Ireland's Fastest Growing Religion.



In a newseries, Carol Ryan looks at the world's fastest-growing religion.
Islam has arrived in Ireland. The 2006 census recorded 33,000 Muslims living here but the current figure is probably closer to 50,000, making Islam the fastest growing religion in Ireland. It is also the fastest growing religion in the world - 1.5 billion people call themselves Muslims. Islam is flourishing but it has also been the subject of furious debate in a post-9/11 world.
The Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland parishes in Dalkey Co. Dublin are jointly running a five-week course Learning Together About Islam. It is one of the first parish-based public forums on Islam of its kind. Since first floating the idea during Unity Week, organiser Canon Ginnie Kennerley received ''fantastic enthusiasm''. Extra chairs had to be brought in to accommodate the crowd arriving for the first lecture, suggesting there is huge demand for information about Islam.
Siraj Zaidi, an Indian Shia Muslim who has lived in Ireland for 15 years gave the first lecture. He is heavily involved in interfaith dialogue and was a founding member of the Three Faiths Forum of Ireland which works to improve relations between the three Abrahamic faiths.
He opened by saying that unfortunately many people now have a negative view of Muslims and initiatives like this are key to opening up dialogue and explaining true Islam.
His lecture was about Prophet Muhammad's life and the birth of Islam in the Middle East 1,400 years ago. Muslims call Muhammad ''Rasullah'' or ''Messenger of God''. To them he is a model personality - trustworthy, noble, generous and unmaterialistic - and they strive to follow his example in their everyday lives.
Born in 570 AD in what is now Saudi Arabia, he lived a very normal life working as a trader until the age of 40 when he began receiving divine revelations from the Angel Gabriel. These revelations make up the core of the Koran, the Muslim holy book which provides guidance on every aspect of human life including politics, economics, law, social interaction, hygiene and ethics. Muhammad was driven out of Mecca because of his preaching and migrated to Medina where he established a community of Muslims. By the time of his death 23 years later he had amassed 100,000 followers. Islam then underwent an extraordinary expansion and 100 years after Muhammad's death, the Islamic empire stretched from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to Central Asia in the east.
Siraj's talk was followed by a lively Q&A session during which he was asked to explain Islam's view of Jesus Christ (he is recognised as a prophet) and Muslim's interpretation of the Koran (they consider it the literal word of God).
Hijab
The topic which most ignited the audience was women's status in Islam. He said Islam was the first religion to give rights to women. Many questioned how Islam can claim to give higher status to women when the widespread perception is that Muslim women do not have equal rights. There was interest in the topic of hijab (the Muslim headscarf). Siraj explained that the Koran requires Muslim women to cover their heads and dress modestly. Girls begin wearing hijab at 12 or 13 years of age but he stressed that women are free to choose it. The niqab (the full face veil) is contentious even within the Muslim community and many do not believe it is called for in the Koran.
After the course, the feedback was largely positive. When asked why they came, many people said they are concerned about stories in the media and want some concrete information about Islam. Several people saw similarities between the core message of Islam and Christianity.
Fear
There is an element of fear in Irish people's perception of Islam, especially with the growth of the Muslim population here. There is suspicion that Muslims are here to expand, to take over and that Irish people must be fearful of them. There are many misconceptions and I blame the sensational and inflammatory nature of the media a lot for that. It boils down to the responsibility of journalists to show a balanced view.
There has been a lot of focus on Islamic issues in the news in recent years -whether it was the Salman Rushdie affair back in 1989, the first Gulf War or more recently the commotion in the Arab world. The 9/11 attacks really opened up people's consciousness but it was certainly not an Islamic act as is wrongly perceived by many. It is your first duty to create peace and harmony in the society you live in and explain that Islam is a religion of peace. The core of Islam is extremely liberal even though some people perceive it as being very rigid and narrow. The problem is the dictators in Middle Eastern countries who control their people and use Islam like a stick.
There is a certain extremist element of Islam which is blatantly at war with the West. They have this view that ''we are right, you are wrong'' which is very dangerous. The rest of the Muslim Community is in conflict with this element and that is leading to a huge split in Islamic ideology. We are the first to criticise these people.
Right to defend
Islam is all for defence, you have full right to defend yourself, but not offense. However, the West has been very corrupt in its dealings with Muslim dictators and rulers of certain kingdoms and that is fueling the problem. The Western understanding of women in Islam is quite clinical, that they are oppressed, uneducated and controlled. Muslim women get insulted by that. Islam gave women rights long before the West did. In the West women's bodies are used to sell products. You would not see a half-naked woman leaning over a brand new car or the Playboy industry in the Muslim world. Islam rejects that kind of liberalism.
Taken from http://www.irishcatholic.ie/site/content/irelands-fastest-growing-religion-carol-ryan

Muslima Sues Abercrombie & Fitch.

Al Salamu 'Alaykum.

Monday, June 27, 2011

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Record.

SAN FRANCISCO  — A former stockroom worker for Abercrombie & Fitch Co. sued the clothing retailer in federal court Monday, saying she was illegally fired after refusing to remove her Muslim headscarf while on the job.

Hani Khan said a manager at the company's Hollister Co. store at the Hillsdale Mall in San Mateo hired her while she was wearing her hijab. The manager said it was OK to wear it as long as it was in company colors, Khan said.

Four months later, the 20-year-old says a district manager and human resources manager asked if she could remove the hijab while working, and she was suspended and then fired for refusing to do so.
It's the latest employment discrimination charge against the company's so-called "look policy," which critics say means images of mostly white, young, athletic-looking people. The New Albany, Ohio-based company has said it does not tolerate discrimination.
Still, Abercrombie has been the target of numerous discrimination lawsuits, including a federal class action brought by black, Hispanic and Asian employees and job applicants that was settled for $40 million in 2004. The company admitted no wrongdoing, though it was forced to implement new programs and policies to increase diversity.
"Growing up in this country where the Bill of Rights guarantees freedom of religion, I felt let down," Khan, now a college student studying political science, said at a news conference. "This case is about principles, the right to be able to express your religion freely and be able to work in this country."
Abercrombie defended its record in a comment provided to The Associated Press, saying diversity in its stores "far exceeds the diversity in the population of the United States."
"We comply with the law regarding reasonable religious accommodation, and we will continue to do so," said Rocky Robbins, the company's general counsel. "We are confident that when this matter is tried, a jury will find that we have fully complied with the law."
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco comes after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled in September that Khan was fired illegally. Khan's lawsuit was filed in conjunction with the EEOC's lawsuit.
It is not the first time the company has been charged with discriminating against Muslim women over the wearing of a hijab.
In 2009, Samantha Elauf, who was 17 at the time, filed a federal lawsuit in Oklahoma, alleging the company rejected her for a job because she was wearing a hijab. That case is still ongoing.
The EEOC filed another lawsuit for the same reason, saying the company denied work to a hijab-wearing woman who applied for a stocking position in 2008 at an Abercrombie Kids store at the Great Mall in Milpitas, California.
Khan's attorney said her client is looking to get Abercrombie to change its "look policy" to allow religious headscarves to be worn by employees, and for unspecified damages. The lawsuit alleges violations of federal and state civil rights and employment laws.
"Abercrombie prides itself on requiring what it calls a natural classic American style. But there's nothing American about discriminating against someone because of their religion," said Araceli Martinez-Olguin, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center.

"Such a look policy cannot be squared with our shared values. No worker should have to choose between their religion and their job."

Wa'laykum Salam.

Poem on Hijab.

Al Salamu 'Alaykum.

It's so hard to get away from it all, because everywhere I go there I am........

What do you see when you look at me?
Do you see someone limited , or someone free?
All some people can do is just look and stare,
Simply because they can't see my hair.
Others think that I am controlled and uneducated.

They think that I am limited and not liberated,
They are so thankful that they are not me,
Because they would like to remain "free".
Well free isn't exactly the word I would've used,
Describing women who are cheated on and abused.

They think that I do not have opinions or a voice ,
They think that being hooded isn't my choice,
They think that the hood makes me look caged,
That my husband or dad are totally outraged,
All they can do is look at me in fear,
In my eye there is a tear.

Not because I have been stared at or made fun of,
But because people are ignoring the One up above.
On the day of judgement , they will be the fools,
Because they were too ashamed to play by their own rules.

Maybe the guys won't think I am a cutie,
But at least I am filled with more inner beauty.
See I have declined from being a guy's toy,
Because I won't let myself be controlled by a boy,
Real men are able to appreciate my mind,
They aren't busy looking at my behind..

Hooded girls are the ones really helping the Muslim cause,
The role that we play definitely deserves applause.
I will be recognized because I am smart and bright,
Some people are inspired by my sight.

The smart ones are attracted by my tranquilty,
In the back of their minds they wish they were me,
We have the strength to do what we think is right,
Even if it means putting up a life long fight,

You see we are not controlled by a mini skirt and tight shirt,
We are given only respect , and never treated like dirt,
So you see, we are the ones that are free and liberated,
We are not the ones that are sexually terrorized and violated.

We are the ones that are free and pure,
We're free of STD's that have no cure,
So when people ask you how you feel about the hood,
Just sum it up by saying "baby it's all good"

Submitted by a Muslim sister who is proud to be wearing Hijaab.

Taken from: http://www.central-mosque.com/fiqh/pohijab.htm

The Rohingya Muslims.

By Nurul Islam President Arakan Rohingya National Organisation (ARNO) Arakan, formerly called Rohang, lies in the north–western part of Burma with 360 miles coastal belt from the Bay of Bengal. It borders 167 miles with Bangladesh both by land and sea. Rohingyas have been living in Arakan from time immemorial. They are a people with distinct culture and civilization of their own. They trace their ancestry to Arabs, Moors, Pathans, Moghuls, Bengalis and some Indo-Mongoloid people. Early Muslim settlements in Arakan date back to 7th century AD. Burma is a home to numerous ethnic groups and about 60% of the area is inhabited by nearly 140 ethnic races and Rohingya is one of them. Burma has a population of about 50 million of which nearly 8 millions are Muslims. Of the Muslim population about 3.5 millions (both at home and at the places of refuge) are Rohingyas of Arakan. The Rohingyas are a majority community in Arakan. Due to large scale persecution through ethnic cleansing and genocidal action against them, about 1.5 million Rohingyas were forced to leave their hearth and home since Burmese independence in 1948. These unfortunate uprooted people are mostly found in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia; also in UAE, Thailand and Malaysia. Present distribution of the Rohingya population is given below: Inside Burma: 2 million* Bangladesh: 600,000 * Pakistan: 350,000* Saudi Arabia 400,000* Others (U.A.E., Thailand, Malaysia.) : 100,000* * Approximation 1. Occupation: The Rohingyas are living on agriculture. Arakan state’s agricultural output is mainly contributed by Rohingyas. Small percentage of them are engaged in fishing and trade & business. Besides there are Rohingya artisans, blacksmiths and carpenters. Due to discrimination against them, the Rohingyas have become landless and homeless. Their farm lands are being grabbed by the new Buddhist settlers being invited from within and outside the country. Over and above, high taxation on agricultural produce, continued forced labour and confiscation of farm lands and various restrictions on farming, conspire them to abandon their lands, live below poverty line or face starvation. At present, the number of Rohingya traders and businessmen sharply declined. They are not allowed to do trade and business freely. Sometimes, they require to share their business with the Buddhists giving them lion shares without investment. Ther military regime has prohibited the Rohingyas of their right to freedom of movement within the country, nay within the same locality seriously affecting the socio-cultural, economic, educational activities and daily life of the Rohingyas. The regime has stopped recruitment of Rohingyas even in civil services since 1970s. No Rohingyas are allowed to enter into defense services. 2. Religion, Culture and Civilization of Rohingyas: Rohingyas are staunch followers of Islam. Most of the elderly Rohingya grow beards and the women wear hijab. All Rohingya houses are surrounded by high bamboo walls. There are mosques and Madrassahs (religious schools) in every quarter and village. The men pray in congregation, where as the female pray at home. There is still in existence of a social bond in every village called ”Samaj”. All social welfare activities like Adhahi meat distribution, helping the poor, widows, orphans and needy, marriage and funereal functions are done collectingly by the Samaj. The Ulema play a very prominent role particularly in matters relating to persoanal laws, like family affairs of the Rohingyas. Unfortunately, today the cultural problem becomes one of the most important problems of the Rohingyas in Burma. The Muslims have to encounter strong pressure of the Buddhist culture. Particularly the Rohingyas have to confront ideological assault from all directions. The Rohingyas are considered practicing the foreign way of life having no origin in Burma. According to the ruling military the Rohingyas are to adopt and entertain no ideas but those of Burman race and culture and Buddhism. The Muslims or Rohingyas are told to discard Islamic names and adopt Burman names. Everywhere Muslims’ or Islamic are razed to the ground. Hundreds of mosques have been demolished. Construction of new mosques or repairs to the old ones are prohibited. Pagodas, monasteries and Buddhist temples have been erected in every nook and cranny of the Rohingya homeland. Muslim students have been brainwashed in schools where anti-Islamic materials are being taught to them. Islam and Islamic culture are always projected or presented inhumiliating, derogatory, degrading and distorted forms. 3. Education of Rohingya: Before 1962 military take over Rohingya Muslims did not lag behind their Buddhist sister community .Due to poverty, serious discrimination and continued persecution against them, the number of Rohingya students have declined much. To get admission in colleges and universities for higher studies is a problematic matter for the Rohingyas. Severe restrictions have been imposed on their pursuing professional courses for citizenship question. There are a number of voluntary religious schools educating a good percentage of Rohingya students. However, because of various restrictions, lack of funds and facilities these institutions are unable to modernize the teaching methods thus failing to produce efficient students or manpower for the society. Most of the Rohingyas living in exile have little means to educate their children. 4. Political status of Rohingya: Prior to 1962 the Rohingya community has been recognized as an indigenous ethnic nationality of Burma. They have their representatives in Burmese parliament and some of them have bean appointed as ministers, parliamentary secretaries and in high government positions. After the military take over they have been systematically deprived of their political rights. With the promulgation of the most controversial and discriminatory citizenship law of 1982 they are declared as “non-national” or “foreign residents”. Very much contradictory to their declaration, the military could not disallow the Rohingyas to participate in multi-party elections held in 1990, the result of which was not implemented by the military junta. Today the Rohingyas are living in sub-human condition with uncertain future. They are declared a people fit to be exterminated. 5. Junta’s policy towards the Muslims of Burma: the ruling military junta practices two pronged de-Islamisation policy in Burma: -- physical extermination through genocide and ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims of Arakan and cultural assimilation of Muslims living in other parts of Burma -- Their main objective is to turn strategic Muslim Arakan into a Burmanised Buddhist region by reducing the Muslims into insignificant or manageable minorities. 6 Crimes committed against Rohingyas and present situation: Arbitrary arrests, torture, summary execution, custodial killings are rampant. The Rohingyas are engaged in forced unpaid slave labor days in, days out. Confiscation of farm lands, uprooting of Muslim settlements, eviction of inmates, establishment of new Buddhist settlements on evacuated Muslim land. Demolishing of mosques, religious schools and erection of pagodas, Buddhist temples with a view to changing the landscape of Arakan. Rape and dishonouring of women, forced marriage of Muslim women by Buddhists, banning hijab wearing and forced use of contraceptives and imposition of restriction on marriage of Rohingya couples. Restriction on movement, even from one village to another within the same locality, on socio-cultural and religious activities, trade and business. Revocation of citizenship depriving the Rohingya of citizenship rights including the right to seek higher and professional education. Unbearable taxation on all agricultural produces and even on domestic livestocks like cattle, goats, fowls etc. Uprooting of villages and eviction of inmates creating internal refugees or making them to wander from place to place while causing refugee exoduses off and on in to the neighbouring countries. 9. Refugee exodus: As a result of physical extermination, ethnic cleansing operations, large scale persecution and uprooting of villages and eviction of inmates, there were unprecedented refugee influxes into Bangladesh once in 1978 and the other in 1991-1992 with constant trickle of refugee exodus all along.. About 1.5 million Rohingyas have so far been evicted from Arakan since the year of Burmese independence in 1948.

http://www.rohingya.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=27

Wa'laykum Salam.

The Salam Deficit.

Al Salamu 'Alaykum.

The salam deficit

UmmIbrahimIsa, sunniforum.com

Narrated `Abdullah bin `Amr (RA): A man asked the Prophet (SAW), “Whose Islam is good, or what sort of deeds of Islam are good?” The Prophet (SAW) replied, “To feed others and to greet those who you know and those who you do not know.”
(Bukhari, Book of Beliefs)

On that account, why is it that whenever we go anywhere, we only greet the people we know, without saying a thing to the other Muslims that walk by us? Or if you're in a masjid and people are ‘salaming’ each other, they only go to the people they know, and even if you pass on the salams to them with a ‘how are you?’, they give you an odd look, ignore you and walk away, or say 'are you talking to me?'

“Yes, I’m saying Assalamu alaikum. How are you?” They look at me like they don’t understand Arabic or like they don’t know how to say ‘salam’ or ‘how are you?’ Then they just give me this really odd look and walk away.

I think to myself, “why bother? I did my part.” Then I wonder, “was it my clothes? Were they wrinkly? Did they have a good scent or a bad scent? Was my hair showing or not showing for her not to respond? Perhaps she doesn’t like speaking to people that wear hijabs, or maybe it was because of my Bell’s Palsy. Perhaps she didn't know about my situation or maybe she didn't want to talk to a nice person like me because she thought I was a freak or something…”

Yeah, it hurts. But that's a part of life.

That happened to me for a reason. Allah's testing me to see how committed I am to Him and if I'm still remembering Him and believing in Him. Yet, yes still, I am. Others are being tested too by Allah to see how they handle this, and how they treat me, as to how I treat others with this test and to see how patient I am in dealing with it. It happens, and it's only for a little bit of a struggle.

But still, I would like people within my community, especially the aunties and uncles, to make me feel welcomed when I come to the masjid. Instead of me sending out a great greeting of salams, I would like a great greeting in return, instead of a silent nothing where they just mumble a ‘oh hello’ or say something like ‘Khuda Hafiz’… ‘OK, bye bye, go now...’

Whenever this happens, I remember this hadith (quoted above), and how we should greet people we know, as well as greet the ones we don't know. Because after all, the people you do know, you didn't know them before, and by you talking to them, you now know them. By greeting the ones you don't know, you make them feel welcomed, as well as follow the sunnah of the Prophet (SAW) in being kind towards your Muslim brothers and sisters.

Insha'Allah we can all remember this and benefit from this. The next time someone sends you  salams in a mall, on the street, at a halal restaurant, at a masjid or anywhere else, return their salams, whether you know them or not, as a smile is 100 times more pleasing than a sour face.
Allahu Alam.

Taken from: http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/showthread.php?114-Article-The-salam-deficit/page2

'Alaykum Salam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh.

Hijab Returns To Tunisia.

Hijab makes a return in Tunisia by Yvonne Ridley.

Something really wonderful happened outside the Tunisian Embassy in London the other day as a crowd of us gathered to continue the demand for justice in the people’s revolution.

I was standing next to a woman, and, with tears in her eyes she revealed she had been inside the embassy that morning to get passports for herself and her family. Her face looked vaguely familiar but I could not remember where we had met previously.

Just a few weeks ago she would not have been allowed to put one foot over the threshold but this time she was welcomed like a long lost daughter and given the red carpet treatment by the embassy staff – one even asked if she wanted to meet the Ambassador.

The more she talked the more I knew that we had met previously, but where?

Then we began speculating about the deposed dictator Zine el Abidine Ben Ali and his truly awful wife Leila who, we now know thanks to Wikileaks, fancied her chances of becoming the next leader of Tunisia when her ageing husband either stood down or expired.

We both laughed at the irony of the location of their current bolt-hole … Saudi Arabia, The Land of the Two Holy Mosques and wondered how Ben Ali and Leila Trabelsi were coping with hearing the athan, or call to prayer, five times a day.

They had banned the athan from being played on state television, shunned fasting during Ramadahn and dismissed the hijab as being a foreign import and not part of the Tunisian culture.

Let’s just say they made it up as they went along and if they wanted fatwas they would wheel out their tame and obliging $cholars for Dollars.

Ben Ali, a brute of a man who made words and phrases like torture, detention without trial, political and religious persecution commonplace in Tunisia, is also credited with ripping off the hijabs from the heads of Muslim women. He banned them from wearing their scarves in schools, hospitals and universities and other public places.

He saw that the Holy Quran was banned and desecrated in the cages and dungeons where prisoners of conscience are beaten if they dared to pray outside of allotted times.

His brutal regime brought in happy clappy clerics whose narcotic-style preachings in praise of Ben Ali and his corrupt government certainly had the desired effect … it drove God-fearing worshippers out of the mosques.

No wonder the Muslim youth no longer clamoured to get into masjids on Fridays to listen to these khateebs who spent half the khutbah praising the President and his followers.

To our Christian friends, put it this way – can you imagine sitting in a church pew listening to some vicar or priest urging you to thank God for Tony Blair, George W Bush or Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheyney? Exactly!

My sister and I both wondered how Leila would view having to wear a black abaya, all enveloping cloak and veil, every time she steps outside her new home in Jeddah. I’m sure the Saudi religious police will be on hand to give the former hairdresser some encouragement.

Of all the places in the world those two had probably expected to end up I think it’s a fair bet Saudi was no where near the top of their list as they boarded the flight from Tunisia.

In fact what wouldn’t I have given to see the expressions on their faces as the pilot delivered the bad news. Sorry, we can’t get clearance for London, Paris, New York, Monaco or Geneva but how does Jeddah sound?

It was Ben Ali’s barbaric actions and abuse of the most basic human rights which prompted me to first go and stand outside the Tunisian Embassy in London way back in November 2006 and protest in defence of our Tunisian sisters … and their right to practice Islam.

This man and his godless wife despised the religion of their birth so much and everything it represented that they did their best to turn the country in to a secular state.

Did they do it to please themselves or the western powers which courted them and pretended to be their best ever friends?

I remember in February 2009 driving through Tunisia with the Viva Palestina convoy encountering literally hundreds of Ben Ali’s henchmen who did everything in their power to stop us from praying and attending Friday prayers.

The horrified expressions on their faces when we stopped our vehicles in the middle of the road and prayed in the street is something I will remember for ever.

I recounted the tale to the sister outside the embassy and again we both laughed at the ultimate irony Ben Ali and the light-fingered Leila (she is reported to have looted 1.5 tons of gold as she fled) were now languishing in Saudi.

How poignant, having been shunned by their fickle friends in the West,  it was Muslims who came to their rescue. Forgiveness is a major element in Islam and while it is far too early for Tunisians to even begin to think about that F-word, the ex-president and his wife should be grateful that some Muslims are prepared to show them the sort of mercy Ben Ali and Leila could never show their own people.

Now that he, in particular, has time to reflect on the brutalisation of hijab-wearing sisters, practising brothers and human rights campaigners, I wonder if he will discover the beauty of real Islam and not the distorted, diluted version he tried to force on his people?

I turned to the woman outside the embassy and wondered out loud if Leila will ever discover the beauty of the hijab. The words were barely out of my mouth when I suddenly recognized this woman.

We had first met in 2006, outside the Tunisian Embassy in London, at a protest. She had told me at the time in graphic detail of her own detention, abuse and torture at the hands of Ben Ali’s thugs.

I will never forget her dramatic words back then as she said in a shaky voice: “I came to London with my hijab still in my pocket.” I remember being moved to tears by her story.

And now she is planning to return but with her head held high and wearing her hijab with pride.

http://yvonneridley.org/2011/hijab-makes-a-return-in-tunisia

'Alaykum Salam.