The US-China Rivalry in Africa

 

Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah, Allah has given me the Tawfeeq to put before you the strategies of the countries which take themselves as superpowers and whose actions and plans are made to drift people away from the right path and to cause bloodshed to spread throughout this temporal world.

 

Today I will talk more precisely on the rivalry which exists between the USA and China, especially in Africa.

 

Africa is a critical component of China’s strategic objectives for economic growth and hegemony. China’s expansion across the continents has been dramatic, from trade to extraction to manufacturing. Chinese companies are responsible for more than 12 percent of the continent’s industry. During the last one decade, China has become the largest trading partner of Africa. China has significantly expanded African railways, investing in various projects in Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Angola and Nigeria; it has invested in the construction and setting-up of a massive hydroelectric dam in Angola and has built Africa’s longest railway connecting Ethiopia and Djibouti; it has built the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa and the West African regional bloc, i.e. the Economic Community of Western African States (ECOWAS) in Abuja.

Kerala Majlis-e- Amila 2021

 

Alhamdulillah, the recently re-unified Kerala Jamaat’s Majlis-e- Amila [Central Committee & Branch Presidents and other office bearers] now stands established for a period of three years (2021-24) through a Divinely-inspired, spiritual democratic process of election and nomination, with the permission and approval of Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Khalifatullah Al Mahdi Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba), Summa Alhamdulillah.  

While making the official proclamation on the list of office bearers of the Kerala Jamaat, Hazrat Khalifatullah (atba) reflected positively on the decade-long work of the pioneers of the Jamaat in the State, in helping to spread the message of Sahih Al Islam in this country and beyond. Hazrat Saheb (aba) also recommended to the brothers  now taking responsibility to preserve this legacy and expand on this good work so as to serve the larger causes of the Jamaat of Allah (swt) in this era.  At the same time, it was also noted that ‘office’ entails “a trial for all those who have been elected, selected and approved so that they may serve the cause of Allah with fear of Allah, and not with greed for power, honour or any material gain.”

“When responsibilities fall on the shoulders of a person, he develops the ability to reflect and think over certain matters. By the grace of Allah, He has established the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam with a view to create a sense of responsibility in its members. Hence, some holds important offices of Amir, a General Secretary, Financial Secretary, Tarbiyyat Secretary, Tabligh Secretary, etc. Any failure in this respect may bring about the reverse consequences”, notes and cautions Hazrat Saheb (aba). 

May Allah (swt) enable all office-bearers at all levels to bear the burden on their shoulders- of serving the Jamaat with Taqwah, Aameen, Summa Aameen Ya Rabbi’l Alameen.   

List of Office Bearers

The Jamaat System- I

 

In his Friday Sermon of 06 August 2021~26 Dhul-Hijjah 1442 AH Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Khalifatullah Al Mahdi Munir A. Azim (aba) of Mauritius unveiled the administrative structure and electoral processes of the expanding Divine mission- for the benefit and guidance of all its members living in different countries, Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah. Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) spoke comprehensively about the rules and regulations applicable to various office bearers of the Jamaat: from branches in village communities down to the officers in the Central Committee (Majlis-e- Amila): everyone is responsible for own duties, and accountable to Allah (swt) and His Khalifatullah (aba) of the era.

Keeping in mind the needs of functional efficiency and systemic flow, the instructions and guidance of Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) and related works in the Jamaat are to be coordinated, implemented and reported by the officials concerned at various levels- for both men and women. In this discourse, Hazrat Saheb (aba) underscores the significance of foundational Islamic values in the working of the Jamaat system: personal responsibility and commitment; transparency in decision-making; fostering of diversity or the spirit of inclusion and solidarity across classes and families; cultivating mutual respect, empathy and understanding among members, etc. In prescribing procedural safeguards to encourage wider participation in Jamaat system and insisting on Taqwah among officials, Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) lays a solid foundation for an alternative universality- keeping in view the Divine-mandate to strive for a just order in all our circles. 

Read the Extracts from the Friday Sermon:

The Ethics of Democratic Renewal

 Towards a Political Revivification-I

The Muslim world discovered over the 15^th century of the Hegira, especially during the last fifteen years, a political revival. This is evident, at least in form, both internationally and locally. From Baghdad (in Iraq) to Beirut (in Lebanon) via Riyadh (in Saudi Arabia) and Ramallah (in Palestine), the time seems to have come, or will come, for the people to verily choose, the democratic process that is still in its infancy [as we say in Creole, it is still in ‘kindergarten’, in a trial and error course], as if the heads of state, the leaders do not want the people to come up front to practice true democracy. The free practice of democracy is not yet fully liberated. 

For example, Palestine till today does not have a democratic system where people can freely elect their President. From the start of Yasser Arafat’s reign in 1989 until his death in 2004, and now even after his death after Mahmoud Abbas became the ruler of the country, it is a small group of people who elect the President and in all these offices / political positions, it is Mahmoud Abbas himself who is the President, and thus he can do whatever he wants to do, without having to account for his actions to the people, and then this tradition that they have, to keep the power to govern for them [i.e. the heads of state], is perpetuated.

 

Democracy, the democratic process is certainly present at least on the lips, but in truth it is an autocracy [or authoritarianism], a terrible dictatorship, especially in the Muslim countries that reign there. But despite this, in the global aspect, in the world despite the trial and error stage of this democracy and the time it takes to be fully practiced, but it cannot be denied that there is an evolution where, previously, the Authoritarianism, if not dictatorship, was the only mode of operation. But the question arises: Does this really mean that democracy will solve all problems?

Mauritius Elections and the Muslims-II

The PM and the Politics of 'Development' 

Mr. the Prime Minister (of Mauritius- Mr. Pravind Jugnauth) said that there are (all-round, economic) development in the four corners of the island. These words are not true, Mr. Prime Minister! Say instead that there are continual development in some specific places only. We quote a single example that is obvious and that all Mauritius is witnessing. This is the Prime Minister’s constituency. All ministries are mobilized to please him.

The Prime Minister is preparing himself [he is preparing the ground] for the next elections. But if only he had made similar developments for other constituencies like those he did for his constituency! But unfortunately the mandate of this regime is coming to an end and the Muslim community has been forgotten.

Bring a single piece of evidence to show what development has occurred in the various places where the minorities, including the Muslim community reside. We do not ask you to bring the Metro Express to our door [in our place] as you promised the people of Saint-Pierre, but at least give our youth healthy leisure so that they do not fall into the hell of drugs and other plagues. But again the minorities must be blind to vote again for the parties that boycotted development in these places. After all, who will raise his voice in a council of ministers where the Muslim community is under-represented and where there is no one to raise his voice in its favour? Our patience, Insha-Allah, will bear fruit.

Elections 2019: Whither Mauritius?

On the Forthcoming General Elections

As you know, Sunday, 06 October 2019, the Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth announced as a Breaking News the dissolution of the parliament and fixed the date of the general elections on 07 November 2019. He made this announcement after he made the launch of the Metro Express on Thursday, 03 October 2019 which was funded by the Government of India, and after a live speech from India by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is right after the launch that Pravind Jugnauth - according to the instructions from his Gurus and counsellors - without thinking, on Sunday the 06 October 2019 in the afternoon made this announcement. By doing so, he applied his authority with such arrogance and announced the political registration for 3 days: Wednesday, 09 October to Friday, 11 October, and the Nomination Day on 22 October, and he fixed the date of the general elections on Thursday, 07 November 2019. He had plenty of time to announce the general election until March or April of next year.

He ignored dates such as 01 and 02 November which are public holidays, as well as the 03 November that falls on a Sunday, but instead, he chooses another day [in the middle of the week]. A panic and great fear took hold of him, lest he loses in the upcoming election, thus losing this power, especially with so many scandals in his government. So, on 06 October he announced the elections for the 7^th day of November. He only gave a delay of one month to hold the general elections. He does not give the other political parties time to prepare themselves properly. It is true that after five years (2014-2019) the National Assembly must be dissolved by the end of December 2019. I do not want to go into details on this subject, but what is deplorable is that the date chosen for the elections falls on a Thursday where there are exams that will take place on that day for the School Certificate (SC) and Higher School Certificate (HSC) students. So, on 06 October, the day of the announcement, the Election Commission officials had to find alternative places so as not to disturb the conduct of these examinations.

So, out of 9,41,719 voters, 104,903 voters will have to vote on 07 November in a different place from where they are used to. These are tactics that he [the current Prime Minister] is using so that young students of the SC and HSC do not have time to think about which political party they are going to vote for because they have to focus on their final exams which are very important.

Students who have exams scheduled will be very worried on election day where there will be a lot of traffic jams and so they may be late in their exam rooms. The vagueness persists a lot on this case. Young students of voting age show their disagreement and anger and say that the government has not thought about all this and then everyone will not have the chance to vote and that’s a shame.

In addition, traffic jams will certainly affect the candidates [students]. All of this will have a negative effect on their schedule. Other candidates say that it is a bad choice to hold the elections the same day as the exams, because the votes of the young people are very important.

For me (the Khalifatullah) the right to vote is to have the future of Mauritius in hand so that it does not fall into wrong hands. So all voters must make good choices, without the slightest trace of communalism. They have to go to the polls, they have to fulfill their civic right to elect people who are honest, and who are not corrupt and who are respectable, so as to have a better future, a better Mauritius, a clean Mauritius for our future generations.

Into the sunset: Navin Ramgoolam

Before closing my sermon, I would like to say a few words on the Charges and Arrest which the ex-Prime Minister of Mauritius, Navinchandra Ramgoolam had to undergo since last Friday 06 February 2015. It never pays to be arrogant and creating such an atmosphere as to make Mauritius be led by autocratic leadership disguised as a democratic one. 

You will recall my dear disciples that since 2010, I and some of our members have gone from circumscription to circumscription to pray that Allah overturns such a leader and political party whose agenda is to finish Mauritius, bringing Mauritians to a state of poverty and tight economic state. And you will recall that recently in the midst of the general elections 2014, I told you about a dream in which Sir Aneerood Jugnauth was not condemning Paul Berenger, but instead praising him for the strategies that he has (to clean Mauritius and the Labour Party also). 

And you are witnessing that since Friday, 06 February, 2015 the former Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam has been placed under arrest. He even spent a few hours in the Moka detention centre before being brought before the Bail and Remand Court. Last weekend has been hell for him; he was torn between searches and going back and forth to the Central CID to give statements over statements, and counting the millions of money (more than Rs. 185 millions which was seized at his house in two massive safes and suitcases) before the Central CID, the Police Force, Lawyers, representatives of the Bank of Mauritius and the Government officials. He is a suspect of money laundering and being involved in the Roche-Noire Murder case. He was arrested and humiliated amidst thousands of Mauritians who assembled at his house to see the end of his political career, and witnessing his arrest.

Mauritius 2014: General Election Results

Yesterday, Thursday 11 December 2014, people of Mauritius and Rodrigues followed live on TV and several private and national radio/s the results of the general elections in all 21 circumscriptions till late at night. The results came as a surprise. There have been 10 elections since the independence – 1976-2010, and since then there was never such a low level of participation from voters as witnessed yesterday for these general elections 2014. And this despite the dominance of the two main great political blocs in the electoral campaign, with private, regional and national meetings! We learnt that the two main alliances, the PTR/MMM Alliance and also the People’s Alliance (MSM/PMSD/ML) spent a little more than 73 million rupees in only 2 months of electoral campaign.

When one hears about the course of the electoral campaign, especially between the two political adversary blocs, there was the display of hatred and other vulgarities. In many places political agents have been spoiled rotten with free provision of food and alcoholic drinks, and they got several fuel bonds so that they may use their cars (for the electoral campaign). They abused of such monies and enjoyed a lot, spreading money like confetti (that is, spending money in vain things).

Therefore, I come back today on the dream that I made prior to the fixed date for the general elections. I dreamt of Sir Anerood Jugnauth in a beautiful coat, very chic and he was in the car with me and I was asking him several questions. When I enquired with him about Paul Raymond Berenger, he told me that he was not a traitor, and it was a strategy which he used when he decided to walk with the Labour Party (PTR); what I omitted to say (publicly) is that in the dream I told him: “Oh, it is to remove Navin Ramgoolam as the Prime Minister and the useless people around him who used their power ruthlessly against the people (of Mauritius)!”

Now, I relate to you a recent Vision (Kashaf) which overcame me on the 07 December 2014. On that day the two main political blocs held there grand meetings before the elections of 10 December 2014. It was after Namaz Zuhr and Asr, and I was in my office looking for my driving license when suddenly I felt very weak and I had to sit down a bit when suddenly this vision overcame me. The vision lasted 15-20 minutes. I was shown many heads of the Labour Party were falling down and when the vision ended, I understood that in response to the prayers that I made since a long time now against this ruthless Government which is making the people suffer, thus I came to know (there and then) what shall happen to them in the coming elections. And on the spot, a thought crossed my mind that the Mauritian Militant Movement shall not also be spared – when one walks with dirt, one is bound to get the bad odour of that dirt around him – and it is verily what happened!

Elections and Political Faultlines in Mauritius

First of all I thank Allah (swt) who has given me the opportunity to continue the subject of the sermon which I addressed you last Friday. Like you all know, there remain only a few days for the General Elections in Mauritius, Rodrigues and Agalega – Wednesday 10 December 2014.

For all people of Mauritius, this General Election to be held on 10 December 2014 is a prospect to make Mauritius a second republic and whereby the ex-leader of the opposition shall become the Prime Minister of the island for 5 years, Insha-Allah, after having struggle really hard for the goodwill of all Mauritians. He is verily a man who deserves that position, with the intelligence, competence, and capacity as state leader. He is a honest man with great visions for the country. He spent 47 years in politics, struggling for all Mauritians, and he even escaped death (when there was an attempt to kill him when he was a young man) and ever since his young days, he plunged into politics and struggled for the rights of workers so that they may get their dignity and he protected them from being crushed by their employers. He gave a lot of himself for the people of Mauritius, but the Mauritians did not (or refuse to) recognise his value, competence and capacity. Very often the politicians and people from different religions who do not have any real competence, along with the socio-cultural groups have crushed this able man, honest, whereby nobody can say that he is power-thirst or that he stole something, or even was involved in fraud and corruption. He did not also protect male and female allies. That honest man is Paul Raymond Berenger, the historical leader. It is the fanatics who have all the time tried to create all sorts of communal problems to bar him from becoming Prime Minister. This shows to you that the sincere, honest and devoted people have all the time great enemies and adversaries who try to create all sorts of problems and spread communal talks for them. Such is the case also for Paul Raymond Berenger who had to face all these people who do not want him to become the Prime Minister of Mauritius.

General Elections in Mauritius: Prospects for Change

Like you all know here in Mauritius, as well as in Rodrigues and Agalega, we entered the phase of general elections which will be held on Wednesday 10 December 2014. Some 74 political parties have registered for the general elections 2014.

For a small country like Mauritius with a population of about 1,200,000, there are the two major political blocs who are engaging in polemics everyday with their congresses in the several circumscriptions, meetings, house-to-house visits etc. There is firstly the PTR/MMM Alliance, with the two leaders Navin Ramgoolam and Paul Berenger and there is also the other political bloc, MSM-PMSD-ML which call themselves “People’s Alliance” (Alliance Lepep). The motto of the PTR/MMM Alliance is a united people, a modern country and their aim is to make Mauritius a second republic, while the legislative elections stand along the presidential one (a proposal forwarded in the wake of a possible victory at the elections with at least three-quarters of seats). Therefore, Paul Berenger shall be then the Prime Minister for 5 years and Navin Ramgoolam shall be the president for 7 years. 

On the other hand, the People’s Alliance is completely against making Mauritius a second republic. According to their analysis, these two heads of the PTR-MMM Alliance (Navin and Paul) are power-thirst and are primarily seeking their personal interest instead of that of the people of Mauritius. They claim that this new plan (the second republic) shall pave the way for more dictatorship and they claim their own People’s Alliance is not at all like the adversary alliance, saying that they have formed an alliance for the people and (are) with the people. They further claim that they are not seeking power and that they are here to care for the people.

Therefore the Mauritians – an intelligent people – should bear in mind that Mauritius neither belongs to any political bloc nor to the majority, in terms of religious communities. On Wednesday 10 December 2014, each Mauritian shall have the opportunity to do a good clean up and remove all those who are power-thirst, fraudsters, incompetent and those who are sucking the blood of this nation in cups and thus reducing the Mauritians to a life of misery. Verily, everything is becoming quite expensive. The cost of living is high; price of all commodities have risen and there is no law and order as it should have, and consequently, there are lots of crimes, thefts, rapes, unemployment etc. There are a lot of graduates and professionals – doctors, lawyers, are other professionals – who are jobless. Their families sacrificed a lot to send them for further studies while others are amusing themselves with state money.

Greetings for Narendra Modi

In the course of his Friday sermon of 23 May 2014 ~ (23 Rajab 1435 Hijri) the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius took note of, and spoke briefly on, the recently concluded general elections in India and the consequent political changes unfolding in the country. The dismal fortunes of the long ruling Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty in the elections is in line with the larger global trend of popular anger against abuse of power and the cancer of corruption eating into the vitals of the polity and impacting on people's everyday lives. The extraordinary popular mandate for the leadership of Narendra Mody and his Bharatiya Janata Party, the right-wing, Hindu party in the country, presents him with an uncommon opportunity to serve the nation and the world. The Khalifatullah (atba) and the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International, including the national branches of the Jamaat in India, wish all success for Narendra Modi in his great responsibility as the Prime Minister-elect of India.

Read the Extracts from the Friday Sermon:

Before ending, I would like to say some words on the recent parliamentary elections in India which have been those of all records. ( Inset: A polling officer (R) helps a woman to cast her vote at a polling station in Majuli, a large river island in the Brahmaputra river, Jorhat district, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam April 7, 2014. (REUTERS/Adnan Abidi). Spread over a period of Five weeks, the world's largest general elections  took place in India during April-May 2014, with over 600 million citizens eventually exercising their franchise). 

The vote count gave its verdict and the Hindu Nationalist Party of Narendra Modi celebrated a crushing victory while the Congress party was severely beaten. The Hindu Nationalist Party of Narendra Modi is promising a “new era” based on the boosting of the economy after ten years of having the Congress Party in power. This triumph of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) reshapes the Indian political landscape, transforming the Hindu Nationalist Party in national political power at the expense of the Congress Party of Gandhi-Nehru dynasty which has been reduced to the bare; this being a hard blow to such a Party which was used to leading the country. But the BJP leader is viewed with suspicion by the Muslim minority since the 2002 riots in Gujarat.

Opposed to the BJP, the Congress party comes out of these elections worn out after ten years of power, scandals, corruption and they have been punished (by the people) for their repeated incapability to revive growth and curb inflation. It has quickly recognized its defeat and this could be the most scathing one in its history. The Gandhi-Nehru dynasty in India faces a fight for survival after an electoral drubbing at the hands of the opposition leader Narendra Modi.

In this century many dynasties are disappearing, Insha-Allah, be it at political level as well as at religious (spiritual) level (especially those who take themselves as the heirs of the religious power, as if they are glued to their seats of power, and they think nobody can get them out from there. They forgot that there is a Creator of the universe who holds absolute power. He does what He wills and He replaces what (or whomever) He wants.