Islamic Focus Issue 103 Igniting the Spirit of Islam Jul 2012 Bukhara Publications/Tel: 078 672 7797/Fax: 086 651 2125 Email: [email protected]/Korsten/Port Elizabeth ‘one of the world’s most persecuted minorities.’ They have been stripped of Burmese citizenship since 1982. They are not allowed to travel without official per- mission, are banned from owning land and can't have more than two children. They are also subjected to various forms of extortion and taxation; land confisca- tion; forced eviction and house destruction; and fi- nancial restrictions on mar- riage. Muslims continue to be used as forced, slave la- bourers on roads and at military camps. Thousands of Burmese Mus- lims are refugees in Bangla- desh and Thailand where they are also unwelcome. Yet another corner of the world where Muslims are suffering. Amnesty describes the Mus- lims of Burma (called Rohin- gya) as the world’s most persecuted people. Recent attacks on Muslims there is the latest in a long history of oppression by the Bud- dhists. RELIGION Muslim Byat Wi was killed by King Mon in 1050 CE be- cause he was a Muslim. The two sons of Byat Wi's brother Byat Ta were chil- dren executed because they refused to obey the forced labour order of the king, be- cause of their religious be- liefs. King Bayintnaung (1550- 1589) prohibited Muslims from Islamically slaughter- ing goats and chickens. He forced them to listen to Buddhist sermons and disal- lowed Eidul Adha sacrifice. King Alaungpaya (1752– 1760) prohibited Muslims from Islamic slaughter as well. King Bodawpaya (1782– 1819) arrested four famous Muslim Ulama and killed them after they refused to eat pork. MERCILESS Muslim settlements have existed in Burma since the arrival of Arabs in the 8th century. Following the Bur- mese conquest of Muslim Arakan in 1785, Burmese rulers executed and de- ported thousands of Mus- lims. In 1942, 5,000 Mus- lims were killed by Rakhine nationalists and Karenni. The military, which has ruled Burma for 50 years, heavily persecuted Muslims. Burmese Muslims are de- scribed as ‘among the world’s least wanted’ and Scan the QR code with your cellphone to go to our website: www.islamicfocus.co.za 9 7 7 2 2 2 3 1 1 1 0 0 9 ISSN 2223-1110 P10 Burma P4 Late Nights P7 The Teacup P9 Diamonds P9 Ibn Qasim P3 Soft Heart
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Islamic Focus
Issue 103 Igniting the Spirit of Islam Jul 2012 Bukhara Publications/Tel: 078 672 7797/Fax: 086 651 2125 Email: [email protected]/Korsten/Port Elizabeth
‘one of the world’s most
persecuted minorities.’
They have been stripped of Burmese citizenship since 1982. They are not allowed
to travel without official per-mission, are banned from
owning land and can't have more than two children. They are also subjected to
various forms of extortion and taxation; land confisca-
tion; forced eviction and house destruction; and fi-nancial restrictions on mar-
riage. Muslims continue to be used as forced, slave la-
bourers on roads and at military camps.
Thousands of Burmese Mus-lims are refugees in Bangla-
desh and Thailand where they are also unwelcome.
Yet another corner of the world where Muslims are suffering.
Amnesty describes the Mus-
lims of Burma (called Rohin-gya) as the world’s most
persecuted people. Recent attacks on Muslims there is the latest in a long history
of oppression by the Bud-dhists.
RELIGION
Muslim Byat Wi was killed
by King Mon in 1050 CE be-cause he was a Muslim.
The two sons of Byat Wi's brother Byat Ta were chil-
dren executed because they refused to obey the forced
labour order of the king, be-cause of their religious be-
liefs. King Bayintnaung (1550-
1589) prohibited Muslims from Islamically slaughter-
ing goats and chickens. He forced them to listen to Buddhist sermons and disal-
lowed Eidul Adha sacrifice.
King Alaungpaya (1752–
1760) prohibited Muslims from Islamic slaughter as
well. King Bodawpaya (1782–
1819) arrested four famous Muslim Ulama and killed
them after they refused to eat pork.
MERCILESS Muslim settlements have
existed in Burma since the arrival of Arabs in the 8th century. Following the Bur-
mese conquest of Muslim Arakan in 1785, Burmese
rulers executed and de-ported thousands of Mus-
lims. In 1942, 5,000 Mus-lims were killed by Rakhine nationalists and Karenni.
The military, which has
ruled Burma for 50 years, heavily persecuted Muslims. Burmese Muslims are de-
scribed as ‘among the world’s least wanted’ and
Scan the QR code with
your cellphone to go to
our website:
www.islamicfocus.co.za
97
72
22
31
11
00
9
IS
SN
2
22
3-
11
10
P10 Burma
P4 Late Nights
P7 The Teacup
P9 Diamonds
P9 Ibn Qasim
P3 Soft Heart
2 Islamic Focus
WORLD NEWS
USA - Center for Constitutional Rights and American
Civil Liberties Union are giving legal assistance to
plaintiffs suing the US government over drone kill-
ings in Yemen. ‘There is something terribly wrong
when a 16-year-old American boy can be killed by
his own government without any accountability or
explanation,’ said a lawyer at the Center for Consti-
tutional Rights. (BBC, 18 July)
SYRIA - Troops clashed with freedom fighters in
Damascus and Aleppo, as they try to retake areas.
In Aleppo and Homs, there were revolts and at-
tempted breakouts by prisoners. (BBC, 24 July)
PALESTINE - Jewish war veteran became the sec-
ond Israeli to die after setting himself on fire in pro-
test against Jewish establishment inequality. (BBC,
22 July)
EGYPT - Politician sentenced to a year in prison for
violating public decency after police found him fon-
dling a woman in a car in public. (BBC, 24 July)
EGYPT - 'Maria' is the name of the first Egyptian TV
channel to exclusively feature women who wear full
Islamic veil. (BBC, 23 July)
PALESTINE - Jewish officials created the first uni-
versity in a Jewish settlement in occupied West
Bank. The settlements are illegal under international
law. More than 1,000 Israeli academics signed a pe-
tition against the university. (BBC, 17 July)
GERMANY - Lawmakers to pass a cross-party mo-
tion to protect religious circumcision, after a regional
court ruled it amounted to bodily harm. The main
political parties, together with Jewish and Muslim
groups, criticised the ruling. (BBC, 19 July)
TATARSTAN - Former deputy Mufti shot dead and
Mufti of Tatarstan wounded in attacks in the Russian
-occupied Muslim republic of Tatarstan. Tatarstan,
occupied by Russia, has a large Muslim population.
David Hicks can profit from his memoir telling the
story of his illegal incarceration there after Australian
prosecutors dropped a case to seize the income. He
spent five years at the facility. (BBC, 24 July)
INDIA - Fierce fighting between indigenous tribes-
people and Muslim settlers in Assam state killed 21.
60,000 people fled to relief camps. There have been
tensions between indigenous groups and Muslim
Bengali migrants to Assam for years. (BBC, 24 July)
BURMA - Rohingya Muslims are fleeing to Bangla-
desh following state-aided killing by Buddhists of 78
Muslims in Rakhine province. Government forces
continue to persecute Muslims according to Human
Rights Watch. Security forces killed and raped Mus-
lims and arrested hundreds. Rohingya Muslims have
been oppressed over 30 years by Burmese authori-
ties who say they are not citizens. Bangladesh also
says they are not welcome. There are 400,000 Ro-
hingya refugees in Bangladesh. (BBC, 22 July)
AFGHANISTAN - Bomb planted by Taliban de-
stroyed 22 Nato fuel tankers carrying supplies to
coalition forces. (BBC, 18 July)
NIGERIA - 35 killed in flooding in Plateau state af-
ter heavy rainfall caused a dam to overflow near the
city of Jos. (BBC, 24 July)
AFGHANISTAN - Afghanistan became the first
country whose surface minerals have been mapped
from the air. This was done by the US Geological
Survey while Afghanistan is under US occupation.
The country has vast reserves of oil, gas, copper,
cobalt, gold and lithium which USA is eager to ex-
ploit. (BBC, 18 July)
EGYPT - 16 wounded in Coptic-Muslim clashes after a Muslim man died in an earlier clash. (BBC, 1 Aug) US - It's become the norm for US presidential hope-fuls to make a stop in Israel to win support from Jewish voters in the US, and Mitt Romney is no ex-ception. He agreed with Jews that Jerusalem is Is-rael's capital, and during his 36 hours in Israel he did not make the 30-minute trip to the West Bank or seek a meeting with the Palestinian President. He also placed a prayer note like Jews in the Western Wall in Jerusalem. (AP, 30 July) �
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3 Islamic Focus
SOCIAL / S
UNNAH
Having a hard heart is not a good quality in a
Muslim. A person with a soft heart is more in-clined towards good deeds. Here are some
ways to develop a soft heart: 1. Reciting Quran. Mu’alla Bin Ziyad said
that a man said to Hasan Basari, ‘O Abu Saeed, I want to complain to you about my
hardheartedness.’ He advised him to remedy it with remembrance of Allah.
Wuhaib Bin Ward said that the Quran is that remembrance which most easily softens
hearts for one who reflects on it. ‘Allah has sent down the best statement, a
Book (this Quran), its parts resembling each other in goodness and truth, oft-repeated.
The skins of those who fear their Lord shiver from it (when they recite it or hear it). Then
their skin and their heart soften to the remembrance of Allah… (Quran 39:23)
2. Kindness to orphans and needy. A per-son complained to the Prophet � about the
hardness of his heart. The Prophet � said to him: ‘If you want your heart to soften, (affectionately) rub the orphan’s head (with
your hand) and feed the needy.’
3. Remember death a lot. A woman came to Aisha � and complained about hard heart-edness. Aisha � told her, ‘Remember death
much. Your heart will become tender and you will be able to fulfill your needs.’
The Prophet � said, ‘Remember much the de-stroyer of pleasures (i.e. death).’
Wherever there is diversity, there has to be
differences. It's unfair to expect others to be copies of ourselves with no differences. The
Prophet � had to combat hostility while re-maining positive. One of the methods he util-ized was to overcome the status barrier.
Overcoming the Status Barrier
Islam stresses equality, and teaches that pref-erence is only based on good qualities in the heart. We must deal justly and equally with all
people and in all situations.
The Prophet � taught that a smile is charity, even to strangers, and always used a person's favorite name to address him. He sat any-
where in a gathering not in the center and re-fused that people stand up for him.
Someone pulled his cloak forcefully to get his
attention, but he didn't respond with equal force; he merely ordered him firmly to let go. He respected even the youngest or poorest: He
was offered water, and he drank from it. On his right side there was a boy and on his left
side were some old men. He asked the boy ‘Do you mind if I offer the water to them?’ The boy said ‘O Allah's Prophet �! By Allah! I will not
give up my right to drink for anyone (because I am sitting on the right side). The Prophet �
handed the water to the boy. (Bukhari) The situation is a bit of a dilemma, who should
get the water, as a status symbol, a young boy or old men? The Prophet � solved the problem
through equality regardless of age or status. Good communication begins with respecting
others by treating them politely and equally.
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