Today, 35 Muslim civil organizations representing the 2 million Muslims of the island, have issued a joint press release, on behalf of the northen Muslim IDPS, demanding the immediate resettlement of Northern Muslims. They are concerned about the lack of urgency in resettling those IDPS after 20 years of displaced life despite the end of war in MAy 2009 and the LTTE is no more there. One of the main demands is the parrallel resetlement of Muslims along with Vanni IDPs and opening the Puttalam-Mannar road to facilitate and encourage Northen Muslims to return. This press release comes amid serious charges levelled against the Tamil governement officers of North that they give step motherly treatment for the northern Muslims by International Crisis Group in its recently released report of Sri Lanka.
Full text of media release:
Make 2010 The Year of Return of Expelled Northern Muslims
As Sri Lankan Muslims civil society groups we are deeply concerned by the lack of urgency and recognition of the Northern Muslims’ right to return. Despite the end of the war in May 2009 and on-going efforts to resettle Internally Displaced Persons, the expelled Northern Muslim community is still waiting for the announcement of a program that will facilitate their dignified return to their places of origin, free of further trauma.
2010 will mark the twentieth anniversary of the expulsion of the entire population of Muslims from the Northern Province by the LTTE. It will hopefully also be the year of return for the Northern Muslims to rebuild their lives, livelihoods and a shared future with all communities of the North.
With the end of the war there was an expectation within the displaced Northern Muslim community, currently numbering over 100,000, that they would be allowed to and assisted to return. When resettlement did commence in the North it focused on the recently displaced Tamil IDPs. While recognizing and supporting the urgency for the resettlement of Wanni Tamil IDPs, Northern Muslims are worried that there is hardly any acknowledgment of their existence and needs and they are left out of any planning of the entire resettlement process. The Muslim IDPs have had to use their own resources and to negotiate at an individual level to secure permission to return. While there are many challenges to resettlement including de-mining, re-building infrastructure and providing basic assistance, the delay in resettling the Northern Muslims has raised fears that they will be excluded from the current resettlement process; which could result in their losing assistance both at a family and community level, increased conflicts between those currently settled and Northern Muslims trying to claim their original properties. Reintegrating the returning Northern Muslims with the Tamil community should be the priority; unfortunately so far little progress has been made.
In order to ensure a peace that will benefit and create co-existence among all communities, we the undersigned organizations demand of the next President:
Immediately implement parallel resettlement of Northern Muslim IDPs with the resettlement of the Vanni IDPs.
Recognise and ensure the right of return of all Northern Muslims, be they those expelled or the children who were born in displacement.
Give the choice to all Northern Muslims whether to return or opt for local integration in areas where they are currently living.
-Opening of Mannar- Puttalam road to facilitate Muslim IDP return.
-Equally prioritize Muslim villages and expedite the landmine clearance.
-Ensure equity in terms of returnee assistance, rehabilitation and development resources to areas which were inhabited prior to the conflict.
-Ensure community consultation and participation in the rehabilitation and development of the war affected areas.
-Create mechanisms and processes to address potential land problems and disputes, including allocation of public (crown) land, demarcation of village boundaries and sharing and allocation of public resources through inter-community mediating boards.
-Expelled Muslims who have lost their land and public resources due to resettlements that happened after their eviction in 1990 need to be duly compensated.
-Give access to local organizations from the affected districts, and national and international organizations, to areas where resettlement is taking place so that they could play a more proactive role in rebuilding communities. Current restriction on allowing only a handful of relief and rehabilitation agencies should be eased to bring in more help.
-In the event of villages and lands of the Muslims being declared High Security Zones, alternative land and infrastructure should be rebuilt and handed over to the people.
-Devise means of settling land disputes arising from land transactions and land allocations done by LTTE and government in the absence of Northern Muslims in their areas of residence, giving full recognition to the land rights of the Northern Muslims.
-Appoint a truth commission that includes civil society group with a cross section of all communities to investigate the forcible eviction of the Northern Muslims.
-Amend the Prescription Ordinance in the North and East, where large scale displacement had taken place and the inability of the displaced to reclaim the land during the last nineteen years.
Currently Muslims are returning to the north without much assistance from anyone, simply in the hope that they can restart their lives from scratch and co-exist once again with their Tamil brothers and sisters. On behalf of the Northern Muslims the undersigned community based organisations and members of the Muslims community request all the Presidential candidates and others who are involved in northern resettlement, rebuilding and development to fulfil the above requirement to reintegrate the expelled Muslims as part of the northern communities after twenty years.
Dated: January 22, 2010
Signed
Civil Society Organisations:
Citizen Committee for Forcibly Evicted Northern Muslims,
Community Trust Fund Puttalum,
CTF Women’s Forum Vavuniya and Mannar,
ORDER - Sri Lanka (Organization for Relief, Development, Education and Equal Rights),
Mannar Women for Human Rights and Democracy,
Musali Civil Societies for Rights, Media forum for Musali,
Muslim Council of Sri Lanka, National Muslim Assembly,
Mullaithivu welfare Society,
Al Ameen Islamic Cultural Development Association,
Asian Muslim Action Network,
Asian Resource Foundation,
Women Bureau Periyamadu- Mannar,
Peace Networking Committee Puttalam,
Organization for Peace and Education Development (OPDE),
Child Vision Puttalam, APDC- Puttalam,
Social Aid Puttalam,
Social Improvement Foundation- Alankuda Puttalam,
Al-Kafala and Unity Lanka International
Religious Institutions:
Federation of Mullaithivu Mosques,
Fathuwa Committee Puttalam,
Jaffna Mosque Committee,
Mohideen Jummah Mosque Mannar,
Mannar District Mosques Federation,
Mullaithivu Masjith Trustee Board,
Mullaiihivu District Jammiyathul Ulama,
Killinochchi District Trustee Board, Periyamadhu Mosque Federation,
Veppankulam and Vidathalthivu Mohideen Jumma Mosque,
Periya Karisal Mohideen Jumma Mosque
Periyamadu Ilmiya Arabic College Committee.
1/20/2010
Muslim IDPs are discreminated
International Crisis group, an international advacacy group based in Brussels, has released its recent report on Sri Lanka and included the plight of long term Muslim IDPs (www.crisisgr oup.org) A startling revelation is that returnee Muslims are given step motherly treatment by TAMIL government officers of the north. The following is the relevant part from the report:
LONG-TERM MUSLIM IDPS
International advocacy should also not neglect the situation of the roughly 80,000 Muslims forcibly evicted from the Northern Province by the LTTE in 1990. Their right
to return to their lands in the north must not be forgotten amid concerns about the more recently displaced. Donors should request the Sri Lankan government to
clarify their plans for the return and resettlement of Muslims displaced from the north in 1990.
Their right of return should be clearly established, while also recognising that some may not want to leave their current homes and should not be forced. Those who do wish to return should be offered the resources necessary to do so, as well as assistance in rebuilding and developing their villages with community participation.
Any returns by northern Muslims are likely to raise complicated property rights and political issues. A transparent and integrated process of return, in which Muslims
and Tamils originating from the same areas return at the same time, is vital to reducing future conflicts. Muslims should be allowed to inspect their properties as soon as
possible, prior to any new housing being built. Other mechanisms are also needed to resolve the inevitable land disputes. Local and national politicians must be prevented from manipulating the return of Muslims to sow the seeds of new conflicts between Tamils and Muslims.
Many Muslims attempting to return to Mannar district are already complaining that they are not being treated fairly by Tamil government officers who control access to government assistance and public facilities and who are seen as giving priority to Tamils more recently displaced.
Source: http://www.crisisgr oup.org/library/ documents/ asia/south_ asia/sri_ lanka/b99_ sri_lanka_ __a_bitter_ peace.pdf
LONG-TERM MUSLIM IDPS
International advocacy should also not neglect the situation of the roughly 80,000 Muslims forcibly evicted from the Northern Province by the LTTE in 1990. Their right
to return to their lands in the north must not be forgotten amid concerns about the more recently displaced. Donors should request the Sri Lankan government to
clarify their plans for the return and resettlement of Muslims displaced from the north in 1990.
Their right of return should be clearly established, while also recognising that some may not want to leave their current homes and should not be forced. Those who do wish to return should be offered the resources necessary to do so, as well as assistance in rebuilding and developing their villages with community participation.
Any returns by northern Muslims are likely to raise complicated property rights and political issues. A transparent and integrated process of return, in which Muslims
and Tamils originating from the same areas return at the same time, is vital to reducing future conflicts. Muslims should be allowed to inspect their properties as soon as
possible, prior to any new housing being built. Other mechanisms are also needed to resolve the inevitable land disputes. Local and national politicians must be prevented from manipulating the return of Muslims to sow the seeds of new conflicts between Tamils and Muslims.
Many Muslims attempting to return to Mannar district are already complaining that they are not being treated fairly by Tamil government officers who control access to government assistance and public facilities and who are seen as giving priority to Tamils more recently displaced.
Source: http://www.crisisgr oup.org/library/ documents/ asia/south_ asia/sri_ lanka/b99_ sri_lanka_ __a_bitter_ peace.pdf
1/08/2010
Confident People Do Not Get Confused
A write up by Marina Mahathir
Prophet Muhammad's Promise to Christians
The document is not a modern human rights treaty but even thought it was penned in 628 A.D.. it clearly protects the right to property, freedom of religion, freedom of work, and security of the person, says Muqtedar Khan.Muslims and Christians together constitute over fifty percent of the world and if they lived in peace, we will be half way to world peace.. One small step that we can take towards fostering Muslim-Christian harmony is to tell and retell positive stories and abstain from mutual demonisation.
In this article I propose to remind both Muslims and Christians about a promise that Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) made to Christians. The knowledge of this promise can have enormous impact on Muslim conduct towards Christians. Muslims generally respect the precedent of their Prophet and try to practice it in their lives.In 628 AD, a delegation from St. Catherine's Monastery (an awesome place to visit) came to Prophet Muhammed and requested his protection. He responded by granting them a charter of rights, which I reproduce below in its entirety. St. Catherine's Monastery is located at the foot of Mt. Sinai and is the world's oldest monastery. It possesses a huge collection of Christian manuscripts, second only to the Vatican, and is a world heritage site. It also boasts the oldest collection of Christian icons. It is a treasure house of Christian history that has remained safe for 1,400 years under Muslim protection.
The Promise to St. Catherine:"This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them.
Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by God! I hold out against anything that displeases them.
No compulsion is to be on them. Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries. No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims' houses.Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God's covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate.
No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight. The Muslims are to fight for them. If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray. Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants.
No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day (end of the world)."
The first and the final sentence of the charter are critical. They make the promise eternal and universal. Muhammed asserts that Muslims are with Christians near and far straight away rejecting any future attempts to limit the promise to St. Catherine alone. By ordering Muslims to obey it until the Day of Judgment the charter again undermines any future attempts to revoke the privileges. These rights are inalienable. Muhammed declared Christians, all of them, as his allies and he equated ill treatment of Christians with violating God's covenant.
A remarkable aspect of the charter is that it imposes no conditions on Christians for enjoying its privileges. It is enough that they are Christians. They are not required to alter their beliefs, they do not have to make any payments and they do not have any obligations. This is a charter of rights without any duties!The document is not a modern human rights treaty but even thought it was penned in 628 A.D. it clearly protects the right to property, freedom of religion, freedom of work, and security of the person.I know most readers, must be thinking so what? Well the answer is simple. Those who seek to foster discord among Muslims and Christians focus on issues that divide and emphasize areas of conflict. But when resources such as Muhammad's promise to Christians are invoked and highlighted it builds bridges. It inspires Muslims to rise above communal intolerance and engenders good will in Christians who might be nursing fear of Islam or Muslims.When I look at Islamic sources, I find in them unprecedented examples of religious tolerance and inclusiveness. They make me want to become a better person. I think the capacity to seek good and do good inheres in all of us. When we subdue this predisposition towards the good, we deny our fundamental humanity. In this holiday season, I hope all of us can find time to look for something positive and worthy of appreciation in the values, cultures and histories of other peoples.Dr. Muqtedar Khan is Director of Islamic Studies at the University of Delaware and a fellow of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding.
--------------------------
Now, when that delegation from St Catherine's monastery came to meet with Prophet Mohamad (pbuh), I suppose it's fair to assume that they spoke Arabic to one another. And when they were conversing, surely the word 'God' must have come up. As in "May God Be With You" and such like. What word did the Prophet (pbuh) use for 'God' I wonder? And what did the St Catherinians use in return? For monotheists like them, was there a 'your God' and 'my God' type of situation, or did they understand that they were both talking about the same One?
While some idiots are mourning over the 'loss' of the word 'Allah' and therefore basically telling the world that they are people easily confused by nomenclature, and others are predicting riots over what is basically a 'copyright' issue, let me define what I think a confident Muslim should be:1. A confident Muslim is unfazed by the issue of God's name. God speaks to all of humankind in the Quran and never said that only Muslims could call him by the name Allah.2. A confident Muslim has 99 names to choose from to describe that One God. My favourites are Ar-Rahman (The All-Compassionate) and Ar-Rahim (The All-Merciful).3. A confident Muslim never gets confused over which is his/her religion and which is other people's. For instance, a confident Muslim knows exactly what the first chapter of the Quran is. And it's not the Lord's Prayer.4. A confident Muslim will not walk into a church, hear a liturgy in Malay or Arabic where they use the word 'Allah' and then think that he or she is in a mosque. A confident Muslim knows the difference.5. A confident Muslim is generous, inclusive and doesn't think that his or her brethren is made exclusive through the use of a single language. The confident Muslim is well aware that in the Middle East, all services of ANY religion are in Arabic because that's what they all speak.
6. A confident Muslim knows the basis of his/her faith are the five pillars of Islam and will not be shaken just because other people call God by the same name.7. A Muslim believes in only One God. Therefore it makes sense that other people should call God by the same name because there is no other God.. ART THOU NOT aware that it is God whose limitless glory all [creatures] that are in the heavens and on earth extol, even the birds as they spread out their wings? Asad (24.62 Each [of them] knows indeed how to pray unto Him and to glorify Him; and God has full knowledge of all that they do: (Surah Nour, Verse 41) (Asad)
So I would ask those people demonstrating against the Court decision, have you no pride? Are you saying you're easily confused? And before anyone says I have no qualifications to say these things, read what Dr Asri Zainal Abidin (who does have qualifications no matter what JAIS says) has written about this very subject here.And here's something interesting. In 2007, the Majlis Agama Negeri Perlis, which is a large majlis filled with people very learned in Islamic religious knowledge, discussed the question of the use of 'Allah' by non-Muslims. Their unanimous decision? They issued a fatwa to say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with non-Muslims using the word at all.(This was told to me by Dr. Asri but I cannot find the fatwa anywhere online because all the religious departments' websites are so useless.)Are we now going to excommunicate the whole of Perlis?
Marina Mahathir
Prophet Muhammad's Promise to Christians
The document is not a modern human rights treaty but even thought it was penned in 628 A.D.. it clearly protects the right to property, freedom of religion, freedom of work, and security of the person, says Muqtedar Khan.Muslims and Christians together constitute over fifty percent of the world and if they lived in peace, we will be half way to world peace.. One small step that we can take towards fostering Muslim-Christian harmony is to tell and retell positive stories and abstain from mutual demonisation.
In this article I propose to remind both Muslims and Christians about a promise that Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) made to Christians. The knowledge of this promise can have enormous impact on Muslim conduct towards Christians. Muslims generally respect the precedent of their Prophet and try to practice it in their lives.In 628 AD, a delegation from St. Catherine's Monastery (an awesome place to visit) came to Prophet Muhammed and requested his protection. He responded by granting them a charter of rights, which I reproduce below in its entirety. St. Catherine's Monastery is located at the foot of Mt. Sinai and is the world's oldest monastery. It possesses a huge collection of Christian manuscripts, second only to the Vatican, and is a world heritage site. It also boasts the oldest collection of Christian icons. It is a treasure house of Christian history that has remained safe for 1,400 years under Muslim protection.
The Promise to St. Catherine:"This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them.
Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by God! I hold out against anything that displeases them.
No compulsion is to be on them. Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries. No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims' houses.Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God's covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate.
No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight. The Muslims are to fight for them. If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray. Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants.
No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day (end of the world)."
The first and the final sentence of the charter are critical. They make the promise eternal and universal. Muhammed asserts that Muslims are with Christians near and far straight away rejecting any future attempts to limit the promise to St. Catherine alone. By ordering Muslims to obey it until the Day of Judgment the charter again undermines any future attempts to revoke the privileges. These rights are inalienable. Muhammed declared Christians, all of them, as his allies and he equated ill treatment of Christians with violating God's covenant.
A remarkable aspect of the charter is that it imposes no conditions on Christians for enjoying its privileges. It is enough that they are Christians. They are not required to alter their beliefs, they do not have to make any payments and they do not have any obligations. This is a charter of rights without any duties!The document is not a modern human rights treaty but even thought it was penned in 628 A.D. it clearly protects the right to property, freedom of religion, freedom of work, and security of the person.I know most readers, must be thinking so what? Well the answer is simple. Those who seek to foster discord among Muslims and Christians focus on issues that divide and emphasize areas of conflict. But when resources such as Muhammad's promise to Christians are invoked and highlighted it builds bridges. It inspires Muslims to rise above communal intolerance and engenders good will in Christians who might be nursing fear of Islam or Muslims.When I look at Islamic sources, I find in them unprecedented examples of religious tolerance and inclusiveness. They make me want to become a better person. I think the capacity to seek good and do good inheres in all of us. When we subdue this predisposition towards the good, we deny our fundamental humanity. In this holiday season, I hope all of us can find time to look for something positive and worthy of appreciation in the values, cultures and histories of other peoples.Dr. Muqtedar Khan is Director of Islamic Studies at the University of Delaware and a fellow of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding.
--------------------------
Now, when that delegation from St Catherine's monastery came to meet with Prophet Mohamad (pbuh), I suppose it's fair to assume that they spoke Arabic to one another. And when they were conversing, surely the word 'God' must have come up. As in "May God Be With You" and such like. What word did the Prophet (pbuh) use for 'God' I wonder? And what did the St Catherinians use in return? For monotheists like them, was there a 'your God' and 'my God' type of situation, or did they understand that they were both talking about the same One?
While some idiots are mourning over the 'loss' of the word 'Allah' and therefore basically telling the world that they are people easily confused by nomenclature, and others are predicting riots over what is basically a 'copyright' issue, let me define what I think a confident Muslim should be:1. A confident Muslim is unfazed by the issue of God's name. God speaks to all of humankind in the Quran and never said that only Muslims could call him by the name Allah.2. A confident Muslim has 99 names to choose from to describe that One God. My favourites are Ar-Rahman (The All-Compassionate) and Ar-Rahim (The All-Merciful).3. A confident Muslim never gets confused over which is his/her religion and which is other people's. For instance, a confident Muslim knows exactly what the first chapter of the Quran is. And it's not the Lord's Prayer.4. A confident Muslim will not walk into a church, hear a liturgy in Malay or Arabic where they use the word 'Allah' and then think that he or she is in a mosque. A confident Muslim knows the difference.5. A confident Muslim is generous, inclusive and doesn't think that his or her brethren is made exclusive through the use of a single language. The confident Muslim is well aware that in the Middle East, all services of ANY religion are in Arabic because that's what they all speak.
6. A confident Muslim knows the basis of his/her faith are the five pillars of Islam and will not be shaken just because other people call God by the same name.7. A Muslim believes in only One God. Therefore it makes sense that other people should call God by the same name because there is no other God.. ART THOU NOT aware that it is God whose limitless glory all [creatures] that are in the heavens and on earth extol, even the birds as they spread out their wings? Asad (24.62 Each [of them] knows indeed how to pray unto Him and to glorify Him; and God has full knowledge of all that they do: (Surah Nour, Verse 41) (Asad)
So I would ask those people demonstrating against the Court decision, have you no pride? Are you saying you're easily confused? And before anyone says I have no qualifications to say these things, read what Dr Asri Zainal Abidin (who does have qualifications no matter what JAIS says) has written about this very subject here.And here's something interesting. In 2007, the Majlis Agama Negeri Perlis, which is a large majlis filled with people very learned in Islamic religious knowledge, discussed the question of the use of 'Allah' by non-Muslims. Their unanimous decision? They issued a fatwa to say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with non-Muslims using the word at all.(This was told to me by Dr. Asri but I cannot find the fatwa anywhere online because all the religious departments' websites are so useless.)Are we now going to excommunicate the whole of Perlis?
Marina Mahathir
Know one another
Muslims and Islam are the most misunderstood today. Every moment millions of misinformation has been spread over the all available electronic and print media world over by the enemies of Islam and Muslims. But Muslims sit idle without being proactive or reactive.
As a nation of Dawah, in fact, Muslims should have been proactive in spreading the correct information about their religion and themselves. Instead, they are busy with either infighting or betraying the nation of Islam. The highest responsibility lies with those who claim that they are Da'ees ( Propagators). But they seem to be busy within the Muslim community. Not only Muslims but also the so called da'ees also have confined Islam to Muslims only or consealed from others.
Therefore, there are shocking misunderstandings among the people of other faiths. Hence, its very important and urgent to spread the word of truth among others about Islam and Muslims.
As a nation of Dawah, in fact, Muslims should have been proactive in spreading the correct information about their religion and themselves. Instead, they are busy with either infighting or betraying the nation of Islam. The highest responsibility lies with those who claim that they are Da'ees ( Propagators). But they seem to be busy within the Muslim community. Not only Muslims but also the so called da'ees also have confined Islam to Muslims only or consealed from others.
Therefore, there are shocking misunderstandings among the people of other faiths. Hence, its very important and urgent to spread the word of truth among others about Islam and Muslims.
Partnership of Neocons and Muslim Terrorists
It is a well known fact that Americans do not interested in stopping the attacks on USA at highest level, rather encourage and or facilitate tactically in order to create an environment to invade Muslim Lands. The latest evidence to prove this assumption is the failed attempt by a 22 year old nigerian to detenate a bomp when his flight was landing. It is really shocking to know that his father had warned the Americn authorities about his son's possible links with Al-Qaida and he wanted them to put his son on watch list. What a great favour a right minded Muslim can do for Americans than this while Americans help Jews to butcher Muslims in Palestine, Indians to kill Muslims in Kashmir. But what the American intelligent society did was to let this suspect to get into an American Airline so they could now occupy Yemen as they did for Afganistan and Iraq.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)