IAGD Hosts Darul Hikmah Project: The Forgotten Traditions

By Adil James, MMNS

Rochester Hills—-July 27-29–Are young Muslims keeping their religion or not?

This is the underlying question for the Muslim community in America, and teaching young people about the virtues of Islam was the subtext for last weekend’s seminar at IAGD in Rochester Hills, The Forgotten Traditions, Reflecting Upon the Sunnah.

The Forgotten Traditions program was a well-attended seminar organized by Darul Hikmah in concert with motivated young people from the IAGD community–the event was attended by perhaps as many as 500 people, many of them adolescents or teens, and provided them with a series of motivational speeches on the importance of involvement with the surrounding community and the importance of adhering to the sunnah of Prophet (s) in developing good relations with the community.

Darul Hikmah was formed “in late 2006” by young Muslims in Chicago who, according to their website, “banded together to find ways to encourage the local Muslim youth population to engage themselves in healthy, educational and authentic Islamic activities.”

Adnan Faiz, one of Darul Hikmah’s founding members, explained that Darul Hikmah seeks to reach out to young people “through the language of the people, by choosing native speakers of English so as to maintain a better conversation with the youth.”

This focus on approaching native-speaking Americans through native-speaking teachers betrays the underlying fact that in fact this organization has been founded to serve mainly second generation immigrants to the US, and is in fact one of the first such groups to be organized and grow somewhat powerful even in the short time it has existed.

“In talks with many people from the community, including the imam of this mosque and many others,” said Mr. Faiz, “Darul Hikmah determines the areas in a specific community where there could be a lack, or room for improvement.

“Here in the Detroit area, the focus of the group was the treatment of women and building family values, family relationships, based on the life of Prophet (s) as a basic foundation.”

Mr. Faiz explained that the speakers chosen by Darul Hikmah are people well-versed in Islam, and emphasized its goal of building the community through proper understanding and knowledge.

Most of the participants in Darul Hikmah and the Forgotten Traditions program–audience and teachers–are of South Asian descent.

Ali Rana, one of IAGD’s members and a co-organizer of Forgotten Traditions, explained after the event that “I think it was a success, it was a great event for the whole family, with a really inviting atmosphere.” He thought that among the speakers at the event one speaker especially stood out.

“Imam Tahir Anwar was really interesting–he is also the Human Rights Commissioner of San Jose, and he explained how Muslims should stand up” and be a part of their community.

Indeed, Imam Anwar was the rock-star of the event–Anwar, an under-thirty second-generation Muslim whose parents are from Gujarat, held court in IAGD with young people hanging on his every word, bringing titters with small jokes, his audience showing the moment-by-moment enthrallment that comes from real admiration.

He explained to them the importance of getting involved in the community and talked about proactively engaging with the non-Muslims he meets through his work or on airplanes, emphasizing the importance of just “saying hi” to them, and talking about his experiences wearing traditional clothing in settings where such dress is anachronistic, like in the San Jose government buildings.

His rock-star status can be seen in his neat well-groomed presence–a black full beard that fills his hand, and his modernness can be seen in his new iphone and laptop customized with a picture of his car with vanity California license plate “The Imam.”

He says in private that “there is a lot of confusion–we live in a society, especially in the US, where we want Islam to adapt to us, and we don’t want to adapt to Islam. Sometimes we forget that Islam means submission.”

Imam Anwar argues that Islam’s being unfashionable in the US today is actually “bringing people to Islam,” and says “I can give many examples of this.”

One of the more attentive students at the IAGD event was Shafi Ahmed, a college senior from UM Dearborn who regularly attends various Muslim conferences like ISNA and ICNA, and who attended all three days of the Forgotten Traditions event. He said that “Masha`Allah it is a very good conference.”

“This conference gave practical steps–usually conferences just discuss problems but not solutions, but this one offered practical solutions.”

As a specific example he offered Imam Anwar’s descriptions of how to work with the community, getting involved with city government in San Jose.

He said that as a result of Forgotten Traditions and especially the inspiration from seeing Imam Anwar, “after this I am going to look into getting involved with my local government.”

IIK Girls’ Canoe Trip

By Adil James, MMNS

Dearborn–July 24–IIK’s teenage summer fun in the sun continued with a canoe trip this past Tuesday afternoon in Ann Arbor.

Khalida Beydoun, public relations director for the Islamic Institute of Knowledge, explained to TMO that as a part of her girls’ leadership religious instruction program she brought about 25 girls with her on a canoe trip.

The women and girls, including 5 chaperones, spent several hours paddling from Delhi Park in Ann Arbor on a route around Lake Huron–sometimes falling in, also enjoying a group barbecue and praying together. The trip cost $35 per person including the bus, food, and renting canoes; most of the canoes fit either two or three girls each. Sunburned, tired, many of them drenched in Lake Huron, the girls were also extremely happy and thankful to Hajja Khalida because of the trip.

They went on a Tuesday to avoid crowds, so if they needed to they could remove their hijabs. “Alhamdulillah, we were the only group renting canoes,” said Hajja Khalida.

“It was unique,” said Hajja Khalida. “Quite adventurous but it was very good. We had 31 people altogether on the trip, including 5 chaperones, and it was a beautiful day although they said there would be showers all day.”

“We prayed dhohr and asr, had some snacks, and then went paddling to the other side of the lake, on a 1.5 hour trip. We wore life jackets–we had initially gotten an hour and a half canoe ride–the water was only 3 feet to 8 feet deep. All the chaperones were very good swimmers, and most of the girls are swimmers too.”

One girl said of the trip, “This is the best field trip I’ve had in my entire life,” mainly she said because she saw her teacher flip into the water! Unfortunately Hajja Beydoun was one of the first to fall into the water, despite having warned the girls against tipping over.

They passed under three bridges, seeing tadpoles, dragonflies, and guppies. They had to navigate running water, and kept getting grounded in shallow spots. After they returned the canoes, washed up in restrooms and changed clothes, they barbecued hamburgers, salad, chips, hummous, fruits and vegetables, watermelon, and enjoyed a watermelon eating contest–they also played around in a little swimming hole, splashing around.

The IIK plans another event for August 12, a girls’ only swimming trip to Ford Civic Center. This trip is limited to girls’ program participants.

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Excellent Continent-Wide Program Of Nasheeds Organized At Pakistan Center Houston

Houston–July 21–Hadhrat Maulana Ahmad Raza Khan Barelvi was born in 1856.

His teachers and mentors were his father (Maulana Naqi Ali Khan), Mirza Ghulam Qadir Beg (Urdu and Persian), Maulana Abdul Ali of Rampur , Shah Ale Rasool and Shah Abul Hasan Noori, both of Marehra. His Dastar Bandi (conferring of recognition of completion of Islamic learning) occurred in November 1869, when he was 13 and the same day he was adjudged a full-fledged mufti by his father. Throughout his life, he wrote excellent Nasheeds (Poems) in the Honor and Respect of Allah SWT (Hamd-e-Bar-e-Ta-Allah) and His Last Messenger Hadhrat Mohammad (Peace Be Upon him) called Naat-e-Rasool-e-Maqbool.

In order to commemorate the works of this stalwart personality of Muslims, a North American Continent-Wide Program of Hamd-e-Bar-e-Ta-Allah and Naat-e-Rasool-e-Maqbool at the newly established Pakistan Center, was organized by Asad Siddiqui (281.513.8205).

The president of the Program was Hadhrat Allama Mufti Qamar-ul-Hassan Sahab Qibla Khateeb AL-Noor Masjid Houston and program started with Asar Prayers. After that Hadhrat Qari Abdul Qadir Sahab Multani of Houston inaugurated the evening with beautiful heart-wrenching recitation of Quran and its translation.

Several Nasheed presenters from Washington, Virginia, New York, Dallas, Canada and Houston were present, and won the hearts of the people with their excellent presentations. The program went beyond Isha prayers and hundreds of satisfied and happy families went back home after dinner. They have requested the organizers to coordinate more programs like this one.

Daya Seminar On An Unspoken Topic: Alcohol & Drug Abuse Among South Asians, Including Muslims

“I am a fifteen-year-old. I drink a few beers every weekend without my parents’ knowledge. Am I going to be an alcoholic?”

“My two children watch my husband drink at home every day. I know it is going to affect them as they get older. How can I help my children?”

“Since my divorce from my husband, my two teenagers have turned to snorting cocaine. We are a well-to-do family. Is money contributing to their habit?”

These are some of the questions that South Asian callers asked Dr. Ashok Khushalani, (an Addiction and Child psychiatrist in Houston) when he spoke about drug and alcohol abuse and addiction on a Desi radio program a few weeks ago.

If we think alcohol and drug abuse is a non-issue for us–the high achieving South Asian group–the above questions should make us think again.

Additionally, it should be of interest to us that Surgeon General Kenneth Moritsugu has called for a “change in the culture and attitudes toward drinking in America” because an estimated 11 million youths abuse alcohol in this country. Again, as American residents and responsible citizens, we’d be naïve in thinking that South Asian children cannot be part of this eleven million.

It would then make sense for us–as students, parents and community leaders–to attend a program called Hidden Nightmare: Alcohol and Drug Abuse among South Asian Youth, an educational seminar organized by Daya on Saturday, August 11, 2007, at the University Center, University of Houston – Main Campus. The aim of this all-day seminar is to foster communication within families and communities by providing information on alcohol and drugs (recreational and prescription), their effects on self and family, factors contributing to substance abuse by youth and fostering recovery and change.

Daya has partnered with the University of Houston and MH PaRC (Memorial Hermann Prevention and Recovery Center) to bring this important topic to the South Asian community. The addiction specialists at PaRC will educate the audience on recognizing an addiction problem in one’s family, how family members can provide first-line of intervention and discuss the familial, cultural and spiritual factors surrounding substance abuse.

Dr. Khushalani will help the participants distinguish myth from reality when it comes to substance abuse and dependency. Kris Moore of Harris County Juvenile Court will explain the legal ramifications of under-age drinking and possession of substances.

Some of the highlights of the day will include break-out sessions for teenagers and young adults facilitated by second generation South Asians who have faced the temptation of alcohol and drugs in America and Happy Hour, a skit by Shunya Theatre depicting the web of complex relationships in an abusive family system. The luncheon keynote address by Ed Brandon, retired weatherman, ABC 13, and a recovering cocaine addict is sure to be inspiring and thought-provoking. There will be ample opportunity for the audience to ask questions, confidentially, to this great panel of experts.

The event is made possible by a grant from the Simmons Foundation. For more information on the seminar and to register, visit dayahouston.org, or call 713-981-7645 (Ask For Maliha Imami-Alam).

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Courtesy Nermeen Al-Mufti, Al-Ahram, Egypt

Over 5,000 attacks are being staged monthly on US forces as the Bush “surge” continues to try to forcibly pacify Iraq, writes Nermeen Al-Mufti

In a rare moment of jubilation, thousands of Iraqis took to the streets in various parts of the country, waving Iraqi flags and firing in the air, to celebrate the win of their national team in the Asian Cup games. But even that moment turned sour when stray bullets killed two bystanders in Baghdad.

Pentagon figures say that resistance attacks in June were among the highest since May 2003. A total of 5,335 attacks were mounted against the occupation forces and the Iraqi security forces in June, a figure that is 2.5 per cent lower than the record of 5,472 seen in October 2006. The Bush administration deployed 28,000 additional troops last month as part of its controversial plan to “stabilise” the country. Attacks against Iraqi civilians dropped by 18 per cent last month, from 932 in May to 763 in June. Attacks on coalition forces rose by seven per cent, from 3,423 to 3,671, during the same period.

The (Sunni) Accordance Front and the (Shia) Sadr Group ended their boycott of the parliament. The Sadr Group resumed its attendance of parliamentary sessions after five weeks of boycott, thanks to the intervention of parliamentary mediators. The Accordance Front (AF) said that it ended its boycott in response to pleas from other parliamentary groups and from President Jalal Talabani. The AF boycott was in protest against the suspension of speaker Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani, who is one of its members.

A statement released by the office of Tareq Al-Hashemi, vice president and AF member, says that Mashhadani was reinstated in his position as parliamentary speaker. AF leader Adnan Al-Duleimi said that his group was urging its ministers to resume attending cabinet meetings. AF ministers boycotted cabinet sessions after an arrest warrant was served on Culture Minister Asaad Al-Hashimi on 28 June. In statements to the media, Al-Duleimi said that talks with the prime minister concerning the culture minister were “positive”, and that a mutually satisfactory solution was expected.

Meanwhile, parliament postponed its summer recess, but it has no plans to discuss thorny issues for the moment. The oil and de-Baathification laws will be debated after the recess, now scheduled for August. Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki has urged the cabinet to cancel, or at least shorten, the recess so as to “help the government resolve outstanding issues”, according to a statement from his office.

President Bush and his administration are still pushing for a speedy promulgation of the controversial oil law. Former oil minister Essam Shalabi denounced the oil law as an attempt to partition Iraq. The Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS) issued an edict prohibiting the implementation of that law. The edict, claimed AMS spokesman, prompted the Americans to raid Um Al-Qura Mosque, the AMS headquarters in Baghdad, early this week. US troops arrested 18 AMS officials and wrecked AMS offices during the raid.

The US administration says that violence is likely to escalate in August. But Operation Imposing Law in Baghdad and Operation Arrowhead Ripper in Diali, 75 kilometres northeast of Baghdad, are still in full swing. US statements speak of the arrest and death of dozens of “terrorists”. Insurgency forces claim in Internet statements that they are inflicting significant losses on US forces. Baquba inhabitants say that relative calm has been restored in their city, but they complain of food and fuel shortages.

In separate news, US helicopters strafed Al-Huseiniya in north Baghdad, believed to be a stronghold of the Mahdi army, killing 18 civilians and wounding dozens. Nassar Al-Rubiei, spokesman for the Sadr Group, called on parliament to denounce the US shelling. US forces searched Al-Adhamiyah (with its 5-meter barrier) of Baghdad following an attack on a US patrol.

In Kirkuk, 100 civilians were killed in a suicide attack mounted by a truck bomb. The attack comes one week after the bombings in Amirli, considered the worst since April 2003. Ambassador Crocker visited Kirkuk for talks with local officials following the attack. Once the ambassador left, the northern Kurdish administration announced plans to deploy 6,000 peshmerga, or Kurdish fighters, around vital institutions to pre-empt acts of “terror”.

Oil-rich Kirkuk is a multi-ethnic city that has a strong Turkomen presence, but Kurdish political forces have been trying to incorporate it into their region. Their decision to deploy peshmerga in Kirkuk angered local Arab and Turkomen communities. Aydin Aksu, a key figure in the Iraqi Turkomen Front, told Al-Ahram Weekly that, “the presence of 6,000 peshmerga would increase tension and deepen the rift in this town. It would generate resentment among other communities in the city, for it is unconscionable for one community to have all the power. The protection of vital institutions is just an excuse.”

News reports have spoken of a meeting of the Baath Party (Ezzat Al-Duri wing) and other Iraqi resistance factions to form a united front. A source close to resistance factions told the Weekly that Ansar Al-Sunna, Iraq Hamas and the Ishrin Brigades have formed a front but “the Baath was not part of that front.”

The second round of Iranian-US talks is expected to be held soon in Baghdad. Janan Ali, a specialist in domestic Iraqi affairs, says that the talks underline the importance of the Iranian role in Iraq. “No stability in Iraq is possible unless Iran and the US reach agreement,” she said.

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Courtesy Al-Ahram, Egypt

What next for Turkey following the Justice and Development Party’s landslide victory, asks Gareth Jenkins from Istanbul

Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (JDP) was returned to power on Sunday in a landslide election victory. It increased its share of the popular vote to 46.8 per cent to secure 341 seats in Turkey’s 550-member unicameral parliament.

The election results were rightly hailed by the JDP as a triumph without parallel in recent Turkish history and a stinging rebuff to the country’s secular establishment whose warnings that the JDP harboured a long-term radical Islamist agenda appear to have been ignored by almost half of the Turkish electorate.

But there is also little doubt that the JDP’s second term in power is likely to be much more difficult and challenging than its first. When it came to power in November 2002, the JDP inherited an economy which was rebounding from a devastating recession in 2001, and a domestic reform process which had been initiated by the previous government in the hope of formally opening accession negotiations with the EU. Perhaps just as importantly, the JDP had only been established in August 2001 and was thus regarded as something new at a time of unprecedented public disillusion with the established political parties. As a result, the JDP enjoyed a virtual monopoly of that most precious of all political commodities, namely hope.

During its first years in power, the JDP carefully nurtured the economic recovery and accelerated the political reform process, leading in October 2005 to Turkey finally opening accession negotiations with the EU. But the opening of negotiations now appears to have marked the end, rather than a beginning, of a process. With talks now stalled over Turkey’s refusal to compromise on the Cyprus issue, and growing opposition to Turkish membership in key EU states such as France and Germany, few Turks believe their country will ever be allowed to join and the prospect of EU membership has quietly dropped off the political agenda.

Turkey’s ties with the West have been further strained by the US invasion and occupation of Iraq. Washington’s refusal either to move against camps belonging to the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, or allow Turkey to do so, has triggered outrage inside Turkey. But beneath the anger and nationalist rhetoric which, to varying degrees, characterised the campaigns of all the parties competing in last week’s elections, there has also been a palpable shift in the emphasis of Turkish foreign policy. Relations with the EU and the US were hardly mentioned in the parties’ election manifestos. Instead, they devoted considerable space to promising, if they came to power, to develop closer ties with the countries of the region, particularly the Middle East and Central Asia.

But, as ever in Turkey, the new parliament’s agenda is likely to be dominated by the country’s two great unresolved questions: the relationship between religion and public life, and the question of Turkey’s substantial Kurdish minority.

The elections were called more than three months ahead of schedule after the staunchly secularist Turkish General Staff (TGS) intervened to prevent the appointment of JDP Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul as the country’s next president. Like many Turkish secularists, the TGS feared that, with control of both parliament and the presidency, the JDP would finally begin to introduce what they claim is its secret long-term radical agenda.

On Tuesday Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan promised that the new JDP government would adopt a conciliatory attitude when parliament meets to elect a new president in August, raising hopes that it will avoid another confrontation with the military by putting forward a compromise candidate. But on Wednesday Gul called a press conference to announce that his decision as to whether or not to stand as a candidate would be determined by the “will of the people as demonstrated in the election campaign and in the election results”. Yet any attempt by the JDP to appoint Gul to the presidency will galvanise both the secularist opposition and the TGS, leading to deadlock in parliament and perhaps new elections.

Even if Erdogan has his way and a compromise candidate can be found, the new JDP government is likely to come under pressure to find a solution to the Kurdish problem, particularly as the new parliament will contain 24 members of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DSP). Speaking after she was elected as an MP for the predominantly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, the DSP’s Aysel Tugluk warned that once in parliament she and her colleagues would bring “Turkey’s fundamental problems onto the agenda”. In the run-up to the elections leading DSP politicians openly called for political devolution, perhaps even leading to a federal state. Yet the other opposition parties, the Republican People’s Party (RPP) and the Nationalist Action Party (NAP), both campaigned on an aggressive Turkish nationalist platform. Having the RPP, NAP and DSP all represented in the same assembly threatens to be an explosive mixture.

Perhaps more worrying is the potential for tensions outside parliament. Recent years have seen a rise in anti-Kurdish racism on the margins of Turkish society, which has been further fuelled by the violent campaign of the PKK, while nationalist Kurds have become more confident and often explicitly anti- Turkish. In his victory speech on Sunday night Erdogan pledged to combat Kurdish separatism and reiterated the JDP’s commitment to preserving territorial integrity and social harmony. Perhaps the JDP’s greatest challenge will be to ensure that these two cherished characteristics do not become mutually exclusive.

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