Afghan girl trying to study during shoe polishing to earn money for her education. The seeking of knowledge is obligatory for every Muslim .

Afghan girl trying to study during shoe polishing to earn money for her education.
 The seeking of knowledge is obligatory for every Muslim .

Holidaying the ‘Halal’ way: Egyptian travel agency offers Sharia tourism

Flicking through brochure pages which brandish the appeal of holiday resorts could be the most leisurely way for many to pick and plan their time away.

But Muslims in Egypt are now being encouraged to consider something more weighty on the sidelines – how to take a vacation which follows the rules and laws of Islam.

A new Cairo-based travel operator, “Shouq Travel,” is hoping to tap into the global Muslim tourism boom with a new initiative encouraging Muslims to arrange their vacations in accordance to Sharia (Islamic) law.

The operator, a first of its kind in Egypt, was initiated by a team of Egyptian businessmen, who seek to provide Sharia tourism by organizing holidays for customers who must stay in special hotels and visit specific tourist sites.

A statement on the operator’s website said “Family Tourism” is accommodated through the practices of “Halal tourism,” which includes: “Organizing family trips that agrees with our traditions, our Egyptian culture and our el-Sharia teachings. We are dealing with a large number of hotels that provide Halal meat … and do not present alcoholic beverages on board, or pork.”

The site also said that the operator provides other alternatives for Muslim women, who wear full Islamic clothing, such as “covered swimming pools or other places reserved only for women.”

Female visitors to the sites are required to wear modest clothes and may only be accompanied by a first-degree relative.

Shouq Travel organizes trips across Egypt as well as Hajj pilgrimage tours in Saudi Arabia, with the added feature of cultural and religious seminars for adults.

Egypt, a country which has witnessed Islamists gain political momentum since the overthrow of the former regime in the 2011 mass uprising, has seen an influx of Islam-inspired projects.

A niqab-only TV channel in Egypt recently launched on the first day of the month of Ramadan earlier in July, employs only women in niqab, even for behind-the-camera jobs.

But the tourism industry has boomed for Muslim travel worldwide.

From halal spas to prayer rooms at airport terminals, the global tourism industry is gearing up for a projected boom in Muslim travel over the next decade, experts say.

Spending by Muslim tourists is growing faster than the global rate and is forecast to reach $192 billion a year by 2020, up from $126 billion in 2011, according to a study conducted in 47 countries by Singapore-based halal travel specialist Crescentrating, along with Dinar Standard, a U.S.-based firm that tracks the Muslim lifestyle market.

‘Australia can be beaten’

What a fight back from Pakistan! They believed in each other and displayed great fighting spirit to earn three points against South Africa and remain in the hunt for the semi-finals. The last seven minutes of the game showed what Pakistan hockey is truly capable of, and scoring two goals in the dying minutes of the game was a great testament to their never-say-die attitude.

The start of the match, once again, was not ideal for Pakistan as South Africa managed a lead with just 1:37 on the clock. Pakistan sprung into action after that and upped the ante considerably. They managed to come back from being goals down on several occasions and that aspect of their game was particularly laudable.

They were very organized in the full press and even in half-court press. Waseem Ahmad is no doubt having a great tournament so far but it was heartening to see Fareed Ahmed step up too and provide the midfield with the much-needed impetus. He had an outstanding game. It was also great to see Haseem Khan scoring two goals and assisting two. Muhammad Rizwan (Sr) showed great skills on the left side. Muhammad Imran played like a mature defender and with him captain Sohail Abbas led from the front in the back. Communication was excellent in the front line when going for full press but Pakistan need to consistent throughout the match. They were good in patches and seemed to take the foot off the pedal on several occasions thus giving South Africa the chance to equalize.

Pakistan will need to keep their composure to avoid getting carded. It cost them against South Africa and against Australia it may open the gates. Once again Pakistan did not employ any indirect variation of PCs which was shocking to say the least. Another shocker was goal-keeper Imran Shah’s performance. He should thank his teammates who scored five goals otherwise his pathetic effort would have been in the limelight. He needs to be stable under the bars.

Overall, it was a very good and important victory for Pakistan but they cannot afford to miss easy chances anymore.

Mighty but not invincible

Australia are the top-ranked team in the world and though they are beatable, there is no doubt that they pose the biggest challenge for all participating teams. They have been very consistent for the last few years and have won all major events in the lead-up to the Games. They have some outstanding players like Jamie Dwyer, Eddie Ockenden and Mark Knowles and the most successful coach in the world in Ric Charlesworth. Australia are renowned for playing  very fast hockey and are very dangerous in the first and last 15 minutes of the game and normally score in this period. They solely play pressure hockey – their PC attack has not been good so far but they use lot of variations on the top of the circle. Christopher Ciriello is their main drag flicker and his favorite angles, the top left and bottom right, will really test Imran Shah. They have good first runners in PC defense and their defenders and midfielders connect seamlessly. Very famous for quick restarts, they can make the opponents pay dearly. After making a great start to the tournament, the last two games have seen them struggling somewhat. Great Britain came from 3-0 down to draw against them but the 2-2 draw against Argentina was the real upset of the Olympics.

It may seem they are having trouble holding their lead but they will definitely go for goals. There is great understanding between their strikers and the buildup to their attack involves the midfield. Pakistan should watch out for high balls as the Kookaburras move very well in the deep zone. They are very good in covering the second post and score a lot of goals like that.

Australia will most definitely be on the lookout for goals to close out their opponents and will play hard-hitting hockey in the Pakistani defense to get PCs and deflections in front of the goal mouth.

Hold fort and reap the rewards

As I said earlier, Australia can be beaten. Pakistan have always contested well against Australia and beat them in front of their home crowd in Perth last year in a 4-nation event. Pakistan should start with half-court press and try to hold them in the first 15 minutes which will irritate the Aussies. Pakistan have to show great patience and should realise that they will get plenty of scoring opportunities in the 70 minutes.

The Greenshirts should not try to beat the Aussie defense with individual skill but go on the offense as a unit as their defenders are very good in one-on-one situations. Pakistan have to be at their best in counter control as the world champions are very fast in turn overs. Communication will be key.

Pakistan will have to keep the Australian midfield under constant pressure to stop them from generating attacks and its defense will have to be at its best. For goal-keeper Imran Shah, this is a great opportunity to prove all the critics wrong and he should be aiming to be the hero for his country. Shah should put what’s happened in the tournament so far behind him and stand under the bars with a big heart.

Pakistan’s midfield should not hold the ball much and instead deliver it quickly as the Aussies love to put pressure in that area of the pitch to create goal-scoring opportunities.

Waseem and Fareed have been doing a great job in this department and they should keep improving

Welcome to the new Great Game

North Africa and Central Asia seem to share the same ills: dictatorships, widespread corruption, poverty, high youth unemployment, total media control and very limited political space for any opposition.

No wonder the initial thrust of the Arab Spring in North Africa – a popular struggle for democracy – scared the hell out of most governments along the Silk Road. More than democracy, what they saw was the spectre of Islamisation. Thus the blocking of Facebook and Twitter, the set-up of made-in-China internet filters – coupled with the absence of a pan-Central Asian broadcaster in the Al Jazeera model to spread the word.

Central Asian strongmen have reasons to look back in anger – and dread – to what’s happening in Egypt and Syria. Islam Karimov in Uzbekistan and Nursultan Nazarbayev in Kazakhstan have each been in power for 21 years now. Emomalii Rakhmon in Tajikistan has been president since the country’s bloody civil war during the 1990s.

True, there was a political transition in Turkmenistan in 2007, when the flamboyant Saparmurad Niyazov died. But the snake continued to behave the same way under the new leader, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov.

The most complex case is Kyrgyzstan, which went through the dodgy 2005 Tulip Revolution and the 2010 anti-Tulip Revolution. It is now a multi-party parliamentary republic, but still mired in poverty, a serious schism between north and south, and the ethnic minefield of the Ferghana Valley.

Elsewhere, cosmetic reforms prevail. Parliament is slightly less cartoonish under Karimov – as it should be, in theory, under Nazarbayev.

But forget about free and fair elections, independent media and real multi-party debate. Uzbekistan could easily become a Central Asian Syria, with a civil war involving the Karimov system, the army, the radical, Taliban-aligned Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and the secular opposition. As for the porous Tajik-Afghan border, it remains a glittering attraction for radical Islam.

Get me to my base on time

Central Asia is crucial because it’s at the heart of Eurasia – and thus at the heart of the New Great Game, essentially pitting the US against Russia and China, with assorted minor players such as Iran, Turkey and Pakistan.

When it comes to hardcore New Great Game power plays, democracy is not even an afterthought. Washington seems to give the impression that Central Asia is a Russian – and also Chinese – zone of influence. Not really. Few prospects are more enticing for the US intelligence establishment than US military bases all across Central Asia.

Officials in Uzbekistan’s capital left the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) in late June. The CSTO is a ten-year-old politico-military forum comprising Russia, Belarus, Armenia and, until this defection, the five Central Asian “stans”.

__________________ STOP GENOCIDE OF BURMA MUSLIMS MUSLIM MARRIAGE HUMAN APPEAL INTERNATIONAL DESIGN AND PRINT CATEGORIES 150,000 people have iftar at UAE mosque

Around 150,000 people had iftar at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the largest mosque in the UAE, in the second week of the holy month of Ramadan.

The mosque was built in memory of late UAE president Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

Around 20,000 iftar meals are given out daily at the mosque.

The iftar project launched at the mosque in 2004 has become a social and cultural forum that brings together people from across the country.

US Mosque destroyed in arson attack

An Islamic community center in Joplin, Missouri burned to the ground early Monday morning. It was the second fire the center had faced in about a month.

It follows a July 4 arson at the Islamic Society of Joplin that caused only minor damage, but sparked an FBI investigation – and a $15,000 reward for tips leading to charges relating to the blaze.

The fire that destroyed the mosque and community center was reported at about 3:30 am local time Monday, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office said.

The center’s imam was in the building until late Sunday night, and told Yahoo! News that he was “sad and shocked” about the fire that destroyed his place of work and worship.

“Nothing can be saved,” Imam Lahmuddin said Monday. “But since we are people of faith, we just can remember that this is a thing that happened because God let it happen, and we have to be patient, particularly in the month of Ramadan, control our emotions, our anger.”

No injuries were reported in the fire, and no charges have been filed. The FBI has opened an investigation, and will try to determine whether it was caused by arson, according to bureau spokeswoman Bridgett Patton.

The FBI had also investigated a 2008 incident in which the center’s sign was set on fire. As with the July arson, that investigation also hit a dead end. And though last month’s failed attempt to burn the building down was caught on camera, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said the center’s security cameras were destroyed in the Monday fire.

Meanwhile, the Council on American­ Islamic Relations is calling for increased police protection at houses of worship across the country following the Joplin fire and the deadly attack on a Sikh temple in Wisconsin the day before. The Washington-based advocacy group has also put up $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever set the Joplin fire.

The Islamic Society of Joplin opened in 2007 as a mosque and community center, and boasts a membership of about 50 families. According to Lahmuddin, the center’s members are integral members of the Joplin community, many of them working as doctors at local hospitals.

On Sunday, a Sikh temple in a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin came under siege when a gunman opened fire in the parking lot, then took hostages once inside the building. Some reports speculate that alleged neo-Nazi Wade Michael Page, the gunman in the Wisconsin attack, had confused the Sikhs for Muslims.

Hashim Amla – as good as gold

Hashim Amla – as good as gold

Reaching a landmark is a special thing. And watching one being achieved in front of your own eyes is an experience in itself. At The Oval on the third day of the first Test of the series, the South African captain Graeme Smith was one who scored a hundred (131) and that too playing in his 100th Test and in the process adding a record 259 for the second wicket against England with Hashim Amla.

Unbeaten at 183 on Saturday, Amla too had reached the landmark of being the first South African to make a triple century in Tests, surpassing his team-mate A.B. de Villiers’ 278 not out in the process which was the highest by a South African, scored against Pakistan in 2011 in the Abu Dhabi Test.

Smith, with his feat, joined those six batsmen before him who achieved that distinction of making a century in their 100th Test. The first being the former England captain Colin Cowdrey at Edgbaston in 1968 against Australia.

The list also includes two Pakistanis, Javed Miandad and Inzamam-ul-Haq who both achieved it against India — at Lahore in 1989 and in Bangalore in 2005 — respectively. Both were in their own class.

I am lucky to have watched live four of those centuries in 100th Test matches, that of Miandad, Inzamam, Alec Stewart and now Smith’s.

And now it is Amla who has re-written the record books with a mammoth score that was not only brilliant in its accumulation but also a very disciplined one in nature.

Smith’s innings, though robust in character, was in a way ungainly compared to the brilliant effort of his partner Hashim Amla, the first player of Indian descent to play for South Africa in Tests.

Before 1991 it was unthinkable to have seen a non-white player playing for South Africa at any sports. Their policy of ‘apartheid’ did not allow them to include any other player than a white man, a policy run by their National Party which eventually resulted in the country losing its status and thus were thrown out of the ICC in 1970, before being brought back into the fold when Nelson Mandela was released from Robben Island prison after 27 years and apartheid had to be abolished.

That opened the door for sportsmen of South Africa to be a part of the outfit. Had it not happened, we may not have seen the likes of Makhaya Ntini, Herschelle Gibbs, Ashwell Prince, Paul Adams and now players like J.P. Duminy and Vernon Philander.

Amongst them, white or non-white, Amla holds a special place being the golden boy of batting for his country. His grandparents had come to South Africa from Surat in the Indian state of Gujrat as indentured workers to settle down in Durban in Natal in the KwaZulu land which, outside India, the area holds the biggest number of people of Indian origin.

Hooked on the game from schooldays, both Amla and his elder brother Ahmed Amla made their debut in first-class cricket for Natal.

Although his brother did not make it to the top, Hashim did.

From disappointment to despair at early stages during his career, he did settle down first as under-19 World Cup captain and then as a senior team player. His Test debut was insignificant against India at Kolkata in 2004-05 but he soon found form and poised to make four hundreds in eight innings in 2004-05 domestic season.

Amla’s second Test series against New Zealand really launched him among the emerging players on the circuit. And not much later he churned up 307 runs in three Tests against India with 159 as his best at Chennai.

Hylton Ackerman, a Western Province and South African international who was a coach alongside me in Holland in the 1970s, had spotted Amla as a talent who he thought could go miles.

Australian Test batsman Dean Jones still regrets calling him a terrorist during his commentary against Sri Lanka for Ten Sports. Being bearded and a devout Muslim, Amla did not react. The TV channel took Jones off from the commentary team for his derogatory remark but Amla did not retaliate. Jones later apologised to him for his slip of tongue.

Amla in life is as straight as his bat which, when he is on song, moves like a rapier with strokes flowing with clinical precision from it as he plays back to force the ball on both sides of the wicket or when lunging forward to drive imperiously through covers and through mid-wicket and mid-on.

He is made in the classical mode and well in line to lead his country whenever the mantle shifts. Watching him bat is an experience in itself.

In 2008 his double century at Lord’s was a sight to watch and with two Tests still to go in this series, he may turn out to be the star attraction of the visitors once again.

A standing ovation by the packed capacity crowd at The Oval and his own dignified way of acknowledging the applause with a raised bat spoke a thousand words. And the innings triumph that finally came on the fifth day for his team was a befitting present for his magnificent effort with the bat.