Islam in Tanzania

Islam is the religion of about 35% of the people of Tanzania. On the mainland, Muslim communities are concentrated in coastal areas, with some large Muslim majorities also in inland urban areas especially and along the former caravan routes. More than 99% of the population of the Zanzibar archipelago is Muslim. The majority of Muslims in Tanzania are Sunni of Shafi school of jurisprudence, with unusually significant Shia and Ahmadi minorities in sub-Saharan Africa. According to Pew research center, two-thirds of the Muslim population of Tanzania is Sunni.

History

The earliest concrete evidence of a Muslim presence in the African Great Lakes is the foundation of a mosque in Shanga on Pate Island, where gold, silver and copper coins dated from 830 were found during an excavation in the 1980s. Islam arrived to Tanzania with the Arab slave traders. The route from Ujiji at the shore of Lake Tanganyika to Bagamoyo, just opposite of Zanzibar on main land Tanzania was one of the main routes of Muslim slave routes according to UNESCO data.[3]

The history of Islam in the country can be traced to the establishment of the Kilwa Sultanate in the 10th century by Ali ibn al-Hassan Shirazi,[4] a Persian prince of Shiraz.[5]

References

1.  "The World Fact Book: Tanzania". Retrieved 26 January 2014.
2.  "The World's Muslims: Unity and Diversity" (PDF). Pew Forum on Religious & Public life. August 9, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
3. http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/2095/
4.  شاكر مصطفى, موسوعة دوال العالم الأسلامي ورجالها الجزء الثالث, (دار العلم للملايين: 1993), p.1360
5. James Hastings, Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics Part 24, (Kessinger Publishing: 2003), p.847

Story of Prophet Yunus/Jonah (pbuh)

Prophet Jonah (Yunus) (pbuh) also known as Dhan-Nun. About his people Almighty Allah said: Was there any town community that believed after seeing the punishment, and its Faith at that moment, saved it from the punishment? (the answer is none)--except the people of Jonah; when they believed, We removed from them the torment of disgrace in the life of the present world, and permitted them to enjoy for a while. (Ch 10:98 Quran)

The inhabitants of the town of Nineveh were idolaters who lived a shameless life. Prophet Jonah (pbuh) was sent to teach them the worship of Allah. The people disliked his interference in their way of worship, so they argued. "We and our forefathers have worshipped these gods for many years and no harm has come to us."

Try as he might to convince them of the foolishness of idolatry and of the goodness of Allah's laws, the ignored him. He warned them that if they kept on with their foolishness, Allah's punishment would soon follow. Instead of fearing Allah, they told Jonah that they were not afraid of his threats. "Let it happen," they told him. Jonah was disheartened. "in that case, I will leave you to your misery!" so saying, he left Nineveh, fearing that Allah's anger would soon follow. Remember Dhan Nun (Jonah), when he went off in anger, and imagined that We shall not punish him (the calamities which had befallen him)! (ch 21:87)

Hardly had he left the city when the skies began to change color and looked as if they were on fire. The people were filled with fear by this sight. They recalled the destruction of the people of 'Ad, Thamud and Noah. Was theirs to be a similar fate? Slowly faith penetrated their hearts. They all gathered on the mountain and started to beseech Allah for His mercy and forgiveness. The mountains echoed with their cries. It was a momentous hour, filled with sincere repentance.

Allah removed His wrath and showered His blessings upon them once again. When the threatening storm was lifted, they prayed for the return of Jonah so that he could guide them.

Meanwhile, Jonah had boarded a small ship in the company of other passengers. It sailed all day in calm waters with a good wind blowing at the sails. When night came, the sea suddenly changed. A horrible storm blew as if it were going to split the ship into pieces. The waves looked wild. They rose up as high as mountains then plunged down like valleys, tossing the ship and sweeping over the deck.

Behind the ship, a large whale was splitting the water and opening its mouth. A command had been issued from Almighty Allah to one of the greatest whales of the sea to surface. It obeyed. The whale hurried to the surface of the sea and followed the ship as it had been commanded.

The tempest continued and the chief crewman asked the crew to lighten the ship's heavy load. They threw their baggage overboard, but this was not enough. Their safety lay in reducing the weight further, so they decided among themselves to lighten their load by removing at least one person.

The captain directed: We will make lots with all of the travelers' names. The one whose name is drawn will be thrown into the sea." Jonah knew this was one of the seamen's traditions when facing a tempest. It was a strange polytheistic tradition, but it was practiced at that time. Jonah's affliction and crisis began.

Here was the prophet, subjected to polytheistic rules that considered the sea and the wind to have gods that riot. The captain had to please these gods. Jonah reluctantly participated in the lot, and his name was added to the other travelers' names. The lot was drawn and "Jonah" appeared.

Since they knew him to be the most honorable among them, they did not wish to throw him into the angry sea. Therefore, they decided to draw a second lot. Again Jonah's name was drawn. They gave him a final chance and drew a third lot. Unfortunately for Jonah, his name came up again.

Jonah realized that Allah's hand was in all this, for he had abandoned his mission without Allah's consent. The matter was over, and it was decided that Jonah should throw himself into the water. Jonah stood at the edge of the ship looking at the furious sea. It was night and there was no moon. The stars were hidden behind a black fog. But before he could be thrown overboard, Jonah kept mentioning Allah's name as he jumped into the raging sea and disappeared beneath the huge waves.

The whale found Jonah floating on the waves before it. It swallowed Jonah into its furious stomach and shut its ivory teeth on him as if they were white bolts locking the door of his prison. The whale dived to the bottom of the sea, the sea that runs in the abyss of darkness.

Three layers of darkness enveloped him, one above the other; the darkness of the whale's stomach, the darkness of the bottom of the sea, the darkness of the night. Jonah imaged himself to be dead, but his senses became alert when he found he could move. He knew that he was alive and imprisoned in the midst of three layers of darkness. His heart was moved by remembering Allah. His tongue released soon after saying: La ilaha illa Anta (none has the right to be worshipped but You (O Allah), Glorified (and Exalted) be You (above all that evil they associate with You), Truly, I have been of the wrong doers." (Ch 21:87 Quran)

Jonah continued praying to Allah, repeating this invocation. Fishes, whales, seaweeds, and all the creatures that lived in the sea heard the voice of Jonah praying, heard the celebration of Allah's praises issuing from the whale's stomach. All these creatures gathered around the whale and began to celebrate the praises of Allah in their turn, each in its own way and in its own language.

The whale also participated in celebrating the praises of Allah and understood that it had swallowed a prophet. Therefore it felt afraid; however, it said to itself; "Why should I be afraid? Allah commanded me to swallow him."

Allah Almighty saw the sincere repentance of Jonah and heard his invocation in the whale's stomach. Allah commanded the whale to surface and eject Jonah onto an island. The whale obeyed and swam to the farthest side of the ocean. Allah commanded it to rise towards the warm, refreshing sun and the pleasant earth.

The whale ejected Jonah onto a remote island. His body was inflamed because of the acids inside the whale's stomach. He was ill, and when the sun rose, its ray burned his inflamed body so that he was on the verge of screaming for the pain. However, he endured the pain and continued to repeat his invocation to Allah.

Almighty Allah caused a vine to grow to considerable length over him for protection. Then Allah Exalted caused Jonah to recover and forgave him. Allah told Jonah that if it had not been for his praying to Him, he would have stayed in the whale's stomach till the Day of Judgment.

Almighty Allah recounted: And, verily, Jonah was one of the Messengers. When he ran to the laden ship, he agreed to cast lots and he was among the losers, Then a big fish swallowed him and he had done an act worthy of blame. Had he not been of them who glorify Allah, he would have indeed remained inside its belly (the fish) till the Day of Resurrection. But We cast him forth on the naked shore while he was sick and We caused a plant of gourd to grow over him. And We sent him to a hundred thousand people or even more, and they believed; so We gave them enjoyment for a while. (Ch 37:139-148 Quran).

Gradually he regained his strength and found his way to his hometown, Nineveh. He was pleasantly surprised to notice the change that had taken place there. The entire population turned out to welcome him. They informed him that they had turned to believe in Allah. Together they led a prayer of thanksgiving to their Merciful Lord.

Ibn Abbas narrated: "The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: 'One should not say I am better than Jonah Ibn Matta.'" (Sahih Bukhari).

 Source : http://www.islamawareness.net/Prophets/yunus.html

A tragedy unheeded: The country caught in the middle of Islam’s escalating Great Power conflict

Of the two things Saudi Arabia did on Jan. 2 to make the world a more dangerous place, one has caught all the attention: the execution of the dissident Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr. That led to the fire-bombing of the Saudi embassy in Tehran, and Riyadh’s retaliatory decision to break off diplomatic ties.
The other, however, has gone almost unnoticed: the formal ending of a poorly-observed truce in Yemen, and new airstrikes by a Saudi-led coalition of Arab states against Shia rebels known as the Houthis.
Much of the analysis following the events of the weekend has focused on fears that the Saudi-Iranian conflict will derail peace talks on Syria (paywall), where Iran backs president Bashar al-Assad and Saudi Arabia backs opposition rebels. Indeed, the talks planned for later this month may not now happen at all. But the consequences for Yemen are no less dire.
Yemen’s civil war, raging for nearly a year, seems fated to constantly be drowned out by tumult elsewhere in the region. (When it does get some press, headline writers inevitably label it the “forgotten war.”) Nearly 3,000 civilians have been killed in the fighting, the country’s already fragile economy has been shattered, and attempts at negotiated settlement have gone nowhere. The resumption of airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition—which enjoys US support—means the impoverished nation at the foot of the Arabian Peninsula is not likely to find peace anytime soon.

The conflict in Yemen is fiendishly complicated, with interlocking local resentments—tribal, territorial, political and historical—at play. But what makes these grievances much harder to resolve is that it is also a proxy war between Islam’s great powers, Iran and Saudi Arabia, under their respective sectarian banners of Shia and Sunni Islam.
Not complicated enough for you? Try this: the sectarian divisions are in themselves unclear. The Houthis are nominally Shia, as are their backers in Tehran, but their variant of the faith, known as Zaydi Islam, is different from the Iranian “Twelver” version. Many scholars argue the Zaydi branch is closer to Sunni Islam than Shiism; indeed, in the Yemeni civil war of the 1960s, the Saudis backed the Zaydis. This time Saudi Arabia is backing the Yemeni government, but its president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, is hardly a natural Saudi ally; he comes from southern Yemen, long a bulwark against Saudi influence. Yet Riyadh seems to regard Hadi as the only alternative to the Houthis, whom it has come to see as Tehran’s catspaw.
Iran’s view is less clear. It has given the Houthis some backing, but is not nearly as invested in the country as it is in Syria, Lebanon, or Iraq. As Iranian proxies go, the Houthis are hardly in the league of Lebanon’s Hezbollah or Palestine’s Hamas. Indeed, late last fall, some analysts reading the tea-leaves in Tehran were convinced Iran was looking for a way to disengage from Yemen.
But with Saudi-Iranian tensions now escalating rapidly—Riyadh is pressing other Sunni-led states to join a diplomatic boycott of Tehran—Iran will likely reassess its role in Yemen. In Tehran last month, well-connected military analysts told me the regime regarded Yemen as a low-cost way for Iran to keep Saudi Arabia pinned down in its own backyard, draining its military resources, and damaging the ruling family’s credibility, at home and abroad. Many Western analysts agree that Yemen has become a quagmire for the Saudis.
But there are dangers, too, for the wider world. Thriving in the chaos created by the civil war are two terrorist groups with international ambitions: the well-established al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and the newcomers of ISIL. The collapse of Yemen’s internal security apparatus has allowed ISIL to spread quickly, with a string of high-profile attacks; in December, it claimed responsibility for a car-bombing that killed the governor of Aden and several of his bodyguards. Some of these gains have come at the expense of AQAP, forcing the older group to reassert its dominance. A fresh wave of AQAP attacks on Aden has forced authorities there to impose a nighttime curfew.
All of this means greater tragedies will be visited upon the Yemenis in 2016. Perhaps the greatest of them is that it will continue to be lost in the din of other conflicts.

Source : http://qz.com/585489/a-tragedy-unheeded-the-country-caught-in-the-middle-of-islams-escalating-great-power-conflict/

Islam in Fiji

The Muslims of Fiji comprise approximately 7% of the population (62,534). The Muslim community is made up of people of Indian origin, descendents of Indentured Labourers who were brought to the islands in the late 19th century by the British colonialist rulers of the time. The majority of the Indian-Fijian community is Hindu and an estimated 16% is Muslim. There are also thought to be a few hundred indigenous Fijian Muslims, such as the well-known politician Apisai Tora, but no accurate statistical data exists in this regard.

Muslims are mostly Sunni followers Imam Abu Hanifa (59.7 percent) or unspecified (36.7 percent).

History

By the end of the 19th century, Islam was firmly established in Fiji. Muslim migrants preserved Islam within their families for generations after the first ship brought Indian indentured labourers to Fiji in 1879. The first Indentured Labourer ship, the Leonidas, had quite a high proportion (22%) of Muslims. Between 1879 and 1916, a total of 60,553 labourers were brought to Fiji from India under the Indentured Labourer system. Of those who came from Karachi, 6557 were Muslims. 1091 Muslims came from Madras and 1450 from North- West Frontier, Baluchistan-Afghanistan and the Punjab region.

Life during Indenture

While, with the loss of the caste system, Hindus did not have any institution binding them together, the Muslim faith was affected little by travel to a far off land, although the community initially suffered from a lack of mosques and religious scholars. The Muslim community was able to preserve their religious rites, practices and festivals, but under the harsh reality of the indenture system, it was difficult to pray five times a day and observe the full fast of Ramadan due to the slavish labour conditions imposed upon them. C.F. Andrews, in his report after his first visit to Fiji, noted that religious decline had not been as rapid amongst Muslims compared to that of the Hindus, and on his second visit wrote that Muslims had retained their social system and religious life was showing signs of revival.

Muslims played a significant part in protests against the Indentured Labour system. In 1907, a group of Indian-Fijians went on strike in Labasa after being forced to work on the cane plantations, whereas on recruitment they had been promised jobs as policemen. Most of the protestors were Afghan-Indian Pashtuns and Punjabis were Muslims.

Hindu-Muslim relationship during Indenture

Although Muslims lived as a separate community in India, the early indentured labourers spoke the same language as their Hindu counterparts and the two communities lived together amicably. There was also a high proportion of inter-marriage between Hindus and Muslims. The South Indian Muslims were easily absorbed into the larger Northern Muslim community and did not suffer as much prejudice as their Hindu counterparts. There was cooperation between groups of Hindus and Muslims in the celebration of various festivals, the best example of which was Mohurram, a Shia celebration, when Hindus and Muslims worked together to build a decorated edifice, called the Tazia, which was carried to the sea in a procession where it was abandoned.

Free Indian-Fijian Muslims

From 1884 onwards, as labourers completed their five-year indenture contracts, Muslim communities began forming in various parts of Fiji. They tended to be small, often isolated, but recognising the need for contact and cooperation among themselves for social and religious enhancement, they congregated. There were amongst the first generation of Indian labourers, Muslims who were literate and sufficiently versed in Islamic teachings to assume leadership roles and to lead prayers. Prayer meetings, initially in homes, helped foster an Islamic identity and inculcated a sense of unity. The arrival of Mulla Mirza Khan, as a free-immigrant in 1898, was a boost to Islam in Fiji, as he contributed a lot to the educational and religious needs of the Muslims. In 1900 a mosque was built in Navua on land provided by the Fiji Sugar Company, a small mosque and school was built in Nausori on land provided by the Colonial Sugar Refining Company, and another mosque was built in Labasa in 1902. In 1909, Muslims made submissions to the Education Commission for Urdu to be taught in the Persian script to their children. In 1915, the Anjuman Hidayat ul-Islam petitioned the government for the solemnization of Muslim marriages by a kazi and recommended its secretary's appointment for the Suva area. In Lautoka, the Isha Ithul Islam emerged, and in 1916 and was directing its efforts towards building a mosque there.

Establishment of Fiji Muslim League

By 1908, there were about 4000 Muslims in Fiji - a third of them still indentured. In 1915, the Anjuman Hidayat-e-Islam was established in Nausori, and in the following year, the Anjuman Ishait El Islam was established in Lautoka. There were only about 70 Muslims in the Suva area, which then did not have a Muslim school or a mosque. But in 1919, as the number of Muslims in the capital city steadily grew, Anjuman-e-Islam was formed to serve the spiritual needs of Suva's Muslim community. The Fiji Muslim League was formed on 31 October 1926, at a meeting at the Jame Mosque in Toorak.

Maunatul Islam Association of Fiji

Maunatul Islam Association of Fiji (MIAF) represents approximately 30% of the Sunni Muslims in Fiji who are mostly followers of Imam Shafi. Muslims of the Shafi school of Islamic jurisprudence are the descendants of Muslims of Malayalam origin who came to Fiji under the indenture system from Kerala in South India between 1903 and 1916. The main Sunni Muslim organisation in Fiji, the Fiji Muslim League, represents Sunni Muslims in Fiji who are mostly followers of Hanafi jurisprudence. The organisation originally operated under the name "The India Maunatul Islam Association of Fiji," since it was officially formed in 1942. This organisation owns mosques in Lautoka, Ba and Tavua.

Role of Fiji Muslim League in education and welfare

The Fiji Muslim League has been involved in education in Fiji. Their first school, the Islamic Girls School, already existed in 1926 and is now known as Suva Muslim Primary School. Today, the Fiji Muslim League owns and operates 17 primary and 5 secondary schools, plus a tertiary institution known as the Islamic Institute of the South Pacific. The Fiji Muslim League accepts students and staff members of all ethnic and religious groups, not just Muslims. In 2000, there were 4464 secondary school student (3015 Muslims, 994 Fijians/Christians, and 455 others, including Hindus and Sikhs) and 5243 primary school students.

The Fiji Muslim League provides help for tertiary studies for needy Muslims through loans from its Education Trust and the Islamic Development Bank. Of the two IDB loan/awards for tertiary studies, one is granted locally for information technology and the other for the study of medicine in Pakistan. Most of the latter in recent times have been allocated for training Muslim female doctors; some have qualified and are working in Fiji.

Besides education, the Fiji Muslim League from its outset has attempted to assist in satisfying all the social needs of the Muslim community. Its involvement in social welfare is both at national and branch levels. In times of natural disasters or turmoil the Fiji Muslim League directly helps Muslims and non-Muslims alike whose homes and lives have been disrupted. Its charity work ensures many families are fed, clothed, housed, and children sent to school.

Muslims and politics

Since 1929, the Fiji Muslim League has sought to obtain separate representation for Muslims in the Legislative Council, and in Parliament (both the House of Representatives and the Senate) since 1970. Except for the period between 1932 and 1937, Muslims have been represented well in Fiji's Parliament. From 1937 to 1963, at least one Muslim was always nominated into the Legislative Council out of a total of five Indian-Fijian representatives. Thus Muslims were represented by 20% of the Indian-Fijian members in the Legislative Council when they formed approximately 15% of the Indian-Fijian population. In the expanded Legislative Council of 1963, a Muslim, Sidiq Moidin Koya was elected for the first time, and Muslims held 2 of the 6 (33%) seats reserved for Indian-Fijians. (The other Muslim was nominated member, C. A. Shah). In the 1966 election, 4 of the 12 (33%) Indian-Fijian members were Muslims. These were Sidiq Koya, C. A. Shah, and Mohammed Towahir Khan for the Federation Party and Abdul Lateef for the Alliance Party. The Muslim Political Front was formed to advance Muslim political rights, and in 1966, it joined the newly formed Alliance Party. Voting trends have shown that most Muslims have always voted for the party best representing Indian-Fijian community, showing that their political aspirations are not different from the other 84% of the Indian-Fijian community.

Muslim sports

In 1944 the first Muslim soccer inter-district tournament was organised in Sigatoka by the Fiji Muslim Sports Association. It has since been an annual event and in 2006, three teams from overseas featured in the inaugural Fiji Muslim Football Association International Muslim Club Championship. The Fiji Muslim sports association in association with Fiji Muslim FANCA Sports Federation is hosting its inaugural club championship during Easter Weekend 2007 in Lautoka. 4 teams from Australia,5 teams from New Zealand and 1 team from USA and all district team from Fiji will participate. This will be annual event to get the Muslim sports if Fiji amongst the best.

Muslim youth

There is also a very active youth movement tracing its origins to the 1960s, whose executives meet regularly and organise camps and other gatherings for young Muslims. It has a national outreach, with members from high schools as well as tertiary institutions and university graduates, as well as professionals in the workforce. Recently it also organized a wing to facilitate the interests of young Muslim women.

2002 American Samoa restrictions

In 2002, Fiji was one of 25 nations whose citizens were restricted in entering American Samoa due to the latter's new policy of restricting the entry of Muslims to the territory. The Fijian government protested, and Fiji was removed from the restricted list in 2003.[1]

How ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab became Muslim

This is the story of how one of the greatest Muslim leaders of all time became a Muslim.  This is the conversion story of ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab (Radiallahu Anhu).

‘Umar ibn Al Khattab was a feared and well respected man from the Banu Adi clan from among the Quraish.  He came from a middle class family from Mecca.  Well known for his determination and fearless nature; he became one of the early opponents of the religion of Islam.

During the days prior to his acceptance to Islam; the religion was being taught in private.  There was fear of persecution from the Quraish.  The Muslims would meet in homes, and would learn the religion from Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wassalam).

There were few men that had carried so much honor and fear in Quraish.  ‘Umar ibn al Khattab was one of them.  That is why, Prophet Muhammad SWS once made a Dua(invocation) to Allah:
“O Allah! Give Islam strength through one of the men you love more: ‘Umar ibn al Khattab or Amr ibn al Hisham(Abu Jahl)”

Umm Abdullah(Radiallahu Anhum)was running one day and had the plan to leave Mecca because of the persecutions.  She ran into, fellow tribesmen, ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab who asked her, “Why are you running around?” She responded, “You have caused us too much pain for worshiping Allah.”  To her shock ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab told her, “have peace on your journey.” Umm Abdullah told her brother that she ran into ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab, and her brother responded “He’s going to kill us.”  Islam began to soften the heart of ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab.

One day ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab went to visit the Haram.  Once there he saw the Prophet praying in front of his eyes. Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wassalam)was reciting Surah Haqqah(the Reality).  Soon after listening to it he said “By Allah, this is poetry as the Quraish have said.”  Right when he said this; Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wassalam) recited:
إِنَّهُ لَقَوْلُ رَسُولٍ كَرِيمٍ
وَمَا هُوَ بِقَوْلِ شَاعِرٍ قَلِيلًا مَا تُؤْمِنُونَ
“That this is verily the word of an honoured Messenger
It is not the word of a poet, little is that you believe!” (69:40-41)
Surprised by the verses, he said to himself “He must be a soothsayer.” Another accusation made by the Quraish.  As soon as he said that; the next verses were recited:
وَلَا بِقَوْلِ كَاهِنٍ قَلِيلًا مَا تَذَكَّرُونَ
تَنزِيلٌ مِّن رَّبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
“Nor is it the word of a soothsayer , little is that you remember!
This is the Revelation sent down from the Lord of the ‘Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists)” (69: 42-43)
Later on in life, when speaking of this moment, ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab said “This is when Islam entered my heart.”

‘Umar ibn Al Khattab, a man known for determination and his anger, made a sudden decision of killing Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wassalam).  Even though Islam was slowly entering his heart; the hatred he had for the new religion still existed.  So on that day that he just decided that he was going kill the Messenger of Allah.  On his way he ran into Na’im ibn Abdullah (Radiallahu Anhu)who began to talk to him.  When Na’im found out that ‘Umar wanted to kill the Prophet; he told ‘Umar that maybe he should speak with his sister first(inferring that she became Muslim).  When he came near his sister’s house he heard the recitation of the Qur’an.  Upon enteringhe asked his sister and her husband Said ibn Zaid (Radiallahu Anhu) “Have you صدها (left the faith of your forefathers)?”.  He then began to attack his sister and her husband.  Upon seeing blood of her sister; he had began feeling guilty.  He apologized to his sister and her husband, and requested to read the words of the Qur’an.  Upon the request his sister said “you are not clean go wash your self.”  Upon reading the verses of Surah Ta ha; Islam began to enter his heart again.

Now ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab returned on his plan to visit the Prophet.  While he made the stop at his sister’s house; Na’im ibn Abdullah went and warned the Prophet and his companions of ‘Umar’s intentions.  When ‘Umar got to the house-sword in hand. The warrior Hamza ibn AbdulMutallib (Radiallahu Anhu) said, “I will kill him with his own sword.”  The Prophet(Sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wassalam) told him, “No, go hide.”  When ‘Umar entered the Prophet (Sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wassalam) grabbed ‘Umar by the collar and shook him; then asked him, “O Ibn Al Khattab, Why have you not accepted Islam?” ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab (Radiallahu Anhu)responded:
أشهد أن لا إله إلاَّ الله و أشهد أن محمدا رسول الله
“I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.”

The Muslims that were hiding began yelling “الله أكبر”(God is the Greatest).  This became so loud that it could be heard through out Mecca.  Till this day, when a person accepts Islam, upon him finishing his deceleration the people say “الله أكبر”
After years of secretly spreading Islam, from that moment on, Islam began being preached in the open.  Outside for everyone to accept.

Immediately after becoming Muslim; ‘Umar asked Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wassalam), “Who is the hardest on the Muslims?”  The Prophet (Sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wassalam) told him it was Abu Jahl ibn Hisham.  So ‘Umar immediately went to the house of Abu Jahl and knocked on his door.  Abu Jahl greeted his nephew, but then ‘Umar said to him “I am a Muslim now.”  Upon hearing that Abu Jahl slammed the door on his face.

The young Abdullah Ibn Umar (Radiallahu Anhu), the son of ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab, who secretly was already Muslim at a very young age could not be happier.  When he found out he began running through the streets yelling “‘Umar has left the religion of your forefathers.”

Within one hour of becoming Muslim; ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab began fighting with the Quraish.  Many of the Polytheist came out and began fighting with ‘Umar.  When ‘Umar began to fatigue, he would grab an honored son of Quraish and threatened everybody that he would poke his eyes out if they didn’t back off.  He continued to do this until he was completely tired.

This is what made ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab (Radiallahu Anhu) special.  He was a man of action.  He not only believed, but he did something.  We can all take a lesson from his life.  We sit around and we have been Muslim for days, weeks, months, years, and most of us our whole lives.  This man was Muslim for just an hour, and began fighting for his faith.  How can we be too lazy to do anything; when we had an example like ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab.

Source : https://invitation2islam.wordpress.com/2009/10/28/how-umar-ibn-al-khattab-became-muslim/

Rajasthan IAS officer converts to Islam, says was feeling ‘victimised’

The officer applied today for Voluntary Retirement from Service (VRS) in protest against the extension of tenure awarded to Chief Secretary CS Rajan.

Alleging that he is being “victimised”, a senior IAS officer here from the SC community has changed his religion and applied today for Voluntary Retirement from Service (VRS) in protest against the extension of tenure awarded to Chief Secretary CS Rajan.
“I am Chairman of RSRTC and Additional Chief Secretary for the last over four years, and competent for the post of Chief Secretary but the present CS is given 3 months extension by the state government, hence I can not work under a junior,” Chairman of Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation Umrao Salodiya said here.
“I had an understanding that being the member of Scheduled Caste (SC) and senior IAS officer cadre, I would be given a chance to work as Chief Secretary, I feel victimised, hence I submitted three months notice of VRS to the state government,” the Additional Chief Secretary rank IAS officer said.

“Now the state government has to take a decision on my VRS cum protest letter within three months. However my retirement is due June 2016,” he said. Giving another example of a personal case in which he filed an FIR with GandhiNagar police station against a judicial officer in 2014, no action was initiated by the police, he said. “Now I will be called as Umrao Khan,” the officer said. “Being a Hindu and SC member, I was always victimised, hence I converted my religion to Muslim by reading “Kalma” in a masjid but members of my family have not changed religion,” he said. When asked whether he has any plan for re-marriage with any Muslim woman/girl, he said, “No way. I have my family. I feel happy now, satisfied that I protested against victimisation”. Present Chief Secretary C S Rajan, who has to retire today, has been given three months extension by the Raje government. When contacted the Department of Personnel Official said he had also heard on a TV news channel, and so far no letter landed there.

- Source: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/rajasthan-ias-officer-converts-to-islam-says-feeling-victimised/#sthash.4G0OnrMQ.dpuf

Islam in Canada

According to Canada's 2011 National Household Survey, there were 1,053,945 Muslims in Canada or about 3.2%[1] of the population, making them the second largest religion after Christianity. In the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), 7.7% of the population is Muslim.[2] A majority of the Muslim population in Canada follows Sunni Islam.

Demographics, concentration, and life

The majority of Canadian Muslims live in the province of Ontario, and especially in and around the Greater Toronto Area. According to the 2011 National Household Survey, there were 424,925 Muslims living in the Greater Toronto Area equalling 7.7% of the total metro population.[4] It consists of people from all across the Muslim world but there are especially a large number of Muslims of Indian, Pakistani, Iranian and Egyptian/Arab descent. Canada's national capital Ottawa hosts many Lebanese, South Asian and Somali Muslims, where the Muslim community numbered approximately 65,880 or 5.5% in 2011.[5] Greater Montreal's Muslim community was 221,040[6] in 2011 or nearly 6% of the total metro population and included large numbers of people of Moroccan, Algerian and Lebanese descent. In addition to Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, nearly every major Canadian metropolitan area has a large Muslim community, including Vancouver (73,215), where more than a third are of Iranian descent, Calgary (58,310), Edmonton (46,125), Windsor (15,575), Winnipeg (11,265), and Halifax (7,540). In recent years, there has been rapid population growth in Calgary and Edmonton because of the booming economy.[1]

Most Canadian Muslims are people who were raised Muslim.[citation needed] As with immigrants in general, Muslim immigrants have come to Canada for a variety of reasons. These include higher education, security, employment, and family reunification. Others have come for religious and political freedom, and safety and security, leaving behind civil wars, persecution, and other forms of civil and ethnic strife. In the 1980s, Canada became an important place of refuge for those fleeing the Lebanese Civil War. The 1990s saw Somali Muslims arrive in the wake of the Somali Civil War as well as Bosniaks fleeing the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. However Canada has yet to receive any significant numbers of Iraqis fleeing the Iraqi War. But in general almost every Muslim country in the world has sent immigrants to Canada – from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania to Yemen and Bangladesh.[7]

The fertility rate for Muslims in Canada is higher than the rate for other Canadians (an average of 2.4 children per woman for Muslims, compared with 1.6 children per woman for other populations in Canada)[8]

There are a plethora of Halal/Zabihah restaurants across Canada and especially in the Toronto metropolitan area. In Toronto alone, there are more than 400 Halal/Zabihah restaurants [9]

A coalition of community groups called on Parti Québécois (PQ) leader Pauline Marois to disassociate from the party's agriculture critic’s statements about religious ritual slaughter. The coalition’s members in the majority were from outside the Jewish and Muslim communities. They denounced André Simard’s statements about the humaneness of halal and kosher slaughter, the safety of such meat, and his perception that such practices clash with “Quebec values.”[10]

As the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees freedom of religious expression, Canadian Muslims face no official religious discrimination. Under Section 2(a) of the Charter, the wearing of a hijab is permitted in schools and places of work, although Quebec has ruled that medical faculties are not required to accommodate Muslim women who wish to be served by female employees.[12] Religious holidays and dietary restrictions are also respected, but outside major urban areas it may be difficult to find halal food. It is also often difficult to observe Islamic rules against usury. Muslims in some parts of Canada have asked to have family dispute courts to oversee small family cases but were faced with rigorous opposition from traditional groups and liberal Muslim groups, labelling the request as a move towards imposing a Sharia Law. This proposal was opposed by the Muslim Canadian Congress, the Canadian Council of Muslim Women and non-Muslim women's groups.[13][14] In light of publicity, Muslims in Canada have elected to put the subject to rest.

In December 2011 Jason Kenney, Canada's Minister of Immigration, Citizenship, and Multiculturalism, announced that women would be required to have their faces uncovered during citizenship ceremonies.[15] In September 2015, the Federal Court of Appeal ruled 3-0 against the ban imposed by the Conservative led govenment. The government on September 18th 2015 sought to suspend the court ruling until the Supreme Court could hear an appeal.[16]

History

Four years after Canada's founding in 1867, the 1871 Canadian Census found 13 European Muslims among the population.[17][18] A great number of Bosniaks (from Bosnia) came to American soil much like Christians from Europe; some came prior to First World War. The first Canadian mosque was constructed in Edmonton in 1938, when there were approximately 700 European Muslims in the country.[19] This building is now part of the museum at Fort Edmonton Park. The years after World War II saw a small increase in the Muslim population. However Muslims were still a distinct minority. It was only after the removal of European immigration preferences in the late 1960s and early 1970s that Muslims began to arrive in significant numbers.

Bosniaks were the initiators and one of the main participants in founding of all first mosques in Toronto. First masjid, out of which the three oldest mosques in Toronto came were founded by Bosniaks and Albanians in 1968. The first masjid in Toronto was named Jami Mosque (56 Boustead Ave. Toronto). Later, with the action of University of Toronto professor Qadeer Baig, it was purchased by Asian Muslims, while Albanians and Bosniaks later founded their own mosques: Albanian Muslim Society of Toronto on 564 Annette St. and Bosanska džamija (Bosnian Mosque) at Bosnian Islamic Centre.

The first Madressa (Islamic seminary) in North America; Al-Rashid Islamic Institute (http://alrashid.ca) was established in Cornwall, Ontario in 1983 and has graduates that are Hafiz (Quran) and Ulama. The Seminary was established by Maulana Mazhar Alam, originally from Bihar, India, under the direction of his teacher the leading Indian Tablighi scholar Muhammad Zakariya Kandhlawi and focuses on the traditional Hanafi school of thought. Due to its proximity to the US border city of Massena the school has historically had a high ratio of US students. Their most prominent graduate Shaykh Muhammad Alshareef completed his Hifz in the early 1990s then went on to form the AlMaghrib Institute.

According to the Canadian Census of 1971 there were 33,000 Muslims in Canada.[20] The oldest mosque in Toronto, with the oldest minaret in Ontario, built in Osmanic style is the one in Etobicoke, that is part of the Bosnian Islamic Centre,[21] whose readjustment into masjid (originally an old Catholic school building) was over on June 23, 1973. Mosque (an old Catholic school, bought for 75 000 CAD) was readjusted for the Bosniaks, with the support of the local Christians. In the 1970s large-scale non-European immigration to Canada began. This was reflected in the growth of the Muslim community in Canada. In 1981, the Census listed 98,000 Muslims.[22] The 1991 Census indicated 253,265 Muslims.[23] By 2001, the Islamic community in Canada had grown to more than 579,000.[24] Estimates for the Census 2006 pointed to a figure of 800,000.[3] As of May 2013, Muslims account for 3.2% of the total population, with a total of over a million, and Islam has become the fastest growing religion in Canada.[25][26] The Muslim community in Canada is just one among many ethnic, religious, racial and cultural communities that together make up Canada. Canadian Muslims may be classified as Muslims for official governmental statistical and policy-making purposes.