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)

NC: Duke Opens Center for Muslim Community

More than 100 faculty, staff, students and members of the Muslim community from Duke and the Triangle gathered Thursday for the official opening of a Muslim Life center at Duke.

For Duke's Muslim Chaplain Abdullah Antepli, the gray clapboard house at 406 Swift Ave. represents "one of the most happy, joyous moments of my life ... a dream come true."

Duke University law student Mazen Alhroob led the Islamic call to prayer, or adhan. Then, following a brief reading from the Koran, several Duke officials spoke to the crowd about the significance of the occasion.

Both President Richard Brodhead and Duke Chapel Dean Sam Wells said a strong Muslim community on campus was essential for bringing out the best of Duke.

"We are ambitious and we want to be the best we can be," Wells said. "We can't be the best without each other."

Fatemah Ahmad, a senior at Duke and co-president of the Muslim Students Association, expressed gratitude at the university's commitment to and support for the campus Muslim community. She and Antepli emphasized the center is open and welcoming to everyone.

"The easiest way to show you what we mean to do with this space is for you to come in and participate -- hang out, drink tea, read books, or study," she said. "The light is always on and a pot of tea is always brewing."
Rference by:http://islamonline.com/news/articles/

Pakistan Targets Taliban Swat Leadership

ISLAMABAD – With local Taliban fighters in troubled Swat putting up a tough fight, the Pakistani army is targeting their top leadership, especially their commander Maulana Maulvi Fazlullah, to break their nerve. "Our main focus is to neutralize the Taliban leadership, including Fazlullah, who have been commanding militant groups in different parts of Swat, Boner and Dir districts," a senior army official involved in the ongoing military operations told IslamOnline on Tuesday, May 12, requesting anonymity.

Commandos from the army’s elite Special Services Group (SSG) were airlifted to Peochar, the stronghold of Fazlullah and his Tehrik-e-Taliban Swat (TTS) some 60 kilometers from Mingora, the capital of Swat.

"We have concrete information that he is commanding the militants from Peochar," said the army official.
Reference by:http://islamonline.com/news/articles/


IslamOnline in Swat (Special Folder)

"Commandos have been airlifted to Peochar via army helicopters and are trying to flush him out." Maulana Fazlullah, locally known as Maulana Radio because of his FM radio station, has been leading a two-year uprising that has devastated the area.

His TTS is a break-away faction of the non-violent Tehrik Nifaz-e-Shari’ah Mohammadi (TNSM) led by Maulana Sufi Mohammad, his father-in-law.

Other key Taliban commanders targeted by the army commandos are Muslim Khan, Mufti Shahid, Maulana Khalil, Ibn-e-Ameen, Maulana Shah Dauran and Qari Jabbar.

"They will also be targeted in order to break the nerves of militants, who have been putting a tough resistance in respective areas," said the army official.

"The army leadership is sure that if six to eight main Taliban leaders are neutralized - either captured or killed - a majority of militants will either surrenders or run away."

The army has been conducting a punishing offensive against militants in Malakand division, a conglomerate of eight districts including Swat, Dir and Boner.

The military said last week that around 12,000-15,000 security forces were operating against 4,000 well-armed Taliban fighters.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik claims that around 700 militants have been killed so far.

Tough Task


The army official declines to give a timeframe for the end of the ongoing operations. "In these kinds of operations, no deadline can be given. It may last for weeks, or months, but we will try our level best to accomplish the task as soon as possible," he said.

"That is why we are trying to neutralize their leadership to bring the ongoing operation to an end as soon as possible.

But defense and security analysts believe that liquidating the local Taliban leadership is not a walk in the park.

"This will be a very difficult task," Major General rtd Jamshed Ayaz, a senior defense and security analyst, told IOL.

"These types of people do not sit at one place. They camouflage themselves among the masses and use them as human shield. It is very hard to differentiate them."

Ayaz, who was commissioned in the army in 1965 and served in various capacities till 2001, believes intelligence can make the task much easier.

"Therefore, I emphasize on intelligence, both human and technical. The most difficult step in this process will be their precise location," he explains.

"If the army, with the help of an active intelligence, succeeds to locate them, then the task will turn out to easier."

The expert agrees that finishing off the main Taliban leaders will be a turning point.

"This is a uniformed formula that if the leadership is eliminated, the nerves of the troops are broken. That is especially true in the case of such militias who do not act as a regular force."

He contends that with such militias, personalities are very important as they keep their followers attached and united thanks to their personal charisma.

"But once these personalities are de-motivated or eliminated, their followers’ nerves are shattered, and they do not stay united and firm.

"The elimination of leadership will be disastrous for them."