1 Minority Ministry Adopts New Strategy

ISLAMIC VOICE, August 2013 1In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

32 Pages Rs. 15 Bangalore English MonthlyAugust 2013 Vol. 26-8 No. 320 Ramadan-Shawwal 1434 H

Page 22 Page 14

Minority Ministry Adopts New Strategy

MsDP to focus on 770 blocks instead of districts; National Data Bank to segregate data for important social components of population; Five Central varsities and National Wakf Development Corpn. to be set up.

By Abdul Bari Masoud

New Delhi: The Ministry of Minority Affairs (MoMA) will pursue a multi-pronged strategy for development of minority communities. For the year 2013-14, Rs. 1,250 crore will be spent on Area Development in 710 blocks and 66 towns with concentration of minorities. It has allocated Rs. 1.77 crore for minorities scholarships schemes. The earmarked budget for the current financial year is Rs. 3,511 crore. The strategy has been adopted after the MsDP (Multi-sectoral Development Programme) failed to produce results in 90 minorities concentration districts in the country due to inherent flaws in the scheme and a bureaucracy bent upon scuttling the flow of funds to minority areas. Sources say, even the Congress and UPA President Sonia Gandhi was not happy with the functioning of the Ministry as welfare schemes failed to make any visible impact on the status and situation of the minorities. Even Minorities Affairs Minister K. Rahman Khan

has admitted that much is needed to improve at the implementation level. He also held three meetings of central and state level officers concerned with the minority welfare departments and urged them to do their part in realizing these schemes. MsDP to Focus on Blocks, not DistrictsAccording to the Ministry, during 2012-13, i.e., the first year of 12th Plan, Rs. 1,360 crore was released to support education of more than 72 lakh minority students under Scholarship Schemes while Rs. 646.42 crore were released under Multi-sectoral Development Programme (MsDP). The total number of projects taken up under MsDP included 14,244 Indira Awas Yojana houses, 2,101 additional classrooms,36 schools, 151 hostels, 1885 anganwadis, drinking water facilities at 14,917 locations, 307 health centres, 793 toilets, 41 ITIs and 13 polytechnics. MAEF sanctioned Rs. 17.66 Crore to 136 institutions. As per information received from the Department of Financial Services, the share

of minorities under Priority Sector Lending from Banks has reached 14.96% during 2012-13. According to information received from Ministry of Personnel, the recruitment level of minorities in Central Government Ministries/Departments, Organizations etc. has increased to the level of 11.55%. Through women empowerment scheme for “Leadership Development of Minority Women” during 2012-13, 36,950 women were trained in 12 States at a cost of Rs. 10.45 crore.Achievements of the Ministry during 11th Plan show that Rs. 2,672 crore were disbursed for educational empowerment by way of scholarship to more than 140 lakh students from minority communities. Of these, 30% were girls. The Ministry released Rs. 2,935.93 crore under MsDP to 20 States/Union Territories (UTs) to create infrastructure. The total number of projects taken up under MsDP during the 11th Five Year Plan include 301,556 houses under Indira Awas Yojana,

Windsor Manor vs. Karnataka Wakf Board

Court asks Hotel to Vacate Wakf Land

By A Staff Writer

Bangalore: The Karnataka Board of Wakfs won a major legal battle against Hotel Windsor Manor, a five star Hotel under ITC group in the second week of July, 2013. The Public Premises Court has ordered the Windsor Manor to vacate the 164,000 sq. ft land of the Agha Ali Asker Waqf in the heart of Bangalore where it has been running the luxury hotel for the last 33 years. According to Chairman of the Waqf Board, Abdur Riyaz Khan, the Board was now entitled to seek vacation of the premises by the hotel management with the aid of police. The vacation has to take place within 45 days.Agha Ali Asker Waqf is a Shia waqf. The waqf land had been leased out to Shivaram Hotels for 30 years which ended in 2003. The Shivaram Hotels had in turn sub-leased it to ITC group which started the five-star Windsor Manor Hotel, which stands facing

the scenic Bangalore Golf Course, Chief Minister’s residence and the Ashoka Hotel. The Board had launched the case in 2003 to get the premises vacated. Curiously, the land had been leased out for

a throwaway sum of rent of mere Rs. 6,000 a month which had remained pegged at the same level till 2003. Pending the legal case, the Waqf Board had demanded Rs. 35 lakh, but the court had fixed the rent at Rs. six lakh which was being deposited in the court as the Board had not agreed to the rent amount fixed by the court. Now the deposited amount has grown to Rs. 6 crore.Though the Hotel group challenged the Public Premises Act, the Board won the case at all stages.

ISLAMIC VOICE, August 2013 2ramadan round-up

Widespread Observance of Ramadan A recent Pew Research Center survey of more than 38,000 Muslims around the world shows widespread observance of Ramadan. In the 39 countries and territories surveyed, a median of 93% say they fast during the holy month. By comparison, a median of 77% of Muslims in those 39 countries say they give zakat . And a global median of 63% of Muslims surveyed say they perform five salat (prayers) a day. A median of just 9% of Muslims say they have already completed the hajj (the

pilgrimage to Mecca). Although fasting during Ramadan is widespread across the countries surveyed, there is some regional variation. Fasting among Muslims is nearly universal in the Southeast Asian and South Asian countries surveyed. By contrast, in several Central Asian and European countries, fewer than half of Muslims report abstaining from food and drink during Ramadan: 44% in Albania, 43% in Azerbaijan and 30% in Kazakhstan. (By Fatima Ghani)

Ramadan having Positive Impact on MuslimsYouGov MENA surveyed 1,520 online Muslim respondents who live in the Middle East to

understand their impressions of this special time of year.

n 31% of survey respondents claim their behavior (lifestyle etc.) changes ‘completely’ during Ramadan

n 87% spend more time at home than usual during the Holy Month of Ramadan

n 79% thinks Ramadan is becoming more commercial

n 90% see Ramadan as a time for smokers to quit

n 94% see Ramadan as a time for people to learn about religion

n Just 27% lose weight during Ramadan

Nearly all (91%) of online respondents report they fast during Ramadan, with this finding evenly distributed among demographic and geographical location. Interestingly, nearly one-third (31 percent) of online respondents claim their behavior (lifestyle etc.) changes ‘completely’ during Ramadan, while 54 percent say it changes ‘a little’.The majority of online respondents (87 percent) say they spend more time at home than usual during the holy month and 79 percent say they spend more time with their family. This is probably related to where online Muslim respondents prefer to break their fast, with 86 percent saying they prefer to do so at home and 9 percent saying they prefer to break fast at a family member’s home.When asked to share how they feel Ramadan has changed over the years, 79 percent of online respondents agree it is becoming more commercial, while 71 percent agree Ramadan is also becoming more important. Online

respondents were divided when asked if Ramadan is becoming more fun, with 46 percent agreeing and 49 percent disagreeing, and while 55 percent of online respondents say people have become more generous during Ramadan, 69 percent say people have lost the spiritual meaning of Ramadan.Generally, online respondents see Ramadan as a time for positive change, with 90 percent saying they see Ramadan as a time for smokers to quit, 92 percent seeing it as a time for families to become closer, and 94 percent seeing it as a time for people to learn about religion.Ramadan is seen as a time for people to live healthier by 86 percent of online respondents, and 73 percent see it as a time to lose weight. Accordingly, 27 percent of online respondents report they lose weight during Ramadan, while 18 percent say they usually gain weight. Forty-one percent of online respondents say they eat healthier food during Ramadan.

Cairo: Thousands of Egyptians gathered for a fast-breaking meal that brought Muslims and Christians together in Tahrir Square last month. The Tahrir Square has been the focal point for opponents of ousted President Mohammed Mursi, who was toppled on July 3 by the army following mass protests against him. It was also the cradle of the uprising that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.The unity meal came on the same day that Islamist supporters of Mursi mobilized across Egypt, holding large demonstrations in public squares in several cities.Several thousand people came to Tahrir square in a show of sectarian unity and also to show their support for the toppling of Mursi.

The Imam who gave the Friday sermon in the square said that “today’s iftar was intended to bring the country together after

a long period of divisiveness. This iftar [fast breaking meal] is a national unity meal, in order for us to say that Egyptians, Muslims and Christians, make up one square and one nation. And this is an iftar to honor the blood of the martyrs and we are demanding justice for them on this Friday, so this is an iftar for the souls of the martyrs and for national unity,” said Mohamed Abdullah Nasser.

Muslims and Christians gather at Tahrir Square for Ramadan Meal

ISLAMIC VOICE, August 2013 3

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An Iftar for IntrospectionBy Nigar Ataulla

Bangalore: Iftar parties often consist of meeting, breaking the fast, eating, and then dispersing. But this was one iftar party with a difference. Organised on 25th July on the terrace of Feroze’s Estate Agency by the Quran Study Circle, it brought together Muslims and people of other faiths, both men and women. Special care was taken for vegetarian food for those who don’t eat meat.After the maghbrib prayers, Arif Vakil, co-founder of ‘Sufi Comics’ (for details, see www.suficomics.com) gave an introduction to the objective of the iftar gathering. This was followed by a talk titled “Charity, Sacrifice?” Sorry, I Have No Time!” by Dr. Taha Mateen, Director of Acura Hospital and HBS Hospital, who also heads the Quran Study Circle. His mesmerizing lecture was the highlight of the iftar meet.

Focussing on the question of accountability of human beings to God for everything they say, do, feel and think, Dr Mateen put forth many questions of a reflective nature which everyone

ought to repeatedly ask oneself. He stressed that fasting was the most blessed time to go within, introspect, and meditate on one’s deeds, actions, thoughts and words. He touched on the day-to-day life of people and how ethics and morality ought to play a major part in every aspect of our lives, be it professional, social, personal or in the community.

Dr. Mateen raised pointed questions to the audience while reflecting on human accountability to God and the importance of charity that the month of Ramzan should inspire us to appreciate:“When

was the last time you smiled kindly at someone? When was the last time you forgave someone? When was the last time that your conscience pinched you when you did something that was forbidden? When was the last time you helped a poor person?” and so on—questions that everyone of us ought

to always ask ourselves. The lecture followed by a question and answer session, proved to be an enriching experience. Guests were presented with a little gift bag, containing a copy of the translation of the Quran in English and a Sufi comic book, which added to the special flavor of this wonderfully inspiring “Iftar for introspection”.

ramadan round-up

World’s Longest Iftar TableSharjah: The world’s longest iftar table measuring 1.003km in length comprising 410 tables with 1,600 legs and 2.44 meters each in length, seating 2,000 people in facing rows on Al-Buhaira Corniche walkway in Sharjah, was the focus of a Ramadan event that drew thousands of people and officials from the Guinness Book of World Records. Talal Umar, country head and Sameer Khallouf, project manager for MENA Guinness Book of World Records, the official adjudicators announced the new record which eclipses

the previous one by more than a double of the distance.

4,500 Ramadan Baskets for Syrian refugees in Jordan

Riyadh: The Saudi national campaign to help Syrian refugees in Jordan, distributed Ramadan baskets for 4,500 Syrian families in Ramtha and Madaba Governorates in the second phase of its Ramadan relief activities. Director of the campaign office in Jordan, Saad Al-Sowaid said

the third phase of the Ramadan basket distribution cover 150,000 families outside the Zaatari camp.


41 Per Cent of Respondents, including Hindus, feel Muslims are ‘Implicated’ in Terror Cases

By Prashant Jha

41 per cent of respondents, including Hindus, either ‘fully’ or ‘somewhat’ agreed with the assertion.In a stinging rebuke to Indian’s security establishment, a dominant section of the nation’s voters feel that Muslims are “falsely implicated” and framed in terror cases.

This is a key finding of the CNN-IBN- Hindu Election Tracker. The Survey, conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), across 18 states of the country.When asked whether Muslim youth were being “falsely implicated in terror cases”, 41 per cent of the voters either “fully” or “somewhat” agreed with the assertion. Among them, 40 per cent were Hindus, and 56 per cent Muslims. When the Muslim demographics was broken down further, 53 per cent rural Muslims and 62 per cent

urban Muslims said that the young of their community were being wrongly framed.One-fourth of the overall respondents, however, disagreed

with the statement. Twenty-five per cent of the Hindus, and 24 per cent of the Muslim respondents, did not think Muslim youth were being implicated wrongly. Among Muslims, 26 per cent rural Muslims, and 21 per cent urban Muslims, disagreed, confirming a pattern where more urban Muslims appeared to feel that individuals from the community were framed wrongly.Over one-third of the total respondents, 34 per cent, did not offer an opinion.The findings add credibility

to the claims of human rights organisations, who have alleged that in an increasing number of cases, right after an incident of terrorism, young Muslims are picked up, arrested without sufficient evidence, charged, and suffer long years of imprisonment as under-trials before an acquittal comes their way. Analysts have often flagged this as a factor

contributing to alienation among a section of the community.Responding to the findings, National Commission of Minorities chairperson, Wajahat Habibullah, told The Hindu, “The commission has been very concerned about this and taken up the matter on several occasions. It is good to have the figures in black and white and this will make our

work in getting justice for those who have not got justice easier.” Mr. Habibullah cited the Mecca-Masjid bombing case, where 22 persons were kept in prison on fabricated confessions, and Malegaon case, where 9 persons were imprisoned for six years, before being finally acquitted as proof of this trend.(www.thehindu.com)


Ideas Arabia to launch TV Channel for Women

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia is launching a satellite TV channel on 25 July, 2013 to challenge the stereotype of Arab and Muslim women abroad.The channel, run by businessman Sheikh Yusuf bin Awad Al-Ahmadi’s Ideas Arabia company, will be aimed at, and dominated by Saudi women showcasing their capabilities, Arab News reports.Speaking at a launch event, board

chairman Abdullah Al-Nazawi said: “The objective of the channel is to highlight the skills, traditions, culture, education, Islamic thought and problems facing Arab women in general, and Saudi women in particular. The programming will reportedly cover a variety of areas to explore women’s aspirational needs, including technology, politics, culture, science, education, psychology and medicine.

Muslims give more charity than others: UK Poll Survey

ISLam In THE WEST

Canterbury (England): When it comes to donating to charity, Britain’s small, but fast-growing Muslim community comes out ahead of other religious groups, a recent survey shows. Conducted by ICM, a London-based polling agency, the survey shows that U.K’s estimated 280,000 Muslims report giving more money annually to charity than Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and Jews. The survey, conducted

on behalf of JustGiving, an online giving platform, also found a 70 percent rise in giving over the past two years from among Muslims to the charity-giving site. “Our data

shows many of Britain’s Muslim communities are at the forefront of digital giving, driving an increase in zakat donations,” said Zarine Kharas, Just Giving’s CEO. In

2012, British Muslims gave $307,046 in donations to a variety of causes through JustGiving, compared to $144,311 in 2010. The donations went to various

Muslim charities, including Muslim Aid, Islamic Relief and the Zakat Trust. Muslims also donate to individual mosques and earmark sums of money to non-Islamic causes. In 2010, Muslims in Manchester donated $79,831 to develop a United Reformed Church building in a rundown part of the city.The ICM survey showed that Muslims say they donate about $567 per person per year, with Jews (also numbering around 280,000 in the U.K.) in second place, with $412 per person annually. Christians gave considerably less, just over $300 per person, and atheists were at the bottom of the list, with $177 donations.


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Muslim Orphanage: An AssessmentThe nearly 120-year old Muslim Orphanage in Bangalore has failed in its task of

turning out self-respecting and qualified individuals. By Maqbool Ahmed Siraj

The Muslim Orphanage, nestling in the serene corner of Diskenson Road in Bangalore’s Cantonment area, is an historic institution. But there rests its importance. It has refused to rise from history to repute. Historicity comes by itself and is acknowledged not to be a virtue. Reputation is gained through achievement which in turn is outcome of struggle and hard work. Only a combination of two—history as well as reputation—can lend an institution some element of notability. Alas, it has eluded it. It was established on a picturesque plot of land in 1892 by philanthropists of yore. Since history is not the content of this exercise, I leave the readers to access it from the records of the institution.

Today, the Muslim Orphanage, currently under Wakf Board control, is home to less than 300 children (It used to be around 500 before the takeover). Girls are more numerous than boys, given the relative insecurity their parents feel in bringing them up in their congested shanties that once ringed the fringes of Bangalore. But urban sprawl has brought them within the core area of this big, bad city under the throes of unplanned growth. All inmates are

Muslim and despite their being no bar against admitting kids from other communities, the challenge of tackling with diverse mores of children from diverse background, has kept its custodians from accepting them—and wisely so. The founders of the Muslim Orphanage must be saluted for their philanthropy and for leaving for the posterity an institution w e l l - e n d o w e d with assets capable of sustaining the institution in future. Despite frequent interventions by the inept Waqf Board, the Orphanage has been run smoothly, with inmates being looked after well. Kids indeed enjoy their stay there, though most of them leave

its portals with little baggage of credits that could stand them in good stead in the practical sphere of life. The question then that must be asked is : What purpose running an Orphanage that refuses to produce human beings of any use to the society?Sitting on the prime real estate, the Muslim Orphanage may be a cynosure of eyes of the developers and builders, but it is hardly rated more than an asylum for the kids ejected out of their

homes sheer out of unaffordable economy of bringing them. Going by the background of most of its inmates, it hardly fits the bill for an Orphanage. At best, Orphanage is a misnomer. But more of it later.

Its dormitories provide a good dumping ground for the kids coming from homes of the indigent mothers, who in a good number of cases have been victims of domestic violence, dead, missing or alcoholic fathers or the ones rendered destitute due to economically irresponsible Muslim husbands. Given the privileged status and location of the Orphanage, the inmates here could well be considered the most fortunate orphans, for it is the most cherished destination for the charities from the Bangalore’s Muslims elite. With ‘dawats’ (feasts) dime a dozen in the course of a month, food rains here by tons, almost drowning the inmates during Ramazan. Mattresses and state-of-the art kitchen, dining rooms and toilets leave nothing for imagination to desire by kids from the underprivileged sections. Basic life lived with enough assurance for the sustenance of body breeds insouciance in ample measure. Life for the

inmates might be easy-going, but it certainly raises questions if the custodians and caretakers of the Orphanage behave in the same fashion. Vision: They need to question

as to why the Orphanage exists, what kind of products it is supposed to turn out and what values it needs to impart. Some of these questions have begun to prick the collective conscience of the Bangalore Muslims. These are legitimate queries and future would see the quest for an answer growing intense.

Muslim Orphanage has certainly failed to live up to the expectation. Its record in matters of production of human resources has been dismal. Not even the quality of human material that is fashioned here can be seen ideal to fit in the society. It will be an exercise in futility to carve out a vision of producing IAS and IPS officers out of these inmates and an institution that is far from imparting good education to its

inmates. Some administrators have been more precise in their aim of just producing 100 per cent SSLC result from its school. Such simplistic ambitions make a mockery of the outcome and

output desired from it. An institution dedicated basically to provide asylum to kids discarded by a society, is in no position to churn out individuals with energy required for ambitious individuals. It is misfortune that the Muslim Orphanage has failed to carve a vision for itself beyond taking care of the kids from children who have suffered the

misfortune of losing their fathers (and mothers in exceptional cases).

Stresses on Developing Human Beings

Food and clothing are a small part of existence today in terms of development of human resources. An Orphanage or Children’s Home

is today expected to be a centre of holistic development for the children. Developing self-esteem is, therefore, prime requisite of such an institution. Sustained provision of food and clothing could well be the objective of an asylum. Self esteem is the sum total of education, skills, discipline, character, values and ethos developed at any such institutions. Inmates of an asylum

Muslim Orphanage witnesses a deluge of rich food during all nights of Ramazan. Sawab-seekers should

be persuaded to make commensurate donation in terms of money rather than foisting the food on the

hapless inmates. Wardens should not be like warders. They should be mentors and that takes into consideration several

humane qualities and human aspects

ISLAMIC VOICE, August 2013 7Page 6

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tend to resort to beggary and inmates of remand home to criminal activities once the supply of the provisions are withdrawn. But a Children’s home is expected to fill their inmates with hope, ambition, desire to be self-dependent, nay, to their being contributing members of the society. They should walk out of its portals with their heads held high in the air. They should thereafter join the alumni that comes back to the alma mater to be honoured. Their synergy spawns sources of mutual pride. Unfortunately, the Muslim Orphanage has never spelled its vision in that many words, nor has risen above objectives put in simple terms nearly 120 years by its well-meaning, though inarticulate, founders. No wonder then why for a long time its wardens behaved none other than warders: herding the children in the manner of a flock of sheep, reprimanding the ones who deviated from the track and providing no vent for the inner energies of the kids. The times we are now living in, is an era of fast changes. Every pie invested in development of human resources must yield results and should be accounted for. Assignments like food and clothing for kids from the poor and needy families are unbecoming of institutions that guzzle precious resources and presided by members of the educated elite. The Orphanage has lived off charities and revenue out of its assets for far too long a period to be left uncared. It must chart out a course, fix a vision, prepare a mission statement and designate targets. No institution that devours

Muslim Orphanage, Bangalore

Petty Politicking at the Cost of InmatesBy A Staff Writer

Happenings within the Muslim Orphanage have followed a bizarre pattern in recent months. Sample the following:n A memo signed and circulated by the administrator among the Orphanage staffers asked them to enroll at least 25 members each for the general body. (Remember elections for the 11-member executive committee are due next month). At least four staffers who spoke to Islamic Voice on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that they were made to sign such a memo which warned that ‘no-compliance would be viewed seriously”. It is reported that the current Administrator who failed to get a Congress ticket for just concluded Assembly election, is planning to jump into the fray for executive committee elections. However, a stay by the High Court on fresh enrolment of members has put paid to hope of a captive votebank emerging for the men eyeing the chairman’s post. n Salary of a teacher with 26 years of experience was cut down by Rs. 4,000 giving her a rude shock. Why? One may ask. Because it had to be brought down on par with another teacher (who happens to be wife of a reporter in an Urdu daily). The management ignored the plea that the teacher whose salary was being slashed had put in 16 years of service prior to joining the M. O. Girls High School while the latter was a raw hand when recruited four years ago. Surprisingly, a former chairman of the Orphanage had hiked her salary by 60% a year after she had joined despite protest by several executive members then. n A retiring headmaster stage-managed several farewells for himself in the school ostensibly to drum up support for himself being appointed as Educational Advisor after retirement. A local newspaper was generous enough to splash the news each

time such farewells were held.n One of the few male wardens was charged with sexual misconduct and suspended from service last year while the fact was that he was the most efficient and honest warden. Surprisingly, the charges made against him were proved to be without any basis. But he is yet to be restored to his post pending a case in the court. The question that should be raised is: Why honest workers are harassed in the first instance? It is nearly three years since the Karnataka Board of Wakfs took over the administration of the Muslim Orphanage. The ruse was that the previous executive committee could not hold the elections for the new tenure. Since then the Orphanage administration has been following the policy of cutting down the number of inmates. Around the time it took over, somewhere around October 2010, the inmates were around 450. Now it is down to 291, i.e., 188 girls and 111 boys. Two boy-inmates had died immediately after the takeover by the Wakf Board in 2010 due to various ailments.The previous administration under the chairmanship of Janab Ziaulla Sheriff had taken several visionary initiatives to improve the educational standards. This resulted in jump in number of enrolment of boys and girls in colleges to 45 from previous single girl.The new a d m i n i s t r a t i o n has witnessed a procession of a d m i n i s t r a t o r s . For the first month immediately after it was taken over, it was Mr. Salahuddin, then a KAS officer for the initial one month.

(He held this as an additional charge.) Next came Mr. Khutubuddin Naikwadi, a retired official. He could not survive more than six months. For next four months it was one Mr. Muneeruddin. Again Mr. Salahuddin, who had been promoted to IAS by then, was incharge for a period of 12 months. For the last seven months Mr. Ismathullah Khan has been holding the reigns. There were umpteen changes of executive officers too. The honest and efficient were ones who were shown the door quickly. The administration under the Wakf Board began to shunt out the inmates after SSLC back to where they had come from and asked them to attend colleges from homes, albeit paying their tuition fee. Currently 26 boys and 12 girls are said to be receiving assistance for college education, although the monitoring of their performance has suffered as watchfulness has relaxed.The High School has barely 90 girls, lowest ever enrolment in the three classes. It is feared that the Department of Public Instructions may recall some of the teachers in view of the low numbers.The Institution has though so far failed to turn out any students who could make it proud, but has always been centre of petty politicking with undesirable elements poking their noses under the mask of old inmates of the Orphanage.


Food Wastage Rises by 25 per cent during RamadanManama: About 25 per cent of food purchased in Bahrain during Ramadan will be thrown away. It is estimated that between BD150 ($395) to BD250 worth of food is thrown away by each household yearly, which leads to a dangerously increasing pattern during Ramadan, according to Supreme Council for Environment Waste Disposal Unit Head Rehan Ahmed, reported the Gulf Daily News.The demand for meat, chicken, vegetables, fruits, dairy products and rice increases by around 50 per cent during the holy month of Ramadan. “During Ramadan, food wastage increases by 25 per cent due to wrong habits,” Ahmed said. “People think because they are fasting, they should consume more food, ending up buying more and throwing it.” A typical Bahraini household cooks around six to seven elaborate dishes for

Iftar, nearly half of which will be wasted, People should be eating as they do before Ramadan - maybe even less as they have been fasting throughout the day. The rise in

income and living standards are believed to be one of the reasons for such high consumption”, said Ahmed.

“People take food consumption lightly due to affordability of such items,” he said. “However, with the rise in food prices it is hoped people will rethink about their consumption and

shopping habits. They also tend to buy more than their normal requirements, leading to more wastage as they are possibly not

used in time and end up in the bin,” he added.Ahmed said large quantities of food were wasted during Ramadan because of “over shopping”. He explained that consumers purchased more than they needed as a result of unplanned shopping trips and “buy-one-get-one-free” promotions.Ahmed called on consumers to develop better food habits and respect for the environment. “Bahrain is, unfortunately, closely following the footprints of Americans and Europeans in food wastage, as the Britons alone throw away one third of their food which entails an enormous hidden financial and environmental cost,” he said. Ahmed added that organic food waste normally reached more than 400 tonnes per day, but this figure rocketed during

Ramadan. “People think carbon dioxide emission from cars and other vehicles is the worst form of air pollution, but methane from food,especially meat, is more hazardous,” said Ahmed. During the holy month, food waste exceeds the estimated 400 tonnes of waste per day in Bahrain. Ahmed urged non-governmental organisations to launch awareness campaigns on food consumption, and form a service where volunteers would collect leftover food from iftar buffets at restaurants to distribute among the poor. “People need to understand the urgency of this issue and lessen the amount of waste from excessive food consumption during Ramadan. Households, restaurants, hotels and mosques can adopt initiatives that can lessen or at least manage leftovers so it is not a burden on our environment,” said Ahmed.

Pakistan’s First Sect-Free Mosque Opens By Syed Ali Hassan

Islamabad: The opening of Pakistan’s first sect-free mosque is such a refreshing change from the religious violence that has been plaguing the country for years now. On the foot of Margalla hills in Islamabad, a businessman, Zahid Iqbal has constructed a mosque. This mosque, called the Darul Iman Jamia Masjid Qurtuba, is spartan in its appearance, but the message it sends is even more powerful. In a time when inter-faith conflict is constantly escalating and Shia Hazaras in particular are subject

to ethnic cleansing, this mosque welcomes visitors with a sign that reads,“This mosque does not

discriminate between any sects and welcomes all Muslims.”However, that is not where the

deviation from the norm ends. The mosque also hosts a separate, segregated section for women and contains a library filled with

religious books that cater to and contain information on all the different sects.The completion of the Darul Iman Jamia Masjid Qurtuba is the first of the many steps that must be taken to end religious violence in the country. It is only when the message of love and peace is loud enough that hatred can truly be eradicated from our

hearts.(Source: http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story)

Three Women in Egypt’s New Cabinet

Cairo: Egypt’s interim president swore in the first Cabinet since the military ousted the Islamist president, giving members of the country’s liberal movements key positions. The Cabinet includes three women. The new government is led by Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi, an economist. Underlining the relatively liberal outlook of the new government, President Adly Mansour named three women in his Cabinet, taking the powerful ministries of

information and health as well as the environment ministry. The Cabinet has 33 members, not

including El-Beblawi. Most past governments for decades have had at the most two women in them. The Cabinet does not include any figures from Islamist parties.

Sermons on Food Wastage during Ramadan by Abu Dhabi Imams

Abu Dhabi: Worshippers at every mosque in the United Arab Emirates capital were given a Ramadan message, prepared in

cooperation with the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD), advising them to think twice before

cooking up too much food. EAD is a government body that aims to create a greener planet. According to the UN Food and Agriculture

Organization, every year 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted around the world, an amount equal to total food production in sub-Saharan Africa. Worshippers were told that reductions in food waste translate directly into deep cuts in manufacture and use

of fertilizer and pesticides, and avoidance of transportation fuel burn and resultant emissions.

Kazakh Children Keep Ramadan Caroling AliveKazakhstan: Children in Central Asia practice a tradition in the lead-up to iftar, they go Ramadan caroling. As with Christmas caroling, the children go door-to-door singing their neighbors holiday songs. After performing, carolers ask for a treat, usually receiving sweets or pocket change. This songfest can last an entire month. It’s the only time of the year when they run around with their friends. In Kazakhstan, Ramadan caroling was suppressed during the Soviet era, when Kazakh Muslims secretly fasted to avoid being targeted as troublemakers. Today, carolers can openly sing, “May the Lord Almighty accept your prayers

and to all who are fasting for Ramadan, may the Lord be good to you.” Ramadan carolling was also popular across Afghanistan before the 1979 Soviet invasion, but the tradition disappeared during subsequent decades of

war and the emergence of the Taliban, which considered all music to be un-Islamic. Caroling has resurfaced only recently in some of northern Afghanistan’s ethnic Uzbek, ethnic Turkmen, and ethnic Tajik neighborhoods.

Rise of Birth Defects and Cancer in Najaf

Najaf: The US military’s use of depleted uranium in Iraq has led to a sharp increase in leukemia and birth defects in the city of Najaf, and panicked residents are fearing for their health. Cancer is now more common than the flu, said a report by Russia Today. The city of Najaf saw one of

the most severe military actions during the 2003 invasion.Speaking on the rooftop of her house instead of her laboratory, Dr. Sundus Nsaif says the city has seen a “dramatic rise” in cancer and birth defects since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq . http://www.countercurrents.org/

ISLAMIC VOICE, August 2013 9Lecture Delivered by Teesta Setalvad

Constitutional Prnciples versus MajoritarianismTeesta Setalvad, Human Rights activist and campaigner for justice for victims of anti-Muslim violence delivered the Henry Volken

Memorial Lecture at the Indian Social Institute on July 12 on “A Republic’s Dilemmas: Constitutional Principles vs. Majoritarianism”. It also coincided with the Golden Jubilee celebration of the Institute in Bangalore. We reproduce the excerpts of the address. Editor

It is sixty three years since Independence and we need to decide ‘what should be done?’ and ‘what can be done?’ and learn to differentiate between the two. Signs of majoritarianism have been creeping into the polity since long and were clear from 1998. Today they seem to have entrenched themselves. Free use of hate speech violates the article 153 A of the Indian Constitution but it took ten years for Election Commission to debar Bal Thackeray from exercising his right to cast a vote in the elections. And remember, this did not deter the Maharashtra Government from giving him a State funeral. He also had expressed his not having faith in democracy. Not alone this, the State seems to be supine when it comes to taking action against merchants of hate in public. Narendra Modi had described the relief camps set up after the 2002 anti Muslim violence in Gujarat as ‘baby-

making factories’ and Varun Gandhi dubbed Muslim vermin. He has been acquitted by the court and during the prosecution all 51 witnesses turned hostile. Muslim cause for positive

affirmation suffered a setback during the debates of the Constituent Assembly as Muslim leadership had been put on the defensive in the wake of Partition. Muslims should have been included among the socially and educationally backward communities (SEBC). They were assured of their interests being looked after well. But Patel clearly told that he did not trust Muslims. It is unjust to exclude Muslims and Christians from the reservation category for SEBCs as their poverty is too apparent to be missed. Moreover, caste is too deeply entrenched in the Indian social system and does not go away with the change of religion. Politics of communalism is the

worst tool to alienate a section of people. The Muslims are accused of lack of patriotism while the RSS even today has not reconciled to the fact of the tricolor being the national flag.

It openly says that the national flag should have been saffron in colour. Textbooks predominantly project majoritarian agenda. In Gujarat

they say that Muslims, Christians and Parsees are foreigners. These textbooks do not tell the fact to the children that Babasaheb Ambedkar converted to Buddhism due to the caste-motivated oppression against Dalits. These books also miss out the story of Savitribai Phule who started the first all-female school in Bhilewada,

Pune in 19th century and she was excommunicated from the community. It was Usman Shaikh, a Muslim who provided her shelter. The textbooks do not ask why Mahatma Gandhi, the man of peace was killed. Similarly, in Pakistan the children are taught history from Mughal period and the earlier era of Hindu dynasties and Aryan civilization, is given a go by. If these facts are included, the history would make the society fundamentally secular. There are seven states in India which have enacted Acts under the name of “Freedom of Religion” which actually ban the conversion. This militates against the Constitution. But

similar enthusiasm for enacting the law against targetted violence to check the communal riots and bringing in accountability among the officials responsible for maintaining the law and order is sorely missing. We had terrible bouts of communal violence since 1961 when Jabalpur riots broke the reign of peace. Nellie,

Bhagalpur, Meerut, Hashimpura and Maliana, Mumbai and Gujarat, anti-Sikh violence in Delhi and expulsion of Pandits from the Kashmir have left a trail of blood and gore with sickening frequency. Yet the wheels of justice don’t move. No urgency is shown in pushing the Targetted Violence Bill in the Parliament. The law should introduce statutory reparation for the riot victims. Currently there are no standard reparations. Even violence against linguistic minorities too should be included in the Bill. Stringent action should be taken against the hate speech and hate-spewing writings. Eminent police officers such as Vibhuti Narain Rao and Rodriguez F. Ribero have opined that communal violence cannot continue for more than 24 hours unless the administration and the Government have the intention to let them continue. Instead of these measures, we are being commandeered by majoritariansim. People who stand up for these causes are accused of communalizing the country. Same argument was used when agitation against reservation for OBCs was conducted. Politicians have begun raising their political career on blatant

It is sad that people who promoted communal hatred against minorities and distributed swords were

promoted in ranks in the cabinet of Mr. Narendra Modi. How much more shameful one could be in

pandering to majoritarianism?

The blame lies with the electorate too. How is that the Congress was swept to power in 1984 Lok Sabha

elections despite its role in anti-Sikh violence?

Page 24

updaTE


LETTErS

Forbesganj Firing Inquiry

For a Neighbour-Friendly Ramadan

It is two years since four innocent Muslims were killed in police firing in Forbesganj on June 3, 2011. The judicial commission set up by the State Government is yet to submit its report to the Government. The Commission headed by Justice Madhrendra Sharan has his office in Patna. Due to the lethargic pace of inquiry, police are coercing the witnesses and victims after the incident. In the past when Justice Uday Sinha was given the responsibility to inquire into Madhubani police firing, the Commission set up its office at

Madhubani Circuit Office the very next day and pursued the investigation on a day to day basis and submitted it report within no time. It is rather bizarre that while Justice Verma could submit its report on the rape incident in Delhi within three months, Babri Masjid inquiry commission took two decades. Such judicial lethargy undermines the very process of justice. How long should the people remain mute spectator to such double standards. S. Haque, Patna

I agree with these suggestions by Maqbool Ahmed Siraj. The crux of the matter is we miss civility when we practice the teachings of Islam. The problem of loudspeaker is a very common one in Muslim localities. Different factions compete with each other to make them heard and thereby irritating even Muslims. If you object to these practices you will be accused as a less faithful or one who has no regard to Islam and its teachings.Hussain [email protected]

Maqbool Ahmed Siraj has written an excellent piece titled “Tips for a Neighbour-Friendly Ramazan

(Islamic Voice, July 2013). I wish Muslims all over India would act accordingly.

J. S. Bandukwala, Baroda [email protected]

From the first 11 suggestions, I fully endorse numbers 1 to 6 and 8 to 11.It is our duty to be mindful and concerned about the people around. We have no right to cause discomfort or nuisance or trouble to anyone while fulfilling the quest of our beliefs and practices.Dr. Afshan [email protected]

Egypt: Uncertain FutureOne year is too small a period to judge the leadership of a nation that had suffered almost six decades of dictatorship. By this yardstick, ouster of the Mohammad Mursi’s government cannot be justified, given the fact that he could not have succeeded in stemming, let alone reversing, the rot. Yet Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood are not free from the blame of squandering the opportunity to restore the people’s faith in democracy. The Opposition—divided as it is in disparate groups ranging from worst kind of salafis to liberal democrats—too cannot be spared of the charge of being impatient with the pace of things.Between themselves, the Brotherhood and the Opposition have provided the Army and perhaps the old Mubarak loyalists the ideal opportunity to sneak back into the power. Mursi should have been aware that the mandate they had won was not decisive enough to ride roughshod in matters of decision making in a nation emerging from three decades of puppet regime of Hosni Mubarak. They should have avoided ‘Ikhwanizing’ the administration as was evident from appointing 12 city mayors, assigning five major ministries, deputing seven provincial Governors and 13 counselors to Governors, from among their cadres. Media too suffered at the hands of Brotherhood with nearly 200 scribes being interrogated during the one-year reign. Several editors were removed at the Government’s behest. There appeared little scope for cheer on economic front from the beginning itself. The national wealth had already concentrated in the hands of extremely small coterie of military-backed tycoons and industrialists. Much of the tax reforms introduced during the year only annoyed the ones who began to feel the heat of the new powers-that-be. The nation witnessed over 500 public demonstrations and a similar number of strikes. The IMF refused to loosen its purse strings while highly influential petrol lobby kept defying the Government fiats and there was no let-up in energy crisis.The Opposition, weak and heterogenous as it was, should have cooperated with Mursi in steering the nation out of the political mess and precarious economic crisis during the year. It didn’t. Perceiving the restiveness in the ranks of the Army and expecting its support in removing Mursi and the Brotherhood, it has only helped the former by default, thereby proving its immaturity. Overall, Mursi’s ouster is a great setback in restoring the popular rule in Egypt, the largest and the most enlightened Arab nation. Army’s itch for power and its incapacity to fulfill the popular aspirations are too well known to predict the future.

Curtains are Down The chilling accounts of the fake encounter in which Ishrat Jahan and three others were killed in 2004, further reinforce the apprehensions that the campaign against terrorism by security agencies has gone totally haywire. It was only three years before that veils over fallacious investigation were ripped apart and the hands of the real culprits began to be unravalled. From Malegaon to Samjhauta Express and Mecca Masjid and Ajmer Dargah, complicityof outfits affiliated to Hindutva ideology has been etched to relief in these incidents. In several of these bomb blasts the hands of the so called jihadi outfits had been taken for granted, widely publicized and several ‘terrorists’ were even arraigned before courts and even ‘confessions’ were secured and paraded. Thanks to some genuine investigation by the newly created NIA, the clumsy work by the Intelligence Bureau has come to the fore.But the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case has taken the issue a step further. It is only now known that some official agencies were not only messing up the cases, but stand formally accused of criminal conspiracy, abduction, planting of evidence, and worse, plain, cold-blooded murder. CBI evidence suggests that one of the victims of encounter killings was actually in touch with the IB long before he was gunned down. A supplementary charge-sheet is about to be filed. Surprisingly, all this was done to boost public image of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and paint him a warrior against terrorism, which till then was solely considered a handiwork of Muslim terrorists.If the criminal collusion of the officials is indeed going to be proved, it is time the entire operations against terrorism are reassessed as they no longer seem to be aimed at catching the culprits behind terrorism, but victimizing people totally innocent of any crimes.

An Appeal from RampurSaba Mahboob Shamsi is 27 years old and lives with her parents and two brothers in a two -room house in the by-lanes of Rampur in Uttar Pradesh. Saba is suffering from myasthenia gravis which is a chronic auto-immune neuromuscular disease characterized by varying degrees of weakness of the skeletal muscles of the body. Saba has to be on medicines lifelong for survival, which are very expensive. Every bottle of the prescribed medicine “Mastenol” that contains 150 tablets costs Rs 2700, and is available with very few chemists. With a weak economic background and aging par-ents too, the family is running from pillar to post to buy the medicine for Saba. The family appeals for help from the community. For more details, contact Saba or Shoeb Shamsi at: c/o Mr. Mahboob Ali Shamsi, Ghair Peepal Wala, Saifal Khan. Near House of Datt Bhai, Rampur , Uttar Pradesh, Pin Code 244901. Mobile (Shoeb Shamsi):8791210581. The doctor’s letters and hospital documents are available with her brother Shoeb Shamsi.

Appeal for HelpTanveer Fathima,33 years, wife of Muhammad Umar, a new convert to Islam has suffered multiple fractures

due to an accidental fall. She is admitted into St. John’s Medical College Hospital for treatment since June 4.

The treatment expenses bill is estimated to be around Rs. 150,000. Muhammad Umar has appealed for donation

to meet the expenses. His appeal has been endorsed by the President of Masjid Khaleelullah, R. T. Nagar,

Bangalore. Those wishing to help him can contact Umar at Phone; 99728-68769.

The True Spirit of EidIslamic Voice wishes all its readers Eid Mubarak. Let us share the joy of Eid with the poor, the needy and the orphans. Let us be cautious on spending on

food and clothes for ourselves and share it with those really in need, and spread peace around us.

Editor

ISLAMIC VOICE, August 2013 11350 Scholarships by Noor Baitul Mal

By A Staff Writer

Bangalore: The Noor Baitul Mal which was started in 2002 distributed scholarships among 350 students to the tune of Rs. 3.5 lakh at a function organised on July 7. Most of the students belong to underprivileged sections residing in Bismillahnagar, Guruppanpalya, Suddugonda Palya and Balaji Nagar. Working under the aegis of Al-Noor Welfare Trust, the Baitul Mal has so far helped 1,735 students to the tune of over Rs. 17 lakh in eleven years. It has financially assisted 88 sick person to the tune of Rs. 1.54 lakh during the period.

According to its newly inducted trustee Mr. Syed Tahsin Ahmed, who recently retired from the Government of Karnataka service, the Baitul Mal would set up a tailoring institute and a computer training centre. It will also undertake skill development programme for the jobless youth.The Baitul Mal is headed by its President Sheikh Mahboob. Md. Aslam is secretary while Dr. Inayath who has returned from his stint in the Gulf is a trustee. It has invited contributions for its activities. For details contact: Noor Baitul Mal, Ph: 080-65902065, Mohd Aslam (secretary) 99452-01514, Dr. Inayath 97404-88003.

Quwathul Islam Group of Institutions has started Quwathul islam Evening PU Colleges at its campus on the Borebank Road, Benson Town, Bangalore. The group which completes 60 years, already runs Quwathul Islam High School and a Degree college in the same campus.

Govt-Aided Teacher’s Post in UP

Madrassas Sell Teachers’ PostAnnouncement of Government grants for 75 madrassas in first phase in Uttar Pradesh has triggered a rat race among the managements to corner the teachers’ position for their kith and kin. But while jockeying for salaried positions, the managements are manipulating the record and denying the benefit to the old and experienced staffers who have served the religious educational institutions with loyalty for decades together. In a bizarre incident a dozen old teachers of Madrasa Mazharul Uloom in Ghosipura in Gorakhpur district staged a sit-in before the District Magistrate office protesting the termination of their job by the Madrassa’s rector. They alleged that the mdrassa secretary, Advocate Md. Yunus told them that their names could not be included among Government-aided teachers this year. According to Urdu daily

Rashtriya Sahara, the management was conspiring to terminate their services even though they had joined the service between 2003 and 206. The protesting teachers included Muhammad Shakir, Hafiz Abdur Raheem, Hafiz Muhammad Ayoob and Mulana Muhammad Nasir. It is said, the madrassa managements are asking the teacher to pay the management Rs. 5 lakh to Rs. 10 lakh for the post as it would carry officially designated salary in future. Two more madrassas in Rasoolpur and Ilahi Bagh have also been reported to be asking their teachers to provide such sums to the managements. Failure to comply with the demand is resulting in dismissals. Complaints in this regard with the District Minority Officers have gone unheeded.

Post Matric ScholarshipsBy A Staff Writer

Bangalore/New Delhi:Directorate of Minorities has invited applications from students belonging to Minorities for scholarships for post-Matric courses like PUC 1st and 2nd year, ITI, JOC, Plytechnic, Diploma, Paramedical Diploma, D.Ed. D. Pharma, Graduation—BA, B.Sc, B.Com, BBM, BCA, BSW, B.Ed, B. P.Ed. B. Libsc, post graduation—MA, M.Sc, M.Com, MSW, M.Ed. M. PEd, MTA,

PG Diploma etc and M.Phil and Ph.D., etc for the 2013-14. For online application the students can log onto : www.momascholarship.gov.in. (The filling in of application can also be viewed on “How to apply for Post Matric Scholarship? By visiting www.gokdom.com Minorities include Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis. The scholarships are offered by the Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India. But Minorities Departments in

various states are nodal agencies to process the application. The candidates who have scored more than 50% marks in previous exam and semester are eligible to apply. Annual income of their parents should not be more than Rs. 2 lakh per year. Those students who availed of the scholarship for the last year (i.e., 2012-13) can apply for renewal. The application necessitates bank account and details of the accounts need to be filled into the form. Students in Mysore, Dharwad and Tumkur districts will need to fill in Aadhar Card number too. The last date for submission of online application for fresh candidates is September 30, 2013. For those sending the application on hard copy it is October 10, 2013. It should be sent to Directorate of Minorities, 20th floor, V. V. Tower, Bangalore-560001. (Candidates in other states can enquire about the Minorities Dept in their respective states) For submission of online application for renewal in December 10, 2013. Students can even make inquiries by calling 080-22863617, 22863618 in Bangalore.

ISLAMIC VOICE, August 2013 12facE To facE

Anna sounds vague on Muslim issuesA tete-a-tete with Anna Hazare fails to impress the Urdu scribes in the Capital. By Abdul Bari Masoud

New Delhi: Social activist Anna Hazarae miserably failed to impress the Urdu journalists as he was evasive on minority issues. In a bid to garner the support of the Muslim community to his ‘Jan Chetna Morcha’, which is spearheading the campaign to dislodge the Congress-led UPA government at the Center, Anna Hazare interacted with a group of journalists in Urdu media for the first time here. However, he was not forthcoming on any problems related to the community. In reply to barrage of questions on Communalism, communal riots, Gujarat pogrom, chief minister Narendra Modi, Babri Masjid and other related issues, either he feigned ignorance or asked for evidence. When a journalist pointed out the Justice Srikrishna Commission had very well documented and indicted Shiv Sena, the RSS and the BJP along with Mumbai police in perpetrating the 1992-93 anti- Muslim violence in Mumbai, he reluctantly admitted this but his common refrain was that byavastha parivartan kerne se sab theek ho jayga, (things will be all right after system is changed). When this correspondent pointed

out that earlier he (Anna Hazre) was identified the corruption as the root cause of all ailments and campaigned for a Jan Lok Pal (ombudsman) and now he had

changed the track and urging disbandment of all political parties, he said that he has now realized that the ‘Constitution did not recognize formation of political parties and this view was held by Mahatma Gandhi too who pleaded for disbanding of the Congress Party too. As a whole Anna Hazare sounded vague on several issues and even betrayed his half-baked knowledge.The interaction was organized by the weekly Chauthi Duniya, which is published in English, Hindi and Urdu. The idea behind the meet was to guess the mood of Muslims in the country and to convince them of the need to join his movement. Former army chief, Gen. V. K. Singh, who

usually is seen flanked with Anna Hazre, stoutly defended security forces alleged excesses in Kashmir. In reply to a question on the Kunan Poshpura gang-rape incident, he said it was false propaganda against army as B. G. Vergese committee gave clean chit to the Army. “Out of 100 complaints against the Army, 96 were proved false and army took action when there were genuine complaints”, he remarked. Editor of Chauthi Duniya, Santosh Bhartiya, who is also taking active part in the Anna movement, said that the Muslims did not take interest in general social causes and urged the community to support the Anna movement as it is in the interest of country. On occasions, a few journalists were also invited to speak their mind. DNA Delhi bureau Chief Iftikhar Gilani said the community’s main concern was insecurity. Citing several examples in this regard, he asked as to how they are expected to participate in the nation building, when their own security is at stake? Publisher of the Daily Qauami Salamati, Siraj Pracha, who left the BJP after Gujarat pogrom, narrated his bitter experience in the saffron party saying they always used Muslims for their ulterior ends.

The True Spirit of EidIslamic Voice wishes all its readers Eid Mubarak. Let

us share the joy of Eid with the poor, the needy and the orphans. Let us be cautious on spending on food and clothes for ourselves and share it with those really in

need, and spread peace around us.Editor

Aaghaz Foundation Supports Orphans Living in a Graveyard

Lucknow: Aaghaz Foundation, a Lucknow based education initiative, has stepped forward to support five poor orphan Muslim children who have taken refuge in a graveyard in Pratapgarh, after the death of their parents due to AIDS. Fearing that others may contract the virus, the children were forced out of Jamua village three months ago by their relatives and village elders. Since then they (four boys and one girl) had been living in the graveyard close to the graves of their own parents. The youngest child is just seven years old. Immediately after the shocking case was brought to light by NDTV’s Kamal Khan, Aaghaz Foundation contacted the news channel and offered to support all five children till they are able to stand on their feet. Aaghaz Foundation’s commitment was

telecast live on NDTV also.Meanwhile, taking cognisance of the news report, the state official machinery swung into action. A team has been rushed to Pratapgarh and efforts are on to relocate the children to a government guest house. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has announced Rs one lakh aid for each child and the district administration has pledged to provide them a house and look after their educational needs. Aaghaz Foundation in a statement said that it is monitoring the case very closely, “because when the heat and dust settles, government promises often remain mere promises.” “It’s a shame on humanity, particularly the local Muslim community that they kept their eyes closed all this while,” said Mazhar Farooqui of Aaghaz Foundation.

ISLAMIC VOICE, August 2013 13All India Urdu Editors Conference

The conference, organised by the Lucknow based Jadeed Markaz, passed a dozen resolutions urging the government to set up a mechanism to check irresponsible

journalism and sensational reporting.By Abdul Bari Masoud

New Delhi: On the eve of the forthcoming general elections, the Congress has begun wooing the largest minority community through the Urdu media. The case in point is the mega ‘All India Urdu Editors’ Conference’ organised under the guise of a little known weekly published from Lucknow whose editor and publisher is known for wheeling-dealing in the Capital’s political circles. Even Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh tried to make it clear that the Conference has nothing to do with the elections, but the speeches made and dominant presence of Congress leaders amply illustrated the intent of the event. Using the occasion, Congress leaders attacked Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi stating that communalism is the biggest threat to the country, and asking the Urdu press to join the fight

against communalism.Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Manish Tewari, speaking on the problems faced by the Urdu newspapers, e said that a committee has been set up to review the existing DAVP (Directorate of Advertisements and Visual Publicity) norms for releasing government advertisement to different newspapers and periodicals. He urged the editors present to place their views before the committee. When some editors demanded for capacity building for staffers of Urdu newspapers, he said that he had asked the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Director, Sunit Tandon to prepare a scheme for language specific capacity building. The IIMC held two meetings in this regard wherein some editors suggested starting a diploma course in Urdu. Many speakers lamented that Urdu newspapers are being discriminated in disbursement of

government advertisement and corporate houses ignored them. Bombay-based Hindustan daily editor, Sarfaraz Arzoo pointed out that the norms of DAVP are lopsided as Urdu is not a majority or dominant language in any state of the country. “How can an Urdu paper compete with a regional language daily on circulation front, when Urdu-speaking population is not more than 10 percent in any given state”, he asked.Former editor of Azad Hind daily and MP, Ahmad Saeed Malehabadi deplored that even public sector banks also completely ignored the Urdu newspapers while their 12 per cent account- holders are Muslims.Congress MPs Raj Babbar and Zafar Ali Naqvi also spoke on the occasion. Raj Babbar has taken some Hindi channels to task, stating they are ruining and distorting Urdu language by wrong pronunciation and usage.

Former union minister and Lok Janshakti Party president Ram Vilas Paswan suggested that at least 25 percent of the government advertisements should be earmarked for Urdu and small newspapers. He said that most of the Urdu newspapers cater to specific regions of the country and therefore “there is an urgent need for a national Urdu daily.”The conference, organized by the Lucknow based Jadeed Markaz, passed a dozen resolutions urging the government to set up a mechanism to check irresponsible journalism and sensational reporting. While reading out the resolutions, Hissam Siddiqui of Markaz cited examples how a section of the electronic media creates frenzy on frivolous or emotive issues. The Conference also touched upon the problems faced by journalists in the Kashmir valley. Rising Kashmir editor, Shujat Bukhari

highlighted the predicament of Kashmiri journalists and appealed to the Conference to express solidarity with their Kashmiri fraternity. One resolution also urged the government to facilitate universities, madrasas and other leading institutions to start courses in Urdu journalism, page-making and designing. It is to be mentioned here that the first Urdu Editors Conference was organised in 1973 at Lucknow’s Baradari, Qaisar Bagh at the behest of the then chief minister, H.N. Bahuguna and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was the chief guest. Now it has become a common practice to hold such conferences on the eve of elections. One such conference was organised by known ‘wheeler-dealer’ Qari Mohammad Mian Mazhari and S. M Asif during the Narasimha Rao led Congress government to garner the support of Urdu media for his government.

Jamia publishes Tagore in UrduNew Delhi: Jamia Millia Islamia has published “Tagore Shanasi”, a comprehensive study on Rabindranath Tagore in Urdu.The study has been done by the university’s Department of Urdu under the Tagore Research and Translation Scheme funded by the Ministry of Culture. The book has been authored by critic and author, Shamim Tarique and has been published by an Urdu publishing house, Maktaba Jamia Limited.Spread over 15 sections, this 180-page book deals with different facets of Tagore and his works. Besides Tagore’s time-period, family, birth, childhood, education, his interest in nature, visits and journey, marriage, household

affairs, his character and personality, Tarique has thrown light on the creative journey of Tagore, his poetry, music, drama,

stories, novels and paintings.Tarique has discussed at length Tagore’s association with Santiniketan, the university he founded, and his role as a teacher. He has also looked at important signposts such as his winning the Nobel Prize.“All those pure hearted scholars should be saluted who provided the new bases of understanding Tagore,” said Tarique who dedicated the book to the spirit of nationalism that is finely manifested in Jamia Millia Islamia, the 92-year-old university. Over 10, 000 copies of the book have been published and will be distributed free among the scholars and general readers.

Batla House Residents Unhappy with VerdictNew Delhi: With a court convicting Indian Mujahideen operative Shahzad Ahmad, for murdering Delhi Police Inspector M C Sharma, residents of Batla House, where the encounter had taken place in 2008, expressed dissatisfaction and anger over the verdict. Residents of the predominantly Muslim area said they still do not believe the police theory that amid the heavy gunfire, Shahzad had fled from the fourth floor of the flat

where the encounter had taken place. “We are not at all happy with the court verdict. There were so many loopholes in police’s theory that Shahzad had fled from the spot,” said Irfan, a resident of the Batla House locality. Another resident Illiyas said majority of the residents in the area were saddened by the verdict.“We are sad. Majority of the people in the area are upset by the court judgment. But I am not

surprised over the verdict,” he said, adding that the police theory of Shahzad fleeing the encounter spot cannot be believed. “There were policemen at the front gate of the building. So how could Shahzad flee from the spot. We cannot believe this,” he said. “We always demanded a judicial probe into the encounter. But the government never heeded to our demand despite there being so many gaps in police’s claim,” said Manzoor Alam.

Raza Academy protests against Saudi Police Highhandedness

Mumbai: Raza Academy has sent a protest letter to Saudi King Abdullah, to change his government’s behavior towards Sunni pilgrims who pays respects at the holy grave of Prophet Muhammad in Madinah. Raza Academy in its protest letter has attracted King Abdullah’s attention towards a regular feature in which religious Mutawwa Police of Saudi Arabia harass Muslim pilgrims at the two holy Harams in Makkah and Madinah. Two Indian Muslims were recently harassed and

detained by this police on false and flimsy grounds. According to the letter by Raza Academy, “the two Indian pilgrims were

just paying tributes at the holy places, the Mutawwa argued with them and arrested them without any reason”. Raza Academy has demanded their immediate release.

Launch of Chinese Language Course at Jamia

New Delhi: Starting this year, Jamia Millia Islamia has introduced a One-Year Certificate Course in Chinese Language which is being offered by the Academy of International Studies at Jamia. The classes for this course will commence from July 29, 2013. To mark the launch of the programme at Jamia, a brief ceremony is scheduled to be

held on August 1, in Mir Anis Room, Dayar-I-Mir Taqi Mir, Jamia Millia Islamia. Prof. Wang wei-chung, of New Tsing Hua University (NTHU), Taiwan, will address the audience. The Taiwan Ambassador in India, Chung-Kwang and his colleagues from the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Centre are expected to participate in the event.

ISLAMIC VOICE, August 2013 14advErTISEmEnT

Al-Ameen Degree College at Hoskote

6th Degree College under Al-Ameen SocietyBy A Staff Writer

Hoskote: Al-Ameen Educational Society crossed another milestone by inaugurating its sixth degree college at Hoskote, 30 kms east of Bangalore on July 20. Al-Ameen Movement founder Dr. Mumtaz Ahmed Khan while speaking at the inauguration ceremony hoped that the college would provide opportunity to several boys and girl in this town on Bangalore’s outskirts to attain education upto graduation. The College will initially have

B.Com course and will begin classes from July 23 for the 2013-14 academic session. It has been named as Al-Ameen Tipu Shaheed Degree College. Md. Saifullah, Hony Secretary, Al-Ameen Residential School, Hoskote said five students would be given free admission into the college. The college will function from the Al-Ameen Residential School campus which has been drawing students from across the country. Dr. Subhan Shariff, joint secretary of the Al-Ameen Society also spoke at the occasion.

Ambulance Service by Madarshah Wakf

Tumkur: Hazrat Madarshah Committee (Wakf) has introduced an ambulance service with the purchase of its first ambulance at a cost of Rs. one lakh. The service was formally commissioned by local MLA Dr. Rafeeque Ahmed on July 20. The

Wakf runs an ITI, a wedding hall and and a shopping complex in the town, located 70 kms north of Bangalore. Ambulance service can be contacted at 8494984100. Last three digits can also be replaced by either 200, or 300 or 400.

Bangalore Central Jail Inmates Fast Together

20 Hindus join 160 Muslims in Observing Fast

Bangalore: The spirit of Ramadan has touched not only Muslims in the Parappana Agrahara jail, but also some of the Hindu inmates who have decided to join them in fasting.Around 160 Muslim inmates of the central prison, along with 20 of their Hindu counterparts, are observing fast during the month of Ramadan. “To our surprise, we received around 20 applications from Hindus who volunteered to fast with Muslim inmates,” Chief Superintendent of the Bangalore Central Jail Krishna Kumar said. There are about 800 Muslims in the prison. He said that they scrutinised the applications

before granting permission. The department had made special provisions to house 180 people in

single barracks. The department has also made provisions to prepare the morning and evening meals for those who fast.

“We have received requisitions from inmates of ‘sensitive’ category to allow them to

observe fast with the others. However, we have allowed them to observe Ramadan within their cell because of security reasons,” he said.The prison, which has a mosque, conducts special prayers every Friday, when the Imam comes to deliver special prayers. An inmate from Bangalore, jailed for a criminal case a few years ago, is conducting the prayers. “We are also planning to have

Iftar parties to share the mood of Ramadan among the inmates,” a senior official said.(www.thehindu.com)

Danish Scholarship: Danish Educational Trust disbursed scholarships cheques among 118 students who have cleared the Common Entrance Test (CET) for admissions to engineering and medical courses in the state on July 7. The Trust working under

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resources in such proportions can evade responsibility. Sure, development of human resources is not a business enterprise where returns are quick or could be quantified beforehand. It is also true that gestation period is long. Certainly, the outcome is doubtful, even if collective energy is invested in it with collective determination. But then we have ample evidence of hundreds of Christian institutions such as SOS Villages, Christel Houses, Cheshire Homes and even home for children of prisoners yielding returns in terms of self-respecting individuals and the pool of technically skilled and educated individuals among those communities reflecting certain value-oriented people and disciplined workforce. Alas, nothing of that sort is visible among Muslims. And Muslim Orphanage, the premier institution among them failing to set any glorious precedent, has been simply a disappointment. Vision, mission statement and targets are the basic propellers behind an institution. Sadly enough, the Muslim Orphanage has miserably failed to shape any destination for itself in context to time and society we live in. Tossed like a football between the Wakf Board and an elected executive committee, the Orphanage has served more as a repository of kids from broken homes. It was often considered a source of sawab (divine rewards) by its rich patrons and a source of one upmanship among the social glitterati of the City of Gardens. Those deprived

of a foothold in its administration have not stopped of dubbing it a ‘Club of Crorepati Muslims’. If indeed the fortunes of these hapless kids have to see an upswing the new executive meeting, which might be in office in three months from now hopefully, should initiate some of the measures: 1- Legal steps should be initiated in order that Waqf Board should never be able to take over its administration. Wakf Board tenures have proved devastating for the Orphanage. Chairmen and administrators have tried placing their own relatives as teachers, wardens and clerks. Wakf Board has been more hindrance than help in management of the Orphanage. Scope for disaffiliating it from Wakf Board and bringing it under Department of Women and Child Development of the Government of Karnataka should be explored. 2- Only degree-holders should be made General Body members. Executive members not attending the regular meetings should be expelled after absence in five consecutive meetings.3- Only qualified wardens, mainly with BSW degrees should be recruited for future mentoring of the kids. The unqualified among the present staff must be diverted to other assignments. 4- The Higher Primary School within the campus should be turned into English medium school. The State DPI is averse to sanctioning English medium. Efforts should therefore be made to affiliate the schools to CBSE and provision should be made

to teach one additional language which could be Urdu. 5- Government teachers are thoroughly incompetent. Since it is a private-aided school, the teachers are not afraid of transfers. The Orphanage should refuse the government aid and return the government teachers for the High School to the Department of Public of Public Instructions both from the higher primary and the High School. 6- The current teaching of Islamic syllabus by maulvis is on traditional line i.e., rote learning. They need to be replaced with English-knowing Islamic teachers cum mentors and also introduction of English medium Islamic syllabus. 7- Children are being fed colossal amount of rich food. It must be avoided. The food should conform to some nutrition regimen formulated by a qualified dietician. 8- The rich of the city book ‘Dawat’ for every evening during Ramazan. The month sees heavy downpour of food. No amount of persuasion has discouraged the ‘sawab-seekers’. People should be asked to make commensurate donation. No outside food should enter the campus. And no food should be allowed to go out of the premises. There should be no deviation from the scheduled menu. 9- Children being inmates lack exposure to the family and home life and essential mannerism. The mentoring through wardens should look into these aspects.

Muslim Orphanage ...

Riyaz Khan informed the media that they will take out the Rs. six crore and pass it on to the Shia wakf for their charitable activities. He also pointed out that the PP

Court ruling can be challenged in the higher courts and there is also scope for enhancing the rent through negotiationbetween the Wakf Board and the Hotel Management.

the aegis of Sheriff Charitable Foundation provides Rs. 25,000 each to the BE students towards their first year CET fee and Rs. 40,000 to the MBBS students. The total amount by way of 118 scholarships distributed totaled up to Rs. 37 lakh.

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Windsor Manor ...

We wish all our Readers

Happy Eid ul Fitr

ISLAMIC VOICE, August 2013 15pEopLE & TIdbITSObituary

Hafiz Shamsul HudaBangalore: Noted social worker and writer Hafiz Shamsul Huda was murdered on July 3 by unidentified persons. A sincere and honest person, Shamsul Huda was running the Al-Quds Cooperative Society which helped hundreds of people in Bangalore’s socially blighted area of K. G. Halli and D. J. Halli during the last three decades. He also ran a newspaper Al-Quds for several years which closed down two years ago. He had brought out a new Urdu journal Makhzan recently. Both journals popularized simple concepts and provided insights on national and world affairs. A Hafiz from Madrasa Bakhiyathus Salihat, Vellore in Tamil Nadu, he was known for his work among youth and the poor people. He himself led a very simple life and took up causes that would remedy the social and economic ills. He also contributed a few columns to Islamic Voice during 2010-11. He had reached his office in Eidgah Jadeed Complex on Tannery Road on July 3 morning around 7-30 am as was his daily schedule. He would engage himself in reading of newspapers for a while till people seeking loans or making payments

would start arriving by 9-30 am. But when his staff members arrived by 9 am on July 3, they found him killed and body lying in a pool of blood. The police

took up investigation after visiting the scene. Karnataka Home Minister K. J. George and MLA from Shivajinagar Mr. Roshan Baig also visited the spot. Money and pledged ornaments

from the office were found looted. He had initiated organizing the depositors of Amanath Cooperative Bank whose money is held up in the Bank facing crisis due to RBI moratorium on its transactions following huge pile up of debts by defaulters. Incidentally, money from his Al-Quds Cooperative Society too is stuck with the Bank, a branch of which (i.e., Amanath Bank) is located right under the row of offices amidst which Al-Quds is situated. The Society was facing crisis due to its deposits being held up with the Amanath Bank. Shamsul Huda realized the need for organising the underprivileged on modern lines through promotion of modern education, skills and entrepreneurship and was seen ever active in these fields. He was

also vice president of Bahujana Samaj Party in Karnataka for the last few years. He was the main backer behind the Aasra Home for the Women in Lingarajapuram area of the city which is a short-stay home for destitute women and deserted wives. His death has come as a huge loss to the community. He leaves behind his wife who is bed-ridden for the last 18 months. He had no children. He was laid to rest in Tannery Road graveyard by a mammoth body of mourners the same evening.

Died: Khursheed Alam Khan, former Karnataka Governor and former Union Minister, died in Delhi on July 20. He was 95. He was ailing for some time. He was father of current external affairs minister Salman Khursheed and son in law of late President of India Dr. Zakir Hussain Khan. Born in Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh, Khursheed Alam Khan represented the old world values and rich traditions of Muslim

families of Uttar Pradesh. He was appointed Governor of Goa in 1989 and was later shifted

to Karnataka where he had two tenures as Governor of the State. Prior to these, he was a Union Minister and held portfolios of textiles, transport, education etc. He was Chancellor of the Jamia Millia Islamia for several

years.

Hassan Ali B. Parpia, noted food scientist and former Director of

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ISLAMIC VOICE, August 2013 16 Page 15

the Central Food Technology and Research Institute (CFTRI) died at his residence in Hinkal village in the outskirts of Mysore. He was 91. A humanist at heart and Gandhian, Parpia held various positions related to food and agriculture in India as well as abroad. He was born in a Bohra family in Bhopal and had early education in Bhopal and Burhanpur and later took a Masters degree in Microbiology from Bombay University. Later did his MS at California University and later Ph.D. from Oregon State University. He also served as Assistant Director General of the CSIR in 1959. He was appointed as Director of CFTRI, Mysore in 1963. He contributed almost 250 research papers. An ardent secularist, he associated himself with all kinds of NGOs working for the welfare of the underprivileged. He founded Mysore Teachers Resource Centre to especially train Government Urdu School teachers in 2003 in the opremises of the Ahmadia Govt Urdu School with funds raised from members of his extended family. The centre is The Centre provided all kinds of intellectual resources, computers, books and coaching for teachers to upgrade themselves. He had spent a year during his student days at Sevagram University at Wardha established by Mahatma Gandhi.

He is survived by his wife Carolyn Wilkes, two daughters and two sons. He willed that his body be donated for medical research to Mysore Medical College and Research Institute.

Azam Shahid, Urdu writer and singer Fayyaz Khand were among the more than one hundred noted personalities of Bangalore who were presented with the Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Award by the Bangalore Mahanagar Palike (Bangalore Metropolitan Municipal Council) on June 29 at a function in Bangalore. Azam has been writing a column in Daily Salar for nearly a year. He teaches economic in a Government College. The Award is named after Kempegowda, the chieftain two conceived Bangalore over 400 years ago by building four

watchtowers in four corners of the city.

Fouad Ahmed, the leg spinner of Pakistani origin was conferred citizenship of Australia and was also selected for Australian Cricket squad to represent the challenge for Ashes on July 2. The Ashes series between England and Australia began in Nottingham on July 10. Thirty one-year old Fouad has spent four years in a refugee camp in Australia waiting for citizenship.

Ed Husik, the first Muslim to be sworn in a minister in the Australian Federal Government has received flak from hundreds of Australians on the social media for taking the oath of ministership while placing his on the copy of the Holy Quran. Xenophobic twitter-users flooded the website with hostile reactions dubbing the act “un-Australian” . Ed Husik is of Bosnian origin. Defending his right to be sworn in while placing his hands on the Quran, Husik said, I am what I am, I could not have thought of anything other than this book to place my hands on while taking oath. Australian Governor General Quinton Brice described the swearing in as a Great Day for multicultural Australia. Robb Michelle, another MP, also defended Husik and resented reactions against him

on the social sites. He however defended the right of users to vent their opinion. He will hold the portfolio of Parliamentary Affairs and Broadband in the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s cabinet who took over the mantle of leadership a day earlier.

Delhi Governor: Najeeb Jung, a 1973 batch IAS officer was sworn in 19th Lt. Governor of Delhi on July 13. He was earlier vice chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, a central university. Mr. Tajendra Khanna who demitted the office on completion of his tenure did not attend the swearing ceremony. He had received flak after the infamous Dec. 16 rape of a physiotherapist. Delhi’s Lt. Governor is incharge of the Delhi Police and Delhi Development Authority.

Jamia under Officiating VC: Prof. S. M. Sajid will discharge the duties of the Vice Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia as the office fell vacant consequent to assumption of office of the Lt. Governor Mr. Najeeb Jung on July 13. Sajid has been designated as Officiating Vice Chancellor

UN Malala Award for Razia Sultan

Meerut: Razia Sultan, 15 from this UP town, who has been fighting against the problem of child labour,

has been conferred with the first United Nations Malala Award for spreading education among child labourers. She will be felicitated as United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education’s Youth Courage Award for Education.July 12 has been heralded as Malala Day, to remember the contributions of Pakistan’s Malala Yousafzai, who was shot at by the Taliban for voicing her opinions against the latter’s ban on girls attending schools in the Swat Valley. Razia is a resident of Nanglakhumba village in Meerut District. Since the age of four, she used to stitch footballs in her village like several other girls. After being rescued by Bachpan Bachao Andolan, an NGO, she joined a school and eventually became a youth leader in her native place. In her new role, she encouraged other children in her village to join schools.Razia said she has transformed the lives of 48 children trapped in child labour. “Being a leader of the children in my village, I tried to solve the problems of the schools and the children. I admitted 48 students, who were earlier working as labourers, to schools,” said Razia Sultan.Though ignorant about the importance of the award, Razia’s father Ferman was overwhelmed

pEopLE & TIdbITS

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Mohsin Sahriff Charitable and Educational Trust (MSECT) has adopted 15 Government Urdu Schools in Mandya district for improvement school infrastructure and supply of teaching aids. The schools were adopted following request Tasmiya Welfare Association of Mandya, an NGO working for the promotion of education. Headed by philanthropist MSECT supplied over 60,000 free midday meals to 220 government schools in and around Bangalore every day.

ISLAMIC VOICE, August 2013 17muSLImS & EducaTIon

Ashfaq Karim

Fall of an IconThe man who set up the first Muslim medical college in Bihar fell prey to his lust and greed and

squanders the credibility he had gained over the years.

By Anish Ankur

Sanction, affiliation and recognition of professional educational institutions is sought for the sake of minorities. But once these get going the sponsors begin to sell seats to those who can cough up what they demand and cause of the minority’s education takes a back seat. On June 15, Muslims in Bihar were shocked beyond their belief when chairman and managing director of the Katihar Medical College was arrested from his residence while selling away question papers for the MBBS entrance test that was to begin the next day. Police tipped off well in advance before the deal, raided his residence on Ashiana-Digha Road in Patna during which a sum of Rs. 2.5 crore were recovered. Cheques worth 25 lakhs, a bank passbook having a deposit of one crore, and a diary containing details of the money collected from candidates appearing for the MBBS entrance examination to his college were recovered. Property documents worth crores in Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnatka and Shimla were also recovered.Patna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Manu Maharaj said that “The bundles of notes were stashed beneath beds in different rooms. Currency notes were found from inside pillow and cushions covers, beneath a giant sofa, under bed mattresses and under seat covers of two luxury cars. A currency-counting machine was also found in the house.”Eight persons, including two girls, were detained for interrogation. The police seized question papers of medical entrance examination, bundles of mark sheets and a licensed revolver. One Rajendra Yadav, a resident of Samastipur, was detained when he along with his son Kumar Shanu visited

Karim’s house carrying a bag containing Rs. 10 lakh in cash. “We are natives of Samastipur where I sold off a piece of our land to pay for my son’s admission to the medical college,” Yadav said.SSP also said, “Karim would

take between Rs. 20 lakh and Rs. 60 lakh for a seat. But at times students would not get admission and were not even refunded the donation. These students and their guardians made the complaints to the police”. Arrest

of Ashfaq Karim (53) provoked sharp reaction from some of the leading Muslims in the city. Reacting to the episode Maulana Wali Rahmani, Sajjada Nashin of Khanqah Rahmani, Munger said that “This action of the police team was a conspiracy to weaken Katihar Medical College, and to prevent and discourage Muslims from acquiring higher and professional education to build a bright future.” He further added “Every year 50-60 Muslim youths become doctors after passing out from this medical college, which gives them a bright future.”Established in 1987 by Al-Karim Educational Trust, Katihar Medical College is a minority educational institute in Katihar, Bihar. The medical college is

affiliated to Bhupendra Narayan Mandal University (B.N.Mandal University), Madhepura and recognized by MCI. The college provides MBBS and various PG courses. More than 50% of seats are reserved for candidates

b e l o n g i n g to Muslim r e l i g i o u s m i n o r i t y community. The parent body of Katihar Medical College, Al-Karim Educational Trust, is a

registered trust of the members of the Muslim community devoted to the promotion of education among Muslims.Sensing a minority bias against the raid and arrest, Uzma Bari, a social worker and Congress leader asked “why such raids were not conducted on the residences or offices of non-Muslim educational institutions. Where education is imparted and promoted as business and are earning huge profits” Asfaq Karim got a lot of support from Muslim institutions. Imarat-e-Sharia’s general secretary and chairman of Haj Committee, Anisur Rahman Kasmi supported Karim and termed the raid and arrest as conspiracy against minority educational institutions.

Ghulam Gaus, leader of Rashtriya Janta Dal led by Lalu Prasad in Bihar legislative council staged a dharna in support of Ashfaq Karim in which a large number of people participated. Such is the clout of Ashfaq Karim that even Friday prayers in Mosques were used as a platform to spread the message of conspiracy theory and appeal were made to take part in dharna in large numbers. Ashfaq Karim was active in politics also. He was among the first to join Samata Party when Nitish Kumar broke off with Lalu Prasad in 1994. Later, he joined the LJP and contested the parliamentary polls from Katihar in 2009. Ashfaq Karim, came a long way in his eventful and struggling career. Hailing from Patepur block of Vaishali district he was an average student with a rural middle class background. He got Bachelor degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences in 1987. Old timers says that he was a smart guy with a wide social contacts which he later encashed in establishing his ambitious project, Katihar Medical College. He left no stone unturned to make this institution a reputed one. This institution, Katihar Medical College, is now considered as one of the best minority institution in entire Hindi belt. Some even describe its facilities on par with international standards. No wonder then why parents are curious to get their wards enrolled in the college. Credit also goes to Ashfaq Karim’s single minded commitment and hard work that went into securing affiliation from the Medical Council of India despite objection from Education Department, Government of Bihar during Lalu Prasad Yadav rule. Education Department had dilly dallied in matters of issuing NOC (No Objection Certificate) necessary

for MCI approval. Ashfaq Karim , then, moved the Supreme Court accusing Government of victimization of minority institution. Supreme Court then passed a historic judgment that laid down that NOC would be issued after a stipulated period to any minority institution which has applied for affiliation. Social activist Aftab Ahmed gives the credit for establishing the first professional college by Muslim in the State as well as providing courage to others to follow suit. Giving a very differing narrative behind the raid and arrest of Ashfaq Karim, Irshadul Haque, moderator of Hindi website Naukarshahi.in said, “When some top level influential police officers failed to get admission for their children for free they hatched a conspiracy against him.” But Irshadul also accused him for not doing anything significant for backward section of minority “Despite this college is enjoying all the benefits given to the minority institutions by the state. He never followed reservations policy for backward sections of the minorities in the college and placed money over everything”. Inquiry reveals that in post graduate courses there are only six Muslims against 34 non-Muslims. However, in the MBBS course, the majority of the students are Muslims. It is an irony that the man who initiated the process of modern technical education for minorities in Bihar has become victim of his own greed and lust for money. Rise and fall of Ahmad Ashfaq Karim tells us that the path of welfare of minorities cannot go through immoral means. As renowned activist of literacy movement Ghalib Khan puts it, “Any unethical and unIslamic way of making money cannot be justified under the garb of minority educational welfare.”

The moral is that people who seek affiliation of professional colleges use the same for selling seats to

whoever can offer more for them.

ISLAMIC VOICE, August 2013 18In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful

The Best Night of the YearFrom on high have We bestowed it (i.e. the Qur’an) on the Night of Power. Would that you knew what the Night of Power is! The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. On that night the angels and the Spirit by their Lord’s leave descend with all His decrees. That

night is peace, till the break of dawn.”

(Surah Al- Qadr: 97: 1-5)

By Adil Salahi

The Qur’an says that it is better than a thousand months, and that it is perfect peace. It occurs once a year, but it is certain to take place. Therefore it is an occasion that must not be missed. What night are we talking about? It is the Night of Power for which a short surah is devoted in the Qur’an: “From on high have We bestowed it (i.e. the Qur’an) on the Night of Power. Would that you knew what the Night of Power is! The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. On that night the angels and the Spirit by their Lord’s leave descend with all His decrees. That night is peace, till the break of dawn.” (97: 1-5)It is not possible to determine whether it is the start of the revelation of the Qur’an on this night that gives it its distinction, or that it is originally a blessed night chosen by God for the start of

bestowing the Qur’an. Whichever is the case, the night is one of blessings defined by God in such great terms.

The Prophet (Pbuh) who has taught us all good things has shown us the way to make the best benefit of this night and to ensure that we receive its blessings. He has indicated that spending the night, or most of it, in worship ensures

the forgiveness of all of one’s past sins. One may alternate between different types of worship: prayer, reciting the Qur’an, glorification

of God and supplication. It extends from the time when the obligatory prayer of Isha has been offered to the time when Fajr prayer is due at dawn. What is important is the sincerity that must be characteristic of one’s action. It should be in complete devotion to God and seeking His acceptance. Which night is it? The Prophet tells us that it is one of the last ten nights of the month of Ramadan. Certain hadiths narrow that to the odd nights in the last third of the month. Yet the Prophet’s own action shows that he was extra vigilant of his worship in all ten nights of the last third of Ramadan. Aishah reports: “When it was the (last) third of the month of Ramadan, the Prophet used to strengthen his resolve, spend the nights in worship and wake up his household.” (Related by Al-Bukhari).The Prophet’s action clearly indicates that if one does the same,

one will not miss out on the Night of Power. The fact that the Prophet kept the night uncertain was not his choice. He was informed of the exact night, and he went to address the people and tell them about it, but it was blurred for him. He no longer remembered its exact timing. Therefore, he indicated that it is one of the last third of Ramadan. This is more beneficial to us, because seeking it over ten nights means that we are more devoted and our worship is extended. This is bound to make our reward even greater. What is important to remember about the Night of Power is that it is the night when the Qur’an was revealed. That was a great event, because it meant that God chose to show man the way to his happiness in this present life and

the life to come, providing him with a constitution to implement. This is a way of life that suits all communities, in all generations. It is a great act of divine grace. We feel its benefit in the fact that our life is set on a different course from the rest of mankind. It is a course of purity, sincerity, truth and devotion. It is a course that incorporates every virtue known to man and shuns every evil. It is a course that brings out the best in man, preparing him for a life of pure happiness in the hereafter. We must never lose sight of our duty to bring our life in line with the Qur’an. When we seek to mark the Night of Power, we acknowledge God’s blessing in revealing the Qur’an to Prophet Muhammad, the teacher of pure goodness.

Spirit of Ramadan

Safety in SilenceThere is a third kind of man, who has a heart but no tongue and he is a believer. Allah has screened him away from His creation and hung round him His curtains and given him an insight into the blemishes of his own self and enlightened his heart and made him aware of the mischiefs of mixing with people and of the evil of talking and speaking and who has become sure that safety is in silence and retirement in a corner as the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has said: “Whoever kept silent attained salvation.” And as further he has

said: “Surely the service of Allah consists of ten parts, nine of which are in silence.” Thus this man is a friend of Allah in His secrets, protected, possessing safety and plenty of intelligence, companion of the Beneficent Allah, blessed with His favours, and as for good, everything good is with him. So mind, you must keep company with such a man and mix with him […]’[Extracted from Futuh al-Ghaib, by Ghaus ul-Azam Hazrat Shaikh Muhiuddin Abdul Qadir Jilani, Translated by M. Aftab ud Din Ahmad (Kitab Bhavan, New Delhi, 7th edition, 2013), p.74]

ISLAMIC VOICE, August 2013 19fIqH of ramadan

Itikaf: A Spiritual RetreatÀbdullah ibn Ùmar, a learned Companion of the Prophet, reported that “Allah’s

Messenger (Pbuh) used to stay in the mosque during the last ten days of Ramadan.”

(Al-Bukhari)By Adil Salahi

The month of Ramadan is a special season of worship. If one attends to one’s worship with dedication and sincerity, one is certain to end the month having earned forgiveness of all one’s past misdeeds. The reward Allah gives for fasting in the month of Ramadan is greater than we can imagine because fasting is an act of worship that admits of no hypocrisy. It is not possible for any person to fast in order to deceive others. This is due to the fact that boasting about fasting is forbidden. Hence, one cannot publicize the fact that one is fasting. If one does not mention it, then other people have no way of knowing it because fasting is worship by abstention, rather than by a positive action.Moreover, the Prophet taught

us to spend part of the nights of Ramadan in worship, standing up to offer the special Prayer known as Tarawih. This means that in Ramadan we fast during the day in fulfillment of an obligatory type of worship and we stand up in prayer as a recommended act of worship. The night of Decree is the pinnacle of this season of worship. It takes place in the last ten days of the month when a Muslim’s devotion is brought to its climax. One way of doing this is to stay in a mosque, following the Sunnah of the Prophet. That sunnah is known as i`tikaf, which means, linguistically speaking, to commit oneself to doing something to the exclusion of everything else. In a religious context, it means to stay in a mosque for worship. All scholars agree that it is a

sunnah, following the practice of the Prophet. Àbdullah ibn Ùmar, a learned Companion of the Prophet, reported that “Allah’s Messenger (Pbuh) used to stay in the mosque during the last ten days of Ramadan” (Al-Bukhari).À’ishah, the Prophet’s wife (may Allah be pleased with her), also reported that the Prophet used to stay in the mosque for the last ten days of Ramadan until he passed away, and his wives used to do the same afterwards (Al-Bukhari). From these hadiths, we deduce that i`tikaf, or staying in the mosque for worship, is recommended for both men and women, especially during the last ten days of Ramadan. Most scholars agree that i`tikaf should be in a mosque, although the Hanafi school of thought makes it possible for a woman to practice this sunnah in the place where she normally prays in her home. It is permissible for a man’s family to visit him in the mosque. It so happened that when the Prophet was in the midst of his stay in the mosque, his wives visited him. It is also permissible for a person who is in the middle of his stay in a mosque for worship to have his head washed and his hair combed. A person who stays in a mosque in order to follow the Prophet’s example, may have some sleep

before waking up to spend the rest of his night in worship, reciting the Qur’an or praying.It is needless to say that i`tikaf is not easy for everyone to observe. People have to attend to their needs and continue their work. It is possible to limit one’s i`tikaf to one night, or even a portion of

one night. According to scholars, one may make one’s stay in a mosque, a stay of i`tikaf at any time if one dedicates the time to worship and intends the stay for such dedication. It is needless to say that i`tikaf is highly rewarded by Allah, as every action therein involves dedication.

Spirit of Ramadan

Compassion for AnimalsAbu Huraira reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Verily, a prostitute saw a dog lolling around a well on a hot day and hanging his tongue from thirst, so she drew some water for it in her shoe and Allah forgave her.”Narrated ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar: Allah’s

Apostle said, “A lady was punished because of a cat which she had imprisoned till it died.

She entered the (Hell) Fire because of it, for she neither gave it food nor water as she had imprisoned it, nor set it free to eat from the vermin of the earth.”

ISLAMIC VOICE, August 2013 20opInIon

Foundations for Muslim-Buddhist Interfaith Dialogue

Although Islam and Buddhism may be divided by complex theological questions, inter-religious dialogue focused around morality, ethics and values can be an

extraordinary avenue for intercultural exchange.By Aamir Hussain

Given the shifting geopolitical landscape and the rising economic power of South and East Asia, it is becoming increasingly necessary to open new channels of interfaith dialogue and cross-cultural understanding between Buddhism and Islam. The major obstacle to dialogue between Buddhism and Islam is theological. Monotheism is central to Islamic doctrine, while most denominations of Buddhism consider belief in the divine to be irrelevant to one’s own quest for nirvana. However, there are other commonalities between Buddhism and Islam that can serve as foundations for constructive interfaith dialogue. Specifically, both religions have similar perspectives on both proper action and the value of inter-religious dialogue that can contribute to greater inter-religious understanding and respect.One example is the concept of consequences for one’s right or wrong actions. For Muslims, all humans will be judged for their right or wrong actions after their deaths on the Day of Judgment, and the Quran states that, “Whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it; and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it” (Quran 99:7-8). Indeed, those who have a higher weight of good deeds will enter eternal Paradise, while those with a higher weight of evil deeds will reside in Hellfire (Quran 101:6-11). The desire to achieve residence in Paradise after death therefore motivates Muslims to act virtuously while living on Earth, a temporary existence inferior to that of Paradise.This belief is very similar to the Noble Truths of Buddhism, which state that all life is transitory and inevitably contains suffering. For

Buddhists, the only way to escape suffering is to achieve nirvana through eliminating one’s personal attachments and following the Eightfold Path. One of the main components of this path is correct action, which is governed by karma. Similar to the beliefs in Islam, karma indicates that every good action will eventually be rewarded, while every bad action will be punished. Some schools of Buddhism also state that after death, souls with good karma will enter one of several hierarchical

Heavens corresponding to the person’s degree of goodness, while those with bad karma will enter one of many Hells corresponding to the person’s degree of evil. Buddhism diverges from Islam by stating that these afterlives are transitory; Buddhists believe in reincarnation, and souls must continue the inevitable cycle of samsara (birth, death, and rebirth) until they can be fully released from the cycle by attaining nirvana. Since nirvana is a step

beyond the highest Heaven, good works are therefore important for Buddhists because they condition the soul for achieving the ultimate goal of release from samsara. Clearly, both Muslims and Buddhists believe that every action has a consequence, and it behooves followers of each faith to pursue good works.Although Islam does not directly share a common heritage with Buddhism like it does with Judaism and Christianity, there are still theological motivations

for Muslims to dialogue with Buddhists. For example, the Quran states, “If Allah had so willed, He would have made [mankind] a single religion [or community], but (His plan is) to test you in what He hath given you: therefore, strive to race each other in all virtues” (Quran 5:48). For many Muslims, this verse implies that God deliberately created diversity among mankind’s nations in order to foster righteous action and dialogue across difference. By

understanding the religious other, Muslims can become motivated to strive for good works and attempt to metaphorically “race them” in that pursuit.Similarly, Buddhists value dialogue with other religions in a pluralistic sense, and believe that there is inherent truth in all pathways that relieve human suffering. Correct speech is another component of the Eightfold Path described above, and the Buddha emphasized speaking well to all people,

regardless of their religion. The 14th Dalai Lama is a great advocate of interfaith dialogue in the modern world, and even goes as far as to say that it is better for people to find what is best in their own religions than to convert to Buddhism. The various schools of Buddhism differ on certain issues, and often have commonalities

with other religions. For example, the Pure Land school of Buddhism believes that after people achieve nirvana, they enter a Paradise similar to that described in Abrahamic traditions.Muslim-Buddhist dialogue may be difficult, but it is becoming increasingly necessary as tensions between Muslims and Buddhists worldwide escalate, and East Asia’s regional importance grows. Islam is the world’s second-largest and fastest growing religion, and the influence of Muslim leaders and countries seems likely to increase even further in the near future given the Arab Spring and the growth of Turkey as a regional power. Buddhism is the fourth-largest religion in the world with approximately 500 million adherents, and also continues to influence cultures on many continents due to its widely applicable philosophy and beliefs. Although these two religions may be divided by complex theological questions, inter-religious dialogue focused around morality, ethics and values can be an extraordinary avenue for intercultural exchange.(The writer is an inter-faith activist)

ISLAMIC VOICE, August 2013 21ZakaT:ramadan

Making a Difference

Zakat Funds Touch LivesThis Ramadan, Zakat funds have been focused on meeting the needs of secular education

and medical needs of poor Muslims.

By J. S. Ifthekhar

As opposed to the usual practice of funding madrasa education, the idea of supporting secular education and meeting the medical needs of poor Muslims is gaining groundMore than the objects around us, it is people who need to be restored and redeemed. And what better way to reclaim them than to meet their immediate needs. Many Muslim organisations – social and philanthropic – are staking a claim on Zakat, the poor’s due, given by the community mostly during Ramadan.Zakat for education and medicine is now the catchword.Traditionally, Muslims have been offering their annual Zakat to madrasas to fund the education of children studying there. A part of the charity also goes to the lesser privileged in the family, the needy, orphans and the wayfarers. Now the idea of supporting secular education and meeting the medical

needs of poor Muslims is gaining ground.Well-known builder Ghiasuddin Babukhan has pioneered funding the secular education of deserving

boys and girls through his Hyderabad Zakat and Charitable Trust. Now, several Muslim organisations have realised the importance of using the huge zakat amount generated every year to do the same. A symbol of Islamic social justice, zakat is considered the community’s best bet to lift itself up.Appeals for Zakat and Sadqah are pouring in from different

institutions this Ramadan. The Helping Hand Foundation (HHF), a Hyderabad-based NGO, has come up with a list of programmes which Muslims can

support through their Zakat.The case of Mubina Begum, 30, a widow with three children, is pathetic. The condition of this graduate was highlighted by The Hindu when she was living on

a footpath. Later, the HHF came to her rescue. There are 84 such deserving widows and orphan children who desperately need support.The story of Noor Kamal, a B.Com student from Burma, is also pitiable. He lost both his upper limbs in the violence that erupted in Myanmar’s Rakhine last year. He needs prosthesis that costs Rs. 3 lakh.

The HHF has identified 114 such cases of breadwinners affected by trauma, accidents, cancer, kidney failure, paralysis, TB and HIV. There are also 30 spastic and disabled children and 50 mother and child nutrition cases requiring support. “We need the community support to help such deserving persons round the year,” says Mujtaba Hasan Askari of the HHF. The HHF can be reached on 040-23302004.Another voluntary organisation, Help Hyderabad, is also seeking Zakat donation to carry out programmes such as assisting

the poor with rations, medicines, scholarships and livelihood skills. One can contact the organisation on 9246339507.The Safa Baitul Maal has come up with a novel programme of distributing Ramadan ration among the poor. One can meet the cost of food packets through the Zakat amount.The ration packet costing Rs. 1,500 contains rice, dal, oil, dates, garlic and ginger paste.If you want to touch the future, touch a life. Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.(Source: www.thehindu.com)

Spirit of Ramadan

No Delay in Giving CharityThe Prophet (pbuh) said : “Every Muslim has to give in charity.” The people then asked: “(But what) if someone has nothing to give, what should he do?” The Prophet replied: “He should that will be regarded

as charitable deeds.” ( Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 2, Hadith) work with his hands and benefit himself and also give in charity (from what he earns).” The people further asked: “If he cannot find even that?” He replied: “He should help the needy who appeal for help.” Then the

people asked: “If he cannot do (even) that?” The Prophet said finally: “Then he should perform good deeds and keep away from evil deeds,

and that will be his charity.”


Page 1

rEfLEcTIonS

with the honour bestowed on his daughter.More than 12 million children in India below the age of 14 are working as domestic servants or in other jobs such as in stone quarries, embroidery units, mining, carpet-weaving, tea stalls, restaurants and hotels, according to government data.Razia’s struggle against child labour and illiteracy was not just confined to her own place.She went to different regions as a youth leader of a NGO and carried out door-to-door campaigns on child education.Commenting on this occasion, the district co-ordinator of the NGO, Sher Khan, recalled how she fought against illiteracy with great zeal.

Mohammad Saleem has been appointed the managing director of the Karnataka Minorities Development Corporation (KMDC). This is his third tenure in the Corporation. He took charge on July 5.

Bangalore realtor Ayub Khan has been elected the Hony Secretary of the National Association of Realtors (NAR) which has 25,000 members in 25 cities across the country. He will

hold the position for one year.

Major Syed Faridullah Passes Away: Noted educational activist Major Syed Faridullah, a key figure in promoting activities of Al-Ameen Educational Society in Channapatna died on July 11 coinciding with the first day of Ramazan. Faridullah had started Al-Ameen Al-Hudad School in the town which led to spread of education among Muslims, particularly girls. Later he started technical training school which enabled hundreds of boy to get technical certificates. He headed the Madani Educational Trust and president of the Al-Ameen Kambalposh Kannada School in Bangalore Cantonment. He began export business after retirement from the Armed forces. He was buried the same evening after Asr in the local graveyard.

Parveez Rasool has emerged the first Kashmiri to be selected for the Indian Cricket team. The 24-year old has been named for the 15-man squad to tour Zimbabwe for one-day tour starting from July 24. He earlier played for Pune Wariors in IPL’s sixth edition earlier this year. The all-rounder scored 594 runs and took 33 wickets.

People ... Page 16

Minority Ministry ...2,624 Health Centres, 27,797 Anganwadi Centres, drinking water supply facilities at 34,553 location, 13,825 additional classrooms, 696 School Building, 71 Industrial training institute, 31 Polytechnics, provision of 30,314 solar lanterns / solar lights and 332 hostels. The Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF) sanctioned Rs. Rs. 59.82 crore to 449 institutions. Besides this, the Prime Minister’s New 15-Point Programme ensures earmarking of 15% of target/outlays for development of minorities under major flagship development programmes of Government of India namely, Integrated Child Development Services, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojna, Indira Awas Yojna, Swarnajayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojna, Upgradation of Centres of Excellence, priority Sector Lending through Banks etc.The Wakf Amendment Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha in 2010. But it is still pending before the Rajya Sabha. The Ministry

has also launched a scheme for “Computerzation of records of State Wakf Boards” in 2009. As on date, a total of 2,09,615 Wakf records have been computerized and Pre-digitization work of 90,325 Wakf properties completed through 25 State/UTs Centralized Computing Facilities.

Medical Aid under MAEFAfter assuming the charge in October 2012, Mr. Rehman Khan has taken some new initiatives in order to make some impact on ground level. The ministry has allocated Rs. 100 crore to Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF) for providing medical aid to minorities. The scheme is being formulated to cover critical ailments. The modalities to release the funds are however under consideration.Formation of Monitoring Authority The Ministry set up an Assessment and Monitoring Authority (AMA) under the aegis of the Planning Commission to evaluate the

extent of development benefits which accrue to different Socio-Religious Communities through various development programmes of the Government.It has created a “National Data Bank (NDB)” to maintain disaggregated data for various socio-religious communities which is to be collected by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation to enable the evaluation and assessment of flow of benefits to minorities on a regular basis. The works on AMA and NDB will start soon.

Five Central UniversitiesIt has proposed establishment of five Central Universities under the aegis of Maulana Azad Educational Foundation with focus on minorities. An expert committee constituted for the purpose has submitted its reports to the Ministry of Minority Affairs. Report is under examination in the Ministry. It is also working to set up of National Wakf Development Corporation.

What’s after Ramadan?While saying goodbye to Ramadan, each one of us

should ask these questions: What have I gained from this month? Have I passed the test?

By Dr. Main Al-Qudah

Yesterday, Muslims were waiting for Ramadan, however, today they are saying goodbye to it, as if this month were moments long. And as this month passed quickly, life does, and so people die and move to the hereafter.The end of Ramadan reminds us about the closeness of death. The end of Ramadan reminds us with the saying of the Prophet (Pbuh), “Live in this world like a stranger or a by-passer”. Ibn Omar used to say, “If you wake up, don’t wait for the evening, and if you reach the evening, don’t wait for the morning. Take advantage of your good health and your life.While saying goodbye to Ramadan, each one of us should ask these questions: What have I gained from this month? Have I passed the test? What is there after Ramadan? Do the lessons of Ramadan end with it, or continue after it? Fasting: We have learned from fasting how to soften our souls and break our desires. The Prophet encouraged us to continue fasting six days during the month of Shawwal when he said, “Whoever

fasts the month of Ramadan and he follows it with six days of Shawwal, it is as if he fasted the whole year”. It was the tradition of the Prophet also to fast on Mondays and Thursdays.Praying Taraweeh: Praying at night was the habit of the Prophet, and he used to encourage his followers to do so. He said, “Do qiyam-ul-lail, the night prayer; it used to be the good deeds of the pious people before you. It draws you closer to your Lord, it causes your sins to be forgiven, and it causes you to avoid doing bad deeds”. The recitation of the Quran: You must not stop reading the Quran after Ramadan, otherwise you will be among those whom the Prophet described as Allah says, “And the messenger said, ‘O my Lord! Verily my people have deserted this Quran”. Charity: Allah says, “those who spend their wealth day and night, secretly and publicly, their reward is with their lord”. Spending from your wealth will benefit you in your life and in the hereafter. Abandoning sins: Abandoning sins is a must in Ramadan and after it also. You have to be conscious of your words, actions and deeds every moment.

Significance of Eid-ul-Fitr Muslims celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr on the first of the lunar month of Shawwal. This festival is an expression of thanks-giving to Allah the Almighty for His grace in enabling His faithful servants to observe the fasting month of Ramadan, besides the daily Tarawih Prayers, recitation of the Qur’an and works of charity.The following things have been prescribed to be done on Eid-ul-Fitr; 1. To rise early in the morning.2. To brush the teeth. 3. To have bath for Eid after the

Fajr Prayer. 4. To put on the best available

dress.5. To give away ‘Eid Charity

(Zakat-ul-Fitr) before departure to the Eid ground.

6. To reach the ‘Eid ground as early as possible.

7. To pronounce the following Takbir on the way in a low voice.

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar Allah is greatest Allah is greatest La-Ilaha ill-Allah There is no God but Allah Wa-Allah-u Akbar, Allah-u Akbar and Allah is greatest Allah is greatest Wa-lillah-il-hamd and all praise is for Allah. Regulations Relating to Eid Prayer

1. If a person misses the Eid prayer, he cannot offer it individually, for the ‘Eid prayer is conditioned upon congregation. Similarly, if the prayer of a person who joined in the congregation is invalidated due to some reason, he cannot offer it later as a missed prayer, nor is it

i n c u m b e n t upon him to do so. However, a few persons

who have missed the prayer can get together and offer it if they so desire.

2. There is neither Azan nor Iqamah for the Eid prayers.

3. Women and the men who cannot offer the Eid prayers due to some reason, should not offer any voluntary prayer before the Eid prayer.

4. The Ahle-Hadith scholars maintain the view that

women and children have been enjoined to attend the Eid prayer, because the Eid, like the Friday prayer, is a special feature of Islam, and the holy Prophet (Pbuh) himself has exhorted the women to go to the Eid ground.

5. The recitation in the Eid prayer is to be audible.

Regulation concerning the Eid Sermon1. The Eid Sermon is Sunnat in nature, but listening to it is wajib (obligatory) for the audience.2. The sermon should be delivered after the prayer, Hadrat Abu Sa’id says; “The holy Prophet (Pbuh) would first of all offer the Fitr Prayer; then he would stand up facing the people who kept on sitting in their rows and he would instruct them in religion. After this he would return home”. (Bukhari, Muslim)

Zakat -ul- Fitr • Zakat -ul -Fitr is a type of Sadaqah which must be paid by every Muslim, young and old, male and female, free and slave, at the end of the month of

fasting (Ramadan).• The purpose of Zakat -ul- Fitr is to purify one who fasts, from any indecent act or speech and to help the poor and needy.

Spirit of Ramadan

ISLAMIC VOICE, August 2013 23foLLoW-upS

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Page 26

rather than spiritual ones. It may also mean a belief system not involving or belonging to religion. The Legalists in ancient China argue that the human is disposed to the pull of passion and self-interest, which force alone can restrain. A body of laws is therefore required based on rewards and punishments to encourage or deter certain behavior. But rewards ought to be high and punishments heavy for laws to command obedience. The historians also refer to Legalists as Realists because they consider real the Legalists’ estimation of human nature. The ruling elites of Babylonia, China and Egypt accept it as the basis of secular perception of life.

Centuries later, the philosophers in ancient Greece follow footsteps of the Legalists in China. Their estimation of human nature begins with the premise that he is a rational animal. It gives him a barbaric origin for it views him essentially as a two-legged animal and distinguishes him from all other natural beings only by unmatched power of his mind. The secular perception thus denies the human his soul. The Greek premise remains for long the philosophical basis of secular perception until Charles Darwin in the nineteenth century offers in the theory of evolution a scientific basis. Modern secularist accepts evolution as scientific basis to deny the

human his soul. The truth is that what Darwin offers is a theory and not a law of science. Yet the secularist finds in evolution indisputable evidence to scientifically validate the secular perception. This is how

the theory of evolution becomes part of the secular belief system. Read more about secular mindset and lifestyle in the next column.(The writer is based in Texas, USA, and can be reached at [email protected])

Perception of Life ...

ISLAMIC VOICE, August 2013 24maTrImonIaL

is presently a minister. Madam Halimah Yacob is President of the current Parliament. The economic disparities are on the rise in Singapore even though the Government is serious about bridging the gap. Singapore facilitates all kinds of business activity. One can set up a business with just 200 Singapore dollars. Malay Chamber of Commerce helps the Malays set up business. I visited Masjid Ar-Raudhah, a Malay mosque. Architecture did not conform to the conventional mosque. The teacher at the attached kindergarten told me that this was done to make the masjid more energy efficient. Most mosques function as multi-functional community centres. One floor of the Ar-Raudhah is reserved for women worshippers. The youth group at the mosque Al-Fateh organizes seminars, football matches and nature tours.Besides a madrassa, the mosque has a kindergarten where all teachers are women. Women members are also represented on the mosque management board. The mosque publishes pamphlets on family health, entrepreneurship and other governmental schemes. Women are made aware of the entrepreneurship programme of the Singapore government at the mosque. Mentionable among them is HOME (Help, Outreach, Motivate and Educate). Muslim women can be seen employed in banks, universities and in the Ministries. Some of them are

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even elected for the Parliament. Most of them can be seen in Hijab. Law allows polygamous for Muslim men who will have to secure permission from the Government as well as the first wife. He has to furnish proof of having enough income. Without this, it is deemed a crime. Women too can take divorce. Pre-marriage counseling is provided. Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS), a constitutional body, funds all mosques and guides the religious life of Singapore. Imams and Qazis receive their salaries from the Government. All Muslim marriages are registered with MUIS. Meher has to be given at the nikah ceremony. There is no system for brides giving any dowry to husbands. Among Malays, the husband gives substantial gifts to the bride after marriage. MUIS is authorized to issue divorce certificate. If she becomes a destitute after divorce, she would be awarded maintenance from the husband and the government too will chip in to help. Following ethnic riots between Chinese and Muslims in 1960 on the day of Eid e Meelad, the Government brought in Racial Harmony Act and began being strict with any kind of provocation and spread of racial hatred. Ahmed Deedat was banned from speaking in Singapore. Although Zakir Naik is allowed to come, he is banned from speaking. Mosques too cannot promote sectarian ideology. There are no Tablighi, Sufi or Salafi

Muslims in Singapore ...mosques. Friday sermon is same all over the island, although in different languages. Hussein Saynuddin, a citizen of Singapore informed me that although Singapore is a democracy, no processions are allowed. It is a highly policed state with intelligence penetrating in all spheres of activity. Most companies and firms allow their Muslim employees to offer Friday namaz. For communal amity, different measures are implemented. Children are taught tolerance right form childhood. Inter-ethnic youth programs are organized. For example, football matches actively have members from all communities. Festivals are celebrated together. The Singapore Housing Board Societies have quota for different communities within each society. Only when the quotas are full, the registration of the society would be done.After 9/11, Internal Security Act was enacted. Any miscreant can be arrested any time under this Act. When some Muslims became emotional and started creating problems for public peace, they were arrested. Singapore government is compassionate. It does not leave its jail-mates to their fate. It reforms them. So these boys were given counseling, reformed and rehabilitated. Other jail-mates are treated similarly.No wonder that Singapore has become world-renowned and prosperous and an ideal society to emulate.

Lecture by Teesta Setalvad ...majoritarianism. Mayaben Kodnani was seen distributing swords and trishuls among the people to attack Muslims. There were 14 eye witnesses against her. Chief Minister Narendra Modi was not shamed with all these. He rather promoted her in the cabinet. Everyone knows that Congress backed hoodlums were behind the massacre of Sikhs in Delhi after the assassination of Mrs. Indira Gandhi in 1984. Yet Congress was swept to power. Rajiv Gandhi gave ticket to three main accused minister H. K. L. Bhagat, Jagdish Tytler and and Sajjan Kumar. We cannot merely blame the Constitution and the politicians. Even voters behave the same way and elect politicians responsible for spreading communal hatred

and violence. How much more shameful you can get by appointing Amit Shah as the chief campaigner of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. Democracy is not and cannot be reduced to brute majoritarianism, a crude game of numbers. In matters of conscience the majority has no place. The violence in Gujarat should deeply shake our nation’s conscience. The response of those indicted for state-sponsored genocide and their growing respectability and hold on positions of power should seriously question the writ of constitutional governance. It is knowing this, and accepting it without challenge that poses the most profound threat to Indian democracy today.(Compiled by a Staff Writer)

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Bangalore SM Parents invites alliance for their son BE Mch, 28yrs, 5.11ht, handsome, working in MNC Saudi Arab, invites a bride of minimum graduate, beautiful, religious, below 23yrs, above 5.5ht, from respectable family of Karnataka. No demands absolutely, early marriage. Mail your details with photos and biodata to [email protected] mobile 9986400691

Bangalore, SM parents invites alliance for their son, Haji, MCA, working in MNC Bangalore, 30yrs, 6.1ht, handsome, invites a bride of minimum graduate, beautiful, religious, tall above 5.6ht, age below 25yrs, from a respectable religious family of Karnataka. NO DEMANDS ABSOLUTELY AND NO MEDIATOR PL early marriage, mail your details along with photos and bio-data to [email protected] and you can call me on my mobile 9986400691.

Piety is Most Important for Man and Woman

You can marry a woman for her wealth, but money will perish.

You can marry a woman for her beauty, but beauty will fade away.

You can marry a woman for her power, but power will be gone.

If you marry a pious and righteous woman who fears Allah, - she will honour you,

- she will be affectionate with you, - she will help you to get closer to Allah.

ISLAMIC VOICE, August 2013 25Muslims in Singapore

The City-state’s iron grip on people allows it to maintain the inter-racial harmony and ensure prosperity.

Malika B. Mistry

The most indelible impression an Indian could carry from a visit to Singapore is that we need to learn a lot from the tiny island city-state. If one desires to see how governance could regulate a citizen’s life, he or she must visit Singapore. For Singaporeans, the State and social good come before the self. It is rule of law everywhere and one can scarcely violate the law and get away with it. The City-state penetrates the senses of its citizens in all possible ways. It leaves little scope for indiscipline, corruption and deviant behavior.

Roads, metros, parks, buses and sidewalks are kept spotlessly

clean. Buses trundle without conductors and maintaining silence is everyone’s responsibility. Though it rains daily, the city has no waterlogging. Once water got collected somewhere and the Corporator lost his job. Could this ever happen in India? One would wish it does, but most certainly it won’t. A minister in the Government who ran an affair with his colleague was compelled to resign. Law does not spare anyone, however high he or she might be. If one is

found out driving a vehicle while drunk, he will have to cough

up a fine of Singapore $ 3,000 (one Singapore $ = Rs. 50) with imprisonment of three months and six lashes (Refer Basic Theory of

Driving: The Official Handbook issued by the Traffic Police). It is said Singapore incorporated flogging after learning it from the states in the Gulf.

Singapore is a multi-ethnic state and English, Chinese, Tamil and Malay languages are official language. Buses and trains have announcements in all the four languages. Chinese predominates with 74% people being of Chinese origin, 13.4% Malays, 9.2%

Indians and remaining 3.5% are others.Muslims constitute 15% of the

population and 17% of them are of Indian origin. The City-state has 72 mosques and six full-time madrassas. Most Muslims follow Shafii maslak. Singapore

Government discourages missionary attempts to convert the local Malay population, lest racial and religious tensions are triggered. Malays, considered to be the original inhabitants of the land, have been given certain Constitutional privileges.

First president of Singapore was Yusof Ishak. His younger brother

Page 24

TravELoguE

Singapore does not tolerate any attempt to spread hatred. Ahmed Deedat was banned from speaking.

So also Zakir Naik.

Mosques are not allowed to promote sectarian ideology. There are no Tablighi, Salafi or Sufi mosques.

No one is allowed to mess with the civic regulations which brook no violation.

Singapore Masjid Ar-Raudha

ISLAMIC VOICE, August 2013 26EmpoWErIng THE muSLIm mInd

Page 23

Perception of Life and the WorldviewHuman action is the cause of change and you are the agent of change. You are not in

charge of what happens to your life, if lifestyle and mindset remain disconnected.By Aqeel Ansari

The philosophers harness the power of mind in pursuit of truth about origin and nature of human existence. They argue with words and interpret historical events and phenomena to understand basic questions about human life. How they answer the basic questions define human nature. This is why we need a sense of history and language skill to understand human performance through time. I make the point because the majority in contemporary societies lacks both language skill and sense of history.The basic questions the philosophers seek to answer, include: Who is the human? What are his innate qualities or characteristics? What does he exist to do? The human deliberates these questions always and how he answers them determines his perception of life. You discover in the perception of life the key variable that explains human nature. How one perceives life answers two basic questions – why he lives life and how he lives

it. Why he lives life defines his mindset whereas how he lives it defines his lifestyle. But what determines the mindset is his object of pursuit. We define the object of pursuit as someone or something he intensely loves and admires. The intensity signifies that he subordinates his love and admiration for everyone and everything to love and admiration of the object of his pursuit. Recall the idea of exchange in human relationship to understand the intensity of love and admiration. If you intensely love and admire someone or something, you are willing to exchange whatever you have for the object of your pursuit. The object of pursuit in the final analysis is about the perception of life. You find in it the criterion that is sufficient to distinguish one perception of life and its mindset from another.It is reasonable to argue that your mindset guides your lifestyle. You must act to live life (your lifestyle) according to why you want to live it (your mindset). Recall that human action is the cause of change and you are the

agent of change. You are not in charge of what happens to your life if lifestyle and mindset remain disconnected. The idea of mindset is to give meaning and purpose to how you live life. If your mindset fails to guide your lifestyle, either you have not developed your mindset by choice or you lack the will and determination to live the mindset of your choice.Ideally, the mindset of the majority, which is an aggregate of individual mindsets, ought to shape the mindset of society. The argument assumes that the people organize society for a common purpose. Historically speaking, the owners of wealth and power organize society. Though they are a minority, they generally use force to define the geography and common purpose of society. History therefore is replete with recurrent disconnect between real mindset of the majority and contrived mindset of a minority. This is why people experience conflict, anxiety, alienation and violence. Extend the argument to humanity and you

can explain why contemporary societies continue to experience disconnected mindsets.The argument makes it amply clear that every human has the inalienable right to accept or reject by choice a perception of life in order to live his life according to the mindset he prefers. He is born with the freedom of choice. If he is deprived of making the voluntary choice, the contrived mindset becomes his de facto mindset. Recall the 90-10 Covey Principle where 90% of what happens to one’s life is caused by him. But it does not apply to him because the contrived mindset preempts his freedom of choice. What applies to him is its converse, the 10-90 principle, where 90% of what happens to his life is caused by a minority. He fails to take charge of life because he lacks the will and determination to reject the contrived mindset and build own mindset. He generally plays the blame game but to no avail.The minority contrives many

perceptions of life but we group them into two broad categories to keep the argument simple. The two historically dominant perceptions of life include the secular perception and the sacred perception. We will discuss these perceptions separately. We then discuss the coexistence of both perceptions to argue how the interplay of the secular and sacred perceptions shapes individual and collective performance of humanity regardless of race, religion, gender and geography. We begin with the secular perception of life.The dictionary defines the word secular as a system of belief concerned with worldly affairs

Did You Know?Dolphins Call Each Other By Name

Recently, scientists from St. Andrews University were studying bottlenose dolphins off of the east coast of Scotland when

they found that the mammals used signature high-pitched sounds and noises to attract the attention of other dolphins nearby. Using plenty of research as a backdrop, the scientists soon determined that the noises they were hearing were actually dolphins calling to one another by name. Scientists have known for a while that dolphins are capable of making tons of different sounds in order to communicate. In the past, humans have observed dolphins making noises to attract other dolphins to a food source. However, the name noises are a signature capability,

one that biologist Vincent Janik tells is important because it means dolphins can not only copy sounds, they can also relate

a specific sound back to a specific member of a dolphin community. During the course of the St. Andrews University observation period, the scientists looked at a community of 150-180 dolphins. Initially, the objective was to observe and record as many whistles as possible. Once

the whistles were captured on tape, the scientists would play them back for smaller groups of dolphins. During the tenure of the study, the scientists found that dolphins would respond and even sometimes approach the humans when their individual whistle was played. The interesting thing about these is that they are not voice recognition. In humans you can have different people say the same word and you will still be able to tell who’s speaking. What we also do is have names, so they are very different call types. The

dolphins do the same thing; they’ are developing a completely new call type, a melody or whistle, which is not dependent on their voice features.

ISLAMIC VOICE, August 2013 27SouL TaLk

Parent’s Day Out- Part 5A good relationship means a good family maintenance. Nowadays relationships at

home between parents and children or husband and wife are not going well.Among the more popular parenting method is one that we term as the “Fine gardening” model.What is this method and what does it convey? Parents believe that children have positive and negative qualities, the latter of which parents should “weed out” or “prune” into an appropriate shape. The problem in this parenting method is that parents fight with the faults of their child rather than appreciate their current achievements and/or capabilities; a method which may continue through their whole life without success.Question: How many words make up Parent?Answer: Two words - Father and MotherAnd the relation is much deeper - Husband and WifeNo Parenting workshop is complete without a reference to Spouse relationship. Let us understand this with a classical example. When the first verses were revealed, “IqraBismi....”, Rasulallah was then contemplating in the cave of Hira. Hira is on a mountain, little distance from the Kabah. Seeing

this strange episode, Rasulallah becomes extremely afraid and runs..Question: Where does he run to?a. Abu Bakr, his best friendb. Quraish, his familyc. Khadijah, his wifeIf today, our brothers have a problem, where to do discuss it. Most of them talk to their friends. There must be something extra special in Khadijah as a wife that made Rasulallah (peace on him)run to her.As soon, as the Prophet enters home - he is afraid. Although it is a cold evening, he is sweating. The Messenger returned home to Khadijah trembling with fear, and said to her: `Cover me, cover me’, and he was covered. Look at Khadijah - she is quiet. Rasulallah is saying, “Zammeluni, Zammeluni (Wrap me up, wrap me up).”What does Khadijah do?Does she question him - What happened, Where were you?Or did he tell him - How many times I have told you not to go up there!Remember, right now they are an ordinary couple and Khadijah does not know he is chosen to be a Prophet. Isn’t this is how most of

the sisters talk to their husbands? As soon as he enters home, the first thing she says, “How many times I tried calling you, but your number was busy. The plumber did not come today!”Or your child comes home crying - before asking what happened, you shout at him or her.... Did Hamza hit you? How many times have I told you not to play with him.Back to the incident, our mother Khadijah is quiet and silent. When terror left him, he said: Ò Khadijah, what has happened to me?’ Then he narrated to her whatever had happened, and said: Ì fear for my life’. She said; `No never! By Allah, never will Allah debase you: When he calmed down, she says words that should be written in gold. • you treat the kindred well, you

speak the truth, • you bear the burden of the

helpless, • you help the poor, • you entertain the guests, and • you cooperate in good work.’

What comforting words. We need a relation like this to raise children who will be leaders of the Ummah. Relationship is such a word that connects us to each other. We all are connected to people and we have different kinds of relationships with them. But most of all it depends on how we maintain our relationship with people. A good relationship means a good family maintenance. And this starts at home. Nowadays relationships at home between parents and children or husband and wife are not going well. Families are not happy with whatever is happening within the family. While this is a parenting series, but remember before you became a parent - you entered into another relationship of a husband and a wife.Here are three quick and easy to understand lessons for a healthy relationship between the couples:1. Be open to each other. Problems between husband and wife should stay within them and not leak out. Husband should understand

the feelings of wife and wife should understand the feelings of husband.2. Solve the problems, don’t fight over them. Problems coming upon couples should not make them weak enough to fight over it, but surely strong enough to go through it and solve the problem.3. Explain your expectations. If you are parents and you are not happy with your child’s behaviour, don’t shout at them or taunt them. Explain to them with cool minds. Let them know that you love them and give them some time so that they feel close to you and discuss everything with you. This applies to couples as well. (The writer lives in Mumbai and heads Burooj Realization and Red Camel International School. He can be reached at [email protected])

ISLAMIC VOICE, August 2013 28gLobaL affaIrS

Ants have Answer to Human Traffic Crowd safety is emerging as an important issue worldwide following numerous incidents

in which crowd panic has resulted in injuries and death.Melbourne: Taking inspiration from nature, researchers in Australia are keenly observing the crowd flow of ants to help design exits that function more effectively during evacuations of large buildings and sporting arenas. Crowd safety is emerging as an important issue worldwide following numerous incidents in which crowd panic has resulted in injuries and/or death. In a recent research published in Transportation Research Part C, Monash University, researchers have used a bio-inspired approach to better understand human traffic flow and potentially save lives in large-scale emergency situations. Lead researcher Majid Sarvi from the Department of Civil Engineering said, “given the

global trend towards mass urbanisation, and increasing incidence of mega-events, terrorism and natural disasters, it was important that public infrastructure such as office

buildings, railway stations and sports arenas were designed to facilitate smooth emergency evacuations”. “With the large numbers of people who attend events, work in ever increasing tall buildings and use our transport systems, it is important that buildings

are designed to allow for quick and efficient evacuation should the need arise,” Sarvi said in a statement. The researchers examined several exit options in experiments: in the

middle of a wall, at the corner, at the middle of a wall with a partial obstruction near the exit and at the corner with a partial obstruction near the exit. “We found the ants evacuated rooms faster when the exits were located in corners rather than in the middle of hallways,” Sarvi

said. “The location of the exit at the corner was 93.5 per cent more effective in reducing the evacuation time than when the exit was positioned in the

middle of the wall.” Sarvi said the increased effectiveness of the corner exit could be due to the minimisation of conflict points at the evacuation point. “With the middle exit, ants escaping along both sides of the wall had to change their direction at the exit in order to evacuate.

This created conflict with the ants moving straight towards the exit,” Sarvi said. “However, with the corner exit scenario, there were comparatively fewer conflicts with the ants moving straight towards to exit and those escaping from the side walls.” The researchers then simulated a human evacuation scenario and found that the ant model prediction accurately predicted human traffic flow. “In the future, there is need to further examine the physical and behavioural similarities and dissimilarities among these different biological entities and how they may help to develop clever design solutions that could enhance crowd safety,” Sarvi said.

By Shafaat Shahbandari

Dubai: He is a man with a mental age of a three-year-old, he cannot count properly from one to ten, cannot write, has only limited reading ability and cannot locate his house if he is lost in the street. In other words he could well be termed a mentally challenged or disabled individual. But when it comes to the Quran, he is just differently-abled.Meet Hussain Adnan Sabri, 29, from Iraq, whose remarkable knowledge of the Quran, every chapter, word and verse, is miraculous, to say the least.Displaying his prodigious talent to a visibly stunned audience, Sabri was a guest participant at the Dubai International Quran Awards last fortnight.He can read the Quran in reverse, knows every verse of the Quran by its number and can point out the first and last verses of every page of the Quran.“This is a special ability which is difficult to achieve even for a normal individual and, considering his cognitive limitations, it is nothing short of a miracle. It’s a certain gift from Allah,” said Sherzad Abdul Rahman, imam of Masjid Hassan Al Shaikh and a presenter at Sharjah TV.Presenting Sabri to the audience, Abdul Rahman subjected him to

a series of testing questions about the Quran, which he answered with ease, much to the amazement of a packed house at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce.

Not only does he remember verses of the Quran by number and page, Sabri can even point to the location of any given word in the Quran with its full details.“What is more astonishing is the fact that he can even list words in Quran related to any particular root and tell you where the words are located, which only very highly learned scholars can do,” Abdul Rahman said.Incredible as it may sound, the genius from Fallujah has not learnt the Quran from any teacher. In fact, if you believe

his uncle, he never learnt to read or write beyond the Arabic alphabet, yet he reads the Quran with such proficiency that he completes the book twice every day.“He reads the entire Quran in five hours, it is something unbelievable for a common man. When you see him reading you would feel he is just mumbling and moving his fingers through the verses randomly, but if you stop him suddenly and ask what he is reading he will point to the exact word,” stated an impressed Abdul Rahman.His uncle, Emad Shakir Al Abdali, who accompanied Sabri to Dubai, says his nephew has been “abnormal since birth”.“When he was born he was like dead meat. He didn’t cry, didn’t move and didn’t speak until he was four years old. His father consulted with several doctors and each one of them expressed his helplessness in finding a cure,” said Al Abdali, referring to Sabri’s early days.Al Abdali says Sabri’s father, who has passed away, was a pious man and didn’t lose hope even though all the doctors gave up.“He was a firm believer in Allah. As a practice he used to keep a copy of the Quran on Sabri’s chest every day and slowly it worked as Sabri showed signs

of improvement. He uttered his first word at the age of four and that was Allahu Akbar [Allah is Great],” added Al Abdali.Then began the miraculous journey as Sabri began reading

the Quran on his own and at the age of five years six months, he had memorised the entire Quran without any help from any teacher.

(Gulf News)

God-Gifted TalentMentally challenged Hussain Adnan Sabri began reading the Quran on his own,

and at the age of five years six months, he had memorised the entire Quran without help from any teacher.

The Compassionate“Say: ‘He is the All-Merciful”

(67:29)

Rahman is a special intensive form derived from Raham (mercy). In human beings, raham means ‘tenderness of the

heart.’ Yet when attributed to Allah, it means granting blessings and warding off evil, through grace and beneficence.For this reason, Rahman like the name Allah is not applied to any, but God.

Allah’s mercy in this world is general, given to the believer and the unbeliever. He provides for them and gives them health

and what they ask for. “ We bestow Our mercy on whoever We will and shall never deny the righteous their reward.” (12:56)We must always ask for Allah’s mercy and grace and call Him by this name, our

deeds by themselves, do not qualify us to go to paradise. Also we ought to begin any important action after saying these words. “In the name of Allah, the All-merciful, the All-compassionate”

ISLAMIC VOICE, August 2013 29advErTISEmEnT

ISLAMIC VOICE, August 2013 30CHILDREN'S CORNER

Sparrows in the Snow

God helps people who help others.By Yoginder Sikand

Grandpa Jigme hobbled through the dark corridors of the house as fast as he could on his one leg, shouting out orders. “Yeshe, rush up to the roof with a spade and be-gin shoveling the snow off. Dol-ma, bring in the yaks before they freeze. Thubten, start the fire in the kitchen right away or we’ll all soon turn into blocks of ice. And you, Pema, shake the snow from off the apple trees before they col-lapse.” It was the middle of June, the height of the short summer high up in the Himalayas, along the border with Tibet. The weather had been glorious for several weeks—a mild sun and a cloud-less peacock-blue sky. But then, all of a sudden, a deadly snow-storm had struck.No one could remember it snow-ing so heavily at that time of the year ever before. The snow showed no sign of stopping even after a week, and in a short while the land was buried under a thick white blanket that stretched as far as one could see.As everyone else in the house hurried about doing as Grandpa Jigme ordered them, little Ts-ewang, the youngest member of the family (he had just turned seven) sat by the window of the living room watching the snow

pile up outside.“The apple trees are ruined,” Tse-wang heard his grandfather moan. “And the peas, which were just about to flower, have all been de-stroyed. How on earth am I going to feed this family this year?”

Tsewang listened carefully as his father Yeshe said to Grandpa Jigme, “Father, we won’t be able to pay the children’s school fees this year. We were relying on the apples and peas for that.”“The roads are all blocked, and our stock of food’s fast running out. It won’t last for more than two days, and then what are we going to eat?” Tsewang heard his mother Dolma add.“Why! We might starve!” cried Tsewang’s sister Pema.Tsewang began to quake with

fear. What if Pema was right and they were all going to starve to death? Tsewang huddled deeper into the mountain of blankets, staring at the falling snow, whispering his prayers while warm tears rolled

down his frozen face. “You won’t let us starve, I know,” he sobbed as he spoke with God. “You will never let us down, I know.” Tsewang lifted his head and peered out of the window, expect-ing his prayers to have wrought an immediate and miraculous halt to the snow. But, the snow showed no sign whatsoever of abating Just then, Tsewang’s attention was attracted by a battalion of sparrows squatting on the clothes-line outside. The little brown

birds seemed to be having the time of their life, merrily chatter-ing away even as snowflakes fell on their heads. The fact that they probably hadn’t eaten for days—every bit of the earth being un-der several feet of snow, which covered up everything that they considered edible—did nothing to dampen their joy.For a moment, Tsewang forgot his fear of impending starva-tion. He let out a loud laugh that seemed to echo through the en-tire house. It did seem very funny to him: how wholly indifferent to the storm the birds were—they didn’t seem to notice it and re-fused to let it spoil their fun—while human beings frantically rushed about doing whatever they could to save themselves and feared the worst. “What are you laughing at, boy?” Yeshe asked Tsewang, “This is no time for fun. Get up and help me bring in the potatoes from the field before they rot and we starve.”Tsewang jumped to his feet. But instead of heading to the potato field to help his father, he rushed into the kitchen and grabbed as many loaves of bread that he could find, stuffing them into the folds of his shawl.“Where on earth are you taking the bread?” his mother Dolma called out. “That’s all we have

left!”But before Dolma could stop him, Tsewang flew out of the house and ran as fast as his little legs would carry him, till he came to the clothesline, where the birds were having their party. Dolma came running after him, but by the time she arrived Tsewang had already scattered the loaves on the ground and the birds were happily hopping around, munch-ing on them.Dolma shrieked at the top of her voice as she grabbed Tsewang by the ear and kicked and beat him. “What have you done? We’ve not a scrap of bread left. We’re bound to starve to death now, and all because of your foolish-ness. You’ve fed these miserable dumb animals and starved your own family!”“Mumma! I promise you we won’t starve,” Tsewang stuttered. “God helps people who help others. I know He’ll help us now because I helped these famished birds. I know He will. He won’t ever let us starve. Believe me!”And just then, as Dolma looked about, she discovered, to her great surprise, that the snow had stopped, the clouds were begin-ning to part, revealing a blue sky, and the sun was peeping out.Yes, as Tsewang had assured her, God just wouldn’t let them starve.

Life Long Learning

There’s no excuse for not being able to learn because you are not in schoolBy Samina Saifee

Our lives are highly inundated with technology and it has becoming increasingly hard to distinguish the wheat from the chaff. People spend all of their precious time on social media gossip, but if you think, there is more to life than posting photographs and gossip online, then let’s talk about how to use technology to learn new things or enhance our learning.What I am referring to are online learning sites that are available for free to anyone who has an Internet connection. Let’s start with a pioneering site in this field, which was interestingly started by a Muslim, name Salman Khan (not the Bollywood hero). The site he created is Khanacademy.org. It carries over 4,000 videos from everyday school topics, such as maths, science, world history

economics etc. to college math prep videos. All you need is a Gmail or Facebook account, and you can be on your way. I have used it to learn and clarify several maths concepts. Sometimes I watch his video before the teacher teaches the concept in school and I find myself knowing more than anybody in my class and I end up having a deeper understanding of the topic than my classmates. My younger brother had trouble with percentages and all it took was a few 4-5 minute videos to get the concept through to him. Khan’s videos are natural and start with the basics, working through each individual step. He not only has topics that you would find in elementary school, middle

school, high school, or college. Also there are topics which even adult would find interest in. These topics range from life

existing on other planets all the way to English royalty. Another site for college courses (though nobody stops you from taking the courses here even if you are in middle/high school) is Coursera.org, a site that offers hundreds of free college courses, ranging from cryptography to logic. These courses are

offered by professors from many universities, including John Hopkins, and Princeton University. They are not just a

set of videos, they also include quizzes, tests, and a final exam, all of which are taken online and graded there as well. There are certain deadlines for assignment merits, that you must meet in order to successfully complete the course. From experience, I can say that anyone can benefit from these courses. My dad, although

an engineer by profession, took a course on philosophy (“Know Thyself’ offered by the University of Virginia) that he found really eye opening and interesting. I have tried out a few of the courses myself, and although they require some effort, they can be entertaining all the while. A few other sites that offer free courses are Udac-ity.com and Edx.org.There’s no excuse for not being able to learn because you are not in school. In fact, Mark Twain said, “I have never let schooling interfere with my education.” School is only a supplement to our education. We all tend to get bored when we have nothing to do, but as long as you have internet connection, the world of learning is at your doorstep.(The writer is a Grade 8 student in the US) (The Muslim Observer)

TALE TIME


An adult has about five to six litres of blood in his body.

The heart of an adult pumps around 7,000 litres of blood through the body every day. This could fill about 35 bathtubs.

Crabs have blue-coloured blood. Their blood pig-

ment contains copper, and not iron, which given the red colour to the blood.

We release about half a litre of gas from the

intestines every day what we call farts.

The only bone not con-nected with the rest of the

skeleton is the hyoid bone. It lies at the root of the tongue.

There are about 40 species of bacteria in the mouth cavity which protect the oral from diseases.

Hungary has the highest divorce rate in Europe.

Japanese have only ten holidays in a year.

CHILDREN'S CORNER

AirmailThe first ‘airmail’ was used by the Egyptians through pigeons in 2500 BC. Pigeons were used widely throughout the world. One may be surprised to know that the Orissa (now Odisha) Police used to have

a wing of training pigeons to send letters and communications to its units in the state till some 15 years ago.The pigeon mail was used by the Germans in German-French war in 1870-71. Later they began to use hot air balloons for the purpose. But by 1940, planes began to be used for carrying letters across cities, countries and continents. Now that the email and phones have become too common, airmail is used only for sending documents, books and gifts. Letters are mainly exchanged through emails

Do You Know?Why do we lose our sense of taste when suffering from Cold?

A human individual is endowed with the capacity to detect up to 10,000 smells. Our sense of smell is responsible for about 80% of what we taste. The tastebuds present on our tongues are limited to only the basic sensations such as sweet, salty, sour, bitter and cussed. Other flavours that we experience come from smell. This is why, when our nose is blocked,

as by a cold, most foods seem bland or tasteless.

What is a Pension?Pension usually refers to the remuneration or payment a person receives after he retires from the active job. He is paid a part of the salary which he used to draw when employed. He gets this payment without working. Mostly, the terms of pension payment are decided before one gets into a contract with the employer.In most cases, the pension is paid from a common fund in which the employee would have contributed a portion of his salary while on job. A similar portion would have been added by the employer or the government.

Measuring an EarthquakeEarthquakes can be measured by the help of a seismograph. The scale used for this purpose is called Richter Scale, name after its inventor.A seismograph is a small gadget in which a weight is suspended from above which stays at rest even when the earth trembles. A pen is attached to the pendulum and it remains in contact with rolling drum. As the tremors of the quakes reach the surface of the earth, the pen staying in touch with the drum moves to and fro and records the waves. Earthquakes of an intensity of 2.5 on the

Richter Scale can be felt by the human being. Anything between 7 and 8 is a major earthquake and can prove highly disastrous.

Bio-FuelsCan we extract oils from plants that can work as fuel in automobiles in place of petrol or diesel. Answer is, Yes.Juices of several plants, seeds and pods can be turned into fuels. For instance, sugarcane juice can be turned into alcohol by fermentation. The same sugarcane can also make alcohol of a lesser variety which is mixed with petrol to produce a new form of fuel called bio-alcohol. However, the engine may require a few changes to take this fuel.Bio-fuels can also be extracted from sugar beet, maize or plant waste, Jatropha and Honge seeds. Thousands of cars in the United

States are run on ethanol extracted from maize. In India Jatropha and Honge seeds are now yielding a variety of fuel which is similar to diesel. In Bangalore, hundreds of city transport buses are run on fuel extracted from Honge seeds. Jatropha and Honge (local name Karanja) trees can be grown in dry and non-agricultural lands.

DISCOVER YOURSELFWORKSHOP SCHEDULE

AUGUST –SEPTEMBER 2013WORKSHOP IN CHENNAI

DATES: 15, 16 & 17 AUGUST 2013TIMINGS: 8.00 AM TO 6.00 PM,

VENUE: One Stop Solution Centre, 10/150, E Type, 2nd Floor2nd Main Road, SIDCO Nagar, Villivakam, Chennai

Registration Fee: IRs 1200/-For Details and Registration contact: Abdul Hameed Essa,

Tel: +918939170239, E-Mail: [email protected], Abdul Rasith, Tel: +919600176637,

E-Mail: [email protected]

WORKSHOP IN SOUTH AFRICA 1. DATES: 30, 31, & 1st SEPTEMBER- PRETORIA

2. DATES: 6, 7, & 8 SEPTEMBER - LENASIA3. DATES : 13, 14, & 15 SEPTEMBER - DURBAN

4. DATES : 27, 28 & 29 SEPTEMBER - CAPE TOWN.

WORKSHOP IN LESOTHODATES : 20, 21 & 22 SEPTEMBER 2013

DETAILS CONTACT: Sulaiman 0767856751/0123701069, Email: [email protected]

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CHENNAI

Documents

1 Minority Ministry Adopts New Strategy