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JANUARY issue
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MONTHLY * Vol 11-02 No:121 * FEBRUARY 1997/ SHAWWAL 1417H
email: editor@islamicvoice.com

News from the Islamic World

Chirac Favours Ban on Headscarves
Vatican to open its First
CAIR urging US stamp for Eidul Fitr
Islam has an important Message for West
France to Train Imams
Tolerance eliminates conflict
ICNA faces hi-tech challenge
Clinton offers hope for a holy Ramadan
Islamic University in US
WAMY to hold Dawah Caravans in Asia and Africa
Chinese Translation of Qur'an in Taiwan
Teaching Islam in State schools
Islamic College in Chinese Muslim Region
Halaal slaughtering outlawed
Seerah on the Internet
70,000 Mosques in Turkey
UN approves Eid Holidays
Islamic chaplain in U.S.Air Force
Population of Israel
Chechen leaders vow to set up Islamic State
US Body on Religious Freedoms
Tributes to Khurram Murad:

Chirac Favours Ban on Headscarves

PARIS:
French President Jacques Chirac has favoured a ban on Islamic dress in state schools of France. Reporting the news London-based, The Muslim News ,said President Chirac disapproved of the Islamic dress after meeting with Salman Rushdie, the author accused of blaspheming the Prophet.

The President’s announcement came on December 3 after French Counseil e’Etat (Council of State) ruled that the 23 Muslim girls who were expelled from state schools for wearing headscarves would not be allowed to return to the schools. In a decision that was also criticised in the French Media, the Conseil however refused to condemn in principle wearing of the headscarf in the class and told school authorities to judge each case individually only expelling girls if the wearing of the Islamic headscarf was accompanied by proselytising activities which threatened the public order. In the case of six other Muslim girls who had been expelled for wearing the headscarf, the Conseil e’Etat had annulled the decisions "Exclusively on the wearing of a religious symbol". A French court had last November ruled that the expelled girls be taken back into the state schools.
The French society has reacted diversely on the question of permission and prevention of headscarves by Muslim girls. While some oppose the ban on the ground of segregation of sexes other have endorsed the permission on the basis of freedom of Individual to practise his/her religion. The Muslim community has cited the wearing of skull caps (kipa) by Jews and wearing of crucifix by the Christian in the schools as precedents for allowing the Muslim girls to wear headscarves.

Vatican to open its First
Embassy in the Gulf

KUWAIT :
The Vatican is to open an embassy in Kuwait, its first in the Gulf Arab region, to serve the Catholic community. "There will be an independent nunciature to Kuwait and all the Gulf," said Father George Haddad of the Kuwait Catholic Church, which until now has been served by a representative in Lebanon. The plans had, in fact, been approved in November, during a visit to Kuwait of the Vatican’s Foreign Minister, Monsignor Jean Louis Tauran.
On the Vatican’s efforts regarding the PoWs still held by Iraq, Monsignor Tauran said, "Pope John Paul II attaches special importance to those innocent people and to this important humanitarian issue."
Kuwait is the only Gulf Arab state to have diplomatic relations with the Vatican. Christians in Kuwait are allowed freedom of worship; there is an active Catholic community of about 100,000 people, mainly made up of expatriates from India and the Philippines.
In December, His Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Sheikh Saad Al-Sabah, paid a visit to the Vatican - the first meeting of its kind. He met Pope John Paul II on December 13. Later, speaking to Kuna about his visit, the Crown Prince indicated that official discussions dealt with crucial issues such as that of the PoWs, ways of boosting relations between the two countries and expanding mutual cooperation at various levels.

CAIR urging US stamp for Eidul Fitr

WASHINGTON:
The Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is making efforts with US Postal Service to issue a special postage stamp commemorating the occasion of Eidul Fitr. It said the US Postal Service had issued stamps on festivals of other communities such as Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. "And it was now our turn of Muslim festivals to be commemorated", said the Council.

Islam has an important Message for West

Prince Charles of U.K. has said that Islamic civilisation at its best, like many of the religions of the East, has an important message for the West in the way it has retained a more integrated and integral view of the sanctity of the world around us. "We in the West could be helped to rediscover those roots of our own understanding by an appreciation of the Islamic traditions and deep respect for the timeless traditions of the natural order. That process could help in the task of bringing out two faiths together."

The Prince of Wales was speaking at a seminar on the 50th anniversary of Wilton Park Conferences England, (1996) says a press release issued by British High Commission at Islamabad. He said modern materialism is unbalanced and increasingly damaging in its long-term consequences. During the last three centuries, in the Western world at least, a dangerous division has come into being in the way we perceive the world around us. Science has attempted to take over the natural world from God, with the result that it has fragmented the cosmos and relegated the sacred to a separate and secondary, compartment of our understanding, divorced from the practical existence. There is much we can share with the Islamic world view in this respect, and much in the world view which can help us to understand the shared and timeless elements in our two faiths. In that common endeavour both our modern societies, Islamic and Western, can learn afresh the traditional views of life common to our religions, as well as the sacred responsibilities we have for the care and stewardship of the world around us, Prince Charles went on to say.

He said, in my Oxford speech in 1993 I argued for a much greater effort to be made to encourage understanding between the Islamic and Western worlds. We could begin by having more Muslim teachers in British schools, or by encouraging transfer of teachers. Everywhere in the world, people are seemingly wanting to learn English. But in the West, in turn, we need to be taught by Islamic teachers how to learn once again with our hearts, as well as our heads. A sense of the sacred can help provide the basis for developing new relationship of understanding which can only enhance the relations between our two faiths and indeed between all faiths for the benefit of our children and future generations.

France to Train Imams

PARIS: France proposes to establish an Institute of Islamic Theology in the city of strasbourg under the official authority, reported the London-based ‘The Muslim News.’ The Muslim community in France is skeptical about the purpose and feasibility of the Institute which they feel may be used to train Imams as per the wishes of the French government as is the pattern in several middle-eastern nations.

Tolerance eliminates conflict

JEDDAH :
The Islamic conference on "Islam, France and Europe," organised by the Rabatbased Islamic, Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organisation(ISESCO) in association with the French association, Islam and the West, was held in Paris in the first week of January 1997. The conference invited people from the Muslim World as well as the West.

The theme of the conference, according to Dr.Naseef who, together with Dr Abdullah Al-Turki, the Minister of Islamic Affairs, were the leading personalities from Saudi Arabia, was to present Islam in its proper form and to correct misinter-pretations created by the Western media. " The Western media intentionally brand Muslims with names such as "fundamentalists" and "terrorists," Dr Naseef told Saudi Gazette. Thus the objective of the conference was to educate people and inform them about the reality of Islam and to eliminate the misconceptions created by the media. Different aspects of Islam, such as its economic, educational and other dimensions, were discussed to show that Islam has a culture which is rich and is based on human understanding and tolerance.

Dr Naseef asserted that "people, whether Muslims or non-Muslim, from the East or from the West, also realised that it is very important to eliminate factors which lead to conflict or confrontation." Responding to the role of Western media, Dr Naseef observed that "after the fall of communism, especially after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the Western media wanted to create a new enemy, or danger, coming from the East.

Some people at least achieved an understanding of Islam. Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, has said that Islam has been misrepresented and has proved to be the most tolerant religion. He said: " What we need today is to educate ourselves and our children about Islam and try to refute what is being propagated by the media that Islam and Muslims are the enemies of the West."

ICNA faces hi-tech challenge

By Syed faisal Ali

JEDDAH :
Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) has started a "Sound Vision" programme on TV to counter the influences of certain evils in the West and the falsehood spread about Islam, Abdul Malik Mujahid President of ICNA, said.

Mujahid said Muslim families are being bombarded by bigotry against Islam, the glorification of sex, violence and perversion.

The main aim of ICNA and Sound Vision is to build up a generation with moral values and strong character, so that it can resist the temptation of Western evils or so-called modernisation. Since Muslims in the West are not familiar with Arabic, ICNA started publishing Islamic literature in English. Sound Vision’s first video, ‘Let’s Pray’, has taught 40,000 children and adults how to pray. A lot of religious pages have been put on the Internet with false and misleading information about Islam, under a well thought-out plan.

Realising the threat, ICNA has also put an Islamic page on the Internet. The page can be accessed at WWW:ICNA: ORG Internet MTTP. ICNA also publishes a monthly magazine, The Message.

Clinton offers hope for a holy Ramadan

WASHINGTON : U.S. President Bill Clinton is extending his and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton’s best wishes to Muslims in the United States and worldwide as they enter the holy fasting period of Ramadan.

In a written statement, Clinton says: " By their example of devotion and self-discipline during Ramadan, Muslims remind us all that our true strength is derived, not from food and drink, but from closeness to God."

The President adds that "as the crescent moon marks the beginning of Ramadan again this year, Hillary and I extend our best wishes for a holy and memorable observance." (UPI)

Islamic University in US

CALIFORNIA : The US government has approved the establishment of an Islamic University in the State of California, Rector of the University, Dr. Ahmed Hassan Abdullah revealed recently. To be known as the "American Pacific International". (API), the University will offer Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctorate’s degrees in Islamic Shariah, Religion, Islamic Da’wah Strategies and other Islamic subjects, said Dr. Abdullah. The University will enjoy all the benefits and rights of other Universities in the USA.

The main objective of the API is to arm Muslim teachers with American University degree in order to teach Islamic subjects which are now being taught by Christians and Jewish teachers. Dr. Abdullah said, "In addition to the religious subjects, the students will also learn computer, business administration, arts and other specialisations." He said, "The doors of the University shall also be opened to non-Muslim students and added that students from outside the country can join the University through correspondence" (IINA)

WAMY to hold Dawah Caravans in Asia and Africa

JEDDAH: The branch office of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) here in Jeddah, is planning to organise 35 Dawah caravans in Asia and Africa. Last year the office had organized 38 caravans and held 65 youth camps in these two continents. The caravans, which will be organised during the current Hijra year, will consist of preachers. medical doctors and veterinarians. Each caravan is supplied with books, medicines and other relief materials. According to WAMY, the caravan is one of the best to spread Islamic Dawah. (WAMY, P.O.Box-10845, Riyadh-11443 KSA)

Chinese Translation of Qur’an in Taiwan

TAIPIE:
Dr. Abdullah Yusuf Ali’s translation of the meaning of the Holy Qur’an has been rendered into the Chinese language by Shin Shai Jin, a Taiwanese Muslim Scholar. The assignment took 10 years. (IINA)

Teaching Islam in State schools

BERLIN:
The state of Hesse in Germany has allowed teaching of Islam in state schools to Muslim children. This was agreed upon the Advisory Board of the Affairs of the Foreigners by a majority of 107 members. This was announced by Murad Shaikh, spokesman of the League of Foreign Workers. (IINA)

Islamic College in Chinese Muslim Region

BEIJING:
China has allowed establishment of a college of Arabic and Islamic sciences under the North-Western University which mainly caters to the educational needs of Muslim areas. The new college will be set up in collaboration with International Islamic University (IIU) of Islamabad. An agreement to this effect was signed by Dr. Hassan Hamid Hassan of the IIU and Prof. Maki Lin of the North-Western University.

The North-Western University was set up in 1950 and has so far produced 28000 graduates through 28 of its colleges and 10 centres. (IINA)

Halaal slaughtering outlawed

MUNICH :
A court in Munich, Germany, has issued a ruling preventing Muslims from slaughtering animals without anaesthetising them. The attorney-general claimed that the Qur’an does not compel anyone to slaughter animals according to the Shariah. The court ruling supports a similar ruling by a federal court last year. Munich’s Muslims, however, rejected the ruling saying they would appeal. IINA

Seerah on the Internet

MAKKAH :
A Saudi publishing house in Makkah has released a 12-volume encyclopaedia about Prophet Muhammad(Pbuh) which is considered the largest of its kind in the world. Al-Wasila Publishing House is now trying to put part of it on the Internet in English. It was written by about 40 scholars who worked for seven years under the supervision of Sheikh Saleh Bin Abdullah Bin Humaid, Imam of the Holy Mosque. IINA

70,000 Mosques in Turkey

TURKEY:
There are 70,000 Mosques in Turkey and the number is increasing every year, according to Sheikh Mohammad Nur Yelmaz, head of the religious administration. He said a number of Mosques are currently under construction in various parts of the country. "Mosques are not only places for prayers but they are also minarets of knowledge where the Shariah sciences and Arabic language are taught," he said, and added that the mosques are also places for the memorization of the Holy Qur’an.

UN approves Eid Holidays

ISLAMABAD:
The UN General Assembly has decided to observe official holidays on the Muslim religious feasts, Eids, due to concerted efforts of Muslim States, says a statement issued by the Egyptian Embassy at Islamabad recently.

In the light of the decision February 10 and April 17, 1997, will be observed as official holidays as Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha which may fall on these two dates respectively.

The decision holds significance for the Muslim Ummah as there was no Muslim official holiday listed in the United Nations since the late forties.

Islamic chaplain in U.S.Air Force

WASHINGTON :
Lt.Abdullah Al-Mubarak will become the first Islamic chaplain to serve the U.S.Air Force when he completes an Air Force training programme. The American Muslim Council (AMC) said the occasion will mark the first time that Muslim chaplains have been placed in all three branches of the American military service. Mubarak was recently inducted into the chaplain candidate school based in Virginia, the AMC said. (Kuna)

Population of Israel

Statistics issued by the Israeli Statistics Bureau in December ’96, said the population of Israel reached 5,737,000 by the beginning of last month including 4,636,000 Jews and about 1.1. million Arabs who live in the 1948 occupied Palestine known as the Green Line areas. The statistics showed that the Jews marked a growth rate of 2.4 percent in comparison to 4.2 percent marked by the Arab Palestinians. It added that about 76,400 Jews immigrated to the Occupied Palestine in 1995-96.

Chechen leaders vow to set up Islamic State

GROZNY :
" There is no ruler save Allah", proclaims a brightly colored election banner in Grozny’s gray, war-wrecked city center. " There is no power apart from His power, no law apart from His law." The bullet and shell-scarred walls of still largely uninhabited buildings are plastered with campaign posters bearing slogans like "Islamic order" and "God is Great."

Nearly five months after a peace deal halted bloody fighting between Russian troops and freedom fighters, Chechnya is in the grip of election fever and Islam is a key feature of the campaign. All the main presidential candidates in the Jan.27 poll have pledged to build an Islamic state if elected.

"We will build a Chechen Islamic state, taking into account the national traits and traditions of our people," Aslan Mask-hadov, former chief commander of the Muslim fighters and one of the front-runners for the presidency, told a rally.

Observers said Islam was above all a system of self-defense for Chechens against Russia, which has struggled to control the turbulent Caucasian region since Czarist times. "Islam has always provided a counter identity against Russian colonialism," said Tim Guldimann of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) which is helping to organize this month’s election. But he said, Chechnya’s recent fight against Russia was nationalistic, not religious, noting that the rebels rarely invoked the Qur’an or the concept of Jihad (holy war) and had sought both Western and Islamic support for their cause.

US Body on Religious Freedoms

WASHINGTON:
The US State Department in Washington has recently set up a 20-member committee comprising prominent American religious leaders and scholars, including Muslims, to advise the administration on violations of religious freedoms in other countries, including those of Muslims in India.

The committee was given a broad mandate to address human rights abuses against people of all religions. It was set up following demands by some Christian groups demanding government attention to persecution of Christians abroad.

Tributes to Khurram Murad:

FOSIS Institutes 500 Annual Award

LONDON :
Rich tributes were paid at a meting at the Islamic Cultural Centre on January 8, to Mr. Khurram Murad who died here last month. The meeting was attended by a large number of youth who recalled Murad’s services in founding FOSIS Young Islamic Society of Britain, Islamic Forum of Europe and Muslim Students Society. The meeting was attended by Yusuf Islam, German Islamic Scholar Ahmed Von Denffer, and Ikhwanul Muslimoon’s Reza Kemal Alhadi. Yusuf Islam spoke about his concern for assimilating the new converts into the Islamic society in glowing terms and said it was at his prodding that he started making cassettes and CD’s on seerah of the Holy Prophet (Pbuh). Denffer who worked with him in Islamic Foundation, Leicester, from 1978 to 1984, said Khurram Murad was a great reservoir of patience, always returned and referred to the Holy Qur'an for guidance and worked as the foundation for the Islamic movement in Britain which became the basis for a strong edifice for Islam in Europe but himself got obscured from the eyes. Muslim Aid Society leader Dr. Saib Hassan remembered his efforts to bring about cordiality among Muslim organisations. UK Islamic Mission President Moulana Syed Sharief Ahmed described him as an institution in himself.

Murad’s two brothers Dr. Ahmed and Hassan, and their sisters said Murad had willed that since the time for death was predestined, none should look into the causes of his death.

Young Muslim’s representative Masroor said he found none more than him concerned about the Muslim youth. Zahid Parvez of Islamic Society of Britain said Khurram Murad often referred to three historic contacts between Islam and the West viz, through conquest from Spain and Turkey; colonial occupation in the Middle East and South Asia and Muslim migration to West-

Europe during the last half century. He used to exhort the youth to engage in the Dawah and to come out of the cocoon of the self. Representative of Islamic Cultural Society Basheer suggested that the vast treasure of books for children prepared by Khurram Murad should be translated in major languages of Europe. Dr. Tanzeem Wasti announced an award of 500 pound sterling, institution of an annual 500 pound sterling Khurram Murad Award under the aegis of FOSIS for children’s writings on Islam. It may be recalled that Khurram Murad, former Vice President of Jamaat-e- Islami, Pakistan and a Quranic scholar, had breathed his last in London on December 19,1996.

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