Aliko Dangote GCON (born April 10, 1957) is a business magnate. He is the founder and current chairman and CEO of the Dangote Group, the largest industrial conglomerate in West Africa.

He was born in Kano, Kano State. His mother, Mariya Sanusi Dantata, was the daughter of businessman Sanusi Dantata. His father, Mohammed Dangote, was a business associate of Sanusi Dantata.

He was educated at the Sheikh Ali Kumasi Madrasa, followed by Capital High School, Kano. He graduated from the Government College, Birnin Kudu. He received a BS in Business Studies and Administration from Al-Azhar University, Cairo.

He approached the Nigerian Ports Authority to lease an abandoned piece of land at the Apapa Port, which was approved. He built facilities for his flour company there. It is the largest refinery in Africa and the third largest in the world, producing 800,000 tonnes of sugar annually. The Dangote Group owns salt factories and flour mills and is a major importer of rice, fish, pasta, cement, and fertilizer. The company exports cotton, cashew nuts, cocoa, sesame seeds, and ginger to several countries. It has major investments in real estate, banking, transport, textiles, oil, and gas.

He announced the completion of the Peugeot assembling facility in Nigeria following his partnership with Stellantis Group, the parent company of Peugeot, the Kano and Kaduna state governments. The new automobile company, Dangote Peugeot Automobiles Nigeria Limited factory which is based in Kaduna commenced operations with the roll-out of Peugeot 301, Peugeot 5008, 3008, 508, and Land Trek.

He sits on the board of the Corporate Council on Africa, and is a member of the steering committee of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Global Education First Initiative, the Clinton Global Initiative, and the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum. He was named co-chair of the US-Africa Business Center, in September 2016, by the US Chamber of Commerce. He joined the board of directors of the Clinton Health Access Initiative. He is on the board of One Campaign. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

Fathers of the Jadids

During the last few weeks, we’ve been talking about events in Turkestan in 1917 and today we’re going to take a step back and talk about two giants within the Jadid movement: Munavvar qori Abdurashidxon and Mahmudxo’ja Behbudiy. Both of these men were identified by Adeeb Khalid as the most influential Jadids of their time. They provided the funding, organization, and intellectual drive and supported the Jadid during the Tsarist regime and helped the Jadids survive the tumultuous period between 1919 and 1926, when they succumbed to the Soviet purges.

Mahmudxo’ja Behbudiy

Mahmudxo’ja Behbudiy

[Image Description: A color painting of a warm skinned man with a long, thick black beard. He is wearing a white turban, round circular glasses, white long dress shirt and a green outer shirt.]

Mahmudxo’ja Behbudiy was born in Samarqand in 1875. He came from a family of qazis and became a mufti as well as a successful merchant. While going on the hajji in 1900, he became convinced that Turkestan society needed to be reformed. He may have also been introduced to Gasprinsky’s ideas about reform and the new teaching method during his travels. When he returned to Samarkand, he dedicated his wealth and literary abilities to the Jadid cause. He wrote several primers for the new-method schools and contributed to Uzbek literature through several plays. His play Padarkush (the Patricide) was the first Uzbek play to be staged. In 1913 he turned to the printed press and published the newspaper Samarqand and Oyina (Mirror) which became the most important Jadid periodical in Turkestan.

As we discussed in our Alash Orda episode, 1905 brought a moment of hope for the people of Central Asia as they were offered representation in the Duma. When that right was taken away, the Kazakh intellectuals allied with the Socialist democrats (the Kadets), but Behbudiy was distrustful of the Kadets and instead turned to the newly created Muslim Faction in the Duma (this was a governmental body for all other Muslims of the Russian Empire, but no Turkestan Muslims). He submitted a list of his ideal future for Turkestan, arguing that Turkestan remain part of the Russian Empire, but as an equal. He wanted an Administration of Spiritual and Internal Affairs that would oversee immigration, resettlement, education and cultural life. The Administration would be managed by men elected for 5 year-terms and familiar with Sharia law. They would control all matters of law including the administrators and judges, oversee the function of the mosques and madrasa and manage waqf property. Behbudiy believed this would give the government the power to reform Islam, particularly Sufi practices, while granting autonomy and modernity to Turkestan.

During the 1917 revolution, Behbudiy was in Samarkand managing a new newspaper the Huriyet (Liberty). When the Bukharan Emir chased out his Jadids, many of them fled to Samarkand, including Abdurauf Fitrat, and ended up writing for Behbudiy’s paper. While Fitrat would eventually argue for an Uzbek based origin story for Turkestan, finding inspiration from the great Timur to justify the creation of a Turkestani state, Behbudiy believed that for Turkestan to survive, they needed to embrace their Turkic, Russian, Arabic, and Persian roots. He argued that Persian was significant to Turkestanis because:

“It is the language of madrassas and litterateurs and is spoken in several cities and villages in the Samarqand and Ferghana provinces of Turkestan.” - Adeeb Khalid, Making Uzbekistan, pg. 295

His newspaper the Oyina was published in Uzbek but had Persian articles. However, his other newspaper the Huriyet after 1917 only published materials in Uzbek.

When the Kokand Autonomy was formed in 1917, Behbudiy sat on the Kokand Autonomy’s 32-member council. While serving on the council, he and three others were sent to the Paris Peace Conference to gain recognition of the situation in Turkestan. He never made it to Paris. Instead, while traveling through Bukhara, he was stopped by border guards, arrested, and tortured to death. He died on March 25th, 1919.

Munavvar qori Abdurashidxon

Munavvar qori Abdurashidxon was born in Tashkent in 1878. Like Behbudiy, he came from a religious family. Most of his family members were ulama and he studied at a madrassa in Bukhara. While studying, he became convinced of the need for reforms.

In 1905, Munavvar wrote:

“All our acts and actions, our ways, our words, our maktabs, and madrasas and methods of teaching and our morals are in decay…if we continue in this way for another five or ten years, we are in danger of being dispersed and effaced under the oppression of developed nations…O coreligionists, o compatriots! Let’s be just and compare out situation to that of other advanced nations…let’s secure the future of our coming generations and save them from becoming slaves and servants of others. The Europeans, taking advantage of our negligence and ignorance, took our government from our hands and are gradually taking over our crafts and trades. If we do not quickly make an effort to reform our affairs in order to safeguard ourselves, our nation, and our children, our future will be extremely difficult. Reform begins with a rapid start in cultivating sciences conforming to our times. Becoming acquainted with the sciences of the [present] time depends upon the reform of our schools and our methods of teaching” - Adeeb Khalid, Making Uzbekistan, pg. 27

Munavvar was introduced to the new-school methods supported by Gaprinsky and opened a new method school in Tashkent, the Namuna (Model) school. He also published several textbooks and contributed to several Tashkent newspapers. However, his biggest contribution was his efforts in creating a standardized and universal curriculum for the schools in Tashkent, organizing the wealthy merchants of Tashkent to open a reading room, and creating a benevolent society called the Imdodiya (Aid).

Munavvar qori Abdurashidxon

[Image Description: A color painting of a man with a round face. He is wearing a skull cap, a white shirt, and a black outer shirt. He has a short, but thick black mustache and beard.]

Munavvar used his considerable organizing skills to spur the intellectuals to take advantage of the Russian Revolution. Munavar was involved in the many different councils that sprung up in Turkestan. He and Ubaydulla Xo’jayev organized the first meeting of the Shuro council, a place for the people of Turkestan to come together and rule themselves. You can learn how that turned out in our episode on the Russian Revolution and Central Asia. Munavvar would be elected president of the First Turkestan Muslim Council in 1917 and take part in the formation of the Kokand Autonomy.

            When the Bolsheviks took Tashkent in 1918 and established the Musburo, they couldn’t extent its power into the old city, so the indigenous activists took over. At the time there were several Ottoman POWs in Central Asia and Munavvar decided to hire them as teachers in their schools. He also became involved with many of the nationalist and secret societies running rampant in Turkestan as the Bolsheviks, Jadids, and Russian settlers struggled to fill the political vacuum created by the fall of the Tsar. He was also involved with the reformation of the waqfs, believing they were the best mechanism the Jadids had to redistribute funds for the betterment of the community. He argued that the waqfs were:

“Founded not for serving religious and benevolent needs, but for the progress of culture and the enlightenment of the people” - Adeeb Khalid, Making Uzbekistan, 233

And that they could:

“Liberate the thousands of existing maktabs from their present pitiful condition and to transform them from religious institutions into sources of culture and enlightenment” - Adeeb Khalid, Making Uzbekistan, pg. 234

Because of his role in establishing the Shuro, the Kokand Autonomy, and his work with the Ottomans, he came under the Cheka’s suspicion as the Bolsheviks spread their control over the entirety of Turkestan. In late 1920 he was arrested and thrown in prison for a year.

When he was released, Munavvar worked first for the branch of the Commissariat of Education that was responsible for primary and secondary education and then in the Uzbek Academic Center. While writing primers, he became embroiled in a scandal when his work was defamed for being “counterrevolutionary’ and “narrow nationalist” that brought him under renewed surveillance in 1921.

As the Soviets strengthened their hold over Central Asia, they didn’t know what to do with the old revolutionary Jadids and Alash Orda. Their first approach was to push them out of governmental bodies into dead end jobs or academia while keeping them under close surveillance. They then implemented random arrests, deportations to gulags, and finally executed them for state crimes. Munavvar was hounded by the Cheka since 1921, chased to Moscow where he could not find work, chased back to what was now Uzbekistan, and fired from his job at the Uzbek Academic Center. In 1927, he was asked by the OGPU to write a written testimony about his work with the Jadids and Nationalists. He also made a public speech where he admitted his “mistakes” and claimed that the Jadids were willing to work with the regime. His speech was belittled and he never made a public appearance again.

Munavvar became implicit in the Milliy Istiqlol (National Independence) conspiracy cooked up by the OGPU which claimed that at least 84 Jadids and various members of the Soviet Apparatus (several who actually went to Munavvar’s new-method school) were nationalists conspiring to overthrow the Soviet Union and/or working with the British to create an autonomous Turkestan. Munavvar was spared a show trial but was still executed on April 23rd, 1931.

References

Making Uzbekistan: Nation, Empire, and Revolution in the Early USSR by Adeeb Khalid

Russian Colonial Society in Tashkent 1865-1923 by Jeff Sahadeo

UP Madrassas to have NCERT syllabus, modern education on the cards

UP Madrassas to have NCERT syllabus, modern education on the cards

India oi-Vicky Nanjappa | Published: Tuesday, January 3, 2023, 15:12 [IST] New Delhi, Jan 03: Madrasa Education Council Chairman, Iftikhar Ahmed Javed said that the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrassas has started preparations to provide modern education and religious instructions within the Madrassas. Javed said that the Madrassa children will also study the National Council of Educational…

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मदरसा बोर्ड की परीक्षाओं के लिए ऑनलाइन आवेदन करने का आखिरी मौका, ये है लास्ट डेट

मदरसा बोर्ड की परीक्षाओं के लिए ऑनलाइन आवेदन करने का आखिरी मौका, ये है लास्ट डेट

लखनऊ: आवेदन की सुस्ती के चलते उत्तर प्रदेश मदरसा बोर्ड (Uttar Pradesh Madrasa Board) ने आवेदन करने की तारीख एक बार फिर से बढ़ा दी है. मदरसा शिक्षा परिषद (Madrasa education council) द्वारा संचालित विभिन्न परीक्षाओं के लिए आवेदन फॉर्म ऑनलाइन जमा करने की तारीख 18 फरवरी तक बढ़ा दी गई है. ऑफलाइन आवेदन स्वीकार नहीं किए जाएंगे. आवेदन फॉर्म मदरसा पोर्टल (Madarsa Portal) पर भरे जाएंगे. इस डिग्री के आगे…

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मदरसे की शिक्षा को टोपी से टाई की ओर ले जा जा रहे हैं- अल्पसंख्यक कल्याण राज्यमंत्री मोहसिन रजा

मदरसे की शिक्षा को टोपी से टाई की ओर ले जा जा रहे हैं- अल्पसंख्यक कल्याण राज्यमंत्री मोहसिन रजा

विधान परिषद में आज सरकार ने कहा कि सरकार मदरसों की शिक्षा को टोपी से टाई की ओर ले जाने के लिए कृतसंकल्प है। सरकार शिक्षक दल द्वारा वाराणसी के अल्पसंख्यक कल्याण अधिकारी के वक्फ निरीक्षक के साथ मिलकर भ्रष्टाचार किए जाने से जुड़े मामले को उठाए जाने पर उसका जवाब दे रही थी। शिक्षक दल के सुरेश कुमार त्रिपाठी एवं ध्रुव कुमार त्रिपाठी द्वारा शून्यकाल में उठाए गए मसले पर जवाब देते हुए अल्पसंख्यक कल्याण…

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drassas of UP, many big decisions taken regarding Madarasa board

drassas of UP, many big decisions taken regarding Madarasa board

Singing the national anthem before the start of classes will be mandatory in madarasas of Uttar Pradesh. This important decision has been taken regarding the national anthem in the meeting of the Madarasa Education Council. This rule will be applicable in the recognized, aided and unaided madrasas of the state. Students will now have to sing the national anthem along with other links from the new…

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UP Madarsa : मदरसों में अब राष्‍ट्रगान अनिवार्य, जानिए और क्‍या हुए फैसले UP Madarsa: लखनऊ: उत्तर प्रदेश के मदरसे...

Record 98.58% clear Plus II arts exam, girls outshine boys | Bhubaneswar News - Net4News

BHUBANESWAR: A whopping 98.58% students cleared the higher secondary (Plus II) exam in humanities, the result of which was announced by the Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) on Saturday. This was a massive jump of 27.58% compared to last year’s pass percentage of 71. “All those students who took admission in higher secondary have passed the exam successfully,” CHSE chairman Gangadhar Sahoo said. A total of 1,89,363 students had registered for the higher secondary examination of whom 1,86,685 passed. The government had to cancel the Plus II board exam in the wake of an aggressive second wave and students were assessed as per an alternative assessment system. The few students who were unsuccessful were due to some anomaly found in the results submitted by their respective schools, an official source said. Announcing the results, school and mass education minister Samir Ranjan Dash, said, “The results were declared amid the pandemic for which the council had to face many challenges. In the absence of internal examination and marks, students have been assessed through an alternative assessment system based on their Class X marks. Those students who are not happy with their marks can appear in the offline examination later. The council will announce the dates for offline examination on August 21.” Girls outshone boys in humanities, registering a pass percentage of 92.34% against 85.98 among boys. As many as 30,510 students cleared the exam in first division while 46,101 got second division and 1,10,074 in third division. This year, 95 students have scored above 90% marks while last year there was only one student in this category. The pass percentage of ex-regular students in humanities is 26 as only 7,161 cleared the exam while 27,595 had registered for it. “We faced difficulty in assessment of ex-regular candidates as many of them did not appear in any examination under the CHSE in the last few years. The council searched for the marks they had secured in their last examination,” the minister said. Dissatisfied or unsuccessful ex-regular students can also apply for the offline examination. In vocational studies, 99.16% students cleared the examination. Girls registered a pass percentage of 88.4 against 83.85 among boys. Among them, 1076 got first division, 1836 second and 2219 students in third division. In the Mahir exam (higher secondary level) conducted by the State Madrasa Board, 96.7% cleared the exam. Source link Read the full article

S8 women and 7 minority MLAs among Mamata’s 43 ministers

KOLKATA: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has struck a fine balance between experience and fresh faces, packing her council of 43 ministers with eight women and seven members from the minority community. While handpicking her team, Banerjee has had an eye on district representation. She has also undertaken some major changes in portfolio distribution, possibly based on public feedback.

Like earlier, the CM has kept for herself a few key departments such as home, Hill affairs, health and family welfare, land and land reforms, refugee relief and rehabilitation, information and culture, and north Bengal development.

Glimpses at oath taking ceremony @MamataOfficial https://t.co/oocSDmxoDu— Governor West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar (@jdhankhar1)

She has passed on minority development and madrasa education to Ghulam Rabbani, three-time MLA from Goalpokhor in North Dinajpur. Under the new arrangement, higher education goes to Bratya Basu, like it was before Partha Chatterjee had taken over, and school education to former Left Front minister-turned-Trinamool MLA Paresh Adhikary. Retired IPS-turned-Trinamool MLA Humayun Kabir is the new technical education minister. Both Adhikary and Kabir are ministers of state. Chandrima Bhattacharya has got independent charge of urban development and municipal affairs, along with her responsibilities as MoS health, land reforms. Amit Mitra will look after finance. He has been relieved of the commerce industry portfolio that has been assigned to Partha Chatterjee, other than parliamentary affairs. Former urban development minister and Kolkata ex-mayor Firhad Hakim is the new transport and housing minister. Aroop Biswas will handle power, sports and youth affairs while former power minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay will manage the agriculture department. Moloy Ghatak is the new public works department minister and will also handle law and judicial portfolios. Ratna De Nag is the new environment minister. Madhyamgram MLA Rathin Ghosh is the food minister while Jyotipriya Mullick has been given forest portfolio. Two inductions from East Midnapore include Soumen Mahapatra and Akhil Giri. Mahapatra is a Cabinetrank minister in charge of irrigation and Giri is MoS in charge of fisheries. Another major inclusion in the Cabinet is Manas Bhuniya, Trinamool’s Rajya Sabha member. He had served as Cabinet minister in the first Mamata Banerjee regime in 2011 till Congress (Bhuniya was then with Congress) pulled out of the government. Bhuniya is in charge of water resources and investigation department. The other cabinet portfolios remain more or less the same. Trinamool veteran Subrata Mukherjee has panchayat and rural development and also public enterprises while public health engineering goes to Uluberia Dakshin MLA Pulak Roy, a new entrant. Former cricketer Manoj Tiwari is minister of state for youth affairs. The new council has representation from backward classes, including Adivasis, that had been a major plank of the BJP. Bulu Chik Baraik, Sandhya Tudu, Srikanta Mahato, Birbaha Hansda and Jyotsna Mandi are among the prominent inductees.

Islam 'religion of peace': AFP chief

#PHnews: Islam 'religion of peace': AFP chief

MANILA – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) believes that Islam is a religion of peace, its chief said on Thursday.

Gen. Gilbert Gapay made this remark following a meeting with Sulu local government officials and religious leaders in Sumadja Hall, Provincial Capitol Thursday.

"We in the Armed Forces of the Philippines, kaming mga kasundaluhan (we the military), believe that Islam is a religion that espouses peace above all matters," Gapay said in a statement.

In attendance during the meeting were Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan, First District Rep. Samier Tan, and several municipal mayors and Ulamas of the province.

"Again, I would like to clarify that I never said that the madaris are spreading radicalization or sowing terrorism among its students," Gapay said, referring to an October 13 statement where he said "Madrasas and other schools in Sulu" are being monitored by the military.

He added that this is a call for unity and cooperation between the AFP and the Muslim community to protect and shield vulnerable sectors of the society from attempts of radical groups to "infiltrate our educational system".

Joining Gapay in the proceedings were Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Corleto Vinluan Jr and 11th Infantry Division commander Maj. Gen. William Gonzales and senior officers from the AFP General Headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

Also present were Ustadz Abdul Muhaimin Abubakar, Chairman of Sulu Ulama Council for Peace and Development; Jul-Asiri Abiron, Mufti of Sulu, and Adbulgafar Mangabong, Head of Tablig.

The visit aims to strengthen the military's relationship with the Tausug Muslim community and the people of Sulu.

Gapay also emphasized the role of Muftis, Imams, and local chief executives in spreading moderate Islamic teachings "to restore the glory of Islam."

He also promoted the National Action Plan on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism, which calls for political and socio-economic intervention to address the root causes of conflict in Western Mindanao.

"The AFP recognizes that the Madaris are religious educational institutions through which the Muslim community ensures that the future acquires the right knowledge about Islam. We seek to preserve this peaceful Islamic religious tradition and identity," Gapay added.

Meanwhile, Tan welcomed Gapay and his staff for visiting Sulu and coming face-to-face for a dialogue with religious and local leaders.

"Alam naman natin may statement si (We all know that there was a statement from) Gen. Gapay a month or so ago that was maybe taken out of context or he was misunderstood kaya mas maganda na nandito si General (So it is better that Gen. Gapay is here) to tell us on what he meant. I think he is here to bring goodwill," he added.

The religious leaders in attendance also welcomed the AFP chief's visit and his intention to clarify his earlier statement.

"Para sa amin, iyon ay nangangahulugang sa (kagandahang) loob at mabuting layunin ng Heneral na kaharapin ang mga taga rito lalong lalo na ang mga religious leader upang liwanagin ang pagkamaling pag-unawa ng iba sa kanyang pahayag o sinabi tungkol sa Madrasa (It seems to us that the General is showing goodwill and has a good purpose in facing the people here, especially the religious leaders, for him to shed light on what his previous statements regarding Madrasa meant)," Sulu Grand Mufti Sharif Jul-Asiri Abirin said. (PNA)

***

References:

* Philippine News Agency. "Islam 'religion of peace': AFP chief." Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1124432 (accessed December 11, 2020 at 06:04PM UTC+14).

* Philippine News Agency. "Islam 'religion of peace': AFP chief." Archive Today. https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1124432 (archived).

Last year, the issue of granting a passport to Ghalib Guru, son of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, was politicized by many leaders in Kashmir. The youngster, who hates being called a ‘proud Indian’, wanted to go abroad and study medicine. Not to the United States, not the United Kingdom, not even China, but to Turkey which had offered him a medical scholarship. The Turkish government led by Islamist Recep Tayyip Erdogan had for long been luring young Indian muslim students – from Kashmir to Kerala – and Guru was meant to be a high profile catch who could easily be converted into a posterboy instantly. Their brainwashing however doesn’t happen upon landing in Istanbul or Ankara, it begins much before the flight takes off. It’s just that once in Turkey, the nationality of handlers changes to Pakistanis.

The Indian security agencies are aware of the massive efforts being made by the Erdogan regime to radicalize Indian muslims by funding Kashmiri separatist leaders, non-government organizations, student exchange programmes and also agitations against Article 370 and the Citizenship Amendment Act. The youngsters are also being lured by Turkish drama series like Dirilis Ertugrul which promotes incidents of radicalism from the past and are said to be a part of Erdogan’s wider plan to revive the Ottoman Empire.

The International Humanitarian Relief Foundation, operating from one of the most conservative districts of Istanbul; the Turkiye Diyanet Foundation (TDF) which brings in hundreds of youngsters from several countries to Turkey every year by providing them scholarships; the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) which is quite active in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and is being run by Serdar Cam, a minister in Erdogan government and Turkey-Pakistan Cultural Association, headed by Lahore-educated Burhan Kayaturk, an influential leader of the ruling Justice and Development Party, have all been on the radar of the Indian intelligence agencies for nefarious activities.

“It is the duty of every Pakistani citizen, student, in Turkey to explain to everyone about Kashmir,” said Kayaturk while addressing several youngsters in Ankara on February 5, earlier this year at a function organized to mark ‘Kashmir Solidarity Day’. The gathering obviously had many Kashmiris too who had arrived in Turkey after receiving scholarships. Yes, the same kind of scholarship which had been offered to Ghalib Guru as well.

Turkey’s ‘scholarship’ in radicalization and religious fundamentalism is up for grabs for everyone, of course. There’s this interesting case of Ruwa Shah, who had worked with a few major Indian publications before becoming “a student of cinema and TV” in Turkey. Ruwa is daughter of Kashmiri separatist leader Altaf Ahmad Shah and grand-daughter of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the master of hardline ideology. Altaf Ahmad Shah was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in May 2017 in the alleged terror funding case and is currently lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail.

Now, besides studying ‘cinema and TV’ in Turkey, Ruwa writes about the ‘plight’ of the Kashmiris in Turkish and Middle East media, participates in Zoom talks with the pro-Palestine activists, telling them about the ‘reality’ of Kashmir and also delivers talks on freedom of speech in the Valley at Islamabad’s Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).

A recent report has revealed how the Turkish agencies, besides expanding their tentacles in India, are also hiring Pakistani radicals to fuel anti-India agenda from their bases in Ankara and Turkey. This includes hiring fundamentalist Pakistani journalists in state-run media and other organizations.

This isn’t the Turkey Mustafa Kemal Ataturk had dreamed of while founding the republic, almost 100 years ago after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. Those who stand up against dictator Erdogan either end up in prisons or have to leave Turkey, just like Islamic scholar and religious leader Fethullah Gulen, a Sufi theologian known reverentially as Hocaefendi (respected teacher) to his millions of followers, who continues to live in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania. The shift from Sufi to Salafi ideology, from madrasas of the past which taught sacred laws and other Islamic subjects to the madrasas of today which produce extremists, Turkey has undergone a significant sea change under Erdogan’s rule.

Turkey’s agenda is no longer hidden, it never was. Just before the Covid-19 lockdown, Erdogan, a regular at the Pakistani Parliament, had addressed a joint session for a record fourth time and likened the “struggle” of the Kashmiris with that of his country in World War I against the foreign domination. “There is no difference between Gallipoli and Kashmir,” he had said while drawing comparison with the battle of Gallipoli between the Allied Powers and the Ottoman Empire.

The Turks also continue to, though always unsuccessfully, raise the ‘K’ word at the UN. They did it again Tuesday – at the 45th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva – by asking India to ease the restrictions in Kashmir and were, like always, given a befitting reply by India.

“We call upon the Turkish leadership to not interfere in India’s internal affairs and develop proper understanding of the democratic practices,” replied Pawan Badhe, First secretary, Permanent mission of India in Geneva.

Expecting ‘proper understanding’ from Erdogan would be the height of optimism though. As former Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos had questioned Turkish President’s intelligence a few years ago by saying, “you cannot answer to a madman.”

THE MONGOLS UNDER GENGHIS KHAN WAR AGAINST THE TURCO-MONGOL REALM OF KARA KHITAY, 1216–1218 CE: 

The following is an excerpt from my post, “GENGHIS KHAN, THE STALLION WHO MOUNTS THE WORLD”. 

The Turkish and Mongolian religion of Tengrism was a combination of ancestor worship, shamanism, animism (the belief that natural objects, natural phenomena, and the universe itself possess souls) and totemism (belief in kinship with or a mystical relationship between a group or an individual and a totem (a natural object or an animate being, as an animal or bird, assumed as the emblem of a clan, family, or group).

For the most part it was polytheistic (“many gods”) as they believed in many spirits and deities but some followers were monotheistic (“single god”) since they held Tengri, or ‘Munkh Khukh Tengri’ (“Eternal Blue Sky”), as their supreme god. Mongolians refer to Mongolia as ‘Munkh Khukh Tengriin Oron’, “Land of Eternal Blue Sky”. Although Tengrism was common place among the Turks and Mongols, they didn’t expect others to follow their religion. Only their supreme god Tengri could truly judge whether a man was righteous enough or not, despite one’s religion.

“We believe that there is only one God, by whom we live and by whom we die, and for whom we have an upright heart. But as God gives us the different fingers of the hand, so he gives to men diverse ways to approach Him.” – Mongke Khan (Fourth Khan, 1251–1259) during a religious debate in court. According to William of Rubruck (May 31, 1254).

“…Your saying ‘May [the Ilkhan] receive silam (baptism)’ is legitimate. We say: 'We the descendants of Genghis Khan, keeping our own proper Mongol identity, whether some receive silam or some don’t, that is only for Mongke Tengri (Eternal Heaven) to know (decide).’ People who have received silam and who, like you, have a truly honest heart and are pure, do not act against the religion and orders of the Eternal Tengri and of Misiqa (Messiah or Christ).

Regarding the other peoples, those who, forgetting the Eternal Tengri and disobeying him, are lying and stealing, are there not many of them? Now, you say that we have not received silam, you are offended and harbor thoughts of discontent. [But] if one prays to Eternal Tengri and carries righteous thoughts, it is as much as if he had received silam.” – From a letter sent from Arghun Khan of the Mongol Ilkhanate (1284–1291 CE) to Pope Nicholas IV (written May 14th, 1290).

Many steppe factions had already taken on other religions like Islam, Nestorianism (Christianity), Buddhism, and Manicheism. Their subjects were free to practice their religion, culture and laws but the Mongolian ‘Great Yasa’ (code of laws) came first. As Genghis Khan sought to unite his nation, he made it clear that people would be judged by their loyalty, diligence and skill rather than their lineage, ethnicity, culture and religion.

^ Osprey – ‘Men-at-Arms’ series, issue 295 – Imperial Chinese Armies (2): 590–1260 AD by CJ Peers and Michael Perry (Illustrator). Plate H: A Liao Council of War. H1: Khitan ordo cavalryman – “The famous Wen Ch’i scroll depicts a party of these ‘barbarians’ in the act of looting a Chinese house. It is thought that the scroll is based on an original of the Sung period, and that the models for figures were Khitan warriors. This man has removed his helmet, showing the soft cap worn underneath. He carries a mace as prescribed in the Liao Shih and illustrated in tomb paintings. Also carried were bows, spears and halberds. Jurchen, and even Mongol heavy cavalry, would have looked very similar. This source shows coats in various shades of brown, and trousers as brown or blue. The Jurchen favored bright colours such as red, yellow and white, and made much use of animal skins and furs. They arranged their hair in a pigtail and, like the later Manchus, imposed this style on their Chinese subjects as a sign of submission. Guards at the Kin (Jinn) court are said to have worn red or blue cuirasses, probably of lacquered leather.” H2: General – “This man is wearing a spectacular suit of gilded armour as depicted in the Wen Ch’i scroll, is obviously as high-ranking officer. On the scroll there are unarmoured figures shown in attendance, carrying pieces of his armour. They may therefore represent the ‘orderlies’ or ‘foragers’ who fought as lightly equipped cavalry in the Liao armies.” H3: Mongolian auxiliary.

Back in 1125 CE the Khitan (Sinicized Mongolians) Liao dynasty of northern China was overthrown and taken over by the Jurchens (Tungusic peoples who established the Jinn dynasty). From then on the Khitans lived primarily in what is now Manchuria (northern China, bordering modern Mongolia) but a portion of the Khitan under Yelu Dashi of the Liao dynasty fled westward over the Tien mountains into Central Asia where they were joined and augmented by neighboring Turkish tribes. The khanate they established became known as Kara Khitay (“Black-Cathay”) and encompassed modern Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, southern Kazakhstan and western China (Xinjiang).

Before warring with the Western Xia, Genghis Khan defeated the Naimans which were under the leadership of a man named Taibuqa who was their Tayang Khan. After Taibuqa Tayang Khan was killed, his son Kuchlug fled to Central Asia in 1208 CE where he met the Gur-Khan (Chief of Khans) of the Kara Khitan Khanate who welcomed him as they often did to Turkish and Mongol refugees. Kuchlug became the Gur-Khan’s adviser and in time married a daughter of his; his goals, however, were set much higher. The Shah of the Khwarezmian Empire (Turco-Persian) was already at war with the Gur-Khan of Kara Khitay so in 1211 CE Kuchlug allied himself with the shah, agreeing to split the khanate between the two of them. Eventually the Gur-Khan of Kara Khitay was captured, Kuchlug usurped the throne and the western portion of his new empire was given to the shah as promised.

^ Kara Khitay khanate c.1200 CE.

Now many steppe factions such as the Naimans, Kerayits, Merkits and the Mongols practiced Tengrism with mixtures of Tibetan Buddhism, Nestorian Christianity (Church of the East) and/or Manicheism (Persian religion dating back to the third century CE, dualistic belief in a war between good and evil. Christian and Gnostic influence). Kuchlug practiced Nestorian Christianity but was converted to Buddhism at the behest of his wife (the former Gur-Khan’s daughter). Kuchlug began to fear, and rightfully so, the shah and his rapidly expanding Islamic realm of Khwarezmia.

If the shah were ever to turn against Kuchlug, would Kuchlug‘s subjects (the majority of which were Muslim) side with the Kara Khitay or with the Islamic shah of Khwarezmia who claimed to be the ’Shadow of God on Earth’, Iskander (Alexander the Great), and the ‘Chosen Prince of Allah’. Kuchlug became Islamophobic and began a forced conversion policy in which his subjects had to either convert (to Buddhism or Nestorian Christianity) or begin donning Khitan garb. Kuchlug also banned public worship and calls to prayer.

“After Kuchlug had conquered Kashghar and Khotan and had abandoned the law of Christianity for the habit of idolatry, he charged the inhabitants of these parts to forsake their pure Hanafite faith for unclean heathendom, and to turn from the rays of the light of Guidance to the wilderness of infidelity and darkness, and from allegiance to a merciful King to subservience to an accursed Devil. And as this door would not give way, he kicked it with his foot; and by force they were compelled to don the garb and headdress of Error: the sound of worship and the iqamat was abolished and prayers and takbirs were hushed.” – Ala-ad-Din Ata-Malik Juvaini (1226–1283 CE), Persian historian and governor of Baghdad.

When Kuchlug left his capital of Balasagun, it rebelled and shut the gates to him. Kuchlug Gur-Khan then besieged it and, once captured, he razed the city. Due to his religious policies the city of Kashgar rebelled in 1213 CE, in response Kuchlug burned their harvest which led to severe starvation within the city. There was also an imam in the city of Khotan which criticized and embarrassed Kuchlug so he had the imam crucified to the door of said imam’s madrasa (Islamic educational institution).

“they crucified him (the imam) upon the door of his school which he had built in Khotan” – Ala-ad-Din Ata-Malik Juvaini (1226–1283 CE), Persian historian and governor of Baghdad.

^ Where Kuchlug’s capital of Balasagun once stood there are now only ruins, most popular are the remains of a 82 ft. tall (originally 148 ft. tall) minaret known as the Burana Tower which stands like an eerie echo of the past.

As a continuous flow of anti-Genghis nomads traveled to the Kara Khitay Khanate, the possibility of the Great Khan turning his gaze at the threat posed by his old foe’s growing power was inevitable. While Genghis was occupied campaigning against the Jinn dynasty of northern China, he had no interest in the Kara Khitay Khanate until Kuchlug made the great mistake of besieging the city of Almaliq, which were vassals of the Mongols. In response to the pleas of the cities of Balasagun, Kashgar, and Almaliq, Genghis decided to focus his attention towards this distant foe.

Genghis Khan sent Jebe, a general renowned for his skill in rapid and deep infiltrative operations, to invade the realm of Kara Khitay, execute Kuchlug, abstain from harming any one not allied with Kuchlug and spread the word that under Mongol rule all subjects would be allowed freedom of worship. Throughout Kara Khitay the settlements which were predominantly populated by Muslims massacred any pro-Kuchlug forces, voluntarily opening their gates to Jebe and sided with the Mongols. Kuchlug was caught, beheaded, had his head placed on a pole and then paraded.

Genghis’ promotion of meritocracy allowed him to easily place trust in his generals since he knew they were skilled and experience enough to act independently. The fact that Genghis could have his forces so spread apart and still function cohesively shows how effective the Mongols were in warfare. From 1217-18 the Mongols were fighting a war on many fronts: Muqali was in China warring with the Jinn, Jebe ventured across Central Asia in pursuit of Kuchlug to the borders of Badakhshan near the Oxus River (modern Amu Darya) while Subotai and Jochi were hunting down the rival Merkits (Mongols) north of the Jaxartes River (modern, Syr Darya).

^ The Aral Sea with the Oxus River (modern Amu Darya) running into it from the south while the Jaxartes (Syr Darya) River runs into it from its east. 

Now that the Mongols held dominion over much of northern and northwestern China they were drowning in more goods than they’d ever need. The Mongols were at war with the Jinn and had no interest in going westward, but they were drawn there by fate it seems. This same fate would lead them into the Middle East and the very borders of Europe. Being that they were now the new overlords of the Central Asian khanate of Kara Khitay, the Mongols had access to the silk road’s routes from China to the rich lands of the Middle East. Here in Central Asia they faced a new threat posed by their neighbor, the ambitious and militant Turco-Persian empire of Khwarezmia. Future hostilities between the two would led to the deaths of millions, the destruction of some of the greatest centers of learning, culture and commerce.

Head over to my post, “GENGHIS KHAN, THE STALLION WHO MOUNTS THE WORLD”, to read more about how Genghis Khan was pressured into campaigning out of China toward Central Asia (Kara Khitai Khanate), to Greater Iran (Khwarezmian Empire), to the frontier of Eastern Europe (Medieval Russia and Ukraine) and back to China. I also cover Mongol shamanism and their tolerance of foreign religions, the famed ‘Yam’ pony express, their tactical use of captives and their massive deportation policy.

To read up on the early history of the Mongols, check out my post ‘THE MONGOLS AND THE RISE OF GENGHIS KHAN’. In this post I speak about the Mongolian transition from seemingly insignificant tribal confederacies into an empire that was four times the size of Alexander’s and twice the size of the Roman’s. I cover their military tactics, some of their battle formations, armaments, their rapid adaptation of foreign technologies, and their secretive order of bodyguards known as the Keshik. During Genghis Khan’s early reign the Mongols warred against themselves and their fellow steppe neighbors as well as Northern China’s Western Xia dynasty (Tanguts: Tibeto-Burmese) and eastern Jinn dynasty (Tungusic Jurchens who were Sinicized).

The Honorable Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed

The Honorable Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed JD (Urdu: وجیہ الدین احمد‎; born 1 December 1938) is a retired and senior associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and a former member of Pakistan's higher judiciary. He served as the Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court and then, as a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He gained more honor and respect when he resigned from the Supreme Court of Pakistan instead of taking oath of the office according to Gen. Pervez Musharraf's Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO). He has also been nominated by the lawyers community as a presidential candidate against Pervez Musharraf in 2007 elections in Pakistan. It is said[citation needed] that he could have become the Chief Justice of Pakistan had he not resigned against PCO.

Education

Wajihuddin Ahmed matriculated from Karachi's Sindh-Madrasa-tul-Islam, did his BA at Forman Christian College, Lahore and went on to Sindh Muslim College to read law and gain an Honours Degree.[citation needed]

Career

[citation needed]

Son of highly-reputed Chief Justice of West Pakistan High Court and Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Justice Waheeduddin Ahmed, Justice Wajih enrolled as an advocate of the Sindh High Court and remained Lecturer at the SM Law College for LL. B. and LL. M. classes. He was consecutively elected as president Sindh High Court Bar Association unopposed in 1977 and 1978 and elected President of Karachi Bar association in 1981. Advocate Wajih was appointed Standing Council for Federal Government in 1984 and Advocate General Sindh on 19 November 1986 and elevated to the Bench of the SHC as a Judge in 1988. He became the Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court from 5 November 1997 to 4 May 1998 and moved to the Supreme Court in 1998. During his tenure as SHC CJ, most sou moto actions were taken. He acted as Returning Officer during 1997 Presidential Elections and then appeared as presidential candidate against Musharraf in 2007. Justice Wajih joined the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on January 10, 2011.[1]

Contribution and activities

He is deeply involved in human rights issues and judicial education, and has spent much of his private time since retirement on dealing with constitutional concerns. He is the most-invited constitutional expert by television channels in Pakistan.[citation needed]

Arrest in November 2007

He was very vocal against the martial law, ever since it was imposed by the military regime in Pakistan. He was not arrested at the start (Nov 3, 2007), but later on Nov 21, 2007 he was arrested, and taken to an unknown location. However, he was released after a while.

Jamia Uloom-e-Islamia

Jamia Uloom-e-Islamia (Arabic: جامعۃ العلوم الاسلامیہ، بنوری تاون، کراتشی) or Islamic University Karachi is an Islamic School situated in Binori Town, Karachi, Pakistan. The school continues the tradition of the Darul Uloom system initiated by Darul Uloom Deoband. As of 2007[update], there are about twelve thousand students in different departments of the Jamiah and its branches, including a number of foreign students from over sixty countries all over the world

The Jamiah was founded by Muhadith Ul Asar Allama Sayyid Muhammad Yousuf Jan Banuri or Allama Sayyid Yousuf Jan Banoori[citation needed] (1908–1977); he was born in Basti Mahabatabad near Peshawar, son of Maulana Syed Muhammad Zakariya, who was in turn the son of a khalifa of Mujaddid Alf e Sani. He was educated in Peshawar and Kabul before being sent to Darul Uloom Deoband, where he was the pupil of Shabbir Ahmad Usmani. He founded the Jamiah Arabiya Islamiya (now Jamia Uloom-e Islamia) in Karachi in 1953.

Mission and Objectives

The stated objectives of the Jamiah are:[3]

To prepare such Ulama and preachers of Islam who are, on one hand, highly qualified in their fields of education and on the other hand, are equipped with the qualities of piety, sincerity and dedication. It should be their sole purpose to safeguard the fundamental tenets of religion, to propagate it and to lead people to the straight path.

To establish contacts with other religious universities, madrasahs and educational centres and to co-operate with them in the field of knowledge, experience and teaching.

To acquaint the new generation with Islam, Islamic values, etiquettes and Islamic culture.

To publish literature against false and heretic ideologies for the rectification and guidance of the Muslim Ummah.

To arrange translation and publication of important and useful Arabic books into Urdu and vice versa.

Departments and Divisions

Nazirah-e- Qur'an ( Reading the Qur'an)

Tahfeez-ul-Qur'an (Memorizing the Noble Qur'an)

Tajweed (Quranic Phonetics)

Dars-e-Nizaami (Aalamiyya, equivalent to Masters)

Takhassus Fil Hadith (Specialization in Hadith Studies)

Daar ul–Iftaa (Department of Fatwa)

Department of Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence)

Daar-ut-Tasneef Department

Madrasa-tul-Banat (Female Section)

Majlis–e-Da'wat–o-Tahqeeq-e-Islaami

The Academic Council

The Jamiah has an Academic Committee composed of experienced teachers of the Jamiah. It reviews the syllabus, introduces useful changes and supervises the examinations and other educational affairs.

Scholarly Research Works

Banori not only devoted himself to the exemplary teaching and training of the students but also preoccupied himself with scholarly research works on different subjects, particularly Hadith and jurisprudence and, at the same time, commissioned other scholars to do it. He also wrote many articles and edited periodicals, and encouraged other scholars to do so. This practice is still being observed today.

Among the books, periodicals and articles published by the Jamiah are:

Banori's Ma′aarif-us-Sunan ("Acquirements In Understanding The Prophetic Traditions"), is an Arabic commentary on Jami-ut-Tirmizi.

A prominent student of Banori and a former associate of Daar-ut-Tasneef and a teacher of the Jamiah, Maulana Muhammad Ameen Awrakzai was commissioned by the late Maulana to work on Sharh-ul-Ma′anil-Aathaar lil-Imam-At-Tahaawi ("Explanation of the Meanings of the Traditions" by Imaam Tahaawi) under his guidance. He had done research work on a great part of this book extracting ahaadeeth from the sources, explaining Imaam Tahaawi’s Nazar ("Analytical Scrutiny") and rendering accessible its difficult portions. The author has published the results under the title Nathr-ul-Azhaar Sharh Ma′aan-il–Aathaar ("Scattering Flowers: A Commentary On ‘Sharh Ma’aan-il-aathaar’"). This work was also initiated under this department..[2]

http://ift.tt/2hZOxgO

January 5, 2017 Kabul, Afghanistan—It is Friday noon in Kabul, Afghanistan, and men dressed in traditional clothes hurry to mosques to pray in congregation. Friday prayers are usually men’s business, and during the Taliban rule in the 1990s, women were not allowed in mosques. But in one neighborhood in the city, an imam has kept the doors of his mosque open to women for 12 years now. He often preaches about women’s rights in Islam – that women are equal to men and have the right to work and study.

This is all because of a woman named Jamila Afghani and the gender-sensitivity training program she has created.

Ms. Afghani has a friendly smile that hides all that she has had to endure in life. A women’s rights activist and Islamic scholar in Afghanistan, she has battled discrimination, as well as disability, since childhood. But it was access to education and being able to read the Quran herself that made her realize Islam could be used to empower women in Afghanistan.

Today, according to Afghani, about 20 percent of Kabul’s mosques have special prayer areas for women, whereas only 15 years ago there were none. The sermons delivered by imams about the importance of education have also helped many women persuade their families to let them study. In fact, some 6,000 imams in Afghanistan have participated in Afghani’s training program.

Afghani was born in Kabul in 1974, a few years before the Soviet invasion of the country. When she was only a few months old, she contracted polio, which left one of her legs disabled. But for Afghani the disability became a blessing in disguise. Her family was conservative and did not approve of education for girls. Her sisters played outside, but Afghani was not able to; she became easily bored and spent her days crying. Finally, at the suggestion of her doctor, her father enrolled her in first grade.

“I became very happy. When I got to school, it was my whole world,” she says.

Afghani was in fifth grade when the fighting between the mujahideen and the Soviet Union became so fierce that her family left Afghanistan for Pakistan. In Peshawar, she enrolled in master’s-level classes in Islamic studies and began learning Arabic. Once there, she came to see an Islam that was not what she had been familiar with.

“When I started learning Arabic and studying by myself, I found out that Islam is totally different from what my family was saying, what my environment was teaching,” she says.

“Everything was always a discrimination in our family,” says Afghani, who observed how her brothers behaved with their wives. “They were educated women, but my brothers stopped them from continuing their education and working,” she recounts. “I thought, if [my brothers] can go outside, why not my sisters-in-law?”

Gradually, Afghani got involved with an Afghan women’s rights group in Peshawar. And over time, she formed her own organization, later named the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organization (NECDO). She decided to take an Islamic approach, which made it possible for her to teach literacy classes for women in refugee camps. “It was not easy to enter into those communities,” she explains. “But when we used Islamic education as an entry point, we had a very good experience.”

Returning to Afghanistan

After 2001, when the Taliban were ousted from power in Afghanistan, scores of refugees started returning to the country, Afghani among them. She began setting up women’s centers where literacy was taught.

But when the project was taken to Afghani’s native Ghazni province, she ran into problems with the community – especially the imams of the mosques. She decided to invite one of the imams to her center, but he was embarrassed to meet a woman and said he wished nobody would find out. Afghani couldn’t believe his attitude: “I thought, my God, what is this?” But she chose to take a respectful approach and explained that she was educating women about Islam. “I said, ‘If you can find a single verse from the Quran or the hadith that education is bad, then I’ll stop right now and hand over the key of this center to you.’ ”

Slowly, she says, the imam became impressed with Afghani’s knowledge of Islam, and he started encouraging men to let their wives and daughters go to the center. Suddenly, the space was crowded with women hungry for education.

In 2008, Afghani was invited to a conference in Malaysia organized by the Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (WISE), a network for Muslim women. There she learned about a Filipina woman who was writing Friday sermons for imams about women’s rights. This gave Afghani the idea about gender-sensitivity training for imams. With the support of WISE and female Muslim scholars, “we developed a manual for the training,” she says.

A clever approach

Afghani knew the task ahead was not going to be easy. Initially, imams were shown the manual without them knowing it would be used for their own training. Afghani and her colleagues told the imams they wanted input on what they had developed. This is how the discussions began, and suddenly the training was in full swing. “Sometimes women are very clever. More than men,” Afghani laughs.

Some of the imams were immediately receptive to Afghani’s ideas. But with others, some issues proved very difficult. “Women’s political participation was the hardest thing,” she says. “Even ... now, some of the imams are not on the same page as [us].”

Of the 6,000 imams who have been trained by NECDO, one is Mohammed Ehsan Saikal, the imam in Kabul who has kept his mosque open to women for 12 years. He has been working with Afghani during this time and often preaches about the importance of education for girls. “I have three daughters, and all of them are highly educated and go to work,” he says. “The best thing I have received from this organization is enlightenment and awareness.”

Nargis Hamdard, age 20, is a female student at Mr. Saikal’s madrasa, which operates alongside his mosque. Her family used to be against education for women, but since she started coming to the madrasa, their opinion has changed. “I have learned that in Islam, women have the right to work and study. Now my family also believes this,” she says.

Katharina Hild, a former team leader at the German Society for International Cooperation, worked closely with Afghani, training women who served on local councils. According to Ms. Hild, Afghani “knows exactly how to find the best leverage for women’s rights.... Before the project, the women had no clear idea what it means to be a local councilor, but after an intense training program managed by NECDO they were much more confident.”

The cost

But going against extremist interpretations of Islam has come at a price. Saikal and others regularly receive threats from the Taliban and the Islamic State group. “Two of our imams were killed, and I have gotten threats and warnings,” Afghani says. Because of this, she has had to limit her movements.

A year ago, Afghani was appointed a deputy minister in the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled. But there is still not enough political will to address women’s issues in the government, she says.

At the same time, she says, the international community does not see the potential in Islam: “They think that working with Islam is a problem. But it’s not true. I think it’s very important, especially in Afghanistan, which is a very conservative country. Islamic knowledge should be used as a tool to convince the people.”

Despite the obstacles and threats, Afghani is committed to continuing her work. “This is our country, and we have to do something better for the next generations. If not me, then who will do it?”

How to take action

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Plan International USA is part of a global network that works side by side with communities in 50 developing countries to end the cycle of poverty for children. Take action: Help protect girls from sexual exploitation.

Develop Africa is committed to sustainable development in Africa through education and other means. Take action: Donate for girls’ schooling.

Nepal Youth Foundation assists girls who were rescued from the kamlari system of child slavery in becoming independent young women. Take action: Support the Empowering Freed Kamlaris program.

Sayeed Salahudeen

Syed Mohammed Yusuf Shah, popularly known as Syed Salahudeen, is the head of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, a Kashmir-based militant terrorist group operating in Kashmir, and head of an alliance of anti-India militant groups , the United Jihad Council, that works to annex the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan. Salahuddin vowed to block any peaceful resolution to the Kashmir conflict, threatened to train more Kashmiri suicide bombers, and vowed to turn the Kashmir valley “into a graveyard for Indian forces.”  He is listed on the NIA Most Wanted list. On 26 June 2017 He was named as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the US Department Of State.

Early life 

Yusuf Shah was the seventh child of middle class parents. He was born and raised in Soibugh, Budgam, a village in the Kashmir Valley. The partition of Kashmir between India and Pakistan happened while he was still an infant. His father worked in the Postal Department of the Indian government. Yusuf Shah initially became interested in studying medicine, but later on decided to become a civil servant. While studying Political Science at the University of Kashmir, he was influenced by the Jamaat-e-Islami, and become a member of its branch in Jammu and Kashmir. 

At university, he became increasingly radicalised, and got involved in persuading Muslim women to veil themselves (observe orthodox Shariah) and also took part in processions in support of Pakistan. After university instead of taking the civil service exam he became an Islamic teacher at a madrasa. He is married, with five sons. His oldest son, Shakeel Yousuf, works as a medical assistant at Srinagar's Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, second son Javed Yousuf works in the Education Department as computer operator, while Shahid Yousuf is a Research Fellow at the Sher-i-Kashmir University of Agricultural Science and Technology. Shah's fourth son, Wahid Yusuf, is a doctor at Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences. Mueed Yusuf, the youngest of Shah's sons, is working at Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI), Srinagar, Kashmir.

Political life 

In 1987, Yusuf Shah decided to contest the J&K assembly election on the ticket of the Muslim United Front, a coalition of political parties in Srinagar's Amirakadal Constituency. Mohammad Yusuf Shah who stood for the Legislative Assembly elections in 1987 from Amirakadal, Srinagar. He came second after Ghulam Mohiuddin Shah of the moderate National Conference won the seat. Mohammed Yusuf Shah was arrested and put in jail for his violent agitations.

Hizbul Mujahideen 

After his arrest for violent protests and release in 1989, he then joined Hizbul Mujahideen founded by Muhammad Ahsan Dar alias "Master" who later parted from Hizbul Mujahideen. He soon took over as the chief of Hizbul Mujahideen and then adopted nom de guerre "Sayeed Salahudeen", named after Saladin, the 12th century Muslim political and military leader, who fought in the Crusades.

“ We are fighting Pakistan's war in Kashmir and if it withdraws its support, the war would be fought inside Pakistan, ”

— Sayeed Salahudeen