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Muslims and Jews win autopsy ruling Issue: 88
August 2015
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Muslim and Jewish community were celebrating after a landmark legal high court victory which stated that coroners must send bodies for scans or blood tests rather than carry out invasive autopsies if the deceased’s religion d by Certifie
demands the corpse must stay intact. The judicial review hearing established a set of principles coroners must follow where families have expressed fundamental religious objections to full post-mortems.
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Muslims and Jews regard invasive autopsy as the desecration of a body in religious law and to be avoided where possible. Ramzan Mohayuddin Chair of Saad Foundation a registered charity Continued on page 3
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thePassion
www.pi-media.co.uk I August 2015
By Craig Murray
Former UK Ambassador
The spiral of despair
If somebody wishes to be a ghazi, I should much prefer them to do it in Tikrit rather than in Peterborough or Penicuik. To that extent I agree with Bob Quick. The periodic media scares about Sunni families going to Syria to “join ISIS” are very peculiar. We appear, with no public debate, to have adopted a de facto system of exit visas. Ronald Reagan famously said to Mikhail Gorbachev that we never had to lock our people in. It seems that now in the UK we do. We have companies that recruit and control active armies of mercenaries, which are responsible for thousands of deaths overseas. I detest the violence of “ISIS” but it is not morally different from Executive Outcomes machine gunning villages from helicopters in Angola or from Aegis killing random vehicle occupants in Iraq who happened to be near their convoys. Yet Tony Buckingham and Tim Spicer became extremely rich after founding their careers on the latter killings, and now are respected figures in the London establishment. Apparently killing for money is good; only killing for religion is bad. Nor is there any official objection to the young Britons who go to Israel to fight with the IDF, and were involved in the war crimes that last year killed hundreds upon hundreds of little Palestinian children. Terrorism is appalling. The desire by some of the inhabitants
of the Middle East to establish a Caliphate run on what they interpret as theological lines is a legitimate desire, if that is the kind of society people want. We devastated Iraq: we bombed Iraq into a failed state. We we were part of the nexus of interests that conspired to arm and facilitate armed insurrection in Syria. In the Blairite creed, we apparently believed that unleashing death, devastation and destruction of physical infrastructure and social institutions, would result in an embrace of democracy and western values by the people. You would have to be mad to believe that, but it appears to remain the guiding principle of western foreign policy. Even the remotest claim to wisdom would lead to the embrace of two principles. The first is that we cannot dictate how societies very different to our own ought to organise themselves. We can try to encourage a dialogue leading to respect of universal human rights, and hope for gradual improvement in that direction. But the second lesson is stop bombing. It is plainly counterproductive. BBC is wall to wall 7/7 coverage keeps focusing on military uniforms, even though the military were in no capacity whatsoever involved in 7/7. It is inappropriate militarism, just as we saw with the return of the bodies of the Tunisian victims.
There is an elephant in the room. Nobody is mentioning the starkly obvious truth. If we had not invaded Iraq, 7/7 would never have happened. Let me say it again, because it is not sayable within the corporate media and establishment consensus. If we had not invaded Iraq, 7/7 would never have happened. Our response to “Isis” illustrates that we have become no more sophisticated than the Victorian portrayal of the “Mad Mahdi”. The difference is that, due to globalisation, we cannot just pound foreign lands into submission without provoking the blowback of terrorism elsewhere. I detest terrorism and do not believe random killing of civilians can ever be justified. But it is not an inexplicable manifestation of evil. We are causing it. It is a fact that ISIS was never implicated in any terrorist activity in the UK before we started bombing ISIS in Iraq. We created the appalling mess in Iraq and Syria. By bombing we continually make it worse. It will take some time for the Middle East to recover from the profound effects of the Western wars against Muslim countries at the beginning of the 21st Century. Our response to the provocation of Bin Laden has been so stupid as to attain most of his goals for him. We have of course also attained most of the goals of the armaments and security state industries, which have sucked wealth from the rest of us. A spiral of despair for us has made billions for them. When a policy is as obviously counter-productive as our continual Middle Eastern wars, then ask cui bono? I am not claiming that if we stop bombing then terrorism will stop instantly. There will be a lag effect. And in even the most begin scenario, Iraq and Syria will take decades to normalise. That is our fault, but we can best now help by staying well away.
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Muslims and Jews win autopsy ruling
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I August 2015
established in 2009, providing professional advice and help to bereaved families at their time of need with particular emphasis and focus on the introduction of imaging services, such as MRI and CT scanning facilities, as an alternative to intrusive post mortems said “This
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is a victory for families. We have always said rights don’t end with death. Coroners now need to change their mindset and put the wishes of the deceased and family first allowing them to lay their loved ones to rest with the respect and dignity they deserve.”
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Mr Justice Mitting described several rules that must from now on be followed - including that there is an “established religious tenet” an invasive autopsy should be avoided, a “realistic possibility” that a noninvasive autopsy, such as a CT scan or blood cultures, would establish cause of death, and that the coroner must still be able to carry out their legal obligation to establish cause of death to the best of their ability. The non-invasive procedure should also be done “without imposing an additional cost burden on the coroner,” the judge added. Although two judges had already decided a scan should normally be permitted where required for religious reasons, the new ruling is the first time the court has established these principles in law. - Independent
UK blasted over arms sales ban lift on Israel
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I August 2015
presided over, were special components for military helicopters and a range of hi-tech parts for guidance and navigation systems used by the Israeli military. Israel’s 50-day war against Gaza, which started on July 8, 2014, killed 2,140 Palestinians. It also wreaked huge destruction on the enclave.
Human rights activists have censured the UK government for lifting restrictions on arms sales to Israel, which were imposed in the summer of 2014 during Israel’s 50-day bloody Gaza assault. The Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) said that the move signals that Israel can continue to buy British weapons for use against Palestinians. However, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) defended the move, saying a yearlong review of arms licenses to Israel had left it satisfied the contracts meet the UK’s export criteria, RT reported Meanwhile, Business Secretary Sajid Javid said that his department was satisfied that licenses for military material, including components for radar and tanks, now meet the UK’s
export criteria. Under British regulations, the sales of arms that can be used to commit human rights violations are banned. Now Jim Brann with the Stop the War Coalition says Israel has been the key ally of the British government in the Middle East, that is why, he says, the UK has always defended the regime, with Prime Minister David Cameron saying last year during the war on Gaza that Israel “had a right to defend itself.” The latest development comes after a report published in early July revealed the British government approved £4mn worth of arms to Israel in the immediate months following the start of Israel’s war on Gaza. Among the arms sales Britain
Muslims contribution to Scotland to be highlighted An innovative social media campaign has been launched to highlight the contribution Muslims have made to life in Scotland. It aims to collect and collate the history of Scotland’s 85,000 Muslims through personal recollections and stories on Facebook and Twitter. The project, which will last for a year, is the first attempt of its kind to research and celebrate the history of Scots Muslims and is aimed at promoting their positive impact on society to both young Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Already the online campaign, using the hashtag #MuslimsInScotland, has attracted responses and personal stories from all corners of Scotland.
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Judges uphold anti-terror powers
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An alliance of Muslim organisations has failed in a legal challenge against a controversial anti-terrorism power which allows police to question people for up to nine hours on whether they have been involved in acts of terrorism. The challenge to the Schedule 7 powers, which allow police to hold people at UK ports, was jointly brought to the Supreme Court last November by the Islamic Human Rights Commission, the Muslim Council of Britain, and CAGE, which campaigns on behalf of the victims of the so-called “war on terror”. Under the power, police need have no reasonable suspicion to stop, interrogate or detain anybody under the power making it prone to abuse. Statistics show that it has been disproportionately used against Muslims and ethnic minorities. The challenge was brought before the Supreme Court in support of Sylvie Beghal, a French national of Algerian descent, who was stopped after arriving with her children at East Midlands Airport on a flight from Paris in January 2011. The mother of three refused to answer the questions put to her - which included requests for
information about the FrenchAlgerian community in the UK - without the presence of a lawyer and was subsequently convicted for wilfully failing to comply with her duty under Schedule 7 to answer questions. She unsuccessfully brought a challenge against her conviction before the High Court last year, claiming that the detention had violated her rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. IHRC chair Massoud Shadjareh said: “The dismissal of this appeal
demonstrates a very definite shift in the political discourse within the UK. The most senior members of this country’s judiciary have determined that despite being discriminatory, and it’s ancillary uses (such as the recruitment of individuals for intelligence fishing exercises) falling outside of the scope of the legislation, Schedule 7 is indeed lawful. The highest court in the land has succumbed to the unstoppable momentum of the politics of fear, and thus failed to uphold the so-called ‘fundamental British value’ of the rule of law.”
High Court rules to lift ban on protests at Israeli drone factory The High Court lifted a ban on protests taking place within a 250 metre ‘forbidden zone’ around an arms factory in Shenstone. The ban came in the form of a temporary junction granted by the court on 30 June to UAV Engines Ltd in order to prevent protests outside the factory. Campaigners challenged the injunction in court today, claiming that it was designed to prevent people from exercising their right to free speech and protest at a factory manufacturing weapons used in human rights abuses abroad.
The factory – UAV Engines Ltd – is a subsidiary of Elbit Systems, one of Israel’s largest arms companies and a producer of drones and other military technology used in Israeli military assaults on Gaza. A court order remains in place forbidding protesters from trespassing on UAV Engines property or from harassing the company. Responding to the court’s decision, Chris Cole of Drone Campaign Network, one of the organisations challenging the injunction, said: “We’re very pleased that the High
Court has decided that the injunction sought by UAV Engines went too far and curtailed the right of legitimate and peaceful protest outside its premises. Arms companies like UAV Engines must accept that many people have serious and legitimate objection to their activities.” Ryvka Barnard of War on Want added: “We’re pleased that the court has done the right thing and lifted this unjust ban. We will continue to assert our right to protest at factories producing weapons used in human rights abuses and war crimes.”
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Court grants Cage judicial review
The High Court has given leave for a judicial review of the actions of the Charity Commission in obtaining an undertaking from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust that it would never again fund the advocacy group Cage. The application for the review to proceed was granted this morning by Lord Justice Burnett. The JRTC was represented in court as an “interested party”. The parties have until midSeptember to submit any further evidence. The case will be heard later in the year in the Divisional Court. Cage, which is not a charity, argued that the regulator “exerted unlawful pressure” earlier this year when it sought assurance from the JRCT and another grant-making charity, the Roddick Foundation, that they would never fund it again. Cage’s ground for seeking judicial review was based on three parts: that the commission’s decisions to seek the assurance were beyond its powers; that the decisions violated Cage’s freedoms of expression and association; and that the decisions were made unfairly without any prior notice to Cage. The judge said the court was prepared to give permission for the review on the grounds that the commission might have acted outside of its powers. He noted the point made by Cage and JRCT that even if the commission had the power to do what it did, it might
not have exercised its power in a rational manner: if this argument was raised in the review hearing, it would need to be properly evidenced. But he said the contention that the commission violated Cage’s freedom of expression and did not give Cage prior notice was “unarguable”. The Charity Commission’s counsel, Julian Milford, argued that the regulator had not exceeded its powers and the statement made to the JRCT with respect to Cage was not legally binding. A Charity Commission spokeswoman said in a statement that the regulator remained of the view that its actions had been responsible with respect to Cage and the JRCT. Cage also announced that it had
lodged a formal complaint with the United Nations Special Rapporteur, calling for a full investigation of the British government, after the Prime Minister referred to the group in a speech on extremism earlier this week. Zoe Nicola of HMA Solicitors, representing Cage, said: “The case raises major constitutional issues on whether the commission can require assurances from charities not to spend private money in support of controversial causes. “We welcome the court’s decision that the judicial review raises sufficiently important matters that the full appeal should be unusually determined by a full Divisional Court.” www.pi-media.co.uk
Academics react on Islamophobic plan in UK Hundreds of British academics say that new Counter-Terrorism and Security Act will only rather force radical political discussion underground, than actually help tackle terrorism in UK. According to this act, those suspected of extremism will be sent on deradicalization programs, while the whole system is to be policed by Government inspectors. But the new law has been criticized as a direct assault on
freedom of speech and a move towards a police state. In an unprecedented intervention, 280 academics, lawyers and public figures claim the controversial law will make Britain less safe, World Bulletin reported. Last month David Cameron said the government would provide “a full spectrum” response to counterterrorism, to include the vetting of external speakers at universities and banning those with extremist views.
There are also plans to vet broadcast programs for extremist content. But the academics’ letter states: “Prevent will have a chilling effect on open debate, free speech and political dissent. It will create an environment in which political change can no longer be discussed openly, and will withdraw to unsupervised spaces. Therefore, Prevent will make us less safe.”
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School children who support Palestine could be accused of being a terrorist
School children in the UK who express support for Palestine face being questioned by police and referred to a counter-radicalisation programme for youngsters deemed at risk of being drawn into terrorism under new laws requiring teachers to monitor students for extremism. One schoolboy told Al Jazeera he was accused of holding “terroristlike” views by a police officer who questioned him for taking leaflets into
school promoting a boycott of Israel. The case reflects concerns raised about the expansion of the government’s Prevent counterextremism strategy into schools, with critics complaining that teachers are being expected to act as the “eyes and ears of the state”. Since the beginning of July, teachers have had a statutory duty to monitor and report children who they believe may be susceptible
to radicalisation, although Prevent engagement officers, who are usually also police officers, have long been active in schools in areas with significant Muslim populations. The boy, who was then 15 and attending school in a southern English town, said he was also told that “Free Palestine” badges that he wore were “extremist”. Al Jazeera did not name the student or the school to protect his identity. A report on counter-extremism policy published by the think-tank Claystone also cited the case of a teenager identified as requiring deradicalisation for attending a protest against an Israeli diplomat. Ismail Patel, chairman of Friends of al-Aqsa, dismissed allegations that the organisation’s leaflets were extremist and accused the government of “veering towards totalitarianism”. “People are scared to talk about Palestine. A lot of mosques now will not put posters up. There is fear in the community so there is selfcensorship and self-policing,” said Patel. “That really feeds the process of radicalisation because they are not allowing individuals to express their grievances.”
UK Muslims launch new multi-faith campaign against extremism Declaring war on those promoting extremism, a group of UK Muslim charities have launched a new multifaith campaign as a collective effort against radicalization. The campaign, known as The Fight-back, is an initiative comprising of influential Muslim-led groups that have played a key role in combating terrorism by either de-radicalizing young people involved in violent extremism or helping equip families to spot the warning signs. “The Fight-back has to start right here and right now, everyone has to step up to the challenge,” Suleman Nagdi, of the Leicester-based federation of Muslim organizations
and one of the coordinators said. “Recent events continue to serve as a wake-up call to the serious threat of online and offline radicalization. “For too long we have seen a lot of good work in different parts of the community but we have never managed to gel the communities together.” “Many Muslim communities have spoken out against extremism and continue to do so but what we now need to do now is have a united voice,” Nagdi said. The campaign launch was announced in an online video in which the coalition said the UK
urgently needed groups that had been actively combating extremism. It was backed by the families of David Haines and Alan Henning who were both murdered by militants if the so-called ISIL. In their efforts to promote the campaign, Haines’s brother, Mike, and Henning’s widow, Barbara, back the campaign called on a united effort to “reject the lies that extremists spread”. Mosques also across the UK launched a campaign to encourage people to help Syrians through charities regulated by the Charity Commission, instead of going to the countries to help directly.
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Pakistan’s ISI eyes mass surveillance system: Report www.pi-media.co.uk
A UK-based watchdog group says Pakistan spy agency Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) has hired intermediary companies to acquire spying toolkits from Chinese firms for a mass surveillance program. According to a recent report from Privacy International, the ISI has sought to tap Internet traffic via underwater cables that pass through the country’s southern port city of Karachi. “What the ISI wanted to build was a complete surveillance system that would capture mobile communications data, including Wi-
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Fi, all broadband internet traffic, and any data transmitted over 3G,” the report said. Meanwhile, Matthew Rice, an advocacy officer for Privacy International, said the move would effectively give the Pakistani spy agency’s access to Internet traffic worldwide. “These cables are going to route data through various countries and regions,” Rice said, adding, “Some will go from Europe to Africa and all the way to Southeast Asia. From my reading that’s an explicit attempt to look at what’s going on.”
Rice also noted that traffic from North America and India would also be routed via the cables. Sources say the ISI has been building its surveillance capabilities for years and plans to collect broadband Internet traffic, phone records, and cellular data transmissions en mass. The plan is being copied on programs already run by the United States National Security Agency (NSA) and the of Britain’s most secret intelligence agency know as the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). Experts say the plan could end up even more invasive as the Pakistani spy agency has often worked with Western companies to fulfill those ambitions. A series of leaked top-secret documents last month appeared to show the British intelligence had gained access to almost all Pakistani Internet users. Rights campaigners have expressed concern over a provision that allows the government to share intelligence with foreign spy agencies, such as the NSA and GCHQ.
Muslim leaders oppose Australian ‘anti-extremism’ policy In Case You Missed It
Muslim leaders have criticized the Australian government’s deradicalization policy, saying it focuses on law enforcement measures and risks contributing to negative stereotypes about Islam. Kuranda Seyit, secretary of the Islamic Council of Victoria and a leading voice in Victoria state’s Muslim community, said that the policy is “punitive” and could potentially alienate disenchanted youth. “It sends the message, we don’t want you, which could push disaffected young people into the hands of radical groups,” Seyit said. “From that perspective, it’s
counter-productive. It’s also counterproductive in that it doesn’t give people any option for rehabilitation or reintegration.” Since last year, Australia has been concerned about its nationals joining or supporting groups fighting in the Middle East and the impact it could have on the country in the case of their return. Prime Minister Tony Abbott introduced a controversial law under which Australian dual nationals suspected of involvement in “terrorism” can be stripped of citizenship. Australia has already banned its citizens from traveling to Mosul and
Syria’s Raqqa province, unless they have a “legitimate purpose” for being there - a measure civil rights groups have criticized for placing the burden of proof on an individual. Seyit’s comments came a day after the president of the powerful, Sydney-based Lebanese Muslim Association harshly condemned the government’s de-radicalization approach, dismissing it as “pointless” and “a mess”. said, his exasperation apparent. “It didn’t mention the generic problem of extremism which exists in white supremacist and Neo Nazi groups and other religious ideologies.” www.pi-media.co.uk
US torture doctors could face charges 14
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The largest association of psychologists in the United States is teetering on the edge of a crisis with a report in the Guardian that report that an independent review revealed that medical professionals lied and covered up the extent of their involvement in post-9/11 torture. The discovery, which damages years of denials, has already led to at least one leadership firing and creates the potential for loss of licenses and even prosecutions. According to the article in the
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Guardian, for the past ten years, the Amerian Psychologists Association (APA) has rejected media reports on the complicity of psychologists’ in torture; the suppression of dissent from anti-torture doctors; cleared members of any misconduct; and portrayed itself as a consistent ally against abuse. However, the independent review now which was conducted by a former assistant US attorney, David Hoffman, undermines the APA’s denials in full – as well as vindicating
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the dissenters. Several officials are likely to be sacked with those who have access to the report also expecting a wave of resignations. A past APA president also confirmed that Stephen Behnke the APA’s ethics chief has been ousted. He was leading figure in recasting its ethics guidelines in a manner conducive to interrogations that, from the start, relied heavily on psychologists to design and implement techniques like waterboarding. Behnke was not the only psychologist involved in the establishment and application of torture. The findings could also reopen something human rights groups have urged for years: the potential for prosecutions of people that were complicit in torture. Sources also believe there will be grounds to initiate ethics charges against responsible individuals both within the APA and in the states in which they conduct their business, which would be the first step toward the loss of professional licenses.
UN report blasts Canada on human rights record
The United Nations first report card on Canada in a decade, released has accused the government of inaction on missing and murdered aboriginal women and taken issue with the new Bill C-51 anti-terrorism law. Those are just two of the matters targeted by the United Nations human rights committee report. Others include intimidation of charities, abuses by Canadian companies operating in foreign countries, general violence against women, and excessive use of police force.
“Human rights in Canada are under assault, and the UN human rights committee noted that,” said Harriett MacLachlan, president of the Ottawa-based charitable group, Canada Without Poverty. The UN report is the first detailed review of Canada’s human rights record under the leadership of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservative government. “This should be seen as a wake-up call by governments and courts in Canada that increasingly serious violations of civil and political
rights in Canada can no longer be tolerated,” MacLachlan told the online newspaper, Huffington Post Canada. It also mentioned charities, which are increasingly becoming targets of the Canada Revenue Agency and their charitable status investigated if the government deems the charity too political. The Canada Without Poverty group has been subject to an ongoing audit of its activities for three years. www.pi-media.co.uk
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Moscow becoming Europe’s largest Muslim city www.pi-media.co.uk
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With an official population of 12.5 million, Russia’s capital is now home to at least 1.5 million Muslims, according to a recent report. In Moscow, Muslims, either Russian-born or immigrant, secular or practicing, don’t feel welcome.
With only six mosques in the large city, attempts to build new ones have been met with protests and rallies. There are only two halal hotels in the city that sees millions of visitors a year. The city’s only Muslim gym and health clinic closed down shortly after
opening. Despite the large number of Muslim population in the city, there are only a handful of Muslim kindergartens or schools. “They are far to get to and there are too few of them,” Jannat Babakhanova of Limpopo, a small network of Muslim kindergartens, told Al Jazeera. “Moscow is slowly adapting to being Europe’s largest Muslim city, and Muslims are gradually adapting to it,” Malashenko told Al Jazeera. The presence of Muslims in Moscow prompted large number of reverts to Islam among ethnic Russians. “I hear many compliments about how I am dressed and how beautiful it looks,” Anastasiya Korchagina, who changed her first name to Aisha after reverting to Islam five years ago said. “I’ve never faced bad attitude. It’s just not there.”
Thailand launches smartphone app for Muslims
Thailand’s tourism authority launched a Smartphone app specifically geared towards attracting Muslim tourists to the country. The app for IOS and Android devices is designed to help Muslim visitors find mosques, hotels and shopping centers with prayer rooms, and halal restaurants, Anadolu Agency reported. “This is a very special and historic moment for us, as it marks the launch of a new strategy to more strongly position Thailand as a ‘Muslim-friendly’ destination,” Juthaporn Rerngronasa, Acting Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said. The acting governor was speaking at a press conference to unveil the app, along with a TAT sponsored campaign to encourage more Muslim visitors.
According to the TAT over three million visitors from the Middle East, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei visited the country in 2014. “We are seeing increasing investor interest in developing halal tourism hotels. All this is good for us because it will create jobs for our emerging younger generation and promote national inclusiveness and integration,” Juthaporn added. The TAT has targeted Muslim
tourists, as well as those from China and Russia as part of a campaign to increase stagnating visitor numbers. The country’s tourism industry is still reeling from a disastrous 2014 when a military coup and months of widespread street protests adversely affected the industry. The Kingdom is predominantly Buddhist, although parts of the deep south maintain a strong Muslim identity.
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Polish far right extremist to create Muslim database www.pi-media.co.uk
A far-right Polish has expressed their desire to create a register of Muslims in the country. The Polish Defense League has said that they will publish addresses and pictures of those practicing Islam in order to “protect” the country against the threat they allegedly pose. The plan, which they have called ‘Muslimwatch,’ has chilling similarities to segregation policies in Poland in the late 1930s, according to a former Polish Imam. “The initiative by the Polish Defense League (PDL) reminds me of the ‘Ghetto Benches’ before the war. We all know how that ended
after 1939. The same could happen here. Someone will think of an Auschwitz for Muslims. It’s dangerous,” said Selim Chazbijewicz, who is a Polish Tatar and the former Imam for the Muslim community in Gdansk. A report in RT today said that ghetto benches were a type of segregation used in the 1930’s, which forced Jews in a number of universities to sit apart from the other students. The head of the PDL Dariusz Mazurek, said on his Facebook page that the organization wants to create an online platform, which
would contain a database of Polish Muslims. This would include information about where they live, work and photographs. “Citizens have a right to know where Muslims live. We will be publishing their addresses and their names,” he said. The PDL, who have are closely linked to the anti-Muslim English Defence League, said that was still being built and will be launched in the near future. The idea is similar to the ‘Redwatch’ website, set up by the far-right British People’s Party to reveal the identities of anti-fascists and socialists. Chazbijewicz is debating the legality of the proposed ‘Muslimwatch,’ saying he believes it will fall foul of Poland’s data protection laws. “Such a register would be against the law. Poland is a democratic and secular country. I am sure the PDL will try and implement this, but I hope the response from the authorities will be quick,” the former Gdansk Imam said. Poland’s Muslim community is the smallest with roughly 20,000 and 40,000 living in the country, including 3,000 Tatars. The Polish Tatar population has long been established in Poland, after settling during the Middle Ages.
US retailer pays $25,000 to Muslim woman in headscarf suit A U.S. fashion retailer has agreed to pay more than $25,000 to a Muslim woman who was denied a job because she wore a headscarf during a job interview, a federal agency announced. Last month, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that Abercrombie & Fitch failed to accommodate Samantha Elauf’s religious needs when they declined to hire her in 2008 for a position at an Abercrombie Kids store in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said a federal appeals court dismissed the company’s appeal to the ruling. The company has paid $25,670 in damages to Elauf and $18,983 in court costs, the agency said. Discriminating against an applicant based on religion is illegal under federal law, unless the employer can prove that accommodating the applicant would impose an undue hardship.
While Elauf earned high marks during the hiring process, her score was downgraded because she wore a headscarf during the interview. The company had argued that it couldn’t have known that it needed to make an exemption to its employee dress code because Elauf didn’t identify herself as a Muslim. However, the court ruling in June found that the retailers “knew — or at least suspected — that the scarf was worn for religious reasons”.
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World Bank signs deal for development of Islamic finance
The World Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI) to help the global development of Islamic finance. Islamic finance can be an effective tool for financing development, in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries, CIBAFI said. The two organisations will cooperate in generating and
disseminating information about Islamic finance, encouraging research and promoting awareness, CIBAFI said. Abayomi Alawode, head of Islamic finance at the World Bank, said: “This signing underscores the World Bank’s commitment to the development of the Islamic financial services industry. As the industry expands, it will inevitably impact the way global finance evolves to support real sector economic activity
and contribute to addressing the challenges of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity.” “We look forward to working closely with CIBAFI to strengthen the institutional foundations of Islamic finance, enhance regulatory and supervisory frameworks, and share sound practices and lessons of experience in the industry, including sound practices relating to business practices, risk management and market development,” he said. Earlier this year, reports said that Islamic banking and finance could exceed $2.5 trillion of assets in 2015 as the industry extended its reach into new international markets. In January, Muhammad Zubair Mughal, chief executive of Dubaibased AlHuda Centre of Islamic Banking and Economics (CIBE) said that there are more than 1,500 organisations working for Islamic banking, finance, takaful, sukuk, Islamic funds and micro-finance in more than 90 countries, some 40% of which are non-Muslim nations.
Israeli Occupation Regime has approved plans to build a residential neighborhood on the ruins of an ancient Muslim cemetery in West Jerusalem, Israeli daily Haaretz reported. “The Jerusalem District Committee for Planning and Building last week approved construction of 192 residential units, a 480-room hotel and a shopping mall on the ruins of a historic Muslim cemetery in West Jerusalem,” the newspaper said. According Israel’s Antiquities Authority, graves and human remains have been found in the cemetery, Anadolu Agency reported. The Al-Aqsa Foundation for
Endowment and Heritage, a Palestinian NGO, blasted the project. “For years, Israel has continued to Judaize Jerusalem’s historic Mamilla Cemetery,” the NGO said in a statement. The cemetery, it added, “will remain a part of our Islamic heritage despite Israel’s attempts to distort Jerusalem’s Arab and Islamic history.” Israel occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the city of Jerusalem in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the selfproclaimed Jewish state in a move never recognized by the international community.
A mosque in the polish capital city of Warsaw was desecrated by a woman. The woman left a severed pig’s head outside the mosque and Islamic-cultural center in City Blue area of Warsaw, IINA reported. The 40-year-old radical woman is a member of an extremist group, reports said. Police said that the move was a crime and that the perpetrator will be detained for insulting the religious sanctities of Muslims. The mosque had just been inaugurated at the beginning of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. It is the second mosque in Warsaw and its construction had faced many hurdles and problems.
Zionist regime to build Mosque mall, hotel on historic desecrated in Warsaw Muslim cemetery
China bans passports for Tibetan Muslims
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Chinese authorities have imposed a two-tier system for issuing passports that has made it difficult for Tibetans and members of other ethnic minorities to travel, the Human Rights Watch said. The system requires residents from areas that have substantial Tibetan or Muslim populations
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to provide more extensive documentation than other citizens, and has led to waits of up to five years or outright refusals of passports without explanation, the group said, World Bulletin reported. The government has intensified controls over ethnic minority groups who have protested against
Chinese rule, fearing instability in the sensitive border regions in which they live. The system for getting a passport would appear to be part of government attempts to stop travel for certain forms of religious study and pilgrimage, such as attending an event abroad by the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, Human Rights Watch said. “Chinese authorities should move swiftly to dismantle this blatantly discriminatory passport system,” Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. The HRW report came a few days after Thailand deported dozens of ethnic minority Uighur Muslims back to China, drawing fierce criticism from several countries. Wrongly accused of intending to join Takfiri groups in Turkey, Syria or Iraq, 109 Muslim Uighurs may face execution or torture and deportation. The deportation of the Chinese Muslims has sparked condemnation by human rights groups, including the UN and the EU.
New billboards in Phoenix aim to educate about Islam
The US city of Phoenix, Arizona, is getting three new billboards as part of a national campaign designed to raise awareness about the Islamic religion. The Islamic Circle of North America recently put up billboards in several cities, including two in Phoenix. The idea is to counter negative images of Islam and dispel myths about Muslims. “This campaign is for Muslims and for people from all faiths,” Naeem Baig, the executive director of ICNA, said in an interview. He said it is important for people
to understand that Islam and the life of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) are about compassion, mercy, helping the poor and needy. The billboards invite people to “ask any question” by calling 877-WHY-ISLAM or visiting www. WhyIslam.org. The three new billboards join two other that are already in place -- one on Interstate 17 near the Bethany Home Road exit, the other farther north near the Glendale Avenue exit. ICNA was founded on Sept. 1, 1968. It since “has expanded its reach across the US while maintaining an active presence in
local communities.” The grassroots organization focused not only on selfdevelopment, but also on education and outreach.
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VERBAL ABUSE
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DAMAGE TO PROPERTY
PHYSICAL ABUSE
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West Yorkshire Police now recognise that some victims of hate crime are targeted because of their religion ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
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of British Muslims surveyed by the British Crime Survey had experienced Islamophobia.
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Building Bridges
Building Bridges is a project developed by the Hamara Centre (www.hamara.org.uk), funded by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (www.jrct.org.uk) to address Islamophobia across Leeds.
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Romania muslims have right to a place of worship www.pi-media.co.uk
Following claims that a new mosque in Bucharest will attract Islamic extremists, Romania’s Mufti said the community has a right to a place of worship in the capital. “Our plan is to build a mosque with a capacity to hold 1,000 people, a small park for kids, a fountain, a place for ablution and a small summer school for the study of the Quran. Nothing more,” Mufti Iusuf Murat, head of the Islamic community in Romania, said. His defensive statement follows a sharp debate in recent days in Romania over Turkey’s plans to finance construction of a huge new mosque in Bucharest. At the end of May, the government approved the allocation of 13,000 square metres in one of the central districts of Bucharest for the mosque, one of the largest in Eastern Europe. In exchange, Romania is to build a church in Istanbul. Media reports said the mosque will be built with money from Turkey’s Presidency of Religious Affairs, DIB, an organisation that has aided the construction of more than 100 mosques around the world, with construction ongoing in 38 different locations.
But the plan has drawn many adverse comments from public figures who say it will attract extremists. Former president Traian Basescu said the mosque posed a risk to national security as it would lure thousands of Muslims to Romania. Mufti Iusuf Murat denied these allegations and said Muslims had a right to a place of worship in the capital. “It is our constitutional right to
ask for a place of worship for our community. In Bucharest there is no purpose-built mosque but only several places of Muslim worship,” he said. “We wanted Turkey to finance the construction, but if Romanian people and officials are opposing that idea, we will ask for money from the Romanian state. It is our right,” the Mufti added. The estimated costs for building the mosque is some 1 million euro.
US bill would make social media report ‘terrorist activity’ Social media operators such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube would have to notify federal authorities of online “terrorist activity,” according to the text of a bill approved by the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee seen by Reuters. The types of communication include postings related to “explosives, destructive devices, and weapons of mass destruction,” according to the text. An official familiar with the bill said it was sent
to the Senate floor for a vote. The official said its main purpose was to give social media companies additional legal protection if they reported to the authorities on traffic circulated by their users, rather than coerce them to spy on users. It was unclear when the Senate might vote on the bill. At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Dianne Feinstein, the senior Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee and sponsor of the legislation, said social media
companies should be working with the government to prevent the use of their systems by violent militants. “Twitter, FB and YouTube all, as I understand it, remove content on their sites that come to their attention if it violates their terms of service, including terrorism,” Feinstein said. But, she said, “the companies do not proactively monitor their sites to identify such content nor do they inform the FBI when they identify or remove their content. I believe they should.”
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Hayat wins boys’ gold at World Deaf Tennis Championships Abu Dhabi to host 2020 FINA World Swimming Championships
Great Britain’s Esah Hayat became the first world deaf youth tennis boys’ champion last month at the World Tennis Championships at Nottingham Tennis Centre. Thirteen-year-old Hayat won seven games in a row to win the boys’ singles final against Germany’s Johannes Behr 8-1. “It’s an honour to be World Champion, I’ve worked really hard for this tournament and I’m really pleased” said Hayat. “I was nervous going into the final as I lost to him last year, but I was also confident as I’ve become a
lot stronger in the last year and my technique has improved and I got my tactics right. “When he hit the net on match point it was a huge relief, all the stress was gone and a weight was lifted off my shoulders and I was really happy.” Organised by the Tennis Foundation, Great Britain’s leading tennis charity, in association with UK Deaf Sport, the 1st World Deaf Tennis Championships is sanctioned by the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD). www.pi-media.co.uk
FINA has announced that Abu Dhabi has won the bid to host the 2020 FINA Short Course World Swimming Championships. The organisation made the announcement at the FINA World Aquatics Convention, where the UAE’s capital was one of three candidates, together with Astana, Kazakhstan, and Lima, Peru. The World Championships occur every two years, with last year’s having been in Doha, Qatar. This year’s championships will take place in Kazan, Russia. The event entails 44 races, 22 for men and 22 for women, with each race being 25 metres long. Some believe the FINA episode in Abu Dhabi will bring about more significance as it’s scheduled near in time to the 2020 Olympic Games.
Yaya Toure says football is blighted by “really shocking” levels of racism
Yaya Toure admits the levels of racism in football are “really shocking”. Manchester City midfielder Toure has joined a FIFA task force to try and eradicate the huge problem of racism in Russia ahead of the 2018 World Cup. It comes on the back of a shocking racist incident involving former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong which has brought new shame on the Russian game. Ghanian-born Frimpong, who now plays for Ufa, called the Russian FA “beyond a joke” after he was
banned for two games for making a one-finger gesture at fans who were racially abusing him. The Russian FA insist there was no evidence of racism. The Man City star’s comments come after Emmanuel Frimpong was handed a two-game ban for his reaction to fans who were racially abusing him. Ivory Coast star Toure said: “It surprises me even more when you consider everything that is going on, everything that FIFA is doing which often is imposing fines on clubs or closing stadiums or parts of stadiums
so to see it continuing is really shocking. “We have to eradicate it. We need to go even further now by having even tougher responses. “The monitoring system allows us to detect people who are being racist in stadiums and that is a step forward.” FIFA’s main weapon on trying to crack down on racism is to use more specialist match observers who will try and spot racism during games and they will target 2018 qualifiers to try and clamp down before the tournament itself.
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Oman creates cricket history to reach World Cup www.pi-media.co.uk
I August 2015
Oman created history by becoming the second cricketing nation from the Middle East to qualify for a World Cup event. They booked their place in the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Twenty20 to be played in India next year. In the World T20 qualifier played in Dublin, Oman defeated Namibia by five wickets to clinch a slot in the main tournament. Speaking to Gulf News, Madhu Jesrani, secretary of Oman Cricket said: “This historic achievement has happened on Oman’s Renaissance Day (which marks the anniversary of the Sultan’s ascension to the throne in 1970) and hence we dedicate our triumph to our ruler Sultan Qaboos and the government which has supported our efforts in a big way.” Incidentally, UAE was the first Gulf country to play in a cricket world cup. Oman, after restricting Namibia to 148 for 9 reached the target with one over to spare through Jatinder Singh’s 33 runs and Zeeshan Siddiqui’s unbeaten 51 runs. “We were determined to qualify for the World Cup and hence went about our programme in a very systematic way with everyone working hard towards this objective. Duleep Mendis as coach (former Sri Lankan captain) has been shaping our cricketers for the last two years. Former England Test star Derek Pringle (technical advisor) has been also giving tips to our players. Not only that we worked hard on making sure that fitness of our players is also excellent,” added Jesrani. Oman began their campaign in the qualifier narrowly losing to Kenya by seven runs in their first match of the tournament, but bounced back against Canada by chasing down 134 in 11.2 overs. They stunned the Netherlands by six wickets thanks to a deadly spell by pacer Munis Ansari who took four wickets for 15 runs. Oman then shocked the strong Afghanistan team with a 40-runs victory. Oman were ably led by
Karachi-born Sultan Ahmad, who is also the wicketkeeper of the team. Siddiqui, who hit a superb unbeaten half century, helped Oman enter the World Cup by reaching Namibia’s target through a six over mid-off. Oman also get the honour of becoming the lowest ranked team to play in a world cup. The achievement will also give them
T20 International status for the next four years. Incidentally, Oman had become the 38th associate member of the ICC only last year during the ICC Annual General Body meeting in Melbourne. Kanak G. Khimji, the chairman of Oman Cricket had won the ICC Annual Development Award for Lifetime Service in 2011 for his outstanding contribution to the development of cricket in Oman.
Footballer Adebayor reverts to Islam Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor has reportedly reverted to Islam after being seen taking Shahada, or declaration of faith, in a YouTube video posted online earlier this month. Adebayor is stated in many publications as being very religious. The former Arsenal, Man City and Real Madrid forward was a practicing Christian until recently. Adebayor previously played for Metz, Monaco, Arsenal, Real Madrid and Manchester City. He was voted African Footballer of the Year for 2008. Described as being “tall, skillful, strong in the air and with the ability
to score and create,” he represented the Togo national football team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, the country’s début, and to date only, appearance at the World Cup. In January 2010, Adebayor was one of the players involved when the Togo team’s bus came under gunfire on the way to the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola, after which he retired from national team duty. In 2013 he returned to the Togo team for the 2013 African Cup of Nations in South Africa, where he helped them to qualify for the quarterfinals. He is currently Togo’s all-time top goalscorer with 28 goals.
The Ummah is One
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Globally the Muslim Ummah is in a crisis. From Australia in the south to Canada in the north, from China in east to USA in the west we find Islamophobia raising its venomous head. “War on Terror”, persecution, oppression, discrimination, etc against innocent and peace loving Muslims has become the order of the day. The raining of missiles on innocent civilians in Palestine-Gaza , the merciless killings in Syria, ethnic cleansing in Myanmar, torture and rape in Afghanistan and Iraq, war in Somalia, Chechnya etc. The list is extensive... As Muslims we should not turn a blind eye and be apathetic to the sufferings of millions of our fellow brothers and sisters globally. We should not only feel the pain in our hearts, but should constructively engage ourselves in physically assisting the Ummah with whatever means we have at our disposal. Almighty says in the Noble Qur’aan: “ Indeed, Muslims are brothers.”(Qur’an: Al Hujurat:10)
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The Messenger of Almighty (peace be upon him) has emphatically stated that “No one of you becomes a true believer until he likes for his brother what he likes for himself”.(HadithBukhari & Muslims). We are ONE UMMAH, if the finger feels a pain the whole body feels the pain. It is our duty to share the pain, responsibilities, burdens and needs of our fellow brothers and sisters. The Messenger of Almighty (peace be upon him) said: “The example of Muslims in their mutual love, mercy and sympathy is like that of a body; if one of the organs is afflicted, the whole body responds with sleeplessness and fever.”(HadithMuslim) Our ancestors in Islam, the esteemed Companions of Muhammad SalAlmightyo alaihe wassallam demonstrated practically what was meant by true love for our brothers(sisters) in Islam. Hadhrat Abu-Jahm-binHuzaifah (RadhiyAlmightyo anho) narrates:”During the battle of Yarmuk,
I went out in search of my cousin, who was in the forefront of the fight. I also took some water with me for him. I found him in the very thick of battle in the last throes of death. I advanced to help him with the little water I had. But, soon, another sorely wounded soldier beside him gave a groan, and my cousin averted his face, and beckoned me to take the water to that person first. I went to this other per son with the water. He turned out to be Hishaam bin Abil Aas (RadhiyAlmightyo anho). But I had hardly reached him, when there was heard the groan of yet another person lying not very far off. Hisham (RadhiyAlmightyo anho) too motioned me in his direction. Alas, before I could approach him, he had breathed his last. I made all haste back to Hishaam and found him dead as well. Thereupon, I hurried as fast as I could to my cousin, and, lo! in the meantime he had also joined the other two.” Many an incident of such selfdenial and heroic sacrifice is
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recorded in the books of Hadith. This is the last word in self-sacrifice, that each dying person should forego slaking his own thirst in favour of his other needy brother. May Almighty bless their souls with His choicest favours for their sacrifice for others even at the time of death, when a person has seldom the sense to make a choice. WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP THE UMMAH? Every bit of help counts! No single bit of assistance, no matter how minute or what form it may take is insignificant. There was a King who had a festival. One evening he asked everyone to bring a jug of milk and pour it into a huge container so everyone, even the poor, could enjoy it the next day. A certain man thought that if he poured a jug of water instead of milk into the container it won’t be noticed in the dark and he really thought that it won’t make a significant difference. So he poured a jug of water. When he came the next day, he surprisingly witnessed that the huge container was almost full of water. It was quite clear that in his community everyone thought the same. All we need as an Ummah is to play our “small” part. If we each do our “little” then combined it will Insha Almighty be a lot! The “little” we do will Insha Almighty go a long way. Here are some practical ways we can show our genuine love for the Almighty, Muhammad (peace be upon him) and our fellow Muslims who are suffering. DU’AA (SUPPLICATION): Indeed no condition or situation can ever improve without the Help of Almighty. The Messenger of Almighty (peace be upon him) is reported to have said that; “Dua is a weapon of a believer.” (Hadith-Al Hakim). Du’aa should be made individually and collectively. Do it at home with the family and also in the Masjid. Children should be encouraged to also join in. The Messenger of Almighty (blessings and peace be upon him) encouraged the Ummah to read Qunoot-e-Naazilah supplication (dua) at the time of distress and calamity. (Hadith- Abu Dawood). Imaams of Masjids should also read the Qunoot-e-Naazilah in the
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congregational prayers of Fajr and to ask the Almighty’s guidance and intervention to save and protect the Ummah. Also keep fast and perform optional prayer. CONTRIBUTE: We should generously contribute in whatever way possible. The Messenger of Almighty (peace be upon) said that: “Charity (Sadaqah) does not decrease the wealth” (Hadith-Muslim) and he (pbuh) also said that daily two angels offer Du’aa, “O Almighty, compensate those who spend, and bring ruin to those who withhold”. (Hadith- Bukhari). Encourage our family members to contribute from their own savings even if it just a few pounds. In this way worry and concern for the Ummah will be inculcated in them. Search for credible Islamic relief organisations operating in areas where our funds are most needed. Be wary of bogus collectors. Be pro-active in raising funds. The Messenger of Almighty (peace be upon) is reported to have said: “Indeed, Almighty blesses certain people with special bounties for the benefit of other people. As long as they benefit others, Almighty continues His bounties upon them but when they stop benefitting others, Almighty takes these bounties back from them and transfers to others.” (Hadith-Tabarani) JOIN: We need to be physically involved. The best is to be at your Muslim brothers or sisters’ side when they really need you the most. Distance, race, colour, social status etc should never be a barrier in assisting the Ummah. Join and engage ourselves in those activities that will support and bring genuine relief to the distressed Ummah. Be cautious that our activities are always in compliance with the Laws of Almighty. EDUCATE: Be pro-active and educate yourself. Be knowledgeable on the subject. Our families and communities should be educated about the plight of the Ummah. Masjids, media, schools etc should be used to for this purpose. Keep a vigilant eye on the news outlets; magazines etc. and respond timeously to their bias comments and views. Forward pertinent and relevant articles you come across to the International and local media
outlets.Using the world atlas or internet, show our children where are the affected parts of the Ummah. Do not support those that directly or indirectly assist the oppression and persecution of the Muslim Ummah. CHANGE: For meaningful transformation to come and conditions to drastically improve it is necessary for the Ummah to bring about a reformation and abandon all types of sin and evil. Almighty says: “Verily, Almighty does not change the condition of people until they change what is within themselves.”(Qur’an Sura ar-Ra`d 13:11). Therefore the Muslim Ummah as a whole has to return to the path of Haq (Truth) and give up Baatil (falsehood) and in so doing will attract the Devine Mercy and Help of Almighty. HOPE: Always be hopeful and never be despondent. Almighty will help even though it may be after some time. Often the media tries to create hopelessness and many Muslims are left in despair. It may seem that the death of millions of innocents is now inevitable, but we must continue to strive our utmost to defend them and to spread the truth about these immoral actions perpetrated against innocent Muslims. Above all, we must remember that Almighty Most High has control over all things and can provide help in ways we do not even understand. Not even the ‘greatest’ superpower can overpower Him! No falsehood is to remain forever. No oppression is to remain forever. After hardship comes ease the difficulty of the Muslim nation will come to end and tomorrow will be definitely better than today. We should have hope in the all encompassing mercy and help of Almighty Most High under all circumstances, whether it be in victory, defeat, happiness or sadness. The Messenger of Almighty (peace be upon him) has said that whosoever helps a Muslim at the time of loss of honour and humility; will receive help from Almighty when he is in need of help.(Hadith-Abu Dawood) Most importantly remember the Muslim Ummah is ONE! Let us not forget that behind every dark cloud there is a silver lining. By Abu Muhammad Yusuf Photo: Talal Alshareef
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I I FEATURED - EDUCATION FOCUS
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Can Pakistani parents learn from Chinese education experience?
I recently read a BBC education article by a Pakistani born gentleman named Arshad Mir who had studied at Leeds University about the poor attainment amongst British Pakistanis and I would like to share the lessons to learn from the highly successful British Chinese education experiences in British schools. Mir was right in asserting that “British Pakistani background, born in the UK, are not doing well in education.” He made specific references to the 16 to 18 year old British Pakistani’s achieving “bad A ‘level results so they can’t get admission to the top universities.” He cited that the typical British Pakistani Dad, spoke English but was not doing enough to help their children. The typical Dad remained over-committed to work and the typical Mum couldn’t speak English - so couldn’t help the children. I could tell you some fascinating and inspiring stories. Once such example was a minority disabled widowed Mum under extremely disadvantaged situations support her children to success – all by herself. With first-hand experiences and case studies, I was surprised when he said, to help Pakistani born mums we should have teachers who spoke in Urdu and Punjabi. But logic says - extra resources costs our government - our economy - and times are not exactly right to make
such costly suggestions - Mir. Like any household expenses, bilingual teachers and assistant’s cost the state money. It’s a bill to us. It adds to the national debt and in the longer term drags the economy down. I would like to ask Mir, would you go beyond your household budget? Well, the same speaks for the state – governments buying more requires us to take foreign loans which drags the economy into bigger debt, so logic says, care should be taken in government spending. With sincere intentions, controlling spending in all areas is not an attack on our community but let our British Pakistani community take lessons from the highly successful Chinese students and their parents. So what is making these Chinese children so successful? Admitting, there is limited research on Chinese parents’ involvement with their children. From the small research that is available, it is cited that Chinese parents have higher expectations and encourage their children consistently more over their children’s school-life. So what drives these determined Chinese parents? Chinese parents have reflected on their own lives and recognise the opportunities Great Britain provides its citizens. Recognising this, Chinese parents nurture children to take full advantage of the British chances they didn’t get
in their lives. Manta, is a former tutor at Improve Tuition Dewsbury, of Chinese origin and is now studying Dentistry. She said, “My Dad works long hours in a Chinese takeaway. Despite this disadvantage, my Mum has always consistently encouraged me at home - from primary years - even though my Mum struggled to speak English with the school teachers I did very well at A level.” But this is treading sensitive talk for us Pakistani’s. Most Pakistani parents would profess that they provide the support to their children, and yes this may be true for some “minority” Pakistani parents, there are still more that the “majority” could do for their children. And my moaning and groaning is backed up by strong statistical research. Numerical research shows that the Pakistani community lags behind many minority British students such as the Chinese and even British Indians’ – hard facts which cannot be denied. And simply sending children to a local Maths and English tutor is not enough. Consistent encouragement and support should be available at home throughout the school life. What I would like to see, is the Pakistani minority community to pick itself up and flourish in the comingdecades. So, rather than relying on extra Bilingual teachers as Mir suggested in what is admittedly - hard times for the UK, shouldn’t Mir direct BritishPakistani parents to take lessons from the highly successful BritishChinese parents who reflected on their own lives and continually nurture their children at home to attain highly at school?
By Faheem Hussain is an education expert within the British Muslim Community. He provides an advisory role to Improve Tuition Leeds and tuition in Bradford from a professional capacity. Tel: 01924 506010 www.improvetuition.org info@improvetuition.org
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Really liked your latest July edition, I think it is a wakeup call for other newspapers to follow that stories are just not one sided, newspapers like to hide these stories on the latter pages , stories like that need great exposure as much as the big stories.
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Glenda Walsh Cardiff I just came across your publication for the first time and I was very impressed, I do not have a perception of Muslims or the community as I do not live in an area where there I Muslims but I was one of the lucky ones who survived the Tunisia attacks and the selflessness of the workers at the hotel and took on themselves to protect us gave me all I needed to know of the Muslim community, these people were the heroes on that day but I was ashamed that very little was written about them in the British media. Mike Londdon We would love to hear what you think of our magazine, please email us your comments to info@pi-media.co.uk or WattsApp it to 07506 466 385