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By Rushdi Siddiqui
“Don’t let this Ramadan be just a holiday of rituals. Don’t finish reading the Quran without it transforming you. Don’t feed your body at Suhoor, but starve your heart of Qiyam.
“Don’t reduce this downpour of mercy to just a month of sweets and lavish Ifthars. Seek him, you will find. Take a sincere step towards change, transformation, redemption.
“If you do, you will find Him in front of you. Find Him this month. He’s been there all along. Closer than your jugular vein. Look and you will find. Walk and you will arrive.”—Y. Mogahed.
There are many tell-tale signs Ramadan is approaching; from Ramadan sales, Ramadan tents (Ifthar), Ramadan deferment of consumer payment (on say, mortgage) and so on. But one sign stands out for me, it has to do with a “code of conduct” for non-Muslims residing in a Muslim country.
The code for non-Muslims includes abstaining from eating or displays of affection in public, playing loud music, etc. during the fasting hours. Is this cultural (Muslims), religious (Islam) or a combination?
This “do not disturb” sign seems to work even though it leaves a “strange” taste (of entitlement) in one’s mouth (no pun intended).
Muslims in West
I, like tens of millions of Muslims, live in a non-Muslim secular country, the USA, and, during Ramadan, the dynamics are different in a Western country. There is no additional “code of conduct”, beyond obeying the laws of the land.
For example, in the US, the media, usually local stations, will show a programme/documentary about fasting and interview local Muslims/Imams about the holy month, what it means, and the rituals associated with it.
It will be rare for the same media to suggest a code of conduct for their non-Muslim viewers towards Muslims during Ramadan, as the backlash would be immense. Furthermore, we, Muslims in the West, would not raise the issue of expected behaviour from our non-Muslim friends/colleagues, unless they ask, and, even then with hesitation.
White House, work & commute
The US President, Barack Hussain Obama, like his predecessors generally issues a Ramadan greeting message, and there is an Ifthar with (selected) invited members of the community (usually donors) at the White House. The President also sends similar messages of congratulations, hope, and peace during Christmas, Easter, Jewish holidays, etc.
Our employer may acknowledge Ramadan, and may even accommodate work hours, allow for leaving early (for breaking fast) but offsetting by arriving early.
But, at work, colleagues will still eat food, including ham sandwiches, at their desks, the smell from the microwave in the pantry will still waft through nearby, the usual wise cracks and colourful language will still be used, etc. In other words, it is business as usual. Is this offending our sensibilities? No, not all!
(It’s not a respect or disrespect issue towards the Muslims or any other faiths, as many of these people are God-fearing Sunday church goers. Thus, as a whole, religion is an individual matter in the US. But, as a country, reference to God is inscribed into the dollar bill with the following motto, “In God, We Trust.”)
The commute to work, as many of us take the train and subways, means interacting with many non-Muslims.
(The television advertisement, in Malaysia, for train passengers shows proper etiquette during Ramadan. Query:Why not the rest of the year?)
The non-Muslim commuters will carry out their business as usual, hence, there will be some “rude” people using colourful language, people eating on the run (includes drinking beer), music playing, and so on. Again, does this offend our sensibilities? No, of course not.
Thus, such an environment tests a Muslim’s willpower and forces us to focus on both the “Deen” (spirituality) and “Donia” (secular) during the fasting month. It’s about addressing a test and overcoming an inner struggle, which strengthens our resolve.
This has played itself out for decades for Muslims residing in the West, and, it is now actually easier as Muslim “holidays” have been officially recognised due to the increasing numbers (votes) and donations.
Stronger Muslims?
Does this mean Muslims residing in the West are “stronger or more resilient” in their faith or less prone to distraction than Muslims living in a Muslim country with the “do not disturb” environment backed by possible official admonishment or fines for a violator?
It has more do with managing expectations in the place we grow up and where we reside. It may also be a psychological issue, where some Muslims in a Muslim majority country feel a sense of entitlement, hence, non-Muslims must “shadow fast” by also abstaining from certain behaviour in public.
(I’ve walked the malls, including the restaurants and food courts, be it KLCC or Pavilion or Mid-Valley, during fasting hours, and the non-Muslims are going about their business and intentions as they would any other month.)
I have been coming to Malaysia for 15 years, and this year I was fortunate enough to start fasting in this beautiful Muslim country. The embrace and ambience is different from New York, as the spirit of Ramadan is everywhere and, for me, the fast is easier and more spiritual in Malaysia, especially with the hospitality of a colleague’s home and family.
Thus, non-Muslims eating, drinking, etc., in front of me are not a distraction to my fast. In fact, it’s a great opportunity to discuss Islam to eradicate myths they have. It’s an opportunity to show peace and tolerance of Islam.
I would hope the Malaysian Tourism Minister, working with the re-vamped Malaysia Airlines, will embark on a campaign for Ramadan 2014, as part of faith-based or family tourism, in Malaysia for Muslims living in the US. It will be in the summer holidays in the US.
Code of conduct
A proposed code of conduct during Ramadan may include:
1. The price of food goes up during Ramadan so the government has to remind or take stern action against those who violate the law, especially if the establishments are Muslim owned.
2. There are many announcements made in Islamic finance during Ramadan for obvious reasons. For example, some Islamic banks offering Islamic mortgages offer the opportunity to defer payment during the fasting month and add it to the end of the mortgage period. Is this smoke and mirrors or easing the financial burden during Ramadan? Why not, as part of CSR, write off Ramadan months and ask the government for a tax break?
3. The hotels that offer Ifthar, while welcomed, should tier price the Ifthar, much like air-travel with coach, business class and first class. Thus, those families that cannot afford RM120 per person, may be able to afford, say, RM20 per person.
4. Many of us who are fortunate enough to have Ifthar at hotels, see first-hand how much food is wasted by the paying customer, including ourselves. The hunger pang, cotton dry mouth fasting person loads up his/her dish at the buffet as if it’s his/her last meal, but cannot finish the meal as the stomach has shrunk. There should be a financial penalty for such waste; maybe weigh the unfinished food and charge a few ringgit per ounce and give all proceeds to charities fighting hunger.
5. There should be a healthy Ifthar campaign, hence the government should encourage, at subsidized prices, co-operating and enlightened hotels/restaurants. It could possibly start a habit of eating healthy, which could slowly solve the problem with obesity related health issues in Malaysia.
Conclusion
During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims observe the third pillar of Islam, fasting, and non-Muslims should not be compelled to “shadow fast.”
Ramadan Kareem Malaysia.
(Courtesy: TheMalayMailOnline.com)
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By Tariq A. Al-Maeena
Jeddah Municipality has come to be known by the residents of the city as a lot of things. Unfortunately most of them are not very flattering. That is not to say that the reputation earned has been unjust. Residents have had a long list of woes that have now stretched over four decades with no reprieve in sight.
In the early days of Ramadan as motorists had barely begun to adjust to the demands of fasting, the Municipality sprung a surprise that caught most of the city dwellers unawares. They closed down several main intersections on one of Jeddah’s main thoroughfares, Al-Malek Road, forcing motorists to navigate their way helter-skelter across to the other side. Since the other side happens to lead west to the Corniche where many people go during Ramadan to break their fast, it was a nightmare in the works.
It seems that some bureaucratic genius in that public disservice institution decided that the solution to Jeddah’s traffic problems lay in closing down intersections. Instead, he devised a scheme where motorists who had to get to the other side of the blocked main road had to turn right, and then merge rapidly to the extreme left where a single lane U-turn exit was created. The danger lay in the driver having to risk all and merge quickly across several lanes as speeding cars on the main road whizzed by without letup. I have heard that there have already been several traffic accidents as a result.
In no country of the civilized world have I seen such a traffic arrangement and I have driven in quite a few. Is it rocket science to plan and manage traffic flows? Is competency not an inherent requirement of any public service official? Or should residents continue to suffer in silence as more and more acts of incompetence are heaped upon them?
A British reader, who is also not amused by the creative value of this public service institution, sent me her observations on another annoying issue that fails to be resolved even though it is out there for all to see. She writes:
“This week I went to the big strip mall on Tahlia where Magrabi and Lacoste are located. We got there exactly at 10 A.M. and the parking in front of the mall was already completely full, not only full but with vehicles double parked on both sides, leaving a small single lane to drive through.
We thought there must have been a big sale on. We had to park in the back of the mall on a side street. As we walked to the shop, we noticed there were hardly any customers in any shop, literally just us.
“The next day we had to return at the same time and the same thing – the parking was full, cars double and triple parked but no shoppers. I asked the salesman why that was so, and he replied that the parking lot was usually full from 8 A.M. onwards from the people working in the offices above the mall.
“So businesses have rented a shop with four parking spaces each in front of it for their customers, but the employees of the offices upstairs are taking up their parking. There is office parking in the back, but only two spaces per office are allocated. Each office only has two employees presumably?
“Another new office building is going up on Sultan Street, at the lights of the junction with Kayal Street. There are four parking spaces in front of the building. Are they only expecting four visitors at a time? Where will their employees park? Will they just jam up the lights, or will they park in the residential streets behind the building and thus end up blocking all those small streets and inconveniencing everyone who lives there?
“Zara, a popular store on Tahlia Street and one of the busiest shops in Jeddah, has only six spaces allocated in front of it. Are they only expecting six customers at a time? I don’t understand why in this day and age buildings are still being constructed without adequate parking slots. How are they getting the permission to build like that?
“My other observation is that in driving from the north into Jeddah, the traffic flow around Rehaily district is an accident waiting to happen.
There are slow moving trucks coming from the north, and they need to move across all the fast lanes to get to the expressway which is on the far left lane. Then slow moving trucks leaving the expressway again feed into the fast lane of Madinah Road.
“In the other direction a U-turn feeds into the fast lane of Madinah Road. This junction needs a bridge to take the trucks on, off and over Madinah Road to the expressway so that the trucks can enter into the slow lane. As a housewife, if I can work this out, why can’t the ‘experts’ that plan Jeddah’s roads do it? S.N.”
Perhaps the Municipality would like to answer her and enlighten the rest of us as well who fail to comprehend the competency of our city officials.
[The author can be reached at talmaeena@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @talmaeena]
(Courtesy: Saudi Gazette)
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Obama, who has hosted five Iftar dinners, said that these events celebrate diversity that defines the country
Cairo: US President Barack Obama has hosted a White House iftar to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan, praising American Muslims for their contributions in helping build the country and saying Islam has contributed to the character of America.
"As the Qur’an teaches, whoever does an atom's weight of good will see its results," Obama said in remarks before the iftar and cited by The Hill congressional newspaper.
"Muslim Americans and their good works have helped to build our nation, and we've seen the results," he added.
White House Iftar, Muslim Leaders Absent
Obama, who has hosted five Iftar dinners, said that these events celebrate diversity that defines the country.
Ramadan is “a time of reflection, a chance to demonstrate ones devotion to God through prayer and through fasting, but it’s also a time for family and friends to come together”, he said addressing the gathering.
The US president added that Islam has contributed to the character of America.
“Throughout our history, Islam has contributed to the character of our country, and Muslim-Americans, and their good works, have helped to build our nation – and we’ve seen the results,” he said according to a White House pool report.
“We’ve seen those results in generations of Muslim immigrants – farmers and factory workers, helping to lay the railroads and build our cities,” he said.
The White House iftar is a tradition that began annually under President Clinton and was continued by President George W. Bush.
The invited guests include elected officials, religious and grassroots leaders in the Muslim American community, and leaders of diverse faiths and members of the diplomatic corps.
Ramadan is the holiest month in Islamic calendar.
In Ramadan, adult Muslims, save the sick and those traveling, abstain from food, drink, smoking and sex between dawn and sunset.
Most dedicate their time during the holy month to become closer to Allah through self-restraint, good deeds and prayer.
Building Future
Obama has urged American Muslims to contribute in building better economic ties with the Middle East, focused on entrepreneurship during much of his speech.
“Every day, Muslim Americans are helping to shape the way that we think and the way that we work and the way that we do business," he said.
"And that’s the spirit that we celebrate tonight -- the dreamers, the creators whose ideas are pioneering new industries, creating new jobs and unleashing new opportunities for all of us.”
Obama recognized three entrepreneurs, including Shazi Visram, the founder and chief executive of Happy Family Organic Superfoods, Aunim Hossain, chief executive of Tista Games, and Iya Khalil, who co-founded GNS Healthcare, a biotech research company.
“So Shazi, Aunim, Iya, and so many of you who have traveled here tonight -- each of you have traveled your own path, but each of you have also lived out an American story.
“And of course, this isn’t just the American Dream; it’s the aspiration of people around the world. It’s the basic human desire for progress, to find dignity that comes from work, to give our children something better.”
The United States is home to from 6-7 million Muslims.
(Courtesy: OnIslam.net)
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Muslims accused rightist groups of spreading baseless misconceptions about a peaceful Muslim community.
Brisbane: A new sticker campaign linking halal food to terrorism has angered Australian Muslims, accusing rightist groups of spreading baseless misconceptions about a peaceful Muslim community.
"We are speechless, what do we say about this," Islamic Council of Queensland president Mohammed Yusuf told 7News on Wednesday, July 24.
“There is so much misconception about Halal... it is a simple question of us meeting our religious rights, just like the Jewish community.”
Concept of Halal Meat
The Muslim uproar has been sparked by the discovery of a jar of coffee with its seal broken at a Woolworths supermarket at Underwood, south of Brisbane, earlier this month.
The jar had a sticker saying ‘‘Beware! Halal food funds terrorists’’.
After search, the stickers were found to be sold by Restore Australia, Restore Australia whose CEO is Mike Holt, the One Nation Party’s candidate for the federal seat of Fairfax.
Holt, who co-founded the organization, says on the company website that Restore Australia is a non-political organization wanting to restore power to the people.
He added that he stood by his website and that Muslims were “forcing a Halal tax on us” through certification which raised money for terrorism.
“The Australian people should be able to vote in a referendum on whether we want to pay a Halal tax or not,” according to the Restore Australia website.
“Plaster the anti-Halal stickers everywhere and help educate Aussies about the creeping attack on our food supply.”
The police investigation ended up in the arrest of a 27-year-old Kingston woman who will front the Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Friday charged with one count of product contamination.
After her arrest, Restore Australia posted an appeal on Facebook asking for the name of lawyers who might help her for free.
"Nestle has decided to fight back against our anti-halal sticker campaign by having a 19-year-old girl in Brisbane arrested for 'product tampering'. Alleging that she put an anti-Halal sticker on one of their jars of coffee and then opened it," Restore Australia said.
"Nestle has just... shot themselves in the foot. Instead of doing the right thing and stop selling us out to Islam, they have decided to pick on a young woman and take her to court."
Hate Mongering
Rejecting claims that sales from Halal food funded terrorism as baseless, the Islamic Council of Queensland announced they will look to see what action they will take.
"We are doing our best to make people understand this process... however people are trying to get political mileage out of this and are trying to inflame the issue at election time," Yusuf said.
"(I) absolutely condemn it in the sense it is highly inappropriate to make these sort of statements when they are not true... the money raised from Halal is funding terrorism is a totally baseless statement," he added.
The concept of halal, -- meaning permissible in Arabic -- has traditionally been applied to food.
Muslims do not eat pork and consider pigs and their meat filthy and unhealthy to eat.
Muslims should only eat meat from livestock slaughtered by a sharp knife from their necks, and the name of Allah, the Arabic word for God, must be mentioned.
Muslims, who have been in Australia for more than 200 years, make up 1.7 percent of its 20-million population.
Islam is the country's second largest religion after Christianity.
(Courtesy: OnIslam.net)
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The Shah Jahan Mosque is the first mosque that was built in the United Kingdom in 1889 by a Hungarian.
The Shah Jahan Mosque, the first mosque that was built in the United Kingdom in 1889 by a Hungarian-/Jewish-born linguist Gottleib Wilhelm Leitner, is a very popular mosque visited by non-Muslims as well and suppresses Islamophobia in UK.
The mosque, built in 1889 by a Hungarian-/Jewish-born linguist Leitner and situated on Oriental Road in Woking, was the first mosque to be built in the UK.
Muslim Indian prince who covered the expenses and financed the mosque gave his name to the mosque.
The secretary of the mosque, Asad Jamil told AA that Muslim Indian prince who named the mosque could not visit or see the mosque during his lifetime.
During Ramadan, the holy month for Muslims, 1,800 Muslims pray in the mosque at Friday prayer, Jumma.
Over three million Muslims in the UK, especially, Pakistani and Indian Muslims pray in the mosque.
Jamil added that, Muslims and non-Muslims who live in Woking, admire the mosque owing to its history.
The mosque is a very popular one that has been visited by non-Muslims as well and has suppressed Islamophobia in UK.
(Courtesy: World Bulletin)
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Pakistani Christians have been angered by a statement by the chief minister of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that only “non-Muslims will be recruited as sweepers.”
The province, known for short as KPK, borders Afghanistan. Its chief minister, Pervez Khattak, who is in former international cricketer Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), says that he was quoted out of context and misinterpreted.
Khattak denied that he intended anything derogatory. He said he was only responding to minorities’ concerns over access to jobs they have traditionally taken now being denied by applicants who claim that as Muslims they cannot do “unclean” jobs anyway.
Nevertheless, the Christians’ anger (sparked when a local Urdu channel, Capital TV, reported the statement) went viral and has hit national headlines because it highlights long-entrenched discriminatory practices rooted in the Indian subcontinent’s history and still faced by Pakistan’s Christians and low-caste Hindus.
Christians took Khattak’s remark to be deeply offensive, with many saying that it showed the “true” stance of PTI, whose election slogan in May was “Justice, Humanity and Self-Esteem.”
Khattak is PTI’s first-ever provincial chief minister. In May, PTI surprisingly won the militancy-hit northwestern KPK and now runs its first coalition government there.
Christians are the main minority in Pakistan, although a small number of Hindus and Sikhs also live there. Hence, Christians took the chief minister’s statement as a direct reference to them, although others add that non-Pashtun ethnic groups, such as Persian-speaking Hazaras, might also have been implicated.
As the Christian community took offense, the opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Napoleon Qayyum on July 11 filed a petition for an apology in the Lahore high court. The petitioner made Khattak and the two Capital TV talk-show hosts parties to the “offensive statement.”
Albert David, chairman of the Pakistan United Christian Movement, asks how Khattak could say that Muslims are not eligible for sweepers’ jobs and that only members of the minority communities could perform this task.
“Whatever the context, it is very insensitive to say that the jobs of sweeping would only be given to minorities,” he says.
Article 27 (1) of the Constitution of Pakistan says, “No citizen otherwise qualified for appointment in the service of Pakistan shall be discriminated against in respect of any such appointment on the ground only of race, religion, caste, sex, residence or place of birth.”
(Courtesy: Charisma News)
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By John Butler
In the movie “World War Z,” Brad Pitt travels the globe trying to determine how to stop the spread of a virus that is turning people into zombies. We aren’t facing a zombie epidemic, thankfully, but a new virus from the same family as SARS has been described by the director general of the World Health Organization as a threat to the entire world.
The Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) may not have the catchiest name, but with 90 cases to date and 45 deaths in eight countries, public health experts, including WHO Director General Margaret Chan, are worried. Saudi Arabia is the epicenter of the disease with 70 cases and 38 deaths recorded.
Transmission of the virus isn’t fully understood, but it is known to spread between humans. Wary of the threat, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health has issued a warning ahead of the annual hajj pilgrimage in October, when millions of Muslims travel to Mecca.
The ministry says people with chronic diseases, the elderly, pregnant women and children under 12 should postpone their hajj this year. Last year, a record 3.16 million people took part in the pilgrimage, according to the Saudi Arabian government. It is a journey that every able-bodied Muslim is encouraged to make at least once in their lifetime.
Ataur Rahman, chief executive of the Haj Committee of India, says around 125,000 people from India will travel to Mecca for the hajj this year, down from 170,000 last year. The quota has been cut because of ongoing construction work on the Haram Mosque in Mecca.
A challenge for the Indian government is to ensure that pilgrims are aware of the virus and its symptoms without creating a panic. The symptoms of MERS-CoV include fever, severe pneumonia and kidney failure.
A recent study in the Lancet found that for every person infected, the ongoing transmission is between 0.6 and 0.69. With infection below one, MERS-CoV isn’t in a position to become a global health pandemic, however authors of the Lancet study have said the disease could still change due to factors like season change or events like the hajj.
There is no vaccine for MERS-CoV, which is a coronavirus. Coronaviruses are common in both animal and humans. Most humans will, at some point in their life, get a coronavirus that causes mild to moderate illness.
“Vaccines for coronaviruses in general are very difficult. There’s no vaccine against the common cold, which is caused by a coronavirus,” said Gregory Hartl, a spokesperson for the WHO. There is still no vaccine for SARS, 10 years after an outbreak of the virus infected over 8,000 people and led to 774 deaths, predominantly in Southeast Asia. SARS was ultimately phased out by keeping patients isolated and quarantining all suspected contacts.
The mortality rate for MERS-CoV is 50%, whereas for SARS it was approximately 8%. Only in acute cases did SARS cause all systems to collapse; for most people it was a pulmonary problem. MERS-CoV is also a respiratory disease but the virus goes on to attack the dialysis centers, causing kidney failure and full system collapse. This is the reason for the high mortality rate in the recorded cases.
“It’s very important that India not only think about being on alert to watch for returning pilgrims with pneumonia but more importantly that they get information now to the Muslim community across the nation,” said Laurie Garrett, a senior fellow for Global Health at the U.S.-based Council on Foreign Relations.
This will give pilgrims going to Saudi Arabia for the hajj, or for umrah – another pilgrimage that happens throughout the year – a sense of being prepared. They should know who to call if they develop symptoms, rather than sitting in public clinics and infecting others, Ms. Garrett said.
The Indian government has issued an advisory, said Sujeet Kumar Singh, deputy director general at the Ministry of Health. “We sensitized all health institutes about the epidemiology and the transmission of the MERS coronavirus, particularly with regard to the pilgrims who are traveling to the hajj,” he said.
“Lab facilities available for detection and diagnosis of these illnesses at various levels have also been made aware,” he added.
Saudi Arabia’s experience highlights how hospitals can stop the spread of the virus, said Allison McGeer, head of infection control at Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital. Ms. McGeer visited Saudi Arabia and analyzed an MERS-CoV outbreak in Al-Hasa, where a cluster of 25 cases led to the deaths of 19 patients. The cluster was stopped by isolating suspected MERS-CoV patients and health workers taking precautions such as wearing gloves and facial masks.
“Saudi Arabia did this very nicely, it had an ugly outbreak, it’s not what anyone wanted but they stopped it at the first hospital,” Ms. McGeer said. “I don’t think that’s an impossible ask for many health care systems in India,” she added.
Important information about the virus remains unknown. “We know that the virus can spread from human to human, but critically we do not know the host of the virus or how it is transmitted to humans,” Ms. McGeer said.
Bats, horses, and camels have been considered as hosts or bridges linking the disease to humans. But there’s no certainty yet.
A new killer virus with unknown hosts and means of transmission presents a threat. It’s not zombies, but it is worrying.
(Courtesy: The Wall Street Journal)
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By Syed Ali Mujtaba
In a rare gesture towards mending India Pakistan ties, a new peace initiative called Aman Chaupal was organized in New Delhi with the aim to enhance people-to-people contact between the two countries.
Imitating the traditional South Asian village life style, where folks sit together in a common place called Chaupal and discuss issues facing them, in Aman Chaupal, people from India or Pakistan share their experiences with common citizens.
'Aman Chaupal' is an initiative by India-based organization Mission Bhartiyam that works to create unwavering bonds of peace and friendship between India and Pakistan and call it of Aaghaz-e-Dosti or beginning of friendship.
The first Aman Chaupal was organized in July 2013 at Columbia Foundation Sr Sec School, Vikaspuri, New Delhi and was attended by 6th to 12th class students.
It was addressed by Ms Saeeda Diep, a renowned Peace activist and Chairperson of Institute of Peace & Secular Studies (IPSS), Lahore, Pakistan.
Like in our traditional Chaupals, this too had an interactive session meant to address the concerns of the Indian students about Pakistan and clear their misperceptions and arouses curiosity among them about the much hated neighbouring country.
The interaction was entirely in Hindiustani as according to Ms Saeeda, speaking in English would be very "artificial" and the essence of communication will be lost in the process. She gave the example of words such as ‘Beta’ which in Hindustani means my loving child, could best be described as ‘my dear’ in English, that tweaks of its affection.
In her address Ms Saeeda Diep talked about the general stereotypes and misconceptions that the people in India have about Pakistan and Pakistanis. In fact, she listed them out and said that a few more can be added to such hyperbole.
The peace activist tried to describe about the other side of Pakistan that the common Indians do not know because of lack of communication. She blamed the "hawkish" media that’s biased towards Pakistan and is one of the reasons behind Indians having the negative image of Pakistan.
The session was entirely devoted to a question-answer format wherein Ms Saeeda answered students' questions with great affection and aplomb.
Question -Ma'm, Do Hindus live in Pakistan? Asked a student
Answer - Yes Beta, there are Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and people of other religions living in Pakistan.
Question - What do people from Pakistan think about us, was another question.
Answer - Pakistanis know about your country and culture much better then you know about Pakistan because they have access to Indian TV channels. Unfortunately, no Pakistani channels are permitted in India, so Indians only know what the Indian media portray to them about Pakistan. Indian newspapers and TV channels do not truly portray Pakistan, she felt.
During the interaction, several other questions were posed to Ms Saeeda, some of them related to political issues and controversies surrounding Pakistan and she gave a very candid reply to all of them.
The Principal of Columbia Foundation Sr Sec School, Ms. Deepshika Dandu shared her personal experiences with Pakistanis during her stay in a foreign country.
She remarked that, "In a foreign nation, Indians and Pakistanis often form a transnational community bounded by a shared culture, language and experience."
The students had quite a learning experience through Aman Chaupal initiative and many of them were pleased about the knowledge they acquired about Pakistan from this interactive session.
‘My entire perception has changed after this interaction; I only had negative perception about Pakistan, now I feel there is more in common then simply hating Pakistan’, said Sandeep Singh Pramar, a class eight student of the Columbia Foundation Sr Sec School, New Delhi.
This programme was co-ordinated by Mission Bhartiyam’s initiative Aaghaz-e-Dosti team that consists of Ravi Nitesh, Devika Mittal and V Arun Kumar. Ms. Meenu, the coordinator from the Columbia Foundation Sr Sec School, helped organizing this program.
The organizers of Aman Chaupal plan to have similar programes organized in several other schools in India as well as in Pakistan.
At a time when political agenda is ruling the roost and the so called national media is poisoning the social relationship, it’s high time the hate mongers free run should be checked by initiatives such as Aman Chaupal.
This is more so because recently events such as the killing of Srabajit Singh in Pakistan and Sanaullah in India, has soured the Indian- Pakistan relationship to all time low.
The event such as Aman Chaupal tries to build bridges of peace and friendship between the two countries. It essentially tries to preach that India and Pakistan has more things in common than the much hyped incorrigible differences.
In such initiatives like this and others effort is made to highlight the similarities between the two countries. These similarities are based on common language values, mores and norms that have longer history then the differences that are essentially of recent origin and politically motivated.
In such context it is important that common Indians should know what the people from the other side of the border think about them.
Similarly, the messengers of peace from India should go to Pakistan to dispel their misconceptions and spread the message of peace and friendship. The message should be that India and Pakistan are not two nations but essentially one country.
Aman Chaupal is one such initiative to mend the disturbed relationship and the need is to have many more events such as these being organized in the two countries at regular intervals.
Peace and harmony in South Asia can only be built when India and Pakistan, shun their differences and embark on the process of cooperation for the betterment of the people living in this part of the world.
Sooner this wisdom downs upon the leadership of these two countries, the place where we live now would be much better habitat for dwelling.
[Syed Ali Mujtabais a Journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba@yahoo.com]
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Bangalore: Obaid Siddiqi, who passed away here late Friday (July 26, 2013) was a leading research scientist and founding director of the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) here.
"Siddiqi was one of India's finest biologists whose contribution to the growth of molecular biology was profound. Demonstrating that scientific research was creative, he pioneered behaviourial genetics by conducting research on the genetics of olfactory sensation in drosophila (fruit fly)," NCBS director Satyaji Mayor said here Saturday.
Born in 1932 in Uttar Pradesh, the young Siddiqi graduated from Aligarh Muslim University, and did his doctorate (PhD) on microbial genetics from University of Glasgow in Britain.
"Siddiqi was instrumental in setting up the NCBS here over two decades ago (1992) to explore new frontiers in biological research and motivate a generation of fellow bio-scientists to excel in the fascinating field," Mayor recalled.
Siddiqi, 80, leaves behind wife Asiya, two sons Imran and Kalim and two daughters Yumna and Diba.
Armed with a Ph.D, Siddiqi sailed to the US to do post-doctoral research at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York and at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, which led to the discovery of stop codons in the genetic code and mechanism of chain termination during protein synthesis.
"Siddiqi was among a daring few who defined a new intellectual quest and whose leadership created a culture of research. His foresight, determination and courage have transformed research in molecular biology in the country," said Biotechnology department secretary and former NCBS director K.Vijay Raghavan.
At the invitation of India's famous nuclear physicist Homi Bhabha in 1962, Siddiqi had set up the molecular biology unit at the TIFR in Mumbai (then Bombay), where foundation for modern biology research in the country was laid.
Siddiqi's pioneering work at the unit in the 1980s on the genetic basis of taste and smell of fruit fly paved way for the understanding of how senses detect taste and smell and encode in the brain.
Working with Seymour Benzer at Caltech (California Institute of Technology) in the US in the early seventies (1970s), he discovered a set of temperature sensitive paralytic mutants that exhibited defects in the electrical activity of nerves and muscles.
"The discovery led to an understanding of the mechanistic basis of neuronal function and heralded the dawn of the field of Behavioral Genetics," Mayor pointed out.
The Indian government honoured Siddiqi with several awards and medals, including the prestigious Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, Bhatnagar Prize, Aryabhatta Medal by INSA (Indian National Science Academy) and BC Roy award for biomedical research.
During his six-decade long illustrious academic career, Siddiqi's contributions were widely recognised national and internationally.
He was also an elected member of the Royal Society, London (FRS), the US National Academy of Sciences, the World Academy of Sciences, Trieste, the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, National Academy of Sciences (India), Allahabad, and Maharashtra Academy of Sciences.
As a distinguished scholar, Siddiqi was a visiting professor at Yale University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and twice at Caltech and a life member of Clare Hall at Cambridge in Britain.
Aligarh Muslim University, Banaras Hindu University, Jamia Hamdard, Kalyani University, IIT Bombay, Jamia Millia Islamia and Central University of Hyderabad conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Science (D.Sc).
Siddiqi's last rites were performed here Saturday in the presence of hundreds of his colleagues, students, family members and friends.
(Courtesy: IANS, July 27, 2013)
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IMO News Service
New Delhi: Knowledge and News Network (KNN), India’s first online media platform with a focus on the micro, small and medium enterprises, was launched by MSME Minister K H Muniyappa, with a promise to espouse the cause of the vibrant and dynamic sector which contributes 40 per cent to the country’s industrial production and exports.
Promoted by the Federation of Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (FISME) in partnership with GIZ- German Agency for International Cooperation, KNN is a multi-media platform equipped to disseminate news, views and analysis of the topical issues through texts, graphics and videos.
Launching the service here last evening (July 26, 2013), Mr Muniyappa said, “MSMEs work silently but they have been the engine of growth for the Indian economy. More importantly, their contribution to equity is unparalleled. Almost half of the MSMEs are owned by the deprived d section of the society.”
However, as they are largely unorganised and scattered over a vast geography, it becomes difficult for both the policy makers and the MSMEs to reach out to each other. “Emergence of KNN is a very timely development and will fill up this gap,” the minister said.
With the active participation of 158 industry associations and 110 institutions, including the prestigious Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI),the Banaras Hindu University, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) and the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) KNN newsroom will connect millions of MSMEs to the policy makers both at the Centre and the states. Thus, the KNN newsroom has 268 nodes on the ground with coverage extending to 24 states and 41 major sectors.
The promoters have a clear vision for the KNN and they would like to see it grow as an independent media company. “While FISME has incubated KNN with the support of GIZ and will continue to support from outside, it is to grow out as an independent media entity in a couple of years and serve the MSME sector without fear or favour”, FISME President D Gandhikumar said.
GIZ Director, Private Sector Development, Manfred Haebig, while underscoring the importance of institutions to balance cooperation and competition said, “We support KNN because we believe in their vision of inclusive growth…we believe there will not be any inclusive growth without strong MSME growth. KNN is India’s first attempt to put news on MSME on centre stage.”
Assuring support to the MSME sector, CEO Prasar Bharti, Jawhar Sircar said, they could pick up some good stories and circulate them in the public service broadcasting network.
The professional team of journalists at the KNN also has the guidance available from a high level Advisory Board, comprising eminent economists and media personalities.
An impressive launch function of the KNN was also attended by Secretary in the Ministry of MSME, Madhav Lal, Additional Secretary and Development Commissioner and Amrendra Sinha.
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Islam did not spread because of the sword, but because general people of these regions felt that being a Muslim would lead to a better life
By Chowdhury Abd-Allah Quaseed
There are millions of Muslims all over the world, who rant about the lost glory of Muslims and the fall of the Islamic empire. They lament about how the dominion of Muslims – stretching from Spain from the West to the islands of Indonesia in the East, covering the whole of Central Asia, including former southern Soviet states, the Middle East, the whole northern African belt and the Indian subcontinent – was a glowing beacon of progress and advancement, through the middle ages when Europe was plunged in darkness and anarchy.
And then how it suddenly collapsed, allowing Europe and America to usurp the throne of global power, sending the Muslims back to the rear, where they have been languishing ever since.
The clerics in all the mosques pray for the re-emergence of Muslims as a united global power. Many wish for the day when Muslims can again hold a leading position of prestige and power in the world: where they won’t be viewed as suspicious violence-seekers or terrorists, or a backward regressive people, obsessed with suppression of women and the divesting of oneself from all the enjoyments of modern life.
But some of the Muslims, specially the clerics and the preachers, and even many of the members of the present young generation – who have recently become profoundly inspired by the teachings of leading Islamic scholars, at home and abroad and on the many TV channels dedicated to the preaching of Islam – feel that this status of importance can be attained through conversion of all the people of all the countries into Muslims.
They believe it should happen not only through zealous philosophising and teaching, but also through eventual establishment of a Khalifate empire across the world, governed according to strict religious laws, and administered by a central leader or governing body. In fact, there are many enthusiasts who are actively working towards what they feel is that end.
As a Muslim, I feel that it would indeed be wonderful if we could have a world where all the people could become Muslims, or at least a few billion more people could be converted to Islam. However, I would maintain that this should only be done through inspiration and not by force or compulsion, fear or the stimulation of feelings of guilt, and intimidation through constant vivid depictions of the horrors of hell, and most certainly not through violence.
We must not forget that at present, despite all the tireless efforts of such agents of the spread of the religion, there are only 1.5 out of 7 billion people of this world who call themselves Muslims. Among these people, more than half would be moderate Muslims, enjoying a significant blending of western cultures into their lives, while a quarter could be the more stauncher breed, and another quarter who, though allow themselves to be classified as Muslims, do not comply with almost any of the religious practices nor even the rituals.
Though I personally feel that it would be fascinating to enlist an additional quarter of the global population to our faith, I don’t think it is something that can be attained very easily, or in as short a time as many expect. And I hope that the delay does not frustrate those on the mission to spread Islam through preaching, into losing patience and adopting more radical means of expansion, such as political or military takeover.
I want Islam to spread, but gradually. I would prefer the spread to be of the more moderate kind of Islam that is practiced in most countries, so that the remaining people of the world would understand us better, be better able to identify with us, and find lesser reasons to fear us. That would draw people towards us and our ways even more.
Perhaps there should be more emphasis towards encouraging the Muslims who are so just by name, to take up more practices of the religion rather than trying to bring in new members to the faith.
And while I would love to have all the Muslim nations have peace between themselves and internally within them, which so many of them at present do not have, and to work with unity among themselves on many global issues, I do not feel the need to try and bring them all under any single leadership, as that does not seem to be a practical nor a necessary objective at this point in time.
In fact, I am very skeptical about the desire for creation of a single empire, for efforts towards that or propaganda related to that. It may be interpreted by the rest of the world as a camouflaged political desire for world domination rather than the spread of religion.
The more the zealous preachers speak of such Khalifate empires, I apprehend that we will only invoke more resistance and fear against ourselves – which we can well do without, and which will only retard our growth and progress as a race.
I as a moderate Muslim earnestly feel that the preachers should emphasise on the people willingly taking up the Islamic practices, from their own “awakening” rather than enforcing through governmental legislation. Only then would the multitudes embrace Islam wholeheartedly. Then the need for such legal or political coercion would not even arise.
The way to make Islam thrive again in the world is, according to me, to re-establish the reasons for which the Muslims were respected and to add to that list. So, what is really needed is for Muslims to flourish in every field of profession and rise to global fame and excellence.
If we examine history, we would find that Muslims from the 600s to the mid 1600s were among the most educated and enlightened people of the time. They were the ones who made the greatest advancements in science, astronomy, engineering, architecture, trade and commerce, in medicine, in surgery and much more.
They were great orators, poets, artists, builders and in their personal lives, they appeared to be relatively more peaceful, decent, honest, averse to negative elements such as corruption, fraud and rampant debauchery.
In general Muslims, even among non-Muslims were respected for all of these reasons and for being upright and just, and so were mostly sought out as leaders and arbitrators. Muslims had the biggest libraries and universities where knowledge seekers from around the world would come to study. Indeed back in those times, it was a matter of pride and fashion to be a Muslim.
Islam at that time was perceived as a religion that promoted open-mindedness, curiosity and thought and introspection as well as intellectual discourse. But tragically, with the dawn of the 1700s, came the emergence of the more fundamentalist form of Islam preached by people who were not endowed with the former wisdom, and one that discouraged all quest for knowledge beyond religious teachings.
From that point onwards came the downfall of the Muslims, which we deplore today.
If tens of thousands of Muslims could earn global recognition and fame, even if it be in fields that are traditionally not considered Islamic such as sports and entertainment, these thousands of individual achievements by Muslims all over the world will be what will raise the social and global perception about Muslims and draw more people towards the religion.
They will see that Islam offers them a good disciplined life and also allows them to materialise their dreams instead of only stifling them with religion most of the time, which is an unfortunate impression the world has about the religion because of the way it is preached at present.
Imagine if only, there were Muslims who could win at least two to three dozen Nobel Prizes in various arenas, over the next few decades, a few hundred Olympic medals (being clinched even by female Muslim athletes); if there were dozens of global prize winning authors writing about science, and all subjects; and even if there were a few dozen actors and actresses winning Oscars and other international arts and film awards, all of whom members of the faith; if there were great entrepreneurs (beyond Arab sheikhs) who climbed onto the list of global billionaires through intelligent and ethical enterprise; if there were a hundred top international pop stars, musicians, journalists, global TV presenters, etc of both genders who could proudly call themselves Muslims, and practice at least some of the principal rituals of the religion, at the very least in their personal and family lives. Indeed, then Islam would truly get a boost in its global reputation.
If Muslims never indulged in acts of violence, if Muslims were active members of the communities where they lived, if Muslims helped non-Muslims around the world, and did not just pray about people of their own religion only, as is done in many mosques (specially in Bangladesh), but for the world, Islam would regain its glory in the modern times.
We need to realise that in over 300 years, Muslims cannot claim to have contributed anything of significance to the advancement of human civilisation in the realm of science, medicine, industrialisation, engineering or any of the limbs on which humanity has walked up to here. They did not make any electricity, any machines, no electronic devices, not even transportation means. Muslims have not created any of the things that they are using all the time.
However, they often are using the technologies to malign or criticise people of other races that in fact invented these with their hard work and properly applied intelligence. And to intensify the despair of the moderate Muslims, there are some Muslims who have only served to make the followers of Islam appear to be the kind that rejects the existence of other races and religions, undermines them, and views them condescendingly.
This polarisation, further precipitated through occasional acts of violence and promises of violence by terrorist organisations has brought Muslims to their present plight of being considered synonymous for trouble. And that is the image we need to change for the Muslims to regain their glory.
Muslims also have to embrace people of all religions. Be more open to befriend others, and adapt more to people of other beliefs as well, without hampering their (the Muslim’s) own core values.
Muslims across the world should not seclude themselves from the communities they live in, in countries where they are a minority, fearing the others to be evil contaminants, but engage with them socially.
Muslims need to globalise and popularise the Islamic festivals, such as the two Eids, and involve people of all religions in celebrating these occasions through the hosting of feasts, special cultural programmes and perhaps even carnivals, fairs etc.
These occasions have to become like Christmas is all over the world, and how some pujas and Diwali are rapidly becoming in all places where Indians live. Islam must welcome everyone warmly to enjoy its festive spirit.
It has to appear to be a religion that can be fun too, and not reminiscent of the strict Puritans or the Amish sects of Christianity in the previous century, who were avoided by most for their rejection of modern advancements and all forms of enjoyment and entertainment.
Islam should promote decency and sobriety and the benefit of setting certain limits maybe, but should not brand itself as a complete reversal to the way of life people have become used to.
I understand that those who propagate the idea of the establishment of a Khalifate empire as the best and the quickest way to re-assert the glory of Muslims, may tend to disagree. But we need to understand that the so-called Islamic empire, which they would like to revive, was never one single empire. It comprised a large number of separate empires or kingdoms, many of whom were in fact embroiled in territorial battles with each other, and all of it did not also exist at the same time either.
For instance, the political control of Spain and many parts of North Africa were long gone by the 1400s and 1500s, which was when Muslim rulers gained control of the Indian subcontinent and regions further East. Also, it needs to be noted that the spreading of Islam was never the core objective of these imperialist expansions of territories but were in actuality, politically motivated.
The spread of Islam was a fortunate by-product catalysed and facilitated by the presence of Muslim rulers in those realms. It also needs to be pointed out that legal coercion or legislation never succeeded in spreading Islam.
The rulers who tried it were the ones defeated and ousted, or their policies led to the collapse of those empires, such as Emperor Aurungzeb bringing the collapse of Mughal rule. It was only emperors and kings who not only encouraged Islam through incentives and financial benefits, but also adopted an otherwise secular and tolerant approach to all other religions. They were the most successful in establishing Islam in those regions. Most of the earlier Mughal emperors are the best examples of that.
Indeed, Islam did not spread because of the sword, but because general people of these regions felt that being a Muslim would lead to a better life, not just spiritually, but in a worldly sense as well.
Muslims manifested certain traits that inspired people into wanting to emulate them and embrace the reason they felt was the cause for them being the way they were. Islam was a religion that spread harmony and unity among faiths, manifested by the crowds of non-Muslims thronging to the shrines and mausoleums of the Sufi saints all across India.
This is how we Muslims can truly re-emerge as a race that can be respected all over the world. We should all try to become ambassadors of the faith, become living proof that the religion gives us the inner strength to move on and achieve great things in all aspects of life.
If we can live in a way that inspires others to grow the spiritual faith inside their souls and carry the essence of the religion in their hearts at all times, the more literal believers will be discouraged from decrying such persons of excellence in their respective fields – who may not follow the version of Islam as preached by the more fundamental preachers – as being poor examples of what a proper Muslim ought to be; when Muslims can be the harbingers of peace across the world, and when the sheer charisma of Muslims inspires others to follow and emulate them.
I, as a moderate Muslim, also look forward to that day when being a Muslim is synonymous with being disciplined, law abiding, upright, courageous, generous, protective of the weak, chivalrous, wise, talented – the kind of person who would be given a privileged welcome in all the immigration desks around the world in every airport!
(Courtesy: Dhaka Tribune)
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Arabs in Indian oceans : One thousand years of peace and Harmony
By Tariq A. Al-Maeena
During the 9th Century, what's we call the "Medieval era" the Arab Islamic dynasties have reached their peaks.They expanded their voyages eastwards, towards India and China, in search of trade. In the 9th and 10th centuries, an assortment of Persians, Arabs, Abyssinians, all Muslims, speaking Arabic and therefore conveniently called 'Arabs' dominated the overseas trade from Baghdad/Basra/Hadramout to China. The Muslims of Sri Lanka and Kerala (a South Indian state) were a part of this trade operation.
According to Historians Elliot and Dowson in their book The History of India as told by its own Historians, the first ship bearing Muslim travellers was seen on the Indian subcontinent coast as early as 630 AD. There is evidence that there were Muslim merchant settlements in Sri Lanka as early as the 7th century. M. A. M. Shukri has used the Arabic (Kufi) inscriptions in Sri Lanka to throw light on the origins of Sri Lanka's Muslims. He says that the Sri Lanka Moors originally came from Aleppo, a city in Syria. ('Sri Lanka and the Silk Road of the Sea' p181)
Apparently there is an Arabic document in the possession of one of the oldest Moor families in Beruwela. It said that in 604 AD two sons of the Royal family of Yemen came to Lanka, one settled in Mannar the other in Beruwela (Daily News 25.9. 98. p 16).
Marakkalayar/Sonahar (Tamil) or Marikkala/ Yon (Sinhala) is a name given to the Moors of Sri Lanka and in Kerala they are known as the Mappilas or Marakkar which can be translated as (Marakkalam is a wooden boat) ‘boatmen’. the word Marakkar is usually derived from the Arabic ‘Markab’, a boat. The story goes that, when the first Arabic Yemenis landed on the shores of Sri Lanka, they were naturally asked by the natives, who they were, and where they came from. In answer they pointed to their boats, and pronounced the word Markab, and they became in consequence "Marakkalaya", or the people of Markab.
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When the Portuguese first appeared off the shores of Sri Lanka, the Muslims warned the king, sangha, nobles and the people of the potential threat to the country's soveriegnty. When the Portuguese tried to gain a foothold in Colombo, the Muslims provided firearms, fought side by side with the Sinhalese and even used their influence from with the Malabar Zamorin South Indian powers to get military asistance to Sinhalese rulers. Through the intervention of the Muslims, the Zamorin of Calicut (Kozhikode) sent three distinguished Moors of Cochin with forces to help Mayadunne.
When the Dutch appeared and persecuted the Muslims in their coastal settlements, the Muslims ran to the Kandyan Kingdom. Senerat (1604-1635) and Rajasimha II (1635-1687) settled these Muslims in the Eastern coast. King Senerath appointed nearly 4000 Moorish Arab warriors in his army against dutch, these warriors were the ancestors of the large concentration of Muslims in the populous areas like Kathankudy in the Eastern Province. In Sri Lanka, as everywhere they went, the Portuguese made a special point of persecuting the Muslims. As a consequence, many fled the western littoral which had passed under Portuguese control, and settled in the north and east of the island where their descendants live to the present day. during the 15th century AD, 10,000 Arab soldiers and their families were slaughtered in Weligama (Arabic: as-Salawat, a city further to the south of Berberyn sinhala Beruwala) mercilessly by the Portuguese who were renowned for their barbarity towards those who oppose them. The family names of the current Muslims in the region affirm the early ancestry.
Arabs also functioned as physicians in Sri Lanka and Kerala, and presumably they practised Unani medicine. at this time, Unani had been practised in its pure form in towns like Calicut (India), Cochin (India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Galle (Sri Lanka) and Beruwela (Sri Lanka).
The Dutch also appointed two Arabs as local physicians in their hospitals, and one of them, Mira Lebbe Mestriar was thereafter appointed as Native Superintendent of the Medical Department in 1806 by the British.
Another important function of he Muslims in the Kandyan Court, was that they acted as envoys to the King. One Arab Muslim envoy had been sent to the Nawab of Carnatic. Another had been sent to Pondicherry soliciting French assistance against the Dutch, in 1765. The King also made use of his Muslim subjects to keep abreast of developments outside his kingdom. The Arab Muslims were useful in this respect because of their trade links and knowledge of languages.
There have been Arabs in Sri Lanka for well over a thousand years. Trading dhows plied the waters between the Middle East and the island known to Arab sailors - like the legendary Sinbad - as Serendib even in pre-Islamic times. The first Arab merchants and sailors may have landed on its shores during the Prophrt Muhammad (PBUH)'s life time. By the 10th century this predominantly Arab community had grown influential enough to control the trade of the south-western ports, whilst the Sinhalese kings generally employed Muslim ministers to direct the state's commercial affairs.
(Courtesy: Mareeg.com)
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By Kamal Wadhwa
With the modernization of their armed forces, both India and Pakistan are again locked into a military lockjaw that may ultimately lead to that fatal embrace - given the new developments on the sub-continent such as the setting up of an Indian Air Force base in Tajikistan. Except that now there is no turning away from good neighborliness and the unpleasant realities of forever having to stare at each other - be it from field binoculars or the look-down facility offered by reconnaissance airplanes and spy satellites.
Not too long ago, the deposed former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, sought to unlock his nation from the permanent hostility of the Indo-Pakistani embrace after his dream of a secular and democratic Pakistan had been resoundingly rejected by everyone of note in that ill-starred country. He now turned the eyes of the Pakistani nation towards the Muslim world where Pakistan was respected and looked up to as a natural leader of great energy and vision.
Pakistan thereafter became an Islamic republic with Islam enshrined as the State religion in its very Constitution. Bhutto now focused his eyes on creating the only platform that could yet enable Pakistan to secure a place on the world map - on the fragile Pakistani economy- that could not yet free itself from American largesse and the resultant interference in Pakistani foreign policy.
Pakistan may well have become a great Islamic nation because the entire Muslim world was a ready receptacle for Bhutto's grand vision - even willing to pay for it without recompense- unlike those hated Americans whose influence in Pakistani affairs was finally to lead Bhutto to his grave.
Had Pakistan finally managed to separate itself from its permanent engagement with India, it may well have become a stable and prosperous country. Bhutto was even ready to put the Kashmir issue on the backburner to attain that end. Indeed, India too could have benefited immensely from Bhutto's vision and secured its own development budget against the periodic imbalances caused by unpredictable military expenditures. Alas, that dispensation was not to be and the deadlock between the two neighbors continues to this day.
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Then, too, most Muslims outside India believe Hindus to be idolatrous and regard Hinduism to be an unworthy religion. This is the mindset in much of the Islamic world and it is reflected in the refusal of Saudi Arabia to allot jobs to Hindus even when they are well-qualified. Yet no Indian government has taken up serious issue with this valid concern because it has a large, established and vociferous Muslim minority within its own borders. This is the permanent and surreal tragedy of the Indian republic from which there seems to be no real escape!
However, it is the bonhomie and conviviality of Indo-Pakistani diplomacy that tell a different tale, no less sordid in other aspects. After the periodic bloodletting on their borders, both India and Pakistan send their seasoned and topmost diplomats for parleys, negotiations and Confidence Building Measures (CBMs). Hospitality is shared, pleasantries exchanged and a flurry of diplomatic memos is passed between peers who have illustrious lineages, expensive foreign education and sartorial elegance that would put British royalty to shame. And, what's more, they like each other's company!
Yet, curiously enough, nothing concrete or substantial has emerged from this decades-long diplomatic endeavor between India and Pakistan though both sides express full satisfaction at the pace and seriousness of the dialogue undertaken by their diplomats. Diplomatic parleys are buttressed by Indo-Pakistani cricket tours where the very decency and civility of the game create feelings of camaraderie and brotherhood so that all loose talk of Kashmir is drowned out in the resounding din of adulating crowds who by now can judge each bowler or batsman on his own merits - be he Indian or Pakistani! In brief, Indo-Pakistani diplomacy and cricket have survived the British Raj on the sub-continent!
However, it is the occasional and unexpected act of resentment by some lowly official in India or Pakistan that shows the hardening of attitudes on both sides of the border. When a former Prime Minister of Pakistan is snubbed by his generals who refuse to meet a visiting Indian premier, or indeed when an Indian ex-Prime Minister is not given deferential treatment worthy of his status by officials at the Wagah border checkpoint, the state of Indo-Pakistani relations begins to be seen in its true perspective.
For most Indians and Pakistanis, there can be no half-war, half-peace daily bombarded as they are by images of violence perpetrated by the other side - on TV, radio and the print media. Yet most maintain a complacent, even indifferent, attitude to the reality of Indo-Pakistani confrontation as they are caught in the daily toil of earning a livelihood. Until the demagogue and politician again take center stage at public meetings and exhort the crowds to commit greater acts of desperation and frenzy - and violence! That is the saga of Indo-Pakistani affairs as they stand now!
[Kamal Wadhwa has studied economics and political science at Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania. He is now a freelance writer and journalist based in Mumbai. He can be reached at wadhwa.kamal@ymailcom]
(Courtesy: Pravda)
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Nagpur: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation will start a Dr Abdul Kalam Computer Training and Employment Guarantee programme for women from Muslim community. The programme will be started from International Women's Day on March 8, 2014, announced chairperson of women and child welfare committee and BJP corporator Ashwini Jichkar.
Jichkar on Thursday convened a meeting to review various NMC programmes and projects for empowering women. She also reviewed the functioning of family counselling centres started at zone levels. The civic administration, which is acting on Central Government directives, and these centres provides information to women about their rights, address cases of domestic violence and other social issues. Experts from non-government organisations provide counselling to women to solve civil cases including family disputes, land disputes and disputes with government departments and organizations.
Besides, the civic body also provides training programme for women self-help groups in each zone. Social welfare officer (NMC) Sudha Iraskar informed Jichkar about UPSC and MPSC exam centres being run by the civic body for women hailing from weaker section of the society. The NMC also provides insurance cover for fairer sex between 10 and 75 years.
NMC health officer Dr Savita Meshram also informed that the NMC provided free ambulance through phone No 102 for women going into labour. After the meeting, Jichkar directed Iraskar to create awareness about these schemes among the woman citizens.
(Courtesy: The Times of India)
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By Rageshri Ganguly
Bhopal: Unhappy with the judgments given by qazis, muftis and maulvis, 'women shariat courts' along the lines of Darul Qaza (Islamic courts) will be set up in the state by the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) in the next six months.
In the first phase, the courts' ”Auraton ki Shariah Adalat” were set up in Dindigul (TN), Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad on July 6. In the second phase, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Orissa, UP, Bihar, Karnataka and Jharkhand will be taken up in six months' time, said a BMMA office-bearer.
The courts will handle cases relating to Muslim women, especially talaq, and dispense speedy justice. The BMMA is a secular organization led by Muslim women fighting for the citizenship rights of Muslims.
The all-women courts will function as per the injunctions of the Quran and dispense speedy justice to women. Initially, the BMMA will train 20 women on the rights of women as per the Quran.
"The BMMA received a lot of complaints from women from all over the country about unilateral divorce ('triple talaq') and refusal by husbands to give any maintenance or support," BMMA state convener Safia Akhtar told TOI. "There is practice of unilateral divorce, which is often communicated through a postcard, an SMS, a letter via relatives or just communication on the phone. All these go against the tenets of the Quran where there a time-bound process for divorce is laid down. The fact that husbands go to Darul Qaza (Islamic courts) and get fatwa (decree) from the qazi regarding talaq is unacceptable."
(Courtesy: The Times of India)
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By Shreya Bhandary
Mumbai: At a time when the education department is contemplating to file sedition charges against the members of the Board of Studies for printing a wrong Indian map in Class X Geography book, a group of teachers has pointed out 251 errors in Class X Urdu book and 537 in that of Class XII.
This in not the first time that errors have cropped up in Urdu texts. Earlier this year, a string of mistakes were found in the Class IX book.
This has happened at a time when the state education department is contemplating filing sedition charges over the Board of Studies (BOS) members who printed a map of India in the class X Geography textbook which showed Arunachal Pradesh as part of China's territory.
"I have spent the last few weeks checking every page of Class X and XII Urdu textbooks. I found 251 errors in the Class X book, and 537 mistakes in the Class XII book, which has only 128 pages," said Shafi Shaikh, ex-head, Arabic department, Mumbai University.
According to Shaikh, the books, which were released after the syllabi were upgraded this year, have grammatical and factual errors. Besides, names of writers have been printed wrong and erroneous meanings have been given to several Urdu terms. For example, nawaah has been referred to as dehaati hissah or 'rural portion', while its correct meaning is 'suburban area'. "Some of the content is also offensive to Muslims. Every time we take the name of the Prophet, it has to be followed by 'Peace be upon Him', but this bit is missing in parts of the books," said Shaikh. , who has compiled a list of errors and their corrections.
"Board of Studies members, who compiled the books, have mutilated them."
These mistakes have cropped up despite a group of Urdu teachers, principals and experts visiting the education department early this year to highlight mistakes in the Class IX book. "We handed over a list of errors in the Class IX book to ministers. Only those have been changed," This shows that the department has not made any effort to check for any more errors," said Najma Kazi, principal of Anjuman-I-Islam's Saif Tyabji Girls' School. Many principals have received complaints about this same issue from their teachers and are now feeling helpless.
As the education department has not offered any help so far, the Urdu Headmasters' Association is preparing an index of all the Class X and XII errors and corrections, which will be circulated to all Urdu schools. "We can't have children studying such material before appearing for their board exams," said Kazi.
Board secretary Sarjerao Jadhav told TOI the errors would be rectified when the new edition of the books would be sent for print for the next session. He said, "Those who write the books are experts. If they make errors, how can the board be blamed?" We hope that teachers will notice the errors and only teach the correct content in class," said Jadhav.
(Courtesy: The Times of India)
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A landmark Supreme Court decision allows thousands of Maharashtra students to take medical entrance tests in their native language -- Urdu.
By Altaf Ahmad
New Delhi: Thanks to the courage of a few, thousands of Muslim students now have a greater chance of pursuing their dreams of getting into medical colleges, after the Supreme Court mandated that eligibility exams be offered in Urdu.
On May 2nd, a three-judge bench headed by Justice Altamas Kabir required the Central Board of School Education (CBSE) to conduct the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) in Urdu medium in Maharashtra within eight weeks, which is the native language of most Indian Muslims.
The verdict follows when Ansari Mahin Fatima and 20 other students from Milliya Junior College (MJC) in Beed, Maharashtra filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court seeking inclusion of Urdu as a medium of language in the test.
"The decision has boosted my morale and I am hopeful of faring well in the test," Fatima, 18, told Khabar South Asia. "Ever since my childhood I have aspired to become a doctor. The Urdu medium will come handy in realising my dream," she said. "I can prove my talent through the medium of Urdu."
Boosting morale and opportunity
As many as 7,800 aspirants from 227 junior colleges were likely to take the Urdu-language NEET this year in Maharashtra alone, petitioners said.
Nineteen-year old Delhi Mater Dei School student Abeer Hassan said she looked forward to earning her spot on the medical college selection list.
"Earlier I could not apply for MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) courses due to the exclusion of the Urdu language from [the] question papers," Hassan said. "This historic decision will enable me to write the answers in my native tounge."
Muhammad Najam-u-din, 52, lecturer at MJC, and co-ordinator for Urdu language instruction, told Khabar, "The landmark judgment will bring Urdu medium students on par with the English medium students."
Many Urdu-speaking students "will be encouraged to pursue their career in prestigious medical courses including MBBS and BDS (Bachelor of Dentistry and Surgery)," Najam-u-din said. "Through the decision, the court has addressed the aspirations of minority Muslims in the country."
Legal experts say the court addressed the discrimination experienced by Muslim aspirants.
"The decision to conduct entrance test in English, Hindi and six other regional languages, excluding Urdu, was highly arbitrary, discriminatory and in clear violation of Article 14 and 21 of the constitution," Shakil Ahmad Syed, counsel for the petitioners, told Khabar.
"Now [Urdu-speaking] students will get an equal opportunity to compete in the entrance test for admission to the coveted profession," he added. "Significantly, the court has set a precedent for Urdu medium students across the country to take part in the entrance test with authority."
Opportunity for madrassa students
Madrassa students and instructors were satisfied with the decision, but demanded the verdict be made final and extended to all other states.
Moulana Azeemullah Siddiqi, 35, a spokesman for Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind (JUH), an association advocating for the rights of Muslims and one of the petitioners in the case, told Khabar, "The decision will stimulate interest among thousands of Urdu medium students, including those studying in madrassas, to choose prestigious medical courses as their careers."
Siddiqi said the decision partially addresses the organisation's long-held demand that Urdu gain status as an official language in India.
"It is a welcome decision especially for Muslims, who prefer Urdu as a medium of language in competitive entrance tests," Muhammad Zakwan Nadwi 37, editor at Centre for Peace and Spirituality in New Delhi, told Khabar.
(Courtesy: Khabar South Asia)
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By Khushita Vasant
The second lady of the United States, Jill Biden, showed up at a Muslim girls’ school in Mumbai Thursday morning to praise their focus on education, urging them to draw inspiration from the courage of Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager who was shot by the Taliban for her outreach on education.
“I know you just saw Malala’s remarkable speech in front of the UN. And wasn’t she so brave?” Ms. Biden said. “We all want the opportunity to pursue our dreams and be treated with respect, regardless of our gender. We want to be able to take care of our families… The thing that makes that all possible is education,” she added.
This is Ms. Biden’s maiden visit to India, where she finished up a four-day tour of India with her husband, Vice President Joe Biden. They left Thursday for Singapore after visiting New Delhi and Mumbai for a strategic visit with policymakers and business executives to discuss trade, regional security and maritime cooperation.
Their daughter, Ashley, accompanied Ms. Biden to the school. She and the Bidens’ son-in-law, Howard Krein, toured India with them.
At the Anjuman-I-Islam school on Thursday, Ms. Biden, an educator herself, teaching English at a community college, first stopped by a couple of classrooms, where she chatted with students, shaking hands with each one in the room of about 60.
She then proceeded to address a hall packed with about 400 students in eleventh and twelfth grades.
“I’m very lucky because I get to travel around the world with my husband, the vice president of the United States and we were very fortunate that my daughter and I could come on this trip to India,” Ms. Biden said in a speech.
She said one of her favorite things to do while travelling is to visit schools and meet young women.
“You know the world can be a tough place for young women, but you are doing exactly what needs to happen… you all are putting your education first,” Ms. Biden said.
The second lady spoke about Ms. Yousafzai, the 16-year-old Pakistani student targeted by the Taliban for her activism on education.
Quoting from Ms. Yousafzai’s speech on free compulsory education earlier this month at the United Nations, Ms. Biden said education is the only solution for a better world.
Ms. Yousafzai’s passion is ensuring women around the world have access to educational opportunities, just like yours, Ms. Biden said.
“As Malala said, ‘Let us pick up our books and our pens, they are the most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world. Education is the only solution. Education first,’” Ms. Biden said.
“You know there is a tendency to think about how big the world is but as I travel around and as I hear speeches like Malala’s, you realize how small the world is and how similar we all are,” she said.
Zufishan Zafar, a 16-year old science student, was the emcee at the school function. Ms. Biden spontaneously gave Ms. Zafar a long hug on the dais, which drew thunderous applause from the students.
When Ms. Biden finished her speech, she stepped down to mingle with the students, drawing them, one by one, into her arms, as they stood up from their seats to greet her.
At that, a reporter whispered to a U.S. consulate press attaché, asking, “Do we also get hugs?” To which he said, “Of course not! I know you just want to ask her a question.”
(Courtesy: The Wall Street Journal)
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By Chetan Chauhan
New Delhi: Compared to other religious groups, the Muslim community has witnessed the sharpest decline in sex ratio — dropping from 968 women for 1,000 Muslim men in 2004-05 to 922 in 2009-10.
A report by National Sample Survey Office shows that the Muslim sex ratio suffered due to a huge fall in the number of females in rural India.
In 2004-05, there were 968 women for 1,000 Muslim men in rural areas which dropped to 921 in 2009-10. The drop is more drastic considering there were 990 women for 1,000 rural Muslim men in 1999-2000.
Sex ratio in Hindus also fell. In rural areas, there were 961 women for 1,000 Hindu men in 2004-05 which dropped to 949 in 2009-10.
However, the sex ratio in rural Christian community rose from 994 in 2004-05 to 1,012 in 2009-10.
The overall sex ratio for India in 2009-10 was 947 women for 1,000 men whereas for Muslims it was 922.
In urban area, the drop was less with 932 women for 1,000 Muslim men in 2004-05 which declined to 923 in 2009-10. In 1999-2000, the sex ratio was 912.
In the urban Hindu community, the sex ratio dropped to 902 women for 1,000 Hindu men in 2009-10 as compared to 912 in 2004-05.
Once again the Christian community came out on top with 1,012 urban women for 1,000 men in 2009-10, up from 1,000 in 2004-05.
India’s sex ratio as per 2011 Census was 940 females for 1,000 men, but data categorised along religious lines has not been released yet.
(Courtesy: Hindustan Times)
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IMO News Service
Washington DC: The Association of Indian Muslims of America (AIM), Washington DC, has released information on schools built by them in India in recent years as part of their program to develop education in the Muslim community in India.
The schools are: (1.) AIM-FD Industrial Technical Training Center, Jamalpur, Ahmedabad, built in 2007; (2.) Saima Mansoor Higher Secondary School, Parsara, District Hathras, UP, built in 2009; (3.) AIM Junior High School, Kopepur, District Faizabad, UP, built in 2011 ; (4.) AIM Junior High School, Tewra, District Muzaffarnagar, UP, built in 2013.These non-profit schools are new schools built by AIM in low income Muslim majority districts and are being operated by local charitable Muslim organizations to promote education in the needy segments of the community. The schools charge nominal tuition fees from the students; the differences between income from tuition fees and operating expenses are borne by AIM. These schools follow the Indian Government approved Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) curriculam.
AIM's Education Program plan comprises of building one school every two years in a different city. The next school AIM is planning to build will be a Junir High School in Gujarat. In addition to building schools, AIM provides financial assistance to needy students from the community and relief & rehabilitation assistance to victims of natural disasters and sectarian violence. AIM also operates an active program to develop friendly relation between Muslims and others in India.
AIM, established in 1985 and located in Washington DC, is a non-profit, Non Governmental Organization (NGO) of Indian-American Muslims who live in North America. It is dedicated to assisting the development of the socioeconomically and educationally backward Muslim community in India. More information on AIM's activities can be obtained from its website, http://www.AimAmerica.org.
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