International

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari.

Israel Occupation Forces have attacked the grand al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. 

The attack, which took place at the time of fajr prayer on Friday, April 14, 2022, left many injured. 

As reported by TRT World, Israel troops fired tear gas and stun grenades at worshipers inside the grand mosque. 

TRT World also reported that the Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service evacuated 67 injured people to the hospital early Friday morning.

According to the local news sources, about 200 worshipers were injured, and parts of the mosque and some properties were destroyed. 

The unfortunate attack on Palestinian Muslims, which is coming this time in the holy month of Ramadhan, has earned condemnation and backlash from many Muslims around the globe. 

A human rights activist, Zainab Chaudry, condemned the act on her verified Facebook account while posting the video of the assault. 

“This was a short while ago. Every Ramadhan [is] like clockwork. The assault on our beloved Al-Aqsa. On our brothers and sisters. The audacity. There will be justice; we know this iA [in sha Allah],” she wrote.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari.

Sultana Tafadar, a hijaab-wearing Muslim barrister, has been appointed the Queen’s Counsel in the United Kingdom.

Radio News Hub reported this on their verified Facebook page on Monday, March 21, 2022.

“Sultana Tafadar received her letters Patent – the document denoting the award for excellence in advocacy – at the Palace of Westminster on Monday,” the news platform reported.

The rank of the Queen’s Counsel (QC) is the equivalent of the status of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). The QC and SAN titles are awarded to barristers who distinguish themselves in character and excel in advocacy.

Sultana Tafadar is of Bangladesh origin. Her elevation to the rank is a great inspiration to many hijab-wearing Muslim women across the globe.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari.

The Vice President of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), Dr Mansur Muhtar, said the action for the implementation of the Blue Deal on Water and Sanitation aligns with the key pillars of IsDB’s water policy.

Dr Muhtar stated this at the 9th World Water Forum held in Dakar on March 22, 2022, where he attended alongside a delegation of experts he led.

The Blue Deal is reportedly an action plan outlined by ministers in charge of water and heads of delegation assembled for the 9th World Water Forum in Dakar, Senegal (21-26th March 2022)

“We are well positioned to support member countries’ efforts in implementing the Blue-Deal actions through provision of financing, technical assistance, capacity development and leveraging Islamic finance instruments,” Dr Muhtar stated

Dr Muhtar stated that the IsDB water sector policy is concurrent with the actions advocated for in the Blue Deal.

“Capacity development and solutions transfer for an improved governance of the water sector is a very important pillar of the policy,” he added.

The Blue Deal aims to achieve the urgent need for water and sanitation targets outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

The World Water Forum, which is organized by the World Water Council and the host country, is the largest event that talks about global issues on the water. It takes place every three years, and the 9th Forum in Dakar is the first one to be held in Sub-Saharan Africa.

By Yahuza Abdulkadir

A source culled from Wikipedia says that TikTok, known in China as Douyin, is a video-focused social networking service owned by Chinese company ByteDance Ltd. It hosts a variety of short-form user videos, from genres like pranks, stunts, tricks, jokes, dance, and entertainment with durations from 15 seconds to three minutes. TikTok is an international version of Douyin, released initially in the Chinese market in September 2016.

However, I was not a user of TikTok until a few weeks back when a friend gave me the hint to start using the app to promote my art by creating short videos of spoken word poetry. And then, I came to learn young people use the platform to showcase their talents in comedy, singing, dancing and other forms of entertainment through creating short videos and sharing them across a community of users.

However, after launching my account, I felt it was boring for people like me to find comfort there. The only person I was able to follow was Alhan Islam because I am interested in what she does. After a few days, I could no longer log in to the app again.

As of January 2022, out of the 4.8 billion social media users globally, TikTok has 1 billion active users, earning a spot in the six most famous social media platforms. Cloudfare’s 2021 Year In Review puts TikTok as the most famous website in 2021, surpassing even Google. Tiktok net worth is $50 billion in 2020 and now nearly $75 billion in 2022. Despite the nature of content promoted on the platform, one may want to know that so many individuals earn huge amounts of money through their videos’ engagements.

According to Forbes Magazine, a 17-year-old American social media personality and dancer, Charli D’Amelio, the most followed video-creator on the platform, earned $17.5 million in 2021, making her the highest-paid TikToker of the year.

I read many articles on Facebook and other blogs where people lament the platform to be a weapon for killing the young women in this generation. They said most of the videos created by users promote indecency and immorality. But recently, I found out that it’s not only in Nigeria that such content is being promoted; it’s almost everywhere globally. This made some countries take legal action on the matter. Countries like Pakistan has imposed and lifted four bans on TikTok, tagging the platform to be responsible for promoting immoral, obscene and vulgar content.

Bangladesh government also involved itself in the war against pornography to save children and adults from moral and social degradation by blocking the platform’s internet access. TikTok was also temporarily banned in Indonesia in the year 2018. The Indonesian government said the platform has a lot of harmful content to children.

In 2020, the platform was also banned by the Indian government to protect the data and privacy of its citizens from threats that have to do with national security, and they tagged the platform responsible for promoting inappropriate content. As a result, the platform lost 167 million users in the country. What would surprise you is that even China has banned the use of this platform.

This shows that the Nigerian government can also ban TikTok if it wants to. Do you think it’s not possible? I think it’s possible if we look at the “Twitter ban saga.” Unless the government thinks the use of this platform has no consequence on their side. If that’s the case, we need to go back to our homes and solve the problem. As people would say, “Charity begins at home.”

We shall all know that social media platforms are there to serve a purpose, and if it turns out that we tend to lose our good morals and forget where we came from by joining the trends and “feel among syndrome” – showing the world how indecent we are, then we have deceived nobody but us. So I think good characters matters the most.

Furthermore, it’s disheartening to see the young women in the Arewa community selling their body parts on cyberspace, not only on TikTok. This occurs almost on every social media platform. It’s a massive disappointment to our cultures and values. Whatever one might engage in, they should know “the internet never forgets.”

Yahuza Abdulkadir wrote from yahuzaabdulkadir50@gmail.com.

By Muhammad Sabiu

President of the United States, Joe Biden, is set to travel to Brussels, Belgium’s capital, amidst the invasion of Ukraine by Putin’s Russia.

President Biden is expected to hold a physical meeting with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) leaders in a show of support for Ukraine.

Press secretary of The White House, Jen Psaki, has confirmed to reporters on Tuesday that the meeting would be held on March 24.

Ms Psaki was quoted as saying, “The President will travel to Brussels, Belgium, later this month, where he will join the extraordinary NATO Summit on March 24 to discuss ongoing deterrence and defense efforts in response to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine, as well as to refer reaffirm our ironclad commitment to our NATO allies.”

“He will also join a scheduled European Council summit to discuss our shared concerns about Ukraine, including transatlantic efforts to impose economic costs on Russia, provide humanitarian support to those affected by the violence and address other challenges related to the conflict.”

This is coming amidst condemnations and concern expressed by NATO allies as Russia continues to advance its invasion in parts of Ukraine.

By Usama Abdullahi

I didn’t want to talk about this. But my mind is sick of it and wants me to spell it out. My piece centres on racism today. It’s something that most of us are barely familiar with. Yes, most of us, who haven’t travelled to the white world, know next to nothing about it. Some of us might not know that this ill-treatment against black people exists. While others, like me, do hear and read about it either on television or in newspapers. 

As a kid, I knew nothing about racism. Neither did I ever acknowledge its existence. It is because I was too young to understand what that meant. I used to think that the whites were superior humans that accord us, the blacks, some respect. But, contrary to my little kiddish thoughts about the whites, a vile or an irresponsible white man loathes this glowing dark skin. This blessed skin that wrestles all sorts of skin threats or irritation, someone from the other part of the world has aversions for it. 

This skin that withstands the sun’s heat, someone who’s driven by hatred for the faultless black men, considers it hell. I came across the word Ku Klux Klan at 12. At the time, I had Longman Dictionary with me. I would carry it wherever I go. So when I first took a glimpse at the then unfamiliar word, I paused for a while. Afterwards, I proceeded to read its meaning till the end. I couldn’t believe it at first. 

True. I couldn’t believe that there used to be a secret society during the 20th century which supported white supremacy in the Americas. This outlawed secret society fights the blacks and drives them out of the United States despite being legal citizens. I’m glad that this fraternal group is now defunct. But the problem is that racism is feathering again. It is fast dominating the white world. Some of them, the racists who have no respect for individual differences, honour its stay. They see nothing wrong when a black person gets badly treated because of his skin.

Sadly, we are entangled in a world that supports baseless animosities toward the people we share different views, faith or race with. The world we dwell in is a respecter of evil. We live to dine at the expense of our oppressed brothers from other parts of the universe. We see skin colour as a barrier to our unity and coexistence. Hence we look at each other with intense disgust. Unknowingly, this racism kills our hope to live a meaningful life.

Last year, we were hit by the tragic news of an African-American man who had his fate crushed in the hands of a cruel white policeman. The news filled up the media until it captured public attention. Concerned black folks, particularly the deceased’s bereaved family, went through hell as a result. As a result, many people took their outrages to the streets, protesting against racism with the hashtag, “Black lives matter”. And they were assured of drastic measures to prevent such by the American government.

Considering America’s quick intervention on the matter, we thought the issue of racism was laid to eternal rest, but it, like Lazarus, has been resurrected. We saw the uproar and slighting comments which trailed the media over the failure of Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho to score during the penalty kick of the Euro 2020 final. We also saw the unusual treatment against Zouma over a minor offence on his cat, costing him millions of dollars. And, unfortunately, Poland is at it again.

It’s sad to watch how the blacks were denied entry into the train conveying people from the war-ravaged Ukraine to Poland. Despite the threats they face, the racial prejudice in these racist morons prevails and has got to the point of favouring the Ukrainians over Africans or blacks – as if they aren’t all humans in need of urgent aid. Racism is a disease that bites deep into our hearts. It is also a barricade that holds back our progress as humans. So, It’s high time we stopped promoting racial discrimination.

Usama Abdullahi wrote from Abuja, Nigeria. He can be reached via usamagayyi@gmail.com.

By Muhsin Ibrahim

Cristiano Ronaldo is unquestionably one of the greatest footballers in the world. Needless to say, he has lifted almost all trophies, except the World Cup. Notwithstanding, his recent performance at Manchester United is anything but superb. I am not a football pundit, but I am old enough to understand if someone is no longer in their prime or the odds do not favour them anymore.

Naomi Osaka is a much younger athlete than Ronaldo. She had a winning streak, including defeating her role model, the undisputable tennis GOAT, Sareena Williams. However, the lady luck stopped smiling at her after that remarkable performances and victories. Much unlike her much older athlete colleague (i.e. Ronaldo), she didn’t summon her grit at that time. Instead, she had a rethink. Thus, she tried the fashion industry and, well, succeeded.

In his book, Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know, Adam Grant subtly criticises Angela Duckworth’s argument on grit in her famous book, Grit: Why passion and resilience are the secrets to success. He says we should avoid “escalation of commitment”. What’s that?

Grant defines escalation of commitment as “When we dedicate ourselves to a plan, and it isn’t going as we hoped, our first instinct isn’t usually to rethink it. Instead, we tend to double down and sink more resources in the path.” Isn’t it what many of us do?

Of course, Osaka goes back to tennis. And, yes, Ronaldo may come back. However, if I were him, I would rethink my commitment to professional football. Grant (2021:229) points out that “gritty people are more likely to overplay their hands in roulette and more willing to stay the course in tasks at which they’re failing, and success is impossible”. In other words, gritty people go into foreclosure.

Honestly, I side with Grant’s argument more than Duckworth’s. We may be passionate about several things. Nevertheless, we may not succeed even after trying our best possible. For instance, how many relationships have had to let go? That doesn’t mean they aren’t our calling. Instead, it tells us that we aren’t cut for it. Hence, instead of pushing and pushing, rethinking and reversing may be our best way out – and, of course, way forward.

Being on social media for nearly two decades, many young people (I am also young, by the way) have talked to me about their passion for writing or doing postgrad programmes abroad, among other things. So naturally, I do my best to advise many, if not all of them. But, frankly, some of them should rethink their dreams. It’s glaring that some do not have what it takes to be writers or secure foreign scholarships.

I am also experimenting with a profession outside academia. Bluntly, I am beginning to rethink. I am not under duress to foray into any field. I am deeply grateful to God that my take-home salary pays my bills and more. While I may still pursue the – or another – profession in addition to teaching and research, I will not foreclose my thoughts.

Finally, try and try harder. Suppose you fail ad infinitum, please, stop and have a rethink. Rethinking should not necessarily come after a series of failures. It could or should come almost at any time. Moreover, that doesn’t mean grit is unimportant. I think without it, both Ronaldo and Osaka would not have gone that far. Even yours faithfully had to apply grit to be where he is – Alhamdulillah.

Muhsin Ibrahim wrote from Cologne, Germany. He can be reached via muhsin2008@gmail.com.

By Sulaiman Badamasi (Mahir)

Russia of today is not the same as Russia yesterday. Russia used to be the Soviet Union, a superpower that sometimes acted with the West. The war of 1973, when the Zionists wanted both sides of the conflict taken to a draw and in 1954when Russia (Soviet Union) transferred the Crimean Oblast to Ukraine have said it all. Now, it is a post-Soviet Union Russia who toiled when the Soviet Union sagged, but within the breath-span of twenty-something years has grown now to a grandeur position.

The Western world has been ruling over humankind for the past 300 years or more, changing regimes worldwide, especially in the south and central America, which the famous Monroe Doctrine described as “America’s Backyard”. The West has been changing regimes after regimes all over the region. But have we ever asked why they have never changed the regime in Venezuela? America has done everything it could to change the Venezuelan government but to no avail because this can only be achieved through military intervention, and any move of such would mean facing Russia. They do not want to confront Russia. NOBODY WANT TO FACE RUSSIA because Russia is not Libya, Yemen, Somalia, Palestine, and of course, not Iraq.

What seemed to have convinced the world further to accept Russia’s predatory position was the tremendously dangerous step it took to intervene in Syria. This could have led to a nuclear war. Russia also took the world by surprise in 2014 when it took over or took back(?) Crimea in just two weeks. It seems like Russia is defeating the West in silence and stylishly repositioning itself back to the Soviet Union’s throne.

For the West to reduce the margin, it swiftly paid back with a regime change in Ukraine in 2014 in what was termed as “The Revolution of Dignity”, which saw the impeachment/replacement of the then Ukrainian (of course Russian loyalist) elected president, Viktor Yanukovych, and Petro Poroshenko (pro-West) became the president, who immediately began with leading the Russo-Ukrainian war in February 2014.

After three months, he forbade any cooperation with Russia in the military sphere and later signed the “Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement in June 2014.” Five months later, in president Poroshenko’s speech to the new parliament in November 2014, Poroshenko stated, “we’ve decided to return to the course of NATO integration” because “the nonalignment status of Ukraine proclaimed in 2010 couldn’t guarantee our security and territorial integrity”. Russia perceived all these, coupled with the ouster of Viktor Yanukovych, as a series of threats right at its closest border.  

Why does Russia detest/is against/is afraid of Ukraine’s alignment with NATO?

If Ukraine becomes a NATO member state, then Russia would have NATO on its very border, which means it will have its military bases a few distances away from Russian borders, where missiles could hit Moscow in minutes. Hence Russia does not seem to accept this security option. It could be said that Russia does not want to invade Ukraine because a full invasion MIGHT provoke a military response from the West (only time could tell, though). But certainly, all parties involved (Russia, Ukraine, and the West) hope the chaos ends through diplomatic means rather than war. Maybe Russia has a military strike as the only option for now?

Territorial control and elimination of perceived possible dangers around borders have become a norm or a widely practised approach by states nations. Let us digest in the following to shade more light:

Cuban Missile Crisis/Missile Scare: when the Soviet Union started installing nuclear missiles in Cuba in 1961 after reaching an agreement with Fidel Castro of Cuba, the Kennedy administration decided that this was too big a security threat to be contained. They put a “quarantine” (a station where weaponry logistics were searched) so that no nuclear missile could be shipped and demanded that all missiles in Cuba be taken back to the Soviet Union.

Syria and Israel: with Russia and Iran as Syrian friends and Israel sitting just 569.17 kilometres away from the Syrian border, it is not a surprise if Israel and her friends (America, Saudi, and Turkey) feel threatened or expect that the worst happens from Israel’s neighbourhood. The military campaign that aimed at toppling the Russia and Iran backed Assad’s government by the Saudi, Turkish and American backed rebel group, which began in March 2011 as an anti-government protest and later escalated to a full-scale war, could be understood as an effort to eliminate an enemy’s friend whose territory can be used to attack an immediate neighbour. Could America and Saudi afford to lose Israel?

Muslim Brotherhood and Israel: when Mohammed Morsi (may Allah have mercy on him) was sworn in as the first democratically elected president of Egypt on 30^th June 2012, he expressed dissatisfaction with the country’s 1979 policy which declared that it stands as a mediator between Israel and Palestine and determined to reset his country’s orientation to one of active support, not for a ‘self-governing authority and ‘autonomy’ in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but the attainment of an independent sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital and the right of the Palestinian refugees to return.

In Morsi’s one year in office before his removal through a coup d’etat, he ordered the Egyptian authorities to open the Rafah Crossing, the only gateway that connects Palestinians to the outside world. This means Palestinians can travel any time without really passing through strict measures imposed on them by the Israeli government, and different kinds of support could reach them without obstacles. Trade began to flourish between Palestine and Egypt. The Israeli siege on the Palestinian land was eased. He became the first Egyptian president to declare rejection of Israel’s assault on Palestine since 1979. Israel and her friends felt threatened by the closest neighbour, and the result was his forceful ouster, imprisonment, the unjust killing of his supporters. The coup that ended Morsi’s regime has not been justified yet. Why was it done then? To eliminate a nearby perceived enemy.

Saudi and Houthi: the Houthi rebel group, which champions Yemen’s Zaidi Shia followers, took over Sana’a in 2014 and forced the then Yemeni president, Abdurrabbu Mansur Hadi, in March 2015, to flee the country. To many people, “a rebel group has taken over Yemen,” yet to Saudi and her allies, “Iran has succeeded in extending its proxy-war/proxy influence to the Saudi border.” There is no need to emphasise that implication on Saudi, thanks to the firing of ballistic missiles to Saudi Arabia and UAE. Swiftly came a fierce joint reaction from Saudi-led coalition of eight(?) countries with logistics and intelligence support from America and France with Iran backing the Houthi rebels leading to the ongoing multilateral civil war.

Turkey and ISIS in Iraq: another interesting episode in the quest to defy near-border threats is having Turkey, a NATO member-state, fighting ISIS in Syria while ignoring the danger that the same ISIS poses in Iraq. Turkey has so far chosen to sit out the war to allow ISIS to fight the Kurdish militia group in Iraq. Turkey considers the Kurdish militia who craves a breakup to carve out its own country, Kurdistan, a more harmful enemy. Kurdistan encompasses southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdistan), northern Iraq (Southern Kurdistan), northwestern Iran (Eastern Kurdistan), and northern Syria (Western Kurdistan). Some definitions also include parts of southern Transcaucasia. Certain Kurdish nationalist organisations seek to create an independent nation-state consisting of some or all of these areas with a Kurdish majority, while others campaign for greater autonomy within the existing national boundaries. Do you see? The same struggle to protect territorial integrity is seen at its peak here.

Iraq invasion and Iran: this is the same reason that encouraged Iran’s interest in Iraq after the US and its allies removed and killed Saddam Hussein. Despite having a not-so-friendly relationship with the West, Iran was in total support of the strike against Iraq (Saddam) in March 2003 when the US, under Gorge W. Bush, led a coalition of the UK, Poland, and Australia to invade Iraq.

This has remained part of history for centuries and means that Russia is not necessarily fighting Ukraine as Ukraine but trying to send a clear signal to whoever wants to near her border in any form of disguise.

Will the war be taken further? I do not think Russia could be smart enough to launch a full-scale war yet. However, if it continues, there is a slim chance of having NATO respond militarily, which could further lead to an unimaginable end. It is to the world’s knowledge that if external forces intervene to support Ukraine, it could mean facing Russia, China, North Korea, Serbia, Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Belarus, etc.

Are we about to witness another World War? We pray for the best.

Sulaiman Badamasi (Mahir) sent this article via sulaimanmahir@gmail.com.

By Muhammad Sabiu

Nigeria is now ranked sixth in the Global Terrorism Index, as the country’s struggle against Boko Haram insurgents gains more victories.

According to the report, Nigeria fell two spots from fourth place, which it had held since 2017.

Nigeria, Syria, and Somalia are the only countries among the ten countries most hit by terrorism to increase their scores from 2020 to 2021, according to the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) issued by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), an independent and non-profit think tank.

The report reads, “Total deaths from terrorism in Nigeria fell to 448 in 2021, the lowest level since 2011. Terror-related casualties dropped by almost half compared with the previous year.

“However, the number of terrorist attacks increased by 49 per cent between 2020 and 2021. 36 per cent of attacks were claimed by ISWAP, Boko Haram being responsible for eight percent and 44 percent not attributed to any group.”

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari.

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved $8.5m dollars for the evacuation of Nigerians stranded in Ukraine.

This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Foreign affairs, Zubairu Dada on Wednesday, March 2 shortly after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osibanjo at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Addressing State House correspondents after the meeting, he said the president approved $8.5 million for the evacuation exercise.

” The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs wrote a memo to the president seeking funding to enable us conduct this exercise. The memo was to the tune of $8.5 million which Mr President has graciously approved. That Provision entails an arrangement to evacuate no less than 5,000 Nigerians” he said.

According to him, the pickup flights would be headed to four countries, which are : Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania.