Article 8 The Arabic language is the language of Islam and the sole language of the State.

Article 11 The primary function of the State is the propagation of the invitation (da'wah) to Islam.

Article 21 Muslims are entitled to establish political parties to question the rulers and to access the positions of ruling through the nation (Ummah) on condition that the parties are based on the creed of Islam and their adopted rules are divine rules; the establishment of such a party does not require a license by the State. Any party not established on the basis of Islam is prohibited.

Article 22 The ruling system is founded upon four principles. They are: 1. sovereignty belongs to the divine law (shar'a) and not to the people; 2. authority belongs to the people, i.e., the Ummah; 3. the appointment of a Khaleefah into office is an obligation upon all Muslims; 4. only the Khaleefah has the right to adopt the Ahkam Shari'ah and thus he passes the constitution and the various canons.

FW: Montgomery County Maryland News Flash

At 5:20 pm Wednesday, a window was shot out at the Michaels store in the Northgate Shopping Center in Aspen Hill.

Around 6 pm Wednesday night, a 55-year-old man was shot and killed outside a Shoppers Food Warehouse in Wheaton.

At 7:41 am Thursday, a Hispanic man on a lawn mower was shot and killed near the 11,400-block of Rockville Pike.

At 8:10 am, at the Aspen Hill Mobil, a cab driver was shot and killed while he was filling his cab with gas at Connecticut and Aspen Hill Roads.

At 8:37 am, a 30 to 35-year-old Hispanic woman was shot and killed while sitting on a park bench outside the post office in the Leisure World Shopping Center.

At 9:58 am, a woman was shot and killed cleaning out her car at the Shell station at Connecticut and Knowles. 9 News Reporter Dave Statter at the scene says the woman was vacuuming out her mini- van when she was shot. Witnesses say they heard a bang, and noticed the woman was underneath her car.

Police are asking people to be on the lookout for an Isuzu or Mitsubishi delivery-type truck, with small black letters on it and damage to the rear door. Police are also asking anyone to call 911 with information. Police Chief Charles Moose says the 911 lines are extremely busy, so be patient.

In response to the shootings, Montgomery County schools have issued a code blue alert. That means the schools are locked down. There will be no outside activities and no open lunch. Afternoon kindergarten classes have been cancelled.

Because we came out of Europe, they've always tended to assume we're just another European country. Cruder, of course, and desperately in need of Europe's advice and assistance, but a European country. Now perhaps they're beginning to learn that we have very little in common with Europe. One European official observes that "For you, [the war on terror is] not symbolic, it's a real term. From that moment, you decided it's your problem and you have to solve it and the rest of the world can either help, or, if not, to hell with them."