VOICE OF GLOBAL UMMAH

VOICE OF GLOBAL UMMAH

Volume 29, May 25, 2008
St. Louis, Missouri

Editors: Mohamed and Rashida Ziauddin


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

EDITORIAL:

Too often, many of us are caught up with one one specific aspect of Islam at the expense of many other important aspects and in the process we inadvertently freeze ourselves within the confines of the specific aspect that we are caught up with. The world is increasingly becoming complex in terms of living. Allah has gifted us the tools through the gems of Holy Quran and Hadith to facilitate us to utilize it in various facets of our life and had repeatedly emphasized the importance of KNOWLEDGE, still there is tremendous room for improvement for our GLOBAL UMMAH in terms of appropriately utilizing such tools to help with our day to day living.

Our heart goes out to all human beings (descendents of Adam and Eve) who are currently suffering injustice and pain and we pray that Allah gives relief from such pain and showers his Mercy and Blessings to all of Mankind. All terrorists (whether private or State sponsored) who harm the innocents should be condemned by the international community. An innocent is an innocent, be it a woman or child and the innocent's pain and suffering in the face of TERROR remains the same regardless of the source of terror. We believe that there is a direct link between terrorism and violation of human rights. Our prayers for an end to conflicts in Iraq, Somalia, Chechyna, Kashmir, Darfur and many other conflict hot zones of the world.

Islam champions the cause of human rights including the rights of women and children, unfortunately this again is an area that we could further improve upon.

If you carefully analyze the content of most Islamic speeches they tend to focus on the religious aspects of Islam, which is great. However we believe that they need to go way beyond it and address other important aspects too that pertain to Islam including human rights, injustice et.c and CONNECT IT WITH THE PRESENT WORLD, CURRENT EVENTS AND PASSIVE CONTEMPORARY RESPONSE FROM THE UMMAH. There are lot of opportunities for interfaith co-operation in this area to work towards WORLD PEACE. It is high time, we come out of our insulated boxes of our respective faiths and work together for all mankind. "Mankind is but ONE community" - Holy Quran.

As a first example, what is the global Ummah doing to prevent the gross injustice against infanticide ? As a second example, what are we doing to prevent the injustice committed on our brothers and sisters in Darfur, Sudan which is perpetrated by our own Muslims.

PART I:

DARFUR - A TRAGEDY THAT VIVIDLY DEMONSTRATES THE POWERLESSNESS OF THE GLOBAL UMMAH

(PLIGHT OF OUR MUSLIM SISTERS IN DARFUR)

Brilliant design, shocking message from Amnesty International Hungary.

“My camp is my home, and the men here are part of my family. I don’t want to let them die by the hands of the militiamen. So I made a decision in order to keep the men out of danger, I get the firewood myself. That is my gift for them; to face rape every day.”

STOP THE DAILY RAPES IN DARFUR.

Advertiser: Amnesty International Hungary Agency: DDB Budapest, Hungary Source: Ads of the World

Part II:
DENMARK:

Above dramatic image has sparked debate in Denmark

"Row over Denmark Court Veil Ban"

By Thomas Buch-Andersen BBC News, Copenhagen.

Danish diplomats to Muslim countries are preparing themselves for another wave of anti-Danish protests after the government announced it would bar judges from wearing headscarves and similar religious or political symbols in courtrooms.

Although the ban will include crucifixes, Jewish skull caps and turbans as well as headscarves, the move is seen as being largely aimed at Muslim judges. Earlier the party produced a widely published poster showing a female judge wearing an all-encompassing burka. Danish Justice Minister Lene Espersen says the ban on religious symbols is needed because judges "must appear neutral and impartial".

But Court President Torben Goldin says the ban is absurd. "Danish judges go through 15 years of training to ensure that they are only acting according to Danish law and not influenced by their religious or political beliefs," he said. Muslim groups have criticised the ban. "What's next? The length of my beard?" said Zubair Hussain, a spokesman for the Danish Muslim Council. He is backed by Fahmy Almajid, an integration official, who called the ban "unbelievably stupid". " It is counter-productive to what we have been working towards for so many years - to get Muslim women to work and to show young Muslims that they are a part of Danish society," Mr Almajid said.

Sabba Mirza, a 25-year-old female Muslim and law student, told a Danish newspaper that wearing her scarf was a personal choice. "My headscarf is part of the lifestyle I have chosen," she said. "If that prevents me from getting a job in Denmark, I'll have to move to a country where people are more enlightened and can see past the scarf."

He told Danish television that the ban merely had good "entertainment value". But, so far, the presidency of the Danish parliament, the Folketinget, has said that it will not bar parliamentarians from wearing headscarves when speaking in parliament.

Part III:

(A "Woman's Place" is IN THE WORLD and ITS VARIOUS ACTIVITIES including sports)

(www.ftlouie.typepad.com)

Winning the 200 meters at the Asian games, with clothing specially designed by Nike.

Women's boxing is not, as you might expect, a mainstream sport in the deeply conservative and paternalist Middle East but it still exists in Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco.


RAZIA SHABNAM: TRAILBLAZER FOR CALCUTTA'S YOUNG WOMEN:

(news.bbc.co.uk)

Prayers: "I pray to Allah that I get a job soon. A job that allows me to coach and be a referee. "Maybe a job in the police," says Shabnam, who travelled to Turkey earlier as a referee in an international boxing competition.

Backing from dad

"My father has been my biggest support. Without him, I would never have dared to box," says Shabnam of her father, Rahat Hussain, a wrestler-turned-Social Worker. "You need strength to survive. That's all I tell my children," says Mr Hussain. "But the way these girls survive and manage to box, it is like trying to scale the Himalayas without any warm clothes!"

FIRST FEMALE MUSLIM ARAB SOLDIER JOINS ELITE ISRAEL AIR FORCE UNIT:

(blog.foreignpolicy.com)

For the first time ever, a female Muslim Arab soldier has joined an elite Israeli Air Force unit. Upon completing a medic training course with top honors, she became part of the Airborne Combat Search and Rescue Unit 669, a premier unit that extricates wounded soldiers from combat zones in sensitive and highly classified operations. Unlike Jewish young adults, most Arab Israelis are not required to serve in the military, but this soldier, from an Arab village in northern Israel, volunteered to serve.

PART IV:
RETHINK BIAS:

Posted by Marc

Over 170 buses in Richmond, Virginia USA have one of three signs with Arabic writing promoting silly sayings like, “Paper, Scissors, Rock” and “Paper or Plastic.” The bus company has been getting calls from riders wanting to know what the signs mean. Sometimes when people see or hear a language they do not understand it scares them. Muslims stare fear and mistrust in the face almost daily. With these bus signs Rethink Bias is saying that even though we fear what we don’t understand we are able to overcome that fear by learning about others. We can rethink bias, but it starts with learning about our neighbours.

(Ed NOTE: So dear Brothers and Sisters, once you feel secure and confident, please open your doors to NON-MUSLIM NEIGHBORS as a first step. Allow them to learn about Islam and Muslims from good role models like you and not from the Media. Many practicing Muslims in western countries are very insulated and by us closing the door to our non-Muslim neighbors and friends, we are in a way forcing them to depend more on the media or from other unreliable and inaccurate sources to learn about Islam).

PART V:

IRAQ - RATED THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACE ON EARTH

FOR THOSE WHO LEAD COMFORTABLE LIVES, PLEASE DON'T TAKE IT FOR GRANTED:

A family makes do with light from battery-powered lamps during a recent power outage in Baghdad. Credit: Saad Khalaf / Los Angeles Times (latimesblogs.latimes.com)

With no reliable electricity supply, Baghdad residents go to elaborate lengths to get enough power to light their homes and stay cool through the looming summer.

(latimesblog.latimes.com) Iraqi women line up to buy rationed cooking oil on Feb. 9 in the Dora neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq. Credit: AP Photo/Loay Hameed

(latimesblogs.latimes.com)

The Iraqi toddler brought to the United States for lifesaving heart surgery through the efforts of Marines has been reunited with her family in Haditha.

The girl’s father and several other relatives were at Baghdad International Airport on March 7 to welcome 2-year-old Amenah and her mother back home, according to a military statement. The family then flew to Al Asad Airbase in Anbar province, where they boarded an MV-22 Osprey to Haditha. Later that day, Marines attended a celebratory dinner at the girl’s house. "I am very happy. I was very worried that my daughter would not come home alive," Amenah’s father, Ala Thabit Fattah, was quoted as saying. "I am very grateful for the great treatment the American people gave to my family.".

IRAQ: Celebrating Nowruz, the Persian New Year, in the Kurdish hills

(latimesblog.latimes.com)

PART VI:
INFANTICIDE:

One of the greatest injustices against females. Muslims should champion the rights of every single female - both born and unborn. Both Holy Quran and our Prophet condemned INFANTICIDE.

EVEN TODAY, THE EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM IS MEASURED IN FRIGHTENING PROPORTIONS: "AT LEAST SIXTY MILLION FEMALES IN ASIA ARE MISSING AND FEARED DEAD, VICTIMS OF NOTHING MORE THAN THEIR "SEX". WORLD WIDE RESEARCH SUGGESTS, THE NUMBER OF MISSING FEMALES MAY TOP ONE HUNDRED MILLION".

When was the last time you heard about the above stats from your TV channels, radio programs or newspapers ? When was the last time, the local Imam, Rabbi or Priest addressed the above serious injustice to their congregations and suggested both grass roots and global strategies to fight against it? Is it because the huge numbers (above) numb our sensitivity or is it that the victims are undervalued because they were females or for various other reasons ?

This is the loss and tragic consequence that our humanity is experiencing today due to neglecting the gems of ISLAM. In Islam females are a gift from Allah to the parents.

The weapons being used to annihilate the females are prenatal sex selection, abortion and female infanticide - the systematic killing of girls soon after they are born. We urge all "Muslims of Conscience" to champion the cause to work on eliminating such horrible practice and injustice. Holy Quran advises us to fight against injustice and if this is not injustice, what else is?

(osocio.org)

Experts who have analyzed the National Family Health Survey 2 (NFHS2) estimate that about 300,000 girls go "missing" in India each year. Other studies have put the number between 150,000 and 500,000.

(osocio.org)

Stop Female Infanticide

Posted by Marc

"Female infanticide is the intentional killing of baby girls due to the preference for male babies and from the low value associated with the birth of females."

The phenomenon of female infanticide is as old as many cultures, and has likely accounted for millions of gender-selective deaths throughout history. It remains a critical concern specially in China and India. In all cases, specifically female infanticide reflects the low status accorded to women in most parts of the world; it is arguably the most brutal and destructive manifestation of the anti-female bias. It is closely linked to the phenomena of sex-selective abortion, which targets female fetuses almost exclusively, and neglect of girl children.

Evidence in Pre-Islamic Arabia

Sexism was particularly prominent in Arabia before the time of Prophet Mohammed (570 AD to632 AD). The Persian world was a very paternalistic society, and females were generally seen as an undesirable burden to a family struggling to survive. A common proverb held that it was "A GENEROUS DEED TO BURY (ALIVE) A FEMALE CHILD" Nevertheless, the Holy Quran introduced reforms that included the PROHIBITION OF FEMALE INFANTICIDE. Prophet Mohammed outlined the wrongfulness of infanticide.


The data is truly astounding, Estimates indicate that 30.5 million females are "missing" from China, 22.8 million in India, 3.1 million in Pakistan, 1.6 million in Bangladesh, 1.7 million in West Asia, 600,000 in Egypt, and 200,000 in Nepal.

It is clear that the onerous costs involved with the raising of a girl, and eventually providing her an appropriate marriage dowry, was the single most important factor in allowing social acceptance of the murder at birth in India. In China, economics also played a significant role since it was a poor country with one of the lowest rates of agricultural output per acre of arable land in the world. With an extremely high infant and child mortality rate, because of sparse food supply and medical care, a married couple needed to raise three sons in order to ensure the survival of one into adulthood. Females were only consumers and a serious financial burden to a poor family. They were therefore often killed at birth.


The imbalances are also giving rise to a commercial sex trade; the 2005 report states that up to 800,000 people being trafficked across borders each year, and as many as 80 percent are women and girls, most of whom are exploited.

"Historically infanticide was something that was practiced in poor places in China," Mosher said. "But when the one-child policy in China came into effect we began to see in the wealthy areas of China, what had never been done before in history — the killing of little girls."

In recent years, female infanticide has taken a back seat to sex-selective abortion or female feticide, due to the advent of amniocentesis and ultrasound technology as well as other prenatal sex selection techniques, many of which are now readily available in clinics and doctors’ offices.

"We feel it's a serious problem that everybody should be concerned about and aware of," said Wanda Franz, President of the National Right to Life Committee. "This is a form of abortion that, from our point of view is especially egregious. Abortion is claimed to help women; obviously in these cases, females are the direct victims, because women in these cultures are not valued".

In his presentation before the World Youth Alliance in New York City last April, Eberstadt warned that "The Global War Against Baby Girls" is expanding.

"There are gender imbalances in almost every East Asian country, but Japan," said Eberstadt, who has also noted alarming irregularities in Western Asia in places like Cyprus, Qatar and Pakistan, as well as in some countries on the African continent, including Egypt, Libya and Tunisia.

Indian Girls Bear Dowry Burden:

Like China, there is a strong son preference for various socio-economic reasons, such as the son being responsible for carrying on the family name and support in old age. Furthermore, in some sections of India it is believed that only sons can perform the last rites for parents.

In addition to sharing a strong son preference, both India and China lack a national social-security system. As it is assumed that a daughter will become a part of her husband’s family, parents must rely on their sons to take care of them.

Since the 1970s, Indian government has promoted a two-child family as "ideal." While no formal laws exist, the general fertility decline in the country has led to smaller families, with couples still preferring to have at least one son. But the government has done more than just suggest this number.

"In India it has been done state by state, village by village," Mosher said. "They have sterilization campaigns and there is enormous pressure. Villages that won’t comply have been denied fertilizer, access to irrigation water, etc."

Complicating matters even further in India is the dowry system, where families pay large sums in order to marry off their daughters. Although prohibited in 1961, newspaper reports illustrate the continuing phenomenon. This can be very expensive for families, adding to the perception that girls can be a financial burden.

While many people see this as a problem of the poor, analysts say it is more prevalent among those in the wealthier and educated segments of society.

"Hindu girls are being smuggled and purchased from poor countries like Nepal and Bhutan to be brides for Indian men," said Bernard Dickens, professor emeritus of health law and policy at the University of Toronto Law School.

The United States sponsored a resolution at the U.N.’s Commission on the Status of Women that called for eliminating infanticide and gender selection. The resolution was withdrawn due to opposition from several countries, including China and India; however, the issue of prenatal sex selection was included in the final conference document. If the imbalances continue, Adam Jones, executive director of Gendercide Watch, sees another possible outcome.

"Because of the disparity, surviving women have greater market value," he said. "As a result, it may become more economically viable for families to have girl children, thus reducing rates of female infanticide and sex selection."

"Greece, Macedonia and Yugoslavia betray some hints of prejudicial death rates for little girls in the post-war period," he said. While the numbers are very small, he notes they are "nonetheless curious and unusual.

"In the western hemisphere, Venezuela and El Salvador both have unnatural death rates for little girls and now also display unnatural sex ratios at birth," he continued.

Published reports point to problems among some immigrant groups in Canada as well. And even in the United States, Eberstadt said, some Asian-American populations have begun to "exhibit sex ratios at birth that could be considered biologically impossible."

"Since the mid-1990s, the issue of female infanticide and sex selection has been highlighted in several conferences and in several U.N. documents," said Samantha Singson, chief U.N. liaison for the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute. "Unfortunately the issue isn’t getting as much attention as we feel it deserves."

(Above condensed from www.infanticide.org and foxnews.com - Sherry Karabin)

PART VII:

India's pink posse hunts down bad guys (bbc.co.uk)

They wear pink saris and go after corrupt officials and boorish men with sticks and axes.The several hundred vigilante women of India's northern Uttar Pradesh State's Banda area proudly call themselves the "gulabi gang (pink gang), striking fear in the hearts of wrongdoers and earning the grudging respect of officials.Two years after they gave themselves a name and an attire, the women in pink have thrashed men who have abandoned or beaten their wives and unearthed corruption in the distribution of grain to the poor.They have also stormed a police station and attacked a policeman after they took in an untouchable man and refused to register a case.

The women thrashed a policeman in protest against the arrest of a poor man

PART VIII:
BABIES HELP PREVENT CANCERS:

Janelle Miles in The Weekend Australian:

The more babies a woman has, the less likely it is that she will get breast, colorectal, ovarian and uterine cancers, Australian research suggests. Scientists at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) found increasing numbers of pregnancies were associated with a significantly reduced risk of certain cancers. "The more children you have, the more protective it gets," said medical health statistician Steven Darlington. "It seems that an increase in the hormones produced during pregnancy are protecting against cancer, but we're not quite sure exactly how or why that happens." He studied more than 1.2 million Swedish women, including about 25,000 who had delivered twins, to determine the effect of reproductive history on a number of different cancers.

(Note: Needless to say, there are several other important factors that need to be seriously considered before having babies)

As usual feel free to e-mail your valuable comments at info@mehrunyusuficds.com.