Headlines:

French Premier Declares ‘War' on Radical Islam as Paris Girds for Rally

Majority of Germans See Islam as Threat, Poll Indicates

Hindu Outfit Plans to Finish Islam By 2021

Details:

French Premier Declares ‘War' on Radical Islam as Paris Girds for Rally

Prime Minister Manuel Valls declared Saturday that France was at war with radical Islam after the sieges that had led to the deaths of three gunmen and four hostages the day before, and as the authorities mounted a frantic hunt for a suspected accomplice. "It is a war against terrorism, against jihadism, against radical Islam, against everything that is aimed at breaking fraternity, freedom, solidarity," Mr. Valls said during a speech in Évry, south of Paris. The government said it would put 500 additional troops on the streets over the weekend amid preparations for a giant unity rally in Paris on Sunday. A number of European officials said they would attend, including Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu of Turkey, the most prominent Muslim leader scheduled to be there. On Saturday, thousands of people marched in Paris, Toulouse and Nice in a show of solidarity, and rallies were held in places as far away as Madagascar and Bangui, Central African Republic. Top ministers in the French government were scheduled to hold an emergency session on Saturday to discuss measures to prevent a repeat of the attacks, which shocked the country and raised questions about why law enforcement agencies had failed to thwart terrorism suspects well known to the police and intelligence services. The crisis and its aftermath presented a major challenge to President François Hollande and his government, which are facing deep religious and cultural rifts in a nation with a rapidly growing Muslim population while simultaneously coping with the security threats stemming from Islamic extremists. Large numbers of French citizens have been traveling to Syria and Iraq to fight with the Islamic State militant group. Mr. Hollande, appealing for unity, has warned against seeing Islam as the enemy, and Mr. Valls called again on Saturday for citizens to join the rally planned for Sunday. "There needs to be a firm message about the values of the republic and of secularism," Mr. Valls said in Évry. "Tomorrow, France and the French can be proud. Everyone must come tomorrow." [Source: New York Times]
Again France and the West in general fail to address the root cause of terror and that is Western intervention in Muslim lands. The people of France should ask their leaders what benefits has France gained by joining America's war against Islam?

Majority of Germans See Islam as Threat

Poll Indicates over 60 percent of non-Muslim Germans say Islam has no place in the West. A large and growing majority of Germans believe Islam does not belong in the Western world and more than half see it as a threat, a poll published on Thursday showed. In a survey conducted in November, before Wednesday's massacre by Islamic extremist gunmen at French satirical paper Charlie Hebdo or widespread media coverage of a new German anti-
migrant movement, 61 percent of non-Muslim Germans said Islam had no place in the West. The figure was up from 52 percent in 2012, according to the study released by the Bertelsmann Foundation think tank. More than half - 57 percent - said they felt threatened by Islam, 4 percentage points higher than in 2012.Forty percent said they felt like "foreigners in their own country" because of the presence of Muslims. And one in four (24 percent) said that Muslims should be barred from migrating to Germany. About four million Muslims live in Germany, around three-quarters of them of Turkish origin, among a population of 80 million people. "For Muslims, Germany has become home. But they are confronted with a negative image apparently shaped by a minority of radical Islamists," Bertelsmann Foundation Islam expert Yasemin El-Menouar wrote in the study's findings, which also looked at Muslim immigrants' views of Germany. The authors said that anti-Islam stances could be found regardless of class or education level, but that younger people and those with personal contacts with Muslims showed less prejudice. The poll was by the TNS Emnid independent opinion research institute among 937 non-Muslim Germans. Germany has been rocked by anti-migrant marches in the eastern city of Dresden, which began small in October but have grown in support over the last month, now attracting around 18,000 people each week. They are organised by a right-wing populist group calling itself PEGIDA or Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident. [Source: I24News]
The wide spread Islamophobia against Muslims is rapidly spiraling out of control in one of Europe's most tolerant nations towards Muslims. Germany does not possess the same evil colonial legacy as that of Britain and France, but its German populace is increasingly fearful of Islam. And the question has to be asked: Is Germany moving towards the 1930s but this time the Muslims have become the new Jews of Europe?

Hindu Outfit Plans to Finish Islam By 2021

Stoking a fresh controversy after conversion plans in Aligarh, Hindu outfit Dharm Jagran Manch, which had planned a conversion programme in Aligarh, said that it plans to "finish" Islam and Christianity by 2021. "We have so far ensured ‘ghar wapsi' (reconversion) of three lakh Muslims and Christians back to Hinduism. By 2021, we will finish Islam and Christianity," Manch head Rajeshwar Singh Singh. "We have not done any conversion. We have ensured ‘ghar wapsi'. Why they (political parties) did not utter a word when Hindus are converted? What's their objection when we ensure that they come back to the religion?" he asked. His organisation had planned a mass conversion programme in Aligarh on the Christmas day but later called it off. On Agra conversion, he said that those converted were Indians and not Bangladeshis and they had affidavits of those who participated in the programme. [Source: Indian Express]
The Western world is continuously complaining about the intolerance of Muslims towards people of other faiths, but remains silent about the bigotry towards Islam and Muslims in other parts of the world. This hypocrisy only underscores the double standards of the West in how they portray Islam and deal with Muslims.

January 8, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudan chapter of the Islamist Hizb al-Tahrir party said that security forces briefly detained nine of its members in Khartoum and other states, after distributing leaflets denouncing the recent constitutional amendments.

Sudanese lawmakers on Sunday approved three controversial constitutional amendments introduced by the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) despite protests of PCP MPs who did not take part in the vote.

The first bill allows the president to appoint governors who will no longer be elected through universal suffrage. The second transforms the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) into regular force to legitimize the creation of its militia the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Finally the third reform is the inclusion of Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) in the constitution.

A statement from Hizb al-Tahrir party spokesman Abu-Khalil said that that Sudanese security filed complaints against their members and later released them. However they were asked to report to security office later.

It added that Hizb al-Tahrir seeks to carry out its vision through intellectual and political struggle and excludes "material" acts in compliance with Prophet Muhammad's ways in state creation.

The party accused the United States of seeking to divide Sudan through Sudanese political forces in the next phase after the adoption of a new constitution and agreeing on a voluntary unity which it considered a prelude to the division of Sudan.

The parent organization of Hizb al-Tahrir was founded in 1953 in Jerusalem by Taqiuddin al-Nabhani that calls for unifying all Muslims under an Islamic caliphate.

They refuse to resort to violence as a method of achieving their goals.

(ST)

(Source: Sudan Tribune)

News:

On January 4, 2015, Berita Harian (Daily News) reported cases of bullying occurring among students. This has actually become viral on social networking sites and even through the phone application, WhatsApp. What is more worrying now, bullying is not just happening among students of tertiary institutions and secondary schools but has also been detected among primary school pupils. Not only that, bullying also involves girls dressed in ‘baju kurung' (decent attire) and hijab who unashamedly kick and beat their peers or juniors. The President of the National Parent-Teacher Association Collaborative Council, Assoc. Prof Datuk Ali Hasan, stated that the public including parents, teachers and the community should not feel being in the ‘comfort zone' especially when there are people proclaiming that the problem is under control, while in reality it does exists. He claimed, "It's an alarming scenario. If recently, bullying only happened among secondary school students, at present even primary school pupils are doing it. Before this, only boys carried out bullying, but now even female students do it." In an effort to overcome the problem of bullying in schools, the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) suggested that the Ministry of Education create the post ‘Head of Discipline Teachers' in schools. This teacher will receive training in terms of legal and psychological aspects in handling discipline problems including bullying in schools.

Comment:

Once again, early in 2015 we have been shocked by bullying cases among primary school students. Although the percentage of bullying cases reported is still small in number because most cases occur not during class sessions or outside of the school, but statistics certainly show an increase every year. According to Datuk Sufa'at Tumin, Education Ministry Deputy Director-General (Education Operations), the exposure of negative things and elements in the internet as well as in films is one of the factors that contribute to bullying cases in schools. Therefore, in-depth study must be carried out regarding the effectiveness of education and the environment of the community as well as influence from the mass media. From a study conducted by the Research Management Centre, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, factors of revenge and to show empowerment received the highest percentage. This data shows that the students failed to instill Islamic values or morals in themselves which is also an indicator regarding the failure of the education system applied today. The syllabus used in the current education system is incapable of forming noble personalities among students.

Supposedly education is the main essence in forming noble and outstanding Muslim personalities. In the educational system offered by Islam, the Islamic creed (Aqeedah) is the core principle that must take precedence. Forming faith, piety and noble personalities will be the main focus to be self -embedded in each and every student. Halal haram will be used as a benchmark in carrying out all acts. This benchmark itself will be a guideline for the students and the community to always ensure their life events are in the right path of faith (iman) and piety (taqwa). Hence, Islamic education will produce Muslim personalities who obey Allah, adhere to His commands and leaves what He prohibits. The Islamic teachings will not only be memorized but learned to be applied, become a benchmark and solution in overcoming all the problems of life.

My dear brothers and sisters, all of those mentioned can only exist through the implementation of the Islamic laws comprehensively. Indeed this will become a reality under the shade of the Caliphate system, al-Khilafah "Caliphate" ar-Rashidah ‘ala minhaj an-nubuwwah ordained by Allah and guaranteed to return through the glad tidings of Rasulullah (pbuh).  Nonetheless, what is vital is that we actively involve ourselves in this noble cause to actualize the Khilafah "Caliphate" as an evidence of our faith and a ‘provision' in facing Allah, the Almighty during Yaumul'Qiyamah (the Hereafter).  Allah (swt) stated in the Holy Quran;

((يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللّهَ وَابْتَغُواْ إِلَيهِ الْوَسِيلَةَ وَجَاهِدُواْ فِي سَبِيلِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ))

"O you who have believed, fear Allah and seek the means [of nearness] to Him and strive in His cause that you may succeed." [Surah Al-Maidah: 35].

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by

Sumayyah Ammar

Member of the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir

The Syrian opposition abroad (and with it some of the militant factions), and those associated with the criminal Syrian regime, reached preliminary understandings on the future government in Syria. They will agree on the composition of their delegations before going to Moscow