Editor's Note: We would like to clarify our goals for the Secret War series. The main focus of the article series is not the "Shia-Cons" but is the growing prospect of another US lead war in the Middle East. We do not want to restrict the piece or the site to internal Shia affairs. To focus on specific-Shia-Muslim conflicts would alienate our readers and divert us from our objectives to direct desperately needed attention to a variety of stories. Our goal is to raise awareness on issues that are often times ignored because they concern a people and place that, to some, seem so foreign. Use the user comment feature to express your thoughts and opinions. Views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Oppression.org or its staff and writers.

Asadabadi’s Satanic Verses

An individual by the name of S. M. Asadabadi (most likely a pseudonym), crafted a document calling it “A Secret War”, and on May 20, 2011, exactly a week prior to the Universal Muslim Association of America (UMAA) annual convention in Toronto, Canada, e-mailed this document en masse, belligerently attacking UMAA, as well as the North American Shia leadership. The author of the document begins by providing a brief introduction of a group known as Neo-Cons that exists in the United States. He alleges that this so called Neo-Con group is extremely powerful, is pro-Israel and as such is the sole cause of all the miseries and the sufferings in the world. Also, the author accuses the Shia leadership of collaborating with the Neo-Cons and acting as their agent on numerous occasions in the past. The author conjectures that this relationship has become a major threat to the survival of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He exhibits an inordinate amount of love and compassion for the Islamic Republic, however, fails to utter a single word of concern for the plight of Shia Muslims in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Bahrain, Malaysia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other Islamic states. He is quite cunning and cruel in avoiding the mention of universally known and globally recognized culprits, such as the kings of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the al-Qaida and Taliban of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

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In order to embellish his case, the author utilizes the “cut and paste” technique to add further drama to his concoctions. For example, a private residence belonging to a Shia veterinarian has been identified as UMAA headquarters, a gross falsification with no apparent relevance to the subject matter.

Editor's Note:
According to IRS Tax Filings UMAA is registered to following address:

1959 51ST ST
Brooklyn, NY, 11204-1345

For further analysis, including federal asset filings follow this link to the IRS (http://www.irs.gov/taxstats/charitablestats/article/0,,id=97186,00.html)

Muharram Procession

No other cause or persona can ever be promoted

The Metropolitan New York 2003 Muharram Procession was neither hijacked by anyone in the first place, nor ever reclaimed by anyone else. These are a few of the many delusional assertions by Asadabadi and his accomplices.

Stephen Schwartz

On one hand, he questions the credibility of Stephen Schwartz by concluding that his book, Two Faces Of Islam, was academically ridiculed, while in the subsequent discussion and to make his point, he very cutely steals the passages from Schwartz’s other book, Is it good for the Jews? The Crisis of America’s Lobby. Asadabadi’s document, therefore, is not only false and fictitious, but also intellectually dishonest, fraudulently biased, and lacking of journalistic integrity & standards.

Editor's Note:
Quotes from the book were verified and cited in the original article. We found no proof of deliberate plagiarism.

There is nothing improper for a group of people to differ and disagree amongst themselves on matters of life and daily survival. This sort of disagreement, however, must be fair, factual, and constructive so as to bring improvement to the performance of a person or a community; thus motivating everyone towards overall public good. Never before has an individual or a group unleashed such a vicious campaign of hatred and bigotry against the people of their own tribe, calling them agents of the U.S. government involved in promoting the Zionist agenda and stooges of  the so called Neo Cons . Asadabadi describes ISNA, MSA and CAIR as moderate Islamic organizations. Even the Wahabi/Salafi cabal, which despises Shia Muslims, never described these organizations in such glowing terms.  At the same time, Asadabadi manages to denigrate many of the noble endeavors initiated by the followers of Ahl-Ul-Bayt. Henceforth, an in-depth review of this document substantiates, beyond a reasonable degree of doubt, that this Cairo based blogger is a bald faced liar, a self loathing hate monger, a Neo- Satan, who schemed with a few others to create his own version of Satanic verses.

Hooligans pressure Shia scholars to boycott UMAA

During the autumn of 2010, and right after UMAA announced to hold its ninth annual convention in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), a group of seemingly mean and malicious muckrakers initiated a smear campaign against UMAA by labeling it as an entity created and financed by the U.S. government. They made numerous attempts to sabotage UMAA’s convention by utilizing false, deceptive, and destructive propaganda. They contacted anyone they possibly could to discourage Momineen from attending the Toronto Convention. A group of Canadian based Ulema who initially agreed to assist UMAA for its convention, feeling the effect of this relentless hooliganism, and fearful of jeopardizing the control of their respective pulpits, withdrew their support. UMAA management, that cared more to promote this convention to a success at any cost, rather than defending and upholding the organization’s core mission, vision and values, capitulated to these acts of malice and mischief. This vindictive campaign ended up, manifesting the fault lines within this rather small but vibrant Shia Muslim community, and it has indeed exposed the self-loathing and apologetic demeanor of these individuals. Nevertheless, the will of Allah (swt) prevailed and UMAA’s ninth annual convention concluded over the past Memorial Day weekend with tremendous success, as that organization logged in 600 registrants; the highest ever in its ten year history, which translated into almost 3,000 Momineen getting together under the banner of our endeared Ahl-Ul-Bayt.

Why we joined the Neo-cons

For years, Shia leadership has been well aware of what wiki-Leaks revealed only recently about the criminal schemes perpetrated by the wicked Wahabi regimes of Saudi Arabia and Gulf states against the Islamic Republic of Iran in general and the Shias in particular.  However, Shias of North America were caught off guard, as they had been pre-occupied for several years, with establishing and maintaining the sacred institution of Azadari. The far more formidable and better financed Wahabi Lobby, quite entrenched in the U.S and the rest of the west for many years, not only marginalized Shia Muslims, but also cunningly kept Shias out of the political and policy making aspects relating to Islam and Muslims of this hemisphere. The Islamic Republic of Iran was already isolated because of its 1979 revolution and the ensuing climate of National and International politics. North American based Islamic organizations such as ISNA, MSA, & CAIR were implicated as co-conspirators in tragic acts of terrorism, since most of their funding came from Saudi Arabia and Gulf States. Also, ISNA, MSA & CAIR were in no position to share their bounties with anyone else, nor were they permitted by their benefactors to flirt with the Rafadoons. At that time, Shia leadership made numerous attempts to collaborate with these Islamic entities so as to create a united Muslim front against the waves of Islamophobia, only to be snubbed in a polite way.

Whether these individuals were Neo-Cons or Neo-Liberals, it did not matter to Shia leadership

Ali Ibn Abu Talib (AS), our beloved and exalted Imam, deliberated that the friend of our friend is our friend; and so is the enemy of our enemy our friend. These so called Neo- Cons were out there protecting our lot from the Butcher of Baghdad, and the Taliban torturers. George W. Bush did not attack Iraq because he had this inner love of Shias, nor did he devastate Saddam and Taliban's cruel and criminal regimes because he had some hidden reverence for Ahl-Ul-Bayt. His motives, ulterior or other, were of no consequence to the global Shia communities, either then or now. However, the benefit of his actions has spared the lives of millions of Shias, and indeed has changed the calculus of Islamic history in favor of Shia Muslims for many years to come.

The entire world witnessed with horror the unfolding of Tragedies of 9/11, London, Madrid, Casablanca, and Bali. These barbaric acts invited the wrath of western powers and resulted in dismantling of cruel and criminal regimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. The same world witnessed, for the first time in many centuries, a most potent and powerful development; now known as the Shia Revival. Shia Muslims of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Lebanon, sensed a sudden opportunity and rose to the occasion. They became bold and proactive. “Never again will Shias be slaughtered like lambs”, and “Say No to Wahabi domination of global Islam”, became the slogans of the time. This Shia awakening has forever altered the Islamic landscape, as the followers of Ahl-Ul-Bayt are no more left with that ugly and painful feeling of being powerless, marginalized, and disenfranchised. At no time did a single Shia organization receive an offer of even a dime, either from the U.S government or any foreign government. Furthermore, no North American Shia entities have ever been asked, either by the U.S. government or by individuals belonging to the so called Neo-Con group, for returning the critical and timely favors that they provided to the persecuted Shia communities across the globe. Nor can a single Shia Muslim ever be accused of receiving any form of personal or financial favor from any arm of the U.S. government, or from the so-called Neo-Cons at any time. It must be noted that Syed Agha Jafri hails from the family of the Prophet (pbuh) and as such being called Sheikh Agha Jafri is a demotion for him under any circumstances. A true adherent of Islam only submits to Allah (swt), because of his or her innate and incontrovertible love of the prophet and his holy progeny. A true Momin, who is the follower of Ahl-Ul-Bayt, can never follow anyone else, be it a Neo-Con or a Neo-Satan!

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Our Accomplishments

Al-Khoei Foundation, Alavi Foundation, Universal Muslim Association of America, Muslim Foundation Incorporated, Islamic Information Center, Imamia Medics International, Society For Humanity And Islam in America, and American Muslim Congress, have been extremely effective in advancing the economic, political and religious agenda of Shia Muslims of North America. A significant number of Ulema (both Sunni & Shia) hailing from various Islamic states and suffering with serious ailments were brought in to U.S. and provided with medical treatment for free, at the most prestigious health care facilities. A countless number of Shia as well as Sunni foreign medical graduates, who were forced to perform menial jobs because they could not obtain medical training slots on their own, were assisted as most of them have now become full-fledged physicians. Distressed and distraught segments of Shia and Sunni populations seeking employment, housing and other such assistance are provided with necessary help. Ulema, encountering difficulties in securing visas to the U.S and Canadian destinations, as well as the one who experience problems at the North American airports, are assisted on the spot so as to overcome all such problems. And yet, Asadabadi has the audacity to assert that Ulema were threatened with the lawsuits by the North American Shia leadership (he labels them as Shia-Cons), using their political clout and placing Ulema on the No-fly list and spreading false accusation against them. Asadabadi’s accusations are simply baseless, and criminal. A majority of Ulema (Almost 98%), wholeheartedly, support all the aforementioned Shia Muslim entities. UMAA in particular, vehemently refutes that despite his repeated claims, at no time did anyone from that organization, ever pursue Shamshad Haider or the so-called Congress of Scholars for any support whatsoever of any sort.

Alhamdullillah, efforts are underway to establish Shia public Affairs committees in Washington D.C and Brussels (European Union) to create a presence in the corridors of world powers to combat the defamation and persecution of Shia Muslims of the world. No one else will fight the battles of Shia Muslims with respect to their quest to secure liberty and freedom for the followers of Ahl-Ul-Bayt in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and other such lands where their Huqooqul Ibad (Human Rights) are being trampled in most tragic proportions. We must do it ourselves!

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Agha Shaukat Jafri has been a community worker for the past 35 years, and he has been involved with numerous Islamic organizations in a consultant capacity. He has been writing on matters pertaining to politics and policy-making aspects that impact Islam and western Muslims. He has represented North American Muslims at numerous national and international forums.

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