Bisimillah, alhamdulillah.

18 stabs by an axle whirring
Through Sherbini’s breast and baby murdering

In a Faranji court they let her fall
Their response – silence from their pedestals tall

Let the memory fade, a short story,
An aberration consigned to history,

Media complicit – inert and silent
Her hijaab rendering her a miscreant

Consign her to the African page
From the European conscience purge

Wrap her in an Egyptian flag
Muslims – divided and ruled their tag

Will her memory cease
Drowned by their unholy sleaze?

Her crime modesty and purity
Their rule devilish depravity

Can the two compare?
Shall we drown in this miserable sea of despair?

Western silence bears witness
To their concealed malice

Is the French tsar cozy with his fire of hate?
Didn’t you smile as you heard of her fate?

Will hands move or have we no shame?
Is there not a flicker of belief left in our limbs lame?

____________________

On July 1st Marwa El Sherbini, an Egyptian researcher living in Germany, was stabbed to death 18 times inside a courtroom in the city of Dresden, in front of her 3-year-old son. She had won a verdict against a German man of Russian descent who had verbally assaulted her because of her veil. Her husband, who rushed in to save her when she was attacked in the courtroom, was shot by the police. Marwa’s death was not reported by any Western news media until protests in Egypt erupted after her burial. The reporting that followed focused on the protests; the murder was presented as the act of a “lone wolf,” thus depriving it of its context and its social meaning. (Walid El Houri, 8th July 2009)

Technorati Tags: Marwa El Sherbini,stabbed egyptian women,hijab,hijaab the price,martyred Muslim lady,death of a Muslim women in Germany

Bismillah, alhamdulillah:

You roll out of your bed
To the smell of sweet bread,
While I wake to the stench
Of a blood dried bench

You dream of western grass
A summer ready to pass
While nightmares greet me
Ahead of me nothing but misery

You watch silenced by fear
On camera a fake tear
As bleating sheep we die
Sacrificed gentiles to butchers high

Your day ends with the sun setting
You return to your family laughing
As I stand at my families remains crying
Their charred odor their final calling

‘Donate’ your media mantra
Assuage your people’s shallow anger
With your money abound
Your shrouds lower us to the ground

In your prayers your crowds are led
To pray for God to fight in your stead
Did not someone before say
You and Your God go and fight today?

What did you suckle – wet nurse or brute?
That she left you toothless and mute
Fear my prayer for oppressed am I
God change your heart or let you die

Bismillah, alhamdulillah seeking God’s guidance to the truth.

With the continuing Israeli activities in Gaza the local chatter in the corridors is of people wondering what they can do to help. One of the topics of discussion has been whether or not to boycott Israeli / American companies that support Israel. This blog examines the effectiveness of such actions, the concept of divestment, related fatwas and offers some suggestions on the topic that may be of use.

Starbucks

Over the last few days an email against Starbucks has been circulating claiming profits from Starbucks support Israel. The letter reads likes a spoof but goes down well with receptive audiences here. However it is a fake letter actually authored by a German called Andrew Winkler in 2006. But as Winkler points out he has based this on ‘facts‘.

However, all the statements I made in that letter about donations, sponsorships, political views etc. – are based on factual Howard Schultz actions and quotes, as 1/2 hour of ‘Googling’ will easily confirm to anyone interested.

So, would avoiding the over priced coffee and hot chocolate at Starbucks make a difference? What is the effectiveness of such actions?

The economic impact on Israel of a poorly coordinated and consumer led boycott is likely to be minimal. Firstly Israel has economic streams which are independent of any commercial concerns and come straight from the US treasury to the tune of at least $3 billion per year and possibly more. Secondly to make such a boycott effective it would have to be highly coordinated and involve non-Muslim players as a large amount of trade that is done with Israel is not done with Muslim countries anyway. If you Google ‘divestment’ and ‘Israel’ you will come up with a number of websites promoting the concept. One that I came across was by the United Methodist Church. 

Divestment report by United Methodist Church

Recently I came across a Starbucks boycotting, well educated, person who happens to have a Volvo car. I would not have thought much of that until I read the divestment report by the United Methodist Church.  To my surprise Volvo was identified as a company that supports through trade some of the worst activities of Israel. The report had been compiled by a task force including eight clergymen.

The other companies that turned up in the divestment report include Boeing. But the irony of that is that Saudi Airlines has recently ordered a whole new fleet of 61 aircraft  from Boeing as they point out on their website.

Hilton Hotel in Makkah

This got me wondering about companies closer to home. If you have been for Umrah or Hajj you will not have failed to notice that the Hilton Hotel sits staring at the Holy Mosque everyday. The Hilton Hotel is a franchise from the Hilton Hotels Corporation which in turn is a subsidiary of the Blackstone Group as noted on Blackstone’s website.

Blackstone Group was co-founded by an American billionaire Stephen Schwarzman who remains the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Blackstone as of 8th January 2009 according to  Reuters.  Even the Wikipedia entry on Schwarzman does not makes his religious beliefs clear and you have to dig a bit deeper to find him admit in an interview to the Academy of Achievement that he is a Jew. His Jewish roots are also reiterated in the entry under his name at Nationmaster.com. It would not be unreasonable to conclude that such a prominent person has a soft spot for his fellow Jewry in Israel which could easily express itself in economic terms thanks to, in some part, the flow of revenue from the pilgrims to Makkah.

The complicated nature of the revenue web explains why the consumer boycott is patchy. The well informed consumer is a rarity and the time required to research the issue is not available to most people. It also illustrates the poor degree of coordination and disconnect between consumers on the one hand and the large players, even when they are on the same side.

Is it worth it?

Given the above it may be argued boycotting if of little or no practical use. But if it could be argued that a boycott was meritorious in its own right then though it would not be economically effective it would nevertheless be a source of reward on the Last Day. A spiritual struggle at the very least.

Scholars such as Yusuf Al-Qaradawi supports the boycott of companies supporting Israel. Some Saudi Scholars such as Salih Al-Munajjid also support a boycott. Though there has been reluctance in the past for Saudi scholars to support a coordinated call for a boycott citing examples of the Prophet (S) trading with Jews in Madeenah even though they were the clear enemy within.

The two pro-fatwas call for a balanced approach reflecting the aspirations of Muslims and the stark reality that they face. A fair summary of the fatwas would be: boycotting is a meritorious act if done to please God and aid fellow Muslims but Muslims who are unable to undertake it for genuine reasons are excused.

Suggestions

Pro-Islamic Ratings Agency (PIRA): One suggestion to the people who are involved in organising such boycotts and informational campaigns on divestment/disinvestment is to provide a list alternative ‘clean’ companies which provide equivalent goods at the same quality price point. The greater the detachment from anti-Islamic activity the higher the ratings.

A similar idea that has been put to good use by a grassroots campaign against the Mafia in Palermo, Sicily. Campaigners are running the Addio Pizzo ‘goodbye protection money’ website. The campaign is in support of businesses who refuse to pay the enforced protection money payments to the Mafia. The campaign allowed customers to support businesses which have an anti-Mafia stance and allows them to donate money online to these businesses. In essence the internet has allowed a previously poorly coordinated group to rally against the highly coordinated Mafia. This mirrors the situation that Muslims find themselves in today.

PIRA should be aimed both at investment managers and grassroots customers.  It should allow people to focus on particular queries such as supporting Israel but also give more complicated ratings taking further variables into account: investment in Islamic countries, benefit accrued to Muslims, transfer of technology and so on. It is very important that there is a clear local element to any such effort allowing consumers to particularise the data to their locale.

Promoting Muslim startups: Where the above process identifies a gap in the market an investment company should be setup to channel the support of consumers to exploit the gap in the market. The aim would be to promote Muslim companies to plug such gaps.

Lobbying: Where people have access to the key decision makers in Muslim polities they should make a stronger economic and ethical case for alternative companies with a pro or neutral stance towards Muslims. A professionally run and researched PIRA will be invaluable in such an endeavour.

Dua: The first port of call of all believers is the call to the source of all strength, God. Let us increase the chances of our duas being accepted by supporting them with our actions.

Bismillah, alhamdulillah : In the name of God, with hope and submission

I came across a well written article in the Guardian (Israel’s onslaught on Gaza is a crime that cannot succeed) the following line highlights the perverse maths of Palestine:

“During the last seven years, 14 Israelis have been killed by mostly homemade rockets fired from the Gaza Strip, while more than 5,000 Palestinians were killed by Israel with some of the most advanced US-supplied armaments in the world.”

I pray that  God extinguishes the flames of war and reins in the dogs of war. The following verse of the Quran comes to mind and deserves reflection:

5:64 And the Jews say, “God’s hand is shackled!” It is their own hands that are shackled; and rejected [by God] are they because of this their assertion. Nay, but wide are His hands stretched out: He dispenses [bounty] as He wills. But all that has been bestowed from on high upon thee [O Prophet] by thy Sustainer is bound to make many of them yet more stubborn in their overweening arrogance and in their denial of the truth. And so We have cast enmity and hatred among the followers of the Bible , [to last] until Resurrection Day; every time they light the fires of war, God extinguishes them ; and they labour hard to spread corruption on earth: and God does not -love the spreaders of corruption.

Bismillah, alhamdulillah

Ever wanted to stop that routine job you are doing and start a business? Or start a group to do something useful in life, parent-teachers association, charity club etc. Perhaps the wages are not good, the lifestyle not what you want, the freedom to live according to your schedule rather than be at the beck and call of others, an impulse to help others. Whatever the reason is or isn’t, the next step is to think about how you would do it. Solo, partnership, limited company etc. The list of possibilities can be confusing and the two that seem intuitive to most people are either going solo or doing it together with others. It is the second that I wish to share my 36 ‘C’-crets about.

Not really a mnemonic fan but finding them sometimes useful I wondered if I could put enough words beginning with the letter ‘C’ to describe what are the key ingredients to a successful partnership. I don’t think these are just applicable to partnerships in business but any endeavour in which people work together in teams. As my source of inspiration I have drawn upon the world’s greatest example of teamwork, the life and times of Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his ‘co-workers’, the Companions.