Resolving the Hijack Crisis The millenium ended with a message LOUD and CLEAR: Selfassessment and -evaluation in order to explore potentials to solve problems, however old they are. Kashmir is one such hot pot, consuming patience and nerves of anyone with a conscience in the past 8 days AS WELL as ANY new regarding violence in and around Kashmir, regardless WHO the assaulte ris. Violence, crime, terrrorism , rape and all other aspects of inhuman behaviour can not and certainly are not endorsed, justified or even symapthised by any ideology, neither by Islam, which strongly condemns such actions. Esp. Involvement and violence against women, children and old as well as sick people is not even allowed at war times in Islamic was ethics in contradiction to the all time favourite: Everything is fair in love and WAR!

I endorse, the author`s call for ACTION, for a resolve of this and such problems; enough time, lives and resources have been wasted. Kashmir and its people, as well as we, the others of the subcontinent have been exploited again and again in the name failing politics and other vested interests on either side.

STOP this EXPLOITATION! Why not join to explore potentials towards mutual development; certainly a much better/productive use of our energies, intelligence and resources ....

regards

The lack of Women’s Rights in Pakistan Salaams/Greetings

It is a blessing to welcome more and more aboard the ``calling a spade a spade`` attitude against the patriarchal, regressive and hypocritical and frustrating situation prevailing in Pakistan, promoted further thru silence and/or oppression.

No, this situation is not because of Islam, which is used as a door mat to tramp on every time, we think about rights and unrights; we don’t know, what this ideology is about. Nor is Pakistan an Islamic state by defination of an islamic state; the mere mention of Quran and Sunna in its constitution doesn`t accredit this defination. Yes, going by the population, we may call it a Muslim state. Anyhow this condition is born out of many ``aetiologies``, but the one contributing to its nurturing and promotion most efficiently is our ``ostriching`` visa vie the truth behind the cover of the pseudomorality and nek parveen approach by our people.

It is time we stopped abusing our possibilities, that we started reflecting and get up beyond this passive embossed ideas of tradition and cultures, which we drag along without even knowing their origin, not bothering to ask if they are right or wrong - and this is the very point Islam is about- to distinguish between right and wrong. I guess it would be a very enlightening venture for all of us, if we would start asking/evaluating ourselves and our society in this very light!

I think a few points about the Islamic aspect have been already raised in the interaction to this article and I will thus refrain from it. As to the Islamic rights and revolution, I will leave this discussion with one thought to reflect upon for our readers: ``Islam is the most modern concept of life``- convince yourself and don’t let urself, as a Muslim be used as a doormat when the next exploitation is hoisted by ANYONE- the west, the east, the politicians, the next movie or be it the milkman. How? why? Here I will quote a revert: ``we Muslims in fact confirm the presumptions against Islam through our practise.`` Anyone interested to read further on this, I strongly recommend to read Dr. Jamal Badawi’s work-may God bless him. (for info, feel free to email me: ch4310ag@usa.net)

I will however shortly comment on one aspect, which Omar raised in his discussion: Dowry (jaheez) has no significance in Islam; the woman is entitled to her share in inheritance regardless of dowry. This property is at her SOLE disposal to which no one has any right. She as an individual (yes, she is an individual without her mahram!) is the only one responsible for it and having a right over it! I learned of the Hindu tradition, that dowry is the girl’s share of inheritance, but it certainly has no such position in Islam. The height of our ignorance is, that this tradition is adopted and promoted, people even shamelessly offer their daughter in marriage with a offering a high amount of dowry (I read the matrimonials with my own eyes) and on the other hand, people assess a prospective bride in terms of the dowry, that comes along- alhamdulilah there are still sincere people around, but all the same, the concern around the dowry isn’t that uncommon. I guess this is one of the many aspects by which we publicly exploit the women’s status- by a Non Islamic tradition, which we ignorantly have adopted as our own, but when it comes down to issues, we condemn Islam for it, not our own ignorance in promoting unislamic and inhuman traditions. No, Islam stands at a much higher level of perception and justice- give urself the chance to take up this challenge of revolution today and ‘emancipation’; a term abused and exploited by the very society, who gave birth to it!

What I would like to convey in this reply is that, let’s not exert our energies in pronouncing our differences- we are Muslims, no one cares if we are shi’a, sunni, hanafi, maliki, deobandi and whatsoever. Our faith is Islam - period. These fiqhas (islamic jurisprudence) are only propositions how to practise it. We should not forget, that these proposals are not an absolute statement- they were opinions after thorough research-not hearsay, as someone expressed in the replies- of these scholars. They were very humble in their approach and they respected each other, even if they had different opinions. Dr. Jamal Badawi once said, the more one knows, the more one becomes humble and openminded. He certainly does have a point; just look at the narrow minded approach of some scholars of our time, who make robots of you, thinking is not allowed! Little knowledge indeed is a dangerous thing: it promotes an intolerant, immature and narrow minded approach. Back to the scholars, it may be of interest to quiet a few, that Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Jafar, who stood within a scholar-student relationship to each other, also had very high opinion for each other’s knowledge regarding the fiqh. Btw for those, who say fiqh was interpreted by men: imam Malik counted to the students of a very renown female scholar of law; if my memory isn’t failing me, her name was Rabbi’a.

No, Ijtehad and progression by no means has stopped- u are always asked to reflect, think, evaluate and assess before u adopt anything- convince urself from the Quran and the Hadeeth. There is in fact a Hadeeth asking you decide for yourself, even if the scholars give you right.

I will sign off with endorsing the question: what can be done? Anyone interested to take up this discussion????

Ma Salaam/regards

Sex Everywhere Sex in our society, Sex in Islam and the hypocrisy of our society!

Congratulations to INITIATE the communication on this vacuum in our minds, in our conduct and in our society! Thanx to what? Our religion? NO! Thanx to our cultural upbringing, ignorance and the pseudo naik parveen attitude of our society, which allows sex everywhere, as entailed in this article, which condones sex as ``student life kae mashghaley`` in the most pathetic excuse I ever heard, it accepts marrying off their daughters to those very students, but will run amok if a girl speaks of ``hush…. that disease``, called AIDS! No, I am not exaggerating, I hardly could believe my ears, when a literature graduate mother, of educated background hushed her then medical student daughter into silence while we were discussing about HIV and AIDS, telling her ``ek to tum be dharak is bimari ka naam laeti ho, kuchh to khyal karo!``

As pointed out in some excellent responses to this article, Sex is hushed and curtained off to the bedroom and speaking about it is a sin, accredits a loose character and well, I could go on echoing all those remarks, already expressed.

Grown up in the west, being educated in the normal public schools and experiencing the era when sex education was introduced in the curriculum of German schools, I could follow the conservative attitude of our society, but what shattered my respect for our society was the hypocrisy as pointed out above. In the West I knew what people thought, you knew who is sexually active or at least you knew how they think of it and thus also protect yourself in some way from it. Boys knew I wouldn`t date, so I wasn`t asked. In Pakistan, you couldn`t guarantee and know where the person would have been around, the very person you may end up marrying thru a proposal ``with good and respected family background and bright future`` I would have loved to see the faces of people, if a girl would have asked him to get his HIV test done before saying yes, let alone his attitude towards family planning or contraceptives!

Can we endorse this hypocrisy as a society? As Muslims or even with our secularist attitude, which means nothing more, than that the belief is only between God and the human being, the very concept of the Qur`an only in a slightly different perspective. (ch4310ag@usa.net, if u like to discuss on this)

I can`t accept this ignorance and hypocrisy, neither as a Muslim nor as a responsible citizen of any society, be it ANYWHERE in the world!! I thus pondered over this hypocrisy and found many answers, which collectively I would title as ``ignorance and uneasiness of expression with respect to our sexuality, blindly following cultures and traditions, instead challenging it through education, as Muslim in the days of Muhammad (S) used to do``. They used to come up to him and ask and discuss issues pertaining to sexuality; shyness is indeed a virtue of a Muslim-male or female, but not in matters of knowledge or deen/concept of life (Islam). Any person, yes in fact even child who read the Qur`an and understand it, will come across the teaching pertaining to reproduction, creation, family life, sexual positions (Sura Baqara) and even ejaculation.

Sex is not a ``dirty word``, as per our cultural concepts; it is a gift of God to mankind. Islam provides a legal frame to enjoy this blessing from God, which is NOT only for procreation. The sexual urge should be enjoyed as His blessing, but within a commitment. Contrary to some religions and philosophies, Islam doesn`t degrade Sex to the status of `` lust of flesh, thus sinful, which the soul has to conquer. In fact exercised within the appropriate frame it is not only a source of emotional satisfaction and enjoyment, thence peace, but also a source of hasana is promised in return.

In this very light, we Muslims should emancipate ourselves in the light of the open minded and very modern concept of life-Islam, abrogating all those cultural and traditional influences, which only turn the wheel backwards.

Sex education should start at home or in the frame of Islamic Sunday/Friday Schools, wherever the possibility is given. It should however be actively supported through the participation and support, as well as objective answering to the questions through parents and may be elder siblings. In the Islamic Schools Muslim teachers, pref. Physicians should come forward and fill this vacuum. What should be taught? Anatomical and physiological aspects, table of puberty, along with the physical changes, need for family life, Sexual drive, menstruation and pre menstrual syndrome, conception and development of the child/foetus, contraception and then also the STD`s and the Islamic concepts of it. The emotional, mental and social aspects of puberty should be discussed, moral, social and Islamic ethics of Sexuality should be brought forth and in the western hemisphere tell them how to avoid peer pressure.

Preferably premarital counselling should be conducted, including Sex education. Scholars prefer Sex education in separate classes, contrary to the model in Iran, as described somewhere. We should however not forget the potential of marital counselling along with sex education in marital life.

Wee need to grow out of the traditional baggage and pressure, which we carried along with us for centuries, malpractising the most modern concept of life, if we only gave ourselves the chance to understand it. The potential is enormous, we only need to take up the challenge and give ourselves the chance, thus abrogating this hypocrisy in our society of which we ourselves-me and you, are a part.

A proper Sex education may not only be an effort against this hypocrisy and a potential towards amore natural attitude to sex, but also help to fight a very grave crime child sex abuse. It could happen to your child, get involved and prevent it, fight it!