Tag: Muslim

Malaysian Netizens Tell Bank Negara Scholarship Winner To Don Tudung

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 18 ― Hajar Nur Asyiqin Abdul Zubir, an 18-year-old who dreams of studying in Oxford University, is the winner of a prestigious Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) scholarship but to some on Facebook, the young Malay girl’s achievement has been shadowed by her failure to don the tudung (Muslim headscarf).

On the social media site, the chemistry student, upon winning the Kijang Emas Scholarship 2015 that allows her to pursue any field of study at top universities across the world, was told that her father would bear the sins of her not covering her “aurat”.

“Congratulations..but it’s a pity that the ‘aurat’ is not covered. Her father bears the sin,” a Facebook user called Rozaidi Jai commented on Friends of BN ― Barisan Nasional’s Facebook post Wednesday announcing Hajar Nur Asyiqin’s win.

Facebook user named Nazri Toushirou even called for conditions of the scholarship interview to mandate covering the “aurat”

“Don’t think it’s wrong, right?” he said.

Facebook user Mohd Sabri Hussien said: “Pretty looks, good at studies. It’ll be better if she wore a tudung”.

Another Facebook user, called Mohd Khairudzaman Bahaudin, said: “All right, congratulations, Allah hates His servants who do not cover their ‘aurat’, we succeed not because we’re clever”.

Other Facebook users, however, have since come to the 18-year-old’s defence, with one named Ag Sha saying: “It doesn’t necessarily mean that not wearing a tudung means you’re not religious..congratulations..prove to them that you’re not shallow in your religious knowledge”.

Islam as is practised in Malaysia is beginning to show signs of increasing conservatism, illustrated among others by the local boom in the tudung industry that was a rarity just several decades ago.

Friday sermons sanctioned by the government also repeatedly tell women to cover their aurat, with a Malay-Muslim gymnast recently getting backlash for wearing a leotard.

Local daily New Straits Times reported Monday that Hajar Nur Asyiqin ― who went to SMK Abdul Rahman Talib in Kuantan, Pahang, and is now doing her A-Levels at Tuanku Ja’afar College in Mantin, Negri Sembilan ― wants to study chemistry at Oxford University in the UK, one of the top universities in the world.

The paper reported that she scored 9A+s in SPM last year and that she had undergone group and individual assessments by Bank Negara before she was announced last April as one of four recipients of the Kijang Emas Scholarship.

According to Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz’s speech at the Kijang Emas Scholarship award ceremony last April, the central bank had received 212 applications for the 2015 Kijang Emas Scholarship and shortlisted the top 24 based on their SPM results and involvement in sports and co-curricular activities.

“The students then underwent a rigorous evaluation process under the Bank’s ‘Kijang Academy’ which assessed their technical and leadership competencies, as well as their values,” Zeti said in the speech made available on Bank Negara’s website.

Source: www.themalaymailonline.com

September 18, 2015
All 3700 Livestock For Hari Raya Haji’s Korban Ritual Sold

Members of the public have taken up all 3,700 livestock for the Korban rites to be carried out on Hari Raya Haji next Thursday.

The sales of the 2,000 Australian sheep and 1,700 Irish lambs across all 25 mosques in Singapore have been “overwhelming”, Singapore Mosques Korban Committee chairman Rashid Ramli said yesterday.

The committee had secured 200 more animals for Korban this year and at a lower price, with each sheep priced at S$490, S$9 less than last year and each lamb at S$570, down S$5 from the year before.

“We thank the community for the continuous support in ensuring that the syiar (religious observance) of Islam continues in Singapore,” Mr Rashid said. “Preparations at all participating mosques are on track, and the committee seeks the blessings and prayers of the community that Korban rites will proceed smoothly.”

The act of Korban is an Islamic ritual that involves slaughtering livestock and distributing the meat to the needy to mark Hari Raya Haji.

Source: www.todayonline.com

September 18, 2015
IIUM Scholar Advises Muslims To Use Syariah-Compliant Investment Tools

DEALING with syariah-compliant financial institutions is obligatory and not an option for Muslim customers in Brunei, said an Islamic scholar from the region.

“(Products offered by) conventional banks are financial products that are not permissible in Islam as they involve riba (usury),” said Dr Zaharuddin Abdul Rahman, senior lecturer at the college of economics, International Islamic University Malaysia.

He said Muslims should not move away from Islamic banking or investments and disregard the Islamic aspects of doing business just because they want to optimise their profit or investments.

“We spoke of how riba is the highest degree of haram in dealing with business, money, earning and spending. So there is no way – when there are Islamic banks around (in Brunei) – can a Muslim ignore these Islamic banks by going to the conventional banks because of price or whatever reasons,” he toldThe Brunei Times on the sidelines of a symposium held at The Empire Hotel and Country Club last week.

He said Muslims shouldn’t use price or efficiency as an excuse to stay away from Islamic banks.

Dr Zaharuddin said there are various ways in which a Muslim can invest with an Islamic bank so that they can grow their money through syariah-compliant methods.

The first option is to get a Muslim investment manager.

“That type of investment is called Wakalah (protection or remedying on behalf of others) so the bank will use their expertise to find where would be best securities to invest in and then the bank will take some profit in terms of agency fee,” he said.

He said if the bank manages to achieve a target profit, then all of it will be returned to the investors.

“This type of contract is available in Islamic banks in Malaysia and all around the world,” he said.

Another method is by investing money in unit trusts, if an investor decides to go for a “low to medium risk” investment vehicle.

“ The contract will be under Wakalah and the agency will collect fees upfront and use their expertise in purchasing appropriate shares and securities as well as carry out trading based on their analysis,” he said.

Unit trusts investing, may however, take “three or four years” to yield returns, he added.

Muslims who want to invest their money for short to medium term, may also invest their money into a “general investment account which replicates a fixed deposit account”.

“You can choose between three months to one year and then at the end of the maturity date, the bank will be able to give you some dividends based on the performance of the investment,” he said.

High-risk investors can buy shares of companies that operate syariah-compliant businesses.

“That is also permissible in Islam with the condition that you are using your own money and not borrowing from someone else with interests,” Dr Zaharuddin said.

Another way of investing money is opening a physical business.

“So you are using your own money to open a business. That is also an investment. Say you have for example, $100,000 to open a boutique, you just need to have knowledge and skills in managing cash flows, marketing and the whole operations. This is also acceptable in Islam,” he said.

The investor can also get a partner who can manage a business.

“You can do a partnership with somebody who knows how to market the product or business. So they may put 20 per cent of the capital and you pump in 80 per cent. That type of investment is calledmusharakah (partnership),” he said.

Another method is a profit-sharing investment whereby an investor chooses not to have direct control of the operations.

“For example, your friend has a good restaurant and you want to invest in it. You may put $100,000 into the business but you don’t have to work with him. Depending on the agreement, the restaurant owner, as an entrepreneur will run the business and you will have the privilege to do the audit to ensure the business is on the right track,” he said.

Source: http://www.bt.com.bn

September 15, 2015
Suliyati Sufian Maryam: Lack Of Alternative Voices In Parliament, Fair Representation Of Minorities Unlikely

<suli>After the results of last night’s GE, I came back from my best friend’s wedding to witness the area around my block littered with hell notes, smoke and ashes flying into my eyes and my Chinese neighbours fervently lighting up joss sticks along almost every inch space of the grassy patches around the area. No, I wasn’t annoyed or frustrated; I thought “oh it must be the last day of the hungry ghost, that’s why they are going all out.” I didn’t feel like I should be telling anyone that they should be more considerate in their burning or that they should pick up the stray notes after they are done because I accept it as a way of living in singapore and I actually enjoy seeing this experience although it gets hot (I mean on top of the haze!) and sometimes ashes do get blown into my flat. It is part of living here and I accept it as it is.

But then I started thinking about how I had to perform my acts of worship when I was in school or when I was still working and I felt sad. I felt sad because I always had to do it in secret, as though what I was doing was a crime. My friends and I would look for corners along dusty staircases, back alleys, helping each other keep a look out for teachers or other students who might pass by. And when I began teaching at a secondary school, I had to pray in secrecy at an area where broken chairs are kept and even then, I was warned not to let anyone see me enter that place to pray. When the boss eventually found out about the prayer place though, it was forbidden to us and all of us who have been using that dirty abandoned place to pray had to look for staircases to perform our daily obligation. Yes, for those of you who dont know, Muslims HAVE to pray five times a day abd for most of us, we've been doing it like how I describe it above, like we are criminals.

And then I think of the ban on music during Thaipusam and I also felt sad for my Hindu friends and I started to think what is the rationale behind the ban? If it’s the music that’s too loud, then we should also ban music during Malay weddings and Chinese funerals cos these can get very loud too. If the govt is afraid of ppl getting too carried away by the music during thaipusam, I am sure there are 1001 ways to work around that issue because they’ve been doing for years without much incident.

When I was deciding what faculty to enrol in as I was about to enter NUS, I ruled out Nursing after Medicine (and I didnt get into Medicine) because I know nurses in Singapore cannot wear hijab but I accepted it as it is. So even though I wanted to go into healthcare, I ended up taking a basic Life Science degree instead because one option was already out for me because of what I wear on my head.

My dear friends who are part of the majority, I want you to know that I have nothing against you and am indeed happy for you that you have every opportunity to pursue your dreams or climb that social ladder as long as you work hard for it. Or that as you are burning hell notes for youtlr ancestors, you dont have to do it like a thief and make sure no one sees you doing it. But pls pls don;t let your experience of life here be your only measurement of life for others who are not part of that majority. Don’t say “where got unfair? If you work hard sure can get it what. Govt doesnt discriminate against religion also, so what are you talking about?” because you don’t experience life here as a minority, and with an obligation that makes you stand out (im talking about the hijab). Only those of us who have been dealing with it on a daily basis know how difficult it can get at times and even then, we;ve been very tolerant about our situation for years and years and how can we know this? Despite having our basic right to practise our religion without being discrimated against violated, you dont hear of riots by Muslims do you? Instead we have been engaging the govt in diplomatic ways thru petitions and dialogue sessions. So pls dont tell us things like we need to do more to assimilate – we have been assimilating for as long as we can remember despite the restrictions placed on us.

So back to the GE story, I was predicting PAP to win and I am happy that they have won because I do think they are strong and capable of leading singaporeans. But when you think of this country declaring itself as a democratic country and you see 83 out of 89 seats in govt occupied by one party, you must think to uourself, where is the democracy in that? Where is the chance for alternative views to be heard? 6 voices out of 89 will be drowned out, so how can issues that the incumbent party have for years dodged get addressed properly without being shot down as asking for more privileges?

So i hope you can understand our frustrations when we see our hopes for alternative voices get voted against by ppl spreading fears of “freak elections”, or that the GE was held immediately after the ruling party has pampered its citizens with money and SG50 celebrations. It’s not that we want to see the PAP toppled; it’s that they are only going to have their policies checked against by 6 voices outof 89. There is no way that there will be fair representation for us minorities with that kind of statistics.

Source: Suliyati Sufian Maryam

September 14, 2015
Ummi Abdullah: Government Should Communicate Concerns On Hijab Issue With The Malay Community

Ckp2 pasal issue tudung ni, I have a feeling the government is scared. These people are not stupid, there have something that worries them.

You see, I think the government is worried about the controlling the situation and afraid things may escalate to another level.. how you control this?.. takut lepas minta hijab, they go a step further minta ruang solat, lepas tu, what if minta tak nak pegang lelaki.. you see where is the line.

If the government are so particular why doctor boleh di kasi hijab pulak? kerana mungkin tak ramai doctor wanita islam, the impact is diff, tapi nurse melayu kita bynk.

I think they are worried when people start asking for more.. from hijab, to waktu solat pulak.. to this and that.. where is the line? How to control. I think they worry about this. Nanti takut minta ruang solat pulak, org agama lain nampak nanti dia minta chapel pulak. Nanti dah ada ruang solat, takut.. org tak kira waktu emergency.. one after another pergi sembayang..I think the government is worried about this.

Kat Australia, ke Britain ke.. mereka kasi pakai hijab mungkin tak bynk org.. dlm satu department mungkin tak satu yg pakai hijab.
I rasa ini yg buat government kita contemplating.

Ok ini bab I rasa, MUIS and our Muslim MP, ustaz dan ustazah nak kena masuk, educate the government. Kita jugak nak kena tunjukkan yg kita tak akan melalut sampai ke next tahap yg eh.. “aku wanita islam, tak boleh pegang lelaki. You all get what I mean. Hospital is a place where emergency happen. I think the gorvenment still afraid of the extremist.. Now we ask for hijab, next prayer. .. how u manage things like this?

I think they worry all these may effect the workflow in the hospital.

Ok everyone, please don’t get me wrong, I’m with all of you that wants a hijab, I’m just relating this to you because I have a feeling that the government is worried. I maybe wrong. We need to know why is the government is not allowing this. we need to counter this back in a pratical way. I am a muslim, and I’m sharing this because of Allah swt.

And dear government, if I am wrong, then come forward and give ur explanation why u don’t allow hijab? Is this the reason what MR Yaacob Ibrahim meant by problematic? Can you communicate with your muslim citizens? Please share with us what is ur concern. Can MUIS also step in and explained to the government how we can make this idea of having a hijab at work more feasible?

Thank you
‪#‎keranaAllahswt‬
‪#‎samasamakitacarijalankeluar‬

Source: Dapur Ummi Abdullah

September 11, 2015