from the editor
Bihar Anjuman [BA]: Encouraging five years nevertheless BA faces many challenges ahead.
This year in June, BA [Bihar Anjuman] has marked five years of its virtual existence. All through this time, BA has travelled a fairly remarkable journey with the support of its 6000 members around the world. It has accomplished a few exceptional achievements beyond its architect imagination since it started as a Yahoo Group. Last year BA achieved perhaps its most amazing success with the help of its enthusiastic members by collecting large sums of relief aid for the victims of Bihar floods, which devastated the lives of more than three million people. It also successfully ran a relief camp through RAHBAR with the help of other organizations to provide basic needs to the flood victims. Another convincing work achieved during this time was that BA provided urgent help through BANEE to young students who do not have enough money to start a professional education and also to students who do not have resources to finish their education and embark upon new professional careers. BA continued on its remarkable ride when it launched an exclusive website providing a matrimonial service through SABA to its young members. The new SABA website which gives full control to its users has nearly 1000 active profiles of brides and grooms. In fact, during this incredible era, Bihar Anjuman itself has had its face lifted twice resulting in its present look.
BA keeps striving to meet the educational challenges our community has been facing in recent times, especially in Bihar. In fact a recent online survey done by the editors of BAKHBAR, a monthly newsletter published by BA, indicates that our members want to see our Muslim community develop into a well-educated society rather than remain a straggling follower. To address this educational hurdle, BA has recently launched a very ambitious coaching project for school dropouts. This project may encounter many challenges ahead. However, if the project progresses in the way it was initiated by its committed members, our community may see an inspiring outcome.
Yet BA has been working on all these incredible tasks just by using a virtual base, as many of us know. Now it is time that BA should be established as a registered social organization. Without this arrangement BA can’t provide a firm base to its dynamic members to raise support collectively for project requirements. BA can accomplish more if it can be registered in several countries such as India, UK, USA and Canada. However, registration of BA as a nongovernmental organization any place in the world may involve many hurdles. It is possible that an organization run by Muslim members may be stigmatized as an extreme functional body that supports people with extreme ideology. All dedicated members must work together to prevent this grave misconception and must work with each other to provide a firm base for BA. Beyond a doubt, BA deserves such support, which is long overdue.
(Jamil Hassan )
Download pdf(1.8 KB)
http://www.biharanjuman.org/coaching_project_to_minimize_drop-outs.html
Vision:
Educational empowerment of deprived sections of the society.
Mission:
Provide at least one centre of coaching in every district of Bihar and Jharkhand
Objectives:
The primary objective is to stop the dropping-out of school students, which is at an alarming level in the minority, worse even than the Dalits. The project will attempt to minimize the level of drop-out among the school-going students of the minority community and other Dalit communities (who can't afford to pay for tuition), gradually, to a zero-level, within ten years of launching this project. This is expected to inspire the large percentage of boys and girls to go to school and madarsas rather than sit at home or engage in menial work. As per Sachar Report, more than 50% of the Muslim boys and girls in rural areas and more than 60% of those in urban areas neither go to schools nor to madarsas. The situation is better for the among Dalits of the majority community. The ultimate objective is to attain 100% literacy, for all the communities, and bring the deprived sections of the communities at par with the priviledged sections.
Overall Project Leader:
Md. Faiyaz Ahmed Khan from Bazoo Kalan, Barachatti, Gaya, Bihar, settled in Kolkata along with Mohammad AbuBakar, from Begusarai, settled in Kolkata.
Districts and Locations to be covered, in the first phase:
All localities dominated by the minority community, in all districts of Bihar and Jharkhand, starting with a pilot project in seven districts of (a) Patna, (b) West Singhbhum, (c) Samastipur, (d) Muzaffarpur, (e) Darbhanga, and (f) Begusarai, (g) Kaimur (Bhabua)
Project leaders:
Enam Khan Sb. (Patna), Mohd Aslam (Chakradharpur), Shakeel Ahmad (Samastipur), Shakil Ahmad (Kaimur/ Bhabua), Anwar Bari (Muzaffarpur), Bazme Adab (a forum of MIT students), Shabi Hashmi and Hassan Arshad (Darbhanga).
Grades of students to be coached, in the pilot project:
Stage-1: Grades 8, 9 and 10, to start with. Government support may be utilized to make the non-school-going children literate.
Future Stage-2: With increasing awareness among the local populace, and support from various organizations, the classes to be expanded downstream (towards grades 7,6, etc).
Future Stage-3: Expand upstream, i.e., include 11th and 12th so as to prepare the students for diploma or engineering entrance exams.
Immediate Requirements:
Each centre will have 3 teachers [one each of Science, Maths, and English], to start with. It is proposed to appoint teachers to teach part-time, to start with. The strength should increase to 6 ultimately.
Infrastructure – class-rooms with minimum teaching facilities. We will utilize existing facilities, for free.
Books, notebooks, stationery material, for each student.
Transport to bring students (possibly teachers, also) from areas that are far off from the coaching centres.
Communications: use of telephone to update the project in-charge, use of net cafes or courier services, etc.
Weekly, monthly, annual prize to best-performing students to motivate them.
Some financial support to the parents of really poor students … not to be taken up initially.
Immediate Financial Requirements:
For 5 centres: Rs. 55,000 per month,
Rs. 25,000 to 75,000 (avg. Rs. 50,000) annually, and Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 25,000 (avg
Rs. 15,000) one-time establishment expenses.
Total, in the first year: Rs. 55,000 per month x 12 months + Rs. 50,000 per year + Rs. 15,000 one-time = Rs. 7,25,000 (Rupess Seven lakhs twenty-five thousands), for 5 centres.
The above figure is just $15,140 per year for all 5 centres, or, just$1,262 per month for all the 5 centres [Just $250 per month per centre]
Monitoring mechanism:
First layer of monitoring: Local chapters would monitor the project, as first layer.
second layer of monitoring: Patna, Delhi and Aligarh chapters would monitor the project, as second layer.
Third layer of monitoring:
Mentors from online group visiting their native places will visit the centres, check the account-books, academic performance, and other arrangements, etc, apart from teaching the students on a short-term basis, and guiding students, teachers as well as the organizing teams.
Local volunteers:
It is proposed to initially launch these centres only in localities where some free voluntary support is available, either from individuals, or from local organizations, community leaders.
Account-keeping:
To be handled by the accountant of the school/ madarsa in whose premises the centres are located. Where the premises of existing institutions are not being used, the responsibility will be handed over to some volunteer from the local community or to one of the teachers appointed for the centre.
Audit:
Account-books would be made available, for audit, to any member of Bihar Anjuman, or partner organizations, whenever they approach the centre, with such a request. Visiting members would be requested to audit the entire operations of these centres, including the coaching processes.
http://www.biharanjuman.org/coaching_project_to_minimize_drop-outs.html
Publisher: biharanjuman.org
Chief Editor:
Sharjeel Ahmad, New Delhi
Editor:
Md.Shameem Ahmad, New Delhi
Graphic Designer:
Seraj Akram, Riyadh
Editorial Communication:
Email: bakhabar@biharanjuman.org
Feeback:
Email: bakhabar@biharanjuman.org
BaKhabar is your own News Magazine. Share your information and articles with community members...Editors
Publishers Note:
Bihar Anjuman does not guarantee the originality and accuracy of any information, interpretation, opinion, or view presented in this newsmagazine. The views and opinions expressed in this online magazine are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect that of Bakhabar. Bihar Anjuman, however, reserves the right to edit any material submitted for publication for reasons of clarity and space.
Download pdf(1.8 MB)
by F M Hashmi (afhashmi1211@yahoo.com)
Sachar Committee report has rightly pointed out the backwardness of the Muslim community vis-a-vis the other communities in India. On most counts, the Muslim community lags behind other communities. Who are to be blamed for this backwardness?
Most of us, as Muslims, point our fingers to the external factors such as the government, the society as a whole and the conspirators who do not want this community to progress; we go about drumbeating and declaring that the atmosphere is not conducive for the growth of Muslims in India just because Muslims are in minority. However, have we ever thought why other minorities such as Christians, Parsees, and Sikhs have better statistics than us when it comes to progress and better life even though they are also minorities? This fallacy has no base as even among Muslims one can find few sub-communities and people who are at par with other communities in progress. Did we ever introspect about the root cause of the problem is? Aren't we to take the major share of blame?
It is basic fact that we as a community have not yet awakened to take responsibility of our progress in our own hands, but seek refuge with others to do the things for us. I do not say that external factors are not responsible for our backwardness, but I fully believe that we are the ones who need to be blamed at the first place. Throughout the history in every geographical distribution, minorities do face peculiar problems and issues, which normally do not tend to be resolved fully. But then to work out a realistic solution, we have to accept this fact that our destination is in our hand.
All the factors that the Sachar Committee has studied, shows that the backwardness of Muslims has its genesis in lack of education. The literacy rate among the Muslims is pathetically below the national level. Twenty-five percent of Muslim children in the 6-14 years age group have either never attended school or have dropped out. Drop out rates among Muslims are higher at the level of primary, middle, and higher secondary. In premier colleges, only one out of twenty-five under-graduate students and one out of fifty post- graduate students are Muslims.
It is an irony of this community! The very first word of the Quran that was revealed to the Prophet (PBUH) was Iqraâ (Read). Not only that, further down the verse it mentions qalam (Pen) [Quran 96:1-5]. Verse [Quran 39:9] poses a question to the people whether those that have knowledge and those who do not have are deemed equal! Added to this, the word Ilm (knowledge) is found 750 times in the Quran.
To add further, there are many sayings by Prophet that have directed the Muslims to seek knowledge whenever and wherever they can. It is a well known fact that the captives of war were released if they could teach the
Muslims to read and write. "Indeed the worst of the beasts in the eyes of God are those deaf and dumb people who don't use their intellect." [Quran 8:22]
Regrettably, most of our religious leaders as well as, the-well-to-do people of this community waste most of their energy on only highlighting the causes of the problem that braces us. They shout these out from the pulpit and then take solace in the fact that a messiah like figure will come down from the sky and relieve us of all our sufferings. History is the judge, till date no messiah has come down from the sky, but they grow up on this earth among the community.
If we had used our energy constructively (create that messiah among ourselves) to look for the solution of this problem, the scenario would have been completely different. Evidently, the Muslim community in South India is in much better position than those in the North; albeit still below the level of other communities. The basic reason is that the Muslims in the South have understood the need of education and have set up institutions to provide the same. The end result is that they are economically as well as hygienically better off.
“Quwwat-e-fikro amal pehle fana hota hai, jab kisi qaum ki shaukat par zawal aata hai”. It has been rightly said by Allama Iqbal that when God wants to denounce a community, the first and foremost thing that He takes away from it is the power to think rightly. If this community wants to come out of the backwardness, it should first make it imperative on itself to focus all of its energy to get literate and educated, with an extensive focus in the field of education and seeking knowledge
Send your views to bakhabar@biharanjuman.org.
SABA: has its exclusive websit now
Shadi Assistance by Bihar Anjuman (SABA) is one of the most useful services of Bihar Anjuman that has been helping the Urdu speaking community, since its launch on 25th May, 2005. Starting 27th June 2009, thanks to the efforts of brother Jamil Hassan ( village Banka , district Madhubani, settled with family in Canada , Email : mjamilhassan@yahoo.com), it has its exclusive website www.sabaonline.org, wherein those who create their matrimonial profiles can manage the profiles all by themselves – the profile will get uploaded instantly, And any modifications that they make will reflect immediately.
Why SABA
Dr. Imtiyaz Ahmad Khan Sb., a consultant physician, who retired from the UK govt health services, was among those who strongly supported the idea of initiating this service. In his words:
I live in the UK, and I have a few friends from professional families (from Bihar and other Urdu-speaking regions) who are looking for rishta for their daughters or sons. It is very difficult for people, living in the West, the Middle East, and the Emirates, to find properly brought up match in a practicing professional Muslim family, because people don’t know each other and don’t know where such families reside. It is much easier to find out about potential matches in India and Pakistan. It is really a major problem for noble practicing Islamic families.
Shaadi (marriage) is the most important event that transforms a Muslim youth into a complete man or a woman, and prepares him or her to share the responsibilities of the marital life. Marriage is a sacred act, and looking for the right partner is essential for a long-lasting relationship to begin. Therefore, matrimonial has become an integral part of the Anjuman’s activities.
In order to spread the reach of this service and take the benefits of SABA far and wide, each one of us needs to inform every Indian Muslim in our address books about SABA. Your suggestions will help us improve the process, and make it more effective and fruitful. If you are a web master, you could make this service more professional or more fruitful.
The primary objective of this service is to help the community’s brothers and sisters get married with much less pain.
Arrange marriages between the single men and women among you and between your slave men and slave women, who are righteous, if they be indigent (poor), Allah will provide means for them out of His bounty: Allah has boundless resources and He is All Knowing. ......... [Quran: 024.032]
Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "A woman is married for four things, i.e., her wealth, her family status, her beauty and her religion. So you should marry the religious woman (otherwise) you will be a loser." [Sahih Bukhari, Book #62, Hadith #27]
Zafar Gorakhpuri
Seraj Akram
Islamic scholar voted world’s No1 thinker
In its survey (June 2008) of the world’s top intellectual in a poll to find the leading thinkers, the top 10 individuals were all Muslims and included two Noble laureates – the novelist Orhan Pamuk (Turkey) and Shirin Ebadi (Iran).
The survey was organised by the British magazine, Prospect, and Foreign Policy, a US publication to find the leading 100 thinkers.
Turkish Islamic scholar, Fethullah Gulen, has been voted the world’s top intellectual in the poll to find the leading 100 thinkers. His message is to embrace the Western world’s opportunities, while still insisting on Islam’s fundamentals. 67 years old Fethullah’s life is dedicated to peace and humanity. His ‘Gulen Movement’ runs in 90 countries.
The world’s top 10 intellectuals are:
Nauman Khan Naumanparkway@yahoo.co.uk
Books: BaKhabar Recommends
Bakhabar Poll: Vote now
Why Muslim organizations do not deliver the desired results?
[Vote now @ http://bakhabar.biharanjuman.org/]
Poll Result of May 2009 issue
How can Muslims get their political right?::
BaKhabar: A platform to Express
BaKhabar is your platform to express yourself, with quotes, articles, poems, shayaree, ideas, news and views, or comments regarding any article of BaKhabar. Readers are requested to send anything they wish to be published. We encourage and appreciate original contributions and ideas of our readers.
Needs Urgent Support: An ambitious coaching project to reduce school drop-outs
Here is an ambitious coaching project to reduce drop-outs in schools. Bihar Anjuman urges you to support this program overwhelmingly. Let's do some good for our society before we reach our miserable old age, and before the day comes when our accounts will be closed.[Quran, 2:254] O Believers, spend of the wealth We have bestowed upon you, before the Day comes when there shall be no bargain: when neither friendship nor intercession will be of any avail. Make a commitment, write to bakhabar@.biharanjuman.org"
CHOLESTEROL AND ATHEROSCLEROSIS
Contributed by Dr. Moiz Shamsh, Aligarh
Cholesterol is a substance that plays an important role in many of the body's functions. Cholesterol that is not being used by the body builds up in the bloodstream.
Having too much cholesterol in your blood puts you at risk of heart disease, including a heart attack.
There are many factors that affect your blood cholesterol levels, including the factors that can be controlled by lifestyle choices, such as your diet, physical activity, and weight.
It is important to control your cholesterol because high levels of blood cholesterol are a risk factor for stroke and other heart diseases.
We learnt about the LDL and HDL (The bad cholesterol and the good cholesterol) in the June issue. TRIGLYCERIDES are a form of fat that is found in the blood and in foods. Excess levels of triglycerides in the blood can also increase your risk of heart disease.
TIPS FOR IMPROVING YOUR BLOOD CHOLESTEROL LEVEL:
If your cholesterol levels are still high, your doctor may prescribe cholesterol- lowering medication.
WHAT IS ATHEROSCLEROSIS?
IAtherosclerosis is narrowing of the arteries caused by cholesterol and fatty deposits in the walls of the arteries. This narrowing can affect the arteries of the heart - THE CORONARY ARTERIES. When there is complete blockage of the blood flow to the heart, death of part of the heart muscle may occur. This is known as MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION (M.I) or Heart attack. Atherosclerosis can also increase your risk of experiencing a stroke.
How to avoid Backbiting
And spy not, neither backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it (so hate backbiting) … [Quran, 49:12]
Ghibat (back-biting) has been defined thus: "It is saying on the back of a person something which would hurt him if he came to know of it. " This definition has been reported from the Holy Prophet himself. According to a tradition which Muslim, Abu Da'ud, Tirmidhi, Nasa'i and others have related on the authority of Hadrat Abu Hurairah, the Holy Prophet defined ghibat as follows:
"It is talking of your brother in a way irksome to him." It was asked: "What, if the defect being talked of is present in my brother ?" The Holy Prophet replied: "If it is present in him, it would be ghibat; if it is not there, it would be slandering him. "
Seraj Akram, Riyadh
Next topic for shoot out is “Why we are so ignorant?” Please express your views and suggest solutions within 50 words.
Send it to: E-mail: bakhabar@biharanjuman.org
Ideas of the Month
There should be an organization which co-ordinates with other organizations to minimize their differences and maximize their potentials. This will increase harmony within different sections of community and bring them closer so that they work more effectively, focused towards helping the entire community.
Do you carry ideas on any topic that you would like to share, or implement? Do not hesitate to express your ideas boldly, and frankly. This is the place where your ideas can take shape, and your dreams can turn into reality.
Send it to: E-mail: bakhabar@biharanjuman.org
Seraj Akram, Riyadh
It is usually seen that we do not mind about some important thing during taking and giving loan because of mutual relations. This ignorance might spoil our mutual relations later on. If we take care of some important rules while taking and giving loans, we may be able to protect our mutual relations for a longer period.
It is said that as long as the loan is due on a person, Allah bestows the loan-giver with sawab of sadqa. It is also said that Allah gives 10 times more benefits for sadqa; whereas 18 times more for loan.
The following are some important points that should be taken care of while giving and taking loan from others:
Discipline for loan-taker
• Avoid taking frequent loans for small needs. Try to solve your requirements without taking a loan.
• Understand the situation of a person whom are you asking for a loan. The person may not always be in a position to give you a loan, and he may also not like to deny.
• Write down the amount/item taken, date, and other important information while taking the loan, for your record.
• Fix a date to return the amount so that the loan-giver can have an idea about the return time.
• Inform the loan-giver in advance, if you’re unable to pay the loan on time, so that the loan- given can manage his/her requirements from other sources.
• Stop taking or giving loan on interest. Allah dislikes a person most who gives or takes loan on interest.
• Try to return the loan in a better form—increase the amount, return the loan much before the due date, or present some gift or sweets with the loan.
• Do not take loan from everybody. Many people may insult you or spoil your name in public if you do not return his/her loan on time. Choose your loan-giver carefully.
• Do not get annoyed with a person if he/she is unable to give you a loan. Try to understand that a person may not be in a good position always. Maintain your good relations; even he/she may not help you in times of need.
• Return the loan as soon as possible. Do not enjoy your life with other’s loan. Otherwise, you may lose your respect among your friends and relatives.
Congratulations to Samreen Naz, daughter of Shakeel Ahmad, moderator of BA, on securing 90.4% marks in ICSE (10th Board). She was a student of The Modern High School, Dubai.
Congratulations to Sania Zeya, daughter of Ziaul Hassan, active member of BA, in Abu Dhabi, on securing 94.4% in CBSE (10th Board). She was a student of Indian High School, Abu Dhabi.
Discipline for loan-giver
Do not insult a person if he/she asks for a loan. Do not show your supremacy and over- kindness to a loan-taker; since he/she might be left feeling destitute and insolvent. This may deprive you of other benefits from Allah for helping a person.
• Record the amount/item given, date, and other important information while giving the loan.
• Give a sufficient time to a loan-taker to return the loan. You should also remit a small loan given to people who are not in position to return the amount. Allah keeps such people in the shade of Arsh-e-Azam on the Day of Judgment when there won’t be any shade. Giving a loan is like helping the mankind. It is also a social service. Allah has promised generous returns for these deeds.
• Do not demand your loan from the loan-taker every time. You should also not demand your loan in public. Maintain your good relations.
• Avoid taking other benefits from a loan-taker.
• Do not look down upon a person who asks for a loan. Anybody may need a loan in his/her life.
• Do not deny a person who needs a loan, if you have sufficient money to help him. Otherwise
Allah may get angry with a person who denies helping others in time of his/her needs.
• Do not impose any additional terms and conditions on a loan-taker.
• Do not take grains in lieu of loan from a loan-taker. It is totally Haraam.
• Lay of the loan with a person if he/she is unable to return.
Do we believe? ?
- Do we believe that income increase after giving for charity, then why not we donate generously ?
- Do we believe that we will get what is written in luck, then why earn by cheating, bribe etc?
- Do we believe that politeness bring the respect then why we try to show proud to get more respect.
- Do we believe that any moment we can die then why we treat like immortal?
- Do we believe that truth is the best then why we often lie?
5th Walk in interview by RAHBAR in Patna
Gheyas Hashmi, Jeddah
……. continued from the previous issue.
A loser of Salah gets nearer to Kufr (disbelief) and farther from Eiman (belief). Only believers will go to Heaven and non-believers will be thrown to Hell. A five time prayer is closely and directly related to Tauhid. One who establishes Salah, declares his faith to Allah, while one who gives up Salah, declares his rejection of Tauhid, and therefore, has no share in Islam. The
2nd Caliph Omar (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the prophet (pbuh) said," One who gives up Salah has no religion at all. Salah is a pillar of Islam." And he again reports, "One who maintained it, maintained the religion of Islam. And one who gave up, destroyed the religion."
There are several Hadiths similar to above. Now, you may question yourself how much you are eligible to call yourself a Muslim and to put claim for Heaven. Deliberate cessation from Salah is infidelity as advocated by the 2nd Caliph Omar, and Imam Hambal, and so on. Abdullah bin Omar quotes the prophet (pbuh) saying that one who has been regular in one's Salah will get, at the day of judgment, the salvation, light and proof, and one who goes opposite, will not get any of these. Instead, he will be resurrected in the company of Pharaoh and others.
Abi Qetadah (may Allah's mercy be on him) quotes that the prophet (pbuh) said, "Allah told He has imposed 5-time prayer on his Ummah and that He has undertaken to admit them to the Heaven if they have been regular in their prayers. Those, who have been heedless of the prayer, have no undertaking from Allah.(Related by Abu Dawood)
If one has a little bit of sense and wisdom, the above statements are enough for one to judge oneself. One day, you will have to be present in front of Allah with the detailed accounts of the activities you have done in this world. Then, what has kept you aloof from offering Salah? If you believe in the truthfulness of these statements, why are you then neglectful of Salah? If you don’t believe in it, you are no longer a Muslim!
In fact, being engrossed in these worldly affairs, we have forgotten our duties towards Allah and the mankind. We started considering this world a bed of roses, although this universe is nothing for us but transitional. We are travelling here on a mission assigned to us by Allah to obey Him and His prophet (s) and to make His messages and of His last Prophet known not only to Muslims but also to every community of the world.
Some of us have been involved in supererogatory and superfluous activities by putting the obligatory (Fard) aside. Such Muslims should remember that all such actions are useless as long as they are ignorant of the Fard. One of the Hadiths says, “Allah will ignore all good deeds of a person as long as he omits Salah”. The first thing that will be questioned about, on the Day of Judgment, is Salah. If Salah is acceptable, all other good deeds will be acceptable, too. If Salah is nullified, all other good deeds will be unacceptable. The end of those, who did not pray at all, will be most horrible. The first Caliph of Islam Abubakr Siddique (RA) wrote a letter to one of his governors mentioning, ”Please remember your most significant work for me is to perform Salah. If one loses it, he will lose other worships too --------& so on”.
……. to be continued