German state to teach Islam in public schools

The Associated Press Published: September 5, 2006

BERLIN Public elementary schools in a southern German state will begin offering classes on Islam, and an education official in Baden-Wuerttemberg described the program as part of an effort to better integrate Muslims, many of whom are immigrants. Already 235 children have signed up for the classes, which will be taught in German following a syllabus drawn up by the state's Education Ministry and members of the Islamic community, state officials said Tuesday. Religion classes on Islam are also available to students in the states of Hamburg, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. The classes are part of a move to better integrate Germany's roughly 3.5 million Muslims, many of whom live in immigrant communities that have little contact with other parts of society. "Muslim girls and boys need to learn that their beliefs bind them to, not keep them from, our society," said Helmut Rau, a state minister in Baden-Wuerttemberg responsible for education. German pupils are required to attend religion classes, but usually have only Christianity and Judaism as their options. Those who do not choose to attend may take ethics classes instead. BERLIN Public elementary schools in a southern German state will begin offering classes on Islam, and an education official in Baden-Wuerttemberg described the program as part of an effort to better integrate Muslims, many of whom are immigrants. Already 235 children have signed up for the classes, which will be taught in German following a syllabus drawn up by the state's Education Ministry and members of the Islamic community, state officials said Tuesday. Religion classes on Islam are also available to students in the states of Hamburg, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. The classes are part of a move to better integrate Germany's roughly 3.5 million Muslims, many of whom live in immigrant communities that have little contact with other parts of society. "Muslim girls and boys need to learn that their beliefs bind them to, not keep them from, our society," said Helmut Rau, a state minister in Baden-Wuerttemberg responsible for education. German pupils are required to attend religion classes, but usually have only Christianity and Judaism as their options. Those who do not choose to attend may take ethics classes instead.

slam with Chinese characteristics
By Pallavi Aiyar

YINCHUAN, China - The muezzin sounds the evening call to prayer. White skullcaps glint in the fading brightness of the setting sun as the faithful make their way into the mosque. The shush of whispered "salam alaikums" fills the hall. Outside, the mosque's minarets stretch up into the sky; a single crescent moon decorates the top of the green dome.

An unremarkable scene were it not for the fact that this mosque is tucked away in the landlocked interior of officially atheist and traditionally Buddhist China. When the imam preaches, he speaks Mandarin. Under the skullcaps and behind the veils of the men and women gathered, there are Chinese faces concentrated in prayer.

Reliable data are difficult to obtain, but China's estimated 20 million to 30 million Muslims may in fact be the second-largest religious community in the country, after the 100 million or so Buddhists. Islam in China is moreover in the process of a strong revival, spurred on by increasing trade links with the Middle East that have ended the centuries-long isolation of Chinese Muslims from the wider Islamic world.

Orthodoxy among Chinese Muslims is on the rise as ever larger numbers go on hajj and youngsters return from their studies abroad in Muslim countries. Nonetheless, Chinese Islam retains characteristics that set it apart. The communist revolution with its emphasis on gender equality has left its mark here. Mao Zedong famously said that "women hold up half the sky", a lesson China's Muslims seem to have imbibed well. Female imams such as Nu Ahong and exclusively female mosques such as Nu Si play a unique role in the Middle Kingdom.

Islam in China has a long tradition stretching back more than 1,200 years. The largest community among the Chinese Muslim groups is the Hui. Numbering about 10 million, the Hui are descendents of Middle Eastern traders and their converts who first traveled to China along the silk route during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-906). Centuries of isolation meant that they blended in with the largely Confucian and Buddhist Han Chinese who make up more than 90% of the modern nation's population.

The Hui speak Mandarin and look like Han. The primary way of telling the two communities apart has traditionally been the absence of pork, a meat that is the primary staple for Han, from the diet of Hui Muslims. The Hui are also not to be confused with the other large Muslim minority group in China, the Uighurs, who are of Turkic ethnicity and live mostly in the western autonomous region of Xinjiang.

Ningxia Hui autonomous region, a northern region flanked by the Gobi Desert, is home to 1.8 million Hui Muslims, or 35% of the autonomous region's total population. Ningxia has some 700 officially licensed imams and more than 3,000 mosques. According to Ma Xiao, vice president of the Islamic Association of Ningxia, there are currently more than 5,000 manla, or young Islamic disciples, studying Arabic and Islamic doctrine part-time in the autonomous region.

Certain restrictions continue to apply on Islam, as on all religions, in China. For example, proselytizing is strictly forbidden and children below the age of 18 are not permitted to receive religious instruction at all. Moreover, all imams must be licensed by a government-approved body and accept the superiority of the state over any religious authority. Nonetheless, as a visit to virtually any part of Ningxia will reveal, the Hui embrace their faith with enthusiasm.

In recent years, Ningxia has benefited from donations worth millions of US dollars from the Saudi Arabia-based Islamic Development Bank, which has enabled a facelift for The Islamic College in the regional capital Yinchuan, as well as the establishment of several Arabic-language schools.

Interest in Arabic is booming so much so that even the Ningxia Economic Institute has begun to offer three-to-four-year-long Arabic courses. Ningxia University also opened an Arabic-language department last year.

At the Xi Guan Mosque in Yinchuan, more than 300 students have begun to study Arabic since the mosque started offering a free language course two years ago. A third of these are women. Aged mostly between 30 and 70, they say the chance to study Arabic brings them closer to their religion.

"Earlier we were too busy just making a living. Now that we are richer, we have more time to focus on the spiritual, and by learning Arabic I can read the Koran in the original. As a Muslim this is my duty," said Song Xiulan, a 40-year-old housewife.

A hundred miles east of Yinchuan in the small town of Ling Wu, 50 other women, their heads covered with scarves, sit in a room reciting verses in Arabic from the Koran. They are being taught by Yang Yuhong, one of two female imams at the Tai Zi Mosque. Yang received her title from the Islamic Association four years ago. She is one of about 200 certified female imams in the autonomous region.

Yang says she does not see anything un-Islamic about the concept of female imams: "There are many things that are easier for women to talk about with other women. And everyone, man or woman, has a duty to study and understand the religion."

But this new tradition of female imams in China is less revolutionary than it first appears. While the women are granted the title of imam, they are still not allowed to lead men in prayers. Their role is more that of a teacher, and their students are exclusively female. "The women imams are respected people whom the community looks up to, but of course they do not have the same religious powers as men. Men and women are equal but their roles are different," said Ma from the Islamic Association.

Ling Wu's Tai Zi Mosque has been rebuilt four times in the past 20 years. During the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), most places of worship were demolished, and Tai Zi suffered the same fate. Since the 1980s, however, a religious renaissance accompanied by increasing prosperity has led to the local Muslims donating enough money for four major expansions of the building.

Ma Zian, the mosque's head imam, is now 80 years old. "I have seen everything: the pre-revolution period, the communist accession and the Cultural Revolution. I can tell you that at last we are quite free to practice our faith. It's so much better for us now," he said.

But as is often the case in China, the driving force behind this Islamic revival is economic. "Other provinces have ports and natural resources. In Ningxia we have Muslims. This is our competitive advantage," said Chen Zhigang, deputy director general of the Investment Promotion Bureau of Ningxia.

To exploit this "competitive advantage", the regional government organized for the first time a massive Halal Food Exhibition last month, through which it aimed to establish connections between the food industries of Ningxia and the Middle East. Chen said contracts to the tune of 10 billion yuan (US$1.25 billion) were signed during the four-day-long exhibition. In Ningxia, Islam and trade are blending in a delicate mix to the benefit of both religious and secular life.

But while the Hui Muslims' Arabic-language skills and cultural affinity with the oil-rich Middle East are now being seen by the authorities as a valuable economic resource, the stronger sense of group identity among the Hui fostered by these renewed linkages with the Islamic world is leading to new challenges.

In the past the Hui were among the least orthodox Muslims in the world. Many smoked and drank, few grew beards, and Hui women rarely wore veils. Increased contact with the Middle East, however, has wrought changes. Thousands of Hui students have returned from colleges in Arab countries over the past few years and they have brought with them stricter ideas of Islam. Mosques in Ningxia have now begun to receive worshippers five times a day, more Hui women have taken to wearing headscarves, and skullcaps are in wide evidence.

There is a strong identification among the Hui community today with the wider problems of the Islamic world. "It's American policy that has given all of us Muslims a bad reputation," said Yang, Tai Zi Mosque's female imam, quivering with indignation. "We are a peace-loving religion, but look what they [the Americans] have turned us into. Look what lies they spread about us," she continued. The 50 women surrounding her all nodded slowly in assent.

For many non-Muslim Chinese, this identification of the Hui with communities outside of China is problematic. "Earlier the Hui were just like us except they didn't eat pork. Now they think they are very special. They think of themselves as foreigners," a Foreign Office official in Ningxia complained.

The Hui are exempt from China's one-child policy, and affirmative-action schemes reserve special seats for them at universities and government departments. In interior regions such as Ningxia that have been left out of the economic boom of China's coastal region, competition for jobs is intense and resentment against the Hui's "special" privileges is increasing.

Confrontations between the two communities are often sparked by minor incidents. In 2004, for example, large parts of Henan province were placed under curfew after fighting between Hui and Han left dozens dead. The fighting began when a Hui man bumped into a Han girl with his vehicle and refused to pay compensation.

"The main job of every government official in Ningxia these days is to keep the peace with the Hui," said the Foreign Office official.

For the Hui, greater freedoms and contact with the wider world mean they must undertake the difficult task of negotiating among their increasingly complex identities: at once Muslim, Hui and Chinese. For the Han, the challenge is to foster Hui culture without alienating the community from the rest of Chinese society. The manner in which both sides address these challenges will be key to the maintenance of social stability in China in the coming years.

Pallavi Aiyar is the China correspondent for The Hindu.

(Copyright 2006 Pallavi Aiyar.)

NY Muslims keep the faith post 9/11

As part of his series on the fifth anniversary of the 11 September attacks, the BBC's Stephen Evans talks to Muslims in New York to see how they have been affected by the tragedy.

Many Muslims in New York have been through a period of reflection since 11 September 2001, looking out at the wider US and wondering where they fit into it.

The Muslim Center of New York hopes to train young leaders

And they have been looking inwards, to work out what kind of Islam sits easily with their lives.

Take the case of Nafisa Degani who worked for the insurance company, Aon, on the 100th floor of the World Trade Center's South Tower.

She was in her office when the first plane hit the North Tower.

"All of us just stood up and looked out and saw this plane crash into Tower One and it was just like at eye level," she said.

"I stood there stupefied for a few seconds and we all thought it was pure accident - that he had lost control and that he had gone in. And it took a few seconds - I stood there, and a few seconds later a huge flame shot out and the fire was so close.

"I took my bag and I was just yelling, run, run."

Hijackers' motivation

Against the official advice to stay put, Ms Degani left her desk and descended. Half-way down the stairs, she felt the building shake as the second plane hit the tower above her.

Nafisa Degani's experience has reinforced her faith

She escaped while her friends died, and the whole experience made her assess her whole life including her faith in Islam.

She says it has made her stronger in her faith.

She has thought hard about the motivation of the hijackers who killed her friends - rejecting the hijackers' version of Islam as a perversion.

"Firstly, Islam means peace - where was the peace in this? This Islam is just made up," she said. "It is nothing to do with Islam and these terrorists that take their own lives doing these kinds of acts - no religion permits that.

"So it is in the name of Islam but it has, as far as I'm concerned, nothing to do with the religion of Islam".

Ms Degani also re-ordered her own life. She tried to eliminate what was not working or important, and for her that meant getting divorced (something she says Muslim women very rarely initiate).

Community's role

Just as individual Muslims have re-examined their lives, so have communities.

At the Muslim Center of New York, in Queens, boys aged from seven to 14 rock back and forth as they memorise the Koran.

Imam Syamsi Ali believes Muslims have opened up since 9/11

It is a scene from thousands of mosques in the Pakistan many of their families left - except this is the US, with a very American attitude at the top.

The imam, Syamsi Ali, says he wants to bind people to the US, training young people who he hopes will become leaders in the law, medicine or engineering.

Since 11 September, Muslims in New York have become much more outgoing, he thinks.

"I used to attend meetings of the imams' council and I used to find many imams who were very, very unfriendly towards others. But after 11 September, they started realising that we need to open ourselves," he said.

"Before 11 September it was not easy to receive interfaith leaders in the mosques because of the perceptions - some Middle Eastern perception - that mosques are for Muslims only.

"But after 11 September, that changed. The mosque was opened, we organised many interfaith seminars, meetings where we reached out to the people."

Changing attitudes

New York's Muslims say they feel various pulls on them - this desire to be part of the US, but also some resentment from some of the rest of the country. Many Muslims say they face discrimination at work, or hostile looks on public transport.

Omar Mohammedi of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in New York, a civil rights lawyer, said he was taking cases brought by Muslims who had been fired from their jobs.

He was also representing a child who had been bullied in school because his name was "Osama".

The Muslim Center of New York holds regular interfaith seminars

Observers say there does seem to have been a change in Muslim attitudes since 11 September, with a much more determined rejection of isolation.

What it is impossible to know, though, is to what extent there are American Muslims who go the other way.

Analysts say home-grown terrorism seems less likely than in Europe, because integration of communities is greater.

Even in enclaves of people of Pakistani descent in the US, there is a mix, with Hispanics and Indians often living in the same street, their shops next to each other.

On top of that, Pakistanis who settle in the US generally do better, economically, compared with those who settle in the UK, many of whom fled poverty in Kashmir.

All the same, it only takes one alienated Muslim youth to act on his anger and then all the goodwill of thoughtful, active Muslim leaders in New York will count for little.

U.S. targeted Washington-area Muslims

WASHINGTON, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. terrorism investigators focused on the Muslim community in the Washington area in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

The Washington Post said 11 people were convicted for their roles in an apparent "jihad network" as federal prosecutors carried out a crackdown on Muslims with sympathies to Osama bin Laden and his cause.

Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty said in a recent speech that the "preventative prosecutions" were designed to head off potential terror attacks, however Muslim leaders complained of being singled out for relatively minor offenses.

The Post said some of those convicted face long prison terms for crimes such as mailing packages to their homelands and possessing literature praising Osama or radical Islam.

The newspaper also noted that the FBI and other agencies had to scramble to develop intelligence on U.S. Muslim communities in 2001 after focusing most of their resources overseas.

Muslims can wear hospital 'inter-faith gown'

Muslim women booking into hospital for operations can now respect their religion by wearing a burka-style gown.

The 'Inter-Faith Gown' is the brainchild of Karen Jacob, the linen services manager at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

It is the first such gown to be introduced in the country and patients at Preston and Chorley hospitals will now have the opportunity to wear it if they wish.

Ms Jacob said: "I noticed a gap in the market and thought that it would be great if there was a gown that helped to preserve a patient's modesty."

The gown provides extra comfort and cover for patients undergoing medical procedures, and whose culture or religion requires them to be more modestly clothed.

Trials of the gown have already been carried out at Royal Preston Hospital and the response has been overwhelming.

It will be available from November 1 and will be manufactured by Interweave Textiles.

There has already been considerable interest in it from other NHS Trusts.

Ms Jacob and Interweave Textiles were brought together by TrusTECH – the NHS organisation that manages innovation for the North West NHS.

US Muslims face growing suspicion

Muslim leaders cite Bush's recent comments as not helpful

American Muslims have blamed politicians and the media for the US public's increasing hatred and fear of Islam in the five years since the September 11 attacks.

"The trends of Islamophobia unfortunately are worsening," Abdul Malik Mujahid, chairman of the Council of Islamic Organisations of Greater Chicago, said at the start on the annual meeting of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) on Friday.

"During the last five years the Muslim community has been scrutinized by almost all branches of the government and the media to the extent that more than half a million Muslims have been directly touched by this process."

"They continue to face dehumanization and a great trend of Islamophobia," Mujahid said.

Mujahid cited George Bush's recent remark that if terrorism is not beaten in Baghdad then Americans will have to fight it in their own streets as a remark that casts suspicions on Muslims in their own country.

Lack of understanding

The ISNA annual meeting is the largest yearly gathering of US and Canadian Muslims.

Ingrid Mattson, newly elected president of ISNA and the first woman to head the group, agreed that there was a continuing level of problems faced by Muslims, but said that there was also a growing level of education and understanding acros civil society.

This she said finds Muslim leaders sometimes hard pressed to keep up with demands for speeches and other outreach opportunities.

"Hollywood and popular culture in general seem to have done a better job of putting a human face on Muslim adherents than the news media," Mattson said.

September 11 anniversary

Almost 3000 people died when members of al Qaeda, a global Islamic group, flew two passenger planes into the World Trade Centre in New York and another into the Pentagon in Washington on September 11, 2001.

Western-born Muslims and converts have played an increasing role in armed Islamic movements worldwide since then.

British-born Muslims have carried out attacks in London and others have travelled to Iraq to fight US and British troops.

In 2004 a group of Moroccan Muslims killed nearly 200 people in Spain when they blew up a train in Madrid.

In 2005 a Belgian woman convert to Islam, Muriel Degauque, travelled to Afghanistan to carry out a suicide bomb attack against US troops.

In August 2006 British police arrested 22 British Muslims on suspicion of planning to blow up several transatlantic airliners.

Also in August, German police said that two Lebanese Muslims had attempted to blow up a train in Germany.

Turkey : Islamic swimsuit for conservatives September 1, 2006

Mehmet Sahin, a Turkish businessman has claimed to have prepared the world’s first Islam-inspired swimsuit to cater to the demand of well-heeled Muslims. He said that his firm is preferred by wives of conservative politicians and even though it is a small market but has been growing. His swimsuit resembles shiny track-suits with stretchy hoods and they remind of the swimwear worn by Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman who made and wore it in 1906. Sahin had designed his first swimsuit for men when he was studying law in Istanbul since he became bored of wearing other clothe while going for swimming. His brand Hasema has become famous in Turkey and 40,000 swimsuits were sold in 2005 and he expects to sell up to 50,000 this year. Many Turks have been surprised to see Islamic bathing suit on Turkish beaches since bikinis are a common sight there. Sahin has already set his eyes on markets like United States, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Germany and he even has plan to organize a fashion show in Cairo next year.

Stereotyping is leading to terror, says first Muslim Miss England

Last updated at 16:13pm on 31st August 2006

The first Muslim to be crowned Miss England has warned that stereotyping members of her community is leading some towards extremism.

Hammasa Kohistani made history last year when she was chosen to represent England in the Miss World pageant.

But one year on, the 19-year-old student from Hounslow feels that winning the coveted beauty title last September was a "sugar coating" for Muslims who have become more alienated in the past 12 months.

She said: "The attitude towards Muslims has got worse over the year. Also the Muslims' attitude to British people has got worse.

"Even moderate Muslims are turning to terrorism to prove themselves. They think they might as well support it because they are stereotyped anyway. It will take a long time for communities to start mixing in more.

"People may feel I am just a sugar coating on the situation. I am a symbol to show it's not really that bad.

But at the same time, she said, "there is this hostility" which comes "mainly from the Government".

The Prime Minister told MPs last month that moderate Muslims were not doing enough to tackle extremists in their own community.

Miss Kohistani said: "Tony Blair addressed Muslims in particular, telling them that they need to sort out the problem within. That was a huge stereotype of the Islamic community. Even the more moderate Muslims have been stereotyped negatively and feel they have to take actions to prove themselves.

Born in Uzbekistan and raised in Afghanistan, Miss Kohistani divided Muslim opinion when she entered and won the Miss England pageant in Liverpool.

Several community leaders openly declared her to be betraying the laws of Islam while radical Muslims sent the teenager and her family death threats.

But after a busy year travelling around the world as an ambassador for England, Miss Kohistani said she feels Muslims are unfairly being branded as terrorists.

She added: "For a Muslim to represent England is asking for controversy at the moment. I feel after everything that's happened Muslims are being stereotyped negatively. The whole community has been labelled and, whether they are guilty of crime or not, they are getting penalised for it.

"I like being in the limelight because people can look at me and see I am a Muslim but good. Most of the people being pinpointed are judged by their outer appearances and people assume because they are Muslim and have a beard they have done something wrong."

She continued: "The bridge I have made is slowly being broken by more and more wars. Now the Iran situation is brought up and another Islamic country is under scrutiny - and the recent Heathrow scare. I guess I am needed even more now than last year to an extent because of what has happened.

"It is not for me to answer how to get people to turn away from terrorism. The politicians don't know what to do and I am just a 19-year-old."

Analysis: Muslim-Americans turn to law

William Fisher

August 31, 2006

-- His name is Junaid Ahmed. He is 24 years old. And he is among a rapidly increasing number of first generation Muslim-Americans who have decided to pursue careers in the law.

Ahmed, who was born in Chicago, Illinois, after his parents emigrated to the US from Pakistan in 1973, is a second-year student at William and Mary law school in Williamsburg, Virginia. He told us he chose the law over more traditional first-generation Americans' choices - medicine, science and engineering - because he cares deeply about human rights and civil liberties.

When he graduates from law school in 2008, he says he hopes to join the legal staff of an international human rights organization, and also do some teaching.

Ahmed says he is "worried about the politics of fear" that the administration of President George W. Bush has encouraged since the terrorists attacks of September 11, 2001. He adds that "Many Muslims in America are being routinely harassed and stereotyped" and "might feel more comfortable with lawyers who understood their language, culture and customs."

He says his personal experience is that, despite denials from the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice, these agencies "are practicing ethnic profiling on a routine basis." He recalls returning to the US from Pakistan several weeks ago, just after the alleged airliner-bombing plot was announced in London.

"Individuals and families with small children who seemed to look South Asian or Middle Eastern were routinely taken out of the usual waiting lines and questioned for hours" by agents of the Transportation Safety Administration, a DHS agency that is in charge of airline security. "And they were the only ones questioned," he claims.

Active in human rights issues ranging from the crackdown on civil and political liberties worldwide to global economic justice during his undergraduate study at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, Ahmed currently serves as pro-bono director of communications for the National Muslim Law Students' Association, formed in 2002, as well as an Executive Board Member of the Domestic Violence Resource Project, based in Washington, DC.

Another organization, The National Association of Muslim Lawyers, was launched in California in 1996 with 24 members, and now has 500. It actively partners with the NMLSA. And half the 100 members of the Bay Area (California) Association of Muslim Lawyers are law students, a further sign of the substantial increase.

A spokesperson for the NMLSA, Rufiath Youssef, told us that firm numbers of Muslim law students are hard to come by because law schools and law firms do not ask an applicant's religion. But there are currently Muslim law student organizations at approximately 30 US law schools from Berkeley to Yale.

Youssef says her organization currently has 249 subscribers, "with at least 50 joining last year alone." Members include law graduates, law students and college students interested in law.

She told us, "After 9/11 there came a shocking realization that there were not enough Muslims in the profession to protect the rights of Muslims both within the US and also the international community. And, that those who did not profess the Muslim faith may not understand the subtle dimensions and intentions of those who practiced their faith or culture in a manner that peripherally seemed un-American, when in reality no treason was intended."

She cites the Muslim obligation to give to charity, one of the five pillars of Islam. "A Muslim may send money to another country or organization and be arrested for allegedly materially aiding a terrorist country. In such a situation, a Muslim lawyer could identify their intent in such an act, while being aware of the legal mechanisms to secure their release."

Youssef told us, "9/11 certainly impacted upon the career choice of many Muslim students. Moreover, there is an acknowledgment amongst the American Muslim legal community, particularly those working in the civil rights areas, that they are in essence amongst the first generation of the current Muslim civil rights movement. Like Brown v. Board of Education, some of the precedents that will be set in relation to Muslims and their plight will be set by those who struggle in this cause today."

However, she adds, "Not all Muslim Americans entering law now are intending to join in the cause. Many will be doing it for exactly the same reason as any other American student; namely, fame, fortune, a comfortable lifestyle or an interest in a particular legal area. And in reality it would be foolish if Muslims limited themselves to one field alone. Times will inevitably change, or at least this is my hope, and when it does, I, with many others in the Muslim community, hope that Muslims will contribute to society via expertise in various areas of law."

This view is supported by Samer Shehata, assistant professor of Arab politics at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University. He told us, "I do not doubt that harassment experienced in the period since 9/11 has increased Muslim-Americans' interests in issues such as discrimination, civil rights, and the law. But it is also the case that as the children of immigrants grow up [and as their parents become more settled and established], they increasingly attend colleges and universities."

But the motivations of NMLSA members appear to lean heavily toward the civil liberties area.

Typical is Omar Khawaja, a JD candidate at Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law in Washington, DC. He says, "After 9/11 and the ensuing debate over whether it was possible to be a practicing Muslim and patriotic American, it was clear to me that policy makers in Washington DC needed greater input from Muslim Americans. While working on Capitol Hill, I decided that law school would help me become a better advocate for Muslim and Muslim American causes. Despite the circumstances, I'm grateful at having the opportunity to work in the legal field and make a positive contribution to society as a Muslim American."

This attitude is being expressed in a variety of ways. For example, lawyers and law students are going into the community to teach Muslims about civil rights. In Santa Clara, California, a legal clinic at a local mosque offers free community consultations. And Muslim lawyers are taking on cases such as the Muslim woman who says she is on the Transportation Security Administration's no-fly list in error, and another who says she lost her job because she wore a hijab, or headscarf.

William Fisher managed economic development projects in the Middle East for the US State Department of the US Agency for International Development. He is a regular contributor to the Middle East Times and can be contacted at www.billfisher.blogspot.com

Literary stars convert to Islam for school

ANKARA, Turkey, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- Classic literary characters such as Pinocchio and Tom Sawyer have been converted to Islam as part of a controversial move for the Turkish school curriculum.

The move by Islamic publishing houses to insert references to the Islamic faith throughout literary classics provided to schools throughout Turkey, which is a secular state, has drawn strong opposition from the country's leaders, said Britain's Telegraph newspaper.

Turkey's first Islamic premier, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has demanded that the offending publishers be reprimanded for their decision to insert the religious references, as well as for various slang and insulting terms aimed at the president and the prime minister.

There has been no reported response from the publishers regarding the incident thus far and Huseyin Celik, Turkey's Education minister, has sworn to take legal action against any further publications.

"If there are slang and swear words, we will sue them for using the ministry logo." he told the Telegraph.

Pleasure Marriages in Sunni and Shi'ite Islam
By Aluma Dankowitz*.

Introduction

For over a decade, the phenomenon of marriage without commitment, called misyar marriage, has been spreading throughout the Sunni Muslim world, particularly in Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf countries. [1] In such marriages, the woman relinquishes some of the rights that Islam grants her, such as the right to a home and to financial support from her husband, and, if he has other wives, the right to an equal part of his time and attention. In most cases, these marriages are secret, without the knowledge of the man's other wives - even though a marriage contract is drawn up in the presence of witnesses, and although consent is commonly obtained from the woman's guardian, and the marriage is registered and documented at the courthouse. Demand is high for misyar marriages on online matchmaking sites, as well as through services using text messages and email. [2]

Due to the substantial increase in the number of misyar marriages in recent years, and in light of the arguments over this issue among clerics as well as among the public, the Institute of Islamic Religious Law, which is a part of the Muslim World League in Mecca, decided to address the matter.

In a fatwa issued on April 10, 2006, the institute permitted marriages in which "the woman relinquishes a home, financial support, and her part [in joint life] with her husband, or part of it, and consents to the man's coming to her home whenever he wants, day or night."

The fatwa also permitted marriages known as "friend" marriages, in which "the girl remains at her family's home and she and the man meet any time they want, either at her home or anywhere else, as they have no [joint] home and livelihood." [3] Such marriages are aimed primarily at meeting the needs of young Muslims in the West, who are influenced by male-female relations around them but who want their relationships to have religious legitimacy.

Advocates of misyar marriage argue that such marriages meet the needs primarily of women who have little chance of finding a husband for ordinary marriage. These include widows, divorcees, and especially single women who are beyond marriageable age [ awanis]. [4] Those opposed to misyar marriage - including the vast majority of women - claim that it exploits the difficult social situation of unmarried women in Arab society, and is designed primarily to sate men's lust, with no concern whatsoever for women's needs and the needs of children born of these marriages.

These non-binding marriages are to a great extent similar to the "pleasure marriages" (in Arabic, mut'a; in Persian, sigheh) that have been accepted in Shi'ite Islam since its beginnings. Unlike misyar marriage, mut'a marriage in Shi'ite Islam is contracted for a particular period of time, and divorce is not necessary to end it. For the most part, misyar marriages also do not last, and ending them by divorce is no problem. Over the years, mut'a marriage has been a major bone of contention between Shi'ite Islam and Sunni Islam - the latter seeing it as licentiousness in religious guise. The Sunni clerics reject the comparison between mut'a and misyar marriage, stressing misyar's formal aspects which meet religious requirements; however, at the same time, they disregard its essence as well as the fact that such a marriage is no basis for a family.

Based on their generally critical approach to mut'a marriage and to marriages contracted for a limited duration, the April 2006 fatwa by the Institute of Islamic Religious Law banned marriages in which the man declares that the marriage will be null and void if the woman becomes pregnant. The institute clarified that "such marriages are flawed, as they contain an element of pleasure [ mut'a], and since setting a particular time period such as one month, or one that is not known [in advance] like the date of the birth of children, makes the marriage mut'a, and it is unanimously agreed that mut'a marriage is forbidden."

Another kind of marriage banned by the institute in its fatwa is "marriage with intent to divorce" - that is, marriage in which "the husband conceals in his heart [an intent] to divorce the wife after a certain period, such as 10 days, or after a period unknown [ahead of time] such as the date of the end of his studies or the date on which he will fulfill the purpose for which he came [to the place where he met the woman]." Although some clerics permit this kind of marriage, the fatwa clarified that "the Institute of Islamic Religious Law has prohibited it, because it includes 'deception and fraud', since had the woman or her guardian known this ahead of time, they would not have agreed to this marriage contract." [5]

This paper addresses various aspects of misyar marriage and presents the approaches supporting it and opposing it:

The Scope and Characteristics of the Phenomenon

In recent years, modern communications technology has increased the spread of misyar marriages. Personal ads on the online Islamic matchmaking sites reveal the nature of these marriages. The following are several examples:

"Young man, 26, from the UAE, seeks misyar marriage to a divorcee, widow, or single woman. Age not an issue."

"Young man, 21, excellent monthly income, seeks misyar marriage as soon as possible to single girl up to age 21 and up to 70 kg, living in Jeddah."

"Egyptian doctor, 45, seeks pretty, white Saudi woman from Jeddah, age 28-40, for misyar marriage. I will visit her twice a week."

"Egyptian accountant, 30, seeks misyar marriage with Saudi woman. Age, appearance, whether she has children, and whether she is a widow, single, or divorced unimportant. What is important is her ability to satisfy the needs of a man who desires things permitted by religion (halal)."

"Young, highly educated man, 29, energetic and with a winning personality, seeks single woman or widow aged 18-50 living in Syria, for misyar marriage."

"Saudi clerk, 38, from a well-known family, seeks pretty, white, delicate businesswoman or clerk for misyar marriage. With Allah's help, if things work out, the marriage will be official."

"Young religious man, 29, working in the UAE, seeks misyar marriage with pretty, religious girl from a well-known tribe, age 14-19. I will pay her 1000 dirhams a month." [6]

An additional channel for those seeking misyar marriage is the traditional matchmaker. A veteran Saudi matchmaker told the London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat that since the publication of the fatwa permitting misyar marriages, she had received at least 15-20 requests per day from men of various ages for such marriages, from men under 20 who did not object to women over 40, up to men in their 70s. She said that the young men who marry women aged 40 and 50 remain with them until they finish their studies. The marriages are kept secret from the man's parents, and when he completes his university studies, he is married to another woman chosen for him by his family. She said that half of the requests for misyar marriages are from young men in their 20s. [7]

Since the fatwa was issued, the number of misyar marriages has increased in Jeddah, particularly among women aged 30 to 40. According to Sheikh Abd Al-Karim Al-Ghamidi, who oversees and coordinates all marriages in Jeddah, most of the women seeking these marriages are businesswomen, teachers, doctors, nurses, and widows. [8]

Saudi author Dr. Ibtisam Halwani, who researched the phenomenon and published a number of articles on the subject, found out the following about misyar marriages: Most of the women in these marriages are non-Saudis, and are from a certain few large cities; in some misyar marriages, the woman relinquishes only some of her rights; many marriage contracts are made not in the presence of the woman's guardian, but in the presence of a public official; some women in misyar marriages demand a divorce after a while so as to remarry and obtain a new dowry; many men set conditions for the woman, such as "if the knowledge of the marriage gets out, you are divorced," or "if you get pregnant, you are divorced"; many of the men divorce when it is even suspected that news of the marriage has reached the families; many students from out of town seek misyar marriage; and most misyar marriages end in divorce. [9]

A poll conducted by Dr. Halwani of 64 women working in Jeddah, found that 81% of them were against misyar marriage; 9% were absolutely in favor of it; and 8% were in favor but only under specific circumstances.

Among the reasons given by the women who were in favor of misyar marriages were: the marriages meet the woman's emotional need; the woman is freely available for her other obligations; there is minimal obligation towards the husband; and the woman remains with her family and does not lose this situation if the marriage fails, because separation is simple in the case of incompatibility.

Among the reasons given for opposing misyar marriage were: the woman does not have rights like an ordinary married woman; there is no sense of security and stability; the woman is not respected; the woman is dependent on the wishes of her husband; such a marriage can force a woman not to have children; a woman feels like a sinner because the marriage is secret, or because there are restrictions on announcing it; and there is fear of problems that might arise when the man's other wife hears about her husband's misyar marriage.

The poll's respondents said that misyar marriage had the following effects: harm to children, because there is no basis for a family; harm to the woman, because the husband has no responsibility towards her; increase in divorce, particularly after the marriage becomes known to the husband's other wife; economic problems for women who have children from these marriages; social criticism of women for having agreed to such a marriage; and women's emotional suffering due to constant fear of the results of this marriage. [10]

Sheikh Al-Qaradhawi: "The Woman is Entitled to Relinquish Some of Her Rights [If She Wants to]"

Like many Muslim clerics, the well-known Islamist Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi maintains that misyar marriages are permitted by religious law, although they are not the preferred and encouraged form of marriage. The following are his statements on the issue, on his weekly program Shari’a and Life aired on Al-Jazeera TV: [11]

"Misyar marriage meets the need of some women. A woman to whom Allah has given money but has not given an opportunity to marry at a reasonable age consents to it... These marriages fulfill all the conditions [for marriage in Islam]... Perhaps society does not accept them, [but] there is a difference between whether the marriage is socially acceptable and whether they are permitted from the point of view of religious law. There are marriages that are not socially acceptable [but are] permitted by religious law... such as cases in which a woman marries her servant or her driver... a young woman marries an older man, or an older woman marries a young man..."

With regard to the issue of the secrecy of misyar marriages, Al-Qaradhawi said: "In Saudi Arabia, [marriages] are registered and documented by the judge, [and the same is true] in the UAE... That is, the marriage is not necessarily secret... After all, if two witnesses witness the marriage, it is already no secret. In addition, in the Gulf states [women have] a guardian. Where is the secrecy in a matter in which there are witnesses and a guardian[?]...

"In the Maliki school of religious law, secret marriages [are invalid], but the other schools settle for there being witnesses. In my opinion, witnesses are the minimum requirement for a legal announcement [of marriage]. Some people do not want to announce their marriage for various reasons... I know several very senior clerics who married [in misyar marriages] and would go to their [new] wives, and his children and his other wife never knew this until after their death...

"The media attack has turned polygamy into a grave crime. The woman thinks that if her husband takes another wife, it is a death sentence for her. How, then, can he tell her this? He doesn't want to kill her, and does this [secretly] in order to protect her, since she will object to this and will perhaps collapse... In this situation, there is nothing preventing him from marrying and hiding it from his wife..."

In answer to the question: "Doesn't such a marriage open the door to extortion, because perhaps a poor man will marry a [wealthy] woman and extort her?" Al-Qaradhawi answered: "Extortion can occur even in ordinary marriages. I receive letters and phone calls from women with jobs whose husbands are extorting them and taking their wages. They [i.e. their husbands] even keep them from opening a [bank] account in their names, and from helping their families... [In misyar marriage], the woman relinquishes [some of her funds] to the man of her own free will. This situation is not extortion...

"The woman is entitled to relinquish some of her rights [if she wants to]... In the biography of the Prophet Muhammad, it is related that when Sawda bint Zam'a, the wife of the prophet after Khadija, grew old... she relinquished her day [for having relations with the Prophet] in favor of 'Aisha [his beloved young wife]..."

Regarding the question of children and family life in misyar marriage, Al-Qaradhawi said: "There is nothing that forbids there being children from a misyar marriage... Aren't there husbands who are always traveling and leaving the children with their wives? On the contrary, there are also husbands that are [at home]... and barely see the children. The husband comes in the middle of the night when the children are already asleep, and when they go to school in the morning he is asleep, and he gets up in the afternoon. He doesn't see his children day or night. This happens; does it invalidate the marriage?..."

With regard to the difference between misyar marriage and mut'a marriage, Al-Qaradhawi explained: "Mut'a marriage is for a limited period of time. It is a marriage in which the man pays the woman for the time... If they marry for a week the payment is for a week; if they marry for a month the payment is for a month, and if they marry for a year [the payment is for a year]... After the specified time period is up, the marriage is null and void... There is no need for divorce. Misyar marriage, in contrast, cannot be annulled except by divorce initiated by the husband or by the wife, or by a judge's ruling... Mut'a marriage is of course forbidden among the Sunnis."[12]

Misyar Marriage - Invalid Because It is Marriage With Intent to Divorce

Abd Allah bin Na'if Al-'Utaybi, an opponent of misyar marriage, explained in his column in the Saudi daily Al-Riyadh that misyar marriage is actually marriage that includes the intent to divorce. As mentioned, the Institute of Islamic Religious Law banned marriage contracted with the intent to end it in divorce, because it involves "deception and fraud."

According to Al-'Utaybi, "misyar marriage discriminates against the woman. [True,] it does have conditions [according to religious law] for marriage, but unfortunately it is not marriage at all. It is marriage with the intent to divorce... and the proof of what I say is that we have never found and never heard of a misyar marriage that lasted. They last for a while, and then the man divorces his helpless wife. What does it mean when a man who contracts a misyar marriage hides his wife?... What does it mean when a man contracts a misyar marriage far from the region in which he lives? And what does it mean when the man refuses to have children with this wife?... Women are deprived of their rights in this marriage, because the husband has no home that she can settle in; she has no children from him; and she cannot express her opinion. She is destined only to sate the man's lust...

"Would you want your daughter, your sister, or a woman under your protection to marry in this fashion? Don't ask for anything that you would not wish upon yourself." [13]

Misyar Marriage is No Different From Mut'a Marriage

In the Saudi daily Al-Watan, Maram Abd Al-Rahman Makawi, a Saudi author, explained that there was no difference between misyar marriage and the mut'a marriage forbidden by Sunni Islam. She wrote: "What is strange is that we very often condemn those from other schools of religious thought [i.e. Shi'ites] because [they agree to] mut'a marriage. Even though I am completely opposed to this kind of marriage, I respect the fact that they call things by their name...

"A few years ago, I heard Sheikh 'Abd Allah bin Muni' answer a question regarding misyar marriage, and say that 'the cowardly man turns to misyar marriage... A man with self-confidence must take numerous wives according to religious law, and announce this before Allah and the public.' The sheikh was right. Islam has permitted the man to take two, three, or four wives, provided that he treats them fairly with regard to livelihood, marital relations, a home, and behavior towards them... What more do men want?...

"If you go to the marriage websites and look through the papers that publish marriage ads, you will find single men aged 21-29 (primarily in Saudi Arabia) who are looking to contract misyar marriages. Naturally, they will marry someone who has financial capability, who is for the most part older than they... And what happens to the young women in the [same] age group? They marry men who have passed marriageable age... Does a young man aged 24 intend to remain with a woman aged 40 or 50? If the answer is no, then this is a pleasure marriage [mut'a]. And when he divorces her and marries another in ordinary marriage, he has already acquired bad habits from his previous marriages - such as not taking responsibility, and relying on others..." [14]

Misyar Marriage - Worse Than Prostitution

'Aisha Al-Mari wrote in her column in the UAE daily Al-Ittihad: "There is no doubt that the chauvinist societies find justification for depriving women and children of their rights in favor of the man's free enjoyment. We don't even call this prostitution, because prostitution is [at least] for pay... There must be no exploitation of social problems such as the problem of older single women such that the woman relinquishes her rights and the rights of her children. Society must examine the roots of the problem and deal with them - and not skip over them with an additional deprivation of women's rights..." [15]

Dr. Rola Dashti, who heads the Kuwait Economic Society, and was the first Kuwaiti woman to register as a parliamentary candidate, [16] also addressed the social aspect of the phenomenon: "Misyar marriage harms the foundation of the family, and of family stability. The rights that the woman relinquishes are fundamental to building a stable family... There must be no use of the issue of 'older single women' to force the woman to relinquish more rights. It is fitting to deal with [this problem] politically and socially, and not to choose the easy way such as misyar marriage... Even a woman in an ordinary marriage suffers from many problems - for example, during divorce - not to mention a woman in a misyar marriage... The time has come for enlightened clerics to deal with the extremist views... and not abandon women in the struggle. There is no escape from launching an attack against the extremist thought that is harming society and restricting the development of the woman in Arab society." [17]

"The Children of Misyar Marriages are Children Who are Oppressed and Hurt"

In another article, Dr. Ibtisam Halwani discussed the situation of the children of misyar marriages: "Why don't misyar marriages turn into ordinary marriages and get announced - instead of being secret marriages that show the man's cowardice and selfishness? And what about the children? Is it permissible for a man to prevent his wife in a misyar marriage from having children? Of course it is forbidden. So what happens when the man brings children to the world from a number of homes? And even if they are the children from one wife to whom he is married in a misyar marriage, how will he oversee the education of his children in this home when he is there some days and other days and weeks he is not?

"If many fathers who live in one home [only] are careless regarding the weighty tasks of life, what will they do when they have a number of homes and many children?... Is it logical that they will treat the children of the misyar wife like they treat these children's mothers, that is, in accordance with circumstance, needs, and desires? Who will raise [the children of misyar marriage] and who will pay the expenses of their housing, food, school, and all the other necessities of life? How will the father monitor their studies, and how will he handle their problems?... And if he divorces their mother, what will happen to them? The children of divorced women from ordinary marriages are known, and their father is known... but who knows the fathers of the misyar children?

"If this marriage is based on concealment, or on a limited announcement [of the marriage, only to the woman's closest relatives], what is the status of women in misyar marriages among her other relatives, such as her aunts, and even among her friends and acquaintances? Will they hide their pregnancy and then hide their children? And even if the woman in misyar marriage is not a Saudi or has no family, don't her sons from this marriage need supervision and care? On the contrary; perhaps her situation is worse, particularly because there is no deterrence preventing the husband from abandoning his son's rights...

"Why not allow sons of misyar marriages and sons of ordinary marriages to have the same opportunities in life?... Doesn't this difference engender hatred and a sense of injustice among the children from misyar marriages because of how they are treated by the children from ordinary homes who have care, livelihood, supervision, and love, that they themselves do not receive? Don't they feel anger because they see their fathers rarely, and enjoy no rights, not even basic ones?...

"The children of misyar marriages are children who are oppressed and hurt. Society will engender hundreds of them in the future, because of the sweeping permission for these marriages. Are we ready to deal with this phenomenon in light of the many and various social problems that [already] exist?..." [18]

*Aluma Dankowitz is Director of MEMRI's Reform Project.

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[1] The term misyar in colloquial Arabic in the Gulf states means "visit." The term shows that these marriages are based on visits by the husband to the wife, and not on life together in one home. In other Arab states the phenomenon also exists, but is called by other names. See Al-Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), April 30, 2006; Al-Arabiyya TV, April 28, 2006.

[2] The Saudi daily Al-Watan, for example, reported on emails offering services providing religiously valid misyar marriages to a virgin for 4,500 riyals, and to a non-virgin for 3,000 riyals. See Al-Watan (Saudi Arabia), April 29, 2006.

[3] http://www.themwl.org/Fatwa/default.aspx?d=1&cidi=162&l=AR&cid=13, April 10, 2006.

[4] The phenomenon of the "older single woman" is extremely widespread in Arab society. Saudi author Maram ‘Abd Al-Rahman Makawi has pointed out a number of the main causes of the problem in Saudi society: objections on the part of the woman's guardian to her marriage due to tribal, regional, racial, color, or familial considerations; objections to her marrying a non-professional or a manual laborer; exaggerated dowry demands; objections to her marrying someone she loves in order to punish her; and objections to her marrying a non-Saudi. See Al-Watan (Saudi Arabia), March 5, 2006.

Divorce is also very common in Arab society. The novel Girls of Riyadh, by Saudi author Rajaa Al-Sanie, focuses on the difficulties faced by divorced women. The book tells of the love lives of four young Saudi women attending the University of Riyadh. Two of them are divorced, one of whom was in a marriage arranged by her family after meeting her future husband only once. She moved with her husband to Chicago, so that he could complete his studies, but her husband showed no interest in her and had an affair with a Japanese-American woman. She became pregnant in order to try to win his affection, but after hearing the news her husband divorced her and sent her back to her parents in Riyadh, with her child, where her family prevented her from leaving the house so as to avoid gossip. Another girl had been engaged to a man who divorced her because she gave herself to him before their official wedding ceremony; she then fell in love with an upper-class Saudi bachelor who would not marry her because she was divorced. After he married a cousin of his, he offered to continue their relationship, but she refused, and ended up marrying her cousin. The other two girls also had many troubles in their personal lives, and only one had a happy end to her story. For a complete synopsis of the book, see www.rajaa.net/v2/english.htm .

[5] http://www.themwl.org/Fatwa/default.aspx?d=1&cidi=162&l=AR&cid=13, April 10, 2006.

[6] The examples here are taken from the matchmaking website http://stones.jeeran.com/%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%8A%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%81%20%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%82%D9%87/index.html. The site provides participants' email addresses and sometimes their telephone numbers.

[7] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), April 25, 2006.

[8] Al-Madina (Saudi Arabia), July 13, 2006.

[9] 'Okaz (Saudi Arabia), June 6, 2006.

[10] 'Okaz (Saudi Arabia), June 6, 2006, May 30, 2006.

[11] http://www.aljazeera.net/channel/archive/archive?ArchiveId=90777

[12] Other differences between misyar marriage and mut'a marriage were discussed by Saudi university lecturer and cleric Dr. Muhammad Al-Nujeimi. In addition to the fact that misyar marriage is not - in contrast to mut'a marriage - limited in time, and divorce is required in the event of separation, in misyar marriage the man is forbidden from taking more than four wives, and if one of the spouses dies, the other has the right of inheritance. However, in mut'a marriage, Dr. Al-Nujeimi explains, the man can take more than four wives, because the marriage is not a complete marriage, as it lacks proper foundation and proper religious legal conditions and thus there is no right of inheritance between the spouses. See www.itijahat.com/news/news_p12.htm .

[13] Al-Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), June 5, 2006.

[14] Al-Watan (Saudi Arabia), April 26, 2006.

[15] Al-Ittihad (UAE), May 15, 2006.

[16] The Washington Post (U.S.), June 29, 2006, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/29/AR2006062900063_pf.html http://www.zu.ac.ae/leadership2006/roladashti.aspx

[17] Elaph, April 18, 2006.

[18] 'Okaz (Saudi Arabia), June 20, 2006.

Islamic universities in Indonesia committed to fight corruption

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Rectors of 15 Indonesian state-Islamic Universities/Institutes (UIN/IAIN) expressed their commitment here on Tuesday to fight corrupt practices by developing anti-corruption education and improving campus management, a rector said.

"We, Indonesia`s Islamic Universities/Higher Learning Institutes are committed to eradicate corruption through education," Prof. Dr. H. Azyumardi Azra, rector of Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic University told the press.

The rectors stressed their commitment after holding a meeting in Jakarta from Monday through Tuesday.

In expressing their stance against corruption, the rectors said they would show example of how to apply the anti-corruption education at all universities and applying good governance through development of education management in all campuses.

In addition, the rectors also urged the government to review laws, regulations and policies which could hamper development of the application of good governance to UIN/IAIN and other universities and to take stern actions against corruptors.

Azyumardi said, anti-corruption culture could be developed by teaching ways and means of corruption eradication.

"The materials on corruption eradication are already available and each university has its own right in how to teach them," the rector said, adding that the teaching of anti-corruption lessons is expected to begin in 2007 because the universities need preparations.

Azyumardi also expressed optimism that the development of the teaching of corruption eradication at universities would bring about a positive impact on the development of a good generation of future leaders.(*)

Copyright © 2006 ANTARA

August 29, 2006

Muslims Paid Less in US Since 9/11
	A new study has shown that in the five years since the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, Muslims and men of Arabic descent have seen their earnings and wages drop by some 10 per cent.
	The study questioned some 4,000 Muslim and Arab men, and found that the main reason for the drop in earnings was because it was now hard for them to find jobs in the fields they are trained for, and now have to settle for lesser-paying jobs.
	The study looked at data from between 1997 and 2005. Ahmed Rehan, from the Council On American-Islamic Relations, said the result "underscores one of the very real ways in which prejudice can hurt a community."

Calling them Islamic fascists can't help

Commentary

By PARVEZ AHMED
After 9/11, President Bush described our fight against terrorism as a "crusade" _ a statement he later retracted. In his first press conference after the recently thwarted terrorist plot to blow up planes flying from Britain to the United States, the president said, "This nation is at war with Islamic fascists."

The phrase "Islamic fascists" has drawn the ire of the American Muslim community. We use "Islamic ethics" to mean ethics based on Islamic teachings that guide our behavior. Similarly, Islamic art draws its inspiration from Islamic teachings that discourage certain types of art (immodest imagery or certain life forms). When the president uses "Islamic fascists," it conveys that fascism is rooted in or inspired by Islam. This is the way the Muslims see it, regardless of what Bush may claim he really means.

Bush earlier said that Islam is a religion of peace. Now, caving in to extreme right-wing pressure, he's equated the religion of peace with the ugliness of fascism. Such rhetoric contributes to fear of and backlash against American Muslims. A recent Gallup poll shows four out of 10 Americans feeling "prejudiced" against Muslims.

Prejudice against Muslims allowed our politicians to whip up a frenzy in rejecting the proposal of a Dubai firm to operate U.S. ports. Conservative columnist David Brooks wrote, "But it is certain that the xenophobic hysteria will come back to harm the United States. ... (The Mideast) is a region in the midst of traumatic democratic change. The strongest argument the fundamentalists have is that they are engaged in a holy war against the racist West, which imposes one set of harsh rules on Arabs and another set of rules on everybody else. Now comes a group of politicians to prove them gloriously right."

Scholarly writings are delving deeper into the roots of suicide terrorism. Robert Pape, in his book "Dying to Win," uses over two decades of data to show the paucity of connection between suicide terrorism and any religion.

The pioneering instigators and largest purveyors of suicide terrorism are the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka, a Marxist-Leninist group whose members are overwhelmingly Hindu. Pape writes, "From Lebanon to Israel to Sri Lanka to Kashmir to Chechnya, the sponsors of every campaign have been terrorist groups trying to establish or maintain political self-determination by compelling a democratic power to withdraw from a territory they claim." Occupation is the primary motivator, with religion, at best, an "aggravating" factor.

Today we all live in fear of terrorism. Equating terrorism with Islam makes the mainstream Muslim community doubly vulnerable, to both the terrorism and its backlash.

In these trying times it is important that our nation stand united. Muslims form an important part of the fabric of America. We are law-abiding citizens, dedicated to the protection of our national security. We should not be singled out because of our faith.

Nor should our faith be equated with the evils of terrorism or fascism. We have no control over the actions of shadowy terrorist groups. But as taxpayers we certainly have a right to petition and expect our government to do everything in its power to protect us, including rejecting counterproductive rhetoric.

A recent policy brief by the Stanley Foundation states that Western powers "should not focus on the religious and cultural divisions between East and West when approaching this issue (terrorism), as this plays into the existing grievances of Arab and Muslim populations and creates a sense of clash between civilizations, all of which hinder the resolution of differences."

An attempt to institutionally and rhetorically dissociate Islam from terrorism is imperative.

(Parvez Ahmed is board chairman of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington.)

Boy Scouts to integrate Islamic faith

Aug. 20, 2006 at 11:57PM

Boy Scout enthusiast Hassene Chaabane is spearheading the formation of the first Muslim troop in Florida's Gulf Stream Council.
The Council covers Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Hendry counties.
"I can't imagine the life of a boy without Boy Scouts," Chaabane, 31, told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Chaabane, a native of Tunisia, drives from his home in Hallandale Beach to attend the Boca Raton mosque and help form Cub Scout and Boy Scout Troop 394. Participating in scouting in his homeland helped him grow into the man he is today, he said.
Members of the mosque approached Jennifer Thomason, district executive of the Gulf Stream Council, about starting a new troop.
She is helping the elders at the mosque train to become troop leaders for the more than 40 children already signed up, while learning about the differences between the Islamic way of raising children and traditional American ways.
Troop 394 will approach scouting from a family perspective, Thomason said, involving girls and parents in activities

More and more Germans become Muslims
Islam-Institute: Number of converts rising steadily

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Posted: August 5, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Wolfgang Polzer

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© 2006 ASSIST News Service

SOEST, Germany – More and more Germans are converting to Islam. Last year approximately 4,000 persons became Muslims.

According to the Central Islam-Institute in Soest, the numbers have been rising since the turn of the century. Up to the year 2000 the annual number of conversions stagnated at 300, but it has been rising ever since.

The institute’s director, Salim Abdullah, has no plausible explanation for this trend, as he told the evangelical news agency "idea." In the past, converts were chiefly women, who married Muslims, or academics with an "affection for the Orient."

Today people from all walks of life are among the converts, according to Abdullah, who is a German born Muslim himself.

The Islamic Fellowship of Germany attracts especially high numbers of converts – about 500 per year. According to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Baden-Wuerttemberg (one of the 16 federal states) the fellowship is associated with the radical Muslim Brotherhoods.

According to Abdullah there are 3.2 million Muslims in Germany. Most of them are Turkish immigrants. Their religious life is flourishing. Abdullah expects the number of mosques to double within the coming years.

Currently there are 143 full-fledged mosques, with 128 more in the planning or building stages. In addition Muslims gather in 2,600 prayer and meeting places.

Approximately two-thirds of the 82 million inhabitants are church members. The Protestant Churches have 25.6 million members and the Roman Catholic Church 25.8 million. Approximately 500,000 Germans belong to smaller, often evangelical churches such as Baptists or Pentecostals.

It has been noted by the churches that interest in religion is rising in Germany, but it is not focused on Christianity. Today, the citizens in Martin Luther’ home country are equally fascinated by esoteric practices, Buddhism and Islam

Beach for Muslim Women Planned in Italy

By ARIEL DAVID
The Associated Press
Friday, August 4, 2006; 12:20 PM

ROME -- Hotels at an Italian seaside resort are eager to act on the town's decision to authorize the creation of all-female beach sections for Muslim women, with at least one hotel owner saying Friday that plans are already under way to open the first of such secluded areas next month.

The city council of Riccione, a popular resort on Italy's Adriatic coast about 90 miles east of Florence, has said it is prepared to authorize requests to set up partitions on parts of the shoreline to satisfy requests from the town's growing numbers of Arab and Muslim tourists.

"They can have anything they want, but they can't go to the beach, at least not without all those heavy clothes," Attilio Cenni, owner of the upscale Grand Hotel des Bains, said of his female Muslim guests.

Cenni said he plans to open the first secluded section starting in September on a stretch of shoreline of about 1,000 square meters (10,000 square feet) and to expand further next season across the more isolated beaches on Riccione's outskirts.

He also plans a TV advertising campaigns in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Cenni told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Popular with German and French tourists, Riccione's mass-tourism venues have recently started to attract thousands of Arab and Muslim visitors each year, mostly from the conservative Arabian peninsula, city officials say.

Supporters of the idea say that the separate beaches would allow observant Muslim women to shed their headscarves and long robes and enjoy the sun in privacy; religious restrictions otherwise oblige them to cover up if men are present.

"I can only be in favor of such a proposal," said Tomas Corazza, manager of the Hotel Mediterraneo. "It allows them to use the beach while respecting their traditions and their religion."

Corazza didn't have immediate plans to open a beach for Muslims this season but said he would advertise this new feature in a mailing list he sends to some 3,000 Arabs who are frequent guests at the hotel.

Cenni said he was already discussing with authorities the only snag in the proposal _ the fact that the partitions won't reach into the sea but will have to stop short of the waterline to allow public passage.

While Riccione's municipality would consider authorizing the construction of reserved seaside swimming pools, Cenni said he hopes he will be allowed to close-off the entire beach with covered partitions and have female lifeguards patrol the sea in water scooters to keep men away. In Italy, all shorelines must be accessible to the public.

"That sounds a little bit like a fantasy," said Andrea Cicchetti, a spokesman for Riccione's mayor.

But Cenni insists that if the partitions are mounted on isolated beaches the inconvenience to passers-by and swimmers will be minimal, allowing his guests to swim without having to don headscarves and robes again.

"These are areas where there is little passage and any problem could be solved with common sense and sensitivity," he said. "We want to make a beach where these ladies will be free."

© 2006 The Associated Press