VOICE OF GLOBAL UMMAH

VOICE OF GLOBAL UMMAH

Volume 22, April 7, 2008

St. Louis, Missouri

Editor: Hajji. Mohamed Ziauddin

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful

EDITORIAL:

As a follow up to our earlier issue regarding April 1 – APRIL FOOLS DAY, we would like to highlight the response we received from one of our readers- Sister. Najmunisa from Chennai, India.

“I read about the origin of April fools day which u sent few days back. I would like to inform you about other versions of the origin of the same based on a recent Deccan Chronicle newspaper article. The English pranksters began popularizing the annual tradition of April Fools' Day by playing practical jokes on each other. Though the day, also called All Fools' Day has been celebrated for several centuries by different cultures, its exact origin remains a mystery. Some historians speculate that April Fool's Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by the Council of Trent in 1563. People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1st and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1st became the butt of jokes and hoaxes. These included having paper fish placed on their backs and being referred to as poisson D' avril (April fish), said to symbolize a young, easily caught fish and a gullible person”.

We appreciate the different perspective mentioned above on APRIL FOOLS DAY. Most readers are not aware how important their feedback is and we encourage them to express their opinions freely and frankly. We need to have an open mind and be willing to accommodate different perspectives and refrain from negativity. Let us all learn from each other.

Part A:

SELECTED SPOTLIGHT FOR THIS ISSUE ON A MUSLIM ORGANIZATION FROM UNITED KINGDOM.

ISLAM IS A WAY OF LIFE. This means it incorporates various aspects of life. Of course following the basic tenets of Islam and being a practicing Muslim is important but the UMMAH needs to go beyond the above and truly implement in practice that ISLAM IS INDEED A WAY OF LIFE and does not end with just following the important religious rituals.

Various Muslim organizations are springing all across the globe focusing on a specific issue that is not only important to the Ummah but to humanity in general. One such organization that we are proud to present in this issue is ISLAMIC FOUNDATION FOR ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES.

“Assalamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,

The Islamic Foundation For Ecology And Environmental Sciences

The Islamic Foundation For Ecology And Environmental Sciences IFEES is a charity raising awareness among both Muslims and non-Muslims of the Islamic teachings on environmental issues. It trains people working on conservation projects in Muslim countries. In the UK and elsewhere IFEES provides Islamic consultancy and communication, and supports and initiates environmental education and awareness projects . Charity Registration No 1041198

http://www.justgiving.com/ecoislam

“Corruption has appeared on land and sea because of what the hands of humankind have earned. So that (Allah) may give them a taste of some of their actions, in order that they may turn back to Him.” Qur’an, 30:41

We are all more than aware of the unprecedented damage that has been caused to the earth through selfish human behavior. Climate change, pollution, deforestation, poisoned food chains and social upheaval are now part of our daily diet of news. Ecosystems are in crisis in many parts of the Muslim world.

“The creation of the heavens and the earth is far greater than the creation of mankind. But most of mankind do not know it.” Qur’an, 40:56

SO HERE’S THE CHALLENGE!

“It is He who has appointed you as viceroys in the earth.” Qur’an, 6:165

Allah has described mankind as His Guardians on earth. It is therefore our responsibility to take care of other creatures and the earth itself. Yet how many of us take these duties seriously as an integral part of our way of life?

IFEES’ CONSERVATION WORK IS BASED ON QUR’AN AND SHARIAH DERIVED PRINCIPLES

Support IFEES to continue raising the importance of this issue through the production of educational literature and also designing training programmes and campaigns. Your support will also help us to set up a global network of Muslim environmentalists and boost our project work from Aceh to Zanzibar.

HELP US TO RAISE £20,000 TO CARRY THIS WORK FORWARD.

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor us: The Islamic Foundation For Ecology And Environmental Sciences will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

SO PLEASE SUPPORT US NOW AND THANK YOU.

To donate please go to www.justgiving.com/ecoislam

Wassalaam 'alaikum wa rahmatullaah.

- Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences (IFEES)

The Global Ummah joins IFEES in appreciating the help offered by the following
Muslims as indicated in IFEES web page: Contributions from:

(1) MFA for £10.00. Donor’s Comment: “May Allah make it easy for you”.
(2) Farrukh Hassan for £20.00
(3) Jinx for £10.00. Donor’s Comment: “Will do more inshaAllah”
(4) Jawwad for £100.00.
(5) Anonymous for £ 2.
(6) Abdurraheem Green for £20.00. Donor’s comment: “May Allah help you in your good work”
(7) Jazzy G for £10.00. Donor’s comment: “Insh'Allah your efforts will enable you to reach your target of £20,000. The world will be a better place if we all contribute. Jazzak Allah Khair”


PART B:

“Why is the world silent on atrocities and blatant human rights violations in Kashmir?” Below article forwarded by Haja Mohideen & Tabassum Yusuf – Toronto, Canada.

7000 Muslim Kashmiri women raped by Indian military terrorists in IHK' (Kashmir Media Service)

Srinagar, April 05 (KMS): Stating that disgracing of women is being used as a war weapon by the Indian Army to punish Kashmiris for their demand of right to self-determination, noted Indian human rights activist and anthropologist Dr Anjana Chatterjee said, 7000 Kashmiri women have been gang raped in homes, streets and army camps by Indian troops in occupied Kashmir. While speaking at a seminar `Experience of Detainees' in Srinagar quoting a Human Rights Watch report, Kolkatta based activist, Chatterjee said that 63 interrogation centers are located in Kashmir Valley, 26 of which fall in Srinagar district with 19 centers in Srinagar city alone."

"There had been more than 75 thousand deaths in Kashmir and over eight thousand cases of disappearances which shows that there is a continuous genocide of Kashmiris," she said, adding she would raise the issue in international forums and demand commissioning of an international committee to look into the levels and number of tortures committed by Indian troops in Jammu and Kashmir. Speaking on the occasion noted Indian civil society activist , Gautam Naulakha said he is ashamed of being an Indian and feels disgraced to belong to a nation, which is committing war crimes on Kashmiris for their demand of right to self-determination. He said, "It is believed that more than 60,000 Kashmiris have been tortured in prisons and interrogation centers by Indian Army and the levels of torture committed on Kashmiris have no match in the entire world."

Naulakha said that there is a need to document these tortures and file them in the court on test basis to see the outcome of the judiciary, adding the documentation will internationalize the issue of tortures, which have not been reported over the last 18 years. Kashmiri journalist and human rights activist, Zahir-ud-din blamed International Crescent Red Cross Society and Amnesty International for their failure to highlight the issue of human Rights violation in Jammu and Kashmir. Another human rights activist Pervez Imroz said, "There is a need to expose Indian military might at international level for their war crimes in Kashmir and the only way to do that is to document these tortures and extra judicial killings." © Kashmir Media Service.


PART C:

THE PSYCHE OF ISLAM BASHERS: Part I “One picture speaks a thousand words” Below photos forwarded by Br. Amer Sayeed from Los Angeles, California

DEMOCRACY IN ACTION: IS ABOVE THE FREEDOM TO PRACTICE ONE'S RELIGION? If gang members wear any cloth or cap over their heads it's okay, if a woman has a "bad hair day" and covers her head with a cloth, it's okay. But if a Muslim woman who asserts her Islamic identity courageously "IT'S NOT OKAY". Welcome to FREEEEEEEEDOM.

THANKS TO ALL ISLAMIC BASHERS: YOU SEE, AS A MATTER OF FACT, WE HAVE SEVERAL MUSLIMS WHO CARED LESS TO PRACTICE ISLAM, BUT THEY WERE NOT BLIND TO "INJUSTICE" AND NOW YOUR PICTURES HAVE OPENED THE FLOODGATE OF THEIR HIDDEN ZEAL FOR ISLAM AND THEY HAVE NOW VOLUNTARILY REVITALIZED THEIR "LOST" INTEREST IN ISLAM AND STRENGTHENED THEIR FAITH ONCE AGAIN. OUR SPECIAL THANKS TO YOU, SINCE EVEN THE FRIDAY SPEECHES AND OTHER ISLAMIC MOTIVATORS COULD NOT ACHIEVE A POSITIVE CHANGE THAT YOU HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ACHIEVE IN TERMS OF BRINGING THEM BACK CLOSER TO ISLAM.

We should thank Allah (ST), for giving us a golden opportunity to exercise in our lives the true spirit of what the peaceful religion of Islam is all about. Our beloved Prophet Mohamed (SAW) had to face a much worse barrage of bashers of Islam and our beloved Prophet ultimately triumphed using his golden qualities of patience, faith in Allah and perseverance. Our Prophet is our role Model and if he ultimately triumphed in winning over the Islam bashers in his days, if we follow his foot-steps we will too INSHALLAH triumph in winning our misguided and misinformed Muslim bashers of the 21st century. Out of hundreds if not thousands of excellent and noble examples from our beloved Prophet Mohamed (SAW), below are three examples.

(1) During the barbaric times prior to advent of our beloved Prophet, it was a common practice to bury alive new born females and our Prophet condemned such barbaric practice and put an end to it. OUR DEAR ISLAMIC BASHERS SAY ISLAM IS EVIL. THINK AGAIN.

(2) Almost everyday when our beloved Prophet walked through a particular street, a non-Muslim lady used to throw stuff over our beloved Prophet’s head. Our beloved Prophet exercised maximum patience and tolerance. One day when nothing was thrown over his head while he was passing by, he went and visited the same lady and inquired about her well being. Not surprisingly she converted to Islam. OUR DEAR ISLAMIC BASHERS SAY ISLAM IS EVIL AND A RELIGION OF VIOLENCE. THINK AGAIN.

(3) After defeating the enemy forces in Mecca, when the Commander-in-Chief Prophet Mohamed (SAW) and his army entered Mecca, for all the atrocities committed against the Muslims, our beloved Prophet could have very easily slaughtered the people of Mecca in vengeance. But he did exactly the opposite by ordering general amnesty and warned his army against harming anyone. OUR DEAR ISLAMIC BASHERS SAY ISLAM IS EVIL AND A RELIGION OF VIOLENCE. THINK AGAIN.

LAST BUT NOT THE LEAST, MOST OF THE ISLAM BASHERS REPEATEDLY STATE THAT ISLAM IS A RELIGION OF VIOLENCE. THIS THEME KEEPS COMING AGAIN AND AGAIN IN THEIR ANTI-ISLAMIC EXPRESSION.

If you make a list of all bombings between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland and also of bombings of the abortion clinics and violence against the providers of abortion in the US by Christian extremists, and say that it is due to the religion of Christianity then, they would immediately deny the role of their religion. Somehow they consider themselves totally free to disassociate their religion with above terrorist acts, but they don’t give Muslims the same right to disassociate the peaceful religion of Islam from terrorism.

WITH REGARD TO EQUATING ISLAM WITH VIOLENCE, LET US PUT THEIR STATEMENT TO TEST IN REALITY:

“When violent gang members team up together in a neighborhood and actively involve in various gang activities, what do you expect - PEACE OR VIOLENCE ? Obviously there is greater propensity for violence.

When hundreds of thousands of people of a religion that “supposedly are violent” get together with nothing but religion on their mind (Holy Pilgrimage-Hajj), then if what the Islam bashers say is true, you would naturally expect the worst form of violence, bloodshed and mayhem. BUT THE REALITY IS EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE. Mecca and Medina stand distinctly superior to all the other cities in the world in two ways: During Hajj:

(1) It has the most diverse global gathering and highest concentration of global diversity in the world.

(2) Compared to the ratio of the highest global diverse population with the incidents of crime, it ranks the first in the world with the LOWEST CRIME RATE.

Per the Islam bashers, the most violent people – the “ISLAMISTS” getting together in millions and still the LOWEST CRIME RATE. Well we had an open mind to listen to what they had to say and even gave them the benefit of doubt to practically put their statement to test. The outcome of such a test in REALITY is exactly opposite of what they have labeled the Muslims.

JEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT in their negative statement. Maybe the Islam bashers have got it all wrong and are blinded to the realities of ISLAM. May we humbly request them to GET THE FACTS BEFORE MAKING SWEEPING GENERALIZATIONS OUT OF NOTHING BUT HATE AND CONTEMPT. IS ONE THEN SURPRISED OF HOW THE ABOVE PICTURES REFLECT A DIFFERENT VISIBLE FORM OF HATE AND CONTEMPT?

It is easy for Muslims to reciprocate in the same negative way and feed into the CYCLE OF HATE, but IT IS DEAD WRONG. Since by so doing, we deflect AWAY FROM THE PEACEFUL TEACHINGS OF ISLAM. Then what would be the difference between THEM and US in terms of being caught in the satanic trap of hate. Islam teaches us tolerance, patience and understanding, love and universal brotherhood. TWO WRONGS DON’T MAKE IT RIGHT. We need to be role models to the Muslim bashers in terms of exercising maximum patience and tolerance.

The above perverse depictions of Islam by Muslim bashers have placed a greater responsibility for the UMMAH to correct the false perceptions of the Muslim bashers. THERE IS NO BETTER WAY TO EDUCATE THE NON-MUSLIMS ABOUT ISLAM THAN BY OUR OWN PERSONAL ACTIONS AND INTERACTIONS WITH THE WORLD. By doing so, we ourselves have greater chances of leading a better life as a Muslim.

GIVING A POSITIVE SPIN TO THIS WHOLE ISSUE:

IN A WAY, WE SHOULD THANK ALL THE ISLAMIC BASHERS FOR HELPING US IN THE LONG RUN TO FURTHER STRENGTHEN OUR OWN FAITH AND INCREASE OUR MOTIVATION TO PRACTICE ISLAM TO THE BEST OF OUR CAPACITY. We must practice what we preach. We should not only TALK THE TALK, BUT WALK THE WALK.

In conclusion, Br. Khizer Inayat from Saudi Arabia who reviewed most of above pictures summed up beautifully in one single sentence in his e-mail to us:

“Dears
We can reply by our good actions and deeds and this is the only way to beat them”.

Best Regards.

The question remains:
“Based on our day to day actions, to what extent do we (especially those Muslims who are minority in their country of residence) truly have the sincere niyat to demonstrate to those around us that we are indeed the AMBASSADOR OF ISLAM and doing our very best to be practicing Muslims?”

As usual feel free to send your valuable comments by email to:info@mehrunyusuficds.com.