bilalsblog

Khanfar to run Man United

2011-09-25T05:05:00.001+03:00

Qatar has received confirmation that their offer to purchase Manchester United has been approved. Although the buyout is still currently confidential, sources involved in this deal are certain that Wadah Khanfar will replace Sir Alex Furgeson at the end of the season.

Manchester United has a greater support and following than Al Jazeera. Despite the role that the network has played in the Middle East. The source believes that the London Riots was the catalyst for these unseen events.

Speaking under strict anonymity, the source revealed that the London Riots highlighted that those [youths] were in desperate need of [training]. And thus the current series of events.

*this is not news - go to http://english.aljazeera.net for that

*words in [ ] have been changed for safety reasons

* the identity of the author is being protected cos he writes this during work hours, when he shouldn't.

#IbnNafis - twitter feed from talk on Muslim Scholar and Physician

2011-02-15T22:30:00.000+03:00

bilalr Bilal Randeree

#IbnNafis on his writings: If I thought my books would not be read for thousands of years to come, I would never have written them!

1 hour ago Favorite Reply Delete

bilalr Bilal Randeree

#IbnNafis was only recently credited with his discoveries in modern history by Meyerhof, 1933 and Binet, 1947 incl some others...

1 hour ago

bilalr Bilal Randeree

400yrs after #IbnNafis, Harvey (1657) described circulation of blood without mentioning Muslim discovery that he probably knew about...

1 hour ago

bilalr Bilal Randeree

Ideas of #IbnNafis spread to Europe- Servetus claimed discovery but was burnt @stake by church with his book tied to his leg for those ideas

1 hour ago

bilalr Bilal Randeree

#IbnNafis -lecture @laCigale by Dr Gehani for Thani Centre for Muslim Contribution to Civilisation, Faculty of Islamic studies. 12RabiulAwal

1 hour ago

caribbeanscot Mario M.

Très bien! || RT @s_a_cosgrove: RT @bilalr: #IbnNafis 13th century scholar who discovered how blood circulates in the body. // WOOT!

1 hour ago

s_a_cosgrove S A Cosgrove

RT @bilalr: #IbnNafis 13th century scholar who discovered how blood circulates in the body. // WOOT!

1 hour ago

bilalr Bilal Randeree

#IbnNafis 13th century scholar who discovered how blood circulates in the body.

Talk was held at La Cigale, Doha, Qatar and delivered by Dr Gehani on February 15, 2011.

More details here: http://www.qfis.edu.qa/files/pdf/Ibn%20Al%20Nafis.pdf

Twenty one one!

2011-01-03T17:33:00.000+03:00

Eish, its another year!
Been really neglecting this blog, mainly cos of work and comedy, but think I need to give it some life again. Is the age of blogging dead?
In the mean time, here is a little project that I hope to see through for this entire year - a pic a day blog:)
http://bilalr.tumblr.com/

Bilal and Comedy Tweetups

2010-10-16T11:56:00.000+03:00

Stand-up comedy was fairly new in Qatar until Bilal Randeree managed to create a local comedy scene in less then 5 months.

Bilal Randeree has been doing stand-up for the past 3 years - Before moving to Qatar, he performed in Johanesburg and London at open mic events. Upon his arrival to Doha, he realized that there was no comedy scene and decided to create one!

Watch him prepare for his 3rd comedy tweet up – meets ups for people who use twitter. Also catch up with Hanadi, Fahad and Mohammed who join his event and test out some of Ahmed’s tips in front of a new audience.

The meaning of Tweetups

2010-10-07T18:55:00.000+03:00

A tweetup, as far as I understand, is a meet up, that is organised primarily on twitter. A meeting place of people for no other reason but to meet new people and exchange ideas, thoughts and useful information.

When I arrived in Doha, I was surprised to find that people here generally lived in little islands – the scots hang out with the scots, the South Africans chilled out together, Brits got drunk together and the Arabs were only seen but not known – not just the Qataris, but all the Arabs, who also live in isolated communities.

So I was proud to see the change that Doha Tweetups is bringing. For example, Hanadi performed stand up comedy at Septembers Tweetup – probably the first time in history that, not just a Qatari, but a Qatari woman performed stand up comedy! She, together with a bunch of other Doha Tweeps(Tweetup people), then went on to perform at the TEDxDoha event.

What was really great during Hanadi’s first stand up gig at the Tweetup, was when she did this gag:

“Why you afraid to talk to us (Qatari women), to greet us and shake our hands like other people?! We (Qatari women) are not monsters you know!”

“Well, sometimes you are. Ask me, I’m married!” a Qatari man in the crowd chirped. That was hilarious. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect, and frankly, nobody else (if they dared to chirp like that) would have had the same funny reaction.

So, yes – Doha Tweetups is not just about having fun and meeting new people – it is an important space that this city did not have – a safe space, where people can come and meet new people, where you can share your heritage and history, your arts and culture, and most of all your jokes and chirps!

Stand up comedy has been a common theme at Doha Tweetups, but it certainly is not the only one. We have been comedy heavy, and October will be the same because of the continuing competition. But come along to the Oct Tweetup, enjoy the stand up comedy, and give us feedback on future themes and events. Or comment here!

Back to work

2010-10-05T13:03:00.001+03:00

Al Jazeera English
Originally uploaded by bilal.randeree

After an awesome few days of sipping tea and enjoying the view in Istanbul, I'm back in Doha and hard at work in the Al Jazeera English newsroom.

Building Stand Up in Qatar

2010-09-23T22:12:00.000+03:00

Since I moved to Doha 6 months ago, I've been trying to build up the comedy scene here. With not much appetite for comedy, we set up Doha Tweetups and made every second event a comedy event. Slowly, we've had new people trying comedy out, and the Tweetup has been growing. Here is a blog post from our new site that I recently did: http://dohatweetups.com/

I’m sure most of you have heard by now, but for the benefit of those that have not, here is some good news: three of the five finalists in the TedxDoha stand up comedy event are from Doha Tweetups!

Yes, me (Bilal), Hanadi and Fahad were all selected to perform again with Ahmed Ahmed – the winner after that event will then go on tour with him to at least 10 countries in the Middle East.

The other two finalists are great guys who’ve heard tons about Doha Tweetups and will be joining us at future events.

Keep on tweeting & be sure to invite all your friends and colleagues to future tweetups. We hope to find a bigger, better venue for future events, so watch this space:-)

30 Mosques in Joburg!

2010-08-27T11:58:00.000+03:00

Inspired by these guys: http://30mosques.com/

They really cool - having fun, doing something (somewhat) constructive, and packaging it quite nicely.

If I was in Joburg, I would do a 30 Mosques in one city! That must be some record I think - for a non-Muslim country...

So I'm going to try and get 30 Mosques mapped in as tight an area as possible - once there are no more Mosques to map, then will move on to add Jamaat Khana's and smaller prayer areas.

First requirement would be places that are performing Taraweeh Salaah.

I'm sure there will be 30 in central Johannesburg - if not more. Please give me address or GPS co-ordinates for those you know in Joburg - together with official name and website (lol) if possible.

Add more Mosques to this list by clicking the 'Add' button in the top right corner.

Here is the map:

Classic!

2010-08-19T15:03:00.000+03:00

from: mibuantar@yahoo.fr

ASKING A VISA FROM YOUR ORGANISM Please !!!

• Miburano.jpg
• Miburo1.jpg
Dear Head Master,
Again I come to your Office to ask you a Support for Visa
to come over there to your Country to work like some
Guys from here in our Country.
Let tell you that about the problems of War in the
Great lack my region, I stop all of my Activities and I would to continue over there if your help will reach to me.
About my Job I’m a Driver Tractor and Small Car, Convoy and
Other Jobs Here I have a Burundian Passport which I can easily
meet you if the Visa will come to me soon.
I see that to me the short way to join to you is to
travel through your way that’s the simple way which many
peoples use to attend their object..
Please Do your best to help me in that position. Allah
will bless you Inshaalah.

PS/ About ticket I’m ready for that only Visa is
needed because therein Dubai i have a relatve calling Mr BILALI with E mail bilosido@yahoo.ca and
Tel + 971506781892
By the name of Allah I hope that a good answer will come from your Organism.
Help me Please Amen !!!

Your’s MIBURANO BOSCO PO BOX 3711 BUJUMBURA II
E mail: mibuantar@yahoo.fr
17th street n* 31 BUYENZI
BUJUMBURA BURUNDI

Seeing green in Durban

2010-08-15T17:40:00.000+03:00

for Ramadan.co.za :

I have been fortunate (in a sense) to spend the first few days of Ramadan in Durban - its been many years since I spent Ramadan in this place, and its good and bad seems to be well intact!

Taraweehs with Mufti Menk are an interesting experience and a must for anyone in the city. I also tried out Riverside which was pretty much what can be expected from the local experience - its not often that I get to sample other Musallahs as I'm usually stationed on one specific one myself.

But being in Durban also gave me the opportunity to break iftar on the beach - a remarkably spiritual experience, as is always, with the cool sea breeze, the salty air and the sound of the waves. Coupled with a presentation of relevant sea verses from the Quran, it brought back good memories of the 'good ol days'.

Being here though has meant that I have been eating more meat than I have grown used to in the past few years. Last year I was mainly in Grahamstown, where we had our little tyre garden, bought regular fresh produce from local farmers and almost eliminated meat from our diets - for ethical reasons (I have written about some of it here).

But when I moved to Doha this year, I realised that resonsible consumption was not only about not eating meat - eating vegetables that were grown half way across the world, or that were 'manufactured' rather than grown, or that were grown or stolen land, etc, etc was not much better! That made me raise some questions in this blog post.

Following discussions with the 'old crew' over the past few days, I think the message I need to keep, and share with others, is simple - we need to have critical minds.

Whether being critical leads you to becoming a vegetarian, becoming a 'green' muslim/activitst, shopping with more thought and having a stronger conscience, curbing your consumption, being aware of unnecassary wastage, better planning your life so that you less pressed to rely on convenient-but-irresponsible options, etc - its up to you.

I will try to put together some tips about becoming 'greener' Muslim this Ramadan - after all, as they say - "Green was the Prophets favourite colour" (citation needed). But I'm sure as hell that its not 'profits' most favourite idea.

Dry as a desert

2010-05-16T09:46:00.000+03:00

I went to the supermarket the other day to buy an apple - they costs like 10 bucks each! I just wanted the fruit - not the immigrant labourer who picked the thing!

One thing about living in the desert - forces you to rethink lots of stuff.

I've been on a pseudo-vegetarian buzz for a while - not cos I'm a tree-hugging animal lover - but bcos I think there are strong and valid environmental arguments for eating less meat.

Now, while most Indian Muslims struggle to cut down - perhaps due to the confusion that not eating meat makes one more Hindu - my arguments and debates largely seem to have a positive influence.

But here in the desert, things are not so straightforward - for example, it might just be more environmentally friendly to eat beef from Iran, than it is to eat bananas flown here all the way from South America!

I will have to look into this and build up a new argument. In the mean time, have a look at these and let me know your thoughts: http://bilalsblog.blogspot.com/search/label/vegetarian

These pictures are from Amina's garden back in Grahamstown - carrots, spring onions, lettuce and dhania - growing stuff is something I miss about SA, and I'm still struggling to figure out if anything can be grown in this dust bowl....

Doha debating SA

2010-04-24T20:20:00.000+03:00

So its been a month in Doha already and I'm still slowly getting settled. All the admin with work is done and now need to find a base and a good mode of transport. Fortunate to have many good people around me, so a decent social life is promising.

Doha has quite a lot going for it - in recent days, Robert Fisk had the good fortune of meeting me, and so did many of the brilliant young film makers that came for the Al Jazeera Film festival.

Also happened to bump into Hamza Yusuf and Zaid Shakir who are in town raising funds for their Zaytuna college in the US. Interesting stuff...

I have been trying to practice my Arabic with whoever I can - didn't have to this week as the Aspire Musjid had a fair English lecture by Bilal Philips' regular replacement, or so they say. After Jumah though, the usual Quran radio station I have on in the car had an Arabic lecture.

The lecture of Shaykh Yusuf Al-Qardawi is aired on radio here. I was quite impressed when I heard him talking about South Africa (in arabic: Janoob Afrikiya) - from what I understood, he was explaining how Islam had spread all over the world, even to the tip of Africa. Muslims from traveled south from East Africa, others were taken as slaves from Indonesia and Malaysia, and he explained how the last batch came from the Indian sub-continent.

It was good. I wanted to open my car window and shout out to everyone - listen to the radio, he's talking about my country! He went through the history of how Islam developed, the first Musjid built in Cape Town, and how the direction to Makkah had to be changed once they were able to calculate it correctly. He mentioned how some Muslims seem to be so well integrated into society, and were doing an excellent job of showcasing what Islam was about.

But my shouting out the window idea died when he moved from the west of the country to the east - he said that Muslim women in Hijab are seen all over, in schools and universities, in offices and businesses. That they travel freely, both in the country and abroad. But many are not allowed into the Musjids!

I understood most of what he went on to say, but I didn't need to hear it. And we didn't need him to come and say it - Muslim women (and men) have been fighting for their right to be part of, and have access to, the Musjid environment - the Musjid which is meant to be the centre of the community, is only for men - as some/most SA men tend to think. Qardawi found that odd and spoke out, saying it was not right. But we didn't really need him to come to SA to say what most know already...

**update**

I see that I did get most of it right, as the newspapers here in Doha are reporting - like newspapers are expected to do, they have sensationalised his words a bit and kept most of the negative and very little of the positive, or so some say. Have a look for yourself:

Click here: http://mzan.si/Q7Fb

In Silence we Protest

2010-04-24T18:56:00.000+03:00

At 6am this morning over 1,000 men and women, students and teachers met at the sports hall to collect our T-shirts. This week was declared Anti-Sex Crimes week at Rhodes University and saw talks, exhibitions, discussions and protests throughout. These were all aimed at raising awareness around issues of rape and sexual violence, while highlighting the alarming statistics that exist.

There were 3 types of protests one could choose from:

1. Rape Survivor

2. Silent Protestor, and

3. Men in Solidarity.

I had signed up to be a Silent Protestor many weeks ago when news of this event had been released. Each protest t-shirt conveyed different messages. As a Silent Protestor, I was silenced with black tape, symbolic of my solidarity with survivors silenced by rape and sexual violence.

By the time I got there most of the t-shirts were handed out and everyone sat waiting for the silencing to start. We had rape victim survivors from the 1 in 9 campaign, the organisers, address us and thank us for the standing up and ‘speaking’ out. In line we stood and one by one were silenced with broad black tape placed over our lips.

Together everyone, in silence, made their way to the main administrative block. We filled the main entrance to the building and stood in the rain to give national press and photographers a chance to take pictures of us.

This powerful campaign has been held annually at Rhodes University for the fast four years. The number of people who were interested and made the effort to get involved was amazing and it makes a ‘loud’ (excuse the pun) and a very visible statement about sexual violence. This is by far the largest Anti – Sex Crimes protest Rhodes has ever seen. During the day we were to go about on task as normal, resisting the desire to talk and eat all day long.

Many people stopped and stared at us, not really knowing what to do or say. In an attempt to create awareness about the protest and explain what we were doing, we handed out fliers giving reasons for our protest. The flier read like this:

I am protesting today because:

Government statistics report that 55 000 women are raped in SA every year.

Medical Research Council statistics indicate that only 1 in 9 rape survivors go on to report the rape and of these, only 4% were successfully prosecuted annually.

These statistics translate to approximately 500 000 rapes every year.

There are approximately 24 million women in SA – which means that based on current statistics, if a women lives to be 50 years old she has an almost 100% chance of being raped at least once.

These numbers are unacceptable to me – they should unacceptable to you too.

Rape limits human potential. It silences people, makes them less than human, keeps them afraid and isolated.

Our silence today affirms our solidarity with the 8 in 9 women silenced by rape and sexual violence.

Freedom of Speech is denied to victims of sexual violence.

I call on all men to break the cycle of sexual violence. Stand up against sexual violence and help us create a world where women are truly equal, where they are free to walk where they want to, when they want to, wearing what they want to.

Until we achieve those goals – women will remain silenced.

We have a long way to go!

At 12:30 we again all assembled but this time on the road in front of the main admin block to have a DIE-IN. Each protestor found a spot on the road and was asked to lie down as though they had died. Traffic was obstructed and all those who came out for lunch were faced with protestors in their way. Together we had a moment of silence to ponder and reflect on the meaning and reasons for our protesting. It was perhaps the quietest protest I had been to.

The day was frustrating and had angered me at times. It was frustrating trying to communicate with people and the impatience people showed towards me was surprising. No words were spoken and no food was eaten. The sticky tape hurt my face and lips.

At 6pm we met again at the sports hall to break the silence and share a meal. As each person walked into the door they removed the black tape from their face with great relief. A debriefing was held to discuss the feelings and experiences from the day. A “take back the night” March was organised after supper and free entrance to a concert, the last of the week’s events, was held.

Thereafter my silent protest was over. -- Amina Ebrahim

3 weeks in Doha

2010-04-11T09:02:00.001+03:00

Al Jazeera logo
Originally uploaded by bilal.randeree

I can't believe how the past three weeks have disappeared - been getting used to working 10 hour, fast paced shifts and really enjoying it so far. Doha is ok really, not too much happening but just enough to not go insane. I guess living in Grahamstown last here makes it seem a bit better than it actually is..

Still a few things I need to get used to here in Qatar. Like getting into the wrong side of the car, or looking the other way when crossing the road! Been quite a few near death experiences.

Speaking about near death - even though petrol is only QR 0.80 a litre (about R1.60) - I actually ran out of it the first day I was driving here. Midday, on a busy main road, the car just switches off. Had to get out, push it through traffic and then find a garage. Filled a 5 litre tin for under R10!

It's Sunday morning now, and I've been at work since 6am - that is something else that I'm going to need to get used to...

View from my desk

2010-04-06T18:07:00.001+03:00

View from my desk
Originally uploaded by bilal.randeree

Look familiar? This is the Al Jazeera English news room

Wacky week in Doha

2010-03-27T12:12:00.000+03:00

Pic courtesy of omarsc View of the Fanar Centre from the Souq

So I've been in Doha for almost a week now. Came with very low expectations - not about life here, but about the archaic and insanely slow pace of things - most especially the administration. Its been an interesting week, catching up with old friends and making new ones, learning my way around and getting a feel for what the job is going to be like. There have been no major highlights yet, and my most spine chilling, blood boiling, infuriating moment was during the Jumah that I attended at the Fanar Centre. The finger waving 'angry imaam' had a massive audience of hundreds of English speaking expats from all over the world. This is some of the speech. So shocking it will leave you speechless:

This is a religious war. It is a conflict based on faith. This is based on ideology, on Aqidah.

Salahudin took an oath to not have any relations with his wife until he liberated al-Aqsa and he went and fulfilled this. People say that we don't need to fight, that we need to find nice ways of sorting this out - while they continue to occupy our lands, and our homes.

Very few people speak out, very few governments speak out. May Allah give those that do speak out the strength to continue.

We have a history with the Jews that didn't just start with the Balfour declaration and the Nakba. These very people used to make fun and mock the Prophet. These people even killed Prophets of God. They believe in books that say Rabbis have authority of God. They even say that to slap a Jew is to slap a divine being- they say that they are the chosen people. They think they are everything and everyone else is nothing. They believe that those outside their faith are filthy pigs. They are the ones who insult Jesus. These are teachings of Jews.

They wrap pages of Quran on heads of pigs throw them in al-Aqsa.

And if in some bizarrely unlikely case it is not clear that I totally disagree with this type of ideas and speech, I'd like to clear it up: this is not the messages that Muslims should spread or accept!

Green Muslims greening our Mosques

2009-12-18T18:07:00.000+03:00

The notes I used for the Jumah (Friday) lecture I gave at Musjidul Islam in Brixton on Friday 18 December 2009. Good response from the congregation and more thought/discussion definitely needed on the idea of 'greening' our Musjids! And just to be clear - that does not mean painting the domes and minarets green...
-----------------------
There is not an animal (that lives) on the earth, nor a being that flies on its wings, but (forms part of) communities like you. Nothing have we omitted from the Book, and they (all) shall be gathered to their Lord in the end. (HQ 6:38)

O ye who believe! Make not unlawful the good things, which Allah hath made lawful for you, but commit no excess: for Allah loveth not those given to excess.” (Al-Maa’idah: 87)

The UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen is attempting to secure a new international deal to cut the emissions of greenhouse gases, which most scientists blame for causing climate change. It ends today and from what the media is reporting, things don’t look that great for us and the planet.

Since the industrial revolution, humans have been putting ever more carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, through burning fossil fuels in power plants and cars, boats and planes, as well as by cutting down forests, growing crops and rearing livestock. These gases trap more of the sun’s heat and prevent it escaping into space. It’s a totally natural process which has remained balanced for hundreds of thousands of years - but scientists argue that humans are now upsetting that balance by putting more such gases in the atmosphere, trapping more energy and pushing temperatures up.

On the direst predictions, temperatures could rise by an average of 4C (7.2F) as soon as 2060, transforming the landscape of Britain. It would be possible to grow Mediterranean fruits in the South West, while melting polar icecaps would cause the sea level to rise, leading to flooding along the low-lying east coast.

If all this happened, many parts of the world would become uninhabitable. The sea could indundate the large deltas in areas of South East Asia like Bangladesh, displacing millions of people. Droughts would cause famine and floods destroy homes. Many species of animals and plants could die out as forests die back and fertile lands become deserts.

Sounds bad. What can we possibly do about it?

Most scientists - though not all - say we have to cut emissions, and fast. The IPCC reckons that the world must cut carbon emissions by half by 2050 to stand a chance of keeping temperature rise within a “safe” limit of 2C (3.6F). To achieve that, the developed world would need to make cuts of 80 per cent - and at least 25 per cent by 2020, says the IPCC. Poor countries would also be expected to take action.

The developing countries want money to help them switch from dirty fossil fuels, like coal, to clean technologies like wind and solar. They also want cash to prepare for the problems that climate change will bring, by measures like building sea defences against floods.

Is there anything I can do to help?

You don’t have to wear a hair shirt and move to a cave. There are relatively simple things people can do, such as switching off lights, turning down the heating and driving less. Eating less meat, which can cause global warming because of the methane produced by cows, is another.

Would cutting carbon emissions change my life?

Yes. Carbon taxes would increase the cost of electricity, and flying anywhere would become more expensive. However, on the plus side, pollution would be reduced, electric cars would be quieter and you might even discover a taste for tofu.

Islam is a beautiful religion that has always viewed animals as a special part of Allah’ creation. The Qur'an, the Hadith, and the history of Islamic civilization offer many examples of kindness, mercy, and compassion for animals.

Thanks to modern factory-farming methods, animals suffer hideously in the industries that kill them to produce meat, milk, and eggs. These products not only bring pain and suffering to the animals themselves, they are also implicated in a variety of human diseases, including cancer, heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes. The intensive production of animals for food is also extremely damaging to the environment.

How many of us eat meat three times a day – for breakfast, lunch and supper – and thing nothing of it.

There is no suggestion in the Quran or in any other of the Islamic sources that eating meat is good for physical or spiritual health. Islam's approach to the eating of meat is neutral. While it has left the choice to the individual, the Quran does urge those that do choose to eat meat, to do so in moderation.

Muslims in the past were semi-vegetarians. The Prophet was, technically, in that category. He was not a meat-eater. Most of his meals did not have meat in them.

And the proof of that is in the Muwatta—when Sayyidina Umar says, 'Beware of meat, because it has an addiction like the addiction of wine.'

And the other hadith in the Muwatta—there is a chapter called 'Bab al-Laham,' the chapter of laham, the chapter of meat. Both are from Sayyidina Umar. And Umar, during his khilafa, prohibited people from eating meat two days in a row. He only allowed them to eat [it] every other day. He saw one man eating meat every day, and he said to him, 'Every time you get hungry you go out and buy meat? Right? In other words, every time your nafs wants meat, you go out and buy it?' He said, 'Yeah, Amir al-Mumineen, ana qaram,' which in Arabic, 'qaram' means 'I love meat'—he's a carnivore, he loves meat. And Sayyidina Umar said, 'It would be better for you to roll up your tummy a little bit so that other people can eat.'"

As a Muslim, I often need to explain why I promote the curbing of meat consumption.

The hadith of the Prophet Muhammad caution against the pollution of rivers and seas. He also promoted planting of trees to curb deforestation and a hadith records that he kept an area a forest by saying: “Whoever cuts a tree here should plant a new tree instead.”

The Prophet was a man of the earth, totally against any form of wastage, over-consumption or cruelty. He expressed love for the earth and all its inhabitants – even the mountains. He said of the Mount Uhud near the city of Madina: “This is a mount which likes us; we also love it.”

If you study the modern meat industry, you will find out that a lot of the famine in the world is a direct result of the over-consumption of meat, because the amount of grain needed to produce 1 pound of meat, is 8 times greater.

Recycling – the amount of waste we generate that ends up in landfills is huge. Just making a conscious effort to reduce this will have a number of positive effects.

Mosques – our Musjids need to be green. But that I mean that the Musjid should take the lead in encouraging people to live more responsible lives.

Minarets not Islam...

2009-11-30T13:21:00.000+03:00

Minaret ban in a country that only has 4 minarets (Switzerland) – I don’t mind.
Islam is not in buildings. Buildings don’t do much for Islam.

But posters like this are scary. And plainly nuts!

Reminds me of these that I saw when I was there last year.

Green Muslims

2009-11-18T15:09:00.000+03:00

With roughly one-fifth of the world population being adherents to the faith of Islam, I thought it apt to highlight how this religion requires Muslims to behave with the environment.

The recorded sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (hadith) caution against the pollution of rivers and seas. He also promoted planting of trees to curb deforestation and a hadith records that he kept an area a forest by saying: “Whoever cuts a tree here should plant a new tree instead.” The Prophet was a man of the earth, totally against any form of wastage, over-consumption or cruelty. He expressed love for the earth and all its inhabitants – even the mountains. He said of the Mount Uhud near the city of Madina: “This is a mount which likes us; we also love it.”

The Muslim festival of Eid will be celebrated next Friday, 27 November. It involves commemorating the willingness of the Prophet Abraham to sacrifice his son, by slaughtering an animal. The actual purpose of the sacrifice is to create piety, devotion, obedience and submission to God. There are strict laws over the treatment of animals used for food from their rearing and breeding; the pre-slaughter; and handling during and after slaughter.

There is no suggestion in the Quran or in any other of the Islamic sources that eating meat is good for physical or spiritual health. Islam's approach to the eating of meat is neutral. While it has left the choice to the individual, the Quran does urge those that do choose to eat meat, to do so in moderation.

As a Muslim, I often need to explain why I promote the curbing of meat consumption. Here are some good reasons:

1. Environment - eating vegetarian is better for the environment. Too much meat consumption = too many farting cows = too much gasses being released into the environment.

2. Faith – as described above, the Prophet was an avid environmentalist and would probably not be pleased that tracks of forests are being cleared to make way for cattle grazing ground. Also, during his time people ate meat quite rarely, and were discouraged from gorging on it.

3. Suffering – unless you’re eating an animal that was humanely slaughtered by your father during Eid, there’s a good chance that your fried chicken was battery reared in terrible conditions.

4. Health – eating locally produced vegetables will leave you feeling healthier and happier. You’ll sleep better, wont need as much sleep and can lead a healthier lifestyle.

5. Change – having survived on a meat intensive diet for most of my adult life, switching to vegetables meant more creativity and excitement in my diet. Limited options of healthy vegetarian ‘fast food’ also means cooking myself more often.

Zuma, go to Copenhagen

2009-11-18T10:13:00.000+03:00

It takes only 20 countries to emit nearly 90% of the world's greenhouse gases. And South Africa is the only African nation amongst these 20.

South African President Jacob Zuma knows very well that the impacts of climate change will be devastating for Africa, as he reminded the world during his latest address to the UN General Assembly.

But Greenpeace has criticised our climate strategy for failing to focus on energy efficiency and failing to invest in renewable energy. Our strategy is currently based on expensive, unproven and unsustainable technologies such as nuclear and CO² dumping. This could change when the Climate Bill comes before South African Parliament in 2011 – if politicians are made to understand the importance of the issue and the science behind it.

Greenpeace has said that we can cut our emissions by more than 200 million tonnes by 2050 without sacrificing economic growth. This is enormous and what the climate treaty summit in Copenhagen would like to hear. In order to do this, we need to use energy more efficiently and increase our wind and solar power production, claim our green crusaders.

In the past few months South Africa has had widespread and violent service delivery protests – which is a nice way of saying that people, who have been deprived of basic services since the days of Apartheid, have reached their tolerance limits. Greenpeace argues that rather than following the “polluting path blazed by the West”, we can provide what people need “in a smart way - it's about smart development and smart energy.”

South Africa, and other developing countries, want rich countries to pay to help the poor get clean technologies. With Obama and Hu having recently declared their determination to tackle climate change together, Zuma needs to be there in Copenhagen to try and make sure a good deal is made. Sixteen other South African lawmakers were there last month, making up the largest delegation at the climate-change forum for legislators. At the last forum we had only one representative.

More than getting money from countries that got rich messing up the planet, Zuma needs to lead the way and commit South Africa to play its role in stabilising the world’s climate.

Photo: greenpeace

Last night in Joburg city centre

2009-11-12T14:03:00.000+03:00

Osama bin Laden is still my best friend in the whole world.

This was the writing on the wall. Trust stood in front this graffiti, having his soup and bread. He is from Zimbabwe and has been in Joburg for just over a year. He was a painter back in Bulawayo, but struggles to find work here in South Africa. The occasional ‘piece job’, off loading containers in the Newtown and Fordsburg areas, is what he depends on to survive. The weekly Wednesday night soup kitchens that are run by Paballo is his culinary highlight for the week.

Like the hundreds of other homeless people that live in Joburg’s city centre, he sleeps where he can. It’s not that bad now he said – things have improved since the harsh winter. All the ‘communities’ that existed since I first joined Paballo four years ago, have been split up. The abandoned buildings and properties where they had established themselves as communities, looking out and assisting each other, have all been reclaimed by the city administrators and owners.

The 2010 World Cup is coming and they want these homeless people out of the way so that the city can be poshed up for our many new international guests. Nobody seems to care where they go or what happens to them. I wonder if that has anything to do with why the person wrote that graffiti on the wall…

Zionists target Westerford School

2009-10-28T18:12:00.000+03:00

Westerford High School in Cape Town came first in the Sunday Times's Top 100 Schools project. The school achieved a 100% matric pass rate last year with 166 of its 168 candidates qualifying for university admission. Its a fair assumption that many future South African leaders will come from this school.

The school recently hosted a group of Israeli youth, the Shministim - Israeli high school students who have been imprisoned for refusing to serve in an army that occupies and terrorizes Palestinians. The South African Zionist Federation has since been invited to present "the alternative view" to the pupils.

What follows is my email exchange with the school. The school can be contacted on: admin@whs.wcape.school.za

Dear Principal Rob le Roux
I am writing to you with great concern.
Your school is a shining example of all that is right in this country, and this has been recently noticed by the Sunday Times recognising Westerford High School as the top state school in South Africa.
It is my understanding that the school recently hosted a group ofIsraeli youth, the Shministim, Israeli high school students who have been imprisoned for refusing to serve in an army that occupies and terrorizes Palestinians. Hosting this group was very much in line with your schools ethos of "respect, respect for oneself, respect forothers (including other beliefs and customs) and respect for possessions and property". The Zionists have absolutely no respect forthe lives, property or well-being of millions of Palestinians.
The South African Zionist Federation (SAZF) now seeks to discredit theimportant work that the Shministim have done. Prominent South African Jews, such as Ronnie Kasrils, have been outspoken against Zionism as a form of racism. The SAZF supports a state that Desmond Tutu says is"practising apartheid-style policies". Rabbi Weiss from the USrecently told South African audiences that, "Zionism is blatant racismand against true Jewish values".
Westerford hosting the SAZF is akin to the school hosting the Apartheid government to justify their rascist policies, during the dark days of Apartheid. I hope that the school decides not to host this racist organisation. If this has been the decision already taken, I apologise for sending this email out of turn.

His reply:

Dear Mr Randeree

Thank you for your email of concern and for your kind words about the school.

I firmly believe that one of the reasons for the success of the school is that we have fully integrated in all aspects and provide our children with a balanced education going way beyond the confines of the classroom. We encourage questioning and debate particularly with respect to current affairs.

Our HCA (History and Current Affairs Society) have been given the freedom (with educator intervention obviously) to choose whom they would like to invite to speak to the students.
When they requested to invite the Shministim group it was permitted as long as the
alternative view was also aired, hence the invitation to SAZF.

We do realise that it is bound to be controversial but we believe this is the
essential part of education that makes this such a great school.

Once again than you for taking the time to respond, I hope I have satisfied you that
we have matters under control.

Yours sincerely

R le Roux
Principal
Westerford High School
Rondebosch

My reply:

Dear Mr R le Roux

Thank you for you prompt response.

I understand your perspective and it is indeed a difficult situation that the school now faces in dealing with this racist organisation. I am sure the pupils at your school are astute and knowledgeable enough to see through the lies that the Zionist Federation will undoubtedly try to express to them.

However, in terms of the Palestine-Israeli issue, both the Shministim and the South African Zionist Federation (SAZF) both reflect only one side of the debate: the Israeli side. Their debate and differences are an internal Israeli debate and presenting both these views to your students, is essentially giving them an incomplete picture - the Palestinian side is being ignored.

If the SAZF is indeed permitted to address the pupils at Westerford, then I hope that the school will also be willing, in the interests of listening to all sides - to host a Palestinian or a Palestinian solidarity activist as well.

There are many activists in Cape Town (Ronnie Kasrils for example) that will be more than willing to present the other side of the Palestine-Israeli issue. Please feel free to contact me for the details of any of these people.

I look forward to your response in this regard,

Yours sincerely

Bilal Randeree
Independant freelance
journalist
South Africa

Pink Hijab Day

2009-10-21T09:46:00.000+03:00

Support a good cause by wearing a pink scarf on Global Pink Hijab Day 2009. The day focuses on the importance of being conscious of breast health.

The Muslim Professionals Network and ABSA Islamic Bank are running a campaign this year in South Africa - are you a sister (or brother) in the workplace that will like to get involved? Please let me know asap!!

The aim is to raise awareness of breast cancer nationally and women across all cultures are invited to participate. Please join Pink Hijab Day 2009 in South Africa and around the world....
Click here for more information..

African continent united for the environment

2009-10-15T17:17:00.000+03:00

Africans have come together to demand that wealthy countries take responsibility for messing up the planet. Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said that Africa demands equal partner status at the global climate summit to be held in Copenhagen this December.

“Africa will not be there warming the chairs or making token statements,” Zenawi said. Africa has contributed the least to global warming but is potentially its’ worst victim. Burkina Faso's environment minister, Salifou Sawadogo, said that $65billion dollars in reparations are needed to just deal with the effects of climate change. “We are all on the same planet so there is a duty of solidarity to help the most vulnerable countries, like we are, implement policies to adapt to climate change," he added.

The reparations need to be paid by the G-8 countries which comprise of the seven major industrialised nations and Russia. These countries make up about 14 % of world population, but are responsible for more than 65% of the world’s economic output, and the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions.

The developing world could suffer 80% of the damage due to climate change reported the World Bank. The African Union reports that the entire African continent only accounts for about 3.8% of global economic output, while the USA on its own is responsible for over 26%. Reason enough for President Obama to carry his shiny new Nobel medal to Copenhagen – these facts might remind him that the prize equals justice.

Oxfam reports that over 23 million people across East Africa are facing critical shortages of food and water following successive years of failed rains and worsening drought. Experts also report that sub-Saharan Africa is one of the worlds regions most affected by global warming.

While Africans remain committed and optimistic, Saudi Arabia has wacky ideas of its own. The Saudi’s are trying to convince other oil-producing countries to demand compensation from wealthy countries that intend to reduce their oil consumption. Yes, you heard right. The Saudis want other countries to PAY THEM if they decide to stop killing the planet.

“It is like the tobacco industry asking for compensation for lost revenues as a part of a settlement to address the health risks of smoking,” said one expert. Oil prices peaked last year, swelling the Saudi’s oil revenue by 37 percent to $281 billion. That is more than 4 times the amount of reparations that Africa needs.

“If needs be, we are prepared to walk out of any negotiations that threaten to be another rape of our continent,” said Zenawi.

15 October 2009 was Blog Action Day

A basic guide to Islamic finance

2009-10-02T14:13:00.000+03:00

Q & A - FINANCE - Faith-based lending - A guide to the growing Islamic finance industry - Islamic financial institutions are those that comply with Sharia, a set of laws from the Islamic faith.

Conventional financial products that charge, pay or have any element of interest are generally excluded, but Islamic banks are able to structure various Sharia-compliant contracts to offer a range of products that closely mirror those of conventional finance. A commonly used mode of Islamic finance is Murabaha, which is cost plus financing. This is commonly used for vehicle and home financing.

Simply, the bank buys the item, adds a profit and then sells it to the buyer with fixed instalments over a fixed period.

For home financing, a common mode is Musharakah, which is a partnership between the bank and the client. The house is bought together, and the buyer pays rent for that portion of the home value that the bank still owns. Over time, the buyer pays out the bank and in doing so continuously reduces the rental amount due.

While Sharia-compliant finance is a tiny percentage of conventional finance, interest in the field continues to grow globally. The collapse of many conventional financial institutions has prompted economists to consider alternative financial solutions and new approaches to banking.

A report by Asian Banker states that despite the financial crises, Islamic banks’ assets climbed by 66% last year and according to ratings agency Moody’s, the sector is worth US$700bn. International consulting firm Oliver Wyman estimates that by 2012, these assets will reach 1,6 trillion. Professor Habib Ahmed from Durham University in the UK said that the sector has grown by 15% to 20% per year for the past few years.

“There is a lot of interest at the moment. People are looking for alternatives after the economic crisis,” he added. Professor Rodney Wilson, also from Durham, claims that no Islamic bank failed during the financial crises and none have needed government funds to save them from collapsing.

Islamic finance products are available globally from Islamic financial institutions, but many conventional banks also offer Sharia-compliant products. Al Baraka Bank in SA is an Islamic bank and conventional banks, including ABSA, First National Bank and Stanlib offer Sharia-compliant products. Globally, Lloyds TSB, HSBC, Deutsche Bank and Citibank all offer Sharia-compliant products.

The fundamental difference between Islamic and conventional banking practices is that Islamic banks do not charge interest. Rather than borrowers and lenders, the system is supposed to be based on buyers and sellers. Business lines prohibited in Sharia include conventional finance, alcohol, pork-related products, gambling, pornography and weapons manufacturing.

“Conventional banking is biased to the seller,” said Islamic finance scholar Aly Khorshid. “People think the Islamic system is based on faith, but it’s based on justice for the two parties. How you get to the justice is extracted from Islamic faith,” he said.

Though the Financial Times cites evidence that suggests “what happens in the world of conventional finance affects the Islamic financial world with a time lag”, popular opinion is to the contrary. Daud Abdullah at Deloitte expects double digit growth in global Islamic finance in the next few years.

But the growth of Islamic finance has brought its own problems.

“Islamic banks are also driven by profit and sometimes that can dominate the ethics,” said Ahmed. Critics say some banks use Islamic finance to package what are essentially conventional products. Industry commentators Tarek el-Diwany and Haitham al-Haddad argue that it is partially just a soft version of the conventional system.

These allegations raise serious questions around Islamic finance’s ability to be a viable alternative. Besides the fact that Islamic investment funds tend to invest in better performing companies by avoiding investing in companies that are heavily indebted with interest-based loans, a close look at the industry explains the reasons the industry is better performing. Islamic banking, primarily in the Gulf where it’s predominantly based, benefits from the cash inflows of oil revenue, and is relatively smaller than its interest-based counterpart.

These characteristics allow the industry to deal with problems quicker and without huge public bailout packages. According to El-Diwany and Al-Haddad, if the industry continues to develop the way it has, it will suffer from the same systemic problems as the conventional system.

They call for a total reconsideration of the objectives, frameworks and methodologies of the modern Islamic finance industry before it is presented as a viable alternative.

This article first appeared in FM campus: http://www.fmcampus.co.za/features/article.aspx?id=1069264

Grahamstown Moli

2009-09-29T16:18:00.000+03:00

Grahamstown Moli saab: From Russia to Israel to Joburg to Azaadville to India and Pakistan!

Maulana Amir Sherman has been living in Grahamstown for almost two years. He was born in Yahud, a city in Israel in 1973.

“My parents were from Russia and had immigrated to Israel the year before I was born,” he said. They lived there for 12 years and then moved to South Africa in 1985.

“I was schooled in Johannesburg and went to Technikon there where I studied many things – mechanical engineering, computers and electronics. I also used to do tricks on horses for the circus.
While at Technikon I met Muslim friends whom I became very close to. We used to smoke, drink, take drugs and womanise together,” he reminises.

In the 10 years they were friends, he would occasionally accompany them to the mosque for prayers on Fridays.

“They used to speak about the practical aspects of Islam - cleanliness, shaving of pubic hair, prayer and so on.They also told me that Moses, the Jewish prophet, was mentioned more in the Q'uran that the Prophet Muhammad himself,” he said.

“They were not practising Muslims but what attracted me to them was that they had warm hearts, good characters and when I was high on ecstasy, they used to comfort me.”

When his parents got divorced, his dad moved back to Israel and his mother and sister moved to Germany. He was 25 years old at the time and moved in with one of his Muslim friends who was living in Johannesburg.At this point he started asking himself questions about life and death and what happens to a person after they die. He wanted to worship but had no Jewish friends to show him how to pray.Sherman was then employed by one of his friends who ran a business selling, among other things, air fresheners.

“This friend of mine then went on the straight path, grew a long beard and started wearing a robe. I used to be with him most of the time and visited the mosque with him,” he said.

In this way he was invited to Islam, after returning from missionary work in the Indian sub-continent.
“My friend saw that I was inclined to Islam as I visited the mosque with him regularly.

He said to me that I needed to choose whether I wanted to remain a Jew or become a Muslim,” said Sherman.

“He also said that whatever I choose, he would still be the same friend to me and this touched my heart.”
“I decided that I was ready to become a Muslim and said to myself that if there was anything I didn’t like, I could always turn back,” he says of the time.

He then became a Muslim in June 1998 and joining the missionary work that his friend was involved in. It was here that he met a group of Maulanas (Islamic scholars) who had just returned from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
“I spent 40 days with them and this was the best time of my life,” he said. “I saw these scholars standing and preaching and prayed in my heart that that was what I wanted to do with my life,” he said.

When he returned from the missionary work, he joined a Muslim seminary school in Azaadville near Johannesburg. He studied there for seven years and then went on missionary work in the Indian sub-continent. There he met an American born Muslim man living in Pakistan that had a Jewish father and Christian mother. Sherman married this man's daughter while he was in Pakistan and moved back to South Africa with his new bride.

On his return to South Africa in December 2006, he worked at a motor spares shop in Johannesburg during the day and taught Muslim children in the afternoons. In March 2008 he moved to Grahamstown where he engages in some social work during the mornings and teaches Muslim children in the afternoons.

“I lead the prayers and I am a spiritual leader for the Muslims here,” he said. He feels that the Muslim community in Grahamstown is growing with people moving here from other places and some locals embracing Islam.

“I like Grahamstown. It is very peaceful and green and the people here are kind, hospitable and helpful,” he said.

This article first appeared in Grocott's Mail: http://tinyurl.com/gtwnmoli

Eid in The Hague (& later Copenhagen)

2009-09-21T01:55:00.000+03:00

After the wonderfully different iftaar I met with Asma, a Dutch woman who stars in a local TV show “Girls of Halal”, and Zana from Sweden who is an organizer of major Islamic and other events. We went to pray the last Taraweeh at an Indonesian Musjid in West Amsterdam but we got there a bit late and the doors were locked. We then quickly rushed to another nearby Musjid where the three Imaams recited beautifully.
After Taraweeh, even though it was getting late, we decided to visit a third friend, Faisal, in Den Haag, or The Hague, a 40 min drive from Amsterdam. We chatted Muslim society and politics the whole time and before we knew it we were outside Faisals house. He took us down to the beachfront where we had some good discussion.

Having not slept the well on the plane the previous night, I was knackered. Fell asleep in the car on the way back to Amsterdam and only got up when we reached my hotel. I knocked out and had a solid sleep till late Saturday morning.

Caught up with some emails and admin when I woke up and then went out to explore Amsterdam. This was my second visit to this tourist filled city so I was quickly bored and returned to my hotel room after a short excursion. Checked out of the hotel and walked to the central station where I was picked up by Asma. We took Zana to the airport to catch his flight to Sweden and from there I took a train to The Hague. Met with Faisal who took me to visit a good Jordanian friend of mine working at the ICC. Spent the afternoon with him and then went to a local Indonesian Musjid for the last ifar of Ramadan 09. On the way I got a call from Islamonline radio where I discussed my experiences.

We arrived at the Musjid as Maghrib azaan was going and the atmosphere was amazing. From the foyer to the building, people were bustling all over the show. Young and old, males and females, mainly Indonesians and a few others were breaking fast with delicious Indonesian goodies. It was strange to see Indonesians all speaking to each other in this Afrikaans sounding language. In no time I was stuffing my face and chatting to many of the friendly young people there. Everybody filed upstairs to the Musjid area to pray, men from the front of the hall and women from the back. After Maghrid Salaah the Takbir was melodiously recited in a manner that reminded me of Cape Town. I suppose many Muslims in Cape Town have similar Indonesian roots. What also really impressed me was that after prayer everyone lines up and greets everyone else – but men and women separately of course.

More delicious food was served after the prayer and I chatted to a Dutch revert, married to an Indonesian, who was an active “Green Muslim”. His group arranged regularly for the slaughter of have animals that are organically reared and well treated. He felt, and I totally agree with him, that Muslims need to be at the forefront of the movement promoting conscious and ethical consumption. Rounding the meal off with good strong coffee and delicious ginger tea, we joined the takbir recitation before the Esha prayer.

After prayer we headed to Faisals home where I spent the night. His family was really warm and welcoming and we were up till late talking. Had a hard time waking up for Fajr and then again for the Eid prayer. I’ve experienced Eid in a few different countries in the past few years and one universal Eid experience is the rush in the morning to shower and get done in time for the prayer! Even though it was only 9am here (compared to 6.30am in SA) we were still quite panicky and rushed and just made it to the hall in time.

The Eid prayer was hosted by an organization called Minhajul Quran and was almost totally Pakistani. I obviously couldn’t understand the Imaam during his Khutba, not becaues he spoke in Dutch but because it was in Urdu. Someone from the Pakistani embassy was a VIP guest and hence was given a few minutes to address the crowd. Anyone who knows Pakistani politics, would appreciate this more. After prayer we greeted hundreds (ok, but it was a lot) of people and then left. On the way to the car we stumbled across another little Musjid on the corner close by. Faisal spoke to people there who explained that it was a fairly new center for people of Indonesian decent who came from Surinam. There is a special Dutch word for them too, as they are very different from the immigrants who came straight from Indonesia. I guess its like the difference between someone like me and someone from India moving to London.

The rest of the day was a constant buffet feast. We moved around a bit and ate loads wherever we went, often not by choice. Before I knew it it was time to pack my bags and head for the airport so that I could spend the rest of Eid in Copenhagen.

Typed this out while waiting for my flight. Made a mistake of sitting near the escalator, so the Dutch voice is stuck in my head now: Mind your gap!

Ramadan in Amsterdam - Pics

2009-09-20T02:22:00.000+03:00

Click here for more pictures from my trip...

Ramadan in Amsterdam

2009-09-19T19:31:00.000+03:00

The BA flight from Port Elizabeth to Joburg had an incredible amount of leg room - I could have sat a fat person on my lap and still had more place! I guess I have been flying kulula and 1time way too much the past few months...
The plane left before sunset and I was then confused about what time to break my fast - coz the higher you go, the more of the sun you can see right? Well, waited for it to disappear beyond the horizon and then whipped out the tupperware of pies that my wife had equipped me with - there were loads there, shared it with fellow passenger and there was still left over. And that was only the first of two tupperwares.I then felt really guilty when the whole plane was smelling of delicious home made pies as the bland airport food was being distributed.

Met up with some of the boys at the airport while waiting for my international flight. But as they were leaving and I was trying to get through passport control, I got stopped:
"What is the liquid in your bag?" asked the lady looking at the weird xray screen?
"I got no liquids," I said. They then proceeded to empty my bag and the whole area filled once again with the smell of delicious home made pie.
"What is this?" she asked, holding up a purple gift pack of bubble bath and perfumed stuff.
"Erm, oh that! Its a gift for my wife's friend," I said, kicking myself for not packing it away with my check in luggage.
"You can't take this with you," she strenly informed me.
"What? Why? It's just shampoo and stuff!" I struggled.
"But it could be a bomb!"
With all the travelling I've done, this was the first time I had been stopped for carrying purple bubble bath and smelly girly stuff! Thought I'd just throw it away and tell the wife's friend to say she got it, but didn't want to risk any disaster by doing that. Called the boys back and was going to send it back home with them, but then I managed to get another bag and checked it in. An hour later, I was sorted out and going back through airport security. Managed to get a few minutes in the airport lounge - I have free access so have to make use of it - and then was one of the last passengers boarding the plane. It was a good thing I did online sear reservation as I was able to sit right in front of the plane.

The KLM flight was quite average - I think I'm too used to travelling with Emirate and the other fancy Arab airlines - and I was quite unimpressed. Didn't manage to get much sleep becoz my back was aching, so I twisted and turned the whole night. By sehri time, or what I thought was sehri time, I had actually fallen asleep. Was bummed when I woke up but decided to take advantage of my traveller status. Landed in Amsterdam and got stopped between the plane and the airport by some security.
Guard: "What are you doing here?"
Me: "Nothing much hey."
Guard: "What? Do you have a visa? Show me your passport."
Me: "Here you go."
Guard: "So what will you do in Amsterdam?"
Me: "Think I'll go look for a Mosque now and some Muslims. But nothing else planned. Anything interesting or fun that I should know about?"
So even though I was the one of the first out of the plane, most people had gone past me while I explained to this genius that I was actually enroute to a conference in Denmark and was just stopping over for 2 days in Amsterdam. I told him that I would be visiting friends and spending Eid here before flying to Copenhagen.
But that was not the last of it. Got stopped at airport control again and then after the baggage collection again. All the same line of questioning and same attitudes. And I had fun annoying the hell out of all of them - they're quite suprised if you not all nervous and shivering when they giving you this big scary security personnel attitude..

Eventually managed to get train tickets and get onto the train to Amsterdam central. Sat near two Syrian women who were speaking in that wonderful Syrian dialect about how the young girls don't wear Hijab anymore and the other juicy gossip. Sitting there and listening to them brought back at the wonderful memories of last Ramadan in Damascus.

After eventually finding the hotel I was booked in, I found out it was the wrong one. The one I was in was through the flower market, along the canal on my right and then across the bridge. I didn’t have much luggage for my short stay so the hot weather didn’t get to me that much. Checked in at the correct hotel and then asked the guy behind the counter, Abdurrahim, to direct me to the closest mosque for Jumah. We googled it and he pointed it out on the map, claiming that it was a mere 15min walk. Over 30mins later, and when I noticed more beards, hijabs and graffiti filled walls, I knew I was near the Mosque. I was pleasantly surprised at how big it was and the number of people there. At least a thousand or even close to two I would guess. The imam was giving the lecture in Arabic but it was quite simple and I understood most of it. I can’t remember when last I heard a Jumah lecture that was actually enjoyable and that didn’t leave me frustrated and disappointed. Ok, maybe not disappointment coz I guess you can only disappointed if you any expectations to begin with.

After Salaah there were some announcements about Eid, in Arabic, and I was about to ask the brother next to me to translate them, when he asked me the same thing. Mohammed from Ghana was new to Holland having lived and worked in Spain for the past few years. We then both asked Bilal, a Dutch of Moroccan descent, who explained the times that Eid prayer would be. Chatted to these two brothers for a bit and then headed back to the hotel.
On the way I stopped at a place called the 1%Club. Anna, the founder, was at the Highway Africa conference in Grahamstown two weeks ago, but we were both so busy that we never had chance to talk. We discussed the 1% model in their small and funky offices: they try to get people to donate 1% of their earnings or money and then match these funds with various social initiatives around the world. I found it quite interesting and explained to her the similarities between their ideas and the Islamic pillar of Zakaah – a compulsory 2.5% tax that Muslims are required to annually pay to the poor. I plan to get more involved with them and will be discussing them again soon. Made use of the internet there and then headed back to the hotel to shower and freshen up.

A Palestinian-Dutch friend of a friend arranged to pick me up for iftaar. We went to a community centre that hosted an interfaith iftaar with people of all backgrounds and faiths. A representative from the local municipality, a women’s group and a Muslim guy gave brief lectures. The food was good – arab salad, arab rice, kibbeh & those vine leaves wrapped with rice. Then we had nice arab sweets – it was like almost being in an Arab country, but everyone around me was speaking this Afrikaans sounding language. The meal was wrapped up with a very different kind of whirling dervish and then I headed to find a mosque to pray in with some other friends.

This is as far as this train ride allows me to write. My stop is coming up but I'll write about the rest of my journey the next time I make use of this extremely efficient and comfortable public transport system.

Women attending the Eid prayer

2009-09-16T13:23:00.000+03:00

Fatwa from Darul Ihsan Islamic Services Centre issued by Shafiq Jakhura:

Whether or not it is correct for ladies to attend the Eid Salaah?

A narration of Umme Atiyyah (R.A.) indicates that in the time of Rasulullah (s.a.w) females would come out for the Eid prayer and participate therein. (Tirmidhi)

However, Hazrat Aisha (R.A.) mentions that if Rasulullah (s.a.w) was present among us to see what the ladies were doing (adornment-wise), he would most certainly have prevented them from attending the Musjid just as how the ladies of the Bani Isra’eel were prevented (Sahih Bukhari).

In other words, during the time of Rasulullah (s.a.w), firstly there was less chance of evil and sin and secondly, women would come out without any form of beautification. Therefore they were permitted to attend the congregational Salaah. However, after the time of Rasulullah (s.a.w) women gradually began to beatify themselves when leaving the home and the chances of evil and sin spreading also increased.

Hence, they should no longer attend the congregational prayers and if Rasulullah (s.a.w) were present in that time he would have most certainly prevented women from attending. Hence, the fatwa of the latter jurists is that it is not correct for women to attend the congregational prayers, whether they are the daily prayers, Jumuah or Eid.

Imam Tahaawi (R.A.) has mentioned that the reason for permitting women to attend the Eid was to show the number of Muslims to the enemies of Islam. This reason and wisdom no longer exists in our times.

There has been a difference of opinion among the Scholars with regards to females attending the Eid prayer. Some have permitted females attending the Eid prayer under all circumstances, whereas other Scholars have prohibited this under all circumstances. On the other hand, other scholars are of the view that young females are prohibited from attending the Eid prayer, whereas the elderly are not prohibited.

Nevertheless, according to the overwhelming majority of Scholars, it is not permissible for a young female to attend the Eid Salaah. This is in keeping with the verse of the Holy Quraan, wherein the Holy Quraan commands females to remain in their homes. The reason for this prohibition is that the coming out of such young females could become a cause of spreading immorality in the society. This is especially clear in our times.

Question relating to above from Quraysha Yousuf:

Re your circular stating the majority of scholars deem it impermissible; this is not true as the majority of the Muslim countries worldwide have Eid salaat for women. Please clarify which majority you are speaking off?

2) In the Quraan, Allah mentions the words of the Prophet SAW "today I have completed your religion for you", hence to assume any actions other than the ones the Prophet SAW has deemed appropriate to leave behind as his final sayings, is to go against the Prophet's testimony that he has completed the deen for us. The Prophet SAW predicted many severe fitna and especially from
women and their dress, are you implying that in spite of knowing these prophecies he 'failed' to predict the 'harm' of women attending the mosque?

Perhaps you might consider the Prophet's greater wisdom than ours, he knew of many of the women's fitnas to come, yet he clearly stated more than once, 'do not prevent them.' And all the Khaiphs, the Ummayds and Abbasids all continued in this practise, only South Africa and a few isolated societies prevent it, so how do you define majority?

Mxit'ing with addicts (by addicts)!

2009-09-07T11:32:00.001+03:00

I first found him on twitter and then tracked him down through his
blog, where I found him online so I chatted using the chat function.
Marlon Parker, lecturer at Cape Peninsula University of Technology
(CPUT) is a social entrepreneur who is using technology to empower
communities.
Re-constructed Labs (RLabs) is an initiative that came out of the
impoverished Cape Flats area in Cape Town. With 80% unemployment, the
community suffers from serious drug and gang related issues. “My
brother was involved with drugs and gangs and is currently in prison,”
Parker said, explaining his personal interest in this project.
“We have developed a system that allows us to have conversations on
various mobile chat platforms – Mxit, The Grid and even twitter”, he
explained, “With this we transform, or re-construct, ex-gang members
and drug dealers who use social media to express their stories and
help others.” They started off using blogs to share their experiences
and this has evolved through the use of the other mobile chat
platforms.
Started early last year, already 10,000 people have used the service
and at least 600 have got help and gone on to the next level of
further offline counselling said Parker. “We have 19 advisors and
offer drug counselling and advice.” He explains that the challenge is
to get the mainstream media to listen to the community. In this short
time, he says they have had at least 50 articles written about this, 3
television appearances and more than 20 radio interviews.
“We now also offer debt counselling, Aids counselling and advice for
women in the community who suffer from abuse,” he said. Together with
the organisation Cell-Life, they offer counselling for those with Aids
through the National Aids Helpline.

Racism still haunts Rhodes

2009-09-04T16:18:00.000+03:00

Rhodes Rejects Racism. Posters and stickers with this slogan were
spread widely around the university this week, following
Vice-Chancellor Saleem Badat's call for action against racism. The
call by Badat, for members of the university community to acts against
racism, was prompted by a racial attack against University Professor
Fackson Banda and his family. Banda and his family were driving
through the university during the Inter-Varisty weekend when a Rhodes
student allegedly shouted the racial insult ‘Niggers’ at them.

Badat was "hugely distressed by this despicable behaviour" and called
for a series of activities starting from Monday 24 August, to promote
“human dignity, human rights, equality, non-sexism and non-racialism
at Rhodes”. Ribbons, posters and stickers were distributed throughout
the university along with a circular from Badat, and lecturers were
asked to have discussions on the issue.

Professor Jen Snowball was one of the lecturers who heeded the call by
handing out copies of the circular to approximately 800 of her
students. "Although there wasn't much discussion, the majority of
students listened to the explanation of what had happened," she added.
Adrian Visagie, a computer science student, wore a ribbon and said,
"Racism is so close minded, it not thinking. Campaigns likes this make
people aware that racism is there."

Professor Alan Kirkaldy issued a statement on behalf of the National
Tertiary Education Staff Union (NTESU) condemning racism and extended
it to sexism and homophobia. The statement condemned the "sexist
slogans on a number of the overalls worn by Rhodes students" during
Inter-Varsity, as well as the alleged homophobic attack which resulted
"in a student being stabbed in the neck by a broken bottle". Kirkaldy
said that the university has very good policies on racism, sexism and
other forms of discrimination, "but is sometimes not rigorous in
implementing, perhaps due to the fear of bad publicity." He said that
the campaign has been quite well received, but he has heard concerns
from students about the university's commitment to change.

Banda expressed his appreciation for support and solidarity and said
that the campaign has been well recieved. "This campaign can't solve
the problem of racism but it will help," said Banda. "This is not an
isolated incident. Many people suffer from racism and they must be
able to report it without feeling that it will be swept under the
carpet." He feels that the university has shown strong leadership in
responding and this has allowed people to express what lay dormant in
their minds about all forms of discrimination. "For me this was about
democracy and education. During their university years students are
meant to cultivate the values of democratic citizenship - tolerance,
respect, civility, non-racism, etc. - that they will need to live
their adult lives successfully in a multicultural setting."

The SRC and Sports Council joined other student and academic groups in
condemning all forms of discrimination. "Our objective remains to have
sport at Rhodes be a
medium for genuine integration and promotion of social cohesion of
various peoples," said the Sports Council statement.

Vuyo Sileku, a chemistry student, said that "campaigns have been going
on for ages. How long are we going to have campaigns for? How long are
we going to keep wearing ribbons and stickers?" He said that there are
deeper issues that need to be tackled but nobody was willing to tackle
them. "People are criticizing this campaign now. Racism won't end at
Rhodes until mindsets change," he added.

A student, who wished to remain anonymous, said that while this
campaign is a positive step, the university is "still reluctant to
make real changes". She said that Rhodes has come a long way from
being a traditionally white university, but many are still unhappy.
Last year, the South African Students' Congress (Sasco) called for the
name of Rhodes University to be changed, because of its connection to
British colonialist Cecil John Rhodes. "Rhodes was a mass murderer and
a racist," said Kirkaldy who is a history professor. "I had a guest
visiting here who was astonished that there is still a residence
called Jameson House." The Gender Action Committee at Rhodes is trying
to remove portraits of "old white men" from the university's council
chambers, but is facing massive resistance from lecturers and some
students. Kirkaldy said that the art on display at the university
should also "reflect a commitment to change". "People have to know the
good and the bad about these people who's names and faces are still
part of the university today. Most student don't know who Rhodes was -
they think he was just another diamond miner."

But Banda said that the issues of renaming have always been a part of
a larger debate on campus and must not crowd out the more important
issues on hand.

This article first appeared in the Grocott's Mail - http://bit.ly/WKcTU

More clear evidence

2009-08-27T22:19:00.000+03:00

Here are more pictures from Europe.
These dates are being sold all over and because it doesn't say Israeli Dates anywhere on it, they are getting past boycott efforts in Europe.

Jordan International is a brand name for Hadiklam. See: http://www.hadiklaim.com/buyers_brands.asp

Karsten Farms and Produce of South Africa is all over the box.

Until Karsten Farms cuts all ties and publicly announces that it has no dealings with any Israeli settler companies, these companies will continue to use these tactics to circumvent boycotts.

Pressure Karstens to cut links..

2009-08-26T16:26:00.000+03:00

Karsten is a South African company.
Hadiklaim is an Israeli company.

Karsten is doing business with a settler company - this business between Hadiklaim and Karsten, among other things, allows Hadiklaim to market dates in Europe as 'Produced in South Africa' - therefore circumventing European boycotts of Israeli goods - Hadiklaim also sells their OWN dates packaged as South African dates...

Here is a reply to an email from the company:

Dear Mr Karsten

Thanks for your reply.

I am sure you are aware by now the furore surrounding this whole issue. There is an active international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign underway to isolate Israel and Israeli businesses in order to put economic pressure on them so that they relinquish their discriminatory and apartheid practices.

As with apartheid in SA, the wheels of change only gained momentum once the international community decided to boycott South Africa economically, socially and culturally. Human rights violations and discrimination based on race is something that cannot be tolerated in our days and times. As consumers we encourage responsible business practices and responsible partnerships.

I urge you to be totally transparent in your associations, especially with companies from Israel. Hadiklaim is one such company which economically benefits from the occupation - having many of their farms on Palestinian West Bank territory and they are also known to employ Palestinians who are forced to work for them for a pittance and are thus economically enslaved.

I encourage you also, to be clear in your explanation to Hadiklaim as to why you wish not to be associated with them.

Thanks and Kind Regards

Dr M Raiman

MBChB (Natal) DA(SA) DIP PEC(SA)

2009/8/26 Pieter Karsten Jnr <pieterj@karsten.co.za>

Dear Dr Raiman,

Thanks for your inquiry.

We are farmers and we are South Africans. We do try to make a difference in this new South Africa by setting an example of non-discrimination. We do employ

at peak grape production about 5000 people of all races and all denominations in South Africa.

The Karsten Group is a 100% South African company.

Our family owns 51,95 %

IDC (Industrial Development Corporation) 36.95%

Yarona Farms (Workerstrust) 11.06% (Yarona means “OURS” in Tswana)

Land Merit Investment (A SA individual) 0.04%

We are more than willing to give you all the evidence you need to proof the above facts.

We are totally independent. We do furthermore own companies in Egypt (Karsten Middle East) and the UK (Karsten UK).

Hadiklaim is a CUSTOMER of ours and I have already instructed them to rectify the wording on there website.(They referred to Karsten as “our farm”)

I need to make it very clear that we imported 10 tons of dates from JORDAN in 2007. Except for this once of transaction

all the dates we sold have been our own production(95% SA 5% Namibian).

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need any more answers.

Kind Regards

PIETER KARSTEN

MD New Vision Fruit (Pty) Ltd

pieterj@karsten.co.za

Tel. +27 54 491 9300
Fax. +27 54 491 9352

Cell. +27 82 770 9920
www.karsten.co.za

Here is a letter sent to the company:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: sayed dhansay
Date: 2009/8/26
Subject: HADIKLAIM
To: pieterj@karsten.co.za

Dear Pieter

I am writing to you out of great concern.

As I'm sure you know, dates form an important part of our diet as Muslims, especially during this month of Ramadan.

Your company, Karsten Farms is a producer of the popular Kalahari Medjoul date, that is widely consumed by our community.

In the last few days however, I have been made aware that Karsten Farms has a business relationship with the Israeli Date Co-operative, Hadiklaim.

I would appreciate it if you could confirm whether Karsten Farms does indeed do any business with Hadiklaim?

As Hadiklaim is based in and operates out of an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied Jordan Valley, we take an extremely negative view of the company.

In 2005 Palestinian civil society called on the world to implement boycotts, divestment and sanctions on the state of Israel in order to pressure Israel to comply with international law and cease its egregious violations of human rights in the illegally Occupied Palestinian Territories.

This movement pertains even more strongly to companies that operate out of illegal settlements in the West Bank and Jordan Valley.

As this call is being increasingly heeded internationally, as well as in South Africa, I would be very grateful if you could confirm whether Karsten Farms has a trading relationship (whether this is uni or bilateral) with Hadiklaim.

I look forward to your response.

Regards,

Israeli dates in South Africa

2009-08-22T17:09:00.000+03:00

Just got these pics from a friend in Portugal with this note:

This company, Hadiklam Ltd. is no doubt a settlement company and there is much written about them online, especially about their tactics to hide the origin of the product. It would be an important victory if we got their partners in Southern Africa to divest (I suspect they have more than one, Karsten Farms being one of them).

One argument to stress is that even if these dates are in fact from South Africa, they should be boycotted because of their links with settlement companies. I don't think that the ones we have here in Portugal come from South Africa. They come from Israel but they make use the South African box because perhaps a percentage might come from there and it avoids the boycotts in Europe.

{packed for Hadilaim (settler company) by Karsten Farms Ltd, South Africa}

Leave Caster Semenya alone!

2009-08-20T18:35:00.000+03:00

I join the ANC, Cosatu, SAFPU and others in condemning those that are making ridiculous accusations against Caster Semenya. She is a hero for all South Africans and especially young athletes. The ANC issued a statement condemning this and said, “Such comments can only serve to portray women as being weak.”

Semenya clocked 1min 55.45sec for the year's fastest time and this caused the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to request gender verification test. SAFPU is claiming that “imperialist countries are pushing their racist agenda” against Africans, and while that may be going a bit too far, one surely does wonder why they only decided to do such tests now. Not that they are justified or not in doing them – they should have done their tests timeously and with greater respect and sensitivity.

According to Dr Ross Tucker, these allegations have been following Semenya for a few years now and there was ample time to have cleared up any concerns that anyone may have had. Tucker also implicitly blames her management for not being the ones to clear it up, but with such a sensitive issue, it would have admittedly been quite difficult.

He says that it was reported that Semenya was born a hermaphrodite (having both male and female reproductive organs) and that she was cleared by testing done by Athletics South Africa. But Semenya is going to be a victim any way that this pans out. She is running and winning and getting medals. If they somehow go through with this process and find that she is not "entirely female" and possesses secondary male characteristics as a result of some natural condition, then she will possibly lose her medals and titles. If the tests show nothing, then was all this really necessary for an 18 year old to go through?

She is not being humiliated for cheating or taking drugs or because she committed any crime. “Her crime was to be born the way she is born," said ASA predident Leonard Chuene.

Print media still survives

2009-08-13T15:58:00.000+03:00

Newspapers around the world have been collapsing, mainly due to the advertising boom on the internet. Not only do advertsisers choose online adverstising over print, but the crisis has been exacerbated by the global credit crunch. But "print media is not going away in South Africa just yet" said Vin Crosbie, media consultant and lecturer at Syracuse University in the USA.

The way that the media works has been revolutionised by the internet and newspapers are sourcing news content and opinions from their readers. Newspapers are also presenting the news online, often as it happens, audibly, visually and interactively. But merely publishing an online version of the story published in the newspaper is not good enough and Crosbie said that newspapers should harness technology to improve print and online editions. "When the Grocott's print edition has a story about crime, the online edition could have a crime map, constantly updated using data from the police and Hi-Tec," he suggested.

Crosbie visited South Africa to conduct a workshop at Rhodes University's Sol Plaatje Institute which was attended by media professionals from various publications around the country, including Media24, The Big Issue and Muslim Views. Regarded as one of the most outspoken critics of the newspaper industry's response to the digital media revolution, Crosbie argued that countries like South Africa can learn from the mistakes of others.

With phones now increasingly being used to access the internet, and media institutions developing content specifically for cellphones, Crosbie expects it to be the best means of internet access for most South Africans. Crosbie said that the rapid improvement in technology means that millions of South Africans will soon be able to access the internet via their cellphones. People will have cheap, fast access to news and information online, and will be able to use their phones to contribute information and post their opinions.

Grocott's Mail is involved in citizen journalism projects with the journalism department at Rhodes, which has learners training to use their mobile phones to report news. While some journalists feel threatened by citizen journalism, Crosbie said that technological advancements actually make this a great time for journalism. He trains journalism students to investigate ways of harnessing the power of new technologies.

"Imagine getting your own personalised copy of Grocott's Mail", he said. "If there is a story about new property taxes, your copy would include a calculation specific to you and your neighbour's paper would be different." Crosbie reckons that Grocott's could soon be at the forefront of exciting developments in the newspaper world.

New printing machines will make it possible to print different versions of the same edition of a newspaper. Publications like this are currently available online, but Grocott's subscribers could soon choose to have articles in a range of languages, or to have more news from certain areas in Grahamstown said Crosbie. "The current printing machines use these big plates which means the editor has to decide what stories will appeal to the most people, but with this technology each reader's paper can be customised to suit his preferences."

A version of this article first appeared in Grocott's Mail: http://www.grocotts.co.za/content/print-media-still-survives-20-08-2009

Jokes at Mosque this Friday!!

2009-08-12T16:51:00.000+03:00

Do not be suprised if you hear a joke or two at Mosque this Friday. The Jamiatul Ulama, Council of Muslim Theologians in South Africa, in the Friday Lecture summary of their newsletter, encouraged Imams to speak about 'Light-heartedness in Islam'.

The Jamiat, as they are known on the streets, serves the spiritual needs of Muslims of South Africa, as it states on their website.

The summary states the "companions of the Prophet (pbuh) were serious people and were least heedless of the commands of Allah, yet they used to joke. Ibn Sireen was asked about the companions of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasalam, ‘Did they joke?’ He replied: ‘They were just like normal people (i.e. yes they did).’

It also includes examples from the life of the Prophet (pbuh) when he made jokes and it clearly claims that Islam does not prohibit joking and teasing. However, there are guidelines that it states needs to be followed.

"It is widely misunderstood that Islam is a religion of suppression and harshness, where laughing and joking is not permitted," the Jamiat newsletter states and seeks to challenge. A full copy of the newsletter is available at www.jamiat.co.za

Muslim comedians probably welcome statements like this :)

Bread baking and yogurt making

2009-07-23T00:02:00.000+03:00

Picture this – you open the bread tin and, shock horror, there is nothing there. So you jump in your car and rush to the supermarket. No parking so you drive around the parking lot looking for a spot. Eventually you find one and go in to get the bread – which was baked at a bakery a long way away and transported by truck to the supermarket. Think of all the carbon emissions from your car and the delivery truck, not to mention how expensive bread is these days. But that’s not all – the normal bread we eat has gluten which only gets to break down in our stomachs, giving one that bloated feeling. Most of us are somewhat used to it so we don’t even notice it unless we pay attention.

But there is an easier, cheaper, healthier and more fun option – bake your own bread. Follow these easy steps.

1. Grind some wheat grains and add a little water and flour to it. Leave it for 3 days, adding a tablespoon of flour & water daily, and you have what we call the starter. It should be enough to fill a cup and then you’re ready.

2. The bread making process takes about 10 mins of effort over a 24 hour period – that means some planning initially, but work it into your routine and you’re set. Add a cup of water and a cup of flour to your starter and leave it for 12 hours.

3. You now have what we call the sour dough. Take two cups out of it and mix up with two cups of flour and some salt to taste. This will give you enough dough to bake a loaf of bread for two people. Keep the remaining sour dough in the fridge and use as a starter for the next loaf of bread.

4. Knead the dough for a few minutes and you’ll have a nice smooth loaf, pat with oil and leave to rise for 12 hours. Coat with yogurt (see below) and sprinkle some sesame seeds, then pop in the oven and bake for about 45 mins. Voila, you have a delicious loaf of home baked bread.

Yogurt is muuuuch easier – not that bread was hard at all! Buy a little tub of yogurt that has live AB cultures. Talk a cup of milk and warm for 2mins in the microwave. The milk should be room temperature – add two tablespoons of the bought yogurt and leave in a flask for 24 hours. Voila, delicious homemade yogurt. Salt or sweeten as you like, depending on how you eating it.

A “How to eat organic and not feel like a Buddhist monk” guide

2009-06-23T21:28:00.000+03:00

Somebody asked me to write a How-to-eat-organic-and-not-feel-like-a-Buddhist-monk guide. Firstly, I must admit that my knowledge of Buddhist lifestyles is almost non-existent – apart from the fact that some live under extreme religious and political suppression, wear bright colours and have shiny bald heads! There is much more to this deep and rich cultural and religious group, but that is not the discussion here and I will leave the Buddhists alone for now.

But to the thing I know a bit about, eating organic – eating organic is not for extreme tree-huggers! It’s for those people who are not happy with the idea of eating produce that is laced with potentially harmful pesticides and chemicals – that may or may not cause strange deformities in our offspring – but I’m not taking any chances.

There are different grades of organic, and depending where in the world you are, different standards that are enforced – but generally you want to be looking for non-chemically treated, fresh or minimally processed food. Organic foods have been proven to contain a higher percentage of nutrients, taste better and have positive benefits on the environment and the people who farm them.

Now, while some sceptics may see organic food as the stuff that uber-cool too-bored-to-do-anything-better-people from Sandton buy at Woolies, it’s not! Depending where you live, there are small farmers close by that sell fresh produce – that’s the kind of organic that I support. Small scale farmers are increasingly being supported by sustainable development initiatives, and buying their produce is both good for our health as well as the broader well-being of our communities.

Growing your own food is also a good idea. While it’s possible to perhaps even totally live off your own produce, my humble little garden is only the size on an old tyre. Currently growing spinach, basil and kale (a type of cabbage), all I do is water it with collected rain water daily and harvest as I need to. Once the weather improves, I hope to get another tyre set up next to it and get the carrots, coriander and chilli growing.

Baking your own bread is healthier, tastier, cheaper and much more fun that buying the boring sliced loaf from the supermarket. I will soon share some recipes and tips on bread baking and will also explain a simple way of making your own delicious and cheap yoghurt. I don’t know if the bread or yoghurt we get from the supermarket is organic or not – our home made variety is just better!

Back to the swanky boutique store organic produce – perhaps the biggest issue is weighing the pros and cons of, for example, an organic apple grown miles away and transported to me and the local apple that is not totally organic! The organic apple is perhaps healthier, but it causes more damage to the environment because it travels so far. The easy answer is to check first where the organic food you buy is actually produced and, unless your life depends on it, don’t buy it. The world is suffering because of our desires to eat apples during orange season and we need to be more aware of the unintended consequences of our actions.

Which brings me to our consumption habits in general – we consume too much, in terms of food as well as all the packaging that comes with it and ends up in rubbish dumps. The amount of kitchen waste that can be added to a compost heap is amazing – and these days it takes little effort to recycle glass, paper, cardboard and cans.

P.S. There is currently a Recycle Week campaign running from Monday 22 – Sunday 28 June - www.recyclenow.com

Book review – Tell me no lies.

2009-06-20T12:23:00.000+03:00

Tell Me No Lies: Investigative Journalism and Its Triumphs edited by John Pilger

John Pilger presents a collection of almost 30 articles from journalists and writers who have either witnessed first-hand or carried out investigations into the most fascinating, shocking, horrible and, at times, simply unbelievable events of the past few decades. Himself a seasoned and fearless journalist, he pays tribute to those he calls ‘the greatest practitioners of the craft’ of journalism. As a student of journalism, and an eager incumbent, it will be difficult to view the role of journalists through traditional lenses again. This book remembers the heroes who made personal sacrifices, went beyond what was expected and took risky steps to “not only keep the record straight, but to hold those in power to account”.

Every single article in this book is gripping and, being historically recent, those events that I have a vague memory or recollection of are simply fascinating –Max du Preez on Apartheid’s Death Squads, Robert Fisk on Israeli sponsored atrocities in Lebanon, Anna Politkovskaya on the war in Chechnya, Linda Melvern’s investigation into the Rwanda genocide, the never-ending deaths of children in Iraq and Gaza – these are all events that I have lived through and now struggle to understand how they happened in this modern era, while I was growing up, schooling and getting on with life.

Not all are gruesome war stories – Jessica Mitford exposes the multi-million dollar funeral parlour scam, Edward Murrow challenges the propaganda of Senator McCarthy, Seumas Milne covers the smear campaign against British labour union leaders. These are just some of the examples of why good investigative journalism is ever more vital today.

This book is important for all. For those that are journalists or serve some role in the media, reading this will be a clear reminder of the role that needs to be filled. For those that are consumers of media (which is most of us that can read), this is an example of what we should be demanding from our journalists. For those that can’t access the media, who can’t read or can’t speak out – either because they are being prevented from doing so actively or passively – this book is an example of what is needed for liberation.

Appendix – snippets of my favourite chapters:

Martha Gellhorn, Dachau, 1945 – Gellhorn is an American war reporter who writes about a Nazi death camp that she reported from at the end of World War 2. She gives a gripping account of the spine-chilling horrors that occurred in the camp. Lest we forget.

Wilfred Burchett, The Atomic Plague, 1945 – “I write this as a warning to the world…’ started Burchett’s story on the Hiroshima. Being the first news correspondent to enter Hiroshima after the atomic bombing, this story came to be described as the “scoop of the century”. He detailed the horrible after effects of the H-bomb that he witnessed firsthand, but the Americans authorities denied this and sealed the area, preventing any other journalists to get in. History eventually told the truth about the events in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Lest we forget.

Edward R. Murrow, The Menace of McCarthyism, 1947-54 – Pioneered a form of broadcast journalism that he called ‘being there’. The transcripts of some of his broadcasts, from a programme called See It Now are published. He exposed the anti-communist witch hunt of Senator Joseph McCarthy. Reading the transcripts after a glance at the picture of Murrow in the book, one can actually hear the bellowing force of his voice.

Jessica Mitford, The American Way of Death, 1963 – In this well researched and meticulously recorded investigation into the ‘death industry’ in North America, Mitford exposes what has become a multi-million dollar industry. The family or friends of a deceased, at a most emotional time, are lied to and deceived into spending obscene amounts of money for what is dishonestly called ‘law of the funeral.’

James Cameron, Through the Looking-Glass, 1966 – Cameron was the first Western journalist to report from the North Vietnam during the American attacks there in 1965. He was accused of being a ‘conduit for the North Vietnam Communists’ but claimed that he recorded and reported on the diverse people in North Vietnam. His account told a very different story from that being reported by other journalists who were in the south, concentrating on the battlefield being won or lost. Cameron instead, looked at the people of Vietnam who faced the most sustained aerial bombardment in the history of warfare.

Seymour M. Hersh, The Massacre at My Lai, 1970 – Hersh uncovered the story of a massacre in a Vietnamese village, My Lai, that the US Army was trying to keep out of the newspaper. Up to 500 women, children and old men were systematically murdered on 16 March 1968 by American soldiers in a few hours. Hersh interviewed those involved and repaints a graphic picture of what happened on that horrid day.

Max du Preez and Jacques Pauw, Exposing Apartheid’s Death Squads, 1988-94 – Max du Preez founded the Vrye Weekblad, the only Afrikaans newspaper to oppose Apartheid. For this, he was subjected to abuse, persecuted, threatened and eventually sued until the paper was forced to close down. He and Pauw reflect on their experiences of investigating and exposing Apartheid’s death squads. They uncovered the stories and risked their lives trying to protect their sources and spread the truth of the atrocities of the Apartheid government.

Paul Foot, The Great Lockerbie Whitewash, 1989-2001 – Foot died as the book was getting published and Pilger dedicates the book to his memory. He covered the saga of the Lockerbie bombings in 1989 that carried on, down a windy track until 2001. He reveals what appears to be a massive cover-up by American and British authorities, finally ending in a theatrical court case that pegged a Libyan national as the scapegoat of an obviously much wider conspiracy.

Robert Fisk, Terrorists, 1990/2001 – Fisk is a journalistic legend and is hailed as one of the greatest modern war correspondents. He gives a firsthand account of being one of the first journalists (as well as human beings) to stumble upon the massive Israeli sponsored killing fields of Sabra and Chatila in Lebanon. He describes the bodies of children, women and the elderly that were still warm when he and other journalists found them. He then describes how the Israeli propaganda ensured that those ultimately guilty have still not been brought to justice for these atrocities.

Seumas Milne, The Secret War against the Miners, 1994 – Dubbed by Pilger as “one of the finest political exposes in our time”, Milne’s essay provides a thorough and in-depth look into an astonishing smear campaign against the leader of the Britain’s National Union of Mineworkers, Arthur Scargill. The mainstream media, British intelligence, politicians and even Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher are implicated in this sinister plot to discredit a man who came to wield significant popular support in the fight for workers rights.

Amira Hass, Under Siege, 1996 – An Israeli correspondent for the Ha’aretz newspaper, Hass did in 1993 what no Israeli journalist had ever done – she went to live and report from the ‘open air prison’ of the Gaza Strip. Living in such close proximity to each other, Palestinians and Israelis live such different lives that they could be living on two different planets. She, an Israeli whose parents moved to Israel after surviving the Nazi persecution, describes the Israeli’s “extremely sophisticated method of restraint, reminiscent of Apartheid” under which millions of Palestinians are forced to live.

Philip Knightley, The Thalidomide Scandal: Where We Went Wrong, 1997 – By the time it was discovered in 1961 that thalidomide was responsible for abnormalities in foetuses, over 8000 deformed children had been born throughout the world. Knightley reminisces on his experiences as a journalist trying to expose the cover up by the corporations, health officials and so many within the legal profession.

16 June 2009 (little has changed in 2 years..)

2009-06-16T10:24:00.000+03:00

Hector Pieterson (1964 – 16 June 1976) became the iconic image of the 1976 Soweto uprising in apartheid South Africa when a news photograph of the dying Hector being carried by a fellow student, was published around the world. He was killed at the age of 12 when the police opened fire on protesting students. For years, June 16 stood as a symbol of resistance to the brutality of the Apartheid government.

Today, it is known as National Youth Day — a day on which South Africans honour young people and bring attention to their needs. Let us not forget that Apartheid that still exists. The Apartheid under which the Palestinian Hector Pietersons are being killed.

Lest we forget...

A recycled blogpost from 16 June 2007 - pic courtesy of peace and quite

Happy World Environment Day

2009-06-05T11:28:00.000+03:00

A version of this article was first published on www.ramadan.co.za - given that Ramadan is less than 3 months away, and today is World Environment Day, thought it would be a good idea to share this again:

-----------------------------------------

With Ramadan on our doorsteps, the lectures and advices in Mosques, on the radios and even on the internet will be reminding us of the great virtues of fasting and of all the spiritual and physical aspects of this great month. And while we may occasionally be reminded of the effect of certain foodstuffs on our health, we may be surprised to find little being discussed about human hunger and poverty, deforestation, global warming and numerous other global/social issues. How are any of these relevant to the Month of Ramadan? Due to the fact that the amount of meat we consume has implications reaching further than we can imagine.

While beef consumption is said to play a major role in the development of heart disease, strokes, and cancer, the over-consumption of beef is being increasingly labelled as a major cause of human hunger and poverty, deforestation, global warming and numerous other global/social issues.

More than one third of the grain produced in the world is fed to cattle and other livestock. The fact that more than a billion people around the world could receive proper nourishment if all this agricultural land was used to grow food for human consumption, rather than livestock, is clearly not widely known.

With the current food crisis (being labelled by some as the Silent Tsunami) wreaking havoc across the globe, you may be shocked by these facts, but similar events have occurred in our recent past: at the height of the 1984 famine in Ethiopia, some of its agricultural land was being used to produce grains for export- to feed livestock in Europe.

The building up of various gases in the atmosphere, blocks heat from escaping the planet, and is expected to cause a global climate change of catastrophic proportions. Grain-fed cattle are a significant factor in the generation of three major gases – carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. The burning of the world’s forests for cattle pasture has released billions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. The over 1.3 billion livestock in the world annually release some 60 million tons of methane through their digestive systems. Moreover, to produce the feed requires the use of fertilizers which emit vast amounts of nitrous oxide.

Eight kilos of grain is used to produce each kilo of meat. While in Africa, nearly one in three people is undernourished. In Latin America, nearly one out of every seven people goes to bed hungry each night. In Asia and the Pacific, 22 percent of the people live at the edge of starvation. In the Near East, one in nine is underfed. So consider that these stats could be reduced by around seven for every burger meal that we eat.

Now for the chicks- celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver, has managed to cause quite a stir in the UK with his expose on battery chickens, Jamie’s Fowl Dinners.
But groupie mentality aside (I’m not a fan of the glorified cook), there is a tragic tale to be told. Rather being allowed to roam freely, choosing from a salad board provided by grass, herbs, insects and tree fodder, chickens are ‘grown’ in boxes these days- under the most disgusting conditions. Yet again, how many consumers are aware of the suffering of the birds and the extremely poor quality of the meat?

Mass poultry production as a whole poses serious health and environmental hazards, with the ammonia and other chemicals found in the feed. In addition, the amount of energy used to transport and process this billion dollar industry, make it hard to justify the obscene amounts of chicken dishes that litter our iftaar tables.

So, I am not on a crusade (jihad has become a loaded term;P) to convert the masses into salad munchers- the main objective of sharing this is to try and remind us that we need to be conscientious shoppers. We need to have critical minds and consider all the implications of our purchases, and taking this line of thinking to its end, our daily actions and decisions as a whole.

If you believe the claims made above, and now know that kids in poor areas around the world are dying due to the shortage of basic foodstuff, perhaps you will not want to eat huge portions of meat every day of Ramadan- maybe you will start cutting down and encourage others to do the same. One of the most effective ways that you, as an individual, can do your part to reduce human hunger, poverty, and global warming is to reduce your consumption of animal products.

For me, it’s not so much about not eating meat- what I try to do, and would like to encourage others to do, is to have a critical mind. Know what you are buying and the effects that your purchase has- all the way back to the source of the ingredients! While it may sound impractical and over the top, it takes a little bit of research and thought and you will know whether the coffee farmers behind your cappuccino and being exploited, whether your avocados were grown on land stolen from Palestinians or whether peasants in Paraguay were killed to ensure the demand for GM soy beans was met!

So no, I’m not a vegetarian- I do eat meat. But I make it a very rare occasion when I do this- usually when a guest in someone’s home (Which I am hoping is going to be fairly often this Ramadan). But I still make known the facts noted above. And if it’s chicken, it must be a chicken that has been allowed to roam the earth freely and live a good life. Yes, I only eat happy chicken.

Starving to save Zimbabwe

2009-04-21T09:56:00.002+03:00

The deepening humanitarian crisis in neighbouring Zimbabwe has claimed at least 3,000 lives and concerned activists are starving themselves in solidarity with the Zimbabwean people. Rhodes university staff and students are part of the three month long Save Zimbabwe Now campaign to raise awareness for the crisis in Zimbabwe. Vice Chancellor Dr Saleem Badat, Dean of Students Prof Vivian de Klerk and Larissa Klazinga are just some supporting the campaign by fasting.

The campaign, supported by activists Kumi Naidoo and Nomboniso Gasa who have completed 3 week hunger strikes by not eating anything at all for 21 days, has also attracted the support of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The campaign, Tutu states, ‘has revitalised the concept of Ubuntu’ and ‘it is important that the people of Zimbabwe know that they are not forgotten’. The campaign demands listed on the website include forcing Zimbabwe to ‘stop abductions, torture and all forms of repressive violence’ and for the government to immediately ‘release all political prisoners’.

Launched in Johannesburg late January, the campaign is supported by an assortment of local and international social and community organisations. The first aim of the campaign has been to build pressure on SADC governments to influence the Zimbabwean state to restore dignity, human and democratic rights to its people.

The Vice Chancellors statement, issued on 21 January 2009 in support for the campaign, expressed outrage at the fact that Rhodes students were victimised and intimidated when they called on Zanu PF to end repression. A post graduate student from Zimbabwe, who is participating in the campaign but wishes to remain anonymous, has however stated that “the majority of Zimbabwean students have not taken any public or politicised action”. She believes that this apparent apathy is “possibly (due to) the fear of intimidation and victimisation to themselves and the families back in Zimbabwe.”

Professor Dan Wylie, who grew up in Zimbabwe and taught there for some years before coming to teach in the Department of English at Rhodes, is also supporting the campaign and believes that fasting “can act as a catalyst for more practical help to the afflicted”. He urges South Africans to take lesson and “even the slightest breach of or erosion of public freedoms should be squashed either by campaigning or at the polls immediately, before corruption and abuse become systematic”.

Jennifer Schmidt, a post doctoral student from the USA, is fasting to express solidarity with her Zimbabwean friends and their families. She has been fasting every Wednesday, and when her birthday recently fell on a Wednesday, she had a symbolic Zimbabwe cake that helped raise awareness in her department.

Beth Vale, Aids activist and student leader, started fasting during the holidays, before she knew about the support at Rhodes. She has no personal links to Zimbabwe, and likens the act of fasting to the statement made by Zaki Achmat when he refused to accept ARV’s because others were not being given access to them. While she can eat and does have access to food, people in Zimbabwe are suffering and starving and have no choice. She says that the Zimbabwe crisis is central to other issues like gender inequalities, poverty, access to health care and clean water, amongst others.

Karabo Mohale, a 2nd year student, hopes to get people to start thinking about Zimbabwe and then acting, so that the slow rate of change can be accelerated. He has sent a letter to the Rhodes University management, on behalf of the Save Zimbabwe Now campaign, enquiring about the receipt of any funds from sanctioned persons or associations. If funds were received, the letter asks for an explanation for how Rhodes could accept ‘tainted’ money from those that have profited from human rights violations in Zimbabwe. [Note: at time of writing this, no response had been received from the University]

Elzette Steenkamp, PhD student in the Department of English at Rhodes, feels that a “few people remaining without food for one day per week is a relatively small contribution, but then I think of Mahatma Gandhi and I know that our efforts cannot be without impact.” Fasting is often used as a tool to make a political statement, to protest or to bring awareness to a cause. Some famous example being Mahatma Ghandi and hunger strikes being born out of the non-violent resistance, and then later the famous example of Bobby Sands.

The publicity of a campaign however, rests on the ability to make as many people as possible aware of the issue, in the hope that it would motivate them to act. Larissa Klazinga decided to, as she put it, put her money where her mouth is, and undergo a 7 day fast with no food at all for a full week. She undertook to drink only water and have absolutely nothing to eat. She hopes that this will make people take note of how passive we have been towards Zimbabwe and motive them to start asking questions and get involved.

As part of the Human Rights Awareness week at Rhodes University, the Save Zimbabwe Now campaign has also launched an awareness drive on campus. Plans are also underway to get students to ‘fast’ for just a single meal early next term and then donate the saved cost of that meal. The Save Zimbabwe Now website is collecting names in support of the campaign and calling on people concerned about the situation to join the fast. It provides updates information on the situation in Zimbabwe, as well as details of the campaign and health advice for those wishing to fast.
Visit: www.savezimbabwenow.com

A version of this article first appeared in Grocott's Mail, South Africa's oldest independent newspaper.

Is blogging journalism?

2009-03-26T18:56:00.000+03:00

“Is blogging journalism?” is a stupid question. This is according to Mark Comerford, lecturer of new media in Sweden, as quoted by Matthew Buckland, GM of Publishing & Social Media at 24.com, in an article on this topic.

Until recently, we looked to the radio, TV and newspapers for news and information from the world around us. This was given to us by journalists whom we had no contact with. With the advent of the internet things began to change with the news being made available earlier, packaged with audio, video clips and the opportunity to interact even further by sharing our comments online. This last feature, which is largely responsible for assisting the popularity of blogs, is now increasingly being found on traditional media websites.

Glenn Fleishman, free-lance reporter for the New York Times, explains how: "Someone spots your article, which triggers a blog entry, which triggers further responses, and before you know it your blog becomes part of an interactive discussion that's being read and cited by thousands of people."

Another characteristic of blogs is that, compared to journalists, bloggers are not completely at the mercy of big media. Fleishman describes an entrepreneur interviewed in the New York Times, who felt that the article gave an inaccurate interpretation and promptly clarified his position on his blog.

The freedom to publish blogs easily and cheaply has been taken worldwide with initiatives like Global Voices, which calls itself a ‘participatory media news room for voices from the developing world’. It has more than 150 volunteer authors and claims to be helping individuals and media professionals around the world, gain access to the diverse voices from blogs. Global Voices have a team of bloggers from all over the world, which they feel ‘understand the context and relevance of information, views, and analysis’ being posted every day from their countries, to highlight things that other bloggers are saying but which mainstream media may not be reporting.

Global Voices, and other initiatives and developments in blogging, allow bloggers to self regulate and become more organised. “Blogging is a platform for opinionated people to publish opinion pieces. It has become a platform for citizen journalism and can be used to publish journalistic pieces that adhere to news writing or feature guidelines,” says Ayesha Mall, journalism lecturer at Durban University of Technology. Hence a distinction is made between no rules, no guidelines blogging and the loose term ‘citizen journalism’.

Vincent Maher, one of the judges of the Telkom ICT Journalist of the Year awards, argues that citizen journalism is not necessarily blogging because, while both are done by ‘citizens’, blogging lacks the essential methods and processes inherent in journalism. He claims that while blogging has not yielded a mass of citizen journalism, other online projects have. But Maher himself campaigned for the acceptance of blog entries into the 2006 Telkom ICT Journalist of the Year awards, which created the ‘community and citizen journalism’ category. So, as millions of internet users take on the role of columnist, reporter, analyst and publisher, blogging can be partly credited for creating this powerful new form of ‘citizen journalism’.

"Asking if bloggers are journalists is the wrong question,” says Mohamed Nanabhay, Head of New Media at Al Jazeera, “the question that should be asked is: How has the media ecosystem changed since the emergence of blogging and what opportunities does it bring?"

Good journalism is supposed to, amongst other things, empower people with facts, understanding, and perspective about important issues. Citizen journalists are sometimes able to perform these tasks better than traditional journalists for various reasons. During the tense hours of the hostage drama in Mumbai, citizen journalists were being closely followed online, as they were given up to date coverage with eye witness information, pictures, audio and video footage. The same happened with the recent Turkish Airline crash in Netherlands, with citizen journalists being interviewed by many news stations who didn’t have journalists on the ground. And perhaps to a greater level during the attacks on Gaza, when Israel didn’t allow journalists into Gaza, and the BBC and Al Jazeera relied on citizens in the area to provide content. These examples are perhaps the future of journalism, as traditional media and the new citizen journalist work together to provide good journalism.

Matthew Buckland argued that asking “Is blogging journalism?” is like asking “Is your telephone journalism?” Blogging is a ‘communication medium, a message, a culture and a way of life,’ but what is really important is the message.

Islamic Finance as a solution?

2009-03-21T11:54:00.003+03:00

“They are experiencing divine punishment. We are happy over that. The more they become unhappy, the happier we get,” proclaimed Ahmad Jannati, senior Shia cleric and secretary of the Guardian Council, to a crowd at the Tehran University in Iran. His Sunni counterpart Yusuf
al-Qaradawi was less dramatic: “The collapse of the capitalist system, which is based on usury and securities rather than commodities in markets, shows us that it is undergoing a crisis and that our integrated Islamic philosophy – if properly understood and applied – can replace the Western capitalism.”

The Western (conventional) banking system is built on a foundation of ‘Riba’, usually interpreted as usury or interest, which is firmly forbidden in the Quran. The collapse of leading Western financial institutions amid the current global financial crises and imminent global economic recession has encouraged economists world-wide to consider alternative financial solutions and new approaches to banking and finance.

According to Joseph DiVanna, finance expert for The Banker publication, Shariah compliant banks were performing better than conventional banks. He said that more Islamic banks and financial products have been launched worldwide since late 2008, despite the banking crisis that restricted conventional banks from doing so.

Daud Vicary Abdullah, of International financial consulting firm Deloitte, expects double digit growth in global Islamic finance in the next few years. “Countries like Japan, South Korea and Singapore are showing more interest in the Islamic finance because of the value of the products offered and also the transparency of the transaction.”

Another finance expert, Professor Rodney Wilson of Durham University, claims that in the current crisis no Islamic bank has failed, and in contrast to conventional banks, none have needed government funds to save them from collapsing.

Some claim that Islamic banking provides a viable alternative to conventional banking. The spread of Islamic finance into western markets shows that it is being treated seriously by government and finance authorities.While the Islamic financial system is being increasingly sold as the best alternative, it is widely recognised that the Islamic system itself has been largely modelled on its interest-based western counterpart. Both share the same material goals
and adopt the same institutional structures, with the result that the products promoted by the Islamic finance industry are sometimes indistinguishable from those of interest-based institutions. These similarities have led some to claim that the Islamic banking and finance industry has failed to properly implement Islamic ideals.

In the Islamic finance industry, despite the prohibition on Riba, loopholes may exist. For example, a Muslim may earn a profit by selling an item for more than he paid for it, provided the two transactions are kept separate. A current Islamic finance mortgage may involve a bank buying the property on behalf of the customer, who then pays off the principal loan along with “rent” or a “fee” for using the property until it finally transfers into his name when the loan amount is fully settled.

In some Islamic mortgages, the home-owner is in debt to the finance company just as he would be in an interest-based mortgage. Should he fail to make payments when due, the home-owner faces the same threat of repossession and loss that clients conventional banks face.

The religious teaching underpinning Islamic finance is concerned with justice in financial contracts to ensure that none of the parties is being exploited. Riba is one source of exploitation, where high rates are charged to lower earners. Such discriminatory charging by conventional banks is justified as being a reflection of the risks involved.

The soundness of Islamic banks is perhaps accounted for by the fact that they use a classical banking model, with financing derived from customer deposits. Islamic banks are less susceptible to economic downturns, as instead of paying interest to depositors, those with investment (mudaraba) accounts share in the bank’s profits. This profit sharing reduces risk for the banks and means they are less likely to become insolvent.

Muslims scholars are claiming that had the requirements of Shariah been properly implemented, a financial crisis of the present kind would not have occurred. For example, if commercial banks were required to share the risks as well as the profits and losses of their clients, whether on business investments or home purchases, they would be more careful when choosing which deals to finance. This is because their financial returns would depend on the performance of the projects that they finance.

However, the fact that Islamic finance has copied the Western template of finance raises serious questions around its ability to point to a viable alternative at this time of crisis. Besides the fact that Islamic investment funds tend to invest in better performing companies by avoiding investing in companies that are heavily indebted with interest based loans, a closer look at the industry might explain the reasons why the Islamic finance industry is performing better. Islamic banking, primarily in the Gulf where it’s predominately based, benefits from the flush of cash inflows from recent high oil prices, and is relatively smaller than its’ interest-based counterpart. These characteristics allow the industry to deal with problems quicker and without huge public bailout packages.

Tarek el-Diwany and Haitham al-Haddad, leading critics of the Islamic finance industry, thus argue that the Islamic banking and finance industry is partially just a soft version of the secular system. According to them, if the Islamic finance industry continues to develop in the manner that is has, it will suffer from the same systemic problems as the conventional system. They call for a total reconsideration of the objectives, frameworks and methodologies of the modern Islamic banking and finance industry before it is presented as a viable alternative. Muslims firmly believe that Islam has the solutions to the world’s problems, and now is the ideal time to start truly demonstrating thus.

This article was originally written for and published in the Al-Huda Magazine. Contact [ alhuda at live dot co.za ]to get a copy.

Julius Malema fails Rhodes

2009-03-19T23:01:00.001+03:00

“Julius Malema is a bit of an idiot,” claimed Jon Griffits, a cartoonist and Rhodes student, while waiting outside the General Lecture Theatre for the 5pm lecture by ANC Youth League (ANCYL) National Chairman, Julius Malema, at Rhodes University on Thursday 19 March. By 4.45pm already, dozens of students were gathered at the entrance of the lecture venue trying to get in. “But the scary thing is that he apparently has lots of power and influence”, said Griffits.

Policemen blocked the doorway and were not letting more people in ‘because the venue was full,’ said a waiting student. ANC members were upset at a group of activists from the Gender Action Project (GAP), that were inside the venue holding up placards with controversial statements made by Malema and Jacob Zuma.
Lecture organisers announced that ‘Malema was prevented by the University for coming to speak’ and some people left, but most ANC members remained and were singing and dancing. They sang political songs and then became aggressive to the GAP members and sang ‘Umshini wami (Bring me my Machine Gun) and other war songs.

A speech was delivered by Buti Manamela, secretary general of the Young Communist League (YCL), who encouraged youth to vote and campaign ‘door to door, night club to night club’ for the ANC. He ridiculed UDM leader, Bantu Holomisa, and had the crowd hysterical with jokes about COPE and other political parties.

Manamela said that ‘Rhodes (University) exists within a community and is not an ivory tower. It is part of South Africa and part of Grahamstown, and it needs to be a reflection of this community’.

Manamela again claimed that Malema had been prevented by the University from speaking. Larissa Klazinga, Student Services Officer, claimed that this was not true. Luzuko Buku, Chairperson of the YCL, later confirmed that the University did not prevent Malema from speaking. Despite video footage from news reports confirmed that the organisers announced that ‘Malema had been prevented’, Buku denied that such claims were made.

The national anthem was sung immediately after the speech and the event called to a close. The GAP members were angered by the absence of a Q&A session and shouted out. They claimed they had been quietly waiting to ask questions and ‘this was their right’. This led to a verbal confrontation between the activists and ANC members, which had to be diffused by campus security.

Nothing new about new media!

2009-03-06T13:36:00.002+03:00

Disclaimer: this is not a news item- its a class assignment.

“Mobile phones are the future of media”, said DM, Publications and Media Manager at Newscli, addressing a boardroom of Rhodes university post graduate journalism and media students on Monday this week. You are probably one of the 95% of people in this country that have access to a mobile phone, compared to the 12% to 20% of South African internet users, yet you can’t be blamed for being baffled by this statement, or the flurry of facts that he poured out in his presentation.

The way media works has been radically revolutionised by the internet. With blogs, social networks and other interactive platforms, newspapers are now increasingly sourcing news content and opinions from their readers. And then using these same online tools, newspapers are presenting the news online, almost as it happens, audibly, visually and interactively.

Citizen journalism is the latest concept rocking the media world. From multiple users contributing to update the world during international events, media houses have realised that those who have journalists on the ground as soon as the news happens have an advantage- and internet users are increasingly proving themselves to be suitable candidates for these tasks. According to DM, internet users are being encouraged to use online tools to submit photos, videos, sound clips and raw information from their computers.

DM also introduced the concept of ‘Platform agnostic journalist’- the journalist who carries his camera, laptop and other gadgets to cover stories; thus enabling him to promptly publish online versions of stories complete with photos, videos and audio. Besides being multi-talented in order to write a good article, edit a decent video and take an evocative photograph; this modern journalist needs to be make use of various online tools and platforms. South Africans are browsing an estimated 1.5 billion pages a month and with 10 million unique users making 350 million page impressions a month on media sites, this is an enormous market that no media institution or professional can ignore.

With phones now increasingly being used to access the internet, and media institutions developing content specifically for the mobile, it is expected to be the best means of internet access for a majority of South Africans. While South Africa is many years behind most developed countries in terms of mobile phone technology, local mobile phone networks are constantly updating their services. With the majority of the South African public having access to mobile phones, DM predicts that mobiles phones are the future of the media.

PGDip- Profile interview

2009-02-24T11:37:00.001+03:00

Gillian Rennie: Training journalists to help heal our country.

"Why do we have to believe in something bigger than us?", asks Gillian Rennie, lecturer for Rhodes University's School of Journalism and Media studies, to her class of Postgraduate Diploma students. Gillian is absolutely fascinated by 'humanities urge to believe'. Having first graduated with a BA in English and Theology from the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg, Gillian went on to complete a Diploma in Journalism and started her career as a reporter for The Star newspaper in Johannesburg. Her exciting and unique style of lecturing forces full attention from her diverse and interesting group of students.

At the age of 18, when Gillian started of journalism, she thought she could change the world- now she continues being a journalist because she thinks that story telling is a way that this country can heal itself. Gillian appreciates maverick journalists, like the exciting Max Du Preez, and believes that tabloids serve an important function in this country- over half a million new readers now follow the hit tabloid, The Daily Sun. With a number of school teachers, a Mandela Rhodes scholar, head of a local NGO and an accountant amongst others, Gillian can now pass on the skills of the trade so that this batch of journalists-in-training can continue to help the country heal itself.

Protest at SA Zionist Federation

2009-02-06T17:21:00.006+03:00

Friday, 6 February: A protest was held outside the offices of the South African Zionist Federation and the South African Jewish Board of Deputies in Johannesburg. Both these organisations unquestioningly supported the recent Israeli attacks against Gaza , and supported the massacre of civilians and the attacks on schools, mosques, ambulances, and UN refugee centres. The protest was hardly covered in the South African media, and the reports by Radio 702 and others, was heavily biased towards the Zionists, according to witnesses.Ronnie Kasrils, the former minister of intelligence, said the ongoing "butchering" of Palestinians in Gaza was unacceptable.
"What Israel is doing in Gaza is creating concentration camps because people have nowhere to run. It is reprehensible that we have Zionists here who support Israel."

"We want to convey a message to the Jews in SA that our 1.9-million workers who are affiliated to Cosatu are fully behind the people of Palestine," said Cosatu's Bongani Masuku.
"Any business owned by Israel supporters will be a target of workers in South Africa."The organisers of the march to protest against the Zionist organisation's full support for Israel in its recent attack on Gaza said 10 of their buses had been turned away by SAPS uniformed men. One bus managed to find it's way to the protest, and was then stoned by Zionist thugs under protection of heavily armed SAPS uniformed men.
The following press release is from Wits University students that were harassed on the way to the peaceful protest:
Media Release: "I'll remember your face, you f#@ker".
Wits University students harassed by heavily armed SAPS uniformed men.
Issued by Wits University Student Coalition on Palestine
Wits University, Johannesburg
07 February 2009

"I'll remember your face, you f#@ker" were the parting words of inspector Pretorius as he sped away from a group of more than thirty university students who had been harassed and assaulted by Pretorius and his SAPS uniformed colleagues for at least two hours. Students of
Wits University and the University of Johannesburg, carrying paper placards and painted banners, were travelling by bus to a COSATU rally at the South African Zionist Federation where speeches were to be delivered. The COSATU rally formed part of a campaign of nationwide actions in support of the people of Gaza under the banner "Free Palestine, Isolate Apartheid Israel".

Heavily armed, uniformed SAPS men in unmarked BMWs forced the bus to come to a halt on Louis Botha, in Johannesburg, blocks before its destination. Using physical force, shouting in an aggressive and violent manner and intimidating student representatives with guns, they demanded the bus turn back to the university campus. Failure to comply, they insisted, would result in all students being arrested. For two hours students endured unrelenting threats and harassment, assault and offensive language with no response to calls for compromise or explanation. Finally, two officers with shotguns boarded the bus of unarmed students, the officers had additional ammunition and a "pistol whose name is Peter" [according to inspector Pretorius] and forced the bus to return to Wits University campus. The SAPS uniformed men made it clear that they were ready to use their weapons against the group of students. In fact, when a student remarked that the SAPS dressed members will probably 'moer' the students to teach them a lesson, inspector Martiz, simply nodded his head and grinned in agreement.

Students (including a unity of members from Wits branches of the ANCYL, YCL, SASCO, PSC, YID, Amnesty International and Zabalaza) chanted and sang at the SAPS uniformed men as they were "escorted" back to campus: "This is not 1976!", "We do not want those guns on our campus!" and "Boycott Apartheid Israel". In a symbolic gesture the students retreated to the back of the bus leaving rows of space between them and the shotguns. Upon arrival at the University a demonstration was held on the corner of Yale and Empire roads, which grew over two hours with much support and cheer from peak-hour passer-bys.

Students are disgusted and angered by the brutality of the SAPS dressed security men. There is no justification for the violent and intimidating threats made against a group of unarmed youth travelling from a university campus to a peaceful rally. This only strengthens the resolve of South African students to remain steadfast in our campaign of solidarity with Palestinians who resist Israeli occupation daily. Furthermore, these tactics of intimidation, obviously influenced and encouraged by the Zionist lobby in SA, will not deter the students. "We are motivated most recently by the SATAWU dock workers who continue to refuse to offload Israeli goods and the growing success of the campaign to 'Free Palestine and Isolate Apartheid Israel'" said Mbuyeiseni Ndlozi, one of the Wits students.

Protest this Fri, 6 Feb

2009-02-05T17:48:00.000+03:00

Join COSATU-PSC Protest for GAZA Fri 6Feb @ 2pm. @ SA Zionist Fed 2 Elray St, Raedene Estate, near Orange Gorve. Sms to all. Info 0845742674

my brothers poem for Appa

2009-01-24T00:46:00.003+03:00

written 11 months and 3 days ago

My tears
What can I say,
I cry in dua,
I cry in salah,
I cry on unfinished musjid rooftops,
I cry for my sins,
I cry for hidaayat,
but in me last few days,
I mostly cry for an old lady,
with a young heart,
who has a very special place in my heart,
A woman who devoted her life to others more than herself,
A lady who not only cared for me as a child, but my mother as well,
Even in her old age, she cared for one and all,
So far away I am from her today,
yet so close to my heart she is held

I will cry
Is it that I cry,
due to fear of losing her,
or due to the distance today thatleaves me unable of paying to her what is her right,
I don’t know,
But what I do know,
is that I’ll never forget her,
for who she was,
for what she did for me,
For all the love she spread,
for all the wounds she healed,
I will cry in dua,
I will in salah,
I will cry no matter where I am,
I will cry for her,
every time I'm reminded of her,
every time I think of her,
I will cry for herwhether I see her again or not

My dua
But mostly I will cry in dua for her,
for my tears and neither my duas will do justice for what she has done for us,
and I beg of one and all,
that u never forget her nor what she has done for us,
But more importantly that you never stop making dua for her,
the dua that she so deserves from us all

© Muhammed Randeree

Tomorrow at Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow conference

2009-01-21T11:21:00.006+03:00

Today was the last day of the Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow (MLT) conference, so isn’t it ‘tomorrow’ already?! Azhar Usman made a funny quip about the conference after the discussion on ‘whether there is a crisis with Muslim religious authority’. Half way through the discussion, delegates where still trying to figure out what the definitions and parameters of the discussion were! And then we all just left it and went to have a huge 5 star meal in the tent!

Some things overheard today:

Shaarik (USA)- I am here in my own capacity. Nothing I have said or am about to say, in any way, reflects the views of the US government or the State department.

Saqeb (UK)- I work for a think tank. I have a background in war studies.

'As bad as 9/11 and 7/7 were, Muslim victims of terror attacks higher! We are victims of violent extremism so let’s address this!'

‘Bloggers, make sure your writing is good! Otherwise nobody is going to listen to you.’

Robert Perez. The brand is the truth and gets reinforced in our heads by advertising or news stories.

During the session on Blogging and New Media, Nikegamechangers.com, a corporate social responsibility initiative of Nike was presented by a MLT, leading to the following discussion:

Q: … but Nike has child labour in some countries?
A: Money is there for advertising anyways, so let’s use it for positive projects.
Bilal: beware about multi-nationals using CSR budgets for deceptive marketing schemes, as they are very opportunistic. Corporate social responsibility is great. But while they're "responsible' in one country- they're oppressive in another!

Zaid Mahomedy read some of my blog posts and tweets and was somewhat uncomfortable with some of the MLT comments. He wanted to know that if some of the MLT “reject certain Ulema, don’t really care for Halal or Haraam and believe that the western values of individualism and personal freedom is the way forward, then who will keep our ‘leaders of tomorrow’ on the right path and accountable for their actions?”

I don’t know- are not the leaders just a reflection of the people that they lead?

Riyaad Minty did a presentation on Al Jazeera New media coverage of the War on Gaza. There was then discussion on the bloggers in the Arab world who are using internet for ground-breaking change, but facing harsh responses from authorities! www.globalvoicesonline.org explained how they are defending free speech online in Iran and elsewhere. MLT’s were encouraged to use online tools for Islamic work and be creative with the avenues and tools at our disposal.

The conference as a whole was not that productive- too much general talk with no clear benefit and direction. But the great networking that the conference provided was invaluable as the delegates were truly some of the most impressive individuals I have met. At the conclusion of the three days, an ‘Open letter to the world leaders of today’ was proposed which will be refined and then issued. This was the latest version I was able to obtain:

In the face of the world’s many unprecedented challenges, and with Barack Obama as the new U.S. President, there is no better time for men and women across the globe to present a case for positive change. We, as 300 Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow living in 76 countries around the world, respectfully present this Open Letter to the World Leaders of Today. If we are to inaugurate a new era of hope and peaceful engagement, Muslim and non-Muslim world leaders must commit to the following:

Growth:
* Allocate resources to meeting basic needs, infrastructure, the environment, education, and job creation, because healthy, well-educated, and engaged citizens are more invested in their societies and are less likely to be swayed by radical ideologies.
* Support policies that enhance development and human rights, not war, because these rights are universal and their violation inhibits our efforts to sustain peace, tolerance, and hope.
* Generate opportunities for intellectual and cultural advancement, because creative minds are better positioned to find solutions to complex challenges.

Participation:
* Promote youth participation in government and civil society, because in order to resolve our most intractable conflicts and problems, we must galvanize the youth to become part of the solution.
* Ensure the full political participation and democratic rights of all people—including youth, women, and religious and ethnic minorities, because extremism is curtailed and prosperity ensured when all members of society are engaged, speech is free, governments are open, and civil societies are robust.

Respect:
* Respect the contributions of all, including Muslims and non-Muslims, to their respective societies and to global civilization, because a world built on mutual recognition and understanding is achievable only when everyone is valued.
* Safeguard our shared—Muslim and non-Muslim—values of peace, pluralism, and cooperation, because we draw upon these values to positively transform our communities.

Engagement:
* Seek honest dialogue and engagement as equals between leaders of nations, because committing to respectful and trusting relationships amongst leaders sets a powerful example.
* Pursue dialogue and diplomacy to resolve longstanding conflicts, because these conflicts destroy individuals and societies and weaken our efforts to instill hope and guarantee justice.

MLT 09 - Day 1.5

2009-01-17T10:15:00.009+03:00

The official conference program started today with a high powered session by a very charged up American dude. The Americans have so much energy and they sound so cool. At least I think he was American, but I am having great difficulty figuring this out- the Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow (MLT), come from 90 different countries on all 5 continents, but they all sound American! Apparently it is coz loads of them either studied in the USA or schooled at American foreign schools.

When asked for one word to describe your identity and one word to describe your grandparents, these were some of the answers:
simple and complicated
courage and passion
noble and striving
simple and complicated
not privileged and privileged

There was then a poll- ‘Are there certain Islamic values that conflict with "Western" values?’ It was fairly split and then the following comments were made by two MLT’s:
Yes- individualism in the West, compared to collectiveness and community in Islam.
No- depends on your period in history. Values are dependent on time.

The sessions were fine and I’m sure the transcripts will be available on the website at some point- www.muslimleadersoftomorrow.org The morning started off with a comment by a brother from Canada who asked what people thought about Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow, hugging & kissing between males & females, and apparently some even drinking alcohol?!

These are some of the comments that followed, other things overheard at the conference, and points made by some of the panelists:

‘We spend too much time judging people- actions are between you & God. Beware before you 'end up being alone in cave'!’
He was attacked for asking this question and reprimanded and then even judged himself!!
Only people who kissed me on cheeks have been big bearded okes, and that should stop!

'Have justice for all as your compass.'
'I have no authority to talk about Muslim authority!'
'My issue with religious leaders, and I dont care who they are, I dont trust them!'
‘Freedom and democracy can’t be bombed into people- Iraq. Or even bombed out of people- Gaza.’

Ulema bashing 101. How to bash an Alim in 4 words: I don’t trust them, They are stupid idiots, What do they know?, I know more!!

Sheikha Hanan al-Thani
Qatari women empowerment- taking place in Qatar today. The issue of integration of women into public life has become the main concern for Qatar society. After having long suffered marginalisation and exclusion from public life.

Shamil Idriss (USA) - UN Alliance of Civilizations
‘Try to remember always, that we brought together here as Muslims and leaders, but we represent countries that are on different sides of this cultural divide.’
‘All cultures have similar or same values, but at different times different values are stressed.’

Abu Eesa (UK)- We have to define what is Islamic values? These are things which have existed for decades. But West is focused on individualism- separation of Church and State, secularism, etc.
Those who believe in a secular Islam, will disagree. But we all live and benefit from secular society, because there is a glaring absence of a true Islamic society.

Mona (USA/Egypt)- I am a secular Muslim. Living in Egypt and Saudi Arabia made me a feminist. And when I lived in Israel, I called myself a secular Muslim.

Malik (Saudi)- Youngest Harvard graduate- It’s the freedom, not to submit, that gives value to the act of submission itself.
Let’s try to make this meeting productive- there are differences but let’s try to be tolerant.

Osama (Scotland)- I am from Scotland and we invented the modern world. Roads, telephone, democracy and even football.

Madiha (Pakistan)- I come across this everyday, ‘What will happen if our youth start living like the youth in the West?’ But most people don’t understand what an Islamic value is. If it’s according to Islamic principles, a value from anywhere in the world can be an Islamic value. We need to clarify what an Islamic value is. We also don’t understand the difference between Islamic and cultural values.

In Pakistan, it’s a value to keep women out of public life. They use Islam to justify this cultural value. Western Muslims do the same. It is not an Islamic value to have absolute freedom- Islam puts boundaries on you.

Yasir (USA)- People who profess to be scholars have no knowledge of what they saying. Their criticism may be valid, but they have no qualification. You can’t tell a neuro-scientist how to do is job unless you study that field as well.
Way forward- not to discard the 1400 years of tradition that made us who we are- but need to create a new breed of Ulama who understand the classical sciences and understand the world we live in.
Don't reject tradition, but understand it and embrace it. We have lost it.

Nadeem (UK)- I believe in separation of Church and state- and that makes me a secular Muslim
Should be concentrating on bigger issues rather than having marginal debates
An Alim in Saudi has passed fatwa that it’s fine for 10 year old girls to marry older men- we should use this platform to speak against it.

300 of some of the brightest young Muslims in the world- what questions would YOU like to as them?

Start of Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow 2009

2009-01-17T01:02:00.004+03:00

Qatar is busy this weekend. At the airport this morning, Palestinian leaders were coming in to meet with Arab leaders to discuss the attack on Gaza. Most Arab states are said to be here, with the notable exception of Saudi Arabia and Egypt. As the attacks on Gaza continue and the death toll increases, Saudi Arabia and Egypt refuse to even attend the summit to have discussions.

The Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow conference is on for the next two days and 300 young Muslims from around the world will be in attendance. I have not met that many interesting new people, largely due to the fact that I have been catching up with the many people that I knew already.

The Jumuah program was in English by Imam Bilal Philips, who discussed the concepts of brotherhood and unity, focusing on the role Muslims, and Muslim leaders, need to play in acting against the atrocities in Gaza.

The Islamic Arts Museum opened in Doha last month. The museum building itself is an amazing sight and has the obvious aspects of classical Islamic architecture, together with modern touches and finishing. Spent a few hours there and was totally blown away by the extensive collection of artefacts, presented in a modern and interactive manner.

Hats off to Doha for doing such a remarkable job of presenting Islamic art, and most importantly, not just concentrating on the past, but through the state of the art guide system, presenting and making relevant various principles and aspects of Islam and the cultures under which it thrived. A few hours is definitely not enough to be able to truly appreciate the extensive collection, so plan at least a day or two if you are ever in the area.

More on MLT 2009 to follow. Watch this space.

Time for South Africa to boycott Apartheid Israel

2009-01-06T18:07:00.001+03:00

President Kgalema Motlanthe, is his New Year’s message to the nation, joined the UN Secretary General in calling for the immediate stop to the Gaza attacks. He added, “The sheer savagery of the attacks launched by Israel against the residents of Gaza serves to conceal the fact that underlying this conflict is the reasonable demand for both peoples (Palestinians and Israeli's) to live together in peace and prosperity within their internationally recognized homelands.”

"It's the most terrifying place I've ever been in," the late Edward Said once said of Gaza. "It's a horrifyingly sad place because of the desperation and misery of the way people live. I was unprepared for camps that are much worse than anything I saw in South Africa."

Gaza is said to be the world's largest open-air prison, with one and a half million people squashed into an area 45 km long and 10 km wide, and Israeli military controlling its’ air space and borders. Over 80% of the population are refugees denied their legal Right to Return to the homes and lands from which they were expelled in 1948. This is the history of the story of Gaza: that the people that ended up on the beaches of Gaza don't come from Gaza, but come from the very land whose more recent owners have now bombed them to death.

Watching Western news reports, one could not be blamed for thinking that history began yesterday, when a bunch of bearded anti-Semitic Islamist lunatics suddenly popped up in Gaza and began firing missiles into peace-loving, democratic Israel, only to be met with the defensive actions of the Israeli army, the fourth most powerful military in the world.

“Sometimes also civilians pay the price,” said Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, and now with the land offensive in full force, we hear that almost 600 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli attacks, including more than 200 children & 60 women. Since 2001, fewer than twenty Israelis have been killed by Qassam rockets. But as a Zionist supporter, defending the outrageous Palestinian death toll, said it was "pointless to play the numbers game".

In January 2008, UN Special Rapporteur John Dugard stated, "a distinction must be drawn between acts of mindless terror, such as acts committed by Al Qaeda, and acts committed in the course of a war of national liberation against colonialism, apartheid or military occupation. While such acts cannot be justified, they must be understood as being a painful but inevitable consequence of colonialism, apartheid or occupation."

Israeli and Palestinian violence can in no way be viewed as symmetrical – individual Palestinians have chosen to resist their occupiers with largely ineffective home-made rockets, while the Israeli state, has responded by collectively punishing the captive population that it illegally occupies. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, collective punishment is a war crime. As the occupier, the burden is on Israel to end its state violence.

President Kgalema Motlanthe went on to add, ‘The current Israeli aggression proves the folly of the notion of "waging the war to end all wars". War begets war. The UN Security Council must act now to save lives and to create peace.

Peace means more than absence of war… peace means the right of self-determination, it means eradication of hunger and poverty, it means free trade. It means the right to life.’

South Africa must sever diplomatic ties with Israel and implement sanctions against it until Israel complies with international law.

Brothers, sisters, cousins, wives, husbands, friends, daughters, sons, colleagues, neighbours

2009-01-03T00:27:00.006+03:00

The first 187 names of those murdered in the ongoing Gaza massacre:

Ibrahim Al-Jamaj
Ibrahim Al-Jamaj
Isma'il Al-Husari
Isma'il Salem
Isma'il Ghneim
Eyman Natour
Eyhab Ash-Shaer
Ibrahim Mahfoudh
Abu Ali Ar-Rahhal
Ahmad Al-Halabi
Ahmad Al-Kurd
Ahmad Al-Lahham
Ahmad Al-Hums
Ahmad At-Talouli
Ahmad Zu'rub
Ahmad Abu Jazar
Ahmad Radwan
Ahmad 'Udah
Ahmad Abu Mousa
Ahmad Tbeil
Adham Al-Areini
Osama Abu Ar-Rus
Osama Abu Ar-Reish
Osama Darweish
Ashraf Ash-Sharabasi
Ashraf Abu Suhweil
Amjad Abu Jazar
Ameen Az-Zarbatli
Anas Hamad
Anwar Al-Bardini
Anwar Al-Kurd
Ayman Abu Ammouna
Ayman An-Nahhal
Ibrahim Abu Ar-Rus
Basil Dababish
Bassam Makkawi
Bilal Omar
Bahaa Abu Zuhri
Tamir Qreinawi
Tamir Abu Afsha
Tawfiq Al-Fallit
Tawfiq Jabir
Thaer Madi
Jabir Jarbu'
Hatim Abu Sha'ira
Hamid Yasin
Husam Ayyash
Hasan Baraka
Hasan Abid Rabbo
Hasan Al-Majayda
Hussein Al-A'raj
Hussein Dawood
Hussein 'Uroq
Hakam Abu Mansi
Hamada Abu Duqqa
Hamada Safi
Hamdan Abu Nu'eira
Haydar Hassuna
Khalid Zu'rub
Khalid Abu Hasna
Khalid An-Nashasi
Khalid Shaheen Raed Dughmush
Rami Ash-Sheikh
Raafat Shamiyya
Riziq Salman
Rif'at Sa'da
Rafiq Na'im
Ramzi Al-Haddad
Ziyad Abu 'Ubada
Sarah Al-Hawajiri
Salim Abu Shamla
Salim Qreinawi
Sa'id Hamada
Salim Al-Gharir
Suheil Tambura
Shadi Sbakhi
Shahada Quffa
Shahada Abd ar-Rahman
Sabir Al-Mabhouh
Suhayb Abu 'Iffat
Suhayb Abd al-'aal
Tal'at Salman
Tal'at Basal
'Aasim Ash-Shaer
'Aasim Abu Kamil
Abid Ad-Dahshan
Abd ar-Raziq Shahtu
Abd as-Sami' An-Nashar
Abdul-Fattah Abu 'Uteiwi
Abdul-Fattah Fadil
Abdullah Juneid
Abdullah Al-Ghafari
Abdullah Rantisi
Abdullah Wahbi
Arafat Farajallah
Azmi Abu Dalal
Isam Al-Ghirbawi
'Alaa Al-Qatrawi
'Alaa Al-Kahlout
'Alaa 'Uqeilan
'Alaa Nasr Ar-Ra'i
Ali Awad
Imab Abu Al-Hajj
Omar Darawsha
Omran Ar-ran
Anan Ghaliya
Gharib Al-Assar
Fayiz Riyad Al-Madhoun
Fayiz Ayada Al-Madhoun
Fayiz Abu Al-Qumsan
Camellia Al-Bardini
Ma'moun Sleim
Mazin 'Ulayyan
Muhammad Al-Ghimri
Muhammad Al-Halabi
Muhammad Asaliyya
Muhammad Az-Zatma
Muhammad Az-ahra
Muhammad Gaza
Muhammad An-Nuri
Muhammad Abu Sabra
Muhammad Abu 'Amir
Muhammad Abu Libda Muhammad Hboush
Muhammad Al-Mabhouh
Muhammad Sha'ban
Muhammad Abu 'Abdo
Muhammad Salih
Muhammad Tabasha
Muhammad Al-Habeil
Muhammad Abdullah Aziz
Muhammad Abdul-Wahhab Aziz
Muhammad Awad
Muhammad Abd An-Nabi
Muhammad Salih
Muhammad An-Najari
Muhammad Hamad
Muhammad Barakat
Muhammad Muhanna
Mahmoud Al-Khalidi
Mahmoud Abu Harbeid
Mahmoud Abu Matar
Mahmoud Abu Tabour
Mahmoud Abu Nahla
Mustafa Al-Khateib
Mustafa As-Sabbak
Mu'ein Hamada
Mu'ein Al-Hasan
Mumtaz An- Najjar
Mansour Al-Gharra
Nasser Al-Gharra
Nahidh Abu Namous
Nabil Al-Breim
Nathir Al-Louqa
Ni'ma Al-Maghari
Na'im Kheit
Na'im Al-Kafarna
Na'im Al-Anzi
Nimir Amoum
Hisham Rantisi
Hisham Al-Masdar
Hisham Abu 'Uda
Hisham 'Uweida
Humam An-Najjar
Hanaa Al-Mabhouh
Haytham Hamdan
Haytham Ash-Sher
Wadei' Al-Muzayyin
Wasim Azaza
Walid Abu Hein
Walid Jabir Abu Hein
Yasser Ash-Shaer
Yasser Al-Lahham
Yahya Al-Hayik
Yahya Sheikha
Yahya Mahmoud Sheikha
Yousif Thabit
Yousif Al-Jallad
Yousif Sha'ban
Yousif Diab
Yousif Al-Anani
Yousif An-Najjar
Younis Ad-Deiri

If you are going out to protest, write these names on your placards. Each of you, take one name and remember it.

Source: kabobfest

In Solidarity?!

2008-12-29T18:51:00.006+03:00

I sit at home and watch the carnage unfold in Gaza. Not much I can do to stop it from here, but I will do my best. Trying to support the actions that are being organised here in South Africa...

South Africans have been discussing this, blogging and facebooking about it- and then going out to have a McDonalds and Coke. And eating that Halal certified product 'Made in Israel'. What solidarity is this?! Got loads more to vent on this, but not now...

Like to share this from safiyyah:

One thing is for sure, those who use the name of Islam, but are nowhere to be seen or heard (except for the usual, "we condemn these acts" rhetoric) today when the Ummah needs them the most, are worst then the Zionists, who are quite clear about who and what they stand for. These western lackey "Muslim" governments must go before Gaza, and al Quds, can even take a snail step towards freedom.

I cannot help but liken Gaza to Karbala, as we fast approach that day of mourning. The Prophets (saw) family were mercilessly killed, at the hands of Yazid and his cronies, who ruled under the pretense of "Islam". Nothing has changed. The rulers of the current "Muslim" world are today's Yazids, and as responsible for the atrocity that is Gaza as they were for the slaughter of the Ahl Bayt.

And also liked this from Ayesha:

From protest to protest
from march to march
our brains in our mouths
our hearts in our pockets

we will give ,
till it doesn't hurt
and shout
till it doesn't rattle

and a slumber
will be lifted
at a time inopportune

and the people shall be sorted
and the scales will be tipped
and regret shall have no virtue

for the ones who spoke
but didn't do

Use these pictures on your facebook, myspace, blog and other profiles.

Palestinians on Obama

2008-11-07T16:36:00.001+03:00

I came to Palestine so that I could begin my Hajj journey from the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. I managed to interview some Palestinians to get their thoughts on the new president of the USA.

Hala from Ramallah:

It is like a dream for the minorities of the world- that a person of colour can be president of the United States- the country that virtually rules the world. But it is not important that the president changes, because as long as the Zionist lobby controls the USA, it will not be possible for things to change in Palestine.

Even if Barak Obama said that he is a 'Friend of Israel' only to get votes, and he really wants to make a change, will he be able to do so? Was Kennedy not assassinated because he wanted to make a change in Vietnam?

I find it strange that until now you have people who are so racist in the USA- they seem to hate Obama just because of the colour of his skin. It is complete backwardness to hate a person because the colour of their skin- and they say that us Arabs are backward!

Talal from Ramallah:

One needs to look at the USA from both the inside and the outside. From the point of view of people on the inside, this is big. But for us on the outside, there is only so much change that Obama can bring. He will be made to work within a margin that is set by those more important and powerful than him- he cannot move out of this margin. That is, he can't oblige the Israelis to withdraw, but he can do what Clinton did- make smaller steps towards peace. He can't do much in terms of big changes.

I read somewhere that over 60% of people who voted Obama did so due to his internal financial policies, and only 10% voted due to his international policy of wanting peace in Iraq and Afghanistan. So I think that peace in the Middle East is not Obama's priority.

Ayah from Bethlehem:

I don't believe that Barak Obama will make much difference for us. He will make a difference for the American people now, and maybe over time he can make bigger changes in the world. But he is not the one who decides- he does not have much say about America does in the world. And maybe if he does do big changes, he will be assassinated like Kennedy.

Clinton was supposed to be for the Palestinian people but he didn’t make much difference. Barak Obama says himself that he is a friend of Israel- but we hope he said that just to get more votes.

Irony of South African Muslims

2008-10-29T12:16:00.002+03:00

How ironic is this- Sami Yusuf is hosted on a national tour of South Africa by a ‘Shariah compliant’ investment fund. From what I hear his concerts were awesome- I like Sami Yusuf too- saw him at Wembley in London performing for a 10000 strong crowd. And the 1400 odd year old debate on whether music in permissible is now on almost every blog, Facebook group, dinner table and ask-a-mufti session!

Reminds me of the sad story about the grandson of the Prophet of Islam- a person from the region where the terrible atrocity occurred, was discussing the Shariah ruling of the blood of a mosquito with a scholar, and was told something like: ‘You, who comes from the people who brutally tortured and murdered the beloved of the beloved of God, now while the blood of the Prophets grandson is still flowing in the streets, you are more concerned about the blood of a mosquito!’

Do you see the irony? South African Muslims, those that come from a middle class bourgeoisie background, in the wake of a global financial crisis, are busy with discussion on the music, while the show was hosted by an institution that belongs to the global economic system! South African Muslims, who some say are ‘the very same people that REPRESENT inequality and injustice’, are more concerned about the blood of a mosquito!!

Could the similarities be any more obvious and shocking! And what is most surprising, is that the only discourse now if from those very (ifta) institutions that supported Western Capitalistic Economy initiatives under the name of Islam, without at all qualifying their support, without realising a long term vision; it is them who are now speaking about ‘Losing The War Against Allah’! Do we know which side of the war we are on?!

To quote some advice from a friend, ‘We need to realise that Muslims, like you and I, serve to perpetuate inequality in the world though our lifestyles and through our deviation from the principals set down by the Prophet of Islam.

Why do we eat when our neighbours go hungry? Why do we live in expensive homes in cities where people have no homes? Why do family's and communities not co-operate to fund each others homes and businesses? Because of the USA and ''capitalism''? Its amazing how people fail to see the failures in their own behaviour and put the blame on everyone else.’

Syrian drought exacerbates food crisis

2008-10-28T10:05:00.003+03:00

Syrian drought exacerbates food crisis

Syria, a country that is usually self sufficient, now finds itself importing wheat from other countries for the first time in 15 years. The country is trying to cope with the effects of the worst drought in 40 years. Farmers and villagers in the east of the country are worst affected by the poor rainfall of the past 2 years, according to Abdullah Mawazini, the Public Information officer with the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) in Damascus. People are leaving the countryside and heading for the city, looking for food and jobs. Beside causing other social issues, the long term effects of this migration is expected to further affect agricultural production.

The government is involved with plans to deal with the crises and has already distributed aid to around 29 000 families. ‘We cannot do anything with the help of the government’, says Mawazini, ‘and the work is also more strategic ac the governments knows the people and the areas and provides us with some lists of beneficiaries.’

Basic commodities are government subsidised and bread is prepared in government bakeries and prices regulated. ‘Bread is very symbolic’, says Mawazini, so people will not tolerate increases in bread prices. Hence the ongoing global food crisis has not affected the price of some basic commodities for Syrians. But the increases in fuel prices has caused significant increases through transport costs and related expenses.

Robin Lodge, Regional Public Information Officer with WFP, is based in Jordan but was in Damascus this week and answered the following questions:

The global food crisis is being felt throughout the world to varying degrees. The current drought in Syria obviously makes the issues more severe. How does this issue affect the region within which you work?

The countries in this region are defined as low to middle-income countries. You are unlikely to see starvation, although there are some areas with "alarming" malnutrition rates. The figures for severe acute malnutrition are for the most part within levels defined globally as "acceptable". Food insecurity, however, is a considerable problem, with many of the poorest living on less than two dollars a day and struggling to provide themselves and their families with sufficient food. The soaring food prices over the past year have meant that many such families are being pushed over the brink and regularly going short of food, or having to give up other services, such as health and education, to be able to afford food. It has also pushed many people who were hitherto able to provide for themselves into the vulnerable category. And while global prices have come down recently, this has not yet been reflected at the level of the market.

What exactly is at stake and how serious is this?

People's livelihoods are a stake. Growing discontent can also lead to violence and extremism. Governments are finding it harder to afford the food subsidies they are providing as social safety nets, yet any efforts to reform the subsidies is likely to provoke further discontent and violence. It is very serious.

How is the situation being exacerbated, if at all, by financial crisis worldwide? - The United Nations recently appealed for $20 million to help one million people in Syria cope with the drought. Do you anticipate a delay in financial assistance requested?

The effects of the financial crisis are twofold. First of all, it limits the ability of the countries in the region to provide social safety nets and secondly, it may inhibit donor governments from continuing to provide the desperately needed support to organisations like WFP. Our costs are going up every year, but we anticipate a harder struggle over the coming months to raise funds.

Could you comment on how different the situation is to Kenya's drought, and other places in the world suffering from drought and food shortages at the moment?

The drought is in Syria and Iraq too. But the main difference is one of scale. In developing countries like Kenya, where many of the poorest are living on the edge of survival, the effects of drought can be catastrophic. Here people are better able to withstand the effects, although humanitarian interventions are still required and urgent.

Is this a long term situation or do you anticipate better weather or planning to mitigate the consequences going forward?

I certainly do not anticipate better weather in the foreseeable future. But we can mitigate the effects with better preparedness, so we are not taken by surprise. Our colleagues at FAO are working on developing drought resistant seeds.

Besides the immediate funds sought, what else is needed in this region?

We are constantly working to improve and streamline our operations to bring down the costs. In many cases, we are looking at cash or voucher systems as opposed to food deliveries, particularly in urban settings, where food is available, but people do not have the funds to buy it. Such schemes also help to reduce our costs, as they obviate the need to pay for shipping, handling, storage and distribution.

Do you expect that this could become an emerging trend in developing countries?

I fear that, without huge investment in agriculture in the developing world, this trend is to stay with us. Specifically on the food prices issue, however, even the world's leading economists - who know far more than I do about the issue - are reluctant to give long-term forecasts.
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A version of this article was published by the Industrial Organizational & Labour Studies Research Unit at the University of KwaZulu-Natal
http://iolsresearch.ukzn.ac.za/foodsyria18038.aspx

Email from Mrs. Aishwarya Rai

2008-10-13T17:33:00.000+03:00

I'm so lucky:) See who emailed me!

On Sat, Oct 4, 2008 at 10:41 PM, Mrs. Aishwarya Rai wrote:

Salam alaikum wa rahmat Allah wa barakatuh, Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem,

Assalamo Alaikum,

Wasalaam to you,and how are you doing?. My intention
of contacting you is to solicit your assistance for a
project, which will be mutually beneficial.
Though I know my decision to contact you is to a large
extent unconventional, the prevailing circumstances
necessitated my action. I am Aishwarya Rai,from India.
I am married to Late Mallam Mustafa Rai of blessed
memory was an oil explorer in Libya and Kuwait for
twelve years before he died in the year 2000. We were
married for twelve years without a child. He died
after a brief illness that lasted for only four days.
Before his death we were both devoted Muslims. Since
his death I too have been battling with both Cancer
and fibroid problems. When my late Husband was alive
he made a huge deposit in millions of US dollars.(I will
tell you the amount as we proceed).

Recently, my doctor told me that I have only six
months to live due to cancer problem. Though what
disturbs me most is my stroke sickness. Having known
my condition I decided to donate this fund to either a
Muslim organization or devoted Muslim individual that
will utilize this money the way I am going to instruct
herein. I want this Muslim organization or individual
to use this money in all sincerity to fund mosques,
orphanages, widows, and also propagating the word of
ALLAH and to ensure that the society upholds the views
and belief of the Holy Quran.The Holy Quran emphasizes
so much on ALLAH'S benevolence and this has encourage
me to take the bold step. I took this decision because
I don't have any child that will inherit this money
and my husband relatives are into some radical
Organizations and I don't want a situation where this
money will be used in an Unholy manner. Hence the
reasons for this bold decision. I know that after
death I will be with ALLAH the most beneficent and
the most merciful. I don't need any telephone
communication in this regard because of my health,
because of the presence of my husband's relatives
around me always. I don't want them to know about this
development.

With ALLAH all things are possible. As soon as I
receive your reply on: Email:mrs.aishwarya_rai@rocketmail.com
I shall give you the contact information of my Lawyer
and other important information where the money was
deposited. I will also issue a Will to my lawyer
authorizing him to assist you receive the said fund
have being willed to you and a copy of such authorization
will be forwarded to you.

I want you and the Muslim community where you reside
to always pray for me. My happiness is that I lived a
true devoted Muslims worthy of emulation. Whoever that
wants to serve ALLAH must serve him in truth and in
fairness. I will not stipulate any precise amount to
reward you, as it will have to be on pre-negotiated
terms, based on your level of involvement. Please
always be prayerful all through your life. Any delay
in your reply will give room in sourcing for a Muslim
organization or a devoted Muslim for this same
purpose. Until I hear from you by email, my dreams
will rest squarely on your Shoulders.

May the Almighty ALLAH continue to guide and protect
you.

Allah Hafiz.
Mrs. Aishwarya Rai.