এক পশ্চিমা ব্যক্তির স্বীকারোক্তি ও ইসলাম গ্রহণ।

তিনি হলেন ডঃ গারি মিলয়র, তরেনতো বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের ম্যাত ও যুক্ত শাস্ত্ররের প্রধান। তিনি খৃস্টান মিশিনারিদেরির মধ্যে অন্যতম।ইসলাম ধর্মের প্রতি ছিল তাঁর খুবই রেশ। আসমানি কিতাব সমূহের ক্ষেত্রে তাঁর ছিল প্রচুর জ্ঞান। অঙ্খে তিনি ছিলেন খুবই পারদর্শী। তিনি এই বিষয়কে বেশি ভালবাসতেন। সে জন্যে তিনি মানতেক যথা যুক্তিবিদ্যাকে প্রধান্য দিতেন। যুক্তিবিদ্যার দলিলই তিনি বিশ্বাস করতেন। একদিন তিনি কুরআন পড়তে ইচ্ছা করে, কোরআনে ভুল বের করার জন্য। যেন এই ভুলগুলো মুসলমানদের সামনে উপস্থাপন করা যায়। সে আশা করছিল এই কুরআন ১৪শ বছর আগের কিতাব। এতে পাওয়া যাবে মরুভুমি, উঠ ইত্যাদি। কিন্ত পাঠের পর অনেক কিছু সম্পর্কে অবগত হয়ে,তিনি অত্যান্ত ভেঙে পড়েন। বরং তিনি জানতে পারে, এইটা একটা মহান কিতাব। এই কিতাব যা ধারন করেছে তাঁর দুই দালের মধ্যে, পৃথিবীর অন্যকোন কিতাবে পাওয়া যায়না। সে আরও আশান্বিত ছিল। এই কিতাবে মুহাম্মদের সাঃ জীবনে যে সব পীড়াদায়ক মুহুর্ত ছিল, সে সব পাওয়া যাবে। যেমন রাসুল সাঃ এর স্ত্রী  খাদিজা, ছেলে ও মেয়েদের মৃত্যু কাহিনী। কিন্তু সে এসবের মধ্যে কিছু পায়নি। কোরআনে মরিয়ম নামে সুরাটি তাঁকে হয়রান করে পেলে। সে সুরাতে মরিয়ম আঃ গুনকীর্তন করা হয়েছে। যে গুন কীর্তন অন্যকোন আসমানি কিতাবে পাওয়া যায়না। যেমন খৃস্টানদের কিতাব ও তাদের ইঞ্জিলের মধ্যে। সে আয়েশা অথবা ফাতেমা রাঃ নামে কোন সুরা পায়নি। সে আর পেয়েছে, এই কিতাবে ২৫বার ঈসা আঃ নাম উল্লেখ করা হয়েছে। পক্ষান্তরে মুহাম্মদের নাম ৪ বার উল্লেখ করা হয়েছে। লোকটির হয়রানি আর বেড়ে যায়। সে আরও ত্নন্য হয়ে এই কিতাব পাঠ করছিল। হতে পারে আরও বেশকিছু  পেতে পারে এই অধীর আশায়। কিন্ত সে সুরা নিসা ৮২ নং আয়াত পড়ে হুশ হারিয়ে পেলে। আয়াত খানা, এরাকি কুরআনে গভীর চিন্তা গবেষণা করেনা। এই কিতাব যদি আল্লাহ ছাড়া অন্য কারও পক্ষে থেকে হত, তাতে নানা মতানক্য দেখতে পেত। ডঃ বলেন, এই আয়াত মহৎ একটি কানোনের কথা বলছে এখন। এই কুরআনে ভুল ও ত্রুটির কথা। যেন তাঁর হাকিকত প্রকাশ পায়। আশ্চর্জ, মুসলিম ও অমুসলিম সবাইকে কুরআন আহ্বান করছে। কুরআনের ভুল বের করতে। কখনও তাতে ভুল বের করতে পারবেনা। যেন তাঁর সত্যতা প্রমান পায় এর মধ্যে। অনুরুপ যেসব আয়াতে ডঃ দীর্ঘ সময় ব্যয় করছেন, সুরা আন্মবিয়ার ৩০নং আয়াত। কাফেররা কি দেখেনি এই আসমান জমিন উভয় একসঙ্গে মিলানো ছিল। অতপর উভয়কে আমি আলগ করে দিয়েছি। পানি থেকে আমি সব জীব সৃষ্টি করেছি। তদস্তেওকি এরা ঈমান আনবে না। তিনি বলেন, ইহা একটি আলোচ্য থিওরি। এই বিষয়ে গবেষণা করে ১৯৭৩সালে নোবেল পুরস্কার পেয়েছেন। বিকট একটি আওয়াজের পর এই ভবের অজুদ হয়। এতে সৃষ্টি হয়েছে আসমান, জমিন ও চাঁদ, চেতারা। আয়াতের শেসে আলোচনা করা হয়েছে, পানিই জীবনের উৎস। ডঃ আরও বলেন, এই বিষয়টি খুবই আশ্চর্জ জনক। যে বর্তমান বিজ্ঞান প্রমান করছে, যে জীবন্ত খুলিয়া সৃষ্টি হয় ইস্তুবেলাজম থেকে, জার ৮০% হল পানি। একজন অশিক্ষিত ব্যাক্তি এসব নিয়ে আলাপ আলোচনা করতে পারে। যে কখনও স্কুলের বারান্দায় পর্জন্ত পা রাখেনি। যিনি ১৪শ বছর আগে জীবনযাপন করেছেন। তাঁর কাছে আসমান থেকে ওহিই আসছে। না হয় এরকম হওয়ার নয়। ফলে ডঃ মিলয়র ইসলাম গ্রহণ করেন। ইসলাম গ্রহনের পর তিনি বিভিন্ন জায়গায় লেকচার দেন। নানা খৃস্টীয় পাদরীর সঙে যুক্তিতর্কও করেন।    

Pakistan soldier 'stoned to death for affair' in Kurram

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A soldier accused of having an affair with a local woman has been stoned to death on the orders of tribal elders in north-west Pakistan, officials say.

Elders in Kurram tribal agency said scores of people threw stones at the soldier in a cemetery near the town of Parachinar until he bled to death.
Locals in the mostly Shia area opposed the alleged relationship because he was a Sunni Muslim and the woman a Shia.
There was no immediate response from the military.

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Sunni and Shia Muslims

• Muslims are split into two main branches, the Sunnis and Shias
• The split originates in a dispute soon after the death of the Prophet Muhammad over who should lead the Muslim community
• There are also differences in doctrine, ritual, law, theology and religious organisation
• The great majority of Muslims are Sunnis
• Pakistan - where Shias are a minority - has a history of sectarian bloodshed dating back to the 1980s

• Pakistan's evolving sectarian schism
• Formidable power of anti-Shia militants

The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says it is not uncommon for those deemed to be involved in illicit relationships to be shot in Pakistan, but few if any public stonings have been carried out.

Shias in Pakistan are angry over the high number of sectarian attacks against them across the country in recent months.
Last year more than 400 Shias were killed in Pakistan by Sunni hardliners. So far this year, more than 200 Shias have been killed.
Warnings Officials say that the soldier, Anwar Din, was detained by villagers near Parachinar after attempting to see the woman. Her family consulted tribal elders in the town who ordered that he be stoned. The sentence was carried out on Tuesday.
"The girl left her home on Monday and met Anwar Din when villagers saw them," tribal elder Munir Hussain told the Reuters news agency.
"We took the girl into custody and took the boy to the local graveyard where he was stoned to death and buried."
Mr Hussain said that elders had requested that another Pakistani soldier be handed over by the army for helping the couple meet and co-ordinate their planned elopement.
"The army is here for our security but if they engage in such activities we will not let them stay here," he said. "This is an insult to tribal customs. We will revolt against this."

Kurram's population is predominantly Shia

The villagers were also angry because the soldier - who reportedly began the relationship when his army unit was based in Kurram - persisted with the alleged love affair even after his unit had been redeployed and despite numerous warnings from villagers not to do so.
At the time of his death, officials say the soldier - from Punjab province - was in the Kurram area in a private capacity. He had reportedly kept in touch with the woman by telephone.
Punjabis are especially disliked by many in Kurram, our correspondent says, because they are seen as being at the forefront of sectarian hatred towards Shias.
Kurram is in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas, which have never been fully integrated into the country's administrative, economic or judicial system.
Instead, tribal elders often take the law into their own hands, dispensing punishments for crimes including rape and murder and in cases where a family's honour is seen to have been impugned because of an illicit relationship.

 

Haifa al Mansour becomes first female Saudi director

Haifa al Mansour faced criticism from members of her own extended family

Women in Saudi Arabia cannot drive, vote or work with men but one woman has become the country's first film-maker to direct a film in her homeland.

Haifa al Mansour has made a film - titled Wadjda - that has received critical acclaim around the world but cannot actually be shown in Saudi Arabia because there are no cinemas and few films are given a public showing.

It is a ground-breaking film that was shot in the Kingdom itself and has an all-Saudi cast which, surprisingly, includes two lead women.

It is due to be released next year.

When al Mansour was growing up in a small town in Saudi Arabia, she dreamed of making films but thought it would never happen in a country where women are restricted in the jobs they can choose.

Luckily for her, she says, her father believed that despite her gender she could achieve anything she wanted.

But a lot of pressure was put on her to stop her pursuing her career.

"You know Saudi Arabia is very tribal," she says.

The film is about a 10-year-old girl living in Riyadh, who wants a bicycle

"People from our extended family would write letters to him telling him 'how dare you let your daughter do that'. There is social pressure on a lot of families to control their daughters and he never listened to that."
'Really proud'
After al Mansour released three short films as well as an award-winning documentary, the thing that she had still not done - nor for that matter had anyone else in Saudi Arabia - was direct a feature length film.

Keif al-Hal?, released in 2006, is regarded as Saudi Arabia's first big budget film and starred a Saudi actress, though it was shot in Dubai by a Palestinian director.

Haifa al Mansour's father passed away a few years ago and never got to see his daughter make her full-length debut, which has already been shown at both the Venice and London film festivals.

"He was really proud," she says.

"He wanted to support me and live my dream and it's hard to find something like this in Saudi."

Wadjda is about a 10-year-old girl living in the Saudi capital Riyadh, who wants a bike in a society that sees bicycles as a threat to women's virtue.

''For me of course [the bike's] a metaphor but also it's common sense, it's a toy. ''

The film had official permits, was partly financed by a Saudi prince and was shot on location in six weeks.

But filming encountered problems not experienced by Hollywood studios.

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“Start Quote

Mobility for Saudi women is different”

End Quote Haifa al Mansour

Women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to work or mix with men and are not to be seen walking around on the streets so, when filming in conservative districts of the Saudi city of Riyadh, al Mansour had to hide in a van.

''It's challenging especially for the outdoor shots," she says.

"Some of the neighbourhoods are conservative so I had to be in a van and direct the actors through the phone or walkie talkies.''

But al Mansour still says there is a system in Saudi for shooting dramas which creates a "vibrant scene".

She used this very system to get permission and make her dream a reality.

There is no open casting for actors in Saudi Arabia and it is hard to find either women or girls to appear on film because it is regarded negatively by conservatives in the country.

She says she was blessed in finding her 12-year-old lead Waad Mohammed, one week before shooting began.

''She was rocking '80s style headphones and curly hair," al Mansour says.

"She's really smart.''
Positive messages
Another problem for al Mansour, when it came to filming, was that she had to rely on location scouts.

As a woman, she cannot drive or walk around freely and learned quickly that she did not know the streets and different districts of Saudi Arabia particularly well. This, she thinks, was a limiting factor as a film director.

"Mobility for Saudi women is different," she says.

The film, despite positive reviews elsewhere, has had a mixed reaction in Saudi Arabia but has received lots of positive messages on Twitter from Saudi women.

The challenge is getting more people to see the film as there are no public cinemas. However, many Saudis watch films via satellite TV and DVDs.

Al Mansour believes in working within the system to change it rather than fighting against it by not participating.

''Try to do it the way the Saudis do it," she says.

"[Don't] be a rebel just for the sake of it."

Islam & world

Decline of islam over the world

In the name of allah

You would have heard of such writers whose pen sprinkles a galaxy of words on paper. You would have seen such forceful speakers who have the ability to ignite the passions of audience. Your would have seen such poets whose poetry gets worldwide acclaim. You would have read about the philosophers whose reasoning mystified the people. You would have come across such politicians who have the capability to work wonders. You would have been impressed by the popularity of scientists who scale the planets. You would have heard about the businessmen whose wealth has no bounds. You would have heard of the rulers who know the tricks to lengthen their rule.
But the number of those exemplary people was and is very little who feel for the whole Muslim Ummah and ache for the true religion, who feel the pain in their heart if a thorn pricks the foot of a Muslim in the last corner of the world. Their love is beyond racial, linguistic and country boundaries, their thought is higher than skies and vaster than deserts, their insight is deeper than oceans, and their words and actions have no clash. Their life is dedicated for the cause of others.

In every era, such great people are very little in number but not non-existent. If the face of earth got totally devoid of such people, there would be doomsday on earth. There are many preceding personalities that may be rightly counted among such great people. In this column, we shall discuss only one such person.

Sheikh-ul-Hind, Maulana Mahmood Hassan Deobandi was a class unto himself. A torchbearer and a leader of politics simultaneously, he was very much aggrieved over the oppressions against Muslims in Balkan and Trabulus. Mufti Aziz-ur-Rahman writes, “When Hazrat Sheikh-ul-Hind would hear about defeat to the Turks, tears would roll down from his eyes making his beard wet. All night, he would pray to Allah. It seemed as if he would chew the British if he could.”

He gave leaves to the teachers and students of his madrasah and sent them to village and towns for collecting donations. He gave his own salary and the salaries of teachers and other staff as donations. At his order, the students donated even their educational awards and the food of their canteen. His concern for the Ummah made him the leader of mujahideen of the world. His emergence as the leader of mujahideen was unbearable for the British. They arrested Hazrat Sheikh-ul-Hind and imprisoned him in an island of Malta. The British did imprison his body but could not imprison his heart and mind. In the jail, he would feel anguished for the downfall of the Muslim Ummah.

After being released in 1920, he returned to Hindustan. Once speaking at a big gathering of 'Ulama, he said, “We learnt two lessons from our life in Malta.” These words made the whole audience attentive, as they wanted to know what the 80-year-old sage was going to say. “In the loneliness of jail in Malta, I pondered over the causes of Muslims’ ruination both religiously and temporally, I found out two causes: One, forsaking the Quran. Two, internal differences and discords. From the jail, I have come with a resolve that I would spend the rest of my live in promoting the Quran and its meaning. There is a need that madrasahs for children are set up in every town and village to give children the literal education of Quran, and public gatherings are organized for enlightening the adults with the meaning of Quran and preparing them to act accordingly. And the internal differences among the Muslims should not be tolerated at any cost.”

If we cool-mindedly ponder over the causes of Muslims’ downfall and disgrace, we shall find the two very causes as responsible. The Holy Quran is the command centre of all individual and collective matters, rituals and worships of the Muslims. As long as the Muslims retained the Quran as their leader, they were the leaders of the world. Under the leadership of the Quran, wherever they marched, they conquered and big powers of the time fell to them. But when the Muslims diverted from the way of Quran, they lost their leading role and their unity as a nation crumbled. The Muslims have not only become apathetic towards Quran but also they have started distorting the meaning of Quran. Everyone is at liberty to call himself a scholar of Quran and define the meaning of Quranic verses from his own mind.

In the same way, the other secret of Muslims’ power and rule over the unbelievers was their unity, which has has vanished too. As long as they were maintained the bonds of emaan and brotherhood, they were dominant over the whole world and when they started begrudging their own brothers and making friends with the enemies, they fell in the abyss of disgrace and humiliation. It is strange that we do not take lesson from our history. The whole Muslim history is a witness that the Kuffar alone could never defeat the Muslims, rather, it was Muslims’ internal discord that always led to defeat. The land of Andalusia was majestically ruled by the Muslims for eight hundred years, and its magnificent mosques, splendid buildings and beautiful gardens still recall their originators. When did the Muslims’ downfall begin there? Only when they divided in sects and races and started calling the Christians for help against one another. Baghdad – the then centre of Muslims' knowledge and politics – was savagely destroyed by the Tartars only when the Muslims got engaged in internal conflicts and lost tolerance for one another. The then ruler of Baghdad wanted to weaken his rival Khuarzam Shah. So, he invited the Tartars to attack the Shah. The Tartars first destroyed Khuarzam Shah’s empire and then wrecked Baghdad.

Today, Andalusia and Baghdad-like situation is prevailing again. The Muslims have plunged in discord, dispersion and sectarianism despite they are facing an enemy that is more merciless, more savage, more cunning and more prejudiced than the Tartars. The enmity of Tartars was confined to some rulers and kingdoms while the present-day enemy is out to annihilate the Muslims from the face of the world. It wants to beat the Muslims one by one. First, it played havoc with Afghanistan and the whole world acted as a silent spectator. Now, it has unfolded its plans against Iraq, Iran, Somalia and Yemen.

Apart from the international scenario, the inside situation is very frightening too. The most regretful fact is that the Islamic organizations are at great distance from one another, providing the anti-Islam forces with an opportunity to criticize them. We wish that at least the upright ulama gathered under command of one Ameer (leader). The Muslims of Hindustan were lucky for they had got the “Sheikh-ul-Hind” under whose command and leadership Muslims from every sect got united. We wish all the Islam-loving people in Pakistan agreed on one Ameer. The formation of one unified organization under one Ameer would inspirit the Muslims and frighten the enemies. It is pertinent to mention that when Sheikh-ul-Hind’s health declined to irrecoverable state, he called for electing an upright scholar as leader after him. Just one week before his demise, Jami'at Ulama-i-Hind was holding its second annual meeting. Though he was too sick to move, he said: “Take my cot to the meeting place. All people of wisdom and knowledge from all over Hind are present there. They must elect an Ameer. I will be the first person to pledge the oath of allegiance at the hands of that Ameer.”

It is to be noted that most of the participants in the meeting were his students and murids but still he was prepared to pledge the oath of allegiance at the hands of one Ameer elected from among them. In our beloved country, is it not possible that for the protection of Islamic values, religious institutes and our future, all the righteous people elect from among themselves one capable and insightful person as Ameer and get united under his leadership?

The sage of the time, Sheikh-ul-Hind Mahmood Hasan had pointed out two causes of Muslims’ downfall. The two causes are still playing the pivotal role in the downfall of the Muslim Ummah today. For everyone who dreams of the revival of Islam and eminence of Muslim Ummah, it is vital to spend his capabilities in eliminating the two causes. When the light of Quranic education would spread, the darkness of fallacies would automatically shrink, and when the upholders of right would get united, the upholders of falsehood would get frightened, not being able to rise again.