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Volume 14 Issue 356 Rabi ul Thani 21, 1435 AH / February 21, 2014 - $1

Miracle’s

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NO NEW MONEY FOR EDUCATION IN B.C. BUDGET

If the B.C. budget were a report card, it would get a failing grade in education funding, industry insiders say. Budget 2014/15, released Tuesday, effectively freezes funding for the kindergarten to Grade 12 system for the next three years, and reduces the advanced-education budget for universities and colleges. The K-12 system saw a $22-million raise from last year, out of a budget of more than $5 billion. Nearly every sector of government saw little or no spending increases as the Liberals kept their promise to balance the budget. But Teresa Rezansoff, president of the B.C. School Trustees Association, said she was “very disappointed” education was not a priority in the fiscal plan. Vancouver school board chairwoman Patti Bacchus tweeted the budget leaves B.C. with the “lowest per-student public ed funding in country. #shame.” Added B.C. Teachers’ Federation vice-president Glen Hansman: “All school boards around the province … are going to be having to make more and more cuts in the classroom and that is completely irresponsible at this point.” Hansman also rejected the document as “a pretend budget” as it did not set aside money to address a recent B.C. Supreme Court ruling that says classroom size and composition must return to 2002 levels. The government has said that could cost up to $1 billion, and plans to appeal the court ruling. The province is in the midst of vola-

Proudly serving British Columbians and keeping them up to date with current affairs, informative articles and extensive coverage of local events in different communities, ultimately striving to

“BRING HARMONY TO ALL THE COMMUNITIES”!

Our sincere thanks to Miracle’s readers, writers, advertisers and supporters in the last thirteen years!

Miracle Management

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Rabi ul Thani 21, 1435 H February 21, 2014

S P E C I A L

The Miracle’s journey of twelve years (Feb 2001 – Feb 2013) The Miracle’s journey in the last twelve years has been filled with many milestones. Some of them marked exciting and uplifting moments while a few may be arbitrarily remembered as disappointments. Nevertheless, each moment provided us with an opportunity to learn and improve, and only solidified our belief in this newspaper’s role in the community. While we faced many challenges in public and private, we have chosen a selected few events that raised our confidence in ourselves and in our community and hence, set the course of direction for the newspaper’s future.

This may be a trip down the memory lane for a lot of our readers and advertisers who have been with the newspaper from Day 1 and supported us.

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Rabi ul Thani 21, 1435 H February 21, 2014

P A K I S T A N

PAF jets bomb Taliban hideouts

LAHORE: In a major development late Wednesday night, the PAF fighter jets targeted the hideouts of Taliban militants in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan.

Highly informed sources in the military establishment said the PAF jets started pounding the terrorists’ hideouts at 23:59 (11:59pm) killing several Taliban militants, including some foreigners.

No military official was, however, available to confirm the hunch that the much-awaited military operation had finally begun in North Waziristan following the apparent failure of the peace talks started by the government.

The sources said the targeted hideouts were the headquarters of two TTP-linked foreign commanders from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. According to sources, these were pre-

emptive strikes to prevent some major terrorist operations being planned by the foreign terrorists.

It may be recalled that 50-plus terrorists were killed in the surgical airstrikes on January 20 in a tit-for-tat response to the TTP-sponsored attacks on security forces.

Source:thenews.com

The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Wednesday put forth their conditions for ceasefire, days after the militant group killed 23 Pakistan army soldiers in revenge for the killing of their colleagues. Speaking from an undisclosed location, TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said that killing and dumping bodies of TTP members should immediately be stopped.“Our fighters are being targeted, arrested and killed in fake police encounters. The government’s negotiations team should ensure to our committee that this would immediately stop,” said the TTP spokesman.“The government has killed more than 60 Taliban since the start of the peace talks, in Karachi and the rest of Pakistan, under a secret operation codenamed Operation Root Out,”

Shahid said. Shahid said that a ceasefire may be reached if the government ensures to the committee that their demands will be met.“The killings of soldiers in Mohmand were in response to the onslaught on Taliban members by security forces during the talks between government and Taliban committees,” he added. Peace talks between to end years of violence by the militant group reached a deadlock earlier this week after the killing of the 23 soldiers.

The soldiers had been kidnapped from Shongari checkpost in Mohmand tribal region in 2010 and were killed in captivity to avenge what they called the custodial killing of their ‘fighters’ in various parts of Pakistan.Following the killings, a four-member team of government negotiators said it would not be able to carry forward the talks process in the wake of continuing deadly attacks by the militants. The announcement Wednesday came just after a member of the Taliban nominated peace talks committee, Maulana Yousuf Shah, vowed to break the deadlock in negotiations. “People should not be disappointed as the negotiations process is still ongoing. There was a deadlock before as well but we were able to break it with maturity,” Shah told reporters in Peshawar. “Maulana Samiul Haq is in direct contact with the Taliban. We will restore peace at any cost,” he added.

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PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) has expressed serious concern over the slow pace of investigation into unearthing whether or not the girls shown in a mobile video in Kohistan had been killed.

In a statement issued here on Tuesday, the commission’s chairperson Neelum Toru said that it had been confirmed by prominent figures, including social activists and religious leaders, that the girls had been killed, last year.“We as an organisation working for women rights, request the provincial government to speed up the investigation so that the reality could be brought out.

“If the claims of social and religious activists are proven, then the culprits should be arrested and brought to justice,” the statement demanded.

Ms Toru said that as the incident had got massive coverage in media and the Supreme Court had also taken suo motu notice of it, the matter should have been settled by then.

“We request the authorities to take steps to prevent jirgas from delivering death sentences to people in petty cases.

Ms Toru said that the commission would also submit a request in this regard in the high court. She vowed that CSW would continue its struggle to protect rights of women in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Source: Dawn News

ISLAMABAD: The special court constituted in the federal capital to try former military ruler Gen (retd) Pervez Mushharaf for treason charges adjourned its hearing until Feb 21, after the former president appeared in court for today’s hearing, DawnNews reported.

A three-member special court, headed by Justice Faisal Arab, heard the case against the former president.

The court did not indict the former president during today’s hearing, following which Musharraf returned to the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC) where he was admitted for heart trouble on Jan 3.

Earlier, Musharraf’s counsel Anwar Mansoor had assured the court that the ex-army strongman would make an appearance today. The special court had also reserved its rul-

ing on a decision to conduct the trial of the ex-army strongman in a military court.

Meanwhile, security was tightened up on the former president’s route from the AFIC to the court.

Moreover, helicopters were providing air cover as part of the security arrangements for the former military strongCPA, CGA man. Earlier on Feb 7, the special court trying the ex-army Approved by most Banks and Credit Unions strongman had ordered him to appear today.

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Rabi ul Thani 21, 1435 H February 21, 2014

A D V E R T I S E R

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Rabi ul Thani 21, 1435 H February 21, 2014

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

Iran nuclear talks resume amid pessimism

Negotiators are due to meet in Vienna to discuss Iran’s nuclear programme, a day after the country’s supreme leader said he was not optimistic about talks and that they would lead nowhere. Representatives from the P5+1 Group, so called because it comprises the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Ger-

many, convene in the Austrian capital on Tuesday to build on progress made in the previous round of talks in November, when Tehran agreed to suspend part of its nuclear enrichment operations in exchange for an easing of sanctions. This latest round of talks is aimed at finding a long-term agreement, and the two sides have until July to find a solution. But on Monday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei said he was pessimistic about talks, although he was not opposed to them “I have said before ... I am not optimistic about the Zthe Iranian city of Tabriz, according to the official news agency IRNA. “What our foreign ministry and officials have started will continue and

Iran will not violate its (pledge) ... but I say again that this is of no use and will not lead anywhere,” Khamenei added. A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Monday that the negotiation process would be complicated, long and have no guarantee of success. “When the stakes are this high and the devil is truly in the details, one has to take the time to ensure the confidence of the international community in the result,” the official said.

“That can’t be done in a day, a week or even a month in this situation.” Earlier this month, Iran agreed to an inspection of the Saghand uranium mine, as part of a sevenstep plan with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to ease international fears about its nuclear programme.

The two sides reached agreement on seven practical measures to be implemented by

Iran by May 15. But Foad Izadi, from the University of Tehran, told Al Jazeera on Monday that there were two main points of contention regarding the talks and regarding the relationship between Iran and the US. “There is a problem with rhetoric and there is a problem with enrichment. It’s been a difficult issue since the beginning.

Iran says article four of the non-proliferation treaty means it can enrich uranium in its own country, America disagrees.

“When politicians and government officials speak they have internal audiences in mind. American officials have said the nuclear issue is not the only problem they have with Iran. All the sanctions that exist are going to remain even if the nuclear issue is dealt with. There are other issues they [Americans] don’t like Iran for.”

Source: Al-Jazeera

Israelis outraged by EU official comments Comments made by the president of the European Parliament, in which he criticised Israeli settlements and implied that Israelis receive four times more water than Palestinians, has stoked anger in Israel.

The speech, made by German Martin Schulz on Wednesday, prompted the farright Jewish Home party to storm out of the parliament and the spat made the front pages of Israel’s main newspapers. Economy Minister Naftali Bennett warned against Germans criticising his country, in reference to the European country’s Nazi past. “I am not prepared to accept a situation in which someone stands up in the heart of the Israeli Knesset and delivers a speech - in German, to boot - and tells lies about Israel,” Bennett, a member of the Jewish Home party, told Israel Radio. “I say, unequivocally, that someone speaking in German should be even more careful about saying things critical of the State of Israel. I have that expectation.” A European Union source who declined to be named said it was hard to find a more proIsraeli politician in Europe than Schulz, and that he was “shaken” by a controversy

that had overshadowed what was meant to be a positive message.

It was Schulz’s remarks on water allocation that were the most provocative. “How can it be that an Israeli is allowed to use 70 litres of water per day, but a Palestinian only 17?” Schulz asked. But he also admitted he had not had time to verify the numbers. Shortly afterwards, Schulz criticised settlements as an obstacle to peace and warned that the Gaza blockade could “undermine, rather than strengthen, Israel’s security”. Bennett denounced Schulz’s remarks as being “deceitful propaganda”.

Even Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waded in, accusing Schulz of being quick to cast blame without checking the facts.

“What was disturbing in Schulz’s speech was the selective hearing that is becoming prevalent in many circles in Europe,” he said in remarks published on the parliament’s website. “These are figures which are not true. [Schulz] said he didn’t check the figures but it didn’t stop him from straight away casting blame.” In an interview with German daily Die Welt published on Thursday, Schulz said he was

Danish ‘halal law’ changes nothing says imam

Religious leaders in Denmark say law changes to kosher and halal slaughter practices will not greatly affect their ways of life, despite international criticism about the change. Denmark’s minister for agriculture, Dan Jorgensen, announced changes to religious slaughtering practices last week that now require animals to be stunned before they are killed. Traditional halal and kosher practices require the animal to be conscious at the point of slaughter. “Animal rights come before religion,” said Jorgensen on Danish television. The change gained international attention, many on social media saying the change restricted religious freedom. However Khalil Jaffar, an imam at the Islamic Cultural Centre in Copenhagen, told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that Danish Islamic leaders had issued a religious decree several years ago saying that animals stunned before slaughter were considered halal in Denmark. He said that the international attention had however prompted Muslims living in other countries to ask him about the change. Finn Schwarz, the president

of the Jewish Community Centre, also based in the capital, said the change would not affect Denmark’s small Jewish community because it imported its kosher meat. However, Schwarz said that the Danish government had issued its directive in a “non-democratic” way. “This has not changed the fact that we can still supply the Jewish population with kosher meat. The issue here is both the Muslim organisation and the Jewish community agree this has been pushed through in a non-democratic process in a quick way,” said Schwarz. Jorgensen on Monday stressed that religious slaughter remained legal in the country. “To eliminate all doubt, let me make it clear that slaughter according to Islamic precepts is still permitted in Denmark. This is not changing.

It is important for the Danish government that everybody in Denmark can purchase meat slaughtered according to Islamic precepts without coming into conflict with their religious beliefs,” he said.

Source: Al-Jazeera

taken aback by the tirade. “The angry reaction from some parliamentarians in Jerusalem surprised me and made me concerned,” he said, adding that he considered his Jerusalem address to be “pro-Israel”.

“The people who disturbed my speech belong to a party of hardliners who answer each critical word that bothers them in this way.” The headline in the Israel HaYom freesheet, which is close to Netanyahu, read: “Shock in parliament over slander of Israel.” It accused Schultz of choosing to use “false libel” provided by anti-Israeli groups. Other papers published figures showing a completely different picture of Israeli-Palestinian water usage. The spat prompted several NGOs to publish their own figures on water usage, with Friends of the Earth Middle East citing statistics from 2011 showing the ratio was close to four to one. “The municipal water consumption per capita per day in Israel in 2011 was 250 litres, while among Palestinians in the West Bank, after taking into consideration an average loss of approximately 30 percent of the water - due to theft and lack of infrastructure - it was 70

litres,” the group said. Israeli rights group B’Tselem also said there was “discrimination in water allocation”, with Israelis receiving “much more water than Palestinian residents of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip”. According to the Israeli national water company, Mekorot, the average household water consumption in Israel is between 100 and 230 litres per person per day. For Palestinians in the West Bank connected to the water mains, the average daily consumption is about 73 litres. Those not connected to the network - around 113,000 people - rely on stored rainwater and water sold from tanker trucks, which is very expensive. Typically, they consume less than 60 litres per person per day with shepherding communities in the northern Jordan Valley consuming just 20 litres, the group said. Average consumption in Gaza is 70-90 litres per person daily, but the water quality is extremely poor, with 90 percent of supplies pumped there unpotable, according to World Health Organisation standards.

Source: Al-Jazeera

Vancouver : Continued from pg 1 tile negotiations with teachers, whose contract expired last June, but the budget suggests there will be no new money for wages in 2014/15 and any increases in the next two years would come from a $2.9-billion contingency cushion. The advanced-education budget is projected to fall from $1.952 billion this year to $1.911 billion by 2016/17, a continuation of the government’s goal of reducing funding for universities and colleges by $50 million annually. When asked how the government squares that decrease with a promise to boost skills training in B.C., Finance Minister Mike de Jong argued Victoria is spending $2.3 billion to build or renovate several post-secondary buildings over the coming years. Advanced Education Minister Amrik Virk said universities and colleges are being asked to absorb the decreased funding through administrative and cooperative purchasing savings, not by cutting services for students. “There is no plan whatsoever to reduce the number of student positions. That’s a myth busted,” Virk said. But Richard Kool, president of the Confederation of University Faculty Associations of B.C., said by 2016, per-student operating grants to post-secondary institutions will have dropped by 20 per cent since the Liberals formed government. “Students have already lost support services and learning opportunities due to inadequate funding and these new cuts will shortchange students even further,” Kool said. NDP finance critic Mike Farnworth accused the Liberals of breaking promises in an effort to balance the budget. “They said a week ago skilled training was a priority, in the budget it clearly isn’t. They said post-secondary education was a priority. It’s been cut. That’s not telling the truth,” Farnworth said. De Jong acknowledged, meanwhile, that his budget includes just “modest” increases for some of society’s most vulnerable people. The Ministry for Children and Family Development receives no new money for its child welfare system, but it does get a small boost of $15 million over three years to help children and youth with special needs. The province will boost disability income assistance by $80 million over three years as that caseload rises, but will slash $69 million from temporary welfare, for recipients “expected to work.” That leaves an over-all income assistance increase of just $11 million. B.C. Housing will get an extra $58 million to provide operating grants to non-profits to manage the province’s social housing buildings. The budget includes tiny increases for the RCMP ($15 million) and the legal aid service ($6 million), both stretched over three years. However, funding for the overall justice ministry budget will fall from $1.159 billion this year to $1.155 billion next year.

Source: Vancouver Sun

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I N T E R N A T I O N A L

Libyan militias tell parliament to quit

Melting Arctic ice heats Earth faster, study finds

Two Libyan militia have called on Libya’s parliament to hand over power, as a standoff between rival armed groups developed a day after the country marked three years of revolution. The Sawaiq and Qaqa militia brigades, powerful in the Zintan and Tripoli areas, said in a statement that the mandate of the General National Congress ran out on February 7, and that it had hours to leave power. The 200-member GNC, elected in 2012 and tasked to draft a new constitution, extended its term of power earlier this month, sparking protests. “In our view the GNC stands for a return of dictatorship,” a militia spokesman said in a statement as he was surrounded by fellow fighters shouting “God is great”. However, other militia groups have indicated they would side with the GNC, indicating a standoff that could lead to confrontation in the deeply divided country. The Tripoli Defence Council, a group of militias in Tripoli aligned with the official security services, announced it would back the “legitimate” government, the GNC. The Misrata Brigades, which have more tanks than the Libyan army, were also said to be in support of the GNC. Nouri Abusahmain, the president of GNC, rejected the statement by Sawaiq and Qaqa as a coup attempt. “The GNC has given instructions

to the chief of staff to take the necessary steps to deal with this group,” he said. “The GNC received confirmation from the head of the army and revolutionaries that they would defend its legitimacy.” Al Jazeera’s John Hendren, reporting from Tripoli, said that the militia’s ultimatum was the prelude to a standoff. “Sides are beginning to align, with some militias still in support of the government,” he said. “We could have a standoff. We have the potential for a confrontation, but this is just at the talking stage.” Libya is facing turmoil as the government of the Prime Minister, Ali Zeidan, is struggling to control armed militias who helped overthrow the former ruler, Muammar Gaddafi, in 2011 and have retained their weapons to make financial and political demands. Many Libyans blame militias and infighting inside the GNC for a lack of progress in the transition towards democracy since the revolution. The GNC, which is deadlocked between Islamists and nationalists, had on Monday announced new elections as soon as possible, but gave no date. Oil production, Libya’s lifeline, has slowed to a trickle as armed protesters and tribesmen have seized oil ports and fields across the vast desert nation to press political and financial demands.

Source: Al-Jazeera

The Arctic isn’t nearly as bright and white as it used to be because of more ice melting in the ocean, and that’s turning out to be a global problem, a new study says. With more dark, open water in the summer, less of the sun’s heat is reflected back into space. So the entire Earth is absorbing more heat than expected, according to a study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

That extra absorbed energy is so big that it measures about one-quarter of the entire heattrapping effect of carbon dioxide, said the study’s lead author, Ian Eisenman, a climate scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California. The Arctic grew eight per cent darker between 1979

Canada has closed its embassy in Kiev and is threatening to bring in sanctions against Ukraine, after a crackdown by authorities on long-running protests left more than two dozen people dead. A voice message at the Canadian embassy and its website both indicate the closing, but don’t say when it took place. “The Embassy of Canada in Kiev is closed until further notice for security reasons,” according to a recorded message on the embassy’s phone lines. The message said embassy staff continue to provide consular services, and asks Canadians in the country to contact the department if in need of help. The decision to close the embassy comes after authorities on Tuesday stormed a camp of activists, triggering fiery clashes that killed at least 26 people, according to the Associated Press. Adam Hodge, a spokesman for Foreign Minister John Baird, said “all Canadian personnel are safe and accounted for.”

Late Tuesday night in Canada, Mr. John

Baird issued a statement condemning the government’s crackdown. “The events in Kiev today have shaken a nation, rattled by months of unrest. Canada unequivocally condemns the violence that has led to the deaths of scores of Ukrainians,” the statement said. Mr. Baird announced medical aid to an unidentified Ukrainian non-governmental organization, including first aid kits, training and other supplies. “I will also be consulting our allies and likeminded nations to build a co-ordinated path forward in the coming days. All options remain available, including through the deployment of targeted sanctions against those responsible,” Mr. Baird said in his statement, adding: “Canada strongly supports the Ukrainian people in their fight for a free and democratic Ukraine.” A Canadian government website said the embassy is “closed until further notice” and warned visitors of violence near the site. “There have been multiple incidents of violence associated with these protests, which have resulted in injuries and fatalities,” the travel warning says. Callers to the embassy are told to stay on the line if they need help,

or to call an Ottawa-area number, 613-9968885. About a dozen anti-government protesters sought refuge in the Canadian embassy in Kiev on Tuesday, entering the reception area and seeking shelter at the mission. With the embassy now shuttered, it remains unclear whether the protesters, whom Prime Minister Stephen Harper deemed “peaceful” in his comments from Mexico City, are still inside or have left.

The whereabouts of the more than a dozen embassy staff also remains unclear. Mr. Hodge wouldn’t provide an update on the status of protesters or embassy staff, reiterating Tuesday’s statements that the protesters “have not caused any damage to the premises or harmed staff,” that the government expects the demonstrators “to be able to leave the embassy safely, free from intimidation, arrest or further harassment,” and that Ottawa wouldn’t discuss security specifics at its missions abroad. Joan Modjeski, of Beausejour, Man., spoke Wednesday morning with her daughter Cynthia Modjeski, an attaché at the Canadian embassy in Kiev. “She said she feels pretty safe,” Joan Modjeski said in a phone

and 2011, Eisenman found, measuring how much sunlight is reflected back into space.

“Basically, it means more warming,” Eisenman said in an interview. The North Pole region is an ocean that mostly is crusted at the top with ice that shrinks in the summer and grows back in the fall. At its peak melt in September, the ice has shrunk on average by nearly 90,649 square kilometres - about the size of Maine - per year since 1979. Snow-covered ice reflects several times more heat than dark, open ocean, which replaces the ice when it melts, Eisenman said. As more summer sunlight dumps into the ocean, the water gets warmer, and it takes longer for ice to form again in the fall, Jason Box of the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland said in an email. He was not part of the study. While earlier studies used computer models, Eisenman said his is the first to use satellite measurements to gauge sunlight reflection and to take into account cloud cover. The results show the darkening is as much as two to three times bigger than previous estimates, he said. Box and University of Colorado ice scientist Waleed Abdalati, who was not part of the research, called the work important in understanding how much heat is getting trapped on Earth.

Source: Calgary Herald

Canada closes embassy in Kiev as Ukrainian violence escalates interview, adding her daughter said the situation is “sort of blowing up again a little bit” in the country. Joan Modjeski said she visited Ukraine while her daughter was posted there and thinks of her often. “You sort of wonder what’s going to happen. It’s always on your mind… we think about her all the time. Back home is so far away, and you think about what can happen,” she said. A relative of Canada’s ambassador to Ukraine, Troy Lulashnyk, said he hasn’t recently been in touch with his cousin, but added his thoughts are with the head of mission and his staff. “Certainly, I hope he’s safe and that things settle there,” Isadore Lulashnyk said from his home in Manitoba. Another cousin, Randy Lulashnyk, echoed those sentiments from his home in Saskatchewan and added that the ambassador works for “the love of his country and Ukrainian heritageno date. Oil production, Libya’s lifeline, has slowed to a trickle as armed protesters and tribesmen have seized oil ports and fields across the vast desert nation to press political and financial demands.

Source: Al-Jazeera

Libyan militias tell parliament to quit Two Libyan militia have called on Libya’s parliament to hand over power, as a standoff between rival armed groups developed a day after the country marked three years of revolution. The Sawaiq and Qaqa militia brigades, powerful in the Zintan and Tripoli areas, said in a statement that the mandate of the General National Congress ran out on February 7, and that it had hours to leave power. The 200-member GNC, elected in 2012 and tasked to draft a new constitution, extended its term of power earlier this month, sparking protests. “In our view the GNC stands for a return of dictatorship,” a militia spokesman said in a statement as he

was surrounded by fellow fighters shouting “God is great”. However, other militia groups have indicated they would side with the GNC, indicating a standoff that could lead to confrontation in the deeply divided country.

The Tripoli Defence Council, a group of militias in Tripoli aligned with the official security services, announced it would back the “legitimate” government, the GNC. The Misrata Brigades, which have more tanks than the Libyan army, were also said to be in support of the GNC. Nouri Abusahmain, the president of GNC, rejected the statement by Sawaiq and Qaqa as a coup attempt. “The GNC has given

instructions to the chief of staff to take the necessary steps to deal with this group,” he said. “The GNC received confirmation from the head of the army and revolutionaries that they would defend its legitimacy.”

Al Jazeera’s John Hendren, reporting from Tripoli, said that the militia’s ultimatum was the prelude to a standoff. “Sides are beginning to align, with some militias still in support of the government,” he said. “We could have a standoff. We have the potential for a confrontation, but this is just at the talking stage.” Libya is facing turmoil as the government of the Prime Minister, Ali Zeidan, is struggling to control armed militias who

helped overthrow the former ruler, Muammar Gaddafi, in 2011 and have retained their weapons to make financial and political demands. Many Libyans blame militias and infighting inside the GNC for a lack of progress in the transition towards democracy since the revolution. The GNC, which is deadlocked between Islamists and nationalists, had on Monday announced new elections as soon as possible, but gave no date.

Oil production, Libya’s lifeline, has slowed to a trickle as armed protesters and tribesmen have seized oil ports and fields across the vast desert nation to press political and financial demands. Source: Al-Jazeera

7

Rabi ul Thani 21, 1435 H February 21, 2014

S P E C I A L

The Miracle’s journey of twelve years (Feb 2001 – Feb 2013)

July –Aug 2010: The Miracle joins in fundraising efforts for flood relief in Pakistan through radio thons and newspaper.

quake in Pakistan, Miracle arranges a forum in its office to meet doctors and community members and discuss the current situation of Pakistan. The Miracle also presents appreciation plaques to members of Indian Media who fundraised for the relief efforts.

Dec 31, 2006: Miracle Founder and Chief Editor Mr. Nusrat says goodbye the Miracle Media and hands over Miracle to the Managing Editor Mr. Mohammad Naseer Pirzada. The Urdu Editor, Mr. Mohammad Rafiq is asked to take the responsibilities as the honourable chief

July 20, 2011: Miracle met with BC Premier Christie Clark who marked

Sep, 2010: The Miracle publishes its largest Eid edition of 64 pages at the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.

Jan 20, 2011: Miracle Managing Editor and Hon. Chief & Urdu her Vote in the HST referendum as ” YES” on a copy of Miracle.

Oct 2008: A special Election Edition of the Miracle is published to raise awareness about federal elections and voting.

August 14, 2009: The Miracle appreciates its writers and advisors in an awards ceremony at first Pakistani Festival in Holland Park, Surrey.

Editor met with former President of Pakistan General Pervaiz Mushraf in downtown Vancouver

6 Oct 31, 2010: Miracle Media Inc. organizes first ever tribute to Legendary Pakistani Singer Mehdi Hassan as a talent hunt competition. Pakistani Consul General, Moinul-Haq distributes the awards in Pakistan House, Surrey.

Feb 23, 2010: At its 9th Anniversary, Miracle launches the new format of its

editor of the Miracle, which he graciously accepts.

Mar 17, 2007: The Miracle arranges the first Tilawat, Hamd and Naat Rasool Maqbool competition for kids and adults in Pakistan House, Surrey.

July 21, 2011 : The Miracle joins in fundraising efforts for flood relief in Pakistan .

July 23, 2011: Miracle met with BC NDP leader Adrian Dix who marked his Vote in the HST referendum as ” No” on a copy of Miracle.

March 1, 2011: Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts recognized Miracle

Nov 26, 2011: Miracle`s 3rd Memorization of Quran Competition was

‘s 10 years publication in a public event.

held at Afghan Chopan Restaurant.

April 16, 2011: Muslim Community

Dec 30, 2011: The Miracle published its 300th Edition.

Forum for Federal Election 2011 was held and moderated by Miracle Media and coordinated by Pakistan Canada Association in Pakistan House, Surrey.

July 2012 Miracle was one of the team members who represented Pakistan in Fusion Festival at Holland Park Surrey August 2012 Miracle presented “Pakistan Movement through Camera Eye” and “Heroes of Pakistan Movement from

June 18, 2011: Miracle paid Tribute to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, a

2007: The Miracle launches series of special editions including Canada Day Edition, Eid-ul-Fitr Edition, Pakistan-India Feb 23, 2010: At its 9th AnniverIndependence Day Edition and Eid-ulAdha Edition in the year. These editions sary, Miracle launches the new would become regular in the future years. format of its the second Hamd o

Naat Rasool Maqbool competition for all age groups in Afghan Chopan Restaurant, Surrey. Prizes are distributed among the winners of competition and appreciation awards are also given to Miracle sponsors.

January 2010: The Miracle joins in fundraising efforts for Haiti Earthquake relief.

music legend of Pakistan with a singing competition at. Pakistan House.

July 15, 2011: Miracle participated in Multicultural Celebrations of 5th Fusion Festival in Holland Park .

1906-1948” to educate the visitors about Pakistan History at their unique booth in Pakistan Festival 2012 held in Holland Park Surrey.

8

Rabi ul Thani 21, 1435 H February 21, 2014

S P E C I A L

The Miracle’s Journey of Thirteen Years (Feb 2001 – Feb 2014)

March 26, 2013: Miracle Media participated in the Provincial Elections 2013, providing media coverage of each political party and interviewed many candidates for MLA. The strong candidate of BC Liberal party Christy Clark shared her views with Mr. Pirzada at Taj Banquett hall in Surrey.

July 18, 2013: Miracle Media was one of the team members who represented Pakistan in Fusion Festival at Holland Park in Surrey.

March 2, 2013: At its 12th Anniversary, Miracle Media launched its new edition of all color pages.

Awards were given to the Miracle`s`Writers.The awards were distributed by Consul General of Pakistan and Deputy Consul General Ms. Batool Kazim at Afghan Chopan Banquett Hall & Restaurant in Surrey.

March 2, 2013: On its 12th Anniversary, Miracle organised a Ghazal (Eastern Music) program in which many young and seniors singers participated. Miracle Media acknowledged their skills of singing and prizes were distributed by Consul General of Pakistan Mr. Shuja Alam.

December 18, 2013: April 24, 2013: A great debate between candidates of all Provincial political parties for May Elections was arranged by Miracle Media Group in collaboration with Pakistan Canada Association in Pakistan House.

Manging editor of the Miracle Media met with Federal Liberal party leader Mr. Justin Trudeau at the Fairmont Pacific Rim in Vancouver and discussed many issues of Canada and Muslim communities.This interview was facilitated by Mr. Bilal Cheema.

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Rabi ul Thani 21, 1435 H February 21, 2014

S P E C I A L

Justin P.J. Trudeau Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada Chef du Parti libéral du Canada

February 26th, 2014 Dear Friends, It is with great pleasure that I congratulate the Miracle Media Group as they celebrate their 13 th year of publication in Canada.

In thirteen short years, the Miracle Media Group has become one of the largest and most prominent newspapers supporting our Muslim neighbourhoods in British Columbia. Their quality and engaging journalism presents a wide range of local, national and international news coverage that allow many people to see their culture reflected, and follow the events that impact every corner of their communities.

We can be proud to live in a country where people can come together, and where our common dreams crowd out the fears that would divide us. Canada’s diversity of cultures, languages and religions, and our shared belief in respect, acceptance and friendship, is thoroughly exemplified by the Miracle Media Group’s newspaper. We are fortunate to have such publications to help ensure that all Canadians feel this same inclusion.

I would like to thank the Miracle Media Group for all of the work they have done to positively support our communities, and congratulate them on all of their many successes over the past thirteen years.

I hope you all enjoy this wonderful anniversary edition!

Sincerely,

Justin P.J. Trudeau Member of Parliament for Papineau Chambre des communes Pièce 533-S, édifice du centre Ottawa, (Ontario) K1A 0A6

Circonscription 529 Jarry Est Bureau 302 Montréal (Québec) H2P 1V4

House of Commons Room 533-S, Centre Block Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6

Constituency 529 Jarry East Suite 302 Montreal, QC H2P 1V4

10

Rabi ul Thani 21, 1435 H February 21, 2014

E D I T O R I A L

Muslims and Their Media in Canada

Among other things, it’s usually noticed that some groups do have a dirty habit of conveniently using the main stream media to promote a negative image of ‘Islam and its followers’ despite the freedom of religion in Canada.

According to Malcolm X, “The media is the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.”

In fact, the media does have the capability to generate public opinion as intended to satisfy the vested interests. But, the problem is the ‘unfriendly attitude’ of the main stream media towards the Muslim community.

Also, the competition among the media businesses is in a desperate need of giving the truthful information by being objective and balanced in reporting.

On the other hand, biased journalism stemming from the main stream (non Muslim) media is too injurious to maintain the required balance, as it does nothing but poison the raw minds of the non Muslims in general against the Muslims in particular.

Unfortunately in some cases, the main stream media appears to be biased towards Muslim when giving misjudgment without in-depth knowledge about the practicality of Islam.

Therefore, an inadequate presence of Muslim media adds to fuel further desperation for the Muslims; the presence of mischievous elements in the media threatens the formation of logical public opinion.

Some unqualified media persons are more dangerous when attempting to represent the Muslims because of their ignorance,

discriminatory attitude or their little knowledge about Islam. They are accused of misinterpreting Islamic teachings for their failure to understand the proper context.

Beyond doubt, the media through radio, television, newspaper or internet has the capacity of connecting and bridging communities.

Specifically, the internet is a gold mine of accessibility enriching the minds of the users positively or negatively – all depending on what you really look for through face book, twitter, blogs, emails, and the list goes on and on.

Several communities of different ethnicities have their own media to safeguard their interests.

Similarly, the Muslims are looking for a decent way out of the ongoing frustrating situation. They are becoming active more than ever and getting closer to helping the main stream media.

Fortunately, the Muslim media of today has genuine encouragement to become more and more assertive with an improved degree of confidence. In other words they are more involved and getting closer to be competitive even in the commercially focused media market.

Better late than never, the Muslims are comfortable to troubleshoot the negative status quo through their own electronic and print media. They are catching up gradually and hopefully would be able to free the Canadian audience of Islamophobia. Misreporting, exaggerating or ignoring coverage for the Muslims did lead to the formation of such independent voice of Muslim community through their own print and electronic media throughout Canada.

As the Muslims are legally entitled to proceed in an organized manner to protect their faith,

their media too is equally entitled to publish literature to give the true picture to the general public regardless of ethnicity, coluor or creed. Thank God, a good biweekly namely “The Miracle News” is published in Surrey, British Columbia, it serves the local population through its unbiased reporting which is available to consumers and the business community.

The fact is media is always bound by a code of ethics to continue as competitive and credible under all circumstances. A successful journalism has to be conscientious, because presenting the distorted facts is unethical and unlawful.

In addition to the print media, a daily Muslim presence in the broadcast media and the internet would correct the anti Islam feelings among the non Muslim Canadians. Once Muslim media is in full force on daily basis, the Muslim youth would definitely be encouraged to benefit, preserve and strengthen their Islamic identity.

The good news is several media people of integrity understand the essence of journalism. The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) publishes “Islamic Horizons,” Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) publishes “The Message” and there are many other publications by different mosques. Also, there are Monthly, Bi Weekly or Weekly News Papers and several other publications by Muslim Students’ Associations.

Since, the mainstream media has been unable to address the issues of different communities equally; therefore, a daily basis English Medium Muslim TV, radio including all other publications would only enable all communities to understand what Islam re-

ally is!

The Muslim community of Canada is fully entitled to enjoy equality and justice when it comes to their unattended or mishandled issues. And, the Canadian nonMuslim community deserves to find out more to re-establish their view point of the great religion of Islam.

We can’t tolerate a biased media which is also focused only on commercialization, as it becomes irritating for intelligent audience.

Moreover, utilizing Muslim friendly apparatus, pro-Islamic media advocates may go ahead with repairing the tarnished image of Islam. Regularly airing of the constructive interfaith dialogues can be further fruitful.

At least, the Muslim media should go beyond commercialism and give a deep thought about nation building as well.

However, the youths of both genders must participate sincerely to promote Muslim businesses through advertising. They should come forward as volunteers to address social issues through writing articles in the local Muslim News papers.

Surely, they would be contributing for the noble cause through their efforts, so that the Muslim population is facilitated to merge with other Canadian communities with ease and pride.

The Muslims deserve to be accepted as politicians, social workers, economists, educationists but at par with all other Canadians.

The Muslim business people must actively engage in using the Muslim newspapers for promoting their business through their commercial Ads. Truth is Muslim media with integrity and full Islamic knowledge is better positioned to publish/

Letters & Opinions

To Your Worship Mayor Dianne Watts to the mayor of Surrey Dianne our By: Concerned Muslims Lord.

HEHarper is not the biological 604-690-0400 Stephen welWhat is Good and demanding Watts to retrieve her invitation to Ehud Barak. Father of mankind or any of HIS As friends and great supporters of comed as ‘great friend’ A war criminal should not be allowed to step Prophets nor HE has a Son or a your many valuable projects that What is Bad? on the soil of Surrey BC Canada.

Israelsometimes alleyou have initiated in the city of By: Intikhab Ahmed daughter. of Though, Surrey, we are joining hands with When I learned Israeli Defence minister ‘Who is the Father’? gorically addressed as our Father, like our Muslim Community in the Prophet Adam (AS) s our Father, or Lower Mainland especially in Surrey area where we have greatest concentration of Muslim population, calling upon you to reconsider the invitation that you have extended to a war criminal who was responsible for the death of many innocent men, women and children in the Gaza Strip Dec 2008. The United Nations Facts Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict known as Goldstone Report Sept. 15 - 2009 accused Mr. Ehud Barak as the Israeli Minister of Defense of directly responsible of war crimes against humanity.These type of so called world leaders will not add to your credibility or to the good name you have earned by being one of the best Mayors in this country.We ask you to please reconsider your invitation of Mr. Ehud Barak to the Surrey Regional Economic Summit.

Ehud Barak will be visiting city of Surrey for a business Conference, I am disappointed by the decision made by Surrey Council to invite Ehud Barak. A war criminal who’s hands have been involved, in killing of the innocent women and children. A fact finding mission in their findings on Sept, 15 2009 headed by goldstone has declared him directly responsible for such atrocities. We as Muslims of Canada mainly from City of Surrey are Showing our displeasure and protesting ,and asking to stop and not to give him a chance to speak to us. He should not be has been given such an honour to speak to us. for us it’s an insult we are feeling, to our community. City of surrey has set aside all the human rights, In the past City of Surrey has invited to the similar event and gave center stage to George Bush ex Us president, He is another war criminal, He was speaking for free and must have been given monetary favours in return to speak to citizens of Surrey. We as Muslims and citizen/ taxpayer of city Surrey, are

By: Gulshan Aalani No, this is not regarding the Maury Povich TV Show where there is a line up of Men and Mothers for the DNA test in search of the Baby’s Father.

When the DNA results are announced: “You are not the Father”. In the case of the Boyfriend he jumps up with joy that the baby is not his, and in case of the husband he is furious for the wife’s cheating. But in case of the Girlfriend it is the most devastating news and she cries and screams with pain; in other case 5 Children all have different Fathers, but the most devastating situation of one woman, after 9 Men’s DNA test still no Father for her Baby.

Such suffering and devastation is the result of Committing fornication or Adultery going against the commands of GOD, not realizing the consequences, and its punishment from the Father in Heaven.

The core of the subject is about the ‘Father in Heaven’, the Creator-GOD

Prophet Abraham (AS) as Father of the nations: Our Lord Creator-GOD do not have the human body of Male or Female but HE is the Spirit.

The Holy Scriptures the Al-Quran and the Bible are very clear on this matter, also clarified by Messiah Jesus (AS) too. Also confirmed is: “only HIS worship is legal and not the worship of human gods”.

Exodus 33: 20: “HE said: “You cannot see MY face, for no man can see ME and live.John 4: 24-”GOD is spirit and those who worship HIM must worship in spirit and truth.

(Letter was based on other references) IMPORTANT NOTE: Letters to the editor do not reflect the opinion of the Miracle media group. We do not publish anonymous letters or the letters of the people who do not disclose their identity to ‘The Miracle.’

A writer can use a pen name or request ‘The Miracle’ to withhold his / her identity. Please include your daytime telephone number for the confirmation of your letter. We regret the inconvenience.

broadcast for the benefit of all Canadians. Nevertheless, presenting true image of Islam as a religion of peace, tolerance and justice remains a challenge for Muslim media indeed.

The bottom line is Muslim media should continue to focus on achieving the goal of nation building based on balanced truthful journalism on merit.

Waan laysa lil insani illa ma’ sa’aa That man can have nothing but what he strives for.

Meralce Media Group Inc.

Contact Info Mailing and Office Address 9160-136A Street Surrey BC. V3V 7Z8 Canada Fax: 604-582-7809 Founder: Nusrat Hussain Managing Editor: M. Naseer Pirzada Sub- Editors: Khadija, Misbah & Sabeeh Hon. Chief Editor & Urdu Editor Mohammad Rafiq Advertising: info@miraclenews.com Ph: 604-690-0400 Email: naseer@telus.net Editorial Board: Mr, Shums Jillani, Mr aslam Hayat, Mr.Azhar Syed, Mr. Shams Siddiqui, M.A.L. Naumani, Mr Tariq Mian Graphic Design: Design Team Copyright: 2001 Miracle Media Group Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Printed in Canada Attention: The opinions express herein contain positions and viewpoints that are not necessary those of “The Miracle”. These are offered as a means for “The Miracle” to stimulate dialogue and discussion in our continuing mission of “Bringing Harmony To All The Communities.”

CONTENTS

Editorial &Ltrs Specials Int. News Local Politics Faith Food Health Pakistan Youth/ Kids Sports Urdu

10 2,7,8,14,15,17 5,6 16 21 12 23 25 28 26 27 29-40

Phone 604-690-0400 Email miraclenews@telus.net, info@miraclenews.com Website www.miraclenews.com

11

Rabi ul Thani 21, 1435 H February 21, 2014

A D V E R T I S E R

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12

Rabi ul Thani 21, 1435 H February 21, 2014

F A I T H On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah Almighty has said:‘The son of Adam denied Me and he had no right to do so. And he reviled Me and he had no right to do so. As for his denying Me, it is his saying: ‘He will not remake me as He made me at first’ (1) - and the initial creation [of him] is no easier for Me than remaking him. As for his reviling Me, it is his saying: ‘Allah has taken to Himself a son,’ while I am the One, the Everlasting Refuge. I begot not nor was I begotten, and there is none comparable to Me.’” (1) i.e., bring me back to life after death. [Bukhari (also by an-Nasa’i).]

Awakening of the Heart By: Reehab Ramadan Yes, your physical heart beats. Yes, it is keeping you alive, physically. Yes, it is pumping blood without you ever having to remind it to do sobut is that all? What about spiritually? Is your heart spiritually beating?

Is your heart keeping your connection with God alive? Is it pumping the spiritual motivation that you need to get through your daily life without falling to pieces-without breaking every moral fiber within your being? It is important to ask these questions, because if not, then life will have no meaning-no fruit-and not a moment of peace.

Maybe you remember a time when it was fully alive and thriving. You could feel it pumping the essential life juices from your spiritual heart through your veins and straight to your limbs, making the good deeds easy and making desires easily avoidable.

But maybe not. Maybe you do not ever remember it being alive. But you have craved it. You wish that you could feel it, that it would start pumping, beating, so that the emptiness inside you could finally fade away. You wish that it would start working, like you know it should, so that these useless desires that you know you should not be chasing will not seem so, enticing. You just want it to keep you alive.

Either way, it is possible. Either way, it is essential. And the fact that you even want it to is a sign, in and of itself, that God wants you to be awakened. He wants you to come back to Him. And how amazing is it to feel that the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth wants you, specifically. Think about it for

a moment, let it sink in. The purpose of the heart, is to love, so the most essential step in bringing it back to life, is to allow it love.

Someone once asked me if we can teach our heart to love. The truth is, no we can not. But as Rumi, a poet, once said: “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”

Whether we realize it or not, we have all built barriers around the walls of our heart.

They may be walls that have accidentally been placed there, over time without our realizing. But sometimes these are inten-

The Miracle repeates series of 99 Nmaes of Allah (SWT) &Prophet Mohammad (saw) Names and Meanings

tional walls, which we have built up to protect ourselves from what we conceive to be potential harm. Whatever it may be, we must find out what walls stand between us and embracing the beautiful Love of God that our heart craves and needs. You may be thinking, “Well tell me, what are the walls that surround my heart that are preventing me from this love?” And I wish I could answer you clearly and precisely. But the thing is, it is your heart. No one knows your heart like you do-well no one except God. You must realize that it is essential to get to know yourself. If you know your heart you will know yourself-and if you know yourself you will begin to know God. I will not leave you completely clueless.

There are numerous barriers that may be there in your heart, but I will name a few to get you started while thinking about yourself. These are not comprehensive, rather simply a spark to ignite the fires of your

thought.

1.Arrogance: Only the humble can know God, as they realize that He is everything and they are nothing without Him. When the heart has arrogance, even just a little, this begins to serve as a barrier between His Love and His Light. Humble yourself for God, and He will raise you.

2.Anger: Anger, for other than the sake of God, hardens the heart. It consumes the heart and rids it of the opportunity to feel happiness and love. It prevents the Light of God from flowing in. If you are an angry person-angry at people, or at the world in general, get to know that anger. Figure out where it comes from and why it is there, and find a way to rid yourself from it.

3.Ignorance of God: This is a big one. If you do not know God, how do you expect to love Him? And I do not mean being able to recite 99 of His magnificent names in a song. I mean, know what these names refer to in Him and how that affects us.

Specifically, how they affect YOU. If you love a human being, be it an actress/actor, a romantic partner, or any other person-you spend time getting to know them. And most of the time, the more you know them, the more you love them. It can sometimes even become an obsession. What then of God? Shouldn’t we get to know Him so that the walls of our ignorance that surround our heart begin to crumble and His love is allowed to flow through?

Strive to awaken the heart of your spirit and in turn awaken meaning to life. When the heart begins to thrive, doing good deeds become easy, and desires become unattractive and even disgusting. Do not give up on yourself, because God has not. And know that even in this state, you are beloved to God and He wants you close. Imam AlShaadhili once said: “If you were to open the heart of the disobedient believer, its light would blind the universe. What then of the obedient believer?” Source: SuhaibWebb

Prayer Schedule in Greater Vancouver Feb 21-March 7, 2014 Rabiul II, 21-Jamadi ul Awal, 6, 1435H Date Day 21 21 22 22 23 23 24 24 25 25 26 26 27 27 28 28 29 Mar 1 J.I 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 7

Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri

Fajar

5:22 5:20 5:18 5:16 5:16 5:14 5:10 5:08 5:06 5:04 5:02 5:00 4:58 4:56 4:54

Sunr

7:08 7:06 7:04 7:02 7:02 7:00 6:56 6:54 6:52 6:50 6:48 6:46 6:44 6:42 6:40

Zawal

12:30 12:30 12:30 12:30 12:30 12:30 12:29 12:29 12:29 12:29 12:29 12:28 12:28 12:28 12:28

Dhuhr

12:35 12:35 12:35 12:35 12:35 12:35 12:34 12:34 12:34 12:34 12:34 12:33 12:33 12:33 12:33

Asar

Maghrib

15:54 15:56 15:57 15:59 15:59 16:00 16:03 16:04 16:06 16:07 16:08 16:10 16:11 16:13 16:14

17:51 17:52 17:54 17:56 17:56 17:57 18:00 18:02 18:04 18:05 18:07 18:08 18:10 18:12 18:13

Isha

19:11 19:12 19:14 19:15 19:15 19:17 19:20 19:21 19:23 19:25 19:26 19:28 19:29 19:31 19:33

or such Prayers are enjoined on believers at stated times: Quran ,n 4:103 Source: BCMA

13

Rabi ul Thani 21, 1435 H February 21, 2014

A D V E R T I S E R

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13 14

Rabi ul Thani 21, 1435 H February 21, 2014

S P E C I A L

Special Messages for Miracle’s 13th Anniversary Congratulations Miracle Media Maulana Abul Latif Naumani Imam Fiji Islamic Centre I personally congratulate to the entire staff and family of the biweekly Miracle Newspaper on this outstanding achievement of completing 13 years of service to the community.May Allah reward you for your efforts, especially in propagating the message of Islam and in keeping the community abreast of the challenges being faced by the Islamic ummah at the national and the global level.

Miracle is extremely valuable Imam Syed Soharwardy ISSC Canada Calgary It is indeed a matter of pride and thanks to Allah for completing 13 years of publication. Miracle is extremely valuable community newspaper which has been serving not only the Pakistani and the broader Muslim community but it has also helped in bridging gaps between Muslims and non-Muslim Canadians. Congratulations to you and all the staff at Miracle.

Please keep up the good work. We are very proud of you and your newspaper.

The Miracle Stands Supreme!

Zaheer Ali Manki, Vancouver I offer my wholehearted congratulations to a very dynamic and sicere team of professionals at the Miracle as it takes a racing start to another year of refined journalism. Over the last decade, the Miracle has gone through a series of rough patches some of which almost challenged even its very existence which became iffy at times. The Miracle Management Team steered through the trying times with impeccable perspective and cool head. As the clichés goes, when going gets tough, tough gets going. The perseverance and patience of the Miracle team prevailed. Alhamdo Lillah, the Miracle is saying good-by to its infancy and is entering its adulthood years.

The community has even higher expectations of its stated mandate of bringing the communities together.

The Miracle is a star in its own right. It has set sky high standards for itself for professional, dynamic and invigorating journalism. One of the many reasons for its immaculate success, in my humble opinion, is that the Miracle team is reading the community pulse accurately and are on the same wavelength as its readers. It’s a recipe of sure success.

Another reason is the very high calibre of its contributing writers.

I will certainly miss many if I was to start naming names. It will be equally unfair if I did not mention the name of some of the brightest stars. First and the foremost is Naseer Pirzada, as the head of the executive team, he is steering the Miracle ship with a passion and flawless precision. Mohammad Rafiq, of the Urdu Section stands out as a true lover of Urdu language. He has an exceptional

artistic literary taste. His selection of the articles and choice of settings is beyond reproach. Other outstanding writers responsible for the success of paper, not in any particular order, are: Mr Shamas Gilani, Mr Aslam Hayat, Mr Ayub Hamid, Mrs. Alam Ara, and Mrs Shamim Karim, to name a few.

Before leaving I wish to make a suggestion for Urdu Editor to include some poems or ghazals of contemporary poets, if possible.

In the end I pray to Allah SWT, with the Vaseela of Ahlul Bait, that the Miracle with its entire team of dedicated professionals to keep cruising in style and brilliant shine to many more anniversaries year after year. Ameen Miracle is the name of quality M. Sultan Badshah Acting Chairperson, Iqra Islamic School, Surrey On behalf of the Iqra School community, I am delighted to know that your bi-weekly newspaper “The Miracle”, has completed its 13th year with the blessing of Allah SWT. Kindly accept our heartiest congratulation on this achievement.

The quality of the journalism is very high, by any standard, and the Miracle is brave enough to let competing ideas flourish on its pages. It is through such freedom of debate that we learn more about our society and ourselves.

We wish “The Miracle” continued success and growing influence with its unbiased, independent and professional reporting.

We would also like to congratulate your team of editors, writers and journalists as their sheer hard work, perseverance and determination has helped the newspaper reach this milestone.

Exemplary leadership of Miracle Syed Yawar Bukhari Brampton ON It gives me great pleasure to congratulate the Miracle on its 13th anniversary.

Through Mr. Mohammad Pirzada exemplary leadership, the newspaper has established itself as a vital resource for people with roots in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.

The fair and unbiased coverage of Miracle’s reporting has set the standard for other community newspapers to follow.

The Miracle is giving expression to fresh perspectives and, in the process, bringing together a strong community of individuals committed to fully participate and enjoy the rights and fulfill the obligations as Canadian citizens.

I am particularly grateful for the positive image Miracle is creating for our communities in mainstream of Canadian society.

Congratulations to Mr. Pirzada and the entire staff for their dedicated and thoughtful work in reaching this milestone, and please accept my very best wishes for the continued success in the future.

Wonderful services by Miracle Malik Arfan, Surrey I am honored to congratulate the Miracle newspaper for completing 13 years of community services.

Br. Pirzada you have surely provided wonderful services to the pakistani community with your hard work. I would like to thank you for your dedication towards the community and also I would like to wish you best of luck for the future.

Efforts of Br. Nusrat Hussain R.C. PURI, Surrey On the receipt of Miracle kind invitation I am reminded of the graceful completion of 13 years of the uninterrupted publication of the ‘Miracle’ newspaper and my solemn obligation to facilitate you with my heartfelt congratulations for this sporadic accomplishment of your biweekly tabloid that has appropriated the unique credit of scribing the new fangled history in the pitch of Islamic journalism (in specific) in the province of British Columbia. At this stage, I am taken back today to February 21, 2001, when with the strenuous efforts of Br. Nusrat Hussain the maiden issue of this newspaper saw the light of the day and shined bright with its extreme radiance on the horizon of the BC journalism to provide for the first time a breathing news media to the Islamic fraternity of this region. There is no repudiating that prior to the establishment of ‘Miracle’ the local Muslim Umah had no source of its own, even worth the name, whereby it could mitigate its woes and speak on the issues and the other complications relevant thereto. Hence, the birth of the ‘Miracle’ was nothing short of the rare furthermost gift of the God Almighty, called the Allah to His devoted cohorts living in this province.

Nevertheless, its journey has never been the path of the roses for the ‘Miracle’ team. On the contrary, I am fully cognizant of the fact that Mr. Naseer Pirzada and his associates like Misbah Naseer as an assistant Editor had to walk over the route of thorns most of the times to continue to instil the life into this newspaper. I remember that this avocation for you has never been a mere business venture; rather you always treated it as a consecrated mission with the prime objective to serve your community and foster intercommunity harmony and brotherhood as well.

To wind up this message I do hereby humbly pray to the God Almighty for the long life of the ‘Miracle’ newspaper, so that it may be able to serve all the communities around in the better and most gracious way.

Miracle reaching this milestone!

Bilal Cheema, Surrey “I remember back when the Miracle Newspaper was starting out.

I was still in University and obviously strongly suggesting the new publication cover political

Province of British Columbia Legislative Assembly Managing Editor and Staff The Miracle Media Group I would like to offer my congratulation to you and your staff as you begin your 14th year of providing the community with comprehensive and in depth media coverage and excellence in journalism.

Happy 13th Anniversary Best wishes for your continued success.

Sincerly, events across the lower mainland.

The Miracle, with the blessings of Allah, has come a long way.

Congratulations on reaching this milestone! I still look forward to picking up a Miracle paper every other week. You truly cater to the community with well rounded news and coverage in multiple languages.

I’ve witnessed many improvements in your publication.... keep up the great work!

An exemplary leadership Shabnam Khan , Surrey I have great pleasure to congratulate The Miracle on their 13th anniversary. Through your exemplary leadership, your newspaper has established itself as a vital resource for general readers, educators and parents by covering everything from educational theories to the latest technologies and by providing a forum for strong and disparate voices.

The Miracle is giving expression to fresh perspectives and in the process, bringing together a strong community of individuals and organizations committed to a better educational future.

Congratulations to you and the entire team for your dedicated and thoughtful work in reaching this milestone, and accept my very best wishes for the continued success of educational update!!

Miracle Biweekly News Magazine Azhar Khan Toastmasters International Salute to a wonderful creation! It is with honor I share my views on Miraclein celebration of their13th Anniversary. Miracle has been a great source of insight and information for our community.

What I am most impressed with, is their ability to produce thorough and well researched articles that shed light on current affairs.

The focal point of Miracle’s success is attributed to an active and dedicated team that is always available when required.

Effective communication, timely delivery and the “right” news make a difference and develop

Bruce Ralston, MLA Surrey-Whalley

credibility. During my educational workshops for the community, I found the Miracle Team to be punctual and quite supportivewhich to me is important. In today’s world, integrity is lacking in so many aspects of life; however Miracle recognizes the importance of upholding integrity, and producing substantial publications in a timely fashion.

They are a diverse magazine and skillfully cover an array of topics, which are welcomed by everyone.

Whether covering a debate to select the right leader during an election, an educational workshop, speech contest, sports event, community event or charity program; the Miracle team is always present, standing shoulder to shoulder.

It is my most sincere wish that Miracle continues their success andcelebrates many more anniversaries in future.

Thank you once again for your loyalty and support to our community cheers!

Miracle Biweekly News Magazine Dr. Babra Rana, (PCWS) Congratulations on the 13th anniversary of The Miracle Newspaper! Thirteen years is a remarkable achievement. The Miracle Newspaper has been playing an important role in providing information, news and coverage on social events for the last thirteen years.

This newspaper is strongly connected to the South Asian community and it has provided a platform for meaningful discussions regarding our social issues.The Miracle has been willing to provide access to dissemination of information about psychosocial issues such as violence against women,mental health and other issues affecting our community.

The mandate of Pakistani Canadian Women’s Society is to advance gender equality,address issues women face in our community and fundraise for charitable causes.

The Miracle has been an ally in all of our work and is integral to our connection with women in our community.I hope you will continue to provide credible and insightful reporting.

Miracle’s splendid work.

Dr. Naiyer Habib, Abbotsford I like to congratulate all of you involved with Miracle on the occasion of its 13th.year of very successful anniversary for the splendid work.It presented religious, political, and social issues.

It was commendable to see Naseer Pirzada’s interview with political

15 S P E C I A L THE MIRACLE OF MIRACLE Rabi ul Thani 21, 1435 H February 21, 2014

By: Maheen Nusrat (UK ) It seems like yesterday running around with my brothers distributing the paper at different mosques. Miracle is the brain child of the dreams of my father Nusrat Hussain. It began out of a personal necessity but also to fill a void in the Muslim community.

Our family immigrated to Canada in December of 1996. We landed here with dreams and aspirations for a better life. My father served as an Air Traffic Controller in the Pakistani Air Force, and later in the Bahraini Amiri Air Force. He envisioned a career in the beautiful land of Vancouver as an Air Traffic controller. Call it Kismet, or Destiny, my father could not pursue that dream. Whilst trying to gain equivalency on his credentials and experience, he suffered a heart attack in May of 1998 at the young age of 44. This was a huge shock to his young family. To see your strong father on a hospital bed with wires and big machines beeping at you is one of the most horrific sights for a child-one I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy. It was a fragile time, full of fear and one spent with countless hours begging Allah for his mercy to grant my father a long life.

In this strange land, this was one of the first and biggest blows that we felt as a family.

After recovery from his heart attack, my father having had lost his chance to continue with NavCanada for his Air Traffic Control training was left to figure out how to fend for his young family. He worked hard as a security guard and teacher, but this was not enough to satisfy his idealist soul.

My father always had an interest in Journalism, and had acquired a diploma in Journalism. Sometime in 2000, he must have shared this with a friend, who pushed him to consider a newspaper business in Vancouver. My dad is an eternal dreamer of higher purpose and Miracle was thus born out of such higher purpose. He discussed this idea with us. The Muslim Community in the Lower Mainland was still young and growing and the idea of the first Muslim newspaper seemed like a great business idea.

So began the process of planning and printing the first ever Muslim Newspaper. My father chose The Miracle for its name-an inspiration from the story of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), who was blessed with the Miracle of splitting the moon in half as proof of his Prophethood. The logo design included the split moon and the eagle. Serving in the Air Force for over twenty years, and being a huge fan of Sir Allama Iqbal, the eagle was an ode to that aspect of life. Miracle was the first ever Muslim newspaper of the lower mainland, and dad foresaw great potential in Muslim owned

media, and like Sir Iqbal he hoped for the community to soar like the Eagle. Unfortunately, the journey ahead was not going to be an easy one. In fact, in retrospect, I think the inspiration for the name was a foretelling omen of the path that lay ahead, fraught with opposition and difficulty.

The paper although lauded as a great initiative failed to receive financial support from the Muslim community. The paper was to means of livelihood for the family; however, getting advertisements from the Muslim businesses was a difficult challenge.

Printing the paper was a family affair. Every one of us was involved. Dad took responsibility of the big stuff, finding advertisers, graphic designers, editorial, collecting money etc. I helped him on the content side, and my brothers on the distribution side. My mother and I drove my brothers mosque to mosque on Thursday nights. Dad usually stood outside of Richmond mosque after Jummah prayers distributing the paper by hand. This allowed for him to get to know many people within the community. It was exciting times. My father’s editorials earned him many fans, but also many adversaries. His ideas were novel and far too modern for our developing community. In some ways the editorials by my dad in the Miracle newspaper shook up the status quo, where my father provoked the Muslim community to think for themselves, always ending his often controversial editorials with the Quranic Verse: “Afa la-tatafakaroon”, “Why do

you not then think?” Despite its popularity, financially, the paper wasn’t profitable enough for livelihood.

My father put communal interests ahead of his personal interests, and always continued to print the paper even if there was a lack in advertising funding.The process of running this paper solely proved to be challenging.

In June 2002 Mr. Naseer Pirzada joined as a partner in The Miracle to help bring in advertising.

It was a move out of necessity, even though managing one family’s expenses from the Miracle was difficult, now there were two families. The hope was that with one person being responsible for the advertising, the paper will flourish as a business.

The unfortunate reality is that although the newspaper was a great feat for the Muslim community, our community was slow to recognize it. In the process, there were many personal sacrifices made by my father and our family. In today’s age with so much negativity surrounding Muslims, having an outlet that represents our own voice is absolutely crucial. In that regard my father’s dream to establish the Miracle as the first ever Muslim newspaper in British Columbia is a huge feat.

As we reminisce about the past 13 years, I wanted to share the story of struggle that went behind the newspaper. It is not easy to work tirelessly for 18 hours days, hassling with non-cooperative advertisers who usually gave us the run-around came payment time, dealing with negative criticism, with the knowledge that there may or may not be much monetary benefit at the end of your

long days of work. I still remember both families collaborating until the wee hours of the night to ensure the paper makes its printing deadline. This kind of dedication without much personal gains takes character and great courage to work towards the betterment of the community.

After 7 years of dedicated community service, the paper failed to prove financially profitable for two families causing an end to the partnership between my father and Mr. Pirzada. This decision was taken in the interests of community. Under the leadership of Mr. Pirzada, the Miracle continues to be published today.

I have experienced closely the personal sacrifices that go into making this newspaper and commend the Miracle team on its work.Today, it pleases me tremendously that the seeds sown by my father in the shape of the Miracle continue to blossom.

Over the years seeing how people still gravitate towards dad at community events, commenting about an editorial he wrote years ago, shows that his dream to provoke thinking and conversation did come true. As the global landscape changes drastically; slowly the Muslim community is awaking from its stupor and 13 years later is coming to truly recognize what my father realized in the year 2000.The survival of Miracle newspaper for 13 years, despite the difficulties is nothing short of being miraculous.

Congratulations to Mr. Pirzada and his family for continuing to keep the Miracle alive as the voice for Muslims.

Happy 13th Anniversary, may you continue to flourish always.

Special Messages for Miracle’s 13th Anniversary leaders- Tom Mulcair and Justine Trudeau - a much needed media approach specially for Muslim Community targeting pertinent issues. I will hope such approach will continue. The election is at the door.

The annual Qura’n competition held by Miracle is an encouragement of importance to the young.

I have a dream to see a Muslim National Paper of high standard that the politicians and public are at its look out to see what Muslim Canadian are and how it is serving its acquired motherland which remain unexposed rather ignored by the national media.Perhaps our local papers Miracle and al -Ameen may join hands to publish national paper jointly with chosen united names while maintaining their individual papers as is. It could be a monthly issue to start with and even electronic .Of course community support is needed.With best wishes.

“Miracle’s Progressive 13 yrs.

SubhanAllah” Gulshan Aalani, Vancouver Miracle Editor and team, congratulations for the job well done!

Your dedication and devotion to your job of serving the communities is quite apparent.

Miracle is proven progressive Newspaper, displaying the result of hard work for the benefit of

the Multicultural readers, is being paid off with the lying colors, which can only be obtained by one of the major acts of ‘Journalism honesty’. Serving others with such etiquette builds bridges with all the nationalities regardless of their color, culture or religion.

Miracle displays the combination of the Beauty and the Brain giving knowledge with its interesting colorful ‘clean’ articles, National and International news connecting with the other world, opinion section giving an opportunity to the public to voice their opinion, various educational subjects of politics, happy and tragic events, exposing the tragic results of fights and wars, an eye opening suffering of the humanity, mainly women and Children, revealing the truth of Scriptural religion, and the facts of its history: these are the vital sources of feeding the food for the brain, mind and the soul that keeps one active and motivated, to blend well mentally and intellectually in the secular system, and increasing the mental capacity to use the clean and pure knowledge that enables to live the best way of pluralism, which brings harmony on the Land as well as in the world, which is the way of the sunnah/tradition of the Universal Messenger Muhammad (SAWS).

May Allah-Creator-GOD bless you in your honest endeavors that are favorable to HIM. Thank you and the Miracle staff David Ali , BCMA VP Media, PR & Communications A hearty congratulation on the 13th year of publication.

The Miracle has reached another milestone in the ethnic media publication.

The Miracle is a successful paper that has been reaching countless homes in the Lower Mainland. It has been delivering current news on political, religious and social issues around the globe and locally and has kept our local ethnic community aware of the news.

Br Pirzada, your dedication and commitments is very much appreciated by the Muslim Community.

On behalf of the BC Muslim Association I take this opportunity to thank you and the Miracle staff for doing such a fantastic job of spreading the news. We wish you all the best of success in the future.

Miracle is a balanced!

Mumtaz Malik, Richmond What I can say briefly that it’s a well balanced community newspaper and a good source to get different point of view from authentic writers. There is always room for improvement and keep up the good work specifically bringing political awareness in the community which is a pivotal point for our future in Canada. Best wishes for Miracle.

Keep It Up! Wasi Jaffery, Oklahoma; US Many congratulations from me and my family. To run Miracle Media, is a great community service and we pray for your success now and in future. keep the good work going on.

Best Wishes for Miracle Capt. M. S. Mahtab, Coquitlam Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on this achievement that would have not been possible without your hard work and endless efforts. Best wishes for the coming years............!!!, Addition in Urdu & Kids Pages Hina Gehlen, Surrey I just love everything about it may be increase Urdu pages and add kids page to it but definitely wonderful effort by all of you.

MAWO greatly value The Miracle’s support Janine Solanki

Chairperson: Mobilization Against War & Occupation (MAWO) On behalf of Mobilization Against War and Occupation, I would like to congratulate you on the 13th anniversary of the publication of The Miracle. This has been 13 years of an excellent newspaper that truly serves the community and brings insightful articles to the public eye.

In Mobilization Against War and Occupation, we greatly value The Miracle’s support for peace and social justice. We look forward to continuing to work with The Miracle and wish you all the best success in the coming years!

One and only publication Junaid Iqbal, Surrey I am happy to learn that The Miracle is completing 13 years of existence .

As a responsible publication group, the Miracle Publications has been partnering with the industry and organizing events; conferences and other related activities which go to enhance the Islamic perspective among the Muslim community .The Miracle Publications has created a record of sorts by being the one and only publication to become the community publication for successive events The Miracle has done remarkable job to highlight our issues.

16

Rabi ul Thani 21, 1435 H February 21, 2014

L O C A L

Al-Ihsan holds Graduation Ceremony at Surrey Masjid On February 15th a beautiful spiritual program was organized e by Al-Ihsan Educational Foundation in Surrey Jameh Masjid. This special program took place to commemorate two students Maulana Ali and Maulana Taha who have graduated as scholars, as well as this year’s Islam Comprehensive Course graduates. They took this course on- line for two years. The other 8 students who completed this two years course at Al-Ihsan Centre in Surrey also graduated and received certificates by a special invited guest from Darul Uloom Saskatchewan, Maulana Qari Tayab Qasimi.

Al Ihsan Institute is led by a learned scholar Mufti Aasim Rashid, Imam of Surrey Jameh Masjid.

Both online graduates Maulana Ali and Taha delivered very thoughtful speeches in the light of Quran and Sunnah, proving that they will be good additions as Islamic scholars for our youth and elders. This graduation ceremony program very well conducted by Mr. Ali Mutaqi.

One graduate also defined the

institute name in his speech.

Ihsan, is an Arabic term meaning “perfection” or “excellence” (Ara. husn). It is a matter of taking one’s inner faith (iman) and showing it in both deed and action, a sense of social responsibility borne from religious convictions.

Many other graduates expressed their personal life experiences before and after this completion of Islam Comprehensive course.

One senior graduate Mr. Salim Sheikh highlighted the importance of this program.

He said that everyone must understand that “the deep knowledge of Islam is essential for every Muslim.”

Qari Tayab Qasimi was the guest who came all the way from Saskatchewan. He said it is great pleasure for him to attend this graduation ceremony of this Comprehensive course. “I spent more than 25 years in BC to spread the Dean and Uloom in young generation. Allhumdulilla after the great success of BC Muslim School of Chiliwack we moved at a bigger place in Saskatchewan said Qari Qasimi.

He shared many experiences with parents who hadalready spoiled their children at home and they brought them to seek the knowledge as per Quran and Sunnah. He admired Mufti Aasim Rashid efforts who run this Al Ihsan institution in Surrey and is giving Islamic teachings through different courses to our young generation as well as elders too. He also congratulated all those students who completed this course today and distributed certificates among them with this good wishes “ to spread dean among others.”

Background of ‘Islam Comprehensive’ It is an intensive part-time course which aims to give the student a deep and broad understanding of Islam. It covers a vast range of subjects and topics, and provides an in-depth study of the following: •Tafsīr , Hadith, Fiqh, Creed and Islamic Principles The goal of Al-Ihsān Educational Foundation: Complete Islamic Education for EveryoneTogether, moving to the next level of knowledge.

Shah Anas Noorani lectures at Masjid Anwar-e-Madina On Feb 8th, World Islamic Mission(WIM) BC chapter chairman Mr. Massood Joomratty invited Maulana Shah Anas Noorani Siddiqui (Pakistan), son of the founder of WIM Allama Shah Ahmad Noorani Siddiqui(late) at Masjid Anwar e Madina in Surrey. Community members came to listen to his lecture on the topic of “Gyarween Sharif “. Syed Imroz Dean, Imam of Madina Masjid presided of this lecture. The program started with the recitation of the Holy Quran and few Naats e Rasool Maqbool(saw) presented by local Naat Khwans.

Maulana Ana s Noorani Siddiqui started his spiritual speech in the light of Quran and Sunnah.

He said that Quran is the divine source of guidance, and Allah (SWT) gave us His guidelines through his beloved Prophet Mohammad (SAW). First he delivered a short speech on Eid Milad un Nabi(saw), happiness of birth

of beloved Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). After that Maulana Anis said talked about what the Giyarween Shareef is, why we do it and how Shaykh ‘Abdul Qadir Jilani (Rady Allahu ‘Anhu) spread Islam in this region. He also given references about the Essal e Sawab from other Islamic authentic books. Maulana said that we should all be practical Muslims by our actions so that other people will be inspired by our actions not only by words.

Shaykh ‘Abdul Qadir as the model of a Sufi saint, through his nasiha, azkaar and salawaat, through giving a living reality to Islam, in his complete surrender to the Will of Allah and in his showing of tawakkul (trust in Allah). Through his teaching and preaching converted more than five thousand Jews and Christians to Islam while more than a hundred thousand ruffians, outlaws, murderers, thieves and bandits repented and

became devout Muslims and gentle dervishes.

Almighty Allah states in the Holy Quran: And those who came after them say, Our Lord forgive us and our brothers who came before us into the Faith, and leave not in our hearts rancour (dislike) against those who have believed.

Our Lord! You are indeed full of Kindness, Most Merciful. (Surah Hashr: 10) another Sura Yunas 62-64. No doubt! Verily, the Auliya’ of Allah [i.e. those who believe in the Oneness of Allah and fear Allah much (abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which he has forbidden), and love Allah much (perform all kinds of good deeds which He has ordained)], no fear shall come upon them nor shall they grieve ,… The Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihay Wa Aalihi Wasallam) has stated: There is Allah’s Mercy on my Ummah.

A person who is buried as a sin-

ner, but with prayers and Istighfaar (asking for forgiveness) of Muslims, they with arise without sins (on the Day of Judgement). (Tibrani).

Maulna recited many times Qirat and as well as recited Naats during his speech and said “May Allah

(SWT) prevent us from Shirk and enable us to get guidance in all our daily life matters from Quran and Sunnah (Ameen)”. At the end, Darood o Salam and Duaa were recited followed by the delicious dinner.

Fundraising Dinner held for “Qawsain Knowledge House”

On February 15th over 35 thousand dollars were raised in a beautiful gathering at Crystal Conference hall in Surrey. The purpose of this program was to establish the new Islamic educational institute in Vancouver. Qawsain Knowledge House has been started and its team is led by Imam Fode Drame.

In this program few stalls were installed in which Islamic books and beautiful Islamic crafts and Jewelry for sale. The program started with a youth reciting the Quran. Mohammad Shafiqe hosted this event and highlighted this new Islamic education centre. Founder Imam Fode Drame, delivered

a brief message for Qawsain Knowledge House and said that it is need of Muslim Society of Vancouver.

Ms. Ayesha Hafeez did the presentation of this Qawsain project in which she said that Qawsain is a learning center registered under its parent non-profit organization, Zawiyah Foundation. In process of becoming Vancouver’s first Muslim school, it offers a full day kindergarten and grade 1 class and follows the BC curriculum as well as the Vancouver School Board school calendar. Qawsain is an Arabic word that literally means “two bows.”The team of trained educators works

hand in hand with children well as thanked these sponsors: Syed Khan towards achieving objectives. (iCanHelp, Immigration Consultant) NusAfter Ayesha’s presenta- rat Hussain (Team 3000realty), Al Halal tion a guest speaker from Toronto Syed Akram gave a dynamic speech about the necessity of Islamic education in North America and requested guests to dig deep in their pockets and show their generosity for this Qawsain Knowledge House in Vancouver. As a result of his speech, he succeeded to collect over 35 thousand dollars for this project.

Mr. Shafiqe specially acknowledged Imam Syed Akram who came from Toronto for this noble cause and all other guests who supported tonight and as

Meats, Fairmile Cleaning Supplied Ltd, Sukmi(Beauty Products) and Mr. & Mrs. Shahid Chaudhary (Crystal @York).

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Rabi ul Thani 21, 1435 H February 21, 2014

S P E C I A L

Thanks Allah(swt) on Completion of Miracle’s 13th year!

Once again alhamdulillah, it is a great occasion in the Miracle Media Group Inc.’s history as it has completed thirteen years -a long journey that began on Feb 23rd, 2001. I want to thank the supporters and well wishers of ‘The Miracle’ for providing continuous support through advertisements of their businesses, sharing their thoughts in writing with our readers, especially Mr. Shams Jilani, Mr. Aslam Hayat, Mr. Azhar Syed, Maulana Abdul Lateef Naumani, Mr. Shams Siddiqui, Mr. Ayub Hamid (Toronto), Mr. Tariq Mian (Toronto), Syed Asad Hussain, Mrs. Shamim Karim, Mrs. Alam Ara, Ms. Shabnam Khan, and many others.

The Miracle team feels proud to have established and continued our tradition of special editions on occasions such as Federal, Provincial and Civic Elections, Independence Day of Pakistan, Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul Adha. In past few years, the Miracle conducted many successful Election Forums on Civic, Provincial and Federal Elections debates. We held Qirat and Hamad o Naat competitions, awards for Miracle Youth, Advertisers, Sponsors and Writers. Miracle Media also conducted 6 hours long exciting Musical Competition programs for tributes the legendry Pakistani Singers Mehdi Hassan and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and these programs engaged children, youth, adults and seniors of all communities.

The newspaper aims to provide a broad overview of the world through articles and images. Over the years, we have covered over 2500 events from all communities in efforts to keep up with our slogan, “Bringing Harmony to all the com-

munities”. We are also proud that when Non-Muslims read Miracle Newspaper, they learn more about Islam as well as the local and international Muslim community.

Feb 23, 2001 was a remarkable day for the BC Muslim community when Mr. Nusrat Hussain launched the first Muslim Newspaper on biweekly basis. His family’s and his day and night struggle gave a voice to the community.

Mr. Nusrat Hussain, founder of Miracle, handed me over the responsibility to run this show alone from Jan 2007. Thanks Mr. Hussain! I have been since trying to nourish your baby, The Miracle, to this day, Feb 21, 2014. How successful my entire team and I have been in achieving this tasks? Well, the Miracle’s readers are the best judges.

From the messages in this edition, readers can also judge how many associations and individuals that have been covered over the years took the time to send their message to the Miracle. Who really cares and respects the work done by this organization.

Miracle is the only one who cares and respects all community members irrespective of colour, nationality and faith.

Bringing Harmony to all the Communities is the Miracle slogan.

During its thirteen years of community service in journalism, the Miracle took one step ahead from our fellows in the field, so last year we decided to give each advertisement special attention rather than printing consecutive 4-8 pages color ads and risk that readers will flip through all the ads without stopping. We have now divided each page in such a way so that the ads and articles are spread evenly on pages

From the pen of the Founding Editor Sqn. Ldr. (R) Nusrat Hussain ‘The Miracle’ was introduced as the first Muslim newspaper of British Columbia on the same day of year 2001. Although, I was responsible for bringing this baby on the horizon of journalism in Vancouver, but it is due to the dedicated and sincere efforts of Mr. Pirzada and his family that ‘The Miracle’ is smoothly

so our advertisers benefit from more exposure and our readers stay informed by reading articles and seeing what the businesses are offering at the same time.

In this special Miracle 13th anniversary edition we acknowledge our community members of different origins of different fields who build the community. Some of them have recently passed away and we appreciate their time, money and devotion for the community. We also pay thanks to our Advertisers. We may not have covered everyone, so if you feel someone was left out, I would like to request you please send me theirs details, we will love to publish in March 23rd special edition.

Feel free to comment on this issue about Miracle’s Historical 13 years journey, as your concerns and suggestions are highly appreciated for improving our quality in future. At the end I will not be honest if I do not appreciate the efforts of Hon. Chief and Urdu editor Mr. Mohammad Rafiq, Khadija, Misbah, Sabeeh, Shahrukh, and the remarkable day and night efforts of our graphic designer. Keep up the good work not only for the Miracle, but for all the community.

I thank everyone who took the time and sent their messages at Miracle’s13th Anniversary, including politicians, advertisers and well-wishing individuals from the community.

May Allah (SWT) accept your prayers for our success and may He help us in serving the community.

Jazaakumu Allahu Khairan.(Ameen)

Mohammad Naseer Pirzada (Managing Editor)

Long Live ‘The Miracle’

passing through the teen age. The Miracle was immediately accepted as a household item by all the Muslim families residing in Vancouver mainland area. It modestly continues to serve the community in its thirteenth year of inauguration. Ever since its inception; ‘The Miracle’ has played the important role of informing and voicing the issues faced by the Muslims

of Canada. It helped in promoting the Muslim businesses and bringing harmony to all the communities of Canada. I am gladly heartened to observe the success achieved by this newspaper. Mr. Pirzada and his entire team deserves an immense applaud for the vast service they are performing for the Muslims of Canada.

Long live ‘The Miracle’ and its comrades.

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Rabi ul Thani 21, 1435 H February 21, 2014

C R I M E

Crimes in Surrey

By: Syed Asad Hussain “You will feel the full force of the law and if you are old enough to commit these crimes you are old enough to face the punishments. And to these people I would say this: you are not only wrecking the lives of

have a selfish desire to get something for nothing, power, fear, peer pressure, failure of self-direction, lack of moral judgment and character, bad family life, boredom, genetic, needs and poverty, drug habits, out of greed and impress others.

others, you are potentially wrecking your own life too.” David Cameron A lot of research has been done to explain causes of crimes in a society. The history of crimes stretches back as far back to the days of Adam when Qabil a son of Prophet Adam killed his own brother Habil.

According to Criminal Justice Reform, BC, crime is an act or omission that violates the law and is punishable upon conviction. The Reform further suggests crime typically occurs when three things happen at the same time and in the same space.

1.A motivated offender is present.

2.A suitable target is available.

3.There is either something or someone present which encourages the crime, or nothing or no-one to discourage it. Research on human behaviors suggests people commit crimes for all kinds of reasons. They may

Moreover, most crimes are committed simply from ignorance, revenge, lack of self respect, jealousy and greediness. Some people commit crimes due to discrepancy between the goals held by society and the inability to reach those goals. In some cases, crimes are committed because of class differences.

According to M.Farouk Radwan, a researcher, “Every human behavior is done to serve a certain important psychological goal including the crimes people commit.

What seems irrational from the outside like a crime is actually an attempt to do something completely rational like reaching a certain psychological goal.”

Nonetheless, the good thing about Canada is on the whole it has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. According to Statistics Canada, from July 2013, crime rates

across Canada have fallen to 46-year low and the homicide rate has dropped by 10% making it the lowest since 1972.

According to Vancouver Sun report, Canadian crime rate peaked in 1991 and has been falling ever since. Both violent and property crimes have been falling in much of the last decade in Surrey and Vancouver.

Kelowna City, however, tops the Canadian crime list in 2012 with 8,875 crimes for every 100,000 people. In contrast, the entirety of Metro Vancouver stands at a rate of 6,958 per 100,000 which ranks at the seventh highest in the country.

After the city of Vancouver, Surrey is the second largest populous city of BC., and multi-ethnic city of neighborhoods. Moreover, each neighborhood is different and crimes vary from area to area. Nonetheless, as a whole the city is safer and people move around freely without having much to fear.

However, according to Maclean’s magazine, Surrey was a ranked as the 10th most dangerous city of Canada back in 2010. The study was based on a sample crime data of 100 largest Canadian cities and measured 2010 crimes rates per 100,000 people.

Crimes included in the study were homicide, sexual assault, aggravated assault, vehicle theft robbery and breaking and entering. The city ranked sixth in violent crimes and thirteenth in non-violent crimes nationwide. Surrey scored 58.2% higher than the national average in six crimes.

The research also showed after Quebec (184%) and Langley Township (177%) Surrey had the third highest car theft rate (154%) higher than the national average in the country. In the early 2000s, Surrey was called the capital city of car theft in North America.

According to the Langley Times issue of

July 31, 2013, the Langley crime rate was nearly double the BC crime rate and almost three times the national average in 2012.

As evident from the table, violent crimes fell by 10% in the first three quarters of 2013 over 2012. Homicide registered the highest increase 78% and attempted murder crime fell by the largest percentage 57.

Property crimes registered an overall decline of 2%. Identity theft/fraud increased by the largest amount (64%) and theft over 5000 registered the largest decline 21%. Under the CDSA category crimes increased by 7%, with the largest decline in marijuana production 38% and cocaine possession registered largest increase 24%.

The RCMP Chief Supt. Bill Fordy suggests, the majority of murders in 2013 in Surrey were related to gangsters and organized crime groups setting up shop in the booming city. According to the Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts, analysts have noted a spike every four years, with a record 21 murders in 2005, 20 in 2009 and now 21 so far (November) in 2013.

The mayor also has to say this on Surrey crimes, “We see a significant influx of people into the city — between 1,000 and 1,200 a month — and a lot of families are coming in. We see a lot of young professionals coming in. And there’s that other element that comes as well. They set up shop in affluent areas of Surrey. So it’s certainly a challenge.”

I conclude the above discussion on the following quote: “At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst.”-Aristotle.

(The writer is an economist and lives in Vancouver. He can be reached at asad.szabist@gmail.com).

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Rabi ul Thani 21, 1435 H February 21, 2014

POLITICS

Antiwar activists and Egyptian community activists

successfully organize two rallies in Vancouver

By Janine Solanki Chairperson: Mobilization Against War & Occupation (MAWO) January 25th saw important back-to-back rallies in Vancouver against colonial intervention in the Middle East and North Africa. Vancouver’s anti-war coalition, Mobilization Against War and Occupation (MAWO), played an active role in both actions. MAWO organized its monthly antiwar rally and petition campaign, as well as endorsed and actively participated in a rally organized by Egyptian Canadians for Human Rights. This rally was part of a Global Day of Action marking the 3 year anniversary of the uprising which overthrew US backed dictator Hosni Mubarak, and in solidarity with the current struggle against the following military coup.

MAWO’s monthly anti-war rally and peti-

tion campaign focused against colonial intervention in Syria. Organizers approached passersby in the busy downtown area with petitions against intervention and sanctions on Syria, and were able to collect not only signatures, but also engage in lively conversations on the urgent issue. The information table was busy from the moment it was set up, and was covered with large banners demanding “Money for Housing Not for War!”, “Hands Off Syria!” and, “No War on Iran!”

The Egyptian protest marked the third anniversary of the overthrow of US backed dictator Hosni Mubarak by a heroic mass movement. However, the Egyptian people are still on forced to face violence and intimidation as they protest in the streets against last year’s US-backed military coup against democratically elected President

IMPERIALISTS HANDS OFF SYRIA!

Mohamed Morsi.

The rally was MC’d by Egyptian Canadians for Human Rights organizer Tarek Ramadan, and included local Egyptian speakers who spoke of family members tortured and killed by the military, and of the ongoing struggle in Egypt for human rights and against foreign intervention.

CBC News was present, and the rally was featured on that evening’s news.

The rally included speakers from several supporting organizations. Tunisian activist and MAWO Executive Committee member Azza also spoke as the rally was preparing to march. She summarized, “Egyptians are saying they want an Egypt for Egyptians, not for the U.S interests of plunder. The Egyptian people who are out on the streets now are showing the same steadfast will they demonstrated with the overthrow of Mubarak. There will be no return to the past and the Egypt must go forward to democracy. We say down with

this bloody coup!”

Azza was received with loud applause as the ralliers took to the streets chanting, “Down down with the coup! Long live the Egyptian people!”

Across the Middle East and around the world, the tanks of western armies roar through neighbourhoods while fighters jets and drones thunder overheard. Since 2001, a new era of war and occupation has had a bloody grip on the planet, more so on Muslims countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Libya and now Syria, as well as many African countries. However, it is undeniable that people under attack have not given up and resistance is continuing and growing. MAWO continues to play an active role in educating, organizing, and mobilizing in solidarity with people under attack who are fighting every day for their dignity and self-determination. www.mawovancouver.org

LIFT ALL SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN! FREE PRIVATE MANNING, SOLDIER OF HUMANITY! NO TO US DRONES! US/CANADA/NATO OUT OF AFGHANISTAN NOW!

STOP ISRAEL’S ONGOING ASSAULT ON PALESTINIANS! NO TO WAR AND OCCUPATION! YES TO SELF DETERMINATION! SELF-DETERMINATION FOR ALL INDIGENOUS & OPPRESSED NATIONS! MONEY FOR HOUSING, HEALTHCARE, JOBS & EDUCATION, NOT FOR WAR AND OCCUPATION! US OUT OF IRAQ NOW!

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Rabi ul Thani 21, 1435 H February 21, 2014

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tween the pegs. You could also attach a graduated rack to the door. Whatever you do, arrange lids from smallest to largest, with their partner pans close by.

Knife Storage

Etched Glass Storage Jars

fully sliding it in and out for easy access. The pan will also catch drips, speeding cleanup.

Keep your kitchen counters, drawers, and cupboards clutterfree with these ingenious organizing solutions.Storing saucers is no problem: They nest neatly. The teacups, on the other hand, always threaten to topple over. Here’s how Martha handles them: placed cup over saucer, in tidy stacks of no more than three or four.

Pantry Reminder

Keep your kitchen counters, drawers, and cupboards clutterfree with these ingenious organizing solutions.Covered with chalkboard paint, a pantry door serves as the perfect place to keep a running shopping list. In this case, only the inside panels were coated, but we customcolored the paint so that it blends seamlessly with the rest of the door. Always tape off those areas that you don’t want to paint, such as knobs and hardware.

Kitchen Helper

Clear up the clutter and make themost of your countertops by using a cake stand to hold olive oil, salt, pepper, and other frequently used seasonings. The stand makes it easy to find and use these ingredients while you cook, and gives you space to arrange other herbs and spices around the base of the pedestal.

Baking-Pan Organizer

Retrieving a jar of honey from the back of a crowded cabinet can be awkward. For a simple fix, gather the small items you store on the shelf onto a spare baking tray, then treat it like a drawer, care

Pot Rack

Pot Lid Organizer

Recipe File

To eliminate the search for the right lid amid an unwieldy stack each time you use your pots and pans, store them neatly: Place a wooden peg rack in a cupboard, and line up the lids vertically be-

Keep pantry staples organized with a set of glass storage jars customized with etched lettering.

Under the Sink Organizer

Metal baskets once used for milk bottles and other groceries make perfect storage units for the kitchen. For maximum impact, choose similar containers, but vary their sizes and shapes (the metal ones here feature punched holes and wire grids). Line baskets with canvas, and group them together to organize an entire roomful of odds and ends.

Don’t let kitchen rags and dishwashing gloves clutter the sink area. Instead, hang them from hooks screwed to the inside of a cabinet door, where the items can stay out of sight as they dry.

A grommet-setting kit (below: available at hardware stores) lets you make tear-proof holes in cloth, rubber, and other soft materials. Place a tray just inside the cabinet to corral cleaning supplies and catch water that drips from wet gloves.

Tray Divider Here’s a new job for photo protectors: Use them to keep recipe cards organized and free

the tray so glasses stay put and rims are protected. Place large glasses upside down on the shelf, set tray on top, and arrange smaller glasses upside down on top of tray.

Steamer Storage Bin

Storing knives properly helps them to maintain their edges. Use a magnetic strip to keep knives safe and at a arm’s length when you are ready to chop, slice, or dice.

Coordinated Containers You don’t need a prairie-size kitchen to manage the chaos of pot storage.

A handrail and several S-hooks will turn a few square feet of wall into a convenient rack for kitchenware. Handrails are better than towel bars for the job, because they support more weight. Look for them, in sizes from 12 to 32 inches long, at surgical-supply stores. As for the pots and pans, you already know which cabinet door hides an avalanche of thos

T I P S

of spills and spatters in the kitchen. Protectors are available at office-supply stores and come in a variety of sizes; choose ones to accommodate your recipe cards taken from magazines as well as handwritten ones received from friends. Store the pages in a three-ring binder.

Increase cupboard space by using a serving tray as a shelf divider.

You’ll need a tray almost as wide as the cupboard’s depth. Cut a piece of nonskid shelf liner to fit

Bamboo steamers have holes that let air in and out to cook food uniformly. For just that reason, these containers are also well suited to storing onions, garlic, and shallots, which require ventilation and should not be refrigerated.

Place all three in a single unit, or if you use lots of all of them, keep each kind in its own section of a stackable steamer. Place the steamer on a tray or plate to catch flaking skins, and set it on the counter for quick access.

Spice Displays

Bring visual harmony to assorted spices by transferring them to plain jars (we used glass ones, available at housewares stores) and tagging the containers with our self-adhesive labels. Your upgraded collection will be attractive and easier to scan -- no more mistaking the cumin for cinnamon.

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Rabi ul Thani 21, 1435 H February 21, 2014

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Health Benefits of Eating Fruits Adding fruit to your diet is a surefire way to become healthier. A daily intake of fruit can benefit your body in many ways. You will be amazed at how much better you will feel when you start eating more fruit. Keep reading to uncover some amazing things that fruit does for you body.

You know that you need to drink more water. But if you are like most people, you don’t get your six to eight glasses of water per day. But did you know that fruit is 80% water? So if you add more fruit to your diet, you will be getting more water in your diet.

There is no other food on the planet that contains this much water.

If you have digestive problems such as abdominal cramping, constipation or diarrhea, you can alleviate some of these symptoms by eating fruit. Fruits contain natural fiber that will help to regulate your bowel movements. It has also been proven that fruits are very effective in lowering your cholesterol

levels. This can help to prevent heart disease and stroke.

Other studies are finding evidence that fruit helps to stimulate the memory. People who eat fruit on a regular basis are able to retain information and recall it faster than those who do not make fruit a part of their diet.

Studies have also proven that people who eat fruit or drink fruit juices on a regular basis will decrease their risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease by as much as 76%.

One great reason to eat fruit is that it is relatively inexpensive. Some people think that fresh fruit is too expensive and they cannot afford it. But think about the price you pay for the take out meals or that pack of potato chips. If you make it a habit to replace those unhealthy snacks with fruit, you will not notice a difference in your food bill. If fact, it may be less! The real benefit to replacing unhealthy snacks with fruits is the fact that you are becoming much healthier. There is

no way to put a price on your health.

We must remember that fruit is the most natural food on the planet. There are not many other types of food that you can just pick from the tree or bush and pop into your mouth without having to cook it first. Your body craves these all natural foods. Fruit is food the way it is meant to be.

So if you think that fruit is not that important to your health, think again. It can provide your body with water, improve your memory and it can help prevent disease. There are so many benefits in something that is all natural and so easily obtainable. Do your body a favor and start eating more fruit. You will love the way you look and feel.

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Rabi ul Thani 21, 1435 H February 21, 2014

LIFESTYLE

Top 10 Ways to Be Happy at Work Own Professional and Choose to Be Happy at Personal Development A young employee complained Work By: Susan M. Heathfield

Happiness is largely a choice.

I can hear many of you arguing with me, but it’s true. You can choose to be happy at work.

Sound simple? Yes. But, simplicity is often profoundly difficult to put into action. I wish all of you had the best employer in the world, but, face it, you may not. So, think positively about your work.

Dwell on the aspects of your work you like. Avoid negative people and gossip. Find coworkers you like and enjoy and spend your time with them. Your choices at work largely define your experience.

You can choose to be happy at work.

Do Something You Love Every Single Day You may or may not love your current job and you may or may not believe that you can find something in your current job to love, but you can. Trust me. Take a look at yourself, your skills and interests, and find something that you can enjoy doing every day. If you do something you love every single day, your current job won’t seem so bad. Of course, you can always make your current job work or decide that it is time to quit your job.

Take Charge of Your

to me recently that she wanted to change jobs because her boss was not doing enough to help her develop professionally. I asked her whom she thought was the person most interested in her development. The answer, of course, was her. You are the person with the most to gain from continuing

pany, their department’s projects, or their coworkers. Passive vessels, they wait for the boss to fill them up with knowledge. And, the knowledge rarely comes. Why? Because the boss is busy doing her job and she doesn’t know what you don’t know. Seek out the information you need to work effectively. Develop an information network and use it. Assertively request a weekly meeting with your boss and ask questions to learn. You are in charge of the information you receive.

failing to keep commitments. Many employees spend more time making excuses for failing to keep a commitment, and worrying about the consequences of not keeping a commitment, than they do performing the tasks promised.

Create a system of organization and planning that enables you to assess your ability to complete a requested commitment. Don’t volunteer if you don’t have time.

If your workload is exceeding your available time and energy, make a comprehensive plan to ask the boss for help and resources. Don’t wallow in the swamp of unkept promises.

Ask for Feedback FrePractice Professional quently Have you made statements such Courage

to develop professionally. Take charge of your own growth; ask for specific and meaningful help from your boss, but march to the music of your personally developed plan and goals. You have the most to gain from growing - and the most to lose, if you stand still.

as, “My boss never gives me any feedback, so I never know how I’m doing.” Face it, you really know exactly how you’re doing.

Especially if you feel positively about your performance, you just want to hear him acknowledge you. If you’re not positive about your work, think about improving and making a sincere contribution.

Then, ask your boss for feedback.

Tell him you’d really like to hear his assessment of your work. Talk to your customers, too; if you’re serving them well, their feedback is affirming. You are responsible for your own development. Everything else you get is gravy.

If you are like most people, you don’t like conflict. And the reason why is simple. You’ve never been trained to participate in meaningful conflict, so you likely think of conflict as scary, harmful, and hurtful. Conflict can be all three; done well, conflict can also help you accomplish your work mission and your personal vision.

Conflict can help you serve customers and create successful products. Happy people accomplish their purpose for working.

Why let a little professional courage keep you from achieving your goals and dreams? Make conflict your friend.

Take Responsibility for Knowing What Is Happening at Work Make Only Commit- Make Friends People complain to me daily that In their landmark book, First, they don’t receive enough com- ments You Can Keep Break All The Rules: What the munication and information about what is happening with their com-

One of the most serious causes of work stress and unhappiness is

Family Cycle

By: Shabnam Khan Family Counsellor The emotional and intellectual stages you pass through from childhood to your retirement years as a member of a family are called the family life cycle. In each stage, you face challenges in your family life that causes you to build or gain new skills. Gaining these skills helps you work through the changes and challenges that nearly every family goes through.

Not everyone passes through these stages smoothly. Situations such as unhealthy relationships, severe illness, financial problem or the death of a loved one can have an effect on how well you pass through the stages. Fortunately, if you miss skills in one stage, you can learn them in later stages.

Why is it important to understand the family life cycle?

Mastering the skills and milestones of each stage allows you to successfully move from one stage of development to the next. If you don’t master the skills, you may still move on to the next phase of the cycle, but you are more likely to have difficulty with relationships and future transitions as it may have been happening for years.

Family life cycle theory suggests that

successful transitioning may also help to prevent emotional or stress-related issues and diseases. Whether you are a parent or child, brother or sister, bonded by blood or love, your experiences through the family life cycle will affect who you are and who you become.

The more you understand about the challenges of each stage of the cycle, the more likely you are to successfully move on. A crisis or ongoing stress can delay the transition to the next phase of life or you may move on without the skills that you need to succeed.

Be assured, you can learn missed skills and improve your and your family’s quality of life at any stage through self-examination, education and seeking help from available resources. “Remember, you can make the change” shabnam@skcounselling.ca

World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently (Compare Prices),

Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman list twelve important questions. When employees answered these questions positively, their responses were true indicators of whether people were happy and motivated at work. One of these key questions was, “Do you have a best friend at work?” Liking and enjoying your coworkers are hallmarks of a positive, happy work experience. Take time to get to know them. You might actually like and enjoy them. Your network provides support, resources, sharing, and caring.

If All Else Fails, Job Searching

Will Make You Smile If all of these ideas aren’t making you happy at work, it’s time to reevaluate your employer, your job, or your entire career. You don’t want to spend your life doing work you hate in an unfriendly work environment. Most work environments don’t change all that much. But unhappy employees tend to grow even more disgruntled. You can secretly smile while you spend all of your non-work time job searching. It will only be a matter of time until you can quit your job - with a big smile.

BASIT KHAN B.SC R.Ph

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Rabi ul Thani 21, 1435 H February 21, 2014

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Social contact, regular exercise key to living longer

Social contact and regular exercise are key to aging well and living a longer life, according to newly presented research at Chicago. In fact, feeling extremely lonely can increase an older person´s chances of premature death by 14 percent, an impact nearly as strong as that of a disadvantaged socioeconomic status, according to John Cacioppo, psychology professor at the University of Chicago. He noted that a meta-analysis of several studies published in 2010 showed that social isolation had twice the impact on the risk of death as obesity.

Cacioppo presented the findings

Sunday at an annual conference in Chicago of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The research carried out on a group of 20,000 people revealed adverse health effects of feeling alone, including sleep problems, high blood pressure, impaired immune cells and depression.

“Retiring to Florida to live in a warmer climate among strangers is not necessarily a good thing if it means you are disconnected from people who mean the most for you,” Cacioppo said.

Often, loneliness is accompanied by a sedentary lifestyle, which can significantly weaken one´s health.

Simple exercise such as walking regularly at a good pace can´t just cut the risk of cardiovascular and Alzheimer´s disease by 50 percent -- it can also clearly slow down the normal aging process of an older person´s brain, Kirk Erickson of the University of Pittsburgh told AFP. At the conference, the assistant professor of psychology presented new details of a study published in 2011 that involved 120 people aged 65 and older.

- Older brain ´highly modifiable´ With age, the brain shrinks, he said. Physical activity, however, helps improve its overall functioning and, in particular, increases the

volume of the hippocampus by 2 percent, which reverses cerebral aging by one to two years and boosts mental capacities.”For one, this research has demonstrated the brain remains highly modifiable late in adulthood,” Erickson said.

“Even though the brain shrinks and declines tend to happen it does not seem to be as inevitable ... and exercise seems to be a great way to take advantage of this natural capacity for brain plasticity.

“What´s more, it´s apparently not necessary to do a lot of exercise to get that result -- a “modest amount” is all it takes, he said.

However, he acknowledged, “there is still a lot to learn. We don´t really know very much about how much is exactly needed.”

“Even though we have learned a lot I have to say we still have a long way to go,” he added.

“But that being said, physical ac-

tivity seems to be one of the most promising approaches for positively influencing brain health in late adulthood.”According to the Pew Research Center, the baby boomer generation began to turn 65 on January 1, 2011, with 10,000 doing so each day until 2030, said Cacioppo. “This has been called the silver tsunami,” he said. Some see an aging population as inevitably one with greater dementia and poor health, as predicted 15 to 20 years ago, he added.”But in fact we see a decline in disability rather than an increase in part because” of medical advances and people “starting to take better cares of themselves. “Still, a sedentary lifestyle rather than one filled with physical activity is the norm in old age, he said.”But we have new information about how to better age.”

Source:http://www.digitaljournal.com

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Rabi ul Thani 21, 1435 H February 21, 2014

YOUTH/KIDS

Youth in Islam — culture, faith and generation gap Youth is a period of high energy and great enthusiasm, coupled with an air of invincibility and perpetuity. Like the driver of a fast car, one may also develop a disdain for the slower cars on the highway of life.

It is difficult to imagine that the car will run out of fuel and that one day the engine will wear out.

For the moment though the car is fast and it can go places!

For this reason there are special warnings for the youth and glad tidings for the person who uses this energy wisely. A famous Hadith tells us that on the Day of Judgment no man will be able to move from his place until he answers five questions.

“How did he spend his life? How did he utilize his youth? How did he earn his wealth? How did he spend it? And, how did he practice what he learnt?” (Sunan al-Tirmidhi) While the first question asks generally about one’s life pattern, the second especially focuses on the period of youth.

On the other hand, the person who devoted his youth to the worship of Allah will be among the selected seven kinds of people: “There are seven people for whom Allah Ta’aala will provide His shade on the day when there will be no shade except His shade: 1. A just ruler. 2. A youth who grew up in the worship of Allah. 3.

A man whose heart is attached to the mosque. 4. Two men who love each other for Allah’s sake; they meet for the sake of Allah and part company for His sake. 5. A man who is invited by a woman of beauty and position , but he refuses saying: ‘I

fear Allah.’ 6. A man who gives in charity secretly such that his left hand does not know what his right hand gives. 7. A man whose eyes shed tears as he remembers Allah in private.” (Bukhari, Muslim).

Hence the profound advice in another famous hadith to value five things: “Youth before old age, health before sickness, wealth before poverty, free time before preoccupation, and life before death.”(Narrated by Ibn Abbas and reported by Al Hakim) A fast car is dangerous if it does not have strong controls. And that is where Shaitan targets the vulnerable — by loosening the controls. It has been his time-tested trick to work through temptations and make desires look irresistible. The path of deviation looks good. It is cool. It is fun. It is endlessly entertaining. The only problem is, it leads to assured disaster. This is the path of MTV and pop culture; of music and hip-hop; of rebellion and generation gap.

‘Generation gap’ is a clever term that aims at giving scientific respectability to rudeness and rebellion. The idea is to create a wedge between generations and make it look acceptable for a young person to be indifferent to any wise counsel from one’s close and well-wishing elders. Which reminds us of the special challenge faced by the youth today. While temptations have always been strong in young age, today the problem is magnified by mega efforts targeting the youth, especially the Muslim youth in the Western world, at all levels including intellectual and philosophical.

A favorite theme of these campaigns is to separate Islam from its culture. When in France, follow the French culture not the Muslim Algerian one, so the argument goes. This argument needs to be carefully deconstructed. Like all clever arguments this one also begins with a bit of truth. It is true that Islam is a universal religion and not restricted to a particular region. It is also true that many Muslim lands, during their period of decline, developed or adopted some cultural practices that were not based in Islam and need to be pruned.

Certainly, not everything that has become accepted social practice in every Muslim country is Islamic. But it is a very long jump from there to conclude that everything being done in the Muslim world is un-Islamic and must be jettisoned. And it is even more bizarre to suggest that the replacement of all that with the pop-culture is just fine.

When Islam reached the lands that today form the Muslim world, it influenced the life style and cultural practices there without forcing a monoculture. For example the wedding practices vary as you move from region to region in the Muslim world. (The picture is complicated by the introduction of many non-Islamic practices there as well.) Yet they also retain common features traceable to Islamic teachings. These include: 1. Marriage is a sacred act and an important religious obligation and not just a means of fulfilling physical needs. 2. While the ultimate decision to marry each other remains with the bride and groom, parental help,

guidance, and support in arranging it is a blessing for them.

The propaganda machine presents this common core of Islamic culture as a great burden, but one only needs to look at the unfortunate millions who are left on their own in the name of freedom, to ascertain the truth. Is it not true that if one were to draw a family-and-home-life-disaster map of the world, it will coincide with a map of the Western world? The distinctly safe area will be the Muslim world, with a gray area within it coinciding with the areas of Westernization. The safeguards and the disaster are built into the underlying cultural values and one cannot do a wholesale exchange of cultural practices without buying into the underlying values and facing the consequences.

Does it mean that all Muslims can aim at is to make mini Pakistans in England or mini Algerias in France? Not at all. Islam allows for growth and adaptation and early Muslims have left great examples of it. Theirs was an example of a natural adjustment that was fully informed by Islamic teachings; it did not damage the underlying values. And it tremendously enriched the new societies. The same healthy adaptation can happen today, with benefits for everyone.

The great task of Muslim youth will be to bring the life-giving message of Islam to wherever they live. With love, dedication, wisdom, and insight. But if you give up all you have, how can you give anything to anyone? • Courtesy: albalagh.net

By Fatima Nadeem Grade 6, Surrey

Kids Korner is a fun way for kids to exercise their brain, build up their imagination with lots of other things while having fun.

By Fatima Nadeem Grade 6, Surrey

Miracle New Stories Series:

Important life lesson from a Donkey!

One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.

Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw.

With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing.

He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

Moral of the story : Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy: 1. Free your heart from hatred Forgive. 2. Free your mind from worries - Most never happens. 3. Live simply and appreciate what you have. 4. Give more.

5. Expect less from people but more from yourself. You have two choices... smile and close this page, or pass this along to someone else to share the lesson

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Rabi ul Thani 21, 1435 H February 21, 2014

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NHL not discussing Discrimination Olympics: 2018 Games Meddling with Muslims in Sochi

The possibility of the NHL players competing in the 2018 Olympics won’t be discussed by the league during the Sochi Games. “It’s not anything we’re focused on dealing with right now,” commissioner Gary Bettman said. Bettman was joined at a news conference Tuesday by NHL Players’ Association executive director Don Fehr and International Ice Hockey Federation president Rene Fasel. “There is nothing like an Olympic gold medal in the life of an athlete,” Fasel said. “Nothing.” Then Bettman interjected: “Except for winning the Stanley Cup.” The league and the union have allowed their players to be in the Olympics since 1998, creating an elite hockey tournament that has become one of the most popular events at the Olympics.

The 2018 Winter Games will be in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and no one knows if NHL players will be there. “None of this moves forward, if it moves forward at all, is if the players don’t want to play,” Bettman said. “If the players ever said, we’re not interested, we’re not going to force them to go.” If NHL players ever did say that, it

would be stunning. They all seem to want to keep having an opportunity to play for gold on the world’s stage every four years. “The Olympic Games is obviously a pinnacle of sports and it represents a lot,” Canadian forward John Tavares said. “I think it’s important we continue to try and find a way to (make it) work. We certainly enjoy coming as players.” While the NHL and NHLPA said a decision about 2018 could be made within six months, both parties didn’t want to be tied to a timetable. “We’ll get a sense of what people are thinking over the next 12, 16 months,” Fehr said after the news conference. “We have our board meeting this summer, and I’m sure it’ll be a topic of some discussion. And then the players either at that point will be able to say, ‘This is what we want to do, go try and make it happen.’ Or, they’re going to say, ‘We want to think about it a little more.’” International competition in hockey isn’t going away, but it might not happen at future Olympics because NHL owners don’t like for at least a couple of reasons. Some NHL owners are not in favor of freezing their season for more than two weeks when they have less competition for fans in the United States.

They’re also wary of putting their well-paid players at risk of injury while playing for their country. “I believe in the not too distant future the NHL and NHLPA will be in a position to talk about other international initiatives that we’re discussing, including bringing back the World Cup,” Bettman said. “We see international competition on the horizon. It’s really just a question of what the format will be.”

Source: ESPN

The possibility of the NHL players competing in the 2018 Olympics won’t be discussed by the league during the Sochi Games. “It’s not anything we’re focused on dealing with right now,” commissioner Gary Bettman said. Bettman was joined at a news conference Tuesday by NHL Players’ Association executive director Don Fehr and International Ice Hockey Federation president Rene Fasel. “There is nothing like an Olympic gold medal in the life of an athlete,” Fasel said. “Nothing.” Then Bettman interjected: “Except for winning the Stanley Cup.” The league and the union have allowed their players to be in the Olympics since 1998, creating an elite hockey tournament that has become one of the most popular events at the Olympics.

The 2018 Winter Games will be in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and no one knows if NHL players will be there. “None of this moves forward, if it moves forward at all, is if the players don’t want to play,” Bettman said. “If the players ever said, we’re not interested, we’re not going to force them to go.” If NHL players ever did say that, it would be stunning. They all seem to want to keep having an opportunity to play for gold on the world’s stage every four years. “The Olympic Games is obviously a pinnacle of sports and it represents a lot,” Canadian forward John Tavares said. “I think it’s important we continue to try and find a way to (make it) work. We certainly enjoy coming as players.” While the NHL and NHLPA said a decision about 2018 could be made within six months, both parties didn’t want to be tied to a timetable. “We’ll get a sense of what people are thinking over the next

12, 16 months,” Fehr said after the news conference. “We have our board meeting this summer, and I’m sure it’ll be a topic of some discussion. And then the players either at that point will be able to say, ‘This is what we want to do, go try and make it happen.’ Or, they’re going to say, ‘We want to think about it a little more.’” International competition in hockey isn’t going away, but it might not happen at future Olympics because NHL owners don’t like for at least a couple of reasons. Some NHL owners are not in favor of freezing their season for more than two weeks when they have less competition for fans in the United States.

They’re also wary of putting their well-paid players at risk of injury while playing for their country. “I believe in the not too distant future the NHL and NHLPA will be in a position to talk about other international initiatives that we’re discussing, including bringing back the World Cup,” Bettman said. “We see international competition on the horizon. It’s really just a question of what the format will be.”

Source: ESPN

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Rabi ul Thani 21, 1435 H February 21, 2014

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More than 100 soldiers killed despite peace efforts: Pak army

Pakistan army recently said more than 100 soldiers had been killed by Taliban militants in the last five months, in a rare admission of mass casualties since the start of government efforts to engage the insurgents in peace talks.

The administration of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who came to power last year promising to negotiate peace with the Taliban, has been trying to engage the militants in talks but these efforts have faltered in past weeks. The lack of progress on peace talks has given rise to speculation that the government, backed by the powerful army, is preparing for a ground and air offensive against Taliban strongholds in the tribal belt on the Afghan border.

Requesting anonymity, security officials told Reuters that 308 civilians, 114 military personnel and 38 police officers had been killed since September 2013, around a time when Sharif convened an all-party conference that unanimously opted for peace talks.

Pakistan army almost never releases numbers of its losses against Taliban insurgents, a group operating separately from its Afghan namesake, and striving to overthrow the Islamabad government and install an Islamic state. Talks between representatives of the Taliban and government officials broke down earlier this week after a series of attacks on security forces claimed by fringe Taliban groups.

The army publicly supports Sharif’s call for talks but in private senior officers have spoke strongly against it, giving rise to talk that the military are waiting for an excuse to mount a major operation against militant strongholds. “An all-out operation is highly unlikely but a targeted operation is unavoidable,” a senior military official said requesting anonymity. “There is a very strong realisation among all stakeholders that the Taliban will just never give up the use of force and so they will have to be dealt with the use of force. We’ve already wasted a lot of time over this charade of peace talks.”

Another intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not

authorised to discuss military operational matters with journalists, said a military operation was in the works. “It will not be carpet bombing,” he said. “But the army is ready for a full onslaught to flush them out.” http://www.thenews.com.pk

Which Shariah allows slitting of prisoners’ throats?

By: Mumtaz Alvi

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Pervaiz Rashid asked the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) which Shariah allowed them to slit the throats of FC men, adding that not a single captive out of 90,000 Pakistani prisoners in India’s custody was slaughtered after the 1971 war.

Talking to media persons in Rawalpindi, the minister said that even India did not resort to the treatment the Taliban meted to the FC soldiers. He asked the Taliban under which Shariah they massacred them (the FC men) and wondered whether what they did was in accordance with Islamic injunctions.

Pervaiz contended if the TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid had any complaint, it

should have been placed before the committee they had formed for talks with the government committee. “But this was not done and instead the FC men taken as prisoners three years ago were murdered,” he lamented.

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The minister said the government also had complaints but first the Taliban would have to answer the questions raised by the government side.

Senator Pervaiz Rashid made it clear that no one should be in any doubt nor have any misunderstanding about the capability of Pakistan’s defence forces, as these had a brilliant record and had been on top in the United Nations peace-keeping forces list.

The minister said that the Pakistani forces that had greatly contributed to restoration of peace in other countries were fully capable of bringing peace back across Pakistan.

About the possibility of launching a military operation against the banned TTP, he said that the government first awaited the answer of the Taliban. They should convey it to their committee, and then it would share with the government committee. He

added any decision about the future course would be made after receiving the Taliban answer.

He maintained that the prime minister had the desire to restore peace in Pakistan without spilling blood and for this purpose, the peace process was launched. To a question, the minister said that the government was in touch with other political parties on key national matters and made it clear that the ruling party was opposed to doing politics on national issues.

About the fate of former military ruler expresident Pervez Musharraf, the minister said that his case was in a court of law and the rule of law would take its course and no one could dodge it. http://www.thenews.com.pk

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We Acknowledge all religious Scholars, (Muftis, Alims, Alimas, Maulanas, lecturers) for their services in the mosques and the larger community which are helping to spread Deen of Islam in British Columbia and Canada.

Qari Abdul Wahib

Imam Ziad Delic

Qari Maulana Zahid Abid

Maulana Suliman Bhamji

Imam Fode Drame

Mufti Shujahat Nadvi

Qari Abdul Rehman

Qari Tayab Qasmi

Imam A.Latif Naumani

Imam Gulam Vali Baji

Mufti Aasim Ali Rashid

Imam Syed B. Soharwardhy

Imam Syed Imroz Dean

Sheikh Nurjan Naqasbandi

Imam Abdulla Mazhar

Maulana Master Shamim

Speaker Illyas Sharif Qadri

Sheikh Murtaza Bachoo

Maulana Shahadhat Hussein

Qari Abdul Aleem

We also Ackknowledge Management Committees, Principals , Academic and administrative Staff of all major Muslim Schools.

The vision of these schools is to cultivate students who become ambassadors of Islam and strive for success in British Columbia or anyother place.

BCMA RICHMOND MUSLIM SCHOOL

IQRA ISLAMIC SCHOOL

BCMA SURREY MUSLIM SCHOOL

AZ ZAHAARA ISLAMIC SCHOOL

Miracle Media also Acknowledges all these Muslim Community representatives who participated in Federal, Provincial and Civic Elections and proved that Muslim community is also active participant of Canadian Politics. Well done, we are looking for more in future.

Dr. Aftab Ahmed Sheikh (Candidate for Councilor 2005

Ch. Ijaz Ahmed Chattha (First School Trusttee Surrey 2008)

Shawkat Hasan Zakir Bokhari (Candidate for School Trusttee 2012) (Candidate for Councilor 2008)

Itrath Syed (Candidate for NDP MP 2004)

Rachid Arab (Candidate for NDP MP 2008)

Marc Mohammad (Candidate for Liberal MP 2008)

Rdhia Benalia Moe Chelali Ali Ahmed Zaidi (Candidate for NDP MLA 2005) (Candidate for Liberal MLA 2009) Candidate for BC vision MLA 2013

The content and pictures above are owned by the Miracle Media and cannot be reproduced without prior permission.

34 THE

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The content and pictures are owned by the Miracle Media and cannot be reproduced without prior permission.

Abdul Aziz Kaki

Ackknowledges all these deceased community members, who served day and night for building up Muslim community in this region. The Miracle Media offers its condolences to their families. We also pray to Almighty Allah(swt) for their mercy, to forgive all their sins and reward them with the best place in paradise and to give patience to the families. (Ameen)

Janif Barka

Col. Shafaat Ali

Salim Bukush

Tyaba Khatoon

Miracle ackknowledges all active community members who have provided community services in past and are still working hard to make communities stronger in British Coulumia

Aftab Alam

Sikander Tayab

Sikander Khan

Sabir Panuun

Hussain Bonjani

Naveed Waraich

Mohammad Afzal Malik

Liaqat Ali Bajwa

Habib Ali Bajwa

Mahmmood Awan

Shams Jilani

Azhar Syed

Malik Talib

Musa Ismail

Mohammad Yasin Bakridi

Immad Ali

Iftikhar Ghumman

Dr. Nair Habib

Dr. Mohammad Iqbal

Azim Dhaya

Jamil Chaudhry

Sadiha Samiullah

Mohammad Shamsi

Salim Khan

Salim Karim

Dr. Babra Rana

Kaniza Ishmail

BCMA Bby Women Chapter

Iqbal Cheema

Feroze Dean

(Top Blood Donor)

Daud Ismail

Mohammad Yasin

Daud Ali

Rizwan Peerzada

Mohammad Yousaf

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Why is our Young Generation not interested in getting married?

This is a very common social problem of our society. Parents are worried about their children’s interest in married life.

What are the reasons behind this hesitation, are they answerable to their parents? Are parents responsible for that?

Think About that!

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PICTURE

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Ackknowledges all our advertisers and sponsors who have been advertising with us on a regular basis for many years.

This is a token of thanks to recgognise them. Unfortunately, we could not accomodate everyone. Below are some of our current business owners, and some of our occassional advertisers who advertise solely or on behalf of their organization.

Ayyaz Shums (A2Z Mortgage) Amandeep Sanghera(Sanghera Law) Mohammad Arshad(Barney`s)

Massood Joomratty(Lawyer)

Nazir Ahmed(Diamond Carpets)

Shoaib Rauf(Notary public)

Daud Qayum( Afghan Chopan)

Sumeet Bains (Bains Travel)

Qamar Abbas(Madina Restaurant) Ibrahim Lajpoori(Zabiah Foods)

Haroon Khan(Allied Insurance)

Soleman Hashmi(Hashmi Law)

Bashrat Ali (Gateway Carpet)

Zafar Iqbal(777 Pizza)

Rauf Khan(Galaxy Travel)

Zafar Khan(Gulberg Restaurant)

Ayyaz Khan(Gulberg Market)

Malik Irfan(Malik Painting)

Shamim Akbar(National Foods)

Basit Khan(Sullivan Pharmacy

Ali Mirza(Lahore Halal Meats)

Sohail Khan(Vancity Tiles)

Khalid .......(Al Watan Rest)

Shahnaz Rehmatullah(Notary) Sultan Badsha(Taqwa Halal Meats)

Mian Saeed(Kabob Palace)

Farrukh Alam(VAP Auto)

Abdul qayyum(OMAX Realtor)

Jameel Ahmed(Remax Realtor)

Shaheem Ali (2%Realty Realtor)

Jalil Khan (Asian Spice)

Zarar Butt(Former Calgary Sweets) Mr & Mrs. Shahid Ch.(Crystal Hall)

Asam Ghani(Sutton W.C.Realtor)

Ahmed(Pakwan House)

Talib Hussain(Surrey Tiles)

Junaid Iqbal(Centuary 21 Realtor)

Imran Alvi(SRS Realtor)

Mohammad Shahab (Pan Palace)

Anwar Pasha UMG Restaurant)

The content and pictures above are owned by the Miracle Media and cannot be reproduced without prior permission.

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