David Cameron's Ramadhan Sacrifice

I was made aware of the following article in The People where the leader of the opposition has had to give up "Conference Room H" so that Muslim members or those that work in the Houses of Parliament can pray during the month of Ramadhan.

Of course I am sure that it is not as worse a picture as the People paint it as such, and obviously no issue has been made out of it or there would be a Daily Mail campaign by now.

However, what is disappointing to hear is the reaction of the "angered secretaries in the next-door office" proclaiming:

"We work on a lot of confidential material and we don't know who will be going in there."

Surely no matter who works within the confines of the Houses of Parliament, be they Muslim or not, they have all been correctly vetted and passed in terms of security. Therefore no matter if there is a group of Tories holding clandestine secret meetings or a group of Muslims praying they should pose no more of a secutiry risk than one another! If it was good enough for a few Tories then it must be good enough for a few Muslims!

Everyone Knows Invading Iraq Was About Oil!

According to the about to be published memoirs of Alan Greenspan, the former head of the US Federal Reserve, has admitted that going into Iraq was largely about oil:

"I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil."

Not exactly earth shattering news is it? Indeed, the response has been met by an equal shrug of the shoulders from most. Such is the apathy surrounding modern politics and the decision to invade Iraq that if a poll was conducted today whereby the ordinary person was asked the reason why there was an invasion most would probably answer with one word. Oil.

The original claims from both UK's Prime Minister at the time, Tony Blair, and the US President, George Bush, was that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

Bush in his address as the troops began their attack said:

"And our mission is clear, to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, to end Saddam Hussein's support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people."

Blair himself told the Houses of Commons that

"[The September Dossier] concludes that Iraq has chemical and biological weapons, that Saddam has continued to produce them, that he has existing and active military plans for the use of chemical and biological weapons, which could be activated within 45 minutes"

The fact that these weapons have never been found, let alone having the capabilties of reaching the UK shores within 45minutes, is itself damning but more importantly become almost accepted as an undeniable truth amongst the masses.

The added criteria that Saddam Hussein was bad man and that he need to be removed on humanitarian grounds was also emotive. Most people would agree that Saddam was a despicable individual, but it was up to the people of Iraq to remove him. Most would also agree that those that sought his removal were complicit in his ascension to the role of Iraq's leader. The fact is that there are several despotic rulers around the world, yet most are allowed to continue their reigns of terror was also not lost on the vast majority. Indeed, it only adds to the weightier claims made by Greenspan.

Despite the denials the fact that the proposed Iraqi Oil Law will allow:

• Two-thirds of Iraq's oil fields to be developed by private oil corporations.

• Place governing decisions over oil in a new body known as the Iraqi Federal Oil and Gas Council, which may include foreign oil companies

more or less means that Iraq's oil could be controlled by US and UK influences.

The sad fact is that Greenspan says nothing that we do not know already.

"Belated" Ramadhan Kareem

The updates on Moh Bloggs may have been pretty non-existent of late, but that does not stop us wishing Ramadhan Kareem/Mubarak (in true Moh Bloggs style, better late than never we guess) to our band of loyal devoted readers.

This holy month can mean so many things to so many Muslims, but what is undeniable is that Ramadhan is a fantastic opportunity for Muslims to take stock and reflect and perhaps become stronger and better Muslims in the process.

There is a hadith I once came across, which is quite apt:

The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) has said: "It (Ramadhan) is the month, whose beginning is mercy, its middle, forgiveness and its end, emancipation from the fire (of hell)"
Source: Bihar al-Anwar, Vol.: 93, Pg.: 342

Hopefully we shall have plenty of Ramadhan musings to post in the next few weeks inshallah.