http://www.wikio.co.uk/blog/search/Nawaz Wikio Blogs - search: Nawaz wikio wikio http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68440233 Islamabad, Aug 21 (ANI): While MQM chief Altaf Hussain, who lives in exile in London, has supported PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardaris candidature for the post of Pakistan President, former premier Nawaz Sharifs party the PML-N has said that it needed to be consulted before the name for the next President was proposed by [...] Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:46:25 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68440233 ANI 2008-08-21T02:46:25Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68178456 by Cheryl Rofer On tonight's News Hour, Shuja Nawaz said that Pakistan's now ex-president Pervez Musharraf might wind up living in the United States. In New Mexico. Margaret Warner said "New Mexico?" and Nawaz said yes. Perhaps it was one... Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:44:10 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68178456 Cheryl Rofer 2008-08-19T00:44:10Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68270701 By Khalid Hashmani, McLean, Virginia, USA Today’s Washington Post contains a very interesting analysis of the current and future tussles between PPP, PML-N, and Pakistan military and some scenarios in Pakistan now that General Musharraf is no longer in the political picture of Pakistan. The author’s comments about Nawaz Sharif that that he is ”Busy pandering [...] Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:36:03 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68270701 iaoj 2008-08-19T19:36:03Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68023835 I AM writing this to you sitting outside a coffee shop in Virginia, a little outside Washington. I hope that my letter will be taken in the spirit in which it is written — from someone who deeply loves Pakistan and sincerely cares about it. Over the years, I have watched the situation in Pakistan, [...] Sun, 17 Aug 2008 12:29:38 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68023835 Azhar Masood 2008-08-17T12:29:38Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=67984617 MULTAN: Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Saturday that there would be no need for impeachment against the President if he resigns before the move. Talking to media persons, Qureshi said that the President might step down before the impeachment proceedings are initiated in the Parliament. He said the President may resign today [...] Sat, 16 Aug 2008 23:32:30 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=67984617 Rubab Saleem 2008-08-16T23:32:30Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=67858367 In July, Maajid Nawaz, the co-director of the London-based Quilliam Foundation, was in Washington, testifying before the Senate Homeland Security Committee, and speaking at a number of DC think tanks, including the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Mr. Nawaz and his colleague Ed Husain -- the author of the fascinating book "The Islamist" -- formed Quilliam as a "a counter extremism think tank” and are now actively attempting to take on the ideology they previously espoused. A summary of Mr. Nawaz's speech at the Washington Institute is available at: http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2911 In a July 16 posting, Jeffrey Imm took issue with some of Quilliam's stances, including their support for the grand mufti of Egypt. http://counterterrorismblog.org/2008/07/false_reports_on_jihad.php Mr. Nawaz has written a response to this post and to other criticisms which have been directed at Quilliam. I am posting it on Quilliam's behalf. "The Right and Wrong Voices," Response by Maajid Nawaz, Co-Director of the Quilliam Foundation Since being invited to Washington in July 2008, the Quilliam Foundation has received an overwhelming response from supportive voices across the political spectrum. As a result of this work, both Ed Husain and I have been invited to return this September. Our forthcoming trip coincides with Ed Husain’s American launch of his book The Islamist, published by Penguin. Naturally, and after observing the level of publicity our foundation has enjoyed, some voices have asked more detailed questions about our policies. I have been asked to outline our view on a number of issues ranging from our praise of the Mufti of Egypt, Ali Goma; our stance on a British religious leader Dr. Usama Hassan; our stance on Shari’ah “law” and our selection of Quilliam as a name. The Quilliam Foundation has no formal links with Mufti Ali Goma of Egypt. However, we have named him on our website as a scholastic giant. Some have asked us whether we know of Mufti Ali Goma’s stance on suicide bombings. Firstly, let me clarify that our view on suicide bombings is on the record. We have explicitly condemned the deliberate targeting of non-combatants, in Israel or anywhere else in the world. Ed Husain directly criticised Qardawi’s fatwa justifying suicide bombings whilst in Qatar for the Doha Debates. Furthermore, I personally challenged Azzam Tamimi - Hamas representative in the UK - on this matter in a studio debate on BBC’s flagship Newsnight with Jeremy Paxman: http://www.quilliamfoundation.org/component/content/article/51-video/173 It follows, therefore, that we would naturally be concerned if figures we have named as ‘scholastic giants’ were to be discovered as supporting such actions. On July 30th 2008 a letter was sent to Secretary of State Condaleezza Rice by two prominent and respected Senators, Tom Coburn and Jon Kyl. In this letter, the Senator’s referred to a 2003 article in Egypt’s “Al-Haqiqa” newspaper quoting Ali Goma defending terrorist acts in Israel. The respected Senator’s have cited Rabinowitz, Beila and William Mayer from their paper entitled “State Department Funding ISNA’s Propagation of Islam via citizen exchange program” (Pipe Line News, 25 April 2008) as a reference for this allegation against Ali Goma. Since these questions were raised I did my own research. I have found this source referred to by Rabinowitz, Beila and William Mayer. It is a secondary source that does not quote Ali Goma directly. Rather surprisingly, it is also a Wahabite-Islamist source, being a newspaper that explicitly promotes a Shari’ah-law based Caliphate and attacks Shi’ah Muslims as heretics. I felt, therefore, that it would be helpful for people to know who they are being asked to rely on for evidence. The following extract is taken from an article stating that by far the biggest ‘danger to Islam’ in Egypt is the modernising agenda of Mufti Ali Goma, due to his articulate, learned and popular approach to reform issues: http://www.haqeeqa.com/index.aspx?status=prodetail&aid=690 يكتسب مصداقية بمخالفة الرأي الرسمي للحكومة والدولة مثل رأيه في العمليات الاستشهادية مثلاً واعتبار من يقول بحرمتها أنه حمار ـ أعزكم الله ـ وذلك بعد تصريح شيخ الأزهر بأنها انتحار محرم بأقل من أسبوع, في تحدي واضح لرأس المؤسسة الدينية في مصر He (Ali Goma) is not like his predecessor, whose religion was simply the religion of the government of the day. If such a government made something permissible (Halal), he too would make it permissible. If they were to deem something forbidden (Haram), so would he. Consequently, he (Ali Goma) tries to win over credibility by conflicting with the official state and government opinion on matters. An example of this is his opinion on martyrdom [sic] operations, and his view that those who consider them prohibited are like donkeys - may God dignify you. As a clear challenge to the head of Egypt’s theological institution, Ali Goma’s proclamation came after the statement made by the Mufti of Azhar, by less than a week, holding that such operations are to be considered prohibited suicide (Haram). Contrary to this secondary, hostile and extremist Wahhabist-Islamist source above, we have Mufti Ali Goma’s own words. Below, he explicitly condemns suicide bombings as quoted by him directly in a reliable and professional American news magazine, Newsweek: As for suicide bombing, Islam forbids suicide; it forbids the taking of one’s own life. In addition, Islam forbids aggression against others. Attacking civilians, women, children, and the elderly by blowing oneself up is absolutely forbidden in Islam. No excuse can be made for the crimes committed in New York, Spain, and London, and anyone who tries to make excuses for these acts is ignorant of Islamic law (shari’ah), and their excuses are a result of extremism and ignorance http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/muslims_speak_out/2007/07/sheikh_ali_gomah.html To clarify, my claim is not that Mufti Ali Goma categorically did not support suicide bombings. In the citation above, for example, he did not explicitly mention Israel. My claim is, rather, that the evidence available and cited is definitely insufficient to popularise such a serious accusation at this moment. Mufti Ali Goma must stand innocent until proven guilty. If proven to have endorsed such a tactic, the Quilliam Foundation will be the first to concede his serious and grave error, but we will not accept it based upon Wahhabite-Islamists’ say so, and consequently Goma’s own and general condemnation in Newsweek still stands. On the matter of support for Ali Goma, it seems rather ironic that right-wing critics share their worries over our stance, probably to their horror, with Marxists on the far-left such as the UK Guardian’s Seamus Milne, who cites the same concern in a scathing attack on our Foundation’s work here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/17/islam.race Moving on, another question raised has been that of our gratitude for having Dr. Usama Hassan as one of our official advisors. Dr. Usama Hassan has also travelled the same path of extremism in his youth, only to mature into a progressive and enlightened voice for moderation today. He recently participated alongside Ed Hussain in an official Foreign Office delegation to Egypt to represent a more British understanding of our faith, and is now one of the leading theological voices for British Islam. Concerns have been raised about Dr Usama’s father, Shaikh Shu’aib Hassan, who is a very conservative voice amongst Britain’s Muslim communities. Suffice to say that Dr Usama is not his father, and Shaikh Shu’aib is not Dr Usama. Dr Usama respectfully disagrees with his father on many of the problematic issues of our day. On the Caliphate, Dr Usama Hassan has stated clearly, and without reservation, in his Quilliam Foundation launch speech - only 10 minutes long and on our website - that he believes in Secularism, and that secularism was indeed always a part of traditional Islam. http://www.quilliamfoundation.org/component/content/article/51-video/150 ) Consequently, Dr Usama believes in using the name Caliphate to reclaim Muslim secularism through it, as he believes that past Caliphates always were secular in nature. The Quilliam Foundation is concerned with substantively challenging those who wish to adopt Shari’ah as state law, not with those who merely use the word Caliphate to mean a secular state; for that would be an exercise in semantics. On this note, it is perhaps pertinent to state that the Quilliam Foundation has time and time again criticised and challenged those who call for ‘Islamist Supremacism’, or the belief that the Shari’ah must be dominant as state law. Another question raised by some quarters is the concern that William Quilliam, after whom we named our foundation, was an Islamist. Right-wing commentator’s may again be horrified to learn that this claim was first made by the far-left in the UK alongside Hizb ut-Tahrir UK activists in their desperate claim to traditional legitimacy. Such an anachronistic allegation has already been dealt with on our website. We believe that William Quilliam was a political activist who had no ideological agenda, and no ideology. He hailed from a time of empire and thus spoke and behaved in accordance to the imperial politics of his day. In a typically British manner, he engaged in localised charity and localised politics, challenging his government where necessary. The Quilliam Foundation is not interested in making Muslims apolitical. We are solely interested in encouraging Muslims to engage politically as citizens, challenging where necessary, but with no ideological baggage. I am sure that readers can differentiate between the need for genuine checks and balances and between avoiding an ideologically driven fifth columnist approach. Naturally, like all, William Quilliam was a prisoner to the discourse of the era in which he was born. At no stage, however, did he make the Islamist claim that Islam was a political ideology, unlike the later founders of Islamism; Banna, Nabhani and Qutb. A rebuttal of the anachronistic claim that he was an Islamist is found on our website here: http://www.quilliamfoundation.org/BritainsFirstMuslimActivist.htm In conclusion, we ask that people on the left and right join with us in our commitment to encourage true pluralism in Muslim political discourse, to support non-Islamist voices, to challenge the ideology and discourse of Islamism and to engender normal politics as alternatives to Islamism. As far as practicable, the right people must be encouraged and the wrong ones must be criticised. We caution that this work, vital though it is, must be tempered with a jealous protection of our liberties, especially freedom of religion and thought, rigorous academic standards and a deep understanding of the theological, ideological and social states of Islam and Muslims today. If we fail in these lofty standards we risk tarnishing the liberal alternative and losing the authority to speak as well as the moral high-ground from which to invite others. Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:14:25 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=67858367 Michael Jacobson 2008-08-15T14:14:25Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=67844646 Rawalpindi , Aug 15 (ANI): Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has reportedly accused PML-N leader and former premier Nawaz Sharif of creating political instability in the country, by repeatedly demanding his Impeachment and ultimately convincing the PPP to go for it. Musharraf is said to have expressed this view at a meeting with PML-Q leaders Shujaat [...] Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:49:31 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=67844646 ANI 2008-08-15T10:49:31Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68467132 Former Pakistan premier Nawaz Sharif has threatened to pull his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party out of the ruling coalition and "sit in the opposition" if judges sacked by former president Pervez Musharraf are not reinstated by Friday. Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:08:19 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68467132 2008-08-21T10:08:19Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68444571 CROSSED SWORD PAKISTAN : ITS ARMY AND WARS WITHIN by Shuja Nawaz Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:02:00 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68444571 Marshall Jevons 2008-08-21T03:02:00Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68529930 On one hand, the nomination of PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari to replace Pervez Musharraf as president appears to be a rather decisive stroke, which in itself bids relatively well for the Pakistani coalition government. The balance-tipping middle parties between Zardari’s PPP and Nawaz Sharif’s PML -N seems to have largely lined up behind Benazir Bhutto’s widower, giving it an apparent clear majority in votes (Pakistani presidents are elected by its parliament (National Assembly), not directly through national vote.) But on the other hand, decisive or not, Zardari is the very embodiment of corruption - the very reason Pakistanis cheered Musharraf’s bloodless coup in 1999. And the fight between the PPP and the PML -N over the reinstatement of judges is central to Zardari’s corruption. The corruption charges against Zardari and his late wife, Benazir Bhutto, were essentially dropped by the current set of judges installed by Musharraf. And the reinstatement of the original judges means Zardari (or Mr. Benazir Bhutto, if one prefers) may well see them come back to life. Thus, the fight within the PML -N/PPP coalition. And for all his faults, the level of corruption under Musharraf - one of his stated reasons for taking power - was lower. A Zardari presidency is a return to the old in that regard, and one reason why this coalition government may have been popularly elected yet will remain both fractured and unpopular in the eyes of the general Pakistani population. ‘The same, only different.’ With that context in mind, and excerpt from Pakistan’s Daily Times report today. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the major coalition partner in the federal government, has decided to nominate its Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari as the next president of the country. A source close to Zardari House told Daily Times that this decision had been taken by the top hierarchy of the PPP and the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) would formally announce the decision after its meeting on Friday (tomorrow). “The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) will endorse and second the PPP CEC ’s recommendation to nominate Asif Zardari as a presidential candidate,” the source said. He said in return for its support to the PPP, the MQM would continue to hold the office of Sindh governor besides joining the coalition in the centre and accepting ministerial slots in the federal cabinet at a later stage. It has also been learnt that the PPP expects the Awami National Party (ANP) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) to also support the PPP CEC ’s recommendation. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), however, wants the next president from Balochistan or NWFP. But the PPP hierarchy insists that the top offices in the country are a right of the major political party. The PML -N, it should be noted, is thus seeking a president from a province currently wrestling with an insurgency directly afoot. This is not insignificant. Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:21:54 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68529930 Steve Schippert 2008-08-21T18:21:54Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68521218 These are the op ed words of a man who wore many hats - from the Nawaz League, he jumped to PPP, marrying Nahid Khan's sister, then divorcing her to marry Farah Naz Ispahani, teaching at Boston, joined neo-con think tanks, got close to Bibi in exile and landing the plum ambassadorship in DC. He is also alleged to be a neo-con if not a neoconzix. Media savvy, always glib, never at a loss for words in both Urdu and English: The U.S.'s primary concern in Pakistan remains the ongoing war against al Qaeda and the Taliban, mainly in the country's northwest region bordering Afghanistan. With Mr. Musharraf gone, the war against terror will in fact be pursued with much more vigor and much less political manipulation. Anti-Americanism among Pakistan's people may ease, now that Washington is not seen as backing an unpopular strongman. That should make it easier for the elected government to fight terrorism without being accused of doing America's bidding in return for economic and military assistance. (Am not sure what dreamland Mr Haqqani lives in. Musharraf is gone but replaced by another of their point man, Kayani, now seen unburdened with political considerations - t) The assumption that dealing with a single, authoritarian leader is the best way to do business with a foreign government is erroneous. In a nation of 160 million, the U.S. should not count on only one man as its ally. Those who are American allies by conviction and a shared belief in democracy, tolerance and free markets are bound to be better allies than an ally of convenience seeking only aid and political support. (Mr. Haqqani should read more history - the US talks about democracy from one corner of the mouth but when it comes to working, preponderately in the years since 1945, the US has preferred to work with dictators, shahs, kings and not with democratically elected leaders in the third world - Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan....it is along list. Further, the US is NOT counting on one man in a nation of 160 million. He is insulting the reader's intelligence. - t) baithak has an aura. sheesha, fireplace, bulging bookshelves, rugs, divan takias and more... Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:46:00 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68521218 noreply@blogger.com (temporal) 2008-08-21T14:46:00Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68449889 SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has threatened to pull his party out of Pakistan’s ruling coalition it does not decide by Friday to reinstate judges purged by former president Pervez Musharraf, the Wall Street Journal reported. Thu, 21 Aug 2008 06:33:18 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68449889 2008-08-21T06:33:18Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68442241 SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has threatened to pull his party out of Pakistan’s ruling coalition it does not decide by Friday to reinstate judges purged by former president Pervez Musharraf, the Wall Street Journal reported. Go to news source Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:35:42 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68442241 2008-08-21T03:35:42Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68460272 Source: [b]Reuters[/b] Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has threatened to pull his party out of Pakistan's ruling coalition it does not decide by Friday to reinstate judges purged by former president Pervez Musharraf, the Wall Street Journal reported. The deadlock over the judges opened up cra... Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:04:31 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68460272 2008-08-21T09:04:31Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68289774 Suicide bomber strikes at a hospital in the northwest. In the capital, the junior coalition partner, Nawaz Sharif’s party, wants all judges Musharraf fired to be reinstated, but the PPP urges caution. [...] Tue, 19 Aug 2008 23:02:02 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68289774 2008-08-19T23:02:02Z