Universalist Islam

By Izeth Hussain –January 30, 2016

Izeth Hussain

In my last article I claimed that Islam is the most widely ecumenical of all the world religions. I was referring to the wider ecumenism which seeks to establish common ground between the world religions, a movement that has been flourishing vigorously over several decades. I suppose the underlying reason is that in the global village the adherents of different religions are thrown together more than ever before in human history, and therefore there is a need for common understanding and tolerance as never before. The wider ecumenism can also be seen as an expression of the universalist drive in the modern world.

It is in that context that my claim that Islam is the most widely ecumenical of all the world religions should have a particular interest. My basis for making that claim is that Islam is the only religion that explicitly declares that those who follow other religions will also go to heaven, provided they believe in the one true God and lead virtuous lives. That declaration is made in two places in the Koran: sura 5 verse 69 and sura 2 verse 62. The first reads as follows: “Verily those who believe and those who follow the Jewish scriptures, and the Christians and the Sabians, any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve”.

The Koran is explicit on the point that the Prophet was not making an original and unique revelation. He was merely reiterating the revelation of the one true God that had been given to humanity right down the ages, in which connection the Koran mentions no less than thirty two Prophets. Obviously therefore the revelation had been given among others to the peoples of the Indian sub-continent as well. The following question arises: What are the pointers to the fact that the revelation of the one true God had been given to Hindus and the Buddhists? The answer could be along the following lines. When a Hindu prays before a statue of Krishna or Shiva he is not indulging in idol worship or in polytheism but is worshipping the one true God of whom Krishna and Shiva are no more than representations. I believe that most Hindus would agree with that interpretation. In my own experience I have found that Hindus usually speak of God in the singular, not of Gods in the plural. As for Buddhists, they most certainly are not polytheists. They believe in Nirvana as the ultimate reality, which is conceived of in the singular as One and not as a plurality of gods.

The reader may wonder whether the claim I am making for a universalist Islam might be sound in Islamic doctrine but means little or nothing in practice, for Islam has been according to widespread notions the most exclusive and the most intolerant of all the great world religions. That certainly has been true of Islam at certain times and at certain places, more specifically of Islamic civilisation in its phases of decadence, but it is certainly not true as a generalization. The wider ecumenism of Islam was seen at its best within the Arab world under the Abbassids and outside it in India. The Mogul Emperor Akbar could be regarded as its greatest exemplar because he believed in the validity of all the religions, and even went to the extent of constructing a new universalist religion in the form of the Din Ilahi. The Islamic wider ecumenism in India had behind it the rich tradition of Sufi mysticism which had much common ground with Hindu mysticism, so much so that the great mystic poet Kabir could not decide whether he was Muslim or Hindu. I believe that we can see the wider ecumenism of India, not specifically Islamic, in full flower in Kipling’s great novel, Kim. The spirit behind Islam’s wider ecumenism can be seen at its best I think in an observation made by Sheikh Mohammed Abdu, the great Egyptian reformer of the nineteenth century: “I went to the West. There was no Islam there but there were many Muslims. I returned home to the East where there is Islam but no Muslims”. Perhaps we Muslims should declare that Angela Merkel, who shamed the entire Islamic world, is one of the greatest Muslims of our time.

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Let us develop the country through reconciliation and national unity – CBK

Jan 30, 2016

Former president Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumarathunga stressed that religious reconciliation and national unity within the country would help to develop the nation. The former president gave her opinion joining for a religious coexistence programme in Matara Akuressa. 20 school students representing all communities participated.

Further expressing her opinion the former president said she urge the teachers and parents to teach the children’s the value of respecting other religions. If we do so, we can all get together celebrate Hindu and other festivals and share the foods. If we can share celebrations we can share our political, economical and societal differences and go forward and develop our country.

“All are talking that this government in power has not done anything, no development, no jobs. One year is a shorter period when you compare the destruction caused before. The children do not know the damages happen to the country because these were not published in papers. People in the cities know these but they don’t tell. We are trying to recover the country from the destruction caused.

This government actually started from last September. Seven months was wasted for elections. A group of former ministers are hindering the current government. The financial bill was defeated and the government could not pay the public servants wages”
“From September only four months has elapsed. We are trying to find better solutions for the starvation, employment, poverty, education and health issues. Hope you can remember how the main two political parties fight against each other in the village during an election.

We have got a wonderful opportunity where both main political parties join with each other and do something useful” said the former president.

Like Gnanassara did Rajitha too stick his spout into the plantain tree ? Strike threat by AG’s dept. for the first time in SL.

(Lanka-e-News -29.Jan.2016, 11.30PM) The utterances made regarding the appointment of the Attorney General by Minister Rajitha Senaratne the cabinet spokesman at the media briefing to announce the cabinet decisions held yesterday(28)  , created a stir in the AG’s department resulting in Rajtha becoming the target of scathing criticism.

Rajitha said , the AG’s department is now in a worse state than it was during the Rajapakse era, and to fill the vacancy that has arisen now , an Attorney General shall be appointed from outside rather  than from within the AG’s department.

These two utterances provoked the officers of the AG’s department so much so that they have threatened to go on strike – for the first time in Sri Lanka ‘s history !   if Rajitha does not withdraw his statements. In other words they would not appear on behalf of the State in litigations.

During the Rajapakse era , after the AG’s department was brought under the control of president Mahinda Rajapakse, even the cases that were being heard against his stooges and henchmen were withdrawn.  The two most infamously famous instances were : the withdrawal of the case against Kesbewa Chandana Kathriarachi and the case of child sex abuse against  Duminda .R .Silva . There were also many  other instances too.  But now  the AG’s department has been  taken out from the executive powers of the president and is currently an independent State Institution .While this is a consequence  of the welcome policies followed by the government of good governance, the cabinet spokesman saying the AG’s department was better under the Rajapakse era  is a most obnoxious stupid statement .

The second nonsensical utterance is that  an AG shall be appointed from outside ..

In an independent State department , when the chief goes on retirement , it is the next in seniority who should replace him. To say an outsider shall be appointed implies  that Establishment  is being politicized. 

The AG Yuvanjana has now gone on retirement , and it is Suhada Gamlath the next in seniority who has been appointed to act for him.Though it is no secret that he is pro Rajapakse , yet currently he is the most senior next to Yuvanjana.

Rajapakses were ruling for nearly 20 years , and therefore in any government establishment those in the lower rungs being pro Rajapakse is something that cannot be averted. No matter who Suhada Gamlath is , if he who is next in seniority is not made the AG ,there is no doubt it can create a stormy controversy  within the AG’s department .

If an outsider is appointed no matter his seniority as a lawyer , it will constitute a  political appointment. It is in this backdrop Rajitha made his obnoxious utterances that an outsider shall be appointed. What he  said are  therefore misleading and erroneous  because that appointment is made officially by the constitutional council appointed under the 19 th amendment.

Let it be made clear that Rajitha is not a representative of the constitutiional council. If Suhada Gamlath is not to be made  AG because he is pro Rajapakse , then by the same token Rajitha Senaratne too who heard the case to pack  ex chief justice Shiranee Bandaranaike off to her home , also cannot hoid the post of Cabinet spokesman under the government of good governance.

Hence , the most sensible thing to do instead of beating about the bush is and indulging in pompous bombasts , rather than appointing someone other than Gamlath and compounding the confusion further , appoint Gamlath as the attorney General and introduce methodologies to ensure he does not indulge in malpractices even if he is pro Rajapakse.

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by     (2016-01-30 19:31:32)

Gotabaya Rajapaksa Wants To End ‘Tyrant’ Regime And Bring Back Peace

January 30, 2016

Former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa today declared that it was time to end this tyrant regime which came into power in the guise of ‘yahapalanaya’ and restore peace Mahinda Rajapaksa brought to Sri Lanka.

Gota

“This yahapalanaya regime is much worst than of even Hitler’s rule,” he told news reporters outside the Kaduwela Magistrate Court soon after his nephew, Yoshitha Rajapaksa, along with four others were remanded for allegedly committing financial irregularities at the Carlton Sports Network (CSN).

Rajapaksa went on to say that the arrest was an act of revenge by the current administration led by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

“This is what they have been trying to do for the past one year since coming into power, but taking revenge from a child is wrong,” he said.

Rajapaksa added that during the war it was difficult to enlist youth to fight against the LTTE, and then he had personally spoken to Mahinda Rajapaksa and his wife, Shiranthi and requested them to release a son. “I asked them to give me one of their sons so that it can be a boost for other families, and today that child who came to fight the war has been arrested,” he said.

Rajapaksa went on to say that his brother, Mahinda was instrumental in saving the lives of thousands of people, by ending the war. “But, to hurt such a man by arresting his child…., no one will ever approve of this.”

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Freedom in the World 2016

Anxious Dictators, Wavering Democracies: Global Freedom under Pressure

The world was battered by crises that fueled xenophobic sentiment in democratic countries, undermined the economies of states dependent on the sale of natural resources, and led authoritarian regimes to crack down harder on dissent. These developments contributed to the 10th consecutive year of decline in global freedom.

• The number of countries showing a decline in freedom for the year—72—was the largest since the 10-year slide began. Just 43 countries made gains.
• Over the past 10 years, 105 countries have seen a net decline, and only 61 have experienced a net improvement.
• Ratings for the Middle East and North Africa region were the worst in the world in 2015, followed closely by Eurasia.
• Over the last decade, the most significant global reversals have been in freedom of expression and the rule of law.

FH_FITW_Report_2016.pdf-FREEDOM.pdf by Thavam Ratna

Syrian opposition demands release of prisoners before peace talks

Negotiators from anti-Assad groups want show of faith before sitting down for Geneva talks aimed at ending five-year conflict

Syrian opposition negotiators are in Geneva – but are seeking the release of detainees as a ‘confidence-building measure’ ahead of talks. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Ian Black in Geneva-Saturday 30 January 2016

Syrian opposition negotiators are demanding the release of thousands of detainees, including hundreds of women and children being held by Bashar al-Assad’s government, as a confidence-building measure before joining UN-brokered peace talks in Geneva.

Syrian and western sources said on Saturday that an initial list of 177 prisoners had already been given to Staffan de Mistura, the UN envoy trying to restart long-stalled negotiations between bitter enemies nearly five years into the conflict.

In total, the opposition is seeking the release of 3,000 people, including 700 held in Deraa, the largest city in southern Syria. “We are trying to push for women with newborn children,” said Farah Atassi, an opposition adviser. “That’s a priority. Then we will move to the next list.” In the past the government has pledged to free political detainees but in the end released only ordinary criminals.

The Geneva talks got under way on Friday with a meeting between De Mistura and a Syrian government delegation. The opposition announced later that it would also attend after a day of confusion and pressure – and receiving assurances from the US and UN that its demands for an end to airstrikes and improved humanitarian access would be taken seriously.                Read More 

How the U.N. Let Assad Edit the Truth of Syria’s War

As Syrian civilians starved to death, U.N. officials let the government in Damascus alter its master plan for saving lives.

BY ROY GUTMAN-JANUARY 27, 2016

ISTANBUL — Its title is prosaic and its content dry, but the stark statistics in the U.N.’s annual summary of relief programs tell the story of Syria’s humanitarian nightmare. This is a country on life support: 13.6 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, Syrians are being displaced at a rate of 50 families per hour every day, and at least 1 million people in displaced persons camps receive no international aid.

But to close readers of the U.N. Humanitarian Response Plan, which was published on Dec. 29, the big surprise was what the 64-page document failed to mention. The United Nations, after consulting the Syrian government, altered dozens of passages and omitted pertinent information to paint the government of Bashar al-Assad in a more favorable light.

By comparing the final document to an earlier draft that was obtained byForeign Policy, it is evident that 10 references to “sieged” or “besieged” areas, such as that in Madaya — the town in southwestern Syria that saw 23 people die of starvation over several months before the arrival of a U.N. aid convoy in mid-January — were removed. Gone was any mention of the program to clear mines and unexploded ordnance, such as the “barrel bombs” the regime drops indiscriminately on populated areas. Gone were all mentions of Syrian relief groups that shepherd the aid to civilians in rebel-held areas.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) indicated that the alterations were made at the behest of the Syrian government.

“It is standard procedure in each country for the UN to consult with the government of the country,” wrote Linda Tom, an OCHA spokeswoman, when asked about the deletion of references to “siege” or “besieged.” Amanda Pitt, OCHA’s chief spokeswoman, affirmed that point. “I assume it was done in consultation with a range of partners including the Government, as is normal practice,” she said in an email to FP. 

OCHA declined to make any senior official available for an interview or to respond to further questions.

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Turkey calls in Russian ambassador over airspace violation 

Foreign ministry 'strongly protests' reported violation of Turkish airspace by Russian Su-34, calling it 'irresponsible behaviour'
Turkey said an Su-34 violated its airspace on Friday (AFP)

AFP-Saturday 30 January 2016

Turkey on Saturday accused Russia of a new violation of its airspace, warning Moscow against "irresponsible behaviour".

"A Su-34 plane belonging to the Russian Federation air force violated Turkish airspace at 11.46am local time yesterday [Friday]," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Ankara summoned the Russian ambassador to the foreign ministry on Friday to "strongly protest and condemn" the violation, the ministry added.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Russia would "face consequences if it keeps on such violations against Turkey's sovereignty rights".

"Such irresponsible steps do not benefit either the Russian Federation, or Russia-NAto relations, or regional and global peace."

Nato head Jens Stoltenberg said Russian forces operating in Syria must "fully respect" alliance airspace.

"Russia must take all necessary measures to ensure that such violations do not happen again," he said.

The Turkish allegation comes just over two months after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane on the Syrian border on November 24, saying it had violated Turkish airspace.

Moscow and Ankara are currently experiencing their worst relations since the end of the Cold War.

In addition to the 24 November incident, which sparked a bitter diplomatic row, the two countries back opposing sides in Syria's almost five-year civil war.

Russia is the key supporter of the Damascus government while Turkey argues that President Bashar al-Assad must be removed to solve the crisis.

U.S. corporations to report best and worst of times

Specialist trader Meric Greenbaum works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange January 13, 2016.REUTERS/BRENDAN MCDERMID

BY RODRIGO CAMPOS-Sat Jan 30, 2016

Stock market investors who spent January swayed by oil prices, economic weakness in China and central bank speculation may continue to do that next week, even though it should be a dramatic one for earnings reports and economic data.

Fourth-quarter 2015 earnings reports coming from Internet leader Alphabet (GOOGL.O) and Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), an old-economy company hit by falling oil prices, will spotlight the yin and yang of Corporate America.

If shares of Alphabet, Google's parent, rally in response to the strong results that are expected, it could displace Apple (AAPL.O) as the biggest company in the world. That would be ironic and a confirmation of the move away from traditional companies to new tech ones: Apple unseated Exxon when it climbed to the top of the list in 2011.

So far, the earnings reporting season has painted a bifurcated picture of corporate health: social media behemoth Facebook (FB.O) reported fourth-quarter revenues more than 50 percent higher than those of the same quarter a year earlier, while oil major Chevron (CVX.N) reported its first quarterly loss in more than 13 years.

As they have for several years running, companies are generally beating expectations on earnings but doing so via cost cuts and buybacks; the number of companies surprising analysts with better-than-expected sales figures is far smaller.

Perhaps because of that, investors have muted their response to earnings reports a bit while they ramp up trades based on more global events, such as Chinese economic reports or oil price declines and increases.

Though investors continue to bid up stocks of companies that beat expectations and sell those that fail, the spread between their performance has narrowed, said Jonathan Golub, chief equity strategist at RBC Capital Markets in New York.

EARNINGS REPORTS AND JOBS NUMBERS

Alphabet reports earnings Monday. Its stock has moved on average 5.5 percent (sometimes up, sometimes down) following its previous eight quarterly results. With a market capitalization near $517 billion, such a move higher would catapult it over Apple's $536 billion.

The company's numbers are expected to shine.

"For the past two quarters Alphabet has delivered strong results beating analysts' estimates," said Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank in Copenhagen. "Facebook's blowout fourth-quarter results point to strong mobile and video numbers for Google."

Other companies reporting earnings next week include Aetna (AET.N), Pfizer PFE., Merck (MRK.N), Anadarko (APC.N), ConocoPhillips (COP.N), Occidental Petroleum (OXY.N) and General Motors (GM.N).

On the economic front, the all-important U.S. employment report expected Friday will close a week that includes key data on factory activity and construction spending, car sales, services sector growth and inflation.

The numbers come after data showed U.S. economic growth slowed sharply in the fourth quarter with gross domestic product up at a 0.7 percent annual rate.

"Manufacturing is clearly weak, segments of manufacturing are in a recession, so the one thing that continues to keep our head above water on a GDP basis is the consumer," said Don Ellenberger, head of multi-sector strategies at Federated Investors in Pittsburgh.

"Any sense of weakness in the payroll number or any of the employment statistics we get next week would really be a cause for concern."

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Linda Stern and James Dalgleish)

Trump spokeswoman defends tweet calling Obama ‘head Negro in charge’

Donald Trump’s national campaign spokeswoman Katrina Pierson is standing behind a 2013 tweet in which she labeled President Obama “head Negro in charge.” (CNN)

By Jessica Chasmar - The Washington Times - Friday, January 29, 2016

Donald Trump’s national campaign spokeswoman Katrina Pierson is standing behind a 2013 tweet in which she labeled President Obama “head Negro in charge.”

On Thursday, CNN host Jim Sciutto confronted Ms. Pierson on her tweetfrom 2013 that said, “This corrupt country has a head Negro in charge. What is he doing for blk children? He’s helping everybody else, Why?”

He also asked her about a 2012 tweet calling the president a “jihadi.” Ms. Pierson refused to apologize and blamed her “heated” language on liberal Twitter trolls, Raw Story reported.

“As an activist, we spend most of our time, particularly in 2012, fighting off liberal activists and other establishment activists. So of course you could pull any of those tweets out of one of those heated discussions because a lot of times it’s in the sphere of fighting off other liberal activists,” Ms. Pierson said.

“And I’ve got to tell you. It’s interesting that this has made some sort of news cycle when we have all of the things that are happening in the world, including a presidential race, to go back 36,000 tweets, pull them out of context of the discussion and try to make that a news story. That’s where we are today in the media. It’s very biased and that is exactly whyMr. Trump is not participating in one of the debates tonight,” she said.

Ms. Pierson, a Texas Tea Party activist, has made her share of headlines since joining Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign in November. On Sunday, she defended a tweet from 2012 in which she lamented that President Obama and Mitt Romney aren’t “pure breeds.”

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