هل يعمل الاتحاد الدولي لعلماء المسلمين من أجل الأمة ؟

الناشط الإيغوري عبدالغني ثابت:

هل هذه المنظمة (الاتحاد الدولي لعلماء المسلمين) تعمل فعلا من أجل الأمة الإسلامية؟

إن كانت تعمل إذا كيف ذلك؟ نحن الأويغور المسلمون في تركستان الشرقية نعاني من النظام الصيني منذ 68 عاما.
أنا شخصيا كتبت عدة مرات .لهذه المنظمة عن محنتنا، لكنني لم أتلق أي رد

هل هؤلاء العلماء يعيشون في هذا العالم أم في كوكب آخر؟

منذ ما يقرب من عامين تغطي وسائل الإعلام الدولية ما يجري في معسكرات الاعتقال الصينية في تركستان الشرقية.

أعلنت الصين بالفعل الحرب ضد الإسلام وأعلنت الإسلام أنه "معد" ومرض نفسي وعقلي في جميع أنحاء المنطقة.

الناشط الإيغوري عبدالغني ثابت

لماذا هؤلاء العلماء المسلمين هادئين؟ ما هي مسؤوليتهم؟

A Muslim Divide in China

Uyghur Muslims face stricter controls on religion than Hui Muslims.

By: Rukiye Turdush 

File photo of Muslim Uyghurs praying at the Jame Mosque during Ramadan in Hotan in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region

China says its laws provide equal religious freedom for Uyghurs and the country’s other main Muslim group, the Hui, but Uyghurs face stricter controls on religious education and worship and how they dress because of Islam’s links to their political identity, analysts say.

Islam flourishes in China’s Ningxia and Gansu provinces, home to many of the country’s 10 million Hui Muslims, where mosque-based schools offer religious teachings to adults and children.

Hui Muslims in other parts of China as well are also allowed to run religious schools.

But in the Xinjiang region in China’s far west, where the mostly Muslim, Turkic-speaking Uyghurs form an ethnic group 9 million strong, government policies bar women and anyone under age 18 from attending mosques.

Uyghur parents are forbidden to teach religion to their children at home, and private religious education is subject to harsh crackdowns.

Many Uyghurs believe China is practicing a double standard in its religious policy toward Uyghur and Hui Muslims.

Although the laws on the books were the same, in practice, policies vary for both groups, said Dru Gladney, an anthropologist at Pomona College in California.

“Chinese laws about religious freedom are very clear. But like any other good Chinese law, there is uneven enforcement,” he said.

“Xinjiang has strict religious freedom because the political situation of the region is much different than other regions.”

But officials maintain Uyghurs are not getting the short end of the stick.

The head of the government-sanctioned Islamic Association of Urumqi, in the Xinjiang capital, said this month that China allows equal religious freedom for Uyghurs and Hui Muslims.

“There is no difference in religious policy,” Keram told RFA’s Uyghur Service.

“Uyghurs enjoy the same religious freedoms as Hui Muslims do,” he said.

But he refused to comment on crackdowns on Uyghurs’ religious freedom, including harsh sentences for unauthorized Islamic study and police raids on illegal schools in the region.

Crackdowns and police raids

Six teenaged Uyghur boys who were arrested for studying the Quran on their own after school are now serving sentences of 8 to 14 years in jail, a Uyghur farmer in the area who wished to remain anonymous told RFA this month.

The boys, who were between the ages of 14 and 17 at the time, had been arrested in April 2010 in Hotan's Keriye county, and are now being held in jails in Aksu and Yarkand far from their hometowns, he said.

In May this year, an 11-year-old Uyghur boy died under suspicious circumstances in police custody after being detained when police raided his teacher’s home in Korla prefecture where he had been studying the Koran with two other boys when police took him away.

In a separate incident weeks later, a dozen children in Hotan prefecture suffered burns after police using teargas and stormed a religious school where some 50 children were studying under “illegal preachers.”

Aside from restrictions on Islamic education and worship, Uyghurs are also subject to restrictions on traditional Islamic dress.

Chinese officials have denied there were such restrictions, which in theory are prohibited by laws protecting religious freedom.

Earlier this month, a Uyghur member of the Xinjiang delegation to the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s 18th congress in Beijing, Kurex Kanjir, said there is “absolutely no ban” on Uyghurs wearing traditional Islamic dress, according to the Hong-Kong based South China Morning Post.

Political identity

Hui Muslims, on the other hand, are much freer to practice Islam, although Hui Muslims in Ningxia suffered persecution during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and ‘70s.

Hui Muslims do not suffer the same level of repression as faced by Uyghurs because they have been much more assimilated into Chinese culture, says Uyghur writer Ghulam Osman.

“Hui Muslims are Chinese Muslims, but Uyghurs are not. Uyghurs are of a different race than the Chinese.”

“Hui Muslims have never been a nation-state; they always lived together with the Chinese, because they belong to the same ethnic group as the Chinese,” he said.

The Hui, whose forefathers hundreds of years ago were traders from Central Asia or other places who practiced Islam, live throughout China and, unlike the Uyghurs, many of them speak Chinese as their mother tongue.

The Hui are counted as one of China’s 55 distinct ethnic minorities, but are unique in that they are the only group to be defined solely on the basis of their religion, rather than language or genealogical differences. By definition, China’s Hui minority includes all historically Muslim communities in the country who are not members of other ethnic groups.

“Uyghurs are different; they had their own land and were invaded by China,” Ghulam Osman said, referring to Xinjiang’s past before it came under Chinese control following two short-lived East Turkestan Republics in the 1930s and 1940s.

China, fearing a separatist movement in Xinjiang, represses Uyghurs’ religious freedom because Islam is significant in the survival of their identity, he said.

But if China is worried about an independence movement blossoming among Uyghurs, such a movement would be more likely to be spurred in reaction to repressive religious policies than religion on its own, Gladney said.

“All the Uyghur movements against the Chinese government were caused by frustration that resulted from the heavy-handed repression of the Chinese government in the region, not by radical religious forces,” Gladney said.

But the political role of Islam in allowing Uyghurs to maintain an identity separate from the rest of China should not be underestimated, Ghulam Osman said.

“It is true that all political movements of Uyghurs are caused by the heavy handed policy of China and not by radical religious forces.”

“However, this does not mean religion does not play a significant role in Uyghur survival and Uyghur political movements,” he said.

“Islam and the Uyghur language are deeply embedded in Uyghur identity. They strengthen our racial and historical differences with Han Chinese.”

Reported by Rukiye Turdush for RFA’s Uyghur Service. Translated by Mamatjan Juma. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink.
From the Source

Why China Is Not Worried About Offending Muslim Allies

By: Rukiye Turdush 

Turkey's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak and China's National Energy Administration Chairman Nur Bekri signed a nuclear energy agreement between the two countries, Beijing, September 2016.

The Chinese government released a New Silk Road project action plan in 2015 to facilitate the achievement of its global ambition. The project aimed to materialize China’s dream of expansion through Central Asia to Europe.

China colonized East Turkistan (which the Chinese government also calls the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) in 1949. The region is located at the major gateway to this “New Silk Road” project and is mainly populated by Turkic-speaking ethnic Uyghurs and Kazakhs.

To promote the success of the “New Silk Road” project and make it easier to gain access to Muslim countries, China should respect the religious identity of Uyghurs and implement fair policy in the colonized land. Uyghurs and Kazakhs share the religion of the Central Asian nation, Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia and many other countries that play integral roles in the project. However, China has harshly implemented a destruction policy in the region, locking up several million Muslims in so-called re-education camps that are no different from Nazi-style concentration camps.

According to eye witnesses and countless of media reports, belief in Islam, praying to God, eating halal food, practicing Islamic funeral ceremonies and refusing to marry Han Chinese have all been banned. Moreover, Chinese officials have called Islam a mental disease. The Han-centric nation-building manifestation of China has aggressively moved to abolish Islam in the region. This should offend all Islamic nations. Surprisingly, it does not offend them at all.

Why doesn’t China have to worry about offending its Muslim allies? The reasons could vary. For one, China has mastered its cheating and bullying strategy. For example, through economic war, China’s cheating has cost the United States alone two million jobs since it became a member of the World Trade Organization. In addition, the bullying of Taiwan and building of an artificial island in the South China Sea have manifested the Thick Black Theory (Hou Hei Xue) of China.

After getting away with all of this, China believed that it could also get away with offending its Muslim allies. Alternatively, it may have believed that such a risk was worth taking since East Turkistan has significant strategic importance to China.

The purpose of the “New Silk Road” or “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) is to use China’s economic power and capital export as leverage to shape its main interest in geostrategic targets and to export the dominance of Han Chinese nationalism. China believes that it cannot fulfill these imperialistic goals without achieving total Han nationalist dominance in East Turkistan. Based on this belief, China has banned religion and Uyghur ethnic identity in East Turkistan to eliminate spaces that would allow the influence of other worlds.

Secondly, China has effectively manipulated the conflict between the West and Muslim countries, took the position of guardian over the Muslim countries in exchange for their silence regarding the issue. For example, the Turkish government was previously very supportive of East Turkistan. Back in 2009, President Erdogan criticized China and depicted the Urumqi massacre as a “genocide”. China demanded an official apology for that but never received one. In recent years, however, the adversary relationship between Turkey and the US has pushed Turkey further into the strategic circle of China. On numerous occasions, Turkish President Erdogan was quoted as saying, “Only atheist Satan can be silent in the face injustices”. Yet he now chooses to remain silent in the face of the tremendous injustices the Uyghurs are experiencing.

Furthermore, the financial crisis, the weakening of Western democratic ideology and rise of illiberal democracy in the West have given the green light to China’s genocidal policy against the Uyghurs. In fact, China tested the water before implementing the destruction of the religion and identity of Muslims in the region. Chinese state media produced vast amounts of propaganda material in several languages and circulated them around the world to further their agenda. They tried to illustrate that state oppression was a consequence of separatism and religious extremism or terrorism despite the fact that there was little evidence of organized terrorism, separatism or religious extremism.

Detainees listening to speeches in a re-education camp in Lop County, April, 2017

In 2014, China was successful at convincing Egypt to deport thousands of Uyghur students in exchange for a $40 billion trade deal. Furthermore, China arrested hundreds of ethnic Kazakhs in the region in the absence of any pending charges just to see the reaction of the Kazakh government. China also succeeded in getting the Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister, Cavus Ogli, to promise not to allow the Turkish media to publish items on Uyghur human rights. The reactions of these Muslim countries eased China’s worries that it would offend them. As a result, China enhanced its genocidal policy in the region.

China’s multistage and political strategy based on Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” states: “befriend them to get their guard down, then attack their weakest point.” Chinese political strategies have never been based on transparency and honesty. If China is buying these Muslim countries trust to open their door for OBOR project and making them ignore religious and moral obligations, then soon, there will be a day that China can attack their weakest point.

"Rukiye Turdush is an independent human rights activist and writer based in Toronto."

What is India hiding in Kashmir?

By: Syed Ali Geelani

New York. October 27, 2018.

“Human rights violations in Kashmir perpetrated by Indian army with legal immunity dwarf in scale the violations that provoked international humanitarian action in other international disputes. Human rights violations in Kashmir have been documented by all international and neutral human rights organization. Very recently, it was also documented in the United Nations report issued by the High Commissioner on Human Rights. The High Commissioner urged India to allow the United Nations delegation to visit Kashmir to asses the situation. But India does not allow such a delegation to visit Kashmir. It clearly shows that India has something to hide. May be, India does not want the world powers to know the following: tens of thousands indiscriminately slaughtered and countless rapes, abductions, custodial disappearances, arbitrary detentions, arsons, and brutal suppression of peaceful political protest,” this was conveyed in a message to the conference attendees of Pakistani American Society of New York (PASNY) by Syed Ali Geelani, Chairman, All Parties Hurriyet Conference, Jammu & Kashmir.

The Indian army is involved in serious war crimes. They open fire on unarmed civilians at their will because they have been given immunity under draconian laws, like Armed Forces Special Powers Act. (AFSPA). We demand an inquiry into these war crimes by a neutral agency, like the United Nations, Mr. Geelani added. Geelani Sahib insisted that the movement in Kashmir is indigenous, popular and people’s movement and rejected the notion that it is Pakistan sponsored. Geelani said,

Speaking as a guest speaker, Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General, World Kashmir Awareness Forum reminded the audience of the injustice, tyranny and inhumanity of the Indian military as it occupies Kashmir. He cautioned that at this moment in our historic struggle for self-determination, the Kashmiri people with poise, confidence and unity are taking their inalienable struggle in a new direction of non-violence and peaceful agitation.


Dr. Fai reiterated that major challenge faced by activists interested in a peaceful, just and lasting resolution to the Kashmir problem was the manner in which world powers spoke for Kashmiris and not to Kashmiris. This form of hegemony was most pronounced by constructing a false history and destroying Kashmiri identity. How often do we hear outlandish statements like, ‘Kashmir is an integral part of India’ or ‘Kashmir is a bilateral issue between New Delhi & Islamabad.’? These statements do not exist in a vacuum. They are loaded and violent. This form of violence is more insidious, more difficult to confront, for it is attempting to indoctrinate Kashmiris about their past, their present and direct them to a future that does not belong to them. They had become the objects of history rather than the masters of it.

Col. Maqbool Malik the Secretary General, (PASNY) reminded that it happened 71 years ago when Indian troops invaded Kashmir under the auspices of a fraudulent Instrument of Accession. British Scholar, Alistair Lamb has convincingly demonstrated that the Instrument was as bogus as an original has never been found, and there is no plausible explanation for a disappearance if an original had ever existed.

Mr. Malik reminded the audience that the conflict began in 1846 with the illegal, immoral and inhumane sale of the historic state of Jammu and Kashmir to a non-Kashmiri Dogra family for services rendered to the British Raj. From that point, onwards, Kashmiri’s have long for self-determination. Yet, tragically, their legitimate aspirations were crushed with the grotesque, irregular and illegal ascension, by the brutal foreign ruler Maharaja Hari Singh who did not have the consent of the people. With the arrival of Indian soldiers - the historic Black Day of Occupation begins its most recent and insidious manifestation.


Mr. Ashraf Aazmi, the President of PASNY and emcee of the event said that the world powers should exert its considerable powers of persuasion to mediate a peaceful conclusion of the Kashmir conflict with India, Pakistan, and the Kashmiri leadership. Bilateral talks and negotiations over Kashmir between Pakistan and India have proven sterile for 71 years, and nothing in that dismal equation has changed.

Sardar Imtiaz Khan Garalvi said that October 27th is celebrated all over the world as the day of occupation. Today, we are observing October 27th as a day of grief and sorrow, because it was on that day in 1947 that India sent its army to occupy our land without the consent of the people and in defiance of international norms. He said that Indian forces are using brute and excessive force against unarmed civilians and taking revenge from innocent citizens.


Sardar Taj Khan emphasized that Kashmiris will resist India's colonial occupation for as long as necessary to enjoy their right to self‑determination as prescribed by international law, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and a long series of United Nations Security Council resolutions that were agreed upon by both India and Pakistan and accepted by the International Community.

Ms. Amna Taj Khan urged the leadership of India and Pakistan to include the accredited leadership of Jammu & Kashmir in all future negotiations. Any Kashmir solution that fails to command the consensus of the 22 million people of Kashmir, Amna underscored, is doomed to shipwreck moments after its launch. She however, emphasized that with Kashmiri participation, anything is possible. Without it, nothing is.

Shahid Comrade of Pak USA Freedom Forum said that Kashmir continues to be a nuclear flashpoint in South-Asia, periodic eruptions will continue to risk the nuclear neighbors and violence will continue to chase the region unless the Kashmir problem is resolved to the wishes of the people of the state.


Shahid believes that a just and lasting settlement of the dispute is possible only through tripartite negotiations between the Governments of India and Pakistan and the legitimate leadership of the people of the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

Others who spoke included: Mr. Naeem Iqbal Cheema, Pakistan Consul General, Dr. Amarjit Singh, President, Khalistan Affairs Center, Dr. Syed T. Ahmad, Mr. Muhammad Ashraf, Dr. (Professor) Tamkeen and others.

Dr. Fai can be reached at: 1-202-607-6435 or gnfai2003@yahoo.com

History should not imprison the future of Kashmir

By: Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai
October 19, 2018

Human rights work in tandem with Kashmir peace initiatives. The two do not war with one another. The idea that suppression of human rights promotes peace is discredited by all history, including that of Kashmir. The denial of freedom of speech, association, religion, due process, equal justice, and self-determination in Kashmir has sabotaged peace, not boosted its chances. Ditto in the past for East Timor, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Southern Sudan and etc. The people of Kashmir no less demand dignity and respect than do other peoples.

History should not imprison the future, but neither can it be ignored in assessing the justice and morality of aspirations. A brief chronicling of Kashmir’s history will enlighten understanding of its current plight and viable solutions.


                        
The territory was a princely state ruled over by an oppressive Maharajah at the time British India was partitioned in 1947. The partition lines were drawn with a religious eye. In cases of doubt as to the sovereignty sentiments of a region, the British held plebiscites, which were honored. The more than 500 princely states enjoyed the option of acceding to India, Pakistan, or choosing independence on August 15, 1947, the date when British sovereignty lapsed. Kashmir was one of three states that had not chosen an option at the deadline. With regard to the other two, (Junagarh and Hyderabad) which were predominately Hindu but ruled over by Muslims, India by force of arms insisted on a plebiscite. Both voted in favor of accession to India.

Kashmir presented the flipside of the issue. According to the self-determination standard for princely states promulgated by India’s Prime Minister Nehru, a plebiscite should have been held in Kashmir to determine its sovereign future. Every reasonable opinion knew that Kashmiris would then have voted either for independence or accession to Pakistan.

Knowing that self-determination for Kashmir would prove adverse to its interests, India schemed with the Maharaja to fabricate a document of accession that would save the Maharaja from toppling to indigenous insurgent forces. India also arranged for the Maharaja to invite its army to defeat the insurgency, which provoked Pakistan to rally military in their support.

India raced to the United Nations Security Council and the Council enacted resolutions in 1948 and 1949, eagerly accepted by both India and Pakistan, stipulating a self-determination plebiscite for Kashmir conducted by the United Nations. In preparation for the voting, Indian and Pakistan forces would be substantially thinned. India, however, quickly fabricated excuses for foiling self-determination by raising endless quibbles about demobilization and scaling back its military presence. The sole reason for India’s obstructionism was knowledge that Kashmiris would never vote accession to its orbit.

India thus unilaterally annexed Kashmir in the early 1950s with a special constitutional status that promised autonomy. But India gradually reneged on its promise, and Kashmir was reduced to virtually the same status as all of India’s other States.

Kashmiris, however, are exceptionally patient and accommodating. For years they struggled through peaceful and democratic means to protest their denial of self-determination. But 1987 marked the straw that broke the camel’s back. Another rigged election by India created despair, especially among the Kashmiri youth. ‘India Today’ magazine reported, “In the Amira Kadal constituency of Srinagar, Muslim United Front (MUF's) Syed Mohammed Yusuf Shah (Alias: Syed Salahuddin) was a candidate. As the vote counting began, it was becoming clear that Yusuf Shah was winning by a landslide. His opponent, Ghulam Mohiuddin Shah, went home dejected. But he was summoned back by the electoral officials and declared the winner. When the crowds protested, the police arrived and arrested Yusuf Shah and his supporters. They were held in custody till the end of 1987.” Further, India’s ruthless suppression of peaceful dissent destroyed the moderate option, resulting in the latest uprising in 1989.

Since the 1989 uprising, more than 100,000 Kashmiris have died. Greater numbers have been tortured, mutilated, kidnapped and arbitrarily arrested. Political prisoners number in the thousands. Emergency laws were enacted. The gruesome human rights landscape in Kashmir has been confirmed by every independent human rights organization in addition to the recent report by the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights.

Although it is neither for Pakistan nor for India to determine the self-determination timetable for more than 22 million Kashmiris, we welcome the peace initiative between the South Asian neighbors, which include negotiations over Kashmir. We believe in the universality of human rights and human aspirations. Thus, we welcome the initiative to the extent it seeks to lift a heavy financial and military burden from the necks of Pakistan and Indian.

India’s so-called “democracy” in Kashmir resembles Myanmar’s patently bogus democracy. The recent nationwide Panchayat (local bodies) elections are emblematic. Let me review the stunning voter boycott statistics from Srinagar and its surroundings on October 15, 2018.


The Economic Times reported on October 18, 2018 that when the time for voting had ended, the turnout for the final phase of elections, which was held only for two municipal bodies in Kashmir, remained low as usual at 4.2 per cent.

These boycott figures are not aberrational but typical. They represent a stunning vote of no confidence by the Kashmiri people in their current illegal governance by India.

Kashmir’s right, however, is not self-executing. Diplomacy, perseverance, and small but gradual steps will be necessary. The following is urgent to jump start progress on human rights and peace in Kashmir:


1. India must repeal all of its draconian laws that violate human rights in Kashmir;

2. Military hostilities must cease immediately, and a scheduled withdrawal of security forces should commence;

3. All political prisoners must be released;

4. Fundamental human rights to assemble peacefully for political purposes, to freedom of speech and of association, and to freedom of religion should be recognized and honored;

5. Kashmiris should be included in all future negotiations along with India and Pakistan..


Fulfillment of this 5-point agenda would not be a dead end but a beginning of a better tomorrow.

The peace process and human rights in Kashmir cannot be separated. They will succeed or fail together. We hope we can count on the moral suasion and conscience of the world leaders to push success forward.


Dr. Fai is the Secretary General, World Kashmir Awareness Forum and can be reached at: 1-202-607-6435 or gnfai2003@yahoo.com

Millions of Khashoggi's that the world doesn't look for..

Did you found Khashaggi ?!
Millions of Khashoggi's that the world doesn't look for...

It is in everywhere around us in this world
On the land of, Yemen, Syria, Palestine, Turkestan, Burma, Kashmir, Egypt, Afghanistan, Libya, Bosnia, Iraq, Iran .. and more places

But the world has a one-eyed to see & move or investigation but only one Khashaggi,

Our Voice MattersTwitter:  @OurVoiceMatterz 
Facebook: @ourvoicematterz
Website: https://write.ourvoicematter.com/

THE EMERGENCE OF ETHNIC ROHINGYAS

The term Rohingya is derived from the word Rohai or Roshangee, a terminology pervered to Rohingya. Rohai and Roshangee are terms denoting the Muslim people inhabiting in the old Arakan (Rohan/Roshang/ Roang). It is probably the corruption of Arabic term Raham (blessing) or Raham Borri meaning the land of God's blessings.

The word Rahma to Rahmi-Rahmia-Rahingya to Rohingya, which denotes honest, dutiful, pitiful or kind hearted to others.

But there is another historical defination of Rohingya. That is Rohingya which derived from the Magh language "Rwa-haung-gya-kyia". The Magh used to call the Pathan army of General Wali Khan and General Sandi Khan, who came to restore the throne to Narameikhia, as "Rwa-haung-gya-kyia"- which was changed time to time - as Rwahingyia - Rohingya-which denotes as brave as tiger. As the Pathans army defeated the

Mon-Talaing army, the Rakhine Maghs used to call the Pathan as brave as tiger. They mixed with the Arab descendants for centuries and become Rohingyas.

"Arakan, infect, a continuation of the Chittagong plain was neither purely a Burmese nor an Indian territory till the 18th century of the Christian era. Chiefly for its location, it was not only remained independent for the most part of history, but endeavoured to expand its territory in the surrounding tracts whenever opportunity came and Chittagong was the first to be the victim of the territorial ambition of the Arakanese monarchs.

...... Shut off from Burma by a hill range, it is located far away from the Indian capitals. The relation between Chittagong and Arakan is influenced by geographical, ethnological, cultural and historical considerations, from about 1580 A.D. nearly a century, Chittagong was under almost uninterrupted Arakanese rule which is undoubtedly an important period marked by momentous events.

"There were Moors, Moghuls and Pathans also in Arakan.... Thus, the Muslim population of Arakan consisted roughly of four categories, namely, the Bangalee, other Indian, Afro-Asian and native. Among these four categories of Muslims the Bengali Muslims formed the largest part of the total Muslim population of Arakan."

The Arabs and Pathans army are founded the original nucleus of the Rohingyas in Arakan, who arrived from Arab and Bengal Sultanate during the time of Arakanese kings.

The Arabs were the first to lay the foundation of Muslim society in Arakan in the later part of the 7th century A.D. and the waves of immigration from Bengal were very significant, for with these immigrants came the Muslim nobels, statemen, traders, teachers, poets, and soldiers.

There had been large-scale conversion of the Hindus, Buddhists and animists to Islam who also constitute part and parcel of the Rohingya. In 15th century the number of converts to Islam soared, specially as the Muslims has established standard of credibility and stature in the community, initially through inter-mirrages.

These various migrations led to the admixture of blood and culture to form one common racial and linguistic classification to be known as Rohingya a term derived from "Rohang", the ancient name of Arakan.

The Rohingya people developed a culture which was relatively advanced for that period. Schools, Madarasas were established, epics, ballads and riddles were advanced, music and dances were performed. This culture spread out all over Arakan. The Rohingya economy was also relatively developed. They developed agriculture, trade and commerce and extended their trade relation with neighbouring countries. Today the majority of the Rohingya people rely on agriculture as their base of subsistence; even Rohingya fishermen engage in agriculture during the non-fishing period.

Among the Muslim population of Chittagong two distinct ethnic characters are found; one is known as Chatgaiya and the other Rohai. Although professing the same religion they have different cultural habits. In fact the Rohais of Chittagong today are those Muslim people who fled Arakan (Rohang) as a result of Bunnan atrocities after the country was occupied in 1784 A.D. As many as 50% of the total population of Chittagong district are Rohais who trace their ancestoral origin to Arakan. The Rohingyas trace their origin to Arabs, Moors, Turks, Persians, Moghuls, Patthans and Bangalees.

Since Rohingyas are mixture many kinds of people, their check-bone is not so prominent and eyes are not so narrow like Rakhine Maghs and Burman. Generally they are broad shouldered, thin-bearded, a bit taller in stature than the Rakhine Maghs and Burmans but darker in complexion. They are some bronze coloured and not yellowish.

THE ROHINGYAS ARE A NATION

"From 1430 to 1531, for more than one hundred years, Arakan was ruled by the Muslims." "Their Muslim Kingdom was independent in the 14th and 15th centuries. It was later absorbed by Burma" in 1784 A.D. The people of Arakan, the Rohingyas and Rakhines, had already organized their own statehood patterned after the Sultanate system of government current in those days. Thus in the context of Arakan the Rohingyas are not a minority but part of an integral whole. Today Rohingya nation exists because it is rooted in the direct personal feelings and the material interests of the large section of the Rohingya people whether in the homeland or in the places of refuge:

Aside from the compulsion of geography the Rohingya national identity is unique into Itself in terms of language and culture. The Rohingyas speak a common language and have common cultural trials. Almost all the Rohingyas are Muslims though there are a few Rohingya language speaking Hindus and Baruas. The Rohingyas are proud of their distinctive culture and language. They can not be classified cultural sub-group.

ROHINGYA HOMELAND

The Rohingyas inhabit a contiguous area and therefore have a separate territory which is the most crucial element in a national identity. The Rohingya populations in North Arakan are united by ancient heritage, a rich culture and distinct language. They have lived for many centuries within well defined geographical boundaries which demarcate their "Traditional Homeland". The group identity of the Rohingya people has grown over the past several centuries, hand in hand with the growth of their homeland in North Arakan, where they worked together, spoke to each other, founded their families, educated their children and also sought refuge, from time to time, from physical attacks elsewhere in Arakan and Burma.

The Rohingyas were once in absolute majority in the whole of Arakan. But they have been exterminated in a systematic and planned way and their homeland has now shrunk progressively in insignificance or to semi-preservations — a process still evidenced. Planned increase in the Buddhist population systematically exterpate the Rohingya people and destroy the crucial geo-graphical link between areas in the whole of Arakan. It threatens the Rohingya's claim to a contiguous homeland of the whole of North Arakan. The face of Rohingya homeland has been changed as the Rohingyas are helpless to check their demographic erosion. Despite systematic extermination of Rohingya population by means of genocidal actions and continued persecution, the Rohingyas still predominate in the area between the river Naf which demarcates the border between Burma and Bangladesh and river Kaladan, the longest river in Arakan. But the Rohingyas still claim that all those areas which have been inhabited by Muslims or atleast within their sphere of influnce before the pogram of 1942 are also included in their Traditional Homeland.

Arakan has always been a country with two nations within one geographic entity. Two different peoples, from the very ancient period, have been inhabiting Arakan. During the course of their settlements Arakan is divided into two parts : Muslim North and Buddhist South. That is the Rohingya homeland of North Arakan and Rakhine homeland of South Arakan.

Though Rohingyas live everywhere in Arakan and they are once majority in Maungdaw, Buthidaung, Rathidaung, Akyab, Kyauktaw, Mrohaung and Minbya. Now, they are majority only in former Mayu Dist. and Akyab Island.

RELIGION AND SOCIETY

All Rohingyas profess Islam. They are strict followers of Islamic traditions. In every village there is atleast one mosque and one grave-yard.

Rohingya Muslims celebrate religious festivals with great joy and enthussasm. Great rejoicings marked the two Eids, Eidul-Fitr, and Eidul-Azha (Qurbani Eid). Eids prayers were generally offered at Eidgahs or Mosques (where there is no Eidgah) and the days were spent in feeding, feasting and visiting the houses of the neighbours and relations. They also visit graveyard for ziyarat who left them earlier. Zakat is paid by all solvent Rohingya people ordinarily during the month of Ramadan. Qurbani is offered by all according to their financial means. Shab-i-Maraj, Shab-i-Barat and Shab-i-Qadar were observed with prayer, devotion, alms-giving and feeding of the poor. Romadan is greeted by all Rohingyas with much religious fervour. The birth day of Hazart Mohammed (s.m.) was celebrated every year on 12th of Rabiul-Awal as known Uman-Nabi.

Though the Rohingyas lived together with Rakhine Maghs, they lived with their own culture.They never eat together. Inter-marriage also not so common. They live in separate villages.

Every compact village or a part of it formed a social unit with the mosque as its centre and a uniting force for the convenience and regulation of social life of the inhabitants of the area. The eldest, pious, and influential man in the society was recogonised as the head of village society (Samaj) who decide all disputes among them with the help of village elders.

DWELLING-HOUSES

In Arakan, Rohingya people live in somewhat densely packed villages and the majority of their houses are built of wooden pole, bamboo, thatched with palm-leaves (Dani) and stand on stilts as a protection against the floods that rise and surge under the monsoon rains.

At townships headquarters and at most villages of any size or importance a few brick houses are to be found in Arakan. In the large villages have a fair number of wooden houses with thatch (dani) or corrugated iron roofs.

OCCUPATION AND TRADE

The soil of Arakan is very fertile and the climate is ideal for rice cultivation. Arakan is dependent entirely on agriculture; all other occupations are subsidiary to, or exist for the maintenance of, the agricultural population. Of total Rohingya population 80% are occupied in agriculture or pasturing. The next order of numbers are those engaged in trade in food-stuffs. The third in respect of numbers are shop-keepers and followed by persons engaged in transport by water and by road, wood workers, fisherman, manufacturers of tobacco and salts.

MARRIAGE

Endogamy is a factor resulting in the practice of segmentation. In other words, endogamy reinforces ties of common descent. The Rohingyas practise endogamy.

In early days, a Rohingya would not be eligible for marriage until three voyages of trade by water or three trips of trade on land. Otherwise, he would be looked down by the society and would call him impotent with contempt.

The Rohingya would never marry with other non-Muslim without conversion to Islam. If one many without conversion to Islam, the Rohingya society would boycott them until and unless he or she embraees Islam. So, the Rohingya parents control their children and arrange marriage between the parents. If they eloped, after having love affairs, the Rohingya society used to condemn them.

Betrothal is arranged by the Rohingya parents. The bride and the groom are not allowed to meet before marriage. Family lines are thoroughly checked before the engagement. Engagement breaks if there arise dissension amoung the parents or guardians. Mohar is fixed by the parents or guardians of the bride and the groom and it is most essential according Islamic law. It must be given by the groom for the bride. Both the bride and groom must declare their willingness by pronouncing the words "Khawbul Ahsi" (we do agree) in front of at lest two witness and the molvi Shaheeb (Alim) who perform the mirrage. Divorce rate among the Rohingyas is less then other races of Burma. The wedding ceremonies are held in receptions as far as possible. The receiption diner is usually held by the family of the bride-groom. In special case called "Salami", the reciption dinner is hold at bride home. During the wedding month the relatives of the newly wedded couple use to invite them and are served with at least one meal in consecutive days by each and every household of their relatives which shows their affections for the couple. In almost all Rohingya's marriage ceremonies 'Howlla’ (Group singing) songs sing and folk-dancing of girls and women are common.

FOODS

Rice is the staple food grain of Arakan. The diet of the Rohingya is simple rice, fish, vegetables and chillis; meat was taken on occasions. The majority Rohingyas eat dry fishes with fresh vegetables or potatoes or also without any of them. On all festive occasion cows, water-buffolos and goats were slaughtered for sales and distribution.

Rakhine Maghs like pork very much. Rohingyas never touch or eat pork. Pork is forbidden by Islam. They eat mutton, beef, chicken after making Halal according to Islamic teaching. Rohingyas honoured their special guests slaughtering a goat or more with their means and the poor with a chiken.

DRESS

The Rakhine Maghs males wear Gaung-Boung and Rohingyas males wear caps. The Rakhine Maghs wear Burmese jackets and Rohingyas wear coats. In olden days Rohingya used to wear Turbans of white clothes of 10 yards long and 1/2 yard breath. But British and Indian culture changed the dress of the Rohingya.

The male Rohingya wears a shirt with long sleeves called Bazu covering the upper part of the body while the lower part is covered a sheet of cloth stitched from side to side called longgi. Vest or gonji is wear as inner garment by the Rohingya male.

The adult female Rohingya wears long sleeved garment known as Suli to cover the upper part of the body while the lower part is covered with a Tami. Inner garment called Boduli long sleeve barazier wear every gril and woman of Rohingya. They wear a petticoat of cloth called Assar. This is without tie or fastening, but is broutht round the waist, with the edges well twisted in and kept on by the graceful curve of the hips. Young woman fastened a silk Belt called Rayshamer-Dowali and old women fastened a pice of red cloth 2.5 yards long and six inches wide stitched from side to side called Jali to hold their Tami on their waists.

She also wears a scarf known-as Romal which cover the head and shoulders. Whenever she is out-door she wears a Burkha, traditional veil covering the whole body.

RITES AND RITUALS

Some Rohingya males keep hair fallen on shoulders. They are mostly Molvis. The Rohingyas, on their brith, they keep the Islamic names in Arabic. Some prefer Burmese names or Rakhine Magh names at schools mostly where the teachers are Rakhine Maghs as they can not pronounce Muslim name correctly. Some keep both names such as, Saleh Tun Sein, Ahmed Maung Maung and so on. It is also not good. Muslim should take pride as the kings of Arakan used Muslim titles.

On the death of a Rohingya Muslim all the members of the society arranged his / her funeral as a social duty and hurried him/her in the graveyard with a prayer (janaza) according to Islamic Law.

Rohingyas are good natured people. They are honest. They are not oppressors. They can not tolerate the oppressors. They defend their people even not caring their lives. They are brave and intelligent people.

During the Second World War, the Rohingya fought for the Independence of Burma with courage. Though the Japanese easily conquered the Southern part of Arakan within a few days, the Japanese were unable to control the North-Arakan due to the defence strategy. Even the Japanese had to retreat failing to advance-through the defence operation of Rohingyas. The courage and bravery of Rohingyas should be recorded in Myanmar Razawin. As Rohingyas are always neglected people, their bravery was never recorded. Rohingyas respect laws and are peace loving people.

SPORTS AND GAMES

Rohingyas have may indigenous sports and games which are usually held during summer and winter. Some also in rainny season. They are Boli-Khela (wrestling), Ghari-Khela (Boat racing), Mohal Khela, Gila-Khela Du Du Khela, Qunda Khela (weight lilting of round stone), Dan Khela, Ulu Khela, Ciyar Khela, Luk-palani Khela, Phoni Khela, Mal-pat Khela, Bak-goru Khela, Bosgya-buri Khela, Morish Khela, Bat Khela, Kalatur Khela, Saws-sa-rani Khela, Dope-marani Khela, diving and swimming, Paddy transplanting competition.

SONGS AND MUSICS

The Rohingyas are fond of music (both vocal and instrumental) and dance. Rohingyas have their own folk songs, dances and musics. Howla songs sing by women in almost all Rohingya's marriage ceremonies and also women dance their flok dences in the same ceremonies. Young women mostly used mouth orgen (Baza) while dancing.Bitayali Geet, Jari Geet and Gazir Geet are very music is very sweet and meladious. Those who had came across the Rohingya National Programme from the Burma Broadcasting Service (BBS), they may recall the art of the Rohingya music.

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

There is separate Rohingya language, literature and civilization. It developed through Islamic civilization. Rohingya language is a mixture of Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Bangali and Rakhine Maghs, because they are the people of border and as same as the people of other border of Burma.

In the year 1429 A.D. General Wall Khan introduced Persian as state language of Arakan and also introduced Qazi courts in Arakan. Rohingya language is not recent make up. Muslim writers and poets used to write in this language since the early days in Arabic and Persian alphabets. One of the book is still in the possession of the author (Tahir Ba Tha). In addition to this, the coins of Arakan were melted in Arabic and Persian and also there are numerous Kyauksa (stone inscriptions) carved in Arabic.

The Rohingya literature is considerly rich in ballads, love songs, Floktales, Baramasa, legends,mystic songs, proverbs, bewsans, riddles, lullabies (Auli) and so on.

There are many Rohingya poets and writers who flourished in the court of Arakan kings. The Arakanese kings had come under the influence of Bengal Sultans. Most of the their courtiers were Bengali speaking people from Bengal and neighbouring Chittagong region and they encouraged the cultivation of Bengali language. The poets and writers who wrote in Bengali and a good number of their poems and works have been discovered.

Some of the Rohingya poets and writers who flourished in Araka court are: Abdu Minyo or Ahmedu Minyo, Shah Barid Khan, Daulat Kazi, Mardan and. Shah Alawal.

Quraishi Magan, Abdul Karim Khandkar, poet Abdul Karim are also well known writers and poets of Arakan.


The British government also used Persian as the official language of Arakan till 1836 A.D.In addition to Rohingyas many Rakhine Maghs also learned Persians. For example- Seikky Thado Pe and U Aung Gyi. Later on Persian was replaced by English and Urdu.

Thus written languages of Rohingya, Persian and Bengali almost disappeared from Arakan during the later part of British rule. The British subtitued English, Urdu and Burmese in place of Rohingya, Persian and Bengali. The Rohingya used Urdu till 1945 British re-entry. Urdu language is rich in poetry and literature.

The kinds of birds can be differentiated with their feathers. So it is time for Rohingyas to establish their ancestral dress, literature and culture. Rohingyas are rich with fine-arts, music and architecture. Rohingya architecture resemble the Arab Saracenic style which is witnessed by the mosques of Arakan. Sandi Khan mosque was built with hard rocks and easier design which stood as the oldest Rohingya's archeological monument.

So, it must be preserved by the Rohingyas.
Rohingyas should take pride for those Muslims who had built this mosque.

The Source

China says Rohingya issue should not be 'internationalized'

 BEIJING (Reuters) - The Rohingya issue should not be complicated, expanded or “internationalized”, China’s top diplomat said, as the United Nations prepares to set up a body to prepare evidence of human rights abuses in Myanmar.

FILE PHOTO: Rohingya refugees scramble for aid at a camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh September 24, 2017. 

The U.N. Human Rights Council voted on Thursday to establish the body, which will also look into possible genocide in Myanmar’s western state of Rakhine.

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China, the Philippines and Burundi voted against the move, whose backers said it was supported by more than 100 countries.

Over the last year, more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled the Buddhist-majority country to neighboring Bangladesh following a military response to attacks on security posts by Rohingya insurgents.

The United Nations has called Myanmar’s actions “ethnic cleansing”, a charge Myanmar rejects, blaming Rohingya “terrorists” for most accounts of atrocities.

FILE PHOTO: Rohingya refugees try to take shelter from torrential rain as they are held by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) after illegally crossing the border, in Teknaf, Bangladesh, August 31, 2017.

China has close relations with Myanmar, and backs what Myanmar officials call a legitimate counter-insurgency operation in Rakhine. Beijing has helped to block a resolution on the crisis at the U.N. Security Council.


Speaking to Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abul Hasan Mahmood Ali and Myanmar’s minister of the office of the State Counsellor Kyaw Tint Swe in New York on Thursday, China’s State Councillor Wang Yi said the Rakhine issue was a complex, historical one.

“The Rakhine state issue is in essence an issue between Myanmar and Bangladesh. China does not approve of complicating, expanding or internationalizing this issue,” Wang said, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement issued on Friday.


China hopes that Myanmar and Bangladesh can find a resolution via talks, and China is willing to continue to help provide a platform for this communication, he added.

“The international community, including the United Nations, can also play a constructive role on this,” Wang said.

The statement added that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also attending the meeting, held on the sidelines of a U.N. summit.

The Source : Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Michael Perry

Egypt: Unprecedented crackdown on freedom of expression under al-Sisi turns Egypt into open-air prison

                                

The crackdown on freedom of expression under Egyptian President Abdelfattah al-Sisi has reached alarming new levels unparalleled in Egypt’s recent history, Amnesty International said today as it launched a campaign calling for the unconditional and immediate release of all those who have been detained solely for peacefully expressing their views.

The campaign, “Egypt, an Open-Air Prison for Critics”, is being launched in response to the unprecedented severity of the crackdown in Egypt, as people around the country increasingly express discontent with the economic and political situation. Amnesty International invites supporters from around the world to show solidarity with those risking their freedom to express their views by writing to the Egyptian government and calling for an end to the persecution.

“It is currently more dangerous to criticize the government in Egypt than at any time in the country’s recent history. Egyptians living under President al-Sisi are treated as criminals simply for peacefully expressing their opinions,” 

said Najia Bounaim, Amnesty International’s North Africa Campaigns Director.

“The security services have been ruthless in clamping down on any remaining political, social or even cultural independent spaces. These measures, more extreme than anything seen in former President Hosni Mubarak’s repressive 30-year rule, have turned Egypt into an open-air prison for critics.”

Since December 2017 Amnesty International has documented cases of at least 111 individuals who have been detained by the National Security Services solely for criticizing the President and the human rights situation in Egypt.
Hundreds of Egyptian political activists, journalists, human rights defenders, members of the opposition, artists and football fans are currently in jail for daring to speak up. The reasons for their arrests range from social media activity to having a history of activism. At least 35 individuals have been detained on charges of “unauthorized protest” and “joining a terrorist group” because they stood together in solidarity in a small peaceful protest against increased metro fares. Comics and satirists are among those who have been targeted, including at least two individuals who posted satirical commentary online and were arrested by the police under the pretext of “violating public decency” or other vaguely defined offenses.

The Egyptian authorities have recently passed new legislation that enables mass censorship of independent news platforms and pages belonging to human rights groups. Since April 2017, security agencies have blocked at least 504 websites without judicial authorization or oversight. The laws were adopted by the country’s parliament without any consultation with civil society or journalists, mainly under the pretext of “anti-terrorism” measures.

“President al-Sisi’s administration is punishing peaceful opposition and political activists with spurious counter-terrorism legislation and other vague laws that define any dissent as a criminal act,” said Najia Bounaim.

“The newly adopted media and cybercrime laws are further enforcing the Egyptian authorities’ near-total control over print, online and broadcast media.”

Amnesty International is calling on the Egyptian authorities to release all detainees who are in prison solely for peacefully expressing their opinions, end their repressive campaign of media censorship and abolish legislation that tightens the state’s stranglehold on freedom of expression in the country.

The Egyptian authorities’ relentless and unjustified measures to mute peaceful voices have pushed hundreds of activists and members of the opposition to leave the country to avoid being arbitrarily arrested. However Amnesty International has also highlighted the bravery of Egyptians who continue to speak up against injustice.

“Despite these unprecedented challenges to freedom of expression, and despite the fear which has become a part of daily life, many Egyptians continue to peacefully challenge these restrictions, risking their freedom in the process,” said Najia Bounaim.

“That’s why we are asking Amnesty International supporters around the world to voice their solidarity with all those detained in Egypt simply for peacefully expressing their opinions. We must show these brave individuals that they are not alone.”

Amnesty International is calling on supporters to sign its petition and write to the Egyptian authorities, calling on them to immediately and unconditionally release all those detained solely for peacefully expressing their opinions.

Click to see the source of the article 

Shifting inmates to outside pure vengeance and violation of prisoners' rights: Jama’at-e-Islami

Srinagar: Jama’at-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir strongly denounces the plan of shifting of thirteen inmates lodged in the district jail, Kehribal Mattan Islamabad to the jails outside the valley and calls it an unwarranted action based on political bias and vengeance having no legal and moral justification. All these inmates are political detainees and are being shifting to outside jails for subjecting to suppression and physical and mental torture which is a blatant violation of the basic rights of prisoners under the international law to which India is also a signatory. These inmates were boarded in a police bus during the daytime but on strong protests from their close relatives they were again taken inside the Mattan jail to avoid the protest and during the night hours, they are likely to be shifted as scheduled.

Among those who apprehend shifting is one Peer Mohammad Ashraf of Batagund Verinag now languishing in the jails for more than fourteen years and has no legal trial pending against him and one Abrar Ahmad from Chowgam Qazigund district Kulgam who is suffering from a fatal disease and needs homely care and proper medical treatment which he is sure to be deprived of in an outside jail. In the jails outside the valley these Kashmiri political detainees are subjected to inhuman treatment by the jail authorities being mostly from the police department having neither any knowledge of the rights of the prisoners and detainees nor trained therefor. These officers are trained in handling the law and order situation but deputed in jails to deal a situation quite strange to them with the result these jails have virtually turned into the interrogation centers and police lock ups losing their basic concept of the correction centers. These officers maltreat and misbehave with these jail inmates thereby violating all jail rules and regulations written in the jail manuals and the local and international laws relating thereto.




Jama’at-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir while vehemently condemning the shifting of political prisoners and detainees to the jails outside the valley, appeals the International and local human rights institutions to take cognizance of these inhuman methods to suppress the jail inmates in this unfortunate part of the globe and take concrete steps to safeguard their rights guaranteed to them under the international conventions and local laws. Jama’at impresses upon the jail authorities to desist from intimidating these innocent detainees and provide them all facilities available to them under the jail manuals. Jama’at also demands unconditional release of all these political detainees and shifting of all those detained in the jails outside the valley including the Tihar jail, Delhi to the jails in the valley, particularly the DeM chief Asia Andrabi, her two colleagues Nahida Nasreen and Fahmeeda Sofi, Shabir Ahmad Shah, Muzaffar Ahmad Dar , Altaf Ahmad Shah, Peer Saifullah, Naeem Khan, Meraj-ud-Din Kalwal, Ayaz Akbar, Syed Javed Ahmad and his younger brother Shahid Yousuf , Adv. Shahid ul Islam and Zahoor Watali.




Advocate Zahid Ali

Chief Spokesperson

Jama’at-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir

Source of article from here

Pellet blind victim from South Kashmir booked under Public Safety Act

PULWAMA: Authorities have booked a pellet victim under draconian Public Safety Act here in South Kashmir's Pulwama district.




Suhail Ahmed Trambo son of Muhammad Ashan, a resident of Muran Pulwama was arrested by Government Forces along with many youth some two weeks before and today he was booked under PSA and shifted to Kathua jail.




Suhail according to sources is the brother of 3 sisters and lone bread earner of his family. In 2017, he sustained pellet injuries in his left eye and lost vision.




Family appealed authorities to release him. "We can't afford to meet him in Kathua jail. He should be at least lodged at Srinagar Central Jail. He is blind by one eye and not a stone pelter anymore,"
 

                                 

Source of article from here
Source 1
Source 2 

آگہی

نفسا نفسی، غفلت، خواہشات، بہتات کی حرص،دنیا کی رنگینی اور خود پرستی بس آگے اور آگے بڑھنے کی لگن، بس یہی سب ہے جس کے گرد انسان گھوم رہا ہے، اسی کے لیئے کوشش کرتا ہے، خود کو تھکا دیتا ہے بس اس سب کے حاصل میں،اپنی لاحاصل جہد کے ذریعے، بے لگام خواہشات کو پورا کرنے کے لیئے۔کیا انسان اتنا بے وقعت ہے، کہ بس وہ اس سب کے پیچھے اپنی زندگی کا اہم عرصہ گزار دے، بے سوچے سمجھے بس ہوا کے رخ پر چلتا چلا جائے۔۔زندگی اتنی بے معنی ہے کہ اس سب میں مشغول ہو کر وہ اسکو ضائع کر دے۔۔پھر کبھی اک لمحے میں خیال آئے، کہیں اندر کی آواز جس کا کبھی گلا گھونٹا گیا ہو۔۔یہ لاحاصل جستجو آخر کہاں لے جارہی ہے، جینے کی کوئی تو وجہ ہو؟ کوئی تو مقصد؟ کوئی تو راستہ؟ 

ایک منٹ کیا یہ سوچنے کا موقع سب کو ملتا ہے؟ سب اس لمحےکو پا سکتے ہیں؟
ایک  سیکنڈ میں زندگی بدل جاتی ہے، سب ختم بھی ہو جاتا ہے۔صرف ایک سیکنڈ لگتا ہے اور آپ ماضی کا حصہ بن جاتے ہیں، کچھ عرصے بعد آپکا نام بھی بھول جاتی ہے دنیا، آپ، آپکی ذات، آپکی کامیابیاں بس ایک سکینڈ کی مار ہوتی ہیں، پھر بس سب ختم ہو جاتا ہے۔۔دنیا کی ہر چیز اس کی بے ثباتی، اور زوال کا ثبوت پیش کرتی ہے، سورج اور چاند کے ڈوبنے میں، رات دن کے الٹ پھیر میں، ستاروں کے انکھوں سے اوجھل ہو جانے میں یہی سبق تو پنہاں ہے کہ کچھ بھی دائمی اور ابدی نہیں۔ہمیشگی کی زندگی یہ نہیں ہے، یہاں آنے والا ہر فرد اپنی مدت مہلت پوری کر کے رخصت ہونے والا ہے، ہر چیز ختم ہونے والی ہے۔۔ابھی ہماری جان باقی ہے، سانس رواں ہے۔مہلت باقی ہے،یہ وقت ہے جو ہمارے ہاتھ میں ہے۔
یہ لمحہ جو ذرہ ذرہ کر کے بس ہاتھ سے نکلتا جا رہا ہے، ابھی بھی نہ جاگے ہم تو کب جاگیں گے، یہ سوچنے اور زندگی بدلنے کا وقت ہے، کوشش کرنے کا وقت ہے۔

Why Are Uyghur Muslims Protesting All Over the World and What Can You Do to Help Them?

 By Gulnaz Uyghur

There are chances that you must have heard about Uyghur Muslims and East Turkestan by now, but many of you may not know the exact situation of our community.

Uyghurs are ethnic Turks who believe in Islam. We once had our own country known as East Turkestan. Our ancestors enjoyed rich culture, we wore colorful clothes, designed beautiful patterns, wrote literary works, followed the path of Allah, decorated our Mosques, handcrafted delicious food and remained happy. Our motherhood was rich and we nourished her with love. Today however, our motherland East Turkestan is bruised, she is bound by chains. Today her jewels are being robbed. Her once glorified past is now being erased with red ink and that ink belongs to China.

It was the horrible year of 1949 when Mao Zedong ordered PLA to capture East Turkestan. Despite the differences in our language, culture, way of life etc, PRC eyed us for the natural wealth of our land. Like all the other invasions, this one also happened for the acquirement of natural resources. That was the time when skies turned grey and wells started drying up. Soon the People’s Republic of China started throwing us out of our houses because our lands were to be used for factories. Our ancestral homes where our previous generations shared joys and sorrows, where their blessing were present, were snatched away. Slowly, Uyghurs were forced to live in alien looking houses away from their homes.

“Do you know how it feels when the home, where your parents were born, where you spent your childhood, gets destroyed by an enemy? It feels like a part of us is lost, forever…”

After attacking our homes, the Chinese attacked our lives. Restrictions started coming on following the Islamic way of life. Uyghur Muslims are not allowed to keep beards, tie a scarf on their head, teach Quran to their kids, or even marry each other according to Islam. The worst part is that now Chinese are forcing Uyghur girls to marry Han Chinese!

More Han Chinese were forced to settle in our cities, their businesses were uplifted. It became difficult for us to run our shops or get a decent job until we show acceptance to the Chinese occupation by adopting their culture and language.

Then came the cultural revolution. The main victims of this horrendous happening were Uyghurs and other ethnic populations in China. The Maoist gangs hunted Uyghurs fearlessly, as if their main motive was to convert Uyghurs into Chinese. Among millions of people who lost their lives were a large number of Uyghur Muslims. That incident sowed the seed of horror in our lives. Even after so many years, the crackdown on our community gets worse. Most of the Uyghur activists have either been killed, imprisoned under unknown circumstances, are in exile or have been disappeared by the state.

China is keeping a tab of each breath we take, and a specific crackdown has happened on religion because Communist Party Of China does not want people to believe anyone else other than the party. They want us to worship Xi Jinping and praise him before Allah. If you visit East Turkestan (which they falsely call Xinjiang) today, you will find Chinese army at every corner, there is a check post at every 100m, they are even outside the Mosques, inside the Mosques. The DNA of Uyghurs are collected for no reason, they are not given passports. The only way for Uyghurs to get out of the country is to flea in dangerous conditions. Uyghur women are now being also banned from wearing long skirts, tops etc.

As if all these things were not enough, Xi Jinping has started locking Uyghurs in Nazi-style camps. These concentration camps are given the name of ‘re-education camps’ where Uyghurs are being brainwashed into forgetting Islam and their identities. Millions of people have been thrown in them. The survivors of these camps, lucky enough to flee, are narrating worrisome stories of torture. Satellite images of these camps are being leaked but China still denies its existence. Apart from Uyghurs, Kazakhs are also locked in the camps. This is the reason why Uyghur diaspora, in spite of numerous threats by Chinese embassies, agents, are protesting. We are asking China to immediately shut these camps and free our country.

How You Can Help

We ask you to Stand up for Uyghurs and take one action to save our country. Below are the things that you can do to stop China’s suppression of the Uyghur community.

1. Stop Using Chinese Products: Economy is the fuel of dictatorships like China. They have acquired our land to boost their economy and that is the only way to stop them. If you stop using even ½ of the Chinese products that you use now, then you will help us win the half battle. You can start with your purchases of local manufactured items – check labels to see if its made in China; stop buying Chinese mobile phones; un-install their applications like Wechat etc; stop shopping from Alibaba, Tencent and other Chinese giants. You can find a list of China’s most valuable brands here.

For travelers, avoid China, avoid their hotels etc. Make the Beijing government realize that they cannot prosper on the tears of innocents.

2. Spread Awareness About East Turkestan: Not many people know about our situation, many of them don’t even know that we exist. Centuries of bright culture is being wiped out due to PRC’s greediness. The more people know about us, the more they talk, the more they question, the better. China is afraid of people knowing the truth about them and this will reveal their true face. You may make clubs, organize conferences, or just set up a group talk at lunch. Do anything, no matter how big or small but discuss the Uyghurs.

3. Protect Uyghurs Living In Your Area: There are chances that Uyghurs are living in distress around you. Maybe you see their faces everyday but don’t talk or know about their problems. It will be helpful if you can led your hand to the Uyghur community around you, try to engage, listen to them and protect them in any manner. Your support can refill us with new spirit.

4. Holding Peaceful Demonstrations: You do not need to go to the UN or EU or hold a large rally. You may organize yourself anywhere, although it would be even better if you could do it in front of a Chinese embassy in your area. This should be a peaceful demonstration, asking PRC to stop suppressing Uyghurs. You may also join the protests being organized by the local Uyghur communities. These demonstrations or any other peaceful way of protest is important to send a message that the world is against their clampdown on Uyghur Muslims.

5. Ask for Your Government to Call Out China: Write letters, Tweet them on social media, tag them on Facebook or try to petition them. Ask them to call out China and stop them from wiping out our community.
Today there is not a single Uyghur left who has not lost someone due to China’s crackdown. Some of us have even lost our parents, children, relatives, friends. No matter how you choose to support us, what matters is your will to do so. The Uyghur diaspora is fighting for their motherland and we will keep doing so until our last breath.

Source

Kashmir Nakba

Kashmir Nakba

First, British created nakba to kashmir in 1947 then Palestine in 1948.

The 1947 Kashmiri exodus, also known as the Nakba, occurred when more than 500,000 Kashmiris Butchered & thousands were expelled from their homes, during the 1947 Kashmir Genocide.

Genocide of Muslims in Jammu over three weeks between between October - November 1947 is one of the least known genocides in modern history. It was carried out with such a precision that it is difficult to find its traces, except in the memories of the survivors and the tales of horror they passed on to their next generations. It was such an operation that language lacks words to express this offence of demolition of human being.

The historians & survival witnesses say that the killings carried out was a "state sponsored genocide" to bring out demographic changes in Jammu - a region which had an overwhelming population of Muslims.

"The massacre of more than five lakh  Muslims was state-sponsored and state supported. The forces from Patiala Punjab were called in, RSS (a right-wing Hindu organisation) was brought to communalise the whole scenario and kill Muslims,"

The Muslims, who constituted more than 60 percent of the population of Jammu region, were reduced to a minority after the killings and displacement.
Women were raped mercilessly at will. Many women preferred death and committed suicide than falling prey to the cruel beasts who wouldn’t tire calling themselves as secular people.

An organised carnage was orchestrated to kill Muslims, wherever found or spotted in Jammu.
#KashmirNakba
#KashmirIsNotIndia

Author :- Suddhan Sadaf Shareef

Twitter :- @SuddhanSadaf30

Stop China before Uyghur Muslims are wiped out!

 By Gulnaz Uyghur 

This time I am not writing to tell you about East Turkestan which has been occupied by China since 1949 nor I will tell you about how millions of Uyghurs are suffering each day just because they are born as Muslims. But this time, I am going to write down my screams which you can’t hear, my tears which you can’t see and my anger which you are not feeling right now.

These are not only my feelings but the emotions of Uyghurs all around the world who are silently being assaulted by China. Its been years since I have been hearing about it, have been a victim of it myself too but a recent story by Associated Press made me shiver with fear.

Recently, AP’s China Correspondent, Gerry Shih did a brave story on the ‘re-education’ camps being run in East Turkestan (Falsely Known as Xinjiang). He interviewed former inmates of the camps who were fortunate to escape these camps alive. While reading it I stopped at one particular incident where the Chinese Government officials maligned our Uyghur History by targeting and insulting the Uyghur women.

They have been telling Uyghurs in the camps that in past, Uyghur Women didn’t wore undergarments, braided their hair to signal sexual availability and had numerous sexual partners.

Did you read the above lines? Take your time to sink it in….

Until now, China was forcing us to abort our children,send them to orphanage by unlawfully imprisoning us, ban us from following Islam, from wearing head scarves, celebrate Ramadan, burning our Qurans, forcing us to drink alcohol, deploying officials in our homes to keep an eye on us and now they are declaring Uyghur women as prostitutes!!!!! They are not only declaring us so but also brain-washing us into believing so. They are trying feel us ashamed us of our cultures by spreading such insults about our History.

These new ‘re-education’ camps by Chinese Government are more dangerous than the Nazi style camps by Hitler. Because here Uyghurs are being mentally and physically tortured into death. Even those who somehow return alive are not able to forget the scenario. Now with such insults towards the Uyghur women, China has crossed all its limits and showed how low it can stoop to wipe out our community.

If Xi Jinping and CCP is not stopped from doing this in East Turkestan then soon even other countries will see same kind of ‘re-education camps’ where their identities will be taken and they will be turned into Chinese slaves or The Party’s slaves…. 

You may Follow Gulnaz On Twitter and Facebook