Muslim World

South African Nobel Peace laureate Desmond Tutu accused the West of complicity in Palestinian suffering, blaming the West’s deafening silence to its sense of guilt over the Holocaust. “I think the West, quite rightly, is feeling contrite, penitent for its awful connivance with the Holocaust,” Tutu told journalists after delivering a report to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council about Israel’s deadly shelling of the town of Beit Hanoun in 2006. “The West is penitent, the penance is being paid by the Palestinians.” Tutu, the South African archbishop famed for his anti-apartheid activism, said the West does not want to criticize Israel because of the Holocaust. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the Holocaust refers to “systematic state-sponsored killing of Jewish men, women, and children and others by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II.”

Shocked by stories of young girls being married off to men at the age of their fathers, a group of Saudi women activists have launched a nationwide campaign to enact a law criminalizing child marriages in the conservative kingdom. “The idea of the campaign came out after child marriages have become rife in Saudi Arabia,” said Fawziya Al-Oyouni, president of the Saudi society for defending women’s rights.

The activists are planning to file a petition with the Saudi Justice Ministry to demand a law criminalizing the marriage of girls under 17. In many child marriages, girls are given away to older men in return for hefty dowries or as a result of long-standing custom in which a father promises his daughters and sons to marriage while children.

Tarique Ghaffur, Scotland Yard’s senior most Asian police officer has alleged that the elite police force has behaved in a discriminatory manner with him and claimed one million pound damages. He has filed a suit against the Yard for discriminating against him on the basis of his race, religion and age. He has said that senior Asian and black officers have to work in a ‘hostile’ and ‘poisonous’ atmosphere. Mr Ghaffur has alleged that he has received death threats from several police officers.

A collection of rare manuscripts of the Holy Quran attributed to the Imams were put on display at the 16th annual International Holy Quran Exhibition.
The collection was on display by the Astan-e Qods Razavi Organization for Libraries, Museums and Archives Centers.

The manuscripts, mostly donated to the Astan-e Qods Museum, are attributed to Hazrat Ali, Imam Hassan, Imam Reza, and Imam Musa were on exhibit at the Astan-e Qods stand, according to IRNA.

The collection included the oldest Dari translation of the Quran dating back to the 10th century and the English translation of the Quran translated by Rahim Dowlati.
The copy of the Quran in the Nastaliq style of calligraphy inscribed by master Hossein Mirkhani, as well as different translations of the Quran into several languages, including Turkish, Urdu, French, English, and Persian is also being displayed.

Mohammed, the son of Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad, died on September 8 at the age of 74 in his home in Markham. Chicago. In 1993, Mohamed, who wrote many books on Islamic teachings, became the first Muslim imam to deliver prayers and invocation on the floor of the US Senate. In the same year, he served as the Muslim representative at President Bill Clinton’s inaugural inter-faith breakfast. He also worked on building inter-faith relations, meeting with late Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in 1996. There are between six and seven million Muslims in the US. “We offer our heartfelt condolences to his family,” said Nihad Awad, Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). “CAIR’s board and staff nationwide are particularly grateful for Imam Mohammed’s wisdom and support over the years,” he added.

A documentary film on the Battle of Badr is being produced by the Madinah Research & Studies Center, according to Abdul Basit Badr, director of the center. The 12-minute documentary is currently undergoing final touches. “We have used three-dimensional drawings for the film,” he said. Tandhib Al-Fayedi, an Islamic history researcher, said Muslims fought their enemies in the battle of Badr that took place during the early period of Islam, in an organized manner. The consultation of the Prophet (Pbuh) with his companions and the strong faith of Muslims in God were the main factors that contributed to their victory. “High morale of Muslims was another major factor,” Al-Fayedi said.

Cologne City Council has voted in favor of building Germany’s largest mosque despite a fierce opposition from right-wing groups. “We are building this for all the people of Cologne, not just Muslims,” said the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB) in a statement. The city council voted to allow Muslim groups to build the mosque in Cologne’s Ehrenfeld district. DITIB has agreed not to broadcast Adhan over loudspeakers. Germany is home to some 3.2 million Muslims, over half of whom are of Turkish origin. There are now 159 mosques in Germany. “I think the new mosque will be such an architectural masterpiece that tour buses will take people to see it after they visit the Cologne Cathedral,” said Josef Wirges, local council member for Ehrenfeld and member of the Social Democrats (SPD).

Making use of the world’s most sophisticated technological tools, Moroccan scholars are using the Internet to reach out to their target audience. “Having a presence on the Internet has become a necessity in today’s world,” said Mustapha Bin Hamza, a Professor in the University of Mohammed and head of Shari`ah sciences in the eastern city of Oujda. Many scholars have launched their own websites featuring their sermons, teachings, researches, scholarly opinion on Shari`ah-related issues. Most websites also include special sections to answer questions raised by the audience. Among prominent scholars who recently launched websites are Dr. Ahmed El-Raissouni, Sheikh Abdel-Salam Yassin, Sheikh Abdullah Belmadani, Dr. Al-Tuhami Al-Raji Al-Hashimi, Sheikh Abdel-Bari Al-Zamzami and preacher Mohamed Al-Magharrawi. “For so long Moroccans have been tuning in to non-Moroccan websites offering fatwas that do not follow the Maliki school. The Maliki is one of the four schools of Fiqh in Islam and is the dominant school in Morocco.

The Islamic Center of Stockholm in Sweden has established an Islamic Studies College. The growing trend of conversion to Islam among the Swedes has made the establishment of such research centers necessary. A number of other Islamic institutes in the country are also planning to launch Islamic colleges. Currently, there are some 1,20,000 Muslims residing in Sweden, making Islam the second-largest religion in the country after Christianity. Islam is a recognised religion in the Scandinavian country and students in public schools learn about Islamic beliefs.

Interior Minister, Prince Naif attributed the backwardness, moral decay and extremism among Muslims to their non-adherence to true Islamic principles.
Addressing a prize-distribution function last month, to honour the winners of Prince Naif International Prize for Sunnah and Contemporary Islamic Studies, Prince Naif, said: “The aim of honoring the best researchers in Sunnah and contemporary Islamic studies is to encourage research in the studies of Sunnah, the second source of Islamic law, and highlight its values such as tolerance and humanitarian character.”

In a statement issued after the function, Prince Naif, who is also chairman of the Higher Commission for Prince Naif International Prize for Sunnah and Contemporary Islamic Studies, warned scholars against making incorrect interpretations of the verses of the Qur’an and the Sunnah. The Muslims of the early years could lead the world because they were sincere in their faith and keen to follow the true religion, the prince said.

US Muslims are infuriated by a controversial anti-Islam documentary being widely circulated across the country, including with many leading newspapers, to scare Americans from Islam and Muslims. “The film goes beyond an honest critique of terrorism and radicalism,” said Ahmed Rehab, strategic communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). “They’re exploiting the fear and hysteria in this country to try and sell a larger conflict that is essentially a religious conflict.”

“Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against The West,” a documentary originally produced in 2006, is now re-released and widely distributed via an unprecedented campaign.

A truncated 60-minute DVD of the film is inserted into some 70 leading newspapers around the country. Millions of copies are also being sent to Americans through direct mail. The documentary, which presents what it describes as radical Islam’s campaign against Christians, America and the West, has been shown on college campuses across the country. It features interviews with commentators famed for their notorious anti-Islam views, including Martin Gilbert, Daniel Pipes and Steve Emerson. The documentary shows footage of terror attacks, clips from Arab TV and historical films.

It is produced by the Clarion Fund, a shadowy NGO founded in 2006 by Canadian filmmaker Raphael Shore, also co-writer of the film, who now lives in Israel.

The Muslim News has criticised the weakness of recently passed British laws on religious incitement following the failure to prosecute the BNP over a leaflet which blames Muslims for the heroin trade.  ”It just shows that incitement to religious hatred legislation is inadequate and the BNP members use the loophole to target Muslims,” said, The Muslim News Editor, Ahmed J Versi.  ”If the leaflets were targeted at other ethnic communities like the Jews and Black people then the perpetrators would have been charged for incitement. Muslims, in contrast, are free for all,” Versi said. “Such incitement language results in attacks against Muslims and mosques as the leaflets blame all Muslims for drug peddling.”  His criticism comes as Muslim police officers were demanding an explanation as to why the police had not provided adequate advice to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) which led to no action being taken over a leaflet, which was distributed by the BNP members since June to hundreds of addresses in parts of Lancashire, Cumbria and Yorkshire. It smears Muslims as being “almost exclusively responsible” for the heroin trade 95% of which it says comes from the Afghanistan and Pakistan region. It also suggested “naming and shaming” Muslims to tackle the problem. The National Association of Muslim Police (NAMP) said the CPS had effectively allowed the people in question to continue distributing the material.

The Tunisian Government has permitted a private media entrepreneur to start an Islamic TV channel to cater to the religious needs of the Tunisian people. The channel named ‘Hanbal Firdaus’ began its telecast on the first of Ramadan. The channel is owned by local business tycoon Laribi Nasrai who also owns the first private news channel of Tunisia too. The new religious channel would emphasise human values, human rights, tolerance in all its Islamic programmes, the channel owners said at the inauguration. Tunisia happens to be the pioneer in reforming Islamic laws.

Boy scouts play a major role in helping pilgrims in Makkah during Ramadan and the Haj. They offer support to security and medical services besides helping charity organizations in supplying food to the pilgrims. Nabil Taib, supervisor of Scouting Activities at the Education Department in the province, who is also the commander of the Ramadan Scouts Program said  that the scouts do  commendable service to pilgrims, particularly the sick and illiterate ones. “The scouts work at the health centers inside the Grand Mosque and Ajyad Hospital and help the security men in regulating the crowds inside the Grand Mosque. They also participate in the anti-smoking campaigns aimed at pilgrims,” he said.

The scouting supervisor put the number of scouts undertaking voluntary service in and around the Grand Mosque at 350 while their number was 250 scouts last year. They are aged between 15 and 18 years and assigned duties matching their physical capability because on several occasions their duties are extremely trying. The scouts are not paid for their services, but they will be given certificates of appreciation and medal besides some gifts.

Malaysia will table both the Witness Protection Bill and a proposed amendment to the Anti-Corruption Act to make it a crime to bribe foreign officials in the next Parliament meeting. Foreign Minister, Dr. Rais Yatim said the two bills would make Malaysia fully compliant to points under the United Nations Convention against Corruption. “Although it has taken us some time, the two bills are in the offing and it will be tabled in the next Parliament meeting after extensive discussions in Cabinet. “Malaysia was among the first few countries to sign the convention when it first came about back in 2003. So far, 143 countries have signed the convention. “We are the 125th country to ratify the agreement,” he said after signing the ratification document at Wisma Putra. The ratification, added Dr Rais, was proof that Malaysia was serious in its measures to weed out corruption in the country as well as abroad, and would be a positive signal to the international community.

Organ donation, including eyes, is not permitted in Islam, said an Omani Islamic scholar, who sees no harm in donating blood even in Ramadan. “There are three schools of thought on organ donations by Muslims, but the majority of Islamic scholars believe that organ donation is not permissible in Islam,” Shaikh Khalfan Al Esry, a member of the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque’s Steering Committee for Islamic Information Centre, told Gulf News in an interview. Blood donation, he stressed, was different, as it is replenished. He said that a minority group of scholars believe organ donation was permissible while some would like to leave it to the individual to decide. “Our body is sacred and a dead body is respected in Islam and there’s no need to scavenge it for organ donations,” Al Esry said. “We handle the body with care and give privacy to it by covering it while taking it for burial. Then how can we think of removing its parts?” he said.  Removing organs for donation, he reckons, amounts to disrespecting the dead. Al Esry also argued that an individual doesn’t own his or her body. “It is a gift of God and in Islam an individual can neither harm his or her own self physically, mentally nor spiritually.

Despite a growing interest in the Muslim faith, many mosques across the central European country of Bulgaria remained closed during the holy fasting month of Ramadan over the lack of imams to lead the worshippers.

“Two major factors are leading to this problem,” said  Mustafa Haci, Bulgaria’s Grand Mufti. “The first goes back a long time ago, during the communist rule, when Islamic schooling was forbidden, and this has led to the current severe shortage of imams,” he explained. “The other factor is the limited resources of the Fatwa House to pay imams’ salaries.” There are more than 1500 mosques in Bulgaria. There are only 900 imams employed by the Fatwa House, the highest Muslim religious authority in Bulgaria. The scarcity of imams is leaving nearly two hundred mosques across Bulgaria closed during the holy month of Ramadan. Haci says the problem obliged Muslim communities to find solutions on their own. “In some cases, imams get their salaries from the donations of Muslims in their areas,” he said. “But in other cases, imams just stop working due to the lack of income, or prefer mosques in rich areas and abandon those in poor villages.” The Fatwa House tried to fill the imams’ gap during Ramadan by assigning students of the Sofia-based Islamic Institute with the mission of leading the prayers. Bulgaria is the only EU state where Muslims are not recent immigrants but a centuries-old local community. Muslims make up 12 percent of Bulgaria’s 7.8 million population, according to official estimates.