The $400-billion Iran-China deal that will cover oil and gas exploration, infrastructure development as well as security and regional and international issues will be a game-changer in global politics

Since it was declared by Imam Khomeini in 1980, Quds Day has now become a global phenomenon. Millions of people in cities across the globe participate in this event to draw attention to the illegal occupation of the Holy City and Land by the Zionists.

Islam considers giving in the way of Allah and feeding the hungry and poor as meritorious act especially in the month of Ramadan. There is, however, another aspect that most Muslims have not paid attention to: the reasons for poverty and the need to alleviate it.

Apart from the parasitical ruling classes, few would disagree that Muslim societies are in need of drastic change. The gross inequalities must be eradicated. The noble Qur’an and the Prophetic Sunnah and Seerah offer us the process of change.

Inviting the thinking Muslims to ponder, Abu Dharr in his regular column repeatedly emphasizes that hadiths must be evaluated against the ayats of the noble Qur’an. No hadith, no matter what the chain of narrators, can be accepted if it contradict the noble Qur’an.

While announced to much fanfare that US troops would be out of Afghanistan by September 11, US President Joe Biden left out whether the 18,000 mercenaries euphemistically called “contractors”, operating in Afghanistan would also go. The Taliban are not amused.

Israeli occupation forces continue to keep Palestinian men, women and children in appalling conditions in prisons. Many are tortured and humiliated. Some prisoners have completed 29 years in jail. Zionist Israel, the pariah state, operates as a lawless entity.

India has become the epicentre of the coronavirus but politicians and Hindu extremists ignore all protocols and continue to spread the deadly virus. The Kumbh Mela—a Hindu festival— attended by 10 million people reflects the total disregard for any precautionary measures.

America’s infrastructure is on the verge of collapse. Build 60 years ago, most bridges and watermains need replacement. Its highways are falling apart as is the electrical grid. Trillions of dollars are needed to repair and restore but so far, only small change has been offered.

In recent weeks, Zionist Israel has been attacking Iranian merchant ships in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea and Persian Gulf. Iran has the means to retaliate and do so effectively. Israel is vulnerable in this type of warfare and will pay a heavy price.

In light of the Iran-China $400 billion trade and development deal, revival of the Old Silk Roads has assumed great importance. Our correspondent looks at the history of the Silk Roads and their importance for trade and development.

The US is as much a settler-colonial entity as is Zionist Israel. While Muslims and many American liberals criticize Israel and some even criticize US foreign policy, few have called for boycott of the US and return of the lands to the Indigenous people, its rightful owners.