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We can wait with bated breaths for the Allahabad High Court verdict slated for September 24 but that is not going to put to rest this controversy, says Vivek Gumaste.

Mir Osman Ali Khan and Jawaharlal Nehru

Everybody is waiting holding their breath and apprehensive as to what the verdict will be on 24th September 2010 by the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court in the Title suit of Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case. There are no two opinions that in the year 1528 a mosque was built by Mir Baqi by one of the Governors of the Mughal Emperor Babar and is noted in the waqf register of Sunni Central Board of Waqf.

Eid ul-Fitr (Arabic: عيد الفطر ‘Īdu l-Fitr‎), often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting (sawm). Eid is an Arabic word meaning “festivity”, while Fitr means “conclusion of the fast”; and so the holiday symbolizes the celebration of the conclusion of the month of fasting from dawn to sunset during the entire month of Ramadan (calendar month). The first day of Eid, therefore, is the first day of the month Shawwal that comes after Ramadan.

The year 1979 holds special importance. It was the year that saw two significant happenings in the Muslim world. The events occurred in two states holding contrasting views on Islam but triggered by a common enemy, US. One was the hostage crisis in the Shiite ruled Iran, which was covered quite extensively by the press, the other being the lesser known and reported uprising at Islam’s holiest shrine in Mecca, the city under the control of Sunni Muslims.

Only one of Nidal Haidar’s six sisters is married. She has given up on ever getting hitched.

Can terrorism be labeled or given the prefix of a holy color associated with religious sentiments?

Firmly and finally ending the U.S. combat mission in Iraq, President Barack Obama will have but a moment before trying to hasten peace nearby between Israelis and Palestinians. Left unclear is whether winding down the war that inflamed Arab passions will do anything to help long-shot Mideast talks.

The memories of 9/11, 2001 have haunted not only the US but the whole of the World, as it changed the direction of global politics and the way people look at Islam and Muslims. This debate was brought forward again recently (August 2010) by a section of US society in the wake of proposed Islamic Cultural Center, near ground zero; the place where the World Trade Center was located. It has been presented as if a mosque is being constructed at ground zero, this will add insult to the injury, it will be a victory of global jihad, and it is a sign of Islamic expansionism.

The recent political assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai has raised the issue of state terrorism – Governments using cold-blooded murder to eliminate political opponents. The specter of state sponsored killings harks back to an age of lawlessness where the law of the jungle reigns supreme. Intelligence agencies, spy drones, car bombs are just some of the means states have used to kill political adversaries and with them family members, wives and children as well as bystanders.

On 20 th August, we are approaching the 70 th anniversary of assassination of Leon Trotsky, the architect of the October revolution in Russia and pioneer of the art of insurrection. His writings on Fascism are the only credible articles of Marxist analysis of class characteristics of Fascism and Nazism and complex relationship it establishes with large industrial and finance capital.

As far as wardrobes go, the head scarf worn by a Muslim woman to cover her hair has become the most loaded political and religious symbol today. And while the West wrestles to accept it, Muslim societies where the majority of women now wear the veil are wrestling to understand what it means beyond its standard function.

With the veil becoming the norm here, worn by more than 89 per cent of Egyptian women, it ceases to be a testament of piety or an assertion of identity. Its meaning is convoluted with the numberless tones of color and styles available.

Fasting (Sawm) carries a two-fold meaning – two seemingly opposing definitions combined into a single word. And sawm, as described in the Qur’an and the hadith, simultaneously fulfills both of these definitions. The primary meaning is to hold back, to refrain from, to abstain – the further meaning is to rise beyond, to move past former limits.

Be it his first phase as the exciting orator who was political and religious leader, or his new phase of life as the calmed down political leader voicing for justice of the minorities and other backward sections of the society, Abdunnasir Maudany has always created news in Kerala. Now, again he is in news with the latest allegations of his involvement in the 2008 Bengaluru serial blast case.

Zakat is the fourth ‘pillar’ of Islam. Zakat means setting apart for Allah every year a certain portion of one’s savings and wealth (generally 2.5 percent) and spending it upon religious duties and on needy members of the community. The fulfillment of this duty is, in fact, a kind of reminder that all one has is in trust for Allah. Man should, therefore, hold nothing back from Allah. To whatever one may amass in one’s lifetime, one’s own personal contribution is insignificant.

With the growing controversy in the country over the building of Mosques, including one near Ground Zero in Manhattan, and increased criticism of Islam.

During the past several years, Islam has been misunderstood worldwide. Even after nine years, there still seems to be a trend of Islam-phobia leading up to the anniversary of 9/11. The lack of knowledge allows people to make misjudgments. Too many do not understand my religion.

The Congress has picked Maulana Wahiduddin Khan for this year’s Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award but his proximity to BJP veteran L.K. Advani has evoked mixed reactions from the Muslim community.

The Azamgarh-born Khan will be the first religious leader to be given the honour. An AICC release said Khan had been chosen for his “outstanding contribution towards the promotion of communal harmony, peace and goodwill”.

The reasons that there will be no US war or military strike against Iran, in the near future, and under the current political environment, are that the US military command, under the guidance of its political leadership, is implementing a strategy of “deterrence” to prevent Iran from continuing its nuclear program. This strategy is based on the latest US military concept of “Joint Operations” which was released on 15 January 2009.

Thousands of faithful assiduously listened as I outlined the challenges facing Palestine and its people. Cries of ‘Allahu Akbar’ – God is Great – occasionally resounded from a corner of the giant South African mosque. Many whimpered as I described the tragedy that had befallen Gaza as a result of the Israeli siege. They cheered, smiled and nodded as I emphasized how the will of the Palestinian people would not be defeated. A few older people at the front simply wept throughout my talk, which preceded a Friday sermon in Durban a few months ago.

When many acts of terror by people like Pragya Singh Thakur and Dayanand Pandey etc. are coming to fore the word ‘Hindu terrorism’ is being used by many for such acts of terror. The investigations have shown that these groups, inspired by the ideology of Hindu Rashtra; Hindutva, Sangh Parivar, may have been involved in Malegaon blasts, Mecca Masjid, Ajmer, Goa and even Samjhauta express blast. One recalls that immediately after the blasts many Muslim youth were arrested on the ground that they have been part of the conspiracy. The victims were mostly Muslim in these blasts.

After sixty-year-long judicial process, the hearing on Babri Masjid title suite came to conclusion on July 26, 2010 at the three-member Special Bench of Allahabad High Court comprising Justices S U Khan, Sudhir Agarwal and D V Sharma but the verdict was reserved which may be delivered on any day before 1st October because Justice D V Sharma is going to retire on that day.

Coming on record for the first time since the spotlight turned to “Hindu terror” in the wake of the 2008 Malegaon blasts probe and a series of arrests in its wake, the RSS has said that it will cooperate in the investigation and that any office-bearer implicated in any case will be asked to step down and clear his name before returning.

For Muslims, the mosque is a place of worship, law and assembly and also serves as an area for nurturing learning and fostering the community spirit.

7 Wonders of the Muslim World reveals the history and splendour of Islam’s most iconic mosques on Sun, Aug 1 at 9pm on TrueVisions D20.
Each mosque is unique in architecture and design, inspired by the various teachings of the Quran and the people of the land who have embraced the religion.

The “military methods” used by attackers who bombed the Makkah Masjid in Hyderabad and Ajmer Sharif dargah in 2007 initially misled investigators in the two states as well as the Centre, causing them to suspect Islamist terror groups trained by Pakistani forces, as only they were known to have access to such capability.

We, the undersigned, demand an immediate ban on the RSS and all its front organisations and wings.