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Today's paper had a very good article on muslim awakening in the field of WWW in the wake of 9/11 incident.

"America's desperate attempts to reestablish itself as the world's strongest nation in the wake of air strikes on its financial and defence/security monuments on that fateful day in September, have reached an apex. The pretence maintained through eyewash statements to cover up tyrannical acts, too, is no more. There is blatant disregard for International Conventions, Human Rights Principles and the Rule of Law be damned. In fact, he who dareth to stand for justice will pay a price! Media buy-in, too, is now a stale rhetoric, not even worth listening to. Inferior nations must know that there is no such thing as a biased media because there is none other than the American point of view. It is the perfect scenario for all colonization schemes to succeed and for the world assets to be poured into the treasury at home (and who but a true Brit can appreciate that ideology).

So, with a highhanded stance starting from the top, it is but natural that similar sentiment will pervade through the better part of society, though there still are a number of Americans who manage to raise a voice of conscience. Amanda Paulson writes in The Christian Science Monitor (www.csmonitor.com), "...when Larme Price confessed to the crime more than a week ago, he said his aim was to kill Middle Easterners, in retribution for Sept 11.

"In fact, only one of the four victims was from the Middle East. But it's the intent, say concerned residents, that counts. Across the country, the past few weeks have been an uneasy time for Arab-Americans. The murders are just one part of a disturbing rise in violent hate crimes that have worried Arab-American groups - from the Afghan man set on fire in his Indianapolis restaurant to the Pakistani who was beaten unconscious in a New Jersey parking lot, as his two attackers hurled insults at Islam."

Though the article goes on to voice the concern of US government for Arab-Americans and other Muslims, voicing the official opinion that the real strength of America lies in the fact that there is a legal system to protect US citizens of all categories from such incidents, the claim sounds pathetically hollow. There is growing doubt even amongst staunch Americans that it is so.

Subsequently, what's fascinating is that the anti-Muslim sentiments infused in America's dim-witted lot from the top of the hierarchy and the ensuing hate crimes, have induced Muslims of every colour to explore their rights as free individuals, their identity as a people and inevitably the depths of their religion. And the one tool helping any and everybody across the continents to achieve this is the Net. In this virtual world, netizens from diverse cultures have converged to stand up and be counted as defendants of Islam and its teachings.

It can easily be said that every benign Muslim hitherto not conscious of religion or religious practices, is now trying to decipher his or her latent religious philosophy and besides having strong views on religion borne out of persecution, they actively want to be heard and counted for the sake of peace and justice.

www.Islamonline.net claims to be on a mission to create a unique, global Islamic site on the Internet that provides services to Muslims and non-Muslims in several languages. To become a reference for everything that deals with Islam, its sciences, civilization and nation. To have credibility in content, distinction in design, and a sharp and balanced vision of humanity and current events. It has many links to enhance its scope, including Islam-related news, art, entertainment and historical facts, providing information you need about Islam and its civilizations, the universe and its changes, current affairs and their analyses, and general information and services.

The site claims to present a unified and lively Islam that keeps up with modern times in all areas. It has a committee of scholars throughout the Islamic world, headed by Dr Yusuf Qardawi, attempting to ensure that nothing on this site violates the fixed principles of Islamic law (Sha'ria).

A ground-breaking occurrence in this wave of Muslim awakening has been the launch of Mecca Cola which has already made inroads in the UK, and has arrived at our own doorstep. With distribution of this popular style of beverage already begun in Peshawar, the race is on for distribution rights in Karachi and other cities. www.mecca-cola.comis a simple site with bold slogans. The slogan says: "No more drinking stupid, drink with commitment!" Hopeful distributors are welcome to download the form from the site which is linked to the Foundation, a non-profit-making target associated with the Mecca-Cola brand. From the brand's net profits, 10 per cent will go to Palestinian charities. The Foundation will ensure that the aid that it gives is not diverted from its intended purpose, and that it is not sent to support fighting factions. A further 10pc will be given, as far as Europe is concerned, to associations who work towards peace in the world and who support the Palestinian people in their legitimate struggle for independence.

The spirit that launched this ingenious brand should be considered a force to reckon with. The awakening of the Muslim Ummah joining hands with the economies of its people just might be the stirring a sleeping giant needs to fight unsavoury forces. The site is in its construction stages but will have its share of links and already has a list where you may register yourself to help Palestinian charities. The Foundation promises to receive all requests and promises to reply to them in as short a time as possible, and you can send your projects and your requests for support to the Mecca-Cola Foundation by e-mail, at foundation@mec-ca-cola.com.

With Muslim-hate sentiment very much spilling over to the UK, the Forum Against Islamophobia and Racism (FAIR) www.fairuk.org talks of integrating and contributing to a wide British society, the needs of British Muslims. With 26 links, it has substantial material on Islamic teachings and the quest for justice. The site states that Forum was launched following a disregard for Muslim sensitivities and sensibilities, as well as direct and indirect discrimination. The site details the problems highlighted in January 2000 by the Interim Report of the Research Project on Religious Discrimination, commissioned by the Home Office and based at the University of Derby, and by the Parekh Report on The Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain in October 2000.

The view that specialist institutions are a must to address discrimination issues was the idea behind and the purpose of FAIR. The site states that whereas the 'inspiration for this project comes from the need identified for such an institution subsequent to the Islamophobia Report and the Policy Recommendation on Combating Intolerance and Discrimination Against Muslims by the Council of Europe. It also draws on the successes of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the USA and Canada'.

Why it is a useful site for conscious citizens in our part of the world is because of its emphasis on partnership and multi-agency working. http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/1364/czcpazsi.htm is an in-depth resource for anything and everything related to anti-Muslim sentiment prevalent in the US with innumerable links. There is a wealth of information contained within which includes simple definitions of Islam for non or neo-Muslims to what-to-do resources if there has been a victim of hate crime. There is info on Immigrants Rights to background on Afghanistan/Osama as well as links to alternative news sources and images to use in publications. An important link is to the Anti-Racist Action, which is the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee at http://www.adc.org/ and other such Defence league systems. "

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