Necmettin Erbakan

Necmettin Erbakan is affectionately known as the Hodja, the teacher. He was the first practicing Muslim to be in high political office in Turkey. He was formerly Deputy Prime Minister at the height of the Cyprus crisis in 1974. He was also Prime Minister in 1996.

It is significantly important to note that Erbakan was never voted out of power or was democratically removed. It was always due to military orchestrations and coups or post-modern coups which forced him out of office.

He did not resist except using legal and democratic means in pursuing his struggle.

The military was particularly hostile to him and his cause. He had to suffer a series of setbacks of his political parties continuously being banned even after various transformations and he himself being barred from active politics for years. He was almost sent to prison by the courts for his politics which was deemed anti-secular but was saved by the fact of his illness. Later on he was pardoned by Turkey's president Abdullah Gul.

It is deserving that we pay tribute to his endeavour to change and transform modern Turkey and world politics.

Necmettin Erbakan spent his life in bringing back Islam to the realm of public space in one of the most extremely harsh anti-Islamic political environments of his time.

May Allah swt be pleased with him

Muslims have no business celebrating Valentine’s Day

Muslims have no business celebrating Valentine’s Day

Farewell to the Pharaoh - what comes after?

Again as usual, my youngest son asks about what the mufti of Egypt and Al Azhar were doing about the situation. Actually, Egypt's mufti supports Mubarak's position and even made calls to the protesters to leave and return to their homes. Al Azhar as many other universities facing similar predicaments with power, keeps low profile as always academics subdue knowledge often sacrificing truth and justice for the sake of expediency and pragmatism.

In 2003, there was once a Maghrib lecture by a local scholar who declares he subscribes to the Asharite-Matrudi school of thought. He blamed uprisings and people's defiance of their leaders as the cause for the Iraq invasion and the malaise in the Muslim lands. During question time, we asked how can it be so when there were unjust leaders such as Saddam who was clearly oppressive, tyrannical and autocratic. We also pointed out that even Imam Ibn Hanbal defied and challenged the Khalifah of the time. The scholar avoided the issue of tyranny but only said that Imam Ibn Hanbal was an individual and the protest did not involve the masses.

Meanwhile Washington and Israel are working overtime to sponsor Mubarak's dismissal so that they can put in power a military led transition government with Egypt's intelligence chief, the feared mukhabarat - the notorious secret police, still in charge. The US is underwriting Egypt's military with USD 1.5 billion of aid. How shall the Egyptian people react to this. Will they be fooled and fooled again?

They represent what is called the Arab street. The Arab people who have begun to free themselves from holding themselves in contempt. They have allowed a regime to breed and spread cancerous corruption throughout the Arab lands. Egypt started off in the same league as South Korea but it is far behind in any measure except abject poverty, corruption and pollution.

Will the Arab masses overcome such conspiracies hatched in the US and Israel as well as their well financed lackeys holding the reins of power and force? Mubarak tried a Mossadegh styled mob along the lines of the redshirts against yellow shirts but it was too apparent.

They should settle for nothing less than a democratic transition government free from any of Mubarak's or US/ Israeli sanctioned favourites.