RABAT : The UNESCO held a meeting of experts in April here to discuss the contents of the sixth and last volume on Islamic culture, “Islamic Culture.” The publication covers all aspects of Islamic culture by noted writers and contributors. The first five volumes of the publication which have so far been completed, cover such topics as “the Basics of Islam,” “the Individual and the Community in Islam,” “the Spread of Islam in the World,” Science and Technology in Islam,” and “Culture and Education in Islam.”
Through this publication, UNESCO is trying to present all aspects of the Islamic culture, in a way that would project its reality UNESCO Plans on Islamic Culture of a Culturebright past and its expectations for the future, and the role it played in human civilization as a whole.
The experts’ meeting in Rabat considered the contents of the sixth volume, whose main topic would be “Contemporary Islam.” They also decided the names of the writers who will contribute to it. The volume would cover the whole of the last Hijri century, including a number of topics that project the continuity and comprehensiveness of Islam in the contemporary world. Among these are, the struggle of Islamic movements for independence from colonial rule, Islamic movements on modernization and current issues in the Muslim world, as well as the relations between Islam and other religions.
Nearly 30 experts attended the meeting, which was held in cooperation with Morocco’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and the Moroccan National Committee for Education, Culture and Science.
RIO DE JANEIRO: - Rio de Janeiro is considered the cultural gateway to Brazil, and its population is now approximately 10 million. This former capital of Brazil has organisations representing all shades of the cultural, economic and political spectrum. In ancient times Rio was the disembarkation point of those abducted from Muslim Africa, in millions.
Rio came to know about Islam through these people, mainly because of their behaviour and their refusal to eat pork, to drink alcohol, and by praying. Though Portuguese colonialism tried to destroy their Islamic spirit over the centuries, Rio continued for long to witness Islamic awakening from time to time, in spite of all impediments and persecution, in every sense of the word.
In 1899, that’s a hundred years ago, the Cairo-based magazine Al-Manar published in its August issue an article under the title “Islam in Brazil”. The article quoted a Christian from Brazil saying that Rio de Janeiro had a Muslim community which had emigrated to that country centuries ago from Africa. He pointed out that the immigrants had immersed themselves with the local community so much so that they had even forgotten their African languages and started to use the local language. As a result they even forgot their religious basics, but nonetheless remained attached to Islam - they pronounce the oneness of Allah and the Christian said he had even heard one of his friends in the city saying, “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger.” In recent times, Rio has known Islam through the arrival of new Arab immigrants and traders, before and after World War II. In the fifties the Muslim community founded an Islamic association, the Islamic Charity Society, with the active support of the poet Omar Abu Risha, who was then Syria’s Consul. But the society did not have a meeting place for prayers and was mainly concerned with cultural matters and religious festivals, such as the Eids and the Night of Ascension, when the Prophet (peace be upon him ) ascended to Heaven.
But when some of the individual supporters of the society started to perish, the society remained suspended, that is until some one by the name Khalil Al-Ayyuby, in cooperation with some individuals from the Al-Qattan, Jamal and Salloum and some Palestinian residents, started to renew the activities of the society and acquired a place for collective prayers.
The helms of leadership of the society have now been taken over by a bunch of university youth, and they are now busy acquainting Brazilians with Islam in the proper way. But in spite of the paucity of its resources, the society has managed to take a great leap in this field by calling people to Allah and acquainting them with Islam by holding lectures at Brazilian universities and other educational institutions, and by holding seminars and symposia. Now the society’s headquarters is humming with activity, particularly during weekends, when lessons in Islamic studies and the Arabic language are held and Islamic literature in the Portuguese is distributed to the visitors, be they Muslims or others just curious to know about Islam.
The present management committee of the society is made up of President Hyder Talib, a businessman, his deputy Dr. Kamil Al-Ayyuby who specialises in blood cancer. The Treasurer is Anwar Ali Muhammad, while Abdul Baqiy Sayyid Othman is the Imam and a religious guide, and Hassan Andreh, a Brazilian revert to Islam is the Secretary of the society.
The society now has a website on the Internet that acquaints browsers with Islam and its various tenets and its history.
In an interview with IINA Sheikh Abdul Baqi said: “We are doing this Dawah work because it is our duty to do so, and the campaigns that are waged against Islam are stupendous and are aimed at us as a minority.” He added that Brazilians in Rio are amenable to Islam, “if only we could improve our performance and follow up on our part. He said the Brazilian Muslims of the previous generations have immersed themselves with the remainder of the Brazilian society, because they were not exposed to any Dawah work during their younger days, nor they had a place for them to meet. Add to this the fact that the Brazilians have become so used to the allures of this life, as represented by such things as the Carnival, that you have a recipe for going astray.
PARIS: President Jacques Chirac of France and Crown Prince of Morocco, Prince Muhammad, inaugurated here an Islamic exhibition that includes a model of the Bab Mansour Al-Alj, which is one of the historical monuments of Miknas city, Morocco. It was originally the gateway to the city, and the exhibition contains numerous other ancient artefacts of Moroccan-Andalus architecture.
The actual size model has been put up in one of the famous grounds of Place de la Concorde, facing the stately Champs Elysees. This has enabled many of the French people who are interested in ancient historical landmarks to converge on that spot in order to see the huge model. An architect is on hand to explain to the European visitors to the exhibition the various facets and beauty of ancient Islamic architecture.
The two leaders also inaugurated the Fine Arts Museum in Paris, known as the “Small Palace,” an exhibition known as the “Treasures of Morocco.” This is one of the cultural activities, which Morocco is holding for the whole of this year in France, under the theme “The Moroccan Epoch.”
It may be recalled that Morocco is a former French colony and France has many Moroccan immigrants and expatriate labour.
MADINA: The Center for Research and Studies on Madina has prepared and launched an Arabic-English website on Madina al Munawwarah on the Internet and prepared two CD ROMs on the history of the Prophet’s city. (The IINA did not provide the website address, Editor.) These are titled Visit to Madina Al-Munawwarah and the second one titled A Simplified Encyclopaedia of Madina Al-Munawwarah. The Center conducts research on the history of Madinah.
It has indexed 1180 manuscripts written in Arabic, Persian, and Turkish languages found in the library of the Bashir Agha School of Antiquity in Turkey. It is expected that the total number of books in the Bashir Agha Library is in excess of 3,000, including theses.
The Center was created with the help of an endowment and aims at collecting data and particulars on Madina in different languages and from various sources. It will also prepare and publish serious researches and studies in a systematic way as well as a scientifically document the history of Madinah and the life as it was in ancient times and as it is now, and the development that has taken place.
Among the Center’s achievements is the establishment of a computerized database on Madina. The center has collected 185 pictures and slides of manuscripts on Madinah and has extracted data from 150 books. All the data has been categorized and fed into the computerized database. It has also translated three books from English to Arabic. These are: Pilgrimage to Makkah and Madinah by Richard Burton, Travels to Arabia, by John Beckhardt, and Journey to Madinah, by Louis Kant.
The Center has also translated two books written in the Turkish language. They are “The Last Turks” by Fridon Kandmir, and “Defending Madinah” by Naji Kasif Kishman.
JEDDAH : A joint committee has been formed here for the purpose of coordinating aid to the Muslims of Kosovo. It held its first meeting in the middle of April. The meeting was attended by the representatives from the various societies and organizations in Saudi Arabia that are involved in humanitarian work. The purpose is to unify the operation of the relief aid programme and support for the people of Kosovo during their troubled times. A coordinating committee has also been formed by the Emergency Relief Committee, comprising the Finance Committee of the MWL, the international Islamic Relief Organization, the Saudi Red Crescent Society, the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), the Haramain Humanitarian Foundation, the Islamic Wakf Organization, and the Makkah Humanitarian Organization. The Saudi Joint would have sub-committees such as the Field Committee, the Health Committee, the information and Public Relations Committee, and the Committee for Collecting Donations in Kind, and other Sub-committees.
German booklet on Kosovar Sufferings
A booklet on the war in Kosovo and the pain being suffered by Muslims there, including the attitude of the German Muslims, has been published in Germany. IINA’s Correspondent in Germany has translated the booklet into the German language, in response to a request by the ruling Social Democrats party, which is headed by the German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder.
Yemen Donations for Kosovo:
The campaign for collecting donations for the refugees of Kosovo was launched in Yemen and the first military transport plane left the country carrying aid to Albania. Others are likely to follow soon. Many Yemenis have contributed in cash and in kind, in the form of foodstuffs and medical supplies to Albania, some of which have been loaded on cargo vessels, while others have been sent by air.
UAE Ruler’s Help for Kosovars
Ruler of United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nayyhan and his wife, Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, the President of the Women’s General Union, who is also President of the Abu Dhabian Women’s Awakening Association, and Honorary President of the Women’s Committee at the UAE Red Crescent Society have sent emergency relief to the Kosovars who are facing Serbian oppression and ethnic cleansing. The relief material was dispatched on the eve of the beginning of the Muslim New Year.
This was stated at a large Islamic gathering which was organized in the Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi by the Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs, and Endowments, in cooperation with the Ministry of information and Culture under the auspices of Muhammad bin Nakhira Al-Dhahiriy, the Minister of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments, on the occasion of commemorating the Prophet’s Emigration to Madinah 1420 years ago.
JEDDAH : Two Malayalam dailies were launched in the Arab world during May in order to cater to the needs of nearly one million resident population of Malayalis from Kerala. Malayalam News, an eight-page Malayalam language daily, was launched on April 17 by publishers of Arab News, Saudi Publishing and Research Company while Gulf Madhyamam by the Calicut-based Madhyamam daily was launched in Bahrain.
Malayalam News will be the sixth daily newspaper from the group owned by Mohammed Ali Hafis and Hisham Ali Hafis.
Farooq Luqman, former editor of Arab News will be Editor-in-chief, while A.M. Pakkar Koya of Calicut will be Managing Editor.
Mr. V. K. Hamza is the editor of Gulf Madhyamam. It may be recalled that hitherto Madhyamam sold 22,000 copies in the Gulf region and was being airlifted from Calicut. Publication of Gulf Madhyamam and Malayalam News would ensure that the Malayali expatriate workers would have their favourite language newspapers with the morning cup of tea. Significantly, Gulf Madhyamam is the first daily by an Indian group in the Gulf. n
CHECHNYA: The president of Chechenya Mr. Aslam Masadouf, has announced last month the implementation of Islamic Shariah in the whole of the Republic of Chechenya.
A large number of members of parliament supported president Masadouf in this initiative. The observers say that implementation of Islamic Shariah had already begun in Chechenya since 1996 after the withdrawal of soviet forces from the republic when the Shariah Courts were constituted. These courts continued their work in most regions of the republic, but was faced with shortage of qualified sharia judges.
Most of the Chechenyens believe that the Chechenyan society supports the idea of the implementation of Islamic shariah and preserving the Islamic identity. But they feel that it will have to go simultaneously with the growth of Islamic awakening and basic Islamic education which was forgotten over a long period of soviet communist rule. (Rabita Journal.)
MOSCOW: The first Mosque in the city of Nourilesk in the extreme north of Russia was opened recently, which is considered to be the first to be constructed in the north pole region of the world.
A spokesman of the central religious organisation for the Russian Muslims and the European countries in the common wealth of Independent states, Mufti Talat Tajuddin, the chief of religious organisations, and a number of personalities from different Russian regions participated in the opening ceremony of the Masjid, besides prominent personalities from the civil administration and the Russian government.
The new Mosque is considered the most beautiful Mosque of Russia which was constructed over a period of four years and at a cost of over six million dollars.
LONDON: British, Muslim of Pakistani origin Sir Muhammad Parvez was knighted by the British Queen last January. Parvez who emigrated from Rawalpindi in Pakistan in 1956 started as a bus conductor in 1956 in Bradford and went on to set up a business Asian Food Store in 1962 in West London. Working for long hours he started Bestway Cash and Carry in Action in 1976. Today the Bestway company has 1,300 employees and has net income of 24 million sterling pounds per annum. He has also invested 150 million dollars in a cement factory in Haripur in North West Frontier Province in Pakistan. It produces one million tons of cement every year. The Bestway Foundation contributes 2.5 million sterling pounds to charitable causes in the UK every year. Sir Parvez said there were barriers to overcome to succeed but advised the Muslims who gathered to felicitate him to have the right attitude.
MUSCAT: The historical city of Nizwa in the interior region of Oman will be the location of Oman’s first private university, it has been disclosed here. A group of sheikhs, businessmen and intellectuals from the region met at the Nizwa club to discuss the setting up of the university and selected a number of experts as members of the founding committee. The group will meet again in Nizwa on April 22 to finalise other details. During his meet-the-people tour last year, Sultan Qaboos bin Said had announced the establishment of three private universities in Oman. The Sultanate has only one university — the state-run Sultan Qaboos University in Al Khodh, near Muscat.
SINGAPORE: An Islamic organisation in the city-state of Singapore has protested the staging of a play in which the Islamic marriage system is criticised.
The Tamil Islamic Group said that the play contained innuendoes that are disparaging to Islam. It said the play portrayed domination of husband in married life, persecution of wife etc. The organisers of the stage play known as "Divorce," have printed booklets of the play and many have been sold.
The Islamic organisation has requested the Singaporean government to stop the staging of the play.
VIENNA : The Islamic Academy in Austria has been officially inaugurated in early April. Among those who attended the ceremony was Egypt's Minister of Endowments, Dr. Mahmoud Himdiy Zaqzouq, the President of Al-Azhar University, the Secretary-General of the Muslim World League (MWL), Egypt's Ambassador to Austria, and ambassadors from other Islamic countries.
An agreement between the Academy and Al-Azhar provides for the use of the latter's syllabus and the recognition of its certificate to be equal to that of Al-Azhar. The Austrian Government has recognised Islam as a religion in the country and has given the Muslims equal rights as those enjoyed by the Christians.
Muslims also occupy good positions within the Austrian civil service, and the first mosque was built in the Austrian capital in 1887. In fact, Emperor Franz Joseph had donated a sum of money for the construction of a mosque, but when the First World War broke out the project was cancelled.
The foundation stone for the building of the first Islamic Center in Austria was laid in 1968, and its Trustee Council was formed under the chairmanship of Hassan Al-Tuhamiy, Egypt's ambassador to Austria at the time, who later became secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC). In November 1977 the Center was inaugurated and has since been playing an important role in teaching the Muslims in Austria matters related to their religion.
At present Muslims in Austria number about 120,000, and there are Islamic schools and institutes for Da'awa workers. Muslim publications are also available, and there are now 87 mosques in Austria, 27 of which are in the capital, Vienna. Of the total number of mosques in Austria, the Turks built 60 of them - the Turks represent 85 per cent of all the Muslims. There are 12,000 Muslim pupils studying at Austrian schools, while the number of Islamic organizations and activities continues to increase.
MUSCAT : The first college in Oman exclusively for women, offering courses in management, computer studies and the English language, and open to nationals and expatriates in all the Gulf countries will start functioning here in July.
Mazoon college for Management and Applied Sciences, which this week signed an affiliation agreement with the University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR) in the United States, will admit around 100 students in its first year gradually increasing the number to more than 300 over the next five years.
The new privately-owned college, which will follow the American system of education, will launch its programmes with an intensive English language course for high school leavers.
But the main courses in business administration, financial and marketing management, accountancy, computer sciences, economics and management information system will start in September, Dr. Juma Al Ghailani, Dean of the college told.
Bahrain Currency Meseum
The Museum of Currency was opened here by Bahraini prime minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al Khalifa in the premises of Bahrain Monetary Agency. The museum displays rare Islamic currencies, bank notes and coins that were issued by the East India company before independence.
Prisoners Marry in Tehran
Two Iranian prisoners were married in jail, the first time inmates in the Islamic republic have been allowed to do so. The unnamed couple exchanged vows in Bojnurd prison in northwestern Khorasan province in a ceremony witnessed by a prisons charity organisation, Iranian newspapers reported. The 26-year old bride will received a copy of the Holy Qur’an. According to the marriage contract, she will receive 114 gold coins in case of divorce or the death of her husband. Officials said the marriage was part of a programme aimed at rehabilitating inmates.
Gulf Education Exhibition
11th Gulf education and training exhibition was held at world trade centre in Dubai between April 13 and 16. More than 200 exhibitors from 25 countries, including 30 Gulf Co-operation Council based institutions and organisations took part in the exhibition . Next year’s exhibition will be held at the Dubai World Trade centre between April 11 and April 14.
Malaysian King Installed
In a glittering ceremony, Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, began a five-year term as Malaysia’s new constitutional monarch.
New Hijrah Year, 1420 Beings
The New Hijri Year 1420 dawned on the Muslims on April 17 with the sighting of the Muharram moon in India.
Editorial