VOICE OF GLOBAL UMMAH
Vol 35, July 6, 2008
St. Louis, Missouri
Vol 35, July 6, 2008
St. Louis, Missouri
Editors: Mohamed and Rashida Ziauddin
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful
(emmysommy.spaces.live.com)
FOURTH OF JULY
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA
POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS FOR THE GLOBAL UMMAH:
ONE MORE STEP TO CURB EXTREMISM:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful
(emmysommy.spaces.live.com)FOURTH OF JULY
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA
POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS FOR THE GLOBAL UMMAH:
SAUDI ARABIA TO RE-TRAIN 40,000 IMAMS:
(BBC News, March 20, 2008)
By Magdi Abdlehadi
BBC Arab Affairs analyst
(BBC News, March 20, 2008)
By Magdi Abdlehadi
BBC Arab Affairs analyst
Saudi Arabia is to retrain its 40,000 prayer leaders - also known as imams in an effort to counter militant Islam. Details of the plan were revealed in the influential Saudi newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat. The plan is part of a wider programme launched by the Saudi monarch a few years ago to encourage moderation and tolerance in Saudi society. The ministry of religious affairs and new centre for national dialogue will carry out the training, the paper said.
The centre was created five years ago to disseminate a moderate interpretation of Islamic tradition. Saudi clerics have long been accused of encouraging Saudi youth to join global jihad and of inciting hatred of non-Muslims. Nearly 1,000 imams have already been sacked over the past few years.
The centre was created five years ago to disseminate a moderate interpretation of Islamic tradition. Saudi clerics have long been accused of encouraging Saudi youth to join global jihad and of inciting hatred of non-Muslims. Nearly 1,000 imams have already been sacked over the past few years.
ONE MORE STEP TO CURB EXTREMISM:
www.new.yahoo.com
Rabat, Morocco
Rabat, Morocco
Morocco plans to send scores of moderate Muslim preachers to Europe during the holy month of Ramadan to help fight extremism in the Moroccan community abroad, the ministry for religious affairs said Thursday. The government will send 167 men and nine women preachers to address Moroccan immigrants during Ramadan, which runs during September this year. Muslims traditionally fast and attend sermons at mosques during the holy month.
The preachers are instructed to "answer the religious needs of the Moroccan community abroad, to protect it from any speeches of extremism or irregular nature, and to shelter it from extremism and fanaticism," said a statement from the religious affairs ministry in Rabat, the Moroccan capital. Abdellatif Begdouri Achkari, the religious affairs minister's chief of staff, said Morocco has been sending preachers to minister to expatriates for many years but hand-picked the latest batch to make sure they specifically address extremism.
"The needs of the Moroccan community abroad may vary from one community to another, and these needs evolve with time," Achkari told The Associated Press.
Islam is Morocco's state religion and King Mohammed VI is officially "the commander of the believers." But the country's official, moderate practice has faced a growing wave of extremism in recent years. Security officials have voiced concerns about terrorist links among Moroccans and dual Moroccan-European citizens. Suicide bombers killed dozens of people in attacks in Casablanca in May 2003.
The religious affairs ministry said 100 preachers would go to France and Belgium, while Italy and Germany would get 10 each, and Spain and the Netherlands seven. The rest will head to Scandinavia and Britain, while one preacher will go to Canada.
Strict criteria were applied in choosing the candidates. Besides being well-versed in the Quran and knowledgeable about theology, they must be "known for their good reputation, devout beliefs and high moral standards," the ministry said.
There are an estimated 3.3 million Moroccans living abroad, 10 percent of the total Moroccan population. Most live in Spain, France and Belgium or the Netherlands.
On Friday, representatives of OIC youth organizations came together at Istanbul's Grand Cevahir Hotel for a meeting organized by the Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation (ICYF-DC) to discuss programs to create awareness of Muslim grievances over the past within the younger generation and foster solidarity among OIC members.
"OIC countries are being confronted by different Islamophobic groups that have developed a plethora of myths of so-called historic violence Muslim countries [perpetrated] against others. That is a conscious strategy to create an image of Muslim peoples as ruthless and Islam as a culture of violence. On the other hand, the world community -- even its most educated strata -- doesn't have any idea about the genocidal campaigns Muslim peoples have been subjected to throughout the 20th century," ICYF-DC Secretary-General Elshad Iskandarov said at the conference.
April 9 was among the proposals for the observance, a date that marks the anniversary of the massacre of Palestinian villagers in Deir Yassin near Jerusalem by Israeli forces in 1948. If chosen as the memorial day for 20th century killings of Muslims, April 9 will also mark other tragedies, such as the Van massacre of Turks by Armenians on May 22, 1916; the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia and Herzegovina perpetrated by Serbs on July 8, 1995; the Sétif and Guelma massacre of May 8, 1945 of Algerians by French forces; and the Khojaly massacre of Azerbaijanis by Armenians on Feb. 26, 1993.
Tamer Gazioglu, the representative of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC), proposed adding the Murataga-Sandallar killings of Turkish Cypriots at the hands of Greeks in 1974 to the provisional list.
Azerbaijani delegate Yasar Hüseynli proposed adding the March 31, 1918 killings that occurred when Armenians took advantage of the chaotic situation in Russia and killed 50,000 Azerbaijanis as "Azerbaijani Genocide Day."
Palestinian Ambassador Nabil Marouf, who took the floor at yesterday's meeting, asserted that the heart of all massacres against his people lay in Israeli aggression against Palestinians. "Yesterday Israel celebrated its 60th year. Every year, they will remind us of how they have violated our rights," Marouf said and expressed that May 15 should be chosen as the date for commemorating Muslim martyrs.
GENEVA, Switzerland:
Muslim countries have won a battle to prevent Islam from being criticised during debates by the UN Human Rights Council. Religions deserve special protection because any debate about faith is bound to be “very complex, very sensitive and very intense”, council President Doru-Romulus Costea said Wednesday.
Scholars: Only religious scholars should be allowed to discuss matters of faith, he told journalists in Geneva.
While Costea’s ban applies to all religions, it was prompted by Muslim countries complaining about references to Islam.
Costea issued his “presidential ruling” on Monday during the eighth meeting of the council’s 47 members, which do not include the United States. The ruling will not affect findings by the council’s experts, just its chamber debates.
The preachers are instructed to "answer the religious needs of the Moroccan community abroad, to protect it from any speeches of extremism or irregular nature, and to shelter it from extremism and fanaticism," said a statement from the religious affairs ministry in Rabat, the Moroccan capital. Abdellatif Begdouri Achkari, the religious affairs minister's chief of staff, said Morocco has been sending preachers to minister to expatriates for many years but hand-picked the latest batch to make sure they specifically address extremism.
"The needs of the Moroccan community abroad may vary from one community to another, and these needs evolve with time," Achkari told The Associated Press.
Islam is Morocco's state religion and King Mohammed VI is officially "the commander of the believers." But the country's official, moderate practice has faced a growing wave of extremism in recent years. Security officials have voiced concerns about terrorist links among Moroccans and dual Moroccan-European citizens. Suicide bombers killed dozens of people in attacks in Casablanca in May 2003.
The religious affairs ministry said 100 preachers would go to France and Belgium, while Italy and Germany would get 10 each, and Spain and the Netherlands seven. The rest will head to Scandinavia and Britain, while one preacher will go to Canada.
Strict criteria were applied in choosing the candidates. Besides being well-versed in the Quran and knowledgeable about theology, they must be "known for their good reputation, devout beliefs and high moral standards," the ministry said.
There are an estimated 3.3 million Moroccans living abroad, 10 percent of the total Moroccan population. Most live in Spain, France and Belgium or the Netherlands.
ORGANIZATION OF ISLAMIC COUNTRIES (OIC) TO ADOPT "MEMORIAL DAY" FOR MASSACRES AGAINST MUSLIMS:
"Today's Zaman" (Turkey)
OIC to adopt ‘memorial day' for massacres against Muslims Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) member countries plan to declare a day of memorial for massacres and genocide committed against Muslim communities in various countries throughout the 20th century. On Friday, representatives of OIC youth organizations came together at Istanbul's Grand Cevahir Hotel for a meeting organized by the Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation (ICYF-DC) to discuss programs to create awareness of Muslim grievances over the past within the younger generation and foster solidarity among OIC members.
"OIC countries are being confronted by different Islamophobic groups that have developed a plethora of myths of so-called historic violence Muslim countries [perpetrated] against others. That is a conscious strategy to create an image of Muslim peoples as ruthless and Islam as a culture of violence. On the other hand, the world community -- even its most educated strata -- doesn't have any idea about the genocidal campaigns Muslim peoples have been subjected to throughout the 20th century," ICYF-DC Secretary-General Elshad Iskandarov said at the conference.
April 9 was among the proposals for the observance, a date that marks the anniversary of the massacre of Palestinian villagers in Deir Yassin near Jerusalem by Israeli forces in 1948. If chosen as the memorial day for 20th century killings of Muslims, April 9 will also mark other tragedies, such as the Van massacre of Turks by Armenians on May 22, 1916; the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia and Herzegovina perpetrated by Serbs on July 8, 1995; the Sétif and Guelma massacre of May 8, 1945 of Algerians by French forces; and the Khojaly massacre of Azerbaijanis by Armenians on Feb. 26, 1993.
Tamer Gazioglu, the representative of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC), proposed adding the Murataga-Sandallar killings of Turkish Cypriots at the hands of Greeks in 1974 to the provisional list.
Azerbaijani delegate Yasar Hüseynli proposed adding the March 31, 1918 killings that occurred when Armenians took advantage of the chaotic situation in Russia and killed 50,000 Azerbaijanis as "Azerbaijani Genocide Day."
Palestinian Ambassador Nabil Marouf, who took the floor at yesterday's meeting, asserted that the heart of all massacres against his people lay in Israeli aggression against Palestinians. "Yesterday Israel celebrated its 60th year. Every year, they will remind us of how they have violated our rights," Marouf said and expressed that May 15 should be chosen as the date for commemorating Muslim martyrs.
BOYCOTT OF DANISH PRODUCTS BY JORDAN:
" Jordan Times" June 20, 2008
(Ed Note: It is okay to express our opposition but as good Muslims we need to make sure that we express it PEACEFULLY. Jordan's initiative of boycott is one such alternative form of peaceful expression). As global ummah of 1.2 billion Muslims, we must condemn violence, aggression and bloodshed as a form of expression from faithful followers of the RELIGION OF PEACE - ISLAM)AMMAN - The multilateral Danish-Dutch boycott campaign is moving ahead with the addition of a major brand, the removal of others and an ongoing lawsuit, while Jordanian importers still suffer losses. Launched in late February to protest against the re-publication of disturbing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, “The Messenger of Allah Unites Us” campaign was relaunched in mid-June to add products from the Netherlands after Dutch MP Geert Wilders posted an anti-Islam film on the Internet.
Sheikh told The Jordan Times that the boycott will assist them in providing proof of the harm of “hateful messages” when advocating for the law....
The ultimate goal, according to campaign spokesperson Zakaria Sheikh, is to enact a universal law that prohibits the defamation of any prophet or religion, similar to the international legislation banning anti-Semitism.
Sheikh told The Jordan Times that the boycott will assist them in providing proof of the harm of “hateful messages” when advocating for the law....
MUSLIM COUNTRIES WIN CONCESSION REGARDING RELIGIOUS DEBATES:
Associated Press
June 19, 2008
June 19, 2008
United Nation body says only religious scholars should be allowed to discuss matters of faith
GENEVA, Switzerland:
Muslim countries have won a battle to prevent Islam from being criticised during debates by the UN Human Rights Council. Religions deserve special protection because any debate about faith is bound to be “very complex, very sensitive and very intense”, council President Doru-Romulus Costea said Wednesday.
Scholars: Only religious scholars should be allowed to discuss matters of faith, he told journalists in Geneva.
While Costea’s ban applies to all religions, it was prompted by Muslim countries complaining about references to Islam.
Costea issued his “presidential ruling” on Monday during the eighth meeting of the council’s 47 members, which do not include the United States. The ruling will not affect findings by the council’s experts, just its chamber debates.
WE MUST CORRECT WESTERN MEDIA PERCEPTION ON ISLAM, SAYS RAIS:
(www.bernama.com- Malaysia)
KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 (Bernama)
"The coverage they give is more about sensational news about terror, about captivity, about war and not on the other side of Islam which I have always been stressing - the life of Muslims".
Rais stressed this point owing to rising Islamophobia among westerners.
"Actually, this is not the reality, it is a political movement by the Al-Qaeda. Islam is not Al-Qaeda. This notion has not been dispelled by any group, be it the OIC or regional Islamic organisations in the world.
"As such, every time when the Al-Qaeda issue crops up in Britain, it is equated with Islam. This is the wrong perception which we need to address.
"How do you do this?. I think it is only with the concerted efforts of our own Islamic media to project the truth. We have to have the forum, we have to have the media treatment and we have to have the political will among OIC members to project this sort of idea and image," he said.
RIYADH, June 7 (KUNA)
Participants in the freshly-concluded International Islamic Conference on Inter-faith Dialogue have recommended establishing the International King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Center for Civilizations Interaction for the sake of boosting dialogue among nations of diverse cultures.
The conferees, in the end of the conference that concluded in the holy city of Makkah late on Friday, considered the address made by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz as a basis for the launch of dialogue among nations for sake of global peace and co-existence among the diverse peoples of the world. They called for organizing a special gathering for working out a mechanism for the global dialogue to contribute in efforts of resolving international crises, affirmed necessity of cooperation among the various religious communities and rejected all forms of moralistic deterioration, family disintegration and unfriendly action against the environment.
They recommended taking action at the media level to counter distorting campaigns and confront calls for confrontations among civilizations, urged international organizations namely the UN to face the culture of hatred among nations and racist and arrogant attitudes that contradict religious messages and international charters. The gathering was organized in support of the Muslim World League and other Islamic organizations that had been active in the face of distorting campaigns.
The conference kicked off on Wednesday under the patronage of Saudi's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and the auspices of the league.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: May 20 (APP):
National Assembly Speaker National Assembly Dr. Fehmida Mirza said Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance that abhors terrorism and extremism in all it forms and manifestations and it was the responsibility of religious scholars to play their role to remove the misperceptions of the West about Islam.
She was speaking to the delegation of the Guardian Council Islamic Republic of Iran, headed by Ayatullah Ahmed Jannati, that called on the Speaker in the Parliament House Tuesday.
The Speaker said UMMAH was confronting challenges that can be resolved through forging unity among the Muslim countries. She said there were misperceptions in the western countries about Islam and urged religious scholars and media to play their role to dispel the misperceptions.
He appreciated the Speaker’s election as FIRST WOMAN SPEAKER OF THE MUSLIM WORLD AND TERMED IT A BLESING FOR PAKISTAN AND THE MUSLIM UMMAH.
Istanbul, Turkey:
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu has stated that a project called the Islamophobia Observatory has been launched in order to eliminate the worldwide waves of fear of Islam.
An OIC report on Islamophobia has seriously disconcerted Americans and Europeans, he said, adding:
Pointing out that there were some negative developments in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks with the influence of some lobbies, Ihsanoglu remarked that US officials were also endeavoring to eliminate these negativities.
Commenting on the visit, the secretary-general said: "The US is sending us a message at this point. 'We want to be on good terms with the OIC (Organization of Islamic Countries),' they implicitly say."
The Organization of Islamic Countries is the second most influential organization after United Nations.
As usual, feel free to e-mail your valuable comments to amyusuf786@yahoo.com
KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 (Bernama)
The key to ensure better relations between the Muslim world and western nations is by correcting the foreign media's perception of Islam as a religion of terror synonymous with the Al-Qaeda movement, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said Monday. "One of the stumbling blocks is the power of the media in the West that doesn't seem to give a margin for us to come into understanding Islam more objectively.
"The coverage they give is more about sensational news about terror, about captivity, about war and not on the other side of Islam which I have always been stressing - the life of Muslims".
"Therefore, the tenets of Islam urging us to be calm and be appreciative of beauty and the world have never been put forward in a manner that is coercive enough or effective enough. There lies the problem," he said in his welcoming remarks at the "Third International Conference On the Muslim World and The West: Bridging the Gap".
Rais stressed this point owing to rising Islamophobia among westerners.
Rais said even the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and other Islamic organisations and associations had never taken steps to correct this wrong point of view painted by the western media which equates Muslims and Islam with the Al-Qaeda.
"Actually, this is not the reality, it is a political movement by the Al-Qaeda. Islam is not Al-Qaeda. This notion has not been dispelled by any group, be it the OIC or regional Islamic organisations in the world.
"As such, every time when the Al-Qaeda issue crops up in Britain, it is equated with Islam. This is the wrong perception which we need to address.
"How do you do this?. I think it is only with the concerted efforts of our own Islamic media to project the truth. We have to have the forum, we have to have the media treatment and we have to have the political will among OIC members to project this sort of idea and image," he said.
MUSLIM SCHOLARS CALL FOR ACTION AGAINST "CULTURE OF HATRED AMONG NATIONS"
(Kuwait News Agency)
(Kuwait News Agency)
RIYADH, June 7 (KUNA)
Participants in the freshly-concluded International Islamic Conference on Inter-faith Dialogue have recommended establishing the International King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Center for Civilizations Interaction for the sake of boosting dialogue among nations of diverse cultures.
The conferees, in the end of the conference that concluded in the holy city of Makkah late on Friday, considered the address made by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz as a basis for the launch of dialogue among nations for sake of global peace and co-existence among the diverse peoples of the world. They called for organizing a special gathering for working out a mechanism for the global dialogue to contribute in efforts of resolving international crises, affirmed necessity of cooperation among the various religious communities and rejected all forms of moralistic deterioration, family disintegration and unfriendly action against the environment.
They also decided to form a special panel to establish an international authority for dialogue, recommended follow-up sessions and seminars, unifying the Muslims' stance vis-a-vis dialogue with other civilizations, called for involving non-religious figures in such dialogue and exerting efforts to clarify misconceptions about Islam.
They recommended taking action at the media level to counter distorting campaigns and confront calls for confrontations among civilizations, urged international organizations namely the UN to face the culture of hatred among nations and racist and arrogant attitudes that contradict religious messages and international charters. The gathering was organized in support of the Muslim World League and other Islamic organizations that had been active in the face of distorting campaigns.
The conference kicked off on Wednesday under the patronage of Saudi's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and the auspices of the league.
REMOVING WEST'S MISPERCEPTIONS ABOUT ISLAM:
(Associated Press of Pakistan)
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: May 20 (APP):
National Assembly Speaker National Assembly Dr. Fehmida Mirza said Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance that abhors terrorism and extremism in all it forms and manifestations and it was the responsibility of religious scholars to play their role to remove the misperceptions of the West about Islam.
She was speaking to the delegation of the Guardian Council Islamic Republic of Iran, headed by Ayatullah Ahmed Jannati, that called on the Speaker in the Parliament House Tuesday.
The Speaker said UMMAH was confronting challenges that can be resolved through forging unity among the Muslim countries. She said there were misperceptions in the western countries about Islam and urged religious scholars and media to play their role to dispel the misperceptions.
He appreciated the Speaker’s election as FIRST WOMAN SPEAKER OF THE MUSLIM WORLD AND TERMED IT A BLESING FOR PAKISTAN AND THE MUSLIM UMMAH.
INDIAN MUSLIM CLERICS REJECT TERROR DESPITE THREATS:
(Daily times - Pakistan)
(Ed Note: Dear members of the UMMAH, please join us and stand up against the extremists and terrorists, who are inadvertently working to destroy our RELIGION OF PEACE. May Allah guide them towards the right path).
LUCKNOW: (May 22, 2008)
Senior Muslim clerics in India rejected terrorism as anti-Islamic on Wednesday. Khalid Rasheed, the head of the oldest Madrasa in the northern city of Lucknow, said the militant group Indian Mujahideen had accused him and his colleagues of apostasy over their pacifist stance.
Indian Mujahideen threatened Rasheed last week in an email sent to local media channels in which they also claimed responsibility for last week's blasts in Jaipur that killed 63 people.
"The reaction of terrorists to our stand against terror has shown that we are moving in the right direction," Rasheed told reporters. "We will continue not only to raise our voice against terror but also educate Muslim masses about the grossly un-Islamic practices adopted by terrorist bodies."
Rasheed said they had received support from the influential radical Darool-Uloom Deoband madrasa in northern India. "Islam is a religion of Peace," Madrasa Vice Chancellor Ahmad Khazir Shah said in a statement on Wednesday. Reuters
Senior Muslim clerics in India rejected terrorism as anti-Islamic on Wednesday. Khalid Rasheed, the head of the oldest Madrasa in the northern city of Lucknow, said the militant group Indian Mujahideen had accused him and his colleagues of apostasy over their pacifist stance.
Indian Mujahideen threatened Rasheed last week in an email sent to local media channels in which they also claimed responsibility for last week's blasts in Jaipur that killed 63 people.
"The reaction of terrorists to our stand against terror has shown that we are moving in the right direction," Rasheed told reporters. "We will continue not only to raise our voice against terror but also educate Muslim masses about the grossly un-Islamic practices adopted by terrorist bodies."
Rasheed said they had received support from the influential radical Darool-Uloom Deoband madrasa in northern India. "Islam is a religion of Peace," Madrasa Vice Chancellor Ahmad Khazir Shah said in a statement on Wednesday. Reuters
ORGANIZATION OF ISLAMIC COUNTRIES ENDEAVORING TO RECTIFY MUSLIM IMAGE:
MÜKREMIN ALBAYRAK
Akmeleddin Ihsanoglu (5/10/08)
Akmeleddin Ihsanoglu (5/10/08)
Istanbul, Turkey:
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu has stated that a project called the Islamophobia Observatory has been launched in order to eliminate the worldwide waves of fear of Islam.
Ihsanoglu cited the common sensical intellectual reaction of the Danish public following cartoons published in the country that were critical of Islam as one of the important successes of the project. "We presented a report on Islamophobia at the first summit we held with the CEOs and civil society organizations we are in touch with. It has sparked very positive reactions and spread across Europe in a short time. Publications have praised the initiative. We have seen both support of and opposition to the initiative, but [all in all] it has created very positive reactions," he said.
An OIC report on Islamophobia has seriously disconcerted Americans and Europeans, he said, adding:
"The report has started to pay off. Let me give you an example: The cartoons published in Denmark and a short film, named 'Fitna' and released last month, if you look at the attitudes of the Danish prime minister, the media and civil society organizations, they are all very different from one another. So far, in these three-and-a-half years we have managed to get the UN General Assembly and Geneva make very important decisions. In the meantime the European group was left alone. We have gathered significant support from our own group in Asia, Africa and Latin America. A special rapporteur has been assigned [to track] the denigration and hatred campaigns against religions, and this person will write up reports on the issue."
Pointing out that there were some negative developments in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks with the influence of some lobbies, Ihsanoglu remarked that US officials were also endeavoring to eliminate these negativities.
Commenting on the visit, the secretary-general said: "The US is sending us a message at this point. 'We want to be on good terms with the OIC (Organization of Islamic Countries),' they implicitly say."
The Organization of Islamic Countries is the second most influential organization after United Nations.
As usual, feel free to e-mail your valuable comments to amyusuf786@yahoo.com
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