VOICE OF GLOBAL UMMAH

VOICE OF GLOBAL UMMAH

Volume 199, September 4, 2011
St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Editors: Haji Mohamed & Hajira Rashida Ziauddin

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

(www.xeniagreekmuslimah.wordpress.com)

EDITORIAL:

In this E-Zine, we have touched on unborn babies in facebook, building interfaith relations, health and scapegoating of immigrant women.

PART I

Unborn Babies in Face Book

(ED NOTE:

How should Muslims respond to below from an Islamic perspective ? In the US, there are many pro-life activists fighting through the political process, supporting laws against abortion by arguing that a growing fetus is a PERSON and several of them have highlighted the concept of "fetal-pain" with regard to abortion. Since Islam is pro-life, would it be right for Muslims in the US to support the above pro-life position. Further as indicated in below article, should Muslims join the pro-lifers as they hail the below change as a recognition of the unborn as a person already loved by his or her parents)

A Friend Request From the Womb? Unborn Babies Now on Facebook
by Jeremy Kryn
Aug 08, 2011
(condensed version from LifeSiteNews.com)

Although they might not know it just yet, the unborn children of Internet-savvy parents across the world are about to get a lot of friend requests.

The developers at Facebook have launched a feature that allows expectant parents to add their unborn child to the “Friends and Family” section of their profiles.

As of July 27, Users of the popular social networking site can now select “Expected: Child” from a drop-down menu of family members.

The new feature does not generate a proper Facebook profile, however, since the social networking site’s terms of service states that all users must be at least 13 years of age. Previously, Facebook users have been known to make a profile for their unborn baby by setting the child’s age to 13, or listing him or her under family members and omitting a birthdate.

Commenting on the new feature, University of Michigan Communication Studies Professor Scott Campbell....notes "some pro-lifers hailed the change as a recognition of the unborn as a person already loved by his or her parents".

“This wasn’t a political move by Facebook (though some will try to interpret it that way) — it was rather responding to something their users wants to see added as a feature,” noted Tom Peters of CatholicVote on the Live Action blog.

PART II

INTERFAITH RELATIONS:

Don Bosco School hosts Iftar party

August 15, 2011
(condensed version from CathNewsIndia)

Iftar Party at Don Bosco Park Circus

The alumni of Don Bosco School, Park Cricus, Kolkata hosted an Iftar party for the Salesian staff and past pupils on Sunday August 14, 2011. “This is the only school in Kolkata province where Iftar party is held regularly,” said Rector and Principal Father Siby Vadakel.

“The practice has been going on for the last five years now,” said Alumni World Council member Rajesh Gupta. Local alumni president T.V. Noman said that, “on this day when we break the fast, we celebrate our fellowship with the past pupils.”

The local unit conducts DB Night School with some 750 boys and girls, mostly Muslims from the neighborhood. The alumni also conduct Adult Literacy programme for some 200 Muslim girls from the Madrassa schools.

Source: Don Bosco

PART III:

HEALTH

(ED NOTE:

Never in the history of mankind has research and technology progressed as rapidly as in the present decade. There are hundreds of new research done on a daily basis. It is good to be updated on current research outcomes on issues impacting our health and the health of our family members, community and global ummah at large. We found below research linking a pregnant women's exposure of electromagnetic fields from microwave to increased risks of newborn asthma informative and wanted to share it with you).

www.muslimmums.co.za

DO PREGNANT WOMEN NEED TO AVOID MICROWAVES
(www.rhreality.com)

There's a long list of "don'ts" when you get pregnant: don't drink, don't eat lunch meat cold, don't have too much coffee or take many over the counter medicines. Now, it looks like we can add "don't use household appliances." A new study is linking them to an increased risk in newborn asthma.

Via Time:

Exposure to electromagnetic fields has been linked to a number of health problems, including cancer and immune system and reproductive abnormalities, and now the latest research adds another concern to the list: childhood asthma. In the first study of its kind, scientists strapped magnetic field monitors on pregnant women to determine their level of exposure, and studied whether it was associated with the risk of asthma in their children. They found that children born to women with the highest levels of exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) — including from microwaves, hair dryers and power lines — had a more than three-fold higher rate of asthma compared to those whose moms had the lowest exposure.

PART IV:

(ED NOTE:

Immigrant women come to the US from different nationalities, ethnic backgrounds, religions and cultures. Because of their gender of being female, as it is, they had to go through several challenges including possible language difficulties, lack of family support, economic difficulties et.c.

Just think carefully how much more challenges should a practicing Muslim female go through in terms of not only facing above mentioned challenges but also possibly facing additional discrimination by her wearing her Islamic dress and leading a Islamic lifestyle. We respect and honor each and every practicing Muslima to have the courage to continue her Islamic identity for after all, it is Almighty Allah that is way beyond all of us and is the BEST OF HELPERS.

We appreciate all help offered to immigrant women in general. However speaking of APPLICATION OF THE CONCEPT OF UMMAH, we honestly feel that there is still a lot of room for Muslims to help new immigrants. As we had indicated earlier, we strongly recommend every Masjid to, if feasible, open a Social Service Committee (consisting of professionals and volunteers) as one of their committee and have a contact phone number and a case worker to assist newly arrived immigrants. Having a list of local Islamic friendly social service agencies would be an added plus to assist the immigrants who may be in need or who may be in an impending crisis.

Occasionally giving chump-change during Friday prayers and meeting minimum Zakat requirements during the month of Ramadan would hardly meet even one percent of the potential that Muslims have in assisting our muhajareen that arrive to our great country called UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. In the past St. Louis had MUSLIM SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCY under the sponsorship of local Islamic Center and followed above model in early 1990's and had helped hundreds of immigrants especially the refugees who came from Afghanistan, Bosnia, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia et.c).

What's the Real Problem Regarding the Scapegoating of Immigrant Women?

by Miriam Pérez
August 1, 2011
(condensed version)

"In keeping with this year’s Week of Action theme, Caminamos: Justice for Immigrant Women, we’re asking what’s the real problem behind the scapegoating of immigrant women?

Today’s political rhetoric, with the attacks on immigrant women’s livelihood, reproductive choices and mere existence in the US, would have you believe that immigrant women are to blame for our economic situation. Racist movements to alter our constitution specifically target immigrant women–they say we should not be able to have families, or allow our citizen children the rights all other citizens are afforded.

We recognize that immigrant women are simply being used as a scapegoat for these larger institutional problems. We know that in reality, immigrant women are the backbone of many of our communities–they fill crucial jobs, care for our communities and pay millions in taxes. The real problem is our broken immigration system that asks people to “get in line” despite the fact that the line stretches for decades and excludes many based on race, class, ability and national origin.

The real problem is the racism and nativism brewing in our country, which condones these attacks on immigrant women. The real problem is an economy that profits off of and relies on undocumented immigrant labor, but abuses and criminalizes those who provide that labor" .

THE END