EID UL FITR MUBARAK

It is with mixed emotions that we approach the end of Ramadhaan. I am extremely thankful and grateful to Allah Ta’ala for allowing us to benefit from the enormous spiritual benefits of Ramadhaan, the fasting, taraweeh salaah, charity, recitation of Qur’aan etc. At the same time I am sad that this Mubarak (auspicious) month has come to an end. For a true believer everyday of his or her life should be spent like how we generally spend our precious time in Ramadhaan, full of virtuous acts.

Let us formulate strategies and ways to uphold this spirit and actions.Remember true and eternal happiness, bliss and joy can only be achieved by leading our lives according to the Commandments of Allah Ta’ala and following the beautiful and noble lifestyle (sunnah) of His Beloved Messenger Muhammad (salallaho alaihe wassallam).

We should also remember that while we celebrate the joyous day of Eid-ul-Fitr there are millions of our brothers and sisters who are being oppressed and persecuted. Let us not forget about them. Let us enjoy this day of Eid in a manner pleasing to our Creator and Sustainer Allah Ta’ala.

Eid Mubarak to you and your family and May Allah Ta’ala bless and grant you barakah (blessings) in this world and the akhirah(hereafter) ...May Allah accept your fasting and duas. Let us remember the Ummah which is in pain and distress in many parts of the world and if possible let us contribute in whatever way possible whether it be financially or by way of your sincere duas. Make dua for those who have passed on....May ALLAH grant relief to those in need, May Allah ease the plight of so many that are downtrodden,& oppressed ...May Allah grant Shi'fa (cure) to those that are ill and may ALLAH grant us a death with Emaan (faith) and true success in both this world and the hereafter…Ameen

HIS JOURNEY INTO ISLAM

I received this email about two months ago from Troy, a 26 year old American man. He wants to share his story on how he became a Muslim and his journey into the Islamic faith. A really interesting read. Thank you so much Troy for sharing your story with the world.....
Hello, I am a 26 year old American named Troy (the world doesn't need to know my full name lol). I formally accepted

 Islam in 2009 when I was still 22. I was raised Catholic although not from a very religious background. I enjoyed reading and learning about the Biblical stories as a kid. The teachings from the Bible were quite simple and straightforward to me as the Prophets all instructed people to worship/obey one God and be a good person. I also enjoyed acting in the Christmas plays. I always played a shepherd in them, and later on in life I would learn about actual Palestinian shepherds. I just found Catholicism confusing by how Jesus, Mary and Saints were given such special status like they were almost god-like. In my mind there could only be one God who had absolute authority and power. And this I remember feeling as a kid. I didn't really understand much about the Catholic rituals such communion and confession for example either. I saw them more to be symbolic, but literally "eating the body of Jesus" and a priest being able to forgive you for your bad deeds was hard for me to grasp. Why would I have to eat a wafer and confess to a priest to be forgiven? Why couldn't I just simply ask God to forgive me? Anyways as I got older as a teenager I lost interest in religion. I didn't enjoy going to Church really. I found it boring and tedious to go a lot, but it was okay to do as a family activity on holidays. I didn't really think too much of it honestly. I was also exposed to other types of Christianity (Baptist/Evangelical) from friends but their type of Christianity seemed a lot different from Catholicism and did not appeal to me really at all. I did not understand why they put so much focus on Jesus alone. It was like they threw God and all the other Prophets to the back and worshipped Jesus instead. I just could not really understand this sort of theology. I later studied other religions when I started college. It was cool to learn about the Dharmic religions, but they were hard for me to understand. I found Hinduism to be complex and Buddhism to be abstract. I though Sikhism was pretty straightforward but seemed like a localized Punjabi religion. I also saw Taoism, Confusionism and Shinto to be abstract and a bit localized (China/Japan). I really did not understand Jainism much, it also seemed very localized (India). I was of course familiar with Judaism as it followed the Old Testament. I find Judaism to be a simple, straightforward religion too but I didn't understand why it completely disregarded Jesus. Although I was familiar with Arabic culture as I lived in Michigan as a kid, I did not really know much about Islam other than they prayed in a Mosque. I used to see Islam as a bit localized as well (Middle East/Pakistan), but I did find it interesting too how Judaism and Christianity started in the Middle East but spread West into Europe and the Americas. One thing I did find ironic is how Christianity came off as being very "Eurocentric" despite it's origins coming from Palestine/Syria/Egypt. Later I understood that it drew influence from Roman culture as it spread into places like Greece, Italy and Spain. Anyways I never had any bad feelings towards Arabs/Muslims as a whole or anything. I understood the 1st Gulf War as a political conflict between Iraq and Kuwait, nothing religious at all. I also saw the Israeli/Palestinian conflict to be more over land/politics/ethnicity/nationalism. I did not really see things from a "religious" perspective. I also vaguely remember the 1st Afghan War (1980s) as a political conflict between Communists and local guerrillas as seen on the film "Rambo 3". The complex Balkans wars also happened when I was a kid. Again I didn't really know about the religious aspect of the horrible conflicts, but I did see them as ethnic/nationalist conflicts between Serbs, Bosnians, Croatians and Albanians. Even after 9/11 I still didn't see "Islam as a whole" as responsible for the attack. I saw it as an attack done by a terrorist organization who was mad over US foreign policy. We can get into conspiracy theories and other political stuff later, but yes I am a rational thinker. With Islam always on the news I thought to myself I should really start to learn more about what it really is. At this point I was not really interested in learning about it from a theological or "religious" standpoint, but from rather a historical, political and cultural standpoint. I thought it was really cool how Muslims from various places like Sudan, Somalia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, former Soviet Union, etc. all did the same basic religious practices despite them being from very different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. I found Christianity to be quite segregated and very different based on ethnicity and nationality, hence all the numerous sects and Churches. After studying Islam and various political issues in the Muslim world on my own I wondered to myself if I could ever get to be a part of this whole spectrum. I continued to study the history and cultures of the Islamic world on my own. I later took an Islamic History class where I actually got to read the Quran and learn the history of the Muslim world from the time span of pre-Islamic Arabia to the formation of the modern state of Saudi Arabia. The class was really fun and I learned about all the various Islamic empires and civilizations ranging from the 1st Caliphates, Ottomans, Safavids, Mughals, etc. I also met a bunch of Muslim students in the class. I was able to learn more about Islam from a theological perspective from them. I learned that Islam really did not differ much at all from my previous simple beliefs as a kid: prophets teaching monotheism and good morals. Islam's view on Jesus made far more rational sense than Christianity's point of view. Due to Islam's simple and rational theology, I proudly accepted it. However things were not so smooth at first. First off all I had to learn how to perform Salah and recite Quran in Arabic which is a completely foreign language to me. Of course I had to deal with my family's reaction to my decision. Some of my family did not mind much that I converted, others were skeptical, upset and disagreed with my decision. It was difficult and frustrating for me to deal with, but I can understand that they care for me and want to make sure that I am making my own decisions and not simply following other people's influences blindly. Another major issue I had was obviously still not being very educated in Hadith and Fiqh. This can be quite a challenge for new converts. Sadly some new Muslims fall into extremism because of this. And of course Muslims have to face a lot of bigotry here in the West. Fortunately I was able to continue educating myself about Islam. I also took more religion/historical/political classes in college. I continue to learn more about Islam and religion in general each day, although I am very much into politics, history and culture. Although it can be very rough at times, I am very happy I accepted Islam and hope I never forsake it. I think education is the most important key to being a strong Muslim. I also hope to visit the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia in my lifetime...

 

Ismail Mahomed-Director of the Grahamstown National Arts Festival

Ismail Mahomed is the director of the Grahamstown National Arts Festival. Mahomed has worked in the arts industry for most of his professional life, most recently as a Senior Cultural Specialist for the US Consulate. He has also worked as the Director of the Witbank Civic Theatre and the Creative Arts Workshop. As a practitioner he is an award-winning arts administrator, having won the Arts & Culture Trust Award for Arts Administrator of the Year, the Mpumalanga Premier's Award, the Witbank Mayor's award, and the U.S. State Dept Africa Bureau Award.He is also a prolific writer, critic and commentator on the arts and a playwright. Read on to find out more in his own words.

Nationality: South African

Education Background: Graduated as a mathematics teacher and moved to the arts over the years. Currently working towards an MBA

Drink that you would order at a coffee shop: Caffe Latte

Pet Peeve: I don’t like dripping taps. It irritates me enormously particularly when there are so many communities who have very little access to water.

1. Firstly, thank you for agreeing to be interviewed despite your very hectic lifestyle.So tell me who is Ismail Mahomed? Tell me a little bit about your background. Where were you born? Basically a brief synopsis of your life from a child up until university.

I’m a 4th generation South African. I grew up in south Africa under its oppressive apartheid laws. My family was forcibly removed from Johannesburg to Lenasia, a suburb about 30km south of Johannesburg. Lenasia was a dust-bowl with hardly any infra-structure. The community however was dynamic. They embraced the challenges and with a deep sense of philanthropy they built the community. My late father was a travelling salesman prior to us opening up our own family business. I guess it is from him that I found the inspiration to also travel. In many ways I’m a restless soul. I’m always asking questions, looking for new inspirations and opting for newer experiences. I taught mathematics for eight years. Whilst I loved teaching, I am not fond of bureaucracies that come with working in a formal education system. Hence, I guess I gravitated from mathematics to the arts.

2. How did you become involved in the arts industry?

During my teaching years, I was constantly looking for newer and exciting ways to inspire young learners. I discovered the power of theatre as a medium for education. I began writing scripts initially for theatre and then radio and television. When I was a finalist in a national Playwright of the Year Competition, there was no turning back. During 1995, I was offered the opportunity to participate in a cultural exchange programme in the USA. This exchange visit introduced me significantly to arts administration. Soon, after my return to South Africa, I took up a management position at a theatre in South Africa. From there on, I moved to my current position as the Artistic Director of the National Arts Festival (www.nationalartsfestival.co.za ). Of course, along the way, I continued to write, direct, stage manage and do various other kinds of work in the arts sector.

3. What would you say are the positives and the negatives of your job?

As Artistic Director of the Festival, in many ways I get to set the cultural barometer for the arts in South Africa. This gives me the opportunity to be exposed to diverse forms of expression and excellence; and to be able to choose the annual programme from this broad offer. I also get several opportunities to travel and to meet celebrities.

I suppose one of the challenges of the job is that it requires irregular hours of work.

4. Define success? What does success mean to you?

Success is about having the freedom to set your own goals and to be able to achieve those goals. Success is also measured by how you embrace the goals that others set for you and how you work towards meeting those challenges.

5. The South African Indian Muslim community has always steered clear from encouraging their kids to participate in arts and culture in terms of song and dance as religious clerics have branded this career choice as being prohibited or haraam under Islamic rulings. How do you view yourself as a Muslim man being in a commanding position within the arts industry?

People who assume that the arts art immoral have a very primitive understanding of the arts. The arts are centred around developing imagination, stimulating creativity, inspiring innovation, solving problems, working in teams and taking responsibility for your actions. The arts develop your confidence. These are the very same traits that any employer looks out for in a good employee. If it wasn’t for the arts, can you imagine an engineer who cannot draw? Would you be able to imagine a politician who lacked the confidence to stand in front of an audience? Could you imagine a journalist who did not have power to play with words. The arts have its value in our society in as much as the sciences and mathematics. The sciences may teach you reason but the arts teach you understanding.

6. What are some of the difficulties you face in your job?

In all countries the arts are always challenged by a shortage of resources. As arts administrators, we are on constant search for new funders, grants and sponsors. These don’t come easily. They come through hard work and years of relationship building.

7. How do your balance your personal life and your career?

I don’t take any administrative work home. If I need to work longer hours at the office, I do so.
At a social level, I am very fortunate in that most of my friends work in the arts or the media sector so I don’t find a conflict in my personal and work spaces.

8. Do you consider yourself a spiritual person?What are your thoughts on faith and religion?

I’m not religious at all but I am deeply spiritual. Many people are often surprised to learn that I completed the Haj in 2003. There seems to be a perception that an artistic director of the world’s second largest arts festival would not be spiritual. The arts are often rooted in deep spirituality. I often find answers to the many questions that we seek through an interpretation of the arts. The arts define who we are as a nation. It give us a sense of identity. It teaches us to embrace difference and to understand and tolerate each other. Embracing our fellow human beings as equal is perhaps one of the most valuable principles that ought to underline all religion. Unfortunately, the reality is that society has found ways of engaging religion as the primary divider rather than as the unifier.

9. How does arts and culture play a role in terms of integrating and bridging societies and nations?
The arts give us a window into each other’s souls. We can all laugh at the same amusing things. We can all cry at the same pain. In the darkness of a theatre, in the silence of an art gallery, we discover our common humanity. By creating work together, we share ideas and dialogue. In south Africa, the struggle against apartheid was won by the slogan “culture is a weapon of the struggle”. In post-apartheid South Africa, we constantly use the arts as a means to bring people together into dialogue.
10.What impact does the arts industry have on the political situation of a country and vice versa?

In a free society artists will always mirror their society. Often politicians fear the artists. This is the reason why in most repressive countries, the artists have the least freedoms.

11. What is your opinion on interfaith marriages?

We are all created equally in the eyes of God. There should be no reason why we can’t worship in our different ways. Whether we say Allah, Bhagwan or God, we are all supplicating a higher force. Inter-faith marriages, like all marriages, require the maturity to respect each other’s values, weaknesses, strengths and expressions.

12. If you were not involved with the arts industry, what would you be doing?

I probably would travel strange lands. Meet exciting strangers. Discover great food. All the world’s a stage.
13. What subjects and topics are you the most passionate about?
I certainly am most passionate about the arts.
Youth development probably is the second most important subject to me. I believe that if we develop young people, we create a world that we can proudly endow to them.

14. If someone could grant you one wish and you could choose to have any skill or talent in the world, what would it be?

To learn foreign languages. I am hopeless at learning foreign languages.
15. What are your favourite websites?

Google Translate : let’s me communicate relatively efficiently with strangers across the globe
Wikepedia : gives me as much basic info that I require
Facebook : keeps me connected to friends, family, acquaintances, events and small talk.

The above three websites are probably my closest friends. I go to bed with them. I never close those tabs on my computer.
16. From where or from who do you seek inspiration from?

I find inspiration from all sorts of people. The more creative and humble the person is the greater I am inspired by them.
17. What is your opinion regarding censorship within the arts industry?

I’m in total support of parental guidance over subject matter. I am totally opposed to any form of blanket censorship.

18.What advise would you give to someone out there who aspires to be a part of the arts industry in the future?

Discover your passion. Work very work. Build and upgrade your skills constantly. Build your networks. Expose yourself to as many diverse forms of art. Have an open mind. Be critical and embrace criticism. Be ready for enormous challenges.

19. Are there any additional comments you would like to add for the blog readers?

Sumayya, I am constantly inspired by the positive energy that you radiate. You are an enormously positive role model for those of us who work towards creating progressive and positive perceptions of Muslim people. One of the greatest weaknesses of Muslims across the globe, is that they have made the least investment in media and in the arts. If they invested more in the arts and media, they would be able to use the power of the arts and the media to influence and inspire positive images about themselves.

Once again, thank you very much Ismail Mahomed for taking the time to answer these questions and also for sharing some of your priceless pictures with all of us.Desert Moon wishes you all the best in your career and beyond!!!

BURMA KILLINGS- LET US TAKE A FEW STEPS BACK IN TIME AND EXAMINE HISTORY....

Article written by Shehlah Zahiruddin 

I have always thought of Buddhists as being the wisest, most religious and peace loving of all people. Hence, their recent atrocities in Burma were shocking on many levels. Burmese Buddhists are carrying out a ‘cleansing’ and have (reportedly) killed many Muslims over the past two months.

To answer the ‘why’, let’s examine a bit of history first for that is where most of the answers lie.
Burma/Myanmar is situated next to Bangladesh and Muslims started arriving there in the early 20th Century. Memons and Shias also migrated in large numbers – that is also the origin of ‘Khao Suey’ we so enjoy today especially in Karachi. You may know of elders in the community who once enjoyed businesses there in the 20s, 30s and 40s. Burma was under the British rule and the Indian Muslims who came to Burma enjoyed a better status given their subservience to the British. With the ‘business men Muslims’ also came the ‘worker Muslims’ who also took over jobs from the Burmese. This ‘increased’ the hatred for the Muslims.
Now, why did they harbour anti-Muslim feelings in the first place? Because history had taught the Buddhist Burmese that forced conversions of Buddhists had taken place during the Mughal rule! Hence, this coupled with migration of Indian-Muslims to Burma only aggravated their feelings.
The 40s was a time of ‘independence’ in the region – so when the British were withdrawing from all over the world, Burma too demanded a “Burma for the Burmese” and just like there was bigoted violence between Hindus and Muslims in India, the same was happening between Burmese and Muslims. It all ended (for a while) when Burma too got its independence in 1948. The rich Muslims slowly moved out leaving the poorer Muslims to bear the brunt of racism.
Just like Pakistan, Burma has had an intense military rule – of more than 40 years! And since the past 60 years, Muslims (and even Hindus) have faced slow persecution by the Burmese. They can’t build or repair mosques, they can’t congregate, can’t become Burmese citizens, can’t travel etc. These feelings of hatred started going out of control in 2001 and today after 12 years, it is reaching sad proportions.
I do not know why the media is quiet about the atrocities in Burma and I do not wish to reflect on it deeply either.Perhaps this part of the world has nothing to offer to the United Nations or to the Americans in terms of oil wealth that they can steal in return for protection. What I do want us to collectively learn are the lessons these conflicts hold for us.
1. Humans have an in-human tendency to oppress the poor.
2. Ignoring the poor and not sharing your compassion and wealth is as inhumane as oppressing them.When a country is governed by ignorant, greedy, selfish, non-compassionate leaders, any country can have the potential to turn into a Burma- like atrocity.
3. To all my immigrating friends, beware of the feelings of hatred you fan because you are only thinking about you and your community. You need to understand that Pakistani/Desi/Muslim is ‘not’ your only community – you owe more to the people and the country hosting you so you need to put their interests before yours otherwise your children and grandchildren can suffer.
4. Make your child un-learn prejudices of the past so knitted into education and social systems
“All people are good till circumstances force them to become otherwise” – how difficult a lesson is that? We adults need to learn to think of the ‘circumstances’ that force people to become ‘otherwise’. It will lead us to many answers.
5. Before getting all riled up against the Buddhists, wait and examine your role as a Muslim first.Have you done anything for the Biharis who are in Bangladesh? They cannot become Bangladeshi citizens and are living in appalling conditions and that too in a Muslim country.
Before we blame the Buddhist of being racist and violent and insensitive to others, I suggest you look under your own collar first.
6. Did you know that Bangladesh is not hosting a single Muslim refugee from Burma? If people of my religion (Muslims) are this discriminate, then shouldn’t I think twice before blatantly pointing fingers at the Buddhists in Burma?
7. Did you know that Pakistanis promised to take all Biharis to Pakistan (who happen to be in large numbers of 30,000 or so) and they only brought 300 of them to Pakistan to date? What about the rest of the 29,700 Biharis waiting for the promise to be fulfilled?
This is not meant to be a pro-Bihari article from any angle or pro- anything in fact– it’s just one perspective about things that we tend to lose most of the times. We fail to realise that our individual actions have far reaching consequences because we have surrounded ourselves with an oblivion we chose to live in.
It doesn’t take long to start observing our own actions that we employ in our daily lives and what they actually will procure later.
So when you hire someone from your own religion or community instead of basing the decision on merit, you have sowed the seed of hatred and racism. When you talk in a prejudiced manner in front of your children whether in jest or otherwise, you are sowing the seeds of hatred. When you are not giving yourself an alternative perspective on your own history, you are sowing the seeds of hatred. When you are not going out of your way to actually ‘do’ something selflessly in the country you live in, you are sowing the seeds of hatred. When you are not sharing your wealth and success or helping others climb up the economic ladder, you are sowing the seeds of hatred then as well.
This hatred is bound to chase you, your children and grandchildren right back; you just need to decide which dead body in the pile of a massacre you are responsible for.

Source:
http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/12825/burma-killings-think-before-you-point-fingers/