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Volume 11 Issue 295 Dhul Qadah 23, 1432 AH / October 21, 2011 - $1

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Former US Presidents Bush, and Clinton in Surrey: As the paper is

Palestinians celebrate release of prisoners

Muslim Nobel Laureate calls to prosecute Saleh

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have celebrated the homecoming of over 400 prisoners released in the first phase of an agreement brokered with Israel for the exchange of Gilad Shalit, the captured Israeli soldier.

Hamas, which negotiated the exchange, organised a celebration in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday that turned into a show of strength for the Palestinian resistance group that governs the territory and rivals President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party. The joyous crowd crammed into a sandy lot, where a huge stage was set up, decorated with a mural depicting the capture of Shalit at an army base near the Gaza border. Ismail Haniyeh, a senior Hamas official, addressed the crowd that Hamas said numbered over 200,000, praising the kidnap of Shalit as a positive operation that had won the freedom of hundreds of Palestinians. More than 5,000 Palestinians are in Israeli prisons - some for taking up arms against Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian lands, others on what rights groups call questionable charges. In the West Bank, Abbas addressed a crowd of several thousand - praising the released prisoners as “freedom fighters”. Abbas shared a stage with three Hamas leaders in a display of national unity. At one point, the four men raised clasped hands in triumph. Friends and family members wept tears of joy for the released prisoners whom Israel considers “terrorists”, but they regard as “freedom fighters”. Among those arriving in Gaza were prisoners who grew up in the West Bank, but were being deported to Gaza. Israel prevents most movement between the West Bank and Gaza, and restricts movement between cities and towns in the West Bank. Gilad Shalit was handed over to Egyptian officials early on Tuesday at the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, and was then taken by Israeli officials to the Tel Nof air base. In an interview with Egyptian television at Rafah, Shalit said that he hoped that the deal that allowed for his release would help Israelis and Palestinians achieve peace. Palestinians have long argued

being distributed on Oct 20, 500 people will be at the Sheraton Guildford Hotel in Surrey for the annual economic conference by City of Surrey and Business Council of British Columbia. George W. Bush and Bill Clinton will address the conference. Human rights groups including Amnesty International have called for Mr. Bush’s arrest, and Occupy Wall Street-inspired protesters plan a “flash occupation” outside the hotel.

See details of the event in our next issue!

Yemeni Nobel peace laureate Tawakul Karman made an impassioned plea to the United Nations on Tuesday to repudiate a Gulf Arab plan that would grant immunity to her country’s

“war criminal” president. Karman, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with two Liberian women this month, arrived in New York as the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council circulated a draft resolution to the full

15-nation body. That proposal urges the swift “signature and implementation” of the Gulf Arab plan, under which Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh would be immune from prosecution. “We don’t think that the Security Council will be trapped in a resolution that will give immunity to the regime,” said Karman, who dedicated her Nobel prize to the Arab uprisings and to those killed in the upheavals. While it urges implementation of the GCC deal, the draft resolution, obtained by Reuters, would have the council say it “stresses that all those responsible for violence, human rights violations and abuses should be held accountable.” It did not give any details on how accountability would be achieved. The human rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch criticized the immunity deal that is central to the GCC plan as well. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s spokesman Martin Nesirky also rejected the idea of an amnesty for Yemen, saying: “It’s vital that there should be no impunity.” A spokesman for the U.N. human rights office in Geneva said international law prohibits amnes-

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Issue 295 - Dhul Qadah 23, 1432 / October 21, 2011

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p a k i s t a n

Issue 295 - Dhul Qadah 23, 1432 / October 21, 2011

Pakistan: Taliban want peace but must give up arms Pakistan’s interior minister said Tuesday that some members of the Pakistani Taliban have requested peace talks, but the government would only hold such negotiations if they first surren-

dered their arms, reported by AP. The government’s stance raises questions about the prospects for talks, despite a recent peace push by parliament. Security forces have been engaged in a bloody war with Pakistan’s branch of the militant movement over the past several years, and it is unlikely the militants would give up their weapons as a precondition for negotiations in this environment.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said there would be no negotiations with insurgents who “held a Kalashnikov (rifle) in one hand.”

“The minimum agenda is that they must surrender arms and come forward,” Malik said in response to questions by reporters during a visit to Quetta, the capital of southwest Baluchistan province.

Pakistan’s government is under some internal pressure to reach a deal with the insurgents, who are mostly based along the Afghan border and who have declared war on the state.

The country held a meeting of all major political parties at the end of September, in which they agreed that the government must attempt to start peace talks. “Pakistan must initiate a dialogue with a view to negotiate peace with our own people in the tribal areas and a proper mechanism for this to be put in place,” said a resolution issued after the meeting.

The government has cut peace deals with the Pakistani Taliban in the past, but none of them have held. The agreements have been criticized for allowing the militants to regroup and rebuild their strength to resume fighting against the government and troops in Afghanistan.

Malik said his government has received messages from insurgents who want to begin talks, but he refused to give additional details.

There have been reports in the local media that various Pakistani Taliban commanders are interested in peace negotiations, but they could not be confirmed.

It is not entirely clear where Pakistan’s powerful army stands on peace talks with the Taliban. The army has launched several major offensives against the Pakistani Taliban in the tribal region over the past few years, and any talks would need its backing to be successful.

A senior military official said recently that the army is not engaged in any peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban and has not approached the group to enter such negotiations. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

The U.S. has discouraged Pakistan from engaging local Taliban in peace talks in the past, but it’s unclear whether that stance has changed given Washington’s push for negotiation with the Afghan Taliban.

The U.S. has urged Pakistan to use its alleged connections with the Afghan Taliban and their allies to push them to the negotiating table, but have had little success. Analysts say one of the reasons is that Islamabad wants to play a prominent role in the negotiations, but Kabul and Washington are wary of its motives.

PML-N to start ‘Go Zardari Go’ drive from Wednesday Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) has announced to start ‘Go Zardari Go’ campaign from Wednesday to oust the present PPP-regime, reported by Dawn.

The announcement was made by PML-N leader and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan while addressing a party gathering in Kal Syedan Rawalpindi on Tuesday.

Nisar said the campaign would start from Dera Ghazi Khan.

The PML-N, then, will hold protest rally on October 26 in Lahore and will observe protest in Faisalabad on November 4, he maintained.

“PML-N is committed to save the country from Zardari.

We want to bring such a system which will ensure justice for all in the country,” said Chaudhry Nisar.

Nisar claimed that after the Eidul Azha ‘Go Zaradri Go’ movement would be at its peak. He claimed that people

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would support the PML-N, saying that the current PPP was not the PPP of the Bhuttos, “it is PPP of the Zardaris.”

The opposition leader alleged that President Asif Zardari has surpassed former president Musharraf in misdeeds.

He has brought country to the brink of destruction but we are determined to save the country, he added.

PML-N has come to the streets and the whole nation should join hands with it, he appealed.

Unemployment and poverty was rampant in the country and loadshedding had made the lives of masses more miserable, he said.

The country was facing worst energy crisis not due to shortfall of electricity but the government did not want to make payments to power supply companies, he said.

The PML-N staged sit-in against loadshedding earlier and it led to elimination of loadshedding, he added.

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Issue 295 - Dhul Qadah 23, 1432 / October 21, 2011

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i n t e r n a t i o n a l

Issue 295 - Dhul Qadah 23, 1432 / October 21, 2011

B.C. to get 5 more seats in House of Commons: sources

Prime Minister Stephen Harper plans to give Ontario 13 additional seats in the House of Commons, sources told The Canadian Press on Tuesday. That would increase the province’s presence in the Commons to 119 seats from the current 106. But it falls short of the 18 spots Ontario was slated to receive under previous legislation that died when Parliament was dissolved. The bill, which was introduced last spring, would have also given seven more seats to British Columbia and five to Alberta. According to media reports citing sources Tuesday, B.C. will now receive five new seats while Alberta will gain six and Quebec will get two. The federal government has not confirmed any of the new numbers. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty refused to speculate earlier in the day about the number of seats the country’s most populous province could end up with, but suggested that it could be fewer than expected.

McGuinty said he’s reserving his judgment on whether Ontario is being shortchanged until he sees the legislation and the formula the federal Conservatives used. But there is a “broad consensus” on Parliament Hill that Ontario, Alberta and B.C. are under-represented in the Commons, the premier said. The federal New Democrats introduced a bill Tuesday that would give Ontario 18 seats, B.C. seven and Alberta five, as originally proposed by the Tories. But it would also include a proviso guaranteeing Quebec a

minimum of 24.35 per cent of the seats, in perpetuity, regardless of any population decline. The percentage is fixed at Quebec’s proportion of the population at the time that Parliament unanimously approved a 2006 motion recognizing that the Quebecois constitute a nation within a united Canada. How many more seats the NDP’s bill would mean for Quebec won’t be clear until latest census data is released but Christopherson estimated it would be about four.

He acknowledged the NDP has been accused of “pandering to Quebec” on this issue. But he argued that seats in the House of Commons have never been apportioned strictly on a representation by population basis. The smaller Atlantic provinces, Quebec and the North have long been guaranteed more seats than their population warrants. Harper confirmed last week that he was intent on giving Ontario, Alberta and B.C. more seats to reflect population growth, but didn’t say when the legislation might be introduced.

He also said that Quebec’s share would be fair based on its population amid reports that he was delaying seat redistribution legislation past the 2015 election because the Tories fear a backlash in Quebec. Quebec wants a guarantee that it will continue to hold 24 per cent of the chamber’s seats.

It currently has 75 of the 308 seats. Quebec has often argued that its cultural survival within Canada would be compromised by a decline in political clout. Quebec sover-

eigntists have seized on the proposed seat changes, saying the 24 per cent level is a “bare minimum.” Normally, the seating in the House of Commons is adjusted after each census using a complex formula adopted in 1985, but the federal Conservatives have said that formula penalized some regions. The legislation introduced last spring was to have updated the formula to make sure future readjustments help the faster-growing provinces. Without changes to the House of Commons, it was estimated that many ridings in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia would have well above the national average of voters. Pure representation by population is considered almost impossible in Canada because there are guarantees in the system that say no province can have fewer MPs than it has senators. That means Prince Edward Island, with about 141,000 people, is assured of four MPs -- or one for every 35,000 people.

If Ontario receives more seats in the Commons, McGuinty has said he would look at adding a similar number of seats to the provincial legislature to try to maintain the same riding boundaries. Ontario generally mirrors federal ridings for its legislature, although the province maintained one additional northern riding that was wiped out by Ottawa in the last redistribution of Commons seats.

Source: CTV News

UN finds ‘systematic’ torture in Afghanistan A United Nations report has found “compelling evidence” that Afghan intelligence officials at five detention centres “systematically tortured detainees for the purpose of obtaining confessions and information”. In the report published on Monday, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said torture was practised systematically in some Afghan intelligence detention centres and children were among those who had suffered. The report singled out National Directorate Security (NDS) facilities in the provinces of Herat, Kandahar, Khost and Laghman, as well as the national headquarters of the NDS counter-terrorism department in Kabul, the Afghan capital. “Nearly all detainees tortured by the National Directorate Security reported the abuse took place during interrogations and was aimed at obtaining a confession or information,” the report said. The findings were based on interviews, conducted from October 2010 to August 2011, with 379 pre-trial detainees and convicted prisoners at 47 detention centres across the country, the UNAMA said. When asked why ISAF continued to transfer detainees while knowing that torture was taking place in some of the facilities, he answered that “not the entire prison system of Afghanistan is under suspicion, and it is very clear it is in individual facilities in which this mistreatment happened there systemically.” Gareth Porter, an American investigative journalist who writes on US foreign and military policy, told Al Jazeera that, for years, international troops routinely handed detainees over to Afghan intelligence and security forces specifically to be interrogated harshly. Pointing to a report he had published earlier this year, Porter said this practice went back to 2005 and 2006 when US and Canadian forces were conducting large-scale sweeps. “They were picking up hundreds of young Afghans without really knowing who they were and trying to interrogate them to get information from them, but not very successfully,” he said. “What they did was to turn to the Afghan intelligence service and have them interrogated by the Afghans.” The report said ill-treatment and lack of respect for due process had helped foster mistrust in the government and fueled the 10-year Taliban rebellion. Torture is a crime under Afghan and international law. Although the report said there were credible allegations of torture at NDS centres, it noted that the use of torture was not NDS or government policy. The UN said it welcomed being given full access to detainees. In response to the report, Afghanistan’s interior ministry issued a statement that said: “No torture such as electric shock, sexual harassment, or removing of (toe and finger) nails takes place in Afghan police detention centres.” The ministry said it would investigate claims of mistreatment and would introduce “serious reform” if necessary. The NDS issued a similar rebuttal, but stressed that its detention centres were open and free for lawyers, the Red Cross and lawmakers to visit. “The NDS, while welcoming such reports and observations, dismisses torture methods by electric shock, removing nails and sexual harassment mentioned in this report. These claims are not true at all,” it said. Some detainees interviewed for the report described being hung by the wrists from the wall or ceiling. Others gave accounts of being beaten, especially with rubber hoses, electric cables or wires or wooden sticks, on the soles of the feet, the report said. Electric shock, stress positions including forced standing, removal of toenails and threats of sexual abuse were among other forms of torture that detainees reported, it added.

Routine blindfolding and hooding, and denial of access to medical care in some facilities were also reported. The UN documented one death in Afghan custody from torture in Kandahar in April 2011.

Source: Al-Jazeera

Deadly blast hits Somali capital At least four killed as car bomb goes off near foreign ministry building during visit by Kenyan ministers.

Reports of more deaths in Yemeni protest At least seven people have been killed and dozens wounded after armed men loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh opened fire on demonstrators in the Yemeni capital, witnesses say. Residents of Sanaa told Al Jazeera on

Tuesday that several injured people were kidnapped after protesters calling on Saleh to step down were trapped by security forces inside the Al-Qaa neighbourhood. According to the witnesses, armed men loyal to the embattled president had erected tents in the street to block an anti-government march. The protesters came under attack as they marched from Change Square to Al-Qaa, a district where government buildings are located. The latest violence came as the United Nations condemned the killing of peaceful protesters in Yemen.

“We condemn in the strongest terms the reported killing of a number of largely peaceful

protestors in Sanaa and Taez as a result of the indiscriminate use of force by Yemeni security forces since Saturday,” Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said. “We are extremely concerned that security forces continue to use excessive force in a climate of complete impunity for crimes resulting in heavy loss of life and injury, despite repeated pledges by the government to the contrary,” he added. Earlier on Monday, Tawakkul Karman, Yemen’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate, urged the UN to act “immediately and decisively” to halt a deadly government crackdown on protesters. In a letter to Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, she said: “This is the only thing that will give Yemenis... confidence that international justice exists... and that it extends far enough to reach Saleh, his gang and all the despots who continue to kill innocents.” Karman and tens of thousands of other pro-democracy activists have for months been camped out in Sanaa’s Change Square, demanding an end to Saleh’s long rule. The crackdown by government troops on anti-government protests has killed hundreds since the mass protest movement, inspired by uprisings in other countries in the region, began in late January.

Source: Al-Jazeera

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i n t e r n a t i o n a l

Issue 295 - Dhul Qadah 23, 1432 / October 21, 2011

Clinton pledges increased aid for Libya

The US secretary of state has pledged increased support to Libya and and praised Libyans for demonstrating “bravery and determination” in removing Muammar Gaddafi’s government. Speaking in Tripoli on Tuesday, Hillary Clinton said the US was working with Libya to “return frozen assets” and that Washington would “stay focused on security”. “I am pleased to announce that we’re going to put even more money into helping Libya secure and destroy dangerous stockpiles of weapons and the administration, working with congress, is going to provide $40m to support this effort,” she said. Clinton, who said she was “proud to stand on the soil of a free Libya”, added that the US would work with Libya to destroy chemical weapons stocks.

Clinton arrived in Tripoli on an unannounced visit and is the first most senior US official to come to the north African nation since Gaddafi’s 42-year rule ended in August. Clinton’s comments came as fighters belonging to the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) claimed they had captured nearly all of Bani Walid, one of two last remaining strongholds of Gaddafi.

The visit was marked by tight security, reflecting worries that the new rulers have yet to establish full control over the country. “We want to expand our economic co-operation with Libya to create new educational and cultural exchanges and deepen our engagement with civil society,” she said, flanked by senior NTC officials.

“First, we’ll launch this new partnership to provide care to the wounded. It deeply moves us that so many people dropped whatever they were doing to fight for their freedom. “We plan to evacuate some of the most seriously injured to specialised medical facilities in the US. We want to help you care for your patients here in Libya and we’ll work together to establish a modern medical management system.” Clinton said the US was

also focused on young people whom she said had “the most to gain” from the new-found freedom. She said the Fulbright programme would be resumed and its size doubled to permit more Libyan students to study and train in the US. US officials said Clinton’s visit was aimed at cementing a partnership with the new government and helping it steer towards democracy. Clinton, they added, would encourage the NTC to fulfil pledges to move swiftly towards elections. “The important thing is to be able to show the Libyan people that there is momentum,” a senior administration official travelling with Clinton said. The new US contribution will boost Washington’s contribution to Libya since the uprising against Gaddafi began in February to roughly $135m. In her opening remarks, Clinton praised Libyans for fighting Gaddafi’s regime despite major obstacles. “On behalf of the US, I congratulate all Libyans.

It is a great privilege to see a new future for Libya being born,” she said. “And, indeed, the work ahead is quite challenging, but the Libyan people have demonstrated the determination and resolve necessary to achieve their goals. “Libyans were called rats by their own leaders and were confronted by every tactic to break their spirit. But no threats dimmed the courage of the Libyan people. The US was proud to stand with you and we’ll continue to stand with you.

Source: Al-Jazeera

Canada freezes assets of five Iranians over alleged plot Following in the footsteps of the United States and Britain, Canada has frozen the assets of five Iranian nationals accused by Washington of plotting to kill a Saudi ambassador, officials said Tuesday. “In response to credible allegations of the Iranian regime’s involvement in an assassination plot last week, Canada is imposing new sanctions on five Iranian nationals believed to be complicit in its planning,” Foreign Minister John Baird said in a statement. The measures place travel restrictions on the five and ban any Canadian individual or entity from having financial dealings with them. Baird went on to accuse the Iranian regime of “regularly ignoring their obligations under international law” and threatening global peace and security. “They obfuscate Iran’s nuclear activities and they block international attempts to verify the country’s claims. They do so while continuing to violate the human rights of Iranian citizens and undermining regional security,” he said. “This foiled plot is yet more proof of the threat posed by the current Iranian regime. Canada will continue to work with its international partners to pressure the regime to

change its dangerous ways.” Those affected by the Canadian freeze include Manssor Arbabsiar, 56, an Iranian used-car salesman who is a naturalized US citizen living in Texas and was arrested in the United States last week over the plot, the statement said. Another is highranking Revolutionary Guard official Gholam Shakuri, 47, also charged over the plot but who is believed to be in Iran. Qasem Soleimani, Hamed Abdollahi and Abdul Reza Shahlai, who US officials said were senior officers in Iran’s elite special operations Quds Force involved in the plot, have also had their assets frozen, the government said. US authorities froze the assets of the same five individuals one week ago, and Britain also followed suit earlier Tuesday. Authorities in the United States say the plot involved Arbabsiar allegedly trying to contract a Mexican drug cartel to kill the Saudi ambassador, Adel al-Jubeir, possibly through the bombing of a Washington restaurant. Iran has repeatedly denied any involvement and claimed the allegations are politically motivated.

Source: AFP

Nobel : Continued from pg 1

has written to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council demanding their support for peaceful protesters in Yemen and Syria, where a government crackdown on pro-democracy protesters has killed over 3,000 civilians, according to U.N. figures. “We’re here calling on the United Nations to stand up for human rights and democracy, which are the principles it was founded upon,” she said through interpreters. “We came here to tell them that Ali Saleh and (Syrian President) Bashar al-Assad are both criminals and they have to be held accountable and prosecuted,” she said.The 32-year-old journalist and mother of three added that she would not leave New York City until the council takes action against Saleh. “I feel shame that I will be sleeping tonight in a hotel and my people will be sleeping in the streets,” she said. “(But) I will stay in New York until the crimes of Ali Saleh are transferred to the International Criminal Court and until they freeze all his assets.” Karman made clear she only wanted sanctions on Saleh and his close circle, not military intervention

by NATO, as the Security Council authorized for Libya.

But she demanded that the council take Yemen and Syria

ties for gross violations of human rights. “The youth’s peaceful revolution is against the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) initiative, especially because it gives immunity to Saleh and his family,” Karman told reporters at a demonstration near the United Nations, where she was greeted by a cheering crowd of around 150 Yemeni supporters.

Council diplomats told Reuters that they hoped the draft resolution, which was penned by Britain in consultation with France, the United States, Russia and China, would be put to a vote and approved before the end of the week.

In Yemen’s capital Sanaa, at least six people were killed in the capital on Tuesday in an intensifying crackdown by security forces on protesters demanding an end to Saleh’s 33 years in office, witnesses said. That brought the number of people killed to at least 34 over the last four days, along with 100 injured. Russia and China, which vetoed a European-drafted resolution condemning Syria’s crackdown, are not planning to block the Yemen resolution, council diplomats say. Karman read the crowd a letter she

Alleged serial killer charged in slayings of 4 B.C. women Just a few years before he was accused of being British Columbia’s latest serial killer, Cody Alan Legebokoff was known as a well-adjusted, cheerful young man from a good family.

Nearly everyone in the small community of Fort St. James, located about 100 kilometres northwest of Prince George, appears stunned that the 21-year-old athlete could be charged with preying on four women over the last year. Harvey Goff, Legebokoff’s elementary school principal, said he remembers the accused murderer as a “pleasant, hockey-playing fella” who “enjoyed life at school and was liked by most people, or everybody.” “We certainly are quite shocked by the allegations,” Goff said. So is the accused killer’s 79-year-old grandfather, Roy Goodwin. “There was absolutely nothing to tell me that he ever could do anything like that,” Goodwin told CTV News. “I just don’t understand it.” Legebokoff was already in custody in connection with the Nov. 2010 homicide of 15-year-old Loren Donn Leslie when Mounties announced Monday that he was facing three more first-degree murder charges. He’s suspected of killing 35-year-old Jill Stacey Stuchenko, 35-year-old Cynthia Frances Maas and 23-year-old Natasha Lynn Montgomery. Investigators believe he acted alone and used social media to meet women, often going by the handle 1CountryBoy. Insp. Brendan Fitzpatrick said Legebokoff was not known to police. “He had friends in the community, worked in the community and a lot of people are surprised by this,” he said. A court-ordered psychiatric evaluation may provide some answers about the accused killer, says Criminologist Ray Corrado. Corrado said police will look for psychopathic traits, such as the inability to empathize.

“They don’t feel your pain. They actually enjoy it. They don’t feel bad about the pain – that’s probably the most powerful trait of a true psychopath,” he said. Corrado notes that all psychopaths don’t become serial killers, but those who do feel rewarded by the killing. He said serial killers are stereotyped in the media as maniacal but are more often charming and well educated.

“One of the most prolific serial killers in history was a medical doctor in England -- 260 victims. Who would have thought a mild-mannered middle-aged would kill that many patients?” he said. Colonel Russell Williams raped and murdered women while he was a senior Air Force officer. Corrado says serial killers often elaborately plan their attacks and are specific about their victims. If there is a link between Legebokoff’s alleged murders, it’s that his victims were all vulnerable. All of the women struggled with addiction and struggled to fit in to society.

The family of Cynthia Maas issued a statement to media highlighting that fact, calling her “a poster child for vulnerability in our society.” Experts say killers are using new tools like social media and online dating sites to troll for victims simply because people unwittingly put too much personal information about themselves online. A tip line has been set up for any information the public may have about Legebokoff. The number 1-877-9878477 (TIPS). He lived in Lethbridge, Alberta for a short time between June 2008 and Aug. 2009.

Source: CTV News

as seriously as Libya. “We’re calling on them to treat the revolutions in Yemen and Syria just like they did in Libya and Egypt and Tunisia,” she said. “The attacks on peaceful protesters are crimes against humanity,” Karman said. “Just like the civilians and the peaceful protesters were being killed in Libya and Egypt, they are being killed now in Yemen and elsewhere.” Source: Reuters

Palestinan : Continued from pg 1 that no peace agreement could be reached without the release of all Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. Hamas reached a deal with Israel last week for the release 1,027 prisoners in exchange for Shalit, who was captured in 2006 and has since been held in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian prisoners will be released in two phases. Meanwhile, 11 Palestinian prisoners, including one woman, have arrived in Ankara from Cairo. Turkey had said it was ready to host some of the released Palestinian detainees along with Qatar and Egypt. Source: Al-Jazeera

7

e d i t o r i a l

Issue 295 - Dhul Qadah 23, 1432 / October 21, 2011

WHERE ARE THE MUSLIM CANDIDATES?

As many of you may know, BC Civic Elections 2011 are scheduled to take place next month on November 19th. Voters from across the province will take to the polls and select officials open municipal positions.

The candidates you elect in this upcoming election will decide upon critical and significant issues facing the cities, ranging from the economy and unemployment to education and public safety. Given the fact that Civic Elections hold such great importance with respect to the growth and prosperity of each city, it is shocking to note that there is an alarmingly low presence of South Asian specially Muslims candidates in such races. Within the past 40 years, only few South Asian candidates have ever been elected into civic office. Much of the activity comes from the past five years as the South Asian community sprung in action. In the Muslim community, we have seen candidates like Dr. Aftab Sheikh, Mrs. Nasima Nastoh and Mr. Ijaz Chatha in Surrey. Mr. Chatha was elected as first Muslim School Trustee of Surrey in 2008 and he is running again for this seat in 2011 from Surrey Civic Coalition team. The community is hopeful that Muslim candidates will come forth in other cities too.

At the same time, while the presence of few female South-Asian candidates within the civic electoral race is encouraging, it is certainly not sufficient. Considering the fact that the South Asian community is the second largest visible minority in Lower Mainland and possesses a population of nearly 210,000 citizens, the disproportionate scarcity of South Asian electoral candidates among the nomination slate is inadequate. Furthermore, the glaring absence of legitimate Muslim candidates within much civic election in Greater Vancouver is equally discouraging when one

considers the fact that the Muslim population in GVRD is estimated at over 72,000 and is expected to triple by 2031.

So what seems to be the issue? Why is there such a large absence of Muslim candidates within the electoral slates every year? This is an incredibly critical and significant social and political predicament that must be addressed and overturned by each and every Muslim citizen living in GVRD. There are a wide range of diverse and multi-faceted issues affecting the Muslim community as a whole, and it is our right and duty as citizens of this country to fight for issues that affect us and enact change in our streets, neighborhoods, and communities. When we fail to actively engage and participate in the democratic system, we lose the right to complain when situations begin to deteriorate. The Muslim community, much like the South-Asian community as a whole, must become more politically active and make the first move towards a greater role within the political realm of major cities of the province of British Columbia.

More specifically, it is crucially important that both Muslim women and Muslim youth living in Lower Mainland become more actively engaged in the electoral process and politically-conscious of the issues affecting their city. First and foremost, the Muslim community must show a greater interest in voting. For example in the city of Vancouver’s 2008 Civic Election, voter turnout was estimated at only 30.8%, it is hard to believe, but this is actually a decrease from the 2005 Civic Election which brought in only 32% voter turnout. This blatant lack of interest and participation in the electoral process is unjustifiable and inexcusable. Every eligible Muslim voter in BC must vote in the Civic Election- end of story! Muslim women and youth should be

L E T T E R S

Form of adaptation By: Mehboob Hajee, Surrey I fully agree with your new reader, that we must learn to adapt.

Although we have adapted somewhat to the new society (Canada), we still have a long way to go. For example, we are not allowed to say Adhan out loud so as to disturb the neighbours, so we say Adhan INSIDE the masjids instead. That is one form of adaptation. But we could do more.

For instance, the Hijab, no where does it say that women must cover themselves up to such an extent and only have two slits for the eyes. That is merely someone’s interpretation. But the Muslima can cover her head and ears with a Tuque. Now that we are approaching winter, many non-Muslims will be wearing the tuque, and if a Muslima wears one also, she will blend in the crowd.

When we refuse to blend with the crowd and show off our culture and heritage, are when we stand out from the crowd and are targets for hate crimes. If those Muslim women in Quebec had worn

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tuques instead of the hijab, they probably would not have been fined.

In the hot weather, we can make tuques out of cotton so as not to be too hot for the wearer. If a Muslima wears the warm tuque outdoors and a cotton one indoors at work, she can always give the excuse that it is too cold for her to remove it.

With the on spread of Islamaphobia, it is ever more necessary to blend in rather than stand out as being different.

We must learn something from the Jews who have successfully blended in with whatever culture they find themselves in. For example, Jews in a Spanish speaking country will often have Spanish names like Carlos instead of the typical Jewish name like Moshin.

I challenge anyone to spot a Jew in a crowd (e.g. Skytrain); unless the person is wearing anything that signifies that culture, such as a skull cap or the Star of David, it will be difficult to do so.

&

particularly involved as they face uniquely critical issues from tuition fees and unemployment to women’s health issues and childcare reform. While these two demographic groups are most often left unheard by most political candidates, it is imperative that you make sure that your voice is heard and that your concerns are addressed by those who make critical decisions on our behalf at city council.

Along with the act of voting, the Muslim community must also look towards engaging in the campaign process itself. There are a wide variety of avenues through which Muslim youth, men and women can get involved in the political process.

One can choose to volunteer for specific election campaigns, mail out flyers, put up signs, compile voter lists, make phone calls, assist at local events, and help in fundraising activities. Many campaigns these days even prefer youth volunteers to manage and assist their social media outreach teams and deliver their message through outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Youtube. The beauty of such a system is that it is simple- examine a candidate that you believe in, educate yourself regarding their platform, call their local campaign office or visit their website and get involved.

You do not require a political background to join campaigns and it is an excellent way to not only meet creative leaders and volunteers, but to learn more about your own community and the issues it faces.

The final and most effective way in which the Muslim community in BC can get involved in the political system is to run for political office itself. There is no lack of educated, driven, charismatic, and inspirational Muslim leaders over here in community who can intelligently, creatively, and confidently lead in the city councils. It is time for us to wake up as a community

MAKE SURE your voice is heard, go out and VOTE on November 19th 2011!

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

O P I N I O N S

Senate Reform By: Balwant Sanghera, Richmond Prime Minister Stephen Harper, with his majority, is well poised to reform the Canadian Senate. It has already generated a healthy discussion on the subject. There are two major issues that have come to the forefront in this regard. First, growing provinces like BC and Alberta are grossly under represented in the Senate with only six seats each. Second, the appointment of senators elected by the provinces might somehow give the Senate a sense of legitimacy and subsequently more clout. Some of the academics including former Liberal leader Stephane Dion fear that the proposed changes by Harper will make the upper chamber more powerful.

These are very genuine concerns. There is no doubt that these reforms don’t go far enough. However, they are a step in the right direction. It is about time that this chamber of sleepy second thought gets a wake up call.

In its current form, the senate is not only undemocratic but also useless and a waste of taxpayers’ money. With the exception

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,

and realize that we have what it takes to deliver effective and positive change within our own community in Vancouver, Surrey, Richmond, Delta, Victoria, Abbotsford and other cities of BC province. We can no longer sit back and allow the status quo to persist- we must take a chance and put forward Muslim candidates, from our own communities, who understand our needs and concerns, and who will fight for our rights. Unfortunately, the deadline for candidate nominations for the November 19th Civic Election has already passed. However, British Columbia’s Provincial Elections will be taking place in May 2012, and this is the perfect opportunity for the Muslim community to take political initiative, reach out, and present potential candidates for provincial office. You can visit the Province of British Columbia’s official websites for further information.

It is imperative that the Muslim community in British Columbia as a whole, become much more politically-active and engaged in the electoral system. It a democratic right that countless people around the world are violently prohibited from exercising and one that millions of people in the past have fought and died for. It would be a real shame and disservice to waste such a valuable and significant civic responsibility due to a flawed sense of apathy, indifference, or laziness. At the end of the day, these are issues that affect you, your family, your neighbors, and your community-

of a few Senators, it has become a repository of old, tired and failed politicians and party loyalists. In order to make the senate equally representative regionally, elected and effective, it will require a constitutional amendment, which is almost impossible under the present conditions.

Harper’s proposal to have the Canadian voters elect the people to fill the vacancies in the senate is a step in the right direction. Also, limiting the term of Senators to nine years makes sense. It will ensure that there is on-going renewal. In this process, sometime in the future, all of the Senators appointed by the Prime Minister would have been elected by Canadians.

The question of more appropriate representation from the Western provinces is more complex that must be addressed before long. It is unacceptable that two of Canada’s fastest growing provinces-BC and Alberta- should continue to be under represented indefinitely. Eventually, Canadians need an upper house of sober, elected, equitable and effective second thought. In the meantime, Harper’s proposal deserves serious consideration.

We need to start somewhere in order to address this issue.

Letters : Continued to pg 18 IMPORTANT NOTE: 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.

Mr Aslam Hayat, Azhar Syed, Mr. Shams Siddiqui, M.A.L. Naumani Written Contribution: Tariq Main, Ayub Hamid & Rubab Abid (Toronto), Shamim Karim, Alam Aara, Gulshan Aalani, Shabnam Khan Graphic Design: Design Teams Copyright ® 2001 Miracle Media Group Inc. All Rights Reserved Printed in Canada

Attention: The opinions expressed herein contain positions and viewpoints that are not necessarily 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.’

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

Contents

Editorial & Letters Int. News Local Articles Interview Faith Politics Lifestyle Health Youth Sports Urdu

7 5,6 14,20 18, 19 21, 41 8 20 24 25 26 27 28-44

8

f a i t h

Issue 295 - Dhul Qadah 23, 1432 / October 21, 2011

Short History of Hajj

Hajj literally means ‘to set out for a place’.

Islamically however it refers to the annual pilgrimage that Muslims make to Makkah with the intention of performing certain religious rites in accordance with the method prescribed by the Prophet Muhammad .

Hajj and its rites were first ordained by Allah in the time of the Prophet lbrahim [Abraham] and he was the one who was entrusted by Allah to build the Kaba - the House of Allah - along with his son Ismail [Ishmael] at Makkah. Allah described the Kaba and its building as follows: “And remember when We showed Ibrahim the site of the [Sacred] House [saying]: Associate not anything [in worship with Me and purify My House for those who circumambulate it [i.e. perform tawaaf] and those who stand up for prayer and those who bow down and make prostration [in prayer etc.].”

[Surah Al-Hajj 22:26] After building the Kaba, Prophet Ibrahim would come to Makkah to perform Hajj every year, and after his death, this practice was continued by his son. However, gradually with the passage of time, both the form and the goal of the Hajj rites were changed.

As idolatry spread throughout Arabia, the Kaba lost its purity and idols were placed inside it. Its walls became covered with poems and paintings, including one of Jesus and his mother Maryam and eventually over 360 idols came to be placed around the Kaba.

During the Hajj period itself, the atmosphere around the sacred precincts of the Kaba was like a circus. Men and women would go round the Kaba naked, arguing that they should present themselves before Allah in the same condition they were born. Their prayer became devoid of all sincere remembrance of Allah and was instead reduced to a series of hand clapping, whistling and the blowing of horns. Even the talbiah [1] was distorted by them with the following additions: ‘No one is Your partner except one who is permitted by you.

You are his Master and the Master of what he possesses’.

Sacrifices were also made in the name of God. However, the blood of the sacrificed animals was poured onto the walls of the Kaba and the flesh was hung from pillars around the Kaba, in the belief that Allah demanded the flesh and blood of these animals.

Singing, drinking, adultery and other acts of immorality was rife amongst the pilgrims and the poetry competitions, which were held, were a major part of the whole Hajj event. In these competitions, poets would praise the bravery and splendor of their own tribesmen and tell exaggerated tales of the cowardice and miserliness of other tribes.

Competitions in generosity were also staged where the chief of each tribe would set up huge cauldrons and feed the pilgrims, only so that they could become well-known for their extreme generosity.

Thus the people had totally abandoned the teachings of their forefather and leader Prophet Ibrahim. The House that he had made pure for the worship of Allah alone, had been totally desecrated by the pagans and the rites which he had established were completely distorted by them. This sad state of affairs continued for nearly two and a half thousand years. But then after this long period, the time came for the supplication of Prophet Ibrahim to be answered: “Our Lord! Send amongst them a Messenger of their own, who shall recite unto them your aayaat (verses) and instruct them in the book and the Wisdom and sanctify them.

Verily you are the ‘Azeezul-Hakeem [the All-Mighty, the All-Wise].”

[Surah Al-Baqarah 2:129] Sure enough, a man by the name of Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullaah was born in the

cation of how much faith they had in Allah. very city that Prophet Ibrahim had made this supplication centuries earlier. For twen- However Allah told mankind that to have sufficient provisions for the journey was ty-three years, Prophet Muhammad spread one of the preconditions for making Hajj. the message of Tawheed [true monotheism] He said: - the same message that Prophet Ibrahim Narrated Abu Huraira: “And take a provision [with you] for the and all the other Prophets came with - and Allah’s Apostle said, journey, but the best provision is at-Taqwaa established the law of Allah upon the land.

“There is a Sadaqa to be (piety).”

He expended every effort into making the given for every joint of the [Surah al-Baqarah 2:197] word of Allah supreme and his victory over human body; and for every In this way, all the pre-Islamic practices, falsehood culminated in the smashing of day on which the sun rises which were based on ignorance, were the idols inside the Kaba which once again there is a reward of a Sadabolished and Hajj was once more made became the universal center for the woraqa (i.e. charitable gift) for a model of piety, fear of Allah, purity, shippers of the one True God. the one who establishes jussimplicity and austerity. Now, when the Not only did the Prophet rid the Kaba of tice among people.” pilgrims reach the Kaba, they no longer find all its impurities, but he also reinstated all the carnivals and the frolic and frivolity that the rites of Hajj which were established by Sahih Bukhari - Volume 3, had once occupied the minds of the pilgrims Allah’s Permission, in the time of Prophet Book 49, Number 870 there before. Now, there is the remembrance Ibrahim. Specific injunctions in the Quran of Allah at every step and every action and were revealed in order to eliminate all the ner of the Prophet Muhammad . Aameen. false rites which had become rampant in the every sacrifice was devoted to Him alone. pre-Islamic period. All indecent and shame- It was this kind of Hajj that was worthy of Footnotes the reward of paradise, as the Prophet said: ful acts were strictly banned in Allah’s 1 Labbaik Allahumma labbaik... (Here I am present, O’ “The reward for an accepted Hajj is nothing God, I am present...) This is the chant which the pilgrims statement: say when they are traveling for pilgrimage. less than paradise.”

“There is to be no lewdness nor wrangles May Allah grant us all the ability to visit during Hajj.”

His House and perform the Hajj in the man- Source: Invitation to Islam [Surah al-Baqarah 2:197] Competitions among poets in the exaltations of their forefathers and their tribesmen’s achievements were all stopped.

Instead, Allah told them: “And when you have completed your rites [of Hajj] then remember Allah as you remember your forefathers; nay with a more vigorous remembrance.”

We undertake to do QURBANI 2011 in Barmer & Bhaap in [Surah al-Baqarah 2:200] Rajasthan, and Mewat and Harpur Near Delhi.

Competitions in generosity were also prohibited. Of course, the feeding of the poor pilgrims was still encouraged as this was We have studied these areas where people do not eat Meat done during the time of Prophet Ibrahim but unless we do Qurbani, Aqeeqa Or Sadaqah there.

Allah commanded that the slaughtering of This Year a Beef or Bison will cost the animals which was done for this purpose should be done seeking the pleasure of Allah rather than fame and the praise of the people. He said: “So mention the name of Allah over these Please Book early to save last minute rush animals when they are drawn up in lines.

Then, when they are drawn on their sides Phone any of the Following Brothers [after the slaughter], eat thereof and feed To accept your Qurbani: the beggar who does not ask, and the beggar who asks.”

ADAM BUKSH 604 596-7865, MAULVI GHULAM BAJI 604 593 8909 [Surah al-Hajj 22:36] MUMTAZ ALI 604 590-4752, SIKANDER TAYOB 604 543-7860 As for the deplorable practice of spattering DAUD BUKSH 604 590 6332, IRSHAD ALI BOBBY 604 594 7869 blood of the sacrificed animals on the walls SAIYAD IQBAL ALI 604 537 3943 of the Kaba and hanging their flesh on alters, then Allah clearly informed them that: “It is neither their meat nor their blood that RAJASTHAN WATER-WELL AND ORPHANAGE SOCIETY reaches Allah, but it is Taqwaa (piety) from 7867 124 A STREET, SURREY BC V3W 8P1 you that reaches Him.” 604 596 7865 [Surah al-Hajj 22:37] The Prophet also put a stop to the practice of circling the Kaba in a state of nudity and the argument that the pagans put forward to justify this From October 21-Nov 4, 2011 (Dhul Qadah 23- Dhul Hajah-8, 1432H) ritual was sharply rebutted D.Qadah Isha Oct Day Fajar Sunrise Zawa1 Dhuhr Asr Maghrib in Allah’s question: 23 Fri 6:01 7:41 12:57 01:04 4:23 7:46 21 6:15 “Say: Who has forbid24 Sat 6:02 7:42 12:57 01:04 4:22 7:44 22 6:13 den the adornment [i.e.

25 7:44 12:57 01:04 4:20 7:43 23 Sun 6:04 6:11 clothes] given by Allah which He has produced 26 7:46 12:56 01:03 4:18 7:41 24 Mon 6:05 6:10 for His Slaves?”

27 Tue 6:07 7:47 12:56 01:03 4:17 7:39 25 6:08 [Surah al-A’raaf 7:32] 28 7:49 12:56 01:03 4:15 7:38 26 Wed 6:08 6:06 Another custom which 29 7:50 12:56 01:03 4:13 7:36 was prohibited through 27 Thu 6:10 6:04 the Quran was that of setD.Hajj 1 Fri 6:11 7:52 12:56 01:03 4:12 7:35 28 6:02 ting off for Hajj without 2 Sat 6:12 7:54 12:56 01:03 7:33 29 4:10 6:01 taking any provisions 3 7:55 12:56 01:03 4:08 7:31 30 Sun 6:14 5:59 for the journey. In the pre-Islamic period, some 4 7:57 12:56 01:03 4:07 7:30 31 Mon 6:15 5:57 people who claimed to *5 Tue *5:17 *6:58 *11:56 *12:03 *3:05 1 *4:56 *6:29 be mutawakkiloon (those 6 Wed 5:18 7:00 11:56 12:03 6:27 2 3:04 4:54 having complete trust in 7 7:02 11:56 12:03 3:02 6:26 3 Thu 5:19 4:52 Allah) would travel to perform Hajj begging for 8 Fri 5:21 7:03 11:56 12:03 3:01 6:24 4 4:51 food through the whole *Day light Saving- Source: Masjid al-Noor journey. They considered this form of behavior a sign of piety and an indi-

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Issue 295 - Dhul Qadah 23, 1432 / October 21, 2011

10

Issue 295 - Dhul Qadah 23, 1432 / October 21, 2011

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11

Issue 295 - Dhul Qadah 23, 1432 / October 21, 2011

12

Issue 295 - Dhul Qadah 23, 1432 / October 21, 2011

Congratulations!

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Issue 295 - Dhul Qadah 23, 1432 / October 21, 2011

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l o c a l

Issue 295 - Dhul Qadah 23, 1432 / October 21, 2011

Labaik Allahuma Labaik ! Muslims of BC prepare to leave for Hajj

BC Celebration was in the air on Friday, October 14th as Falcon Travel hosted a Final departing Hajj seminar/dinner for the 2011 Hajjis at Masjid Al-Salaam in Burnaby. Over 150 people were in attendance which included Hajjis leaving this year, those who performed Hajj in previous years, individuals from the community who wanted more information on Hajj, respective board members of the BCMA, Mufti Aasim Rashid of the BCMA Surrey Branch and Maulana Zafar Abid.

Also in attendance from Falcon Travel’s head office in London, ON was Br. Alaa Elkholy, President of Falcon Travel.

Takbeer! Allah Hu Akbar! Were the chants as the passports with issued Hajj visa’s were handed back to the new Hajjis along with their exclusive Hajj kits.

Many tears of happiness were shed as the 2011 Hajjis were reminded that they had been chosen by Allah out of 1.6 billion Muslims around the globe to be guests at Allah’s house, Baitullah.

Its wonderful to see the glow and excitement on the faces of these Hajjis, we are extremely fortunate to be serving the Muslims across Canada in fulfilling this important pillar of Islam stated Br. Fawad Kalsi, Vice

president of Falcon Travel. He went on to say that Falcon Travel would like to thank the Muslim community of BC for the overwhelming support and for choosing Falcon Travel to serve them for Hajj and Umrah.

The VIP service provider has been operational since 1981 and has recently expanded its services to Western Canada since 2009. In 2009, 36 Hajji’s performed Hajj with Falcon in the west with 90 in 2010. Br. Kalsi confirmed that this year the numbers from the west had reached 138 Hajjis.

“The Muslims in the West have really enjoyed performing Hajj with Falcon Travel and it shows with the growth year over year”. Overall, Falcon Travel serves over 400 Hajjis across Canada every year.

The Falcon Travel team wishes everyone a Hajj Mabroor (an accepted Hajj).

The first group of Hajji’s leaves Friday, October 21

Attention Surrey & Richmond Jamiah Mosque Visitors!

The Miracle Media Group has been serving the community for almost 11 years. The management has kept and maintained newspaper boxes at the entrances of the Mosques entrances for the facility of Miracle’s readers to avoid violation of any regulations by the mosques. It also keeps the newspapers to be scattered around the place by wind and other elements and inadvertently, creating a problem on Mosque premises. We also avoid forcefully distributing the copies in your hands and leave it on your discretion to pick up the copy at your convenience without disrespecting Islamic literature and pictures. Therefore, we request all of you to continue using the newspaper boxes to obtain a copy of your favorite newspaper.

We have also recently received complaints from quite a number of readers that distributor of Canada Times newspaper has been using the top of Miracle’s distribution boxes for the placement of their newspaper and by standing in front of these boxes, the distributors are causing problems for readers in accessing the Miracle’s boxes.

We have notified the management of Canada Times about this complaint and have asked them to take appropriate corrective actions to rectify this situation. Such unethical behavior is hurting us and our readers whether it is unintentional or not and we hope to see it resolved soon.

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Program will InshaAllah begin with Welcoming of Hajjaj e Karam of 1432 H (2011).

Dates for Preliminary selection rounds and further details will be announced in the next edition.

The main purpose of this religious program is to promote interest in memorization of Holy Quran and role of Huffaz Karam in our community.

Main Sponsor: Afghan Chopan Restaurant and Banquet Hall Other Sponsors: - Falcon Travel, Aisha Islamic Books and Crafts Centre - Bullay Shah Academy of Canada, Galaxy Travel

Please contact us if you wan to be a sponsor.

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Issue 295 - Dhul Qadah 23, 1432 / October 21, 2011

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16

local

Issue 295 - Dhul Qadah 23, 1432 / October 21, 2011

Surrey Toastmasters hold Humorous and Table Topic Speech Contest On October 6, Six Toastmaster clubs in Surrey gathered at Progressive Intercultural Community Services Society (PICS) Head Office, Surrey, to hold their Area 65 Humorous & Table Topics Speech contests, with the winners from each club competing for area level honors.

Toastmasters International empowers people to achieve their full potential and realize their dreams. Through our member clubs, people throughout the world can improve their communication and leadership skills, and find the courage to change. Contest Chair for Humorous Speech Contest was Area 65 Governor Ravi Grewal and Contest Chair for Table Topic Session was Division ‘F’ Governor Mr. Jamie MacDonald. Chief Judge for Humorous Speech was PICS Toastmasters Club President Barry Goodwin and Chief Judge for Table Topic Session was Area 50 Governor Azhar Khan. Other volunteers who participated in this contest as volunteers were Susma Arora, Gurjinder

Kang, Sukh Dhaliwal, Shahemah Kalaichelvan and Jasvir.

The Humorous Speech Contest opened with the contest chair address, and moved into the competition, consisting of three contestants: Amita Brar, Ken Bar and Sula. These contestants were the club contest winners, and now were competing at area level. The best speaker moves onto the division level, then district level. The best humor speaker was DTM Ken Barr, member of Speakers Advantage Toastmasters of BC Toastmasters, since last 27 years.

The Table Topic Contest opened with the contest chair address, and moved into the competition, consisting of three contestants: Corinne White, Gurmeet Singh and David Feldhause. These contestants were the best Table Topic Speakers among their club and now were competing at the area level. The best speaker goes to division level, then district level. The best table topic speaker was David Feldhause, who is also an active member of Surrey Business

Friends Toastmasters. “Mankind’s progress is indivisibly related to his ability to communicate effectively, hence, the toastmasters’ fraternity around the globe is doing pioneering service to society, by developing the communication and leadership skills of its members”, said Azhar Khan. Winners will represent the Area 65 at the division level contest on October 20th, which will be conducted as part of District 21 (BC) Toastmasters Annual Fall Conference. Azhar Khan gave a vote of thanks.

An evening with Jamshed Masroor hosted

by Jang Canada/Diversity Reporter

By: Diversity Reporter “The Twain Shall Meet”. On October 5, an East-meetsWest multicultural evening was hosted by Urdu Weekly Jang and Diversity Reporter Magazine, featuring a presentation by the award-winning Pakistani-Norwegian poet Jamshed Masroor on at Al-Madina Restaurant Surrey.

A large number of audience attended the beautiful poetry event. Jamsheed recited his poetry from his new book.

This book was translated by Elisabeth Sandberg, a professor at Woodbury University in California. At the end of event Mohsin Abbas, Publisher Diveristy Reporter thanked the audience and sponsors of the event. Malik Afzal, from

Canada Urdu Association, Judith Anderson, representing the Scandinavian Cultural Society, Elisabeth Sandberg from Woodbury University, Burbank, CA, the Scandinavian Cultural Society (Vancouver) and Volunteers from Norwegian House Society of the Scandinavian Community Centrehas generously provided support for the event.

Stein Gudmundseth, Honorary Consul General for Norway, in Vancouver and Paul Ridout, Honorary Consul General for Norway were unable to attend the event due to short notice but they greatly appreciated Diversity Reporter Media’s interest in, and promotion of, the works of Jamshed Masroor.

CONGRATULATIONS! Ali Suleman Syed, son of Captain M. Suleman Mahtab, graduated as a Mechatronics (joint mechanical+electronics) engineer with distinction from Simon Fraser University. Ali and his classmates are the first group of graduates from this one of a kind engineering program in Canada. The Miracle congratulates Ali and his parents and wish him the very best in future.

Old Age Benefits Forum in Taj B.Hall Surrey on Oct 15

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17

Issue 295 - Dhul Qadah 23, 1432 / October 21, 2011

TH

7 CWCN WOMEN’S CONFERENCE EID-UL-ADHA - A DAY OF THANKSGIVING TO ALLAH SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2011 @ 1:30 P.M. COME AND LISTEN TO WOMEN SPEAKERS ON DIVERSE TOPICS: x CELEBRATING EID-UL-ADHA IN A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY – DR SYEDA x A THANKFUL LIFE - DR. MALEK MOOSA x ROLE OF YOUTH IN COMMUNITY BUILDING YOUTH SPEAKERS WILL SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCE IN COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP x BRIDGING CULTURES – SUE HAMMELL, MLA

Venue: City Centre Library Room # 120 10350 University Drive Surrey BC V3T 4B8 For more information please call: Dr. Syeda at 778-859-9164 Shama Bajwa at 604-507-1815 / Shabnam Khan at 604-720-8095 Farah Khan at 604-619-2922 / Nazia at 778-863-2584 REFRESHMENTS WILL BE SERVED!

18

Issue 295 - Dhul Qadah 23, 1432 / October 21, 2011

letters

L E T T E R S

No public holidays in Japan!

By: Mehboob Hajee, Surrey Here we go again, another dreary statistic thrown at us due to the long week end.

Not only that, but the Premier has added another one during the midst of winter, giving more opportunities to the drunks on the road to do their carnage, at a time when the roads are the most dangerous. The Japanese have the right idea. There are NO public holidays in Japan. Instead, every three months, the workers get one full week off. This way, there are 4 weeks off during the year. This is a combination of annual vacation time and “public holidays” all rolled into one, or rather, four. As in any country where some industries are open during holidays (e.g. health care, restaurants, etc.), some workers may elect to take time off before the holiday week, some during and some, after.

Consider the advantages of this system: Since people get paid part vacation, part public holiday, they will be more careful how they use that time. Instead of getting drunk and causing carnage, most people will spend the time wisely. Granted there will always be some hard-core drunks, but that will be the case with any system.

With nine days available instead of three, people can now afford to travel to distant parts of the country to visit their relatives and friends those three days could not justify.

Immigrants who seek work traditionally only get jobs that have a high rate of employee turnover, such as fast foods, gas stations, etc., since their credentials are not recognized. In the current system, the newcomer has to work one full year to get any time off, with the exception of a public holiday here or there.

Since most of them cannot survive the year, they cannot get adequate rest before jumping to the next job. This leads to burn out. In the Japanese system, he / she automatically

&

qualify for one week off with pay.

Workers who wait for one full year to take their vacation, in the current system only get two weeks off; in the new system, they get 4 weeks off. They can now take a decent vacation (e.g. African safari) instead of two weeks at nearby resorts. By waiting two years, they accumulate a whopping 8 weeks time off!

If we implemented such a system here, we could have one week off from 25 Dec to 1 Jan.; next could be the week of Easter; next could be the first week of July (Canada Day), and lastly the week of Thanksgiving. This would incorporate most of the important public holidays in the status quo.

Protesters got me wondering By: M. Hajee, Surrey The recent spate of “Occupy...” by the protesters got me wondering. It is we, the consumers that made the corporations rich in the first place by giving them our business. One of the protesters was angry at the supermarket chain.

No body forced the consumer(s) to patronize any particular supermarket. My wife and I discovered a long time ago that certain exotic fruits (such as figs, custard apples, rambutan, chikoo) and vegetables are either more expensive at the supermarkets or even unavailable, compared to the ethnic food stores. Indeed, some vegetables are fresher at these stores than the supermarket chains. As such, we only go the supermarket at the end of our trip to “top up” what we could not find elsewhere.

Suppose that if half of all consumers in Surrey boycotted the supermarkets and patronized the smaller stores instead. What would happen to the prices at the supermarkets?

They would be forced to lower the price or risk throwing out half their inventory as spoilt.

Similarly with other items such as clothes, staples such as rice and pasta, flour, soaps and

O P I N I O N S hygiene products, etc.

I realize we cannot boycott certain businesses (e.g. all gas stations); but we can be selective in where to give our hard earned cash.

Why did the consumers in New York, Europe, and elsewhere not adopt that strategy instead of protesting in front of the corporate headquarters on a Saturday? Boycotting sends a much more powerful message than mere banners and slogans.

but they are not. It’s not a uni-polar world any more. American influence is dwindling and dwindling fast.

Community Link

By Laurence Greeff SCC candidate for school trustee Thank you to SCC school trustee Ijaz Chatha for raising the issue of Community Link funding. He is absolutely right when he points out the unfairness of how Community Link funding is distributed in this province.

By: Zaheer Ali Manki, Surrey The purpose of the Community Link funding The American desperation over its internal is to support the most vulnerable students problems with economy and Occupy Wall in the system. Those students who come to Street Movement has reached such heights school hungry, struggle with difficult probthat it has started to create false diversions. lems at home and who need that extra support The story that Iran military had hired a to help them build a stable future. What kind divorced 56 year old Iranian-American used of government says that a Surrey child in that car sale man from Texas to hire a hit man circumstance is worth less than a Vancouver from a Mexican drug cartel to assassinate the or Victoria child in a similar situation?

Saudi ambassador by blowing up a bomb in a Why is it that the per capita funding for a crowded restaurant in Washington defies log- struggling child in Surrey is $58.47 while in ic. This is pure propaganda. The notion that Victoria it is $200.57? What would motivate Iran’s potential targets in its own backyard this unfairness? were not enough, and that its Quds Force was What amazes me the most is that the majortherefore compelled to carry out a tangled ity of Surrey Trustees, with the exception of plot on American soil seems far-fetched.

Ijaz Chatha, appear to have been doing very With the evolving recent events in the Middle little to bring this to light. Why are they not east, Iran has emerged as an undeniable pow- standing up for Surrey’s fair share? er broker particularly with the elimination of It’s time for a change. We need trustees who Saddam Hussain in Iraq and Afghan Taliban will strongly advocate for our most vulnerRegime in Afghanistan. Tehran’s political and able students. economic sway is now greater than ever. Iran We need trustees who will make sure that has gained a stature and is not desperate for Surrey students are treated equitably. drastic measures.

Surely, if this government claims to put Although nothing has been conclusively families first, then how come the children proven as yet, with the mind boggling incom- of struggling families in Surrey come last. petence, Hillary Clinton has targeted Irani Why should the families and children in Surbanks and the national airline for sanctions. rey have to take a back seat?

How unfortunate. Even the American Law Trustees have a moral obligation to fight Enforcement personnel are not making the for improved funding and we can do that connection yet that Tehran was involved in by electing trustees who will work together this cock and bull plot for the assassination of with the community, parents and teachers to a Saudi Diplomat on American soil. ensure that there is equity in the Community American may think they are a super power Link funding

Alleged Iranian Plot

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19

Issue 295 - Dhul Qadah 23, 1432 / October 21, 2011

lifestyle

Hunger In A Food-Rich World

By: Amira Murphy Why are Somali children still starving?

This past Ramadan, this question overwhelmed me and occupied many of my nights. I remember the charity commercials aired more than 20 years ago beaming distressing images of too thin children, too tired to cry, with no energy to swat the flies collecting on their faces.

I worked with an international charity organization for the last three years and, inevitably, come summer, after yet another disappointing (global-warming) rainy season in East Africa, we would initiate yet another campaign for those suffering from the famine-drought in the Horn of Africa.

It is a concerning constant that every year, more than 2 million children in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti are at risk of starving or succumbing to diseases caused by malnutrition.

To answer this question, one has to take into account the circumstances that drive the societies in the Horn of Africa deeper into despair. Political unrest has led to mass destruction and the displacement of millions. Climatic disasters continue to dry out natural resources. International aid never reaches those starving children because of corrupt distribution and thievery. Similar, no-less-unnerving realities are facing millions of children in developing countries across the globe.

But why are there hungry children in the United States, the most food-rich nation in the world?

I was completely taken aback on the 7th night of Ramadan when, while leaving the masjid after tarawih prayer, a young brother and sister stopped me and asked for money. “My brother is hungry,” the young girl said. I was dumbstruck. The dark did not allow me to see much, but there was no mistaking the hollowness of their eyes.

These children were not receiving proper nutrition.

I learned that this young sister and brother were children from a displaced refugee family. For those who have a heart and who reflect, there is something about the sheer reality of hungry and starving children that knocks you down and makes it a little harder to enjoy three square meals a day.

I can speak to the condition in the United States because that is where I live, but no doubt these trends generally describe the plight of poor and refugee children in Western, “developed” countries. It is my intention to communicate to my Muslim community two things: (1) If we are to understand why Somali children are still starving, we all need to think differently about food, and (2) we are not immune to this global problem. The trying economic times are making it difficult for many Muslim families, particularly refugee families

to provide the wholesome, nourishing food their children need to thrive.

What is Child Malnutrition?

When I was a sixth-grader, my teacher introduced a new boy named Sean to the class. My 12-year-old self noted two things: That he would wear the same clothes for weeks at a time, and he would never bring a lunch. As my other classmates and I would spread our glorious sandwiches, fruits, yogurt (and some unhealthy unmentionables) across our desks, Sean would sit, clear-desked and silent.

When asked, he said that he could only eat cereal for breakfast and dinner when his father came home.

More than a decade later, I observed similar stories in some Chicago Public Schools, deep in the food deserts of the city. More recently, while walking through a part of the city where refugees tended to re-settle, I witnessed too many young mothers begging for food with their children in tow.

According the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, malnutrition is defined as a “condition that develops when the body is deprived of the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients it needs to maintain healthy tissues and organ function “About one percent of the children in the United States suffer from chronic malnutrition, meaning that they may not eat anything for days at a time. But an increasing number of children in the United States are undernourished, meaning they may eat one or two meals a day but not enough essential nutrients are consumed. Undernourished children often have pale, dry skin, achy joints and tender bones, and rashes on their bodies. These children are often listless, lacking energy to play or to attend school.

Land of Obese Kids?

An even larger number of children in the United States are “over nourished,” although I would call this a misnomer.

We are often mistaken in our belief that obese children contain enough nutrients to go around, when in reality, many of these children are over-FED but undernourished.

Their diets are unbalanced, full of complex carbohydrates, fatty and salty foods, and as a result, they exhibit many of the symptoms of underfed, under- nourished children, like achy joints, rashes, anxiety, changes in mood, and other psychiatric symptoms.

Over time, these children may develop heart disease and hypertension that can lead to death at a relatively young age.

We are the only creation that wastes food. I recently saw pictures from a posh wedding for a (Muslim!) Indian business mogul’s daughter that boasted a 30-course meal prepared by an army of chefs. More than 20 percent of the food was thrown away into a landfill (not even donated).

In another story, a man from New York

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engaged in a social experiment during which he survived-for one whole year!- on dumpster diving alone. (Dumpster diving is pretty much exactly what it sounds like, diving into a dumpster behind grocery stores and other corporations to salvage near- perfect food that had been thrown out).

Steps to Take to Fight Child Hunger 1. MAKE INTERNATIONAL FOOD AID A PART OF YOUR CHARITABLE GIVING During Ramadan, we are particularly in tune with food- both our own desire for it and our willingness to provide it for others. These charitable habits should be established these sacred 29 or 30 days to be carried out throughout the year. Often we look to donate to build schools for needy children overseas, but we must recognize that these schools may never be used if there is no food security for the children.

When giving, look for sustainable food programs, like establishing farms, building wells, and urban agriculture.

2. ADOPT A REFUGEE FAMILY When the small, fledgling Muslim community migrated from Makkah to Yathrib, the Ansar were eager to “adopt” these refugee families. The Ansar provided their brethren in faith with food and work so that their lives would be free from the worry of survival and so that they could worship unhindered. There may be masjids and organizations in your area that have set up a program to aid recent Muslim refugee families. Let the focus of your support be providing wholesome, nutritious foods.

Depending on the area, government support programs may be providing little or no food aid, and what is provided may be ultra processed and have little nutritional value.

3. FEED YOUR OWN CHILDREN NUTRITIONALLY BALANCED MEALS In the Sha’ban 1432 issue of Al-Jumuah, nutritionist Sehba Khan explained the new standards for healthy eating adopted by the American Dietetics Association. Alhamdulillah, most of us have access to nutritional foods, but we have to be mindful of what we feed our children and how it will affect their souls. In everything, Allah appointed us the community of the Midmost, or balanced, Way-and this is especially true with what we put in our mouths.

4. BUILD A HOME ENVIRONMENT OF FOOD- CONSCIOUSNESS AND GRATITUDE This means do not waste food. Teach your lads to share food with those who have none. We should constantly be reminding ourselves and our children that Allah has given us a blessing through His Mercy that we can pretty much eat whatever we want, whenever we want it. But this is a borrowed blessing that comes with terms and responsibilities. Allah reminds us that He is the One who has brought forth gardens for us to “eat of their fruits when they fruit.

And give out (to the poor) what is rightfully due from this on the day of its harvest.

But do not be excessive. For, indeed, He does not love those who are excessive” [Surah al-An’am: 142].

May Allah bring a day when the children of the Horn of Africa are well nourished and thriving. May He bring a day when the image of a starving black, African child is a thing of the past. Ya Allah! You are the Merciful, the Provider, provide for all of the children of the world so no child goes to bed hungry.

Article provided by Al Jumuah Magazine.

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local

Issue 295 - Dhul Qadah 23, 1432 / October 21, 2011

Surrey MPs, MLAs and Candidates Endorse Topp to Lead NDP “Together we can do this,” Leadership candidate tells campaign rally

By: Jim Rutkowski Oct 16, NDP Leadership candidate Brian Topp fired up supporters at a campaign rally today in Surrey where he received the endorsement of Surrey’s two NDP Members of Parliament, four provincial MLAs and two nominated candidates. “New Democrats can win. We can govern well. And we can govern for a purpose: to build a more prosperous and equal Canada for every Canadian,” Topp told supporters. “That’s what my campaign is all about. That’s why I am running to be leader. Together, we can do this.” On hand for Topp’s speech were Surrey’s two NDP Members of Parliament: Newton-North Delta MP, Jinny Sims and Surrey-North MP, Jasbir Sandhu. Sims and Sandhu were joined by SurreyTimbers MLA, Sue Hammell, Surrey-Newton MLA Harry Bains, Surrey-Whalley MLA Bruce Ralston, and Surrey-Fleetwood MLA Jagrup Brar. Also with them were NDP provincial candidates from Surrey, Raj Hundal and Amrik Mihal. “Brian speaks to the

values and priorities of grassroots New Democrats,” said Sims. “He knows how to lead, how to win, and who we are fighting for. Brian is standing up for a Canada that is compassionate and caring and we need his leadership.” “I am convinced that Brian has been it takes to build on Jack’s legacy and to get the job done,” said Sandhu. “He has the passion, the experience, and the ability to lead us to victory and to deliver positive change for people in Surrey and across Canada.”

Topp said he was honoured to have the support of so many New Democrats in Surrey and across British Columbia. He asked supporters to get out into their communities and build support for positive, progressive change. “I need your help. I need your energy and your ideas. And I need your commitment to our country” said Topp. “Talk to your friends, your neighbors and your family. Tell them that together we can do this. Together we can build the Canada we want for our children and for their children.” Together, we can get the job done!”

Surrey First Grand Opening & A Vision for Our Future Surrey First Team celebrated the Grand Opening of the Campaign Headquarters on October 15 at 104-7320 King George Blvd.

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business

Issue 295 - Dhul Qadah 23, 1432 / October 21, 2011

Business Profile: Kabob Palace, Surrey

Eating out at a restaurant can be a fun treat. But in a country where you are a minority, it can also be a pain for Muslims! Checking the ingredients on every product label can be tedious at times but all we have is a menu in front of us, how do you make sure what are The Miracle TM: Meet with Mr. Saeed Mian owner of Kabob Palace in Surrey. Please let the Miracle readers know about your background before entering the restaurant business.

Saeed Mian (SM): I came to United States from Islamabad in 1982. I started working in commercial kitchens and started my own franchise, Pizza Boli’s in 1993. Since then, I have opened many restaurants in the US, being the head chef I started training my employees to be great cooks. I own a couple of restaurants in the US around Washington, D.C. and I have now been in the restaurant business for about 25 years.

TM: It is very difficult to run any business which serves only the Muslim community in non-Muslim areas any where around the world. What was in your mind to establish your own Muslim Restaurant?

S.M: I noticed that there were not many halal restaurants which led me to start a restaurant to serve the Muslim community and give them great quality of food they deserve.

TM: Direct from USA, how did you end up in Surrey opening this Catering and Restaurant business at this existing location?

SM: When I was in the US, I heard many good things about British Columbia and wanted to visit there. Once I came here I decided to move here and I wanted to share our food and unique taste with the Muslim community and that’s how I opened Kabob

the ingredients and what is halal or haram?

Alhamdulillah, Muslims in the Lower Mainland are lucky to have quite a number of Muslim restaurants to choose from. Each of them offers a unique take at ethnic cuisine and provides the satisfaction of eating halal.

Palace in Surrey.

TM: What are the customer favorites from the Kabob Palace Menu and what are your specialties?

S.M: Our boneless chicken, chicken tikka, seekh kabob, biryani, and fresh karahis are very popular amongst our customers.

TM: How you feel that you have unique taste from others?

SM: We have a unique taste compared to others because our food is derived from family recipes.

TM: What experience have you gained after running this business for less than a year and do you believe that if you provide the taste to your customers then they will come from everywhere and any where?

S.M: Running this business so far has been a great experience for me because of the community support and many friends that I have gained. I believe that with our unique taste, customers will come from everywhere because of our hospitality and our home made food.

TM: Are you expanding your business or relocating at a bigger place after as you think “such great response” you have received from Muslim and other communities?

S.M: I am very grateful to Allah (SWT) ofor the amazing response we have gotten from the Muslim community and yes we are going to expand our business and we are relocating.

TM: What new menu do you want to

Amongst these restaurants is Kabob Palace in Surrey.

The restaurant specializes in Pakistani cuisine. We sat down with Mr. Saeed Mian, the owner of the restaurant and tried to find out more about his restaurant and his experiences in the business.

introduce at that new location, will there be any attraction for kids’ meals too?

SM: We will be adding a few Chinese and Italian dishes and there will also be a kids’ menu.

TM: Do you think the prices on your menu are reasonable according to your food quality?

SM: Yes I do believe the prices on our menu are reasonable because they are made fresh, made right when you order and you cannot get a taste like ours anywhere. We use fresh and good quality ingredients for our dishes.

TM: I may be wrong but it seems that the Restaurant business is one of those businesses that rapidly close after operating for few months. What do you say about that? Is success dependant on location or the taste?

SM: Many restaurant businesses close fast due to inexperience. I have been in the food industry for almost 25 years and I noticed that although location does matter; if you do not have good quality food then of course a business will not run well. I believe if you have good quality food and are hospitable with people, then that’s how you can run a good restaurant business.

TM: Would you call this restaurant a family business and how is your family engaged with you in this restaurant?

SM: My business is very family oriented.

My wife, Farah Mian is my right hand and she has been by my side working hard since I started this business. My wife is a major factor in my success with our restaurant. My five daughters MashAllah have helped me through everything, including our buffets during Ramadan.

TM: At the end, do you have any message for lovers of your tasty food?

(S.M): I am very thankful to my respectable customers for supporting me and promoting my business. My entire family is grateful for the response of the Muslim community and we hope to see you all at our new location.

Miracle Media Congratulates Pak Can Motors and ZEST Copy & Print at the grand opening of their relocated businesses.

Pak Can Motors Surrey Open House on Oct 16

Mr. Ishtiaq Malik invited many community memers at the official opening of Pak Can Motors at King George Blvd Surrey. Maulana A.L.Naumani made Duaa and delicious lunch was served, prepared by Al-Madina Restaurant and Kabob Palace, Surrey.

ZEST Copy & Print Hosts Open House on Oct 15 The Consul General of Pakistan was invited at a Cake cutting ceremony by Mr. Tarik Kiyani on the occassion of grand opening of ZEST Copy & Print Store at Fraser Highway in Surrey. A number of community and neighbourhood members were present and enjoyed BBQ.

22

Issue 295 - Dhul Qadah 23, 1432 / October 21, 2011

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Issue 295 - Dhul Qadah 23, 1432 / October 21, 2011

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Issue 295 - Dhul Qadah 23, 1432 / October 21, 2011

EID Picture Postage stamps

Celebrate Eid-al-Adha with a unique Picture Postage™ sheet of 21 self-adhesive stamps.

The stamp features a still life painting of a feast at dusk, and “Eid Greetings” in English and French. The larger stamp image is yours to keep as a souvenir!

Known as the “Festival of Sacrifice”, Eid al-Adha is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide and the latter of two Eid festivals (the other being Eid al-Fitr). The Eid celebrations are typically marked by special prayers, forgive-

ness and compassion, and many Muslims visit family and friends, exchange greetings and gifts, and make donations to the poor and needy.

Still Life in a Palace is an early 19thcentury Persian painting from the collection of the Aga Khan Museum, which is scheduled to open in Toronto in 2013 (Image courtesy of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture).

Find out how to make your own Eid stamp or postcard! [Link to canadapost.ca/eid] For more details see Canada Post Ad on Page 32

BASIC CHOICE OF ALL Shabnam Khan - Family Counsellor Reflecting on the small changes each of us can make in our lives, the one that stood out was the most basic of all. It’s the decision we make every single day when we wake up about how to approach the day. Are we going to feel sorry for ourselves, or are we going to take responsibility for our own happiness? Are we going to look for what’s wrong and find it? Or are we going to look for what’s right and find that instead? Will we see the problems or the opportunities?

Will we be part of the problem or part of the solution? Will we be judgmental about the life or accepting? All these questions, and so many more like them, can be bundled up into one package called attitude. And attitude can be summed up in one word - choice.

Choosing to change our attitude may seem like a small change, but it can’t happen unless we recognize that it’s all up to us. Do we realize that we have the choice to make our day joyful, adventuresome and exciting. Or do we demand that life be a certain way, and if it doesn’t meet our expectations we whine and complain? We can complain because it’s rainy or we can be thankful that the grass will get water! We can grumble about our health

or we can rejoice that you are alive! We can whine that we have to go to work, or we can be thankful that we have job! When we get right down to it, we either believe we are the choice maker or we don’t. When you see the rampant unhappiness and victimization in our culture, it’s clear that most people don’t see that we do have the choice. At the same time, when you take a step back and think about it, it’s pretty obvious. If we aren’t the choice maker, who is? If we don’t decide what kind of day we’re going to have, who does? That’s why this subtle shift in thinking is one of the more significant changes we will ever make. Consciously choosing a better attitude will make a big difference.

Think about the implications. You can choose to complain about your teenager, or you can be thankful that you have a teenager to love! Why choose the path of complaint over the path gratitude? You can make an articulate argument for either side - being grateful or being overextended. One will lead you towards satisfaction, and the other towards guaranteed and sustained grief.

The most beautiful part of all is, it’s your choice!!!

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Musician and composer Jagjit Singh, who won generations of fans by reviving the traditional genre of “ghazal” tunes, died on Ocober 10th in Lilavati Hospital Mumbai at the age of 70.Singh, dubbed “ The Ghazal King”was admitted in hospital on September 23 after he suffered brain haemorrhage in suburban Bandra where a life-saving surgery was performed on him. The day he was admitted, he was supposed to perform at a concert at Shanmukhananda Hall, Matunga, in Mumbai but the programme was cancelled after he was taken ill. Jagjit Singh was born on February 8, 1941 in Sriganganagar, Rajasthan, to Amar Singh Dhiman, a government employee, and Bachan Kaur. He had four sisters and two brothers and was called Jeet by his family. The 70-year-old singer, who alongwith his wife Chitra almost rediscovered the ghazal genre for common Indian in 70s and 80s. Singh, a Padma Bhushan recipient, was born in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan, on February 8, 1941. After graduation, he shifted base to Mumbai, to explore career in the world of music. In the next decade and half, he earned nationwide fame as ghazal singer and music composer. He sang in several languages, including Hindi,Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali, Gujarati, Nepali. His personal life, though, was marked by a tragedy: His only son, Vivek, died in a car accident in 1990 when he was just 18.

Singers condole: Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar said that Singh’s death was a big loss for the music industry. “I knew him well.

I hoped he would come out of the coma.

But the God willed otherwise.” Stating that Jagjit brought ghazals into the mainstream, Lata said, “He worked very hard... sang from the heart. Listening to him, people got intoxicated.” Asha Bhosale said hearing Jagjit’s ghazals brought peace to the mind.

“Listening to him was a soothing experience.

If one wanted to get away from everyday stress, the best way was to play a Jagjit Singh record.” “I feel sad for his wife Chitra. She An emotional Usha Uttup recalled her time with Singh. “I can’t believe it. It was because of him that ordinary men could enjoy good Ghazal. We worked together in a jingle when I was just staring my career. “He is the person who introduced the 12 string guitar and the bass guitar in ghazal singing, in a way no one could. I spoke to him recently.

What a human being. It is a great loss.”

Prime Minister condoles

In his condolence message, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said by “making ghazals accessible to everyone, he gave joy and pleasure to millions of music lovers in India and abroad....he was blessed with a golden voice.” The Prime Minister said the ghazal maestro’s music legacy will continue to

“enchant and entertain” the people. His debut album in 1976-The Unforgettable -did not make a hollow claim. Mr Singh made his mark with hits like, Chitti no koi sandas na jane konse desh jahan thum chlae gaye, Yeh zindagi kisi aur ki, Mere naam ka koi aur hai, Patta-patta boota-boota haal hamaara jaane hai, Hontho se chhoo lo tum, Tum ko dekha, Hazaar baar ruke ham and hazaar baar chale, at a time when ghazals were rendered by powerhouses like Mehdi Hasan, Noor Jehan, Beghum Akhtar and Talat Mehmood.

One of the most successful and loved artistes of his time, he has left behind a huge body of work in a career spanning five decades, including 80 albums.

Among his most memorable numbers were Tum itna jo muskara rahe ho, Apni marzi se kahan apne safar ke hum hain and Pehle har cheez thi apni magar ab lagta hai apne hi ghar mein kisi doosre ghar ke hum hain.

Critics often suggested he sacrificed technique for melody. It didn’t matter to the thousands of fans that enabled the album to set sales records.

Perhaps their best work together was in the teleseries made by Gulzar on Mirza Ghalib.

The Padma Bhushan awardee is also the only composer and singer to have composed and recorded songs written by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in two albums, Nayi Disha (1999) and Samvedna (2002).

Mr. Singh was planning team up with Gulzar again after the success of Mirza Ghalib for an album based on the letters and poems of the 18th century poet Note: Miracle reporter got a chance in his last visit in British Columbia, where he said” May be this is my last visit in Vancouver” in Kamal Sharma’s get-together in Pearl Banquet Hall Surrey, so this is the end of his wording.

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health

Issue 295 - Dhul Qadah 23, 1432 / October 21, 2011

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month in Canada. Each year in Canada, October is recognized as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among Canadian females, affecting thousands of women and their families each year. In 2008, an estimated 22,400 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 5,300 will die of it. One in nine women is expected to develop breast cancer - with the risk increasing significantly after the age of 50. One in 28 will die from the disease.

Although, since the mid-1990s, the incidence of cancer and death has declined, it continues to be a life-threatening issue for thousands of Canadian women. The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) continues to encourage its 340,000 members to take an active part in the fight to end this disease.

An estimated 170 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 50 will die of it.

Breast cancer death rates have declined by 25% since 1986.

Incidence and death rates for breast cancer have declined since 1969 in women aged 2039. Survival has been improving gradually.

Today survival ranges between 87% and 89% for women aged 40 and older. For women under 40, survival is 81%, excluding Quebec.

What you can do Many women are alive and well today because their breast cancer was detected and treated early. The Canadian Cancer Society recommends that women: • Have a mammogram every 2 years if you are between the ages of 50 and 69. If you are between the ages of 40 and 49, discuss your risk of breast cancer and the benefits and risks of mammography with your doctor; • Have a clinical breast examination by a trained health professional at least every two years if you are between 40-69; • If you are 70 or older, talk to your doctor about a screening program for you; • Talk to your doctors about any changes.

There is no single cause of breast cancer but there are certain factors that may appear to elevate the risk. These include: • Age – Risk of diagnosis increases as a person ages • Personal history – If a person has previously battled the disease • Family history – Especially if a mother, sister or daughter has encountered breast cancer • Family history of ovarian cancer • Taking hormone replacement therapy for more than five years• Dense breast tissue • Other possible risk factors – Poor diet, lack of exercise, smoking, and obesity Sometimes, women develop breast cancer without any of these risk factors. A lot of women affected by breast cancer don’t have a family history of the disease. Even more surprising, some women have risk factors and never encounter the disease. Unfortunately, because of this uncertainty, early detection means a lot.

Health professionals recommend that you see them if you find any changes with your breasts such as: • Size and shape • If you find a lump on your breast or a lump in your armpit area • Skin changes on your breast (such as peeling) • Physical changes you find in the appearance of the nipple Here are 9 ways to change your life: 1. Eat fruit You can’t go wrong with this – almost all dietary advice comes down to the single instruction to eat more fruit and veg. Diet is thought to be a key factor in one in four cancer deaths – and animal fat in the diet is the suspect ingredient in breast cancer. The Japanese, who eat a diet of fish, rice and vegetables that is extremely low in animal fat, also have low rates of breast cancer. A high-fat diet increases the levels of the female hormone oestrogen in the blood, which encourages the growth of cancer cells. In populations with a

high-fat diet, women tend to start their periods earlier and reach menopause later so they are exposed to high levels of oestrogen for longer, increasing their risk of breast cancer. Studies into what effect eating fruit and vegetables has on breast cancer have produced mixed results.

One study found that, when combined with taking exercise, the results were dramatic.

Published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology last June, it showed that women who ate their five portions a day and walked briskly for at least 30 minutes halved their risk of breast cancer.

2. Walk It is enjoyable, simple and requires no equipment. Walking is good for all aspects of physical and mental health – and cancer is no exception. Brisk walking (or other exercise) for 30 minutes a day, five times a week, is all that’s needed. Currently only one in four women manages this. If all women did, Cancer Research UK estimates it would prevent 1,400 cases a year. Three large studies in Italy and the US showed that inactivity caused 11 per cent of cases of breast cancer. Exercise works best before the menopause, but it is effective afterwards, too. It is thought to alter oestrogen metabolism, resulting in a weaker version being made.

3. Avoid HRT Hormone replacement therapy is seen as the principal avoidable risk for breast cancer.

At the height of its popularity, in 2002, an estimated two million women were taking HRT in the UK, and millions more worldwide. Tens of thousands of women will have developed breast cancer, ovarian cancer and endometrial cancer (of the lining of the womb) as a result. Overall, women currently taking HRT are 63 per cent more likely to develop these three cancers than those who are not. Earlier hopes that these risks would be counterbalanced by a reduction in heart disease have not been borne out. Gynecologists recommend that women who wish to use it to ease the symptoms of the menopause do so for as short a time as possible.

3. Get screened Women diagnosed with breast cancer at the earliest possible stage have a nine in 10 chance of a successful recovery. This is the rationale for screening – to detect a tumour by mammography when it is still too small to feel. Women aged 50 to 70 are invited for screening every three years – shortly to be extended to ages 47 to 73. It is estimated that the scheme saves 1,400 lives a years in England – one life for every 500 women screened.

However, there is a downside in the shape of false alarms. Screening picks up abnormalities in the breast that look like cancer but turn out not to be. Several thousand women each year suffer the anxiety and discomfort of being recalled for further tests and undergoing biopsies of the breast to check for cancer – before being given the all-clear. Screening is now more accurate, since two views of the breast are taken, reducing the chances of cancers being missed.

4. Give birth Having children, especially before the age of 30, helps protect against breast cancer. It is down to those hormones, again. Over the last century, economic progress has led to delayed childbirth and smaller families as women with their own careers have sought to balance the demands of work and home. But researchers estimate that delaying childbearing increases the risk of breast cancer by 3 per cent for each year of delay.

5. Breast-feed Breast-feeding protects against breast cancer, as well as being best for the baby. But smaller

families and the rise in the number of working mothers has meant the time spent breastfeeding has reduced. Breast-feeding for six months reduces the risk, experts say.

Yet many women never get that far. In England, 77 per cent of mothers start breast-feeding but more than a third switch to bottle-feeding in the first six weeks.

6. Lose weight Obesity increases the risk of breast cancer – but only after the menopause. A large European study called Epic found postmenopausal women who were obese had a 31 per cent higher risk of breast cancer than women with a healthy weight. Reducing obesity could save 1,800 cases of breast cancer a year. Obesity increases the risk of other cancers including those of the bowel, womb, kidney and oesophagus. Overall it is estimated that 7. per cent of cancers in women and 3 per cent in men are due to being obese or overweight. In the UK, 12,000 people might avoid getting cancer each year if they maintained a healthy body weight.

7. Get a stressful job (really) A 2005 Danish study published in the British Medical Journal found high levels of daily stress reduced the risk of the disease by 40 per cent. The researchers suggest that stress may be beneficial by reducing levels of oestrogen. They draw a distinction between daily stress of the sort experienced by women in high-pressure jobs and stressful life events such as bereavement, which have previously been linked with an increase in cancer. Stress can have other damaging effects, too – on the heart, for example, and by increasing the risk of compensatory behaviour.

8. Live somewhere clean It has long been claimed that exposure to pollutants used in the manufacture of products from plastics to cosmetics has an “endocrine disrupting” effect. A report from the World Wide Fund for Nature last year claimed their role in breast cancer had been neglected. It pointed out that less than half of new breast cancer cases can be explained by genetic and lifestyle factors and chemicals in the environment could be the missing link. Other studies have contradicted this suggestion and experts point out that compared with the natural levels of oestrogen in a woman’s blood, the level of the chemicals is too small

to have significant impact. Still, moving to an unpolluted region is unlikely to do harm and could encourage tother beneficial changes, such as eating healthily, exercising more, and drinking less.

Don’t be nervous or anxious about finding changes in your breasts. Often these changes may not be related to cancer – but it’s worthwhile to tell your doctor as soon as possible New results from breast cancer clinical trial show non-breast cancer related causes account for most deaths. New findings from a landmark breast cancer clinical trial involving the drug letrozole show that, in this group of patients, women were more likely to die from non-breast cancer-related causes than from breast cancer-related causes. The research team found that non-breast cancer related causes accounted for 60% of deaths.

The top causes of death included: cardiovascular disease including stroke (15%), other malignancies (15%), infection (6%), multiple causes (5%), and non-cardiovascular organ failure (4%). The results were particularly striking for older women. Among women aged 70 years or older, non-breast cancerrelated causes accounted for 72% of deaths.

The new results are published in the February 12 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The original study results were first published in The New England Journal of Medicine in October 2003 and involved 5,170 post-menopausal breast cancer survivors with a median age of 62 years (range 32 to 94 years). It determined that women who took letrozole for up to five years following 5 years of tamoxifen therapy experienced a significantly reduced risk of cancer recurrence. The clinical trial was coordinated by the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials group and was funded in part by the Canadian Cancer Society. Routine use of mammography and improved treatment for breast cancer will mean that more women will survive breast cancer at older ages, at which time they might have a higher risk of death from causes other than breast cancer, says Dr Judith-Anne Chapman, lead author of the study. “The study findings show that we are successfully treating women with breast cancer. However, the study also underscores the need to pay more attention especially to older women and the potential for death from other causes,” Dr Chapman says..

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Issue 295 - Dhul Qadah 23, 1432 / October 21, 2011

God Bless Our Friendship

Dalia Salaheldinis I have always stopped at a special Quranic verse that reflects on the value of friendship and companionship. Being a person with multiple friendships that I strived to select and maintain throughout my life, the concept of friendship and its code of ethics has always stopped me. I would think about it, preach and theorize, and then always come back to this very verse. I would love my friends, enjoy them, care for them and pray for them. I would — by the natural instinct of the human craving to be loved — expect the same and more. When I receive that, I gladly go back to my favorite verse. When I don’t, again, I patiently go back to it. All in the love and appreciation of the abstract value itself — friendship, which is an essential human need, that provides great satisfaction to any human being.The verse I am pointing at says what means: {Content yourself (be patient) with those who pray to their Lord morning and evening, seeking His approval, and do not let your eyes turn away from them out of desire for the attractions of this worldly life, and do not yield to those whose hearts We have made heedless of Our remembrance (the Quran), those who follow their own low desires, those whose ways are unbridled.} (Al-Kahf 18:28) It is amazing how Allah Almighty, draws the reader’s attention to two essential points that are definitely anchor points in any relation of friendship. The two points are: 1.Who do we take as friends?

2. How do we go about our friendship?

Many social theorists are of the opinion that friendship is the most powerful relation that provides “long term happiness”. It is the only relation that the person chooses willingly, and continues in willingly, with no reluctant obligations whatsoever. We are born to find our parents and families to be our parents and families.We can’t change that — even if we ever want to. When we marry, even if it was a love-marriage, we get committed to our

spouses with a million ties: social ties, family ties, children-responsibility ties, common interests ties, etc. Business relations are also, finally, business relations. Thus, friendship is the only relation that we “choose” to continue in, out of our simple love and enjoyment of the other person involved. This is why God has set two major criteria for believers to select and maintain a valuable relation of friendship.

Islam is clear about the status of this life , which is but a transitional stage to the coming everlasting life. In order to survive this life , a believer needs to go around life as if he is passing by of a path that would take him to his final home. Since life is usually tough, full of hardships and obstacles on the way, then the person needs some company to keep him from deviating and to provide him warmth and companionship. This is why God recommends that we would choose good company for this long-yet-temporal path. If you are spending most of your time with a person whose genuine interest in life is to live his life aimlessly and for his own leisure joys only, you will end up like him. You will share him the same waste of time.

I see that the Arabic terms for “friends” and “companions” are somehow related to this incident. The Arabic term used for “friend” is “sadeeq”, from the same root the Arabic word “sidq” is derived. “Sidq” means honesty, sincerity, truthfulness of sayings, deeds or intentions. So, your “sadeeq” means the one who is honest and sincere with you. He tells you the truth out of his love and care, without denying you the right to visualize matters clearly. On the other hand, the Arabic term used for “companion” is “saheb”, which shares roots with the verb “yas-hab”. The verb “yas-hab” is used to mean “to accompany”. So, your “saheb “ is the one who accompanies you through the different paths of life.

The Islamic expression always recommended in Islamic literature, “good company”, thus

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means the good companion who accompanies you sincerely in this life. Throughout the tough incidents and rough paths of this life, he would be honest with you, sincere and truthful. He would never fool you or deny you the truth, and would always act for your best interests. He would just act as my two friends did with their friend, not as he did with them.

Back to this incident, we see that the single friend didn’t seem to think twice for the sake of his two friends. All he seemed to think of was his own whim and pleasure. He didn’t seem to care if his request would embarrass them or if it would put forsake their religious relation with God, to Whom they choose to submit by respecting His law.

As for the couple, they were good company to one another and helped one another to take the correct decision. Also, they were good company to their single friend by staying clear as a role model and by advising him to stop the ugly habit. No matter how good your company is, you will need to be patient in order to maintain it. We are all humans and no matter how good we try to be, we still have our defects. These defects might be of great nuisance to our life companions. So, Allah is drawing our attention that we will need patience. We should not expect good companions to be angels. They are human

beings who have their demands, needs and disturbing habits.

All we need to realize is that they are worth the patience, because finally they are of great help as they work as living reminders for us; never to forget where we are heading. We are heading towards a better coming life. We are not staying here forever. And we would help our friends as they would help us survive, hand in hand. It is a message that teaches us that we are here to help one another find God, truth, and virtue. It is a message that teaches us to support one another to survive the hardships of this life, till we reach our peaceful home, where there are no hardships, loss or failure. It is a message that teaches us to live in moderate self-denial and in devotion to take the hand of the other to the peaceful shores of truth.

To all my brothers and sisters with whom I shared and still share these happy selves, I devote this article. To all my brothers and sisters who care for the same goal and carry it as a personal trust, I dedicate these words.

For your sake, my brothers and sisters, who helped me through the tough moments on the quest to stay steadfast, I pray: “God, bless our friendship.”

Source: Reading Islam.

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Issue 295 - Dhul Qadah 23, 1432 / October 21, 2011

Butt accused of pressurizing Asif to bowl no-balls

The lawyer representing Mohammad Asif has accused former Pakistan cricket captain Salman Butt of pressurizing Asif to bowl a no-ball during the Lord’s test against England last year. During the 10th day of the spot-fixing trial at a London court on Tuesday, Butt spent a grueling five hours in the witness stand as he was questioned first

by Asif’s lawyer Alexander Milne and then by prosecutor Aftab Jafferjee. After playing a video of an over in which Asif bowled a no-ball, Milne told Butt: ”You had been talking to Mr Asif through this over and pressurizing him.” Milne continued: ”Before Mr Asif bowled his no-ball, you said to him, ‘run faster … you are running too slow.”’ Butt, who frequently showed flashes of anger during a challenging day for the 27-year-old, denied the accusation. ”I’m not there to pressure him, just to encourage,” Butt said. ”If you have played

cricket in any part of your life you would know that these things are never said. It is no term. There’s no suggestion in cricket as ‘run faster.’ He is not running the 100 meters, he’s bowling. Asif has never been about pace, he is a rhythm bowler.” Butt

and Asif are facing charges of conspiracy to cheat, and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, following the match in August 2010 when they allegedly conspired with agent Mazhar Majeed, teenage fast bowler Mohammed Amir and other people unknown to bowl pre-planned no-balls. Butt and Asif deny the charges.

Butt must continue in the witness stand on Wednesday as Jafferjee was yet to even start probing him on the match in question at Lord’s and three no-balls. The jury has already been informed that it can only give a verdict on what happened in relation to Lord’s and the three no-balls in question.

Jafferjee spent much of Tuesday questioning Butt about the background to the Lord’s test. Referring to a notebook Butt kept to track income, expenditure and money that was ”still to be received,” the prosector wanted to know why Butt had not noted a

>30,000 endorsement deal that he signed with Majeed to have a sticker on his bat advertising one of Majeed’s companies Capital Cricket. ”It’s up to me about what to write and what not to write. It’s my diary,” Butt replied, becoming agitated by Jafferjee’s probing. Jafferjee also asked Butt why he withdrew $181,000 from his Bank Alfalah account in Lahore, Pakistan on the day of his police interview in London on Sept. 3, 2010. Butt transferred the amount into his mother’s account. ”It might have happened on the same day as my interview but it was not something that I aimed to happen on the same day,” Butt said. ”I can’t explain why (I withdrew it). ”You are trying to portray something else, but you don’t know anything about the Muslim culture.”

Source: Dawn

Dress can’t keep Muslim athlete off the soccer field

Serene Kergaye’s religion is important to her -- so important that she wears a headscarf, long sleeves and long pants even when she’s on the soccer field at Cottonwood High School. Kergaye is Muslim, and the monochromatic clothes she wears under her uniform during games don’t bother her one bit. They are a way to uphold the modesty standards that are part of her faith. “It’s really thin and loose. It’s not that hot, I don’t think,” she said. “Yeah, I look kind of weird on the field. I’ll be dressed head to toe in one color, because we have to be either white or black, but oh well, I’d rather play.” While her coach acknowledges other teams might “do a double take” when they see Kergaye from the sidelines, her teammates know her personally and see beyond the differences.

“She’s just a very sweet person anyway, and the girls just love her,” said coach Angela Hamilton. Kergaye’s uniform might look different compared to her teammates, but state athletic directors say uniform accommodations are built into the rules for every sport in order to protect religious expression. “[We want] to allow the individuals to maintain practices and still compete,” said Bart Thompson, assistant director of the Utah High School Activities Association. Each sport has specific rules for uniforms that participants must follow.

But within those rules are accommodations for students like Kergaye, who want to play, but have special requirements.

“The rules are written to promote fair, even competition for everybody,” Thompson said. “If you’ve got a situation that doesn’t fundamentally alter the competition, you’re going to be OK.” In Kergaye’s case, it was a non-issue, since the extra clothing she wears as part of her religious expression in no way impede or alter the way the game is played. There are similar accommodations for students with prosthetic limbs, religious jewelry and other special circumstances. Thompson said schools always want to encourage participation, so if an accommodation for a specific situation isn’t written into the rule, they’ll find a way to make it work. That’s what happened a few years ago when a Jewish high school student with a beard joined the wrestling team. Rules for wrestling prohibit beards.

The UHSAA obtained permission from the National Federation of State High School Associations that allowed the student to wear a special face mask during play.

“Schools are asking for accommodations to be made in that regard rather than denying,” Thompson said. Kergaye jumps at the opportunity to show other people the things they have in common and dispel false perceptions. “We don’t sit in our basements all day and make bombs,” she said. “We play soccer, we play football.”

Kergaye’s coach said she’s impressed with her outgoing player’s dedication. “It’s really neat to see somebody that dedicated to something they believe in,” Hamilton said. Kergaye’s parents were both born in the United States, and both come from a Muslim background. They have roots from Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Switzerland.

During Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, adherents fast every day from sunrise to sunset. This year, Ramadan began Aug. 1, and Kergaye still participated in soccer just like the other girls. “It was a lot harder this year, fasting and playing. Usually I only have one game and one practice a week, but this year it was every day, four to five hours a day. It was really hard,” she said.

“But it was fun.” Her coach said she didn’t let her fast interfere with her play. “She was completely dedicated and wanted to do everything the team did. ... She refused to take it easy.” That’s in part because Kergaye had a sense of humor about it. “She would come every day, and she would say stuff like, ‘I’m so excited for when I can eat again, because I’m going to take on all of you guys. I’m going to take you down!” recounted teammate Ali Bromley-Dulfano.

Kergaye said it’s not about the fasting and the layers of clothing to her, it’s about living her religion. “Pretty much, everybody thinks their religion is ‘the religion,’ but I think mine is right, so I’m going to follow it and I’m not going to go half way,” she said. Teammates say that dedication extends onto the field. “Of all the girls on the team, Serene probably puts the most into her playing,” Bromley-Dulfano said.

“I get to be different,” Kergaye said. “I’m OK with that.”

Source: Daily Herald

Pakistan in charge against Sri Lanka The painstaking efforts of Pakistan’s top order put their side in control against a helpless Sri Lankan attack which was remorselessly taken apart on an unresponsive surface.

PavCo says strike will scupper Whitecaps and B.C. Lions’ Grey Cup run at B.C. Place Saturday’s Whitecaps game will be cancelled at B.C. Place should the union that represents the stadium’s workers go on strike Friday afternoon, according to the B.C. Pavilion Corporation (PavCo). The B.C. Government Employees Union (BCGEU), that represents over 600 B.C. Place workers, issued a 72-hour strike notice on Tuesday that is set to expire at 3:30 p.m. Friday, a mere 24 hours before Vancouver’s MLS team takes to the pitch for their final game of the season. The strike notice comes after stalled negotiations between the two sides, who are currently not talking and have no immediate plans to resume discussions. A spokesman for PavCo said on Wednesday that if the union walks out on Friday, B.C. Place will be unable to operate for upcoming scheduled events — including Saturday’s soccer fixture, two more B.C. Lions regular season games, and the $100-million Grey Cup. “The events [at B.C. Place] would just be cancelled,” said PavCo spokesman Trevor Pancoust on Wednesday. “I think over at B.C. Place they’re planning on Plan A — there’s a game Saturday night, they’re working toward that and only a strike would interrupt it,” he said. The BCGEU says it does not want to stage a walkout Friday, but will do so if an agreement is not made. “Our members do not want to take any job action — what they want is a fair collective agreement,” said BCGEU spokeswoman Karen Tankard. The main issue for the BCGEU local 1703 workers — who do everything from field maintenance to first aid to hosting

— is job security, including their concerns over the contracting out of jobs and the reduction of working hours. “We’re hoping by issuing a 72-hour strike notice that this will put pressure on the employer and tell them once again that we are serious about getting an agreement and let’s get back to the negotiating table,” she said. Talks between the two sides have hit a standstill since the BCGEU asked mediator Mark Brown to book out of negotiations on Tuesday, according to a PavCo statement released that same day.

“PavCo stresses that it has agreed to numerous union proposals in the past six months, including some new issues introduced late in the process. PavCo has also agreed to accept the mediator’s recommendations in full,” reads the statement. Tankard said a lot can change before Friday, and the union does not have to act on the expiration of the 72-hour notice immediately. The unionized employees voted 89 per cent in favour of a strike earlier this month. Meanwhile, Whitecap’s CEO, Paul Barber, issued a statement on the team’s website saying they “remain optimistic” that Saturday’s game and Fan Appreciation Day will kick off as scheduled, but “will continue to monitor the situation and update fans in a timely manner.”

Source: The Province

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