Dhul Hijjah 14,1437/September 16, 2016

www.jamiamasjidkenya.org

Friday Bulletin

The

Issue No. 698

The Weekly Muslim News Update

Calls for Eid Ul Adhha public holiday

gathers momentum

Thousands of Muslim faithful take part in the Eid ul Adh'ha prayer at the Sir Ali Muslim Club in Nairobi on Monday.

alls to the government to recognize

Eid Ul Adhha as a national public
holiday dominated Eid Ul Adhha celebrations on Monday.
Muslim political and religious leaders appealed to the government to declare the day
a national public holiday. They said the day
should not be declared a public holiday on
temporary basis or be used as a political
tool as seen in the past.
Eid Ul Fitr which marks the end of month
long period of Ramadhan is the only Muslim national public holiday in the country although the Public Holidays Act recognizes
Eid Ul Adhha as a holiday for only Muslims.
The chairman of the Supreme Council of
Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM) Professor Abdulghafur El-Busaidy led the calls to have
Eid Ul Adhha declared a public holiday.

While thanking the government for making public holiday will foster togetherness,
the day a public holiday, Prof. El-Busaidy enhance on harmony and promote the
said the day ought to have been a perma- shared aspirations, values and diversity in
nent holiday like Eid Ul Fitr.
the Kenyan society and urged the governThis is a very special and blessing event ment to make Eid ul Al Adhha a permafrom Allah for the Muslims. We thank our nent national public holiday. At the same
government for granting us a public holi- time, we do appeal to the government to
day and we urge this should not be made take steps to see to it that Eid ul Al Adhha
ad hoc but through the statutes of the remains a permanent feature in the calencountry, he said during the Eid prayers at dar of national public holidays, he said.
Ronald Ngala grounds in Mombasa.
Abdul Bary further thanked President UhuIn a statement on Friday, the Secretary ru Kenyatta and Interior cabinet Secretary
General of Jamia Mosque Committee Joseph Nkaissery for recognizing the sigAbdul Bary Hamid said Eid Ul Adhha is nificance of the day to millions of Muslim
an important day in the Muslim calendar in the country.
and its gazettement is an indicator that Similar sentiments were echoed by Kathe government recognizes the important mukunji Member of Parliament Yussuf
place of Muslims in the country and the Hassan when he joined thousands of
communitys role in nation building.
Eastleigh residents who congregated for
Continued
2
Continued To Page 8
He said the recognition of
the day To
as aPage 2
This Newsletter contains some of Allahs names. Please do not throw in the trash. Either keep, circulate or shred

The Friday Bulletin

NATIONAL

Dhul Hijjah 14,1437/September 16, 2016

Education ministry expected to craft pro-hijab laws

The education ministry is expected to formulate regulations which will ensure and
make it mandatory for educational institutions to accommodate Muslim female students wearing the hijab.
The move follows orders of the court of
appeal issued last week in Nyeri which required the education cabinet secretary to
put in place rules and regulations to see
to it that schools conform to Article 32 of
the constitution which protect fundamental
rights and freedom of Kenyans as well as
the constitutional provision which prohibits
discrimination of pupils and students in the
countrys educational system.
In line with the court orders, Nairobi lawyer
Ali Mahmoud who successfully petitioned
the court of appeal to set aside a high court
ruling disallowing hijab in an Isiolo school
last Friday served the education cabinet
secretary Fred Matiangi with the judgment
delivered by three appellate judges on
September 7.
For the first time, the court of appeal has
authoritatively pronounced itself on the
vexed issue of free exercise of religion in
public school in Kenya and amongst other
orders it ordered that the judgment be immediately served upon the cabinet secre-

tary of education, the letter partly read.

The landmark judgment will put to an end
the policy of outlawing the wearing of the
hijab which is a common feature in many
church run and sponsored schools.
In their ruling, Justices Philip Waki, Roselyn Nambuye and Patrick Kiage made it
clear that any law which forces students to
abandon or refrain from a practice that is
genuinely held as a manifestation of their
religious convictions is null and void as it
is unconstitutional.
The court of appeal set aside an earlier ruling by High Court Judge Harun Makau who
had assented to a plea from the Methodist Church to prohibit Muslim students at St
Paul Kiwanjani Mixed Secondary School in
Isiolo from wearing the hijab and trousers.
The schools contention that the hijab will
violate the schools policy of uniformity of
students was quashed after the judges affirmed that the refusal to allow the headdress was discriminatory as it prevents
students from manifesting their religion
through observing the hijab.
The court further ordered the schools
board of management to immediately initiate a process of amending the relevant
school rules touching on the school uniform

Support prison programmes, Muslims urged

Muslims should be at the forefront in supporting prison programmes as a way of
rehabilitating the incarcerated members of
the society, a Nairobi-based humanitarian
organization has said.
Ummah Foundation chief executive officer
Musa Wekesa said the community needs
to play a viable role in rehabilitating the
growing number of Muslim inmates in prisons.
He said inmates cannot reform by merely
serving their time in prison but need support so that they can effectively undergo
the transformation process.
He was speaking at the Kamiti Maximum
Prison on Tuesday when the organization
under its Prison Rehabilitation Programme
organised an Eid Ul Adhha feast for all the
inmates at the prison.
Musa said to be a reformed prisoner and
a better citizen after prison, inmates need
spiritual support more than anything else.
These people have many needs most important spiritual. They need a place to pray,
praying mats, Quran, Islamic reading materials. They have all the time in the world
and their mind needs to be occupied, he
said.
The organization slaughtered a bull and
goats for the prisoners as a way of spreading the Eid happiness to inmates at Kamiti,
Naivasha and Langata Womens prisons.
The society needs to recognize these individuals, they should not be condemned.
Not all prisoners are criminals some of
them are victims of injustices, Musa said.
He challenged the Muslim community to
extend a helping hand to these individuals
who feel neglected by the outside society.

Page 2

We decided to organize this Eid Ul Adhha

feast because the society seems to have
forgotten them, they too need to feel the
happiness of this special times. This happiness should be extended to them too, he
added.
The Officer in charge of the correctional
facility Henry Kisungu lauded the efforts
by Ummah Foundation. He said they have
been actively involved in the welfare of inmates without discrimination.
He said such efforts help in the rehabilitation of inmates.
The Imam at the prison mosque Saed Abdulrahman Faruq appreciated the support
from Ummah Foundation saying that its
activities have helped in the spiritual transformation of many inmates.
Alhamdulillah we have a mosque where
we pray, we watch Islamic lectures during
our free time. We have a madrassah where
we learn more about the religion and this
support make us feel appreciated by the
society, said the 33-year-old Imam who
expressed his desire to see Muslims especially the leadership paying inmates visits
especially during auspicious occasions.
Though he is serving a lifetime sentence,
Saed is hopeful that he will get a presidential pardon and will use his time out of
prison to benefit the society.
Prison has taught us a lot, we have reformed. Here we were a family and we
would also like to be reminded that we have
a family outside these walls, he noted.
There are about 600 Muslim inmates at
Kamiti Maximum Prison which host more
than 3,000 prisoners.

so as to accommodate students whose religious beliefs require them to wear the hijab in addition to the school uniform.
The judgment in effect rescinds another
High Court ruling which had consented to
a plea from Kenya High School in October
2012 to prohibit Muslim students to wear
the hijab on the grounds that it contravened
the schools principal of uniformity of dress.
The justification by the school and accepted by the learned Judge who followed in
the footsteps of (Justice Cecilia) Githua, in
the Kenya High School case for the rejection of the plea for hijab was hollow and
unconvincing, the appellate judges said.
The case arose after appeals by parents
and the Isiolo deputy Governor Muhammad
Guleid for Muslim female students at the
church sponsored but government funded
school to wear the hijab were rejected. The
Methodist Church went to court after the
County Director of Education issued an order to allow Muslim girls who comprised 68
percent of the female student population to
be allowed to wear the hijab.
In his judgment issued on March 5 2015 in
Meru, High Court Judge Harun Makau outlawed the wearing of hijab on the basis that
it is discriminatory, unlawful and unconstitutional and goes against the school rules.
The ruling set in motion an appeal by a parent Muhammad Fugicha who complained
that the order infringed on the constitutional right of his three daughters and other
female Muslim students which are protected under Article 24(4) of the Constitution.
He was represented by Ali Mahmoud and
Mombasa based lawyer Moza Jadeed Ali.
In her criticism of the judgment, Moza argued that the failure to accommodate the
girls religious observance was discriminated against them in their enjoyment of
the right to education on the basis of both
religion and dress.
This discrimination was the more serious
considering that the school, though sponsored by the church, is a public school.
The Church was under an obligation as a
sponsor to ensure respect for the religious
beliefs of those of other faiths by dint of
Section 27 of the Basic Education Act, she
said.
The sponsor of a public school had no
higher status and its interest could not
override the freedom of religion of the students the school, she further submitted.
The appeal was further supported by an
affidavit by the former Chief Kadhi Sheikh
Hammad Kassim who stressed that the hijab is not a matter of choice but a religious
obligation which should not be hindered.
The Teachers Service Commission which
was among the parties in the case on its
part stated that there was a compelling basis for a small section of the community to
be allowed to their religion by wearing religious attire with lawyer Cavin Anyour stating that the Commission was quite happy
to have the hijab worn in schools.
Continued To Page 4

The Friday Bulletin

DA'WAH

Dhul Hijjah 14,1437/September 16, 2016

Malcolm X and the transforming power of Hajj

Shaikh Ahmad Kutty

Malcolm X went to Hajj in the year 1964.
He went as an ardent believer in Black
Nationalism and returned to America a
changed man. He had a life-transforming
experience. Prior to Hajj, he divided humanity into black and white and saw no
possibility of uniting them. His experience
of Hajj convinced him otherwise.
Hajj made Malcolm X a wholly transformed
person - as if he were reborn. Afterwards
he not only believed in the universal brotherhood of all of mankind; but became committed to work for the ideals he imbibed
from Hajj.
The question is: How did this happen? How
do we replicate this experience in order to
attain the maximum benefits of Hajj and
then continue to live by them?
First of all, Malcolm X was open and recep-

tive to the experiences and lessons of Hajj:

He explained himself thus: You may be
shocked by these words coming from me.
However, on this pilgrimage, what I have
seen, and experienced, has forced me to
rearrange much of my thought-patterns
previously held, and to toss aside some of
my previous conclusions.
And of his life-transformation he says:
"Never have I witnessed such sincere
hospitality and overwhelming spirit of true
brotherhood as is practiced by people of
all colors and races here in this ancient
Holy Land, the home of Abraham, Muhammad and all the other Prophets of the Holy
Scriptures.
there were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the world. They were
of all colors, from blue-eyed blondes to

The Prophets farewell sermon

After praising, and thanking Allah, the

Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of
Allah be upon him, said: "O People, lend
me an attentive ear, for I know not whether
after this year, I shall ever be amongst you
again. Therefore, listen to what I am saying to you very carefully and take these
words to those who could not be present
here today.
O People, just as you regard this month,
this day, this city as Sacred, so regard the
life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to
you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one
so that no one may hurt you. Remember
that you will indeed meet your Lord, and
that He will indeed reckon your deeds.
Allah has forbidden you to take usury
(interest), therefore all interest obligation
shall henceforth be waived. Your capital,
however, is yours to keep. You will neither
inflict nor suffer any inequity. Allah has
Judged that there shall be no interest, and
that all the interest due to Al-Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib shall henceforth be waived...
Beware of Satan, for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will ever
be able to lead you astray in big things,
so beware of following him in small things.
O People, it is true that you have certain
rights with regard to your women, but they
also have rights over you. Remember that
you have taken them as your wives only
under a trust from Allah and with His permission. If they abide by your right then
to them belongs the right to be fed and
clothed in kindness. Do treat your women
well and be kind to them for they are your
partners and committed helpers. And it is
your right that they do not make friends
with any one of whom you do not approve,
as well as never to be unchaste.
O People, listen to me in earnest, worship Allah, perform your five daily prayers,
fast during the month of Ramadhan, and
offer Zakat. Perform Hajj if you have the
means.
All mankind is from Adam and Hawwa. An
Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab,

nor does a non-Arab have any superiority

over an Arab; a white has no superiority
over a black, nor does a black have any
superiority over a white; [none have superiority over another] except by piety and
good action. Learn that every Muslim is a
brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing
shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore,
do injustice to yourselves.
Remember, one day you will appear before Allah and answer for your deeds. So
beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.
O People, no prophet or apostle will come
after me, and no new faith will be born.
Reason well, therefore, O people, and
understand words which I convey to you.
I leave behind me two things, the Quran
and my example, the Sunnah, and if you
follow these you will never go astray.
All those who listen to me shall pass on
my words to others and those to others
again; and it may be that the last ones understand my words better than those who
listen to me directly. Be my witness, O Allah, that I have conveyed your message to
your people."
Thus the beloved Prophet completed his
Final Sermon, and upon it, near the summit of Arafat, the revelation came down:
"This day have I perfected your religion
for you, completed My Grace upon you,
and have chosen Islam for you as your religion" (Quran 5:3)
Even today the Last Sermon of Prophet
Muhammad is passed to every Muslim in
every corner of the world through all possible means of communication. Muslims
are reminded about it in mosques and
in lectures. Indeed the meanings found
in this sermon are indeed astounding,
touching upon some of the most important rights Allah has over humanity, and
humanity has over each other. Though
the Prophets soul has left this world, his
words are still living in our hearts.

black-skinned Africans. But we were all

participating in the same ritual, displaying
a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my
experiences in America had led me to believe never could exist between the white
and non-white."
He had this message to share with America: "America needs to understand Islam,
because this is the one religion that erases
from its society the race problem. Throughout my travels in the Muslim world, I have
met, talked to, and even eaten with people who in America would have been considered white - but the white attitude was
removed from their minds by the religion
of Islam. I have never before seen sincere and true brotherhood practiced by all
colors together, irrespective of their color."
Malcolm-X was able to attain this because
he was willing to change his earlier beliefs
and embrace the truth. The lessons of Hajj
taught him vividly the message of peace,
and universal brotherhood under the lordship of one Allah. It deepened his connection with Allah; it inspired in him a true spirit
of trust and sacrifice; and above all, he experienced the deep meaning of Islam (surrender) and Iman (faith in Allah).
Therefore, in order for us to replicate the
same experience, we must be willing to
internalize the lessons of Hajj. Here are
some tips to maintain the fragrance of Hajj:
Hajj: A prescription for humanity problems
1. Hajj deepens our awareness of our connection with Allah, our Creator and Lord.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon
him) taught us that all the rites of Hajj and,
indeed, all acts of worship are instituted to
establish the remembrance of Allah. So,
we ought to condition ourselves to make
dhikr as second nature. This is possible
only when we emulate the example of the
beloved Prophet of Allah in his daily supplications and practice of dhikr.
2. Together with dhikr comes contemplation of death. Pilgrims are reminded of their
final journey when they don the ihram garb
- much like the shroud we are buried in.
There is no better way to cure the rust accumulated in our heart than through dhikr
and remembrance of death.
3. The lessons of brotherhood that we
learn from Hajj must be translated into daily
practice: when we come to the mosque, we
need to set aside our tribal mindset, and be
willing to embrace all as brothers in faith
and humanity. The Prophet said, By Allah,
you will not enter Paradise until you believe
and you will not believe until you love one
another. Shall I guide you to something to
Continued To Page 5

SATURDAY LECTURE

Topic: Tarbiyatul Aqliyah (Intellectual Upbringing and Training)

By: Ustadhah Aminah Atitala
Date: 17th September 2016
Time: After Dhuhr Prayer (1.30 to 3.00 pm)
Venue: Womens Section of the Mosque

Page 3

WOMEN

The Friday Bulletin

Dhul Hijjah 14,1437/September 16, 2016

Britains first female pilgrim, lady Evelyn Cobbold

The History of Islam in the UK has not been
extensively documented so many of it has
been forgotten or overlooked. One such
example is of Lady Evelyn Cobbold (Zainab
Cobbold) who is considered to be the first
British Muslim Woman to have travelled for
Hajj to the holy sites of Makkah and Madinah. She is reported to have documented
her travels in her book Pilgrimage to Mecca. It is important that her contribution to
Islam in the UK is not forgotten.
Lady Evelyn Cobbold (1867 1963) was a
Scottish noblewoman and revert to Islam.
Born in Edinburgh in 1867, she was the
eldest daughter of Charles Adolphus Murray, 7th Earl of Dunmore and Lady Gertrude Coke, daughter of the Second Earl of
Leicester. Her birth into British aristocracy
makes her reversion and travels as a Muslim all the more extraordinary.
Lady Evelyn spent most of her childhood
in a Moorish villa perched on a hill outside
Algiers. She learned to speak Arabic, and
her favourite pastime was to escape her
governess and visit the mosques with her
Algerian friends.
A few years later, while staying in Rome,
she had the opportunity to visit the Pope.
She recounts in the introduction of Pilgrimage to Mecca that when His Holiness
suddenly addressed me, asking if I was a
Catholic, I was taken aback for a moment
and then replied that I was a Muslim A
match was lit and I then and there determined to read up and study the faith. The
more I read and the more I studied, the
more convinced I became that Islam was
the most practical religion Since then I
have never wavered in my belief that there
is but one God.
Indeed, this belief in the Oneness of God
never left her. And like many Westerners,
Lady Evelyn was deeply touched by Islamic spirituality, the inner side of faith. Two
years before her marriage to John Cobbold in Cairo, she wrote a poem in which
she evoked the fundamental principle of
Tawhid (belief in one Allah) in a prayer, To
Him, the One. The Essence of all and His
Presence within and around.
Lady Evelyn Cobbold was also known as
Sayyidah Zainab, her Muslim name, and
wrote an honest and sincere account of
her pilgrimage to Makkah. She was excited
to be the first British woman on record to
have made her pilgrimage, but that gave
way to a deeper emotion as she prayed in
the Haram (the Holy Mosque) in Makkah.

Ayah of the week

Ayah of the week

And let there be

[arising] from you a nation inviting to [all that
is] good, enjoining what is
right and forbidding what
is wrong, and those will be
the successful.
(Al Qur'an 3: 104)
Page 4

Lady Evelyn was able to see and describe

the way women lived in Makkah and Madinah, something no writer had ever done
before her.
One cannot fail to be touched by the way
she expresses her feelings in those sublime moments: It would require a master
pen to describe that scene, poignant in its
intensity of that great concourse of humanity of which I was one small unit, completely
lost to their surroundings in a fervor of religious enthusiasm. Many of the pilgrims had
tears streaming down their cheeks; others
raised their faces to the starlit sky that had
witnessed this drama so often in the past
centuries. The shining eyes, the passionate appeals, the pitiful hands outstretched
in prayer moved me in a way that nothing
had ever done before, and I felt caught up
in a strong wave of spiritual exaltation. I
was one with the rest of the pilgrims in a
sublime act of complete surrender to the
Supreme Will, which is Islam.
One often overlooks the fact that becoming
a Muslim in Europe was not easy. Islam dictated a way of life whose social norms and
legislations were scrutinized by secular regimes. A citizen had the right to choose his
faith, but was not given the means to follow
it. Reverting to Islam was also socially alienating, especially for practicing Muslims
whose refusal to drink Alcohol was too often seen as a rejection of the most basic
expression of Western hospitality.
Lady Evelyns reversion to Islam did not go
well with her in-laws and worsened after
the death of her husband. However, she
hung onto her faith until the very end. She
writes, When I look into my journal I shall
live it all again. Time cannot rob me of the
memories that I treasure in my heart the
countless pilgrims who passed me with
shining eyes of faith, the wonder and glory
of the Haram of Makkah, the great pilgrimage through the desert and the hills to Arafat and above all the abiding sense of joy
and fulfillment that possesses the soul.
Lady Evelyn spent the last twenty years
of her life quasi-secluded on her estate at
Glencarron, and then in a nursing home in
Inverness. Yet it is obvious that, despite the
fact she had lost touch with other Muslims,
she must have insisted on many occasions
that her written instructions for her Muslim
funeral be followed.
Lady Evelyn reliving the exalted beauty
of her Haj toward the end of her life. And

Ministry to formulate hijab

laws
Continued From Page 2
In their analysis of the case, the judges criticized the ruling by Justice Makau saying
that he went too far in making pronouncements that allowing the hijab would be
discriminatory against Christian and other
non-Muslim students and infringes on the
school policy.
They described the hardline and fixed position advanced by the church as intolerable affirming that policies that are meant
to deny students their religious rights flies
in the face of the guiding principles that
govern the provision of basic education in
this country.
We are satisfied on the uncontested evidence on record that the wearing of the hijab was genuinely and deeply considered
to be a matter of great, indeed exceptional,
religious significance to Fugishas daughters and the other Muslim girls. Their desire to wear the same to school was not
borne of a skin-deep and artificial or passing fashion fad but rather a serious and
conscientious attempt to obey a religious
requirement and therefore deserving of
both respect and protection, the appealed
judges said in their 78-page ruling.
We do not accept that schools are enclaves that are outside the reach of the
sunshine of liberty and freedom that the
constitution sheds. Students do not abandon their constitutional rights when they
enter the school gate to regain them when
they leave. Nor can fundamental rights and
freedoms be contracted away in the name
and at the altar of education. Schools cannot raise an estoppel against the constitution, the judges further pointed out as they
stressed that any school administration
which violated the rights of students contravenes the Bill of Rights.

The Friday Bulletin

Kitchen

Banana Smoothie
Ingredients:

Hadith of the week

Quote of the week

Abu Huraira reported: The

Messenger of Allah, peace
and blessings be upon him,
said, Allah has ninety nine
names and whoever preserves them will enter Paradise.

When Allah tests

you it is never to destroy you. When He
removes something in
your possession it is
only in order to empty
your hands for an even
greater gift.

(Sahih Muslim)

she carried those memories with her on

the majestic slopes of Glencarron, where
a humble headstone is inscribed with the
verse from Surah Al Nur that moved her so
much, Allah is the light of the heavens and
the earth.

Ibn Qayyim al Jawziyyah

2 medium-sized ripe bananas

2 cups chilled/icy milk
1-2 tbsp. honey or sugar
8 ice cubes
Few drops of lemon juice

Method:

Add all the ingredients into your blender

and then blend until smooth and frothy.
Pour into your serving glasses and serve
immediately.

The Friday Bulletin

YOUTH

Dhul Hijjah 14,1437/September 16, 2016

Symptoms youth display when moving towards gang culture

Dr. Bilal Phillips
If we look at the youth, we can see that
there are particular phases, which youth go
through when they join a gang. They dont
just wake up one morning and decide to
become a gangster! It is a gradual process
that they go through.
Interest and Admiration: This stage occurs
with youngsters aged 7-9.
At this point, there are symptoms that parents need to know and to watch out for. Because when kids begin this phase, they will
have certain changes in their behaviour. If
the parents dont know what is going on,
it will come at them all of a sudden. They
will find their son in a gang and wonder
how did this happen because they had no
consciousness of how the gang mentality
evolves.
Problems at school: In the 7-9 year aged
range, they are already problems at
school. Problems with teachers, with other
students, problems which you in growing
up, never experienced.
At home: Even though, they are between 7
and 9, you will start to find some defiance
of authority, they are not following your instructions, and they resist family instructions by the elders in the family. They dont
want to go to bed at their set times, they
want to stay up later. You may also find a
certain amount of detachment from some
of the members of the family. They dont
associate much with the family and seem
to prefer loneliness.
The Introductory Level (10-13 year old):
Symptoms:
Change in routine: They will come home
later than their normal time.
Different Friends: The friends that they
bring to the house dont look the same,
these look a bit shady than the other innocent ones which they used to bring earlier.
Secretive: They dont want you to know
about what they are doing. They stay up
late at night and get very irritable. They
have anger issues. They try to keep their
parents away from their room. No one can
enter their room except them.
Controlling Parents: Some of them are able
to control their parents, they by threatening
to do things that would embarrass them.
The parents eventually succumb to these
threats to keep their child happy.
Red eyes: WARNING: Your kids are smoking marijuana! Kids walking in with red
eyes imply big problems at your hands.
Check their pockets: Do this when they
dont know. Because when they have
reached this stage, they start to become
a bit disoriented and disorganized, and
though they try to hide their stuff, they will
definitely slip up. You may find things in
their pockets that shouldnt be there.
Full membership (14-21 years): Now they
have become full members of the gang.
Symptoms:
They will be absent from home for many
days, sleeping outside the home.

Their grades have dropped.

They break all curfews at homes.
They drop out of school.
They openly rebel against their parents,
they will threaten to move out and some
actually do that. Of course, the parents will

be emotional and the child will blackmail

them to allow them to be in the house and
also to smoke pot in the house itself. You
think you have saved the bigger one, but
you have sealed the fate of the younger
ones who grow up seeing this.

Malcolm X and the transforming power of Hajj

Continued From Page 3
do to that will make you love one another?
Spread the greetings of peace (salam)
among yourselves. (Muslim).
So the next time you meet anyone in the
mosque, share this spirit of love through
salaam from your heart.
Hajj is meant to make us universal citizens
and train us to live in peace and harmony
with everyone.
4. Salah in congregation is intended not
only to bring us to the presence of Allah;
rather, like Hajj itself, it brings believers of
all shapes and colors to stand shoulder to
shoulder like brothers. So being diligent in
conscious performance of salah should be
a priority for us all.
5. Since the Quran is the life-giving message, source of healing and mercy, we
should begin and end each day with this
enlivening message. Reading the Quran
is much more than chanting it; rather, it is
receptiveness to receiving the message in
ones heart, for no spiritual awakening is
possible without opening the heart. There
is nothing like the Quran in achieving
this goal - as long as we are open to it.
The Quran refers to it as sharah as-sadr
(broadening of the heart/ mind).
An experience to inspire your whole life
6. Hajj is meant to make us universal citizens and train us to live in peace and harmony with everyone. Hence the lessons

of interacting with others and living the

lessons of brotherhood, forgiveness, tolerance, compassion, and generosity should
be practiced within the community. We
have ample opportunities to do this in our
mosques, schools, offices, hospitals, and
neighborhood.
7. As the world is full of temptations, Hajj
reminds us of the need to be vigilant about
the snares and temptations of Satan; there
is no way of overcoming them except
through constancy in dhikr, contemplation
of death and becoming occupied ourselves
with Allahs work. Imam Shafii said, If you
dont occupy yourself with good works,
your carnal soul will keep you occupied
with sins (i.e. Satans work).
Opportunities for good works are all
around us.
8. Finally, constancy in istighfaar (seeking
Allah's forgiveness) will keep us on track.
One of the sages said, The best people
to appear before Allah on the Day of Resurrection are those whose register is filled
with istighfaar.
Allah calls us to flee to Him. Through istighfaar we flee to Allah from our own failings,
evil inclinations and sins.
I pray to Allah to forgive us all our sins:
major and minor, first and last, secret and
open, those which we know of and those
which we have no knowledge of - Ameen.

Attack on Mombasa police station condemned

Muslim leaders in Mombasa county have
strongly condemned the Sunday attack on
Mombasa Central Police station. The leaders denounced the attack as a cowardly
and senseless act and called for thorough
investigations into the incident.
Speaking shortly after the attack, Mombasa governor Ali Hassan Joho condemned
the incident saying such horrific act has no
place in a modern day society.
He said it was a dark day in Mombasa
as the incident coincided with Arafah, the
most important day of Hajj (pilgrimage).
It is unfortunate that we wake up to this
incident, especially on a day when Hajj is
being conducted. It is a dark day in Mombasa, he said.
Joho lauded security officers at the station
for the quick intervention that saved the
lives of many Kenyans who were at the station at that time. I strongly condemn this
cowardly act and commend the police officers for acting decisively in the encounter.
The Kenya Police acted swiftly and neutralized the threat, he noted.

Mvita Member of Parliament Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir dissociated the religion of

Islam from acts of terrorism saying no religion supports the killing of a human being.
We strongly condemn this cowardly act.
Those behind this attack do not subscribe
to any religion. No religion condones acts
of terrorism, he said in his address to the
media on Sunday.
Abdulswamd said leaders will accord security agencies all the support they require
to apprehend all those involved in the attack.
The MP further cautioned security agencies against conducting mass arbitrary arrests adding that criminalizing and victimizing a whole community is not the solution
to the threat of terrorism.
We have also agreed with the Police that
mass swoops are not a solution to the
problem and as such they should not be
used especially with the Eid festivities. A
whole community cannot be condemned
for the action of few bad elements who do
Continued To Page 6

Page 5

The Friday Bulletin

OPINION

Dhul Hijjah 14,1437/September 16, 2016

Acute shortage of IRE teachers needs to be addressed

Munawar Khan
The teaching profession is considered in
Islam to be on the highest rank of nobility as teachers are responsible in imparting
knowledge and education to those around
them.
The teaching profession is not only a responsibility but also among noblest professions but paradoxically, not many Muslims
are inclined towards pursuing this profession.
Teachers are individuals who hold immense responsibility in being role models,
motivators and generators of Knowledge
for the generations to come.
In Kenya there is an acute shortage of
Muslim teachers, particularly those trained
to teach Islamic Religious Education (IRE)
and Arabic putting in mind that religious
education is mandatory and examinable
subject in primary and secondary schools
curriculum.
On several occasions, the government
through the Ministry of Education, Science
and Technology has announced recruitment of teachers but the turn out by Muslim
youth has not been encouraging.
Kagumo and Kibabii Teachers Training Diploma Colleges have been offering space
for applicants to train in IRE and Arabic but
it is saddening that only a few applicants
from the Muslim community have been
submitting their applications.
It is nearly four decades since the comprehensive Islamic Religious Education syllabus by Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development was introduced in the Kenyan
schools and Muslims are yet to find enough
teachers to teach the subject in all levels
from primary to university.
The IRE curriculum is being implemented
in schools since 1977 and the Islamic Religious Education (IRE) and Arabic subjects
are examined in Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE)
respectively.
Most of the schools offer Islamic Religious
Education for Muslim students but due to
lack of qualified and trained IRE teachers, the schools cannot implement the
programme and that is why many Muslim
children have been left with no alternative
but to take Christian Religious Education
(CRE).
Even Muslim based schools lack qualified
trained teachers for the subject and in most
cases non-Muslims teachers have been
employed to fill the vacuum and teach IRE
to Muslim children.
More is needed to be done because we are
outnumbered in education by our counterparts .Thus for us to face the educational
challenges we need to have our own teachers, schools, colleges and universities.
In order to address the challenge of shortages of IRE teachers, first there is need for
Muslim parents to encourage their children
to show interest and take up teaching as a
profession to enable the community have
enough teachers to cater for the educational and spiritual needs of Muslim children in
schools.
Muslim owned schools and organisations
should put in place measures and start

Page 6

a scheme or project for the provision of

scholarships or interest free loans to support those willing individuals financially to
undertake the teaching training.
This is a challenge to our students, parents and Muslim NGOs to make sure we
embark on supporting those who wish to
take IRE as one of their teaching subjects
so that we can be able to present our own
Muslim teachers.
It is commendable that Jamia Mosque
Committee and Kenya Muslims Charitable Society sponsor several Muslim youth
for IRE training at Kagumo and Kibabii Diploma Teachers Training Colleges respectively, others should emulate this initiative.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC)
is willing to deploy qualified IRE teachers in
public schools and what remains now is for
more Muslim youth to come out, volunteer
and join the teaching profession.
Knowledge is a prerequisite to be acquired
to conduct good deeds. Without knowledge
and learning, life practices are unguided
and could lead to self-destruction.
The Quran further emphasizes on this
point where it states that Allah will exalt
those of you who believe, and those who

are given knowledge. (Surah Al Mujadilah 58:11) And in another verse, the Quran
states, Are those who know and those
who do not know alike? Only the men of
understanding are mindful. (Surah Al Zumar 39:9)
The Messenger of Allah peace be upon
him also said Seeking knowledge is a duty
upon every Muslim. (Ibn Majah)
To achieve our goals of increasing the uptakes of IRE teachers and further improve
on education standards in the community,
it our appeal to Muslim organizations and
the Muslim community in general to give
full moral and financial support to Muslim
Education Council(MEC)to implement the
training programmes.
Educationists, leaders and Muslim organizations are continuously working towards
addressing this dire situation but with little
success.
With united approach it is therefore prudent
for the Muslims to address this issue of IRE
teachers shortages to improve on the education standards and spiritual growth of the
Muslim children.
The author of this article is the executive
director Muslim Education Council (MEC).

Jubilee should not use Idd holiday for political gains

Muhammad Warsama
The Government declared last Monday,
September 12, 2016, as a Public Holiday.
Hitherto, Idd-Ul-Adhha has always been a
holiday for Muslims only.
Former Presidednt Mwai Kibaki used this
ploy in 2007, by declaring Idd-Ul-Adhha a
public holiday for all Kenyans because of
the elections but in 2008, it was back to
normal holiday for ONLY Muslims.
We have been calling for our two Idd holidays to be public holidays since independence. In 1966, Jomo Kenyatta gave us
Idd-Ul-Fitr as a public holiday but refused
to give us Idd-Ul-Adhhaa. Then AttorneyGeneral, Charles Njonjo, in 1967 demanded that the Idd-Ul-Fitr should be on a fixed
date, not subject to sighting of the crescent
which, according to him inconvenienced
employers.
This is the source of the recurring dispute
between followers of the Chief Kadhi who
fixed Idd-Ul-Fitr at 31st day after Ramadhan and the adherents of moon sighting.
Yet in Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa and
everywhere else in Africa and the world,

Muslims celebrate Idd-ul-Fitr with their

non-Muslim countrymen upon sighting of
the crescent. Njonjo discriminated against
Muslims and we still feel this discrimination
every Idd-Ul-Fitr.
In December, 1978, as Executive Officer of
Supkem, I was in the Supkem delegation
that visited newly-installed President Moi at
State House. He rejected our request for
Idd-Ul-Adhha to be a public holiday, arguing that Kenyans need less holidays in order to work harder on nation-building. Yet
a few years later, he decreed that Moi Day
should be celebrated as a public holiday
every October 10.
I am against my Idd-Ul-Adha being used
as a bait to lure the Muslim vote by giving us a public holiday one year before the
2017 elections. I suspect in 2017, after the
elections, the Idd-Ul-Adhha will not be observed as a public holiday.
Jubilee should canvass for the Muslim Vote
without doing something that it does not intend to perpetuate.
The writer is a journalist and a blogger

Attack on Mombasa police station condemned

Continued From Page 5

not subscribe to the tents of religion, he
said.
On his part Mombasa senator Hassan
Omar said the Sunday attack is a manifestation of the evolving nature of terrorism
both locally and globally. He said it is the
first incident in the region where women
have been used as frontline combatants.
This is a unique case that we need to
get to the heart of it otherwise if we dont
we will see more of this and might set the
precedence for the victimization of Muslim
women, he said.

Mombasa based lobby Haki Africa also

condemned the Sunday attack as a despicable act.
According to a statement from the police,
the attack came after three women assailants stormed the station under the guise of
reporting a theft.
Two policemen sustained injuries in the
foiled attack. The deceased trio has since
been identified as Tasnim Yakub Abdullahi,
Maimuna Abdirahman Hussein and Ramla
Abdirahman Hussein.

The Friday Bulletin

NATIONAL

Dhul Hijjah 14,1437/September 16, 2016

Fight against immorality among youth, Muslims advised 200 Orphans benefit from
Parents in the Muslim community have Sheikh Charo reminded parents of their
Malindi Udh'hiya
been entreated to openly condemn and primary obligations to mentor and provide
programme
fight against the increase in immoral activi- spiritual guidance to their children and
ties among the youth especially students
in higher institutions of learning.
Addressing the Muslim faith at Darul Hijra Mosque Mowlem in Dandora area on
Monday during the auspicious occasion of
Eidul Adh'ha celebrations, Sheikh Salim
Charo said it was unfortunate that immorality was on the increase despite the
proliferation of religious organizations in
the country, noting that exposing of nudity
has become an acceptable fashion among
youth.
Sheikh Charo who is the Imam of City
Park Mosque in Nairobi lamented that
many Muslim parents had neglected their
responsibilities of being role model and
leaders of their homes adding that some
parents have left their children lead lives
which are inconsistence with Islamic moral
values.
There is an appalling rot in the society which has found its way in the Muslim community.It is important that Muslim
parents provide guidance and direction to
safeguard youth from immoral influence
and they must rise up and speak against
anything that has the tendency of affecting
the morality of the society, Sheikh Charo
said .

raise them as morally upright individuals

who will be responsible members of the
society.
The Imam said there is need for the Muslim community and society to be sensitized
against involvement in harmful practices
that leads to misunderstanding and poor
relationships among families and instead
to embrace Islamic moral values for their
well-being.
He urged Muslim leaders to let their voices sound louder in the fight against immorality to save the future of the country,
adding that increase in social vices was
due to the silence on the issue.
Sheikh Charo further spoke on the increasing number of marital problems and
urged Imams and scholars to step up guidance and counselling services to couples
to safeguard the sanctity of marriages.
In his counsel to the youth, the Sheikh
urged them to avoid subscribing to negative influences and adhere to the true
teachings of Islam.
On his part, the Imam of Darul Hijra
mosque Sheikh Hussein Salim spoke on
the importance of enhancing unity and
good relations among Muslims and people
of other faiths.

Kakamega Muslims urged to apply for govt funds

Muslims in Kakamega County have been
asked to apply for the funds availed by the
national and county governments in order
to change their economic fortunes.
Speaking on Monday on the sideline of Eid
Al Adha celebrations, Lurambi Constituency Development Fund Chairman Habib
Rashid Anyolo said members of the community have no reason to lag behind as
there are funds they can use to start development programmes.
Habib called on the community to actively participate in the development programmes and national affairs to contribute
to the social economic progress of the
country.
The chairman asked the Muslim faithful
in Kakamega County to be part of nation
building community by working together
with other Kenyans in the county's social
economic and political spectrum.
He challenged the Muslim leadership in
the region to be at forefront in sensitizing
the community to participate in development matters instead of staying in isolation
and later to complain that they are being
discriminated against in development matters.
He further encouraged them to take interest in investment in education and health
sectors through setting up both schools
and health centres to address the education and health needs of the Muslim community in the region.

The chairman advised Muslims in the region to form groups so that they can receive assistance and further challenged
men in the county to emulate the womenfolk by forming groups to be able to benefit from grants and loans. The national
government has given Uwezo, Women
Empowerment and Youth Empowerment
Funds. County governments also have
their funds, which you can request for and
use to start developments, advised Habib.
These funds are given to members of registered companies, existing businesses,
associations as well as Savings and credit
societies. Nobody should be left out because they do not belong to any of these
groups, advised the chairman.
Habib at the same time asked Muslim parents to take the education of their children
seriously and to be at the forefront to ensure that their children are not involved in
criminal activities like drug dealings and
terrorism related activities.
We should all strive to change this negative image that has been associated with a
section of our youths by some members of
the public, he said.
In his counsel to Muslim students and
youth, Habib urged them to take their studies seriously and shun deviant groups and
instead adhere to the true Islamic teachings as embedded in the Quran and the
Sunnah, the traditions of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him.

Over 200 orphans and less fortunate families in Malindi Subcounty benefitted from
Udh'hiya sacrifice programme to mark Eid
ul Adh'ha festivities undertaken by the Malindi based non-governmental organization.
Through its social welfare programme,Alamoody Foundation distributed meat to less
fortunate members of the society to put a
smile on their faces during the Eid festivities.
According to the managing director of the
foundation Muhammad Ali, it is the policy of
the foundation to serve humanity and less
fortunate in the society to bring joy to them
to feel part of the society.
Muhammad noted that the programme
benefitted communities and residents in
Maweni and Shella areas.
''We wish to thank every one of our Muslim brethren who generously supported us
throughout the programme and we also
extend our sincere appreciation to Muslim
business community for the opportunity
and support that enabled us to successfully
implement the Udh'hiya programme with
ease,'' he said.
The foundation is also involved in offering education support to bright and needy
orphans through its bursary scheme programme to pursue their education in secondary schools and universities.
To commemorate this outstanding act of
sacrifice(Qurbani) by Prophert Ibrahim on
whom be Allah's peace, Muslims are encouraged to make an animal sacrifice on
Eid ul Adh'ha and share the meat with relatives, , neighbours, friends and the poor and
needy in the society.

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Page 7

Declare Eid Ul Adhha a public holiday- Leaders

Continued From Page 1
the Eid Prayers at Eastleigh high school grounds. While we thank and
appreciate the government for this effort, Eid ul Al Adhha should be a
public holiday celebrated by all Kenyans every year from on onwards,
said the MP.
In his sentiments, Mombasa senator Hassan Omar said the event
should not be used for political expediency stressing that it should permanently feature in the Public Holidays Act. This Eid must now be a
permanent public holiday it should be a random public holiday every
election year, said the senator during the Eid prayers at Ronald Ngala
grounds in Mombasa.
Mvita Member of Parliament Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir said he will
soon sponsor a Bill in Parliament seeking for the recognition of Eid Ul
Adhha as a public holiday in the country.
Thousands of Muslims on Monday congregated for Eid Ul Adhha
prayers at various grounds and Mosques around the country to mark
the annual Islamic event also known as the feast of sacrifice in commemoration of Prophet Ibrahim and his son Ismael.

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Eidul Adhha celebrations

Eid-Ul-Adha is observed after the conclusion of the Hajj. The

first day of this celebration is held on the 10th day of Duhl-Hijja, which is the last month of our Muslim year. In most areas,
the Feast of Sacrifice is celebrated over several days.
It is declared as public holidays up to the last day of tashreeq.
The celebration of Eid-Ul-Adha is in commemoration of the
command give by Allah to Prophet Ibrahim (may Allah be
pleased with him) to sacrifice his first born son Ismail to Him.
The fulfilment [sic] of this noble command of Allah by Ibrahim
signifies his faith in Allah.
Eid-Ul-Adha is a day of remembrance. Even in the most joyful
times, we make a fresh start of the day by a session of congregational prayers to Allah in an open space. We use the occasion to pray to Allah and to glorify His name to demonstrate
the remembrance of His grace and favours.
The needy and vulnerable in society are also remembered by
showing them sympathy and consolation. In addition, like the
pilgrims in Makkah, the Muslims, who can afford to do so, offer domestic animals, usually sheep, as a symbol of Prophet
Ibrahim's sacrifice. Some of the meat is given to the poor. The
rest is shared among the family, relatives and friends. This is
the spirit of togetherness where the less privileged people in
the society are taken care of.
In observation of this tradition of our beloved Prophet Ibrahim
(alayhi sallam), Ummah Foundation has been of the practice
to celebrate this eventful day by slaughtering animals as sunnah of our Prophets and the meat is distributed among poor
families in the informal settlements.
This year, through our Prisoners rehabilitation program, we
devoted all the slaughtered meat to prisoners. Kamiti Maximum prison, Naivasha Maximum prison and Langata Women
Prison inmates were the main beneficiaries of this sacrificial
program. Regardless of their religious affiliations, the meat
was distributed to all the inmates and prison staffs in all the
three main prisons.
This is one way of building togetherness and humanity that
Islam advocates for. Every year as the rich celebrate we need
to take into account the plight of the less fortunate in our society. They also need to feel happy and celebrate with the rest
of the Muslims all over the world.
We would like to urge well-wishers and donors who are interested in promoting this project to invest in the hereafter and
give support to Ummah Foundation so that we can in future
reach many desperate families and poor Muslims across the
country.
The past years, Ummah Foundation had devoted its distributions to orphanages and families living in the informal settlements around Nairobi. We however realised there is a lot of
duplication and the forgotten lot were the prison inmates. We
would like to appreciate and pray for those who made their
donations and Allah will reward you all abundantly.
Eid Mubarak and it is our sincere prayer that Allah will reward
us for every sacrifice (camel, cow, sheep, goat) we make for
His noble sake. Ameen!
Contact us :
Ummah Foundation
Village Plaza, 2nd Floor, Ngara Rd
P.O. Box 58717- 00200 Nairobi
Tel:020-2680610/13 Mob: 0734 845277
Email: info@ummahfoundation.net
Web: www.ummahfoundation.net

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