by: Zeemad Khan

Who are the Jinn? This is a question which many people are interested in knowing as they (the Jinn) are also a creation like Mankind but different in many ways. The Qur’an, Sunnah [sayings, actions and tacit approvals of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)] and the ijma’ (consensus of the scholars) show us that the jinn do in fact exist, and just like Mankind, they too have a purpose of existence in this life, which is to worship Allah Alone, and not associating any partner to Him. Allah (swt) says in the Qur’an: “And I (Allah) created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone).” [Adh-Dhaariyaat: 56].

The word ‘Jinn’ by definition means something that is hidden from sight or which cannot be seen, therefore they are called ‘Jinn’ because they are concealed from human sight. Allah (swt) says: “…Verily he (Satan) and Qabiluhu (his solders from the jinn or his tribe) see you from where you cannot see them….” (Al-Ar’af: 27). The Jinn have an independent and separate world which is hidden from the world of humans. Mankind and the Jinn have some familiarities, such as they (Jinn) have understanding and the ability to choose between right and wrong. The Jinn differ from humans in their creation as Allah (swt) states in the Qur’an: “And the jinn, We created aforetime from the smokeless flame of fire.” [al-Hijr: 27] In another verse: “And the jinn did He create from a smokeless flame of fire.” [Ar-Rahman: 15]. There is a hadith which is related by ‘Aa’ishah [may Allah bless her (the wife of the Prophet)], where the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “The angels were created from light, the jinn were created from fire, and Adam was created from that which has been described to you.” (Reported by Muslim, 5314).

Continue reading ‘Who are Jinn’

by: Rick Rozoff – Global Research

Last year the commander of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), General William Ward, said the Pentagon had military partnerships with 35 of the continent’s 53 nations, “representing U.S. relationships that span the continent.” [1] 

That number has increased in the interim.

As the first overseas regional military command set up by Washington in this century, the first since the end of the Cold War, and the first in 25 years, the activation of AFRICOM, initially under the wing of U.S. European Command on October 1, 2007, then as an independent entity a year later, emphasizes the geostrategic importance of Africa in U.S. international military, political and economic planning.

 Africa Command’s area of responsibility includes more nations – 53, all African states except Egypt, which remains in U.S. Central Command, and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (Western Sahara), which is a member of the African Union but which the U.S. and its NATO allies recognize as part of Morocco, which conquered it in 1975 – than any of the Pentagon’s other Unified Combatant Commands: European Command, Central Command, Pacific Command, Southern Command and Northern Command (founded in 2002).

The U.S. is alone in maintaining regional multi-service military commands in all parts of the world, a process initiated after World War Two as America pursued its self-appointed 20th century manifest destiny as history’s first worldwide military superpower.

Until October 1, 2008 Africa was overwhelmingly in the European Command’s area of responsibility, with all African nations assigned to it except for Egypt, Seychelles and the Horn of Africa states (Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Sudan) overseen by Central Command, and three island nations and a French possession off the continent’s eastern coast (Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and Reunion) placed under Pacific Command.

The month before AFRICOM began its one-year incubation under U.S. European Command in 2007, Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy

Ryan Henry said, “Rather than three different commanders who have Africa as a third or fourth priority, there will be one commander that has it as a top priority.” [2]

The Pentagon official also revealed that Africa Command “would involve one small headquarters plus five ‘regional integration teams’ scattered around the continent” and that “AFRICOM would work closely with the European Union and NATO,” particularly France, a member of both, which was “interested in developing the Africa standby force”. [3]

The Defense Department official identified all the key components of Africa Command’s role and adumbrated what has transpired in the almost three-year interim: By subsuming nations formerly in the areas of responsibility of three Pentagon commands under a unified one, the U.S. will divide the world’s second most populous continent into five military districts, each with a multinational African Standby Force trained by military forces from the United States, NATO and the European Union.

Later the same month, the Pentagon confirmed its earlier disclosure that AFRICOM would deploy regional integration teams “to the northern, eastern, southern, central and western portions of the continent, mirroring the African Union’s five regional economic communities….”

Continue reading ‘New Colonialism: Pentagon Carves Africa Into Military Zones’