Community Round-Up

Three Muslim candidates including a woman are now in the fray for the post of vice president, with the main opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) deciding Sunday to field former Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson Najma Heptullah.


The ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and its Left allies Saturday announced former diplomat Hamid Ansari, 65, would be their candidate while the ‘third front’ United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) has already fielded Samajwadi Party MP Rasheed Masood, 60.


The decision to field Heptullah, 67, by the NDA came a day ahead of the closing of nominations for the Aug 10 election.


Unlike the presidential election in which all MPs and state legislators are eligible to vote, the electoral college for the vice presidential poll consists of only the 790 MPs. The UPA, the Left parties and the Bahujan Samaj Party - likely to go with them - have a clear majority.


As a result, neither the NDA candidate Heptullah nor the UNPA candidate Masood has much chance of becoming the next vice president, especially in a triangular contest, where the opposition votes will be split between them.


Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj announced: “It was decided unanimously at the meeting of NDA leaders to nominate Najma Heptullah as the vice presidential candidate.


The announcement came after a meeting at the residence of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It was attended by almost all NDA constituents except the Shiv Sena, BJP leader V.K. Malhotra told IANS.


Masood was the first candidate to file his nomination papers on July 20 accompanied by UNPA leaders - Telugu Desam Party chief N. Chandrababu Naidu and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. (Courtesy IANS)

Waqf Land Property of Muslim trust - have come to be occupied illegally by prominent government and private establishments in Delhi.


Delhi Wakf Board officials say that a leading public school and a five-star hotel in the heart of the city are among as many as 362 prime properties that have come up illegally on the board’s land. Government bodies are major violators.


The issue of squatting on Wakf land in the country has come into sharp focus after a notice last week to Mukesh Ambani from the Maharashtra Wakf Board, restraining him from building on its land his dream mansion at Altamount Road in Mumbai.


Wakf is the Urdu equivalent for the word trust. Over a period most properties owned by Muslims, either left unattended and unwilled or actually left in the custody of some person or body, becomes Wakf property.


Almost the entire area extending from Masjid Moth to Gulmohar Park was once Wakf property. A block of apartments near the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi is built on such land.


“The Delhi Wakf Board has not sold a single property to anybody. But, yes, we have not been able to recover fully even a single property so far,” conceded Intezar Jafri, the inspector of properties at the Delhi Wakf Board.


The entire Western Extension Area (WEA) in Karol Bagh, the Harijan Basti on Old Rohtak Road, the Takia Piao in Timarpur and prime land in Mehrauli were all once owned by Wakf and are now under the control of various quarters.


Most Wakf land is in fact under the occupation of government bodies, according to Jafri.


The Land and Development Office (L&DO) of the Delhi government occupies 108 Wakf properties and Delhi Development Authority (DDA) 138 properties. Another 53 are listed against the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and 20 against Indian Railways.


The Wakf Board strangely mentions 15 properties still under its control.


The ministry of defence, Delhi Transport Corp (DTC), Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), New Delhi Municipal Committee (NDMC) and Delhi Police are all sitting illegally on Wakf property.

The National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL) Tuesday decided to approach state governments for land to open Urdu language and Urdu Cultural Centres.


The Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh told the council’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) that a mausoleum in memory of the heroes of the 1857 first War of Independence will be built in the capital where all the important documents and records would be stored so that it could be used by those who want to pursue research on the freedom struggle.


The council decided to hold a national seminar on the occasion of 150 years of the first War of Independence to highlight the glorious role played by Urdu during the period.


The minister asked the council to go for restructuring and ensure that appropriate action is taken in this regard.


The council has been holding national book fairs, workshops and seminars in different places in India. It also provides grant-in-aid to NGOs for holding seminars, workshops and conferences to promote the language.


It has decided to provide grant to the Orissa Urdu Academy for publication of a book of well-known Oriya poet Sitakant Mohapatra, a Padma Bhushan and Gyanpeeth awardee, for a bilingual edition in Oriya and Urdu. (Courtesy IANS)

As the Union Government has launched a series of high-sounding programmes to celebrate 150 years of 1857 as the first war of independence, conveniently forgetting all earlier armed struggles for independence, the Ulema seem to have taken up the cudgel to right the wrong being done to the history of independence struggle. Prominent among them is Naib Ameer Imarat Shariah Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa Maulana Wali Rahmani, who, in an edit-page article in the Urdu daily Hindustan Express (July 10), has turned the pages of history to bring into limelight the real history of independence of India.


Maulana Rahmani, who is also Sajjada Nashin Khanquah Rahmani Munger (Bihar) and secretary All India Muslim Personal Law Board, asserts that “the pre-1857 armed struggles for freedom cannot be forgotten only because they were led by Muslims and Sikhs.”


“Maulana Rahmani Said, that it is not proper to declare 1857 war of independence as the first armed struggle for independence. It may be called ‘political writing of history’ but it has nothing to do with historical reality. The (first) formal and organised war against the British was waged in Bengal by Ali Wardi Khan in 1754. Later on some more historic wars were fought against the British. Even the 1857 war of independence started in Calcutta (now Kolkata) and then reached Meerut. This was the last biggest and most organised war against the troops of East India Company,” Maulana Rahmani writes.

All India Milli Foundation president Maulana Muhammad Ilyas has advised the media fraternity to keep their editorials unbiased and unprejudiced as editorially maligning a particular section of society is beyond the pale of healthy journalism. He was commenting on a recent editorial of the Hindi daily Dainik Jagran, which chose to malign fatwa and advise Muslims to stay away from and openly oppose it, reports the Urdu daily Hindustan Express here Wednesday.


Turning the pages of Indian history, the Milli Foundation chief said there is no tradition in the country to malign others’ religion and its beliefs as everyone here enjoys the Constitutional right to freely practise one’s religion.


Maulana Ilyas said fatwa is not one’s personal opinion; every Shariah injunction having the sanction of the Qur’an and the Sunnah is fatwa.


“A Muslim asks an Aalim, verbally or in writing, the Shariah ruling on some specific issue or family dispute, and the Aalim answers the question in the light of Islamic scriptures. For this very purpose every big madrasa runs Darul Ifta (centre for issuing Islamic edicts). This is all about fatwa,” he clarified.

Red Fort - a grand monument, from where Shah Jahan ruled the vast Mughal empire, rules the hearts of tourists who come to India.


Now the Red Fort has got a nod of approval from UNESCO, which has named it a world heritage site.


Nearly 350 years old this magnificient building shows the skill of construction during Mughal empire.


It is built by Shah Jahan during 1628 to 1658 and is so beautiful that it represents the sight of heaven.


A persian poetry is inscripted on it which is as follows-

Agar firdaus ba ru-e-zameen ast
Hameen ast wa hameen ast wa hameen ast

(If there is a paradise on earth it is here it is here it is here)


Red Fort was among 45 sites from 38 countries vying for the prestigious listing and this is a very practical honour for it means that it will be better preserved and conserved as a monument.


With the Red Fort getting the muchy sought after title, Delhi has become the only city in the country to have three world heritage sites. The other two are Qutub Minar and Humayun’s tomb.

Indian newspaper Chandrika will launch its Bahrain edition later this month. The newspaper, which is published in the Gulf as Middle East Chandrika, is the official publication of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).


IUML treasurer and Chandrika director P K Kunhalikutty, who is also Kerala’s former Industries Minister, is currently in Bahrain to promote the newspaper. Chandrika started printing from Bahrain in April this year for distribution in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar besides Bahrain.


It is also prinited from Dubai for distribution in the UAE and Oman. “We are overwhelmed by the response given to our publication by Keralites in the Gulf in general and Bahrain in particular,” Mr Kunhalikutty said.


“Chandrika, which was established 73 years ago in Kerala, has always received the support of the community. “Our support mainly comes from thousands of Keralites working in the Gulf.”


Mr. Kunhalikutty said the Bahrain edition would carry exclusive news relevant to the Kerala community here.

A fatwa issued by its Darul Ifta, Darul Uloom Deoband said that a girl can marry a boy of her choice. According to the fatwa issued last Sunday, consent of parents are recommended and not required for marriages.


This fatwa is remarkable because even though Islam asks girl’s consent for marriage but in India it has been reduced to a custom. Rarely, a girl can refuse marriage arranged by her parents.


The second part of the fatwa issued in response to a question said that consenting adult boy and girl can marry each other only in “kufu” and marriage outside “kufu” will be considered invalid.


Fatawa Al-Hindiyyah, a collection of Hanfi rulings prepared during the reign of Emperor Aurangzeb lists six aspects for “kufu”- family lineage, Islam, freedom, piety, wealth and profession.


Maulana Burhanuddin Qasmi, who is the manager of Marakaz Marif of Mumbai, explains “kufu” as equality. Prophet Muhammad (sallallaho alaihe wasallam) has used the word “kufu” to mean suitable partner for marriage in a hadith mentioned in the hadith book Tirmidhi (1/206).


Nasiruddin Haider Khan objects to the condition of “kufu” in this marriage and ask the question whether it is not similar to having a caste system in Islam?


Qasmi, who is a graduate of Darul Uloom Deoband disagrees, he said that according to Ulema the family lineage rule applies only to Arabs and all non-Arabs are considered “kufu” or compatible to each other when it comes to family lineage. But he emphasized that for a strong marriage compatibility on various social aspects is important.

Andhra Pradesh decided to reserve four percent of government jobs and seats in state-run educational institutions for 25 socially and educationally backward classes among Muslims.


Ignoring an edict issued by Islamic seminaries against the division of Muslims into castes for providing reservations, the state cabinet decided to bring an ordinance to implement four percent reservations from this academic year (2007-08),” said Minority Welfare Minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir.


With the courts setting aside earlier government orders to provide five percent reservations to the entire community, the government this time divided the community into 25 classes and also reduced the quantum of reservations by one percent.


The cabinet accepted the recommendations made by retired senior official P.S. Krishnan to provide reservations to “25 socially, educationally and economically backward classes of Muslims”. Shabbir said the government decided to create this group under list ‘E’ of backward classes in the state.


This will take the total reservations for backward classes in the state to 29 percent and overall reservations to 50 percent. Scheduled castes enjoy 14 percent and scheduled tribes seven percent reservations.


Syeds, Pathans, Sheikhs, Arabs, Irani, Cucthi Memon, Mughals and others, which are considered forward classes among Muslims, have been excluded.


Shabbir claimed that 80 to 85 percent of Muslims in the state would enjoy the benefits of the reservation. According to the 2001 census, Muslims constitute 9.2 percent of the 77 million population of the state.


Defending the government’s decision to provide caste-based reservations, the minister said this was done as the earlier attempts to provide reservations to the entire community were struck down by courts.


“All Muslims are backward and deserve reservations but in an attempt to provide reservations to the entire community we were not able to give reservations even to one percent,” he said.


Last month, six famous Islamic seminaries in Hyderabad had issued a ‘fatwa’ or edict against the state government’s move on the ground that there is equality among Muslims and Islam does not have a caste system.


Muslim United Action Committee (MUAC), which comprises half a dozen Muslim religious, political and social organisations, had also opposed the move.


The minister admitted that earlier attempts to provide caste-based reservations to Muslims in 1968, 1982 and 2004 had failed. (Courtesy IANS)

The Rehmat Foundation held a seminar on ‘’Economic Development and promotion of Entrepreneurship in the Muslim Youth’’ at Memom Hall in Mahim recently.


At the seminar, Padmashri Dr Mehmood-ur-Rehman, IAS, Chairman Bombay Mercantile Bank spoke on the contents of Wakf and its impact on the Muslim economy.


Mr Gafar Chaikl, MD, Maulana Azad Financial Corporation presented the various schemes available for the upliftment of minorities, and the avenues for procurement of loans for education, women empowerment and Self Help Group’s.


Continuing on the theme, Ms Uzma Nahid focused her speech on the need for the development of women entrepreneurs within the Muslim community.


Mr. Faisal Farooqui, CEO, Mouthshut.com gave a motivating speech on ‘’I believe I can touch the Sky’’.


Prof Dr Anwar Amiz, Governor of the Seminar and President, Rehmat Foundation then led a lively discussion on the decline of skilled industries which were predominated by the Muslim community, and the need to adapt to the changing times in the face of globalization.


The seminar was followed by a prize distribution ceremony for meritious SSC students.

The state government swings into action on the report of Muslim women sexually assaulted in a village in UP. 10 of the accused mentioned in the FIR have been arrested.


A hindu mob attacked a Muslim majority village on 10th of July beating men and sexually attacking women. This attack was in response to elopement of a Hindu girl with a Muslim boy.


Initially, police refused to file an FIR and then claimed that no rapes have taken place. Medical exam taken after 2 days naturally failed to show any evidence.


A fact finding mission visited two villages on Sunday. Mission was organized by a group of NGOs from Lucknow. A source from this mission told twocircles.net that they found evidence of beating from a blunt weapon on the bodies of these women.


17 women have reported to be sexually attacked and team found bruises and injuries on their bodies. Some of these women were paraded naked in the village.


Due to media attention and political pressure, local police have started recording the statements of women. Lack of legal counseling is leading to some confusion about statements and proper recording of events.


Meanwhile state government have suspended local police officers for not taking prompt action. Station officer Navin Mishra, deputy superintendent of police Maya Ram and superintendent Lav Kumar were suspended on 14th.

Internet nikaah has now received the formal stamp of approval from the Darul Uloom Deoband. Last week Darul-ifta, the specialised fatwa department of the famous Islamic seminary, pronounced that “a marriage solemnised in the bodily absence of a party with the help of the internet, is acceptable if the proceedings take place in the presence of two witnesses.”


Though the details of the party, which sought a fatwa have not been made public by the academy yet, senior Deobandi ulema and chairman of the Islamic council of India Maulana Khalid Safiullah Rehmanni revealed the modalities of an approved internet nikaah.


The maulana said, “In such a marriage the internet is assigned the role of a vakil who is authorised to formally receive ‘Ijaab aur Qubool’ (offer and acceptance) made by both parties).’’ The concept, he said was widely discussed and received formal sanction in 2005 at a seminar organised by the academy. In Lucknow, there have been two such cases in the last one year disclosed Maulana Naimurrahman, general secretary Ulma council. One such marriage he said was solemnised within the precincts of the council.

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