Science Museum unveils new Muslim Heritage exhibition, Islamic World News, NewAgeIslam.com

Islamic World News

Science Museum unveils new Muslim Heritage exhibition

A brand-new exhibition entitled 1001 Inventions: Discover the Muslim Heritage in Our World, was unveiled at the Science Museum today. Tracing the forgotten story of a thousand years of science from the Muslim world, from the 7th century onwards, the exhibition which runs until 25 April 2010, looks at the social, scientific and technical achievements that are credited to the Muslim world, whilst celebrating the shared scientific heritage of other cultures. The exhibition is a British based project, produced in association with the Jameel Foundation.

Featuring a diverse range of exhibits, interactive displays and dramatisation, the exhibition shows how many modern inventions, spanning fields such as engineering, medicine and design, can trace their roots back to Muslim civilisation.

One of the focal points of the exhibition is a six-metre high replica of the ‘Elephant Clock’- a visually striking early 13th century clock whose design fuses together elements from many cultures and is featured alongside a short feature film starring Oscar-winning actor Sir Ben Kingsley as Al-Jazari, inventor of the fabled clock.

Other exhibits featured in this interactive exhibition include:

* Model of an energy efficient and environmentally-friendly Baghdad house.

* A large 3 metre reproduction Al-Idrisi’s 12th-century world map.

* Model of Zheng He’s Chinese junk ship – originally a 15th century wooden super structure over 100 metres long.

* Medical instruments from a thousand year ago, many of which are still used today.

* Model of a 9th-century dark room, later called Camera Obscura, which Ibn al-Haytham used to revolutionise our understanding of optics.

http://newageislam.com/science-museum-unveils-new-muslim-heritage-exhibition/islamic-world-news/d/2441

The Indian Muslim woman and her veil, Islam, Women and Feminism, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam, Women and Feminism

The Indian Muslim woman and her veil

Islam is by far the most talked about yet the least known religion. Women of this religion are subject to certain rules that should be followed. What does 62 years of independence really mean to the Indian Muslim women?

THE HIJAB came into being with Islam itself. It referred to the dressing up of women decently, since they were considered to be very distractive for men. The burqa, as it later came to be known, was essential since it helped women remain dignified and pure and at the same time attractive and yet not revealing. It gave them a sense of comfort and religious belonging. It was just a way of life that the Quran says is necessary and in fact an integral part of their Islamic religion and identity.

The purdah system as we all know is a practice that has been going on ever since the idea of Islam originated. It basically refers to the ideal way of dressing wherein the entire body is covered except the eyes.

Particularly, Indian Muslim women suffer more. Because of their gender and religion, these women are a minority in a minority and since time immemorial have been oppressed in many ways and forms. Muslim women have had a tough and a long battle. No matter what the Quran Sharif says, it is a known fact that the status of women in Islamic society lies low.

Shah Bano, the heroic lady who decided to take her husband to court for not giving maintenance and also divorcing her after 43 years of marriage, is amongst those, who have tried to raise their voice against the injustice that prevails in society against Muslim women.

The All India Democratic Women's Association, Women rights groups and other such alliances are usually curbed down very forcefully by other fundamentalist groups each time they come put to protest.

http://newageislam.com/the-indian-muslim-woman-and-her-veil/islam,-women-and-feminism/d/2469

'Allah' Debate: censorship has only compounded Malaysia's troubles, Islamic World News, NewAgeIslam.com

Islamic World News

'Allah' Debate: censorship has only compounded Malaysia's troubles

Religious violence is rare in Malaysia, and so its people are rightly alarmed at the current spate of attacks on churches, which can conjure up memories of the 1969 race riots. The government has strongly condemned the attacks, but its policy of trying to coddle its Muslim population undermines its stated goal of an open Islam and stokes the very religious tension that it wants desperately to avoid.

The violence is the latest consequence of attempts to ban the use of the word "Allah" by Christians. In 1986, the Interior Security Ministry barred the word from non-Islamic publications on the grounds that it could confuse Muslims, but the ordinance was usually not enforced. However in December 2007, the Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association and the Islamic religious councils of seven states invoked it in a lawsuit against the Malay language weekly, the Catholic Herald. The government sided with the councils, saying that Christians' use of the term "could increase tension and create confusion among Muslims." Authorities also asked the Herald to put on its front page the word terhad, "restricted," meaning solely for distribution to Christians.

Christians and others responded that "Allah" has been used by Christians for centuries to refer to God, including in Malaysia. No other country has such a ban; even the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) says it opposes one. "Allah," the Arabic word for God, is used by Christians in Egypt and Syria, and, of course, neighboring Indonesia. On Dec. 31, 2009, the High Court ruled that Christians had a constitutional right to use "Allah." The government called for calm, but quickly said it would appeal and, on January 6, the judge suspended her ruling pending an appeals court decision. Subsequently, nine churches have been attacked, most of them firebombed. There have also been attacks on the Catholic Herald's legal team, whose offices were vandalized yesterday.

http://newageislam.com/-allah--debate--censorship-has-only-compounded-malaysia-s-troubles/islamic-world-news/d/2385

Looking Beyond Babri Demolition: A Remarkable Change In Post-Babri Generation Muslim Mindset, Islamic Society, NewAgeIslam.com

Islamic Society

Looking Beyond Babri Demolition: A Remarkable Change In Post-Babri Generation Muslim Mindset

By Mohammed Wajihuddin

he remembers neither the denouement of that black Sunday nor the countrywide dance of death in its aftermath. Growing up in Deoband, the UP town that houses Islamic seminary Darul Uloom—which, despite its lofty history of producing a galaxy of nationalist ulema, has often been pilloried for its regressive fatwas—one would have expected the boy to catch the virus of minority victimhood.

But Zohair, now 19 and a student of mass media in Mumbai’s Burhani College, has a different perspective. “Babri masjid is not an issue with me,’’ he declares. “I want to get educated and excel in my field.’’

Zohair belongs to the post-Babri generation of Muslims who have undergone a remarkable change in mindset. This generation, reaping the opportunities of globalisation, genuinely believes that the past cannot hold it back. For its members it is career rather than an obsession with rebuilding the destroyed mosque that is paramount.

The indications are everywhere. At a meet at Urdu Markaz, a cultural centre in Dongri, a group discussed the three-day career festival that begins on January 8. “We will have stalls for career counselling, workshops on different career options and speeches by role models on how to excel in different professions,’’ says Aamir Edresy of the Association of Muslim Professionals, which is holding the career fest in co-ordination with Anjuman-e-Islam.

http://newageislam.com/looking-beyond-babri-demolition--a-remarkable-change-in-post-babri-generation-muslim-mindset/islamic-society/d/2205

CHAPTER 2: THE AIMS AND OBJECTS OF THE TABLEEGHI JAMAAT by Maulana Arshadul Qadri, Books and Documents, NewAgeIslam.com

Books and Documents

CHAPTER 2: THE AIMS AND OBJECTS OF THE TABLEEGHI JAMAAT by Maulana Arshadul Qadri

By Maulana Arshadul Qadri

We are very grateful to Maulana Manzoor Nomani in this respect that he has pointed out this fact in the words of the founder of the Jamaat, in the book "Malfoozaté Ilyas": He writes, quoting one of his statements: "He once said, ‘Hazrat Maulana Thanvi had done a great job, therefore it is my desire that his teachings be propagated amongst the masses and the method of preaching must be mine, so that his teaching will become popular among the public." (Malfoozat, pp/5 7)The structure of any missionary association has two parts, firstly teachings, and secondly the method of preaching. From these two if either is related to Islam then this association is qualified to be called an Islamic Association. But in the above statement of Maulana Ilyas the disturbing fact is that in both the aspects, neither is related to Allah and His Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam). The teachings of Thanvi Sahib and the method of preaching of Maulana Ilyas himself. This makes it quite clear that the real object of the Tableeghi Jamaat is not to propagate the teachings of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) but to propagate the teachings of Thanvi Sahib.

I have no objections as to why the Tableeghi Jamaat has declared Moulana Thanvi’s works as its object of preaching, because every person decides the objective according to his choice, but I do object and protest as to why the people of the Tableeghi Jamaat hide their true objective, why don’t they say openly that we have stood up to make the teachings of Thanvi Sahib popular among the public, those who are in agreement with the teachings of Maulana Thanvi should accompany us.

http://newageislam.com/chapter-2--the-aims-and-objects-of-the-tableeghi-jamaat-by-maulana-arshadul-qadri/books-and-documents/d/906

TRAGEDY IN KABUL: A policy for the security of Indian diplomats abroad is needed, War on Terror, NewAgeiSlam.com

War on Terror

TRAGEDY IN KABUL: A policy for the security of Indian diplomats abroad is needed

By K.P. Nayar

He has just done three years of demanding political work in Kathmandu, the joint secretary attempted to rationalize with herself. Nepal had been in turmoil and Indian diplomats in Kathmandu did not have an easy time when the world’s only Hindu kingdom — then — was in ferment. In addition, the Nepalese government had hosted the summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, which meant a thankless additional workload for the Indian mission in Kathmandu. What is wrong with him, declining one of the most coveted postings in the Indian Foreign Service, the joint secretary kept asking in the hope that someone — even a visitor waiting in the outer office to see the foreign secretary — would give an answer that would satisfy her logic.

Eventually, Rao did go to Washington, where he was immediately thrown in at the deep end in the mission’s commerce wing. Economic work at the embassy in Washington is divided between a minister who is usually an Indian Administrative Service officer with experience in an economic ministry back home, and an IFS officer, also with the rank of minister, but who is on deputation to what is a post of the commerce ministry.

http://newageislam.com/tragedy-in-kabul---a-policy-for-the-security-of-indian-diplomats-abroad-is-needed--/war-on-terror/d/192

An Interview with Mosque Muslim Leader, Brookfield Physician Mushir Hassan, Islam and the West, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam and the West

An Interview with Mosque Muslim Leader, Brookfield Physician Mushir Hassan

by Rory Linnane

A: Obviously one of the things we’ve had to deal with is that there’s been a frequent association of Islam with violence. And so with that, we’ve had a little bit more difficulty in addressing people who would be inherently suspicious from the get-go, that we have to try and communicate with and show that what we’re about and what these extremist radicals are about are different things, and we condemn what they’re doing.

Because there’s been such a strong persistent association of Islam with violence, we have to counter that to say no, this is not something we agree with. It’s something that we stand resolutely against, not just for our own neighbors, but even for our own kids, so our kids understand that this is not something we do. We value human life, and we value respect for other humans.

http://www.newageislam.com/islam-and-the-west/rory-linnane/an-interview-with-mosque-muslim-leader,-brookfield-physician-mushir-hassan/d/7259