Headline News 19/11/2016

Headlines:

• Donald Trump's Initial Appointments Manifest Strong Anti-Islam Approach
• UN Talks of 'a very bleak moment' in renewed Russian Offensive in Aleppo
• Pakistan Navy Repulses Indian Sneak Submarine

Details:

Donald Trump's Initial Appointments Manifest Strong Anti-Islam Approach

American media is commenting on the overtly anti-Islam positions of Trump's initial selections for cabinet positions in his government. Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn is being nominated for National Security Advisor, Senator Jeff Sessions for Attorney-General and Representative Mike Pompeo for CIA director. According to a story in today's Washington Post, headlined "Trump's security picks deepen Muslim worries about an anti-Islamic White House":

'Flynn, a former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, has repeatedly referred to Islam as “a cancer,” claimed that a “fear of Muslims is rational” and warned — despite a lack of evidence — that Sharia or Islamic law is spreading throughout the United States.'

'Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the president-elect’s designee for attorney general, has supported Trump’s call for a temporary ban on Muslim immigrants and has suggested that a “toxic ideology” lies at the root of Islam.'

'And Rep. Mike Pompeo — Trump’s pick for CIA director — has co-sponsored a bill to ban the Muslim Brotherhood, an Egypt-based Islamist organization that conspiracy theorists on America’s far right have accused of plotting to infiltrate the government.'

Even while conducting a war on Islam, American leaders have avoided naming Islam in their political rhetoric. As the news site Politico is reporting today, 'For 15 years since the 9/11 attacks, Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama steadfastly avoided the suggestion that extremism was embedded in Muslim beliefs.' This approach is now being abandoned as the American establishment, failing in Syria and Afghanistan, sees the need to confront Islam openly and directly.

This is not Trump's personal initiative. Despite running an anti-establishment campaign, Donald Trump's White House transition planning is proving him to be firmly in the grip of the right wing of the American Republican Party. It is the establishment that is changing its approach to Islam, realising that the Muslim renaissance is unstoppable and needs to be confronted directly.

UN Talks of 'a very bleak moment' in renewed Russian Offensive in Aleppo

Meanwhile Russia has returned in Aleppo to the only response it is capable of, which is fierce bombardment and siege of the civilian population of eastern Aleppo. Reuters is quoting UN humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland calling this a very bleak moment:

"My understanding is that virtually all warehouses are now empty and tens of thousands of families are running out of food and all other supplies," Egeland told Reuters. "So this is a very bleak moment, and we are not talking about a tsunami here, we are talking about a manmade catastrophe from A to Z."

Russia is not doing all this without American consent. The world's major powers are uniting against Muslim civilians in Syria but remain until now to break their will. It is incumbent on Muslims throughout the Ummah to unify in support of the Muslims of Syria and work to establish the righteous Khilafah "Caliphate" State on the method of Prophethood that will evict the Kufr foreign forces and return Muslims lands to peace and justice under Shar'ii rule.

Pakistan Navy Repulses Indian Sneak Submarine

Tension between India and Pakistan is further intensifying after the Pakistan Navy reported an intrusion by an Indian submarine into Pakistan waters close to the new port of Gwadar. According to Reuters:

The Pakistani navy detected an Indian submarine off the Pakistani coast and prevented it from entering its waters, it said in a statement on Friday, prompting a denial by India as tension between the nuclear-armed rivals simmers.

Conflict between India and Pakistan has intensified after renewed uprising by Kashmiri Muslims against the brutal Indian occupation of their land. Heavy cross-border firing earlier in the week led to the deaths of seven Pakistan Army soldiers on Sunday, as announced by the Pakistan Army. Their funeral prayers were attended by Army Chief Raheel Shareef.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is well aware that Kashmir is the real reason for the conflict. According to a Dawn report on Tuesday:

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says India's violation of the ceasefire agreement at the Line of Control (LoC) is an attempt to divert the world’s attention from the atrocities it is committing against innocent people of India-held Kashmir.

So the question to ask Nawaz Sharif is: if he knows Kashmir is at the heart of this conflict, why is he not actively pursuing a solution for Kashmiri Muslims? Why is the issue of Kashmir being carefully avoided whenever he meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi?

In fact, Nawaz Sharif has now himself become part of the conspiracy against Kashmir. Only the latest indication of this is the news 'leaked' in Pakistan about a government-army conference in which the government was insisting on eliminating jihadi groups based in Pakistan who have committed themselves to the Kashmir cause.

Nawaz Sharif's stand on Kashmir and India has changed completely not because of personal conviction but because this is what America demands of him at this time. This is what comes of attempting to work within the system - a colonial system designed to fulfil Western Kufr imperial objectives.