http://pakistanlink.org/Community/2010/June10/04/01.HTM

ILF OC awarded three individuals for their service to the community:

1. Dr. Meher Tabatabai

2. Tricia Takasugi of FOX TV

3. Sheriff Lee Baca

www.ileader.org

or join our page on Facebook: ILF OC

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http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126395475&sc=emaf

Julie MCCarthy has been reporting from Pakistan in NPR’s segment:

Along the Grand Trunk Road: Coming of Age in India and Pakistan

This particular story about Shazia Bibi, a twelve-year-old Christian girl who was killed mysteriously and whose master is under investigation for her death, compelled me to go down memory lane to the time that I used to be a little girl living in Karachi, Pakistan. We lived in large house with three generations: grandparents, parents, and dozens of cousins. Every year, my mother who hailed from Lahore, used to take us for our summer holidays to her ancestral home in Model Town, Lahore. My grandfather, who was a landlord, ( I refuse to call him a feudal because of the negative connotation attached to it) used to take us to his lands in interior Punjab. On one such trip, all the grandchildren were taken to meet the elder peasants of the village. A petite woman dressed in clothes that were testament to years of hard labor, with skin that was craggy and dark like the Himalayas, approached me quite suddenly. She started a long address, most of which I didn’t understand. She grabbed my hand and ordered me to go into her mud hut. I looked back at my grandfather and he was gesturing for me to go. Inside the mud hut, was a room. We entered the room, she went into the far corner of the room which only had a cot and a trunk occupying it. She rummaged through the trunk and took something out. Still continuing her address to me and squeezing my cheeks at the same time, (a loving Pakistani gesture) she walked me out of the hut. From her tightly close fist, she displayed a 100 rupee bill. She looked at me lovingly and handed it to me. Not knowing what to do, I tried to return it to her, only

to find that my grandfather commanding me to take it or it will not be polite and may hurt her feelings. When we got back to our farmhouse, my grandfather explained that she was a good Christian woman and that she said she had been saving that 100 rupees for a year to buy a chicken that can lay eggs for her. He also told me that hundred rupee was probably all that she had. That was probably the poorest woman I’d ever met and that was the best display of pride and dignity I’ve ever experienced. That was the Pakistan that my grandparents build. What ever happened to it?

When I read this story about Shazia Bibi, I thought of all the times that I am asked if I feel like a second-rate citizen in the US. My answer is always no. But I do wonder how the Christians of Pakistan now feel.

Christians are the second largest religious minority after Hindus in Pakistan. It’s true that a big majority is struggling to keep their jobs and sweepers and lowly paid janitors but many are the foundation stone of the educational structure in Pakistan. Yes, there is discrimination in their treatment with the harshly interpreted blasphemy law but they are also constitutionally  barred from becoming president or prime minister. It is estimated that there are about 2 million Christians in Pakistan. The Christian missionaries, who settled in India during the British rule, converted many who were Hindu ‘untouchables’ to Christians to give them dignity. After partition, many remained in Pakistan due to the founder of Pakistan, Jinnah’s vision and ideas of tolerance for all.

Christian missionaries ran the finest educational institutions in Pakistan. Their services to the community were recognized and appreciated. After Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s mass nationalization of schools and businesses to secure more power hurt the Christians the most. The Christians who were worst hit were the ones that went to the poorest schools and only learned Urdu. The missionaries that ran the Catholic schools for the elite were still able to teach both English and Urdu. After this major setback for the Christian community, many educated and middle-class Christians started their migration to Canada, UK, and the US.

I know that most of the elite and the intelligentsia of Pakistan owe a debt of gratitude to their Christian educators. They have all been to Catholic schools, from Bhutto to Benazir, but did nothing to honor and respect them.

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As June 8 Primaries are closing in, many concerned voters are thinking about their choices, many are still undecided. Several candidates have reached out to us to get our support in the upcoming race. I've been asked for my choices and here are some I am endorsing:

U.S. Senate: Senator Barbara Boxer

A three-term democrat, member of the Senate Environment committee, a real advocate and leader of the healthcare reform is facing a challenge in this race. Her incumbents are Chuck Devore, a Muslim hater and Tom Campbell, a Republican, has many of his own vulnerabilities as ex-CEO of Hewlett Packard. So we have no choice but to vote for Senator Boxer.

This will be a tough race as her opponents are blasting TV ads; this vulnerability was apparent when President Obama came to California to raise $3 million for the senator.

A word of advice to her staff:

Try to respond to emails, phone calls of your constituents, an art that Senator Feinstein’s staff has mastered, and make the voters feel that their vote counts and their tax dollars are at work!

I’ll still vote for her!

www.barbaraboxer.com

Beth Krom for Congress- 48^th Congressional District

Beth Krom, a democrat, has been a personal friend and mayor of the city of Irvine. She is an astute politician, a strong advocate for equal rights, and a big supporter of the Muslim community. She understands the sensitivities and needs of the Muslim American community like the back of her hand.

She has built bridges of understanding between the multicultural communities and has done a lot of help in the integration of the Muslims in the community. A genuine friend of the Muslim community, Beth Krom needs to be our spokeswoman in Congress. 

http://www.bethkrom.com/

Orange County Sheriff, Sandra Hutchens

Sandra has been a true friend of the Muslim community. She understands the dynamics of the diverse Muslim population of Orange County and works for our well-being and safety. She understands the discrimination and backlash the Muslims are feeling by the acts of a few misguided individuals.  I fully endorse her as our choice for sheriff.

http://www.sheriffhutchens.com/splash/

Governor: Jerry Brown

A democrat- seems experienced and what I do like about him is that he is fiscally conservative. We need to get California back to being the fifth-largest and richest economy. He works with politicians from both sides of the divide and seems highly committed to fixing the economy of California. Proposes no new taxes and believes in simplistic lifestyle. Perhaps that’s what we need to eliminate huge deficits eating up our economy.

www.jerrybrown.org

Do Not Vote For List:

1. Chuck Devore - with a very conservative agenda, a tea party favorite, and not a friend of the Muslim American community

2. Tom Campbell- responsible for bringing California to its present economic collapse

3. John Campbell- engineered the Wall Street bailout from which we are still suffering, doesn't think it's important to return calls from his constituents or listen to them, and doesn’t attend multicultural events when invited

4. Meg Whitman- never voted now wants us to vote for her, stands firm on illegal immigrants and amnesty, who knows she might follow Arizona's footsteps NO WAY!

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Here is a link to an article, The Ghosts of Gandamak, by William Dalrymple. Dalrymple is an author and considered authority on South Asia. He resides in Delhi and frequently travels around Asia. His latest book, is Nine Lives: In Search of Sacred in Modern India.

He suggests we look at parallels between the humiliating First Anglo-Afghan War and the US invasion of Afghanistan. He suggests that we find a political solution to the War and talk to Taliban while we have the might to do so.

What do you think?

Dalrymple in L.A.

He will be in L.A. on June 22nd. Visit my blog again for details

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/opinion/09dalrymple.html

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Now that we have more information on Faisal Shahzad and his connections with the Pakistani Taliban, his visit to Waziristan, our focus needs to change. We need to ensure that the terrorist training camps in Pakistan are closed down and all the foreign nationals, so-called jihadis are sent back to where they came from.  If these actions are not taken, the results and the outcome will be devastating for us all; as one of these lunatics can take hundreds of innocent lives.

Here is what needs to happen in Pakistan:

1. The Pakistani government needs to stop joking around and get serious in dealing with this issue of harboring terrorist and training camps. There are 3 avenues from where these terrorists have entered the country:
   1. Foreign fighters who came at the time of the Afghani Russia War,
   2. terrorists who were funded and trained by the Pakistani government to fight in Indian Kashmir, who have now refocused on fighting the evil west
   3. The madrasahs and the religious parties which are creating a strong following- where killing infidels and moderate Pakistani Muslims (which constitutes most of Pakistan) is promoted and justified

What is important to understand is that the Pakistani people as well as the rest of the world is equally at risk and that is evident by the dozens of suicide bombings and loss of hundreds of innocent lives in Pakistan and in the recent  Mumbai incident. While hundreds of innocent lives are being lost in Pak and the US is put at risk by Pakistani-trained terrorist like Shahzad, the existing government of Pak led by Zardari is busy in using US dollars in further enriching themselves.

Thus the most important action has to come from the government of Pakistan.  So far, it’s just been providing lip service, even though the Pakistan military has eliminated some terrorist, much more has to be done. Unless and until the US puts extreme pressure on Pakistan government to clamp down on madrassahs where books teach B for bullet, K for Kalashnikovs, J for Jihad, this will remain the biggest security hazard for the US.

The first action that the Pakistani government must take is to close its borders with Afghanistan completely. Next, they must clean up Pakistani and foreign Taliban from within its borders. That’s easier said than done, as apparently the Pakistani government seems to be doing nothing substantial.

What is at risk are the futures of the majority of the peace loving people of Pakistan and the millions of peace loving Pakistanis across the world. The western based Pakistanis need to unite in addressing any exposures within their communities, They need to work closely with the local police and other agencies of the government which is what most communities are focusing on right now. However, core focus needs to be on mosques in the US to ensure that the community points out hate-inciting clergy and ships them out.

Though, the work within the US and other countries between the Pakistani community and the security agencies has gained momentum and has had fruitful results, unless the US government, the Pakistani ex-pats abroad who send millions in remittance, puts extreme pressure on the government of Pakistan, the situation will only get worse.

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I vehemently condemn the attempted bombing of Times Square by a truly misguided Pakistani American.

My fellow, non-Pakistani Americans, before you judge all of us, please remember that there is a silent majority of Muslims who wholeheartedly, emphatically condemn such terrorist activities. You may ask why you don't hear about them? It’s because they remain mute, too afraid to speak or not passionate enough to get out there in public and condemn such acts of terror for fear of reprisals. They wait for others to speak for them and because of that reason they are “silent”. But today, they are afraid of repurcussions and trying to deal with shock as much as anyone else. We are all in aqgreement- these acts of terror are NOT ALLOWED in Islam but are we, Muslims, doing enough to stop them? No.

Let me tell you how this affected my freidns and family. The moment the Pakistani suspect was arrested, there was a deluge of emails from my family and friends all over the globe, condemning the actions of this misguided individual. Some family members were openly urging the US to try him in military court and condemn him to death; some were blaming the Pakistani governments, past and present, for not taking stern action against the radicals. One friend solely blamed the intelligence agencies of Pakistan, ISI, for not sharing intelligence and harboring such terrorists. Another person’s advice was for the US government to send more drones and finish the “devils” once and for all. Thus, no expletives were spared in condemning the radicals, the misguided so-called Muslims.

The fact is that military might alone will not be able to solve this problem of radicalization and Talibanization. Young Muslims are being brainwashed into following Wahabiism- the Saudi Islam. This intolerant and radical version of Islam has to be fought ideologically. The Muslims, the majority of who don’t subscribe to this version must unite in their efforts to root it out of their neighborhoods, their schools (madarsahs) and their lives. It is in the best interest of the entire Muslim Ummah to unite in this cause otherwise this will eat us all like a cancer. This also means that the government of Pakistan has to deal heavy-handedly with hatred inciting clerics. For this, moderate, silent majority, of Pakistanis must come out of their drawing rooms and support the government and military in their efforts to root out the radicals. Even though, the US government is channeling billions of dollars of aid, anti-Americanism is at its peak in Pakistan. Some people attribute that rise to the shortage of basic necessities for the common people, power, jobs, food shortages, and Zardari government’s inability to solve these crises have compounded the problem of anti-Americanism. The only two institutions that are capable of rooting out terrorism are the civil society and the military of Pakistan. However, they need the support of millions of Pakistanis that are US and UK educated, work for the multinationals or run successful businesses. They are the ones that can bring the ideological change required to pull Pakistan out of its quagmire.

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America – a nation that won WWII; a nation that put man on the moon; a nation that brought about an Internet revolution making the world a community, a nation that is the beacon of human rights and freedom, returned to its glory when it passed the health care bill.

For years now, Americans have been obsessed with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hurricane Katrina, and trying to reform immigration. But more recently the negativity about the health care bill pervaded America. The bill to some had become burdensome and complex, sometimes being smeared as “baby killer”. So why was it so hard so hard for us to do what is right for the American people? Our nation- America, is a 234-year-old democracy, not just a country but an institution. Americans uphold the rights of the peoples of the world. Americans are the torchbearers of democracy and dignity for all peoples. But sadly in a fit to divide and polarize the nation to repeal health care initiative, we almost forgot our way.

The House passed the bill amidst threats. When we spread the ideals of democracy to the underdeveloped work we understand that it is slow to change; are know that it’s always a struggle to introduce change and introduce new ideas. But what we must focus on as a leader of the free world is: how to perfect and test new, innovative ideas and then put them into action.

Representative democracy hasn’t withered – it needed impetus. President Obama’s address in Iowa after the healthcare bill was passed was full of the energy needed to develop new ideas and bring lasting changed. Now we can proudly say, “We can still do big things in America.” Obama

Yes, we can. We can bring peace to the Middle East, we can bring prosperity and lasting friendship to the Sub-continent of Asia, and yes, we can take good care of our own as well!

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CNN Poll: 49% Say it was a good thing Congress passed the Bill.

Do you know anyone who was denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions? I do.

Do you know a young adult who couldn’t find a job and so couldn’t stay on parents health insurance? I do.

Do you know a small business owner who couldn’t provide coverage to his employees because of high costs? I do. 

With the passage of the bill, he can. These small businesses will get tax credits to four million small businesses to help them cover the cost of coverage.)

Do you any child who had a pre-existing condition and was denied coverage? I know several. After this reform, they will have coverage; their parenst will sleep better.

Do you know anyone whose coverage was dropped because they got sick? I do. Now insurance companies will not be able to drop their coverage just because they fall SICK.

Do you know a senior who couldn’t afford the cost of prescription drugs? I do. Now they will get help to fill their donut hole. They will live longer and happier lives.

Those who deny the significance of this bill are only thinking of themselves.

We thought of the 36 million uninsured Americans that needed our help and passed this bill into law. Thirteen states suing to stop the bill- really don't care about these hard-working, honest, Americans.

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Taliban- the Ruthless Miscreants on Our Earth

On Friday, March 12th, a holy day for Muslims, when most Muslim men go to mosques to pray, Taliban struck again. This time killing over 45 innocent human beings. The fact that Taliban chose to butcher Muslims on a holy day is evidence of their deviance from Islam. They are coconspirators of Satan and must be defeated not just physically but ideologically. Theirs isn’t an Islamic ideology; rather, Islam is used as an excuse. Verses from the Quran are excerpted and used out of context to validate their actions.

Hundreds of innocent Pakistanis answering the call of the muezzin for prayer on Fridays have been targeted by Taliban and butchered ruthlessly for the past two years. Let’s analyze the pattern:

Friday Killings of Pakistanis:

November 7^th, 2008  Bajour Agency.                                 22 people died.

February 20^th, 2009 – Dera Ghazi Khan -                          32 people died

March 27^th, 2009 –Khyber Agency-                                  85 people died

June 12^th, 2009- Lahore,Jamaa Masjid –                              8 people died

September 18^th, 2009- Kohat                                              22 people died

October 9^th, 2009- Peshawar                                               49 people died

October 16^th, 2009- Peshawar-                                           13 people died

October 23^rd, 2009  Kamra                                                    7 people died

November 13, 2009  Peshawar                                            10 people died

November 13^th, 2009  Bannu                                                 7 people died

December 4^th. 2009 Rawalpindi                                           37 people died

December 18^th, 2009 Lower Dir                                            12 people died

January 1^st, 2010  Shah Khail                                                  92 people died

January 8^th, 2010   Khyber Agency                                         10 people died

February 5^th, 2010 Karachi                                                      33 people died

March 5^th, 2010 Hingo

What is quite evident from these targeted killings is that these Taliban follow a different religion; it isn’t Islam. Islam forbids bloodshed and warns miscreants; such people are not Muslims.

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Ask a "normal" Muslim about Jihad and he will tell you that "jihad" is a struggle-  a daily struggle to do good deeds on a daily basis, to speak the truth on a daily basis, to do what is right on a daily basis. But, isn't that what all religions teach you? So why has jihad taken on such a violent meaning?

I remember my mother and my grandmother, both very learned and accomplished Muslim women, telling me about jihad:

"Jihad is always using your tongue to say good things, using your hands to do good deeds, like helping the elderly or the young, and avoiding temptations to cross any moral limits." So whatever happened to the truths about Islam that moderate Muslims grew up learning? Are they a thing of the past or have we, moderates, lost our tongues?  The latter, I assume. It pains me to see that Islam has been taken over by crazy people like the MuslimRevolution.com and Jihad Jane. It pains me to see that the moderate voices of Islam are not heard, not given importance, ignored. It pains me to the point where as a Muslim, I feel like I have been muffled; like I don't belong to Islam, like I am a new breed- an unwanted alien whose views don't matter anymore. Each time the media decides to pick a Muslim woman for her perspective, they have to follow the same stereotypical Muslim woman profile, hijaabi, conservative, usually an Arab, and very unlike most of the moderate Muslim women in the world.

To make matters worse, we have hate mongers like the MuslimRevolution.com getting the privilege of being AC Cooper's Top Story. If we are to show such Satanic people who call themselves Muslims and misquote the Quran, then the least, we can do is have another Muslim condemn it or it'll be assumed by mainstream America that all Muslims subscribe to that point-of-view and condone their actions. That is far from the truth. Most of the Muslims I know that live and enjoy their life in Southern California hate extremism in any shape or form. Thery grew up with the same values that a good Christian or Jew grew up. It's just that no one wants to ask us, the moderates, how we feel about such issues because we don't have long beards, don't readily misquote Quranic verses, don't wear hijaabs, and don't make a lot of noise.The fact is that we feel our religion has been distorted, hijacked, and consumed  by Muslim fundamentalist whackos. So moderates, it's  time to speak the truth- condemn hate speech, condemn suicide bombings, condemn extremsim, condemn Taliban, and condemn the violation of human rights.

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America’s generous gestures and influence toward Pakistan aren’t being seen as positive endeavors for change by the Pakistanis. This raises questions about our role in Pakistan. Why are we expanding our military presence there? 

Consider for a moment that what happened in Iran were to happen in Pakistan. The increasing American presence in Pakistan, the drone attacks, and visible presence of American military  is setting the stage for an Islamic Revolution. Apparently, we haven't learned our lessons well. The West wanted to control the oil in Iran and so it backed the Shah’s government. Much the same way as it is backing the corrupt government of Zardari. In 1979, Shah’s government was overthrown due to the anti-American sentiment that had spread like a cancer through Iran. The same is happening in Pakistan. America’s overbearing involvement in Pakistan is causing a wave of anti-American sentiment and it is growing like a cancer.

The recent suicide bombing and killing of so many innocent Muslims in Karachi is proof of the government’s inability to provide security for its citizens. Radicalization can’t be rooted just by killing and isolating all the Taliban from the North. The populace is bound to revolt after years of oppression, social injustices and massive corruption by the politicians and feudals. The rising inflation and shortage of basic necessities is not helping the situation. The political and religious leaders need to stand on one forum and condemn the killers who have sanctioned violence and suicide attacks to malign Islam. But who is to talk to these misguided suicide bombers to explain to them that Islam is against the killing of innocent human beings and that only evil-looking, malicious, satanic hooris await them in Hell.

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One year on, as the crowd in Grant Park cheered itself speechless as Obama giving his victory speech,

“Change has come to America.”

American had made history by electing its first African-American president. People around the world were imagining a changed America, a change world that he promised, a changed role of America as a true world leader. Americans looked on and believed things would be different with a new, visionary world leader, Barack Hussein Obama.

Their hopes of the two wars ending and Guantanamo Bay closing were unexpectedly high. They also hoped that Iran would shake hands with Obama by signing the uranium enrichment deal, Israel and Palestine would sit together and feast on olives and hummus, as opposed to just extending an olive branch, that the economy would be fixed back to its Clinton era glory, Wall Street would be duly punished and their powers curtailed, the basic need of every human being, healthcare for all, would be made available for all Americans and climate change agenda would become a world priority.

A year on, these expectations appear to be a fantasy, a distant forgotten dream. US is deeply embedded in Afghanistan with a renewed troops surge from the US and NATO allies, Guantanamo remains open and Congress has ruled that none of its detainees can enter the US, Iran continues to threaten the world with uranium enrichment and violate human rights, the dream of Middle East peace is a far-fetched, there is trouble on the home front with the economy limping away, employment around 10%, healthcare for all Americans becoming sabotaged by lobbyists, and the environmental agenda is still uncertain!

As far as the American people’s view goes, 48% of the people like the way the President is handling things (CNN Poll). That still leaves a little hope for us. And so on a positive note, if it weren’t for the speedily passed stimulus of $787 billion 640,000 or so jobs would have been lost or not created. Another positive achievement is the inclusion of the incredible accomplished Sonia Sotomayor, a Hispanic woman who now sits comfortably on the Supreme Court. To the defense of the President, even though US presidency seems like the most powerful position in the United States, the real power lies with the Congress. President Obama’s sincerity for healthcare was visible in his words and in his eyes but it’s in the handful of US senators whose votes decide if the millions of deserving Americans can get healthcare which will bring the US at par with the rest of the developed world.

President Obama’s plans for change still resonate his old sincerity but what has become obvious to Americans is that only a little of the big change can happen. Thus, the reason why Teddy Roosevelt to Obama have been unsuccessful so far. In conclusion, “Yes, he still can!” the question remain “when will he?”

As far reaching out to the other side, he has tried to woo Republicans, in some opinions he bent backwards for them. For example, the stimulus package had many tax cuts, the troop surge pleased them, but the bi-partisan support President Obama is looking for remains allusive. They have not hesitated fro posing as a US born native m distracting people from his agenda for change. He has been labeled a socialist, a Nazi, a Muslim (insinuating that being a Muslim is tantamount to being a terrorist). They do have the big, corporate money on their side, cable TV, and several talk radios- powerful media that is unhampered by any duty to objectivity in journalism and ardent supporters in Congress. For these reasons, they have made it impossible for President Obama to get by partisan support that he so desires.

President Obama may be disappointing Americans whose hopes he had raised but change is still possible. Healthcare for all Americans is still possible, at least the Afghan war has a timeline for withdrawal, and perhaps he can still convince Iran to sign a uranium enrichment deal. During the New Year 2010 holidays, President Obama will contemplate his successes and failures and will reflect upon these. We know for a fact that he deliberates and listens to all sides before making a decision. In stark contrast to Bush’s temerity; the President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama, is thoughtful of the decisions he makes. President Obama, the deadline for change to be achieved fully is 2012.

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Bush’s War is now completely Obama’s War!

NATO may send five thousand more troops as NATO’s Secretary General , Rasmussen declared after President Obama’s announced his troop surge.  President Sarkozy of France had said no to sending French troops earlier on but pressure from the US government may have forced him to send a token force of 1500 troops to Afghanistan.

President Obama’s strategy involves faster training of Afghan troops and plans to start withdrawal of troops in 2011 provided the security conditions allow it. Since 2001, during the several years of the Afghan War, the US has not been able to make much progress in stabilizing Afghanistan. In fact, in the process, it has destabilized neighboring Pakistan.  The US was able to send Taliban across the border, because of the extensive network of sympathisers of the Taliban across the mountain ranges, Afghan Taliban occupied the northern parts of Pakistan. US and Afghan failures were blamed on the inability of the Pakistanis to root out terrorism from the North. Pakistan was pressured into action, displacing more than a million people and more recently thousands have been displaced as military action continues in North Waziristan. Anti-Americanism is at its peak. The presence of US civilians, military and ex-military personnel has further heightened the fears of most Pakistanis that the US is here to stay. Pakistanis believe they are fighting a proxy war, one that is now not thiers but America's.

The Afghans in Helmund and Kandahar are equally alarmed by the troop surge. The people on the streets are disillusioned; they  are apprehensive of what the extra troop presence will do, most are expecting a very bloody spring and summer with more casualties and displacements.   Most Afghans think that more troops will not solve anything rather it will exacerbate the situation and lead to more resentment.

Closer to home, in the US, the Afghan War has become extremely unpopular.  Many of Obama’s hard core supporters believe that the impetus is not to rid Afghanistan of terrrorism but that the US has concerns and interests elsewhere. The focus with the troops will be to have more Afghans take the frontlines and fight but that is exactly what will exacerbate the situation. How long can we make the Afghans kills the Afghans? As young Afghans are orphaned, they will grow up to believe that it was the US that invaded their country and made them fight agianst their brothers. They will be soft targets for suicide bombers and Taliban will be only too happy to recruit themand entice them in the name of revenge. Islam is only an excuse. This war is not about Islam.

Moreover, the Afghans know how to fight. They have made two major world powers retreat and are still fighting the greatest power, USA. It’s their territory and they know their terrain.  The US will probably equip and resource the hundred thousand or so ground troops in Afghanistan, who are ill-equipped. Although, one must not forget that today's Afghan soldiers were yesterday's Taliban. It'll only take a drone attack on innocent Afghan civilians to turn an Afghan soldier into a Taliban fighter. The Afghans are tribal warriors; to them honor is when you can guard your land and safekeep your women. What the US and the rest of the world is fighting against is not Islam, it's an ancient tribal way of thinking. The reason why the Saudis, OBL in particular, was able to assimilate in the tribal culture is because the Afghan tribes are very much like the Saudi bedoiun tribes. They keep their women covered and their minds closed. This is an idealogical war and can only be fought through change, a change not in the number of troops but a change in strategy. Decreasing military presence in Afghanistan and Pakistan and investing heavily in building educational institutions, training the locals and empowering them, not through the intimidating influx of ex-military personnel who have no regard for cultural demands of the countries they serve in.

Even though the general consensus among the NATO allies  is that a troop surge is needed, Obama’s decision lay primarily on the notion that if allowed to fester, the Taliban can destabilize Pakistan. Certain groups in the region who may have had grand ambitions but have been denied money and technology, if allowed to fester can destabilze Pakistan. Also, the US fears that the safety of the nuclear arsenal that Pkaistan possesses. Thus, Obama’s rationale in supporting the weak and corrupt government of President Zardari.

As much as America likes to impose democracy on the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan, it must be understood that democracy is not the "fix all" or "one-stop shop" panacea for all that ails these two South Asian countries. One must work within the cultural context of the countries. The Afghan elections were tainted and the Pakistani elections were a farce. However, a centralized government, with laws and civil liberties attached, and issues of patronage will be more valuable to pursue than those of democracy for Afghanistan. As for Pakistan, a sustained commitment to develop educational institutes and build infrastructure, alleviate poverty through skills training will give the Pakistan something to be hopeful about. Their ungratefulness over the  Kerry-Lugar Bill has been because of the various conditions that are imposed on the Pakistani people. Most people in Pakistan are of the view that the funds never get into the hands of the deserving, and only the wealthy and the politicians with connections benefit from contracts and partnerships. Pakistanis are cynical of US presence and anti-Americanism is at its peak. Obama supporters live on in hope; change seems a long way away....

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Two million Muslims are performing the rights of Haj today as we are enjoying a warm Thanksgiving day in Southern California.For those that don't know, Hajj is one of the pillars of Islam. It is the pillar that appeals most to non-Muslims. Imagine two million people, from kings to paupers, all standing humbly in the same cotton cloth in front of the House of God that Abraham built, it's quite awe-inpiring! The Saudis governement tries to improve on its performance with the pilgrims each year. This year, it flaunted its military power to deter the Iranians from using Hajj as a platform for their political beliefs. It is the fear of shiaism that has made the Saudis mistreat its own shias. Therefore, what we must remember is that we not the judge of who is right and who is wrong. It is our duty as Muslims to give equal rights to everybody, not just the ones that adhere to Wahabism.

For example, take women's rights; women are not given thier rights fully anywhere I know, Muslim countries having the worst record. Recently, I spoke to someone in Saudi Arabia about women's rights. "Women have the most rights in Saudi, they are more educated than Saudi men," he declared. Yes, but after receiving an education at a billion dollar university built just for women, they still go back home to oppressors and abusers. Even if they study to become physicains, they must cover their faces in public, so how is that enlightening them? Then there is India,a Hindu majority country, with its years of strong democratic traditions, where until today 22 women are murdered for insufficient dowry, according to UN statistics. Why dont' the leaders stop right there- and think that there must be something fundamentally wrong in their systems of governance that this atrocity is allowed to happen. How can you flaunt your economic progress when your women are not protected and murdered for  dowry shortages on a daily basis?

As a Muslim American woman, I feel sorry for them but I do remember that my mother used to tell me that women themselves must rise against oppression and until we can do that we aren't going to get our rights. A good example to follow is the story of Mukhtaran Mai, gang raped but now through international help, has set up a home for battered women in Pakistan.

In the end, I pray for all my abused sisters around the world. May God give them the courage needed to rise up against oppression and abuse. Ameen.

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