US President Donald Trump, who has used Twitter to criticise Tehran since the rallies erupted, hailed the protesters for acting against the “brutal and corrupt” regime and said Iranians had “little food, big inflation and no human rights”. They quickly spread to other parts of Iran and turned political, with some protesters chanting slogans against Iran’s foreign policy, as well as against Khamenei and Rouhani. Despite threats by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to put down the demonstrations, protesters have continued taking to the streets, in what has been described as the biggest show of dissent in the country since huge rallies took place in 2009. So far, at least 530 people 450 in Iran’s capital, Tehran, and 80 in the central city of Arak - have been arrested, according to state media. Ali Fathollah-Nejad,

a visiting fellow at Brookings Doha Center, said the past week’s rallies “are the most politicised demonstrations we’ve had in Iran for a very long time. “Clearly, the slogans are anti-regime and they target all factions of the Islamic Republic, all factions of the establishment,” he added, noting, however, that “regime change is such a loaded term because it was misused by a lot of imperialist projects in the past”. Commenting on the allegations that outside actors were stirring unrest, Fathollah-Nejad said that while there is “no doubt” that there are “some external forces who are instrumentalising” what is currently taking place in the country, it must also be acknowledged that these powers “don’t have enough influence in Iran anyway. “The claim by the government to say that a lot of those protests are instigated by the outside, when in the past the same government would say that those forces don’t have a following, for example, inside Iran, is just ironic,” he told Al Jazeera.

“If you have been objectively following the socioeconomic indicators in Iran, you’ll see a huge portion of the population has not been benefitting from neither the reformist policies, nor from the conservative ones,” said Fathollah-Nejad. “If you take all those structural factors, plus the more recent contingent factors - the government’s response to the [December] earthquakes, student and labour protests, and the budget announcement ... you cannot be very much surprised.”

Source: Al-Jazeera

A senior Palestinian official has responded with defiance to Donald Trump’s threat via Twitter to cut aid to the Palestinian Authority. Hanan Ashrawi’s rebuke followed the US president’s tweet admitting that the Middle East peace process was in difficulty and warning Palestinians that they could lose US aid worth more than $300m a year. “We will not be blackmailed,” Ashrawi said in a statement on Wednesday. “President Trump has sabotaged our search for peace, freedom and justice. Now he dares to blame the Palestinians for the consequences of his own irresponsible actions!” In his tweet on Tuesday, Trump said: “We pay the Palestinians HUNDRED OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect.

“With the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?” It was not immediately clear whether Trump was threatening all of the budget, worth $319m in 2016, according to US government figures.

Relations between his administration and the Palestinian Authority have deteriorated since Trump decided last month to recognise Jeru-

salem as Israel’s capital. US aid to the Palestinian Authority stood at about $319 million in 2016, according to US government figures. The US gives Israel annual military aid of $3.1bn. Next year, that figure will increase to $3.8bn under a 10-year deal agreed

by Barack Obama shortly before he stepped down as US president. Palestinian officials had said they would “no longer accept” any peace plan put forward by the US following Trump’s unilateral declaration on December 6, when he also announced that the US would begin a process to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. No country currently has its embassy in the city, which is home to holy religious sites and has particular significance for Muslims, Christians and Jews. Trump’s announcement touched off deadly protests in the occupied Palestinian territories and major rallies in support of the Palestinians across the Muslim world. A resounding majority of UN member states also defied threats by Trump to declare the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital “null and void”. Trump has previously said he wants to relaunch frozen peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians in search of the “ultimate deal”. Jerusalem’s status is an extremely sensitive aspect of the IsraeliPalestinian conflict. Israel claims the city as its capital, following the occupation of East Jerusalem in the 1967 war, and considers Jerusalem to be a “united” city. Palestinian leaders have long seen East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. They fiercely oppose any changes that could be regarded as legitimising Israel’s occupation and annexation of the city’s eastern sector.

Source: Al-Jazeera

Hanan Ashrawi to Trump: ‘We will not be blackmailed’

Washington (CNN)In his first tweet of the new year President Donald Trump slammed Pakistan, saying the country has given the US nothing but “lies and deceit.”

“The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools,” Trump tweeted Monday morning. “They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!”

Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, speaking to CNN affiliate Geo TV Monday, said his country was “ready to publicly provide every detail of the US aid that it has received.”

“We have already told the US that we will not do more, so Trump’s ‘no more’ does not hold any importance,” added Asif.

The Pakistan government has yet to issue a formal response, though on Monday, US Ambassador David Hale was summoned to the Foreign Ministry to meet with senior foreign office officials, a US Embassy spokesman confirmed.

The New York Times reported last week that the US might withhold $255 million in aid to Pakistan because of Trump’s frustration over its handling of terrorists in the country. White House officials met to decide whether to cancel the aid, the Times reported.

The commander of the NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan, US Army Gen. John Nicholson, said in November that Pakistan had not changed its behavior since Trump announced his new policy for Afghanistan and the wider region, which specifically calls on Pakistan to do more.

“No, I haven’t seen any change yet in their

behavior,” Nicholson told reporters after a NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels when asked whether Pakistan was cooperating more in eliminating Taliban sanctuaries.

“You’ve heard the public statements from President Trump, from (Defense Secretary James) Mattis, from (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Joseph Dunford) from (Secretary of State Rex) Tillerson, so we are engaging at the very highest levels with the Pakistanis to work together with them against these terrorists that are undermining the stability of the entire region,” Nicholson added.

“Pakistan has fought hard and suffered heavily against those terrorists focused on its government, and now we are asking them to focus on the terrorists that are attacking Afghanistan and attacking the coalition,” he continued. “The United States has been very clear about the direction we want to go, and we hope to see some change in the coming weeks and months.”

Source: cnn.com

Pakistan only received reimbursement of expenditures from US: DG ISPR RAWALPINDI: Pakistan military, in response to US President Donald Trump’s remarks, has said that Pakistan had received Coalition Support Fund from the United States as expenditures for our military to support Washington in its war against terror in Afghanistan.

Speaking with senior anchor Hamid Mir in Geo News programme ‘Capital Talk’, Director General Inter Services Public Relations Major General Asif Ghafoor said, “Pakistan received only $15-20 billion in terms of Coalition Support Fund, while the national exchequer incurred $123 billion in losses in monetary terms besides other sacrifices to support US operations in its war against terror.”

The military spokesman emphasised as it is evident by its name, Pakistan received CSF as a reimbursement of its expenditures for operations that were carried out to support United States in its war on terror in Afghanistan, adding CSF was for Afghan war.

The funds Pakistan received were spent to support US operations that were initiated originally by the US itself.

Major General Asif Ghafoor said main objective of Pakistan’s war is to restore peace in the region, adding that Pakistan engaged in this war not for money (aid) but for regional peace.

He said that Pakistan conducted operations in North Waziristan and also launched the opera-

tion against Haqqani network under Zarb-eAzab. No results are seen immediately.

DG ISPR said no one can dictate Pakistan how to move forward. Pakistan will never compromise on its prestige and integrity, he asserted.

The spokesman said Pakistan always backed US, but on the contrary, Washington never reciprocated with the same gesture, be it issues with India or elsewhere.

He went on to say US should realise that the misunderstandings between Islamabad and Washington could negatively affect the security situation in the region, particularly in Afghanistan.

Major General Asif Ghafoor welcomed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif ’s statement on Trump’s remarks.

Source:thenews.com.pk

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Rabi ul II 17,1439 January 5, 2018

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Palestinian teen first to be killed by ‘Pakistan’s sacrifices are historic,’ Erdogan Israel in 2018 expresses solidarity in call to Mamnoon Israeli forces have shot dead a Palestinian teen on the northern outskirts of the occupied West Bank town of Ramallah, according to Palestinian officials.

The Palestinian health ministry identified the 17-year-old boy as Musab Firas al-Tamimi from the village of Deir Nitham, where Wednesday’s shooting took place.

“He died shortly after the occupation forces fired a bullet into his neck,” Maria Aqraa, a spokesman for the ministry, told Al Jazeera.

“He was transferred to a hospital in Ramallah and he passed away minutes later,” she added.

Aqraa said Musab was shot during a confrontation with the Israeli army.

According to the Times of Israel news website, the Israeli army said Musab had “appeared to be holding a gun”, but that it was “not immediately confirmed that al-Tamimi

had been armed at the time of the shooting”.

An army spokesperson reportedly told the website that the circumstances of Musab’s killing were being investigated.

Source: Al-Jazeera

Saudi Arabia’s military intervention in Yemen proved to be a “strategic failure”, but a full and official withdrawal from that country is unlikely, analysts say.

Last week, a series of leaked emails revealed that Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and defence minister, Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, expressed a desire to end the war in Yemen during talks with former US officials. In the leaked emails, Mohammed bin Salman said that he ‘”wants out” of the two-year war he started in Yemen and

with Iran to end the conflict.

Adam Baron, a Yemen analyst, says that a Saudi pull out is not going to be “complete” since the kingdom’s security is largely reliant on Yemen’s security.

“Yes, the Saudis would like out of the warbut only on their own terms,” Baron said.

“What’s broadly necessary would be a deal that ensures Saudi interests are preserved in Yemen, that heavy weaponry is handed over, an end to cross border attacks, and that any incipient Iranian influence is not allowed to gain permanence, let alone expand,” Baron told Al Jazeera.

“It’s in the kingdom’s interest to prevent Yemen devolving further into the chaotic abyss.” The conflict has killed more than 10,000 people and has injured more than 40,000 to date.On Wednesday, an air strike on a hotel near the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, has killed at least 35 people, a local medic said. Source: Arabnews.com

Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen ‘a strategic failure’ that he was not against US rapprochement

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday called President Mamnoon Hussain and expressed solidarity with Pakistan in the wake of allegations levelled by US President Donald Trump.

The Turkish president assured his Pakistani counterpart of full support and cooperation “in any situation”, a press release issued by the presidency said.

“Trump’s conduct in spite of Pakistan’s great sacrifices is undesirable,” Erdogan was quoted as saying. He said Pakistan had rendered historic sacrifices in the war against terrorism.

President Hussain said Pakistan is a responsible country and would give an “appropriate response” to the US allegations. He said Pakistan believes in a policy of engagement and cooperation and regretted that its sentiments had not been respected.

Thanking the Turkish president for expressing solidarity with Pakistan, Hussain said, “This love-filled message has made us feel proud.”

Both the presidents reiterated that Pakistan and Turkey are brotherly countries and always stood beside each other in all circumstances.

A day earlier, China too had thrown its weight behind Pakistan and said that its key regional ally has “made outstanding contributions to the international anti-terrorism cause”.

In his first tweet of the new year, Trump had accused Pakistan of basing its relationship with the US on “nothing but lies and deceit”.

“They give safe haven to the terrorists we

hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!” he had said.

Worsening relations The US president’s tweet had come in the aftermath of an increasingly terse back-andforth between Washington and Islamabad since Trump announced his administration’s latest national security strategy.

During the announcement, the US president had been quick to remind Pakistan of its ‘obligation’ to help America “because it receives massive payments” from Washington every year.

“We have made clear to Pakistan that while we desire continued partnership, we must see decisive action against terrorist groups operating on their territory. And we make massive payments every year to Pakistan. They have to help,” the US president had said.

Source: dawn.com/news

‘That is not the truth’

Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Canada Tariq Azim Khan Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Canada Tariq Azim Khan responds to Donald Trump’s accusations that Pakistan has given the U.S. “nothing but lies and deceit” in exchange for billions of dollars in aid.

VISIT EXCLUSICE INTERVIEW AT: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/that-isnot-the-truth-1.4470780

Yemeni sources: Nephew of slain ex-president alive Suicide attack on Nigeria mosque Tribal sources in the Yemeni province of Marib have told Al Jazeera that Tareq Abdulcauses multiple deaths lah Saleh, the commander of the Presidential Guard and nephew of late ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, is still alive - contrary to earlier reports of his demise.

Sources said a photo circulated on social media of Tareq Abdullah Saleh wounded during the same attack that killed the ex-president on December 4 is old.

They confirmed that Tareq Abdullah Saleh left the capital, Sanaa, to Marib on December 7 with several of his aides, three days after the killing of his uncle by Houthi rebels.

The sources added that forces loyal to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) stationed in Marib facilitated Tareq’s departure by providing a plane on which he flew to the Gulf country. The sources did not clarify whether Tareq remains in the UAE. Two days before Ali Abdullah Saleh was killed by the Houthis, the ousted president publicly broke ties with his former allies and expressed his openness to talks with a Saudiled coalition battling the rebels since 2015.

‘Period of mistrust’ According to sources in Abu Dhabi, the UAE and Saudi Arabia were keen on negotiating with international and Yemeni players to give a political role to the late president’s son, Ahmed. However, Ahmed reportedly said he was not ready to assume such a role, leading the two countries to turn to Tareq.

Tareq was widely seen as one of the closest

aides to the late president.

Ali Abdullah Saleh depended on him militarily and politically, along with Tareq’s two brothers: Ammar, the former deputy director of the country’s National Security Bureau, and Yehya, the former central security chief.

Tareq contributed to the formation of special forces that were loyal to him, prior to the last schism between Saleh’s forces and Houthi rebels.

Observers believe that the recent disputes within the ranks of Saleh’s political party, the General People’s Congress, came after a period of mistrust between the leadership that has been split between the Saudi capital Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Sanaa.

They say that a wave of incrimination has overshadowed the GPC, with each side holding the other responsible of Saleh’s death.

Source: Arabnews.com

A suicide bomb attack on a mosque in northeastern Nigeria has killed at least 11 people, according to reports.

The incident took place in the town of Gamboru, in Nigeria’s Borno state near the border with Cameroon, an area where the armed group Boko Haram has previously carried out a number of attacks.

Witnesses said the bombing took place as worshippers were attending morning prayers.

“I was on my way to dawn prayer, then I heard the sound of a loud bomb explosion inside the mosque,” aid worker Ali Mustapha told Reuters news agency. “The mosque was destroyed and burned,” added Mustapha.

“After some hours, when we came to evacuate the people, we saw 11 corpses, with the suicide bomber making [the total number of dead] 12.”

No group has claimed responsibility so far, but the area and type of attack bear the hallmarks of Boko Haram, whose name roughly translates to “Western education is forbidden”.

The group has waged an armed campaign in northeastern Nigeria since 2009.

The conflict has left at least 20,000 people dead and displaced more than 2.6 million.

Last week, more than 700 people abducted by Boko Haram in Nigeria escaped from captivity.

The captives included farmers, fishermen and members of their families, a spokesperson for the Nigerian army said.

At its peak, the group controlled large swaths of territory in the Lake Chad region, but the Nigerian military, with assistance from Chad, Cameroon and Niger, has pushed its fighters out of a number of provinces in the northeast.

Despite the pushback from the international coalition, Boko Haram remains active in the area, often carrying out suicide attacks against civilians.

In early December, at least 17 people were killed in the city of Biu when two suspected Boko Haram suicide bombers detonated themselves at a market.

That attack came only two weeks after a teenage suicide bomber struck a mosque in Mubi, killing at least 50 people.

Source: Arabnews.com

6

Rabi ul II 17,1439 January 5, 2018

N ati o na l

&

I nt

Far-right German MP slammed for Vancouver’s tough real estate market just got a little tougher anti-Muslim tweet A far-right German politician has been condemned for an anti-Arab and anti-Muslim Tweet, which briefly saw her suspended from the platform. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) MP Beatrix von Storch said Cologne police were appeasing “barbaric, gang-raping, Muslim hordes” when they tweeted out a New Year’s Day message in Arabic. Under newly introduced German hate laws, social media platforms must respond quickly to remove hate speech or face fines of up to 50 million euros ($60m). Von Storch was condemned for the tweet by some social media users, but far-right activists rallied around her, accusing Twitter and the German authorities of censorship. Once considered part of the eurosceptic right, the AfD has transformed into a hardright, anti-Islam party in recent years. That change occurred in the aftermath of the ongoing European refugee crisis, which saw more than a million people, mainly from Syria and Iraq, either claim refuge in Germany or transit through the state to other European nations.

In 2016, the party published a manifesto declaring Islam as “not welcome” in Germany.

Bernd Lucke, one of the party’s founders, resigned in 2016, condemning it as “Islamophobic and xenophobic”. Rallies against the AfD regularly draw thousands of Germans, but that hasn’t stopped the party’s electoral success. In September 2017, it became the first far-right party since the Nazis to enter the German parliament, after picking up 12.6 percent of the vote, which equalled 94 seats.

Source: Al-Jazeera

Muslims in India’s Assam anxious over citizen list India is set to publish the first draft of a list of citizens of the northeastern state of Assam after decades of debate, sometimes violent, over immigration from neighbouring Bangladesh. The draft list, to be published at midnight on Sunday, will ultimately be incorporated into the National Register of Citizens (NRC) after a census carried out for the first time since 1951. The government claims this register will be used to identify and deport illegal immigrants, but activists warn that hundreds of thousands of Muslims in Assam could be rendered stateless in the process.

“The officials [associated with the NRC project] visited many homes in our village but skipped ours. I am scared about my family being kept off the list. I am an Indian citizen.

My father teaches in a school here; my grandfather has a national voter identity card too, [but I] am still petrified,” 25-year-old Hussein Ahmed Madani, who lives in the remote Baladmari Char village in lower Assam, told Al Jazeera. “I have seen many people in my village returning after long fights in the High Court and Supreme Court, vindicated after long battles to prove their citizenship. But there is an atmosphere of fear in the village, in our community here. Who knows who will be thrown out as Bangladeshi.” Since the country’s partition in 1947, Assam has been rocked by protests over “illegal immigration” from across the porous riverine border with Bangladesh, increasing sectarian tensions and riots between the state’s indigenous population and Bengali-speaking Muslim migrants. In February 1983, more than 2,000 Bengali-speaking Muslims, allegedly illegal immigrants, were killed in Nellie in central Assam. In recent years, thousands of Bengali-speaking Muslims have been thrown in detention camps in Assam as “doubtful voters” and “immigrants”. Comprising an estimated 40 percent of the state’s population, Muslims have continued to battle the tag of “infiltrator” - and amid such strident rhetoric, many are anxious about the citizen list. “If it’s a free and fair list, no genuine citizen’s name will be dropped. But the ones executing the list work directly or indirectly under the right-wing BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] government, which is hostile towards Muslims,” Aman Wadud, a rights lawyer in the state capital of Guwahati, told Al Jazeera.

“This is the same government which rode to power spewing venom against Muslims, alleging that 35 electoral constituencies are dominated by Bangladeshi Muslims. People are apprehensive that this government might try to manipulate the list and drop legal citizens from the updated list.” To make the list, citizens in Assam must provide documents proving that they or their family lived in

Some home buyers might have to reconsider what they can afford in Vancouver as of Jan. 1. New mortgage lending rules issued in 2017 by Canada’s banking regulator set a new qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages (those with at least a 20 per cent down payment on the home price). Home buyers who have qualified for a mortgage at a rate of 2.9 per cent, for example, will now have to prove they could absorb a rate hike of two percentage points or the five-year average rate posted by the Bank of Canada — whichever is higher. The tougher new rules on mortgage lending are aimed at protecting lenders and borrowers; the federal government wants to make sure borrowers can afford a potential rate hike. “If you’re looking at a qualifying standard that has a higher interest rate, that means that for the same income you’re going to be able to borrow less,” UBC Real Estate Economist Tsur Somerville said.

Previously, only insured borrowers had to undergo such a test. Vancouver real estate agent Chris Ryan says the new rules will hit some local buyers harder than others. “People who were looking at homes in the 2.5’s now are going to be coming down and closer to the 1.9’s, and so everyone is going to jump down a bit,” Ryan said. “Where that leads to, it’s hard to predict,” he added.

Vancouver Real Estate Agent Chris Ryan says the new rules will affect the market and says it’s hard to predict how. (CBC) The change comes as Canadians face record-high levels of debt. “While this is going to be difficult for borrowers, particularly young borrowers

in certain markets, what you want from your federal regulator is essentially to pay attention to a big picture and to take action before a crisis happens,” Somerville said. In Metro Vancouver, realtors say owning a detached home will become even more challenging than it already is. “Homes that don’t have suites or laneway houses, I believe those are going to become a little bit less desirable,” Ryan said. “People are going to be looking for houses that produce more income, with potentially one to two suites down below,” he added. Ryan says first time home buyers will be among the hardest hit. Real estate experts say the demand for attached homes like condos and townhouses will go up. “Every time you put in a restriction, it makes it more challenging for people,” Ryan said. The new stress test rules won’t apply to mortgage renewals, as long as they are with the same lender.

Source: CBC News

A few weeks after the three men responsible for vandalizing an Arkansas mosque were caught in February, 2017, Dr. Louay Nassri was finishing up Friday prayers when he heard a knock at the door. Before him stood a well-dressed young man who removed his boots before stepping inside the place of worship. Noah Davis told Dr. Nassri, the president of the mosque, that his brother Abraham had participated in the vandalism.

He then delivered a letter that his brother wrote to the mosque from his jail cell. In the letter, Abraham Davis sought forgiveness for what he had done to the mosque in October, 2016. “It was a very sincere letter.

He showed remorse. He was very apologetic. He said ‘You don’t deserve this and I never wanted to do this,’” Dr. Nassri recalled to CTVNews.ca in a phone interview from Fort Smith, Ark. on Wednesday. “I was surprised by it.” On the night of Oct. 20, 2016, Davis and two friends spray-painted the front of the Al Salam mosque in Fort Smith, Ark. with swastikas, foul language and the words “Go home. We don’t want you here.” About six months later, police tracked down all three suspects with the help of the mosque’s security cameras and arrested them. Thanks to Davis’ apologetic letter, Dr. Nassri, a pediatric pulmonologist who has lived in the town for 37 years, decided, along with other members of the mosque, to advocate on his behalf. The mosque asked the prosecuting attorney to tell the judge that the Islamic community is asking for forgiveness and mercy for Davis. Dr. Nassri said the mosque’s members had forgiven Davis,

who stood watch while one of the other men spray painted the graffiti, and didn’t want this one mistake to ruin the rest of his life. Despite the mosque’s intervention, the young men were charged with felony offenses and given suspended sentences, which required them to obey the conditions of their parole, complete community service and pay a fine of more than $3,000 or face six years in prison. In the fall, Dr. Nassri said the mosque learned that Davis was struggling to meet his monthly payments for the fine, even though he had landed a job at a local gas station. “We heard the family was in very bad financial trouble. They were evicted from their house,” Dr. Nassri said. “They have a whole lot of pressures and on top of it, this financial pressure. We wanted to relieve the financial pressure on the family.” In the days after the mosque was vandalized, Dr. Nassri said the community rallied together to support them by sending them kind messages, cards, flowers and donations. He said every single religious denomination reached out to them, including a Jewish organization called the Pritzker Foundation, that donated $25,000. With the help of that donation, Dr. Nassri gave the court a cheque for $1,700 to pay off the remaining balance on Davis’ fine on Dec. 11. Dr. Nassri sent Davis a message that said the fine had been paid and that the mosque wants him to have a much better future. In response, Davis left a voicemail expressing his shock and gratitude. “He said, ‘I have a lot of kinks in my brain. I have to work on it,’” Dr. Nassri recalled.

Source: CTV News

Mosque forgives vandal, pays fine to keep him out of prison

the country before March 24, 1971 - a date that accounts for the migration of people from across Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) who were fleeing persecution during the 1965 India-Pakistan conflict, but excludes those who arrived during and after the 1971 war leading to Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan. Upamanyu Hazarika, who founded the Prabajan Virodhi Manch antiimmigration group, said that “outsiders” were threatening the state’s culture and cornering resources, such as land and jobs. “By virtue of being Muslims, they become part of the larger Muslim population and their interests are legitimised, overlooking the fact that they are foreigners,” Hazarika told Al Jazeera. “Twenty to 25 percent of the state’s population are illegal immigrants; they take away our jobs, the jobs of indigenous people. They swarm to the lower Assam region in huge numbers and drive away our indigenous tribes. We are becoming refugees in our own homelands.” India says it has implemented a border management plan in conjunction with Bangladesh, but the Bangladeshi government has denied discussing the deportation of migrants with Indian officials. The two countries share a border of more than 4,000 kilometres. “Demographic changes in Assam owing to illegal immigration of Bangladeshis is alarming to the extent that many districts have become Muslimmajority areas,” BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Mittal told Al Jazeera.

“This NRC register is a step towards identification and isolation of such elements.”

Wadud, however, said the state was making it very difficult for Muslims to prove their Indian citizenship. “Indian citizens are being branded as foreigners, harassed and targeted,” Wadud said. “But this is not new. Massacres against Muslims branded as Bangladeshis in Assam are cyclic. There is a new form of segregation growing.”

Source: Al-Jazeera

7

Rabi ul II 17,1439 January 5, 2018

FAITH

Hadith

Reclaim Your Muslimah Identity

By Farah Mehboob ne of the most mistreated blessings of Allah (swt) is ‘life’. It seems that as humans are progressing in technology and science, the digression between the way we live and the way we are supposed to live based on our natural disposition (fitrah) is also increasing. Despite the great claims to sophistication and the technological triumphs witnessed in no other era in history, we are still struggling with depression, increasing suicides and alarming divorce rates.

Even as Muslims, it is sad how we have become women who chat with their lips closed, walk on stationary treadmills and click away quality family life in liking, sharing and commenting on useless social media posts. We pretend to be who we are not in order to please people that we do not like, with the money that we do not have, for the reasons we do not know. From being graceful muslimahs covered in simplicity and dignity we have transformed ourselves into hangers of well-known brands. Our existence is reduced from being the Abd of Allah to the dollar value rate, the money that we receive every month for not reclaiming our identity as Muslims.

Isn’t it high time we learned to prioritise our roles as Muslim women above all others? Life will always be full of temptations and traps that will constantly try to ambush us in order to snatch away our true assets of time and imaan, while making us exist under the delusion of being rich and important.

It is time to reclaim our true identity in the light of Islamic values and commandments.

Life is indeed a struggle; the choice we have to make is whether to struggle in the path of Allah or against it.We need to stop trying to somehow fit in, in this dunya; it was never really meant for us to own. We have been sent here for a very short time to shape up ourselves for our eternal abode, Jannah, insha Allah.

So what can we actually do to reclaim our Muslim identity in the all consuming contemporary world that seems to have ensnared most of us today? Let’s see…

Take ownership and stop the blame game Some of us might acknowledge our fatal lifestyles but still do not struggle against them. We have accepted the inevitability of our doom without putting up a fight. To get rid of the guilt of not taking ownership of our own actions, we simply put the responsibility on the ‘invisible hand’ which is forming the dynamics of the society that we live in. We first need to acknowledge the dangers to our faith that modern society poses and then resolve to do something about reclaiming our faith and our lives.

Take control of your life We need to take control of every passing minute of our lives by developing a physi

O

‘Umar bin al-Khattab, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), say: “Actions are according to intentions, and everyone will get what was intended. Whoever migrates with an intention for Allah and His messenger, the migration will be for the sake of Allah and his Messenger. And whoever migrates for worldly gain or to marry a woman, then his migration will be for the sake of whatever he migrated for.” # 1: by Bukhari & Muslim

cally, intellectually and emotionally healthy lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle demands that whatever we do, we engage all our senses to their maximum potential to give the job at hand its due significance.

Our deen has outlined clearly what is expected of us and the lives of great muslimahs of the past further elaborate what we need to do to please Allah (swt). Therefore, instead of being lost and scared, we need to use the shield of our faith and Quran to combat the corrupt forces around us. We, the Muslim women, are fully able, intelligent and sophisticated human beings who, if true to our faith, are trained to defend ourselves from psychological, physical, emotional and spiritual attacks. So take the first step in taking control of your life by holding on to the Quran, the manual of life given by the Creator and learning His deen.

Question yourself; What am I doing?

We need to know the purpose of our actions and be clear about the desired outcome.

This is essential to keep a check on our daily activities. If we open our mouths, it should be because we have something good to say and not because we have a free mobile package to talk on the phone with all night. If we eat, it should be to satisfy hunger and nourish our bodies rather than to just satisfy our taste buds and fill up our bellies uncontrollably. When we dress, it should be to cover up modestly rather than to show off our financial status. Question all your actions and carve the best course of action for yourself in every sphere of life.

Real food; What makes you strong?

Our days do not start with the dhikr of Allah but with a sip of coffee. All day, we eat synthetic food with artificial flavours and unhealthy preservatives and we end our day with a sleeping pill. After this continuous maltreatment of our fitrah and nervous system, we are still deluded that we are more intelligent and advanced than our ancestors.

There is a momentary escape and relief in drugs for the challenges in life but life is to be lived, not escaped. The tests of life teach us essential lessons required to attain qualities of sabar (patience). If we will not face the trials, we will never reach the level of humanity that every Muslim must acquire. The intake of anti-depressants and sleeping pills lets us live in the delusion of a perfect world although the Messenger of Allah (swt) and the Quran came to us to stop this delusion.

Dhikr, remembering Allah and remembering the rewards that lie with Him for each and every good deed done here, that is indeed a Muslimah’s anti-depressant. In the short term, things can be different but these trials keep us close to our Rabb and open up an opportunity to practice what will help us in the akhirah; that is, tawakkal(reliance on Allah).

Names Of A l l a h (SWT) &

Last edition Names were

Mohammad (PBUH)

Al Munthaqam name of Allah(swt)

Al Muti Mohammad(saw) name.

Practicing Islam today; Is it possible?

On your path to reclaiming your Muslimah identity, you might be faced with the dilemma of whether it’s even possible to practice Islam these days. The thing is that when we start practicing Islam and try to move closer to Allah, we are faced with our own set of challenges. For instance, our jobs, family commitments and social requirements might keep us away from a lot of ritual worship that we crave to do. As women, we face lots of challenges from our cultures, marriages or otherwise. Here, one important point to remember is that wherever Allah has placed you in life (as long as it is not haram), you can stay there, align your intentions to the pleasure of Allah, and try to be as righteous as you can while staying in that very position.

Our greatness does not lie in competing with men in being like them.We have our own distinguished place in the scheme of things.

The media onslaught; Maintaining perspective Reality is as Allah has chosen reality to be.We do not have a choice as to how reality should be. Our only choice is to submit to the way things are and in doing so, we come to understand certain aspects of reality. TV programs make us believe that there exists a perfect world where everything is the way we want it to be. Lo and behold, there is no ‘perfect’ world. Perfect will be the life in the next world if we make it to Jannah.

We have to decide from the choices that Allah (swt) has given us as to how to respond to reality and not slip into delusions or get trapped by the deception of the virtual world. Isn’t it a wonder how everyone is rich, happy and beautiful on social media?

It seems like everyone is going out, enjoying themselves with friends, with perfect make-up o and just the right husband by their sides in perfect moment clicks. This is not a coincidence. These people also go through phases of depression and the perfect picture of the happy couple was probably one from a hundred shots that somehow worked. Stop idealising people on the worldwide web. For all we know, they might be in need of help to get rid of the mounting loans that have trapped them in their desperation to look happy and rich.

Leave the rat race We are trapped in the rat race for jobs, status and money while sometimes ignoring our family commitments. As Muslim women, we need to get ourselves off the sales rack.

Our belief is the strongest foundation of our

Islm.

Date

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personalities. Our focus should be to have a strong control over our own selves and our homes, so that our bodies, souls and minds are always engaged in worshipping Allah through obedience.

It seems many of us have concluded that there is no other way to live, not realising that loss of hope comes from Shaitanwho took an oath on Allah’s Honor to lead us astray. It is only the righteous people who can escape his deception and stick to the commands of Allah as His faithful servants.

Our lifestyles have become so materialistic that we can barely find room for spiritual nourishment but this lifestyle is of our own making and can be replaced by us.

Say no to vulgarity We all claim to be disgusted by filthy advertisements in the media yet we shamelessly watch these advertisements that challenge our very self-respect. How can we maintain haya (modesty) and ghairah (sense of honour) when we watch such advertisements with our fathers, brothers and children, all the while helplessly blaming the media? The essential quality of haya needs to be embedded in a Muslim’s character so deeply that it takes firm roots and even a small deviation towards immodesty should become unacceptable. There has to be no compromise on this spiritual asset and saying no to it is an important step towards the goal of reclaiming Muslim identities for us and our families.

From haram to halal It is every Muslim’s desire to be among the loved ones of Allah, yet we go against Allah and His Prophet (saw) by supporting a riba (interest) based economic system. We need to put our trust in Allah as He is the sustainer. We cannot dodge Him and the only way to success is in obedience. Riba is haram and there is no barakah in haraam and thus no contentment in wealth so obtained.

Therefore, it is better to learn to take from this world only as much as needed. Ask yourselves, why is it that our closets are full of clothes and yet we have nothing to wear?

Maybe it is the dress of taqwa that is missing from our lives and until and unless we acquire that, we will always have something missing. So worry about acquiring the most essential of all clothing; consciousness of Allah. This will help us migrate from haram to halal, impure to pure, in every aspect of life in sha Allah.

Let’s embark on this amazing journey of selfactualisation. http://jamiat.org.za/reclaim-your-muslimah-identity/

Jan 5-19, 2018 Rabi ul II 17- Jamadi ul Awaal 1, 1439H Date Fajar

Sunrise

Dhuhr

Asar (Shafi) Asar (Hanfi) Magrib

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Rabi ul II 17,1439 January 5, 2018

Adeeb

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(Realtor)

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2017 SOLD Properties

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Rabi ul II 17,1439 January 5, 2018

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10

Rabi ul II 17,1439 January 5, 2018

I S L A M I C

S T A T E S

Capture of Jerusalem: The Treaty of Umar(r.a)

BY: FIRAS ALKHATEEB

Jerusalem is a city holy to the three largest monotheistic faiths – Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Because of its history that spans thousands of years, it goes by many names: Jerusalem, alQuds, Yerushaláyim, Aelia, and more, all reflecting its diverse heritage. It is a city that numerous Muslim prophets called home, from Sulayman and Dawood to Isa (Jesus), may Allah be pleased with them.

During the Prophet Muhammad ‫’ﷺ‬s life, he made a miraculous journey in one night from Makkah to Jerusalem and then from Jerusalem to Heaven – the Isra’ and Mi’raj. During his life, however, Jerusalem never came under Muslim political control. That would change during the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second caliph of Islam.

Into Syria During Muhammad ‫’ﷺ‬s life, the Byzantine Empire made clear its desire to eliminate the new Muslim religion growing on its southern borders. The Expedition of Tabuk thus commenced in October 630, with Muhammad ‫ﷺ‬ leading an army of 30,000 people to the border with the Byzantine Empire.

While no Byzantine army met the Muslims for a battle, the expedition marked the beginning of the Muslim-Byzantine Wars that would continue for decades.

During the rule of the caliph Abu Bakr from 632 to 634, no major offensives were taken into Byzantine land. It was during the caliphate of Umar ibn alKhattab, that Muslims would begin to seriously expand northwards into the Byzantine realm. He sent some of the ablest Muslim generals, including Khalid ibn al-Walid and Amr ibn al‘As to fight the Byzantines. The decisive Battle of Yarmuk in 636 was a huge blow to Byzantine power in the region, leading to the fall of numerous cities throughout Syria such as Damascus.

In many cases, Muslim armies were welcomed by the local population – both Jews and Christians. The majority of the Christians of the region were Monophysites, who had a more monotheistic view of God that was similar to what the new Muslims were preaching.

They welcomed Muslim rule over the area instead of the Byzantines, with whom they had many theological differences.

Capture of Jerusalem By 637, Muslim armies began to appear in the vicinity of Jerusalem. In charge of Jerusalem was Patriarch Sophronius, a representative of the Byzantine government, as well as a leader in the Christian Church. Although numerous Muslim armies under the command of Khalid ibn al-Walid and Amr ibn al‘As began to surround the city, Sophronius refused to surrender the city unless Umar came to accept the surrender himself.

Having heard of such a condition, Umar ibn al-Khattab left Madinah, travelling alone with one donkey and one servant. When he arrived in Jerusalem, he was greeted by Sophronius, who undoubtedly must have been amazed that the caliph of the Muslims, one of the most powerful people in the world at that point, was dressed in no more than simple robes and was indistinguishable from his servant.

Umar was given a tour of the city, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. When the time for prayer came, Sophronius invited Umar to pray inside the Church, but Umar refused. He insisted that if he prayed there, later Muslims would use it as an excuse to convert it into a mosque – thereby depriving Christendom of one of its holiest sites. Instead, Umar prayed outside the Church, where a mosque (called Masjid Umar – the Mosque of Umar) was later built.

The Treaty of Umar(r.a) As they did with all other cities they conquered, the Muslims had to write up a treaty detailing the rights and privileges regarding the conquered people and the Muslims in Jerusalem. This treaty was signed by Umar and Patriarch Sophronius, along with some of the generals of the Muslim armies. The text of the treaty read: In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. This is the assurance of safety which the servant of God, Umar, the Commander of the Faithful, has given to the people of Jerusalem. He has given them an assurance of safety for themselves for their property, their churches, their crosses, the sick and healthy of the city and for all the rituals which belong to their religion. Their churches will not be inhabited by Muslims and will not be destroyed. Neither they, nor the land on which they stand, nor their cross, nor their property will be damaged. They will not be forcibly converted. No Jew will live with them in Jerusalem.

The people of Jerusalem must pay the taxes like the people of other cities and must expel the Byzantines and the robbers. Those of the people of Jerusalem who want to leave with the Byzantines, take their property and abandon their churches and crosses will be safe until they reach their place of refuge. The villagers may remain in the city if they wish but must pay taxes like the citizens. Those who wish may go with the Byzantines and those who wish may return to their families. Nothing is to be taken from them before their harvest is reaped.

If they pay their taxes according to their obligations, then the conditions laid out in this letter are under the covenant of God, are the responsibility of His Prophet, of the caliphs and of the faithful.

– Quoted in The Great Arab Conquests, from Tarikh Tabari At the time, this was by far one of the most progressive treaties in history.

For comparison, just 23 years earlier when Jerusalem was conquered by the Persians from the Byzantines, a general massacre was ordered. Another massacre ensued when Jerusalem was

conquered by the Crusaders from the Muslims in 1099.

Christian relations throughout the former Byzantine Empire, with rights of conquered people being protected in all situations, and forced conversions never being a sanctioned act.

Revitalization of the City Umar immediately set about making the city an important Muslim landmark. He cleared the area of the Temple Mount, where Muhammad ‫ ﷺ‬ascended to heaven from. The Christians had used the area as a garbage dump to offend the Jews, and Umar and his army (along with some Jews) personally cleaned it and built a mosque – Masjid al-Aqsa – there.

Throughout the remainder of Umar’s caliphate and into the Umayyad Empire’s reign over the city, Jerusalem became a major center of religious pilgrimage and trade. The Dome of the Rock was added to complement Masjid al-Aqsa in 691. Numerous other mosques and public institutions were soon established throughout the city.

The Muslim conquest of Jerusalem under the caliph Umar in 637 was clearly an important moment in the city’s history. For the next 462 years, it would be ruled by Muslims, with religious freedom for minorities protected according to the Treaty of Umar. Even now, as fighting continues over the future status of the city, many Muslims, Christians, and Jews insist that the Treaty maintains legal standing and look to it to help solve Jerusalem’s current problems.

The Treaty of Umar allowed the Christians of Jerusalem religious freedom, as is dictated in the Quran and the sayings of Muhammad ‫ﷺ‬. This was one of the first and most significant guarantees of religious freedom in history. While there is a clause in the treaty regarding the banning of Jews from Jerusalem, its authenticity is debated. One of Umar’s guides in Jerusalem was a Jew named Kaab al-Ahbar. Umar further allowed Jews to worship on the Temple Mount and the Wailing Wall, while the Byzantines banned them from such activities.

Thus, the authenticity of the clause regarding Jews is in question.

What is not in question, however, was the significance of such a progressive and equitable surrender treaty, which protected minority rights. The treaty SOURCE: LOST ISLAMIC HISTORY became the standard for MuslimYOUNG MUSLIMS Canada

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11 current affairs Trump is following through on his commitment, says White House after suspension of US aid to Pakistan Rabi ul II 17,1439 January 5, 2018

Afghanistan and South Asia strategy. And this is something that the administration continues to watch on a daily basis — and I can’t go into any further detail beyond that.” Sanders told the press that further action against Pakistan — and other countries that did not vote with the United States on Jerusalem at the United Nations — would be announced in the next 24-48 hours.

Worsening relations The White House’s move to suspend military aid on Tuesday has been seen as the first step to implementing President Donald Trump’s pledge to tighten economic restrictions on Pakistan. Military aid to Islamabad was cut after Trump, in a tweet, accused Pakistan of of being a liar.

The tweet had come in the aftermath of an increasingly terse back-and-forth between Washington and Islamabad since Trump announced his administration’s latest national security strategy.

Explore: ‘Pakistan needs to improve its narrative’: Politicians, analysts weigh in on Trump statement During the announcement, the US president had been quick to remind Pakistan of its ‘obligation’ to help America “because it receives massive payments” from Washington every year.

“We have made clear to Pakistan that while

Pakistan can review cooperation with US if it is not appreciated, says Maleeha Lodhi

US warns of ‘damage to bilateral ties, Pakistan’s reputation’ over Hafiz Saeed’s release

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Court ended his detention in Lahore. Saeed’s spokesman Yahya Mujahid called it a “victory of truth.”

Addressing a sermon at Lahore’s Jamia MasEveryone | Everywhere jid Al Qadsia a day after walking free, Saeed said he was “fighting for the freedom of Pa-ˇ kistan and Kashmir.”

The move outraged both US and Indian authorities.

“India is outraged that a self-confessed and AL-IHSAN a UN proscribed terrorist is allowed to walk free and continue with his agenda,” Raveesh Kumar, India’s foreign ministry spokesman, told reporters at a weekly briefing in New Delhi. Source: dawn.com

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The White House has called Pakistan’s release of Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) leader Hafiz Saeed a “step in the wrong direction” and said a refusal to re-arrest him would damage bilateral ties and Pakistan’s reputation around the world.

In a statement on Saturday, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the US “strongly condemns” the release of Hafiz Saeed from house arrest. She urged his “immediate re-arrest and prosecution”.

“Saeed’s release, after Pakistan’s failure to prosecute or charge him, sends a deeply troubling message about Pakistan’s commitment to combatting international terrorism and belies Pakistani claims that it will not provide sanctuary for terrorists on its soil,” she said.

“If Pakistan does not take action to lawfully detain Saeed and charge him for his crimes, its inaction will have repercussions for bilateral relations and for Pakistan’s global reputation,” Sanders said.

On Friday, Washington had urged Pakistan to re-arrest Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leader Hafiz Saeed and charge him with the crimes he was accused of committing.

Saeed was released before dawn on Friday after a three-judge panel in Lahore High

We do not want a conflict with our friends, but will ensure the security of Pakistan,” he had added.

His briefing was considered perhaps the strongest-ever reaction from Islamabad since US functionaries began alluding to the possibility of unilateral action.

Hitting back at the US, the civilian-controlled Foreign Office (FO) had also warned against the “malicious campaign” being “used to trivialise Pakistan’s achievements in the war against terrorism”, and noted that “allies do not put each other on notice.”

The FO had further complained that recent US statements are “at variance with the extensive conversations we [Islamabad] have had with the US administration”.

Source: dawn.com

million of military aid to Pakistan for the latter’s alleged “harbouring of terrorists”.

On the same day, US Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said at a press briefing that a detailed policy will be announced within the next 24-48 hours.

The US president’s tweets evoked a strong response from the Pakistani civil and military leadership. The Foreign Office (FO) sought an explanation from American ambassador David Hale while the country’s leadership expressed “deep disappointment” at the accusations levelled by the US president in a National Security Council meeting on Tuesday. “... even more importantly the huge sacrifices made by Pakistan, including the loss of tens of thousands of lives ... could not be trivialised so heartlessly by pushing all of it behind a monetary value – and that too an imagined one,” a press release issued after the meeting in Islamabad said, in a reference to Trump’s claim that the US has “foolishly” given Pakistan over $33 billion in aid over the last 15 years.

Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif claimed that Pakistan had already “said ‘no more’ to America, so Trump’s ‘no more’ has no importance”. Source: dawn.com

Educational Foundation

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Maleeha Lodhi condemned the United States (US) administration’s aggressive remarks against Pakistan and said that Islamabad could “review its cooperation if it is not appreciated”.

Referring to US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley’s comments a day earlier where she had accused Pakistan of playing a “double game” with the US, Lodhi cautioned against “shifting the blame for [the US’] own mistakes and failures onto others”. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Lodhi said that Pakistan has “contributed and sacrificed the most in fighting international terrorism”.

The diplomat added that Pakistan’s role in the war against terrorism did not depend on US aid but on “national interests and principles”.

Worsening relations A war of words was triggered after Trump, in his first tweets on New Year’s day, lashed out against Pakistan, calling the country a “liar”.

Elaborating on Trump’s tweets, Haley on Tuesday said that the US had withheld $255

we desire continued partnership, we must see decisive action against terrorist groups operating on their territory. And we make massive payments every year to Pakistan.

They have to help,” the US president had said. A Pentagon report to the US Congress, released to the media on Dec 17, had said Washington would also take ‘unilateral steps’ in areas of divergence with Pakistan while expanding cooperation between the two countries where their interests converge.

Subsequently, US Vice President Mike Pence had, in a surprise visit to Afghanistan’s Bagram airbase on Dec 22, warned that Trump has “put Pakistan on notice” in what was the harshest US warning to Islamabad since the beginning of the Afghan war over 16 years ago.

The Pakistan Army spokesman, Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, had at a press conference last week asserted that the aid Pakistan received from the US was “reimbursement for support we gave to the coalition for its fight against Al Qaeda.”

“Had we not supported the US and Afghanistan, they would never have been able to defeat Al Qaeda,” he had said.

“The armed forces are working with friends and want to continue doing so, but there can be no compromise on our national honour.

Offered exclusively by

A day after Washington confirmed suspending $255 million of military aid to Pakistan, US Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said that the actions being taken against Islamabad are a follow-up to Donald Trump’s South Asia policy announced last year.

“The president outlined a new strategy for Afghanistan and South Asia past year in August. At that time, he laid out [a policy] and said that Pakistan is not fulfilling its obligations,” said Sanders during the White House press briefing on Tuesday.

“The President is simply following through on a commitment that he made [...] we know that Pakistan can do more to fight terrorism, and we want them to step up and do that.”

Also read: Pakistan’s measured response to Trump’s tweet is a step in the right direction “We can no longer be silent about Pakistan’s safe havens for terrorist organisations,” Trump had said in August last year, warning at the time that vital aid could be cut.

The press secretary was pressed about the timing of Trump’s tweet about Pakistan more than once during the briefing. When asked if there was any particular incident that prompted Monday’s tweet, Sanders said: “This is something that the president has been following and has talked about back during August, when he laid out his

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12 l o ca l Quaid-E-Azam remembered by Pakistan Canada Association Rabi ul II 17,1439 January 5, 2018

On Dec 23 the Pakistan Canada Association of BC celebrated Quaid-E-Azam day at Surrey Central Library along with community members, Mr. Waseem Javed was the master of ceremony. He began the program describing the purpose of the event. He then invited various speakers including PCA President Mr. Shaukat Khan, Mr. Shams Jilani, Dr. Mohammad Tarik Consul General of Pakistan, Dr. Huma Mir, and Mr. Naseer Pirzada to talk about different aspects of Mohammad Ali Jinnah life. All speakers presented their perspectives about the struggle and message of Mohammad Ali Jinnah Mohammed Ali Jinnah was born on 25 December 1876 in Karachi. His father was a prosperous Muslim merchant. Jinnah studied at Bombay University and at Lincoln’s Inn in London. He then ran a successful legal practice in Bombay.

He was already a member of the Indian National Congress. He joined the Muslim League in 1913.

The league had formed a few years earlier to represent the interests of Indian Muslims in a predominantly Hindu country, and by 1916 he was elected its president. In 1920, the Indian National Congress launched a movement of non-coopera-

tion to boycott all aspects of British rule. Jinnah opposed this policy and resigned from the congress. There were by now profound differences between the congress and the Muslim League.

After provincial elections in 1937, the congress refused to form coalition administrations with the Muslim League in mixed areas. Relations between Hindus and Muslims began to deteriorate.

In 1940, at a Muslim League session in Lahore, the first official demand was made for the partition of India and the creation of a Muslim state of Pakistan. Jinnah had always believed that HinduMuslim unity was possible, but reluctantly came to the view that partition was necessary to safeguard the rights of Indian Muslims. His insistence on this issue through negotiations with the British government resulted in the partition of India and the formation of the state of Pakistan on 14 August 1947. This occurred against a backdrop of widespread violence between Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs, and a vast movement of populations between the new states of Pakistan and India in which hundreds of thousands died. Jinnah became the first governor general of Pakistan, but died of tuberculosis on 11 September 1948.

Pakistani Canadian Cultural Association Of BC celebrates Quaid-E-Azam Day Pakistani Canadian Cultural Association Of BC celebrated QuaidE-Azam day on Dec 24 at Punjab Bhawan Center Surrey along with many respected community members. Iftikhar Ghumman started the program with the introduction of the hosts Tauseef Waraich and Hira Jahangir. The evening was organized to celebrate the birthday of the founder of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

Mr. Tauseef Waraich shared important incidents of Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s life from childhood to becoming Quaid e Azam. Kids were actively involved in the majority of the program and presented Tilawat e Quran, beautiful presentation on a national song, and speeches.

A historical video was presented

by Mr. Naveed Waraich containing rare footage of Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s life. President of PCCA-BC Mr. Farukh Syed highlighted Quaid

e Azam day and its importance. He also extended his team’s greetings to the Christian community and community at large on the occassion of Christmas. Christmas. He also highlighted the current Islamic month’s importance as Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) was also born in this month.

The chief guest of the event, Consul General Dr. Muhammad Tariq also spoke about Quaid e Azam’s life and principles of his life. Many other community members included Naseer Pirzada, Tariq Kiyani, Intikab Ahmed also discussed the messages of Quaid-e-Azam for the nation. At the end the PCCA directors Naveed Waraich and Iftikhar Ghumman thanked all the Directors, volunteers, media outlets, sponsor (Noman Sadiq) and the whole community for their participation.

13

Rabi ul II 17,1439 January 5, 2018

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14 P OL I T I C S British Columbia Liberal Party leadership election, 2018 Rabi ul II 17,1439 January 5, 2018

A British Columbia Liberal Party leadership election will be held on February 3, 2018, due to the resignation of Christy Clark as Liberal leader on August 4, 2017. Rich Coleman was elected interim leader announcing that he has no intention of running for leader, but would resign as interim leader if he changed his mind, adding that he does not anticipate changing his mind.

Background[edit] Under leaders Gordon Campbell and Christy Clark, the BC Liberal Party governed the province from 2001 until June 2017. In May 2017, the provincial election resulted in a hung parliament, with the Liberals holding 43 seats, one short of the 44 required for a majority. Clark initially formed a minority government, but resigned as premier after being defeated in a confidence vote by an alliance of the British Columbia New Democratic Party and Green Party of British Columbia.

On July 28, 2017, Clark announced that she would resign as party leader and as MLA for Kelowna West on August 4. The BC Liberal Caucus selected Rich Coleman, MLA for Langley East, as interim leader, to serve until a permanent leader can be chosen.

Procedure: Party president Sharon White released a statement on Clark’s resignation on the same day it was announced. This statement specified that the exact timeline and details of the leadership election process would be finalized within 28 days. As per the party’s constitution, the election will give all party members a vote, but will give equal weight to all 87 constituencies in tallying the results.

Timeline: December 29, 2017: Nomination and to become a member of the party and be eligible to vote deadline is finished.

February 1, 2018 at 9 am - voting begins.

February 3, 2018 at 5 pm - voting ends,

results announced. Declared candidates:: 1. Mike de Jong 2. Michael Lee 3. Todd Stone 4. Sam Sullivan 5. Dianne Watts 6. Andrew Wilkinson

British Columbia Liberal Party leadership election, 2018 Date February 3, 2018 Resigning leader Christy Clark Entrance Fee $60,000 Spending limit $600,000 Source: From Wikipedia,

$49,738, says the report.

It also found that top CEOs got a big pay hike. Their average compensation rose eight per cent compared to 2015, whereas an average worker’s salary rose by just 0.5 per cent.

“CEOs continue, year after year, to increase that gap between them and the average worker,” said David Macdonald, report author and senior economist with the CCPA, a thinktank that studies economic inequity issues. “[They are] now making your average pay prior to your second cup of coffee,” he said.

“In a couple years — five years, maybe — CEOs will make your pay before breakfast.”

Big bonuses. Macdonald combined base salary plus compensation, such as pensions and the granting of company shares, to tally up CEO income totals.

He found that, on average, base pay made up only 11 per cent of a CEO’s compensation.

The lion’s share came from share grants (33 per cent), bonuses (26 per cent) and stock options (15 per cent).

This tax perk for wealthy CEOs will cost

Canada $840M this year For 2016, Valeant Pharmaceuticals CEO Joseph Papa scored the top spot, earning more than $83 million in total compensation. Almost $56 million of that came from share grants.

Magna CEO Donald Walker came in second, earning $28.6 million, most of which ($26.4 million) was the result of share grants and bonus pay.

Macdonald says one way to help shrink the inequality gap is for the federal government to tax top earners at a higher rate.

He also wants Ottawa to close tax loopholes such as the stock option deduction, a tax perk where profits from stock options are taxed at a lower rate compared to regular income.

Many rich CEOs benefit from the perk.

“I don’t think that people object to CEOs making more than average workers, but they make over 200 times more and the gap is increasing,” said Macdonald.

“That’s what gets Canadians up in arms.”

‘False comparison’ Lee says top players in any industry — from

sports to entertainment to big business — always make far more than the average person because they offer rare and sought-after talent.

“Comparing them to an ordinary person is like comparing apples to kumquats,” he said.

“It’s a false comparison.

Lee points to the late Hunter Harrison as an example of a top executive earning his worth.

Harrison scored the fifth highest CEO income in 2016, earning almost $19 million in total compensation as head of Canadian Pacific Railway.

He previously served as CEO of Canadian National Railway, and generated big profits at both companies through cost-cutting measures such as layoffs.

“Whatever people think of his actual tactics, there is no question that he turned around two [companies] in a way that was truly remarkable,” said Lee. “The salary they paid him, it was cheap,” Lee says, considering the returns.

Harrison died on Dec. 16 at age 73.

Canada’s top CEOs earn 200 times an average worker’s salary: report

Average yearly compensation for top 100 CEOs is now $10.4 million.

By Sophia Harris, CBC News Shortly before 11 a.m. today, the average top-earning CEO in Canada will have already earned — in less than one work day — what the average worker makes in an entire year, says a new study.

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives report examined the 100 highest-paid CEOs at TSX-listed companies for 2016.

Turns out, those corporate executives had a stellar year. Their average annual compensation hit a record $10.4 million — that’s more than 200 times an average worker’s salary of

Source: cbc.ca/news/

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15 science W O R L D 10 Things You Use Every Day That Are Invented by Muslims Rabi ul II 17,1439 January 5, 2018

By: Sumeyye Copoglu

Edited by: Naseer Pirzada

A

long with the first university, and even the toothbrush, there are many surprising Muslim inventions that have shaped the world in which we live today. The origins of these fundamental ideas and objects are the focus of “1001 Inventions”, a book celebrating the forgotten history of 1,000 years of Muslim heritage. From this book, I have summed up ten outstanding Muslim inventions

room with a pinhole on one side and a white sheet on the other, he provided the evidence for his theory. Light came through the hole and projected an inverted image of the objects outside the room on the sheet opposite.

He called this the “qamara”. It was the world’s first camera obscura.

. This variety of topics and the high quality of its teaching drew scholars and students from all over. Still operating almost 1,200 years later, Hassani says he hopes the center will remind people that learning is at the core of the Islamic tradition and that the story of the al-Firhi sisters will inspire young Muslim women around the world today.

which we still use today.

1

9. Music

4. Cleanliness

. Coffee

More than twelve hundred years ago, hard-working people have fought to stay awake without this stimulant, until a herd of curious goats and their watchful master, an Arab named Khalid, discovered this simple, yet life-changing substance. As his goats grazed on the Ethiopian slopes, he noticed they had become lively and excited after eating a particular berry. Instead of just eating the berries they were taken and boiled to create “al-qahwa”.

2. Clocks An ingenious man called al-Jazari from Diyarbakir in South-East Turkey was a pious Muslim and a highly skilled engineer who gave birth to the concept of automatic machines. By 1206, al-Jazari had made numerous clocks of all shapes and sizes. Just as we need time today to structure our lives, so did Muslims over seven hundred years ago. AlJazari was sticking to the long Muslim tradition of clock-making. They knew it was important to know the time so it could be used well through doing good deeds: knowing when to pray at the right time each day and announce the call to prayer in mosques.

3. Camera

Ibn al-Haitham revolutionized optics, taking the subject from one being discussed philosophically to an actual science based on experiments. He rejected the Greek idea that an invisible light emitting from the eye caused sight, and instead rightly stated that vision was caused by light reflecting off an object and entering the eye. By using a dark

accounts. The bug of traveling had bitten the 7th century Muslims, and they soon began to leave their homes for trade and for religious reasons, to explore the world they lived in.

They walked routes, sometimes simply gathering knowledge about new places, and when they returned they gave accounts of the ways they had trodden and the people and sights they had encountered. First this was by word of mouth, but with the introduction of paper in Baghdad in the 8th century, the first maps and travel guides could be produced.

A Muslim’s faith is based on purity and cleanliness, whether it is in its physical or spiritual form. In the Islamic world of the 10th century, the products found in bathroom cabinets and hygiene practices could compete with those we have today. In the 13th century, the same engineer, al-Jazari, wrote a book describing mechanical devices, including “wudhu” machines. This machine was mobile, and it was brought in front of a guest. The guest would then tap the head and water would ensue in eight short bursts, providing enough water for ablution.

This method also conserved water.

Muslims wanted to be really clean and not just splash themselves with water, so they made soap by mixing oil (usually olive oil) with “al-qali”, a salt-like substance. This was then boiled to achieve the right mix, left to harden and used in the hammams, the bath houses.

Al-Kindi also wrote a book on perfumes called “Book of the Chemistry of Perfume and Distillations”. He was best known as a philosopher, but was also a pharmacist, opthalmologist, physicist, mathematician, geographer, astronomer and chemist. His book contained more than a hundred recipes for fragnant oils, salves and aromatic waters. The centruries-old tradition of perfume-making was all made possible by Muslim chemists and their methods of distillation: they distilled plants and flowers and made perfumes and substances for theapeutic pharmacy.

5. Universities

The quest for knowledge is close to the heart of Muslims. In the Quran, they are urged to seek knowledge, and to observe and reflect.

So Fatima al-Fihri, a devout and pious young woman, wanted to give the Fez community a learning centre. Like some of the grand mosques, al-Qarawiyin in Fez soon developed into a place for religious instruction and political discussion. It gradually extended its education to all subjects, particularly the natural sciences, and so it earned its name as one of the first universities in history.

Apart from astronomy, there were studies of the Quran and theology, of law, rhetoric, prose and verse writing, logic, arithmetic, geography and medicine. There were also courses on grammar, Muslim history, and elements of chemistry and mathematics

6. Flying Machine

Abbas ibn Firnas was the first person to make a real attempt to construct a flying machine and actually fly. In the 9th century he designed a winged apparatus which roughly resembled a bird costume. In his most famous trial, near Cordoba in Spain, Firnas flew upward for a few moments, before plummiting to the ground and partially breaking his back. His designs would have undoubtedly been an inspiration for the famous Italian artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci some six hundred years later.

Do 20th century artists and singers know that much of their craft lies in the hands of Muslims from the 9th century? These artists, al-Kindi in particular, used musical notation: the system of writing down music. They also named the notes of a musical scale with syllables instead of letters, called solmization.

These syllables make up the basic scale in music today and we are all familiar with doh, ray, me, far, so, la, tee. The Arabic alphabet for these notes is Dal, Ra, Mim, Fa, Sad, Lam, Sin. The phonetic similarity between today’s scale and the Arabic alphabet used in the 9th century is astonishing. On top of that, Muslims were also developing musical instruments.

10. Algebra 7. Surgical Instruments

If we journeyed back into the 10th century, we could look over the shoulder of a cuttingedge surgion called Abul Qasim Khalaf ibn al-Abbad al-Zahrawi, a man known in the West as Abulcasis. He wrote al-Tadrif, his medical encyclopedia which included a treatise called “On Surgery”. This held a staggering collection of over two hundred surgical tools. Using instruments for surgery was a revolutionary concept because it enabled science to change from being speculative to something experimental. This was the first treatise in the history of medicine to illustrate the use of surgical instruments. In fact, their design was so accurate that they have had only a few changes in a millennium. It were these illustrations that laid the foundations for surgery in Europe.

8. Maps

Maps have helped people find their way for about 3,500 years, the earliest ones being on clay tablets. The introduction of paper was a huge leap forward in the art of map making.

Modern technology uses a system of satellites and other receiving devices to compute positions on the earth. Back in history, maps were made from travellers’ and pilgrims’

The word “algebra” comes from the title of a Persian mathematician’s famous 9th century treatise “Kitab al-Jabr Wa l-Mugabala” which roughly translates into “The Book of Reasoning and Balancing”. Al-Khwarizmi introduces the beginnings of the algebra. It’s important to understand just how significant this new idea was. In fact, it was a revolutionary move away from the Greek concept of mathematics, which was essentually based on geometry. The same mathematician, Al-Khwarizmi, was also the first to introduce the concept of raising a number to a power.

Sumeyye Copoglu Sumeyye Copoglu is 23 years old and studies Islamic theology at the Islamic University of Rotterdam. She is an artist, with a passion for culture and travel. http://mvslim.com/

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east

Palestinians slam Israeli expansionism

By: Daoud Kuttab AMMAN: Palestinian officials have blamed “anti-Palestinian rhetoric” in the US for the recent call from the right-wing Israeli Likud party for the annexation of the Occupied Territories.

Saeb Erekat, the secretary-general of the executive council of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), told Arab News that Likud’s decision is part of US President Donald Trump’s “ultimate deal” idea.

“We have seen, over the last few weeks, a visible manifestation of the US ultimate deal, beginning with the PLO office in Washington, the declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and now we are seeing the details of the ultimate deal on the ground in the occupied territories.”

Salim Zannoun, speaker of the Palestine National Council, issued a statement from Amman calling the Likud decision an attack on Palestinians’ rights.

“This decision represents the height of terrorism and a violation of the rights of the Palestinian people,” the statement said.

“It is a representation of the arrogant colonial and extremist policy that is deeply engraved in the minds of the Likud party and its leadership, including their extremist leader Netanyahu.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly declared his opposition to his party’s decision, but Erekat believes he is lying.

“This is his idea and he is continuing his tactics of playing word games with the international community,” he said.

The Fatah movement issued a statement from Ramallah on Sunday night calling the Israeli party’s decision “a provocation.”

“This is a violation of international law, including the UN Security Council Resolution 2334,” the statement said, adding that settlements are illegal and the Israeli government should know that. “It is crossing a red line which will lead to catastrophe and a situation of insecurity.”

On Jan. 1, the 53rd anniversary of the National Palestinian Liberation Movement (Fatah), the party blamed Trump for the deterioration of the situation and for encouraging Israeli extremists.

“Unfortunately, Israel has taken advantage

of the unacceptable decision regarding Jerusalem, which is in violation of international law, and has used it to further extend its action by declaring war on the Palestinian people, Palestinian lands and Palestinian holy places,” Fatah said.

While Palestinian officials issued public condemnations, the Likud decision produced a variety of social-media reactions, some sarcastically calling for a similar reaction.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned Israel that his country would this year take legal action against its “grave and systematic violations of international law,” adding that Palestine would also “revisit agreements signed with Israel.”

“Forget about the 1967 borders,” wrote Gaza resident Yousef Abu Saleh. “Instead, our central committee should call for the annexation of all (Israeli) territories to the state of Palestine.”

Respected Palestinian journalist Mohammed Daraghmeh wrote on his Facebook page that the modern Palestinian national movement, both in its secular and Islamic forms, has reached a dead end.

In a press statement on Monday, Abbas claimed that Likud’s decision to call for annexation “could not be taken without the full support of the US administration, who have refused to condemn Israeli colonial settlements as well as the systematic attacks and crimes of the Israeli occupation against the people of Palestine.”

Source: Arabnews

Trump blasts Iranian regime, says it is time for change

By: SIRAJ WAHAB JEDDAH: US President Donald Trump on Monday blasted the clerical regime in Tehran for repressing its people as anti-government protests and demonstrations spread to more Iranian cities claiming, according to the Associated Press, more than 12 lives, including a policeman.

According to state TV, the protesters tried to overrun military bases and police stations before security forces repelled them.

The demonstrations, the largest in Iran since its disputed 2009 presidential election, began on Thursday in Mashhad over economic issues and have since expanded to several cities. Some protesters are chanting against the government and the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Hundreds of people have been arrested.

“TIME FOR CHANGE!” wrote Trump on his Twitter account, expressing US support for the demonstrators. The country is “failing at every level despite the terrible deal made with them by the Obama Administration,” he said.

“The great Iranian people have been repressed for many years,” he wrote. “They are hungry for food & for freedom. Along with human rights, the wealth of Iran is being looted.” Iranian state television aired footage of a ransacked private bank, broken windows, overturned cars, and a firetruck that appeared to have been set ablaze. It reported that clashes on Sunday night killed 10 people.

Later Monday, state TV said clashes had killed six people in the western town of Tuyserkan, 295 km southwest of Tehran. It said clashes in the town of Shahinshahr, 315

km south of Tehran, had killed three more. It did not say where the 10th person had been killed.

Earlier Monday, the semi-official ILNA news agency quoted Hedayatollah Khademi, a representative for the town of Izeh, as saying that two people had died there Sunday night.

He said the cause of death was not immediately known, though authorities later described one of the deaths as the result of a personal dispute. Many in Izeh, some 455 km southwest of Tehran, have hunting rifles in their homes.

Harvard scholar and Iranian affairs expert Majid Rafizadeh called the protests unprecedented.

“People from all sectors — working class, middle class, women and youth — are coming together. They are demanding regime change, not just the limited reforms we saw in previous protests,” he told Arab News.

“The modus operandi of the regime is based on using brute force to respond to demonstrators. This will definitely make the size of demonstrations grow larger,” he said.

According to Rafizadeh, Iran has had three revolutions in the past century. “There are some similarities between these protests and the ones that occurred in 1979. People are fed up with corruption, authoritarianism and they are demanding democracy and respect for human rights and freedoms. But these protests also highlight the frustrations over poverty, unemployment and the regime’s support of, and funding for, terrorist and militia groups across the region.”

Two protesters were also killed in clashes late Saturday in Doroud, some 325 km southwest of

What’s happening with Iran’s ongoing protests?

DUBAI: Iran has seen its largest anti-government protests since the disputed presidential election in 2009, with thousands taking to the streets in several cities in recent days.

Travel restrictions and moves by the government to shut down social media networks have limited the ability of journalists to cover the ongoing unrest, which Iranian state television says has killed 12 people.

Here’s what we know so far: How did the protests start?

The demonstrations began on Thursday in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city and the home of a famous shrine. The city is a conservative bastion and a stronghold of Ebrahim Raisi, a cleric who unsuccessfully challenged President Hassan Rouhani in last year’s election. Analysts suggest conservatives began the protests there as a means to pressure Rouhani. The protests then rapidly spread throughout the rest of the country of 80 million people.

What do protesters want?

Demonstrators initially focused on Iran’s flagging economy. Despite now being able to sell oil on the international market after the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran faces rising inflation and high unemployment. A recent increase in egg and poultry prices by as much as 40 percent, which a government spokesman has blamed on a cull over avian flu fears, appears to have sparked the protests. Protesters have chanted against Rouhani as well as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Some have criticized Iran’s military support of Syrian President Bashar Assad, while others have praised the US-backed shah, who fled into exile in 1979 and died of cancer the following year.

Who is leading the protests?

So far, no central leadership has emerged.

That’s in contrast to the 2009 Green Movement demonstrations, which protested hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s re-election amid widespread allegations of voter fraud. Those protests, Iran’s biggest since 1979, prompted a crackdown by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and its affiliates that saw thousands detained, dozens killed and others tortured. Its leaders remain under house arrest years later. While leaderless, these new protests have been fanned in part by an exiled journalist named Roohallah Zam using a mobile phone messaging app called Telegram .

How has the regime responded?

Iran says it temporarily shut down access to both Telegram and the photo-sharing app Instagram to “maintain peace,” limiting protesters’ ability to share images and publicize rallies. Facebook and Twitter are already banned. Uniformed and plainclothes police are in the streets, as are motorcycle-riding members of the Basij, a volunteer force un-

Tehran in Luristan province, authorities said.

On Sunday, Iran blocked access to Instagram and the popular messaging app Telegram, which have been used by activists to organize. President Hassan Rouhani acknowledged the public’s anger over the Islamic Republic’s flagging economy, though he and others warned that the government would not hesitate to crack down on those it considered lawbreakers.

That was echoed Monday by the chief of the Iranian Judiciary, Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, who urged authorities to confront rioters, state TV reported.

“I demand all prosecutors across the country get involved and their approach should be strong,” he said.

Rouhani also stressed Monday that Iran “has seen many similar events and passed through them easily.”

Oubai Shahbandar, a Syrian-American analyst and fellow at the New America Foundation’s International Security Program, said: “What is happening in Iran has all the signs of being the early stages of a revolution. The silence of Khamanei as this uprising spreads is deafening.”

der the Revolutionary Guard that helped carry out the 2009 crackdown. Rouhani himself has said Iran allows protests, and authorities often tolerate smaller, limited demonstrations and labor strikes. But Rouhani and other officials have warned that the government won’t hesitate to crack down on those it considers lawbreakers.

Has there been violence?

At least 12 people have been reported killed so far. Iranian state television said on Monday that security forces repelled “armed protesters” who tried to take over police stations and military bases, without elaborating.

Pictures published by semi-official Iranian news agencies have shown water cannons being used on protesters in Tehran, as well as damage done by demonstrators to public property. Several hundred people reportedly have been arrested, though police say they’ve released many. Some videos circulated online show protesters welcoming police officers and demonstrating peacefully.

How has the world reacted?

US President Donald Trump has tweeted several times in support of the protests.

The State Department has accused Iran’s leaders of turning “a wealthy country with a rich history and culture into an economically depleted rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed and chaos.”

Rouhani has dismissed Trump’s criticisms, while many Iranians remain angry with the American president over his travel bans barring them from getting US visas, as well as his refusal to re-certify the nuclear deal.

Is Iran a democracy?

What will happen next?

Demonstrators have called for more protests in the days ahead. While Rouhani has said the regime allows demonstrations, all so far have been held without police permission, which is illegal. Ultimately, the supreme leader will decide how to respond. As Cliff Kupchan at the Eurasia Group wrote in an analysis on Sunday: “When it comes to the regime’s survival, Khamenei calls the shots.

And he’s got a lot of loyal and ruthless troops at his disposal.”

Source: The Associated Press

He said the Iranian Revolutionary Guards were “showing indications that they are preparing for mass reprisals against the protesters.”

He said it was a truly a grassroots movement.

“They (the protesters) are calling for the fall of the regime. Period. Khamanei is going to resort to violence to try to hold on to power, but this time around, he may not succeed the way he did in suppressing the 2009 green revolution.” Source: ArabnewsW

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IMMIGration

IRCC to repeal controversial duration limit for temporary foreign workers

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has confirmed that it will repeal the cumulative duration regulation limit for temporary foreign workers next spring.

Section 200(3)(g) of the Immigration and Refugees Protection Regulations, also known as the “four-in-four-out rule”, denied work permits to foreign nationals who had worked in Canada for one or more periods totaling four years — unless the applicant met one of three exceptions.

The Government of Canada introduced a temporary public policy in December

2016 that provided an exemption to the regulation, saying the cumulative duration regulation limit “disproportionately targets certain sectors of the economy due to its application to lower-skilled and technical occupations in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.”

The public policy notice says the limit was designed “to prevent growth of a longterm temporary foreign worker movement of individuals who are unable to transition to permanent residence,” but had become unpopular with Canadian employers.

The regulation’s elimination was rec-

ommended by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities. IRCC said in its public policy that “eliminating the effect of the regulation now will prevent further disruption of the seasonal worker movement, encourage foreign workers to remain in status, and give more time to technical workers, who qualify, to transition to permanent residence.”

IRCC says its temporary public policy will remain in effect until the repeal is implemented.

Parents and Grandparents Program reopening in new year

Potential sponsors will soon have the opportunity to express their interest to sponsor December 22, 2017 – Ottawa, ON – Canadian citizens and permanent residents will soon be able to take the first step in applying to bring their parents and grandparents to Canada, when the Parents and Grandparents Program reopens in 2018.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) introduced a new process in 2017 for application intake for sponsoring parents and grandparents to make it fairer and more transparent for applicants. Now, potential sponsors must first notify IRCC that they are interested in sponsoring their parents and grandparents by submitting an “Interest to Sponsor” form. Using a random selection process, IRCC will then invite

potential sponsors to apply to sponsor their parents and grandparents.

Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced that the “Interest to Sponsor” form will be available at noon EST on January 2, 2018. Those who wish to apply to sponsor their parents and grandparents in 2018 must first fill out this online form. It will be available until noon February 1, 2018.

To help ensure the efficiency of the system and to allow as many eligible sponsors as possible to bring their parents and grandparents to Canada, it is important that only those who meet the sponsorship eligibility require-

ments submit an “Interest to Sponsor” form.

Additional questions have been added to the 2018 version of the “Interest to Sponsor” form to help potential sponsors self-assess whether they are eligible to sponsor.

Quote

“Family reunification is a priority for the Government of Canada. On January 2, I invite those who are eligible to sponsor to express their interest to bring their parents and grandparents to Canada. Helping more people reunite with their parents and grandparents in Canada demonstrates the government’s commitment to keeping families together, leading to successful integration and – The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister stronger ties to Canada.” of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

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Rabi ul II 17,1439 January 5, 2018

hea l th

Top 10 Most Common Health Issues!

1. Physical Activity and Nutrition 2. Overweight and Obesity 3. Tobacco 4. Substance Abuse 5. HIV/AIDS 6. Mental Health 7. Injury and Violence 8. Environmental Quality 9. Immunization 10. Access to Health Care Physical Activity and Nutrition Research indicates that staying physically active can help prevent or delay certain diseases, including some cancers, heart disease and diabetes, and also relieve depression and improve mood. Inactivity often accompanies advancing age, but it doesn’t have to. Check with your local churches or synagogues, senior centers, and shopping malls for exercise and walking programs. Like exercise, your eating habits are often not good if you live and eat alone. It’s important for successful aging to eat foods rich in nutrients and avoid the empty calories in candy and sweets.

Overweight and Obesity Being overweight or obese increases your chances of dying from hypertension, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, respiratory problems, dyslipidemia and endometrial, breast, prostate, and colon cancers. In-depth guides and practical advice about obesity are available from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health.

Tobacco Tobacco is the single greatest preventable cause of illness and premature death in the U.S. Tobacco use is now called “Tobacco dependence disease.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that smokers who try to quit are more successful when they have the support of their physician.

Substance Abuse Substance abuse usually means drugs and alcohol. These are two areas we don’t often associate with seniors, but seniors, like young people, may self-medicate using legal and illegal drugs and alcohol, which can lead to serious health consequences. In addition, seniors may deliberately or unknowingly mix medications and use alcohol. Because of our stereotypes about senior citizens, many medical people fail to ask seniors about possible substance abuse.

HIV/AIDS Between 11 and 15% of U.S. AIDS cases occur in seniors over age 50. Between 1991 and 1996, AIDS in adults over 50 rose more than twice as fast as in younger adults. Seniors are unlikely to use condoms, have immune systems that naturally weaken with age, and HIV symptoms (fatigue, weight

loss, dementia, skin rashes, swollen lymph nodes) are similar to symptoms that can accompany old age. Again, stereotypes about aging in terms of sexual activity and drug use keep this problem largely unrecognized.

That’s why seniors are not well represented in research, clinical drug trials, prevention programs and efforts at intervention.

Mental Health Dementia is not part of aging. Dementia can be caused by disease, reactions to medications, vision and hearing problems, infections, nutritional imbalances, diabetes, and renal failure. There are many forms of dementia (including Alzheimer’s Disease) and some can be temporary. With accurate diagnosis comes management and help. The most common late-in-life mental health condition is depression. If left untreated, depression in the elderly can lead to suicide.

Here’s a surprising fact: The rate of suicide is higher for elderly white men than for any other age group, including adolescents.

Injury and Violence Among seniors, falls are the leading cause of injuries, hospital admissions for trauma, and deaths due to injury. One in every three seniors (age 65 and older) will fall each year.

Strategies to reduce injury include exercises to improve balance and strength and medication review. Home modifications can help reduce injury. Home security is needed to prevent intrusion. Home-based fire prevention devices should be in place and easy to use. People aged 65 and older are twice as likely to die in a home fire as the general population.

Environmental Quality Even though pollution affects all of us, government studies have indicated that low-income, racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to live in areas where they face environmental risks. Compared to the general population, a higher proportion of elderly are living just over the poverty threshold.

Immunization Influenza and pneumonia and are among the top 10 causes of death for older adults.

Emphasis on Influenza vaccination for seniors has helped. Pneumonia remains one of the most serious infections, especially among women and the very old.

Access to Health Care Seniors frequently don’t monitor their health as seriously as they should. While a shortage of geriatricians has been noted nationwide, URMC has one of the largest groups of geriatricians and geriatric specialists of any medical community in the country. Your access to health care is as close as URMC, offering a menu of services at several hospital settings, including the VA Hospital in Canandaigua, in senior housing, and in your community.

New Year, new fees: Here’s what you’ll be paying in 2018!

From pricier groceries to cheaper natural gas, here are some of the changing costs that British Columbians can expect to see after they ring in the New Year.

The biggest change for many families will be to their Medical Services Plan premiums, which are being slashed in half starting Jan. 1, 2018. Even higher-earning couples who currently pay $150 a month will be getting the deduction.

And people whose net income is between $24,001 and $26,000 will no longer have to pay anything at all.

On the same day, FortisBC will be dropping the price of natural gas. Changes will vary by region, but residential customers in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley should see an annual decrease of six per cent, or $45.

Prices will be falling even further for customers on Vancouver Island, who can expect to pay about $85 less next year.

The NDP government has also promised to cut ferry fares on minor routes by 15 per cent at some point in 2018.

But it’s not all good news. Thanks to food inflation, the average Canadian family of four is expected to spend an extra $348 eating out and buying groceries next year.

Some of the price forecast is being blamed on challenging climate issues like the La Nina weather phenomenon, which is expected to cause droughts and drive up prices for vegetables and fruits.

In Vancouver, homeowners can also expect a higher property tax bill thanks to a 4.24 per cent hike approved by city council earlier this month.

And there are other potential increases that haven’t been confirmed, but could certainly be coming in 2018. TransLink is in the process of reviewing its fare system, and is looking at scrapping zones in favour of a pay-bydistance model.

And ICBC, which is grappling with hundreds of millions of dollars in annual losses, could decide to increase insurance rates again, even though premiums were just hiked 6.4 per cent in November.

One bill that shouldn’t be going up or down in 2018 is BC Hydro’s. The NDP has already put a planned three per cent rate hike on hold, and promised to freeze hydro rates until at least 2019.

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l ifesty l e

Metro Vancouver Cross Cultural Seniors Network Society Celebrated Canada150+ at its Annual Party in December

Celebrations were held in Vancouver for Canada 150 plus as Vancouver has a long history of multiculturalism. Members and friends of MVCCSNS rejoiced at their annual party at the Sunset Community Center in Vancouver.

The President Mr. Ihsan Malik gave the formal welcome: “MVCCSNS was established in 1995. We meet every 2nd Monday of each month. We are a diverse group with different backgrounds and cultural values from around the world. We have different names and backgrounds, languages, literature and

He thanked the volunteers, members of the Board for their dedicated work and the staff of Sunset Community Center for providing space and facilities for meetings throughout the year.

The celebrations continued with music, dance and Ethnic Potluck Lunch for the community of eight different cultural groups sharing their thoughts and ideas of benefits of coming together. The traditional performance by ten talented musicians and dancdifferent customs and traditions, but we are ers from the Senior Chinese Society of Vanall proud Canadians striving to understand couver Burnaby Chapter Folk Music Group each other. That is the way we celebrate our diversity. 2017 is a commemorative year Canada with 150+ years of history, building a free, strong and democratic society. The key constitutional principles are: Respect for the Rule of law, Federalism, Democracy, Respect for minorities, and Indigenous People.

Mr. Malik expressed his personal feelings of pride being a part of this amazing network, saying ‘many of us are immigrants and newcomers to this great country of Canada.’

was exquisite. A fashion show of Chinese traditional dress accompanied by umbrella dance by ladies from the same group was unique. The last dance was audience participation and enjoyed by all. Thanks to Daisy Au for facilitating the entertainment. The buffet included Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Malaysian, Pakistani, Philippine, Spanish and Vietnamese dishes, a culinary feast! The assembled members concluded with singing The National Anthem, followed by cutting a ‘CANADA 150’ cake.

“Dignified Debt” A Young Man’s Struggle to Pay off Debt Due to a Work-Related Injury Muslim Food Bank Success Stories

D

on’t think you need medical insurance? Think again.

Asif Raza, a young man with no health issues, ended up with a hefty medical bill due to awork-related injury. Asif worked at a warehouse in Surrey. His duties included lifting boxes and placing stock in shelves.

One afternoon, he received a call from his manager to let him know there is a shift available for him to pick up. Asif never said no to extra shifts, he worked overtime almost every week.

Why would he? He came all the way to Canada from his native Tunisia just so he could work and save money to send to his family back home.

Asif put on his uniform and got on the bus to his workplace. As soon as he swiped his card and entered the warehouse, he slipped on the wet floor and landed on his back. The pain was severe but Asif was yet to realize that the medical bill for this injury would set him back his entire savings.

Asif like many individuals with low income had opted out of BC’s medical services plan (MSP) out of necessity. With insurance rates being as high as $75 a month, the choice was between putting food on the table for his family and paying for a medical insurance he thought he will not need. The injury had now

put Asif out of work which is why he was behind on his rent.

Asif was worried he will be given a notice to evacuate his apartment for not being able topay his rent on time so he reached out to the Muslim Food Bank & Community Services for assistance. Hiba Ali, a senior caseworker, was assigned the task of helping Asif overcome his challenges. Upon speaking to Asif, Hiba knew that the biggest regret he had was that he did not purchase insurance.

Hiba spoke to Asif about asking his landlady for an extension for the rent that was due.

Asif said he was not comfortable doing so because it wouldn’t be his first time asking her for more time.

Another option was receiving help from a charity organization known as the National

Zakat Foundation that is based out of Ontario. Asif wouldn’t accept that either. To Asif, it wasn’t just about money, it was about his self-respect. Though Asif would not be able to work in a labour position, he knew he could still work in a role that involved no heavy lifting. He just needed a respite in the form of a loan for the time being so he could pay his rent. He planned to start working soon and pay the loan back.

Hiba was able to find Asif a loan that could be paid back in installments. She also connected Asif with employers who were looking to fill some vacancies. After going for several interviews, Asif secured a job at a company in Surrey doing inventory count and was able to pay the loan in installments.

Asif is among many foreign workers in Canada who contribute not only to the Canadian

some time but was brought forward as the Liberal government struggled to deal with a backlash against other proposed changes, including a plan to make it harder for small business owners to sprinkle income among family members.

Those changes also take effect on Jan. 1, although the first time business owners will have to account for them is when they file their 2018 taxes in 2019.

At the federal level, there will be a slight increase in EI premiums, but the Canadian Taxpayers Federation estimates it will add only about $6 in new costs for the average worker and $13 per employee for the average employer.

The government’s new inflation-adjusted escalator to the excise tax on beer, wine and spirits also comes into effect this year, although taxes won’t actually rise until April 1.

For those who want to bring elderly parents and grandparents to Canada, 2018 brings the return of the sponsorship program that

had been closed down to deal with backlogs.

Not everyone will be able to take advantage, though. Applicants have to file an “Interest to Sponsor” form to be entered in a draw.

Only those randomly selected will be invited to begin the application process. Citizenship and Immigration Canada has pledged that process will be fairer and more transparent than in years past.

And, strictly speaking, this is not a New Year’s Day change. The forms only go up on the CIC website at noon ET on Jan. 2.

People who live in Canada’s highest-taxed province will also get a break when Quebec drops its lowest income tax bracket from a 16 per cent rate to 15 per cent. And the province will give back $100 this year to families for each child aged between six and 17 to help cover back-to-school costs.

But someone making $30,000 of taxable income will still pay significantly more income tax than they would in any other province or territory.

High-income earners in B.C., on the other hand, will see an increase in their income

workplace but also strive hard to make the lives of those they live behind better by sending a chunk of their salary home.

Oftentimes, there are stereotypes associated with poor people, not the least of which is that such people are lazy and that they would rather receive financial assistance than work hard to pay for their living expenses. The reality is that these are people who can’t make their ends meet due to unforeseen circumstances plus they don’t have any close relatives or friends to fall back on.

In a lot of ways, the Muslim Food Bank & Community Services tries to fill that gap by being a safety net for the needy and the disadvantaged.

These are real stories where our volunteers have an impact on members of our community helping them progress in their lives.

InshaAllah next week we will bring you another story.

Please join us to have a purpose in your life to make a difference in the lives of your brothers and sisters by coming to our events and registering as a volunteer or donating to your organization, the Muslim Food Bank and Community Services Society (usually referred to as Muslim Food Bank) at www.muslimfoodbank.com/donate.

Our email is contact@muslimfoodbank.com and telephonenumber is 1-866-824-2525.

New year rings in changes to laws, taxes, wages

Small businesses pay less tax, EI premiums rise, immigration sponsorship program returns.

By Evan Dyer, CBC News New Year’s Day always brings a round of changes to laws, regulations and taxes, and 2018 brings its fair share.

One welcome change for Canadian small businesses is a drop in their tax rate to 10 per cent from 10.5.

That reduction had been promised for

taxes, as the province seeks to cover the cost of a 50 per cent cut to its medical services premium, effective New Year’s Day.

Marijuana and carbon pricing The two biggest changes scheduled for 2018 won’t take place on New Year’s Day. The federal government has pledged to legalize marijuana and has set a deadline of this summer. It has also informed the provinces and territories that they must impose a price on carbon or Ottawa will impose one for them.

Both those commitments look likely to be major points of contention

20

Rabi ul II 17,1439 January 5, 2018

w o men

Hello 2018 !

By: Asma Ayyaz, Mortgage Broker We wish all our readers and friends a very happy, prosperous and blessed New Year.

We are all excited about 2018, what this coming year will bring us. It has already given us hope, expectation of positive happening. Usually it is said that do not think about the past, take care of your present and your future will automatically be good. I believe that we should not let history repeat itself. We should stock of our past, learn from our mistakes and improve ourselves, keeping our future in mind.

Wonderful Opportunity Isn’t it wonderful feeling around, when we wish each other, we are thinking of making things better, making new resolutions. We are having positive attitude, that is the first right step. We are ready to do something, ready for a change that is the second best step. Now comes the hardest part, to execute it, to carry on that spirit further in coming days.

What A Pleasant Atmosphere Everybody is calling each other, sending cards, gifts, remembering all friends and relatives, when they were not able to contact before, people are having dinners with friends and families. There is a change from our routine, sometimes, admittedly, boring schedule. If only this spirit of any festival continues…

The festival teaches us to be kind, considerate, think about others, and makes us better human beings.

New Year Resolutions Many times, we think I wish I had given more time to my family, I wish I had exercised more regularly, I wish I had done more volunteer work, I wish I had done some things differently etc. Now is a new chance to do all that and better ourselves. Let us make commitment to change.

One step at a time Let us take small but firm steps at a time. Let us first be honest with ourselves and look at positives and negatives. Let us give our complete attention and potential at work, home and society. Let us educate, learn something new,

cultivate a hobby and plan holidays, take interest in our friends and families lives and follow our “to do list”. Let us be peaceful and merciful towards people who are in pain.

Let us forget and forgive. Let us renew confidence in place of doubt. Let us thank God for how blessed we are. Let us begin the year with new goals, hopes, dreams and aspirations.

2019 This time again next year, we will meet again on this page to see how we treated 2018. If we truly changed for the better or not…

For any inquiries please email at :asmashums@gmail.com

A tip for weight watchers It does not matter what you eat between Christmas and New Years. It matters what you eat between New Years and Christmas.

One more year less in our journey of life.

Some wishes were only in heart Some wishes got without asking Some left, some joined Some were angry with me, some were happy Some forgot me, some remembered me Some are unaware, some are troubled Some are waiting for me, some I am waiting for Just remember to do what is good and right

Anything Is Within Your Reach!

Shabnam Khan – Family Counsellor

There is nothing that is difficult or easy but it is only our perception that makes it look so. Any work seen as a whole, may be threatening but when divided into parts, becomes simple and easy. Instead of being dazed by the magnitude of the task, start working and even if you do a little everyday, within a short period of time you will be surprised by your achievements.

The problem with many of us is that even at an initial stage we are baffled by the enormity of the task and give it up as an easy way escape. If we are sincere in undertaking a job, we would analyse ways and means of doing it. Lack of sincerity and erroneous perception often frightens us from undertaking any task. When we have strong willpower, the goal alone will remain constant in our memory and every challenge that comes our way, will convert into an opportunity for achieving our objective.

As we are conditioned by external influences, both environmental and individual, sometimes some unfavorable events happen on which we have no control. These unfavorable events make a negative impact on our effects and may throw us into a despondent mood. The best thing is to face situations, work out a strategy to get over difficulties and with will power go ahead with life. Such an approach to take on challenges is called character, which is essential

for achievements in life.

What is important is your perception of things and situations. It is the faith in our ability to retrieve lost ground and the action we take which are two important things that makes any achievement possible. Thinking and planning are essential but without positive action, all the time spent on planning would be wasted. In the absence of strong will, we easily get shattered by negative events that cross the paths of our endeavor.

We must have absolute confidence in ourselves and that alone will bring out our inner strength. There is no point in asking ourselves, “Will it be possible for me?” Instead of doubting your capability, repeat the statement “It is possible for me”. Anything and Everything Is Within Your Reach.

Master’s Practitioner in Counselling Psychology Registered Professional Counsellor For any inquiries please email at shabnam@skcounselling.ca

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21

Rabi ul II 17,1439 January 5, 2018

YOUTH

Money & Parents

BY: NAIMA SHAIKH Money what do we spend it on? Who has the most right over our earnings?

Generally in our teens the money is usually spent on fashionable clothes, eating out with friends, going to the movies etc. As we grow older it gets spent on getting a big house, multiple cars, clothes, jewelry, trips abroad and the list goes on. Anything left over is readily put into an investment portfolio.

But the people who get neglected are often the parents. Generally there’s no money for the parents who are often trying to make ends meet with their small pension cheques or by working at low-end jobs. Not all children do that but from what I have seen majority of them fall into this category when asked for money by the parents they cite household expenses and necessary long overdue vacations.

Tafsir al-qurtubi contains a beautiful narration about a father and son it is as follows: Al-Qurtubi has reported from Sayyidna Jabir ibn Abdullah (RA) that a man came to the Holy Prophet and complained that his father was taking away what belonged to him. He said,“Go and ask your father to come here.”

Right then, came Sayyidna Jibrail and told the Holy Prophet SAWS, “When his father comes, ask him about the words he has composed in his heart and which his own ears have not heard yet.”

When this man returned with his father, he (SAWS) said to the father, “Why is it that your son complains against you? Do you wish to take away what belongs to him?”

The father said, “You better ask him on whom do I spend other than his paternal or maternal aunts or myself” The Holy Prophet SAWS said: (an expres-

sion which denoted that he had understood the reality and there was no need to say anything else). After that, he asked the father of the man, “What are those words that have not yet been heard by your own ears?”

The father said, “O Rasulallah, Allah Taala increases our faith in you through everything.” Thereby he meant that he (SAWS) got to know what was not heard by anyone, which was a miracle indeed. Then, he submitted, “It is true that I had composed some lines of poetry within my heart, something not heard even by my own ears.”

The Holy Prophet SAWS said, “Let us hear them.” Then he recited the following lines of poetry he had composed: I fed you in childhood and took care of you when young. You lived on my earnings alone.When on some night, you became sick, I spent the whole night remaining awake and restless because of your sickness As if your sickness was my own and not yours and because of which my eyes kept shedding tears throughout the night My heart kept trembling lest something happens to you, though I knew that the time of death is fixed, being neither early nor late So, when you reached the age and maturity that I had always been looking forward to Then you made hard-heartedness and harshness my return as if you were the one doing me favors and giving me rewards Alas, if it was not possible for you to fulfill my right as a father, you could have at the least done what a good neighbor would have done So, you could have given me the least right of a neighbor and abstained from becoming miserly in my case in my own property.

After having heard these verses of po-

etry, the Holy Prophet SAWS held the son by his shirt and said: Go, You and your property, everything belongs to your father.

(Tafsir al-Qurtubi, p.

246, V. 10) According to another narration parents rights supersede those of wife and children as illustrated in the following narration. Imams Bukhari and Muslim reported that the Messenger sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam said: “Three persons of a people before you were on a journey when they were overtaken by a storm and therefore they took shelter in a cave. A rock slipped down from the mountain and blocked the exit from cave.

One of them said: “The only way for deliverance left is to beseech Allah in the name of some virtuous deed.” Thereupon one of them supplicated, “O Lord, my parents were very old, I used to offer them their nightly drink of milk before my children and the other members of the family. One day I went astray far away in search of green trees and could return only after my parent had gone to sleep. When I had milked the animals and brought their nightly drink to them, They were fast asleep, but I did not like to disturb them, nor would give any part of the milk to my children and other members of the family till after my parents had their drink.

Thus, with the vessel in hand, I awaited their awakening till the flush of dawn, While the children cried out of hunger at my feet.

When they woke up, they had their drink.

O Lord, if I did this thing seeking only your

,

then do relieve us of the distress wrought upon us by this rock.” Thereupon, The rock moved a little…”

Money should be spent not only on parents but also on relatives, orphans, the helpless and travelers in need as illustrated by the following verse of the Qur’an. “They ask you (O Muhammad) what they should spend in charity. Say: ‘Whatever you spend with a good heart, give it to parents, relatives, orphans, the helpless, and travellers in need. Whatever good you do, God is aware of it.’” - The Holy Quran, 2:215 But more than relatives and other people in need money should first and foremost be spent on parents as they are more deserving of our good treatment than anyone else.

The following famous narration illustrates this point. A man came to the Prophet and said, ‘O Messenger of God! Who among the people is the most worthy of my good companionship? The Prophet said: Your mother.

The man said, ‘Then who?’ The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man further asked, ‘Then who?’ The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man asked again, ‘Then who?’ The Prophet said: Then your father.

(Bukhari, Muslim).

SOURCE: ISLAMICITY

Stories for Muslim Kids boarded a flight a few hours ago and an older Pakistani woman (wearing hijab) boarded but couldn’t speak English or find her seat, and she had difficulty walking.

A Caucasian man in seat 1B (of First Class) stood up and gave her his seat and went all the way back to seat 17A where she was assigned. After landing, I waited for him to deplane and asked him why he did that and what he thought of minorities in times like this (because she visibly stood out), and he responded: “I didn’t care about her background. I saw an old woman who looked like she could use a break, and it was a short flight anyway so I didn’t mind sitting in the back.”

He agreed and then said, “I didn’t want to tell anyone (on the plane) that I’m a strict white conservative (because he had helped someone who was visibly a minority), but if that were my mother, I’d hope someone else would do the same for her.”

I thanked him for his compassionate gesture

I

Have my seat

and we parted ways.

Moral It does not matter what race you are, what religion you follow, what colour your skin is, what language you speak, what culture you practise, what size you are, how young or old you are. If you have a good, kind heart, you will help another human being as much as you can. Let’s find opportunities to do good unto others.

As Muslims, we should be even more kind than the man in the above story. Let’s assist our non-Muslim neighbours, friends and even strangers if we see that they need our help. And don’t forget to smile! Allah will reward you well, insha Allah.

May Allah bless all the non-Muslims who assist Muslims around the world. May Allah guide them to embracing Islam someday.

Ameen.

Furthermore…

The man who helped the old lady (in the story) showed us that he had a lot of compassion for the old and needy, regardless of their religious background.

His last statement is key to understanding a lot of human behavior. Emotional intelligence and empathy go a long way in building bridges and shattering stereotypes. Unfortunately, many people rush to judgment, cult behavior, and mistreatment due to ignorance of “the other.”

Sometimes, all it takes for growth is one moment of sincere reflection, placing yourself in the shoes of others, trying to understand what they stand for and believe in, and defending them against discrimination and injustice.

Societal harmony and global peace can never be established if justice is missing, and justice can never be established if all good people are only advocates in silence. . Edited by Sheikh Suleiman Hani;

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22

Rabi ul II 17,1439 January 5, 2018

P akistan

specia l

Pakistan-US war of words over Donald Trump’s tweet

Donald J. Trump

The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!

By: Saba Aziz Pakistan has hit back after accusations of deception and providing a safe haven for “terrorists”, levelled by US President Donald Trump via Twitter.

In his first tweet of the year on Monday, Trump threatened to cut aid to Pakistan for allegedly lying to the US and offering “little help” in hunting “terrorists” in Afghanistan.

“The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than $33 billion in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies and deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools,” Trump said.

“They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!” In response, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Pakistan’s prime minister, called a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC), comprising the army chief, naval and air heads, intelligence chiefs and other ministers, on Tuesday to discuss the future course of action.

Following the meeting, the NSC expressed its “deep disappointment” over Trump’s comments.

It said in a statement that recent remarks by the US leadership “were completely incomprehensible as they contradicted facts manifestly, struck with great insensitivity at the trust between two nations built over generations, and negated the decades of sacrifices made by the Pakistani nation”.

The NRC’s response came after Khawaja Asif, Pakistan’s foreign minister, said Trump was trying to blame Pakistan for the US’ failure to win the war in Afghanistan.

“Trump is disappointed at the US defeat in Afghanistan and that is the only reason he is flinging accusations at Pakistan,” Asif told the Pakistani TV network Geo on Monday.

“We have already told the US that we will not do more, so Trump’s ‘no more’ does not hold any importance.”

He said “Pakistan is ready to publicly provide every detail of the US aid that it has received.”

Separately, Khurram Dastagir, Pakistan’s defence minister, pledged to defend his country’s sovereignty.

Pakistan’s foreign office summoned the US ambassador in Islamabad on Monday and lodged its protest against Trump’s tweet.

Richard Snelsire, US embassy spokesperson, confirmed to Al Jazeera that David Hale was called upon by the foreign office.

Pak Minister Defence @PakMnstrDefence Pak as anti-terror ally has given free to US: land & air communication, military bases & intel cooperation that decimated AlQaeda over last 16yrs, but they have given us nothing but invective & mistrust. They overlook cross-border safe havens of terrorists who murder Pakistanis.

6:53 AM - Jan 1, 2018 ‘Hostile’ ties Relations between the US and Pakistan have deteriorated since the Trump administration began taking a hard line on Afghanistan.

Last Thursday, Pakistan’s military warned the US against the possibility of taking unilateral action against armed groups on its soil.

During a surprise visit to the US largest military base in Afghanistan in December, US Vice President Mike Pence said “Trump has

put Pakistan on notice”.

Pakistan’s foreign office reacted by saying “allies do not put each other on notice” and calling for the focus instead to be on creating “peace and reconciliation”.

‘Dark days ahead’ Zahid Hussain, a security analyst, told Al Jazeera that Trump’s “crude” message does not come as a surprise.

“We have seen that relations between Washington and Islamabad have been strained for some time and they are increasingly becoming hostile,” he told Al Jazeera by phone from Islamabad.

He said the Trump administration’s tough rhetoric and growing pressure on Pakistan reflects “US frustration at not achieving any stability in Afghanistan after more than 16 years of conflict”.

Michael Kugelman, a US-based analyst and Asia Program Deputy Director at the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington, DC, called Trump’s tweet “highly undiplomatic” but estimated that the “harsh rhetoric is meant to foreshadow an impending harder policy line”, such as a significant cut in military assistance.

“No matter how you slice it, Pakistan-US relations are in for a very rough ride,” he told Al Jazeera.

“Both sides have effectively dug in their heels, with the US demanding Pakistan do more against terror and Pakistan insisting it’’ already done so much and won’t do any more.

“This puts the relationship on a collision course. I don’t expect a full rupture in ties, as each side benefits from some semblance of a workable relationship, but there will be dark days ahead.”

US aid Commenting on Trump’s reference to “$33 billion in aid over the last 15 years”, Asif, the

ISLAMABAD: At least 6,112 people from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) have been killed while 6,707 others have suffered from injuries ever since the commencement of the war against terror in 2001, Pakistani lawmakers were told Officials of Fata law and order division disclosed these statistics while briefing the parliamentarians during the National Assembly’s standing committee meeting on the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) in Islamabad, reported the media.

“Rupees 3 million were given to each family of the martyred government employees between 2001 to 2015”, said FATA officials, adding that each martyrs family was also given a residential plot worth Rs 2 million in addition to the usual Rs 3 million compensation amount, after 2015 and that there are still 54 pending compensation cases before courts. Aside from this, the government under the Citizen Losses Compensation Programme is also providing Rs 400,000 and Rs 160,000 to those FATA residents whose

houses were completely and partially damaged due to militancy. The ministry went on to state that Rs 6.3 billion was released to the political administrations of five agencies where Internally Displaced People (IDPs) had started returning, by the FATA Secretariat; adding that a further Rs 5.27 billion had been distributed among 15,139 beneficiaries. Recently, an amount of Rs 50 million has been approved to rehabilitate mosques in South Waziristan. www.pakistantoday.com.pk

the effectiveness of the efforts to eliminate terrorism and extremism from the country, the survey revealed.

In fiscal year 2010-11, the country had to suffer highest ever losses of $ 23.77 billion which gradually declined to $3.88 billion in the current fiscal year till March 2017, according to the report.

The report says that due to war in Afghanistan, Pakistan has faced the most serious consequences from political to security, socio-economic and environmental over the decades. From hosting millions of refugees to being a major victim of terrorism, the cumulative impact has been enormous in the shape of adverse overall growth rate in all major sectors of the economy. Normal economic and trading activities were disrupted, resulting in higher costs of doing business including cost of insurance and significant delays in meeting the export orders around

the globe. As a result, Pakistani products gradually lost their market share to their competitors. Economic growth could not pick up as planned during the last decade, according to the survey.

Pakistan continues to be a target of terrorism, including foreign-sponsored terrorism from its immediate neighbourhood. A substantial portion of precious national resources, both men and material, had to be diverted to address the security challenges and to repair the damaged infrastructure during the last many years. In addition to economic losses, cross-border terrorism in Pakistan has inflicted untold human suffering resulting from indiscriminate and brutal terrorist attacks against the civilian population, the report says.

Despite the conflict and continuing instability in Afghanistan that has been an impediment to regional peace and development,

with the ISI and the Pakistan military and let’s go recruit these mujahideen.

“And great, let them come from Saudi Arabia and other countries, importing their Wahabi brand of Islam so that we can go beat the Soviet Union.“And guess what … they (Soviets) retreated … they lost billions of dollars and it led to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

“So there is a very strong argument which is… it wasn’t a bad investment in terms of Soviet Union but let’s be careful with what

we sow… because we will harvest.

“So we then left Pakistan … We said okay fine you deal with the Stingers that we left all over your country… you deal with the mines that are along the border and… by the way we don’t want to have anything to do with you… in fact we’re sanctioning you… So we stopped dealing with the Pakistani military and with ISI and we now are making up for a lot of lost time.” (HILLARY CLINTON) Global Research, May 04, 2016

@realDonaldTrump 4:12 AM - 1 Jan 2018

Pakistan defence minister, said: “If we account for it, they include reimbursements too for the services rendered by Pakistan.”

Of the US funds allocated to Pakistan, a considerable portion goes to the Coalition Support Fund (CSF), which is the reimbursement for costs incurred by Pakistan for participating in the US-led “war on terror” and supporting US operations in Afghanistan.

Since 2001, the US has appropriated $33bn to Pakistan, according to official US figures, sourced from the Congressional Research Service.

As such, total US aid allocated to Pakistan - both civilian and military - since 2001 is $19.354bn.

Total aid actually disbursed during that period stands at $14.788bn, according to US AID figures.

In August, the US said it was withholding $255m in military assistance to Pakistan until the country increased its efforts to crack down on internal “terrorist” groups.

Hussain, the security analyst, said the curtailing of funds to Pakistan by Trump’s administration will not have a significant effect on the economy.

“There will be a period of difficulty if America stops all aid,” he said. “But it will not lead to the complete collapse of Pakistan’s economy.” Source: aljazeera.com/news

NA meeting reveals loss of more than 6,000 lives in war against terror in FATA

By:Khurshid Ahmed MAY 26, 2017 KARACHI: The war against terrorism continues to financially bleed Pakistan as the country had to spend $123.13 billion, equivalent to Rs 10.373 trillion, in direct and indirect cost due to incidents of terrorism in last 16 years, says Economic Survey of Pakistan 2016-17 issued on Thursday.

However, due to improved security situation, the losses are gradually declining. During the fiscal year 2015-16, the expenditures declined by 29.8% while during July-March 2016-17, it declined by 40.2% which reflects

Pakistan suffers $123 billion in losses in war against terrorism Pakistan has achieved progressive and significant improvement in the country’s overall security landscape in the recent years.

This has been accomplished largely due to successful counterterrorism efforts of the government under the framework of the national action plan, backed by an extensive and highly effective counterterrorism operation Zarb-e-Azb by the armed forces and actions by other security and law enforcement agencies and intelligence-based operations across the country. After successful completion of Zarb-e-Azb, a country-wide operation Radd-ul-Fassad has been launched for eliminating any residual or latent threats.

In this backdrop, success in counter-terrorism has played a critical role in creating a conducive economic environment whose results have now started appearing in terms of growth across different segments of the economy. Source: dailytimes.com.pk

Hillary Clinton: “We Created Al Qaeda”. The Protagonists of the “Global War on Terrorism” are the Terrorists

By Prof Michel Chossudovsky “Let’s remember here… the people we are fighting today we funded them twenty years ago… and we did it because we were locked in a struggle with the Soviet Union.

“They invaded Afghanistan… and we did not want to see them control Central Asia and we went to work… and it was President Reagan in partnership with Congress led by Democrats who said you know what it sounds like a pretty good idea… let’s deal

23

Rabi ul II 17,1439 January 5, 2018

sp o rts / A rt

Nike begins selling sports hijab for Muslim female athletes

Nike is now selling its first-ever performance hijab for Muslim female athletes. On its U.S. shopping website, Nike says the Nike Pro Hijab is made with lightweight, breathable fabric “that wicks away sweat, and stays tucked in during any workout or competition.” “The pull-on design and long back keeps the Hijab in place, while mesh fabric provides a breathable, personalized fit,” Nike said. It features tiny, strategically placed holes for “optimal breathability” but is otherwise opaque. The hijab sells for $35 and is available in black in sizes from extra-small to large. While most Muslim women wear the hijab for religious reasons as an expression of modesty, other Arab or Muslim women choose to wear it to express cultural identity. “It’s not just about making a product available for Muslim and Arab women,

but it is also giving a chance to those women who are putting off the idea of wearing the veil completely in order to compete,” Manal Rostom told Al Arabiya English earlier this year. Nike said it has been developing the garment for a year, drawing upon the experiences and recommendations of such athletes as Emirati figure skater Zahra Lari, Egyptian runner and mountaineer Manai Rostom, and Emirati weightlifter Olympica Amna Al Haddad, who have wear-tested the garments since early 2016. In 2012, two Saudi runners competed in hijab at the Olympic Games in London. One of them, sprinter Sarah Attar, also completed at the Games in Rio, in a uniform designed by Oiselle, an Oregon-based company, according to The Guardian. Nike noted that the new design was aimed at addressing both the cul-

tural requirements of the garment and the particular styles of each Muslim country. Nike also said that fewer than one in seven girls participates in locally recommended sports activities for an hour or more in Middle Eastern countries and said it hopes to inspire more women and girls there “who still face barriers and limited access to sport.” In initially unveiling its plan to offer a performance hijab, Nike launched Middle East video campaign “What Will They Say About You,” which was touted for featuring Muslim women athletes such as Lari, Tunisian fencer Inès Boubakri and Jordanian boxer Arifa Bseiso. But many on social media and in the Arab world criticized it for, among other things, portraying Arab women’s lives unrealistically and patronizing athletes by suggesting Nike empowered them. “It means

Pakistan beat New Zealand XI by 120 runs in their warm-up game in Nelson on Wednesday, three days before the fivematch ODI series kicks off. Put in to bat first by New Zealand XI, who won the toss, Pakistan put up a massive total of 342 from 50 overs, driven by centuries from openers Azhar Ali and Fakhar Zaman who scored 104 and 106, respectively.

Both the batsmen retired out – an occasion-

al practice in warm-up matches.

Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan and skipper Sarfraz Ahmed scored 36, 24 and 21, respectively.

New Zealand XI were bowled out for 221, with in-form Shadab Khan bagging four wickets. Faheem Ashraf claimed two scalps.

The five-match ODI series gets underway from Saturday, January 6, followed by three T20 internationals. Source: .geo.tv

KARACHI: Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Najam Sethi hoped for more international cricket in Pakistan during 2018, with a promise to cricket fans that he will try to con-

vince Australia and New Zealand to play at least one match in Pakistan during their series later this year.

In a video message, the PCB’s chairman stated

that 2017 was a productive and successful year for Pakistan and 2018 will bring more success to Pakistan cricket.“Last year was very good for cricket. PCB and our team have achieved a

lot in 2017. It was the collective dedication and team spirit that we did well. We are on a winning streak and it will continue,” he said in the video message released by PCB. Source: .geo.tv

uted greatly to Lahore’s burgeoning modern art scene. Whilst he predominantly worked with watercolors, Chughtai was also a printmaker, perfecting his etching skills in London during visits in the mid-1930s.

His sketches were used in many books in Punjabi poetry by Bhai Vir Singh for illustrating his famous poems like “Kambadi Kalai” and including his famous epic “Rana Surat Singh” . Chughtai offered his gratitude to Bhai Vir Singh for becoming part of these illustrations as a young artist in his letter to him on 11.04.1929

brother Abdullah Chughtai, a scholar and researcher of Islamic art.[2] Chughtai married twice, and had two children, a son and daughter. He died in Lahore on 17 January 1975.

Nations Headquarters, New York, the Kennedy Memorial in Boston, the US State Department (in Washington, D.C.), President’s House Bonn, AP State Archaeology Museum,Queen Juliana’s Palace in the Netherlands, Emperor’s Palace Bangkok, President House Islamabad, Governors’ Houses in Lahore and Karachi, and the National Art Gallery, Islamabad.[citation needed].

Many of his works are at the Chughtai Museum Trust in Lahore, Pakistan.

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Abdur Rahman Chughtai:

bdur Rahman Chughtai (1894–1975) was a painter artist and intellectual from Pakistan, who created his own unique, distinctive painting style influenced

by Mughal art, miniature painting, Art Nouveau and Islamic art traditions. He is considered ‘the first significant modern Muslim artist from South Asia’, and the national artist of Pakistan. He was given the title of Khan Bahadur by the British Empire in India in 1934, awarded Pakistan’s Hilal-i-Imtiaz in 1960, and the Presidential medal for Pride of Performance in 1958.

In his sixty years of artistic creation, ChughEarly life and career tai produced nearly 2000 watercolours, Chughtai was born on 21 Sep 1894 in thousands of pencil sketches, and nearly 300 Lahore, now in Pakistan.He was born in La- etchings and aquatints. He also wrote short hore the second son of Karim Bukhsh, in a stories, and articles on art. He designed family descended from generations of crafts- stamps, coins, insignia and book covers. He men, architects, and decorators. Chughtai was also an avid collector of miniatures and briefly learnt naqqashi from his uncle Baba other art. He published three books of his Miran Shah Naqqash at a local mosque. own work: the Muraqqai-i-Chughtai (1928), After completing his education at the Rail- Naqsh-i-Chughtai (c. 1935) and Chughtai’s way Technical School, Lahore, in 1911, Paintings (1940). The Muraqqa-i-Chughtai Chughtai joined the Mayo School of Arts, was a sumptuously illustrated edition of Lahore, After leaving the school, he made Mirza Ghalib’s Urdu poetry, with a foreword a living for a while as a photographer and by Sir Muhammad Iqbal. It is regarded as drawing teacher. He eventually became the the most significant work of Chughtai’s cahead instructor in chromo-lithography at reer and in its time, was considered the finthe Mayo School. est achievement in book production in the Letter of Chugtai to Bhai Vir Singh country.

In 1916, Chughtai’s first painting in a reviv- After the creation of Pakistan in 1947, alist ‘oriental’ style appeared in the Modern Chughtai came to be regarded as one of the Review. He had his first exhibition in 1920 most famous representatives of Pakistan. at the Punjab Fine Art Society. He also ex- Chughtai’s paintings were given to visiting hibited with the Indian School of Oriental heads of states. Allama Iqbal, Pablo Picasso, Art during the 1920s, by which time he had Elizabeth II were amongst his admirers. become quite renowned. His work contrib- Chughtai’s closest associate was his younger

A

Art

Chughtai’s early watercolours take off from the revivalism of the Bengal School of Art – his Jahanara and the Taj, for instance, shows the influence of Abanindranath’s The Last Moments of Shah Jahan.By the 1940s, he had created his own style, strongly influenced by Islamic art traditions, but retaining a feel of Art Nouveau. His subject matter was drawn from the legends, folklore and history of the Indo-Islamic world, as well as Punjab, Persia and the world of the Mughals.

Abdur Rahman Chughtai also designed the logo for the Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) at the behest of its first general manager, Ubaidur Rahman. The logo has been tweaked and modified over the years since its inception but remains fundamentally the same. On Pakistan’s independence day in 1951, he produced a set of 9 stamps, better

Works

Amal-i Chughta: Poet of the East Lahore: Self-published, 1968.

Chughtai’s Indian Paintings.

New Delhi: Dhoomi Mal, 1951.

Chughtai’s Paintings. 2nd ed. Lahore: Print Printo Press, 1970.

Lahaur ka dabistan-i musavviri.

Lahore: Chughtai Museum Trust, 1979.

Maqalat-i Chughta 2 vols. Islamabad: Idarah-yi Saqafat-i Pakistan, 1987.

Muraqqa-i Chughtai. Lahore: Jahangir Book Club, 1928.

Naqsh-i Chughtai: Divan-i Ghalib Musavvir. Lahore: Ahsan Bradarz, 1962.

Other works Among Chughtai’s popularly known works are the logos of Pakistan Television and Radio Pakistan and his painting of Anarkali for the cover of a 1992 drama. Additionally, one of the most successful UNICEF cards features a Chughtai piece. He was also known

known as ‘Chughtai Art set’. At that time, this set was considered as the most beautiful stamps of the world.

Artist and gallery owner Salima Hashmi deems Chughtai one of South Asia’s foremost painters. “He was part of the movement that started in the early part of the 20th century to establish an identity indigenous to the subcontinent,” she said. “He rejected the hegemony of the British Colonial for his designs of postage stamps. aesthetic.”[citation needed] United Nations Organization art correPainting exhibits spondent Jacob-Baal Teshuva wrote that Chughtai’s works are displayed at the British Chughtai’s paintings are the largest set Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, released in 1948. the Peace Palace (in The Hague), United Source: Wikipedia

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