New Trend Magazine (www.newtrendmag.org)

[Biggest Islamic web site in the U.S.]
P.O. Box 356, Kingsville, MD 21087.
Phone: 410-435-5000.

Disclaimer: Views expressed are not necessarily shared by editorial committee.
Responses (positive or negative) up to 250 words are welcome.
Names will be withheld on request.
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MALAYSIA and INDONESIA TAKE THE LEAD IN CONDEMNING U.S. ACTION

While the puppet Arab rulers are shilly shallying, Malaysia's leader Mahathir Muhammad has reportedly come out openly against the U.S. aggression on Iraq. He gave the impression that the U.S. is involved in terrorism and that the next target (in coordination with the Zionists) will be Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem.

Indonesia's Hamza Hezz, Deputy to the Prime Minister Megawatti Sukarnoputri, has condemned the U.S. aggression and called for a meeting of the General Assembly of the UN to stop the assault.

PUTTING MANY YOUNG PEOPLE TO SHAME:
Hasan Radwan, an 89-year old Egyptian was on the way to Iraq to join the resistance when he was stopped by Egyptian security.
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RADIO INTERVIEWS

On April 8, New Trend's representative BADI ALI spoke on Morehead radio near Greensboro in North Carolina. He said that the U.S. is "liberating" the Iraqis by killing them and destroying their entire environment. He gave the example of Abbas, an Iraqi boy, 12 years old, who lost both his hands in a U.S. air attack on Baghdad. Seven members of Abbas's family were killed in the attack.

BADI ALI described the destruction caused by B-52 bombers. Each bomb they drop kills everyone within an area of 120 meters, while those within 350 meters are seriously wounded. Only people who are 1000 meters away are safe. Thus civilian losses on a huge scale are taking place.
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On April 7, WASHINGTON DC's people oriented radio station WPFW, broadcast a brief speech Dr. Kaukab Siddique gave in Freedom Square. The program was organized by Br. Hodari Ali, a prominent Muslim in the African-American community. It was the first anti-war exclusively Islamic gathering and the credit goes to Br. Hodari Ali's efforts. Dr. Siddique was the last speaker at the gathering but got good radio coverage. Some main points:
1. He criticized pro-Iranian propaganda which divides the Muslim community.
2. Iraq has not waged war against the U.S. but is being forced to defend itself against U.S. aggression.
3. Saddam Hussain has been transformed by the conflict. His stand, defiant and unafraid against a massive U.S.-British army at his door, is a DEFINING MOMENT in Muslim history.
4. Muslims must change themselves and stop their old sectarian, group and nationalistic tendencies.
5. Referring specifically to remarks by a pro-Iran imam who spoke earlier, he said that we must help people, including Muslims, to understand that the Muslim world does not look at Osama and the Taliban as the sectarians and Americans do. There is too big a gap between these two views of the world.
6. The Muslim world is stirring to the call of Islam, from Morocco to Sudan, from Pakistan to Chechnia, from Nigeria to Somalia, for the Qur'an and the Sunnah. America has made a big mistake by listening to Zionist advisers.
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UNUSUAL ISLAMIC RALLY IN HARLEM, New York City
(by our rep. Sis. Aisha)

Today, I was at a Harlem rally against the war on the Iraqi people. Yesterday, Imam Taalib of the Mosque of the Islamic Brotherhood urged us Muslims to meet and where white kuufis and kimars to draw attention to ourselves and our message of peace.

We met at 9:30 am and proceeded to Marcus Garvey Park to join the other demonstrators. It was suggested that this silent march to the park be used for making dhikr and/or reciting Qur'an. We marched with each line containing three people. There were about 50 of us. Even Yusuf Salaam, the brother who was wrongfully and shamelessly railroaded in the Central Park Jogger Rape Case, marched! I was inspired by that.

At Marcus Garvey Park we awaited the arrival of the other marchers. Most of them were dispersing socialist material and in turn I and some other sisters gave out Islamic literature. The crowd began to swell and there were members of the media there. An older sister who has been protesting since the Vietnam movement, advised us to refer any requests for interviews to the Imam and to turn away from photographers trying to take our pictures. This because the media tend to twist our words and use photographs as a way to identify you as a trouble maker.

As we marched from Marcus Garvey Park to the Harlem State Office Building for the rally. In all, I believe 250 to 300 people marched three miles. There were people who were crippled and who did the best they could to complete the walk! It took two hours to complete. We were linked arm in arm with 10 people across.

We were chanting Islamic slogans such as "Allahu Akbar" and "Laillah ha illah Muhammaddur rasoolullah." A funny antiwar chant was "Hey Bush, we know you. Your daddy was a killer, too!"

There many onlookers on the sidewalks and out the windows.

At the rally, there were a few speakers but, the biggest shock for me was when Congressman Rangel spoke. He stated that he's been against the war since the very beginning. He acknowledged Bush's intent to bomb Iraq several months before 9/11/2001. If that was the case then why did Rangel vote for the patriot bill? Most of the crowd was very supportive of his appearance, Muslims included. However, the was a small crowd of people yelling a question at Rangel and he had to stop speaking his rhetoric to request that they stop. He finished speaking without ever addressing this crowd's question but, when the emcee came on she did.

She stated that although we are all here for a common goal, we aren't all going to agree with everything. She stated that she, herself, was against the draft. So I suspect that is what this crowd was asking him. What is so democratic about a draft? The emcee did not chastise the people for questioning Rangel but, seemed to encourage by telling rally goers that it is our right to voice our opinions. She was also critical of the Harlem "Empowerment" Zone - another Rangel project that has helped skyrocket Harlem rents and billion corporations, such as Disney, squash mom and pop stores. I will note that the house and the senate just finished giving Bush another 80 billion Dollars, this past week, to continue the war on the Iraqi people. I wonder if he voted for that?

I have included the following links below to government web sites. At these web sites, you can find out the identity of your local representative. I implore everyone to start voicing how they feel about their misrepresentation:

http://www.senate.gov

http://www.house.gov

http://www.whitehouse.gov
(If you go here there is a front page story on Bush's meeting with Zunaib Al-Suwajj, President of the American Islamic Congress. They helped fight against Saddam Hussain in 1991).

My disappointment with the march/rally was the "no blood for oil" slogan. Talking against "Israel" is still taboo even among Muslims I am afraid. I suspect that those who are with ANSWER and other grassroots organizations have zionists involved who want our focus to be on oil just as long as it is off their beloved "Israel" and its murderous rampages. Support for "Israel" can be stopped but what about oil? I don't see people walking two miles to work in protest against oil - greed. However, I do see people boycotting McD's, Disney, and other companies for supporting "Israel".

Insha'allah, I will help distribute information about the horrors going on in Occupied - Palestine to Muslims and other members of the community.

Salaam,
Sis. 'Aisha
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"ARAB" IS NOT A RACE: Teachings from the Hadith
(From Br. Eric Mueller, Texas)

as-Salam `alaykum!

I really enjoyed reading your comments on the news for day 19.

I would just like to supplement them.

First, there was a remark that Sudanese are "sometimes regarded as Arabs." As a matter of fact, Arabic speaking Sudanes are ALWAYS regarded as Arabs. As you correctly observed, Arab is not a racial category, but a linguistic one. In fact there is a hadith (that is evidently weak but which Ibn Taymiya quoted) that says "Being an Arab for anyone of you does not come from your father or mother; it comes from the tongue. Whoever speaks Arabic is an Arab." ("Laysat al-`Arabiyya bi-ahadikum min ab wa-la umm, wa-innama hiya bi-l-lisan. Wa-man takallam al-`Arabiyya fa-huwa `Arabi.")

There is also a hadith in which our Prophet (PBUH) is quoted as saying of Salman al-Farsi "Salman is one of us, as ahl al-bayt" ("Salman minna, ahl al-bayt"), that is, despite his Persian origins, he had aquired the Arabic language and become one of the Arab family.

And interestingly, one of the most prominent theoreticians of ssecular Arab Nationalism was Abu Khaldoun Sati` al-Husry (1881-1968) who was born in Ottoman Syria. He stressed that Arab nationality was based on common language, not race. And although he was perhaps the most famous writer on Arab Nationalism, he was personally of Turkish family background, and accounts say that all his life he spoke Arabic with a Turkish accent (though I can say from reading many of his works that he wrote a very clear, lucid Arabic.)

So our Arabic-speaking Sudanese brothers are not "sometimes regarded as Arabs" they ARE Arabs without any doubt.

Now as to the news of yesterday, 7 April, of course we all have to rely on what reports are available.

According to Russian intelligence reports on the internet, the US forces did not remain in control of the presidential palaces over the night from 7 to 8 April. All the US forces retreated back to their early morning positions by 5:00pm Baghdad time on Monday 7 April. So claims that they controlled those sites are apparently false.

There is one main website that offers an English translation of a Russian intelligence news bulletin almost every day. I say "almost" because the site has become rather slow and negligent about updates now that we really need them, for some reason.

So the first part of their report for 7 April could be found on an alternative site (some anarchist group) at this URL:

http://www.infoshop.org/inews/stories.php?story=03/04/07/2015127

But Venik's site:

http://www.aeronautics.ru

hasn't been updated since the 6th of April, as of now, morning of 8 April!

Well, so I've translated some highlights of the second part of the bulletin for 7 April 2003 from the Russian version at www.iraqwar.ru.

wa-s-salam,

Eric Mueller
Texas
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2003-04-09 Wed 18:57ct