Armed with knowledge and skills, a like-minded group of Filipino young Muslim intellectuals who retuned to their homeland Mindanao after pursuing education are joining hands to nurture peace and stability in the disputed Muslim-majority region.

“We could not remain apathetic to the plight of our communities,” engineer Don Loong, a member of Young Moro Professional Network (YMPN).

Founded in 2000, the group joins some 200 highly-educated young Muslims who returned to their restive province of Mindanao after studying elsewhere in the country’s best schools or overseas. They are advocating peaceful means to improve the socio-economic situation of the Mindanao people. The group envisioned a network of young Muslim professionals who promote volunteerism, using their own resources, talents, education and training.

Mindanao, the birthplace of Islam in the Philippines, is home to more than 5 million Muslims. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the country’s biggest Muslim group, has been struggling for an independent state in the mineral-rich southern region for some three decades now. More than 120,000 people have been killed since the conflict erupted in the late 1960s. IslamOnline.net & Newspapers

For the first time in its history, America’s biggest publishing event has dedicated its efforts to promoting Arab literature. Book Expo America (BEA) 2009, recently held in New York, featured more than 600 representatives from the Muslim world, and also introduced more than 300 Arab-language children’s books to the North American market.

Amr Moussa, General Secretary of the Arab League, was in attendance to launch the event, which featured publishers from 8 Arab countries, including Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the UAE showcasing their portfolio of novels and children’s books. The show programme included a series of debates and discussions about Arabian book culture and publishing challenges. The event also featured the global educational initiative “1001 Inventions”, which celebrates the exceptional advances in science, technology and culture made by Muslim civilisation during the European “dark ages”.

Professor Salim Al-Hassani is Chief Editor of the 1001 Inventions book and chairman of the Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation, UK. He explained: “We are a non-political and non-religious initiative dedicated to increasing awareness of the scientific advancements made during the 1000 year period inaccurately labelled ‘the Dark Ages of Europe.’ We’re here to share with the American people the cultural roots of modern science as a vital tool for resolving problems of social cohesion and world diplomacy. Recognising and appreciating the early contributions and inventions by pioneers from all over the world including from Arabia, North Africa, Turkey, China and India will increase understanding and cross-cultural appreciation between societies’ ‘New York’, he says, ‘is the perfect place to create a new space for dialogue using the diverse cultural roots of science as one of the instruments for social cohesion and world peace”. Further information is available at www.1001inventions.com or www.MuslimHeritage.com

Thai government pledges of more aid and projects to help pacify south Thailand are failing to win hearts and minds of Muslims in the violence-doomed region, who say that ending draconian laws and abusive practices by the military are the key to peace in the south. “Money can’t change what’s happening,” Yousuf, a Muslim villager in the southern province of Pattani.”No one can buy an end to the problems here.”

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Sunday, June 14, pledged 54 billion baht ($1.58 billion) for investment projects in Muslim-inhabited southern provinces to help pacify the region. It could end up in the hands of the militant groups. Investment won’t stop the violence,” some say. Corrupt officials might keep the money for themselves. This is a useless idea.”

Thai Muslims, who make up five percent of the predominantly Buddhist kingdom’s population, have long complained of discrimination in jobs and education.More than 3,500 people have been killed in south Thailand since violence erupted almost five years ago. Muslim residents say that the scrapping of draconian laws and abuses by the military are the key to peace in the region.Thai Muslims have long complained of heavy-handed practices by the military in the South.

Under a decree giving them sweeping powers, security forces often storm Muslim villages and detain hundreds on suspicion of supporting “rebel” groups in the south. The emergency laws let them arrest innocent people, jail them for a month, and sometimes they torture them. Recently, 10 Muslims were killed in an attack on a mosque in Narathiwat, for which many Muslims blame the military. IslamOnline.net & News Agencies.

There’s an old proverb that says, “What you don’t see with your eyes, don’t witness with your mouth.” But how many of us can resist the temptation to believe rumors?

Rumors are defined as pieces of unverified information and of uncertain origin. In the not so distant past, our mouths were the main conduits for such untruths and our audience was limited to those within our earshot. But as technology gradually took over most of our daily functions, the mobile phone with messaging services today is the predominant source for the dissemination of such unverified information.

Rumors range from the funny to the outlandish, and occasionally to the downright malicious. And the effortlessness with which they gather storm today is alarming, especially if they border on spiteful intent.

Take the case of an SMS that made the rounds recently, not just in Saudi Arabia, but in the region as well. While I had deleted the message as soon as I had read it and cannot reprint the exact wording, the contents went along the following lines:

A McDonald’s employee has been discovered as having been afflicted with the H1N1 (swine flu) virus, and patrons are well advised to stay clear of all McDonald’s outlets. It implied that McDonald’s was concealing such information from the general public. The message also stated the name of the worker.

This name was later found out to be the name of a street in Cairo, on which several fast food outlets carried out their trade, raising doubts about the origin of this particular SMS. The intent of the message was obviously to frighten people and hurt McDonald’s.

I would hazard a guess that some people who received the message restrained themselves or their family members from eating out at McDonald’s or other fast food outlets. I say this with confidence as that particular message made its way through various e-mails with varying degrees of alert and caution.

Swine flu is very much in the news these days, and one has to welcome the transparency exercised by our Ministry of Health in reporting and dealing with this latest outbreak. Newspapers daily carry items relating to new cases discovered in the Kingdom, and report on plans from the health officials on how to meet this pandemic head on.

Had one of the staff at the McDonald’s been indeed a carrier of such a virus, it would have certainly been reported by the ministry and immediately made public. And yet many found it easier to believe the message. Is it human nature to believe just about everything we are told, without taking any effort to verify such claims?

Now I know the folks running the McDonald’s enterprise in the western region, and I know for a fact that many of their family members patronize the various outlets. They follow extremely ethical business practices and I believe them when they rubbish such rumors. And no, I’m not getting a free meal, up-sized and all, by making such statements either!

Preying on human naiveté and fears, such nasty and unverified messages invariably hurt honest establishments. Back in the 19th century, the distinguished English novelist Maria Louise Ramé wrote, “a cruel story runs on wheels, and every hand oils the wheels as they run.”

And so folks, the next time you receive an SMS stating that Britney Spears has converted to Islam, or the shampoo you are using will cause you cancer, or the meat patties in a hamburger are not halal, contact the individual or establishment in question for verification or use Snopes.com or else, press delete on your mobile phone and move on.

The Holy Qur’an says: “O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become, over what you have done, regretful.” (Al-Hujurat: 6)

Tariq Al-Maeena (talmaeena@aol.com)

The Union Ministry of Minority Affairs is set to roll out a program for skill development and leadership training to Muslim women exhibiting entrepreneurial skills. Cleared by the Congress-led UPA gover-nment in its first term, the program is among the top priorities of newly-appointed Minister of State for Minority Affairs, Salman Khurshid. The program seeks to provide leadership, support and entrepreneurial training to selected Muslim women. About a thousand Muslim women from all over the country will be selected for the program annually. Though the scheme would be implemented directly by the Minority Affairs Ministry, the services of state governments and NGOs would be sought to identify the beneficiaries. A selection committee would be set up to screen the individual applications and the names forwarded by states and NGOs. The Centrally sponsored program will have a flexible one-time financial support component as well. Under the program, a project can get a maximum of Rs. 10 lakh as one-time assistance.

Karnataka State Haj Organisers Association promise Haj pilgrims best services by Private Haj Pilgrimage Organisers

The Association has organized Orientation camp for one day at Bangalore for New Aspiring Private Haj Umra Pilgrimage Organisers from State of Karnataka and neighbouring states like Andhra, Tamilnadu, who are growing in many folds whereas the Government does not have new quota to allot them, they have only option to join the Existing Authorised Operators who are about 17 through Karnataka’s Association already catering to about 2500 Haj pilgrims.

The Association Chairman Mr.Iqbal Ahmed Siddiqui, President Mr.Showkath Ali Sultan and General Secretary Mr.Shafi Ahmed addressed the gathering in view of the bad experience faced by the Haj Pilgrims in the previous years through un-recognised Agencies, in the interest of the Haj Pilgrims and the new Organisers had called all of them, updated the Policies of the Indian and Saudi Arabian Authorities in alloting the Haj Quota, Association offered them all possible assistance if they enroll themselves as members of the Association as per its terms and conditions.

The Association is recognised by the Ministry of External Affairs, Haj Cell, Government of India, New Delhi, since 1997 it is also a member of All India Federation of Haj & Umra Organisers, New Delhi.
Further the Association instructed the existing members and other Private Haj Pilgrimage Organisers not to over commit or promise which they may not be able to keep up, follow strictly the rules and regulations stipulated by the Respective Authorities, do not underquote the Package cost to attract the pilgrims and don’t exploit them later.

These are the strict instructions to the Private Organisers by the Association. Haj pilgrims are requested to check the Association web-site www.kshoa.org or the Indian Consulate,Jeddah, Saudi Arabia website www.cgijeddah.com to verify the list of the Authorised Organisers from India.

Dr. Mohammed Haneef, principle Ghousia Engineering College, Ramanagaram. Was facilitated Aryabhata International Award for the year 2009, for his services in the field of education.

President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday, June 22, threw his support behind a proposal for a parliamentary investigation into the wearing of burka. Communist MP Andre Gerin has proposed setting up of a parliamentary commission to look into what he described as a growing number of women donning the burka in France. His proposal is backed by some 58 lawmakers, many of them from Sarkozy’s ruling Union for a Popular Movement. It expected to come up for a vote in the National Assembly soon and if approved the commission would draft a report to be released no later than November 30.

Muslim community leaders say that burka remains a rare exception among France’s nearly seven million Muslims, the biggest Muslim minority in Europe. They have accused lawmakers of wasting time by focusing on a fringe phenomenon, warning that the move would stigmatize the Muslim minority.

But even before the commission was formed, Sarkozy asserted that wearing the burka violates the secular foundations of the republic. “The issue of the burka is not a religious issue, it is a question of freedom and of women’s dignity,” he told parliament. “The burka is not a religious sign; it is a sign of the subjugation, of the submission of women.”

While Hijab is an obligatory code of dress for Muslim women, the majority of scholars agree that a woman is not obliged to wear the face veil or the burka. Scholars, however, believe that it is up to women to decide whether to cover their faces or not.

A burka-wearing Moroccan was denied citizenship in July under the pretext that she was too “submissive” to her husband and that her dressing was “incompatible” with French values. IslamOnline.net & News Agencies.

The Jeddah Science Oasis (JSO), a center of knowledge and “edutainment” located in the heart of the city, is set to become a major tourist attraction. “JSO educates visitors, especially children, in an attractive manner. It is an excellent addition to Jeddah’s tourist facilities,” said Mazen Belailah, chairman of the center’s board of directors, and a member of the Shoura Council.
JSO has 70 exhibits distributed in eight halls. Experts from the US, Britain, the Netherlands, China and South Africa have taken part in designing its contents. Seven of its halls are permanent while the eighth is for traveling exhibits. The seven halls are: Physics & Maths, Kids Area, Water Games, Robotics, Human Body, Air & Aviation and Science Show. Arab News.

The Muslim World