THE MUSLIM WORLD

Pakistan can earn up to $500 million per year by promoting Sikh tourism and allowing tourists to land directly at the Lahore airport, according to a visiting Indian journalist Baljit Singh Brar.

Brar was in Pakistan to visit Sikh religious sites. He said that Sikh tourists from across the world could boost Pakistan’s economy if they were given permission to land directly at the Lahore airport. Brar said that it would be beneficial to Sikh traders, who otherwise had to land at New Delhi airport, which is quite a distance from Amritsar. He added that less than 20,000 Sikh devotees visited Pakistan each year to participate in four major religious events. Brar said that if the Lahore airport was opened for Sikh devotees, about half a million Sikhs would visit Pakistan every year.
Brar said that the Pak-India visa treaty, which restricts the issuance of tourist visas for travel between the countries, should be amended.

Brar rejected the Indian impression that if a citizen would visit Pakistan they would be refused visas for Western countries. Brar stressed that Sikh devotees should be allowed to come through the Wagah border. He said that only one joint checkpost should be set up at Wagah in order to facilitate visitors.

The Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama, said that “it’s totally wrong, unfair” to call Islam a violent religion. During his visit to Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, the Tibetan spiritual leader offered a defense of Islam in response to a question about the rise of violent religious fundamentalism. He added that he has made a point to reach out to Muslims since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The Dalai Lama arrived at Lehigh last month for a series of talks on a 600-year-old Buddhist text.

Asked why so many Americans are depressed and anxious, he joked: “I’m the wrong person to ask. You should ask Americans.” Then he answered that US society is too competitive and that people always want “something more, something more, something more.”

Minoo Bhandara, a Parsi distiller from Rawalpindi who was formerly a member of Pakistan’s National Assembly, died after he was injured in a car accident in China early July. He was airlifted to Rawalpindi where he died after a brief period. His sister Bapsi Sidhwa is a noted novelist from Karachi. Bhandara was well connected with Pakistani elite and often visited India. A noted figure among Pakistan’s minorities, Minoo was known for his catholicity. He had constructed a mosque besides his bungalow for the Muslim employees who worked at his well laid bungalow in Rawalpindi.

Indian designers will be among the 100 participating in the International Islamic Festival (IIF), which will be held here in November.

The festival will showcase works of designers from many other countries, including Singapore, Indonesia, Dubai, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Iran. The theme of the event is “Discover the Beauty of Modesty”.

“We want to feature Islamic couture in various designs. Being Muslim is not a deterrent to dressing up,” said Shah Rezza, the organiser.

Saudis are the happiest people of all Arabs and rank 26th among the happiest people in the world, according to a study released recently by the World Values Survey, a global network of social scientists based at the University of Michigan.

The yardstick of happiness according to the study was the contentment of a people with their living standard. The participants were asked questions such as if they were very happy, happy or not at all happy. The study ranked the Danes first among the people from 97 countries, while Zimbabwe came at the bottom. The United States got 16th position and Guatemala came 17th. Among the Arab countries that figured in the list, Jordan came 57th, Morocco 68th, Algeria 72nd and Egypt 74th. While the Danes scored 4.24 points, Saudis got 3.17 points. Zimbabwe was the glummest country in the world followed by Armenia, Moldavia, Belarus, Ukraine, Albania, Iraq and Bulgaria which were among the last 10. Israel was placed at 45th position, Turkey at 60th and Iran at 64th.

The report also noted that several countries registered improvement in their happiness compared to the past years. They included India, China, Ireland, South Korea and Mexico. On the other hand, Britons, Belgians, Austrians and Germans are no longer as happy as they were in the past.
The survey also exploded the myth that freedom and sense of peace and security are the determining factors in making one happy. It said several Latin American countries such as Colombia, which is plagued by fighting, came at the third place in the list. El Salvador and Guatemala came 11th and 17th respectively. On the other hand, France was placed at 37th position and Italy at 46th.

China is set to establish more than 2000 outlets for halal food across the capital to meet the spiritual needs of Muslim athletes and spectators of the Beijing Olympics.

Some 32m yuan ($4.7m) have been allocated to create 2,053 halal food outlets, according to Wu Shixiong, deputy director of the capital’s Municipal People’s Congress. Up to 10,000 Muslim athletes, coaches and officials from around the world are expected to visit Beijing during the 17-day Summer Olympics Games in August. Wu said the Muslim visitors will find halal food within easy reach anywhere in Beijing. The outlets, including restaurants and food shops, will be opened in transport hubs, such as the Capital Airport and the Beijing West Rail-way Station. The allocations will also be used to upgrade food processing facilities in major Muslim catering businesses. The Games Village will provide halal food for Muslim athletes and officials. The police are also receiving religious training. “Such training could help them to better understand foreigners, make them feel confident in communications and effectively deal with emergencies while showing respect to foreigner’s religious customs,” said Yang Tao, a training teacher. In the course, officers have learnt the history teachings and beliefs of Islam, Christianity and Buddhism. The train-ing is the latest of a host of steps taken by the Chinese authorities to accommodate the spiritual needs of the Olympic Games visitors.

Beijing officials have asked local religious leaders to provide and lead religious services for foreigners attending the Games. The Beijing Olympic Comm-ittee has also affirmed it will offer Bible and Qur’an copies in Beijing hotel rooms for foreign visitors. China has a Muslim population of about 20 million, the majority of which are in the northwestern Xinjiang and Ningxia autono-mous regions.

Grosbard’s website will include verses of the Qur’an to tackle problems faced by guidance counselors.

An Israeli Jewish professor has authored a book and is planning a website that uses verses from the Qur’an as a guide to address problems faced by educational counselors, a move met with suspicion from Muslim scholars. “The Quranet project is a proposal for a website that will appear in different languages that are spoken throughout the Muslim world,” said Professor Ofer Grosbard, clinical psychologist at the University of Haifa.

“Quranet reveals the beauty of the Qur’an and its respect for human dignity. “It can serve any Muslim teacher or parent in the world.”

Grosbard’s website will include verses of the Qur’an to tackle problems faced by guidance counselors.”The verse is followed by a story to demonstrate how it applies to everyday life, illustrating how the verse can be utilized to convey a message to the child,” he said. The Israeli professor came up with the Quranet idea last year while tutoring a course to a group of Bedouin graduate students of educational counseling.

Grosbard was approached by one of his student saying that the Qur’an would have a much more powerful impact when it comes to counseling psychological problems.

“When I asked her to explain, she said that, in the appropriate context, quotation of a verse from the Qur’an has enormous impact on Muslims.” Grosbard then brought a copy of the Qur’an to the next class and asked his students to identify verses that were related to the types of problems they expect to face. The students returned with a list of 300 verses that focus on issues such as taking responsibility, respecting others, and telling the truth. Grosbard then asked the students to make up stories based on these verses. He later added a short psychological-education explanation to each story. The outcome was a 600-page Hebrew manuscript published in a book, addressing 330 questions on issues such as violence, mourning, incest, adolescence, etc.

“That was how Quranet came into being,” said Grosbard, who is now planning to translate the book into Arabic and English and upload the texts onto an interactive website.

The American Muslim Teenager’s Handbook by Pakistan born author Dilara Hafiz and her son and daughter Imran and Yasmine Hafiz has proved to be a great favourite with Muslim youth in the United States. Even non-Muslims have taken a keen interest in it as a resource book. It uses a matter-of-fact style of writing and does not attempt to convert the reader to its viewpoint.

The Handbook has been written in the aftermath of September 11 where Muslim youth have been fighting an uphill battle to counter the stereotypes perpetuated by a xenophobic media whilst simultaneously countering the narrow, intolerant version of Islam perpetuated by some fanatical Muslims and mosques in America. The Hafiz family family decided to take some positive steps to make sure the Muslim voice, the voice of moderate Muslims, was heard. The book is entertaining, educational, and empowering for Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

Dilara says : We first sent out a survey in 2002 to over 40 Islamic schools in America to assess teen viewpoints on various issues including: the five pillars of Islam, role-models, culture clash, life in post 9/11 America etc. Over 150 responses were included in our book to show the diversity of Muslims in America.

Each chapter has been started with a verse from the Quran, which is the starting point for the serious discussion, followed by a more modern way of incorporating the lesson of the verse into a faithful’s daily life.

Originally from Pakistan, Dilara grew up in Washington, D.C., and has degrees from Johns Hopkins University and the London School of Economics. Both children were born in the US. The book is being translated in French, Dutch and Chinese.

Around 70 women clad in black abayas fanned themselves in a courtyard at a police station last month as Iraqi officials and US troops gathered to celebrate the graduation of the first Daughters of Iraq group in the volatile area.

The group of women security volunteers was formed in an effort to stop female suicide attacks in Diyala province, still torn by violence. The women will begin searching other women at checkpoints, schools and hospitals. The group of 70 represented a total of 130 women who graduated after a five-day training course. Unlike their male counterparts, the Daughters of Iraq will not carry weapons.

The programme was conceived in response to a rise in female suicide attacks in the province, said US Army Capt Charles Knoll, whose unit is responsible for security in several towns in the Diyala river valley, north of Baghdad. More than nine suicide attacks have been carried out by women in Diyala this year, part of a wave of over 20 female suicide attacks countrywide. “In Iraqi culture it is very difficult to search women. We had to find a way to fill this gap.” At first, local police commanders laughed off the idea of women working as security volunteers, Knoll said. But slowly, they warmed to the idea and approached women in four towns to enlist. Lt Col Sattar Jabbar, who heads the Iraqi police station in Al Abara, said the programme also could be a good source of intelligence information. “This will break down a big wall between us and the community,” he said. “They can get information so quick, woman to woman.” Three-quarters of the women volunteers are widows of Iraqi policemen slain by Al Qaida, Jabbar said. For Shahla Hassan Alwan, 35, a widow with six children at home, being a Daughter of Iraq is a personal mission, but it’s also a way to provide for her family.

Alwan would like to see the assignment turn into a more permanent job. “We see female police in America and we want to be like them,” said Alwan. “We want to use all the power we have to help our country.” Saleemah Hafeth Hassan, 35, a former Iraqi Army soldier during Saddam Hussain’s regime who also has enlisted in the volunteer group, saw two of her brothers slain by Al Qaida. “The danger is normal for me,” she said. “If I don’t help my country, who will?”

Saudi date producers have warned of higher prices for their products this year.

“Due to increased costs of operations and materials, including transportation, machinery and salaries, we have no choice but to increase our prices by 25 percent,” said Muntasser Faddhi, deputy general manager of Bateel Dates in Riyadh. Faddhi added that the importation of vital ingredients, such as chocolate and fruit fillings, have cost the company much more than previous years. “Overall we have suffered an increase in production costs by as much as 35 to 40 percent,” he said and cited almonds used in the product was bought at double the price from last year. Hani O. Mohammed, owner of a trading company by the same name in Jeddah that specializes in the import and export of agricultural products such as dates, said another reason for the expected increase in prices of the new harvest is the lack of enough skilled workers and bad weather which have both played a role. “The date farm owners I have spoken to in the Central Region have said that yields of the crop will be lower this year due to a number of dust storms that have stricken the Kingdom earlier than usual this year and have damaged the dates before they could ripen,” he said.
A shortage of experienced workers who have opted to return home due to better economic condition in their countries and demand for higher wages by skilled workers have also been a contributing factor. According to Mohammed’s estimates, date prices will rise by 20 to 35 percent depending on the size and variety.

Meanwhile, as Saudi Arabia continues to reign as the second-largest date producers in the world (Iraq is No. 1), bringing in as much as 700,000 tons annually, global businesses in need of the staple are eyeing the Kingdom as a major supplier of the commodity as harvesting time and the ushering in of the holy month of Ramadan draws closer.