As always, Muslimah Media Watch delivers a comphrehensive list of media about women and Islam in their Friday Links post. This week, I'm sharing with you those stories about Muslim women and men taking action against gender-based injustice.

* Arab news reports on the Saudi debate about women becoming muftis. The Grand Mufti of Syria has already opened some doors for women. The Council of Senior Islamic Scholars' Sheikh Abdullah Al-Munai says that in Shariah regulations "the woman is like the man", with "the exact same thinking and brain". That's not something we usually hear about Shariah law, now is it? He rejects the idea that women shouldn't speak in public, and reminds us that during the time of the Prophet (pbuh) there was a "huge group of Muslim women who were considered among the Islamic scholars."

* Noted Islamic scholars in Bangladesh call on Muslim leadership to work for women's rights.

* Young Egyptian women and men ages 14-24 fight back against sexual harassment. The basic ideas? Not only should women and girls not be blamed for the harassment and assaults they're targeted with, but they also need to be able to defend themselves. The campaign also believes that real men - those who don't harass women - still exist. If you need proof, these guys are demanding that men "stand up to" those who harass women rather than ever letting their behavior slide. Men are literally calling on other men to "chase down" harassers!

* Saudi Arabia considers legislation against child marriage. It's about time! While some leaders don't quite seem to get it, others remind people that for a marriage to be valid, the female must express real consent.

CHANGE FOR THE BETTER: Tarek Abu Auf makes a presentation at the forum on Saturday. (AN photo)

JEDDAH: Young Saudis want to change the negative perception about them and are seeking someone to use their energy and skills for constructive projects. This was the impression given by a group of Saudi young men attending a forum here.

The youths, who came in separate groups, presented eight feasible projects, including a biweekly newspaper focusing on youth affairs and a model sports academy.

“We have presented an academy project to enhance leadership qualities of Saudis,” said Majed Linjawi, a student of Al-Andalus private school. “The name of our group is Basma (imprint) as we want to leave some positive imprints,” he told Arab News.

Linjawi commended the forum organized by a number of public and private institutions in the Makkah province, saying it would help young Saudis unleash their power and capabilities in constructive ways. He hoped the forum would come up with new ideas to enlighten and encourage the youth. “It also needs more publicity and media coverage. If there was good publicity more groups would have attended with marvelous ideas.”

The forum is part of a major youth development program organized by the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) in association with government departments and private companies including the governorate, the Youth Welfare Presidency, King Abdulaziz University and Umm Al-Qura University.

Dr. Abdul Wahab Noorwali, general coordinator of the program, said the forum was aimed at encouraging young Saudis to take part in community development programs and exchange their knowledge and expertise.

“Our youths have come out with interesting projects,” said Mohammed Bin Rabbaa, one of the organizers. “One group has proposed a sports academy project while another a directory for historic and heritage sites in Makkah. Another wanted to use Bluetooth for creating public awareness,” he added.

The youths participating in the forum were found enthusiastic. “If we train 50 Saudi youth leaders, they would make a huge difference in society,” Linjawi said, while explaining the vision of his 11-member Basma.

The sports academy project was the brainchild of Yousuf Julaidan. “It’s not only about sports but also about character building,” said group member Badr Ahmed Fallatah of Umm Al-Qura University. “We will try to promote Islamic values by teaching the youths how to behave and communicate.”

The Makkah heritage directory project can attract Saudi and foreign pilgrims as well as holidaymakers from within the Kingdom and neighboring Gulf countries if it is properly implemented.

Abdullah Jowhar, who is the editor in chief of the proposed youth newspaper, said the paper would be published with the help of experts.

Tarek Abu Auf, a lecturer at College of Business Adminis-tration, gave a presentation on project management.

Fuad al-Farhan, autor de una página web saudí reformista, ha sido detenido tras haber divulgado en Internet sus opiniones sobre los detenidos políticos y la necesidad de reformas en Arabia. Al-Farhan fue arrestado hace tres semanas, según se publica en su propia página, y desde entonces no ha mantenido ningún contacto con su familia, que ha pedido la intervención del Consejo Saudí de Derechos Humanos.

El portavoz del Ministerio de Interior, general Mansur Al Turki, ha confirmado el arresto del joven, y ha afirmado que "no afronta ningún cargo relacionado con la seguridad", sin precisar, sin embargo, los motivos de su detención, según el diario saudí Arab News.

Al-Farhan había informado a través de su sitio web, que lleva su nombre, de que sabía que existía una orden de detención en su contra, y de que una "fuente" del Ministerio del Interior le había aconsejado pedir disculpas para evitar que fuera arrestado.

"El motivo de la emisión de esa orden es que yo había escrito en mi página sobre los presos políticos, y ellos (el Ministerio de Interior) creen que llevo a cabo una campaña para defender a los detenidos y su causa, que es la reforma y el cambio", decía Al-Farhan en el mensaje publicado en Internet.

"Me dijo la 'fuente' (del citado Ministerio) que debía pedir disculpas (...) pero para qué pido disculpas... ¿porque había dicho que el Gobierno mentía cuando acusaba a los reformistas de apoyar el terrorismo?", añade Al Farhan en su mensaje.

However, every once in awhile the very same publications come up with gems like this which make me reconsider that observation. Other than some unknown market analysts, the reporter relied completely for his story on one source only: the owner of a company that runs a few of these amusement parks and who apparently looks forward to open more of them. And why not? I mean he, after all, was the one who said his “centers were located in attractive places, close to beaches and residential areas” as well as being “equipped with advanced educational and entertainment facilities.”

This piece of lousy reporting, and believe me I'm being way too nice to describe it as reporting when it sounds like a paid for commercial more than anything else, makes me lose my hope in the future of the fourth estate in this country. When I spent two weeks in the States last September I decided to take a break from the Saudi MSM while I was there and guess what? I didn't miss it that much.

Take a look at the heart-rending testimony of an Afghan woman in 'Fazal Sheikh's online book When Two Bulls Fight the Leg of the Calf is Broken'.

Here is a short extract;

'When our great Islamic revolution succeeded, we thought our day of deliverance had come. Finally we would be free and independent. Afghanistan was released. But once again women were treated as the goat in the game, pulled this way and that by one faction or another. Once again, on all sides, indiscriminate bombing and rocket-attacks, bullets and mines killed Afghan children in their mother's wombs. We were forced to flee with bare feet and uncovered heads to escape the killing. Some of us fled to foreign countries and became refugees. It should not be forgotten that some of us were forced to flee to Moscow for our safety!

I shall never forget how so many of us spent frightened lonely nights waiting patiently in the front line for a single loaf of bread. How many of us were abducted by armed men from Mujahedin parties in the middle of the day in busy streets. How many of us were raped. How many of us threw themselves from buildings to keep their chastity. How many of us were taken from the scorching refugee camps in Jalalabad to become a commodity for men in neighboring countries. How many widows were forced to sell themselves to feed their families.

Those who have come to power, those with guns, continue to leer at us, to make fun of us, to take pleasure in harassing us. These men who think of themselves as the defenders of our faith, as our fathers and brothers sent to protect us, are the same ones who call us "Honey". They say: "Don't come out of your bottle, the flies might touch you." The flies are the men that rush at you. Others tell us that we are "live wires that must be covered." It is a pity they don't recognize us as individuals, as fellow human beings. Over the loudspeakers they announce that years of holy war has simply been to cover Afghan women in Muslim dress.

That, dear brother, dear father and son, I am sure was not the purpose of the holy war......'

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Of course people need water and food but as Maslow pointed out long ago security is a comparably important need.

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NB All postings to this site relate to the central model in the PhD.

Summaries are HERE

ANKARA: Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has called on the army to stay out of politics following months of tensions between the Islamist-rooted government and the staunchly secular military.

“Let us not mix the TSK (Turkish Armed Forces) up with politics. Let it stay in its place. Because all our institutions conduct their duties in line with what is set out in the constitution”, Erdogan told Kanal D late on Monday.

“If you draw them into politics, then why are we here?” Erdogan asked in the interview. “For us the armed forces are sacred. They have a special place.” The army, which has ousted four governments in the past 50 years, has voiced its opposition to Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul becoming president because of his Islamist past. Gul won most votes in the first round of a presidential election in parliament on Monday but fell just short of securing the two-thirds majority needed to become the European Union-applicant country’s next head of state immediately. The secular elite, which includes army generals, blocked Gul’s first bid to become president in April, triggering a parliamentary election in July which was intended to defuse the crisis over the presidency. reuters

The Golden Rule

Two aspects of the world-view shared by most holistic educators are Perennial Philosophy (see separate post) and the Golden Rule.

One measure of the challenge facing us is in the following. In looking for short definitions that might be useful I was struck by the fact that several (many?) Western encyclopedias actually refer to the Golden Rule as a Christian doctrine! Ethnocentricity rules! The point is also well pinned down in an interesting article from Arab News by Iman Kurdi

Below are some of the most interesting sites that present and explore the Golden Rule along with some suggestions for lessons and all ages.

http://www.jcu.edu/philosophy/gensler/goldrule.htm

http://www.goldenruleradical.org/

http://www.scarboromissions.ca/

SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR LESSONS/Discussion

1 In what sense is the Golden Rule the same as or different to acting justly?

2 Collect some examples, via interviews, of where the Golden Rule was applied with good effect?

3 Choose several of the problems that exist in the world and see how far you can a) analyze the problem and b) obtain inspiration for steps toward a solution.

Source - for your poster Golden Rule info and much more

A TOUCH OF IRONY: The Wiki entry on the Golden Rule currently shows the price of democracy in that it is hung up in disputes! Re-named as the Ethic of Reciprocity - has it been hijacked or up-lifted by philosophers! I'm sure it will settle eventually - in the mean time there is a lot of good stuff alread on the site - including additional sources.

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NB All postings to this site relate to the central model in the PhD.

Summaries are HERE

These diferrences have not surfaced as conflicts except on minor occasions in Islams' history, and in most of the Muslim world Sunnis and Shi'ites live in harmony. The situation none the less is different in modern Iraq, Shi'ite insurgents kill Sunni muslims by the masses each day and raid their communities in Baghdad and other major Iraqi villages. Those attacks where incited by the explosions in a Shi'ite holy site known as Karbalaa where Alis' grave lies.They where instantly blamed on the Sunnis and attacks have not seized since then even so more Sunnis have been killed by post attacks than the number of Shi'ites that died in that sad occasion.

The Sunnis on the other hand blame the Shi'ites on Iraqs current status, since they backed the Americans in there "illegal" invasion in a muslim land and plunge Iraq into a dark age where promised democracy is not even thought of. The current Iraqi government is comprimised of Shi'ite parties and Kurdish whith not a single major Sunni representation. The Shi'ite army named The Army of the Mehdi which is lead by Shi'ite clerik Moqtada al Sadr targets Sunnis' which believe in the same relgion as he does', while leaving the invading forces with a few skirmishes in there records. The result is more than 50% of the Baghdad Sunnis where displaced and a more bitter number killed, all for the sake of revenge for acts they never comitted or had a hand in.

killings wont stop, blood will be shed and murderers like Muqtada will continue their killings in the name of minor beliefs. Islam is to state that you believe in a single God and believe in hislast Prophet, none of the both sides deny it, but on the contrary sing "Ash'had ana la ellah ela allah" while their bullets tear each others limbs believing its the way to heaven and believing in a cause which says kill your brother in faith for a reason that themselves dont know.