Afghanistan’s “Pop Idol”- Signs of Democracy, Progress, Liberation?

By Majed Iqbal- The second presidential election in Afghanistan under the new constitution, designed after ‘liberation’ in 2001 was held on August 20, 2009.

The much awaited election has been at the forefront of international observers from the west. An election result which must prove that democracy has now been embedded in Afghan society and a living showcase to the world that the troops sent thousands of miles away from across the world were not fighting in vain.

The fight for ‘people power’ took a new form, away from the battlefield where western troops are fighting the ‘insurgency’. The fight to establish people power was now through Television allowing Afghanis to digest democracy through voting for their favorite singing stars by text messaging, in the form of the countries own version of Pop Idol.

The program titled “Afghan Star” drew viewing figures of 11 million people (a third of the population) who tuned in to watch the finale, gathering in homes, fruit shops, coffee houses and military barracks. The six-month-long television show, running for the third season would name the final two contestants, based on votes sent in from viewers via text message and offering a grand prize of £2,500 for the winner.

Sex at five? No thanks!

By Zaythoun Suleman- When I was five, all I wanted was to play with my friends and enjoy my childhood under the cloudless skies and fields full of daisies. I was unaware of the dangers and evils of this world and if it was up to me, I would have loved to have it kept that way for as long as possible.

Do our children really need to begin knowing about sex and relationships at 5 years old? Is making them aware of their body parts and sexual acts preparing them to make informed decisions for the future or is the Government opening Pandora’s box even further? A box filled with evil unleashed to plague the innocent mind is surely doing more damage than good.

The evil spreading reminds me of nuclear bombs dropped in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the effect of which is long-term devastation and destruction for many years to come. Instead of equipping them to protect themselves from the monsters of society, Isn’t SRE making them more vulnerable with this knowledge?

Children are an amanah (trust) given to us by Allah Subhana wa Ta’ala; with their minds fresh and like sponges, they absorb information from all around them. They are like a handful of clay that can be moulded to form any shape. It is up to us as parents or carers on how we should mould them.

So how do we as parents reply when our children come and ask us “Mum/Dad where do babies come from?”

ASIAN NEWS ARTICLE- Sex education is parental responsibility says campaigner

The following article was published on the Asian News Site covering the Rochdale campaign against SRE for 5 year old primary school children.

A MUSLIM community activist is campaigning against government plans to introduce sex and relationship education to primary school children as young as five.

Rochdale blogger, Majed Iqbal set up a Facebook campaign this week and has created a campaign video which can be seen on you tube to challenge the plans and is urging both Muslims and non-Muslim parents to join.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families announced plans last year that sex education and lessons about the dangers of drugs and alcohol will become compulsory in primary and secondary schools under government plans to protect young people from pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections and substance abuse.

Under the proposals, which are unlikely to come into force until next year, children will learn to talk about peer pressure and their feelings, in sex and relationship education (SRE) lessons. They will learn the names of body parts and about animal reproduction.

ASIAN LEADER Article- Muslim Parents face prosecution over school ‘Gay Week’ protest

The following article was published in the Asian Leader Newspaper drawing attention to a new project on Sex and relationship education (SRE) to be rolled out at primary level and to be taught to 5 year olds.

The full article can be read here. The newspaper can be read online on the Look Asia Website.

Will you be my Valentine…..Please?

By Majed Iqbal- It’s that time of the year again when the Majnu’s of this world- yes that Aashiq crowd whose diet consists of a Bollywood movie a night come out and confess their love to ‘the one’.

Yes, were talking about Valentines Day when romance is in the air and a day on which postal services are jammed with delivering cards and letters, or playing the role of a ‘cupid’, forwarding messages of ‘true love’.

Youngsters will be making Valentine’s cards, and lots would be collecting money from their pocket money to buy gifts for their so called loved one. And there is that air of anticipation and anxiousness of receiving an anonymous card from a secret admirer!

At schools, colleges and Unis people boast about the number of admirers they have. It’s all about the ratings game! So the more you have the bigger the player the lad is or the more ‘pulling power’ the girl has. Others will be hiding their faces with humiliation in the realisation that nobody showed any romantic interest in them.

So what’s the harm in all this some may ask? After all, is it not a day for girls and guys to indulge in a bit of fun?

BBC and Sky’s ‘impartial’ coverage of Gaza come under raps!

By Majed Iqbal- Sky News and the BBC came under heavy criticism on their refusal to broadcast an emergency appeal for Gaza by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), an umbrella group of humanitarian charities including Oxfam, Save the Children and the Red Cross, in spite of renewed pressure from the public on the grounds that it would jeopardise their neutrality.

The decision added further to fury to many in Britain who believed that the coverage of the Gaza massacre by the BBC and Sky news amidst many other Western news Corporations leaned more favourably to viewing the whole events through Israeli lenses with considerable airtime offered to people to speak with this angle.

More than 10,000 people protested in central London against the BBC’s refusal to air the DEC aid appeal for Gaza which was followed by incidents in the week where BBC buildings in London and Manchester were occupied by protesters.

John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York said “This is not an appeal by Hamas asking for arms but by the Disasters Emergency Committee asking for relief”

“From the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq”

  By Majed Iqbal- America’s campaign led on the War on Terror, regime change in Iraq for the betterment of the Iraqi people, and winning the hearts and minds of Muslim countries was thrown into abyss when a journalist threw his shoes at the outgoing American president George Bush.

 

Muntazer al-Zaidi, an Iraqi journalist who works for the Cairo-based al-Baghdadia channel, tore off his shoes and flung them at Mr Bush as he stood beside Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister, during a press conference in Baghdad’s Green Zone.

“This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog. This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq,” he shouted before being overpowered by security guards and bundled out of the room.

The American led Nouri al-Maliki government was quick to condemn the action citing it as “shameful” demanding an apology from the journalist’s Cairo-based employer, who in turn called for his immediate release from custody.

Exclusive Video- Stand For Islam Documentary

By Majeds Video Blog Team- The last few years have seen increased Propaganda and rhetoric issued against Muslims living in Europe. Despite quotations aired in scripted style by Politicians, Media and government on freedom, tolerance and pluralism, the reality seems to be far from Muslims when it comes to their treatment.

Publishing of the Insulting cartoons against the Prophet of Islam in Denmark and their consequent republishing in Europe, Geert Wilders film Fitna which asked for most of the pages of the Quran to be ripped out, Anti-terror legislation designed for the Muslims, Fake evidence to justify raids as in Forest Gate (UK, criminalising the Muslim community over voicing concern on Foreign policy issues, voicing he creation for a “British” and “European” form of Islam, the banning of the Hijab in France and numerous other examples clearly build a picture of an environment which is breeding intolerance and misrepresenting Islam and Muslims.

This exclusive documentary produced by Majeds Blog aims to give confidence to Muslims in Britain in upholding their identity and showing the host society as to how Muslims can make a positive contribution in society.

Additional Reading:

Are British Muslms attention Seekers?

Asian Leader Article- Are British Muslms attention Seekers?

Are British Muslims “Attention Seekers”?

  By Majed Iqbal- A report issued this month has found eye-opening evidences that Muslims living in Britain suffer disproportionately more from discrimination, racial abuse and racial attacks than any other faith group, and the more openly devout they are, the more likely they are to experience harassment and abuse.

The Study titled “Muslims under siege- Alienating Vulnerable Communities” was used as part of the Channel 4 Dispatches program aired this month which went out actively to prove that Islam and Muslims are used as political tools for Politicians, Propaganda stories by press and consequently left open to ridicule.

Report commissioners Peter Oborne and James Jones in their Report Introduction write “The seed for this pamphlet was planted in October 2006 when Jack Straw and other cabinet ministers raised the issue of Muslim women wearing the veil. It soon became clear that this was more than a random rumination from a member of the government. Rather Labour appeared to have made the extraordinary decision to try to identify with a general mood of resentment and anxiety about the presence of Muslim communities in this country and to intervene in the politics of religious identity”.

LETTER- Bishop Nazir Ali’s comments on Islamic Extremism

 Published in the Asian News Letters Section

By Waseem Aslam- Regarding the recent comments made by Nazir Ali stating that the vacuum left by the Christian faith in British society is being filled by Islamic extremists.

I would agree that British society is godless and that religious faith plays no role in the day to day function of the society as a whole. This void has been filled by gods of the 21st Century such as Celebrity, Sports stars and designer gear. The fact that the neo-gods cause debauchery and social meltdown as is being witnessed speaks volumes for the failure of British values.

Nazir Ali naively suggests that the ideals of freedom, respect and tolerance exist in British society and that the extremism of Islam is a threat to these values. For any Muslim who have lived through the past few years in Britain it is clear that freedom is selective; the 28 day detention without charge is testament to this.

Rochdale’s Event- “Calls to ban the Quran- How Should Muslims Respond?”

In line with the Stand for Islam Campaign launched over two weeks ago, Hizb ut-Tahrir organised a seminar in Rochdale on the subject “Calls to ban the Quran” to address the concerns and the form of activism muslims should undertake  to tackle the discussions.

The crowd was addressed by Media Representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir, Taji Mustafa and Mazhar Khan who deliberated upon the topic and questioned the climate that is being created by Politicians under the guise of tackling “radicalisation” and “extremism” under the pretext of “War on tERROR”.

Mazhar Khan drew comparisions with the Salman Rushdie affair and asked how did Insulting the Prophet of Islam and his wifes contribute towards any cohesion of communities in this country by hiding behind Freedom of Speech and drew similrarities to the Dutch MP calling for the ban of the Quran.

Austrian Family Horror- A case for ‘normalisation’ of incest?

By Majed Iqbal- “They appeared normal, just like any other family,” Guenter Prameiter, who runs a bakery just down the street, said. “They had a swimming pool in the garden. We would hear them [the children] laughing, the three of them,” said a third.

These were the comments raised by neighbours describing the Austrian father who kept captive his daughter Elisabeth, now 42, in three windowless underground rooms ever since she disappeared in 1984.

The news of the Austrian man who imprisoned his daughter and fathered a hidden incestuous family having seven children with her has left people speechless in the country. Police described the revelations as “one of Austria’s all-time worst crimes” and Guenther Platter, the country’s Interior Minister, called it “unfathomable”.

While we all ponder on the details of the horrors unveiling in the house over the years which have been graphically described in press and Television stations, it is of paramount importance that we all take a step back and evaluate our thoughts and responses on this story.

“I’m a Bimbo girl- In a Bimbo World”

By Yasmeen Ahmed-  Why couldn’t the blonde bimbo add 10 and 7 on a calculator? She couldn’t find the 10 key. A bimbo is walking down the street with a pig under her arm. She passes a person who asks, ”Where did you get that?” The pig says, ”I won her in a raffle”.What are the blonde bimbo’s first words after 4 years of college? ‘Would you like fries with that?’

‘Bimbo’ ….a word used to describe an ‘attractive, clumsy, easy, airheaded’ female. She is often seen as a dumb blonde and bears the brunt of numerous jokes in society (as highlighted above). And a ‘bimbo’ doesn’t have to be blonde, Oh NO!! As long as a woman/girl fits the general description, then she can be classed as ‘a bimbo’.

So, is it ok and acceptable to us that women are given this degrading label? And, what if young women out there actually aspire to become ‘a bimbo’? It’s a very disturbing thought, isn’t it?

A new web game named Miss Bimbo was launched in the UK just a couple of months ago. Players taking part in the beauty contest simulation game are challenged to become ‘the hottest, coolest, most famous bimbo ever’.