Government to set up Young Muslims Group

Poor Haj service angers Governor

Change in PerpectiveYoung Muslims Artist

Issue: 03 May /June 2008

insidethis monthissue

BIG BOTHER

A massive government database holding details of every phone call, e-mail and time spent on the internet by the public is being planned as part of the fight against crime and terrorism

the Passion

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A massive government database holding details of every phone call, e-mail and time spent on the internet by the public is being planned as part of the fight against crime and terrorism. Internet service providers (ISPs) and telecoms companies would hand over the records to the Home Office under plans put forward by officials.

The information would be held for at least 12 months and the police and security services would be able to access it if given permission from the courts.

There will also be concern about the ability of the Government to manage a system holding billions of records. About 57 billion text messages were sent in Britain last year, while an estimated 3 billion e-mails are sent every day.

Home Office officials have discussed the option of the national database with telecommunications companies and ISPs as part of preparations for a data communications

Industry sources gave warning that a single database would be at greater risk of attack and abuse.

Commenting on the new proposals, Ibrahim Hasan, a privacy law expert told Passion Islam: “This is quite a worrying proposal that needs more scrutiny and debate. The current law has gone far enough. It is a little known fact that it’s not just the police and the security services that can access communications data at present. Local authorities, as well as a whole host of other public sector organisations, have the powers to access some communications data for crime prevention and detection purposes and for tackling anti social behaviour. Extending the requirement on communications service providers to hold more data and then putting the government in charge of it, seems to be a recipe for data disaster at best and a quantum leap towards a

Big Brother Society at worst.”Jonathan Bamford, the

assistant Information Commissioner, said: “This would give us serious concerns and may well be a step too far. We are not aware of any justification for the State to hold every UK citizen’s phone and internet records. We have real doubts that such a measure can be justified, or is proportionate or desirable. We have warned before that we are sleepwalking into a surveillance society. Holding large collections of data is always risky - the more data that is collected and stored, the bigger the problem when the data is lost, traded or stolen.”

David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary, said: “Given [ministers’] appalling record at maintaining the integrity of databases holding people’s sensitive data, this could well be more of a threat to our security, than a support.”

The proposal has emerged as part of plans to implement an EU directive developed after the July 7 bombings to bring uniformity of record-keeping. Since last October telecoms companies have been required to keep records of phone calls and text messages for 12 months. That requirement is to be extended to internet, e-mail and voice-over-internet use and included in a Communications Data Bill.

Police and the security services can access the records with a warrant issued by the courts. Rather than individual companies holding the information, Home Office officials are suggesting the records be handed over to the Government and stored on a huge database.

A Home Office spokesman said the Bill was needed to reflect changes in communication that would “increasingly undermine our current capabilities to obtain communications data and use it to protect the public”.

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Big BotherBishop Michael Nazir-Ali of Rochester, who earlier this year caused anger by suggesting that some Muslim communities were ‘no go areas’, considering that he had never been in any of the areas has created a fresh attack by claiming that the collapse of a ‘Christian nation’ has left Britain in a moral vacuum.

The comments come in an article for the debut issue of the new political magazine Standpoint – which has a very small circulation, but has been projected into the headlines by front-page stories in leading newspapers.

Last month he said that respect for Islam in Britain “may have gone too far” and backed a hard-line evangelical resolution for the Church of England’s General Synod (its ruling assembly of bishops, clergy and lay people) calling for more overt attempts to promote the Christian message among Muslims.

His article criticises “multiculturalism” and says that historic Christianity knitted together a “rabble of mutually hostile tribes” to generate a British identity which was able to create a global empire.

This view comes at a time when communities of all faiths should be coming together and uniting against evil, it really shows the

Bishop has many misguided views about Islam, different communities and different faiths are working together to eradicate this and comments like this does nothing to harbour solidarity between cultures and religion.

Dr Nazir Ali’s comments have puzzled many Muslims and students.

Student Ibrahim Jones said, Dr Nazir Ali should go back re think and read, seek knowledge and look at what Islam is all about and how true, clean Islam is through the original source of the Quran and Sunnah, or is he fooling himself knowing that Islam is the greatest religion in the world and that when people look into the religion that soon they will find the answers they have been searching for.

Mohammed Shafiq of the Ramadhan Foundation said that it was wrong and misleading to characterise Islam in terms of its wilder fringes, and that together people in Britain could build a common future.

Dr Nazir-Ali is the only Church of England diocesan bishop from an Asian background. Born in Pakistan, he became an Anglican via Catholicism, and was Bishop of Raiwind and general secretary of the Church Mission Society (CMS) before moving to Rochester.

Bishopsnarrow viewof Islam

The Joint Select Committee on Human Rights in the British parliament has added its voice last month to the growing opposition to the government’s controversial plans to increase pr- charge detentions from 28 days to six weeks.

Extending the pre-charge detention limit for terrorism suspects to 42 days is “wholly unnecessary”, the cross-party group of MPs and peers said.

Committee chairman Andrew Dismore warned that the government had failed to produce any evidence to support the extension, which is due to be debated in a new terrorism bill this month.

“Human rights law itself imposes a duty on the state to protect people from terrorism. This can be done in a human rights compliant way as we have demonstrated,” Dismore said.

“Not only have we found no clear evidence of a need

to go beyond the current 28 day maximum in the near future. We are astonished and extremely disappointed that the Government have failed even to consider our proposed alternative,” he said.

Press reports have suggested that the government is heading for defeat over the proposal because of the extent of opposition from Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs as well as among Labour rebels threatening to vote against the extension plans.

Attempts to extend pre-charge detentions to 90 days resulted in former prime minister Tony Blair suffering his first defeat in the House of Commons in 2005, when a comprise was agreed to increase the term from 14 days to its present 28 days.

Dismore said that he would be tabling amendments to the terrorism bill and to enable MPs to consider an alternative package

Longer terrorist detentions ‘unnecessary’

of measures, which he said his committee believed would be more effective in protecting the public.

The alternative measures include ending the ban on granting bail in terror cases

to enable police to continue their investigation of those deemed not to pose a risk to public safety and allowing post-charge questioning of suspects.

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“ We are astonished and extremely disappointed that the Government have

failed even to consider our proposed alternative,” Andrew Dismore - Human Rights Committee

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The British government has announced it is to give young Muslim a bigger role in taking forward its Preventing Violent Extremism agenda.

“We’ve got nearly a million Muslims under the age of 25 living in the UK today. They’ve got a huge contribution to make both within their communities and wider society,” Communities Secretary Hazel Blears said.

Announcing nominations for a Young Muslims’ Consultative Group last month, Blears said there huge contribution was to stand up to “prejudice in all its forms, whether it’s the poison of the far right or violent extremists.”

“The Young Muslims’ Consultative Group is about taking our engagement with this important group to the next level and ensuring that young people have the opportunity

to express their thoughts and concerns directly to those who make policy,” she said.

The aim of the consultative group, made up of 20 young Muslims aged 16-21, was said to reflect the diversity of Muslim communities across England and to participate in an ongoing and meaningful dialogue with the government on their experience.

As yet another initiative of the government counter-terrorism strategy, it is to include the causes of violent extremism and its impact on young people and their communities.

Children and Families Secretary Ed Balls maintained it was “vital that we in Government listen directly to what young people have to say about their lives in Britain, and the issues they are facing, and to work with

Government to set up Young Muslims Group

them in developing effective ways to tackle the causes of extremism.”

The group was wanted to represent the views of their peers and play a leadership role, so that “every young person feel a part of their society, and support them to become more resilient to those who seek to divide rather than unite,” Balls said.

The Department of Communities and Local Government argued that

experience has shown that young Muslims are the most vulnerable to being drawn into violent extremism - particularly between the ages of 16-24.

The initiative comes after the government created a National Muslim Women’s Advisory group that was criticized for similarly being created only as part of the government’s counter-terrorism agenda rather than the positive contribution it can play.

6

Anti-terrorism legislation was condemned as poorly thought-out by a senior High Court judge last month as he declared that the Treasury’s powers to freeze suspects’ bank accounts were unlawful.

Mr Justice Collins said that terrorist financial orders — introduced by Gordon Brown when he was Chancellor — were absurd,unfair and a breach of fundamental rights. The judge, who has lengthy experience of dealing with terrorism cases, said: “It was, frankly, another example of an immediate reaction without it being thought through properly — which is rather the pattern with the anti-terrorism measures.”

The Times revealed last month that the judge was preparing to criticise the asset-freezing regime in the latest of a series of rulings that have exacerbated tensions between the judiciary and the Government. There are now 59 people living in Britain on the Treasury sanctions list, The Bank of England has frozen 274 accounts, containing £656,000.

Ruling on an appeal brought by five terrorist suspects — referred to in court as A, K, M, Q and G — the judge said that the sanctions had had “the most drastic effect” on them and their families. People on the terrorist list have to apply to the Treasury for a licence to spend money on groceries and anyone who provides them with “an economic resource” is liable to a criminal conviction and a jail sentence.

The judge said the situation was “an

absurdity” and recommended that two measures — the Terrorism Order and the al-Qaeda and Taleban Order — should be quashed. They will, however, remain in place pending an appeal that the ministers said the Government would

pursue urgently. The measures were adopted to give

effect in British law to two United Nations Security Council resolutions imposing sanctions on people alleged to be funding terrorism.

The judge was critical that they were introduced as Orders in Council rather than through an Act of Parliament and were therefore not subject to debate by MPs and peers. He also criticised the absence of a procedure for suspects

who wanted to challenge their listing as terrorists.

The Government, he added, should consider introducing measures in the Counter-terrorism Bill to provide for a tribunal at which people on the Treasury’s list could challenge the financial sanctions. The judge told government lawyers: “You are going to have to legislate at some stage, otherwise the State will not be able to put before the court the incriminating or allegedly incriminating material.”

He said he had “real concerns” that the orders had introduced a criminal offence, of assisting a listed person, without consulting Parliament.

David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary, said that the High Court had left Mr Brown’s asset-freezing regime “in tatters”. He added: “When you make laws in a hurry that are unfocused and arbitrary, the result is neither firm nor fair — just fragile.”

Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, said that she was “very disappointed” with the ruling.

But Jules Carey, solicitor for G, said that the importance of the judgment could not be overstated. He said: “It is the sovereignty of Parliament that is at stake here, the foundation block of the British constitution. If Government can, without consulting Parliament, give itself powers to create criminal offences and take away fundamental rights then we are watching the sun set on democracy.”

Freezing assets of terror suspects ruled unlawful by High Court

One of the nine Afghans who hijacked a plane to Britain in 2000 was reported last month to be now working at London’s Heathrow airport.

Nazamuddin Mohammidy, who won the right to stay in Britain, was said to have been recently arrested under terrorism laws at Heathrow, while driving a car around the recently opened Terminal 5.

Police suspected he was

an unlicensed cab driver but were stunned when checks revealed he was one of the hijackers, London’s Evening Standard newspaper said. He was said to be working as a

cleaner at the airport and even ad a British Airways pass on him.

Mohammidy was among a group who took over an internal Afghan flight with 160 passengers on board and

landed it at Standstead airport, claiming they were fleeing the Taliban regime.

All the hijackers were jailed after a four-day siege at the airport, but later had their convictions quashed by the Court of Appeal. After their release, the Afghanis were given ‘discretionary leave’ to remain in Britain as it was argued that their country was ‘unsafe’ to return to.

Hijacker found working at Heathrow Troubled rocker Pete Doherty

had reportedly turned to Islam after being imprisoned in Wormwood Scrubs jail

Doherty asked for a translation of the Quran and was eager to learn the faith.

One of Doherty’s friends said: ‘He had been reading the Quran since he went into segregation. He’s got a lot of Muslim friends and they’ve been on at him for ages to study it.

‘I was surprised how much it had calmed him down as he was very on the edge inside. He definitely seem more chilled and really interested in it. I think it really helped him.’

Doherty had been having a difficult time since his 14-week sentence for violating probation by taking drugs.

Doherty turned to Islam in jail

8

Officers of Britain’s MI5 domestic security agency are being accused of “outsourcing” the torture of British citizens to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) in an attempt to obtain information about terrorist plots. A number of British terrorism suspects who have been arrested in Pakistan at the request of UK authorities say their interrogation has convinced them that MI5 colluded in the mistreatment, the Guardian newspaper reported last month.

“I am left with no doubt that, at the very worst, the British Security Service instigates the illegal detention and torture of British citizens, and at the very best turns a blind eye to torture,” said Tayab Ali, London-based lawyer for two of the victims.

The men were said to have given detailed accounts of their alleged ordeals at the hands of the ISI over the last four years.

Some of them appear to have been taken interrogation in Rawalpindi, where they alleged being tortured before being questioned by MI5.

The Guardian quoted one man from Manchester, saying that in 2006 he was beaten, whipped, deprived of sleep and had three fingernails slowly extracted by ISI agents at the Rawalpindi centre before being interrogated by two MI5 officers.

A second man, from Luton, alleged that two years earlier he was whipped, suspended by his wrists and beaten, and threatened with an electric drill, possibly at the same torture centre.

Both of the interrogations were linked with the questioning of alleged associates in the UK by British police and led to some being charged.

The Guardian said no attempt was made to extradite either man to be questioned by police officers in the UK,

but that they were eventually arrested on arrival in Britain after being placed aboard aircraft and flown in without extradition hearings.

The accusation that MI5 is at the very least turning a blind eye to the torture of British citizens is expected to surface in a number of forthcoming court cases, including the trial of the man who lost his fingernails and an appeal lodged by the man from Luton. Under the UK’s Criminal Justice Act 1988, it is an offence for British officials to instigate or consent to the inflicting of “severe pain or suffering” on any person, anywhere in the

world, or even to acquiesce in such treatment.

Last month it was disclosed that eight men freed from US custody at Guantanamo Bay had issued writs against MI5 and the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, alleging they were complicit in their illegal detention and subsequent abuse.

A Home Office spokesman told Passion Islam: “The Government unreservedly condemns the use of torture as a matter of fundamental principle and works hard with its international partners to eradicate this abhorrent practice worldwide. The Security and Intelligence Agencies do not participate in, solicit, encourage or condone the use of torture or inhumane or degrading treatment. For reasons both ethical and legal, their policy is not to carry out any action which they know would result in torture or inhuman or degrading treatment.”

MI5 accused of colluding in torture of Britons in Pakistan

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9

A thirty five strong delegation of British Muslims attended the World Islamic Economic Forum ‘’WIEF’’ Summit in Kuwait last month.

The summit which took place from April

British Muslim delegation attend Islamic Economic Forum

29th to May 1st was the fourth to be held to promote partnership between Muslim and non-Muslim businessmen by forging cooperation across borders among entrepreneurs in Muslim majority countries and those in other countries.

Sir Iqbal Sacranie, former secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) leading the UK delegation, said the forum will serve as a “hub

for potential business collaboration between different countries.”

It will be a “platform for the exchange of cutting edge ideas between leaders in business and government both within and outside the region,” said Sacranie, who is also a member of the WIEF’s International Advisory Panel.

The British delegation, which attended with others from more than 60 countries, has been

arranged by the MCB’s Business and Economic Committee and includes businessmen, bankers, lawyers and

analysts.Current MCB secretary general

Mohammed Abdul Bari said he was heartened by the diversity and individual accomplishments of the young professionals representing Britain at the WIEF this year.

“Never before has the need for a better relationship between the Muslim and non-Muslim world been more important,” Bari said. The delegation, he said, will be looking to build on previous successes and share best practice with leaders across the Muslim world.

The delegation is being supported by the government’s UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) organisation, which promotes British companies doing business in international markets.

“There are many opportunities for the UK and particularly London as a leading centre for Islamic Financial Services,” said UKTI chief executive Andrew Cahn.

“UK businesses are developing closer ties and relationships with other regions in this field which will surely bring benefits to both the UK and other countries,” Cahn said. - IRNA

Britain’s first Islamic insurance company was launched last month in a further sign of the potential of this fast-growing sector.

Principle Insurance is the first Islamic-compliant insurer in western Europe and will provide Britain’s 2m Muslims with the opportunity of insuring their car or house in line with their religious beliefs.

It also further strengthens London’s position as the main centre of Islamic finance in the west. It is the only country in western Europe with Islamic banks, and has developed Sharia-compliant products in a range of assets classes, such as bonds and foreign exchange.

Bradley Brandon-Cross, chief executive, said: “London is leading the way as the government has introduced reforms to help Islamic finance. This company will give Muslims in this country the opportunity to choose Sharia-compliant insurance products.”

Principle Insurance forecasts 200,000 policyholders within five years, with strong growth expected over the coming months.

Practising Muslims cannot use conventional insurance because it is seen as going against two main tenets of Islam - gharer , or uncertainty, and maysir , or gambling. This is because insuring a house means transferring risk to an insurance company, which makes money if no claims are made or lose money in the case of, say, fire damage. This is seen as gambling as well as creating uncertainty.

Islamic insurance, or takaful , allows customers to pay money into a common fund, which is handed to someone to operate, who will be paid a fee. The operator is not taking a risk, so no risk is being transferred. In the case of a

customer’s house burning down, the common fund pays. This means participants share the risk, which is allowed under Islamic law.

Mr Brandon-Cross said: “We estimate that in excess of 500,000 British Muslims are car owners. With motor insurance being a legal requirement, these consumers currently have to buy motor insurance that compromises their beliefs. Principle will remove this dilemma.”

Islamic finance has only taken off in the UK in the past four years since the first Islamic bank, the Islamic Bank of Britain, was launched in September 2004.

Islamic insurer makes debut

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“He who has in his heart as much faith as a grain of mustard seed will not enter hell, and he who has in his heart as much pride as a grain of mustard seed will not enter paradise”.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

10

There are more than 22,000 people have died, and up to 40,000 have been reported missing, after the devastating cyclone that struck Burma.

Aid agencies in the country have reported scenes of utter devastation, with corpses still littering the rice fields and desperate survivors without food or clean drinking water, either without shelter or crammed into broken buildings.

Cyclone Nargis ripped across Burma’s agricultural heartland with violent winds that reached

speeds of 120mph (193km/h), destroying buildings and fields, toppling trees and washing away roads in the vital rice-growing area of the Irrawaddy delta, and flattening shanty towns and downing power and phone lines in the sprawling port city of Rangoon, Burma’s former capital and home to 5 million people.

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IMWS Emergency Appeal Burma Cyclone Nargis England is set to become

the most overcrowded major country in Europe with the population expected to increase by a third over the next 50 years, it was predicted last month.

The forecast that the population density in England, which is already almost double the level in Germany, comes as the British government was announcing new rules to control the number of skilled migrants from outside the European Economic Area working in the UK.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics projected

that England’s 50 million population will rise to 68 million by 2056, but the density would vary around the country.

Nationally, the present average of 1,010 people per square mile (390 per sq km) was expected to rise to 1,349 over the next 50 years, but London was forecast to increase from 12,377 people per square mile to 13,910 within just the next 20 years.

The biggest increases elsewhere are expected

in eastern and south west England. Rises in the UK’s present 60 million are also predicted in Northern Ireland and Wales, but the population of Scotland is likely to stay around the same level.

Currently, the most densely populated countries in Europe are the Netherlands followed by Belgium, but both have much less people, 16 m and 10 m respectively. But of comparable size, England is already four times the population density of France.

The opposition Conservative Party, which obtained the figures, called for more tariffs on migration, warning that the recent influx was putting real pressure on public services.

Before the recent boost of immigrants, demographers forecast that the UK’s population was likely to stablise before declining due to the falling birth rate.

Most concerns are about the inevitable consequences of less space, more costly land, smaller but more expensive homes, congested travelling, overburdened health services, oversubscribed schools and the environmental impact on limited resources.

First Muslim Police Association created in Scotland

England to become most overcrowded country in Europe

Strathclyde Police last month welcomed the creation of Scotland’s first Muslim Police Association, which is aimed to tackle the rise of Islamophobia.

“The formation of the Muslim Police Association is a positive step,” said the chief constable of Scotland’s biggest police force, Steve House. “These are officers who are positive about seeing the police force as a career and want to use their association to reach out to Muslims,” House said.

The formation follows the creation of a Muslim Police Association in England, which has been reported to quite successful, not only within

the Muslim community, but

also with tackling institutional Islamophobia within their own police forces.

The formation of the association in Scotland comes despite their only being around 31 Muslim officers in Strathclyde’s 7,000 strong force, which is based around Glasgow, and some 30,000 Muslims living in the region that make up a mere 1.5 percent of the population.

Police constable Amar Shakoor, Scotland’s first Muslim officer, said there had been recent negativity directed towards the Muslim

community, which is being treated with suspicion and increased scrutiny. The

association wanted “to highlight some of the positive things Islam can provide to the communities and not just the police services,” Shakoor was quoted saying by the BBC. He also suggested it would help to recruit more Muslim officers. --IRNA

11

The flavours of Arabia are heading for the UK following an agreement between Tahira Foods – Europe’s leading Halal brand – and one of Saudi Arabia’s largest food companies.

Halwani Brothers, based in Jeddah, produces a wide variety of foods including dairy, processed meats, preserves and juices and is a leading supplier across the Middle East and Islamic world. Initially, Tahira will be introducing a carefully selected range of Halwani products chosen to appeal both to the mainstream grocery market as well as the Muslin community.

The range includes Halawa (Halva) - a sweet, sesame

paste based ready meal, available plain, with pistachios or chocolate; Tahina – a sesame

paste which can be used both as a spread and an ingredient; Maamoul – a large biscuit containing figs and walnuts, fruits and coconut or dates plus a selection of peppers and olives as well as a white vinegar.

Explains Tahira’s Account Manager, Faiza Akmal: ”We see the introduction of these products as making a significant contribution to our growth during the coming year.

“Halwani produce high quality products, many of them unique, so providing a positive

edge over those currently available in the UK.

“The market for Saudi foods is currently underdeveloped in this country, but we believe it has significant growth potential and by working with Halwani Tahira will be perfectly placed to spearhead its expansion.”

Commented a spokesman for Halwani: ”The agreement with Tahira Foods is strategically very important to us. We are excited at the prospect of working with Tahira as they have the reputation and skills to develop our business in Britain.”

The launch of the Halwani range follows a year of continued growth for Tahira during which sales increased

by 10% with a further 15% increase anticipated during 2008.

Adds Faiza Akmal: ”The introduction of Halwani foods marks the first phase of a year long programme of product expansion with new varieties being added to our existing range of fresh, frozen and chilled Halal meats as well as the launch of innovative lines from abroad.”

Tahira to taste the flavours of Arabia

Four young Muslim artists from Batley and Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, are aiming to break down barriers and challenge stereotypes with a new exhibition, Change in Perspective.

Whether it’s giving a contemporary twist to traditional art forms, an unusual take on a familiar building, or challenging the view that ‘Muslims don’t do art’, Asiya Seedat, Anisah Denny, Fatema Mayet and Naila Afeefah want us to take a fresh look at the world around us.

All currently students at University, they are part of a generation exploring what it means to be young British and Muslim living in the current climate and believe art can play an important part in eradicating the stigma attached to young British Muslims.

“I am interested in both traditional art forms such as calligraphy and in contemporary art”, says 19 year old Fatema Mayet. “Through my work I am trying to find links between the two that will express my identity as young, British and Muslim”.

In the process the four young artists hope to challenge stereotypes both within their own communities and the mainstream.

“People think Muslims don’t ‘do’ art”, said Anisah, who is currently studying Fine Art at Huddersfield University. “But historically art has been embedded in Islamic culture and I would like to make people more aware of that”.

Asiya agrees saying “People would never look at us and think we were artists because they just don’t expect us to be – but we are!”

The exhibition, which opens on 21 June, features a range of work from contemporary calligraphy and silk painting to drawings influenced by architecture and sculpture inspired by nature.

“The exhibition is the first of its kind in our area and we

expect a lot of interest “, said Maria Bottomley, from Amada Arts, the organisation hosting the exhibition. “As well as showcasing the work of the four artists, we want to raise awareness of the talents and achievements of young people in our local communities and the positive contribution they make. We hope lots of people will show their support and visit the exhibition”.

Change In Perspective will be officially opened on Saturday 21 June and will then open Wednesday to Saturday 10am -2pm from 25 June to 12 July at Textile Hall, Hick Lane, Batley. More information about the exhibition call: 0781 765 8270

Change in PerspectiveAn exhibition of work by young Muslim artists

PICTURE PERFECTPictured exhibition

work from four young British Muslim girls

12

Members of 40 families of the Hindu Bheel community - including 80 women and 70 children – have embraced Islam during a ceremony conducted by a local religious leader at Gulzar Khalil village in Umerkot district.

The Hindus recited the “Kalima” and embraced Islam, APP reported. All the persons are residents of Gul Mohammad Laghari village in Tando Mohammad Khan district.

Representatives of the Bheel community, including

Bachal Bheel, Sajan Bheel, Basar Bheel and Munshi Bheel, told reporters that they were impressed by Islam while working as laborers for landlord Gul Mohammad Sarewal in the village.

They told their landlord about their willingness to embrace Islam and he arranged their meeting with the local religious leader who converted them. The community said they had embraced Islam without any fear or pressure, adding they were now Muslims and had no links with the Hindu religion.

Hindu families embrace Islam in Pakistan

Around the MuslimWorld news articles

supplied by various media agencies

The 21st International Conference on Islamic Unity was held in Tehran last month in the presence of 850 thinkers and intellectuals from 45 countries.

The three-day conference opened with inaugural speech of Chairman of the Expediency Council Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Thinkers and intellectuals from Oman, Sudan, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan, Lebanon, Kuwait, Germany, the US, Tunisia, Syria, Saudi Arabia, France, Morocco, India, Algeria, Hong Kong, Qatar, Britain, Denmark, Iraq, Turkey, Gambia, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and the United Arab Emirates are among the participants in the conference.

Over 100 articles from

foreign and domestic authors have been received by the secretariat of the conference of which 70 articles have been selected for presentation, he said.

Preparing grounds for unity and solidarity of the Muslim World and bringing closer various cultural and scientific views are major goals of the conference.

The participants are also to promote coexistence and find way out of current obstacles including the enemies’ plots and secular thoughts. The Islamic unity charter which has so far been signed by over 2,000 Muslim thinkers and scholars will be studied by the delegates.

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International conference on Islamic unity

The Cuban government has given green light to the establishment of the country’s first Islamic centre in Havana.

The Secretary General of the Latin America’s Islamic Organisation Mohammad Yusef Hajar said that the organisation has been negotiating with the Cuban government since last year for the establishment of an Islamic centre in the communist country, Saudi Arabic daily Al Watan reported. “Apart form Catholic establishments, this will be the first religious institution, in Cuba,” he said,

adding that Islamic activities in the country have been on the rise in recent years.

Mohammad Yusef Hajar noted that the annual meeting of the Latin America’s Islamic Organization is scheduled to be held in Venezuela on June 4-7, and that reviewing the conditions of Latin American Muslims is on the agenda at the meeting

First Islamic Centreto open in Cuba

A US military official sparks Muslim fury after using the Holy Quran for target practice during sniper training sessions in Baghdad.

The incident came to light on May 11 when Iraqi officials found a bullet-riddled copy of the holy Quran in a US police station shooting range in Baghdad’s western outskirts. Iraqi community leaders have condemned the US military’s belated acknowledgment of the unacceptable ‘criminal act’, prompting American Commander Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Hammond to apologize for the incident.

“I come before you here

seeking your forgiveness, in the most humble manner I look in your eyes today and I say please forgive me and my soldiers,” said Hammond amid howls of protest against what they called blatant ‘aggression toward the entire Islamic world’. US Spokesman Colonel Bill Buckner said the guilty staff sergeant had been sent back home, but refrained from elaborating on his future disciplinary charges.

The discovery of the defaced Quran has thrown the spotlight on the Bush administration, exposing their flagrant disregard for Islamic values.

Muslim outrage at Quran sacrilege by US soldier

13

The Ministry of Haj held a symposium titled “Hajj Between Originality and Contemporary, Distinguished Reality and Bright Future” last month.

In a statement to Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the Minister of Haj Dr. Fuad Al Farsi said that the symposium comes within the

frameworks of directives of the leadership to provide best services for pilgrims.

The minister noted that the symposium will discuss the possibility of benefiting from the experience of pilgrim guides organisations on further development of Haj services.

Saudi ministry holds Haj symposium

The International Knowledge Forum will be held on June 22-24 in Madinah. The forum will be held under the patronage of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz.

This was announced by the Governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) Amr bin Abdullah Al-Dabbagh in a press conference last month.

Al-Dabbagh said that the Forum brings together a number of scientists, intellectuals and senior investors, adding that the first session of the Forum will be held under the title of “Knowledge Investment” and will focus on health and information technology. Al-Dabbagh thanked King Abdullah for patronizing the Forum, pointing out that the leadership pays special attention to promoting investment in knowledge-based

Madinah to host International Knowledge Forum

Prince Khaled Al-Faisal last month called for a 10-year program to solve Haj-related problems. “Protecting the dignity of the guests of God (pilgrims) should be our main objective,” he told officials attending a workshop on Haj.

The governor criticized Haj-related agencies for delaying their preparations for the annual pilgrimage, the largest global gathering of Muslims. “We mobilize our resources for Haj after Ramadan, as if we are doing it for the first time,” he said.

Referring to criticism in the way pilgrims are received at the Kingdom’s airports, Prince Khaled asked why they are delayed for four to five hours after arriving in and before leaving the Kingdom. “I think this criticism is genuine... We treat pilgrims as mere travelers,” he added.

The governor said there was no shortage in human and material resources. “The government provides us with whatever we demand. We have men and money, and we don’t have a shortage of brains or thinking power. What we need is will power to improve our services,” he said.

Speaking about the poor services offered by irresponsible Haj companies, he said, “Why do we see thousands of pilgrims squatting in public places in Makkah, Mina and Arafat? Haj services are not a new thing for this Ummah. It started during

the time of the Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him).”

Considering the significance of the Haj, Prince Khaled emphasized the need

to provide services in a more orderly and organized manner. “We honor our ordinary guests and provide them with full care; the guests of God deserve better

treatment from us.”He said Custodian of the Two Holy

Mosques King Abdullah has always urged Haj-related agencies to provide the best possible services to pilgrims. “We as Haj officials should bring the Kingdom’s policy into practice,” he added.

Prince Khaled, who is chairman of the Central Haj Committee, said Haj-related departments would not face the same problems every year, if they had worked out a well thoughtout plan to tackle them.

“Every year we face the problem of a lack of accommodation, a lack of transport and traffic bottlenecks in roads leading to the holy sites. We should have a five-year or 10-year program to solve these problems.

“I will not accept that we cannot do better... I will say that we can do a thousand times better,” he said, urging Haj officials to learn lessons from their forefathers who united the Kingdom and developed it into a modern state.

The workshop was being attended by a select group of experts and top officials. Makkah Mayor Dr. Osama Al-Bar said such workshops would be conducted regularly to boost Haj services. Dr. Osama Tayyib, president of King Abdul Aziz University, called for joint efforts to improve the standard of services.

Poor Haj service angers Governor

A study of Haj pilgrims by Harvard Kennedy School in the US has found that the Haj promotes tolerance among pilgrims and does not lead to an increase in negative attitudes toward the West. The study — entitled “Estimating the Impact of the Haj: Religion and Tolerance in Islam’s Global Gathering” — said that the annual pilgrimage develops a tolerant attitude among pilgrims toward other religions and cultures.

Researchers, David Clingingsmith, Asim Ijaz Khwaja and Michael Kremer, based their findings, which were published last month, on data collected from a 2006 survey of more than 1,600 Pakistani pilgrims. “Evidence suggests that the Haj increases tolerance, which seems to apply not just within the Islamic world but also beyond it,” they reported, adding, that increased unity does not lead to antipathy toward non-Muslims.

They also found that the Haj plays a significant role

Harvard: Haj promotes tolerance

in the survival of Islam as a unified world religion. “Over time, religions with far-flung adherents tend to evolve separate strands which may eventually break away into different religions. Our analysis suggests that the Haj reduces dissent and splits in Islam by moving Haj pilgrims toward a common set of practices, making them more tolerant of differences among Muslims,” they said.

Pilgrims selected for the survey were also more likely

to state that various Pakistani ethnic and sectarian groups are equal and that it is possible for such groups to live in harmony. Major findings include that the Haj reduces support for political Islam, reduces superstitious beliefs and encourages Muslims to adopt a more favorable attitude toward women, including greater acceptance of women education and employment. “For example, they (Haj pilgrims) are six percentage points more likely

to think women are spiritually better than men, an increase of over 50 percent. They also express greater concern about women’s quality of life in Pakistan relative to other countries and about crimes against women in Pakistan,” the report stated.

Every year, more than 2.5 million Muslims from nearly 150 countries gather in Makkah to perform the annual pilgrimage of Haj. “Pilgrims mix across the lines of ethnicity, nationality, sect and gender that divide them in everyday life, and affirm a common identity by performing the same rituals and dressing in similar garments that emphasize their equality,” the researchers said. The report added that numerous pilgrim accounts — including that of Malcolm X — lend weight to its findings that the Haj inspires feelings of unity with the worldwide Muslim community. The report was commissioned after it was felt that the Haj could have negative implications for non-Muslims.

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Pope Benedict XVI has paid reverence to the Holy Quran and termed it as precious. Issues discussed about faith and reason in Christianity and Islam were very important and need consideration, said the Pope in a meeting with Mahdi Mostafavi, head of Iran’s high-ranking visiting delegation to the Vatican.

Stressing the importance of faith and reason in today’s

world, he said no effort should be spared in this regard, Iran’s Press TV reported. For his part, head of Iran’s Islamic Culture and Relations Organisation Mahdi Mostafavi responded that there is an overwhelming need for faith and reason now compared to the past.

Mostafavi also voiced Tehran’s readiness to promote cultural and religious cooperation between Iran

and the Vatican and offered Pope a copy of the Quran. In a joint statement last month, both sides said they had drawn similar conclusions on several issues including ‘the non-violent essence of faith’. “Neither reason nor faith should be used by violence; unfortunately, both of them have been sometimes misused to perpetrate violence,” the statement read. The two

sides also conceded that religions should be interpreted according to a ‘holistic view’ and not by selective interpretations of texts taken from their holy books.

Tehran has agreed to host the next round of Iran-Vatican talks in 2010.

Pope values Quran as a precious book

Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, last month launched the Dow Jones Islamic Market (DJIM) China Offshore Hong Kong Index.

The index represents the performance of companies that have been screened for compliance with Islamic principles and whose primary operations are in mainland China but trade on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Stocks included in the index are H-Shares and Red Chips.

The index is designed to serve as underlying for investment products such as mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and other investable products. “The Dow Jones Islamic Market China Offshore Hong Kong Index is another innovative addition to the highly successful Dow Jones Islamic Market index series following a unique and superior methodology,” said Dow Jones Indexes editor and executive director John Prestbo.

Dow JonesIslamic Market

Prime Minister Christian Wulff of Lowez Saxony - a federal state of Germany, said he is planning to establish a Centre for Islamic-Christian Dialogue in the city of Osanabruck.

Wulff from the Democratic Christian Party said that the Centre will be a major one in Germany and the neighbouring European countries. The Centre will organize European and international conferences with the participation of scholars from the two religions in addition to scientists in medicine, astronomy and other human sciences.

Wulff pointed out that the dialogue should be a comprehensive dialogue and not confined to the religious

sciences and differences between the two religions.

The cost of the Centre is expected to amount to about two million Euros. Wulff expressed optimism that the Center would be supported by some Muslim countries.

Osanabruck is a historical city. It includes the graves of some Muslim soldiers who had participated in the siege imposed by the Ottomans on Vienna.

Centre for Islamic-Christian Dialogue planned in Germany

18

Thinking of giving a reference, think again

LEGALLAW

Each month we hope that this section of the magazine

will inform, educate and sometimes also maybe

puzzle you in the big wide world of UK Law

By Ibrahim Hasan

Employers are often asked to give references in respect of employees who are moving to new jobs. Whilst most still partake in this practice care needs to be taken. Bad references are becoming a growth area of litigation. Options for an aggrieved employee, if economic loss results from a damaging reference, include a claim for defamation, malicious falsehood, discrimination or harassment.

Whilst it may be good employment practice, contrary to popular belief, there is no legal obligation on employers to supply references in respect of employees. The only successful cases based on a failure to give references have been where refusal was ancillary to allegations of racial or sexual discrimination e.g. in Coote v Granada Hospitality Ltd. (1998).

However what is clear is that once an employer decides to give a reference then it owes a duty to the employee in respect of the contents of the reference. Caselaw in the last few years has confirmed this. In Spring v Guardian Assurance [1994] Lord Woolf stated that references should be “based on facts revealed after making those reasonably careful enquiries which, in the circumstances, a reasonably careful employer would make.” In Bartholomew v London Borough of Hackney [1999] the Court of Appeal made three statements of general principle in connection with references: • There is a duty to ensure that references are true, accurate and fair in substance.

• However, there is no duty on employers to be “full and comprehensive”. This is imposing too high a burden. • Employers cannot break references down into individual sentences and state that each individual sentence was factually correct. References must be looked at in the whole.

In the case of Cox v Sun Alliance Life Ltd (2001) it was held that Sun Alliance had provided an unfair reference for Mr Cox. It implied he was sacked for taking bribes when he had in fact resigned with compensation. The company had agreed to provide a neutral reference. But a quiet word in the ear of his new employers ended Mr Cox’s career. The Court of Appeal was unimpressed and made it clear that when this happens, there is no such thing as an “off-the-record chat”.

But how would an aggrieved employee get hold of his reference to ascertain whether his employer has breached the above duties. Enter the Data Protection Act 1998. This strengthens the rights of individuals to gain access to personal data held on them by organisations, even where such data is held in paper files rather than automated form. However the Act recognises that such rights will be inappropriate in certain situations where the need for confidentiality is paramount

As a result Schedule 7 provides an exception for confidential references given by a Data Controller in connection with, amongst other things, the employment or prospective employment of

the data subject. As a result an employer who has provided such a reference will have no obligation to respond to a request for access to that reference by the subject and to that extent confidentiality will be preserved.

By contrast there is no parallel exception for the party who receives the reference. This means that the person or individual to whom the reference is sent will, in principle, have to disclose the contents of the reference if a request is made by the data subject. The only limitation on this right is found in section 7(4) of the Act. The effect of this section is to ensure that all passages identifying the author of the reference or any other individual mentioned in the reference have to be deleted before a copy is provided (unless the author or the individual in question consents

to the disclosure or in certain other limited circumstances).

The possibility of an individual being able to obtain access to confidential references will be a matter of concern for employers, particularly as any inaccuracies in the reference could give rise to proceedings in defamation or negligence. Employers should consider issuing guidance to managers and personnel officers on the giving of references. This should emphasise the need for references to be drafted with extreme care taking into account the above caselaw to minimise the risk of liability. As ever where there is any cause for concern legal advice should be sought.

Ibrahim Hasan is a director of Act Now Training

and a consultant with IBA Solicitors.

e: ih@informationlaw.org.uk

We want to know what you think - email us: info@passionislam.com

19

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Covert Surveillance & RIPADate:12th June 2008 Venue:Thistle Hotel Location:Manchester

Child Protection Law & Child Care LawDate:16th June 2008 Venue:Hucclecote CentreLocation:Gloucester

The FOI/FOISA Records Management Code of PracticeDate:17th June 2008 Venue:Wellington Park Hotel Location:Belfast

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ACTNOW 64 Bradford Road, Dewsbury, WF13 2DU Tel: 01924 451054 - Fax: 01924 451129

Welcome to Act Now TrainingWe are one of the leading training providers for the public sector specialising in data protection, freedom of information, surveillance law and records management. Our directors, Paul Simpkins and Ibrahim Hasan, are leading authorities in these fields with many years’ experience of delivering training throughout the UK. We also have a number of associates who work for the public sector and deliver training for us on a regular basis.

Our clients include most local authorities in the UK as well as government departments, the NHS and public sector agencies. Please take take time to read some of the testimonials from satisfied clients.

Our courses are held throughout the UK in top quality hotels. We also do in house training at your premises at very competitive rates.

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The RFL is among five major businesses in West Yorkshire who are the first to sign up to a new project promoting equality and diversity within its organisation and structures.

The three-year programme aims to improve the RFL’s performance in diversity management, and increase the organisation’s ability to engage with groups of people who have been identified as underrepresented in the workforce. These include long term unemployed, lone parents, disabled people, economic migrants and refugees.

The project will help the RFL to develop diversity action plans which identify areas for improvement, and managers will be supported to increase their understanding of diversity and the impact it has on their roles.

Commenting, the RFL’s Equality and Diversity Manager Sarah Williams said, “As the national governing body of one of the five major sports, the RFL is committed to its organisation achieving the highest standards of diversity management and thus operating the types of policies and procedures needed to support this.

The RFL wishes to move towards a situation where our workforce reflects the diversity of the society around us and the Diversity Champion programme will greatly assist us in developing this aspect

of our business”.The Diversity Champions Programme is

run by The Fair Play Partnership – a not-for-profit organisation, based in Leeds.

The Partnership’s Liz Bavidge also commented : “This is a really satisfying project for us as we are working with some of the region’s premier companies,

who are committed to diversity but want to use our support package to make even further improvements in this area.”

“The Fair Play Partnership has an established reputation of successfully working with companies in order to achieve such employment goals and recently lead a European Commission project, ahead of the launch of the Age Diversity laws, to ensure employers and employees understood and complied with the new legislation.”

Research indicates that certain groups

of people are still subject to disadvantages in the job market. Many factors impact on this including ethnicity, class, gender, generation, education and geographical location.

Those currently at the highest risk of labour market exclusion are adults without partners (particularly lone parents), people

with disabilities, people with few or no relevant skills or qualifications, older people, particularly men over 50, people living in areas with few jobs and ethnic minority groups.

With the expected continuation of growth in employment opportunities projected at 2 million over the next 10 years, it is becoming of increasing importance for all employers to recruit from all sectors of society, particularly from these identified groups.

Among the action to be taken within the RFL is the expansion

of recruitment opportunities through the development of links to local job brokerage services. Also both managers and recruiters will be trained in staff development and progression and helped to improve their workforce development practice with particular reference to people from under represented groups.

The Diversity Champions Programme is co-ordinated by Wakefield Metropolitan District Council and it is co-financed by Yorkshire Forward. For more information click www.fairplaypartnership.co.uk

RFL signs up to be a Diversity Champion

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“Head of the State as well as the Church, he was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without the Pope’s pretensions, and Caesar without the legions of Caesar, without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a police force, without a fixed revenue. If ever a man ruled by a right divine, it was Muhammad, for he had all the powers without their supports. He cared not for the dressings of power. The simplicity of his private life was in keeping with his public life.” Reverend Bosworth Smith‘Talking about The History of Muhammad’ in London, 1874

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Abu Hurayrah (RA)

Through his phrase millions of Muslims from the early history of Islam to the present have come to be familiar with the name Abu Hurayrah.

In speeches and lectures, in Friday khutbahs and seminars, in the books of hadith and sirah, fiqh and ibadah, the name Abu Hurayrah is mentioned in this fashion: “On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may God be pleased with him who said: The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said... “.

Through his Prodigious efforts, hundreds of ahadith or sayings of the Prophet were transmitted to later generations. His is the foremost name in the roll of hadith transmitters. Next to him comes the names of such companions as Abdullah the son of Umar, Anas the son of Malik, Umm al-Mumininin Aishah, Jabir ibn Abdullah and Abu Said al-Khudri all of whom transmitted over a thousand sayings of the Prophet.

Abu Hurayrah became a Muslim at the hands of at-Tufayl ibn Amr the chieftain of the Daws tribe to which he belonged. The Daws lived in the region of Tihamah which stretches along the coast of the Red Sea in southern Arabia. When at-Tufayl

returned to his village after meeting the

Prophet and becoming a Muslim in the early years of his mission, Abu Hurayrah was one of the first to respond to his call. He was unlike the majority of the Daws who remained stubborn in their old beliefs for a long time.

When at-Tufayl visited Makkah again, Abu Hurayrah accompanied him. There he had the honor and privilege of meeting the noble Prophet who asked him: “What is your name?” “Abdu Shams - Servant of a Sun,” he replied.

“Instead, let it be Abdur-Rahman - the Servant of the Beneficent Lord,” said the Prophet.

“Yes, Abdur-Rahman (it shall be) O Messenger of God,” he replied. However, he continued to be known as Abu Hurayrah, “the kitten man”, literally “the father of a kitten” because like the Prophet he was fond of cats and since his childhood often had a cat to play with.

Abu Hurayrah stayed in Tihamah for several years and it was only at the beginning of the seventh year of the Hijrah that he arrived in Madinah with others of his tribe. The Prophet had gone on a campaign to Khaybar. Being destitute, Abu Hurayrah took up his place in the Masjid with other of the Ahl as-Suffah. He was single, without wife or child. With him

however was his mother who was still a mushrik. He longed, and prayed, for her to become a Muslim but she adamantly refused. One day, he invited her to have faith in God alone and follow His Prophet but she uttered some words about the Prophet which saddened him greatly. With tears in his eyes, he went to the noble Prophet who said to him: “What makes you cry, O Abu Hurayrah?” “I have not let up in inviting my mother to Islam but she has always rebuffed me. Today, I invited her again and I heard words from her which I do not like. Do make supplication to God Almighty to make the heart of Abu Hurayrah’s mother incline to Islam.”

The Prophet responded to Abu Hurayrah’s request and prayed for his mother. Abu Hurayrah said: “I went home and found the door closed. I heard the splashing of water and when I tried to enter my mother said: “Stay where you are, O Abu Hurayrah.” And after putting on her clothes, she said, “Enter!” I entered and she said: “I testify that there is no god but Allah and I testify that Muhammad is His Servant and His Messenger.”

“I returned to the Prophet, peace be on him, weeping with joy just as an hour before I had gone weeping from sadness and said: “I have good news, O

23

Messenger of Allah. God has responded to your prayer and guided the mother of Abu Hurayrah to Islam.”

Abu Hurayrah loved the Prophet a great deal and found favor with him. He was never tired of looking at the Prophet whose face appeared to him as having all the radiance of the sun and he was never tired of listening to him. Often he would praise God for his good fortune and say: “Praise be to God Who has guided Abu Hurayrah to Islam.” Praise be to God Who has taught Abu Hurayrah the Quran.”

“Praise be to God who has bestowed on Abu Hurayrah the companionship of Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace.” On reaching Madinah, Abu Hurayrah set his heart on attaining knowledge. Zayd ibn Thabit the notable companion of the Prophet reported: “While Abu Hurayrah and I and another friend of mine were in the Masjid praying to God Almighty and performing dhikr to Him, the Messenger of God appeared. He came towards us and sat among us. We became silent and he said: “Carry on with what you were doing.”

“So my friend and I made a supplication to God before Abu Hurayrah did and the Prophet began to say Ameen to our dua.

“Then Abu Hurayrah made a supplication saying: “O Lord, I ask You for what my two companions have asked and I ask You for knowledge which will not be forgotten.”

“The Prophet, peace be on him, said: ‘Ameen.’ “We then said: ‘And we ask Allah for knowledge which will not be forgotten, and the Prophet replied: ‘The Dawsi youth has asked for this before you.” “With his formidable memory, Abu Hurayrah set out to memorize in the four years that he spent with the Prophet, the gems of wisdom that emanated from his lips. He realized that he had a great gift and he set about to use it to the full in the service of Islam.

He had free time at his disposal. Unlike many of the Muhajirin he did not busy himself’ in the market-places, with buying and selling. Unlike many of the Ansar, he had no land to cultivate nor crops to tend. He stayed with the Prophet in Madinah and went with him on journeys and

expeditions.Many companions were amazed at the

number of hadith he had memorized and often questioned him on when he had heard a certain hadith and under what circumstances.

Once Marwan ibn al-Hakam wanted to test Abu Hurayrah’s power of memory. He sat with him in one room and behind a curtain he placed a scribe, unknown to Abu Hurayrah, and ordered him to write down whatever Abu Hurayrah said. A year later, Marwan called Abu Hurayrah again and asked him to recall the same ahadith which the scribe had recorded. It was found that he had forgotten not a single word.

Abu Hurayrah was concerned to teach and transmit the ahadith he had memorized and knowledge of Islam in general. It is reported that one day he passed through the suq of Madinah and naturally saw people engrossed in the business of buying and selling.

“How feeble are you, O people of Madinah!” he said. “What do you see that is feeble in us, Abu Hurayrah?” they asked. “The inheritance of the Messenger of God, peace be on him, is being distributed and you remain here! Won’t you go and take your portion?” “Where is this, O Abu Hurayrah?” they asked. “In the Masjid,” he replied.

Quickly they left. Abu Hurayrah waited until they returned. When they saw him, they said: “O Abu Hurayrah, we went to the Masjid and entered and we did not see anything being distributed.” “Didn’t you see anyone in the Masjid?” he asked. “O yes, we saw some people performing Salat, some people reading the Quran and some people discussing about what is halal and what is haram.” “Woe unto you,” replied Abu Hurayrah,” that is the inheritance of Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace.”

Abu Hurayrah underwent much hardship and difficulties as a result of his dedicated search for knowledge. He was often hungry and destitute. He said about himself:

“When I was afflicted with severe hunger, I would go to a companion’ of the

Prophet and asked him about an ayah of the Quran and (stay with him) learning it so that he would take me with him to his house and give food. “One day, my hunger became so severe that I placed a stone on my stomach. I then sat down in the path of the companions. Abu Bakr passed by and I asked him about an ayah of the Book of God. I only asked him so that he would invite me but he didn’t.

“Then Umar ibn al-Khattab passed by me and I asked him about an ayah but he also did not invite me. Then the Messenger of God, peace be on him, passed by and realized that I was hungry and said: “Abu Hurayrah!” “At your command” I replied and followed him until we entered his house. He found a bowl of milk and asked his family: “From where did you get this?” “Someone sent it to you” they replied. He then said to me: “O Abu Hurayrah, go to the Ahl as-Suffah and invite them.” Abu Hurayrah did as he was told and they all drank from the milk.

The time came of course when the Muslims were blessed with great wealth and material goodness of every description. Abu Hurayrah eventually got his share of wealth. He had a comfortable home, a wife and child. But this turn of fortune did not change his personality. Neither did he forget his days of destitution. He would “I grew up as an orphan and I emigrated as a poor and indigent person. I used to take food for my stomach from Busrah bint Ghazwan. I served people when they returned from journeys and led their camels when they set out. Then God caused me to marry her (Busrah). So praise be to God who has strengthened his religion and made Abu Hurayrah an imam.” (This last statement is a reference to the time when he became governor of Madinah.)

Much of Abu Hurayrah’s time would be spent in spiritual exercises and devotion to God. Qiyam al-Layl staying up for the night in prayer and devotion - was a regular practice of his family including his wife and his daughter. He would stay up for a third of the night, his wife for another third and his daughter for a third. In this way, in the house of Abu Hurayrah

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no hour of the night would pass without ibadah, dhikr and Salat.

During the caliphate of Umar, Umar appointed him as governor of Bakrain. Umar was very scrupulous about the type of persons whom he appointed as governors. He was always concerned that his governors should live simply and frugally and not acquire much wealth even though this was through lawful means.

In Bahrain, Abu Hurayrah became quite rich. Umar heard of this and recalled him to Madinah. Umar thought he had acquired his wealth through unlawful means and questioned him about where and how he had acquired such a fortune. Abu Hurayrah replied: “From breeding horses and gifts which I received.” “Hand it over to the treasury of the Muslims,” ordered Umar.

Abu Hurayrah did as he was told and raised his hands to the heavens and

prayed: “O Lord, forgive the Amir al-Muminin.” Subsequently, Umar asked him to become governor once again but he declined. Umar asked him why he refused and he said: “So that my honor would not be besmirched, my wealth taken and my back beaten.” And he added: “And I fear to judge without knowledge and speak without wisdom.”

Throughout his life Abu Hurayrah remained kind and courteous to his mother. Whenever he wanted to leave home, he would stand at the door of her room and say: As-salaamu alaykum, yaa ummataah, wa rahrnatullahi wa barakatuhu, peace be on you, mother, and the mercy and blessings of God.” She would reply: “Wa alayka-s salaam, yaa bunayya, wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu - And on you be peace, my son, and the mercy and blessings of God.” Often, he would also say: “May God have mercy

on you as you cared for me when I was small,” and she would reply: “May God have mercy on you as you delivered me from error when I was old.” Abu Hurayrah always encouraged other people to be kind and good to their parents. One day he saw two men walking together, one older than the other. He asked the younger one: “What is this man to you?” “My father,” the person replied.

“Don’t call him by his name. Don’t walk in front of him and don’t sit before him,” advised Abu Hurayrah.

Muslims owe a debt of gratitude to Abu Hurayrah for helping to preserve and transmit the valuable legacy of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace.

He died in the year 59 AH when he was seventy-eight years old. - MuslimAccess.com

Info@passionislam.com

26

Du’ã is asking Allah for help or for the fulfilment of a particular need. It expresses a slave’s helplessness and dependence on Allah, the All-Powerful and Merciful. It is the channel through which one gets directly in touch with one’s Creator.

The purpose of man’s creation is worship and according to a Hadeeth, ‘Du’ã is the essence of worship’. (Tirmizi) And according to another Hadeeth, ‘Du’ã is the worship’. (Tirmizi)

Just as Salãh, Sawm, Zakãh, Hajj etc. are acts of worship, du’ã too is an act of worship. Therefore just as one takes out time to pray Salãh or to recite the Qur’ãn or make zikr, similarly, according equal importance to du’ã, one should also take out sufficient time for the sake of du’ã.

The objective behind every act of worship is the Recognition of Allah as the Creator and the All-Powerful, and that one acts according to His Will and not as one likes. A Servant

of Allah accepts his weaknesses and recognises his need for Allah. Out of all devotions, this humbleness and total submission is best expressed in du’ã. Furthermore, other acts of worship can

become a source of pride whilst du’ã

is an act which is usually free from any trace of pride.

Nowadays, du’ã has become a mere ritual. It has become a routine practice which one is accustomed to perform at certain times of the day. People raise their hands for a few moments at the time of du’ã, uttering a few words, some consciously, and some without even realising what they are asking for.

Today hardly anybody resorts to du’ã for solutions to their problems. For most people du’ã is a devotion which is the most difficult to practise. Even at the blessed places and in the blessed moments, a short while occupied by du’ãs will seem like hours. By and large, we find that the engagement in Salãh or the recitation of the Qur’ãn is relatively easier than making du’ã. This only reflects our distance from the Being of Allah, as du’ã is the only act of worship which provides us with the opportunity to communicate with Allah in the manner we wish. Lack of concentration in this act of worship shows that the performance of other acts of worship are also customary and superficial, and lacking the true essence. If we truly enjoyed the Proximity of Allah,

we would inevitably have found enjoyment in confiding in Him and beseeching Him. We would have always felt an eagerness to turn to Him, in open and in solitude.

Many of us make du’ã half-heartedly, not convinced whether our demands will be answered or not. We should know that Allah always answers the du’ãs of people. However, it may not always seem so and many people, failing to experience the effects immediately, begin to feel dejected and put off. This, however, should not be the case, as Allah, the All-Hearing, undoubtedly hears and accepts the supplications of people, only that the du’ãs of some are answered immediately, whilst those of others are deferred for their own benefit.

One should keep in mind that the acceptance of du’ãs also depends on the expectations of a person. Allah deals with people in accordance with what they expect of Him. In one Hadeeth, the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasallam has related the following Statement of Allah: ‘I treat my servant as he expects of me…’ (Bukhãri, Muslim)

The Ahãdeeth also tell us that du’ãs (provided that their requisites have been

The importance of Du’aa

27

fulfilled) are accepted invariably, but their acceptance is manifested in either of the three below-mentioned ways: Sometimes, Allah immediately answers them and blesses the seekers with what they have asked for; sometimes He substitutes what they have asked for with something that in His Knowledge was better for them; or alternatively, through the blessings of the du’ã, He removes an impending calamity that was to befall them. At times, neither of the above may transpire, but on such occasions, the du’ã is treasured for the Hereafter. These unanswered du’ãs will bear so much reward that a person, on the Day of Qiyãmah, will wish that none of his du’ãs were accepted in the world. (Kanzul ‘Ummãl)

Abstaining from harãm (clothing, food, income, etc.) is another essential requisite for the acceptance of du’ã. The Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasallam once made mention of a person who travels widely, his hair dishevelled and covered with dust. He lifts his hands towards the sky (and thus makes the supplication): “O Lord, O Lord,” then the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasallam said, “But his diet is unlawful, his drink is unlawful, his clothes are unlawful and his nourishment is unlawful. How then can his supplication be accepted?” (Muslim)

By keeping the following few points in mind concerning du’ã, inshã’allah, one will benefit greatly. Firstly one should remember that du’ã is an act of worship

and should be given an independent status of its own. It should not remain a mere ritual.

Secondly, one should make du’ã after performing all good deeds such as Salãh, recitation of Qur’ãn, zikr etc., and also fix a specific time especially for du’ã. In du’ã, one should adopt humility and ensure that one understands what is being asked. The time spent in du’ã should be gradually lengthened. In the initial stages, the same du’ãs can be repeated over and over, and in the meantime more and more du’ãs should be memorised. An effort should be made to learn those du’ãs in particular which encompass the general need of all the Muslims.

Thirdly, when making du’ã, a person should have a firm faith that he is asking from Allah the All-Powerful, and He is able to fulfil every need of ours. The chances of being cured from a fatal illness, for instance, may seem remote but it should be believed from the depths of the heart that Allah is able to cure any illness if He so wished. Dr. ‘Abdul Hay ‘Ãrifi rahmatullahi alayh (a renowned saint) used to say, ‘Does there exist any problem that cannot be solved through du’ã?’, and then he would say ‘How can there, when du’ã is a request made to Allah for the removal of problems and there is no problem on earth whose removal is beyond His ability.’

One should ask Allah for both worldly needs and those of the Hereafter. Rasoolullah sallalahu alayhi wasallam has

instructed us to ask Allah for all our needs, however petty they may seem to be. He sallalahu alayhi wasallam mentioned that even if a person’s shoelaces break, he should ask Allah before embarking to obtain new ones.

Finally, one should not ask for anything unlawful. Many young people do not realise this and by asking for impermissible things incur the displeasure of Allah.May Allah give us all the tawfeeq to turn to Him for all our needs and may He fulfil all our lawful needs of this world and the Hereafter. Ãmeen.

by Shaykh Muhammed Saleem Dhorat (Islamic Dawah Academy)

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History of Islam in RussiaThe first Muslims within current Russian territory were the Dagestani people (region of Derbent) after the Arab conquests in the 8th century. The first Muslim state in Russia was Volga Bulgaria (922).

The Tatars inherited the religion from that state. Later the most of European and Caucasian Turkic peoples also became followers of Islam. Islam in Russia has had a long presence, extending at least as far back as the conquest of the Khanate of Kazan in 1552, which brought the Tatars and Bashkirs on the Middle Volga into Russia. The lower Volga Muslim Astrakhan Khanate was conquered by the Russian empire in 1556.

The Siberia Khanate was conquered by the Russian empire in 16th century by defeating the Siberian Tatars which opened Siberia for Russian conquest. The Crimean Khanate was conquered in 1739 by the Russian Empire. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Russian conquests in the North Caucasus brought the Muslim peoples of this region—Dagestanis, Chechens, Ingush, and others—into the Russian state. The conquest of the Circassians and the Ubykhs turned this peoples to muhajirs.

Further a field, the independent states of

Centrall Asia and Azerbaijan were brought into the

Russian state as part of

the same imperialist push that incorporated the North Caucasus. Most Muslims living in Russia were the indigenous people of lands long ago seized by the expanding Russian empire.

The first printed Quran was published in Kazan, Russia in 1801.

Another event in the Islam history of Russia was Wäisi movement, which began in the turn of the 20th century. The Ittifaq al-Muslimin party represented the Muslim minority in the State Duma.

Under Communist rule, Islam was oppressed and suppressed, Many mosques were closed at that time. For example, the Marcani mosque was the only one acting mosque in Kazan at that time.Islam TodayIslam is now considered the second largest religion in Russia and the fastest growing religion in Russia and that ethnic Russians are converting to Islam in large numbers.

As of the last census (in 2002), about 14,340,794 million, or 9.8% of Russia’s population were of any ethnicity that is historically linked with Islam although The country’s Muslim community groups say Muslims make up 10% of the total population. Demographers predict that by 2020 one out of five Russians will be Muslim.

Muslim communities are concentrated among minority nationalities residing between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea: Adyghe, Balkars,

Chechens, Circassians, Ingush, Kabardin, Karachay, and numerous Dagestani peoples. Also, in the middle of the Volga Basin reside populations of Tatars and Bashkirs, many of whom are Muslims.

Kazan has a large Muslim population (probably the second after Moscow urban group of the Muslims and the biggest indigenous group in Russia) and is home to the Russian Islam University at Tatarstan. Education is in Russian and Tatar.

Copies of the Quran are readily available, and many mosques are being built in regions with large Muslim

populations.The majority of Muslims in

Russia adhere to the Sunni branch of Islam. About 2% are Shi’a Muslims. In a few areas, notably Chechnya, there is a tradition of Sunni Sufism. The Azeris have also historically and still currently been nominally followers of Shi’a Islam, as their republic split off from the Soviet Union, significant number of Azeris immigrated to Russia in search of work.

A record 18,000 Russian Muslim pilgrims from all over the country attended the Hajj in Makkah in 2006. Mosque in Ufa, Bashkortostan

(pictured below)

Islam in Russia

Opened in 1913, It was the largest mosque in Europe, its minarets attaining 48 meters in height and the impressive dome rising 39 meters high. The mosque is situated in downtown St Petersburg, so its azure dome is perfectly visible from the Trinity Bridge across the Neva. It can accommodate up to five thousand people.

The founding stone was laid in 1910 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the reign of Abdul Ahat Khan in Bukhara. By that time, the Muslim community of the Russian capital exceeded 8,000 people. The projected structure was capable of accommodating most of them. The architect Nikolay Vasiliev patterned the mosque after Gur-e Amir, the tomb of Tamerlane in Samarkand. Its construction was completed by 1921.

People are separated by gender during prayer, females prayed on the first floor, while the males prayed on the ground floor. The Mosque was closed to worshippers from 1940 to 1956.HistoryIn 1882, Selim-Girei Tevkelev who in 1865 was appointed the Mufti of Orenburg turned to and obtained agreement from minister Count Tolstoy with the requirement for a mosque in St. Petersburg. In 1906, the Minister formed a special committee headed by Ahun Ataulla Bayazitov to collect 750 000 rubles

within 10 years for the construction of the mosque. They organised collections in towns and providences of Russia and received donations from rich sponsors. In addition the committee input securities in total amount of 142, 000 rubles and also stamps for mosque’s project. The biggest donor was Said Abdoul Ahad, Emir of Bochara who undertook all expenses for the building.

The location of the mosque was symbolic, sited opposite the Peter and Paul’s Fortress, in the city centre. The permission to purchase the site was given by Emperor Nicholas II in Peterhoff on 3 July 1907. That autumn, the committee approved the project by architect Nikolay Vasiliev, the engineer Stepan Krichinskiy, and construction was overseen by academic Alexander von Gogen. The building facade was made by combining both oriental ornaments and turquoise blue mosaic.

On 3 February 1910, the brick laying ceremony was performed by Ahun Bayazitov, attended by government, religious and social figures. Among those who attended was Amir Buharskiy, Harusin, Novikov, the ambassadors of Turkey and Persia, Sultanov the Orenburg’s Muftiy, and Tevkelev, the leader of the Muslims party in the Duma .

The walls were made with grey granite and the dome and both minarets (tower)

are covered with mosaic ceramics of sky-light-blue colour. Skilled craftsmen from Central Asia took part working on the mosque. The facades are decorated with sayings from Quran using the characteristic Arabian calligraphy. Internal columns are made from green marble. woman pray in on the first floor, above the western part of the hall. The mosque was covered by huge special made carpets weaved by the Central Asian craftsmen.

The St. Petersburg Mosque was closed and was made into a warehouse during the Second World War. At the request of the first Indonesian President, Soekarno (whilst visiting the city), the mosque was returned to the Muslim community of the city in 1956, ten days after his visit. A major restoration of a mosque was made in 1980.

29

Saint Petersburg Mosque Russia

A man woke up early in order to pray the Fajr prayer in the masjid. He got dressed, made his ablution and was on his way to the masjid.

On his way to the masjid, the man fell and his clothes got dirty. He got up, brushed himself off and headed home.

At home, he changed his clothes, made his ablution, and was again on his way to the masjid.On his way to the masjid, he fell again and at the same spot! He, again, got up, brushed himself off and headed home.

At home he, once again, changed his clothes, made his ablution and was on his way to the masjid.On his way to the masjid, he met a man holding a lamp.

He asked the man of his identity and the man replied ‘I saw you fell twice on your way to the masjid, so I brought a lamp so I can light your way.’The first man thanked him and the two where on their way to the masjid.

Once at the masjid, the first man asked the man with the lamp to come in and pray Fajr with him.The second man refused.The first man asked him a couple more times and again, the answer was the same.

The first man asked him why he did not wish to come in and pray.The man replied I am Shaitan’. The man was shocked at this reply.

Shaitan went on to explain, I saw you on your way to the masjid and it was I who made you fell. When you went home, cleaned yourself and went back on your way to the masjid, Allah forgave all of your sins.

I made you fell a second time, and even that did not encourage you to stay home, rather, you went back on your way to the masjid.

And because of that, Allah forgave all the sins of the people of your household.I was afraid if I made you fell one more time, then Allah will forgive the sins of the people of your village, so I made sure that you reached the masjid safely.’Therefore, Please do not let Shaitan benefit from his actions.

Do not put off a good that you intended to do as you never know how much reward you might receive from the hardships you encounter while trying to achieve that good.

Sent in by Anisa, London

30

Angels asked me what do you wish 4 2day, I said give dua, health, happiness, wealth 2 the person reading this message. Rehana, Leicester

Without Allah’s luv yr days are r: Sadday, Moanday, Tearsday, Wasteday, Frightday, ShatterdayFarida, Batley

Happy Moments PRAISE ALLAH Difficult Moments SEEK ALLAH

Quiet MomentsWORSHIP ALLAHPainful MomentsTRUST ALLAH Moment By MomentTHANK ALLAHUsman - Bradford

The Shortest Distance between a Problem and it’s Solution is the Distance between your Knees and the Floor. The one who Kneels to Allah (Ta’ala) can Stand Up to Anything.Hannah - Derby

You text & emails Send them through to info@passionislam.com

Never Give Up

‘Before you speak, let your words pass through three gates. At the first gate, ask yourself ‘Is is true.’ At the second gate ask, ‘Is it necessary.’ At the third gate ask, ‘Is it kind.’’

‘If we treat a man as he is, we make him worse than he is. If we treat him as though he already

were what he potentially could be, we make him what he should be.’ sent in by Sara, Huddersfield

Ask yourself

Insidethe Kabah

Rare inside look at the Kabah. Photo sent in by Zahid, Preston

31

When Mu’min will enter into Jannah, it will be announced:-(1) You will remain healthy forever, disease will never come. (2) You will remain alive for ever, death will never come.(3) You will remain in bounties which will never be finished.

Jannat is made with bricks of gold and silver, Its cement is of perfumed musk.Its chips are pearls and Yaqoot. Its sand is Zafraan.

There are eight doors ofJannah. these are eight grades of Jannat:-

i) Jannatul Mava ii) Darul Maqaam iii) Darul Salaamiv) Darul Khuldv) Jannat-ul-Adanvi) Jannat-ul-Naeemvii) Jannat-ul-Kasif viii) Jannat-ul-Firdous

Food of JannahThey will eat foods and fruits continuously up to 40 years.

Every bowl will have a new taste. They will take eructation which will digest the food and there will be perfumed sweating for the digestion of water.There will be no urine and stool.

There will be gardens inJannah. Every garden will have the length of about 100 years journey. The shadow of these gardens will be very dense. Their plants will be free of thorns. The size of their

leaves will be equal to ears of elephants. Their fruits will be hanging in rows.

Jannatul Mava is in the lowest, Jannat-ul-Adan is the middle and Jannat-ul- Firdous is on the highest. Those who love each other for the sake of Allah, will get a pillar of Yaqoot, on which there will be seventy thousand (70,000) rooms. These will shine for the residents of Jannah as the sun shines for the residents of Duniya.

There will be rooms in Jannah in such a way that every room will have seventy thousand (70,000) dinning sheets. On every dinning sheet 70,000 types of foods will be served.

For their service 80,000 young boys will be moving around looking like beautiful scattered pearls.

One bunch of dates will be equal to the length of 12 arms. The size of a date will be equal to the big pitcher. These will be whiter than milk, sweeter than honey and softer than butter and free of seeds. The stem of these plants will be made up of gold and silver There will also be gardens of grapes. The bunches of grapes will be very big. The size of a single grape will be equal to a big pitcher (pot). Someone asked, Ya Rasulullah (Sallalahu alaihi wasallam): will it be sufficient for me and my family. It was answered, it will be sufficient for you and your whole tribe.

The Dresses of JannatThe dress of Jannah will be very beautiful.

One will wear 70 dresses at a time.These will be very fine, delicate,

weightless, having different colors. These dresses will be so fine that the body even the heart will be visible. And the waves of love in the hearts will also be visible. These dresses will never become old, never be dirty and will never tear. There will be four canalsin every Jannah. They are of water, milk, honey and Sharabun Tahoora. There will also be three fountains in Jannah. (i) Kafoor. (ii) Zanjabeel. (iii) Tasneem

Qualities of People of Jannah* In Jannah, height of every Mo ‘min, will be equal to the height of Hazrat Adam (Alaihissalaam) 60 arms (90 feet).* Beauty will be like that of Hazrat Yousuf (Alaihissalaam)* Age of youth will be like that of Hazrat Esa (Alaihissalaam) (30-33 years). * Sweetness of voice will be like that of Hazrat Dawud (Alaihissalaam).* Tolerance will be like that of Hazrat Yaqoob (Alaihissalaam)* Patience will be like that of Hazrat Ayyub (Alaihissalaam.)* Habits will be like that of Sayyaduna Muhammad (Sallalahu alaihi wasallam.)If a person makes Du ‘a for Jannah three times, Jannah requests Allah that O, Allah; make his entry into Jannah. And if a person makes Du’a for safety from Jahannum three times, the Jahannnum requests Allah that, O, Allah; save him from Jahannum. Sent in by Aliyah, Reading

Bounties of Jannat (Heaven)

History lesson

Sent in by Ibrahim, Nottingham

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