AMU Alumni to celebrate Founder’s Day with Mushaira and Banquet on November 15th in Bay Area

The Alumni of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), one of the oldest and famous seats of learning in Asia, will celebrate Founder’s Day on November 15th, which is the 191st birth anniversary of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan.

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, the founder of AMU, was born on October 17, 1817. Sir Syed, the famous 19th century scholar, historian and social reformer spent most of his time on promotion of social, economic and educational conditions of Indian Muslims.

Sir Syed’s untiring and painstaking efforts over a long period of time bore fruit when he was able to establish the Mohammedan Anglo Oriental (MAO) College in 1875, which subsequently developed into Aligarh Muslim University in 1920. The institute was founded with the primary objective of removing the educational backwardness of the Muslim community. In this task Sir Syed sought cooperation of all the communities and the institute was open to all, irrespective of caste creed and religion. For Sir Syed Ahmed Khan it was impossible to conceive the growth and progress of India without simultaneous development of communities in harmony, brotherhood and cooperation.

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan

Today, AMU symbolizes on the one hand the secular ideals of the Republic of India and on the other the aspirations of more than 150 million Muslims in India. The AMU, which Sir Syed planted as a sapling in British India, has now grown into a blossoming tree. Located in the picturesque surroundings of the city–with greenery, parks, and sports fields, this lively and ambitious seat of learning is built on almost 500 hectares of land with strength of over 30,000 students and 1400 teachers spread in 15 faculties consisting of 100 departments and residential halls around the campus. The AMU offers more than 250 full-time courses in the traditional and modern branches of education like agriculture, biotechnology, medicine, engineering, management, commerce, arts, information technology, mass communication, and unani medicine. The university draws students from all corners of the country as well as from foreign countries; especially west and Southeast Asia.

The Aligarh alumni are spread in large numbers in all over the world with the majority being in the sub-continent. Prominent personalities in all walks of life including statesmen such as Dr. Zakir Husain – former president of India, Ayub Khan – former president of Pakistan, M. Hamid Ansari – current vice president of India, renowned poets and writers such as the late Ali Sardar Jafri, Jan Nisar Akhtar, Asrar-ul Haq Majaz, Shakeel Badayuni, Asmat Chugtai, the popular Jawed Akhtar and artists such as Naseeruddin Shah are all Aligarh alumni. All chapters of the AMUAAs throughout North America are non-political, non-sectarian secular organizations dedicated to furthering the cause of education, Urdu literature and poetry, and cultivation of harmonious relations at the people to people level among the various South Asian communities, and between these communities and the Americans.

Around this time of the year, hundreds of thousands of students, alumni, and well wishers of Aligarh Muslim University around the world will be celebrating the founder’s day popularly known as ‘Sir Syed Day’.

On this occasion AMU alumni in California are organizing the 10th Annual International Mushaira, along with dinner, on November 15th at India community center in Milpitas at 6:00 pm. Featured guest poets from the Indian sub-continent include, Popular Meeruthi (India), Himayat Ali Shair (Pakistan), Azhar Inayati (India), Shahnaz Noor (Pakistan), Dr. A. Abdullah (Washington DC), Nausha Asrar (Houston), Mahnaz Naqvi (San Francisco). The Guest of Honor and key note speaker is Dr. A.S. Nakadar, Trustee, American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin (AFMI). AMUAA’s annual Mushairas are well recognized and widely acclaimed as the most sophisticated and popular in North America and attract almost 500 enthusiasts and admirers of Urdu poetry in the Bay Area.

All are requested to join the celebration. More information can be obtained either at the association’s website (www.amualumni.org) or by calling (650) 212-ALIG
AMU Alumni Association of northern California consisting of the alumni of Aligarh Muslim University and its friends and supporters of the Aligarh movement was founded in 1996 as a secular, non-partisan, non-political organization serving the Educational, Social, Literary and Cultural needs of the Community. It aims to keep alive Sir Syed Ahmad Khan’s dream of ensuring equality for all and particularly the underprivileged through education.

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By David N. Goodman | Associated Press

Elected to the 12th District of the state House, Tlaib becomes the first Muslim woman ever to serve in the Michigan Legislature.

DETROIT — Lawyer and community activist Rashida Tlaib, the daughter of Palestinian immigrants who never attended high school, becomes the first Muslim woman ever to serve in the Michigan Legislature.

She said she wouldn’t have run but for the repeated urging of her Jewish boss and predecessor, outgoing Democratic state Rep. Steve Tobocman.

“In my heart, I was more of a social worker than anything,” said Tlaib, 32. She said her top priorities will be immigrant rights and pollution, a major issue to her constituents who are surrounded by oil refineries and factories.

The election was only one of many firsts for Tlaib. The eldest of 14 children of a retired Ford Motor Co. worker and his wife, she was the first in her family to earn a high school diploma. She went on to finish college and law school while helping raise 13 siblings.

“My parents … are amazing Americans,” she said. “They never thought this would ever happen.” Her mother was born in Beit Ur El Foka, near the West Bank city of Ramallah. Her father was born in Beit Hanina, a Jerusalem suburb.

She and husband Fayez have one son, 3-year-old Adam.

“We view her victory as a sign that Michigan Muslims are welcomed as a part of our state’s multi-faith and multiethnic society,” said Dawud Walid, Michigan director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

According to the American Muslim Alliance, only nine Muslims were serving in state legislatures nationwide before Tuesday’s elections, and only one of them is a woman. There are two Muslim members of Congress — Democrats Keith Ellison of Minnesota and Andre Carson of Indiana.

Walid said it’s notable that Tlaib comes from a district with few Muslim or Arab residents, though southeastern Michigan has about 300,000 people with roots in the Arab world. The southwest Detroit district has large black and Hispanic communities, with a white minority.

Tlaib said she brings a long experience of working with others while staying true to her Muslim heritage. She described sitting in the cafeteria at Detroit Southwestern High School during Ramadan, watching friends eat while she fasted.

“People’s backgrounds don’t matter to me as much as who they are, what they believe,” Tlaib said.

She said she’ll be bringing her prayer rug to Lansing and said her private office should let her accommodate Islam’s five daily prayers.

Tobocman said he first met Tlaib about five years ago when she was working for the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services, where she did advocacy work for immigrants.

“I was just really, really impressed,” he said. When he later became majority floor leader and got another staff slot, he recruited Tlaib for the job and found her a quick study.

Tlaib brought both a passion for social justice and the ability to work with people across the political aisle with very different outlooks.

“She’s someone who just intuitively understood the process right off the bat,” Tobocman said.

Tobocman, the grandson of Jewish immigrants from Poland, couldn’t run for re-election because of term limits. He asked Tlaib to run; she resisted but “he kept coming back,” she recalled.

Once she decided to run, she threw herself into it, knocking on 8,000 doors and hitting each household twice. The walking paid off in the August Democratic primary, when she drew 44 percent of the vote in an eight-way race.

Tlaib got 90 percent of the vote Tuesday to 10 percent for Republican Darin Daigle.

The Michigan Legislature’s first known Muslim member was James Karoub. Born in Highland Park to an imam and his wife who came from what now is Lebanon, Karoub served three terms in the state House in the 1960s.

Tuesday’s election also brought another new Arab-American to the state House, Republican Justin Amash of Cascade in conservative western Michigan. He is Christian and the son of a Palestinian-born father and Syrian-born mother. His Democratic opponent, Albert Abbasse, also is Arab-American.

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By Sumayyah Meehan, MMNS Middle East Correspondent

The last place one would expect to find a flea market is in one of the richest countries in the World. However, in the current global credit crunch it’s not surprising that more and more people are looking for ways to save money, irrespective of how much money they have in the bank.

Enter Dubai and the “Safa Park Flea Market,” also known as the “Safa Park Boot Sale” which is a flea market held in the tiny oil rich Gulf Nation. It has been going on for the past six months much to the delight of local treasure hunters and even tourists.

Everything from second-hand items to electronics to art is available from a wide array of vendors. Held on the first Saturday of every month, vendors sign-up for space online and the available sellers stalls sell out fast. The event is massively popular with expatriates, and gives all the varying cultures in Dubai a chance to really get to know each other.

The whole atmosphere of the event is more like a party than a flea market. There is even a local band called ‘DubaiLime’ that plays live music throughout the whole affair.

With more than 100 stalls available for shopping, it can be hard to decide what to buy however no one goes away from the flea market empty-handed.

The Safa Park Flea Market is an oasis in an otherwise chaotic city. All of the stalls are shaded by palm trees that shield attendees from the sun, while also picking up the gentle breeze as the leaves sway from side to side. Visitors seek the venue out to escape the flashy malls and larger-than-life buildings in Dubai. 

Safa Park is situated right near a creek with the surrounding structure being made of traditional Arab mud walls. The ambiance is of an age-old ‘souk’ right in the center of the hustle and bustle of city life.

Anyone can book a stall at the Safa Park Flea Market for a nominal fee, while visitors can browse for free. Prices are based on the size of the table the vendor selects, with bigger tables obviously being more expensive than smaller ones. Despite this being the first year of the flea market’s launch, residents and vendors alike look forward to it becoming one of the national pastimes of Dubai. The old adage, “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure,’ holds true in all corners of the World.

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By Geoffrey Cook, MMNS

San Francisco–Haj Sami Mahmood Sbaih is an older man, disabled from an Israeli bullet as a youth, who sat in his wheelchair as I talked to him, but the mayor’s disability has not kept him from a life of achievement as Head of the Al-Aqaba (on the West Bank of the Jordan River Valley) Village Council, as well the “Supervisor” of a local Women’s Society, and the Chair of the Village Agricultural Council. Sami is also Director of the Disabled Unions in both the Jericho and the Tubas Governorates!

He has come to the US in an attempt to save his application for a kindergarten, which is in the process of being built, but which is scheduled for demolition by the Israeli military occupiers along with the mosque, the medical center and most of the small town’s private homes. 

Israel rarely grants permits for new Arab construction such as his kindergarten, but approves the majority of appeals from Jewish settlements.  If the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) denies his request, as it certainly will, the edifice will be bulldozed.  Mahmood has come to America to obtain support for his village of three hundred souls from our “grassroots;” so that his home may survive and thrive, but California’s Senators Feinstein and Boxer (both left-leaning Jews) have pledged to assist the Islamic settlement as well.  Sami begged us here to assist his fellow occupants of his rustic municipality:  “[Our] people desire assistance!…We wish to live in peace,” but there is no peace in Aqaba!  The IDF has even sprayed their mosque with 150 bullets!  He urged us to directly contact Israeli diplomats in the U.S.  “…call about peace….call about Aqaba!”

He has even gone to the Israeli High Court for the one hundred and thirty children in his kindergarten!  The Hebrew Court has ruled that the Al-Aqaba structures have to remain, but it is too often the case that the IDF commanders in territories under their control disobey not only their domestic law, but the Geneva Conventions as well!  When the school opened, though, all the V.I.P. (Very Important Persons) in the surrounding vicinity came to express their due respect to the accomplishment of the Council.  The kindergarten can help the children to form their future concepts of peace!

Militarily, Israel has divided Palestine into various sections.  Under the Oslo Accords, Tel Aviv is allowed control of these zones.  Al-Ababa is in Region C that the Israeli High Command has decided is vital to the Motherland’s defenses.  Thus, the Center of the Jewish State in Jerusalem has allowed many of their co-religionists’ Settlements to flourish to the detriment of Islamic and Christian communities within the Abrahamic Holy Soil, however!

The IDF has declared these “boroughs” to be State-run domains!  Therefore, his township became, by an act of semantics, situated on Jewish “government ground.”  Using plans that the British drew up in contingency to defend the Palestine Mandate in 1943, the Central government cynically revived these colonial directives to appropriate Arab land (this historically was not the English intention at all)!  Thus, finding a “legal” precedent, the ugly Judaic Communes grew up there (although declared illegal by United Nations [U.N.] Resolutions).

Orders to flatten many historic structures have been handed down in the C District against the Palestinians to benefit Israeli expansion.  For individuals, the Caterpillar Bulldozer (Made in America!) can arrive at the door to destroy their residence of many generations at any time.   

The Israeli government has planned well in advance their intentions, but has kept them clandestine until their implementation.  There are different reasons for the destruction of numerous homes.  In his locale, nevertheless, 2,200 domiciles have been razed.  Often it is to enforce a predetermined ratio between settlers and Arabs.

There they determine safe havens for the settlers within and at odds with the Palestinian traditional terrain.  Often what determines this is an established Arab hamlet’s proximity to a recently placed Jewish outpost.

There are 130 localities within the Region that are “unrecognized” by Israel that are, consequently, in danger of annihilation, but because of the solidarity from diverse international nation-states, the Israeli Courts themselves have given the population some “breathing Space.”  Therefore the villagers were able to construct their kindergarten despite the hostile and proximate presence of IDF soldiers.

The UN, US, EU and Russia, who have been working on a peace formula for the Fertile Crescent Initiative, have especially has been focusing on Region C where Al-Aqaba is located.  In the small town itself, Japan and Belgium have been contributing to assembling a second floor to the pre-school building while Japan and the nations of the EU have been encouraging and facilitating a transition to a democratic civil society within the Palestinian terrain.  It remains to be seen whether Washington will acquiesce to the prevailing international sentiment of mercy to a village kindergarten, or instead to bow once more to Israel’s demands.

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By Dr. Aslam Abdullah, TMO Editor-in-chief

Labourers work at a construction site on the outskirts of the southern Indian city of Hyderabad November 10, 2008.     REUTERS/Krishnendu Halder

Some 6,000 Muslim religious teachers and leaders in India issued a fatwa against  against terrorism at the Anti-Terrorism Global Peace Conference in Hyderabad. The fatwa was issued on the letterhead of Darul Uloom Deoband, reading: “Islam is a religion of peace and security. In its eyes, on any party over the surface of the earth spreading mischief, rioting, breach of peace, bloodshed, killing of innocent persons and plundering are the most inhuman crimes.”

The leader of the Deoband, a religious seminary often accused of promoting teachings that led to the rise of groups such as the Taliban, Madani said: “Terrorism has emerged as the most serious challenge faced by our nation in recent times. It threatens to strike at the very root of secular structure of our society, besides causing irreparable loss in terms of human lives and property. The conference has provided the opportunity for the entire Islamic community to come on a single platform and raise its voice against terrorism.”

The conference also adopted a seven-point declaration condemning the propaganda that “regards terrorism as synonymous with jihad.”

“There is a world of difference between terrorism and jihad. Jihad is constructive and terrorism is destructive. Jihad is for the establishment of peace…terrorism is the gravest crime as held by Qur`an and Islam,” the declaration said.

Addressing the huge gathering, Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind president Hazrat Maulana Qari Sayed Mohammad Usman said: “We appeal to the Government of India and international community that if they are sincere about rooting out the menace of terrorism they must strive to establish justice and fair play in society.

Interestingly, a Hindu social activist, Swami Agnivesh, described the United States as the terrorist number one. To defame the Holy Koran and Islam is the worst form of terrorism, he said.

The fatwa is a pleasant departure from the usual opinions on such relatively minor issues. 

The fatwa should be welcomed regardless of the delay the teachers took in issuing it. If it had been issued when the Taliban were on the rise, probably today’s situation might be totally different in Afghanistan and other places.

It is encouraging to see that religious leaders are getting involved in everyday affairs of the people. For almost a century the notion that is being promoted in most Muslim religious seminaries that Islam is primarily a faith of rituals with nothing to do with hunger, social justice, peace, and distribution of worldly resources.

Many scholars have condemned this worldly life, and some would argue they have exhorted believers to accept their poor living conditions in order to find a better place in heaven. Even though this notion of Islam goes contrary to the divine teachings that clearly commands the believer to seek the best in this life and the life hereafter, the message that has dominated Muslim religious school so far was more ritualistic than social or economic.

The curriculum that is taught in religious seminaries testifies to that. While the divine scripture, the Qur`an, commands Muslims to explore the universe by discovering the laws of things created for human beings, the religious schools have, by and large shunned the study of biology, economy, history, zoology, environment, and sciences in general. Even the study of mathematics is limited to the level that can help a religious scholar calculate the amount of zakat or charity.

Obviously, in such a situation, the fatwa against terrorism points to a new direction that Muslim seminaries might be willing to take. One hopes that the fatwa is not an act of political expediency; rather we hope it is a genuine voice grounded in scriptures.

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By Adil James, MMNS Southeast Michigan correspondent

Dearborn–November 10–Ordinarily at TMO we focus on Islamic schools, but a special case is Riverside Academy, which is a newborn school that has taken over the building of the American Islamic Academy–the Islamic school once associated with the Islamic Institute of Knowledge which closed its doors due to financial difficulties after the 05-06 school year. 

IIK then rented the school grounds to the “Riverside Academy,” a public charter school.

The parent company that now runs Riverside is Global Education Excellence GEE (available at gee-edu.com).  GEE, which runs 7 other charter schools in southern Michigan and northern Ohio (including Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Hamtramck, Dearborn, and Toledo) is a large and apparently very healthy corporation, formed in 1998 “to offer the highest quality educational services to public school academies throughout the State of Michigan.”  Mohammad Issa and Dr. Said Issa formed GEE “as a vehicle for developing nurturning educational environments where all children are offered quality educational opportunities.”

Charter schools are, by law, tuition free, open to all, are required to employ highly-qualified, certified teachers, required to administer state-required standardized tests, and subject to the same health and safety codes as all other public schools.

A charter school, or “public school academy,” as it is known in Michigan, is an independent public school that operates under a performance contract with an institute of higher learning.  This contract is known as a charter–the authorizing instiution oversees all aspects of academy functioning.

In the case of Riverside Academy, the institute of higher learning with which it has a contract is Central Michigan University.

The principal of Riverside Academy is Ramzi Saab.  He is a highly-trained school administrator with previous experience as principal of the MAYA School on Ford Road in Dearborn, only a few miles from the Riverside Academy. 

As principal of MAYA, he explains, “we improved the financial condition of MAYA, improved enrollment, got the academics to improve.”

His proudest accomplishment regarding Riverside is the almost 50% increase in enrollment compared with pre-charter days.  “Last year we made a contract with Central Michigan University, and we have gone from 320 students to 450 students, and we have a growing waiting list.”

He explains that in order not to change the student-teacher ratio, the school has been maintained at the current population despite those waiting.

Mr. Saab emphasizes the improved diversity of Riverside and how attractive the structured environment has been, not only to local Arab students, but also to Hispanic and African American students from Detroit and Mexicantown.  It’s a “very diverse school, including Hispanics, African Americans, as well as Arabs.  The majority are Arabs because of the area where the school is–also we have different students from different religions and different colors–and those students are increasing.”  Explaining the rise in diversity, Mr. Saab emphasizes the “very respectful environment–we do respect all religions.”

Hajja Khalida Beydoun, a guidance counselor at Riverside, explains that about 95% of the student population is of Arab descent.

The primary change in the direction of the school may be in the more professional and business-oriented style of management.  Mr. Saab explains that the school has acquired “about 10 new teachers–they are very highly qualified, certified, and diverse.”

Although the school does not teach religious subjects, many Muslims from the local community would be excited to know that the school teaches Arabic, currently the only foreign language taught at the school.  “We teach Arabic as a second language,” explains Mr. Saab.  “It is mandatory, because Michigan high school students have to take a foreign language to graduate.”

But he explains that “We are looking to add more foreign languages in addition to Arabic.”

Charter schools, as they receive public funding, are unable to teach religious issues.   But Riverside, a majority of whose students are of Arabic descent, maintains policies that are culturally amenable to the strictly traditional outlook of Dearborn’s population.  There is a dress code which requires uniforms although it does not require hijab.  Boys’ and girls’ classes are separate although there is some contact “on a professional level” at school assemblies and on field trips.
“We do require that students wear uniforms–students and teachers must come to school looking professional,” says Mr. Saab.

“We have separate gender classes,” he explains, “so that students focus on academics–the students and teachers enjoy this very very much.”  And as a result, says Mr. Saab, “our test scores have improved as well as our academics.”  Students still, he explains, “interact with each other professionally.”  There are assemblies, and they meet one another in the cafeteria, and on school trips.

Ms. Beydoun explained that even at lunch boys and girls eat in different areas.

The school offers “all sports” after school in physical education, in which men teach boys and women teach girls.  In fact, one Arab-American Riverside student is so good at basketball that he is being considered by colleges as a subject for recruitment. 

“Michigan Tech was interested to check out” this student, explains Ms. Beydoun.  “We had one senior last year, Henry Ford Community College checked him out,” said Ms. Beydoun, and he ended by receiving a scholarship to attend Henry Ford.

Among other strengths of the school explained by the principal, Mr. Saab, are that “We do offer free tutoring after school, one hour every day, to help students finish their homework–every day.”

Riverside is on a different level from the Huda School.  While the Huda school competes favorably against top national private schools like Detroit Country Day and Cranbrook, Riverside competes very favorably against Detroit’s and Dearborn’s public high schools.  But Huda is expensive, costing approximately $4,000 per year, compared to DCDS or Cranbrook’s approximate $15,000 per year per student.  And Riverside is free.

Although Riverside does not compete in the same elite class, it is an excellent school with a focused staff of committed counselors, not least among them Ms. Beydoun, who sincerely devote themselves to securing the best possible future for their students.

Indeed, Ms. Beydoun shows an encyclopedic knowledge of her students’ achievements, and shows that she is closely and on a daily basis involved in their grades and accomplishments–she rattles off the accomplishments of last year’s graduates, statistics about the class size and their future plans, and describes with the excitement of a sports fan–or perhaps a proud mother–the intense competition for first, second, and third place in this year’s graduating class.

“This year, our valedictorian, salutatorian, and third place student are all head-to-head–they are all within .18 of a grade point of one another.”

She explains that the current valedictorian wants to attend the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, the current salutatorian wants to attend the University of Detroit Mercy to study dentistry, and the current third place student is undecided.

Much hangs in the balance for the top students, since at the University of Detroit Mercy, an incoming student “who is valedictorian, with a 3.5 GPA, ACT of 21 or above, gets a full ride,”  explains Ms. Beydoun.

“We have a lot of recruiting,” she says.  “Junior year, we bring in all the universities and community colleges that I believe our students are interested in.” 

“Last year we had our first graduating class–8 of them got scholarships” for college study, “and 3 of those were full-ride scholarships.  We have 23 seniors this year.  3 seniors plan to attend University of Detroit Mercy, 2 plan to attend UM Dearborn, 7 I’m aware of plan to attend Wayne State University.”

60% of them are active in the community.  “I have about 16 or 17 scholarships lined up–not all are full scholarships.  8 or 9 full scholarships–everyone else is a partial, for academics or community service, or athletics.”

“Our class rankings–our top 5 students, and especially our top 3, are really determined.”

Commenting on the improvement from last year, Ms. Beydoun cites as a primary reason the larger class size, and the fact that “this class is especially dedicated to academics.”

“Other than that, academically” Riverside has excelled since it  first opened, she explains. 

“Many juniors and seniors are doing dual enrollment at community colleges” during the school year.  To do this, they have to have a GPA of 3.5 or higher–and their disciplinary records have to be spotless.

“Being a small school, there is more emphasis on academics, more of a one-on-one relationship with teachers.”

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Sheriff-Elect Garcia Visited the Islamic Society of Greater Houston

One of the first communities to visit after becoming the first Hispanic Sheriff of Harris County Texas, Adrian Garcia came to meet with the Community Leadership at the Main Center of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston (ISGH). “I learnt the significance of diversity from my father and will need all the assistance from the Islamic Society and its members to identify capable people in all fields, who could help me change the face of Harris County Sheriff Department with qualified people,” Adrian Garcia said.

Present at this ISGH Main Center meeting were: City Councilman M. J. Khan; Acting President of ISGH Hashim Badat; General Secretary ISGH Aftab Silat; Treasurer Fayez Ghwari; Directors’ and Associate Directors of ISGH Ibrahim Badat Mohammad Sulaiman; A. J. Durrani and Fuad Cochinwala; Office Secretary of ISGH Hamayun Mahmood; Former President of ISGH Dr. Aziz Siddiqui; Media Volunteer of ISGH ILyas Hasan Choudry; Houston Police Department Officer Muzaffar Siddiqui; Member of Sport Board of Harris County and City of Houston CPA Haroon Shaikh; Community Organizers Zaf Tahir; Farrukh Shamasi; President of the Pakistani-American Association of Greater Houston (PAGH) Ghulam Bombaywala; Vice-President of PAGH Iqbal Badat; Attorney Noami Hussein; Attorney Ali Zakaria; Entrepreneur Shaukat Zakaria and Realtor Ismaeel Patel.

The president of the Society Hashim Badat informed about the uniqueness of ISGH, as being umbrella organization of such a large region and this model is not found elsewhere within the Muslim Communities in USA.

“Racially motivated offensive jokes; as were tolerated earlier; will have no place in the office of Sheriff Department under me. I do believe in sensitivity training, but what I really want to implement is that cadets who are aspiring to wear the badge of the sheriff’s department, they will be required as part of their training to spend weeks inside various communities including the Muslims, to cultivate long term relationships and understanding,” added Adrian Garcia.

The meeting ended with the President of ISGH, Hashim Badat, reiterating to Mr. Garcia that the Muslim Community will support him fully in all the good things he intends to do and thanked him for choosing to appoint an Advisory Group of the Sheriff Department, which will have diversified representation. It was further decided to have Quarterly Meetings with Sheriff  Garcia, and to institutionalize sensitivity training and a community understanding curriculum into the sheriff’s department cadet training programs.

Community Celebrated the Changing Face of Harris County with Community Organizers Lutfi Hassan & Attorney Noami Hussein

As the recent Elections 2008 brought change at the national level, the third largest County of USA, i.e. Harris, in the Greater Houston region of Texas, saw similar changes, with the election of the first Hispanic Sheriff, Garcia (D) [presently City Councilman and formerly Houston Police Department Officer]. Mr. Garcia has the distinction of getting the highest number of votes ever for an elected official in Harris County Texas (636,211 votes to 494,381).

Other statistics of these Harris County elections were: more than 20,000 new voters registered – 62% voted during the twelve days early voting time – First time more votes were recorded before Election Day – Year 1994 saw Republicans swept through the local courthouses with 19 judges and only one Democratic judge; this Year 2008, saw Democrats resurging where 22 out of 26 Republican judicial incumbents lost.

In order to celebrate these and other achievements, long-time Democratic Party Activists (who just that day returned from Chicago after attending Obama’s victory celebrations), Lutfi Hassan and Attorney Noami Hussein, with the help of their friends, organized an evening with the newly elected officials. Congressional Members Al Green, Sheila Jackson Lee and City Councilman M. J. Khan were present. Among the newly elected officials, Adrian Garcia, Judge Mike Engelhart, Judge Jim Sharp, Judge Larry Weiman and others were present.

Please Attend Program on “Empowerment of Women through Honey Bee Farming” in Pakistan

“We urge you to visit our website http://www.hashoofoundation.org/ which will direct you to BBC World and Newsweek World Challenge 2008 Voting – We want to urge you all to vote for Hashoo Foundation,” this was said by Ms. Merchant, as she introduced the project in Pakistan of Hashoo Foundation called “The Women Empowerment through Honey Bee Farming Commitment”. A documentary presentation on this program is happening at McMurtrey Auditorium in Duncan Hall of Rice University Houston on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 between 6pm.-8pm.

The Women Empowerment through Honey Bee Farming Commitment is designed to economically empower women through technical training, enabling them to generate a stable source of income and contribute to their family’s well being. It has been chosen by BBC World and Newsweek as one of the top twelve humanitarian and economic development projects in the whole world. Voted to Number One Position by people for this excellent program will enhance its stature and resources. For more information, visit http://www.hashoofoundation.org/

The commitment of this project will address the employment discrepancy between male and female beekeepers in the Northern Areas of Pakistan (NAP) & Chitral and promote equal opportunity. The project’s impact will improve women’s status in their communities, as they become more integrated in the decision-making process within male-dominated societies.   

By the end of Year 2009; 125 Women will be trained; 215 Households will be supported; 215 Women will be producing honey; and 215 Women producers will be linked with the market.

The Hashoo Foundation Women Empowerment through Honey Bee Farming Commitment to Action will mobilize women from the ‘apron to the apiary’ and into an environment for commerce, bringing about a tremendous social change in the Pakistani region, where women are confined to private spaces. HF commits to train 125 new women beekeepers in the Northern Areas of Pakistan (NAP), helping them generate income in a sustainable and dignified way, enabling them to provide for their families’ health care, children’s education, as well as improving their nutrition and overall well-being.  HF and its partners will develop honey production, extending sales and marketing of the honey and its by-products; as well, they will better utilize trained women beekeepers in promoting this enterprise for poverty alleviation.

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By Syed Aslam

Ala’al-Din Ibn al-Nafis, also known al-Quarashi, was born in 1213 CE in a small town near Damascus called Kersh. He learned medicine, Islamic philosophy, Jurisprudence and Arabic literature  in Damascus, Syria.  Besides medicine, he became an expert on the Shafii school of Jurisprudence. In 1236 he moved to Cairo, and worked at various hospitals and finally became the personal physician of Sultan Baibars.

Ibn al-Nafis lived during a very critical period of Islamic history, when Jerusalem was under attack by the Christian crusaders, and Baghdad was sacked and destroyed by the barbaric Mongols in 1258 CE. A part of Syria  was also  temporarily occupied by the Mangols. Ibn al-Nafis must have felt a sigh of relief when Sultan  Baibars of Egypt finally defeated the Mongols at the battle of Ain Jalut in 1260 CE. Ibn al-Nafis and many other  Muslim scholars intensified the scientific activity in Damascus and Cairo, to preserve the scientific legeasy of Islamic civilization after the colossal destruction of all the valuable  books in Baghdad. Ibn al-Nafis lived in peace in Cairo, writing large number of books till he died in 1288 CE. Being a good physician, he became wealthy, donating most of his belongings to charity. 

Ibn al-Nafis was a great physician and surgeon, who also  made contributions in astronomy, Islamic theology and philosophy, history and scientific fiction writing. He was the first  physician to discover how blood circulates in the human body, and worked out the correct anatomy of the heart. In his writing he clearly states; “The blood from the right chamber of the heart must arrive at the left chamber, but there is no direct pathway between them. The thick septum of the heart is not perforated and does not have visible pores as some people thought or invisible pores as Galen thought. The blood from the right chamber must flow through the pulmonary artery to the lungs, spread through its substance, be mingled with air, pass through the pulmonary vein to reach the left chamber of the heart. The nourishment of the heart is from the blood that goes through the vessels that permeate the body of the heart.” It is amazing that his discovery about the working of the heart and its nourishment from blood was so wonderfully close to the modern cardiac knowledge.

Galen, the Greek physician, believed that every part of of an artery pulsates at the same time and the pulse is caused by the natural motion of the blood. Ibn al-Nafis rejected this idea and explained that the pulsation is caused by the contraction and expansion of the heart. The heart expands while the arteries contract, and visa versa, and the pulse, he said, helps to disperse the blood from the heart to the different parts of the body. He was the first physician to give the idea of capillary circulation of the blood, a fact which was not known to the European physicians till 1661 CE.

Ibn al-Nafis’s work was based on extensive reading and study of the anatomy of the human body. But the significance of his work was not clearly understood even in his own time, and was probably unknown by the physicians of Europe. 300 years after his original writing, some of Ibn al-Nafis’s work was translated into Latin  in 1547 CE. His important observations then became available to European physicians. It was only in the 20th century that his work was brought to light again, and people became aware of how early he had reached his conclusions on the workings of the heart and circulation of blood. Because of his work he is considered the father of circulatory physiology.

Ibn al-Nafis was an early proponent of human dissection, and developed his own system of anatomy and physiology. He wrote 20 volumes of commentary on Ibn Sina’s Canon of Medicine and corrected the concept of almost all part of the human body with diagrams to illustrate its function and working. He made the earliest known dissection on the human brain, and discovered how blood circulates through it. Similarly, he was the only pre-modern physician to correctly present the anatomy of the bile duct and gall bladder, which physicians in Europe learned in 16th century.

After completing the commentary on Ibn Sina’s book, Ibn al-Nafis authored voluminous medical encyclopedia; Al-Shamil fi al-Tibb  (The Comprehensive Book on Medicine). He is believed to have written some 300 volumes, but could publish only 80 of them. Even in  this incomplete state, his encyclopedia is considered the largest collection of work in the history of medicine, larger even than the Canon of Medicine by Ibn Sina. Out of 80 volumes, only 28 have survived. The manuscript, which has been studied, deals in great detail with surgery and surgical instruments. Some section of the book have detailed discussion on urological problems including the issues of sexual dysfunction and its treatment by tested drugs.

Ibn al-Nafis’s 500 page book A Summary of Medicine has survived. This book’s subjects  include the theory of medicine, the practice of medicine, diets and diseases of organs, and more. A section of the book also deals with the diseases of the ear and their treatments. He authored a voluminous book on Ophthalmology, in which he made a number of original contributions, like a new treatment of glaucoma.

He placed a much greater emphasis on food and nutrition to maintain a healthy life, and wrote a book on this subject.   

Ibn al-Nafis made the first attempt to write a theological science fiction novel. In his novel Risalat Fadil Ibn Natiq he used the plot to express his own philosophical, scientific and religious themes, in other words he tried to explain religious teachings in terms of science and philosophy by using the fictional narrative. 

Ibn al-Nafis’s treatise on Hadith; A Short Account of the Methodology of Hadith, in which he attempted to classify the ahadith.

He wrote several books on Sharia law  in which the most famous one is Mujazal Qanun. It seems he left no subject untouched, writing two books on Arabic linguistics, two books on logic in Islamic philosophy, commentary on Ibn Sina’s philosophy and on the work of Hippocrates. He even wrote a treatise on environmental science, covering air and water pollution and soil contamination.

No doubt, Ibn al-Nafis was a legendary physician and the greatest physiologist of the middle age, who was far ahead of his time. Muslim biographers of the 14th century onward considered him greater than all the physicians who preceded him.

Aslamsyed1@yahoo.com

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