Indian Government trying to change demography of J&K state

Chairman Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Geelani has said that the government of India was trying to settle non-resident slum-dwellers in Jammu and Kashmir and alter the state’s demography.

Geelani said his amalgam had proof that government was planning to settle 498000 non-resident slum-dwellers.

“India is following Israeli tactics. In fact, both the issues were born at the same time and today you see 40 lakh Palestinians living as refugees in their own land,” he said.

“The puppet government says that they will raise houses for state-subjects, but these are hoax claims. State-subjects have a right in the constitution but under this garb, just like dogra certificate, the government is trying to settle slum-dwellers knowing the devastating impact they are having on our society.

“And this is the puppet government which is accusing us of exploiting youth, disrupting peace, when they are responsible for the slavery of people, filling colors in sketches of India,” he said.

“I want to ask them that it was your leader (National Conference founder, Sheikh Abdullah), who surrendered after 22 years for chair of chief minister, who passed the land grants bill which allots land to outsiders on lease for 90 years. The same man, who you are trying to project as hero today passed black laws like PSA, the land grants bill,” he said.

“Ironically it was the (last Dogra ruler) Hari Singh who passed a law that that non-residents cannot buy land here or property, but then the man who paved way for all this today his son, grandson, and other agencies and pro-India parties are filling the colours in sketches of India,” he said.

Geelani said the puppet government was raising hue and cry over environment protection while no attention was being paid towards the adverse impact on environment due to “uncontrolled” rush of yatra .

“No Kashmiri is against the annual Amarnath Yatra; we fed them when RSS backed fanatics had imposed a blockade on us in 2008, but we want the numbers of the pilgrims to be regulated just as there are restrictions (on the number of pilgrims) in Gangotri,” he said.

“The puppet government boasts of 6.5 lakh yatris visiting Kashmiris this year but nobody talks of the degrading effect it has on the environment.”

New Delhi is using cultural aggression to “prolong its occupation in Kashmir,” Geelani said the educational institutes were being “used” for the same. “Our boys and girls are lured to dance and stand up in esteem when jana gana mana is played, and this cultural aggression is more dangerous than forcible occupation,” he said.

Geelani said the media should give space to the “voice of oppressed”.

A Victims Open Letter (To The Then) C M Of J&K : Breathtaking Story

In an open letter (to the then) Chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Asima Mohiudin, a resident of Fatehgarh Baramulla, pens down the bundle of tregedies that sum the and her sisters have encountered so far.

Starting her letter with a quote, she writes; “Kehtay hai jis ghum ka elaaj nahe hota ussay sehna he padhta hai” (The sorrow that cannot be cured has to be endured) “ Ye dard bahri kahaane aik khushaal ghar ke hai jo pehlay buhat acha aur khush tha, aura bb jaisay issay kisi ke nanzar lag gaye ho” ( This is the story of a family that used to be happy, later evil spirit struck it) Asima Outlined her tale of woes in the letter, a copy of which was handed over to the author, while narrating her woes and trauma.

At the top off letter she mentions ”A TRUE STORY” On “22 JUNE 1993” At “11:30 PM” at night everyone was sleeping and there was complete darkness due to load shedding. Suddenly there was a knock at the door, a sense of fear prevailed. Somehow our grandmother with a torch in her hand stood up, went downstairs to open the gate. As she was moving towards the gate the frequency of knocks increased and as she was about to open the door broken open with some persons barging in.

Immediately her grandmother lit the torch and asked “who they were”. One of them in turn broke her torch with gun he was carrying. Then they went upstairs and broke all the window panes.

Asima’s Uncle Abdul Rasheed was married just six months back. First, he was taken into custody, then one of them fired upon her grandmother. The bullet pierced her body and hit the wall. She began profusely bleeding and fell unconscious.

After sometime they caught hold of Asima’s father Ghulam Mohiuddin and took him along. Asima’s mother tried to console her daughters as they were too young. “Though I was very young, but I exactly remember that day which changed our lives forever,” Points Asima.

Since that day her father and uncle are missing and nothing is known about them. “However, hope is there,” she says adding “we hope that both father and uncle will return someday as their daughters are waiting for them and they have to return”

Her mother, Haleema Begum tried hard to trace the whereabouts of her husband and brother-In-law from whatever corner she got the clue. Dejected with the situation she was in, and getting tossed from pillar to post, Haleema developed heart ailment.

“I remember whenever she left in the morning she used to say that she might get some information, but in the evening sadness was visible on her face reflecting the situation which she was facing,” writes Asima in her letter.

It was during this time that her other uncle was killed. “Think of the mother who lost her three sons this way. Consider about that mother who had to look after her four daughters and had to trace the whereabouts of her husband and brother in-law,” Says Asima

After sometime, Asima grandfather Wali Muhammad Lone Expired. He was waiting for news of his son’s return, but fate had something tragic in store for him and death laid its icy hands on him, Writes Asima.

Asima has three more sisters. “To Whom shall I narrate my woes and how many times shall I repeat the same tragedy? Enough is enough now. Many times I think that I should take the poison as I cannot tolerate anymore now,” she says.

Asima’s mother died on July 10, 2006. “She was our lone support but that too was taken away by the Almighty. Had She for some years things would have been different for us,” she said, “our father had left us to the support of our mother but he never knew that she would leave us halfway, stranded.”

She would have survived had we been able to provide her timely medical treatment, Asima Said. She expressed regret that she could not provide proper treatment to her mother due to economic compulsions at home.

The sisters lost their parents. They yearn to have a brother as they live in rural setup where conservative norms prevail. According to Asima, girls working out in their area are not treated with repect.

Her Sisters Rukaya, Fatima and Tahira were forced to discontinue their studies due to financial difficulties. “ We know it is extremely important to receive education the present circumstances. But wherever we went for admission they first asked if we could afford tuition fee. After that we dropped the idea,” she said.

Asima and her sisters want justice to be done to them. “no one knows the way we sisters live,” she said. Expressing her pains she said, “ zaane soie jaey yath jaeye naar lagge” (only the sufferer knows how painful it is…

Sayed Zaid Zaman Hamid : A Profile

Mr. Zaid Hamid is a security consultant and strategic defense analyst. He is the founder of BrassTacks, a unique Pakistani Think Tank devoted to the study of regional and global political events and their implications for Pakistan's security and interests. As an expert on the subject, he is frequently invited to speak on national television networks, and runs his own dedicated program on the News1 channel, named "BrassTacks with Zaid Hamid". This program has pioneered a new trend in currents affairs programming in Pakistan, where he skillfully knits together the undercurrents of apparently disconnected global events, and builds a bigger perspective on the threats that we face and where our true national interests lie. Owing to the tremendous appreciation received by these educational program series, a number of people have expressed interest in learning more about Mr. Zaid. We present below a brief overview of his personal life, interests and expertise.

Early Life & Afghan War

Early in his youth, when Mr. Zaid started his graduate degree, the muslim ummah got challenged by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan – a landmark event that started Mr. Zaid’s career as a soldier and a mujahid. Staking his life and career, he signed up as a volunteer in the Afghan war, and actively participated in the jihad right up to the liberation of Kabul. Over all, Mr. Zaid has spent more than six years of active participation in the jihad. Being a black belt second dan of Shotokan martial art, coupled with his charismatic leadership qualities and in-depth familiarity with modern weapons, (which he inherited from his father, a distinguished veteran of the ‘65 war), Mr. Zaid quickly became a notable contributor in the Afghan jihad.

It was through this first hand participation in the finest guerilla operations of their time that he gained his valuable insights and expertise in Irregular Warfare, counter Insurgency, Low and High Intensity Conflicts and strategic war planning. His travels in Afghanistan allowed him to network with a number of key figures of the jihad from both Afghanistan and Pakistan, and gave him his unique insights into the psyche of the Afghan people, the political undercurrents of the region, the inside story of the whole operation, as well as the role of the CIA and other clandestine agencies in the great game.

To top all of that, he still managed to visit the university campus every now and then, and finished off on his Computer Systems Engineering degree.

Professional Profile

After the war, Mr. Zaid started his career as a security professional covering subjects like electronic security solutions, security systems design, and training of security personnel. His years in the war significantly contributed in sharpening his expertise of perceiving security threats and developing successful counter measures. After a successful stint as area head of Security Alarms Systems Division of an eminent security company, he launched his own private consulting company in the late 1990s, called BrassTacks Security. This company specializes in corporate security systems design, security systems audit, and security intelligence reporting.

Education & Training

With his backpack full of books even in the barren hills of Afghanistan, Mr. Zaid has always lived by the Prophet’ saying to seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave. Even today he considers himself a student, and is ever willing to learn from others, as much as he is willing to teach of what he has learnt and experienced. As you converse with him (in your choice of five languages that he speaks), you can quickly realize the depth and breadth of his knowledge on topics related to religion, philosophy, world history and military subjects. In particular, he is passionate about Islam, and possesses in-depth knowledge of the Quran and Sunnah, as well as extensive study of Islamic political history, Islamic social and economic history, the mechanisms and foundations of Muslim’s economic and social achievements, as well as topics on contemporary issues of the Muslim world and the practical steps to reclaim our lost glory.

In his quest for learning from his elders, Mr. Zaid has had personal acquaintances with many eminent authors, thinkers and scholars of our time, and is strongly inspired by the thoughts of Wasif Ali Wasif and Ashfaq Ahmad. He has also travelled to many countries and places, including numerous visits to Hjiaz-e-muqaddas, turkey, and other friendly Muslim countries.

Mr. Zaid is himself a prolific writer and author of dozens of published articles and handbooks on various defense and security related issues and appears regularly on mainstream media as Analyst on various security and defense matters. His views on security issues especially are taken as authority by clients including multinationals, Government of Pakistan and embassies of friendly countries.

Religious Affiliations

A number of people question us about the religious affiliations of Mr. Zaid. As a true muslim, ofcourse, the ideal role model of us all is the Prophet(saw).

After him, in order to understand Zaid Hamid's religious view points, if there is any other person about whom we can say that Mr. Zaid believes and follows his ideology, then it is Hz. Allama Iqbal. Mr. Zaid has extensively read the revolutionary philosophy of Iqbal and his message of Islamic unity and Muslim renaissance, and strongly believes in practically following Iqbals message of Ishq-e-Rasool and Khudi. Like Iqbal, Mr. Zaid, dismisses the factional and sectarian divions among Muslims, and advocates for the Ummah to rise above its differences and meet the bigger challenges that we collectively face.

Butaan-e-rang o khoon koe tod kar millat mein gum hoe ja

Na toorani rahe baqi, na irani, na afghani

Other than following the pristine message of Islam as brought by the Prophet (sm), Mr. Zaid has absolutely no affiliations with any political, sectarian or religious group or party.

BrassTacks Think Tank

Through out his life of jihad, self-development, and learning, the issue of Islamic renaissance, and resurgence of Pakistan as a prosperous and strong Muslim country, has been a personal passion of Mr. Zaid. The creation of BrassTacks think tank is a culmination of his life long efforts and aspirations.

The mission of Brasstacks Think Tank is exactly what the mission of mr. Zaid himself has always been: to strive for creation of a stronger Pakistan, by creating awareness and providing education on issues of strategic national importance, and providing guidance to the people on how to develop a comprehensive strategy for safeguarding our national interests, and ideological frontiers. You can learn more about BrassTacks on our About us page.

BrassTacks is a private venture of mr. Zaid, and some close like-minded friends who all share the common cause of commitment and patriotism to Pakistan. BrassTacks accepts no funding from any outward source, and is not affiliated with any political party or institution. However, brasstacks maintains a friendly and advisory role to key institutions of Pakistan including the government of Pakistan, the foreign office, Pakistan army, and embassies of friendly Islamic countries.

BrassTacks think tank has attracted a lot of talent from the youth of Pakistan, and is already playing a pivotal role in shaping the future of pakistan’s domestic and foreign policy.

Mr. Zaid welcomes all of you to join hands with BrassTacks and play our role in Islamic Renaissance and Muslim unity through the agency of this God gifted country of Pakistan "

Irfan S. Kashmiri©

LEST WE FORGET

By: Irfan Kashmirie

..

In shaheedu’n ki diyat ahli kaleesa se na maang..

Qadro keemat main hai khoon jin ka haram se badkar

I remember I was a kid reading in 4th primary. It was Friday that I will never ever forget. Everyone was enthusiastic about Friday prayer. Everyone was requested to offer Friday prayers in Jamia Masjid, Bijbehara where from a peaceful procession was to be carried out to show the solidarity with the fellow brothers who were caged in Holy Hazratbal Shrine, Dargah Srinagar. Indian Army's siege of the holiest Muslim shrine in the Kashmir Valley rekindled resentment at India. I along with my brother were strictly advised to stay back home.

Tayghon key saaye mein hum, pal kar jawaan huwey hain

Khanjar hilaal kaa hai qaumi nishaan hamara

More than 15,000 protestors gathered in the courtyard of the Jamia Masjid after finishing Friday prayers. The protestors marched through the streets shouting slogans, demanding an end to the Hazratbal siege and supporting Kashmiri independence. When the procession reached the main road (Goriwan National Highway), BSF blocked the street and started firing indiscriminately, killing at least 40 people on the spot and injuring more than 200 others. The firing continued and the streets were painted red. The firing continued and troops targeted the crowd and those, who lay injured on the ground. No ambulances or medical staff was allowed access to the injured persons although hospital was only few yards away from the site of the massacre. Later, when people managed to shift some of the injured to hospital, the BSF men even fired on them inside the hospital complex, killing and injuring more people.

The incident sent shockwaves across the length and breadth of vale. All this was being done to weaken the resolve of Kashmiris but history is a testament that falsehood is bound to perish. The playfield in which I along with my friends used to play cricket was turned into martyrs graveyard. People were busy digging the graves and one after the other countless dead bodies poured in and were laid to rest. This saga of burying the martyred continued the whole night.

An FIR (No 90/93) and a magisterial inquiry was ordered but to no avail. The Inquiry report, vide number EN/BFC/93/23-24, prepared by the Inquiry Magistrate and submitted to the government on 13th November, concluded that firing on the procession was absolutely unprovoked and the claim made by the security forces that they fired in self defense after militant firing is baseless and concocted. The inquiry report further stated that the security personnel have committed offence out of vengeance and their barbarous act was deliberate and well planned. The report indicted Deputy Commandant of BSF JK Radola for tacit approval given by him to indiscriminate and un-provoked firing. Eighteen long years have passed, the scars of the incident are still fresh and victims are still awaiting justice which is not expected till we are under the clutches of India. Can we afford to forget all this against a good job or economic packages?

wo ujda gulshan veeran galiyan wo jalte bag aur udaas kaliyaan

jamari maau’n kay behtey aansu’n kasam hai tum ko bula na dena

May Allah grant them Jannah and fulfill our dream of free Kashmir.

One Slogan One Track, Go India Go Back

KASHMIR CONFLICT : Studying at prison; appearing in chains

As standard 10th students rush towards their examination centre at the historic Islamia School in the heart of the Old City, Shahbaaz Manzoor Khan, 16, who is also appearing, is brought handcuffed like a ‘criminal’.

Shahbaaz, who hails from Gojwara, has been in police detention for over a month before the annual 10th standard examination began in the Kashmir valley.

On the morning of September 8, this year, when Shahbaaz was still asleep, a pose of 75 police vehicles stood outside the gate of his house, says his father Manzoor Ahmad Khan. The family was having breakfast when they heard a thunderous sound. He says he rushed out in hurry to check out and found the policemen had broken the fence which surrounds their house.

“When my husband went out, I followed him and saw huge number of policemen crossing over the broken fence towards our house, says Dishada, his mother.

The policemen asked for their son. “They (policemen) were angry to listen to us, they warned us that they would barge into his room, if we did not bring him quickly, she says amid sobs outside the school, where her son is appearing for the exam.

She says being a mother she thought her only son

would be panicked ‘so she woke him up like she did every morning’. “I called him and asked him to wear your clothes quickly and come downstairs,” she explains with tears glistening in her eyes. She says when her son came down he held her hand tightly, before police took him away. “We didn’t utter a word in front of them, we just handed over a jacket to our son and they took him away,” she cries as she speaks.

The parents desperate to get their son out, more so as the dates for the crucial exam were nearing, approached people in the corridors of power. But, as his parents say nobody paid any heed. “We are pleading for our son in front of them, he is too innocent and young to do anything,” Dilshada says.

A police official says that the teen has been arrested on charges of hurling stones at the government forces. He, however, fails to explain the need of bringing Shahbaaz handcuffed to the examination centre.

A physiologist says that such scene at places where there is a huge presence of children is a matter of concern. "If you bring a child handcuffed and guarded like a hardened criminal it certainly is going to play on the psyche of other children around," he remarks while wishing to remain anonymous.

This becomes, particularly, important when government claims to have launched several initiatives for the youth, who have been at the forefront of expressing dissent, he says.

But, authorities seem to be ignoring the gravity of such actions and as his parents' pleas have fallen to deaf ears. Shahbaaz, these days, prepares in dark prison cell where not a ray of light passes, his mother believes. “When I went there, I saw the room in which they are keeping my son, it has a single window with no light, it is a ‘kal kothri’, I am not coming to terms with the crime he has committed, I don’t understand how would he be preparing,” she expresses her worry.

Dilshada often visits her son in jail to give him books and sometimes food.

On the first day of his examination she visited his school to wish him luck

b ut when she found his son handcuffed and surrounded by police it became difficult for her to

bear her son’s plight, says his father.

“Since then I don’t go to wish him luck, I just wait for the jeep outside school premises which picks and drops him to assure myself that he is appearing in exams,” says Dilshada.

Earlier Published On Kashmir Dispatch

October 27 Most Tragic Day In The History Of J&K: Sayed Ali Geelani

Organize protest rallies on the day and highlight the military atrocities being carried out in Kashmir.

Calling October 27 as the most tragic and darkest day in the history of Jammu and Kashmir, Chairman APHC Syed Ali Shah Geelani Thursday asked people to observe a complete shutdown on the day to show the international community that People here will never reconcile with this occupation and fight against it till the last soldier leaves this land.

He appealed to Kashmiris living In other countries to organize protest rallies on the day and highlight the military atrocities being carried out in Kashmir.

APHC chairman said that Kashmir was autonomous state till 26th October 1947 but on 27th October the Indian troops initiated the occupation of Jammu and Kashmir. He said that this occupation has no legal moral or political validation and it is only due to military might that India is holding on to Jammu and Kashmir.

Kashmiri people have struggled ever since against this occupation but despite claiming to be democratic country India has used every available power to crush the public opinion. More than one lakh people have been killed and ten thousand have been subjected to enforced disappearance. Thousands of women have been violated.

Unmarked and mass graves are being discovered all over valley. All this has happened because of the military occupation initiated on 27th October 1947.

Calling for complete demilitarization APHC chairman said that until Indian forces are on this soil life and honour of people is not safe and there will be no regard for human rights. He further added that Kashmir is a problem for peace in whole south Asia forcing to two already impoverished nations to spend major part of their budget on military instead of poverty eradication programs.

Mr. Geelani said that the biggest hurdle in the settlement of this issue is the stubborn mindset of India. Despite making tall claims of democracy India does not want a peaceful solution to this imbroglio.

Aphc chairman said that the international community has accepted our right for self determination with UN passing no less than 18 resolutions in this regard. It is high time that UN lives up to its word and plays a role in providing the right to people in Kashmir as they have done in the case of countries like south Sudan, Abkhazia, Serbia ,Kosovo, Serbia, Montenegro, Eastern Timor in the recent past.

Mr. Geelani said that India should have a relook at its expansionist policy accepting the ground realities otherwise it will be left alone on the international front soon.

With Inputs From Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Jammu & Kashmir

Zainab al-Ghazali: Lady with a Mission

The year is 1966. A middle-aged woman sits in an Egyptian military prison, awaiting the torture sessions that have become part of her daily routine. She recites verses from the Qur’an, sentences of classical Arabic which have been repeated endlessly, but which never lose meaning. Bismillah al-Rahman al Raheem. She is among the top leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, a social organization which seeks to Islamize Egyptian society and government. She is imprisoned on charges of sedition and conspiring to assassinate President Gamal ‘Abd al-Nasser. She denies these charges, and while other members of the Brotherhood are weakened into submission through torture, every crack of the whip only serves to strengthen her resolve. The year is 1981. A woman in her mid-sixties sits at a publishing desk for al-Da’wah magazine, a publication of the Muslim Brotherhood. She is the editor of a women’s column for the magazine, and writes articles on the domestic nature of females and on the importance of motherhood and wifedom for Muslim women. When she is not writing, she lectures on the Islamic call, al-da’wah, the social movement whose participants seek Islam as a way of life, not merely a religion. Bismillah al-Rahman al Raheem. She speaks publicly on the important role which mothers and wives have in forwarding the Islamic nation. Return to the home, she encourages her female audience, and do not work outside the home unless there is dire need. These are two stories, but they speak of only one woman. She is Zainab al-Ghazali, Leader of The Muslim Brotherhood and one of the most controversial female Muslim figures of The 20th century. Born in 1917 into the household of a local religious leader, she was inculcated With the importance of religion in everyday life. From an early age her father encouraged her to be a strong woman, and a leader who embraced Islam and the indigenous traditions of Egypt. al- Ghazali emerged into Egyptian society at a time of great upheaval for women and the nation as a whole. The Wafd revolution of 1919 had granted Egypt nominal independence from Great Britain, but the nationalist movement continued to fight for true sovereignty throughout al- Ghazali’s formative years. The nationalist movement was largely dependent on the mobilization of Egyptian women, whose participation marked a dramatic shift in social norms regarding women and their role in public life. The late nineteenth century had witnessed an awakening of a feminist conscious among men and women within the elite classes of Egypt. This phenomenon was largely a nationalist reaction against colonial arguments that often used the “oppression” and “subjugation” of Muslim women as a cause for British control of Egypt. However, this colonial mission to “emancipate” the women of Egypt was more a tool of political propaganda than it was a feminist crusade. Lord Cromer—the British counsel of Egypt during the early twentieth century—must have been concerned for the political emancipation of only Egyptian women, as he was a well-known staunch opponent of the women’s suffrage movement back in Great Britain.Disproving the widespread belief that Egyptian women were helpless and desperate for the guidance of British tutelage, female activists began to mobilize behind the nationalist movement. Continuing the previous movements for women’s political and educational rights—led by such activists as Nabawiyya Musa and Malak Hifni Nasif—the nationalist movement proved to be another medium in which Egyptian women could assert their social agency. The mass participation of women within the nationalist movement changed the traditional gender Landscape, as women moved from the margins to the heart of society. It was no longer a question of whether or not women should be freed from the traditional patriarchy that governed Egyptian Society—not unlike the British society of Lord Cromer—but rather what path should such an Emancipation follow.

 and work of one of the first Islamist feminists. Entering the fertile scene of the Egyptian nationalist/women’s movement, Zainab al- Ghazali gained an early exposure to women’s activism and participation in public space. Joining the Egyptian Feminist Union when she was no more than eighteen, she was exposed to the ideology of Egyptian women who favored emulation of the west and a secularization of women’s roles in society. However, al-Ghazali quickly became frustrated with the EFU’s methods, believing that its members rejected Islam as a guide to defining the role of women in society. She quit the organization, and went on to establish the Jamiat Al-Sayyidat-al-Muslimeen, or, Muslim Ladies Association in 1936. Correcting what al-Ghazali had seen to be the fatal flaw of the EFU, she and the MLA encouraged women to seek religion as a means to personal agency and as a source of advancement. While  al-Ghazali insisted upon the independence of the MLA from the Muslim Brotherhood, she was closely affiliated with the larger Islamist organization and was among the top leaders within the Egyptian da’wah movement. While specifically concerned with the role of women in society, al-Ghazali dedicated herself to the da’wah movement as a whole. She criticized “westernized” feminists for devoting themselves only to “women’s issues,” arguing that not only was it impossible to separate the issues of women from those of society at large, but that in fact such specifications only weakened the community and ignored comprehensive ailments of society.8 As a da’iya, al- Ghazali was passionate about spreading Islam to all sectors of society, as well as devoted to teaching the benefits that she believed Islam would bring to Egypt. While she had been married at a young age, she quickly divorced her husband whom she remembered as trying to impede her da’wah activities.With no children from her first marriage, she was able to fully devote herself  to the work of the MLA and the Muslim Brotherhood until she married again. Her steadfast  dedication to al-da’wah was again demonstrated by her insistence that the contract for her second marriage stipulate that her new husband could not prohibit or prevent al-Ghazali’s activism. Such actions prove not only her commitment to the Islamist movement, but also demonstrate her beliefs in the personal agency of wives, and women. With a tamed husband and no children, al-Ghazali was able to fully dedicate herself to the life of public leadership at which she excelled. After the military coup of 1952, the newly empowered secular-nationalists—led by Gamal ‘Abd al-Nasser—targeted the Muslim Brotherhood and its Islamist ideology as a threat to their newly secured power. Accused of sedition, hundreds of Muslim Brothers were imprisoned or assassinated, crippling the leadership apparatus of the organization. Accused of conspiring to assassinate the president, al-Ghazali herself was incarcerated in a military prison before being transferred to the all-women’s prison of al-Qanatir. Before her transfer, she was subjected to      heinous torture and inhumanity, described in her memoir Return of the Pharaoh. Her leadership within the Brotherhood had made her a target, and she bravely withstood the consequences of such activism. Because of her commitment to the da’wah movement, al-Ghazali is considered amongst many Islamists to be a mujahida—a fighter in the path of God. She is remembered as a bold, courageous, and outspoken woman who thrived in the male-dominated scene of politics and religious activism. Therefore, it may seem slightly incongruous to recall that this mujahida is the same woman who exhorted women to remain in the home, and take up the domestic roles of wife and mother. It is the recollection of this anecdote which richens the story of al-Ghazali. For at face value it seems that by promoting domesticity for women, she somehow rejected the life of public activism which she led. As an editor for a column within al-Da’wah magazine, al-Ghazali had the opportunity to write numerous articles to women who wished to contribute to, or participate within, the Islamist movement. Given the life choices and experiences of the author, one might expect that such articles would promote the public activism and participation of women within the da’wah activities. Indeed, al-Ghazali encouraged her female—and male audience—to dedicate themselves to Islam and the Islamization of society. However, for her female readers, al-Ghazali specified that their participation be defined primarily within their natural roles as mothers and wives of the male fighters, al-mujahideen. While she herself acted on the stage of the da’wah movement, it seems she preferred that other women to work behind the scene. While she herself lived a life amongst men in the public sphere of politics and leadership, she encouraged Muslim women to return to domesticity, protecting and maintaining the base of Islamic society: the home and family. While contemporary western feminists may praise her life as having defied patriarchal social structure and for having claimed a public space, al-Ghazali rejected those western feminists, believing them to be corruptive to tradition and religion. This perceived disjuncture between the rhetoric and action of al-Ghazali is the root of the controversy that surrounds her. However, it is also the key to understanding the ideological syncretism that she represents. Scholars in search of recognizable traces of western feminism in the Islamic world are tempted by al-Ghazali’s life of activism and leadership, but are befuddled by her subscription to the cult of domesticity. Even more problematic for some is the fact that al- Ghazali is not an anomaly within the community of Egyptian Muslim women. Her ideological blend of conservatism, nationalism, feminism, and spirituality may be the guiding principle of many Islamist women today. She, and her inheritors, are conservative in their efforts to maintain religious and social traditions amidst the changing landscape of a modernizing society. They subscribe to nationalist sentiments in their rejection of western imperialism and its legacy, supporting the independence of Egyptians and complete sovereignty of Muslims. Thirdly, it is impossible to deny the sinews of feminist thought within the discourse of al-Ghazali, as she demanded the respect and rights of women within Islam and society as a whole. Finally, al- Ghazali and her successors are unwavering in their commitment to Islamism, striving for the panacea believed to be found in a collective and individual return to religion.. Understanding al- Ghazali is key to understanding the Islamists women of contemporary Egypt, their international counterparts, and their commitment to an ideology which seems at best contradicted and at worst misogynist to the ethnocentric eyes of some western feminists. 

This awakening, nahdah, resulted in the establishment of two schools of thought regarding the advancement of women: those who sought “westernization” of society, and those who sought “Islamization.” Each feminist camp viewed the other as the enemy. Although cautious of attacking Islam, “westernized” feminists argued that incorrectly-interpreted Islamic traditions were the root of the women’s oppression, citing the seclusion of women, harem, to be a religious institution. On the other hand, the Islamists viewed the subjugation of women to be a product of the lack of religion in society. They contrasted the lack of women’s education with the Qur’anic stipulated rights of education for women. These “westernized” and “Islamist” feminist movements were not the cleanly formed binary that their titles suggest. The “westernized” feminists, led by Huda Sha’wari and the Egyptian Feminist Union, considered themselves to be indigenous Muslim reformers who were not “betraying” their culture to British imperialism. Likewise, “Islamist” feminists, represented by Zainab al-Ghazali, were not devoid of influence from European encounters. It is likely that most Egyptians subscribed partially to aspects of both camps. While the “westernized” and “Islamist” feminists can not be so easily separated, historical hindsight has proven that the “westernized” feminism of Sha’wari achieved a monopoly over the Egyptian women’s movement during the first half of the twentieth century. However, it now appears that the feminism of al-Ghazali has gained popularity amongst the contemporary women of Egypt. This is a phenomenon that demands a re-inspection of the life