SOCIAL ACTIVISM

In absence of well defined objectives and precise targets, the attempts to integrate Muslims professionals have proved abortive.

Mumbai has a huge pool of professionals and even offers vast scope for tapping their potential for constructive work. Yet several attempts to float professional organization by Muslims have failed to bear any fruit.

There are number of Islamic organizations for the youth such as Student Islamic Organization (SIO), IRF, Dawaat i Islami etc but they are too rigid in their approach in attracting the Muslim youth and professionals.

In recent past three attempts were made in Mumbai to attract and exploit the reservoir of Muslim youths and Professionals. These were Qartaba Wisdom Club (QWC), Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP), and Professionals Solidarity Forum (PSF).

Qartaba Wisdom Club (QWC) was launched by a couple of engineers based in Mumbai for networking among Muslim professionals and build a common platform. Initially QWC did organize workshops for Muslim professionals for interaction and skill enhancement but it drifted into organizing career guidance workshops for school children, a task already being carried out by many organizations. Inspite of having a network of professionals, QWC has become an organization which initiates one or two routine activities in a year. Nothing beyond that.

Another attempt at having such a platform was 'Association of Muslim Professionals', (AMP). It sought to provide a platform for all Muslim professionals in order to tap their knowledge, intellect, experience and skills for the overall development of Muslim community and its further empowerment in the educational, social, political and economic spheres of life.

No doubt the AMP declared itself a non-political and non-sectarian organization, which endeavors to promote social welfare, community spirit and knowledge in our society. But privately, many of its members confess of having political aspirations which keeps other Muslim professionals from joining it. Besides organizing Career Fest once in a year jointly with QWC, and SIO, the AMP has yet to register itself in the mindscape of the Community.

Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, a largest cadre based Islamic organization, recently launched 'Professionals Solidarity Forum' (PSF) in Mumbai to attract Muslim professionals for the community development. According to the Jamaat sources, the basic objectives of launching PSF is two fold. First its seeks to liberate these Muslim professionals from moral bankruptcy and debauchery and secondly endeavours to channelise their talent for the betterment of the society.

In the last one decade, the Jamaat, has lost enough ground in Mumbai where its presence is not felt in day to day issues facing the community inspite of having weekly Ijtema at around 20 places and managing two schools.

Considering the initial cold response from the Muslim professionals, it is an uphill task for the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, to persuade Muslim professionals to join the PSF. It seems the Jamaat itself seems hesitant to aggressively promote and support PSF as it apprehends losing control over it.
In the past the Jamaat has not been very successful in managing the sister organizations. In the recent past it failed miserably in achieving its political objectives by not being able to steer 'Movement for Peace and Justice' (MPJ) effectively. MPJ was launched in Maharashtra in 2005 with the sole intention to make the society free from illiteracy, oppression and injustice by capturing a few seats in local bodies.

Few of the MPJ office bearers and member jumped the gun and filed their nominations to fight elections on their own without waiting for official nod from the Jamaat leadership. This development in the state forced Jamaat to withdraw support to MPJ and allowed it to die a natural death.

The big question is will Muslim professionals be comfortable associating themselves with a forum having links with the Jamaat? Abdul Waheed, Co-ordinator PSF is optimistic about the success of the newly launched Forum. “We are going to focus exclusively on the issue pertaining to Professionals such as skills up-gradation, organizing workshop on relevant subjects, making them part of the larger network so that they can contribute for the community development in their respective sphere”, said Waheed.

A cursory survey of Muslim professionals reveals why all the three initiatives to attract Muslim Professionals got cold response. Dr Abdul Malik, Professor of sociology, opines that these organizations have committed the blunder of launching themselves without designing concrete practical activities at the ground level. “Professionals are educated and experienced. They value their time more than other sections of the community. By having an organization only on paper it is impossible to attract quality professionals”, said Prof. Malik.

The need of the hour is well-defined objectives and concrete and practical initiatives at the ground zero so that these Muslim professionals get attracted and their energies and talent can be utilized for the development of the community.

(The writer can be reached at mhl@rediffmail.com)

The Special Representative to Muslim Communities of the US State Department Farah Pandit on Feb. 16 highlighted President Barack Obama's vision to build partnerships with Muslim communities across the globe on the basis of mutual interest and mutual respect. She was holding a roundtable with Muslim journalists in New Delhi.

President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are more than serious about establishing good relations with the Muslim communities on the basis of mutual interest and mutual respect. We are engaging young Muslim generation in dialogues and conversations to build trust and remove misunderstandings, said Kashmir-born Farah Pandit.

Asked how she thinks President Barack Obama's outreach effort to the Muslim world is successful, she said: We have continued our efforts to reach to the Muslim communities and build relations and remove misconceptions. We are not ticking box to list success points.

While carefully avoiding loaded political queries, She took several questions from the scribes, most of them were from Urdu media. When asked specifically if the move is an admission that some of its foreign policies have gone wrong, she again did not answer clearly.

As Special Representative to Muslim Communities, Pandit is responsible for executing Secretary Clinton's vision for engagement with Muslims around the world on a people-to-people and organizational level. Prior to this appointment, she was Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. In this role she was focused on Muslim communities in Europe where she was responsible for policy oversight for integration, democracy, and Islam in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. Pandit was born in Srinagar, Kashmir, India.

Farah Pandit is among top Muslims of Indian descent picked by President Obama in his administration. Ebu Patel and Rashad Hussain are other prominent officials in Obama administration. Obama has recently appointed Hussain as special envoy to OIC.

Not alone two individuals to serve as his Administration's links to the Muslim world, the current Obama administration, Mr Obama has appointed even a Jewish woman Hannah Rosenthal, 59, as a Special Envoy and the head of Office To Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism. She was sworn to office November 23 last year.She is the first woman to be Executive Director of a national Jewish organization.