Friday Bulletin 614

8/9/2019 Friday Bulletin 614

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Rabi ul Thaany 17,1436/February 06, 2015 Issue No. 614

Friday BulletinThe

The Weekly Muslim News Update

www. islamkenya.org

Page 2 Page 7Page 3

The governments efforts to tackle a widearray of security threats have been marredby ongoing patterns of serious human

rights violations by Kenyan security forces,including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary de-tentions, and torture. Despite evidence ofthese abuses, the government rarely in-vestigates or prosecutes abusive securityof cers, says the US based Human RightsWatch in its latest global human rights re-port.According to the 656-page report releasedlast week, anti-terrorism operations havebeen marred by serious human rights vio-lations that include extrajudicial killings, ar-bitrary detentions and torture among otherviolations.

This further implicates security agenciesin the torture, disappearance, and unlaw-ful killing of alleged terrorism suspects andindividuals of Somali origin, Somali refu -gees, and Muslims in Mombasa, Nairobi,North Eastern region, and other parts ofthe country.In August, Human Rights Watch foundevidence of at least 10 cases of extraju-dicial killings of terrorism suspects by the

Anti Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU). Someof the victims who were last seen in ATPUcustody, had been threatened by the unitsof cers after being released by courts, orhad received death threats from ATPU of -

cers they recognized.Even after a damning report by the Inde-pendent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA)on the 2013 Operation Usalama Watchwhich mainly targeted members of the So -mali ethnicity and Muslims, recommenda-tions to persecute police of cers for theirunlawful actions have not been adheredto, the rights body said. All the of cers who were identi ed in the29 complaints recorded by the Independ-ent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) onthe anti-terror crackdown are yet to facethe law, Leslie said during the release ofthe HRW annual report at a Nairobi hotel.During the Usalama Watch operation inNairobi and Mombasa in April last year,security of cers from multiple agenciesraided homes, buildings, and shops. Ac-

From Left Maahad Dawa Organisation (MDO) member Muhammad Sharrif, IslamicDawa Group chairman Abdallah Ndope and the chairman of Al Furqan Training In-stitute Hassan Al Haddad follow proceeding during the graduation ceremony of theinstitution on Sunday. See story on Page 7.

The rst Caliph Abu BakrAs-Siddiq

Trace Jabran's whereaboutspolice boss told

Govt on the spot over humanrights violations

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Information and Communication Technol-ogy (ICT) cabinet secretary Fred Matiangitook issue with a section of the local mediafor publishing offensive cartons demeaningProphet Muhammad peace be upon himand warned that the government will not tol-erate irresponsible actions from the media.He said it was intolerant and inexcusable forthe media to deliberately attack and offendthe religious sensibilities of Muslims cau-tioning that that the government will crackthe whip on errant media houses which pro-mote religious intolerance.In his remarks during a meeting with theMuslim leadership on Monday, the cabinet

Offensive cartoons 'intolerant andinexcusable'- Information CS

This Newsletter contains some of Allahs names. Please do not throw in the trash. Either keep, circulate or shred

'State not interfering withfreedom of worship'

secretary noted that while the govern-ment does not harbour intentions of muz -zling the fourth estate, it will not look theother away as the media foments hatredand demonizes other faiths. We can -not look the other way when cultural andsocial stability is being undermined bythe media. We cannot purport to enjoyfreedom of expression at the expense of

other ways of life, he said.We will stand with the Muslim commu-nity in circumstances where serious prin-ciples of your religion are being under-mined, the CS further said.

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Teachers continue to defy orders to return to NEPRabi ul Thaany 17,1436/February 06, 2015

Intolerant andinexcusable cartoons

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The national chairman of the Supremecouncil of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM)Prof. Abdulghafur El Busaidy castigatedthe media for publishing the caricatures

terming it as a deliberate act of mischiefmeant to offend and provoke Muslims.Their aim was to provoke Muslims toshow to the world that there are violentand intolerant, he said.His sentiments were repeated by thevice chairman of Jamia Mosque Com-mittee Farouk Adam who accused themedia of being behind a subtle cam-paign to demonize Islam and urged thegovernment to take up its responsibilityand rein in media houses which portrayMuslims negatively.Despite complaints of misinformation

and negative portrayal of Muslim be-liefs, several caricatures which attackand offend Muslims beliefs continuedto be published, he said while urgingthe media to respect the religious sensi-bilities with a caution note that it will notbe business as usual if the sordid trendcontinues.Sheikh Ibrahim Lethome who is a mem -ber of the Jamia Mosque Committeesaid that there was no absolute free-dom and told the media to refrain frombeing agents of fermenting intoleranceand breeding hatred among Kenyans.Particularly at this time, when Kenyansare making efforts to co-exist, we weretaken back to see media houses com-ing out to offend and provoke Muslims,he said.On his part, Dr. Mustafa Ali who is ex-ecutive director of Arigatou Internationalsaid the cartoons were published by thelocal media houses to gain nancial lev -erage at the expense of offending Mus-lims sensibilities.Two local dailies, The Star which isowned by Radio Africa Group and Busi -ness Daily , a Nation Media Group(NMG) publication republished the of -fensive cartoons which had originallybeen published by a French Publica -tion Charlie Hebdo. Following outcryfrom Muslims, The Star ran an apologypledging that it will take into considera-tion Muslim sensibilities in the futurewhile the Nation publication has main-tained a silence on the matter.In 2005, despite global anger by Mus-lims over the publication of offensivecartoons by a Danish publication Jyl-lands-Posten, a local television stationowned by the Nation media Group wentahead to run in one its news bulletinsthe disgusting caricatures.The media house swiftly responded toMuslim anger with an apology pledgingthat the cracks would be closed to en -sure that a repeat of the same did nottake place.

Hundreds of non-local teachers stationedin North Eastern region continue to defy or-ders by their employer, the Teachers Ser -vice Commission (TSC) to return to work.The striking teachers have been campingat the TSC headquarters at Upper Hill forthe third consecutive week protesting the

directive to return to their workstations andare demanding to be transferred to otherareas.The teachers argue claim that the region isinsecure and have demanded to be trans-ferred to other areas they deem to be safe.

The teachers de ed fresh orders by their em -ployer TSC asking them to report back to workby Monday failure to which disciplinary actionwould be taken against them.Learning in the counties of Mandera, Wajir andGarissa has been paralyzed for the third weekas the non local teachers who constitute large

percentage of the teaching fraternity in thearea made good of their threat not to reportback to schools following two deadly attacksin Mandera which claimed more than 60 lives.On Monday, the Kenya National Union ofTeachers (KNUT) Secretary General WilsonSossion appeared at the Criminal Investiga -tion Department (CID) headquarters to recordstatements over the allegations of incitingteachers stationed in North Eastern not to re-turn to work.Sossion told the teachers to continue defyingorders by the TSC to return to their worksta -tion until their grievances are addressed.

Meanwhile Muslim Education Council (MEC)has called on the striking non-local teachers toresume duties in their respective educationalinstitutions in the region.The Executive director Munawar Khan ap-pealed to the concerned teachers to resumeduties since the national government hasbeefed up security and the county govern-ments in the region has reassured them thatthe areas are safe.

Acting Inspector General of police SamuelArachi assured teachers that adequate secu-rity personnel have been deployed in the area.The deployment has been done according tothe threat analysis. If there is need for even20 of cers in a particular area we will deploythem, said Arachi.

Following protests by Muslim and Chris -tian religious leaders against proposalsmeant to regulate religious institutions inthe country, the government has given areassurance that it will not interfere withfreedom of worship.

Attorney General Githu Muigai said that thegovernment will not impose any regulationson religious organizations and societies.He however, noted that the governmentwas keen to work with religious bodies andsocieties to update the existing regulatoryframework in order to get rid of the excessbodies. The government does not havethe knowhow to dictate to religious bodieson how to conduct their affairs. We have nowish to tax religious bodies and we have nowish to interfere with their nancial econo -my, he saidReligious leaders expressed their concernsthat the streamlization of religious groupswould unduly interfere with the freedom ofworship but rather called for self-regulationmechanism.The leaders are protesting against the lawsdrafted by the Attorney General that will re -quire Pastors, ministers, Imams, Rabbisand religious of cials to obtain certi cateof good conduct from the police and clear-ance from the Ethics and Anti CorruptionCommission (EACC).Mosques, churches and temples will be re-

quired to le their annual returns with theof ce of the deputy registrar of societies,while of cials as well as committee mem -bers and trustees of religious organiza -tions will be under obligation to provide thegovernment with personal details of theiridentity cards, personal identi cation num -ber (PIN) and tax clearance or exemptioncerti cates.Speaking to a local television last week,Githu revealed that the government willand must create a framework that will man -age all the societies to suit the currentneeds in the country.

The decision to regulate and monitor re-ligious organizations by the state wasprompted after revelations that some or-ganizations were taking undue advantageof the faithful, extorting money at will andfaking miracles to keep them loyal to thechurches.

State not interfering withfreedom of worship AG

cording to the rights group, they carted awaymoney and household goods and harassedand detained thousands of people who includ-ed journalists, refugees, Kenyan citizens, andinternational aid workerswithout charge,and in appalling conditions for periods well be-yond the 24-hour legal limit.In addition, the authorities were also accusedof failing to investigating violent acts which in-cluded gang attacks that killed tens of peoplein Bungoma and Busia counties in March lastyear. The of cial told the government to resortto lawful ways in addressing the country's se-curity problem, instead of resorting to tacticsthat result in human rights abuses and arecounterproductive to ght terrorism.We must not resort to extrajudicial means toshow that we are serious in the ght againstinsecurity. We can do so within the con nesof the law, she said. She further noted thatthe government has been slow in implement-ing key reforms that were identi ed in 2008as crucial to addressing Kenya's political cri-sis, including land, accountability and securitysector reforms.

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State security implicatedin rights violation


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DA'WA

SUNDAY LECTURE

It was 9 A.H. (630 CE) when Prophet Mu -hammad (peace be upon him) was plan -ning the Tabuk expedition. Tabuk is an oa-sis town, in present day Saudi Arabia. Theexpedition was an answer to the Byzantinethreats to attack Muslims.People brought to the Prophet whatever

they could nd by way of money and re -sources to help him with the campaign. Andthen came forward one of the richest and thenoblest among the companions and offeredhis beloved leader (peace be upon him) allthe wealth and property he possessed.The Prophet (peace be upon him) asked theman, "What did you leave for your family?"without hesitation, the companion calmly re-plied, "Allah and his Prophet are enough forthem." (Ibn Kathir)This man was Abubakar As-Siddiq. Thebirth name of Abubakar was Abdul Ka`bah(servant of the Ka`bah). When he revertedto Islam in 610 CE, he was named Abdul -

lah (servant of Allah) by Prophet Muham -mad (peace be upon him). Abubakar wasthe rst among men to accept Islam and theforemost in delity to the Prophet (peace beupon him).Abubakar was two years younger than theProphet. He was of a noble family and wasknown for being most upright and sincerein his dealings. His gentleness, generosity,and gracefulness won him the respect of all.When the Prophet told him of the revelationand his God-given mission, Abubakar didnot pose to think twice; right then, he em -braced Islam and declared his loyalty to theProphet (peace be upon him), without a fearof any consequences.Thereafter, nothing could deter him from thepath of Islam, and no one was closer to theMessenger of Allah. Till the end of his life,Abubakar was strong in his faith in Allah andunfaltering in his commitment to the way ofthe Prophet peace be upon him.Islam as taught by the Prophet (peace beupon him) is the total and absolute surren -der to the will of Allah, and Abubakar wasits best model after the Prophet (peace beupon him). As an ordinary man and later asthe ruler of Arabia after the Prophet (peacebe upon him), Abubakar was the very em -bodiment of honesty and sel essness.Soon after becoming a Muslim, Abubakarwas spreading the word about Islam, andmany of his sincere friends followed hisexample and took the shahadah, witness -ing that there is only one true god and thatMuhammad (Prophet peace be upon him) ishis Messenger.Among them were eminent persons who lat -er became the stalwarts of Islam; examplesinclude Ùthman Ibn Àffan, Abdur-RahmanIbn Àwf, Sa`d Ibn Abi Waqqas, and AbuÙbaydah Ibn Al-Jarrah. Abubakar was a rich man who kept hismoney-chest open to serve the cause of Is-lam. He was the rst in human history whobought slaves only to set them free. Friendto the poor and the weak, he had no love formoney, position, or power.There is a story of a poor, blind, old wom-an living in the outskirts of Madinah. Everymorning, Ùmar Ibn Al-Khattab, anothergreat companion, used to go to her house to

The rst caliph Abu Bakr As-Siddiq

SUNDAY LECTUREUmuhimu wa dawah

By: Abu HudhayfaDate: 8th Feb . 2015 Time: 2 pm- 4 pm

Venue: Makina Kibra

see if she needed anything. But he alwaysfound that someone else had come beforehim and given her all that she needed.Ùmar wanted to nd out who this personwas, so one morning he went there ear-lier than he usually did to nd that the manwho visited the old lady every morning was

Abubakar. The Prophet himself was happyto acknowledge that while he could repaydebts to others, he had not been able to re -pay Abubakar. And at the time of the Hijrah,Prophet's journey from Makkah to Madinah,the Prophet (peace be upon him) choseAbubakar to be his sole companion.The Qur'an relates the unforgettable occa -sion when the Prophet (peace be upon him)was in the cave of Thawr with Abubakar,on their way to Madinah. If you will not aidhim, Allah certainly aided him when thosewho disbelieved expelled him, he being thesecond of the two, when they were both inthe cave, when he said to his companion:

grieve not, surely Allah is with us. So Al -lah sent down his tranquility upon him andstrengthened him with hosts that you didnot see, and made lowest the word of thosewho disbelieved. (At-Tawbah 9:40)And among the followers of the Prophet(peace be upon him), it was Abubakar alonewho had no questions at all about Al-Israaànd Al-Mi`raj the Prophet's miraculousnight journey and ascension and theProphet (peace be upon him) named him

As-Siddiq (the truthful one).Even in really dif cult times, Abubakarproved himself to quite unique. The death ofthe Prophet (peace be upon him) was a ter -

rible shock for the believers; many found ithard to imagine that they had to live on with-out the Prophet (peace be upon him) amongthem. Huge crowds ocked to the Mosqueat Madinah; confusion and disbelief reignedeverywhere. Even Ùmar would not acceptthat the Prophet (peace be upon him) diedand drew his sword to kill anyone who saidthat the Prophet (peace be upon him) wasdead.Then Abubakar, with remarkable self-pos -session and extraordinary leadership, ad-dressed the distraught people with thesewords, O people, if any one among youworshipped Muhammad, know that Mu-

hammad (peace be upon him) is dead. Butthose who worship Allah, let them know thathe lives and will never die. Let all of us re -call the words of the Qur'an: [Muhammad isno more than a Messenger: many were theMessenger who passed away before him.If he died or were slain, will you then turnback on your heels? If any did turn back ontheir heels, not the least harm will they doto Allah. But Allah (on the other hand) willswiftly reward those who (serve him) withgratitude.] (Aal Ìmran 3:144) These words of Abubakar struck like thun -der, and people awoke to the reality of theProphet's death (Al-Bukhari). Undoubtedlythis was one of those events that proved themettle of the soon-to-be caliph of Islam.

After the death of the Prophet (peace beupon him), the rst problem facing the Mus -lim community was to choose a new leader,a problem that required an immediate so-lution. Because, any delay in this matter

would have caused disorder underminingthe very fabric of the Ummah (the Muslimcommunity) the Prophet (peace be uponhim) had been building up.Soon, signs of division appeared betweenthe Muhajirun (the immigrants to Madinah)and the Ansar (the helpers from Madinah).After much deliberation and debate, the An-sar accepted that the Muhajirun had a betterclaim for the position as the Prophet (peacebe upon him) himself was a Muhajir. ThenAbubakar took the lead and suggested thateither Ùmar or Abu Ùbaydah should be -come the caliph. But both of them as well as the people hadno doubt that no one deserved that posi-tion more than Abubakar; reluctantly, he ac-cepted their request. After taking the oathof loyalty given by the Muslim community,Abubakar addressed the Muslim crowds, Opeople, I have been elected your leader, al-though I am not better than any one of you.

If I do any good, give me your support. If I gowrong, set me right. Listen, truth is honestyand untruth is dishonesty. The weak amongyou are powerful in my eyes as long as Ido not get them their due, Allah willing. Thepowerful among you are weak in my eyesas long as I do not take away from themwhat is due to others, Allah willing. Listen,you must obey me as long as I obey Allahand his Messenger. If I disobey Allah andhis Messenger, you are free to disobey me.Soon after taking charge, Abubakar had atough time holding together the contentioustribes that had come into Islam. There werepersons who wished to return to their old

habits of drinking and gambling, and somedid not want to pay the obligatory charity.A more serious threat was the phenom-enon of "false Prophets." The caliph had toconfront the apostates who refused to payZakah and punish claimants to propheth-ood. Advisers suggested a careful and well-considered plan of handling the situation.But Abubakar would not listen, for he couldnot see the rights of the poor being usurpedby those who refused to pay zakah whichgoes directly to the poor. He used force andbrought the menace under control.In 634 CE after an illness of two weeks,

Abubakar, the rst among Al-Khulafaa' Al-

Rashiduun (Arabic for "the rightly guidedcaliphs") passed away. He was 63 years oldat the time. He was buried by the side of theholy Prophet (peace be upon him). The Prophet (peace be upon him) is re -ported to have asked his companions oneday who of them on that day attended afuneral, paid alms, visited a sick person, ,and kept a fast. Abubakar alone answeredin the af rmative to all these questions. TheProphet (peace be upon him) said that if allthe virtues were in a person then he is sureto enter paradise And the Prophet (peacebe upon him) observed that Abubakar pos -sessed all of them. (Rasoulullah.net)

Rabi ul Thaany 17,1436/February 06, 2015

Adnan Oktar


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Umm Zakiyyah re ects: My bittersweet HijabWOMEN

Umm Zakiyyah


You dont need this. These are the words that will probably al -ways represent my rst experience with hijab. Though I was onlyfour years old and in kindergarten, my mother would cover my hairwith a headscarf before I left to school each morning. My formerChristian parents accepted Islam the year I was born, and theywanted their children to be known as Muslims when they went to

public school.But my kindergarten teacher had better ideas. Each day that I ar -rived at school, she would call me to her desk and remove my headcover, saying, You dont need this. Then, at the end of the schoolday, shed call me back to her desk to put my scarf back on beforeI returned home to my parents.Yes, I was confused a bit, but Id shrug it off because in my four-year-old world, adults always knew best. And it wasnt until yearslater that it occurred to me that this was something I shouldvetalked to my parents about.Finally, someone will help meIt certainly wasnt easy going to school each day looking differentfrom all the other girls. The kids poked fun at me, and it was a dailyroutine for them to snatch off my scarf and toss it around just forfunwhile the teachers looked on without even a word of repri-mand to the students. In fact, the only time I recall a teacher inter-vening was when I was in fourth grade and was outside for recess,and I fought the boy who snatched off my scarf and threw it in thedirt. When I saw my teacher approaching, I felt relieved. Finally,someone will help me, I thought. But she promptly proceeded totake only me inside the buildingfor punishment. And I had to sit inthe hall alone for the rest of the dayto teach me a lesson.I knew I was differentI think one of the greatest bene ts I gained from my experiencecovering my hair in the public school was the ever present knowl-edge that I was different from others. While some might think thatsa heavy burden for a child to carry, my experience has taught meits the other way around: Those Muslims who had the luxury ofblending in with peers carried the greatest burden, and I witnessedtheir pain and confusion rsthand. Some of them are not even Mus -lim today.I often shudder at the thought of where I would be had my par-ents not required me to cover my hair from young. The Muslim girlswhose parents put them in public school and believed they canwait till puberty faced a dif cult sudden life change at the onset ofmenses.One day they were just normal Jane and the next day, literally,they had to come to school looking like some crazy fanatic from thedeserts of Arabia (as others would see it). Needless to say, manyof these girls had an extremely dif cult time making this transition.So many did what could only be expected of a youth in the heightof puberty when self-image and what others think is exaggerated inones mind: They did to themselves what my kindergarten teacherdid to me. They told themselves, You dont need this hijab. Andthey wore hijab on their way out the door and promptly removed theheadscarf when they arrived at schoolthen put it back on beforereturning home.I love Hijab, sans menI know its probably the corniest, most clich thing to say. But itstrue. I love hijab. And its not because its easy to wear it (as mypublic school experiences clearly show). And its certainly not be -cause of all those annoying reasons so many Muslims attach tomaking things easy for men. Truth be told, I think that encouraginggirls to love hijab because mens sexual desires will be less intenseis one of the most dangerous, damaging thingspsychologicallyand spirituallyyou can do to a Muslim girl, especially living in theWest.So many things are pulling at us, and its hard enough walkingaround as the poster child for Islam while the boys effectively blendin. And if a Muslim girl gets weak, she cant hide her faults so eas -ilybecause she has only one of two options: wear hijab and an-nounce to others that youre hijabi and human (and thats just un -

thinkable) or remove hijab and announce to others that youre abad Muslim (which is the only category many Muslims imaginenon-hijabis can be in).And then on top of that, we want to give girls the added burden ofloving hijab because it bene ts someone else! No thank you. I lovehijab because it bene ts me. Sorry, but when it comes to my soul, I

get a bit sel sh. And I think other girls should too. And it starts withbuilding a relationship between you and Allah forget the rest ofthe world. And for me, hijab is a part of that personal relationship,and I love it.This bittersweet HijabThough I love hijab, I still struggle with it in America. No, thankfully,my struggles are not so serious that Ive ever wished to remove it.But I struggle with the fears I have for my daughter and other girlscoming up in this societyand in the entire Muslim world.On the one hand, I fear theyll face people like my kindergartenteacher, the You dont need this non-Muslims of the world. Moretragically, I fear theyll face the Your hijab is never good enoughMuslims of the world who seem to be on a mission to make sureno Muslim woman feels comfortable obeying Allah the best she

knows how.And while I remain hopeful because wearing hijab is a beautiful,freeing experience for a woman, I also remain fearful becausethe hijab is viewed as a blessing only if were able to ignore thediscouraging messages of non-Muslims and Muslims, who makewomen feel like wearing hijab is just one big headache.

And while the hijab certainly is not a headache, people criticizingwomen de nitely give them one. And this struggle with people justmakes it that much more tempting for Muslim girls to say to them-selves, You dont need thisand by it, mean much more than thehijab.Umm Zakiyyah is the internationally acclaimed author of the If IShould Speak trilogy and the novels Realities of Submission andHearts We Lost.

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VACANCY


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There is a group of practices that we canconsider as the twin sister of bid'ah. Likebid'ah they ourish on the twin foundationsof ignorance and outside in uence. Likebid'ah they entail rituals. But unlike bid'ahthe rituals have not been given an Islamicface. They are followed because they areconsidered an acceptable cultural practiceor the hottest imported "in" thing.Most of those who indulge in them do notknow what they are doing. They are justblind followers of their equally blind culturalleaders. Little do they realize that whatthey consider as innocent fun may in factbe rooted in paganism. That the symbolsthey embrace may be symbols of unbelief.That the ideas they borrow may be prod-ucts of superstition. That all of these maybe a negation of what Islam stands for.Consider Valentine's Day, a day that afterdying out a well deserved death in most ofEurope (but surviving in Britain and UnitedStates) has suddenly started to emergeacross many countries. Who was Valen-tine? Why is this day observed? Legendsabound, as they do in all such cases, butthis much is clear: Valentine's Day be-gan as a pagan ritual started by Romansin the 4th century BCE to honor the godLupercus. The main attraction of this rit -ual was a lottery held to distribute youngwomen to young men for "entertainmentand pleasure"--until the next year's lottery.Among other equally despicable practicesassociated with this day was the lashing ofyoung women by two young men, clad onlyin a bit of goatskin and wielding goatskinthongs, who had been smeared with bloodof sacri cial goats and dogs. A lash of the"sacred" thongs by these "holy men" wasbelieved to make them better able to bearchildren.As usual, Christianity tried, without suc-cess, to stop the evil celebration of Lu -percalia. It rst replaced the lottery ofthe names of women with a lottery of thenames of the saints. The idea was thatduring the following year the young menwould emulate the life of the saint whosename they had drawn. (The idea that youcan preserve the appearance of a popular

Valentine day, Birthdays, and other dazeKhalid BaigRabi ul Thaany 17,1436/February 06, 2015

evil and yet somehow turn it to serve thepurpose of virtue, has survived. Look atall those people who are still trying, help-lessly, to use the formats of popular televi-sion entertainments to promote good. Theymight learn something from this bit of his-tory. It failed miserably) Christianity ended

up doing in Rome, and elsewhere, as theRomans did.The only success it had was in changingthe name from Lupercalia to St. Valentine'sDay. It was done in CE 496 by Pope Gelasi -us, in honor of some Saint Valentine. Thereare as many as 50 different Valentines inChristian legends. Two of them are morefamous, although their lives and charactersare also shrouded in mystery. According toone legend, and the one more in line withthe true nature of this celebration, St. Val -entine was a "lovers'" saint, who had him-self fallen in love with his jailer's daughter.Due to serious troubles that accompaniedsuch lottery, French government bannedthe practice in 1776. In Italy, Austria, Hun -gry, and Germany also the ritual vanishedover the years. Earlier, it had been bannedin England during the 17th century whenthe Puritans were strong. However in 1660Charles II revived it. From there it alsoreached the New World, where enterpris-ing Yankees spotted a good means of mak-ing money. Esther A. Howland, who pro -duced one of the rst commercial AmericanValentine's Day cards called--- what else--- valentines, in the 1840s, sold $5,000worth--when $5,000 was a lot of money--the rst year. The valentine industry hasbeen booming ever since.It is the same story with Halloween, whichhas otherwise normal human beings dress-ing like ghosts and goblins in a reenact-ment of an ancient pagan ritual of demonworship. Five star hotels arrange Hallow -een parties so the rich can celebrate thesuperstitions of a distant period of igno-rance that at one time even included theshameful practice of human sacri ce. Thepagan name for that event was Samhain(pronounced sow-en). Just as in case ofValentine's Day, Christianity changed itsname, but not the pagan moorings.

Christmas is another story. Today shop -keepers sell and shoppers buy Christmassymbols in Islamabad or Dubai or Cairo.To engage in a known religious celebrationof another religion is bad enough. What isworse is the fact that here is another pa-gan celebration (Saturnalia) that has been

changed in name ---and in little else--- byChristianity.Even the celebration considered most in-nocent might have pagan foundations. Ac-cording to one account, in pagan cultures,people feared evil spirits - especially ontheir birthdays. It was a common belief thatevil spirits were more dangerous to a per-son when he or she experienced a changein their daily life, such as turning a yearolder. So family and friends surrounded theperson with laughter and joy on their birth-days in order to protect them from evil.How can anyone in his right mind thinkthat Islam would be indifferent to practicesseeped in anti-Islamic ideas and beliefs?Islam came to destroy paganism in all itsforms and it cannot tolerate any trace of itin the lives of its followers.Further, Islam is very sensitive about main -taining its purity and the unique identity ofits followers. Islamic laws and teachingsgo to extra lengths to ensure it. Salat isforbidden at the precise times of sunrise,transition, and sunset to eliminate the pos -sibility of confusion with the practice of sunworship. To the voluntary recommendedfast on the tenth of Muharram, Muslims arerequired to add another day (9th or 11th)

to differentiate it from the then prevalentJewish practice. Muslims are forbidden toemulate the appearance of non-Muslims.A Muslim is a Muslim for life. During joysand sorrows, during celebrations and suf-ferings, we must follow the one straightpath --- not many divergent paths. It is agreat tragedy that under the constant bar-rage of commercial and cultural propagan-da from the forces of globalization and therelentless media machine, Muslims havebegun to embrace the Valentines, the Hal -loween ghost, and even the Santa Claus.Given our terrible and increasing surrenderto paganism the only day we should be ob-serving is a day of mourning. Better yet itshould be a day of repentance that couldliberate us from all these days. And all thisdaze.

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The Friday Bulletin

page 6

Human rights and security are meant tobe complementary. In the absence of hu-man rights, insecurity is inevitable as thesecurity of those whose rights are violatedbecomes inexistent and they will more of-ten than not themselves resort to unlawfulmeans of defending their rights. This sce-nario is outplaying itself in Kenya where thewar against terrorism has been responsiblefor gross human rights abuses against indi-viduals and communities, further breedingextremism and radicalization amongst theMuslim minority. Today, Kenya is grapplingwith a huge insecurity problem, not limitedto terrorism, without any clear, systematic,solution in the of ng from either govern -ment or communities, other than knee jerkreactions and legislative measures thatfurther curtail basic freedoms which furthercurtail the enjoyment of both human rightsand security.

Over the last one year or so, HAKI Africahas con rmed over 50 killings and disap -pearances at the coast of Kenya alone.Amnesty International and other humanrights groups have documented other kill-ings and disappearances in other parts ofthe country. Almost all these killings anddisappearances are linked to governmentscounter terrorism efforts as majority of thevictims are individuals who have in thepast either been charged in court or beeninvestigated for terror related charges. Inmany of the cases, individuals are shot atclose range by unknown persons whomwitnesses describe as having introduced

themselves, or appeared to be police of c -ers in plain clothes. The government has

No security without human rights and no human rights without securityHussein Khalid

maintained a blanket denial of any involve-ment in the killings, yet no investigations,arrests or convictions have taken place intheir aftermath.The Kenya police have also been raidingplaces of worship and in the process us-ing lethal force that has left several youthdead, with hundreds others arbitrarily ar-rested. In 2014, the Masjid Musa in Mom-basa was raided twice and 8 youth wereshot dead by the police in the two attacks.During the same raids, the police roundedup young men from their homes and es -tates adjacent to the mosque and arrestedover 300 of them. Some of those who werearrested were as young as 11 years old,with others picked from their bedrooms asthey were sleeping.Whenever human rights groups or mediahouses criticize the manner in which theseoperations are carried out or question theirlegality and constitutionality while citingthis violation of basic rights and freedoms,the Kenya government labels the organi-zations as sympathizers of terrorism andthreatens to deregister them and/or arresttheir of cials. This also has the effect of al -ienating human rights organisations in thewider Kenya public. The recently passedSecurity Amendment Act which largely sti -

es freedom of the press and civil societyis evidence of this practice. Several humanrights defenders and journalists have hadtheir lives threatened as the democraticspace in Kenya continues to shrink in thename of ghting terrorism.

The result of these iron st strategies incombating insecurity is the erosion of

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town , about 80 KM East of Nairobi. The school over the years hasshown marked improvement under the new management appearing asthe most improved school in Muranga county in the 2013 KCSE exami -nation. The school has limited vacancies in forms 1, 2, and 3For more information call: +254722335500 +254722724794 and+254721744864

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trust between the local communities andthe leadership. Today, the gap betweengovernment and communities, particularlythose at the coast, is at its widest. Com-munities view security agencies meant toprotect them from harm, as the ones whowill in fact agrantly violate their rights. Therule of law and due process, where a sus-pect is arrested, taken to court and convict-ed or released has been replaced by extra-

judicial shootings of religious leaders andyouth. Communities now live in fear of be-ing raided and killed or arrested by securityagencies at any time. This fear is fodder forradicalization and sympathy for the extrem -ist views. Instead, the government shouldbuild bridges with communities and bringthem closer for collaboration in counter-ter-ror efforts. Using force is counterproductiveand only exacerbates the situation.SolutionsIn moving forward, HAKI Africa believesthat there is an urgent need for the Kenyagovernment to change tact. The days whengovernments would use brute force to si-lence dissent or critics are past.The government of Kenya must work withlocal political, religious and civil societyleaders in addressing insecurity. Labelinglegitimate criticism as sympathizing withterrorists and legislating against it violatesnot only free speech and expression butalso closes other spaces for democraticexpression.Kenyas International partners and govern -ments supporting counter terrorism (CT)

in Kenya must demand accountability andadherence to human rights principles. TheKenya government should be made to un-derstand that it must respect and work withits Civil Society in ensuring promotion andprotection of human rights. The continuingdemonisation of human rights organisa -tions is a threat to sustainable security.Further, counter terrorism must be viewedholistically and should not be limited to pro-viding arms, intelligence and police train-ings only. Social and economic programsaimed at assisting communities out of aperception of hopelessness can mitigatethe drive to radicalization. Investment in

education, infrastructure, employment op-portunities to improve the lives and livingstandards of affected communities oughtto go hand in hand with counter terrorismefforts.HAKI Africa and civil society in generalsupports the ght against terrorism. We arecognizant of the fact that terrorism is a vicethat needs to be dealt with for peace andsecurity to prevail. However, we believethat the ght against terrorism should notand does not have to violate the very basicand fundamental rights enshrined in ourlaws. Doing so only acts to worsen the situ -ation. As a people, we owe it to ourselves

to be steadfast and guided by human rightsprinciples that are in our Constitution. Byviolating human rights, we become no dif-ferent from the same terrorists we are try-ing to stop.Hussein Khalid is the executive directorof Haki Africa.


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The Friday Bulletin NATIONAL Rabi ul Thaany 17,1436/February 06, 2015

Take up your responsibility to serve the Ummah, Muslim leaders toldThe Muslim leadership has been urged totake up a more proactive role in address-ing Muslim concerns.The growing myriad of challenges fac-ing the community require a more robustand concerted approach to ensure thatissues of concerns affecting Muslims areaddressed, the chairman of Islamic Dawa

Group (IDG) Abdallah Said Ndope said.Speaking at the weekend during thegraduation ceremony of Al Furqan Train -ing Institute where he was the chief guest,Ndope said Muslims aspire to see more ef-forts being taken by the Muslim leadershipto address injustices as well as improve onthe general welfare of the community.Once you agree to take up the responsi-bility of leadership, you should know thatyou are responsible to Allah and Muslimsand you have to diligently serve the inter-ests of the community, he said.He said it was unfortunate reality thatmore than fty years after independence,Muslims continue to face discriminationagainst when requiring important docu-ments such as national identity cards andpassports.

Why should my son be required to pro-duce his parents or grandparents IDs andbirth certi cates when the same is notrequired from John and Peter, he askedwith a call to the leadership to address thislongstanding matter.Ndope who is also a Thika businessman,told Muslim organizations to instill profes -sionalism in their activities in order to pro-vide ef cient services to the community.Unfortunately many of our organizationslack accountability and transparency andthis trend has to change, he said.He advised Al Furqan students to diversityand also embrace modern learning prac-tices saying that Muslims require scholarswho are not only versed in Islamic stud-ies but in contemporary studies as well.We need Muslim scholars who are alsoneurosurgeons, bankers, lawyers and en-gineers. Islam has not limited your scopeof education, he told the students whom

he implored to live by the noble ideals ofIslam which promote co-existence and tol-

Kadhis must align to the ongoing trans-formation in the judiciary so as to be in abetter position to provide better servicesto the people.These remarks were made by the DeputyChief Kadhi Sheikh Rashid Omar who saidthat the reforms in the judiciary shouldserve as an impetus to drive ef cient dis -pensation of justice in the courts. For ef -

cient dispensation of justice, Kadhis mustsupport and embrace the ongoing reformsin the judiciary, he said last week duringan event to the launch of the Court UsersCommittee.He said far from being seen as non-enti -ties in the judiciary, the Kadhis courts havecome a long way and now form an inte-gral part in the judiciary system of Kenya.Both Muslims and non-Muslims havecome to realize the important role playedby the Kadhis courts in administering jus-tice to Kenyans, he said.In his address to the forum, the Kadhiof Kibera Sheikh Abduljabbar Husseinsought to demystify the status of the courtssaying that they are administered by pro-fessional judicial of cers who are well con -versant with the law. The Kadhis courtshave jurisprudence jurisdiction to deal withmain cases and not only auxiliary matters.Kadhis are more quali ed magistrates asthey are well conversant with both Islamicand secular laws unlike the magistrateswhose focus in only with the common law,he said.

The Court Users Committees are formedby representatives from various institu-tions which include the prisons serviceand the Of ce of the Director of PublicProsecutions and assist the courts to pro-vide ef cient, economical and professionalservice to all users.

The family of a missing university studenthas called on the acting Inspector Generalof Police Samuel Arachi to launch investi -gations into his disappearance.Twenty six-year-old Jabran HassanMbarak, a business management studentat the Mount Kenya University Malindicampus has being missing for more thantwo weeks after he was allegedly pickedby persons claiming to be state security

of cers.Through Haki Africa, a Mombasa basedhuman rights organization, the family isdemanding the police to come clean onthe matter and reveal the whereabouts ofJabran Hassan Mbarak.In a letter to the acting Inspector Generalof police, the executive director HusseinKhalid said despite information presentedto the police, no action has been taken totrace Jabrans whereabouts.If indeed the people who took Jabran arepolice of cers, they must produce him andinform his family and lawyer of his wherea-

IG told to intervene on missing student whereaboutsProvide better services,

Kadhis told

An Islamic Institution is looking for a secretary /receptionist to handle itsbusy administration of ce.The ideal candidate should have the following:-1. Attributes and Quali cations -Excellent interpersonal, communication, organizational and IT skills-Diploma in secretarial studies/practice with minimum 3-4 years rele-vant experience-Attention to details, ability to multi-task while working as part of a team.2. Duties and Responsibilities -Assist in ling and record keeping-Assist in typing documents and managing correspondences-Assist in front of ce duties and any other related administrative duties

If you have the attributes and the qualities above please apply to :The Secretary GeneralP.O. Box 100786-00101NairobiYou may also drop your application and detailed CV to the Administratorat Jamia Mosque of ces.Deadline for submission is 15th February 2015.

Secretary/Receptionist

erance. Apart from the ve-year Islamic coursestudy, students from the institution which islocated in Kajiado County near the bordertown of Namanga are also tutored in the8-4-4 syllabus which enables them to joinlocal universities.During the event, Ndope also laid the foun-dation of a new dormitory block which willfurther expand the facilities of the institu-tion to accommodate the growing demandof students.Speaking at the event, the Maahad DawaOrganisation (MDO) chairman SheikhIshaak Ahmed called for support towardsthe proposed Al Furqan Towers, an endow -ment (waqf) project which is expected to

nancially sustain the institution. The tenstorey multimillion apartment block will belocated at Ngara area of Nairobi along ParkRoad and income realized from the projectwill further support the myriads of activitiesof the organization which include educa -tional and humanitarian projects.

bouts. If they were not the police, then thepolice are obliged by the law to work withthe family and ensure they nd Jabran,said the letter.The of cial said as citizens every Kenyanhas the right to security as enshrined in ar-ticle 29 of the constitution of Kenya, stress-ing that police appear either unwilling orunable to investigate and bring to book theperpetrators of killings and disappearance.

As an organization, Haki Africa is deeplydisturbed by the inaction of the local policeon matters of killings and disappearanceof religious leaders and youth at the coastthus this letter to call for your personal in-tervention, reads the letter in part.According to the family, Jabran arrested onJanuary 22 outside Masjid Noor in Malindiby individuals who claimed to be policeof cers and bundled into a waiting whiteProbox vehicle (KBQ 152U) in full view ofresidents. The family reported the matterat the Malindi police station but police of-

cer denied being behind the arrest.


8/8

People who are physically challenged are sometimes wronglyregarded by some as not being able to contribute to society inany meaningful way because of their disability, but there are manywhose strength of character and will to overcome all odds, havedone more than just prove they can equal the efforts of our bestnot physically challenged community members.Many have made tremendous achievement for themselves andthe society. It appears that as long as the person has the passionand spark for life, the achievements of that person can becomeunbelievably outstanding as many of the inspirational stories weare told daily, attest to. Besides being inspirational to other physi-cally challenged people they are equally inspirational to those ofus who feel we are unable to make a difference and give up try-ing when the obstacles we face are minuscule compared to whatthese people have had to overcome.Physically challenged people have various facillities available to

them that can help lessen the impact of their limitations. Having aphysical disability no longer means sitting on the sidelines.Ummah Foundation for the past years has been striving within itslimited resources to make sure we empower our disabled brothersand sisters to be mobile and exible enough to go out to nd a liv -ing. More than1200 wheelchairs and other paraplegics have beendistributed so far to the affected groups and individualsAWe should also reiterate the fact that all people living with dis-abilities are entitled to certain privileges, stipulated in Kenyan law,that most Muslims are ignorant of and hence are left out. Um -mah Foundation is in the process of conducting sensitization andawareness programs that are geared towards educating our broth-ers and sisters about these issues. We would like to note that theNCPWD provides a lot of assistance to the physically challengedand disabled people to overcome some challenges that they facedaily. We urge our Muslim families that have within them peoplewith disabilities to get them registered with the National Council ofpeople with Disabilities (NCPWD) so that the government assis -tance and funding can include them as well.We also need to understand that disability is not inability and whatan able person can do, a person with some disability challengescan do if he/she is properly empowered. We appeal to well wishersand donors to come out in full force and let us help our brothersand sisters who go around the streets seeking for our mercy. Youcan donate a wheelchair, crutches and other mobility aids to ourof ces and we will take the responsibility and burden to make surethey are delivered to the deserving and needy bene ciaries.Contact us:Ummah Foundation

Village Plaza, 2nd Floor, Ngara Rd P.O. Box 58717-00200, NairobiTel: +254(20) 20680610/13, Mob: 0734845277Email: [email protected]: www.ummahfoundation.net

Helping the disabled

The Friday Bulletin is a Publica tion of Jamia Masjid Committee, P. O. Box 100786-00101 Nairobi, Tel: 2243504/5 Fax: 342147E-mail: [email protected]. Printed by Graphic Lineups Limited-Kweria Road [email protected]

WAMY Academy is an integrated school offeringboth secular and Islamic Religious education. Weare looking for competent individuals to ll the follow -ing positions:1. Head teacher primary section.Quali cations Must have at least 5 years experience as a Headteacher Excellent communication and managerial skills Ability to manage a population of at least 600 Must be conversant with 8-4-4 system of education

Previous experience in an integrated Islamic schoolwill be an added advantage2. P1 teachers At least 5 years teaching English in upper primary(class 7 & 8) Experienced as national examiner in English will bean added advantage Excellent communication skills Ability to maintain &manage discipline and class -control Must be conversant with 8-4-4 system of education Previous experience in an integrated Islamic schoolwill be an added advantage3. Hand writing educator To teach and train good hand writing skills at all lev -

els (KG 1, KG2, KG3 PRIMARY AND SECONDARY)Sent your testimonials before 9th February 2015 to:The Principal, WAMY Academy

P.O.Box 70541-00400 NAIROBI. Or E-mail at [email protected].

WAMY ACADEMY

FEMALE QUR-AAN TEACHERJamia Mosque Commi ee is looking forward to get the service of apart- me evening Female Qur-aan Teacher with the following quali -ca ons: A holder of at least Diploma in Islamic Studies from a recognized Is-lamic Ins tu on. Have at least 3 years experience of teaching adults. Knowledge of Arabic, English and Kiswahili is essen al. Excellent Moral values. Excellent Qiraah. Haa dhah is an added advantage.In case, you have the above quali ca ons send your applica on le er,CV and tes monials to:The Secretary General, Jamia Mosque Commi eP. O. Box 100786 00101, Nairobi Before 20th February 2015

Documents

Friday Bulletin 614