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Ramadan 2016: How Muslims Fast In Countries Where The Sun Never Sets

The holy month of Ramadan is now underway, with Muslims fasting from dawn to dusk to observe the period. But what happens when you live in a country where the sun never, or scarcely, sets?

Muslims living in the Arctic Circle are experiencing some of the most challenging conditions for Ramadan as they can experience 24 hours of sunlight. People observing it will not consume food or drink, smoke or engage in any sexual activity, from when the sun rises until sundown again. Fasting ends with a meal known as the Iftar.

Around 22 per cent of the world’s population, or 1.6 billion people, are expected to join in the holy observance around the world.

Areas including Lapland, Finland and Sweden can experience little or no sundown during the summer months. A family have shared their experiences of how they experience Ramadan in northern Finland where the sun sets for just 55 minutes.

Mohammed told AJ+: “Fasting starts at 1:35 in the early morning and will end at 12:48 in the evening. So [fasting] will be 23 hours, 5 minutes. My friends, family and relatives who live in Bangladesh, they can’t believe we could do Ramadan or fasting for more than 20 hours. “So when they heard from us we do Ramadan here for 23 hours or 22 and a half hours, they just say ‘That’s unbelievable, how could you manage this.’ But somehow [thank God] we manage it, and we’re doing very well.”

He said other Muslims in nearby countries with similar sunlight conditions had found other ways of adapting, adding: “Some other Muslims who live in Lapland, most of them follow the Middle East time table, as they follow the nearest Islamic country, Turkey.”

Depending on a person’s location, Ramadan for people living in the UK can last between 16 and 19 hours a day.

The times and dates of Ramadan and fasting vary each year in relation to the Western calendar as they are determined by the lunar cycle.

Source: The Independent

June 9, 2016
Pakar: Kaum Arab Yang Dahulu Temui Amerika Syarikat, Bukan Columbus

Bukan Christopher Columbus yang pertama temui benua Amerika Syarikat, tapi orang orang Arab!

Demikian dakwaan daripada Profesor bahasa purba di Univerisiti Raja Saud dan pengkaji di Pusat Raja Faisal bagi Pengkajian dan pengajian, Suleiman Al-Deeb.

Beliau mendakwa bahawa Amerika Syarikat ditemui terlebih dahulu oleh suku bangsa Arab Thamudic sebelum Christopher Columbus ke sana pada abad ke-15.

Dalam satu wawancara yang diterbitkan dalam satu laman web, Prof Al-Deeb berkata beliau antara 15 orang dari pelbagai bahagian di dunia yang membincangkan satu ukiran yang dijumpai di sebuah pangkalan tentera di Colorado.

Teks tersebut dibaca dan didapati bahasa Arab Thamudic yang sama seperti yang dijumpai di Semenanjung Arab, menurut laporan Arab News.

WUJUD PENGHIJRAHAN ARAB KE AMERIKA 500 TAHUN SEBELUM COLUMBUS

Menurut laporan Arab News lagi, Prof Al-Deeb berkata ukiran tersebut adalah dari abad ke-10 dan ini mengandaikan bahawa adanya penghijrahan orang Arab ke sana semasa zaman tersebut.

Beliau juga berkata tiada masala untuk beliau membaca teks Thamudic itu yang dikirim kepadanya dari AS.

Prof Al-Deeb menjelaskan bahawa ada cebisan batu di Semenanjung Arab khususnya di Arab Saudi yang mempunyai ukiran yang berusia lebih daripada 3,000 tahun.

Menurut Prof Al-Deeb ukiran pada cebisan batu itu adalah satu bentuk karya seni yang mencatatkan kehidupan, agama, makanan dan minimum bangsa tersebut pada zaman itu.

Christopher Columbus dikatakan menemui Amerika Syarikat pada 1492 semasa menerajui ekspedisi laut rentas Atlantik, yang berpangkalan di Sepanyol.

Ekspedisi itulah yang dikatakan membawa kepada penemuan Amerika Syarikat.

Source: Berita MediaCorp

June 9, 2016
Laluan Hang Tuah Bawa Tun Teja Dikaji Bagi Buktikan Wujudnya Hang Tuah

Ekspedisi jejak laluan Hang Tuah dari Sungai Muar hingga Sungai Pahang di Pahang dijangka dilaksanakan pada November sekiranya ia mendapat kerjasama tiga negeri yang terlibat.

Pengerusi Institut Kajian Sejarah dan Patriotisme Malaysia (Iksep) Profesor Datuk Dr Mohd Jamil Mukmin berkata usaha itu perlu mendapat kebenaran daripada kerajaan Negeri Sembilan, Johor dan Pahang kerana ia melibatkan laluan sekitar 500 kilometer di negeri tersebut.

Beliau juga menambah usaha itu turut melibatkan kerjasama Institut Alam dan Tamadun Melayu dan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

“Ekspedisi berkenaan digerakkan dengan penyertaan lebih 100 orang terdiri daripada golongan belia, kakitangan kerajaan dan media bagi menjejaki sekaligus membuktikan kewujudan Hang Tuah.

“Antara kaedah yang akan digunakan adalah secara arkeologi, kajian manuskirp dan temu bual dengan penduduk asal di kawasan sepanjang laluan itu,” jelas Profesor Mohd Jamil.

Beliau bercakap kepada para wartawan semasa majlis pembentangan hasil kajian awal jejak laluan Hang Tuah Membawa Tun Teja dari Pahang ke Melaka di Malaysia, hari ini (7 Jun).

Majlis berkenaan turut dihadiri Ketua Menteri Melaka Datuk Seri Idris Haron.

Profesor Mohd Jami mengulas lagi laluan berkenaan dikenal pasti digunakan Hang Tuah ketika membawa Tun Teja ke Melaka selain menjadi laluan pembesar, pahlawan, pedagang dan pendakwah khususnya dari Melaka ke Pahang dan sebaliknya.

Sementara itu, Encik Idris berkata kerajaan negeri akan terus menyokong termasuk dari segi kewangan, usaha Iksep bagi membuktikan kewujudan Hang Tuah dan menjadikannya sebagai satu produk pelancongan baru negeri Melaka.

“Ia perlu dilaksanakan secara serius dengan bukti-bukti sejarah sedia ada.

“Kita tidak mahu keuwjudan Hang Tuah terus dipertikaikan padahal Melaka memang sinonim dengan nama pahlawan itu dan sejarah Kesultanan Melayu Melaka,” tegas Encik Idris.

Source: Berita MediaCorp

June 9, 2016
Police Clerk Admits To Leaking Confidential Details Of Traffic Accident Victims

A former Singapore Police Force clerk pleaded guilty on Tuesday (Jun 7) to five charges under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) for divulging privileged information to an unlikely accomplice – an employee of a law firm.

Khatijah A Manap, 61, also pleaded guilty to three counts under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) for receiving at least S$2,500 in bribes from legal executive Gulzar Raja Singh Sandhu, 69, in exchange for contact details of people involved in traffic accidents.

Another 23 charges – 18 under the OSA and five under the PCA – will be taken into consideration during sentencing.

The duo met in 2008, when Khatijah was herself involved in a traffic accident. She was put in touch with Raja by a relative, and he in turn introduced her to his daughter, a lawyer at Clifford Law LLP. Khatijah told Raja then that she was working as a clerk in the investigation branch of the Traffic Police.

As a clerk, Khatijah had access to traffic accident investigation papers, including the personal and contact details of those involved.

When the two bumped into each other again more than two years later at the Traffic Police headquarters, Raja asked Khatijah if she wanted to work together by giving him the contact details of traffic accident victims.

Raja offered to pay her S$200 for every successful “contact” – traffic accident victims who engaged the law firm to act for them in compensation claims. Khatijah agreed, and eventually pocketed at least S$2,500 from the scheme, Deputy Public Prosecutor Sanjiv Vaswani told the court.

She would randomly pick “victims”, copying their details down on a piece of rough paper which she would destroy after communicating these to Raja, the court heard.

Either Khatijah or Raja would then contact the victim to inform them they could lodge a compensation claim, and engage Raja’s daughter, a lawyer at the firm, to do so. In some cases, Raja told victims he had obtained their contact details from a police officer, or an employee of the Traffic Police.

Their offences came to light in 2013, after a traffic accident victim – who was contacted by the pair twice in two years regarding separate accidents – complained to Khatijah’s boss.

In 2012, Mr Haresh Vishindas Chandiramani was involved in a traffic accident and was contacted by Khatijah, using the alias “Azizah”. Azizah informed Mr Chandiramani he could seek compensation, and arranged for Raja to visit the man at his home.

At Mr Chandiramani’s home later that day, Raja admitted he had an arrangement to obtain contact details of accident victims from “someone at Traffic Police for a fee”, the court heard. Mr Chandiramani told Raja to leave.

About a year later, in 2013, Mr Chandiramani was involved in another accident. He again received a call from Azizah, claiming to be an employee of Clifford Law LLP. She advised Mr Chandiramani to engage the firm – specifically, Raja’s daughter – if he wanted to seek compensation.

Azizah then offered to set up a meeting with her paralegal, Raja, but was cut off by Mr Chandiramani over the phone. He immediately called Khatijah’s office, and asked why she had disclosed his number to “an outsider”. She explained that she and Azizah were, in fact, the same person.

Mr Chandiramani warned Khatijah that what she was doing was against the law, and complained to her boss, who advised him to lodge a police report.

For breaching the Official Secrets Act, Khatijah could be sentenced to up to two years’ jail and a fine of up to S$2,000. For receiving bribes, she could be jailed for up to five years and/or fined up to S$100,000.

Investigations against Raja are ongoing.

Source: ChannelNewsAsia

June 9, 2016
Moment Of Near-Failure Spurred Him To Succeed

The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) convocation ceremony on Aug 1 will be a special occasion for Mr Ridhwan Muzaki and his family.

Not only will the 27-year-old be the family’s third graduate, but he will also celebrate the milestone with his brother, Mr Abdul Rashid, 32, who will be receiving his doctorate in biological sciences the same day.

Mr Ridhwan, who will receive his biological sciences honours degree, is a three-time Dean’s lister and scholarship recipient.

His academic success belies an unusual background.

Like his older brother, he was from the Normal (Academic) stream in secondary school. Many of his classmates smoked, others dropped out, and he was not motivated to do well.

But something changed when he was in Secondary 4. A teacher who never stopped believing in him encouraged him not to drop the subject, Principles of Accounts, when he was on the verge of giving up.

“She was like a mother-figure to me… I did some reflection and thought to myself, if I don’t work hard now, my future will never be bright,” he recalled.

So he studied hard, becoming the top N-level Malay student in 2005 and went on to study biomedical sciences at Singapore Polytechnic.

In 2010, his application to NTU’s School of Biological Sciences was rejected, but he did not give up.

He applied again the following year and got in.

He was so determined to get a head start that he borrowed his elder brother’s notes and studied them a year before he was due to start his university course.

During weekends, he would spend 10-11 hours each time poring over his notes.

“Ridhwan had a timetable which he would stick to strictly,” said his mother Rosiah Osman, 54. “He has always been quite an average student, but he studies very hard.”

The third of four siblings in his family, Mr Ridhwan has an older sister, Ms Siti Rawaidah, 31, who works as a project officer, and a younger brother, Mr Zulfadhly Muzaki, an NTU undergraduate.

All four siblings have either pursued or are pursuing the biological sciences course at NTU.

Mr Ridhwan says he hopes to be a researcher. He received a scholarship from NTU in April to do postgraduate studies.

He has a special interest in RNA – ribonucleic acid – a messenger in the body, transferring instructions from DNA to make proteins.

Mr Ridhwan says he is especially grateful to his parents for their support. His father, Mr Mohammad Muzaki, 57, works as a senior technician in a drinks packaging company.

Said Mr Muzaki: “It is every parent’s wish to see their children go further than they have. Being able to see my children come this far makes me proud.”

Source: The Straits Times

June 9, 2016