awlaki and the constitution.

A couple people emailed me today asking about the “legality” of the US killing Anwar al-Awlaki. Admittedly, my knowledge on the legal ramifications of such an act is quite narrow. I never paid much attention in Constitutional Law and my schooling in International Law was limited to one course. That course focused on international courts and forums which doesn’t pertain to this.

As we know, Awlaki was a US citizen. As a matter of law, US Citizens are entitled to the rights laid out in the Constitution (for our purposes, due process, fair trial, right confront your accuser – which in this case would have been the US Govt). As an aside, I would like to point out that even non-US Citizens within the United States are afforded the rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights.

From what I’ve gathered there are mainly two arguments on his killing:

1.as a US citizen, Awlaki should have been arrested and given the Constitutional rights entitled to him – defend himself via fair trial, etc; and
2.he was a hostile actor on a foreign land engaged in/facilitating combat with the US and thus subject to killing without exercising his rights.

Some, including strict Constitutionalists (Ron Paul), argue Awlaki’s killing was illegal due to its “unconstitutional” nature in that he wasn’t afforded the Constitutional rights as a US Citizen. The idea that the government can step in and kill/assassinate a US Citizen without affording him his rights is completely contrary to the protection of civil liberties that the Founding Fathers intended to give us. Furthermore, they see such a killing as an affront and impugning the integrity of the Constitution and strictly against American values. America isn’t supposed to engage in extra-judicial killings, especially against its own citizens. That’s one side of the coin.

Naturally, this begs the question: was Awlaki, as a “US Citizen”, entitled to a fair trial under the Bill of Rights? I don’t know. But those that say he wasn’t, including the Government, claim that Awlaki was a combatant on the battlefield, affiliated with Al-Qaeda, and thus subject to such a killing. Their argument is that simple and concise.

One more important point. Many question if Awlaki was still even considered to be a US citizen. Though he may have renounced his citizenship, according to US case law, he was a US Citizen:

In order to lose his citizenship, it must be shown that the U.S. citizen joined the foreign military or swore allegiance to another state "with the intention of relinquishing United States nationality" -- a very tough standard.
•http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/09/30/was_anwar_al_awlaki_still_a_us_citizen

Whether Awlaki announced his citizenship is a very interesting matter, though. But I won’t write about it here because it’s a digression from the main topic.

Ultimately, Awlaki went from being an inspiration to thousands, an advisor to the government on Muslim-Americans, to holding some very harsh views and ultimately being killed by the US. Somewhere down the line Awlaki’s views underwent a great transformation:

•http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/11/08/yemen.al.awlaki/index.html?iref=allsearch
•http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091109/ap_on_re_us/us_fort_hood_muslims
•During the 2008 election, he wrote: "I wonder how any Muslim with a grain of iman in his heart could walk up to a ballot box and cast his vote in endorsement of creatures such as Mcain or Obama?!"
oEmphasis on “grain of iman”

What happened to him? I don’t know. But he did a complete 180. And this left many of his followers very confused.

In closing, I’d like to say one thing: whether his killing was “legal” or not, Awlaki likely died the way he wanted.

Now his judgment is left to Allah.

lockers in law school.

confession:

i have the lowest locker. not only is it the on the very bottom, but its below 5 other lockers. this reminds me of junior high when the cool kids had the prime real estate in top lockers and the losers had the bottom ones.

i was a loser in junior high. and given the locker location rule, im a loser now

regards.

veggie burger

salams.

during preparation, the chef asked if i wanted "lettuce, onions, and tomato" on my veggie patty burger. i said yes. afterwards i thought, "this will be one redundant burger."

regards.

reflections on the janazah prayer.

Bismillah :o)

I had epiphany midway through Namaaz-e-Janaazah. My focus shifted now from the actual prayer to the one ultimate truism: that there is only God and He comes before everything else. It’s quite remarkable how the Almighty has a way of reminding you of this. It comes when you least expect it.

When we pray Namaaz-e-Janaazah, the notion is that we’re pray for the deceased. We ask Allah to forgive the person’s sins, that mercy be administered and the transition to the afterlife be one of ease, culminating to an entry in Jannah.

But the reality of the prayer is quite different than perception. You see, the Namaaz-e- Janazah doesn’t actually begin by praying for the deceased. The prayer itself is comprised of one rakah with 4 takbeerat. The first takbeer is followed by a praise of Allah and a recitation of the Fatiha. Then after the second takbeer, we pray to Allah to send peace and blessings upon the Prophet. It’s only after the third takbeer that we pray to Allah for the deceased, or that which we perceive to be the true purpose of the Namaz-e-Janazah. This is when I had the epiphany.

What exactly did this chronology imply? To me, Allah was essentially reminding us that while we may pray for the deceased, we must do so only after first praising Allah. Such an affirmation serves as a reminder to the one praying that regardless of how aggrieved we are, we must recognize that rightful place of Allah, al-Khaliq, and acknowledge that His Being comes before everything else. The subsequent evocation of the Prophet’s name is another reminder that after Allah and before any other individual comes our love and reverence for Muhammad (in Bukhari a hadith reads “no one can be a true believer without loving me more than his fortune, his children and all people"). Then we pray for the deceased.

Even in these moments of intense pain and grief, Allah reminds us that we are ultimately created to worship Him. The hierarchy is clear. Allah, our raison d’être, always comes first, regardless of the circumstance we’re facing. Then his beloved prophet. Then everything else.

"idle hands are..."

assalamu alaikum :o)

bismillah.

"idle hands are the devil's playground."

at some point in our lives, we've likely heard this. or at least some variation of it.

start to appreciate time for what it is. its a blessing. take advantage of it and see it as an opportunity to better yourself, be it for the dunya or the akhira.

because each moment we let go without doing something beneficial for ourselves is a moment wasted. each moment that you fail to act, someone else may very well be seizing that opportunity to surpass you, whether it be a fellow classmate studying for an exam in a curved class, a coworker diligently completing his project and earning a promotion, or a fellow brother in humanity earning ajr by feeding a starving child.

do not be distracted or mistaken by the blessing of free time. when the human mind is idle, it tends to engage in thoughts and actions counterproductive to your ultimate goals. stimulate your mind and you'll be in a much better place than you were previously.

our beloved prophet (saw) spoke to this when he said "there are two bounties of allah wherein most people are deceived: health and free time."

call me ryan seacrest. because i am out.

punjabi poetry

bismillah :o)

mazb dey puttar saaray nay,
magar banday da puttar koye nahin.

mankind zealousy follows religion
yet man lacks the decency of respect and tolerance
then what good is a religion, if it does not teach these things?

your brother.

the coca cola baby polar bear.

salams

:o)

were still a few weeks away from the official start of the holiday season. and though we dont celebrate christmas, ive always loved the winter holidays. partly because of the cute baby polar bear we see in coca cola commercials and on their products.

seeing the little baalu evokes feelings of nostalgia for me. heres one of my favorite commericals:


sheik speare.