COMMUNITY ROUND UP

Leading Islamic seminaries in India responded differently to the Fatwa issued by a North America-based Muslim body against full-body scanning for security checks with some endorsing the ruling and others opposing it.

While the prominent Islamic seminaries Darul Uloom Deoband and the Ulema Council supported the Fatwa saying such security checks were against the Islamic law and human dignity, the Islamic Centre of India saw nothing wrong in full-body scanning if it was necessary for security reasons, said a PTI report on February 16.

The Fiqh Council of North America recently issued a Fatwa against the use of full-body scanner for security checks before granting access to people to high security areas.

Speaking in favour of the FCNA ruling against full-body scanning, Vice-Chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband Maulana Abdul Khalik Madrasi said, "The Fatwa is justified as such screening of human bodies both for men and women was in gross violation of the Sharia (Islamic law)."

However, Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahli, the general secretary of Islamic Centre of India and member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board took a different view of the issue.
"If the full body scanning is necessary for security of any place or person, then it is OK, there is nothing wrong in full body scanning," Maulana Khalid Rasheed said.

President of India Mrs. Pratibha Devisingh Patil has said that the government has developed a comprehensive roadmap for the development of minority communities and work on it is going on in right direction.

Addressing a joint session of Parliament on February 22, Mrs. Patil said that credit flows to the minority communities have risen to Rs. 82,000 crore in 2008-09, which exceeds 12 per cent of the total priority sector lending. She also said that recruitment of minorities to posts under the Central Government has gone up steadily. “In fresh recruitments, minority representation has increased from 7 per cent in 2006-07 to more than 9 per cent in 2008-09” she emphasized.

Mrs. Patil expressed satisfaction over the ongoing work in the minority concentration districts through Multi-sectoral Development Programme.

She said that the three scholarship schemes started in 2007-08 have received an overwhelming response. “The number of scholarships awarded has gone up to nearly 15 lakh. Girls constitute a very significant proportion of the awardees”, she pointed out.

President also promised that the UPA government will bring a proposal to amend the Waqf Act during this session of Parliament. She also said that the government proposes to move for the early passage of the Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, 2005, in this Session of Parliament.

Pledging that the government is deeply committed to protecting social fabric of the country the president said that unity and social harmony is the best answer to the terrorists and their divisive designs.

A new website hopes to bridge the divide between the West and the Middle East, by allowing English speakers to read news articles originally printed in Arabic and vice versa.

San Francisco-based Meedan, which launched itself on February 22, will provide translations of news articles in both languages in an attempt to help foster better relations between the two.

"There is a tremendous amount of media attention focused on the Middle East, but for the most part we're looking at those stories through the prism of western news agencies," said Ed Bice, Meedan's co-founder and chief executive. "We don't have a good way of seeing the media that's being written in Arabic and represents the way the region is understanding these events itself."

The non-profit site – the name of which means "town square" in Arabic – will also translate material from English to Arabic, as well as providing a community forum that will let speakers of the two languages communicate with each other in near-real time.

Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Islamophobia was as dangerous a phenomenon as racism and anti-semitism, Anadolu Agency reported.

In his address to the US-Islamic World Forum in Doha on Saturday, Erdogan said tendencies towards cultural conflicts was as dangerous as, and may be even more dangerous than international terrorism, spread of nuclear weapons and environmental problems.

"Such views that would bring civilizations against each other, creates psychological barriers between peoples. Problems like racism, intolerance, discrimination, extremism are insidiously trying to diffuse into societies like deadly diseases," said Erdogan.

He said concepts of "Islam" and "Muslim" in the western world were being depicted with negative connotations in popular culture products like movies, TV series, music, photos and cartoons, even in scientific researches, noting that in a way cultural antagonism was pumped into the subconscious of the people.

Erdogan pointed out that the local outfits of the people of certain Islamic countries, their beards, and veils, some of their common words were depicted as accessories of terrorism, noting that pumping of such antagonism created deep fears in societies and causing them to look at each other with suspicion.

He said generalization of acts of terror in a way to blame it on the whole Islamic World and Muslims were wrong, noting that victims of acts of terror were Muslims again for the most part.

He said none of the divine religions would approve of terrorism adding that Islamophobia was as dangerous a phenomenon as racism and anti-semitism, calling on the U.S. and EU to take measures against Islamophopia growing insidiously in their territories.

Erdogan said Islamic countries were mentioned together with violations of rights urging these countries to make self criticism and question the reasons of this negative image.

Erdogan called on the Islamic world to display the same reaction to all crimes against humanity without discriminating.

Asra Naaz Md Ibrahim and Zainab Zarrin Imtiyaz Ah of SWES High School, Malegaon emerged the winners while Charolia Kifyatuulah and Patel Mohd Zubair Fazal Ah of Madni High School, Jogeshwari, Mumbai were close seconds in the All Maharashtra Quiz Competition held here on February 7. Anjuman Islam Girls' High School, Kurla, Mumbai won the third position. The competition was organised by NADY and QuizTime who have been holding the event since 2008. This year's competition was held on the state level bringing in 54 students of 27 schools from all across Maharashtra.

Suspense, drama, excitement and gaiety combined with splendid show of confidence, shrewdness, competitive skills, quickness and fighting spirit, were all in full display as thousands of students who converged at Malegaon High School & Junior College ground enjoyed all through the day with remarkable enthusiasm.

Competitors included teams from schools in Mumbai, Pune, Bhiwandi, Ratnagiri, Aurangabad, Sholapur, Nanded, Jalgaon and Malegaon. Eight top-scoring teams were selected for the Semi Finals.

The Anjuman Islam Girls' High School (Kurla, Mumbai), Madni High School (Jogeshwari, Mumbai), SSA Urdu High School (Sholapur) and SWES High School (Malegaon) qualified for the Grand Final.
Chairman Maulana Abul Kalam Azaad Research Centre Abdul Hameed Azhari inaugurated the competition. Hajj Committee CEO Mohd Owais, President Anjuman Islam Mumbai Dr. Zaheer Qazi, Chairperson Royal Education Society Mumbai Mrs. Rehana Undre, Munawwar Peerbhoy of Azam Campus Pune, renowned Mumbai based industrialist V. R. Shareef, Chairman Iqra Education Society Jalgaon Abdul Kareem Salar, Lyrics writer and senior journalist Hasan Kamal, Editor Urdu Times Mumbai Alam Naqvi were among the other distinguished participants. QuizTime team leader Hamid Iqbal Siddiquee of Mumbai moderated the proceedings. NADY felicitated three shining stars of Malegaon, Mateen Hafiz, who is working in The Time of India, Mumbai as Crime Reporter, Dr. Waseem Bari, who has won the Gold Medal in MBBS and Dr. Bibi Fatema, who is the first lady MPSC and Child Specialist of Malegaon for excellent performance in their careers.

Maharashtra Minister of State for Education Fauzia Khan addressed the gathering on video phone from Aurangabad. (abridged version of report from www.ummid.com)

Amir Shafaghi, an Iranian immigrant who runs a marketing company, has been appointed “carnival prince” in Bonn this year symbolising successful integration. He was the official master of ceremoniesfor the carnival celebrations that culminated on Feb. 15., who moved to western Germany with his parents in 1980 after Iran's Islamic revolution, when he was 10, was the city's official master of ceremonies for the carnival celebrations that culminate today.

“Prince Amir I”, clad in a gold-embroidered costume with white tights and a feathered cap, held comic speeches at carnival balls and threw sweets to the crowds at festive processions, accompanied by his real-life partner, “Princess Uta”. For anyone passionate about celebrating carnival in Germany, being appointed “prince of fools” is the crowning achievement.

Carnival is an honoured folk tradition in the predominantly Catholic west and south of Germany, especially in the Rhineland towns of Cologne, Düsseldorf, Bonn and Mainz, and Mr Shafaghi's nomination by the local carnival societies proved he has been truly accepted by the natives. He was the first Muslim carnival prince of a major German city. Jürgen Nimptsch, Bonn's mayor, said: “At long last we've got a prince from the Orient, and boy does he know how to celebrate.”

Veteran Urdu journalist Mohan Chiragi passed away after a massive heart attack in Kolkata on February 1. He was 71.

Editor of ''Qaumi Awaz'', Chiragi is survived by his wife and two daughters. For the last one year, he was under treatment for kidney ailments. Though Qaumi Awaz was owned by the Indian National Congress, Chiragi elevated it to great heights and earned it respectability during his editorship in 1980s and 1990s. However the daily folded up a few years ago as Congress lost power at the Centre and more competent Urdu dailies appeared on the scene.

Member of National Integration Council during the tenure of former Prime Minister P. V. Narsimha Rao, Chiragi had authored book a "Barf Mein Aag" (Fire in the Ice) on Kashmiri politics which was well-received. Chiragi who won the Communal Harmony Award had started the trend of editorial pages in Urdu newspapers. A Kashmiri pundit, Chiragi understood the intricacies of the Kashmir issue and penned authoritatively on the topic.

Former BJP leader Basavanagowda Patil Yatnal has alleged that it was local BJP MLA Appu Pattannashetty who secretly got a Pakistani flag hoisted in Belgaum last year in order to whip up communal sentiments and ensnare the local Muslims into legal cases. Mr. Yatnal who was union minister of state for railways in NDA government made this disclosure a at reception organized recently at the Adilshahi Hall in the City on February 16. The reception was got up by the local Muslims to felicitate him on joining the Janata Dal Secular. He urged CBI inquiry into the episode in which several innocent Muslims were falsely charged of putting up a Pakistani flag on a public square following communal disturbances. .Mr. Yatnal said the real criminals were being protected by the BJP Government in Karnataka. He alleged that the BJP government provided encouragement to communal leaders such as Pramode Muthalik to inflame passions of the majority community and wanted him to be booked under the law.

IMANA, the Islamic Medical Association of North America based in the United States, is an organization of Muslim physicians that was founded in 1968. The physicians work collaboratively with countries around the world to spread the message of proper health care and to come to the aid of those in need during catastrophic events.

This organization achieves tremendous success because it engages with the communities where the physicians work, seeking to instil quality programs to support the needs of the people locally. IMANA works closely with governments both on the national and local levels, as well as with community leaders and health care workers.

The most recent relief effort has taken place in Haiti, which was devastated by a level 8 earthquake on January 12. Thousands in Port-au-Prince were left buried beneath buildings and homeless. Families were forever torn apart and neighbors were forced to bury the deceased in mass graves. Physicians from IMANA who are experienced in medical relief after disasters, headed to grief stricken Haiti to work in teams to provide care to those without. Doctors found themselves working in make shift-tents where they combined their surgical skills in hopes to perform advanced surgeries. They would sometimes treat 300 patients daily. Dr. Mehr, a physician volunteering in Haiti stated, “It's very clear in the Quran that to save one human life is as if you saved all of humanity.”
On July 3, 2009 IMANA advocated for health care reform on Capital Hill in Washington, D.C. for the first time. The topic of conversation was “Perspectives from the Front Line.” Dr. Khalique Zahi represented the organization and spoke about the vision of health care being the “shared responsibility grounded in common humanity.” Dr. Zahi advocated for each nation to band together to support world health.

The Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee has condemned the remarks of Chief Justice of High Court that reservation to Muslims will promote conversions. The Committee expressed deep concerns over the quashing of the reservation by the Andhra Pradesh High Court. The group said the remarks reflect a communal mindset.

“Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee deeply expresses its concern over the judgment against the reservation to Muslim and strongly condemns the remarks made by Chief Justice, that if reservation is provided to Muslims, conversions will take place. These kinds of statements are issued only by BJP and RSS ideologues; therefore, this reflects the mindset of the Chief Justice of Andhra High Court,” said Lateef Mohammad Khan, General Secretary, CLMC.

Khan said the judgment of the court to deny reservation to Muslims is equal to the denial of justice to Muslims, and alleged that the ruling Congress is not sincere on the issue, rather playing vote-bank politics.

“If at all, the government is interested and serious about this issue then the court's decision would have not been like this. Civil Liberties believes that the governments interest in providing reservation to Muslims is nil and the government's ministers in the minority welfare ministry, are themselves unaware of the basic rules and laws of reservation. Until now 4% of reservation provided by the government was not up to the standard, instead the Muslims were tied up with the caste system. Whereas reservation should be given on the basis of social, economic and educational backwardness,” the statement noted.

Sachar committee has clearly stated that the condition of Muslims is worse than the Dalits. On the other side, Ranganath Mishra Commission was constituted to know the conditions of Minorities in India. After analyzing for many years, this Commission submitted its report to the Government in which it clearly said that Muslims should be given 10% and other minorities should be given 5% of reservation. “Even after clarification of these facts, if High Court is not satisfied and quashed the reservation by saying that it is based on religion it can be said that Court has not applied its mind and did not exercise its authority to justify the affirmative action in favour of the Muslim community,” Khan said.

Civil liberties group has demanded the Centre to immediately implement the Ranganath Mishra Commission recommendations. Constitutional amendment should be made and all the Muslims of India should be given 10% and other minorities 5% of reservations.

Muslim representatives from across the country have pledged to get the Justice Ranganath Misra Commission report implemented in true spirit. They are of the view that 'reservation for the community is integrative and not divisive' as propagated by the communal forces. For them the reservation is neither secessionism, nor separation, but a tool for inclusion into the national mainstream. They feel that the reservation will prove as a remedy to religious and caste discrimination.

At a meet held here under the banner of National Movement for Muslim Reservation (NMMR) recently, intellectuals and activists hailed the Commission's recommendations as “unique and unprecedented” in the history of post-Independence India.

The Commission has recommended that Muslim be provided 10 per cent reservation separately on the basis of their backwardness. Among other recommendation it also vouched for amending the article 341 of the Indian Constitution to bring Muslims and Christians within the ambit of Scheduled Caste reservation, now limited to Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists only.

At the grand meet the general feeling among the Muslims was that they would do everything to get 10 per cent reservation in government jobs and education, as recommended by the Ranganath Misra-headed National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities.

The Commission submitted its report to the prime minister in May, 2007, and it was tabled in Parliament in December, 2009. However, the government is yet to come up with an Action taken Report (ATR) Aon these recommendations. It is the normal practice that any report of a Commission constituted by the government must be brought to Parliament along with an ATR.

On the occasion the coordinator of NMMR, Syed Shahabuddin said that: “Muslim reservation has become the litmus test for secularism today.” He said that Article 15 (1) of the Constitution prohibited discrimination by the State on grounds of “religion, race, caste etc.” but if the “religion, race, caste etc” were qualified by another criterion such as backwardness, the prohibition would not apply. Former MP said Articles 15(4) and 16(4) gave expression to this caveat. The former enabled special provisions for the advancement of “any “socially and educationally backward classes of citizen” and the latter provided for reservation in jobs and appointments to any “backward class of citizens”

“It is notable that the Muslim community today is demanding reservation as a Backward Class, as a deprived group, who is almost as backward as the SC/ST and more backward than non-Muslim OBCs. It is not staking any historical claim or desiring any preferential or special dispensation”, the conference resolution observed.

Educationist and Chancellor of Hamdard University Saiyid Hamid, said earlier he believed that reservation for Muslims is against the dignity and self-esteem of the community. “But now I realize I was wrong and mistaken. My tireless efforts and engagement in the field of community development over a period of three decades made me rethink about my earlier stand” he said adding that, it is the need of hour that Muslim should get reservation at the earliest.”

Abusaleh Shariff a member in the Sachar Committee, urged the community to focus their attention on the uplift of their backward brethren. “Reservation was undoubtedly one aspect of uplift, it was vital not to ignore other avenues of Muslim advancement” he pointed out. He recalled that the Sachar Committee, with its emphasis on diversity and equal opportunity in the public sphere, suggested an entire package for Muslim advancement. He asked Muslims to make a clear strategy to get full package of Sachar report.

In his presidential remarks former Cabinet Secretary Zafar Saifullah hoped that Muslims will get the reservation as it is their legitimate right. He also said that Muslims could not get reservation benefit because of lack of political will.

Leader of backward classes in Maharashtra, P. A. Inamdar, emphasized on to fulfill all the legal requirements for reservation. He also asked the Muslim leadership to think about, how the discrepancies at state and central lists of OBCs be corrected. Explaining the Bengal experience, Siddiqullah Chaudhary called for political empowerment and unity in the community. “until you show strength and power, you will not be given even legitimate due” he said.

Former MP Shahid Siddiqui hoped that Muslim would get their due share in the national resources if they continue to show unity at all level.

Attempts to reform Muslim Personal Law to address some of its provisions that impact particularly harshly on women have inevitably met with stiff resistance from the ulema—even though these provisions have no sanction in Islam as they understand it. Muslim vote bank dissuades the Indian political parties from doing anything with the Muslim Personal law that might annoy the community. As the situation exist today, no reform is possible as long as the ulema continue to oppose it.
While the overwhelmingly Sunni All-India Muslim Personal Law Board continues to oppose significant reforms in Muslim Personal Law, a recent initiative of the little-known All-India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLBD) set up five years ago, indicates a growing willingness to reform laws that affect women. The AIPSLBD is seeking to bring about reforms in order to protect the rights of Shia wives indirectly—through the model marriage contract or nikahnamah that it has recently come out with and is seeking to popularize among India's roughly 20 million Shia Muslims.

The nikahnamah is outlines the rights and obligations of the bride and the bridegroom in two section. Both are required to give assent to these rules. To protect the rights of the wife, the groom is promised not to force her 'to do anything in violation of the shariah' or that might cause her 'embarrassment in society'. He undertakes not to 'make any allegation' against her without any authentic evidence, nor demand any gifts or money from her or her family, while agreeing to provide proper maintenance of the wife and their children, if any. He agrees to the stipulation that 'to fulfill domestic obligations, within the bounds of the shariah' and to improve the economic situation of the family, if the wife 'wants to work anywhere', he shall not stop her from doing so.
On the tricky issue of divorce, the model nikahnamah offers the wife substantial rights. Thus, for instance, if the husband disappears for two consecutive years and fails to provide for his wife, she has the right to the delegated divorce. She has the same right if the husband uses physical force against her or mentally tortures her. She also has the right to ask her husband for separate living arrangements if any of his relatives 'excessively' troubles her.

The nikahnamah does not go so far as denying the husband's prerogative of arbitrary divorce that Muslim Personal Law allows for. At the same time, it seeks to make such divorce more difficult for the husband than is presently the case. It calls for the setting up of an arbitration committee, consisting of five members each from the two sides. In case of disputes between the spouses, divorce must be preceded by reconciliatory efforts through arbitration.

Significantly, the nikahnamah guarantees the divorced wife the right to maintenance from her former husband if she has no means of maintaining herself until such time as she acquires a means of livelihood. It does not limit the maintenance period to simply three menstrual cycles as is the case with the Sunnis. In effect, this clause echoes the controversial Supreme Court judgment in the infamous Shah Bano case in the 1980s, which sought to put Muslim women on par with other Indian women by granting them the same maintenance rights. Probably sensitive to the possibility of being accused of violating the shariah in this regard, the drafters of the nikahnamah add that it should not be construed as an interference in the sharia. 'Rather', it adds, 'this condition is based on humanitarian grounds'.

It also requires the groom to provide additional details, for instance, declare if he has any other wife, and/or children, his monthly income, his educational qualifications, while undertaking to properly maintain his wife. If any of these details are later proven wrong, the wife has the right to delegated divorce, which she can exercise after consulting with a religious scholar.

In short, the AISPLB's new nikahnamah has numerous clauses that address some of the most glaring shortcomings of Muslim Personal Law as it presently exists in India. It also lays down that the spouses would have right to negotiate the clauses prior to marriage, and delete, cancel or narrow down some of the terms and conditions.

The AISPLB's marriage contract does not, of course, address all the demands of Muslim women's activists. But it is a bold attempt to deal with some of the most pressing problems of Muslim women cannot be denied. That the initiative for this sort of effort has come from a section of the ulema, otherwise seen as a bastion of conservatism and patriarchy, is, to say the least, heartening.
Yoginder Sikand works with the Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy at the National Law School, Bangalore.

Opposition is mounting against anti-cow slaughter bill proposed to be introduced in the Karnataka Assembly shortly.

A grand alliance of 46 organisations spearheaded by Karnataka Muslim Muttehada Mahaz and Dalit Sangharsh Samiti (DSS) have launched a campaign under the banner of Movement for Protection of Indian Food Culture against the proposed bill. Janata Dal Secular supremo and former Prime Minister Mr. H. D. Devegowda has criticized the bill for being anti-farmer, hasty and impractical. He said even the Supreme court had approved the use of aged and infirm cattle for consumption. He said: I want to caution Mr. Yeddyurappa against this misadventure.

The Movement for Protection of Indian Food Culture has organizations like Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike, Praja Vimochana Chaluvali, Dalit Sangharsha Samiti (Ambedkarwadi), Dr. Ambedkar Philosophical Foundation, Samatha Sainik Dal, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha etc. Alliance leader Mr. Shiva Sundar told Islamic Voice that a memorandum carrying several lakhs of signatures of people opposing the bill will be presented around the end of February. A rally will also be held around the month's end in Bangalore.

Mr. Sundar said beef was part of diet of 80 per cent of non-vegetarian population in the State and thus the bill seeks to deny the rights of a majority of population in the State. He said, since beef was much cheaper than mutton and chicken, it was a class issue in the state where diet of a majority of people was being targeted at by the BJP government which dances to the tune of Sangh parivar.
Syed Muhammad Iqbal, joint convener of the Movement for Protection of Indian Food Culture said the bill strikes at the interest of not only Dalit, Muslims, tribals, Christians who consume beef, but also at the interest of farmers (ryots), livestock breeders and shepherds (Kurubas) who find no economic worth for old animals.

Mavalli Shankar of DSS and another Joint Convener of the Movement said the proposed amendment in the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation Act, 1964 were draconian as it makes even possession of the beef a non-bailable offence. Shyam Sundar who spoke at a debate shown on all the TV channels said the legislation was draconian and punishments suggested seven years of imprisonment. He said these exceeded even the ones suggested for terrorists.

Died: Mohammed Rashid Mecci, education activist died in Bangalore on February 6 morning. Mecci was Hony. Secretary of Crescent Educational Association attached to the Basavanagudi Mosque for over a decade and stewarded its progress from a high school with 300 students to an educational complex with multifarious courses and skills hosting 3,000 students. A dynamo of a man, Mecci was a government servant and was on the verge of retirement from the Provident Fund Department. Ever active, ever agile, Mecci engaged himself round the clock winning converts to the cause of modern education. Honest to the core, he popularized several technical and computer skills among a large body of underprivileged sections in southern Bangalore. He was 59. A large number of mourners attended the funeral. His death leaves a serious void in the field of educational activism in Karnataka. He leaves behind three sons and three daughters besides his widow.