Open House

A Raped Daughter-in-Law, Mullahs and Muslims in South Asia

Hashmi's views on Sharia law are a bit distorted, which isn't surprising since he is, after all, a "liberal" Muslim. Nonetheless, some points he makes on mysogyny and certain "mullahs" abusing their powers over the Sharia are quite disturbing. The fact that Muslims are so indifferent, as he points out, when it comes to such issues isn't any better.


by Taj Hashmi
Research Associate, York University, Canada
Published on July 11, 2005

A Muslim father-in-law is alleged to have raped his young daughter-in-law, early June this year, in a village in Muzaffar Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh, India. Since then we are getting contradictory versions about the sickening story. What is, however, incontrovertible is that a cleric of the Deoband Madrassa, the most influential Islamic seminary in South Asia, has issued a fatwa (religious decree) proclaiming that the rape victim cannot live together with her husband, as per the Shariah law, she has been turned into her husband’s “mother”...

http://www.mukto-mona.com/Articles/taj_hashmi/raped_daughter_in_law.htm

MAS-Tampa is looking for a full time office

Administrator/coordinator for the new MAS office in Tampa (Temple Terrace area). The details for the job are the following: Responsible for Managing day-to-day duties within MAS-Tampa with the aim of empowering the local community specially youth, as one of the backbones of our society.

Duties will include:
1) Plan, organize and coordinate youth activities in MAS-Tampa in an Islamic spirit through:
Regular meetings and encounters. Annual conferences, Annual retreats, Occasional Trips and Camps, Voluntary works.
2) Train and encourage responsible leadership.
3) Network existing Islamic centers youth groups.
4) Stimulate inactive youth groups and help activate new ones.
5) Develop relations with youth groups of different faiths.

Salary: $15K- $24K based on experience.

Please send your resume to:
MAS-TampaP.O. Box 290142
Tampa, FL 33687-0142
info@mastampa.org
eFax: 813. 434.2139

Islamic Values vs. Muslim Values

The following is an amazing article I found recently posted elsewhere...it is profound and further an excellent representation of why our Ummah needs to straighten up sooner than later! "Surely, Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change their own condition" (13:11) Our Islamic ideals have been compromised and neglected long enough!

Islamic Values vs. Muslim Values
by Atiq Ebady

The misconceptions that surround Islam in this day and age are too great to number.

A repeated scene is that of a Muslim having a discussion with a non-Muslim and trying to explain that Muslims are not terrorists, Muslims are not wife-beaters, that these actions are the deeds of a few which are then unjustly imposed on the whole Muslim population. But if the whole Muslim population had presented themselves in an Islamic manner in the first place, the reputation of a Muslim would be far too virtuous to allow the misdeeds of a few to tarnish the image of the whole Muslim world. But Muslims generally do not present Islamic values, they present Muslim values; and the difference between these two can sometimes be as vivid as night and day.

What do I mean by Islamic values and Muslim values? Islamic values are those that are set out in the Quran and the practice of the noble Messenger, Muhammad (S). Muslim values are those that are created as part of the culture of the Muslim communities. These include the day-to-day interaction between the Muslims and their outlook on Islam's rules and regulations. The difference is that Islam is perfect and pure, while the values formulated by the Muslims may or may not be in accordance with Islam. The detriment that arises from this is that many times precedence is given to the Muslim values over the Islamic values.

This is not to say that Muslims do not care about Islam, they care for and love Islam deeply, they have concern for their children's Islamic upbringing and the welfare of the Muslims all over the world. But what happens is that certain practices become common among them and their mentalities are set on justifying these practices instead of accepting the Islamic rulings on such things. They become a part of the Muslim culture and mentality, and so it becomes difficult to try to explain to them that Islam forbids such things. Because of this transformation in mentality, the average person in such a community will be hostile to someone bringing Islamic rulings forbidding things such as music and dancing and enforcing things like hijab and modest conduct. Having gatherings and parties that center around music and dancing, and removal of the hijab and modest conduct have become common among many Muslims, and so they constitute what we have called Muslim values, as opposed to the Islamic values.

The Muslim values are caused by a relaxation on the enforcement of Islamic laws. The Islamic values, principles, and priorities are contained within these laws. Prayer, fasting, charity, hajj, hijab, modesty, being kind to others, giving parents their due rights, emphasizing the importance of marriage, attending the Islamic centers and masjids, gaining knowledge, all of these are designed to build spiritually healthy individuals and a spiritually healthy society. When the performance of these actions is relaxed then a void is created that is receptive for outside and often unIslamic ideals.

When there is relaxation then a distorted concept of freedom is adopted, it gives the Muslims the courage to challenge the Islamic laws and present their own philosophy as to why following the laws is not necessary. They make excuses to oppose the laws and create their own, when the Quran has clearly said,

And it behoves not a believing man and a believing woman that they should have any choice in their matter when Allah and His Apostle have decided a matter; and whoever disobeys Allah and His Apostle, he surely strays off a manifest straying. (Al-Ahzab, 33:36)

An understanding has to be conveyed that the Muslim communities will only thrive if they adhere to the principles of Islam. The concept of Islam that the non-Muslims have is directly related to the actions of the Muslim communities, because the majority of them will not go out and research about Islam, they will make their judgments based on what they see the Muslims doing. So it is not surprising for them to think that Muslims drink alcohol, that they eat pork and haram food, they listen to music, dance, go to discos and nightclubs, engage in promiscuous relationships, and many other things that a Muslim should not be doing. On the flip side, it is not surprising for them to be ignorant of the fact that a Muslim is supposed to pray at least five times a day, he/she has to fast during Ramadhan, go to Hajj once in a lifetime, abstain from cursing and abusive language, abstain from backbiting, go to masjid on Fridays for jum'a prayer, read Quran, and other basic obligations that a Muslim has.

The result is that a distorted image of Islam, the pure and perfect religion, is presented to them, and in response the Muslims try to say that it is a few Muslims ruining it for the rest of them. But this is not the case, the responsibility lies with the majority of the Muslims who themselves are not acting Islamically. Yes, it is true that the terrorists are few, and that the equation of a Muslim with a terrorist is wrong and unjust. But this is an isolated incident, and in general it is the majority of the Muslims ruining things for themselves. This can only be corrected by starting at the root of the problem, the Muslim family and attendance in the Islamic centers. If the parents are consistent in teaching their children and are themselves consistent in practicing Islam, and if the entire family attends the Islamic centers on a regular basis, then we will see an amazing transformation in the conduct of the Muslims, as individuals and as communities. Then when the non-Muslims look to the actions of the Muslims they will actually learn about Islam, and will not have to worry about whether or not what they are seeing is Islam.

As Muslims, we have to strive to make our Muslim values the same as our Islamic values. Only then can we truly be considered believers.

Muslim Chaplaincy Program

This is something I received back in May and saved, but didn't get a chance to look at til now! I think this is a great idea and if anyone can be of help to the program, I would highly suggest you look into it by contacting Dr. Mattson (ISNA board member).

assalamu alaykum:

Please excuse me if this posting seems like a kind of advertisement at first, but it is actually a request for help from you all. As some of you may know, I started a graduate program for Muslim Chaplains in 2000. I did this after surveying the American religious-cultural landscape and realizing that chaplaincy is an important profession in the US because of its nexus between the faith based community and the public. I realized at that time that we would not only have to create an educational program, but also help develop the field of chaplaincy for Muslims. In the African-American Muslim community, there already was a good appreciation for the profession, and African-American Muslims have been present in prison chaplaincy especially for a long time. There has been less of a presence in the military (although the political importance of this field is profound) and hospitals.

Unfortunately, because of the lack of an accredited educational program, the Muslims who had been working in these institutions were not treated with the same respect nor given the same authority and benefits as other chaplains. Can you imagine the struggle an "unordained" African American female Muslim has to be respected by the administration of a correctional facility? This is one of the reasons I wanted to establish this program.

Campus chaplaincy was another area of concern. There have been a few college chaplains (Yahya Hendi, the Georgetown chaplain graduated from Hartford Seminary with an MA before the establishment of this program), but not very many. Some Muslims felt that there was no need for campus chaplains because of the presence of the MSA. Fortunately, even the MSA has decided that there is a crucial need for college chaplains. The chaplain's job is to support all students--even those who are not "good" Muslims, and he or she has professional training to counsel students as they struggle with academic, spiritual and personal challenges--including very sensitive issues like out-of-wedlock pregnancy, sexual orientation, substance abuse etc.

I always knew that we would be challenged balancing supply and demand in this program and now we find that many prestigious colleges are looking into hiring Muslim chaplains. Currently, Yale, Princeton, Trinity College and a prestigious New England prep school have asked me to send them students as "field placements" initially while they figure out how to fund at least a part-time Muslim chaplain. Field education is a standard part of the Master of Divinity program and our Islamic Chaplaincy program. It is a kind of apprenticeship in which a chaplain-in-training works under the supervision of a senior chaplain.

Alhamdulillah we have some very good students in the program, but I am afraid that demand will rapidly outstrip supply. This will be harmful to the development of the profession because institutions may feel the need to lower standards to provide equal religious accomodation to the Muslim community. This is what happened in many state correctional systems and unqualified "Imams"/chaplains used their authority and the minbar in prisons to foster intolerance, misogyny etc.

So what I am asking all of you to do is to send students who you think would be suitable for this profession my way. Some students are clearly on the academic/professorial track. Others are more inclined towards serving and guiding the community in their spiritual and social development. I need those students. This does not mean that they will not be intellectually engaged. Indeed, college chaplains often have a significant role in campus discussions about ethics, policies, etc. And with apologies to all the professors (after all, I am one too), I do believe that chaplains often have more prestige and influence than professors.

If anyone has any questions about the program, let me know.

wassalam
Ingrid Mattson
Ingrid Mattson, PhD
Professor of Islamic Studies
Director of Islamic Chaplaincy
Hartford Seminary
77 Sherman Street
Hartford, CT 06105
phone: 860-509-9531
fax: 860-509-9539
imattson@hartsem.edu

When I covered my head...

I received this as a fwd a few weeks ago and thought it was good enough to share. Something I used to think was so overly represented throughout the Muslim community, but am sadly coming to the realization that such views are not presented enough!

One sister wrote:

"As a non-Muslim living in Western society, the idea of modesty was not exactly foremost in my mind. Like all other women of my generation and mind-set, I thought such ideas were antiquated and excessive. I felt pity for the poor Muslim woman who had to "wear all that junk," or "walk around in bed - sheets" as I used to call it.

I was a modern woman, educated and liberated. Little did I know the awful truth? I was more oppressed than any Muslim woman in the most culturally oppressive village in the Muslim world. I was oppressed not by an inability to choose my clothing or to choose my life-style; I was oppressed by an inability to see my society for what it really was. I was oppressed by the idea that a woman's beauty was public, and that lustful admiration was equal to respect.

It was when Allah guided me to Islam, and I put on the hijab (covering), that I was finally able to step out of the society in which I lived and see it for what it really is.

I could see how the highest paid women were those who exposed themselves to public display, like actresses, models and even strip-tease dancers. I was able to see that the relationship between men and women was unfairly stacked in the man's direction.

I knew I used to dress to attract men. I tried to fool myself by saying I did it to please myself, but the painful reality was that what pleased me was when I was admired by a man I considered attractive. I now know that there is no way for a person to know that he is dirty if he has never been clean.

Similarly, I was not able to see that I was oppressed until I stepped out of the darkness of this oppressive society into the light of Islam. With that light shined on the truth, I was finally able to see the shadows that had been so obscured by my Western philosophies. It is not oppression to protect yourself and society; it is oppression to voluntarily throw yourself into the quagmire while denying it is dirty.

I am grateful to Allah that He allowed me to recognize that

• When I covered my head, I was taking away from people any means for judging me other than my mind, my soul and my heart.
• When I covered my head, I took away the incentive for exploitation based on beauty.
• When I covered my head, I made people respect me because they saw that I respected myself.
• When I covered my head, I finally opened my mind to the truth."

Sister Shariffa Carlo

"Koran Flush 1 p.m."

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 7/27/05) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said today that one of its representatives helped convince a Florida man to remove a toilet in his yard with a sign attached that read: "Koran flush 1 p.m." SEE: http://www.cairfl.org/images/flush02.JPG The owner of the toilet said it was designed to honor those who died in the 9/11 attacks and in Iraq. It was also retribution, he said, for what he believed to be a failure of Muslims to object to the terrorism of extremists. SEE: "Now Toilet Makes a Statement"
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/07/27/Neighborhoodtimes/
Cited_by_Pinellas_Par.shtml

Another day..more innocents dead...

Afghans: U.S. Airstrike Killed Civilians

By NOOR KHAN, Associated Press / August 11, 2005

QALAT, Afghanistan - Residents of a remote village in southern Afghanistan said Thursday that U.S. warplanes bombed houses during operations against militants this week, killing several civilians.

Zabul province Gov. Ali Khail said that U.S.-led coalition forces had "made a mistake" during recent operations in the province, but gave no details. "There were some casualties among villagers, but I don't know the exact number," he said.

The U.S. military denied that any civilians had been in the area of the fighting Monday in the Day Chopan district where the villagers come from. The military said earlier that 18 suspected insurgents and one U.S. service member were killed in a clash — one of five Americans to die in action in Afghanistan in the past week.

Two villagers spoke to The Associated Press at a hospital in the provincial capital, Qalat, a few hours from their home village of Rauf, which they said had been pounded by American forces on Monday night and early Tuesday.

"The children were crying and they were very afraid," said a weeping Sadia Bibi, 50. "These planes killed my relatives. We are poor and innocent people. Why are they killing us?"

Bibi's 20-year-old daughter Najiba Bibi and 18-month-old grandson were being treated at the hospital for injuries to their hands and legs, which she said had been struck by pieces of brick during the bombing. Both the woman and boy were bandaged.

Bibi said her 55-year-old brother, Abdul Shakor, and his wife were killed along with a 16-year-old boy named Matiullah.

A relative who brought the injured to the hospital, Abdul Halim, 35, said his neighbor's house had been bombed, killing a man who lived there.

Also, one woman from the village died at a hospital in neighboring Kandahar province after arriving there with two other injured women on Wednesday, a doctor at the hospital, Mohammed Hashil, told the AP by phone Thursday.

U.S. military spokeswoman, Lt. Cindy Moore, however, said that intelligence indicated there had been no civilian casualties.

"My understanding is that our intelligence shows no civilians in this area. It was a remote area. The targets were in an open area. We were firing back ... this is possibly propaganda press. We don't have any assessment of any civilians in this area," she said.

The U.S. military reported earlier that the fighting in Day Chopan was sparked when a U.S. and Afghan patrol came under fire from militants using small arms and rocket-propelled grenades and that coalition aircraft had joined the battle.

Afghan officials and human rights groups have complained repeatedly about civilian casualties in U.S.-led military operations, saying heavy-handed tactics could stoke sympathy for militants who have maintained a stubborn insurgency since the fall of the hardline Taliban regime in 2001.
American commanders insist they modify their operations to try to avoid hurting civilians and accuse militants of using civilians for protection.

Sporadic militant attacks across the country have deepened concerns over security ahead of key legislative elections set for Sept. 18. The vote represents the country's next step toward democracy after two decades of war and civil strife.

Replacing the Buddahs...

How about getting some clean water, proper shelter and maybe using those watts for something a little more useful first!

Facts About Afghan Buddhas Laser Project

By The Associated Press / Mon Aug 8, 4:42 PM ET

Facts about artist Hiro Yamagata's plan to "re-create" ancient Buddhas destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban as laser figures projected onto the cliffs of Afghanistan's Bamiyan Valley:
Laser images: 14 laser systems projecting 140 overlapping "statue" images in neon green, pink, orange, white and blue. Each image will continuously change color and pattern.
Image height: Up to 175 feet; as tall as the original Buddhas.
Display width: Four miles.
Beam length: Six to eight miles projected across the valley from clay shelters built to blend with the terrain.
Laser strength: Up to 100 watts per image.
Power source: 46 4,000-kilowatt windmills wrapped with solar paneling, and up to 100 more to provide electricity to Bamiyan and surrounding villages.
Project cost: Between $7 million-$9 million.
Co-sponsors: Mercedes-Benz, with others to be determined.
Project completion: June 2007.
Display schedule: Sunday nights for four hours on an indefinite basis.

Sheikh Ahmad Deedat's passing...

http://www.ahmed-deedat.co.za/frameset.asp

"Early this morning, 8 August 2005 / 2 Rajab 1426, Sheikh Ahmed Hoosen Deedat passed on to meet his Creator. This was after succumbing to a severe stroke that left him paralysed for more than nine years. Throughout this period, he gracefully persevered under the most difficult personal conditions; however, not forgetting his task as a daee (Islamic worker) and an ambassador of Islam, he continued to inspire, educate, challenge and inform people about the universal message of Islam. It is on this solemn occasion of his demise that we salute the courageous spirit and phenomenal work of this world-renowned personality, a hero of the Muslim World, nay, a true hero of believers all around the globe!"

Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji3oon (To Him we belong and to Him shall be our return) Allah Yir7amo (May God's mercy be upon him)