Foreign Bank Account-holders' list

It is vastly amusing that the electronic media seem to be in a tizzy over a few names. Can we believe that the “guilty” number less than 1,000? Do 627 bank accounts hold the $1-trillion that we are often told is the quantum of India’s black money? For a country where it is widely believed that virtually every rich or powerful person is a crook, as being crooked is sewn into the national ethos, should not the list run into a thousand pages or more? Should it not contain the names of some of the most revered and fawned upon across the political, business, bureaucratic, showbiz, sports, and arts communities? Those who are said to be account-holders must be amused. Let us remember that not one person in all the names and numbers in the Jain diaries case of the 1990s was convicted.

The black money chase under way, prodded along by the process of judicial monitoring, seems destined to be an exercise in futility in terms of getting the money back. The accounts would have been closed and the money trail gone cold. Unless we have instant access to information on Indian account- holders abroad and transactions therein, complete cooperation from all foreign banks and the power to get these accounts frozen on request, the outcome of attempts may be limited to the revelation of names, causing embarrassment to the account-holders, providing ammunition to the sensation-hungry media and satisfying national curiosity. These accounts represent only a fraction of the ill-gotten wealth. There are more complex avenues such as front companies in tax havens. For instance, the spoils of the 2G scam cannot be in Swiss bank accounts in the names of people we suspect!

I always wonder what the position of this country would be were it not for timely interventions by the Supreme Court. We have a right to know who the people responsible for our plight are.

As someone who does not have a grounding in economics or the intricacies of the law of the land, I am unable to appreciate the sentiment which indicts those holding accounts in certain banks abroad. Of course, the government should worry about its agreements with foreign states and the right to privacy of all individuals, including those holding foreign accounts. It will be fair to term those accounts as holding “black money” only after a legal investigation and not before or even during the exercise. Much of the criticism in this case reeks of a feeling of moral superiority and appears intended to drive attention away from the issue of an exploitative and inegalitarian economic order within the nation itself.

Why Malala for Nobleprize?

I Mean what did Malala do except going around the world on western money?

The west's strategy backfired with Malala. They bleeding hearts were looking for a poster child for their propaganda against taliban and islam. They gave her medical treatment and a new life so that she could become another ayan hirsi ali. But she and her dad, both shrewd muslims. pulled off a better one. They used the west's resources to travel around the world and make money. She is, in reality a hypocrite, She has moved her family to england and enjoying a good life.

This decision by Jury is a huge set back to the credibility of the noble prize and also to the laureates who have received it before.

🔮جمیل احمد ملنسار

m.Facebook.com/wwwjameel

Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal’s advice to his son on his wedding day

Dear son, you will not attain good fortune in your home except by 10 characteristics which you show to your wife, so remember them and be enthusiastic in acting upon them.

As for the first two; women like attention and they like to be told clearly that they are loved. So don’t be stingy in expressing your love for your wife. If you become limited in expressing your love, you will create a barrier of harshness between you and her, and there will be a decrease in affection.

3, Ladies hate a strict, overcautious man, yet they seek to use the soft vulnerable one. So use each quality appropriately. This will be more appealing for love and it will bring you peace of mind.

4. Ladies like from their husbands what their husbands like from them, i.e. kind words, good looks, clean clothes and a pleasant odour. Therefore, always remain in that state.

5, Indeed, the house is under the sovereignty of the woman. While she remains therein, she feels that she is sitting upon her throne, and that she is the chief of the house . Stay clear of destroying this kingdom of hers and do not ever attempt to dethrone her, otherwise you will be trying to snatch her sovereignty. A king gets most angry at he who tries to strip him of his authority, even if he portrays to show something else.

6. A woman wants to love her husband, but at the same time she does not want to lose her family. So do not put yourself and her family in the same scale, because then her choice will be down to either you or her family. And even if she does choose you over her family, she will remain in anxiety, which will then turn into hatred towards you in your daily life.

7. Surely woman has been created from a curved rib, and this is the secret of her beauty, and the secret of the attraction towards her. And this is no defect in her, because ‘the eyebrows look beautiful due to them being curved’. So if she errs, do not rebuke her in a manner in which there is no gentleness, attempting to straighten her; otherwise you will simply break her and her breaking, is her divorce. At the same time do not let her off upon that mistake, otherwise her crookedness will increase and she will become arrogant with her ego. Thereafter, she will never soften for you and she won’t listen to you, so stay in between the two.

8. It is in the women’s nature to be ungrateful towards their husbands and to deny favours. If you were to be nice to her for her whole life but you grieved her once, she will say, “I have never seen any good from you”. So don’t let this attitude of her make you dislike her or to run away from her. If you dislike this feature of hers, you will be pleased with some other good habits within her, so create a balance.

9. Surely there are times when a woman goes through some conditions of bodily weakness and fatigue of the mind. Such that Allah has relieved her of some of her compulsory worships during that period; Allah has totally pardoned her from praying, and has postponed the days of fasting for her within this break to a later date until she regains her health and becomes normal in her temperament once more. Thus, during these days, treat her in a godly manner. Just as Allah has relieved her of the duties, you should also lessen your demands and instructions from her during those days.

10. Last but not least, know that a woman is like a captive with you. Therefore, have mercy upon her.

Unholy Alliance

By Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam

Now it is official. Extremist Buddhists and Hindus are forming a grand alliance against Muslims in South Asia. What damage they can cause Muslims is not really known, beyond a cowardly attack on Muslims here and a riot there.

However, they are certainly capable of embittering Hindu-Muslim and Muslim Buddhist relations across the region. Keeping this in view, the Dalai Lama had earlier this year appealed to the Buddhist extremists to stop attacks against Muslim minorities in Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

The New York Times wrote recently: “It is folly for the governments of Mr Rajpaksa in Sri Lanka, President Thein Sein of Myanmar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India, or their political allies, to give even the appearance of tolerating these Islamophobic groups in a region that is too often convulsed by religious sectarian violence.”

Last month, the leader of the Sri Lankan group Bodu Bala Sena’s chief Galagodaththe Gnansara announced, “The time has come to ally internationally.” The recent past has seen several murderous attacks on Muslims in Sri Lanka in which many people died. A more menacing figure, Buddhist terrorist leader of Myanmar, Ashin Wirathu, was sharing the stage with Gnansara.

Wirathu’s badge of honour comes from his gang’s relentless attacks on Myanmar’s poor, hapless Muslims, who pose no threat either to the majority Buddhists or the country. Sri Lankan Muslims and Christians had, fearing escalation of Buddhist attacks, requested the government to deny Wirathu a Sri Lankan visa. But their request was turned down.

Gnansara has claimed that he is in contact with “high-level” RSS functionaries in India to create a “Hindu-Buddhist Peace Zone” in South Asia. The NYT wrote that RSS spokesman Ram Madhav had denied it. However, Madhav has been writing in support of Buddhist extremists on Facebook and Twitter.

What the NYT has exposed was known to many people, that anti-Muslim Buddhist and Hindu groups were getting closer in their campaign against Muslim minorities. Such people have also been busy aggravating the Muslim-Buddhist tensions in the Ladakh region of J&K.

Muslims are not greatly perturbed about it because they know these groups will end up harming their countries more than they harm Muslims.

http://iosworld.org/short_takes/Unholy_Alliance.htm

MADRASA

EK MINUTE KA MADRASA
ایک منٹ کا مدرسہ
Aaiye Deen sikhein aur amal karein. Rozana ka Ek Sabaq Suney aur Share Karein
Aaj Sabaq #

جمیل  احمد ملنسار 

Uma Bharthi ka Antim Sanskar!!!

Uma Bharti plan:

Sanghis die 

Burnt in Varanasi 

Ashes & bones thrown in Ganga 

Relatives bathe in Ganga 

Then Modi cleans Ganga "Maa"
Repeat.

The water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation minister, Uma Bharti, suggested on Tuesday that "electric" crematoriums should not be used on river banks and instead bodies should be burnt in a traditional way with minimum use of wood. She said that religious leaders - "sadhus" - have not approved the use of electric (many have been converted to CNG) crematoriums. She was speaking at a conference on "Cleaning of Indian Rivers" organized by Teri on Tuesday.


Electric Crematoriums are a positive step towards environmental protection.When persons like Uma Bharti & Smriti Itani are made ministers on qualifications other than merit, it's the country which suffers. I would like her to explain how bodies can be burnt in the traditional way without adding to the pollution from partially burnt bodies that are disposed of routinely in rivers. This statement is extension of modi's "Its not climate thats changing but us" so no need to worry abt environment.


She was well off expelled from BJP. The only thing Uma Bharti can run is her mouth. Not sure what she is doing running a ministry.With this statement Uma Bharti officially joins the elite list of dumb politicians. Another BJP member Subramaniam swamy proudly heads this list.

it's Golden Jubille - Brindavan Express

Brindavan Express turns 50 on October 1, 2014It was on this day in 1964 that the Brindavan Express travelled for the first time between Bangalore and Chennai.

The express, with its air-conditioned chair car coaches, was the first superfast train in south India to have reached its destination in just five hours and 15 minutes.

The historic train speeding through the two States has been much more than a fast means of transport, as several people speak fondly of what travelling on it meant.

K.N. Krishnaprasad, a retired official and a regular on the train for decades, recalls travelling by the Brindavan Express when it had a diesel engine and ran on single pair of tracks.

“It would reach Chennai just in time for passengers to board the Grand Trunk Express to Delhi,” he says.

Back then, there were only three stops — Bangalore Cantonment, Jolarpet and Katpadi.

Another important milestone was the introduction of a double-decker in the 1980s. But, it did not have much space for luggage and tall passengers ran the risk of hitting their heads against the ceiling.

Pavitra R. remembers how, as a student in Delhi during the 1990s, she travelled every summer from Delhi to Chennai and boarded the Brindavan Express to Bangalore. She says she thoroughly enjoyed travelling in the train’s chair car.

The locopilots, who were proud to drive a superfast train, also have stories to tell.

Retired locopilot R. Subrahmanyam (73) inaugurated the Brindavan’s electric engine in 1992. He was given the train to work independently, after training on working with electric locomotives for seven months at Avadi Training School.

“People would stand all through the journey on unreserved coaches,”

Source : http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/brindavan-express-turns-50-on-october-1-2014/article6462674.ece

I have diabetes – can I still give blood?

Many of us want to help save lives by donating blood. However, if you have diabetes, you may be unsure whether you can or not.


The answer isn’t quite a simple yes or no. It all depends on how you manage your diabetes.

Guidelines for everybody

Blood donation clinics have a responsibility to assess how suitable prospective donors are. This is to protect the health of both the recipients of blood and blood donors themselves.


Countries around the globe have national guidelines on who can, and cannot, donate blood. To be eligible in the UK, for example, you must:
be in good health
be between 17 and 65 years (if it's your first time)
weigh at least 50kg (7st 12Ib)

Donating blood if you have diabetes

There are a variety of reasons why you might not be able to give blood, and having diabetes can potentially be one of them.


If you manage your diabetes with tablets or non-insulin injections and have no complications or other underlying medical conditions, you will be able to donate. But if you have to take insulin to manage your diabetes, the World Health Organization recommends that you don't donate blood.


The main reason why you might not be able to donate if you have diabetes is because it may be unsafe for you to do so. Donating blood could affect your blood glucose control, causing your blood sugar levels to fall too low (hypoglycaemia).

Variation in the rules

Although many countries follow this rule, there is still some variation.


The Australian Red Cross Blood Service, for example, advises you to call them for advice if you’re taking insulin to assess whether you’re eligible. You may still be able to donate if you manage your diabetes with insulin, but it must be well controlled. If you have no complications and are managing well with oral medicines and diet then you should be able to donate.

The American Red Cross have similar rules and state that if your diabetes is well controlled with insulin or oral medicines, then you will be eligible too.


Individual countries also have extra stipulations. For example, in the UK, you cannot donate blood if you:

• have changed your medicines to manage diabetes in the last four weeks 
• feel faint or have fainted 
• have another health condition, such as heart problems or kidney problems 
• have had surgery to unblock an artery 
• have had an organ transplant 

Check the national guidelines where you live for more information, or ask a doctor for advice.

Safety first

It could be that you can donate blood which is great. If you can’t, it can be very disappointing but it’s important to remember that the key priority is to protect your health

Source : http://www.bupa.co.uk/individuals/health-information/diabetes/I-have-diabetes-can-I-still-give-blood-2013

The truth of Kaaba/Mecca bar of New York

The truth of Kaaba/Mecca bar of New York: Apple Store of Fifth Avenue, bar or Apple Mecca or Apple Store.

Apple store during construction

Time and again get the same mail asking people to take action against a bar with name Mecca Bar or Kaaba bar. I don't exactly know from where these rumors are generated and who are the people behind these kind of rumors.

Here are the pics sent by mail(you can find thousands of article, blogs on net stating the same, giving wings to the rumor, with similar pics

The present picture of the building
Present address of the same Apple Store:
767 Fifth Ave. New York City, NY 10153 (212) 336-1440

The fact is that pictures doing round taken during the construction of building which belongs to Apple and is a Apple Store(showroom) at Fifth Ave. New York City.

A Timely Reminder

Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam

The Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi has said recently on the 13th anniversary of 9/11 that if the United States had heeded Swami Vivekananda’s call for universal brotherhood, America would not have to see that day. We have a point to ponder here.

Vivekananda is no stranger to the US, at least since his historic address at Chicago Congress of World Religions nearly a century and a quarter ago. Fraternity, or brotherhood of humans is the greatest symbol of mutual goodwill, understanding and empathy.

Universal brotherhood implies such a relationship across regions, religions, racial distinctions, civilisational antagonisms and political beliefs. This is the greatest human ideal that is based on equality and justice. The Preamble to the august Constitution of India lays great emphasis on these values for the attainment of real freedom.

The foundations of equality lie in the belief that all human beings are descendants of a single pair of parents and no human being is superior to another human being on the basis of colour, race or nationality. Thus all ideas of racial supremacy are false and reprehensible.

The Prime Minister’s lofty observations give us ground to review the domestic situation also to see how far we have carried the idea of universal brotherhood in this country. Have we achieved equality in any sense? Are all castes and classes treated equally here? We must remember that there can be no brotherhood, universal or local, without equality.

Justice is another corner stone for brotherhood. Have we given justice to the victims of 1984, 2002, 2013, or any other massacre? How can we ensure brotherhood by denying justice to victims of organised, targeted, mass violence? How is it possible?

Can we stop such mass violence without stopping hate speech and poisonous propaganda? Over the last several months there is no respite from round-the-clock vicious anti-Muslim propaganda clearly meant for inciting violence against Muslims.

People as important as the all-India president of BJP, Uttar Pradesh BJP president and state BJP poll coordinator have regularly been accused of inciting anti-Muslim violence on a daily basis. However, nothing has been done about it.

We appreciate the Prime Minister’s emphasis on universal brotherhood. However, we also recognise the fact that what is good for others is good for us. If others need brotherhood, we need it more.

On the contrary, what we have been witnessing in the country is designed not to promote brotherhood but to destroy it. We must set our own house in order before advising others. Otherwise, nobody is going to listen to us as we will have no credibility if hate speech and mass violence become the order of the day. 

http://www.iosworld.org/download/DrManzoorAlamProfile.pdf

Also Read 

Bilawal ka Kashmir

Bilawal ka Kashmir

Bilawal Bhutto is in news with his statement "Will take back all of Kashmir", the 'Gen-Next' politician of Pakistan, has said that his Pakistan People's Party (PPP) would get back entire Kashmir from India.heres my take on Bilawal's statement

Bilawal, you won't get an Inch of Kashmir even though we have a weak PM in Modi who is helpless before China and crawling to please them,a big lot is comparing you with Rahul Gandhi which is so wrong, you do have match in India, it's Varun Gandhi and not Rahul Gandhi, i have already treated you like Varun Gandhi......just laugh & move ahead,you are one such baby who thinks Babyoil is made up of babies you both are examples of how dynastic politics produces entitled, idiotic politicians, you both are so dumb it will be the longest event in the world,if you and Varun play chess. and yes at this tender age better you don't mess with India, Save Pakistan first,Wake up. Stop dreaming Kashmir (INDIA). Face the nightmare that's Pakistan, the way Pakistan is progressing, 10 yrs from now you will be promising to get back Sindh, Balochistan & Waziristan, dont try to be the Pakistani Version of Modi by selling Dreams and Exploiting Pseudo Patriotism of Voters.

Beta Bilawal Bhutto are you aware that you were born in in Lady Duffer-in hospital in Karachi. The name has left a lasting impression in your personality on being so duffer when addressing so sensitive issue,you are really so dumb you are not aware what power India has as an Union,we here are peaceful country We work of development of our People, not war. Probably you can't see the innumerable internal issues of your country.Use your money( if u have any of your own) not in wasting effort unsuccessfully towards conquering kashmir but on your people's development, dont forget you are a product of Mr.10% ,not only that you will be unsuccessful in conquering Kashmir, you will be in loss as youe would still have to give 10% to your dad, you have ruined Bhutto tribe by promising to take back every inch of Kashmir. As far as sense is concerned, you have proved yourself to be Below-all Bhutto.you are the person for who the word MENTALLY RETARDED came in existence.

Finally USA had to bear Modi. So if Bilawal Bhutto becomes Pak PM, we will also have to bear him. God save us! Allah Bachaye....




your comments.......

Quotes & thoughts

If pleasing the Almighty displeases others, it is still better than displeasing the Almighty to please others. We return to HIM not to them

Countering evil with good is never easy. But it provides an opportunity to forge a friendship between those who were once enemies.

Nobody will fully understand the sacrifices of a mother. Not even a father. The Almighty knows and He rewards. Let's appreciate our mothers.

There are thousands of good deeds. If someone is not engaged in the same good deeds as yours, it does not mean that they have no good deeds.

Your body is a gift from the Almighty. He has entrusted you to take good care of it.

As we were growing up, we felt our parents were being hard on us. We promised ourselves that we would be "cool" with our own children. But today, as cool as we think we are, our children feel that we are being hard on them and promise themselves that they would in turn be "cool" with their own children.

"If you worry of what people have to say about you, you will always be very worried

What is given to us by the Almighty is much more than what He has taken away from us. But we need to ponder over this in order to appreciate it.

When nobody understands the way you feel, remember the Almighty will make it heal. So turn to Him and fulfil your part of the deal.

Those you give your heart to can break it, but He who made it and gave it to you in the first place will only strengthen it, so turn to Him.

It is human nature to make mistakes but don't keep on making the same mistakes. Seek forgiveness and move on.

Talking about how bad others are, does not make us good. Let us rather improve ourselves by working on our own weaknesses.

People are generally good but Satan is bad. The further we distance ourselves from him, the greater our chance of success.

Having a higher position than others at the workplace does not give you the right to bully or abuse them. Fulfil the rights of the employee.

The Love and Mercy of the Almighty encompasses YOU, so NEVER lose hope.

Allowing others to disagree with your point of view and not get all emotional about it is a sign of maturity.

Be hopeful. The Almighty's plan is always better than ours even though we may never fully understand it .

Be intelligent enough not to let those who try to create hatred between us and those we have no problem with, succeed.

Moulana Qasim Ansari Bhopali

TO ALLAH WE BELONG AND
TO ALLAH WE WILL RETURN

ROLE OF YOUTH IN ENHANCING THE VALUE OF DIALOGUE: AN INDIAN PERSPECTIVE

WHAT DIALOGUE REALLY IS

We have first to know what dialogue is not, before coming down to what dialogue is. And from there we have to proceed to placing it in its historical perspective and see how in today’s context the youth can have a role of enhancing its value.

So, first what dialogue is not. Dialogue is not about establishing a “we versus they” equation and creating a hegemony for our own ideas vis-à-vistheir ideas. It is not about creating a hierarchy of ideas.

It is also not about an exchange of blames nor for trading of charges. Additionally, dialogue is not about agreement or disagreement.

Now, what dialogue is. It is a healing process. A warm, human gesture. An open-ended exchange of ideas without forcing anyone to take a certain position or insisting on anyone to take a stand.

IOS ROLE

Over the years, the Institute of Objective Studies (IOS), headquartered in New Delhi, has contributed to this process with its own international seminars and symposia on interfaith, inter-civilisational dialogue. In the meanwhile, we have had similar conferences on inter-community linkages within India, communities here meaning faith and ethnic communities.

Besides these we have held international conferences on the issues of youth within and outside India. In India the population of persons between 15 and 19 years is 250 million. If we include persons up to 25 years, the number crosses 300 million. You can imagine the scale and potential of our young population.

With so much energy and enthusiasm available, the country is set to harvest a great demographic dividend. In the case of India (like China) a huge population base is an asset, not a liability as the Malthusian economists of the 50s and 60s feared. India has an edge in one sense over China. Its population has grown at more than double the rate of China over the last three decades as China has observed one-child norm over the decades. The result is that China does not have enough youth compared to the ageing population, which the younger generation has to support.

The fears of a “youth bulge” (which, according to demographers and other experts, leads to war, mass violence, political upheaval and civil unrest) have not come true in India. The Muslim world as a whole has remained peaceful (except for external aggression and civil strife in a few countries) despite the fact that a large proportion of the Muslim world is youthful, with a population of 780 million persons below 25 years of age.

The youth are not a liability if we do not waste them and keep them unhealthy, uneducated and untrained. I would leave the youth thread here to be picked up soon. Meanwhile, I would digress a little to talk for a couple of minutes about some of our past programmes on inter-civilisational and allied issues over the years attended by ministers, judges and intellectuals from India and abroad.

OUR TRACK RECORD

In October 2008, we organised an international conference on “Towards Human Understanding Through Dialogue” in New Delhi with an impressive representation of religious leaders of Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Budhism, Sikhism and Jainism from India and several other countries.

In 2009, the IOS organised a lecture by Dr Ataullah Siddiqui. The lecture was titled “Interfaith Dialogue: Issues and Challenges” and it left a deep impression on a highly-educated audience. Another similar talk that left a deep impression and set people thinking was “Dialogue Among Civilisations: An Arab Perspective” in 2008.

A major national seminar was held by the IOS on “Fostering Inter-Community Linkages in India” in 2003.

One of our most widely covered conferences was “Inter-Civilisational Dialogue in a Globalising World” in 2005 that was attended by India’s Prime Minister and half a dozen of his cabinet colleagues, judges, intellectuals, academics and foreign dignitaries like Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, former deputy prime minister of Malaysia.

With a rich and diverse background like this the IOS, whose Chairman I happen to be, should be able to contribute to the present discourse.

BACK TO YOUTH

To pick up the thread on youth (and its role in enhancing the value of interfaith dialogue that we had left a moment ago, let us begin with the assertion that today’s youth are the leaders of tomorrow. Full of buoyant energy, hope and enthusiasm, the youth also have time on their side. On the other hand, the older generation has experience and wisdom to share with them. This is a nice combination. Nice and fortuitous.

As today’s youth are going to be the leaders of tomorrow, it is important for Muslim youth to join the interfaith dialogue on way to maturing into future leaders. It is important for our youth to remember that the current phase of the dialogue was initiated in the wake of extraordinary Islam-baiting. Everyday the Western media was full of anti-Islam messages. It was quite evident that all this was not a spontaneous phenomenon, but some hostile groups were deliberately forcing an Islam versus West confrontation through heavily drumming up Islamophobia.

Our youth must realise that as the responsibility of practising Islam, it is also their responsibility to establish peaceful relations with other faith groups on the basis of mutual understanding through dialogue and co-operation for common good. Protecting the fair name of Islam is as incumbent on the youth as on the elder generation.

So far the need for such dialogue has firmly been established. The intensified dialogue since 2008 has certainly reduced the Islam-baiting level in Western media even as the Western confrontation with some Muslim nations is yet to cease completely.

Our youth have to remember that the Quran clearly describes the single human family of classes, creeds, colours and castes as the children of a single pair of primordial parents. This being the case, it requires that as followers of Islam we try to establish dialogue across races and religions in the family of Adam and Eve (peace be upon them). The first tangible result is a visible decline in the level of Islamophobia. We must insist on such result as a proof of sincerity and success of such dialogue.

As religions we have family values and a morally ordered world as commonly-shared goals. We thus can come together on preventing the ruin of the institution of family because of live-in relationships, lesbianism, gay movement, bisexualism and trevestitism. Some humane, democratically-approved an non-violent way of forestalling this trend has to be found out by leaders of major faiths and the practical example of our youth.

THE ROAD AHEAD

The youth, including the Muslim youth, are uniquely positioned in life to be able to influence the course of events and shape the very spirit of the age. Being the largest component of the workforce, the youth have the greatest opportunity to mix with and interact with each other across faiths, nationalities and races.

The same holds good for colleges and universities, bureaucracies and armed forces across the world. In those areas of life religious and sectarian differences are muted and de-emphasised as fellow-feeling is high. In those circles of mainly youthful people the idea of interfaith understanding will readily take root if we work towards it with sincerity and dedication.

The Muslim youth must insist on certain basics: no Islam baiting as Muslims are required to respect other people’s prophets and other religious figures. Dialogue must go on as it is required by Islamic principles. As per the Qur’anic injunction and the Prophet’s (PBUH) example, Muslims must work with others for common causes and common good.

In addition, our youth (and elders) must remain sensitive to, and supportive of, others in their moment of sorrow. We must come to the aid of people hit by natural catastrophe, civil wars, extreme poverty, illiteracy and disease without making any distinction between Muslims and non-Muslims.

As Muslims we must recognise that we lack cadres of trained disaster-management workers, food workers, social activists and human rights workers. Merely by making their presence felt in these areas the Muslim youth will not just be empowered, but get connected with humanity across faiths and ethnicities. That will enhance the value of interfaith dialogue.

IN ESSENCE

The forces of globalisation today, and the forces of history always, generate certain negative features like racial and nationalist ideas of supremacy, brutal power play, economic and social inequality, injustice and loss of human dignity.

The focus of all future dialogue should be the elimination of the above features from our social and political lives. Dialogue is about the establishment of justice, equality, liberty and human dignity. This is what the Islamic spirit calls for and other major religions would certainly agree upon.

Sometimes it is racial supremacist hubris disguised as religion that creates an unjust order. If we believe that certain people are born to rule and others to be ruled, we can never hope to achieve an equal, just and fair order. If we allow racial supremacist ideas to rule the world we will never have an equal world. The youth have to imbibe these values.

An important goal of such dialogue is the creation of a humane world. If justice is denied to oppressed people we will never attain peace. Peace will also elude us as long as the gap between the rich and poor keeps widening. These issues must never be forgotten in dialogue as they are the foundation of dignified human life. The youth have to lend support to this vision




http://www.iosworld.org/doha_conference.php.