How I remember Idi Amin in my primary school days

Hi guys and ladies,

Here is my beautiful encounter with Idi Amin (RIP). In the late 70’s on our way from the pre-primary school (which by the way had no name and was located in someone’s garage) this big bird we then called “olcopter” flew over our heads. Me and my friend quickly decided that going home could wait. We quickly ran to the field where this “olcopter” would land. The field was just behind our flat in the centre of Masaka Town. Guess it was not a proper airfield or air strip. But helicopters landed there several times. In the house where I lived we were never allowed to venture downstairs and out for even a second. On this God given day, I got an opportunity to follow the big bird. Although the noise was ear wracking, the rotating thing on top of the bird was most exciting. The big bird was hovering in the air for some time. I don’t know whether the pilot was just worried that the two kids were in the way of the copter or he was still enjoying the air. Possibly his fears were unfounded, because the more the bird lowered the more we ran farther away from that terrible noise. Soon the noise reduced in intensity and we drew nearer to see this magnificent “olcopter”.

A small door was flung open and a very tall, heavy set military man climbed out. He came towards us smiling and laughing. He lifted us in turns and threw us high in the air. But even after this exhilarating throw in the air our eyes remained on the “olcopter”. So beautiful and attractive was this machine but also very scaring to approach. We did not even pay attention to the jeeps and other cars that came and picked the man who was already happily walking towards the town centre. All our attention was on the “olcopter”.

Don’t ask what time we left for home. All I remember is that we remained at the field untill the “olcopter” took off. It lifted off without the tall man it had brought. When it disappeared we also decided to go home. I didn’t know what was waiting for me at home. It now dawned on me that we had spent half the day at the field and they had looked all over the place for me. The only place they had not checked was the field where the big bird had landed.

What followed needs no explanation to an African. I never like to remember how many strokes of the cane I got on my body that day. The canes were followed with the mentoring to repeat the “words never to go near the President ever again”. What started as an exciting experience with the big bird ended in tears and mentoring not go near a person called President. From that day and the years of my life that followed, I thought the word “President” was that tall man’s name. I learnt my lesson well. Up today I don’t like being near people they call Presidents. Presidents are supposed to be bad people. If Presidents were good people why then was I punished for having taken the honour of receiving the President of Uganda at that field in Masaka town on that beautiful sunny day???? Hahaha! Later on in life l came to learn that the man who gave me that exciting throw into the air was by then the President of the Republic of Uganda. Despite that realization I still do not associate with green cars, green copters and people who were green uniform; because if I do that would mean that the sticks I got as kid were not enough (emigo tegyanoga). Presidents are to be avoided. They cause one problems. May the ALMIGHTY ALLAH forgive our brother and parent, Idi Amin for his shortcomings and grant him Jana in the life after death.

Dr.Ibra Ssendagire.
USA

Jesus: Is He God in Human Form?

Jesus is a great Prophet and Messenger of Allah. He like all prophets before him taught people about Allah, His existence, His Beautiful Names and show people by words and deeds how to be moral.

He is not neither a god nor son of god. He is a man but infallible and righteous. He made miracles like all Allah’s prophets. I remind you also that he was born miraculously without father. He was also called in the Qur’an Jesus son of Marry. He neither said that he was god nor son of god.

In his cradle, he talked to people who accused his mother of fornication and testified that his mother was absolutely pure. He is not a Son of God in any sense and he no other being fathered him. He is a spirit from Allah and a word from Him that came to Mary, and he was directly created by the power of this word. He is a spirit from Allah in the sense that, unlike other humans, his spirit was given to Mary before his body. That is why Allah calls him a spirit from Him.

Allah cannot take a shape or any form of substance; nothing in His creation is similar to Him. He is above time and space, shape or physical qualities. If we say that Jesus was the Son of God, we would do something totally against our mind and reasoning and we would totally ignore the very nature of God. God has not got a wife or any carnal and intimate relationship with any of His creation, nor any kind of physical touch. To say Jesus is the Son of God is to say that Mary was the wife of God and no one accepts this. Since no one accepts this, it is against our reasoning and intellectual persuasive.

If Jesus was created without a father, this does not mean that God is his father, simply because of the difference in nature between Jesus and God. Jesus was born in time and in a certain place; he grew up from babyhood to adolescence to maturity. The description of Jesus we have in the four Gospels and in the New Testament is a description of a man, not of God. Jesus cried, felt tired, suffered and became fatigued. Like all humans, he sought rest and comfort. He felt hungry and searched for food and even got angry because of his hunger, as in the Gospel when he went to the fig tree to find some fruit to eat and when he did not find any, he hit the tree and cursed it. Jesus once felt very tired and some ladies came and massaged him and anointed his feet with perfume. He felt fresh and satisfied as any human. He suffered sickness and even when, according to the Gospel, he was taken by the Roman soldiers to the cross, he was totally unable to carry his own cross. When he was hanged, he cried loudly: “My God! My God! Why have You have forsaken me!” He did not say, “My father.”

Again, according to the Gospel, before he was taken to the cross, he prayed to God to save him from this plight. But finally he surrendered himself to the will of God. What we are telling is taken from the four Gospels. We ask again why should God beget a son? And why one son only? And why not a daughter as well? And how did God send His Son Jesus to be treated inhumanely and let people mock at him and spit in his face? One may say that he was sent and underwent all of these actions in order to release us from the bondage of the original sin committed by Adam and to take our sin away and to reconcile ourselves to our Creator. Unfortunately, there is no direct statement by Jesus himself that he came to fulfill this mission. He was very clear to tell people that God is my God and yours. He used to pray to God and ask Him for support and comfort. He never said, “I am God” or “I am the Son of God.” Rather, he was called several times in the Gospels “a prophet” and “a mighty prophet”. He was also called “the servant of God” like Prophet Muhammad after him. People used to shout, “Here a prophet has risen among us” and repeated this phrase whenever Jesus performed a miracle in front of people.

In the Gospel, he is also called the son of man. “Man” here could be a reference to Mary or Mary’s father, as an indication to trace Jesus’ genealogy to his mother since he has no father. The Christian theologians understand very well that it is beyond reason to prove the that Jesus is a Son of God or that Jesus is divine; but it is very easy and straightforward to prove the manhood and the prophethood of this great Messenger of God.

We hope we do not offend anyone. We are in an age of discovering facts and exchanging views and experiences with full respect to everyone’s human dignity.

Going to Beaches in Summer

Going to beaches for recreation is permissible for any Muslim. Practicing Muslims are not to be denied this right. Practicing Muslims, like anyone else, are free to enjoy the fresh air of the sea.

Almighty Allah permits Muslims to enjoy the lawful things He gave to them. Among these lawful things is sightseeing and enjoying the beauty of the universe. Almighty Allah says: (Say: Who hath forbidden the adornment of Allah which He hath brought forth for His bondmen, and the good things of His providing?) (Al-A`raf 5:32). But this should be within the prescribed limits, not to fall into that which is haram.

In Islam, we are warned against sins of nudity, promiscuity, and permissiveness that corrupt the soul as well as the mind. They all lead to temptations, which lead to sins, and sins eventually lead to Hellfire and eternal perdition.

It is therefore imperative that, while enjoying summer at the beach, we specifically avoid areas associated with the above and find locations or times where we will be staying clear of the above completely.

While enjoying summer at the beach as a group, we are not allowed to practice indiscriminate mingling of sexes, nor are we allowed to expose our `awrah to others. Remember `awrah includes all parts of the body that we must keep covered from others (except our lawful spouses).

Finally, while enjoying summer activities we must never forget our Prayers or other essential Islamic duties of worship.

You can assign different areas of the beach for males and females for activities such as swimming, or divide the time by making schedules for them.

For as long as the above mentioned factors are taken into consideration, there are no restrictions on enjoying summer at the beach.

Allah Almighty knows best.

The Last Supper of Jesus According to Islam

The last supper is well detailed in Christianity; according to Islam, we have a similar incident that is mentioned in the Quran, specifically in a chapter called “Al-Maidah”, translated as “the feast” or “the table spread”, and it means “a table spread with food”. At the end of this chapter, Allah mentioned the following:

{When the disciples said: O Jesus, son of Mary! Is your Lord able to send down for us a table spread with food from heaven? He said: Observe your duty to Allah, if you are true believers. (They said:) We wish to eat thereof, that we may satisfy our hearts and know that you have spoken truth to us, and that thereof we may be witnesses. Jesus, son of Mary, said: O Allah, our Lord! Send down for us a table spread with food from heaven, that it may be a feast for us, for the first of us and for the last of us, and a sign from You. Give us sustenance, for You are the Best of Sustainers. Allah said: Lo! I send it down for you. And whoso disbelieves of you afterward, him surely will I punish with a punishment wherewith I have not punished any of (My) creatures. And when Allah said: O Jesus, son of Mary! Did you say unto mankind: Take me and my mother for two gods beside Allah? He said: Be glorified! It was not mine to utter that to which I had no right. If I used to say it, then you would have known it. You know what is in my mind, and I know not what is in Your Mind. Lo! You, only You, are the Knower of Things Hidden? I spoke unto them only that which You commended me, (saying): Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. I was a witness of them while I dwelt among them, and when You took me You were the Watcher over them.} (Al-Maidah, Chapter 5, Verses 112-117)

To understand the full context, verses before and after have to be also taken into consideration starting from verse 110 until verse 120. In verse 110, Allah starts with the great miracles that He favored Jesus (peace be upon him) with.

Many people expect miracles to believe; however, a true believer is able to see the truth without experiencing any miracles.

Note the Prophet Muhammad’s companions did not ask him for any miracles; it was only the disbelievers of Quraish who asked for miracles and when the Prophet (peace be upon him) showed them miracles that Allah favored him with, they still did not believe.

So here Jesus’s disciples saw great miracles from Allah, such as raising the dead, yet they dared asking for another miracle; therefore, the response of Jesus (peace be upon him) “Ittaqullah”, meaning “fear Allah” and translated in the above verses as “Observe your duty to Allah”.

Unfortunately the translation does not convey the proper appreciative meaning. This is an expression of blame, where Jesus is blaming his disciples for requesting such a miracle; therefore, the following statement “If you are true believers”.

Jesus (peace be upon him) feared the consequences of this trial upon his disciples and asked them to depend on Allah for their provision.

When the disciples insisted, Jesus (peace be upon him) supplicated to Allah to bring forth the miracle. However, Allah warned them that whosoever disbelieves, shall receive the most severe punishment.

So disbelieving after experiencing divine miracles is one of the worst sins since knowing by seeing is different than knowing by hearsay.

The following verses are not only a warning but also imply that some of the disciples must have claimed the divinity of Jesus and his mother (peace be upon them); therefore deviating from monotheism.

Micheal Hart in his book “The 100, a Ranking of the Most Influencial People in History”, states that:

“Jesus did not preach any of Paul’s sayings, and Paul is considered responsible for Jesus’ Divinity.”

Allah is blaming those who invented a lie against Him and His messenger, making a rival, wife and son for our creator. Allah is far above what they attribute to Him; therefore verse 118: “If you punish them, lo! They are your slaves and if you forgive them, You are the All-Mighty, All-Wise”

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to repeat that verse (5:118) over and over, while weeping during his night prayers, wishing that Allah guides his people and does not punish them.

Allah will eventually question and judge everyone; those who worshiped Allah alone and did not associate anyone with Him shall receive a great recompense; Gardens under which rivers flow. Indeed, it is a great triumph.

So the story is not a diversion like the crucifixion, but the true purpose of such a feast is not clearly mentioned in Christianity even though there are more details. The Quran gives a concise story, explaining that it was a trial of faith for Jesus’ disciples; whoever passes shall receive Paradise otherwise a great torment.

4 Reasons Why I Wear the Muslim Headscarf(By Aaminah Hernandez)

I have never written anything personal on the subject of hijab because it seems like an overdone issue. Sometimes I think so much focus is put on this one little aspect of being a Muslim woman, to the detriment of more important Islamic knowledge and practice.

Because the headscarf is such a visual symbol of the Muslim woman, many non-Muslims are the ones who make a large issue of it, spout ill-informed opinions, or ask questions in an attempt to understand. This has been answered to by so many Muslim women, and even Muslim men, that I did not feel the need to throw my opinion or feelings out into the fray.

Lately I find I am being asked many questions, even by other Muslim women who choose not to wear hijab, and by non-Muslims who know other Muslim women who choose not to wear hijab. So, the following is my answer to the many questions that have been coming up.

My intent is only to give my own opinion and experience. I do not mean to be judgmental of those women who struggle with the issue of covering or to suggest that only one form of covering is acceptable. I can only tell you what I think and feel about the headscarf. If you want to know why someone else does not cover, or covers less or more fully than I, you would have to ask that person to share their experience with you.

The most common question I have been asked in the past seven years since I became Muslim is “Why do you wear that thing?”

“That thing” is a headscarf. I have worn many different styles from bandana coverage all the way to a full khimar, which is a very loose and long head-covering, with a face veil. I enjoy playing with my head cover to match the style of my clothing and to find more comfortable styles.

Right now my favorite style is very loose and draping. I tend to dress more multi-cultural than most American women. In fact, many immigrants who have taken to the American dress code even look at me in surprise that I like to wear many traditional clothing styles. My headscarves reflect my overall style.

The reason I began to wear hijab was simply that I believed (and still believe) it is mandated in Islam. When I first became Muslim I lived in a town that was full of Muslims, most of whom dressed in the traditional ways. Putting on a headscarf (and at that time even a veil) was not a hardship. It was the norm where I was, and I understood it to be required.

There are verses in the Quran and in the collected words of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), as well as collected norms and behaviors of the wives of the Prophet and his Companions that show clearly that covering of the entire body and head was enjoined upon and practiced by the early Muslim women.

Like most women, I have at times struggled with the issue of covering, but never because I did not believe it was required. There were points in my life where I did not wear it either because of jobs that did not allow it (it is a legally guaranteed right here in the U.S. and your employer must allow it) or because I was tired of being so “different” all the time. But I always felt guilty not wearing it and knew that I must go back to it.

Besides the simple answer that I am Muslim and believe that the headscarf and covering are required in Islam, many people want to know more detail about why I actually wear it and what the purpose or point of the covering is, particularly if they know other Muslim women who do not wear it.

I cannot speak to why so many Muslim women do not wear it and what their state of mind or opinion on the matter is. I refuse to judge them for being in the stage they are in and I do not know what their personal circumstances may be. I can only answer to what I believe the purpose and benefits of my headscarf achieve.

1.Modesty. When dressed in a covering way, I am not showing my physical attributes (or perhaps lack of) to anyone. People are forced to judge me by my actions and speech, by how well I do my job or how I interact with others, rather than by whether or not I am “good looking” and interest them.

2.To that same end, my beauty is then saved for my husband’s full enjoyment and he knows he does not share me with anyone. I am not out getting a lot of attention from others that may make him feel insecure or that is disrespectful to me.

3.I am noticeably different, a Muslim. Most people respect that. They can clearly see that I am not the kind of woman that you whistle or cat-call at, nor am I going to agree to meet you in a bar or club, nor can you proposition me on the street or in the office. There is a level of respect that men give me whereby they do not treat me in the same way they might treat other women they meet and believe they can “get with”. In fact, in my case, I find that many men (yes, non-Muslims) are more gentlemanly with me in general. I have more doors held open for me, paths cleared for me, more assistance when needed, and an overall respect given to me.

4.Wearing the head covering works to remind me of my duties. I am more likely to be a better person when I am covered because the headscarf is a potent reminder to me of what type of behavior and attitude is expected of me. I am less likely to lose my temper, more likely to be kind and forgiving, in difficult situations.

In my experience, the hijab or headscarf is beneficial to me. Not only do I have the security that I am following a mandate set by God and thereby pleasing God, but I also experience great comforts in this life because of my coverage.

Contrary to what many think, I am not forced to wear it (I chose it for myself while still single, and as a convert I am not being forced by family to wear it), it is not an obstacle or a discomfort to me, and it does not in any way impair my opportunities or abilities.

I am an independent American woman with a high degree of personal freedom and fulfillment. The headscarf has never stood in my way of doing or achieving anything, but has instead made me more comfortable as I interact in society and my community.

Jinja Mayor’s experience at Ummurah in Ramandhan this year

Idi Amin was a human being like all of us.May Allah forgive him where he could have gone wrong and grant him janna.In the just concluded Ramathan,I was on Umra with my wife and 3 other Ugandans one of whom was our guide and as we lined up to be cleared by the Saudi immigration officials at medina airport which was crowded,two Saudi officials came and asked if there were any Ugandans and upon answering in the affirmative,we were asked to live the long quee and advised to get service from the counter for the non Umra visitors which had become less congested.

I later on learnt that there was a Ugandan boy of Somali origin speaking fluent Luganda who was responsible for this courtesy as he works at this airport.How ever,what amused us were the pilgrims for west Africa.before we were sent to the special counter,we were given the opportunity to overlap those infront of us and Infact my wife was third last and I was second last while our colleagues were slightly ahead of us .

The pilgrims from west Africa who were ahead of us did not object only that I remember them wondering with smiling faces and with a statement that “is it because Idi Amin was your president”,yet they were fairly young men in their late 30s and early 40s which meant that Idi Amin was appreciated and respected by even people who were not of his generation and more or so from other parts of the continent.May Allah reward him for his good deeds and forgive him where he could have errored.

Muhammad Baswari Kezaara
Member of UMBS in jinja.

—————————————–
Muhammad Baswari Kezaara was born in Budondo, Bujagali village. Went to Mainstreet primary sch, joined Jinja ss where he was Uganda Muslim Students Association(UMSA) chairman 1982-1986. Studied ‘A’ at Nkumba College where he was chairman UMSA 1988-1989. He was Elected secretary finance jinja Municipal youth council 1994-1996. He was Elected chairman Uganda Young Democrats(UYD) 1995. He was National chairman UYD 1996-2005. He was elected councilor Jinja Central Division 1997-2001. He was elected Chairman LC3 Jinja central division 2002-2006. He was elected Mayor Jinja municipality council 2006-2011. He is the 1st ever Re-elected Mayor Jinja municipality 2011-2016. He was Vice president Democratic party Eastern Region 2005-2009. He is National chairman Democratic party 2011 to date.

Mohammad Most Popular Name in Oslo

A new count of the population of Norway’s capital city Oslo has revealed that Mohammad, the name of Islam’s Prophet, is the most common name for the first time ever in the European capital’s history.The survey was made by SSB for the male names in Oslo.The results found that 4,801 boys and men are named Mohammed or variations of Mohammed as their first name.

Therefore, Mohammed has passed both Jan (4,667) and Per (4,155).

The name has spent four years in a row at the top of the list of baby names in Oslo, but this is the first time that Mohammed tops the men’s name list for Oslo.

Similar results were revealed in Britain after statistics found that the name Mohammad, or its variations, has topped the list of the baby names.

The estimates showed that the Muslim name was the most multi-cultural London and the West Midlands, while Oliver came out top in the South East, South West and Wales.

Norwegian Muslims are estimated at 150,000 out of the country’s 4.5 million population, mostly of Pakistan, Somali, Iraqi and Moroccan backgrounds.

There are nearly 90 Muslim organizations and Islamic centers across the northern European country.

CONGS TO DR. KARIM SSESANGA AT ISESCO AND HAJAT REHMAH KASULE

Hajjati Rehmah Kasule

Asalam Aleikum brothers and sisters,UMBS is applauding two of its members for the achievements they have got.We applaud our brother Dr.N.A.Karim Ssesanga, former Director IUIU Kampala Campus who has been appointed a Higher Education Specialist by the Islamic Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO) based at its headquarters in Rabat Morocco.He will join a team of specialists at ISESCO to offer technical advice to Universities in ISESCO member states.

We also applaud our sister Owek. Hajat Rehmah Kasule, the author of the book “From Gomba to the White House” a book she wrote when she met President Barack Obama in 2010. She is the Founder and Presidednt of CEDA International www.ceda-uganda.org, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pyR6IZmTwM

Rehmah is an Award Winner of The International Alliance for Women 2011, and this year, she is one of the two recipients of the Goldman Sachs & Fortune Global Women Leaders Award in recognition of her work in women empowerment. This Award goes with funding for her project and also she will travel to this year’s fortune Most Powerful Women Summit in Laguna Miguel California to accept the award to be presented in October the summit.

We thank ALLAH for enabling them reach such international heights and pray for HIS guidance.

Bravo Karim former ‘RAT’

Bravo Rehmah former ‘BOXER

Shamim Namuddu Ssebaggala
On behalf of The
Ex – Mumsa Walk in Team

EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE FACT SHEET

EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE FACT SHEET

What is Ebola Virus Disease?

Ebola Virus Disease is a highly infectious and deadly disease affecting humans and animals such as monkeys, gorillas, Chimpanzees, bats, birds, reptiles, amphibians, arthropods. The disease is caused by Ebola virus and it occurs in sporadic outbreak.

Where is Ebola Virus Disease found?

Though the natural habitat of the Ebola virus is unknown, Ebola virus is normally found in an animal host that is native to the African continent.

Where do cases of Ebola Virus Disease occur?

Outbreaks of Ebola VD have been mainly restricted to Africa. Confirmed cases of Ebola VD have been reported in Africa such as Liberia, Sierrea leone, Guinea, Ghana, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Sudan, the Ivory Coast, Uganda etc. Ebola VD is usually spread within a health care setting. However, sporadic isolated cases may occur unnoticed.

How is Ebola Virus Disease spread?

The manner in which the Ebola virus first appears in a human at the start of an outbreak has not been determined. However, Ebola VD could be spread through the following:

1. Direct contact with an infected animal or human;
2. Direct contact with the blood and or secretions of an infected person especially within families;
3. Contact with contaminated medical equipment such as needles;
4. Reuse of unsterilized needles in hospital;
5. Eating or handling of the carcass of infected animals;
6. Inhalation of contaminated air in hospital environment;
7. Use of infected non human primate/bats as food source;
8. Non implementation of universal precautions.

What are the symptoms of Ebola Virus Disease?

The incubation period for Ebola VD ranges from 2 to 21 days. The signs and symptoms of Ebola VD include:

1. Fever
2. Headache
3. Diarrhea
4. Vomiting
5. Chest pain
6. Stomach pain
7. Cold
8. Cough
9. Joint and muscles pain
10. Sore throat
11. Weakness
12. Depression
13. Confusion
14. Red eyes
15. Internal and external bleeding

Who is at risk?

1. People exposed to and handling wild animals;
2. People depending on wild animals such as bats as a food source;
3. Mortuary attendants;
4. Health workers caring for Ebola VD patients;
5. Health workers in hospital settings with poor basic hygiene and sanitation practices;
6. Family members of an infected patient;
7. People that go to hospitals with poor hygiene and sanitation practices;

How is Ebola Virus Disease prevented?

1. Avoid contact with the blood/secretions of Ebola infected animals and humans or dead bodies by:

a) Maintain good hygiene and sanitation practices in hospitals;
b) Isolate Ebola infected patients;
c) Dispose of dead bodies of Ebola patients properly in a safe manner;
d) Avoid local traditional burial rituals such as embalming for Ebola patients;

2. Health workers and visitors caring for Ebola patients should:

a) Wear proper personal protective equipment such as disposable face mask. Gloves, goggles,
b) and gown always;
c) Use disposable needles;
d) Avoid reuse of needles or use of inadequately sterilized needles;
e) Avoid embalming of a deceased Ebola patient;

KINDLY SHARE THIS MESSAGE WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO TAG.

Champs Are Christians Only: German Muslim Told

In a blow to Muslim integration in the German society, a Muslim father has been asked to abandon his title as shooting champion in a western Germany town for not being “Christian”.

“It is completely incomprehensible to me that we are having such a debate in the 21st Century,” Mithat Gedik, the Muslim father who was crowned Shooting King, told The Local on Monday, August 4.

“We didn’t want to provoke anyone, we just wanted to celebrate a wonderful shooting festival.”

The 33-year-old Muslim champion was named as Schützenkönig (shooting king) by his local club on July 18.

Yet, the father of four kids was asked later to return back his title by the Bund der Historischen Deutschen Schützenbruderschaften (BHDS) (Historic German Shooting Federation), because he is not Christian.

“It should be obvious to anyone who can read. They didn’t read their own constitution,” Rolf Nieborg, a spokesman for the BHDS said.

“No one has probably asked him about his religion because he is so well integrated.

“They made a mistake and should correct it. They could ask him to abdicate.”

Gedik, a German Muslim who was brought up in Werl, North Rhine-Westphalia by his Turkish parents, works for a Mannheim-based company and volunteers at the fire department besides being a board member of his local shooting club.

As the BHDS states that it is an “association of Christian people”, the Muslim champion may be moved to Sauerland Shooting Federation that allows non-Christians members.

Germany has Europe’s second-biggest Muslim population after France, and Islam comes third in Germany after Protestant and Catholic Christianity.

It has between 3.8 and 4.3 million Muslims, making up some 5 percent of the total 82 million population, according to government-commissioned studies.

Germans have grown hostile to the Muslim presence recently, with a heated debate on the Muslim immigration into the country.

A recent poll by the Munster University found that Germans view Muslims more negatively than their European neighbors.
According to a 2010 nationwide poll by the research institute Infratest-dimap, more than one third of the respondents would prefer “a Germany without Islam.”

Recognize Hamas’ Legitimacy: Jimmy Carter

Joining a world chorus condemnation for the Israeli war on Gaza, the former US president Jimmy Carter along with the former Irish president Mary Robinson have called for recognizing Hamas as a “legitimate political actor”.

“There is no humane or legal justification for the way the Israeli Defense Forces are conducting this war,” Carter and Robinson wrote for Foreign Policy magazine.

“Hamas cannot be wished away, nor will it co-operate in its own demise.

“Only by recognizing its legitimacy as a political actor — one that represents a substantial portion of the Palestinian people — can the West begin to provide the right incentives for Hamas to lay down its weapons.”

These views have been expressed in an article the US 39th President co-wrote with the former Irish president for Foreign Policy magazine.

The duo western leaders have accused Israel of spoiling the formation of the unity government between Fatah and Hamas, besides destabilizing the region.

Deploring the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, the pair said that “war crimes” against civilians should be investigated.

“There is never an excuse for deliberate attacks on civilians in conflict. These are war crimes,” the leaders said.

Condemning the blockade of Gaza, Carter said that the international community should push for the “full restoration of the free movement of people and goods to and from Gaza through Israel, Egypt and the sea”.

Under the auspices of Carter, Egyptian President Mohammad Anwar El-Sadat and late Israeli Premier Menachem Begin have signed Camp David Accords peace treaty in 1978 that left dozens of Palestinian families scattered across both sides of Rafah.

Israel has been launching relentless airstrikes against Gaza since July 8 where hundreds have been killed and thousands injured.

Israel has claimed that its new war on Gaza, under the title Operation Protect Edge, was a response to the rocket attacks being carried out by Hamas.

Israel occupation forces started a ground invasion of besieged Gaza, home to two millions civilian, on Thursday, July 17.

Health officials in Gaza said 1,868 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed and nearly 10,000 injured since Israel launched its war on the besieged strip.

A total of 67 Israelis, all but three of them soldiers, have died.

On Tuesday, August 5, Hamas and Israel started a 72-hour ceasefire with Hamas mediated by Egypt as a first step towards negotiations on a more enduring end to the month-old war.

Messi defends rights of Gaza children

Popular Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi has defended rights of children in conflict areas, especially in the Gaza Strip where a month of fighting has claimed nearly 1,900 Palestinian lives.

“As a father and a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, I am terribly saddened by the images coming from the conflict between Israel and Palestine, where violence has already claimed so many young lives and to injure countless children,” Messi wrote Thursday on his official Facebook page, which is liked by 68,043,913 fans as of Friday.

Messi, who currently plays for Barcelona, added that: “Children did not create this conflict, but they are paying the ultimate price,” and urged that “this cycle of senseless violence must stop. We must reflect on the consequences of military conflicts and children must be protected.”

HOW COME NONE OF THE AFRICAN COUNTRIES HAVE CLOSED THEIR TIES WITH ISRAEL?

Unlike the US, many countries are moving in the opposite direction and shying away from importing or exporting military equipment with Israel.

On Monday, Spain imposed an arms embargo on Israel and the United Kingdom said it would review all of its multi-billion pound military contracts. The French president has called the situation in Gaza a “massacre,” while this week, the US State Department condemned an Israeli bombing on a school as “appalling.”

And last week, five Latin American nations – Ecuador, Brazil, Chile, Peru and El Salvador – withdrew their ambassadors from Tel Aviv. Other countries suspended free-trade talks and Bolivia canceled a visa-exemption that was popular with Israeli backpackers.

The withdrawal of Brazil’s ambassador now threatens key arms sales as the biggest customers of Israel’s arms industry – the sixth largest in the world – are the US, India, and Brazil, according to Shir Hever, a leftist Israeli economist.

Britain is also a prominent military trading partner and its announced “review” could imperil government-approved exports to Israel worth more than $13.1 billion, according to a report by a parliamentary committee last month. These include the sale of body armor, drone components, and missile parts.

An American Female Finds Islam:Amazed By Muslim Women’s Dress

I am an American who grew up in a strict religious Christian family. By the time I was 16 I became very devout and religious myself. The church was like a home away from home. I enjoyed it thoroughly.I had read and studied the Bible on a regular basis. All the while I was noticing many errors in the Bible. Many conflicting stories. So I would ask my grandmother or the pastor of the church about it, but would never get a solid answer.

I was told to just brush it off and not worry about these little details that weren’t adding up. So for a time I did.Later on in my early 20s I was appointed as Youth Pastor at my local church. It was during this time that my biblical studies had become intense. The more I studied, the more questions I had.

Due to the lack of answers I was not getting from the church, I decided to enroll into Bible College. “For sure I would find my answers there,” I often thought to myself. Again, no such luck.

Nothing could ease my mind and so I decided to step down from “Youth Pastor”. I felt I could no longer lead the youth since I was confused and doubting things myself. I was the one in need of a leader. My heart was crying out to find some peace in all this confusion.

One night I turned on the TV and happened to flip straight to CNN. They were reporting straight from Iraq. Then, there in the background I saw the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.

She was adorned only in black from head to toe. She was so modest, and to me that made her so beautiful. I knew that she was a Muslim but I didn’t know what the religious beliefs of Muslims were.

I was more caught up in her clothing attire. It sparked my interest more than anything. My heart immediately desired to be like the woman. Pious and modest. So this is where my search began.

I immediately got online and searched “Muslim Woman Dress” & “Muslim Woman Face Veil”. This is when I came across the words “Hijab” and “Niqab”. Wikipedia also referred to the women who wore it as Hijabis or Niqabis.

These hijabis and niqabis were my newly-found role models. So I immediately changed all my online nicknames to “hijabi” or “niqabi”. It had not occurred to me to investigate the beliefs of Islam yet. But it was soon to come.

One afternoon my neighborhood was having a community cookout. I was setting next to my closest neighbor and we somehow got on the subject of religion.

He said “You know us Christians will probably be in trouble when we stand before God?”

I just nodded in agreement but not really sure where he was going with this.

He said, “Yeah, you know those Muslims pray 5 times a day faithfully and we Christians can barely make time to pray once a day.”

I immediately excused myself and ran back to my home. I opened the Computer and began searching the Internet about Muslim beliefs. I was amazed at their beliefs as it seemed to fit in line with mine.

But I wanted to be sure there were no surprises hidden in their beliefs; you know nothing that was going to throw me for a loop if I choose to convert.

The following weeks I drove to the closest mosque, which happened to be 50 miles away, requesting information. I searched the Internet into the wee hours of the morning reading all about Islam.

After a couple of months of researching and reading, I decided that I want to convert. I drove back to the mosque and took the Shahadah!

A peace entered my heart and soul like never before. Subhanallah!

Was Eve made from the rib of Adam?

First of all, Allah in the Quran explained how He created Adam (peace be upon him). He states in different verses that he had created Adam from clay.

{Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: “I am about to create man from clay:}-Surah 38 Verse 71

{The similitude of Jesus before God is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: “Be”. And he was.}-Surah 3 Verse 59

The Quran also clearly states Allah also created Hawa (Eve) by His Hands from the same nature of Adam.{O mankind! reverence your Guardian-Lord, who created you from a single person, created, of like nature, His mate, and from them twain scattered (like seeds) countless men and women….}- Surah 4 Verse 1

Hence, the Quran does not state that Eve was created from Adam’s rib. Yet, there is an authentic Hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him) which uses the metaphor of the shape of a rib to describe women.

The authentic Hadith says that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:

“Treat women kindly. Woman has been created from a rib and the most bent part of the rib is the uppermost. If you try to turn it straight, you will break it. And if you leave it alone, it will remain bent as it is. So treat women kindly.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Another version adds” ..if you wish to draw benefit from it, you can do so despite its shape.”

Some scholars perceived the Hadiths in their literal meaning and accepted the idea that Eve was created from Adam’s rib. Yet many scholars, on the other hand, totally rejected this interpretation. They based their argument on the fact that in Arabic, the words “created from” do not necessarily refer to the substance of creation; they can also refer to the nature of something. These scholars sustain their argument with an example from the Quran in which Allah says “That man has been created from hastiness”. Of course, this does not mean that man’s substance is hastiness; it only refers to man’s nature and behavior.

The Hadith then means that if a man wants to be happy with his wife he should not attempt to re-shape her character, but accepts her the way she is and try to be happy by understanding her habits and her personality.

The Theory of Evolution and the creation of humans by Allah

Allah says what means:*{Allah has created every animal from water. Of them are some that creep on their bellies, some that walk on two legs, and some that walk on four. Allah creates what He wills, for truly Allah has power over all things}* (An-Nur 24:45)

This verse endorses the scientific theory that life first appeared in the ocean, by leave of Allah, but humans are the special creatures of Allah by a specific command from Him.

The theory of evolution rests on the twin concepts of “the survival of the fittest” and “natural selection”: The species “with the best characteristics will survive, and that is decided by a process of “natural selection”.

The problem with this theory (as well as with most scientific theories) is the assumption that all events take place accidentally, that is, without a supreme being to oversee them.

For instance, consider the expression “natural selection.” It means that new species come into being “naturally,” that is to say, as a result of prior causes, which in their turn were the results of events before them and so on, in an infinite regression. It is also stated that these causes if traced back will not lead us to “a first cause.”

Obviously, this idea contradicts the belief that God is the Creator of all things and beings, while the Quran emphatically and repeatedly exhorts us to ponder over the phenomena of nature so that we can logically reach the truth that Allah Almighty is the Creator of all things and beings:

*{Say: “Allah is the Creator of all things: He is the One, the Supreme and Irresistible.”}* (Ar-Ra`d 13:16)

*{See they not how Allah originates creation, then repeats it: Truly that is easy for Allah. Say: “Travel through the earth and see how Allah did originate creation; so will Allah produce a later creation: For Allah has power over all things.”}* (Al-`Ankabut 29:19-20)

*{He has created the heavens and the earth in just proportions and has given you shape and made your shapes beautiful: And to Him is the final Goal.}* (At-Taghabun 64:3)

The above verses clearly speak of Allah as the Originator and Creator of everything in the universe, irrespective of any man-made theory that states the contrary view.

To Use or Not to Use Nuclear Power? Should Uganda or Muslim countries be investing in Nuclear power? Have Your Say

Humankind has been living since the 1950s with nuclear powered electricity generation.Proponents argue that nuclear power is a sustainable energy source which reduces carbon emissions and can increase energy security if its use supplants a dependence on imported fuels. A Stanford study found that Fast Breeder Reactors have the potential to provide power for humans on Earth for billions of years, making this source sustainable.Nuclear Reactors generate 16% of global electricity, but provide 6.3% of energy production and 2.6% of final energy consumption.

Meet the Egyptian Scientist Who Saved Japan and the Pacific

Water pollution is one of the most common forms of pollution we see around us every day, and it has evidently become a dangerously growing environmental issue.Following the 2011 tsunami which hit Japan in March of that year, the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in east Japan was subjected to several equipment failures and accidents which have led to the discharge of radioactive materials in the surrounding area, starting on March 12th.

Statistically, it is proved to be the largest nuclear catastrophe since the Chernobyl disaster of 1986, releasing an estimated 10 to 30% of the radiation of the Chernobyl accident. It is estimated that 520 tons of radioactive water leaked into the Pacific Ocean, which in turn initiated a wave of huge negative effects on the marine life in the Earth’s largest ocean and concurrently the quality of drinking water in many areas.

In the aftermath of this tragic environmental event, scientists from all over the world worked to fight off the growing danger of contaminated water, since it can cause all kinds of natural disasters and incurable diseases.

Among the most dangerous contaminators of drinking water is arsenic, which can reach drinking water through erosion of natural deposits and runoff from glass & electronics production wastes.

Arsenic is mostly used in paints, dyes, metals, drugs, soaps, and semi-conductors, and it can cause skin damage or molecular, biochemical and clinical disorders within the circulatory system, and increase the risk of getting cancer.

Prof. Dr. Sherif El Safty, an Egyptian born-and-raised chemist and expert in Nanotechnology, developed a Nano-material which enables simple, quick and efficient detection and removal of arsenic from drinking water.

El Safty obtained his Ph.D. in the year 2000 and worked as a lecturer at the Chemistry Department in the University of Tanta in Egypt, and in 2005, he was also appointed as an Associate Professor. In 2008, he became a Senior Researcher at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) in Japan, leading an independent group of passionate researchers who actively support the goal of creating nano materials for use in environmental clean-up systems.

He has worked in Japan for more than 10 years and has about 20 licensed inventions registered under his name. He also has published more than 190 papers in advanced materials and related chemistry journals and received over 16 awards worldwide.He is leading a group of research at NIMS. His research interests focus on the Multiple Nano dynamic Designs that provide efficient, one site, broad range processes in the same time. These processes are in demand for security monitoring in the global world. He established low cost extraction system based on nanoscale HOM (High Order Mesoporous Monolith) materials of rare earth metals from urban concentrate as secondary resources in Japan. He successfully designed simple, easy to use, and reliable nanocaptors for decontamination of radioactive elements in Fukushima Diaiichi, Japan from water and wastewater.

His technique, which relies on nanotechnology to capture contaminators and reduce them from drinking water, has made him, formally, one of the most eligible scientists to win a 2013 Noble Prize in Chemistry.

NAZI TACTICS BEING EMPLOYED BY ISRAEL

In a post on his Facebook page, Dr. Yasir Qadhi, co-founder and blog writer for MuslimMatters.org, draws a comparison between the tactics currently used by Israel to dehumanize Palestinians and those employed by the Nazis:

”Modern textbooks on Europe, even those studied in high-school, all demonstrate how the Nazis successfully dehumanized the Jews of Germany so that they could then persecute them with impunity. The Nazis propagated the most obvious myths and lies about Jews, claiming that they ate Christian babies (the infamous ‘blood-libel’), controlled all evil forces in the world, and were hell-bent on destroying anything and everything they could, merely because they were inherently evil. As we read such statements in our times, we wonder how anyone could have believed such anti-Semitic drivel.

It will only be a matter of a few decades, if not sooner, when history books will mention how Israelis attempted to dehumanize all Palestinians, claiming that mothers pushed their own children forward in front of missiles to act as ‘human shields’, and that the evil, demonic ‘Hamas’ actually wanted to kill its own citizens so that people would sympathize with them, and how all religious Muslims were somehow interlinked with al-Qaeda and hell-bent to destroy the modern world. Listening to Israeli politicians, or Fox News, or any pro-Israeli outlet, one sees precisely the same tactics employed by Joseph Goebbels, who was Hitler’s right-hand-man in spreading anti-Jewish propaganda amongst the Germans.

It is truly sad that a people who went through such suffering seem to be so blinded in their love of a ‘homeland’ that they fall into the very same tactics and techniques that caused their own destruction and Holocaust barely a century ago. It is encouraging to see more and more Jews are speaking out against Israel, but still, a large majority of them are such ardent supporters that, from a religious perspective, one can say they have taken this state as an idol besides their G-d, such that it must unconditionally be supported, as it can do no evil, and anything and everything that opposes it must be vilified and destroyed.

“O Children of Israel! Recall all of the blessings that I bestowed upon you, and that I had chosen you over all other nations. And also fear the Day on which no soul shall benefit another, nor will any intercession be accepted, nor any recompense, and nor will any be helped.” [Surah al-Baqara; 37-8].”

GAZA:Dr. Yasir Qadhi, co-founder and blog writer for MuslimMatters.org, responded to a controversial statement made by the Saudi Mufti

Dr. Yasir Qadhi, co-founder and blog writer for MuslimMatters.org, responded to a controversial statement made by the Saudi Mufti about protesting and demonstrating for Gaza that resurfaced recently stirring much debate. In an interview with a Saudi newspaper in 2009, the Saudi Mufti reportedly answered a question about the benefit of staging demonstrations in support of people in Gaza saying that there is no good in demonstrations and that they are merely chaotic and useless acts.

Disagreeing with this view, Dr. Yasir Qadhi posted this comment on the fatwa in his Facebook page:

I personally, with utmost respect to the Mufti, completely and totally disagree with his opinion. In fact, this is an example of one of my criticisms of the Salafi movement… a lack of political awareness and an assumption that one’s own isolated culture must be extrapolated to encompass all of Islam. Perhaps in some societies protesting on the streets might be considered chaotic (or, as the Mufti puts it, ‘ghawgha’); however, anyone who understand the dynamics of media and politics in the West realizes that public protests are one of the primary mechanisms of spreading and popularizing one’s grievances. It is because of this that the founders of America actually have a clause in the Constitution that prohibits the government from prohibiting public demonstrations!

Protests and demonstrations are a cultural matter whose benefits and harms (and hence Shar`i ruling) will vary from time, to place, to culture, to issue. The Mufti has his opinion, based on his own background and culture; many others, myself included, respectfully disagree.

Can a Reverted Woman Bear Her Husband’s Name?

It should be clear first of all that a new Muslim should keep good relations with his or her family. Islam calls for good ties with all people. Though a wife may bear her husband’s last name, she should keep her biological father’s name. Islam doesn’t change people’s lineages.

It should be known that even if people converted to Islam, this should not cancel their line of family. Allah Almighty says, “Call them by the names of their fathers. This is the right course in the sight of God.” (Al-Ahzab 33: 5)

We also have a hadith that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Whoever is lined to a father other than his, and he is aware of such, but has committed (an act of) kufr.” (Al-Bukhari)

How Long Can a Husband Stay Away from His Wife?

we’d like to state that in Islam the marriage of a man and a woman is not just a financial and physical arrangement of living together but a sacred contract, a gift of God, to lead a happy, enjoyable life and continue the lineage. The main goal of marriage in Islam is the realization of tranquility and compassions between the spouses. For the attainment of this supreme goal, Islam defined certain duties and rights for the husband and wife.

The maximum limit a husband is allowed to be away from his wife is four months, or six months according to the view of the Hanbali scholars. This is the maximum period a woman can endure separation from her husband.

Commentators of the Glorious Qur’an narrate the following incident in support of this opinion.

One night Caliph `Umar ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) was making his rounds of Madinah when he heard a woman singing:

The night is long, darkness all around me;

I am sleepless, for I have no friend to play with.

By Allah, had there been no fear of Him,

This cot would be shaking from side to side.

Upon investigation, `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) found that the woman’s husband had been on a military expedition for a long time. He then asked his daughter, Hafsah, a widow of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), “How long can a woman endure separation from her husband?” She replied, “Four months.” As a consequence, he decided that he would not send a married man away from his wife for a period exceeding four months.

However, if a wife agrees to give up this right for more than this period, then it is lawful and there is no wrong in this.”

GAZA:SIGN AND SHARETHE PETITION PLEASE!

We, the undersigned members of Uganda Muslim Brothers and Sisters(UMBS), hold that silence about the latest humanitarian catastrophe caused by Israel’s new military assault on the Gaza Strip—the third and most devastating in six years—constitutes complicity. Member state of NATO which mounted an air war on Libya ostensibly to protect civilians in Benghazi have been by and large quiet about the fate of civilians in Gaza. World governments and mainstream media do not hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law. We, however, as a community of Muslim brothers and Sisters in Uganda have a moral responsibility to do so.

Neither the violation of international law nor the destruction of Palestinian life in Gaza, however, began or will end with the current war[1]. The suffering of Palestinians is not limited to Gaza: the occupation and dispossession in East Jerusalem, the Naqab (Negev), and the West Bank; the construction of walls and fences around the Palestinian population, the curtailment of Palestinian freedom of movement and education, and the house demolitions, all have long histories that will have to be addressed.

As Muslims who value humanity and what the word itself entails, we have a particular interest in and responsibility to respond to the obstacles to the right to higher education that the Israeli state has created for Palestinians both inside Israel and in the occupied territories. In the past two months alone, Israeli forces have raided Al Quds University in Jerusalem, the Arab American University in Jenin, and Birzeit University near Ramallah[2] In the current attacks, Israeli aerial bombardment has destroyed the Islamic University of Gaza. More generally, the Israeli state discriminates against Palestinian students in Israeli universities;[3]and it isolates Palestinian academia by, among other tactics, preventing foreign academics from visiting Palestinian institutions in Gaza and the West Bank[4]. We are also alarmed by the long history of confiscations of Palestinian archives and the destruction of libraries and research centers.[5]

The ongoing Israeli massacres in Gaza have been ghastly reminders of the complicity of Israeli academic institutions in the occupation and oppression of Palestinians. Tel Aviv University, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Bar Ilan University, Haifa University, Technion, and Ben Gurion University have publicly declared their unconditional support for the Israeli military.[6]More generally, there are intimate connections between Israeli academic institutions and the military, security, and political establishments in Israel.[7] To take but one example: Tel Aviv University is directly implicated, through its Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), in developing the Dahiya Doctrine,[8]adopted by the Israeli military in its assaults on Lebanon in 2006 and on Gaza today. The Dahiya Doctrine advocates the extensive destruction of civilian infrastructure and “intense suffering” among the civilian population as an “effective” means to subdue any resistance.[9]

We applaud the few dozen Israeli academics and individuals who have protested against their government, and the several dozen who signed a petition calling for an end to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.[10]Alarmingly, they have faced disciplinary measures from their own universities.[11]We stand by these academics and support them.

We feel compelled to join the growing number of academics in Israel and around the world who support the Palestinian call to boycott Israeli academic institutions or any products supplied by Israel around the world. This call responds to Palestinian civil society organizations’ long-standing appeal for the comprehensive implementation of boycotts, divestments, and sanctions (BDS) of Israel, and is supported by the Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and Employees (PFUUPE).

Following in the footsteps of the growing number of US academic associations that have endorsed boycott resolutions,[12]we call on our colleagues in Uganda and everywhere in the world to boycott Israeli academic institutions, and we ask all Ugandans(Muslims and non-Muslims) not to collaborate on projects and events involving Israeli institutions, not to teach at or to attend conferences and other events at such institutions, and not to publish in academic journals based in Israel. We call for doing so until such time as these institutions end their complicity in violating Palestinian rights as stipulated in international law, and respect the full rights of Palestinians by calling on Israel to:

1.End its siege of Gaza, its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands occupied in June 1967, and dismantle the settlements and the walls;

2.Recognize the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel and the stateless Negev Bedouins to full equality; and

3.Respect, protect, and promote the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN Resolution 194.

For more information, please contact: UMBS admin at: abbeysemuwemba@gmail.com.UMBS is a registered organization devoted to matters of interest to Muslims in Uganda.

Here is the link to the petition:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/188/615/274/uganda-muslims-solidarity-with-palestines/

What do you think is the best way to resolve the Middle East crisis?

My Esteemed Brothers and Sisters:

What do you think is the best way to resolve the Middle East crisis,specifically the Palestinian-Israeli dispute both in the short and long terms,?

If you were sitting as a mediator in Cairo, when the peace talks finally resume what concessions would you demand of:

1) the Republic of Israel

2) the Palestinian leadership on behalf of their people?

What is the best road to peace in terms of its probability to succeed?

Do you accept the Hamas and the Islamic Jihad’s demands or wish that the state of Israel must be wiped off the face of the earth? What are the chances that this wish will come true considering the following Geo-political realities in the world?:

a) when all the chips are down and no matter which party is in power or who is serving as the President, the USA will always support Israel. Ditto for most of the western world inclusive of Great Britain, France, Germany etc,

b) the countries of the Middle East are unlikely to ever collectively prevail in any major war with Israel even if they places their entire military resources on the side of the Palestinians? With the exception of Egypt and Qatar which are trying to play a mediating role, have you noticed the deafening silence from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Yemen, UAE, Turkey and other Middle East and Islamic countries?

c) even though she is not a friend of Israel, Russia the other major non-western Super power is unlikely to support the Palestinians and the Arabs as it had always done in previous Middle East conflicts?

Unless the world is willing to continue witnessing intermittent human sufferings such as the carnage that is currently going on in the Gaza, which also has the potential of spreading to West Bank and the rest of the Middle East, I believe it is time for the rest of the world to condemn Israel’s actions in the Middle East.

Do you think that If the Palestinians and the Arabs of the Middle East had accepted the boundaries in 1948, there would have been no need for the subsequent military conflicts that have taken place in the Middle East in 1967, in the 70’s, 80’s and in the current century? The Palestinians and the Arabs have lost significant portions of land to Israel with each subsequent war including the Gaza strip–later returned to Egypt by the state of Israel, The West Bank and the Golan Heights.

The question we must ask of the Hamas and other Palestinian and Islamic organizations who are opposed to the two state solution in the Middle East is why they keep on making the same mistakes–doing things the same way and always expecting a different result.

As I wrote in an earlier piece, my sympathies remain with the Palestinian people–who have suffered a great deal since 1948.

UMBS ADMIN

Nothing justifies the Israel genocide in Gaza!

We hear these justifications all the time : Israel is responding to Hamas’ “provocation.” The “provocation thesis” is often used to justify the visual reality of disproportionate murder. It was used during and after the Holocaust too by indecent and immoral analysts to justify the Nazi slaughter of the Jews. Or, the other noxious justification: Israel has a right to react to a Nazi-type existential threat from Hamas.

It is one thing to be pro-Israel in all things relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That is okay. BUT, it is “immoral” to use the Holocaust and the Nazi slaughter of German and other European Jews to justify the current bombardment of Gaza by the Israeli government. There are former IDF soldiers who have spoken loudly about their government’s approach . Hamas has its excesses as an armed group. But, it is not the Nazi State by any informed comparison. Therefore, to compare an armed Hamas group to a totalitarian Nazi state with an anti-Jewish racial and biological ideology, as Nazi Germany was, is to overdraw one’s historical analogies.

Even in our collective helplessness to do anything about what is going on in Gaza, what we should not do is to indirectly justify the murder of the innocent by reaching for comparisons that overstretch the historical record. We become like the perpetrators of murder when , in the cocoon of our own prejudices, we put the victims of murder beyond our universe of moral obligation , as the perpetrators do, to even consider the humanity of the victims . What happened to our sense of perspective, if not proportion?

Hamas does not have that capability to destroy Isreal, and we all know it. Hamas does not pose that threat to the Jewish State of Israel. Not even the entire defense forces of all the Arab countries together do. They have tried and failed at least three times since the creation of the Jewish state of Israel.The conditions under which Palestinian Arabs live is the most urgent concern of both FATAH and Hamas.

The conditions are so bad that it should not be acceptable to anyone anywhere in 2014. Many Israelis know this for a fact. They condemn the conditions. It is the conditions and FATAH’s abject failure to negotiate real improvements in the conditions that helped to create Hamas. Hamas is a child of circumstance. If Hamas is destroyed, another probably hardline resistance organization may take its place. Is that gamble worth it. It has not been in the past.Israel’s security is for the most part settled. What Israel needs and should seek and find is peace with its Palestinian neighbors not the domination of them.

Those of you who pray to Jerusalem, did you forget that historically Jerusalem was a Jebusite City, fully built and protected, but conquered by David? It was not a no-man’s land or fallow land, or was it? …….can you imagine the injustice of the settlement of Palestine by hordes of Jews, displacing the Arabs who were on the land for hundreds and thousands of years? So, it is even worse, post Balfour Declaration: how has the fate of Palestinians in Palestine been protected by the rest of the world from occupation?

A few moments ago on CNN’s “Crisis in the Middle East” news program (Sunday August 3, 2014), Yousef Munayer, Director of the Palestine Center, provided an illuminating perspective on the physical and symbolic violence of Occupation. He said that the Palestinians are the only people in the world who are required to provide security for their occupiers, and Israel is the only occupying force allowed to demand security from the victims of its occupation.Insightful, isn’t it?

HALIMA KIBERU AND HASSAN AMINA
UMBS MEMBERS ON FACEBOOK

I CRY FOR PALESTINE AND HAMAS(WHOM SOME PEOPLE CALL TERRORISTS)!

I would like to know from the historians whether there is any evidence in history of a sustainable nonviolent resistance to occupation,before we blame what Hamas is doing?

There seems to me to be a weakness with the World War 11 analogy. The Resistance then had friends, powerful friends. The Nazis were not defeated by the Resistance only but with the assistance of powerful friends like the United States that planned and led the invasion of Europe. The Palestinians have practically no friends. They are mostly on their own except for humanitarian aid that is compelled by the Israeli occupation, and sketchy military assistance.

Israel withdrew from Gaza nominally. Her iron-clad blockade of Gaza makes the withdrawal practically meaningless. Israel withdrew from most of the West Bank earlier. She has been seizing Palestinian land there since. Who is to say the same was not going to happen in Gaza.

Hamas may seem stupid attacking Israel today but there is an area parallel. The establishment of the state of Israel is believed to have been hastened by the armed attacks on British Administration and Army by Jewish terrorists. The “worst” of the attacks was the bombing in 1946 of the King David Hotel- headquarters of both the British administration and army in Palestine and Transjordan, by Jewish “terrorist” led at the time by Menachem Begin- a Polish Jew and a future prime minister of Israel.

While one may not support the desperate armed attacks of Hamas and other Palestinian resistance against Israel, one understands their despair and frustration with the worsening state of their daily existence in their homeland. We remember “Give me liberty or give me death” credited to the United States’ Patrick Henry. For some Palestinian Arabs, death is becoming preferable to living under an Israeli occupation that arguably has no equivalent anywhere in the world in 2014. Hamas has said over and over again in current cease fire negotiations that she will not accept a ceasefire without a lifting of the Israeli blockade albeit supervised, on Gaza. That for me say everything.

Do you know of a more asymmetric war? What happened to measured response? Is collective punishment moral? Is collective punishment justified given the real “victimness” of powerless non-political children, women, and other non-combatants (including the infirm and elderly) in the “out of their control” situation that they find themselves? Is a military solution to the Palestinians’ situation feasible? Your hope must be that the current war in Gaza will achieve better than past wars there did namely- a less motivated, resolute, and violent Palestinian resistance. Does History teach anything? George Habash and his Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine were called terrorists and destroyed.

Then came Yasser Arafat and his Fatah organization/ Palestine Liberation Organization who were also branded worse terrorists and mostly ignored. Then came HAMAS who are now described as worse terrorists still.

Those who wish to destroy HAMAS are well advised to pause and think about her possible replacement(s) given recent history, before they do so. People in the Middle East have long, very long memories. The unfolding tragedy that is the current Gaza war should be beneath the human race in 2014. Should we all not be ashamed that we let and watch it happen?

HANNAH OGWAPITI
MEMBER OF THE UGANDANS AT HEART FORUM

Some Non-Muslims are blindly supporting Isreal Genocide!

CHRISTIANS perceive Israel and her people the Jews as a chosen tribe, God’s people. Well, if you are a believer, we are all God’s chillun and all God’s chillun got right to exist in and on their own patch of land freely and as free men without any threat from divinely ordained hordes of invaders. All God’s chillun have a right to resist captivity, invasion, land grabbing and apartheid. All God’s chillun like blacks in South Africa can form umkhoto we sizwe to take up arms against the invaders, like wise the mau mau in Kenya. Call them terrorist all you like, to their people they are heroes and soldiers fighting for their survival.

Gaza is an open air prison, who wants to live like that. Isreal’s blockade is unjust, Israel’s presence is provocative. Its like beating a child and telling the kid not to cry. The natural response to tyranny is resistance and so long as a 2 state solution is not implemented , accepted and respected by both sides, Hamas aka the zealots have a moral obligation to defend Palestine. Isreal is fast becoming a rogue state and fast losing allies. Public opinion is against her and her vast propaganda and publicity machine cannot spin her conduct in this war. You cannot deliberately target civilians hiding out in schools and hospitals just because some rickety rockets are fired from an area close to those institutions. How big is Gaza, how many vantage point are there to launch attacks. Isreal is punishing all Palestine for the death of 4 teenagers that Hamas denied murdering and this is unjustifiable.

The consequence of the 6 day war and Yom Kippur war is the recognition of the state of isreal by Egypt. Then the Arab coalition were the aggressors and the small young state of Isreal had lots of goodwill especially from the west. Not now. Innocent jews are being attacked in Paris not just by arab immigrants but even French people.

Isreal exists. Palestine should exist.

HANNAH OGWAPITI
UAH GROUP

Gaza Genocide is a disgrace to all of us who call ourselves human beings

Israel with the active primitive backing of USA and the Christian world are the guilty party here. They fund Israel, give it the weapons of mass destruction it uses, and shield Israel from international law. It is the worst form of apartheid after South Africa to be inflicted on any people in modern history.

We all need to understand what is happening. Many morally outraged countries have recalled their ambassadors from Tel Aviv, but the criminal Whitehouse seem to continue to cover for Israeli Holocaust on Palestinians. A little over ten years ago, a whole city, known as Jenin was wiped off the face of the earth. All efforts to investigate what happened was scuttled by Israel and USA!

The root cause of the problem of the world is traceable to the injustice in the Arabian Desert, a patch of which Israel occupies with Western financial, military and religious backing.

This is a disgrace to all of us who call ourselves human beings. Much as we all condemned Hitler, we should all be horrified by what is happening in the Middle East. This is the genesis of the problem in the whole world. It is why we have to have Obama kill Muarmar Gadaffi in the streets like a dog, why Bush had to kill Hussein, why Morsi cannot be President of Egypt, and why in spite of South Sudan, there is no peace there. It is why in Uganda we are not just humans, but Muslims and Christians.

It is mind boggling that some members of a group that has suffered persecution and death, are very mindlessly oblivious of the suffering, persecution, and death they continue to visit on their neighbors. Even Spiderman knew that with great power comes great responsibilities not only to self but to others.The Israeli occupation of The West Bank and Gaza is no longer about security or even peace. It is about land grab. Mr. Abbas and his PLO are not a threat to Israel. What do they have to show for it? Going from the known to the unknown, it is not likely that the recognition of Israel by Hamas will make a significant real difference to Israel’s craving for Palestinian land.

Israel will more likely contrive another pretext to continue her occupation and acquisition of Palestinian land. Remember that Israel argues that “natural growth” justifies her acquisition of Palestinian land for new settlements even though Palestinian Arabs have a higher rate of population growth. Netanyahu and his supporters continue to do a great job of making reluctant opponents of many friends of Israel. There comes a time when bias and self-interest must give way to justice and peace

So, let us skip the propaganda of human shield and get real. We condemned Boer occupation of South Africa, Zimbabwe has not gone away because of land, and Palestine will be on our conscience if we are just, fair and human.

HANNAH OGWAPITI
UAH GROUP

Gaza:Religion and so-called war on terror has made murderers to be celebrated as heroes

I guess the key challenge in analyzing the Israeli- Palestinian question is when we refuse to bring politics and ideology back-in. Religion and so-called war on terror has made murderers to be celebrated as heroes. The first question to ask us what is Zionism? Second question what was the Pre-1967 map and why is Israeli government scared of any talk about it?Third, why did the Oslo Peace Accord fail? Fourth, what was the basis of the First Intifada? Fifth, why are Palestinian exiles denied the right of return? Sixth, why is the Israeli government angered by the future of East Jerusalem as capital of the Palestinian (as opposed to an “indivisible” Jerusalem”), Seventh, why is it that even Palestinian refugee camps are bombed, as was the case with the massacre in Jenin? Eighth, what is the overwhelming role of AIPAC in all this? Ninth, why were PM Rabin, Ahmed Yasin, Dr Rantissi and his sons murdered?

Many people even for get that about 25% of Palestinians are Christians and this is far more than Jews that are Christians. Many also forget that even the UN had recognized the Palestinians as oppressed people and placed Zionism on the same platform as Apartheid.

This current massacre took place in December 2008. Livni, Ehud Barat and Netenyanhu only halted the massacre after over 1,500 Palestinian women and children had been killed just in honour of Obama’s inauguration in January 2009.
Israeli government ride on, it’s power relations! But will that bring justice? Will it bring peace? Will it make Israeli people safer?

My point is this military pounding will remain cyclical like the yoyo game. It cannot be the basis of the quest for peace. Throughout history no oppressed people have been cowered by use of violence against them; indeed repression and violence only breeds counter-violence that is what my reading of Frantz Fanon suggests.

For the record: Hamas has only killed 2 israeli civilians, and one foreign worker dead. The rest are soldiers who died in combat, under 50.Does that constitute to war crimes compared to Israel that has killed over 1800 civilians?

Here are some questions to ponder for Christians supporting Israel!

Most Christian fundamentalists erroneously believe that the Israel of the cherished Bible is the same as Israel of today. They use that false assumption to justify all types of atrocities.Here are some questions to ponder:

1.Were the Hebrews the predecessors of the Canaanites in that region or is it the other way around?

2.Did the Hebrews not migrate from the land between the two rivers .i.e Mesopotamia before settling in the land of the Canaanites – who some scholars believe were the ancestors of the Palestinians.

3.Should all settler colonists of the world, past and present, claim a God – given right to occupy territory? Where and how would we draw the line?

4.Is Israel of today not a settler colony created in 1948 by the British?

SARAH NALUKENGE
UAH MEMBER

5.Was Hitler a Palestinian?

Dr. Hajat Mastula Nakitto Kasujja:The first female Muslim Gynecologist in Uganda

Dr.Mastula in Hajji Mutumba’s office at UMSC

By Haji Nsereko Mutumba

Dr. Hajat Mastula Nakitto Kasujja Kitunzi was the first female Muslim Gynecologist in Uganda. She was born on March 13th 1955 at Mpigi Health Center in Mawokota. Her father was Haji Ahmad Kasujja of Ngeye clan; son of Haji Abdu Salaam Bakondeele from Kakubo – Butambala. Her mother was Ms. Bitu Nakabugo of Nkima (Monkey) clan.

Education
She started her education in 1962 when she joined Mpigi UMEA Primary School for primary one and two. She later joined Lukalu UMEA in 1964 until 1967 when she sat for Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) and passed in grade one.

In 1968, Mastula Kasujja joined King’s College Buddo for her secondary school education. She sat for the East African Certificate of Education (EACE) exams in 1971 and passed in first grade. She stayed at King’s College Buddo for her A’level where she offered PCB/Math. She sat for the East African Advanced Certificate of Education (EAACE) exams in 1973 and passed with flying colours.

In 1974/75, Mastula joined Makerere University Medical School for a Degree in Medicine. She graduated in 1979 with a Bachelors in Medicine and Bachelors in Surgery – MB/CHB.

She joined Mulago National Hospital in 1980 for her internship. In 1981, she was promoted to a Medical Officer and later in the same year, she was transferred to Entebbe Grade B General Hospital, where she served until 1985.

In September 1985, Dr. Mastula Kasujja went back to Makerere University Medical School – Mulago for a Post Graduate training in Obstetrics and Gynecology. She completed the course in 1988 and graduated in 1989 with a Masters in Obstetrics and Gynecology – M/MED-O&G, thereby becoming the first female Muslim Gynecologist in Uganda.

She worked in Mulago National Hospital up to 1991 before being posted to Hoima Hospital in 1992 (currently Hoima Regional Referral Hospital) where she served as a consultant in Gynecology.

In 1995, she was promoted to a consultant in Gynecology and later (in 2002) to the level of Senior Consultant, a position which she is still holding currently in the same Hospital. She performed Hijja in the year 2006.

In September 2008, Dr. Mastula Kasujja Kitunzi was among the Ugandans who received a National Award from President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni in recognition of her dedication to national service.

During last year’s National Women’s Day Celebrations (2013), Dr. Mastula Kitunzi Kasujja was decorated with an“Independence Medal” by the President of Uganda Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, hence becoming a National Heroine of Uganda.

Through her service, Dr. Mastula has taught and inspired many Ugandan medical professionals, Muslim girls in particular and many of these are now experts in the medical field and other professions. The number of Muslims she has personally treated successfully is equally enormous.

Family

Dr. Mastula Kasujja got married to Haji Asumani Nsamo Kitunzi (Another Unsung Muslim Hero) in 1992 and they have a family of 16 children; 2 daughters and 14 sons, all graduates with Degrees in various professions.

By being the first female Muslim Gynecologist, notwithstanding that, this profession deals with particularly women, Hajat Mastula becomes the first Muslim woman to salvage Muslim women from being treated by men as low class- which is incompatible with the Islamic teachings.

After her inspiration, many Muslim girls followed in her footsteps and we now have many Muslim Gynecologists who can treat our Muslim women peacefully and we are appealing for many more to take this profession, because this is in consonant with Islamic teachings.

The writer is the UMSC Spokesperson.
He can be reached on – Tel: 0701409504 or 0772409504

Bombo’s Sheikh Haji Abdallah Mohammed(RIP) was originally from Nigeria!

By Haji Nsereko Mutumba

Today’s unsung Muslim hero is Sheikh Haji Mohammed Abdallah. Being a Nigerian by origin, we are unable to establish his ancestral roots. There is a lot about this hero but due to our limited resource base, we are sharing what we have so far gathered from talking to Muslims in Bombo. We also picked some information from the book – Abaasimba Obuyisiraamu Mu Uganda (Those who “founded” Islam in Uganda”) written by Prince Haji Badru Kakungulu and A.B.K. Kasozi. Insha’Allah if resources allow, we will travel to Arua and gather more information about his contributions to Islam in Uganda and share it.

According to reliable sources, Sheikh Haji Abdallah Mohammed was born in Nigeria at a place called Buruni. He is believed to have left Nigeria in 1890 for Hajj – Holy journey to Makkah where he got in touch with Muslim Ulamas (scholars) from different parts of the World. After 7 years in Makkah he embarked on a journey back home. On his way back, he passed via Egypt, Somalia (by then controlled by British colonialists) and later spent some time in Ethiopia where he was recruited by the Ethiopian army to teach Islam to the soldiers and their children.

By the end of 1905, Sheikh Haji Mohammed was in Kenya where he also taught Islam and converted many people into Islam. He arrived in Uganda in 1909 and immediately embarked on his mission of teaching Islam while stationed at Bombo.

At Bombo, he played a leading role in establishing an Islamic school and a Mosque – Masjid Noor. In 1913, he visited Tanzania several times. He also visited Nairobi in 1927. All these journeys were about learning and teaching Islam which was his single mission in life.

In 1930, he visited Arua where he did a lot in teaching and spreading Islam. In addition to teaching Islam to fellow Muslims, he is said to have converted over 100,000 people into Islam. He remains very popular in Arua as well as Entebbe. Sheikh Haji Mohammed also used to support people around him in many other ways.

He is the one who convinced Sheikh Abdallah Sekimwanyi and Kibali to go for Hajj. When they were convinced and ready to go, he gave them a map of the area including all the places to be visited. He also gave them the names and locations of places where they would get food and sleep.

In addition to converting over 200,000 people into Islam in Bombo, he established a very big Islamic Madrasa in which he conducted a huge Daawa program.

Among the Sheikhs whom he taught included Shk. Ahmad Nsambu of Nateete and many others. He associated very much with the Juma sect and in addition to Bombo Mosque; he used to pray at Bukoto Mosque and Wandegeya Mosque.

While in Arua, he fell sick and in 1943, he was returned to Bombo where he died. He was buried at MASJID NOOR in Bombo, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to Islam. Some residents of Bombo told us that, those who visit his grave get lots of blessings and whoever misbehaves at the grave is subjected to bad luck.

Sheikh Haji Mohammed had six children, 2 sons and 4 daughters. One of his sons was late Shk. Cpt.Yasin Abdallah. When Shk. Haji Mohammed Abdallah died, he was succeeded by one of his students Shk. Muhammad Al Jaab who also did a lot and we will bring his profile in future Insha’Allah.

In the Holy Quran, 4:95, Allah says; “Not equal are those believers who sit (at home) and receive no hurt, and those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah with their goods and their persons. Allah has granted a grade higher to those who strive and fight with their goods and persons than to those who sit (at home) …”

As a true Muslim, Shk. Muhammad did what was expected of him; he spread Islam and converted as many people into Islam as he could. He sought knowledge and indeed got it. He cared for the poor and his behaviour was superb. He built many Mosques, among them is the famous Masjid Noor of Bombo.

Basing on the Holy Quran as stipulated above and basing on this inspiring history of Shk. Haji Mohammed Abdallah, really no reasonable person can deny that the said Shk. is a Muslim Hero though Unsung.

NB: We apologize for the poor quality of the photo. This is because it is the only one we came across. If there is a brother or sister with a better one, please share it with us.

The writer is the UMSC Spokesperson.
He can be reached on – Tel: 0701409504 or 0772409504

Why isn’t there an agreement between Hamas and Fateh?

Several failing attempts have been conducted to bring along a unity government that would solve the Gaza-West Bank division. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and other parties were faced with the conditions that the two parties, Hamas and Fateh, place ahead of negotiations.

Fateh, currently controlling the West Bank and led by President Mahmoud Abbas, condition negotiations with Hamas on the return of Gaza under the former’s rule, while Hamas desires negotiations with Fateh while keeping the status-quo as is.

Occasionally and in the midst of the mediation efforts, tensions rise on both sides as a result of the several provocative announcements by leaders and media stations. Imprisonment of the other’s group members also contributed much to entangling the agreements’ efforts.

The closest the negotiations came to a final agreement was in early June 2014 when a national consensus government was formed, which was paving the way towards the election of a new president and parliament. Israel, however, announed that it would not negotiate any peace deal with the newly formed government and would push punitive measures. About a month later Israel launched its “Protective Edge” offensive military attack against Gaza.

Gaza war has opened my eyes on so many fronts especially on ICC!

Friends,
Assalamu alaikum. My views on international organizations especially the ICC have been changed by what’s happening in Gaza. I used to argue for the ICC but not anymore……..it’s all bullshit. Africa should have it’s own African Criminal Court(ACC)!

This is not about changing for the sake of it but it is about seeing things differently outside the box. For years, We have been made to believe that Israel is a nation that respects human rights while Hamas, on the other hand, are a terrorist organisation. Today, those who support Israel’s all out bombing policy are justifying this by saying that Hamas is to blame because they hide behind civilians, and that makes everything(UN buildings, hospitals, universities, mosques, e.t.c) a target.

As far as I know, if there’s a single thing that separates legitimate warfare from simple terrorism, it’s the effort to distinguish civilians from soldiers, and combatants from noncombatants. This does not mean that noncombatants don’t die in “legitimate” wars, or that states don’t accept civilian deaths or casualties in wars, but effort has to be made to save civilians.

Surely, from the images we have seen in the last three weeks, Israel has been bombing anything that looks “ugly” to them and its within their sight in Gaza. Unfortunately, we have ended up with 80% of the total so far killed as civilians according to UN. That’s purely state sponsored terrorism. There are no two ways about it, and if the ICC cannot see it that way, we have been wasting a damn long time with them.

Here is what professor Thane Rosenbaum, a senior fellow and director of the Forum on Law, Culture & Society at New York University Law School, wrote in the Wall Street Journal recently, while supporting Israel’s policy, as my respectable mate,Simon Okurut, has done on UAH:

“On some basic level, you forfeit your right to be called civilians when you freely elect members of a terrorist organization as statesmen, invite them to dinner with blood on their hands and allow them to set up shop in your living room as their base of operations. At that point you begin to look a lot more like conscripted soldiers than innocent civilians. And you have wittingly made yourself targets.”

PM Netanyahu has justified his actions by alluding to something similar as the professor, but they are still not branded “terrorists”. I sometimes wonder about this so called professors and why are given such tittles. I thought Mr.Bukenya Gilbert would be the last person to cause embarrassment to that tittle with his poor strategies and indecisiveness on 2016 elections,but hey, the list is still growing. Now, compare Thane’s statement with what Bin Laden said after the NewYork towers were hit on September,11th:

“The American people are the ones who choose their government by way of their own free will; a choice which stems from their agreement to its policies. Thus the American people have chosen, consented to, and affirmed their support for the Israeli oppression of the Palestinians, the occupation and usurpation of their land, and its continuous killing, torture, punishment and expulsion of the Palestinians. The American people have the ability and choice to refuse the policies of their Government and even to change it if they want.”

If anybody wrote justifying the Sep 11th attacks in the context of Prof Rosenbaun, I’m sure their careers were finished long time ago, but nothing is gonna happen to the professor , again simply because of the double standards people usually put on display when it comes to Israel. It just goes on to show that the characters in the ‘Animal farm’ are almost everywhere, and I guess this is where you are supposed to tell me:” welcome to the real world, Abbey”.

Yes, I’m now in the real world, and ICC is not for me anymore, mate! I may as well use my time campaigning to start Kangulumira TV and its sister newspaper than wasting time on organisations supporting selective justice.

Africa is led by imbeciles but they are our own imbeciles, and we will eventually find a way to deal with our imbeciles from now onwards.My previous arguments that the ICC acts as a deterrence to African dictators committing crimes against their own people still carries weight, but it should not be at the expense of selective justice.

Few days ago, I was watching Fox News, and I saw how Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch, was putting his case to the world that Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza. The moderator,Huckabee, and the audience just didn’t wanna believe him , simply because they have been made to believe that Israel is always the victim in Gaza. What is happening in Gaza has been a reality check to a lot of people on so many fronts. I don’t think we have seen or read anything this bad probably since 1945, but where is the so called ICC?

How did I fail to see through the ICC? I think I should listen more to what people say or write on our forums rather than fronting my own opinions. It seems they are people out there who have already walked through the same roads some of us are planning to use, and its good to give them an ear every now and then. Anyway as Brian Tracy said: “No one lives long enough to learn everything they need to learn starting from scratch. To be successful, we absolutely, positively have to find people who have already paid the price to learn the things that we need to learn to achieve our goals.”

I’m ,therefore,never gonna rubbish anybody’s opinion on something again, even when it looks faulty. There is a lot to learn out there, and it seems most of us are in infant stages! I really feel for the Palestines. Nobody deserves to be bombed while in a cage.

Ebintu bibononeseko nyo banafe abo!

Abbey Semuwemba

WARM APPRECIATION- PINA UGANDA

Dear Colleagues,

One of the main reasons that we lose our enthusiasm in life is because we become ungrateful. We let what was once a miracle becomes common to us. It is not the case with People In Need Agency-PINA Uganda.

Perhaps it takes a purer faith to praise God for unrealized blessings than for those we once enjoyed or those we enjoy now! So to you, who supported adolescents living with HIV from PINA Uganda to attend the AIDS2014 Conference in Melbourne Australia– We have nothing to say but-Thank you.

Because of you, we have hope for tomorrow! That there is life in this seemingly huge globe…..
Because of you we have got the courage to start the race since we can now manage. We have let go all our disabilities, stigma and shame! We have held onto our abilities, we stand together as a team to step up the pace, as young positives, and reach out to the helpless and let them know that: We have hope for tomorrow…….

Because of you, we met men and women of purpose; the UNAIDS Executive Director- Michel Sidibe, UN Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Executive Director- Kate Gilmore, UNAIDS Director Regional Support Team –Eastern and Southern Africa, Sheila TLOU, Yvonne Chaka Chaka-the Princess of Africa Foundation among others and made two presentations in the women Networking Zone and shared our experiences growing up with HIV/AIDS in meetings and panel discussions especially in the area of sexual reproductive health.

Because of you we performed four times in the global village- Main stage! What an incredible achievement! Our song stepping up the pace and no turning back has been suggested by the International AIDS Society to be the theme song for AIDS2016 Conference in Durban South Africa. We were also requested to close the Global Village officially with officials from the International AIDS Society! What an honor! Sharing a stage with stakeholders dedicated to ending HIV.

It is you we are grateful, for we are happy and optimistic. Words can’t say what we feel, but Are used as an expression of how we feel.

Thank you Mama Janet Museveni, Musa Bungudu –UNAIDS Uganda, Ms. Aida Girma – UNICEF Uganda, Prof. Philip Brahman- Emory University, Uganda AIDS Commission and the International AIDS Society (IAS). (Robinah Babirye, Eva Nakato, Nanyonjo Vanessa, Suubi Ruth and Nalugo Sharifah from PINA Uganda)

The PINA Uganda’s campaign, “YOUTHS STEPPING UP THE PACE THROUGH ADHERENCE” launched in AIDS 2014- Global Village- Melbourne Australia is still continuous. Our prayer is only that we get volunteers to support us organize a post conference to practically share lessons learned and success stories with Ugandans.

Like President Clinton, we at PINA Uganda believe that eliminating pediatric AIDS and achieving an AIDS-free generation is possible. With your support, we can make that a reality in Uganda . No one is better placed to address this than children and adolescents living with HIV because they have an intimate understanding of what it means to live with HIV. By sharing their experiences of living with HIV, children living with HIV help children and adults with poor adherence find the courage to disclose their status to their families and adhere to lifesaving treatments.

Yours forever grateful
Namusoke Asia
PINA Uganda.

IMAM AIDS UNSUNG MUSLIM HEROES SERIES

1.Imam Kasozi has contributed Ug Shs 500,000. (Half a Million) to Haji Mutumbas’ unsung Muslim heroes drive.

2. Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba(UMBS admin) contributed shs.160,000 to the same.

Please let others do the same such that we continue with the series on ‘unsung Muslim heroes’. Hajji Nsereko Mutumba needs to be facilitated especially in terms of transport costs. For more info contact Hajji Mutumba at: pro_umsc@yahoo.com

Hamas was originally created by Isreal to counteract PLO!

Israel are committing genocide and the whole world can see. Is that simply put enough?The whole world can see what’s happening they can’t hide this! I wonder if anyone knows that it was them who created Hamas in the 80’s to combat the PLO.These factions were created as a result of occupation and years of isolation and despair!

Israel/US created a terrorist group Al-Qaeda to serve their purpose. Now they have created another Group in Iraq ISIS, its caliph (Bagdadi ) was Jews , his name was SAMUN YULUT as per Snowden leaked documents. Recently many more people Converting to Muslims to promote Violence & giving Islam a Bad name . Wake up Muslims these are Conspiracy of Israel/US and Rothschild in UK

Lets put this straight: yes the UN and the USA have been controlled by Israel for many many years.The Jewish lobby is strong in the USA unfortunately and pulls all strings to their benefit.America must wake up and see who really governs them because it aint Obama nor the next president to follow.If they don’t get the Jewish lobby out of the way we will have more wars.They only think of money and how to make profit even if they have to vanish a whole society.

Basically, this is a summary of what is happening in Gaza right now: Israel is bombing. Soldiers are invading. Mujahideen are fighting. Children are dying. Mothers are dying and crying. Fathers are dying and mourning. Hearts are breaking. The war is continuing. The Arabs are sleeping. The youth is exposing. America is funding. Egypt’s Sisi is terrorizing. Aid isn’t coming. Hospitals are being bombed but some are running. Morgues are filling. Bombs are raining. Buildings are falling. Bodies are vanishing. Death toll is increasing. Zionists are celebrating. News channels are lying. Countries are boycotting. Hamas is resisting. Gaza is screaming. No one is hearing. Above all this, Allah is WATCHING and the Ummah is still SLEEPING.

Israel and their government and those who back them are to blame for these war crimes and inhuman acts against the Palestine people and this is the truth look at the news for yourself and see who is killing babies and children.Israel is like a blood sucking leach draining the life out of all the land and all the people around it until everything is destroyed and consumed. Netanyahu is no better then Hitler to me.The Israeli’s must end the illegal occupation of Palestine, stop all crimes of humanity and allow the Palestinians to live under the umbrella of human rights.

An American friend has told me that the news there is slanted in support of the Israeli Zionists. Those journalists who have dared to speak out in favor of the Palestinians find themselves banished by the media. His heart is breaking for Gaza. I don’t think the Israeli government has ever been concerned with the Palestinian people rebuilding. The aggressive expansion of settlements throughout recent history has shown that to be true. Right now the Israeli army is duck hunting in an open air prison full of innocent Palestinians.

Like the USA, UN is also the servant of Israel. They will do nothing for the Palestinian. Shame on them.

-AFUWA KASULE
UMBS GOOGLE GROUP

NON ALIGNED MOVEMENT POSITION ON GAZA GENOCIDE-ASUMANI KIYINGI

The Ministers of the Committee on Palestine of the Non-Aligned Movement met in Tehran on 4th August 2014 to address the crisis situation being faced by the Palestinian people, particularly the brutal military aggression committed by Israel in July and August 2014 against the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip,which resulted in the killing of more than 1857 Palestinians including hundreds of children and women, and the injury of more than 8500 Palestinians and the wanton destruction of thousands of Palestinian homes, business properties, vital civilian infrastructure; mosques, schools, hospitals, public institutions, farms, and several UN facilities. In this regard the Ministers paid tribute and expressed their support to the heroic steadfastness and unity of the Palestinian people in the face of this brutal aggression.

The Ministers expressed their appreciation to the people and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for their warm hospitality and timely action in convening the NAM Committee on Palestine. They also commended H.E Dr. Hassan Rohani, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran for his important statement delivered at the meeting.

The Ministers strongly condemned the lethal, indiscriminate and excessive use of force by Israel, the Occupying Power, against Palestinian civilians and vital civilian infrastructure, including water and sanitation networks, electrical power plants and numerous hospitals and medical centers, as well as against humanitarian and emergency personnel and journalists. They deplored the relentless military assaults carried out deliberately and wantonly by the Israeli occupying forces, which have led to the killing and injury of of thousands of defenseless Palestinians, a great majority of them being children and women, in blatant and systematic violation of international law, including international humanitarian and human rights laws.

The Ministers demanded the immediate and unconditional cessation of this Israeli military aggression against and collective punishment of the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza as well as throughout the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. They called for exertion of serious, collective efforts to ensure an immediate ceasefire, based on the Egyptian initiative on the basis of November 2012 ceasefire in close coordination with the State of Palestine.

The Ministers fully endorsed the unified legitimate demands of the delegation of the State of Palestine and in this context demanded also the immediate and full lifting of the Israeli blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip, which constitutes the massive collective punishment of its inhabitants in grave contravention of international humanitarian and human rights laws and has led to acute shortages of basic necessities and dire humanitarian and healthcare situation in Gaza. They stressed the Israeli responsibility as the occupying power, and therefore the urgency of efforts to immediately and unconditionally open all boarder crossing points into and from Gaza with a view to allowing the entry of emergency humanitarian assistance and the access of medical and relief workers to those in need. They further stressed the need for an end to all illegal Israeli policies and practices that deprive the Palestinian people of their land, properties and natural resources and have caused widespread distress and deteriorating socio-economic conditions.

The Ministers requested all members of the international community, the United Nations and other international organizations to help provide the victims of the Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip with humanitarian assistance on an urgent basis. They recognized the vital role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Gaza, including in addressing emergency needs during this period of crisis and urged the international community to provide the necessary support to the Agency as well as other United Nations agencies delivering humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people at this time of need, including the more than 180,000 Palestinians displaced in the recent period.

The Ministers called upon the UN Security Council to uphold its Charter duties and live up to the expectation of the international community to act forthwith to address this crisis situation in Occupied Palestine, which clearly constitutes a threat to regional and international peace and security. They called on the Security Council to adopt measures to compel Israel, the occupying power, to cease its military aggression against the Palestinian people and to comply forthwith with all of its obligations under international law, particularly the 4th Geneva Convention and the relevant United Nations resolutions. They stressed the urgency of serious and credible action by the Security Council towards bringing an end to the impunity Israel has unduly enjoyed, stressing the need to act collectively to hold it accountable for all its breaches of international humanitarian law and human rights violations.

The Ministers expressed support to the Algerian initiative to convene an emergency meeting of the UN General Assembly to address the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and mobilize the international community in this regard.

The Ministers requested the International Criminal Court to uphold its mandate to address the war crimes and crimes against humanity that are being committed against the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. They emphasized the centrality of justice in bringing an end to such crimes and impunity.

The Ministers expressed their support to the Lebanese initiatives to communicate information to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and demanded that NAM countries parties to the Rome Statute seize the jurisdiction of the Court on war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated against the Palestinian people.

The Ministers also expressed grave concern over the plight of more than 6,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including administrative detainees, held captive by Israel, the Occupying Power. They condemned the abuse and physical and psychological mistreatment, including torture, of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including children, women and elected officials, among them members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, including more than 800 people detained since 13 June 2014 and demanded their immediate and unconditional release.

The Ministers further condemned the continuing colonization of Palestinian land, by Israel the occupying power. They demanded an end to the confiscation of Palestinian property and the construction and expansion of Israeli settlements and the Wall, in grave breach of international humanitarian law and flagrant disrespect of the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice. They also expressed grave concern over the frequent acts of violence, terror and incitement against Palestinian civilians and the destruction of the Palestinian properties by Israeli settlers in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and called for action to hold the perpetrators accountable for these crimes. They expressed deep concern also in this regard about the provocation and incitement by Jewish extremists against Muslim and Christian holy sites especially in Occupied East Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, and warned of the dangerous consequences of such continued provocations and aggressions.

The Ministers welcomed the decision by the UN Human Rights Council to launch an official international independent inquiry into all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law resulting from the recent Israeli military aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip. They stressed the need to fully investigate all violations by Israel, the occupying power, of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, towards establishing accountability and justice for the victims of these crimes.

The Ministers also supported the request by the State of Palestine for the rapid convening of a Conference of High Contracting Parties to the 4th Geneva Convention to examine measures, in accordance with Common Article 1, to ensure respect and enforce the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. They called on Switzerland, in its capacity as Depository, to undertake the necessary efforts for the timely convening of such an important Conference, with a view to addressing the grave breaches of international human rights law being perpetuated by Israel, the occupying power, and to ensuring protection to the Palestinian people. Further in this regard, the Ministers supported the call by President Abbas to the Secretary General Ban Ki- Moon for the United Nations to take all effective measures at its disposal to ensure the protection of the Palestinian civilian population under Israel’s occupation.

The Ministers stressed the need to continue meeting and consulting within the NAM Committee on Palestine, as well as within the larger Coordinating Bureau of the Movement, with a view, inter Alia, to drafting a plan of action for the NAM in order to follow up on all of these critical issues at the United Nations and in all other appropriate political, legal and judicial forums. They underscored in this regard the need to compel the necessary international action to resolve the root causes of the conflict and address the question of Palestine in all its aspects according to international law and the relevant United Nations resolutions. They also called for continued efforts in support of the achievement of the full recognition and membership of the State of Palestine at the United Nations.

The Ministers welcomed all initiatives undertaken by several countries to boycott Israeli products and withdraw their ambassadors from Israel, including by many Latin American countries, and encouraged all other member states of NAM to do so.

The Ministers reaffirmed their unwavering support for the just cause of Palestine and solidarity with the Palestinian people. They reaffirmed their principled and longstanding support for the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the achievement of their legitimate national aspirations, including for freedom, independence, justice, peace and dignity in their homeland.

END.
*(Algeria, Bangladesh, Cuba, Columbia, Egypt, India, Senegal, South Africa,Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Indonesia