VOICE OF GLOBAL UMMAH
St. Louis, Missouri
Volume 27, May 12, 2008
Volume 27, May 12, 2008
Editors: Mohamed & Rashida Ziauddin
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful
(salabianca.wordpress.com)
NATIVE EUROPEAN MUSLIMS:
EIGHT HUNDRED YEARS OF ISLAM IN EUROPE: BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
(northernharmoney.pair.com)
Two Bosnian women on their way to Friday prayers
Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Posted by Huda Shaker
Bosnian Muslims celebrate 600 years of Islam in their nation with a concert ofspiritual music, a prayer for peace, and a gentle reminder to Europe: not allof the continent's Muslims are of immigrant origin.
"Recently we have noticed that Europe is obsessed by the immigrant Muslims from the East," said Mustafa Ceric, head of the Bosnia Islamic Community, the official institution of
"By celebrating 600 years of Islam here we want to naturalize Islam in Europe," he said, adding that Bosnia's Muslims have illustrated how Islam can be harmonized with a European way of life.
FOCUS OF THE WEEK:
TURKEY’S REINTERPRETATION OF THE HADITH: IS IT FOR THE BETTER OR WORSE ?
EDITORIAL:
Looking from a global perspective, the greatest threat to Islam will not be from the WEST but from some deviated Muslims from our own UMMAH. You have already seen the damage that the misguided extremist terrorists have already done to tarnish the image of Islam. On a micro individual and family level, the greatest threat to your individual happiness and peace of mind is more likely to be from someone close and related to you, and NOT a kafir stranger, acquaintance or friend from the WEST. If this is not true in your individual life, please e-mail us and state so. We would really be surprised if we receive a flood of e-mails denying the above.
For any new development impacting the global Ummah, we need to first understand WHAT IT IS, before becoming emotional and making quick judgements and labels. What is sure is that the extremist elements of Islam would condemn Turkey’s initiative & subsequent outcome, since it would be opposite of what such extremist elements had all along banked upon to garner support from the Muslims.
It would be interesting to know the reaction of the liberal and moderate elements of the Ummah to such a initiative. As a reader, please contribute your valuable feedback to Turkey’s initiative ? Do you think it is for the better or worse ? Do you feel that Turkey with its secular background to begin with, is really the right country to support such a initiative of reinterpreting the Hadith ? Or do you feel that Turkey has a hidden agenda of diluting the gems of Islam, ONE STEP AT A TIME ? (Today it would reinterpret Hadith, tomorrow it may attempt to reinterpret Holy Quran by focusing on the alternative Arabic meaning for the same word). Of course, its invitation of eighty Islamic scholars from around the world is an added PLUS. But the question is whether the eighty Islamic scholars are TRULY REPRESENTATIVE OF THE GLOBAL UMMAH or hand picked from a list of international Islamic scholars who are known to have a liberal slant ? There are lot of unanswered questions and at this time, we as Editors of this issue are at best observers.
Additionally on this weekly E-Zine issue:
It would be interesting to know the reaction of the liberal and moderate elements of the Ummah to such a initiative. As a reader, please contribute your valuable feedback to Turkey’s initiative ? Do you think it is for the better or worse ? Do you feel that Turkey with its secular background to begin with, is really the right country to support such a initiative of reinterpreting the Hadith ? Or do you feel that Turkey has a hidden agenda of diluting the gems of Islam, ONE STEP AT A TIME ? (Today it would reinterpret Hadith, tomorrow it may attempt to reinterpret Holy Quran by focusing on the alternative Arabic meaning for the same word). Of course, its invitation of eighty Islamic scholars from around the world is an added PLUS. But the question is whether the eighty Islamic scholars are TRULY REPRESENTATIVE OF THE GLOBAL UMMAH or hand picked from a list of international Islamic scholars who are known to have a liberal slant ? There are lot of unanswered questions and at this time, we as Editors of this issue are at best observers.
Additionally on this weekly E-Zine issue:
We have touched on current issues that have occurred within the past week on defiant women from India whom we support, interfaith issues, a global controversy created by a Mosque in Philadelphia, that refused to bury one of its own African-American Muslim and research findings on positive benefits of HAJJ. (The research findings were published last month. Titled ‘Estimating the Impact of the Haj: Religion and Tolerance in Islam’s Global Gathering’, the study was conducted by David Clingingsmith, Asim Ijaz Khwaja and Michael Kremer at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in the United States.)
Scholars Reinterpret Islam's Basic Teachings
Turkey sponsors a modern revision of the words & life of Muhammad.
By DION NISSENBAUM
MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPER
May 10, 2008 ANKARA, Turkey
In a sterile, boxy stone building in the shadow of Ankara's central mosque, a group of Turkish scholars is spearheading a reinterpretation of the literary foundations of Islam that's been compared to Christianity's Protestant Reformation.
With the backing of Turkey's reform-minded government, the team of 80 Islamic academicians from around the world is preparing to release a revised collection of the Prophet Muhammad's words and deeds, which guide Muslims on everything from brushing their teeth to reaching heaven.
As with most religions, the accuracy of the words that have been handed down through centuries has long been in dispute.
Did Muhammad really say that women are bad luck? Did the Prophet tell his followers that the word of a woman is worth half that of a man? Did he call for adulterers to be stoned to death?
By year's end, the academics hope to answer those questions by preparing a new Intellectual road map for Islam.
"It's a state-sponsored project that is bringing together a large number of scholars
to undertake quite an extensive reinterpretation of the sources in a systematic way that has not been achieved before in modern times," said Fadi Hakura, an Associate Fellow in the European Program at Chatham House, an independent London-based policy institute. He calls the project "somewhat akin to the Christian Reformation."
The revised collection of Muhammad's guidance will be the latest initiative in a contentious debate about the role of Islam in an era when the most prominent Muslim figures, at least in the West, are extremists such as Osama bin Laden.
The rise of al-Qaida and prominence of hard-line Islamist groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Taliban, some Islamic reformers argue, has created a warped view of Islam in the West.
"This may help to take the words of the Prophet from the hands of people who are using them to legitimize their bad deeds," said Mehmet Gormez, the Vice President of Turkey's Religious Affairs Ministry, which is overseeing the project.
In the past, maverick Muslim scholars in the Middle East who've tried to propose modern reinterpretations of Islam have been ostracized and, in some cases, forced to seek sanctuary in Western countries.
Turkey is charting a new course by supporting the project, which is focused on the Hadith - a massive collection of Muhammad's words and deeds that, is the foundation of Islamic law.
The lessons were transmitted orally for hundreds of years, throwing their veracity into question, and when Muslim scholars first began to write them down, they sought to bolster their authenticity by explaining the words' lineage.
The Turkish researchers have meticulously collected more than 160,000 sayings from the Hadith and entered them in a specially designed computer program for analysis. They've grouped the sayings by subject and passed them out to scholars for reinterpretation.
The new analysis of these Islamic pillars is something akin to the debate in Christian circles between those who believe that the Bible is the literal word of God and those who see it as a holy moral guide.
The Turkish scholars could have a similar impact on conservative Islamic views of women, adultery, honor killings and more.
Some of the revisions will focus on simple issues such as hygiene. Just because Muhammad urged Muslims to brush their teeth with a certain kind of twig, for example, doesn't mean that a modern Muslim must use a twig instead of a toothbrush; it simply means that the prophet wanted his followers to take care of their teeth.
One of the places the project is expected to have the biggest impact is on the Islamic view of women.
Ismail Hakki Unal, a professor at Ankara University's Divinity School who's leading the project, said the final product is unlikely to include sayings attributed to Muhammad that suggest that women are bad luck, that they're stupid or that their word is worth half that of a man. "Those definitely cannot be the words of the Prophet," Unal said.
(May 10, 2008 www.theledger.com)
ON HUMANITY AND INTERFAITH ISSUES.....
Imam stresses commonalities of religions
By Susan Whitney
“Deseret News”
Saturday, May 10, 2008
California:
When he speaks at Westminster College next Saturday, Imam Sayed Moustafa al-Qazwini will say the things he always says at an interfaith gathering.” I’m going to stress the commonalities of the Abrahamic traditions — Judaism, Christianity and Islam," he said. "I strongly believe that we emerge from one source, which is God. And all those messengers — Moses, Jesus and Mohammed — aim for the same goal of uniting people with God's wisdom and knowledge."
Imam al-Qazwini spoke with the Deseret News from his office in the Islamic Educational Center of Orange County, Calif. As the host of a nationally broadcast program on Salaam TV and one of the more well-known Imams in the United States, he often gets a chance to speak to interfaith groups.
Sometimes, he admits, he gets a bit discouraged. When he speaks to university groups or religious groups, he is speaking to people who accept and welcome his message. He is speaking to people who understand that all faiths seek the same sort of spiritual transformation.
In everyday life, however, Imam al-Qazwini sees little implementation of the religious unity he talks about.
"Modern politics should not divide people of faith," he says. But it does. "Some political leaders, and also some religious leaders, strive to put a wedge between people."
(Deseret News)
(GO SISTERS, GO, YOU HAVE OUR SUPPORT: CONTINUE TO WORK ON REMOVING THE NEGATIVE HISTORICAL CULTURAL BAGGAGE THAT HAS GLUED WITH ISLAM AND MASQUERADES AS “ISLAMIC”. THE MORE SUCH CULTURAL BAGGAGE IS REMOVED, THE PURER ISLAM BECOMES.)
Deoband, May 8, 2008
An Indian seminary in the northern city of Deoband has rejected a proposal for the establishment of separate Mosques for Muslim women.
The Darul Uloom Deoband Islamic seminary reacted strongly to a proposal by the All-India Muslim Women’s Personal Law Board to set up separate mosques.
According to the daily, The Asian Age, the deputy in-charge of the edict department of the seminary, Mufti Ehsan Qasmi, told reporters in Deoband that Islam did not permit Muslim women to act as Imams in mosques.
Maulana Naim-ur-Rahman Siddiqui, a scholar at the Nadwa Islamic seminary in the northern Indian city of Lucknow, has said that issues such as woman-led prayers and new women-only mosques were being borrowed from western countries.
Siddiqui argues that attempts were being made to distract attention from more pressing issues.
"Our Muslim sisters should rather be preoccupied with educating the young generation about their religion and protecting them from moral aberration," he said.
Earlier this week the All-India Muslim Women’s Personal Law Board President, Shaista Amber had said: "The time has come for Ulemas and Muslim leaders to set up separate mosques for women in every city so that women in the community can also offer namaz and attend religious congregations."
Amber said the Koran was not against women offering namaz (obligatory prayers) in Mosques and that Hazrat Bibi Hafsa, one of the wives of the prophet Mohammed, used to act as an imam and had led women in offering namaz.
Responding to the reaction of Muslim clergy and particularly from the group of Islamic seminarians, she told The Asian Age on Wednesday that opposition to her proposal was "baseless."
"A Mosque for women has also been opened in Tamil Nadu recently. Besides, in a Mosque in the Rail Bazar area of Kanpur, men and women offer namaz together, five times a day, though the enclosures are demarcated," she said.
"We are not saying that women will lead the men in namaz — we are simply saying that a woman will lead only women in namaz and the Muslim clergy should not have any opposition to this."
Amber denied that there was a dearth of women Maulvis (religious cleric or teachers).
"More than a dozen girls in Meerut have acquired the degree needed to become a Maulvi (IMAM). Once mosques for women become functional, girls will automatically take to religious education," she said.
Amber, to underline her point, said that she herself had been offering namaz at a mosque in Rae Bareli Road since 1999.
(AKI/ Asian Age)
Friday 9th May, 2008
A group of Muslim women offered prayers at a Mosque here Friday, defying an edict issued by Islamic seminary Darul-uloom. Led by the All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board Chairperson Shaista Amber, around 20 women offered prayers at the Mosque. 'According to the Holy Quran and Islam, women and men have equal rights to offer namaaz in mosques,' Amber said. Asked about the Deoband-based Darul-uloom's edict restraining Muslim women from offering prayers in the mosque, she said: 'In foreign countries and even in other states of India, women and men offer prayers jointly in mosques.'
(Calcutta News.Net)
Sahar Babak
5/9/08 Opinion
About two months ago I made one of the biggest decisions of my life when I chose to start wearing the hijab (head scarf). I wear it as a symbol of who I am and what I believe, even if it means standing out from the crowd.
I made this decision knowing fully that I live in a society that largely fails to understand the concept of hijab and its meaning to the millions of Muslim women who observe it.
For too long, people have been told that Islam encourages and oppresses upon women and hijab is portrayed as a form of this oppression. I would like this chance to explain what the hijab means to me and those who choose to wear it. While it is true that the action of force, which is not in line with Islamic teachings, is used in particular communities regarding hijab, it is becoming more common for Muslim women in the West to make this decision. There are many purposes to the hijab - the main one being modesty. The Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, is always depicted in Christianity with a scarf over her head; portraying her as a modest, honorable, humble and pious woman. So then, why is a Muslim woman, who so closely resembles the Virgin Mary, perceived to be oppressed? Mary, also a strong female figure in Islam, was merely upholding her obligations to her religion put forth by God. It is the strong-willed Muslim woman who follows in Mary's footsteps centuries later.
The hijab is invaluable to the Muslim woman. A Muslim woman once said, "What do we do with the things that we value most? We protect them." The hijab is what protects the things most valuable to me. With this protection comes freedom. Free to be oneself, free of any societal pressure to be accepted and noticed physically. I cannot stress enough the precious feeling of this freedom, for it can only be experienced in the shoes of the Muslim woman. It is this great country (USA) that encourages and fosters the idea of freedom of religion and expression. The cars we drive, the books we read, the friends we hang out with and the clothes we wear are all expressions of who we are.
For me, it is my hijab that expresses who I am. I am a Muslim-American, a woman who will not settle to be judged solely on her skin exposure, and a woman who deserves respect nonetheless.
Sahar Babak is a senior business administration major. In the interest of full disclosure, readers should be made aware that Sarah is listed as an executive member of the Muslim Student Association (MSA) at Colorado State University.
(Above from Rocky Mountain Collegian Online).
Mosque's burial refusal stirs global controversy
By KITTY CAPARELLA
Philadelphia Daily News
caparek@phillynews.com 215-854-5880
May 12, 2008:
Turning down a request last week to bury alleged cop-killer Howard Cain at the Germantown Masjid has sparked an international controversy about the burial of Muslims.
And locally, during Jumah, or Friday prayer services, several imams denounced the May 4 killing of Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski and the bank robbery by a trio, two of whom wore Muslim women's garments.
During these sermons, called kutbah, the religious clerics preached about the need for safety and security in the city, and issued an apology to the Liczbinski family.
And perhaps most importantly, Islamic leaders have begun to discuss the criminal behavior of some Muslims who pray at their mosques - much to the chagrin of ex-jailhouse Muslims, who are used to silence on such topics.
These events represent a major turning point in the once-insular Muslim community here where leaders want it to be known that their Allah-fearing believers do not condone such violence.
"This was a wake-up call, not just for us to say Islam calls people to good behavior,
but when we see [criminal behavior] in the Mosque, we have to speak about that," said Amin Nathari, a visiting Imam who preached last Friday at Masjidullah in West Oak Lane.
"We have been afraid to confront it headlong," he added. "The days of isolation and extremism are over. We have to apply Islam in situations we find ourselves in in our broader society."
"We cannot allow our religion to be hijacked by anyone in the name of Islam," Nathari said.
Religious leaders here expressed condolences to both the families of Liczbinski and Cain.
"We ain't no criminals," said a tearful relative of Cain's last week after the Germantown Masjid turned the family down to pray Janaza, or funeral prayers. "We're trying to bury him with a little bit of dignity. I swear I'm sorry about the cop, but we are the ones who have to bury him."
Cain's wife is pregnant, and has three children, she said.
On Friday, friends and family washed Cain's bullet-riddled body and said the prayers before they buried him themselves.
"We never said he should not have a Muslim burial. We just didn't want it at our Mosque," said Tariq El Shabazz, Managing director of the Germantown Masjid, on Germantown Avenue near Logan Street.
Reaction to the Mosque's decision was overwhelming, said El Shabazz, who heard from Imams from all over the world, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It was the hot topic of Islamic blogs and Web sites, and even the national media weighed in.
"For nine out of 10 people, the reaction was positive," said El Shabazz. "People are used to the Masjid being silent, so when you take a position and condemn certain behavior; it's a shock to the people."
"They are trying to hide under a banner of Islam," he added.
Cain's relative called the Germantown Masjid "a bunch of hypocrites," while others claimed the decision was "political." Others pointed out that the Catholic Church buries notorious mobsters.
Cain "is being judged by how he went out," she said. "Cain prayed five times a day, gave to charity leaving $5 in his pocket. It's a horrible tragedy what happened. Whatever he did, he paid his due."
But El Shabazz, a defense attorney who said he's represented "some notorious defendants," cited Islamic teachings for the mosque's decision.
Prophet Muhammad, he added, would not perform funeral services of those who committed major sins, such as suicide, murder, but he urged the deceased's relatives and friends to do so. (ED NOTE: Is this really true ? )
At Friday services at the Germantown Masjid, Imam Talib Abdullah talked about "people with attitudes."
Abdullah chastised those who knew what Cain planned but didn't stop him. "That would have kept him alive," he said. Safety and security takes precedence over everything, including food and shelter.
"You can sit in peace in America, but you can't do that in Sudan, Somalia, or Palestine”, he added.
Imam Suetwedien Muhammad, of Masjid Muhammad, of the Wister section, said: "What [Cain] did was totally wrong. It shouldn't fall on a mosque or the whole Muslim community."
Last week, Mayor Nutter sent a letter to Muslim leaders, saying "I do not think that this crime was an act of violence directed from or against the Muslim community. "This city needs every one of all faiths, races, and ethnicities to come together in peace," the mayor added.
Nevertheless, Muhammad, like other Muslims, has felt the heat.
"Three police officers [killed] in two years? "That's a problem for us, whether Muslims did it or non-Muslims," Muhammad said "We have police officers who are Muslim . . . who probably feel the backlash."
Like other religious leaders, Muhammad talked about the need for a better re-entry program for Muslims returning from prison.
"We need to do a better job with the men and women coming out of prisons," said Nathari. "And we have to increase our civic engagement."
"We want to send a message to stop the violence, stop the drug dealing, stop all kinds of this stuff," Muhammad said. "Death and jail look good to our young people. They have given up all hope."
(www.philly.com May 12, 2008)
Haj Promotes Peace, Coexistence: Study
By Habib Shaikh (Our correspondent)
Khaleej Times Online
8 May 2008
JEDDAH — Haj promotes understanding and peaceful coexistence, according to a study on the long-term effects of performing the annual pilgrimage.
Haj is one of the five pillars of Islam that Muslims are expected to perform at least once in their lives if they have the means to do so, physically and financially.
The research findings were published last month. Titled ‘Estimating the Impact of the Haj: Religion and Tolerance in Islam’s Global Gathering’, the study was conducted by David Clingingsmith, Asim Ijaz Khwaja and Michael Kremer at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in the United States.
It was based on data from over 1,600 applicants to Pakistan’s Haj visa allocation lottery in 2006. The study said that Haj increases belief in equality and harmony among people and leads to more favourable attitudes towards women, including greater acceptance of female education and employment.
It stressed that increased unity within the Islamic world is not accompanied by antipathy towards non-Muslims, but develops a tolerant attitude among Hajjis towards other religions and cultures.
“Evidence suggests that Haj increases tolerance, which seems to apply not just within the Islamic world but also beyond it,” the researchers reported, and added that increased unity does not lead to antipathy towards non-Muslims.
They also found that Haj plays a significant role in the survival of Islam as a unified world religion. “Our analysis suggests that the Haj reduces dissent and splits in Islam by moving Hajjis towards a common set of practices, making them more tolerant of differences among Muslims,” they said.
Pilgrims selected for the survey were also more likely to state that various Pakistani ethnic and sectarian groups are equal and that it is possible for such groups to live in harmony.
Major findings include that Haj reduces superstitious beliefs and encourages Muslims to adopt a more favourable attitude towards women, including greater acceptance of women’s education and employment.
“For example, they (Hajis) are six percentage points more likely to think women are spiritually better than men, an increase of over 50 per cent. They also express greater concern about women’s quality of life in Pakistan related to other countries and about crimes against women in Pakistan,” the report said.
Every year, more than 2.5 million Muslims from nearly 150 countries gather in the holy city of Makkah to perform Haj. Although Haj takes place on five specified days, pilgrims often spend a month engaged in prayers in holy cities of Makkah, Madinah and other places.
“Pilgrims mix across the lines of ethnicity, nationality, sect and gender that divide them in everyday life, and affirm a common identity by performing the same rituals and dressing in similar garments that emphasise their equality,” the researchers said.
The report added that numerous pilgrim accounts, including that of Malcolm X, lend weight to its findings that Haj inspires feelings of unity with the worldwide Muslim community.
(Khaleej Times Online)
As usual, feel free to email your comments at mehrunyusuficds.com.
MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPER
May 10, 2008 ANKARA, Turkey
In a sterile, boxy stone building in the shadow of Ankara's central mosque, a group of Turkish scholars is spearheading a reinterpretation of the literary foundations of Islam that's been compared to Christianity's Protestant Reformation.
With the backing of Turkey's reform-minded government, the team of 80 Islamic academicians from around the world is preparing to release a revised collection of the Prophet Muhammad's words and deeds, which guide Muslims on everything from brushing their teeth to reaching heaven.
As with most religions, the accuracy of the words that have been handed down through centuries has long been in dispute.
Did Muhammad really say that women are bad luck? Did the Prophet tell his followers that the word of a woman is worth half that of a man? Did he call for adulterers to be stoned to death?
By year's end, the academics hope to answer those questions by preparing a new Intellectual road map for Islam.
"It's a state-sponsored project that is bringing together a large number of scholars
to undertake quite an extensive reinterpretation of the sources in a systematic way that has not been achieved before in modern times," said Fadi Hakura, an Associate Fellow in the European Program at Chatham House, an independent London-based policy institute. He calls the project "somewhat akin to the Christian Reformation."
The revised collection of Muhammad's guidance will be the latest initiative in a contentious debate about the role of Islam in an era when the most prominent Muslim figures, at least in the West, are extremists such as Osama bin Laden.
The rise of al-Qaida and prominence of hard-line Islamist groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Taliban, some Islamic reformers argue, has created a warped view of Islam in the West.
"This may help to take the words of the Prophet from the hands of people who are using them to legitimize their bad deeds," said Mehmet Gormez, the Vice President of Turkey's Religious Affairs Ministry, which is overseeing the project.
In the past, maverick Muslim scholars in the Middle East who've tried to propose modern reinterpretations of Islam have been ostracized and, in some cases, forced to seek sanctuary in Western countries.
Turkey is charting a new course by supporting the project, which is focused on the Hadith - a massive collection of Muhammad's words and deeds that, is the foundation of Islamic law.
The lessons were transmitted orally for hundreds of years, throwing their veracity into question, and when Muslim scholars first began to write them down, they sought to bolster their authenticity by explaining the words' lineage.
The Turkish researchers have meticulously collected more than 160,000 sayings from the Hadith and entered them in a specially designed computer program for analysis. They've grouped the sayings by subject and passed them out to scholars for reinterpretation.
The new analysis of these Islamic pillars is something akin to the debate in Christian circles between those who believe that the Bible is the literal word of God and those who see it as a holy moral guide.
The Turkish scholars could have a similar impact on conservative Islamic views of women, adultery, honor killings and more.
Some of the revisions will focus on simple issues such as hygiene. Just because Muhammad urged Muslims to brush their teeth with a certain kind of twig, for example, doesn't mean that a modern Muslim must use a twig instead of a toothbrush; it simply means that the prophet wanted his followers to take care of their teeth.
One of the places the project is expected to have the biggest impact is on the Islamic view of women.
Ismail Hakki Unal, a professor at Ankara University's Divinity School who's leading the project, said the final product is unlikely to include sayings attributed to Muhammad that suggest that women are bad luck, that they're stupid or that their word is worth half that of a man. "Those definitely cannot be the words of the Prophet," Unal said.
(May 10, 2008 www.theledger.com)
ON HUMANITY AND INTERFAITH ISSUES.....
Imam stresses commonalities of religions
By Susan Whitney
“Deseret News”
Saturday, May 10, 2008
California:
When he speaks at Westminster College next Saturday, Imam Sayed Moustafa al-Qazwini will say the things he always says at an interfaith gathering.” I’m going to stress the commonalities of the Abrahamic traditions — Judaism, Christianity and Islam," he said. "I strongly believe that we emerge from one source, which is God. And all those messengers — Moses, Jesus and Mohammed — aim for the same goal of uniting people with God's wisdom and knowledge."
Imam al-Qazwini spoke with the Deseret News from his office in the Islamic Educational Center of Orange County, Calif. As the host of a nationally broadcast program on Salaam TV and one of the more well-known Imams in the United States, he often gets a chance to speak to interfaith groups.
Sometimes, he admits, he gets a bit discouraged. When he speaks to university groups or religious groups, he is speaking to people who accept and welcome his message. He is speaking to people who understand that all faiths seek the same sort of spiritual transformation.
In everyday life, however, Imam al-Qazwini sees little implementation of the religious unity he talks about.
"Modern politics should not divide people of faith," he says. But it does. "Some political leaders, and also some religious leaders, strive to put a wedge between people."
(Deseret News)
WOMEN
(GO SISTERS, GO, YOU HAVE OUR SUPPORT: CONTINUE TO WORK ON REMOVING THE NEGATIVE HISTORICAL CULTURAL BAGGAGE THAT HAS GLUED WITH ISLAM AND MASQUERADES AS “ISLAMIC”. THE MORE SUCH CULTURAL BAGGAGE IS REMOVED, THE PURER ISLAM BECOMES.)
India: Islamic seminary rejects Mosques for Women
Deoband, May 8, 2008An Indian seminary in the northern city of Deoband has rejected a proposal for the establishment of separate Mosques for Muslim women.
The Darul Uloom Deoband Islamic seminary reacted strongly to a proposal by the All-India Muslim Women’s Personal Law Board to set up separate mosques.
According to the daily, The Asian Age, the deputy in-charge of the edict department of the seminary, Mufti Ehsan Qasmi, told reporters in Deoband that Islam did not permit Muslim women to act as Imams in mosques.
Maulana Naim-ur-Rahman Siddiqui, a scholar at the Nadwa Islamic seminary in the northern Indian city of Lucknow, has said that issues such as woman-led prayers and new women-only mosques were being borrowed from western countries.
Siddiqui argues that attempts were being made to distract attention from more pressing issues.
"Our Muslim sisters should rather be preoccupied with educating the young generation about their religion and protecting them from moral aberration," he said.
Earlier this week the All-India Muslim Women’s Personal Law Board President, Shaista Amber had said: "The time has come for Ulemas and Muslim leaders to set up separate mosques for women in every city so that women in the community can also offer namaz and attend religious congregations."
Amber said the Koran was not against women offering namaz (obligatory prayers) in Mosques and that Hazrat Bibi Hafsa, one of the wives of the prophet Mohammed, used to act as an imam and had led women in offering namaz.
Responding to the reaction of Muslim clergy and particularly from the group of Islamic seminarians, she told The Asian Age on Wednesday that opposition to her proposal was "baseless."
"A Mosque for women has also been opened in Tamil Nadu recently. Besides, in a Mosque in the Rail Bazar area of Kanpur, men and women offer namaz together, five times a day, though the enclosures are demarcated," she said.
"We are not saying that women will lead the men in namaz — we are simply saying that a woman will lead only women in namaz and the Muslim clergy should not have any opposition to this."
Amber denied that there was a dearth of women Maulvis (religious cleric or teachers).
"More than a dozen girls in Meerut have acquired the degree needed to become a Maulvi (IMAM). Once mosques for women become functional, girls will automatically take to religious education," she said.
Amber, to underline her point, said that she herself had been offering namaz at a mosque in Rae Bareli Road since 1999.
(AKI/ Asian Age)
Women offer prayers at Mosque, defy seminary's edict
Friday 9th May, 2008
A group of Muslim women offered prayers at a Mosque here Friday, defying an edict issued by Islamic seminary Darul-uloom. Led by the All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board Chairperson Shaista Amber, around 20 women offered prayers at the Mosque. 'According to the Holy Quran and Islam, women and men have equal rights to offer namaaz in mosques,' Amber said. Asked about the Deoband-based Darul-uloom's edict restraining Muslim women from offering prayers in the mosque, she said: 'In foreign countries and even in other states of India, women and men offer prayers jointly in mosques.'
(Calcutta News.Net)
“This is my Hijab; this is my choice”
Sahar Babak
5/9/08 Opinion
About two months ago I made one of the biggest decisions of my life when I chose to start wearing the hijab (head scarf). I wear it as a symbol of who I am and what I believe, even if it means standing out from the crowd.
I made this decision knowing fully that I live in a society that largely fails to understand the concept of hijab and its meaning to the millions of Muslim women who observe it.
For too long, people have been told that Islam encourages and oppresses upon women and hijab is portrayed as a form of this oppression. I would like this chance to explain what the hijab means to me and those who choose to wear it. While it is true that the action of force, which is not in line with Islamic teachings, is used in particular communities regarding hijab, it is becoming more common for Muslim women in the West to make this decision. There are many purposes to the hijab - the main one being modesty. The Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, is always depicted in Christianity with a scarf over her head; portraying her as a modest, honorable, humble and pious woman. So then, why is a Muslim woman, who so closely resembles the Virgin Mary, perceived to be oppressed? Mary, also a strong female figure in Islam, was merely upholding her obligations to her religion put forth by God. It is the strong-willed Muslim woman who follows in Mary's footsteps centuries later.
The hijab is invaluable to the Muslim woman. A Muslim woman once said, "What do we do with the things that we value most? We protect them." The hijab is what protects the things most valuable to me. With this protection comes freedom. Free to be oneself, free of any societal pressure to be accepted and noticed physically. I cannot stress enough the precious feeling of this freedom, for it can only be experienced in the shoes of the Muslim woman. It is this great country (USA) that encourages and fosters the idea of freedom of religion and expression. The cars we drive, the books we read, the friends we hang out with and the clothes we wear are all expressions of who we are.
For me, it is my hijab that expresses who I am. I am a Muslim-American, a woman who will not settle to be judged solely on her skin exposure, and a woman who deserves respect nonetheless.
Sahar Babak is a senior business administration major. In the interest of full disclosure, readers should be made aware that Sarah is listed as an executive member of the Muslim Student Association (MSA) at Colorado State University.
(Above from Rocky Mountain Collegian Online).
Mosque's burial refusal stirs global controversy
(Disclaimer: Below article primarily involves African-American Muslims but this in no way should be negatively stereotyped to a particular group. There are thousands of excellent God-fearing African-American Muslims including some of the best Muslim leaders and scholars in the United States).
By KITTY CAPARELLA
Philadelphia Daily News
caparek@phillynews.com 215-854-5880
May 12, 2008:
Turning down a request last week to bury alleged cop-killer Howard Cain at the Germantown Masjid has sparked an international controversy about the burial of Muslims.
And locally, during Jumah, or Friday prayer services, several imams denounced the May 4 killing of Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski and the bank robbery by a trio, two of whom wore Muslim women's garments.
During these sermons, called kutbah, the religious clerics preached about the need for safety and security in the city, and issued an apology to the Liczbinski family.
And perhaps most importantly, Islamic leaders have begun to discuss the criminal behavior of some Muslims who pray at their mosques - much to the chagrin of ex-jailhouse Muslims, who are used to silence on such topics.
These events represent a major turning point in the once-insular Muslim community here where leaders want it to be known that their Allah-fearing believers do not condone such violence.
"This was a wake-up call, not just for us to say Islam calls people to good behavior,
but when we see [criminal behavior] in the Mosque, we have to speak about that," said Amin Nathari, a visiting Imam who preached last Friday at Masjidullah in West Oak Lane.
"We have been afraid to confront it headlong," he added. "The days of isolation and extremism are over. We have to apply Islam in situations we find ourselves in in our broader society."
"We cannot allow our religion to be hijacked by anyone in the name of Islam," Nathari said.
Religious leaders here expressed condolences to both the families of Liczbinski and Cain.
"We ain't no criminals," said a tearful relative of Cain's last week after the Germantown Masjid turned the family down to pray Janaza, or funeral prayers. "We're trying to bury him with a little bit of dignity. I swear I'm sorry about the cop, but we are the ones who have to bury him."
Cain's wife is pregnant, and has three children, she said.
On Friday, friends and family washed Cain's bullet-riddled body and said the prayers before they buried him themselves.
"We never said he should not have a Muslim burial. We just didn't want it at our Mosque," said Tariq El Shabazz, Managing director of the Germantown Masjid, on Germantown Avenue near Logan Street.
Reaction to the Mosque's decision was overwhelming, said El Shabazz, who heard from Imams from all over the world, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It was the hot topic of Islamic blogs and Web sites, and even the national media weighed in.
"For nine out of 10 people, the reaction was positive," said El Shabazz. "People are used to the Masjid being silent, so when you take a position and condemn certain behavior; it's a shock to the people."
"They are trying to hide under a banner of Islam," he added.
Cain's relative called the Germantown Masjid "a bunch of hypocrites," while others claimed the decision was "political." Others pointed out that the Catholic Church buries notorious mobsters.
Cain "is being judged by how he went out," she said. "Cain prayed five times a day, gave to charity leaving $5 in his pocket. It's a horrible tragedy what happened. Whatever he did, he paid his due."
But El Shabazz, a defense attorney who said he's represented "some notorious defendants," cited Islamic teachings for the mosque's decision.
Prophet Muhammad, he added, would not perform funeral services of those who committed major sins, such as suicide, murder, but he urged the deceased's relatives and friends to do so. (ED NOTE: Is this really true ? )
At Friday services at the Germantown Masjid, Imam Talib Abdullah talked about "people with attitudes."
Abdullah chastised those who knew what Cain planned but didn't stop him. "That would have kept him alive," he said. Safety and security takes precedence over everything, including food and shelter.
"You can sit in peace in America, but you can't do that in Sudan, Somalia, or Palestine”, he added.
Imam Suetwedien Muhammad, of Masjid Muhammad, of the Wister section, said: "What [Cain] did was totally wrong. It shouldn't fall on a mosque or the whole Muslim community."
Last week, Mayor Nutter sent a letter to Muslim leaders, saying "I do not think that this crime was an act of violence directed from or against the Muslim community. "This city needs every one of all faiths, races, and ethnicities to come together in peace," the mayor added.
Nevertheless, Muhammad, like other Muslims, has felt the heat.
"Three police officers [killed] in two years? "That's a problem for us, whether Muslims did it or non-Muslims," Muhammad said "We have police officers who are Muslim . . . who probably feel the backlash."
Like other religious leaders, Muhammad talked about the need for a better re-entry program for Muslims returning from prison.
"We need to do a better job with the men and women coming out of prisons," said Nathari. "And we have to increase our civic engagement."
"We want to send a message to stop the violence, stop the drug dealing, stop all kinds of this stuff," Muhammad said. "Death and jail look good to our young people. They have given up all hope."
(www.philly.com May 12, 2008)
Haj Promotes Peace, Coexistence: Study
By Habib Shaikh (Our correspondent)
Khaleej Times Online
8 May 2008
JEDDAH — Haj promotes understanding and peaceful coexistence, according to a study on the long-term effects of performing the annual pilgrimage.
Haj is one of the five pillars of Islam that Muslims are expected to perform at least once in their lives if they have the means to do so, physically and financially.
The research findings were published last month. Titled ‘Estimating the Impact of the Haj: Religion and Tolerance in Islam’s Global Gathering’, the study was conducted by David Clingingsmith, Asim Ijaz Khwaja and Michael Kremer at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in the United States.
It was based on data from over 1,600 applicants to Pakistan’s Haj visa allocation lottery in 2006. The study said that Haj increases belief in equality and harmony among people and leads to more favourable attitudes towards women, including greater acceptance of female education and employment.
It stressed that increased unity within the Islamic world is not accompanied by antipathy towards non-Muslims, but develops a tolerant attitude among Hajjis towards other religions and cultures.
“Evidence suggests that Haj increases tolerance, which seems to apply not just within the Islamic world but also beyond it,” the researchers reported, and added that increased unity does not lead to antipathy towards non-Muslims.
They also found that Haj plays a significant role in the survival of Islam as a unified world religion. “Our analysis suggests that the Haj reduces dissent and splits in Islam by moving Hajjis towards a common set of practices, making them more tolerant of differences among Muslims,” they said.
Pilgrims selected for the survey were also more likely to state that various Pakistani ethnic and sectarian groups are equal and that it is possible for such groups to live in harmony.
Major findings include that Haj reduces superstitious beliefs and encourages Muslims to adopt a more favourable attitude towards women, including greater acceptance of women’s education and employment.
“For example, they (Hajis) are six percentage points more likely to think women are spiritually better than men, an increase of over 50 per cent. They also express greater concern about women’s quality of life in Pakistan related to other countries and about crimes against women in Pakistan,” the report said.
Every year, more than 2.5 million Muslims from nearly 150 countries gather in the holy city of Makkah to perform Haj. Although Haj takes place on five specified days, pilgrims often spend a month engaged in prayers in holy cities of Makkah, Madinah and other places.
“Pilgrims mix across the lines of ethnicity, nationality, sect and gender that divide them in everyday life, and affirm a common identity by performing the same rituals and dressing in similar garments that emphasise their equality,” the researchers said.
The report added that numerous pilgrim accounts, including that of Malcolm X, lend weight to its findings that Haj inspires feelings of unity with the worldwide Muslim community.
(Khaleej Times Online)
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