By TwoCircles.net News Desk,
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on August 20 approved setting up the Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) in the Indian Missions in 17 countries to meet contingency expenditure for carrying out various onsite welfare activities for overseas Indian citizens who are in distress.
The proposed Fund (ICWF) is aimed at providing the following services:
(i) Boarding and lodging for distressed overseas Indian workers in Household/domestic sectors and unskilled labourers;
(ii) Extending emergency medical care to the overseas Indians in need;
(iii) Providing air passage to stranded overseas Indians in need;
(iv) Providing initial legal assistance to the overseas Indians in deserving cases,
(v) Expenditure on incidentals and for airlifting the mortal remains to India or local cremation/burial of the deceased overseas Indian in such cases where a sponsor is unable or unwilling to do so as per the contract and the family is unable to meet the cost.
Overseas Indian workers duped by unscrupulous intermediaries in the host countries, runaway house maids, those who become victim of accidents, deserted spouses of overseas Indians or undocumented overseas Indian workers in need of emergency assistance or any other overseas Indian citizens who are in distress would be the main beneficiaries of the Fund. The Fund will also be utilised to meet the expenditure for airlifting the mortal remains of overseas Indian citizens to India on the recommendation of the respective Heads of Missions.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Home-schooling attracts Muslims
By Julia Duin (Contact) | Sunday, August 16, 2009
Throughout the month of Ramadan, which begins Friday, the Cattaneo children won't have to worry about explaining to teachers and friends why they're fasting every day.
That's because they're home-schooled, part of a growing trend among Muslim families.
"We wanted a more religious-based influence on our kids' lives," said Ismail Cattaneo, their father. "It's the same reason the Christians have."
Home-schooling is big in Virginia, especially in Loudoun County where the Home School Legal Defense Association is based at Patrick Henry College in Purcellville. And Patrick Henry — where I was a temporary adjunct journalism professor in 2001 — is a magnet for home-schooled kids.
I had been to a state home-schooling conference in Richmond in the late 1990s, but I hadn't picked up much on which religions — other than Christianity — were getting into the act.
A lot of Muslims are fine with sending their kids to public schools, Mr. Cattaneo told me, but what encouraged him and his wife, Jean, to keep their children at home was the success Christian families were having.
"You hear of these Christians winning spelling bees and going to Harvard," he said.
It's not like they live in a Muslim bubble, said the couple when I visited their town house in Sterling last week. Their English tutor is Jewish; the family participates in Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Little League, and the kids play with Christian home-schoolers two doors down.
There are limits, however. The oldest son, Yusuf, 14, wanted to play on a local Christian home-schooling baseball team but he was asked to sign a statement affirming that Jesus is Lord, "which we can't do," the father explained.
Part of his passion for keeping the children nearby was his experiences growing up Muslim and attending public schools in Great Neck, N.Y.
"The majority of my friends were Jewish," he says. "It was difficult to maintain your perspective."
So yes, the family does break for midday prayers and there is a verse from the Koran over the living room mantel. The girls and their mom wear long pants and long sleeves even in broiling August weather in keeping with Islamic modesty requirements. Other than that, they share the same concerns other home-schoolers have, such as trying to find the right curricula for their family.
Possibly the best-known Islamic home-schooling materials come from the San Ramon, Calif.-based Kinza Academy, which embraces the classical approach to education popularized in medieval Europe. The Cattaneo family uses a secular curriculum supplemented by Koran lessons at a local private school.
Priscilla Martinez, a fellow Muslim who home-schools her six children in western Loudoun County, says the number of Muslim home-schoolers is "exploding" for several reasons, including more in-depth study and better academics than what's available in full-time Islamic schools. She wrote a lengthy article in the January issue of Islamic Horizons magazine extolling the practice.
The Cattaneos estimate there are 10 Muslim home-schooling families in the Sterling-Ashburn-Herndon area.
The family reads the Koran together every day and Yusuf is already doing 11th-grade work, two years ahead of where he would be in public school. When I quizzed the children, they indicated they liked staying at home.
"I ask them if they want to go to [public] school, and they say no, we're having a good time," their father says.
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009...home_headlines
Throughout the month of Ramadan, which begins Friday, the Cattaneo children won't have to worry about explaining to teachers and friends why they're fasting every day.
That's because they're home-schooled, part of a growing trend among Muslim families.
"We wanted a more religious-based influence on our kids' lives," said Ismail Cattaneo, their father. "It's the same reason the Christians have."
Home-schooling is big in Virginia, especially in Loudoun County where the Home School Legal Defense Association is based at Patrick Henry College in Purcellville. And Patrick Henry — where I was a temporary adjunct journalism professor in 2001 — is a magnet for home-schooled kids.
I had been to a state home-schooling conference in Richmond in the late 1990s, but I hadn't picked up much on which religions — other than Christianity — were getting into the act.
A lot of Muslims are fine with sending their kids to public schools, Mr. Cattaneo told me, but what encouraged him and his wife, Jean, to keep their children at home was the success Christian families were having.
"You hear of these Christians winning spelling bees and going to Harvard," he said.
It's not like they live in a Muslim bubble, said the couple when I visited their town house in Sterling last week. Their English tutor is Jewish; the family participates in Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Little League, and the kids play with Christian home-schoolers two doors down.
There are limits, however. The oldest son, Yusuf, 14, wanted to play on a local Christian home-schooling baseball team but he was asked to sign a statement affirming that Jesus is Lord, "which we can't do," the father explained.
Part of his passion for keeping the children nearby was his experiences growing up Muslim and attending public schools in Great Neck, N.Y.
"The majority of my friends were Jewish," he says. "It was difficult to maintain your perspective."
So yes, the family does break for midday prayers and there is a verse from the Koran over the living room mantel. The girls and their mom wear long pants and long sleeves even in broiling August weather in keeping with Islamic modesty requirements. Other than that, they share the same concerns other home-schoolers have, such as trying to find the right curricula for their family.
Possibly the best-known Islamic home-schooling materials come from the San Ramon, Calif.-based Kinza Academy, which embraces the classical approach to education popularized in medieval Europe. The Cattaneo family uses a secular curriculum supplemented by Koran lessons at a local private school.
Priscilla Martinez, a fellow Muslim who home-schools her six children in western Loudoun County, says the number of Muslim home-schoolers is "exploding" for several reasons, including more in-depth study and better academics than what's available in full-time Islamic schools. She wrote a lengthy article in the January issue of Islamic Horizons magazine extolling the practice.
The Cattaneos estimate there are 10 Muslim home-schooling families in the Sterling-Ashburn-Herndon area.
The family reads the Koran together every day and Yusuf is already doing 11th-grade work, two years ahead of where he would be in public school. When I quizzed the children, they indicated they liked staying at home.
"I ask them if they want to go to [public] school, and they say no, we're having a good time," their father says.
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009...home_headlines
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Macedonia’s Ramadan ‘On Air’
By Hany Salah, IOL Correspondent
“We are preparing a series of TV and radio programs for the holy fasting month,” Sherifi (R) said.
CAIRO — With a first-ever daily television show and radio programs about their faith, Macedonian Muslims are welcoming the fast-approaching holy fasting month of Ramadan.
“We are preparing a series of TV and radio programs for the holy fasting month,” Rufat Sherifi, the head of the Islamic Youth Forum (FRI), told IslamOnline.net on Saturday, August 15.
This year’s Ramadan will see the first-ever daily TV show about the Islamic faith.
“’Islam and Life’ program tackles every-day life affairs of Muslims,” said Sherifi.
Produced in tandem with a Muslim media production company called M7, the 40-minute program features a host of prominent Muslim scholars from Macedonia as well as Kosovo and Albania.
The Muslim leader said that local channels have been competing to broadcast the daily program during the fasting month.
“All these channels have welcomed to cooperate with the FRI and broadcast the program free of charge,” he said.
FRI is also seeking to broadcast the daily program on Albanian-speaking satellite channels.
"This will help all Albanian-speaking people in the Balkans and western countries to benefit from the program," Sherifi said.
Ramadan, to start in the Balkans on Friday, August 21, is the holiest month on the Muslim calendar.
During Ramadan, adult Muslims, save the sick and those traveling, abstain from food, drink, smoking and sex between dawn and sunset.
Family
Macedonian Muslims are also preparing a series of radio program for the holy fasting month.
RFI has translated into Albanian prominent Egyptian preacher Amr Khaled’s show “With Your Name We live", a program that tackles the names and attributes of Allah.
“It will be broadcast on nine local radio stations,” said Sherifi.
“The program will also be transmitted through Internet-based Albanian-speaking radio stations in Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia and European countries which have Albanian-speaking communities.”
FRI has also agreed with Albanian daily Koha to publish a series of articles and opinion pieces during the fasting month.
“It will also publish Ramadan calendar in addition to covering Muslim activities in Macedonia during the holy month.”
Family affairs will also top the agenda of Macedonian Muslims during the dawn-to-dusk fasting month.
“Our activities will focus on family issues this year,” Sherifi told IOL.
Themed “Ramadan… Month of Family”, RFI will hold a series of iftar banquets in five main Macedonian cities.
“A prominent Turkish preacher will be invited to address the events on challenges facing the Muslim family,” he said.
Sherifi said video clips have also been made tackling family bonds.
“These clips will be broadcast on local channels,” he said.
Muslims make up nearly a third of Macedonia's two million population, according to the CIA Fact Book.
But other estimates suggest Muslims make up half of the country's population.
“We are preparing a series of TV and radio programs for the holy fasting month,” Sherifi (R) said.
CAIRO — With a first-ever daily television show and radio programs about their faith, Macedonian Muslims are welcoming the fast-approaching holy fasting month of Ramadan.
“We are preparing a series of TV and radio programs for the holy fasting month,” Rufat Sherifi, the head of the Islamic Youth Forum (FRI), told IslamOnline.net on Saturday, August 15.
This year’s Ramadan will see the first-ever daily TV show about the Islamic faith.
“’Islam and Life’ program tackles every-day life affairs of Muslims,” said Sherifi.
Produced in tandem with a Muslim media production company called M7, the 40-minute program features a host of prominent Muslim scholars from Macedonia as well as Kosovo and Albania.
The Muslim leader said that local channels have been competing to broadcast the daily program during the fasting month.
“All these channels have welcomed to cooperate with the FRI and broadcast the program free of charge,” he said.
FRI is also seeking to broadcast the daily program on Albanian-speaking satellite channels.
"This will help all Albanian-speaking people in the Balkans and western countries to benefit from the program," Sherifi said.
Ramadan, to start in the Balkans on Friday, August 21, is the holiest month on the Muslim calendar.
During Ramadan, adult Muslims, save the sick and those traveling, abstain from food, drink, smoking and sex between dawn and sunset.
Family
Macedonian Muslims are also preparing a series of radio program for the holy fasting month.
RFI has translated into Albanian prominent Egyptian preacher Amr Khaled’s show “With Your Name We live", a program that tackles the names and attributes of Allah.
“It will be broadcast on nine local radio stations,” said Sherifi.
“The program will also be transmitted through Internet-based Albanian-speaking radio stations in Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia and European countries which have Albanian-speaking communities.”
FRI has also agreed with Albanian daily Koha to publish a series of articles and opinion pieces during the fasting month.
“It will also publish Ramadan calendar in addition to covering Muslim activities in Macedonia during the holy month.”
Family affairs will also top the agenda of Macedonian Muslims during the dawn-to-dusk fasting month.
“Our activities will focus on family issues this year,” Sherifi told IOL.
Themed “Ramadan… Month of Family”, RFI will hold a series of iftar banquets in five main Macedonian cities.
“A prominent Turkish preacher will be invited to address the events on challenges facing the Muslim family,” he said.
Sherifi said video clips have also been made tackling family bonds.
“These clips will be broadcast on local channels,” he said.
Muslims make up nearly a third of Macedonia's two million population, according to the CIA Fact Book.
But other estimates suggest Muslims make up half of the country's population.
Ramadan Starts August 21 in Europe: ECFR
By IOL Staff
ECFR said the holy fasting month will start on Friday, August 21 in Europe, according to astronomical calculations. (Google)
CAIRO — The holy fasting month of Ramadan will start in Europe on Friday, August 21, according to astronomical calculations, the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) has announced.
"The moon of Ramadan will be born on Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 10:02:35 GMT (1:02:35 pm Makkah time)," the Dublin-based council said in an Arabic statement obtained by IslamOnline.net Saturday, August 15.
"Thus Friday, August 21, will be the first day of Ramadan inshallah."
Turkey and all Balkan countries have already announced that the dawn-to-dusk fasting month will start on Friday, according to astronomical calculations.
The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) said that Ramadan would begin on Saturday, August 22, in North America.
In Ramadan, adult Muslims, save the sick and those traveling, abstain from food, drink, smoking and sex between dawn and sunset.
Muslims dedicate their time during the holy month to become closer to Allah through prayer, self-restraint and good deeds.
It is customary for Muslims to spend part of the days during Ramadan studying the Noble Qur'an.
Many men perform i`tikaf (spiritual retreat), spending the last 10 days of the month exclusively in the mosque.
Unity
The ECFR urged Muslims worldwide to adopt astronomical calculations in defining the start of the holy fasting month.
"Astronomy is a modern science that reached a great level of accuracy in determining the start and end of lunar months.
"So we urge European Muslims to adopt it in determining the start of lunar months, particularly Ramadan and Shawwal, to help people do their religious duties.
"We also ask mosque officials and scholars in all Muslim countries to respect the clear-cut results of the astronomical calculations to help unify Muslims worldwide."
The first day of Ramadan and moon sighting have always been a controversial issue among Muslim countries, and even scholars seem at odds over the issue.
While one group of scholars sees that Muslims in other regions and countries are to follow the same moon sighting as long as these countries share one part of the night, another states that Muslims everywhere should abide by the lunar calendar of Saudi Arabia.
A third, however, disputes both views, arguing that the authority in charge of ascertaining the sighting of the moon in a given country announces the sighting of the new moon, then Muslims in the country should all abide by this.
This usually causes confusion among Muslims, particularly in the West, on observing the dawn-to-dusk fasting and celebrating the `Eid Al-Fitr, which marks the end of fasting.
ECFR said the holy fasting month will start on Friday, August 21 in Europe, according to astronomical calculations. (Google)
CAIRO — The holy fasting month of Ramadan will start in Europe on Friday, August 21, according to astronomical calculations, the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) has announced.
"The moon of Ramadan will be born on Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 10:02:35 GMT (1:02:35 pm Makkah time)," the Dublin-based council said in an Arabic statement obtained by IslamOnline.net Saturday, August 15.
"Thus Friday, August 21, will be the first day of Ramadan inshallah."
Turkey and all Balkan countries have already announced that the dawn-to-dusk fasting month will start on Friday, according to astronomical calculations.
The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) said that Ramadan would begin on Saturday, August 22, in North America.
In Ramadan, adult Muslims, save the sick and those traveling, abstain from food, drink, smoking and sex between dawn and sunset.
Muslims dedicate their time during the holy month to become closer to Allah through prayer, self-restraint and good deeds.
It is customary for Muslims to spend part of the days during Ramadan studying the Noble Qur'an.
Many men perform i`tikaf (spiritual retreat), spending the last 10 days of the month exclusively in the mosque.
Unity
The ECFR urged Muslims worldwide to adopt astronomical calculations in defining the start of the holy fasting month.
"Astronomy is a modern science that reached a great level of accuracy in determining the start and end of lunar months.
"So we urge European Muslims to adopt it in determining the start of lunar months, particularly Ramadan and Shawwal, to help people do their religious duties.
"We also ask mosque officials and scholars in all Muslim countries to respect the clear-cut results of the astronomical calculations to help unify Muslims worldwide."
The first day of Ramadan and moon sighting have always been a controversial issue among Muslim countries, and even scholars seem at odds over the issue.
While one group of scholars sees that Muslims in other regions and countries are to follow the same moon sighting as long as these countries share one part of the night, another states that Muslims everywhere should abide by the lunar calendar of Saudi Arabia.
A third, however, disputes both views, arguing that the authority in charge of ascertaining the sighting of the moon in a given country announces the sighting of the new moon, then Muslims in the country should all abide by this.
This usually causes confusion among Muslims, particularly in the West, on observing the dawn-to-dusk fasting and celebrating the `Eid Al-Fitr, which marks the end of fasting.
Nine Assam students punished for ragging, tough action hailed
By IANS,
Guwahati: The Dibrugarh University has decided to crack the whip on ragging by expelling a post graduate student and penalizing eight more with varying degrees of punishment, including fines - a move hailed by influential student bodies in Assam Sunday
"We are in favour of eradicating ragging from educational institutions and hence welcome the Dibrugarh University's decision to punish errant students found involved in ragging of juniors," Joy Prakash Das, president of the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Congress party, told IANS.
In a path-breaking decision, the university Friday night announced the expulsion of Madhav Kachari, a post graduate Commerce student, besides debarring him from seeking admission to any other institution.
Another post graduate student of the History department, Manash Pratim Gogoi, has been expelled from the university for two straight terms, besides a fine of Rs.10,000.
Similarly, seven more students, including two girls, were penalized with punishment ranging from expulsion from their respective hostels and fine of up to Rs.20,000. The university also decided to cancel any merit scholarship availed by the errant students.
The tough action was initiated following written complaints against the nine students to the vice chancellor by junior students alleging "mental torture" bordering on obscenity.
"We have taken the decision after an enquiry committed instituted to probe the ragging charges found the accused students guilty. We are adopting a zero tolerance policy when it comes to ragging inside the university," said K.K. Deka, Vice Chancellor of Dibrugarh University.
Meanwhile, the All Assam Students' Union (AASU), urged authorities of all educational institutions to take firm action while dealing with students found involved in ragging.
"Let us make it very clear that there should be no compromise when it comes to taking action on students found involved in ragging. Authorities of educational institutions should deal with the menace of ragging with a firm hand," AASU adviser Sammujjal Bhattacharya said.
On Aug 9, a first year graduatuion student of Dimoria College in Sonapur, on the outskirts of Assam's main city of Guwahati, became the first casualty of ragging after he allegedly committed suicide Sunday by jumping in front of a speeding train.
Chintumoni Bordoloi was a student of Assamese major and had joined the college just three days earlier.
Investigations are on after both Bordoloi's family and the college authorities lodged separate police reports.
Guwahati: The Dibrugarh University has decided to crack the whip on ragging by expelling a post graduate student and penalizing eight more with varying degrees of punishment, including fines - a move hailed by influential student bodies in Assam Sunday
"We are in favour of eradicating ragging from educational institutions and hence welcome the Dibrugarh University's decision to punish errant students found involved in ragging of juniors," Joy Prakash Das, president of the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Congress party, told IANS.
In a path-breaking decision, the university Friday night announced the expulsion of Madhav Kachari, a post graduate Commerce student, besides debarring him from seeking admission to any other institution.
Another post graduate student of the History department, Manash Pratim Gogoi, has been expelled from the university for two straight terms, besides a fine of Rs.10,000.
Similarly, seven more students, including two girls, were penalized with punishment ranging from expulsion from their respective hostels and fine of up to Rs.20,000. The university also decided to cancel any merit scholarship availed by the errant students.
The tough action was initiated following written complaints against the nine students to the vice chancellor by junior students alleging "mental torture" bordering on obscenity.
"We have taken the decision after an enquiry committed instituted to probe the ragging charges found the accused students guilty. We are adopting a zero tolerance policy when it comes to ragging inside the university," said K.K. Deka, Vice Chancellor of Dibrugarh University.
Meanwhile, the All Assam Students' Union (AASU), urged authorities of all educational institutions to take firm action while dealing with students found involved in ragging.
"Let us make it very clear that there should be no compromise when it comes to taking action on students found involved in ragging. Authorities of educational institutions should deal with the menace of ragging with a firm hand," AASU adviser Sammujjal Bhattacharya said.
On Aug 9, a first year graduatuion student of Dimoria College in Sonapur, on the outskirts of Assam's main city of Guwahati, became the first casualty of ragging after he allegedly committed suicide Sunday by jumping in front of a speeding train.
Chintumoni Bordoloi was a student of Assamese major and had joined the college just three days earlier.
Investigations are on after both Bordoloi's family and the college authorities lodged separate police reports.
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