Muslim Integration in Germany: The God of Small Things, Islam and the West, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam and the West

Muslim Integration in Germany: The God of Small Things

By Michael Kiefer

The vast majority of everyday contacts have nothing to do with religion. It is high time the debate on Muslim immigrants and integration in Germany was de-Islamicised, comments the Islam Studies scholar Michael Kiefer

The overwhelming majority do not define themselves purely in terms of their religion. Yet this plays only a negligible role in the continuing rowdy and polemical debate on Islam that has gone out for its latest spin on Germany's op-ed pages in recent weeks. The so-called Islam critics in particular have constructed an allegedly irreconcilable "us" and "them": in one corner the seemingly "enlightened" and far too "tolerant" host society, in the other the "backwards" Muslims, plied with further negative attributions such as "distance from democracy", "intolerance" and an "exaggerated concept of honour".

This perception harbours much potential for conflict. In the final consequence, it leads to the exclusion of all that is "different" and "foreign", as we can see from the large number of prohibitions suggested by determined opponents of Islam, from the bans on headscarves and minarets to those of the burqa or even the Koran, as the Dutch right-wing populist Geert Wilder propagates.

http://newageislam.com/muslim-integration-in-germany--the-god-of-small-things/islam-and-the-west/d/2558

‘INDIAN WORKERS SOLD LIKE CATTLE IN SAUDI ARABIA’, Islamic World News, NewAgeIslam.com

Islamic World News

‘INDIAN WORKERS SOLD LIKE CATTLE IN SAUDI ARABIA’

JAIPUR: Habib Hussain of Moradabad, who hid in a toilet on an Air India flight from Saudi Arabia to return to his own country, says he did so for

his two children, his pregnant wife, and an ailing mother. After his bizarre experience, Habib says he has realised that `aadhi roti' (half a piece of bread) at home is better than one in an alien land. He also said Indian labour is sold like cattle in that country.

He had sold his two `bigha' land for Rs 1.25 lakh and left behind just about Rs 11,000 for his family after paying the agent. He now tearfully says, ``There was no point in staying in Saudi. I just had to return. My wife was two months pregnant when I left and will have a baby any time now. My family was hungry here; I was hungry there. I was better off earning Rs 80 a day and feeding my family rather than living on a promise of Rs 15,000-20,000 and not getting a paisa.

``I know there could have been serious problems during the flight, but I had confidence in my countrymen. Moreover, I was ready to face any consequence in India which would have been better than living in Saudi Arabia,'' he says.

``After grazing goats until noon, I offered namaz. In the evening, after helping a Haji with his bags, I slipped into a toilet in the lower deck of the aircraft. Forty-five minutes after the plane took off, an air hostess saw me. After she heard my story, she gave me a seat and food,'' said Habib.

http://newageislam.com/%E2%80%98indian-workers-sold-like-cattle-in-saudi-arabia%E2%80%99/islamic-world-news/d/2334

THE LAW OF REQUITAL by Allama Ghulam Ahmad Parwez, Books and Documents, NewAgeIslam.com

Books and Documents

THE LAW OF REQUITAL

by Allama Ghulam Ahmad Parwez

Chapter 8: Islam A Challenge to Religion

THE LAW OF REQUITAL

By Allama Ghulam Ahmad Parwez

I. What is it?

For the savage, as for the child, the world is the scene of fortuitous events none of which stands in an intelligible relationship with the other. With the growth of intellect, both awake to the presence of order in the world around them. The first thing they notice is the sequence of certain events—for example a flash of lightning is followed by a crash of thunder, and contact with fire is followed by burning. Knowledge of invariable sequence helps them to make better adjustment to the world. They become conscious of the causal nexus between events. They seek to know the causes of events, because this knowledge enables them to predict the effects and also to control them. They become aware that they themselves operate as causal agents producing changes in the world. The knowledge that all their actions have consequences gives them a sense of power as well as of responsibility. They realise that in choosing to act in a certain way, they are also choosing the consequence of their action. If the consequence is unpleasant and man wishes to avoid it, he can do so only by refraining from the action which leads to it. The Law of Requital states that every action of man has consequences and the doer will have to bear them whether he likes them or not. But far more important than the external effect of the action is its effect on the personality of the doer. All actions, however, do not necessarily modify personality. An action which has been performed inadvertently or carelessly has little influence on man's self. But an action performed deliberately for a set purpose or with a high degree of ego-involvement, changes personality for better or for worse. It strengthens or weakens the moral fibre. It furthers or hinders his progress toward self-fulfilment. This distinction between human actions is made by the Quran and is of great importance to the moral life of man. The Law of Requital is especially relevant to the changes in personality which result from the voluntary actions of man. It means that consequences of such actions are inevitably incorporated in the personality of man, adding to or detracting from its power.

http://newageislam.com/the-law-of-requital-by-allama-ghulam-ahmad-parwez/books-and-documents/d/1692