AFMI on Women Empowerment

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By Dr. Aslam Abdullah-Chicago

Oct 3rd 2011

The American Federation of Muslims of Indian origin (AFMI) successfully held its 21st annual national convention in Chicago under the leadership of Dr. Tajuddin Ahmed, the incoming AFMI president, and the chairperson Dr. Siraj Ahmed, Co-chair Hassan Kaleemuddin and various heads of other committees. Over 350 people attended the banquet session.

The theme of the convention was “Women Empowerment Through Education”.

Distinguished and knowledgeable speakers from across the nation who participated during the whole day sessions discussed various issues like “Current Status of Indian Muslim Women”, “Tools and Models for Empowering Women Through Education” followed by the session for “Strategic planning and Moving Forward in to Action”.

Mrs. Priya Dutt, Member of the Parliament, address the banquet session of the convention. She is also in charge of women section of the Indian National Congress and Congress party’s general Secretary. The other Chief Guest was the former Illinois senator, Mosley Braun. The theme of the convention being women empowerment, both the main speakers focused on their educational and economic empowerment through creating opportunities at all levels. Priya Dutt is the daughter of Late Sunil Dutt, a Bollywood icon and a former minister of youth affairs. She is involved in running a number of women empowerment centers in the slums of Bombay.

The AFMI convention enables people from Indian origin to find ways of cooperation on issues of concerns for Muslims of India. AFMI organizes an international convention in India in December to distribute medals to students who out excel others in education. Besides, AFMI also runs and supports a number of educational institutions in different parts of India. Relief and political education are two other areas that form the focus of AFMI activities in India. The organization was established in 1989 to provide a platform to Muslims of Indian origin living in the US.to contribute their human and material resources for the Muslims of India. This year’s convention saw the emergence of a youth leadership in the organization as they made significant presentation on educational and economic issues. Some of the presenters presented the conclusion of their research in the city of Hyderabad and other places where women are making significant efforts in bringing about changes in their sociopolitical conditions.  The emergence of a women leadership in India’s Muslim dominated areas is a fact that is being recognized by the community as was suggested by one of the speakers.

Mr. Ashfaq Qureshi, the current President of the organization said that the organization was focused on education and has adopted a motivational approach to help Muslims achieve the goal of 100 per cent literacy.

Dr. Abdul Raheman Nakadar, the founder of the organization presented an overview of the organization’s projects in different part of the country that includes schools, hospitals, clinics, and relief centers besides the distribution of medals to the achievers of highest academic honors. Dr. Nakadar presented the graph of progress in the field of education asserting that the encouragement and recognition of highest achievers create an environment of healthy competition and inspires students to become high achievers.

Among those attended the convention were Dr. Khurshid Malik, a prominent Chicago physician involved in several developmental projects in India. Manzoor Ghori, of the Indian Muslim Relief Committee, Rashid Khan of American Indian Muslim Council, Dr. Abidullah Ghazi, prominent Muslim educationist, Dr. Ahmadullah Siddiqi, Media professor at Western Illinois University, Macomb, Dr. Azhar Quader, a community activists and former President of the Chicago Area Council of Muslim organizations, and recipient of AFMI’s award of Excellence. Dr. A. Razzaque Ahmed, recipient of AFMI’s “Excellence” award and an internationally known dermatologist. The youths who made a mark and were keen to participate in AFMI activities were: Dr. Fareen Parvez (Boston), Dr. Tasneem Osmani (Chicago), Dr. Sana Uddin (South Bend-Indiana), Dr. Saad Mahmood (Boston) and many others.

This year’s AFMI international convention will take place in Ranchi on December 24 and 25, zonal conventions in UP is slated for Faizabad and Lucknow. MP zonal convention will take place in Burhanpur.

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End in Sight to Lebanon’s Crippling Internet Problem

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By Oliver Holmes

2011-10-05T172718Z_162890397_GM1E7A6045E01_RTRMADP_3_LEBANON-INTERNET

An engineer is seen working on Microwave seamless connectivity equipment, at the rooftop of TerraNet heaquarters, an Internet Service Provider (ISP), in Beirut October 5, 2011. On Saturday, the Ministry of Telecommunications introduced a new, high-speed and cheaper Internet plan for private Internet Service Providers (ISP) to sell on to customers. The plan aims to reduce end-user prices for digital subscriber lines (DSL) by 80 percent, while raising speeds up to eight times. 

REUTERS/Jamal Saidi

BEIRUT, Oct 5 (Reuters) – For Sara Darwiche, it has been more than problematic running her fast-paced Internet company out of Lebanon, a country with Internet access that is among the worst in the world.

The “invite only” website ChouChic.com gives its members the opportunity to buy surplus stocks of fashionable clothes at discounted prices. It works on the idea that the scarcity of the clothes coupled with the time limit on sales — 48 hours to a week — will nurture impulse buying and push up sales. The strategy is called flash selling.

But for ChouChic’s main customers, who are Lebanese, there is nothing flashy about buying online here.

“Sometimes the website cuts and people think the sale is over. It really affects the quality,” she told Reuters. “We open our sales everyday at noon and for some reason the Internet usually cuts out then for five minutes.”

For a company aiming to sell the majority of stock in the first ten minutes of a sale opening, connectivity issues can be devastating.

“We needed a lot of modifications to compensate for the slow Internet,” she said, adding that the website was now hosted in the United States. “For luxury fashion, it needs to look like the goods are in front of you so the resolution of the photos needs to be high. But we had to lower the resolution as upload speeds were too slow.”

Lebanon is regarded as a fortress of Arab entrepreneurship, with a vibrant services sector and a business community that is famed for its unyielding tenacity even during the depths of war. But sluggish and expensive Internet has been an embarrassing blot on the economy, and Internet-based companies such as ChouChic are rare.

On Saturday, the Ministry of Telecommunications introduced a new, high-speed and cheaper Internet plan for private Internet Service Providers (ISP) to sell on to customers. The plan aims to reduce end-user prices for digital subscriber lines (DSL) by 80 percent, while raising speeds up to eight times.

If it is implemented smoothly, the plan will provide relief to hundreds of thousands of Lebanese Internet users and could boost economic growth. But for years to come, the economy may bear the scars of the political bickering, vested financial interests and negligence that kept Lebanon in the slow lanes of the information superhighway.

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

“While other countries in the region have capitalised on (the Internet), we have missed it,” said Nassib Ghobril, chief economist of the Byblos Bank Group.

“They have moved ahead of us and now have a comparative advantage. A lot of companies that rely on the Internet look elsewhere to base themselves.”

Ookla, a company that tests Internet speeds around the world, has often ranked Lebanon last on its global Net Index, and the country has generally been lower down than many less developed nations such as Afghanistan and Burkina Faso.

“Lebanon is a services economy and society. Not having Internet is like not having foreign languages,” Khaldoun Farhat, CEO of private ISP provider Terranet, said at his offices opposite Beirut’s port.

Farhat has repeatedly tried to bypass what he calls a “narrow view” of the Internet by the Ministry of Telecommunications. He bought Internet capacity from satellites, made failed requests to buy bandwidth from nearby Cyprus, and tried to import his own Internet equipment which got stuck at customs, he says, for over a year.

“When I wake up, the first thing I think about is, will we get increased capacity today?” he said.

Businessman Mark Daou spent the last few months campaigning for faster internet through a Facebook group titled “Lebanese Want Fast Internet”, which has almost 50,000 supporters.

“Slow speeds affect me in the advertising business as all our resources are on the Internet. Especially now as many of our clients are asking for a lot of online advertising,” he said.

“I have to wait for Saturday night, when Internet usage is low, to upload files to Saudi and Dubai.”

Lebanon has long had the physical capacity to supply cheap, high-speed Internet; in December 2010 a 13,000 km (8,000 mile) submarine fiber optic cable linking the country to India, the Middle East and Western Europe began operating. But access to the cable was delayed until July by bickering between the Ministry of Telecommunications and Ogero, the government’s land-line provider, over usage rights.

The dispute was considered politically motivated as the ministry and Ogero are controlled by opposing sides of Lebanon’s political spectrum, which is deeply divided by religion, sect and economic ideology.

“In the telecoms sector, everyone wants a piece of the pie. It’s a cash cow,” Daou said. “The sector is almost completely controlled by the government. It has 80 percent of the market and the private sector cannot buy fixed licences. Private companies have to renew their Internet licence every year.”

A lack of revenue sources in other economic sectors, Daou said, has made the government see the Internet as an important source of funds. “The government was the only supplier. They needed the money to finance the treasury. It was generating money and nobody was complaining,” he said.

Lebanese Minister of Telecommunications Nicolas Sehnawi told Reuters that successive governments were unable to push through laws to cheapen and speed up connectivity.

“Other (fiber optic) cables in the region were connected before. In those countries, the internal governments have more manoeuverability. We have had big periods of paralysis.”

Last week, a 1 megabit per second (Mbps) connection, the second-fastest option at the time, cost around $76 per month. Under the new pricing plan, a 1 Mbps connection will be the slowest option available and cost around $16.

Economists and business leaders say the economic benefits could be considerable. They quote a 2008 report commissioned by the Ministry of Finance which estimated 10 percent growth in broadband penetration would increase gross domestic product by as much as 1.5 percent.

ChouChic’s Darwiche said she was looking forward to upgrading her website. “We are going to add many functions and the images are going to be a lot clearer.”

Two major ISPs which rely on Ogero for bandwidth supply, Terranet and IDM, have already upgraded their Internet services to comply with the new plan.

Even now, however, there is still concern among some private ISPs that Ogero, which controls around 80 percent of Lebanon’s Internet cables, will delay further in providing the upgraded service.

“There is not a single person in the country that can obstruct the decision. It will be implemented in a matter of hours and days,” Sehnawi said on Saturday in response to such allegations.

But a poll conducted by the “Lebanese Want Fast Internet” Facebook group found only 11 percent of the 1,631 people who replied said they had their DSL packages upgraded to higher speeds over the weekend.

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Bernard Hopkins Set to Defend Boxing Title

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By Parvez Fatteh, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

bernard-hopkins-0510-02WBC light heavyweight champion of the world, Bernard Hopkins, is putting the finishing showed touches on the preparation for his upcoming title defense against Chad Hopkins scheduled for the Saturday October 15th. The fight will take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA.

It is considered somewhat of a risky fight for the 46-year-old future Hall of Famer Hopkins. Dawson’s style isn’t conducive to what works best for “The Executioner.” Hopkins, 52-5-2 (32 KOs), likes aggressive fighters that come at him, not counterpunching lefties like Dawson, 30-1 (17 KOs), that are patient and not always willing to play along with Hopkins’ tactics.

“Chad Dawson has earned the right to challenge me for my titles, and I know he’s been looking for this fight for a long time,” Hopkins told CBS Philadelphia. Hopkins defeated Jean Pascal on May 21 to win the WBC light heavyweight world championship, in the process becoming the oldest fighter in recorded boxing history to win a major title. “You’ve got to be careful what you wish for, because believe it or not, I will be prepared once again to beat father time and show the world what I can do. Jean Pascal underestimated me and Chad Dawson better not do the same,” he added.

One big difference between Pascal and Dawson is that Pascal had little or no endurance after the middle rounds. One big plus is that Dawson replaced legendary Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward a month ago with John Scully, a former mid-level pro who trained “Bad Chad” early in his career, and Winky Wright, a former world champion known for his defensive tactics, working his corner.

But Dawson has said he plans on coming out early and testing the older, grizzled Hopkins with a volume of punches. Hopkins shot any notion down that Dawson will overwhelm him with an early attack.

Hopkins, however, has not stopped an opponent since he delivered a vicious body punch that crumpled Oscar De La Hoya in the ninth round on September 18, 2004—over seven years ago.

“I feel on schedule and coming back so quickly from the May fight against Pascal, I feel like I’m fighting the 12th round as far as I’m concerned,” Hopkins said. “This feels good, it feels good to come back so soon without a nine-month gap, a 15-month gap. If Dawson thinks he’s going to throw more punches and win on the scorecards, I’m coming out in with an aggressive game and a smart game. They’ll see. I can walk away and be satisfied that I achieved all I can achieve.

“It’s going to be gratifying to be sitting there in my 60s and hear a commentator say, ‘He’s approaching Bernard Hopkins’ record,’ that’s what keeps me going. Ten, 15, 20, 30 years from now, it will be like I’m still boxing, fighting in the second half of my life.”

It has to be noted that Dawson’s lone loss came against Pascal, on August 14, 2010 by a technical decision. But it was a fight in which Dawson had a very turbulent training camp, and hardly trained at all, and Dawson was gaining momentum in the later rounds when the fight was stopped and went to the judges.

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Nazem Kadri Out 3-4 Weeks

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By Parvez Fatteh, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

Nazem-KadriToronto Maple Leafs ice hockey player Nazem Kadri sprained his left knee earlier this week during training camp for the National Hockey League (NHL) team. The injury is expected to keep him out of the line-up for the next three to four weeks.

An MRI confirmed that there was no tear seen in the ligaments of the left knee. The Lebanese-Canadian Kadri had been fighting for a roster spot at the time of his injury. Kadri was Toronto’s first round pick, and seventh overall pick, in the 2009 NHL draft. Kadri is from nearby London, Ontario, adding just a bit of extra pressure on the home town boy. It looks like he will get a bit of a respite from the pressure as he rests and rehabilitates his injury.

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Marat Safin Says Sister Dinara Will Retire

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By Parvez Fatteh, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

Tennis-Dinara-Safina_962529Former world number one women’s tennis player Dinara Safina has “no chance” of making a comeback from her back injury and will soon announce her retirement, according to big brother Marat Safin.

Safina, 25, has not played since early May because of persistent low back pain. She announced in August that she would not play again this year.”I don’t know how long my time out is going to last because I don’t want to torture myself and my body anymore,” Dinara announced at that time.

But brother Marat said she had quit for good.”If you recall, Dinara first suffered the injury in Beijing two years ago,” the former men’s world number one was quoted as saying on Saturday by Russian media. “She had tried several times to make a comeback but it only caused her more problems.

“Now she must think of herself, not if she could play again, but just to live a normal life. She must continue with her therapy, but would not be able to play again. She will make an official announcement, but being her brother, I think she has no chance at all of making a comeback.”

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Qureshi Wins Thai Open With New Partner

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By Parvez Fatteh, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

picHome38

Pakistani tennis star Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi formed a triumphant pairing with Oliver Marach of Austria to go on to win the Thailand Open men’s doubles tennis tournament. Qureshi and Marach defeated the German pair of Michael Coleman and Alexander Waske to clinch the title. The final score was 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5).

Qureshi and Marach were the top seeded team in the tournament, and they gathered enough momentum to lose only one set during the entire tournament. Qureshi said winning in Thailand was a great experience and he expressed solidarity with the flood victims of Pakistan and Thailand.

“I feel very excited and great. Oliver is a great player. He’s been in the Top Ten for so many years. It’s my pleasure playing with him this week. I love coming back to Thailand, where I won Futures and Challengers also,” he told the official website of the Thailand Open.

“On behalf of myself and the Pakistanis at home, we all support the flood victims because Pakistan has been hit by floods as well as Thailand. I wish all the Thai people and the country all the patience and courage to overcome the natural disaster,” he added.

While this was a great accomplishment for Qureshi and his new partner, Qureshi is expected to return to playing with his regular doubles partner, India’s Rohan Bopanna, with whom he has formed the celebrated pairing dubbed “The Indo-Pak Express.”

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Analysis: Indonesia’s Cup of Cocoa Woes Could Cheer World Market

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By Lewa Pardomuan and Michael Taylor

2011-09-30T093534Z_809907537_GM1E79U1CRP01_RTRMADP_3_CHOCOLATE-CHANGESSINGAPORE/JAKARTA (Reuters) – A plunge in Indonesia’s cocoa exports spotlights a flagging battle against disease and adverse weather, but the country’s supply disruptions could allay fears of another global surplus and stem a seven-month slide in prices.

Although the outlook for world grindings may be clouded by the threat of recession, shrinking output in third-largest cocoa producer Indonesia will help balance the market in the next crop year after supply exceeded demand by 450,000 tons this year.

“Indonesia is clearly the one bullish point that we expect in the cocoa market,” said Kona Haque, a commodity strategist at Macquarie Bank in London.

“Everything else right now is slightly on the bearish side, including grindings demand, which is probably going to be weaker than expected, and equally West African production could be higher than expected.”

Indonesia launched a $350 million program in 2009 to boost production to more than 600,000 tons within 4 to 5 years, but it has yet to show results, with bad weather, growers’ failure to follow advice on planting techniques and mismanagement working against the campaign.

Instead of rising, output is likely to plunge more than 30 percent to around 400,000 tons this year, but that will be enough to meet demand from the Indonesia’s thriving grinding sector.

“DIABOLICAL” WET WEATHER

Wet weather wreaked havoc on the crop this year and brought back the Vascular-streak Dieback (VSD) disease to plantations across the main growing island of Sulawesi, killing trees and curbing exports since at least March.

“The fact that Indonesia is struggling is a very supportive factor. VSD is a killer. There is no cure for it, you can’t spray — the only thing they can do is cut down the trees and re-plant,” said Gary Mead, editor at WorldCrops.

“We might be in a structural period where Indonesia just gets a lot of rainfall for the next few years, and that would be pretty diabolical for the cocoa sector.”

The International Cocoa Organization expects the cocoa market to be in balance or possibly see a small surplus in the next crop year to September 2012 — bucking the market consensus view of a small deficit.

The ICCO estimated a surplus of 325,000 tons in the crop year ending this month — a bearish factor which caused cocoa futures to fall from a 32-year high at $3,775 a ton in March to current levels around $2,700.

Commodity trader Olam International estimated surplus in the current year to be as high as 450,000 tons. [ID:nL3E7KQ0L6]

But supply constraints in Indonesia, which may last through next year if erratic weather persists, could force traditional buyers such as Malaysia, the United States and Brazil to turn to West Africa, where beans are plentiful after a bumper crop, and ease supply there.

Indonesia’s falling output had contributed to a global supply shortage in the crop year to September 2009.

Cocoa exports from Sulawesi tumbled 76.7 percent in August to 8,421.50 tons on the year, and the country’s total shipments could fall 40 percent to 200,000 tons in 2011, their lowest in at least seven years.

VSD is the latest in a series of pest and disease risks Indonesia has battled for years to eradicate, among them the cocoa pod borer, which has persisted since the 1980s.

The revitalization program launched two years ago aimed to fix the problem by handing out free fertilizer to boost the productivity of cocoa trees over an area of 145,000 hectares, the replanting of old trees and the production of better seeds.

“The general perception is this program has made the parties in the middle richer — I mean those who are contracted to provide seeds and so on. The money hasn’t gone down to the farmers,” said an exporter in Makassar, the provincial capital of South Sulawesi.

“There’s no news of an increase in production.”

Government officials said the program was on track despite minor glitches such as farmers mishandling the seeds or young cocoa trees which are to be planted to replace old ones.

“The program is still going on and I heard it will be extended to 2014,” said Soetanto Abdoellah, research head at the state-sponsored Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute.

“We also focus on quality improvement. We have started working on bean quality improvement, involving many farmers.”

About 90 percent of Indonesian cocoa growers are smallholders, which has crimped expansion for decades.

INDONESIAN GRINDERS CHASE LOCAL BEANS

The main crop in Sulawesi, which was badly hit by disease, is over. The market has turned its attention to the smaller crop due to start next month and so far progressing smoothly.

Farmers and grinders hope the heavy rain of the dreaded La Nina weather phenomenon does not return.

Indonesian grinders are forecast to process 400,000 tons of beans into chocolate ingredients in 2012, up 43 percent from this year’s 280,000 tons, to meet growing demand from consumers in Asia at a time when demand in Europe and the United States may falter.

Indonesia is also attracting companies such as U.S. giant Cargill , which plans to invest $113 million to set up a cocoa grinding plant in Sulawesi.

“Cocoa bean exports from Indonesia will tend to fall because of rising domestic demand estimated at more than 400,000 tons in 2012,” said Piter Jasman, chairman of the Indonesian Cocoa Industry Association.

He expected strong consumption to help prices stabilize at $3,000 a ton, and production to eventually reach 600,000 tons a year.

Global cocoa consumption has been growing at about 1.5 percent each year, analysts say, with total global net production estimated at 3.736 million tons and global grindings at 3.829 million for the 2011-2012 season.

So the supply worries won’t go away any time soon.

“The industry has been plagued with concerns about disease and the quality of the crop,” said Abah Ofon, commodities analyst at Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore. “That is going to put pressure on supply in the next harvest now.”

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Community News (V13-I410

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Ali Asani named head of Islamic Studies program at Harvard

092409_Asani_015.jpgCAMBRIDGE,MA–Ali Asani, professor of Indo-Muslim and Islamic religion and cultures and chair of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, has been named the director of Harvard’s the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic Studies.

Established in 2005, the program aims to foster understanding between the Islamic world and the West through scholarship, teaching, and educational programming. As director, Asani will be responsible for coordinating the activities of the program, proposing outreach efforts to promote informed education about Islam and providing overall direction with the help of the program’s steering committee.

A world-renowned scholar on Islam and Muslim cultures, Asani has worked with students and educators from Texas to Pakistan and served on theAmerican Academy of Religion’s task force on religion in schools. He lectures extensively on various aspects of the Islamic tradition. At Harvard, in addition to seminars for graduate students, he offers several general education courses on Islam and Muslim societies designed to educate undergraduate students about the dynamic relationship between religion and the complex contexts in which it is embedded. In 2002, Asani was awarded the Harvard Foundation medal for his efforts to improve intercultural relations through a better understanding of Islam and Muslim cultures.

Ali Shakouri appointed director of Purdue Center

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN– A leading researcher advancing efforts in thermoelectric energy conversion at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has been selected as the new Mary Jo and Robert L. Kirk Director of the Birck Nanotechnology Center at Purdue University’s Discovery Park.Ali Shakouri, a professor of electrical engineering at UCSC, succeeds James Cooper, who has served as Birck’s interim director since March 2010 when former director Tim Sands was appointed provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Purdue.

“Professor Shakouri is an internationally recognized leader in his areas of specialization in the research field of nanotechnology,” said Alan Rebar, executive director of Discovery Park and senior associate vice president for research at Purdue. “We are very pleased and excited to welcome him as the director of Birck, one of our cornerstones for interdisciplinary research here at Purdue.”

In addition to leading the Birck Nanotechnology Center, Shakouri will serve as professor of electrical and computer engineering.

“Birck Nanotechnology Center has propelled Purdue into the top tier of this exciting research field in just a few short years,” Shakouri said.

“The facility has been a major resource for recruiting some of the best and brightest faculty members and researchers to advance how nanotechnology can improve our lives. What an honor and a privilege to be joining an internationally renowned research university like Purdue and to lead one of the most advanced nanotechnology facilities on a university campus anywhere in the world.”

Shakouri has focused his research on nanoscale heat and current transport in semiconductor devices, high-resolution thermal imaging, micro refrigerators on a chip and waste-heat recovery. He received his master’s and doctoral degrees from the California Institute of Technology in 1995 and his bachelor’s degree in engineering from Telecom ParisTech in France in 1990.

He directs the Thermionic Energy Conversion Center, a multiuniversity collaboration including Purdue that is working to improve direct thermal to electric energy conversion technologies. This project is funded by the Office of Naval Research and the Defense Sciences Office at the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, known as DARPA.

A part of the Quantum Electronics Group at UCSC, Shakouri also is working with colleagues in engineering and social sciences on a new sustainability curriculum. He initiated an international summer school on renewable energy sources in practice. Shakouri received the Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering in 1999, a National Science Foundation Career Award in 2000 and the UCSC School of Engineering FIRST Professor Award in 2004.Project researchers are exploring the capacity of nanostructured materials to channel the random jostling of heat energy into the orderly flow of electricity. The research has applications in advancing technology for electric-powered ships and other electric vehicles.

Murfreesboro mosque breaks ground

MURFREESBORO,TN– After years of controversy, the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro broke ground on a new $1.8 million mosque on Wednesday,Channel 5 reports.
It may only look like a few shovels full of dirt, but to the members of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro it represents a new beginning.

“Murfreesboro is our town and I’m so happy we reached this point,” said supporter Safaa Fathy.

“We believe that if you love God you cannot hate anyone,” said Imam Osama Bahloul who has always known they would get here. “If you do what’s right you will achieve what you want,” he said.

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Dr. Farah Abbasi Honored by City of Lansing

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ScreenShot006Psychologist Farah Abbasi was thanked publicly and presented a plaque on behalf of Mayor Virg Bernero of Lansing.  Mayor Bernero and the city of Lansing presented the award on the basis of her work towards the Ramadan dinner which occurred recently in Lansing, an annual event put on by Lansing and East Lansing mayors together.

Dr. Abbasi helped raise over $13,000 to present to Lansing area food banks, and helped to put on the Ramadan dinner itself as well.

The purpose of the Ramadan dinner is to promote greater harmony between Michigan’s diverse communities.

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Registration Deadline Approaching for November Election

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Press Release

Secretary of State Ruth Johnson reminds residents that they have until Tuesday, Oct. 11, to register in order to vote in the Nov. 8 general election.

“If you would like to participate in the November election, please register to vote if you have not already done so,” said Johnson, Michigan’s chief election officer. “It only takes a few moments and then your voice can be heard at the ballot box.”

The polls will be open on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

To register, applicants must be at least 18 years old by Election Day and be U.S. citizens. Applicants must also be residents of Michigan and of the city or township in which they wish to register.

Voters may register by mail, at their county, city or township clerk’s office or by visiting any Secretary of State branch office. The mail-in form is available at www.Michigan.gov/elections. First-time voters who register by mail must vote in person in their first election, unless they hand-deliver the application to their local clerk, are 60 years old or older, are disabled or are eligible to vote under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.

To check their registration status, residents may visit the Michigan Voter Information Center at www.Michigan.gov/vote. Residents can also find information there on absentee voting, Michigan’s voter identification requirement, how to use voting equipment and how to contact their local clerk. In addition, they will find a map to their local polling place and a sample ballot.

Voters who qualify may choose to cast an absentee ballot. As a registered voter, you may obtain an absentee ballot if you are:

●    age 60 or older.
●    physically unable to attend the polls without the assistance of another.
●    expecting to be absent from the community in which you are registered for the entire time the polls will be open on Election Day.
●    in jail awaiting arraignment or trial.
●    unable to attend the polls due to religious reasons.
●    appointed to work as an election inspector in a precinct outside of your precinct of residence.

Those who wish to receive their absentee ballot by mail must submit their application by 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5. Absentee ballots can be obtained in person anytime through 4 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 7. Voters who request an absentee ballot in person on Monday, Nov. 7 must fill out the ballot in the clerk’s office.

Emergency absentee ballots are available under certain conditions through 4 p.m. on Election Day.

As a reminder, voters will be asked to provide identification when at the polls on Election Day. They will be asked to present valid photo ID, such as a Michigan driver’s license or identification card. Anyone who does not have an acceptable form of photo ID or failed to bring it with them to the polls can still vote. They will be required to sign a brief affidavit stating that they’re not in possession of photo ID.

Their ballots will be included with all others and counted on Election Day.

Voters who don’t have a Michigan driver’s license or identification card can show the following forms of photo ID, as long as they are current:

•    Driver’s license or personal identification card issued by another state.
•    Federal or state government-issued photo identification.
•    U.S. passport.
•    Military identification card with photo.
•    Student identification with photo from a high school or an accredited institution of higher education, such as a college or university.
•    Tribal identification card with photo.

Additional election information can be found at www.Michigan.gov/elections.

For more information about voting and the Secretary of State’s Office, visit www.Michigan.gov/sos and sign up for the official Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/Michsos and Facebook updates at www.facebook.com/Michigansos.

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For media questions, please call Gisgie Dávila Gendreau at 517-373-2520.

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Amin Hashmi Runs for Troy City Council

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By Adil James, TMO

amin_dscn0089One of the many community members running for local, state and federal positions in this cycle of elections is Mr. Amin Hashmi, who is running for Troy City Council.

Hashmi has lived around the world, east and west, and further has travelled the world in his capacity as a merchant marine engineer. 

“I have drunk all seven oceans,” Hashmi says with some satisfaction, further explaining that while living ship-board he had drunk desalinated water from literally around the world.

Hashmi is unaffiliated as a candidate, offering to bridge the divide between Republicans and Democrats that has paralyzed all levels of American government in the polarized climate of the past few years–from the federal level all the way down to the Troy City Council, which has been immobilized by a vicious debate over raising taxes.

Hashmi explains that he does not want to raise taxes until the last minute, but if it is necessary to avoid cutting necessary fire and security services then raising taxes would be a valid if unappetizing alternative.

Hashmi is one of two unaffiliated candidates, running against three Democrats and three Republicans.  The eight candidates are running for three spots on the city council; no incumbents are in the election.

The candidate is realistic about his chances but explains the difficulty of making estimates in an election where there are no polls.  Certainly Mr. Hashmi is familiar with the demographics of Troy.  He explains that Troy has about 85,000 residents, from whom about 12,000 votes will likely be cast in the November 8th election.  Realistically he hopes that with 4,000 to 6,000 votes a candidate would be able to secure one of the available seats.

This is not Hashmi’s first brush with public service.  He explained in an interview with TMO that over the past ten years he has worked to cross ethnic hurdles in Troy by facilitating events designed to celebrate the ethnic heritages represented there, from Greek to Indian, to Pakistani and others.

Troy, he explains, is a relatively very powerful city.  The city is among Michigan’s top three cities, and nationally is one of the top 20 or 30 cities, according to him.

Having been educated literally around the world, Hashmi ascribes deep importance to education and has fought very hard on behalf recently of a millage to fund the Troy city library.

Visit aminhasmi.com for more information about his campaign.

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India’s Support For Palestinian State

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By Nilofar Suhrawardy, TMO

2011-09-23T155006Z_2080381998_GM1E79N1TQG01_RTRMADP_3_LEBANON

A Palestinian child looks through a Palestinian flag he is holding, during a rally in support of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ bid for statehood recognition at the United Nations, at Mar Elias camp for Palestinian refugees in Beirut September 23, 2011.

REUTERS/ Jamal Saidi

NEW DELHI: India has reaffirmed its support for Palestine’s petition for membership of United Nations as an independent and sovereign state. The issue is at present being considered by the UN Security Council’s Standing Committee (SC) on Admission of New Members for full UN membership. This committee includes five permanent members of Security Council and ten term members. India is among the eight SC members who declared their support promptly for Palestine’s petition last Friday (September 30). The other SC members who have taken this stand are China, Russia, Brazil, South Africa, Lebanon, Nigeria and Gabon. The Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and European Union (EU) have also expressed their support for Palestine. China and Russia are among the five permanent members of UNSC. Britain and France are permanent members from among EU members.

Palestine’s petition was forwarded to UN Security Council (UNSC) after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas laid it out during his address during the 66th annual session of UN General Assembly in New York (September 23). The UNSC forwarded it to SC after considering it during a brief meeting. Abbas certainly created diplomatic history by formally presenting the Palestinian request before the UN. This stand of Abbas also carries tremendous diplomatic significance as United States had made efforts to pressurize the Palestinian leader from not moving to UN. Besides, US has also made it clear that Washington would veto the Palestinian request at UNSC.

Defying US pressure, thus Abbas successfully created diplomatic waves and history by formally seeking a full member status in the UN and recognition of 1967 borders in West Bank, including East Jerusalem and Gaza. At present, Palestine has a permanent observer entity status at the UN.

Though New Delhi has supported Palestinians from the beginning, the recent years have also been witness to India strengthening its ties with United States as well as Israel. By clearly stating India’s support for Palestinian’s demand, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh removed apprehensions of there being any change in New Delhi’s stand towards Palestine. During his address at the UN General Assembly, the Indian Prime Minister reaffirmed India’s support for Palestinian people’s struggle. He drew attention to the Palestinian question still being “unresolved and a source of great instability and violence.” The Prime Minister asserted: “India is steadfast in its support for the Palestinian people’s struggle for a sovereign, independent, viable and united state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, living within secure and recognizable borders side by side and at peace with Israel.” Indicating that India will continue its support for Palestinians’ demand for full membership in the UN, he said: “We look forward to welcoming Palestine as an equal member of the United Nations.”

India reaffirmed its support for Palestine’s bid for membership of UN at SC meeting. Drawing attention to India’s support for Palestinians, India’s Permanent Representative to UN, Hardeep Singh Puri said that the SC on Admission of New States, “should report to the Security Council that the Palestinian application for membership be recommended to the General Assembly.” The Palestinians’ membership application “is not incompatible with, nor does it exclude, direct negotiations between the parties to resolve the final status issues,” Puri pointed out.

Irrespective of whether the US veto prevents Palestine from securing a full membership of UN, certain points cannot be ignored. It has been diplomatically wise of Palestinian leader to approach the UN with request for membership as a “State.” India has also played its diplomatic cards well by supporting this demand of Palestine. Here it may be noted, unilaterally India has never strayed away from according Palestine the status of a State.

India is the first non-Arab country to have recognized Palestinian State in 1988. A Palestinian embassy is in New Delhi. The foundation stone of this embassy was laid on October 7, 2008 by Prime Minister Singh and the visiting Palestinian President Abbas. The two leaders formally dedicated the building “to the people of Palestine as a gift from the people of India.” The then four-day visit of President Abbas was accorded the status of a “State” visit.

Undeniably, India’s solidarity with Palestinian people was also asserted by leader of Indian freedom struggle Mahatma Gandhi. In 1947, at the UN General Assembly, India voted against the partition of Palestine. India is also the first non-Arab State to recognize Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people in 1974. India opened its Representative Office to the Palestine Authority in Gaza in 1996. This was shifted to Ramallah in 2003.

Earlier this year at the UN, on February 18, India voted in favour of a draft resolution which termed Israeli settlement policies as “illegal.” India explained that this decision was “consistent” with India’s “long-standing position of solidarity with Palestinian people and our position that settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal under international law.” The resolution was vetoed by the US. It was first veto at UN by President Barack Obama’s government.

Unilaterally and through organizations such as UN, India has always supported the Palestinian struggle. If Palestine does not succeed in becoming the member of UN as a full State, it would still retain the option of asking the 193-member General Assembly for enhanced status, which may not be difficult to secure.

By approaching the UN and securing support of countries like India, Palestine has succeeded in drawing international community’s attention to their struggle. It may be noted, direct talks between Israel and Palestine have been stalled since September 2010.  While Palestine is not against talks with Israel, it is against pursuing them without a freeze on Jewish settlements. The UN-diplomacy has suddenly added a new spring in mediators’ efforts to bring Israel and Palestine to the negotiating table.

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Civil Society in South Africa Deplores Failure to Give Visa to Dalai Lama

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Johannesburg. 4 October 2011.  The South African government should stand by its founding values by granting a visa to the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, urged civil society in South Africa today.

The Dalai Lama was due to visit South Africa from 6-8 October to attend the 80th birthday celebrations of fellow Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu. He was expected to deliver the inaugural Desmond Tutu International Peace lecture at the University of the Western Cape. Delay in granting him a visa by the South African government has now resulted in him cancelling his trip to the country.

In 2009, the Dalai Lama was denied permission to visit South Africa under apparent pressure from the Chinese government which strongly opposes his support for the human rights and freedoms of the Tibetan people.

“In many regions of the world civil society members are being persecuted for their beliefs and impeded from engaging with the international community due to restrictive visa regimes,” said Ingrid Srinath, Secretary General of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation. “… it is highly disturbing that this can happen in democratic South Africa, a number of whose leaders also had to wage their struggle for human rights in exile.”

Enhancing democracy and human rights as well as upholding justice and international law in relations between nations are important pillars of South Africa’s foreign policy. South Africa is also a founding member of the India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) trilateral of multi-ethnic and multicultural democracies, which is committed to the establishment of a new international architecture. Recent violent attacks on peaceful protestors by the police, proposed curbs on the freedom of information through impending legislation and the current controversy generated around the visit of the Dalai Lama are marring South Africa’s reputation as a vibrant democracy and human rights leader.

“It is untenable and hypocritical for the South African authorities to even consider denying the Dalai Lama a visa under pressure from a foreign government,” said Srinath.

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Washing for a Son

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By Sumayyah Meehan, TMO

four-baby-boy_1024x768_1278A bouncing baby boy, for many, is much more than merely a happy addition to the family. In some parts of the world, many couples deem sons to be more of a gift than girls. The reason being is that some perceive that boys possess more strength than girls and have more freedom of movement in societies where males are mostly the breadwinners. It’s regrettable that girls, in this day and age, are not always as cherished as they should be. In the Middle East and Southeast Asia, for example, male sons often carry their parents into old age whereas girls often care for their husband’s family.

It’s unfortunate that the success of some marriages also depends almost exclusively on the wife’s ability to produce a male heir. Little thought is given to the fact that the male sperm actually is the deciding factor in the sex of a child. Many men will even take second wives to increase their chances of having a son. For these reasons, many women go to drastic measures to try to produce a son in an attempt to save their marriages.

Some of the methods many wives engage in range from the strange to the absolutely ridiculous. From eating special food combinations to scheduling intimacy with their husbands to specific times that supposedly will result in a male birth, it seems most women in the region are game for just about anything. However, one of the most startling methods is a new product that promises to increase a woman’s chances of producing a son by almost half. It is called “Intimate Wash” and it is popping up in pharmacies all over the Middle East. According to the product label, the soap promises a 50% increased chance of producing either a boy or a girl. The insert contains directions of use specific to the gender desired.

The price of the soap, which promises to “deliver” so much, is less than $5.00. There are other types of soaps and washes also appearing on pharmacy shelves that are a bit more expensive. One such soap hails from Greece and guarantees that not only is it naturally organic but it also works with a similar percentage of success as the other soaps on the market.

Unfortunately the soaps have not been approved by any sort of governmental committee or organization, similar to the Food and Drug Administration in the USA, which protects the American population from harmful pharmaceuticals. However, the promises on the sleek package designs are often enough to bring a women’s hopes up despite the unforeseen dangers that the soap could pose to both her mental and physical health.

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Dealing with Hypocrites

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By Karin Friedemann, TMO

In this world, there are many people who do not speak the truth. Even more alarming, there are people who speak in half-truths, using linguistic details to mislead, while not technically lying. Just as the Disbelievers read the Quran looking for corruption within it, certain people make agreements in bad faith, seeking loopholes. Like the Quranic description of Satan, this person makes a promise, but then when you ask him about it, he claims he never promised that thing! Such people can make us want to beat our heads against the wall.

The Prophet (s) said: “Most of man’s mistakes and sins are committed by his tongue, and the worst sin is to lie!”

How can we navigate ourselves safely in a world where things are often not as they are explained? One thing we must do is give less space in our minds to the hypocrites. “Hanging onto resentment is letting someone you despise live rent-free in your head,” as the saying goes. It is important to let go of the fantasy that we can control others. All we can do is control how we react to them, and make sure we don’t fall into their trap.

“Because hypocrisy stinks in the nostrils one is likely to rate it as a more powerful agent for destruction than it is.” wrote Rebecca West in 1928.

Promise-breakers generally have a pattern of behavior. At a certain point, nobody believes what they say. The Quran states in Surat al-Nur:

And of mankind, there are some who say: “We believe in Allah and the Last Day’’ while in fact they do not believe. They try to deceive Allah and those who believe, while they only deceive themselves, and perceive (it) not!

There are some people who are outwardly religious, but you still cannot trust them because they have developed an internal dialogue that justifies their transgressions against other people. A terrible example I can give is an outwardly devout Muslim man who married three wives without clearly explaining his marital status to his brides. When I asked him why he did not inform his third wife of his other two wives, his reply was, “She did not ask!”

In light of this admission I feel obliged to advise those seeking to enter into a marriage with anyone to do three things:

1.    Ask questions! Never trust someone blindly or withhold questions in fear of offending.

2.    Talk to people who know this person and ask very specific questions about their past.

3.    Ask for the person’s credit report

In this day and age where we arrange marriages with near strangers from other parts of the world, it important to check out anyone we plan to marry. A credit report will tell you a lot about a person, in particular: does this person honor his or her agreements? If a bank would not loan money to this person, it would be wise for you not to invest too much trust in this person.

On the authority of Abdullah ibn ‘Amr, the Prophet (s) said: “There are four traits which, whoever possesses them is a hypocrite and whoever possesses some of them has an element of hypocrisy until he leaves it: the one who when he speaks he lies, when he promises he breaks his promise, when he disputes he transgresses and when he makes an agreement he violates it.”

Nobody is perfect. Some innocent people break promises just because they have personal weaknesses, not because they were intending to deceive. A friend of mine who was going to Germany asked me what I wanted as a gift so I asked her to bring me some marzipan. She faithfully bought the marzipan, but during the journey could not control her sweet tooth and ate it all! I was disappointed of course but I did not hate her for this because she did the honorable thing: She admitted she had made the promise, admitted she broke the promise, and felt genuinely sorry.

There is a huge difference between this and those who purposely trick people, who backbite, cheat, or bluff their way through life, and when you confront them they become hostile to avoid further discussion. One woman found out shortly after marriage that her fiance had lied about his ethnic background, his financial status, and even his source of livelihood! When she asked him why, he said, “If I had told you the truth, you would not have married me.”

A true liar lies in order to seek personal gain. It is not just a reflexive action like that of a teenager whose father asked her, “Have you been smoking?” Real hypocrites actually enjoy torturing truthful people with confusion, considering themselves above others.

Imam Ali stated about the hypocrites: “They are jealous of other people’s prosperity, interested in other people’s misery and are a source of hopelessness and stress.”

I have learned as I have grown older to trust others less and myself more. I have learned that my body never lies. If a certain person causes me to have headaches and stomachaches, or causes my heart rate to increase, that person is probably unhealthy for me as company. I should even refrain from arguing with such a person because they only respond with lies to my attempts to appeal to their higher self.

Karin Friedemann is a Boston-based freelance writer. karinfriedemann.blogspot.com

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MPAC Forum on Bullying

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By Susan Schwartz, TMO

default-article-thumbnailOne of the primary social problems confronting the United States is the well organized and well financed industry of Islamophobia. At a time when the nation should be united, Islamophobia is the great divider. While many groups have been and are active in combating this pernicious industry, the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) must be considered in the forefront. Islamophobia is hate, and hate acts like a malignancy.

MPAC was founded in 1988 as a 501 (c) (3) organization devoted to the establishment of a vibrant Muslim American community that would “enrich American Society through promoting the Islamic values of mercy, justice, peace, human dignity, freedom and equality for all”. MPAC is well equipped to deal with hate speech and hate acts and to enlighten the community.

MPAC has held many educational forums dealing with timely subjects. This past Saturday a forum entitled: Stand up Against Bullying was held in the Ehsan Center in Canoga Park, Ca. The forum was a training session for parents that began with the question: “What would you do if your child was being bullied?”

Ms Holly Priebe-Diaz an Intervention Coordinator representing the Human Relations, Diversity, and Equity Department of the Los Angeles Unified School District was the speaker.

Ms Priebe-Diaz gave an excellent presentation of bullying: its definition, its manifestations, the public school’s responsibilities to identify bullying and to counsel, and of course possible resolutions. Ms Priebe-Diaz is obviously well qualified to speak on the topic and her presentation was informal yet informative and thought provoking. The audience participated throughout the discussion.

Herewith some of her observations. Bullying, she said, can be a form of hate. “We have to educate law enforcement”. Ms Priebe-Diaz told her audience we have to educate more about hate. While it is understandably hard to prove an attitude, we can look at behavior. “When we find a child who is a bully, we re-educate him.”

The child says “My heart hurts”, and the adult replies “Let me help you.”

Not surprisingly, young boys who are school bullies also become adult offenders who are guilty of crimes of violence.

To combat this, the school gives a child a community project; the relevant school personnel dialogue about the situation, and different cultures are studied. “There is a lot of ignorance” Ms Priebe-Diaz told the attendants.

She continued by saying that 30% of hate crimes are committed by kids. Where, she asked rhetorically, do these children learn hate. The obvious answer is from home. The Internet has given the community a new word: cyberbullying as the bully – always present in society – has now moved into cyber space.

Ms Priebe-Diaz cited California law that makes certain classes of school children protected. They are protected against real or perceived acts of hostility. There are six protected categories: race, color, national origin, mental or physical disability, gender identification (how one perceives one’s self), and ethnicity.

While she cautioned parents to have rules – for example having a computer in a central room rather than in a child’s bedroom – she also acknowledged that for every restriction a child may find a way around it.

She made a clear distinction between tattling and helping the victim of a bully. The foundation of that distinction was the question “Is someone being hurt?”

No one can be a bystander in the matter of bullying. While urging parents to work through the school counseling office and not to take matters into their own hands, involvement is key.

Ms Priebe-Diaz gave suggestions for children who have been bullied such as “Don’t let the bully see you afraid” and “avoid areas where certain children congregate” to name but two.

The district uses progressive punishment with bullies beginning with (if the bullying continues) suspension, then expulsion, and last, arrest.

“I have learned so much about the subject” said one young mother at the conclusion of the forum.

Readers interested in learning more about MPAC and its work may contact MPAC at: www.mpac.org. Ms Priebe-Diaz may be contacted at: holly.priebe-diaz@lausd.net.

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The New Tunisian Democracy: Islamic or Secular?

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By Geoffrey Cook, TMO

Washington–For the past several months since early summer, we have been examining Palestine’s bid for nationhood at the UN in New York City (NYC).  Last week their application went to the security council of the UN and, as was predicted by yours truly on these very pages a month and one-half ago, it was shunted to a committee of that august body on Manhattan.  As was predicted by Palestine’s diplomatic representative to the united states, he, also, foresaw that the proposal would be eventually forwarded to the general assembly (g.a.) Where, at the least, ramallah would be granted permanent observer status within the  g.a. Which would transform (the international) legal landscape for the fertile crescent.  The current move was meant to forestall the inevitable, and push Tel Aviv into more substantive negotiations.

President Barrack Hussein Obama is “caught between a rock and a hard place” with the American Zionist right-wing, led by the despicable AIPAC (the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee).  To oppose them is a death bell for any American politician.  The case of Cynthia Mckenna, the Afro-American congresswoman from a black Georgia district (likewise your author has written up a conversation with this former congressperson while in Sacramento a time back for this newspaper) was an “outspoken” advocate for both for the Palestinians and the Pakistanis within the house of representatives; and, thereby, she was twice “assassinated” politically by AIPAC’s filthy lucre.  It is rumored, for his proposals for a peace in the Levant the u.s. President is already targeted for his middle east policies by Jewish and Christian Zionists (the latter back the reactionary “tea party,” besides).  The Obama administration is trapped between his foreign initiatives to win over the Arab “spring” and his domestic enemies.

Keith Ellison of Minnesota, the only Muslim in in the American lower legislative chamber, has written a recent oft-quoted op-ed in the September 22nd new york times regarding the imbroglio within the holy land, “…direct negotiations have deteriorated to a dismally low point.”  My op-ed in the cyber and newsprint editions here last week may be a way out for the Obama government, and your commentator is circulating his ideas about to officials within the city of this article’s dateline – including in the form of a letter to Mr. Ellison.

Let us move on from Palestine, which has been alluded to as the source for the Arab “spring” to Tunisia, the first successful upheaval for Arab self-agency.

Before  the scheduled upcoming elections of October 23rd for the first “post-revolutionary” assembly, who will have the charge to draft a new constitution for this Maghreb countryside, your essayist hopes to compose several articles to present to American Muslims the realties on the ground in this modern punic territory which  is the most likely to make the transition to a contemporary Islamic democracy within that “spring” successfully.

Hamadi Jebali, the secretary-general of the al-Nahda party, who believes that Tunisia should be a fully Islamic society, also, reasons that its politics should not be locked in by the hadith along the lines of turkey, but the political landscape should be much less constitutionally radical than the nation that straddles the Bosporus.. The editor seems to be recommending a middle ground between the sacred and the secular – an Islamic modernism  if you will.

The engineer was quoted in an interview with The Italia News Webzine, “Our party is opposed to the introduction of the Sharia into the Constitution.  It is right for religion to play a role in society, but it should be separate from the State.  It is one thing to be inspired by the values and principles common to all the great monotheistic faiths, but the one source of the law should be the public will, and not the precepts of the Koran.”

He was in the District of Columbia last spring at the invitation of my Tunisian-born colleague, Radwan Masmaodi, the founder of the Washington and now Tunis’ (branch of) the center for democracy and Islam.  This presentation and interview was given at the US Capital’s (left of center) Stimson Center.

Hamadi Jebali (pictured to the left) was born during 1949 in Sousse, Tunisia. He is a graduate of the French (the former Colonial power of the Republic on the Southern Mediterranean littoral.  Parisian institutions have highly influenced, along with Islam, Tunis’ concept of the democratic) engineering institution, the Arts et Métiers in 1980 achieving an engineer’s degree in energy. He participated in many civil society activities during his ten-year stay in France, and was one of the founders of the French Muslim Association which demonstrates his deep personal Islamic religiosity, and participated in inter-religion dialogue that, further, demonstrates his toleration and liberality towards the beliefs of others, too.  He returned to Tunis in 1981, and became a member of the political bureau of the Islamic Tendency Movement.  Jebali became the president of this movement from 1981 to 1984.

Hamadi ran into legal difficulties for his political views in 1987 after Ben Ali came to power in late that year.

Despite this, Mr. Jebali became the political director of Nahda and the editor of the newspaper El Fair, the official newspaper of his party.  In 1990, he was condemned to sixteen years in prison, again, as a result of his political views and affiliation with al-Nahda, and spent 10 years in solitary confinement while in jail.  He was freed in 2006.  Then, he reintegrated into the Nahda party, and became its Secretary-General.

The presentation was in Arabic with translation by Masmaodi which gave your reporter plenty of time to get his comments down accurately.

What the “’Revolution’ was about was the dignity of the human being (very French) and social justice (more Islamic).   “We have to make this Revolt succeed…for social justice…We want political freedom…[for] One [dignity] goes with the other [freedom].”  Democracy is wherever freedom and justice reside side-by-side.

A State should represent all of its citizens, and refuse to be deleterious to any part of the body politique.  Everyone should have at least the “minimal rights” of residency!

Tunisia, the Metrpole of the pre-Islamic Carthagian Imperial world of the ancient past, has accomplished wonderful achievements over the centuries.  Even in the latter period education, women’s rights, etc. have been respected and have abounded.  Therefore, a “Peaceful democracy …is possible” in North Africa even though there are, additionally, many challenges which remain from individuals who benefited from the former regime, and still resist democratic change.

Thus, we shall require your support in the West.

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Ali Khademhosseini Wins Presidential Award

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BOSTON, MA–Ali Khademhosseini, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard University, has won the   Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers. He received the award because his contributions to micro-engineering, such as the generation of controlled micro-scale environments and regulation of cell behavior and fabrication of tissue-like structures, according to a release.
“Our research is based on generating biological tissues that can be transplanted into patients to treat various diseases,” Khademhosseini said. “The ability to generate tissues outside the body can be used to alleviate the challenge in a lack of organ donors. We combine cells and materials to develop tissues that mimic the function of the natural organs.”

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