The Muslim World ISLAMIC VOICE, fEBRUARY 2009 5

Fiqh Academy to set guidelines Call to expel Israeli diplomats

for Fatwas
Makkah; An international conference to discuss problems related
to randomly issuing fatwas was scheduled to be held last month, at
the headquarters of the Muslim World League (MWL). “In view of
the significance of fatwas in the lives of Muslims, the Fiqh Academy,
a subsidiary of the Muslim World League, is organising a conference
to determine the methods and terms and conditions that should govern
fatwas,” said Abdullah Al-Turki, secretary-general of the MWL. Al-
Turki said religious scholars and researchers from all Muslim countries
and communities were invited to the conference. Custodian of the
Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah, who is concerned about the light
manner in which people appearing on television channels were issuing
fatwas, is keen on convening the conference, Al-Turki added. “Some
people make their fatwas on issues that they do not know in-depth
and without due consideration for the Shariah requirements. Issuing
a fatwa is a very serious matter as it involves making a decision on
the basis of the law laid down by Allah and explained by the Prophet,
■ .(Pbuh) Al-Turki said
Kuwait: A Kuwaiti Islamist MP called for moving Arab League headquarters from Cairo to Caracas
after Venezuelan President Hugo Chaves expelled Israeli diplomats. An Israeli trade office in Qatar
Israel’s ambassador because of its onslaught on .also remains open
the Gaza Strip. “I call for moving the Arab League Tabtabai also criticized Egypt, which hosts the
from Cairo to Caracas,” MP Waleed al-Tabtabai headquarters of the 22-member Arab League, for
said during a special debate in parliament over the “refusing to open the Rafah” border crossing to
Israeli offensive. Tabtabai said that Chavez “has allow the passage of food and medical supplies to
proved that he was more Arab than some Arabs,” the battered Palestinian territory. He was echoed
after he expelled the Israeli ambassador in protest by other MPs who also called for sending more aid
against the Israeli offensive against the Palestinians to the Palestinians in Gaza. Shiite MP Ahmad Lari
.in Gaza urged Kuwaitis to donate on month of their wages
Chavez expelled Israel’s ambassador to Caracas to the people of Gaza. At least 1,000 Palestinians
on January 6, 2009 and Israel retaliated a day have been killed and more than 4,500 other
later, saying it was expelling Venezuela’s charge wounded, many of them civilians, in the Israeli
d’affaires. Egypt, Jordan and Mauritania, the only ■ .offensive
Arab countries to have diplomatic ties with the
Jewish state, have ignored public calls to expel

Divorce rate jumps

Jeddah: The average number of monthly divorce cases in Saudi
Arabia was 1,980 in 2008 against about 1,500 cases in 2007, the
Ministry of Justice said in a statistical report published recently.
According to the ministry, there were 24,428 divorces in 2008, which
is an increase of 5,663 cases over the previous year’s 18,765. “The
average monthly marriages was 9,480 in 2008 while the average
.monthly divorces was 1,980,” the report said
The report said 15,851 marriages were registered at the courts last
year while 99,698 were registered by marriage officials. The ministry
said Riyadh, with 7,085 cases, topped all Saudi cities in divorces while
Makkah, with 5,749 cases, came second. Family medicine consultant
Dr. Ahmed Abdul Moneim attributed the rise in divorce cases to a
number of reasons, including the absence of religious values, low
incomes, intervention of relatives in the personal lives of the married
■.couples and the adverse effect of satellite cable programming

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The Muslim World ISLAMIC VOICE, fEBRUARY 2009 6

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s letter to Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin
:Abdul Aziz, urging him to take a clear stance on the unfolding crisis in Gaza

In the Name of God the Compassionate and the Merciful

To the King of Saudi Arabia Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud

A
”Peace be unto you and so may the mercy of Allah and His blessings“
s you well know, in the past many days, the innocent and defenseless people
of Gaza have been victimized by the savage and horrific attacks of uncivilized
Zionists. While under full aerial, ground, and naval blockade they have had to
.endure the heaviest bombardments and are going through the most difficult of times
Women, children, the elderly and ordinary civilians are being slaughtered in their homeland.
The scenes of cruelty and violence that are being played out in Gaza tear every free man’s
.heart apart, and set it afire
Aggressive powers that claim to be the upholders of democracy and human rights, have
armed Zionist assassins to the teeth and have established this forged regime for the sole purpose
of committing crimes, abuse, and occupation; not only do they support its actions but also use their
.power over international organizations to buy this regime time to carry out such massacres
Their actions are not far from expectation but it is unfortunate to see a number of Islamic
and Arabic governments in the region condone this unprecedented genocide with their silence
.and smiles of satisfaction
These governments are waiting to see the heroic resistance of a defenseless nation, God forbid,

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.fall to the savagery and repression of the occupiers
It is common knowledge that no future awaits the Zionist regime; its actions today show its
.despair, as it clings to its existence in the region
As all free men and nations have raised their voices in protest of the Zionist regime and
the atrocities it is committing in Gaza, it is expected of you as the Saudi Arabian King and
the Custodian of the Two Holy Places, i.e Makkah and Medina, to break your silence on the
catastrophic events and the massacre taking place in Gaza and take a clear stance on the murder
.of your children, who are dear to the Islamic Ummah
I trust that your stance will shatter the remaining hopes of the corrupt powers of the world to
.sow discord in the world of Islam
I pray to God for the victory of free nations and the brave resistance in Gaza, and I look to
.Him for the annihilation of oppressors such as the Zionist regime
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Soughat
7x5
The Muslim World ISLAMIC VOICE, fEBRUARY 2009 7

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Allahu Akbar
 Globe Talk
By Mohammed Ayub Khan
”Muslims are the new “Coolies
I
t was 1893 and a young
Indian lawyer, dressed in
an impeccable European
dress, was travelling first class in
a train from Durban to Pretoria in
South Africa. All was well until
the train reached Pietermaritzburg
in the province of Natal. A
European passenger had
summoned the railway officials
who ordered that the young
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ISLAMIC VOICE, fEBRUARY 2009 8
several books, and most of
lawyer vacate the compartment
my clothes. The Air Canada
since ‘coolies’ and non-whites
call centre representatives in
were supposedly not allowed in
India said repeatedly that they
first class compartments. When
are working on locating it and
the lawyer protested he was
still haven’t found it. I do not
pushed out of the train along with
understand why they can’t find
.his luggage
when all checked bags have a
The lawyer, who went on to
computerised number tag on
attain fame as the apostle of non-
.them
violence Mahatma Gandhi, was
As I waited for my luggage I
was reminded of Gandhi and his
forced to stay in a cold waiting I was told to board it at the last predicament 116 years ago. The
room. “It was winter,” he later .moment Muslims are the new ‘coolies’
wrote in his autobiography, and When I finally, reached to be harassed and abused with
“the cold was extremely bitter. Toronto I was shocked to find impunity by one and all. There
My over-coat was in my luggage, that my luggage is missing. I was only one difference. At least
but I did not dare to ask for it lest was told that it will be delivered Gandhi had his luggage intact
I should be insulted again, so I to me in the next few days. I with him. I got my bag back after
prayed that it reaches me as ■ .sixteen days of waiting
”.sat and shivered
It was exactly how I felt it contained several research
when I was told by Air Canada documents, rare photographs,
officials in London’s Heathrow
Airport that I won’t be allowed
to board my flight to Toronto.
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I had flown in from Mumbai
and was to connect to an Air
Canada flight. Despite the fact
that I arrived two hours ahead
of departure the airline officials
rudely told me that the flight has
closed and that I might be able to
fly in the next flight in another
three hours. The reason being
that because of my first and last
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names they will do a security
check. All other passengers who
came along with me on the flight
were given their boarding passes
in Mumbai itself and zipped
.through to the aircraft
I waited in an immensely
crowded waiting area with stiff
chairs, rude staff, and dirty
washrooms. As the departure
time neared for the next flight
J.S. TOURS
10X5
 Opinion ISLAMIC VOICE, fEBRUARY 2009 9

Makarsakranti, the only feast of.

the Indian calendar which is not I
. . . .t i s J a n u a r y 1 4 t h 2 0 0 9
Gujarat- Reality Today Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
is regarded as “ Mission accomplished
!”. This bluff was called, when recently,
observed on a particular day of the Lunar
What “Vibrant Gujarat” one is talking about? under an RTI query, the Government of
month. It is generally believed that on Gujarat admitted that just about 25%
this day, the sun enters the constellation The truth is that Gujarat as a State of the MoUs of the last three years
of Makar (crocodile) and begins to move is “Violent”, “Intolerant”, “Bluffing”, were actually in the pipeline !! The
towards the north. In Gujarat , it is known waters of the Narmada Dam is being
as Uttarayan, the day on which thousands “Revengeful”, “Arrogant”, “Negligent” and utilized by the rich and powerful of
of kites dot the skies in order to propitiate . ”“Terror-filled Ahmedabad. The parched lands of
the Sun-God. The newspapers today (as By Fr. Cedric Prakash sj North Gujarat, Saurashtra and Kutch still
those of yesterday) are filled with stories harbour illusions of the water reaching
of ‘Vibrant Gujarat’... of how the biggest them ! State Government advertisements
industrialists of the country have highlight projects and programmes which
critics of Gujarat fell into the trap, and One only has to skim through the daily
“promised” to invest thousands of are in fact undertaken and executed by the
joined the chorus that “all is well”. Very newspapers to realize how violence has
crores (millions of dollars !) in Gujarat Central Government, like the expressway,
few dare ask uncomfortable questions. .become a perfected art in the State
. Overnight, the problems of the State the airport, the railway system and the 108
Everybody knows the truth about who Intolerant :There is a sophistication
seem to have been solved !! Some have .ambulance service
is doing the “flag-waving !”. There are in the way intolerance has been
decided that Gujarat can now take on Revengeful :In Gujarat today, anyone
voices who say that ‘ the “emperor” has mainstreamed. One can experience it in
China and a couple of industrialists have standing up for Truth and Justice is at the
no clothes on ! ‘, but at this moment, there the chaotic traffic on the roads. If one is
even anointed the CM of the State as the receiving end. The Government pulls
are not too many listening. The plain truth a Muslim, one is denied the right to buy
next Prime Minister of India ! Visitors out all stops (to stop School Grants, to
is that the cosmetic has stifled the reality. a house or a shop in the up-market areas
and dignitaries who came to Ahmedabad impound Passports) to ensure that voices
If one scratches the surface a little, the of Ahmedabad, Surat and other cities.
were welcomed by posters and banners, of dissent are silenced. A few months ago,
bubble of euphoria will surely burst. Let’s One is forced to live on the periphery of
by floodlights and illuminations, with when the Times of India did an expose on
. look into how “Vibrant”, is Gujarat many villages. The Freedom of Religion
newly paved roads and a city which was the Police Commissioner of Ahmedabad,
Violent : For a State that should have Law prevents any one from embracing
cosmetically spruced up for the “mother sedition charges were filed against
had ‘Ahimsa’ as its cornerstone, violence another religion, without permission from
of all events” to flaunt what is termed some of those who ran the newspaper.
has in fact become institutionalized. The the civil authority. Couples in love, are
in Government propaganda, as “Vibrant Honest and objective police officials and
State presided over the killing of hundreds forcibly prevented from marrying if the
Gujarat”. The local (and some national) bureaucrats are transferred to insignificant
of Muslims during the Carnage of 2002. partner belongs to a different religion or
media went “gaga”.....showcasing how postings; Government agencies like the
Trigger-happy policemen have eliminated caste. Movies like “Parzania” and “Fanaa”
Gujarat is more than India, how the “whole Collectorate, the Police, the Charity
several Muslim youth in ‘encounters’. are not allowed to be screened in the
world” had come to invest in this one Commissioner are used to intimidate and
(One high-ranking police officer is now State – one, because it exposes the Truth,
State during the two-day affair know as harass individuals and groups that work for
in jail for such an ‘encounter’.) Innocent and the other, because the lead actor asks
‘Vibrant Gujarat Investors’ Summit’. The the betterment of the poor, the vulnerable
boys are killed in an ashram of a well that the tribals who were dispossessed
Government and their cronies flag-waved and marginalized. Prominent citizens are
known Guru, and, no one can do anything because of the Narmada Dam, to be justly
all over.....it’s the Number One State in kept under constant surveillance and many
about it ! Young girls studying to be .rehabilitated
the Country ! The hype put forward by .live under the veil of fear
teachers are raped in government hostels Bluffing :The art of lying seems to
the well oiled propaganda machinery was Arrogant :A sense of arrogance seems
by their teachers for the sake of better have taken a new meaning in Gujarat
so compelling that even the most diehard Cont. on page 12
grades. Female foeticide is rampant. . This is obvious when even a sheer

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 Editorial
Central Madrasa Board
?A Bitter or Better Pill
R
ecently, there have been talks about the setting up of a
Central Madrasa Board. There are both negative as well
as possible positive aspects of this proposal, some benefits
as well as some drawbacks. We will have to wait and see which is
more. What is certain, however, is that the Board will have some
very negative consequences. The Board would fund the madrasas
that affiliate themselves to it, and obviously this would lead to
interference by the state. The state would deal with these madrasas
on its own terms. Such funding can be used to build and consolidate
vote-banks and might lead to the politicization of madrasas, leading
to competition for government patronage. This would negatively
impact on the teachers’ passion for and commitment to their work.
They will become more concerned with raise in their salaries and
other such benefits, and would not hesitate to take to demonstrations
and strikes for this end as in other educational institutions. It would
further increase corruption. It would also lead to a situation like that
which prevails in many madrasas affiliated to the Madrasa Board
appointed by the Bihar government, where numerous teachers
have never even seen the madrasas where they are supposed to
be teaching. They sit at home and draw their salaries, like in
.government-run schools
Because the salaries of teachers and staff in the affiliated
madrasas would be much higher than what is presently given in
the independent madrasas, political links and personal contacts will
become more important than capability, expertise and experience
in staff appointments. The managers of the madrasas will then have
to seek to please the ruling party to keep the funds flowing in. So,
in all, the setting up of a Central Madrasa Board might seriously
.impact in a very negative way on the madrasas
Board-affiliated madrasas would give their teachers better
salaries and service conditions. So, it is possible that teachers
working in independent madrasas, whose salaries are very low,
would seek to make a beeline for these madrasas. Till now they
have been relying on God and leading a very simple lifestyle. But
obviously the opportunity of earning a government salary would
impact on the minds of several of them. So, two classes of ulema
would emerge, and there would be a sort of conflict of interests
between them. The teachers in the independent madrasas would
feel that despite their better qualifications and experience and their
greater commitment, they are paid much less than those in Board-
.affiliated madrasas
Many madrasa teachers labour under the arbitrariness and whims
of the managers of the madrasas. The Board, if it is established,
would certainly lead to greater and more open articulation of this
resentment. Teachers would be motivated to ask for higher salaries,
threatening that if their demands were not granted they would shift
.to Board-affiliated madrasas
Many madrasa students may welcome the setting up of the Board
if it enables the madrasas to get affiliated to various universities that
would recognize their degrees. This is what the Sachar Committee
Report also advises. This would create two streams within the
madrasa system, one group of students would study in madrasas for
a couple of years, say till the middle level and then would be able
to join high schools and universities. Others, who want to spend
their life serving the cause of the faith, can carry on with specialised
religious education. Unlike the case now, only those students who
have genuine interest in serving the faith as ulema, and have not
taken to madrasa education out of economic compulsion, would
.thereby go on for higher Islamic learning in the madrasas
The Board can act as a bridge that can help reduce the hiatus
that exists between the madrasa and the ‘modern’ systems of
education. This role can be further promoted if the Board can
select bright madrasa graduates and arrange for them to go in for
short courses in English, Social Sciences and so on, so that they
can thereafter join universities. For this, it can open a university of
its own or else special departments in existing universities. So a
Central Madrasa Board is like a bitter pill, may heal, but also has
■.its own side-effects
Letters
Bouquets and Brickbats
Foot in Mouth
The opinion of Netherland’s Astrid Essad
(Denial of Burial, Bouquets and Brickbats, IV Jan
2009) is exasperating. The decision of the Indian
Muslim council is right, but the reasons given
by them could have been substantial and more
positive, absence of which will give credence to
the theory which some people in India sermonize
that “all terrorists are Muslims even though all
Muslims are not terrorists”. Notwithstanding, the
un-Islamic conduct of these terrorists, we do not
even know if they were Muslims at all even in their
belief. They could well be hired mercenaries of
any religious belief and even atheists. At one time
it was even suspected that they were of European
origin. By asserting that the terrorists deserved a
good Islamic burial, the Netherlander has put his
foot in his mouth. He seems to be convinced that
.they were indeed Muslims
Dr A. Ahmed
dr.a.ahmed@sify.com
Brilliant Piece
I was very pleased to read ‘Manual for Social
harmony for Muslims’ by Maqbool Ahmed Siraj in
Islamic Voice, December 2008. It is a wake up call
for all of us to follow and build bridges with others
in the society. I only wish enough tolerance towards
others is drilled in our mindset and a message of
love and understanding is injected into us to change
our attitude to learn to live in peace and harmony.
!Congrats for the brilliant piece
M. A. Khalid
CEO, Karnataka Board of Wakfs, Bangalore
Excellent Manual for Harmony
The article by Maqbool Ahmed Siraj in
Islamic Voice, December 2008, titled “Manual
for Social Harmony” is very important and serves
as guidance to Muslims to maintain cordial and
pleasant relations with members of the society in
general. Luckily we are following some of the
things Mr Siraj has suggested. For example, on
both Eids, we invite prominent citizens, politicians,
local administrative officers to the Idgah, making
suitable separate enclosure for them to sit. After
prayers, we offer them snacks. On Diwali, Muslims
greet them. We welcome the new government
officers and pay adieu to the transferred officers. I
will attempt to translate Mr Siraj’s article in Urdu
to convey his valuable suggestions to people here in
Jodhpur and around. Congratulations and a bouquet
.of roses for Mr Siraj
Kazi Mohammad Ayub
Shehar Khateeb & Pesh Imam
Shahi Ikminara Masjid, Jodhpur
A Real Holocaust
The UN’s Western members have been dealing
with the situation in Gaza as a humanitarian crisis
rather than an Israeli occupation. They deny
Palestinians their right of self- defence and offer
them, instead, humanitarian aid in return for their
complete surrender to the Israeli occupation. The
UN Security Council ignored the fact that the Israeli
army is attacking Palestinian civilians within their
own cities on Palestinian land. The Israeli army is
a well equipped, well trained, and state sponsored
murdering organisation. It is not fighting another
army in Gaza. It is murdering virtually unarmed
ISLAMIC VOICE, fEBRUARY 2009 10
civilians who do not possess any fighter planes,
tanks or the most sophisticated weapons. This is not
a war between two armies. This is mere murder and
.a real holocaust created by none other than Israel
Mohd. Salahuddin, Mumbai
smsalahuddin64@hotmail.com
Bizarre Logic
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan’s article, “ Muslims
have lost their Wisdom,” Islamic Voice, January
2009 made distasteful reading. I am at a loss to
understand what kind of wisdom he was speaking
about, a wisdom to allow the aliens to capture one’s
country and accept such illegal occupation as the
will of God? According to his logic, the Muslims in
Afghanistan should have accepted the occupation
of their country by the erstwhile Soviet Union as
their fate. Likewise, the Palestinians should have
accepted the occupation of their land by Israel as
the decision of God! The Maulana should know
that progress does not take place in a vacuum,
progress is synonymous to economic and political
liberation. What kind of toleration is he speaking
about when the sons of soil live in refugee camps
and the usurpers let loose all kinds of repression?
It would have been wiser if the Maulana had given
his sermon of non-violence to the ex-President of
US, Bush. Then the political situation in the world
.would have been different
Md. Rashed, Kolkata
Government Schemes
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The crucial role of Non-Governmental
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and they offer various Financial Schemes for the
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-:and can be ordered from the address below
Ed. Sheikh Gulzaar
POB: 667 GPO Srinagar J&K 190001
Ph: 09858986794, E.mail: iirc@rediffmail.
 Community Round Up
Leaders call for liberating
Wakf Properties
New Delhi: The recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary
Committee (JPC) on Wakf have stressed the need of freeing the
Wakf properties from illegal occupations and utilizing their income
for the welfare of the Muslim community. Delegates from 28 states
and 6 union territories deliberated on the issues concerning the Wakf
administration. The idea was to identify modalities for implementing
the recommendations made by the joint parliamentary committee
on Wakf. The committee has presented its IXth report on October
23 2008, in both Houses of Parliament. Inaugurating the conference
attended by delegates from all over the country, vice- president of
India, Hamid Ansari said that it is a matter of great concern for
the community that a vast property of Wakf properties are lying
useless or generating very little income. Minister for minority affairs,
A. R Antulay suggested that if Waqf properties were freed from
illegal occupation, the community would need no help from others.
■ )(Reported by Andalib Akhter
Urdu educational
programmes on AIR
Hyderabad : The Maulana Azad National Urdu University
(MANUU) will now offer distance education programmes for its
students over state owned All India Radio (AIR). To start with, an
half-an-hour long programme will be broadcast every Sunday at 5
p.m. by 31 AIR stations in seven states - Andhra Pradesh, Bihar,
Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka , Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh
and Maharashtra. The programme was scheduled to go on air on
■.January 9, 2009 which is the foundation day of MANUU
New houses for
Tsunami victims
New Delhi: The Tamil Nadu Relief Committee (TNRC), a service
organisation of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, handed over 38 houses
to the victims of Tsunami in the village of Kottaikuppam near
Puducherry on January 3, 2009. TNRC has been doing relief
and rehabilitation work in the state since Tsunami hit the Indian
coastlines on December 26, 2004. Soon after the disaster, TNRC
sprung into action and established 100 temporary shelters in
Nagapattinam, which was the worst affected town in Tamil
Nadu. It also provided Relief Kits comprising of rice, food
grains, bucket, utensils, soaps, blankets, mattresses etc, to
■ .7000 families
ISLAMIC VOICE, fEBRUARY 2009 11
Darul Uloom Deoband tightens admission rules
New Delhi: Darul Uloom Deoband, has decided to tighten the admission rules in a bid to save its
reputation and academic excellence. The decision areas of West Bengal and Assam will have
has been taken following reports that students to produce attested copies of identification
from some of madrasas which are under cloud of documents, which include transfer certificate of
suspicion want to enter the renowned madrasa any government school, ration card or passport,
for ulterior motives. The latest guidelines for at the time of admission. Other foreign students
the admission proposes to make it mandatory wishing to get admission in Darul Uloom have to
for every entrant to submit his identity proof, take education visa from Indian embassy in their
including birth certificate, a copy of the ration country. Now Darul Uloom will not admit students
card, details about family and certificate of on the basis of tourist visa. (Reported by Andalib
conduct from the previous school or madrasa ■ )Akhter
in case the candidate had enrolled himself in
one. From now separate files for each student
would also be maintained. More specifically
UGC study confirms Muslims most
those students who come from the border
backward educationally
New Delhi: After the Sachar Committee report which exposed backwardness of Muslims in India
in every sphere of life including education, a The report, which examines socio-religious
comprehensive study conducted by the University disparities in higher education enrollment for the
Grants Commission (UGC) has now established first time in such detail, will form the basis of the
the fact that the largest minority of the country 11th Five Year Plan strategy for higher education.
has lagged far behind in higher education. The Among the religious communities, Sikhs are at
Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in higher education No. 3 with 12.69% in GER, while Christians are
is the highest for Christians at 19.85% followed ahead of all religious groups in overall enrolment
by Hindus at 13.13% but the Muslims are at the .in higher education as well as at graduate level
lowest – among religious communities – at just If we see rural-urban divide among the religious
7.7%, reveals the 293-page report titled “Higher communities in higher education, we find urban
Education in India: Issues Related to Expansion, Christians and urban Hindus have registered about
Inclusiveness, Quality and Finance.” The study a three-fold rise in GER, but this is not the case
which began in the middle of 2006 took almost with Muslims. The total GER of urban Muslims is
two years to complete and was made public in .10.49% and their rural counterparts are at 05.78%
.November 2008 ■
PEOPLE
Lifetime Achievement Award for Zoologist Prof. Shameem
Jairajpuri
Guwahati: Renowned Zoologist, Prof. M. Shamim Jairajpuri of Aligarh Muslim University has
been conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award in Zoology by the Zoological Society of India at the
National Congress of Zoology held in Guwahati. Governor of Meghalaya, Moosaharry presented the
award. This is for the first time that anyone has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the
Zoological Society of India. Moosaharry also presented him the eminent Indian Zoologist Gold Medal
.together with the Lifetime Achievement Award
Academic Excellence Award for Prof Rashid Khan
New Delhi: Prof. Rashid M. Khan of Department of Anaesthesiology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical
College, AMU, Aligarh has been conferred upon the “Academic Excellence Award-2008” by the Indian
Society of Anaesthesiologists, Bhopal. The Award was conferred during the recently concluded 56th
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 Community Round Up
.UGC to set up Maulana Azad Benches
IGNOU to start Persian course
i n New
MaulanaDelhi: The University
Azad BenchesGrants Comm-ission (UGC)
religious studies, has decided
secularism andtoco-education.
establish
different univer-sities across Other research areas include Maulana Azad’s
.the country contribution in the Indian Freedom struggle,
Chairperson of the values and ethics”. Meanwhile, Indira Gandhi
UGC, Prof. Sukhdev National Open University (IGNOU) has
Thorat said, “The decided to start a certificate course in Persian
UGC has decided to language in the current academic session with
establish Maulana the cooperation of Iran Cultural House, New
Azad Benches in Delhi. The Iranian embassy will conduct
six universities of interviewS for admission to the course. The
the country. The course is designed to help students in acquiring
research in these in-depth knowledge of Iranian history, culture
Benches would include ■ .and literature
subjects like journalism,
literature, higher education,
Higher incidence of diphtheria among
Muslims in Hyderabad
By Kashif-ul-Huda
A study of diphtheria cases between 2003 and The study found that 70% of 2,685 patients were
2006 in the city of Hyderabad found that rate of the Muslims. This was found to be 3 times higher than
disease is higher among children of 5-19 years of other communities. Incidence of diphtheria was
age, women, and Muslims than other social groups. higher in predominantly Muslim populated areas
The study conducted by the National Institute of .of the city
Epidemiology, Chennai is published in the July Diphtheria is a contagious disease affecting
2008 issue of peer reviewed journal, Emerging upper respiratory tract and nervous system. One
Infectious Diseases. Published since 1995, journal reason for higher diphtheria rate among Muslims is
Emerging Infectious Diseases is published by lower coverage for later doses. Rate of coverage for
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) non-Muslim and Muslim children under primary
.of the United States vaccination was same but it dropped significantly
In 2005, 71% of the 4,161 Indian cases of for the fourth and the fifth dose. Since children are
diphtheria came from Andhra Pradesh. The study getting the primary dose equally, it indicates that
found that between 2003 and 2006 there were parents and community leaders are not opposed to
2,685 patients admitted to Hyderabad hospitals for the idea of vaccinations, but as children age, proper
diphtheria cases. The fatality rate was low at 1.2% ■ )health care needs are not met. (Twocircles.net
but the study saw increase in the rate of incidence
over the years. Diptheria cases were lowest among
infants, but increased with age and reached a
maximum among children of 10-14 years of age.
Bricks of Harmony
Patna : Muslims have joined hands with Hindus to lay the foundation of a new temple, dedicated to
.the sun god, in a Bihar town with the construction of temple, said. According
The two communities got together to lay the to police officials in Kurtha, Hindus, along with
foundation of a temple at Manikpur Bazar in Muslims from surrounding villages, presented a
Kurtha in Arwal district, about 80 km from the show of harmony when each of them donated a
state capital. “Like Hindus, Muslims also brought ■.brick for construction of the temple
a brick from their houses to lay the foundation for
ISLAMIC VOICE, fEBRUARY 2009 12
Gujarat- Reality Today
Cont. from page 9
to have puffed up the chests of a few who try to control the lives and
destinies of others. Such arrogance was very visible in the hey day
of Nazism when Hitler brutally trampled on those who were “not
like him”. Key people in the State roam about with immunity and
impunity and are also elected to positions of power. The underlying
message that is conveyed is that “no one can touch them”. One
needs to look at the judgments that are given from the Lower Courts
and the High Court of Gujarat, in order to experience the subjectivity
.and partiality that has permeated the system
Negligent :Large sections of society in Gujarat are totally
neglected. Systematic efforts are made to snatch the forests from
the hands of the adivasis. A recent study says that more than thirty-
five thousand families will be displaced from the banks of the River
Sabarmati because of the Sabarmati River Front Development Project.
Development- induced displacement is also the lot of several poor
and marginalized farmers and others. Fisher-folk along Gujarat ‘s
vast coastline, continue to be marginalized. Dalits are at the receiving
end and many of them continue to live in inhuman conditions. The
status of women in Gujarat is way down in comparison to several
other States of the country. Children are denied their rights: a large
percentage of them constitute the labour force; the textbooks dished
out by the Gujarat State Secondary School Board is a clear violation
of the rights of children – full of errors, inaccuracies, myths and
distortions; only about 59.6% of the rural children of Gujarat can
.read Std. I text as against the All-India average of 66.6%
The Constitutional rights and freedoms of an ordinary citizen are
not safeguarded. In fact, in several cases, when a victim approaches
the system for help, he / she is made the perpetrator of the crime !
The diversity which has been characteristic of this State, has been
totally decimated as communities are forced into ghettoization. There
is palpable fear all over. What “Vibrant Gujarat “ then, does one
talk about ? The truth is that Gujarat as a State is “Violent”,
“Intolerant”, “Bluffing”, “Revengeful”, “Arrogant”, “Negligent”
and “Terror-filled” . Let’s not live in lies, half-truths and illusions.
■ .Gujarat , wake up, before it is too late
Fr. Cedric Prakash sj is the Director of “Prashant”, the(
Ahmedabad-based Jesuit Centre for Human Rights, Justice and

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the new temple,” Sudama Yadav, who is associated

Associating Islam with terrorism wrong: Dalai Lama

New Delhi: The perception created by media that Islam is associated with violence and terrorism is
totally wrong, said Buddhist spiritual leader Dalai
Lama at the World Religions Congress held at
Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi on January
17. In his keynote address at the three-day global
congress on World’s Religions after September
11: An Asian Perspective, Dalai Lama said
that people irrespective of their faiths are doing
irreligious things as soon as they are out of their
places of worship. They try to show themselves as
sincere followers of their religion when they are
in temple, church, mosque or synagogue, he said.
The three-day Congress has been organised by the
Centre for the Study of Comparative Religions and
Civilisations, Jamia Millia Islmia and the Faculty of
■.Religious Studies, McGill University, Canada
 Community Round Up ISLAMIC VOICE, fEBRUARY 2009 13
Centre revives plan to Two Muslim women are winners for West Bengal Assembly
By Andalib Akhter
establish Madarsa Board New Delhi/Kolkata:
Contrary to the perception
when somebody asked as
to how she will present
New Delhi: The UPA government at the centre has
revived its plan to establish a Central Madrasa Board to that Muslims, particularly the Nandigram and its need
regulate education in madrasas. The proposal was dumped women from the community for development in the
two years ago amidst opposition from Muslim groups. live in cocooned traditions, Assembly, Feroza shot
The madrasa chiefs feared that the government would two women of West Bengal, back: “My people have
interfere in the functioning of madrasas through such a .have proved otherwise brought me this far. I am
Board. According to reliable sources in the ministry of The women not only sure they will teach me the
human resource development, a cabinet note for a Central jumped into politics, but also things to do in such a big
Board for Madrasa Education has already been drafted. The won the recently held by-
”.)place (the Assembly
note clearly specifies that affiliation to the Board will be .polls by huge margins
voluntary. It also made it clear that the proposed Board An early school Another young Muslim
is aimed to standardise the Madrasa system of education. drop-out, Feroza Bibi, woman, Mausam Noor
However top ministry officials are still in the process of 60, has not only won the has also reached the state
screening the note and having consultations with madrasa well-known Nandigram assemble by trouncing
as the symbol of political of the Bhoomi Ucched
chiefs in several states. The National Commission for Assembly seat, but also her rival, CPM’s Haji
violence and the pan-India Pratirodh Committee
Minority Educational Institutions has also recommended the hearts of thousands debate on using farmland (BUPC), which had led the Ketabuddin, by over 21,000
setting up of a Central Madarsa Board through an Act of of locals who see her as .for industry Nandigram struggle was votes. Niece of late veteran
■ )Parliament. (Reported by Andalib Akhter .their messiah Since 2007, Nandigram seen during the election Congress leader, A.B.A.
Acquitted youth unite Feroza Bibi of
Trinamool Congress
remains the theatre of
political violence when
campaign as the “good
woman from Sonachura”
Ghani Khan Chowdhury,
Mausam Noor, retained
for justice defeated her closest rival,
Paramananda Bharati
the government tried
to acquire farmland for
(which witnessed some of
the fiercest CPM-Trinamul
family bastion Sujapur, in
New Delhi: Over 200 Muslim youth who were of the CPI by a margin Malda district. Her mother
acquitted of terror charges in different states have united a chemical hub that it clashes over two years),
of nearly 40,000 votes. ultimately had to shift who lost a teenage son to Ruby Noor, who passed
to seek justice from the government. These “tainted” Trinamool chief, Mamata .from the area .police bullets away was the previous
youths will jointly place their demand to the government Banerjee described
to rehabilitate them with jobs or fund their studies. They Feroza Bibi, despite The poor woman, a Congress MLA. Mausam
Feroza’s victory‘ as a losing her son Sheikh mother of three, had seen is a social worker and
also want severe punishment for the police and other
”.“sign of change Imdadul alias Raja in her youngest son Raja ■.lawyer in Kolkata
officials responsible for the arrests and the media leaks.
About 170 km south- the battle with police to being killed on March 14,
These youth have not only lost their prestige, but also
east of Kolkata, at the protect the farmland, .2007
their jobs and careers after being wrongly held as terror
confluence of the Hooghly continued her struggle Vo t e r s w e r e n o t
suspects. The youth from Delhi , Mumbai, Hyderabad
, Calcutta and Azamgarh, have been acquitted, and and the Haldi, Nandigram against the state govern- bothered about her CV
the rest freed on bail, after months of detention and occupies a place in the .ment while casting their votes
interrogation and alleged torture.Talha Amir was picked Indian political lexicon Feroza Bibi, a member in her favour, however
up from Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, by the Maharashtra
anti-terrorist squad last month on suspicion of being a
conduit between the Indian Mujahideen and the Lashkar-
Railways examination in Urdu
New Delhi/Patna: Minister for Railways Lalu Prasad Yadav seems to be implementing his promises to minorities,
e-Toiba. He was also accused of involvement in the Delhi particularly the Urdu loving people. The latest example Madrasas to participate in the examination. The script of
blasts and the Mumbai attacks. When he got bail two of his promise is to conduct Railways competitive the question was not only in Urdu, but the questions were
weeks later, after the police failed to find any evidence examination in Urdu. Recently Railways conducted group also asked in pure and simple Urdu. It may be recalled
against him, he had lost his IT job in Hyderabad . The D examination in which questions were asked in Urdu, that Lalu Prasad while presenting the Railway Budget
Uttar Pradesh Ulema Council and the Muslim Political much to the pleasure of Urdu students. The competitive for 2008-09 in the Lok Sabha said that instructions have
Council ((MPC) are backing the proposed rally. “The test was conducted in Patna in which hundreds of been issued to permit Urdu as a medium of examination
government must rehabilitate the youth who have been candidates from Bihar,, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, for Group ‘D’ posts in states where Urdu is the second
acquitted of terror charges in Hyderabad and other parts Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh participated. Candidates ■ .official language
of the country because their detention has destroyed their for the first time saw questions in Urdu apart from Hindi
career,” said a member of the Muslim Political Council. and English. This initiative helped several students from

Advt Advt
Mayhem in Mumbai ISLAMIC VOICE, fEBRUARY 2009 14

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Muslim Perespectives ISLAMIC VOICE, fEBRUARY 2009 15

Struggling to Survive: Muslims in Slums

There are many Muslim- managed educational schools in Mumbai, but their access to slums dwellers
is negligible. Most of them cater to the middle and upper
.middle class
By M. Hanif Lakdawala DOORSTEP SCHOOL

F
ifty three per cent of the
Muslim population of
Mumbai lives in just
19 per cent of its land area —
an alarmingly disproportionate
figure by any standards and
enough to give the community
.leadership sleepless nights
Much is written on the
inhuman living conditions in
slums and their role in breeding
crime and disease. Contrary to
popular belief, slums are highly
structured and regulated spaces.
They arise in particular places at
particular times and so are very
context-specific. Migrants to the
city choose to live in particular
slums on the basis of a host of
factors such as proximity to the
workplace and the demographic
.composition of the slum
The poor have to redefine
their survival strategies, in such
a way that each member of the
household, including children,
has to contribute either through
direct participation in the labour
market or through helping in the
house as a caretaker. Children,
working in restaurants, garages
or small factories, not only are
extra hands, but enable adult
labour to seek employment away
.from the villages
Migrating to towns and
cities becomes an important
component of this survival
strategy where children are
employed in carpet factories,
brick kilns, lock-and-toy making
units, the sports goods industry
and other enterprises in the
unorganised sector. The ever-
increasing numbers of old and
young migrant workers living
in the slums and shanty towns
change in the conditions of the children of poor construction .municipal school
in cities constitute the low-wage,
deprived section? Why zakat and workers, seasonal migrants, The idea is not do to be
low-skill labour for the small and
donations by Muslims does not and other representatives of a parallel school, but the
.medium enterprises
?reach them the unorganised sectors with objective is that kids under any
Those who ask for help;
There are many issues which no permanent address. They are circumstances should not miss
most often they get the help,
can be solved with some focus also human, they are also part school. The teachers of Door
but those who deserve help, but
from the community without of our community, and how can Step School are educated at least
because of self respect do not
huge investment. Muslim ?we forget them up to Class 10 and are trained
ask for help and they remain
intelligentsia is too pre-occupied How the concept of door- according to the needs of the
impoverished and suffer. There
with decorative issues such step schools work? The bus, school. The children are taught
is a substantial Muslim upper
as discrimination, political parks in a regular slot every basic subjects like mathematics,
middle class and elite class who
empowerment, higher education day while the staff caters to science, social studies in the
do contribute Zakat. But the issue
etc, totally neglecting the issues the schooling needs of local .Marathi medium
is why there is no discernible
of the most deprived section of children. If there is a municipal Says Rashida Anwar ,
.the community school nearby, they help coordinator, Door Step School
The pressing issue is .children enroll in it
, Study Centre: “We have a
not political empowerment Alternatively, social
different kind of classroom.
of Muslims, but the high workers look for a site where
In one class itself, children
percentage of illiteracy amongst permanent arrangements can
Muslims. There are many be made for a door-step school of different age groups sit -
Muslim- managed educational in the area, sometimes in an there are some kids who have
schools in Mumbai, but their existing Balwadi or in a space never attended school at all. It
access to slums dwellers is donated by a kind resident. After takes a while to get them into a
negligible. Most of them cater setting up the school, the bus ”.discipline
to the middle and upper .moves on to a new area Doorstep School has also
.middle class Normally, a tin shed is created ‘parallel’ schools for
There is no creativity to tackle erected at the site so that the drop-outs, like adolescent girls
the task of illiteracy. Poorer kids do not have to travel long who do domestic work during
sections of the community distances, then volunteers inform the day, whose needs remain

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neither can afford school
expenses nor find them useful,
especially when the family is
under-nourished and under-
clothed. In some instances,
children from disadvantaged
class and poor backgrounds
might stay enrolled in a school
to avail themselves of mid-day
meal schemes or other such
.incentives
The community can learn
from the experiments such as
doorstep schools, i.e. school-
on-wheels. These door-step
schools or a classroom in a
bus enables us to reach entire
communities of children
outside the system: street kids,
the parents about the school. unmet. They attend evening
Most of the time the parents are classes taught in each lane of the
ready. If there is a small sibling slums between 7 and 9 p.m. Once
because of which the child is not a Doorstep School ‘graduate’ is
able to attend school, the door enrolled in a government-funded
step school provides childcare school, the organisations could
..facilities for them follow up and conduct study
The door step school can classes to guide the children
cover most of the construction through the formal school
sites or slum pockets in the city ■ .system
and admits children as young
as three. It also provides books
and basic stationery. Door Step
School provides the kids with a
platform and gives them a good
foundation to prepare them for
a municipal school. If need be,
it even provides transportation
to children to reach a nearby
 Clippings from Urdu Media
Communalism and terrorism are inextricably“
”interlinked
.Sikand
Maulana… Q: For some years now,
charges have been levelled
Abdul Khaliq against the Dar ul-Uloom
Deoband of being allegedly
Madrasi associated with terrorism.
?Why is this so
The Dar ul-Uloom A: This requires a detailed
at Deoband, explanation, but I will be brief.
which played a After the fall of the Soviet Union,
the West, principally America,
leading role in the required an enemy to sustain
struggle for India’s itself, and this it conjured up in
the form of Islam. In this project,
freedom from the the Jewish lobby had a key and
British, has, in leading role to play. Following
recent years, been the attacks of 9/11, the Western
powers invaded Afghanistan
targeted by certain and Iraq, and, at the same time,
forces that have also launched a sustained attack
against Islam itself. Hence began
sought to link it a well-planned conspiracy to
with terrorism. defame Islamic institutions and
In this regard, to seek to link Islam and Muslims
with terrorism. In such a situation,
Shahid Zaidi, how could one expect that the
correspondent for anti-Islamic forces would not
make the Dar ul-Uloom an object
the Urdu Alami of their attack? However, not only
Sahara, recently has the Dar ul-Uloom effectively
interviewed rebutted this malicious and false
propaganda against it, but it has
Maulana Abdul also unleashed a jihad against
Khaliq Madrasi, terrorism. And, besides tearing off
the veil behind which American
the Deputy Rector global terrorism masquerades,
of the Dar ul- it has also sought to expose
Uloom, to elicit the growing terrorism within
India itself, and this struggle
his reactions. It .continues
appeared in the Q: But why is it that within
India some forces are seeking
17th January, 2009 to present a very negative
issue of the paper. image of the Dar ul-Uloom
Below are excerpts ?Deoband
A: This is not limited just
of the interview, to the Dar ul-Uloom Deoband.
translated from Islam and Muslims themselves
are being sought to be projected
Urdu by Yoginder in the same light. Behind this,
too, is the hand of Israel and
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America, who are being helped
by the Sangh Parivar in India.
I believe that this game started
ever since our country’s relations
with America and Israel became
increasingly close. Muslim
intellectuals, ulema and also
the leaders of the Dar ul-Uloom
Deoband have consistently been
stressing the point that this
unholy and dangerous game of
terrorism is being jointly played
by the Israeli secret service
agency Mossad, the American
intelligence agencies and the
Sangh Parivar, acting together,
who have sought to place the
blame for this squarely on the
Dar ul-Uloom and on Muslims
in general. This is clearly evident
from the terror links of some
people associated with the Sangh
Parivar that were unearthed by
the chief of the Mumbai Anti-
Terror Squad, the late Hemant
Karkare, a brave officer who was
.recently martyred
Q: The report of the Second
Administrative Commission,
headed by Veerappa Moily
that was commissioned by the
present UPA Government, has,
in its section on countering
terrorism, claimed that the chief
of the Jaish-e- Mohammad,
Masood Azhar, paid a secret
visit to India in 1996, where
he met with leaders of the Dar
ul-Uloom at Deoband. On the
basis of this report, Vinay
Katiyar, a senior BJP leader,
has accused the Dar ul-Uloom
of harbouring terrorists. What
?do you have to say about this
A: If it is true that the report
of the Commission has said
this, it must present whatever
proof or evidence that it has
to substantiate the claim. The
allegation that Vinay Katiyar
has leveled against the Dar
ul-Uloom, based on the report,
is serious, and it is the duty of
the Government to establish
its veracity or otherwise. We
have earlier also firmly rebutted
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ISLAMIC VOICE, fEBRUARY 2009
allegations leveled by Katiyar
and Praveen Togadia. Even the
rector of the Dar ul-Uloom,
Maulana Marghub ur-Rahman,
has done so, and has said that the
Government must respond to and
answer the specific reference that
Katiyar has made with regard to
the Moily Commission Report,
and that the Government must
take notice of Katiyar’s false and
.baseless allegation
Q: But why has the Dar
ul-Uloom not taken any legal
action against people like
?Vinay Katiyar
A: All major decisions of the
Dar ul-Uloom are taken on the
basis of collective consultation
(shura). As far as I know, the
shura committee of the Dar ul-
Uloom has not deliberated on
this issue. We also believe that,
in contrast to the communal
forces, the secular and fair-
minded people of our country
do not believe in these false
allegations. The elders of the Dar
ul-Uloom have very forcefully
rebutted these hollow charges.
This is for the first time that
communal forces have made a
reference like this to the report
of a Government-appointed
Commission as a basis, and
that is why the Dar ul-Uloom
has been demanding that the
Government should make the
truth about the report public,
otherwise it would stain the
.Government’s image
As far as Masood Azhar is
concerned, he was never a student
of the Dar ul-Uloom. He was
released from jail by the NDA
government. Top BJP leader
and the then Foreign Minister,
Jaswant Singh, arranged for
him to be sent to Afghanistan,
and Singh claimed that this
was backed by the then Home
Minister, Lal Krishan Advani,
and on the instructions of the
.then NDA Cabinet
Q : O n 1 9 D e c e m b e r,
2008, Pakistan’s Permanent
16
Representative to the UN
Security Council, Abdullah
Hus ain Haroon, made a
statement claiming that only
the Dar ul-Uloom Deoband,
can reign in the terrorists
active in the tribal areas of
North-West Pakistan because
these terrorists are associated
with the Deobandi school of
thought. What do you have to
?say about this
A: The Dar ul-Uloom strongly
condemned this statement of the
Pakistani Representative and
demanded that Pakistan should
question him and make him
withdraw what he had said. This
statement is also a reflection
of the Pakistani Government’s
consternation in the wake of
the pressure that is mounting
on it in the wake of the Mumbai
attacks. It has tried to wriggle
out of this by wrongly seeking
to blame the Dar ul-Uloom, but
in this has been unsuccessful.
At the same time [through this
wrong allegation], it has tried
to mislead international opinion
to believe [its claim] that it is
India that is responsible for
this terrorism. However, the
benefit of this baseless allegation
was reaped not by Pakistan but
by the Sangh Parivar. Further,
behind this fallacious claim of
the Pakistani Representative is
the long-standing resentment
that Pakistan nurtures because of
[the Dar ul-Uloom’s] opposition
to the creation of Pakistan and
.’the ‘two nation theory
Q: Do you have any other
message for readers of this
?interview
A : Te r r o r i s m a n d
communalism, I wish to tell
them, are grave threats to the
prosperity and peace of our
country and to harmonious,
brotherly relations among the
different communities. We must
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Muslim & Education ISLAMIC VOICE, fEBRUARY 2009 17

Training Centre for Madrasa Teachers

The Centre for the Professional Development of Urdu-Medium Teachers at the Hyderabad-
based Maulana Urdu-Medium Teachers at the Hyderabad- for heads and teachers of Urdu-medium
based Maulana Azad National Urdu schools. More than 400 teachers from
Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) assumes particular madrasas in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,
importance. Established two years ago, Maharashtra and Kerala have participated
University has and funded by the University Grants in these workshops, where they have
been working to Commission, the Centre has been working been exposed to such issues as modern
with heads and teachers of Urdu-medium teaching methods and teaching aids,
promote reforms in madrasas in southern India to seek to inter-personal skills, students’ psychology,
teaching methods in promote reforms in teaching methods in institutional organization and management
madrasas as well as to help broaden the and the need for expanding the scope of
.madrasas .scope of traditional madrasa education madrasa education to take into account
By Yoginder Sikand Says Dr. Mazheruddin Farooqui, noted .contemporary needs and challenges

N
o reliable estimates are
available of the number of
madrasas in India and of their
teachers and students. India probably has
the largest number of traditional madrasas
in the world, employing literally tens of
thousands of teachers and with many
times that number of students on their
rolls. Despite this, no modern facilities
exist anywhere in the country for training
madrasa teachers. Most madrasa teachers
simply enter madrasas after finishing a
lengthy course in a madrasa that takes
educationist and Urdu scholar who heads
the Centre, ‘We don’t want to impose
anything on the ulema of the madrasas
from without. Change has to come from
within. For this, it is crucial that we
dialogue with them, and this is what we
are trying to do. Madrasas must reform,
but only with the consent of the ulema
and in such a way as to enable madrasas
to better fulfill their basic purpose of
promoting good and effective religious
’.and community leaders
Working with the ulema of the
Farooqui and his team of four have
major plans for the Centre with regard to
the madrasas. These include preparing,
with the help of madrasa authorities,
textbooks on new teaching methods for
madrasa teachers, commissioning in-depth
studies about madrasas and their problems,
and conducting long-term orientation
programmes, up to a month’s duration, for
madrasa teachers. The University Grants
Commission has provided a generous grant
to the Centre to build a hostel which will be
used by madrasa teachers attending these
subjects that they would need as would-be
teachers, but which they get little exposure
to in the madrasas’, Farooqui says.
These subjects include the history of the
development of madrasas in India , their
role in promoting knowledge of Urdu, the
interface between madrasas and the wider
society and important facets of Indian
society, besides more technical aspects of
modern pedagogy and relations between
■ .students and teachers

several years. Bereft of any sort of
skilled training, many madrasa teachers,
so the complaint is often heard, are not
well equipped to deal with students or
to introduce badly needed reforms in the
curriculum and pedagogy of traditional
madrasa education. This is one of the
major reasons for what, besides others,
even many clerics or ulema who run the
madrasas themselves readily admit is the
overall stagnation of India ’s traditional
.madrasa system
It is in this context that the work of the
Centre for the Professional Development of
madrasas has not been easy. ‘Initially,
many of the ulema we approached to
come to our programmes were reluctant
and suspicious,’ relates Farooqui. ‘They
felt that the government wants to interfere
in the madrasas in the name of reforming
them. It was with considerable difficulty
that we managed to convince them that our
Centre has no such intentions and that we
only want to help improve their teachers’
skills.’ ‘And now’, he adds, ‘the response
’.is quite enthusiastic
So far, the Centre has organized
eight madrasa teachers’ orientation
workshops, in addition to eight others
.programmes
Farooqui tells me excitedly about
the proposal that his Centre has just
submitted to launch a one-year diploma
course in teaching, especially for madrasa
teachers. This would be the first such
initiative in the country. In order to make
it easily accessible to madrasa students,
most of whom come from poor family
backgrounds, the fees have been kept
nominal—a mere three hundred rupees for
.the entire programme
We have structured the course in‘
such a way as to provide students with
an basic understanding of crucial issues

Advt Advt
 Interview
Muslims must get out of this sense of victimization…” Ajit Sahi“
Q: You have been associated with
the media for several years now. How
do you see the way in which the so-
called ‘mainstream’ Indian media
responds to or projects Muslims and
Islam, particularly in the context of
the recent spate of bomb attacks, in
which the media, despite the absence
of evidence, has blamed Muslims and
?Muslim organizations for
A: I think the media does not want
to recognize or admit it, but it sees these
issues from basically a Hindu, or at least
a non-Muslim, point of view. I tell my
media friends that if they were Muslims
they would not believe any of this media
propaganda about Indian Muslims taking
to terrorism, or at least would be greatly
suspicious of these claims, because these
claims are largely dubious and false. Their
typical answer is, ‘No, we are secular,
liberal and progressive. We are not
communal’. But I do not agree, of course.
I think the way they respond necessarily
indicates that they are influenced by their
not being Muslim. A hidden anti-Muslim
bias pervades the media, although media
persons who like to call themselves secular
and liberal would hate to admit this. This
is reflected, for instance, in the fact that
in most cases of Muslims arrested on
grounds of terrorism, all that we have are
‘confessions’ before the police, which are
not admissible as evidence before courts,
because obviously such ‘confessions’
are often false and procured after brutal
torture. But the media simply projects
these statements as supposed evidence,
and then weaves this picture of Muslims
.as terrorists
At the same time, there is a distinct
lack of willingness in large sections of
the media to recognize the very obvious
and very deadly fact of terrorism being
engaged in by people linked to the
Hindutva camp. Thus, for instance, there
is huge evidence against Narendra Modi
of being responsible for the massacre of
Muslims in 2002, and if it was somewhere
else in the world Modi would have been
tried as a criminal, and would probably
have been sentenced to death or a hundred
years in prison. (For the record, I am
opposed to capital punishment.) I mean,
he should be tried under international
criminal law and charged with ‘ethnic
cleansing’, but, of course, our supine,
so-called ‘mainstream’ media is not
demanding this. You really can’t expect
anything else from India’s weak-kneed
so-called intellectuals. They do not have
the guts to correctly describe Hindutva as
it really is—as fascism, in the same league
.as Nazism
Q: How do you explain what you
have referred to as the deep and
pervasive anti-Muslim bias in large
?sections of the Indian media
A: One reason for this, of course, is
that there are very few Muslims in the so-
jit Sahi is an investigative reporter with
t h e N e w D e l h i - b a s e d Te h e l k a
magazine. He recently published
several startling reports clearly indicating
that scores of innocent Muslims, including
some former members or associates of
the banned Students’ Islamic Movement
of India (SIMI), across the country
have been falsely implicated by the
police, intelligence agencies and
the media as being behind various
terror attacks. In this interview with
Yoginder Sikand, he talks about how
influential sections of the Indian
media are playing a major role in
.demonizing Muslims today
called ‘mainstream’ media, even in those
newspapers, magazines and TV channels
that see themselves as ‘progressive’ or
‘liberal’. Now, some might say that this is
because there are relatively very few well-
educated or well-qualified Muslims, but
I don’t buy that argument. Surely, if you
have a staff of a hundred people it should
not be difficult to find twelve or fourteen
educated Muslims to employ to reflect
the proportion of Muslims in the Indian
population. But I would be surprised if
any of the so-called ‘mainstream’ papers
have even half that proportion of Muslims
.among their staff
The argument is also often made that
ensuring a proper representation of the
Muslims or the marginalized castes; the
Dalits and the Adivasis, in the media
would impact on the media’s quality or
merit. I think this cry about merit is the
biggest hoax. After all, we all know that
appointments in government services and
even so often in the private sector are often
not made on the basis of any sort of merit
at all. Give me another story! I’d rather
believe that the British are going to come
back to rule India than swallow the claim
that appointments are always made on the
.basis of merit
Q: How do you think this sort of
portrayal of Muslims in the media can
?be countered
A: The media is a reflection of the
middle class of any country. It is the
middle class that inhabits the media. So,
unless the dominant views in a middle
class change, the media cannot change
substantially. People have to be sensitized
to realities, but this is not what the media
is really doing. This can only happen
when there is a fair representation of
all social groups, including religious
ISLAMIC VOICE, fEBRUARY 2009
A
communities and castes, in the media. But,
like India’s bureaucracy and the judiciary,
the Indian media has a very heavy over-
representation of ‘upper’ caste Hindus,
who are otherwise a numerical minority
.in our society
The Indian news media has become
even more blatantly communal and anti-
Muslim in recent decades. A turning point
came when LK Advani became Minister
for Information and Broadcasting in the
Janata Party Government under Morarji
Desai in 1977. That gave a tremendous
boost to the RSS, which started pushing
in large numbers of hardcore RSS-walas
into various newspapers. Before that,
the Hindutva ideology was considered
so demeaning that people would not
even discuss it in their drawing rooms.
It was considered a pathetic contrast to
the uplifting moral ideology of Mahatma
Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, which
aimed at healing our society and nation-
.building
Q: In which way does nationalist
jingoism feed into anti-Muslim
?biases
A: I think there is a very clear and
direct relationship between the two. The
sort of nationalism that is being projected
by the Hindutva lobby is fiercely anti-
Muslim. It is premised on a Brahminical
worldview. It projects Muslims, but also
all non-Hindus and those Hindus who
do not agree to its ideology, as ‘anti-
national’. The Hindutva groups say they
are willing to accept Muslims so long as
they don’t “look Westward”. This is a
cunning strategy aimed at forever stoking
the flames of divisiveness. For what is a
Muslim worth if he doesn’t look westward,
toward Makkah? Isn’t it bizarre to argue
that capitalism is good to globalize but
18
?Islam must only localize
Also, the Hindutva lobby is
obsessed with military power and
the desperate lust for India to be
recognized as a ‘super-power’. But
the irony of the thing is that while
it brands Muslims as ‘anti-national’,
there are an overwhelming
number of middle-class
Hindu families in this
country whose
sons and daughters
have gone, or
who want to go,
to settle in the
US and thereby
turn their backs
to India. Strange
as it may seem,
NRI Hindus
are one of the
fiercest backers
of Hindutva
lobby that
pushes son-of-
the-soil nationalism. I think that it is
these people who have abandoned India
for the American life that are pathetically
anti-national. Why shouldn’t they be first
asked to show their patriotism toward
India by returning to the motherland?
I mean, how do you turn your back on
your parents, on the land of your birth,
its mountains, the air and the rivers of the
country that nurtured you, and defect to
America, a country founded on genocide
and still practicing it on a global scale, and
?yet be not considered anti-national
Q: What do you think Muslim
organizations should do to counter the
demonization of the community in the
?media
A: To expect that the media, the
courts, the police and the politicians
would deliver on their own is futile. For
this, one has to build public pressure.
Muslim organizations and ordinary
Muslims must get out of this sense
of victimization in which they are
trapped. I can empathise with them,
given the concerted assaults on their
lives and liberties. But they alone can
bring themselves out of it. They have
to mobilize their community and battle,
without doubt in a non-violent way, for
their civil rights as Indians. What can
they do? Well, if a hundred Muslims
were to arrive in a courtroom when an
innocent Muslim, falsely accused of
being a terrorist, is brought before the
magistrate, there would be immense
pressure on that magistrate to record
the statement of the accused instead
of leaning the way of the police and
sending him back with the police, to be
tortured more. need to dread the evil
state and the public bias that our Muslim
brothers face. (Ajit Sahi can be reached
■ )at: ajit@tehelka.com
 Issues
U n d e r m i n i n gGaza
Noted linguist,
author, and foreign
policy expert. Noam
Chomsky speaks
to Sameer Dossani
about the conflict
between Israel and
.Gaza
Dossani: The Israeli
government and many Israeli
and U.S. officials claim that the
current assault on Gaza is to put
an end to the flow of Qassam
rockets from Gaza into Israel.
But many observers claim that
if that were really the case,
Israel would have made much
more of an effort to renew the
ceasefire agreement that expired
in December, which had all
but stopped the rocket fire. In
your opinion, what are the real
motivations behind the current
?Israeli action
Chomsky: There’s a theme
that goes way back to the origins
of Zionism. And it’s a very
rational theme: “Let’s delay
negotiations and diplomacy as
long as possible, and meanwhile
we’ll ‘build facts on the ground.’”
So Israel will create the basis for
what some eventual agreement
will ratify, but the more they
create, the more they construct,
the better the agreement will
be for their purposes. Those
purposes are essentially to take
over everything of value in
the former Palestine and to
undermine what’s left of the
indigenous population. I think
one of the reasons for popular
support for this in the United
States is that it resonates very
well with American history.
How did the United States
get established? The themes
are similar. There are many
examples of this theme being
played out throughout Israel’s
history, and the current situation
is another case. They have a very
clear program. Rational hawks
like Ariel Sharon realized that
it’s crazy to keep 8,000 settlers
using one-third of the land and
much of the scarce supplies in
Gaza, protected by a large part
of the Israeli army while the rest
of the society around them is just
rotting. So it’s best to take them
out and send them to the West
Bank. That’s the place that they
really care about and want. What
was called a “disengagement”
in September 2005 was actually
a transfer. They were perfectly
frank and open about it. In
fact, they extended settlement
building programs in the West
Bank at the very same time that
they were withdrawing a few
thousand people from Gaza.
So Gaza should be turned into
a cage, a prison basically, with
Israel attacking it at will, and
meanwhile in the West Bank
we’ll take what we want. There
was nothing secret about it. Ehud
Olmert was in the United States
in May 2006 a couple of months
after the withdrawal. He simply
announced to a joint session
of Congress and to rousing
applause, that the historic right
of Jews to the entire land of
Israel is beyond question. He
announced what he called his
convergence program, which is
just a version of the traditional
program; it goes back to the
Allon plan of 1967. Israel would
essentially annex valuable land
and resources near the green line
(the 1967 border). That land is
now behind the wall that Israel
built in the West Bank, which
is an annexation wall. That
means the arable land, the main
water resources, the pleasant
suburbs around Jerusalem and
Tel Aviv, and the hills and so
on. They’ll take over the Jordan
valley, which is about a third of
the West Bank, where they’ve
been settling since the late 60s.
Then they’ll drive a couple
of super highways through
the whole territory — there’s
one to the east of Jerusalem to
the town of Ma’aleh Adumim
which was built mostly in the
1990s, during the Oslo years.
It was built essentially to bisect
the West Bank and are two
others up north that includes
Ariel and Kedumim and other
towns which pretty much bisect
what’s left. They’ll set up check
points and all sorts of means of
harassment in the other areas
and the population that’s left
will be essentially cantonized
Advt
and unable to live a decent life
and if they want to leave, great.
Or else they will be picturesque
figures for tourists — you know
somebody leading a goat up a hill
in the distance — and meanwhile
Israelis, including settlers, will
drive around on “Israeli only”
super highways. Palestinians can
make do with some little road
somewhere where you’re falling
into a ditch if it’s raining. That’s
the goal. And it’s explicit. You
can’t accuse them of deception
because it’s explicit. And it’s
.cheered here
Dossani: In terms of U.S.
support, the UN Security Council
adopted a resolution calling for
a cease fire. Is this a change,
particularly in light of the fact
that the U.S. did not veto the
resolution, but rather abstained,
?allowing it to be passed
Chomsky: Right after
the 1967 war, the Security
Council had strong resolutions
condemning Israel’s move to
expand and take over Jerusalem.
Israel just ignored them. Because
the U.S. pats them on the head
and says “go ahead and violate
them.” There’s a whole series
of resolutions from then up
until today, condemning the
ISLAMIC VOICE, fEBRUARY 2009
settlements, which as Israel
knew and as everyone agreed
were in violation of the Geneva
conventions. The United States
either vetoes the resolutions or
sometimes votes for them, but
with a wink saying, “go ahead
anyway, and we’ll pay for it and
give you the military support
for it.” It’s a consistent pattern.
During the Oslo years, for
example, settlement construction
increased steadily, in violation
of what the Oslo agreement
was theoretically supposed to
lead to. In fact the peak year of
settlement was Clinton’s last
year, 2000. And it continued
again afterward. It’s open and
explicit. To get back to the
question of motivation, they
have sufficient military control
over the West Bank to terrorize
the population into passivity.
Advt
19
Now that control is enhanced
by the collaborationist forces
that the U.S., Jordan, and Egypt
have trained in order to subdue
the population. In fact if you
take a look at the press the
last couple of weeks, if there’s
a demonstration in the West
Bank in support of Gaza, the
Fatah security forces crush it.
That’s what they’re there for.
Fatah by now is more or less
functioning as Israel’s police
force in the West Bank. But the
West Bank is only part of the
occupied Palestinian territories.
The other part is Gaza, and no
one doubts that they form a
unit. And there still is resistance
in Gaza, those rockets. So yes,
they want to stamp that out too,
then there will be no resistance
Cont. on page 25
 Life & Relationships ISLAMIC VOICE, fEBRUARY 2009 20

Voices from the

of future are the driving forces .”to other peoples’ lives
in our lives. We all spend our Now I feel as if I have“
lives either clinging to the past or dropped my burden down the
ramifying about the future, thus lane. I learnt to live in the
depriving ourselves to enjoy the present and stopped cursing

Valley
present. Shubana Bhat says: “This or thinking about my past and
workshop helped me to discover future. My future is based on
the Real Me which was oscillating my present. I have come to put
between the past and the future. my trust in Allah and work for
Despite the ongoing political turmoil curfews and harsh Although all of us know that my future without any fear,”
weather conditions, hundreds attended the 3-day Discover Islam means living in peace, reflects Safoora Mantoo in a
but knowing Islam is altogether .confident tone
different from practising Islam. Says Shayista: “Before
It is difficult to practise Islam joining this workshop, I was
completely, but this workshop has living life like cattle. There was
taught me nothing is impossible no meaning in my life, but after
and everything is possible for joining this workshop, I witness
.”me if I live in the present a total change. I was living in the
This workshop really helped
past, but in the workshop I got
me to ‘Discover Myself’. It
to know nothing is in the past,
helped me to be what I am-a
everything is in the present. I
Human Being” assures Sobia
Hamid who has stopped playing am thankful to Khan Sir, who
the blame game. “I held myself showed me the right direction
Yourself Workshop and living in present. Nasreen and it is a fact that we can act in a
accountable for any wrong for my life through the Islamic
justifies this claim. F. Kacho better manner only when we are
conducted by A.W. because it is I who has to make .”path
states: “My parents have taught .”conscious
a change and make a difference T h e 3 - d a y w o r k s h o p “
Sadathullah Khan me everything in the light of Fatima Jameel says: “I was
in Srinagar on divine teaching, but I feel sorry making myself right, others ”DISCOVER YOURSELF“
that they failed to teach me wrong, blaming others for my 3-DAY WORKSHOP ON
December 20, 21 how to practise them in life. own problems, useless, unhappily
Personality Development through Self-intorspection
.and 22, 2008 By this workshop, I got to give searching for peace here and there. )Based on Islamic Principles(
By Mushtaq ul Haq Ahmad practicality to my knowledge I even used to take medicines, The workshop aims to achieve empowerment
learnt from my parents. Now I as there was no peace in my through self Realisation
Sikander

M
y Va l l e y o f
K a s h m i r, t h e
solitary paradise
on earth. Nature endowed my
land with its bountiful gifts in the
form of snow peeked mountains,
lush green meadows, beautiful
waterfalls, fresh water lakes and
above all its scenic beauty with
.which everybody falls in love
Discover Yourself” a three-“
day workshop was held in the
Valley from 20-22 December
2008 in the coldest part of winter
called Chilay-Kalan. ‘Discover
Yourself’ even proved Francis
Bacon wrong who claims,
“Prosperity doth best discover
vice; but adversity doth best
discover virtue”, as Sadathullah
Khan practically described
that vice-versa is possible and
feasible also. The participants
who entered with heavy burdens
of past and fears of future, after
three days left relieved enjoying
came to know how to practise
my knowledge in life. Khan
Sahib gave a structure to my
.”knowledge
The same views are echoed
by Umer Imitiyaz: “I really
believed that I was a nomad
before attending this workshop.
We all know Islam stands for
complete submission of your
will to Allah, but how to do
it was a big challenge for me.
This workshop not only gives
us knowledge, but also gives us
a practical way of applying that
.”knowledge
Saqib Suraya also reflects
the same views: “It was for the
first time that I came across a
workshop where some practical
things were taught (and not
some boring theory). Practicality
was a part and parcel of this
workshop. Some basic things
were taught which are there in
our sub-conscious, but here they
are brought to our conscious level
mind and in my soul. I could not
sleep for the whole night. I was
restless and I was not sharing
my feelings with anybody. My
perception was that nobody loves
me, nobody understands my
feelings. Although I used to
pray Salah, but there was no
spirituality, it was like doing five-
times exercise. But this workshop
has changed my perception and
context, thus resulting in a change
.”in my actions and words
The workshop helped me“
in purifying my thoughts, my
words and my intentions,” says
Zienat Saleem who attended
this workshop. “After attending
it for just two days, I discovered
myself.. who am I and what I
am actually on this earth for? I
realised that Almighty Allah is
there to decide and I am just a
creature. Now I respect Almighty
Allah’s will otherwise I used to
.ask why and how”, she adds
The failures of past and fears
In the first day of the workshop your anger disappears and you enter into a
state of peace and tranquility. You feel free and light and your view of life, people
.around you and the world transforms
The next day you get rid off the burden of the past and the constrains the past 
imposes on your view of life. You get access to live in the present and create a new
future. You have the power, freedom and self-expression to take any challenge
that life throws at you and life is no longer a burden. Your view of life alters. You
create a new you, surrendering to the will of Allah. You purify your heart and truly
.get connected with Almighty Allah
Third day you witness a whole new world around you by demolitioning (fana) 
your ego. You see life as simple with Truth prevailing and Falsehood perishing.
You experience, love, joy, peace, happiness, contentment and bliss, a gift Allah
.has given you to experience and share with others
Unless there is individual transformation there will be no Universal
,Transformation. Now we need a revolution, not for changing others
but to change ourselves
WORKSHOPS IN UK
DATES : 20, 21& 22 February 2009
Timings: 9.00 to 6.00 pm
Organisors: Aksaa Management & Training Consultants
.West Yokshire, U.K
Contact: Mr. Kaushar Tai: 0044 781 3811914
Email: kaushartai@hotmail.com
Rizwan Seedat: rebs438@googlemail.com
WORKSHOPS IN NORWAY
DATES : 27, 28 February 2009 & 1st March 2009
Organised by: Islamic Womens Association, Stavanger
Contact: Hussain Noor M. Email: : noor.m.mussain@fkra.no
Zerina Parker-Knapp, email: zerinapk@gmail.com
WORKSHOPS IN SRI LANKA
DATES : 13,14 & 15 th March 2009
Organised by: First Global Knowledge Centre
Contact: Mr. Ikram Thowfeek
Email: thowfeek2000@yahoo.com
:Workshop Designed and Conducted by
,)A.W. Sadathullah Khan  B.Sc, B.E (Mech
,Editor, Islamic Voice
Cell: 0091-9845158996/ 0091 80 41126165
Email: awskhan@gmail.com/ editor@islamicvoice.com
 Life & Relationships
Carrying the Message of Love and Peace to
Karachi
It was an
emotional moment
for editor of
Islamic Voice, A.W.
Sadathullah Khan
when he flew over
to Pakistan and
conducted the
3- day Discover
Yourself Workshop
in Karachi on
January 9, 10 &
11, 2009. Over 300
Men & Women
attended the
Workshop and some
of them share their
.experiences here
Nazir : My family and me are
deeply grateful for your visit to
Karachi. We feel  enlightened and
energized by the sessions we
attended. We probably knew
most of the things you explained,
but we never practised. Your
sessions have given us clarity
of thought and impacted our
personalities as all this was
explained by demonstrations
with absolute simplicity. May
Allah bless you and give you
courage and strength to continue
.with your mission
Irfan: I really had a
wonderful experience. It is just
a mind-blowing experience. It
takes you out from darkness to
light and helps you to be a good
.human being
Najma: Before this
workshop, I was sleeping, but
this workshop made me wake
up with full alertness. The most
difficult thing was to change
MYSELF. When I went back
home after the workshop on the
I st day with full spirit, I was
feeling like” flying in the air” I
was so happy and had a feeling
that “ I got some ‘treasure’” Now,
I can easily make my children,
my husband, my mother, my
sisters, brothers happy. Why?
Because, I was willing to live in
the present from now onwards.
My children were observing the
changes in me. They are really
very happy because I am not
scolding, criticizing and giving
them orders. I have changed my
language. I am giving them this
feeling that I do care and love
them. I must say Jazak’Allah
Khair to you that Allah has sent
you here to give this wonderful
.workshop
Sarah: I was depressed and
did not know what to do, felt
stuck, wished my life was short.
Cried, mostly and asked Allah’s
help. And Alhamdulillah, Allah’s
help came. I realized it is in my
hands to make myself happy and
I was making myself depressed,
I did not realize it. Now I know
and it’s a good feeling to know
that it is in my hands to make
myself happy and Inshallah I
will, and I have started in my
self and my home, with parents,
siblings and friends. I am very
thankful to Star Link School and
brother Sadathullah and I will
pray for him to come back soon.
May Allah give him success
.wherever he goes
Adil: Before this workshop,
I was never satisfied with what
was happening, blaming Allah
and parents for everything. I was
looking for faults in everyone
and was very stubborn. I had
always been a positive thinker,
but still I had no peace. In
the workshop, I realized I am
nothing, thus all the pride and
stubbornness got away, all my
grudges against my parents,
Allah and friends washed away.
I feel a heavy load is lifted from
my heart. I changed my focus
and I am expecting victory and
success in my present life. I feel
very lucky to be a part of this
workshop. May Allah bless our
sir, and everyone who had played
a role in helping me to attend this
.workshop
Fahmida: I thought I have
control over my life, but I
realised it was an illusion. There
were so many discoveries at the
workshop which I would find
almost shocking and oh my God
is –this Me? Am I doing this to
my loved ones? I understood the
word ‘experience’ and I realised
why I am so burdened? I have
to work really hard to make a
visible change, but I am on the
road to change. Jazak’Allah
.Sir
Salama: Before the
workshop, my life did not
have any specific direction. I
know there is a purpose for me
to come into this world, but
could not recognize it. After
attending the workshop, all my
blindness is gone, and all the
things are clear and visible. I will
Inshallah practise all the things
and spread it among the people.
.The workshop was excellent
Shenaz: Before the
workshop, I was feeling very
angry, tensed and worried. But
now I feel so much light, happy
and content. The family members
are also very happy and we all
are enjoying the light and happy
atmosphere in our home. Now
I do not see anybody wrong.
Strange! I am listening to my
children and not bossing them.
May Allah bless you with all His
ISLAMIC VOICE, fEBRUARY 2009
bounties in this world and in the
.next world. Ameen
Ayesha: Life before the
workshop was self-centered.
I thought I am responsible at
home, but I was not. Now I
know how to take control of
my life. I used to blame the
environment and others and now
I stopped. I am feeling that I am
a different person. I am quite,
calm and more responsible. I
have special feelings for my
parents, brothers and sisters. I
am thinking positive for them.
I learnt the art of living in the
present. Now my mind is empty,
I started a new life with different
objectives. I have cleared my
.mind and heart
Maryam: Before the
workshop, I was angry and, rude
or I can say a person who does
not know how to spread love
but now, I am really a different
person. I know now, how to
spread love and peace. Doing
small things for others and then
in return getting love, really
.gives peace to me
Saira: This workshop was
an eye opener. There are so
many things in human nature,
which we are not aware of.
This workshop led to a positive
21
attitude in me. This workshop
should be conducted in offices
.for men
Rafiq: This workshop was
not about discovering yourself,
it was about cure yourself,
improve yourself and it was about
diagnosis and treatment of some
psychological heart diseases.
Change in understanding and
.tolerating others’ views
Fawad: Before the workshop,
I felt as if I was a stranger to
myself. I was really on a journey
to discover myself. Now I find my
family members really working
according to my intentions. I
felt my power of focus, for the
first time in life. This workshop
gave me the key to control my
reactions. The workshop was a
very dynamic one, it was very
powerful and it filled me with a
.drive to serve Islam
Lakho: Life was like cattle,
not understanding the real values
and principles. I realized during
the workshop that man puts
himself in problems. Problems
are self-centered, so we also have
power to create solutions. Such
workshops should be conducted
.very frequently
Hadia: I stammer when I
speak at times, and I always had
stage fear. In the workshop I
overcame my stage fear. I took
up the challenge to speak up.
The 3rd day of the workshop was
.the best
Khawaja: The day I came
in for the workshop there was
a lot of chaos, confusion, heart
ache, pain, suffering, anger
and frustration. But there was
always the hope of everything
being fixed by a miracle, magic
wand of Allah! By the end of
the second day, my spirit was
 Qur’an Speaks to You
In the name of Allah the Merciful the Beneficent would refuse his judgment. They
Messenger, be not grieved by those who rush into sent some of their people to seek
disbelief; such as those who say with their mouths, his ruling. That explains their
“We believe”, while their hearts do not believe. statement: “if this be given to
you, accept it: but if you are not
Among the Jews are some, who eagerly listen to
given it, then be on your guard”
falsehood, eagerly listen to other people paying no they have indeed gone that far
heed to you. They lift words out of their context, and in playing games with Allah’s
say, ‘If this be given you accept it; but if you are not law and in being dishonest in
given it, then be on your guard.” If Allah wants to test their dealing with Allah and his
anyone, you shall not be able to avail him anything Messenger. It is a stage which
against Allah. Such are the ones whose hearts Allah could be reached by any people
is not willing to purify. They will have disgrace in this who having received divine
revelation, have long ignored
world, while in the life to come, awesome suffering their duties, a situation which
.is in store for them make their hearts harden and
ISLAMIC VOICE, fEBRUARY 2009 22
them through their test when usury, bribes and the prices of
they have brought confusion false rulings and false testimony
upon themselves: “If Allah wants come at the top of the list of
to test anyone, you shall not be what they devour, again, this evil
able to avail him anything against quality spreads in all communities
Allah.” Such people have sunk that deviate from Allah’s law.
their hearts into impurity, so Allah In the Arabic original, the term
is unwilling to purify them.” He used for “unlawful” here also
will cause them to suffer ignominy connotes the lack of blessings.
in this life and grievous suffering Indeed, a blessing is the first thing
in the hereafter: “They will have which is obliterated in deviant
disgrace in this world, while in the communities, as we see with our
life to come, awesome sufferings .own eyes nowadays
is in store for them.” He tells the Allah has given the Prophet
Prophet not to worry about them, the choice whether to judge
and not to be grieved by their between them or to turn away

Playing Games with

They eagerly listen to falsehood and greedily
devour what is unlawful. Hence, if they come to you
(for judgment), you may either judge between them
or turn away from them. If you do turn away from
them, they cannot harm you in any way. But if you do
judge, then judge between them with fairness. Allah
loves those who deal justly. ( The Repast: Al-Maidah: 5:
Divine Judgement
.Commentary by Sayyid Qutb
)41-42
Translated by Adil Salahi believe”, while their hearts do the light of faith in their hearts .disbelief. Their fate is sealed from them if they ask him for

I
t is apparently clear that
these verses were
revealed in the early
y e a r s a f t e r t h e P r o p h e t ’s
(Pbuh) settlement in Madinah
where the Jews were part of its
community. This means that
they were revealed at least prior
to the attack on Madinah by the
confederate tribes and before
severe punishment was inflicted
on the Jewish tribe of Quraithah,
if not earlier. Most probably,
they were revealed when the two
Jewish tribes of An- Nadheer and
Qainoqaa were still in Madinah.
The first of these two tribes were
evacuated from Madinah after
the battle of Uhud in the first
year of the Islamic calendar and
the other was evacuated even
before that. In that early period,
the Jewish concocted many of
their tricks and maneuvers, and
the hypocrites received much
support from them. Both groups
plunged headlong in disbelief,
even though the hypocrites might
have claimed by word of mouth
that they were believers. Their
actions grieved the Prophet and
.caused him much distress
Allah, limitless He is in his
glory, consoles his Messenger
and comforts him. He exposes to
the Muslim community the truth
about those who plunge head
not believe. Among the Jews
are some who eagerly listen
to falsehood, eagerly listen to
other people paying no heed to
you. They lift words out of their
context, and say, “If this be given
to you, accept it: but if you are not
”.given it, then be on your guard
Some reports suggest that
these verses speak of a group
of Jews who committed certain
sins including adultery and theft,
which are punishable by specific
punishments outlined in the
Torah. The Jews, however had
established different punish-
ments because they did not want
to enforce the punishment of
the Torah on those of them who
were in power in the first place.
They later wanted to waive these
punishments of the Torah in all
cases. They replaced them with
other punishments, as has been
done by some of those who
claim to be Muslims these days.
When some of them committed
these sins at the time of the
Prophet, they thought to seek his
judgment, if he judged according
to the lesser punishments which
they had legislated, they would
enforce them and justify their
action to Allah by saying that
they have enforced the verdict
of a Messenger. If he judged
that they should be punished
according to the Torah, they
has stifled. Evasion of the laws
and duties of their faith becomes
the goal for which means are
to be sought and rulings and
justifications should be found.
Does this not apply today to
those who claim to be Muslims
and who “say with their mouth,
‘we believe’ while their hearts
do not believe. Do they not seek
rulings to evade their religious
duties, rather than to carry them
out? Do they not occasionally try
to pay lip service to religion so
that it may approve and endorse
their desire? If religion insists
on the word of the truth and
the ruling of justice, they have
no need for it: “they say, if this
be given to you, accept: but if
you are not given it, then be on
your guard.” The two situations
are identical; perhaps Allah has
given us such account of the
history of the children of Israel,
so that future generations of
Muslims may be forewarned
of the slips that lie along their
.way
Allah, glorified be He, says
to His Messenger with regard to
those who rush in to disbelief and
those conspirators who engage in
such schemes: do not be grieved
by those who plunge headlong
in disbelief. They seek to create
confusion and they will fall victim
to it, while you have no say in
The surah goes on to give us
further details of their situation:
“they eagerly listen to falsehood
and greedily devour what is
un-lawful. Hence, if they come
to you (for judgment), you may
either judge between them or
turn away from them. If you do
turn away from them, they cannot
harm you in any way. But if you
do judge, then judge between
them with fairness. Allah loves
”.those who deal justly
Their listening to falsehood
is repeated again to suggest that
this has become an established
habit of theirs. They are pleased
to listen to evil and falsehood,
and they are annoyed when they
hear the voice of the truth. This
applies to all deviant hearts and
corrupt souls. Falsehood has its
appeal in deviant communities,
and the word of truth is felt to be
too hard. In these miserable days,
false-hood sells like hot cakes,
while the word of truth has no
.buyers
Those people do not only
listen to falsehood, but they
greedily devour what is un-lawful:
judgment. If he chooses not to
pay any attention for them, they
can harm him in no way. But if he
chooses to judge between them,
then his must be a fair judgment,
unaffected by their prejudices or
their rushing into disbelief or by
their plots and schemes: “Allah
”.loves those who deal justly
Allah’s Messenger and a
Muslim ruler and a Muslim judge
deal directly with Allah in such
matters and exert the efforts to
establish justice in order to serve
Allah because Allah loves those
who deal justly. If people commit
injustice or perjury or deviate
from the truth, justice remains
above all that. Fair judgment
is not passed in order to please
them, but in order to please
Allah. This is indeed the most
effective guarantee provided by
Islamic law everywhere and in
■.all times

Advt
long into disbelief, as did some the matter and you cannot help
of the Jews and the hypocrites.

Advt
He directs his Messenger to
the line of action he should
adopt with them when they
come to him for arbitration after
explaining to the Prophet what
plots they have concocted before
coming to him: “Messenger, be
not grieved by those who rush
into disbelief: such as those
who say with their mouths, “we
Hadith
Good Manners and Gentle Character
Commentary by Adil Salahi
G
ood manners are very
important and
Prophet Muhammad
(Pbuh) rated them as the best
way to ensure a high position
in heaven on the Day of
Judgment. We are using the term
“good manners” as denoting
universally accepted virtues,
such as forgiveness, generosity,
bravery, forbearance, fidelity,
looking after other people’s
.interests, etc
The Prophet is the most
perfect example for people to
follow, he practised what he
preached and conducted himself
as required by the highest
standards of good manners. We
will speak about certain aspects
of his character showing that he
was the one to follow in every
.respect
The Prophet disliked hard
attitudes and hard character.
He believed that there was
nothing worth causing hardship
or affliction to other people. His
wife, Hazrat Ayesha (RA) says
of him: “Allah’s Messenger was
never offered the choice between
two alternatives over matters
of this world without choosing
the easier one, unless the easier
choice be sinful. In that case
he kept furthest away from it.
Allah’s messenger never sought
revenge for himself, unless it
is something which violates
what Allah has consecrated. In
that case, he sought to set the
record straight for Allah’s sake.
(Related by Al- Bukhari, Muslim,
.)Abu-Dawood and Malik
Choosing the easier alternative
is kinder to his followers. He
thus taught his nation to prefer
the easier course in all matters.
Whatever would please people
and ensure the comfort and
happiness was always preferable
to their profit. The only provision
is that this easier course must
be legitimate. If it was sinful,
he would steer away from it.
That is to be expected from the
Prophet who has been sent as
Advt
ISLAMIC VOICE, fEBRUARY 2009 23
a mercy to mankind. A sinful Hadith tells us that our characters attitude is not Islamic. Allah tells take him out of the realm of faith
practice is indeed the more are given to us by Allah. This us to work in order to earn our altogether. He is still a believer,
difficult choice, although it may means that by nature, we have living. If we do not work, we but his motives have not been
appear easy or more enjoyable. the aptitude to follow a certain earn nothing. The Prophet once refined enough by his faith. The
The ease and enjoyment can course, or adopt a certain line. It saw a man spending all his time Prophet prescribed for him that
only be momentary. They are, does not mean that some of us are in the mosque. He asked who he should repeat praises and
however, attended by Allah’s created liars while others are, by supported him? When he was glorification of Allah. By doing
displeasure which puts people nature, truthful. We can certainly told that it was his brother, the so, he reminds himself of his
.in very difficult position develop our characters, taking Prophet said that his brother was position in this world and that he
A
M o r e o v e r, a better worshiper is totally dependant on Allah. He
t h e P r o p h e t Hadith which is of great significance .than him remembers that Allah has given
n e v e r s o u g h t ,is reported by Abdullah ibn Masood The second him so much of his grace that
vengeance for who quotes the Prophet (Pbuh) as sentence in this he should always be thankful.
himself. Seeking Hadith tells us He may remember that when he
vengeance is
saying:” Allah has apportioned to you your that wealth is not fulfills his duty and sacrifices his
characteristic of a characters in the same way as he apportioned that important wealth and shows his readiness
hard person who your provisions. Allah gives wealth to those in an Islamic to sacrifice his life, Allah will
finds it difficult he loves and those he does not love, while he v i e w . A l l a h give him more. That may come
to forgive. The does not grant faith except to those whom he gives wealth to in this world or may come in the
Prophet was believers and .next life
willing to forgo
.loves non-believers, to
Repeating such praises of
any personal those he loves Allah is important even if it does
injury he may have suffered, but free decisions to be, for example, and to those whom he does not not bring about such a change
he was unwilling to forgive the generous, forgiving, reasonable, love. When we see a man who of attitude. Allah rewards us
violation of Allah’s strict bounds. etc. This is no different from the is very wealthy, his wealth does generously for praising him and
We can easily see the distinction opportioning of our provisions not signify that he is dearer to glorifying him. More over, we
between the two. When it was a by Allah. It does not mean that Allah. Nor is a poor person less feel our relationship with Allah
matter of principle relevant to we will get our money whether favored by Allah. The Prophet to be more intimate. We know
what Allah has made lawful or we work for it or not. Allah tells us: “had this world (and all that His grace and bounty is so
,forbidden certainly does not shower money its riches), been worth even one great that we cannot thank him
then the Prophet was or provisions on us from the wing of a mosquito, not a glass enough for it, were we to spend
unwilling to sacrifice even the clouds. He facilitates for us of water would He have allowed
all our time in worship. After
smallest of his principles. He our work and makes our efforts .of it to any non-believer
all, our worship does not benefit
.honored them all successful. The more we do, the If this world and all its richest
Allah; it benefits us only. Then
Another Hadith which is of greater are our earnings. People are so worthless in Allah’s view,
great significance is the one we should not hold it as a favor
sometimes suggest that it is better then being wealthy does not
reported by Abdullah ibn which we do to Allah . We should
to spend time in worship than to mean that one is favored or
Masood, who quotes the Prophet work for one’s living. They argue loved by Allah. It is faith with remember the qudsi hadith in
as saying:” Allah has apportioned that what Allah has apportioned, which Allah favors those whom which Allah tells us that if all
to you your characters in the for us, we will get. That fatalistic he loves, faith gives a person human beings and jinn, in past
same way as he apportioned your good character. He earns respect generations as well as in future
provisions. Allah gives wealth to Whatever in his community even by those ones, were as devoted and pious
those he loves and those he does who do not share his faith. This as the most dedicated believer
not love, while he does not grant would please is due to the fact that when one to have ever lived, they would
faith except to those whom he
loves. He who holds his money
people and has faith, one tries his best to
behave well with others, improve
not increase Allah’s kingdom
in any way. Conversely, if all of
too dearly to spend it (for Allah’s ensure their his manners and adhere to noble them were as wicked as the most
cause) and is prevented by the moral values. That is bound to evil unbeliever to ever walk this
fear of the enemy from fighting comfort and earn him the love and respect of planet, they would not decrease
and is too weary to stand up at every one. That is true wealth,
night in worship, should often happiness was which is indicative of Allah’s
Allah’s kingdom in any way. As
already said, our worship refines
repeat that: there is no deity save
Allah, glory to Allah, praise to be
always pref- .favor
Faith places certain
our characters. If benefits us, and
does not benefit Allah in any
Allah and Allah is the greatest. erable to the requirements in people. They way. It is only through Allah’s
(Related by Ahmad, Al Bukhari are supposed to sacrifice their
in Al Adab Al Mufrad and Al- Prophet. The money and their lives for Allah’s
grace and generosity that He
■ .rewards us for it
.)Hakim cause. Yet such a sacrifice does
The first sentence in this only provision not come so easy to all people.
is that the easi- Man is sometimes governed by
his narrow view of this world.
er course must He finds it difficult to part with
his money even for a good cause.
be legitimate. He may slacken when he is
If it was sinful, called upon to join a campaign
of Jihad. He may prefer to rest
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 Our Dialogue - By Adil Salahi
Ruling on Yoga
Q: A ruling issued by a learned scholar in Malaysia says that
Yoga is forbidden for Muslims to practice. The scholar urges the
government to make clear that Muslims must not practice Yoga.
.Please comment
A: The ruling states that Yoga is traced back to Hinduism, and that
it has religious and philosophical aspects. If this is the case, then the
ruling is sound and religious scholars everywhere can only endorse
it. However, many people practise Yoga today without being aware
of any religious or philosophical overtones. They merely take up its
aspects of physical exercise and contemplation. While these may be
proper and beneficial to many people, the problem remains that as
people advance in these practices, their teachers may lead them on
.to the philosophical or religious aspects
Physical and breathing exercises, as well as contemplation, may
help many people, training them to be relaxed. This is certainly
beneficial, particularly because life today involves much stress.
Islam encourages both methods. Many are the Qur’anic verses that
invite people to contemplate on God’s creation and what we see in
the world around us of miraculous aspects. The Prophet (Pbuh) lays
much stress on ensuring that a Muslim should try to be strong. He
tells us to teach our children to practise such sports as horse riding,
.swimming and archery
All this shows that a Muslim does not need to resort to the
traditions of any other religion. What we need is to be free of
all restrictions imposed by such traditions and to follow Prophet
Muhammad’s advice. We will be able then to overcome much of the
■ .stress that life presents
Adopted Child and
Property Matters
Q: A woman died five years ago, leaving behind her husband,
one adopted son, her father who died subsequently, and a number
of brothers and sisters. Could you please explain who inherits
?her and what is the share of each heir
A: Islam does not recognise adoption. If the young man is not
related by blood to the deceased lady, he does not inherit anything
from her. Her only heirs are her husband and her father. As she
had no children of her own, her husband takes half of her property,
whether this is in cash, real property, jeweler, or any other form. Her
father takes the other half. Her brothers and sisters inherit nothing
from her. As her father died subsequently, and his wife predeceased
him, his heirs are his children, i.e. the deceased woman’s brothers
and sisters. Thus, if the woman’s estate was not divided among her
heirs, it should be divided now. Her brothers and sisters will share
among themselves the one half which was due to their father. They
divide this half among themselves on the basis of one share for each
■ .sister and two shares for each brother
Advt
Advt
ISLAMIC VOICE, fEBRUARY 2009 24
Using Salat al-Istikharah
Q: An administrative problem arose in our office because a certain employee failed to take the
necessary action when I put in my requests. That employee pleaded that he was not informed. A
couple of days later our boss accused me of lying, stating that the said employee told the truth.
When I asked on what basis he made his judgment, he said that he used the prayer known as salat
?al-istikharah. May I ask whether this prayer can be used in this way and for such a purpose
A: The short answer is that it cannot. It is not a method to establish facts. Otherwise, Muslim judges
would have resorted to it in all cases where they not right. There is no suggestion that a dream should
needed to establish the truth and find out the guilty follow pointing out which action to take. When we
person in any case they are considering. At no time have done the istikharah prayer, we should simply let
did the Prophet’s (Pbuh) companions or leaders or things take their own course. Thus, if it is a matter of
judges in any subsequent generation feel that they travel and you find out that you cannot make your travel
could know the truth through offering this prayer. arrangements easily, then this is an indication that it is
Your boss is relying on evidence that does not better not to travel. If you want to change your car and
exist. The istikharah prayer is recommended by you encounter difficulty in selling your old car in order
the Prophet to help us choose a course of action, to buy a new one, this indicates that you better keep the
particularly when more than one option looks one you have for the time being. On the other hand,
appealing. Therefore, it is offered to help find an if you call a travel agent and discover that everything
answer to questions like: Should I undertake this about your travel can be arranged quickly and easily,
travel? Should I buy this car? Will the project I am you have a clear indication that undertaking that trip
considering be successful? Would I benefit from .is the better option
?this course of action Now your boss is using the istikharah prayer
In such cases where the answer is indeterminable to find out which of his two employees is telling
because we have no way of looking into the future, the truth. This is wrong and he cannot use it in
we offer the istikharah prayer to appeal to God to this way. Any decision he makes on this basis is
help us choose what is best for us. The form is faulty. What he should do is to establish the fact
to offer two rak’ahs and then to say a particular through solid evidence. If he cannot because it is
supplication. The supplication merely requests God a case of your word against the other employee’s
to make the choice for us and to make us happy word, he should overlook the matter as a case of
with it. Thus, it removes the burden of making the an unintended error. He cannot label you as liar on
decision from us and makes us trust God to do it ■.the basis of his istikharah prayer
.for us
How the choice is made has its own importance.
Many people have the impression that they would have
Shares in Property
a dream telling them which course to follow. This is
Q: My father died eight years ago leaving behind his wife, two sons, three daughters, one brother
and two sisters. Both his parents died long time ago. His estate is mainly a house valued today at
around 1.8 million rupees. How is his property to be shared out? If the two sons want to have the
house, how much should they pay to each of the other heirs? May I also point out that the eldest
.son used to maintain the house and receive the income from the rooms rented
A: What I am saying about the sharing out of your father’s inheritance applies to the house and to
everything else he left behind, including any cash .estate
amount, payment from his work, furniture, etc. The complication arises from the eldest son’s
Because he had children of his own, including two work in the house and income from it. You say
sons, his brother and two sisters are blocked from that this was the case for several years during your
inheriting him. In other words, they get nothing. father’s lifetime. It all depends on the arrangements
Siblings inherit only when the deceased has neither your father and brother had. If it was agreed between
them that the rent was in compensation for the work
.sons nor parents surviving him
your brother put in, then it belongs to him. If no
The only one of your father’s heirs that has a
such agreement was made, you and your brothers
fixed share is his wife, who inherits one eighth of all
and sisters need to agree some arrangement. If there
his property. The remainder, which is seven eighths, was such an arrangement, you are recommended
is divided into seven shares, one for each of the to consider that it has continued for the years that
.three daughters and two each for the two sons followed your father’s death. If not, you need to
Thus, in this particular case, each of the .look into the matter carefully
daughters inherits an amount equal to that of the The only thing I want to say is that you should
man’s wife. This does not apply in other cases. If sort it out amicably. Unless there is clear and
you want the shares to be determined in figures, unwarranted favoritism to one party, it is better to
then each of the four women takes 225,000 rupees, let things as they are. You make the division now
and each of the two sons takes 450,000, assuming ■.and everyone takes their dues
that the value of the house is 1.8 million. The same
proportion applies to other items of your father’s
LOVE
Advt
WELL WISHER
 Conversations ISLAMIC VOICE, fEBRUARY 2009 25

A Verse a Day keeps Satan

Away
Kaleemullah Khan is a bio-science post-graduate and a successful
businessman. Mushtaq ul Haq Ahmad Sikander met him at his home
located at Salman Farsi Heights near Shalimar Garden, Srinagar. He is
the founder of Adult Quranic Education Programme(AQEP) or the 18-81
Quranic Educational this remark as half-truth and teachings to my friends Then in
Programme. Here he demanding that the correct remark 1978, AQEP began to function
should be like this: “Quran is the formally. Only a minority
speaks to Mushtaq most widely read book in history, among the 1.2 billion Muslims
.about his mission

A
s a student of Sri
,Pratap (S.P) College
I once encountered
the Encyclopedia Britannica in
the college library and went on
to search for the word “Quran”
under the alphabet “Q”. I was
astonished by the remark from
the authors about Quran that,
“Quran is the most widely read
book in history”. This led me
to write a letter to the editors
of this Encyclopedia, alleging
but simultaneously the least
understood”. How to cure this
ignorance? How to make people
understand the message of Quran?
These questions continued to
baffle me. Then I decided to
myself read, understand and
then propagate the message of
the Quran to others. Though it
took me five years to complete
my first revision of the Quran,
but I had read the book cover
to cover with understanding and
initially started to proclaim its
can understand the language
of the Quran i.e Arabic, but
for majority of Muslims Arabic
is an alien language. So this
programme is a ray of hope
for such people. Talking in
context of Kashmir where Islam
spread through the teachings of
Sufis, afterwards no movement
was initiated to understand the
.teachings of the Quran
These education progra-
mmes are today conducted in
three languages(Kashmiri,Urdu
and English) Twenty five
classes every week are co-
ordinated by me in different
Masjids of Srinagar and special
classes for male and female
physicians conducted separately.
Another innovative programme
for students is the “Class On
Wheels”. The ‘Class On Wheels’
as its name depicts is a class
which takes place in my spacious
car with a bunch of students
and I coach them in Quranic
meanings while traveling as I
drop them to school or to tutorial
.centres
AQEP does not ask or accept
donations from its participants. If
anybody wishes to donate,copies
of Quran will be great.AQEP
every year also conducts Hajj
Guidance Programme and
I am the chief editor of the
Urdu Monthly” Al-Hayat”.

Undermining Gaza support for the expansion

Cont. from page 19
at all and they can continue to
do what they want to do without
interference, meanwhile delaying
diplomacy as much as possible
and “building the facts” the way
they want to. Again this goes
back to the origins of Zionism.
It varies of course depending
on circumstances, but the
fundamental policy is the same
and perfectly understandable. If
you want to take over a country
where the population doesn’t
want you, I mean, how else can
you do it? How was this country
?conquered
Dossani: What you describe
?is a tragedy
Chomsky: It’s a tragedy
which is made right here. The
press won’t talk about it and
even scholarship, for the most
part, won’t talk about it but the
fact of the matter is that there has
been a political settlement on the
table, on the agenda for 30 years.
Namely a two-state settlement
on the international borders with
programs, which are just
criminal programs. The world
court unanimously, including
maybe some mutual modification
the American justice, agreed
of the border. That’s been there
that any transfer of population
officially since 1976 when
into the Occupied Territories
there was a Security Council
is a violation of a fundamental
resolution proposed by the
international law, the Geneva
major Arab states and supported
Conventions. And Israel agrees.
by the (Palestinan Liberation
In fact even their courts agree,
Organization) PLO, pretty much
they just sort of sneak around
in those terms. The United States
it in various devious ways. So
vetoed it so it’s therefore out of
there’s no question about this. It’s
history and it’s continued almost
just sort of accepted in the United
without change since then. There
States that we’re an outlaw state.
was in fact one significant
Law doesn’t apply to us. That’s
modification. In the last month
.why it’s never discussed
of Clinton’s term, January 2001
Sameer Dossani, a Foreign(
there were negotiations, which
the U.S. authorized, but didn’t
participate in, between Israel and
Power Generation through Sea Water
O
the Palestinians and they came
.very close to agreement ur enterprise has been researching on power generation by utilizing sea water (owing
Bush’s problem was that he to its availability in abundance round the year) and has successfully extended a program
neglected the issue. That’s not Hydro Active Power” which is available for application. Our work is backed by our“
the problem. The problem is that seven years of research and we are ready for its implementation. We have also studied the different
the United States has been very efforts to harness sea potential and thereby generate power being carried out by different nations.
much engaged, and engaged in Even the popular amongst them such as the Wave Farm Project, OWC and Tidal Fences has its
blocking a political settlement shortcomings and we understand their complications and assure you that our program is entirely
and giving the material and different and workable. Given the cost of generating power via thermal, hydro (dams) or nuclear
ideological and diplomatic means, we assure that our methodology if applied would reduce production cost drastically and
would not have any climatic affect over production. Additionally, it would help overcome power
.drought radically
We know that power generation through mechanical process, for example, fuel, gas, coal, wind

Advt
pressure, solar system, atomic energy, tidal wave, and thermal power are costly and limited. But
our research by Hydro Active Power to generate power through sea water can generate a maximum
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install the unit will not take more than 3- 4 years. Investment cost on the project will be very much
.less than any conventional power generating process
If our ideas sound too innovative, but interest you, we are ready to get together and explain the
.intricacies. We are looking for global financial partners to set up plants on turnkey basis
■ Contact Mr. Muhammad Saeed Khan at editor@islamicvoice.com
 Soul Talk ISLAMIC VOICE, fEBRUARY 2009 26

A Kind Word is better than Alms Giving

.Allah desires people to live in peace, love and orderliness. This is possible when every individual adopts sweet language
By Dr. Syed Liaqath Peeran

T
he holy book, Quran
reminds man of his
various obligations
and duties, which he has to
fulfill in his life time. The first
and foremost is of his duty and
obligations towards the creator
– Allah. And the next is his
duties and obligations towards
the mankind. Among them is
the man’s foremost duty towards
himself in as much as to purify
his own thoughts, mind and
behavior and refine himself in
all aspects of his living. His
talk towards one and all should
be respectful, affectionate and
.loving
Luqman, while reminding his
Towards Light
In the Ring of
sons of his various duties, points
out that the voice should not be
raised while speaking with others
and the worst of the voice is of
the ass and the donkeys. When
they bray, they bray so loud that
.it is unpleasant to the ears
Charity is one of the
obligations in Islam, to openly
or secretly help those in distress
and in need. To feed the poor and
clothe the needful. To give alms
from the wealth in a proportionate
manner as laid down in the
holy book. All this is very fine.
But to speak a kind word to a
wounded heart, to relieve pain
of a heavily burdened mind
,hen British heavy weight
and soul is far better than alms
giving. When one cultures the
mind and heart to refinement, a
person becomes kindly and good
hearted. It is goodness which is
important for a society which
aims at bringing an Islamic
way of living. Soft and smooth
words are honeyed words. It
instills love and affection in
the minds of the people, while
harsh words breed cruelty and
hard-heartedness. Allah desires
people to live in peace, love and
orderliness. This is possible when
every individual adopts sweet
language and shows kindness in
every action more particularly
prayer and it gave me
”.goose pimples
W
in speech and outward behavior.
Harsh behavior is due to mental
aberrations and out of anger,
jealousy and hatred. When these
qualities are subdued and springs
of love and affection burst forth
from the heart, the speech of a
person becomes soft, kind and
loving. This spreads good culture
and the society becomes well
.mannered and godly
It so happens that some
needy persons approach for
help when a person is either
not having any means to help
or is so busy in work that the
needy person’s appearance is
a great distraction. It is at this
time that a person is faced with
a testing time. It is at this hour
one should show restrain and
speak to the needy person in a
kind and affectionate tone and
not show anger or shout at the
indigent person. Such behavior
.is not appreciated by Allah
The writer is editor of Sufi(
World. He can be reached at
internationalsuficentre@ gmail.
■ com

Islam Danny Williams stepped into

the ring to face Mike Tyson,
most experts believed that the talented fighter
Danny Williams admits that did not have a chance against the former
undisputed champion of the world. Instead of
an incident in Turkey, guided buckling under the pressure, Danny stepped up
.to the challenge and knocked out Tyson
him towards the faith. “I Like his boxing, the soft spoken fighter’s
approach is well thought out and very methodical.
remember hearing the call to It is clear that fame and fortune has not got to
Williams head,
Salath Timings for Bangalore retaining a humble nature,
Month End Sun Asar Asar Sun and thinking about each
Mid-day Isha
Date Sahri Rise Shafi Hanafi Set answer before hitting the
.Feb 01 5:32 6:46 12:34 3:53 4:44 6:20 7:34 target with his replies.
03 5:32 6:46 12:34 3:53 4:45 6:21 7:34 This attention to detail
05 5:32 6:45 12:34 3:53 4:46 6:22 7:35
07 5:32 6:45 12:34 3:54 4:46 6:23 7:36
can be traced back to his
09 5:31 6:44 12:34 3:54 4:47 6:23 7:36 childhood. “When I was 1999. “It was a gradual process.
11 5:31 6:44 12:34 3:54 4:47 6:24 7:37 born, my father had a dream for me It took a few years of searching
13 5:31 6:43 12:34 3:54 4:48 6:25 7:37
15 5:30 6:42 12:34 3:55 4:48 6:25 7:37
to become the world champion.” before I converted to Islam. I was
17 5:29 6:42 12:34 3:55 4:49 6:26 7:38 Although Williams admits that he not comfortable with the Bible
19 5:29 6:41 12:34 3:55 4:49 6:26 7:38 didn’t enjoy boxing at first and only because there seemed to be too
21 5:28 6:40 12:34 3:54 4:49 6:29 7:38
23 5:27 6:39 12:33 3:54 4:49 6:29 7:39
did it because his father pushed him many contradictions. I started
25 5:26 6:38 12:33 3:54 4:50 6:28 7:39 into the sport, he soon found that reading about other religions
27 5:25 6:37 12:33 3:53 4:50 6:28 7:39 he was good at it. Williams started and when I came across Islam,
.Mar 01 5:24 6:36 12:32 3:53 4:50 6:28 7:40
03 5:23 6:35 12:32 3:53 4:50 6:29 7:40 training from the age of eight and it grew on me.” Williams admits
. The Latitude of Bangalore is 13 North and the Longitude is 77 36> East
n o o used fighters like Rocky Marciano that an incident in Turkey, also
Late Dr. Syed Abdul Zahir M.S., Astronomer and Muhammed Ali as his role guided him towards the faith.
.models “I remember hearing the call
HIJRI CALENDAR Williams believes that bringing
Islam into his life made him
to prayer and it gave me goose
”.pimples
FEBRUARY 2009 become a better fighter because
Safar / Rabi Ul Awwal 1430 it made him more comfortable.
Although Williams found
himself being drawn to Islam, for
“I was always a nervous fighter. a short while there was a battle
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT Since I have become a Muslim, I inside his head until he started to
am more relaxed in the ring. I was look for answers. “Every time I
1February Safar

6 7 8 9 10 11
5 2 3 4 5 6 7 so relaxed that I dreamt that I was
going to knock Tyson out in the
tried to prove the Islamic faith
wrong, my belief in it became
8 12 9 13 10 14 11 15 12 16 13 17 14 18 fourth or fifth round and it came
true. I believe Allah fulfilled my
Strengthened and there was
an answer to every question I
15 19 16 20 17 21 18 22 19 23 20 24 21 25 ”.dream
Born and raised in Brixton by
.asked
Williams cites South African
28
Rabi Ul Awwal
his West Indian parents, Danny
22 26 23 27 24 28 25 29 26 30 1
27Rabi Ul Awwal February 2 was brought up as a Christian with
Muslim scholar, Ahmed Deedat
as one of his main inspirations in
his two brothers and sister. Then becoming a Muslim and reveals
he went on a whole new journey that his close family and friends
when he converted to Islam in
Miscellany ISLAMIC VOICE, fEBRUARY 2009 27
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