Community Round Up

The All India Muslim Economic Council (AIMEC) organised a conference on December 2, 2008, of all Indian organisations working on interest-free basis in Deoband, Saharanpur. In his presidential address, Maulana Hasib Siddiqui, chairman of AIMEC, said: “Muslims dreamt for long to establish financial institutions conforming to Shari’ah, but most of their dreams remained confined to issues like worship, religious education, nikah and inheritance, so much progress could not be made in the field of financial aspects of life and interest-free system of trade and commerce. Now we have to take some steps in the light of Islamic banking system based on Shari’ah.”

Expressing concern over the increase in number of people living below the poverty line, economic expert Dr. Syed Zafar Mahmood said: “It is the need of the hour to establish interest-free and cooperative institutions in order to eliminate economic backwardness among Muslims.” “The poor are getting poorer and capitalists are gaining in their capital. The Islamic economic system is the best means to prevent it,” he added.

The Bombay High Court recently tightened the noose on the state and central governments while hearing a public interest litigation filed by Farooq Mapkar, a victim of firing at Hari Masjid on January 10, 1993. Justice B. N Srikrishna had indicted policeinspector Nikhil Kapse for firing on worshippers inside Hari Masjid, Wadala, which resulted in the death of six Muslims. Farooq Mapkar, injured in the firing, had filed a petition asking the CBI to look into the matter. Mapkar has urged the court to direct the police to book assistant police inspector Nikhil Kapse for murder and also hand over the probe to the CBI. Kapse, then a police sub-inspector attached to the RAK Marg police station had ordered the firing in the Masjid at Sewri. “The complaint (made by Mapkar) on its own, along with the (Srikrishna Commission) report, prima facie discloses a cognizable offence”, observed the judges. Public prosecutor Satish Borulkar told the court that a Special Task Force appointed by the state government to look into the commission’s report that probed the 1992-93 Mumbai riots had said that no offence was made out. Mapkar’s complaint about the incident mentions one Shamsuddin, who had been injured in the firing inside the mosque. As he came out of the mosque, Shamsuddin bent down to tend to his injured leg. Mapkar saw Kapse shoot him at that moment. Mapkar had also recounted this in his affidavit filed before the Srikrishna Commission.

Justices F. I. Rebello and R. S Mohite of the Bombay High Court rejected the reasons given by the CBI for declining to take up the Hari Masjid case of the 1992-93 riots. The CBI had cited delay as the first reason for refusing to take up the case. Justice F. Rebello pointed out that this reason did not hold. “A judicial commission of inquiry was set up that gave its findings in the victims’ favour in 1998. The government then set up the Special Task Force which exonerated the police officer without either examining the complainant (Mapkar), or those injured in the incident. Nobody is listening to the plea these citizens have been making since 1993. The CBI’s second reason was that this was “a simple matter” which could be investigated by the State government. Justice Mohite pointed out that the matter was far from simple. “There are undercurrents of communal bias,” Justice Rebello said, adding, “The complaint is not only about the general firing at the Masjid, but also a specific allegation that an injured man has been shot at point-blank range. Despite this, all these years the State apparatus has been saying nothing wrong has been done!”

Finally, the CBI had opined that taking up this inquiry was not in “public interest”. “What is public interest for the CBI?” asked Justice Rebello.

The court was appalled by the fact that the statements of the injured were not recorded even by the STF. Senior counsel Vijay Pradhan, who is appearing for Mapkar, submitted that the STF never visited the mosque or met any of the injured persons, including Mapkar. “This is not how a criminal investigation should be carried out,” Justice Mohite said.

The brainchild of Kashif ul-Huda, an engineer from Bihar, now working in America, www.twocircles .net is probably the most informative, useful and enlightening Indian Muslim site on the Internet. It covers a host of issues related to the Indian Muslims, including education, culture, politics, history and economics. Subscription is entirely free. All you need to do is fill in your email id in the relevant box in the main page of the website and you can get free daily updates.

The Kerala Law Reform Commission (KLRC) has drafted a bill in order to regulate the practice of polygamy and check the misuse of talaq as an instrument of divorce among the Muslims in the state.
The bill titled as the Kerala Muslim Marriage and Dissolution by Talaq (Regulation) Bill seeks to reform the Shariah laws. It proposes the creation of conciliation councils in each district which will take up the cases of indiscreet marriages and divorce among the Muslims of the state.

The “conciliation councils” will be headed by a retired Muslim judge. It also considers the second marriage of either the husband or wife as punishable offence under the IPC. This bill has been sent to the Muslim legal luminaries for their opinion and will be submitted to the government soon.

It has sought a variety of responses from the Muslim community be it the common masses or its intellectual class. Moreover it has created a debate in the community to ponder over the effects of polygamy and talaq on the community. The bill has sought positive responses almost from all the women’s activists across the religious, political and ideological divides. They have been pitching for the bill and mobilizing forces to pressurize the government to legislate the bill. Kerala Women’s Front (KWF) is an organization working for the empowerment of women in general and Muslim women in particular in the areas of socio-economic empowerment through education. TwoCircles.net talked to Febeena Seethi, the president of KWF. Her stand was somewhere between a complete ban and complete freedom of polygamy. She pointed out that KWF supports the Kerala Muslim Marriage and Dissolution by Talaq (Regulation) Bill.

According to her polygamy is a double edged sword in the sense that it can be useful, but it can also be a way to exploit women. Usually it becomes a way of exploitation of women where their lives are made miserable because of it. But at the same time she pointed out that there are tens of cases which she knows personally where women who are in polygamous relationships and are happy. They are not being exploited and are rather very comfortable being a part of the relationship. So in some cases it is a blessing.

“There should be a women and a religious scholar in the conciliation councils.” She explained that the representation of women and a religious scholar is very important. The religious scholar will help in avoiding any kind of controversy and the woman member will help the council in understanding the complex issues of women and thereby it will help the council achieve its purpose. But she had something more to say about the practice of polygamy in Kerala. First of all, she said, till now there has not been any proper study on the practice of polygamy among the Muslims of the state. Usually people say that polygamy is widely practised in Malabar but she has not come across any single case of polygamy in the region.

So before bringing about any legislation it is very important for the government and the public to know to what extent polygamy is being practiced in the state, then only will one be able to analyze its effects and consequences on people. A big section of all the people who support the Bill feel that it is high time that reform must happen in the Muslim Shariah law or Muslim Personal Law.

(Twocircles.net)

Charanjeet Singh Atwal, Deputy Speaker, Lok Sabha and Justice Mohammad Suhail Ejaz Siddiqui, Chairman, National Commission for Minorities Educational Institutions, are among those to be honoured this year with the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Award 2008.

Others to be honoured with the award are Manorama Deevan, Chief Editor, Press Asia International, Shahid Ali Khan (IPS), Mohammad Ateeq Siddiqui, Editor, AlYaum, New Delhi, Dr. Haneef Tareen and Saulat Public Library, Rampur. The Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Academy has been giving away awards in the fields of politics, journalism and social service since 1989.

Muslims took the lead in the freedom struggle of the country and played the most pivotal role in liberating it from the British Raj and now they are ready to play a similar role in liberating it from all sorts of terrorism and causes thereof, said Muslim MPs, intellectuals and leaders of religious organisations.

At the “Muslims Initiative against Terrorism programme” last month at India Islamic Cultural Centre in New Delhi the speakers strongly condemned all sorts of terrorism going on in the country and demanded the government to strengthen intelligence system and deal with all acts of terrorism with firmness and also ensure that the police and the agencies are not driven by communal colours. They also demanded that Muslims should be included in any counter-terrorism set-up as has been done in the Rapid Action Force.
A resolution adopted at the programme says: The root cause of terrorism – discrimination, suppression, inequality and injustice – also need to be addressed in any strategy to eradicate the terrorism.

Kamal Farooqui, Chairman, Delhi State Minority Commission, and one of the organizers of the programme, said Muslims today are “with the government and security agencies in the fight against terrorism without any ifs and buts.”

Newly-elected Rajya Sabha MP Mohammad Adeeb said that Muslims of this country have always been against violence and terrorism. He, however, admitted that when rights are suppressed and criminals are not brought to book (referring to 1993 Bombay riots and Gujarat 2002 pogrom) terrorism finds its way. He, however, condemned those, if any, who are resorting to violence to get justice and their rights and said there are democratic and peaceful ways for these purposes.

Rajya Sabha MP and Jamiat Ulama-i--Hind leader Maulana Mahmood Madani rejected the view that if Muslims are repeatedly condemning terrorism saying it has nothing to do with Islam they are in a way admitting that they are terrorists. He said the entire Muslim community is not terrorist, but admitted that a little part of the community might have gone astray. Former MP and social activist Shabana Azmi said that if Muslims in India were not seen with suspicion following the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks it was because the community had taken lead to fight against terrorism in the country. They had denounced it and expressed their resolution to fight the menace along with the entire nation. Their initiative changed the perception about them. She also applauded the role of the media for this.

Former BJP MP and now party’s national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said Muslims are loyal to the country and they need not give any certificate for this. Samajwadi Party MP Ilyas Azmi said that “to say time and again that we are against terrorism is proof of our inferiority complex.” Talking about Mumbai attacks, he expressed doubt over the circumstances in which three officers including ATS chief Hemant Karkare were killed. He rejected the government’s point that no locals were involved in the attack.

Months after the flood that affected lives of millions in Bihar, Assam, and West Bengal, their conditions continue to be fragile. Millions who have become homeless continue to live in camps in pathetic conditions.

Established in 1998, Taawum Trust has been helping poor, helpless, orphans, and widows and those affected by natural calamities. Chairman of the Trust, Dr. Mohd. Manzoor Alam in an appeal sent to donors said that the Trust is planning to distribute 10,000 blankets to the flood affected people in Bihar, Assam, and West Bengal. The Trust has already distributed one thousand blankets in Bihar and now seeking donation to fund rest of the blankets. The appeal by Dr. Alam said that it cost Rs. 350 per blanket which includes cost of taxes, transportation and documentation.

All donations to the Trust are exempted under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act 1961, and it has a permanent registration under FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act). For more details and donations: Account Name: Ta’awun Trust, Banker: State Bank of India, Zakir Nagar Branch, New Delhi-110025, Account No.: 10177189422 (for Foreign Donors)
10177189603 (for Indian Donors), Address: 162, Jogabai Main Road , Jamia Nagar, New Delhi-110025 (India) Ph: 26987467, 26981187, 26989253

Email: manzoor@ndf.vsnl.net.in Website: http://www.taawuntrust.org

Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), the most influential Muslim political party in Andhra Pradesh, has launched its campaign for the forthcoming elections with a call to Muslims to unite under one political banner to take advantage of their strength and urged Hindus to join hands of friendship. MIM, which has set its eyes on doubling its strength in the state assembly from existing five to ten, chose Malakpet to launch the campaign. The MIM president and member of Lok Sabha, Asaduddin Owaisi said that the MIM was confident of wresting the Malakpet constituency and the target can be achieved only if Muslims remain united and demonstrate their strength in the next elections. What has boosted the confidence of the MIM to win more number of seats is that the delimitation of the assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies in the state has changed the demographic map of many segments in Hyderabad in favor of Muslims. Earlier Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency had three rural assembly segments of Ranga Reddy district, but after the delimitation, Hyderabad has become a hundred percent urban Parliamentary constituency. As the ratio of Muslim electorate in this Lok Sabha constituency has gone up to 70%, MIM is confident that it has become an even more secure fortress. MIM has been winning the Hyderabad seat since 1984 without any break. Though the TDP-Left alliance is planning to field a Muslim candidate, the MIM is confident of retaining the seat. In all the elections it defeated the BJP in a direct fight. (Reported by Mohammed Siddique, TwoCircles.net).

The Dawoodi Bohra community has decided to give Mumbai its first eco-friendly mosque. The construction of the mosque at the Tambawala compound in Mazgaon in south central Mumbai is expected to be completed in two years. Architect, Esmail Neemuchwala said the primary focus would on rainwater harvesting and using less electricity. “We want to give the best to the environment from which we take the most,” he said.

“In a 120-sq ft room, one fan is sufficient because there are usually three people at a given time. But the number goes up to 30 during prayers. And this calls for more fans,” Neemuchwala said. “We have planned to bring down the number of fans and reduce electricity usage by 20%.”

“Fatimi architecture will be prominent. It has typical floral repetitive designs and conical shaped arches. It is inspired by Mughal, Indian, and British architecture,” he said. Green lawns will border the mosque. This would help in bringing down the air temperature as it moves towards the mosque, according to Neemuchwala. The mosque will not have solar panels and instead will use rainwater harvesting as much as possible.

As Nepal celebrated Bakrid, for thousands of Muslims, there was an ad­ditional cause to rejoice with the gov­ernment for the first time announcing a public holiday on the occasion and the first Quran in Nepali language being offered to the faithful.

“We thank the government for de­claring Bakrid a state holiday,” said Sheikh Ali Mirza, an Imam at Kathmandu’s Kashmiri Masjid, one of the two main mosques in the capital. “It is also a matter of joy that the holy Quran is now available in Nepali so that people who do not know Arabic can comprehend it.” Bookshops near the Kashmiri and Jama Masjids said there was a brisk sale of the Nepali Quran. The Kathmandu-based Islami Sangh Nepal took the initiative of getting the entire Quran translated into Nepali.

The five-year project was funded by Al-Quran Academy in London, an international organisation engaged in Islamic research and publication. About 2000 copies were printed in New Delhi and are meant to be circulated in Bhutan and Myanmar as well, which have a size­able Nepali-speaking population. Nepal’s first Maoist Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda issued a message saying Bakrid was a source of inspiration and hoped it would cement cultural and social har­mony in Nepal. The top leaders of the major parties also publicly greeted the Muslim community.

Getting a house in Surat’s Hindu neighbourhoods always remained a distant dream for Muslims. However, India’s diamond capital has gone a step further by formalizing the social ostracism, post Mumbai’s terror strike.

The diamond hub of Varaccha always had ‘Hindus only’ and even ‘Patels only’ colonies. Now, many housing societies and real estate brokers in the city have decided not to sell or even rent out houses to non-Hindus, especially Muslims.

Recently, a housing society in Rander area has disallowed its members from selling houses to people of other faiths. At Dhanlakshmi Row Houses, society president Rajesh Patel says, “Our society is exclusively for Hindus. We want to avoid any nuisance. All residents have unanimously decided that no one will sell their houses to those belonging to any other religion.” A resident of House No. 13 at Dhanlakshmi Row House was forced to leave by other residents because he belonged to the minority community, said Chirag Patel, resident of this society located in Rander. A notice board put outside the society reads, “As per a resolution passed by the society members, no one will sell the house to a person of any other religion and if done, action against the buyer and seller will be taken.” Property Dealers’ Association (PDA) in Adajan and Rander areas of the city had decided to refrain from selling or renting properties to Muslims. “We have decided not to provide our services to any Muslim customer,” says Manoj Gandhi, PDA president. Gandhi said brokers from posh areas such as City Light are also mulling similar move. The association also had staged a dharna at Jogani Nagar to condemn the Mumbai attack and make people aware of threats. Assistant commissioner of police, G division, J.S Kher, informed, “So far, we have not received any complaint from anyone directly affected by the decision. “ (Reported by Yagnesh Mehta | TNN)

Kishanganj DM Firaque Ahmad to be honoured
Patna: The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) has decided to honor Firaque Ahmad, District Magistrate (DM) of Kishanganj for fair execution of the annual examination of class 10th in the district in March 2008.

The Bihar School Examination Board conducts Secondary School Examination twice every year, the annual and supplementary examinations. The annual examination is normally conducted in the month of February/March. According to Anup Kumar Sinha, secretary of the Board, Kishanganj has been given grade ‘A’ for fair examinations. There were no report of irregularities and use of unfair means in the examination from Kishanganj. Since the DM of a district is the controller of examination for the whole district, the Board has decided to give Firaque Ahmad an award for his commitment to his duty. Before assuming office of the DM of Kishanganj, Firaque Ahmad was the chairman of Bihar Text Book Publishing Corporation. He is known for his honesty and punctuality.


Indian Shining in China
Bangalore: Suraiya Tarannum, Head of the Telecommunication Engineering, AMC Engineering College Bangalore was the sole representative from India to participate in the 11th IEEE International Conference on Communication Systems (IEEE-ICCS 2008) held in Guangzhou, China between November 19-21, 2008. She presented her research paper entitled,” Dynamic Hierarchical Communication Paradigm for Wireless Sensor Networks: A Centralised Energy Efficient Approach.


Dr Shohab is AIUUTA General Secretary
Jammu: Dr Shohab Inayat Malik, Professor of Urdu in Jammu University has been elected as the General Secretary of the All India University Teachers Association (AIUUTA). A decision to this effect was taken in an Urdu teachers conference held at Kashmir University in which over 150 Urdu teachers participated. Dr Malik took over charge of general secretary from Dr Ali Javed, Director, National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL). All India University Teachers Association (AIUUTA) is a body of All India Urdu Teachers working on national level for the promotion of Urdu language. Dr. Malik is also the President of Rasa Javadani Memorial Literary Society (RJMLS), a NGO working for the cause of Urdu language in the state.