Kunduz Burning

The large scale civillian casualities in an air strike on fuel tanks hijacked by Taliban by NATO forces in Kunduz Afghanistan (click here to see full report) aren't first of its kind.Civilians have been victims of NATO forces’ atrocities right from the beginning of the war. This incident cleary shows that there isn't much difference between Obama and Bush Administration. Rather there have been more Drone attacks - which kill more civillians than millitants - after Obama assumed the office. Ironically, Obama has condemned the civilian casualities in Sri Lanka and Iran but has no issues over civilian causalities in Afghanistan. The thing is that, the war which is based on atrocity will yield nothing less than atrocities. Alleging Osama bin Laden as chief conspirator of 9/11 (there are videos suggesting that 9/11 is an inside work) attacks, Bush Administration asked Taliban to hand over Osama to them, without providing any proof. Failing which America bombed Afghanistan without bothering so as to who is dying. Is such an attack justifiable even if Taliban had provided shelter to a terrorist? 8 years on, NATO forces are still struggling to ‘defeat Taliban’ and ‘establish democracy’(which was never on their agenda!). Who gave America the right to uproot an establishment if it isn’t democratic or whatsoever? Opinion polls suggest that Afghans were happier in Taliban regime rather than in a ‘democratic’ establishment. It’s high time NATO forces are fighting in Afghanistan. They should live it for the betterment of Afghans.

WELCOME, RAMZAN

THE SIGNIFICANCE:
Ramzan is the month in which the revelation of the Holy Quran – the book of guidance for whole humanity – from Allah The God Almighty to Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) through the angel Jebraeel (Gabriel) began. This is the reason of Ramzan’s divinity.

WHAT RAMZAN IS ALL ABOUT:
Ramzan is a month of self control, sacrifice and purifying ourselves. In this month Muslims are forbidden to do some activities which are permissible in normal days. In Ramzan we try to offer more prayers, give more alms (donations) to the underprivileged ones and abstain ourselves more from sins and wrongdoings. This month-long training enables one to lead a more pious and self-controlled life in remaining 11 months.

GETTING STARTED:
A lunar month starts from the first appearance of the moon after one or two moonless nights (Amavas). This year Ramzan is due to begin from August 22 or 23 depending on whether the moon appears on the night of August 21 or 22. There’s much enthusiasm amongst the Muslim so as to on whether on which night the moon appears first. It’s quiet a fun, when people in large nos. throng to terraces of buildings and local mosque and try to have a glimpse of narrow, arc shaped pehli tareekh ka chand. The slogan of ‘Chand Dikha’ joyously chanted by small children marks the arrival of the holy month.
P.S.: Moon was spotted yesterday night that means Ramzan began today!

THE RAMZAN SCHEDULE:
Ramzan aims to check three basic & legitimate needs of human beings viz. food, sex, relaxation – all of which in the event of crossing the prescribed limit become luxury. For this purpose we one is not allowed to have a single morsel of food or a drop of water from dawn to dusk i.e. from some 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. That means one has to have a pre-dawn meal called as sehri at about 4:30 a.m. One breaks his fast at sunset with a small meal (Iftaar, as we call it). Breaking fast is a very delightful moment for us after a day-long hunger period. One is not allowed to have sex with his/her spouse during the fasting period. In the night, we offer along prayer collectively (in the local mosque) in which the whole Qur’an is recited. It is called ‘Tarawih’. Such a long prayer demands patience. One gets little sleep in Ramzan. As one has to get up very early for pre-dawn meal. Thus, Ramzan enables one to go even with less rest.

THE ALMS:
In Ramzan, Muslim people donate 2.5% of their savings to needy people. This donation – called as ‘Zakat’ – is mandatory for every Muslim family who has at least 75g gold or an amount equal to the market price of that much gold in store from last year. Such a donation helps to bring social justice in the society.

HEALTH MATTERS:
Fasting in Ramzan doesn’t make one weak, though one may feel temporary weakness during the fasting period. Rather, fasting helps one’s digestive system work smoothly. Fasting is the best cure for the digestive problems.

THE EXEMPTIONS:
Elderly, immature children, ill people and women going through their period are exempted from fasting.

WHAT YOU’RE THINKING:
You may be thinking that it is everyone’s game to fast (or keep Roza), but, believe me my friend, even 7-8 year old children do fast merrily, And once you are used to it, you even won’t feel the hunger or thirst much. So what, you wanna fast and avail yourself from its benefits? Well, you’ll definitely enjoy this experience. Especially, when you’ll sit in the evening to brake your fast you’ll realize that God has indeed bestowed his mercy upon you by providing you the food which is not available to many of your brethren. Simply, follow the following dos and don’ts while fasting and you’ll experience such a spiritual satisfaction and internal happiness that you never experienced before!
a) Don’t lie to anyone – even if speaking truth is harmful for you.
b) Don’t fight with anyone – if someone causes you some harm try to forgive him.
c) Donate some money from your pocket-money to some needy person.
d) Don’t cheat with anyone – even if it costs you some worldly loss.
e) Don’t watch vulgar films/videos/serials/pics.

THE LESSON RAMZAN TEACHES ONE IS THAT, IF ONE CAN PREVENT ONESELF FROM DOING A RIGHTFUL THING LIKE EATING JUST BECAUSE HIS GOD WISHES SO HE CAN EASILY PREVENT HIMSELF FROM DOING SINFUL ACTIVITIES TO PLEASE HIS CREATOR.

Controversy over Such ka Saamna

Rajya Sabha members cutting across party lines on Wednesday have expressed concern over mushrooming of TV reality shows involving "dirty" content aimed at improving TRPs and earning additional advertising revenues.A section of senior Parliamentarians in the Upper House mainly belonging to Opposition parties took serious objection to the telecast of Star Plus's new reality show, called Sach Ka Saamna, citing objectionable content that goes against the morality of Indian society.Last week, MP Sharad Yadav had voiced his reservations against Colors' show Balika Vadhu, stating that the show promoted child marriage. Now, its the turn of Samajwadi Party MP Kamal Akhtar, to be the moral police.Raising the Sach Ka Saamna issue during zero hour, Akhtar said, "Obscene questions are asked by the anchor of the programme."Akhtar cited an example when a woman was asked in the presence of her husband whether she would have physical relationship with another person. "When she said no, polygraph test said the answer was wrong."Subsequently, the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry has also served a show-cause notice to Star Plus over the continued telecast of Sach Ka Saamna. The Ministry has given Star India Pvt. Ltd., the company that owns Star Plus, time till July 27 to respond to its notice.According to senior I&B officials, the broadcaster has been asked to clarify its position on the various objections raised by the MPs. Uday Shankar, chief executive officer, Star India, did not respond to a query sent in the matter.It is known fact that when figures like former India batsman Vinod Kambli and TV actress Urvashi Dholakia bared their heart and soul on Sach Ka Saamna, everyone sighed and said - "Yes, we are all listening."Recently, in this emotionally-charged show, Kambli also created a huge controversy, when he said that his childhood friend and former India captain Sachin Tendulkar didn't do enough to stop him going down a self-destructive path, which ended a glorious career.Now many among us may want to know Kambli's dark secrets, apart from Akhtar's concerns. But what possesses people let it all hang out on telly? We have thought that no one would be interested in our humdrum lives. But how wrong we were, there is a great slavering public out there lapping up every bit of humiliation suffered by others.

What do I as a young Muslim think of the programme? Well I simply dislike/don’t approve the format as well as the content of the programme and strongly feel that it should be banned. Here is why:

Consider two of the prophet Mohammed’s (peace be upon him) sayings (Hadeeths): i) Don’t try to find others’ secrets and if at all you come to know about them don’t spread them. ii) Don’t raise the veil over those crimes of yours on which God has kept veil.
Words used by me in above two statements may not be similar to those used by prophet (pbuh) but I think I have conveyed the message. The above mentioned rules are essential for a society where people have confidence over each other. They are even more necessary for strong ties amongst friends and family members. This is why, I can’t approve a game showwhere people are asked bold-vulgar to be precise- questions about their personal life and people shamelessly unfold their black deeds in front of an audience which contains their near and dear ones. Can you imagine how much faith a husband will have in his wife after hearing that she is ready to sleep with another man if he isn’t around? Or what a daughter will think of her father when she comes to know that she has an illegitimate sibling also! One may argue that one feels relieved after confession, so what’s wrong with it? The simple answer is that one should rather confess before God and seek forgiveness from him. It will not only make him feel relieved but also hoping that he/she will be forgiven.

Divorce caused by moment of truth (actual Sach ka Saamna) @ www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=38398&cat...

SHIVAJI - HERO OR REBEL?

The ongoing controversy over Dadoji Konddev, the mentor of Maratha warrior king Shivaji – as we studied in our 4th std. history book – has came to an end with the Maharashtra state’s decision to reduce Dadoji to just an ‘able administrator’ from mentor and inspiration of Shivaji.<<http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=RSSFeed-News&id=209a2e94-9440-4c96-aa8f-b4f70da33f99&Headline=History+book+row%3a+Sena+slams+Maratha+organisations>>
This kind of incident is not new. Earlier also ruling the ruling classes have altered the history books to their liking. I vividly remember that throughout my fifth std. history book Indian National Congress was mentioned as ‘The National Party’, as the book was prepared under BJP rule. Similarly, BJP had also removed assassination of Mahatma Gandhi from the school history book, which was later introduced in just a single sentence.
In my school days it would have made no difference to me had Dadoji konddev not been mentioned as the mentor of Shivaji because small as I was and being a Muslim I was quit unaware of Brahmin-Maratha drift. But some things, really, did matter.
The ongoing controversy reminded me of the mental conflict I had when I was in 4th std. in my Urdu medium school. Our 4th std. history book was all about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his struggle against the rulers like Nizam Shah, Adil Shah and Aurangazeb. Now, Shaivji happened to be a Hindu and the rulers happened to be Muslims. Besides, since our book had given this struggle a slightly communal colour it looked more like a Hindu-Muslim affair (This communal colour is more evident in the texts of some historians and TV serials). It’s why I hesitated to accept Shivaji as a hero. Rather I looked at him as a rebel.
It was amusing to see how our teacher innocently neutralized the communal tone of our textbook. The textbook said: Before Shivaji, the people of Maharashtra were victims of the rulers like Nizam Shah and Adil Shah. Hindus didn’t have the freedom of pujapat (Worshipping)…… Our teacher explained it this way: Yes, those were really hard times. Hindus weren’t allowed to perform puja, Muslims weren’t allowed to go the mosque……
As days passed I studied how Shivaji conquered the forts one by one, defeated his enemies and his influence increased in the area. Now, a conflict began in my mind over accepting Shivaji as a hero. Who doesn’t want to be with the winning side? Moreover we were told that Shivaji came as a rescuer and messiah to the local people. He was an able administrator and he brought dignity to the people.
On the other hand, we were told, the rulers were really devils. But then, I would think how can Aurangazeb be a bad soul? He was, in my mind, the most pious ruler of India living a modest life not using even a single paisa of royal treasury for his personnel expenses. I took a stung exception to what the book said. And in order to justify my craving for Aurangazeb I would glance through the map which suggests that Shivaji rules over a small land whereas Mogul empire is spread all over India.
As for my friends, some of them took Shivaji as a hero. Others didn’t because a) he was fighting against ‘Muslims’ and b) He used to attack from backside and without prior notice – a guerilla war. Some even got a derogatory word for him: Pahadi Chooha (Mountain Rat) – despite the fact that he was a brave warrior – because of the same reason.
But I, even at the end of the year, wasn’t sure if Shaivaji was a hero or not!