Around
the Muslim World with CCN
Flashmob returns: iftars
with homeless
I got
that Eureka
moment when
I was
speaking to
a non-Muslim
friend who I
made during
my 10-week
Platform2
volunteer
program in
South
Africa.
It was
the night
before
Ramadan when
he mentioned
how the
Muslims of
Cape Town
constitute
around
25-30% of
the total
population,
but Ramadan
actually
makes all
people
living here
find solace.
He
explained
this using
the Xhosa
term ubuntu
which
basically
means
emphasising
community,
sharing and
generosity.
When
Muslims in
South Africa
have their
iftar meals,
they share
their food
with fellow
Muslims and
non-Muslims
alike, which
is the
essence of
ubuntu.
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UK:
Manchester, then London,
Leeds, Birmingham,
Blackburn, Bolton,
Sheffield, Middlesbrough,
Slough, Bradford and Cardiff
– that’s the order in which
the flashmob force wove its
way from city to city this
Ramadan, in around two
weeks, leading to a total of
15 flashmobs full of life
and joy, spreading the
spirit of care and share
with all!
The idea was simple. It
built on last year’s
flashmob iftars with the
homeless. What’s a flashmob
I hear you say?
Going by the
Wikipedia definition: A
flashmob is a large group of
people who assemble suddenly
in a public place, perform
an unusual action for a
brief time, then quickly
disperse. The term flash mob
is generally applied only to
gatherings organized via
telecommunications and
social media.
In our case: the unusual
action: sharing iftar.
Our social media: facebook
and the internet.
....
And so I
began to
imagine how
wonderful it
would be if
during
Ramadan, our
neighbours,
friends,
colleagues,
and
strangers
were all
able to
appreciate
and have a
share in the
spirit of
this month.
From
ubuntu came
my
inspiration
for the
month ahead.
If in
the rainbow
nation the
idea of
sharing was
common with
the Muslim
community
making up
just 1.5% of
the overall
population,
surely in
the UK when
we are a
strong two
million in
size and
three
percent of
the
population,
we could
easily
spread a
little bit
of ubuntu as
well!
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And so a
website was created:
www.shareyouriftar.weebly.com,
which announced the return
of the flashmob, and carried
the tagline for this year:
wherever you are, share your
iftar! That was the only
difference this year - going
beyond the homeless, to
sharing our food with anyone
and everyone.
The Muslim News
Olympics for all?
Editorial
Inter-Milan’s coach Jose
Mourinho has reopened the
debate about fasting and
sport by suggesting that the
timing of Ramadan was not
ideal for football players
just beginning their season.
The issue is particularly
poignant with the
forthcoming London Olympics
2012 being held in the
middle of Ramadan. Some
3,000 Muslims, who will
consequently be at a
disadvantage, are expected
to compete at the Games,
while a sizeable number of
the spectators and
volunteers would also be
fasting.
The dilemma has been
apparent since the dates of
the Games (July 27 to August
12) were declared two years
ago, but unfortunately the
International Olympic
Committee (IOC) has done
nothing to change the dates.
Yet the date is not cast in
stone as proved by the
decision to delay the start
in Beijing to the middle of
August to avoid the hot
weather. Previous Olympics,
like in Australia and South
Korea, were not held until
mid-September, and in
Mexico, they started in
October.
The Muslim News and have your say
on
www.ccnforum.ning.com.
12-year-old amongst high
achieving Muslim GCSE students
UK: Achieving
an A* grade in your GCSE
exam is very good, dropping
a single mark and topping
your school in the process
is impressive, but managing
to do it three years before
your peers is incredible,
and that is exactly what
12-year-old Londoner Ahsan
Ruhi Raza Choudhury did.
Ahsan sat his Mathematics
exam in Chafford Hundred
Campus Business & Enterprise
College and will now go on
to study GCSEs in Business
Double Awards and Sociology.
Ahsan’s
“extremely proud” father
Shishu Choudhury described
his son as “a hardworking
boy who is very focused in
practicing Islam.”
Like most gifted students,
Ahsan does not confine
himself to subjects taught
in his college. He is
currently experimenting in
developing his computer
programming languages
skills. He also hopes his
achievements will propel
other children of
Bangladeshi origin to excel
and change the national
statistics that show
Bangladeshi students
underperforming.
....
a
hardworking
boy who is
very focused
in
practicing
Islam.
|
“Maybe some students of
Bangladeshi origin who are
at the bottom of the ladder
can think ‘if he can do it,
I can do’. It would be good
if I can inspire,” said
Ahsan.
Another
inspiring Muslim student is
Seema Ahmed from Redbridge
in Ilford who attained 11
A*s in her GCSE’s.
The teen who goes to
Woodford County High School
for Girls in Essex will now
take A Levels in Chemistry,
History, Mathematics,
Physics and Politics, with
the hope of studying
Politics, Philosophy and
Economics at Oxford
University.
What makes Seema’s
achievement even more
striking is that she
suffered bouts of depression
in the last two years, which
caused her to miss over 60
half days in school. It was
during those days away from
her classes that Seema told
The Muslim News she started
to read beyond her syllabus.
“I gave myself extra work to
do. I read A Level books,”
said Seema.
Seema will continue to
stretch herself during her A
Level studies; she will take
an Extended Project and will
write a 6,000 word thesis on
the gap between developed
and underdeveloped
countries. “I want to
examine the disparities
between the developed and
underdeveloped countries. I
want to find out why the
poor countries continue to
get poorer while the rich
get richer,” she said.
The Muslim News
Mohammed Most Popular
Name In London
Mohammed has
become the most popular name
for baby boys in London,
England, according to
figures published by the
Office for National
Statistics (ONS). It
includes all the various
spellings of the name, such
as Muhammad, Mohammad,
Mohamed and Muhammed. The
Islamic name is now more
than twice as common in
London as the second most
popular name, Daniel.
Mohammed is also the most
common boys' name in the
West Midlands, Yorkshire and
the Humber, as well as the
North West.
Other European cities are
also showing signs of a
growing Muslim influence.
Mohammed has overtaken
traditional European names
as the most popular baby
name in Brussels,
Copenhagen, Oslo and
Amsterdam. According to the
Telegraph, Mohammed is the
most common male name in the
world. 15 million people
around the globe carry the
name.
This is the first year ONS
has revealed regional data
regarding name use in the
United Kingdom. Previously,
only national data has been
available. The ONS also
stated that the Muslim
population is growing ten
times faster than the rest
of the U.K. population. 2.4
million Brits identify
themselves as Muslim, 42.6
million as Christian.
Source
Trauma leads Delaware man
on journey of faith
 WILMINGTON--
After surviving a terrorist attack in Mumbai, India, 10
months ago, when armed men targeted westerners in two
five-star hotels, Greenville resident Dennis O'Brien (pictured
left) did not turn to hate.
Instead, he
sought to understand the
root faith the people behind
the attacks claimed to
practice and discovered it
had been twisted by the
gunmen.
Eventually, he came to
embrace it.
On Sunday, standing before a
crowd of thousands,
following prayers to mark
the end of Ramadan, O'Brien,
a Catholic, embraced Islam
in a testimony of faith
called Shahada, where he
publically declared that
there was only one God and
the Prophet Muhammad is his
last messenger and servant.
O'Brien, who
heads up the education
committee of St. Anthony's
Catholic Church in
Wilmington, said the move
was a surprise, even to him.
But said he was at peace
with it.
"Today I feel free of sin,"
he said.
After several months of
studies and asking questions
of Muslim friends and
associates, "I feel comfort
in Islam," he said.
O'Brien said
he wanted to express
solidarity with Muslims,
even though extremists who
say they practice the faith
"tried to kill me."
Pastor John
F. McGinley, of St.
Anthony's, said Sunday he
had not heard of O'Brien's
embrace of Islam.
McGinley said
he knows O'Brien is
inquisitive and has
expressed concern about the
young men involved in the
Mumbai attacks.
He would not
say if the declaration of
another faith would affect
O'Brien's position at the
church, noting he had not
spoken to him about Sunday's
events.
"I think this
is part of his journey of
faith and we can work with
that," McGinley said.
Indeed, while
others called it a
conversion, O'Brien said he
is not abandoning
Christianity or Catholicism.
He said he would not
disgrace his family by
disavowing what he was
raised to believe and what
they believe in.
He said he
sees Sunday's declaration as
a continuation or extension
of his beliefs, noting how
elements of Christianity and
Judaism are a part of the
Islamic faith.
He said he
hopes to continue his work
with the Catholic Church,
even as he plans to
regularly attend weekly
Muslim prayers.
Asked what he will say when
asked about his faith, he
said he will now answer that
he is "a student of Islam."
He said he did not consider
himself to be entirely
Muslim. "I'm a work in
progress," he said.
While most
Muslims believe Jesus Christ
was a great man and a
prophet of God, they do not
believe he was the son of
God as Christians do.
O'Brien said he still
believes in Christ, that he
ascended into heaven and
will return one day.
He said he
prayed a great deal about
the recent move and Saturday
was a day of lengthy
contemplation.
He said his
path to Islam started Nov.
26, 2008, in room 343 of the
Taj Mahal Palace & Tower
hotel in Mumbai when he
heard gunshots.
O'Brien was
there with fellow Delawarean
C. Rich Diffenderffer, on
business.
The two later
said skipping dessert that
night may have saved their
lives.
Instead of
remaining in the restaurant,
O'Brien retired to his room
and Diffenderffer went to
the business center.
Minutes
later, armed militants
stormed the hotel, throwing
grenades and spraying
bullets.
By the end of
the 60-hour assault, at
least 170 were dead.
O'Brien said
he peered out his door at
one point and saw three of
the attackers carrying
assault rifles, all shouted
as they passed.
While
O'Brien, a former Marine who
served in Vietnam, briefly
entertained the notion of
leaving his door open and
attempting to disarm any
gunman who tried to enter
his room, he decided to bolt
his door and push a couch in
front of it.
Later, his
room began to fill with
smoke and he tried to make a
run for it but was turned
back by a wall of fire. He
was rescued by firefighters
with a ladder.
Diffenderffer,
who was on the fifth floor,
was rescued with a cherry
picker.
While O'Brien
cites that night as the
start of his journey, he
said it was not until a
month later that he
seriously started to
consider "joining the Muslim
movement" after he read the
Koran, the Muslim holy book.
That was
followed by about six months
of study, and questions.
"I was
brought up Christian and
taught when someone attacks
you, you have to love them,"
he said. "What I discovered
as I investigated Islam ...
I became enamored with the
faith and the people I met."
He credited
business partner, Ahmad Amer,
a Muslim, with guiding him
on his current path.
On Sunday,
O'Brien was one of the last
to leave the room where
prayers had been held -- the
first full Muslim prayer
service O'Brien has
attended. He was besieged by
well-wishers who shook his
hand and welcomed him to the
community.
As he
departed, he said he found
Islam to be "a community of
men who have integrity and I
want to stand with these men
of integrity."
Delaware Online |
If
Queensland is said to be beautiful one day and perfect the next, then I am
bereft of superlatives to adequately describe the past month of Ramadhan at the
C
