The leash on lease.

Lyndie England had a little lamb in a pram
Found it to tame for fame
Conscripted voluntarily to Iraq for infantry
She found it nothing like her mother’s pantry
For in seeking the US dream with England’s cream
She made the world scream.

Abu Guraib led us to the leash on a lease
Bush holding the leash for ‘England’ to use it with ease.
In frenzy the world cried HORROR!
And Lyndie made a such a furore!
When she cried foul on the heath hoping for some care
The Pentagon went ‘Macbeth’ frenzy crying ‘Fair is foul and foul is fair’

Iraq went sinister
Oh! So much of blister
A head in the bag
Got the world to sag
Abu Guraib still a shame
Its all a game that went lame in the name of fame.

Lyndie is pregnant
It was heaven sent
Then there was little Lyndie in England
Looking for mama’s memoirs in the desert sand
Only to find her mama the smoking gun
Revolting her mama in the desert sun
She screams to release
Then she knows she is on her mother’s leash
USA had her on lease for she carried her mother’s genes
And that’s how USA continues to be mean.

Are you on lease on the USA’s leash?
Lyndie was and she did as she pleased.
So please don’t be found deceased
On the USA’s geo-political leash
Allah will not be pleased.

Mr.A.Sujee

The world on a leash. By Mr.A.Sujee

“How was he umpire! Sire is out of his shire
Oh! Don’t be liar
Cricketers play in the crease
He was in; so cease!
Sire, I appealed to say: “the world is on a leash!”

Lyndie England on a leash of whom we wish to impeach,
Bush & Blair holding Lyndie on the leash never having her ilk out of reach,
Sent out their dogs of war in the name of peace;
Afghanistan & Iraq the prize for a land piece
Socially engineered[1] by removing Taliban with propaganda
For Masonry, having ‘BBC’[2] on its leash, knew that what is good for the goose is good for the gander began all the slander.
Oh! Bush, Blair, Chirac all on the leash of Sharon for his wall
And he thinks he is standing tall
Oh! There were two pigeons; one named Peter the other Paul
Fly away Peter, flay away Paul; come back Peter come back Paul; went the rhyme.
Little do we see the expiry clock for Bush, Blair, Saudi Kings beginning to chime.
Lyndie’s chime was loud like a barking dog that won’t bite
All the furore on Sharon’s Wall is now just a bitter sight.
All allied forces holding the world in their flight of a new order
Hell bent to make Islam their fodder
Tighten their leash with relish
‘Eish!’[3]

The world on a leash is now on release.
With all the evils if you please.
Suffering in silence is all
For when there is the fall
You and I will be on call
As Allah promised people entering HIS religions in droves from mud houses to shires
So hold onto the rope of Allah with guts of fire
You will not be liars
Bush, Blair, Chirac, Saudi Kings, Sharon are sires of that all backfires
When lips will be sealed and hands and feet commanded to speak
All the truth will leak.

Then who will be on the leash?
Oh! You who read, be in the crease[4]
So you would live life to the lees
As you please in Jannat-ul- Firdose
With so much of rose.

The world on a leash!
You just be in the crease!
How was he UMPIRE ! asked the angels at SIRAAT[5]
“OUT in Jannatul-Firdose! For in Deen he was no tart, he played his part!”

[1] Reference to Evon Ridley’s assertion on CII, 24 July 2004, that Afghanistan is now an ungovernable state and more pornography is available on its streets than the red light districts of the world therefore, polluting the social order & minds of the people who thrive on modesty and shame.
[1] BBC – standing for George Bush, Tony Blair & J.Chirac.
[1] A South Africanism adopted from the indigenous African languages. It is an expression of forgetfulness, despair, worry, anxiety and awe at a situation that could have been changed for the better.
[1] Where a batsman in a cricket match should be in to face a bowler or, to be in to avoid been out. Here it is used to show the safe zone in Allah’s domain where the believers are favoured.
[1] The thin bridge over Hell that all will have to pass after Allah has judged us according to our book of deeds.

Iraq Poem

Saddam! Oh! Damn you, you have saddened me
They say you had WMD’s but none did I see,
Oil for food was the programme for peace
Little did it make my kids ‘drink life to the lees.’

You, Saddam came as a hero to the States
But little did you see were developed for hates
When you fought with Iran
The states ran
Yes! They ran to you Saddam! Oh damn you!

Then came Operation Desert Storm over Kuwait
Little could the States wait for the Islamic world was late
And Iraq tasted a gruesome fate
It appeared that Iraq died testate
For the States were ready with a will
And that’s how the States economy got its fill!

Then came Bush & Blair on Sharon’s chessboard with so much of flair
Blamed Saddam for having WMD’s in all of media’s glare
Then I was aghast
For in Bush’s blast
‘We will go it alone’ sounded the airwaves
Came no one to save!

Iraq! Oh you were dealt another operation within State law
Shock & Awe!
Iraq! Blasted to smithereens with B52’s
For the States & it Poodles hated to lose!

Oh! Saddam! Oh damn you!
Oh! Bush! Oh damn you too!
Iraq
Caught between the devil and the deep blue sea!
Little did Saddam see what was behind the Bush for he was told: “Don’t see”
Now I bleed
And there is no lead to peace
Only the chase for an oil piece
It’s an all American pie
Covered in one big lie
WMD!
Iraq – you will prevail
As Allah avails
“With every hardship there comes ease, surely with every hardship there comes ease.”

Mr. A Sujee

Tribute to Julie Soyanayala sister of Zaiboon Motala

Julie Sonyanayala - A Rose Garden. (Fill in date of birth and date of death)

The winter frost burnt the petals of the many rose trees and the sweet smell lingered on in the air and people still had the picture perfect image of that beautiful rose – ‘A rose by any name still smells so sweet’ harped the bard and so, late Julie Sonanayala is that rose whose memory will linger on.

Late Julie Sonyanayala has a history of cherished dreams built on adversities that made her a champion among the poor yet, a mother to a people. In 1954 Julie settled in Swaziland with her husband and began the noble work of caring for orphans, assisting the needy, helping the widows and establishing madrassahs for the poor – an effort steeped into the Sunnah of Nabi Muhammad (S.A.W). In the effort of enjoining in good, hundreds of people accepted Islam at her hands; boys became Hufaaz, studied abroad, became scholars of Deen and in the secular fields and the list seem endless. In the humble setting of her unsophisticated office in the supermarket she and her husband managed, she empowered ladies to cook, sew, read, and write and so much more that they became independent beings who would take that example of learning and teaching deeper into the rural dwellings of Swaziland and abroad.

The beauty of a rose garden is forever etched in the mind because it added beauty to its surroundings and filled the atmosphere with a scented aroma that calmed the nerves. Similarly, Julie added beauty to peoples’ lives and gave their lives a meaning – a kind of meaning that it inspired those around them so much so that the presence of greatness of being enlightened the heart. When you walked in the streets of Swaziland, people took her name with pride and felt her to be the mother of the poor and the pillar of strength for the down trodden – this mercy is from Allah. Just like the rose garden is remembered in winter, Julie Sonyanayala is still remembered with a sweetness of scented rose with soft dew drops caressing its every petal. As every rose petal falls by the command of Allah to caress the soil, the place of its birth from a thorny tree, so to did Julie Sonyanayala leave the world to meet Allah.

Sadly, Julie Sonyanayala fell to her calling unlike the rose petal that caressed the soil and dispensed its scent, she died a brutal death. She was killed by a boy she took under her wing when he was just three years old only to take her life when he was 19. Shocked and grief stricken family members, people of Swaziland and many others from many parts of the world could not believe the news on July 10 2006 but, accepted the fate as the divine plan of Allah. And so the petal fell to the ground save that blood was spilt and not beautiful scent but, Julie Sonyanayala was serving the Deen when that tragedy happened. And so again we say the petal fell to the ground but this time as a martyr whose very blood before it touches the ground invokes Allah’s forgiveness of all sins and therefore, Julie Sonyanayala's grave would envelope her with gentleness because it was now home to a petal that fell in cause of Allah, in whose Hands all decisions rests.

Julie Sonyanayala will be remembered for work she did among the poor and her example will be there for us to follow. Just like the rose petal that fell, there grew others to offer us the same beauty so unselfishly, there will be many from her gardens of orphans, roses that will spring forth and take humanity into new horizons of moral integrity in the name of Islam.

Her life showed the quality of what Muslims should be i.e.: Muslims have come to give and not to take for surely, the one that takes is not liked. Julie Sonyanayala gave all her life and she gave her life too for the cause. Therefore, we should take example from her and pray that Allah grant her Janatul Firdose and make us imitate her example for her example was Nabi Muhammad (S.A.W).

The Interview…by Zaiboon Motala


Al-Huda attempts to interview people who have made progress in their respective fields of study and work. In this regard we hope to shed light of the potentials Allah has blessed them with and how they use it. Therefore, we hope that you will be inspired and motivated to tap into your talents and use it to progress in life to please Allah.

Teacher of the year

In this month’s edition we interview Abdullah Sujee who won the Innovative Teachers’ Award in South Africa and then represented South Africa in the International Teachers’ Forum in Philadelphia, USA where he was voted in as the runner up in the best teacher category. In an interview with him I wanted to get a deeper insight to this person who I know for a long time. The competition was first national and than All of Africa and thereafter, the two winners were selected i.e. Abdullah Sujee of Roshnee Islamic School and Paul van Zyl of St.Johns.

The ITF in the USA was judged on 3 C’s and the fourth been the teachers’ choice of the best educator. The first C : Content i.e. how you use the curriculum design of your country over a number of years to produce innovative ideas that lends itself to ICT – integrated computer technology and Media orientation. The second C: Community i.e. how the school and its community is involved in your teaching style in overt, subtle, direct and indirect ways through the integration of the school’s extr-mural and co-curricular activities. The third C i.e. collaboration – this means how you formed Joint Ventures over a number of years with schools, communities, companies and established avenues of learning such that the image of one’s country is enhanced. The fourth category is where all the teachers who won in their respective countries or continents would vote in whom they thought was the best educator – it was in this category that Abdullah Sujee won an award. The judges were from various countries and are involved in education in various ways.

Zaiboon: Abdullah give us a background to your study years and you’re first few years of teaching so that we can paint a picture of you to the readers.

Abdullah : In the name of Allah, the Merciful. I completed my schooling in Roshnee at the Roshnee Secondary School and then pursued my studies at the University of Durban-Westville now known as the University of KZN. The career of course was teaching. After completing my studies I began teaching at Roshnee Secondary school and I really enjoyed teaching at the school. Allah blessed me with the HoD English post and then the Deputy Principal post at the same school. However, shortly after attaining that position I decided to go abroad to Saudi Arabia to teach English. My wife and taught at the same school in Saudi Arabia for one year and then returned to South Africa. Upon returning I took up a temporary teaching post at General Smuts High School and I was then offered a permanent post at the Roshnee Islamic School to teach Islamic studies, which I accepted. Allah blessed me with the Deputy Principal post again, the HoD English and to steer the Life Orientation Department. In a nutshell this is my background.

Zaiboon: Al-hamdulillah. Why did you choose teaching as a career and not law or another career for example?

Abdullah: Well, what makes you think I wanted to be a lawyer…Anyway, it was career choice but of the three options I made for myself, teaching felt the career Allah opted for me because, I made inroads into study Textile Technology, Personal Management and Bproc Law but, it did not gel into reality as did teaching. You should know that the year after matric I did not study because of the issues around career planning. Teaching therefore, is more a vocation for me than a career because; it requires you to love the profession more than life itself because teaching is life! As a Muslim therefore, teaching is a great practical sunnah because it revolves around developing the human potential to recognise Allah.

Zaiboon: Tell us about all that you do that made you win the Innovative Teachers Awards in South Africa and the Award in the USA and do you see yourself as the teacher of the year or the best in SA.

Abdullah: Let me begin with the last part of the question first. I do not see myself as the best nor do I consider myself as the best in SA or anywhere else for that matter. What I do see myself as, is a person that wants to be the best in whatever I do because, that is the Prophetic example. I felt the competition/forum that was organised by Microsoft was only a means to get some exposure to the great teachers of the world and their innovative practices.

Zaiboon, All praise is for Allah, the thrust of the classroom is to connect the world outside the classroom with the classroom itself. Therefore, the world of media plays a major part in all my lessons such that today I use PowerPoint Presentations, audio streaming, radio, TV and Integrated Computer technology in lessons. This means making learning more integrated and holistic. For example, in the teaching of Shakespeare’s plays, pupils would have to produce an audio assignment on the play i.e. they had to produce a main news bulletin, secondary news flash, an advert, a letter to the editor and anything else. All this has to come out from the play thus, enticing the pupil to read the play – you do know that pupils today don’t really read their novels and plays. The same lesson would apply to novels and short stories. Pupils would also produce a film on a play or novel and you can imagine how they would have to ‘read’ the set work to identify setting and props to produce the effect of the writer. Mind you, it made pupils read more critically i.e. looking into the text for specific clues to heighten the image on screen. Furthermore, when pupils would be taught poetry through the use of P.P.Presentations and the internet, they would post their comments on the web and compare their comments with people across the world – this was an amazing feat! The ideas that I presented here has been presented at various national conferences as well therefore, many issues were revised after the conferences because teachers would make you aware of things you did not think of.

Zaiboon: Tell us about your international experience at the International Innovative Teacher Forum in the USA in December 2006.

Abdullah: It was an amazing and an exhilarating experience that made me appreciate teaching even more. You know when you meet with teachers from all over the world, from more than 30 countries, you realise just how little you know and do. My colleague, Paul van Zyl, also from SA shared the same view. What impressed me greatly was how teachers from other countries appreciate what we are doing in South Africa. They were really impressed by the establishment of Muslim Schools as a world wide phenomenon. It’s very difficult to express what I learnt in the short space of time save to say that the sponsors, Microsoft and SchoolnetSA, made it more memorable in that they highlighted our ideas to the world. The overwhelming feeling was when my name was called out as the runner up in the teachers’ choice – it was something I really did not expect from amongst the great teachers from across the world. Allah loves me and therefore, I believe this award is a gift from Allah because; I joined the profession feeling that it would take me across the world and yes, I see it happening – alhamdulillah.

When we visited the School of the Future in Philadelphia, I was flabbergasted at this institution. It is a school that is really high tech and it has all the trimmings and trappings to make teaching a dream, for example each lesson is recorded and can be downloaded from the school’s webpage and all the pupils have their own laptops as ‘notebooks’. There is just so much to say however, the one thing that really surprised me is the ignorance of Islam even in the teaching fraternity. The fact that I teach at a Muslim school some teachers wanted to know what brand of Islam I teach – I don’t blame them save to say that they are so caught up in web of deceit of Islam on the airwaves and that is why I focus on integrating media into lessons. I have so much more to say but, it would need more time. If log on to www.schoolnetSA.co.za you will find more details and also the Thutong Portal on the world wide web you will learn more of the Innovative Teacher.
The one teacher’s work with grade 1’s really made me jump out of my skin. It was a school in New Zealand where grade 1 pupils would create their own blog on the world wide web, have their own dedicated website and post all their work on their blog and this would be carried through to the next grade – it was really awesome to see these children’s work on the web. It’s not just writings but, picture drawings, assessments and so much more. So you can imagine what their Grade R learning is like.

Zaiboon: That sounds really interesting and yes, all praise is due to Allah, HE has blessed you. Now tell me about Cii and SAFM and your articles you write for this magazine.

Abdullah: I tell my pupils that ‘I do what I tell you to do’ therefore, when the idea of radio broadcasting came to mind I had to get on radio. Allah presented me with the opportunity with Radio Islam from its inception where I did the Youth Forum slot which I then handed over to my pupil, Asad Sather, back then who managed it for 4 years. When I joined Cii after my return from Saudi Arabia, I wanted to focus on a slot that was exclusive to education. Omar Farouk, the programme manager of Cii, allowed me that privilege and the programme is now 3 years old and going very strong – alhamdulillah. The name of the programme is Educational Forum and every year pupils that I teach are identified to do the programme in December of that year. This year Muhammad Shaahid Abdool handled the program with so much verve and it makes me feel so good. Cii is really keen in this part of its social outreach programme. Cii is really interested to make a difference in their standards all the time and are very appreciative of the work all their employees do. It has come to our notice at Cii that we are doing something unique on this regard in that we have a special programme dedicated to education on a weekly basis. The programme is aired on Wednesday evenings at 8pm CAT (Central African Time).

About SAFM (104-107 on FM), well I do the program called ‘This new day’ – it is a program where presenters from the major religions present a 3 minute inspiration every Friday mornings at about 5:30am or 6:05am. It was the exuberant Mr Idrees Khamisa who introduced me to the SAFM team and got me to do a programme and since then, I have been on SAFM – Alhamdulillah. In the year I would present for 3 or 4 months.

About writing for Al-Huda, may Allah reward you for the opportunity you gave me and, it is a pleasure and again its part of the motto to my pupils that ‘what I tell you to do I do’. The articles are characterised by current issues and whatever I feel is important to write about. In fact all the articles are posted on my blogspot: rendezvousofminds@blogspot.com

Zaiboon: I have so much more to ask but time and space is a limitation save to say that it is pleasure listening to your programme. I am still eager to know why you cut your teaching stint short in Saudi Arabia, which school was and is the best for you, the number of A’s you attained this year at the RIS and something brief about the madressah, Sabeerlur-Rashaad, that you are part of in Sharpeville.

Abdullah: Now that’s a lot of questions…lets take it from the top. In KSA I found that the education system did not lend itself to innovative practice and it limited the teacher and pupil. For example, in all the expensive textbooks the teacher would use an industrial stapler to staple pages together that had anything to do with the holocaust – a ghastly deed we as Muslims had nothing to do with even if there was an Al-Qaeda back then! Furthermore, in lower grades you had to shade in the trunk of the elephant because it is considered as a phallic symbol. Therefore, my wife and decided to come back citing the above as just one of the key issues of discontent. However, I should say that many South Africans are teaching in the KSA and are enjoying it. I found it strange that a people who have so much potential are duped by an unsuitable Americanised syllabus in keeping them backward when they have the language of the Quran to spur them on to be the educational leaders of the world. Really Zaiboon, money is not an issue in KSA – I have been to a school in KSA that is so huge and beautiful and has an Olympic size swimming pool on the second floor! This should tell you that they can put up the best of the best institutions of learning in the world at any cost but, the system needs to address the socio-political issues more relevantly and correctly.
I have no best school save to say that I make the school I teach in the best and believe it can be the best in the world. If there is a best school for me, it would be the raised platform in blessed Madina where the best (Sahaba R.A.) learned from the very best – Nabi Muhammad (S.A.W).
Zaiboon, This whole “A” symbol campaign drive concerns me. I don’t teach for an ‘A’ symbol but, for life because, life is what people live and not their A’s. Al-hamdulillah, the pupils I taught attained 8A’s, 7B’s many attained C symbols and fortunately none of the pupils failed… I mean did you ever ask the doctor how many A’s he/she got before you take the treatment?... Yes, you do need ‘A’ performing candidates but, that is not the end all and be all of teaching because, every pupil has the potential to serve humanity. Finally on this point, Allah says in the holy Quran to the effect that HE does not look at your wealth and appearances but at your hearts and your deeds, therefore, we need to impress service to humanity in our teaching. Thus, an “A” candidate with this impression will leave a legacy of greatness for others to follow… What’s the point of an ‘A’ candidate without a refined Islamic character and sense of service to humanity? – A mere mortal living like an animal.

Unfortunately, today’s world dominates the mind and heart towards self-aggrandisement and we have become brainwashed to the extent of fighting with teachers if our children don’t get A’s! Somehow all this makes my stomach churn. I mean, Zaiboon, Nabi Muhammad (S.A.W) was unlettered but He had the desire for truth and Allah made Him a Nabi and gave Him the holy Quran for guidance therefore, if we can instil in our children the desire seek truth & knowledge Allah would make them great and acceptable as HE did with the Sahaba (R.A.) Please give this thought and lets talk about it at a later stage –inshallah.

The madressah in Sharpeville is about 13 years old and it began with some very dedicated men who are still involved in the affairs of the madressah and this year we hope to build the first masjid in Sharpeville. My job is just to administrate the madressah on a part time basis.


Zaiboon: Alhamdulillah. I knew your dad, Mr.Ali Bhai Sujee, and he was remarkable man. Tell me what your thoughts are when you know that people know your father more than you because, you were very young when he passed on to Allah.

Abdullah: Al-hamdulillah…It’s the most difficult thing to live in the shadow of a great personality but, it is so inspirational to have your father as an icon of success especially when he enjoined in good and forbade the evil to please Allah alone. Therefore I really miss him, may Allah grant him Janatul-Firdose, in these times because, I also believe he was a remarkable man. However, I have my mother and that makes me proud because, she is a pillar of strength and makes me know who my dad was. Then my late father’s friends… you know they inspire me more because, they would talk about him as if he was alive and is advising them on issues of faithful work for Allah…really it’s amazing. In all of this again, I feel blessed to have had a dad like my dad. So I say to all and sundry, look after your parents because, the legacy they leave behind are the ones you follow… Allah teaches us that Allah’s displeasure lies in one father’s displeasure and that Jannah lies at the feet of the mother…

…Conversely, I say to all parents be noble and create a legacy of good to please Allah because, that is what will be your Thwaab-be-jarriah. And what better way to receive it i.e. through your own children’s actions.

May Allah help and guide us.


Zaiboon: Alhamdulillah. Now we out of space and time what are your future plans?

Abdullah: Allah knows best. I hope to advance my studies and progress in the field of education to the best advantage for the ummah and to write books – inshallah.

Zaiboon: Jazakallahu-ghairan for your time any may Allah grant you your dreams and wishes.

The editorial: Jan 2007.

Life is good!

This month’s issue is packed with the lifeblood of young minds that show through their words that life is good when you have focus. The spirited vision that charges the heart in the article, ‘The courage to lead’ is close to my heart because in my experience as a teacher it warms my heart to see and hear that people want to do something in education for the greater benefit. To the parents of Ahmed* (not his real name), I really admire you and I know you will be able to achieve the dream of opening up the school for children who are challenged. In-shallah, I would support you in ways that I can with the help of Allah. What touches me deeply about the parents here is their desire to help others in the same boat and to teach them how to row that boat in such a way that it overcomes the worst of storms.

Again, when I read the article on the ‘Life in the fast lane’, the young man, Abdullah Moolla, makes me realise just how good life is i.e. the company of the good teacher made such an impression in the life of a student that the change become words of wisdom for us today. In effect, the article on the ‘Dating Game’ gave me courage to know that there are young people in the ummah who shun zina and are prepared to encourage others. Yes, life is good!

The interview with Abdullah Sujee was lengthy but, it was an interview I really wanted to do. It is my belief that he has excelled and today, his late father, Mr.Ali Bhay Sujee (may Allah fill his kabr with noor) would be pleased with his son. Yes, life is good when you see a son in the footsteps of his father – may Allah grant Abdullah conviction and sincerity of intention and purpose in his life. The interview was done also to inspire young men to become teachers because we need more Muslim males who are really sure of their gender to become teachers. Why do I say this? You see with this whole saga of gay marriages and the likes who knows who will teach our children in the years to come. Therefore, if we don’t inspire men to be teachers we should prepare ourselves for some degree of a societal psychological imbalance on the moral platform because Education is about morality that Allah has decreed.

I know you will enjoy the book reviews and you would be inspired to buy the books because life is good when you inspired to do something good. In all of life, we will be judged on how we enjoined in good and forbade the evil. So read! It was the first revealed word.

Finally I hope you will cherish this month’s issue and anticipate the next issue because life is good when you wait for things that will inspire you to the pleasure of Allah. The year 2007 looks good because, it was ushered in by hajj and therefore, look up and say “Allahu-Akbar”!

You know I enjoyed all the articles and cannot fathom how to express my views about all of them in my condensed space save to say that, we need to give thanks our mothers because they nurtured us that today, we are ambassadors of Islam. Jazakallahu-ghiarun to all the people who have contributed to this magazine’s success.

Enjoy the magazine and do good and forbid evil because life is good!

Editor:
Zaiboon Motala.

Teaching into the future! Are you ready?


Imagine this scenario:
The year is 2008 exactly where we are now and through some planning Allah allows two professionals from 1808 to visit the world in their respective professional fields. The one is a doctor and the other a teacher. The doctor walks around and finds the clinic and begins to see if he can help when a patient is wheeled into theatre with severe pains in the chest. Immediately he is at a loss when he sees the huge operating theatre, the lights, the cameras, the heart rate monitors and everything else. Frightened and confused he looks for a way out. He walks out like a thief from a dark house because he feels like a fish out of water. He presses his time button and immediately he goes back to where he came from.
Then the teacher comes on the scene. The teacher walks around and he looks for the first school, madressah, vernacular class, lecture hall and he finds one school. Ahha! He looks inside and he sees the blackboard now green in colour, he sees the chalk, the pupils behind the desk, the ruler and pens etc. He walks in and takes over the lesson and feels so much at home. The 21st century teacher who sees all this and says to 18th century man: “Excuse me, but who do you think you are, coming into my class and taking over my math lesson?” He turns around and says, “Good morning dear madam, I am from the past, perhaps you should go there – we do things very much the same.” Saying that, he gives her his time button, makes her press it, and sends her back to the future!

Get it, the future of education in the 18th century meant a great development from what they already knew and practiced then therefore, we need to see how well we have progressed from then to now – 2008. But, take a critical look at how we teach today – in general sense we have not moved the centre. Believe it or not! You have been doing what you always do in the classroom for the past decade or decades and, some of us have become so outmoded in our practice of teaching that we sound like old records even though ipods are the in thing.

So where to from here!
Sally Tweedle etal in English for Tomorrow says: NEW TECHNOLOGIES WILL NOT INVALDIATE EXISTING REASONS FOR LEARNIG TO READ AND WRITE, is very valid when you look at the big picture of education. Children and adults need to know how to read and therefore, they need to be taught but, they need to be taught in relation to their world experience. No one denies the fact that you have to teach the holy Quran in its proper way however, what stops you from using technology in teaching the holy Quran. Let’s face it, the holy Quran in the Surah Iqra, Allah expounds the first lesson on embryology and yet, we shy away from technology.

The issue at hand is how you use technology in your teaching in an innovative way without innovating the deen is what we have to look at. Answer these questions:
1. If I use the computer that is plugged to a data projector in a class where the boys and girls are separated by a curtain or otherwise going to interfere in the lesson?
2. If you got all your pupils to create their own blogspots that illustrated the magnanimity of Nabi Muhammad (s.a.w) in light of all the horrendous slander against him (s.a.w). Would you be innovating the deen? **Do you know what blogging is? Well, please find out – “Ask those in authority, those who know if you do not know” – teaching from the holy Quran.
3. If use the same setting above (no.1) and on the screen you show pictures of the site of the battle of Badr, Uhud and Khandaq, a map of old Arabia and the new. You then connect to the internet and do a Google search for weapons of the Islamic peoples. The search is complete and then you ask the pupils to please use their computers at home i.e. if they have not brought in to class, to type out an essay on Muslim inventions and they should post it on the webpage’s call for comment. Do you innovate on the deen? Or have you innovated your teaching?

What if I told you the above was accomplished in a different lesson would you believe me?
It was done in a poetry lesson – we searched the web for the Preludes by Eliot, heard a recitation of the poem off the web, got analysis and then posted our comments of the poem and compared it to people from across the world. Cross posting went on for the year by pupils on various poems.
Now with the entire Islam phobia shouldn’t we be dispelling the myth people have of Islam?
Do you know that the world looks at us as a people who are bereft of technological progress and party only to war and terrorism? We know this is utter falsehood because we Muslims gave the world the ZERO but today, we are giving ZERO to the world – debatable but largely true.

The call therefore is to embrace technology in the classroom in many creative ways. You do not have to be a genius but, you have to be ingenious in the way you think so that you move into a frame of mind where petty issues don’t become dominant. You need to take up the challenge to learn that you will always have to learn to remain on top of things. Therefore, begin by reading books, journals and the likes that pertain to your subject of expertise and this would immediately make you know how little you know of what you think you know. The pro-action from this would make you study more and embrace the quality of a scholar – always in search for new things to learn that will benefit humanity for Allah’s pleasure.

If children don’t learn the way you teach then you got to teach them the way they learn – anon. This axiom is so true and if applied can obtain some remarkable results. In the Microsft Innovative Teacher Awards (MITA) that takes place every year (it began in SA in 2006) it is amazing to see what teachers are doing from Gr.R up to Gr. 12 in the classroom. The competition is open to all teachers even those in the maktabs and ulooms. When I represented South Africa in the USA in the 2006 MITA it dawned upon me just how few Muslims are participating in these types of programmes. I recall only 2 other participants of the 200 teachers who were Muslim. In 2007, I was the only Muslim – Alhamdulillah, Allah blessed me with a 3rd position who participated and it made me somewhat sad. Why? When I look at the Muslim Schools and their impeccable record of 100% pass rates I am convinced they are doing something right. In effect, we should be in the forefront.

In light of the above, there is a way to inspire you – the teacher! Where ever you teach, you can do this. In the latest Al-Huda magazine, Vol 9 ed 2, you will find two fantastic prizes (1st prize a MIMO Unit valued at R10,000 and 2nd prize a DATA projector valued at R8,000) for teachers who do the best practice lesson that is described in the BACK TO THE FUTURE column. Try it and see what it does to your life as a teacher – it will make you think and act out of the box. Then attempt to enter the MITA – closing date 30 June 2008. Visit this website for more insight: http://www.school.za/itf/index.htm

It is hoped that you are inspired to change and move the centre. You need to find the creative talent that is lurking within you – it has been suppressed for far too long. Go out – take a short course in MS Office, save up to buy a lap top rather than a shoe or new lounge suite because if you love teaching, you will spend on it. My first savings went into a laptop and data projector and since then, I have loved what technology has inspired in me. Go on – walk the talk and see the difference it will make. Illustrated here is Allah’s blessings on me, I believe so because, I chose to follow the Prophetic style of teaching which in essence is to make every life moment a teaching moment to benefit humanity for Allah’s pleasure with the bounties Allah has provided. The one bounty expounded here amongst the thousands is the bounty of technology.

Like or lump it – if you don’t embrace technology in some way or another in education you will be TIMED OUT! Finally, ask yourself this question: “How would the children I teach remember me as a teacher in the 21st century?” Technology does not improve morals but, morals do shape the use of technology. Combine good morals, a good teacher and technology – what do you have? TECHNOTEACHER!
A TEACHER, SHOULD, BY NATURE BE A GREAT MORAL BEING.
For all previous articles visit Abdullah Sujee’s blogspot: http://rendezvousofminds.blogspot.com/index.html

Abdullah Sujee
Teacher & Editor (Al-Huda Magazine)


PS: Please use graphic.
Please use bold and italics as above.

May Allah grant you the best blessings for this opportunity.

NEWS UNCOVERED! TRUTH UNVEILED!
Its never too late.By Abdullah Sujee – editor of the Al-Huda Magazine.

A gripping image, a glaring photograph, a captivating headline, a catch phrase and a face airbrushed for the shot. These ingredients make up the news we see, hear, admire, and feel comfortable with as it presents the ‘truth’ for us. Alas, we have just become another statistic caught in a web of half-truths, deceitful values presented as garlands of virtue and facts presented with selective morality. However, news will be uncovered and the truth will be unveiled for it is never too late.

In the event of Miraj, the holy Prophet Muhammed (S.A.W) taken from sacred Makkah to blessed Masjid-ul-Aqsa in Jerusalem on the winged animal called the ‘Buraaq’ set the platform for breaking news. In the miraculous journey to Allah, the holy Prophet (S.A.W) saw heaven and hell; and was presented with the five noble compulsory prayers. Upon his (S.A.W) return, he conveyed his (S.A.W) experience to the people. It was Abu Bakr (R.A.) who said to the effect when the pagans mockingly asked him if he believed the ‘story’ of his friend, that if Muahmmed (S.A.W) said so and so then it must be the truth and that he must have experienced all he says for he never spoke a lie. Later, Muhammed (S.A.W) was put to the test by the pagans who had in the past visited Jerusalem to describe Masjid-ul-Aqsa, Allah presented him with a vivid image of the mosque so that he could describe it in the most finest of detail. The pagans left in a cloud of desert sand for all they heard, they could not contest it because it was the truth. This was news uncovered and the truth unveiled.

Projecting from the above realise how the facts were delivered and how the people were informed. The people were informed in such a way that sensationalism and dramatisation did not feature to alter perceptions or to entice people to believe. The breaking news of the Miraj created a storm of debate and this did not deter Muhammed (S.A.W) from keeping to the events as they happened. In fact, the events recorded in the authentic traditions of Muahmmed (S.A.W) provide us the opportunity to study those facts. The matter at hand is how the news remained so powerful and free of contamination. It is clear. Muhammed (S.A.W) practically demonstrated how one should present the news and how one should maintain the facts to remain as testimony of the event broadcasted. Therefore, we have to reflect on what we have become accustomed to on BBC, CNN, FOX NEWS, SKY NEWS, SABC, eTV etc.

Taking a cue from the book, Al-Jazeera: How Arab TV News challenged the World, by Hugh Miles, it becomes clear just how powerful truth really is. This riveting read makes you aware of how the greater Arab world and many countries whose lingua franca is Arabic deceived by their own people who control the news about world events became angry and distrustful of their leaders. Evidence points to how people in the Middle East are/were kept from the truth and how ceremonies of royal families are/were given undue importance sighting them as events that would bolster global Islamic unity are/were given priority time on Arab TV networks. Eventually, the people realised that the media-networks were “dumbing them down” i.e. is to say the media played a huge factor in making them stupid to the cause of world events. Suddenly, there was Al-Jazeera based in Qatar.




“Its Osama bin Laden’s network of choice. Saudi Arabia has accused it of ‘serving up poison on a sliver platter.’ When the Bush administration failed to shut it down, they decided to blow it up, and its correspondents have been killed. locked up in Guantanamo Bay, and tortured in Abu Ghraib.” [1] All this because the truth surfaced from the ‘horse’s mouth’ and more because, it was for the first time that news became uncovered to a mass of people who were brainwashed to think otherwise and, who were to scared to confront the oligarchy of the Saudis found themselves on the edge of new knowledge. Can you believe their puzzled mindset now? It was like putting a salmon back into the water to swim upstream instinctively to its place of birth with more vigour to die it destined death planned by Allah – yet it races towards it and scientists are still confounded about this. This reflects the life of a true believer: he/she will instinctively race toward Allah seeing death as a goal to meet with Allah. Therefore, even in nature there is the expression of a sincere Muslim who prefers Allah command instinctively as his/her only goal.

The point made here is the destiny of us – Muslims. We are, by the very nature of our divine religion made to seek the truth. Therefore, news uncovered for us means how we are defining ourselves as Muslims in this age of information technology and media domination of our affairs. Ponder on this situation; Source: khaleejtimes.com, a Muslim woman in the US by the name of Amina Wadud requested that she be made the imam of congregational prayers. The imams of three mosque refused and the woman then went outside and made the salaah as the imam of more than 150 Muslims male & female standing side by side. She got maximum exposure to the world – thanks to CNN, BBC and the likes. What she used as a trump card was – GENDER EQUALITY! The question remains, just how many distortions of Islam bombarded the world of viewers - Millions and billions because we are all to an extent TV junkies. Imagine if we had our own media channel ready as others at the right time to give the right Islamic view.

The age of technology and media domination calls upon us to challenge it proactively. In effect, we need to revisit our media players: Al-Jazeera, Channel Islam International, Radio Islam and the likes and ask ourselves one important question: “Are they uncovering the news and unveiling the truth?” The answer: They are, but it cannot be measured because we, as an ummah, are still drowning in the abyss of institutional jealousy, nit picking on trivial issues and splitting the splinter groups hoping to unite the ummah. It’s strange but it’s true. To cite but just one example, have you not heard how independent Muslim schools internationally have become the fodder of malicious debate by Muslims rather than asserting support despite all is problems, when in general Muslim schools have contributed a positive moral regeneration internationally. The fact is we have the capacity to beat the major networks at their own game by our standards. The nagging question is: ‘Have we become our own worst enemies?”

Revisit the Miraj. Contemplate on how the news was uncovered. Yes! Uncovered. It was not covered with any hint of sensationalisms, dramatisations, innuendos, satires, sarcasms, indoctrinations, half-truths, falsified statements and conspiracy clips – it was as it happened with no embedded journalists paid to give subjective reports for commercial gain. Nay! It was as it happened and Allah glorified the truth such that it has not lost it vitality since then to now. This was further enhanced by the fact that the Muslims supported and united with each other, concealing each others faults from the world and desired to be their brothers’ keepers. Covering the news today has become the art of deception of the truth therefore; history that our children will learn and are learning will be and is from the way media presents it through its ‘covering’ of the news. Can you imagine how history books have ‘covered’ the war in Iraq through the footage of the embedded journalists? How they have written about Muslims in all of this? Do you know how the books will explain and illustrate the meaning of “terrorist,” “Fundamentalist,” and “Separatist”! Think about the non-Muslims who were caught with their hands in the cookie jar in preparation for a coup d'état in 2004 in Equatorial Guinea financed by Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s son, are still called ‘MERCENARIES’! Turn the tables and ‘cover’ the same news as if the people concerned were Muslims. It will probably read, “Muslim fundamentalists with Al-Qaeda connections have amongst its entourage terrorists who have plotted to overthrow Equatorial Guinea in hope to form an Islamic state.” Believe it or not! That is news ‘coverage’ today.

Dealing with the problem directly, we need to have guts. Like Al-Jazeera’s maverick, Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani of Qatar he set up the Channel in Qatar to provide the truth of world events from an Arab perspective in a fashion that does not ‘cover up’ but which uncovers the news and unveils the truth. President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt exclaimed about Al-Jazeera when he visited it unannounced, “All this trouble from a matchbox like this?” What this reflects is the power of truth when you show the truth for what it is. Hugh Miles cites through careful research that if it was not for Al-Jazeera’s coverage of Palestine, Sharon’s Aparthied Wall would not have received the condemnation it did and has and, the world would not have known the extent of Israeli brutality and segregation in occupied territories. Today, as Miles suggests there is greater awareness of the Middle East than ever before such that Israeli authorities are looking at Al-Jazeera as the can opener. When the Israeli Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres, declared, ‘I think Israel has a problem with the way things have been shown [on] television. It shows a picture. It does not tell a story.’ …Many Israelis disagreed with Peres, regarding Al-Jazeera as an important new democratic Arab forum and an agent for change.[2]

If these reactions were caused from a ‘matchbox’, what would a twin tower do? It would cause another earth shattering reality. Yes, this would happen provided we deal with the problem directly and begin an earnest effort in producing journalists in all its might amongst Muslim youth with the proper Islamic guidance. What impetus this will have is more than the mind can imagine. Again, reflect on the Miraj, the noble companions (R.A) who took that reality and reported it from one generation to the other with complete accuracy and sincerity secured our generation to learn the exact truth and we, in turn are doing the same thing with it however, in pockets of excellence. Imagine therefore, a situation where a select Muslim youth and ulema from our various ulooms become specialists in the field of media technology and media presentation, writing the news etc. We would have a dynamic global ummah that would thrive on the truth and inshallah, will live according to the hadith to the effect that the ummah is like one body, if one part is in pain it is as if the whole body is in pain. In effect, with a global effort of uncovering news and unveiling the truth by an entourage of Muslim trained media professionals, even those who have been indoctrinated to believe it to be a terrorist faith through the mass media we know on the tip of our tongues will see Islam for its pristine purity. The IMPACT magazine (UK publication) has shown gusto and prominence in this regard but we need more IMPACTS to have greater impact.

Take media study seriously be it as a career choice OR you as a couch potato. The following extract from the book is just what we need to know in conclusion to the article:

There are two distinct markets for Al-Jazeera in English. One is going to be American Americans – regular white Americans – an other is going to be Arab-Americans who don’t speak Arabic or are the children of immigrants. ‘I want to hear what is going on in my parents’ country but I want to hear it in English.’ Al-Jazeera has the market here in the US in the ten of thousands, mainly Arab Americans. My gut sense tells me it may hit MSNBC proportions, meaning a hundred thousand, or a hundred and fifty thousand – but understand that a hundred thousand with a point of view is a whole lot different to an amorphous mass of a hundred thousand viewers, because a hundred thousand with a point of view becomes cohesion. It becomes possibly a force. That is different.[3]

The truth is veiled, the news is covered, and it all depends on you to read it, unveil the truth, and uncover the news – IT IS NEVER TO LATE. Therefore, ‘Read! In the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created – Created man out of a leech-like clot: Read And thy Lord is most Bountiful, - He who taught (The use of) the Pen, - taught man that which he knew not. Nay, but man transgresses all bounds.’ – Al-Quran. Juz 30. Sura Al-Alaq Ayat 1-5.


Bibliography
Miles, H. Al-Jazeera. How the Arab news challenged the world. Great Britain, Abacus.2005.

[1] Al-Jazeera, Hugh Miles. The blurb on the back cover.
[2] Ibid, page 95.
[3] Ibid, page 424.

MOTHER EVIL

Abdullah Moolla
High in the sky, like superman I fly
Free from worry, no need to be sorry
I feel so strong, definitely it can’t be wrong
My source of pleasure, spending without measure
Secrecy’s the name of the game, not sure if it will land me in the hall of fame
If I’m ever seen, nobody would’ve sniffed where I’d been
In minutes its over, tomorrow I’m a roamer
My quest I repeat, in a world of non-existent defeat

Normal or Abnormal? Real or Fake? Dead or Alive? Human or Animal?

The 20th century has seen the creation and rise of inhumane forms of “entertainment”, “recreation” and “fun”. The production and trade of one of these forms serves as the backbone of many an economy, it funds major conflicts and is the daily bread of millions. To the leaders and the commoners alike. The vicious cycle of its usage corrupts the virtuous, breaks the united, kills it victims, grieves the innocent and destroys society. None is safe from its inescapable grip. It is the Devil’s Revenge Upon God’s Servants, Drugs!

The Drug TradeThe drug trade is very secretive in nature and can be very dangerous. It is worth trillions of dollars and spans every continent. The Americas top the leader board with continental Asia close behind, leaving Africa in its wake while the scraps go to Europe. Lands yielding the best crops are highly disputed territory, which has led to battles between “Drug Lords”, particularly in South America. Drugs are smuggled from their country of origin to various parts of the world, mainly by ship. “Difficulties” are created by government securities who scrutinize all imports. These are evaded by bribes and other violent means. This automatically causes a rise in price of drugs as it filters through from smugglers to consumers.

Various factors play a role in price fluctuations. They include country of origin, quality and potency. The danger of smuggling drugs in vast quantities is grave. This therefore creates shortage of supplies due to high demand. Addicts/Dealers then resort to manufacturing their own drugs in make-shift production sites that take the form of garages, homes and deserted buildings. Poisons, solvents and adhesives are all compounded to produce the virtual same high as conventional drugs. These drugs carry worse dangers to the human body and can cause death instantly. Sources of traditional drugs include the “Golden Triangle” (where Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet), Mexico, Columbia, China, Pakistan and the Middle East. There are no age, intellectual, power or wealth barriers when drugs cloak society. However, its presence and consumption is more pronounced in the younger sector of the society and there are various that could explain the same. Namely,

† Boredom. Nothing better to do, why not have a go?
† Curiosity. It sounds interesting; why not see what it makes you fell like?
† Peer Pressure. Being left out isn’t a “comfortable” feeling.
† Rebellion. Venting one’s anger at authority.
† It blocks out physical pain and in certain cases albeit to a limited extent physiological pain.

Considering the constrained financial position of the younger generation, they usually get drugs in small quantities at first from friends, older siblings or relatives. Drugs are not “pushed” out into society but “pulled” in by the users. This takes place in various ways, for example, one person gets hold of some drugs and other young people scrounge off these drugs, ask them or are thankful to be offered some. Another way adopted is that a group of young people pool their money and one of them, who knows a drug dealer/peddler, buys for the group.

Many youth are introduced to their first “hit” at a rave or at a nightclub.
Venues, whose “hidden attractions” are the substances that add spice to the music. As a matter of fact, rave music is barely understood without being under the influence of some substance or the other. Drugs keep the clubbers rolling in while movies do the advertising.

What are drugs?
The drugs under discussion are defined simply as substances that influence the nervous system. They are classified generally as,
Most harmful: Heroin, morphine, opium and other narcotics; cocaine, a powerful, dangerous stimulant and its relative, crack; hallucinogens, such as mescalin and LSD; and injectable amphetamines, such as methedrine.
Less harmful: Narcotics such as codeine and cannabis (marijuana); stimulants of the amphetamine type, such as Benzedrine; and barbiturate sedatives.
Least harmful: Milder drugs of the amphetamine type.

“Designer Drugs”, for example ecstasy, are usually modifications of the amphetamine molecule, altered in order to evade the law as well as for different effects, and many times more powerful and dangerous.

[The above classification is very concise, for greater detail, consult an encyclopaedia]

Drug abuse can be understood better by studying the substances involved, their content, street names, method of administration, short and long term effects as well as the dependency process of an addict. Hundreds of substances are abused out on the street, making it very difficult to draw up/asses the above-mentioned information for each drug.
In order to analyse or treat an addict it becomes even worse, for addicts tend to abuse more than one drug at a time in continuous pursuit of a ‘higher’ high. Inroads have been made in this field and an over view of the observations of some of the most common drugs are presented below;

Cocaine
Cocaine is derived from the leaves of the cocoa plant, which is cultivated mainly in South America. It is considered instantly addictive with severe addiction often two weeks after initial use. Its street names are Coke, Crack, Blow, Snow, Stardust, Nose Candy, Flake, C, Heaven Dust, Rocks and Lady White.

Cocaine is often diluted by dealers before it reaches the end-user in order to increase its bulk, and therefore increase profits. For this, corn starch, talcum powder and sugar are used. Purity is never assured which often results in overdosing. Cocaine in powder form is snorted, in rock form is smoked or injected as a mixture containing heroin.

Some of the short term effects of cocaine are Euphoria, over confidence, increase in body temperature, accelerated breathing and blurred vision. Prolonged usage results in paranoia, insomnia, severe depression, weight loss and hallucinations. Large doses cause violent behaviour and heart failure.

Heroin
Heroin was developed as a non-addictive alternative for Morphine at the end of the 19th century. Its name comes from the German word, heroisch-meaning heroic or powerful.
It is commonly known as Brown Sugar, Elephant and Dragon. Heroin is administered by injecting it into the veins, its powder is snorted and fumes are smoked in a complex way, called ‘chasing the dragon.’

Heroin causes an instant thrill once it enters a person’s body. It causes a decrease in heart rate and body temperature. Other effects of heroin include impaired concentration, drowsiness, decrease in appetite and itching skin. The long term effects of heroin are: impaired judgement, weight loss, ulcers and sores, liver and kidney damage. An overdose can cause death.

Designer Drugs
These are versions of restricted drugs modified in order to create a short term immense high and super-human energy. Examples of designer drugs are LSD, Ecstasy, Ice & Speed. They are extremely dangerous and have a strong potential of an overdose.

LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide)
LSD is a white, odourless powder that dissolves in water and is the most powerful hallucinogen available. It is also called Acid, Animal, Beast, Black Star and California sunshine. LSD alters a person’s perception, i.e. he sees and hears things that don’t exist. Prolonged usage produces fear, anxiety, sleeplessness, several different emotions at once, flashbacks and loss of appetite. Violent or hazardous behaviour including self mutilation is also one of the dangers associated with the usage of LSD.

Ecstasy
Ecstasy produces a mixture of central stimulants and psychedelic effects. Ingestion causes dry mouth, jaw clenching, muscle aches and increased blood pressure. Higher doses cause visual hallucinations, drug craving, paranoia and depression.

Addicts are con-artists and tricksters who can hide their habit for years. For this reason, unsuspecting teachers and parents are immensely shocked when the addiction of someone close is discovered. Early detection can curb the shock and can help to solve the problem.

So, how can you tell if someone has a drug problem?
The key is to look for change. It could be in a person’s physical appearance, or in a person’s behaviour or personality, or a change in all three.

Here are some of the symptoms to look out for:

Physical symptoms:
1. Change in appetite and unexplained weight gain or loss.
2. Running nose, hacking cough.
3. Red and watery eyes, change in usual pupil size, blank stares.
4. Sleep disturbance or unusual laziness

Behavioural/Psychological symptoms:
1. Secretive or suspicious behaviour.
2. Unexplained need for money.
3. Change in friends or hangouts.
4. Sleep in overall attitude or personality with no other identifiable cause.

Once a person is drawn into drugs, he becomes an embodiment of evil and filth, and will stop at nothing to sustain his addiction. If he has money, he’ll buy, if he doesn’t, he’ll steal. He turns into a beast, violently abusing everyone in his way. No sin is left uncommitted and as in many cases an addict leaves the fold of Imân. Nobody is united in the deadly drug game. Everyone becomes ferocious wolves preying on their rivals. It’s only about drugs and money, while society retrogresses to the pits of humiliation and disgrace.

All this is precisely what Allâh has explained, O those who believe! VERILY INTOXICANTS AND GAMBLING, alter stones and (divination by) arrows are an abomination-shaytâns handy work. Shun such (abomination) that you may prosper. Shaytân wants only to excite enmity and hatred between you with intoxicants and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of Allâh and from salâh. So, will you not then abstain? (Ma’ida 590/91)

What can be done to solve the problem?
In order to be released from the grip of addiction, a person has to come to an immovable decision to leave drugs totally forever. Without this, there is a great danger of relapse (falling back into the habit). Rehabilitation is in many cases the best option despite the low success rate. During rehab a concerted effort should be made upon the addict’s Imân which strengthens his sick soul and will draw him closer to Allâh. A rehabilitated person should not be looked down upon but rather as somebody who as been given a new life.

“Every intoxicant is forbidden …” (Abu Dawûd). In his weakness, man displays his vulnerability in the face of the ‘fun’, ‘enjoyed’ by others. His greedy nature causes him to fall headlong into the prohibited, taking him away from the purpose of his creation. “AND INDEED WE HAVE HONOURED THE CHILDREN OF ADAM AND WE HAVE CARRIED THEM ON LAND AND SEA, AND WE HAVE PROVIDED THEM WITH GOOD/LAWFUL THINGS, AND HAVE PERFERRED THEM ABOVE MANY OF THOSE WHOM WE HAVE CREATED WITH A MARKED PREFERMENT” [Al-Isrâ 17:70].

In the light of the above verse, it does not behove man to lower himself to a level lower than animals, if there is.
It was a drugged individual

The courage to lead.
“The world is held up by four pillars: The wisdom of the learned, the justice of the great, the prayers of the righteous, and the valour of the brave.”

When the great battle of Badr ended in victory for the Muslims, the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) told the POWs (Prisoners of War) that to attain freedom they should teach the companions to read and write. They agreed and in that exchange of knowledge many embraced Islam and understood the courage to lead. It meant the ability to anticipate a future and the future being the might of knowledge relevant to the societal needs. The courage to lead stems from circumstances beyond your control.

A newly wed couple gave birth and it was celebrated differently and little did they know they were prepared in the courage to lead. Their child was born and termed a miracle baby because of the length of time spent in hospital from birth until his mother could hold him in her arms. Later it was determined that the miracle baby had cerebral palsy and therefore would need special education. The initial phases of learning were dramatic but somewhat eased by the fact that there was an institution that catered for children like Ahmed* (*not his real name). Later, when Ahmed could mimic sounds, talk with some difficulty, crawl and pull himself here and there his good parents realized that his habits were not all they wanted in a child. Ahmed was taught how to dance to music as a means to learn and conditioned to learn in ways that did not promote any Islamic values. It was and is no fault of the institution because it was not an Islamic institution of learning and teaching for challenged children like Ahmed. For the parents it was like Badr. The parents then took their child out of this school because they believe that their child can learn with Islam all that he needs to learn and not through music, song and dance as mediums of learning. It began here, in their minds to establish a institution for Muslim children like Ahmed. Their ideas has since grown. Read on!

The point made here is Hasan & Haseena* (*not the couple’s real names) needed to find a school for their child that would also teach Islam to their child but, they could find none in the 5 years of their search. Yes, other people have made strides in establishing institutions that would cater for children that needed special education but, in the establishment of all the Muslim schools we have not identified the need to establish a school for children like Ahmed. It needs courage to lead!

Hasan & Haseena have now embarked on a mission with the Jamiat Ulema under the guide of Moulana Ebrahim Bham to set up at least one such school professionally. However, we need, like in the aftermath of Badr find people who would be willing to teach us the tools of the trade save that this time we are in no victory lane. Therefore, we need to look into our ummah and find who are the qualified people in the broad field of education who can set up this school such that we are not seeking handouts from people nor, do we look like having our cap in hand – meaning that we don’t have to beg anyone to teach us because Allah and HIS Messenger, Nabi Muhammad (S.A.W) have taught us everything we need to know! It takes courage to lead.

Allah says in the holy Quran that ‘Ask those in authority those who know if you don’t know.’ Therefore, we need to at this time ask those who have set up institutions of learning for special children like Ahmed how to teach and then train our Muslims to do the job. This all sounds so easy, right? However, you should know that it is not. In conversation with the parents of Ahmed it dawned upon me that they really want the best for their child like every parent for their child save that Ahmed’s situation is not like every normal child. Ahmed needs physiotherapy on a daily basis as part of his learning programme, more intense vocalization of words and sounds, more structured play to learn, more skilled training to learn how to walk, talk and just about every thing because he is not physically able like all of us. In fact, he needs to be on horseback regularly to enhance his psychomotor skills as well as his self-esteem. The problem is: as Muslims we have don’t have the skilled personal for the job. If we have them, it is like finding a needle in a haystack. Time and money we have and now we need to channel it into the establishment of such a school. It can be done! Please look at the number of Muslim schools the ummah have put up and the remarkable reputation they have in terms of results – even to the cynic of Muslim schools, he is caught shameful to admit one truism like the atheist, who in the stormy waters on a shipping bobbing like a cork in the vastness of the ocean cried ‘Oh God!’, that Muslim schools have done very well – alhamdulillah.

When you look at the great battle of Badr i.e. in the aftermath, Nabi Muhammad (S.A.W) was shown by Allah the needs of the ummah and one such need was to be educated because the revelation of the Quran was going to increase and the Islamic state was to be established in time to come. Therefore, the ummah at the time already were being trained to take on a challenge they could only dream of. Believe it or not, in 23 years the destiny of humanity was changed and the world saw a new way of life. In one part, people were educated for the time they lived in and their knowledge was relevant then and now. It had the moral base to spur people on to lead.

Today it is no different and we need to, in this instance, see how we can pool our resources and establish a school for special children like Ahmed. You will be shocked to realize just how many Muslim children like Ahmed are at home doing nothing! Either their parents are to shy to expose their children to the world and still see them as being incapable and not functional human beings. Face the facts, as Muslims we have shunned the disable people in our societies in many ways than one. Just one point to illustrate the above, how well have our masjid’s, as a case in point, been planned for those brothers who are disable to make wudu, use the toilet and make salaah with ease? You judge for yourself. Remember one masjid is not good enough – we need to show constancy and consistency because that is the sunnah.

It takes courage to lead! Therefore, Hasan & Haseena want to establish such a school with Muslim personal, Muslim expertise, Muslim finance for MUSLIM CHILDREN like Ahmed. The need of the hour is to put our minds together and get this school started. We have the courage of two parents to lead us on and we would have the backing of the hundreds if not thousands of mothers whose children are challenged to support us when and if we intend to open this school for special children.

Imagine the courage it took for Nabi Muhammad (S.A.W) to stare reality in the face after Badr. The Prophet (S.A.W)’s knew that his companions needed to learn how to read and write and Prophet (S.A.W)’s Prisoners of War could have been wealthy ransom to alleviate poverty but, the Prophet (S.A.W) chose to get his companions educated. The courage allowed the Prophet (S.A.W) to foresee a future where good education would be paramount in the strife to enjoin in good and forbid evil. Therefore, in many ways, this special child needs the very same education but, in a different and special way and the jihad is to rid our mindset of the false notion that these special children cannot learn. Let me shatter the false notion.

Allah blessed me with the friendship of a young boy (10 years old) who is Down syndrome. This boy is just too good to be true – he is punctual with all his salaah, very caring, has a sound mind, can make a good conversation with spurts of very mature comment, he can sing along a nazm of the 99 names of Allah, he can take a joy-ride in a theme park and can play like all children on the beach but, again for children like him, we Muslims don’t have special schools that would enable him to be part of society when he becomes of age. The very few schools that we have for Down Syndrome (DS) children are not advanced in our Muslim communities such that they can prepare their pupils for life when they come of age. However, I have seen special low key industries that only employ DS people. These DS people then make things that we NP (Normal People) use in our homes. By the way how did it feel being labeled an NP? The point made here is that we need to start working with our potentials in our ummah for the establishment of such institutions for the special people in our society. This would also be a primary source of spreading the word of Islam in that it will prove again that Islam means peace and submission to the will of Allah. To the extreme mind it will register that how can a people who are branded as terrorists have the heart to spend their health, wealth and time to assist the physically and mentally challenged people of the world. In effect, changing his/her mindset of Muslims by way of example and seeing Islam in action should be the order of the day! The courage to lead demands the action of the dedicated therefore, to all those people who share in the dream of these parents it is time to muster up the courage to lead.

To make this dream a reality an appeal is made to all and sundry particularly to those parents who are gifted with special children like Ahmed to contact Moulana Ebrahim Bham at the Jamiat offices in Johannesburg and lend your support. Thereafter, contact with the above parents will be set up and as a team of dedicated and courageous parents begin to PLAN and ACT. In your planning you will make the intention to do this for Allah’s sake only with valour, make dua to Allah seeking HIS help and guidance, work on a Needs Survey, a SWOT analysis, a Plan of Action and a Time Frame work plan to ensure that this year will see to the implementation and establishment of a Muslim school for children who are challenged. Let the badge of honour you wear read: I AM BRAVE. Your planning will lead you, in the future, to scale your institution nation wide – inshallah.

The courage you will show in beginning this institution with little resources and tremendous ‘yakeen’ in Allah will reap great results in this world and the hereafter. Remember, the first school in Prophet (S.A.W)’s time began after Badr and its first classroom was the raised platform outside the Prophet (S.A.W)’s masjid in blessed Madina. Really, you and I do not have to go into battle, we need to get off our seats and do something worthwhile and battle our lethargic mindset. Remember, the critics will be there but know this: people will only climb on big trees with strong branches because weaker ones cannot take their weight. So imagine the strength of the school the day it opens and every other day too. In the end, people fall off trees but, the trees remain!

So the challenge is on you. The statement below that was inscribed in Muslim Spain is presented with the intention that it will inspire you to be part of a wining formula – Islam:
“The world is held up by four pillars: The wisdom of the learned, the justice of the great, the prayers of the righteous, and the valour of the brave.”

Abdullah Sujee

INTERVIEW WITH MR.A.SUJEE.

ON HIS RETURN FROM THE USA IN 2006. DID YOU KNOW ABOUT IT?
CITED BY SADIA DHORAT OF GRADE 10a

Zaiboon Motala conducted this interview to showcase Roshnee Islamic School. The interview is edited; however you can source the original interview in the Al-Huda Magazine – first publication of 2007.



Zaiboon In this month’s edition we interview Mr. Abdullah Sujee who won the Innovative Teachers’ Award in South Africa and then represented South Africa in the International Teachers’ Forum in Philadelphia, USA where he was voted in as the runner up in the best teacher category. The competition was first national and than All of Africa and thereafter, the two winners were selected i.e. Abdullah Sujee of Roshnee Islamic School and Paul van Zyl of St.Johns.

The ITF in the USA was judged on 3 C’s and the fourth been the teachers’ choice of the best educator. The first C : Content i.e. how you use the curriculum design of your country over a number of years to produce innovative ideas that lends itself to ICT – integrated computer technology and Media orientation. The second C: Community i.e. how the school and its community is involved in your teaching style in overt, subtle, direct and indirect ways through the integration of the school’s extr-mural and co-curricular activities. The third C i.e. collaboration – this means how you formed Joint Ventures over a number of years with schools, communities, companies and established avenues of learning such that the image of one’s country is enhanced. The fourth category is where all the teachers who won in their respective countries or continents would vote in whom they thought was the best educator – it was in this category that Abdullah Sujee won an award. The judges were from various countries and are involved in education in various ways.

Zaiboon: Tell us about all that you do that made you win the Innovative Teachers Awards in South Africa and the Award in the USA and do you see yourself as the teacher of the year or the best in SA.

Abdullah: Let me begin with the last part of the question first. I do not see myself as the best nor do I consider myself as the best in SA or anywhere else for that matter. What I do see myself as, is a person that wants to be the best in whatever I do because, that is the Prophetic example. I felt the competition/forum that was organised by Microsoft was only a means to get some exposure to the great teachers of the world and their innovative practices.
Zaiboon, All praise is for Allah, the thrust of the classroom is to connect the world outside the classroom with the classroom itself. Therefore, the world of media plays a major part in all my lessons such that today I use PowerPoint Presentations, audio streaming, radio, TV and Integrated Computer technology in lessons. This means making learning more integrated and holistic. For example, in the teaching of Shakespeare’s plays, pupils would have to produce an audio assignment on the play i.e. they had to produce a main news bulletin, secondary news flash, an advert, a letter to the editor and anything else. All this has to come out from the play thus, enticing the pupil to read the play – you do know that pupils today don’t really read their novels and plays. The same lesson would apply to novels and short stories. Pupils would also produce a film on a play or novel and you can imagine how they would have to ‘read’ the set work to identify setting and props to produce the effect of the writer. Mind you, it made pupils read more critically i.e. looking into the text for specific clues to heighten the image on screen. Furthermore, when pupils would be taught poetry through the use of P.P.Presentations and the internet, they would post their comments on the web and compare their comments with people across the world – this was an amazing feat!

The other idea that generated a lot of discussion was the way I got learners to write story books for pre-schoolers using their set work, July’s People as a springboard. You would recall that these books which were prepared by the grade 12s were made available to your pre- school for use. Furthermore, it was used at another school as well for evaluation and use.

The ideas that I presented here has been presented at various national conferences as well therefore, many issues were revised after the conferences because teachers would make you aware of things you did not think of.

Zaiboon: Tell us about your international experience at the International Innovative Teacher Forum in the USA in December 2006.

Abdullah: It was an amazing and an exhilarating experience that made me appreciate teaching even more. You know when you meet with teachers from all over the world, from more than 30 countries, you realise just how little you know and do. My colleague, Paul van Zyl, also from SA shared the same view. What impressed me greatly was how teachers from other countries appreciate what we are doing in South Africa. They were really impressed by the establishment of Muslim Schools as a world wide phenomenon. It’s very difficult to express what I learnt in the short space of time save to say that the sponsors, Microsoft and SchoolnetSA, made it more memorable in that they highlighted our ideas to the world. The overwhelming feeling was when my name was called out as the runner up in the teachers’ choice – it was something I really did not expect from amongst the great teachers from across the world. Allah loves me and therefore, I believe this award is a gift from Allah because; I joined the profession feeling that it would take me across the world and yes, I see it happening – alhamdulillah.

When we visited the School of the Future in Philadelphia, I was flabbergasted at this institution. It is a school that is really high tech and it has all the trimmings and trappings to make teaching a dream, for example each lesson is recorded and can be downloaded from the school’s webpage and all the pupils have their own laptops as ‘notebooks’. Each classroom has its own Active Board and ergonomically designed chairs to cut out classroom fatigue!

There is just so much to say however, the one thing that really surprised me is the ignorance of Islam even in the teaching fraternity. The fact that I teach at a Muslim school some teachers wanted to know what brand of Islam I teach – I don’t blame them save to say that they are so caught up in web of deceit of Islam on the airwaves and that is why I focus on integrating media into lessons. I have so much more to say but, it would need more time. If log on to www.schoolnetSA.co.za you will find more details and also the Thutong Portal on the world wide web you will learn more of the Innovative Teacher.
The one teacher’s work with grade 1’s really made me jump out of my skin. It was a school in New Zealand where grade 1 pupils would create their own blog on the world wide web, have their own dedicated website and post all their work on their blog and this would be carried through to the next grade – it was really awesome to see these children’s work on the web. It’s not just writings but, picture drawings, assessments and so much more. So you can imagine what their Grade R learning is like.

…..that all folks.

Burden Of The Standard Bearer- Mr. Yawar Baig

PART 1 OF 2

Prologue

The purpose of this note is to generate thoughtful dialogue resulting in action that is a dire need of the Muslim Ummah today. I wish I had all the answers. I don’t. What I do have is a lot of questions and while this may look like a problem in itself, I believe asking the right questions is a pre-requisite to arriving at an answer eventually. So here goes…..

The Muslim Ummah today is like a ship caught in a storm. Battered from all sides by hurricane strength winds and plagued internally by our own weaknesses. In such a situation, if we want to remain afloat we have to ensure that we do two things:
Be aware of the storm forces and our own strengths and weaknesses and understand how the external forces affect us.
Be clear about the path we want to chart which will lead us out of our difficulty and to stay on it with focus and single mindedness of purpose.

I want to begin therefore with a SWOT Analysis of the Muslim Ummah as I see it.

Strengths
Faith in Allah and His destiny which gives us enormous resilience and the ability to recover from personal disaster.
Growing awareness and confidence especially among the youth about Islam with a corresponding desire to learn, practice and be seen as examples of the Islamic model.
Growing awareness of the gulf between Ulama and the general Muslims especially in terms of the application of Islamic knowledge in real life and a desire to bridge the gap.

Weaknesses
Ignorance about Islam among Muslims, shirk & bida’a in practice, outdated education methodology in Islamic schools, no focus on application of Islamic ideology in real life, lack of tech & media savvy among Ulama leading to slow or no response, inaccessibility and partial or imperfect solutions. Big psychological gap between Ulama and their constituents. Focus on ideology without focus on its practice.
Fragmented thought, fragmented people, fragmented leadership and relationships with no appreciation of the challenges that face the Ummah; therefore no specific thought out action plan. No collective approach except in times of traumatic upheaval.
Lack of vision or strategy at all levels including at the top most leadership, both temporal and religious. No think tank to visualize future challenges and prepare responses. Absence of a proactive response even to situations that can be foreseen very easily.

Opportunities
To fulfill the purpose of our creation and benefit all mankind by providing thought leadership that can lead the world out of its current malaise.
To become role models for the world to look up to and emulate.
To show Muslims ways to practice Islam so that their very lives can become beacons of guidance for others as was the situation with the Prophet and his Sahaba.
The issue with the practice of Islam with most Muslims today is a “How” issue. It is a tools issue. It is not an issue of being convinced. Even people who are convinced are unable to practice because they don’t know how, don’t have systems to support them and have no means of developing these systems themselves. This is a huge opportunity to create such systems and build a support system for people to practice Islam.
A good example of the above is the lack of a suitable system of non-interest banking and lending despite interest based finance being haraam and Muslims being around for 1426 years.

Threats
Concerted, hugely funded and highly focused efforts to undermine Islam and disconnect it from real life; using the best brains, technology and media in the world.
Ignorant, apologetic, cowardly Muslims psychologically succumbing to the pressure, attacking Islam and its Shari’ah and advocating changing Islamic law and the Qur’an.
Increasing disconnect between Ulama and the average Muslim leading to the latter feeling that Islam is a way of worship alright but not much else.

Problem with current efforts

The problem with current efforts is that they talk almost entirely about “problem” and don’t give solutions. At best some of them give incomplete solutions leaving the rest in the realm of imagination. The result of this is that the Muslims have developed a “Victim” mindset. They blame the world for their condition, yet do nothing to change that even where they have the opportunity. There is an apparent unconscious stance that they need not do anything about their problems other than to cry about them and blame the world. “Solutions” that are suggested for the problems of Muslims are at best partial and in many cases not solutions at all. Slavery to antiquated thought of bygone leaders who were true to their times but whose teachings have little current validity.

No role models of applied Islam which shows success in this world as well as actions that promise success in the Aakhira. Examples of the practice of Islam are given of people who lived in the remote past and whose lives have little that is immediately in common with today’s challenges and problems. Little or no effort is made to glean lessons from their lives and see how they can be applied to today’s issues in a way that will show the superiority of the Islamic Way over the rest of the ways of the world.

Allah ’s purpose

Al Fath:28 It is He Who has sent His Messenger with Guidance and the Religion of Truth, to proclaim it over all religions: and enough is Allah for a Witness.

Allah ’s purpose is to proclaim to world that His Way is the best way for them and is superior to all other ways. It is not to impose or inflict it on anyone but to show its beauty and benefit in clearly appreciable ways so that everyone will see how it is superior to whatever else they may be following. In order to demonstrate this He sent His Messenger who practically demonstrated the superiority of Islam. Deen is not the opposite of Duniya. The opposite of Duniya is Aakhira. Deen is the way to live in the Duniya so that we become the inheritors of Jannah in the Aakhira. Leaving the Duniya is a non-Muslim practice of asceticism that was the way of Coptic Christian monks and Hindu sanyasis. Muslims came to live in this Duniya and to teach others how to live in a way that makes them winners. As long as we did that we had moral authority and Allah gave us power. When we stopped being demonstrators and became imitators instead of being Standard Bearers, we lost our moral authority and Allah took away our power. Today we have voluntarily restricted Islam to some areas of worship, some selective application of the Shari’ah as long as it suits us and have taken to the ways of others blindly. We are not even intelligent enough to see that those very others are intensely unhappy in their ways because those ways have destroyed their societies.
We Muslims condemn their ways but we do the same things and we don’t show them an alternate way in the world of today. And then we are surprised that nobody listens to us.

Allah sent a demonstrator

Al Ahzab: 21 You have indeed in the Messenger of Allah a beautiful pattern of (conduct) for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day and who engages much in remembrance of Allah.

Allah’s purpose of sending His Messenger with Islam was to make the benefits of Islam clear to all those who live in this world. The Prophet was the first Standard Bearer of Islam. That is why Allah said that the life of His Messenger is the best example for anyone to follow. He did not restrict this to any one or more areas of life. He gave the example of the whole life of RasoolAllah and the Messenger demonstrated this Islamic Way of Life in all aspects of his life and the Sahaba followed him. And that is what made them the dominant force in their world in just one generation.

In the current confusion that is visible in the thinking of the Ummah is the understanding of the above ayah and its promise of the domination of the Islamic Way over other ways. It is my belief that Islam will triumph in the world not by a humungous war in which Muslims will triumph over others and leave behind millions of dead. That will be the most useless outcome because dead bodies are no good to Islam or anyone else. The Prophet did not come to kill people. Neither did we.

Islam will triumph over all other ways of living simply because the benefits of the Islamic Way of Life will become clear to all people by seeing how Muslims live by the Islamic Way and become winners on that account. This is how Islam spread during the times of the Sahaba in countries like India, Indonesia, Malaysia. People took to Islam because they were impressed by the way they saw the Sahaba trading in the marketplace. Not by listening to lectures and Khutbas. They saw them doing ordinary worldly things in a way that demonstrated the superiority of the Islamic Way of Life.

Islam will triumph by the winning of people’s hearts

Our challenge is to show the benefit of the Islamic Way of Life in all aspects of human existence and demonstrate how the Islamic Way is better than any other way and makes its follower a winner. Once people see this clearly, they will be willing to listen to the benefits of Islam in the Aakhira which are linked to living in the Islamic Way. Simply talking about Jannah does not influence anyone when they see the Muslims around them living the lives of losers. No influence, no power, no moral values, no nobility. Shameless extravagance and irresponsibility. People who talk but who don’t walk their own talk. Nobody is impressed.

The challenge is to clearly differentiate on the basis of Islam. Show Islam makes the Muslim doctor a better doctor in the eyes of his patients. Show how Islam makes the Muslim teacher a better teacher in the eyes of her students. Show how Islam makes the Muslim politician a better representative in the eyes of his constituents. Show how Islam makes the Muslim technologist, business person, scientist, husband, wife, son, daughter, employee, employer; all better in their respective roles in the eyes of all those who deal with them. When we can do this, we can stop talking about Islam because people will see Islam. Until we can do this, talking about Islam does not help because people can’t see Islam. That is the crux of the matter.



Transform ourselves from being merely guardians of knowledge to demonstrators

We are currently a repository of knowledge. We are like those who own a library of automobile engineering books but walk home every day. We need to convert knowledge into practical reality that makes winners in this world. Then not only we, but the whole world will ride. Because for any ideology to have an effect it must first be translated into working models.

Our Jaamiyaat and Madaris have done an admirable job of preserving and protecting theological knowledge. However where they have fallen short is in converting the theological concepts into practical reality. Consequently Islam is taught like we teach any other ideology.
It is our duty however to translate the ideology into practical methods that can be applied and which will benefit the practitioner in this life itself.

A good example to understand how knowledge gains popularity when its benefits are practically visible is to look at the popularity of Yoga in the world. And that has opened the door for Hindu preachers to preach their ideology to people who first come for the exercise and start experiencing its benefits. If we merely keep teaching ideology and theory without translating it into practical models, people view it as a dichotomy when they hear what we say but they don’t see us practicing it in our own lives. This is detrimental to the concept itself and makes us and our message lose credibility.

Quite justifiably the world is asking today, “if your way is so good, why don’t you practice it yourself?” We have to answer this question by example. Not verbal arguments alone. That is the challenge today.

PART 2
Our Duty in this:

A’al Imraan: 110 You are the best (most beneficial) of peoples extracted (chosen) for (the benefit of) mankind; enjoining what is right forbidding what is wrong and believing in Allah.

Allah sent us to benefit the whole world. Benefit them by showing them a superior way of living that will give them Jannah after they die. A way that has the potential to make their lives a living Jannah. Potentially since people have made life a living hell, it should be very easy to sell this idea. But we are unable to do that. The reason is that social change does not come by lectures and talking. Social change comes by a small group of people who are convinced about the benefit of their own way, who practice it with confidence and pride and who are able to demonstrate its superiority over other ways. People believe what they can see. It is the challenge of the Muslims to show the benefits of Islam.

When Muslims can do this, they will become beneficial to society. It is the nature of the human being to value what benefits and to discard what does not benefit and to try to destroy what is harmful. If we remember this, we can clearly see the reason for all the difficulties of the Muslim Ummah today. We have stopped being beneficial and in some cases we have become harmful. If we change this and become beneficial, then the very people who are out to destroy us will stand forth to protect us and will value and honor us.

We are aware of all the instances in the past when this happened and Muslims were looked up to as role models. It is in our power to recreate that once again and truly become the Khair Ummah – Beneficial Nation.

So what’s the solution?

In my view, the challenge before us, as Muslims is to create a situation where non-Muslims will be clearly able to see what would be lost for them, if Islam and Muslims were not there.
This means that they would be able to see clearly what Islam contributes to life and society in every aspect. If we are successful in achieving this goal, then the opposition to Islam will vanish and people will be attracted to Islam and the Islamic way of life as they used to be when the Sahaba and their immediate successors went to far flung countries and practiced their worldly trades. People were able to see the influence of Islam in their lives and in the way they behaved among themselves and with others, and were attracted to them and adopted their ways as they saw these ways as being useful and beneficial. It is this demonstration of the Islamic way of life and its benefits that is the biggest convincer rather than any amount of talk or preaching of Islam.

Demonstrate Islam
How can we return to Allah by fulfilling the purpose for which He created us? I believe the way is to become Standard Bearers of Islam. Become Demonstrators of Islam. Not merely preachers or lecturers. I want to distinguish being ‘demonstrators’ from being ‘proselytizers’, or ‘propagators’, or ‘verbal inviters’; all roles we see being played and all of which have lost credibility and draw hostile attention in some cases and indifference in others.
Allah said: You have indeed in the Messenger of Allah a beautiful pattern of (conduct) for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day and who engages much in the praise of Allah. (33:21)
Allah is speaking about the whole life of the Prophet as being the best example for us to emulate; not only his speech and sayings. He sent His Prophet to demonstrate Islam, not merely to talk about it. He sent his Prophet to demonstrate the entire Islamic Way of Life, not merely theology. The Sahaba learnt this lesson perfectly and demonstrated Islam which won the hearts of people who came into contact with them. As time passed, we forgot this lesson and created the discord between our statements and practice. And that was the beginning of the credibility gap that we are currently suffering from.

Let me give you three examples:

1. We ask Allah for Khilafa and Muslim rule in the world. But do we have a plan about how to apply the rule of Islam to the world of today? The British parliament has a shadow cabinet that the opposition party runs, which debates and decides on every situation from the perspective of their ideology. Do we have a shadow world Islamic cabinet? Is there any collective thinking and stance on the different situations that the world faces today with Muslims collectively proposing Islamic solutions to these problems? Yet we claim that we have a universally applicable ideology!!

2. We tell stories about Sahaba like Abdur Rahman Ibn Awf (RA) who came to Madinah with nothing and in a period of less than 10 years became a multi-millionaire in modern terms. Do we know what his business model was? How did he succeed in becoming one of the 3 richest companions of the Prophet and yet was one of the 10 who were given the good news of Jannah? Can we teach people how to do this in today’s world? And yet we say that Omar ibn Al Khattab (RA) said that a Muslim businessman has no right to do business in the souk unless he has understanding of the Deen. Which Islamic university is teaching Islamic business management and entrepreneurship? And why not?

3. We speak about the golden periods of Muslim rule under the two Omars (Omar ibn Al Khattab and Omar ibn Abdul Aziz). Which Islamic university is teaching the governance, system of administration, and political sagacity of these two Khulafa? And why not?
We seem to have unknowingly given up our rightful position of being teachers and consultants to the universities of the world. We need to now prove to the world that we have a way of life that they need desperately to learn and apply in all aspects of their teaching and learning. The world today seems to be tired of people who ‘talk’ about Islam. The world is demanding that those who say that Islam is the best way of life and is good for all time, actually demonstrate this in their own lives and prove their claim to the world visibly. I believe that unless we are ready to do this, Allah will not remove the difficulties that we find ourselves in today; either individually or collectively.

The Challenge

The challenge before us is to show; not talk about but demonstrate to the world by our own practice:

Show how the Qur’an, Sunnah and Shari’ah are relevant in today’s worldly life
Show the way to practice the Islamic Way of Life in today’s context
Show how Islam differentiates the Muslim and makes him a winner in both worlds
Create teachers who can replicate this model in every society throughout the world

What does Islam have to offer to the world today?

1. A democratic model of government based on the selection of the best among the people in character and piety.
2. An economic model based on helping each other and sharing of resources and social responsibility.
3. A moral order based on the consciousness of accountability to Allah from whom nothing is hidden.
4. A model of scientific development based on research taking hints of the marvels of creation given in the Qur’an

All of these are crying needs in a world that is increasingly amoral and is ruled by anyone who can lie, cheat and oppress. Self indulgence and the satisfaction of personal desire is the ultimate goal of the new world order that is being enforced on a helpless population. In that process, the fact that one may trample upon the lives and rights of others is seen as incidental and an unavoidable necessity. The willingness to do this without any compunction is seen as a sign of strong leadership and the poor ones who die an un-mourned death in the process are called ‘collateral damage’. Having given it a neat name, we can now legitimately ignore all the suffering and destruction that we have chosen to unleash in our single minded pursuit of personal power. We have truly become the worshipers of our own nafs (desires).

We are in the situation today where if one were to look at the world stage and try to pick one single public figure (especially among the rulers and leaders) that one would be inspired to emulate and take as a role model, there is not a single one. I don’t believe there was ever such a bankruptcy of ideology as the one we face today.

And in this entire process, the ones who have a solution out of this mess, where the world can literally have its cake and eat it too, are sitting silently, oblivious of both their duty and their resource. And the world staggers around and falls on its face like the proverbial blind person on an unfamiliar path.

So who is responsible?
Is it the blind person? Or the one who can see but will not show the way? The world today needs Standard Bearers like a drowning person needs air.

Note: We have a solution for this which is called the Standard Bearers Academy. The concept paper for that gives the rationale and method behind that initiative.
Please see the website for a full account:
http://www.sb-academy.com/