Indian Muslim Observer

The practice is "recommended" and according to "tradition", although it can not be made compulsory. For the head of the MUI it is within the "human rights" and is "guaranteed by the Constitution." Judge who "joked" about rape of women risks expulsion from judiciary.

By Mathias Hariyadi

Jakarta: The Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) is in favour of female circumcision (and men) that, although it can not be considered mandatory, it is still "morally recommended." This is shown by the words of the leader of the largest Islamic organization in the most populous Muslim country in the world. He warns, however, to avoid "excesses", coming to the removal or cutting of the clitoris. In the meantime, has come under investigation and will be prosecuted by a court "ethical" the judge who, in recent days, he "joked" about sexual violence to women, causing a veritable wave of outrage (see AsiaNews 15/01 / 2013 Ordinary Indonesians against judges and politicians who "justify" sexual violence).

The reference point for Islamic issues (such as the legality of a food and a drink), a "consultor" to the government in matters of faith, the body responsible for issuing fatwas - the answers on Muslim questions of faith and morals - the MUI has taken a position on female circumcision. And by the mouth of his head, Kiai Hajj Amin Ma'ruf, pointed out that it is an"advisable practise on moral grounds", at the same time, he rejects any attempt to declare this practice illegal or contrary to the principles. It comes under the sphere of "human rights," said the Islamist leader, and is "guaranteed by the Constitution."

"Female circumcision - said Amin - is commonly practiced by cutting out parts that cover the clitoris" and, at the same time, he invites believers to refrain from "excessive circumcision" that ends up becoming a real mutilation genital. He recalled that the Mui can not make this practice "mandatory", but "strongly rejects" the possible cancellation of this "tradition" which is performed in a "ritualistic ceremony" and also applies to men.

Meanwhile, a committee has called for trial before an "ethical" court for the judge Daming Sunusi. During a question and answer session - in the context of a competition for a few places in the Supreme Court, headed by a parliamentary committee - responding to a question regarding a rape, the judge had stated that "both the rapist because the victim 'enjoyed' sexual intercourse . For this reason the death penalty should not be applied to rapists".

Colleagues have branded the words of the judge Sunusi as "reprehensible", which have outraged the country's civil society and women's rights groups, rape and abuse victims. The proposed sanctions include expulsion from the judiciary. Following his statement he has tried to tone down the controversy by saying that it was a "joke" in order to ease the tension of the exam.

(Courtesy: AsiaNews.it)

By Kiran Khalid

When Malala Yousufzai was shot for demanding that Pakistani girls receive an education, the world took notice. But the din from the 15 year-old's assassination attempt by the Taliban resonated perhaps most loudly for people like Nadia Malik, the co-founder of the Global Partnership for Women and Girls.

"After the reality of what happened settled in, it only emphasized how important our mission is," Malik said.

In January 2012, the Global Partnership for Women and Girls was formed to promote the educational and economic advancement of Muslim women and girls. The fund is a special project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and has funded pilot projects in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt, Senegal and the Palestinian territories.

Malik's mission with the Global Partnership for Women and Girls is a simple concept with complex realities. The philanthropy supports Muslim women and girls and their communities by investing in strategic and innovative nongovernmental organizations. The fund tries to accomplish this goal in societies where there is no level playing field for women.

"According to data from the Pew Research Center, Muslims represent 22% of the world's population," Malik said. "Yet Muslim-majority countries only contribute 11.2% to global GDP. There are more than 800 million Muslim women and girls in the world who represent an eighth of the world's population, but gender disparities contribute to the gap in global GDP."

But Malik says the Global Partnership for Women and Girls knows that the approach in Muslim societies needs to be sensitive to the local culture in order to work. In Afghanistan, the group partners with the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organization to train 100 imams and 25 active female leaders to address women's rights across madrassas, or religious schools, in the war-ravaged country.

The program is changing the way women are perceived. Malik describes an incident after one of the Friday sermons when an elderly man spoke out, clearly moved by the experience.

"He said, 'I have committed all sorts of violence against my daughters. I have received walwar (bride price) for them. I stopped them from getting an education. I forced their marriages. They are suffering every day because of my wrongs. Why were these imams not talking on these issues before?' "

Malik says that reaction is evidence that the program is working.

"Men are very much a part of the solution. Without engaging men and boys in some aspect of our work, the sustainability of the varied projects could be adversely impacted," she said. "This training effort is an important step in dispelling the myths of human rights in Islam and combating domestic violence."

The project, in partnership with he Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organization, is also a Clinton Global Initiative Commitment. Director Jamila Afghani says the program is its own kind of revolution because religious leaders once known for oppressing women now use the words of the Quran to promote fairness for them.

"These imams then have to work with other imams and preach the issue of women rights during the Jumma Khutbas (Friday sermons) to the public attending the prayers, so by this way we could reach thousands of people both male and female," Afghani wrote in an e-mail.

A similar project in neighboring Pakistan is also under way. Teacher training in female madrassas in Pakistan was broadened to include subjects such as math, science, history, gender equality, non-violence and human rights. Malik said this project was particularly successful because the local tribal leaders believed in its importance.

"We know how important it is to work within the local communities to address these challenges and opportunities in a way that is non-threatening to their environment. GPWG believes that these challenges are global but the solutions are indeed local," Malik said.

The fact that these programs are occurring in regions plagued by conflict is not lost on organizers who say the prospect of gender equality promotes peace.

"Peace and prosperity abroad means peace and prosperity for all of us in America," Malik said.

"It's in our national interest to invest in women and girls."

(Courtesy: CNN)

By Rushdi Siddiqui

If your country is attacked by an army of women combatants, how would the Commander-in-Chief respond?

A. Send out the military which is dominated by males;
B. Enrol more females, hence, a mix of soldiers to respond;
C. Send out an all-female military response; or
D. Assume no response is necessary as the attack will not be successful.

News flash: US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta announced that the Pentagon will end the long-standing prohibition on women serving in direct combat.

What exactly is a frontline war zone?

The news flash has created a flashpoint of debate on women in combat; however, the issue is actually deeper. It is about the roles of women in society, especially during war time.
Much research and many articles have been published on the relative strength of women and the associated issues and effects of women operating in an all-male unit combat zone. Even calorific intake is said to be strictly controlled in battle zones: 3,950 calories a day for men, 2,700 for women. But perhaps there has been less focus on the exact conditions that frontline combatants live under in the gruelling war zones especially in today’s global landscape.

A former marine, Ryan Smith, wrote in the Wall Street Journal on January 23, 2013: “Most people seem to believe that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have merely involved driving out of a forward operating base, patrolling the streets, maybe getting in a quick firefight, and then returning to the forward operating base and its separate shower facilities and chow hall … I served in the 2003 invasion of Iraq as a marine infantry squad leader. We rode into war crammed in the back of amphibious assault vehicles. They are designed to hold roughly 15 marines snugly; due to maintenance issues, by the end of the invasion we had as many as 25 men stuffed into the back. Marines were forced to sit, in full gear, on each other’s laps and in contorted positions for hours on end. That was the least of our problems … Sometimes we spent over 48 hours on the move without exiting the vehicles. We were forced to urinate in empty water bottles inches from our comrades.”

Is it a sign of progress?

History has recorded many women who participated in the battlefront. There was Queen Boudica, who led the Britons against Rome; Joan of Arc of France. Women fought in the First World War and in the Second World War, British and German women served in combat roles in anti-aircraft units. They were in the hundreds of thousands and said to have shot down thousands of enemy fliers. This was then widely accepted as they were not at risk of capture. But can we guarantee this today?

It’s well acknowledged the important role women play in society. Women are deemed less susceptible to temptation (corruption), they are also seen as better leaders in organisations, better at raising children, and, often, are the glue that keeps a family together, be it in a least, less, or developed world. The adage, educate a woman you educate a community was not said for no reason.

But will increasing the number of women in the military result in a more effective and efficient military? Follow-up question: is it a sign of “progress” for a country (or society or, even, civilisation) if women are given same option responsibility as men in protecting the country from the frontline? Will it in any way increase the fortunes of a society or a country?

Two schools of thought

Although women are built differently, the first school of thought on this debate is about “separate but equal” treatment and their talking points include:

● It is about objective standards, and if a soldier passes the various tests, physical, emotional, mental, etc., then they have earned the right to represent their country on the frontlines. However, it is rare to have the same people talk about the actual frontline experience of women under sustained fire and its impact over time.

● It is an opportunity to move up (fast track) the chain of command, and with women in higher places, women issues are better represented for informed solutions, hence, advancing career opportunities. This is the same argument put forth of need to have affirmative action quotas, be it the Bumiputera favourable treatment, a minimum set aside for board positions for women, and so on. Have such arguments prevailed in having Bumiputeras gain the targeted levels of economic parity? Or have boards recruited women based on competence or quota incentives?

The second and competing school of thought includes many former/present frontline combatants, and they have aired arguments against ending the prohibition, including:

● The physical demands of carrying 22kg of body-wear may be fine during training exercise, but under duress of conflict in hostile weather may result in lagging soldiers.

● Being able to carry injured colleagues (or retrieving killed soldier), weighing more than the carrier, to safer places for treatment. This actually places her directly in harm’s way.

● Stress and “distractions” of being in a fox-hole for extended period of time with male soldiers.

● The rate of suicide among men in combat, from Iraq to Afghanistan, has increased significantly, what of single mothers returning home?

● That time of month for women and the conditions in frontline battle fields.

● Being caught by enemy and torture includes rape and sexual assaults.

● Being bought back home in body bags.

Finally, it is well known that countries, like Israel, known to be on heightened alert of conflict, have banned women in combat as result of this experience.

History of women in conflicts

In Islam, according to narrations from the various historic accounts, Muslim women are exempted but are not prohibited to fight to defend their communities.

Muslim women can participate in battle zones with the Muslim army if the latter is a strong and powerful army and if there is no fear that Muslim women would be taken prisoners. Ibn Abdel Bar, an Islamic scholar, said: “They (the women) can go with the army if the army is strong enough to take hold of the enemy’s army.”

This is the opinion of all scholars and it is an imitation of a Sunnah that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) did and his companions followed.

The Prophet took his wives and some of the wives of the Muslims in several holy battles in the company of the Prophet (pbuh) as narrated in a sound hadith. But it was also narrated that the role of women was mostly limited to looking after the wounded and providing food and drink to the men. Where she is required to travel, it is narrated that she should only do so within the limits of her nature. During the Prophet Muhammad’s lifetime, Aisha (RA) participated in the early battles. During the Battle of Uhud, for example, Aishah distributed water bags to the Muslim combatants on the battlefield.

Amazon’s ancient warriors?

The Amazon warriors were said to be a group of warrior women who belonged to an all-female culture and society in Greek mythology. They were reputed for their fearsome battle and fighting skills. These women are said to be as strong as any man, and tall and powerful. The Amazon warriors’ exact location is unknown, although recent evidence has found some Amazon remains are located in Cumbria, England. Most sources do concur that the Amazonians were around in Roman times from around 27 BC to 1400 AD. Whether the Amazon women warriors were a myth or a reality, what was prevalent in their tradition and said existence is that they were warriors who lived in all-female communities.

My daughter

In the final analysis, we ask ourselves if we will let our daughters, sisters, wives draft for frontline battle.

Would I encourage my daughter to become a combatant in the frontlines? I wonder if the defence secretary’s boss, President Barak Obama, would also encourage his two daughters to participate in direct combat. Or, put differently, if they wanted to serve their country as frontliners, would the president or the first lady discourage them?

There are cases recorded even in the US military where women in frontline combat have been kidnapped by enemy soldiers and sexually assaulted. This, despite the training they received in how to avoid these things. When women take on frontline combat roles, their male colleagues may put themselves in harm’s way to protect the honour of their female colleagues in a way they never would for fellow male officers.

Obviously, one is patriotic to the country that has given them life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. But surely there other ways to demonstrate patriotism. Must we place women in the most dangerous lines of fire to demonstrate this in the name of equality? Can there not be better roles for women in light of their genetic predispositions and special talents?

My views cannot be better represented than by a 2007 article which John Piper wrote in World magazine:

“If I were the last man on the planet to think so, I would want the honour of saying no woman should go before me into combat to defend my country. A man who endorses women in combat is not pro-woman; he’s a wimp. He should be ashamed. For most of history, in most cultures, he would have been utterly scorned as a coward to promote such an idea. Part of the meaning of manhood as God created us is the sense of responsibility for the safety and welfare of our women.”

How would you react to the following comment?

“It ain’t combat until the lead is coming at you!”

(Courtesy: The Malaysia Insider)

One in five women in India and Egypt believe that the internet is not appropriate for them to use, according to a new study looking at female web use in the developing world.

By Emma Barnett

These women, polled by technology company Intel, believe that engaging online would not be useful for them and that if they did, their families would disapprove.

In some communities, societal norms restrict women from walking on the street and certainly from visiting cybercafés – which may be the only means of accessing a computer and therefore the web.

The report, entitled ‘Women and the Web’, found that the women in these countries who did use the internet were almost three times as likely as non-users to report that their families were ‘very supportive’ of their web usage – while non-users were six times more likely to report family opposition.

Intel commissioned the report to collate hard data to illustrate the large internet gender gap in the developing world – with a view to understanding the reasons for the divide in order to help more women get online in these countries through scholarships and community learning programs.

It also found that on average, across the developing world, nearly 25 per cent fewer women than men have access to the web, and the gap soars to nearly 45 per cent in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa.

"With the powerful capabilities the internet enables - to connect, to learn, to engage, to increase productivity, and to find opportunities - women's lack of access is giving rise to a second digital divide, one where women and girls risk being left further and further behind, "said Melanne Verveer, ambassador-at-large for Global Women's Issues at the U.S. Department of State, which helped compile the report. "My hope is that this report will catalyze action to close the internet gender gap. This will require knowledge, leadership, determination and collaboration among governments, public institutions, corporations, and civil society to tackle the wide range of gender-specific barriers to internet access."

"There is wide acknowledgement around the globe that women's empowerment is a basic issue of social and economic justice and also essential to wider social progress and sustainable development," added Michelle Bachelet, under-secretary-general and executive director of UN Women, which also worked with Intel to collate the findings.

"This report demonstrates that expanding access to the internet and technology for women and girls is critical to their improved education, increased opportunity and ability to foster entrepreneurship in countries around the world."

Those behind the report are now calling for governments, companies and communities to work together to help double the number of women and girls online in developing countries from 600 million today to 1.2 billion in three years.

It is estimated that getting another 600 million women online in this part of the world could potentially contribute an estimated $13bn to $18bn to annual GDP across 144 developing countries – because of the transformative power of the web on business and education opportunities.

The study’s findings are based on interviews and surveys of 2,200 women and girls living in urban areas of four focus countries in the developing world; Egypt, India, Mexico and Uganda.

Currently in the UK 16 million people do not have basic digital skills – despite many of them having an internet connection in their homes. Additionally 7.9 million Britons have never been online – a figure which has come down from 11.5 million in the last four years. Martha Lane Fox, the Government’s digital champion tasked with getting more people online around the UK, and the chair of Go On UK, a charity which helps people get online, says that even in Britain more of the non-web users are women – especially older women.

“It is such an important issue – and when the UN called the internet a ‘basic human right’ a few years ago, I couldn’t have agreed more,” Lane Fox told The Telegraph.

“No country can afford to be complacent about such matters – even in Africa when we keep hearing stories of smartphone usage having shot through the roof. We cannot assume that the market will sort this sort of gender divide out. It needs a coalition of governments – to set the tone and lead, the private sector and citizens to offer peer support to step in.”

Lane Fox believes the most effective way of getting people online for the first time is through peer to peer support. “Most people who haven’t been online always say ‘what’s the point?’. But they cannot know what they are missing out on until someone they trust recommends a particular service – whether it’s ordering food online or speaking to a member of the family over Skype – and shows them. Only then does the naysaying stop,” she said.

(Courtesy: The Telegraph)

By Rushdi Siddiqui

For the first column in 2013, I did not want a me-too article about sukuk issuance for year ahead, central bank authorisation of a mega Islamic bank, or new IFSB or AAOIFI standards, but shine a spotlight on ‘unsung heroes’ of an Islamic financial institution.

At an Islamic award ceremony and ensuing Press release, the CEO of an Islamic financial institution usually thanks his staff and employees, and typically says, “... without our hard working employees none of these achievements is possible...” These are not hallow words, as he ‘flies or falls’ based upon staff meeting their KPIs down the chain of command to the clerk in the mailroom and the janitor.

Treasury

The beating heart of an Islamic bank is actually the treasury and its uniquely qualified people. Treasury, at one time, was about liquidity management, and now has become a profit centre for banks. The challenge for Islamic finance treasury is there are not many options, vis-a-vis, conventional treasury on liquidity management, hence, their important contribution adds to not only the bottom line, but also the bonus!

In launching the pricing benchmark for Islamic Interbank Benchmark Rate (IIBOR), compliant alternative to Libor, Thomson Reuters showed the implicit importance of treasury and credit pricing reference rate to the banking and financing world.

Front liners

These folks are really the unsung heroes, as they cannot hide behind an office, cubicle or desk when things like compliant credit cards not working, delays in personal loan or customer service leads to hang-ups.

The ultimate front liner is the bank teller. He/she needs to be a combination of an accountant and fireman(woman). They have to keep the line moving, make sure slips are properly filled out and signed, explain financial statements (including to the expatriate low income with linguistic challenges), including discrepancies while smiling.

Then there are the sales people meeting targets in selling, say, various third party funds, often white labelled as banks own. The issue of Islamic banks raising money locally (as have community confidence) and exporting to managers (value add) in other countries is a topic for another day.

The challenge arises when the fund loses money, and having to explain the loss to irate investors who believed, because it was Islamic, there would not be losses. It should not be assumed that such investors read or understand the fine print disclaimer (requiring a comprehension of a professional) buried in the prospectus.

The people working in Islamic private banking, some call it Royal Banking, must have the toughest jobs, as high net worth people are more demanding and less tolerant on mistakes and negative market movements. The escape goat is usually the relationship manager when things do not follow the game plan.

There must be a super-honourable mention of human resource, as they provide the ‘fit for purpose’ staffing and continuous updating. This is the team surrounding the CEO: from senior leadership team (SLT) to sales people to administrative staff, including the very important personal and executive assistants. Finally, choosing the right vendors for IT platforms for measuring and monitoring staff KPIs.

Finally, the collections department, if it’s not outsourced. The collection call and chase on defaulting party on financing, say, an Islamic mortgage. It must be extremely challenging (PR nightmare) for an Islamic bank to start foreclosure proceedings against a local/national (Muslim) for defaulted Islamic mortgage. This was one of the challenges in Saudi Arabia with the delay in the mortgage laws.

Collateral heroes

Islamic banks operate in a data eco-system, hence, require much content, whether its news, pricing of instrument and commodities, indexes, sukuk or fund prospectus, etc, and not many know that it requires army of dedicated people to make it look seamless and keep it updated.
Companies like Thomson Reuters, Bloomberg, Zawya, etc, are the data backbones for Islamic finance. For example, we, at Thomson Reuters, are extremely proud of the content build out by our dedicated Islamic finance team in Bahrain. These dedicated young people are working hard and smart to make Islamic finance conventionally efficient for information intermediation in the cross sell of this niche market (led by eco-data).

Finally, the journalists covering Islamic finance, they deserve a round of applause for their stories, as getting access to senior executives to answer tough questions is not easy.

[The writer is Global Head of Islamic Finance & OIC Countries for Thomson Reuters.]

(Courtesy: Khaleej Times)

Robert Fisk on what he really means in the 'war on terror'

By Robert Fisk

“Had he his hurts before?” Siward asks of his slain son in Macbeth. He wants to know if his son’s wounds proved he was fighting Macbeth’s goons when he died, or whether – if stabbed in the back – he had been running away. Macbeth would have made a pretty good Middle Eastern dictator, obsessed with power, murdering his rivals, oppressing his people under the fatal influence of a spoiled, ruthless wife. And al-Qa’ida, in its battles with its infidel enemies – the Russians, the Americans, Israel, the West and the Arab potentates who do, or did, our bidding – does not run away. Their battle wounds are part of their personalities.

Osama bin Laden boasted to me of the Russian bullet scars burnt into his body in Afghanistan – three in all – and the Taliban leader Mullah Omar, who wore the Prophet’s cloak in Kandahar, has always rejoiced in the eye he lost to his enemies. And now we have Mokhtar Belmokhtar with another eye lost to God’s enemies.

This Cyclops wears no patch to hide his wound. Was it shot out by the pro-Western “mujahedin” in Afghanistan after the Soviet withdrawal? Or blown from his face when he was “mishandling” explosives during the war, when Belmokhtar and his cronies were still heroes, our equivalent – once, in Ronald Reagan’s eyes – of the Founding Fathers?

Now he hides in – or bestrides, if you believe what you are told – Mali. Al-Qa’ida is back in action, but this Algerian war veteran is an intriguing symbol of the path down which Osama bin Laden’s damaged creation now slouches. For Belmokhtar’s Afghan war record is clouded by his cruel participation in the vicious 1990s conflict with the military regime in his own country – he was born in the Algerian city of Ghardaia 40 years ago – and by the corruption which has embraced so many North African Islamist militias.

When he travelled to Afghanistan, he was only 19; when he fought the equally ruthless pro-government paramilitaries in Algeria, he had learnt that wars do not necessarily end, that victory is achieved through the humiliation of your enemies, rather than military conquest.

But Belmokhtar was a child of his country’s history. Born almost exactly a year after the French colonial power retreated from Algeria, he grew up speaking the language of his country’s former oppressors. His French was perfect, and those few Westerners who met him – usually as his captives – were to recall his fluency. Kalashnikov at his feet, Belmokhtar would ostentatiously read the Koran – the mirror image of Bin Laden – as a leader of al-Qa’ida in the Islamic Maghreb and then, having left its ranks long after its apparent defeat in Algeria, as the chef of al-Muwaqqiun bil Dima, uncomfortably but chillingly translated as “Those Who Sign With Blood”. Those who were to survive the atrocities at the In Amenas gas field last week – and, I suppose, those who did not – were to discover what this meant.

In a video, Belmokhtar has spoken of the struggle against disbelief – in other words, us, the West – the importance of Islamic law and the Islamic project in northern Mali. He is too canny a man not to have realised that Mali’s torment springs from the decades-long northern Tuareg-Berber-Arabophone refusal to be governed by a black administration in the south, but he was drawn – like Bin Laden in Afghanistan – into a land where centralised power was weak or non-existent. While human rights groups recorded ferocious Islamist punishments – executions, amputations, the oppression of women; the list is familiar – he spoke of a sharia which fed the poor, created justice between Muslims, and equal rights.

Andrew Lebovich, an Africa analyst in Dakar, has drawn attention to the fact that Belmokhtar’s jihadism may be very real, despite his involvement in smuggling and trafficking, and that his public statements should be studied and taken seriously. Northern Mali was threatened by “the Crusader Western nations, especially France”, Belmokhtar announced, and aggressors would be would be fought “in their homes”, and “experience the heat of wounds” in their own countries, and their interests attacked. Here, indeed, was a warning about In Amenas. Prophetic, should we say?

Belmokhtar greeted Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader, and Bin Laden’s successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri, the “persevering emir”. In other words, he was re-asserting his loyalty to original al-Qa’ida principles. But the problem – which we in the West refuse to comprehend – is that al-Qa’ida itself has changed. The days when this dangerous institution demanded a world-wide Islamic caliphate are long gone. The Arab Awakening – the mass Arab revolts against dictatorship – turned Bin Laden into yesterday’s man. His television viewing at Abbottabad in the days before his execution by the Americans proved to Bin Laden that not a single protester – from Cairo to Damascus to Yemen – waved an al-Qa’ida flag or carried his photograph.
Indeed, among Bin Laden’s last communications with followers in Yemen was a demand for a translation of an article I wrote in The Independent, in which I described al-Qa’ida – following its involvement with Sunni suicide killers of Shias in Iraq – as the most sectarian organisation in the world. Bin Laden had long protested against the outfit’s role in the sectarian bloodbath in Iraq. And so a re-positioned al-Qa’ida has emerged.

Abdel Bari Atwan of the newspaper Al-Quds al-Arabi – who understands the dark soul of al-Qa’ida better than anyone else – has spoken of how Bin Laden always spoke “longingly” of the Atlas mountains of the Maghreb – the Tora Bora of north Africa – and of America’s interests in Africa itself. Many of Bin Laden’s legionnaires decamped from Afghanistan to Algeria, Mali, Mauritania, Chad and Niger, even Nigeria. The US now imports as much oil from Nigeria as it does from Saudi Arabia, the country of Bin Laden’s own citizenship. Like Gaddafi – whom Bin Laden loathed – al-Qa’ida appreciated the economic importance of Africa. Had Bin Laden himself not spent five years in dangerous exile in Sudan?

In a weird but very clear way, the results of the fearful Algerian civil war were in Belmokhtar’s favour. President Bouteflika, France’s dearest friend in the new North Africa, called a successful referendum which effectively pardoned Islamist fighters while excusing the government’s mass torturers and execution squads. Thus the weaker brethren of the Islamist revolt went home while the hard, unforgiving men emigrated into the deserts and across the Algerian border. Belmokhtar inherited a “cleansed” al-Qa’ida katiba – and a new version of Bin Laden’s battle.

Henceforth al-Qa’ida’s “purity of arms” – and this was never admitted – would be directed not towards the hopeless aspiration of a world caliphate, but at struggles which could humble Islam’s kafir enemies. Bin Laden’s battle tactics remained unchanged; only his philosophy would be gently abandoned. Now his fighters – in the hands of Belmokhtar or his latest rival, the supposedly ascetic Abdulhamid Abu Zeid – must humble the Western armies they can persuade to intervene in the Muslim world. Just as every Western soldier that could be induced into Afghanistan and Iraq was a target, so every French soldier arriving in Mali must be a target.
Humble the West’s mighty armies and draw them into perfidy with their bloody allies. That is now al-Qa’ida’s order of battle. The more France – and America and Britain – can be provoked to ally themselves with the ferocious Algerian government or the killers in the Malian army, the greater al-Qa’ida’s victory. Already, French and British horror at the Algerian slaughter of hostages and insurgents alike at In Amenas has been deleted from the record. David Cameron naively – and with a script that might have been written by Belmokhtar – has proclaimed that “our determination is stronger than ever to work with allies right around the world to root out and defeat this terrorist scourge”. Quite apart from Cameron’s appalling clichés (“root out”, “scourge”) – which oddly parallel al-Qa’ida’s boring rhetoric – this effectively allies the United Kingdom with the killer regime in Algeria. Plenty of Macbeths there.

Now human rights groups are reporting the revenge murder of Tuareg civilians in newly “liberated” towns by the Malian army. “Western diplomats”, that all-purpose bunch of mountebanks so beloved of us journos, are now said to “have long warned that the [Malian] army would become involved in revenge killings. Pity they didn’t tell us that a month ago. And then we have the French Defence Minister, Jean-Yves le Drian, divulging to us that Belmokhtar’s insurgents have “diversified their tactics. They can leave a town at any time, or mingle with the population… It’s urban guerrilla warfare, as well as a war, so it’s very complicated to manage.” And he didn’t tell us that a month ago, did he?

The Associated Press – not, I must admit, my favourite agency of world truth – published a remarkable, brilliant report by Rukmini Callimachi this week, an account of how Belmokhtar’s fellow jihadist Abdulhamid Abu Zeid arrived in the Malian town of Diabaly, took over civilian homes with the help of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, hid to avoid French air strikes, gave gifts to children, offered to pay rent and money for water and, guarded by five armed men, ate boxes of food imported from Algeria. “He ate spaghetti and powdered milk, read the Koran and planned a war,”

And there you have it. Ignore them, and you have lost the “war on terror”. Fight them, and you face humiliation. The Algerian Belmokhtar understands this. We do not. Diversified tactics, the French minister tells us. Mingling with the population. Camouflage. Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane.

(Courtesy: The Independent)

Going by the latest ruling by a court on Twitter comments, it seems Jews are the only bona fide recipients of fair play when it comes to French laws

By Tariq A. Al Maeena

I don’t know about the rest of you, but every now and then a news item flashes by that causes me to sit up and take note. Perhaps it is the audacity of the subject or the underlying hypocrisy — whatever be the reason, it does indeed raise questions and a few eyebrows.

For instance, take a news item that appeared last week involving Twitter, the social networking site. A French court has judged that Twitter must disclose all data regarding anti-Semitic users or those who post comments deemed offensive by Jews. The ruling was a result of the country’s main Jewish students’ union which petitioned a Paris court to demand that Twitter divulge information and details about users who post anti-Semitic comments.

Last October, the Union of French Jewish students demanded from Twitter that they remove tweets from some popular hash tag sites which they deemed offensive. The posts concerned a barrage of tweets that appeared on the site and were seen as culturally insensitive messages about people of the Jewish faith. The students’ union threatened it would sue Twitter if it did not comply with their demands to remove the tweets and to disclose the identities of users who had posted them.

Photo Courtesy: Luis Vazquez/Gulf News

Twitter’s response at the time was that it “does not mediate content. If we are alerted to content that may be in violation of our terms of service, we will investigate each report and respond according to the policies and procedures outlined in our support pages”. Twitter also made it clear that as it was an America-based company and operated under US law, it would not hand over information relating to the identities of users unless forced to do so by a judge. The company then affirmed its stance by declaring that it would only accept a judgement from a US court. According to its operating standards, Twitter does not delete tweets, but “does allow for content generated in breach of rules to be suspended”.

Later on, Twitter did remove some of those tweets.

However, the Jewish union wanted more. Enlisting the assistance of other groups such as International Action for Justice, SOS Racism, the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism and the Movement Against Racism and for Friendship Between People, they demanded that the company go further by revealing the identities of the authors so that they could be prosecuted under France’s tough laws on racism and anti-Semitism.

And now, the French court’s ruling commands that Twitter disclose the identities of those who composed the tweets on top of having removed all tweets deemed offensive by the group. The intent, according to a spokesman for the group, is “to prosecute those who tweet any anti-Semitic messages”.

A French attorney and internet law expert, Merav Griguer, commented that European laws regarding freedom of speech fall under stricter government regulation than the speech laws in the US. Speaking to an Israeli paper he said: “In France, one’s freedom ends where another person’s freedom begins. French law does not promote censorship, but instead bars abuses of free speech to protect other fundamental rights.”

The French court also demanded from Twitter that they establish an “easily accessible and visible” system on the French Twitter site that would permit users to bring to attention to the site administrators any posts which “apologise for crimes against humanity or incite racial hatred”. The court has given Twitter 15 days from the time of the ruling to comply or it will be fined 1,000 euros (Dh4,944) daily.

Government spokesperson Najat Vallaud-Belkacem also demanded that Twitter monitor its content to comply with French law. She said: “Twitter should find solutions so that messages sent from our country, in our language and destined for our citizens do not violate the principles we have set.”

This brings me back to the feelings I disclosed at the beginning of this column. How are the French so passionate about upholding laws that protect their people against racial hatred? And yet, where were the courts or government spokesmen when cartoons depicting the beloved Prophet (PBUH) were released earlier this month in a weekly on Paris’s streets — caricatures that offended the religious sensitivities of all Muslims and not just those living in France?

And where was their sense of indignation when they allowed an offensive video clip of the Prophet (PBUH) that caused so much global upheaval last year to be shown, citing “freedom of expression”. French courts rejected efforts by Muslim groups to ban such offensive depictions citing freedom of speech. Their impotency to enforce their so-called anti-racism and anti-hatred laws following the furore over the video clip which insulted Muslims was magnified when the French government stepped in and assured the British royalty that Kate Middleton’s revealing photos would not appear in the press. Anti-racism laws and violations of principles indeed!
The doctrine of collective guilt so craftily perpetuated by international Jewry against western nations for past crimes appears to make Jews as the only applicable recipients of fair play when it comes to French laws. The recent rulings by the French court are so steeped in hypocrisy that walking away without a comment is difficult. And that is why I have written this column in the first place.

[Tariq A. Al Maeenais a Saudi socio-political commentator. He lives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Follow him at Twitter.Com/@talmaeena]

(Courtesy: Gulf News)

By Javed Anand

The Conclusions chapter of the book opens on an alarming, ominous note: “It is easy to think of the prospects of the Indian Muslims in gloomy terms. Long ago denied the sceptre, which many thought essential to their existence, and now suspected by many for their religion and regarded as second-class citizens, is there any future for them other than eventual absorption in the Hindu mass?

It’s a quote from the highly regarded scholar of Indian history, Percival Spear, from one of his writings in 1967.

That was nearly half-a-century ago. Before the communal riots in Meerut (1968), Ahmedabad (1969), Bhiwandi (1970) and elsewhere; years before communal violence entered the era of state-condoned, state-complicit, even state-sponsored pogroms and genocidal killings: Nellie (1983), Hashimpura (1987), Bhagalpur (1989), Ayodhya, Surat and Mumbai (1992-’93), Gujarat (2002).

What’s the ground reality today? In hindsight, was Spear being alarmist or prophetic? The editors of Muslims in Indian Cities: Trajectories of Marginalisation tell us that the empirical research findings encapsulated in the case studies brought together in the book offer “some elements of response” to Spear’s question. Read together, we do not get a simple yes or no answer. Read separately, the answer comes close to a disturbing “yes” in case of some cities. In others, hope survives.

The case studies cover an interesting mix of 11 cities categorised into three ideal types. One: the former Muslim capitals where the sharp post-Partition decline of the community is marked by identity politics — Delhi, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Bhopal. Two: cities that are “over-determined by communal violence and political (sometimes cultural) obliteration” — Mumbai, Ahmedabad. Three, cities where resilient cosmopolitanism is still in evidence — Bengaluru, Kozhikode and Cuttack. Aligarh and Jaipur fall outside these three categories. The reality of each city, the editors agree, is far more complex than the ideal types would indicate.

As the sub-title of the book itself suggests, and this is not the first time we are hearing of it, the marginalisation of Muslims is an undisputable fact. There’s ghettoisation too. (We are cautioned, however, to distinguish, analytically at least, between the enforced Muslim ghettos or “neighbourhoods of exile” of some cities from the self-selected “ethnic enclaves” in others). And there’s worse: “The extreme cases of riot prone areas suggest that the ‘absorption in the Hindu mass’, to use Spear’s words, may be the fate awaiting Muslims in (some) Indian cities.”

Not surprisingly, the most ominous signals emanate from Gujarat, the state under Narendra Modi’s rule. The sprawling Juhapura area in Ahmedabad where Muslims cutting across caste and class divides have been compelled to inhabit fully meets the definition of a ghetto. In trying circumstances, the community is doing its best to forge ahead. “Education” is its new mantra. But here is a worrisome observation from Christophe Jaffrelot and Charlotte Thomas, the contributors to the chapter on Ahmedabad: “The Muslim promoters of modern education in Juhapura are definitely playing down their religious identity, as if that’s the price to pay for being recognised as a full-fledged Indian citizen. Taken to its logical conclusion the process of cultural occultation will seal the fate of India’s multiculturalism”.

Thankfully, all has not been lost even in the saddest of cities. The researchers cite one happy example: “Since 1969 (when the city was consumed by a vicious communal conflagration), Ramrahim Nagar has not been affected by any of the Gujarat riots, including the 2002 pogrom”.
Read together, the case studies uncover three distinct “trajectories of marginalisation” of Muslims in Indian cities. As you move from city to city you realise that, one, the decline is more pronounced in some regions than others, two, Muslims are not evenly marginalised and, three, in the country’s social geography that affects Muslims, the Hindi belt and the West are one end of the spectrum, while the rest of India lies at the other end.

Who is to blame for the marginalisation of the Indian Muslims? The answer, the editors say, lies partly in history. The only ancestral skill the Muslim elite from north India and the princely states possessed was “a certain kind governing”, something they lost with the arrival of the British sarkar. The decline of Muslim artisans is another story. And unlike the Marwaris, not many from the Muslim business class progressed from trade to industry.

Interestingly, the study debunks the idea that Muslim lack of interest in modern education is among the major causes of their backwardness. “For the whole period 1891-1931, Muslims were well ahead of Hindus in terms of literacy in English and it is therefore doubtful that ‘Muslims found the process of adjustment to Western education particularly hard’.” Instead, the explanation lies in the caste-system among Muslims. Only a small section among them (ashraf) had access to education and even this thin layer got seriously depleted with Partition.

If that’s the social backdrop, “the deliberate marginalisation of the Muslims by the state” post-Independence and the intensified communal onslaught of the Sangh Parivar in recent decades are identified as factors behind the backward slide of the community.

Overall the book paints a grim picture of the reality of urban Muslims. But there are glimmers of hope in a new middle class emerging across cities, straining to forge ahead, turning to education with great enthusiasm. Sadly, as the editors point out, “education is one thing, employment another”.

The short message of the book is that a solution must be found soon to end both institutionalised discrimination and the recurring communal targeting of the community. As to the fears of “absorption (of Indian Muslims) in the Hindu mass”, the editors are not unaware of the counter-veiling pull of resurgent Islam.

(Courtesy: The Asian Age)

IMO News Service

New Delhi: At a time when the border clash has spurted fresh waves of jingoism on both sides of the border, with people challenging the peace activists and advocating a stronger or more inhuman reaction, a people’s initiative, Aaghaz-e-Dosti, re-iterated the hopes for peace and friendship between India and Pakistan on 27th January 2013, at Gandhi Peace Foundation, New Delhi.

An initiative of Mission Bhartiyam, Aaghaz-e-Dosti, targets to create unwavering bonds of peace and friendship between India and Pakistan. The bonds that will survive the vagaries of such troubles times. But these bonds are not artificial ones, they rest on the belief and claim that people of India and Pakistan not only share the same language, culture, values and challenges but also the desire for peace and friendship. It rests on the belief that if there are people on both sides of the border who cannot and do not want to forget the past and do not want others to forget it, there are also people who want to forget the past and not just move on but move along to create a new chapter in history…of friendship and brotherhood.

The programme began with the launch of Aaghaz-e-Dosti’s “Calendar for Peace and Love” with paintings of hope collected from youths of both sides of the border.

Devika Mittal, Convener of Aaghaz-e-Dosti remarked, “the Calendar would remind us every day about these people. The Calendar with the paintings of an innocent and apolitical mind will remind us that mindsets have been constructed. The six paintings narrate the restriction of ‘freedom’, the ‘desire’ with the birds flying across borders and peace and friendship for a better future. Together with the beautiful dreams of the young and innocent, the Calendar also has messages from people who have been actively working to nurture these dreams.”

Prashant Nautiyal, a core member of Mission Bhartiyam, added “This calendar is a collection of shared dreams of peace and friendship. It serves as a hope shared by people who are just like us, in habit and struggle. With the turn of the pages to start a new month, the hope shall be renewed.”

For this calendar, Mission Bhartiyam had collaborated with two Pakistan-based organisations, Center for Youth development activities(CYDA) and Imov Humans.

The Calendar launch was followed by a discussion or a sharing of hopes for a peaceful and friendly co-existence. Ravi Nitesh, founder of Mission Bhartiyam, emphasised on its importance in this hour when peace is being challenged and being considered as one-sided. He remarked, “We condemn the border clash. It was an unfortunate incident but the way things have worked, it has also led to jingoistic sentiments on both sides. People, especially in India, are debating if we are a soft state and remembering and are even talking about repeating the shameful past. It also has to be condemned. Conflict has not given us anything but loss of innocent lives and hatred. Through this discussion, we tried to raise the voices of peace and friendship that have been overshadowed. We wanted to tell people that peace is not one-sided. It is the constructive approach and cannot and should never be replaced with forces of war and hatred.

The panelists for the discussion were people who have been working to strengthen the relations through different methods – through journalism, moulding young minds through teaching, working for the issues of the divided families and through emphasising cultural similarity and winning hearts with poetry.

Pankaj Chaturvedi, a noted columnist in several newspapers and the co-editor at National Book Trust, remarked that the “relations between India and Pakistan have unfortunately always fluctuated but this should not make us forget that the interests and the desires of the common people across borders is the same.”

Prof. Dhananjay Tripathi, a faculty member at South Asian University, talked about the repercussions of conflict. “Conflict is never the solution to anything”, he remarked.
Sirish Agarwal, the founder of India Pakistan Families Solidarity Association, shared the issues faced by divided families on both sides of the border. He had also shared his experiences in Pakistan.

Pankaj Singh, an eminent Hindi poet and part of the Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature, remarked “The partition was a tragic and unfortunate reality. Poets and Writers across the borders had moaned the tragic reality that we received at the cost of innocent lives. It is not possible to undo history but we must forget the wounds shared by people on both sides and work to create a new chapter in history of peace and friendship.”

Shivendra Singh , a sports journalist who has visited pakistan many times to cover news and writer of the book "Ye jo hai Pakistan" shared his experiences and talked about changing the mindsets.

The discussion also had some students from Pakistan who has been studying in Delhi. They had shared their experiences.

Kulsum Khan, a student of South Asian University, talked about the welcoming attitude of the people she met in India. She remarked that, “I have realised that not only out language, culture, values are same, our interests and challenges are also similar”.

Sumbal Islam Chowdhury had also shared her experiences in India and emphasised on establishing people-to-people communication to change mindsets.

To this, Zaigham Abbas, another student, talked about changing mindsets at a young age, at school level and proposed changes in the school curriculum. He also talked about the problems with getting a visa.

Sohaildera Khan said that the problem is with lack of information and misunderstandings. There is a need to air news channels of both countries across the borders and these channels should not be stopped in any situation.

Some Indian students also spoke about the need for peace and friendship between India and Pakistan.

V Arun Kumar had shed light on the repercussions of war on those who actually experience it. He talked about the people in the bordered areas and the impact of war on them.
There was also an open session wherein the audience had shared their thoughts about the issue and had also asked questions to the speakers. Another student from Pakistan, Kishore Patel, talked about a more peculiar suspicion that he has faced, being a Pakistani Hindu in India.

The programme was not meant to convince or “pacify” another, it was only to raise these voices and also bring out what the common people from Pakistan have to say. War is not only disastrous, impractical and sown with seeds of misunderstanding but also unaffordable. We need to move together on the path of progress.

• Violence against Christian community remains at unacceptable levels
• Police impunity adds to hate crimes by fundamentalist groups.

IMO News Service

India continues to record an unacceptably large number of cases of violence against the Christian community in India. This is clear from the continuing data on persecution that has been recorded in different states of the country during 2012.

Dr. Abraham Mathai, President of the Indian Christian Voice & former Vice Chairman of the Maharashtra State Minorities Commission said “What compounds the hate crimes against the micro minority is the apathy and impunity of the police and the involvement of elements related to some socio-political organisations.”

Dr. Mathai released the Christian Persecution Report 2012 which was compiled by Richard Howell, General Secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India.

EFI recorded 131 instances of violence against the Christians in 2012, which were marked by intimidation, harassment, false accusation, arrests and jailed, church being locked up and physical attacks. These are incidents that have been corroborated after meticulous enquiry. Complaints of violence received from pastors and church workers from across the country number many more.

The southern state of Karnataka once again recorded the most number of attacks against the community with 37 instances of violence and hostility. The central Indian state of Chhattisgarh saw an increase number of 21 instances of violence and with 18 incidents the state of Madhya Pradesh has the third highest rates of attacks.

“Though there has been a marginal decrease in the number of incidents, down from 140 in the year 2011, the trends in the violence look similar to last year. The state of Karnataka also saw a slight decrease in the number of incidents going down from 49 to 37. However, as many incidents go unreported and therefore undocumented, this dip may not necessarily mean that the number of incidents has reduced” said Dr.John Dayal, Gen Secy All India Christian Council who has contributed largely in compiling of this report. The incidents like previous years ranged from accusations of "forcible conversion" to desecration of churches to violent attacks against individual Christians. In most of the instances, Hindutva activists led mobs to disrupt Christian worship services and manhandled, physically and verbally abused the congregation, including women and children. Yet, in spite of leading the attacks, mostly complaints were registered by the mobs against the Christians for engaging in "forcible conversion." The police often detained the Christians at the behest of the mobs. “Atrocities against Christians need to be condemned. The Father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi has said that a civilization is judged by the way it treats its Minorities” said Dr. Zeenat Ali, noted Islamic scholar.

"It is reprehensible that even after more than 6 decades of being a republic such reports are still a necessity. They expose the deep rooted prejudices and official apathy against minorities. Such reports sound the alarm that the health of our nation is a matter for worry. We must be active to ensure that the size of such reports of shame is decreased and the process of healing is initiated" said a very disturbed Tushar Gandhi.

"Unless the Government comes down hard on the these communal forces such attacks will continue to occur thereby denying the rights of the minorities to practice their religion freely as enshrined in the constitution" said Raymond Dsouza, President of the Maharashtra Christian Association.

Meanwhile, real justice continues to elude victims in the Kandhamal district of Orissa that saw a massive wave of violence in December 2007 and August-December 2008. Dr.John Dayal said "Of 31 murder cases tried in the fast track courts, only two major penalties of life term and seven years jail term have been imposed, while in the overwhelming number of cases, the culprits have been allowed to go scot-free."

"It is ironical that in our so called ‘secular’ police stations anywhere in our country one cannot help to notice symbols of particular deities featuring prominently giving an outward impression of their allegiance to a particular community and in some cases even places of worship feature in the police station compounds. Open identification by the police with a particular community is what emboldens the communal goons to perpetrate attacks against the minorities with impunity. We cannot continue to be in a state of denial refusing to accept the reality of a communal police by pushing the truth underneath the carpet." said Dr.Mathai.

Complex indeed is the web of deceit, yet the truth is rather simple when it is dared to be revealed.

By Siddhartha Sharma

New Delhi: Two years ago, when Adeeb Usmani's family left Mumbai for their village near Azamgarh, the 13-year-old stayed back; he wanted to be a cricketer. He was alone in the big city, and his father could give him no money, so Adeeb made a tent in Azad Maidan his home, and his coach Naushad Khan his life's anchor.

In the under-16 Vijay Merchant tournament that ended on Monday, the opener-wicketkeeper played consistently well, helping Mumbai to the title. His 366 runs from five matches up to the final included a century and a 77 in the semifinal against Punjab; in the final, he scored 54 in the first innings.

"My father had a hotel in Dharavi but he suffered huge losses. So he had to move to UP. Naushad sir helped me get a place in the tent at Azad Maidan. Whatever I am today is because of him," young Adeeb told The Indian Express on the sidelines of the final against Delhi.

Adeeb has his meals at a small restaurant an uncle of his has near Azad Maidan. "Naushad sir spoke to him and he agreed to give me food. But he has no interest in cricket," Adeeb said. He said his father doesn't keep well; he calls home regularly, but hasn't had the chance to visit his village.

Adeeb studies in class 10 at Anjuman Islamia, where cricket helped him get admission. Mumbai U-16 coach Vinod Raghavan said he was "an upcoming prospect".

Adeeb hasn't told his parents he lives in a tent. "I tell them I live in a room, so they feel I am secure. Otherwise, they will call me back to the village."

Adeeb himself doesn't mind the tent, pitched in a park that has nurtured generations of cricketers. "The tent is a happy place for me. I have lots of memories attached to it."

(Courtesy: The Indian Express)

IMO News Service

Chandrapur (Maharashtra): Mubarak Kapdi, a renowned speaker and educationist, delivered his 3650th lecture on “Education and Responsibility of Parents, Teacher and Students” at a school ground at Chandrapur in the State of Maharshtra. The programme was organized by Crescent Shikshan Prasarak Mandal, Chandrapur. Dr. Zafar Javed Khan, President Crescent Shikshan Prasarak Mandal, Chandrapur, was presided, while Dr. Raj Vakil Siddiqui, Member, National Monitoring Committee for Minority Education was the Chief Guest.

Mubarak Kapdi in his keynote speech said that the present situation of the Muslims can be changed by the active role of the society and everyone from the society should take the responsibility of the development. On the pathetic condition of the society, Mr. Kapdi said that only 2 percent of people are working for the community development while 98 percent people are working for finding their mistakes in the work.

Mr. Kapdi said that in today’s scenario, teachers are working hard to make children’s mind for study, children go to home and perform the home work, but parents are continuously absent from duty, and it is creating a huge problem. The parents should act with equal responsibility with their sons and daughters.

Dr. Raj Vakil Siddique, Member, National Monitoring Committee for Minority Education(GoI), said that in order to get the benefit of various government schemes the community should be made aware of its rights. He said that the schemes of the government should reach the poor of the poorest.

Dr. Zafar Javed Khan explained his views regarding present education scenario and the fastest developing world. He said that the students must take modern technical education to be in the race. Nasir Hashmi of SMS ONE project explained the use of the ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) for the development of minority.

In this programme an Award for “Distinguish service in the field of Education” was also instituted in the name of Dr. Allama Mohammad Iqbal. The awards were for the first time given to Dr. Raj Vakil Siddique, Member, National Monitoring Committee for Minority Education, Shafique Ahmad, Ex Collector and Babbu Hakeem, President Van Vaibhav Shikshan Sanstha, Gadchiroli for their distinguish services in the field of education since last many years.

Three teachers Fazzle Waheed, Mohd. Shakeel and Areefa Siddique were also felicitated for their work done for promotion of education in minorities.

Nasir Khan conducted the programme, while Adv. Nazim Khan delivered vote of thanks. Matin Shiekh, Sohail, Mohsin Khan, Irfan Shiekh, Imddadullah, D.S.Khwaja, Naved Khan, Naved Quershi, Riyaaz Khan and others worked hard for success of the programme.

By Pervez Bari

Bhopal: Quite a flutter was caused during the visit of former Union minister and ex-national BJP president Venkaiah Naidu, who is in-charge of Madhya Pradesh, to the state BJP headquarters in Bhopal on Thursday, when pamphlets raising questions on his leadership abilities were distributed.

The pamphlet titled “Questions to Venkaiah” had no print line. The occasion was when Naidu was present at the Madhya Pradesh BJP headquarters to attend the party’s office-bearers meet from the state to the district level.

It was stated in the pamphlet that nephew of Venkaiah lost Municipal Corporation election in Bengaluru from the ward where his house is situated. The pamphlet claimed that the BJP was in a poor state in Andhra Pradesh, which is the native state of Venkaiah.

The pamphlet also stated that in 1993, there were 34 MLAs in BJP in Andhra Pradesh and then Telugu Desam had formed government in that state in coalition with the BJP. “then, what is the reason for BJP not having a single MLA in Andhra Pradesh?” the pamphlet questioned.

The pamphlet said with what authority could a person who could not ensure party’s win on a single seat in Andhra Pradesh, give tips to win elections in other state. He did not have the moral authority to preach to party workers in Madhya Pradesh as to how to win elections.
BJP state president Narendra Singh Tomar terming the distribution of controversial pamphlet as a conspiracy, held other political parties responsible for it. On the other hand Congress has termed the incident as a manifestation of internal tussle within the BJP.

Meanwhile, the Intelligence sleuths and the Bhopal district police have been given the task of finding the source of controversial pamphlet. Prior to distribution of anti-Naidu pamphlets, such pamphlets aiming at character assassination of several leaders have come out in the past too.
BJP leaders maintain that some pamphlets are close to the truth but their aim is to create sensation. Some leaders on conditions of anonymity said the distribution of controversial pamphlet seems to be a part of the ongoing clamour for Prime Minister’s post in the BJP. It is the handiwork of supporters of Nitin Gadkari, who had to step down from the post of BJP president recently when he was denied second term by part high command, in the state. Venkaiah is known to belong to anti-Gadkari camp.

Meanwhile, addressing state BJP office-bearers, leaders and organisational heads Naidu instructed party workers to be prepared for mid-term' general elections. Lok Sabha elections could take place anytime. There is no guarantee it will happen in 2014. He appreciated the leadership Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his schemes for various sections of the people.

In reference to the Union Home Minister Sushil Shinde's recent controversial statement linking BJP-RSS to Hindu terrorism, Naidu slammed the Congress party as it was only exposing its own ignorance and illiteracy by the accusation. The fact is that in the North-East, a Congressman was found involved in terror activities and was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment by the law courts, he pointed out.

[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@eth.net]

By Shaik Zakeer Hussain

Islam came to India in 7th–8th century, so Islam in India, is as old as Islam’s existence. Around 19% of population in India is Muslim, and this population, at least the majority of it, are people whose ancestors converted to Islam. Yet time and again, Muslims in India, have to prove that they are Indians to their majority counterparts. It is as though our only role is to convince this nation, that we did not cross the Khyber pass to get here, we have always been here, just like the Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians and adherents of other religions have.

In an article titled ‘Being a Khan’ published by U.S based Outlook Turning Point magazine, ShahRukh Khan, perhaps India’s most famous name had written, “I sometimes become the inadvertent object of political leaders who choose to make me a symbol of all that they think is wrong and unpatriotic about Muslims in India. There have been occasions when I have been accused of bearing allegiance to our neighboring nation rather than my own country – this even though I am an Indian whose father fought for the freedom of India. Rallies have been held where leaders have exhorted me to leave my home and return to what they refer to as my “original homeland”.”

Khan was referring to him having a Muslim name, and living in India, where the majority are Hindus, and how he, despite being a Bollywood superstar, and mobbed by people of every religion ‘with love and apparent adulation’ had been reminded several times of an alien element in him, which makes him, along with millions of others who carry this element, pariahs.

I am not a ShahRukh Khan ‘fan’, and I would only be honest, to tell the readers that there might be very little in common between me and him, nevertheless, when I read his article, I was heartfelt for its sheer honesty, and its profound sensitivity, though there is a lot in it, that I would disagree with. And I was sure, any sensible person would feel the same way, at least he or she would not feel that, he was trying to play the ‘Muslim card politics’ or was being ‘unpatriotic’. But that is too much to expect, in a country, where riots break out, for a petty reason that a person belonging to one community does not pays for his meal, in a restaurant owned by another.

One of the first articles to attack him was published by FirstPost, it was disturbingly titled ‘King of Victimhood: Shah Rukh Khan bites the hand that fed him‘. Disturbingly, because it somehow conforms the notion that Muslims are pariahs in this country, and inadvertently tells us that, Muslims should never speak their hearts, irrespective of the reality we live in.

“So, grow up, Shah Rukh, and learn to take it on the chin like a man. Don’t bite the hand that fed you – and made you who you are – by running off to an overseas publication and crying your heart out…”

Social media erupted with slurs against him, and how Muslims always cry being a victim in India, many right wing leaders had similar things to say. Adding to the heat was Pakistan’s interior minister, who has done next to nothing to stop his government’s ally, the USA from bombing its innocent citizen day in and day out, but played his dirty politics, by advising “India should provide security to SRK.”

Shah Rukh Khan may not be a victim, in fact he is one of the few privileged ones in this country, but there are scores of others, who are stigmatized for being a Muslim in this country, thousands of everyday men and women, who have to prove their credibility, every debate, every article, every speech related to Muslims in this country, always centers around this subject, how long will it continue, how long, before everyone in this country realizes that, Muslims in this country, did not cross the Khyber pass to get here.

[Shaik Zakeer Hussainis an independent writer, and edits Mashaal - News and Analysis on Indian Muslims. He can be contacted at projectmashaal@gmail.com]

By Syed Ali Mujtaba

Movie Vishwaroopam controversy that centers on profiling of the Muslim community has fallen into the quagmire of the hackneyed debate of right of expression vs right to protest.

The liberals are flagging off the freedom of expression agenda while those at the receiving end are vehement about asserting their fundamental right to protest for time and again being profiled as terrorist. The fire power of the media is used by the freedom of expression protagonist to convince their commands of wisdom are the final words on the subject.

Those being publicly being humiliated are using the democratic armory to score some brownie points. Call it vote bank or seize mentality, the government of the day has to take cognizance of the ground reality and cannot trample the voices of protest.

Who is winning and who is loosing the debate is left to the individual judgment as there are other nuggets in this story to be explored.

There is a tug of war between centre and the state in this controversy. The central government asserts that the state government cannot over rule the censor board’s approval for the screening of the movie and has to comply with the formalities.

The state government argues that when public peace is in jeopardy and law and order situation is to be tampered, the government is within the constitutional right to maintain peace as law and order is state subject over which central government has no over riding powers.. The state government seems to be convinced that public peace is paramount and banning the movie is for the larger interest of social good.

The judiciary too seems to be divided on the issue. When some theaters refused to screen the movie the court gave the advice to go for out of court settlement. When the state government came forward to ban the movie, a single bench overruled the government’s order. This was turned down by a dual bench that justified the ban.

The matter is to be heard in the Supreme Court and it is likely that the ban may be quashed citing precedents, but the question remains, will the release of the movie draw full houses or people may keep away from the theaters fearing untoward incidents.

A similar situation had emerged with the release of the movie Arakshan and “Jodha Akbar.” Both the movies were banned by the state government first and then the Supreme Court overruled and ordered the release of the film.

Even though the apex court has cast its judgment in favor of the film but many movie goers fearful of the shadows of the guns and the prospects of bomb blasts stayed away from the theaters. Both the movies ultimately became victim of their controversies.

The nineties have been full with movies that profiled Muslims as anti social and terrorist. The Hindi – Hindu – Hindustan formula of the majority right wing elements of India society that monetarily triumphed following the destruction of Babari Masjid, cast its spell on the Indian film makers.

A glut of films with negative shades of Muslim characters was produced. Kashmir and Pakistan provided the set piece for villainy. Obviously, if the plot was terrorism, then Kashmir and Pakistan has to be on the fore and the logical deduction was that the characters have to be Muslims.

In this added another big picture, the 9/11, and US quest for infinite justice and endearing freedom. The celluloid industry became busy churning out movies of good guys verses bad guys. The holier than though image was straight jacketed for the US and each of us were made to forget about the creators of the bad guys.

One can understand the Hollywood perspective, but Bollwwood and Kollywood falling in line had its own to axe to grind. It’s often discussed that the movies produced these days hardly have any connect with the Indian audience.

The plot centers on the Diasporas and meant for such international audience. The language, the dress, the location and many other such things are all foreign that’s plated to the Indian audience as a visual delight. The film makers do not realize that visual communication trap can’t constructed without it viewer’s base by treating the subject out of context.

The movie Vishwaroopam is a classical example of such visual fantasy. The plot that develops in the US, travels to Afghanistan and is plated to the Indian audience in the Tamil language. Which Indian audience can relate to such plot? It’s obvious that the audience that connected most to the movie were the Indian Muslims, who found their religion was being denigrated in the construct of villainy and hence chose to protest.

Vishwaroopam, the name screams that it tries to portray the shape of the world. And according to the world view of the film maker “all Muslim are not terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims”.
When the controversy has reached its nadir, the question is asked is it the ignorance or the arrogance of the film maker that’s on display Vishwaroopam? Why the film maker did not thought of its viewers sentiments while padding up its visual contents.

Embarking on such superlative projects with prejudiced world view is bound to ruffle feathers. Can a film maker afford to do this in a market driven industry which judges the success of the movie purely on its cash returns.

Here a mention can be made about few movies that did the profiling of the Muslims with outmost sobriety tackling the same theme ‘Vishwaroopam’ tries to tread on. ‘New York’ ‘Kurban,’ ‘My name is Khan’ all tried present the problem of terrorism against the US in a holistic way. The Islamic content in the movie was wonderfully highlighted and this was well appreciated by the Muslim audience as well others.

A mention has to be made about the documentary Allah Hu Akbar (Allah is Great) that shows the protagonist Salim taxiwala, a devout Muslim who prays five times a day and has firm belief that Allah’s commandments runs supreme. He carries a foreigner in his cab to the airport and his follies in the journey make him miss his international flight. Little did this cab driver realize that his carelessness saved the life of the passenger whose flight was highjacked by international terrorists who blew up the plane shouting Allah Hu Akbar. Such movie obvious has a straight connect with the Indian audience.

‘Vishwaroopam’ no doubt can be a great feast of celluloid presentation but its rough edges are bound to pike those whom it tries to paint in negative shades. This takes us another area and that is the approval certification for the screening of the movie given by the Censor board.
The movie Vishwaroopam has questioned the wisdom of the members of the censor board who has given it the clearance for screening without going into the repercussions it may attract from some section of the society.

Is the Censor Board Holy Cow that needs to be worshiped as an epitome of infallible truth and blindly approve all that it clears for public viewing?

The free flow of blood and gore, explicit sexual content fit to be called pornography finds its presence in the large body of the cinematic art that the censor board approves as fit for entertainment. Similarly, the censor board gives approval to the screen play, dialogue and even the lyrics that are full with innuendoes. There can umpteen examples of highly sexual and lewd content that is passed by the censor board as a form of cinematic expression.

Can we gulp such pulp fiction without making any hue and cry just because the censor board has approved it? The general view of movie goers is no film these days is worthy to be watched with family and children. Who will address their concern?

In this money spinning industry where astronomical amount is spent on the making of the movie, a trend has developed the seal can be bought by greasing the palms and the censor board is reduced to selling certificates for a price.

This view is held by a section of society who feels censor board is pedaling unsavory contents as artistic expression. They argue that growing crime in the society is directly proportional to the immoral cinematic content licensed by the censor board.

The counter argument runs that times are changing and so are societal values, it’s not the censor board but it’s the viewers that needs to change the mindset. It’s chick and egg syndrome and can be argued till the ‘cows come home.’

The way out to the ‘Vishwaroopam’ controversy is found in an out of court settlement with the group objecting to its contents. But is this the right way, is something that’s being debated. How long a movie or any piece of art can lean on the crutches of government or judiciary’s protection for its viewing. This question has to be addressed by those in the field of the creative art even before making their storyboards.

[Syed Ali Mujtabais a Journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at sedalimujtaba@yahoo.com]

Brand Provides Innovation in Gourmet Frozen Wraps Category

Stamford, CT: Saffron Road, the packaged food brand of American Halal Co., launches three All Natural, hand-wrapped, Halal Certified, whole-wheat chapatti wraps. Saffron Road’s new wraps capture popular South Asian recipes in the form of a perfect on-the-go meal, a wrap.

“The frozen ethnic food aisle will never again be the same,” says Adnan Durrani, CEO of Saffron Road. “Saffron Road has done it again – introduced an authentic line of ethnic products never before sold in the U.S.: Whole Wheat Chapatti Wraps. This includes a very unique Chicken Keema Wrap, a comfort dish popular in Pakistan. We hope these all natural and healthier wraps elevate further the purity and culinary excellence on the grocery freezer shelves.”

Saffron Road’s wraps include:

Chana Saag – Tender chickpeas and spinach sautéed with authentic Indian spices wrapped in a whole-wheat chapatti flatbread. All Natural, Certified Halal, Vegetarian, Non-GMO Verified and made with milk from cows not treated with rBST.

Keema with Chicken & Basmati Rice – Sautéed ground chicken, scallions, red peppers and peas wrapped in a whole-wheat chapatti flatbread. All Natural, Humanely raised chickens, Certified Halal, Chickens raised without antibiotics.

Chicken Tikka Masala with Basmati Rice – Roasted Chicken simmered with tandoori spices in a robust, creamy tomato sauce wrapped in a whole-wheat chapatti flatbread. All Natural, Humanely raised chickens, Certified Halal, Chickens raised without antibiotics.

“We have proven that consumers want premium flavors and ingredients in the frozen isle and will continue this innovation in terms of providing options that are Non-GMO Verified, offer Halal protein and are more authentic – such as being made of real, whole-wheat Chapatti bread,” says Jack Acree, EVP of Sales of Marketing.

All four new products have already been purchased by Whole Foods Market and will be in select regions beginning in early February. The suggested retail price for the wraps is $4.29.

Malaysia has been rated the world's top Muslim-friendly holiday destination in a survey released Wednesday that listed Egypt, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Singapore as runners-up.

The study by Singapore-based Muslim travel consultancy Crescentrating ranked countries on how well they cater to the growing number of Muslim holidaymakers seeking halal -- or Islam-compliant -- food and services.

It used criteria including the level of safety in a country, the ease of access to halal food and prayer facilities, and whether hotels cater to the needs of Muslim guests.

On a scale of one to 10 in which 10 is the best score, Malaysia came out number one with a grade of 8.3 among 50 nations surveyed.

Egypt was in second place with 6.7, followed by the United Arab Emirates and Turkey both with 6.6. Saudi Arabia was in fourth place with a score of 6.4 and Singapore was fifth with 6.3.
Indonesia, Morocco and Jordan scored 6.1 to tie in sixth place, trailed by seventh-place Brunei, Qatar, Tunisia and Oman, all with a score of 6.0.

Crescentrating chief executive Fazal Bahardeen said the survey was taken from the point of view of the traveller, meaning that it measured the ease of access by Muslim tourists -- not locals -- to halal food and facilities.

"Malaysia is one of the few countries where you can find a prayer place in almost every location -- be it a shopping mall or the airport," Fazal told AFP.

He said that while Malaysian authorities have been focusing on the market for several years, Indonesia -- the world's most populous Muslim nation -- has not done as well.

"The main problem for Indonesia is that it's not straightforward for a Muslim visitor to find halal food availability. For locals it's probably not an issue."

Saudi Arabia figured as a holiday destination for the first time since the survey started in 2011 because more Muslims use their holidays to go there to perform the Umrah, a minor pilgrimage, Fazal said.

In terms of cities as a shopping destination, Dubai pipped Kuala Lumpur for the number-one spot, according to the survey which rated the presence of halal food and prayer facilities at shopping malls.

Istanbul, Jeddah, Singapore, Cairo, Abu Dhabi, New Delhi, London and Doha completed the top-10 shopping destinations.

Thailand's Suvarnabhumi Airport and the Kuala Lumpur International Airport were rated among the friendliest to Muslim travellers.

Spending by Muslim tourists is growing faster than the global rate and is forecast to reach $192 billion a year by 2020, up from $126 billion in 2011, according to a study by Crescentrating and another company released last year.

(Courtesy: Canoe.ca)

IMO News Service

Dubai: Morocco is turning out to be one of the most exciting markets to watch in Islamic banking. With more than half the population already using banks or willing to switch to an Islamic option, and with 94% recently surveyed “in support” of Islamic banking, Morocco’s Islamic banking sector is set to take off.

Currently over a dozen Islamic banking applications are on the table at the central bank and one bank is expected to begin operations later this year. This means that numerous banking professionals will start seeking certification in Islamic finance immediately.

To serve this growth market, Ethica Institute of Islamic Finance in Dubai has just signed an exclusivity agreement with Alar Conseil. Ethica delivers exclusively through Alar Conseil and Moroccans access the Dubai-institute’s globally recognized training and certification online and face-to-face. Ethica is the world’s most heavily-enrolled Islamic finance certifier with over 20,000 paying users in more than 100 institutions in 47 countries.

Through Ethica, Moroccan bankers now get 100% AAOIFI-compliant training in rapid 4-month programs, delivered 100% online or face-to-face. AAOIFI is the Islamic finance industry’s leading standard-setting body. Alar Conseil’s Managing Director, Amine Rossafi, said, “Morocco is at the last stage of building a regulatory framework to develop Islamic finance. Today we are very excited to announce our partnership with Ethica. Professionals and students in Morocco will now access high quality Islamic finance courses at the most heavily-enrolled Islamic finance certification institute in the world. Our partnership with Ethica reinforces our commitment to promote Islamic finance through e-learning and by providing customized training and seminars".

Ethica’s spokesperson added, “If Morocco’s Islamic finance sector is going to succeed, the key is to deliver standardized, AAOIFI-compliant certification in the fastest, most cost-effective way possible. That is what we aim to do, God willing, in a partnership between Alar Conseil and Ethica.”

By Rushdi Siddiqui

Is crowd funding the VC for the masses, finally? Crowd funding enables — through a collective cooperation of a network of investors — pooling capital and other resources to seed initiatives, startups, expansions, etc.

It also an opportunity to attain the core ethical values of Shariah and the intended purposes of Islamic Finance “to do good” by contributing to socioeconomic development.

Meet Shehab Marzban, co-founder of Shekra, http://www.shekra.com, a socially responsible entrepreneurial ecosystem service provider based in Cairo but for the OIC countries.
Excerpts of the interview:

What is Shariah-compliant crowd funding about?

Crowd funding attempts to solve the major problems faced by entrepreneurs, access to capital, and ordinary individuals, access to deals/funds, traditionally for high net worth individuals/institutions.

Banks in the Muslim world do not lend without collateral, as an idea or early stage development company is too risky, too small to fund or the business model does not fit the financing criteria. Thus, venture capital does not exist in OIC in a meaningful manner. Furthermore, how many stories from the Muslim world about investing in the “next big thing” in Silicon Valley VC funds?
Crowd funding links entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas to a network of investors, who contribute small amounts of capital. The investors may invest across a diversified portfolio of startups to minimise their overall risk. Crowd funding has a multiplier effect through job creation, encouraging entrepreneurship, and impact ‘brain drain’ from OIC countries.

To ensure overall Shariah-compliance beyond the inherent ethical traits of the crowd funding process, Shekra ensures specific Shariah screening and legal formalities, as well as apply shareholder rights.

How does Shekra differ from conventional crowd funding platforms?

Shekra stands for “Sharek Fekra” (partner in an idea) and differs from typical crowd funding. It attempts to overcome the main challenges faced by global crowd funding platforms in terms of sustainability of the initiatives as well as considering the specific cultural, educational and social characteristics of entrepreneurs and investors in OIC countries.

Differences include:

Shekra combines multiple aspects of the entrepreneurial ecosystem including reaching out to startups, business plan support, mentorship, milestone financing, and monitoring to increase the success rate and sustainability of crowd funded initiatives.

Shekra provides investors with the opportunity to receive equity either through capital contribution or in-kind contributions such as office space or marketing campaigns, for instance, enabling a wider spectrum of interested investors to participate.

Shekra is compensated through in-kind equity rather than a broker deal to ensure that Shekra’s interests as service provider are aligned with investors and entrepreneurs.

Shekra is not labelled Islamic, but focuses on ensuring Shariah-compliance and social responsibility: core values and responsibility towards Islamic investors and entrepreneurs.
Shekra focuses not only on growth companies or technology companies but also on startups that generate a steady income where the typical exit for investors might not be an acquisition but instead a buyback by the entrepreneur through a diminishing musharakah contract.

How can crowd funding contribute to OIC countries?

The development of small enterprises and startups is crucial for job creation, diversification, and contribution to knowledge-based economies. Most research identifies, especially in developing countries, the main problem of startups is to raise capital since they are positioned in the underserved funding gap: too big for microfinance and too small for private equity funds.
Additionally, OIC countries are rich — rich in human capital. This is the core asset and strength, which has to be supported and encouraged to increase the global outreach and success of startups “Made and Financed in OIC.’’

How will Shekra work across OIC countries?

Shekra strongly believes in partnership and joint collaboration, hence, focusing on identifying local partners to jointly build a Shekra investors network. We are excited about the pool of potential startups to be crowd funded across target markets. After starting in Egypt and closing the first crowd funding round shortly, Shekra is focusing to expand in North Africa, the GCC and selected ASEAN countries, Malaysia.

A key market is the UAE, especially after His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai’s recent announcement to make Dubai Islamic finance/halal hub, an optimal global platform for Shekra to operate.

What are the main challenges?

The demand is huge as we received an overwhelming number of startups looking for funding from more than 10 countries related to technology such as online media such as location-based retail shopping, fashion, arts portals, financial applications such as portfolio optimisation systems, small boutique natural textile producers, furniture design, renewable and green technologies, agricultural projects as well as social services, etc.

We are currently screening and prioritising. While this is an enormous potential, it flushes out how underserved this young and dynamic market, hence, putting additional positive pressure on us to grow faster than we projected. Another key challenge is to overcome the legality issues of crowd funding since we want to be able to raise capital from the public and have contributions as small as $ 10, which is currently not legally possible. Currently, we rely on a tight legal framework and a closed network of investors who join on request and recommendation basis.

[The writer is Global Head of Islamic Finance & OIC Countries for Thomson Reuters.]

(Courtesy: Khaleej Times)

Analysts see parallels between xenophobia in the early 1990s and Islamophobia today in that both are based on social structures

Cairo: The growing numbers of Muslims in Germany are sharpening stereotypes and attributes against the minority and escalating fears of Islam, a problem embedded in the social structure of the society.

"For decades, woman fought for equal rights, and we have attained something. And now, women are choosing to wear headscarves," a university-educated woman from Cologne told Deutsch Welle.

“I don't want that and it scares me.”

The opinion of the Cologne woman is shared by many Germans who see the spread of Islam as a threat to their society.

Those feelings have been sharpened by a recent debate about the establishment of a central mosque in Cologne, which will be one of Europe's largest.

Adding to the fears are the campaigns launched by right-wing groups, led by parties such as "Pro NRW" and "Pro Deutschland”.

Declaring their opposition to the mosque, the campaigns had a clear message between Islam is dangerous and there is no place for Muslims in Germany.

Those sentiments appeared clearly in a new survey, carried out by the University of Bielefeld over the past ten years about different aspects of bigotry in the European country.

The survey showed that the fear of Islam is relatively widespread in Germany.

It found that only 19 percent of Germans believe that Islam is compatible with German culture.
"That is the lowest (figure) that we found in Europe," social psychologist Andreas Zick, who led and evaluated the study, said.

The survey also showed that 46 percent of Germans are afraid of the infiltration by foreigners, and around 30 percent had specific fears, for example, terrorist attacks.

It also revealed that Islamophobia has become culturally acceptable in the country and that the society is shifting its attention from xenophobia to religious bias against Muslims,
Germany has between 3.8 and 4.3 million Muslims, making up some 5 percent of the total 82 million population, according to government-commissioned studies.

Taboo Fear

Analysts see parallels between xenophobia in the early 1990s and Islamophobia today in that both are based on social structures.

"A lot of what is seen as the problems of living with different ethnic or religious groups isn't actively discussed in the open," Detlef Pollack, a religion sociologist at the University of Münster, said.

Pollack noted that Islamophobia was basically based on a very vague fear of Islam.

He related this fear to the structure of German society, which has a tendency not to address problems directly and therefore developing fears of foreigners and Muslims in different ages.
But if fears are not clearly articulated, then they cannot be dealt with, he said.

"And then someone is surprised that there is a high degree of prejudice, of fear, the fear of being threatened," Pollack noted.

Fear of Islam in Germany is not new.

An earlier study in 2010 by the University of Munster found that 66 percent of western Germans and 74 percent of eastern Germans had a negative attitude towards Muslims.

A more recent study from the Allensbach Institute suggested that this had not changed over the past two years.

Asking Germans about Islam, only 22 percent said they agreed with Germany's former president Christian Wulff's statement that Islam, like Christianity, was part of Germany.

According to a 2010 nationwide poll by the research institute Infratest-dimap, more than one third of the respondents would prefer "a Germany without Islam."

(Courtesy: OnIslam.net)

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Muslim Profiling and Vishwaroopam

Saffron Road Introduces New All Natural, Certified Halal South Asian Chapatti Wraps for the Freezer Aisle

Malaysia rated top Muslim-friendly holiday destination

Ethica Signs Deal to Deliver Islamic Finance Certification in Morocco

Islamic venture capital: Crowd funding

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