Post by Ruqaya
I met up with al-Ghariba (who sometimes posts on this blog) who used to be my neighbor before the war and we thought we'd go out and take some photos of al-Hasaba before things got cleaned up.
We took photos in and around bait al-Ahmar, the house of the tribal sheikh Sadeq al-Ahmar, we even got to go inside and get photos from the back garden. We got photos of the Yemenia building, all tall and burnt and then al-Ghariba suggested some photos from the back streets where the aqdam live - this is where we came unstuck.
There are a lot of sandbag walls when you go around in the areas between the big house of al-Ahmar to the bus station and the clock intersection. One street is blocked off by a bus shell filled with these sandbags, and al-Ahmar troops mind these areas and it is all OK to take photos even with them in it. Then as we exited onto the clock intersection near the bus station, some Najda Police stopped us and wanted to take our cameras. Oh no!
Al-Ghariba refused but the policeman got bothered and the remainder of them sitting around chewing qat got up, so we both surrendered our memory cards before we lost our whole cameras and phones too.
ALhamdulillahi Rabbil-alameen that these harsh policemen (who are part of the attacks on al-Hasaba and provoke the tribe fighters into breaking the ceasefire) did not ask for our IDs. I don't think al-Ghariba would have been in a good position being non-Yemeni. Well sister, at least your lahjah is coming along!
Friendly advice from an al-Hasaba resident: Do not take photos in areas with regime forces! or anywhere near them. if you want to take photos inside al-Hasaba do it near bait al-Ahmar!
And when walking by regime forces act as normal as posible and go about your business other than photo taking!
Friday, 16 September 2011
Thursday, 8 September 2011
On the Streets
Post by Admin
Walking the streets of Sana'a one can get a feel when things are getting bad. The usual bus chatter increases and heats up. But what we have on the streets and in the skies is something more telling - troop build-ups, extra armored vehicles, new road blocks, and the ever present thud of not to distant bombing.
State media recently reported Shaikh Sadeq Al-Ahmar to have ordered civilian evacuation of al-Hasaba. This is NOT true and life continues, though after the report aired on Saba-TV, the market on the street disappeared a few days.
Fortifications in the suburb have increased, one street is blocked off by a bus body filled with sand bags, and exchanges of gunfire can be heard especially at night.
Petrol prices have risen a little after decreasing to 3000 from 10,000. But everyday items of food are getting harder and harder to afford and some people have taken the step to drink tea with only half the sugar! Now that is a rare thing!
The Change Square sit in is as strong as ever and the tents have undergone renovations such as being put up on stilts to avoid the rain run-off. English translations of coalition signs and handouts remains awful at best. Protesters are still marching around town shouting slogans and chanting the downfall of the regime, and at the end of it, one can only wonder where it is all going.
School and university terms are planned to start on 17 September. It is unclear how term will start at Sana'a and Science and Technology universities with main entrances still blocked off by tents and an uncertain security situation. Almost all schools have had high numbers of unenrolments, especially high end private schools.
Walking the streets of Sana'a one can get a feel when things are getting bad. The usual bus chatter increases and heats up. But what we have on the streets and in the skies is something more telling - troop build-ups, extra armored vehicles, new road blocks, and the ever present thud of not to distant bombing.
State media recently reported Shaikh Sadeq Al-Ahmar to have ordered civilian evacuation of al-Hasaba. This is NOT true and life continues, though after the report aired on Saba-TV, the market on the street disappeared a few days.
Fortifications in the suburb have increased, one street is blocked off by a bus body filled with sand bags, and exchanges of gunfire can be heard especially at night.
Petrol prices have risen a little after decreasing to 3000 from 10,000. But everyday items of food are getting harder and harder to afford and some people have taken the step to drink tea with only half the sugar! Now that is a rare thing!
The Change Square sit in is as strong as ever and the tents have undergone renovations such as being put up on stilts to avoid the rain run-off. English translations of coalition signs and handouts remains awful at best. Protesters are still marching around town shouting slogans and chanting the downfall of the regime, and at the end of it, one can only wonder where it is all going.
School and university terms are planned to start on 17 September. It is unclear how term will start at Sana'a and Science and Technology universities with main entrances still blocked off by tents and an uncertain security situation. Almost all schools have had high numbers of unenrolments, especially high end private schools.
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
I am not Paying my Zakat to Ali Saleh!
Post by Ayman
As you make your way around Sana'a you may notice billboards reminding people to pay their Zakat to the state. The reminder is a good thing, but paying zakat to the corrupt state is another thing.
Ideally, Muslims pay their zakat to the zakat collecting authority of the government, but what if that government is so corrupt and far from Islamic rule? What if you are sure all they'll do with your zakat money is stuff it down a pipe and explode it for your entertainment?
Paying zakat the to government is done if the government is ISLAMIC or very close to it. Would you see Muslims in the USA paying zakat to the Barak Obama government? NO! why? Because it is a kafir government of a kafir country. so why would I pay my zakat to Obama's agent in Yemen? The corrupt regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Let's look more closely, my source, fiqh as-Sunnah by Sayyid Sabiq.
It is permissible to pay zakat to a Muslim leader whether he is just or not provided he rules mainly according to Islamic rules. At present the majority if not all Muslim rulers do not have Islamic governance which establishes Islam, propogates and defends it, calls for jihad, and collects and distributes zakat according to rules laid down by ALlah the Most Just.
SOme Muslim rulers are under the influence of western powers while others are influenced by polytheists. Foreign powers employ Muslim rulers as tools to subjugate the people in the name of Islam and to implement their kafir foreign interests in our countries, thus destroying Islam itself. To such rulers, it is NOT permissible to pay zakat regardles of their profession of faith and that they pray.
So there you have it in a nutshell and I feel relief that I can give my zakat directly to eligible recipients which are most people in Yemen.
Allahumma bestow upon me vast wealth so I can spend it in your cause and let me be of the Successful one's who you are please with Amin.
* Admin asked me to include an ayah from Qur'an which highlighted itself especially for me during my reading this Ramadan. I chose Surah al Hashr ayah 7. This ayah is not about zakat but it mentions the purpose of proper distribution of Ummah wealth.
What Allah has bestowed on His Messenger (fa'i - booty without fighting) from the people of the townships,- belongs to Allah,- to His Messenger and to kindred and orphans, the needy and the wayfarer; In order that it may not (merely) be between the wealthy among you. So take what the Messenger assigns to you, and deny yourselves that which he withholds from you. And fear Allah. for Allah is strict in Punishment.
As you make your way around Sana'a you may notice billboards reminding people to pay their Zakat to the state. The reminder is a good thing, but paying zakat to the corrupt state is another thing.
Ideally, Muslims pay their zakat to the zakat collecting authority of the government, but what if that government is so corrupt and far from Islamic rule? What if you are sure all they'll do with your zakat money is stuff it down a pipe and explode it for your entertainment?
Paying zakat the to government is done if the government is ISLAMIC or very close to it. Would you see Muslims in the USA paying zakat to the Barak Obama government? NO! why? Because it is a kafir government of a kafir country. so why would I pay my zakat to Obama's agent in Yemen? The corrupt regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Let's look more closely, my source, fiqh as-Sunnah by Sayyid Sabiq.
It is permissible to pay zakat to a Muslim leader whether he is just or not provided he rules mainly according to Islamic rules. At present the majority if not all Muslim rulers do not have Islamic governance which establishes Islam, propogates and defends it, calls for jihad, and collects and distributes zakat according to rules laid down by ALlah the Most Just.
SOme Muslim rulers are under the influence of western powers while others are influenced by polytheists. Foreign powers employ Muslim rulers as tools to subjugate the people in the name of Islam and to implement their kafir foreign interests in our countries, thus destroying Islam itself. To such rulers, it is NOT permissible to pay zakat regardles of their profession of faith and that they pray.
So there you have it in a nutshell and I feel relief that I can give my zakat directly to eligible recipients which are most people in Yemen.
Allahumma bestow upon me vast wealth so I can spend it in your cause and let me be of the Successful one's who you are please with Amin.
* Admin asked me to include an ayah from Qur'an which highlighted itself especially for me during my reading this Ramadan. I chose Surah al Hashr ayah 7. This ayah is not about zakat but it mentions the purpose of proper distribution of Ummah wealth.
What Allah has bestowed on His Messenger (fa'i - booty without fighting) from the people of the townships,- belongs to Allah,- to His Messenger and to kindred and orphans, the needy and the wayfarer; In order that it may not (merely) be between the wealthy among you. So take what the Messenger assigns to you, and deny yourselves that which he withholds from you. And fear Allah. for Allah is strict in Punishment.
Ramadan Reading
Throughout the month of Ramadan we should spend as much time as possible with the Qur'an, reading it and thinking about its meaning and implementation in our lives.
No matter how many times you read Qur'an and read it's verses, you will find something new every time, as if you had never read it before. SubhanAllah.
We usually read Qur'an with our present condition in the back of our mind, so sometimes we read an ayah, and suddenly it means so much more.
This Ramadan, we are living in Sana'a in a time of turmoil and great fitnah, and so we read the verses of ALlah in this condition. This verse jumped out at me this year. It makes a believer feel happy and confident in the promises of ALlah.
The verse is an-Nur 55
" Allah has promised among you who believe and do righteous good deeds, that he will certainly grant them succession in the land as he granted it to those before them and that he will grant them the authority to practise their religion which He has chosen for them (Islam) and He will surely give them in exchange a safe security after their fear provided they worship Me and do not associate anything in worship with Me. But whoever disbelieves after this they are Fasiqoon."
Although Allah swt has promised the believers this, it does not mean we sit around and wait for it to fall on us from the sky. We must work hard in our worship and good deeds. We must enjoin good and forbid evil, and we must not be afrain of the creation before the Creator,
Ramadan Mubarak.
No matter how many times you read Qur'an and read it's verses, you will find something new every time, as if you had never read it before. SubhanAllah.
We usually read Qur'an with our present condition in the back of our mind, so sometimes we read an ayah, and suddenly it means so much more.
This Ramadan, we are living in Sana'a in a time of turmoil and great fitnah, and so we read the verses of ALlah in this condition. This verse jumped out at me this year. It makes a believer feel happy and confident in the promises of ALlah.
The verse is an-Nur 55
" Allah has promised among you who believe and do righteous good deeds, that he will certainly grant them succession in the land as he granted it to those before them and that he will grant them the authority to practise their religion which He has chosen for them (Islam) and He will surely give them in exchange a safe security after their fear provided they worship Me and do not associate anything in worship with Me. But whoever disbelieves after this they are Fasiqoon."
Although Allah swt has promised the believers this, it does not mean we sit around and wait for it to fall on us from the sky. We must work hard in our worship and good deeds. We must enjoin good and forbid evil, and we must not be afrain of the creation before the Creator,
Ramadan Mubarak.
Saturday, 30 July 2011
Admin note on previous article and other news
Admin would like to clarify that people in Arhab are not necessarily Islahi, but their tribe leaders may be and the people follow their tribe leaders, and that is why their areas are being bombed by the government. It is very heavy handed diplomacy which shouts out NO NEGOTIATIONS and and we (the regime) wont leave until we spill much blood. There is no stopping it except by the will of Allah.
In the English press tribal fighters are often referred to as opposition fighters. Yes, they oppose, but they are not fighters of the opposition parties, they are tribesmen defending themselves as anyone would if such actions happened in their land or house. They tribal fighters, in a ground fight are stronger than the Republican Guard, but the RG have medium range artilliery and air support.
As for the buckets of sh#@. Admin suggests such ability to overcome such stench and filth is due to qat. People chew qat and they become deadened.
The thawra has lost much energy, and seems failed, perhaps their will be thawra part 2 after Ramadan because if the thuar (thawra people) stop completely the remainder of the regime will round them up and imprison them. Easy done, perhaps a few assassinations.
Al-Hasaba is still full of armed tribesmen, as well as a dug trench on many street corners in case of sudden outbreak of shooting, one might take refuge in one. Some have been renovated into rooved foxholes. Many have become garbage dumps.
Sana'a received its first good rain since the first day of the "war"(23 May). Much of the rain season has passed, punishment from Allah perhaps. But the city looks much better after a rain, especially after months of dust.
Ramadan is upon us, so make much du'a and don't waste the opportunity to do much ibada and good deeds.
In the English press tribal fighters are often referred to as opposition fighters. Yes, they oppose, but they are not fighters of the opposition parties, they are tribesmen defending themselves as anyone would if such actions happened in their land or house. They tribal fighters, in a ground fight are stronger than the Republican Guard, but the RG have medium range artilliery and air support.
As for the buckets of sh#@. Admin suggests such ability to overcome such stench and filth is due to qat. People chew qat and they become deadened.
The thawra has lost much energy, and seems failed, perhaps their will be thawra part 2 after Ramadan because if the thuar (thawra people) stop completely the remainder of the regime will round them up and imprison them. Easy done, perhaps a few assassinations.
Al-Hasaba is still full of armed tribesmen, as well as a dug trench on many street corners in case of sudden outbreak of shooting, one might take refuge in one. Some have been renovated into rooved foxholes. Many have become garbage dumps.
Sana'a received its first good rain since the first day of the "war"(23 May). Much of the rain season has passed, punishment from Allah perhaps. But the city looks much better after a rain, especially after months of dust.
Ramadan is upon us, so make much du'a and don't waste the opportunity to do much ibada and good deeds.
Sunday, 24 July 2011
Stuck in the Mud
Post by Ayman
Warning: the "s" word appears often in this blog and also contains sarcasm and cynicism.
I am wondering how this thawra (uprising/revolution) can end successfully. I hold a clear contemptuous view of it all, but still hope for its success.
People (non-Yemeni) often comment at how humble and patient Yemenis are in the face of hardship. I can agree to a certain extent. They do put up with a lot of shit and just keep going, but I disagree just as much and say Yemenis lack aspiration and vision of a future that isn't full of it. I also throw in a bucket of laziness for good measure.
So when a Yemeni is handed a bucket of shit they take it and put up with the stink until they don't notice it anymore, then they are handed worse shit and the cycle continues. So thanks to Allah some youths, after seeing Tunisa and Egypt revolution decided, all we need to do is clean out the shit and we can do it peacefully but sitting around in a public space - let's do it! No that's not fair of me, the original youth of the thawra are the one's who aspire to clean out the bucket of aforementioned substance, but some old hands realised that the shi# might actually get emptied out and cleaned up and so joined the thawra, and highjacked the agenda, now the whole lot is stuck in the mud.
We can all go forward and be killed peacefully and be shuhada' (martyrs) because Shaikh Al-Zindane said that those killed in the way of the thawra are shaheed, and I really hope they are, but I add a BIG INSHA ALLAH on the end of that.
Thousands have died now and the loyalist forces bomb daily the areas in Arhab, North Sana'a Governate, Taiz and Abyan. What are these areas guity of?
Arhab: Many areas are strong supporters of the Islah political party (the Islamic party in the style of Ikhwan - Muslim Brotherhood), and the founder of Islah the late Shaikh Abdullah al-Ahmar is from this region.
Northern Areas of Sana'a Government - also Islahi people.
Taiz- Interlectual heartland of Yemen. The thawra was the strongest here and the most organised and the most able to implement governance at the fall of the regime.
Abyan: al-Qaeda heartland - so they say. But really just a bunch of armed hooligans, not the real AQAP. USA are having a big hand in landing cruise missiles on civilians.
How will the thawra end? Here are some suggestions:
1. Ali Saleh and family will run out of bullets and the remainder of their soldiers will embrace the thawra.
2. USA and Saudi Arabia decide to support the Yemeni people for the good of the people rather than self-interests at the expense of Yemeni freedom and lives.
3.The peaceful protesters have an epiphany and take up arms.
4. The 12,000 mujahideen of Aden/Abyan (as in the hadith) come and save the day.
5. Ali Saleh will come back to Yemen during Ramadan and reopen the petrol resources and the gas, and electricity will run without interuption, there will be affordable food in the markets, and then all the ignorant and starving Yemenis will fall in prostration to Him and declare, "ash-sha,ab yureed Ali Abdullah Saleh" and he will fill there buckets with extra shi#.
Have a Happy Ramadan!!!!
Warning: the "s" word appears often in this blog and also contains sarcasm and cynicism.
I am wondering how this thawra (uprising/revolution) can end successfully. I hold a clear contemptuous view of it all, but still hope for its success.
People (non-Yemeni) often comment at how humble and patient Yemenis are in the face of hardship. I can agree to a certain extent. They do put up with a lot of shit and just keep going, but I disagree just as much and say Yemenis lack aspiration and vision of a future that isn't full of it. I also throw in a bucket of laziness for good measure.
So when a Yemeni is handed a bucket of shit they take it and put up with the stink until they don't notice it anymore, then they are handed worse shit and the cycle continues. So thanks to Allah some youths, after seeing Tunisa and Egypt revolution decided, all we need to do is clean out the shit and we can do it peacefully but sitting around in a public space - let's do it! No that's not fair of me, the original youth of the thawra are the one's who aspire to clean out the bucket of aforementioned substance, but some old hands realised that the shi# might actually get emptied out and cleaned up and so joined the thawra, and highjacked the agenda, now the whole lot is stuck in the mud.
We can all go forward and be killed peacefully and be shuhada' (martyrs) because Shaikh Al-Zindane said that those killed in the way of the thawra are shaheed, and I really hope they are, but I add a BIG INSHA ALLAH on the end of that.
Thousands have died now and the loyalist forces bomb daily the areas in Arhab, North Sana'a Governate, Taiz and Abyan. What are these areas guity of?
Arhab: Many areas are strong supporters of the Islah political party (the Islamic party in the style of Ikhwan - Muslim Brotherhood), and the founder of Islah the late Shaikh Abdullah al-Ahmar is from this region.
Northern Areas of Sana'a Government - also Islahi people.
Taiz- Interlectual heartland of Yemen. The thawra was the strongest here and the most organised and the most able to implement governance at the fall of the regime.
Abyan: al-Qaeda heartland - so they say. But really just a bunch of armed hooligans, not the real AQAP. USA are having a big hand in landing cruise missiles on civilians.
How will the thawra end? Here are some suggestions:
1. Ali Saleh and family will run out of bullets and the remainder of their soldiers will embrace the thawra.
2. USA and Saudi Arabia decide to support the Yemeni people for the good of the people rather than self-interests at the expense of Yemeni freedom and lives.
3.The peaceful protesters have an epiphany and take up arms.
4. The 12,000 mujahideen of Aden/Abyan (as in the hadith) come and save the day.
5. Ali Saleh will come back to Yemen during Ramadan and reopen the petrol resources and the gas, and electricity will run without interuption, there will be affordable food in the markets, and then all the ignorant and starving Yemenis will fall in prostration to Him and declare, "ash-sha,ab yureed Ali Abdullah Saleh" and he will fill there buckets with extra shi#.
Have a Happy Ramadan!!!!
Monday, 27 June 2011
The Last Days of Al-Hasabah
We've had a long absence as a result of the conflict in Sanaa. The English editor disappeard to Ibb, then we couldn't find the password, then there was no electricity, and no petrol to run the generator, and no money to buy petrol then no time to sit days in the queue to buy some petrol when we did have money. Here is a recount of a sister who lives in al-Hasaba.
Post by Ruqaya
Post by Ruqaya
23 May 2011 – al-Hasabah Sana’a, Yemen
We started hearing shots being fired around midday, but there had been a lot of shots fired in the past weeks so we disregarded it as normal activity and continued our lesson. The serious fighting started not long after the call to the midday prayer while I was still in the streets on my way home.
After arriving home, greeting everyone and praying thuhr, I made a sarcastic remark that the guards must be getting bored and taking pot-shots at cats. I was quickly rebuked and told it was not funny, this fighting is for real.
We had been expecting something to happen for months as the number of al-Ahmar armed guards had increased as well as their sand-bagged firing positions and road obstacles, but I never expected what was to come, I just didn’t believe the President was that evil.
Artillery shells started being fired randomly upon our neighbourhood, although we knew they were meant for the al-Ahmar residential compound. Fortunately or unfortunately the Republican Guards were not very accurate with their weapons.
The street was a buzz of gunfire near and far, men shouting orders, instructions and warnings of where government fighters were heading under heavy rain. As the fighting intensified, we prepared bags, dressed and headed to the downstairs area where there were no windows to shatter over us, and we waited there for the rest of the day hoping that it would stop, and at the time of sunset, it did. Alhamdulillah, and we hoped that was the end of it and so didn’t seek to evacuate.
24 May
Everyone was so calm about the previous day’s events that it almost seemed normal, but the second day was far more intense than the first. I did not go to work that day (24 May), and all morning sporadic exchanges of small-arms fire was still being heard from all areas of the neighbourhood and some of it right in front of my bedroom window, so I tidied up a little before going to the neighbour’s house to sit out the day because their house was better built than mine as because they had a car in case of a need for a speedy exit.
The artillery started while lunch was still on the stove and we started receiving direct hits before lunch was even half cooked. The shelling was heavy and there were many casualties from both fighters and locals. I was sitting in a small diwan peeking out the window when the first tray-back vehicles drove by loaded up with the dead and dying. As I watched this spectacle, an artillery shell landed on the building opposite, the shockwaves pushed me off the ledge upon which I was sitting and onto the floor. After that I decided to go downstairs and sit with the others until the attack stopped or we bugged out.
We lived quite near the al-Ahmar compound and were able to get news from fighters about what was happening. The 63rd Republican Guard were not going to stop shelling our neighbourhood until they destroyed the al-Ahmar compound. On 25 May the President of Yemen said on TV that all residents of al-Hasaba should leave the area before 6pm or face the concequences of the soon to commence air attack. For once the President told the truth, although we hoped it was another lie. The attack started not long after midnight and heavy fighting took place in the streets. That day saw the heaviest fighting and the most deaths. And we bugged out and I felt sad to do so, something inside me wanted to stay despite the danger. It was my home after all.
We didn’t return for three weeks and watched and listened to the news. We heard of the death and destruction, and the fires, and the looters and militiamen roaming the streets. Finally, we got the green light to go back and check out our homes. We were all silent with anticipation as we sat in the bus to al-Hasaba.
The bus terminated at the Clock Intersection and immediately we saw the damage of the clock itself and millions of bullet holes in everything as well as the shops on that corner burnt, and the skin doctor’s clinic which I was due to visit before the fighting started also completely burnt. We heard through the weeks all the explosions from al-Hasaba and didn’t hold much hope our house survived.
We walked in a daze up the main street towards the totally burnt out Yemenia Airlines building, electricity lines hung low and limply like long lifeless snakes, metal light poles were cut in half by the sheer amount of bullets that passed through them, leaving behind perforated grey stumps with jagged tops. There were still many al-Ahmar militiamen in the street, weary and dirty, watching us as we walked by.
We reached our street corner, now empty of the women selling bread and the men selling qat. It was also blocked off to traffic because the side of the al-Ahmar compound reached half way down the street. And then we arrived.
I was so happy to see it wasn’t burnt. All the damage we had was smashed windows and qamariyas. All our things where still there and there had not been any rain to damage my books. Now the clean-up begins....
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