Islam in Georgia

Islam in Georgia was introduced in 654 when an army sent by the Third Caliph of Islam, Hazrat Usman, conquered Eastern Georgia and established Muslim rule in Tbilisi. Currently, Muslims constitute approximately 9.9%[1] of the Georgian population. According to other sources, Muslims constitute 10-13% of Georgia's population.[2]

In July 2011, Parliament of Georgia passed new law allowing religious minority groups with “historic ties to Georgia” to register. The draft of the law specifically mentions Islam and four other religious communities.[2]

Mosques in Georgia operate under the supervision of the Georgian Muslim Department, established in May 2011. Until then the affairs of Georgia's Muslims had been governed from abroad by the Baku-based Caucasus Muslims Department.[3]

In 2010, Turkey and Georgia signed an agreement by which Turkey will provide funding and expertise to rehabilitate three mosques and to rebuild a fourth one in Georgia. While Georgia will rehabilitate four Georgian monasteries in Turkey.[4] The Georgia-Turkey agreement will allow the reconstruction of the historical Azize mosque in Batumi, Ajaria demolished in the middle of the last century. Turkey will rehabilitate the mosques at Samtskhe-Javakheti and Akhaltsikhe regions, Kobuleti District, build the Azize mosque burned down in 1940 and restore the Turkish bathhouse in Batumi.

History

Emirate of Tbilisi

The Arabs first appeared in Georgia in 645. It was not, however, until 735, when they succeeded in establishing their firm control over a large portion of the country. In that year, Marwan II took hold of Tbilisi and much of the neighbouring lands and installed there an Arab emir, who was to be confirmed by the Caliph of Baghdad or, occasionally, by the ostikan of Armīniya.

During the Arab period, Tbilisi (al-Tefelis) grew into a center of trade between the Islamic world and northern Europe. Beyond that, it functioned as a key Arab outpost and a buffer province facing the Byzantine and Khazar dominions. Over time, Tbilisi became largely Muslim.

Timurids

Between 1386 and 1404, Georgia was subjected to invasions by the armies of Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur, whose vast empire stretched, at its greatest extent, from Central Asia into Anatolia. In the first of at least seven invasions, Timur sacked Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, and captured the king Bagrat V in 1386. In late 1401, Timur invaded the Caucasus once again. The King of Georgia had to sue for peace, and sent his brother with the contributions. Timur was preparing for a major confrontation with the Ottoman dynasty and apparently wished to freeze the currently prevailing situation in Georgia, until he could return to deal with it more decisively and thoroughly at his leisure. Thus, he made peace with George on condition that the king of Georgia supply him with troops.[5]

Turkish and Iranian Period

The Safavid dynasty was in constant conflict with the Ottomans over full control and influence in the Caucasus. From the early 16th to the course of the second half of the 18th century, the Safavids had to deal with several independent kingdoms and principalities, as Georgia was not a single state at the time. These entities often followed divergent political courses. Safavid interests were largely directed at Eastern (the kingdoms of Kartli and Kakheti) and Southern (the kingdoms of Samtskhe-Saatabago) Georgia while Western Georgia came under Ottoman influence. These independent kingdoms became vassals of Persia as early as in 1503.[6]

On May 29, 1555, the Safavids and the Ottoman Empire concluded a treaty at Amasya following the Ottoman–Safavid War (1532–55) by which the Caucasus was divided between the two. Western Georgia and the western part of southern Georgia fell to The Ottomans, while Eastern Georgia (comprising the kingdoms of Kartli and Kakheti) and the (largest) eastern part of southern Georgia fell to Safavid Iran. The bulk of Georgia and the region which had historically always been the most dominant stayed therefore in the Iranian sphere. This partition of the Caucasus and therefore including Georgia under Islamic rule was again confirmed in 1639.

In 1703, Vakhtang VI became the ruler of the kingdom of Kartli. In 1716, he adopted Islam and the Safavid ruler confirmed him as King of Kartli. However, at a decisive moment Vakhtang was ordered to discontinue military campaigns, leading Vakhtang to adopt a pro-Russian orientation, though the Russian failed to tender him the promised military aid.

For several centuries, the Georgian kings and aristocrats converted to Islam and served as courtiers to the Iranian Safavid, Afsharid and Qajar dynasties, who ruled them.[7]

Demographics

The Muslims constitute from 9.9% (463,062)[1] to 10-13%[2] of Georgia's population.

There are two major Muslim groups in Georgia. The ethnic Georgian Muslims are Sunni Hanafi and are concentrated in the Autonomous Republic of Adjara of Georgia bordering Turkey. The ethnic Azerbaijani Muslims are predominantly Shia Ithna Ashariyah and are concentrated along the border with Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The Meskhetian Turks, also a Sunni Hanafi group, are the former inhabitants of the Meskheti region of Georgia, along the border with Turkey. They were deported to Central Asia during November 15–25, 1944 by Joseph Stalin and settled within Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Of the 120,000 forcibly deported in cattle-trucks a total of 10,000 perished.[8] Today they are dispersed over a number of other countries of the former Soviet Union. There are 500,000 to 700,000 Meskhetian Turks in exile in Azerbaijan and Central Asia.[9][10]

There are also smaller numbers of Muslims in Georgia belonging to other ethnic groups of the South Caucasus, such as Ossetians, Armenians, and Pontic Greeks (divided between Caucasus Greeks and Turkish speaking Urums). These are mainly descended from Ottoman-era Christian Orthodox converts to Turkish Islam. Many of Georgia's Muslims defined as 'Ottoman' following Lala Mustafa Pasha's Caucasian campaign that led to the Ottoman conquest of Georgia in the 1570s were actually of Armenian or Pontic Greek origin whose ancestors in Eastern Anatolia had adopted Turkish Islam. One prominent example of an Ottoman Muslim from Georgia of Caucasus Greek origin was Resid Mehmed Pasha, who ironically played an important role in suppressing the 1822-33 Greek War of Independence (see also Greek Muslims and Armenian Muslims).

Harun al Rashid

It was a moment in history when the Islamic civilization opened its doors to new ideas from the East and from the West. The confident Muslims took these ideas and remolded them in a uniquely Islamic mold. Out of this caldron came Islamic art, architecture, astronomy, chemistry, mathematics, medicine, music, philosophy and ethics. Indeed the very process of Fiqh and its application to societal problems was profoundly influenced by the historical context of the times.

Harun al Rashid was the son of al Mansur and was the fourth in the Abbasid dynasty. Ascending the throne as a young man of twenty-two in the year 786, he immediately faced internal revolts and external invasion. Regional revolts in Africa were crushed, tribal revolts from the Qais and Quzhaa in Egypt were contained and sectarian revolts from the Alavis were controlled. The Byzantines were held at bay and forced to pay tribute. For 23 years he ruled an empire that had welded together a broad arc of the earth extending from China, bordering India and Byzantium through the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean. Herein men, material and ideas could flow freely across continental divides. However, Harun is remembered not for his empire building, but for building the edifice of a brilliant civilization.

It was the golden age of Islam. It was not the fabulous wealth of the empire or the fairy tales of the Arabian Nights that made it golden; it was the strength of its ideas and its contributions to human thought. As the empire had grown, it had come into contact with ideas from classical Greek, Indian, Zoroastrian, Buddhist and Hindu civilizations. The process of translation and understanding of global ideas was well under way since the time of al Mansur. But it received a quantum boost from Harun and Mamun.

Harun established a School of translation Bait ul Hikmah (house of wisdom) and surrounded himself with men of learning. His administration was in the hands of viziers of exceptional capabilities, the Bermecides. His courtiers included great juris doctors, poets, musicians, logicians, mathematicians, writers, scientists, men of culture and scholars of Fiqh. Ibn Hayyan (d. 815), who invented the science of chemistry, worked at the court of Harun. The scholars who were engaged in the work of translation included Muslims, Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians and Hindus. From Greece came the works of Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, Galen, Hippocratis, Archimedes, Euclid, Ptolemy, Demosthenes and Pythagoras. From India arrived a delegation with the Siddhanta of Brahmagupta, Indian numerals, the concept of zero and Ayurvedic medicine. From Chin came the science of alchemy and the technologies of paper, silk and pottery. The Zoroastrians brought in the disciplines of administration, agriculture and irrigation. The Muslims learned from these sources and gave to the world algebra, chemistry, sociology and the concept of infinity.

What gave the Muslims the confidence to face other civilizations was their faith. With a confidence firmly rooted in revelation, the Muslims faced other civilizations, absorbing that which they found valid and transforming it in the image of their own belief. The Qur’an invites men and women to learn from nature, to reflect on the patterns therein, to mold and shape nature so that they may inculcate wisdom. ”We shall show them our Signs on the horizon and within their souls until it is manifest unto them that it is the Truth” (Qur’an, 41:53). It is during this period that we see the emergence of the archetype of classical Islamic civilization, namely the Hakim (meaning, a person of wisdom). In Islam, a scientist is not a specialist who looks at nature from the outside, but a man of wisdom who looks at nature from within and integrates his knowledge into an essential whole. The quest of the Hakim is not just knowledge for the sake of knowledge but the realization of the essential Unity that pervades creation and the interrelationships that demonstrate the wisdom of God.

What Harun started, his son Mamun sought to complete. Mamun was a scholar in his own right, had studied medicine, Fiqh, logic and was a Hafiz e Qur’an. He sent delegations to Constantinople and the courts of Indian and Chinese princes asking them to send classical books and scholars. He encouraged the translators and gave them handsome rewards. Perhaps the story of this period is best told by the great men of the era. The first philosopher of Islam, al Kindi (d. 873), worked at this time in Iraq. The celebrated mathematician al Khwarizmi (d. 863) worked at the court of Mamun. Al Khwarizmi is best known for the recurring method of solving mathematical problems, which is used even today and is called algorithms. He studied for a while in Baghdad and is also reported to have traveled to India. Al Khwarizmi invented the word algebra (from the Arabic word j-b-r, meaning to force, beat or multiply), introduced the Indian numeral system to the Muslim world (from where it traveled to Europe and became the “Arabic” numeral system), institutionalized the use of the decimal in mathematics and invented the empirical method (knowledge based on measurement) in astronomy. He wrote several books on geography and astronomy and cooperated in the measurement of the distance of an arc across the globe. The world celebrates the name of Al Khwarizmi to this day by using “algorithms” in every discipline of science and engineering.

It was the intellectual explosion created at the time of Harun and Mamun that propelled science into the forefront of knowledge and made Islamic civilization the beacon of learning for five hundred years. The work done by the translation schools of Baghdad made possible the later works of the physician al Razi (d. 925), historian al Masudi (d. 956), the physician Abu Ali Sina (d. 1037), the physicist al Hazen (d.1039), the historian al Baruni (d. 1051), the mathematician Omar Khayyam (d.1132) and the philosopher Ibn Rushd (d.1198).

The age of Harun and Mamun was also an age of contradictions. Indeed, no other period in Islamic history illustrates with such clarity the schizophrenic attitude of Muslims towards their own history, as does the age of Harun and Mamun. On the one hand, Muslims take pride in its accomplishments. On the other, they reject the values on which those achievements were based. Muslims exude great pride in the scientists and philosophers of the era, especially in their dialectic with the West. But they reject the intellectual foundation on which these scientists and philosophers based their work.

The age of Harun and Mamun was the age of reason. Mamun, in particular, took the rationalists in full embrace. The Mu’tazilites were the rational arm of Islam. Mamun made Mu’tazilite doctrines the official court dogma. However, the Mu’tazilites were not cognizant of the limits of the rational method and overextended their reach. They even applied their methodology to the Divine Word and came up with the doctrine of “createdness” of the Qur’an. In simplified terms, this is the error one falls into when a hierarchy of knowledge is built wherein reason is placed above revelation. The Mu’tazilites applied their rational tools to revelation without sufficient understanding of the phenomenon of time or its relevance to the nature of physics. In the process, they fell flat on their face. Instead of owning up to their errors and correcting them, they became defensive and became increasingly oppressive in forcing their views on others.

Mamun’s successors applied the whip with increasing fervor to enforce conformity with the official dogma. But the ulema would not buy the theory that the Qur’an was created. Imam Hanbal fought a lifelong battle with Mamun on this issue and was jailed for over twenty years. Any idea that compromised the transcendence of the Qur’an was unacceptable to Imam Hanbal. Faced with determined opposition, the Mu’tazilite doctrine was repudiated by Caliph Mutawakkil (d. 861). Thereafter, the rationalists were tortured and killed and their properties confiscated. Al Ashari (d. 936) and his disciples tried to reconcile the rational and transcendental approaches by suggesting a “theory of occasionalism”. The Asharite ideas got accepted and were absorbed into the Islamic body politic and have continued to influence Muslim thinking to this day. The intellectual approach of the rationalists, philosophers and scientists was forsaken and sent packing to the Latin West where it was embraced with open arms and was used to lay the foundation of the modern global civilization.

Thus it was that the Muslim world came upon rational ideas, adopted them, experimented with them and finally threw them out. The historical lesson of the age of Harun and Mamun is that a fresh effort must be made to incorporate philosophy and science within the framework of Islamic civilization based on Tawhid. The issue is one of constructing a hierarchy of knowledge wherein the transcendence of revelation is preserved in accordance with Tawhid, but wherein reason and the free will of man are accorded honor and respect. The Mu’tazilites were right in claiming that man was the architect of his own fortunes but they erred in asserting that human reason has a larger reach than the Divine Word. Humankind is not autonomous. The outcome of human effort is a moment of Divine Grace. No person can predict with certainty the outcome of an action. The Asharites were right in postulating that at each moment of time Divine Grace intervenes to dispose of all affairs. But they were not correct in limiting the power of human free will. Human reason and human free will are endowed with the possibility of infinity, but this infinity collapses (fana) before the infinity of Divine transcendence.

Contributed by Prof. Dr. Nazeer Ahmed, PhD
Source : https://historyofislam.com/contents/the-classical-period/harun-al-rashid/

The ticking time bomb waiting to explode western interests in Syria

It’s becoming clearer and clearer that western involvement in the Syrian conflict began as a covert attempt to overthrow the Assad regime by arming his largely Islamist opponents.

But whatever its beginnings, the west’s focus turned definitively towards Daesh (Isis/Isil) from 2014 onwards, when the jihadi group made it very clear that western nations were just as much the enemy as Assad. And this altered focus would soon place western governments on a political collision course with one of their key NATO allies – Turkey.

The current Turkish regime has long been a time bomb waiting to explode, threatening collateral damage across the Middle East. But only recently has its ticking become too loud for the world to ignore. And what’s perhaps most worrying for western governments is that Ankara is now forming ever closer links with their arch-rivals in Russia.

It’s taken Ankara and Moscow a while to get to this point, though.

Tense Russo-Turkish relations

In November 2015, Turkey shot down a Russian jet in what would be a key moment for both the Syrian conflict and Turkey’s standing in the international community. Tensions soon escalated, and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke of Turkey’s oil links to Daesh, referred to the country’s regime as “terrorists’ accomplices”, and placed strong sanctions on Turkish tourism and businesses. Turkish exports to Russia allegedly fell by 60.5% in the first half of 2016 (compared to the same period in 2015).

At the same time, Russia allegedly coordinated a number of airstrikes with the secular Kurdish-led ground forces of Rojava (northern Syria) – which was a big blow for Turkish-backed Islamist forces in Syria. It also opened up diplomatic relations with Rojava (a region upon which Turkey has long imposed a brutal blockade), calling for Rojavan representatives to attend Syria’s peace talks.

But with Turkey’s western allies increasingly distancing themselves from a regime in Ankara which was increasingly curtailing human rights, attacking media outlets, and massacring its own citizens, the stage was set for a change in tactics. (Even more so when we consider that the USA was also ramping up its temporary support for Rojavan militias in their efforts to defeat Daesh on the ground in Syria.)

Turkey’s change in tactics

In early July, Ankara hinted at its openness to make deals with the regimes in both Moscow and Damascus – which it had previously opposed – in an apparent attempt to stem Rojava’s influence in the region and show its opposition to the western-backed advances made on jihadi territory by Rojavan militias.

The Turkish regime was also seeking to clean up its image in general, almost a year after nose-diving into a destructive and self-indulgent civil war on its Kurdish communities, by replacing its prime minister in May. This didn’t only mean moving closer to Russia and Syria, but also to Israel and Egypt.

Then, on 15 July, a section of the Turkish army launched an abortive coup against its own government. The coup plotters claimed they wanted to “reinstall the constitutional order, democracy, human rights and freedoms” in Turkey.

While western leaders quickly condemned the coup attempt, a pro-government newspaper in Turkey soon accused the USA of orchestrating it. And these media-fuelled suspicions would further strengthen a growing current of anti-Americanism in Turkey, giving Ankara even more reason to distance itself from its allies in Washington.

A budding relationship

Even though Putin has previously slammed Turkey’s links with jihadis in Syria, the economic benefits of a renewed Russian alliance with Ankara (there are currently two major joint energy projects on hold) have clearly played a part in pushing the two powers to resolve their differences. Plus, Putin’s political pragmatism is notorious, and he’s always ready to jump at any opportunity to step in where the west is unwilling to go.

On 9 August, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Russia, on his first foreign visit since July’s coup. The groundwork for restored relations had already been laid, with Erdoğan allegedly apologising to Russia back in June and Putin expressing support for Erdoğan’s regime after the coup. And duly, Erdoğan asserted in St Petersburg on 9 August that:

the Moscow-Ankara friendship axis will be restored.
Putin, meanwhile, insisted that he would phase out sanctions on Turkey “step by step”.

According to retired Swedish Ambassador and Stockholm University Institute for Turkish Studies fellow Michael Sahlin:

the symbolic nature of this visit within weeks of the botched coup is far from lost on those in the US and EU who are searching for signs of possible permanent policy change [in Turkey]… To the delight of President Putin, Mr Erdogan is presumably happy to keep the West wondering, and sweating, for now.

The impact for Syria

Turkey has been at the forefront of western-backed efforts to overthrow the Assad regime in Syria ever since 2011. And its hostility to the biggest secular forces in Syria – the Kurdish-led militias of Rojava – has contributed significantly to the fact that around 60% of anti-Assad fighters today are thought to have similar extremist views to Daesh.

Renewed relations with Russia may push Turkey further away from supporting jihadis and closer to supporting a political settlement in Syria. This would likely lead to some sort of truce between the Assad regime and Turkish-backed Islamists. But it would also mean the sidelining of the secular, multi-ethnic and gender-egalitarian forces of Rojava – which the Turkish regime opposes with a passion. And that would not be good news for democracy in Syria.

A budding friendship between Putin and Erdoğan and a further distancing between NATO allies, meanwhile, could lead to Turkey’s exit from the alliance. If this happened, western governments would lose the influence they have been desperately seeking in Syria since 2011 – mostly through their links with Turkey. Ankara, on the other hand, would increase its influence in the region. And judging by its treatment of its own citizens, and its longstanding links with jihadis in Syria, that would almost certainly lay a minefield of further problems.

But whatever happens in the coming months, the thawing of relations between Ankara and Moscow will almost certainly prove to be a turning point in the Syrian conflict – and possibly for the whole power dynamics of the Middle East.

Source : http://www.thecanary.co/2016/08/10/the-ticking-time-bomb-causing-big-problems-for-the-west-in-syria/

Islam in Kazakhstan

Islam is the largest religion practiced in Kazakhstan, as 70.2% of the country's population is Muslim according to a 2009 national census.[1] Ethnic Kazakhs are predominantly Sunni Muslims of the Hanafi school.[2] There are also small number of Shia and few Ahmadi Muslims.[3] Geographically speaking, Kazakhstan is the northernmost Muslim-majority country in the world. Kazakhs make up over half of the total population, and other ethnic groups of Muslim background include Uzbeks, Uyghurs and Tatars.[4] Islam first arrived on the southern edges of the region in the 8th century from Arabs.

History

Islam was brought to the Kazakhs during the 8th century when the Arabs arrived in Central Asia. Islam initially took hold in the southern portions of Turkestan and thereafter gradually spread northward.[5] Islam also took root due to the zealous missionary work of Samanid rulers, notably in areas surrounding Taraz[6] where a significant number of Kazakhs accepted Islam. Additionally, in the late 14th century, the Golden Horde propagated Islam amongst the Kazakhs and other Central Asian tribes. During the 18th century, Russian influence rapidly increased toward the region. Led by Catherine, the Russians initially demonstrated a willingness in allowing Islam to flourish as Muslim clerics were invited into the region to preach to the Kazakhs whom the Russians viewed as "savages" and "ignorant" of morals and ethics.[7][8]

Russian policy gradually changed toward weakening Islam by introducing pre-Islamic elements of collective consciousness.[9] Such attempts included methods of eulogizing pre-Islamic historical figures and imposing a sense of inferiority by sending Kazakhs to highly elite Russian military institutions.[9] In response, Kazakh religious leaders attempted to bring religious fervor by espousing pan-Turkism, though many were persecuted as a result.[10] During the Soviet era, Muslim institutions survived only in areas where Kazakhs significantly outnumbered non-Muslims due to everyday Muslim practices.[11] In an attempt to conform Kazakhs into Communist ideologies, gender relations and other aspects of the Kazakh culture were key targets of social change.[8]

In more recent times, Kazakhs have gradually employed determined effort in revitalizing Islamic religious institutions after the fall of the Soviet Union. While not strongly fundamentalist, Kazakhs continue to identify with their Islamic faith,[12] and even more devotedly in the countryside. Those who claim descent from the original Muslim warriors and missionaries of the 8th century, command substantial respect in their communities.[13] Kazakh political figures have also stressed the need to sponsor Islamic awareness. For example, the Kazakh Foreign Affairs Minister, Marat Tazhin, recently emphasized that Kazakhstan attaches importance to the use of "positive potential Islam, learning of its history, culture and heritage."[14]

Soviet authorities attempted to encourage a controlled form of Islam under the Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of Central Asia and Kazakhstan as a unifying force in the Central Asian societies, while at the same time prohibiting true religious freedom. Since independence, religious activity has increased significantly. Construction of mosques and religious schools accelerated in the 1990s, with financial help from Turkey, Egypt, and, primarily, Saudi Arabia.[15] In 1991 170 mosques were operating, more than half of them newly built. At that time an estimated 230 Muslim communities were active in Kazakhstan.

Islam and the state

In 1990 Nursultan Nazarbayev, then the First Secretary of the Kazakhstan Communist Party, created a state basis for Islam by removing Kazakhstan from the authority of the Muslim Board of Central Asia, the Soviet-approved and politically oriented religious administration for all of Central Asia. Instead, Nazarbayev created a separate muftiate, or religious authority, for Kazakh Muslims.[16]

With an eye toward the Islamic governments of nearby Iran and Afghanistan, the writers of the 1993 constitution specifically forbade religious political parties. The 1995 constitution forbids organizations that seek to stimulate racial, political, or religious discord, and imposes strict governmental control on foreign religious organizations. As did its predecessor, the 1995 constitution stipulates that Kazakhstan is a secular state; thus, Kazakhstan is the only Central Asian state whose constitution does not assign a special status to Islam. Though, Kazakhstan joined the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in the same year. This position was based on the Nazarbayev government's foreign policy as much as on domestic considerations. Aware of the potential for investment from the Muslim countries of the Middle East, Nazarbayev visited Iran, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia; at the same time, he preferred to cast Kazakhstan as a bridge between the Muslim East and the Christian West. For example, he initially accepted only observer status in the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), all of whose member nations are predominantly Muslim. The president's first trip to the Muslim holy city of Mecca, which occurred in 1994, was part of an itinerary that also included a visit to Pope John Paul II in the Vatican.[16]

Mother of the believers Safiyya Bint Huhayy

Mother of the believers Safiyya Bint Huhayy
Her Family : 

She was Safiyya the daughter of Huyay son of Akhtab son of Sa’yah. She belonged to al-Lawi son of Israel son of Ishaq son of Ibrahim, peace be upon them. She was also a descent of the Prophet Harun, the brother of Moses, peace be upon them.

Safiyya, the daughter of Huyayy ibn Akhtab, the chief of the Banu Nadir who had all been expelled from Medina in 4 AH after plotting to kill the Messenger of Allah by dropping a stone on his head as he sat talking with their leaders.

Meeting the Prophet: 

In the battle of Khaybar, Safiyya, may Allah be pleased with her, and her cousin were captured. They were led by Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him, to meet the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. As they walked they crossed the battle field where there were bodies of dead jews. Safiyya, may Allah be pleased with her, was patient and strong and she did not cry unlike her cousin who slapped her cheeks and screamed.

The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, asked someone to look after the woman who was screaming and then took off his cloak and placed it over the shoulders of Safiyya, whose husband had been killed in the battle. It was a gesture of pity, but from that moment she was to be honored and given great respect in the Muslim community. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) turned to Bilal and said, "Bilal, has Allah plucked mercy from your heart that you let these two women pass by those of their menfolk who have been killed?"

This was considered a severe reprimand, for the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who rarely criticized the behavior of those who served him. Anas ibn Malik, for example once said, "I served the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, for eight years. He never once scolded me for something that I had done or for something that I had not done."

Although her father had planned to assassinate Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, after the battle of Uhud, and had conspired with the Banu Qurayza to exterminate all the Muslims during the battle of al-Khandaq, it was characteristic of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, that he did not bear any grudges. For those who did wrong, he felt pity rather than anger, and for those who had done no wrong, he had even greater compassion.

Embracing Islam : 

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, invited Safiyya, may Allah be pleased with her, to embrace Islam. She answered the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, be narrating a story She said that one day she dreamt that a full moon fell in her lap. When she told her father about the dream her slapped her violently and told her angrily : “Do you want to marry the king of the Arabs?”

She also narrated another significant story to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, She said, may Allah be pleased with her: "I was my father's favorite and also a favorite with my uncle Yasir. They could never see me with one of their children without picking me up. When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, came to Medina, my father and my uncle went to see him. It was very early in the morning and between dawn and sunrise. They did not return until the sun was setting. They came back worn out and depressed, walking with slow, heavy steps. I smiled to them as I always did, but neither of them took any notice of me because they were so miserable. I heard Yasir ask my father, “Is it him?”

He replied : “Yes, it is.”

Yasir asked : “Can you recognize him? Can you verify it?” 

He answered : “Yes, I can recognize him too well.”

Yasir asked : “What do you feel towards him?”

He replied : “Enmity, enmity as long as I live.”

The significance of this conversation is evident when we recall that in the Torah of the Jews, it was written that a Prophet would come who would lead those who followed him to victory.

Indeed before the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, came to Medina, the Jews used to threaten the idol worshippers of Yathrib, as it was then called, that when the next Prophet came to the believers were going to exterminate them, just as the Jews had exterminated other tribes who refused to worship God in the past.

As in case of the Prophet Jesus, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who had been clearly described in the Torah, but was rejected and fought by many of the Jews when he actually came. They always thought the last prophet would be a Jew. Because Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was an Arab not a Jew, they were jealous and decided to fight him although they knew very well that he was the Messenger of Allah.

Safiya, may Allah be pleased with her, was surprised that her father, the chief of the Jews of Khaybar, and uncle would decide to fight a man who they admit to be the Messenger of Allah, but this incident changed her tremendously. She knew for sure that Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was the messenger of Allah.

When the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, invited her to embrace Islam she remembered those two stories and accepted the willingly.

The Marriage : 

The prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, proposed to Safiya, may Allah be pleased with her, and she accepted. She said, “O Messenger of Allah when I was an atheist I wished that. Then how would I be after I had embraced Islam?”

She was seventeen when she married the prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

Anas Narrated that “The prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, stayed for three days at a place between khaybar and Medina, and there he consummated his marriage with Safiya bint Huyay. I invited the Muslims to a banquet, which included neither meat nor bread. The prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, ordered for leather dining sheets to be spread and then the dates, dreiet yoghourt and butter were provided over it, and that was the banquet (walima) of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. The Muslims asked whether Safiyya would be considered as his wife or as his slave girl. Then they said if the prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, screens her from the people, the she is the Prophet’s wife but if he doesn’t screen her, then she was a slave girl.” So when the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, proceeded he made a place for her (on the camel) behind him and screened her from the people.”

(Reported by Bukhari)

In the Prophet’s house: 

When the women in Medina knew that she was coming they looked forward to seeing her. The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, noticed Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, hiding herself among the women to see her. Although she was veiled, The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, identified her, held her dress and asked her, “what did you see, O Shuqaira (blond woman)?” she out of jealousy answered, “She is just a Jewish woman.” The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, replied, “Do not say that; she embraced Islam”

Safiya, may Allah be pleased with her was known by her beauty, so the Prophet’s wives, may Allah be pleased with them were jealous.

One day she knew that Hafsa, may Allah be pleased with her, said that she was the daughter of a Jew. She was sad and wept. The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, asked her why she wept. When she told him what happened the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said, “You are certainly the daughter of a Prophet (Harun), and certainly your uncle was a Prophet (Moses), and you are certainly the wife of a Prophet (Muhammad), so what is there in that to be scornful towards you?" Then he said to Hafsa, "O Hafsa, fear Allah!"

Once the Prophet was accompanied on a journey by Safiyya and Zaynab bint Jahsh when Safiyya' s camel went lame. Zaynab had an extra camel and the Prophet asked her if she would give it to Safiyya. Zaynab retorted, "Should I give to that Jewess!" The Prophet turned away from her in anger and would not have anything to do with her for two or three months not to show his disapproval of what she had said.

Some three years later, when Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was in his final illness, Safiyya felt for him deeply and sincerely. 

"O Messenger of Allah," she said, "I wish it was I who was suffering instead of you." Some of the wives winked at each other which made the Prophet cross and he exclaimed, "By Allah, she spoke the truth!"

She still underwent difficulties after the death of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Once a slavegirl she owned went to the Amir al Muminin Umar and said, "Amir al Muminin! Safiyya loves Saturday and maintains ties with the Jews!" Umar asked Safiyya about that and she said, "I have not loved the Saturday since Allah replaced it with Friday for me, and I only maintain ties with those Jews to whom I am related by kinship." She asked her slavegirl what made her say that to Umar and the girl replied, "The Devil!" Safiyya said, "Go, you are free."

Her struggle : 

When Othman Ibn Affan was under siege She wore her veil and went to Othman trying to defend him. She met a man called Alashtar who was one of the men against othman, may Allah be pleased with him, he pushed her horse away not knowing who was riding on it. So she tried to help Othman, may Allah be pleased with him, in another way so she made a wooden passage between her house and that of Othman, may Allah be pleased with him, through which she transferred water and food to Othman’s family

She was a knowledgeable woman who taught lots of Muslim women. She narrated Hadiths. Some Muslim men narrated on her authority like Zayn Alabedeen Aly son of AlHussein grand son of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, her two freed servants Kenana and Yazeed, as well as Muslim Ibn Safwan

Her Death : 

Safiyya, may Allah be pleased with her, was with the Prophet for nearly four years, She was only twenty-one when the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, died. She lived as a widow for the next thirty-nine years, dying in Medina in 50 AH – 670 AC, at the age of sixty during the caliphate of Mu’awyah, may Allah be pleased with her.

She was buried in Baqee’ beside the other Mothers of the Believers may Allah be pleased with them all

Source : http://www.alsiraj.net/English/albayt/html/page08.html

US ready to work with Russia to fight Syria's Islamic extremists

US would be willing to share information on jihadists if Russia pressures Bashar al-Assad to stop bombing armed rebels

 Fighters from Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaida’s affiliate in Syria, move towards their positions during an offensive in Idlib province. 

The US is seeking closer cooperation with Russia in the fight against Islamic State and al-Qaida’s Syrian branch in the hope that President Bashar al-Assad will stop attacking the mainstream rebels who are fighting to overthrow him.

US officials said the plan under discussion would also require western and Arab-backed opposition forces to distance themselves from Jabhat al-Nusra, linked to al-Qaida, to avoid being hit in airstrikes. Both Jabhat al-Nusra and Isis are proscribed by the UN and seen as legitimate targets by Washington and Moscow.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights, meanwhile, reported on Friday that 6,567 civilians had been killed in the first half of 2016 – 1,271 of them in June alone. Unofficial estimates used by the UN say some 400,000 people have died since the Syrian uprising began in 2011. Millions have been made homeless.

News of the latest US initiative, reported by the Washington Post, came as the UN envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, admitted that conditions were still not ripe to reconvene the suspended Geneva peace talks ahead of a 1 August deadline for the start of a “political transition” in Damascus.

The paper said the Obama administration has submitted a proposal that includes “enhanced information sharing”, though no decisions have been made. Russia is also being asked to pressure Assad to halt the bombing of armed rebel groups that are supported by the US.

The US defence secretary, Ashton Carter, said that if Russia would “do the right thing in Syria – that’s an important condition – as in all cases with Russia, we’re willing to work with them.”

The idea is likely to be greeted with scepticism by critics of US policy on Syria, which is widely seen to be overly dependent on Russian goodwill and cooperation. Overall, however, there seems to be increasing convergence between the two big powers despite their ostensible disagreement about Assad’s fate.

The formal US position is that the president should step down, but Russia has continued to back him and to insist that his future is a matter for the Syrian people alone. The anti-Assad opposition fears a deal between Washington and Moscow on an imposed solution that will leave the president in place.

Assad himself said in an interview that Syrian cooperation with Russia and Iran – his main regional ally – was intended to restore stability. “The chaos in Syria is going to provoke the domino effect in our region,” he told the Australian broadcaster SBS. “It’s going to affect the neighbouring countries, it’s going to affect Iran, it’s going to affect Russia, it’s going to affect Europe.”

De Mistura told al-Hadath TV on Thursday that the key countries involved needed to work “with a feeling of urgency” to get the Geneva talks started again. Despite not being able to set a date for a resumption, he hinted at grounds for optimism. “I want to believe, and I think I have reasons to believe, that both Russia and the US – who are crucial because they are the co-chairs – have both an urgent vested interest in avoiding that this conflict starts again and becomes open ended,” he said.

He also said he had worked out how to untangle what he called the “Assad knot” – the central problem of irreconcilable demands about his political future – but he did elaborate.

Restoring the always patchy cessation of hostilities agreement that was brokered by the US and Russia last February appears to be a pre-condition for any progress towards a political solution to the war.

Brexit, said De Mistura, was another “casualty” of the Syrian crisis – a view held by many of those involved. “The consequences of this conflict are affecting everyone, even producing a sense of concern in European countries to the point of reaching that type of consequence.”

Britain on Friday appealed for wider humanitarian access to besieged areas of Syria, noting recent progress but demanding deliveries to eight areas that have not yet been reached by the UN. “Until we see a change in regime behaviour, thousands will continue to starve,” warned Gareth Bayley, the UK special envoy for Syria.

Britain also announced on Thursday that it would increase support to Iraqi forces fighting Isis by deploying 50 additional trainers on improvised explosive devices, infantry skills and combat first aid. The extra personnel will be working with US and Danish forces, providing training to the Iraqi army, border guards and federal police. Britain will also provide 80 army engineers to build infrastructure to support this deployment at an airbase in western Iraq.

Source : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/01/syria-us-russia-cooperate-fight-islamic-extremists-united-nations

Islam in Uzbekistan

Islam is by far the dominant religion in Uzbekistan, as Muslims constitute 90% of the population while 5% of the population follow Russian Orthodox Christianity according to a 2009 US State Department release.[1] However, a 2009 Pew Research Center report stated that Uzbekistan's population is 96.3% Muslim.[2] An estimated 93,000 Jews were once present. Despite its predominance, the practice of Islam is far from monolithic. Many versions of the faith have been practiced in Uzbekistan. The conflict of Islamic tradition with various agendas of reform or secularization throughout the 20th century has left the outside world with a confused notion of Islamic practices in Central Asia. In Uzbekistan the end of Soviet power did not bring an upsurge of Islamic fundamentalism, as many had predicted, but rather a gradual reacquaintance with the precepts of the faith. However, after 2000, there seems to be a rise of support in favour of the Islamists, which is whipped up by the repressive measures of the authoritarian regime.

History

Islam was brought to ancestors of modern Uzbeks during the 8th century when the Arabs entered Central Asia. Islam initially took hold in the southern portions of Turkestan and thereafter gradually spread northward.[3] Islam also took root due to the zealous missionary work of the Tajik Samanid rulers as a significant number of Turkic peoples accepted Islam.[4] In the 14th-century, Tamerlane constructed many religious structures, including the Bibi-Khanym Mosque. He also constructed one of his finest buildings at the tomb of Ahmed Yesevi, an influential Turkic Sufi saint who spread Sufi Islam among the nomads. Omar Aqta, Timur's court calligrapher, is said to have transcribed the Qur'an using letters so small that the entire text of the book fit on a signet ring. Omar also is said to have created a Qur'an so large that a wheelbarrow was required to transport it. Folios of what is probably this larger Qur'an have been found, written in gold lettering on huge pages. Islam also spread amongst the Uzbeks with the conversion of Uzbeg Khan. Converted to Islam by Ibn Abdul Hamid, a Bukharan sayyid and sheikh of the Yasavi order, Uzbeg Khan promoted Islam amongst the Golden Horde and fostered Muslim missionary work to expand across Central Asia. In the long run, Islam enabled the khan to eliminate interfactional struggles in the Horde and to stabilize state institutions.

Notable scholars from the area today known as Uzbekistan include Imam Bukhari whose book, Sahih Bukhari is regarded by Sunni Muslims as the most authentic of all hadith compilations and the most authoritative book after the Qur'an. Other Muslim scholars from the region include Imam Tirmidhi and Abu Mansur Maturidi who was one of the pioneers[5] of Islamic Jurisprudence scholars and his two works are considered to be authoritative on the subject.[6] In Samarqand, the development of sciences in the Muslim world greatly prospered. The work of Ali Qushji (d. 1474), who worked at Samarqand and then Istanbul, is seen as a late example of innovation in Islamic theoretical astronomy and it is believed he may have possibly had some influence on Nicolaus Copernicus due to similar arguments concerning the Earth's rotation. The astronomical tradition established by the Maragha school continued at the Ulugh Beg Observatory at Samarqand. Founded by Ulugh Beg in the early 15th century, the observatory made considerable progress in observational astronomy.

Islam in the Soviet Era

Moscow greatly distorted the understanding of Islam among Uzbekistan's population and created competing Islamic ideologies among the Central Asians themselves.[citation needed] After its introduction in the 7th century, Islam in many ways formed the basis of life in Uzbekistan. During the Soviet era, Uzbekistan had sixty-five registered mosques and as many as 3,000 active mullahs and other Muslim clerics. For almost forty years, the Muslim Board of Central Asia, the official, Soviet-approved governing agency of the Muslim faith in the region, was based in Tashkent.[citation needed] The grand mufti who headed the board met with hundreds of foreign delegations each year in his official capacity, and the board published a journal on Islamic issues, Muslims of the Soviet East.[citation needed] However, the Muslims working or participating in any of these organizations were carefully screened for political reliability. Furthermore, as the government ostensibly was promoting Islam with the one hand, it was working hard to eradicate it with the other. The government sponsored official anti-religious campaigns and severe crackdowns on any hint of an Islamic movement or network outside of the control of the state. Moreover, many Muslims were subjected to intense Russification.[citation needed] Many mosques were closed [7] and during Joseph Stalin's reign, many Muslims were victims of mass deportation.