October 2015

October 2015 | Issue 32

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CON T EN Ts 9 Presentation Tips

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Police officer shot in East London

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Ahmed Mohamed

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Will the beard boom ever end?

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Would Muslims Get Better Jobs If Their Employers Didn’t Know Their Name?

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This Is not Jihad!

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ACF vs Met Police Pool Competition

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Hajj Stampede 2015

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Segway Craze

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Third Intifada

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Business of the Month

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Youth of the Month

21

Free GCSE Maths Tuition

22

Badr Fitness

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Presentation Tips for Students Making effective classroom presentations takes practice, but with a few tips up your sleeve, you are ready to take on the challenge.

Know Your Topic Students usually want to charge right in and start using the presentation software immediately. Do the research first and know your material. Think through what you will present before beginning the project on the computer. Creating the slide show is the easy part. The best classroom presentations are created by people who are comfortable with what they are going to talk about.

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Use Key Phrases About Your Topic Good presenters use key phrases and include only the most important information. Your topic may be vast, but choose only the top three or four points and make them several times throughout the presentation in the classroom.

Avoid Using Too Much Text on the Slide One of the biggest mistakes students make in classroom presentations, is in writing their whole speech on the slides. The slide show is meant to accompany your oral presentation. Write in the form of jot notes, called bullet points, on slides. Use simple language and limit the number of bullets to three or four per slide. The surrounding space will make it easier to read.

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Limit the Number of Slides Too many slides in a presentation will cause you to be rushing to get through them, and your audience might end up paying more attention to the changing slide than to what you are saying. On average, one slide per minute is about right in a classroom presentation.

Layout of Your Slide is Important Make your slides easy to follow. Put the title at the top where your audience expects to find it. Phrases should read left to right and top to bottom. Keep important information near the top of the slide. Often the bottom portions of slides cannot be seen from the back rows because heads are in the way.

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Avoid Fancy Fonts

Choose a font that is simple and easy to read such as Arial, Times New Roman or Verdana. You may have a really cool font on your computer, but save it for other uses. Don’t use more than two different fonts one for headings and another for content. Keep all fonts large enough (at least 18 pt and preferably 24 pt) so that people at the back of the room will be able to read them easily

Use Contrasting Colors For Text and Background »» Dark text on a light background is best. This combination offers the most visibility. Sometimes though, you may want a dark background for effect, to dazzle the crowd. In that case, be sure to make text a light color for easy reading in a classroom presentation. »» Text is often difficult to read on patterned or textured backgrounds. »» Keep your color scheme consistent throughout your classroom presentation.

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Try a Slide Design Theme to Keep the Look Consistent When you use a design theme, choose one that will not detract from your classroom presentation.

Test it ahead of time to make sure that the text will be readable and the graphics won t get lost in the background.

Use Animations and Transitions Sparingly in Classroom Presentations Let’s face it. Students love to apply animations and transitions every place they can. This will certainly be entertaining, but rarely will the audience be paying attention to the message of the presentation.

Always remember that The slide show is a visual aid and not the objective of the classroom presentation.

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A Police Officer Has Been Shot in East London

The Metropolitan Police has confirmed that a male police officer was shot in East London. According to an official statement, the officer was taking part in an operation involving specialist firearms officers and members of the Trident anti-gang unit when he was shot on Scriven Street in Haggerston, Hackney.

The officer was airlifted to hospital after the shooting took place at approximately 12.45PM. A man is believed to be in custody on suspicion of shooting the police officer, whose injuries are not thought to be life threatening.

Being interviewed by The Independent, local shopkeeper Kirit Shah said, “I heard a shot and very soon there were lots of police everywhere.

From what I understand, the shooting happened behind the community centre.”

Images circulating on Twitter show what is believed to be the officer with an injury on the left side of his upper body. Reports also suggest that the police officer was undercover, although this has not been confirmed officially at this time.

In a statement, the Met Police said, “A male police officer, no further details at this time, has been taken to an East London hospital suffering a gunshot wound. Next of kin have been informed. There are no reports of any other injured persons at this time.”

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Ahmed The Clock

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Maker The American Muslim teenager who was arrested because his teacher mistook his homemade clock for a bomb says he plans to invent a device that can produce free electricity.

Ahmed Mohammed Al-Hassan, who has Sudanese heritage, made this announcement during his visit here for Umrah at the expense of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman.

The grade 11 student said the invention is a generator, which would use unconventional methods to produce electricity at virtually no cost. He is now looking for someone who will support his idea, a local publication reported Monday.

Ahmed’s father Mohammed said that his son uses all his spare time to make various devices. “We find it difficult to work out when he is playing and when he is not.”

Mohammed said that Ahmed once objected when his mother took ice cream sticks from his bedroom, because he had been using them for over a year to build a house.

Ahmed said that the clock he made consisted of items he had collected that no one else wanted, including old phones, televisions and pagers. “It was easy to make,” he said. He has 13 other inventions that he hopes would be made into products.

Ahmed’s treatment caused a media storm in the United States, with President Barak Obama and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg supporting him. He has received offers to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and offered jobs by Google and Twitter.

Microsoft sent him a computer and printer; and a company that previously rejected his inventions, and wanted him to pay them $10,000 to develop his idea, now wants him to work for them, according to the report.

Mohammed said the family was shocked when Ahmed was arrested because America is supposed to encourage scientists and scholars. It appeared Ahmed was singled out because of the prejudice that still prevails against Islam and Muslims, he said.

The young inventor has a hobby of fixing electronic gadgets for his friends and teachers. He made a remote control mechanism to switch off a projector.

He also helped his older sister with items needed for her medical engineering studies.

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Will The Beard Boom Ever End?

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Would Muslims get better jobs if employers didn’t know they were Muslim?

Roughly 4 percent of Britain’s population is estimated to be Muslim. However, British Muslims are conspicuously absent from many of the country’s top professional roles.

A number of studies have suggested that Muslims are discriminated against when they apply for jobs in Britain. Last year, for example, Bristol University researchers found that religion mattered far more than skin colour when it came to job prospects in Britain.

Muslims were found to suffer the most, with men as much as 76 percent less likely to get a job offer than their Christian counterparts, while Muslim women were found to be 65 percent less likely to be employed than Christian women.

The exact reasoning behind this disparity is unclear, but in an interview with the Independent, Nabil

Khattab, one of the authors of the study, offered some thoughts. “[Muslims] are perceived as disloyal and as a threat rather than just as a disadvantaged minority,” Khattab said. “Within this climate, many employers will be discouraged from employing qualified Muslims, especially if there are others from their own groups or others from less threatening groups who can fill these jobs.”

A name that sounds like it could belong to a Muslim person may well hurt an applicant’s chances at getting a job at the very earliest stages of the application. A 2012 British parliamentary report found that some women who were members of ethnic minorities had attempted to make their names sound more “British,” with one Muslim woman even legally changing her name in the hope that it would improve her chances of employment.

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IT IS NOT JIHĀD! Al-Qāʿidah and ISIS are not performing Jihād butspreading turmoil The word Jihad, in its broad sense, refers to striving of some sort and includes striving with one’s soul, with one’s heart, with one’s body and one’s wealth; and is applied to all arenas of life.

One of the special manifestations of “Jihād” is a just, conventional war which is waged in order to repel aggression or to combat and remove injustice.

All nations assume the right to wage war for these reasons, and “Jihād” in this context is instituted islamically for that purpose. However, this “Jihād” is regulated and has strict conditions and cannot be announced and waged haphazardly by individuals, vigilantes or groups.

From its main conditions is that it is waged under a ruler, in the presence of clear military leadership (and not with chaos and disarray), except in the case of a sudden attack by an enemy where self-defense is sanctioned immediately without recourse to the ruler of the state; and this scenario also has guidelines and rulings with affairs ultimately being referred back to the ruler.

During the 20th century, this orthodox, classical understanding of “Jihād” was distorted through the ideas of numerous thinkers who wished to restore the Islamic Caliphate, wrongly treating it to be the ultimate goal of Islam. They operated on the premise that all Muslims states are apostate regimes, and will remain so until they are removed and a Caliphate is established.

From here arose the doctrines of Takfīr (excommunication) of Muslim nations, governments and the Muslim masses. “Jihād” was distorted to refer to a struggle against “apostate” rulers and governments and to the killing of innocent people with the overall aim being to establish a “ Caliphate” through this alleged “Jihād”.

Those who make up the organization known as ISIS are from this orientation, and this is why their activity is focused primarily on Muslim lands - as is clear from many of their statements. They wish to conquer Iraq, then the Gulf-countries in the peninsula. All of this is NewGen 12

not Jihād according to the Islamic legislation, but is corruption and tribulation.

In our time, the neo Jihadist movements condone the murder and slaughter of innocent people under the guise of Jihad. So it is imperative that we do not allow fanatics to prey on the emotions of the youth and mislead them through the distortion of Islamic teachings and terminologies.

When groups or individuals appeared in the past calling to Jihad, the scholars would carefully scrutinize these claims, asking questions such as, “Did they raise their sword and strike with it according to the teachings of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or according to [a set of] heretical beliefs.” This was stated by the Prophet’s companion, Ibn Masʿūd. Al-Bidaʿ Wa al-Nahy ʿAnhā Shaykh al Islām Ibn Taymīyah (may Allāh have mercy upon him) emphasized the need for investigation and caution when fringe elements start screaming Jihad.

He stated: “However, it is obligatory to differentiate between the legislated Jihad, which Allāh and His Messenger have commanded with, and the heretical Jihad which is the Jihad waged by misguided individuals who perform Jihad in obedience to the Devil, but they believe that they are performing Jihad in obedience to The Most Merciful (al‐Raḥmān). This is like the Jihad of the people of innovation and misguidance such as the Khawārij and other than them…” Al-Radd ʿAlá alAkhnā’ī (p. 205) The following is not considered to be Jihad: 1. Murdering non-combatants, whether Muslim or non-Muslim The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him said): “The believer will not cease to remain within the vastness of his religion, as long as he does not shed blood that is unlawful.” Collected by al-Bukhārī.

Shaykh Ibn al-ʿUthaymīn commented upon this hadith by saying, “As long as he does not shed blood that is unlawful” means as long as he does not murder the believer, the non-Muslim who resides in the land of the Muslims, the non-Muslim who has a covenant with the Muslims and the non-Muslim who is granted permission to travel safely.”

2. Killing women and children, even at times of war During one of the battles of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), a woman was found killed.

Thus, the Messenger of Allāh (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the killing of women and children.

Collected by al-Bukharī Ibn Taymīyah stated: “It was never allowed to kill women, ever.” Al-Ṣārim (2/258) 3. Fanatical groups or leaders declaring an offensive Jihad against other nations An offensive Jihad can only be called for by a leader of a Muslim nation, not by a terrorist organization, and this is according to the consensus of Muslim scholars and jurists.

“Have you not thought about the group of the Children of Israel after (the time of) Musa (Moses)? When they said to a Prophet of theirs, ‘Appoint for us a king and we will fight in Allāh’s Way.’” [Al-Baqarah: 246] Another proof that offensive Jihad is at the discretion of the leader, is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “The [Imam] ruler is a shield from behind whom they fight and by whom they are protected.” Bukharī and Muslim Ibn Qudāmah stated: “The affair of Jihad is under the jurisdiction of the ruler and his judgement. It is compulsory for those under his rule to obey him in what he decides in this matter.

“Al-Mughnī (10/368) 4. Joining extremist groups such as ISIS Shaykh Ṣāliḥ al-Fawzān was asked, “What is the ruling on travelling to Syria and is this Jihād?”

He responded, “This is turmoil and chaos; a person should not partake in this. Rather, he should stay far away from it, but he should supplicate for the Muslims. He should supplicate regularly for [Allāh to grant] the Muslims success and relief.

As for him travelling there, then this is not permissible because firstly he has a family and parents and secondly he has to have the consent of the Muslim leader. These two [conditions] have to be met: the consent of the Muslim leader and parental consent.

This is turmoil and chaos and a person should stay far away from this.”

5. Cutting off heads and displaying these images on television as trophies Imām al-Zuhrī [d. 741CE], a celebrated scholar of Islam, said: “Never was a severed head of an enemy brought to the Messenger of Allāh.” Sunan al-Kubra (9/223) The radical movements of today, such as ISIS and al-Qaeda, inherited this atrocious spectacle from anarchists and nihilists, as stated by a western academic: “The al-Qaeda video footage of the execution of foreign hostages in Iraq is a one-to-one re-enactment of the execution of Aldo Moro by the Red Brigades [in Italy in 1978], with the organization’s banner and logo in the background, with the hostage hand-cuffed and blind-folded, the mock trial with the reading of the sentence and the execution.”

In light of the above it should be clear that Jihad is an upright institution employed for just causes. When the rulings pertaining to jihad are violated - as they are by extreme heretical sects such as ISIS - then it can never be considered Jihad but corruption, mischief and terrorism.

For this reason, Muslim scholars and rulers have always stood against sects like ISIS, and it is a duty upon all Muslims to show support against their corruption.

Written by Hassan Abdi 23rd September 2015 islamagainstextremism.com NewGen 13

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Hajj Stampede 2015 According to a statement by the Saudi civil defence directorate, the stampede occurred Thursday 24 September 2015 at 09:00 Mecca time (06:00 UTC) at the junction between street 204 and 223 as pilgrims were en route to the Jamaraat Bridge. The Saudi Interior Ministrystated that the stampede was triggered when two large groups of pilgrims intersected from different directions onto the same street. The area was not previously identified as a dangerous bottleneck. The junction lay between two pilgrim camp sites. The International Business Times and the Daily Mail reported that the governor of Mecca Province and Saudi Arabia’s head of the central Hajj committee, Prince Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud, blamed the crush outside the holy city on “some pilgrims with African nationalities”; this caused some African leaders to lash out in response.

In a press conference held the day of the incident, spokesman of the Ministry of Interior Mansour Al-Turki attempted to address the incident.

He said that an investigation was ongoing, that the exact causes for crowding that led to the deadly stampede on Mina Street 204 are yet to be ascertained. He explained that “Street number 204 is a road leading from the camps to the Jamarat Bridge. What happened was that a group of pilgrims on buses were allowed to descend onto the pathways that lead to the Jamarat Bridge at a time that wasn’t allocated to them,” Al Arabiya News Channel’s correspondent in Mina, Saad AlMatrafi said. “As they neared the area, they converged with an existing group of people who were already in the area, which pushed the area to overcapacity.” The spokesman also mentioned that most diplomatic convoys take place in the south of Mina and in underground tunnels, while the incident took place in the north.

One day after the Mina crush tragedy, Saudi media publicized a statement by the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdullah Al ash-Sheikh, exonerating Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef (known as “MBN”) from responsibility for the disaster. The Grand Mufti’s statement, which characterized the incident as “beyond human control”, “inevitable”, and attributable to “fate”.

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How the ‘hoverboards’ took off - in spite of laws against them They’re known variously as “hoverboards” or “rideables” and are the latest must-have at the feet of celebrities - but the Crown Prosecution Service says riding them on public UK roads is illegal. What is this futuristic new breed of transportation - and how practical is it?

Adopters include Lily Allen and Wiz Khalifa Computers, sensors, and electric motors in the base of the Segway PT keep the device upright when powered on with balancing enabled.

The rider commands the PT to go forward or backward by shifting their weight forward or backward on the platform. The PT uses gyroscopic sensors and accelerometer-based leveling sensors to detect the resulting changes in its pitch angle and, to maintain balance, it drives its wheels forward or backward as needed to return its pitch to upright. In the process, the rider establishes and then maintains a desired speed by modulating the extent and duration of their fore/aft weight shifts. To turn and steer, the rider shifts the handlebar to the left or right. The PT responds by adjusting the speeds of the wheels in opposite directions causing the PT to yaw and, if not traveling forward or backward, turn in place. At speed, the amount of shift of the handlebar corresponds to the amount of left or right lean required by the rider to balance themselves on the platform during a turn.

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Third Intifada With Palestinians raging against Israel’s encroachments on their rights, faith and lands, many have seen the premise of a third Intifada. And yet this Palestinian resistance bears the features of a grander, broader movement one which stands against fascism.

Violence in Israel has reached new dizzying heights, so much so that hateful mobs have turned on their own, soldiers have shot their own nationals over mistaken identity and settlers have targeted a Rabbi for daring to preach tolerance and compassion for all.

Undoubtedly Israel has crossed the Rubicon, this unfathomable line where a people’s paranoia and self-taught rejection of the “other” devolved into hatred of all people. This madness, this negation of Judaism’s teachings of nonviolence and self-sacrifice for the greater good, surely is the product of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fascist and imperialist ideology.

Surely Israel’s grand display of violence, the bloodshed and human rights violations its officials continue to rationalize and justify under the labels of national security and self-defense, as they stand guarded by Western powers’ veto at the UN Security Council, no longer can reconcile with the faith it claims to represent and embody.

And if today Palestinians are calling for revenge, if today Palestinians and Arabs are calling for the liberation of Palestine - the nation, which was stolen from under them; it is not against Judaism that their anger is directed. Judaism always had a home in the Middle East. Judaism after all is rooted in the Middle East, its prophets are Christianity and Islam’s prophets, and its commandments are Islam and Christianity’s commandments.

Today, under the leadership of PM Netanyahu, Israel is building walls and settlements, segregated and excluded to the tune of hateful policies and calls for a grand repression against Palestinians, all Palestinians. Whether in Gaza, the West Bank or even on Israel’s national ground, it is against all Palestinians that Tel Aviv is directing its wrath. But this time Palestinians are standing on very different ideological and political grounds.

This time Palestine Intifada, this third Intifada clerics have already called for, could rise a regional movement against fascism: the fascism displayed by Israel, the fascism of ISIL, the fascism of America’s neocons, fascism per se.

And if Palestinians are rising a tide ahead of all others, it is mainly because their suffering stretches back decades, and because their oppression has been denied by those powers which sought to offer cover to theo-political radicalism.

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Business of the Month Clayhall Tandoori Indian Cuisine Nasir Shamim opened his restaurant 4 years ago and is offering a 2 week work experience in his business for any of the youth which are interested. He has recently made a donation to ACF and has opted to put a donation box in his restaurant to gain extra funds.

The restaurant caters for eating in as well as take away, and has a delivery service too.

Open 7 days a week Monday to Thursday – 5:00pm to 11:00pm Friday to Sunday – 5:00pm to 11:30pm Deliveries within a 5 mile radius

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Youth of the Month My name is Ibrar and I study at the secondary school Walthamstow Academy it was truly a honour and pleasure to be blessed with the opportunity to have completed the young leaders programme, MyBnk programme as well as being part of the Active Change Foundation community as I believe that the Young Man that I am today would not exist without the help of this splendid organisation who not only taught my how to express my views in the correct manner but also gave me a platform to help spread a message a message that would never have been spread without the help of the Active Change Foundation it has surely been a pleasure being part of such procedures and I hope to be involved in many more in the future.

The ACF has given me inspiration to do what I want to do no longer what I do in my life I know that the Active Change Foundation is supporting me and not only me but also other youths who need a platform. I would like to thank the ACF team for everything that I have learnt and experienced along this journey the skills that I have obtained are thanks to this amazing organization that I hope to be a massive part of within the approaching years once again thank you ACF and now that you know they helped me it is time for them to help you.

There is the required paragraph Hamza once I would like to thank you for this amazing opportunity and making this possible from the bottom of my heart I respect you as an individual thank you for everything I hope to see you very soon.

Yours Sincerely, Ibrar Butt

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The Active Change Foundation is dedicated in promoting integration within communities by providing the tools for change.

The development of young people is achieved through promoting leadership, education and skills development.

We work with the local community including young vulnerable people, in order to protect, educate, enrich and empower our communities in East London

453 Lea Bridge Road, Leyton, E10 7EA, (0208) 279 1258 Charity No: 1125 970