<![CDATA[Muslim Lawyer - Blog]]>Sat, 21 Mar 2020 11:59:01 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[It's 2017 ...]]>Sat, 28 Jan 2017 18:47:36 GMThttps://muslimlawyer.weebly.com/blog/its-2017...
... and we're still need to point out that "black lives matter",
... and we're still witnessing the detention of 41 Muslim men without due process, formal charge or proper defense under the most severe conditions in Guantanamo, facing inhumane and cruel treatment,
... and again, people are banned from freedom of movement and equal rights only for the reason of following another religion,
... and people are still starving to death because of malnutrition, whilst wealth is accumulated in the hands of a few,
... but still we're unable to outlaw torture and slavery,
... and Palestinians are still struggling for their basic right to live peacefully on the land of their own, to prevent their homes from being demolished, their loved-ones from being taken away arbitrarily,
... and thousands of people drain in the waters of the Mediterranean in quest for a life in dignity,
... but unjust wars are still waged and land is still occupied,
... and still crimes against humanity go unpunished...

The list could go on. The human race may at its peak in terms of technical progress and scientific knowledge.
But it has reached yet another low when it comes to humanity.
]]><![CDATA[Égalité pour tous?]]>Thu, 19 Nov 2015 09:37:34 GMThttps://muslimlawyer.weebly.com/blog/egaliteWhilst politicians in France and most of Europe seem to excel themselves mutually in their militaristic rhetoric, major news outlets succumb to the blame-game. Although the attackers alledgedly entered Europe disguised as refugees and held syrian passports, which had been detected at the crime scene, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls proposes the denaturalisation of binationals who "trample on the soul of France". The Topic of stripping binationals off their French citizenship does frequently arise in the French political discourse and is not only reserved to the far-right Front National.

The French Online-Newspaper "Le Figaro", which is the second-largest national newspaper in France and considered center-wing, has launched an online survey asking its readers:
"Do you approve the denaturalization of binationals?"

Here is how more than 50.000 People voted:
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source: lefigaro.fr

There is almost unequivocal approval for declaring the loss of citizenship for binationals involved in terror. However there are strict requirements for the denaturalization of nationals. This measure has been applied 8 times since the year 2000 against terror suspects and may be justified in extreme cases.

But, this is a matter of law and should not fall prey to popular vote. It is highly unusual and a populist move to ask an instigated public: "Should we declare binationals non-citizens?". This supports the climate of hatred and general suspicion against binationals and corners a huge part of the French population.

It is wrong to fight for your values while compromising them at the same time. The French Constitution is clear in its Article 1. According to its Constitution, the Republic of France "shall ensure the equality of all citizens before the law, without distinction of origin, race or religion. It shall respect all beliefs."
If these are the values, President Holland has declared to fight for abroad, why give them up at home?

]]><![CDATA[tragedies and Tests - Thoughts on Paris]]>Sun, 15 Nov 2015 14:39:07 GMThttps://muslimlawyer.weebly.com/blog/november-15th-2015I first and foremost extend my condolences to the families and relatives of the innocent victims of the recent attacks in Paris. These losses are painful.
 
I also want to remind us that our empathy should not depend on where the attacks occur and on who the victims are. The deaths of 42 people, who were massacred during the recent bombardment of a hospital in Kunduz (Afghansitan) by the US-army on October 3rd, the 102 civilians who were killed by a terror attack at a train station in Ankara (Turkey) on the 10th October, the 50 civilians killed in a terror attack in the city of Beirut (Lebanon) on the 12th of November or the daily victims of occupied Palestine, the uncountable victims slaughtered in the Middle East – all these heinous attacks are no less despicable than what happened in Paris.
 
Being a Muslim in times of terror

Allah tells us in the Quran: “And certainly, We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits,…”
Trials, tribulations and losses are a sad reality in this lowly, wordly life. The question is, how we deal with them.
 
The latest attacks leave us in shock and awe. Muslims are left speechless. For overnight, all Muslims are regarded with suspicion, confronted with accusations of all kind and fear that what has been general aversion for a long time, might soon turn into violent hatred. Muslims do not feel secure these days. They are considered as perpetrators despite being victims themselves. Innocent people were massacred in Paris, people from all religions and different origins are among the victims. It is our society, as well. We are not bystanders. This attack is also, if not even especially directed at us Muslims, who peacefully work, live and love in these “western” societies. We are in fact part of these societies. Any attack against the peaceful communities in the West, is an attack against the Muslims living in them.
 
Still, we Muslims are expected to distance ourselves from the attackers as if we were close to them. As Muslims, we despise terror attacks in Europe just as we reject drone strikes in Pakistan or in Yemen, military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan or the bombardment of Libya. All these violent attacks have one thing in common: They claim innocent civilian lives for political or economic aims.
 
The rules of war

Yet, Muslims are quickly put down as a scapegoat. We know that Islam does not advocate blind violence. No book has stronger words to condemn terrorism, than the Quran in Sura 5 ayat 32. And no religion was more respected for the rules of warfare than Islam. Apart from the fact, that no individual is capable of declaring war against a nation, there is no justification for terror in Islam. No terror group can legally declare a war against another nation. Even if it does, there are certain rules.
The Islamic ius bellum is in no way behind today’s Geneva Conventions. The first Caliph, Umar (r.a.) gave his people ten rules for their guidance in the battlefield:
 
“Do not commit treachery or deviate from the right path. You must not mutilate dead bodies. Neither kill a child, nor a woman, nor an aged man. Bring no harm to the trees, nor burn them with fire, especially those which are fruitful. Slay not any of the enemy’s flock, save for your food. You are likely to pass by people who have devoted their lives to monastic services; leave them alone.”

Even the enemy’s flock, trees and fruits are considered sacrosanct. Untouchable are the civilian population and their sanctuaries. How can these high moral standards be compatible with the terror we witness today? How can anybody even justify these actions with Islam? This is what leaves a Muslim speechless.  

Let's face the challenge 

It is too simple to blame 1.5 billion Muslims and the deen of Islam, by drawing conclusions from a lost Syrian passport and the shouting of a parole. And yet it is also too simple, to lean back as Muslims and turn a blind eye to the allegations, because we know the truth .
 
Our purpose in this world is to spread peace. Allah tells us in Sura Al Mulk (67:2), that He created death and life “to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed”. Let us take this challenge seriously. Let us be role models for this world, not scapegoats. This means that we have speak out against injustice, if we are not able to actively eliminate it. 
 
These are tough times for Muslims. We need to reflect on our own communities. We need to reflect on the examples we set, on the impressions we leave. We need to revive the legacy of the Prophet Muhammad (s.), who was commanded to “Call to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation, and dispute with them in the best way.” (Qur'an, 16:125). We are in lack of this wisdom today. Following the Prophet means to “dispute in the best way”, to be gentle and kind, to remind and to forgive.    

The remedy

This article began with a verse from the Quran, where Allah tells us that we shall be tested in this life. But Allah does not leave us without a remedy.
 
“… but give glad tidings to As-Saabiroon (the patient). Who, when afflicted with calamity, say: ‘Truly, to Allaah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return.’ They are those on whom are the Salawaat (i.e. who are blessed and will be forgiven) from their Lord, and (they are those who) receive His Mercy, and it is they who are the guided ones”  (Al Baqarah, 2: 155-157)
  
Allah tells us to have sabr (patience), for only the patient will overcome the difficulties. Let us fulfill our duties, be patient and put our trust in Allah. We need to constantly remind our fellow citizens of this beautiful message of Islam, not only when we are confronted with another fatal attack and fear prejudice and hatred. For Islam is perfect, but we Muslims are not.
 
 
]]><![CDATA[European Asylum Policy - Colonialism 2.0?]]>Tue, 30 Jun 2015 21:40:46 GMThttps://muslimlawyer.weebly.com/blog/european-asylum-policy-colonialism-20<![CDATA[Why the gaza-Flotilla Ii is a success]]>Tue, 30 Jun 2015 21:39:56 GMThttps://muslimlawyer.weebly.com/blog/why-the-gaza-flotilla-ii-is-a-success<![CDATA[Netanyahu forms government of extremists and radical settlers]]>Sat, 30 May 2015 12:36:17 GMThttps://muslimlawyer.weebly.com/blog/netanyahu-forms-government-of-extremists-and-radical-settlersA new Government full of Annexationists and Apartheid-supporters - determined to push for "Greater Israel"
On March 17, 2015 Israeli PM Netanyahu won the elections for the fourth time. Now, the formation of his new government is close to final, after he has signed the coalition agreement with the extremist settler party “Jewish Home”. This radical party has obtained various key governmental positions and secured several ministries. The new government is going to take another radical shift towards the far-right and signals an increasingly severe future for the Palestinian People, as power is allocated in the hands of those, who do not even show the least respect for non-jewish lives.

To start with the worst choice: The Justice Ministry (i.e. for Oppression) was assigned to Ajelet Schaked, member of the radical Settler Party HaBajit haJehudi (Jewish Home). Wait: Wasn’t it Schaked, who publicly called for massive genocide against and extermination of the Palestinian People last summer? Yes, exactly. Schaked sparked attention when she declared on her facebook page during the last massacre in Gaza that all Palestinian women, children and civilians in general were snakes that had to be annihilated: “They are all enemy combatants, and their blood shall be on all their heads. Now this also includes the mothers of the martyrs, who send them to hell with flowers and kisses. They should follow their sons, nothing would be more just. They should go, as should the physical homes in which they raised the snakes. Otherwise, more little snakes will be raised there” (ML commented here). A destructive language that is reminiscent of the dark past in the German Third Reich.

Another noteworthy extremist is Naftali Bennett, Leader of the very same extremist Settler Party. He called for the annexation of the Palestinian West Bank and denies the Palestinian right to self-determination by fully rejecting the 2-State solution. As minister of education (i.e. of deception) he is going to be responsible for the forced transfer and relocation of Palestinian Bedouins from the desert of Negev to make way for new settlements – in order to acquire more “Living space” in the south (similar to the national socialists policy of “Lebensraum” in the East).  

Former General Joaw Galant (Kulanu-Party) is considered for the Ministry of Construction (i.e. of demolition). He was a senior military commander during the atrocious 2012 operation "Cast Lead" in Gaza and is known for the illegal annexation of public territory for “security” reasons.

Another fatal choice is the crucial defense post: Netanyahu appointed Rabbi Eli Ben Dahan as Deputy Defense Minister (i.e. of War), another member of the notorious Settler Party. Ben Dahan has excelled through racist and dehumanizing remarks on Palestinians, calling them “beasts and not human” in 2013 and declaring that “A Jew always has a much higher soul than a gentile, even if he is a homosexual.” This sparked no outrage in Europe, but at least little in Israel with former President of the International Rabbinical Assembly Reuven Hammer commenting in the Jerusalem Post: “We are constantly asking others to condemn those who speak disparagingly of Jews or Judaism. We have asked more than one pope to change the liturgy so as not to show Jews in a bad light. Should not we ask the same thing of ourselves and denounce any Jewish teaching that demeans non-Jews?“.
As deputy Defense Minister Ben Dahan is going to oversee the “Civil administration” an administration, “which oversees the theft of Palestinian land, settlement expansion and controls the movement of millions of Palestinians”. Ben Dahan is going to be responsible for administering the occupation in terms of building, infrastructure, controlling the Palestinian population database and supervising their freedom of movement (entry and travel permits). The lives of the Palestinians are going to be administered by a person who doesn’t even consider them to be humans.

For decades, Israel has been presenting faits accomplis in Palestinian territories and at the same time pretended to negotiate in the peace process abroad. But this new government, formed of radicals, hardliners and despisers of humanity, is going to bring even tougher times for the occupied nation. This Article only portrays few of the leading figures primarily of the Radical Settler party that now shares power with Netanyahus Likud Party. It goes without saying that the rest of the cabinet members are in no way a lesser concern for peace in the Middle East (like Gilad Erdan (Likud): Gazans "not worthy" of having electricity or Miri Regev (Likud) who called African asylum-seekers a "cancer in the body" of Israel and later apologized - to people suffering from cancer for comparing them to Africans (!)). Most of the government members reject Palestinian Statehood, deny Palestinians basic human rights and call for the annexation of the West Bank (e.g. Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely (Likud): "This land is ours. All of it is ours.").

This government is an open affront to the Palestinian nation as a whole and an act of sabotage against an already dogged peace process.

]]><![CDATA[Libya: Responsibility to protect or opportunity to destroy?]]>Sat, 30 May 2015 00:43:58 GMThttps://muslimlawyer.weebly.com/blog/libya-responsibility-to-protect-or-opportunity-to-destroy

Who is Now going to take responsibility for the refugees in the EU?

In 2011 the US and several EU-member states were eager to push for regime change in Libya conducting their joint military operation “Unified Protector” and pretending to act under their “responsibility to protect”. Behind this euphemistic Orwellian misnomer lies the idea of using unlawful force and aggression against another sovereign state in order to support opposition forces (i.e. establishing so-called “national transitional councils/movements” in several sovereign nations, which is in fact unlawful support for subversive activities in another State, as outlawed by the ICJ in the Nicaragua v. USA case).
As has been explained in the context of Obamas war in Syria, the instrument called "Responsibility to protect" is neither directly enshrined in nor customarily recognized under the UN Convention and international law in general. Instead, it is a tool of the powerful against the week. It is warfare according to Charles Darwin’s principle of “survival of the fittest”.

The UN was quick to pass RES 1973 on March 17, 2011, declaring a no-fly-zone over Libya. Only two days later, NATO coalition forces composed of 17 nations, led by France, Italy, UK and Canada, began with the heavy bombardment of Libya. The US joined in, deploying more than 8.000 military personnel (warship and aircraft) in the area (compared to currently approximately 6.000 troops against Iraq AND Syria in Operation “Inhrerent Resolve”!). After a few months, as Libyan leader Gaddafi was eliminated from power and oil resources were secured by foreign companies, a once prosperous and stable Libya, that was led by a respected African leader, was left back in derail and civil-war. An operation claiming to “protect” civilians claimed the lives of thousands of civilians and left even more of them wounded. What remains, is a war-torn country, a so-called “failed state”. The EU and the US alike, have since then lost their once so ardent interest in an “Arabian Spring”, in the well-being of the people of Libya as well as in the democratic transition. Libya is since left to the violent rivalries of mulitple militias.

This Libyan Civil war, led by NATO and the US, is one of the primary causes for the current massive refugee influx in Europe, which is so heavily deplored. More than 20 % of the Libyan population fled their homes after the military intervention mainly towards the neighboring countries. Hundreds of thousands (~ 300.000) of these refugees stranded in Lampedusa, Italy.

The EU, which was back then eager to “protect” Libyans from their own ruler, now treats these very same people as criminals, terrorists and unwanted illegal migrants and tries its best to block them from reaching European soil. Within the last months, up to 2.000 refugees have lost their lives in the Mediterranean Sea. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the people attempt to leave Libya, because it is "now in a lawless state with two competing governments at war with each other and both incapable of policing people-smuggling gangs". On a daily basis, hundreds of “boat people” drown or sink off in overcrowded vessels drown before reaching Italian, Greek, French and Spanish shores. Now, none of the intervening countries is willing to care for the humanitarian needs of the people. Meanwhile, the EU and its member states keep passing the buck between each other, in order not to have to take responsibility for the humanitarian crisis. European boarder missions even consider fighting the traffickers in their homelands, by using military action in countries like Libya to prevent people from embarking.

It is unfortunate for countries like Italy and Greece that the northern EU countries (especially warmongering UK and France) leave rescue operations mainly to those heavily affected states, by leaving these two countries alone to face the influx. However, Italy and Greek both had actively participated in the unlawful military intervention against Libya before.

Once again, the EU refuses to bear the consequences of its fatal aggression against Libya and of its unlawful intervention in Syria.
After all, Europe has a long tradition of colonializing and exploiting (Northern) African countries. Italy should be reminded of the following historic fact: In the beginning of the 20th century, more than 150.000 Italian nationals settled in Libya – back then forcefully colonized by Italy. Some 80 years later, Libyan refugees reach for the Italian cost – this time however, because they have been driven out of their own homeland due to a NATO-led invasion, under the guise of humanitarian protection - once again.



]]><![CDATA[Objection, Mr Pontiff !]]>Sat, 25 Apr 2015 18:13:42 GMThttps://muslimlawyer.weebly.com/blog/objection-mr-pontiffWhat about the herero and nama People ?
In his message to the Armenian people on April 12th, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the death of hundreds of thousands Armenians during World War I in 1915, Pope Francis cited one of his predecessors Pope Paul II referring to "the tragic experience one hundred years ago" as "the first genocide of the twentieth century”.
This articel is not going to asses,whether the referral to the tragic events as "genocide" in the legal sense is legally correct - especially considering the difficulty to prove the fact that the deportation was actually driven by the intent to kill the Armenians.

Rather, it is intended to criticise the Pope's referral to the crime as "the first genocide": this is blatantly false, immoral and a distortion of historic facts. The pope fully ignores the fact that some 111 years back, between 1904 and 1908 the German Government systematically murdered more than 100.000 Herero and Nama people in colonialized South-West-Africa (today: Namibia). This genocide was driven by the unequivocal intent of the Germans to extinguish the herero people, as proven by the statement of the German Army General Lothar von Trotha, who said: 
"I believe that the nation as such should be annihilated or, if this was not possible by tactical measures, have to be expelled from the country...."
The German General further warned the herero people, saying:
"Any Herero found inside the German frontier, with or without a gun or cattle, will be executed. I shall spare neither women nor children. I shall give the order to drive them away and fire on them. Such are my words to the Herero people"
The Whitaker Report on the Question of the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which was delivered by the Special Rapporteur Whitaker to the U.N. Economic and Social Council, mentiones the German massacre of Hereros in1904 alongside the massacre of Armenians in 1915 or the Tutsi massacre of Hutu in Burundi.

Until today, the German Government refuses to officially refer to this massacre as a genocide - despite the undisputed evidence. The German Government is not only reluctant to accept its responsibility for the genocide but even refused to ever pay compensation for the victims and their descendants. But Germany is eager to criticise Turkey and in the front row when it comes to raising the warning finger, claiming a high moral ground. Don't throw stones if you live in glass houses...

Whether this false statement is calculated historical amnesia of the Christian Church or a political side blow against at an increasingly confident Turkish President - the underliying motives for this backlash remains a matter of speculation. However, it is a sign of indifference for the historic debt the whole of Europe owes to African people for to its long and ruthless imperialistic politics. A person claiming to be the "God's deputy" should make clear that all lives matter.
]]><![CDATA[The onerous task of a Qadi]]>Wed, 25 Mar 2015 21:30:04 GMThttps://muslimlawyer.weebly.com/blog/the-onerous-task-of-a-qadiWhen it comes to the profession of a judge, what first comes into peoples minds is their high status in society, their power, secure employment and of course: the good salary as well as what is called the judicial independence. While this may be true, this one-sided perception fails to grasp the importance and far-reaching implications of judicial decisions - not only for the parties involved in the legal dispute, but even more for the whole of society: Judgments do in fact mould the legal opinion and reshape legal frameworks.
This is the reason why Islam emphazises the huge responsibilty of judges and the duty to take utmost care to avoid unjust rulings. Judicial Independece is no end in itself and cannot be seperated from the often neglected judicial responsibility on the other side. While accountability in the hereafter is true and certain, accountability in this life means to take responsibility for the individual concerned, to bear the consequences of a wrong decision and to cautiously apply statutory law. In most (western) legal orders, a juge can be held liable for deliberately bending or openly disregarding the law. However, the stake is very high and sentences are rare.
Truly pious people tried their best to reject the office of the qadi when it was offered to them by the ruler. They even pretended to be blind or prefered to be imprisoned - so much did they fear even getting close to issuing injuste rulings.
The strongest manifest for absolute justice is in the Qur'an itself, where Allah commands:

"O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do."

(Sura an-Nisa 4 : 135, Translation of Abdullah Yusuf Ali, 1985)
]]><![CDATA[A world in disarray]]>Wed, 18 Feb 2015 11:26:25 GMThttps://muslimlawyer.weebly.com/blog/a-world-in-disarray
The following farsighted lines are from Muhammad Assad's insightful autobiography "The road to Makkah". Muhammad Assad, whose original name was Leopold Weiss, was a renowned German journalist working as a foreign correspondent in the Muslim world when he became a Muslim in 1926. Note that these were his thoughts in the early 20th century and remain timeless up-to-date:

“Western civilization has not been able to strike a harmonious balance between man’s bodily and social needs and his spiritual cravings; it has abandoned its erstwhile religious ethics without being able to produce out of itself another moral system, however theoretical, that would commend itself to reason. Despite all its advances in education, it has not been able to overcome man’s stupid readiness to fall a prey to any slogan, however absurd, which clever demagogues think fit to invent. It has raised the technique of ‘organisation’ to fine art – and nevertheless the nations of the West daily demonstrate their utter inability to control the forces which their scientists have brought into being, and have now reached a stage where apparently unbounded scientific possibilities go hand in hand with world-wide chaos. Lacking all truly religious orientation, the Westerner cannot morally benefit by the light of the knowledge which his – undoubtedly great - science is shedding. To him might be applied the words of the Koran:

    Their parable is the parable of people who lit a fire: but when it had shed its light around them, God took away their light and left them in darkness in which they cannot see - deaf, dumb, blind: and yet they do not turn back.

    And yet, in the arrogance of their blindness, the people of the West are convinced that it is their civilization that will bring light and happiness to the world … […] the belief that all human problems can be solved in factories, laboratories and on the desks of statisticians.”

As he correctly remarked: Godlessness leads to darkness, no matter how intellectually superior they might be - they certainly do not serve humanity.


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