Logging life

Muslim India: Vol. XXVI No. 306 December 2009 Syed Shahabuddin says "Khuda Haifz, Muslim India!" and with that announces the closure of Muslim India magazine. It is an end of an era but I am not sad about it because this magazine had outlived its purpose. Lately, it was a collection of articles already published elsewhere and hardly any new or unpublished data about Muslims. Even Syed Shahabuddin's editorial is published in the MG so there was no point in continuing this magazine. Having said that I think it will be useful for university libraries and Muslim organizations to get a set of all Muslim India issues so that a lot of our history and information is not lost.

Islamic Voice, Dec 2009 December issue of IV is excellent, a number of useful articles and the best part of this issue is that IV did not hold anything while criticizing Muslim leaders and organizations. The criticized Jamiat Ulema Hind for selling the community so that Madani family can get one Rajya Sabha seat, reported on the mismanagement by Anjuma-e-Islam Mumbai's outgoing president, and did not approve of the rabble rousing of Abu Asim Azmi. For the first time they limited reports on Sadathullah Khan's workshop to just one page instead of the usual two. Sadathullah Khan is the owner of IV and it seems he is more interested in his "Discover Yourself" workshop than running his magazine. Reports on his workshop is nothing but testimonials of the attendees and though I have been reading IV faithfully for the last 3-4 years I have no idea what this workshop is all about but all I know is that attendees come out very happy about it. Overall, it was a good issue....

The Muslim News: Feb 2010 TMN is a UK based monthly newspaper. Lead story for this issue is "Muslim schools surpass national GCSE averages." It is good to see that Muslim boys' and girls' schools outperform national average by several percentage points in students getting one or more As in their GCSE exams. One interesting thing is that Muslim co-ed schools though did better than national average but several notches below unisex Muslim schools. Another interesting thing is that there are more Muslim girls' schools than boys. http://www.muslimnews.co.uk

Internet has increased our ability to indulge more in useless and meaningless talk. Let's try to control our tongue and typing fingers. And when they hear Al¬Laghw (dirty, false, evil vain talk), they withdraw from it and say: "To us our deeds, and to you your deeds. Peace be to you. We seek not (the way of) the ignorant." [Al-Qasas: 55]

By Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and for over fourteen hundred years a journey of a lifetime for millions of Muslims living in different corners of the world. These hajis returned to their homelands to tell a tale of physical and spiritual journey of extraordinary proportions. Hajj is obligatory for every Muslim man and woman who are able to undertake this journey. A large number of Muslim women from India made this pious trip but one of the first to write an account of her hajj journey was Nawab Sikandar Begum of Bhopal. Nawab Sikandar Begum (1816-1868) ruled Bhopal from 1844 to 1868. She went on Hajj in 1284 Hijri (1863-4 CE). The account of her travel was first published in 1870. It was a translation by the wife of a British officer. The original Urdu manuscript is perhaps lost so we will never know what kind of language the Begum used in her writing but her confidence and views of the Hijaz and its inhabitants come across just fine. ...

Star Wars and the bible Originally uploaded by kaaashif Who knew that all Star Wars movies had secret Biblical messages? No wonder Ulema in India wants to keep us away from movies and TV. :-) I saw this flyer at MIT, may be a new initiative to get more people interested in Bible by hitching a ride on pop culture. Creative!

Nets of awareness: Urdu poetry and its critics By Frances W. Pritchett Just finished reading this book and I wished I would have read it in 1994 when it first came out. This is a great book for people who know nothing or just a little bit about Urdu poetry. It not only gives you the background but dig deeper into the universe of Urdu poetry and gives you all the necessary tools to enjoy Urdu poetry at a greater depth. Urdu poetry can be enjoyed in recitation in mushaira or ghazal singing, to be read in gathering or alone, and also to be contemplated over words and lines. Based on two doyens of Urdu crticism Muhammad Hussain Azad and Altaf Hussain Hali, Pritchett gives the background to what was to shape Urdu poetry after the tragedy of 1857 when Delhi fell to the British and Muslims lost their cultural capital and confidence. Azad and Hali took it upon themselves to resurrect the Muslim culture that resulted in Aab-e-hayaat by Azad and Muqadima by Hali. Pritchett gives a sympat...

Radiance : 12 Dec 2009 The most interesting article in this issue of RV is "Qurbani Stories from Mumbai" by Ghulam Muhammad. In it, he narrates the stories of three different people who wanted to perform qurbani in Mumbai and difficulties these people had in discharging their religious obligation. Muslims need to realized that gone are the days when they can individually select their qurbani animals and do the qurbani in their backyards.

Nation and the World: Dec 1, 2009 NATW has come a long way since Dec 2008 when it was declared that it will cease publication. Not only that it did not cease publication but came back with a new get up and improved quality. Content has improved a bit but I see so many articles that have been published elsewhere that I am not sure which ones are NATW exclusive. And what will be a magazine if it doesn't have exclusive articles? I especially liked two articles in this issue. One is by MJ's son Prayaag Akbar on the Musahars of Gaya. It is well-written narrative into the pathetic condition of Musahars. "Why not an Operation Saffron Hunt?" by Satya Sagar compares Naxalite threat on India with Hindutva terror threat and makes a connvincing case that Hindutva are more dangerous for India.

Milli Gazette: 1-15 Dec 2009 I really liked this issue of the MG, it is full of informative articles and although there were some bad news and errors in the publication but overall the message is very upbeat and may be that's why I liked this issue. First page has news in two columns about a conference organized on Bi Amman in Jamia Millia Islamia on the occasion of her 85th death anniversary. Bi Amman is the loving name given to Abadi Bano, mother of famous Ali Brothers. It would have been better if MG had published an article or two on her in inside pages. On page 5 a four column and half page article titled "A world meet media chose to ignore" ends in mid-sentence. Bizarre! Babri Masjid and the murky politics of UP written by Haider Abbas is actually an article on the political life of Azam Khan and it is really interesting.

Thanks to the propaganda of the Sangh Parivar, Babur, founder of Mughal Empire has become a controversial figure in Indian history. Babur was an invader but he was also the founder of a dynasty that gave shape to an India that we are rightly proud of. Be it the architecture, arts, literature, music, or dance, it is difficult to imagine present day India without the Mughals. When Babur invaded India, Islam in this region was already about a thousand years old. Muslim rulers were established in many parts of India. In fact most of the battles the Mughal army partook in were against Muslim kings and sultans. Deep south, in Malabar, Mapillas were locked in a bitter battle against the Portuguese invaders who were threatening their economic and social life, completely ignorant of Babur or the Mughals. Babur is more than an invader or just a founder of the most magnificent dynasty of India. Babur maintained a meticulous diary for most of his life and a majority of it has survived. P...

This is my second appearance on Asian Broadcasting Station based in Chicago. It broadcasts in Urdu language every Sunday for three hours also streams online. The interviewed me and Zubair bhai to talk about Islam and Muslims of Kerala. Here is the link: http://abnchicago.org/2010/02/28/uncategorized/2272010-abn-show-rabiul-awal-special-and-rediscovering-islam-in-south-asia/ Link to the TCN Malabar series is here: http://twocircles.net/special_reports/malabar.html