THE MUSLIM WORLD

Female students at Cairo University in Egypt are defying religious and state efforts to ban the controversial niqab from schools and colleges, saying that wearing the controversial face veil is a religious obligation that also protects against sexual harassment.

"I wear the niqab to avoid harassment on the street and on public transport," said law student Marwa Mohammed, 19, her eyes visible only through the slits in the black veil that covers her entire face.

But if conditions changed and she was not subjected to harassment, would she take it off?
She would not, because "the veil gives me respect, and people look at me differently".

She implied that sexual harassment would exist as long as young men looking for work and housing remained frustrated in their efforts.

"What will change? The cost of living?

"Unemployment? Or the excessively high cost of housing?" Marwa asked, her kohl-stained eyes giving away a hidden smile.

"As long as young people don't have the means to get married, harassment will continue."

The hijab, the headscarf that covers the hair and neck, is worn by most Muslim women in conservative Egypt, and religious authorities say that wearing it is an obligation of the faith.

But the niqab, which has been gaining in popularity, has been driving a wedge between women such as Marwa and Egypt's highest religious authorities.

In October, Sheikh Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi, grand imam of the Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's highest seat of learning, ignited a heated debate when he said the niqab was merely a tradition not linked to religion, and that women would be banned from wearing it in schools and universities.

But on Wednesday, an Egyptian court caved in to opposition to the religious ruling and placed a stay on the ban.

Now, religious authorities who oppose the niqab and women who favour it are polarised over the issue.

The niqab-wearing students at Cairo University say they are adhering to a precept and repeat what seems to have become their mantra: "Of course, the niqab is an obligation."

It is an Islamic duty, "particularly in the times we live in, where sexual harassment is so common," said 18-year-old Aya, who studies Arabic literature and has been wearing the niqab for three months.

Sexual harassment is common in Egypt. According to a 2008 study by the Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights, 83 per cent of the country's women had experienced sexual harassment.

There is growing concern by the government and Al-Azhar authorities over the niqab, which is associated in Egypt with the ultra-conservative Salafi school of thought, that is practised mostly in Saudi Arabia and parts of Yemen.

Authorities say the niqab is also linked to security, allowing anyone to hide behind the veil.

In schools, they say, it allows impostors to appear for exams in place of some students.

Some university officials have even cited instances in which male students have tried to enter female dormitories by wearing the niqab as a disguise.

One female student at Cairo University charged that the authorities are trying to ban the niqab to paint Egypt's conservative society in a different light, one more acceptable to the West.

Student Fatma Nasser said: "The government wants to ban the niqab to copy Americans and foreigners, to say that Egypt is a modern, developed country.”

A campaign is underway to resurrect Indian revolutionary Bhagat Singh's alma mater in Pakistan and rename it after him.

Bradlaugh Hall, once a premier educational institute in Lahore that Singh attended, is in ruins but efforts are underway to breathe life into it. At the centre of the campaign is Saeeda Diep, head of the Institute for Secular Studies in Lahore.

Ms. Diep aims to restore the Hall to its pre-1947 glory and turn it into a school with a museum dedicated to the independence movement with special focus on Bhagat Singh.

Apart from renaming the institute, Ms. Diep wants Shadman Square, the place where Singh was hanged, to be renamed after him. She has petitioned authorities in this regard.

On March 23, 1931, Bhagat Singh and his comrades were executed for shooting British deputy superintendent of police J.P. Saunders in response to the police beating of veteran independence activist Lala Lajpat Rai.

The founder of Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, is known to have defended Singh in the Indian Central Assembly in 1929.

Ms. Diep has been an admirer of Singh since she was a student, just like others in the generation that grew up in the 1960s and 1970s.

There was an outpouring of neighborly support after a hate crime at a Nashville mosque in the second week of February.

It was a cold morning Friday for cleanup, but it was nothing compared to the chill John Tighe got by reading the spray-painted message.

"It made me sick to my stomach, because I don't expect this in Nashville," Tighe said.

Sometime Wednesday, the Al-Farooq mosque became a victim of a hate crime. Not only did vandals leave a spray-painted cross and the message "Muslims go home" but also a letter expressing hatred of Islam. But what has warmed the hearts of the members of Nashville's Muslim community is the outpouring of support received by members of all faiths and backgrounds in the past few days.
Belmont University donated the supplies, and several people donated their time.

Reported By Cara Kumari.

The OIC Centre for Research in Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA) will organise an international conference seminar on Islamic Civilisation in the Mediterranean in collaboration with the Intercultural Dialogue Centre of the Near East University, Nicosia, Cyprus in Nicosia on December 1-4, 2010. It has invited papers on role of Islam in civilisational process, science and technology in the Mediterranean and relations with arts of other cultures, history of expansion of Islam in this region, architecture and urbanism in Islamic civilisation in the Mediterranean etc. Scholars and writers have been invited to submit the abstracts of their papers by April 2, 2010 to: Conference on Islamic Civilisation in the Mediterranean, IRCICA, email: ircica@icrica.org or on : Conference on Islamic Civilisation in the Mediterranean, Institute for Islamic Culture and Intercultural Dialogue, Near East University, irid@neu.edu.tr

A Brunei company announced plans to offer the region's first online master's degree programme in Islamic banking and finance, reported the German News agency DPA on February 10.

Crescent Sdn Bhd said the course would "take advantage of the untapped market of Islamic finance studies, especially in countries such as China, Japan, South Korea and Australia," the Brunei Times reported. The website for the degree course was expected to be online by July or August, the newspaper said.

Brunei Darussalam, a predominantly Muslim sultanate located at the northern tip of Borneo island, is heavily dependent on oil and gas production for its income. The government recently began promoting Islam-related services and products in an effort to carve out new market niches for the tiny nation.

India is perhaps the only country in the whole world were Muslims despite being in minority, can profoundly claim that they have reaped the fruits of Democracy uninterruptedly for the last 60 years. M.J. Akbar prominent journalist and columnist expressed these views on February 16 while delivering an extension lecture at Maulana Azad National Urdu University. Department of Mass Communication and Journalism organized the event. Dwelling at length on different aspects of status of Urdu and Muslims in India, he advised the Muslims to stop begging the Government. Rights are different but we need not to beg for everything. According to Mr. Akbar reservation is the right of Muslims. When the other backward and under privileged sections of the society are being offered the reservations, why not the Muslims? He asked. Muslims now a days are not willing to accept the so called “Soft Secularism”. If you vote out of fear then in turn you will get fear only. You cannot expect development in return. He appreciated the West Bengal Government for declaring 10 per cent reservations for the Muslims and said that Marxist Government has done its home work quite well on this front. If your logic and justification for reservation is wrong then Judiciary will never allow it to be implemented. West Bengal Government has clearly defined the backwardness and removed the creamy layer from the purview of reservations. If the Government is sincere and has strong will then only reservations could be implemented. Prof. K. R. Iqbal Ahmed Vice-Chancellor presided over the function and introduced the Chief Guest. Speaking on the topic “Urdu Media in 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities” he advised the young journalists to become the voice of downtrodden and the poor. Describing Urdu as a sweet language which has the unique ability of mixing with any other language, he said Urdu was never an official language throughout its history. Yet it enjoys the popularity and the patronage of the masses even today. In this regard he referred the Hindi movies. Most of the popular songs and dialogues are written in Urdu only. Development and revival of the Indian Muslims will start only from the institutions like Maulana Azad National Urdu University. He pointed out any political leader could never usher a change which a professor or teacher could bring. While releasing the Lab Journal Izhar Mr. M.J. Akbar heaped lavish praise about it. He was very much appreciative of the efforts of the M.A. MCJ students. He said Journalism is just not about writing, it is in fact a process of communication where self ego has to be set aside. Mr. Akbar also responded to the questions raised by the audience at the end of the lecture. Earlier Mr. Ehtesham Ahmed Khan, Head of the Department welcomed the gathering. Prof. S.A. Wahab Registrar proposed vote of thanks. On the occasion Prof. Iqbal Ahmed amidst the applause of the audience, announced that Mr. Akbar has agreed to become a visiting Professor for the MCJ Department, which will be an honour for the University and will benefit the students immensely. Later in the afternoon Mr. Akbar interacted exclusively with the students of MCJ.

United States President Barack Hussain Obama has appointed White House Lawyer Rashad Hussain as the envoy to the Organisation of Islamic Conference. Hussain was a deputy associate counsel at the White House. The OIC, which has 57 member states and calls itself the voice of Muslims, is the second-largest inter-governmental group in the world after the UN.

Mr. Hussain was part of the White House team that worked on Mr. Obama's speech in Cairo last June, in which he sought to repair relations with the Muslim world after strains during the Bush administration.

Rashad’s parents are naturalized citizens from India and live in Plano, Texas.

He received highest honors for his philosophy thesis, “Assessing the Theistic Implications of Big Bang Cosmological Theory.” Hussain also holds an MA from Harvard University in Near Eastern languages and civilizations. He finds his heritage central to his identity as a Muslim American and his career goals, especially in light of events in recent history. The President also described him as a hafiz of the Quran.

Announcing Mr, Hussain's appointment on February 13 during a videotaped message to the US-Islamic World Forum in Qatar, the President said his administration had made a "sustained effort" to listen to Muslims since his Cairo speech.

He said that during the Cairo address he had called for a new beginning with the world's 1.5 billion followers because the relationship between the US and Muslims had "slipped into a cycle of misunderstanding and mistrust that can lead to conflict rather than co-operation".

Mr. Obama said he looked forward to continuing the US dialogue with Islam late next month when he visits Indonesia, the biggest Muslim country and where he spent some of his childhood. The President will also visit Australia on the Indonesia trip.

Mr. Hussain will be the second envoy to the OIC after then president George W. Bush established the position in 2007.

Mr. Obama described Mr. Hussain as an accomplished lawyer and trusted member of his White House staff who had played a key role in developing partnerships. "And as a hafiz of the Koran, he is a respected member of the American Muslim community," he said.

The Obama administration has another envoy to the Muslim world, Farah Pandith, appointed last September as the US State Department's representative.

As a lawyer at the White House, Mr. Hussain has focused on national security, new media and science.

The French Catholic Church apprehends that there may be a backlash against Christian minorities in the Islamic countries if Nicolas Sarkozy's government banned full-face Muslim veils.

Bishop Michel Santier, the senior French official for inter-faith relations, said very few women in France wore full veils and that Muslim leaders agreed it was not obligatory.

A parliamentary commission last month had urged the National Assembly to pass a resolution condemning full veils and then work out a law to ban them.

Mr Santier said the result of a law could increase the number of women wearing a veil.
“The French, including the Catholics among them, should not let themselves be gripped by fear or a clash of civilisations' theory,” he said.

“If we want Christian minorities in Muslim majority countries to enjoy all their rights, we should in our country respect the rights of all believers to practice their faith. A dialogue in truth among believers will help us go beyond mutual mistrust. The path will be long and hard.”

The Vatican has long pointed to the rights of Muslim minorities in Western countries when pressing Islamic countries to allow more religious freedom for Christians. French Jewish leaders have also expressed concern about a veil ban.

Claude Gueant, an aide to President Sarkozy, said yesterday that he doubted a total ban would be legally possible.

French police say about 1,900 women wear the full veils, mostly niqabs which show only the eyes. Critics say they must be outlawed as an insult to women's rights and a sign of Islamic radicalism.

With the elite and most of the media busy with Valentine Day activities, several student and women organizations are preparing Youm-e-Haya (Modesty Day) in educational institutions and streets across the country on the same day.

"So-called festivals like Valentine Day are sequel of a calculated campaign aimed at culturally invading our society in the name of moderation," Syed Abdul Rasheed, President of Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT), the country's largest student group, told IslamOnline.net.

"Neither Islam nor our society have any connection whatsoever with such kind of commercially-motivated festivals."

Valentine Day, which falls on February 14, is named after a Christian martyr and over the years has become the day on which lovers traditionally express their feelings for each other.

Though it is not celebrated openly in Pakistan, special programs are arranged by five-star hotels and multinational companies.

Some newspapers and TV channels offer message sending facilities to woo youths to send their greetings to loved ones.

Valentine Day activities, including sale of flowers and gifts, are witnessed mostly in posh localities of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.

"These kinds of festivals, which are meant for capital society, has nothing to do with Islam. We want to prevent our youths from falling prey into the hands of this capitalist thinking," said Abdul Rasheed.
IJT, which has strong roots in educational institutions nationwide, is offering an alternative to the people, especially youths, this year.

"We will celebrate this day as Youm-e-Haya as modesty is one of the fundamental tenets of Islam," said Abdul Rasheed.

"We have offered a much better alternative to our youths i.e. to adopt modesty."

Seminars and rallies will be held in all universities and collages across the country, besides a mass contact campaign jointly launched by respective organizations.

"We have convinced several male and female teachers to spare a few minutes to highlight the importance of Haya in religion in their lectures on that day."

Rasheed says Youm-e-Haya is a peaceful response to the exponents of Valentine Day and other festivals promoted by multinationals to achieve business gains.

"Any kind of violent activity to contain these kinds of festivals does not yield positive results," he asserted.

"Violence may frighten the people for a while, but ultimately it turns out to be counterproductive. In fact, it would attract more and more youths towards such kind of festivals in a fit of pique and resentment."

The IJT decided, therefore, to counter these activities by providing people, particularly the youth, healthy alternatives.

"Participation of youths in our rallies and seminars show that a huge majority of Pakistani youths have no interest in such festivals. It's the so-called elite class and secular media which present Valentine's Day and other festivals in a manner whereby they look like nationwide celebrations."
The initiative has gathered support from various students and women organizations, including Anjuman-e-Talaba Islam, Jamiat Talaba Islam, Working Women Trust, Shabab-e-Milli, Pasban, Jammat-e-Islami women wing and Jamiat Ulema Islam women wing.

"Haya is the ornament of Muslim. Therefore, we fully support this day, and our all members will participate," Humaira Khalid, a central leader of the Jammat-e-Islami women wing, told IOL.
"This is not the matter of heart. It is matter of Deen (religion).” (Islam Online)