Logging life

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 presiden...

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/

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 ...

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 tha...

Communalism Combat is a monthly magazine edited and published by husband and wife team of Javed Anand and Teesta Setalvad. Teesta, Shabnam Hashmi, and Harsh Mander though working independently of each other, collectively have done excellent work for justice in the wake of anti-Muslim violence of Gujarat of 2002. Though the violence was well covered by the national media still many people are not ready to believe that Narendra Modi had a hand in it. Some think he is to blamed for not doing enough to stop the violence but he himself was not party to it. All evidence point to his administration actively involved in unleashing the violence, and later doing all they can to subvert the justice. There is enough evidence for those who want to look. May 2009 issue of Communalism Combat magazine puts some of the material in one place that shows that conspiracy angles goes all the way up to Narendara Modi. Read it here: http://sabrang.com/cc/archive/2009/may09/index.html

Opa-Locka train station Originally uploaded by kaaashif This photo of Opa-Locka train station, was selected by the Miami Herald for its Neighborhood Photo project. Check it out: http://www.flickr.com/photos/exuexpress/galleries/72157622654289936 More photos of Opa-Locka : http://www.flickr.com/photos/94592664@N00/sets/72157621530164568/

I have been critical of the Ministry of Minority Affairs and I sent my latest EPW article to Salman Khurshid. He said he had already read it in its print version and asked me for my address and sent his book "Babar ki Aulad." I was looking for this book so I was delighted to get it. Note the pics that it was sent from a post office close to his home so he did not use office staff or postage to send his book. This does not mean that I will be any less critical of the MMA. An article on Multi-sectoral development scheme is planned.

Urdu monthly Science is published by Dr. Aslam Parvaiz since 1994. It has been published since then on a regular basis, a rarity in the Urdu world. Dr. Parvaiz is the Principal of Zakir Hussain College of Delhi University. He should be given credit for consistently serving Urdu, Muslims, & science. It is a quality magazine and to find enough material on science in Urdu to put together a magazine every month must be a huge challenge. I have seen even difficult scientific terms translated in Urdu but still simple enough that you can guess what they mean. I am not sure if his magazine uses an Urdu dictionary of scientific terms. In the May issue cover story is 'Aayat-e-kaynaat' or 'Signs of the Creation' by Prof. Dr. Muhammad Saud Alam Qasmi of Aligarh. His article is long but brilliant and justifies him attaching three honorific with his name (prof, dr, and qasmi). سورة فَاطِر کیا تم نے نہیں دیکھا کہ خدا نے آسمان سے مینہ برسایا۔ تو ہم نے اس سے طرح طرح کے رنگوں کے میو...

Jamaat-e-Islami supporting god-less communists? From Radiance editorial April 25th, 2009: Communists would never join hands with BJP. Their pro-poor policies have been commendable. Their attitude towards minorities also has been better if not best. They should be supported wherever they are in a better position. Congress is the largest party and the main rival of BJP, therefore naturally it deserves the support of Muslims. India's future would be in safer hands if either UPA or a Third Front comes to power. ... in every constituency [Muslims] should vote unitedly for secular candidates who are honest and have a good moral record. Also support to congress is very pragmatic though being an Islamic organization they had to insert "good moral record" bit. Interestingly enough, no mention of Muslim led parties. But in the next editorial, Radiance calls 'Need for a broad-based Muslim party' This unity, let it be clear, is not against Hindus or any other community, not f...

Call it Ramzan, Ramazan, or Ramadan but this month of fasting does not mix well with sports and regimented life of sports persons. I always wondered how Muslim sports persons played or kept up their physical routine during this month. I assumed that made up for their fasts during off-season. UK based The Muslim News has an interesting article on fasting practices of some of the Muslims players. Also, biggest tournament in sports, Olympics, which will be held in 2012 in London will be during Ramadan. The Muslim news in its editorial calls for moving the dates to accommodate Muslim athletes, and I completely agree. Olympic dates are not set in stones and ultimately it is decided based on local consideration moving the dates so that it does not fall in Ramadan, so that Muslim athletes who fast can compete at their optimum level is within the Olympic spirit.

Franklin Caesar Thomas of Delhi is an optimistic man. In his professional life he used to be engineer employed at BHEL and Indian Railways but he got himself a law degree and since 2004 fighting a full time legal battle for justice for Dalit Christian and Muslims. It may come as a surprise but Ministry of Minority Affairs is playing delay tactic to deny justice to those it is supposed to benefit. Thomas is the National Coordinator of National Council for Dalit Christians. Since 2004, he is leading the fight to remove the Presidential Order of 1950 that excluded Muslim and Christian Dalits from the Scheduled Castes list. His legal fight resulted in Government of India referring the matter of the controversial Presidential Order to the Commission headed by Justice Ranganath Misra Commssion. The National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities (NCRLM) also known as Ranganath Misra Commission recommended extending the benefits of Scheduled Castes to all Dalits regardless of the ...

Plastic is a cheap material for packaging and increasingly our food comes in plastics. Some of us can remember milk when it was delivered in glass bottles but those days are long gone. According to an article in Chemical & Engineering News [August 31, 2009] chemicals from plastic wrappers are found to be leaching into out food and medicines. At least some of these chemicals are found to be threat to humans. Below information is from that article: bis-phenol A (BPA): used in polycarbonate bottles and in the epoxy-resin liners of metal cans. Could cause endocrine disruption in children. Banned by Canada from use in baby bottles. FDA does not think so. di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate: makes plastics like PVC supple and bendable. Potential carcinogen and endocrine disrupter. polyfluoroalkyl phosphoric acid (PAPs): from waxy wrappings e.g. burger liners or inside of microwave popcorn bags. these compounds can be metabolized in the body to perfluorinated carboxylic acids, which may be carcinog...

Google released new search options-few of which were already in Google news. Official Google Blog: Refine your search results with new Search Options This will make it easier for user to narrow down search results but still if you don't know what you are looking for then you will still be overwhelmed by the results. Watch out for Microsoft's new search engine bing.com for the new features that they are unleashing. e.g. try the Visual Search .

Nothing wrong with being a consumer, we all are. But, I thought Islam came to dictate a moderate life! But now that moderate life seems extreme in the era of extremes. America and the world is facing economic and ecological problems because of the unhindered consumption by the American consumer. Muslims in America always tried to fit in, projecting themselves as one of the three great world religions. Showing that they are just like any other American in their profession and aspirations ( may ads and campaigns have ran along those lines). They have demanded Ramadan cards to be sold by Hallmark and others. They have also demanded halal fast food chains and in some places KFC and others do provide halal meat (though you may have to call them in advance). In a rush to become normal, we want to do everything a "normal" American do, as long as it is "halalafied." But companies and advertisers are still confused about Muslims so to help them sell their goodies to a growin...

In the backdrop of Justice Katju comment against beard and burqa, Radiance editorial: "There might be various factors lurking behind the learned judge’s observation. But one thing is clear that Justice Khan’s clean shaven appearance contributed a lot to the making of this observation . This sends a great message to the believers that they should practise in letter and spirit the religion they profess. Muslim males by sporting beards and Muslim women by wearing burqas can and must present before the society what Islam is ." So Islam is all about beard and burqa?

Islamic Voice (IV) is a monthly magazine published from Bangalore. It may be the only Indian Muslim magazine in English that is making money. The magazine is all color these days and full of colorful advertisements about schools, colleges, and most importantly Hajj and Umrah travel agents. Few things about the September 2009 issues stands out, so here they are: According to IV, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan are Arab countries. Article talks about whether Muslim women can work outside their homes and on the bottom of page is the ad for a jilbab boutique but if you pay close attention to the images in the ad, it is all of women completely covered. The article itself has two pictures and both pictures are of non-Indian Muslim women. Why Muslim magazines always looking outside India for inspiration? But here is something extraordinary I found in this magazine. One of the article is from an Imam of a Masjid in Rajasthan. Wow, an Imam reading English magazine and not only that writing a le...