Thank you everyone, Saker in particular, and open minded Sunni commentators who were open about my “sectarian” post and only sought to guide me in their replies. I will try to keep religion out till the next library burns. But I have answered some of the issues raised in this SITREP.
Quote of the day: I am a Muslim, neither Shia nor Sunni, and I go to Shia Mosques as well as Sunni
Thought of the Day: Is the answer that simple?
16th July: Iraqi troops and allied militias have taken a beating in Tikrit and withdrawn in the face of heavy mortar and sniper fire.
16th July: Iran congratulates Salim Al Jabouri on being elected to the post of Speaker. The post of the speaker has to be held by a Sunni. The EU has also congratulated Al Jabouri. Maliki has also congratulated Al Jabouri.
16th July: Dick Cheney, close friend of Mass Murderer Tony Blair, calls Obama as the worst President in US history and blames Maliki for the failure of the Iraqi state. In his view, the continued presence of US troops would have averted the resurgence of Daash.
16th July: Jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan has sent a message to Jalal Talibani (PUK) and Massoud Barzani (KDP) to unite in facing attacks by Daash militants. The Kurdish regions in Syria have been facing serious attacks (kidnappings included) by Daash militants in an effort by the latter to increase the boundaries of the DI of Daash.
16th July: The Iraqi speaker Al Jabouri accepts nominations for different ministries
16th July: The Mayor of Baqouba, Abdullah Hamid Al Hayali, has provided evidence that the 44 prisoners killed in a government jail were in fact executed by Shia Militias. He has in his possession photographs and death certificates of the deceased. He is also fearful for his life. The militias allegedly shot some at point blank range, fired machine guns into some cells, and threw grenades. The nephew of the mayor was one of those executed.
16th July: The 21+ women shot to death in Baghdad were killed in a Shia neighbourhood.
16th July: Daash is reportedly making a lot of money through oil sales. Estimates put the daily revenue of Daash at USD 1 million.
16th July: 14 Civilians are killed and injured in a car bomb attack in Western Ramadi
16th July: The inhabitants of Mosul are growing weary of Daash and its harsh and oppressive policies. The majority of the people supporting Daash are those that settled in Mosul over the last three decades.
One advantage, in a manner of speaking, of the open rebellion has been that sleeper cells, involved in planting bombs and causing disturbances, came out to openly in support of the rebellion and identified themselves to the authorities.
16th July: Kurdish farmers in Sulaimaniyeh stopped Exxon Mobil from oil drilling in the area. The farmers were afraid for their crops and livestock. Past activities of Exxon Mobil have been shown to cause harm to the natural environment.
16th July: Over 350000 Turkoman Shias are refugees from Tal Afar
16th July: Bad news for Turkey-The UN is asking for economic sanctions on Daash
16th July: Six Daash rebels are arrested in Najaf. They entered the city as Shia refugees from the north
16th July: The Hujja Shia mosque is destroyed by Daash militants in Tawakul village, Diyala
16th July: The death toll from yesterday’s twin bombing in Sadr City has increased to 59
16th July: Atta’s/Government’s claim for the day:
Government Air Strikes target a Daash/Rebel parade in Mosul killing 14, including Abdul Aziz al-Maytoni, a militant believed to be behind assassinations
Daash/rebel fighters are killed outside Baiji refinery in Government air strikes
The Iraqi army acts on intelligence reports and raids a militant compound where IEDs are prepared in Samarra.
Khamiss Mohsen Farhan, a former Iraqi Army Colonel and currently a commander within the Daash forces in Baiji, is killed by Security Forces
Related:
16th July: Assad is sworn in as Syria’s President. He promises that Western and Arab states involved in the carnage in Syria will pay.
16th July: The Government in Bahrain has increased its alert levels after shots were reportedly fired at a police station
16th July: Syrian Jihadist fire rockets into Eastern Lebanon
16th July: The Lebanese border town of Ersal that had backed Jihadist rebels has slipped further into complete lawlessness with daily assassinations, murder, and kidnappings.
16th July: Indian news media reports of Indian Sunni Jihadist that are travelling to Iraq disguised as Shia pilgrims
Short (long) Analysis in reply to comments made:
A few personal caveats:
Half my family from my grandmother’s side are Wahabbi, members of militant anti Shia groups.
My cousin from my father’s side is married to a Sunni boy (non Wahabbi). My cousin on my mother’s side is married to a Sunni girl (non Wahabi). We are not sectarian in our outlook, but we do call a spade a spade, be it a Shia spade or a Sunni spade.
I have no sympathy for Shia death squads or Sunni terrorists. Being a Shia I hate the Shia death squads more. They are an embracement just as are uninspiring Shia Mullahs or the Mullahs in Iran who sought power and changed the Shia apolitical religion forever.
Political caveats: The videos that Saker posted recently were of Sunni Muslim fighters. Good men, Nobel and good Muslims, better than me for doing and not talking. The Chechens/Ossetians and the Afghan fighter (though he had a touch of Hazara or Tajik to his eyes) were Sunni men fighting Nazis. Not Shia. They are “Hezbollah” or the party of God just as much as the Lebanese group.
Religious caveats: Most Sunni Imams are of a better caliber than those from Shia communities. The reason for this is that in the relatively poor Shia communities the dumbest go for a religious education. But at the higher level, Sunni alims/scholars rarely come close to the education level or knowledge of their Shia counterparts. This is to do with the duration of study, and the depth of the subject matter. Also in the Shia education system certain individuals who show potential are advanced by their masters: Meritocracy. Certain aspects of study were closed after the Sunni Madhabs were established. Wahabbi scholars come in last. The highest Mufti in Saudi Arabia has been blind since he was 18 years old; he was the one who called Sistani debauched. Low level Wahabbi Imams become scholars after three years of study in Saudi Arabia. Shias are referred to as Kafirs for their beliefs; beliefs which are much more solid than Sunni ones. The Sunni belief system of giving importance to minor pirs/saints and local Aauliyas/scholars is so fragile, that most find the Puritan approach of the Salafis appealing. The Salafi argument of asking from God directly after he has appointed Prophets and Imams is akin to the Shaitan refusing to bow to Adam, stating that he has prayed to God directly. But it is finding acceptance far and wide. But we are digressing again. The Sunni faith the world over is ending. The Salafi propagation is too strong. I know of Shias who have converted, not just Sunni. The Sunnis find it hard to be critical of the Salafis because the points the latter stress-on are salat and piety. Things lacking in moderates who can oppose them.
The condemnation of Daash that the Sunni Imams do is literally the least they can do. They have a greater responsibility as they are the custodians of the Sunni faith. They are in ways responsible for where the Ummah is heading.
The argument of the Syrian soldier being Sunni and Assad’s army being mostly Sunni.
I will try and address this argument the best I can.
Politically, Syrian society, much like Egyptian society, is split on an ideological line. Those that believe in the Ikhwan (brotherhood) and those that hate them. The word is hate not disagree. I have met Egyptians, pious Muslims, that hate the Ikhwan. So those fighting for Assad are also those that hate the quasi religious types. In Egypt it is not a sectarian question, it is a question of political Islam.
Religiously, Syrians have had a secular education: teaching concepts such as Pan Arabism and Nationalism. Syria has had an Alawite minority that stressed on religion being immaterial but secretly holding power through their sectarian tribal loyalist. Contrast this with Iraq where Saddam drilled a macho, Arab champion against Persian imperialism education into his subjects. The Sunni in Syria is far more open minded than the Sunni in Iraq. The Sunni in Syria does not see Iran as an enemy, the Iraqi one does.
Demographically in Syria the Allawis were, till Assad came to power, deprived. The only job open to them was the army. While Sunnis studied to become doctors, tradesmen, engineers, the Allawis took the only job they could. This association with the army got them power. Even today Syrian units will have Allawi minders and there will be a disproportionate number of Allawis in the army. Even though people stress that it is Sunni Syrians defending an Allawi President, it’s not for those reasons at all. It has, unfortunately little to do with Religion.
Finally, the Syrian army was and is tough. A couple of years ago militants attacked a military headquarters in Damascus. They rammed two explosive laden vehicles on both entrances and then stormed the building. It took the Syrian army four hours to get the building back from entrenched rebels, just four. They have been trained over time by the Soviets and have a military tradition of sorts. They are professional soldiers. This keeps them loyal as well. Compare this to the Libyan army that was either loyal on account of tribal relations or because of Vitamin “M.”
I hope this shows that there are other factors for the Syrian army being loyal and fighting the Jihadist.
Now, my Sunni and Shia brothers are right. This is not a forum for religious discussion. But it is one for intelligent political debates. I would like the Sunni Muslims to answer, what are the Shias to do? Or better still what would they do if they were Shias in IRAQ? When a bomb goes off every day in Sadr city, and your mother, father, wife/husband, sister/brother is killed, you go to their funeral the next day, and another bomb goes off, you get back home, and the next day another bomb goes off, and you see the same militants being supported by Sunni politicians in Anbar, where do you see your enemy? How long will you blame the Zionist/Americans for what their proxies are doing to you?
Iraq is a now different ball game. The Sunnis have lost power suddenly. They are left with sand and their mud huts. And they are not used to it. Their lot is the same as those Ummayads who were suddenly out of power when Ali ibn Talib was made Caliph. Basra in the south is floating on oil. Shias are more than 65% of the population if not higher. If you count all the Iraqi/Iranian Shias thrown out by Saddam in the 80s they will probably account for 75% of Iraq’s population. The Shias after years of being kicked in the balls owe the Sunnis nothing, not a single damned thing. The fact that Sunni militants are not tortured before they are killed, should come as a surprise to one and all. The Sunnis do all manner of things to the Shias they kill. Play football with their severed heads, eat their livers, chop of the heads of their babies, bomb their mosques, loot their homes as war booty, and now burn their libraries. I have no hatred for either side, though some will see bias in my thinking.
Yes Iraq is going through hard times. Yes the Sunnis are feeling left out. But look what it took to get rid of the Jihadist in Syria. Look at the after photos of Qussayr and Homs. Not a single building standing. Assad was ruthless, he pulverized everything. That was the only way he could fight the madness that these Jihadist brought with them. Unwilling to give up unless kicked and beaten. The Shias will take time to get organized; they have no military tradition in Iraq. If you see the Atta’s/government’s claims I post every day, you will see that most rebel deaths are by airstrikes. The Iraqi army and militia are not quite there yet. But if the Sunnis keep harboring Daash, sooner or later the Shias will pulverize everything.
Much of what I say above will become redundant once Daash has become a single rebel power in Syria.
Please read this:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syria-conflict-isis-marches-further-into-syria-tipping-the-balance-of-power-in-the-civil-war-9608335.html
Once Daash has won in Syria, against rival rebels, it’s troops high on morale will be free to fight the Government in Baghdad. And if the Shias, and Sunnis, in Iraq don’t get their act together quickly, there are bound to be set backs.
If the Shia militias and army can’t take Tikrit after two weeks, reinforced Daash brigades will be devastating. And the Sunnis who are confident of fighting Daash now will be powerless in the future. It will be like a nuclear war, the survivors (Sunnis) will envy the dead (Shias). Much the same as what Sistani said “regret it tomorrow, when regret will have no meaning.”
Mindfriedo,
I think you have been wading through these horrors in an almost super-human fashion, frankly. I really do. The issues are so complex, so deep, so emotionally-laden and I never end up feeling that you’re so biased I’ve got to take that into account before attempting to draw any conclusions about any of this. So I really want to thank you for the time and effort you put in to keep us all informed.
On the other hand, I just saw that Snowden is claiming that NSA documents reveal that Al Baghdadi was trained by Mossad.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-trained-by-israeli-mossad-nsa-documents-reveal/5391593
So there you have it. I have no words, just deep, deep sorrow.
Thanks for the thoughtful posts.I am not Muslim, nor do I have a deep understanding of Islam or Islamic cultures but this quote stood out to me:
“The Salafi argument of asking from God directly after he has appointed Prophets and Imams is akin to the Shaitan refusing to bow to Adam, stating that he has prayed to God directly.”
This reminds me of the Protestant rejection of the sacraments, particularly the Priesthood. Protestants profess the “sola scriptura” doctrine (“only scripture”). It is the heart of Protestatnism. Without that sola scriptura and its interpretations there is no schism from the reformation. But Protestants are in danger of worshiping a book and not the living God. Christian scripture is not “the word of God”, it is the “testament”, the “witness” of the disciples of Christ. Christians have never claimed that God wrote the New Testament and yet some Christians go on behaving as if that were so. I am sorry for the side track here.
Mindfriedo, grateful for your work and sensitivity … you perhaps have seen the item of Muslim girls asking if they could be ‘Sushi’ i.e. Sunni-Shia combined.
You likely have seen material pointing out Saudi Wahhabis were installed by the British, who also set up the Zionists in Palestine … In their earliest days after WW1 Saudis greatly praised Zionism, they were secret partners from the beginning. Some even say Saudi royals & Wahhabis both had Jewish founders.
Larger argument is that Western powers long set up giant schemes to defame, degrade all 3 Abrahamic Western religions … Israel to demolish Judaism beyond repair, Daash-Al-Qaeda etc to sabotage Islam fuelled by oil money and Saudi extremist schools, gay Vatican pedophiles & USA Christian Armaggedonists to ruin Christianity
From Asian viewpoint the 3 Abrahamic religions and their texts are full of blood, mutilation, genocide, intolerance, eternal-hell torture chamber, ‘chosen people – 1 true faith’ extremism etc.’ … and historically they all spread by ‘Crusader’ conquest and embodied slavery … whereas tolerant Hinduism-Buddhism-Daoism spread via traders, by being appealing, with many ways to serve God who has many forms … no eternal hell … everyone makes it in the end.
Hindu / Buddhist / Daoist cultures began abolishing the death penalty 2000 years ago! and in part even achieved societies partly like better side of Europe today, progressive, warm, even sexually at peace. If you read it you see Bhagavad-Gita is so much nicer Scripture, even tho a warrior’s story, no horrible mutilation, no God-ordered-brutal atrocity like in genocidal Bible, or rough Qur’an passages, no ‘my way only’. Quite different than ‘Desert bloc’ religions from belligerent extremist MidEast … Was the brutal, mutilating, massacre-loving MidEast ‘god’ in fact a demon? Is not ‘Death for apostasy’ itself a sign Abrahamic religions are wrong? Just some thoughts from the Asian spiritual side
Thanks for your post and comments Mindfriedo. I guess the question is who will unite to confront Daash? Will Syria find sufficient allies?
Hi,
I am a Pakistani Sunni by birth but do not adhere to any particular classification any more. We can all debate on Sunni Vs. Shia Vs. Jews etc until the end of times and it will not change a single thing.
Religion is being used to control and achieve certain objectives. From what I see, the Sunni camp is the one which is mostly in the service of the AngloZionist Empire. Of course, Saudi Arabia has had a major role in absolutely rotting anything of value in the religious discourse.
What I intend to say is this: The only way we can make a difference right now is by refraining to use Shia/Sunni labels. Use something else. Because this is exactly what the Anglozionist Empire wants; A label, a division and a separation of ranks. Daash represents the aborted baby of Saudi/US/Israeli geopolitics. They must be defeated at all costs by a unified front of “people”. We should not care if they are Sunni,Shia,Druze,Kurd,Christian or Alawite.
Remember, the aim is to keep the region divided into little fiefdoms so that no one bothers to build a united front against the real culprit: the AngloZionist Empire.
For the record, I still believe that the hierarchical structure of Shia theology has its benefits. For one, the massive blood letting has been restrained because of that. It is not difficult to be a Sunni sheikh these days: Grow the beard, raise the trousers, lead prayers and then order to kill.
Here is an excellent documentary that once again goes to show how the Shia-Sunni schism was revived post 2003 by the USA to break the back of a deadly insurgency.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/mar/06/james-steele-america-iraq-video
@augmentedether.
Man this is what I just love about Saker’s Blog, you get some of the most intelligent comments and commenters you can imagine supplying us with Gold in terms of knowledge.
Kudos to augmentedether. Your points are well thought out and excellent.
It’s been my view of Shia Islam too: Their system of hierarchy, debates, reason and scholarship operating in a heterodoxy is the reason they are the form of Islam that will survive and thrive into the future while stagnant orthodoxies that cannot deviate from a fixed interpretation are doomed.
And your point that ISIS must be defeated at all costs by a unified front of people is right on the mark (it’s precisely why Assad has defeated ISIS and every other Anglo-Saxon sponsored murder-squad in Syria; he has appealed to Syrians as a people and avoided dividing along labels).
Your point about Sunni Sheikhs is on point too.
Brilliant.
Thanks, Mindfiedo. Much to think about especially the comment regarding religious figures inserting themselves between God and the ordinary people. Of course, this is one of the big threats. Jesus posed for the Pharisees. He taught and encouraged people to pray directly to God and that they didn’t need to go through a priest ( by whatever name).
Augmentedether gave a link to a good BBC doco featured by the Guardian. Of course, with those two organisations involved, one might expect there to be problems with the film. And there are!
I have written a post about those problems here-
James Steele: the making of mayhem
Long, but very interesting speech relevant to the entire region.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/president-bashar-al-assad-transcript-of-inauguration-speech/5391709
Hi Mindfriedo,
Thanks again for your invaluable updates.
I have 2 comments to make:
1) Salafi propagation is strong. Agreed. Its mainly due to enormous amounts of money poured into it by the Saudis which helped establish religious schools and trained kids to be used later on as Jihadis.
2) I agree with the opinion of augmentedether and would caution against generalisations and Sunni/Shia narrative which has been widely supported by the western media. They are talking about the Iraq conflict as a simple sunni/shia conflict which it isn’t. The Empire and Israel are firmly and fully involved and the main goal is to divide iraq into at least 3 states which would bow to their masters and obviously would keep fighting each other.
The least we can do is to fuel the sectarian divide, which i do admit is very real.
Kind regards,
Amr.
What the Shi’as failed to do in Iraq, was to follow the example of Imam Khomeini and struggle for a unified Islamic Republic. Instead, under the umbrella and protection of the empire, they took power. Any such taking of power under the protection of empire can hardly be considered legitimate, and will sooner or later have to bow again to the empire.
There were some exceptions such as in Sadr City – but by and large they followed Sistani who took on a very mistaken apolitical stance, until now, when it is frankly very late in the game. Imam Khomeini was very clear in his recognition of the nature of sectarianism, he said:
“Muslims should be awake, Muslims should be alert that if a dispute takes place among Sunni and Shia brothers, it is harmful to all of us, it is harmful to all Muslims. Those who want to sow discord are neither Sunni nor Shia, they are agents of the superpowers and work for them.”
It is for this transcendency of the Islamic Revolution that it was , and continues to be so vilified by both sectarian Sunnis, and by sectarian Shias – and yes, both are agents of empire. No matter where and under what guise such people appear.
“Old auntie said…,
As-salamu alaykum ya Mohamed
Your list of madhahib – I always call them schools of law, never „sects“– is right. You might add the Zaidi school of law, the one to which I adhere.”
Salam Dearest Sister,
The Zaidis, who are the children of Imam Hassan (as), Salam on you, and Salam on all Zaidis. You are right that because of 73 sects in Islam, there are more than six madahib (schools of law) in Islam. However, only six madahib are recognized, which is very unfortunate.
Even the Shia madhab (school of law) which was the first one, and is named after the sixth Imam Jaffar (as) was not recognized until 1920. Imagine 1920, even though Imam Jaffar (as) who was the Teacher for the other four Sunni madahib.
Al-Muraja’at : A Shi’i-Sunni dialogue (also known as ‘The Right Path’)
“A series of letters debating Shi’i and Sunni beliefs between the late Shi’i scholar Sharaf al-Din, and the late Sunni scholar and head of Al-Azhar university.”
It is an excellent book and must read debate with the highest Sunni Scholar for his time. After that the late Sunni scholar and head of Al-Azhar university issued a Fatwa (religious edict) recognizing the Jaffari (Shia) madhab. The Kuffars Shia were finally recognized as Muslims, though the centuries old persecution never stopped.
“Old auntie said…,
It is mostly in Yemen, and the Saudi government (with a little bit help of their friends in the Yemenite government) more than once tried to annihilate the Yemenite Houthi tribe, who are Zaidis.”
You are right, not only they tried to annihilate the Yemenite Houthi tribe, who are Zaidis, they are still trying to annihilated them. Just they like to annihilate Shia everywhere including Iraq, and for this reason ISIS is created and Malaki is called sectarian.
Two days before President Kennedy was murdered, he tried to stop both Israel and Saudi Arabia to annihilate the Zaidis and steal their oil. After President Kennedy death, President Johnson allowed them, and they stole the Yemenite Houthi oil with the aid of Yemeni Government by redrawing their borders, but once again they were not able to annihilate the Children of Prophet Mohammad (saws). Refer to Holy Quran:
To thee have We granted the Fount (of Abundance). Therefore to thy Lord turn in Prayer and Sacrifice. For he who hateth thee, he will be cut off (from Future Hope).
Al-Qur’an, (Al-KauTher [Abundance, Plenty])
“Old auntie said…,
And although I am Zaidi, Baqir as-Sadr from the Djafari school of law was and always will be my favourite scholar (besides my teacher, of course).”
Yes, Ayatollah Sayyid Imam Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr (ra) was butchered by Saddam (la). The father-in-law of Muqtada al-Sadr and cousin of both Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr and Imam Musa as-Sadr.
In my view the whole al-Sadr family is one of the highest caliber.
“Old auntie said…,
Abul Ala Maudoodi on the other hand never was a scholar at all, he was a journalist. His interests in school were mathematics and physics.”
I am sorry to say that you are absolutely wrong about Abul Ala Maudoodi. He was a Wahhabi and he is the one who was trained by Saudi Arabia to bring Wahhabism to Indo-China. He was the teacher of President Zia-ul-Haq and Taliban.
However, I believe that Wahhabism is on its death bed, as it has become a threat to its owner, and they recognize it.
Best regards,
Mohamed.
MIndfriedo as long as we fail to differentiate between real sunnis and wahabis ..the zionist will win as they know the differences themselves.genuine Sunnis do NOT regard wahabis /tablighis/salafis as sunnis in fact we regard them as the latter day Khawarij. As long as we dont differentiate the west will win the psychological and eventually the military battle.If that happens we then hope for the Imam Mahdi to make his appearance to restore truth and justice .
MIndfriedo as long as we fail to differentiate between real sunnis and wahabis ..the zionist will win as they know the differences themselves.genuine Sunnis do NOT regard wahabis /tablighis/salafis as sunnis in fact we regard them as the latter day Khawarij. As long as we dont differentiate the west will win the psychological and eventually the military battle.If that happens we then hope for the Imam Mahdi to make his appearance to restore truth and justice .
The only way we can make a difference right now is by refraining to use Shia/Sunni labels. Use something else.
=============================
I would suggest following the Word of God here, Who stated the only division which can be applied to humanity: sons of God and progeny of the devil (who is the murderer since the beginning and the father of lies).
(John 8,44)
Every other division comes from the enemy.
I wish also to inform “Asian spiritualists” that the only death for apostasy Christians mean is spiritual death.
Please do not retort with Papists or Protestants exploits; I’ve said Christians.
Of course, this is one of the big threats. Jesus posed for the Pharisees. He taught and encouraged people to pray directly to God and that they didn’t need to go through a priest ( by whatever name).
===========================
Yeah, so much that He established the Church.
Everybody should limit himself to his area of competence. The main trouble with Sola Scriptura is exactly that: everybody and his wife find just what they want to find in the Scripture, whatever fits their bias, delusions, agenda.
The Lord did point out only that no ritual will save you by itself, if your heart is defiled with evil and sins, that you are going to get an unpleasant surprise that Day if you “filter out the gnat and swallow the camel”!
@Anonymous (17 July, 2014 00:04):
Interesting. I had long had the same thought myself: in certain ways, Sunnis more resemble Protestants, while Shiites more resemble Catholics.
The Shiites seem to have a more elaborate, hierarchical system of training and accrediting their religious scholars, while in many Sunni communities, one can become an Imam with relative ease.
The Shiites have a long-established tradition of veneration for many martyrs and shrines, while it seems that most schools of Sunniism strongly frown on this business of ‘idolatry’ and ‘grave worship’.
Western press accounts often describe the Wahhabism of Saudi Arabia as being ‘Puritan’. The Puritans of America and England were, like the Saudis, known for their adherence to Biblical literalism, and their disdain for fancy dress and graven images.
Interesting.
And I would suggest a simple exposition of the words of John as quoted by Maedhros –
“I would suggest following the Word of God here, Who stated the only division which can be applied to humanity: sons of God (ordinary people with compassion for others) and progeny of the devil (psychopaths) (who is the murderer since the beginning and the father of lies).
(John 8,44)
@Sword, thank you for the vote of confidence.
@James You make a really good point. The deep state is very deep indeed.
I recently read what John Pilger had to say about the media in general. As usual he is spot on.
http://johnpilger.com/articles/the-return-of-george-orwell-and-big-brothers-war-on-palestine-ukraine-and-truth
By far, this is one of your best posts. Thanks again mindfriedo. And dear Saker
There will be no peace in the ME until all the children will know the names, the deeds and the agendas of the highly placed criminals in corporations and organizations such as: Carlyle Group, KBR, Halliburton, Bechtel, Lockheed, Boeing, Raytheon, L3, Balckwater/Academi/Greystone, Aspen Institute, CFR, Triliteral Commision, Club of Rome, RAND, Brookings Institution, PNAC/FDD, IRI, NED, USAID, MPRI, Atlantic Council, RIIA, Chatham House, Monsanto, Syngenta, Cargill, GE, Cato, Koch brothers, Murdoch, Bank of International Settlements, Potomac Institute, and many others interconnected.
Local divisions should be overcome by uniting against common enemy centered far away, who need to be brought to justice and held accountable by all means necessary.
Nora, I hope you realize that the Snowden, Baghdadi, Mossad story is BS apparently from the Iranians making a feeble attempt to discredit the Caliph. Snowden has no documents to release because he turned all he collected over to Glen Greenwald and other reporters.
This pathetic attempt to stop the rise of the Islamic State just shows the fear and panic spreading through places such as Tehran and other capitals where brittle regimes are facing an unstoppable force.
Salam Dearest Brother,
Well said brother!
The Kharjites were and are in every age and time. They were during the times of the Prophet, and will be until the Judgement Day. They keep changing faces and tribes.
The definition given by the Prophet regarding Kharjites is as follows:
1. They will have long beards.
2. They will have mark on their foreheads from too much worshiping.
3. They will wear modest clothing, not reaching to their feet.
4. They will recite the Quran like a Bubul, but it will not go down their throats. They will not be able to digest the True Meaning of the Scripture.
5. They will leave Islam, like the arrow leaving the bow for the kill.
6. And, the most important of them all, that they will HATE my progeny, from now until the Judgement Day. Thus they will be in every age and period, changing faces.
Holy Quran: Sura Al-Kawthar
Yousuf Ali:
To thee have We granted the Fount (of Abundance). Therefore to thy Lord turn in Prayer and Sacrifice. For he who hateth thee, he will be cut off (from Future Hope).
Dr. Ghali:
Surely We have given you the Abundance; so pray to your Lord and slaughter (the sacrifice). Surely your antagonist is he who is without offspring (Literally: curtailed).
God promised Two Kawthars (Abundances) to Prophet (saws). One Kawthar in this life, an Abundance Progeny from his fragile daughter Bibi Fatima (as), and the another Kawthar in afterlife, an Abundance Pond, where the Prophet will greet anyone who enters the Paradise (Heaven). Those who hate the Prophet’s Progeny in this life will never enter Paradise (Heaven)
Best regards,
Mohamed.
About Faith and Islam – interesting distinctions.
I am mixed French educated Arab, Berber Jew, Turkish Ottoman, and have had the luck of not being indoctrinated as my father and family were very liberal.
From a very young age, I got exposed to reading the Quran in Arabic and French.
However I did not get exposed to Seerah of the Prophet, Sunna, Shia or Hadith and Shariah.
A great thing, which allowed me to explore may other religions and faiths.
Many Christian friends in the UK, my adoptive country, tried to convert me.
Having a Jewish blood-line, I was curious about Judaism, so explored some of it, but found the Talmudic teaching overwhelming.
I hung around mosques for a while, and joined study groups (not affiliated but mainly Sunnis) in what is called Halaqas.
I was shocked about the insistence that the Quran was not enough, and that there is a huge corpus of Books one needed to follow Islam and that it was the job of Clerics and Scholars through Fatwas to direct the Faithful.
This did not appeal to me.
I settled somewhat with a group who founded a movement of Quranic based Monotheism, Free-minds (free-minds.org)
I am now settled that it is as close I can get to the true purpose of what bein a Believer entails.
That the schisms in different sectarian factions is in fact forbidden by the Quran, and yet this did not deter the Muslims from dividing into sects.
So I am neither Sunni, nor Shia nor am affiliated with any of the other groups, as I believe Allah/God wants it, as in my belief, it is God Only, no more no less.
I believe in the Torah, Gospel and Quran as the only valid requisites for a Believer to be guided and informed with in matters of theology.
And God knows best.
Peace/Shalom/Salam.
“Nabil2020 said…,
I settled somewhat with a group who founded a movement of Quranic based Monotheism, Free-minds (free-minds.org)
I am now settled that it is as close I can get to the true purpose of what being a Believer entails.”
Salam Brother Nabil,
The Free-Minds, Submitters, United Submitters International are Christian sites disguised as Muslims. They are set up by Rashad Khalifa
He is a Coptic Christian from Egypt and is dead now. He was a nut case and didn’t believe that the Holy is complete. Due to his nut theory of 19, he believes one of the chapter in the Quran is missing two verses, to complete his 19 theory.
I am an Arab, and Allah is two words, al ilah (eloh), but I am against using Allah for God in Bible as confirmed and agreed by the Malaysian Supreme Court, due to The Stealth Crusade.
The Free-Minds propagates that Prophet Mohammad (saws) was not born in Becca (now Mecca), but rather in Syria in Becca Valley. BTW, Medina was called, Yatrib too in olden days.
“Nabil2020 said…,
I was shocked about the insistence that the Quran was not enough, and that there is a huge corpus of Books one needed to follow Islam.”
No Muslim believe that Quran is not enough. However, all Muslims believe (Sunni, Shia, …) that the Sunnah of Prophet is equal to the Holy Quran, and it is required to understand the Holy Quran. This is the belief of ALL MUSLIMS.
Anyone person who doesn’t believe in the Sunnah of Prophet Mohammad (saws) is not a Muslim.
Usually, the Free-Minds never say Salam, they always say “Peace” from the New Testament. But it is good that you said, “Peace/Shalom/Salam”
Best regards,
Mohamed.
@ Everybody,
Allah is two words, “al” (the or one) and “ilah” (eloh).
eloh can be made plural as elohim, but al-ilah (allah) cannot be made plural.
I am sorry and I am not try to hurt anyone’s feelings, however:
allah is not Holy Trinity.
NOR
We in the Holy Quran means, “We (The Father, the Son and The Holy Spirit) as translated by the crappy missionaries, who are spreading this type of translated Holy Quran in non-Arabs countries. Afghanistan and Abdul Raham of Afghanistan are prime example.
Best regards,
Mohamed.
@Mohamed
Thank you Mohamed for all this information. It helps.
“Mindfriedo said…
@Mohamed
Thank you Mohamed for all this information. It helps.”
You are welcome Dearest Brother Mindfriedo.
Hang on there, you are doing a very difficult job, your Jazza is with Allah.
Be like Brother Saker, who doesn’t believe in pleasing everyone.
Salam Brother,
Mohamed.
“Wayoutwest said…,
Nora, I hope you realize that the Snowden, Baghdadi, Mossad story is BS apparently from the Iranians making a feeble attempt to discredit the Caliph. Snowden has no documents to release because he turned all he collected over to Glen Greenwald and other reporters.”
My HASBARA NM brother. Are you saying that ISIS is not the creation of Mossad/CIA/Bandar Bush. Even a small child can debunk you!
“Wayoutwest said…,
This pathetic attempt to stop the rise of the Islamic State just shows the fear and panic spreading through places such as Tehran and other capitals where brittle regimes are facing an unstoppable force.”
Another HASBARA. Iran is a brittle regime!
Iran has never been stronger!
No one is scared of IS, even Iraq is not scared. It is a ploy to get all the enemies of Iraq out in open, so to get rid of them once and for all.
Best regards,
Mohamed.
Mohamed, believing a bogus report to support a false narrative only creates a false sense of security that reality will destroy in a very cruel way. If you or anyone else can produce proof , not opinion, supporting your claims about the IS I would appreciate seeing it. The story I referred to in Nora’s comment was so poorly produced I didn’t even have to check to know it was bogus.
Nothing we say here will change what is happening in Iraq and only time will produce the reality that will correct our misconceptions.
An interesting aside, Islamic State fighters are active in Gaza recruiting and organizing for action against an IDF invasion. We may get to see how these supposed Israeli trained fighters perform against their mentors.
However this episode ends the IS is beginning to prepare the Palestinians for the ultimate battle to liberate Palestine.
@ muhamad 14:53
As a Sunni I identify these wahabis by looking at their trousers ,if it is above their ankles that is an indication already of the Khawarij.I remember whwn Gadafi gave a speech before he was overthrown a nd killed,he identified the rebels as not being one of us(sunnis)by saying look at heir trousers they are way above their ankles or somethong to that effect.
@Seamus Padraig
Real Sunnis venerate the saints and prophets and family of the prophet muhamad (pbuh)as can be seen many of the shrines are found in Sunni majority countries.It is the wahabis and their offshoots like the salafis and deoband-tablighis and muslim brotherhood who call real sunnis grave worshipers .
Sorry Mohamed, I disagree with your view.
The Quran is enough because God / Allah says so.
The Hadith is satanic addition.
Free-Minds mostly do not believe in the 19 theory, they forked out of it.
They are not my patrons, contributors in that site helped me open my eyes, but I do not follow them like sectarians follow their clerics.
Shalom / Salam
“Anonymous said…,
@ muhamad 14:53
As a Sunni I identify these wahabis by looking at their trousers ,if it is above their ankles that is an indication already of the Khawarij.I remember whwn Gadafi gave a speech before he was overthrown and killed,he identified the rebels as not being one of us(sunnis)by saying look at heir trousers they are way above their ankles or somethong to that effect.”
Salam Dearest Brother,
You are right brother, the dress being above the ankles. Way, way above the ankles. ~:)
And, that most Sunni are real Sunni who are Decent God Fearing Good Sunni.
“Anonymous said…,
@Seamus Padraig
Real Sunnis venerate the saints and prophets and family of the prophet muhamad (pbuh)as can be seen many of the shrines are found in Sunni majority countries.It is the wahabis and their offshoots like the salafis and deoband-tablighis and muslim brotherhood who call real sunnis grave worshipers.”
Again, right too! As most good Sunni like Shia considered Prophet Mohammad (saws) as Nur. No doubt here!
Best regards,
Mohamed.