Al-Hamdu lillaah, another season of opportunities has come upon us. May Allah help us in our fasting and night prayers and make us of those who are steadfast during this blessed month of Ramadhan. May He accept from us all of our charities and our extra good deeds along with that which is obligatory upon us.
Since the moon was not sighted on Wednesday, Ramadhaan will begin on Thursday September 13th, 2007.
I did a little write up a while back about the many opportunities that Allah gives us during these blessed seasons. Perhaps there might be some benefit in it.
Also, last year we had some people questioning the sighting of the moon so perhaps this might be of benefit this year.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Two Students killed in Dar al-Hadith by Followers of Al-Houthi.
- Dammaj, Yemen
Just like the last round of sad news, it seems two foreign Stuents of Knowledge were killed in Yemen.
The following is my brief translation of this Arabic Article published yesterday. I came across it last night.
According to official sources, two foreign students --on of them of French nationality-- were killed today in an attack on students of the Dar al-Hadith institute in the village of Dammaj. This attack, the first of it's kind, was carried out by followers of al-Houthi, a local Shiitie Rebel Leader.
According to some local Yemeni websites:
Some sources in San`aa', close to the Administration of the institute reaffirmed, "The Institute commonly stays under tight security measures." He also negated the "possibility of suporters of the Institute taking part in any armed confrontation with al-Houthi's followers in the Sa`dah region." Saying, "Our task is one of Da`wah (Islamic Propagation), not a Military one. We don't take part in any armed struggle against that Rafidhi (Shiite) Rebellion which is present in the villages around the city of Sa`dah." The source also mentioned his sorrow on hearing news of the institute in Dammaj coming under armed attack. He went on to say, "The Institute was established by Shaikh Muqbil bin Haadee al-Waadi`ee --rahimahullah (may Allah have mercy on him)-- more than two decades ago and the people of the area have never known it to be anything other than a peaceful institution which calls to Allah through speech and intellect. Leaving 'Da`wah by hand' (using forecul measures) to the Authorities."
He added that, "Despite the fact that Shaikh Muqbil and his followers would openly call to Allah and denouncing Shirk (Polytheism), Bid`ah (Innovation in religious matters) and Rafdh (Being of Shiite methodology), the School has never been associated with any armed encounter." He then reaffirmed that, "The Center will continue the task of Shaikh Muqbil by defending the Sunnah (teachings of Prophet Muhammad) and defense of the Companions of the Prophet --sallallaahi `alaihi wa sallam (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him)-- and the correct teachings of Islam, regardless of how many attempts there are to hamper it."
The source, who asked to remain anonymous, also fiercely refuted the notion that al-Houthi's followers conceal hatred for the Salafi Da`wah."
He found it strange that, "Some people are trying to make this a sectarian conflict. This (al-Houthi's followers) is an oppressive group that has rebelled against the Government. It is the Government, now, who strives to execute its authority in the region, keen on the service of its citizens", as he put it.
___________________________
May Allah have mercy on our brothers and allow the Government to find those Rafidhi filth and take them to account for what they did.
___________________________
Update (March 31, 2007): According to Reuters and the AFP, it seems the other casualty was a British brother. The authorities seemed to have named him "Patrick" only. Thee was a French-Algerian brother that was wounded. According to multiple news sources, the were standing security during the night, protecting the school.
Update (April 3, 2007): One of my Yemeni classmates said that there was a call mde from a brother in Dammaj stating that the actual persons killed were one French and one Yemeni student. There were three students wounded, one of them was a French-Algerian.
I will be posting another post insha Allah on some of the details learned after the incident.
- Dammaj, Yemen
Just like the last round of sad news, it seems two foreign Stuents of Knowledge were killed in Yemen.
The following is my brief translation of this Arabic Article published yesterday. I came across it last night.
According to official sources, two foreign students --on of them of French nationality-- were killed today in an attack on students of the Dar al-Hadith institute in the village of Dammaj. This attack, the first of it's kind, was carried out by followers of al-Houthi, a local Shiitie Rebel Leader.
According to some local Yemeni websites:
- The encounter took place when some of al-Houthi's followers attacked a group of students from the Salafi institute.
- The students "were standing guard, which was a newly enforced measure" after the Government had reportedly "armed them and a groupd of students from the Salafi institute to confront the followers of al-Houti."
- The encounter took place "during the passing of a patrol of al-Houthi's followers in the area".
Some sources in San`aa', close to the Administration of the institute reaffirmed, "The Institute commonly stays under tight security measures." He also negated the "possibility of suporters of the Institute taking part in any armed confrontation with al-Houthi's followers in the Sa`dah region." Saying, "Our task is one of Da`wah (Islamic Propagation), not a Military one. We don't take part in any armed struggle against that Rafidhi (Shiite) Rebellion which is present in the villages around the city of Sa`dah." The source also mentioned his sorrow on hearing news of the institute in Dammaj coming under armed attack. He went on to say, "The Institute was established by Shaikh Muqbil bin Haadee al-Waadi`ee --rahimahullah (may Allah have mercy on him)-- more than two decades ago and the people of the area have never known it to be anything other than a peaceful institution which calls to Allah through speech and intellect. Leaving 'Da`wah by hand' (using forecul measures) to the Authorities."
He added that, "Despite the fact that Shaikh Muqbil and his followers would openly call to Allah and denouncing Shirk (Polytheism), Bid`ah (Innovation in religious matters) and Rafdh (Being of Shiite methodology), the School has never been associated with any armed encounter." He then reaffirmed that, "The Center will continue the task of Shaikh Muqbil by defending the Sunnah (teachings of Prophet Muhammad) and defense of the Companions of the Prophet --sallallaahi `alaihi wa sallam (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him)-- and the correct teachings of Islam, regardless of how many attempts there are to hamper it."
The source, who asked to remain anonymous, also fiercely refuted the notion that al-Houthi's followers conceal hatred for the Salafi Da`wah."
He found it strange that, "Some people are trying to make this a sectarian conflict. This (al-Houthi's followers) is an oppressive group that has rebelled against the Government. It is the Government, now, who strives to execute its authority in the region, keen on the service of its citizens", as he put it.
___________________________
May Allah have mercy on our brothers and allow the Government to find those Rafidhi filth and take them to account for what they did.
___________________________
Update (March 31, 2007): According to Reuters and the AFP, it seems the other casualty was a British brother. The authorities seemed to have named him "Patrick" only. Thee was a French-Algerian brother that was wounded. According to multiple news sources, the were standing security during the night, protecting the school.
Update (April 3, 2007): One of my Yemeni classmates said that there was a call mde from a brother in Dammaj stating that the actual persons killed were one French and one Yemeni student. There were three students wounded, one of them was a French-Algerian.
I will be posting another post insha Allah on some of the details learned after the incident.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
I've been waiting to see the news break in any of the Western Media outlets, but was surprised to see no real coverage of the affair.
Not too long ago (about two weeks ago) some French expatriates, living in Riyadh, were killed as they completed a trip to the ancient ruins of Mada'in Salih. They were not too far from Madinah, and it seems that some of them (the Muslims from the group) were going to stop by the Makkah to perform 'Umrah before returning to Riyadh.
They had completed a group camping trip near the ancient ruins. As far as I know they were a group of two families, men and women. There were nine of them in the group and two of those murdered were Father & Son. As they were near the villages outside of Mada'in Salih near the Madinah-Tabuk Road, they seem to have gotten lost and made the mistake of asking too many people for directions. They were soon to find out it was going to cost them their innocent lives.
The group were with another group of expatriates that were also camping with them. The other group of 19 Belgians left for Riyadh earlier. Perhaps the Muslims of this French Group wanted to make 'Umrah before returning (?). It seems somebody overheard them asking for directions when they were lost and decided to follow them and take them out.
As they took a rest along the road, a green Nissan Patrol (SUV) approached them. The men were seperated from the women and children and systematically executed. The women and children were left to watch the execution and to then survive their male relatives. Of the four, three died there at roadside and one was taken to the hospital where he subsequently died of his injuries. The Father & Son couple were muslims and their Janaazah (Funeral Prayer) was prayed at the Prophet's Masjid in Madinah. King Abdullah visited their female survivors and promised to take care of them however they required and to find the criminals that did this.
So far, the area that they were killed in has been on lock-down. There are checkpoints all around and there is an extensive search on for the criminals. There are different search parties from different regions, all using their expertise to find those guilty of the crime.
The Government, having taken testimonies from the female survivors, knows the car that the criminals used. It was a green Nissan Patrol, and they've been searching the Kingdom looking for the car. The government --perhaps through a process of elimination-- named two prime suspects and gave them a chance to hand themselves in:
I haven't seen a worse case of blatant terrorism than this. These people are clearly not enemies, two of them were DEFINITELY Muslims. They came to this country to work and to be of benefit to the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Why, after seeing that they are Muslims, would you not only try to harm them, but also to follow them and meticulously single them out for execution? Not that it would have been ANY different were those four French men non-Muslims. No matter what, the leader of the Muslims of this country has given them a promise of safety and we as Muslims are obliged to honor that promise to the best of our ability.
I remember not too many years ago, when this huge campaign by the filthy Khawarij terrorists was launched against Western interests, they used to always tell people they are after the non-Muslims and that they are doing this for Islam.
Not only, do these criminals make extremely audacious promises, but they also end up doing the exact opposite f what they claim. In all the major campaigns that these terrorists have led, they've caused DIRECT harm to the Muslims. In all the bombings, shootouts and kidnappings, it's been a majority of Muslim casualties. They don't care what your religion is, they want to scare the Ambassador or Consul General of the affected nationality.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a memo a week and a half ago, to all the foreign embassies within the Kingdom highlighting the fact that it seems there is a general fear that these people are going to continue targetting foreign nationals. I remember the Minister of Interior, Prince Naif bin Abdil-Azeez sent a warning out to the terrorists a year or two ago, saying that if they didn't stop carrying out these different campaigns against the foreigners, that he would equip all foreigners with adequate arms to protect themself.
Basically, "If you idiots don't quit it, I'm gonna give them the chance to take you out before I take you out."
I hope they do find those murderers and it would be nice to see them get executed for the crime they committed.
If you've seen any foreign coverage of the story, please leave me a comment with a link, I'll update the blog post with the links, insha Allah.
Sources:
Not too long ago (about two weeks ago) some French expatriates, living in Riyadh, were killed as they completed a trip to the ancient ruins of Mada'in Salih. They were not too far from Madinah, and it seems that some of them (the Muslims from the group) were going to stop by the Makkah to perform 'Umrah before returning to Riyadh.
They had completed a group camping trip near the ancient ruins. As far as I know they were a group of two families, men and women. There were nine of them in the group and two of those murdered were Father & Son. As they were near the villages outside of Mada'in Salih near the Madinah-Tabuk Road, they seem to have gotten lost and made the mistake of asking too many people for directions. They were soon to find out it was going to cost them their innocent lives.
The group were with another group of expatriates that were also camping with them. The other group of 19 Belgians left for Riyadh earlier. Perhaps the Muslims of this French Group wanted to make 'Umrah before returning (?). It seems somebody overheard them asking for directions when they were lost and decided to follow them and take them out.
As they took a rest along the road, a green Nissan Patrol (SUV) approached them. The men were seperated from the women and children and systematically executed. The women and children were left to watch the execution and to then survive their male relatives. Of the four, three died there at roadside and one was taken to the hospital where he subsequently died of his injuries. The Father & Son couple were muslims and their Janaazah (Funeral Prayer) was prayed at the Prophet's Masjid in Madinah. King Abdullah visited their female survivors and promised to take care of them however they required and to find the criminals that did this.
So far, the area that they were killed in has been on lock-down. There are checkpoints all around and there is an extensive search on for the criminals. There are different search parties from different regions, all using their expertise to find those guilty of the crime.
The Government, having taken testimonies from the female survivors, knows the car that the criminals used. It was a green Nissan Patrol, and they've been searching the Kingdom looking for the car. The government --perhaps through a process of elimination-- named two prime suspects and gave them a chance to hand themselves in:
- Abdullah Sayir Mu`awadh Al-Mahmadi
- His relative Nasir bin Lateef Al-Balawi
I haven't seen a worse case of blatant terrorism than this. These people are clearly not enemies, two of them were DEFINITELY Muslims. They came to this country to work and to be of benefit to the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Why, after seeing that they are Muslims, would you not only try to harm them, but also to follow them and meticulously single them out for execution? Not that it would have been ANY different were those four French men non-Muslims. No matter what, the leader of the Muslims of this country has given them a promise of safety and we as Muslims are obliged to honor that promise to the best of our ability.
I remember not too many years ago, when this huge campaign by the filthy Khawarij terrorists was launched against Western interests, they used to always tell people they are after the non-Muslims and that they are doing this for Islam.
- How in the world does this help Muslims or Islam in any way!?
- How will you aswer for Jean-Marc Bonnet and his 17-year-old son Mubarak!?
- They're both French-Moroccan Muslims whose blood was spilled!
Not only, do these criminals make extremely audacious promises, but they also end up doing the exact opposite f what they claim. In all the major campaigns that these terrorists have led, they've caused DIRECT harm to the Muslims. In all the bombings, shootouts and kidnappings, it's been a majority of Muslim casualties. They don't care what your religion is, they want to scare the Ambassador or Consul General of the affected nationality.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a memo a week and a half ago, to all the foreign embassies within the Kingdom highlighting the fact that it seems there is a general fear that these people are going to continue targetting foreign nationals. I remember the Minister of Interior, Prince Naif bin Abdil-Azeez sent a warning out to the terrorists a year or two ago, saying that if they didn't stop carrying out these different campaigns against the foreigners, that he would equip all foreigners with adequate arms to protect themself.
Basically, "If you idiots don't quit it, I'm gonna give them the chance to take you out before I take you out."
I hope they do find those murderers and it would be nice to see them get executed for the crime they committed.
If you've seen any foreign coverage of the story, please leave me a comment with a link, I'll update the blog post with the links, insha Allah.
Sources:
