VOICE OF GLOBAL UMMAH

Volume 39, August 3, 2008

St. Louis, Missouri

Editors: Mohamed and Rashida Ziauddin

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

Contents:

1. Inside view of Kaaba

2. Muslims call to adopt MECCA TIME

3. California group starts website as Muslim alternative to YouTube

4. Top ten intellectuals in a poll by two prestigious western magazines were MUSLIMS.

5. Flashpoints for Ummah in India: Bangalore (pigs head found in Masjid), West Bengal (Muslims attack Hindu pilgrims) and Srinagar (Muslims demonstrate land transfer to Hindus).

6. US Govt condemns China's treatment of Chinese Muslims

7. Muslim politicians in Missouri: Spotlight on Sister Jameela Nashaad - American Ummah's Who's Who's

8. City of London is a Model and leads the #1 spot for having the most diverse Islamic activities in the western world. Samples of some of its activities.

9. Updated report from ICCT - Muslim Orphanage Project in Sri Lanka

10. Pictures from Pakistan

INSIDE VIEW OF KAABA

(E-Mail forwarded by Br. Sameer Qureishi with below caption:
" Please Forward this picture to every Muslim because very few lucky Muslims got a chance to see the inner of the Kaaba!!
Jazak-Allah o Khair"

MUSLIM CALL TO ADOPT MECCA TIME:

Magdi Abdelhadi, BBC Arab Affairs Analyst BBC NEWS; April 21, 08

One cleric said science had proved Mecca to be the centre of the Earth. Muslim scientists and clerics have called for the adoption of Mecca time to replace GMT, arguing that the Saudi city is the true centre of the Earth. Mecca is the direction all Muslims face when they perform their daily prayers. The call was issued at a conference held in the Gulf state of Qatar under the title: Mecca, the Centre of the Earth, Theory and Practice. One geologist argued that unlike other longitudes, Mecca's was in perfect alignment to magnetic north. He said the English had imposed GMT on the rest of the world by force when Britain was a big colonial power, and it was about time that changed.

MECCA WATCH:

A prominent cleric, Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawy, said modern science had at last provided evidence that Mecca was the true centre of the Earth; proof, he said, of the greatness of the Muslim "qibla" - the Arabic word for the direction Muslims turn to when they pray. The meeting also reviewed what has been described as a Mecca watch, the brainchild of a French Muslim. The watch is said to rotate anti-clockwise and is supposed to help Muslims determine the direction of Mecca from any point on Earth. The meeting in Qatar is part of a popular trend in some Muslim societies of seeking to find Koranic precedents for modern science. It is called "Ijaz al-Koran", which roughly translates as the "miraculous nature of the holy text". The underlying belief is that scientific truths were also revealed in the Muslim holy book, and it is the work of scholars to unearth and publicise the textual evidence.

CALIFORNIA GROUP STARTS WEBSITE AS A MUSLIM ALTERNATIVE TO YOU-TUBE:

TheState.com (South Carolina's Home Page)

By DAVID OLSON - The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, California

The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif. - A Temecula, California group has launched a Muslim version of YouTube. It aims to educate non-Muslims about Islam and provide an Internet site for Muslims to view videos without worrying about anti-Islamic tirades or sexually explicit content, said Tarek Ayoub, a volunteer for the site and for the site's nonprofit founder - "Islam the Answer Corp".

"It's a way for Muslim users to feel safe," Ayoub said.

The site also includes non-religious programming, such as comedy, travel, sports and cultural videos, along with documentaries containing trenchant political commentary on subjects such as the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. The volunteer-run site will not accept advertising or donations, to avoid compromising its mission, Ayoub said.

Larry Slusser, Secretary of Temecula's Southwest Riverside County Interfaith Council and a Mormon, praised the idea behind the site.

"I think it's great anytime someone can dispel misconceptions and promote understanding of and appreciation for a faith," said Slusser, who has not visited the site. "As a Latter-day Saint, I know many people have misperceptions about my faith. There's enough hatred in the world. We need more understanding of our differences."

Hussam Ayloush, Executive Director of the Southern California Office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said MuslimChannels TV's nonreligious videos show how Muslims are culturally and ethnically diverse and cannot be defined solely by their religion.

Ayoub said the site was founded in part because he and other Muslims grew weary of seeing viciously anti-Muslim comments that YouTube users posted as reactions to Islamic-oriented videos. Some YouTube users e-mailed Muslim video-posters and threatened them with violence -- in some cases with warnings such as "We know your address" -- or made sexually demeaning comments toward Muslim women, Ayoub said.

Ayoub said he and others have met with FBI agents about the threats. FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said the agency does not typically confirm or deny investigations. Ayoub said YouTube did not respond to repeated phone calls and e-mails about the anti-Muslim comments or to allegations that the company suspended the accounts of some people who had posted videos critical of Israel.

In an e-mailed statement, YouTube said it does not comment on individual videos. The company said it relies on users to flag content that violates YouTube's prohibition on hate speech, defined as speech that demeans people based upon their religion, race, ethnic origin, disability, gender, age, veteran status, sexual orientation or gender identity. YouTube staff reviews flagged material and usually removes it within minutes if it is deemed hate speech, the statement said.

Although Islam the Answer founded MuslimChannels.tv in part as an alternative to sites such as YouTube, volunteers with the group are also forming a team to better respond to the anti-Muslim comments on YouTube and other sites, said Cait Ramshaw, a Florida volunteer for MuslimChannels.tv and a sister site, MuslimBridges.org.

Muslims need to ensure that misrepresentations of Islam do not go unanswered, and that the responses are reasoned and factual rather than angry, said Ramshaw.

E-mail David Olson at dolson@PE.com
Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.

WORLD'S TOP TEN INTELLECTUALS ARE MUSLIMS:

middleeastonline (7/28/08)
Patrick Seale

In a recent poll, by two prestigious Western magazines, (Foreign Policy and Prospect) the top one hundred intellectuals in the world were picked. The top ten selected were all Muslim scholars and activists, notes Patrick Seale.

Two prestigious Western magazines - Foreign Policy in the United States and Prospect in Britain - asked their readers to choose which among the world’s 100 public intellectuals deserved the top honours. Over 500,000 people cast their votes via the internet. The results published this July were surprising. The first ten names on the list were Muslims, from countries as diverse as Turkey, Bangladesh, Egypt, Pakistan, Iran and Uganda.

Heading the list was the Turkish Sufi scholar, Fethullah Gülen. He was followed - in order of voters’ preference - by Muhammad Yunus, the microfinancier from Bangladesh; Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Egyptian cleric who hosts the popular “Sharia and Life” TV programme on Al-Jazeera in Qatar; the Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk; the Pakistani lawyer and politician Aitzaz Ahsan; the Egyptian television preacher Amr Khaled; the Iranian religious theorist Abdolkarim Soroush; the Islamic philosopher Tariq Ramadan; the Ugandan cultural anthropologist Mahmood Mamdani; and the Iranian lawyer and human rights activist Shirin Ebadi.

It is striking that -- for various reasons including hostility and even persecution -- several of these intellectuals have chosen to live outside their native land. Fethullah Gülen lives just outside Philadelphia in the United States; Orhan Pamuk teaches literature at Columbia University, New York; Amr Khaled counsels young second-generation Muslims in Britain; Abdolkarim Soroush lives in Europe and the United States; Tariq Ramadan teaches at Oxford.

The brave Shirin Ebadi, who has won renown throughout the world for her defense of human rights -- especially of women’s and children’s rights -- remains in Iran, although she has faced intense criticism and harassment. Earlier this year, she issued a statement saying that threats against her life and security and those of her family had intensified.

Yet, the top ten list points to the awakening of the Muslim world to modern means of communication. To vote in the Prospect/Foreign Affairs poll required access to the internet. Turkey is said to boast three million Facebook users, more than any country apart from the United States, Britain and Canada, while Persian is said to be the fourth most popular language in the world for internet blogs. Without wishing to cast doubt on his distinction and personal following, it must be said that Fethullah Gülen won his position at the head of the top ten list largely because of the promotion given to his candidacy by Zaman, Turkey’s highest-selling newspaper with a circulation of 700,000.

Gülen is an unusual Sufi in that his global movement of some five million volunteers and sympathizers is at home with technology, markets and multinational business. His message is that there is no contradiction between science and religion, between the modern world and traditional values, such as faith in God. Indeed, he attributes the backwardness of many Muslim societies to a neglect of modern knowledge, especially of science. In politics, he has lent his support to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and has encouraged the ruling AK party to embrace human rights and give up any notion of introducing Sharia. However, many hard-line secularists do not trust him, accusing him of being a Trojan horse for political Islam. Muhammad Yunus has devoted a lifetime to fighting poverty. His Grameen Bank, operating in more than 100 countries, has loaned nearly $7bn in small sums to more than 7 million borrowers -- 97 per cent of them women. Aitzaz Ahsan, president of Pakistan’s Supreme Court Bar Association, was a leading opponent of President Pervez Musharraf and is now a key member of the Pakistan People’s Party.

Although very different, Abdolkarim Soroush and Tariq Ramadan are both distinguished Islamic scholars who attempt to bridge the cultural and religious clash between Islam and the West. All these thinkers and activists deserve attention and respect -- not least in their native countries. They are a reminder to rulers that the grasp and spread of often abstract ideas by means of higher education is an essential component of a society’s development.

Patrick Seale is a leading British writer on the Middle East.

FLASHPOINTS FOR UMMAH IN INDIA:

MISCHIEF AT MOSQUES SPARKS PROTESTS:

July 12 2008
Express News Service

Bangalore, India:

Violence broke out in two separate areas of the city when miscreants placed severed pig’s heads inside the compounds of two mosques in Jaya Chamarajendra (JC) Nagar and Hebbal on Friday.

Four police personnel including a Central Armed Reserve Police Inspector, Dayanand, and a police constable of Regulated Market Committee (RMC) Yard police station, Venkatarama T, sustained injuries while on duty trying to bring the situation under control.

Police resorted to lathi-charge and fired tear gas shells to disperse violent mobs who went on a rampage, shouting slogans and damaging buses and lorries.

The new Police Commissioner, Shankar Bidari, who began his tenure with the riot on his very first day in office, ordered the imposition of prohibitory orders till July 13. The situation was brought under control by the evening, said M R Pujar, Additional Commissioner of Police (Law & Order).

The police clarified that there were no inter-communal clashes; the violence was purely a reaction, protesting the desecration of the two mosques; the pig is considered “haraam” according to the tenets of Islam.

Mohammed Ali, manager of a hostel at J C Nagar, was at the Jamia Masjid at 5 am when the pig’s head was being taken away by the police. “The pig’s head was found at the washing area near the entrance of the mosque, sometime after the gates of the mosque were opened at 4 am,” he said. Around 15 people had gathered at the mosque at the time, and the incident delayed the prayer by 30 minutes.

The JC Nagar police were alerted. A mob went to the J C Nagar police station and staged a dharna, demanding that the miscreants be arrested and punished. DCP (North) Sayed Ulfat Hussain and other senior officials rushed to the spot and assured the restive crowd that proper police action would be initiated to bring the culprits to book. The situation worsened when more members of the community learnt of the morning incident at the noon prayers.

A large group staged a rasta-roko (block-the-road) on Munireddypalya road and J C Road junction. Some miscreants started pelting stones at a BMTC bus (Volvo) which was enroute to the new international airport at Devanahalli; a lorry was also attacked. Tyres of vehicles were set ablaze on the road to prevent the movement of traffic.

A slogan-shouting mob gheraoed the J C Nagar police station and started pelting stones at the police personnel trapped inside, along with media photographers.

To bring the situation under control, police lathi-charged the mob to disperse them and later fired three rounds of tear gas shells. The mob then went around the roads in J C Nagar police limits and pelted stones on buildings and shops.

Meanwhile in a replay of the morning’s incident, another pig’s head was found inside a Hebbal mosque, which led to tensions there, said Pujar. Some protestors staged a dharna near the Hebbal flyover, which obstructed traffic on the arterial roads.

Five platoons of reserved police forces have been deployed in the J C Nagar area and one DCP is exclusively looking after the law and order situation. Also, additional police forces have been posted in sensitive areas in the city, said Police Commissioner Shankar Bidari.

A Peace Committee meeting was held under the leadership of Wakf Minister Dr Mumtaz Ali Khan, attended by about 50 citizens of the area.

MUSLIM MOB ATTACKS HINDU PILGRIMS IN INDIA

newindpress. July 12, 2008

West Bengal, India (AINA)

A mob of nearly 7000 Muslims attacked a group of Hindu pilgrims in West Bengal, a state in Eastern India that borders Bangladesh on the west. According to a Hindu blog, a sacred Hindu site frequented by Hindu pilgrims, including women and children, has experienced a sustained attack since Thursday evening. Muslims have thrown gas cylinders and Molotov cocktails at the pilgrims, burning down the camp building and trapping 180 men, women and children, along with fifteen police officers, within the confines of the compound.

The Muslims attempted to breach the wall of the compound by exploding gas cylinders against it. The fifteen police officers have not been able to disperse the mob, even after firing several rounds.

Fifteen people have been injured; seven of them are critically injured and are not expected to survive. Two victims could not be identified because of serious facial burns. Nine victims are missing and are believed to have been kidnapped by the Muslims. Two police officers have been injured.

The police have issued an arrest warrant against the Hindu leader, Sri Tapan Kumar Ghosh, and 15 other Hindus. They are charged with "Incitement and Instigation for Rioting" and "Disruption of Communal Harmony."

Land Transfer to Hindu Site Inflames Kashmir Muslims

New York Times. June 28, 2008

SRINAGAR, Kashmir (Dar Yasin AP)

Tens of thousands of Muslim demonstrators filled the streets in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Friday, burning flags and effigies of Indian leaders on a fifth day of protests against the transfer of land to a Hindu shrine.

Protesters clashed with riot police officers in several parts of Srinagar, the main city in the region, which has a Muslim majority. The police responded with tear gas, said Prabhakar Tripathi, a spokesman for the Central Reserve Police Force.

Three people have died and dozens of others, including at least 22 police officers, have been wounded since Monday, as the police have struggled to control angry mobs protesting the transfer of 99 acres of land by the state government to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, a trust running the popular Hindu shrine.

Protesters accuse the Indian government of planning to build Hindu settlements in India’s only Muslim-majority state in an effort to change the demographic balance in the region.

Anti-Indian sentiment is strong in Kashmir, where nearly a dozen militant groups have been fighting since 1989 for independence or a merger with neighboring Pakistan. But Kashmiris had been enjoying a period of relative calm until this week’s protests, which rank among the angriest displays in two decades.

In an effort to ease tensions, the chief minister of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, Ghulam Nabi Azad, promised Wednesday that there would be no construction on the transferred land and pledged to meet with local political parties to address the protesters’ grievances.

The Amarnath shrine is a cave that houses a large ice stalagmite revered by Hindus as an incarnation of Shiva, the god of destruction and reproduction. Hundreds of thousands of Hindus are descending on the area as part of an annual pilgrimage to the cave.

This year, as in the past, thousands of soldiers are guarding the pilgrims’ route. In previous years, the pilgrims made tempting targets for militant Islamist separatists, who claim that India, which has a Hindu majority, uses the event to bolster its claim over the Kashmir region.

US GOVT STRONGLY CONDEMNS CHINA FOR ITS CRACKDOWN ON CHINESE MUSLIMS

WASHINGTON (AFP)
US lawmakers "strongly condemned" what they called Beijing's harsh pre-Olympic crackdown in China's Muslim-populated far northwest Xinjiang region. The bipartisan leadership of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus in a statement cited "credible" reports about a July 9 conviction in a closed trial of 15 minority Muslim Uighurs on terrorism charges that led to "the immediate execution of two" of them. Three others were given suspended death sentences and the remaining 10 received life imprisonment, it said.

These are "abuses of due process and rule of law," said Caucus co-chairman Democrat Jim McGovern and Republican Frank Wolf. On the same day, they said, police in Urumchi, the regional capital of Xinjiang, reportedly killed five Uighur men who authorities claimed were part of a 15-member criminal gang allegedly trained for "holy war." "The Chinese government should not be permitted to use the 'war on terror' or Olympic security as a front to persecute the Uighurs," Wolf said.

"These trials' appear to be no more than a ploy to oppress religious freedom and ethnic minority groups," he said.

MUSLIM POLITICIANS IN MISSOURI:

From the Muslim politicians in Missouri, we have nominated Sister. Jameela Nasheed in our directory of AMERICAN UMMAH'S WHO'S WHO.

SPOT LIGHT ON SISTER. JAMEELA NASHEED:

A recent announcement was made during Friday's Khutba by the Imam of Masjid Al Muiminun encouraging the local residents to vote on the three Muslims listed below. Voting is scheduled on August 5th, 2008.

LOCAL MUSLIMS PUSH TO RE-ELECT SISTER JAMEELA NASHEED:

Rep. Jamilah Nasheed was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 2006. She is a member of Appropriations Committee, Rep. Nasheed, a Democrat, represents part of St. Louis City (District 60) in the Missouri House of Representatives. She was elected to the House in November 2006. Rep. Nasheed is a small business owner in St. Louis City. Rep. Nasheed serves as the Vice-Chairperson Women in the Democratic Caucus and Vice-Chairperson of the Freshman Democratic Caucus. In addition to her legislative duties, Rep. Nasheed is a member of the St. Louis Public Schools Role Model Program and the Lexington Mentor Program. She is also an active member of the St. Louis Association of Colored Women’s Club.

Rep. Nasheed was born in St. Louis, Missouri, where she currently resides with her husband, Fahim Nasheed. Sister Nasheed grew up with her grandmother. Her father was killed in a drive-by-shooting while her mother was pregnant with her. And later her mother, due to depression had killed herself when Nasheed was just two years old.

(ED NOTE: Many individuals face difficulties in different and unique ways. As indicated above in the case of Sister Nasheed, she perceived it as a challenge and still moved ahead to climb the ladder of success. In some cases, certain negative developments in one's life may indeed slow down the rate of progress of one's life in terms of achieving success, while in certain other cases, the individual may scapegoat such a negative development to be characterized as "Oh, poor me". For example, "Oh, if only my parents were not divorced I would have been way up in my life by now". Ex. President Gerald Ford was also raised by his step-father and went on to take the most powerful position (President of USA) in the world.)

Despite being a orphan Nasheed had climbed up the ladder of success and is a HOPE and BECON to all Muslims especially Muslim women. Nasheed became an activist and co-founded URBAN ACADEMY FOR POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT. She went up against Missour Dept of Transportation and MetroLink for their allegedly unequal hiring practices. She was on the frontline in protest of the St. Louis Public Schools's controversial multi-million dollar contract with a consulting firm.

In her second year in the Missouri State Legislature she was appointed to the House Budget Committee- one of the State's most influential assignments because of itts role in determining grevenue allocation. She introduced HB21, a bill that expanded the prior scholarship based A plus School Program,. Nasheed's bill, which the Governor Matt Blunt redcently signed into law, opens the community college scholarship to all students based on their own performance instead of district accrfeditation status. "It was a good time for the bill because Pell Grants are being cut and deserving students witht a 2.5 GPA can go to a two year community college or vocational school for free, " Nasheed explained.

She has plans for a bill to abolish sales tax on food, as have morre than 30 other states in the nation. (St. Louis American, July 31-Aug6, 2008)

SECOND MUSLIM POLITICIAN: Br. Talibdin El-Amin

RE-ELECT Talibdin El-Amin as Missouri’s State Representative 57th District:

JUSTICE: HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 22: Standing for justice, Rep. El-Amin issues a call to officially apologize for Missouri’s role in slavery. “Change is fundamental to our existence. As a change agent for the 57th District, I hold a personal obligation to improving the quality of life and the pursuit of equality for residents like you”. By voting for me on August 5, 2008 you help to ensure that progress is no longer a remnant, but rather a possibility in the 57th districts foreseeable future.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.

Democrat for State Representative – 57th District. Talibdin El-Amin.

THIRD MUSLIM POLITICIAN: Khatib Waheed

Please Elect: Khatib Waheed as Missouri’s 26th Ward Committeeman “I am committed to being responsive, accessible, supportive of the community’s needs for continued progress and unity in the 26th ward”. – Khatib Waheed 26th Ward Committeeman.

LONDON - JUDGED AS THE NUMBER ONE CITY IN THE WESTERN WORLD TO HAVE THE MOST DIVERSE ISLAMIC ACTIVITIES:

We as Editors of VOGU have been to London, Paris, Munich, Rome, Madrid, Toronto, Istanbul, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and many other cities. We also researched on the number of Islamic activities of various cities.

Undoubtedly, LONDON stands NUMBER ONE IN THE WESTERN WORLD. They have already implemented, what we have been saying all along, that is, please do not SPIRITUALLY FREEZE IN TIME by just confining as most Islamic Centers do by offering five times prayers, Friday prayers, Ramadan Tarawee prayers and a symbolic program during every Sunday afternoon. As seen from a sample below, they are far ahead than any city in the United States or Canada or in Europe in offering the diversity of Islamic programs. OUR CONGRATULATIONS TO EACH AND EVERY MUSLIM IN LONDON THAT WORKED IN THEIR OWN WAY AND CAPACITY TO MAKE ABOVE A REALITY AND SPECIAL THANKS TO "ISLAMIC CIRCLES" TO CONSTANTLY UPDATE US WITH ABOVE INFORMATION. "WE ARE INDEED ONE UMMAH"

BELOW IS A SAMPLE OF THEIR DIVERSE ACTIVITIES TOUCHING VARIOUS DISCIPLINES.

NEW GROUP FOR TEENAGE MUSLIMAHS IN SW LONDON

Young Mu'minat (IYM): New club designed for young Muslim girls aged from 11-17 where Muslimahs can socialize and take part in a variety of fun activites and Islamic talks in a relaxed environment. Activities include: Getting to know you event, Group intro Meeting new people, Exchange of ideas

For more information please contact:
Tel: 07725163726 / 07871687882
E-mail: iym@live.co.uk

LEGAL ADVICE CLINIC AT Q.M.T

"And if you judge, judge between them justly
Allah loves the just" (Quran 5:42)

Free legal advice includes Family law, wills & probate,
employment, commercial, litigation and other areas.

Dates: 2nd Sunday of each month
Sunday 17 August : Sunday 14 September
Sunday 19 October : Sunday 16 November : Sunday 14 December

Times: Asr - Maghrib
Venue: Qur'ani Murkuz Trust, 10-14 Mulberry Way, South Woodford, E18 1AQ

By appointment only

For more information please call 07801 267 584

RECRUITMENT FOR YOUTH PROGRAM AT JIMAS 2008

Are you passionate about nurturing Iman?
Are you enthusiastic and creative?
Do you love making a difference in the life of children?
Are you free during the August bank holiday weekend this year?
Yes? then WE WANT YOU!

The JIMAS Youth Programme is a two day learning event for children held every year during the renowned August bank holiday JIMAS conference in Leicester.

The programme aims to take children through a series of learning acitivities to enhance their iman and examine issues related to the conference theme in a child-friendly way.

It is a unique and intensive experience in which commited and talented volunteers each lead a group of children between the ages of 8 and 13yrs, facilitating their learning, helping them have fun and safeguarding their welfare.

We are in the process of recruiting volunteers: places are limited so apply early to win the opportunity to earn valuable experience working with and teaching children as well as the du'as of those children and their parents and the awesome reward of Allah in this life and the next -bi-idhn-Illah.

At the Youth Programme you will have the great blessing of inspiring and planting seeds of iman in the hearts and minds of children.

If you are one of those unique individuals who put aside their own comfort and strive to do good for Allah's pleasure and you love inspiring children and have relevant experience of working with children, do not delay: Send a copy of your CV with the contact details (email address, mobile numbers & addresses) of two referees and a copy of a recent CRB check with a brief covering letter introducing yourself and why you would like to take part, to:

Youth Program Coordinator,
619-625 Green Lane,
Ilford, Essex, IG3 9RP

EMOTIONAL SUPPORT SERVICE FOR MUSLIMS

Muslim Community Helpline* available to provide emotional support and guidance to the community. Staffed by experienced former-members of Muslim Women's Helpline.

Telephone numbers: 0208 904 8193 / 0208 908 6713 (Mon-Fri, 10am to 1pm core hours, other times according to staff availability).

Email (not for counseling): ess4m@btinternet.com

*MUSLIM COMMUNITY HELPLINE is An independent emotional support service for Muslims provided by experienced former-MWHL counselors.

Address: MCH, PO Box 803, Harrow HA1 9DY.

FREE WEEKLY WALK-IN COUNSELING AND MEDIATION SERVICES

Date: Every Saturdays
Time: 5pm - 7pm
Venue: Froud Centre, Romford Road, Manor Park, London, E12 5JF

This service has been organised due to the increasing number of social problems within the Muslim community and the pitiful lack of support from mosques and Muslim organisationsin addressing such issues. The sessions will be run by experienced and practicing Muslim counsellors, and both brothers and sisters will be available. We hope to offer a confidential and professional service to all Muslims with concerns ranging from personal, social, family or academic worries to longer term, often more complex, psychological problems. Attendees will benefit from a one-to-one service. We will also be joined by the Muslim Mediation Service* who will be offering one-to-one drop in sessions with a Muslim Mediator, where you can discuss any matters arising from any conflicts you are experiencing within the home or the community free of charge.

*The Muslim Mediation Service has been resolving family and community conflicts since 2003. Their trained and experienced Mediators have been supporting individuals, parents and children and couples facing disputes by working with them to resolve their issues through listening, understanding and communicating effectively.

Please note that the initial session will be free and if the person requires further help then they would need to contact alternative services or the individual counsellors themselves. All are welcome.

For more information please contact: Tel: 07909 941 179 Mediation: 079410 22 371 E-mail: counselling@islamiccircles.org

CONTRIBUTIONS OF MUSLIM WOMEN IN HISTORY

With Sisters Shahnaz and Rizwana

Date: Saturday 2nd August 2008
Time: 2pm - 5pm
Venue: 447-451 Romford Rd, Forest Gate, London E7 8AB

All women welcome

For more information please contact:
Tel: 020 8555 6258 / 07905149767
E-mail: info@iza.org.uk

KNIFE CRIME, CAN RELIGION SAVE OUR YOUTH?

Date: Sunday 3rd August 2008
Time: 4pm
Venue: Tooting Leisure Centre, Greaves Place (off Garratt lane)
London SW17 ONE

With the recent spate of knife crimes in London, particularly south London, Hizb ut Tahrir will hold a debate to discuss the issues behind the youth knife crime epidemic and whether religion can provide answers to this societal crisis.

Key issues to be tackled include: Why is youth violence getting worse? What is modern youth culture based on? How can we re-educate youth? Is society as a whole losing its moral values? Is there a consistent secular moral code? Do only religious people have morals? What is the way forward?

All welcome and free entrance For more information please visit: www.hizb.org.uk

ISLAM CENTRAL - FIRST MAGAZINE FOR MUSLIM STUDENTS:

info@islamcentral.co.uk

On this world we are all students, Islam Central is UK’s 1st Magazine for Muslim Students. Our aim is to spread Islamic Dawah across UK and the world, we aim to take the Ummah to a place never been before, beyond the duniya and the materialistic world, there is a world of everlasting comfort where the world of Islamic beauty lies and where the soul attains nothing but peace. Join us on this remarkable journey to this everlasting resting place at www.islamcentral.co.uk.

Our magazine will include amazing and engaging articles along with the amazing 7 part special of the Sacred Night Journey, Laylatul Miraj, with beautiful Islamic poetry, haddith, real stories and much more.

Our magazine will Inshallah go out FREE at universities across the UK, however only limited copies can be distributed. Therefore we are offering a cheap subscription to those Muslims who will not have the magazine distributed at their university and to those who are not in the UK. The Subscription will entitle you to receive every edition in the year sent straight to your doorstep.

Also for a limited time only we are offering the 1st edition PDF version of the magazine for ONLY 50p !!! We will email you the magazine. Do not miss this opportunity.

Also take advantage of our other offers such as the Student Survival Sack, this sack contains the 7 most essential items a Muslim needs to survive.

Not forgetting the famous Al Furqan Islamic iPod for £89.99, £10 cheaper than any ware else.

Or why not pre-order you Rhymes of Praise Nasheed CD from Labbayk and has it shipped out on the day it is released?

Make the most of it, go to the website and join us on this incredible journey

Jazak Allah
Islam Central Team
www.islamcentral.co.uk

UPDATED REPORT FROM I.C.C.T - NEW ZEALAND:

(If you recall, we had published an appeal for help from ICCCT a Muslim Organization who is helping orphans in Sri-Lanka. Are certain charity organizations like politicians who make sure to contact their constituents only before elections to garner their votes in terms of the charity organizations coming to the donars primarily during the month of Ramadan ? Of course ICCCT has been different in terms of periodically updating us of their progress and developments. WE REALLY APPRECIATE SUCH PERIODIC UPDATES. While we may not be able to publish all such updates, below is one update we felt happy to publish)

"Assalamaualaikum Warahamathullahi Wabarakathuhu,

Allah SWT made it possible to complete the well project for the orphanage on 7/7/08. The well is 16.5' deep from the ground, 4' above the ground and 10.5' in diameter.

Because the rock beneath the ground has to be blasted to dig, water is gushing forth from the spring beneath. Alhamdulillah! Our brothers from Sri Lanka report that while the wells in the neighbourhood area do not have water because of the draught in the area, it is Allah's Nihmath that this well has abundance of water and they have decided to allow villagers in the neighbourhood to fetch drinking water from the well.

You will receive merit for this Sadaqat-ul-Jariyah even after death, Insha Allah. This was made possible due to the generous contribution made by you and savings made by our volunteers of ICC on the overhead cost from your contribution to sponsor an orphan.

For further information, please visit: http://www.iccct.org/

Please pray for our volunteers worldwide who are devoting their time, money and effort towards this noble cause.

May Allah accept your Ibada! Aameen!

Fee Amanillah!
Alhaj DR A Sheik Muhammed Ali
6 Margaret Avenue
Mt Albert
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Al Qur'an: And give to the orphans their property, and do not substitute worthless (things) for (their) good (ones), and do not devour their property (as an addition) to your own property; this is surely a great crime. (Chapter #4, Verse #2)

AlQur'an: (As for) those who swallow the property of the orphans unjustly, surely they only swallow fire into their bellies and they shall enter burning fire. (Chapter #4, Verse #10)

Muslim translation : Abu Huraira reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: One who looks after the orphan whether he is his relative or not, I and he would be together in Paradise like this, and Malik (explained it) with the gesture by drawing his index finger and middle finger close together . (Book #042, Hadith #7108)

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