Tag Archives: Mohammed Wajihuddin

Muslim Mirror’s founding editor among the Prominent Changemakers of 2024

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Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA / Chennai, TAMIL NADU / INDIA :

Syed Zubair Ahmad, the founding editor of Muslim Mirror, has added another feather to his cap by being declared one of the prominent Changemakers of 2024 by the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP). The prestigious recognition was announced during a grand event held at the B.S. Abdur Rahman Crescent Institute of Science & Technology, a deemed university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The event was graced by honorable guests and attended by a large gathering of participants from across India.

Ahmad, a distinguished journalist, is known for his powerful advocacy for the rights and representation of marginalized communities, particularly Muslims, in India. Over the course of his career, spanning more than two decades, he has built a reputation for his unwavering commitment to truth, justice, and journalistic integrity.

The Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP) is Mumbai based pan India  non-profit organization dedicated to the socio-economic empowerment of the Muslim community in India. Through initiatives in education, employment, and community development, AMP works to foster leadership, skill-building, and social welfare, connecting professionals and organizations nationwide for collective progress.

“In a memorable ceremony, 100 inspiring individuals were honored with Changemaker Awards, and 100 state-level NGOs were recognized in the Best and Jury categories. Additionally, 10 organizations were celebrated in prestigious national categories,” said a press statement issued by AMP.

Notable national NGO awardees include;

  • ALTNEWS
  • APCR (Association for Protection of Civil Rights)
  • IMRC (Indian Muslim Relief & Charities??)
  • Institute of Objective Studies (IOS),
  • Allana CSR
  • Pataka CSR and
  • Seethakathi Trust

Some of the prominent Changemaker awardees included;

  • Syed Zubair Ahmad (Muslim Mirror)
  • Mohammed Wajihuddin (Times of India)
  • Aslayah Kallakath (Maktoob Media)
  • Abdur Rahman IPS (Retd.)
  • Akramul Jabbar IRS (Retd.)
  • Hammad Rahman
  • Adil Meraj and
  • Syeda Ruksheda.

The Lifetime Achievement Award was posthumously bestowed upon the Late Moosa Raza, IAS (Retd.), which was received by his family.

The Omar Khatani Memorial Award was presented to the Tarraqi I Foundation, while BSA Crescent Institute of Science & Technology received the Partner of the Year Award.

Mrs. Mariam Habib, Trustee of B.S. Abdur Rahman Crescent Institute of Science & Technology, served as the Chief Guest and commended AMP’s efforts in education, employment, and empowerment. She emphasized the role of NGOs in bringing about significant societal change in collaboration with policymakers, and she noted that the legacy of the late B.S. Abdur Rahman is being continued with great dedication by the current leadership.

Dr. N. Raja Hussain, Registrar of B.S. Abdur Rahman Crescent Institute of Science & Technology and Guest of Honour, praised AMP’s work in recognizing and motivating various organizations and individuals. He highlighted the ongoing collaboration between the university and AMP in developing students and faculty through guest programs. The event was presided over by University Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. T. Murugesan.

Motahar Hosain, Chief Executive and Guest of Honour, congratulated AMP for instituting these much-needed awards to acknowledge the contributions of individuals in the development sector. He remarked that despite the sacrifices made by these individuals in service to others, they seldom receive the appreciation they deserve, making these awards a significant recognition of their efforts.

 Mr. Farooq Siddiqui, Head of the AMP National Coordination Team and the driving force behind these awards, stated, “AMP believes in collaboration and has been working alongside multiple organizations since its inception. Through the AMP NGO Connect project, we are connected with over 7,000 social organizations across nearly all districts of India, helping them with capacity building and implementing AMP’s social welfare projects in their regions. These awards are our way of appreciating their efforts and motivating them to continue their impactful work.” He also thanked the AMP Chapter and state teams for mobilizing massive nominations and captivated the audience at the packed Crescent Convention Center Hall with his superb and engaging awards announcement.

 Ms. Shereen Sultana, State Head – AMP Tamil Nadu, in her address, shared details about AMP’s initiatives and invited everyone to join hands for the betterment of society and nation-building. She expressed her gratitude to the management and staff of B.S. Abdur Rahman Crescent Institute of Science & Technology for their cooperation in hosting the event and mentioned how she took up the challenge of organizing the awards ceremony in Chennai.

AMP Tamil Nadu State Executive Team member Mr. Yahya Rasheed welcomed the guests and successfully hosted the event with the support of Prof. Ansar.

The awards process for the NASE was multi-layered, with state, central, and a 9-member distinguished jury led by A.R. Khan, IAS (Retd.), President of A.R. Welfare Foundation, Dr. Syed Zafar Mahmood, Founder & President of Zakat Foundation of India, Dr. Farah Usmani, Founder & Chairperson of Rising Beyond The Ceiling, Prof. Zubair Meenai, Professor & Former Head of the Dept. of Social Work, JMI, Prof. Naseem Ahmed Khan, Chairman of the Dept. of Social Work, AMU, Dr. Shazia Manzoor, Head of DSW, University of Kashmir, Sherin Ali, Global Lead – Corporate Social Responsibility, WNS, Sajid Ali, COO of Tech Mahindra Foundation, and Gulzar Hussain, Head of Government Partnerships, UN World Food Program (India).

The success of the 4th edition of the awards was attributed to the collaborative efforts of key AMP team members, including Sajjad Parvez, AMP Zonal Head – South India; Dr. B. Raja Hussain, State Secretary; Syed Faheem, Chennai Chapter Head; and Syed Deen, Chennai Chapter Secretary. Their contributions, along with the support from the back-office teams at the Central Offices in Mumbai and Vaniyambadi, were instrumental in making the event a success.

source: http://www.muslimmirror.com / Muslim Mirror / Home> Indian Muslim> Media> Positive Story / by Muslim Mirror Desk / August 22nd, 2024

A teacher par excellence

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Darbangha, BIHAR:

I was in grade 7 or 8 when Wasi Ahmed Shamsi sahab joined B D Y High School as an Urdu and Persian teacher. Tucked away on the bank of a pond and surrounded by cultivable land and greenery, the school in rural Darbhanga was like a sanctuary, a gurukul. Away from the din and bustle of a populated location, the school was emotionally attached to people in neighbouring villages though it kept a physical distance from them.

Though the tiled roof leaked in monsoon and wall plaster had peeled off at places, giving the whole structure an impoverished look, we regarded the school as a boon. It was a privilege to be at this school which had earned a reputation for discipline and churning out good students.

The school nurtured dreams and helped shape many destinies.
It was in that positive ecosystem that Wasi sahab joined the team of a dozen or so teachers. Clad in white kurta-pajama with the skull cap covering his head, he did not wear a long beard. Like his appearance, Wasi sahab was not very orthodox in thinking too. Since he was educated at Madrassa Shamsul Hoda, Patna, one of the oldest Islamic seminaries of Bihar, he had imbibed many values which orthodox maulvis would disapprove of.

Since my father and Wasi sahab were colleagues though they taught different subjects, they had a cordial relationship and they shared a lot of things, especially about progress of their children.

Wasi sahab had spent years in urban set up before he took transfer to a school close to his village. He wanted to work for his people and therefore he got transferred from a school in Madhubani.

He was fond of reading newspapers and magazines and had even set up a library at his home. The fact that his nephew Abdul Bari Siddiqui, a senior member of Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD and a former minister had also built his house in the same mohalla where Wasi sahab lived enhanced Wasi Sahab’s stature. Many of those who visited Siddiqui sahab invariably visited Wasi sahab too.  After all, he was a reputed teacher, a wise man, a man of letters, a concerned citizen.

Wasi sahab valued journalism and would “console” my father whenever he despaired at my choice of career as a journalist. If I learned my Ghalib and Iqbal a little early, credit goes to this good teacher who made his lectures interesting. He would ask us to read books beyond what was prescribed in the textbooks. Since I often saw him reading–books, magazines, newspapers–I unknowingly emulated him. He helped create in me a hobby for reading. He was happy that I chose to become a journalist.

After retirement, Wasi sahab undertook a herculean task of writing a book on people of his ilaqa (locality) who had made a mark in life.
One summer evening I visited his village home. Clad in just lungi and gunjee (vest), with a ceiling fan whirring overhead, I saw this then septuagenarian retired teacher writing furiously on his pad. Surrounded by books and papers, he was figure of a wordsmith who thought he had little time left on this earth. Age and health issues, especially diabetes, made him restless. He wanted to complete the project he had embarked upon as soon as possible. He wanted to finish the book before the final call came.

Our telephonic discussions were long. I had encouraged him to complete the project before it was too late. Concerned about his health, I would tell him not to exert himself too much as he would fall ill often. Finally, he completed the huge volume he had spent countless hours on. The bulky book in Urdu carries life sketches of many famous personalities Wasi sahab had met at different stages in his life. I was pleasantly surprised to see that he had devoted a few pages writing about my family too, especially the struggle of my father to educate his children. Wasi sahab valued education and had great regards for those who endeavoured to educate themselves and others.

When some of my friends held a discussion on my book “Aligarh Muslim University: The Making Of The Modern Indian Muslim” at Dr Zakir Hussain Teachers’ Training College, Darbhanga, he was kind enough to attend it. And he spoke eloquently about AMU’s contribution and my humble efforts to record some of the fine features of AMU.

I remember, years ago, he had organised an educational conference in his village where the famous Urdu journalist of Patna Ghulam Sarwar who later became a minister too was invited as a chief guest. It is also because of Wasi Sahab’s efforts that Ghulam Sarwar, a great orator, had attended our school’s annual Jalsa- a-Seeratul Nabi function. The headmaster late Ramswaroop Yadav had made a rule that Muslim students would hold Seerat Jalsa, in honour of the holy Prophet, while Hindu students would celebrate Saraswati Puja. Interestingly, both Hindu and Muslim students would participate in one another’s functions. Remarkably, my father, a devout Muslim, would be made in charge of distribution of prasad or sweets as gifts to the visitors at the annual Saraswati Puja. What a great example of communal harmony the school had set?

Koi lauta de woh din for se mere pyare Hindustan mein!!

Of late,Wasi sahab was not keeping well. Despite his poor health, he wanted to bring out an abridged version of his voluminous book. I don’t know if he could complete it or not.

This afternoon I recieved three calls. First, from my elder brother, then from youngest brother, followed by a call from Mujtaba, son of Wasi Sahab. All informed me about the sad demise of Wasi Sahab, my beloved teacher who taught us diligently and honesty. But more than that, he inspired us to strive to excel.

Wasi sahab will be remembered at least for two things–for being an ideal guru, a teach par excellence and for his valuable contribution to writing and preserving the history of the locality he grew up in. He has done a great service to the person of the area. Wasi Sahab now sleeps peacefully among many of his people who preceded him.

Rest in peace, Sir. I will miss you.

Maut uski hai kare jiska zamana afsos/Yun toh duniya mein aye hain sabhi marne keliye

(Death is one which is grieved by the world/Otherwise everyone is fated to die one day).

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> India / by Mohammed Wajihuddin in Beyond the Burqa, Spirituality, TOI / January 07th, 2024

A noble soul passes away

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Aurangabad /Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA:

It was December 2001. I was at Dr Rafiq Zakaria’s beautiful, book-lined study at Cuffe Parade house in South Mumbai. In that spacious room Allama Iqbal vied for space with William Wordsworth and Mirza Ghalib sat alongside Shakespeare. World religions and their prophets and pundits were there in plenty. So were heroes and heroines of India’s freedom struggle. Present also were a few villains amidst a pantheon of popular leaders. Muhammad Ali Jinnah could not have been absent. He was there too.

In fact, Jinnah those days was in the intellectual air on both sides of the Indo-Pak border. The Outlook magazine had sent Dr Rafiq Zakaria’s book on Jinnah ‘The Man Who Divided India’ to noted Pakistani journalist Najam Sethi for review and he had panned the book. In the review Sethi had also suggested that Dr Zakaria should have heeded advice of his wife Fatma Zakaria who had tried to stop him from wiring the book, suggesting, “I think you should leave Jinnah alone for a while.” Dr Zakaria had written a rejoinder to Sethi’s piece and explained that he could not help but write about a man responsible for not just dividing India but breaking the social cohesion of the subcontinent Muslims. First, Muslims were divided between two countries–India and Pakistan. Subsequently, a part of Pakistan broke away, leaving Muslims divided in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The blood-curdling riots that accompanied these divisions had left Dr Zakaria deeply disturbed and could not rest till he took the grief off his chest.

While he gave an interview to me for the ‘Indian Express” on why he wrote this book and the debate it had generated, he told his office staff that he would not entertain any telephone calls or visitors for the next one hour. Dr Zakaria was holding forth forcefully in the closed room when unexpectedly and suddenly the door opened and Fatma Zakaria, in yellow salwar-kameez clutching a page, breezed in. “The secretary is so terrified after you asked her not to disturb you that she pleaded with me to come. This needs your signature and has to be faxed urgently,” Fatma said, got the paper signed and left quickly.

The Zakarias, husband and wife, complimented each other. One half left in 2005. The better half departed yesterday. She was 85. Her famous son, US-based author and Television anchor Fareed Zakaria couldn’t have encapsulated his feelings in a tweet better than this: “My mother, Fatma Zakaria, passed away last night at 85. She lived a long, rich, eventful life, with children and grandchildren whom she adored. She loved this photograph.” The photograph that I use with this essay is the one Fareed Zakaria tweeted. She is survived by, apart from Fareed, her son Arshad Zakaria and step son Mansoor Zakaria and step daughter Tasneem Mehta Zakaria.

Life was never the same again in Mumbai after Dr Rafiq Zakaria had exited. Life at the beautiful educational campus Dr Rafiq Zakaria built in Aurangabad will never be the same again after Fatma Zakaria’s departure. After Dr Zakaria’s death in 2005, Fatma had stepped in to carry on the educational legacy her famous educationist, politician and Islamic scholar husband had left behind.

As you enter the green campus, a sense of gratitude for the Zakarias grips you. For years, Dr Zakaria and then his wife Fatma nursed this seat of learning, endowing it with institutions of repute. Most politicians use their constituencies to scale heights and abandon them once they leave politics and walk into sunset. Few remain clung to their constituencies till they die. Dr Rafiq Zakaria belonged to the second category. “He is the architect of modern Aurangabad and Mrs. Fatma Zakaria was a big pillar of support to him. I don’t think Dr Zakaria could have done so much in the fields of politics, education and scholarship without her,” says eminent Urdu scholar and linguist Prof Abdus Sattar Dalvi who have known the Zakarias for the last five decades. Prof Dalvi had also translated Dr Zakaria’s seminal work Iqbal: Poet and Politician in Urdu.

Fatma was Dr Zakaria’s first reader and critic too. With their children flown out of the nest and into the wider world where they planted victory flags on as varied fields as Investment Banking and Journalism, it was Fatma who provided the much-needed inputs as well as emotional support to Zakaria who heads so many institutions and i wrote so prolifically till his end.

Fatma had worked under legendary editor and ‘dream boss’ of every fledgling journalist, Khushwant Singh, and knew how to curb verbosity in a sentence and straighten a complex paragraph. In book after book that Dr Zakaria churned out, he acknowledged the unpaid services of this able, inhouse editor. She knew Urdu too and could write on arts and literature with as much felicity as she could do political pieces. The biggies she had interviewed included Indira Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher and Jaya Prakash Narayan.

Bachi Karkaria, M J Akbar, Bikram Vora, Jiggs Kalra, Badshah Sen and Ramesh Chandran were her contemporaries when they worked with “The Illustrated Weekly of India” under the stewardship of Khushwant Singh. When I informed Akbar about Fatma’s death yesterday, he reacted with a few words: “What a tragedy. I am saddened.” Akbar was so close to the Zakarias that once I heard him saying, “I feel adopted by the Zakarias.” Perhaps no book launch of Dr Zakaria–and he had at least one or two every year—was held without Akbar as one of the speakers. The speed with which Dr Zakria wrote books, published and launched them left us youngsters amazed. I once joked when he informed me about the launch of yet another book: “Dr Sahab, now I have left count of the number of your book launches and book readings I have attended.” This couldn’t have been possible without the meticulous planning Fatma Zakaria did and tireless support she provided.

It was the launch of Zakaria’s book ” Indian Muslims: Where Have they Gone Wrong?” at the Nehru Centre in Mumbai. The 900-odd capacity auditorium was houseful with young college students (Dr Zakaria and, Fatma after him, was chairperson of the Maharashtra College in Mumbai) occupying a substantial number of seats. As always, Fatma Zakaria didn’t figure among those who graced the stage. When Akbar rose to speak, he inquired about Fatma Zakaria who was seated among the audience. Akbar requested her to come on stage. She refused and was seemingly embarrassed for being invited to the stage. Leaving her to where she felt comfortable, Akbar went on to say: “It is only Dr Rafiq Zakaria who can turn a book launch into a public meeting.”

A couple of years after Dr Zakaria’s death, Islamic scholar and secretary general of the Wisdom Foundation, Dr Zeenat Shaukat Ali, and I were in Aurangabad to participate in a seminar political scientist Dr Zaheer Ali had organized. Historian and ex-VC of Jamia Millia Islamia Prof Mushirul Hasan too had flown in from Delhi. After the seminar, Zeenat Shaukat Ali and I went to see Fatma Zakaria in her office. She was in fine fettle, command of things and ran the show meticulously. We chatted for a while and then she told us not to leave without visiting Dr Sahab’s grave on the same campus.

Zeenat Shaukat Ali and I walked down the paved pathway and reached a small patch of land where Dr Zakaria’s open-to-sky grave squats. With several couplets of Allama Iqbal adorning the place, it resembles a Sufi saint’s last resting place. After a long, eventful life, Fatma Zakaria joined her husband. They will be there till the creator calls them up, along with all of us, on the Judgement Day.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> India / by Mohammed Wajihuddin in Beyond the Burqa, India, TOI / April 07th, 2021

First UPSC coaching centre for poor Muslim girls in Mumbai

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Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA:

First UPSC coaching centre for poor Muslim girls in Mumbai
The free coaching centre on Mohammed Ali Road boasts residential facilities for out-of-town girls

Muslim girl aspirants of civil services have just got a reason to rejoice. The Fatimabai Musa Patel Competitive Examination Training Centre for Women (residential and non-residential) at Mohammed Ali Road, opening this week, fulfils an old need of the community.

Initially accommodating 20 residential and around 30 non-residential candidates, the Centre helps give wings to many girls who aspire to become civil servants and want to give the tough IAS and provincial services exams a shot.

“The need for a proper place exclusive for the girls who want to prepare for UPSC and MPSC exams has been felt for a long. Some like-minded people have joined hands to prepare this facility,” said former MLA Bashir Musa Patel who owns this place and has dedicated it to the memory of his mother Fatimabai.

Though Patel and a few other good Samaritans came forward to create this Centre, the motivating force is former CEO of Haj Committee of India and ex-registrar, Mumbai University, Dr Maqsood Ahmed Khan. With experience of mentoring civil services aspirants at the Haj House’s coaching centre, Khan was suited to show the path here too.  “They roped me in to do honourary mentorship here. We have already selected candidates. Initially most of the candidates are those who previously appeared for the UPSC entrance examinations but didn’t succeed and wanted to prepare again,” said Khan.

On Friday, the Centre’s director Zubia Shaikh, through a power-point presentation, explained the abysmal low representation of Muslims in the civil services. According to the Sachar Commission Report, the representation of Muslims in the civil services is only 3%.

“This Centre will propel girls to reach their goals. Even if some don’t succeed in these tough examinations, the very dream and preparations will equip them to face challenges in life,” said Shaikh.

Two candidates who cracked UPSC exams last year and were allotted IPS cadre-Mavis Tak and Tahseen Banu Dawadi-too addressed the small gathering virtually. Both are preparing again to upgrade their UPSC ranks.

“The facility created here for the girls is very important. It is not possible to prepare for this examination at home as you need the right environment, guidance, mentorship and company of fellow aspirants,” said Tak who graduated from Mira Road-based Royal College.

Soon after Tak, daughter of a freelance translator cracked the UPSC exams, several organisations and individuals, including Mira Road based ex-MLC Muzaffar Hussain and Royal College, felicitated her and her parents. In her interview to TOI, she had said that her father was the main motivating force as he had dreams of becoming an IAS. “He wanted me to achieve what he could not,” Tak had told TOI.

Hijab-wearing Dawadi comes from Karnataka and said that hijab was no hindrance to education and qualifying for the UPSC. Ayesha Kazi who is awaiting her UPSC final results this year said a centre like this where girls felt secured, confident and comfortable was needed to encourage others to aim for a career in civil services.

The Centre is getting community’s applause. Philanthropist Kaderbhai Fazlani lauded the amenities.

“The densely populated Muslim pockets in the city do not have enough facilities for students, especially girls, to concentrate and study for UPSC exams. More such centres are needed at different pockets in the city,” said businessman Sabir Nirban.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Mumbai News / by Mohammed Wajihuddin, TNN / February 26th, 2023

Dr Rafiq Zakaria: A Patriot, Politician and Scholar

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Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

Sadly today there is no one of Dr Zakaria’s caliber, scholarship and forceful articulation to bat for Indian Muslims

One evening in the late 1990s, as a cub reporter working for The Asian Age, founded and then edited by eminent journalist M J Akbar, I landed at the iconic Nehru Centre in Mumbai. It was a lecture by Samuel Huntington, the famous American scholar who had stirred a huge controversy with his Clash of Civilizations hypothesis. After Huntington’s speech, Dr Zakaria spoke and, while acknowledging the renowned scholar’s debt in mentoring the Zakarias’ son the famous author and journalist Fareed Zakaria, Dr Zakaria disagreed with Huntington’s hypothesis and attacked him for spreading fear among the peace-loving section of the world community.

That was the first time I saw Dr Zakaria. Subsequently, I attended a screening of a documentary made by a British channel on the eve of 50 years of India’s Independence in 1997. The documentary, complained Zakaria, had truncated version of his interview and post-screeing Dr Zakaria was understandably disturbed and livid. In my excitement to have got a “hot” story about a leading Islamic scholar like Dr Zakaria trashing a documentary by a British channel I reported it in the paper but wrongly said that it was produced by the BBC. Next day the BBC sent a letter to my editor denying its ownership. It was a huge embarrassment for me, the editor and the paper and, the then resident editor, rapped me for such a lapse and carelessness while reporting. To my pleasant surprise Dr Zakaria didn’t pull me up, forgetting and forgiving with a remark that it was a misreporting.

Dr Zakarai and his wife Madam Fatma Zakaria were very close to M J Akbar, and he could have got me fired for the blunder that I had committed. But Dr Zakaria saw it as a minor mistake on the part of a young, fledgling reporter and didn’t make it into a big issue. I fell in love with the scholar-politician for his magnanimity and sense of justice.

For the next one decade or so I remained immensely close to the Zakarias. Hardly a week passed when I didn’t call doctor sahib or he didn’t inquire about my progress as a journalist. I can’t remember the number of times I quoted him for stories or interviewed him for The Asian Age or The India Express, the paper I left in 2005 to join The Times of India. He was happy that I joined TOI, the newspaper he had contributed to for decades. Sadly, he didn’t live long to see my works in TOI, except the first story which announced my arrival to the Times. It was about Sare Jahan Se Accha completing a century and doctor sahib, as always, was effusive in his praise for me for this front-page story which in a way also announced my arrival to the Times of India.

I cannot forget a note that he wrote on one of his books he gifted me. Seated at his spacious study at the Cuffe Parade House in South Mumbai, in long hand, doctor sahib wrote:

“To Mohammed Wajihuddin for whose bright future I am genuinely concerned.”

It was a big compliment for me. I felt adopted by the Zakarias who showered unreserved love and affection on me. There was no artificiality in doctor sahib’s expression of concern and love for a boy who had arrived in the city from the backwaters of Bihar without a godfather. After his passing away, I missed him a lot and miss him every day, every moment.

Dr Rafiq Zakaria: An Impressive Journey

Dr Zakaria belonged to a generation which had not only witnessed the horrors of partition but had deeply felt pained at the vivisection of India into Islamic Pakisan and Secular India. Son of a maulvi in Nala Sopara, Zakaria scaled the height of scholarship and politics mainly because of his love for reading and a drive to excel.

A brilliant student, he devoured books on history, fiction, law, religion and everything between them. He had befriended Bernard Shaw, heard Harold Laski and met Bapu the Mahtma who always remained a paragon of truth and non-violence to Zakaria. Even as a student, both in Bombay and in London, he wrote for some leading newspapers of the day. An argumentative mind, he would not take things on their face value. He would question the status quo and side with the victims.

A patriot to the core, Zakaria never lost hope in the Hindu-Muslim unity and never forgave Mohammed Ali Jinnah for formulating the Two-Nation Theory which caused immeasurable damage to the sub-continent’s Muslims. In his autobiographical book The Price of Partition, the release function of which I had the fortune to attend, he has detailed the circumstances leading to the partition of India. He would often quote the famous Urdu couplet about the disaster that partition brought: Lamhon ne khata ki thi/sadiyon ne saza payee.

Dr Zakaria’s views about Muhammad Ali Jinnah

In his lucid prose which, as Zakaria confesses in almost all his books that he authored, was fine-tuned by the veteran editor and his better half Madam Fatma, Zakaria has quoted several interesting anecdotes about Jinnah whom his supporters called Quaid-e-Azam (the leader) but who actually misled the sub-continent’s Muslims. The pork-eating Jinnah who loved his whisky had nothing to do with the genuine concerns of the Muslims. He was authoritarian, egotist and desperate to see his dream of carving out Pakistan, the so-called Pure land for Muslims. One of the anecdotes in Zakaria’s immensely readable book goes like this:

“Jinnah had started reorganizing the League after the assembly elections in 1937; he was on an enticing spree. Hasrat Mohani, who was a firebrand, went to see Jinnah on some urgent work at his bungalow. He had not taken an appointment. It was after dusk; Jinnah was enjoying his peg of whisky. He called Mohani to his room and thinking then that he was more a revolutionary than an orthodox Muslim, offered him a drink. Mohani, somewhat baffled, said that he wished he had as little fear of God as Jinnah had. Jinnah retorted: “No, Maulana! You are wrong. I have more faith in His mercy than you have.”

Dr Rafiq Zakaria: A Successful Politician

He was a successful politician who even represented India at the United States to counter the arguments of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, then Pakistan’s foreign minister and later the Prime Minister, on the dispute over Kashmir. Besides, Zakaria was a passionate scholar of Islam. His seminal work Muhammad and the Quran, written in response to Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses, is a labour of love for which Muslims will be eternally indebted to him. About the huge positive response this book received from noted scholars from across the world, Dr Zakaria once told me:

“After reading this book, a big Pakistani Maulana said, “Mujhe nahim maloom Dr Zakaria ne kitni neki or aur kitne gunah kiye hain lekin main gawahi deta hoon key eh kitab unki bakhshayesh ka zariya banegi. [Truly, if nothing else, at least this book will inshallah help our late doctor sahib find a place in jannah.]

Dr Rafiq Zakaria’s love for Allama Iqbal

His love for the poet-philosopher Allama Iqbal was immense. He defended Iqbal like few in India did. His book on Allama Iqbal, penned to prove that Iqbal was wrongly credited with fathering the idea of Pakistan, is testimony to Zakaria’s love and respect for Iqabl who was undoubtedly a great poet but a failed politician. Dr Zakaria never failed to quote the famous line from Iqbal’s Naya Shivala –Pather ki moorton mein samjha hai tu khuda hai/khake watan ka mujhko har zarra devta hai–whenever he needed to show Iqbal or other Indian Muslims as nationalists.

One thing that is of great relevance to us today is Dr Zakaria’s unshakeable faith in Kashmir’s accession to India. He had even penned a poem on Kashmir, expressing his love for the valley and why it needed to be with India. He justifiably believed that, if Kashmir secedes from India, it will not only be ruinous for the Kashmiris, but Muslims in the rest of India will have to pay heavily for this crime. As anti-Muslim hysteria grips parts of India in the aftermath of the recent terror attack on the Amarnath Yatri, Dr Zakaria’s fears only seem true. It is in the interest of Indian Muslims that Kashmir remains an integral part of India.

Sadly today there is no one of Dr Zakaria’s caliber, scholarship and forceful articulation to bat for Indian Muslims either in the media or in the corridors of power, the two arenas that are increasingly getting poisoned. As majotarianism marches ahead, threatening to turn the secular India into a Hindu rashtra, the absence of a patriot, politician and scholar like Zakaria is greatly felt.

(The author, a journalist with The Times of India, presented this paper at the one-day seminar on Dr Rafiq Zakaria on July 15, 2017 at Aurangabad. The article is reproduced here with the permission of the writer on the occasion of the 15th death anniversary of Dr Rafiq Zakari on July 9.)

source: http://www.ummid.com / Ummid.com / Home> India> Views & Analysis / by Mohammed Wajihuddin / July 17th, 2020

Hyderabad madrassa empowers girls with course on fatwa

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, , , , , , , , ,

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

Highlights 

  • Madrassa Jamiatul Mominath in Moghalpura is imparting education to women on a course on fatwa.
  • It is Hyderabad’s first and only institute that trains women to become muftias.
  • Instruction is imparted in the Darul Ifta, or fatwa department
  • __________________________________________________

MadarasaMPOs28feb2018

Hyderabad :

Over a dozen students, all clad in burqas, are in a small classroom.Their teacher, dressed identically, keeps a close watch.Everyone is on the floor while books on Hadith (traditions of the Prophet), commentaries on the Quran and tomes on fatwas line the walls.
This is the Madrassa Jamiatul Mominath in Moghalpura, which is the city’s first and only institute that trains women to become muftias. Instruction is imparted in the Darul Ifta, or fatwa department.

Fatwa is an opinion that Muslims seek on a range of subjects, including marriage, menstruation, divorce, adoption, property issues, and rituals like namaz and roza.Countless madrassas in the country–such as UP’s Darul Uloom Deoband–run training courses, but most of them are for men.

“There are several questions that women hesitate to ask muftis. We thought women would be more comfortable discussing their issues with muftias. That’s why we introduced this one-year course 12 years ago,” said Hafiz Mastan Ali, Jamiatul Mominath’s founder.

Set up in 1991, the madrassa has 2,500 students today , of whom 400 are hostellers. The muftia course began with only five girls, but this year, the department is training 15.So far, the madrassa has produced 318 muftias.

The fatwa department’s head, Nazima Aziz, said making girls muftias is empowerment. “Once an alima (female graduate) completes fazila (post-graduation), she is eligible for the fatwa course.”

Aziz explained that the course is divided into five segments: prayers, women’s personal issues, limitations (what women can and can’t do), property issues and current issues. ” A fatwa is given in the light of Quran commandments and the Prophet’s traditions. Muftis try their best to be neutral while giving judgments on disputes. If someone is not satisfied with the decision, he or she can consult another mufti or muftia,” she said.

The girls share Aziz’s opinion on the importance of their role. A muftia in the making, Suraiya Shakeel Khan wants to help women. “I can guide people on religion.” Khadeeja Fatima feels she would get more respect in the community once she becomes a muftia. Most of them, like Aziz, are in favour of setting up more Darul Iftas for women across the country .

Interestingly, Aziz and her students backed the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB)’s stand on triple talaq. “Talaq in one sitting should be discouraged, but it cannot be banned as that will be tantamount to interference in sharia laws,” said Mohammed Hasnuddin, head of Mominath’s fatwa department for men. “We don’t agree that talaq is a sword dangling over the heads of women. It’s an option to end an oppressive marriage and should be used as last resort.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Hyderabad News / by Mohammed Wajihuddin / TNN / January 09th, 2017

Muslim advocates create forum to fight injustice

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, , , , , , , , ,

Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

Mumbai :

Over 300 Muslim advocates from across the state joined hands on Friday to create a forum to stridently fight cases of “injustice” done to the members of community. At a well-attended meet, with participants coming from different districts and talukas of the state, the Muslim advocates resolved to stay united and plead for the rights of minorities as guaranteed in the constitution.

The mood in the spacious Karimi Library’s hall of Anjuman-e-Islam near CST was electric with dozens of young advocates listening with rapt attention to senior legal luminaries, even as the speakers quoted the Quran, Urdu poetry and the minority rights copiously. Two former judges of Bombay high court, Justice Bilal Nazki and Justice Shafi Parkar, were also present. distributed gyaan.

Senior advocates like Saeed Akhtar pressed the need for unity among Muslim advocates. “We must stay united if we want to become an influential force,” said Akhtar, who didn’t find it odd to be associated with an exclusive forum of Muslim advocates. “Advocates can have multiple affiliations and I know many of my non-Muslim colleagues who are members of organizations set up by their respective castes and religions,” added Akhtar.

Many advocates sympathized with the accused of Malegaon 2006 blasts currently languishing in jail despite Swami Aseemanand’s confession that several blasts across India, including those at a Muslim cemetery in Malegaon in 2006, were carried out by activists of Hindutva organizations.

Giving the reason why an exclusive forum of Muslim advocates was needed, advocate Abdul Kalam from Thane said: “After the communal riots, it has been found that Hindu advocates are reluctant to fight cases of Muslim victims or accused. We don’t say that all non-Muslim advocates are biased, but during moments of crisis, many upright advocates have developed cold feet.”

Dr Zaheer Kazi, president of Anjuman-e-Islam, reminded the congregation of the need to be aware of several latches in the recent bills like Right to Education Bill and New Direct Tax Code Bill which will soon be turned into laws. “The New Direct Tax Code Bill has some sections which will harm the interest of minority-run institutions. The institutions which run on donations will be unnecessarily taxed heavily. Muslim advocates must be aware of these shortcomings in the bills and fight to get them removed before they become laws,” said Kazi. The conclave formed an ad hoc committee which will choose the office bearers of the Muslim advocates’ Forum.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Mumbai / by Mohammed Wajihuddin / TNN / April 22nd, 2011