From: imnet@u.washington.edu (The Islamic Movement Network)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.afghanistan
Subject: ISLAMIC WORLD NEWS (1st)
Date: 1 Sep 1992 23:59:16 -0500
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu
X-Unparseable-Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 21:55:56 -0700 (PDT)

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*     IN THIS ISSUE:                                                    *
*                   - NEWS UPDATE (courtesy of Crescent International)  *
*                   - ISLAM AND ARAB NATIONALISM (part VI)              *
*                             By Imam Mohammed H. Asi                   *
*                   - ANNOUNCEMENTS                                     *
*************************************************************************
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++  NEWS UPDATE (SEP. 1ST)
BOSNIA-HERCEGOVINA
Two days after the Serbs -- whether from Bosnia or Serbia
proper -- signed an agreement in London to submit their
heavy weapons to UN inspectors, the Serbian fascists
launched another of their bloody attacks on innocent
civilians in Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, on August
30.
At least 15 people were killed and another 78 seriously
woounded when a tank shell, fired from Serbian positions in the
hills above, blasted a queue of people waiting to buy bread.
This is the second such attack launched by the Serbs on
civilians out shopping for bread.
The last occasion was May 20 when at least 20 people were
killed and score injured.
According to hospital sources, many of those injured may not
survive because of lack of medicines and antibiotics.
In another development, Sarajevo Radio reported on August 30
that the Bosnian Territorial Forces had broken the
four-month siege of Garzde, the Muslim town south-east of
Sarajevo. The Serbian invaders were driven out and
more than 80 percent of the town was now in the hands of
the Muslims.
The town's Muslim population which number about 100,000,
had been trapped and mercilessly tortured by the Serbian
fascists.
In fact, killings and sadistic torture are the favourite
methods of the Serbs.
Produced below is an extract from Maggie O'Kane, a reporter
for the GUARDIAN newspaper, who sent the following story
from Bosnia:
'Her ears are melted away. All that is left are two waxy,
twisted beige blobs like burned out candles. Her forehead is
covered in a huge scab that is still healing and her nose is
a maze of burst vessels.
She holds her bandaged burnt arms delicately in front, like a
Hindu woman at prayer. She says she is the only one who
survived. Her name is Zehra Turjacahic. She is 31, a textile
worker from Visegrad with a Muslim name. This is her
story:
"It happened on June 27. Milan Lukic, a policeman in Visegrad,
knocked on our door. He had six Serbs with him from Obrenovac.
He said we were to go with him.
"There were eight people in my house: my mother, Djulka, my
sisters, Doehva and Aida and their children, Elma who was
four, Ensar who was two, Sada who was five and Selmir who
was seven.
"After about 100 metres we went into another house on Bartislav
Street. We were told to go in by the balcony. When we got to the
balcony door, I saw that there was a wardrobe against the front
door and all the windows had been blocked with furniture.
"There were Serbs all around the house and they were drinking.
We tried to stay on the balcony but they started to throw stones
at us to make us go inside, then they threw hand grenades. We went
inside and it was full of people. They were crying.
"We were the last ones in and then the Serbs took a garage door
from another house and put it up against the balcony, so we couldn't
get out. It was just after eight, when the curfew started in
Visegrad, and we were all in a sort of kitchen-dining room. I
saw about 10 babies and some old people, but it was mostly
families.
"I think there were about 70 people in that room. They weren't
screaming or banging on the doors, just crying because they
knew what was going to happen.
"I said to my mother, 'Don't worry, they won't kill us'. Then
they set the house on fire and everyone was creaming, but nobody
could get out. I saw the window in the garage door and I pulled
myself through it.
"I was the only one who got out. I was wearing trousers, a jumper,
and a cardigan, and I pulled off my burning clothes. Outside, the
chetniks (Serbian fascists) were standing around watching the
house burning. They were drunk and playing music very, very
loud, so no one could hear the sound of the burning people
screaming inside.
"One of the chetniks saw me and shouted at me to stop, but they
were far away from the house because of the big blaze. Then
he just shrugged his shoulders and I ran and hid. I was the
only one that survived.
"At one in the morning, I knocked on Ismet Kashpovic's door with
my feet, and then I went to the chetnik's headquarters and I
said to the commander: 'Kill me, just kill me'. But he said he
wouldn't and he brought Dr Basilovic to me and then took me to
an old woman's house.
"I stayed there for a day and then the old woman said Milan
Lukic was looking for me, because I was the only one that
survived and I knew. So I hid in the cemetery. Then I walked
for 18 days and the territorial defence forces (Bosnian Muslims)
found me and they brought me here." 
                    [From: GURADIAN WEEKLY, August 30, 1992].

TUNISIA
Two separate courts in Tunis, the Tunisian capital, sentenced
scores of Muslims to long prison terms on August 28 and 30.
In the first, 171 members of An-Nahdha, the banned Islamic Party,
were sentenced to prison terms ranging from life imprisonment to
20 years.
The prosecution had demanded the death penalty, accusing the
defendants of plotting to overthrow the regime of general
Zine al-Abdine Ben Ali who himself had come to power in
a coup when he ousted the former Tunisian dictator, Habib Bourguiba
in 1987.
Prior to that, Ben Ali had served as Buorguiba's chief of intelligence
as well as interior minister. Before grabbing power, Ben Ali was
serving as prime minister.
Thus, the man who came to power illegally is now accusing others
of plotting to overthrow his regime.
In court, most of the defendants charged that they had been tortured
to extract confessions from them.
All the defendants had been rounded up more than a year ago. In
all there were 300 people -- members of An-Nahdha and some police
and military officers -- who were brought before the judges.
In the second court-room, members of what has been dubbed the
Commandoes of Sacrifice, were on trial.
On August 30, the five-judge panel rejected the prosecution's
demand for death sentences but proceeded to hand down life
imprisonments and sentences ranging in term from one to 20
years.
Since these people were rounded up last September, at least five
detainees have died under torture. The regime has been unable to
explain how these people, all quite healthy and young, died.
The Ben Ali regime continues to enjoy widespread support in the
west despite its horrible record.

AFGHANISTAN
The ceasefire brokered by Pakistan between the warring factions in
Kabul that came into effect on August 29 seems to be holding.
Muhammad Siddiq Kanju, Pakistan's minister of State for foreign
affairs met Gulbuddin Hikmatyar, leader of the Hizb-e Islami and
Burhanuddin Rabbani, leader of the Jami'at-e Islami.
The two sides agreed to a ceasefire but Hikmatyar continues to insist
on the removal of the Uzbek militia from Kabul. Headed by general
Abdul Rashid Dostam, their presence in Kabul has become a
contentious issue.
Ustad Rabbani maintains that all the militias are being absorbed into
the armed forces and that they no longer exist independently.
Hikmatyar clearly does not share this view.
The latest fighting that started on August 6 has led to the deaths of
at least 1500 people and thousands of others have had to flee the
capital.
There is no electricity or running water and the food situation seems
to be getting precarious in Kabul.
Meanwhile, Pakistan announced on August 30 that it was closing its
border with Afghanistan, fearing that a fresh influx of refugees will
flood the North west Frontier Province.
The Afghan refugees had started to home but the movement slowed
considerably because of the fighting in Kabul.
Should the fighting resume in Kabul, which unfortunately seems more
and more likely, the refugee problem will again become a major
issue.
For now, everyone is hoping and praying that the various factions
in Afghanistan will resolve their differences by negotiations rather
than fighting.

PAKISTAN
Pakistan is to send a high-powered, unofficial delegation of
"wise-men" to India to accompany general Asif Nawaz Janjua, the
army chief of staff.
General Asif Nawaz accepted an invitation to visit India in order to
defuse tension between the two neighbours and to build bridges
of confidence.
The team of "wise-men" is to include Agha Shahi, the former foreign
minister of Pakistan, and general(retired) K M Arif, a former deputy
chief of staff.
Islamabad hopes that the visit by the "wise-men" will help develop
bridges of understanding and reduce tension that has arisen over
the crises in Kashmir and Punjab.
From August 17 to 19, Shahryar Khan, Pakistan's foreign secretary, held
three days of intensive discussions with Indian officials and a
number of agreements were arrived at. Among them was the agreement that
the two countries will discuss the question of Kashmir as well.
In fact, prime minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan is expected to
meet his Indian counterpart, Narasimha Rao, at the non-aligned summit
meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia on September 3. The two will discuss the
question of Kashmir as well.
It must be pointed out, however, that no immediate solutions can be
expected from these talks. The most that can be hoped for at this
time is to reduce the level of tension and to create the environment
in which a meaningful dialogue can be held.
In the past, all discussion on Kashmir between the two has been
like a dialgue of the deaf.
*******COURTESY OF CRESCENT INTERNATIONAL, The newsmagazine of the global  
         Islamic  Movement. Phone # (416) 474-9292, Fax (416) 474-9293.
ADDRESS: 300 Steelcase Road West, Unit8, Markham, Ontario, L3R 2W2 Canada.
**************************************************************************
EVENT SCAN ###############################################################
                              
                 ISLAM AND ARAB NATIONALISM
By Imam Mohammed H. Asi

Part VI
                 Cohesion, Yes; Schism, No

     "O Mankind!  behold, We  have created  you all out of a
male and female, and have made you into races and breeds, so
that you might come to know one another. Verily, the noblest
of you  in the  sight of Allah is the one who is most deeply
conscious of him. . ." [49:13]
     This process  of physical  variations between and among
peoples, races,  tribes, stocks and strains was not meant to
alienate or  divide. It  was meant for mutual and reciprocal
acquaintance, familiarity,  comprehension  and  recognition.
After this  coexistence your  experience  should  tell  you:
"... Indeed the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is
the one who is most deeply conscious of him." [49:13]
     Nationalism represents  the collective  ego  of  tribal
particularism. the  singular of  nationalism is the ego, and
the plural of the ego is nationalism.
     "And  whenever   your  sustainer   brings  forth  their
offspring from  the loins  of children  of Adam,  He  (then)
calls upon  them to bear witness about themselves: `I am not
your sustainer?'  to which  they answer: `Yes, indeed, we do
bear witness thereto!' (of this we remind you), lest you say
on the  day of  resurrection, `Verily  we  were  unaware  of
this;' or lest you say: `Verily, it was but our forefathers,
who in  times gone  by, began  to deify  other beings beside
Allah; and  we were but their late offspring: will you then,
destroy  us   for  the   doings  of   those   inventors   of
falsehoods?'" [7:172-174]

     A word  has to  be said  about the Arab peoples who are
Muslims. These  Arabs do  not stand a chance of being united
along a modern or archaic of nationalism because they do not
have the cementing components of other nationalisms, such as
a common  history, being  of  one  racial  stock,  a  common
geography, and  the rest of these physical asymmetries. They
have nothing  going for  them  in  the  same  sense  as  the
Germans, french,  etc.  .  .  to  build  a  common  national
character. The  overwhelming majority  of Arabs  have become
Arabs as a result of becoming Muslims. their love for Allah,
the Quran,   and  Islam made  them  shed  their  pre-Islamic
national character  to assume  the identity of Islam and the
Quran. Thus  they became  Arabs. The  Assyrians,  Aramaeans,
Phoenicians,  Hebrews,   Chaldeans,  Copts,   Berbers,   the
Hellenic people  in the  levant, some  Persians,  Turks  and
Abyssinians  all  upon  becoming  Muslims  enlisted  in  the
language  of   the  Quran  and  eventually  abandoned  their
national tongue. This popular growth of the Quran's language
was arrested  by the notion of Arab Nationalism and reversed
by policies  of such  dictators as Mustafa Kamal Ataturk and
Mohammed Reza Pahlavi when their educational apparatus began
to weed  out Quranic  (Arabic) words  from the  Turkish  and
Iranian languages.  Farsi and  the  Ottoman  languages  were
inundated with  Arabic words.  Farsi, still,  has many words
which are Arabic or can be traced to an Arabic origin.

     It should  come as  no surprise  that the  Arabs cannot
unite in  the absence  of Islam. Recent history demonstrates
how fragile and futile every attempt at Arab unity is.

     "Whose hearts He has brought together; (for) if you had
expended all  that is  on earth,  you could not have brought
their hearts  together (by  yourself), but  Allah did  bring
them together Verily, He is Almighty, Wise.' [8:63]

               _______________ END _______________
############################ ANNOUNCMENTS ################################
***********************************************************
*** This section is open for posting announcements for the
purpose of education and information only, no commercial or
solicitation ads please. ***********************************
*************************
Medical Doctors Relief & Development(MDRD), a voluntary,  
non-profit organization is seeking the support of members and 
volunteers who are willing to provide medical relief and
set up development operations in the poor countries of the world.
For more information, please contact Dr. Mohammad Amjad Alvi,
   1530 Albion Rd. Rexdale, Ont. Canada, M9V 1B4.
    Tel. (416) 240-0570, Fax (416) 240-1728
NB:
THE MDRD IS, NOW, SEEKING THE ASSISTANCE OF VOLUNTEERS, ESPACIALLY
FROM EUROPE, TO ASSIST IN GETTING SUPPLIES,ALREADY COLLECTED, REACH
BOSNIA. Contact Dr. Alvi on the above address please.
________________
________________
THE ASSOCIATION OF ISLAMIC COMMUNITY GAZI HUSREV-BEG, has set up a
special service to support the struggle in Bosnia.
To find out how to contribute to this effort please contact:

ASSOCIATION OF ISLAMIC COMMUNITY GAZI HUSREV-BEG
[Bosnia-Hercegovina F.]
4146 DUNDAS STREET WEST, ETOBICOKE, ONTARIO M8X 1X3, CANADA

PHONE: (416) 233-5967  FAX: (416) 237-0656
_________
The Third Annual Islamic week will be held from Oct. 12th - 21st
at the Univesity of Washington. The program consists of:
Islamic art and books display, Panel discussions, and lectures.
Imam Mohammed H. Asi will be in Seattle on Oct. 16th in Sha' Allah. 
For more information contact the Union.
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of the geographical locations. Criticisms are for that particular system
or power structure and NOT the people. 
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