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No Interest Charged in Compliance with Islamic Law
By Steve Dorsey
Istanbul: Once a negligible sliver of the banking industry, Islamic financial institutions which keep within Islamic Sharia law, are now gaining support in Turkey, a secular republic since its founding in 1923.
This month the Turkish government – controlled by the conservative Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) – issued banking licenses to two new Islamic banks.
The licensing is a move to expand so-called "participation banks" that use Sharia-compliant financial methods, like not charging interest. Islamic banks also avoid investments in products that are not halal (permissible according to Sharia law), or involve alcohol or gambling.
The new banks will join four Islamic banks that comprised more than 5% of the Turkish banking sector. That is leaps and bounds from where the Islamic banks' piece of the Turkish banking sector was when it emerged in the 1980s.struggling for attention. "It always had a small share," Atilla Yesilada, an Istanbul-based consultant with Global Source Partners, an economic and political consultancy firm.
The original creation of the Islamic banks in the 1980s was part of an effort to liberalize the country's economy. Turkish clients initially viewed the banks with skepticism as being linked to the Arab world. The government was also far from supportive of the banks, according to Yesilada.
Changes in Turkey's economy and politics since 2002 when AKP took power, however, have helped the sector to grow.
After the 2001 Turkish economic crisis, sweeping banking reforms were passed to give the state more control of the private banking sector. The resulting regulations helped open access and credit to Islamic banks, Yesilada said. They offered an alternative to conventional banks. Certain investments in participation banks also became insurable under Turkish law.
Economic analysts viewed the changes as a defining moment for Islamic banks.
Following the reforms and economic collapse of 2001, Islamic banks' assets in Turkey increased five times over, Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said in a speech last September at a financial conference in Malaysia. The growth in market shares follows a 2005 law that helped open the doors to the expansion of participation banks.
Regardless, Yesilada sees the role of the new banks as purely financial. "This is not an ideology matter, this is a business matter," he said. "As long as money comes in, no one questions if there are any political motivations."
Indeed, deposits and investments in the Islamic banking institutions continue, so much so that Islamic banks are expected to nearly double their share of the sector in Turkey by 2018, according to a May 2013 report from Kuwait-based Islamic investment research firm KHF Research.
The banks have also become popular with those uncomfortable with traditional ones.
"For the Muslims, it is a system in line with their faith, so they feel comfortable engaging in business transactions that do not include speculation and other types of services that the Qur'an…and Sunnah which includes the sayings and practices of the prophet Muhammad, have clearly prohibited," Muhammad Jameel Yusha'u, from the Saudi Arabia-based Islamic Development Bank of which Turkey is a member, told The Media Line.
The banks may also prove attractive to others as well. "For non-Muslims who partake in Islamic banking it fits in with ethical ways of conducting businesses…let alone those who fear running out of business or at worst losing their business and remain indebted by having to still pay the interest incurred," Yusha'u said.
The worldwide economic meltdown in 2008, which led to significant international banking and economic reform worldwide, also brought more depositors to the perceived security and integrity of Islamic banks, according to Yusha'u,
In one 18-month period ending in March 2012 Islamic banks in the Gulf region of the Middle East grew at double the rate of conventional banks, according to a report by "The Financial Times."
Meanwhile, Turkish regulatory and economic officials have begun to steer state investments away from the West.
The European Union remains Turkey's largest trading partner, but government officials have grown increasingly interested in diversifying to emerging markets throughout the Middle East and Africa. That is in line with the lure of Islamic banks as Turkey looks to the East, Yesilada said.
That means that what initially put off Turks when Islamic banks emerged in Turkey – interest in the Arab world - may be what is now boosting their popularity.
(Courtesy: The Media Line)
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By Rushdi Siddiqui
Social marketing eliminates the middlemen, providing brands the unique opportunity to have a direct relationship with their customers. — Bryan Weiner.
Today, it seems Islamic finance is still stuck at a hard-copy of stage communication (faxes) when the financial world has moved on to Facebook, Twitter, blogging, etc.
Many Islamic financial institutions have Web sites, but how often is it updated beyond awards won? How many Islamic banks, takaful operators, Shariah consulting firms, industry bodies, etc, are on Facebook? Yet, the youth — its future clients — in many Muslim countries with Islamic finance are on Facebook.
What about the cross-sell of Islamic finance to non-Muslims as an ethical alternative? These potential customers are an important cluster of social media and they are continuously looking for offerings aligned with their values.
Several Islamic financial institutions have Twitter accounts, unsure how many of their (retail) clients are on Twitter. Do these institutions believe SMS, Internet and mobile banking is the “social media” connection to their clients?
Maybe the culture of social media is lacking in, say, the GCC. But we saw how effectively social media was utilised during the Arab Spring.
Fear
Is there a fear of technology among Islamic financial institutions? The fear of hackers stealing from customer accounts and identity theft? They have heard about horror stories on hacking from US- and EU-based banks with allegedly better (read, more expensive) firewalls.
Is there fear that social media connectivity will raise the level of transparency to conventional benchmarks standards and with accountability to follow? Put differently, will social media result in enhanced governance? It is not a bad thing in this post-credit crisis environment where companies are rewarded via a stable stock price and rave reviews for transparency and governance.
Is there fear that “bad news” concerning Islamic financial institutions will spread like wildfire if (deeply) connected to social media? It will spread anyway as news organisation coverage is supplemented by bloggers and tweeters in real time.
Resources
Is it a lack of resource issue in having, say, a “chief social media officer”? It would appear that Islamic financial institutions have not looked at public relations and outreach as an investment in their brand, but, rather, a cost of doing business.
Brand-building goes towards commitment to not only clients and staff, but long-term growth of the institution, including eventual cross-border expansion and future clients. Furthermore, during challenging market cycles, the message to the community, whose attention has become shorter, is the confidence inspiring “business as usual”.
Guidance
The Thomson Reuters Islamic Finance Gateway, or IFG, may just provide a guidance for Islamic financial institutions on understanding about the benefits of social media connectivity. It comes down to market intelligence, and the market place is the best source of “knowledge that powers” market movements. The community connectivity function of the IFG comes down to insights by industry experts making sense of the information overload, communicating about important sign posts on the road ahead and allowing community to interface with experts on a secure platform.
LinkedIn, Twitter
At the behest of colleagues, I joined LinkedIn about a year ago to connect with like-minded colleagues globally to share ideas and articles. Outside of unsolicited endorsement of people I have connected with, but, not worked with, it has been a pleasant experience, especially reading leadership articles.
Furthermore, I started tweeting a few months ago, initially on Islamic finance and the halal industry, but have expanded to issues related to Muslims, Islam, Muslim countries, etc. It has been a fulfilling experience and I should have joined much earlier. Why?
1. Tweeting forces one to convey their message in 140 characters, becomes very important in today’s world of short-attention span and information overload. Islamic financial institutions should be able to convey thought leadership within these constraints.
2. Twitter brings news in real time from multiple eyes, hence, it’s a multiple “op-ed” of the market place on the subject matter. The raw news provides more colour than polished sound-bites.
3. Twitter has allowed me to follow the likes of global leaders like His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and his comments in real time. He first tweeted about Dubai being a hub for an Islamic economy a few months ago.
Conclusion
Shaikh Mohammed’s tweets, at the time of writing this, on the performance of UAE government standards should encourage Islamic financial institutions to engage and embrace the social media to not only connect, but also to report developments.
[Rushdi Siddiquiis Co-Founder and Managing Director of Azka Capital, a private equity advisory firm focused on halal industry initiatives, and an Advisor to Thomson Reuters on Islamic finance and the halal industry.]
(Courtesy: Khaleej Times)
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Tehran has hosted the 30th International Qur’an Competitions in recitation and memorization categories. The event has brought together over 110 reciters and memorizers from 75 world countries.
At the contest the competitors will demonstrate their talents in reciting and memorizing the Holy Book with great passion and dedication.
Since its first inauguration in 1983 the competition gradually opened its place among Muslim scholars serving as a platform for introducing new faces to the Muslim world in the field of recitation and memorizing the holy Qur'an. A number of Iranian and international reciters have been selected to serve at the jury panel of the 2013 Tehran International Qur’an Competition.
On the sidelines of the international contest a seminar on Qur’anic research is also scheduled to be held.
The 30th International Qur’an Competitions will continue until June 7, 2013.At the 29th competitions last year Iran, Egypt and Bahrain were announced as the winners of the recitation category, while the prize for best memorizers of the holy Quran went to competitors from Iran, Bangladesh and Libya.
(Courtesy: Press TV)
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Secretary of State John Kerry performed an important public service on May 20 by personally announcing the release of the U.S. State Department's 2012 Report on Religious Freedom, which contains the disturbing findings that anti-Semitism and Islamophobia are on the rise in countries around the world. Bad news is never welcome, yet Secretary Kerry deserves praise for highlighting the dangerous growth of anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim bigotry and for making a compelling case that both Islamophobia and anti-Semitism are closely related pathologies that should be opposed by people of conscience everywhere.
The State Department's linking of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia is not a new development. From early in the Obama Administration, Hannah Rosenthal, former Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, and Farah Pandith, the Special Representative to Muslim Communities, made frequent joint public appearances to show that Jews care about Islamophobia and Muslims about anti-Semitism.
The State Department's sobering report makes clear why it is that despite disagreements on aspects of the Middle East conflict, Jews and Muslims need to stand united against Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry. The report showed that anti-Semitism is increasing in the Middle East and parts of Europe and South America, while anti-Muslim bigotry is growing across Europe and parts of Asia. It showcased notorious expressions of anti-Semitism by government officials and religious leaders, particularly in Venezuela, Egypt and Iran, while noting the rise of anti-Semitic xenophobic movements in European countries like Hungary, Greece and Ukraine. It also showed that anti-Muslim mass movements are growing in European and East Asian countries, and that some countries have placed onerous restrictions on freedom of expression by Muslims such as banning the wearing of headscarves and the building of minarets.
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On the issue of Islamophobia the report specified: "Government restrictions, which often coincided with societal animosity, resulted in anti-Muslim actions that affected everyday life for numerous believers. The impact ranged from education, to employment, to personal safety within communities."
This week, June 4-5, The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding and the Islamic Society of North America will co-sponsor a Mission to Washington of Muslim and Jewish Leaders from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The Mission is expected to be especially transformative for South Africa; opening lines of communication between key Muslim and Jewish leaders in a country where there has been a complete breakdown of relations between the two communities.
Since 2007, FFEU has helped bring together Jewish and Muslim organizational leaders in the U.S. and Europe who had previously never talked to each other. Each November, thousands of grass roots Muslims and Jews around the world take part in our Weekend of Twinning, during which members of synagogues and mosques in more than 25 countries hold joint programs. In 2009, we sponsored a Mission to Washington of European Muslim and Jewish Leaders and in 2012, a Mission to Washington of Latin American Muslim and Jewish Leaders to give high-level participants from both communities the opportunity to learn about the "American model" of Muslim-Jewish relations. The European leaders have since held conferences in Brussels and Paris to develop a continent-wide coalition against Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, and to combat growing legislative and judicial efforts in European countries to ban religious practices central to both Islam and Judaism such as circumcision and ritual slaughtering. Latin American Jewish and Muslim leaders will be taking part in our upcoming Weekend of Twining.
Our approach to building Muslim-Jewish ties around the world has been successful both because it is morally just and because it is in the interest of both communities. In the U.S, and Europe, prominent Jewish leaders have played an important role in recent years in countering demagogic campaigns to demonize the vast majority of decent and loyal Muslims for the terrible crimes of a few terrorists. Meanwhile, courageous Muslim leaders have spoken out against Holocaust denial; in the process helping to combat anti-Semitic extremism in their own community.
The hard truth is both Jews and Muslims are imperiled in many parts of the world. We are most effective in confronting these dangers by pooling our efforts and truly becoming our brother's keeper. In the process, we are instrumental in sharply limiting fear and resentment of the "Other" in our respective communities and in the diverse societies in which Jews and Muslims live side by side. The time for action is now.
[Rabbi Marc Schneieris President of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding. He is co-authoring a book entitled Sons of Abraham with Imam Shamsi Ali, the spiritual leader of the Jamaica Muslim Center in New York, which will be published this September by Beacon Press.]
(Courtesy: Huffington Post)
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By Ralph Lord Roy
Sometimes, in conversation, I hear the question: "Why do they hate us so?" The 'they', of course, refers to radical Islamists who were responsible for 9/11 and various other outrageous, violent acts, including the bombs at the Boston Marathon in April.
I suggest that an important part of the answer may be summed up quite concisely. These jihadists, who represent only a tiny minority of the world's 1.2 billion Muslims, have become convinced that Christians and Jews - "Crusaders and Zionists" - are out to crush Islam. The Quran, their sacrd book, generally calls for moderation, but it also encourages devout Muslims to defend their faith and even take revenge upon those who seek to demean or destroy it.
Some scholars trace this current conflict back at least a thousand years to the Crusades. Present-day terrorists may focus on how Christians from Europe captured Jerusalem in 1099 and ruthlessly slaughtered the population. They may remember. too, how western empires - especially those of England, France, Italy and Holland - occupied many Muslim nations, from Morocco all the way to Indonesia, until liberation movements expelled them after World War II. More recently, they have wondered how self-proclaimed democratic countries, including the United States, could pretend to champion freedom while cooperating with dictators like Mubarak in Egypt and the ruling family in Saudi Arabia.
After Osama bin Laden appeared on the scene as leader of al Qaeda, he issued two Fatwas, in 1996 and in 1998, a lengthy letter to the American people in 2002, and various other policy statements. Among his principal accusations were three that helped feed the paranoia that motivates Islamic extremists.
1. Bin Laden denounced the 1990 decision of the Saudi royal family to allow American troops on the Arabian peninsula, the holiest land of Islam, which, he claimed, permitted American control of its monarchy and the plundering of its riches. He charged that the United States has used Saudi Arabia as a base for "imperialist, anti-Islamic aggression" in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere in the Muslim Middle East..
2. For decades, bin Laden asserted, the United States has zealously supported the brazen and oppressive 'Zionist' government, providing an expansionist Israel with billions of dollars annually as well as the latest in military hardware, vetoing UN resolutions that sought minimal justice for the Arabs there, and continually proclaiming the unbreakable bond between the two countries.
3. The culture of the United States, according to bin Laden, which is vigorously promoted worldwide, is poisoned by rampant adultery, homosexuality, 'intoxicants' (alcohol and drugs), and gambling. These and other vices threaten traditional morality as expounded in the Quran.
How should we combat radicalized Muslims and their assertions? To begin with, those among our religious, political and media leaders who glibly, indiscriminately and publicly degrade Islam are providing them with persuasive ammunition. When Pat Robertson, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, even Frank Graham and others recklessly rant on about the Muslim faith they are aiding and abetting al Qaeda and other terrorist groups who seek to recruit earnest young Muslims. Jihadists quote such sweeping attacks on their religion as proof that it is under assault from powerful and aggressive 'infidels'.
So, how can we bring this horrendous and costly struggle against terrorism to an end? We are in a battle for the hearts and minds of Muslims. When devotees interrupt their activities five times every day to pray, their religion obviously makes a deep imprint upon them. They may resent fellow believers who pervert and exploit that faith to become crazed killers, while at the same time be angered by ugly bigotry that has led to careless vilification of their religion and even attacks on some mosques. Too many Christians and Jews share the ignorance and arrogance of militant Muslim fundamentalists.
One other thought. There should be louder demands for tolerance, for people of every faith to respect the beliefs and traditions of others. Why not an international convocation of religious leaders, held perhaps in Stockholm or Beirut or Istanbul, where key and conciliatory representatives of Islam, Christianity and Judaism, all three sharing a common Abrahamic heritage, issue a powerful, well-balanced clarion call for understanding, reconciliation and peace? Naive? Perhaps. But isn't it worth a try? It certainly is preferrable to future decades of escalating hatred, angst, and bloody violence. Better yet (but more unlikely, I fear), leaders of worldwide Islam should meet and issue a joint fatwa affirming their shared Muslim faith while simultaneously and forcefully condemning murderous terrorism which so seriously sullies the name of that faith.
Meanwhile, let us find inspiration in that poignant picture of Martin Richards, 8, who lost his life in the tragic Boston Marathon bombings. In it he is carrying his homemade poster which reads: "No more hurting people. Peace."
[Ralph Lord Royof Southington is an author and a retired United Methodist minister. Email: Ralphlroy@aol.com]
(Courtesy: MyRecordJournal.com)
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By Tariq A. Al-Maeena
Islam is not simply about being born into the religion, saying one’s prayers five times a day, performing the month of fasting once a year, and ignoring everything else. It is unfortunate that some Saudis treat it exactly like that.
The following encounter took place in a restaurant in Riyadh, and was witnessed by an American lady who had converted to Islam because of its values and principles. She sacrificed many of the privileges of the West in her journey to a new spiritual horizon and her faith has often been tested by the ignorant among us.
She writes: “Many of us have learned that living in a non-native country can bring a lot of surprises as well as challenges. Saudi Arabia is no different. But as a foreigner who has lived in Riyadh for 16 wonderful years, I am beginning to wonder what the future of this fast changing, dynamic country will be. There seems to be an ever increasing number of stories where people are treated with disrespect, rudeness and sometimes violence. While many Saudis also face harassment from these younger generations, foreigners seem to carry the brunt of this behavior.”
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“Tonight, as we were enjoying a wonderful, laughter-filled evening in the relaxed environment, when suddenly dishes broke and items clattered to the floor. Initially we thought a child had spilled a plate, but as shouting erupted we realized that it was not a child, but rather an adult who was disgruntled over a late order. The shouting and verbal abuse was only surpassed when the man threw the whole tray of food onto the server, crashing plates and food all over the floor.
“Anxiety rose among the other patrons; many stood up to see what the huge commotion was about. My son expressed disgust and anger when he heard the man shout, "I am Saudi and you treat ME this way?" Immediately I thought about Prophet Muhammad's last sermon in which he taught us that, "All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety (taqwa) and good action."
“It saddened me greatly to witness this poor behavior from a fellow Muslim and I was embarrassed on his behalf. Little did he realize that many of the waiters in this restaurant had recently converted to Islam and may in fact be accepted according to their faith and deeds to be better than this rude man, although he surely must have felt that he alone was granted paradise just because he was a Saudi.
“Although I was taking a risk, the urge to stand up for what was right compelled me to risk confrontation with such an obnoxious and obviously violent character. I quietly approached him and asked him if this is how the Prophet (pbuh) would have handled the situation; “where was the patience?” He was startled by my questions and after muttering something to the manager, he turned around, not being able to reply, and quickly left the establishment. I am sure that the rest of the waiters were insulted as well and surely, this was the opposite example of how educated and moral people should behave.
“So while my children and I try to process the confrontation that took place tonight, I can only hope that more of us as conscientious residents set good examples and refuse to engage when provoked. I greatly admire the restaurant manager and waiters; for as they were being insulted, abused and slapped, they upheld the highest of dignity and returned the blows with smiles. I still have hope that this wonderful country will return to its Islamic roots and uphold the rules of hospitality and tradition, which in the past had set it apart from the rest of the world. I still have hope that more of us will be models of what Islam teaches, and remember that our actions speak louder than words ever will. Sincerely, K.J.”
K.J. did indeed take a brave step in approaching this individual and is perhaps more forgiving than some of us who have no tolerance for loud-mouthed rude individuals who think that they are superior on the basis of their nationality or religion. Such people think that Islam is the proprietorship of Saudis alone. Those assumptions might be even forgiven if they adopt the true sprit of Islam in their every day actions.
But these so-called Muslims are no better than street thugs or bullies and are usually armed with similar principles.
[The writer can be contacted at talmaeena@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @Talmaeena]
(Courtesy: Saudi Gazette)
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By Rushdi Siddiqui
"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower" -- Steve Jobs
The Islamic Development Bank, held their 24th Annual Symposium in beautiful Dushanbe, Tajikistan, invited me to chair a session on ‘Innovating for Economic Development in IDB Member Countries’.
At first glance, the words ‘invention’ and ‘innovation’ are not typically associated with the Muslim world.
The word ‘imitation’ (or reverse engineering) often is linked to the third world, Muslim majority countries. Yes, there is some element of innovation involved in reverse engineering, from pharmaceuticals to electronics, but it’s not something to be proud about to entice, say, foreign direct investment. The bigger question is, how much longer should the Muslim world continue to flatter via imitation, i.e., a ‘Xerox’ society.
Innovation and invention have been traditionally linked to Islam/Arab/Muslims since the birth of the religion, but something happened along the way. We have become a society of buyers over builders, consumers over savers, exporters of capital and importers returns, hence, an unsustainable situation.
The first revelation to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was about reading:
Translation: In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.
Read: In the name of your Lord Who created.Quran: 96:1
Created man from a clot of bloodQuran: 96:2
Read: And your Lord is the Most generousQuran: 96:3
Who taught [man the use of] the penQuran: 96:4
and taught man that which he did not knowQuran: 96:5
Reading implies searching and seeking information to the far corners of the world, from Arabia to China and beyond, that yields knowledge, which eventually becomes wisdom. A wisdom that gets applied for betterment of man (individually), society (collectively) and the stewardship for future generations.
Thus, our predecessors have contributed to sciences, humanities, culture, arts, mathematics (algebra, logarithm, system of numbers), etc., and acknowledged by the likes of Prof Carole Hillenbrand’s book, ‘What the East taught the West.’
Furthermore, there is a ‘mobile’ museum, 1001 Inventions: The Enduring Legacy of Muslim Civilisation, .. ‘…1001 Inventions uncovers a thousand years of scientific and cultural achievements from Muslim Civilisation from the 7th century onwards, and how those contributions helped create the foundations of our modern world.’ It has been showcased in the GCC: Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Dhahran.
There are number of theories, from conspiracy to self destruction, on what happened along the way for the Muslim world, as a whole, to become a ‘knowledge deficient society.’ We only have to look at the small number of patents filed form the Muslim world to the US Patent/Trademark Office, countries aspiring to become knowledge based economies in their 2020/2030 vision planning, countries establishing entities, like Malaysia’s Talent Corporation, to bring back the emigrated human capital, and so on.Innovation formula?
There is neither an exact formula for innovation nor a firm timetable with milestones. Instead, innovation is about establishing a fluid enabling infrastructure, with accountable benchmarks, customised to the local situation. Some of the elements of enabling include:
• Initially government leads but removes itself from being a market participant to avoid crowding out affect, hence, a sunset privatisation of innovation• Availability and accessibility of risk capital PLUS mentoring, Muslim majority countries are about collateral based finance, including Islamic banking. Therefore, funds alone will not result in success, but MUST include mentoring to include, say, opening doors to suppliers/customers, legal documentation, etc.• Culture and cluster that is focused addressing national/regional needs, hence, one size fits all becomes a ‘white elephant’ project.• Education both university oriented (reverse linkage) and harnesses power of street smarts via inclusion to offer market demand, not just based, solutions.
First step
The IDB has the credibility and financial muscle to possibly fast track innovation in selected Muslim countries like the UAE, Malaysia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, etc., however, it must take a stakeholder approach.
It must understand that the constraints of a country and work within those challenges to offer a market based solution as innovation is not only about economic development, but, as important, economic diversification.
The benchmarks must be reasonable and measurable with two important milestones: employment generation and raising the gross national income (GNI).
Thus, as a first step, IDB should create an Innovation Council (IC) for several selected member country as pilot programmes. The members of the IC may include financiers, regulators, businessmen, academics, etc., to give 360 degree review of the landscape and a pathway forward towards leading instead of following.
[Rushdi Siddiquiis Co-Founder and Managing Director of Azka Capital, a private equity advisory firm focused on halal industry initiatives, and an Advisor to Thomson Reuters on Islamic finance and the halal industry.]
(Courtesy: Khaleej Times)
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By Amy Corderoy
Doctors fear Muslims could be at risk of catching a potentially deadly virus if they take part in the Haj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Australian researchers will undertake a world-first trial giving Haj pilgrims face masks to help prevent the spread of disease during the religious event, which attracts millions of people from around the world and this year falls in October.
Saudi Arabia is the centre of an outbreak of a deadly new virus that is similar to the SARS virus that killed hundreds of people world-wide in the early 2000s and infected thousands more.
So far 43 people have been infected with the new ''novel coronovirus'' and 21 have died, according to the latest update from the World Health Organisation.Advertisement
The vast majority of people who have been infected are family members of those who have the virus, although recently two healthcare workers were also infected.
The head of the clinical research team at the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, Professor Robert Booy, said experts were concerned about the high death rates, and the potential it could mutate.
''The people who are getting the virus at the moment are dying of pneumonia, and one in two of them are dying,'' he said. ''The more infections we get … the more likely it is the virus will mutate into a form that's adapted to humans.''
In October, he will conduct a study involving pilgrims from at least half a dozen countries, testing whether face masks would help prevent them from getting sick.
Saudi Deputy Health Minister Ziad Memish has said the country was having trouble tackling the virus because foreign drug patents were preventing researchers from investigating it.
World Health Organisation chief Margaret Chan said this was unacceptable. ''No IP [intellectual property] should stand in the way of you, the countries of the world, to protect your people.''
Harunor Rashid, a clinical research epidemiologist at the NCIRS, made the pilgrimage a decade ago. ''Because of intense crowding, shared accommodation and inadequate hygiene, respiratory viruses circulate very easily at Haj.''
Professor Charles Watson from the faculty of health sciences at Curtin University said it was possible the virus could fizzle out before the Haj, if it was not strongly contagious. ''If the epidemic was still continuing I think we would strongly advise Australian Muslims who have travelled there to have a medical check on their return,'' he said.
(Courtesy: The Age)
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By Mary Beth Marklein
Until Zaytuna opened its doors three years ago, American Muslims who wanted to study and grow in their faith mostly had to look overseas for a college education.
Berkeley, Calif.: Abass Darab closes his eyes, unwraps the prayer beads from around his wrist and clutches them in his lap. A half-minute or so later, he opens his eyes. He is ready, he says, "to help people know what my school stands for."
Often, that means explaining what Zaytuna College, a liberal arts college founded by American Muslims, does not stand for.
Darab, 20, was 8 when terrorists crashed airplanes into the World Trade Center towers, a Pennsylvania field and the Pentagon, not far from Vienna, Va., where he grew up. Over the next decade, more acts of violence would be linked to Muslims, including a 2009 shooting rampage that killed 13 people in Fort Hood, Texas, and a failed bomb attempt in Times Square in 2010.
When news of the Boston Marathon bombings broke in April, Darab prayed that whomever did it was not Muslim or, at least, "a misguided Muslim," he says. His fear was realized: The suspects, brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, were Muslim. Dzhokhar since has said their motive was retaliation for U.S. attacks on Muslim countries.
"That's not representative of Islam," Darab says on a recent afternoon while seated on a stone bench outside the school's rented office space not far from the University of California's flagship campus here. More accurate, he says, is an Islamic saying often attributed to the prophet Mohammad: "The ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of the martyr."
Until Zaytuna opened its doors three years ago, American Muslims who wanted to study and grow in their faith mostly had to look overseas for a college education. That left students unprepared to engage with the U.S. culture to which they would return, say Zaytuna's founders, well-known Islam scholars Hamza Yusuf, Zaid Shakir and Hatem Bazian.
The college grew out of the non-profit Zaytuna Institute, founded in 1996 as a local community organization.
Courses include Islamic theology and law, and they also cover the classic liberal arts, such as logic, rhetoric and astronomy. Students learn Arabic and study the Koran. And they read Western authors such as Aristotle, Einstein and Robert Frost.
The school, which raised $7 million last year, is funded by individual Muslim donors and tuition revenue. Tuition last year was $11,000, slightly less than the $12,192 UC campuses charged California-resident undergraduates.
Today, 31 students are enrolled, and 15 more have been accepted for the fall.
"Everybody here, I think, has a curiosity about their religion, and they're open-minded," says Chris Cusano, 30, who converted to Islam 10 years ago and expects to be part of the school's first graduating class next spring.
Cusano already had bachelor's and master's degrees in political science and economics but says "I felt I needed to know more about Islam to really be genuine in what I was doing."
In that regard, Zaytuna both fills a gap in U.S. higher education and follows tradition. Harvard trained men for the clergy in its early days. Yale was founded by a clergyman. Many highly ranked universities today remain affiliated with a faith, including Baylor (Baptist), Brandeis (Jewish) and Brigham Young (Mormon).
Zaytuna is "trying to participate in this bigger story, this bigger historical narrative of religious minorities having a place here," says Scott Korb, a New York-based religious studies and writing professor and author of Light Without Fire: The Making of America's First Muslim College, which chronicles the school's first years.
Zaytuna is not America's first Muslim college. The Chicago-based American Islamic College was established in 1981 as a private, not-for-profit, four-year school but stopped offering classes more than a decade ago. A few years ago, it began offering non-credit courses and hopes to again offer bachelor's degrees, says spokeswoman Hind Makki.
Zaytuna is not without controversy. One of the most vocal critics, Frank Gaffney, president of the Center for Security Policy, a conservative think tank, told Fox News in 2010 that the school would serve as a cover for religious radicals seeking to promote extremist Islamic views in the USA.
In interview after interview with news media, Zaytuna's founders have dismissed those and similar claims while also condemning violence, which Shakir attributes to a "lunatic fringe." They, along with their faculty, have expressed hope that Zaytuna graduates will provide an antidote to anti-Islamic sentiment.
"We have the best of intentions for our students, (who) want to know their religion the right way," says Abdullah Ali, who teaches Islamic law and theology. "If we establish our own authority, we can produce voices that are looked upon as legitimate and authentic."
The April bombings in Boston dealt a psychic blow, but Zaytuna also is celebrating good news. In May, it received degree-granting authority from the state of California. That's a key step toward regional accreditation, a long-term process that qualifies schools to receive federal student aid.
Fundraising remains a priority as Zaytuna renovates its new, permanent, location — the former University Christian Church on Berkeley's Holy Hill, home to most members of the Graduate Theological Union, a consortium of nine independent seminaries and graduate schools that is affiliated with UC-Berkeley.
At least five members of the inaugural class have since left the school, and the focus of the fundraising has left what Korb calls a "mild wilting effect" on its founders. But those who have chosen to stay say they appreciate the opportunity to embrace their faith without having to explain themselves.
"I felt liberated coming here," says Darab's sister, Ayesha, 19, who just completed her first year at Zaytuna. "When you come here, the acceptance is very immediate. It lets you be who you are."
(Courtesy: USA Today)
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While the world's attention is riveted to Syria's civil war, there are other countries trying to cope with the convulsions of the Arab Spring that began nearly 2 ½ years ago. A look at some stress points in the Arab world beyond the battles in Syria:
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JORDAN: Rising political opposition led by the Muslim Brotherhood and a stumbling economy that depends on U.S. aid to keep it afloat. King Abdullah II has agreed to step-by-step reforms, including ending the practice of hand-picking the prime minister and transferring the task to the elected parliament.
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KUWAIT: An alliance of conservative and liberal groups is stepping up demands for the Western-backed emir to relinquish key powers such as appointing crucial government positions. Kuwait has the most politically empowered parliament among the Gulf Arab states, but opposition groups are seeking more concessions from the ruling Al Sabah family. Clashes erupted late last year before parliamentary elections that were boycotted by many opposition factions.
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BAHRAIN: The tiny Gulf kingdom, home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, has been gripped by violence as majority Shiites rise up demanding a greater political voice in the strategic, Sunni-ruled nation. At least 60 people have died — more, say some rights groups. Prominent opposition and human rights figures have been jailed. Clashes have eased in recent months, but tensions remain high.
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SAUDI ARABIA: Sporadic protests have flared in an eastern region dominated by Shiites, who claim discrimination under the Sunni monarchy. Unemployment and poverty persist despite the Saudi oil wealth, leading to allegations of corruption and mismanagement.
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UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Authorities in the UAE have sharply increased arrests and pressures on suspected political reformers and dissidents. More than 100 suspects have been arrested, including Egyptians allegedly linked to the Muslim Brotherhood in their homeland and 94 Emirate citizens charged with plotting an Islamist-inspired coup.
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MOROCCO: Sporadic protests press for greater democratic reforms, but major demonstrations ended in 2011 after a new constitution was presented and early elections were won by an opposition party.
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ALGERIA: Questions abound about 76-year-old President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's health after a minor stroke in April and whether he will seek a fourth term in elections next year. Pro-reform protests have been limited by lavish spending of oil revenue on social and jobs programs, but Algeria's vast youth population appears increasingly disenchanted with the old guard leadership.
(Courtesy: ABC News)
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Washington: The latest international Pew Research survey released Friday found that Muslim internet-users abroad had a more favorable opinion of Western culture but did not impact their faith.
The poll across 39 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East found a median of 18 percent of Muslims respondents access the world-wide-web at home, for work or during school. But internet use varied widely geographically, ranging from just two percent in Afghanistan to almost 59 percent in Kosovo.
The poll honed in closely on the views of Muslims in 25 countries and found those that go online were more likely to enjoy Western entertainment, including movies, music and television and "somewhat less inclined to say that Western entertainment is harming morality in their country," according to Pew in a statement. These findings remained constant regardless of age, education or gender.
The difference between internet users, who tended to be younger and higher educated, and non internet users were significant in countries like Kyrgyzstan, Senegal, Russia and Indonesia, with Muslim internet users at least 30 percent more likely to have a positive view of the Western entertainment.
While the poll found the internet did not make much difference in Muslims' interpretations of their faith, the internet-savvy "somewhat more likely" to see common ground between Islam and Christianity.
(Courtesy: KUNA)
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“The channel will promote moderate teachings and tolerance of Islam,” Tayyeb said
Cairo: Amid rising polarization in Egypt, Al-Azhar, the highest seat of learning in the Sunni Muslim world, is planning a satellite channel to fight extremist ideologies and promote the moderate and tolerant teachings of Islam.
“Al-Azhar will launch its own television channel,” Grand Imam Ahmad Al Tayyeb was quoted as saying by Gulf News newspaper on Sunday, June 2.“The channel will promote moderate teachings and tolerance of Islam.”
The new channel is planned to go on air on trial in July to coincide with the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
The channel, which will feature religious, social, cultural and historical programs, aims to combat extremst ideologies.
It follows growing calls for the prestigious seat of learning to monitor content of religious channels which offer a wide source of information for social and personal issues.
A recent study by the Faculty of Mass Communication at Cairo University found that 70 percent of Egyptians frequently watch religious programs and 30 percent watch them sometimes.
It also found that Egyptians seek knowledge about religion and solutions through fatwa (a juristic ruling related to Shari`ah) for personal and social issues.
Al-Azhar is the highest seat of learning in the Sunni Muslim world.
Established in 359 AH (971 CE), Al-Azhar mosque drew scholars from across the Muslim world and grew into a university, predating similar developments at Oxford University in London by more than a century.
From within its tall, crenellated walls, Al-Azhar's sheikhs spent more than 1,000 years studying Islam's holy texts and interpreting their meaning for the faithful, building an authority unrivalled in the Muslim world.
Al-Azhar, which means the "most flourishing and resplendent," was named after Fatima Al-Zahraa, daughter of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him).
The first courses at Al-Azhar were given in 975 CE and the first college was built 13 years later. Al-Azhar first admitted women students in 1961, albeit in separate classes.
Polarized Media
Al-Azhar’s channel also comes amid rising polarization in the Egyptian media, with some channels promoting certain political agendas.
“Nowadays, these channels discuss politics a lot and this will cause fitna [chaos] in our society,” Ahmad, a 26-year-old worker, told Gulf News.
“These channels should be following Al Azhar’s footsteps and doctrine.”
Polarization has gripped Egyptian society since a popular revolution in 2011 that swept Hosni Mubarak from power.
The situation became further tense after the election of Mohamed Morsi, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, as Egypt’s President last year.
Islamists and secularists have taken their differences to air, with both camps are using religious and secular channels to support their views.
The polarization has raised concerns that both secular and religious channels are being used to sow sedition in the country.
Earlier this year, two sheikhs at Al Hafez channels were taken to court for comments deemed offensive.
Religious channels were also accused of launching smear campaigns against liberal and opposition figures.
Mohsin Kamal, a consultant for the Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Anti-Violence Studies, admitted that secular media is biased as well.“Secular channels have also become less ethical since the revolution, but they tend to attract less criticism from the public.”
(Courtesy: OnIslam.net)
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The world community must hold Myanmar to account for its treatment of Rohingya Muslims who are hunted and killed like animals
By Aijaz Zaka Syed
The United States says it’s concerned over the growing Islamophobia around the world. In its annual report on the state of political and religious freedom around the world, the State Department has denounced a sharp spike in anti-Muslim sentiment and violence: “Government restrictions, which often coincided with societal animosity, resulted in anti-Muslim actions that affected everyday life for numerous believers.” From western nations such as Belgium, home to European Parliament, where the veil is seen as the flag of invading Islamic armies, to emerging Asian giants, China and India, many usual and unusual suspects find themselves in the dock.
However, it is Myanmar, lately the scene of raging atrocities against Rohingya Muslims, that justifiably attracts the strongest censure. Senior officials and security forces are seen as openly fanning the wave of attacks that have killed hundreds and displaced hundreds of thousands. The persecution and witch hunt has been so overwhelming that the Rohingyas have been desperately trying to flee Myanmar using whatever means they could find but with little success.
In latest attacks, now spread to northern state Shan, news agencies report of mobs armed with machetes, pipes and long bamboos attacking Muslim towns and burning down mosques, shops and homes while security forces stand and stare.
The US report notes that Myanmar promotes Theravada Buddhism at the expense of other faiths. It seems like a minor offence considering Myanmar sees Rohingyas as ‘illegal aliens’ despite their presence in the land for centuries. They do not exist and have no citizenship or rights whatsoever as far as the state is concerned.
Interestingly, Secretary of State John Kerry released the damning report on the day President Obama hosted Myanmar President Thein Sein at White House. Sein is the first Myanmar leader in nearly five decades to get the honour, marking a turnaround in relations with Washington and rest of the West. Obama created history of sorts last year when he visited the country that Washington still calls Burma.
The US concern over the plight of Muslims is touching. Some would see it as typical US hypocrisy considering America’s own role in Muslim lands. Last week Obama once again tried to justify the drone terror that has since 2003 claimed nearly 4,000 lives in Pakistan alone.
That aside, there’s no denying the fact that with every passing day the witch hunt of Myanmar’s Muslims is turning into an all-out war. And there’s increasing evidence to suggest that this targeting of Rohingyas at the hands of Buddhist extremists and militant monks enjoys the blessings of powers that be. The government has even stonewalled international relief efforts. President Sein has the audacity to blame the victims themselves. He told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour: “The trouble was started by criminal actions of some [read Muslims].”
Entire neighbourhoods and villages have invited the Buddhist wrath for imagined slights such as the accidental brushing of a Rohingya woman with a monk. In March, dozens of Muslim students and teachers were roasted alive when their school was burnt down.
These are but mere footnotes in the endless tragedy that is the Rohingya existence. Persecuted and hounded for the past several decades by a ruthless state and an increasingly jingoistic majority, they are strangers in their own land. Deprived of citizenship, they cannot even send their children to schools nor make use of essential government services.
Recently, the ‘reformist’ government issued a new diktat forbidding Muslims in Rakhine province from having more than two children. This is something that even the Nazis and Zionists couldn’t have come up with.
Is Myanmar part of the same planet that you and I inhabit? Is this still the 21st century or have we somehow whacked back in time? Is this the country that is supposed to be swept by winds of change and being warmly embraced by the international community? But then in an age ruled by Mammon, economic interest takes precedence over everything else. Who cares for a powerless people in an isolated land on the far side of the world anyway!
The Dalai Lama, feted in world capitals as champion of world peace, is yet to break his silence on Myanmar or Sri Lanka for that matter. As in Myanmar, the Bodu Bala Sena’s terror campaign against Sri Lankan Muslims is led by the militant Buddhist monks and apparently enjoys the blessings of powers that be. After the Tamils, it’s time to discipline the other minority. Even democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has looked the other way while Rohingyas are hunted and killed like animals. She has criticised the two-child rule for Muslims as ‘discriminatory’ though.
All this is unfortunate considering Muslim-Buddhist relations have historically been amicable. Islam and Buddhism have never been at war or in an ideological tussle. Buddha is hailed by Muslim poets as a messenger of peace. Perhaps the mindless, totally stupid destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas by the Taliban may have sown the seeds of discord.
But there is a long history of the Rohingyas’ persecution and systematic dispossession. It goes way back — long before the military took over six decades ago. In recent months and years, it has crossed all limits even as the country flirts with democracy and cautiously opens up to the world after long years of isolation and backwardness.
If the US, Europe, China and India are salivating over the large economic pie that is the mineral- and oil-rich Myanmar, it’s understandable. But should everything else be sacrificed for business. Besides, if the world powers need Myanmar and its virgin markets, Myanmar also needs them for investments and development.
The world powers must hold Myanmar to account on its treatment of Muslims and push it to respect the fundamental rights granted by the UN Human Rights Charter and that all member states are committed to. As Richard Sollom of Physicians for Human Rights put it, Myanmar needs to be told that the only path from tyranny to democracy is through respect for human rights.It’s time the US walked the talk on Myanmar. Else the State Department report isn’t worth the paper it is printed on. Arab and Muslim countries with their growing economic clout could do more too to help the besieged Rohingyas.
All said and done though, Muslims can hold others to account only when they take care of their own minorities. Given the state of minorities in some Muslim countries, they are in no position to lecture others. Many Muslim nations also figure in the US report for their “egregious and systemic repression” of religious rights.
What is happening in Pakistan, Iraq and elsewhere certainly doesn’t help our case. It also goes against the Islamic history of tolerance and protection of minorities. This needs to change if we want a change in the condition of Muslims in countries such as Myanmar.
[Aijaz Zaka Syedis a Gulf-based writer. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/aijazzakasyed]
(Courtesy: Gulf News)
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By Surbhi Khyati
Lucknow: After the recent killing of a polio vaccinator in Pakistan's Peshawar city that forced WHO to temporarily suspend the vaccination campaign in the city, Rotary International's India National Polio Plus Committee has offered to take Muslim Ulamas from UP to Pakistan to convince people and advocate polio vaccination.
On Tuesday, a female polio vaccinator was killed when two gunmen opened fired at the vaccinators on the outskirts of Peshawar —- the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. The vaccinators were administering polio drops to children in the region.
Ashok Mahajan, former Director of Rotary International and chairperson of Rotary International's Muslim Ulama Committee, said he had asked Pakistan's national polio committee chairperson if the country needed assistance from the Ulama committee for advocacy of polio in the light of recent events. Mahajan assured the chairperson that if needed, Ulamas from UP are ready to travel to Pakistan and stand up for the cause of polio eradication in Pakistan.
"The role of Rotary International is not to make only India polio-free but eradicate polio from the world. With its neighbour Pakistan still endemic to polio, if the virus comes to India, it will be a disaster," said Mahajan.
He said that India, especially Uttar Pradesh, has successfully engaged Muslim religious leaders in creating awareness about polio and advocating vaccination against the disease in the community, among whom there are many myths regarding polio vaccine."In our last visit to Lucknow, we had a talk with the Ulamas and they had agreed to go to Pakistan, if needed, and create awareness there as well," said Mahajan.
Uttar Pradesh, which was once considered the major cause of polio cases in India, was successful in eradicating polio with the help of Rotary International's Muslim Ulama Committee, formed in 2007. The committee members, including prominent Muslim religious leaders from different sects, advocated polio vaccination and convinced people during Friday namaz and other religious occasions.
The executive members of the committee included Maulana S R Azmi, Principal of Nadwa College; Maulana S Kalbe Sadique, Vice-President of Muslim Personal Law Board; Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali, President of the Ulama Council of India; Maulana Iqbal Qadri, President of the Sunni Ulama Council of Uttar Pradesh and others.
"The problem in Pakistan regarding misconceptions about polio vaccines is similar to that of India. Since we have been successful in convincing Muslims here, we can replicate the model in Pakistan," said Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali.
Maulana Rasheed said that though it cannot be said with confidence whether Taliban elements in Pakistan will be convinced by their advocacy, Ulamas can try and convince the people and religious leadership of Pakistan about the vaccination drive.
(Courtesy: The Indian Express)
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By Maulshree Seth
Lucknow: Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur, the dream project of SP leader Azam Khan, has been granted the "minority status" by National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI).
A Bill granting minority status to the university had been pending with the Governor for the past six years and Khan had criticised Raj Bhawan last year for "delaying the Bill". Khan is founder of the university, which was established as a private university in 2006.
MSA Siddiqui, chairman of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions said, "The decision was taken by us on Tuesday but it has not been taken in a day. The application had come to us last year and we had been evaluating it. We had sought reply from both Uttar Pradesh government on the status of the trust and from Governor House as there was a Bill pending there."
He said the state government gave its clearance, and the Governor secretariat informed the commission that they had no objections.
Siddiqui said the university would get the minority status on the ground that it has been sponsored by a registered society and run by Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust, all members of which are Muslims. "Then, Section 8 of the Act, under which the university was established, carves out reservation for Muslims upto 50 per cent," Siddiqui said.
Section 12B of The National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Act, 2004 (2 of 2005) gives power to the commission to decide on the minority status of an educational institution.
The university has been in controversy since the very beginning. During the previous Samajwadi Party regime, the state Assembly had passed the Bill in 2004 to establish it as a state university and make Azam Khan pro-vice chancellor for life. However, following objections by the then Governor, T V Rajeshwar, the Bill was withdrawn and later, another Bill was passed for establishing the university as a private one.
The university again landed in controversy when in May 2007, just a few days before the counting of votes in the Assembly elections, a special session of the Assembly was called to clear the Bill giving minority status to the university. The Opposition had boycotted that session calling it illegal. The Bill had been pending with the Governor House since then.
(Courtesy: The Indian Express)
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IMO News Service
Mumbai: The ‘Muslim Educational Conference’, organized by Maulana Azad Vichar Manch, concluded in Mumbai on May 30, 2013. Maulana Azad Vichar Manch is headed by Member of Parliament Husain Dalwai.
The conference was inaugurated by Vice President of India, M.Hamid Ansari on May 29, 2013. The Governor, Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Union Minister of Minorities Affairs also participated in the 2-day conference.
Ansari said that it is incumbent on Muslims to adopt modern education to overcome their social and economic backwardness. "(Lack of) Education is the biggest impediment to the community's progress, prosperity and empowerment," he said.
He said many Muslim communities in India are not laying stress on the need to acquire education, and through it knowledge, even though Islam puts great importance on education and learning.
Quoting a scholar, Ansari said: “The modern period of Islamic history begins with decadence from within and intrusion and menace from without. The quest for knowledge has been replaced by apologetics.”
According to Ansari, the Muslims of India have been deprived of several benefits available to others owing to their educational backwardness.
He observed that the lack of education “has led to higher unemployment, rampant underemployment, confinement to traditional, low-paying professions, and under-representation in the modern organised business sector” among Muslims.
The enrolment of Muslim children at the primary level has improved. However the dropout rate remains high. Ansari called for introspection and corrective action and cited the example of Muslim nations like Malaysia, Indonesia, Iran and Turkey which are prospering owing to an educated population.
The concluding session of the conference was addressed by Union Law Minister Kapil Sibal. Eminent experts like Dr. Abusaleh Shariff, Executive Director,USIPI, Washington DC, Dr. Narendra Jadhav, Member Planning Commission, academicians, activists and over three thousand delegates attended the conference.
Speaking on the occasion Kapil Sibal, Union Minister of Law and Information Technology said that he has come here as a human being rather than a Minister and ready to fight for the cause of Muslim education. He stressed upon he modernization of education system. He also stressed upon the ‘Neighbourhood School’ confept and ‘Naional Knowledge Network’.
Speaking on the occasion Narendra Jadhav, Member, Planning Commission spoke on the demands of Muslim youth in respect of vocational and technical education. He stressed upon the need for a national data bank and monitoring authority for minorities especially Muslims. He also suggested expansin of ITI’s in Muslim dominated districts of the country.
Dr. Syeda Hameed, Member, Planning Commission expressed their views on strategy for education of Muslim girls. She explained the problems being faced by Muslim community in getting the benefits of various schemes.
The other subjects discussed includes ‘Utilisation of AUKAF Fund for Education of Muslims and Challenges faced by Muslim Educational Institutions and Solutions and Muslim OBCs/Dalits and affirmative action required.
The conference unanimously passed a resolution and desired that this type conference must be held regularly.
Husain Dalwai, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), presided over the conference. Mr. Dalwai thanked all the participants for attending the conference and sharing their views.
Over 1,500 delegates deliberated on strategies for vocational and technical education, teaching Muslim girls and the utilisation of Wakf funds for education at the two-day conference.
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By Pervez Bari
Bhopal: The Indian Government’s dream to become super power can never fructify until and unless Muslims are made part and parcel of inclusive growth and equal partners in the country’s all round development.
This was declared by Maulana Mohammed Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi, Chairman of SEE (Strive for Eminence and Empowerment), while delivering key-note address in the National Conference entitled “21st Century’s Socio-economic Challenges” at Surat on May 31, 2013.
Shaikh-ul-Hadeeth Maulana Qari Rashid Ahmed Ajmeri presided over the conference while Union External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid was the chief guest on the occasion.
Maulana Mujaddidi, a noted Muslim cleric and also member of the steering committee of Planning Commission of India, said in the 20th century the basic need of all Indians was “Roti, Kapda Aur Makaan”. While in the 21st Century these needs have transformed into decent meals (nutritious); “Pukka Makaan” with electricity, safe drinking water, Quality Education, Health Care & Economic participation.
Maulana Mujaddidi opined Muslims don't enjoy much social status in the state of Gujarat. At least 50 per cent of Muslim population is backward and lives below poverty line (BPL) in the state. Here Muslims are denied pre-matric scholarships which is their right.
Lambasting the rightist Bharatiya Janata Party, (BJP), ruled Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s government, Maulana Mujaddidi said, Modi’s claim of Gujarat shining is a hoax. He questioned if he (Modi) talks about 60 millions Gujaratis then why is it that he ignores Muslim community? Every state provides pre-matric scholarships of Federal Indian Government to Muslims, except Gujarat. Implementation of welfare schemes in Gujarat, compared to other states is very poor. If Gujarat has to become a vibrant state, it has to focus on inclusive growth and include Muslims too in its plan, he added.
Maulana Mujaddidi said that the 12th Plan which has been signed by chief ministers of all states belonging to Congress, BJP, BSP, SP etc. is not a document of all these political parties but it is “Bharatvarsh Ka Plan”. Planning Commission has accepted Muslims as most backward then why Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi after signing the 12th Plan document has not been giving pre-matric scholarships to Muslim children and the courts had to intervene in the matter, he pointed out.
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Continuing Maulana Mujaddidi in his about 90 minute address exhorted Muslims to keep themselves ready and be in a combative mode to face the 21st Century challenges, problems and ideas in favour of qualitative change from the previous century. He urged Muslims to remain vigilant and keep an eye on the various government schemes for minorities, to make sure that Muslims could achieve the maximum benefit. He made a fervent appeal to Muslims to acquire modern education and while expressing satisfaction with minority chapter of 12th Five Year Plan he said that proper implementation of welfare schemes can bring dramatic changes in due course. He exhorted Muslims to remain alert and make it a political demand/agenda and ask their members of Parliament (MP), members of legislative assemblies and Corporators about their welfare. They should act as a Millat and not as individual/group/Bradaries. They should look at the deliveries and not commitments made by the people’s representatives or government of the day, he added.
Maulana Mujaddidi, however, lamented that one year has elapsed in the implementation of 12th Plan but he Ministry of Minority Affairs has not made road map for development of infrastructure for minorities dominated areas.
Speaking as chief guest on the occasion Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid endorsed Maulana Mujaddidi’s mission in favour of Muslims upliftment by suggesting them not to fell prey to emotional issues. He compared Surat Conference with Wardha Scheme of Mahatma Gandhi’s era and expressed hope that proper implementations of various welfare schemes as suggested in 12th Plan can bring dramatic changes in due course.
Khurshid said only education has the power to bring about change in the socio-economic status of the community. Reservation should be given on the basis of backwardness and not religion, he added.
Mrs. Luis Khurshid wife of Salman Khurshid offered a piece of land to Mr. Mujaddidi to establish a secondary school in Farrukhabad (UP). Congress Spokesperson Meem Afzal, ex-MP Irshad Mirza Baig, Zakir Qureshi, SM Hilal and others also spoke on this occasion.
[Pervez Bariis a senior Journalist based at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. He is associated with IndianMuslimObserver.com as Bureau Chief (Madhya Pradesh). He can be contacted at pervezbari@yahoo.co.in]
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By Syyed Mansoor Agha
How Khalid Mujahid was killed in police custody? Though the Uttar Pradesh government has hurriedly announced a magisterial probe, an administrative probe and a CBI probe, but it is unlikely that we get exact answer of the question.
But there is another set of questions, easy to answer. Who will be politically benefited from his death and who will be at lose? Senior Urdu journalist based in Lucknow, Hafeez Naumani commenting on the incident rightly observed, “Next to Khalid Mujahid’s grave, another grave have been dug in which dreams of SP will be buried in 2014 elections.”
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav was dreaming to assume central stage in Delhi. Now he and his Chief Minister son are shocked but not shaken yet. The Government seems to be directionless. On one hand the Chief Minister recommended a set of inquiries and also dismissed 9 cops escorting Mujahid but at the same time he virtually exonerated the cops by declaring that he died of some illness. If the CM is convinced that Khalid died due to some illness, which was never mentioned before, than why this political drama of triple probes?
The probes including one by a team of the state home secretary, an additional director general of police and an inspector general level officer will not help him to retrieve what he has lost due to his inaction in last one year and did not care to fulfill poll promises. Only immediate creation of special court for speedy trails and clear the cases of all terror accused within next six months, facilitating release of under-trails on bail during the pendency of the cases and compensation to innocent persons implicated falsely in terror cases can assuage hurt feelings.
Contradicting CM’s theory of Khalid’s illness, deceased’s Lawyer Mohammad Shoeb, alleged that the events surrounding Khalid’s death point to a “planned criminal conspiracy” with “protection” under the State Government. He said, “I was with Khalid in Faizabad court till 3.30 pm and he was healthy.”
Another advocate Randhir Suman also told media that he was with him till 3.15 pm in the court and he was normal. Jail superintendent of Lucknow, where he was lodged, has already gone on record, saying Khalid’s health was normal. But the government insists that he might have died due to heat stroke or some heart problem. According his escort Khalid had fainted on way at Barabanki, and was taken to District Hospital, where he was declared brought dead by the doctors. It is reported that he took his last breath near Ram Sanchi Ghat on way to Lucknow.
Autopsy done at Barabanki Hospital is said to be inconclusive on the cause of death. It was done by five doctors, including two Muslims. His lungs and heart have been persevered for further examination. Some concentration of blood is reported in stomach, lungs and other organs which indicate some mysterious poisoning.
The post-mortem report mentions that the body had black lips, black nails and bleeding from the ears.
“These could be indications of poisoning or strangulation,” said Randhir Suman, his advocate.
Advocate and social activist Mohd Shoeb said, “There were injuries marks on his neck, face, elbow and back. There was also an injury mark on the thigh, but none of this is mentioned in the report. It only states that his nails and upper lip are black and mentions bleeding from his nose.”
Rajeev Yadav of Rihai Manch added that the bone of his neck appears to have been broken, and he had several other injury marks on the body.
Mr. Shoeb, President of NGO, Rihai Manch, stressed, “What is important is that he was in kurta pajama in Faizabad court but his dead body was wearing a t-shirt and a lower, which he never used.
Even in his luggage, his kurta pajama were not there, which only shows that when the escort killed him, blood from his nose and neck spilled on his clothes. To hide the blood, they changed his dress and hid his kurta and pajama.”
Another social activist Rajeev Yadav of Rihai Manch added that the bone of his neck appears to have been broken, and he had several other injury marks on the body.
Mujahid’s Uncle Zaheer Alam Falahi, who brought up Mujahid after the death of his father when he was 4-5 years old, rushed to Barabanki and identified the body before post mortem. He said his face was blackened, and the neck swollen as if someone had wrung it out. There was also a dark spot just above the left ankle. This, he said, indicated that Khalid was attacked with an object when he was on his way to Lucknow from Fiazabad after case hearing. The photographs of the body, taken before autopsy and released by Rihai Manch, show visible marks on the face and blood clots.
Rihai Manch is a Lucknow-based forum that works for release of innocent persons implicated in terror cases.
After these facts were in public domain, 9 cops accompanying Khalid Mujahid were suspended. They include Sub Inspector Ram Awadhram, constables Chandrashekhar, Anand Prakash, Jitendra,Manoj Kumar, Ramji Yadav, Deepak Kumar, Jaiprakash and constable driver Lalaram. All were posted at Lucknow police lines. Several Police men, including officers were also suspended after Hashim Pura and Maliana massacre in Meerut but all were reinstated one by one and promoted to the higher posts. Mulayam Singh Yadav has promised to punish the guilty but forget once he was elevated to the coveted post of CM with the support of Muslim Votes. He has also promised to get all innocent persons released from the jails and speedy justice to terror accused but nothing has been done during last 14 months. Family sources of the deceased revealed none from the ruling party or the Government contacted the family to condole. Though the family has demanded compensation but there is no word from SP Government.
In the meanwhile, Khalid Mujahid’s uncle has filed an FIR against 42 erring police officials, including former DGP Vikram Singh, IPS Manoj Kumar, Chiranjeev Lal Sinha, S. Anand and against unknown Intelligence personnel, for conspiracy and murder of Khalid Mujahid.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was quick to raise objection on Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe demanded be family of Khalid. Party state unit spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak asked the Government, “UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had stated that Khalid died due to some illness, if it is so, what is the need of a CBI probe?"
Alleging SP for playing 'Muslim card' the Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to support the policemen who had arrested Mujahid. "We would support all policemen” declared State Unit President, Laxmikant Bajpai, who immediately called a meeting to articulate the ways to exploit the case by instigating Hindu sentiments.
Bajpai ridiculed government for ordering three parallel probes - judicial enquiry, inquiry by high power panel under home secretary and recommending CBI probe on the basis of the FIR -- was nothing but a bid to woo Muslim votes.
Those named in the FIR include retired UP DGP Vikram Singh, former ADG (Law & Order) Brij Lal, former Additional SP of the Special Task Force Manoj Kumar Jha and Deputy SP Chiranjeev Nath Sinha. UP BJP president said, “The BJP will provide every possible support and help to the officials named in that FIR.” The party would garner public mandate in support of the officials, he added.
Background
It is now a fact established by Justice Nimesh Commission that Special Task Force of U.P. Police picked up Tariq Qasmi at 12 am from his village Sammopur on his motorcycle. The “abduction” was immediately reported by media and higher ups informed. There was huge furor in the public which made headlines for several days.
Similarly Khalid Mujahid was picked up in the day light from his village Madiyahu’s market in District Jaunpur. But Special Task Force of U.P. showed them arrested from near Barabanki Railway Station with explosives including RDX on 22th Dec, 2007.
The STF alleged that the duo was involved in blasts in the district courts of Lucknow, Varanasi and Faizabad that killed 14 and injured many. Four cases were filed against them in four different District courts of Lucknow, Faizabad and Varanasi for blasts and in Barabanki for possessing RDX and other explosive but there was no progress yet in any case.
Previous regime of UP after much hue and cry in public instituted a one man judicial commission to probe the matter on 14 th March, 2008. The Governor’s notification asked one man commission headed by Justice R.D. Nimesh, Retired District judge to complete the probe in 6 months, but he was allotted office space after 8 months of order on 8th January 2009. This show how serious was the previous regime in the probe.
The commission submitted the report in August 2012 to Akhlesh Yadav government and made it clear that case made against duo in Barabaki is dubious. The commission also made 12 recommendations to deal with the cases of terror, but no cognizance has yet been taken by the State Government. It had not even made it public officially. Recently an application under section 321 of CrPC was moved to withdraw the case no 1891/07 in Barabanki court. This was proved to be eyewash. Legal experts say that the application should have been moved under section 173(8) and attached with an affidavit by D.M. and a copy of Nimesh Commission report.
The death of Khalid Mujahid on 18th May 2013 has shaken Muslim confidence badly on SP Government. The Government must be firm on its commitments and take steps to establish the real culprit who masterminded elimination of a young under trail. Steps should also be take to establish special courts to clear all such cases. BJP is maneuvering to exploit the situation and polarize Hindu Vote. This is not a case of Hindu of Muslim but that of Human Rights and State Govt. must be sensitive to the gross violations.
[Syyed Mansoor Aghais General Secretary, Forum for Civil Rights, New Delhi. He can be contacted at syyedagha@hotmail.com]
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By Rushdi Siddiqui
‘I don’t have a set of tenets, but I live an ethical life. I practice a humility that presupposes there’s a power greater than myself. And I always believe, don’t inflict harm where it’s not necessaary.’ -- Michael J. Fox
There are a number of common denominators between Islamic (and ethical) finance and clean (green) energy. The colour green is closely linked to Islam, yet, very little ‘green’ (environment considerations) in Islamic finance (for real estate/project financing).
The demand for both Islamic finance (IF) and clean energy (CE) was a by-product of visionaries seeking alternatives for interest based finance and fossil fuel, respectively. The pioneers were often categorised as ‘ahead of their time’, a commonly understood code phrase for ‘won’t work or be accepted.’
Yet, propelling pioneers of both industries was the recognisation there would be negative consequences if the world continued to follow status quo, greenhouse gases resulting global warming and debt and derivative fuelled financial crisis. Thus, a viable option was needed that would eventually ‘scale size’ and become ‘conventionally competitive.’
As in any embryonic industry, like IF and CE, there are growing pains associated with inefficiency, availability, pricing, reliability, tax, etc., and, only through low or sunset subsidies and passage of time, would it become mainstream acceptance.
In assuming nearly four decades have passed since the birth of IF and CE, these two sectors have more in common and need to work together.
Ethics: Harm and Haram
Ethics is in the eye of the beholder, hence, one man’s ethics may be another’s sin. Notwithstanding, ethics can be viewed, at minimal, ‘do no harm’ and in the case of Islamic finance, ‘do no haram.’
Clean energy may be defined as ‘... sustainable provision of energy that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs ... sustainable energy include renewable energy sources, such as hydroelectricity, solar energy, wind energy, wave power, geothermal energy, artificial photosynthesis, and tidal power ...’ Source: Wikipedia.
Islamic finance ‘... banking activity that is consistent with the principles of Shariah ... Sharia prohibits ... investing in businesses that provide goods or services considered contrary to Islamic principles is also haraam (‘sinful and prohibited’). Source: Wikipedia.
Thus, the overlap between IF and CE may be summed up as PPPA: Principals (secular conduct/behaviour and spirituality), Preservation (stewards of the Earth), Protection (of good), and Avoidance (of bad).
Application
All inventions and innovations attempt to address a gap, as the end goal is a knowledgeable customer that furthers the cause by purchasing and/or participating. To convince the customer of conscience requires primarily values alignment and, secondarily, acceptable levels of price penalty premium. But, for how long?
Query: Is there an acceptable premium on values?
For IF, the customer is willing to pay little bit more for financing home and car or insurance premium (Takaful), and willing to accept slightly inferior returns on their investment, as long as there are regulator and scholar sign-off. Thus, an acceptable level cost of being a Muslim (CoBM) in the short term, i.e., a sunset subsidy from the client to the compliant institution/offering.
In jurisdiction where taxes are part of the economic system, like the UK, Islamic finance had to lobby to level playing field. For example, as Islamic financing often requires ‘two transactions,’ hence, removal of double stamp duty for Islamic mortgages in UK was necessary to make it tax efficient. In such cases, there is often a ‘push back’ from conventional finance about ‘special treatment’ for IF.
For CE, subsidies, including tax credits, are the necessary spark to encourage its use and position as an asset class to make it ‘conventional competitive’ to fossil fuel and invite private sector money, respectively. However, once the subsidies are removed within the gestation period or earlier to, say, budget concerns or effective lobbying, it becomes less attractive asset class (for mutual or private equity funds) or use.
Conclusion
Greenhouse gases have resulted in global warming, and the financial crisis I and II presented a systemic risk to the global capital/financial markets. Clean energy is looking to diversify into growth stories of emerging markets, like Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City, and Islamic finance is looking to the west to showcase a blueprint linking financing to the real economy (asset backed).
Islamic finance and clean energy can work symbiotically, however, requires low level of subsidy and a leveled playing field. There are two types of returns: (1) financial returns and (2) societal (or social) returns, the key is finding right balance.
[Rushdi Siddiqui is Co-Founder and Managing Director of Azka Capital, a private equity advisory firm focused on halal industry initiatives, and an Advisor to Thomson Reuters on Islamic finance and the halal industry.]
(Courtesy: Khaleej Times)
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By Tanya Abassi
Anas ibn Malik was a young boy when he had the honour of serving the Prophet (peace be upon him) and it is narrated from him that during his ten years of service, never did the Prophet (peace be upon him) say a word of impatience or question why he had, or had not done something. A child is bound to err at times but to bear patiently whilst advising and guiding as opposed to constantly admonishing, will prove better inshā’Allāh. Making du‘ā for your children is also the prophetic way and it is reported that a parent’s du‘ā for his child is never rejected by Allah.
Striking the right balance is always easier said than done. Unfortunately, with parenting the results of belonging to either extreme can be disastrous to a child. Being too suffocating can cause a child to suffer from low self-esteem or become rebellious at an older age, yetapathy with regards to a child’s life can lead to them looking in the wrong places or at the wrong people for attention and affection. Children need a role model: someone to look up to, to seek guidance from, to be there to support them through difficulties and to share their successes and who should be a better role model than the very people who are responsible for their upbringing?
As with every aspect of life, our noble Prophet (peace be upon him) has given us the perfect example of how that role model should be. The key qualities every parent should strive to attain are epitomised by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), who has complete:
Love & Mercy: As we are all aware, his mercy is unparalleled and indeed, his treatment of children, and not just his own progeny, is an example to us all. The Prophet (peace be upon him) would kiss and embrace children often and he would take an active interest in their lives. For example, when the pet bird of the young Abu Umair died he went out of his way to try and make him laugh. Many parents struggle to give sufficient time to their children hence it is vital that any time spent together is pure quality. A combination of heartfelt playful activitycombined with loving conversation will provide security and comfort thereby ensuring healthy emotional development of a child.
Justice: Sadly, a common problem amongst parents is to favour one child over another. The Prophet (peace be upon him) commanded fairness in the treatment of one’s children as this helps to ensure they are equally dutiful to parents. Always praising one child, constantly comparing children, preferring sons to daughters or showering one with gifts at another’s expense are all prevalent issues with today’s parents. This must be avoided at all costs as it is dangerous to a child who may develop low self-esteem and in turn, an inferiority complex.
Patience: Anas ibn Malik was a young boy when he had the honour of serving the Prophet (peace be upon him) and it is narrated from him that during his ten years of service, never did the Prophet (peace be upon him) say a word of impatience or question why he had, or had not done something. A child is bound to err at times but to bear patiently whilst advising and guiding as opposed to constantly admonishing, will prove better inshā’Allāh. Making du‘ā for your children is also the prophetic way and it is reported that a parent’s du‘ā for his child is never rejected by Allah.
Trust: The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to play with Usama ibn Zayd as a child and at around 17 years of age he entrusted the boy with the momentous task of commanding the Muslim army against the Byzantine Empire. Despite his youth, he was given such immense responsibility.Parents should not be afraid to trust or rely on their children according to their capabilities. A child wants to be trusted and a good way a parent may show they can trust them, is by making them a part of family decisions. By asking their opinion and including them in important discussions a child will feel they are an important part of the family unit which can pave the way to strengthening family ties.
Respect: Whenever the Prophet (peace be upon him) was visited by his youngest daughter, Lady Fatima, he would stand to welcome her when she entered the room, take her by the hand, kiss her and make him sit where he was sitting. Conversely, she would do the same when he visited her.These beautiful acts, though simple, show the profound love and respect they held for each other. Respecting your child is so important and it must not be forgotten that respect also includes keeping a child’s secrets confidential as well as not humiliating them publicly.
Practising these simple yet important qualities can prove effective in building a strong relationship with your child and, along with fulfilling the rights of your child, should help to ensure a healthy and happy family. Notes: Tanya Abbasi writes on behalf of 1st Ethical Charitable Trust who empower Muslims to benefit society through faith based campaigns, thereby increasing social cohesion. For more information, please visit www.1stethical.com.
(Courtesy:Islam21c)
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