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Monday, November 29, 2010

Re: [ALOCHONA] Illegal Shahrukh Khan Night in Bangladesh



Friends


I quote the following from Mr. Isha's mail below :

Quote:
Though some Bangladeshi government is giving special encouragement in organizing programs of Indian artistes in Bangladesh since 2009, there is no sign from India in even allowing satellite based Bangladeshi television channels in their country. Indian government continues ban on allowing any channel from Bangladesh or Pakistan to their households, while Indian channels are earning millions of dollars from Bangladesh every year.
Unquote:

This is the glaring example of our "Win Win"() real heart to heart,
eye to eye,brother brother eternal relationship with  HINDU    STAAN who fingers all his neighbours to subjugate n control in all way. To keep relationship other than formal neighbour one should be viewed as betrayal to the cause of our nation.

Faruque Alamgir

On Tue, Nov 30, 2010 at 10:09 AM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:
 

Illegal Shahrukh Khan Night in Bangladesh

In 1997, Antar Showbiz organized an event named 'HOT SUMMER NIGHT' at Dhaka Stadium [now Bangabandhu National Stadium], which ultimately did not take place, thus deceiving thousands of people, who purchased tickets for the show. It was even learnt at that time that, Ontor Showbiz started selling tickets for this show even without making any booking of the Dhaka Stadium. Warrant of arrest was issued against Swapan Chowdhury, owner of Antar Showbiz following this incident and police raided his residence at Silver Apalrtment at Eskaton area. The HOT SUMMER NIGHT program ultimately did not take place and it was never learnt whether the people, who purchased tickets, got their money back or not.

Now the same Swapan Chowdhury and his Antar Showbiz is back with another program titled Shah Rukh Khan Night, which is scheduled to take place on December 10, 2010 at Army Stadium in Dhaka.

According to information, Antar Showbiz is selling 12,000 tickets priced at TK. 25,000, TK. 10,000, TK. 5,000 and TK. 3,000. A total amount of TK. 6,60,00,000 will be collected from the sale of tickets by the organizers. The organizers are neither paying any amusement tax nor any Valued Added Tax for such huge amount of money collected from the sale of tickets of the show. According to latest information, almost 75 per cent of the tickets are already sold.

The organizers have already paid US$ 25,000 to Shah Rukh Khan as advance amount of his remuneration for participating in the program, while they will pay him an additional amount of US$ 75,000 when he will arrive in Bangladesh. The organizers did not take any permission from the Foreign Exchange Control Department of Bangladesh Bank for remittance of such huge amount of foreign currency, nor there is any permission sought by the organizers from the Income Tax as well as VAT departments of Bangladesh government.

It is learnt from a reliable source that, Anti Corruption Commission in Bangladesh has also started investigating this gross irregularity and Shah Rukh Khan may even be questioned about the total amount he received from the organizers in foreign currency for participating in the Shah Rukh Khan Night in Bangladesh.

An event management organization in India told Weekly Blitz that, Shah Rukh Khan generally charges US$ 100,000-150,000 for any such shows in the world. Moreover, the organizers are required to pay his air passage as well as all other expenses in the host country.

On the other hand, though the organizers are publicizing in Bangladesh that Bollywood actor Rani Mukherjee will also arrive in the same team with Shah Rukh Khan, there is no such indication from the office of Ms. Rani Mukherjee about her visit to Bangladesh to participate in the show. The organizers are also publishing Rani Mukherjee's picture in the most humiliating matter, thus placing her in the category of mere third ranking artistes.

The organizers have also paid significant of money to Indian artistes Arjun Rampal, Isha Koppikar, Shefali Zariwala, Ganesh Hedge and Neeraj Shridkar. According to initial estimation, Antar Showbiz has already smuggled out a significant amount of foreign currency for paying advance amount to the Indian artistes, including Shahrukh Khan, while the remaining balance will also be paid in the same manner.

Though some Bangladeshi government is giving special encouragement in organizing programs of Indian artistes in Bangladesh since 2009, there is no sign from India in even allowing satellite based Bangladeshi television channels in their country. Indian government continues ban on allowing any channel from Bangladesh or Pakistan to their households, while Indian channels are earning millions of dollars from Bangladesh every year.

http://www.weeklyblitz.net/1129/illegal-shahrukh-khan-night-in-bangladesh




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[ALOCHONA] The Cultural Problems of the Ummah:The Responsibility of the Muslim Intellectuals



The Cultural Problems of the Ummah:

The Responsibility of the Muslim Intellectuals

Shah Abdul Halim

Pen is a weapon when the need calls for laying the foundation of a new culture.

- Mao Tse-tung

The Muslim ummah today is passing through the most critical period of its

history. They are now divided into some fifty or more nation-states and the

Super Empire is planning to divide them further. Muslims are humiliated. They

are deceived, defeated, massacred, and proselytized. They are victims of

oppression, aggression and injustice. The Muslim community now is being

identified and stereotyped as bloodthirsty terrorists, fundamentalists and

uncivilized. Muslims are being exploited and their resources plundered.

Economically they are backward, largely depending on western technology.

Muslims are now being identified as sick man of the world. They still depend on

western armament to defend their borders. The large numbers of the members of

the ummah are illiterate.

How did a people who once led the world in science, technology, and military

skill, and were trustees of God's ultimate revelation, fall into such an abject state?

The refusal to critically analyze the massive legacy of intellectual scholarships

and customs that have been passed down is the crux of the problem. Muslims

have intellectually paralyzed themselves by making the great body of thought

they inherited into a kind of intellectual hoard, a safe haven of ideas that must

not be disturbed and where necessary are walled out to protect from critical

investigation and analysis. The greatest crisis affecting Muslims today is a crisis

of thought, a refusal to think critically about what Islam really demands. The

rejection of reason in favor of traditions and conventions has incapacitated the

community. Muslims must therefore critically examine, review and evaluate

conventional Muslim thought and practices.

The question is: What is the most important reason that is responsible for the

current state of affairs of the Muslim World. There may be many reasons, but

what are the major reasons? What are the reasons we should address on a

priority basis? Here in this article, I shall concentrate on some of the key reasons

affecting the destiny of the Muslim ummah.

2

One of the important problems for the current state of affairs of the Muslim

community is its failure in identifying the core cultural issues and giving undue

emphasis on the marginal issues.

It is important that Muslims always re-examine their customs and traditions to

distinguish those that are and are not fundamental to religion. Those opinions

and practices which are considered non-essential and injurious for the health of

the community and progress of Islam should and must be given up.

Accommodations should be made for those who choose not to follow a particular

practice when such a practice is within permissible limits. We should not and

must not unnecessarily create cultural complexity by branding optional practices

as obligatory, for that could become unnecessary burden. We must not surrender

to rules and beliefs only vaguely linked to Islam.

Muslims must also be careful not to insist on the fundamentality of something

that may not be so, for when this is done, it creates unnecessary barrier and the

truth becomes obscure. Muslims should not neglect a religious fundamental, at

the same time they should be on guard not to drive people from the religion by

insisting something that is not required by Islam as Islamic. This is most

important for when we claim that something is demanded by the religion

without clear proof, we are in fact associating with God that which is not of God,

and in truth we invent a lie against God

Al Quran states: Say: Have you considered what provision God has sent down

for you, and how you made some of it haram (unlawful) and halal (lawful)? Say:

Has God indeed permitted you, or do you invent a lie concerning God? [10: 59].

In another verse Al Quran states: And say not, for any false thing your tongues

put forth: "This is halal (lawful) and this is haram (unlawful)," so that you invent

a lie against God [16: 116].

Another important problem affecting the destiny of the ummah its failure in

understanding what is bidah (innovation) and what is not. In this connection

eminent Islamic scholar Prof. Dr. Yusuf Al Qaradawi, Dean of the Faculty of

Shariah and Islamic Studies, Qatar University pointed out: "It is wrong to think

that Islam stands against anything new or invented classifying it under the name

of bidah. In fact, bidah is what is invented in matters of a purely religious nature,

such as creed and worship and their branches; while the changing matters of life

such as norms, traditions, customs and administrative, social, cultural and

political practices are not to be regarded at all as bidah" [Prof. Dr. Yusuf Al

Qaradawi, Priorities of the Islamic Movement in the Coming Phase, Awakening

Publications, U. K., pp158-159].

3

The tendency on the part of some Muslims to equate religion with local culture

cause adopt behaviors and views that are not religiously necessary and in some

cases alien to the ever lasting principles of Islam. I can briefly narrate here the

story of Afghan couple who went to Saudi Arabia to perform hajj. When the

Jeddah Immigration Officials as a matter of identifying the passport holder asked

the lady to uncover her face covered by nikab, her husband objected to it and

then followed the instruction saying in his country if someone would have asked

his wife for such compliance, such officials would have to cross a sword before

demanding such compliance, but he would follow Immigration Officials

instruction since he has come to perform hajj. Such attitudes and practices do not

represent Islam but peculiar practices of Afghan tribal culture. What is however

needed is the real application of the principles of Islam as against local customs

and ancestral traditions and traditional prejudice.

Another important problem of the Muslim community is its failure to assimilate

positive local cultural elements. The prevailing cultural mentality has created

obstacles to progress of the ummah. When Muslims were superpowers as during

Umayyad and Abbasid periods, they had a pluralistic attitude and always ready

to accept new cultural elements. Western colonization has created in the mind of

the ummah a defeated mentality. They now doubt everything new. This has

created barriers to social transformation and change.

Arabs and Muslim culture and tradition are deeply intertwined. Prophet

Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was an Arab. The Quran, was

revealed to him in Arabic, the only language that he and the people surrounding

him knew. In Prophet Muhammad's day, Arabic language was restricted to the

Arabian Peninsula, and the term Arab referred to a person who lived there. But

as the united tribes of the Arabian Peninsula conquered Syria, the Lebanon,

Palestine, and Iraq to create the Muslim East, and North Africa and Spain to form

the Muslim West, they brought the Arabic language and Islam with them. Most

of the people in these countries who adopted Islam also adopted Arabic. While

there were a few exceptions, like the Berbers in Morocco and Algeria, the other

peoples of the region took Arabic names, married Arabs, and, in short, became

what is commonly identified as Arab. By contrast, when Islam spread beyond the

boundaries of North Africa and Iraq, people became Muslims without adopting

Arab language and identity. Persia became Muslim but preserved its language,

literature, culture and tradition. Turkic peoples kept their lifestyle, culture and

languages; Afghan theirs. Sub-Saharan Africans who became Muslims also

typically maintained their own languages and traditions. Further in Indonesia,

Malaysia and Bangladesh, and as far away as the Philippines, Islam reached

many people without transforming them into Arabs either.

4

When a Muslim society moves forward and makes progress, it absorb, it

assimilates new elements which is not in conflict with the core principles of Islam

and Muslim identity. When the society declines, it excludes, creates walls and

barriers and rejects new elements.

Muslims should not uphold or create cultural barriers where none exist. This is

one of the most important implications of the Quran's prohibition of associating

man made constructs with God, for when this is done truth is covered and

religious thought and practice is unnecessarily constrained.

Another most important problem confronting the ummah is the prevailing

mentality that the new generation has nothing to add to what the predecessors,

the earlier generations in the golden era have done, old is gold. Whereas in the

Farewell Pilgrimage Prophet Muhammad said: "All those who listen to me shall

pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones

understand my words better than those who listen to me directly" [Prof. Syed Ali

Ahsan, Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets, Dhaka, Bangladesh, September 2002, p

345]. Therefore there is no question of undermining the intellectual competence

of the current generation.

Islam is the solution is a unifying slogan, it, nonetheless, remains an empty

slogan. Muslims however need to work intelligently, constructively and

cooperatively to bring about reform in their countries and whole world.

The largely held view that ijma of the golden era is binding on the succeeding

generations has created problems in the area of muamalat (day to day activities

and dealings – social affairs) because the situation has changed to a large extent

that demands newer solutions. We have to distinguish between Muslim practices

and ideas that are essential to Islam and those that are time or place bound

adaptations or interpretations. Those ijmas that deal with muamalat need to be

thoroughly scrutinized.

Accepting ijma (consensus of the earlier generations) that deals with muamalat

(day to day activities and dealings – social affairs) in today's situation without

question is taqlid, blind imitation or the blind acceptation of juridical precedent.

Some scholars think: "Each Muslim must submit to God alone and take the

responsibility for his own life. Anything else was idolatrous and a perversion of

Islam, turning it into a lifeless observance of a set rules" [Karen Armstrong, The

Battle for God: A History of Fundamentalism, The Random House Publishing

Group, New York, 2000. p 254]. Erudite Islamic scholar Moulana Abul Kalam

Azad also is of the view that blind imitation tantamount to idolatry. To quote

Moulana Azad: "Taqlid or taking everything on trust unquestioningly, thus

barring from every side the exercise of common-sense and straightforward

5

reasoning, and freely opening the door to every from of vagary in thought and

action, proceeding from the exploiters of religion. Indeed this tendency in

religion assumed in due course such a hideous aspect, that it impelled the

ignorant masses to hail, some of them as demi-gods and even peers to God Himself in

practice" (emphasis added) [Moulana Abdul Kalam Azad, The Tarjuman Al-

Quran, English rendering by Syed Abdul Latif, Kitab Bhavan, New Delhi –

110002, 1990, Vol. 3, p 91]. Prof. Dr. Tariq Ramadan puts it: "Muslims do not

consider the Messenger of Islam as mediator between God and people. Each

individual is invited to address God directly … he often insisted on each

believer's responsibility in his or her dialogue and relationship with the One"

[Tariq Ramadan, In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of

Muhammad, Oxford University Press, New York, 2007, pp ix-x].

Identifying tradition as sacrosanct is the most common means by which manmade

policies, which may or may not have been appropriate in a particular

historical and cultural context, become associated with religion and

universalized; and as such, sometimes preference is given to tradition even

though revelation does not endorse the practice.

In the Islamic seminaries, madrassas, generation after generation, Muslims

student are instructed in the revival of Traditionalist orthodoxy, emphasizing

static, literalist interpretation of the Quran. We must not however turn our backs

to the contemporary social reality.

It needs to be realized that with the exception of the Quran and authentic and

well established Traditions of the Prophet (Prophets are directly guided by God

through revelations), every other single source of Islamic law was the result of

human, not divine, effort. The early scholars understood this and were

constantly adapting to contemporary situations, and the law itself was

continually reinterpreted as and when necessary. None of the legal decisions

made by any of the madhab, schools of law were binding on individual Muslims.

In fact, until the modern period, it was common for the believers to switch their

allegiance from one school to another at their pleasure, and there was nothing

expressly prohibiting a Muslim from accepting Hanafi doctrine on some issues

and Maliki doctrine on others.

In any modern Islamic society we have to blend the traditional values of the

shariah with the contemporary social reality, principles of democracy and

human rights through a comprehensive reform methodology if we are to make

progress.

Another vital problem confronting the ummah is the thinking that the door of

ijtihad is closed although there is no proof or evidence of it in the revealed Text

6

and the Traditions in support of this proposition. No one has the right to close

the doors of ijtihad which were opened by the Prophet Muhammad for the

whole ummah.

The static thinking that Muslims can face any problem without intellectual

exercise of ijtihad so long the Quran and sunnah is in their hand is a wishful

thinking. By thinking in this line they have failed to relate the revealed Text with

real world and lost the ability to actualize the faith.

Rescuing the religion from centuries of burdensome accretion is widely seen by

the contemporary Muslim intellectuals and thinkers as most vital. If we shrink

from this intellectual exercise we simply surrender to convention, we play the

role of yes man or woman in the face of Muslim traditions. Muslims must

remember that their self-surrender is to God, not to community, organization

and establishment or to the dogma of any particular culture.

Islam requires self-surrender to God alone, even if this puts him or her at odds

with the Muslim establishment of particular country or time. We must not

blindly surrender to Muslim beliefs and customs which have no basis in the

Texts of the Quran and authentic and well established Traditions of the Prophet.

What may suit a given society in a given stage of history may prove quite

unsuitable for another. Things new in a certain historical period may become old

in another one. Indeed all previous intellectual exercises are limited to a certain

place with a certain history.

We have to exercise ijtihad in order to draw nearer to what is truer. Every

generation has a right to understand the revelation in its own way, even if it

differs from that of previous generations. The door of ijtihad should remain open

rather than be restricted to a particular generation, person, or age. Our ancestors

were wonderful in applying religion to their life but the complexity of modern

life is beyond our ancestors' imagination. Applying shariah rulings to modern

life requires that they be built on the realities of modern life for the old rulings

cannot provide solution to the problem in the present situation prevailing in the

Muslim World.

The ummah reached its present deplorable state only after its member's

discontinued intellectual exercise. Islam does not require the Muslims shield the

ignorant, but to instruct and enlighten them. Our vision must not be cloudy and

we must not loose the sight of truth. We must understand the current social

reality and combine the experience past and present so that we can intelligently

chart future course and only then ijtihad will provide the way out of the current

morass.

7

Another major cultural problem facing the ummah is its failure to be critical

although we can debate anything and everything except the essence (dhat) of

God, as eminent Islamic scholar Prof. Dr. Ismail Rajhi al-Faruqi puts it: "The only

thing which Islam has said is not within the capacity of the human mind to

question is the essence (dhat) of God" [Prof. Dr. Ismail Rajhi al-Faruqi, Why

Islam? in Riza Mohammad and Dilwar Hussain ed. Islam: The Way of Revival,

Revival Publications, Markfield, U. K., 2003, p 45].

Islam is the religion of rational and critical mind. The greatest thing in the world

is to be able to see things from two perspectives, two sides of the subject – listen

to the other side. It is more important to be able to see different sides. Agree to

disagree has to be an accepted principle of social discourse. However dissent is

rarely appreciated by the members of the ummah because unity for the sake of

unity is much more cherished than truth.

We must not stop from critically probing and examining and challenging the

suspect, doubtful and controversial practices and dogmas for otherwise we could

persist in jahili cultural practices. A religious justification for a practice is not

enough to prove it essential to the faith; the evidence, premises and inferences

built need to be critically examined, and counter-evidence, counter-arguments

and counter-considerations need to be measured and weighed.

Muslim need to examine what Islam demands on different issues hitherto

considered a taboo in the society. If there is a room within the religion to make

accommodation then we must shun the existing practice that is misleading

millions of Muslims away from their religion. The use of cap during prayer is

one such practice which keeping away many males from mosque. We must

discontinue this nonessential practice if we are to make mosque the intellectual

nucleus of the community.

U lil amr min kum - follow your leaders or those in authority - has become a sort

of subservient surrender and taqlid, blind following of the leaders in every

respect. This should not be the case. Muslims should always remain open to

arguments.

In some cases divine sanction to interpretations is at most vague and indirect

support in the Textual sources. It needs an intellectual environment that

promotes dialogue and free speech and that doesn't shy away from controversy,

others perspectives need to be heard. Intellectual freedom implies the right to

question, to openly scrutinize, to critically examine and evaluate.

8

A critical and thorough re-examination of traditional Muslim thought and

practice is most vital, not only to distinguish the truly essential in religion but

also to better understand the interpretations of past scholars that may not be

essential but nevertheless legitimate and perhaps appropriate today. The goal

should not be to filter out the strictly essential and then completely discard all

the rest, but to build on the past efforts. The better grasp Muslims have of the

thought processes of the past scholars, the better they will be able to measure

how much room there is for interpretation and adaptation.

But who is going to perform this in-depth analysis of traditional Muslim thought.

Some Muslims are not only very resistant to questioning established religious

views but they display definite uneasiness with and sometimes a disdain for

rational deliberation on religious proposition. Some other people prefer to

follow conjecture, their desire or tradition of their forefathers while the Quran

emphasizes critical reasoning that exposes falsehood and illuminates truth.

Al Quran states: When it is said to them, 'Follow what God revealed', they say,

'We follow that wherein we found our fathers.' What! Even though their fathers were

devoid of wisdom and guidance [2: 170].

Rigorous analysis must be part of Islamic culture. Keeping silent is tantamount

to being an accomplice; it is betraying God, His Prophet and all the Believers

Reading fifty years or so old literature and reading no contemporary literature,

and therefore remaining ignorant of contemporary development, is another

major problem facing the ummah. Readers are studying only one set of sectarian

literature and not giving ear to others view.

The most important reason that the contemporary cultural workers are poorly

equipped and not well trained is that they are not up-to-date of the latest

developments in the field of knowledge. They are not aware about the most

recent ijtihad, whatever little research is being done by the eminent Muslim

scholars in various fields throughout the world. The cultural leadership is mostly

happy with the past heritage. Self-glorification for the past achievement and

success has blinded Muslim leadership to the need to examine their history in a

critical and analytical manner with a view to exploring the points of weakness. In

actual fact the Muslim legacy is not adequate enough to provide solutions of our

contemporary crisis. Cultural and intellectual leadership still measure

themselves by the past models and ignore time and distinctive features, and yet

expect identical results. The right perspective and perception needs to be

invoked. In this way, a fair interaction with the past can be made instead of

vainly trying to revive it. The study materials for the workers of the cultural

movements do not empower them with sufficient knowledge and ideas for

9

meeting the changing needs of the age. The cultural workers, the cadres of the

cultural movement, are forced to read substandard books as rightly pointed out

by Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy, Professor of Physics, Quaid-e-Azam University,

Islamabad, Pakistan. He said: "In fact many individuals make huge profits by

producing substandard and badly written books filled with conceptual,

pedagogical, and printing mistakes". Shoddy books are included in the

compulsory study materials of the workers of the cultural movement for the

financial benefit in terms of royalty of the so-called elite writers of the movement.

Consequently cultural workers have lost sight of the comprehensive totality of

the Quran and thus losing the opportunity to relate to reality and control the

inevitable changes in time and circumstances as the Quran behooves Islamic

cultural workers to do. The Muslim intellectual leadership rather is now

behaving in a way that circumstance dictates their thinking. Muslim leadership is

not the master of the circumstance rather circumstances dictate them.

Books in Bangladesh are now being written by such persons who have no

authority on the subject they are dwelling on. It so happens that someone reads a

book on certain subject published outside Bangladesh and then he rewrites the

same book, adds here and there and produces a book in his name. Then another

person reads this locally produced book and again rewrites it, adds here and

there and thus produces a new book in his name, so on and so forth. Thus second

and third rate substandard books are being produced.

The readers will never get from such plagiarized books the sprit and flavor of the

original books. Such books are likely to misguide the readers and will in no way

play positive and meaningful role for the onward march and progress of the

ummah, the Muslim community. Some of the books are below standard; these

are likely to raise unnecessary debate and will only confuse the readers.

Interested readers who want to study this point further may read 'Islamic

Movement: An Overview' and 'Quality Work: How Important It Is', available at

www.shahfoundationbd.org.

Another pivotal problem confronting the Muslim community is rigid and

inflexible attitude of the cultural workers when other easy options are available.

In fact such attitudes only create obstacles in our day to day life and further

complicates social environment. Creating such hindrances is against the very

sprit of Islam for Al Quran states: God intends for you ease, He does not want to

make things difficult for you [2:185]. Al Quran in another verse states: God

wishes to lighten your burdens for man was created weak [4:28]. Prophet

Muhammad is reported to have said: Facilitate matters to people and do not

make things difficult [Authenticated by all authorities. Quoted in Prof. Dr. Yusuf

Al Qaradawi's book Islamic Awakening between Rejection and Extremism, I. I. I.

10

T., Herdon, Virginia, U. S. A., 1995, p 26]. Al Quran further states: He … has not

laid upon you in religion any hardship [22: 78]. We must therefore concentrate

more on avoiding the listed forbidden (haram) practices for what is not

forbidden (haram) is permissible (halal) [Prof. Dr. Yusuf Al Qaradawi, The

Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam, American Trust Publications, Indianapolis, U.

S. A., p 14]. God in His Infinite Marcy and Wisdom has listed only those that are

forbidden (haram) and we must not unnecessarily poke and raise questions

whether something is forbidden (haram) when not listed as forbidden (haram)

and make our lifestyle, culture and society difficult. We must not create

unnecessary burden on man for God created man weak.

The failure to develop filter to screen the munker (evil) elements of predominant

culture is another pivotal problem of the Muslim community. Such filter may

include a long list but emphasis should be given on tawheed and shirk. Shah

Waliullah puts it: Islam was not determined to extirpate fully the jahiliyyah

Arab culture and civilization. It is not after demolishing each and everything.

Rather, it opted for the middle way by way of reforming, adapting, restoring and

reconstructing the existing order. The Prophet reformed such Arab social

practices which were injurious to morals, health and faith. Yet he retained noble

traditions and introduced, keeping in mind the changing needs, new practices,

rites and rituals and deeds [Shah Waliullah, Hujjatullah al-Balaghah 1, 124-125

quoted in Muhammad Yasin Mazhar Siddiqi's The Prophet Muhammad: A Role

Model for Muslim Minorities, The Islamic Foundation, Markfield, U. K., 2006, p

173].

One of the first duties is to purge customs and traditions, and moral and social

codes from destructive impurities and useless bits and pieces, in order to clear

the way for the lively and life-promoting factors to come in. This purification is

not possible except with a new thinking that can destroy the system inherited

from the stage of decline and in turn assist in the search for a new system, that is,

reform and renewal.

I shall narrate here one of my personal experience. Sixteen months back one of

my cousin died of cancer at a hospital in capital Dhaka. We carried the dead

body to our village home at Katiadi, Kishoregonj approximately 100 kilometer

north of Dhaka for burial. We took with us cloths necessary for the burial. But

surprisingly, at the village home another cousin asked where the cloth of the

deceased's wife is. I pointed out that our brother has passed away not his wife

and there is no need for cloth for our sister-in-law. But my cousin insisted that

she must take a bath and wear white shari, a long cloth.

The communication technology has made great stride. We are now using verses

of the Quran as ring-tone in the mobile phones which is always abruptly

11

disconnected in the middle of the recitation while receiving mobile phones. How

far this is acceptable? Should we allow such practice or should we discontinue

such cultural practice. We need to screen past cultural practices and new

additions to our culture. We must remain ever vigilant to preserve the purity of

our culture.

Another foremost problem confronting the ummah is the intolerant attitude of

the cultural workers to accept others ideas and views. Any unnecessarily hostile

and unfriendly stance is bound to mar the intellectual environment and greatly

impair the stride and advancement of the ummah. I shall narrate here an

example which will establish the intellectual hollowness of our writers. On 18

February 2005 Bangladesh newspaper the Naya Diganta published my article

'Muslim Society: Reasons for Backwardness'. In fact the article was a translated

version of my article in English published sometimes in 2004 in The New Nation,

The Bangladesh Observer and monthly the Shaurav. Writer N. N (actual name

withheld) responded to my article in Naya Diganta saying that my views

'contradict with shariah' for the simple reason that I do not see eye to eye with her

on the question of using nikab and for my opinion that wife on modest dress can

receive male guest of husband provided she has the permission of husband

although in support of my opinion I quoted Prof. Dr. Yusuf Al Qaradawi,

eminent jurist and ideologue of Sudanese Islamic Movement Dr. Hasan Turabi

and opinion of Imam Malik in addition to Hadiths from Bukhari and Muslim.

Such sweeping comment is intellectual terrorism and in no way serve the

purpose of Islam rather creates hurdle and obstruction on the onward march and

progress of the Muslim community. Such intellectual terrorism is as terrifying as

physical terrorism. Interested readers may read my article available at

www.shahfoundationbd.org

It so happens that enthusiastic Muslims fail in their evaluation of the problems

around them. They often think that what they lack at the present is nuclear

bombs, missiles, tanks and guns to help them to fight against the unjust powers.

Here, their conscience is erring (by this I don't mean that we do not need

sophisticated weaponry to defend our rights against intruders) because they find

themselves in a world wherein they are helpless. Their diagnosis of the problem

is incorrect. What they really lack is ideas. We should constantly emphasize that

the deep-rooted crisis of the Muslim World has never been a consequence of its

lack of means, but of ideas. Unless the Muslim World clearly realizes this fact,

the malady of the Muslims will remain incurable, and it will be forever lagging

behind the advance world. We have to realize that ummah's existing crisis of

thought can be solved only by restructuring its cultural model and reordering its

priorities. #

12

[Author is the Chairman Islamic Information Bureau Bangladesh. A summary of

the article has earlier been presented at the moot of Bangla Shahittay Kendraa,

Kanchan, Rupgonj on 07. 12. 2007. Email: sah1947@yahoo.com Web:

shahfoundationbd.org]

Bibliography:

Prof. Syed Ali Ahsan, Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets, Dhaka, Bangladesh,

September 2002.

Karen Armstrong, The Battle for God: A History of Fundamentalism, The

Random House Publishing Group, New York, 2000.

Noah Feldman, After Jihad: America and the Struggle for Islamic Democracy,

Farrar Straus and Giroux, New York 10003, 2004.

Malik Bennabi, The Question of Culture, Islamic Book Trust, Petaling Jaya,

Malaysia, 2003.

Dr. Syed Abdul Latif, Principles of Islamic Culture, Goodword Books, New Delhi,

2002.

Prof. Dr. Ismail Rajhi al-Faruqi, Islam and Other Faiths, ed. Ataullah Siddiqi,

Islamic Foundations, Markfield, U. K.,1988.

Prof. Dr. Ismail Rajhi al-Faruqi, Why Islam? in Riza Mohammad and Dilwar

Hussain ed. Islam: The Way of Revival, Revival Publications, Markfield, U. K.,

2003,

Prof. Dr. Ismail Rajhi al-Faruqi, Islamization of Knowledge: General Principles

and Work Plan, IIIT, Herdon, Prof. Dr. Ismail Rajhi al-Faruqi,irginia, U. S. A.,

1989.

Prof. Dr. Jeffery Lang, Losing My Religion: Call for Help, amana publications,

Maryland, U. S. A., 2004.

Tariq Ramadan, In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of

Muhammad, Oxford University Press, New York, 2007.

13

Tariq Ramadan, Islam the West and the Challenge of Modernity, Islamic

Foundation, Markfield, U. K., 2001.

Shah Waliullah, Hujjatullah al-Balaghah 1, 124-125 quoted in Muhammad Yasin

Mazhar Siddiqi's The Prophet Muhammad: A Role Model for Muslim Minorities,

The Islamic Foundation, Markfield, U. K., 2006.

Prof. Dr. Yusuf Al Qaradawi's book Islamic Awakening between Rejection and

Extremism, I. I. I. T., Herdon, Virginia, U. S. A., 1995.

Prof. Dr. Yusuf Al Qaradawi, The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam, American

Trust Publications, Indianapolis, U. S. A.

Prof. Dr. Yusuf Al Qaradawi, Priorities of the Islamic Movement in the Coming

Phase, Awakening Publications, U. K.

Shaykh Taha Jabir Al-Alwani, Issues in Contemporary Islamic Thought, IIIT,

Herndon, Virginia, U. S. A., 2005.

Abd al Majid Al Najjar, The Vicegerency of Man: Between Revelation and Reason,

IIIT, Herndon, Virginia, U. S. A., 2000.

Abdelwahab El-Affendi ed. Rethinking Islam and Modernity: Essays in Honor of

Fathi Osman, The Islamic Foundation, Markfield, Leicester, U. K., 2001.

Reza Aslan, No god but God: The Origins Evolution and Future of Islam, Arrow

Books, The Random House Group Limited, London, 2006.

Shah Abdul Halim, Islamic Movement: An Overview, The New Nation, 12

September 2001. www.shahfoundationbd.org.

Shah Abdul Halim, Quality Work: How Important It Is, The New Nation, 17 June

 


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[ALOCHONA] Appreciation of Appreciation



Appreciation : What, When & How to Appreciate

One young academically excellent person went for an interview for a managerial position in a big company. He passed the first interview; BUT in that Comapny, the director did the last interview, made the last decision.

The director discovered from the CV, that the youth's academic result was excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research, never was there a year he did not score. The director asked, "Did you obtain any scholarship in school?" and the youth answered "no".

The director asked, " Did your father pay your school fees?". The youth answered, "my father passed away when I was one year old and it was my mother who paid my school fees".

The director asked, " Where did your mother work?" the youth answered, "my mother worked as cloth cleaner." The director requested the youth to show his hands and the youth showed a pair of hands that was smooth and perfect to the director.

The director asked, " Did you ever help your mother wash clothes before?" The youth answered," never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books, furthermore, my mother could wash clothes faster than I could"

The director said, I have a request, when you go back today, go and help to clean your mother's hand, and then see me tomorrow morning.

The youth felt that the chance of landing the job was high and when he went back, he happily wanted to clean his mother's hands. His mother felt strange. With happiness mixed with fear, she showed her hands to the kid.

The youth cleaned his mother's hands slowly and his tears fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother's hands were so wrinkled, and that there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that she shuddered when his mother's hands were cleaned with water.

This is the first time that the youth realized and experienced that it is this pair of hands that washed the clothes every day to earn him the school fees and that the bruises in the mother's hand were the price that the mother paid for his graduation and academic excellence and probably his future.

After finishing the cleaning of his mother's hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.

That night, the mother and son talked for a very long time.

Next morning, the youth went to the director's office. The director noticed the tear in the youth's eye and asked: " Can you tell what you did and learnt yesterday in your house?"

The youth answered, " I cleaned my mother's hands and also finished washing all the remaining clothes'

The director asked, "Please tell me what you felt"

The youth said:
"Number 1, I know what appreciation is now'. Without my mother, I would not be successful today.
Number 2, Now I know how to work together with my mother. Only now do I realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done.
Number 3, I know the importance and value of family relationship."

The director said, " This is what I am asking, I want to recruit a person that can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the suffering of others to get things done, and a person that would not put money as his only goal in life to be my manager. You are hired.

Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates, every employee worked diligently and as a team and the company improved tremendously.

The Lessons from this anecdote:

A child who has been protected and habitually given whatever he needs, develops "entitlement mentality" and always puts himself first. He is ignorant of his parents' efforts. When he starts work, he assumes every person must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know the suffering of his employees and always blame others. These kinds of people, may/will achieve good results and may be successful for a while, but eventually would not feel a sense of achievement or satisfaction.

If we happen to be this kind of (protective) parent, this is the time to ask the question- whether we did/do love our kids or destroy them.
-You can let your kid live in a big house, eat a good meal, learn to play the piano, watch a big screen TV but when you are cutting grass, please let them experience it.
-After a meal, let them wash their plate and bowl together with their brothers and sisters.
-It is not because you do not have money to hire a maid, but it is because you want to love and show them the correct way.
-You want them to understand that no matter how rich their parents are, one day they will grow old, become weak and that their hair too will grow grey,.
-The most important thing is for your kid to learn how to appreciate, experience and learn the effort and ability needed to work with others to get things done. They should also value, appreciate what the parents have done and love them for who they are! 



 





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[ALOCHONA] president zia






" On 23 and 24 May 81, an urgent secret meeting of freedom fighters of 71 and 75 and some former members of the Army was held in the seminar room of the T.S.C. of Dhaka University. In that meeting, Colonel Shawkat Ali (at present Awamni League M.P. and an accused in the Agartala Conspiracy case) informed the meeting of the plan to assassinate freedom fighter President Ziaur Rahman and told what to do during and after the killing. Colonel Shawkat Ali said that under the leadership of the G.O.C. Chittagong Major General Manzur Bir Uttam Zia would be killed and that our leader Shaikh Hasina had the knowledge of this plan for assassination. Our leader had instructed us to help and play a role in this plan.

Awami League President Shaikh Hasina had returned home only a few days ago; how could she give a directive of this nature? When asked, Colonel Shawkat replied that Shaikh Hasina had been informed while she had been out of the country in India. When asked as to what we were to do during and after the killing, Colonel Shawkat said that we would have to stay in Chittagong and Dhaka; those who would be in Chittagong should take the responsibility of coming to Dhaka after collecting arms from General Manzur; and those who could be in Dhaka should establish control over important places like radio and television centers with these weapons. In reply to a question from one of us, he said that anytime from now the assassination could take place. "


can we get some helpful comments about these sensational claims......from well-informed readers?


best wishes.

khoda hafez.





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[ALOCHONA] Pakistan confirms Wikileaks claim of US nuclear appeals



Pakistan confirms Wikileaks claim of US nuclear appeals

File picture from November 2008 shows Saudi King Abdullah (R) meeting Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari in Riyadh 
The leaks also claim the Saudi king called President Zardari the greatest obstacle to Pakistan's progress

Pakistan has confirmed to the BBC claims by Wikileaks that the US had wanted nuclear fuel taken away from a reactor, citing security fears.Foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said they rejected US attempts to have the highly enriched uranium removed.

The online whistle-blower also reveals unflattering comments about Pakistan's President Asif Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.And more details emerge of an alleged CIA abduction of an innocent German.Thousands of extracts from US diplomatic messages have been published by the New York Times, France's Le Monde, Britain's Guardian newspaper, German magazine Der Spiegel and others.

'Untrustworthy and fickle' They suggest the US requested highly enriched uranium be handed over from Pakistan's oldest nuclear reactor.

"The US has been asking for the last two years that we should return the reactor and the fuel which had been given - we dismissed this "

End Quote Abdul Basit Pakistan foreign ministry

According to the classified cables, US Ambassador Anne Patterson reportedly informed the state department in May 2009 that Pakistan was refusing to allow American technical experts to visit.Islamabad foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit said the Wikileaks disclosure was highly irresponsible.

But he confirmed that US authorities had asked for fuel to be returned from a reactor, citing security fears. The facility is in Karachi and was built through the US Atoms for Peace programme under President Dwight Eisenhower.

Mr Basit told the BBC: "The US has been asking for the last two years that we should return the reactor and the fuel which had been given. "We dismissed this, reiterating that the reactor was our property, so there was no question of it being returned."

US officials have long expressed concern that Islamist militants in Pakistan could target the country's nuclear programme in an attempt to get their hands on the materials to build their own bomb.The BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan in Karachi says the Wikileaks disclosures reveal how the US continues to regard Pakistan as an untrustworthy and fickle ally.

'Rotten head'

The leak is sure to raise hackles across the country's political spectrum, he adds.

Analysis

The mood in the Afghan presidency was good, one palace insider told me. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had called in advance to tell people what to expect. We feel OK "because we are part of a large community of victims," said one senior official. That was putting a brave face on it.

President Hamid Karzai was described as having a paranoid world view in one cable. One British diplomat who had met the Afghan leader many times told me he shared the American assessment - Mr Karzai saw plots everywhere, especially in negative coverage of him in the media (which he believed was orchestrated by Western intelligence agencies).

The Afghan leader even blamed the British and US governments for the drugs trade, said the diplomat, because he believed they had the forces in the south to stop it if they wanted to. President Karzai may see confirmation of his fears in the now published assessment of his personality. He and the Americans have little choice but to deal with each other.

Mr Basit, however, said the leaks would not significantly alter Pakistan's international relationships. Our correspondent says the foreign ministry spokesman was alluding to disparaging comments about Pakistan's president by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi Arabian king reportedly called Mr Zardari the greatest obstacle to the country's progress, the New York Times said."When the head is rotten, it affects the whole body," the newspaper quoted King Abdullah as saying.

Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar dismissed the report."President Zardari regards Saudi King Abdullah as his elder brother," he told the BBC."The so-called leaks are no more than an attempt to create misperceptions between two important and brotherly Muslim countries".

Another cable reportedly described Afghan President Karzai as "extremely weak" and prone to being persuaded by conspiracy theories. The disclosures reveal how a senior Afghan official was found to be carrying more than $52m (£33m) in cash on a foreign trip when stopped during a visit to the United Arab Emirates.

And Wikileaks reveals that Germany was warned in 2007 not to enforce arrest warrants for the CIA officers involved in the operation in which an innocent German citizen with the same name as a suspected militant was abducted and held in Afghanistan.

The Guardian, meanwhile, reports that the cables contain details of how US commanders, President Karzai and local officials in Helmand criticised the British military for failure to impose security around the town of Sangin in southern Afghanistan.

The US has led worldwide condemnation of the huge data leak, with one congressman calling for Wikileaks to be designated a terrorist organisation.
 


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