A Trillion Dollar Halal Business Re: # 88

I requested Halal posts and you keep on singing your halal water mantra. Bhai, we appreciate you very innovative brain coming up with the idea of halal water. If I read somewhere, your PM Morar ji Desai had a patent licence for this. So it is not something new. He used to mix his own Mootar (urine) with drinking water to make it "PooAtar (halal) water fortified with recycled vitamins".

A Trillion Dollar Halal Business Re: # 86

Can we have some real Halal (pure and clean) posts after these Najas posts in the name of discussing halal topic?

A Trillion Dollar Halal Business Re: # 81

All imported meat in GCC countries have to be labelled HALAL. Bahrain is an exception (not sure about UAE) where unlike Saudi Arabia, pork and liquor drinks are sold freely. So some importer had it labelled Halal along Halal chicken and mutton/beaf. So that shows the mockery of our prevention from haram. It is mere cursory and not in real spirits.

A Trillion Dollar Halal Business Re: # 78

Don't stereotype all religious scholars (whom you call Mullah out of your well-known hatred and bias)

Read it and believe me you are not a "more learned" than this young lady.
===================================================
Naeemi -- a great loss
Dissenting Note
Dr Masooda Bano

It was in early 2006 when I first met Dr Sarfaraz Naeemi. I had started an ambitious research project on understanding the basis of demand for madrasas in Pakistan. I wanted to cover a large number of madrasas across the five schools of thought across the provinces. Dr Naeemi being very active in the ongoing dialogue between the madrasa leadership and the government was one of the first people I approached to gain access within the madrasa system. It was in Islamabad, at a madrasa in Chak Shahzad, that I got the first appointment with him to come and explain my research. In the ten minutes' eeting he assessed the purpose of my research and agreed to help. That decision made future access within the madrasas so much easier.

I met him repeatedly at his office at Jamia Naeemi, during my two-year fieldwork. He always accommodated the interviews and would give a lot of time while at the same time very efficiently taking care of other matters demanding his urgent attention. His purpose, like other religious scholars across the five wafaqs who supported the research, was to help me develop an understanding of what to him was the real role of madrasas in Pakistan-- a role, which in his view was being misrepresented by the Pakistani government and western policymakers. To realise that the very office where I conducted these repeated interviews now rests destroyed and Dr Naeemi is no more is indeed very saddening--but, then, for the time now, getting one sad news after another is what Pakistan has become all about.

It is good to see the recognition within the government and the media of Dr Naeemi's contributions. However, it is also important to take Dr Naeemi's case to assess the role the government wants the Islamic scholars to play in the society. Dr Naeemi is being treated as a hero right now because he is seen to be critical of the Taliban and because he condemned suicide bombing. What is not recognised is that suicide bombings in Pakistan have officially been declared illegal in a joint statement issued by all the five wafaqs. Also, that Dr Naeemi continued to have many problems with the government since Sept 11. In the negotiations with the government over the madrasa reform programmes and the registration process his frustrations were very similar to those expressed by other Islamic scholars or alims. There was frustration over the reforms being led by people who have no idea of what madrasa education is. There was complete lack of trust on the government and the reforms were seen as being pushed purely on behalf of the US to secularise the madrasa rather than help the ulama improve the quality of education within the madrasas. There was frustration with the way madrasas were being marginalised and accused of militancy. Dr Naeemi had a very clear position that madrasas don't breed militancy; the causes of it rest elsewhere.

The sense of loss expressed at the death of Dr Naeemi thus raises the question as to why Islamic scholars like him are not engaged in a more serious way by the state to lead the reform process. If there are Islamic scholars and leaders who are capable of reasoning, which from my fieldwork I know are many, then the question is why does the state not engage with them more actively to see what support needs to be provided to the madrasas to strengthen the process of learning there. When the state starts with the term "reform," it leads to immediate resistance because the response from the majority is that why do we need to be reformed? And more importantly, another question raised is that what credentials does the reformer have to convince us that the reforms being proposed are based on the genuine understanding of the situation? The problem with Pakistan now is that since Sept 11, the state has chosen to actively make an enemy of all madrasas by asserting a language of reform, while having no understanding of the real basis of demand of madrasas and their working.

At a workshop that I held in Islamabad last year, in which Dr Naeemi also participated, some of the recommendations for leading to better engagement between state and madrasa were quite simple: The state needs to be clear about the activities of madrasas before setting out to reform them--although most madrasas require their students to study secular subjects and undertake matriculation examinations, the current reform programme does not recognise existing practice; those appointed to design the reform programme should be familiar with Islamic education, rather than general bureaucrats; the reform committee should include senior ulema amongst its members if the reforms are to be accepted by the ulema; the state should see its engagement with madrasa education as "support" rather than "reform," since the latter approach invokes resistance; and, the funds to improve education within madrasas should come from government's general education budget, because reliance on Western donors for programme-specific funds is distrusted by the ulama.

The sad death of Dr Naeemi is intensifying calls for aggressive action against the Taliban, whoever they are. What also deserves more attention is the desirability of Islamic scholars like Dr Naeemi being given a bigger role to end the growing polarisation of the society between the religious and the secular.



The writer is a research fellow at the Oxford University. Email: mb294@hotmail.com

A Trillion Dollar Halal Business #79 Posted by tahmed32

yes tahmed...good exercise...find all such fake halal stamps and we should also try to weigh our own kosher level.

A Trillion Dollar Halal Business

You all got it wrong. My emphasis is that we should not be fooled by Halal stamp only. Go for real Halal and also stop Harami Puna in all spheres of life. The Umra/Haj by haram money doesn't make you any more pious. We pakistanis have an habit to accept shadows as real.

A Trillion Dollar Halal Business Re: # 68
{{It's just a waste of time to persuade people who firmly believe nothing good can come ever out of Islam or Muslims.
Riaz Haq, PakAlumni Worldwide}}

RiazHaq Sb - It should be seen coming out - not on discussion boards - but in real life. In reality muslims are becoming more greater Hypocties than Halal. The Halala of Finance within same Riba institutions is such an attempt and west based banking is very much exploiting the innocent ignorance of muslims to present their Riba based products as Halal and get a Mufti or two to stamp it halal. My friend saw a Halal stamp on pork meat in Bahrain supermarket. Same are these Halal foods from Nestle and Halal Financing Standard Chartered Bank.

A Trillion Dollar Halal Business

Riaz Haq Sb the great - Thanks for this timely Halal article. The whole world has started establishing an image of muslims as "haramis" for many good and bad reasons. It is time to tell them how much we love halal foods and halal financing. Not to mention halal suicide bombing and halal "haramkhori". Has your innovative thinking come up with a way we can have halal kickbacks, halal bribes, halal loot & plunder? I am sure we are already "enlightened" enough to halal these sectors also beside food and banking industry.

Reasons for War in the Pakhtun Land

Chowk should remove Pakhtoon Khan's article and publish a retraction. Its clearly over the line and can't be considered journalism, or even fair speech.

There is no Al-qaeda presence in Pakistan and pashtuns are the loyal pakistanis and the way Pakistani government and pakistanis are wholeheartedly supporting their own displaced family memebers show that pakistanis are one nation and all conspiracies to break them will fail.

The intention of writer is very conspicuous and with an agenda. The chowk should not allow such propoganda material to be published on this site.

A Leader of Speeches Only! Guess who he is!!!

He is Pakistan's icon for hypocricy. Pir of Fitnas and the most coward politician of Pakistan who can't enter in his own city fearing death and how many deaths are attributed to him including of his best friend and co-founder of MQM - Azeem Ahmad Tariq - for having a opinion difference to this Nazi style Mafia leader.

Lessons From Another Lahore Tragedy Re: # 97

Ahmed - You are not seeing the big picture. However, on your advice, I am currently measuring the distance to Indian Border, and as my personal initiative the distance to Afghan Border and size of Afghan Jihadi's beard who was caught attempting to bomb the army helicopter. I think the puzzle will be solved when seen through this triangle prism.

Lessons From Another Lahore Tragedy
The lesson from Lahore tragedy is that people sitting in Islamabad, Delhi, Tel-Aviv and Washignton need to learn some lessons from the Chaos created by them in mis-handling of Afghanistan, Kashmir, Iraq and Palestine issues.

Quran 2.11: "And when it is said to them, Do not make mischief in the land, they say: We are but peace-makers."

2.12: "Now surely they themselves are the mischief makers, but they do not perceive."

Let's us all work towards real enduring peace for survival of all of us by shunning hatred, violence and oppresiion. Mere accusations, finger-pointing, arrogance and war-mongering will escalate the chaos.

Temporary Marriage in Islam Re: # 158

Islam does all that.

Temporary Marriage in Islam

Mohammad Gill

Actions are rewarded by Intentions. What was your real intention in writing this article? Do you want people to know more about Islam? Or you were like most of ``enlightened`` Muslims telling us that Islam is mere confusion and not worth following. Please tell us honestly.

Temporary Marriage in Islam

Gill says;

``In Maulan Maudoodi’s Tafsir, there is no mention of mutah marriage. He interpreted that the verse basically relates to the women “whom your right hand possesses,”

It is mentioned in the Qur’an that sexual intercourse is permissible only with one’s wife or with a woman “your right hand possesses.” What does this phrase mean?


Sex with anyone other than one’s wife is adulterous. Hence, it is strictly forbidden with kind of women you mentioned, whether the woman is paid or unpaid, with her consent or without. Yet it is true that the Qur’an exempts the form you have mentioned, but this form is no longer in existence, and it cannot be reinstated. The expression, “those whom your right hand possesses” refers to slaves. When slavery was practiced, Islam could not stop it because it was a global system, common in all societies. When slave women happen to be in plenty, it is necessary to provide a legitimate means of satisfying their natural needs. Therefore, Islam allowed marriage between slaves, and between a free man and a slave woman, as well as the case of the master having a relationship with a slave woman, who later becomes a “mother of his child” which raises her status, preventing her sale and paving the way to her freedom. But Islam did more than any other system to ensure that slavery would disappear. Now that it has finally disappeared from the world it cannot be reinstated in future.

Temporary Marriage in Islam
Shias have their own collection of Hadith. And the two supporting Temporary marriage are;

A `Hadith` attributed to Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) reads, `Whosoever does Mut`a once reaches the rank of Imaam Husian, whoever does it twice reaches the rank of Imaam Hassan, whoever does it thrice reaches the rank of Hadhrat Ali and whoever does it four times attains my rank.

Another purported `Hadith` states, `Anyone doing Mut`a with a believing woman is like one who has made the journey to the Ka`abah 70 times.`