News:
The number of children who have admitted to attempting suicide has soared by 43% in a year, the British children's charity ChildLine has revealed.
The counseling service said it has received more than 34,000 consultations with children who talked about wanting to kill themselves in 2013/14 - an increase of 116% since 2010/11.
Nearly 6,000 of these children had told a counselor that they had previously attempted suicide- a 43% increase on the year before.
Online bullying is said to be a leading cause according to a new report published by the NSPCC, which runs the service.
Some young people also told ChildLine that their suicidal feelings had been triggered by harmful content they had seen on websites.
ChildLine founder Esther Rantzen said the charity is now receiving "more calls than ever before" from children who are "desperately unhappy." "It is difficult to analyse the cause for this growing unhappiness, whether this is a symptom of our pressured lives, or if the isolation of many young people is due to other factors in the family," she said.
"The fact is that more children than ever are telling ChildLine that they are beset with suicidal thoughts. These are children who would feel unable to ask for help from anyone else. [Source: Huffington Post, 31/10/14]
Comment:
Such statistics ought to cause shame to any society that lauds itself as civilized, with a supposedly superior way of life, emanating from its democracy, freedoms and liberalism as the values to which it holds so dear. These western values are the sole reason that children are subjected to lewd images from TV and film, as well as pop culture and its mass distribution through social networking sites. The overemphasis of personal freedoms has enabled a culture in which rights rather than responsibility are emphasized, leading to an atmosphere of individualism, where accountability is shunned. With parents working longer hours than ever before, pursuing their own pleasures and putting their desires before the needs of their children, its no wonder that psychological neglect is manifesting in depression and suicidal thoughts those most vulnerable amongst us. To be devalued not enabled to understand the workings of the world, their place, their responsibility and how to make their way through it, is an obvious failing, not just of the parents but of the entire society and the inept Capitalist system that allows the lives of its citizens to be ruined due to an ideological inability to prioritize and steer the masses in a fruitful direction.
The Islamic system of life holds the institution of the family in a high position, and works in parallel with all state structures and social mechanisms to support men and women. Rather than an over emphasis on consumerism which largely contributes to robbing families of time together, instead an emphasis is placed upon nurturing contentment and values such as respect, love, compassion and companionship which are lasting and form the basis of further wholesome attributes within a truly civilized society.
(وَقُلْ جَاء الْحَقُّ وَزَهَقَ الْبَاطِلُ إِنَّ الْبَاطِلَ كَانَ زَهُوقًا)
"And say: Truth has (now) arrived, and Falsehood perished: for Falsehood is (by its nature) bound to perish." [Surat Al Israa: 81]
Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Um Mohammed
News:
The last UK troops left Afghanistan on Monday, after the end of British combat operations, was announced the day before with Camp Bastion handed over to Afghan control. It marked the close of one of the longest campaigns in British military history, which has claimed the lives of 453 British servicemen and women.
The British flag was lowered, along with the US and NATO flags, marking the end of Britain's ground war in Afghanistan. Camp Bastion was opened in 2006 in response to a surge in Taliban attacks and has been Britain's main operating base in the country for eight years. Camp Bastion is the only British base left in Helmand Province, compared with more than 120 outposts three years ago.
A few dozen British military personnel will remain in Kabul to operate an officer training facility nicknamed Sandhurst-in-the-Sand, as part of the continued support of the Afghan people. Special Forces will continue to operate in the region. The US will maintain a force of around 10,000 troops in Afghanistan next year, after reaching an agreement with the new Afghan president Ashraf Ghani.
There are concerns about the future security of the country with almost 800 members of the Afghan security forces have been killed in Helmand this summer, and around 4,000 Afghan security forces this year.
As the American-led forces pull out of bases across Afghanistan, they have faced attack after attack, with some ground attacks being launched on the day of departure. Some security experts believe that the Taliban is trying to establish their superiority as soon as coalition forces depart. The Taliban have carried out a series of operations in Helmand this summer, attacking in areas such as Sangin and Nad-e Ali, where British soldiers spent months battling to maintain control.
Comment:
It is ironic, that as this war ends, the Poppy Appeal that aims to raise money for armed forces and veterans as part of Remembrance Day begins in the UK this month. The Muslim community frequently face criticism for not celebrating the actions of British troops abroad past and present. This year such calls for greater Muslim involvement have gone further with Muslim women being urged to wear a new "Poppy hijab" as a challenge to extremist groups who "spout hatred" about the Armed forces.
And yet what exactly are Muslims supposed to be marking this November? As of 2013, tens of thousands of Muslim civilians have been killed in Afghanistan alone, leaving the country in a state of ongoing turmoil. This operation was flawed from the outset, with little justification for the war in the first place. The objective changed very quickly from hunting Osama bin Laden, to liberating women from the Taliban rule, to state building. The country is now in a worse state than it has ever been before.
Britain's total cost in the US-led war in Afghanistan is between £30bn and £37bn, while BBC polls found that 68% in the UK said involvement was not worthwhile, while said it was not. It is widely accepted that the war has achieved nothing militarily or politically, with the Taliban stronger than before. Greater support and tolerance from Afghans for the Taliban also exists compared with the NATO backed force ISAF (International Security Assistance Force).
Muslims living in the UK should not be fooled into participating in the Poppy Appeal. This is a mere ploy to distance the Muslim community from the greater Ummah, and to further the government's aims of creating a "British" Islam, as has been successful in America. This is the latest in a number of campaigns and policies to reform Islam and build a nationalistic allegiance to Britain, as we have seen with the Prevent Strategy, implemented in mosques and Islamic schools across the nation.
As for physical intervention, it is safe to assume that Britain and other Western nations will not be willing to commit to any further ground invasions any time soon. However, this does not of course mean their influence in the region is at an end. This can already be seen in the way of Syria and Iraq where jet planes have replaced boots on the ground in the war against ISIS. Britain has also willingly trained and armed the moderate FSA and the Kurdish Peshmerga in the area. Again, Muslims must remain vigilant and aware of this interference as part of the ongoing agenda of the West in the region.
Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Aisha Hasan
News:
British-based charity Oxfam issued a rallying cry against inequality on Wednesday with the release of its "Even it Up" report, which found that the number of billionaires had doubled worldwide since the economic crisis.
The report stated "the poorest struggle to get by while their neighbours prosper". It calculated that the wealth of the world's 85 richest people grew $668 million each day. "If Bill Gates were to cash in all of his wealth, and spend $1m every single day, it would take him 218 years to spend it all," it said. "Since the financial crisis, the ranks of the world's billionaires has more than doubled, swelling to 1,645 people."
Winnie Byanyima, Oxfam International's executive director stated, "Today wealth is trickling upwards, and will continue to do so until governments act," she added. "We should not allow narrow-minded economic doctrine and the self-interest of the rich and powerful blind us to these facts." (Source: AFP)
Comment:
Without uprooting capitalism in totality, there can be no change and to have hope that current governments will address this fails to see that they themselves are upholders and defenders of this system. The report also said that the IMF and World Bank support calls for action to end inequality although it is a blatant fact that these very institutions with the consent of governments, especially in the developing world, are responsible for policies that end up strangling the poorest.
Oxfam's report further confirms that the outcome of capitalism is that wealth will never be distributed and there isn't an in built mechanism to ensure circulation of wealth. Circulation of wealth is down to the good will of individuals who may or may not feel morally obliged to assist the less fortunate. By focusing on billionaires the report fails to address the real cause of inequality, namely capitalism. Capitalism leaves wealth distribution unchecked and focuses only on production.
Islam encourages man to acquire wealth, Allah (swt) says:
(وَابْتَغِ فِيمَا آتَاكَ اللَّـهُ الدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ ۖ وَلَا تَنسَ نَصِيبَكَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا)
"But seek through that which Allah has given you, the home of the Hereafter; and yet do not forget your share of the world." [TMQ-Al Qasas: 77], alongside this Islam limits activities that cause inequality such as hoarding or making money through money (riba). Allah (swt) emphasizes that the wealth should not circulate amongst the few:
(كَيْ لَا يَكُونَ دُولَةً بَيْنَ الْأَغْنِيَاءِ مِنكُمْ)
"That it does not become a commodity between the rich among you." [TMQ Al-Hashr: 7]
Owners of capital therefore, have to invest either in the form of private business or partnership. This activity produces work and reinvestment and allows more people to benefit from wealth which Allah swt has bestowed on a specific individual.
The economic problem from the Islamic perspective is that of distribution of wealth and resources and not production. Without a doubt, it is accepted that the world has the resources available to satisfy all needs of all people but there is still acute inequality. By focusing on the number of billionaires in the world and failing to address how they arise and how the capitalist system is the cause of inequality between and within nations means that real and effective change will not be achieved.
The Islamic economic system which will be implemented through the Khilafah "Caliphate", has the correct viewpoint on wealth, has the mechanisms to distribute this wealth and recognizes the right of individuals to acquire wealth in a way that does not stifle enterprise but also gives a sense of responsibility to the less well off.
Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Nazia Rehman - Pakistan
Jerusalem has been bleeding for months and honoring a martyr after another, from the martyr Mohammed Abu Khudeir to the martyr Abdul Rahman Al-Shaloudi and finally the martyr Moataz Hijazi. Al-Aqsa is denied access of its worshipers, as it was closed completely on Thursday, 30/10/2014, and the numbers of worshipers were reduced on Friday. The people of Jerusalem are chased, run over by settlers' cars and women are assaulted.
