By IANS,
New Delhi : After many European and American universities, it's now the leading Japanese universities who are set to woo Indian students.
According to the Japanese embassy here, at least 13 major Japanese universities will participate in the "Study in Japan Fair".
"Many Japanese universities have degree courses which are offered fully in English and the foreign students can (pursue) bachelor, masters and PhD degrees without language barriers," the Japan Information Center here said about the forthcoming event.
The varsity officials will interact with prospective students and provide their consultations about opportunities in Japan. The fair will take place at Daulat Ram College of the Delhi University Jan 11.
Friday, January 08, 2010
Thursday, January 07, 2010
History of modern education among Malabar Muslims
By Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net
TCN Malabar series: Part 5
Not unlike Muslims of north India, Mappilas also lagged behind when it came to modern education. While there were some attempts made, some as early as a hundred years ago, it was not until a generation ago that major effort was made to link the community to modern education without losing the religious and cultural identity.
The reasons for distrusting western education were same as in the north. English was “the language of hell” and western education a “passport to hell.” As a result of this attitude Muslims were slow to adopt the new system of education and therefore their employment opportunities were also limited. Realizing that they were lagging behind, an effort was made with the establishment of Malabar Muslim Educational Association in 1911. Famous social reformer Vakkom Abdul Qadir Moulavi started the “All Travancore Muslim Mahajana Sabha” around the same time. The result of the leadership and awareness led to the opening of many schools by Muslims where there were no government schools in their areas. Madarasthul Muhammadiya in Parappil, Kozhikode is an example of one such school that was established by the Muslim themselves.
Madrasthul Muhammadiya was established in 1918 in Kozhikode which offers modern education
In 1948 Farook Colllege was established in Kozhikode, which played a valuable part in encouraging the Muslims towards higher education. Farook College was the first degree college established by the Muslims of Kerala.
Kerala had led all the Indian states in making its population 100% literate. Obviously, Muslims have also benefitted from this campaign. In recent years, Muslims have made progress in leaps and bounds in the field of modern education. Until recently, this picture was not that rosy. In the 1940s only 42.5% of school-age Muslim boys and 23.3% of girls were enrolled.
The Kumara Pillai Commission in 1960s found that Kerala held the highest number of Muslims who have not completed primary education. Also, only 2.83 Muslims among per 1000 population were enrolled in Class 10th, this was lowest in the state. In 1970s, 13.3% of students who passed 10th class were Muslims, a big improvement but still much below their share in the population. This figure improved to 17.8% in 1990s.
Mappilas were recognized as a backward caste as early as 1894. The reservation benefit because of their backward status helped them get to the opportunities that were not available to Muslims of north India. This combined with the awareness about the importance of modern education led by social reformers has helped the community march forward and not be too far behind the rest of the state. But the problem of higher education is still there, because of the lure of easy gulf money, adequate numbers of Muslim students are still missing from higher education and professional courses.
Of course, the enlightened Muslim leadership of Kerala is aware of this problem. The organization that manages the largest number of madrasas in Kerala has also launched an engineering college. Samastha Kerala Jammiyyathul Ulama also runs a self-financing engineering college called MEA Engineering College named after the Muslim Educational Association. College is a co-educational institution with separate hostels for girls.
The Ernad Muslim Educational Association established the Mampad College in 1965 in Malappuram district. Later on, after the Muslim League came to power in the state and began to handle the education department, many Muslim colleges came to be established after 1967. The Calicut University was established in Malappuram district in 1968 due to the efforts of the Muslim League leader late CH Muhammed Koya who later became the one and only Muslim Chief Minister of the state for a brief period.
The Tirurangadi Orphanage was founded in the 1920s as an abode for the Mappilas orphaned by the great revolt of 1921 against the British. Later it became an important centre of education which now comprises of a first grade college, training school, hospital etc. The Jamiyathu Dawathul wa Tabligh Islami (JDT Islam) was established in Calicut in the early 1920s also for helping the orphans of the Revolt of 1921. This also has now grown into a centre of learning which includes Polytechnic College, Industrial Training Centre, Orphanage, etc. The JDT also runs a multi-specialty hospital. The Mukkam Muslim Orphanage near Calicut also is one of the pioneer centres of education which now includes a first grade college, training school, higher secondary school, orphanage etc. Since then a number of orphanages and associated other educational institutions have sprung up in various parts of Malabar.
A number of these young kids told me that they want to be police officers. This you will never hear from Muslim kids in north India. I was surprised and was told by Zubair bhai that this is because police here is held in high esteem.
The Muslim Education Society founded on 1964 by a small group of educated Muslim officials at Calicut is now the leading Muslim educational organization in the state as well as outside. The MES now runs a Medical College, an Engineering College, a number of first grade colleges affiliated to almost all universities in Kerala, schools affiliated to CBSE, ICSE and state syllabi, many unaided women’s colleges, training colleges and schools, paramaedical colleges etc not only in Kerala but other states and abroad.
The Kerala Muslim Educational Association based in Kochi runs an engineering college, a polytechnic college and other institutions. The Unity Women’s College, Manjeri, run by the Muslim Educational and Cultural Association is the one and only aided Muslim women’s college in Kerala affiliated to the University of Calicut. It was established in 1991.
Several educational trusts like the Association for the Welfare of the Handicapped (AWH), the Kunhitharuvai Memorial Charitable Trust (KMCT), etc run many institutions including engineering, medical and paramedical colleges.
Throughout Malabar, wherever there is Muslim concentration, one can see educational institutions from kindergarten to post graduate level run by various organizations and trusts.
Links:
http://www.meskerala.com/
http://www.awhonline.com/
http://www.universityofcalicut.info/
http://www.farookcollege.ac.in/
http://www.meaengg.in/
(with inputs from Najiya O. in Kerala)
http://twocircles.net/2010jan06/history_modern_education_among_malabar_muslims.html
TCN Malabar series: Part 5
Not unlike Muslims of north India, Mappilas also lagged behind when it came to modern education. While there were some attempts made, some as early as a hundred years ago, it was not until a generation ago that major effort was made to link the community to modern education without losing the religious and cultural identity.
The reasons for distrusting western education were same as in the north. English was “the language of hell” and western education a “passport to hell.” As a result of this attitude Muslims were slow to adopt the new system of education and therefore their employment opportunities were also limited. Realizing that they were lagging behind, an effort was made with the establishment of Malabar Muslim Educational Association in 1911. Famous social reformer Vakkom Abdul Qadir Moulavi started the “All Travancore Muslim Mahajana Sabha” around the same time. The result of the leadership and awareness led to the opening of many schools by Muslims where there were no government schools in their areas. Madarasthul Muhammadiya in Parappil, Kozhikode is an example of one such school that was established by the Muslim themselves.
Madrasthul Muhammadiya was established in 1918 in Kozhikode which offers modern education
In 1948 Farook Colllege was established in Kozhikode, which played a valuable part in encouraging the Muslims towards higher education. Farook College was the first degree college established by the Muslims of Kerala.
Kerala had led all the Indian states in making its population 100% literate. Obviously, Muslims have also benefitted from this campaign. In recent years, Muslims have made progress in leaps and bounds in the field of modern education. Until recently, this picture was not that rosy. In the 1940s only 42.5% of school-age Muslim boys and 23.3% of girls were enrolled.
The Kumara Pillai Commission in 1960s found that Kerala held the highest number of Muslims who have not completed primary education. Also, only 2.83 Muslims among per 1000 population were enrolled in Class 10th, this was lowest in the state. In 1970s, 13.3% of students who passed 10th class were Muslims, a big improvement but still much below their share in the population. This figure improved to 17.8% in 1990s.
Mappilas were recognized as a backward caste as early as 1894. The reservation benefit because of their backward status helped them get to the opportunities that were not available to Muslims of north India. This combined with the awareness about the importance of modern education led by social reformers has helped the community march forward and not be too far behind the rest of the state. But the problem of higher education is still there, because of the lure of easy gulf money, adequate numbers of Muslim students are still missing from higher education and professional courses.
Of course, the enlightened Muslim leadership of Kerala is aware of this problem. The organization that manages the largest number of madrasas in Kerala has also launched an engineering college. Samastha Kerala Jammiyyathul Ulama also runs a self-financing engineering college called MEA Engineering College named after the Muslim Educational Association. College is a co-educational institution with separate hostels for girls.
The Ernad Muslim Educational Association established the Mampad College in 1965 in Malappuram district. Later on, after the Muslim League came to power in the state and began to handle the education department, many Muslim colleges came to be established after 1967. The Calicut University was established in Malappuram district in 1968 due to the efforts of the Muslim League leader late CH Muhammed Koya who later became the one and only Muslim Chief Minister of the state for a brief period.
The Tirurangadi Orphanage was founded in the 1920s as an abode for the Mappilas orphaned by the great revolt of 1921 against the British. Later it became an important centre of education which now comprises of a first grade college, training school, hospital etc. The Jamiyathu Dawathul wa Tabligh Islami (JDT Islam) was established in Calicut in the early 1920s also for helping the orphans of the Revolt of 1921. This also has now grown into a centre of learning which includes Polytechnic College, Industrial Training Centre, Orphanage, etc. The JDT also runs a multi-specialty hospital. The Mukkam Muslim Orphanage near Calicut also is one of the pioneer centres of education which now includes a first grade college, training school, higher secondary school, orphanage etc. Since then a number of orphanages and associated other educational institutions have sprung up in various parts of Malabar.
A number of these young kids told me that they want to be police officers. This you will never hear from Muslim kids in north India. I was surprised and was told by Zubair bhai that this is because police here is held in high esteem.
The Muslim Education Society founded on 1964 by a small group of educated Muslim officials at Calicut is now the leading Muslim educational organization in the state as well as outside. The MES now runs a Medical College, an Engineering College, a number of first grade colleges affiliated to almost all universities in Kerala, schools affiliated to CBSE, ICSE and state syllabi, many unaided women’s colleges, training colleges and schools, paramaedical colleges etc not only in Kerala but other states and abroad.
The Kerala Muslim Educational Association based in Kochi runs an engineering college, a polytechnic college and other institutions. The Unity Women’s College, Manjeri, run by the Muslim Educational and Cultural Association is the one and only aided Muslim women’s college in Kerala affiliated to the University of Calicut. It was established in 1991.
Several educational trusts like the Association for the Welfare of the Handicapped (AWH), the Kunhitharuvai Memorial Charitable Trust (KMCT), etc run many institutions including engineering, medical and paramedical colleges.
Throughout Malabar, wherever there is Muslim concentration, one can see educational institutions from kindergarten to post graduate level run by various organizations and trusts.
Links:
http://www.meskerala.com/
http://www.awhonline.com/
http://www.universityofcalicut.info/
http://www.farookcollege.ac.in/
http://www.meaengg.in/
(with inputs from Najiya O. in Kerala)
http://twocircles.net/2010jan06/history_modern_education_among_malabar_muslims.html
AUDF condemns Chidambaram’s Jihad comment
By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: Assam United Democratic Front has condemned Union Home Minister P Chidambaram for equating Jihad with terrorism, and demanded immediate clarification from him.
While addressing Intelligence Bureau officials in New Delhi on December 23, Chidambaram had made the statement. In his speech he had termed Crusades as traditional war but Jihad terrorism. The statement has gathered wide criticism from the Muslim leaders and organizations.
Spokesperson of AUDF in Maharashtra, Burhanuddin Qasmi said that what Chidambaram said was not expected from a man like him who is know for secularism and integrity. Qasmi said Chidambaram should clarify his position on the issue.
New Delhi: Assam United Democratic Front has condemned Union Home Minister P Chidambaram for equating Jihad with terrorism, and demanded immediate clarification from him.
While addressing Intelligence Bureau officials in New Delhi on December 23, Chidambaram had made the statement. In his speech he had termed Crusades as traditional war but Jihad terrorism. The statement has gathered wide criticism from the Muslim leaders and organizations.
Spokesperson of AUDF in Maharashtra, Burhanuddin Qasmi said that what Chidambaram said was not expected from a man like him who is know for secularism and integrity. Qasmi said Chidambaram should clarify his position on the issue.
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
From Africa Persecution to MI5 Harassment
IslamOnline.net & Newspapers
CAIRO – Fleeing persecution in Somalia, Isahaq Elmi says he suffered a new chapter in Britain, this time at the hand of MI5 agents who allegedly harassed him into spying on fellow Muslims.
"I thought I was safe after I was granted asylum in 2006 but since the visits and phone calls from MI5 my life has fallen apart," Elmi told The Independent on Tuesday, January 5.
He claims to have received more than 200 phone calls from MI5 agents who tried to force him to turn into an informer.
Met with outright rejection, the British intelligence agents allegedly threatened Elmi with words that echo in his ear and send jolts of fear into his body.
"One way or another we are going to get you," he recalls being told by one MI5 officer.
The first episode of Elmi’s nightmare started in March 2009 after visiting his mother in Kenya.
On his return to Heathrow he was approached by anti-terror police officers who questioned him and took a DNA sample.
They threatened to detain him and grilled him for three hours before releasing him.
Two months later Elmi was contacted by an agent called Jahil who wanted to discuss his detention at Heathrow.
"They phoned me nearly every day for two months," lamented Elmi, a community worker with no criminal record.
He finally agreed to meet the MI5 men at a police station, where they said they wanted him to work as an informant in Mogadishu.
"I said I had no information. After all, I hadn't been to Somalia for 10 years," he recalls.
"But they still said I could help and could work for them. But I said I already had a job and didn't want to spy on my friends and neighbors."
Met with firm rejection, the British intelligence officer reportedly threatened Elmi with words that still echo in his ears and send jolts of fear into his body.
"It was the one called Jahil. I told him that I never wanted to see him again. Jahil began shouting, he said, 'One way or another we are going to get you.'"
Victimized
Just like Elmi, Ahmed Diini, a Dutch citizen who has settled in Britain, says he was also bombarded with phone calls and threatened with detention under Britain’s Terrorism Act.
The 21-year-old, who came to Europe when he was three, was also visited by agents at the Birmingham school where he worked and threatened with arrest.
When Diini went on holiday he was twice detained at British airports while his wife was harassed by a female MI5 officer while shopping at an airport.
"I have to live with the fact that I won't be able to travel somewhere without being stopped for a minimum of two hours and being seen as a criminal, since the people around me in the queue don't get stopped but I am the only one that gets picked on."
The young Muslim accuses MI5 agents of turning his wrecking his life.
"My wife also became angry because I hadn't told her about the problems with MI5 before we married," he says.
"I personally got morally and mentally affected since I am being victimized."
This is not the first time the MI5 faces accusations of using intimidation tactics to recruit Muslim informers.
Last year The Independent reported five cases in London where young Somali men complained of similar harassment by the MI5.
But the government denies any wrong doing.
"The Security Service operates within the law," a spokeswoman for the Home Office told the daily.
"If anyone feels they have been unfairly treated then there are clear procedures for asking the investigatory powers commissioner, who is a senior judge, to investigate any complaints."
CAIRO – Fleeing persecution in Somalia, Isahaq Elmi says he suffered a new chapter in Britain, this time at the hand of MI5 agents who allegedly harassed him into spying on fellow Muslims.
"I thought I was safe after I was granted asylum in 2006 but since the visits and phone calls from MI5 my life has fallen apart," Elmi told The Independent on Tuesday, January 5.
He claims to have received more than 200 phone calls from MI5 agents who tried to force him to turn into an informer.
Met with outright rejection, the British intelligence agents allegedly threatened Elmi with words that echo in his ear and send jolts of fear into his body.
"One way or another we are going to get you," he recalls being told by one MI5 officer.
The first episode of Elmi’s nightmare started in March 2009 after visiting his mother in Kenya.
On his return to Heathrow he was approached by anti-terror police officers who questioned him and took a DNA sample.
They threatened to detain him and grilled him for three hours before releasing him.
Two months later Elmi was contacted by an agent called Jahil who wanted to discuss his detention at Heathrow.
"They phoned me nearly every day for two months," lamented Elmi, a community worker with no criminal record.
He finally agreed to meet the MI5 men at a police station, where they said they wanted him to work as an informant in Mogadishu.
"I said I had no information. After all, I hadn't been to Somalia for 10 years," he recalls.
"But they still said I could help and could work for them. But I said I already had a job and didn't want to spy on my friends and neighbors."
Met with firm rejection, the British intelligence officer reportedly threatened Elmi with words that still echo in his ears and send jolts of fear into his body.
"It was the one called Jahil. I told him that I never wanted to see him again. Jahil began shouting, he said, 'One way or another we are going to get you.'"
Victimized
Just like Elmi, Ahmed Diini, a Dutch citizen who has settled in Britain, says he was also bombarded with phone calls and threatened with detention under Britain’s Terrorism Act.
The 21-year-old, who came to Europe when he was three, was also visited by agents at the Birmingham school where he worked and threatened with arrest.
When Diini went on holiday he was twice detained at British airports while his wife was harassed by a female MI5 officer while shopping at an airport.
"I have to live with the fact that I won't be able to travel somewhere without being stopped for a minimum of two hours and being seen as a criminal, since the people around me in the queue don't get stopped but I am the only one that gets picked on."
The young Muslim accuses MI5 agents of turning his wrecking his life.
"My wife also became angry because I hadn't told her about the problems with MI5 before we married," he says.
"I personally got morally and mentally affected since I am being victimized."
This is not the first time the MI5 faces accusations of using intimidation tactics to recruit Muslim informers.
Last year The Independent reported five cases in London where young Somali men complained of similar harassment by the MI5.
But the government denies any wrong doing.
"The Security Service operates within the law," a spokeswoman for the Home Office told the daily.
"If anyone feels they have been unfairly treated then there are clear procedures for asking the investigatory powers commissioner, who is a senior judge, to investigate any complaints."
US College Veil Ban Draws Fire
IslamOnline.net & Newspapers
CAIRO –- A Massachusetts college decision to bar the wearing of face veils is drawing fire from Muslim and non-Muslim civil rights groups as an illegal move that jeopardizes rights and targets religious freedom of Muslims in particular.
“It’s a very strange policy,’’ Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Washington-based civil liberties group the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told the Boston Globe on Wednesday, January 6.
“I don’t know where it came from. The only thing we can conclude is that it’s designed to specifically target Muslims.’’
The College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences issued a decision to banned students or others on its campuses from wearing clothing that obscures the face, including face veils and burqas worn by Muslim women.
College officials say that the rule, which went into effect January 1, is designed to promote safety and was imposed after a “periodic assessment of public safety policies’’ at the private college.
“This is another measure that public safety [officials at the college] wanted to implement to keep the campus safer,’’ Michael Ratty, a spokesman for the college, which has campuses in Boston, Worcester, and Manchester, N.H., said.
"It is not directed to any group or individual. It applies to all students and faculty."
But Muslims slammed the move as a form of religious discrimination for Muslims who believe they must cover their faces.
“I think they have two Muslim women wearing face veils, that made them feel uncomfortable and they had to do something about it,” said Hooper.
Even security activists like Jonathan Kassa, executive director of Security on Campus, a nonprofit that advocates for safer US college campuses, are not in favor of the rule, which they fear sacrificing rights in the name of security.
The majority of Muslim scholars believe that a woman is not obliged to cover her face but believe that it is up to women to decide whether to take on the face veil.
Illegal
Civil liberties groups and campus activists are also opposing the college decision as toeing the American constitution’s red-line of respecting religious freedoms.
It is “puzzling and possibly illegal,” Sarah Wunsch, staff attorney at the Massachusetts American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), told The Globe describing the new rule.
Hooper affirmed he had not heard of any similar policies adopted at any other US college.
He added that a minority of Muslims believe that wearing clothes that cover the face is required, but that stopping them from practicing their faith remains "un-American."
“If this went to court I would feel comfortable the women would prevail because of the legal precedent that has been set.”
CAIR says that the ban should have an exemption for those who wear face veils for religious reasons, as is the case with some Muslim women, so that not to jeopardize religious rights.
As the college’s the policy includes a medical exemption, it should also include a religious exemption, Hooper noted.
“People should have the right to practice their faith as they see fit, not as others see fit.”
CAIRO –- A Massachusetts college decision to bar the wearing of face veils is drawing fire from Muslim and non-Muslim civil rights groups as an illegal move that jeopardizes rights and targets religious freedom of Muslims in particular.
“It’s a very strange policy,’’ Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Washington-based civil liberties group the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told the Boston Globe on Wednesday, January 6.
“I don’t know where it came from. The only thing we can conclude is that it’s designed to specifically target Muslims.’’
The College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences issued a decision to banned students or others on its campuses from wearing clothing that obscures the face, including face veils and burqas worn by Muslim women.
College officials say that the rule, which went into effect January 1, is designed to promote safety and was imposed after a “periodic assessment of public safety policies’’ at the private college.
“This is another measure that public safety [officials at the college] wanted to implement to keep the campus safer,’’ Michael Ratty, a spokesman for the college, which has campuses in Boston, Worcester, and Manchester, N.H., said.
"It is not directed to any group or individual. It applies to all students and faculty."
But Muslims slammed the move as a form of religious discrimination for Muslims who believe they must cover their faces.
“I think they have two Muslim women wearing face veils, that made them feel uncomfortable and they had to do something about it,” said Hooper.
Even security activists like Jonathan Kassa, executive director of Security on Campus, a nonprofit that advocates for safer US college campuses, are not in favor of the rule, which they fear sacrificing rights in the name of security.
The majority of Muslim scholars believe that a woman is not obliged to cover her face but believe that it is up to women to decide whether to take on the face veil.
Illegal
Civil liberties groups and campus activists are also opposing the college decision as toeing the American constitution’s red-line of respecting religious freedoms.
It is “puzzling and possibly illegal,” Sarah Wunsch, staff attorney at the Massachusetts American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), told The Globe describing the new rule.
Hooper affirmed he had not heard of any similar policies adopted at any other US college.
He added that a minority of Muslims believe that wearing clothes that cover the face is required, but that stopping them from practicing their faith remains "un-American."
“If this went to court I would feel comfortable the women would prevail because of the legal precedent that has been set.”
CAIR says that the ban should have an exemption for those who wear face veils for religious reasons, as is the case with some Muslim women, so that not to jeopardize religious rights.
As the college’s the policy includes a medical exemption, it should also include a religious exemption, Hooper noted.
“People should have the right to practice their faith as they see fit, not as others see fit.”
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