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IS SMOKING HARAM ?

 IS SMOKING HARAM, HALAL OR MAKROOH? 

 collected from web... 

 

According to Qur'an and Hadith (The saying of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) all intoxicants are 'haram' whereas tobacco is an intoxicating substance.

Intoxicants in the light of Qur'an:

(Surah Al-Baqarah Ch:2 V:195)

وَلَاتُلْقُوابِأَيْدِيكُمْإِلَىالتَّهْلُكَةِ

"Don’t make your own hands the cause of your own destruction"

(Islam prohibits "tobacco" in any form which makes smoking haram however people still argue over it and will normally start saying that ‘Pan’ and ‘Pepsi’ etc are also not good for health so they are or can be haram as well. hence we should avoid them, but where Islam is concerned IF and only IF PAN contains "Tobacco" then its haram else you may have it (still not having is preferred) it’s NOT HARAM. However by smoking cigarette or sheesha we are making our own hands the cause of our own destruction).

(Surah Al-Ma’idah Ch:5 V:90)

يَاأَيُّهَاالَّذِينَآمَنُواإِنَّمَاالْخَمْرُوَالْمَيْسِرُوَالْأَنصَابُوَالْأَزْلَامُرِجْسٌمِّنْعَمَلِالشَّيْطَانِ

فَاجْتَنِبُوهُلَعَلَّكُمْتُفْلِحُونَ

“O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than Allah], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you may be successful.”

(Tobacco causes Physical, Intellectual, and Moral Effects on the Human System "Tobacco, moreover is of itself, an intoxicating substance").

(Surah Al-Balad Ch:90 V:10)

وَهَدَيْنَاهُالنَّجْدَيْنِ

“And pointed out to him the two conspicuous ways”

(Allah (سبحانهوتعال) has given us the right to choose our own path, whichever path we chose He makes that path easier for us. So choose the right one which leads to righteousness so you can have Allah’s mercy and countless blessings.)

(Surah An-Nisa’ Ch:4 V:29)

وَلَاتَقْتُلُواأَنفُسَكُمْ 

“And do not kill yourselves”

(“Smoking Kills”it’s even written on every cigarette pack, and  we all know it  still we argue that smoking is not haram According to world health organization (WHO) there are more than a million people who die only because of smoking . 90% of people who die from lung cancer is due to smoking. )

(Surah Al’-A’raf Ch:7 V:157)

وَيُحِلُّلَهُمُالطَّيِّبَاتِوَيُحَرِّمُعَلَيْهِمُالْخَبَائِثَ

“And makes lawful to them the good things and makes unlawful to them impure things”

(We are all aware of the unlawful things. and  cigarette is impure as it causes several diseases which are mentioned again and again, it contains nicotine which is nothing more but a poison,so it’s time we should all agree to the fact that smoking is unlawful . Fear Allah (سبحانهوتعال) and ask for His mercy and guidance surely if you do so with a firm belief He The Lord of the Worlds will help you in every step you take towards him.)

(Surah Al-‘Isra’ Ch:17 V:26-27)

 وَلَاتُبَذِّرْتَبْذِيرًاO إِنَّالْمُبَذِّرِينَكَانُواإِخْوَانَالشَّيَاطِينِۖوَكَانَالشَّيْطَانُلِرَبِّهِكَفُورًا

“And do not spend wastefully, Indeed, the wasteful are brothers of the devils, and ever has Satan been to his Lord ungrateful.”

(Smoking is a waste of money, a smoker burns his wealth for no good reason plus it’s harmful to the body and there is no difference between the person who’s smoking and the person who commits suicide.)

(Surah Al-‘Ankabut Ch:29 V:69)

وَالَّذِينَجَاهَدُوافِينَالَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْسُبُلَنَا

“Those who strive hard in Our Cause, We will surely guide them to Our Paths.”

(If you have a craving to smoke then you have to seek Allah’s help in order to quit smoking. If you pray to Allah (سبحانهوتعال) for His help and then make sincere efforts to give up smoking, then Allah (سبحانهوتعال) will help you .but one should have a very strong belief that Allah (سبحانهوتعال) will surely help him, and remember nothing is easy, one needs to be strong.)

(Surah Al-Ma’idah Ch:5 V:2)

 وَتَعَاوَنُواعَلَىالْبِرِّوَالتَّقْوَىٰۖوَلَاتَعَاوَنُواعَلَىالْإِثْمِ

“And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression”

(The prohibition of smoking is not restricted to consuming it, but applies as well to offering it to people, sitting with those who are smoking, or selling it. All of this involves helping people commit sins, which is prohibited)

(Surah Ar-Ra’d Ch:13 V:28)

الَّذِينَآمَنُواوَتَطْمَئِنُّقُلُوبُهُمبِذِكْرِاللَّهِۗأَلَابِذِكْرِاللَّهِتَطْمَئِنُّالْقُلُوبُ

“Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah . Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured."

(Even medical science has rejected outright the myth that smoking calms the nerves. So many people who do believe that cigarettes are good for the removal of the sadness and departure of the worries should know that it’s not true. Now almost all the scientists expunged this idea and concluded to the fact that cigarettes are actually causing a person to get tensed instead of healed. However what we Muslims know for sure is that the remembrance of Allah is the only healing power, for there is no one to guide us better then Allah (SWT))

(Surah ‘Al-Imran Ch:3 V:159)

لَهُمْوَشَاوِرْهُمْفِيالْأَمْرِۖفَإِذَاعَزَمْتَفَتَوَكَّلْعَلَىاللَّهِۚإِنَّاللَّهَيُحِبُّالْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ

“And when you have decided, then rely upon Allah. Indeed, Allah loves those who rely [upon Him].”

(Rely on Allah sincerely, with full determination not to return to smoking ever, if one has a strong faith and Trust in Allah (SWT) then Allah will surely guide him to the right path and he will be able to give up this evil habit  for good.)

(Surah Al-Baqarah Ch:2 V:219)

يَسْأَلُونَكَعَنِالْخَمْرِوَالْمَيْسِرِۖقُلْفِيهِمَاإِثْمٌكَبِيرٌوَمَنَافِعُلِلنَّاسِوَإِثْمُهُمَاأَكْبَرُمِن

 نَّفْعِهِمَاۗ 

They ask you about wine and gambling. Say, "In them is great sin and [yet, some] benefit for people. But their sin is greater than their benefit."

(Similarly when we talk about smoking we know that the harm is greater than the benefit as proven by medical science as well.)

(Surah Al-Baqarah Ch:2 V:224)

وَلَاتَجْعَلُوااللَّهَعُرْضَةًلِّأَيْمَانِكُمْأَنتَبَرُّواوَتَتَّقُواوَتُصْلِحُوابَيْنَالنَّاسِ

“And do not make [your oath by] Allah an excuse against being righteous and fearing Allah and making peace among people.”

(We should fear Allah (سبحانهوتعال) at all times and do as commanded, however if we are smoking we are disobeying Allah (سبحانهوتعال). So do we fear Allah (SWT) then? We should be ashamed of ourselves and ask forgiveness and quit smoking as Allah (SWT) is ‘The Most Merciful & The Most Beneficent’)

(Surah Al-‘A’raf Ch:7 V:179)

لَهُمْقُلُوبٌلَّايَفْقَهُونَبِهَاوَلَهُمْأَعْيُنٌلَّايُبْصِرُونَبِهَاوَلَهُمْآذَانٌلَّايَسْمَعُونَبِهَا

“They have hearts with which they do not understand, they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear.”

(Almost all smokers give lame excuses that smoking is not haram it’s very disgraceful that we are well aware of the fact that smoking is haram and still we keep on doing the same thing.)

(Surah Al-‘Anfal Ch:8 V:22)

إِنَّشَرَّالدَّوَابِّعِندَاللَّهِالصُّمُّالْبُكْمُالَّذِينَلَايَعْقِلُونَ

“Indeed, the worst of living creatures in the sight of Allah are the deaf and dumb who do not use reason.”

(If such people hear the Qur'an, they will not understand it. By doing so, they will be like animals, which have no minds, or even worse. So if there is even a tiny chance of something being haram we should simply stay away from it.)

(Surah An-Nisa’ Ch:4 V:59)

أَطِيعُوااللَّهَوَأَطِيعُواالرَّسُولَ

“Obey Allah and obey the Messenger”

(A Muslim can’t deny the Hadith of The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). He has been instructed to do so by Allah (سبحانهوتعال) Himself. If we don’t agree with Hadith then we are not Muslims since a Muslim testifies that ‘There is no god but Allah And Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)is His Messenger’ by believing in Qur’an but not the Hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)we only ‘Testify that there is no god but Allah’whereas we don’t testify that Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)is His messenger. A Muslim needs to follow the teachings of Allah’s Messenger as commanded.)

(Surah At-Tawbah Ch:9 V:71)

وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَوَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُبَعْضُهُمْأَوْلِيَاءُبَعْضٍۚيَأْمُرُونَبِالْمَعْرُوفِوَيَنْهَوْنَعَنِالْمُنكَرِ

“The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong”

(A faithful friend will only encourage you to do what is right and prevent you from doing any evil act. The one who offer you cigarette is encouraging you to do an evil act clearly he doesn’t care about your health or future.)

(Surah Al-Baqarah Ch:2 V:6)

إِنَّالَّذِينَكَفَرُواسَوَاءٌعَلَيْهِمْأَأَنذَرْتَهُمْأَمْلَمْتُنذِرْهُمْلَايُؤْمِنُونَ

“Indeed, those who disbelieve - it is all the same for them whether you warn them or do not warn them - they will not believe”

(Numerous times when someone tries to warn that ‘smoking kills’ smokers get annoyed and end up making fun of that person. They should fear Allah for their heart is sealed and they have been blinded.)

(Surah Al-‘Ankabut Ch:29 V:45)

إِنَّالصَّلَاةَتَنْهَىٰعَنِالْفَحْشَاءِوَالْمُنكَرِۗوَلَذِكْرُاللَّهِأَكْبَرُ

“Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is greater”

(Start praying ‘five’ times a day as prescribed by our beloved Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as Prayer keeps you away from all kinds of evil acts.)

Evolution or Creation or Both ?

 Evolution or Creation or Both ?  

Al Qur'an teaches us both (Evolution & Creation). 
Qur'an says, "Allah is- Al khaliq" (The Creator) 
It also says, "Allah is- Al Bari" (The Evolver)
For the Muslim there is no need for separation between religion and science. It is understood from the Quran, revealed over 1,400 years ago, that there is both; "Creation" and "Evolution." And in both instances, it is only Allah who is "Able to do all things." In fact, it was the Muslim scientists, more than 1,000 years ago, who set the stage for the advancement of learning, technology and disciplines in science that we know today.

Allah has explained how He created everything in the universe and brought all life out of water. He created humans from earth (not monkeys) and there is no need to attempt fabrications of "links" to the animal world in Islam.

The Christian Bible says that Adam & Eve were both created here on Earth, less than 10,000 years ago. The Quran says that Adam & Eve were created in Heaven, and NOT on Earth. When they disobeyed God, He expelled them from Heaven, down to Earth.

Muslims believe that souls are assigned to humans 40 days after the human inception. The Quran says that angels retrieve human souls on two occasions. One occasion is when humans die. The other occasion is every time humans fall asleep. When humans wakeup, the angels release those souls back to them:

 It is Allah that takes the souls (of men) at death; and those that did not die, during their sleep: those on whom He has passed the decree of death, He keeps back, but the rest He sends (to their bodies) for a term appointed. Verily in this are Signs for those who reflect.

[Noble Quran 39:42]

 And Allah has Created every animal from water; of them are some creeping on their bellies; some walk on two legs; and some on four. Allah Creates what He wills: for sure Allah has Power over all things.

[Noble Quran 24:45]

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Recitation of Qur'an

Recitation of Qur'an 

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QURAN ON FORMATION OF CLOUDS AND RAIN

QURAN ON FORMATION OF CLOUDS AND RAIN 

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 Collected from web 

Allah says:

(And it is He Who sends the winds as heralds of glad tidings, going before His Mercy (rain). Till when they have carried a heavy-laden cloud, We drive it to a land that is dead, then We cause water (rain) to descend thereon. Then We produce every kind of fruit therewith. Similarly, We shall raise up the dead, so that you may remember or take heed.) (7:57)

Allah says:

(And We send the winds fertilizing (to fill heavily the clouds with water), then cause the water (rain) to descend from the sky, and We give it to you to drink, and it is not you who are the owners of its stores [i.e. to give water to whom you like or to withhold it from whom you like].) (15:22)

Modern science has affirmed the scientific points mentioned in this verse of the Quran. The winds carry water particles which are rich in salt up into the atmosphere; these particles which are called 'aerosols' function as water traps and form cloud drops by collecting around the water vapor themselves. 

3,600 patients with neurotoxic symptoms in Damascus hospitals

3,600 patients with neurotoxic symptoms in Damascus hospitals on Wednesday – Doctors Without Borders

However, MSF could not “scientifically confirm the cause of these symptoms”.
However, MSF could not “scientifically confirm the cause of these symptoms”.
It follows from the report that MSF will now replenish “empty stocks” and deliver additional medical supplies.

“In addition to 1,600 vials of atropine supplied over recent months, MSF has now dispatched 7,000 additional vials to facilities in the area. Treatment of neurotoxic patients is now being fully integrated into MSF’s medical strategies in all its programs in Syria,” stated Janssens.
It follows from the report that MSF will now replenish “empty stocks” and deliver additional medical supplies.
“In addition to 1,600 vials of atropine supplied over recent months, MSF has now dispatched 7,000 additional vials to facilities in the area. Treatment of neurotoxic patients is now being fully integrated into MSF’s medical strategies in all its programs in Syria,” stated Janssens.
“In addition to 1,600 vials of atropine supplied over recent months, MSF has now dispatched 7,000 additional vials to facilities in the area. Treatment of neurotoxic patients is now being fully integrated into MSF’s medical strategies in all its programs in Syria,” stated Janssens.
Syria is yet to give its assent to the UN inspectors currently in the country, who have not yet visited the sites of the alleged assault.

আল্লামা হযরত মাওলানা শাহ্ ছুফী নেছারুদ্দীন আহমদ (রহঃ) এর জীবনী

আল্লামা হযরত মাওলানা শাহ্ ছুফী নেছারুদ্দীন আহমদ (রহঃ) এর জীবনী

 

১৭৫৭ খৃষ্টাব্দে পলাশীর আম্র কাননের যুদ্ধে বাংলা বিষয় উড়িষ্যার শেষ স্বাধীন নবাব সিরাজুদ্দৌলার পতনের সাথে সাথেই শুরুহয় এদেশের ইসলামী তাহজীব, তমাদ্দুন ও আদর্শের অধঃপতন। বিশেষ করে এই উপমহাদেশের মুসলমানগণ বর্ণনাতীত লাঞ্ছনা ও গঞ্জনার শিকার হইতে লাগিল। ক্রমে ক্রমে অবস্থা এমন হইল যে মাত্র এক শতাব্দীর মধ্যে মুসলমানগণ তাহাদের স্বকীয় কৃষ্টি ও সভ্যতা প্রায় ভুলিয়া গিয়া নিপতিত হইল অধঃপতনের গভীর অন্ধকারে। জ্ঞানের অভাবে নিজ তাহজীব তামাদ্দুন বিবর্জিত হয়ে মুসলমানগণ বরণ করে নিয়াছিল বিধর্মীদের আচার ব্যবহার ও তাহাদের চাল-চলন, পোষাক-পরিচ্ছদ। বিজারতীয় অনুকরণে তাহারা নামের পূর্বে “শ্রী” ব্যবহার করিত, লুংগী পাজামার পরিবর্তে “ধূতি” পরিধান করিত। মাথায় টুপী না পরিয়া “টিকি” রাখিত, এমনকি কোন কোন মুসলিম মহিলা সিথিতে সিঁদুর পর্যন্ত ব্যবহার করিত। পূজা পার্বনে মুসলমানদের অবাধে অংশগ্রহণ, দেব-দেবীর নামে মান্নত ইত্যাদিবহু ইছলাম গর্হিত কাজ ও বিশ্বাস বাংলার ঘরে ঘরে সংক্রামক ব্যাধির ন্যায় ছড়িয়ে পড়েছিল।

জন্মকাল ও স্থান

সামাজিক এই অবক্ষয়ের সময় জাতিকে সটিক পথের দিশা দিবার জন্য অভিভক্ত বাংলার অন্তর্গত তৎকালীন বরিশাল বা বাখেরগঞ্জ জিলাধীন (বর্তমানে পিরোজপুর জিলাধীন) ছারছীনা গ্রামে জন্ম নিলেন মর্দে মুজাহিদ, যুগশ্রেষ্ঠ ওলিয়ে কামিল, মুর্শিদে বরহক, খাঁটি নায়েবে নবী আল্লামা হযরত মাওলানা শাহ্ ছুফী নেছারুদ্দীন আহমদ (রহঃ)।

তাঁরই প্রতিষ্ঠিত ছারছীনা দরবার উপমহাদেশের শরীয়ত ও মা’রেফতের এক অন্যতম শ্রেষ্ঠ কেন্দ্র। তিনি ইলমে শরীয়তে ছিলেন যেমন একজন অতিউঁচু স্তরের মুহাক্কিক আলেম, তেমনি ইলমে মারেফতেরও একজন অতি উচ্চ মকামের ওলিয়ে কামিল। নিজের জীবনে এবং তাঁর অনুগামী ও অনুসারীদের পরিপূর্ন রূপে সুন্নাতে নববীর আমল এ এত্তেবা তথা সুন্নাত পুনরুজ্জীবন এবং সর্বক্ষেত্রে তার প্রতিষ্ঠাই ছিল তাঁর মহান সাধনা। লেবাস, পোষাক, চাল-চলন, খাওয়া-দাওয়া, আমল-আখলাক, লেনদেন, মোয়ামালাত-মোয়াশারাত-এক কথায় জীবনের প্রতিটি ক্ষেত্রে প্রতিটি কাজে সুন্নাতের পাবন্দিতে তিনি ছিলেন অত্যন্ত কঠোর ও আপোসহীন। ফরজ, ওয়াজিব, সুন্নাতে মুআক্কাদাতো বটেই, এমন কি নফল, মোস্তাহাব ও মোস্তাহসানও তরক করতেন না তিনি, এবং তার মুরীদ মো’তাকেদদেরকেও এ ব্যাপারে বিশেষ তাকিদ দিতেন। তিনি ছিলেন কঠোর সাধক, আবেদ, জাহেদ, কাশ্ফ ও কারামওয়ালা মহান সুফী দরবেশ। শিরক-বেদআত ও কুসংস্কার উচ্ছেদের এক সংগ্রামী মর্দে মুজাহিদ, এক অসাধারণ সফল সংস্কারক।

Homemade perfect mayonnaise

3 Kinds of Ingredients of Homemade perfect mayonnaise 

 

1# 

2 egg yolks

Generous pinch of salt

250ml groundnut or sunflower oil

25ml olive, walnut or rapeseed oil

1 tbsp mustard of your choice (or 1tsp mustard powder)

1 clove garlic, crushed (optional)

1 tbsp lemon juice 

 

2#

500 ml of fresh Yogurt

1 tbsp. of Condensed milk

2 tbsp Olive oil

1 tsp of fresh mint (shredded)

1/4 tsp. of black pepper powder

A pinch of Salt

A tsp of herb seasoning 

 

3# 

290ml/½ groundnut oil

2 eggs, yolks only

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 heaped tsp powdered mustard

1 tsp salt

 milled black pepper

1 tsp white wine vinegar

Some Mid-East Recipe

 Some Mid-East Recipe

1#  Tant Hoda’s Recipe for KOFTA!

I recently visited my lovely aunt, Tant Hoda, and she gave me the recipe for her amazing kofta, an Egyptian recipe for grilled ground beef. Serve this in a pita sandwich with tahina, cucumbers and tomatoes or with rice and a bit of yogurt sauce. She’s an amazing cook and was kind enough to share her recipe for kofta with me. The hardest part about making kofta is the cooking process — you’ve got to make sure that you use a grill because you want that smoky taste.

Recipe:

2 lbs. ground beef
1/4 c chopped parsley
1 medium onion, chopped finely
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp pepper
salt, to taste
barbecue sticks, soaked in water

Heat up the grill. Mix all the ingredients together. Form a golf ball-sized ball of meat in your hand and shape it around the barbecue sticks, forming a sausage-like shape. Grill the kofta, rolling it around first on the grill to grease it up from the fat of the beef, and then leave it alone for about 3 minutes on each side. Gently remove the barbecue stick at the last moment to serve. 

2#  Egyptian Liver recepi... 

Serving Ideas: The sauce from this dish is so yummy! So you want to serve it with a thick bread that will absorb this sauce.  It could also be served with rice or pasta.

Condiments: Tahini sauce and mixed pickles.

TWO MOONS on 27th August

TWO MOONS on 27th August 

27^th Aug the Whole World is waiting for......... ....    
Share this with your friends as NO ONE ALIVE TODAY will ever see it again..Planet Mars will be the brightest in the night sky starting August. It will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. This will cultivate on Aug. 27 when Mars comes within 34.65M miles off earth. Be sure to watch the sky on Aug. 27 12:30 am. It will look like the earth has 2 moons.

The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. 

 

 

Syrian govt ready to cooperate with UN experts in chemical attack probe - Moscow

Syrian govt ready to cooperate with UN experts in chemical attack probe - Moscow

A handout image released by the Syrian opposition's Shaam News Network shows smoke above buildings following what Syrian rebels claim to be a toxic gas attack by pro-government forces in eastern Ghouta, on the outskirts of Damascus on August 21, 2013. (AFP Photo/Shaam News Network)

Speaking on Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich said Moscow hopes that UN experts will conduct “objective investigation of all possible cases of use of chemical weapons on Syrian territory.”The Syrian government is ready for “maximum” cooperation with UN experts working to clarify the alleged use of chemical weapons in attacks, Russia’s Foreign Ministry says. The UN has requested access to Damascus suburbs to be granted “without delays”.

"We hope that the results will clarify the issue and will help to dispel numerous speculations around the alleged use of the Syrian chemical weapons that simultaneously create a positive background for the moves towards the start of the political process of settlement of the Syrian crisis", he said.

The statement comes the day after a gas attack was reported by opposition activists in the capital, Damascus, killing according to various reports from dozens up to 1,300. However, according to Lukashevich no one has a confirmed data on the number of killed. 

While rebel groups blamed the incident on President Bashar Assad's forces, the government suspects it was carried out by opposition to draw international attention to their cause.

The attack coincided with the visit of UN observers, coming to the country to investigate previous cases of chemical attacks in the war-torn country. 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on the Syrian government to allow a UN team, led by Swedish scientist Ake Sellstrom, to visit the site in the Damascus suburbs.  

"A formal request is being sent by the United Nations to the government of Syria in this regard. He expects to receive a positive response without delay," Ban’s office said in a statement. 

UN human rights chief, Navi Pillay, also said that allegations of the use of chemical weapons are“exceptionally grave and need to be comprehensively proved or disproved as soon as is humanly possible". 

France has called on the international community to respond with force if it is proved true that the Syrian government was behind Wednesday’s chemical attack on civilians.  

Speaking during a telephone conversation with the UN Secretary General, French President, Francois Hollande denounced “the likely use of chemical weapons" on the night of August 20-21

Egyptian court orders Hosni Mubarak's release from prison

Egyptian court orders Hosni Mubarak's release from prison

Former president to be freed as early as Thursday, triggering fears of further turmoil amid crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood 

Egyptians divided over Hosni Mubarak release

The former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak will leave jail as early as Thursday after a court ruling that is expected to add to the turmoil since the army toppled President Mohamed Morsi.

On Wednesday the court upheld a release petition from Mubarak's lawyer.

Egyptians grieve for loved ones as massacre continues

Egypt's mosques transformed into surgeries as further Morsi supporters become victims of bloodbath at hands of police

• 
• • Patrick Kingsley in Cairo
  • The Guardian, Friday 16 August 2013 20.38 BST

Egypt's mosques become makeshift operating theatres, with green prayer-mats being used as beds. Photograph: Hassan Ammar/AP

Tears streaking down his face, Ahmed al-Sheikh let out a long howl as his legs gave way beneath him. "My brother," he screamed, as a passerby caught his body before it fell to the floor. "My brother."

Al-Sheikh's brother, Mohamed, was lying motionless a few feet away on the floor of central Cairo's al-Fath mosque – shot dead by police in the third day of deadly violence to grip the Egyptian capital.

Heavy gunfire rang out in the fiercest street battles in the city since the security forces launched their bloody crackdown against supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi on Wednesday. Military helicopters hovered overhead as supporters and opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood clashed in the streets below.

At the time of Mohamed's death, 19 other protesters lay dead next to him. Later, others would count at least another 25 corpses – making a total of 45, with the death toll likely to rise significantly. Across the country on Friday the death toll from clashes rose to at least 60, with 52 civilians and eight police officers killed, security officials told Associated Press.

At Ramses Square in central Cairo the bodies were piled up on the green – and later bloodstained – carpet of the al-Fath mosque. Earlier, after midday prayers, thousands of pro-Morsi supporters had gathered nearby to protest the state-led massacre of hundreds of their friends at two pro-Morsi camps on Wednesday, in what the Muslim Brotherhood had styled as a "day of rage".

Within hours, they were themselves the victims of yet another bloodbath at the hands of police – the second massacre of Morsi supporters in three days and the fourth in the six weeks since the army ousted Morsi on 3 July.

"We didn't expect this after the killing and the burning of the bodies at the camps," said Dr Anas Awad, a protester and off-duty medic who had rushed to the Ramses Square mosque to offer his expertise. "We thought at least they would leave some time to grieve."

Next door, grieving had already begun again. Mohamed Abdel was kneeling at the knees of his friend, Mohamed Said, shaking with sobs. Moments earlier, Said – shot in the back – had been conscious, lying against a pillar. Then his head slumped and doctors rolled his eyelids shut. Minutes later, he was lying in the line of corpses in the next-door room.

"Does [General] Sisi want to kill us all?" asked Mohamed Abdallah, a 46-year-old accountant sitting nearby – shot in the arm, he said, by a live police round.

"I don't have words for them," said Awad, of the police who attacked them and the army-backed regime that has justified the brutal crackdown. "History and God and Egypt will judge them."

It was a hellish scene at the mosque. Every spare patch of floor became a makeshift operating theatre. Green prayer-mats were beds, tables were used as stretchers, while those already treated – blood drenching their shirts – sprawled against the walls at the side. In the absence of anaesthetic, someone ran around distributing grapes. Elsewhere, there was a team dedicated to resuscitating the unconscious.

A woman who had come for the day from Menoufiya province, squatted in a corridor, crying hysterically. "My brother and his family came today from Menoufiya," sobbed Nagwa el-Qilani, clutching a Qur'an, "but I can't find them and I don't know if they are alive."

The mayhem at the mosque was in many ways one of nightmarish deja-vu for many of those present. Dr Hisham Ibrahim – the surgeon who ran the field hospital that dealt with casualties at Rabaa al-Adawiya, one of Wednesday's cleared camps – was again in charge at al-Fath on Friday.

Speaking on the imam's megaphone, Ibrahim issued directions, ordering the injured, who arrived at a rate of one a minute, to one section of the sprawling building, corpses to another, and deliveries of donated medical supplies to a third corner. He later asked for donations of blood.

How the fighting began remains unclear, and – as usual in post-Morsi Cairo, where truth has become a rare commodity – there were conflicting accounts. Television footage showed some armed and masked men among Friday's 28 pro-Morsi marches to Ramses Square. But who fired first was unclear. Several protesters said their vast majority were peaceful; that it was the police who first trapped the marchers and then opened fire.

"We were walking on 6 October Bridge [a flyover]," said 25-year-old doctor, Mohamed Ahmed Abdel Salem, who approached the central Ramses Square from west Cairo. "Just 200m before we got there, police cars came up behind us and started firing on us, and so did people from the police station to the left of the bridge. It was like a trap.

"They started with teargas and then real bullets. People started falling. Other people tried to carry them on motorbikes, but they couldn't get anywhere because they were trapped. Some used planks or the plastic sides of the bridge to cover themselves, others threw stones at the police station."

Salem's group managed to reach ground-level via a ramp and said police continued to fire at them from behind as they scrambled for safety. He admitted the presence of armed men among the protesters but distanced himself from their actions.

"Of the 2000 people there, maybe only two had guns but they had masks, and no one knows who they were. And the police fired first," Salem insisted.

A witness at another march, who was not a supporter of either Morsi or the army, told the Guardian that some of the marchers did have weapons but only used them after local residents in an area of west Cairo started firing on them. Inside the mosque, doctors were in no doubt that the police had used little restraint. "They were shooting to kill," said Dr Mahmoud el-Hout, secretary-general of the medical syndicate in Sharqiya province and one of the protesters. "We were expressing our opinions peacefully, and they intended to kill us."

Arriving at Ramses Sq shortly before the shooting started, The Guardian saw teargas fired on protesters who were armed only with rocks. A helicopter later hovered overhead with its door open – and several witnesses reported that soldiers inside were firing on protesters.

Medics also reported being attacked while treating patients. "I was treating people on the bridge," said el-Hout's son Omar, also a doctor. "Then there was a volley of shots. I got down, and I realised I had been hit in the chest by shotgun pellets."

As night fell and the new curfew – enforced on Wednesday to contain the violent protests after the massacres – approached, the medics feared further attacks on the al-Fath mosque.

"After they finish outside," said el-Hout, "they will come in here and arrest all the wounded. I can believe anything of these criminals. They're not humans. They're animals."

Elsewhere in Cairo, many pro-army Egyptians – protesting at counter-demonstrations – launched similar vitriol at Morsi's supporters, in an indication of Egypt's deep divisions.

"They weren't peaceful," said Rabia Farahat, a 30-year-old plumber. "They had weapons, they attacked churches. I support the army against them. If I'm a soldier and someone attacks me, I'm going to fight back."

But Morsi's loyalists, a dwindling minority in Egypt, vowed that their fight would go on. They compared this week's protests to the 2011 revolution – a reference that will anger the majority of anti-Morsi Egyptians, who see themselves as the guardians of the goals of the uprising that overthrew Hosni Mubarak.

"We don't know right now what will happen next," said Noha el-Guindy, a 24-year-old office manager, as the shooting started up the road. "But we will continue to go out in the street as we did in 2011. We resisted then, and we will resist again." 

www.theguardian.com

‘Israel behind Egypt coup’ – Turkish PM

‘Israel behind Egypt coup’ – Turkish PM

August 20, 2013
Erdogan’s ruling AKP, which has Islamic roots, had developed ties with Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and aimed to boost Turkey’s regional clout by bolstering its relationship with the North African state. The Turkish PM, an outspoken supporter of Morsi and his Islamist government, lashed out at the West for failing to act in light of last week’s bloody crackdown against Muslim Brotherhood supporters. Having previously condemned the coup, Erdogan insisted that Morsi be reinstated through a democratic process.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan (AFP Photo / Adem Altan)

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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims Ankara has proof Israel was behind the July 3 military "coup" that toppled Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, Turkish media report.

Erdogan said the West was beginning to redefine democracy as a process that is not solely determined at the ballot box, although the poll represents “the people’s will.” 

“This is what has been implemented in Egypt. Who is behind this? Israel. We have evidence,” Erdogan said, as quoted by the Hurriyet daily, during a meeting with provincial chairs of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). 

#BREAKING Turkish PM Erdogan: "Israel is behind the Egyptian military coup, we have the related documents to confirm that."

Erdogan spoke of a meeting between Turkey’s justice minister and a “Jewish” intellectual in France before Egypt’s 2011 elections. 

“The Muslim Brotherhood will not be in power even if they win the elections. Because democracy is not the ballot box’: This is what [the intellectual] said at that time,” the PM continued. 

Erdogan did not clarify what connection the unidentified intellectual had to the Israeli government or how his alleged opinion proved Israel played any part in the recent ouster of Morsi.  

The Israeli Foreign Ministry declined to respond to Erdogan's accusation. "This is a statement well worth not commenting on," said ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor. 

In March, Israel attempted rapprochement with Turkey after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Erdogan to apologize for the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid that resulted in the deaths of eight Turks and one Turkish-American. 

Erdogan accepted the apology and both sides agreed to carry out further discussions. The PM, however, said that normalization of bilateral ties would take time, insinuating that Turkey wanted to ensure victims of the raid were compensated and that Israel remained committed to easing the restriction of goods to Gaza before restoring relations. 

The Egyptian interim presidency, however, denounced Erdogan's remarks. Presidential spokesperson Ahmed Muslimany said that "agents of the West should not give lessons in patriotism."