Al-Jamarat...The Rest of the Story!

Aishah Schwartz
January 13, 2006

Yes, it is true, on January 12, 2006, many Hajj pilgrims died in a stampede at Mina, Saudi Arabia. Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajoon. But what will it take for the truth of Islam to prevail? It's as easy as the click of a mouse button running a query on the terms "rituals of hajj", and in some cases even easier to tap into pre-existing research, as in the case of CBS.

For anyone reporting on Islam it would seem that the basics are known, or that is to say, easily known; the basic's being that Islam is based on 5 pillars. Hajj being the fifth pillar, Al-Jamarat, or stoning, being a part of the Hajj process.

What is disturbing to me, yet again, is the fact that although accurate information pertaining to hajj is readily available, and in some cases even already a part of past record, print media has once again misrepresented information with regard to Islam.

The miscarriage of information is disseminated through the Associated Press (AP) and subsequently delivered through two of the most 'reliable' sources of news and information, as is hammered into the minds of listeners and readers through various corporate slogans:

ABC News

"America's #1 Broadcasting Company"
"America's Favorite Network"
"More Americans get their news from ABC News than from any other source"

and

CBS News

"America's Most Watched Network"
"Everybody's Watching CBS"

Now, it might seem like small potatoes to some, but there is a distinct difference between what the news has reported and the truth with the most recent case of dissemination of misinformation about Islam.

First Case in Point

In the AP story distributed through ABC News Misplaced Bag, Haste Led to Hajj Stampede, not only in the third paragraph, but also in the story's accompanying picture is found the following text, with regard to the purpose of al-Jamarat or as referred to in the article, the 'stone throwing ritual':

In the stoning ritual, all pilgrims must pelt a series of three pillars called al-Jamarat, which represent the devil, to purge themselves of sin. (Third paragraph of story)

The stampede occurred as tens of thousands of pilgrims headed toward al-Jamarat, a series of three pillars representing the devil that the faithful pelt with stones to purge themselves of sin. (Picture caption with article)

Second Case in Point

In another version of the AP story Stampede Kills 345 at Hajj Ritual circulated via CBS News we have the following:

In the stoning ritual, all the pilgrims must pass by a series of three pillars called al-Jamarat, which represent the devil and which the faithful pelt with stones to purge themselves of sin. (Fourth paragraph)

Interestingly enough, a CBSNews.com interactive slideshow provides the following, which correctly states:

"In Mina, the stones are tossed at three stone pillars in a symbolic rejection of Satan."

The Fundamentals of Islam - Click on the third link for "Hajj" and then click on the number "5" for Mina and you get the exact text.

Third Case in Point

The organization that ran the story from which other news organizations obtained copy: The Associated Press (AP).

Q. How many people hear or read an AP story?

Depending on whether the story ran on the state, national or international wires, more than a billion people may read, hear or see news from The Associated Press. (AP FAQ's)

Ethics and Principles: The good newspaper is fair, accurate, honest, responsible, independent and decent. Truth is its guiding principle. (Associated Press Managing Editors' (APME) Statement of Ethical Principles)

The newspaper should guard against inaccuracies, carelessness, bias or distortion through emphasis, omission or technological manipulation.
(Associated Press Managing Editors' (APME) Statement of Ethical Principles)

"…we abhor inaccuracies, carelessness, bias or distortions." (AP Statement of News Values and Principles 11/29/05)

In this age of instant information, anyone with a discerning eye can ferret out the truth with just a few strokes at a keyboard. Would it not behoove those who claim to be the most watched, listened to and trusted, and who aspire to uphold accuracy and responsibility as primary principles in the course of business, to let the information disseminated through their collective outlets reflect truth and accuracy to the best of their capabilities, to include their reporting on Islam and Muslims?

It would appear instead that for the purposes of the 'powers that be' behind organizations like AP, ABC and CBS that perpetuating an impression to the world that Muslims are a silly lot who think that throwing a handful of pebbles at a pillar will purge them of their sins, when the truth is that the actions of al-Jamarat are those of religious symbolism not mockery.

Al-Jamarat is the ritual commemoration of Ibrahim's (Abraham) stoning of Satan when the latter tried to tempt him to disobey Allah, which doesn't even come close to the reported statements that the purpose of throwing the pebbles is to purge one from sins.

Guess what AP, ABC and CBS? Muslims abhor inaccuracies, carelessness, bias and distortions too.

Related: Heaven…The Rest of the Story

Image © 20th Century Fox

Copyright © 2005 Aishah Schwartz
Permission is granted to circulate among private individuals and groups, to post on Internet sites and to publish in full text and subject title in not-for-profit publications. Contact author for all other rights, which are reserved.

Saudi Woman Poet Honored

JEDDAH, 16 January 2006 — The Forum of Young Global Leaders, an affiliate of the World Economic Forum, announced yesterday that internationally acclaimed poet and writer Nimah Ismail Nawwab has been named a Young Global Leader. Nimah Nawwab, born in Malaysia to Makkawi parents, is one of 16 new Young Global Leaders from the Middle East and North Africa, and will join a global community now including 410 leaders from all regions and stakeholder groups.

The Forum of Young Global Leaders’ Nomination Committee chose the 2006 selected members from among 3,500 candidates.

Featuring 28 international media leaders, including Carl-Johan Bonnier of Bonnier AB in Sweden, Arthur Sulzberger, the publisher of the New York Times, Tom Glocer, chief executive of Reuters, and Rui Chenggang, director and anchor of China Central Television. Queen Rania of Jordan chairs the committee.

The 2006 Class of Young Global Leaders includes over 60 business leaders, more than 30 government leaders, and dozens of scholars, media and nongovernmental organization leaders. Nimah Nawwab joins a community representing 90 countries that includes Larry Page and Sergey Brin, co-founders of Google; Mikheil Saakashvili, president of Georgia; Daniela Mercury, singer, Brazil, and Michelle Guthrie, CEO, Star Group.

Established in 2004 by Klaus Schwab, executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, the Forum of Young Global Leaders is a unique, multi-stakeholder community of the world’s most extraordinary leaders who are ready to dedicate a part of their time and energy to jointly work toward a better future.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=76319&d=16&m=1&y=2006

Muslim American Activist Promotes Universal Standards for Human Rights at World Economic Forum

5-Day Summit Begins in Davos, Switzerland

By Aishah Schwartz
January 26, 2006

U.S. Newswire reports that Muslim American Society (MAS) Freedom Foundation Executive Director, Mahdi Bray, has joined world leaders, academicians, activists and economists from over 89 countries, in Davos, Switzerland, as an invited speaker for the 2006 Annual World Economic Forum (WEF).

The forum is designed as a platform for world leaders to brainstorm on key issues facing the globe.

Issues on the 2006 WEF agenda include escalating oil prices, Iran's nuclear ambitions, new business models and the shifting balance of power in Asia.

In a statement released Wednesday, Bray stated that central to his agenda is promoting the concept of universal standards for global human rights.

"We discuss issues concerning global economics and global terrorism, but little is said about universal standards for global justice," said Bray.

"It's my hope that the religious caucus of world leaders who are here would use their voices in concert to promote this important concept," he added.

Bray's talking points will more specifically focus on social and economic justice, especially among developing nations, human rights and global justice, the growth of Islamophobia in Europe, conflict resolution and arms proliferation in Africa, and U.S. relations towards the Muslim world.

As the WEF opened on Wednesday, South Africa lost forefront status to China and India as they touted booming economies to world business and political leaders.

Day one results were announced late in the day as WEF Founder and Executive Chairman, Klaus Schwab, signed an agreement with China to establish a WEF office in Beijing that will lead to an annual global industry summit in the Chinese capital as of 2007.

Schwab announced the agreement according to Asia news sources, saying, "We have chosen China for our Global Industry Summit because we believe China is well positioned to serve as a global hub for working with the next generation of corporate champions."

The announcement is made despite last September's report released by WEF chief economist, Augusto Lopez-Claros, stating that China needs to build up the institutional underpinnings of its economy to strengthen its competitiveness.

"It needs to improve the quality of its educational system and the delivery of improved public health services to the population. Education is key for developing the future innovation potential of the country and the challenges here are huge. There is also a large technology gap with respect to the more developed industrial economies; so the process of modernization will have to continue," he said.

Opponents of the summit, who claim it is merely a forum used by the "rich and powerful" to impose their own interests of power to the detriment of the Third World population, have gathered directly outside Davos. It is the first time in the 34-year history of the summit that demonstrations have been allowed at this proximity.

Protesters argue that the forum is merely a gathering of the elite and powerful, meeting to dictate political priorities and discuss big business deals, the consequence of which can be seen on a daily basis in the war against Iraq, the poverty and hunger in numerous countries of the developing South, the destruction of social security safety nets in the countries of the industrialized North, massive unemployment, environmental destruction and the unprecedented profits made by transitional corporations. Arguments, according to news sources, set forth by Iris Widmer of the Swiss affiliate offices of the Association for the Taxation of Financial Transactions for the Aid of Citizens (ATTAC).

Reports indicate that demonstrations in opposition of the WEF are expected to continue throughout the remainder of the week as protests migrate from Berne, the Swiss capital, to, Basel, St. Gallen, Lucerne, Chur, Thun and Lugano.

Founded in 1971, in Geneva, the WEF propagates a commitment to "improving the state of the world." Capitalists and activists, most of who are at odds with one another, seem to find some middle ground called compassionate capitalism and equitable globalization as they convene for the annual international forum.

The WEF is known as the most influential podium in the world, for which CEO's feverishly lobby to get tickets granting them the highly coveted status of guest speaker.

The Freedom Foundation is the public affairs arm of the Muslim American Society (MAS), a national grassroots religious, social, and educational organization. MAS is America's largest grassroots Muslim organization with over 50 chapters nationwide. Learn more at http://www.masnet.org.

Copyright © 2006 Aishah Schwartz
Permission is granted to circulate among private individuals and groups, to post on Internet sites and to publish in full text and subject title in not-for-profit publications. Contact author for all other rights, which are reserved.

"My Experiences and How I Find that Islam does not Oppress Women"

Experiences of a Recently Converted Hindu Woman

by Sister Noor, University of Essex

I came from a purely Hindu family where we were always taught to regard ourselves (i.e. women) as beings who were eventually to be married off and have children and serve the husband-- whether he was kind or not. Other than this I found that there were a lot of things which really oppressed women, such as:

If a woman was widowed, she would always have to wear a white sari (costume), eat vegetarian meals, cut her hair short, and never re-marry.

The bride always had to pay the dowry (bridal money) to the husband's family.

And the husband could ask for anything, irrespective of whether the bride would have difficulty giving it.

Not only that, if after marriage she was not able to pay the full dowry she would be both emotionally and physically tortured, and could end up being a victim of "kitchen death" where the husband, or both the mother-in-law and the husband try to set fire to the wife while she is cooking or is in the kitchen, and try to make it look like an accidental death. More and more of these instances are taking place. The daughter of a friend of my own father's had the same fate last year!

In addition to all this, men in Hinduism are treated literally as among the gods. In one of the religious Hindu celebration, unmarried girls pray for and worship an idol representing a particular god (Shira) so that they may have husbands like him. Even my own mother had asked me to do this. This made me see that the Hindu religion which is based on superstitions and things that have no manifest proof (1), but were merely traditions which oppressed women could not be right.

Subsequently, when I came to England to study, I thought that at least this is a country which gives equal rights to men and women, and does not oppress them. We all have the freedom to do as we like, I thought. Well, as I started to meet people and make new friends, learn about this new society, and go to all the places my friends went to in order to "socialise" (bars, dance halls, ...etc.), I realised that this "equality" was not so true in practice as it was in theory.

Outwardly, women were seen to be given equal rights in education, work, and so forth, but in reality women were still oppressed in a different, more subtle way. When I went with my friends to those places they hung out at, I found everybody interested to talk to me and I thought that was normal. But it was only later that I realised how naive I was, and recognised what these people were really looking for. I soon began to feel uncomfortable, as if I was not myself: I had to dress in a certain way so that people would like me, and had to talk in a certain way to please them. I soon found that I was feeling more and more uncomfortable, less and less myself, yet I could not get out. Everybody was saying they were enjoying themselves, but I don't call this enjoying.

I think women in this way of life are oppressed; they have to dress in a certain way in order to please and appear more appealing, and also talk in a certain way so people like them. During this time I had not thought about Islam, even though I had some Muslim acquaintances. But I felt I really had to do something, to find something that I would be happy and secure with, and would feel respected with. Something to believe in that is the right belief, because everybody has a belief that they live according to. If having fun by getting off with other people is someone's belief, they do this. If making money is someone's belief, they do everything to achieve this. If they believe drinking is one way to enjoy life then they do it. But I feel all this leads to nowhere; no one is truly satisfied, and the respect women are looking for is diminishing in this way.

In these days of so called "society of equal rights", you are expected to have a boyfriend (or you're weird!) and to not be a virgin. So this is a form of oppression even though some women do not realise it.(2) When I came to Islam, it was obvious that I had finally found permanent security. A religion, a belief that was so complete and clear in every aspect of life. Many people have a misconception that Islam is an oppressive religion, where women are covered from head to toe, and are not allowed any freedom or rights. In fact, women in Islam are given more rights, and have been for the past 1400 years, compared to the only-recently rights given to non-Muslim women in some western and some other societies. But there are, even now, societies where women are still oppressed, as I mentioned earlier in relation to Hindu women.

Muslim women have the right to inheritance. They have the right to run their own trade and business. They have the full right to ownership, property, disposal over their wealth to which the husband has no right. They have the right to education, a right to refuse marriage as long as this refusal is according to reasonable and justifiable grounds. The Quran itself, which is the word of Allah, contains many verses commanding men to be kind to their wives and stressing the rights of women. Islam gives the right set of rules, because they are NOT made by men, but made by Allah; hence it is a perfect religion.

Quite often Muslim women are asked why they are covered from head to toe, and are told that this is oppression--it is not. In Islam, marriage is an important part of life, the making of the society. Therefore, a woman should not go around showing herself to everybody, only for her husband. Even the man is not allowed to show certain parts of his body to none but his wife. In addition, Allah has commanded Muslim women to cover themselves for their modesty:

"O prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils) over their bodies (when outdoors). That is most convenient that they could be known as such (i.e. decent and chaste) and not molested." (Quran 33:59)

If we look around at any other society, we find that in the majority of cases women are attacked and molested because of how they are dressed. Another point I'd like to comment on is that the rules and regulation laid down in Islam by Allah (God) do not apply just to women but to men also. There is no intermingling and free-running between men and women for the benefit of both. Whatever Allah commands is right, wholesome, pure and beneficial to mankind; there is no doubt about that. A verse in the Quran explains this concept clearly:

"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and protect their private parts (i.e. from indecency, illegal sexual acts); that will make for greater purity for them. And Allah is well aware of what they do. And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and protect their privaate parts (from indecency, illegal sexual intercourse); and that they should not display their beauty and ornaments...." (Quran, surah "Al-Nur" 24:31)

When I put on my hijaab (veil), I was really happy to do it. In fact, I really want to do it. When I put on the hijaab, I felt a great sense of satisfaction and happiness. Satisfied that I had obeyed Allah’s command. And happy with the good and blessings that come with it. I have felt secure and protected. In fact people respect me more for it. I could really see the difference in behaviour towards me.

Finally, I'd like to say that I had accepted Islam not blindly, or under any compulsion. In the Quran itself there is a verse which says "there is no compulsion in religion" (3). I accepted Islam with conviction. I have seen, been there, done that, and seen both sides of the story. I know and have experienced what the other side is like, and I know that I have done the right thing. Islam does not oppress women, but rather Islam liberates them and gives them the respect they deserve. Islam is the religion Allah has chosen for the whole of mankind. Those who accept it are truly liberated from the chains and shackles of mankind whose ruling and legislating necessitates nothing but the oppression of one group by another and the exploitation and oppression of one sex by the other. This is not the case of Islam which truly liberated women and gave them an individuality not given by any other authority.

Sister Noor has been a muslim for over a year and a half and is currently in her second year of undergraduate study in the Department of Biology

Notes

(1) In Islaam, strong emphasis is placed on proof and evidence. Superstition, conjecture and following the ways of ones ancestors is heavily censured. Allaah says:

{Say : Bring your proof if indeed you are truthful} {Baqarah 2:111} {Inform me with knowledge if indeed you are truthful} [An’aam 6:143] {And they do not possess any knowledge regarding it. They do nothing but follow conjecture and conjecture avails nothing against the Truth} [Najm 53:28] {And when it is said to them: ‘Follow that which Allaah has sent down’, they say: ‘Nay! We shall follow that which we found our fathers following} [Baqarah 2:170]

If the scientists among the non-muslims were to follow this advice and research objectively many of the rulings regarding women in Islam they would find that they are in perfect harmony with the biological/psychological knowledge they have arrived at regarding the nature of women. It is the reaction of the feminist movement to western hypocrisy that has led to the debasement of ‘perceived’ female roles in Islam. That is why most of what is portrayed regarding women in Islaam is pure conjecture and distortion, not fact and truth.

(2) This is where muslims consider the fallacy of the freedom and non-oppression of women lies. Under the name of ‘freedom’ women are told that they have complete automonomy to do as they wish. However, ‘do as they wish’ means that they are encouraged to conform to the trends and fashions that are set for them and imposed upon them by means of the media machine and by means of the multi-billion dollar film industry which makes, fashions, and nurtures the ideas of people and their principles, morals and conduct. As a result they are made the objects of the fantasies of menwho harass them, oppress them and reduce them to nothing but a source of temporary joy and pleasure. Men themselves have been made to let loose the reins of their desires due to the high exposure to naked women they receive, day in day out. This results in provocation, frustration and eventually - a deserving punishment - desensitization. Impotence is a widespread ‘disease’ in the West! This is the position of women in the west. The mere mention of the words sexual harrasment, date-rape - which includes men deliberately getting women tipsy or drunk so that they can have their way with them - and slogans such as NO MEANS NO are sufficient as proof for this reality of the oppression of women in the west. These problems are unknown to the muslim world and are not issues in Islaam.

(3) {There is no complulsion in religion. The truth has been made clear from error} [Baqarah 2:256]