This is to voice your opinion and what you think of the current affairs.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Local Muslims warn France against straining relations


Ary Hermawan , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta Thu, 06/25/2009 11:09 AM Headlines
Indonesian Muslims say the burqa is not Islamic and is widely shunned in the country with the world's largest Muslim population, but warn France against straining Muslim-West relations should it push through legislation that could stigmatize those who wear it.
In what can be seen as another clash between Western liberal and Islamic sharia values, French President Nicholas Sarkozy has said the burqa is "not welcome" in France, branding it "a sign of subservience" that turns women into prisoners.
The burqa is an outer garment traditionally worn by some Muslim women, mostly in the Middle East, to cover their bodies from head to toe.
The French parliament on Tuesday formed a commission to study the wearing of the garment, considered conspicuous even in some Muslim countries, and may pass a regulation banning it from being worn in public in France.
Noted Islamic scholar Azyumardi Azra said the burqa was not common in Indonesia because Muslims here believed it went against the principles of modesty and propriety taught by the Prophet Muhammad and the Koran. "It could trigger resistance from society, not only in France but also in Muslim communities," he said.
Azra went on to lament Sarkozy's "derogatory" remarks on the burqa, which he claimed showed continued prejudice against Muslims, and suggested the French people might regard even the widely used jilbab in Indonesia a form of domestication.
Such remarks, he said, could inflame Muslim anger and disrupt efforts by US President Barack Obama to end hostilities between the West and the Muslim world.
"They should have talked with moderate Muslims there to campaign for an Islamic way of life that conforms to French values," he said.
While admitting that Muslims must be able to adapt to the society they live in, Azra said creating a regulation banning burqa would also be counterproductive and lead to more problems.
Indonesian Muslims are mostly moderate in their way of life and political views. The burqa is alien even to the more puritan Muslim groups in the country.
"Muslim clerics are at odds over the burqa," said Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) spokesman Ismail Yusanto. "Hizbut Tahrir believes it is not compulsory for women to cover their faces."
Despite his view on the issue, he lashed out at France for applying double standards when dealing with Muslims.
"The French are so proud of the so-called Western values: libert*, *galit*, fraternit*. If they believe in freedom, where's the freedom for Muslims?" he said.
"Why should the state regulate how people should dress?"
Another Muslim activist, Siti Musdah Mulia of the Indonesian Conference on Religion and Peace, said France had the right to regulate burqa for administrative and security reasons.
"I don't see *the plan to ban burqa* as an infringement of religious freedom. I myself don't want my students to come to my class with their faces covered," she said.
In 2004, France, which has long abided by a principle of laicism, passed a law banning Muslim headscarves, Christian crosses and Jewish skullcaps at public schools.

Clinton names Muslim envoy, staff fail to announce it 2 days ago


WASHINGTON (AFP) — US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week named a new envoy to deal with the Muslim world but her communications staff failed to make the nomination public.
State Department spokesman Ian Kelly only released the information when journalists asked him during the daily media briefing about reports in India that a special representative for Muslim communities had been named.
"Yes," he said. "She's actually a friend of mine. I worked with her very closely in the European Bureau, Farah Pandith. She was a special adviser for outreach to Muslim communities in Europe. The secretary has appointed her to more of a global role."
But Kelly was vague after a reporter asked when the nomination was made by Clinton, who has considerably lightened her workload at the State Department since breaking her elbow last Wednesday.
"I believe it was made two days ago," the spokesman said, adding: "Yeah, it was either yesterday, or the day before."
Asked why it had not been made public, he said: "There was an announcement. I know it was sent out to the State Department community. But we will put it out more broadly."
When a journalist suggested the nomination might interest the broader Muslim community than just the State Department, he replied: "Fair point."
In his inauguration speech on January 20, President Barack Obama vowed to seek a "new way forward" with the Muslim world "based on mutual interest and respect," after eight rocky years under his predecessor George W. Bush.
Kelly promised to issue an official statement on Pandith's nomination.

The brutal crackdown on Iran’s streets

The brutal crackdown on Iran’s streets is starting to succeed. Last week millions joined in peaceful silent marches -- but lethal shooting, beatings and mass arrests have driven the protesters underground, where the internet and media blackout threatens to stop them communicating.[1] We can’t let that happen. Iran’s ruling clerical circles are in crisis talks right now -- even many senior conservatives are criticising militia violence and apparent election-rigging, and calling for rights of free assembly and open debate to be respected.[2] But with election inquiries and the security forces still tightly controlled by Ahmadinejad’s allies, hope hangs in the balance. Unless Iranians are able to share information freely and safely over the coming weeks, their voices may be silenced for good.Many websites are now blocked and the regime is monitoring ordinary internet and phone channels. So Iranians have started to rely on secure and anonymous proxy services to communicate -- but they’re shutting down due to overload, and running out of funds.[3]It’s clear how we can help: Let’s donate now to break the blackout and reopen vital channels of communication so that Iranians can share information and communicate freely during this vital period -- act now at this link:https://secure.avaaz.org/en/iran_break_the_blackoutOne small donation of €10 can fund enough bandwidth for Iranians to send hundreds of secure emails. If 5,000 or more of us can donate, we can scale up these services massively -- with more servers, bandwidth and advanced technical support.The next two weeks are crucial. As Iran’s secret policemen cast their net far and wide, secure channels of communication are also critical to avoiding the crackdown. Scores have been killed and hundreds of human rights advocates, journalists, bloggers and peaceful protesters imprisoned. Although many more remain free, without safe ways to communicate they will be isolated or hunted down. When the crackdown came in Tibet and Burma before, Avaaz members donated in our thousands to preserve the people’s basic human right to free communication and information. Overcoming censorship to make contact with each other and the world is crucial at these moments. Sharing information about the protests still flaring up around the provinces of Iran from Kurdish areas to the holy city of Qom, or uploading YouTube videos and first-hand reports of bravery and brutality to Iran’s million-plus weblogs and networks like Twitter, could make a huge difference.[4] If the regime believe they can silence such reports, the crackdown will only worsen.Legitimacy matters in Iran. From inspirational videos of million-strong marches to shocking evidence of militia violence, the truth will come out if Iranians can communicate freely with each other.[5] The clerical councils engaged in closed-door crisis talks are paying great attention to the voices being raised in their society. Let’s make sure Iran’s voices are not silenced – help break the blackout before it’s too late:https://secure.avaaz.org/en/iran_break_the_blackout

"On Faith,"

Below is an excerpt from "On Faith," an Internet feature sponsored by The Washington Post and Newsweek.

Each week, more than 50 figures from the world of faith engage in a conversation about an aspect of religion. This week's question: President Obama recently criticized a French law that prohibits Muslim girls and women from wearing body- and face-covering garments in public schools. "It is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practicing religion as they see fit," Obama said in Cairo, "for instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear."
But French President Nicolas Sarkozy this week gave his support to attempts to bar Muslim women from wearing veils such as the burqa. "The burqa is not a religious sign," Sarkozy said. "It is a sign of subservience, a sign of debasement. It will not be welcome on the territory of the French Republic."
What's your view? Is this a private religious matter or a public/government one? Is the burqa welcome in America?

In America, some women like to dress in provocative, flesh-baring clothes. Many feminists would say that this sartorial choice reflects low self-esteem and perpetuates an imbalance between the sexes. Yet we don't legislate against it. Fashion models, like the one to whom Mr. Sarkozy is married, pose in magazine spreads showing bodies that are inhumanly thin and inhumanly blemish-free -- and yet no one would legislate against scantily clothed fashion models on the basis that they debase womankind by holding up something completely unattainable as an example.
From the outside, all religious garb can appear eccentric, and deciding which religions are the worst offenders is not a game in which a democratic government should engage. Hasidic Jews dress in black suits and hats even in the hottest months of the summer. Some observers would say that this reflects a lack of common sense, a subverting of pragmatism in favor of ideology. Some Sikhs wear turbans, some Roman Catholic nuns wear habits, most devout Mormons wear sacred underwear. A secularist would say that all these choices reflect a triumph of religious hegemony over rationality, yet in a free country citizens are allowed to wear what they want.
-- Lisa Miller, senior editor, Newsweek
The United States has done very well in letting people wear clothing that reflects their religious commitment. Americans are used to seeing fellow Americans wearing yarmulkes or crosses or headscarves or turbans and even burqas. The more we become a religiously diverse nation, the more such clothing is appearing in public and the more Americans are becoming used to it.
Religious pluralism is just that -- a way for a society to cultivate acceptance of different faiths. The American Constitution shows the way. No religion is established (officially supported) over any other. Being a person of faith, or a person of no faith, is of absolutely no concern to your government. Leave it alone. We're doing fine. The burqa is as welcome in America as my cross or my clerical collar.
-- Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, professor, Chicago Theological Seminary
To read the complete essays and more "On Faith" commentary, hosted by Jon Meacham and Sally Quinn, go to
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith.

All is not lost

Those who claim to represent us have demonstrated time and time again that they do not have the moral backbone to lift us from this quagmire.
Indeed, the very ones at the centre of this controversy will depart these shores in the coming weeks for holidays, such is their concern.
In their wake they leave families torn and disgraced by a damning DES report.
However, there is a stirring among the
Ummah and calls for accountability and transparency are gaining momentum.
We will not return to the days of old and we except those who claim to represent us to live up to that calling or leave – we must accept nothing less.
It is for this reason that we have dedicated this newsletter to the issue of accountability.
We ask you to read the accounts herein with an open and sincere heart and may Allah bless you for your time.



Dear Reader
their lies about the Muslim community. And if truth be told and we seek someone to blame – then we need look no further than the mirror.
For it is we who have neglected the Sunnah, it is we who have placed our trust in individuals that did not and do not deserve it and it is we who have turned a blind eye to the ongoing abuses and failures. We only have ourselves to blame!
We sincerely wished that the release of this special newsletter would be occasioned by some good news and that we would be the harbinger of good tidings. It isn’t and sadly we aren’t – we bring bad news and a dire warning.
The last two weeks has witnessed a media onslaught directed at the North Dublin Muslim School. However, it has also afforded the hatemongers and Islamophobes in Irish society to spread



All is not lost
Those who claim to represent us have demonstrated time and time again that they do not have the moral backbone to lift us from this quagmire.
Indeed, the very ones at the centre of this controversy will depart these shores in the coming weeks for holidays, such is their concern.
In their wake they leave families torn and disgraced by a damning DES report.
However, there is a stirring among the
Ummah and calls for accountability and transparency are gaining momentum.
We will not return to the days of old and we except those who claim to represent us to live up to that calling or leave – we must accept nothing less.
It is for this reason that we have dedicated this newsletter to the issue of accountability.
We ask you to read the accounts herein with an open and sincere heart and may Allah bless you for your time.