WOMEN IN ISLAM

Obituary: Aminah Assilmi - She led a caravan on the route of faith
Aminah Assilmi, renowned female scholar of Islam died on March 5 in a car accident in Newport, Tennessee while returning from a speaking engagement. She was President of International Union of Muslim Women, the organization that was responsible for persuading the US Postal Service to issue the first postage stamp with an Islamic theme 'Eid Mubarak'. She was 65. Aminah lost touch with several of her relatives and friends when she embraced Islam on May 21, 1977. However, she worked her way to the hearts of all those who had deserted her, eventually all of them converting to Islam.

She was a Southern Baptist girl, a radical feminist, and a broadcast journalist. She was a girl with an unusual calibre, who excelled in school, received scholarships, ran her own business, and was competing with professionals and getting awards - all these while she was going to college. A group of Islamic missionaries who knocked at her door one day introduced her to Islam with a copy of the Holy Quran and a book on Islam. She hated Islam in the beginning and used to find mistakes in the holy scripture in order 'to convince the Muslims of the fake nature of Islam and Prophet Muhammadsaw. But slowly Islam made inroads into her heart till she declared the Shahadah. This resulted in a divorce with her husband and under State laws of Colorado denied her the custody of two little kids. Judge gave her 20 minutes to decide whether she would give up Islam or the kids.
She loved her children very dearly. It is perhaps the worst nightmare that a mother can have: asked to willfully leave her child - not for one day, month, or year, but forever. On the other hand, how could she keep the Truth away from her children and live as a hypocrite? "It was the most painful 20 minutes in my life", she said in an interview. Those of us who are mothers and fathers, especially of young children, little imagination is needed to feel the pain and torment that she must have passed every second in those 20 minutes. What added further to her pain was that according to doctors, she could never bear another child because of certain complications. "I prayed like I had never done before ... I knew that there was no safer place for my children to be than in the hands of Allah. If I denied Him, there would be no way in the future to show my children the wonders of being with Allah."

She decided to retain Islam. Her two dear children - one little boy and one little girl - were taken away from her and given to her ex-husband.

Aminah Assilimi later fought back and took her case to the media. Although she did not get custody of her children again, a change was made in the Colorado law that one cannot be denied child custody on the basis of his or her religion.

Aminah kept touch with everyone in the family even though they hated her or detested her decision to embrace Islam. She would keep sending them cards on various occasions with a few quotes from the Quran. First to accept Islam among them was her grandmother, at 100, who died soon after conversion to Islam. Next to join her faith was her father who had loaded his double barreled shotgun to kill her when he first heard the news of her entering Islam. Her mother too entered the fold of Islam a few years later. Curiously, both her father and mother were Muslims for at least two years, without each one knowing of other also being a Muslim. Her son, upon becoming adult, accepted Islam. When he turned 21, he called her and said that he wanted to become a Muslim.
Sixteen years after the divorce, her ex-husband also accepted Islam. He said that he had been watching her for 16 years and wanted his daughter to have the same religion that she had. He came to her and apologized for what he had done. He was a very nice gentlemen and Assilimi had forgiven him long ago.

Perhaps the greatest reward for her was yet to come. Assilmi later married another person, and despite the doctors' verdict that she could never conceive another child, Allah blessed her with a beautiful boy. If Allahswt makes a gift to someone, who can prevent Him? It was truly a wonderful blessing from Allahswt, and so she named him "Barakah"

She lost her job because of wearing hijab. She was later appointed the President of the International Union of Muslim Women. She used to deliver lectures nationwide and was on high demand.

She is survived by her daughter Amber, and sons, Whitney and Mohammad, as well as by several grandchildren.

(abridged from www.iumw.org)

Muslim Law Board for better deal for women

Even as the All India Muslim Personal Law Board did not take a stand on much publicized women reservation bill at its annual conclave here, yet the deliberation at meet widely reflect concern for the women.

The Board not only increased the representation of the women in the body, its president Maulana Rabey Hasani Nadvi asked for a better deal for women In his presidential address, Nadvi emphasized the need to accord greater importance to women in all spheres, particularly in matters of marriage, inheritance and reforms within the Muslim society.

“The true spirit of Islam is in giving honour and respect to women who often do not get their due,” said Nadvi, who was re-elected the Board chief for the third consecutive term. He was first elected as chairman in the Hyderabad session of board.

Nadvi appealed to the Muslims to stay away from social evils like female foeticide, dowry and lavish weddings. These, incidentally, formed the core of the islah-e-ma'ashra (reform of society) programme of the Law Board. He laid emphasis on the protection of women's rights.

Interestingly the board's reluctance to oppose the bill is seen as a setback to many, from Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad to Mamata Banerjee, who have described the legislation as detrimental to Muslim women.

Sources in Board said that an informal discussion before the formal session where some office-bearers had highlighted the need for a “quota within the quota”. But Nadvi dropped it on the ground that the Board should restrict itself with protection and preservation of the Islamic shariah instead of taking a political position on key issues of the day.

Board secretary Abdul Raheem Qureshi too explained that it was not the proper platform to discuss a “sensitive and potentially political issue” like the women's reservation bill.

The total number of women members in the executive panel of the body has been enhanced to five. The four new female members are Rukhsana Lari, Safia Naseem (both from Lucknow), Noorjehan Shakeel (Kolkata) and Asma Zehra (Hyderabad). Naseem Iqtidar Ali Khan was till now the sole woman member in the executive committee. She continues to be on the panel.

Another significant feature of the Board's elections was its attempt to expand its representation in the north-eastern States and Ladakh. The representatives from these regions were elected as term members. While, Maulana Bilal was elected from Meghalaya and Syed Ahmed from Tripura, the Independent MP from Ladakh ( Jammu and Kashmir), Ghulam Hussain and Maulana Ata-ur- Rehman, AUDF (Assam United Democratic Front) MLA from Badarpur in Assam were elected term members from Ladakh and Assam.

Meanwhile the Board has decided to oppose the proposed amendments to the Communal Violence Bill which seek to give more powers to men in uniform. The Board would bring all Muslim MPs to mobilise opinion on the issue.

“The police force throughout the country is biased against Muslims… any arbitrary powers given to them would be extremely harmful for the community,” the Qureshi said. “We oppose amendments to the Communal Violence Bill which would give extraordinary powers to the police in riot situations,” he said. (andalib2001@yahoo.com)

By Andalib Akhter

Islamic scholars condemn genocide of Christians tribals

Top Nigerian Islamic scholars have condemned as un-Islamic and barbaric the massacre of hundreds of people, mostly women and children, in attacks on three Christian villages south of Jos metropolis, urging authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.

"The massacre is no doubt a condemnable and abominable act which is totally rejected by the Muslim community," Dr Abdul-Lateef Adegbite, Secretary General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), told IslamOnline.net on March 9.

Some 500 people, mostly Christian women and children, are believed to have been killed in attacks by machete-wielding gangs on three villages on the fringes of Jos, capital of Plateau state.

Abdullahi Shuaib, coordinator of the Conference of Islamic Organizations (CIO), branded the killings as unacceptable and called for holistic probe into the progrom that has left the hitherto beautiful state into a shadow of its old self.

Professor Lakin Akintola, prominent Islamic televangelist and lecturer at the Lagos State University (LASU), said the Muslim community condemns these wanton killings.

Ethnic, Not Religious
Prof. Akintola said the conflict was ethnic and not religious in nature but both divergent faiths of the two tribes get a bad name.
Reference by:http://islamicvoice.com