Warning: Undefined array key "rbname" in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 14
Hello !

India-Pakistan

Mufti Taqi Usmani underlines bravery of Hamas fighter, calls for boycott of Israeli products

2025-04-10

[GEO.TV] While addressing the National Paleostine Conference on Thursday, prominent religious scholar, Mufti Taqi Usmani, remarked on the "courage and bravery" of Hamas ..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,... fighters "becoming a part of history". "Israel, with the support of American weapons, has intimidated Moslem countries," he said. The renowned scholar also repeated a message from a doctor in Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... that the enclave was breathing its last. "The doctor from Gaza said in his message: 'We waited for you a long time, you did not come. Now, goodbye. "We must keep Gaza alive. It is essential to completely boycott the products of Israel and its supporters." Taqi Usmani also called out for a boycott of companies and brands who fund Israel.

Link

Afghanistan

Pakistani Delegation Meets TTP Leaders in Kabul: Sources

2022-07-29

[KhaamaPress] A delegation of the Islamic Clerics of Pakistain led by Muhammad Taqi Usmani, a well-known Pak Islamic scholar, met with the leaders of the Tahreek-e-Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... Pakistain (TTP) in Kabul, according to sources. During the meeting with the delegation, TTP repeated their demands — including the release of its members from the Pak prisons — saying they won’t compromise in their demands, the sources said. "Yesterday, the delegation of Islamic Clerics of Pakistain has met with Noor Wali, leader of the Taliban Pakistain in Kabul, and from my point of view the trip is an improvement," said Tahir Khan, a journalist, as TOLOnews quoted. In a photo shown by Pak media, a number of leaders of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain can be seen talking to the Pak delegation in Kabul. Meanwhile, ...back at the wreckage, Captain Poindexter wished he had thought to pack sun block... the Islamic Emirate leadership confirmed their meeting, saying Pak delegation came to Kabul to discuss bilateral relation between the two countries, but avoided further details on the matter. "The delegation of Islamic Clerics of Pakistain have come to Kabul to discuss education, economic and bilateral relations between the two countries—there are no more details in this regard," said Bilal Karimi, deputy front man of the Islamic Emirate, as local media quoted. However, it's easy to be generous with someone else's money... a number of analysts shared various thoughts on the trip Pak delegation made to Kabul in order to meet the PPT members. "If Afghanistan can make peace between them, it will be good for Afghanistan, but the most essential thing is that Afghanistan must preserve its home," said Waheed Faqiri, political analyst. Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP), commonly known as the Pak Taliban, is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed bully boy groups operating along the Afghan—Pak border. Formed in 2007 by Baitullah Mehsud, its current leader is Noor Wali Mehsud, who has publicly pledged allegiance to the Afghan Taliban. TTP has a number of demands from the government of Pakistain, which includes lifting of all sanctions imposed on its leaders, the return of the Taliban to Pakistain’s tribal areas, the release of all prisoners, and the withdrawal of the Mighty Pak Army from these areas.

Link

India-Pakistan

Mufti Muneeb announces nation-wide strike today

2021-04-20

[DAILYTIMES.PK] Addressing a presser in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... along with other Learned Elders of Islams, Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman announced a nationwide shutter down and wheel jam strike following the festivities between police and TLP in Lahore. The opposition stalwart, Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one that was led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spent more time running his madrassah until his secretary rubbed him out in a jealous rage. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability... Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, Mufti Taqi Usmani condemned the Lahore violence, in a media talk in Islamabad and Fazl expressed his support for mufti Muneeb’s strike call. Earlier, the recently removed Ruet-e-hilal committee chairperson Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman made the announcement for a strike in a presser in Karachi along with other religious leaders late on Sunday. On Sunday, the police and rangers conducted an operation to disperse the protesters of the banned religiopolitical party from yateem khana chowk in Lahore. According to the details, all Pakistain anjuman-e-tajiran in Lahore announcing their support on the appeal of tanzimat ahl-e-sunnat leader mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman and said that the markets across the country will remain closed. And traders’ organizations in different cities, including Karachi, Lahore and Gujranwala, have announced their full support for the call for a wheel jam strike by scholars today. In addition, the trader’s community in Gujranwala has also supported the strike call of religious scholars, while all Karachi traders union and the Karachi traders association have also announced the closure of all business and trade centres in the city. Karachi goods carriers association is also on a wheel jam strike today. According to a police statement, police pushed the miscreants back and took back possession of the cop shoppe. according to a police statement. "police did not plan or take any action against the mosque or madrassa the action, if any, was in self-defence and to protect public property,".

Link

India-Pakistan

Ghotki sisters not forcibly converted, allowed to live with husbands: IHC

2019-04-12

Unexpectedly. [DAWN] The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday declared that the two sisters from Ghotki were not forcibly converted from Hinduism to Islam, and permitted them to live with their spouses. The sisters and their spouses had petitioned the IHC on March 25 against alleged harassment by police days after their father and brother, in videos circulating on social media last month, alleged that the two sisters were underage, had been kidnapped, forced into changing their religion, and then married off to Moslem men. However, corruption finds a dozen alibis for its evil deeds... a separate video of the 'minor' girls had also made the rounds in which they said that they accepted Islam of their own free will. IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah had constituted a five-member commission to probe whether the conversion of the Hindu sisters to Islam was forced or otherwise. During an earlier hearing, the court had also ordered that the two be shifted to a shelter home in Islamabad. The commission comprising Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari, prominent Moslem scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani, Human Rights Commission of Pakistain Chairperson Dr Mehdi Hasan, National Commission on the Status of Women Chairperson Khawar Mumtaz and veteran journalist and human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... activist I.A. Rehman had probed the matter and concluded that it was not a forced conversion. I.A. Rehman pointed out in court that "there is no law in Pakistain against forced conversions" and sought a court decree in this regard. The secretary interior, Azam SLearned Elders of Islamn, apprised the IHC about the findings of the commission, and told the court that as per the commission's opinion, it was a facilitated conversion. I.A. Rehman pointed out in court that "there is no law in Pakistain against forced conversions" and sought a court decree in this regard. Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... politician Ramesh Kumar, when invited to the rostrum, wanted the IHC to issue directives to the government for the amendment of laws related to the protection of minorities. Justice Minallah expressed displeasure, saying that he feels embarrassed when parliamentarians express helplessness to legislate. He remarked that the case of the Ghotki sisters was a simple one and would have been decided in a day or so, but a commission comprising eminent professionals and scholars had been constituted keeping in view the sensitivity of the case since "the court wanted to ensure this was not a forced conversion". Interior secretary SLearned Elders of Islamn also told the court that a medical board constituted to ascertain the age of the sister had concluded that they are adults aged 18 and 19 years. Earlier, a medical report prepared by the Pakistain Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) had also stated that Asia (formerly Raveena) is 19-years-old and Nadia (formerly Reena) is 18-years-old. The commission in its report pointed out that there is an unregulated facilitation centre for religious conversions and recommended that it be regulated. Justice Minallah observed that the court's ruling today would not affect any proceeding litigation pending against the spouses of the sisters in any other court. Regarding the issue of forced conversions, the court sought the commission's recommendations within four weeks and adjourned the case until May 14.

Link

India-Pakistan

Islamabad High Court forms commission to probe alleged forced conversion of Ghotki girls

2019-04-03

[DAWN] The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday, while hearing a petition filed by two Ghotki sisters who were allegedly forcibly converted from Hinduism and married to Moslem men, constituted a five-member commission to probe whether the girls' conversion was actually forced and to determine whether or not they were underage at the time of their marriages. The court named renowned Islamic scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani as the fifth member of the commission which includes four people who were earlier appointed as amicus curiae to assist the court; they include Human Rights Minister Dr Shireen Mazari, Human Rights Commission of Pakistain Chairperson Dr Mehdi Hasan, National Commission on the Status of Women Chairperson Khawar Mumtaz and veteran journalist and human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... activist I.A. Rehman. The petition, filed by the girls and the two men they were married to, had sought protection against possible adverse action by the government. It stated that the girls left their home on March 20. On March 22, after announcing that they had willingly converted, the girls sought legal help. According to the petition, the two girls were born in a Hindu family and converted because they were "impressed by Islamic teachings". It claimed that they did not inform their family because of threats to their lives. IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah today also ordered that a medical board be constituted to determine the age of the girls. A medical report prepared by the Pakistain Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), based on a bone test of the two girls, stated that they were not minors at the time of their marriages to the Moslem men. The Pims report was dismissed by the family of the two girls as well as PML-N MNA Dr Darshan, who belongs to the Hindu minority. Dr Darshan said that only an independent medical board could determine the age of the girls. Justice Minallah stated that he had received the report but would not comment on its findings. The medical board was asked to submit a report at the next hearing of the petition. On Monday, the girls' father had also filed a petition in the IHC, requesting the court to constitute a medical board "for determination of the exact age" of the two sisters. The petition also sought directions for the government to "conduct psychological test ... to ascertain their mental capability/state of mind and for diagnosis of Stockholm syndrome". Stockholm syndrome has been defined as the "feeling of trust or affection felt in many cases of kidnapping or hostage-taking by a victim towards a captor". During the hearing on Tuesday, the court expressed displeasure over what it said was the "lethargic attitude" of the federal and provincial governments as neither the interior secretary nor the chief secretary of the Sindh government had appeared before the IHC despite prior notices. On March 26, the IHC had ordered the state to take over custody of the girls and ensure their safety until their case is decided. The hearing of the case has been adjourned till April 11.

Link

India-Pakistan

Karachi violence

2019-03-28

[DAWN] FOR the past four decades or so, Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... has experienced several waves of violence, with periods of uneasy calm in between. Sometimes bloodshed has manifested itself in political killings, at other times ethnic violence has erupted, while the threat of sectarian trouble is always bubbling under the surface. Throw into this lethal mix the incidence of deadly street crime, and a picture of a metropolis constantly on edge emerges. While the city has seen some semblance of peace since the 2013 law-enforcement operation, this calm is often shattered by violent incidents that remind both the state and citizens how fragile the situation in Karachi is. Just on Wednesday, a number of violent incidents took place in the city, including murders and break-ins. In one incident, a teenager was rubbed out upon resisting an attempt to rob a few thousand rupees. Over the past few weeks, a number of high-profile attacks have taken place, including the targeting of religious scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani; a police guard and another individual accompanying the mufti were killed, and though police claim to have made headway in the case, no solid leads have emerged. Only a day after the attack on the mufti, Wajahat Hussain, a youth related to an MWM leader, was bumped off in Orangi Town. From circumstantial evidence, it seems the same set of elements that had previously sown chaos in the city have become active again. However, ars longa, vita brevis... only a proper intelligence-based analysis can uncover the sources of instability. It needs to be ascertained where the threats are primarily emanating from. Have sectarian killers and political assassins become active again, or does the threat lie elsewhere, for example in killers for hire? Are small-time Mister Big gangs taking advantage of the chaos in Karachi, or are foreign players meddling in the city’s peace? The situation needs to be studied deeply by the law-enforcement and intelligence apparatus to break the latest cycle of violence. Moreover, one key reason for recurring bloodshed is the fact that Karachi is awash with guns. Other than lip service, over the years no government ‐ federal or provincial ‐ has considered a serious de-weaponisation drive for Karachi. That is why everyone from professional killers to street criminals is armed to the teeth, and able to take precious lives at will. The authorities need to arrest the rising violent crime graph before bloodshed once more becomes routine in Karachi.

Link

India-Pakistan

Murad visits mufti’s house to express solidarity

2019-03-25

[DAWN] Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Saturday paid a visit to the residence of prominent religious scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani and expressed solidarity with him. A Sindh government front man said Mr Shah told Mufti Usmani that the attack on him was actually an attack on the peace of Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... "They [attackers] cannot see Karachi developing, flourishing and emerging as a peaceful place, and for terrorising people they attacked a humble, non-political, widely respected and renowned scholar like you," Mr Shah said, adding, "Almighty Allah saved you and your children." He assured Mufti Usmani that those who attacked him would be jugged Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! shortly. Mufti Usmani informed the chief minister about details of the attack he had survived.

Link

India-Pakistan

IGP Sindh says police 'know who was involved' in attack on Mutfi Usmani

2019-03-24

[DAWN] A case was registered against six unknown suspects under terror and murder charges for an liquidation bid a day earlier targeting prominent religious scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , as police claimed to have clues about the identity of the attackers. The case was registered at Aziz Bhatti cop shoppe on behalf of the state through area SHO Adeel Afzal, said East SSP Azfar Mahesar. According to the complainant SHO, six suspects riding three cycle of violences opened indiscriminate firing on two vehicles at NIPA Chowrangi near Chase store in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Block-10, at around 1:15pm. As a result, police guard Mohammed Farooq and another person, Sanober Khan, were killed while Mufti Usmani's driver, Habib, and aide, Maulana Amir, were critically injured. SHO Afzal told Dawn that Habib, the driver of the religious scholar, was admitted to Liaquat National Hospital. He has sustained bullet wounds on his chest and doctors did not allow the Sherlocks to record his statement at present due to the seriousness of his condition. He added that Maulana Amir, who got admitted to JPMC, was not in a position to record his statement either. Earlier in the day, Sindh Inspector General of Police Dr Syed Kaleem Imam had revealed that Sherlocks have clues about the identities of the assailants involved. Speaking to the media after laying a floral wreath at the mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah on Pakistain Day, the Sindh police chief disclosed that Sherlocks have "some leads" in the case. "We know who was involved," he stated without elaborating further.

Link

India-Pakistan

Mufti Taqi Usmani survives assassination attempt in Karachi

2019-03-23

[DAWN] Prominent religious scholar, Mufti Taqi Usmani, on Friday survived an attempt on his life while his police guard and a religious scholar were rubbed out in a suspected assassination near Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... 's Nipa flyover. The police saw the attack as a conspiracy to sabotage peace in the city and trigger chaos in the country. Taqi Usmani, belonging to the famous Darul Uloom Korangi seminary, was travelling along with his family in a car while another car belonging to his close aide was following behind. When they descended from the ramp while coming from Rashid Minhas Road towards University Road, four button men riding two cycle of violences opened indiscriminate firing on his vehicle at NIPA (now NIM) roundabout. Mufti Usmani survived the attempt on his life. However, corruption finds a dozen alibis for its evil deeds... his police guard, Mohammed Farooq, was critically maimed. The suspects also attacked the other car, resulting in bullet injuries to the driver, Sanober Khan, and a religious scholar, Maulana Amir Shahabuddin, belonging to the same seminary. The incident occurred at around 12:30pm. Raja Umer Khattab of Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) said that the attackers engaged both vehicles at the same time, the initial probe had revealed. Two button men attacked Mufti Usmani’s car from the right side and behind, resulting in injuries to both his police guard and the driver. Mufti was sitting on the rear seat along with his family members. Two other button men opened fire on the car behind from the left side, resulting in bullet injuries to its driver and the religious scholar. The vehicle hit a vendor and stopped after hitting a Chhipa ambulance space at NIPA. Mufti’s driver despite being injured managed to proceed to Liaquat National Hospital where the police guard, Farooq, was pronounced as dead.

Link

India-Pakistan

Religious scholar, driver shot dead in Bahadurabad

2012-05-15

[Dawn] A well-known religious scholar was bumped off in what police described as a sectarian attack in the Bahadurabad area on Sunday. The police said Maulana Aslam Sheikhupuri with his two guards -- Wazeer Ali and Najamuddin -- and driver Muhammad Safrain was on his way to Al-Koran Courses Centre in Bahadurabad in a car (AFU-655) to deliver a fortnightly lecture there. When the car reached near Rangoonwala Hall within the remit of the New Town cop shoppe, three men riding a cycle of violence intercepted the vehicle and sprayed it with a volley of bullets. Gulshan division SP Salam Sheikh told Dawn that none of the holy man's guards could return fire. Quoting the statement of one of the two guards, who also sustained bullet wounds in the attack, the SP said one of the assailants got off the two-wheeler and went over to the other side of the car and fired several shots at it. All the four occupants of the car, including Maulana Sheikhupuri, who was sitting in the back seat of the car with a guard, sustained bullet wounds, the area SP said, adding that the assailants rode away on their cycle of violence. The police said the maimed were rushed to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where the Maulana was pronounced dead on arrival and shortly after driver Safrain also died. However, there's more than one way to stuff a chicken... JPMC medico-legal officer Dr Kaleem Sheikh said Maulana Sheikhupuri and his driver were brought dead to the hospital. The police collected several spent bullet casings of 9mm pistols from the crime-scene. SP Sheikh said it appeared to be an incident of sectarian killing. However, there's more than one way to stuff a chicken... Sherlocks were looking at it from every angle. Hearing the news of the killing, a large number of students, associates and friend of the slain holy man reached the JPMC. The police said for the last four years the holy man used to visit Al-Koran Courses Centre in Bahadurabad on second Sunday of every month to deliver a lecture. Owners of the centre provided him a pick-and-drop facility in their car. Maulana Sheikhupuri, 54, belonged to the Deoband school of thought and held the title of shaikhul hadees. He was the prayer leader of Masjid-o-Madressah Tawabeen in Gulshan-e-Maymar. He had completed his religious education from Jamia Binoria, SITE. He was a Hafiz-e-Koran and had memorised the holy book in just 11 months, his associates said. He authored hundreds of books on religious topics. He had been handicapped in the legs for the last three years after a stroke. Following the medico-legal formalities at the JPMC, the body of the holy man was shifted to Gulshan-e-Maymar. Enraged youths accompanying the coffin had gun sex. Later, Maulana Taqi Usmani led his funeral prayer, which was held in the Madressah Tawaban. Till late in the night, no FIR of the killing was lodged at the New Town cop shoppe.

Link

Home Front: WoT

Tea With Terrorists?

2010-07-10

President Obama promised lobbyists wouldn't run his White House. They're just doing it from across the street — at a Shariah-compliant coffee chain tied to a radical jihadist group. That's right: According to the New York Times, prominent K Street lobbyists are buttonholing Obama officials at a Caribou Coffee shop on Pennsylvania Avenue, raising far more than just ethics questions. What the Times story neglects to mention is that Caribou Coffee is a Shariah-compliant firm owned by an Islamic bank based in Bahrain. One of its founders and a current adviser are leaders in the radical Muslim Brotherhood. According to the FBI, the Egypt-based, Saudi-funded Brotherhood has a plan to infiltrate, "sabotage" and "destroy" the U.S. "from within." And it's using American agents and front groups to carry out that espionage. The off-site White House meetings at Caribou also raise national security concerns. Because they're not taking place at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., they're not subject to disclosure on White House visitors logs. And there's no Secret Service present — at a shop owned and controlled by a foreign entity hostile to U.S. interests. A key principal in the 2000 deal by First Islamic Bank of Bahrain to buy Caribou Coffee was Yusuf al-Qaradawi — spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, and a known jihadist and open supporter of suicide bombings, including some targeting Americans. The Islamic cleric has been banned from entering the U.S. due to his fatwahs calling for the killing of American troops, and his leadership in a charity blacklisted by Treasury as a terror group. Al-Qaradawi has ruled that jihad can be an offensive means of expanding the Muslim state, plus a defensive response to attack. Referring to the infidel, he added, "If you kill him he will end up in hell, and if he kills you, you become a martyr." First Islamic Bank changed its name and removed al-Qaradawi's name from its Web site after anti-jihad watchdogs exposed the connection. But Caribou's parent still lists another major Brotherhood figure as a member of its Shariah Supervisory Board. It calls Muhammad Taqi Usmani a "prominent scholar" with a "proven track record in the practical implementation of Shariah law." Usmani also has a proven track record of advocating aggressive jihad against infidels. Fiercely anti-American, he has urged all Muslims to support the Taliban as they continue to ambush and kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Dow Jones recently dumped Usmani as an adviser to its Islamic index. News of these White House meetings at an Islamist-controlled chain comes as Obama has appointed a Muslim lawyer promoting Shariah finance as a White House fellow. We need more transparency regarding who's getting into the White House, who's lobbying it and who owns the off-site spots where they're conducting official White House business. The FBI should be there too.

Link

Olde Tyme Religion

Wilders' Best Witness

2010-03-03

As the trial of Geert Wilders for insulting Islam moves forward in the Netherlands, the one witness that could clear him of these charges will not be called. Muhammad Taqi Usmani is a highly respected and well-known expert on Islamic law who served for 20 years as a Sharia judge on Pakistan's Supreme Court. He is quite possibly the world's most influential Islamist thinker and writer outside of the Middle East. Usmani is a frequent visitor to Britain, where his monograph Islam and Modernism caused a great deal of controversy. Why is Usmani so important for the purposes of Wilders' trial? Simply put, Usmani's interpretation of Islamic doctrine as it concerns non-believers is the same as Wilders'. Indeed, the critical lesson to be gleaned from Usmani's work bolsters the very argument that Wilders is on trial for making – namely, that the doctrine of jihad, as expounded in Islamic texts, inherently poses a threat to Western civilization. In fact, Osama Bin Laden made the exact same point in a lengthy essay entitled “Moderate Islam is a Prostration to the West' (reproduced in Raymond Ibrahinm's The al Qaeda Reader). I don't know if Wilders is familiar with Islam and Modernism. However, the reader of this work will be struck by the similarities between it and Fitna, the short film that has played a significant role in landing Wilders in court. The critical difference between the two is that no one – especially no Muslim thinker, writer or the Organization of Islamic Countries – has ever accused Usmani of hate speech or of insulting Islam. And yet, consistency of treatment would mandate that if Wilders must go to trial, so should Usmani. At the very least, Usmani should be publicly condemned and ridiculed by prominent Muslim thinkers in Muslim countries. Consider the nature of his work. Islam and Modernism is broadside attack against modernist Muslim thinking and Western civilization. Usmani is critical of modern practices such as charging interest, women and men working together, birth control, and science that it is not used to further religious thinking. Even America's moon landing in 1969 is described as an “international crime.' However, it is his chapter on offensive jihad, which he calls aggressive jihad, that is most significant for purposes of Wilders' trial. Offensive jihad is the Islamic doctrine that requires Muslims to subjugate unbelievers to Islamic rule by imposing a number of restrictions, including paying a special tax known as the jizya. Usmani categorically rejects the idea, stated by some modern Muslim thinkers, that offensive jihad can be abandoned if Muslims are freely allowed to proselytize among non-Muslims (though non-Muslims can never freely proselytize in Muslim countries). He states that “in my humble knowledge there has not been a single incident in the entire history of Islam where Muslims had shown their willingness to stop jihad just for one condition that they be allowed to preach Islam freely.' He cites the Quran to the effect that “killing is to continue until the unbelievers pay jizyah after they are humbled and overpowered.' The jizya is important in Usmani's eyes because it is the necessary precondition for non- Muslims to convert to Islam. He asks:

Link

Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$T in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 132
-12 More