Parliament will vote on Wednesday whether to extend detention without trial from 28 days to the proposed 42. With Home Secretary Jacqui Smith offering ‘concessional’ amendments to the original billl, the Labour Whips working around the clock and Gordon Brown making groveling personal phone calls to potential rebels, the Labour back bench rebellion seems to have been quashed – although it is still too close to call.

Of course such a unprincipled threat to our civil liberty, a proposed law which is an offence to democracy should be rejected flatly by Parliament. I hope the rebels stick to their sense of justice and principles on this. As David Davis (Shadow Home Secretary) explained on Sunday’s Politics Show, the extension to 42 days will not help save lives, it will in fact do exactly the opposite, for the simple reason that our enemies want us to behave in an ever more repressive manner. If we do, they are winning, and it will encourage them to be more bold and daring in the future. Continue reading No case for 42 days

The environmentalist and campaigner George Monbiot’s failed attempt at a citizen’s arrest of former US Ambassador to the UN – John Bolton - at the Hay festival last week has earned him condemnation. Coner Foley of the Guardian described Monbiot’s actions a ’silly stunt’, while others have lambasted the man for trivialising what is a serious issue. Monbiot has accused Bolton of being responsible for a war of aggression against Iraq, and has deemed this war illegal.

For what it’s worth I salute George! These political leaders who took us into an illegal war, which has claimed the lives of thousands of people, has brought a country to its knees and has made this world a more inhospitable and dangerous place should be taken to court! Blair, Bush and their allies should not be allowed to appear in public without the requisite jeering and the threat of citizen’s arrests looming over their heads. Continue reading Good on you George!

So the Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, believes the church is not doing enough to convert British Muslims to Christianity. The Pakistani-born bishop believes the church has shown too much sensitivity towards Muslims as part of efforts to welcome minority faiths and said : ‘what we need now is to recover our nerve.’

I’d love to see Christians try and explain the 3 =1 and 1=3 equation! I’d love to to see how they respond to the evidence that Prophet Muhammad is mentioned by name in the the original Hebrew bible and I’d love to hear . . . → Read More: If a Christian knocks at your door

In an interview for Lebanese television channel ‘Future TV’ Norman Finkelstien asked “How can you expect other people to respect Arabs, when you show no respect for yourselves”. Wow! How true! In the interview Finkelstein declared his solidarity with Hizbullah – for resisting and some would say defeating Isreal in July 2006. He said they showed courage and discipline and were defending their country against foreign occupiers and invaders intent on destroying Lebanon. In the month that we remember the Nakba – the Catasrophe – Finklestien’s words resonate so much more!

The non-Muslim world, and indeed the Muslim world (including the Arabs) should be reminded that it was the Palestinians who were forced to leave their homes, they are the refugees! It is the Palestinians who have been occupied, and imprisoned in their own homes, they are the ones who are besieged and boycotted. Lets not mix things up here, Israel is the occupier, Israel flaunts UN resolutions, kills and imprisons elected members of governments and other political figures. It is Israel which has built the illegal settlements, and the illegal wall. The Palestinians want their rights, their freedoms, their homes, their land. And many have taken the path of military resistance to achieve their aims.

And here again Finkelstein’s interview speaks volumes. Is Military resistance the only way to achieve the aim of the Lebenese people, is there no other way he was asked. “I honestly don’t see another way unless you choose to be their [Isreal and the American's] slaves,” Continue reading To Live Crawling or Die Standing?

Back in 2005 Jack Straw – the then Foreign Secretary – was asked “Have you ever read any documents where the intelligence had been procured through torturous means?” Straw replied “Not to the best of my knowledge…let me make this clear…the British government does not support torture in any circumstances. Full stop, we do not support the obtaining of intelligence by torture, or its use.”

Craig Murray, who was the British Ambassador to Uzbekistan from August 2002 to October 2004, knows otherwise. The British Government had sought to prevent the publication of his book – ‘Murder in Samarkand’ – where he makes reference to government documents which indicate that our government knowingly received information extracted through torture. Yet our government says it ‘does not support torture’ – Yeah Right!

In the Guardian this week, three British citizens have accused MI5 of colluding in their torture. After having endured torture at the hands of one of the most vicious secret services in the world (Pakistan’s ISI) Salahuddin Amin – now serving a life sentence for conspiring to cause explosions – was prepared to do what ever he was asked. For 10 months he would be asked a series of questions under torture, and would give the answers that satisfied his torturers. This is followed by interviews with MI5. Amin says he would be asked the same questions that his torturers had already asked, and he would give the same answers. Once MI5 leaves with their answers the torture would begin again with a different set of questions. Continue reading The British Government Does not Support Torture – YEAH RIGHT!

I really do love Dr Akram Nadwi, a real ‘Alim and a man who speaks the truth, with compassion and love. I was at an intensive Aqeeda course – organised by easy-talk.org – on Saturday and unlike the polemic discussions focusing on differences and excommunication which are in vogue, Dr Akram Nadwi articulated an understanding of a creedal system which is clear, simple to understand, broad and inclusive. Very different from the extreme Salafi take on Aqeeda which claims that any understanding of Aqeeda other than their own is misguided deviancy, as well as the extreme Sufi/Ashari take which brands anybody who differs a Wahabi. So instead of a discourse based on difference, separation and negativity Dr Nadwi is promoting a general call to abandon accusations of disbelief against others.

Very different also from voices that have resurfaced once again. Come to think of it, these voices can only be heard during the summer periods – I wonder if these voices go into hibernation during the cold season?. “VOTING is SHIRK” they shriek, “DEMOCRACY is Kufr” they bellow, “Vote today become a Kafir tomorrow” they puff! At any other time these immature, illogical and incorrect statements are unhelpful, but at a time when we need Muslims to turn out and vote in order to ensure that the racist BNP do not get an opportunity to run havoc in the London Assembly, they are unforgivable. Continue reading Don’t listen to the voices!