safar 08, 1442/september 25, 2020 issue no. 907 friday...

Safar 08, 1442/September 25, 2020

This Newsletter contains some of Allah’s names. Please do not throw in the trash. Either keep, circulate or shred

Issue No. 907

The Weekly Muslim News Update

Friday BulletinThe

Friday BulletinThe

Fight miraa and drugs –Scholars told

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Kisumu Muslims have expressed their an-ger over a move by the Seventh Day Ad-ventist Church (SDA) to fence off a piece of land in Kaloleni area which they say be-longs to the Muslim community.More so, they said the move is a flagrant breach of a court order which had forbid-

SDA church violates court order, takes over Kisumu Mosque land

Consumption of the narcotic substance miraa (khat) is having drastic consequenc-es on the social, economic and health wel-being of the Muslim community and it is imperative that urgent measures are put in place to address this growing problem.Prof Muhammad Karama who is the chair-man of the National Muslim Covid-19 Re-sponse Committee said it is imperative for scholars and Muslim leaders to strongly speak out against the consumption of mi-raa as together with other drugs, there are a threat to the social and economic

wellbeing of tens of thousands of Muslim youth. “Scholars need to come out strong-ly and speak out against the consumption of miraa which is prevalent among Mus-lims. Khat is haram and people should not give excuses. Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him said all intoxicants are haram (forbidden),” he said.With a growing population of young men and women hooked on drugs, he said the community and the society in general risk producing a generation of people who are not productive to the community and the

nation.Speaking during a webinar on drug abuse among youth in East Africa, Prof Karama also decried the proliferation of hard drugs at the Coast region where he said more than 40,000 young men and women were hooked to narcotic substances which in-clude heroin and cocaine-a vast majority of them being Muslim youth with 10,000 of the drug addicts being female.Prof. Muhammad, who is also a visiting

A section of worshippers along Banda Street observing the Friday Prayer last week due to the limited space inside the Jamia Mosque Nairobi. The mosque secured the parkings around the mosque to accommodate the faithful.

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den any development on the land pending determination of the case. The Environment and land court in Ki-sumu had issued orders barring the two parties from developing the disputed land until the pending case is heard and de-termined.

In July, the church obtained orders to pro-ceed and execute their decree against the artisans that were occupying the land without the knowledge of the other party Kaloleni Muslim community.According to lawyer representing Kaloleni

Jamia secures temporary space to accommodate worshippers

The Friday Bulletin

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Safar 08, 1442/September 25, 2020NATIONALNational Muslim COVID 19 team tell Muslims to stick to guidelines on deaths

The National Muslim COVID 19 Response Committee (NMCRC) has urged all affili-ated Muslim organizations and Mosques across the country to continue adhering to the current guidelines on handling of the COVID 19 deaths.The call was made by National Muslim COVID 19 Response Committee (NM-CRC) chair Prof. Muhammad Karama af-ter the government announced that it is planning to review the handling of Covid 19 deaths guidelines.Prof Karama emphasized the need for Muslim institutions to adhere to the cur-rent guidelines to prevent the spread of Covid-19, and added that the committee will notify Muslims of any changes after it receives the official communication from

the Ministry of Health.“We appeal to Muslims throughout the country to adhere to the current guidelines on handling of Covid19 deaths and gov-ernment directive to prevent the spread of Covid-19, and to avoid the ritual of wash-ing of bodies of victims confirmed to have died of coronavirus,” said Karama.Prof Karama noted that they had unoffi-cially been informed that the government is planning to review the handling of Covid 19 deaths guidelines and that NMCRC will continue to follow the current guidelines developed and domesticated to the Mus-lims in the country and are in compliance with Islamic teachings.In April, the National Muslim Covid-19 Re-sponse committee in consultation with our

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Fight miraa and drugs

Muslim counterparts in different parts of the world and the Ministry of Health de-veloped guidelines on handling bodies of victims who die of coronavirus, and how their funeral prayers and burial should be conducted.The National Muslim Covid-19 Response Team was formed with the aim of comple-menting the efforts of the government and the Ministry of Health in addressing the challenges of Covid-19 pandemic in the country.The Team comprises of Islamic scholars, Imams and representatives from different mosques, Muslim organizations and the Kenya Association of Muslim Medical Pro-fessionals.

professor at the Nagasaki University in Ja-pan said it was of much regret that while miraa growing communities enjoy the eco-nomic benefit of selling their produce, it was Muslims who were bearing the brunt of the adverse social economic effects such as poverty, dysfunctional families, broken marriages and health complica-tions. “Muslims are spending tens of mil-lions of shillings on miraa each day. This money could have gone on improving their lives rather than destroying their social-economic wellbeing,” he said.At the Coast, he said drugs were being introduced to school-going children in educational institutions which are being used by drug peddlers as soft spots for marketing their evil products. “Students have been targeted and given free doses as way of enticing them to drugs. It is an easy way to get addicted,” he said.“Unfortunately some of those involved in this business are well known individuals in the community and the society. They do not care destroying the livelihood of oth-ers,” he said in the virtual meeting moder-

Pilgrims from abroad to resume Umrah pilgrimage from NovemberThe Ministry of Interior of Saudi Arabia an-nounced on Tuesday that it will start allow-ing pilgrims to perform Umrah in gradual stages, while taking the necessary pre-cautions.According to the ministry, the decision was made after assessing the develop-ments of the coronavirus and in response to the longing of Muslims around the world to perform the ritual.First phase of the gradual return to the Grand mosque will commence on October 4, allowing citizens and expatriates from within the Kingdom to perform Umrah at a capacity of 30 percent, equivalent of 6,000 pilgrims per day.Starting October 18, the second phase will begin with an increase capacity of the Grand Mosque to 75 percent, which would include 15,000 pilgrims and 40,000 wor-shippers a day.

Beginning of November, which will mark the third phase, pilgrims from abroad would be allowed to perform Umrah with at full capacity of 20,000 pilgrims and 60,000 worshippers per day.The Ministry observed that the fourth stage will see the Grand Mosque return to normal, when all the COVID-19 risks have gone away.The entry of pilgrims, worshippers and visitors to the mosque will be regu-lated through an application called “I’tamarna”,an application to be launched by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, with the aim of enforcing health standards and making it easier for pilgrims to book their journeys.Moreover, the Ministry of Interior called on all people attending the holy sites to adhere to the preventive measures, wear face masks, maintain a safe distances

from others, and refrain from physical contact.“Saudi Arabia wants to empower pilgrims, both from inside and outside the Kingdom, to be able to perform “the ritual in a safe and healthy manner, while protecting them from the threats of the pandemic,” read a statement from the ministry.In June, Saudi Arabia announced that it had issued a limit attendance to the sa-cred gathering only to some Muslims cur-rently residing in the country.In normal years, more than 2 million of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims travel to Mecca to perform the hajj, which is considered the fifth and final Pillar of Islam.

The government has been asked to re-sume registration for National Identity Cards (IDs) and hasten the issuance of vital documents to Lamu youth in Lamu County.Speaking on Saturday, Human rights lob-by Haki Africa Lamu County Coordinator Yunus Isaack Ahmed said lack of National identity cards among the youth has pre-vented them from accessing various ser-vices from both Lamu County government and national government and called on the state to accord first priority to these vulnerable groups. “We work closely with the youthful gen-eration and the community and lack of critical document among them has posed major challenges in their daily lives. Lamu youth cannot get employment, they can-not pursue higher education and cannot even register their small businesses since a big percentage of them don’t have na-tional identity cards,” he lamented.Yunus said the youth from various parts of both Lamu East and West did not ben-efit from the ongoing national Kazi mtaani project due to lack of the vital documents

Lamu residents call for resumption of ID cards

issuance exercise

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ated by Dr Omar Hassan Kasule, a lectur-er at the King Fahd Medical City in Riyadh Saudi Arabia.Prof Karama who has researched exten-sively on miraa consumption and drug ad-diction in the country said the government was also a contributory factor as it has not put in place robust measures to tame drug addiction among the youth. “The govern-ment banned the consumption of shisha-another drug substance but it is common knowledge that shisha is commonly avail-able to many people while the authorities look the other way,” he noted.Among the factors which he said were contributing the rise of drug abuse among young people, he said were peer pres-sure, parental misunderstandings, single parents, and poor role models. “Parents also need to nurture their chidlren with good moral and spiritual values. They shouls also ensure that their children are engaged. If they remain idle, they will eas-ily find themselves in drugs and other anti-social behaviours,” he said.


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The Islamic creed did not begin with the prophet-hood of Muhammad (SAW), nor was it invented by him. It is essentially the same message contained in previous di-vine scriptures and taught by all prophets of Allah. Islamic beliefs are eternal truths that neither change nor develop; it provides truths about Allah and His relationship with the visible and invisible aspects of the uni-verse, about the reality of this life, man’s role therein and what will become of him afterwards. The requirements, or “pillars”, of the Islamic faith are: belief in Allah, in the angels created by Him, in His scriptures, in the prophets through whom His revelation was conveyed to humanity, in the eternal life after death and in Allah’s perfect judg-ment and complete authority over human destiny.Belief in AllahMonotheism is the essence of Islam, and it emphasizes the Oneness of Allah. Muslims believe in One eternal and unique Allah. He is the Creator of all that exists, yet He can-not be compared to anything of His crea-tion. Muslims acknowledge that Allah alone is divine, that He alone is the Creator and Sustainer of creation. He is all-knowing and all-powerful, completely just and merciful.Allah is not part of His creation, nor is any of it a part of Him. The significance of ex-clusive divinity is that no one and nothing in existence is worthy to be worshipped except Allah, the Creator and Sustainer of all things. In Islam everything is built upon the oneness of Allah. No act of worship has any meaning if the concept of monotheism is in any way compromised.The proper name of Allah is “Allah”. He is the same Allah known to Christians, Jews and to people of other monotheistic faiths. Allah sent a series of messages to man-kind through appointed prophets and mes-sengers. Quite a few of them are familiar to people of Judeo-Christian background, such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and many others (AS)[2].Belief in the Angels Muslims believe that Angels exist. No one knows their exact number except Him. They obey Him, fulfill His commands, and guard over the universe and the creatures that dwell within it. They carry out the or-ders of Allah, from administration, observa-tion, guarding and protecting the universe as well as its creatures, all according to Al-lah’s Will and Order. Allah has revealed to us the names of some of the angels; for example, Gabriel, who was given the task of revelation, Michael, who has been as-signed the task of directing rain and veg-etation. There is also the Angel of Death, who has been given the task of collecting the souls at their appointed times.Belief in the ScripturesMuslims also believe in the original scrip-tures revealed by Allah, such as the Scrip-tures of Abraham and Moses, the Torah, the Psalms of David and the Gospel of Jesus. The final revelation to humanity is the Qur’an, which was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (SA). The Qur’an remains pre-

served and unchanged since the time of revelation in its original Arabic text. There is only one version of the Qur’an. It is re-cited and memorized by Muslims through-out the world. It contains the final message to humanity and legislation which both en-compasses all spheres of human life and is also suited to all peoples and all times. Moreover, it contains numerous verses that speak of the universe, its components and phenomena – the earth, sun, moon, stars, mountains, wind, rivers and seas, plants, animals, as well as the successive stages of human embryonic development. One of the miracles of the Qur’an, and evidence of its divine origins, is that nothing within it contradicts any established scientific fact.Belief in the MessengersA Muslim is required to believe that Allah chose the finest amongst humanity to be Messengers whom He sent to His crea-tion with specific legislations: to worship and obey Allah and to establish His religion and His Oneness. Allah, the Exalted, says: “And We did not send any Messenger be-fore you [O Muhammad (SA)] but We in-spired him [saying]: none has the right to be worshipped but I (Allah), so worship Me (Alone and none else).” [21:25]The last of the divinely appointed messen-gers was Prophet Muhammad (SA). To him was conveyed the final and complete reve-lation from Allah. All the prophets preached the same basic message: the worship of Allah alone. In essence, they all preached Islam, which means willing, peaceful sub-mission to Allah, the one true Allah, Creator of the universe.The final prophet was sent by the Crea-tor as a human model to be followed and obeyed. Prophet Muhammad (SA) exempli-fied the principles laid down in the Qur’an, and true Muslims strive to follow his noble example. His biography has been recorded in minute detail and is easily accessible for study. There is a complete, authentically narrated documentation of his sayings and practices which is the second source of Is-lamic legislation. It is complementary to the Qur’an and supplements it with additional details and clarification of meanings. This record contains the prophetic traditions referred to as the Sunnah. Scholars have

Islamic BeliefsDA'WAH Safar 08, 1442/September 25, 2020The Friday Bulletin

carefully and painstakingly scrutinized the reliability of the transmitters of these tradi-tions, and only those whose narrators are found to be completely reliable and sound are accepted.Belief in the Last DayMuslims believe that the life of this world will come to an end. Allah says: “What-soever is on it (i.e. the earth) will perish.” [55:26]The Day of Resurrection is the day when each individual will stand before Allah and be questioned about their deeds. The com-pensation for evil in the Hereafter is exact justice, while the compensation for good is much greater – comprehensive, multi-ple rewards and complete satisfaction and happiness. People will be judged accord-ing to their degree of righteousness, and nothing else. Allah says: “Whoever brings a good deed shall have ten times the like thereof to his (or her) credit, and whoever brings an evil deed shall have only the rec-ompense of the like thereof.” [6:160]A person is rewarded for merely intending to do good, even if they do not follow up that intention with action. Prophet Muham-mad (SA) mentioned that Allah said: “Who-ever intends to perform a good deed but does not do it, Allah records it for them as one good deed. If one intends to do a good deed and does it, Allah records for them the like thereof ten times, up to seven hun-dred times, to many times. If one intends to do an evil deed, but does not do it, Al-lah records it for them as one good deed. If one intends to do an evil deed and does it, Allah records it only as one evil deed.” [Bukhari]Belief in Predestination Muslims believe in predestination, whether good or bad, which Allah has measured and ordained for all creatures according to His previous knowledge and as deemed suitable by His wisdom. Allah, the All-Knowing, knows everything that happened in the past, everything that is happening now and all that will happen in the future. Humankind has been given free will and the choice of whether or not to follow what Allah ordained. He has been given a mind with which he is able to reason and choose wisely.

The religion of Islam is based on one core belief, that there is no god worthy of wor-ship but Allah. When a person embraces Islam or a Muslim wants to renew or con-firm his or her faith, they profess their be-lief that there is no god worthy of worship but Allah and that Muhammad is His final messenger. Ashadu an la ill laha il Allah wa Ashadu anna Muhammadan Rasulull-ah, Saying these words, the Testimony of Faith, is the first of five pillars or founda-tions of the religion of Islam. Belief in God is the first of six pillars of faith.[1]Muslims believe that there is only One God. He alone is the Sustainer and Crea-tor of the universe. He is without partners,

children, or associates. He is the Most Merciful, the Most Wise, and the Most Just. He is the all hearer, all seer, and the all knowing. He is the First , He is the Last. “Say (O Muhammad), He is Allah, (the) One. Allah-us-Samad (The Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need, He nei-ther eats nor drinks). He begets not, nor was He begotten; And there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him.” (Quran 112)“He is the Originator of the heavens and the earth. How can He have children when He has no wife? He created all

Monotheism – One God

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MenopauseSafar 08, 1442/September 25, 2020The Friday Bulletin

"Such elderly women as are past the pros-pect of marriage, there is no blame on them if they lay aside their (outer) garments, pro-vided they make not wanton display of their beauty; but it is best for them to be modest; and Allah is One Who sees and knows all things". Qur'an, Surah An-Nur, 24:60. Menopause is defined as the time when a woman stops having her monthly men-strual cycle. The period from menopause until death when a woman is no longer able to conceive a child because her ovaries have stopped releasing eggs and estrogen is called “Climacteric.“ Almost 220 million Muslim women are presently in the post-menopausal or climacteric stage of their lives. Natural menopause can occur as early as age 38 or as late as age 60, the average being 50 years. Women whose ovaries or uterus have been removed surgically or whose ovaries have been irradiated with large doses of X-rays or gamma- rays will experience their menopause immediately after the operation and sometime later in the case of irradiation. Menopause is a gradual process, which in most women lasts about two years. It is a normal event in every woman’s life and should not be thought of as a disease.It is now known that most women contin-ue to produce small amounts of estrogen often up to thirty years after their meno-pause, although the ovaries do not secrete it directly. The estrogen is manufactured in glands other than the ovary, in the brain and bone and especially in fat tissue in the postmenopausal woman’s body.Symptoms of Menopause No two women experience the menopause in the same way or at the same time. It is not known what exactly triggers the “change of life, even though it is probably related to hormone levels that are adjusting to gen-eral aging process in the body. Changing hormone levels account for hot flashes, a symptom that about half of menopausal women experience. A hot flash usually lasts a few minutes and is preceded by a chill followed by heavy sweating. Some-times, rapid heart beating, numbness and tingles also occur. Only about one in twenty women have hot flashes that are extremely debilitating. These women are unable to sleep at night and may be very tired, nerv-ous or irritable because of the discomfort of the flashes. Luckily most women have hot flashes that are mild, and infrequent and do not disturb their life to any signifi-cant degree. One should not forget that a woman’s experience of menopausal symp-toms could be influenced by a number of personal and social factors, such as how she feels about aging, her general health and her involvement with activities that en-able her to feel productive and worthwhile. Hot flashes are not life threatening and, in most women they go away without treat-ment such as estrogen therapy. Another problem that some menopausal

women experience is vaginal dryness, which is caused by the thinning of the cells in the vagina. This condition may cause pain during sexual intercourse. As with the hot flash symptom, there is great variation among women in their encounter of vaginal dryness. These changes often do not occur until a wom-an reaches her late sixties or seventies. Much lower doses of estrogen are need-ed to relieve vaginal dryness than to re-lieve hot flashes. In majority of cases, vaginal dryness can be remedied using a non-irritating lubricant before sexual intercourse.Depression Emotional problems in the menopause, such as anxiety, depression and nerv-ousness are based on social and cul-tural factors rather than changes in estrogen levels. Fortunately Muslim women do not consider middle age to be a stressful time in their lives and do not become especially anxious or irrita-ble around the time of the menopause. Some psychiatrists have, in. the past, implied that menopausal depression is due to hormonal changes by defining a type of mental illness which is allegedly caused by shrinking breasts and vagi-nas in menopausal women. This diag-nosis contributes to the fear that women have traditionally had about the meno-pause There is no scientific evidence to justify the use of hormone therapy for those psychological difficulties that may arise during the menopausal years. Estrogencannot give a woman self-confidence or emotional self-control. Loneliness, lack of energy, tension and crying spells may occur at anytime in a person’s life; estro-gen therapy cannot relieve menopausal women from such feelings. Acknowl-edging these feelings and talking about them with a sympathetic family member, friend or doctor may provide increased self-understanding and relief from these “bad” feelings.Hormone Therapy Hormone therapy (HT) for the manage-ment of menopausal symptoms and as a preventive measure to guard against health problems of older age, has domi-nated discussions about menopause in recent years. Hormone ‘replacement’ therapy has been around since earlier this century. It was first developed as estrogen only, but it was found to cause cancer of the endometrium (the lining of the uterus) and fell from grace. More re-cently progestin was added to the estro-gen in order to make the therapy safer. At menopause hormone levels drop as part of the natural process, so the con-cept of ‘replacing’ them is misleading. Giving hormones at or after menopause treats menopause as an estrogen defi-ciency disease rather than as a natural occurrence in a woman’s life. For accu-

By Ibrahim B. Syed, Ph. D.

WOMEN

racy, the term ‘hormone therapy’ will be used in this article.The quandary that many women find them-selves in when trying to make a decision about whether or not to use HT at menopause is understandable. There are conflicting re-ports and claims made about the risks and benefits. Physicians of different persuasions have very differing views about the safety and efficacy of HT. Women often tell that their fam-ily physicians urge them to use HT but make light of the side effects and women’s concerns about them. Many women feel their Fam-ily Physicians doesn’t have the time to offer much information and discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of HT. Women are being encouraged to take HT, often with-out being given adequate information and the opportunity to explore their feelings. Many women value the opportunity to explore the pros and cons in a neutral environment with-out the pressure of having to make a decision then and there. There is rarely any urgency about making the decision of whether or not to use HT.What is HT?Hormone therapy is a medication prescribed to add hormones when the amount normally produced by the ovaries decreases as part of the process of menopause. The two main types of hormones in HT are estrogens and progestins. They are produced artificially and attempt to resemble the hormones produced naturally by a woman’s body. In HT these hor-mones may be prescribed together or alone. Women who have their uterus intact are pre-scribed combined therapy of estrogen and progestin. Women who have had a hysterec-tomy are prescribed only estrogen.Testosterone is another hormone, which is occasionally used. In women, this hormone occurs naturally in small quantities. Its use remains controversial, as there is limited re-search into its short term and long-term ef-fects. Hormone therapy is very effective in reduc-ing those symptoms of menopausal women that are related to the decreasing body lev-els of estrogen. Taking hormones for a short time while the body adjusts to its new hor-mone level frequently helps women with se-vere hot flashes or vaginal dryness problems. Hormones do not cure the menopause; they simply help some women who have disabling symptoms get through it more easily. Hormone therapy, however, may prove to be helpful in. slowing one aspect of the aging pro-cess. As bones age, they become less dense and more brittle. This condition is known as osteoporosis, can lead to excessive fractures and broken bones. Bone fractures are a very significant health problem in elderly women. One-¬fourth of all postmenopausal women in the United States develop an unhealthy degree of bone loss. It is difficult to predict, however, which women will experience these bone changes. Women who are chronically disabled or bedridden may indeed have bone

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Safar 08, 1442/September 25, 2020 Safar 08, 1442/September 25, 2020The Friday Bulletin

Three Tips to Smash University

For many people, the time spent at uni-versity is quite transformative. For Muslim students, it can be make or break – a time where, if spent well, you become a better Muslim, more mature, and make lifelong friends. On the other hand, if your time is not spent correctly, you can fall into the wrong crowd, get involved with the wrong types of things, and even lose your īmān.I have been (un)fortunate enough to see both journeys take place to people around me. For this reason, I have put together 3 key pieces of advice that, if you stick to in shā Allāh, will mean that you will leave university a much better person and, much more importantly, a better Muslim.Keep up with your salāhThe Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “The first thing for which a person will be brought to account on the Day of Resur-rection will be his prayer. If it is sound, he will be successful, and if it is lacking in any way, he will be doomed. If his obligatory prayers are lacking, the Lord will say, ‘Look and see whether My slave has any volun-tary prayers that may be used to make up what is lacking in his obligatory prayers.’ Then all his deeds will be examined and dealt with in the same way.”[ Sunan al-Tirmidhi]The one defining characteristic of a Muslim is whether they keep up with their salāh. Nothing is more important than your salāh. If you stick to it, everything else will fall in line. If you do not, your sins will begin to grow. You must try your utmost best to keep up with them. If you are not praying now, start with one prayer. When you are consistent with that, add another prayer, then another, until you are praying all five every day. If you are already doing that, then the men should try to pray in jamā’ah in the masjid.

matter how unrelated it may seem to salāh, ensuring that you are still praying will only have a positive effect on it.Keep good companyAbu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “A man is upon the religion of his friend, so let one of you look at whom he befriends.”[ Sunan al-Tirmidhi]It is a known fact that a person is similar to the company that they keep. Your friends will have an impact on you just as you will have an impact on them. Make sure that your friends are the type of people who will take you to Jannah. Some basic indications that your friends are worth keeping are that they ensure that you all pray in jamā’ah when you are together and encourage each other to basic acts of goodness, such as praying in the masjid, refraining from using inappropriate language, and advis-ing you if they believe you to be making a mistake. A step further than that is a friend who reminds you of Allāh and raises your īmān when you meet. This type of friend is becoming increasingly rare, so ensure you remain close to them wherever you find them.Make good use of your timeThe Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Take advantage of five matters be-fore five others: your youth before your old age, your health before your sickness, your wealth before your poverty, your free time before your work, and your life before your death.”[ Musnad Imam Ahmad]Every point from this hadīth is immensely useful. However, in the interest of sticking to the objective of this article, I want to fo-cus on the importance of making good use of your time.It may not necessarily feel like it at the mo-ment, but for many university students,

YOUTH

By Osama Zubair this is the most amount of free time you will ever have for the majority of your life. Once you start working full time, and then move on to the next stage of your life with marriage and kids, you will have a fraction of the free time (if any) that you currently have now. In order to grow as a Muslim and as a person, it is imperative that you make as much use of your time now.It is incredibly easy to fall into the habit of chilling out and socialising in your free time, even if it is a halal environment, but this is your opportunity to be better than that. Your options are not limited. Memorising the Qur’ān, attending Islamic classes, get-ting involved with the Islamic Society and charity work, or even spending time devel-oping useful skills such as public speaking. All of these activities are convenient to do as a university student. The purpose of this article is not to tell you what to do, but to tell you to do something useful with your time. Now is also a good time for you to be looking at who you want to be as a person, then actively creating and executing a plan to become that person.I am not saying it is easy, but I am say-ing that if you are able to develop yourself outside of your university course, you will appreciate it and reap the benefits of it for-ever.When you look at the bigger picture, your time at university may not seem like a big deal. It will be three to five years depending on your course – this is even less time than what you spent in secondary school. How-ever, due to the nature and setup of uni-versity life, these are the key years that will direct the trajectory of your life for most, so spend them wisely. I ask Allāh for all that is good, and that He showers His blessings on you whilst you are in university, and pro-tects you from the fitan of university.And Allāh knows best.You may often find your-

self in a position where salāh becomes difficult, such as in winter when salāh times are closer to each other and you may have back-to-back lectures. In most cases, simply planning your day so that you already have wudū’ and finding an empty space in the short time between lectures will be long enough. If this de-lays you from making it to your next lecture, inform-ing your lecturer before-hand will in most cases resolve any potential is-sues.There are many other benefits of praying on time, but I will only men-tion one other in this ar-ticle: it will help you keep away from sins. Whatever else in your life you may be struggling with, no

The Friday Bulletin

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The so-called “Abraham Accord”, as the deal between the UAE and Israel is known, arrived faster than even the most enthusiastic Zionists could have imagined, even if secret negotiations had been tak-ing place. Bahrain has followed suit with indecent haste.The first Arab-Israeli peace deal took place in 1979 with the Camp David Ac-cords between Egypt and Israel. Getting to that stage took almost two year from the time that the then Egyptian President, Anwar Sadat, shocked the world with his visit to Israel in November 1977. Even then the deal was simply two framework plans setting the agenda for negotiations rather than a commitment to any substan-tial deal. Negotiations went on for years afterwards.Such deals are, by their very nature, diffi-cult to agree and are filled with fine details in which more than one devil lurks. Egypt paid heavily for breaking what was then a taboo; it was boycotted by all Arab coun-tries and deprived of substantial financial support that richer Arab states used to provide to Cairo. The Arab League based in Cairo was relocated to Tunisia and the Egyptian economy suffered. Ultimately, in 1981 Sadat paid with his life for signing the accords, among other reasons. Until then there was a strong Pan-Arab position rejecting any form of normalisation with Israel unless and until Palestinians are af-forded their full legitimate rights.The Arab League said that the Camp Da-vid deal reneged on a whole host of Arab accords that Egypt had signed up to since the creation of the League in 1945. Fear-ing that it was setting a precedent for oth-er member states the organisation acted swiftly and decisively.Egypt was not punished for making peace; it was punished for making peace with a colonial-occupation state with practices rooted in an apartheid system that threat-ens every Arab state while denying the existence of an entire nation, the Pal-estinians. A nuclear armed entity, Israel discriminates against Palestinians, even individually — and even its own Palestin-ian Arab citizens — in every aspect of life. Moreover Cairo was boycotted not only for taking such a step unilaterally, but also for the social, cultural and strategic impact of “peace making” with a state built upon land grabs and total disregard for interna-tional law. The case of Egypt could be de-scribed as “peace minus normalisation”, as the Egyptians’ resentment of Israel and strong links to the Palestinians made nor-malisation almost impossible.With the UAE deal the situation is differ-ent and the precedent is even more dan-gerous; repercussions are likely to have an impact on an entire generation in the Gulf region. Neither the UAE nor Bahrain have ever fought a war with Israel; they share no borders with it; and they have no economic or security needs which such

Why do Arab leaders respect treaties with others but not between themselves?

deal might deliver. Unlike the Egyptians, people in the UAE are less attached to the Palestinian cause, making public opposi-tion to normalisation less likely and thus less effective.In terms of security, the only major breach of the UAE’s national security of which we are aware came in 2010 when Israeli agents murdered Palestinian Mahmud Al-Mabhouh in a Dubai hotel. It is unlikely that the murder would have been men-tioned in the discussions about the deal just signed with the Zionist state. How-ever, an estimated 100,000 Palestinians expats living and working in the UAE can expect more restrictions and surveillance.The Palestinians and other Arab coun-tries reject the UAE’s move, with serious grievances about repercussions that go far beyond the “symbolism” of peace mak-ing. US President Donald Trump spoke at the signing ceremony on Tuesday about changing the “course of history” with the Palestinian issue becoming irrelevant to future Arab generations. He is distorting history and rewriting it to reflect the false Israeli narrative of the conflict.Manama and Abu Dhabi are peripheral to the Arab-Israeli conflict, but they are effective within the Arab fold, at least as set out in the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative. Weaker parties taking such a step alone weaken the rest of the group further; the Arab League in this case.Moreover, the moves by the UAE and Bahrain reinforce the historical trend that Arab leaders always honour and observe deals that they sign with others but do not respect commitments made to each other,

to the Joint Defence and Economic Co-operation Treaty, signed by Arab League members in 1950, even before the UAE and Bahrain existed as independent coun-tries. The treaty obliges member states to defend each other in war— as NATO does for its members— while banning internal meddling in the affairs of other League members. Both Bahrain and the UAE, and almost all other Arab League members, have never fully implemented the terms of that treaty despite foreign invasions of member states such as Iraq, Lebanon and Libya, to cite a few examples. Instead, the UAE is now intervening in Yemen and Lib-ya in contravention of such a treaty as well as international legal obligations. Further-more, there are dozens of Arab League and bilateral treaties covering important areas such as agriculture, science, edu-cation, culture and women’s issues. They are based comprehensively on the good of the pan-Arab world and are not supposed to be cherry-picked for partial implemen-tation. None of them are really adhered to. The Saudi led Gulf States’ boycott of Qatar, for example, contravenes many Arab League treaties. Conversely, all Gulf States pay great attention to the im-plement of their various accords with the United States, France and Britain, particu-larly in areas of defence and security.The UAE is 50 years old, Bahrain is 51 years old and Israel is 72 years old, but the average life span of Palestinian olive trees is 500 years. Palestine will always be deeply rooted in the land, hearts and minds of millions. None of those three countries are likely to held in such esteem.

FEATURE

By Dr Mustafa Fetouri

within or without the Arab League. In this particular context, there are dozens of bilateral and Arab League treaties signed by almost all Arab countries, the UAE and Bahrain in-cluded, that make normalisation with Israel conditional upon the Zionist state accepting the two-state so-lution at the heart of the Arab Peace Initiative endorsed by the majority of the League’s mem-bers, including the Palestinians. All such treaties are either shelved, partially imple-mented or not im-plemented at all.For example, Abu Dhabi and Ma-nama are parties

The Friday BulletinSafar 08, 1442/September 25, 2020 Safar 08, 1442/September 25, 2020

Ibn Khaldun: The hstorian who transformed the methodology of writing history

Muslims have played a significant role in the writing of history, which is one of the vital sources of knowledge transformation. The first verse revealed of the Holy Quran emphasizes the importance of Qalam, the Pen, which is a vital instrument of knowledge transformation. How many of us know the origin of history and its meth-odology of recording the incidences and contributions of past civilisations?Ibn Khaldun, a great historian of the 14th century, has introduced some methods of recording social and political events. Be-fore Ibn Khaldun, some Arab historians had documented historical incidents of war in the prophetic era. Kitâb Al-Târîkh wa Al-Maghâzî [History and Campaigns] by Al-Wâqidî (c. 130 – 207 AH; c. 747 – 823 CE) is one of the famous books which covers war stories during the Prophet’s time. Kitâb Futûḥ Al-Buldân [Arab Con-quests and Early Islamic Historiography] by Al-Balâdûrî (d. 278-279 AH/ 892 CE) and other books were written by Islamic scholars discussing the subject matter of history. Ibn Khaldun has compiled the events of history in a methodical, modern scientific way.Abd al-Rahman Ibn Khaldun born on 27th May 1332 CE [corresponding 1st Ramadhan 732 AH] in Tunisia. His name was Wali al-Din Abd al-Rahman ibn Mu-hammad Ibn Khaldun. By lineage, he was an Arab. His family had settled in Seville in Spain soon after the Islamic conquest of Spain in 93 AH, but again, they migrated back to Tunisia before Christians re-cap-tured Seville in 1248 CE.Abd al-Rahman Ibn Khaldun received his early education at home under the guid-ance of his father who was a notable scholar of his time. He memorised the Holy Quran, learned Arabic grammar, ju-risprudence, hadith, rhetoric, philology and poetry under the supervision of the best teachers of their time. He learned mathematics, logic and philosophy from the great mathematician and philosopher Al-Abili of Tlemcen [Algeria]. In a nutshell, he attained high proficiency in these sub-jects and became a master within a short span of times. Some historians believed that Ibn Khaldun had completed his tradi-tional studies by the age of 19.Ibn Khaldun worked in a range of capaci-ties in various countries as judge, admin-istrator, lawyer, teacher and government advisor.Political backgrounds and relationships with kings and various governments meant that he could not stay peacefully for long in one place. Throughout of his life, he travelled from one place to another. His writing reflects that he had travelled Europe, Africa and the Arabian Peninsula extensively. His book Muqaddimah is an outcome of his personal experience and observation. It seems he spent his life in jeopardy: he was imprisoned and several times he was expelled from his position

although he was dedicated to his mission. Ibn Khaldun spent his last years in Egypt, where he took last breath on 17th March 1406 CE. Most of his research work was conducted in Egypt while he was serving as a judge in the Maliki Court. This great historian and philosopher influenced mil-lions of people.He started his writing work at the age of 30. Many historians believe that the Muqaddimah [Prologue] was the first book he wrote and completed it in six months. The first volume of the book is Muqaddi-mah whose literal meaning is ‘introduc-tion.’ It is the first part of his seven volume set, Kitāb al-ʻIbar wa-Dīwān al-Mubtadaʼ wa-l-Khabar fī Taʼrīkh al-ʻArab wa-l-Barbar wa-Man ʻĀṣarahum min Dhawī ash-Shaʼn al-Akbār (“Book of Lessons, Record of Be-ginnings and Events in the History of the Arabs and the Berbers and Their Powerful Contemporaries”). Though Muqaddimah is the first part of his book, it got the sta-tus of a complete book. Muqaddimah was the first major attempt to analyse human society in regard to its geography, anthro-pology, history, sociology, religion, culture, society, economy, science, arts, crafts and psychology. The Muqaddimah is organ-ized as six sections as follows.1.Human Society 2.Rural Civilizations3.Government and Institutions4.Society and Urbanization5.Economic Modules6.Science and HumanityKitab Al-CIbar subsequent to the Muqad-dimah discusses the various issues of civilisation, government, administration and the cultures of some nations. Vol-umes II, III, IV and V discuss the history of mankind till the time of Ibn Khaldun. Vol-umes VI and VII discuss the history of the Berber people and the Maghrib [the west coastline of North Africa]. This part is con-sidered to be one of the authentic and sig-nificant sources for the history of Berber Civilisation. Besides Kitabu Al-CIbar, he wrote several books on a variety of sub-jects crucial to understanding a full range of social structure.Discussing the various aspects of soci-ology, Ibn Khaldun conceived the theory of conflict. He propounded the theory of dichotomy of sedentary life verses nomad life, the concept of generation and loss of power.Ibn Khaldun developed a theory of civi-lisation, the theory of political economy, the theory of a business cycle, the theory of taxation, the theory of social cohesion [Caṣabiyyah] and tribalism. In addition to these theories, Ibn Khaldun propounded a number of other modules and ideas which later on would become the object of inter-est and citation for western scholars and social scientists.Arthur Laffer, the founder and chairman of

an economics global investment-research firm providing services to institutions and corporations, credits Ibn Khaldun in the development of the Laffer Curve. The Laf-fer Curve deals with the heavy-duty levy of tax on production and agriculture. In his theory, Ibn Khaldun had suggested that the government reduce the level of taxa-tion. He pointed out that the excess levy on the public may discourage business, reduce production levels in the economy and reduce the revenue to the govern-ment. It may also lead to supply-side in-flation in the economy which is known in modern economic literature as “cost-push inflation.”Ibn Khaldun also emphasized Islamic monetary theory and the management of currency. He was in favor of minting gold or silver coins. He suggested establishing an equilibrium between the intrinsic and face values of the currency. His analysis of cause, nature, effects and consequenc-es of civilisation has evoked great admira-tion in the world.Clearly, for Ibn Khaldun, history included much more than dates, names and events; it included all of what we today call the so-cial sciences. The British historian Arnold J. Toynbee termed the Muqaddimah “a philosophy of history which is undoubtedly the greatest work of its kind that has ever yet been created by any mind in any time or place.”

By Irfan Shahid

things and He is the All-Knower of every-thing. Such is Allah, your Lord! La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be wor-shipped but He), the Creator of all things. This belief is sometimes called Monothe-ism which is derived from the Greek words ‘monos’ meaning only and ‘theos’ mean-ing god. It is a relatively new word in the English language and it is used to denote a supreme being Who is all-powerful, the One who is responsible for life, the One who rewards or punishes. Monotheism is directly opposed to Polytheism, which is belief in more than one god, and to Athe-ism, a disbelief in all deities. In the religion of Islam belief in One God, without partners or associates is essen-tial. It is the focal point of the religion and it is the essence of the Quran. The Quran calls on humankind to worship God alone and to give up worshipping false gods or associates. The Quran urges us to look at the wonders of creation and understand God’s greatness and power, and it speaks directly of His names, attributes, and ac-tions. The Quran commands us to reject anything that is worshipped instead of, or along with God.“And I (God) created not the jinns and hu-mankind except they should worship Me (Alone).” (Quran 51:56)

Monotheism Continued From Page 3

The Friday Bulletin Safar 08, 1442/September 25, 2020

MenopauseContinued From Page 4

loss problem that could be helped by hor-mone therapy. If hormone therapy is to be of any benefit in. preventing osteoporo-sis and its complication, it must be given early in the menopause before a significant amount of bone is lost since hormone ther-apy will not cause new bone material to be produced over the long term. Many other factors, in addition to estrogen, are impor-tant for healthy bones in postmenopausal women, such as other hormones, vitamin D, calcium, genetics, body weight, exercise and diet. Because of the difficulty in identi-fying women who would benefit, the doctor cannot recommend that postmenopausal women routinely receive estrogen therapy to prevent osteoporosis.Side effectsThe common side effects of Hormone Therapy (HT) include: sore breasts, nau-sea, weight gain, headaches, feeling bloat-ed, depression or mood swings, irregular bleeding or spotting.These side effects, while uncomfortable, are not considered medically dangerous. Often they subside within a few weeks of taking HT. If the side effects continue be-yond a few weeks, an adjustment of the dosage may be required. Sometimes wom-en need the dosage adjusted several times before finding the right combination. This may take several months or sometimes longer to sort out.While the side effects mentioned above may not be considered dangerous in a medical sense, many women find them un-acceptable. Numerous women are not pre-pared to feel the way they might have when they were premenstrual. Unwanted weight gain is also a worry for some women. For many, going back to having a monthly bleed is something they do not want. Only the woman concerned can decide whether any unwanted effects of taking HT are ac-

ceptable.Serious side effectsSerious side effects include increase in the size of fibroids, activation of endometriosis, especially if located deep in the pelvic area, increased risk of developing breast cancer (numerous studies show this to be the case after 5 years of HT use). increased risk of developing endometrial cancer even when combined HT is used, thromboembolism (blood clot in the blood stream). Women should see their doctor immediately if they have any problems, particularly any abnor-mal bleeding, a breast lump, or any swell-ing and pain behind the knee or in the calf as this may be a sign of thromboembolism.Contraindications Women should not consider taking hor-mone therapy if they have any of the fol-lowing health problems: irregular bleeding; cancer of the uterus, breast or kidney; liver disease; a history of heart disease, gall bladder disease and stroke; or a history of heavy smoking. Women who are obese or diabetic and those who have high blood pressure or migraine headaches cannot take hormones safely. When her doctor checks a woman before receiving a pre-scription for hormone therapy, she should receive a complete physical, including a thorough history and breast and pelvic ex-ams to rule out any of these health prob-lems.Hormone therapy is not recommended for women who have any of the following: pregnancy and lactation, estrogen depend-ent cancer, cancer of the breast or endo-metrium, undiagnosed urogenital bleeding, undiagnosed breast changes, blood clot-ting disorders, liver disease, uncontrolled high blood pressure. From the list of con-traindications, it is clear that HT affects many organs of the body. Women are wise to carefully consider the risks and benefits

before commencing HT.Estrogen wonder drug? Unfortunately, the case for Estrogen as a woman’s “fountain of youth” has been greatly exaggerated. Many books and ar-ticles in women’s magazines suggest that estrogens prevent everything from wrin-kles and depression to heart attacks and sexual problems. Menopausal women have been pictured as sexually unattractive and useless- ¬with facial hair, deepened voices and shrinking vaginas. Even some doctors have recommended hormone therapy to prevent dry skin, weak muscles, sagging breasts and chins, and breast cancer. Mil-lions of postmenopausal women in Ameri-ca took hormones as a routine, long-¬term basis as a cure-all for aging skin, emotional difficulties and as a preventive measure against heart disease and cancer. It is now known that estrogen is not a wonder drug. It cannot slow the aging process or restore youth, vitality or sensuality. In addition, es-trogens do not prevent heart disease or breast cancer.General advice:Whether or not a woman decides to use postmenopausal hormone therapy, she should keep regular schedule of mammo-grams, and breast and clinical exams. In addition to having regular mammograms, she should protect her health by having certain other tests done too. These include tests for high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, high blood glucose (sugar), bone mineral density, and overweight. If a woman stops taking hormone therapy and her menopausal symptoms return, she should consider alternative treatments. Be aware that some of these remedies have not been proved effective or safe.The wrtier is President Islamic Research Foundation International, Inc.

Representatives of Israel who attended the United Nations General Assembly in person walked out of the hall during Turk-ish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s address that included a harsh criticism of Israel.

The Turkish leader censured Israel’s poli-cies towards Palestine as “oppression, violence and intimidation for more than half a century” in a pre-recorded speech that was aired to the attendees of the As-sembly.

Israeli ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, left his seat and proceeded to walk out after hearing his remarks.

In addition to lauding the Palestinian peo-ple for not bowing down in the face of adversity inflicted by “Israel”, President Erdoğan said that “the order of occupation and oppression in Palestine, which is the bleeding wound of humanity, continues to hurt consciences.”

UN General Assembly: Israeli envoy walks out after President Erdogan’s criticismPresident Erdoğan added: “The dirty hand that reaches the privacy of Jerusalem, where the sacred places of the three great religions coexist, is constantly increasing its audacity.”

President Erdoğan also dismissed the Trump peace plan as a “document of sur-render” that was imposed on Palestine under the name of ‘Deal of the Century’. President Erdoğan vowed that “Turkey will not support any plan that the Palestinian people do not give consent to.”

He also made a subtle reference to the Gulf states – including the UAE and Bah-rain – who have recently normalised their relations with Israel. “Participation of some countries of the region in this game does not mean anything beyond serving Israel’s efforts to erode basic international param-eters. Countries that have declared their intention to open embassies in Jerusalem, in violation of the United Nations resolu-

tions and international law, only serve to make the conflict more complicated with their actions.”

President Erdoğan further stressed that “the Palestinian conflict can only be re-solved with the establishment of an inde-pendent, sovereign, and contiguous Pal-estine based on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.” “Seeking solu-tions other than this are in vain, one-side

INTERNATIONAL

The Friday BulletinSafar 08, 1442/September 25, 2020 Safar 08, 1442/September 25, 2020

Muslim Mosque Committee and the Ki-sumu Muslim Association (KMA), Abdul-rahman Muhammad they have written to the deputy registrar expressing their dis-appointment and also informed him that there is another case in which an order was taken on mutual consent to have the status quo remain. “On Thursday last week, we wrote to the deputy registrar expressing our disap-pointment over the church’s move to fence off the land. Unfortunately the situation is that there are two cases providing two sets of orders,’’ lawyer Abdulrahman Mu-hammad told the Friday Bulletin.Kaloleni Muslim Mosque Committee and the Kisumu Muslim Association sued the

Church and the National Lands Commis-sion for what they say is the irregular al-location of the land.The applicants are seeking an order to cancel the lease certificate granted to the church and issue a letter of allotment to Kaloleni mosque committee.The land registered under Kisumu Munici-pality Block 5/40 had been earmarked for expansion of the adjacent Kaloleni Mus-lim Primary School and an application had been made way back in 1985 for the plot to be allotted to the mosque but in a strange turn of events, the National Land Commis-sion instead allocated the property to the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

SDA church violates court orderContinued From Page 1

and advised the government to adopt a uniform and friendly registration process giving full consideration to the 2008 Ken-yan National Human Rights Commission's recommendations.The rights defender appealed to the coun-ty administration to resume the exercise to allow those who have attained the age of 18 to obtain identity cards. Even with the Coronavirus pandemic, he said the gov-ernment can conduct the exercise without necessarily putting both the officials and youth lives at risk.He decried that many youth do not have IDs due to the stringent vetting process and regulations and called on the gov-ernment to ease the process imposed on the local communities to facilitate the issuance of the important documents to applicants ''Applicants for national IDs and passports with Muslim names have always been subjected to a tedious dis-criminatory vetting process and this has persisted for long and we continue to see Muslims being deliberately denied IDs and passports,'' Yunus said.Yunus wondered why the vetting took place at the local levels yet applications are rejected or delayed at national levels saying the delay in issuance of Identity cards is holding back the progress of many youth in the region after being denied the vital documents on ''flimsy grounds .He further said the vetting exercise can be conducted in accordance with the health guidelines so as to prevent further spread of Covid-19 in the county.

Continued From Page 2

IDs issuance call

Algeria joins Qatar in opposing the normalisation of Arab-Israel dealsThe Algerian President, Abdelmajid Teb-boune, has condemned the historic “peace” agreement signed by the UAE and Bahrain with Israel at the White House last week. US President Donald Trump has played a crucial role in ensuring the UAE and Bah-rain normalise processes with Israel, ap-parently in exchange for political and mili-tary security to the Gulf countries. In an interview with the Algerian media, President Tebboune announced that Alge-ria will never be a part of an agreement to normalise any kind of relation with Israel. Tebboune added that Algeria will not give its blessing to any Arab country that has made “a kind of rush towards normalisa-tion.” Arab states have boycotted Israel for dec-ades, stating that they will establish ties only once the Palestinian conflict is resolved. However, not all of them have stuck to this stance. President Tebboune explained that “the Palestinian issue is sacred for us and it is the mother of all issues and will not be resolved except by establishing a Palestin-ian state, with the 1967 borders, with Holy Jerusalem as its capital.” This comes after the Israeli government continues to enforce discriminatory and severe restrictions on the human rights of Palestinians. After Israel’s twelve-year clo-sure of Gaza, there is limited access to ed-ucation, economic opportunities, medical care, clean water, and electricity for nearly 2 million Palestinians who live in the Gaza strip.[ There is currently still a restriction on movement of both people and goods in Gaza.President Tebboune’s announcement that Algeria will never be part of normal rela-tions with Israel follows the decision of Qa-tar, whose Foreign Affairs Ministry (FAM) commented in support of Palestine. The Qatar News Agency quoted the state-ment of the Qatari FAM: “The state of Qatar affirmed its firm position on the Palestinian issue, which stipulates ending the Israeli occupation and establishing the State of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital with-in the framework of international legitimacy

and relevant Security Council resolutions while granting all Palestinian refugees the right to return.”The statement also expressed Qatar’s support in sparing no effort to provide relief and lessen the suffering of Palestinians. Alongside Algeria and Qatar, Moroccans are protesting any form of deal with Israel as ‘treason’. Since the coronavirus pan-demic hit Morocco, its government has placed bans on large gatherings. However, this has not stopped the people of Morocco from demonstrating outside the Moroccan Parliament to denounce the Arab countries who are normalising relations with Israel. Protestors in the capital city Rabat waved Palestinian flags whilst chanting “Pales-tine is not for sale”. Meanwhile, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, condemned the international community at the 75th Session of the UN General As-sembly (UNGA) yesterday for its lack of “effective action to confront Israeli intransi-gence and its continued occupation of Pal-estinian and Arab land.”Speaking during the online meeting, the Qatari leader said that countries and inter-national organisations are failing to uphold UN Resolutions against the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and its continued building and expansion of illegal settlements.“[Israel is guilty of the] flagrant violation of international resolutions and the two-state

solution as agreed upon by the internation-al community,” said Sheikh Tamim. “Peace can only be achieved when Israel fully commits to the international terms of ref-erence and resolutions that are accepted by the Arab countries and upon which the Arab Peace Initiative is based.”The Emir urged the international communi-ty, particularly the UN Security Council, to pursue its legal responsibilities and “com-pel Israel to lift the siege on the Gaza Strip, and to put the peace process back on track through credible negotiations based on in-ternational resolutions and not on force.”

INTERNATIONAL

The Friday Bulletin Safar 08, 1442/September 25, 2020

Saudi Arabia will allow pilgrims living in-side the country to undertake the Umrah pilgrimage, beginning on October 4, after a seven-month pause due to the coronavirus pandemic, state news agency Saudi Press Agency has reported.In March, the country had declared a freeze on Umrah, which is an Islamic pilgrimage to the holy cities of Makka and Madina un-dertaken any time of the year, attracting 19 million people last year.Saudi Arabia will now allow 6,000 citizens and residents inside the kingdom to per-form Umrah daily, representing 30 percent of a revised capacity of 20,000 that takes into account precautionary health meas-ures, SPA said.That will expand to 75 percent of capacity on October 18. Beginning on November 1, the kingdom will allow visitors from specific countries deemed safe to perform Umrah at 100 percent of the revised capacity, until the end of the pandemic, SPA added.The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah is develop-ing a mobile application that will be avail-able a week before the Umrah resumes, so that pilgrims can register and book on

Saudi Arabia to gradually resume Umrah pilgrimageit. They will also need to follow the health guidelines provided in the app.The decision to resume Umrah came after the kingdom organised the smallest Hajj in modern history in late July, with only up to 10,000 Muslims allowed to take part in total – a far cry from the 2.5 million who participated last year.Health authorities said no coronavirus cas-es were reported at the holy sites during the Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam and a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime.Hajj pilgrims circled the sacred Kaaba – a cubic structure inside Mecca’s Grand Mosque towards which Muslims around the world pray – along socially distant paths.The kingdom has sought to contain a spike in infections, which have now risen to more than 330,000 cases – the highest in the Gulf – and at least 4,500 deaths.Last week, Saudi Arabia partially lifted its suspension on international flights, six months after travel curbs were imposed due to the pandemic. (Aljazeera)

Al-Khair sponsors green energy in Garissa

Four human rights groups have gone to court and filed a suit on behalf of the victims of police killings and brutality wit-nessed during the Covid-19 period.Amnesty International, International Jus-tice Mission (IJM), HAKI Africa, and Kituo Cha Sheria have moved to court to have the Inspector General of police Hillary Mu-tyambai, the Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i and Attorney General Kihara Kariuki take full responsibility for the brutality against civilians during imple-mentation of Covid-19 curfew.According to the suit, unlawful orders were given to police and the government failed to train the security officers on law-ful methods of how to implement the cur-few order and Covid-19 protocols.The move comes six months after many Kenyans were brutalised and others killed by police during the implementation of the national curfew and subsequent Covid-19 protocols.The respondents in the case are the In-spector General of Police, Interior CS, and the Attorney General who have been sued for failing to uphold their mandate while enforcing the curfew order. The petitioners on behalf of victims are seeking compensation from the state fol-lowing the unlawful use of brutality on the public by the police and assert that the COVID19 pandemic and the subsequent restrictions including curfew orders did not suspend constitutional rights including the right to life, human dignity, access to jus-tice, freedom and security of the person which includes the right not to be subject-ed to any form of violence from either the public or private sources.

Government sued for police brutality during Covid 19 pandemic

“The petition also calls out the govern-ment for the intentional failure by the state to operationalise the National Coroners Service Act, the Prevention of Torture Act, and the Victims Protection Act.” read part of the petition by the four human rights groups.The petition seeks to get a declaration that actions taken by the police against people were excessive, reckless, and negligent cruel and inhuman.It also wants a declaration that the police service failed to uphold its mandate, that the three mentioned respondents and the state are responsible. An order of com-pensation is also expected as enshrined in the law.

The groups said that there have been several instances of brutal, disproportion-ate and unnecessary use of force while enforcing the curfew order and it is their argument that the victims have suffered immense several mental and physical in-jury and the hopes and dreams of living a fulfilling life have been dashed.Another case has previously been filed by the Law Society against police boss, Hillary Mutyambai, the High Court de-clared the unreasonable use of force in enforcing the Public Order (State Curfew) Order, 2020 as unconstitutional.

NATIONAL

A renewable energy project sponsored by Al-Khair Foundation is set to benefit Young Muslim Children's Home and Young Mus-lim Academy in Garissa.The project will promote environmental conservation in Garissa County by using the green energy which is less harmful to the environment.The Foundation donated a T50 Biogas model which will be used to provide cook-ing services for over 1000 students in the institutions.In addition, waste management will now be controlled and managed in a proper way.The T-Rex biogas plants utlises bio-degra-dable material such as feedstock, kitchen waste, Prosopis Juliflora (mathenge) and therefore do not limit the use of only cow dung as is the case with other biogas fa-cillites.The Young Muslims Association secretary general Alvi Ahmed appreciated the sup-port from Al Khair Foundation saying that the “Going Green project” will not only benefit the two institutions wbut will also contribute to environmental protections and conservation.

Police force ferry passengers to lie down after firing tear gas and detaining them in Mombasa during the first day of nationwide curfew imposed by the government as a way of preventing the spread of COVID-19.

NATIONALThe Friday BulletinSafar 08, 1442/September 25, 2020 Safar 08, 1442/September 25, 2020

Muslim community leaders in Kisii County have embarked on aggressive campaigns to sensitize the local communities on the danger of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).Under the auspice of Kisii Interfaith Coun-cil, the leaders held public forums to delib-erate and educate the local communities on the practice.Addressing the forum, the Kisii Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM) chair Juma Musa Ombuyi noted that there is no authentic or relevant Islamic evidence sanctioning or allowing Female Genital Mutilation and called on all Muslim institutions to take action to stop the harm-ful practice.''Female Genital Mutilation is not Islamic

Muslim leaders in Kisii create awareness on danger of FGMand Islam was being used to shield an evil intention that is harmful to an individual's development,'' FGM was not justified by either the Quran or the Sunnah or hadith (traditions and sayings of Prophet Mu-hammad Peace Be Upon Him),''he said.The chair further observed that based on the adverse medical, health, social and psychological effects of the practice, it is prohibited by Islamic law and Kenyan laws expressly illegalize the practice.He said the promotion of the abandon-ment of FGM requires coordinated and systematic efforts, which must engage whole communities and focus on human rights, stressing that these efforts also need to emphasize societal dialogue and the empowerment of communities to act

collectively to end the practice. ''Soci-ety must also address the challenges of women and girls who suffer from its con-sequences,'' said Juma Musa.Juma further said FGM practice violates girls and women rights to health, security and physical integrity, their right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrad-ing treatment, and their right to life when the procedure results in deathHe pointed out that SUPKEM in collabo-ration with other partners at the Interfaith council will strive to end FGM amongst the local communities in the region.The leaders also resolved to mobilize re-sources to support advocacy and other interventions and appealed for develop-ment partners to come out and support the cause.

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Mandera families enrolled to NHIF medical cover to ease costsOver 2000 families in Mandera East have been enrolled into the National Health In-surance Fund (NHIF) to ease accessibility of health care for the residents.Speaking at Granada Hotel during the ceremony to hand over a Sh12 million cheque to the NHIF Mandera branch, area Member of Parliament (MP) Omar Salah said it would ease the burden on many families of paying for medical services and also to boost President Uhuru Kenyatta's Big Four agenda on Universal health cov-erage.“We all know how families undergo a lot of challenges and are unable to meet the cost especially when they are suffering from diseases that require a lot of finan-cial resources. For this reason, I urge resi-dents to register,” he said.NHIF area manager Ahmed Yaqub said residents can start accessing the services from next week and do not need to wait the usual 60 days.Salah urged hospitals not to overcharge in health care provisions as many poor resi-dents who can't afford medical care resort to traditional herbal treatments that don't

help.Early this year the county government launched the first renal unit and flagged-off county ambulances to ease the suffer-ing of many people accessing health care services. Many are forced to travel for days to get treatment at public hospitals. Only a few can afford private care."We all know the health sector in Mandera

Multi-billion shillings roads projects to link up three coastal countiesMultibillion-shilling road projects current-ly in progress in Mombasa are set to be hugely boost the economy of the coastal region.The road projects will connect Kilifi, Mom-basa and Kwale counties upon completion enabling ease of movement between the coast counties.Speaking during the inspection tour of the projects, President Uhuru Kenyatta noted that the construction of connection roads from the Sh4.2billion Malindi-Sala Gate Road, Baricho Bridge-Marafa Road, Mariakani-Mavueni Road will open up the region and boost its economy.“Today we have fulfilled our promise to tarmac Malindi-Sala Gate Road. I have spoken to the leaders about other smaller roads projects. Now that the bigger ones are ongoing, we want to embark on con-nection roads to open up this region,''

President Kenyatta said.The president said his government is committed to fulfilling the development promises it pledged to the people.During the inspection, the Head of State was accompanied by Kilifi Governor Ama-son Kingi, his Mombasa counterpart Has-san Joho, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia, Lands CAS Gideon Mung'aro, Kilifi Woman Rep Gertrude Mbeyu and other government officials.Construction of the Makupa causeway which is usually a nightmare for motorists entering and exiting the island through the Moi International Airport and the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) terminus is under-way.Kenya National Highway Authority (KeN-HA) says the section from Digo Road to Kibarani is complete and open for use by

was in a mess before devolution. Resi-dents struggled to get proper healthcare at local facilities but we have managed to address the situation," Governor Roba said while he launched the renal unit.In two years, the county is expected to roll out specialised treatment units in all the health facilities to help bridge the big gap between the rich and the poor.

the public.In addition, the first phase of the Dongo Kundu bypass connecting Mombasa and Kwale counties is complete, with the second and third phases of the Dongo Kundu-Kibundani highway ongoing. Once complete, it will comprise an interchange at Kibundani on the Likoni-Lunga Lunga highway and two bridges at Mteza (1.4km) and Mwache (660m).Once fully operational, the bypass, which links to key areas such as the Moi Inter-national Airport and the SGR terminus in Miritini, will enable tourists to link to the South Coast without having to use the Likoni Channel. The Sh28 billion project will be completed in four years.Governors Joho and Kingi pledged to work together with the president to push forward the national government's devel-opment agenda in the coast region.

Schools Opening amid Covid 19Children of school going age across the Country as announced by the Ministry of Education, will in the coming few weeks, head back into classrooms after an unprecedented long break of seven months of unsuccessful homeschooling that was necessitated by the coronavirus eruption in March 2020 and eventual government decree of schools closure and lockdown. This has been a very trying moment for both the parents and learn-ers as it was not certain when schools will eventually open for full time learning. The transition is not easy and many of these stu-dents have not come into terms with the effects of Covid- 19 and are still struggling with the transition.Teachers should be on the look out to notice tantrums, a child ap-pearing withdrawn, or the return of behaviors that had gone away, such as thumb sucking, especially in younger children, are all signs that should be identified earlier enough to find remedy. It is very imperative that teachers and parents should team up with mental

The Friday Bulletin is a Publication of Jamia Masjid Committee, P. O. Box 100786-00101 Nairobi, Tel: 2243504/5 Fax: 342147 E-mail: [email protected] Printed by Signal Press Limited-Lords House-Tom Mboya Street [email protected]

health experts to talk to the children as an orientation program before actual learning begins. As we all have been advised by UNESCO and World Health Organization (WHO), it is very vital to get our kids back to schools as the damages that result from dormancy and lack of learning has far reaching implications on a child’s significant psychological and developmental issues. However as stakeholders in this sector with a capacity of more than 300 students spread across the country in high schools, Ummah Foundation reiterates the fact that the risk factors posed by the Covid 19 virus should be weighed up against the ben-efits of the children returning to classrooms. While children do not seem to be the target for this virus and they are much less likely to get symptoms, they may get it and transmit it and at the moment we don't have enough data about how important they are in terms of transmission. As it is, the Ministry of Health has become very relaxed in terms of

monitoring the infection curves and has made indications that things are rapidly improving but the worry of every parent is the repercussions of the reinfections if it happens. Measures taken by both the Ministry of Health and Education is still wanting. Parents on their part are recommended to sit down with children and explain what safety measures they should take to protect their loved ones when they return to education institu-tions. These include regular hand wash-ing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, constant sanitizing as well as wearing a face mask and nose covering where social distancing is not possible for children aged 12 or older in line with the latest WHO advice. They are also required to report to school authorities about the worrying trends they have with their children if they are asthmatic or suf-fer from any other ailments like lung and heart diseases or respiratory conditions. The Ministry of Education should make sure there is enough running water in schools and strict guidelines should be of utmost privilege given to the learners at all ages and all social activities like games, assemblies and other extra- cur-riculum happenings should be suspend-ed hence fourth. It is our fervent prayers that Allah will keep our children safe as they return to schools and keep the Country free of this scourge. Contact us:Ummah FoundationVillage Plaza,2nd Floor Ngara Road P.O.Box 58717-00200 , Nairobi, KenyaTel:+254-20-2680610/13, Mobile: +254734845277E.Mail: [email protected]

safar 08, 1442/september 25, 2020 issue no. 907 friday...

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