Hizbullah in the Niger Delta?

OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE ISLAMIC MOVEMENT IN NIGERIA

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Hizbullah in the Niger Delta?

By Ibrahim Usman

A sixty-year-old Israeli businessman working with Gilmore Engineering Nigeria Limited Mr. Ehud Avni was kidnapped in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, by the Niger Delta militants that have been launching series of attacks on Nigerian military and oil installations in the region. Spokeswoman for the Rivers state Police command, Mrs. Rita Innoma-Abbey, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, confirmed the abduction.

About the time the Israeli was kidnapped, the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria Moshe Ram was having dinner with the Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Amaechi, in Government House Port Harcourt, where he declared the Niger Delta as safe for foreign nationals and described reports on the situation in the region as being blown out of proportion by the media. "We are safe here,” he said. Reacting to the abduction, the Israeli foreign ministry in a statement argued that, “the abduction of an Israeli businessman in Nigeria was criminally motivated and not related to any political or terrorist organization”.

Despite the constant abductions and hostilities, both the Nigerian military in the Niger Delta, as attested by the military spokesman Col Sagir, and the Israeli government argued that the region is peaceful and shied away from describing militants in the Niger Delta as terrorists. Instead, Mr. Ram said the media hype of the Niger Delta situation is similar to that of Israel, and described Israel and the Niger Delta as victims of unwarranted media propaganda. While the Nigerian army downplayed the situation in the region to cover up its inefficiency in the face of defeat as a result of the fierce battle being put by the militants, the Israeli ambassador down played the situation to look for a dog elsewhere to give a bad name in order to hang it.

Earlier last month, Mr. Ram made a spurious speculation that Hizbullah was planning to attack Israelis and their interests in West Africa to avenge the killing of its member by Israeli secret service, MOSSAD. The Nigerian Inspector of Police, Mike Okiro, was said to have visited Israeli embassy when Mr. Ram made the statement. According to Ram, the security report uncovered by the Israeli media did not specifically mentioned Nigeria, but it is all pointing towards that direction. This is what he said: “We know that they were not particular about Nigeria but I think that it is very feasible and might, you know, in the chain of events it might happen and eventually it can become a problem”. Reporting the alert, The Jerusalem Post said, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, in a rare move, restricted the Counterterrorism Bureau from commenting on the issue. It however cautioned Israelis, especially business men who deal with Muslims, to be on the alert for possible attack and abduction.

Mr. Ram speaks on behalf of Israel, and i want to believe that Israel is targeting Muslim regions in Nigeria as potential terrorists. One would have thought that with the terror alert, the Israelis will be cautioned against travels or business dealings in the turmoil Niger Delta region. Instead they were cautioned against dealings with Muslims only. Surprisingly, the abduction of the Israeli national by the Niger Delta militants was completely downplayed by the Israeli embassy in the face of the earlier terror alert. Had the abduction of the Israeli businessman happened in Northern Nigeria, Moshe Ram would have confirmed his terror alert to be true. “Haaretz.com”, an Israeli online medium confirmed that, the security threat in Nigeria exists from Lagos to Port Harcourt, and less pronounced in the north and around Abuja (the capital), which has not yet witnessed kidnapping for ransom. But it was quick to add that, “Threats against Israelis from Al-Qaida and Hezbollah have also been reported”. What an irony!

For the Israeli ambassador to say that, Hizbullah in West Africa is plotting attack on Israeli nationals and their interests is to indirectly express the fear of his country over Islamic resurgence in Nigeria, Northern Nigeria to be precise. This is because it is only in Nigeria that exist a vibrant Islamic Movement that has unflinching support and admiration for Iran and Hizbullah. In 2007, the US embassy in Nigeria had warned American citizens of a potential terror attack on official and commercial installations in Abuja and Lagos, alleging that, Al-Qaeda had shifted its base to Nigeria. The Islamic Movement in Nigeria sometime ago organized a symposium on the sixty years of illegal existence of Israel as a state, where scholars, credible journalists and social commentators spoke.

The Israeli ambassador made uncouth statements on the revered leader of the Movement Sheikh Ibraheem Yaqub Zakzaky, the Daily Trust newspaper (for participating at the seminar and allowing “unfriendly” write-ups to be published in the paper) and certain credible journalists, for asserting that there was no cause to celebrate the sixty years of existence of Israel as a state. It is an open secret, as attested by the Israeli ambassador, that the Zakzaky - led Islamic Movement had been an Israeli target over the years by way of overt and covert operations.

Shortly after the ambassador issued the terror alert, world media started pointing accusing fingers at the Islamic Movement in Nigeria. World Defence Review posted on its website a picture of Sheikh Zakzaky addressing a large Muslim audience to commemorate the Ashura and other pictures depicting public activities of the group and made the following comment: “...that these pictures were shot in Nigeria is the fact that first; there is indeed a large Shiite minority in Nigeria with whom Hezbollah would find a natural ally, and second; there is a large Lebanese Shiite immigrant community in that country who settled there in the 1960s and 1970s, coming mostly from south Lebanon.

The photographs show an unidentified Shiite mullah (his religious affiliation is easily identified by his dress) being given full military honors during a parade complete with uniformed militiamen and hundreds of Hezbollah yellow flags as well as giant posters of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah. Another picture shows hundreds of uniformed young men during a military parade, preceded by large posters of Nasrallah and of assassinated Hamas leader Ahmed Yassine”.

Why would Hizbullah or its allies carry out an attack in West Africa, or Nigeria to be specific? A veteran of an elite army unit and a security expert in Africa, Nir Kalron while responding to Moshe Ram’s speculation in Israeli online paper Haaretz.com, offered reasons: “One reason is the large population of Lebanese Shi’ites who left their country during the civil war in the 1970s. They deal in trade, communications, minerals and other fields. Ironically, so do many of the Israelis in the region, which means people from both groups may meet up in the business world...the warning must be taken seriously by business people in the area, at least for the time being”. True, there exists admirers of Hizbullah and AI-Qaeda in Nigeria, but no Islamic group in Nigeria had ever threatened to attack any foreigner or foreign interest in the country despite constant atrocities being orchestrated by Israel and carried out by American troops in Muslim countries.

Now that there was no Hizbullah attack or abduction as insinuated by Mr. Ram, instead it happened in the Niger Delta and it is still going on, the Israeli ambassador should issue a fresh terror alert and warn Israelis to stay away from the Niger Delta. The scale of havoc and unrest carried out by armed groups in the Niger Delta on foreigners, foreign oil companies, the Nigerian military and innocent civilians can be described as criminal as well as terrorist act. In as much as people of the Niger Delta have a case against the Nigerian government, what the armed men are demonstrating is nothing less than terrorist act that must be condemned. For Israel to describe the abduction of its citizen as criminal is like the pot calling the kettle black compared to the daily atrocities being perpetrated by Israel against innocent Palestinians in the last sixty years.

It is true to say that the Muslims in Nigeria are the target of the Israeli media propaganda. This can also explain the reason for the Israeli interest in Nigerian economy. Another interest of Israel in Nigeria is the oil-rich Niger Delta. If you are wondering where the Niger Delta militant groups get such sophisticated weapons, you should also know that Israelis have been engaging in secret arms exportation to Nigeria. Among them was a retired brigadier general Shlomo Ilya and his partners Ben Gal and Meir Dagan (before he was appointed to lead the MOSSAD). He was said to be very active in exporting arms to Nigeria.

The romance between Nigeria and Israel is fake and based on selfish economic interest of the Israel. If the Niger Delta militant groups were to succeed and declare self independence, Israel would also find them the very best of friends. During the Obasanjo regime, several Israelis arrived in the Nigerian capital of Abuja to staff and develop the offices of Aeronautics Ventures that is the operant branch in the largest arms deal ever landed by the Yavneh-based Aeronautics Defense Systems Company. A report on the $260 million deal appeared in Haaretz. The deal involves sales of land and sea drones (that operate from ships) to be used in the defense of the Niger River Delta region. Had the deal went through, it would have been one of the largest in the history of Israel's relations with the African continent (with the exception of the massive military assistance that Israel extended to the apartheid regime in South Africa).

What stopped the deal was the inability of the then president of Nigeria, Obasanjo, to amend the constitution and run for a third term. According to Haaretz, the deal was mediated by Israeli businessman Alon Nelken from Savyon. Nelken, who has played an active role in Nigeria for 25 years, despite the fact that he lacked a permit from the Israel Defense Ministry's security assistance division to conduct negotiations involving security exports.

Legal arms deal between countries is allowed, there is nothing wrong with that. Why then did the Obasanjo government dissociated itself from the deal only when it was exposed? Several individuals credited with a role in the deal were quick to express their reservations and shake off suggestions of any involvement. According to Israeli media, connections with this deal could have complicated their future lives. The first among them was the then president's national security adviser, who described himself as “friend of Israel”. General Aliyu Mohammed Gusau, in a telephone conversation with Haaretz, initiated by him, emphasized that: "I was not involved in negotiations to promote the deal and I was not a partner in it."

Like many others in the world, Gusau was alleged to have tried to help Israel learn the fate of missing navigator Ron Arad. A twist in the tale occurred when the Israeli media contacted former Nigerian Ambassador to Israel Dr. Anthony George Manzo who confirmed that, the transaction was accepted in a proper and normal decision-making process by the [Nigerian] Ministry of Defense. According to him, the Nigerian embassy in Israel was not involved in the deal, and that he only read about it in the Nigerian press. The question is, is it natural that the embassy be excluded from a deal like this? This makes the arms deal questionable, and with insidious intent.

It would be recalled that in 2006, an Israeli national was among six people charged with spying in Nigeria. They were charged with illegally obtaining classified defense documents in Nigeria, which according to court papers presided over by Justice Binta Murtala Nyako, were mean to be passed on to the defense attaché at the Russian Embassy in Nigeria.

With all these catalogue of dubious activities, it is about time Nigeria and other developing and countries as well as those in transition review their ties with Israel. History has shown that in all that Israel did or is doing, no matter how good and beneficial it seems, it has insidious intent. The whole aim is to dominate and control world economies by whatever means. To Israel, the end justifies the means.

Nigeria may be interested in the so-called advanced technology being propagated by Israel, but can it handle the attendant consequences of havoc and sectarian scuffle Israel is known for planting in its insatiable quest for economic domination and plunder?. A review of Israel’s daily cold blood murder of innocent men, women and children in the Palestinian occupied land in the last sixty years upgrades Israel as number one terrorist country in the world that is run by terrorists, unleashing wholesale terrorism.

Ibrahim Usman writes in from Kaduna

ibrahimuksmc@yahoo.co.uk

This article is taken from the Official Website of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria

See on-line at: http://www.islamicmovement.org/hizbullahnigerdeltaiusman08.htm

Savagery is the Trade Mark of Zionism

OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE ISLAMIC MOVEMENT IN NIGERIA

HOME Feb. 2009

Savagery is the trade Mark of Zionism

- Mahfuz Mundadu

We are experiencing it again. The barbaric and feral behavior of the Zionist usurpers knows no bound. This of course, could not have been possible without the active collaboration of the neo-cons and Zionist sidekicks in the white house. It has always been this atrocious. So disheartening as it was and still is there is nothing new. Savagery is the trade mark of Zionism. History is abounding with its endless list of crimes.

Just like his predecessor, the rotten dead meat Ariel the assassin, Olmert is by the same token murderous and venomously sadistic. The spineless cowards see nothing wrong in the massacre of defenceless and harmless children, women and the aged. In fact their so-call Generals obtain their medals of (dis) honour from this act of brutality. They never fought and won a true conventional war. They are only good at assassination, espionage, blackmail, intimidation and victimization. They are accountable to nobody and respect no any UN resolution.

When it attacked Lebanon the expected delivery time was 3 hours. Three hour was reviewed to 3 days. Three days turned in to 34 days. There after the UN passed a resolution in a futile attempt to disguise the defeat of the illegal state of Israeli as a truce. Since then wild Olmert has been looking for a way to redeem his irredeemable image.

With the military defeat of the illegal state of Israel, it became clear to all and sundry that after all the military might of the Zionist state was not as adroit as the world was deceived in to believing. Hitherto people were tricked in to believing that nobody can survive facing the military might of the Zionist Israel. In spite of its military might Hizbullah survived its assault. Zionist military might is undefeatable, so we were told. Alas Hizbullah defeated it. They were chased out of Lebanon just like a tail-wagging puppy escaping from the den of lions.

Any right thinking person would have expected the hawks to learn one or two lessons. Of course they did learn more than a lesson. But peace is an enemy to them. With chaos and turmoil their economy thrives. Tranquillity is a collective threat to their continued existence. Their economy and that of their benefactor survive on cheap resources from the weak and vulnerable nations and communities.

And to get these resources free or ridiculously cheap they need to attack so as to plunder. To loot they must fight a war. And to fight a war they need weapons. And in that they saw a business opportunity. The established defence industries could not survive in peace time. The best means of remaining in business is to sustain arms race. Where there is chaos they sustain it. Where there is none they trigger one, and another, and another. Even in communism the capitalist saw a phony enemy.

When communism died a “natural” death, or rather killed after it might have served its purpose the neo-cons needed a new enemy to fight so as to keep its defence industries in business. In Islam they saw an enemy. It is a real threat to western hegemony. Its cleanness and purity placed it in perfect harmony with human nature.

Something needs to be done and done very fast; to disfigure and misrepresent the deen. The unfinished job of Yazid needs to be accomplished once and for all. Provocation was the weapon deployed. When a Muslim individual or community is being attacked or its existence being threatened the world under the criminal eyes of the paper tiger called United Nation goes to sleep. However, when the Muslims rise to defend themselves UN comes back to life.

Of course the victims of such injustice see this as a double standard. Moreover, the so called international community proved beyond any reasonable doubt to be subjective and malicious tools in the hands of western aggression. Thus, the former is left with very few options.

And with this, a dreadful cordon against an ever lasting peace was erected. The more the victims of the large scale injustice insist on their right to self determination, the more the aggressor finds many more countless irrational excuses to unleash supplementary and complementary belligerence.

The atrocities of the illegal state of Israel should not be seen in isolation. It ought to be put in its proper perspectives. The ultimate aim of the world arrogance is hegemony. Look back and read history. Whoever controls the Middle East controls the world. And if the world arrogance is to realize its dream it has no option but to maintain its grip on the Middle East. Hence the proliferation of Western stooges in the name of Arab leaders. The Arab leaders formed the Arab league. With its ineptitude it became a league of yes-maniac bootlickers. Yes the Arab rulers are doing the bidding of the West, at least before the advent of intifada. With the success of the Islamic revolution in the now Islamic Republic of Iran the ball was set rolling to challenge the Western domination. Remember the slogan, ” neither East nor West, Islam only ”.

The genuine freedom fighters in the Muslim world drew their inspiration from the dogged, unalloyed and unadulterated determination of Imam Khomeini of blessed memory, which eventually resulted in the dawn fall of the most loyal puppet of US in the Middle East in the name of Shah. His loyalty to Zionists was so unadulterated that people like Mubarak and AbuMaazeen turn blue with envy.

The Leaders of the Arab nation are finding it difficult to accomplish the task of delivering Middle East on a blood socked platter of brass, to the Zionist state because Hamas and Hizbullah have proved to be some difficult hard nuts to crack. Hence, the criminal covert and overt “intervention of their masters, as exemplified by the illegal state of Israel and neo-cons in the white house. The scandalous inaction of the Arab league drives home this bitter truth. Of course “zombie no go talk unless you tell am to talk”.

The real threat to Muslims and Islam is not the illegal state of Israel or the blood thirsty Bush (men) or the Zionist infested regime of Obama. The problems are the inept and corrupt Muslim leaders that are doing the bidding of the imperialist vampires. The illegal state of Israel and the Yankees cannot do a damn thing without the active collaboration of the headless Muslim leadership. So when next we are looking for a solution to our problems we need not to go far. If there are as many Ahmadi Nejad as there are Leaders of the Muslim nations in the Muslim world by now a cancerous contraption called the illegal state of the Zionist Israel would have long been a history.

This article is taken from the Official Website of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria

See on-line at: http://www.islamicmovement.org/savegeryzionismbymundadu09article.htm

Open Letter to Dr. Ahmad Gumi

OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE ISLAMIC MOVEMENT IN NIGERIA

HOME 26/9/09

OPEN LETTER TO DR. AHMAD GUMI

Assalamu alaikum,

I hope you had a smooth sallah celebration. May the Almighty Allah accept our fasting and other acts of worship.

Sheikh, I am sure you will agree with me that the Holy month of Ramadan has come and gone like twinkle of an eye. Indeed Allah (S.W.A) has said the truth “for a fixed number of days” (The Qur’an 2: 184. During the blessed month, various scholars have put in their efforts in interpreting the Holy Qur’an according to their understanding with the aim of bringing people closer to the message contained therein. Your Tafsir this year has been centered towards nothing but castigating Shia and Shiism on one hand and praising the cursed servants of Allah (the Jews) on the other hand. It is obvious that you either came to Nigeria with a preconceived intent of making the Holy Qur’an suit your agenda or you were contracted to do so for the glee of your masters.

Your tafsir was undoubtedly used to set up the psyche of the Muslim ummah against the Shia. Then came to light when the evil plan by the state apparatus to kill and if possible bomb the residence of Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky (H) and mercilessly massacre the Muslim brothers (popularly termed Shia) during the annual International Quds Day processions. During the course of your tafsir, you had consistently urged the Nigerian government to descend on the Shia whom you have branded as Kuffar (non Muslims) and Munafiqun (hypocrites) and whom you openly accused of stock piling arms. Similarly you have assured your listeners that soon the Shia will be dealt with by the government. You were even reported saying the Shia will be bombed. Could all this be sheer quirk or was it a contract unlimited. Coincidently, the unpopular Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman was in Nigeria at about the end of the Ramadan period when the evil plot to assassinate Sheikh Zakzaky was to be carried out, perhaps after watering the soil of the Muslim minds with hatred against Shia and their revered leader Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky by their stooges.

Though you have touched incorrectly on many aspects of Islam that need to be addressed, I will however limit this letter to the issue of Shia and Shiism at least to keep focus. Otherwise, the letter may be too long and boring.

It may interest Dr. Gumi to know that the word Shia literarily means supporters and has been used in this milieu in the Holy Qur’an in a number of places. The origin of Shiism is not separate from the origin of Islam since the Prophet himself sowed its seed by proclaiming the wisãya (successorship) and khilãfat (caliphate) of Ali bin Abí Tãlib in the first open call to Islam that he made in Mecca.

When the verse “And warn thy nearest relations." (The Qur'an 26:214) was revealed, the Prophet organized a feast that is known in history as "Summoning the Family - Da'wat dhu 'l-'Ashira". The Prophet invited about forty men from the Banu Hãshim and asked Ali bin Abi Tãlib to make arrangements for the dinner. After having served his guests with food and drinks, the Prophet wanted to speak to them about Islam; Abu Lahab forestalled him and said, "Your host has long since bewitched you." All the guests dispersed before the Prophet could present his message to them.

The Prophet then invited them the next day. After the feast, he spoke to them, saying:

“O Sons of 'Abdu 'l-Muttalib! By Allah, I do not know of any person among the Arabs who has come to his people with better than what I have brought to you. I have brought to you the good of this world and the next, and I have been commanded by the Lord to call you unto Him. Therefore, who amongst you will support me in this matter so that he may be my brother (akhhí), my successor (wasiyyí) and my caliph (khalifatí) among you?”

This was the first time that the Prophet openly and publicly called the relations to accept him as the Messenger and Prophet of Allah; he also used the words "akhí wa wasiyyí wa khalífatí- my brother, my successor, and my caliph" for the person who will aid him in this mission. No one answered him; they all held back except the youngest of them - Ali bin Abí Tãlib. He stood up and said, "I will be your helper, O Prophet of God."

The Prophet put his hand on the back of Ali's neck and said:

"Inna hadhã akhhí wa wasiyyí wa khalífatí fíkum, fasma'û lahu wa atí'û - Verily this is my brother, my successor, and my caliph amongst you; therefore, listen to him and obey."

This was the first explicit statement because the audience understood the appointment of Ali very clearly. Some of them, including Abu Lahab, even joked with Abu Tãlib that your nephew, Muhammad, has ordered you to listen to your son and obey him! At the least, this shows that the appointment of Ali bin Abí Tãlib was clear and explicit, not just implied.

Honorable Sheikh, you may please refer to the writing of Ibn Hajar in his book as-Sawa'iq ul-Muhriqa p. 96 -Egyptian edition. He wrote that ad-Daylami mentioned a tradition saying that the Prophet (s.a.w.a) said, “O Ali, Allah has forgiven you, your progeny, your wives and your Shia (followers). Be delighted…"

The same hadith has been mentioned by ibnul-Maghazili in his book al-Manaqib, al-Hamawini in Fara'id us-Samtayn, al-Manaawi in Kunuz ul-Haqaayiq p. 202, al-Qanduzi in Yanabi' ul Mawaddah p. 270, Abu Bakr bin Shihab in Rashfat us-Sadi p. 81, -Egyptian edition- and others. Furthermore, ad-Daylami recorded that the Prophet (s.a.w.a) said, "O Ali, you and your Shia will come to me at the Pond in Paradise quenched with shining faces, while your enemies will come to me thirsty and necks thrust forth." This very tradition has been mentioned by al-Manaawi in Kunuz ul-Haqaayiq p. 203, -Bolaq edition-, by al-Qanduzi al-Hanafi in Yanaabi' ul Mawaddah p. 182, -Egyptian edition-, and Muhammad Saalih at-Tirmidhi in al-Manaaqib ul-Murtazawiyya p.101, -Bombay Edition-.

Ad-Daylami mentioned in his book Firdous ul-Akhbar that Umm Salama (the Prophet's wife) said that the Prophet (s.a.w.a) had said:
"Ali and his Shia -followers- are the winners on the Day of Resurrection." The same was also mentioned by al-Manaawi in Kunuz ul-Haqa'iq p. 98, and al-Qanduzi in Yanabi' ul Mawaddah p. 188 and 237, -Istanbul Edition-.

My dear Sheikh you may also rejuvenate your mind with the hadith reported by Sabt bin al-Jawzi in his book Tadhkirat ul-Khawaas p. 59, narrated by Abu Sa'id al-Khudri that the Prophet (s.a.w.a) looked at Ali bin Abu Talib and said:

"This Man and his Shia are the winners on the Day of Resurrection." Al-Khatib al-Khawarizmi mentioned in al-Manaaqib p. 178 a hadith reported by Yazid bin Shurahil al-Ansari, Imam Ali's clerk, that he had heard Imam Ali (a) saying,
“The Prophet (s.a.w.a) said to me while he was leaning on my chest, O Ali, you have heard Allah's saying: Those who believe and do good; they are surely the best of men. (The Qur’an 98:7). They are you and your Shia. My rendezvous and yours will be at the Pond when the nations gather for the Judgment and you (and your Shia) will come with honor and radiant."

This tradition was also mentioned by as-Suyuti in his ad-Durr ul-Manthur vol. 6 p. 379 -Egyptian edition-. The same tradition has been reported by Muhammad Ib Jarir adDabariy who is considered Imamul Mafassarin in the Sunni world (died about 1120 years ago) while commenting on the same verse.

Al-Khatib ul-Baghdadi mentioned in his Muwazzih Awham uj-Jam' wa at-Tafriq vol. 1 p. 43; a tradition from Muhammad bin Amr bin al-Hasan, from Zaynab, from Fatima (a) the daughter of the Prophet (s.a.w.a) that the Prophet said to Ali, "O Abul-Hasan (Ali), you and your Shia will be in Paradise." Al-Haythami also mentioned in his book Majma'uz-Zawa'id vol. 10 p. 21 -Egyptian edition- that Umm Salama(r) said: "When the Prophet (s.a.w.a) was in my house one night, Fatima and Ali sat with him. He raised his head towards them and said,

"O Ali, be delighted. You and your Shia will be in Paradise."

He (Al-Haythami) also mentioned, in vol. 9 p. 173, a tradition narrated by Abu Hurayra that the Prophet (s.a.w.a) said to Ali, 'You and your Shia are with me in Paradise." The same was mentioned by al-Khatib al-Baghdadi in his book The History of Baghdad vol. 12 p. 289 –Egyptian edition-. Ibnul-Maghazili ash-Shafie has mentioned, in al-Manaqib p. 293 tradition No. 335, a hadith from Anas bin Malik that the Prophet (s) had said, "Seventy thousand from among my ummah will enter Paradise without there being any reckoning." Then he looked at Ali and said: "They are from your Shia and you are their Imam."
This hadith was mentioned by al-Khawarizmi in his al-Manaqib p. 229, ibn Hasnawayh al-Musily in Durr Bahr il-Manaqib p. 119, and al-Qanduzi in Yanabi' ul Mawaddah p. 124.

History has reported that just two months before his departure from this world, the Prophet clearly appointed 'Ali in Ghadir Khumm as the leader (religious as well as political) of the Muslims. He said, "Whomsoever's Master I am, this 'Ali is his Master." He also said, "I am leaving two precious things behind, as long as you hold on to them both you will never go astray: the Book of Allah and my progeny”.

With these few ahadith all from sunni source, my respected sheikh, I hope you will come to realize that Shia and Shiism are no new phenomena in Islam. If you are quoting Ibn Taimiya to disqualify the Shia from being Muslims, then you may compare his words with those of the prophet of Islam Muhammad (s.a.w.a) who Allah has certified that he does not utter but the truth.

Sheikh Shaltoot was one of the Sunni world's most revered scholars. He was the head of the renowned al-Azhar Theological school in Egypt; one of the main centers of Sunni scholarship in the world issued the following verdict (after extensive research of about ten years in collaboration with a team of renowned scholars) fifty years ago (on July 6, 1959) with regard to the Shia:

Head Office of al-Azhar University:

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE BENEFICENT, THE MERCIFUL Text of the Verdict (Fatwa) Issued by His Excellency Sheikh al-Akbar Mahmood Shaltoot, Head of the al-Azhar University, on Permissibility of Following "al-Shia al-Imamiyyah" School of Thought

His Excellency was asked:

Some believe that, for a Muslim to have religiously correct worship and dealing, it is necessary to follow one of the four known schools of thought, whereas, "al-Shia al-Imamiyyah" school of thought is not one of them nor "al-Shia al-Zaidiyyah." Do your Excellency agree with this opinion, and prohibit following "al-Shia al-Imamiyyah al-Ithna Ashariyyah" school of thought, for example?

His Excellency replied:

1) Islam does not require a Muslim to follow a particular Madh'hab (school of thought). Rather, we say: every Muslim has the right to follow one of the schools of thought which has been correctly narrated and its verdicts have been compiled in its books. And, everyone who is following such Madhahib [schools of thought] can transfer to another school, and there shall be no crime on him for doing so.

2) The Ja'fari school of thought, which is also known as "al-Shia al- Imamiyyah al-Ithna Ashariyyah" (i.e., The Twelver Imami Shi'ites) is a school of thought that is religiously correct to follow in worship as are other Sunni schools of thought. Muslims must know this, and ought to refrain from unjust prejudice to any particular school of thought, since the religion of Allah and His Divine Law (Shari'ah) was never restricted to a particular school of thought. Their jurists (Mujtahidoon) are accepted by Almighty Allah, and it is permissible to the "non-Mujtahid" to follow them and to accord with their teaching whether in worship (Ibadaat) or transactions (Mu'amilaat).

Signed, Mahmood Shaltoot.

Dr. Gumi with all these facts before us, I wonder how you can have the valor and mandate to dismiss the Shia from Islam and openly condemn them to hell fire. Allah (s.w.a) has said: “let not hatred of a people incite you not to act equitably; fear Allah: Verily Allah is aware of all what you do” (The Qur’an 6:8).

As I have said earlier, it is not my intention to write a lengthy letter to you Dr. Gumi. So, I will not go into details of the narrations from the prophet (s.a.w.a) on the right of Ali to his successor ship which is the main issue concerning Shiism, and has remained the dividing line between Shia and Sunni, at least for now, may be at a different time. However I hope you will take time to verify and contemplate over the above mentioned narrations from the holy prophet (s.a.w.a). I sincerely wish they will help in aligning your understanding of Islam in general and Shia and Shiism in particular. I pray to Allah the merciful, to guide us onto the straight path and He should make us among those that will see the truth and identify with it.

Yours in Islam,


Dr. Abdullahi Danladi. (adanladi08@gmail.com)

Resource Forum, Islamic Movement in Nigeria.

Another Planned Onslaught Against the Islamic Movement in Nigeria Exposed

OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE ISLAMIC MOVEMENT IN NIGERIA

HOME OCT./NOV. 2009

PRESS RELEASE

ANOTHER PLANNED ONSLAUGHT AGAINST THE ISLAMIC MOVEMENT IN NIGERIA EXPOSED

Having failed in the plan to bomb residence of Leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Sheikh Ibraheem Yaqoub Zakzaky at Gyallesu Zaria and carry out mass massacre on his followers, the Nigerian security operatives came out with yet another plan to actualize their insidious intent.

It would be recalled that sometime in October, a leaked security report revealed high security consultation which came out with a blueprint on how to phase out the Islamic Movement in Nigeria by taking advantage of the annual Quds Day being conducted by the Movement in support of the Palestinian cause for the past thirty years.

The recent plan like the past has the full backing and sponsorship of the illegal state of Israel. The intelligence report at our disposal revealed that participants at the top security meeting took stock of reasons for the failure of the last botched plan, and how to actualize the present one to its logical conclusion. The meeting identified unprofessionalism in execution by the security agents and the leakage of the secret intelligence report to the public by the Movement, whom the report describes as “Islamic Militants”, as the great obstacles to the actualization of the last planned onslaught against Sheikh Zakzaky and his group.

The report however cautioned against direct attack against the Movement in and outside the country, a move it described as herculean task and highly dangerous. The meeting however demanded the re-training of Nigerian security operatives both from within and outside the country. It emphasized as equally important, the provision of working tools to complement the training to be received by the security personnel. For regular update and consistency towards actualization of the plan, plain clothes security personnel will be screened to be part of regular meetings and consultations for high decision making.

The report itemized means by which the planned operation can be successful. Part of it is the use of all possible means to tarnish the good image of members of the Islamic Movement in the eyes of the society. Islamic scholars will be forced through unspecified means not to associate themselves with the Movement.

Accordingly, intensive propaganda will be mounted to communicate among the Muslims that members of the Movement disrespect and use abuse words on the personality of the Prophet’s disciples. Failure of this propaganda to achieve the desired impact, suppressive means will be used to instill fear in the people from identifying or associating with the Movement.

It was also agreed that special preaching sessions will be organized at which members of the Movement will be challenged to appear and defend the accusations leveled against them. If they honored the invitation, the session will be made rowdy and chaotic, and they will be blamed for whatever that happened as a result. If they did not honor the invitation, that will be used to justify the accusations against them.

As a further attempt to victimize members of the Movement, it was resolved that at least in every northern state, known scholars who preach disharmony against Shi’a will be earmarked for assassination; evidence will be planted that will suggest the Shi’ites carried out the already planned assassinations, and they will then be charged with murder.

A new plot was introduced at the security meeting that will imprint in the set minds of the people that the Movement has foreign network connection. Regular shipments will be arranged to be delivered to selected prominent businessmen from the southern part of the country; they will then be subjected to bogey interrogation by the Nigerian security. They will be made to confess posing as front for the Islamic Movement by doing business on its behalf. That will allow for justification that the Movement receives funding from outside the country.

Equally new is the grand ploy to bury variety of arms in bushes and graveyards. A prominent member in the Movement will then be arrested and taken to those places where the arms are buried and be forced to show where the arms are buried while being video taped live for public view. That will be used against the Movement to justify members are stockpiling arms for uprising.

The meeting acknowledged that Muslims from the south are embracing the call of Sheikh Zakzaky at a very alarming rate, as attested by an attendant of the secret security meeting from the region. To this end, it was agreed that under no circumstance should the Da’awah of Zakzaky be allowed to gain ground in the southern part of Nigeria.

The meeting took several other decisions to subvert and suppress the voice Islamic Movement in Nigeria under Sheikh Zakzaky, which will be made public in the appropriate time.


This press release is taken from the Official Website of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria

See on-line at: http://www.islamicmovement.org/govtplanexposed2.htm