Radiance: 16 May 2009

Former career diplomat Ishrat Aziz talking to Saad Bin Zia says:

Maulana Azad was made the in-charge of the West Asia/Arab World Section in Foreign Ministry although Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was himself the Foreign Minister because as you know Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru very rights beleived that there are certain insights that Maulana Azad can give on the Arab World because of the fact that Maulana Azad knew this region well and he had his own perceptions about them.

This comes right after the revelation that Nehru had permitted of opening of Israeli Consulate in New Delhi. Though until recently, Indian Passports came with the stamp that it is not valid for travel to Israel.

In the article "Alleviation of Poverty' writer Mr. Chaudhari Fariduddin mentioned that if all Muslims of India who have zakat due on them paid their zakat then it will come out to be 10,500 crore rupees and 1/3rd of that will be from North India. I am yet to figure out calculation or the source.

Another interesting thing that I found in this issue is an ad for change of names. This is the first time I have seen such an ad in this magazine for the last three years.



In the day of "love-jihad" and forced religious conversion, it is interesting to see that whole family had converted to Islam. But then who is Mr. Kunwarl Pal and Mrs. Kishan Dei and how they are related to the Chhatrapal family?

Payaam-e-Maghrib is a long running column in Radiance written by Syed Husain Pasha. In this issue he writes, "... even though I have been now writing almost every week for well over a year and a half, I have not heard from a single individual, either agreeing or disagreeing with anything I say. " This is really sad and to Pasha sahib pledged to try something new- current affairs. Let's see if he is able to elicit some response now.

You can hear Dr. Pasha at: http://www.islamicsolutions.com

Namaz at India Islamic Cultural Centre

Photo & text by Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net

The building of the India Islamic Cultural Center (IICC) takes your breath away. The beautiful dome, intricate calligraphy and delicate design in beautiful Persian tiles make you spellbound. The administration of IICC can be forgiven for taking 22 years to complete its construction.





Between Indira Gandhi laying the foundation stone of the Centre on August 24, 1984 and her daughter-in-law inaugurating it on June 12, 2006, it took many people and much money to see to its completion. It is a beautiful example of Muslim’s and the Indian government coming together to give shape to an institution.





With the objective to “promote understanding among the people of different religion and help the promotion of the cause of national integration,” IICC has quickly become an important institution.





Last year, it saw a bitter fight between businessman Sirajuddin Qureshi and present Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid for the post of the president. Though Mr. Qureshi was able to win the election easily, the quarrel symbolizes the prestige of the institution.





Though it has become a hub of Muslim related activities like seminars, conferences, and meetings, the space allocated for namaz (prayers) seems to be an after-thought. You have to go down a flight of stairs to get to the place. Though there is a proper wuzu-khana the musalla (prayer place) is neatly tucked away from important parts of the building. It is out in the open with only a few rows with overhead covering. During winter the musalla moves in-doors in the basement. I did not see any place for women to offer prayers. There is no mihrab, dome or beautiful columns as is found in other masaajid of India. In short, the building does a wonderful job of hiding an important pillar of Islam.




Namaz at IICC [IICC photo]


So, a premier institution of Indian Muslims that have the backing of some of the biggest names of the community comes up short in the “Islamic” part of its name, let’s hope it holds up to the “Indian” tag.





IICC in daylight [Photo by s.prigge]



Link:

http://www.iiccentre.org/

Published: TwoCircles.net, 24 Oct. 2009
IndianMuslims.in, 29 Oct. 2009

Milli Gazette: 15 May 2009

The Milli Gazette has been around almost 10 years and no other Muslim publication in India has been referenced so much by journalists, scholars, and writers than MG.

I have been fan and critic of MG for a long time. I have always pointed out large number of pages devoted to international affairs which is made up of articles floating around the internet.

I was happy to see that in the May 2009 issue only 5 pages have articles on Muslim or international affairs.

Community news section has been expanded to four pages.

http://www.milligazette.com/

Maharashtra elections: Muslims are moving beyond the status-quo

By M. Zajam and Kashif-ul-Huda for TwoCircles.net

On the face of it, Muslims have been able to maintain the status-quo in the new assembly of Maharashtra but scratch the surface and witness the emergence of a community gaining political strength.

Outgoing Maharashtra assembly had 11 Muslim MLAs, and the latest election also returned 11 Muslim MLAs. The 2009 result saw 5 Muslim candidates coming second, three of those with a margin of less than 10,000 votes. In 2004 elections, 7 Muslim candidates ended up runner-ups and four of these with less than 10,000 votes. So, if we include runner-ups in our analysis it seems Muslims in Maharashtra have lost some political ground.

In 2004 elections all Muslim MLAs belonged to either the Congress (INC) or its ally, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Between 2004 and 2009, Muslims of Maharashtra saw multiple anti-Muslim violence, fake encounters, and arrests of Muslim youth after terrorist attacks. Muslims felt helpless and lacked security while the ruling alliance which got overwhelming Muslim votes in 2004 elections did nothing to protect them.

Increasing incidence of communal riots saw many Muslim corporators of both INC and NCP resigning from their positions. This grass root revolt against the ruling parties by the Muslims of the state saw more than hundred Muslim party officials quitting their party positions or elected seats but none of the MLAs joined cause with them.

2009 election has returned same number of Muslim MLAs as the last assembly but with a major difference that 4 out 11 belong to non-INC and non-NCP parties. Three of the four seats are of Samajwadi Party (SP) of which two seats won by SP state chief Abu Asim Azmi and one by Mufti Mohammad Ismail who contested on Jan Surajya Shakti party ticket.





Mufti Ismail celebrating his victory in Malegaon. [Photo: Mubasshir Mushtaq]


Mufit Ismail represents the increasing loud voice of Muslims’ frustration with Congress inaction when it comes to Muslim issues. He came to the limelight by winning the Malegaon municipal election after forming his own political party. His lead of around 18,000 this election gives indication of strong Muslim resentment against Congress-NCP government.

For Congress, Minster of State Baba Siddique won a third term as MLA from Vandre West in a close fight. Young Municipal Councillor, Aslam Shaikh won Malad West defeating R. U. Singh of BJP. In Mumbadevi where Muslms form 50% population, Amin Patel had an easy ride.

Mohammed Arif Naseem Khan, the first Muslim to be Minister of State for Home (Urban) of Maharashtra since the state came into existence in 1960 was contesting from Chandivali. Two-time MLA from the Kurla assembly constituency, Mohammed Arif Naseem Khan came into light during the 1992-93 communal riots in Mumbai when he played a key role in setting the first peace committee in suburban Ghatkopur. Arif Naseem Khan defeated Dilip Bhausaheb of MNS by margin of 33.715 votes. In Silod, Abdul Sattar Abdul Nabi had maintained lead right from the beinging and sealed the victory with margin of 26,753 votes.

For NCP, Nawab Malik, Mushrif Hasan Miyalal won Anushakti Nagar and Kagal respectively.

The list of 174 candidates released by the Congress had 12 Muslim names while the NCP’s list of 113 candidates had four Muslims.

Though there are 10.6% Muslim in Maharashtra and about 48 constituencies with a significant Muslim presences only 11 Muslim candidates are able to win for the last two assembly elections but result this year provide strong evidence that Muslims are getting organized and gaining political strength on their own. Congress and other secular parties will get votes only if they had no choice. And choices they are getting- many Muslim led parties are moving in to Maharashtra – United Democratic Front (UDF), Rashtriya Ulema Council (RUC), and Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) have made their entry in the state in recent months.

Message for the secular parties- listen to the community and deliver; Muslims can not be taken for a ride anymore. New INC-NCP government can start by implementing Sri Krishna Report, speeding trials in cases of fake encounters and arrests of Muslim youth on terror charges, controlling and punishing the guilty of communal riots.

Published: TwoCircles.net 22 Oct. 2009

Madrasas are powerhouses of Islam: Justice MSA Siddiqui

Justice MSA Siddiqui is the chairman of National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI). It was this body which first proposed a board to regularize the madrasas in India. The proposal to set up a Central Madrasa Board has gathered controversy since then. TwoCircles.net met Justice Siddiqui in Boston, Massachusetts to talk to him about the proposed Board.

A section of ulema are in opposition to this Board because they think this is an attempt to take over independent madrasas and change their religious character. Justice MSA Siddiqui is on a tour of the United States, away from the scene of controversy. He came to the US on an invitation from American Federation of Muslims from India (AFMI) and was given an award of excellence for his services to the community.



Those who are in opposition seemed to have not read the bill or that they are deeply suspicious of the government. Justice Siddiqui, on the other hand, is all praise for the systems of madrasas. He is proud that he himself has been educated in a madrasas. India’s first president, Dr. Rajendra Prasad and current prime minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh were also educated at madrasas. He wants to see madrasas once again become centers of excellence. Madrasas educate people in full sense of the word- education. They build characters of their students and therefore their services are needed in the society.

Ulema and Muslim do not get tired of referring to the glorious days of Islam but they forget that in those days modern education of their time was part of the madrasa curriculum so why not include them again?

Allaying fears that Madrasa will lose their independence Justice Siddiqui assured that there will not be any compulsory affiliations. In fact, madrasa are free to un-affiliate themselves at any time even after voluntary affiliations. Central Madrasa Board (CMB) will not have any jurisdiction on the accounts and finance of the madrasas, a major concern of those who have been running madrasas with their own money and effort.

A revolutionary step is to give equal representations to all sects of Islam in the CMB and in fact, it goes a step further and gives half of the seats for the Muslim professionals so that this Board becomes a truer representation of the community including women.

Students of madrasas will immensely benefit from this Board as their madrasa certificates will be recognized by other educational institutions so that they can go for higher studies and therefore feel that they are part of the mainstream of the nation. Justice Siddiqui was quick to add that this equivalency will be set for only modern subjects that will be taught in affiliated madrasas. Madrasas themselves will be free to set the curriculum and duration of religious part of the education.

Of course, this will not only help students but Rs. 500 crore to be given to the CMB as seed money can be used to help improve the facilities and infrastructure of madrasas. It’s a win-win situation for madrasas where their students get access to modern education and they don’t have to bear the expense for the teachers. These teachers teaching modern subjects in madrasas will be paid good salary and this it is hoped will increase the salary level of current teachers teaching religious subjects.

There are nine states that have established state level madrasa boards (Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, MP, Rajasthan, UP, West Bengal) and some argue that they have not done enough to improve madrasa education in their states. Justice Siddiqui argues that state level madrasa boards are full of political appointee so there is no inclination for them to work for the betterment of madrasas. Central Madrasa Board, however, is free of political appointments as is made up of entirely religious scholars and professionals so it will be more responsive to the community needs.

Justice Siddiqui also does not believe that only 4% of Muslim children go to madrasas, so as the critics argue, why government seems so concerned about it? He refuses to believe Sachar Committee’s conclusion about madrasa going children since data about it was not culled from any survey undertaken. He believes that number is much higher and government is justified to work for the improvement of modern education in those madrasas who are willing.

The first proposal to set up the Board was submitted by Justice Siddiqui to the government in early 2007. In two years it has seen much opposition but as the details have come out it has able to win some support from the community. The sooner the Board is setup better it will be the community as it will be a major step in mainstream the weakest section of the Muslim community.

Links:

Important highlights of the bill: http://bit.ly/1qjXIh

Published: TwoCircles.net, 13 Oct 2009