Advertisement
Signs in the crowd greeted Mr Erdogan as 'a new world leader'
Turkey's PM has received a hero's welcome on his return to Istanbul after he stormed out of a debate about Gaza at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan had reacted angrily when he was refused the chance to respond to Israeli President Shimon Peres' defence of the operation
Thousands of people turned out in the city to greet Mr Erdogan's plane.
He told them Mr Peres' language and tone had been unacceptable, so he acted to stand up for Turkish honour.
"I only know that I have to protect the honour of Turkey and Turkish people," said Mr Erdogan.
"I am not a chief of a tribe. I am the prime minister of Turkey. I have to do what I have to do."
The BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Istanbul said there had been huge anger in Turkey at Israel's operation in Gaza and there now appears to be widespread support for Mr Erdogan's actions in Davos.
This showed that Turks are standing on their feet in Europe, in the world
Mustafa Mastar, Istanbul resident
Turkey rallies to Gaza's plight
Huge crowds were waiting at Istanbul airport in the early hours of the morning, with many people waving Turkish and Palestinian flags.
Correspondents said the crowds were shouting "Turkey is with you," and that some were holding signs greeting Mr Erdogan as "a new world leader".
"In Davos, all the world witnessed what has not been happening for many years," said Istanbul resident Mustafa Mastar.
"This showed the power of Turks. It showed that Turks are standing on their feet in Europe, in the world."
"Tonight I was really proud. I feel really happy," said Mustafa Sahin, another person in the crowd.
'Matter closed'
Crowds wave flags at Istanbul's airport, Turkey (30/01/2009)
Crowds gathered at Istanbul airport to welcome Mr Erdogan
During the debate on Thursday, Mr Erdogan had clashed with Mr Peres, whose voice had risen as he made an impassioned defence of Israel's actions, jabbing his finger.
Mr Erdogan said Mr Peres had spoken so loudly to conceal his "guilt".
He said many people had died in Gaza and he found it sad that anyone would applaud Mr Peres for defending Israel's actions.
He then accused the moderator of not allowing him to speak and said he did not think he would return to Davos.
The Turkish PM stressed later that he had left the debate not because of his disagreements with Mr Peres but because he had been given much less time to speak than the Israeli leader.
Advertisement
Turkey PM storms off in Gaza row
He said he respected Mr Peres but that "what he says is not true".
Turkey is one of the few Muslim countries to have dealings with Israel, but relations have been under strain since the Islamist-rooted AK Party was elected to power in 2002.
But Mr Erdogan stressed to the crowds in Istanbul that "our hard words are not directed towards the people of Israel, not directed at the Jews, but they are totally directed towards the government of Israel".
He said no decision on Turkish-Israeli relations would be made "driven by momentary anger on such issues".
More than 1,300 Palestinians and 14 Israelis were killed during the three-week conflict in Gaza, which began on 27 December.
Jan 30, 2009
Harare teacher: 'I can't afford to work'
A tomato vendor in Harare in 2008
A 40-year-old Zimbabwean primary school teacher in a high-density area of the capital, Harare, tells the BBC News website why he is not reporting for duty at the start of the new academic year - which has already been delayed by two weeks.
It's not possible for us to go back to work. A week ago we got paid and the amount we found in our accounts was 30 trillion Zimbabwe dollars for the month.
On that day it was equivalent to US$3 (£2.15), but three days later, because of inflation, it was worth only US$1 (71p) - and you can't really do anything with a dollar.
I survive like the rest of the Zimbabweans survive - vending
My colleagues who travel to work need US$2 a day, as a one-way journey costs the equivalent of US$1.
Actually, none of the teachers left at my school have reported to work since 2 September, when we resolved we had to be paid an amount that was reasonable.
We are on strike, although it's more that we don't have the capacity to go to work without money for transport and proper food.
Sadly, the more than 1,000 children at the school stopped turning up at the beginning of October after they realised the teachers were not coming back.
I survive like the rest of the Zimbabweans survive - vending. We sell anything we can lay our hands on.
School children in Harare buying refreshments from a vendor (November 2004)
Forty years in Zimbabwe's schools
I go into town and buy a 20kg bag of maize meal, which costs about US$7.
Then I come back to the high-density area and repack it into between 12 and 15 packs and resell them for US$1 because many families can only afford enough to cook one meal.
That's how I'm making a living now.
I've got a young brother who has a better-paying job; in fact he gets part of his salary in foreign currency - so sometimes he's the one who gives me some groceries.
Exodus
Sometimes parents are also willing to pay for tuition for their children. I charge about US$3 a head for this - at the moment I have about three kids whom I teach so that's about US$9 a week.
It is true to say some female teachers have really turned wild
Since last year, I have also been teaching my two children - who are of primary-school age.
My wife was retrenched from a catering company, so to make money now she prepares food at home and then goes into town and sells the lunches to clients.
Some of my colleagues do cross-border trading; they go into South Africa, they buy some goods and bring them back home and resell them.
Others have totally gone to South Africa and they are doing different kinds of jobs there.
One teacher is selling newspapers in Johannesburg; one is working in a restaurant in Cape Town and the third one is just doing some clerical work for a company in Cape Town.
I wanted to leave too when the crisis here started around the year 2000.
But after some of my friends had left, I realised they couldn't make a decent living - 200 to 300 rand (US$20-US$30; £14-£21) a month for selling papers is inadequate to provide for a family.
Classroom vandalised
It is true to say some female teachers have really turned wild.
Children picking up maize spilt from a truck (December 2004)
School attendance fell to 20% by the end of last year
They go into town dressed up and in the evenings in the night clubs look for rich clients - probably the money-changers, who can afford to buy their bodies.
It's really happening.
I first got a second job around 2002 when our incomes became inadequate - then I started to give extra lessons after school.
Then around 2007 it got really bad. We were involved in a lot of strikes and that's when I decided to start the vending, taking the odd day off to trade until stopping completely in September.
When I started work in 1991, we could afford most of the things on a teacher's salary.
The number of children in the class has remained almost the same, but what has changed in the 17 years is that classroom materials are no longer being provided and the equipment has become dilapidated.
For example, I went to my school last week to check on how things were and one of the auxiliary staff was telling me that one of the classrooms had been broken into.
Some furniture was stolen and the stationery as well.
Total collapse
Under normal circumstances, the school is supposed to employ 31 teachers, but due to migration, we were down to 21 in September and of them only about 14 were qualified teachers.
People in Zimbabwe buying goods from street vendors
I miss teaching very much because it is my calling
I have been informed by one of the parents who is on my school's committee that they are contemplating raising foreign currency so that teachers can be paid from the parents' pockets.
But I don't see how that can be practised because most of the parents are poor.
Unless something is done in terms of the political settlement - if the political leaders agreed and then things stabilised and there was a common focus - I don't see how these things can be solved.
The school system is in total collapse and in order for things to work again probably a unity government is needed so that things can be put in place.
I miss teaching very much because it is my calling. I miss that feeling of pride I feel when students do well in life.
Also I like sports very much and I used to go with children for sports and basketball. I'm no longer involved in that and that too I miss very much.
It is very depressing indeed.
A 40-year-old Zimbabwean primary school teacher in a high-density area of the capital, Harare, tells the BBC News website why he is not reporting for duty at the start of the new academic year - which has already been delayed by two weeks.
It's not possible for us to go back to work. A week ago we got paid and the amount we found in our accounts was 30 trillion Zimbabwe dollars for the month.
On that day it was equivalent to US$3 (£2.15), but three days later, because of inflation, it was worth only US$1 (71p) - and you can't really do anything with a dollar.
I survive like the rest of the Zimbabweans survive - vending
My colleagues who travel to work need US$2 a day, as a one-way journey costs the equivalent of US$1.
Actually, none of the teachers left at my school have reported to work since 2 September, when we resolved we had to be paid an amount that was reasonable.
We are on strike, although it's more that we don't have the capacity to go to work without money for transport and proper food.
Sadly, the more than 1,000 children at the school stopped turning up at the beginning of October after they realised the teachers were not coming back.
I survive like the rest of the Zimbabweans survive - vending. We sell anything we can lay our hands on.
School children in Harare buying refreshments from a vendor (November 2004)
Forty years in Zimbabwe's schools
I go into town and buy a 20kg bag of maize meal, which costs about US$7.
Then I come back to the high-density area and repack it into between 12 and 15 packs and resell them for US$1 because many families can only afford enough to cook one meal.
That's how I'm making a living now.
I've got a young brother who has a better-paying job; in fact he gets part of his salary in foreign currency - so sometimes he's the one who gives me some groceries.
Exodus
Sometimes parents are also willing to pay for tuition for their children. I charge about US$3 a head for this - at the moment I have about three kids whom I teach so that's about US$9 a week.
It is true to say some female teachers have really turned wild
Since last year, I have also been teaching my two children - who are of primary-school age.
My wife was retrenched from a catering company, so to make money now she prepares food at home and then goes into town and sells the lunches to clients.
Some of my colleagues do cross-border trading; they go into South Africa, they buy some goods and bring them back home and resell them.
Others have totally gone to South Africa and they are doing different kinds of jobs there.
One teacher is selling newspapers in Johannesburg; one is working in a restaurant in Cape Town and the third one is just doing some clerical work for a company in Cape Town.
I wanted to leave too when the crisis here started around the year 2000.
But after some of my friends had left, I realised they couldn't make a decent living - 200 to 300 rand (US$20-US$30; £14-£21) a month for selling papers is inadequate to provide for a family.
Classroom vandalised
It is true to say some female teachers have really turned wild.
Children picking up maize spilt from a truck (December 2004)
School attendance fell to 20% by the end of last year
They go into town dressed up and in the evenings in the night clubs look for rich clients - probably the money-changers, who can afford to buy their bodies.
It's really happening.
I first got a second job around 2002 when our incomes became inadequate - then I started to give extra lessons after school.
Then around 2007 it got really bad. We were involved in a lot of strikes and that's when I decided to start the vending, taking the odd day off to trade until stopping completely in September.
When I started work in 1991, we could afford most of the things on a teacher's salary.
The number of children in the class has remained almost the same, but what has changed in the 17 years is that classroom materials are no longer being provided and the equipment has become dilapidated.
For example, I went to my school last week to check on how things were and one of the auxiliary staff was telling me that one of the classrooms had been broken into.
Some furniture was stolen and the stationery as well.
Total collapse
Under normal circumstances, the school is supposed to employ 31 teachers, but due to migration, we were down to 21 in September and of them only about 14 were qualified teachers.
People in Zimbabwe buying goods from street vendors
I miss teaching very much because it is my calling
I have been informed by one of the parents who is on my school's committee that they are contemplating raising foreign currency so that teachers can be paid from the parents' pockets.
But I don't see how that can be practised because most of the parents are poor.
Unless something is done in terms of the political settlement - if the political leaders agreed and then things stabilised and there was a common focus - I don't see how these things can be solved.
The school system is in total collapse and in order for things to work again probably a unity government is needed so that things can be put in place.
I miss teaching very much because it is my calling. I miss that feeling of pride I feel when students do well in life.
Also I like sports very much and I used to go with children for sports and basketball. I'm no longer involved in that and that too I miss very much.
It is very depressing indeed.
Zimbabwe cholera cases top 60,000
More than 60,000 people in Zimbabwe have now been infected by cholera, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.
This figure had been described by the UN's health agency as being the "worst case scenario" in the epidemic which broke out in August.
Cholera has now claimed the lives of more than 3,000 people in Zimbabwe.
The epidemic of the disease, which broke out in August 2008, has been fuelled by the collapse of Zimbabwe's water, sanitation and health systems.
Many hospitals have shut down and most towns suffer from poor water supply, broken sewers and uncollected waste.
In latest figures released by the WHO in Geneva, some 60,401 people now had cholera in Zimbabwe. The death toll stands at 3,161.
The UN agency has estimated that about half of Zimbabwe's 12 million population are at risk from the disease.
WHO spokeswoman, Fadela Chaib, told AFP news agency earlier this week: "The situation of cholera is not under control, it's even out of control, and it will remain so for the near future."
This figure had been described by the UN's health agency as being the "worst case scenario" in the epidemic which broke out in August.
Cholera has now claimed the lives of more than 3,000 people in Zimbabwe.
The epidemic of the disease, which broke out in August 2008, has been fuelled by the collapse of Zimbabwe's water, sanitation and health systems.
Many hospitals have shut down and most towns suffer from poor water supply, broken sewers and uncollected waste.
In latest figures released by the WHO in Geneva, some 60,401 people now had cholera in Zimbabwe. The death toll stands at 3,161.
The UN agency has estimated that about half of Zimbabwe's 12 million population are at risk from the disease.
WHO spokeswoman, Fadela Chaib, told AFP news agency earlier this week: "The situation of cholera is not under control, it's even out of control, and it will remain so for the near future."
Obama: Heat as I say, Not as I Do
Marc Sheppard
A piece in yesterday's New York Times featured a photo of an Oval Office meeting last week during which President Obama had removed his suit jacket. And while the Times was quick to point out how this break with centuries old tradition was a sign of a "more informal culture" under this new administration, they neglected to mention the glaring hypocrisy of the action.
You see, the reason the president --- and others -- were jacketless was simple: "Mr. Obama, who hates the cold, had cranked up the thermostat."
After all, it's freezing cold out there, and as White House senior advisor David Axelrod reminded us, "He's from Hawaii, O.K," adding that "He likes it warm. You could grow orchids in there."
But the limousine liberal elitism didn't get past Steve Milloy at JunkScience.com, who wrote this morning:
Could this be the same Barack Obama who said last May that:
"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times... and then just expect that other countries are going to say 'OK.' ... That's not leadership. That's not going to happen."
And could this be the same Barack Obama who is looking to sign a stimulus bill that would spend billions of dollars installing millions "smart meters" that would enable your power company to prevent you from being as comfortable as he is on hot and cold days?
While President Bambi is warm-and-toasty in the Oval Office, is he considering the plight of Michigan's Marvin Schur, a 93-year World War II veteran, who was recently found frozen to death courtesy of a malfunctioning electricity "limiter" device installed by his power company?
Granted, neither Obama's elitism nor the media's complicit actions are fresh concepts. Remember how hard they worked to dispel the image of a condescending elitist last April when then candidate Obama was caught on tape talking about bitter country folks and how "they cling to guns or religion?"
But now that he's joined the growing list of do as I say not as I do climate elitists, will they continue to provide cover as he signs energy legislation demanding the sacrifice of personal comfort by struggling Americans?
Particularly while seated in the luxurious tropical temperatures of the Oval Office?
Any guesses?
A piece in yesterday's New York Times featured a photo of an Oval Office meeting last week during which President Obama had removed his suit jacket. And while the Times was quick to point out how this break with centuries old tradition was a sign of a "more informal culture" under this new administration, they neglected to mention the glaring hypocrisy of the action.
You see, the reason the president --- and others -- were jacketless was simple: "Mr. Obama, who hates the cold, had cranked up the thermostat."
After all, it's freezing cold out there, and as White House senior advisor David Axelrod reminded us, "He's from Hawaii, O.K," adding that "He likes it warm. You could grow orchids in there."
But the limousine liberal elitism didn't get past Steve Milloy at JunkScience.com, who wrote this morning:
Could this be the same Barack Obama who said last May that:
"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times... and then just expect that other countries are going to say 'OK.' ... That's not leadership. That's not going to happen."
And could this be the same Barack Obama who is looking to sign a stimulus bill that would spend billions of dollars installing millions "smart meters" that would enable your power company to prevent you from being as comfortable as he is on hot and cold days?
While President Bambi is warm-and-toasty in the Oval Office, is he considering the plight of Michigan's Marvin Schur, a 93-year World War II veteran, who was recently found frozen to death courtesy of a malfunctioning electricity "limiter" device installed by his power company?
Granted, neither Obama's elitism nor the media's complicit actions are fresh concepts. Remember how hard they worked to dispel the image of a condescending elitist last April when then candidate Obama was caught on tape talking about bitter country folks and how "they cling to guns or religion?"
But now that he's joined the growing list of do as I say not as I do climate elitists, will they continue to provide cover as he signs energy legislation demanding the sacrifice of personal comfort by struggling Americans?
Particularly while seated in the luxurious tropical temperatures of the Oval Office?
Any guesses?
What global warming?
U.S., Europe feel big chill But climate change shows no end in sight, scientists say
LONDON — Where has global warming gone when we need it most?
As cities from Chicago to London deal with an unusually bitter winter, weather records show that 2008 was one of the cooler years in the last decade. And the early months of 2009 are shaping up as "numbing" in the United States, according to the Farmer's Almanac, that nearly 200-year-old source of traditional weather lore.
Britain this year has had its coldest start to winter in 30 years, with temperatures 5 degrees below average, but "this would have felt like a warm year as recently as the 1980s, and an exceptionally warm year in Victorian times," said Myles Allen, an atmospheric physicist at the University of Oxford.
In most parts of the world, "what we regard as normal weather is the average weather over the past 10 years," he said. "We forget what it was like before then," even if someone occasionally drags out old photos of houses roof-high in snowdrifts or tales of slogging miles to school in near-impassible conditions.
Britain's recent deep freeze —its coldest spell since 1996—is due to stalled weather patterns that have funneled in frigid air from Siberia and from continental Europe, which is also shivering after years of unusually mild winters, according to the Hadley Center, the United Kingdom's leading weather service.
Stalled or unusual weather patterns also have contributed to remarkable snow and cold in Chicago and across much of the United States this winter. So far, this winter has been the 22nd coldest in 139 years of record-keeping in Chicago, and the fourth-snowiest in 124 years of records, according to Tom Skilling, chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. On Thursday, Chicago could see its first subzero high temperature in nearly 13 years.
"Just because certain areas cool down in the midst of an overall warming trend doesn't mean warming isn't going on," Skilling said. But the intensity of the cold and snow over the past two winters is raising some questions about how well scientists understand the interaction of an array of weather-changing forces, from sunspots to volcanic activity.
For instance, one reason the last two winters have been chillier than normal, climate scientists say, is a cyclical change in Pacific Ocean currents known as La Nina. In La Nina years, cold ocean currents rise to the surface near the equator, often causing cooler winters in northern regions like the United States. An opposite warming effect occurs in El Nino years.
Meteorologists say La Nina phase in the Pacific is now ending, and some predict that by 2010 the world should again be seeing some of the warmest years on record—warm enough that the Hadley Center is warning that poor residents of Britain may need help paying air-conditioning bills this summer.
But other meteorologists see evidence of an unusual second La Nina on the rise in the Pacific, which could extend the current stretch of colder-than-average winters.
"It's a very complex puzzle, this whole climate thing," Skilling said.
Snowfall in Chicago in recent years still isn't anything approaching the snowy winters of the 1970s, when the Chicago average was 54 inches, Skilling said. But he said graphs his research department has drawn up suggest "we're cycling back into an era of a little more snow."
Whether that is a simply a temporary break from a long-term rise in planetary temperatures or a new, not-well-understood winter trend isn't entirely clear. But "the fact that 2009, like 2008, will not break records does not mean that global warming has gone away," warned Phil Jones, director of climate research at the University of East Anglia in England.
In fact, "when you step back and look at the bigger picture, the overwhelming evidence is that temperature is increasing around the world," said John Hammonds, a meteorologist with the Hadley Center.
LONDON — Where has global warming gone when we need it most?
As cities from Chicago to London deal with an unusually bitter winter, weather records show that 2008 was one of the cooler years in the last decade. And the early months of 2009 are shaping up as "numbing" in the United States, according to the Farmer's Almanac, that nearly 200-year-old source of traditional weather lore.
Britain this year has had its coldest start to winter in 30 years, with temperatures 5 degrees below average, but "this would have felt like a warm year as recently as the 1980s, and an exceptionally warm year in Victorian times," said Myles Allen, an atmospheric physicist at the University of Oxford.
In most parts of the world, "what we regard as normal weather is the average weather over the past 10 years," he said. "We forget what it was like before then," even if someone occasionally drags out old photos of houses roof-high in snowdrifts or tales of slogging miles to school in near-impassible conditions.
Britain's recent deep freeze —its coldest spell since 1996—is due to stalled weather patterns that have funneled in frigid air from Siberia and from continental Europe, which is also shivering after years of unusually mild winters, according to the Hadley Center, the United Kingdom's leading weather service.
Stalled or unusual weather patterns also have contributed to remarkable snow and cold in Chicago and across much of the United States this winter. So far, this winter has been the 22nd coldest in 139 years of record-keeping in Chicago, and the fourth-snowiest in 124 years of records, according to Tom Skilling, chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. On Thursday, Chicago could see its first subzero high temperature in nearly 13 years.
"Just because certain areas cool down in the midst of an overall warming trend doesn't mean warming isn't going on," Skilling said. But the intensity of the cold and snow over the past two winters is raising some questions about how well scientists understand the interaction of an array of weather-changing forces, from sunspots to volcanic activity.
For instance, one reason the last two winters have been chillier than normal, climate scientists say, is a cyclical change in Pacific Ocean currents known as La Nina. In La Nina years, cold ocean currents rise to the surface near the equator, often causing cooler winters in northern regions like the United States. An opposite warming effect occurs in El Nino years.
Meteorologists say La Nina phase in the Pacific is now ending, and some predict that by 2010 the world should again be seeing some of the warmest years on record—warm enough that the Hadley Center is warning that poor residents of Britain may need help paying air-conditioning bills this summer.
But other meteorologists see evidence of an unusual second La Nina on the rise in the Pacific, which could extend the current stretch of colder-than-average winters.
"It's a very complex puzzle, this whole climate thing," Skilling said.
Snowfall in Chicago in recent years still isn't anything approaching the snowy winters of the 1970s, when the Chicago average was 54 inches, Skilling said. But he said graphs his research department has drawn up suggest "we're cycling back into an era of a little more snow."
Whether that is a simply a temporary break from a long-term rise in planetary temperatures or a new, not-well-understood winter trend isn't entirely clear. But "the fact that 2009, like 2008, will not break records does not mean that global warming has gone away," warned Phil Jones, director of climate research at the University of East Anglia in England.
In fact, "when you step back and look at the bigger picture, the overwhelming evidence is that temperature is increasing around the world," said John Hammonds, a meteorologist with the Hadley Center.
Jan 23, 2009
because of you
I’m like giggling and laughing all at the same time.
I couldn’t phantom the thought.. it’s much too funny.
Do not tarik harga alot k. This is what you get in the end.
And yes, I choose to be stupid in your case. I enjoyed it.
For now, I’m waiting for you. I’m not sure, if I should… you. But yea, I’m waiting for you.
We’ll see.
I went way low for you, let you climb and step all over me… and now…
Whatever.
I have nothing else with you.
If it’s going to end, I think it will be THE END.
But I so can’t shut up now, I’m laughing like crazy… I hope you reply. I’m just hoping you do.
We’ll see?
No, I’ll see.
Tsk.
ps: Don’t think you would ever comprehend this, pls, do not mind me. I have this up, just to please my eyes.
I couldn’t phantom the thought.. it’s much too funny.
Do not tarik harga alot k. This is what you get in the end.
And yes, I choose to be stupid in your case. I enjoyed it.
For now, I’m waiting for you. I’m not sure, if I should… you. But yea, I’m waiting for you.
We’ll see.
I went way low for you, let you climb and step all over me… and now…
Whatever.
I have nothing else with you.
If it’s going to end, I think it will be THE END.
But I so can’t shut up now, I’m laughing like crazy… I hope you reply. I’m just hoping you do.
We’ll see?
No, I’ll see.
Tsk.
ps: Don’t think you would ever comprehend this, pls, do not mind me. I have this up, just to please my eyes.
Can Muslims Trust Barack Obama?
Radical Middle Way and The City Circle Present
A Conversation with Imam Johari Abdul-Malik
Black-American Muslim Leader & Chair of Government Relations, Muslim Alliance of North America
Wednesday, 16 April 2008
Abrar House, 45 Crawford Place, (off Edgware Rd), London, W1H 4LP
Free Event!
Doors Open: 6:30 pm, Discussion Starts: 7:00 pm
“I have never been a Muslim… am not a Muslim.” That’s what Barack Obama had to say after the “Muslim Smear” campaign seemed to damage his campaign earlier this year. But what if he was a Muslim? Would that be so wrong? How have American Muslims, particularly Blackamerican Muslims, responded to Obama? With his call for change, Obama has captured the imaginations of people the world over. Is he really the one who can set America on a progressive new path – at home and abroad? With the economy in decline, Iraq in flames and the “war on terror” becoming a “war without end”, the eyes of Muslims the world over on the results of Election 2008. Imam Johari Abdul-Malik will discuss these issues and more.
Imam Johari Abdul-Malik is a scholar and Director of Outreach at the Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center near Washington , D.C and former Muslim Chaplain at Howard University . He is the Head of the National Association of Muslim Chaplains in Higher Education and chair of government relations for the Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA), an organisation committed to addressing the social, economic, political and spiritual needs that especially impact African American and indigenous Muslims. MANA has brought together for the first time the most influential Blackamerican Muslim leaders, scholars and activists onto one platform.
A Conversation with Imam Johari Abdul-Malik
Black-American Muslim Leader & Chair of Government Relations, Muslim Alliance of North America
Wednesday, 16 April 2008
Abrar House, 45 Crawford Place, (off Edgware Rd), London, W1H 4LP
Free Event!
Doors Open: 6:30 pm, Discussion Starts: 7:00 pm
“I have never been a Muslim… am not a Muslim.” That’s what Barack Obama had to say after the “Muslim Smear” campaign seemed to damage his campaign earlier this year. But what if he was a Muslim? Would that be so wrong? How have American Muslims, particularly Blackamerican Muslims, responded to Obama? With his call for change, Obama has captured the imaginations of people the world over. Is he really the one who can set America on a progressive new path – at home and abroad? With the economy in decline, Iraq in flames and the “war on terror” becoming a “war without end”, the eyes of Muslims the world over on the results of Election 2008. Imam Johari Abdul-Malik will discuss these issues and more.
Imam Johari Abdul-Malik is a scholar and Director of Outreach at the Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center near Washington , D.C and former Muslim Chaplain at Howard University . He is the Head of the National Association of Muslim Chaplains in Higher Education and chair of government relations for the Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA), an organisation committed to addressing the social, economic, political and spiritual needs that especially impact African American and indigenous Muslims. MANA has brought together for the first time the most influential Blackamerican Muslim leaders, scholars and activists onto one platform.
Obama Wins
Today we see history being made....
First Black African American President ....
And did you know he can speak Malay ; )
Taken from wikepedia : " Throughout his early years, Obama was known at home and at school as "Barry." Obama's parents met while both were attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where his father was enrolled as a foreign student They separated when he was two years old and later divorced. His father received a Masters degree in Economics from Harvard University, then returned to Kenya, where he became a finance minister before dying in an automobile accident in 1982. His mother married another foreign student, Lolo Soetoro, and the family moved to Soetoro's home country of Indonesia in 1967. Obama attended local schools in Jakarta, from ages 6 to 10, where classes were taught in the Indonesian language."
First Black African American President ....
And did you know he can speak Malay ; )
Taken from wikepedia : " Throughout his early years, Obama was known at home and at school as "Barry." Obama's parents met while both were attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where his father was enrolled as a foreign student They separated when he was two years old and later divorced. His father received a Masters degree in Economics from Harvard University, then returned to Kenya, where he became a finance minister before dying in an automobile accident in 1982. His mother married another foreign student, Lolo Soetoro, and the family moved to Soetoro's home country of Indonesia in 1967. Obama attended local schools in Jakarta, from ages 6 to 10, where classes were taught in the Indonesian language."
Jan 22, 2009
Islam in Singapore
Sunni Islam is the religion of about 15% of Singapore's population; mainly the sizeable Malay minority, who constitute about 13.9% of the country's population. Other adherents include Tamil, Pakistani and Arab Muslim communities together with a tiny number of Chinese and Eurasian followers of Islam.[1][2]
Tamil Muslim traders pioneered the settlement of Serangoon in early 19th century. Today, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura) plays a very important role in the organization of Islamic affairs and therefore of the Muslim community. Authorized by the 1966 Administration of Muslim Law Act, the council, composed of members nominated by Muslim societies but appointed by the President of Singapore, is formally a statutory board that advises the president on all matters relating to the Muslim religion. It acts to centralize and standardize the practice of Islam. The council administers all Muslim trusts (wakaf); organizes a computerized and centralized collection of tithes and obligatory gifts (zakat); and manages all aspects of the pilgrimage to Mecca, including registering pilgrims, obtaining Saudi Arabian visas, and making airline reservations.
The council also helped the government reorganize the mosque system after redevelopment. Prior to the massive redevelopment and rehousing of the 1970s and 1980s, The Muslims in Singapore were served by about ninety mosques, many of which had been built and were funded and managed by local, sometimes ethnically-based, communities. Redevelopment destroyed both the mosques and the communities that had supported them, scattering the people over new housing estates. The council, in consultation with the government, decided not to rebuild the small mosques but to replace them with large central mosques.
Construction funds came from a formally voluntary contribution collected along with the Central Provident Fund deduction paid by all employed Muslims. The new central mosques can accommodate 1,000 to 2,000 persons and provide such services as kindergartens, religious classes, family counselling, leadership and community development classes, tuition and remedial instruction for school children, and Arabic language instruction.
The government has been regulating Muslim marriages and divorces since 1880, however, the 1957 Muslim Ordinance authorized the establishment of a centralized Sharia Court, with jurisdiction over divorce and inheritance cases. The court, under the Ministry of Community Development, replaced a set of government-licensed but otherwise unsupervised kathi (Islamic judges) who had previously decided on questions of divorce and inheritance, following either the traditions of particular ethnic groups or their own interpretations of Muslim law.
The court attempts to consistently enforce sharia law, a standard Islamic law as set out in the Qur'an and the decisions of early Muslim rulers and jurists, and to reduce the high rate of divorce among Malays. In 1989 the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore took direct control of the subjects taught in Islamic schools and of the Friday sermons given at all mosques.
Tamil Muslim traders pioneered the settlement of Serangoon in early 19th century. Today, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura) plays a very important role in the organization of Islamic affairs and therefore of the Muslim community. Authorized by the 1966 Administration of Muslim Law Act, the council, composed of members nominated by Muslim societies but appointed by the President of Singapore, is formally a statutory board that advises the president on all matters relating to the Muslim religion. It acts to centralize and standardize the practice of Islam. The council administers all Muslim trusts (wakaf); organizes a computerized and centralized collection of tithes and obligatory gifts (zakat); and manages all aspects of the pilgrimage to Mecca, including registering pilgrims, obtaining Saudi Arabian visas, and making airline reservations.
The council also helped the government reorganize the mosque system after redevelopment. Prior to the massive redevelopment and rehousing of the 1970s and 1980s, The Muslims in Singapore were served by about ninety mosques, many of which had been built and were funded and managed by local, sometimes ethnically-based, communities. Redevelopment destroyed both the mosques and the communities that had supported them, scattering the people over new housing estates. The council, in consultation with the government, decided not to rebuild the small mosques but to replace them with large central mosques.
Construction funds came from a formally voluntary contribution collected along with the Central Provident Fund deduction paid by all employed Muslims. The new central mosques can accommodate 1,000 to 2,000 persons and provide such services as kindergartens, religious classes, family counselling, leadership and community development classes, tuition and remedial instruction for school children, and Arabic language instruction.
The government has been regulating Muslim marriages and divorces since 1880, however, the 1957 Muslim Ordinance authorized the establishment of a centralized Sharia Court, with jurisdiction over divorce and inheritance cases. The court, under the Ministry of Community Development, replaced a set of government-licensed but otherwise unsupervised kathi (Islamic judges) who had previously decided on questions of divorce and inheritance, following either the traditions of particular ethnic groups or their own interpretations of Muslim law.
The court attempts to consistently enforce sharia law, a standard Islamic law as set out in the Qur'an and the decisions of early Muslim rulers and jurists, and to reduce the high rate of divorce among Malays. In 1989 the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore took direct control of the subjects taught in Islamic schools and of the Friday sermons given at all mosques.
Haul Habib Muhd bin Salim Al Attas @Masjid Baalwie with As-Sayyid As-Shaykh Afeefuddin Al-Gaylani, great grandson of Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Gaylani
at a later date if I have the time to transcribe. For the time being, just enjoy the youtube above by brother YZTWR)
Haul Habib Muhammad bin Salim Al-Attas @ Masjid Ba'alawi this year was very crowded with around 5000 plus 'jamaah' or even more. Among those that attended this event were:
Shaykh Afifuddin al-Jilani (Great Grandson of Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Gaylani)
Habib Umar al-Aydrus(Grandson Tokku Paloh)
Habib Abdurrahman al-Habsyi(Grandson Habib Ali Kwitang)
Habib Ahmad and Habib Jindan BinJindan(Grandson of Habib Salim BinJindan)
Habib Zayn al-Habsyi
Habib Abdullah al-Aljunied of Kuala Lumpur
Habib Iduari al-Aydrus
Habib Abbas as-Saqqaf
KH Shukran Ma'mun
KH Abdul Halim Musaddad
Habib Usman BinShihab
Habib Hud bin Bagir al-Attas
Habib Ismail Fajri al-Attas
Habib Isa BinSumayt
Habib Hashim as-Saqqaf
and Government Officials
Haul Habib Muhammad bin Salim Al-Attas @ Masjid Ba'alawi this year was very crowded with around 5000 plus 'jamaah' or even more. Among those that attended this event were:
Shaykh Afifuddin al-Jilani (Great Grandson of Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Gaylani)
Habib Umar al-Aydrus(Grandson Tokku Paloh)
Habib Abdurrahman al-Habsyi(Grandson Habib Ali Kwitang)
Habib Ahmad and Habib Jindan BinJindan(Grandson of Habib Salim BinJindan)
Habib Zayn al-Habsyi
Habib Abdullah al-Aljunied of Kuala Lumpur
Habib Iduari al-Aydrus
Habib Abbas as-Saqqaf
KH Shukran Ma'mun
KH Abdul Halim Musaddad
Habib Usman BinShihab
Habib Hud bin Bagir al-Attas
Habib Ismail Fajri al-Attas
Habib Isa BinSumayt
Habib Hashim as-Saqqaf
and Government Officials
The Story of Habib Noh
Introduction
Habib Noh was born aboard a ship in the year 1788 (1202/3 Hijri). According to Shaykh Hasan Al-Khatib, the caretaker of Maqam Habib Noh, who heard from Habib AlKhair, Habib Mohamad's wife was in labour when a huge storm hit the ship. It was a critical moment and the ship threatened to be overturned. At that time, Habib Mohamad made a nazar that if the baby arrives safely, he would name the baby "Noh" in remembrance of Nuh (Noah) who brought the light of mercy on his ship. Not long afterwards, Habib Noh arrived safely into this world.
Not much is known about the early life of this individual except that he came from the northern Malaysian state of Kedah and lived for a while in Penang an island off the coast of Kedah. He was a direct descendant of Muhammad[citation needed]. He was an Arab from Hadramaut, the area of southern Arabia that is now known as Yemen. Habib Noh's family stayed in Kedah before moving to Pulau Pinang.
[edit] Arrival in Singapore
Around 1819, Habib Noh was invited to Singapore by Habib Salim bin Abdullah Ba Sumayr after the island became a British colony. Habib Noh stayed here (in Singapore) for about 50 years. Some reports mentioned that he stayed at Kampung Kaji (next to Al-Masjid Sultan.)
He came into prominence because being a 'majdhub' as he did things that are out of the ordinary. He loved children who liked to accompany him everywhere he went.
Among his honourable habits was to distribute food to the poor. Often, he would enter a shop, take out all the money from the cash drawer and throw it to the waiting children. Those shopkeepers who were aware of his holy state did not make any attempt to stop him and were rewarded by Allah with prosperity in their business thereafter.
Such activities however, were frowned upon by the British colonial masters who tried to put him in jail a number of times. However, after doing this many times, they finally gave up and left him alone. The reason? Each time he was arrested, and put in jail, he mysteriously disappeared from his cell and was seen outside walking free. This is one of the signs of awliya, their service to God has set them free from man.
He frequently gave advice to the community. He urged his companions to always show compassion, to increase their religious knowledge and to be consistent in learning the Al-Quran. Among his advice was "Let there not be any spite or ill-will among you and let there not be even a bit of greediness among you."
Habib Noh r.a. often woke up at night to perform prayers till dawn. He often visited the graves of the Muslims in the middle of the night to read Quranic verses till dawn. Habib Noh later moved to Marang Road, near Masjid Temenggong. He would often khalwat (remain in solitude for zikrullah) atop Mount Palmer, which was then a thick jungle facing the vast sea. The peaceful setting was perhaps a way for him to get closer to Allah.
A friend of his, Hj Muhd Salleh wished to set up a small mosque for the convenience of the Habib, but Habib Noh ra passed on to the next world before his friend's intention was fulfilled. The small mosque was still built, but it was later demolished. In replacement, the Hj Muhd Salleh mosque was built at the foot of Mount Palmer, for the convenience of the guests who came to visit the Habib.
People in those days flocked to see him and sought the blessings of his sincere invocation. Since those were the days of sailing ships, traveling by ship was often hazardous and it took a few months to sail from Singapore to Jeddah, Arabia. Muslims planning to sail back to Indonesia, India and Arabia made it their practice to come and ask him to pray for their safe journey.
Stories on Habib Noh often revolve around his miracles--especially his incredible ability to appear in a number of places at the same time. He had been seen in Mecca when it was known that he has not left Singapore. He has been known to say farewell to travellers leaving Singapore with the words 'I will be there when you arrive'. When the traveller reached his destination months later, Habib Noh would be there to welcome him at the harbour.
[edit] Story 1
Once a prominent Singapore businessman was about to set sail before lunch-time on a certain day. He received word that Habib Noh wanted to have lunch with him in his house that very day. Because of his love for this great wali, he did not depart on the ship that day but stayed behind to have lunch with Habib Noh.He did not know at that time that Habib Noh--who was also known for his gift of knowing about events to come and his state of unveiling (kashf)--had come to lunch with a purpose. That was to prevent him from sailing on a ship that was doomed to be shipwrecked near Penang a few days later, going down with most of its passengers.
[edit] Story 2
A gentleman by the name of Tok Mat, who owned a horse carriage, used to take Habib Noh on rides in his carriage. One night Tok Mat was returning home alone in his carriage felt quite frightened, as Singapore, one-hundred years ago, was not a safe place as it is now. Robbers and bandits were everywhere, waiting to take unwitting travelers by surprise. Tok Mat felt fearful and wished Habib Noh was there to protect him. He turned around and was shocked to see Habib Noh sitting in his carriage and smiling at him.
[edit] Story 3
One night, Habib Noh RA was resting when he heard the continuous cries of a child, from his neighbour's house. Habib Noh RA got up and went to his neighbour's house. He gave Salaam and entered the neighbour's house, upon which, he saw the father of the child crying. He asked the mother of the child about this. The mother answered, "Habib, my child is crying because he wants to drink milk but I do not have the money to buy it. My husband is crying because he's too overwhelmed when he heard the child crying." Habib Noh RA then requested for some drinking water. The mother gave him some water in a coconut husk. Habib Noh RA read a few verses and a while later, the water turned into milk and the milk was given to the child.
[edit] Story 4
One day, a group of people visited Habib Noh RA. They waited for him as he prayed Asar. Soon, Habib Noh RA came out to meet his visitors. While he was greeting the second person in the group, he observed the man's face and said, "It's better for you to leave now because your mom is facing her last moments, and is dying." The man rushed home accompanied by Habib Noh RA. When they arrived, the man's mother had just died.
[edit] Story 5
Once there was an Arab trader who was a follower of Habib Noh RA. One day, he invited the Habib RA to his home for a farewell supplications (du'a selamat) as he was going back to Yemen on some business. The trader made preparations for his journey. According to his plans, he would leave immediately after the farewell supplications, and would head down to Keppel where a ship was awaiting. At that time, there would only be a few ships which set sail to Yemen in one week.
Something strange happened. When the Habib RA arrived, he sat on the trader's luggage while making the farewell supplications. This had never happened before. Habib Noh RA made a very long supplication, until even the trader became restless, as his ship was set to sail soon. As a sign of respect to the Habib RA, nobody dared say anything. Finally, the Habib RA ended his supplication. By then, the ship on which the trader was supposed to be in, had already left the port. The guests started eating but nobody said anything or questioned the Habib RA. The trader had missed his ship. A week later, they heard the news that the ship on which the trader was supposed to be in had sunk at the Indian Ocean, and everyone on the ship died. That's when they realised the reason behind the Habib's behaviour.
[edit] Story 6
During World War II, a Japanese plane dropped a bomb which landed on the roof of the maqam. The building surrounding the maqam was completely ruined, even the entrance to the maqam was shattered. Habib AlKhair (the entrusted caretaker) was slightly hurt. By Allah's Will, the maqam remained untouched.
Numerous stories like these are still talked about till this very day in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia and even in far away India and Yemen, among people who accept the miracles of awliya as commonplace. Speak to the present caretaker of the Habib Noh shrine, 51 year old Hassan Al-Khatib, and he will share with you his rich repertoire of stories on the life of Habib Noh. He will also tell you of unsuccessful attempts by local Wahabis and their Saudi friends to stop people from visiting this maqam.
Habib Noh died peacefully on Friday 14 Rabi`ul Awal 1283 Hijra (1866 CE ) and was buried on the hill at his own prior request. As with the martyrs and great saints, his spirit lives on and many miracles are still happening to those who have strong certainty and ask Allah for help with the baraka of this Saint of Singapore.
Even after his physical demise, Habib Noh is still held in high esteem. Whenever he meets visitors from Singapore, Shaykh Nazim Al-Haqqani, Mufti of Cyprus and world leader of the Nasqshbandi-Haqqani order, requests that they convey his salaams to Habib Noh. He also makes it a point to visit Habib Noh whenever he is in Singapore.
A measure of the high respect given to this saint can be seen in the action of Shaykh Hisham Kabbani Chairman of The Islamic Supreme Council of America and a Sufi Shaykh from the Naqshbandi Haqqani sufi Order during this visit to the maqam. Shaykh Hisham took off his shoes at the bottom of the hill on which the maqam is situated and walked barefooted up the 47 steps leading to the tomb as a sign of respect, although he was told that normally visitors take off their shoes at the top of the steps.
[edit] Death Anniversary (Haul)
His death anniversary ceremony (or haul) is often held on the last day of the month Rabiul Akhir. It starts about 'Asr with various invited 'ulamas or religious scholars from within Singapore and overseas giving lectures.
Maulid and tahlil are read after Maghrib. Generous food is then served to the hundreds of guests regardless of race or religion, after Isya' prayers.
[edit] See also
Habib Noh was born aboard a ship in the year 1788 (1202/3 Hijri). According to Shaykh Hasan Al-Khatib, the caretaker of Maqam Habib Noh, who heard from Habib AlKhair, Habib Mohamad's wife was in labour when a huge storm hit the ship. It was a critical moment and the ship threatened to be overturned. At that time, Habib Mohamad made a nazar that if the baby arrives safely, he would name the baby "Noh" in remembrance of Nuh (Noah) who brought the light of mercy on his ship. Not long afterwards, Habib Noh arrived safely into this world.
Not much is known about the early life of this individual except that he came from the northern Malaysian state of Kedah and lived for a while in Penang an island off the coast of Kedah. He was a direct descendant of Muhammad[citation needed]. He was an Arab from Hadramaut, the area of southern Arabia that is now known as Yemen. Habib Noh's family stayed in Kedah before moving to Pulau Pinang.
[edit] Arrival in Singapore
Around 1819, Habib Noh was invited to Singapore by Habib Salim bin Abdullah Ba Sumayr after the island became a British colony. Habib Noh stayed here (in Singapore) for about 50 years. Some reports mentioned that he stayed at Kampung Kaji (next to Al-Masjid Sultan.)
He came into prominence because being a 'majdhub' as he did things that are out of the ordinary. He loved children who liked to accompany him everywhere he went.
Among his honourable habits was to distribute food to the poor. Often, he would enter a shop, take out all the money from the cash drawer and throw it to the waiting children. Those shopkeepers who were aware of his holy state did not make any attempt to stop him and were rewarded by Allah with prosperity in their business thereafter.
Such activities however, were frowned upon by the British colonial masters who tried to put him in jail a number of times. However, after doing this many times, they finally gave up and left him alone. The reason? Each time he was arrested, and put in jail, he mysteriously disappeared from his cell and was seen outside walking free. This is one of the signs of awliya, their service to God has set them free from man.
He frequently gave advice to the community. He urged his companions to always show compassion, to increase their religious knowledge and to be consistent in learning the Al-Quran. Among his advice was "Let there not be any spite or ill-will among you and let there not be even a bit of greediness among you."
Habib Noh r.a. often woke up at night to perform prayers till dawn. He often visited the graves of the Muslims in the middle of the night to read Quranic verses till dawn. Habib Noh later moved to Marang Road, near Masjid Temenggong. He would often khalwat (remain in solitude for zikrullah) atop Mount Palmer, which was then a thick jungle facing the vast sea. The peaceful setting was perhaps a way for him to get closer to Allah.
A friend of his, Hj Muhd Salleh wished to set up a small mosque for the convenience of the Habib, but Habib Noh ra passed on to the next world before his friend's intention was fulfilled. The small mosque was still built, but it was later demolished. In replacement, the Hj Muhd Salleh mosque was built at the foot of Mount Palmer, for the convenience of the guests who came to visit the Habib.
People in those days flocked to see him and sought the blessings of his sincere invocation. Since those were the days of sailing ships, traveling by ship was often hazardous and it took a few months to sail from Singapore to Jeddah, Arabia. Muslims planning to sail back to Indonesia, India and Arabia made it their practice to come and ask him to pray for their safe journey.
Stories on Habib Noh often revolve around his miracles--especially his incredible ability to appear in a number of places at the same time. He had been seen in Mecca when it was known that he has not left Singapore. He has been known to say farewell to travellers leaving Singapore with the words 'I will be there when you arrive'. When the traveller reached his destination months later, Habib Noh would be there to welcome him at the harbour.
[edit] Story 1
Once a prominent Singapore businessman was about to set sail before lunch-time on a certain day. He received word that Habib Noh wanted to have lunch with him in his house that very day. Because of his love for this great wali, he did not depart on the ship that day but stayed behind to have lunch with Habib Noh.He did not know at that time that Habib Noh--who was also known for his gift of knowing about events to come and his state of unveiling (kashf)--had come to lunch with a purpose. That was to prevent him from sailing on a ship that was doomed to be shipwrecked near Penang a few days later, going down with most of its passengers.
[edit] Story 2
A gentleman by the name of Tok Mat, who owned a horse carriage, used to take Habib Noh on rides in his carriage. One night Tok Mat was returning home alone in his carriage felt quite frightened, as Singapore, one-hundred years ago, was not a safe place as it is now. Robbers and bandits were everywhere, waiting to take unwitting travelers by surprise. Tok Mat felt fearful and wished Habib Noh was there to protect him. He turned around and was shocked to see Habib Noh sitting in his carriage and smiling at him.
[edit] Story 3
One night, Habib Noh RA was resting when he heard the continuous cries of a child, from his neighbour's house. Habib Noh RA got up and went to his neighbour's house. He gave Salaam and entered the neighbour's house, upon which, he saw the father of the child crying. He asked the mother of the child about this. The mother answered, "Habib, my child is crying because he wants to drink milk but I do not have the money to buy it. My husband is crying because he's too overwhelmed when he heard the child crying." Habib Noh RA then requested for some drinking water. The mother gave him some water in a coconut husk. Habib Noh RA read a few verses and a while later, the water turned into milk and the milk was given to the child.
[edit] Story 4
One day, a group of people visited Habib Noh RA. They waited for him as he prayed Asar. Soon, Habib Noh RA came out to meet his visitors. While he was greeting the second person in the group, he observed the man's face and said, "It's better for you to leave now because your mom is facing her last moments, and is dying." The man rushed home accompanied by Habib Noh RA. When they arrived, the man's mother had just died.
[edit] Story 5
Once there was an Arab trader who was a follower of Habib Noh RA. One day, he invited the Habib RA to his home for a farewell supplications (du'a selamat) as he was going back to Yemen on some business. The trader made preparations for his journey. According to his plans, he would leave immediately after the farewell supplications, and would head down to Keppel where a ship was awaiting. At that time, there would only be a few ships which set sail to Yemen in one week.
Something strange happened. When the Habib RA arrived, he sat on the trader's luggage while making the farewell supplications. This had never happened before. Habib Noh RA made a very long supplication, until even the trader became restless, as his ship was set to sail soon. As a sign of respect to the Habib RA, nobody dared say anything. Finally, the Habib RA ended his supplication. By then, the ship on which the trader was supposed to be in, had already left the port. The guests started eating but nobody said anything or questioned the Habib RA. The trader had missed his ship. A week later, they heard the news that the ship on which the trader was supposed to be in had sunk at the Indian Ocean, and everyone on the ship died. That's when they realised the reason behind the Habib's behaviour.
[edit] Story 6
During World War II, a Japanese plane dropped a bomb which landed on the roof of the maqam. The building surrounding the maqam was completely ruined, even the entrance to the maqam was shattered. Habib AlKhair (the entrusted caretaker) was slightly hurt. By Allah's Will, the maqam remained untouched.
Numerous stories like these are still talked about till this very day in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia and even in far away India and Yemen, among people who accept the miracles of awliya as commonplace. Speak to the present caretaker of the Habib Noh shrine, 51 year old Hassan Al-Khatib, and he will share with you his rich repertoire of stories on the life of Habib Noh. He will also tell you of unsuccessful attempts by local Wahabis and their Saudi friends to stop people from visiting this maqam.
Habib Noh died peacefully on Friday 14 Rabi`ul Awal 1283 Hijra (1866 CE ) and was buried on the hill at his own prior request. As with the martyrs and great saints, his spirit lives on and many miracles are still happening to those who have strong certainty and ask Allah for help with the baraka of this Saint of Singapore.
Even after his physical demise, Habib Noh is still held in high esteem. Whenever he meets visitors from Singapore, Shaykh Nazim Al-Haqqani, Mufti of Cyprus and world leader of the Nasqshbandi-Haqqani order, requests that they convey his salaams to Habib Noh. He also makes it a point to visit Habib Noh whenever he is in Singapore.
A measure of the high respect given to this saint can be seen in the action of Shaykh Hisham Kabbani Chairman of The Islamic Supreme Council of America and a Sufi Shaykh from the Naqshbandi Haqqani sufi Order during this visit to the maqam. Shaykh Hisham took off his shoes at the bottom of the hill on which the maqam is situated and walked barefooted up the 47 steps leading to the tomb as a sign of respect, although he was told that normally visitors take off their shoes at the top of the steps.
[edit] Death Anniversary (Haul)
His death anniversary ceremony (or haul) is often held on the last day of the month Rabiul Akhir. It starts about 'Asr with various invited 'ulamas or religious scholars from within Singapore and overseas giving lectures.
Maulid and tahlil are read after Maghrib. Generous food is then served to the hundreds of guests regardless of race or religion, after Isya' prayers.
[edit] See also
Jan 20, 2009
My Plan for Iraq
CHICAGO — The call by Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki for a timetable for the removal of American troops from Iraq presents an enormous opportunity. We should seize this moment to begin the phased redeployment of combat troops that I have long advocated, and that is needed for long-term success in Iraq and the security interests of the United States.
Skip to next paragraph
Enlarge This Image
Paul Hoppe
Related
Times Topics: Barack Obama
Times Topics: Iraq
Reach of War
Go to Complete Coverage »
Readers' Comments
Readers shared their thoughts on this article.
* Read All Comments (734) »
The differences on Iraq in this campaign are deep. Unlike Senator John McCain, I opposed the war in Iraq before it began, and would end it as president. I believed it was a grave mistake to allow ourselves to be distracted from the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban by invading a country that posed no imminent threat and had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. Since then, more than 4,000 Americans have died and we have spent nearly $1 trillion. Our military is overstretched. Nearly every threat we face — from Afghanistan to Al Qaeda to Iran — has grown.
In the 18 months since President Bush announced the surge, our troops have performed heroically in bringing down the level of violence. New tactics have protected the Iraqi population, and the Sunni tribes have rejected Al Qaeda — greatly weakening its effectiveness.
But the same factors that led me to oppose the surge still hold true. The strain on our military has grown, the situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated and we’ve spent nearly $200 billion more in Iraq than we had budgeted. Iraq’s leaders have failed to invest tens of billions of dollars in oil revenues in rebuilding their own country, and they have not reached the political accommodation that was the stated purpose of the surge.
The good news is that Iraq’s leaders want to take responsibility for their country by negotiating a timetable for the removal of American troops. Meanwhile, Lt. Gen. James Dubik, the American officer in charge of training Iraq’s security forces, estimates that the Iraqi Army and police will be ready to assume responsibility for security in 2009.
Only by redeploying our troops can we press the Iraqis to reach comprehensive political accommodation and achieve a successful transition to Iraqis’ taking responsibility for the security and stability of their country. Instead of seizing the moment and encouraging Iraqis to step up, the Bush administration and Senator McCain are refusing to embrace this transition — despite their previous commitments to respect the will of Iraq’s sovereign government. They call any timetable for the removal of American troops “surrender,” even though we would be turning Iraq over to a sovereign Iraqi government.
But this is not a strategy for success — it is a strategy for staying that runs contrary to the will of the Iraqi people, the American people and the security interests of the United States. That is why, on my first day in office, I would give the military a new mission: ending this war.
As I’ve said many times, we must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in. We can safely redeploy our combat brigades at a pace that would remove them in 16 months. That would be the summer of 2010 — two years from now, and more than seven years after the war began. After this redeployment, a residual force in Iraq would perform limited missions: going after any remnants of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, protecting American service members and, so long as the Iraqis make political progress, training Iraqi security forces. That would not be a precipitous withdrawal.
In carrying out this strategy, we would inevitably need to make tactical adjustments. As I have often said, I would consult with commanders on the ground and the Iraqi government to ensure that our troops were redeployed safely, and our interests protected. We would move them from secure areas first and volatile areas later. We would pursue a diplomatic offensive with every nation in the region on behalf of Iraq’s stability, and commit $2 billion to a new international effort to support Iraq’s refugees.
Ending the war is essential to meeting our broader strategic goals, starting in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the Taliban is resurgent and Al Qaeda has a safe haven. Iraq is not the central front in the war on terrorism, and it never has been. As Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently pointed out, we won’t have sufficient resources to finish the job in Afghanistan until we reduce our commitment to Iraq.
As president, I would pursue a new strategy, and begin by providing at least two additional combat brigades to support our effort in Afghanistan. We need more troops, more helicopters, better intelligence-gathering and more nonmilitary assistance to accomplish the mission there. I would not hold our military, our resources and our foreign policy hostage to a misguided desire to maintain permanent bases in Iraq.
In this campaign, there are honest differences over Iraq, and we should discuss them with the thoroughness they deserve. Unlike Senator McCain, I would make it absolutely clear that we seek no presence in Iraq similar to our permanent bases in South Korea, and would redeploy our troops out of Iraq and focus on the broader security challenges that we face. But for far too long, those responsible for the greatest strategic blunder in the recent history of American foreign policy have ignored useful debate in favor of making false charges about flip-flops and surrender.
It’s not going to work this time. It’s time to end this war.
Barack Obama, a United States senator from Illinois, is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
Skip to next paragraph
Enlarge This Image
Paul Hoppe
Related
Times Topics: Barack Obama
Times Topics: Iraq
Reach of War
Go to Complete Coverage »
Readers' Comments
Readers shared their thoughts on this article.
* Read All Comments (734) »
The differences on Iraq in this campaign are deep. Unlike Senator John McCain, I opposed the war in Iraq before it began, and would end it as president. I believed it was a grave mistake to allow ourselves to be distracted from the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban by invading a country that posed no imminent threat and had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. Since then, more than 4,000 Americans have died and we have spent nearly $1 trillion. Our military is overstretched. Nearly every threat we face — from Afghanistan to Al Qaeda to Iran — has grown.
In the 18 months since President Bush announced the surge, our troops have performed heroically in bringing down the level of violence. New tactics have protected the Iraqi population, and the Sunni tribes have rejected Al Qaeda — greatly weakening its effectiveness.
But the same factors that led me to oppose the surge still hold true. The strain on our military has grown, the situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated and we’ve spent nearly $200 billion more in Iraq than we had budgeted. Iraq’s leaders have failed to invest tens of billions of dollars in oil revenues in rebuilding their own country, and they have not reached the political accommodation that was the stated purpose of the surge.
The good news is that Iraq’s leaders want to take responsibility for their country by negotiating a timetable for the removal of American troops. Meanwhile, Lt. Gen. James Dubik, the American officer in charge of training Iraq’s security forces, estimates that the Iraqi Army and police will be ready to assume responsibility for security in 2009.
Only by redeploying our troops can we press the Iraqis to reach comprehensive political accommodation and achieve a successful transition to Iraqis’ taking responsibility for the security and stability of their country. Instead of seizing the moment and encouraging Iraqis to step up, the Bush administration and Senator McCain are refusing to embrace this transition — despite their previous commitments to respect the will of Iraq’s sovereign government. They call any timetable for the removal of American troops “surrender,” even though we would be turning Iraq over to a sovereign Iraqi government.
But this is not a strategy for success — it is a strategy for staying that runs contrary to the will of the Iraqi people, the American people and the security interests of the United States. That is why, on my first day in office, I would give the military a new mission: ending this war.
As I’ve said many times, we must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in. We can safely redeploy our combat brigades at a pace that would remove them in 16 months. That would be the summer of 2010 — two years from now, and more than seven years after the war began. After this redeployment, a residual force in Iraq would perform limited missions: going after any remnants of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, protecting American service members and, so long as the Iraqis make political progress, training Iraqi security forces. That would not be a precipitous withdrawal.
In carrying out this strategy, we would inevitably need to make tactical adjustments. As I have often said, I would consult with commanders on the ground and the Iraqi government to ensure that our troops were redeployed safely, and our interests protected. We would move them from secure areas first and volatile areas later. We would pursue a diplomatic offensive with every nation in the region on behalf of Iraq’s stability, and commit $2 billion to a new international effort to support Iraq’s refugees.
Ending the war is essential to meeting our broader strategic goals, starting in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the Taliban is resurgent and Al Qaeda has a safe haven. Iraq is not the central front in the war on terrorism, and it never has been. As Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently pointed out, we won’t have sufficient resources to finish the job in Afghanistan until we reduce our commitment to Iraq.
As president, I would pursue a new strategy, and begin by providing at least two additional combat brigades to support our effort in Afghanistan. We need more troops, more helicopters, better intelligence-gathering and more nonmilitary assistance to accomplish the mission there. I would not hold our military, our resources and our foreign policy hostage to a misguided desire to maintain permanent bases in Iraq.
In this campaign, there are honest differences over Iraq, and we should discuss them with the thoroughness they deserve. Unlike Senator McCain, I would make it absolutely clear that we seek no presence in Iraq similar to our permanent bases in South Korea, and would redeploy our troops out of Iraq and focus on the broader security challenges that we face. But for far too long, those responsible for the greatest strategic blunder in the recent history of American foreign policy have ignored useful debate in favor of making false charges about flip-flops and surrender.
It’s not going to work this time. It’s time to end this war.
Barack Obama, a United States senator from Illinois, is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
Barack Obama and Joe Biden's Plan
Judgment You Can Trust
In 2002, as the conventional thinking in Washington lined up with President Bush for war, Obama had the judgment and courage to speak out against going to war, and to warn of “an occupation of undetermined length, with undetermined costs, and undetermined consequences.” He and Joe Biden are fully committed to ending the war in Iraq as president.
A Responsible, Phased Withdrawal
Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe we must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in. Immediately upon taking office, Obama will give his Secretary of Defense and military commanders a new mission in Iraq: ending the war. The removal of our troops will be responsible and phased, directed by military commanders on the ground and done in consultation with the Iraqi government. Military experts believe we can safely redeploy combat brigades from Iraq at a pace of 1 to 2 brigades a month that would remove them in 16 months. That would be the summer of 2010 – more than 7 years after the war began.
Under the Obama-Biden plan, a residual force will remain in Iraq and in the region to conduct targeted counter-terrorism missions against al Qaeda in Iraq and to protect American diplomatic and civilian personnel. They will not build permanent bases in Iraq, but will continue efforts to train and support the Iraqi security forces as long as Iraqi leaders move toward political reconciliation and away from sectarianism.
Encouraging Political Accommodation
Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe that the U.S. must apply pressure on the Iraqi government to work toward real political accommodation. There is no military solution to Iraq’s political differences, but the Bush Administration’s blank check approach has failed to press Iraq’s leaders to take responsibility for their future or to substantially spend their oil revenues on their own reconstruction.
Obama and Biden's plan offers the best prospect for lasting stability in Iraq. A phased withdrawal will encourage Iraqis to take the lead in securing their own country and making political compromises, while the responsible pace of redeployment called for by the Obama-Biden plan offers more than enough time for Iraqi leaders to get their own house in order. As our forces redeploy, Obama and Biden will make sure we engage representatives from all levels of Iraqi society—in and out of government—to forge compromises on oil revenue sharing, the equitable provision of services, federalism, the status of disputed territories, new elections, aid to displaced Iraqis, and the reform of Iraqi security forces.
Surging Diplomacy
Barack Obama and Joe Biden will launch an aggressive diplomatic effort to reach a comprehensive compact on the stability of Iraq and the region. This effort will include all of Iraq’s neighbors—including Iran and Syria, as suggested by the bi-partisan The Iraq Study Group Report. This compact will aim to secure Iraq’s borders; keep neighboring countries from meddling inside Iraq; isolate al Qaeda; support reconciliation among Iraq’s sectarian groups; and provide financial support for Iraq’s reconstruction and development.
Preventing Humanitarian Crisis
Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe that America has both a moral obligation and a responsibility for security that demands we confront Iraq’s humanitarian crisis—more than five million Iraqis are refugees or are displaced inside their own country. Obama and Biden will form an international working group to address this crisis. He will provide at least $2 billion to expand services to Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries, and ensure that Iraqis inside their own country can find sanctuary. Obama and Biden will also work with Iraqi authorities and the international community to hold the perpetrators of potential war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide accountable. They will reserve the right to intervene militarily, with our international partners, to suppress potential genocidal violence within Iraq.
The Status-of-Forces-Agreement
Obama and Biden believe any Status of Forces Agreement, or any strategic framework agreement, should be negotiated in the context of a broader commitment by the U.S. to begin withdrawing its troops and forswearing permanent bases. Obama and Biden also believe that any security accord must be subject to Congressional approval. It is unacceptable that the Iraqi government will present the agreement to the Iraqi parliament for approval—yet the Bush administration will not do the same with the U.S. Congress. The Bush administration must submit the agreement to Congress or allow the next administration to negotiate an agreement that has bipartisan support here at home and makes absolutely clear that the U.S. will not maintain permanent bases in Iraq.
In 2002, as the conventional thinking in Washington lined up with President Bush for war, Obama had the judgment and courage to speak out against going to war, and to warn of “an occupation of undetermined length, with undetermined costs, and undetermined consequences.” He and Joe Biden are fully committed to ending the war in Iraq as president.
A Responsible, Phased Withdrawal
Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe we must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in. Immediately upon taking office, Obama will give his Secretary of Defense and military commanders a new mission in Iraq: ending the war. The removal of our troops will be responsible and phased, directed by military commanders on the ground and done in consultation with the Iraqi government. Military experts believe we can safely redeploy combat brigades from Iraq at a pace of 1 to 2 brigades a month that would remove them in 16 months. That would be the summer of 2010 – more than 7 years after the war began.
Under the Obama-Biden plan, a residual force will remain in Iraq and in the region to conduct targeted counter-terrorism missions against al Qaeda in Iraq and to protect American diplomatic and civilian personnel. They will not build permanent bases in Iraq, but will continue efforts to train and support the Iraqi security forces as long as Iraqi leaders move toward political reconciliation and away from sectarianism.
Encouraging Political Accommodation
Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe that the U.S. must apply pressure on the Iraqi government to work toward real political accommodation. There is no military solution to Iraq’s political differences, but the Bush Administration’s blank check approach has failed to press Iraq’s leaders to take responsibility for their future or to substantially spend their oil revenues on their own reconstruction.
Obama and Biden's plan offers the best prospect for lasting stability in Iraq. A phased withdrawal will encourage Iraqis to take the lead in securing their own country and making political compromises, while the responsible pace of redeployment called for by the Obama-Biden plan offers more than enough time for Iraqi leaders to get their own house in order. As our forces redeploy, Obama and Biden will make sure we engage representatives from all levels of Iraqi society—in and out of government—to forge compromises on oil revenue sharing, the equitable provision of services, federalism, the status of disputed territories, new elections, aid to displaced Iraqis, and the reform of Iraqi security forces.
Surging Diplomacy
Barack Obama and Joe Biden will launch an aggressive diplomatic effort to reach a comprehensive compact on the stability of Iraq and the region. This effort will include all of Iraq’s neighbors—including Iran and Syria, as suggested by the bi-partisan The Iraq Study Group Report. This compact will aim to secure Iraq’s borders; keep neighboring countries from meddling inside Iraq; isolate al Qaeda; support reconciliation among Iraq’s sectarian groups; and provide financial support for Iraq’s reconstruction and development.
Preventing Humanitarian Crisis
Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe that America has both a moral obligation and a responsibility for security that demands we confront Iraq’s humanitarian crisis—more than five million Iraqis are refugees or are displaced inside their own country. Obama and Biden will form an international working group to address this crisis. He will provide at least $2 billion to expand services to Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries, and ensure that Iraqis inside their own country can find sanctuary. Obama and Biden will also work with Iraqi authorities and the international community to hold the perpetrators of potential war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide accountable. They will reserve the right to intervene militarily, with our international partners, to suppress potential genocidal violence within Iraq.
The Status-of-Forces-Agreement
Obama and Biden believe any Status of Forces Agreement, or any strategic framework agreement, should be negotiated in the context of a broader commitment by the U.S. to begin withdrawing its troops and forswearing permanent bases. Obama and Biden also believe that any security accord must be subject to Congressional approval. It is unacceptable that the Iraqi government will present the agreement to the Iraqi parliament for approval—yet the Bush administration will not do the same with the U.S. Congress. The Bush administration must submit the agreement to Congress or allow the next administration to negotiate an agreement that has bipartisan support here at home and makes absolutely clear that the U.S. will not maintain permanent bases in Iraq.
Plan for Ending the War in Iraq
The Problem
Inadequate Security and Political Progress in Iraq: Since the surge began, more than 1,000 American troops have died, and despite the improved security situation, the Iraqi government has not stepped forward to lead the Iraqi people and to reach the genuine political accommodation that was the stated purpose of the surge. Our troops have heroically helped reduce civilian casualties in Iraq to early 2006 levels. This is a testament to our military’s hard work, improved counterinsurgency tactics, and enormous sacrifice by our troops and military families. It is also a consequence of the decision of many Sunnis to turn against al Qaeda in Iraq, and a lull in Shia militia activity. But the absence of genuine political accommodation in Iraq is a direct result of President Bush’s failure to hold the Iraqi government accountable.
Strains on the Military: More than 1.75 million servicemen and women have served in Iraq or Afghanistan; more than 620,000 troops have completed multiple deployments. Military members have endured multiple deployments taxing both them and their families. Additionally, military equipment is wearing out at nine times the normal rate after years of constant use in Iraq’s harsh environment. As Army Chief of Staff General George Casey said in March, “Today’s Army is out of balance. The current demand for our forces in Iraq and Afghanistan exceeds the sustainable supply and limits our ability to provide ready forces for other contingencies.”
Resurgent Al Qaeda in Afghanistan: The decision to invade Iraq diverted resources from the war in Afghanistan, making it harder for us to kill or capture Osama Bin Laden and others involved in the 9/11 attacks. Nearly seven years later, the Taliban has reemerged in southern Afghanistan while Al Qaeda has used the space provided by the Iraq war to regroup, train and plan for another attack on the United States. 2007 was the most violent year in Afghanistan since the invasion in 2001. The scale of our deployments in Iraq continues to set back our ability to finish the fight in Afghanistan, producing unacceptable strategic risks.
A New Strategy Needed: The Iraq war has lasted longer than World War I, World War II, and the Civil War. More than 4,000 Americans have died. More than 60,000 have been injured and wounded. The United States may spend $2.7 trillion on this war and its aftermath, yet we are less safe around the globe and more divided at home. With determined ingenuity and at great personal cost, American troops have found the right tactics to contain the violence in Iraq, but we still have the wrong strategy to press Iraqis to take responsibility at home, and restore America’s security and standing in the world.
Inadequate Security and Political Progress in Iraq: Since the surge began, more than 1,000 American troops have died, and despite the improved security situation, the Iraqi government has not stepped forward to lead the Iraqi people and to reach the genuine political accommodation that was the stated purpose of the surge. Our troops have heroically helped reduce civilian casualties in Iraq to early 2006 levels. This is a testament to our military’s hard work, improved counterinsurgency tactics, and enormous sacrifice by our troops and military families. It is also a consequence of the decision of many Sunnis to turn against al Qaeda in Iraq, and a lull in Shia militia activity. But the absence of genuine political accommodation in Iraq is a direct result of President Bush’s failure to hold the Iraqi government accountable.
Strains on the Military: More than 1.75 million servicemen and women have served in Iraq or Afghanistan; more than 620,000 troops have completed multiple deployments. Military members have endured multiple deployments taxing both them and their families. Additionally, military equipment is wearing out at nine times the normal rate after years of constant use in Iraq’s harsh environment. As Army Chief of Staff General George Casey said in March, “Today’s Army is out of balance. The current demand for our forces in Iraq and Afghanistan exceeds the sustainable supply and limits our ability to provide ready forces for other contingencies.”
Resurgent Al Qaeda in Afghanistan: The decision to invade Iraq diverted resources from the war in Afghanistan, making it harder for us to kill or capture Osama Bin Laden and others involved in the 9/11 attacks. Nearly seven years later, the Taliban has reemerged in southern Afghanistan while Al Qaeda has used the space provided by the Iraq war to regroup, train and plan for another attack on the United States. 2007 was the most violent year in Afghanistan since the invasion in 2001. The scale of our deployments in Iraq continues to set back our ability to finish the fight in Afghanistan, producing unacceptable strategic risks.
A New Strategy Needed: The Iraq war has lasted longer than World War I, World War II, and the Civil War. More than 4,000 Americans have died. More than 60,000 have been injured and wounded. The United States may spend $2.7 trillion on this war and its aftermath, yet we are less safe around the globe and more divided at home. With determined ingenuity and at great personal cost, American troops have found the right tactics to contain the violence in Iraq, but we still have the wrong strategy to press Iraqis to take responsibility at home, and restore America’s security and standing in the world.
Let Us Now Set Aside Childish Things
There were echoes of Jefferson, Lincoln, and Roosevelt, but President Obama uttered no words today that will be quoted in a hundred years. He has never been a real stem-winder or a coiner of unforgettable phrases; what he’s always been is a great explainer, who pays the rest of us the highest compliment—the appeal to reason. Today he explained why Americans need to grow up, and the tone and vision of his speech—sober, realistic, clear-minded, undaunted—were absolutely equal to the occasion and the times, down to his requisite scriptural passage: “The time has come to set aside childish things.” (This nonbeliever was also pleased to be included, for once, in the roll call of faiths—especially after Rick Warren’s utterly sectarian invocation.)
The speech was, among other things, and in spite of the gracious gesture at its opening, a devastating repudiation of ex-President Bush, who seemed to be shrinking physically as well as historically whenever the camera found him, until, by the end, his unimportance was almost bewildering. Now he is gone.
The rest of the world was listening, too, and Obama saved his most eloquent words for them: “Because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.” He also set for his goals in America’s two ongoing wars a responsible withdrawal from Iraq and a “hard-earned peace” in Afghanistan—not victory. Here, too, Obama showed that he won’t allow tempting rhetoric to undermine what’s possible, what’s real, which is part of his call to a “new era of responsibility.” But no lines were more passionately delivered by this restrained and conciliatory man than these: “We will not apologize for our way of life nor will we waver in its defense. And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken. You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.”
He delivered something better than rhetorical excitement—he spoke the truth, which makes its own history and carries its own poetry. As for the poet who had the impossible job of immediately following the new President, I’ll leave it to you to judge.
The most reassuring thought on this Inauguration Day is that we Americans always get the President we deserve.
The speech was, among other things, and in spite of the gracious gesture at its opening, a devastating repudiation of ex-President Bush, who seemed to be shrinking physically as well as historically whenever the camera found him, until, by the end, his unimportance was almost bewildering. Now he is gone.
The rest of the world was listening, too, and Obama saved his most eloquent words for them: “Because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.” He also set for his goals in America’s two ongoing wars a responsible withdrawal from Iraq and a “hard-earned peace” in Afghanistan—not victory. Here, too, Obama showed that he won’t allow tempting rhetoric to undermine what’s possible, what’s real, which is part of his call to a “new era of responsibility.” But no lines were more passionately delivered by this restrained and conciliatory man than these: “We will not apologize for our way of life nor will we waver in its defense. And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken. You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.”
He delivered something better than rhetorical excitement—he spoke the truth, which makes its own history and carries its own poetry. As for the poet who had the impossible job of immediately following the new President, I’ll leave it to you to judge.
The most reassuring thought on this Inauguration Day is that we Americans always get the President we deserve.
Obama’s Iraq Problem
In February, 2007, when Barack Obama declared that he was running for President, violence in Iraq had reached apocalyptic levels, and he based his candidacy, in part, on a bold promise to begin a rapid withdrawal of American forces upon taking office. At the time, this pledge represented conventional thinking among Democrats and was guaranteed to play well with primary voters. But in the year and a half since then two improbable, though not unforeseeable, events have occurred: Obama has won the Democratic nomination, and Iraq, despite myriad crises, has begun to stabilize. With the general election four months away, Obama’s rhetoric on the topic now seems outdated and out of touch, and the nominee-apparent may have a political problem concerning the very issue that did so much to bring him this far.
Obama’s plan, which was formally laid out last September, called for the remaining combat brigades to be pulled out at a brisk pace of about one per month, along with a strategic shift of resources and attention away from Iraq and toward Afghanistan. At that rate, all combat troops would be withdrawn in sixteen months. In hindsight, it was a mistake—an understandable one, given the nature of the media and of Presidential politics today—for Obama to offer such a specific timetable. In matters of foreign policy, flexibility is a President’s primary defense against surprise. At the start of 2007, no one in Baghdad would have predicted that blood-soaked neighborhoods would begin returning to life within a year. The improved conditions can be attributed, in increasing order of importance, to President Bush’s surge, the change in military strategy under General David Petraeus, the turning of Sunni tribes against Al Qaeda, the Sadr militia’s unilateral ceasefire, and the great historical luck that brought them all together at the same moment. With the level of violence down, the Iraqi government and Army have begun to show signs of functioning in less sectarian ways. These developments may be temporary or cyclical; predicting the future in Iraq has been a losing game. Indeed, it was President Bush’s folly to ignore for years the shifting realities on the ground.
Obama, whatever the idealistic yearnings of his admirers, has turned out to be a cold-eyed, shrewd politician. The same pragmatism that prompted him last month to forgo public financing of his campaign will surely lead him, if he becomes President, to recalibrate his stance on Iraq. He doubtless realizes that his original plan, if implemented now, could revive the badly wounded Al Qaeda in Iraq, reënergize the Sunni insurgency, embolden Moqtada al-Sadr to recoup his militia’s recent losses to the Iraqi Army, and return the central government to a state of collapse. The question is whether Obama will publicly change course before November. So far, he has offered nothing more concrete than this: “We must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in.”
Obama’s advisers have been more forthcoming. Samantha Power, before she resigned from the campaign for making an indiscreet remark about Hillary Clinton, told the BBC, “He will, of course, not rely upon some plan that he’s crafted as a Presidential candidate or a U.S. senator. He will rely upon a plan—an operational plan—that he pulls together in consultation with people who are on the ground.” Last month, the Center for a New American Security, which has become something like Obama’s foreign-policy think tank, released a report that argued against a timetable for withdrawal, regardless of the state of the war, and in favor of “conditional engagement,” declaring, “Under this strategy, the United States would not withdraw its forces based on a firm unilateral schedule. Rather, the time horizon for redeployment would be negotiated with the Iraqi government and nested within a more assertive approach to regional diplomacy. The United States would make it clear that Iraq and America share a common interest in achieving sustainable stability in Iraq, and that the United States is willing to help support the Iraqi government and build its security and governance capacity over the long term, but only so long as Iraqis continue to make meaningful political progress.” It’s impossible to know if this persuasive document mirrors Obama’s current thinking, but here’s a clue: it was co-written by one of his Iraq advisers, Colin Kahl.
* from the issue
* cartoon bank
* e-mail this
A “conditional engagement” policy is a much better fit for the present situation in Iraq. It would keep the heat on Iraqi politicians, whose willingness to reach compromise on issues like oil revenues, provincial elections, de-Baathification, and power sharing still lags well behind the government’s recent military successes. It would allow for a phased withdrawal of most troops, depending on political progress and on the performance of the Iraqi Army. This, in turn, would ease the pressure on the American military and answer the rightful disenchantment in American public opinion. There will be no such thing as victory in Iraq, but the next President, if he remains nimble, may be able to keep the damage under control.
The politics of the issue is tricky, because acknowledging changed ideas in response to changed facts is considered a failing by the political class. Accordingly, Obama, on the night that he proclaimed himself the nominee, in St. Paul, made a familiar declaration: “Start leaving we must. It’s time for Iraqis to take responsibility for their future.” His supporters claim that the polls are with Obama, that war fatigue will make Iraq a political winner for him in November. Yet, as exhausted as the public is with the war, a candidate who seems heedless of progress in Iraq will be vulnerable to the charge of defeatism, which John McCain’s campaign will connect to its broader theme of Obama’s inexperience in and weakness on national security. The relative success of the surge is one of the few issues going McCain’s way; we’ll be hearing about it more and more between now and November, and it might sway some centrist voters who have doubts about Obama.
Obama has shown, with his speech on race, that he has a talent for candor. One can imagine him speaking more honestly on Iraq. If pressed on his timetable for withdrawal, he could say, “That was always a goal, not a blueprint. When circumstances change, I don’t close my eyes—I adapt.” He could detail in his speeches the functions that American troops and diplomats can continue to perform even as our primary combat role recedes: training and advising, counterterrorism, brokering deals among Iraqi factions, checking their expansionist impulses, opening talks with our enemies in the region. He could promise to negotiate all this with Iraqi leaders, emphasizing the difference between a relationship that respects the wishes of the public in both countries and one in which Iraqis are coerced into coöperation. If Obama truly wants to be seen as a figure of change, he needs to talk less about the past and more about the future: not the war that should never have been fought but the war that he, alone of the two candidates, can find an honorable way to end. ♦
Obama’s plan, which was formally laid out last September, called for the remaining combat brigades to be pulled out at a brisk pace of about one per month, along with a strategic shift of resources and attention away from Iraq and toward Afghanistan. At that rate, all combat troops would be withdrawn in sixteen months. In hindsight, it was a mistake—an understandable one, given the nature of the media and of Presidential politics today—for Obama to offer such a specific timetable. In matters of foreign policy, flexibility is a President’s primary defense against surprise. At the start of 2007, no one in Baghdad would have predicted that blood-soaked neighborhoods would begin returning to life within a year. The improved conditions can be attributed, in increasing order of importance, to President Bush’s surge, the change in military strategy under General David Petraeus, the turning of Sunni tribes against Al Qaeda, the Sadr militia’s unilateral ceasefire, and the great historical luck that brought them all together at the same moment. With the level of violence down, the Iraqi government and Army have begun to show signs of functioning in less sectarian ways. These developments may be temporary or cyclical; predicting the future in Iraq has been a losing game. Indeed, it was President Bush’s folly to ignore for years the shifting realities on the ground.
Obama, whatever the idealistic yearnings of his admirers, has turned out to be a cold-eyed, shrewd politician. The same pragmatism that prompted him last month to forgo public financing of his campaign will surely lead him, if he becomes President, to recalibrate his stance on Iraq. He doubtless realizes that his original plan, if implemented now, could revive the badly wounded Al Qaeda in Iraq, reënergize the Sunni insurgency, embolden Moqtada al-Sadr to recoup his militia’s recent losses to the Iraqi Army, and return the central government to a state of collapse. The question is whether Obama will publicly change course before November. So far, he has offered nothing more concrete than this: “We must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in.”
Obama’s advisers have been more forthcoming. Samantha Power, before she resigned from the campaign for making an indiscreet remark about Hillary Clinton, told the BBC, “He will, of course, not rely upon some plan that he’s crafted as a Presidential candidate or a U.S. senator. He will rely upon a plan—an operational plan—that he pulls together in consultation with people who are on the ground.” Last month, the Center for a New American Security, which has become something like Obama’s foreign-policy think tank, released a report that argued against a timetable for withdrawal, regardless of the state of the war, and in favor of “conditional engagement,” declaring, “Under this strategy, the United States would not withdraw its forces based on a firm unilateral schedule. Rather, the time horizon for redeployment would be negotiated with the Iraqi government and nested within a more assertive approach to regional diplomacy. The United States would make it clear that Iraq and America share a common interest in achieving sustainable stability in Iraq, and that the United States is willing to help support the Iraqi government and build its security and governance capacity over the long term, but only so long as Iraqis continue to make meaningful political progress.” It’s impossible to know if this persuasive document mirrors Obama’s current thinking, but here’s a clue: it was co-written by one of his Iraq advisers, Colin Kahl.
* from the issue
* cartoon bank
* e-mail this
A “conditional engagement” policy is a much better fit for the present situation in Iraq. It would keep the heat on Iraqi politicians, whose willingness to reach compromise on issues like oil revenues, provincial elections, de-Baathification, and power sharing still lags well behind the government’s recent military successes. It would allow for a phased withdrawal of most troops, depending on political progress and on the performance of the Iraqi Army. This, in turn, would ease the pressure on the American military and answer the rightful disenchantment in American public opinion. There will be no such thing as victory in Iraq, but the next President, if he remains nimble, may be able to keep the damage under control.
The politics of the issue is tricky, because acknowledging changed ideas in response to changed facts is considered a failing by the political class. Accordingly, Obama, on the night that he proclaimed himself the nominee, in St. Paul, made a familiar declaration: “Start leaving we must. It’s time for Iraqis to take responsibility for their future.” His supporters claim that the polls are with Obama, that war fatigue will make Iraq a political winner for him in November. Yet, as exhausted as the public is with the war, a candidate who seems heedless of progress in Iraq will be vulnerable to the charge of defeatism, which John McCain’s campaign will connect to its broader theme of Obama’s inexperience in and weakness on national security. The relative success of the surge is one of the few issues going McCain’s way; we’ll be hearing about it more and more between now and November, and it might sway some centrist voters who have doubts about Obama.
Obama has shown, with his speech on race, that he has a talent for candor. One can imagine him speaking more honestly on Iraq. If pressed on his timetable for withdrawal, he could say, “That was always a goal, not a blueprint. When circumstances change, I don’t close my eyes—I adapt.” He could detail in his speeches the functions that American troops and diplomats can continue to perform even as our primary combat role recedes: training and advising, counterterrorism, brokering deals among Iraqi factions, checking their expansionist impulses, opening talks with our enemies in the region. He could promise to negotiate all this with Iraqi leaders, emphasizing the difference between a relationship that respects the wishes of the public in both countries and one in which Iraqis are coerced into coöperation. If Obama truly wants to be seen as a figure of change, he needs to talk less about the past and more about the future: not the war that should never have been fought but the war that he, alone of the two candidates, can find an honorable way to end. ♦
Obama urges unity against 'raging storms'
Before a jubilant crowd of more than a million, Barack Hussein Obama claimed his place in history as America's first black president, summoning a dispirited nation to unite in hope against the "gathering clouds and raging storms" of war and economic woe.
On an extraordinary day in the life of America, people of all colors and ages waited for hours Tuesday in frigid temperatures to witness a young black man with a foreign-sounding name take command of a nation founded by slaveholders. It was a scene watched in fascination by many millions — perhaps billions — around the world.
"We gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord," the nation's 44th president said.
On an extraordinary day in the life of America, people of all colors and ages waited for hours Tuesday in frigid temperatures to witness a young black man with a foreign-sounding name take command of a nation founded by slaveholders. It was a scene watched in fascination by many millions — perhaps billions — around the world.
"We gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord," the nation's 44th president said.
Barack Obama elected 44th president
Barack Obama, a 47-year-old first-term senator from Illinois, shattered more than 200 years of history Tuesday night by winning election as the first African-American president of the United States.
A crowd of nearly a quarter-million jammed Grant Park and the surrounding area in Chicago, where Obama addressed the nation for the first time as its president-elect at midnight ET. Hundreds of thousands more — Mayor Richard Daley said he would not be surprised if a million Chicagoans jammed the streets — watched on a large television screen outside the park.
“If there is anyone out there who doubts that America is a place where anything is possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer,” Obama declared.
A crowd of nearly a quarter-million jammed Grant Park and the surrounding area in Chicago, where Obama addressed the nation for the first time as its president-elect at midnight ET. Hundreds of thousands more — Mayor Richard Daley said he would not be surprised if a million Chicagoans jammed the streets — watched on a large television screen outside the park.
“If there is anyone out there who doubts that America is a place where anything is possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer,” Obama declared.
Jan 8, 2009
Creating a Favicon in wordpress
Creating a Favicon
A favicon (short for "favorites icon") is an icon associated with a website or webpage intended to be used when you bookmark the web page. Web browsers use them in the URL bar, on tabs, and elsewhere to help identify a website visually.
A favicon is typically a graphic 16 x 16 pixels square and is saved as favicon.ico in the root directory of your server. You can use a favicon with any WordPress blog on a web server that allows access to the root directories.
Creating a Favicon
A favicon can be easily created using any graphic program that will allow saving of .ico graphic files, such as The GIMP. There are also online services that will allow you to create a favicon for free.
The image should be clear and is usually designed to match your blog image and/or content, a big task for something so small.
To prepare the image to be saved as favicon.ico:
- By cropping or adding space around the image, make the image square.
- Resize the image to 16 x 16 pixels.
- Save the file as favicon.ico.
If using an online service to create your favicon, such as favicon.co.uk, follow the instructions provided by the site. Then download the image of the favicon.ico to your computer.
Installing a Favicon in WordPress
If there is already an old favicon.ico file in your current theme’s main folder, delete it using FTP Clients.
- With an FTP Client, upload the new favicon.ico file into your current theme’s main folder.
- Upload another copy of your favicon.ico file to the main directory of your site (ie. http://example.com/favicon.ico). This will display the favicon in your subscribers’ feedreaders.
In order for your favicon to show up in some older browsers, you will need to edit your page header.
- Go to your WordPress Administration Panel.
- Click on Design (called Presentation in WordPress 2.3.x and below, and Appearance in WordPress 2.7+).
- , Click on Theme Editor.
- Select the file called Header or header.php to edit the file.
- Search for the line of code that begins with and ends with /favicon.ico" />. Overwrite it or add the following code below the HTML tag.
/favicon.ico" />
- Save changes.
To see your new favicon, clear your WP-Cache and your browser’s cache. You may need to restart your browser in order to see the new favicon.
Jan 5, 2009
You're not Know Who I am
You Do not suspected myself Bodoh Before Kau Yang Sejati Selami myself.
I Do not Think Before You Telanjangi genius myself the Original.
You do not say I fisted Berkepal Hand See Before You're my heart.
Also or Mulia Dermawan And Before You Know Something is set in Kemulianaan And Kedermawananku.
You do not think I have a Lovers Until Clearly Bagimu Light And Fire In my heart.
You do not Anggap myself lonely Until you with the bloody Lukaku Yang
At you and say that myself What We See With Eyes We are not from The Fog covering Something That We should Watch With Mata Hati Kita.
And What We Listen With Ear Other We do not disrupt the buzz is What We Listen With proper We Heart
I Do not Think Before You Telanjangi genius myself the Original.
You do not say I fisted Berkepal Hand See Before You're my heart.
Also or Mulia Dermawan And Before You Know Something is set in Kemulianaan And Kedermawananku.
You do not think I have a Lovers Until Clearly Bagimu Light And Fire In my heart.
You do not Anggap myself lonely Until you with the bloody Lukaku Yang
At you and say that myself What We See With Eyes We are not from The Fog covering Something That We should Watch With Mata Hati Kita.
And What We Listen With Ear Other We do not disrupt the buzz is What We Listen With proper We Heart
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
