THE SWORD & PICTURE SHIELD OF IMAM ABDULLAH IBN QADHU ABDUSALAAM PRINCE OF TIDORE. TUAN GURU

THE NOBLE

INHERITANCEOF THE CAPE MUSLIMS

THE BATTLE OF BLAAUBERG Islam among slaves in the Cape. The first lam in South Africa. He was a prince from recorded arrival of free Muslims is in 1658, Tidore in the Trinate Islands and a de- he history of the establishment of which were brought to the Cape in order scendant of the Sultan of Morocco. the mosques of Cape Town is an to defend the newly established settle- He was banished by the Dutch invaders T incredible one. One of Princes, ment against the indigenous people, and to the Cape in 1780 because of a conspir- warriors, Sufi saints and Ottoman digni- also to provide labour. The Muslims were acy against them. He was incarcerated taries. There is however, a history too of- prohibited from openly practising Islam. on Robben Island for 12 years until 1792. ten unsung, left out but in truth the most significant of histories for the Muslims of Under the Dutch the Muslims did not he British held the cape for 8 the Cape. One that truly connects us to enjoy the freedom to worship in pub- years when finally, after the Trea- this city, it’s very foundations. lic. Public worship also included the T ty of Amiens with the French, the right to build a mosque and to use it as British returned the Cape Colony to the The earliest Muslims were brought to the a public place of worship. Dutch rule in Netherlands, being under French rule, cape as part of the involuntary migration the Cape lasted from 1652 to 1795. The in February 1803. It was then under oc- of slaves, political prisoners and political British took over from 1795 to 1803 as a cupation of the Batavian Republic under exiles from Africa and Asia. In the 17th response to the Netherlands being con- Commissioner-General J.A. de Mist and century the Dutch controlled East Indies quered by the French Revolution and the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, and the Cape. Muslims were brought it being renamed the Batavian Repub- Lieutenant-General J.W. Janssens, who from Dutch East Indies (modern day In- lic. In the late 1790’s some Muslims, sponsored development and reforms. donesia), etc. as slaves including those among them Tuan Guru (Imam Abdul- who waged Jihad in the Dutch colonies. lah Qadi Abdussalaam), and Frans van Elsewhere in Europe, as the Napoleonic Bengal petitioned the British authorities Wars accelerated, the British concerned The first political exiles were the rulers for a mosque site, but were refused. that the French would try to take India of Sumatra. They were Sheikh Abdurrah- from British control, ...... man Matabe Shah and Sheikh Mahmud. There were a number of petitions that Sheikh Abdurrahman Matebe Shah used were sent after this. All were refused. his exile to consolidate the teaching of Tuan Guru is known as the Father of Is- CONTINUED ON pg.4

The Editor’s Desk

lhamdulilah! This is where it begins. lam: Shahada, Salaah, Zakaah, Saum & Hajj. ISLAM HERE is about: This is where our matter & purpose We enter that contract by way of the Shaha- Islam, Success, Lifestyle, Leadership, begins. With praise, “hamd”. Alham- da, openly declaring that there is no god ex- Sophistication, Education, Women in Islam & A dulilah, this is the first edition of ISLAM cept Allah & that Muhammed is His messen- Political Analysis. HERE. Monthly, we will endeavour to bring ger. May Allah bless him & grant him peace. It features many articles from subject matter experts our readers thought-provoking and clear Allah is the Whom we have submitted to & locally as well includes international journalists and articles from German; Singaporean and Spanish af- articles that will, Inshallah, aspire from you Muhammed is the how we have submitted filiate newspapers. With intellectual thinkers, political only the best that Allah, glory be to Him, to Him. Our contract of submission correct- analysts, scholars, historians and spiritual leaders rep- has bestowed you with. You are the Mus- ly speaking is based on his life. The active resenting a new wave of Muslim identity that is actively lims, and what an incredible honour that & visible aspects of his life. How he trans- engaged in helping their community find their identity is. After embracing the Deen of Islam 14 acted & fulfilled his contract with Allah and as part of the modern world and no longer at the disen- years ago, I have yet to see an end to this his contracts with people. In his movements franchised outskirts that simply breed reactionary and overwhelming mercy. How lucky we all are. & stillness, in his looks and thoughts. In in most cases ignorant agendas. him we have the perfect example. May Allah ISLAM HERE promotes Action with Knowledge. “To Such is this enigma that is our passion for bless him and grant him peace. produce leadership within the community that under- this gift we have received, that there isn’t a stands that to serve & educate each other is to lead.” day that passes we do not undermine our- t is his practice that we base this entire This newspaper will explore themes for Muslims living selves for not taking its full benefit. Right affair on. From it we, the Muslims (those in a Post-Terror dialectic world. A world in which they now, you have picked up this newspaper be- I submitted to this contract) delineate constantly confronted by a hostile media forcing upon cause it said on the cover, in BOLD writing, who we really are. What men are in relation them two reactionary & extreme responses. One of de- “ISLAM HERE”. So let us start here. What to other men, what men are in relation to basement & apologetic and often false public relations we are saying is in fact Islam is here. The women. What women are in relation to other and the other extreme and violent. We seek to fill the meaning of it is existential of course. What women & what women are in relation to men. void and lack of expression with regards to Islam in this is being described in the title is the experi- What we all are to Allah. A complete pat- Age. ence of what the Deen of Islam is. Not as an tern of life. Not in part but in totality. When Ideology, a political paradigm or a binding his wife Sayyideta Aisha, radi’Allahu’anha, EDITOR - NABEEL ABDALHAQQ JOURNALISTS - PERVEZ ASAD SHEIKH together of principles, that is religion. But was asked after his passing, “who was he?” MOUMINA WAGNER what the Deen of Islam is when it is She replied, “He was the Qur’an walking.” HAJJA WIDAD FERNANDEZ active, visible & practised among people. ZARINA QURAYBA NABEEL ABDALHAQQ ISLAM HERE. This is more than just a Muslim view or an ADVERTISING - ZACHARIAH CASSAR opinion. It is essentially who and what the DESIGN - NABEEL ABDALHAQQ What we know is that Islam has been given Muslims are. May Allah preserve you & I in PRINTED BY - CTP CAXTON - CAPE TOWN Director - NABEEL ABDALHAQQ to us as a Deen. The word “Deen” comes His Deen & by His Deen, may He give us DISTRIBUTED BY - YOUR ADVERTISER from the Arabic root letters: “Dal”; “Ya” & success, in life; in the hereafter; in marriage “Nun”, which when collected in that fash- & in wealth. Amin. For if success is not what DISTRIBUTION POINTS: ion means to be obligated or to manage a we aspire to, then what do we approach the LEARNING INSTITUTIONS: UCT MUSLIM PRAYER ROOM; contract that also expresses repayment or house of Allah for when the muadhan calls: UWC MUSLIM PRAYER ROOM compensation of that obligation or man- “Hayya alal Falaah!” “Hayya alal Falaah!” SHOPPING CENTRES: V&A WATERFRONT MUSLIM PRAYER ROOM; CAVENDISH CENTRE MUSLIM PRAYER ROOM; CANAL agement. Deen is a contract. Islam comes WALK MUSLIM PRAYER ROOM from the root verb in Arabic “istaslama”, MOSQUES: HABIBIYYA SOOFIE MOSQUE - RYLANDS; MEUR which means to submit. So, the Deen of Nabeel Abdalhaqq ST MOSQUE - DISTRICT SIX; ISLAMIYYA MOSQUE - LANS- Islam is that it is a contract of submission. DOWNE; THE JUMUAH MOSQUE OF CAPE TOWN - CBD; & ALL ISLAM HERE REGISTERED MOSQUES IN THE CAPE TOWN AREA. THERE From here we know of the five pillars of Is- Cape Town Editor ARE ROUGHLY AROUND 169 MOSQUES IN CAPE TOWN AND GROWING. [email protected] or 076 619 5519 - Nabeel 1 ISLAM HERE considers its sources reliable & verifies as much 5 6 7 8 data as possible. The newspaper is meant and understood to be a guide & council by which to assess current models of the themes being addressed. Readers are encouraged to research and discover those themes for themselves. The publication seeks to aid the process in the best moral & ethical manner, & will not take any responsibility for the use of such explored themes into the interpretation of the reader. Although persons or companies mentioned herein are believed to be reputable, neither ISLAM HERE publication, ADTEK Solutions (Pty) Ltd, nor any of its employees, sales executives or contributors ac- cept any responsibility whatsoever for their activities. APRIL 2014 ISLAM HERE 3 CONTINUED FROM pg.1 Two Javanese Artilleries were instituted; their first mosque. There is evidence of one under the command of Frans van a building having once stood in the his- ...Decided to take back the Cape colo- Bengalen; and a light Javanese Artillery toric stone quarry where Tuan Guru (Qadi ny as a way of stopping the advance of on foot under the command of a French- Abdussalaam rahimullah) used to stand French warships on their way to India. man, J. Madlener. They were extremely upon a large stone to deliver the khutba The Batavian administrators being real- well trained when they were deployed for the Jumuah prayer, which may have ists saw that they needed the assistance at the Battle of Blaauwberg in 1806 and been utilized as a temporary mosque. of the Muslims to defend the Cape against there was agreement that the Cape Mus- the British. The mosque site was granted, lim Artilleries would have won the day for owever it is widely considered that on the condition that the Muslims commit General Janssens had he not retreated the Awal Mosque of the Bo-Kaap to themselves to defend the Cape militarily. to the Mainland. Many were injured and H be the first Mosque on South Africa. some killed in the battle. Their gallantry The beginning of established Islam here his produced a matter of oppor- in battle earned them great praise and re- in the Cape starts with this great event tunity for the Muslims in the Cape spect from their British adversaries. and can only be completed when we the Tliving under the rule of the Batavi- inheritors of this fine Deen and communi- an Republic in the face of this impeding ty return to the practise and understand- British invasion. At the age of 97 the re- ing of those before. More can be read on spected leader of his community, Qadi the Battle of Blaauberg in Ghamim Harris’ Abdussalaam known as Tuan Guru, was thesis: British Policy Towards the Malays approached by General Dundas to help at the Cape of Good Hope 1795-1850. the Batavian army. In return the Muslims were promised “freedom” from slavery as Here in the first community of Muslims well as a plot of land in central Cape Town here at the Cape, we find a people that for a mosque and burial site. did not just merely accept the status quo of their time. Had they believed that Is- Because of his old age, Tuan Guru passed lam was simply a private religion they the allegiance to Frans van Bengalen, would not have fought so hard to estab- the Javanese army “chaplain.” In August lish the mosque. Indeed we owe all we 1805, as Napoleon massed forces at Bou- have inherited of the Deen of Islam in logne to invade England, a British force this country to these brave forerunners. sailed away in secret on a mission to re- We are the descendants of fighters and take the Cape. It consisted of 61 warships upstarts that would not stop but to bring and transport vessels command by Vice- Toerang - Traditional conical straw hat of the Cape Muslims. the light of Islam to every corner the Ad-miral Sir Home Popham and 6,654 sol- world and shine on every aspect of life. diers and marines under Major General Sir David Baird. It was a formidable force that outnumbered the troops of the Bata- Men of their Word vian Republic. Honour for Honour eneral Janssens enlisted the free Muslims to serve as soldiers in 1804 he Muslims that fought, upholding Gin exchange for a Mosque site. 54 their end of the bargain in prom- gunners of the ‘Javanese Artillery Corps’, Tise of the right to build a mosque, assisted by l04 auxiliaries such as wag- ‘stood their ground after many of the on-drivers. These Muslim artillerymen Batavian troops had fled, and delayed the British advance long enough to let were volunteer citizen-soldiers like the A Re-enactment Commemorating the Battle. Swellendammers, members of a ‘corps of the Batavian Army withdraw in good or- free Javanese’ from the free Muslims, the der.’ As Willem Steenkamp explains in substantial community of freed slaves of his book: Assegais, Drums & Dragoons. Asian origin, which by that time was play- Major General Baird, so impressed by Nabeel Abdalhaqq ing an increasingly important role in the the Muslim Artillery men and their brav- social and economic life of the Cape. ery, pushed to uphold the promise of the ISLAM HERE Batavian republic without hesitation, to Cape Town Editor allow the Muslims of the Cape to build

4 HISTORY APRIL 2014 TWO GENTLEMEN PICTURE SITTING IN FRONT OF THE IMAM OF THE JUMUAH MOSQUE OF CAPE TOWN, READY TO BECOME MUSLIM

CELEBRATING THE

s itSHAHADA is widely known that the word Is- He, Glory be to Him, is not even the totality of not common man and not deity. The messen- lam means submission. The meaning forms. Allah is beyond form and place and is ger of Allah. His messenger. Allah confirms A of this submission is never truly un- independent of need for it. You cannot define who he is, May Allah bless him and grant him derstood by non Muslims. Oddly, under that Him, so Allah names himself. It is a personal peace. simplified parenthesis, one imagines a Holly- name so it does not define but indicates His wood scene of bent-backed natives peering Presence without place. By negating all forms “Whoever obeys the Messenger has upwards powerlessly under some Pharaonic it opens us up to the ultimate form of worship repression, eagerly awaiting an enlightened of the Divine. Purity, A Tawheed (Oneness). obeyed Allah...”(4:79) and muscle bound democrat to save the day. As exciting as that might sound to some, what hat does this mean? The implica- This means the life transaction acceptable to is actually happening here is a straightening tion here means, that by saying Allah is the life practise as lived by the Proph- of the back but lowering of the head. It is the there is no god except Allah, you et Muhammad. It is not a system or binding W together of doctrines. Islam is a transaction. submission to The Truth i.e. the confirmation are saying there is no infrastructure, no inter- of the true reality of creation. ventionist, no political affiliations or parties, We say Deen al-Islam, the route letters, ‘Dal’ no mortgage or interest-based loans, There ‘Ya’ ‘Nun’ is a governing or a managing of a This confirmation is contained in a dual Sha- is no government tax agency, no state struc- contract expressing obligation, and it also ex- hada, The Shahadatayn. Ash-hadu anla ila- ture, no system of magical numbers, no dem- presses a repayment or compensation. Yaum ha ilallah (I bear witness that there is no god, ocratic or communist principals. There was al-Deen, day of repayment. This implies that except Allah) wa ash-hadu ana Muhamma- no democratically elected man – made deity the Deen of Islam must be practised in its en- dun rasullullah (And I bear witness that mu- at the counsel of Nicaea. There is no power in tirety, by all its weights and measures as an hammad is the messenger of Allah). That is, the world of forms. None exists. There is only actual life practise. confirmation that the Creator is One, with no Allah. He is the Originator. It is Him whom we partner in the world of forms and worship be- worship and there is no power except His. In That the Deen, as it has come to us, The recit- longs to Him alone. The second implies the affirmation of the One, all forms are negated. ed book of Allah, the confirmed sunnah and confirmation of our obedience to Muhammad, La ilaha ilallah. the amal of those that took from his actions may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as with understanding, is how we govern our His Messenger and opens the way to the four By the confirmation of the second Shahada it own actions and every aspect of our social remaining pillars of Islam, i.e. The Prayer; the establishes this oneness in totality, by laying existence. To enter the Deen by uttering this Wealth Tax; the Fast of Ramadan & the Pil- down a definitive life-transaction as it replac- shahada three times in front of witnesses is grimage to Makkah. We are of this community. es all others before and after it. That council enough for you to become Muslim. If we had of Nicaea headed by the sickly Emperor Con- been told the full value of the Shahadatayn In this dual declaration, a profound delinea- stantine, where by vote, it was decided that and its weight when declaring it, we would tion of what is Reality, and by consequence, our master sayyiduna Isa, may Allah bless have thought we would never need to do an- negation all other constructs, is brought for- him, was not man nor prophet sent by god, for ything else for the rest of your life. It is cat- ward. This is not Theism and we do not mis- that would imply the necessity of living with- egorically the single most important act you take the idea of ‘god’ for Divinity. This is where in the laws as prescribed by his life-practise, can do in your life. Its sweetness is a secret atheists by their rejection of the notion of god officially instituted him as a deity. Allah oblit- to every heart that declares it that by this con- and esotericists by their assumption of their erates this whole event by the announcing of firmation, there is sweetness in the believer attribution of a god-likeness to themselves, the second part of the shahada, Muhamma- when in the company of another believer. loose grip on the meaning of things as man dun Rasullulah. Muhammad is the messen- can only define things in relation to himself. ger of Allah. Not democrat, not soothsayer, Nabeel Abdalhaqq APRIL 2014 ISLAM foundations 5 HAJJA WIDAAD FERNANDEZ MOTHERHOOD And service to others

hen does mother lar role to be conscious of your al with the same anticipation hen a woman’s life en- hood begin, and how child’s welfare, to love it and ters into motherhood, Wfar does it extend? In be generous with it in your own fter this begins the sec- Wher life becomes a my experience, from the very recognition of the miracle of life ond phase of your moth- continuous service to other moment you become preg- that Allah has placed in your Aerhood, and it consists then herself. From that, their nant, a connection begins to interior. This great treasure of a continuous giving of your- children to see it, feel it within develop in an inner world. It inside of you never imagined self. You give your love; your themselves and learn to rec- is this transcending physical or comprehend could exist. patience; your work; time & ognise it, in an inner condition experience between you and guidance; care of all kinds and where selfishness cannot take this being separate from you, ou start to communicate there is no substitute to your hold of them. They learn and yet at the same time fully cast with your baby in a satu- child’s need for your care to awaken to a generosity and into you in a way that it feels Yrated state where there is be around them. Your concern service that extends to all that like an extension of yourself. a full knowledge between you and care for your child enve- surround them, left looking You begin connect conscious- and a completion that engulfs lopes you in a sphere where exclusively to them and their ly to this state that you are in, you both in an intimacy without your own existence is half felt. lives a continuous service to taking care of each moment of words. You hold it , you caress You feel well as if you don’t all who need them. the day. As advance into preg- it and wait expectantly until fi- need anything except the abili- nancy, you start to notice in nally that day arrives that you ty to keep caring for the needs HAJJA WIDAD your womb each of their move- desired so much. You see this of your child. ments and then become en- child, you know this child and FERNANDEZ tirely aware of this living being embrace him/her with the most Then your child continuous to inside you. A human being that tender affections. grow up and you have been ISLAM HERE depends entirely on you for its given the task of guiding him/ MOTHER OF 6 CHILDREN wellbeing & safety. Childbirth is indeed anoth- her. To me the most important er miracle, where life and thing to transmit to your child, From this powerful and trans- death are held together by is the Love and Mercy of Allah formative realisation, emerges thin thread. You are taken to that surrounds them in crea- the maternal instinct. You feel this point and from emerges tion. As Raine Maria Rilke once you must protect your child a life. You make Dua for your said, “learn to grow in a love from what is outside in your child’s life, that it be long, that so vast, that you may walk to zone of interaction. From sud- it be healthy. In my experience the ends of the earth and nev- den movements or jerks that as a mother of six children, I er step out of it.” (Letters to a might hurt your child. This in- can assure you that with each young poet). tense connection in which you child, I have felt the same take upon yourself the singu- bond and awaited their arriv- 6 PARENTING APRIL 2014 A ‘fast’ WAY TO A healthy LIFE MOUMINA WAGNER

n our way to the opti- ins accumulated in our body mum use and benefit of throughout the years. Detoxi- O our physical body we fication is a normal body pro- need to consider 4 steps: pre- cess of eliminating or neutral- vention- cleansing- recupera- ising the toxins resulting from tion- maintenance. All this, a biochemical functions through healthy body does itself with- the colon, liver, kidneys, lungs, out any conscious decision lymph nodes, and skin. Fast- from us. ing precipitates this process because, when food no longer • Sight, smell, taste and touch enters the body, the latter turns are senses that alert us for to its fat reserves to obtain en- what is not good for us. ergy. Toxins are also stored in • Organs like skin, liver, kid- fat deposits and only by melt- neys, and lungs cleanse our ing these down we can actu- system without rest. • Sleep and resting as well as ally reach and eliminate them. healing process in every cell Another benefit of fasting is are able to restore any dam the healing process it trig- age gers. During a fast, energy is • Good alimentation, exercise, diverted away from the diges- enough sleep and personal tive system, since there is no hygiene will keep us healthy. food to mobilise it, towards the metabolism and immune sys- tem, where healing can suc- he problem starts when ceed. This is one reason why this process becomes im- animals stop eating when they Tbalanced and there can are wounded, and the reason be many reasons for it. Poor al- why we feel less hungry when imentation, insufficient sleep, we are sick. intoxication from environmen- tal poisons or drugs and addi- Most people can’t imagine liv- tives in food are some of them. ing a normal life without eating Our first step to health will be regularly, but the opposite is an intense cleansing program. actually the case. Most people The main organism for this assure that after a short time is the digestive system with of adjustment they felt more stomach, intestines and liver. energetic and strong. As gas- If we relieve this system for a tric juice production will slow while in order to give it time to down, hunger is not felt and recover and heal, we open the we become self suppliers by way for a profound recupera- transforming fat deposits in tion. The best way for this is Energy. Fasting also triggers to fast. Fasting for therapeu- rapid weight loss. Once the tic reasons has been recom- body is in fasting mode, it be- mended and known as to have comes accustomed to go with- a beneficial effect on health out food after a few days. After the way you eat.Nevertheless experience in this field, espe- since Hippocrates (400BCE). a fast, the stomach actually it is important to mention that cially if there are any medical shrinks and is restored it to its even though fasting is a natu- conditions to consider. Fasting is the complete volun- normal size. People tend to be ral way to recover health, it has tary abstinence from all food satisfied with less food after a deep impact on the whole MOUMINA WAGNER during a period of time. It is a fasting, as the latter signals to metabolism and should be ISLAM HERE natural way of eliminating tox- your body that you’ve altered supervised by someone with HOMOEOPATH APRIL 2014 HEALTH 7 & the post-modern Frontiersman Wiki leaks PERVEZ ASAD SHAYKH

he story of Wikileaks has reverber- in order to regain custody of his son mould- The genius of the Leak lies in the action itself ated across the globe proving to be ed his political stance and gave birth to the as the catalyst of political debate. Through Tone of the most contentious issues theoretical basis upon which Wiki-leaks is the intellectual formation which has set As- of recent times. An analysis of the organi- founded. A particularly well crafted June sange outside the traditional pail of demo- zation’s actions and the subsequent reac- 2010 article in The New Yorker describes cratic discourse, that is the left-right struc- tion on the part of the ‘Establishment’ is Assange as a ‘student of Kafka, Koestler, turalist stage of debate, the actions of Wiki difficult due to the unprecedented scope of and Solzhenitsyn’, illustrating the theoreti- leaks reverberate straight to the core issue the leaks, the politically anarchic realm of cal logic behind the ‘Leak’ as a caveat of of the legitimacy of our governments and the internet in which the story takes place political activism: the corporations which, through their sub- and the fact that the plot has yet to reach a sequent reactions to the organisation since stage of dénouement. Beyond the partisan Assange had come to understand the defin- Assange’s arrest late last year, have proven debate over whether Julian Assange is a ing human struggle not as left versus right, to be politically aligned with them. While As- freedom fighter or a ‘cyber-terrorist’ lies the or faith versus reason, but as individual sange’s theoretical focus on transparency fact that what has taken place represents a versus institution…He sketched out a mani- falters easily on inspection, the unhealthy stage in the crystallization of our post-mod- festo of sorts, titled “Conspiracy as Govern- political state which the Leak is designed to ern age and the internet as a political zone. ance,” which sought to apply graph theory treat is what he sees as the illegitimacy of After a decade of media docility and the so- to politics. Assange wrote that illegitimate the ‘regimes’ in power. And while regarding cio-political effects of the Terror Dialectic governance was by definition conspiratori- the Leak as a means to force these govern- on the Democratic ideals of civil liberties, al—the product of functionaries in “collab- ments to embrace transparency and ‘radical the ‘cyber war’ over the internet sparked orative secrecy, working to the detriment democracy’ is too mathematical an equation by the audacity of Assange and his organ- of a population.” He argued that, when a to work smoothly in a tumultuous world, the isation has forced the reawakening of the regime’s lines of internal communication Cablegate leaks have forced those very re- mitochondrial debate over the boundaries are disrupted, the information flow among gimes to act in a manner that has made the between the State and the Individual from conspirators must dwindle, and that, as the legitimacy of their actions and by extension which the Democratic Era was born. flow approaches zero, the conspiracy dis- the legitimacy of their power to act in such solves. Leaks were an instrument of infor- a manner the focal points of renewed scru- The Logic Behind the Leak mation warfare. tiny of the significant concentration of pow- ers which has gone relatively unquestioned If Julian Assange is in fact the post-mod- for almost a decade. ulian Assange cuts an unorthodox ern heir to the great modern political writers figure as far as political personalities of the likes of Kafka, his political ideology The Regime J are concerned, whichever end of the has the clumsy fervour that is characteris- hero-terrorist continuum he is to be placed tic to the young ideologue in a Dostoevsky in. He boasts neither the brawn of the ar- novel. The internal logic of seeing absolute hilst the diplomatic cables have chetypal nationalist leader nor the turbaned transparency in government and corpo- provided a mine of primary and bearded allure of the Hispanic extras rate functions as the key to socio-political Wsource information pertaining one encounters in more recent Hollywood utopia falls in on itself without the need to the American diplomatic and strate- blockbusters. Assange’s biography reads for too much pressure to be exerted. One gic stance to its foreign policy, the actual like the complicated plot of a Marvel com- of the most popular jibes on the part of impact of the information so far has not ic-book character the son of a colourful those commentators on the political ‘Right’ forced a paradigm shift in the manner in non-conformist mother, educates himself is that Wiki leaks can only survive if it can which the subject of American foreign pol- at an early age and reaches intellectual maintain a high level of secrecy in order icy is understood. Most political analysts maturity as a hacker in the early days of to force governments and corporations to worth their salt have had a rather good the World Wide Web only to lose custody be more transparent. The success of As- grasp on the general tune to which Amer- of his son after a police raid on his home sange’s vision inevitably results in an enor- ica dances on the world stage and the when he is charged with twenty-five counts mous concentration of extorsive power in content of the cables provide ample sup- of hacking related crimes including roam- organisations such as Wiki leaks, where port for existing perspectives, and a good ing freely and unwarranted in the computer they act as powerful arbitrators not bound snide comment to quote where tasteful. De- networks of the U.S Department of Defense to the traditional notions of state interests. spite the relative harmlessness of the actu- and Nortel. Although he was fined and not In this sense Wiki leaks represents a threat al information that has been made public, incarcerated upon conviction, the tragedy to those in power in the traditional demo- the United States has taken the incident as is followed by a period of depression where cratic or republican sense by taking over a provocation treasonous enough to label Assange sleeps in parks and goes through their role in this capacity, simply a species Assange a ‘cyber-terrorist’. And while the a neo-ascetic transformative experience of coup d’etat in the Information Age; the information released so far has not devas- which crystallises into a struggle to regain anarcho-libertarianism of Assange and his tated American diplomacy or their military contact with his son. The formative events organisation is at heart an oxymoron. What presence in Iraq and the ‘Af-Pak’ region, which Assange encountered from his bohe- he terms ‘radical democracy’ simply shifts Assange still has what has been described mian childhood, his days as a hacker and the apparent head of power leaving the as a thermonuclear deterrent’ of up until the legal battle fought against the body intact; there is no real dissolution of Australian Health and Community Services power to the ‘people’. 8 GLOBAL OPINIONS APRIL 2014 Information that he will unleash giant Trafigura was forced to in order to ensure its legitimacy. traditional terrorist-as-Muslim onto the world if he is compro- pay around $200 million in dam- The flood of frontiersmen which whose alliances are foreign mised. The encrypted file aptly ages when an internal commu- spilled over the Appalachians to the dominant political para- named ‘insurance.aes256’ has niqué which revealed that the in order to claim their freedom digm. Wiki leaks’ radical ideol- already been distributed across corporation was dumping toxic had scant regard for any notion ogy is not born from a foreign the internet and only the key to chemicals off the Ivorian coast of federal legitimacy. As the discourse or political under- unlocking the information within was responsible for health prob- American Republic conquered standing but, as is stated on its is needed. With only a fraction lems of hundreds of thousands its continent, the debate over website, on the Declaration of of the quarter of a million cables of unsuspecting Ivorians. Trafig- individual and federal power led Human Rights. Assange would released so far, the sensitivity of ura had managed to prevent the to the Civil War, slavery was the have more in common with the the information leaked may not British media from mentioning issue through which the debate rugged frontiersmen who con- be simply dismissed. the documents through a court was voiced and the rallying cry quered the American continent injunction and only found its for that devastating event. The and gave birth to today’s su- In an interview published in way to the public when it was ideal of personal freedoms is perpower than the statesman Forbes magazine in December published by Wiki leaks. The the central tenet of the demo- accusing him of terrorism. And 2010, the mere allusion on the potential impact of the Leak is cratic paradigm and while it is just as American westward ex- part of Assange that he planned devastating to the highly mani- understood that the state and pansion was dependent on a to publish damning internal cured public faces of the organ- organization require a certain euphemistic focus on individual documents of a large American isations which are targeted. amount of secrecy in order to freedom, the attempt to lay bar- bank was enough for the stock maintain the dynamic of their riers on the freedom of informa- price of the Bank of America ap- Power and Legitimacy ability to function, this debate tion in the traditionally anarchic parently one of the least trusted has always been at the heart of political zone of the internet has American banks to falter and he Democratic era was the socio-political dynamic of been met with more popular re- for the corporation to undertake born of an attempt to es- the democracy. sentment than the war which is a frantic investigation into the tablish a political system being waged with real lead and possibility that it is indeed the T Ever since the beginning of blood in the Hindu Kush. in which the will and power of target. In 2009, Wiki leaks pub- the state was seconded by the the age of the Terror-dialectic, lished reports from a pharma- will and power of the individu- when reporters began to be he Wiki leaks story has ceutical group which indicated al. The swift expansion west- ‘embedded’ and an unprece- placed pressure on the that its lobbyists held consider- wards of the original American dented amount of civil liberties Tcurrent state of political able sway over the World Health Republic across the continent were relinquished to the state discourse. With the Cable Gate Organisation’s project to fund the United States now regards ostensibly in order for the state leaks attacking the core issue of the Development of pharmaceu- as indigenous to its being was to be able to protect the individ- the legitimacy of the state and tical drugs in third world coun- fuelled by the fervour of this ual from the spectre of terror- corporate power, it has begun a tries which led to the termination fundamental ideal which the ism, the debate over individual process in which the necessity of the project. The commodities democratic ideology embraces freedom versus state control to maintain individual freedom was unnaturally subdued in the will place pressure on govern- democratic sense. Wiki leaks ments in the West to prove their represents the re-awakening of legitimacy. And while Julian this debate after a decade of do- Assange and Bradley Manning cility. Whether Wiki leaks’ aim to await their fates, the current establish a ‘radical democracy’ economic crises has placed fur- in which power is devolved to ther pressure on the legitimacy organizations which collectively of state power as the draconian monitor government and cor- economic reforms which are porations actions is possible or being forced upon the popu- not, the target of their activism lations in Western states have the legitimacy of those in pow- pushed them to the streets in er has sparked the beginning serious popular protest. Wiki of debate over the legitimacy leaks is simply the beginning of of the amount of power states a process in which the current have taken to themselves in the political and economic state of age of terror. affairs will be challenged and reformulated. Assange and Wiki leaks are both intricately part of and de- Parvez Asad Sheikh tached from the terror dialec- tic itself. They cannot be dealt Political Analyst with in the same manner as the Barcelona, Spain

Wiki leaks Office “the Spy House” in Sweden APRIL 2014 GLOBAL OPINIONS 9

ive years ago I became Muslim and the transition into Is- lam became a difficult journey as I struggled with all my F teaching in western formal education. I chose this path OVERCOMING and I was drawn to it because I wanted something deeper and more meaningful. Slowly it became apparent to me there is a balance in difficulties and ease that one experiences on the path. This realization brought me comfort. I began to learn a “Obstacles” new way of looking at the world and at relationships. Under- IN EDUCATION standing that there is another way of responding that should ZARINA QURAYBA not involve the nafs. Embracing Islam meant many chang- es being made daily. Establishing the Salaah meant making eflecting on my journey into formal education has and still is the prayer timetable a priority instead of fitting the prayer in an eventful one! There is so much knowledge out there and somewhere in the day. Keeping company with women that I Rconstantly the thought arises, there is so much to learn! The respected and have a high opinion of was essential for the more you learn the more you realize how little you know. Technol- journey on the path. The certainty with which they spoke in- ogy for example has become a frightful necessity and knowledge spired me and encouraged me. The transmission from one to of it cumbersome and daunting, yet useful. Being involved in high- the other is important. er education for the last twenty five years has put me in a situation where trying to escape is not helpful. Yet the question still remains Hajja Rabea Redpath in her article on Purification (page 13) how much of this do we need? writes “the origin of every good action comes from Yaqin (cer- tainty). Absolute certainty is what we want, to remove the con- Being involved in formal education at medical school exposed me fusion and fogginess that covers the heart. We must turn from to so many aspects of life as I wanted to be involved in devel- the voices of doubt.” She continues “Shaykh ad Darqawi ra- opmental education. Students need to be tutored and mentored. himullah said, do not cultivate all that is found in the heart, if you Making the effort to provide scaffolding where it is needed, espe- listen to its conversation it will weaken your certainty.” If you do cially where under prepared students are concerned. Educating not listen to its conversation your luminosity will grow strong- the whole person. So whatever I became involved in should not er, when it grows stronger your certainty will grow stronger. “ only involve biology but also the psyche and the social. At the two medical schools where I lectured it was important that the ap- ractical events on a daily basis needed doing and I proach be biopsychosocial. Getting students to learn in this way needed to take responsibility if I was to succeed. My helps them to be better practitioners. P own ideas of what success meant were challenged con- stantly by what I heard at the mosque and the Dhikrs. Still I “The origin of every good action comes from Yaqin” had to keep going and focus on what is important and my daily Dua was to be useful to those around me and to use the gifts that I was given.

At the University where I work facilitating small group learn- ing with first year medical students became a new challenge for me two years ago. In my small group of 10 students who come in from diverse backgrounds with different levels of potential, the dynamics are very different to traditional tutori- als. Students physically sit very close to you and are aware of your presence as much as you are aware of them. Modelling good behaviour yourself as a facilitator becomes key if you want the group to succeed. One very young Muslim student who whizzed through high school because she was so bright seemed to be quiet and bored in the group. During my one on one discussion with her I enquired whether she was bored and wondered why. She said she had simpler ways of learn- ing the material and the students were complicating the learn- ing. I also asked her if she had studied the Koran and she replied yes. Then I said to her that she should share what she knew; that Allah had given this to her as a gift to be shared with others. From then on she changed her behaviour in the group and became more energetic and started to volunteer more to share in the group. The way we view our work situ- ation is often different from the way we view people outside. Having a high opinion of others means also having a high opinion of your students. Having a high opinion of students gives them more of an opportunity to be successful and the best they can be.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala give us Sabr (patience) to reflect on our practice.

ZARINA QURAYBA ISLAM HERE EDUCATIONALIST

APRIL 2014 EDUCATION 11