Tag: Islam

Meet Minnesota’s First Hijab-Wearing Policewoman

Have you ever heard of Kadra Mohamed? Well you should have.

She’s Minnesota’s first hijab wearing police woman and the first Somali female officer.

Kadra Mohamed is only 21 years old and already making history.

St. Paul is also one of the few American police departments that allows women to wear the hijab while working. This way, they hope to enable Muslim women to consider a career in law enforcement.

This topic always raises the same questions. Why is it that Muslim women wearing hijab have to fight all kinds of stereotypes to have a career? There are millions of Muslim women like Kadra Mohamed, who want to achieve their goals. And it’s not their hijab that is holding them back. It’s those people with narrow-minded views, refusing to see what kind of talents these women might brighten up the world with.

Let’s hope Kadra Mohamed will not stay an exception forever!

Source: http://mvslim.com

July 28, 2015
10 Anak Melayu/Islam Dapat Kepujian Kelas Pertama Dari NTU Tahun Ini

Sekitar 10 anak Melayu/Islam dari Universiti Teknologi Nanyang (NTU) menerima ijazah Sarjana Muda dengan Kepujian Kelas Pertama tahun ini. Demikian didedahkan NTU hari ini.

Empat daripada mereka yang ditemui BERITAMediaCorp, memperoleh ijazah Kepujian Kelas Pertama dalam jurusan kejuruteraan, sosiologi dan psikologi.

Lebih menarik lagi, di kalangan sekitar 10 penerima menerima ijazah berprestij itu ialah sepasang adik-beradik perempuan – iaitu Nurul Dina Amalina Abdulkahar dan Nurul Mira Fatin Abdulkahar.

(Dina Amalina Abdulkahar dan adiknya, Nurul Mira Fatin Abdulkahar. Gambar: BERITAMediaCorp)

Ini kali pertama sepasang adik beradik Melayu menerima ijazah Kepujian Kelas Pertama dalam tahun yang sama, dan sesuatu yang jarang sekali didengar.

Kedua-dua beradik itu mendapat ijazah masing-masing dalam majlis konvokesyen NTU siang tadi.

Semasa diwawancara BERITAMediaCorp, para pelajar cemerlang itu berkata, sokongan padu dari pihak keluarga merupakan tunggak di sebalik kejayaan mereka.

Nurul Dina Amalina, 25 tahun, yang menerima ijazah Kepujian Kelas Pertama dalam bidang Sosiologi berkata: “Sumber inspirasi utama adalah ibu bapa saya. Ayah adalah seorang yang gigih berusaha dan tidak senang berputus asa. Ibu pula selalu bersikap positif apabila beliau berdepan dengan cabaran dalam kehidupan.”

Bagi adiknya Nurul Mira Fatin yang berusia 22 tahun pula, beliau menerima ijazah Kepujian Kelas Pertama dalam jurusan Psikologi.

Beliau berkata: “Bidang psikologi ini telah mendorong saya untuk mencari peluang yang membolehkan saya mendekati masyarakat. Baru-baru ini, saya baru pulang dari China, di mana saya (menjadi) sukarelawan. Di situ, saya tolong mengajar kanak-kanak bahasa Inggeris dan bantu mengecat sekolah mereka.”

KEPUJIAN KELAS PERTAMA KEJURUTERAAN KOMPUTER

Seorang lagi anak Melayu yang menerima ijazah Kepujian Kelas Pertama, ialah Muhd Nadzir Azmi, 26 tahun. Muhd Nadzir mendapat ijazah Kepujian Kelas Pertama dalam bidang Kejuruteraan Komputer.

(Muhd Nadzir Azmi. Gambar: BERITAMediaCorp)

NTU menyifatkan pelajar bijak itu sebagai seorang individu yang dapat menghuraikan masalah secara kreatif. Muhd Nadzir mencipta sebuah projek yang diberi nama ‘Virtual Piano’ semasa menjalani tahun terakhirnya di NTU.

Beliau menjelaskan: “Projek akhir tahun saya ialah menghasilkan sebuah ‘virtual piano’ (piano maya) dengan menggunakan sekeping kertas dan telefon bimbit. Ia memberikan satu alternatif untuk memain piano dengan lebih innovatif lagi. Saya rasa bidang ini, bukan sahaja diperlukan di syarikat-syarikat permainan, sofwe tetapi amat penting bagi sektor awam juga.”

Sebenarnya, beliau pernah gagal untuk memasuki maktab rendah selepas peperiksaan GCE ‘O’.

Namun dengan semangat yang berkobar-kobar, anak kepada seorang pemandu teksi dan suri rumah dari keluarga 3 beradik ini, tetap meneruskan pengajian GCE ‘A’ di pusat Pra-U hingga dapat ke menara gading.

Beliau kini sudah pun mendapat pekerjaan sebagai konsultan aplikasi dengan CPF.

KEPUJIAN KELAS PERTAMA KEJURUTERAAN ELEKTRIKAL & ELEKTRONIK

Bagi Muhd Jazli Jumain pula, beliau boleh berbangga dianugerahkan ijazah Kepujian Kelas Pertama, dalam jurusan Kejuruteraan Elektrikal dan Elektronik.

Beliau yang memasuki NTU selepas lulus dari politeknik, bagaimanapun mengecap kecemerlangan menerusi laluan yang lebih mencabar. Beliau berasal dari keluarga ibu tunggal.

(Muhd Jazli Jumain. Gambar: BERITAMediaCorp)

Muhd Jazli berkongsi dengan BERITAMediaCorp, beliau menanamkan iltizam pada hari pertama beliau menjejakkan kakinya di NTU.

“Sejak hari pertama, saya ingin buat yang terbaik dalam pelajaran saya. Selain itu, saya juga lihat ibu saya yang mengalami kesukaran untuk bekerja. Jadi saya ingin membantunya apabila dia bersara nanti,” jelas Muhd Jazli lagi dengan penuh semangat.

Yang pasti, bagi kempat-empat anak muda yang cemerlang itu, mereka berbekalkan sikap disiplin tanpa mudah berputus asa sebagai antara resipi kejayaan mereka.

PROSPEK PEKERJAAN BAGI GRADUAN NTU

Dalam pada itu, NTU menyatakan 7 daripada 10 pelajarnya yang tamat pengajian tahun ini, sudahpun mendapat pekerjaan sebelum mereka menerima ijazah masing-masing.

Demikian menurut tinjauan awal yang dijalankan NTU awal bulan ini.

5,000 pelajar ditinjau mengenai prospek pekerjaan mereka dan 70% menyatakan, mereka sudahpun mendapat kerja.

Perangkaan tersebut lebih tinggi berbanding perangkaan 66% yang dicatatkan tahun lalu bagi tinjauan serupa.

(Gambar: Channel NewsAsia)

Lebih 8,600 graduan bakal menerima ijazah mereka dalam majlis konvokesyen yang berlangsung selama seminggu mulai hari ini.

Source: http://berita.mediacorp.sg

July 28, 2015
Perlis Fatwa Committee: Not A Sin To Give Custody Of Muslim Child To More Suitable Parent, Regardless Of Religion

PETALING JAYA: The Perlis Fatwa Committee has issued an edict which states that the custody of a child be given to the more suitable parent, regardless of religion.

State mufti Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin said the committee found it unfair to determine custody of a child based solely on the parents’ religion, as the overall welfare and interests of the child were paramount.

He said the edict could signal a turning point in the way child custody cases were deliberated at the Syariah courts, especially in cases where a parent sought custody of the child upon converting to Islam.

“The overall welfare of the child includes his or her physical, moral and emotional needs. The parent who is more able to provide these needs should get custody, whether they are Muslim or not,” Dr Mohd Asri told The Star.

He said the courts needed to judge which parent was more suitable by studying their background and lifestyle, as well as taking into consideration the choice of the child.

“If both parents are equally suitable to care for the child, then the child has the right to choose which parent he or she wants to live with.

“This is provided the child is old enough to decide,” he said.

Under the ruling, it will still be compulsory for the Muslim parent to introduce Islam to the child, whether they have custody or not.

However, Dr Mohd Asri said religion should not be forced upon them.

The fatwa committee has also ruled that custody should automatically be granted to the mother if she is still breastfeeding the child.

“If the child is no longer breastfeeding and hasn’t reached maturity, then custody should be given to the more suitable parent or the one the child is closer to,” he said.

The latest edict, he said, was a change from current practice in the Syariah court, where religion was a dominant factor in deciding a custody dispute.

“The common case these days is that both parents are non-Muslims, and then one of them converts to Islam. If going by the Syariah court, then custody is unquestionably given to the Muslim parent.

“This is actually not right, as there is no basis for that sort of ruling, whether in the Quran or hadith,” he said, adding that the fatwa committee would propose that the edict be adopted as a guideline by Syariah judges when evaluating such cases.

The edict, which was passed by the state Islamic religious council recently, is also a general guide for Muslim parents, who often feel guilty for giving up custody to a non-Muslim spouse.

“We released this fatwa to let them know that it is not a sin to offer custody to a non-Muslim parent, especially if that person is better equipped to care for the child,” added Dr Mohd Asri.

Source: www.thestar.com.my

July 27, 2015
Polis Israel Masuk Masjid Al-Aqsa Banteras Kumpulan Didakwa Perusuh Palestin

JERUSALEM: Polis Israel memasuki tapak suci yang amat sensitif, Masjid Al-Aqsa, bagi membanteras kumpulan yang didakwa adalah perusuh Falastin.

Polis Israel berkata, mereka memburu para penunjuk perasaan Palestin yang lari bersembunyi di dalam masjid itu di timur Bailtulmakdis.

Mereka dipercayai sedang menyiapkan bekalan bunga api dan bom petrol untuk melakukan rusuhan.

Setakat ini tiada kecederaan dilaporkan. Enam warga Falastin dilaporkan ditahan.

Source: http://berita.mediacorp.sg

July 27, 2015
Datuk Noor Farida Ariffin: Don’t Sacrifice Malay Nusantara Heritage Even As You Adopt Arab Attire And Vocab

PETALING JAYA: The trend of adopting Arab attire and words is harmless as long as it does not drown out the Malay Nusantara heritage, says Datuk Noor Farida Ariffin (pic).

Adding to the debate on whether the alleged “Arabisation” of Malay Muslims is a cause for concern, the G25 coordinator said that only small parts of Arab culture were being absorbed.

“You have the overt symbols in the sense that you see a lot more people are wearing the abaya (black robe for women), and there are a lot of Arab words being used now,” she said.

Noor Farida also noted that while Malay Muslims today tend to prefer words like “solat” to “sembahyang” and “iftar” instead of “buka puasa”, the changes in vocabulary are minimal.

She, however, refuted the claims of an online news portal columnist that baju kurungs are now difficult to come by in shops as they have been replaced by abayas.

Noor Farida said that while traditionally, baju kurungs are tailored, one can easily still purchase them in shops.

“We Muslims pray five times a day. Many Muslim women feel that by wearing the abaya and the tudung (headscarf), they don’t even need to wear the telekung (white prayer garb) so in that way it is more convenient for them,” said the former Malaysian Ambassador to the Netherlands.

Noor Farida added that she too wears the abaya to the mosque as its more convenient.

“I hope that it is just for convenience rather than the fact that they think they should discard the Malay baju kurung or kebaya because it is unIslamic. So long as it is confined to harmless manifestations, it is fine, but if it’s going to go beyond that and we are going to adopt their (Arab) conservative values then that would be a cause for concern. Especially if we totally lose pride in our own culture,” she said.

“I hope it will not be widespread as to threaten our own Malay Nusantara culture, Islam Nusantara, which is a centuries-old culture which we ought to be proud of,” she said.

Noor Farida does not believe, however, that the Malay community are adopting Arab culture wholesale.

“I don’t think the word ‘culture’ is very apt in the circumstance. If you talk about culture, it’s also about adopting their music and their values,” she said.

Noor Farida, who is also the former director-general of the Foreign Ministry’s Research, Treaties and International Law Department, explained that certain Arab values, such as with regard to the treatment of women, had not seeped into Malay culture as Malay women were still very independent and are given a greater amount of respect.

“I really would not like to see Arab values, especially Saudi Arab values, being adopted by us as they are not very respectful of women. Women occupy very low standing in the eyes of many Arabs. In that sense, I think we are still very different from them because women’s rights groups here are still very active and there is no legal impediment to women’s upward mobility in professions,” she said, adding that in the Malaysian working sector, women could “aim for the sky”.

That being said, Noor Faida stressed that Arab culture was also very diverse. For example, Saudi culture, which is influenced by the strictly conservative Wahhabi interpretation of Islam, is far more rigid than the North African Arab culture.

Noor Farida said that the Saudi culture’s view towards woman was not necessarily Islamic.

She explained that during Prophet Muhammad’s time, women in Arabia were given a vast amount of rights. For example, women then had rights to property and the right to retain their own names after marriage.

“Don’t forget that the Prophet’s first wife, Siti Khadijah, was a very successful businesswoman. In those days, women were still confined to their homes in medieval Europe. Unfortunately, we seem to be regressing. We seem to be going back to the age of ignorance, the age of jahiliyyah. In that sense it would be a pity if we were to regress and adopt conservative Arab values, especially with regard to women’s rights,” she said.

“Many Malay Muslims equate Arab culture with Islam. They don’t realise that not all Arabs are Muslims. There are many Christian Arabs in Palestine and Syria. In Egypt, you’ve got the Coptic Christians so Islam should not equate Arab and vice versa,” she said.

“(It is fine) for the moment so long as it is confined to attire and the absorption of a few Arab words,” she said.

However, some elementes of “Arabisation” have also got Noor Farida peeved like the time someone gave her a “lexicon of Arabic words” to replace existent Malay greetings.

“Honestly, I was quite irritated by that. Please let us respect our values and our culture so long as it is not against Islamic teachings,” she said.

On Dec 8, 2014, The Star published G25’s open letter calling for a review of syariah and civil law in line with the supremacy of the Federal Constitution.

Originally consisting of 25 prominent Malays, most of whom are former high-ranking civil servants, the group now has 53 members and many supporters among other prominent figures.

Source: www.thestar.com.my

July 23, 2015