US to oppose Palestinian UN bid

US envoy terms Palestine’s approaching of UN as “unilateral action”, despite backing of over 120 countries.

The US is to oppose Palestine’s application to the UN for full membership status when the body’s General Assembly convenes in September.

Rosemary DiCarlo, the US deputy ambassador to the UN, said that the US would not support “unilateral action” by the Palestinians at the UN.

DiCarlo was speaking at the final, regular UN Security Council discussion about the Israeli-Palestinian situation.

“Let there be no doubt: symbolic actions to isolate Israel at the United Nations in September will not create an independent Palestinian state,” DiCarlo said.

“The United States will not support unilateral campaigns at the United Nations in September or any other time.”

DiCarlo said the US is pressing for a resumption of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, insists on a negotiated settlement, and will oppose any unilateral action by the Palestinians at the UN.

The US is among five veto-power members of the Security Council. It only considers UN admissions to the General Assembly from recommendations by its 15-member council.

Two-state solution

In response to DiCarlo’s statement, Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN observer, said that with more than 120 countries already recognising an independent Palestinian state, any UN action, whether at the Security Council or the General Assembly, would not be unilateral.

“On the contrary, it is multilateral, and the consecration of the two-state solution in bold resolutions, including recognition of the state of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the bases of the pre-1967 borders and its admission as a full member of the organisation will help to make the two-state solution more inevitable,” he said.

Western diplomats say the Palestinians have not decided whether to seek membership in the UN as a sovereign state or to press for a non-binding resolution recognising a Palestinian state without UN membership.

Mansour said “This is the time for Palestine’s independence.”

He said the Palestinians are ready to resume negotiations with the pre-1967 war borders as the foundation, but stressed “we cannot keep waiting for Israel to negotiate in good faith.”

In line with the US sentiment, Ron Prosor, Israel’s UN ambassador said “it is clear that the Palestinians are not united and are far from united for peace”.

“Now is the time for the international community to tell the Palestinian leadership what it refuses to tell its own people, there are no shortcuts to statehood,” he told the 15-nation council. “You cannot bypass the only path to peace.”

“The Palestinians will have to make compromises and make hard choices,” Prosor said. “They will have to get off the bandwagon of unilateralism and back to the hard work of direct peacemaking.”

End to occupation

The PA is debating whether to petition the UN General Assembly for full recognition as a state, or for “enhanced observer” status, which would give it standing on par with the Vatican. Either way, the resolution would demand that Israel return to its pre-1967 borders.

Palestinian officials argue that they have no choice but to seek a UN vote, because Israel’s ongoing construction of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank is eroding the prospects for two states.

Israel says both sides should resolve a few intractable issues - including borders and refugees - before Palestine seeks recognition. Talks between Israel and the PA collapsed nearly a year ago over Israel’s refusal to halt settlement growth.

The United States cannot veto the UN resolution, because its veto only applies to Security Council votes, but the Obama administration has said it opposes the measure. Israel is actively lobbying several countries for “no” votes, as well.

via Al-Jazeera.

Perutusan sulung Pengerusi Aqsa Syarif Berhad, Prof Madya Dr. Hafidzi Mohd Noor

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله الأمين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين ومن تبعهم باحسان الى يوم الدين

Aqsa Syarif yang diluluskan pendaftarannya pada 4 Februari 2010, telah melangkah jauh sejak setahun yang lalu di dalam menggerakkan usaha-usaha ke arah pembebasan bumi Palestin dan Masjidil Aqsa, Al-Haram Asy-Syarif. Kepimpinan yang diterajui oleh Pengerusi yang pertama, Al-Fadhil Al-Ustaz Hasanuddin Mohd Yunus dan ahli-ahli Lembaga Pemegang Amanah Aqsa Syarif serta disokong oleh pengurus-pengurus dan pasukan aktivisnya di semua 14 negeri dan 67 daerah, telah berjaya membawa Aqsa Syarif ke satu mercu tanda yang bermakna dalam melakar perjuangan pembebasan Palestin di tanah air Malaysia yang makmur dan tercinta ini.

Maka, seluruh warga pendokong Aqsa Syarif bersama sekalian rakyat Malaysia wajib bersyukur atas anugerah Allah SWT yang amat besar ini. Pencapaian-pencapaian Aqsa Syarif buat setahun yang lalu, terutamanya penglibatan secara langsung di atas kapal Mavi Marmara dalam Freedom Flotilla serta penglibatan ‘Volunteer Corps’ Aqsa Syarif dalam Land Convoy VP5 di bawah jenama Aqsa2Gaza (A2G), adalah isyarat bahawa Aqsa Syarif tidak akan memperlahankan usaha menggerakkan tulang empat kerat, potensi minda, daya juang yang kreatif, pengumpulan dana dan jalinan kerjasama dengan semua pihak demi pembebasan bumi Palestin tercinta.

Aqsa Syarif adalah satu jelmaan baru yang terbit dari sumur perjuangan seusia perjuangan membebaskan bumi Palestin. Ia bergerak di atas batu tanda yang terbina oleh wadah-wadah pelopor sejak lebih suku abad yang lalu dalam konteks era mahasiswa 70-an. Bahkan lebih jauh lagi, Aqsa Syarif mengambil semangat dari perjuangan ulama’ dan umat Islam di tanah air kita yang turut mempertahankan Khilafah Uthmaniah dan bentengnya di Palestin seawall tahun 1915 sebelum bumi Palestin dirampas daripada umat Islam pada tahun 1917.

Aqsa Syarif mengurus pelbagai sumber, kreativiti dan komitmen rakyat Malaysia amnya dan umat Islam khasnya, dengan seoptima mungkin bagi melaksanakan impian seluruh pejuang sebagaimana yang diterjemahkan di dalam visi dan misi Aqsa Syarif. Dengan berpandukan kepada 6 susuk Aqsa Syarif iaitu TERAPI (Terbuka, Excellent Delivery, Rujukan, Amanah, Profesional & Prihatin), kami berharap dokongan dari rakyat Malaysia akan terus mantap bersama derap langkah Aqsa Syarif di medan juang yang menjanjikan ujian yang getir serta ganjaran yang jauh lebih besar.

Setelah bersyukur ke hadrat Ilahi, Aqsa Syarif dan seluruh jenteranya mengucapkan terima kasih yang setinggi-tingginya kepada rakyat Malaysia dan umat Islam kerana terus memberikan kepercayaan kepada Aqsa Syarif untuk membantu dan membela rakyat Palestin melalui pelbagai projek yang telah dilancarkan dan akan terus dikembangkan pada masa hadapan, Insya-Allah.

Sekian, terima kasih.

وبالله التوفيق والهداية والسلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

PROF MADYA DR HAFIDZI MOHD NOOR
Pengerusi
Aqsa Syarif Berhad

Boycott Israel by boycotting 4 Major Brands

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is a Boycott?
A boycott is an instrument of the powerless against the powerful, used by those without access to power mechanisms and who are therefore forced to organize voluntarily from the grassroots level. A boycott is a movement of ordinary people who refuse to support injustice and who use their right to choose as consumers in order to support – in this case – the Palestinian quest for freedom and justice, and in some cases, to express their opposition to the political positions of their governments and institutions.
It is about ordinary people around the world using their right to choose what they buy in order to help bring about an end to oppression.

Read more: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Why boycott Coca-Cola?

It has been well known that Coca-Cola has been a supporter of Israel since 1966. There have been a number of recent events which clearly prove this.

In 1997, the Government of Israel Economic Mission honoured Coca-Cola at the Israel Trade Award Dinner for its continued support of Israel for the last 30 years and for refusing to abide by the Arab League boycott of Israel.

On October 11th 2001, Coca-Cola World Headquarters hosted and was the main sponsor of the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce Eagle Star Awards Gala.

Read more: Why boycott Coca-Cola?

Why boycott McDonalds?

McDonald’s former chairman and CEO (1998-2002) Jack M. Greenberg was an honorary director of the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Metropolitan Chicago.

According to the Chicago Jewish Community Online (website of the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago), McDonald’s Corporation whose global headquarters is based just outside Chicago is a major corporate partner of the Jewish United Fund(JUF)/ Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. McDonald’s Corporation was honoured during JUF centennial celebration in 2000 as a first tier corporate partner to the cause of Zionism.

Read more: Why boycott McDonalds?

Why boycott Nestle?

Nestle is the world’s largest food company. Nestle’s main presence in Israel is in Sderot, a settlement founded in 1951 one kilometer from the Gaza Strip which is built on the lands of the Palestinian town Al-Najd, which was ethnically cleansed in 1948.

Read more: Why boycott Nestle?

Why boycott L’Oreal?

L’Oreal has been present in Israel since 1983 via the Migdal Ha’Emek plant. The settlement of this town was established in 1952 on lands belonging to the ethnically cleansed Palestinian village of al-Mujaydil, whose inhabitants are still denied the right to return to their homes. Like many other Israeli settlements in Palestinian villages, Migdal Ha-emek discriminates against Palestinian citizens of Israel, denying them the right to buy, rent or live on any part of the town, simply because they are “non Jews”.

Read more: Why boycott L’Oreal?

 

Israeli Military Asks Palestinian Detainee to Pay for Own Surgery

Jerusalem - PNN - The Palestinian detainees and ex-detainees society announced on Thursday that the Israeli military prison administration has asked Ahmed Assofor to pay the expenses of a surgery he needs.

Israeli Military Detention Center

Assofor was arrested on Nov. 24, 2009 as he was leaving the Gaza Strip to get medical treatment in Jerusalem. He was injured during Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip that happened from December 2008 to January 2009.

Assofor needs an implant to be able to take the medicine needed to counter his diabetes. According to his family, the device costs 700 shekels and the medicine in it costs 1,500 shekels per month.

Human Rights groups have started a campaign to put pressure on the Israeli military to release Assofor from detention as he is in desperate need of a pancreas transplant and the reconstruction of his elbows.

According to the detainees and ex-detainees society, the Israeli military prison administration uses detainees’ medical cases against them to force them to sign confessions to crimes they did not commit, something that is illegal according to international law, as the detainees are prisoners of war.

Egypt Opens Rafah Crossing

Cairo - PNN - Egypt will permanently open the Rafah border crossing with Gaza, announced the state-run MENA news agency Wednesday.

Rafah Crossing Between Gaza and Egypt

MENA said the border opening comes as part of attempts to “end the status of the Palestinian division and achieve national reconciliation,” hinting at the recent unity deal between Hamas and Fatah.In an interview with the Washington Post, Hamas’ Deputy Foreign Minister Ghazi Hamad said the move was very positive and hoped it would bring a “new era” to Gaza.

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who was recently ousted during a democratic revolution and replaced by an interim military council, had maintained a strict blockade on Gaza along with Israel after Hamas won the 2006 election.

Beginning Saturday, the Rafah crossing will be open from “9 a.m to 5 p.m. … except on Fridays and public holidays,” said MENA.

Palestinian men under the age of 18 and above 40, Palestinians with proof that they are leaving to attend an Egyptian university, and women of all ages will not need a visa to cross the border, said MENA.

Because of the blockade, tunnels have been used to smuggle goods into Gaza. The Israeli military has attacked the tunnels in the past, saying they are being used to run rockets into Gaza that are eventually fired at towns in southern Israel.

An anonymous Israeli official told the Washington Post that “Israel has no problem with civilian goods getting into the Gaza Strip. Our focus is on preventing Hamas from building up its very deadly terrorist military machine.”

The Story that Reveal the True Color of Israel

The Valley Of the Wolves Palestine 2011

Obama and the Arab Spring

By Fadi Abu Sa’da – “Events of the past six months show us that strategies of repression and strategies of diversion will not work anymore.” US President Barak Obama said in his speech, for sure he forgot to notice that the Palestinian people have been enduring oppression for the past 63 years; as if all those years is not good enough to prove to president Obama that the Israeli occupation is no longer effective against the Palestinian people and Arabs in general.

When President Obama said “in too many countries, power has been concentrated in the hands of a few” he overlooked that this is the same in Israel, the power are in the hand of the few radical Jews lead by Prime Minister Netanyahu, and a group of mass murders who committed crimes against humanity against the Palestinian and Lebanese people, it looks that President Obama does not know where Israel is located or how it was created!  

If the future of the United States is really connected to the Middle East as President Obama said. Why President Obama and his administration did not move a bit against the Israeli occupation to the Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian lands. Did he forget what he said during his Cairo speech when he said that the conflict in the Middle East is connected to the National Security of the US? Maybe he forgets in contrary to what he said in his speech that he is committed to his past promises.

President Obama saw that “efforts to delegitimize Israel will end in failure” and “Symbolic actions to isolate Israel at the United Nations in September won’t create an independent state”. Israel had an answer for Obama, as he was giving his speech Israeli approved 1500 new settlers’ homes in occupied Jerusalem; so he allows Israeli to do what it wants and deny us the right to go to the UN and threaten us in this way!
If “It’s not America that put people into the streets” in the middle east as Obama said, then he should stop speaking for the Israelis and let the Palestinians decide their fate, we went to the streets, on the Friday of March to Palestine, on May 15, when we commemorate our Nakba, this will continue and will not stop until we achieve our freedom and we will get it.

President Obama always spook about his and Israel’s fears from the Palestinian reconciliation, so we should deepens it, he talked a lot about the security of Israel, he must understand how fragile this security is, it enough to look at what unarmed Palestinian refugees did at the Lebanese and Syrian borders.

Hamas was right when it deemed Obama speech as not important and did not provide anything new. Also president Abbas was right when he said that the Palestinian people are in need to decide its fate and get rid of the occupation. We only need to unify our strategies to make our spring away from the media stunts of President Obama that he does since he came to power. 

We only demand our rights, as long as there is one Palestinian child left, will not give up our right of return and self-determination, as Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish once said, on this land there is something worth living for.

Ismail Haniya: 3 Kabar Gembira Tandai Keruntuhan Zionis

Perdana menteri Palestina, Ismail Haniya menegaskan ada tiga tanda keruntuhan Zionis yang semakin dekat, ditengah perubahan kondisi Arab selain ada tiga sentral proyek untuk pembebasan.

Perubahan dan Kabar gembira kemenangan

Haniya yang berpidato dalam acara peringatan hari Nakbah yang mulai digelar sejak shalat shubuh tadi mengatakan, “Saat ini kita sedang memperingati 63 tahun prhara yang menimpa Palestina (Nakbah). Kita pun melihat ada perubahan siginifikan yang menjurus pada keruntuhan proyek Zionis di Palestina serta kemenangan bagi ummat. Tiga tanda-tanda runtuhnya Zionis adalah,

Rekonsiliasi

Salah satu perubahan penting yang menandai runtuhnya Zionis adalah terjadinya rekonsiliasi Palestina yang bersamaan dengan penanda tanganan fakta kesepahaman Mesir. Persatuan Palestina merupakan salah satu dasar penting untuk merealisasikan kemenangan dan kebebasan serta kembalinya para pengungsi ke negaranya.

Revolusi Dunia Arab

Tanda kedua, perubahan politik serta revolusi yang terjadi di dunia Arab, seperti yang terjadi di Mesir, merupakan setrategi terpenting yang menandai kehancuran Zionis. Kemudian revolusi hari ini merupakan murni kehendak rakyat. Keinginan bangsa yang telah lama terpendam. Hari ini mereka memiliki kebebasan untuk mengungkapkanya, setelah sebelumnya mereka terkungkung. Revolusi ini tentu akan berpengaruh besar terhadap sejumlah masalah Palestina.

Kesadaran Bangsa Palestina dan Kaum Muslimin

Adapun tanda ketiga adalah, pemahaman dan kesadaran yang tinggi rakyat Palestina khususnya dan dunia islam pada umumnya. Tidak seperti uangkapan sebagian orang, “Orang tua pada mati yang kecil tak ingat lagi”. Namun sekarang berubah, mungkin orang tua sudah tiada tapi anak kecil takkan pernah lupa. Kita ingat yang mengobarkan dua kali intifadah adalah mereka yang lahir di bawah penjajahan.

Selain itu, sejumlah gerakan dan perubahan yang terjadi di dunia Arab dan Eropa, seperti Konferensi yang diadakan di Eropa, seperti Jerman yang isinya menolak permukiman dan menyerukan persatuan Palestina. Demikian juga dengan aksi yang dilakukan di Inggris yang telah mengambil tanggung jawab sejarah atas perjanjian Balvor yang telah merugikan bangsa Palestina.

Terkait dengan sejumlah aksi di Tepi Barat, Haniya mengungkapkan kepuasanya. Kami menginginkan para tawanan di Tepi Barat segera dibebaskan, agar kita bisa melangkah tanpa ragu-ragu untuk merealisasikan rekonsiliasi, ungkapnya

wassalam

Israelis Troops Arrest 11 Civilians from the West Bank; Tanks Open Fire at Gaza Farmers

Bethlehem/Gaza – PNN – Israeli troops arrested on Tuesday 11 Palestinian civilians during raids targeting West Bank communities.

Six of those arrested were taken from the village of al-Khader, near Bethlehem in southern West Bank. Israeli troops invaded the village and searched homes, later soldiers arrested Ma’mon Issa, 20, and his brother Ahmad, 19, as well as Nadiem Issa, and Maher, Mazin, and Naser  Subeh.

Meanwhile in Hebron also southern West Bank, soldiers arrested local radio producer Ra’ed Sharief and two children from Dora village near the city.  Sharief was released from Israeli military jail last year after spending six months there.

In northern West Bank, Israeli troops searched and ransacked homes in Salfit and arrested two men.

In Gaza, Israeli tanks stationed at the southern borders opened fire at Palestinian farmers as they harvested their crops. Damage was reported but no injuries.

Israeli Navy Attack Aid Ship to Gaza and Force it Back to Egypt

Egypt – PNN – Israeli Naval forces attacked and intercepted on Monday morning aid boat named “The Spirit of Rachel Corrie Mission” off the Gaza coast. The ship’s 12 crew and passengers are safe. Currently the ship has been forced to anchor in the Egyptian waters at one and a half nautical miles from the Gazan waters.  The vessel left the Port of Piraeus, Greece on Wednesday, May 11.

Spirit of Rachel Corrie Ship - Photo by PGPF

The humanitarian initiative is sponsored by Perdana Global Peace Foundation (PGPF) and participating in this mission includes anti-war activists and journalists from the Asian, American and European continents.

The cargo ship The Spirit of Rachel Corrie (officially known as FINCH) is carrying 7.5 kilometers of UPVC (plastic) sewage pipes to help restore the devastated sewerage system in Gaza. The ship was named after the courageous American activist who was crushed and killed by an Israeli bulldozer in 2003 while trying to prevent the demolition of another Palestinian home. She died at 23.

The Spirit of Rachel Corrie Mission is part of the Perdana Global Peace Foundation’s (PGPF) “Break the Siege on Gaza” campaign. The purpose of this campaign is to highlight the effects of the illegally imposed Israeli siege and raise awareness of the human rights violations of the people of Gaza. Breaking the siege and ending the illegal collective punishment of 1.5 million people must be a priority for the international community.

Spirit of Rachel Corrie Ship - Photo by PGPF

“The Palestinian struggle is nothing more than a struggle for justice, to which they, as much as everyone else, have a right.” Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, President of PGPF stated.

In a press release by PGPF  the group said that on 27 December 2008, the Israeli military launched Operation Cast Lead, which not only killed some 1400 Palestinians, but also destroyed vital infrastructure leaving the Gazans with critical water and sewage problems.  PGPF says Repair of the infrastructure has proved impossible as Israel has prevented the entry of construction materials and fuel to resolve this dire situation.

According to a report from the Emergency Water, Sanitation and Hygiene group (EWASH), “the release of 80 million litres of untreated or partially treated sewage into the environment and Mediterranean Sea each day is primarily a result of the Israeli imposed blockade on the Gaza Strip.”

According to Physicians for Human Rights-Israel: “Between 90% and 95% of the aquifers in the Gaza Strip are not safe for drinking.” The primary cause of the current problem originates from the destruction, during Operation Cast Lead, of “20 kilometers of water pipes, 7.5 kilometers of sewage pipes and 5,700 mobile water tanks”.

From here

Palestinian Nakba Protest Met with Deadly Force

Uriel Sinai / Getty Images

Ramallah, West Bank, May 15, 2011
Palestinians burn tires and throw stones during clashes with the Israeli police at the Qalandiya checkpoint, May 15, 2011. The unrest came as the Palestinians marked the “nakba,” or “catastrophe,” the term they use to describe the uprooting they suffered at the time of Israel’s founding on May 15, 1948.

Mohammed Zaatari / AP

Maroun el-Rass, Lebanon
Protesters carry a Palestinian man after he was injured when Israeli soldiers opened fire on protesters, May 15, 2011.

Suhaib Salem / Reuters

Erez Crossing, northern Gaza Strip Palestinians shout slogans during a protest, May 15, 2011.

Ahmad Gharabli / AFP / Getty Images

Shufat Refugee Camp, near Jerusalem
A Palestinian youth throws a firecracker towards Israeli border police, May 15, 2011.

Uriel Sinai / Getty Images

Ramallah, West Bank
Palestinians burn tires and throw stones during clashes, May 15, 2011.

Ahmad Gharabli / AFP / Getty Images

Shufat Refugee Camp, near Jerusalem

Israeli border police detain a Palestinian youth. May 15, 2011.

Gil Eliyahu / JINI / Reuters

Golan Heights, Between Syria and Israel
A Syrian protester waves a flag after crossing the border fence, May 15, 2011.

From here

Palestine: a safe stock market?

Palestine’s not exactly a financial haven but, with the Middle East in turmoil, investors could have done far worse this year than by putting their money into Nablus.

“With our situation here in Palestine we are used to, let’s say, wars and violence. This is why the market absorbs these events,” says Abed Tutunji, head trader with Ramallah-based AB Invest. And even international investors seem to be taking notice.

Although nearly all Arab markets in the red year to date, the Palestine Exchange’s Al-Quds index has risen 1.4 per cent by the end of April, same as the Saudi market (see chart below). Only Iraq, with gains of 27 per cent, beat that performance, and Baghdadi investors are probably even more blasé about political strife.

The Palestinian exchange, based in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, is tiny. Forty-five companies are listed, only a handful of which are actively traded, and five companies account for nearly 70 per cent of the PEX’s $2.8bn market cap.

But the exchange has seen five new listings so far this year, and at least three more are expected, saidTutunji.

The most prominent listing was that of Wataniya Telecom in January. The international roadshow drummed up enough interest such that over 50 per cent of the shares were taken up by international institutional investors and the issue drew $75m. The market cap is $328m, making it the fourth largest listed company behind Palestine Telecommunications ($926m), Bank of Palestine ($369m), and Palestine Development and Investment ($330m).

That’s unusual for a market usually too small to catch their interest, Michael Bevan, HSBC’s head of equity capital markets for the Middle East and north Africa, told beyondbrics.

“The international response was very, very positive, I think part of that was that the deal was flavour of the month with investors chasing growth especially in emerging and frontier markets,” he said.

Behind the market’s rise is in part what political analysts of the Israeli/Arab conflict call “economic peace”, the strong growth of both Israeli and Palestinian economies despite the continued intractability of the political situation.

Palestine last year posted growth of 9.3 per cent, similar to the world’s hottest economies. For the Wataniya listing, said Bevan, investors were in part attracted to the country’s fundamentals—it has young and growing population that is relatively well-educated.

The continued strength of the Palestinian economy has its sceptics, who worry about concerns that Israeli politicians promote the idea of “economic peace,” i.e., economic growth, to forestall the pressure of reaching a final political settlement.

The World Bank has warned that Israeli restrictions on the territories and reliance on donor bank makes such high level of growth unsustainable, but development plans outlined by Salam Fayyad, the prime minister, predict similar if not faster growth over the next three years.

The Palestinian Authority “is much more secure than in a lot of Arab countries,” said Tareq Shak’a, general manager at Ramallah-based Lotus Financial Investment Company. “I  know it’s a joke but that’s what’s going on.”

But Shak’a says the market now has not priced in the organic growth Palestinian groups could see if the internal political situation improves. The recent accord between rivals  Hamas and Fatah could allow for new infrastructure investment and for Palestinian companies to reopen Gaza operations suspended or shrunk after the 2006 war and
subsequent Israeli blockade of the strip.

The market cheap pricing, he says, reflects some pessimism about the likelihood of that. It currently trades at a forward P/E ratio of 6.5, said Shak’a. Abu Dhabi, known as one of the region’s cheaper markets, trades at a 2011 estimated price to earnings ratio of 7.7,
according to EFG-Hermes.

“[The market] does not reflect up until now the real value of any company. We are talking now as if there is no light for any political solution,” he said.

Not an argument for the widows and orphans. But for the brave risk-on investor?

Ten killed, Dozens Injured by Israeli Troops gunfire as They Attack Nakba Protests

Ramallah – PNN – Ten civilians reported killed, at least 300 civilians injured, on Sunday, when Israeli troops attacked Nakab protests in several parts of the West Bank, Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, in addition to the Lebanese and Syrian borders.

Injured in Gaza Today

Maroun al-Ras:

Sources announced that four civilians were killed and 40  injured when Israeli soldiers opened fire at Palestinian protesters at the border fence near Maroun al-Ras at the Lebanese borders.

Majdal Shams :

At least 30 civilians were injured when Israeli troops stationed at the Syrian borders opened fire at protesters form the Syrian border village of Majdal Shams. Israeli sources said that protesters tried to destroy the border fence and soldiers opened fire at them. The army announced the area a closed military zone.

Sources talked about four killed during the clashes between protesters and troops. Israeli sources said that the protesters managed to go through the border fence into the occupied Golan heights.

Ramallah:

In Ramallah city central West Bank, 160 people were injured among them two in critical conditions when soldiers fired live rounds and tear gas at protesters who gathered at the Qalandiya checkpoint separating Ramallah from East Jerusalem. Witnesses told PNN that soldiers were targeting the peaceful protesters by shooting directly at them.

Later troops and undercover soldiers managed to arrest five Palestinians during the clashes between local youth and soldiers who attacked today protest.

The Gaza Strip:
 
One journalist and one civilian were reported killed by Israeli fire in addition 86 were injured among them children when Israeli tanks and troops shelled a protest organized to commemorate the Nakaba in Beit Hannon in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.

Bethlehem:

Four civilians were arrested, one them injured, when troops attacked Nakba protest in the village of al-Walajeh, between Jerusalem and Bethlehem.  The protest started near the UNRWA school in the village where people set fire to a tent symbolizing that this is the last year they stay as refugees.

Later the protesters marched towards the old village of al-Walajeh which was destroyed in 1948 to make way for the creation of Israel. Troops attacked protesters as they reached the green line beat up one man and arrested him in addition to three others. Those arrested were identified as Ahmad Abu Khyara, Ahamd al-A’raj, Baseil al=A’raj, and Mazin Qumsyia.

Hebron/Jerusalem

Clashes were reported between local youth and Israeli soldiers who attacked Nakba protests in Hebron, southern West Bank and East Jerusalem. PNN sources reported clashes in the old city of Jerusalem, Sho’fat refugee camp and Sliwan near the old city. Meanwhile Israeli police and troops did not allow Palestinians from 1948 areas to enter Jerusalem fearing Nakba protests.

Mothers of Palestine-Happy Mother’s Day

Taken from here

SPECIAL TOPIC

May 8, 2011 | While a great part of the world is celebrating “Mothers Day”, special attention for the women of Palestine for they have not much to celebrate. In stead of receiving flowers and gifts of their children…. Palestinian women put flowers on the graves of their children. Even on Mother’s Day.


This page is a tribute to the Mothers of Palestine, never giving up, enduring occupation, suffering the loss of their husbands, children, killed by occupation. I Salute the Lionesses of Falasteen. A compilation of  photography of brave women who have to endure more than nations in a lifetime. May Allah Subhana wa Ta’ ala ease it for them and increase their blessings, for dunya and ‘Akheera. Allahumma Ameen ya Rabbil ‘Alameen.

A Mother of Palestine

Palestinian Mother Harvesting Olives

Mourning Mothers of Palestine

Palestinian Mother behind a screen

What her eyes have seen and gone through…..

Palestinian Woman Harvesting

Palestinian Woman at a Separation Fence

Palestinian women, separated from their husbands who wait in other rows, at the Israeli Gilo Checkpoint

Elderly women sitting and waiting at Gilo Checkpoint, West Bank Palestine

Palestinian Mother with a Palestinian Flag

A Mother of Palestine wearing beautiful traditional Palestinian tatreez dress

Palestinian Mother, sitting beside the rubble of her destroyed house | Jan 9, 2011 | Gaza

No one has more courage than… a Palestinian Mother! | Activestills.org

Palestinian Mother … Resisting

Palestinian Mothers mourning their sons, husbands killed by Occupation

Palestinian Woman holding a Stone

Palestinian woman crying aside her destroyed house

Palestinian woman in the endless waiting at a checkpoint

Palestinian woman selling vegetables

Palestinian Woman being watched by an Israeli patrol unit

Palestinian woman sitting and crying, in the rubble of her House | Gaza Cast Lead War 2008-2009

Palestinian Mothers at the Apartheid Wall | Jan 2011

Crying, a Mother from Gaza

Palestinian Women at the Separation Barrier

Women cross the Qalandiya Checkpoint

A mother from Gaza, Everything they destroyed.. but they will never be able to destroy her Pride

Mothers in Gaza, mourning their children, killed by Israeli Attacks during Cast Lead War on Gaza | Dec 29, 2008

Palestinian Mother & Cancer Patient, like many suffering from Cancer in Gaza, denied treatment and endure violations of Human Rights to receive proper care due to Israel’s cruel blockade of Gaza

Grandmother of Palestine and Mujaheeda

A Palestinian Mother touches her son’s face… seconds before she dies. Killed by Israeli attacks

A mother with her child. Killed by Israeli Occupation Forces

Palestinian women mourning the death of their loved ones

Palestinian Women and Mothers | Al Quds

Another mother of Palestine | Demotix

Palestinian woman raising her hands at the Dome of the Rock | Al Quds

A Mother of Palestine holds a flag during a Protest | Sept 24, 2010

Palestinian Women of Hamas

Palestinian Woman and her Grandson

A Palestinian woman looking at olive trees destroyed by Israeli Settlers | Activestills

Palestinian woman at an Olive tree yard

Unfortunately a famous pictures, but it displays the despair, the continuous violence, Palestinians have to go through. A Palestinian women, holding on to her olive tree, destroyed by the Israeli Occupying Forces

Settler on hill, woman in grove picking olives

Palestinian Women selling in Al-Quds

Palestinian woman selling | Al Quds

Palestinian women harvesting

Palestinian woman selling groceries at Damascus Gate | Al Quds

Palestinian women sit in the rubble of Jabaliya Camp after Israel attacks and devastation | Jan 18, 2009 | Gaza

Women mounring about the loss of sons and husbands at Kamal Edwan Hospital

Women and mothers of Palestine, protesting their (often without trial) emprisoned husbands, sons and even daughters

Palestinian woman, mourning at a funeral for the slained of an Israeli Attack | Gaza

Mourning Palestinian mother at a funeral | Gaza

Palestinian women in Rafah

A Mother.. in Tears

Old woman, crying…

A Woman in Al-Quds

And a woman with children in Gaza. In the background, visible devastation of the attack of december 2008. | March 2009

Palestinian woman searches her belongings after Israel attacked and destroyed her house in Rafah | Jan 10, 2009

Palestinian Woman in Jenin, in the background the remains of that which was their “home”… Jenin refugee Camp

More women overlooking the demolished homes at Jenin refugee Camp

Woman in Dheisha refugee camp

Women, waiting at the Checkpoint

Women waiting allowed to harvest of their own lands

How to overcome the separation fences and barriers, every day…

A Woman, walking along side the Apartheid Wall in Qalandiya

A Palestinian mother and her child just past one of the over 600 checkpoints which restrict the movement of Palestinians

Palestinian mothers, protesting…

Palestinian woman holding a portrait of a loved one as she takes part in a protest in Gaza for release of Palestinian Prisoners in Israeli Jails | Oct 5, 2009

Palestinian women of Bil’in | March 13, 2005

Palestinian woman, a refugee… in Lebanon

A Palestinian woman in Aida Camp for Refugees, Bethlehem

Palestinian women mourning

Palestinian Women in al-Quds

A mother and her child

Palestinian woman making a Tabon

Palestinian woman making tatreez embroidery

“And We have enjoined upon man, to his parents, good treatment. His mother carried him with hardship and gave birth to him with hardship…” ( Quran 46:15 )

Palestinian woman overlooking the destruction of their olive trees by Colonists

Old woman, Gaza | Gaza 2009 Photograph by Marius Arnesen

Bedouin woman inside Gaza

A Palestinian old woman of the West Bank village of Ras Tira collaps when seeing the destroyed trees of her family on 07.04.2009. The Wall is being built next to Ras Tira; a village whose inhabitants are already living in a enclave. Around 50 olive trees have been destroyed in one day. Photo by: Anne Paq/Activestills.org

A Palestinian old woman of the West Bank village of Ras Tira looks at the destroyed trees of her family on 07.04.2009. The Wall is being built next to Ras Tira; a village whose inhabitants are already living in a enclave. Around 50 olive trees have been destroyed in one day. Photo by: Anne Paq/Activestills.org

A Palestinian woman lies in side an ambulance after she was injured by Israeli soliders who came to destory her field near Hebron, on October 29, 2009. Israeli army contractors destroyed the filed and removed the irrigation system near the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba. The Israeli army claims the field poses a security threat because it is too close to the settlement. Photo by: Oren Ziv/ Activestills.org

A Palestinian woman, every day reality in the West Bank, being harrassed, humiliated by jewish colonists… Welcome to Palestine reality and colonial racism, she has to undergo it as well…

Palestinian women and children, of the heavily destroyed Ezbet Abed Rabbo area of the northern Gaza Strip refugee camp of Jabalia wave national flags as they gather to receive UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the camp on March 21, 2010.

These women deserve much better… Woman in Gaza on Jan 1, 2009, after Israel destroyed their home and belongings…

This was her house…. This is a faith many Gazan women face…

A Palestinian mother, shouts, as she sits in her damaged house after Israeli troops pulled out of the northern Gaza Strip

A Palestinian woman sits in front of houses destroyed during the 3 weeks taking Israel’s offensive on Gaza in Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip January 19, 2009

A Palestinian woman, who is a member of al-Athamna family, prepares lunch near the ruins of her destroyed house in Gaza January 27, 2009. Majdi al-Athamna’s house, three neighbouring buildings which belonged to his sons and every other property along a kilometre (half-mile) stretch in Abed Rabbo, a village on the outskirts of the city of Gaza, were levelled by Israeli forces.. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA)

A wounded Palestinian woman lies with her baby at the Al-Shifa hospital on December 28, 2008 in Gaza City, Gaza. On the second day of cross-border conflict, Israel’s air force continued to launch attacks along the Gaza Strip, destroying many buildings belonging to Hamas, including holy mosques, civilian homes and vehicles, work shops, police compounds and a prison, increasing the number of Palestians killed to over 270. -Photo by Abid Katib/Getty Images

At the end of May 2010, 110 of 470 medicines considered essential, such as chemotherapy and haemophilia drugs, were unavailable in Gaza. When chemotherapy is interrupted, the chances of success drop dramatically, even if another painful round of treatment is initiated. Haemophilia patients face life-threatening haemorrhages when compounds such as Factor VIII and IX are not available. © ICRC / ICRC Cécilia Goin / V-P-IL-E-01977H / www.icrc.org

A Palestinian Mother at a Rally…. Rallying for freedom … for justice… for a normal life

Some rally, some protest and even some women resist. One of the first women of resistance…. Leila Khaled. A woman of Moqawama

Even nowadays, women resist the cruelties of occupation by Israel. Islamic Jihad women of resistance run drills during their first training session in the Gaza Strip | Nov. 26, 2009

A mother… of a shaheed

And as Occupation’s aggression takes their sons, so life goes on, and sons get married. Here a mother in front of grooms, sided by their sisters, all wounded or handicapped by the offensive of Gaza war Cast Lead. Married during an event organized by the Islamic Association | Oct 30, 2010

Palestinian mothers and relatives of grooms dancing while spray bubbles during a mass wedding ceremony in Gaza City, Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010

A woman from Gaza, on her way for Hajj to Makkah | 2010

A Gazan woman, harvesting flowers. Due to Israeli siege, many of the harvested flowers will be destroyed, or even used as food for the sheep for their harsh labour ends in impossibilities to export | 2010

A woman holds her child in in front of her destroyed home on January 23, 2009 in a suburb in Gaza City, Gaza Strip. Residents of Gaza are still suffering from severe food and water shortages. According to reports, 13 Israelis and over 1300 Palestinians were killed

A Palestinian woman sits near her wounded grandson at Gaza City’s al-Shifa hospital on January 5, 2009 while battles between Israeli soldiers and Hamas fighters continue in Gaza. Israeli strikes on Gaza killed another 14 Palestinians, including five children, today, the tenth day of Israel’s massive offensive on the Hamas-run enclave, medics said. At least 517 Palestinians, including 87 children, have been killed and more than 2,500 wounded since Israel unleashed its “Operation Cast Lead” on December 27.

Not only flowers get destroyed, also homes. Here, a woman overlooking what is left of her by Occupation Forces demolished house. Ethnic cleansing, an every day reality in Palestine

Palestinian women walk past a destroyed house in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on January 21, 2009. European Union nations will press Israel to open the war-torn Gaza Strip to humanitarian aid and consolidate a ceasefire that ended the Jewish state’s war on Hamas, officials in Brussels said. The last Israeli soldier withdrew from Gaza on January 21, the fourth day of a ceasefire that ended a three-week blitz on the Islamic Hamas movement, leaving 1,300 Palestinians dead and a trail of devastation. Photo by PATRICK BAZ/AFP/Getty Images

A wounded Palestinian woman is pictured in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on December 31, 2008. Two people died on January 1 in New Year Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip, raising the toll since Israeli military operations began on December 27, 2008 to 397, according to the head of the territory’s emergency services

Israeli soldiers and their graffitti on a wall in Gaza, where a woman bled to death PDR graffitti where a woman bled to death…

And if not destroyed, Jewish Colonists just take over your house. Here, a Palestinian woman sitting besides what was her house, now inside living Jewish settlers and her child sleeping on a matrass on the ground… in open air

A Palestinian woman sits in front of furniture hours after her house was demolished by Israeli authorities in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber, Wednesday, April 22, 2009. The U.N.’s top Mideast envoy Robert Serry inspected the ruins of a Palestinian home in Jerusalem, demolished just hours earlier by Israel, and said witnessing the distress of the now homeless family of seven was “pretty shocking.”

A Palestinian woman, standing by the remains of her house destroyed by Israel. In the background an Israeli (illegal by International Law) settlement. Ethnic cleansing in process…

In Silwan, a neighbourhood in Jerusalem and a hotspot for illegal ethnic cleansing, a Palestinian woman holding an eviction order to leave her house. Under the 4th Geneva Convention it is forbidden for an occupier to transfer it’s own people into occupied areas. But in Palestine, no law is to effectuate for Palestinians. She has to leave her house…

Not only for housing of Colonists, but Palestinian Families also have to move out for the sake of the apartheidswall, the eternal “security” excuse of Israel to annexate land and properties. In this picture a Palestinian woman looks at the bulldozer working in front of her house in the West Bank city of Beit Jala, 03.03.2010. The Wall will be built just in front of the Palestinian houses. A group of around 30 Palestinians, Israelis and internationals held an action to stop the work of the bulldozers, which have started to uproot trees and level lands on 02.02.2010. As soon as the group reached the land, the Israeli soldiers violently pushed them up. The group then sat down and refused to move further, but the Israeli army used force to push them out the area. 300 dunums owned by 35 families are subject to confiscation, for the purpose of buidling the Wall. Beit Jala has already lost three quarters of its lands because of the building of the road 60 and the Gilo settlement.

Women of the Al Qawasmi family praying for their loved and lost one, Omar Salim Al Qawasmi, shot several times, point blank at short range, while sleeping in his bed. Assassinated by Israeli Occupation Forces on Jan 7, 2011

Women and relatives mourning for Jawaher Abu Rahma. The first Shaheeda of 2011. Killed of the injuries of Chemical CS Tear Gas used by Israeli Occupation Forces on January 1st, 2011

Women, mourning about Khaldoun Majoud Majeb Al Samoudi, 25 years old. Shot at a checkpoint, stripped by Israeli soldiers and left to bleed to death… | Jan 8, 2011

Another woman lost her husband. Shab’an al Qarmout. An Israeli sniper from a watchtower at the Gaza border, shot the 65 year old Shab’an while he was farming on his land…

Every day a funeral in Palestine. Dec 24, 2010. Another victim of Occupation has died, another mother lost her son.

Women mourning about their sons and nephews. September 24, 2010. Israeli Occupation Forces shot several Gaza Fishermen to death while trying to earn their living on sea, catching fish…

Cast Lead. The Genocide on Gaza which cost the lives of over 1400 Palestinians, among them a lot of children. Here, a mother with her child. No mother in the world wants to survive her own child. She has to. As many Palestinian Mothers do. When will there be an end to these atrocities…

Another mother, mourning for her son, killed by Occupation’s atrocities

Another child, killed by the abhorrent crimes of Israel during Cast Lead. A Future destroyed, another child martyr and another mother’s heart broken for a lifetime

How many more dead corpses of Palestinians does the international community need to see in order to act? How much more, do Palestinians and mothers need to suffer. How many more women, need to loose their children, husbands and even.. their own lives.How many more cruelties and violations of Human Rights, Regulations and International Law will be needed to intervene so this ongoing warcrime is being stopped once and for all?

What does Islam say about “mothers”?

This is one of the most convincing things about Islam – the treatment of women in general and especially the high position mothers hold in Islam.
Amongst the clearest examples of Islam’s honoring women is the great status of the mother in Islam. Islam commands kindness, respect and obedience to parents and specifically emphasizes and gives preference to the mother as shall be shown in this article. Islam raises parents to a status greater than that found in any other religion or ideology.

The command to be good to one’s parents begins right from the Qur’an. Allah says:
“Worship God and join not any partners with Him; and be kind to your parents…”
[Noble Quran 4:36]

The mention of servitude to parents follows immediately after servitude to God. This is repeated throughout the Qur’an.

“Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him and that you be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honor. And out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility and say, “My Lord! Bestow on them Your Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood.”
[Noble Quran 17:23-24]

The great scholar, Abu al-Faraj Ibn Al-Jawzî (d. 1201CE) explained:

To be kind to one’s parents is: to obey them when they order you to do something, unless it is something which Allah has forbidden; to give priority to their orders over voluntary acts of worship; to abstain from that which they forbid you to do; to provide for them; to serve them; to approach them with gentle humility and mercy; not to raise your voice in front of them; nor to fix your glance on them; nor to call them by their names; and to be patient with them. (Ibn al-Jawzî, Birr al-Wâlidayn)

The Qur’an emphasizes the great struggles the mother goes through for her child, to highlight the need for one to reciprocate their parents sacrifice for them:

“And We have enjoined on man [to be good] to his parents: in travail upon travail did his mother bear him and his weaning was over two years. Be thankful to Me and to your parents, unto Me is the final destination.”
[Noble Quran 31:14]

The renowned exegete, Shaykh Abdur-Rahman As-Sa’di (d. 1956), says about this verse:

{And to your parents} meaning, be kind to your parents, shower on them love, affection and piety, both in words and deeds, treat them with tender humility, provide for them and never harm them verbally nor physically. […] Then, Allah mentions the reason why we should be kind to our parents, when He says {His mother bore him in travail upon travail}, that is, the mother bore constant suffering; in pain and hardship from the first moment she felt the child moving in her womb to the worst pangs during the time of delivery. And {his weaning is for two years}, that is, during these two years the mother breast-feeds her child and looks after him/her. So after all the years of suffering, hardship, love and care, could we not, at least, compensate our mothers for what they have done for us and pay them back their rights? (Taysîr al-Karîm ar-Rahmân fî Tafsîr al-Kalâm al-Manân)

The Qur’an repeats its mention of the struggles of the mother in yet another passage:

“And We have enjoined upon man, to his parents, good treatment. His mother carried him with hardship and gave birth to him with hardship, and his gestation and weaning [period] is thirty months. [He grows] until, when he reaches maturity and reaches [the age of] forty years, he says, “My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents and to work righteousness of which You will approve and make righteous for me my offspring. Indeed, I have repented to You, and indeed, I am of the Muslims.”
[Noble Quran 46:15]

In connection to this passage, the late Grand Mufti of Pakistan, Shaykh Muhammad Shafy (d. 1976) wrote:

Mother has more rights than father

Although the first part of this verse is a command to do good to both the parents, the second sentence refers only to the hardships suffered by the mother, because they are unavoidable, and no child can be born without them. Every mother has to go through the problems of pregnancy and severe pains of delivery. As against this, it is not necessary for a father that he suffers any hardship in bringing up and educating the child, if he can afford to pay somebody else for these services. This is why the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has given more rights to the mother than anybody else.

According to a hadîth he has said,

“Do good to and serve your mother, then your mother, then your mother, then your father, then the near relatives and then those who come after them.”
[Mazhari]

“And his carrying and his weaning is in thirty months”
[Noble Quran 46:15]

This sentence too describes the hardships suffered by the mother for her baby. It points out that even after suffering hardships during pregnancy and the severe labor pains, the mother does not get respite from toils, because the natural food of the infants is in her breasts, and she has to suckle them. (Shafy, Ma’âriful Qur’ân [Eng. trans.], vol. 7, pp. 795-796)

The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) continually used to remind his followers of the status of the mother and the obligation of being good to one’s parents. The following narration is a beautiful example of the noble position of the mother:

A man came to the Prophet and said:

O Messenger of Allah! Who from amongst mankind warrants the best companionship from me? He replied:

“Your mother.” The man asked: Then who? So he replied: “Your mother.” The man then asked: Then who? So the Prophet replied again: “Your mother.” The man then asked: Then who? So he replied: “Then your father.”
(Sahîh Bukhârî 5971 and Sahîh Muslim 7/2)

Commenting on this hadith, Shaykh Muhammad Ali Al-Hashimi notes:

This hadith confirms that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave precedence to kind treatment of one’s mother over kind treatment of one’s father (Al-Hashimi, The Ideal Muslimah, IIPH 2005, p. 165)

Likewise, the late Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Shaykh Abdul-Azîz Ibn Bâz (d. 1999) comments on this hadith saying:

So this necessitates that the mother is given three times the like of kindness and good treatment than the father. (Majmoo’ Fataawaa wa Maqalat Mutanawwi’ah)

He also writes:
The secret of her importance lies in the tremendous burden and responsibility that is placed upon her, and the difficulties that she has to shoulder – responsibilities and difficulties some of which not even a man bears. This is why from the most important obligations upon a person is to show gratitude to the mother, and kindness and good companionship with her. And in this matter, she is to be given precedence over and above the father.[…] And I have no doubt that my mother – may Allah shower His mercy upon her – had a tremendous effect upon me, in encouraging me to study; and she assisted me in it. May Allah greatly increase her reward and reward her with the best of rewards for what she did for me. (Majmoo’ Fatawa wa Maqalat Mutanawwi’ah)

The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) also said in a famous narration:

‘Paradise lies at the feet of your mother’
[Musnad Ahmad, Sunan An-Nasâ’i, Sunan Ibn Mâjah]

What can be greater evidence of honoring women than this? Islam has effectively placed the ultimate reward for human beings in their devotion to their mothers.

Shaykh Ibrahîm Ibn Sâlih Al-Mahmud writes:

Treat your mother with the best companionship, then your father; because paradise is under the mother’s feet. Never disobey your parents, nor make them angry, otherwise you will live a miserable life in this world and the hereafter, and your children will treat you likewise. Ask your parents gently if you need something. Always thank them if they give it to you, and excuse them if they do not, and never insist on a matter if they refuse to give you something. (Al-Mahmoud, How to be kind to your Parents, p.40)

It is related from Talhah ibn Mu’âwiyah as-Salamî who said:

I came to the Prophet and said, “O Messenger of Allah, I want to perform Jihad in the way of Allah. He asked, “Is your mother alive?” I replied, “Yes.” The Prophet then said: “Cling to her feet, because paradise is there.”
(at-Tabarânî).

Shaykh Nidhaam Sakkijihaa comments:
Cling to her feet means to submit yourself to her, be close to her, protect her, serve her because in this is Paradise and with her satisfaction you will enjoy the good blessings of Allah. (Sakkijihaa, Honoring the Parents, p. 52)

The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) showed us the importance of serving one’s parents in the following narration reported by Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud:

I asked the Prophet, ‘O Messenger of Allah, what is the best deed?’ He replied ‘Prayer offered on time.’ I asked, ‘What is next in goodness?’ He replied, ‘To be dutiful and kind to one’s parents.’ I further asked, ‘What is next in goodness?’ He replied, ‘Jihad in the Allah’s cause.
[Sahîh Bukhârî, Sahîh Muslim]

Just as the Prophet said that kindness to one’s parents was of the best deeds, he also said that disobedience to them was amongst the major sins:

“The greatest sins are to associate partners in worship with Allah, to be undutiful or unkind to one’s parents, to kill a soul forbidden by Allah and to bear false witness.”
[Sahîh Bukhârî]

Even after the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), the Muslim scholars continued to stress the importance of being dutiful to one’s mother. By examining the conduct and teachings of the early Muslim scholars, one may see how the direct recipients of the Islamic message understood the command to be dutiful to one’s parents. Their behavior towards their parents shows Muslims how one is to implement the teachings of the Prophet on honoring parents

Abdullah Ibn Abbâs (d. 687CE), a companions of the Prophet and a great scholar of Islam, considered kind treatment of one’s mother to be the best deed for strengthening or rectifying one’s relation with God. He said:

I know of no other deed that brings people closer to Allah than kind treatment and respect towards one’s mother.
[Al-Adab al-Mufrad Bukhârî 1/45]

An even more powerful example is found in the statement of another one of the Prophet’s companions, Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar (d. 692CE), who was also a great scholar of Islam. It has been related that:

Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar saw a Yemeni man performing Tawâf (circumambulating the Ka’bah) while carrying his mother on his back. This man said to Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar, “I am like a tame camel for her! I have carried her more than she carried me. Do you think I have paid her back, O Ibn ‘Umar?” Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar replied, “No, not even one contraction!!”
[Al-Adab al-Mufrad Bukhârî 1/62]

SubhânAllah (Glory be to God)! The efforts of a man who carries his mother on his back while performing tawâf cannot even repay his mother for a single contraction that she went through for him. Wise indeed was Ibn ‘Umar’s reply to this man to show him how massively indebted he was to his mother. This is the tremendous value and prestigious position of mothers in Islam!

Yet another example is found in the following prophecy of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him):

There will come to you with reinforcements from Yemen a man called Uways ibn ‘Âmir of the clan of Murâd from the tribe of Qaran. He had leprosy but has been cured of it except for a spot the size of a coin. He has a mother and he has always treated her with kindness and respect. If he prays to Allah, Allah will fulfill his wish. If you can ask him to pray for forgiveness for you, then do so.
[Sahîh Muslim 16/95]

Indeed, later on ‘Umar ibn al-Khattâb met Uways who was exactly as the Prophet described, and upon ‘Umar’s request Uways prayed for him. Commenting on this narration, Shaykh Muhammad Ali Al-Hashimî writes:

What a high status Uways reached by virtue of his kindness and respect towards his mother, so that the Prophet recommended his Sahabah [companions] to seek him out and ask him to pray for them!

All of this indicates the high status to which Islam has raised the position of motherhood, and given the mother precedence over the father. At the same time, Islam has given importance to both parents, and has enjoined kindness and respect to both. (Al-Hashimi, The Ideal Muslimah, IIPH 2005, p. 167)

So great was the Islamic emphasis on parents, that the Muslims considered a great opportunity to attain paradise in service to one’s mother. Iyâs Ibn Mu’âwiyah was a famous Islamic scholar from the second generation of Muslims. When his mother died, Iyâs Ibn Mu’âwiyah cried. He was asked, “Why do you cry?” He said, “I used to have two gates open to Paradise, now one of them is closed.”

Zayn al-’Abidîn (d. 713CE) was the great grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and also a renowned scholar.

He used to treat his mother with so much kindness and love as seen in the following narration:

Once he was asked, ‘You are the most kind person to his mother, yet we have never seen you eating with her from a single dish.’ He replied, ‘I fear that my hand would take the what her eyes have already seen in the dish, and then I would be disobeying her’.

[At-Tartushi, Birr al-Wâlidayn]

In other words, he was so careful not to disobey his mother that he would even avoid eating out of the same plate as her; He thought that she would see a morsel and intend to take it, but before she did he might unknowingly take that same morsel and eat it. This is how careful he was to obey his mother in the most minute details.

Another early Islamic scholar, Sa’îd Ibn Al-Musayyib (d. 709CE), was asked about the meaning of the verse “but address them in terms of honor” (17:23). Sa’îd Ibn Al-Musayyib replied:

It means that you should address them as a servant addresses his master.

Muhammad Ibn Sirîn (d. 729CE) used to speak to his mother in a very soft voice, out of respect for her. He was also often seen in the company of his mother and looking after her.

(Ibn al-Jawzî, Birr al-Wâlidayn)

All that has preceded shows how the status of mothers – and consequently that of women – is elevated to the highest position in Islam. The honor Islam has given to mothers is beyond that found in any other religion, ideology or culture. This is clear proof of the lofty status of Muslim Women.

Women – is elevated to the highest position in Islam. The honor Islam has given to mothers is beyond that found in any other religion, ideology or culture. This is clear proof of the lofty status of Muslim Women.