Thursday, August 29, 2013

'A Call to the TRUTH'

Mukarram Jamal-ud-Din Sahib, the respected Amir Sahib of the Jamaat-Ul-Sahih Al Islam- Kerala (INDIA) has issued a Public Notice to the attention of all those who seek spiritual solace and Divine pleasure in these troubled times. This is an open invitation to join and assemble under the banner of the Divinely-raised Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius and the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International. The original notice in Malayalam can be read HERE. 

For the benefit of our readers, an English Translation of the Notice is below:


The Holy Qur’an states:

 God took a pledge from the prophets, saying,

If, after I have bestowed Scripture and wisdom upon you, a messenger comes confirming what you have been given, you must believe in him and support him. Do you affirm this and accept My pledge as binding on you?

They said, ‘We do.’  He said, ‘Then bear witness and I too will bear witness.’
(Surah Al-Imran, 3:82)

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Egypt: Democracy in Peril

In an official statement issued on August 15, 2013 the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius expresses deep concern at the on-going military strife in Egypt which has imperilled a democratically elected government and has unleashed bloodshed on the streets and calls upon the international community to stand up for “justice and peace, not injustice and chaos” in these troubled times.  

Read the Official Statement below:
  
As the Khalifatullah of this era and the head of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International, I condemn any coup d’état in Egypt – following the clashes between the military and supporters of the ousted President Mohamed Morsi – which have already caused over 2200 deaths and over 10,000 wounded. I strongly condemn the violence in Egypt. As a spiritual leader I believe in democratic values ​​and condemn any such type of revolution. Indeed Mr. Mohamed Morsi was democratically elected.

Saturday, August 24, 2013

The Islamic Veil: Ethics and Prudence

Continuing the series of sermons on women’s struggle for dignity, identity and equality in society and the larger Islamic teachings that provide a framework to address these complex questions, in his Friday Sermon of 23 August 2013, the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius provides illuminating guidance on the ethics and prudence of the Islamic veil as a moral choice for women (and men). 

Read the Extracts from the Friday Sermon:

O children of Adam! We have indeed bestowed upon you clothing to conceal your private parts and as adornment.” (7: 27).

 “O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves (part) of their outer garments. This is the best way for them to be recognized and not be abused. And Allah is really Most-Forgiving and Most-Merciful.” (33: 60)

 “And tell the believing women to lower their gaze, and protect their private parts and not to show off their adornment...” (24: 32)


The ISLAMIC VEIL has always been the subject of debate in several countries which is said to be modern with liberal thoughts. The West and countries adopting European cultures around the world see the Muslim woman as a prisoner and without having any dignity, just by the way they dress, the way they cover themselves from head to toe.

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Muslims of Burma: Facing Buddhist Terror

In a number of Buddhist- majority states in Asia- Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, etc. -the Muslim minorities are under siege. Both the State agencies and the Buddhist chauvinists are driving the anti-Muslim hate campaigns and consequent violence against the hapless minorities. The unspeakable horrors committed by the Buddhist marauders against the Rohingya Muslims of Burma have caught international attention in the recent months.

In the latest issue of the international newsweekly Time Magazine of the United States, one may read a graphic portrait of Buddhist Terrorism in Burma and Thailand, where a Muslim-majority province in the deep south of the country is under siege of the Buddhist army of Thailand. Sri Lanka on Tuesday (July 02, 2013) banned the sale of this issue of Time magazine because of the newsweekly’s feature article on Buddhist terrorism. We publish below the Full text of the cover story “The Face of Buddhist Terror” in July 01, 2013 TIME magazine.

The Face of Buddhist Terror
It’s a faith famous for its pacifism and tolerance. But in several of Asia’s Buddhist-majority nations, monks are inciting bigotry and violence — mostly against Muslims
By Hannah Beech / Meikhtila, Burma, And Pattani, Thailand 

His face as still and serene as a statue’s, the Buddhist monk who has taken the title “the Burmese bin Laden” begins his sermon. Hundreds of worshippers sit before him, palms pressed together, sweat trickling down their sticky backs. On cue, the crowd chants with the man in burgundy robes, the mantras drifting through the sultry air of a temple in Mandalay, Burma’s second biggest city after Rangoon. It seems a peaceful scene, but Wirathu’s message crackles with hate. “Now is not the time for calm,” the monk intones, as he spends 90 minutes describing the many ways in which he detests the minority Muslims in this Buddhist-majority land. “Now is the time to rise up, to make your blood boil.”

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

‘HIJRAH’ as Islamic Ethics


Islam values freedom of expression and association, of belief and faith, of worship and practice as a primary condition of community life in a decent society. It also recognizes that ruling oligarchies and power elites may reject these fundamental freedoms of people and even persecute people on the grounds of their deeply-held spiritual convictions.  Indeed, Islam emerged in a society where polytheists and image-worshippers were persecuting people on the grounds of their beliefs. With relentless persecution in society, the early Muslims in Makkah had no option but to migrate to Medina along with the Holy Prophet of Islam Hadhrat Muhammad (sa). In Islamic tradition, this incident is of historic importance as the Hijrah.

According to the Holy Qur’an, migration (Hijrah) is an option for all those who suffer religious intolerance, or other forms of oppression and persecution. To escape from persecution, Divine Messengers and their followers in the past had undertaken migration from their land and sought freedom in exile. I will emigrate for the sake of my Lord’, (29:26; 37:99) declared Hadhrat Ibrahim (as) when threatened by his own people. Hadhrat Musa (as) and the Israelites had to flee the oppression of the Pharaoh: ‘So he escaped from there, vigilant and fearing for his life, and said My Lord, deliver me from these oppressors’ (28:21).

In his Friday Sermon of 21 June 2013, the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius provides illuminating insights on the larger spiritual essence of the idea of Hijrah in the everyday lives of the believers and Divine seekers. Beyond the actual physical migration from an oppressive place, Hijrah entails a commitment to consciously leave aside all illicit acts/dealings arising out of Hubb-ud-Duniya or love of this temporal world and to perform and embrace all religious/ethical obligations and Divine commandments, keeping in mind the journey to the Hereafter (Aakhirat), under the guidance of a Spiritual Master that Islam provides in every age.

Read the Extracts from the Friday Sermon:
                                
 “… And a Muhajir (an emigrant) is the one who gives up (abandons) all what Allah has forbidden.” (Bukhari)

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

‘Control Your Tongue’

One of the most dangerous of human vices is lying. Much damage may be inflicted in human relations through the spread of lies and falsehoods. Prudence demands that we be cautious and careful in how we deploy our tongue so as to avoid injury and damage to others. In his Friday Sermon of June 28, 2013 the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius gave a profound discourse on the wisdom of silence by drawing upon the sacred traditions of the Holy Prophet of Islam (sa).

Read the Extracts from the Friday Sermon:

And who is more unjust than one who invents about Allah a lie or denies His verses? Indeed, the wrongdoers will not succeed. (6: 22)

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Persecution of Ahmadis in Indonesia

The on-going campaign in Indonesia, to ban and persecute the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community underscores the challenges facing the nation in protecting human rights, forging a secular identity and strengthening the spirit of democracy and rule of law. It is worth recalling that freedom of belief is a fundamental human right, guaranteed by the Indonesian Constitution, and no citizen can be denied this right on the grounds of his or her beliefs. Any thinking citizen would agree that as a religious order, the Ahmadiyya has every right to preach and propagate all of its doctrines and beliefs. It is immaterial for a secular state whether the beliefs or ritual practices may or may not conform to the beliefs and practices of the other denominations in Islam.

The religio-political campaign obviously seeks to discredit the teachings of the Ahmadiyya community and to call attention to the "danger" faced from this intrinsically peaceful sect of Islam. Instead of displaying sectarian intolerance and moral bankruptcy, the orthodox leadership would do well to engage the Ahmadiyya Muslims in a theological, civilized, intellectual debate and thereby show a modicum of respect for the faith, intellect and convictions of ordinary Muslim citizens and others.

The sectarian politics of religious mobilization and its current manifestations will have divisive implications for the country's plural future. Clearly, banning the movement to prevent its spiritual appeal or declaring it a non-Muslim minority to stop its growth is not the business of a secular government. Leaders of the country and conscientious citizens would do well to reflect over the politically disastrous and socially divisive legacy of Pakistan's experiment with the criminalization of the Ahmadiyya sect. Social scientists and political analysts have, in recent times, traced the growth of Muslim extremism and cultural intolerance in Pakistan and elsewhere, to the divisive politics of anti-Ahmadiyya rhetoric.

At one level, what is at stake is the very notion of human rights and rule of law in a secular democracy. Extremists and right-wing Muslim orthodoxy should not be allowed to dictate the future of Indonesian identity. At another level, perhaps even more importantly, what is at stake for devout Muslims is the very meaning of being a Muslim in our times. After all, the Holy Qur’an explicitly states: "Let there be no compulsion in matters of faith." Islam's plural character and legacy of religious tolerance needs to be defended, ironically enough, against an "orthodoxy" that claims to represent it!

In an article published on The Hindu, one of India’s leading newspapers, on June 15, 2013, Pallavi Iyer has thrown searching light on the persecution of Ahmadis and other minority religious denominations and the growing signs of cultural intolerance in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country.  

Read the Article:

Over the last few years, Jakarta has laid down legal infrastructure that discriminates against religious minorities, allowing Islamists to take the law into their own hands