Friday, August 17, 2012

Imam Musa's Upcoming 'Eid Message


(Click on flier to enlarge)

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

‘EID MUBARAK!

The community of Masjid Al-Islam wishes to offer you our warmest greetings and we pray that Allah (swt) rewards you for your righteous efforts throughout this blessed month of Ramadan.

We at Masjid Al-Islam are expecting to pray the ‘Eid prayer on Sunday, August 19th, 2012, at 10:45am. We invite you to join us in celebrating ‘Eid in Southeast DC!

Masjid Al-Islam
4603 Benning Road SE
Washington, DC 20019

We are also accepting contributions for Zakat al-Fitr ($10 per person).

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Today, there are many challenges facing the Muslim Ummah, both inside and outside of America. We are vilified in the media, arrested without just cause, entrapped, tortured, threatened by drone attacks in our own airspace, invaded, and killed by the hundreds of thousands; yet no one speaks up for us. Our imams are generally afraid of arrest or deportation, and our masjids and Islamic centers are undoubtedly infiltrated. (According to ISNA’s August 2012 issue of Islamic Horizons magazine, there are 15,000 official informants and saboteurs and 45,000 unofficial agents within the Muslim community in America.) Meanwhile, our Islamic organizations are calling for “civil rights”, an outdated strategy which is 50 years behind our reality.

Masjid Al-Islam, and the As-Sabiqun movement in general, has withstood 35 years of oppression and psychological warfare from the likes of the FBI, NSA, CIA, Homeland Security, unofficial military intelligence, local police, and every other criminal arm of Zionist American tyranny and aggression. We are a small movement yet we have faced this challenge gladly



“O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor; For Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do.” (Al Nisa’, 4:135)

Our current mission, inside and outside of the U.S., is to struggle to neutralize the efforts of the top three enemies of our global Ummah, which together constitute the Triangle of Terror:


  • Zionist Israel (media and propaganda). The Zionists have created and sustained a wave of Islamophobia in order to justify and continue the global war on Islam. Through perception management, the peoples of the world—including Muslims—have been subjected to a constant diet of “terror” and “terrorism” via TV, websites, movies, books, and other media, to such a degree that they make an automatic psychological association between the beautiful Deen of Islam on the one hand, and barbaric violence on the other. Islam has been made to seem like a religion of unreasonable fanatics, and the peace-loving Muslims have been made out to be warmongers. 
  • U.S. government (military execution). Strategically working hand-in-hand to establish the negative image of Islam and Muslims in the public mind, the Zionists have made it easy for the U.S. government to justify their military invasion and brutal murder of innocent Muslims across the globe and keep the Muslims here frozen in a fearful, defensive posture. The U.S. government continues to pursue its greedy economic interests and attempts desperately to hold onto its title of “world superpower” by any means, including outright lies and misinformation.  
  • Saudi Arabia (internal control). The Saudis continue to operate pathetically as obedient stooges of the Zionists and Americans. They act as the primary organizers and directors of fitnah between Muslims across the global Ummah. They place all of their wealth and status (as controllers of Makkah and Madinah) at the disposal of Zionist and Western imperialist interests. They disseminate an Islam which is imbalanced, irrelevant, arrogant, and divisive, making fellow Muslims enemy #1.

Dear believers, we are standing up for you against bullying, targeted killing, drone attacks, Islamophobia, and masjid burnings. We have established two centers of the Islamic Institute for Counter-Zionist American Psychological Warfare, in Washington, DC, and Oakland, CA. We want to carry on a higher level of defense of Islam and combat the evil forces that are at work, but we need your monetary help to do so. Help us to help the cause of Islam. Send as big a donation as possible. No one wants this job but us. You can send a check or money order to: Masjid Al-Islam / 4603 Benning Road SE / Washington, DC 20019. 

Jazakum Allahu khayran
,
Imam Abdul Alim Musa  


*   *   *

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

 ‘EID NOTICE

“The offerings given for the sake of God are [meant] only for the poor and the needy, and those who are in charge thereof, and those whose hearts are to be won over, and for the freeing of human beings from bondage, and [for] those who are overburdened with debts, and [for every struggle] in God’s cause, and [for] the wayfarer: [this is] an ordinance from God—and God is all-knowing, wise.” (9:60)

Commentary:
The verse above describes the following eight groups of people (those noted with an asterisk apply especially to our community):
  1. *Fuqara’: Those who own property in excess of basic necessities but below the value of nisab. 
  2. Masakin: Persons of extreme poverty who possess no wealth whatsoever.  
  3. ‘Amilin: According to scholars, those who are appointed by an Islamic government to collect Zakat. It is not necessary that this be a needy person.  
  4. *Mu’allafati Qulub: Those poor and needy persons who are given Zakat with the intention of solidifying their hearts because they may be recently converted to Islam or to help bring them closer to Islam.  
  5. Ar-Riqab: Slaves whose masters have agreed to set them free on a payment of a fixed amount. Zakat may be used to purchase their freedom
  6. *Al-Gharimin: A person whose debts exceed one’s assets and one’s net assets (after deducting one’s liabilities) is below the nisab amount.   
  7. *Fī Sabilillah: Those who are away from home, in the path of Allah (swt)
  8. Ibnus-Sabil: A traveler who may have wealth at one’s place of residence, but is stranded and in need of financial assistance.  

This notice is to introduce you to Masjid Al-Islam, which is located at 4603 Benning Road SE / Washington, DC 20019. We maintain two Islamic centers—one in Oakland, CA, and another in Washington, DC—both owned and operated by us. For 35 years, we have encountered every fitnah imaginable, from the notorious Triangle of Terror (American military, Zionist media, and Saudi Arabian destabilization) to rumors and other programs carefully designed to keep us isolated from mainstream Muslims. Due to this isolation, we are a well-established yet economically-challenged community. In spite of these circumstances, we are rising to the occasion of our time. Below are some of our current and future projects (insha’Allah):
 
  • We have already opened two branch offices of the Islamic Institute for Counter Zionist American Psychological Warfare. We would like to establish and maintain the following programs: 1) College of Islamic Movement Studies, featuring courses in the following areas: a) a historical study of various Islamic movements, their influences, and their impact on society, in which students will examine their messages and their missions and learn how to translate their knowledge and experiences into a useful format for application in today’s world; and b) strategic management under conditions of repression, in which Imam Musa will share the insights he has gained from 35 years of survival and success against multiple forms of opposition, meant to isolate us from mainstream Muslims and derail and destroy the progress of our schools, places of worship, and businesses; 2) Department of Strategic and Islamic Studies. This department will focus on: analyses of world events and situations affecting Muslims; forecasting based on historical trends and current environmental circumstances; and strategic planning based on what should be done to make a better world.
  • Re-Africanization of the Islamic Movement in the USA. Reviving the dynamism of past indigenous Islamic movements inside of the USA, which were visionary, militant, strongly on the Sunnah, and liberation-oriented.
  • De-Israelization of the Islamic Movement in North America. Muslims have taken up a bad agenda. We must stop reacting to others’ expectations and demands, avoid integration and assimilation into the warmongering criminal system of the U.S. government, and stand up against tyranny and injustice.
  • Islamic Dialectical Idealism. We view change as natural, constant, historical, and evolutionary. Real revolution emerges from and should be guided by idealism, imagination, and possibility-believing (possibility-thinking).
  • Safeguard the rights and security of Muslims and all Americans. Our primary goal in this theatre of operations is to guard and protect the rights and security of Muslims and all Americans.
  • Muslim Cultural Development/Replacement. We are urging youth to actively cultivate and create a viable, popular Muslim counter-culture, incorporating such elements of the arts as halal “message music”. We can gradually raise the consciousness of the general society, bringing attention to real-life issues and share a powerful message of optimism, global transformation, and a positive vision of the future.
  • Agricultural Liberation. As America’s economic situation becomes increasingly unstable, the Muslim community should make practical steps toward independence and self-sufficiency, linking city to countryside by acquiring land for agriculture.

We are out here out of necessity—not to cause any discomfort. Please review the ayah at the top of this flier, which lists the proper recipients of Zakat, and the associated commentary (those categories noted with an asterisk apply especially to our community). We thank you in advance for helping us in Allah’s (swt) cause.  For future contributions, you can send a check or money order to: Masjid Al-Islam / 4603 Benning Road SE / Washington, DC 20019.

Friday, August 10, 2012

Al-Quds Day 2012

(Click on image to enlarge.)


It's the holy month of Ramadan and many of us are busy fulfilling the obligation of fasting and performing extra acts of worship. Meanwhile, our Palestinian brothers and sisters are being slowly and silently starved to death. Can we do anything more for them than make du'as?

As we work to purify ourselves during this holy month, we are presented with an opportunity to go beyond du'as. On Friday, Aug. 17th, join us in Dupont Circle at 4:00pm as we gather for the annual rally, and then again at St. Stephens Church at 7:00pm for a community dinner (iftar)--a few blocks from Columbia Heights metro station on the green line. 

WORLD PEACE RALLY
4PM - 6PM
Dupont Circle

COMMUNITY DINNER [IFTAR]
7PM - 11PM
St. Stephens Church
1525 Newton Street NW
Washington DC 20010

SPEAKERS: TBA
ARTISTS: TBA


Join us as we rally to make a unified call for Peace and Justice around the world and an immediate end to the occupation of Palestine. Following the rally there will be a dinner at St. Stephens Church which will be free and open to the public.

There will be speeches on the importance of Al-Quds Day and the current conflict in Palestine by various speakers and exclusive poetic performances by premier artists.

Click here to view the Facebook event page.

WHAT IS AL-QUDS DAY?

Al-Quds is Arabic for Jerusalem, the Holy Land. Yawm-al Quds or Al-Quds Day is a day of solidarity with the oppressed Palestinians in their struggle against the Zionist-apartheid system of Israel. Al-Quds Day also extends beyond Palestine to support all oppressed people in their struggles across the world. All over the world, rallies and marches are held on this day, the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, in order to pledge solidarity with those struggling to live in dignity, in a world free from oppression and injustice.

This day is an opportunity to stand in solidarity with the oppressed in their struggles all over the world, from Palestine to Iraq, from Congo to Honduras, and from China to right here in our own backyards in the United States. On August 17, 2012 at 4:00pm, join us and other community leaders and activists for this historical rally and pledge your solidarity with those seeking a just peace in Palestine and around the world. Join us in the evening for a community dinner (iftar) and discussion.

For further details about this year's Al-Quds Day rallies, visit: www.alqudsday.org or www.freealquds.org (go to "Upcoming Events").