This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/293

Yusuf Islam & The Muslim Council of Britain's terrorism ties - Muslim Aid 'charity' funds Al Qaeda & sent Mujahideen to Bosnia

September 24, 2004

After Before MIM: Yusuf Islam aka Cat Stevens is feigning ignorance as to why he was banned from the United States, and is threatening to sue the United States government for deporting him. UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has entered the fray on Islam's behalf and told the U.S. decision to U.S.Secretary of State Colin Powell that " This action should not have been taken".

Islam called the ban 'ridiculous; stating ;"half of me wants to smile and half of me wants to growl", and lamented that:

"The amazing thing is that I was not given, and have still not been given, any explanation whatsoever as to what it is I am accused of, or why I am now deemed an apparent security threat ..."
"... he began a legal action against the US government over its refusal to allow him into the country.
"We have now initiated a legal process to try to find out exactly what is going on, and to take all necessary steps to undo the very serious, and wholly unfounded, injustice which I have suffered," ... http://www.turks.us/article.php?story=20040925095456842

"....US Secretary of State Colin Powell defended as "legal" the US authorities' decision to deny Islam's a visa.

"It is the procedure that we have been using to know who is coming into our country, know their backgrounds and interests and see whether we believe it is appropriate for them to come in," he said.

MIM:(It is worth noting that UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw,is a frequent guest and supporter of the Muslim Council of Britain ,whose dhimmitude has helped them to falsely pass themselves off as moderates.

The domain registrant for Islam's Muslim AId 'charity' is Iqbal Asaria, a documented Al Qaeda operative who is the chairman of the Muslim Council of Britain's finance and economics committee.(see domain registration scroll towards the bottom of the page)

See: Iqbal Asaria Al Qaeda : webmaster of Jihad and Ummah.org heads Muslim Council of Britain's finance committee http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/248

Yusuf Islam was the MCB treasurer in 1998 at the same time he was fundraising for Bosnian Muslims. The MCB is one of the largest Muslim groups in the UK and protested to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office over what they termed Islam's "detention" in the U.S). http://www.mcb.org.uk/presstext.php?ann_id=111

Islam claims he left Muslim Aid in 1999 "after it fell into the hands of extremists". Which begs the obvious question:

Why did Yusuf Islam not shut down Muslim Aid instead of leaving it in the hands of extremists? This being the case one must conclude that the "extremists" are none other then Iqbal Sacranie and other members of the Muslim Council of Britain who continue to run Muslim Aid . Yusuf Islam left Muslim AId to form Small Kindness the 'charity' for Bosnian Muslims which appears to be an extension of Muslim Aid under a different name .

Iqbal Sacranie, the Secretary General of The Muslim Council of Britain is listed as a trustee of Muslim Aid . Hanni Al Banna the head of Islamic Relief is also a trustee of Muslim Aid which indicates that both organisations are working together . http://web.archive.org/web/20010124133800/www.muslimaid.org/info-hist.html

A 2001 press release names Iqbal Sacranie as the chairman of Muslim Aid .(see press release below)

-------------------------------------

MIM:In 2002 Muslim Aid was linked by Spanish police to Al Qaeda activities . They accused the group of using their funds for recruiting Mujahideen (Al Qaeda) fighters for Bosnia In 2002.

" MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- 12/8/02

"Spanish police have accused 10 Islamic charities -- some of them based in Saudi Arabia -- of providing funding and other support for al Qaeda terrorist activities, Spain's largest newspaper reported on Sunday...

...The 10 charities, according to the Spanish police report, are: (MIM: Muslim Aid is 3rd on the list)

"• Muslim Aid, created in London by singer Cat Stevens (now known as Yusuf Islam), which used funds to send mujahadeen fighters to Bosnia. "

.http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/12/08/spain.alqaeda/

------------------

MIM: For more on Muslim Aid , Yusuf Islam and Al Qaeda :

From a May 2004 UNISCI (University of Madrid's Research Unit on Security and International Cooperation) discussion paper, "Spain: An Al Qaeda Hub?", by Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, Head, International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies in Singapore, and author of INSIDE AL QAEDA: GLOBAL NETWORK OF TERROR :

"...Although only a few charities were infiltrated by the Islamist groups including by Al Qaeda, the Spanish police identified 10 charities that included organisations engaged in bonafide relief and rehabilitation activity. They were the International Islamic Relief Organisation; Al Haramain Islamic Foundation; Ittehad-e-Islami, based in Afghanistan, the most subsidized charity by the Saudi government; Muslim Aid created in London by Cat Stevens alias Yusuf Islam and was involved in Bosnia; Afghan Support Committee that assisted Arabs expelled from Pakistan after a suicide attack on the Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad in 1995; Al Kifah Refugee Center led by Afghan veteran Kamer Eddine Kherbane; Hizb-e-Islami led by Gubbudin Hekmatiyar in Afghanistan; Human Concern International, US based active in Pakistan in support of the Afghan mujahidn; Global Relief Foundation (Foundation Secours Mondial) led by Nabil Sayadi of Belgium; and Maktab-ul-khedamat (Afghan Support Committee), a known Al Qaeda front..."

The entire document can be viewed at: at: http://www.ucm.es/info/unisci/Rohan2.pdf

HTML:

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:kMlPH-qvUkoJ:www.ucm.es/info/unisci/Rohan2.pdf+muslim+aid+al+qaeda+spain+&hl=en

-----------------------

http://www.muslimaid.org/subpages.php?section=aboutus&sub=trustees&down=y (For more on Muslim Aid and pictures click on the link or scroll down)

MIM: For more on Iqbal Sacranie and the Muslim Council of Britain see :http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/38

http://www.mcb.org.uk/news021298.html 1998 MCB press release showing Yusuf Islam as treasurer.

------------------------

MIM: Besides Iqbal Sacranie, most of the trustees of Muslim Aid are also on the board of the Muslim Council of Britain.

The director of Islamic Relief ,Hani Al Banna, is also on the board of Muslim Aid and held a fundraiser at the MCB.

(For a list of the Muslim Relief Board trustees and the Muslim Council of Britain board members scroll down the page)

http://www.mcb.org.uk/e42.html

MIM: In 1997 Islam visited Sarajevo where he recorded an album in support of Bosnian Muslims.

"Yusuf Islam told reporters that he was a "sympathizer" of the main Muslim party in Bosnia, the nationalist Party of Democratic Action (SDA), which helped organize the visit.

http://catstevens.com/articles/00004/index.html

-------------------------------------------------------------------

MIM: A look at Islam's activities shows that 'The Peace Train Man' should face a jail sentence if a thorough investigation is launched into his militant Islamist fundraising and recruitment activities on behalf of Bosnia Muslims and Al Qaeda.

One of the many reasons why Yusuf Islam, aka Cat Stevens, the poster boy of Islamic celebrity conversions, was banned from the United States may be due to his association with Abdul Malik Muhajid , a friend of Islam's for 16 years. Abdul Malik Muhajid is the director of Sound Vision, an Islamist business front which is used to generate capital and propagate Islam in North America , and is tied to Hamas,Islamic Associaton of Palestine and the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview, Illinois.

Abdul Malik Muhajid was also the national coordinator of the Bosnia (Kosovo) Task Force which was tied to the Benevolence International Foundation, a fund raising front for Al Qaeda.

Yusuf Islam has made Bosnia his pet cause since the 1990's.In 2002 the a leading newspaper in Spain published a list of groups which the police had cited as "providing funding a support for Al Qaeda activities" included was Islam's 'Muslim Aid":

"..Muslim Aid, created in London by singer Cat Stevens (now known as Yusuf Islam), which used funds to send mujahadeen fighters to Bosnia..".http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/12/08/spain.alqaeda/

Islam is also good friends with Bosnian president Alija Izetbegovic who is linked to Al Qaeda and the Muhajideen. Islam met Izetbegovic in London in 1995 and dedicated an album to the Bosnian Foreign Minister, Dr. Irfan Lubjiankic .

"In Bosnia-Herzegovina, where the civil war lasted just over three years, the ties between the Islamic fundamentalist regime of Bosnian Muslim leader Alija Izetbegovic and known terrorists were exposed quickly. At the beginning of the war, Izetbegovic re-connected with his old friend and a member of ruling clique (National Islamic Front) in Sudan, Dr. Elfatih Hassanein-omal-Fatih. "

The Bosnian Muslims, through Fatih's Third World Relief Agency (TWRA), began smuggling arms for their cause in 1992. American sources suspect that Sheik Omah Abdel Rahman, the radical imam who was convicted of organizing the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre in New York in 1993 had several links to TWRA

Several Bosnian Muslims have direct ties with TWRA, including: Irfan Ljevakovic, a founder of the Stranka Demokratske Akcije (SDA–Alija Izetbegovic's ruling Bosnian Muslim party), the Bosnian Muslim political wing and the man responsible for bringing mujahadeens to Bosnia-Herzegovina; Alija Izetbegovic, SDA and Bosnian Muslim president who guaranteed Fatih's credentials to the Die Erste Osterreich Bank (Austria), enabling him to open an account there."

The Bosnian Muslims used the bank account to solicit and transit funds for arms purchases. Other Bosnian Muslims listed as Executive Directors of TWRA include: Hasan Cengic, Husein Zivalj (deputy foreign minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina), and Faris Nanic (an advisor of Alija Izetbegovic).

Such ties between "humanitarian organizations" and terrorists are nothing new when in comes to the Balkans. .."

http://www.balkanpeace.org/our/our02.shtml

MIM:Yusuf Islam uses his Dubai based Astrolabe company to distribute Islamic products and propagation materials . The Astrolabe "company hopes our products reach America at-large and inform an enlightened religious and cultural dialogue." http://www.astrolabe.com/about.php

Yusaf Islam's deceptively named 'International Institute for Education Resources and Research'. which omits the word Islam is an international enterprise which publishes textbooks and educational materials for use in Islamic schools. (see details of IBERR meeting in 2001 at US school below where Islam proposes tranmitting Islamic videos by satellite and note the discussion for the possible publication of texbooks in Jeddah ,Saudi Arabia) http://www.iberr.co.za/san2001b.htm

MIM: The IBERR 'mission statement' from a conference in 1999 openly calls for preparing young Muslims to implement the othe "khalifate", a global Muslim state:

Islamic Education Movement

"...The International Board of Educational Research and Resources is the brainchild of a group of Muslims stimulated into action by Brother Yusuf Islam..."

"...It could be said that the Islamic education movement started as a reaction to the ‘secularisation' of education in Muslim countries and the consequent marginalisation of the traditional Islamic sciences based on the Qur'an and Sunnah. Starting with the landmark World Islamic Education Conference held in Makkah in 1977, efforts were made to define and develop an Islamic education model based on the basic tenets of ‘Aqidat al Tawheed' which prepares young Muslims to undertake the mission of ‘khilafat' ..."

http://www.iberr.co.za/iberr1.htm

----------------------------

http://artsweb.bham.ac.uk/bmms/1996/02February96.html#Islamia%20School%20funding%20crisis

MIM: In 1996 at the same time that Islam started Muslim Aid and had been treasurer of the Muslim Council of Britain his school funding from Saudi Arabia was cut for because of his "moral support for those opposed to the government of Saudi Arabia.This is further proof of his support for groups such as Al Qaeda and would fit in with his funding of Muhajideen in Bosnia.

Islamia School funding crisis

The Islamia school in Brent, north London, is facing a severe financial crisis due to an 85% cut in the donation usually received from Saudi Arabia and handed over in Ramadan (see BMMS for December 1995). Yusuf Islam, the school's founder and chair of the board of governors, believes that the cut, from £150,000 to £25,000, may be due to his moral support of those opposed to the Saudi government. He said: "We try to be unbiased but if I was locked up I hope someone would ask about me. It is only wishing for your brother what you wish for yourself" (Guardian Weekly 22.02.96). However, Mr Islam laid the responsibility for lack of funds on the educational policies of the government. He said: "...we have to go, begging bowl in hand, to affluent Muslim countries asking for help, even though the law of the land is on our side for state funding". Over 7000 Christian and 24 Jewish schools receive state funding, whereas none of the 45 Muslim schools does (Muslim News 16.02.96). [BMMS February 1996 Vol. IV, No. 2, p. 11]

---------------------------------------

MIM: Sound Vision, an affiliate of the the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview Illinois. The Mosque Foundation has been under law enforcement scrutiny for more then a decade for ties to terrorism and several of their congregants have been arrested . The most recent arrest of a Mosque Foundation member was Mohammed Saleh, who was charged with involvement in funding and recruiting terrorist operatives in Gaza .

Besides being documented as having given "tens of thousands of dollars to Hamas" while on visit to Israel in 1998 Yusuf Islam, aka Cat Stevens, is the head of Astrolabe enterprises. Astrolabe is an Islamist multi media organisation which distributes Islamic propagation materials and products for the Muslim market and is based in Dubai. http://www.astrolabe.com/contributor/396/Yusuf_Islam

Astrolabe is the UK equivalent of Sound Vision, a Chicago based company which is a financing front for the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview, the US headquarters for the Islamic Association of Palestine, the American wing of Hamas. Astrolabe is part of Islam's "Mountain of Light" music company based since 2002 in Dubai. http://www.yusufislam.org.uk/newsreleasesept02.htm

Islam's close friend Abdul Malik Muhajid, the director of Sound Vision, is listed as the National Coordinator for the Bosnia Task Force and Kosova Task Force. The Bosnia Task Force is alleged to have direct ties to Al Qaeda and the Benevolence International Foundation, an Al Qaeda funding front whose founder Ernaam Arnaout, is now jailed on terror funding charges.

In 2002 Islam started and is the chairman of 'Small Kindness' a 'charity' primarily focused on Bosnia and Kosovo, which uses " widows" and "orphans" as standard props for soliciting donations for 'humanitarian - terrorism" causes. According to Islam's mission statement

"...Our belief is that we should not stop our support simply because the TV cameras have turned to other hotspots. Small Kindness intends to stay and grow in Kosova and the Balkans at large to help rebuild the future of its people In sha' Allah (God Willing). "... http://www.smallkindness.org/mission.htm

Islam also produced a record in solidarity with Bosnia together with 'activists' there -which is a collection of pro Bosnian propaganda under the cynical guise of children's songs. The album cover depicts 4 children with a Bosnia flag waving behind them . In the background a hulking Imam holding what appears to be a Koran towers in front of the mountains. Between the two mountains the face of someone appears almost ghostlike. It is most likely a picture of Dr. Irfan Lubiankic, who is regarded as a martyr by Yusuf Islam and Bosnian Muslims after he was killed when his plane was alleged to have been shot down by Serbs in 1995.

MIM: The so called' kids' album is entitled: "I Have No Cannons that Roar" and includes such ditties as : "Allah is Enough for Me" and "The Little Ones" . The album is intended to raise funds for "Small Kindness", and is a crude piece of political propaganda exploiting children on it's cover to elicit sympathy:

Note that the Bosnian Muslim cause has been aided and abetted since it's inception by Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda .The Benevolence International Foundation was set up as a 'charity' funding front in Bosnia which opened offices in Chicago and Florida. In 2002 Islam's Muslim Aid 'charity' was on a Spanish police list

"Muslim Aid, created in London by singer Cat Stevens (now known as Yusuf Islam), which used funds to send mujahadeen fighters to Bosnia"

http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/12/08/spain.alqaeda/

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Israel National News 2004

Excerpt from: "Islamist Recruitment in Bosnia - A white Al Qaeda"

"...Serbian news outlets have been reporting with increasing intensification in recent days on attempts by Islamist terrorist groups, including Al-Qaeda, to recruit soldiers among Bosnia's Muslims.

The independent Serbian news agency FoNet reported on Tuesday that Muslims from Bosnia-Herzegovina are being recruited to join the what has been called "white Al-Qaeda".

Slobodan Radulj, former member of Bosnia-Herzegovina's anti-terrorist task force and an adviser to the Serb member of the presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina, told the Nezavisne Novine Serbian daily, "Reports by international intelligence services saying that future terrorists will be blue-eyed and blonde indicate that Al-Qaeda is recruiting in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. This is why the authorities should prevent radical Islamists from paying young and poor men to go to battlefields and to die there." (MIM: Note Yusuf Islam's statements about "Blue eyed and blonde haired Muslims...chanting "Allahu Akhbar")

Radulj also charged that among the 400 Non-Governmental Organizations operating in Bosnia, many of them were fronts for money-laundering and the financing of terrorist organizations..." http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1062704/posts

-----------------------------------------------

MIM: According to Kenneth Timmerman's Insight Magazine Iran has played a large role in terrorist training and recruitment in Bosnia.

Note that Yusuf Islam echoes Islamist recruitment rhetoric when he refers to as the "recent genocide in Bosnia" and "Christian hatred towards Islam and Muslims" as "a turning point for Muslims".

Islam's Iran- Bosnian connection may be a significant factor as to why Yusuf Islam is a welcome visitor in Teheran and that his music is being marketed throughout Iran where he has celebrity status.

Yusuf Islam was also accused by the US government of being linked to Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, who recruited Americans to fight in Bosnia while based in Brooklyn.The British group Al Muhajiroun is also connected to Abdel Rahman and has followers in New York.One of them, Junaid Babar was recently jailed in connection with a bombing plot.

"...After the Cold War, Rahman's followers, such as Hampton-El, recruited for the Bosnia "jihad." See: Al Qaeda Recruited U.S. Servicemen: Testimony Links Plot To Saudi Gov't. Sure enough, ABC News reported "that Bosnian Muslims were part of the group led by Egyptian Islamic cleric Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman..."

According to a Spanish police report, "Muslim Aid, created in London by singer Cat Stevens (now known as Yusuf Islam)... used funds to send mujahadeen fighters to Bosnia."

http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/12/08/spain.alqaeda/
--------------------------------------------------------------

Excerpt from : "Jihadists Change Terror Stereotype - Iran and Al Qaeda have been recruiting and training brigades of blonde blue- eyed Jihadists to wage war in the West"

..."More than 10 years ago, Iran and the al-Qaeda terrorist network began recruiting and training Bosnian Muslims for war against Orthodox Christian Serbs and Catholic Croats in order to expand the Muslim base in Eastern Europe. "

..."In 1992 the TFTUW (Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare ) documented this escalation by Iran and al-Qaeda, which included funding the training of Bosnian Muslims and importing weapons. The report says Iran proclaimed the battleground of Bosnia-Herzegovina a microcosm for resisting the West's war on Islam, and called in reinforcements. "They arrived in Bosnia-Herzegovina in answer to Tehran's call to fight the jihad and eager to commit martyrdom in the name of Islam. They included highly trained and combat-proven volunteers from Iran, Afghanistan, Lebanon and several other Arab countries."

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_42_18/ai_95150326

----------------------------------------------

YUSUF ISLAM STATEMENT ON NEW ALBUM AND BOSNIA

The recent genocide in Bosnia was a turning point for Muslims in Europe: not only did it ignite the ghosts of Christian hatred towards Islam and Muslims, it also taught about the hitherto unknown treasure of Islamic culture and civilization which Bosnia represents. The live T.V. pictures of blond haired, blue-eyed Muslims reciting the verses of the Holy Qur'an and chanting 'Allahu Akhbar', while they prayed and sang stirring anashid (songs) amidst the smoke and fury of the war, brought a whole new perspective to the concept and understanding of Islam for the many who witnessed it...

MIM: The "Peace Train Man" had this to say about his music being islamically permissable as a form of Jihad:

"...Looking again at the question of music and particularly singing in Islam, it became more clear that the issue was still highly debatable, particularly in circumstances of Jihad and war. Surely the use of certain musical instruments for the defence of the Islamic identity and culture of a nation is worthy of the same allowance as guns and rockets? It was, after all, the self-identification and culture of Bosnian Muslims and their Turkish influence (i.e. Islam) which had come under attack - not the Bosnian Muslim's military strength. A hadith may be worth quoting here. When the Prophet, peace and blessings upon Him, was entering Makkah to perform his ‘umrah al qada' (lesser pilgrimage), Abdullah bin Rawahah was walking in front of him reciting poetry against the disbelievers. ‘Umar stopped him and said, ‘O Ibn Rawahah! In the presence of the Messenger of God and in the Holy sanctuary of Allah, you are reciting poetry?' The Prophet, peace and blessings upon Him, said, "Leave him O ‘Umar. These couplets are more forceful than the showering of arrows upon them..." 1

"...I Have No Cannons That Roar' is the result of co-operative effort, constructed thoughtfully with the intention of arming Muslims with a desperately needed cultural weapon in order to protect and strengthen ourselves. We will watch its effect on the public with interest, praying that it will also open many hearts to the light of Islam and the harmony which it can bring to society and human civilisation. And we pray to Allah for forgiveness for any mistakes made in connection with our work on this project, may He pardon us and guide us to what is best. Amin..."

Note that Islam quotes :

1) Al Tirmidi's collection of Prophetic Traditions

"The Order of Jihad"

Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi #3835, Narrated AbuHurayrah
Allah's Messenger said, "If anyone meets Allah with no mark of jihad, he will meet Allah with a flaw in him." [Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it]

--------------------------------

Read the rest of Yusuf's statement

http://catstevens.com/articles/00029/index.html

--------------------

For more on Yusuf Islam's statements and activities on behalf of Bosnian Muslims click on the URL:

http://catstevens.com/features/tour1997/

---------------------------------------------------

MIM: This' tribute' is by Abdul Malik Mujahid - director of Sound Vision and national coordinator of the Bosnia (Kosovo) Task Force

http://www.soundvision.com/shop/pview.asp?Item=7166-006

This album is dedicated to Dr. Irfan (Lubiankic), Foreign Minister of Bosnia, whose helicopter was shot down by the Serbs in 1995. A few months earlier he met Yusuf Islam and gave him a rough cassette of a song he had written and recorded at home, entitled 'I have no cannons that roar.' The song was translated into English and combined with other songs hence resulting in the production of this album. Dr. Irfan's martyrdom was the catalyst which brought about this album. It is also a tribute to the people of Bosnia and their courageous defense of their country".

----------------------------------------------------

This album is a tribute to the Muslims of Bosnia. This collection of songs, in Bosnian and English, and instrumental styles, sometimes somber and sometimes heartening, will ensure that listeners never forget Bosnia and what Bosnia means for all of us. Yusuf Islam, the primary composer and lyricist, sings a reflective tune entitled, 'The Little Ones'. Other songs are 'I Have No Cannons That Roar', 'Hey Homeland', 'Allah is Enough for Me', 'Last Flight', 'I Am a Son of Yours', 'Mother, Father, Sister, Brother', 'When Adhans Are Called,' 'The Blossoms Blown', 'Where Are Makkah and Madinah', and 'Spring of Tasnim'. While saddened by the Bosnian tragedy, this album looks toward a bright future, Insha'Allah. As Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic stated, 'we believe that Bosnia will be better ".

http://www.astrolabe.com/products/viewitem.php?id=1227

----------------------------------------------------------

Islamic Audio: I Have No Cannons That Roar (Yusuf Islam)

For more on :" Humanitarian Terrorism" and how Muslims and Arabs are exploiting children's charities as terrorism funding fronts see: http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/221

-----------------------------------

Note that Yusuf Islam is a supporter of Bosnian Muslim leader Alija Izetbekovic who aided and abetted the setting of an Al Qaeda network in Britain . Which begs the question of how much funding Yusuf Islam provided for his cause.

Excerpt from "Balkan Wars and Terrorist Ties "

In Bosnia-Herzegovina, where the civil war lasted just over three years, the ties between the Islamic fundamentalist regime of Bosnian Muslim leader Alija Izetbegovic and known terrorists were exposed quickly. At the beginning of the war, Izetbegovic re-connected with his old friend and a member of ruling clique (National Islamic Front) in Sudan, Dr. Elfatih Hassanein-omal-Fatih.

The Bosnian Muslims, through Fatih's Third World Relief Agency (TWRA), began smuggling arms for their cause in 1992. American sources suspect that Sheik Omah Abdel Rahman, the radical imam who was convicted of organizing the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre in New York in 1993 had several links to TWRA. Another terrorist with strong links with TWRA is Osama bin Laden, who tops the most wanted terrorist list in the United States. The Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-born bin Laden is noted as the most vicious terrorist today. He was indicted for terrorist attacks on a US military base in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and United States' embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

Several Bosnian Muslims have direct ties with TWRA, including: Irfan Ljevakovic, a founder of the Stranka Demokratske Akcije (SDA–Alija Izetbegovic's ruling Bosnian Muslim party), the Bosnian Muslim political wing and the man responsible for bringing mujahadeens to Bosnia-Herzegovina; Alija Izetbegovic, SDA and Bosnian Muslim president who guaranteed Fatih's credentials to the Die Erste Osterreich Bank (Austria), enabling him to open an account there. The Bosnian Muslims used the bank account to solicit and transit funds for arms purchases. Other Bosnian Muslims listed as Executive Directors of TWRA include: Hasan Cengic, Husein Zivalj (deputy foreign minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina), and Faris Nanic (an advisor of Alija Izetbegovic).

Such ties between "humanitarian organizations" and terrorists are nothing new when in comes to the Balkans. ..

Click on link below for complete article or scroll to the bottom of the page.

http://www.balkanpeace.org/our/our02.shtml

------------------------------------

Yusuf Islam spoke at a rally for the Bosnian Task Force in Washington, D.C. Abul Malik Muhajid recounted that Frank McCloskey the former president of the BTF decided that it would be "politically incorrect" to stand on the podium with Yusuf Islam because of his calls for Salman Rushdie's murder .

The Bosnian Task Force is linked to the Al Qaeda run Benevolence International Foundation, which started operating from Chicago and opened a branch in Sunrise, Florida which was run by Adham Hassoun, who is awaiting trial on multiple terrorism charges and is said to be the man who helped Jose Padilla travel abroad and arranged for his training with Al Qaeda. ( For more on Yusuf Islam's links to the BTF see excerpt from article on SV website below).

The Bosnia and Kosova Task Force is also connected to the American Muslim Council. The president of the American Muslim Council, Abdel Rahaman Alamoudi was jailed last year on terror related charges and for complicity in a Libyan funded plot to hire a hit man to assassinate Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.

Islam's connections to Abdel Malik Muhajid are reason enough to ban him from the United States. Ironically Muhajid, who calls his friend Islam a "pacifist" is named "holy warrior" in Arabic.

Even more alarming is the fact that Islam, who was documented as funding Hamas and has a 16 year friendship with Abdul Malik Muhajid, the national coordinator of the Bosnia/Kosova Task Force, and director of a company with ties to Hamas ,the Islamic Association of Palestine , and the Bridgeview Mosque Foundation, which is alleged to have been visited by associates of the 9/11 hijackers was awarded VIP status as recounted in the Chicago Sun Times article :

"Islam visited Washington last May and met with officials of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives "to talk about philanthropic work," according to White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan.

The office is across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House. Buchan said that was before Islam was added to the no-fly list."

Several of Islam's close affiliates whose lectures he markets such as Hamza Yusuf, an American convert to Islam, have blamed the 9/ 11 attacks on the United States and have proudly declared their militancy as can be seen by Dr. Daniel Pipes recent weblog entry regarding Hamza Yusuf's speach at an Islamic Society of North America conference. http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/327

Hamza Yusuf Fails My Test I have offered a number of questions to ask of Muslims to determine whether they are radical or moderate. Hamza Yusuf, called by the Guardian "arguably the west's most influential Islamic scholar," announced at the just-ended convention of the Islamic Society of North America, "I took that test and I failed. And I want to say to all of you, I hope you fail that test too." (September 6, 2004)

Islam's own stance disputing Muslim involvement in 9/11 drew accolades from Iranian leaders.(see quotes below ).

In a cynical attempt to diffuse criticism Islam repeatedly states to the media that he was planing to donate a portion of his album royalties to the 9/ 11 fund. Yet a look at the article reveals that Islam added that : the rest is going to orphans and homeless families in underdeveloped countries". This once again shows that Islam was able to disquise his true intentions : ie of funding Bosnian and Kosovo Al Qaeda linked organisations, by claiming that he was also going to donate to the victims of 9/11. http://www.vh1.com/thewire/content/news/1449391.jhtml

The documentation below shows that Islam's support and funding of a children's charity in Kosovo and Bosnia is directly linked to Al Qaeda. It can be no coincidence that Benevolence International Foundation,an Al Qaeda funding front which began in Bosnia, opened an office in Chicago, home of Sound Vision and it's director Abdul Malik Muhajid, who is a long time friend of Yusuf Islam. Muhajid calls himself the national coordinator of the Bosnia and Kosovo Task Forces. Yusuf Islam spoke at a BTF rally in Washington and then went on to start his "Small Kindnesses' 'charity' which is linked directly to Bosnia. The aim of Bosnian Muslims is to set up an Islamist state in the Balkans.

. Bosnia Muslims have been linked to Al Qaeda since the 1980s and Americans who were arrested in connection with the 1993 WTC bombings had fought on the side of the Muhajideen in Bosnia. The ex CAIR communications director Ismail Randall Royer, who was recently jailed on assorted terrorism charges, had boasted of his activities as a fighter in Bosnia.

Excerpt from "Al Qaeda and Bosnia - Zero Degrees of Separation":

"...The United States has long been alarmed by the presence in Bosnia of hundreds of Arab-born Muslim fundamentalists who first traveled there in the 1990´s to fight for the nation's predominantly Muslim population during the civil war. Many went there at the direction of Osama bin Laden, who apparently saw the opportunity for a Jihad defending Muslims against Serb and Croat Christians.

Osama Bin Laden directly aided the Bosnian Muslims, both financially (weapons procurement) and with training. In addition, that same "aid" was extended to the separatist Albanians of Kosovo and Macedonia. Ironically, the US found Bin Laden and his supporters "convenient" allies when dealing with Bosnian Muslims and Kosovo Albanians, again in another so-called struggle for "freedom". http://www.balkanpeace.org/our/our15.shtml

----------------------------------------------------

MIM: Another Al Qaeda 'charity front' is the (International) Islamic Relief Organisation which like Yusuf Islam, also proclaimed they would give money to 9/11 victims.

The Islamic Relief organisation in the UK, which is directly linked to the Saudi Wahabist government operations and funding for bombers families and Al Qaeda, is one of the 'charities' being sued by the families of victims of 9/11. Islamic Relief , which is based in the UK and has a branch in California, brazenly solicited donations for 9/11 victims and published a cynical "Action Alert" replete with minarets. See poster below.

----------------------------

Since the mid-1990s, business executives in Saudi Arabia have transferred tens of millions of dollars to bank accounts linked to Osama bin Laden. The money was deposited into the accounts of Islamic charities, including Islamic Relief and Blessed Relief, that serve as fronts for bin Laden, according to senior U.S. government officials. http://www.biohazardnews.net/binladen.shtml

------------------------

In March 2004 an Egyptian attorney proclaimed to CNN News that Bin Laden deputy Al - Zahawiri was a charity worker for the IIRO and "not a warrior"

Al-Zawahri is an engineer by profession. El-Zayat said he was not a warrior, but was in Afghanistan working with a Saudi-based Islamic relief agency, The International Committee for Islamic Relief.

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/03/04/egypt.alqaeda.ap/


MIM: Note that the International Islamic Relief and Islamic Relief are both part of the same Saudi organisation.

--------------------

Sound Vision and the Hamas/ IAP/ PIJ connection :

http://soundvision.com/info/peace/mccloskey.asp

MIM: This excerpt is from an article written by Sound Vision director Adul Malik Muhajid in tribute to Paul McCloskey,, and details how that McCloskey refused to share a podium with Islam at a Bosnian Task Force rally in Washington, because of Islam's "controversial " position on Rushdie.

----------------------------

"Frank McCloskey -Simple, Humble and Straight"

By Adul Malik Muhajid

...McCloskey lost the election as Republican storm troopers took over Congress in 1994. His opponent declared him a congressman from Bosnia, accusing him of neglecting his constituency.


I met McCloskey only once, long after he had lost the election but won peace a chance in Bosnia. When I thanked him for his work, his response was as humble as he looked. He did regret losing his seat in Congress, but thought it was more due to a nationwide Republican mobilization than his opponent's campaigning against his work in Bosnia. His sincerity towards the cause of Bosnia struck me as an extension of his honest personality.

He (McCloskey) had agreed to speak at the Bosnia rally in Washington DC organized by the Bosnia Task Force, USA. He was, however, stopped by a member of his staff who thought that his standing with Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) on the same stage was wrong because of Yusuf Islam's "controversial" position on Salman Rushdie. The staff member said it could be used by his opponents against the Congressman. McCloskey, nevertheless, personally called the office of Bosnia Task Force, USA to show his regret and full support for the cause.

On behalf of the now defunct Bosnia Task Force, USA, its volunteers, the Bosnian and the Muslim community in the USA, I would like to express my deep sorrow to the family of Frank McCloskey. I pray that we have more moral voices like his in America for the cause of justice in all quarters of the world. It is individuals like him who can once again make America great by being good.

-----------------------------------------------

For more information on the Bridgeview Mosque Foundation and Sound Vision see:

Fun with Fundamentalism for Kids: To Achieve the Best of this World and the World to Come -with Sound Vision"

http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/228

--------------

Bridgeview Mosque Foundation -Hamas member Mohamed Saleh arrested with Howard U professor Abdelhaleem Ashqar on terrorism charges"

http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/251

------------------------------------

Chicago Islamist leader Kareem Irfan sees beheadings as "a primordial sense of retaliation and revenge" http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/177

http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/301 Dr. Daniel Pipes writes about Sound Vision's cynical standardized press release designed for Islamic Centers to give the appearance of denouncing terrorism.

Boilerplate for Denouncing Terrorism: I recently wrote an analysis exposing "CAIR's Phony Petition" in which I concluded that its Not-in-the-Name-of-Islam effort "seeks to clean up Islam's image without doing anything of substance."

Well, it gets even worse. Sound Vision, a project of the radical Bridgeview Mosque outside Chicago, has produced "A sample statement/resolution of condemnation" for use with the media when Islamist terrorism once again rears its ugly head. Sound Vision helpfully suggests that "Your Islamic center can adopt, rewrite and issue the following statement to your local media." It also advises users to "replace ‘Muslims of America' with the Muslim community of your city" and "type this or your modified version on your Masjid or Islamic center's letterhead." It even explains that to fax the press release to the news desk of local media outlets you can "find the fax numbers in your yellow or white pages."

Then follows the meaningless boilerplate statement. (July 30, 2004)

----------------------------------------------

Steven Emerson recounts his visit to the Mosque Foundation aka Bridgeview mosque:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/649858/posts

Later, he took Khalid and me to the Bridgeview Mosque, where Jamal Said was the imam. I could tell immediately that we were deep in the heart of Hamas territory. The walls of the vestibule were covered with Hamas posters and recruiting literature showing masked gunmen brandishing automatic weapons. It was all in Arabic, but you could see daggers plunged into Jewish hearts wrapped up in American flags. They even had a library filled with militant terrorist videos and books. Khalid was there to translate for me. The Friday service was a rather strange experience. Out of 800 people, I was the only one wearing a red ski jacket. When the service was over I approached the imam and asked him if he had known Abdullah Azzam. He was very defensive. "I never met with him," he said quickly and then dismissed me. Earlier that year, two Hamas operatives, congregants of the mosque, were arrested in Israel for transferring money from the United States to terrorists on the West Bank. One of these men, Mohammad Jarad, told the Israelis that he was sent on his mission by Jamal Said.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

MIM: Abdul Malik Muhajid director of the Hamas affiliated Sound Vision company and Al Qaeda linked Bosnia (and Kosovo ) Task Force asserts that his friend Yusuf Islam is a pacifist and urges him to sing and "tell them what you believe".

--------------------------------------------

MM:Yusuf Islam laments that Muslims will get a bad rap because of the "allegedly" Muslim background of the 9/11 hijackers: He contradicts his his professed uncertainty by ending his 'boilerplate' condemnation of the 'disaster' insinuating that Muslims will be the victims of retaliation.

"..As chairman of the board which runs the small one-form primary school, I decided, in consultation with the teachers and parents alike, to shut the school for a few days, until the dust settles and people can see things a bit more clearly. But, sadly, as more evidence is uncovered, the latest horror to hit the United States allegedly looks to have been caused by people bearing Muslim names and of Middle Eastern origin...

...This is why I felt it necessary to write and explain some basic facts about the reality of this noble way we call Islam before, God forbid, another bout of disaster occurs - aimed probably next time at the Muslim World..."

http://www.soundvision.com/info/terrorism/yusufislam.asp

-----------------

MIM: The Iranian government propaganda ministry valued celebrity Muslim convert Yusuf Islam's support of the Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwa calling for the murder of fellow Briton , the writer and lapsed Muslim Salman Rushdie, so much that they announced they would 'reward him' by marketing his music.They also approved of Yusuf Islam's statements denouncing claims that Muslims were behind the 9/11 attacks.

------------------------------------------

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1204687/posts

"Iran's Islamic Propagation Organisation has approved for sale the music of Cat Stevens, the British singer who converted to Islam and changed his name to Yusuf Islam.

"We have chosen to put on the market a selection of songs from Cat Stevens, to show to the Iranian youth that not everything in the West is bad," the organisation's music director Reza Mahdavi told AFP.

"We want to invite Yusuf Islam to Iran. When his album and book comes out, it will be a good time for him to come," Mr Mahdavi said, adding a second album and book was ready to roll if the first release proved a success.

But it is unclear if Stevens, who is 56 and lives in London where he is involved in several Muslim charities, will be making any royalties from the Iranian release of his work

"We will also publish the comments of Yusef Islam after September 11, in which he denounces the allegations made against Muslims," the official said, before going on to say the singer should visit the Islamic republic".

-----------------------------------------

MIM: Abdul Malik Mujahid, director of the Sound Vision company which is a subsidiary of the Mosque Foundation in Chicago, tied to Hamas and the Islamic Association of Palestine for over a decade, claims that his friend of 16 years, who was banned from Israel for donating money to Hamas , and supported a fatwa calling for the murder of a writer, is a pacifist .

----------------------------------

Local Friend Portrays Stevens as Muslim Pacifist

http://www.suntimes.com/output/terror/cst-nws-cat23.html

by Andrew Herrmann

Chicago Sun Times

News of trouble for Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, sent Chicago's Abdul Malik Mujahid rushing to his computer. Mujahid's e-mail message to his friend, the onetime pop sensation: sing.

Mujahid, who has been friends with Yusuf Islam for about 16 years, advised the 1970s star to "write some songs for America. Tell them about Islam. Tell them what you believe."

Islam was deported to London on Wednesday, a day after the London-to-Washington flight he was on was diverted to Maine because his name was on a government watch list.

U.S. officials said Islam is forbidden from entering the United States because of alleged ties to possible terrorists but provided few details.

Singer vows to find out why he is banned from the United States

LONDON-- Puzzled and angry at being barred from the United States, the singer formerly known as Cat Stevens returned to London on Thursday vowing to find out why.

Surrounded by a throng of reporters at Heathrow Airport, Yusuf Islam said it was ludicrous that he was on Washington's no-fly list for having suspected ties to terrorists, and he said he would challenge the decision to block him from entering the country.

"Half of me wants to smile, and half of me wants to growl. The whole thing is totally ridiculous," said Islam, whose string of hits in the 1960s and 1970s included "Peace Train," "Wild World" and "Morning Has Broken."

"Everybody knows who I am. I am no secret figure. Everybody knows my campaigning for charity, for peace. There's got to be a whole lot of explanation."

Islam, a Briton who was born Stephen Georgiou, abandoned his music career after becoming a Muslim. His United Airlines flight from London to Washington's Dulles International Airport was diverted Tuesday to Bangor, Maine, when U.S. officials reviewing the passenger list discovered he was aboard.

U.S. authorities provided few details about Islam's alleged connection to terrorism or when he was added to the watch list. U.S. Homeland Security Department spokesman Brian Doyle said Wednesday the intelligence community had recently obtained information that "further heightens concern" about Islam.

"Yusuf Islam has been placed on the watch lists because of activities that could potentially be related to terrorism," Doyle said. "It's a serious matter."

A second U.S. government official said on condition of anonymity Wednesday that American authorities believed donations from Islam may have ended up helping fund blind sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, convicted for a plot to bomb New York City landmarks, and Hamas, a Palestinian militant group responsible for scores of suicide bombings in Israel that is considered a terrorist organization by the United States.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw complained to U.S. officials Wednesday about their treatment of Islam, telling Secretary of State Colin Powell "that this action should not have been taken," the Foreign Office said. It was unclear whether Straw was referring to Islam's detention or his inclusion on the watch list.

Islam, who was traveling with his 21-year-old daughter, Maymanah, told reporters in London that he was bound for Nashville, Tenn., "to initiate some recording,s and suddenly we were forced to land and I was being interrogated by officers." His daughter was allowed to remain in the United States.

Islam said he was treated well by FBI agents and U.S. officials.

"The one positive thing I can say is that a lot security officers are pleased because they got my autograph," he said. "People make mistakes. I just hope they made a big mistake. We'll see."

A statement on Islam's Web site said he was seeking further information from U.S. authorities "so that we can challenge the decision to refuse him entry."

According to his Web site, the singer was last in the United States two months ago with his record company.

During a visit in May, he met with officials of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, "to talk about philanthropic work," according to White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan.

AP

Alleged links to terrorism

Homeland Security spokesman Brian Doyle would only say that the intelligence community has recently obtained information that "further heightens concern" about Islam.

"Yusuf Islam has been placed on the watch lists because of activities that could potentially be related to terrorism," Doyle said. "It's a serious matter."

A second government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said U.S. authorities think donations from Islam may have ended up helping to fund blind sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, convicted in a plot to bomb New York City landmarks, and Hamas, a Palestinian militant group considered a terrorist organization by the United States.

Mujahid said the charge that his friend is associated with terrorists is ridiculous, arguing that Islam devoted a portion of profits from a boxed set of Cat Stevens tunes to the World Trade Center Fund.

In 1995, Mujahid helped persuade Islam to go back into the studio after 20 years. Islam's effort then, "The Life of the Last Prophet," included three songs. It was released by Mujahid's Sound Vision, a Bridgeport firm specializing in the Muslim market.

Mujahid doesn't want Sound Vision to release the new songs.

"I'd rather it be a mainstream label so everyone could hear him."

Though it was Cat Stevens who wrote the classic "Peace Train" in 1971, Yusuf Islam "is still all about peace," Mujahid said.

Attended Chicago conventions

For many Chicago Muslims, Yusuf Islam is a familiar face -- he attended religious conventions here in 1999 and 2003 and his children's recordings, like the eight-song "A is for Allah," are popular among many Islamic families. At a first anniversary memorial service for victims of the 9/11 attacks, children from a Villa Park mosque sang his "Silent Sunlight." Pop stars such as Sheryl Crow and Mandy Moore have covered Cat Stevens' songs.

Raised in Orthodox Christianity, he formally embraced Islam in 1977 after nearly drowning.

He abandoned the pop music world as incompatible with his new life.

Mujahid had dinner with Islam last year in Chicago. "He opposes the Iraq war, but he's opposed to all wars," Mujahid said.

Islam visited Washington last May and met with officials of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives "to talk about philanthropic work," according to White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan.

The office is across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House. Buchan said that was before Islam was added to the no-fly list.

Islam's brother David Gordon said he has condemned terrorist acts and donates money to terrorism victims. "He just wants to be an ambassador for peace," said Gordon, who lives in Princeton, N.J., and serves as Islam's business manager.

----------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------

MIM: Sound Vision bio of Abdul Malik Mujahid states that he was the national coordinator for the Bosnian Task Force and Kosova Task Force which comprises "more the 15 national organisations of Muslims groups North America".

Both the Bosnia and Kosova task forces have been linked to Al Qaeda.

Sound Vision is affiliated with the Mosque Foundation which is the US headquarters for Hamas and the Islamic Association of Palestine. The spokesman for the Mosque Foundation is Rafiq Jaber the head of the IAP in the U.S.

------------------

http://www.soundvision.com/about/boardofdirectors.asp

ABDUL MALIK MUJAHID, President
HASEEB AKHTAR, Secretary
TAUFIQ AHMAD, Treasurer
MUHAMMAD FUAD LASHKARWALA, Director
MUHAMMAD KHALID RIAZ, MD. Director


ABDUL MALIK MUJAHID, is the President and Director of Sound Vision Foundation Inc. Award-winning author and producer, he is an Imam in the Chicago area. A graduate of Darul Uloom Shah Waliullah in Islamic Studies and the University of Chicago in Political Science, he has learned television production as director and producer at the Chicago Access Corporation. He is the producer of Sound Vision's programs. He was also responsible for the concept and design of Al-Qari, the leading Quran learning multimedia software. Mujahid has served as the National Coordinator of Bosnia Task Force, USA. It was in this capacity that he initiated the formation of the Islamic Shura Council of North America. He also serves as National Coordinator of Kosova Task Force, USA, an alliance of 15 national organizations of Muslims in America.

------------------------------------

http://www.islam-online.net/iol-English/qadaya/qpolitic-13/qpolitic1.asp

MIM: In a pre prison interview , jailed AMC president Abdelrahman Alamoudi,speaks about the American Muslim Council's ties to the Bosnia Task Force and support for the Bosnia cause.

After the arrest of AMC president Abdelrahman Alamoudi on terrorism charges. the AMC virtually dissappeared overnight. The AMC was involved in countless fundraising groups and initiatives linked to terrorism under the façade of charitable enterprises.

Alamoudi's case is a textbook study of how militant Islamists can pass for years under the guise "mainstream Muslims" and enjoy VIP status before finally being arrested on terrorism charges.

-------------------------------------------

For more on the Abdulrahman Alamoudi and the American Muslim Council see :

United States of America vs. Abdulrahman Mohamed Alamoudi

http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/98

"Abdulrahman Alamoudi : Qadaffi's Hit Man?"

http://www.danielpipes.org/article/1876

Adulrahman Alamoudi: A Slick Islamist Heads to Jail

http://www.danielpipes.org/article/1994

---------------------------------------------

The American Muslim Council has co-sponsored several events with non-Islamic organizations. Can you give us some examples and what were these events designed to achieve?
A:
We have sponsored several conferences, as well as participated in numerous projects. For example, although the American Muslim Council is part of the Bosnia Task Force USA, a Muslim group, we helped establish the American Task Force for Bosnia (ATFB), to include members of different faiths. We successfully brought Christian, Jewish and other organizations together in support of Bosnia. We believe Bosnia is more a humanitarian issue than a purely Islamic one.

----------------------------------------------

http://www.justiceforall.org/kosova-btf.asp

Many of you are familiar with the Bosnia Task Force, USA, a national coalition that was supported by over 10 national organizations unifying Muslims from across America in solidarity with their brothers and sisters in Bosnia.

-------------------------------------------

MIM: Excerpt detailing Steven Emerson's analysis of the Kosovo Task Force as a front for militant Islamic groups in the United States.

http://www.forward.com/search/gitell200403151258.php

One terrorism analyst, Steven Emerson, said there is some evidence that Islamic extremists are attempting to exploit the Kosovo conflict. "It's a moral issue, and there's been a power vacuum, and the Mujahadeen sponsored by Iran have jumped into the fray," said Mr. Emerson. "Perhaps American involvement will prevent the extremists from capturing the issue as some did in Bosnia."

Mr. Emerson also made available to the Forward material he is publishing in an upcoming issue of The Journal of Counterterrorism. The material includes a document titled "Kosova Task Force, USA," which lists a coalition of American Islamic groups with anti-Israel records, including the American Muslim Council amd the Council on American Islamic Relations.

By late Tuesday night, the Kosova Task Force's web site had posted a statement welcoming "the order for airstrikes, although they are too late for the thousands who have died and hundreds of thousands who have been made refugees." The site also said, "the airstrikes must be accompanied by immediate recognition of Kosovar self determination and independence."

The web site includes a listing of other causes including "Palestine," Algeria and Iraq. The site favors the Islamic Salvation Front in Algeria and criticizes Turkey's government for cracking down on Islamic education and practices. As far as Israel is concerned, it states, "the Israelis have not lived up to any of their promises under any peace accords, and continue to expand settlements." The site provides links to the official web site of the Palestinian National Authority and to that of the Islamic Association for Palestine, which features a symbol showing all the land between the Mediterranean Sea and Jordan River as "Palestine."

--------------------------------------------------------

MIM: Yusuf claims he was giving charity to 9/11 victims in an attempt to diffuse attention from his contributions to Hamas. As you can below Bosnia 'charities' are closely linked to Al Qaeda and the Chicago based Benevolence International Foundation . The International Islamic Relief organisation is also cited as a conduit for money to Hamas . In 2001 the IIRO , which is under investigation by a Senate Committee investigating terrorism financing, cynically and perversely solicited donations under the guise of helping 9/11 victims .

Information about the Bosnia Task Force ties to Al Qaeda:

Bosnia, 1 degree of separation from Al-Qaeda


balkanpeace.org ^ | July 2003 | The Centre for Peace in the Balkans

--------------------------------------

Bosnia Charities and Al-Qaeda

There have been longstanding concerns in the European and U.S. intelligence services that several charities that operated in Bosnia during and after that country's civil war were being used as a cover for Al-Qaeda activities.

In the spring of 2002, under the US supervision, Bosnian authorities raided several Islamic operating in Bosnia and were forced to closed three of them: the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation (which was banned in Kenya after the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi), the Global Relief Foundation and Bosanska Idealna Futura (BIF) - a branch of the Chicago-based Benevolence International Foundation.

As a reminder, Enaam M. Arnaout, 40, head of the Benevolence International Foundation, has been in US custody. The indictment said a criminal enterprise that existed for at least a decade used charitable contributions from innocent Muslims, non-Muslims and corporations to support bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network, Chechen rebels fighting the Russian army and armed violence in Bosnia. The Syrian-born Arnaout, who became a U.S. citizen nearly a decade ago, received his Bosnian passport in the mid-1990s.

The Bosnian raid uncovered a handwritten list of twenty wealthy donors sympathetic to Al-Qaeda. The list, referred to as "The Golden Chain," reveals both the names of the donors, and the names of the recipients. Seven of the payments were made to Osama bin Laden and "Hezb e Islami" (a militant group run by an Afghan warlord), while at least one donation to him was made by the "bin Laden brothers."

Intelligence investigators also want to know why some of the charity's money was transferred to a Bosnian company called "Ljiljan Commerce Group".

US Attorney General John Ashcroft said documents found in the Bosanska Idealna Futura (BIF) office in Bosnia have provided "chilling" evidence tying Enaam Arnaout directly to bin Laden and Al-Qaeda. He said the papers summarize the 1988 meeting at which the terror network was founded, and include a text of the network's oath of allegiance.

BIF had links to people involved in the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing, a plot to bomb US airlines, and a plan to assassinate Pope John Paul II during his visit to the Philippines in 1995.

Also found in BIF's Bosnia offices were military manuals providing instruction on small arms and explosives, photographs of bin Laden and Arnaout and photos of Arnaout handling several weapons, including a shoulder-fired rocket launcher.

Also, joint US-Bosnian government probe connected the Saudi charity Talibah International Aid Association to terrorist funding and an Al-Qaeda front group. Taliban has been under investigation since shortly after 9/11 due to a foiled terror attack in Bosnia that has been connected to Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

This "charity group" was embedded with World Assembly of Muslim Youth [WAMY] - a suspected terrorist organization, led by Osama bin Laden relatives, brothers Abdullah and Omar bin Laden. The Bosnian Government later said that a charity with Abdullah bin Laden on its board had channeled money to Chechen guerrillas. The investigation into WAMY restarted two days after 9/11, and after the bin Laden brothers have left the US.

Philippines authorities believed that the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO), whose Philippines branch was run by bin Laden's brother-in-law, was funneling funds to the Abu Sayyaf organization. The brother of bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was employed by IIRO in Albania, where he assisted Al-Qaeda's efforts in the Balkans. Reportedly, detailed minutes of a meeting between bin Laden associates on the stationery of these Saudi welfare agencies, captured in Bosnia, clarifies how organizations like IIRO were to be used by Al-Qaeda.

Israel found an IIRO payment schedule detailing how $280,000 USD was to be distributed to 14 different Hamas charities, thereby documenting, for the first time, the pattern of Saudi backing of terrorism. The head of the Canadian branch of IIRO admitted in court that "The Muslim World League, which is the mother of IIRO, is a fully government funded organization. In other words, I work for the government of Saudi Arabia."

--------------------------------------------

MIM: Poster for the terrorism funding Islamic Relief Organisation cynically exploiting the 9/11 attacks to solicit donations under the pretext of 'helping' the victims they helped to create.

------------------------------------------

Islamic Relief Action Alert
EMERGENCY AID FOR VICTIMS OF
WASHINGTON D.C. AND NEW YORK TRAGEDY

As Muslims, we don't distinguish between religion, race, or nationality in assisting those in need. The horrific tragedy which has occurred in the U.S. cities of Washington, DC and New York has left thousands dead and severely injured. During possibly the biggest tragedy in the history of this country, we, as American Muslims, must help assist those in need.

The number of confirmed dead and those reported missing from the September 11 attacks is more than 5,500. Thousands of people have been left unemployed, and have lost their families and friends.

ISLAMIC RELIEF, ALONG WITH THE UMMA FREE CLINIC SUGGEST
THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS:

· Send in your donations to Islamic Relief:

"Emergency Aid for Victims of Washington D.C. and New York City Tragedies"

· Donate blood. Islamic Relief, and the Los Angeles Muslim community will be holding a blood drive on Saturday, September 29th at the UMMA Free Clinic, from 10AM to 4PM. It is really important that the Muslim community comes out and supports this very important cause.

UMMA Free Clinic
711 W. Florence Ave.
Los Angeles, CA
(323) 789-5610

· Talk to your friends, neighbors and co-workers. Tell them that the Muslim community shares in the sorrow of what happened, and that we are actively working to help the victims.

· Please stay safe, and keep your loved ones safe.

Please contact Islamic Relief at (888) 479-4968, or e-mail us at [email protected] for more information, or if you wish to offer assistance.


--YES, I want to help the victims of the New York City and Washington D.C. tragedy.

---Enclosed is my: ___ Check ___ Credit Card ___ $1,000 ___ $500 ___ $100 ___ $50 Other $_____



-----_-CREDIT CARD INFORMATION -__---------------

__ Visa __ Mastercard __American Express __ Discover

Account #............................................................................

Expiration Date: / /

Signature…………………………………………………...



Name………………………………………………………………..……

Address……………………………………………………………….….

City……………………………………. State………… Zip ……………

Telephone …………………………………………………………..…….

Email………………………………………………………………………


Please send your tax deductible donations to:

Islamic Relief - P.O. Box 6098 Burbank, California 91510

(888) 479-4968 www.irw.org Tax ID# 95-4453134

-------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.webspawner.com/users/islamicjihad15/

Osama Bin Laden and the Al Qaeda group

From Jane's Information Group Limited : 2001

"At the height of the foreign Arab and Muslim influx into Pakistan-Afghanistan from 1984-1986, Bin Laden spent time traveling widely and raising funds in the Arab world. He recruited several thousand Arab and Muslim youths to fight the Soviet Union, and MaK channeled several billion dollars' worth of Western governmental financial and material resources for the Afghan jihad. MaK worked closely with Pakistan, especially the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), the Saudi government and Egyptian governments, and the vast Muslim Brotherhood network. Both the fighting and relief efforts were assisted by two banks - Dar al Mal al Islami, founded by Turki's brother Prince Mohammad Faisal in 1981 and Dalla al Baraka founded by King Fahd's brother-in-law in 1982.The banks channeled funds to 20 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the most famous of which was the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO). Both IIRO and the Islamic Relief Agency functioned under the umbrella of the World Islamic League led by Mufti Abdul Aziz bin Baz.

In addition to benefitting from the vast resources and expertise of governments channeled through domestic and foreign sources, MaK developed an independent global reach through several mosques and charities throughout the world."

---------------------

Excerpt from "Profile of Yusuf Islam" showingthat he extended the reach of ' Muslim Aid ' with his Small Kindness 'charity' aimed at Bosnia.

http://www.islamfortoday.com/yusuf_islam.htm

RELIEF WORK Muslim Aid, an international aid agency, was established by Brother Yusuf Islam in 1985 in co-operation with other Muslim organisations, he being the founding Chairman.

Its aim was to alleviate poverty and provide relief for the victims of wars and natural disasters. In 1994 / 1995 the organisation helped some 400,000 people in need around the world, distributing around £2 million in aid.

Last year Brother Yusuf resigned his role as Chairman and left Muslim Aid, but is still very actively involved in Relief with his new charity Small Kindness which concentrate on orphans and families. He currently supports 2,500 orphans and children in Kosova and is supporting ‘100 – Homes' building project in Turkey.

------------------------------------------

http://www.muslimaid.org/subpages.php?section=aboutus&sub=trustees&down=yes

Note that one of the trustees of Muslim Aid is Iqbal Sacranie the secretary general of The Muslim Council of Britain. It is significant the Yusuf Islam was the treasurer of the Muslim Council of Britain in 1998. The webmaster of Muslim AId according to the 1997 domain registration is Asaria Iqbal, the chairman of the MCB's finance and economic committee.

Trustees



uslim Aid's Board of Trustees is comprised of 15 respected members of the Muslim community, ensuring that our work is effective, fully accountable and true to the humanitarian spirit of Islam. To evaluate Muslim Aid projects, our Trustees make personal visits to field offices and partner organisations.

Every two years the Board of Trustees elects a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and an Executive Committee.

At the London headquarters of Muslim Aid a small team of professional staff, headed by Co-ordinator Ebrahimsa Mohamed, is responsible for the management and the effective running of the organisation.

Moreover, local field staff like doctors and teachers is deployed in Somalia, Bangladesh and Sudan to provide direct relief to those in need.

Board of Trustees


Office Bearers:

Farooq Murad

- Chairman

Dr. Khadem Al-Rawi

- Vice Chairman

Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin

- Treasurer

Tanzeem Wasti

- Secretary

Executive Committee:
(besides Office Bearers)

Mehboob Kantharia
AKM Abdussalam
Dr Manazir Ahsan, MBE
MH Faruqi
Dr Abdul Majid Katme
Iqbal AKM Sacranie, OBE
Dr Tariq Yusuf Rajbee (Co-opted)
Dr Muhammad Jafer Qureshi (Co-opted)

Other Trustees:

Zahid Pervez
Ahmed von Denffer
Dr Suhaib Hasan
Ghulam Sarwar
Dr
Muhammad Abdul Bari

[email protected]
Muslim Aid PO Box 3 London E1 1WP
Tel No: +44 (0)20 7377 4200 Fax No: +44 (0)20 7377 4201
Charity Reg No 295224

--------------------------------------------

MIM: Muslim Aid is active in countries which are known strongholds of Al Qaeda - Bangladesh - Somalia and the Sudan.

http://www.muslimaid.org/subpages.php?section=ourwork&sub=offices&down=yes

Sponsored Orphan Scheme
The project is aimed to provide essential skills in computer literacy,
mechanics and driving automobiles. 180 Orphans who have completed
10 years of schooling will complete this training in one year to be able to find employment, insha'Allah. The project will bear all the expenses of
orphans during the training period.

Mother and Child Health Centres
In order to reduce maternal and child mortality and birth/post-natal
complications a centre will be constructed, equipped and staffed in Mirpur, Dhaka. It will have a capacity of 10 beds and out-patient facilities.


Muslim Aid Bangladesh
M.B. House (1st Floor)
7/7, Block C,
Lamatia, Dhaka 1207
Bangladesh
Director: S.M. Rasheduzzaman

--------------------------


Somalia
Currently Muslim Aid Somalia with offices in Mogadishu and Kismayo runs a number of health and specialist treatment centres, a rural feed security programme and schools. Somali society has experienced a complete absence of structured systems for more than a decade. Throughout this time international aid agencies like Muslim Aid have played an essential role in maintaining the health and education of the nation.

In partnership with other agencies Muslim Aid Mogadishu office has been managing two specialised treatment

centres for TB patients (with WHO), two primary health clinics (with UNICEF) and a rural food security programme with CARE International who provide the inputs whilst Muslim Aid is providing staff and infrastructure. The tuberculosis programme accommodates the largest group of patients for any disease in Somalia. The project aims to cure the first group of TB patients within the first six months with a long-term goal of building a more comprehensive assessment of TB cases to prevent such outbreaks in the future.

Muslim Aid Kismayo has established 2 Mother and Child Health Centres in Jamame and Kismayo town. As women and children are often the most affected in any war torn country, they are striving to maintain a strong emphasis on their welfare. Moreover, Muslim Aid Kismayo runs a number of schools for local children and are seeking to expand their educational facilities.

Muslim Aid Somalia has also been active in funding educational projects, such as Musab bin Umeir School in Mogadishu, which has recently completed construction with funds provided by Muslim Aid. The school is already proving to be one of the best schools in the region, attracting competent graduate teachers from all over the country. Children are also taking Islamic classes at the new Kunya Roble Mosque in Burhakabo district of Southwest Somalia, built by Muslim Aid.

Muslim Aid Somalia - Mogadishu Office
Taleh Street K4
Mogadishu South
Mogadishu
Programme Co-ordinator:
Ahmed Abdi Muhammed

Muslim Aid Somalia - Kismayo Office
Main St
City Port
Kismayo
Co-ordinator:
Mohamed Mumin Mohamed

------------------------


Sudan

Muslim Aid's field office in
Sudan has continued to
expand its humanitarian work
by implementing a range of
community development
initiatives as well as relief
programmes in a variety of
locations throughout Sudan.
The office also has been
managing 19 health clinics,
which have now become
self-sustaining. More than 400 people and their families benefited from Muslim Aid's Skills Training programmes conducted in Khartoum.

Members of poor families were trained in basic computer skills, tailoring, handicrafts, mechanics, carpentry, poultry keeping, and welding amongst other skills, enabling them to provide much needed economical support to their families and community. This skills training programme is unique in that it is ‘mobile' and can be transported to rural areas to implement training prrammes on location.

Our Field Office has also been active in the education sector in the Northern State of Halfa with the rehabilitation of a local primary school. The school is catering for hundreds of socially and economically deprived children with the aim of equipping them with basic literary skills and tools for income generation. MA Sudan has also managed the implementation of water and IGP projects in remote areas of Sudan.

Muslim Aid Sudan
PO Box 728
Khartoum North
Sudan
Director: Dr. Z. Ziedan

-------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/12/08/spain.alqaeda/

Islam's Muslim Aid 'charity' is on list issued by the Spanish police of groups which are believed to be linked to Al Qaeda.

Spain charity terror link alleged

From CNN Madrid Bureau Chief Al Goodman

MADRID, Spain (CNN) --Spanish police have accused 10 Islamic charities -- some of them based in Saudi Arabia -- of providing funding and other support for al Qaeda terrorist activities, Spain's largest newspaper reported on Sunday.

The police report, based on information gathered before the September 11 attacks, has been added to the case against one of a dozen al Qaeda suspects in Spanish custody since the September 11 attacks, El Pais newspaper reported.

The 10 charities, according to the Spanish police report, are:

• International Islamic Relief Organization, a Saudi-based group being sued by families of the victims of the September 11 attacks, also listed as one of the most active in Afghanistan during the Taliban regime and believed to be a principal sponsor of terrorist training camps in the country.

• Al Haraeim Islamic Foundation, also being sued by the families.

• Ittehad-e-Islami, based in Afghanistan and considered to be the most-subsidized of the charities by Saudi government.

• Muslim Aid, created in London by singer Cat Stevens (now known as Yusuf Islam), which used funds to send mujahadeen fighters to Bosnia.

• Afghan Support Committee, said to have given refuge in Afghan training camps to Arabs who were expelled from Pakistan after an attack on the Egyptian embassy in Islamabad in 1995.

• Al Kifah Refugee Center, said to have sent weapons, fighters and money to Bosnia. Leader listed as Kamer Eddine Kherbane.

• Hizb-e-Islami, based in Afghanistan, accused of managing military training camps, created armed group called Hizb-ul-Mujahadeen.

• Human Concern International, based in the U.S. with representatives in Pakistan, accused of financing Algerian Muslim rebels.

• Global Relief Foundation (Foundation Secours Mondial), lead by a man named Nabil Sayadi, who lives in Belgium, reportedly linked by U.S. authorities to Osama Bin Laden, which he has denied.

• Maktab-ul-Khedamat, accused of supporting humanitarian activities in Afghan camps, also known as the "Afghan Support Committee."

Nearly 20 suspected Islamic radicals have been arrested in Spain since the September 11 attacks, most of them are suspected of being al Qaeda operatives.

Authorities have told CNN that Spain was a support base used to provide financing, housing and recruitment for bin Laden's al Qaeda group.

----------------------------------------

http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/248

MIM: The domain registratant for Muslim Aid is the economist Iqbal Asaria , 'webmaster for Al Qaeda'and chairman of the Muslim Council of Britain's finance committee

------------------

Domain Name.......... muslimaid.org
Creation Date........ 1997-04-29
Registration Date.... 2003-03-18
Expiry Date.......... 2005-04-30
Organisation Name.... Muslim Aid UK
Organisation Address. PO Box 3
Organisation Address. _
Organisation Address. London
Organisation Address. NW1 7UB
Organisation Address. London
Organisation Address. GREAT BRITAIN (UK)

Admin Name........... Iqbal Asaria
Admin Address........ 336 Pinner Rd
Admin Address........ _
Admin Address........ Harrow
Admin Address........ HA1 4LB
Admin Address........ middlesex
Admin Address........ GREAT BRITAIN (UK)
Admin Email.......... [email protected]
Admin Phone.......... +44.2088612012
Admin Fax............ _

Tech Name............ Iqbal Asaria
Tech Address......... 336 Pinner Rd
Tech Address......... _
Tech Address......... Harrow
Tech Address......... HA1 4LB
Tech Address......... Middlesex
Tech Address......... GREAT BRITAIN (UK)
Tech Email........... [email protected]
Tech Phone........... +44.2088612012
Tech Fax............. _
Name Server.......... diamond.webstaruk.net
Name Server.......... ruby.webstaruk.net


----------------------------------------

MIM: Note that Iqbal Sacranie is listed here as the chairman and that Hani Al Banna, the head of Islamic Relief is on the Muslim Aid board of trustees .

http://www.muslimaid.org/subpages.php?section=aboutus&sub=trustees&down=yes

-----------------------------------

http://web.archive.org/web/20010124133800/www.muslimaid.org/info-hist.html

Muslim Aid Board of Trustees (18)
Office-Bearers (4):
Chairman Iqbal Sacranie
Vice Chairman Dr Suhaib Hasan
Treasurer Mehboob Kantharia
Secretary Farooq Murad
 
Executive Committee members (4) (besides office-bearers):
Dr Manazir Ahsan, Khadhem Al-Rawi, Dr Abdul Majid Katme,
Rashid Ahmed Siddiqui, M Hashir Faruqi, Chaudhry Mueenuddin.
 
Other Trustees (10):
Dr Hani al-Banna, Dr Khalid Alavi, Mohammed Abdussalam,
Ahmed von Denffer, Zahid Perviz, Dr Tariq Yusuf Rajabee, 
S M Tanzeem Wasti, Mohammed Zabadane, Ghulam Sarwar.
 
Coordinator:

Ebrahimsa Mohamme

---------------------------

MIM: For the history of Muslim Aid until 1998 in their own words click on the link:

http://web.archive.org/web/20010124133800/www.muslimaid.org/info-hist.html

1985-1986
In November, Muslim Aid is founded in London by 23 leading British Muslim organisations, in response to continuing conflicts and disasters around the world. The aim is to alleviate the suffering of the victims of poverty, war and natural disasters. In its first year, emergency relief is distributed to thousands of people affected by devastating famine in Ethiopia, continuing wars in Palestine and Afghanistan and widespread flooding in Bangladesh.

---------------------------------------

MIM: Excerpt from "The Conservative Party organises Milad un Nabi Celebration (Birth of the prophet) showing the names of the Muslim Council of Britain members, and others on the board of Muslim Relief (see list above)

The Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, Iqbal Sacranie, and a number of other senior members from the MCB and its affiliates from across the country including Tanzeem Wasti, Chair of the London Affairs Committee and Dr Abdul Raheem Khan, Vice Chair of Membership Committee, attended the Milad-un-Nabi function organised by the Conservative Party at the Central Office on 15 May 2003. The Chair of the Conservative Party, Theresa May, members of the shadow cabinet and a number of MPs including Muslim prospective candidates such as Ali Miraj, were present. This was the first time that such an event celebrating the birth of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, has been organised by a political party. The person behind this initiative was Sameer Mirza, a well known businessman

http://www.mcb.org.uk/e42.html

--------------------------------

MIM: Note that Muslim Council of Britain secretary Iqbal Sacranie is referred to as the Chairman of Muslim Aid .

He was instrumental in establishing ties with the Islamic Party of Malaysia.

The meeting was facilitated they the Foreign and Commonwealth Office which has a close relationship with Islamists.

The FCO's relationship to Muslims and the Middle East is similiar to that of the State Department in the U.S.

----------------------------------------------

Press release 22nd January 2001
MALAYSIAN ISLAMIC PARTY LEADER WELCOMES DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

Currently on a visit at the invitation of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Nasharudin Mat Isa, the Secretary-General of the Islamic Party of Malaysia, came to see the Muslim Aid head office in London. On his arrival he met with Muslim Aid trustees to discuss the extension of the fruitful co-operation between the Muslims of the two countries.

Iqbal Sacranie, Chairman of Muslim Aid, briefed the distinguished guest about the varied activities of the UK charity and underlined that: "the British Muslims are aware of the hardships faced by the poor and suffering around the world. Muslim Aid, in the true spirit of Islam, stretches out its hand to bring relief and succour to the most needy communities - regardless of their race, gender, religion, nationality or political opinion."

Sacranie and other members of the Board of Trustees went on to illustrate to the honoured guest Muslim Aid's commitment to provide relief and to work through pro-active development projects. Muslim Aid has long realised that education and training are the most effective weapons in combating poverty and will, insha'Allah, continue to expand this sector of their work.

Nasharudin welcomed the charity's efforts by saying that: "Muslim Aid has played a pivotal role in bringing relief to the deprived people around the globe. In our part of the world the well-known UK charity is renowned for its activities and for this reason I have requested my host to arrange a visit to your office to thank Muslim Aid in person for the noble work undertaken."

------------------------

MIM: In between fundraising for Al Qaeda, and Hamas Islam works on providing (and writing) syllabi and textbooks for Islamic schools in the United States . The textbooks and videos come from Saudi Arabia and Dubai where Islam's Astrolabe Islamic propagation enterprise is based and where he maintains a residence.

Below two excerpts detailing Islam's pre 9/11 visit to California Islamic schools.

US Islamic schools -Saudi Arabia- and the UAE zero degrees of separation.

Note that the head of the school- Muzammil Siddiqui is head of the Islamic Society of North America, a group which is also being investigated by a Senate Committee for ties to terrorism. http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/254

Yusuf Islam's IBERR trust has ties to Dubai in the UAE and publishes Islamic educational materials in Saudi Arabia.

Doubtless the textbooks and learning materials will reflect the Wahabist 'party line'.

Islam visited the US in 2001 and discussed the curriculum and possibility of satellite transmissions of Islamic videos.

http://www.iberr.co.za/san2001b.htm

Minutes of Meeting of the IBERR Trust
12 to 15 January 2001
Santa Clara. California


ANNEXURE B


SUMMARY OF DISCUSSIONS HELD BETWEEN
IBERR MEMBERS AND MANAGEMENT OF NEW HORIZON SCHOOL
on Monday 15 January 2001
at the New Horizon school,
Pasadena California,
commencing at 10:00 and ending at 12:30


1. PRESENT: Representing the International Board for Education Research and Resources (IBERR)
1. Brother Yusuf Islam
2. Moulana Ali Adam
3. Brother Edris Khamissa
4. Brother Ismail Kathrada.

Representing the New Horizon School
1. Dr Wael Mirza (Director)
2. Sister Necva Ozgur (Principal)
3. Sister Amira Al Sarraf (Head of Middle School)
4. Dr Necva Hidayah (Arabic specialist)
5. Brother Zahir, The Chairman of the Board
6. Sister Heba, The Librarian.


2. DISCUSSION CENTRED AROUND THE ISLAMIC STUDIES SYLLABUS in general and concentrated in particular on the following aspects:

2.1 The Revised Islamic Studies Syllabus
Copies of the revised Islamic Studies Syllabus were circulated among those present for their study and comments. Sister Amira explained the use of Qur'anic Themes in lessons.

2.2 Selection of Textbooks on Display (by Sister Amira).
IBERR Members paged through the selection of textbooks on Character Development, Values-based Education and Ethics. A list of titles was drawn up and Publishers Catalogues were kindly made available.

2.3 Teaching and Learning Resources for Islamic Studies.
The Following Teaching Guidelines were given to IBERR:
1. "Curriculum Guidelines for Islamic and Qur'anic Studies". Bureau of Islamic Education: Revised 2000.
2. "Bringing Values to Life" by Amira Al-Sarraf:
"Resource Packet"
"Activity Ideas"
"Selected Stories and Poems".

2.4 Commitment to collate other Resources Material
Sister Amira agreed to collate by the end of February 2001 suitable resource material for the preparation of Islamic Studies Textbooks for Grades 1 to 12. These would include a cross section of sample lesson Notes and Worksheets (From the Leverarch File) which explains how to advance "From Topics to Materials" especially for Grades 5 and 6. A cross section of the Sample Lesson Notes would cover the following aspects / topics:
· Values of the Week
· Character Development
· Moral Dilemma of the Week
· Bringing Values to Life.

2.5 Book Lists for Grades 1 to 8.
Sister Amira agreed to prepare a book list for the Islamic Studies Syllabus and forward it to Moulana Ali Adam (by end of February 2001).


3. OTHER ASPECTS FOR DISCUSSION

3.1 Access to Islamic Satellite Programme
· Dr Wael Mirza informed the meeting about this development which has rich potential for Muslim Schools. A Programme Proposal is to be prepared by IBERR as soon as possible for submission to the Organisers of this Satellite Programme.
· Brothers Abdul Latif and Salazar Bin Saliz (of the UK) are to be contacted by Brother Yusuf Islam for further technical assistance and advice about preparing the Proposal.
· Sheikh Yamani of Iqra was to be contacted by Yusuf Islam to inquire about the possibility of broadcoasting programmes in English for Muslim Schools.

3.2 Brother Yusuf Islam's Classification System for Islamic Books.
A copy of this System was discussed with Sister Heba for further refinement and use in her library.

3.3 Proposals for Life Studies Syllabus
Brother Yusuf Islam discussed the Proposals for the Life Studies Syllabus which is intended to present pupils with an Islamic World View for Grades 1 to 12. A copy was given to Sister Ozgur.

3.4 Proposed Workshops at New Horizon School in October 2001.
Proposals are to be prepared by IBERR as soon as possible so that arrangements may be made timeously for these workshops.

3.5 Value-Based Curriculum Outlines
Dr Wael Mirza is currently drafting these proposals.

4. SUMMARY OF DISCUSSIONS held between Dr Wael Mirza (Director Islamic Education Bureau - New Horizon School) and Moulana Ali Adam on 19 January 2001 at The Comfort Inn, Los Angeles.

4.1 Workshops to be arranged for New Horizon School (Pasadena).

4.2 Brother Abdalla Idris Ali and Brother Yusuf Islam need to be confirmed for the Fund Raising Function to be held over the same weekend.

4.3 Planning and Logistical Details about the Workshop:
1. The target groups are to be Boards of Directors (Governors), Principals, Teachers and Parents.
2. Budget: IBERR will cover the cost of the Airfares for their members. IEB will provide the accommodation.
3. Invitations are to be extended to as many schools as possible. A nominal registration fee is to be levied. Invitations are also to be extended to representatives from Chicago and from the East Coast and Texas Areas.
4. It is intended to circulate a Needs Survey before the Workshop and to send out pre Workshop reading Material.
5. In addition to the IBERR's Trustees as speakers, the following may also be considered as facilitators: Dr Zakiya Mohamed, Sheikh Saadullah Khan, Sister Necva and Sister Amira.
6. Tentative Workshop Programme will be submitted to Dr Wael Mirza via Brother Abdalla Idris Ali's office. Brother Tanweer Pappa (Kansas City) is to assist in planning and organizing the Fund Raising Function.


ARABIC PROGRAMME

1. Moulana Ali Adam is to send Professor Saadeddin's material to New Horizon School for evaluation by Dr Najwa Hidayah.
2. Dr Najwa Hidayah is to prepare a resource file of her teaching material and programme for Dr Saadeddin.
3. Moulana Ali Adam is to arrange a meeting between Professor Saadeddin and Dr Hidayah in either Cairo, Amman, Cape Town or Los Angeles.
4. Dr Najwa Hidayah was to prepare for Moulana Adam a proposal for candidates from South Africa to be trained at her Institute in Cairo. The possibility of establishing a branch of the Institute in Cape Town was also to be explored.


EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS FOR SATELLITE TRANSMISSION

Brother Yusuf Islam is to prepare proposal for the preparation of Educational Videos for Muslim Schools which may be transmitted via Satellite.


ISLAMIC STUDIES TEXTBOOKS

Proposed publication date is the end of April for Books 1 to 3.
Brother Wael Mirza was to contact Sheikh Sulaiman for possible publication of the books in Jeddah.

-----------------------

Excerpts from an account of an IBERR visit to a Santa Clara California Islamic school.

http://www.iberr.co.za/activa.htm

3.1.2 Brother Yusuf Islam's Jumuah Khutbah
Attended by almost 2000 Musalees, the Jumuah Khutbah and Salaah was conducted by Brother Yusuf Islam. The message emphasized the unity of the Ummah, and the need for it, factors that cement it, and the desirable outcomes that flow from it. The well received Khutbah struck a sympathetic and topical note for the Community of Santa Clara who have shown tremendous solidarity in rallying together to purchase and expand the spacious facilities of the Islamic Centre.

3.1.3 Meeting of the IBERR's Trustees

In between the sessions at the Islamic Centre and after Fajr Salaah each morning, The Trustees met to discuss the items on the Agenda. (See Minutes attached).

3.1.4 Brother Yusuf Islam's Meeting with Brother Jeremy from Darul Fikr (Saudi Arabia).

The possibility of joint publication of textbooks and other material for Muslim Schools was discussed.

3.2 Saturday 14 January 2001

3.2.1 Teachers' Workshop: Theme: "Muslim schools: Challenge, Changes and Commitments"

Commencing promptly at 09:00, Brother Abdalla Idris Ali opened proceedings with recitation of Surah Al Rahmaan.
Brother Ismail Kathrada and Edris Khamissa encouraged interactive participation by the teachers on the following aspects of Muslim Schools.
· The aims and objectives of Muslim Schools
· The teacher as an Islamic role model: attributes and relationships
· The pivotal role of the Principal to promote the Islamic Ethos.

Brother Yusuf Islam traced the origin of and rationale for IBERR. To the crucial question "Are Muslim Schools producing pious students?" the answer is still very hazy and doubtful.
The Hadith of the Beloved Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam): "Educate your children for they must live in a time different than yours" was used effectively by Brother Yusuf Islam who outlined the work completed by IBERR (Manual for Muslim Schools and the Revised Islamic Studies Syllabuses), the Work in Progress (Preparation of Islamic Studies Textbooks and Teachers' Guidelines) and the Planed Projects (Educational Videos for Muslim Schools.)

===========================

The IBERR group leaders show a world wide Islamist 'educational' network with Islam at the helm.

http://www.iberr.co.za/iberr1.htm


1.4. IBERR Membership

(1421 / 1422 AH - 2000 / 2001 CE)

1. Yusuf Islam, Chairman (Islamia Schools Trust/AMS UK)
2. Maulana Ali Adam (Cape Town South Africa)
3. Abdalla Idris Ali (Kansas City USA)
4. Ismail Kathrada (Cape Town South Africa)
5. Dr. Abdul Hamid Abu Sulaiman (IIIT Herndon USA)
6. Prof. Dr. Omar Hasan Kasule (IIU Kuala Lumpur Malaysia)
7. Muhammad Akram Khan-Cheema (MAK-C/AMS UK)
8. Edris Khamissa (Roshnee South Africa)
9. Muhammad H. Docrat (Midrand South Africa)
10. Sheikh Ahmed Lemu (Islamic Education Trust Nigeria)
11. Aisha Lemu (Islamic Education Trust Nigeria)
12. Ibrahim Hewitt (AMS UK)
13. Dr Abu Ameena Bilal Phillips (Daral Fatha, Sharjah UAE)
14. Dr. Abdullah Hakim Quick (Cape Town South Africa)
15. Dr. Fathi Malkawi (IIIT Herndon USA)
16. Dr. Tasneema Ghazi (IQRA Chicago USA)
17. Ibrahim Hassaballa (Inter. Islamic Charitable Org. Kuwait)
18. Sulaiman Docrat (Dubai UAE)
19. Dr Abdulla Ghazi (IQRA Chicago USA)

------------------------------------

More on Bosnian Muslims and Al Qaeda

http://www.balkanpeace.org/our/our02.shtml

The Centre for Peace in the Balkans
Balkan wars and terrorist ties

The December 14, 1999, arrest of Algerian national Ahmet Ressemi at a U.S.-Canada border crossing in British Columbia – he was in a car full of nitroglycerin and bomb-making materials – was headline news in North America. Many theorized that Ressemi planned to blow up a major structure in the U.S. to start the new millenium.

The theorists could have saved themselves some time by taking a closer look at Ressemi's past ties, especially those with terrorists trained in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where Ressemi fought as a mujahadeen, or an Islamic "holy warrior."

It has been confirmed that Ahmet Ressemi had ties with Said Atmani, another terrorist who fought in the "El Mujahadeen" unit in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Canadian authorities deported Atmani back to Bosnia-Herzegovina on October 18, 1998, supposedly without knowing of his alleged participation in terrorist activities through Europe.

The NY Times, in it's "Magazine" edition on February 06, 2000 published that: "Last year, sources in Jordan say, the Mukhabarat, the intelligence service, alerted the C.I.A. to at least three plots by Bosnia-based Islamic terrorists to attack U.S. targets in Europe."

This is nothing new, since on December 24, 1995, Voice of America (VOA) reported that French security forces were searching for a number of Algerian terrorists, members of the notorious Group Islamic Army (GIA). The Algerians were suspects in a Paris Metro bombing which, among others, killed two Canadian tourists. The significant thread here is that the bombers were trained in Afghanistan and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Videotapes confiscated by French police confirmed this fact.

In Bosnia-Herzegovina, where the civil war lasted just over three years, the ties between the Islamic fundamentalist regime of Bosnian Muslim leader Alija Izetbegovic and known terrorists were exposed quickly. At the beginning of the war, Izetbegovic re-connected with his old friend and a member of ruling clique (National Islamic Front) in Sudan, Dr. Elfatih Hassanein-omal-Fatih.

The Bosnian Muslims, through Fatih's Third World Relief Agency (TWRA), began smuggling arms for their cause in 1992. American sources suspect that Sheik Omah Abdel Rahman, the radical imam who was convicted of organizing the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre in New York in 1993 had several links to TWRA. Another terrorist with strong links with TWRA is Osama bin Laden, who tops the most wanted terrorist list in the United States. The Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-born bin Laden is noted as the most vicious terrorist today. He was indicted for terrorist attacks on a US military base in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and United States' embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

Several Bosnian Muslims have direct ties with TWRA, including: Irfan Ljevakovic, a founder of the Stranka Demokratske Akcije (SDA–Alija Izetbegovic's ruling Bosnian Muslim party), the Bosnian Muslim political wing and the man responsible for bringing mujahadeens to Bosnia-Herzegovina; Alija Izetbegovic, SDA and Bosnian Muslim president who guaranteed Fatih's credentials to the Die Erste Osterreich Bank (Austria), enabling him to open an account there. The Bosnian Muslims used the bank account to solicit and transit funds for arms purchases. Other Bosnian Muslims listed as Executive Directors of TWRA include: Hasan Cengic, Husein Zivalj (deputy foreign minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina), and Faris Nanic (an advisor of Alija Izetbegovic).

Such ties between "humanitarian organizations" and terrorists are nothing new when in comes to the Balkans.

In April of 1999, Italian police in the port of Ancona confiscated three trucks belonging to the Sarajevo humanitarian aid organization "Kruh Svetog Ante" (The Bread of St. Anthony), which was delivering aid to Albanian terrorists in Kosovo and Metohija. The shipment contained six mortars of Croatian manufacture, 352 grenades, 2,600 hand grenades, anti-aircraft and anti-tank shoulder-held rocket systems, sniper rifles with laser scopes…

Guca Gora, near Travnik, has been identified as a mujahadeen base since the onset of the civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The group was led by Karraj Kamil Bin Alija, who was born on November 19, 1966, in Tunis. He is better known by his nickname ‘Abu Hamza". One of the many reasons given for the death of Joze Leutar, a deputy minister in the Bosnian-Croat Federation, was the letter Leutar sent on November 12, 1998, to the international police forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina. He accused the Bosnian Muslim police of obstruction and failure to arrest Abu Hamza, who supposedly had a full freedom of movement in Central Bosnia. Leutar was killed on March 16, 1999, allegedly by Ismet Bajramovic, called "Celo". According to the Croatian newspaper "Nacional", quoting a Bosnian Muslim source, Bajramovic visited Osama bin Laden's training camps on several occasions between 1994-95.

At the end of the civil war many of the mujahadeen remained on territories controlled by the Bosnian-Croat Federation instructing Muslim forces in terrorist activities. That activity came to light on December 18, 1995, with the premature detonation of an automobile bomb in Zenica. It is widely speculated that the bomb was meant for U.S. NATO troops serving in Bosnia-Hrezegovina as revenge for the life sentence given to Sheik Omah Abdel Rahman, the brain behind the World Trade Centre bombing in New York.

Also noteworthy is the raid conducted by NATO forces on the training center of the Bosnian Muslim secret police (AID), located in the ski center near Fojnica in February of 1996, and the arrest of several persons for preparing to conduct terrorist actions. Iranian instructors were teaching future terrorists from AID how to disguise bombs as children's toys, dolls, and plastic ice cream cones.

During the civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kamar Kharban, a leader from the Algerian terrorist organization Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) and a former officer in the Algerian army, was frequently seen in Bosnia-Herzegovina. A veteran of the Afghanistan war, he visited a suspected Algerian terrorist training base in Bosnia-Herzegovina. It is alleged that the training base serves as a source of false documents for a number of terrorist groups.

In a June 26, 1997, report of the bombing which destroyed the Al Khobar building in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, The New York Times noted that on of the arrested terrorists confessed to serving with Alija Izetbegovic's Bosnian Muslim forces. He also admitted to ties with Osama bin Laden.

A recent report from Turkey that Mehrez Audonija, who held a valid Bosnian Muslim passport, was apprehended, caused great concern with the Bosnian Muslim leadership in Sarajevo. The same person was identified as one of Osama bin Laden's closest associates. Mehrez, a Tunisian by birth and called Abu Talha in Bosnia-Herzegovina, believed the shortest and safest route to Chechnya led through Turkey. His arrest stemmed from a warrant issued by the Bologna (Italy) branch of Interpol which accused him of planning terrorist activities in Italy and being a member of the Algerian terrorist organization GIA.

At the same time, a segment of the media reluctantly reported that the Bosnian Muslim authorities issued a passport to Osama bin Laden himself. The passport was issued in the Bosnian embassy in Vienna, Austria, in 1993.

Defence and Foreign Affairs analyst Yossef Bodansky wrote in 1997 that Iran, from its terrorist bases in Bosnia-Herzegovina, planned the assassination of Pope John Paul II. The assassination was planned towards the end of September 1997. A terrorist group consisting of 20 members holding Croatian, Bosnia-Herzegovinian, Tunisian, Algerian and Moroccan passports were to assassinate the Pope during his Bologna visit. The leaders of the group were all former mujahadeens from Bosnia-Herzegovina. Logistical support for the group was secured through a local terrorist network which was closely associated with GIA. Italian authorities discovered the assassination attempt in time and managed to arrest 14 members of the terrorist cell.

Does the key for the solution of this case, as well as the Bologna case, lie in a Zenica jail where the Bosnian Muslim authorities are "guarding" and are preventing the extradition to France one Moulud Boughelan, also known by his nickname "Suljo"? The French authorities were seeking the extradition of Boughelan, as well as Lionel Dumont (known as Bilal and Hamza), for suspected terrorist activities.

It is worth noting that almost immediately following the French extradition request, Dumont escaped from a poorly guarded Sarajevo jail. Since his escape, Dumont has disappeared. Many believe that this inconvenient witness was simply "eliminated."

As for the Italian authorities, they are still awaiting the extradition of Halil Jarraya, a Tunisian, who is in a Sarajevo jail. Jarraya is accused of being one of the leaders of the Algerian GIA. According to his documentation, he shares the place of birth with Karraj Kamil bin Alija, and some suspect that they are one and the same person. Jarraya is one of fifteen accused terrorists sought by the Italian Interpol, most of whom are believed to still be in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Taken individually, the incidents could be viewed as lone attempts by extremist groups to sow terror. Taken in context with the common ties between groups and the organized terrorist networks, the motives become much more sinister.

Alija Izetbegovic's friend and comrade-in-arms, Dr. Elfatih Hassanein-omal-Fatih, said: "In the end, Bosnia must be Muslim. If that does not happen, the entire war is meaningless and was fought for no reason." Proponents of the New World Order still believe in the "sincere" wishes of the Sarajevo regime for Bosnia-Herzegovina to become "multi-ethnic." Taking into account the number of international terrorists who have lived or are living in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the country will very quickly become multi-ethnic. Unfortunately, it will also become "mono-religious."

The Centre for Peace in Balkans www.balkanpeace.org

------------------------

Islam recounts his meeting with Bosnian Foreign Minister Irfan Lubjubijankic who is said to have brought the pro Al Qaeda Muhajideen to Bosnia .

http://catstevens.com/articles/00029/index.html

Bosnia and the issue of Music in Islam
By Yusuf Islam
November 26th, 1997

The recent genocide in Bosnia was a turning point for Muslims in Europe: not only did it ignite the ghosts of Christian hatred towards Islam and Muslims, it also taught about the hitherto unknown treasure of Islamic culture and civilisation which Bosnia represents. The live T.V. pictures of blond haired, blue-eyed Muslims reciting the verses of the Holy Qur'an and chanting ‘Allahu Akhbar', while they prayed and sang stirring anashid (songs) amidst the smoke and fury of the war, brought a whole new perspective to the concept and understanding of Islam for the many who witnessed it.

One of the outcomes of this terrible event was the revaluation of my position on Music and singing. The fact that I have recently been involved with the production of a CD album containing songs and lyrics of Bosnian artists, which have emerged out of the war, is testimony to the change which has occurred in my approach to the subject of Music and cultural expression within Islam. One of the strange ironies was that just before the outbreak of the aggression, I had been invited to Sarajevo to attend the annual Music festival in 1992. At that time I was still holding a strict and uncompromising attitude towards Music and I therefore declined the invitation. Not soon after came the first news that Sarajevo was under attack from the Serbs.

Suddenly we saw hundreds of thousands of unarmed Muslim civilians, men, women and children, slaughtered and driven out of their homes, crying out for the world to help them. Thousands of young girls raped, Mosques were destroyed, houses burned; what was the world's response ? The UN, which only a couple of years earlier, had successfully rallied all the forces of international support to punish Saddam Hussain for trying to overrun the State of Kuwait, was now sheepishly shrugging its shoulders. Instead of dashing in like a blue-helmeted Knight to save the innocent victims from the unkempt hordes of bloodthirsty Chetniks, it proceeded to impose an arms embargo on the whole of Yugoslavia - Bosnian Muslims included! This was the greatest violation of human rights imaginable - at least in my lifetime.

During this time I remember receiving an urgent call from the head of one of the Aid agencies working in Bosnia. He pleaded with me over the phone, ‘Do something for the children who are being killed here! Organise an international concert, use your talent.' It was very emotional and I immediately set to work writing a song called ‘Mother, Father, Sister, Brother (Song)'. I also had a half finished song called ‘The Little Ones (Song)' hanging around, but what could I possibly do with them? I had to wait.

Something had changed with the event of the Bosnian war, our perception of reality had taken a mighty leap forward. These European Muslims were being killed simply because they were Muslim. In fact many of them had already adopted western cultural values: there were mixed marriages, some of them even shared a cigarette and a glass of beer with their neighbours, but that didn't help them - because they still had Muslim names.

Towards the end of the long drawn out stages of the war, early in 1995, I was invited to the Langham Hotel to meet the new Bosnian Foreign Minister, Dr Irfan Ljubijankic, during his short visit to London. Dr Irfan was one of the unsung heroes of the war; for most of the siege of Sarajevo he had worked tirelessly as a Doctor in the basement of a makeshift hospital. With no proper light or heat, he helped attend to thousands of injured patients, many of whom had suffered blown-off limbs and shrapnel wounds. He was now a Minister for the Bosnian Government and I was truly honoured to meet him. It seems he felt likewise. Somehow, my former songs and recordings of the seventies had made an impact on him during his early years as a student. We got on really well and enjoyed a very warm and friendly evening together. During our meeting he played me a cassette of a song he had written entitled ‘Ja Nemam Topove Sto Grme' which translated means, ‘I Have No Cannons That Roar (Album)'. It was extremely moving, a slow ballad with a very melancholy, Mediterranean feel. I remember him placing it in my hand and saying something like, ‘Please use it if you can for helping the cause'. Not long after that, we heard the news: Dr Irfan had been killed, his helicopter shot down by a Serb rocket missile attack above Bihac. My heart dropped.

It became clearer to me that something was needed to replace the feeling of impotence, in the face of this intractable situation. The cause of Muslims had been made to look all but lost, almost without hope of redemption. It was then I realised that, as Muslims, we required an urgent boost; our spirit had taken a knocking and we needed to reassert our faith and identity. One of the things which lifted me greatly was listening to the rich and highly moving songs coming out of Bosnia at that time. There was a new generation of singers and writers, blending the beautifully melodious sounds of the Balkans with the message of Islam. Dr Irfan's recording was still in my possession. Soon it dawned on me: here was a magnificently potent weapon, we simply had to use it. But what about the conventional Muslim ban on musical instruments? Many of these recordings had full orchestration and instrumental backing, how could I justify their use, particularly in view of my strict abstention from such things after embracing Islam?

Looking again at the question of music and particularly singing in Islam, it became more clear that the issue was still highly debatable, particularly in circumstances of Jihad and war. Surely the use of certain musical instruments for the defence of the Islamic identity and culture of a nation is worthy of the same allowance as guns and rockets? It was, after all, the self-identification and culture of Bosnian Muslims and their Turkish influence (i.e. Islam) which had come under attack - not the Bosnian Muslim's military strength. A hadith may be worth quoting here. When the Prophet, peace and blessings upon Him, was entering Makkah to perform his ‘umrah al qada' (lesser pilgrimage), Abdullah bin Rawahah was walking in front of him reciting poetry against the disbelievers. ‘Umar stopped him and said, ‘O Ibn Rawahah! In the presence of the Messenger of God and in the Holy sanctuary of Allah, you are reciting poetry?' The Prophet, peace and blessings upon Him, said, "Leave him O ‘Umar. These couplets are more forceful than the showering of arrows upon them.'1

One of the closest references and similitudes to singing and Music in the Qur'an comes with Islam's attitude to Poetry. It was in fact the Surah called ‘The Poets' which made me stop and evaluate my life and abandon the music business when I embraced Islam twenty years ago. Towards the end of the chapter, Allah, the Almighty, says:

Shall I inform you upon whom the devils descend? They descend on every sinful false one. They listen eagerly, but most of them are liars. As for the poets, the deviants follow them. Hast thou not seen how they stray in every valley, And how they say that which they do not? Except those who believe and do good works, and remember Allah much, and vindicate themselves after they have been wronged. Those who do wrong will come to know by what a (great) reverse they will be overturned.2

Personally, apart from the use of some background vocals and drums, I have stayed away from the use of instruments on the track ‘The Little Ones' which I sing on the CD. Nevertheless, I am not averse to it sitting alongside other Bosnian and English tracks which use modern synthesisers and the like, following the principle that - as with poetry - ‘The good of it is good and the bad of it is bad.'

‘I Have No Cannons That Roar' is the result of co-operative effort, constructed thoughtfully with the intention of arming Muslims with a desperately needed cultural weapon in order to protect and strengthen ourselves. We will watch its effect on the public with interest, praying that it will also open many hearts to the light of Islam and the harmony which it can bring to society and human civilisation. And we pray to Allah for forgiveness for any mistakes made in connection with our work on this project, may He pardon us and guide us to what is best. Amin.

1. Al Tirmidi's collection of Prophetic Traditions
2. The Glorious Qur'an, Chapter al Shu'ara verses 221-227

--------------------------------------------------

MIM: Stevens visits Sarajevo as a self proclaimed supporter of the main Muslim nationlist party.

http://catstevens.com/articles/00004/index.html

Ex-singer Cat Stevens Plans Bosnian Music Recording
By Dan De Luce
Reuters/Variety
January 21st, 1997
Courtesy of Haney M. Nimr

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (Reuter) - Former British pop star Cat Stevens, who converted to Islam and gave up his music career in the 1970s, said Tuesday he planned to produce a recording of Bosnian music with two songs written by himself.

Stevens, who now calls himself Yusuf Islam (Bio), told a news conference he was impressed with the music he had heard during his visit to Sarajevo and was working on putting together a collection of Bosnian songs.

"Interestingly, it is Bosnian songs which have brought me closer to wanting to do something more (in music)," said Yusuf, who turned his back on the music business 18 years ago.

"I've now taken steps to supporting a new project which is a compilation of some beautiful Bosnian songs, melodies and poems, and we hope this will be released in the very near future, we hope this year."

Yusuf said he had written two songs for the album, one of which was dedicated to the memory of children killed in Bosnia and last year's massacre at a school in Dunblane, Scotland.

"I may be singing one of the songs, in fact another song which I hope to do for the album is called 'The Little Ones (Song),' in commemoration for the children of Sarajevo and Dunblane."

The Bosnian album would mark Yusuf's first venture into song writing and singing since his conversion to Islam.

London-born Cat Stevens (Bio), the son of a Greek father, had his first hit record in 1966 and sold 25 million albums before devoting his life to religion.

Yusuf's only recording since he left show business was a 66-minute narration of the life of the prophet Mohammed which he released in 1995.

Over the past two decades, Yusuf said some people had suggested that he employ his musical talent to celebrate his Islamic faith, but he had other priorities.

"In fact, I had been singing about life for too long. Now I wanted to live it. It was a great opportunity for me to get rid of a lot of baggage, cultural baggage, philosophical baggage and so on."

He said a meeting with Irfan Ljubijankic, former Bosnian foreign minister who died during the war, had led him to pursue the music project.

Before his death, Ljubijankic had given Yusuf a song and asked him to "do something with it." The song has been translated into English and will be featured on the new album.

Yusuf, wearing a white skull cap, said he travelled to Sarajevo to celebrate the Islamic Ramadan holiday with his "Muslim brothers and sisters" in Bosnia.

It was Yusuf's first visit to Sarajevo but he said he had travelled to the north Bosnian town of Bosanki Brod in 1993, during the war.

Yusuf said he was moved by a tour of the city's ruined neighborhoods and graveyards, calling the 42-month war between Bosnia's Muslims, Serbs and Croats an "indescribable tragedy."

Yusuf told reporters he was a "sympathizer" of the main Muslim party in Bosnia, the nationalist Party of Democratic Action (SDA), which helped organize the visit.

--------------------------------------------

Note the references to radical Muslim politicians who organised the concert tour.

http://catstevens.com/features/tour1997/

YUSUF ISLAM RELEASES ALBUM OF BOSNIAN SONGS IN TURKEY

"The Turkish Daily News", Nov. 18, 1997:
Article courtesy of Charles Gauthier

By Metin Demirsar / Turkish Daily News

Islam is the former British pop sensation Cat Stevens, who converted to the Muslim faith 20 years ago and changed his name. "I have no cannons that roar" is dedicated to the late Bosnian Foreign Minister Irfan Ljubiyangic and all other martyrs of the Bosnian war.

Istanbul - Yusuf Islam, the former British pop sensation Cat Stevens who converted to the Muslim faith and changed his name 20 years ago, has just released an album of Bosnian songs in Turkey, the song writer said Monday.

Wearing a turban, a flowing caftan and sandals, the bushy-bearded Islam, told a news conference in Istanbul Monday that his album "I have no cannons that roar" is dedicated to the late Bosnian Foreign Minister Irfan Ljubiyangic and all other martyrs of the Bosnian war.

"We made this album to help the Bosnian people lick their deep wounds, and to always remember the horrors of the war," the Anatolian news agency quoted Islam as saying.

CNN, the music channel MTV, BBC and NBC covered the news conference.

The title of the album comes from a poem that was written by Ljubiyangic, a poet-politician who was killed in Bosnia in 1995.

The album contains three English songs by Islam and several Bosnian language songs by Bosnian singers such as Dino Merlin, Aziz Alili, Senad Podojak, Burhan Saban and Abdullatif Whiteman. Whitman was the producer of the record.

Islam appeared in a concert in Bosnia earlier this year, his first concert in 20 years. He said he would also give a concert in Malaysia in January.

The son of Greek Cypriot street peddler, Islam was one of the world's best selling pop recording stars when he was known as Cat Stevens.

CatStevens.Com Note: Not sure where they got this one, but no, Cat Stevens did NOT write or record Stairway to Heaven! :-)
"Morning has broken", "Lady D'Arbanville," and "Stairway to Heaven" were some of his most famous songs that were international hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

He converted to Islam when he purportedly heard the chanting of the Koran, which he said could not have been written by a human being, and married a Turkish woman.

Since converting, he has virtually left the music profession, though he has written many Islamic spirituals, some of which have become hits among Islamic fundamentalists in Turkey.

"I have no cannons to fire" will sell at TL 650,000 as a cassette recording and TL 1.5 million as a CD.

FORMER POP STAR BEATS THE DRUM FOR ISLAM

"The Times - England", Nov. 17, 1997:
Article courtesy of Dave Bean

The man looking every inch a Muslim cleric returned to centre stage, pulled by the crowd's frantic exhortations. "Who is the greatest?" he asked them. "Allah is the greatest," the thousands replied.

After an absence of 18 years, Yusuf Islam, formerly the pop star known as Cat Stevens, was back in the public gaze. On Saturday night, in Sarajevo's Skendaria centre, the one-time hippy whose plaintive melodies were a leitmotif of the early seventies, showed Bosnia his new self. With nothing more than five dervishes banging drums for accompaniment, he performed 3 songs - 2 in English, 1 in Arabic - before a dramatic, some would say rabble-rousing, encore.

Relaxing in the nearby Hotel Bosnia before the concert, Islam was happy to talk to TV crews and journalists about his faith and the new unadorned music with which he praises God, but the past was largely off-limits. A minder in the lift on the way up to his room suggested, for example, that Yusuf's apparent support for the fatwa against Salman Rushdie should not be mentioned.

Earlier in the day Islam had a meeting with President Alija Izetbegovic-"an amazing man, he came out of jail to become President, what a story." Did he regret a past from which he cannot hide? "As Muslims we accept what God has written,"said Islam. "Some of the songs have more meaning now than when I wrote them."

Under pressure, he admitted still singing hits such as Morning Has Broken to his youngest daughter, but that it would be "too much" to ever sing them in public again. Saturday's songs, entitled LITTLE ONES and MOTHER,FATHER,SISTER,BROTHER, bore the simplicity of the Cat Stevens of old, but were strictly Islamic in content.

As old men in Muslim berets, veiled women and soldiers in fatigues drifted away, Yusuf Islam prepared for the next concert, in Turkey.

'CAT' CONCERT COMEBACK

"South China Morning Post", Nov. 15th, 1997:

Singer Cat Stevens, who now goes by the Muslim name Yusuf Islam, is to stage a concert in Sarajevo, Bosnia, next weekend to promote peace and tolerance, the weekly Ljiljan newspaper reported yesterday.

Billed by the organizers as a stage comeback for the 1979 convert to Islam, the concert is to kick off a tour that will include shows in Istanbul and Malaysia to promote a new record.

In an interview with the weekly, which is close to radical Muslim politicians who organized the concert, Islam said he had "decided to sing again to plead for peace and tolerance".

As Cat Stevens, Islam enjoyed the high life of a rock star during the 1960s with songs such as My Lady D'Arbanville, but turned his back on stardom to embrace the Muslim religion.

He is now a prominent campaigner for Muslim issues in Britain

-----------------------

FORMER CAT STEVENS MAKES RARE CONCERT APPEARANCE

"CNN Showbuzz", Nov. 18, 1997:

Yusuf Islam, the British singer known as Cat Stevens until his conversion to Islam in 1979, made a rare concert appearance Saturday night in Sarajevo. Islam said the concert was "an expression of celebration for the survival of the Bosnian identity through the horrors that we've seen in the war or the genocide." Accompanied by the choir of Sarajevo's main Koranic school, Islam sang three short songs, all carrying a message of peace. He said the suffering of Muslims during the civil war in Bosnia had convinced him to once again sing in public.

---------------------------------------------

CAT STEVENS SINGS FOR THE FAITHFUL IN SARAJEVO

"The Daily Telegraph", Nov. 17, 1997:

Yusuf Islam YUSUF Islam, the British singer known in the 1960s as Cat Stevens, has made one of his rare returns to the concert platform since converting to Islam in 1979.

He performed on Saturday night in Sarajevo for 6,000 people, many of them young girls wearing the veil. Yusuf Islam was quoted by the press as saying that the suffering of the Muslim population during the war in Bosnia convinced him of the need to sing in public once again. However, the singer, accompanied by the choir of Sarajevo's main Koranic school, sang only three short songs with a message of peace before calling on his audience to praise Allah.

The weekly newspaper Ljiljan - which is close to the radical arm of Bosnia's main Muslim party, the SDA, which organized the concert - reported that Yusuf Islam would also perform in Istanbul and Malaysia as part of a tour to promote his new record.

The former Cat Stevens, 50, rejected stardom when he converted to Islam. He now denounces the power of money in showbusiness and sings only to promote the faith.

----------------------------

CAT STEVENS BACK AFTER 20 YEARS TO SING FOR BOSNIAN MUSLIMS

"BBC News Service", Nov. 16th, 1997:
Article Courtesy of Charles Gauthier

The former pop star, Cat Stevens, has given his first concert since converting to Islam 20 years ago.

The British singer - now known as Yusuf Islam - performed in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo. He took part in a concert celebrating the survival of Bosnia's Muslim community during the country's conflict.

He sang his songs of the deprivation and loss of war with passion, but without instruments. He threw them away 20 years ago after converting to Islam and renouncing everything he saw as un-Islamic.

On the evidence of his Sarajevo appearance, his voice has lost none of its simple melodious charm or power. The city's concert arena was packed with thousands of spectators.

He first heard about Bosnian music towards the end of the war from Dr. Irfan Lubiankic, a Bosnian minister visiting Britain. Dr. Lubiankic handed over a cassette of a song called "I have no cannon that roars". Dr. Lubiankic died shortly after, when his helicopter was shot down by Serb gunners.

That song has become the singer's new theme and he has given notice that his life in music may not, after all, be a thing of the past.

He said music helped strengthen the spirit of survival among Bosnian Muslims and has given him a new lease of life.

"It awakened in me some kind of feeling of inspiration to do something again. I don't think that means necessarily that I'm coming back, because I'm not going back, I'm sort of going forward, you know."

--------------------------------------------------------------------

The International Board of Educational Resources and Research finances and runs a school in Daghestan for Muslim men and youths . The invasion of Daghestan is considered the catalyst for the present Chechen war.

"...The link between Chechen rebels and international terrorism, including al Qaeda, is not new. Indeed, ever since the first Chechen war (1992-96), Islamists from all over the Middle East and beyond have gone to Chechnya to fight the Russian infidel. While it is true that Chechen Islam was traditionally rather syncretic and mostly under the influence of Sufi brotherhoods, some warlords, most prominently Shamil Basayev, have been attracted to Wahhabism— and by Saudi and other Gulf money, weapons, and volunteers. It was one of those volunteers, Bin Saleh al-Suwailem, Samir, a.k.a. Khatab— a Saudi whose life and career strongly resembled Bin Laden's— who, together with Basayev, invaded the Russian province of Daghestan in 1999, thus provoking the present Chechen war. A number of European Muslims, from France and the UK, have also joined the Chechens, while the self-proclaimed Chechen Islamic Republic was only recognized by the Taliban. Chechens were trained in Al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan and fought against the United States in that country in 2001..."

-----------------------------

http://www.iberr.co.za/daghestan.htm

---------------------------------------------

In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

The North-Caucasian Islamic University
of
Sheik Muhammad-Arif
(Daghestan)


Russia, Republic of Dagestan, 367015, city Mahachkala, ulitsa (street) Dahadaeva, 136.

Administrators: Abdullaev Ahmad-Haji (Muftiy), Gadjiev Magomed, Sultanmagomedov Salman Nasibovich.

Course of Study (curriculum) – see attached in Arabic.

Total Number of Students – 510 students.

Existing Building – There are 6 floors. On the 1st and 2nd floor is the Spiritual Management Centre of Muslims of Dagestan and the administration of the Central Juma-mosque of Mahachkala. The University occupies the 3rd,4th and 5th floors. There are 24 scholastic classes, one lecture common-room, one conference hall (on the 6th floor under dome), library, first-aid station and sportsroom.

Boarding – The students have to live in the sportsroom since construction of the dormitory is not yet complete.

Cost of Running the Centre (wages, food etc) - feeding - approximately 73 thousand rubles (approx. $2,400 for 510 students per month!) for wages, paying bills etc. (the salary is very low, just enough to survive and provide for necessary food.).
The cost of the dormitory is $63,000. For completion around $28,000 necessary.

Future Plans: computer classes, language laboratory, modern technical facilities for education, audio and video facilities for training orators etc.

The North-Caucasian Islamic University started in 2000 as a development from the Islamic Institute of Sheik Muhammadarif, which opened in 1988. The University has two branches: day and evening. During the day students are trained for their daily lives and there are 380 students. In the evening there are 130 (basically these students are employees, retirees and students of other institutes). Students who are studying at the university are not only from Dagestan, but also from Chechnia, Ingushetiia, Osetiia, Bashkiriia and the other republics. The residence, education and feeding are provided free by voluntary donations. At the moment, the students live in a sportsroom since construction of the dormitory is not yet complete.

The administration is trying its best to find regular donations to be able to provide the students of the day branch with 3 meals a day. Without any doubt the ration is very poor because they can't afford to spend more than $4-5 per month for one student's meals. The financial situation in Dagestan is very difficult (the average salary of a government clerk is approximately $15 monthly although the prices for food and clothing are high as in other countries) so the Dagestani people can hardly survive with such salaries (leave alone the thought of saving!) The families of the students can't afford to pay for education or even for food.

As everything that we are trying to provide for our students depends on sadaqa (alms) our administration does its best to try and raise funds but unfortunately the appeals for donations are not very fruitful because of the hardship and people around here just don't have any monies to donate. Imagine how one can live on $10-20 per month and with this money try to feed one's family!

As we all know, Islamic education is very important and compulsory upon every Muslim, so our administration humbly appeals for your help (whatever it can be). There is several needs for which the donated monies can be used – food, finishing the building, literature, necessary equipments etc.

We would be glad to cooperate in Educational matters and perhaps translate into Russian Islamic textbooks, syllabuses and the Manual for Muslim Schools. We have published an Arabic Textbook (part 1) which is successfully being used in many Dagestani Educational centres. At present we are working on part 2 Insha'Allah it will be released by the beginning of 2002.

Basically any donation will be used to complete the construction of the dormitories, on improvement of the grounds and on feeding (in the first place) and literature.

The management of the university plans to open an Islamic library for the whole North-Caucasian region.

The contact person is the Rector of the university Ahmad-Haji Abdulaev.

e-mail: [email protected]


P.S. Without any doubt it is an excellent opportunity for Sadaqatul-Jaariyah – to donate for such blessed deeds as to help to educate people Islamically and to feed the hungry. By fulfilling this appeal one will take some of one's share in this world (dunia) to add to the share in the Hereafter (Akhirah).

The amount which you give would vanish and disappear anyway, yet on account of charity it will be elevated by several degrees (darajat) by Allah Taala.




How to Help Dagestani's Students:

REQUISITES OF BRANCH DAGRUS
JSB LESPROMBANK
in USD:

STANDARD CHARTERED BANK
New York, USA
SWIFT: SCBLUS33

Favour:
Account 3582083939001
RUSSKY SLAVIANSKY BANK
Moskow, Russia
SWIFT: RSLBRUMM

Favour:
Acc.30109840000000000003
JSB LESPROMBANK
Moskow, Russia
In favour acc.30301840700010001026
Branch Dagrus , Makhachkala, Dagestan

In favour of acc: DAGESTAN MOSLEM SPIRITUAL BOARD
Acc: 40703840700000000001




This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/293