Passion Islam April08

Issue: 02

April 2008

Fastest growing faith community in Britain Muslim community in UK contribute £31bn a year to the economy, says Jacqui Smith - see full report on page 6

inside this month issue

UN slams Islam defamation in Media

Muslim chaplain’s anger at airport ‘discrimination’

Islam surpasses Roman catholicism as largest religion

Few convictions from UK Terror Laws The draft of counter-terrorism laws that has dominated the British government’s legislative programme for the past seven years has led to few extra convictions of terrorist suspects, according to the latest official figures.

Statistics compiled from police record by the offices of the National Coordinator for Terrorist Investigations list only 41 Terrorism Act convictions up until the end of March last year out of 1,165 arrests since 2001, less than three per cent.

In contrast, other legislation including murder and explosives offences, conspiracies, firearms, grievous bodily harm and other related offences have produced 183 convictions of terrorist suspects, more than four times as many.

The figures also show that out of a total of 1,228 arrests of terror suspects, including those under other legislation, only 132 has been charged with Terrorism Act offences only and 109 with terrorism and other criminal offences.

More were charged under other laws, including 195 with murder, grievous bodily harms, firearms, explosives, fraud or false documents, and another 76 were handed over to immigration authorities.

Of the total number of terrorist suspects being arrested

between September 11, 2001, and March 31, 2007, more than half were released without any charges.

Publication of the low percentage rates comes as the British government is trying to pass a further round of counter-terrorism legislation through parliament, including most controversially, extending pre-charge detentions from 28 days to six weeks.

Quran leaf sells for world record price

A 7th-century leaf from a Holy Quran has set a new world auction record for any Islamic manuscript, after fetching £2.48 million pounds in London.

Christie’s International last month reported its biggest-grossing sale of Islamic art, with a 282-lot raising a total £11.8million, more than double upper estimate.

The 36-centimeter vellum leaf, thought to be from Madina, is one of the earliest Quran fragments. The price paid by a private anonymous collector was nearly 25 times the presale lower estimate of £100,000.

The previous world auction record for an Islamic manuscript was also set at Christie’s last October, when a Quran written in 1203, signed by Yahya bin Muhammad ibn ‘Umar, fetched Dlrs 2,32 m. At the same auction, a 10thcentury Kufic Quran was sold for Dlrs

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1.87 m.

At the auction, a 10thcentury carved-marble capital from the royal palace of the Arab rulers of Spain at Medina AlZahra, or Cordoba, fetched £1.3 m from an anonymous buyer, a record for an Islamic stone carving.

A 16th contrary Quran written entirely in Nasta’liq, signed Mir Hussein alSahavi al-Tabrizi, probably from Tabriz, was sold for £692,500, more than double its higher estimate.

Another Iranian manuscript sold was a group of Timurid or Aqquyunlu Quran leaves on Chinese paper from the second half of the 15th century fetched £300,500, more than six

times its estimated price.

There was also a large 12th century Khorassan silver and copper inlaid bronze ewer from north east Iran, which sold £192,500 and a massive bronze lampstand from the same area and period, which fetched £180,500, both more than twice their estimate prices.

“I am not a Muslim in the usual sense, though I hope I am a “Muslim” as “one surrendered to God”, but I believe that embedded in the Quran and other expressions of the Islamic vision are vast stores of divine truth from which I and other occidentals have still much to learn, and ‘Islam is certainly a strong contender for the supplying of the basic framework of the one religion of the future.’ - W. Montgomery Watt, Islam & Christianity Today, London, 1983

UK immigration change ruled illegal

The government acted unlawfully in changing immigration rules for highly skilled workers who want to stay in the UK, the High Court in London ruled this month.

Government changes made in 2006 could have meant that up to 44,000 non-EU immigrants, who entered Britain under the Highly Skilled Migration Program (HSMP) would have to leave the country.

But Judge Sir George Newman ruled that the original scheme, introduced in 2002, four such workers as doctors, engineers and financiers, should be honored, according to the BBC. Skilled workers will now be able to apply for a two-year extension to their visas, then for a further three years before applying for settlement.

The HSMP Forum group, which brought the case against the government, argued the retrospective

changes to the new points-based system, based on education, previous salary and age, was ‘grossly unfair’ and ‘a clear case of breach of legitimate expectation’.

Between 2002 and the end of 2006, when the government changed the rules, 49,000 doctors, engineers, accountants and other professionals entered the UK under the HSMP. They were assessed on qualifications, experience and earning ability, but change in the rules meant anyone applying to extend their work visa would have to use the new score points system.

“It is ironic that a government which boasts itself as champions of human rights around the globe is actually playing with the lives of thousands of skilled immigrants and their families,” Forum member Chandrasekar Elangovan said at the start of the

case.

Last year, parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights also said the retrospective changes to the new points-based system, which was introduced in February, were harsh, unfair, and incompatible with the Human Rights Act. Passion Islam

English clubs threatened with penalties over religious abuse

English football clubs could be docked points from their league campaigns or face playing games behind closed doors as part of a new zero-tolerance policy against fans who engage in Islamophobic or antisemitic abuse.

The threat is being made by the English Football Association (FA) after a meeting with the Metropolitan police, the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the National Association of Muslim Police in the football’s first so-called faith summit to tackle religious abuse.

At present, only abusive fans face being banned by individual clubs rather than the FA, which, according to

the Guardian newspaper last month, is keen to extend its powers to impose penalties.

Last month the French side Metz received a onepoint penalty after fans abused Moroccan defender Abdeslam Ouaddou, and UEFA also told the club to play a match behind closed doors, but no similar action has yet been taken in England.

FA equality manager Lucy Faulkner said the association has “a 5- point action plan that will look at how stewards manage incidents, the way grounds are policed, how the FA monitors incidents, strengthening reporting mechanisms and the role

of referees.” Islamophobic abuse blighted last August’s derby game between Middlesbrough and Newcastle United, when Egyptian striker Mido was the target of chants about suicide bombers by a number of the visiting fans.

The FA launched an

investigation, but no banning orders were issued against individual fans because there was said to be difficulties in identifying the culprits.

Both clubs were only asked to take steps to prevent any repetition of the chants.

“Sense of justice is one of the most wonderful ideals of Islam, because as I read in the Qur’an I find those dynamic principles of life, not mystic but practical ethics for the daily conduct of life suited to the whole world.”

Sarojini Naidu, Lectures on “The Ideals of Islam”, Madras, 1918 3

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UK minister opposed to religiously slaughtered meat Food and Farming Minister Lord Rooker provoked controversy this month by expressing his opposition to halal and kosher meat, which he said should not be allowed to slip into the country’s food chain.

“I object to the method of slaughter,” Rooker said. “My choice as a customer is that I would want to buy meat that has been looked after and slaughtered in the most humane way possible,” he was quoted saying by the Independent newspaper.

His opposition comes despite religious slaughter being exempt from the provisions of Britain’s Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations 1995, which insist that animals such as cows, goats and chicken should be stunned first.

The veteran minister said he accepted the legality of religious slaughter but added customers should be warned when they might

be eating meat killed in such a way.

His outspoken comments, which come at a time when halal meat is being increasingly used in UK restaurants, were reported to have

raised in a discussion of animal welfare, which he is also responsible for, in other countries.

“The country, source of origin and method of slaughter for meat ought to be on the label because that

way I could stop the bloody halal meat that is excess to the industry’s requirements being slipped into the food chain without people being told,” he said.

The UK government no longer keeps statistics on animals slaughtered under religious methods, but figures in a Meat Hygiene Service report in 2004 suggested 114 million halal animals and 2.1 million kosher animals are killed in Britain each year.

Passion Islam spoke to numerous muslim Abortoirs and prominent organisations and were very concerned regarding the commnent made by Lord Rooker and found it to be not sensitive to relegious and faith needs.

Passion Islam would like to urge readers to write to Lord Rooker and express concerns over his comments.

Email us with your concerns to passionislam@consultant.com

Muslim chaplain’s anger at airport ‘discrimination’ A Muslim Chaplain from Liverpool claims “discriminatory” interrogation is happening on a regular basis at Manchester Airport.

Adam Kelwick, from Wavertree, says he was stopped and questioned for two hours on arrival at the airport as he returned from a Middle Eastern business trip on Wednesday, the third time this has happened since the introduction of the Terrorism Act in 2006.

He claims officials searched his lap top, phone, asked for his bank account pin number and put a string of questions to him.

The chaplain, who carries out charity work in the city to aid social cohesion, claims other friends and colleagues have complained about similar experiences. He said: “Some people I know would rather tolerate the congestion of the airports in London, rather than put up with the unreasonable questioning and discrimination at Manchester.

“I was ordered to remove all my items from my baggage piece by piece and was then taken into a small room and asked questions like ‘what is your mother’s date of birth?’ and ‘what school did you go to?’.

“It has happened a few times before at the airport but never when travelling from Liverpool or London.

“It is ironic, I was travelling in traditional Muslim dress, but an international terrorist isn’t going to fly around the world with a beard and a gown on.

“It is discriminatory and unfair. The first time it happens you think ‘OK, this is helping to deal with terrorism’ so I don’t mind, but for it to happen on a regular basis is unnecessary.”

During the interview, Mr Kelwick says he was treated with courtesy and professionalism, and he blames the issue on unjust laws, central Government’s misunderstanding of local Muslim communities and poor training of airport officials.

Mr Kelwick claims the interview ended when he was told he could leave, without any charge or further questioning.

A convert to Islam, Mr Kelwick is well known in Liverpool for his charitable work involving community cohesion, multi-faith programmes and supporting disadvantaged people to make a positive contribution to society.

He claims that interrogation of this type is part of the reason young Muslims become radicalised.

He added: “I am working hard in Liverpool to involve people more in community life, increase opportunities and break down barriers between people of different backgrounds.

“More government support is needed to combat extremists, rather than having airport officials picking on Muslims just for show”.

Greater Manchester Police were unavailable for comment.

- Liverpool Daily Post 5

Muslim population in Britain reaches 2 million Comment on this article and contribute to Passion Islam email your comments or a folllow up article to passionislam@consultant.com

The Muslim population in the United Kingdom may now number as many as 2 million, the home secretary, Jacqui Smith, disclosed this month during an official visit to Pakistan The last published official estimate of the size of the Muslim community in Britain was 1.6 million, based on the findings of the 2001 census.

The updated Whitehall estimate confirms the position of Islam as the second largest faith community after Christianity, and means that Muslims now make up 3.3% of the UK population.

The 400,000 increase in the size of the Muslim community in less than 6

seven years demonstrates its position as the fastest growing faith community in Britain, and also reflects the age structure of the community, with more than one-third under the age of 16 at the time of the 2001 census. Outside London, Pakistani Muslims make up more than 43% of the community, with Bangladeshis accounting for 17%, and those from India at 9%.

In London, the Muslim community is more evenly split between Pakistani and Bangladeshi Muslims.

Smith, who was making a speech in Islamabad which highlighted Anglo-Pakistani counter-terrorist cooperation, stressed the Muslim

contribution to British society. She quoted a new estimate of 10,000 Muslim millionaires in Britain and an overall community contribution of ÂŁ31bn a year to the economy. Smith is the first British minister to visit Pakistan since the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and the elections in February and is holding ministerial meetings on counter-terrorism and immigration.

The home secretary acknowledged in her speech that there are four Pakistani Muslim MPs in the Commons, including two ministers, and more than 200 local councillors throughout the UK.

Understanding Britain’s Muslim communities - report The Institute of Community Cohesion (iCoCo), based at Coventry University, has launched a ground breaking report on the diversity of Muslim communities in Britain.

The report “Understanding and appreciating Muslim diversity: towards better engagement and participation” sets out a model that highlights religious and ethnic diversity. It illustrates where these intersect to influence the establishment of local leadership structures and networks.

This model will help those working in local agencies to identify a wider range of potential contacts in local communities, reducing dependence on traditional community leaders who may represent only a limited section of Muslim communities. The model will also help local service providers ensure that services better reflect local needs and that sub-sections of the Muslim community are not over looked or misrepresented in developing and delivering local services.

Professor Ted Cantle of iCoCo, said: “Britain is home to probably the most diverse group of Muslim communities in the Western World.

As a consequence of reviewing and developing community cohesion strategies in different parts of the Country, iCoCo has developed this approach to understanding and appreciating Muslim diversity. Too often we have found that local service providers take an overly simplistic view of local Muslim communities

when engaging with or delivering services to them. This report helps to de-mystify Muslim communities while demonstrating how local authorities can ensure that they are talking to the real representatives of local communities.”

The report also highlights the importance of understanding local communities in order to build cohesion between them. iCoCo believes that if there is better understanding and appreciation of the various Muslim communities it will be easier to build bridges between them and all other communities to build mutual trust and respect. iCoCo is now extending this work to consider diversity in other

communities and believes that local authorities need to reconsider engagement strategies so they reflect the increasing complexities and change within all local communities. iCoCo was established in 2005 to provide a new approach to race, diversity and multiculturalism and represents a unique partnership of academic, statutory and nongovernmental bodies, combining the experience and expertise of Coventry University, DeMontfort University, Leicester University and Warwick University with practitioners from a range of diverse backgrounds and professions.

More information is available at www.coventry.ac.uk/icoco

CII to launch first Islamic qualification On 10th April 2008, The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) Group launched its first Islamic insurance qualification in September with the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF). The Takaful programme, which observes Islamic law, covers topics such as Shari’a practice, accounting standards for Takaful and structure and operations of Islamic insurance companies.

Lee Gladwell, director of general insurance for the CII, says: “The Takaful sector is quickly establishing itself as a key component in the industry, not just in the Middle East

but throughout the world.

“We aim to have all the learning materials in place and available for UK applications by the beginning of September and successful examinees will receive an internationally recognised certificate.”

BIBF plans to publish an Arabic version of the programme’s textbook and develop a series of textbooks and training programs in the different areas of Takaful, such as Islamic accounting standards for Takaful operators.

Mark Greenwood, head of regional business in the Middle East at CII

Group, says: “We’re quite active in the Middle East and Takaful is on a huge increase here. Our interest here is two fold – it’s a commitment to the region and secondly the market’s growing outside the Middle East and suddenly there is demand for further training in that area.

“With any new facet to the industry there is a need for clear demonstration of competence in that. Particularly, Taka operators operating outside the region can demonstrate to businesses that they have an understanding and competence.”

By Jennifer Bollen at incisivemedia 7

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Phone insurance firm reveals Sharia rules Been searching for ethical mobile phone insurance, based on Sharia rules? Well stop, because FoneShield UK has launched just such a product, though you may find yourself splitting hairs over what “ethical” actually means.

Sharia rules don’t allow money to be made from interest, as well as forbidding investment in specific industries - including porn, weapons, alcohol and pork-related businesses.

Takaful, insurance that complies with Sharia rules, is a growing market amongst European Muslims, though thus far limited to life insurance and such rather than mobile phone cover.

But FoneShield feels there’s a market, and believes that non-Muslims will be attracted to their adherence to ethical standards - though even the most ardent customer should still check the small print on their policies.

I wanted to know the best of the life of one who holds today an undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind....

I became more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet the scrupulous regard for pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission.

These and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle. When I closed the second volume (of the Prophet’s biography), I was sorry there was not more for me to read of that great life.

Mahatma Gandhi, statement published in ‘Young India,’1924.

While the insurance itself might only cost you £43 a year (that was the quote we got), you’ll have to cough up to another £50 each time you make a claim, and yet another £50 max if you want to borrow a phone while your

one is being fixed, according to the terms and conditions.

At least you’ll be entitled to a brand new replacement, as the website states clearly “the phones we give to our customers are all brand new

boxed”. That jars when the small print explains that in case of theft “we will replace Your Mobile Phone... This item may be a refurbished unit”.

Mobile phone insurance used to be just a matter of telling punters, when they tried to claim, that they were covered under their house insurance and had been paying for nothing - which is surprisingly often true.

We tried to contact FoneShield to ask them if they would cover a handset which was already covered by the house, and for an explanation of the 50-quid fees, but they’ve not got back to us yet.

Want to send us an article? send it through to passionislam@consultant.com

British Telecoms admits spying on internet customers

Britain’s former stateowned telecommunications company, BT, was reported last month to have covertly spied upon and built dossiers on thousands of its broadband internet customers during 2006 and 2007.

According to Inquirer, the UK main internet service provider admitted that it conducted secret trials of software that tracked every web page visited by 36,000 randomly selected broadband users.

The trials were said used monitoring software provided by US spyware company Phorm, that scans the content of every website that the user visits, catalogues keywords and builds a database of the customer’s interests and online shopping habits.

Inquirer, an online communications news service, said the spying into its customers’ web surfing habits only came to light after some users

had unexplained problems with their computers or discovered evidence of monitoring.

The company initially denied responsibility and told them that a software virus must have been to blame, but BT broadband customers reportedly complained to the UK government and at least one threatened legal action.

Privacy advocates were found to be horrified by the admission, accusing BT of illegal data interception on a massive scale. Britain’s

Information Commissioner, the country’s government privacy watchdog, was said to have launched an investigation.

But a BT executive was quoted saying that the company’s actions did not break any laws and that no personally identifying information was stored or divulged.

The company insisted that it plans to conduct another trial in coming months, but that now it will ask customers in advance to agree to participate.

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First Around the Muslim woman World judge news articles supplied by various media agencies

of UAE

Prince Salman to launch Haj Encyclopedia

Riyadh Governor Prince Salman ibn Abdul Aziz launched last month a project to develop an encyclopedia on the annual Haj pilgrimage and the Haram Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah. Fahd Al-Simari, secretary-general of the King Abdulaziz Museum, who is heading the project, said the encyclopedia would shed light on the Haj from religious, social, cultural and economic perspectives.

Al-Simari said that Prince Salman would also be opening an exhibition on King Abdulaziz and Makkah at the event, prepared by the King Abdulaziz Museum.

He said that when finished the encyclopedia would document the history of the Haj from pre-Islamic times to the present day and detail the location and situation of main cities and pilgrim

routes. The encyclopedia — which will be illustrated with photographs, paintings and maps — will also include input from several historians and researchers, historical documents from the Kingdom and abroad, discourse on terminology, and the experiences of pilgrims.

Al-Simari told Arab News that it would also include material on the way services provided to pilgrims throughout the years have developed, and that it would become an important source for research.

The project is being undertaken by the King Abdulaziz Museum, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Haj Research in Makkah, the Ministry of Haj, the General Presidency for the Two Holy Mosques Affairs, the Ministry of Higher Education.

History makes it clear, however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myths that historians have ever repeated.

De Lacy O’Leary in ‘Islam at the Crossroads,’ London, 1923.

The United Arab Emirates last month got its first woman judge, a job hitherto reserved for men.

UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed AlNahyan, acting in his capacity as ruler of Abu Dhabi, named Kholoud Ahmad Jouan Al-Dhahiri as a judge in the emirate, the largest in the sevenmember UAE federation, WAM reported. The move made the UAE the second Arab country in the Gulf after Bahrain to name a female judge.

The appointment reflects “the government’s keenness to involve women in the development drive” and “boost their role in society,” said Sultan Saaed Al-Badi, a senior official of Abu Dhabi’s judiciary. For

her part, Al-Dhahiri thanked the UAE leadership for its confidence in her. “I will endeavor to perform my functions with utmost (competence) ... in order to provide a successful model of Emirati women working in the judiciary,” Dhahiri said adding that the UAE women had shown great capability in many fields, adding that the judiciary would be another challenge for women.

The new judge graduated in law and Islamic Shariah from UAE University and has been a practicing lawyer for eight years.

The UAE Cabinet includes four women. Nine women also sit on the 40-member Federal National Council, an assembly that advises the government.

Islam has surpassed Roman Catholicism as the world’s largest religion, a Vatican newspaper reported last month.

“For the first time in history, we are no longer at the top: Muslims have overtaken us,” Monsignor Vittorio Formenti said in an interview with the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano. Formenti compiles the Vatican’s yearbook.

He said that Catholics accounted for 17.4 percent of the world population, a stable percentage, while Muslims were at 19.2 percent. “It is true that while

Muslim families, as is well known, continue to make a lot of children, Christian ones on the contrary tend to have fewer and fewer,” the monsignor said.

Formenti said that the data refer to 2006. The figures on Muslims had been put together by Muslim countries and then provided to the United Nations, he said, adding that the Vatican could only vouch for its own data. When considering all Christians and not just Catholics, Christians make up 33 percent of the world population, Formenti said.

Islam surpasses Roman Catholicism as largest religion

British Muslims urge Arab League to act over Darfur

British Muslims last month called on the Arab League to act over the ongoing crisis in Darfur.

In a letter to the organisation’s Secretary General Amr Moussa, a coalition of more than 20 Muslim groups, including the Muslim Council of Britain and the Muslim Association of Britain, demanded “urgent attention” to the violence in Sudan.

Arab League ministers, meeting at a conference in Damascus were also urged to prove that they are not taking “ethnic sides” in the conflict.

Up to 400,000 people have been killed since violence erupted in the region in 2003. Millions more have been displaced, with upwards of 2.5 million living in refugee camps, according to Western

estimates.

The Arab League, which represents Arab states in the Middle East and north Africa, has come under criticism from human rights groups for inaction in the face of mass killings.

The open letter delivered to the Arab League last month to the coalition stated, “The crisis has cost the lives of at least 200,000 Muslims, yet has not yet

captured the attention of the Muslim world in the way that it should”.

The message goes on to attack the Sudanese Government for placing “many obstacles” in the path of the UN peacekeeping force.

It urges Arab League ministers to “call for an end to the obstructions on the deployment and call on those countries which have the capability to offer their own resources and manpower to support this for the protection of civilians”.

The coalition also calls on the League’s member states to “contribute much more to the humanitarian operation” and “put pressure on all sides to engage honestly in the talks and encourage all sides to show flexibility”.

Muslims urged to focus on education

Muslims should hold steadfast to education if they want to regain their old glory in science and technology, a presenter at the First International Conference on Arabs and Muslims History of Science in Sharjah University has advised. Presenting a paper on Islamic Science and Education, Dr. Mohammed Majid has pointed out that giving priority to education in the past is what enabled Muslims to make huge contributions to science and technology. “It was the Abbasids that first formalized education in the Muslim world setting in motion what is considered as the golden age of Islam by historians, where substantial development occurred in many scientific spheres,” he said. He added that the Abbasids Caliphs attracted to their courts men of science, poets, physicians and philosophers whom they supported.

Learning progressed and developed with differences of creed,

color, race and tribe being no barrier to learning.

Dr. Majid said the mosque served as the fundamental educational institution of the caliph. However, as the demand for learning grew, the madrassa (modern day college) began to appear. Prior to this period education was imparted in mosques in an informal manner. At this early stage, people seeking knowledge tended to gather around certain knowledgeable Muslims - sheikhs, and these sheikhs began to hold regular religious education sessions majlis. “With the creation of madrassa’s the Jamia (university) emerged. The Guinness Book of World Records recognizes the University of Al-Karaouine (Jami’at al-Qarawiyyin) in Fez, Morocco as the oldest university in the world founded in 859,” he quipped.

“Al Azhar University, founded in Cairo, Egypt in the 10th century, offered a wide variety of academic

degrees, including postgraduate degrees, and was the first fully-fledged university.” According to the scholar the Islamic form of education, was eventually emulated by the Europeans, of which many of the similarities stand till this day. The Muslim world also created the first public hospital (which replaced healing temples and sleep temples) and the psychiatric hospital, the public library and lending library, the academic degree-granting university, and the astronomical observatory as a research

institute.

The first universities that issued diplomas were also in the Muslim world.

According to the scholar, these were the Bimaristan medical university hospitals, where medical diplomas were issued to students of medicine. Dr Majid also said that the madrassas were also the first law schools, and many have suggested that the “law schools known as Inns of Court in England” may have been derived from the madrassas that taught Islamic law and jurisprudence.

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UN slams Islam defamation in Media The UN Human Rights Council (pictured) passed last month, a resolution deploring the use of the media to blemish the image of Islam, hinting at a string of recent incidents that targeted the divine faith.

The council’s resolution denounced using the media to “incite acts of violence, xenophobia or related intolerance and discrimination towards Islam,” reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The document, which was put forward by the Organization of the Islamic Conference, “expresses deep concern at attempts to identify Islam with terrorism, violence and human rights violations.”

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The resolution was adopted by 21 of the council’s 47 member states, while 14 abstained and 10 states objected.

A recent British study accused the media and film industry of perpetuating Islamophobia and prejudice by demonizing Muslims and Arabs as violent, dangerous and threatening people.

Famed US academic Stephen Schwartz had also criticized the Western media for failing to meet the challenge of reporting on Islam after 9/11.

And Rabbi Eric Yoffie, the president of the US largest Jewish movement, has accused US media and politicians of demonizing

Islam and portraying Muslims as “satanic figures.”

Dutch private and state channels decided earlier this month not to show a controversial anti-Qur’an documentary produced by far-right lawmaker Geert Wilders, who had not option but to post it on a video-sharing website.

A US-based web service has also suspended the site originally dedicated for displaying the documentary after receiving Muslim complaints.

The resolution called on member states to adopt laws that would protect religions against blasphemy.

It also “urges states to take actions to prohibit the dissemination ... of racist and xenophobic ideas” and material that would incite to religious hatred.

The motion, expressed “grave concern at the recent serious instances of deliberate stereotyping of religions, their adherents

and sacred persons in the media and by political parties and groups in some societies, and at the associated provocation and political exploitation.”

The pressure to protect religions from defamation has been growing ever since Danish newspaper Jyallands Posten published late in 2005 caricatures that lampooned Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).

Several European and Danish newspapers had since then reprinted the offensive cartoons under the pretext of freedom of expression.

The publication of the offensive cartoons had triggered an international call from scholars, priests and rabbis n the UN Security Council to criminalize blasphemy.

The UNHRC adopted last year a resolution condemning “defamation” of religion and stressing that press freedom had its limits.

AFP

Makkah rail to start at end of year The railway project connecting Makkah with Jeddah and Madinah is set to commence by the end of the year, Transport Minister Jabara AlSeraisry said last month.

Speaking to press journalists on the sidelines of the Saudi International Ports & Maritime Transport Forum, which ends today, Al-Seraisry said: “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah is greatly interested in the project, which aims at easing the heavy traffic between the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, particularly over the Haj and Ramadan seasons.”

The Makkah-Madinah Rail Link Project, which covers a distance of 500 km at an estimated cost of SR20 billion, will be executed next year and will open for service soon thereafter, he added. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah approved the high-speed electrified railway network in February this year.

Jeddah Gov. Prince Mishaal ibn Majed opened the three-day event,

the first such forum, at the Jeddah Hilton last month. More than 1,200 national and international delegates are participating in the forum organized by the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), with some leading experts giving presentations. A number of shipping companies and agencies are taking part in an exhibition alongside the forum.

Speaking on the Land Bridge project to connect Jeddah and Riyadh, Seraisry said he expected the formalities related to its construction contract to be completed in a couple of months.

The minister hoped that the completion of the land bridge would boost the importance of the Jeddah Islamic Port (JIP), which is one of the best-equipped ports in the world. The minister said: “The rapid economic development in the Kingdom has made it imperative to focus our attention to the development of sea ports. The Jeddah Islamic Port has

become an industrial port with the completion of the latest container

terminal at a cost of SR1.5 billion.”

JCCI Chairman Saleh Al-Turki said in his welcome address at the inauguration that the forum was designed to essentially focus on the environmental issues confronting the maritime industry. It will also provide a global overview of the industry, and the present status and future prospects of Saudi ports, as well as addressing the challenges facing the Kingdom’s maritime and ports industry.

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French Muslim war graves defaced About 100 police officers have been sent to investigate the incident Vandals have desecrated 148 Muslim graves in France’s biggest WWI cemetery, officials have said.

A pig’s head was hung from one headstone and slogans insulting Islam and France’s Muslim justice minister were daubed on other graves.

President Nicolas Sarkozy condemned the attack

as a “hateful act” and the “most inadmissible kind of racism”.

About 78,000 colonial subjects of France, including many Muslims from North Africa, died in the war.

The Notre Dame de Lorette war cemetery, near Arras in northern France, is on the site of some of WWI’s largest battles.

About 100 police officers have been sent to the

cemetery to investigate the incident.

President Sarkozy has called for the rapid detention and punishment of those responsible In a similar attack in April 2007, Nazi slogans and swastikas were painted on about 50 graves in the Muslim section of the cemetery. Two men were sentenced to a year in prison for that act.

UK and Pakistan can defeat terrorism together

The British Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith this month said that the UK and Pakistan could defeat the terrorist threat faced by both countries, by working together.

Speaking at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts, Ms Smith said that the two countries had to use those ties to tackle the terrorist threat that they both faced.

Ms Smith said that terrorist plots in the UK had been traced back to Pakistan, and also that the terrorist threat to Pakistan had links to the UK. “But the great majority of people from all communities in both our countries find terrorism abhorrent,” she said, adding, “Terrorism has no place in Islamic thought, teaching or

tradition.”

Outlining the response to the terrorist threat, the Minister thanked the Pakistani authorities for their assistance in investigating several terrorist plots, including the 7/7 London bombings in July 2005. But she also called on the people of Pakistan and the UK to play their part by rejecting the terrorists’ ideology, and isolating those who support them.

“The majority has to speak out against the terrorist world view; challenge their image; call to account advocates of violence extremism; protect our institutions; and support those who are most at risk. But to do all this the majority has to make itself stronger, more articulate and outspoken, more challenging,” Ms

Smith said.

She remained optimistic that the threat could be defeated by working together. “Whether terrorists ultimately succeed or not is up to us, not up to them. They know that. They worry about it. They are right do so,” she said.

“We should not forget that we operate from a position of strength the overwhelming majority of people reject terrorism and all it stands for.

We want to hear that majority speak more loudly. Our two countries can lead the way.”

She underlined the important contribution made to British society by 2 million British Muslims, and the close ties between the UK and Pakistan.

“If greatness of purpose, smallness of means and astounding results are the three criteria of human genius, who could claim to compare any great man in modern history with Muhammad?” Lamartine (Histoire de la Turquie, 1855) “My choice of Muhammad to lead the best of the world’s most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels. Michael H. Hart of USA - 1978

15

Muslim candidate for Rome city council “It is necessary for us to participate in political life, in the life of political parties. The political forces, on their part, must then give ample space to issues such as immigration and integration.”

Among those running for the elections in April to choose representatives for Rome’s city council is Khalid Chaouki, the founder of a group known as the Young Muslims, an association that brings together second generation Muslim immigrants in Italy.

“The fact that a young Muslim is already a candidate on the same level as many other Italian citizens represents a new and important step,” said Chaouki in an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI).

Chaouki is running as a candidate with the list of Francesco Rutelli, the centre-left Democrat Party nominee for mayor of Rome.

“The role of those elected to institutions is to try and explain that being Muslim is not an identity per se, but being a Muslim means being a person who takes to his heart the problems of the country and of the city in which he lives and who is convinced that politics or the participation in politics, is a commitment to the service for the common good,” said Chaouki.

“The presence of Italian Muslims in institutions also serve make it normal for Muslim citizens to participate in

the political life of the country.”

However Chaouki also knows there its a long road to achieving this goal.

He could not hide his envy for the situation of second generation immigrants in neighbouring countries such as France where they have managed to occupy important positions in various departments such as the department of Justice.

“I want to know long it’s going to take for the Italian society to evolve before it’s possible for an Obama, the son of an immigrant, can dream to lead the country,” he said.

Chaouki believes that the blame, in part, lies with the new Italian citizens.

“Certainly the antipathy that many Italians have towards politics in general is also present among the new citizens,” he said.

“But it is necessary for us to participate in political life, in the life of political parties. The political forces, on their part, must then give ample space to issues such as immigration and integration.”

Chaouki, was a member of Italy’s Consulta Islamica, a government-

UK rice prices 70% more than last year

The price of rice is rocketing, with the grain now costing 70% more than at this time last year. The price of basmati has been hit particularly hard — it now costs twice as much as in 2006.

The price rises are due to a combination of population growth and higher feed prices, drawn from increased meat and dairy consumption in south-east Asia.

Producers and importers are absorbing most of the rises, but the price increases will inevitably filter through 16 to caterers, who will have to decide whether to pass

appointed body created to represent the various Muslim groups in Italy, which he claims has not lived up to its potential.

“In the Consulta I have had a glimpse of a space in which one can open a dialogue between the diverse realities of Islam in Italy, but unfortunately not all of the components shared this spirit of dialogue and the need to create an Italian Islam.”

“Some Muslim representatives of the Consulta wanted to transform it into a small parliament for Muslims in Italy, losing sight of its main objective, which is to open a direct dialogue with the Muslim community in Italy.”

“For some members of the Consulta, mosques are only places of hate and terrorism and not places of worship with institutional rights,” he said.

The candidate for Rome’s adminstrative elections was critical of the Italian Islamic community, which he said is “lacking in a democratice and liberal culture and is “incapable of managing a civil confrontation between Muslims living in Italy.” passionislam@consultant.com

on costs to consumers.

Curry nights are increasingly popular in pubs. Chicken tikka masala with rice regularly tops the polls in eating-out surveys and has been named the nation’s favourite dish.

Dean Snee, head of food at Orchid Group, which operates 20 sites with Oriental-themed menus, said: “We’ve stopped using basmati at most of our sites, partly because it’s more of an Indian ingredient but also because it’s so expensive.” passionislam@consultant.com

LEGAL LAW

By Ibrahim Hasan

Each month we hope that this section of the magazine will inform, educate and sometimes also maybe puzzle you in the big wide world of the UK Law

Your right to know

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 was fully introduced in January 2005.

It will have a massive impact on the way the public, including Muslims, access information held by over 100,000 public sector organisations in England and Wales.

The Act does exactly what it says on the tin! From January, anyone can exercise a legal right to ask for any recorded information held by any public authority. This does not just cover central government or the local council. The fire brigade, hospitals, schools, the police and even doctors’ and dentists’ surgeries are included.

Applicants will be able to peer into official files and ask for copies of documents to check whether a public authority is doing its job properly and to get the answers to burning questions such as: > Why did you build that roundabout there? > Why am I waiting so long for my hospital appointment? > How much did you spend on that service/those goods? > Why has my application been turned down?

People who want to know why they are not getting the service they expect will now be able to see the paperwork or even e mails for themselves.

Anyone, be they individual or organisation based anywhere in the world, can make a request under the Act. There is no complicated form to fill out and no need to mention Freedom of Information. All they have to do is make their request in writing, giving their name and address. Motive or reason for asking is irrelevant. Indeed you cannot be asked why you want to the information or what you will do with it.

Once a request is received, the public 18

authority has twenty working days to respond. It may either supply a copy of the information (or a summary) or allow you to inspect the documents.

There are some exemptions to this right of access e.g. where disclosure would prejudice crime prevention, national security, health and safety or someone’s commercial interests.

However, most of these exemptions are subject to the Public Interest test. This means that, even if the information is exempt, the public authority has to consider whether the public’s right to know the information is more important than keeping it secret.

So what will it cost to ask for information under the Act? Public authorities, in the majority of cases, will only be able to charge for photocopying, printing and postage. The staff costs of finding and supplying the information will not be chargeable.

Anyone who is refused information under the Act can complain to the public authority.

If they remain dissatisfied they can take their complaint further to the Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas, who is in charge of enforcing the Act. He has tough powers to force disclosure of information. Further details are available on his website (www. informationcommissioner.gov. uk). Scotland has its own separate Act, which is similar to the English version (see www.itspublicknowledge. info).

The Act will prove very worthwhile for all citizens who feel that, for so long, they have been denied answers to critical questions. For Muslims, in particular, there have been a number of recent high profile issues where

the Act may be useful in prising open the doors of official secrecy. Top of the list is the legality and effects of the war in Iraq. Recently there have been decisions requiring disclosure of the Cabinet minutes discussing the Iraq War as well as the previous draft previous draft of the Iraq dossier. Also the killing of Muslims in prison, the funding of Muslim schools and the use of anti terrorism powers against Muslims may well all benefit from Freedom of information requests.

The Freedom of Information Act is just one part of the information rights jigsaw. The Data Protection Act 1998 has, for a number of years, given individuals access to their own personal information. From 1st January 2005, the Environmental Information Regulations have given access to a wide range

ACTNOW

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of information about the environment. These Acts mean that all sorts of official information can be accessed and the public can be better informed about official decisions and processes.

The Freedom of Information Act is a very important piece of legislation. As the old saying goes: “Knowledge

is power”. The Act aims to redistribute this power to the people. We, as Muslims, must be ready to use this power to call our officials to account for the decisions, which affect out lives.

Ibrahim Hasan is solicitor and director of Act Now Training (www. informationlaw.org.uk)

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

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The period of youth

If we examine the life of an average human, we come to realize that life consists of four periods.

Childhood: This usually lasts for thirteen to fourteen years. The teenage years which usually lasts for six to eight years depending on when he gets married, (The Period of Youth). The third part of his life is from the time he gets married until his old age, which usually lasts for merely twenty to thirty years, and then lastly his old age whose exact time period cannot be said with certainty, depending on when death takes him.

Now out of these four parts of an average human life, the most crucial stage of his life is the period of youth. The period of youth is a time when a person goes through many changes and experiences; he undergoes and partake many new things which he has never experienced before. The youth

begins to feel as though he has control over the whole world, and that he can do whatever he wishes.

His desires are increasing day by day becoming attached to the opposite sex, he enjoys lustfully gazing and flirting with them..

Now, this is that period of his life that if he was to control his desires a bit, and sacrifice a few of these devilish desires, he can become a future role-model for Muslims. He can become a leader for his community, and the biggest achievement he can gain is success in the hereafter.

As being admitted into paradise, and being saved from the hell fire, is, in reality truly the greatest success a person can gain. Allah has described this as a ‘great success’ in the Holy Qur’an.

The reason why this period of human life is so important and crucial is because this period of

youth is generally what determines the way in which this period of his life is spent. If he spends this period of his life in an Islamic environment, visiting the Masjid for the five daily prayers, associating with the pious people and the true scholars of Islam, sitting in their gatherings, then, it is greatly hoped that he will spend the rest of his life in the same way.

On the other hand, if the youth stays away from the Masjid and doesn’t associate himself with the pious and scholars of Islam, but spends his time visiting the pubs/ clubs, associating himself with girls and mischievous people, then it is most likely that the rest of his life will be spent in a similar manner, away from the Masjid and away from Deen, except if Allah wishes otherwise.

Just like everything, life is also a gift from Allah and every aspect of

it should be regarded as a gift and a trust from Allah. Allah expects us to spend this youth in His worship and obedience, seeking knowledge of Islam and acting upon it. This in itself is a form of gratefulness.

In a Hadith, the Messenger of Allah said that the feet of the son of Adam will not be able to move until he is questioned regarding four things.

Out of these four questions, one question asked will be regarding how one spent his time as a youth.

In another Hadith, the Messenger of Allah has said that on the Day of Judgement, there are seven types of people to whom Allah will give shade to. It is stated in Bukhari that on the Day of Judgement there will be no shade except for Allah’s shade. And from amongst these groups, one group will be those youth who spent their youth in the worship of Allah.

The reason being is because a youth has many desires, so

whosoever goes against his desires and controls them in this delicate period of youth, and obeys the command of Allah, and tries his best to follow the Islamic Shariah, in such a time of his life when his desires are at their peak, then Allah will give him a great reward.

Once the great Imam Abu Hanifah (rahamtullahe alayhe) was giving advice to his student Imam Abu Yusuf (rahamtullahe alayhe). He said that in your youth you should spend your time in seeking Islamic knowledge, and thereafter seek a job, and when you get enough money then you should get married.

Once a pious servant of Allah saw an old man in great pain.

On seeing him in this state, he remarked that the old man did not take care of Allah’s rules in his youth. Similarly, a wise man once said that how many old men are there who repent to Allah. How great would it be to see youngsters

repenting to Allah.

Therefore, the period of youth is a very delicate and important period in a Muslim’s life. If spent in the right way his time as a youth will benefit not only himself but also others. By visiting the Masjid, attending the gatherings of the scholars of Islam and seeking their advice and knowledge, serving one’s parents and trying to carry out Allah Taa’la’s orders to the best of ability then it is greatly hoped that one will grow up to become a leader of the Muslim community and become the coolness of one’s parents eyes. If wasted by continuously committing sins, disobeying Allah’s commands, then it is possible that on the Day of Judgment Allah will reprimand him regarding this.

So dear youngster! Realise your value and importance for the future fate of the Ummah lies in your hands. May Allah guide and protect us all on the day of Judgement. - inter-islam.com 21

Hazrat Salman Farsi (R.A.)

This is the story of the pious, mystic, Faqhi, intellectual and ascetic, Salman the Persian. He grew up in the town of Isfahan in Persia, in the village of Jayyan. His father was the Dihqan (chief) of the village. He was the richest person there and had the biggest house.His father loved him, more than he loved any other.

As time went by, his love for Salman became so strong and overpowering that he feared to lose him or have anything happen to him. So he kept him at home, a virtual prisoner, in the same way that young girls were kept.

Salman became devoted to the Magian religion, so much so that he attained the position of custodian of the fire, which they worshipped. His duty was to see that the flames of the fire remained burning and that it did not go out for a single hour, day or night.

Salman’s father had a vast estate, which yielded an abundant supply of crops. He himself looked after the estate and gathered harvest. One day as he went about his duties as Dihqan of the village, he said to Salman, ‘My son, as you see, I am too busy to go out to the estate now.

Go and look after matters there for me today.

On the way to the estate, Salman passed a Christian church and heard voices raised in prayer, which attracted his attention. He did not know anything about Christianity or, for that matter, about the followers 10 22

of any other religion. His father had kept him in the house away from people. When he heard the voices of the Christians, he entered the church to see what they were doing. He was impressed by their manner of praying and felt drawn to their religion. He said, ‘This religion is better than ours. I shall not leave them until the sunsets.’

Salman’s inclination to Christianity:

Salman asked and was told that the Christian religion originated in Syria.

He did not go to his father’s estate that day and at night, he returned home. His father met him and asked where he had been. Salman told him about his meeting with the Christians and how he was impressed by their religion. His father was dismayed and said: ‘My son, their is nothing good in that religion. Your religion and the religion of your forefathers is better.”

‘No, their religion is better than ours,’ he insisted. His father became upset and afraid that Salman would leave their religion. So he kept Salman locked up in the house and shackled his feet. Salman managed to send a message to the Christians, asking them to inform him of any caravans going to Syria. Before long they contacted him with the information he wanted. He broke the fetters and escaped his father’s estate to join the caravan to Syria.

When he reached Syria, he asked

regarding the leading person in the Christian religion and was directed to the bishop of the church. He went up to him and said: ‘I want to become a Christian and would like to attach myself to your service, learn from you and pray with you.’

The bishop agreed and Salman entered the church in his service.

Salman soon found out, however, that the bishop was corrupt. He would order his followers to give money in charity while holding out the promise of blessings to them.

When they gave the bishop anything to spend in the way of Allah, he would hoard it for himself and not give anything to the poor or needy.

In this way, he amassed a vast quantity of gold. When the bishop died and the Christians gathered to bury him, Salman told them of his corrupt practices and, at their request, showed them where the bishop had kept their donations.

When they saw the large jars filled with gold and silver they said, ‘By Allah, we shall not bury him.’ They nailed him on a cross and threw stones at him. Salman stayed on, in the service of the person who replaced him. The new bishop was an ascetic who longed for the Hereafter and engaged in worship day and night. Salman was devoted to him and spent much of the time in his company.

After the new bishop died, Salman attached himself to various Christian

religious figures, in Mosul, Nisibis and elsewhere. The last one told him that there was none left on the earth that were following the correct path. He also told him that the time had arrived for the advent of a Prophet in the land of the Arabs, who would have a reputation for strict honesty, one who would accept a gift but would never consume charity (sadaqah) for himself.

Salman’s inclination to the Arabs and Islam:

A group of Arab leaders from the Kalb tribe passed through Ammuriyah. Salman asked them to take him with them to the land of the Arabs, in return for whatever money he had. They agreed to take him along. When they reached Wadi al-Qura (a place between Syria and Madinah), the Arabs broke their agreement and made him a slave, then sold Salman to a Jew. Salman worked as a servant for him but he eventually sold him to a nephew of his, belonging to the tribe of Banu Qurayzah. This nephew took Salman with him to Yathrib, the city of palm groves, which is how the Christian at Ammuriyah had described it.

At that time the Prophet was inviting his people in Makkah to Islam but Salman did not know of this because of the harsh duties slavery imposed upon him. When the Prophet reached Yathrib after his hijrah from Makkah, Salman was on top of a palm tree doing some work.

Salman’s master was sitting under the tree.

A nephew of Salman’s master came

up and said, ‘May Allah declare war on the Aws and the Khazraj (the two main Arab tribes of Yathrib). By Allah, they are now gathering at Quba to meet a man, who has just today, arrived from Makkah and who claims to be Prophet.’

Salman felt light-headed upon hearing these words and began to shiver so violently that he had to climb down, in fear that he may fall.

He quickly swung down from the tree and spoke to his master’s nephew.

‘What did you say? Repeat the news for me.’ Salman’s master grew angry at this breach of protocol and struck him a terrible blow. ‘What does this matter to you’? Go back to what you were doing,’ he shouted.

That evening, Salman took some dates that he had gathered and went to the place where the Prophet had alighted. He went to him and said, ‘I have heard that you are a righteous man and that you have companions with you who are strangers and are in need. Here is something from me as sadaqah. I see that you are more deserving of it than others are.’

The Prophet ordered his companions to eat but he himself refrained.

Salman gathered some more dates and when the Prophet left Quba for Madinah, Salman went to him and said, ‘I noticed that you did not eat of the sadaqah I gave. This however is a gift for you.’ Of this gift of dates, both he and his companions ate.

The strict honesty of the Prophet was one of the characteristics that led Salman to believe in him and accept Islam. Salman was released from slavery by the

Prophet , who paid his Jewish master a stipulated price, and who himself planted an agreed number of date palms to secure Salman’s manumission. After accepting Islam, Salman would say when asked whose son he was, ‘I am Salman, the son of Islam from the children of Adam.’

Salman’s role in islam:

Salman was to play an important role in the struggles of the growing Muslim State. At the battle of Khandaq, he proved to be an innovator in military strategy. It was he who suggested digging a ditch or khandaq around Madinah to keep the Quraysh army at bay.

When Abu Sufyan, the leader of the Makkans, saw the ditch, he said, ‘This stratagem has not been employed by the Arabs before.’

Salman participated in all of the other campaigns of the Prophet thereafter. He was also with Saad in the conquest of Iraq. After the grand victory, the Caliph Umar chose him because of his knowledge of the terrain, to select the land upon which Kufa was to be built.

Salman became known as ‘Salman the Good’. Salman was a scholar who lived a rough and ascetic life.

He had one cloak, which he wore and slept on. He would not seek the shelter of a roof but stayed under a tree or against a wall. A man once said to him: ‘Shall I not build you a house in which you may live?’ ‘I have no need of a house,’ he replied. The man persisted and said; ‘I know the type of house that would suit you.’

Hazrat Salman Farsi’s tomb in Madain Iraq

11 23

‘Describe it to me,’ said Salman. ‘I shall build you a house which if you stood up in, the roof would hurt your head and if you were to stretch your legs, the wall would hurt them.’

Later, as a governor of Al-Madain (Ctesiphon) near Baghdad, Salman received a stipend of five thousand dhirhams. This he would distribute as sadaqah. He lived from the work of his own hands. When some people came to Madina and saw him working the palm groves, they said, ‘You are the leader here and your sustenance is guaranteed and yet you do this work?’

‘I like to eat from the work of my own hands,’ he replied. Salman however was not extreme in his ascetism.

It is related that he visited Abu Dardaa with which the Prophet (pbuh) had joined him in brotherhood. He found Abu Dardaa’s wife in a miserable state and he asked, ‘What is the matter with you.’‘Your brother has no need of anything in this world,’ she replied.

When Abu Dardaa came, he welcomed Salman and gave him food. Salman told him to eat but Abu Dardaa said, ‘I am fasting.’‘I swear to you that I shall not eat until you eat also.’

Salman spent the night there as well. During the night, Abu adDardaa got up but Salman got hold of him and said, ‘O Abu ad-Dardaa, your Lord has a right over you. Your family has a right over you and your body has a right over you. Give to each there due.’

Then in the morning, they prayed together and then went out to meet the Prophet (pbuh). The Prophet (pbuh) supported Salman in what he had said. (Bukhari)

Salman as a scholar

As a scholar, Salman was noted for his vast knowledge and wisdom.

Ali (RA) said of him that he was like Luqman the Wise. And Kab alAhbar said: ‘Salman is bursting with knowledge and wisdom. He is an ocean that does not dry up.’ Salman had knowledge of both the Christian scripture and the Quraan in addition to his earlier knowledge of the Zoroastrian religion. Salman in fact translated parts of the Quraan into Persian during the lifetime of the Prophet (pbuh). He was thus the 24

first person to translate the Quraan into a foreign language.

According to the most reliable account, he died in either 31 or 34 A.H, at the age of 250 years, during the caliphate of Uthman, at Ctesiphon.

Abu Hurraira (RA) narrates, that the Prophet (pbuh) prayed the following verse: ‘If ye turn back, He will substitute in your stead another people, then they would not be like you.’ (Q47:38) The Sahabah asked the Prophet (pbuh), ‘O Prophet (pbuh), who are these people that Allah has mentioned, that he would chose them instead of us? That they will not do as we did?’ The Prophet (pbuh) placed his hand on Salman’s thigh and said, ‘It will be his people.

And even if faith is near the Surya (the Pleiads), someone from the Persians would attain it.’

Who were the people of Kufa and Iraq? Who was Imaam Abu Hanifah? They were all Persians.

The divinely chosen denizens of Kufa were Persians. Their spiritual teachers were Persians and so were the three about whom the Prophet (pbuh) said, ‘Paradise longs for three people. Ali, Amar and Salman.’ (Tirmidhi) Abu Hurraira (RA) narrates in another Hadith, that the Prophet (pbuh) once prayed the following verse: ‘As well as others of them, who have not already joined them.’

(Q62:3) The Sahabah asked, ‘O Prophet of Allah (pbuh) , who are these people,’ The Prophet (pbuh) placed his hand on Salman (pbuh) and said, ‘If faith was near the Pleiads, then someone from them would attain it.’ (Bukhari and Muslim) Time bore witness to the realisation of the Prophet (pbuh) words.

The progeny of the

Persians spread their knowledge and populated the world.

Conclusion

Once Abu Sufyan came to Madinah and passed by Salman (pbuh), Bilal (RA) and Sohayb (RA).

The three companions said, ‘Have not the swords of Allah beheaded this accursed man yet?’ Abu Bakr (RA) upon hearing this said, ‘Do not say such things of the leader of Quraish.’ After that, Abu Bakr (RA) went to the Prophet (pbuh) and told him of this conversation.

The Prophet (pbuh) said, ‘Have you annoyed these three? If you have, then you have annoyed Allah.’

Abu Bakr (RA) made haste to the three companions and asked them whether they took offence on his words.

They told him that they had not and further said, ‘O brother, may Allah forgive you.’ The annoyance of Salman (pbuh) is the annoyance of Allah. Even the likes of Abu Bakr (RA) fear to offend him.

It has come in another Hadith that the Prophet (pbuh) said, ‘Allah has commanded me to love four men, for He too loves them. They are Ali, Abu Dhar, Miqdad and Salman.’It has also ome in a Hadith that, ‘Each Prophet had seven helpers and protectors, I was given fourteen. Ali, Hasan and Hussain, Hamzah, Abu Bakr, Umar, Masaab Ibn Ameer, Bilal, Salman, Amar, Abdullah Ibn Masood, Abu Dhar and Miqdad.’

This was Salman Farsi (pbuh), the Persian who’s quest for the true faith lasted almost all of his 250 years of life.

Darul-uloom Bury

There were beer mats everywhere.

The whole corridor was covered in an intriguing pattern of small cardboard squares called Carlsberg. There were eight rooms in the corridor but only one kitchen, one toilet and one shower. I had expected the place to be a bit more lively but my friend explained to me that it was always quiet on Friday and Saturday nights. ‘They invite me along with them as well,’ he said with a sigh, ‘but all I can do is laugh and politely decline.’

Welcome to the world of the university campus, the place where a significant number of Muslim students will spend at least the first year of their university life. Away from home and away from family and friends, the three years on average spent by most students pursuing a degree is a

crucial time for the development or deterioration of one’s Imãn. All students whether they choose to remain at home or stay elsewhere experience the onslaught of ‘Fresher’s Week’ before they even begin their studies. Fresher’s Week is supposedly a week full of events designed to allow those beginning their university career to acquaint themselves with their new surroundings as well as with their fellow students. In reality Fresher’s Week is a hedonistic 7 days which the pubs and nightclubs utilise to attract their prospective clientele for the following year.

Flyers and posters advertising nightclubs, bank loans, mobile phones and a whole host of other organisations, societies and clubs bombard students during these first few days. Even though the Islamic

Societies of most universities make a determined effort to attract Muslim students away from such temptation, it is sad to say that for many Muslims the Islamic Society stall is last on their list of places to visit. Fresher’s Week is a severe trial and only those come through unscathed that have a strong bond and connection with Allah.

When I initially applied to university I remember being told at college that university was a place of experimentation, of experience and of widening one’s views of the world. For a Muslim this experience can be extremely difficult as many of the activities used for this social experimentation are either makrooh or harãm and illegal. Social experimentation and finding the ‘real you’ seem to be prime goals for many students. For Muslims,

Surviving University Going to University contact us:

ultant.com

passionislam@cons

university can be quite a lonely time as many of the events and functions organised by their peers involve activities which are albeit legal under the laws of this country but illegal i.e. harãm from an Islamic perspective. Promiscuous relationships, ‘pub crawls’ (whereby a number of pubs are visited in one outing) and a whole host of other unbelievable activities are the order of the day. And all this is practiced by those who the rest of society deems as being ‘the leaders of tomorrow’.

I remember my disgust when I initially visited my university at the 26

lack of scope in the lecturer’s jokes.

Alcohol and the price of alcohol were the only two topics discussed.

It was quite a disturbing experience to be the only sombre person in a room full of 400 laughing 18 year olds. It was not that I did not understand the jokes, it was the fact that drinking and in reality alcoholism were deemed to be an acceptable part of the student lifestyle regardless of a person’s belief. In my opinion, this is the crux of the difficulty for Muslims studying at university; the question of maintaining and retaining a distinct Muslim identity. This is the point

where many of us fail as we try to reconcile our faith with the demands and pressures of the environment surrounding us. Do you pray Zuhr Salãh during your lunch hour or do you make it Qadhã and attend that lunchtime optional seminar which might look good on your CV? It is in such matters that students should turn to the ‘Ulamã in order to find out how to reconcile these differences.

And it is during these times that one realises the true advantages of having a spiritual mentor. Having a spiritual mentor or Shaykh to which one can turn to for guidance and

encouragement can make all the difference when confronted with a dilemma.

However, many students are unable to do this, mainly because of the fact that the only contact they had with the ‘Ulamã was during their pre-teens when attending the evening maktab. No contact or relationship was maintained with the ‘Ulamã and in many cases with the Deen of Islãm after these initial few years. But, alhamdulillah there are still a significant number of students who do maintain contact, right until and after the time they enter university. Their knowledge for Islãm can prove to be a boon for others searching for the truth - and there are many searching for and returning to the truth. The number of student reverts and Muslims whose interest in Islãm is reignited while attending university and the existence of student Islamic Societies bears testimony to this Islamic Societies are voluntary organisations run by students to cater for the needs of Muslims who may be attending the university or living in its vicinity. They typically provide a prayer room with wudhoo facilities in most cases, and organise a variety of Da‘wah and educational events. Partly funded by money from the university’s student union and partly by private donations, Islamic Societies bring together Muslims from around the world. In my first Jumu‘ah prayer at university I was met with a scene which made me reminisce of how the times of the Prophet s must have been. The Imãm was an African, the mu’azzin an Arab, and the remaining rows a mixture of Muslims from almost every other country in the world This diversity however, can prove to have a weakness in the sense that it can provide an ideal cover for deviant sects bent on spoiling the Imãn as well as ideology of Muslims.

Many students are unaware of these sects and are highly impressed by the seemingly knowledgeable and sincere words of their protagonists.

Once again the lack of knowledge regarding our authentic scholars and their achievements causes quite a majority of us to feel inferior when faced with such people.

Another point which surprised me very much was the little effort that

was being made on the Muslims at the University. It seemed like Da‘wah was to be practised on non-Muslims only. I attended one of the meetings held to discuss the organisation of the Islamic Awareness Week at the university.

Even though I half expected the meeting to be mixed I had not anticipated what I saw. Many of the sisters wore scarves, but the way they and many of the brothers as well, were dressed, left little to the imagination. However most of these sisters were extremely sincere and it soon became obvious that they played a key role in the running of Islamic events at the university. On asking one of the brothers why this was the case he replied that most Muslim male students did not bother volunteering and consequently this void was filled by the sisters. In my opinion this was an extremely dangerous situation as many of the events that were being organised involved the free mixing of males and females albeit with a good intention. This is another point where most of us fail due to our lack of knowledge and correct guidance. We presume we are doing something acceptable in the Sharee‘ah based upon what little knowledge we may have of the Sharee‘ah ourselves.

The brother whom I quoted at the beginning of the article was a clean shaven youngster when he started university. He has since kept a beard. I asked him the reason for this and he replied, ‘I was looking for Muslims and I thought let me look for someone with a beard.

The thought suddenly hit me that I myself do not have a beard, would anyone recognise me as a Muslim?’

There are many brothers and sisters who dress in full Islamic clothing when attending university and it can be honestly said that there is probably no greater form of giving Da‘wah to both Muslims and nonMuslims than this; the full adoption of Islãm. As many of us know Allah has commanded us to enter into Islãm totally. This is what I think is needed for the regeneration of the student community. Rather than trying to unify with university culture Muslims need to be unique, unique both internally in manners and character and externally in dress and appearance, and be proud of

this uniqueness. Simplicity coupled with the adoption of the teachings of the Qur’ãn and Sunnah and the ways of the Companions, under the guidance of the ‘Ulamã, the experts in the field, seems to be the only way to achieve this uniqueness and in reality restore our confidence.

Reliable organisations such as the Islãmic Da‘wah Academy and many others are already taking part in this regeneration by holding meetings with student leaders and trying to address their specific needs. More interaction such as this is needed at both school and college/university level.

For me university has proved to be quite a revealing experience in the sense that it has made me appreciate how little many nonMuslims and, in some unfortunate cases, Muslims themselves know about Islãm. For a significant number of non-Muslim students the only contact they have had with Muslims is via the TV or the newspapers i.e. they have never met a Muslim before. We, as Muslim students need to be trained and given the opportunity to learn how to practice and deliver Islãm adequately and to deal with situations which we may have not encountered before in our lives.

Only recourse to the ‘Ulamã and the mashã’ikh can help to solve such dilemmas.

We need to take the opportunity to adopt the company of the pious, especially the ‘Ulamã and take part in reliable religious work so that we gain the true understanding of Islãm.

Only then will we become true individuals, independent and free from the shackles of a non-Islamic culture. And only then will we be able to, in the words of the Sahãbi Rib‘ee Ibne Ãmir t, work towards delivering mankind from ‘the slavery of man into the slavery of the Lord of man, and from the narrowness of this world to the vastness of the Hereafter.’

May Allah give the writer first and then the readers the ability and the inclination to practice what has been written. May Allah help all students whether studying in religious or secular institutes to achieve their goals and cause all of us to attain His pleasure and live and die as true Muslims upon Islãm. Ãmeen. www.idauk.org 27

Muslims in Norway In the next few months we will be focusing on Muslims in other parts of the World

Despite the fact that Islam is not new in Norway, the historic roots of Islam in this country have almost been forgotten over time. They have been lately discovered by archaeologists in the southern parts of Norway. In their trades with the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad, the Vikings used to carry, upon returning home, Islamic coins that bear the Shahadah (Arabic for: testimony of Islamic Faith).

Furthermore, some rumours were going a round about the huge number of Vikings who died and disappeared because of the ongoing Christian missionary movements all over Norway and in other Scandinavian countries.

What is really surprising is that Henrik Wergeland (one of the great Norwegian figures in modern history and one of the fathers of the Norwegian constitution) was a Muslim in secret. Lately, a bunch of letters that Wergeland had sent to his mother were discovered, where he confessed adherence to Islam. He was referring to Islam as the religion of the Turks (meaning the Ottoman Empire).

First Norwegian Muslims As far as Norway is concerned, Muslims did not find it an attractive country because of its cold climate and its impoverished economy before 28

the 1960s.

Lately, after the discovery of oil in Norway, the need for labour arose.

At that time, the Turks and Pakistani were available and welcome into the society. Yet, the Norwegian society was quite sensational toward immigrants at that time because the country was almost 100-percent ethnically and religious.

As immigrants, Muslims encountered a society that was totally different from theirs. They were required to overcome the new challenges that they faced in the Norwegian society.

Muslims in Norway had been a very small minority until the 1970s when more and more Muslims started to immigrate from war-torn countries and the African continent as a whole, especially the northern region.

After 1985, the numbers of Muslims started to increase because of immigrants and students. Also, some Norwegians started to convert to Islam. Regardless of the real reason behind this huge number of converts (whether it is due to Islam itself as a religion or intermarriages), no one can deny the fact that nowadays Islam has become the second biggest and fastest growing religion in Norway.

The Muslim population in Norway is not exactly known, but

it is approximately 300,000 out of 4,500,000 Norwegians.

Norwegian Muslims’ Identity The ongoing role of media in defaming Islam has clearly raised the number of Norwegians who converted to Islam. More Muslims got in touch with their religious identity and clinched to it. Naturally, the question of identity became an essential issue, especially for the second generation of Norwegian Muslims. The religious identity became a very important issue. It surpassed the ethnic identity in many cases.

Of course the need of Islam arose in light of the cultural background of this country. The Muslims have been generally successful in establishing their institutions and organisations, and this process is developing ever since. Great efforts are being done by all concerned Muslims in this country.

The population of Muslims in Norway is ethnically diverse and has different directions. The Pakistanis constitute the largest Muslim community, then come the Turks and eventually the Arabs. In Addition, Norway has some Muslims from all over the Muslim World. Many of those Muslims are workers and many of them are school and university students.

It is reasonable to say that the Muslim

community in Norway is integrated into the society far better than the integration of Muslim communities in many other countries. This is due to the Norwegian government’s support for those who have some difficulties in coping with the Norwegian society.

Norwegian Muslim Politicians There are active Muslims in all political parties, except the far right.

As a result, Muslims can be seen in the General Parliament and the communal parliaments, too. Such an integration should not be regarded as friction-free. Just like in other Western countries, the anti-Islamic propaganda has reached Norway through some media that played the game of Islamophobia.

Although the anti-Islamic propaganda in Norway is never as terrible as those in some European countries, Norwegian Muslims still have a great task of integration.

They are working regularly on representing Islam in the right way that it deserves.

Basically, representing Islam depends on learning Islamic studies, which is available to all Norwegian Muslims, free of charge, even in universities. Muslims here encounter and solves some of the urgent issues that needs to be solved. One of these problems is bank loans for private housing.

Norwegian Muslims also lack the Islamic education based mainly on Islamic instructions. They do need a system of education that works as a complement to state-driven schools.

They need a more in-depth Islamic education, and this of course requires qualified persons who have the capacity of bridging the gap between the two worlds.

There have been a lot of extended consultations among the religious

leaders of the Muslim community.

By the time of the third generation of Norwegian Muslims, it would not be unreasonable to assume that Norway may have a Muslim prime minister.

The Norwegian governments have been successful in the efforts exerted to integrate Muslims in the society as active members

By Abed Nakhleh Muslims in the world section reflects personal views and do not reflect views of Passion Islam.

If you want to send in your articles and get them published in Passion Islam or get involved with Passion Islam email us on

passionislam@consultant.com

Muslim religious leaders say violence no answer to anti-Islam attacks

Several Muslim religious leaders and scholars believe that neither violence nor a boycott of Western goods is the right answer to a perceived surge in an anti-Islam campaign. “The West knows very little about Islam and its principles. So the best way to reverse the so-called Islamophobia is to enter into a dynamic dialogue with the West,” said Abdul Sabour Chahin, a noted Muslim scholar. “We have to let the non-Muslims get exposed to the genuine tenets of Islam so as to learn about its tolerance and moderation,” Gulf News quoted him as saying.

Chahin, a professor of Islamic studies at Cairo University, was speaking last month after Dutch Member of Parliament Geert Wilders angered Muslims around the world by releasing his anti-Islam film Fitna.

The 15-minute documentary, posted on the Internet. accuses Quran of inciting violence. “Officially, Egypt, a predominantly Muslim country of 76 million, greeted the Dutch film with condemnation. “Fitna hurts the feelings of more than one billion Muslims around the world,” the Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Aboul Geit said. “The film reflects deep ignorance of Islam’s principles,” he added. In 2006, “Violent demonstrations will lead

to nothing, but to clashes between the protesters and the local police,” warned Chahin. “This would just reinforce the negative stereotyping of the Muslims in the West.” Agreeing, Suad Saleh, a prominent Muslim TV preacher, called for ignoring the Dutch film altogether. “The Muslims should react in a way becoming of their religion as a faith of peace,” Saleh told the independent newspaper Al Masri Al Youm. “Violence will give foes of Islam the chance to assault it time and again.” Egypt’s top Muslim cleric, however, roundly criticized Wilders’ film and demanded that the Dutch government ban it. “We cannot remain silent,” , the Sheikh of Al Azhar Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi was quoted as saying in the local press. “Stop it or the results would be disastrous.”

A delegation from a Dutch nongovernment association visiting Egypt last month said Dutch law guaranteed freedom of speech. “Legally, it is difficult to prevent the release of a film in the Netherlands,” Bas Plaisier, head of the delegation, told reporters in Cairo. “What we can do is to ask Wilders to use freedom of speech in a way that does not hurt or insult people,” added Plaisier, who is the Secretary-General of the Protestant

Church in the Netherlands.

“I am pleased with the muted reactions that we have received so far from the Muslim world,” Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said in a statement. “But the rhetoric in some countries shows that we need to remain alert.” Verhagen said he had told the ambassadors from 26 countries, including Iran and Indonesia, that the film in no way reflected the views of the Dutch government and called on the diplomats to make sure that Dutch interests abroad were protected.

“We are aware of the concerns and feelings in the international Muslim community about this film. But injured feelings should never be an excuse for aggression and threats,” he said.

“Let us keep a cool head and warm relations.”

mehdi

henna artist for all occasions, parties, weddings and community events, discount for block bookings call:

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Quran ringtones haraam

You text & emails send then through to passionislam@consultant.cm

Saudi council of Muftis have given an unanimous Fatwa that ring tones on QURAN AAYAT are haraam because the AAYAT are not complete when we pick the phone and meanings of AAYAT changes when they are not complete. QURAN is for Hidayat and not for

ring tones, Please inform others. by sara, text

what you see can be misleading My mom only had one eye. I hated her... she was such an embarrassment.

She cooked for students & teachers to support the family. There was this one day during elementary school where my mom came to say hello to me.

I was so embarrassed. How could she do this to me? - I ignored her, threw her a hateful look and ran out.

The next day at school one of my classmates said, ‘EEEE, your mom only has one eye!’

I wanted to bury myself. I also wanted my mom to just disappear.

I confronted her that day and said, ‘ If you’re only goanna make me a laughing stock, why don’t you just die?’

My mom did not respond...

I didn’t even stop to think for a second about what I had said, because I was full of anger.

I was oblivious to her feelings.

I wanted out of that house, and have

nothing to do with her.

So I studied real hard, got a chance to go abroad to study.

Then, I got married I bought a house of my own.

I had kids of my own.

I was happy with my life, my kids and the comforts, Then one day, my mother came to visit me.

She hadn’t seen me in years and she didn’t even meet her grandchildren.

When she stood by the door, my children laughed at her, and I yelled at her for coming over uninvited.

I screamed at her, ‘How dare you come to my house and scare my children!’

GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!!!’

And to this, my mother quietly answered, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry. I may have gotten the wrong address,’ and she disappeared out of sight.

One day, a letter regarding a school reunion came to my house.

So I lied to my wife that I was going on a business trip.

After the reunion, I went to the old

Think before you next time drink from a can

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A woman went boating one Sunday taking with her some cans of coke which she put into the refrigerator of the boat. On Monday she was taken to the hospital and placed in the Intensive Care Unit. She died on

shack just out of curiosity.

My neighbours said that she died.

I did not shed a single tear.

They handed me a letter that she had wanted me to have.

My dearest son, I think of you all the time. I’m sorry that I came to your house and scared your children. I was so glad when I heard you were coming for the reunion. But I may not be able to even get out of bed to see you.

I’m sorry that I was a constant embarrassment to you when you were growing up.

You see........when you were very little, you got into an accident, and lost your eye.

As a mother, I couldn’t stand watching you having to grow up with one eye.

So I gave you mine.

I was so proud of my son who was seeing a whole new world for me, in my place, with that eye.

With all my love to you, Your mother. By Anonymous

Wednesday. The autopsy concluded she died of Leptospirosis.

This was traced to the can of coke she drank from, not using a glass. Tests showed that the can was infected by dried rat urine and hence the disease Leptospirosis.

Rat urine contains toxic and deadly substances It is highly recommended to thoroughly wash the upper part of soda cans before drinking out of them.

The cans are typically stocked in warehouses and transported straight to the shops without being cleaned. A study at NYCU showed that the tops of soda cans are more contaminated than public toilets (i .e.) full of germs and bacteria. So wash them with water before putting them to the mouth to avoid any kind of fatal accident. Please forward this message to all the people you care about.

BENIFITS OF AAYATUL QURSI

1. RECITE AAYATUL QURSI AT THE TIME OF LEAVING HOUSE BECAUSE 70000 ANGELS PROTECT PERSON FROM LEFT, RIGHT, FRONT AND BACK AND IF A PERSON DIES BEFORE RETURNING HE WILL GET 70 MARTYRS REWARD. 2. RECITE AAYATUL QURSI 40 TIMES EVERY DAY AT THE TIME OF SUNSET, PERSON WILL GET REWARD OF 40 HAJJ. 3. RECITE AAYATUL QURSI EVERY NIGHT AT BED, THIS CREATES ONE ANGEL WHO WILL GUARD THE PERSON TILL MORNING. 4. RECITE AAYATULQURSI EVERY TIME AFTER DOING ABLUTION (WUZU) THIS WILL RAISE PERSON 40 TIMES IN RANK FROM EACH WORD. 5. RECITE AAYATUL QURSI EVERY TIME AFTER RETURNING HOME BECAUSE IT KEEPS AWAY POVERTY.

Underwater

Fajar

sent in by Hassam. West Yorkshire - email

‘He is under water diving, its his work ... he can’t leave his job undone...but he can’t lose the fajr.... so he prayed underwater’

THOSE WHO DO NOT SAY THEIR PRAYERS OF: FAJAR: the glow of their face is taken away.

ZOHAR: the blessing of their income is taken away.

ASAR: the strength of their body is taken away.

MAGHRIB: they are not benefacted by their children.

ISHA: the peace of their sleep is taken away.

THE HOLY QUR’AN: Say Your Prayers Before Prayers For You Are Said’. sent in by Aisha, London - email

The best gift 2 give: 2friends-loyalty 2enemy-forgiveness 2parents-devotion 2child-good example 2allah-our lives 2you-my duas Zubair - West Yorkshire There is a curve called failure, A loop called confusion, Speed bumps called friends, Caution lights called family, and Flat called jobs.

But if you have a spare called determination, An engine called perseverance, Insurance called faith, N a driver called Allah, You will make it 2 a place called

success.

Do good n leave behind you a monument of virtue dat the storms of time can never destroy.

Write name in kindness, luv n mercy on the hearts of thousands u come in contact wid year by year, n you will never be forgotten. Ur name and good deeds will shine as the stars of de heaven.

As one generation plants trees, n the next enjoys de shade in each task der is an opportunity. If not for urself den others.

Life isn’t a race, it’s a journey – just enjoy it.

Zubair - West Yorkshire

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