Anger Management In Islam (AMI)
by Omar K Neusser
http://www.livingislam.org/m/ami_e.html
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Cruise Ships Labadee - Haiti
Labadee (also Labadie) is a port located on the northern coast of Haiti. It is a private resort leased to Royal Caribbean International. Royal Caribbean International has contributed the largest proportion of tourist revenue to Haiti since 1986, employing 300 locals, allowing another 200 to sell their wares on the premises, and paying the Haitian government US$6 per tourist.[1]...source
Cruise ships still continue to stop at Labadee even though 100 kms away in Port-au-Prince,as many as 200,000 people are believed dead. -
But the cruise line found itself on the defensive after criticism spread online. Melissa Bacchus, a Brooklyn, New York, teacher, was among several veteran cruisers to dominate message boards on sites like Cruisecritic.com with the debate.
'I do think morally it is wrong to go (to Labadee), where less than 60 miles away people are suffering,' Bacchus said in an interview. 'And because we have the resources, we have the wealth, we can frolic using the beauty of their island?' Haiti cruises cause controversy .
Could this paradise really be poor, desperate Haiti?
Cruise ships still continue to stop at Labadee even though 100 kms away in Port-au-Prince,as many as 200,000 people are believed dead. -
But the cruise line found itself on the defensive after criticism spread online. Melissa Bacchus, a Brooklyn, New York, teacher, was among several veteran cruisers to dominate message boards on sites like Cruisecritic.com with the debate.
'I do think morally it is wrong to go (to Labadee), where less than 60 miles away people are suffering,' Bacchus said in an interview. 'And because we have the resources, we have the wealth, we can frolic using the beauty of their island?' Haiti cruises cause controversy .
Could this paradise really be poor, desperate Haiti?
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Baby Elisabeth and Anna Zizi bring hope to quake-hit Haitians
"It was the mercy of God," said her mother Michelene Joassaint, 22, as she breastfed her daughter on a makeshift bed next to the heavily damaged city hospital.
Anna Zizi had been praying in the cathedral when the earthquake struck. She was singing when they pulled her out alive.
"I talked only to my boss — God. And I didn't need any more humans," said the 69-year-old woman.
Anna Zizi had been praying in the cathedral when the earthquake struck. She was singing when they pulled her out alive.
"I talked only to my boss — God. And I didn't need any more humans," said the 69-year-old woman.
Earthquake victim Anna Zizi takes a drink of water after being carried alive from the rubble of Haiti's Catholic cathedral yesterday. (AP Photo / Paul Jeffrey, ACT Alliance HO)
Shaikh Ahmed Tijani Ben Omar
Considers himself hopeless, helpless, useless, worthless, homeless good for nothing, compared to nothing. Subject only to seeking yearning and longing for a drop of mercy and compassion from the ultimate God of Creation Almighty God Allah.
Originally
Born in Ghana West Africa. Specialized in Islamic Law and Jurisprudence, including Comparative Religion, Astronomy, Spiritual Science and Healing, Divine Poetry and Chanting, Singing, Fine Arts and Culture. He took Arabic and Islamic Studies at the Kulliyat Athakaffah Al Arabiyah in Ghana and studied and mastered the Biblical Science and History through the Methodist Missionary High School in Ghana. Specialized in Media Broadcasting and Mass-communications and also obtained a Master of Comparative Religion. He studied and memorized the Holy Qur'aan at the age of 15 and the Holy Bible by the age of 20.
Experience
Secretary General of the African Muslim Organization in Africa; Director General Ghana National Council for Islamic Celebrations; Director Quranic Institute Lagos, Nigeria; Religious Education Broadcaster Nigeria Radio and Television; Imam Islamic Educational Congress USA; member International Organization of Journalist; consultative with Economic Social Council United Nations and UNSECO; Educational and Religious Editor West Africa Press Syndicate; National Advisor International Association of Sufism USA; Advisor Islamic Studies and Research Association ISSRA USA; President and Imam Universal Islamic Center USA; member of the World Council of Religious Leader under the auspices of The United Nations Millennium World Peace Summit.
Ahmed Tijani Ben Omar consistently advocates spiritual and interfaith interactions from a global perspective. This unique approach includes socio-political, historical and anthropological aspects as well religious dispensations.
Ahmed Tijani Ben Omar has traveled to over 105 countries worldwide giving numerous lectures and presentations at conferences, universities and public gatherings around the world. Hosted and directed several national and international Islamic conferences for peace. He is considered one of the best Spiritual Singers and Reciters of the Holy Qur'aan in the World.
Interests
Loves painting, composing and singing, teaching, meditating and contemplating.
Faraz Rabbani, Sh. Sa’ad al-Attas, Sh. Ahmad Tijani Ben Omar, Ustadz Yusuf Mansur, Kiyai Saifuddin Amsir and others at Masjid al-Madinah (Jakarta, Indonesia). January 2010
http://seekersguidance.org/blog/2010/02/sending-blessings-salawat-on-the-prophet-muhammad-end-of-majlis-jakarta-indonesia-jan-2010/
Royal Caribbean cruise ships such as Navigator of the Seas still escorting vacationers to Haiti
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2010/01/18/2010-01-18_luxury_cruise_ships_escort_vacationers_to_haiti_despite_earthquake_devastation.html
BY Helen Kennedy
Royal Caribbean's gigantic 3,100-passenger Navigator of the Seas stopped at a north Haiti beach so tourists could parasail, snorkel and chow down on barbecue.
The tourists went ashore at Labadee, a lavish and heavily guarded private beach leased by the cruise line where passengers bounce on trampolines, sip cocktails in a hammock and shop at an ersatz "native market."
Even as people in the leveled capital of Port-au-Prince finally cracked after six days without help and began looting stores, Royal Caribbean passengers pretended to be buccaneers at a pirate-themed water park.
Royal Caribbean brushed off suggestions that cruising to a humanitarian catastrophe might not be in great taste, saying the ships are bringing pallets of supplies along with bikini-clad vacationers.
"People enjoying themselves in Labadee helps with relief," said cruise line CEO Adam Goldstein. "We support our guests who choose to help in this way."
The company also promised to donate the profits from its Haiti stops and noted the beach resort employs 230 Haitians who would be out of work if the ships kept away.
Meanwhile, a boat everyone is anxiously awaiting - the Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort - was still en route from Baltimore and won't arrive until tomorrow.
An old oil tanker refitted as a high-tech medical center, the Comfort chugs along at 15 knots.
"It takes her a while, but she has been making that speed," said Navy Capt. John Kirby.
A new European Union estimate suggests a staggering 200,000 people died in last Tuesday's quake - on par with the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that spread death across 14 countries instead of just one.
Even as the world mobilizes what may be the largest relief effort in history, hundreds of thousands of victims still struggled to find a cup of water or a handful of food.
Thousands of pounds of aid was offloaded by relief flights, but it wasn't getting to many people in Port-au-Prince.
"There is little sign of significant aid distribution," a Doctors Without Borders spokesperson said.
Some looting broke out, but the U.S. military said that despite dramatic TV pictures, the violence was isolated.
"The security situation is stable," said Navy Rear Adm. Michael Rogers, Joint Chiefs of Staff director for intelligence.
"We continue to be able to execute the full range of our operation. We have seen nothing that suggests to us widespread disorder. There is no sense of widespread panic."
Army Lt. Gen. Ken Keen said the poverty-filled streets actually were more law-abiding now than before the cataclysm. "The level of violence we see now is below pre-earthquake levels," he said.
About 2,200 Marines arrived, bringing the number of U.S. troops in the region to 7,000.
Ex-President Bill Clinton brought daughter Chelsea to visit a hospital, where he said "astonishing" doctors were performing surgeries "at night, with no anesthesia, using vodka to sterilize equipment."
Meanwhile, a growing stream of Haitians fled the shattered capital. Many packed onto buses bound for the countryside if they could afford the inflated ticket prices.
Since the quake, 71 trapped people have been saved. A college student who texted from under the rubble was rescued yesterday.
Search and rescue teams will keep looking through the night, but "obviously, we are getting closer to the time when you go from rescue to recovery," said Tim Callaghan, head of USAID's Disaster Assistance Response Team.
A team from the Centers for Disease Control is arriving today to help head off spread of any diseases.
hkennedy@nydailynews.com
BY Helen Kennedy
As surviving Haitians fought over scraps of food, luxury cruise ship passengers frolicked heedlessly Monday at a resort just 81 miles from the misery transfixing the world.
Royal Caribbean's gigantic 3,100-passenger Navigator of the Seas stopped at a north Haiti beach so tourists could parasail, snorkel and chow down on barbecue.
The tourists went ashore at Labadee, a lavish and heavily guarded private beach leased by the cruise line where passengers bounce on trampolines, sip cocktails in a hammock and shop at an ersatz "native market."
Even as people in the leveled capital of Port-au-Prince finally cracked after six days without help and began looting stores, Royal Caribbean passengers pretended to be buccaneers at a pirate-themed water park.
Royal Caribbean brushed off suggestions that cruising to a humanitarian catastrophe might not be in great taste, saying the ships are bringing pallets of supplies along with bikini-clad vacationers.
"People enjoying themselves in Labadee helps with relief," said cruise line CEO Adam Goldstein. "We support our guests who choose to help in this way."
The company also promised to donate the profits from its Haiti stops and noted the beach resort employs 230 Haitians who would be out of work if the ships kept away.
Meanwhile, a boat everyone is anxiously awaiting - the Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort - was still en route from Baltimore and won't arrive until tomorrow.
An old oil tanker refitted as a high-tech medical center, the Comfort chugs along at 15 knots.
"It takes her a while, but she has been making that speed," said Navy Capt. John Kirby.
A new European Union estimate suggests a staggering 200,000 people died in last Tuesday's quake - on par with the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that spread death across 14 countries instead of just one.
Even as the world mobilizes what may be the largest relief effort in history, hundreds of thousands of victims still struggled to find a cup of water or a handful of food.
Thousands of pounds of aid was offloaded by relief flights, but it wasn't getting to many people in Port-au-Prince.
"There is little sign of significant aid distribution," a Doctors Without Borders spokesperson said.
Some looting broke out, but the U.S. military said that despite dramatic TV pictures, the violence was isolated.
"The security situation is stable," said Navy Rear Adm. Michael Rogers, Joint Chiefs of Staff director for intelligence.
"We continue to be able to execute the full range of our operation. We have seen nothing that suggests to us widespread disorder. There is no sense of widespread panic."
Army Lt. Gen. Ken Keen said the poverty-filled streets actually were more law-abiding now than before the cataclysm. "The level of violence we see now is below pre-earthquake levels," he said.
About 2,200 Marines arrived, bringing the number of U.S. troops in the region to 7,000.
Ex-President Bill Clinton brought daughter Chelsea to visit a hospital, where he said "astonishing" doctors were performing surgeries "at night, with no anesthesia, using vodka to sterilize equipment."
Meanwhile, a growing stream of Haitians fled the shattered capital. Many packed onto buses bound for the countryside if they could afford the inflated ticket prices.
Since the quake, 71 trapped people have been saved. A college student who texted from under the rubble was rescued yesterday.
Search and rescue teams will keep looking through the night, but "obviously, we are getting closer to the time when you go from rescue to recovery," said Tim Callaghan, head of USAID's Disaster Assistance Response Team.
A team from the Centers for Disease Control is arriving today to help head off spread of any diseases.
hkennedy@nydailynews.com
Monday, January 18, 2010
Haiti, Miracle or just coincidence?
Miracle or just coincidence?
Six Days Without Sunlight: Woman Survives in Bank's Rubble
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb...10/haiti1_01-18.html
Transcript
JEFFREY BROWN: More troops and more aid reached Haiti today, but many remained desperate, as distribution problems and fears of violence continued.
We begin our coverage with two on-the-ground reports from Independent Television News, first, Bill Neely on the race to save lives.
BILL NEELY: In the ruins of Haiti, the signs aren't good. It's day six. The diggers tear at the rubble, making survival beneath unlikely. The scavengers at the banks search for money, not the living. One man looks on.
Roger still believes his wife, a bank worker, just might be alive. He rushes in every time ground is cleared. This time, someone hears a noise. He calls for silence, then for his wife, Janette.
MAN: OK, she's there! She's alive!
BILL NEELY: "OK, she's there, she's alive," he says. They scrape away stones to expose a small hole and allow the first light to reach the woman in six days, her husband overwhelmed
I can hear Janette talking. I put a microphone in and ask her if she's injured.
"Yes," she says. "My fingers are broken."
She tells me she needs water. "It would be a great pleasure. I'm thirsty, and I can't see," she says.
Then, a message for her husband: "Even if I die, I love you so much. Don't forget it."
The risk of her dying remains. Not her husband, nor anyone here has the equipment to get her out.
MAN: Would you like to take a look?
BILL NEELY: Suddenly, help arrives, firefighters from Los Angeles.
MAN: Her hair right there.
MAN: Yes.
BILL NEELY: They push a tiny camera into the hole, and Janette is revealed. Her head is moving.
MAN: All right. We're going to get you something to drink first.
BILL NEELY: They get her water and then begin cutting in to the cables and beams around her, then our first clear sight of her, dust in her eyes, smiling, wincing, but alive.
MAN: OK. All quiet.
MAN: It's amazing. She's in incredible shape for the time period she's been in there.
BILL NEELY: There is just one major worry now, an aftershock.
MAN: We may not have a whole lot of time. Once it goes, it goes.
BILL NEELY: On a camera, they have seen Janette's hand pinned under a beam. Free it, and she's free. A rescuer reaches her hand. She is in pain.
MAN: Hang in there, Janette.
MAN: All right, Janette, we're almost there
BILL NEELY: But, within three hours of first hearing her voice, she emerges.
MAN: One, two, three.
BILL NEELY: Her first words, "Thank you, God," and then an astonishing moment. The words of her song, "Don't be afraid of death."
She told me she always thought she would survive, but she wondered why this had happened to her.
Did you think you would live, Janette? Did you think you would live?
WOMAN: Yes.
BILL NEELY: Yes?
WOMAN: Live. Why not?
MAN: All right, nice and easy.
MAN: Hi, Janette.
BILL NEELY: Janette Samfour is alive. And, for her husband, it's a miracle.
But her survival is the exception in a city of death. She drove away as if nothing had happened to see for herself the horror that had been hidden from her.
Six Days Without Sunlight: Woman Survives in Bank's Rubble
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb...10/haiti1_01-18.html
Transcript
JEFFREY BROWN: More troops and more aid reached Haiti today, but many remained desperate, as distribution problems and fears of violence continued.
We begin our coverage with two on-the-ground reports from Independent Television News, first, Bill Neely on the race to save lives.
BILL NEELY: In the ruins of Haiti, the signs aren't good. It's day six. The diggers tear at the rubble, making survival beneath unlikely. The scavengers at the banks search for money, not the living. One man looks on.
Roger still believes his wife, a bank worker, just might be alive. He rushes in every time ground is cleared. This time, someone hears a noise. He calls for silence, then for his wife, Janette.
MAN: OK, she's there! She's alive!
BILL NEELY: "OK, she's there, she's alive," he says. They scrape away stones to expose a small hole and allow the first light to reach the woman in six days, her husband overwhelmed
I can hear Janette talking. I put a microphone in and ask her if she's injured.
"Yes," she says. "My fingers are broken."
She tells me she needs water. "It would be a great pleasure. I'm thirsty, and I can't see," she says.
Then, a message for her husband: "Even if I die, I love you so much. Don't forget it."
The risk of her dying remains. Not her husband, nor anyone here has the equipment to get her out.
MAN: Would you like to take a look?
BILL NEELY: Suddenly, help arrives, firefighters from Los Angeles.
MAN: Her hair right there.
MAN: Yes.
BILL NEELY: They push a tiny camera into the hole, and Janette is revealed. Her head is moving.
MAN: All right. We're going to get you something to drink first.
BILL NEELY: They get her water and then begin cutting in to the cables and beams around her, then our first clear sight of her, dust in her eyes, smiling, wincing, but alive.
MAN: OK. All quiet.
MAN: It's amazing. She's in incredible shape for the time period she's been in there.
BILL NEELY: There is just one major worry now, an aftershock.
MAN: We may not have a whole lot of time. Once it goes, it goes.
BILL NEELY: On a camera, they have seen Janette's hand pinned under a beam. Free it, and she's free. A rescuer reaches her hand. She is in pain.
MAN: Hang in there, Janette.
MAN: All right, Janette, we're almost there
BILL NEELY: But, within three hours of first hearing her voice, she emerges.
MAN: One, two, three.
BILL NEELY: Her first words, "Thank you, God," and then an astonishing moment. The words of her song, "Don't be afraid of death."
She told me she always thought she would survive, but she wondered why this had happened to her.
Did you think you would live, Janette? Did you think you would live?
WOMAN: Yes.
BILL NEELY: Yes?
WOMAN: Live. Why not?
MAN: All right, nice and easy.
MAN: Hi, Janette.
BILL NEELY: Janette Samfour is alive. And, for her husband, it's a miracle.
But her survival is the exception in a city of death. She drove away as if nothing had happened to see for herself the horror that had been hidden from her.
GOOL MOHAMED KHAN and HUSANARA KHAN HAKAM
GOOL MOHAMED KHAN and HUSANARA KHAN HAKAM
November 1, 2009
By KNews
Filed Under Features / Columnists, The Arts Forum
A FASCINATING STORY OF AN INDENTURED
INDIAN AND HIS GUYANESE-BORN DAUGHTER
(As told by Deen Ameerullah, great grandson of Gool Mohamed Khan)
My great grandfather, Gool Mohamed Khan, a Yusufzai Pathan, was born in 1853 in a small village of Moorni of the Nasruddin Khel tribe, in the District of Dir in Afghanistan (now Swat, Pakistan). He received his early education in various schools and mosques and at the age of sixteen he passed his examination in Arabic, that is, in Fiqa, Sirf and Naho.
On February 14, 1869, he started out on foot from Afghanistan to India since there were no railways or other means of conveyance at the time. He had gone to Jaroa State, Rajputana, India to bring back his brother to Afghanistan, as his mother was anxious to see him. Gool Mohamed completed the journey in 54 days on foot and stayed in India for four years, partly with his brother and partly in the service of a Prince of that state. Jaroa was ruled by Nawabs of Afghan descent.
On learning that his mother had died, Gool Mohamed Khan returned to Afghanistan alone in 1873 but the following year, he again went to India and joined the British Regiment. While there he learned Urdu, Nagri and Mathematics. He resigned from the regiment and went to British Guiana under the indentureship scheme in search of a better life.
In his book, Unity v Trinity, he writes: “I arrived in Guiana on 11th May, 1877 on the ship “King Arthur” and whilst waiting to be drafted to some batch for the sugar plantation, I was fortuitously recruited to join the Police Force. It happened that the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Mr. Payne, was passing by the Depot when I saluted him as I took him to be an officer. He drew his horse and put some questions to me in English, which I was unable to answer; an interpreter was called in and I was asked if I would join the Police Force. I readily consented as I had learnt to my cost that the supposed El Dorado existed only in air not even in paper. I was guided by other European Police officers for six months. One day while on duty a gentleman (who I subsequently learnt was Reverend Darnell, a priest of Christ Church) asked me if I would give him lessons in Nagri. I agreed, provided he taught me English in return. The pact was signed and we were both master and pupil during our respective periods.”
As a result of the criticisms made by the Christian community of the Prophet Mohamed and Islam, Gool Mohamed Khan was motivated to educate himself about the Koran as well as the Bible. Thus, followed the historic debates and discourses with the religious leaders of the Christian Church that resulted in the publication of his book, Unity v Trinity. It is not known when this book was first published, but the preface of the Second Edition is dated 1910. After the book was later discovered, Gool Mohamed Khan’s granddaughter, Begum Akhter Jahan Khan, published the Third Edition of the book in August, 1988 in Pakistan.
Gool Mohamed Khan resigned from the Police Force in September 1879, and started his own business, but became deeply engrossed in religion and humanitarian work. One of Gool Mohamed Khan’s historic achievements while he was in British Guiana was his involvement in the construction of “The Juma Masjid” in Church Street, Georgetown.
In 1947, an article entitled “Do You Know Your Georgetown? The Juma Masjid, where Muslims Worship” in The Guiana Graphic, a newspaper in British Guiana, states: “… the late Mr. Gool Mohamed Khan, a prominent Muslim Indian merchant, in the year 1895 got together a band of fellow Muslims, and they decided to erect an edifice worthy of the lofty ideals of Islam . . . . The Juma Masjid, or Mosque, the place of worship of Muslims resident in Georgetown and its eastern suburbs, is a work of architectural beauty and eastern charm. Residents in Queenstown, or those citizens who pass Church Street, Queenstown, cannot help but being struck by the magnificent domes of the Juma Masjid standing supremely, yea majestically, lifting one’s thoughts with a sudden jerk to those lands of the East, where minarets abound and shady palms bid welcome to the traveller. The foundation stone of the mosque was laid in 1895, and the building completed the following year, when it was opened for worship under the late Mr. Gool Mohamed Khan, as the first Imam.” [Editor’s Note: That Mosque has been dismantled and a new Mosque is presently being built on the very site].
In her Publisher’s Note in the Third Edition of Unity v Trinity, Begum Akhter Jahan Khan mentions that she sourced most of the information about her grandfather, Gool Mohamed Khan, from two of his daughters, Mrs. Husanara Hakam, her aunt, and Mrs. Gulshanara Wahab, her mother. Both Husanara and Gulshanara were born in British Guiana and lived in Pakistan until their demise.
Gool Mohamed Khan had eleven children: Jehanara Khan, Raffudin Khan, Husanara Khan, Shahabuddin Khan, Gulshanara Khan, Mohiuddin Khan, Badruddin Khan, Najmuddin Khan, Kamaluddin Khan, Ismatara Khan and Mehtebara Khan.
In 1906 Gool Mohamed Khan decided to return to India. However, before his departure with his family to India, he decided to leave two of his children, Jehanara and Raffudin, with his friend, Wazir Khan. It is not known why Gool Mohamed Khan left Jehanara and Raffuddin in British Guiana, very possibly because Wazir Khan and his wife did not have any children of their own and because Gool Mohammed Khan’s wife and Wazir Khan’s wife were sisters. One can surmise that he had intended to return for them later.
Whatever the reasons, the two siblings never left British Guiana. In 1913, Jehanara was married to Abdool Azeez and had four children: Zamirudeen, Hajra Kartoon, Amna Kartoon, and Khairoon Nesa. Unfortunately, in 1922, Jehanara Azeez died at the age of 28 years.
Later, in 1926, Raffuddin was married to Nazeeran (also known as Charlotte) and had six children: Kamal Uddin, Jamaluddin, Jalall Uddin, Safi Uddin, Shahabuddin, and Saleema. In 1989, Raffuddin passed away at 86. Although Gool Mohamed Khan did not return to British Guiana, his son, Shahabuddin, later visited. It was learnt that Shahabuddin met with his brother, Raffuddin, and the children of Raffuddin and Jehanara. Gool Mohamed Khan died in Calcutta in May 1934.
After Shahabuddin’s visit, there was no evidence of communication or contact between Gool Mohamed Khan’s family in India (Pakistan) and his relatives in British Guiana until one of his grandson-in-law, Muhammad Abbas Ali, also known as Major Abbas Ali, residing in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, initiated the effort to reunite the long separated families. Major Abbas Ali is married to Sarwar Jahan, daughter of Gulshanara Khan.
The reunification of the family is a fascinating story. Major Abbas was at a travel agency in Toronto, Canada arranging a trip to Guyana to trace the relatives and history of Gool Mohamed Khan. He happened to mention to the travel agent his mission. By sheer co-incidence, the travel agent knew Roshan Deen Khan (R. D. Khan) who was in fact one of the great grandsons of Gool Mohamed Khan, and the connection was made – a wonderful development in our family history and reconnection.
Here’s a brief biographical sketch of Husanara Khan Hakam, eldest daughter of Gool Mohammad Khan and Mussamat Rahima Khan, since she left the land of her birth, British Guiana, settled in India, and later in Pakistan after the Partition of the Indian subcontinent.
Husanara Khan was born on 7 June 1887 in Georgetown, British Guiana and left with her father for India when she was eighteen. Gool Mohammad Khan belonged to a Yusufzai Pathan family of Swat but they settled in Calcutta. In 1907 Husanara (from hereon she is known as Husan Ara Khan Hakam) was married to Mukhlesur Rahman Abul Hakam who belonged to an orthodox Muslim family and was a Zamindar (landlord) of Calcutta. He was learned and highly respected in the society. Unfortunately, Mr. Hakam died in 1924. They did not have any children and Husan Ara Khan Hakam remained a widow for the rest of her life.
Husan Ara Khan Hakam became an active member of the Pakistan Movement and was one of the few Muslim women who worked with Mohamed Ali Jinnah and with the other members of the All India Muslim League Council that was actively involved in the creation of Pakistan. Mrs. Hakam played a pivotal role in the emancipation of Muslim women in India and Pakistan including East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). She dedicated herself to the uplift of their social and moral standards and to the cause of their education. She was a remarkable and extraordinary woman who selflessly dedicated her life for the good and welfare of people, particularly the poor and orphans.
Husan Ara Khan Hakam was the first lady Honorary Magistrate in Calcutta (1927) and an elected Member of the Bengal Legislative Assembly (1946). She was the founder of the M. A. O. Girls Scout in Calcutta, the Jamiat Khawateen for women in Pakistan, and the only female member of the All India Muslim League Council for Bengal. Widely travelled and respected, she was the founder and office-bearer of a number of social and cultural organizations. Together with her sister, Gulshanara (Mrs. G. A. Wahab), Gulshanara’s husband (Dr. A. Wahab) and her daughter (Begum Akhter Jahan Khan), they were active members of many benevolent and charitable women’s organizations and played dominant roles in promoting education bringing about radical changes in Muslim women’s attitude towards modern education.
Husan Ara Khan Hakam was a highly educated and courageous woman. She received many honours for achievements in her distinguished career. Based on her life and legacy, this brave woman could be profiled as an exemplary citizen for all humanity. Born in obscurity in British Guiana, South America, she entered the world stage in India, actively participated in the formation of Pakistan, and devoted her life to the caring of indigent people, especially women and children. She left a “legendary portrait” of herself and a profile of great courage and compassion.
Husan Ara Khan Hakam died October 30, 1985 in Karachi, Pakistan at 98 years of age.
[The editor of The Arts Forum column, Ameena Gafoor, can be reached on E-mail: theartsjournal@live.co.uk or ameenagf@guyana.net.gy or by telephone: 592 227 6825 or Fax: 592 225 0712]
http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2009/11/01/gool-mohamed-khan-and-husanara-khan-hakam/
Another article on Caribbean Muslims
November 1, 2009
By KNews
Filed Under Features / Columnists, The Arts Forum
A FASCINATING STORY OF AN INDENTURED
INDIAN AND HIS GUYANESE-BORN DAUGHTER
(As told by Deen Ameerullah, great grandson of Gool Mohamed Khan)
My great grandfather, Gool Mohamed Khan, a Yusufzai Pathan, was born in 1853 in a small village of Moorni of the Nasruddin Khel tribe, in the District of Dir in Afghanistan (now Swat, Pakistan). He received his early education in various schools and mosques and at the age of sixteen he passed his examination in Arabic, that is, in Fiqa, Sirf and Naho.
On February 14, 1869, he started out on foot from Afghanistan to India since there were no railways or other means of conveyance at the time. He had gone to Jaroa State, Rajputana, India to bring back his brother to Afghanistan, as his mother was anxious to see him. Gool Mohamed completed the journey in 54 days on foot and stayed in India for four years, partly with his brother and partly in the service of a Prince of that state. Jaroa was ruled by Nawabs of Afghan descent.
On learning that his mother had died, Gool Mohamed Khan returned to Afghanistan alone in 1873 but the following year, he again went to India and joined the British Regiment. While there he learned Urdu, Nagri and Mathematics. He resigned from the regiment and went to British Guiana under the indentureship scheme in search of a better life.
In his book, Unity v Trinity, he writes: “I arrived in Guiana on 11th May, 1877 on the ship “King Arthur” and whilst waiting to be drafted to some batch for the sugar plantation, I was fortuitously recruited to join the Police Force. It happened that the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Mr. Payne, was passing by the Depot when I saluted him as I took him to be an officer. He drew his horse and put some questions to me in English, which I was unable to answer; an interpreter was called in and I was asked if I would join the Police Force. I readily consented as I had learnt to my cost that the supposed El Dorado existed only in air not even in paper. I was guided by other European Police officers for six months. One day while on duty a gentleman (who I subsequently learnt was Reverend Darnell, a priest of Christ Church) asked me if I would give him lessons in Nagri. I agreed, provided he taught me English in return. The pact was signed and we were both master and pupil during our respective periods.”
As a result of the criticisms made by the Christian community of the Prophet Mohamed and Islam, Gool Mohamed Khan was motivated to educate himself about the Koran as well as the Bible. Thus, followed the historic debates and discourses with the religious leaders of the Christian Church that resulted in the publication of his book, Unity v Trinity. It is not known when this book was first published, but the preface of the Second Edition is dated 1910. After the book was later discovered, Gool Mohamed Khan’s granddaughter, Begum Akhter Jahan Khan, published the Third Edition of the book in August, 1988 in Pakistan.
Gool Mohamed Khan resigned from the Police Force in September 1879, and started his own business, but became deeply engrossed in religion and humanitarian work. One of Gool Mohamed Khan’s historic achievements while he was in British Guiana was his involvement in the construction of “The Juma Masjid” in Church Street, Georgetown.
In 1947, an article entitled “Do You Know Your Georgetown? The Juma Masjid, where Muslims Worship” in The Guiana Graphic, a newspaper in British Guiana, states: “… the late Mr. Gool Mohamed Khan, a prominent Muslim Indian merchant, in the year 1895 got together a band of fellow Muslims, and they decided to erect an edifice worthy of the lofty ideals of Islam . . . . The Juma Masjid, or Mosque, the place of worship of Muslims resident in Georgetown and its eastern suburbs, is a work of architectural beauty and eastern charm. Residents in Queenstown, or those citizens who pass Church Street, Queenstown, cannot help but being struck by the magnificent domes of the Juma Masjid standing supremely, yea majestically, lifting one’s thoughts with a sudden jerk to those lands of the East, where minarets abound and shady palms bid welcome to the traveller. The foundation stone of the mosque was laid in 1895, and the building completed the following year, when it was opened for worship under the late Mr. Gool Mohamed Khan, as the first Imam.” [Editor’s Note: That Mosque has been dismantled and a new Mosque is presently being built on the very site].
In her Publisher’s Note in the Third Edition of Unity v Trinity, Begum Akhter Jahan Khan mentions that she sourced most of the information about her grandfather, Gool Mohamed Khan, from two of his daughters, Mrs. Husanara Hakam, her aunt, and Mrs. Gulshanara Wahab, her mother. Both Husanara and Gulshanara were born in British Guiana and lived in Pakistan until their demise.
Gool Mohamed Khan had eleven children: Jehanara Khan, Raffudin Khan, Husanara Khan, Shahabuddin Khan, Gulshanara Khan, Mohiuddin Khan, Badruddin Khan, Najmuddin Khan, Kamaluddin Khan, Ismatara Khan and Mehtebara Khan.
In 1906 Gool Mohamed Khan decided to return to India. However, before his departure with his family to India, he decided to leave two of his children, Jehanara and Raffudin, with his friend, Wazir Khan. It is not known why Gool Mohamed Khan left Jehanara and Raffuddin in British Guiana, very possibly because Wazir Khan and his wife did not have any children of their own and because Gool Mohammed Khan’s wife and Wazir Khan’s wife were sisters. One can surmise that he had intended to return for them later.
Whatever the reasons, the two siblings never left British Guiana. In 1913, Jehanara was married to Abdool Azeez and had four children: Zamirudeen, Hajra Kartoon, Amna Kartoon, and Khairoon Nesa. Unfortunately, in 1922, Jehanara Azeez died at the age of 28 years.
Later, in 1926, Raffuddin was married to Nazeeran (also known as Charlotte) and had six children: Kamal Uddin, Jamaluddin, Jalall Uddin, Safi Uddin, Shahabuddin, and Saleema. In 1989, Raffuddin passed away at 86. Although Gool Mohamed Khan did not return to British Guiana, his son, Shahabuddin, later visited. It was learnt that Shahabuddin met with his brother, Raffuddin, and the children of Raffuddin and Jehanara. Gool Mohamed Khan died in Calcutta in May 1934.
After Shahabuddin’s visit, there was no evidence of communication or contact between Gool Mohamed Khan’s family in India (Pakistan) and his relatives in British Guiana until one of his grandson-in-law, Muhammad Abbas Ali, also known as Major Abbas Ali, residing in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, initiated the effort to reunite the long separated families. Major Abbas Ali is married to Sarwar Jahan, daughter of Gulshanara Khan.
The reunification of the family is a fascinating story. Major Abbas was at a travel agency in Toronto, Canada arranging a trip to Guyana to trace the relatives and history of Gool Mohamed Khan. He happened to mention to the travel agent his mission. By sheer co-incidence, the travel agent knew Roshan Deen Khan (R. D. Khan) who was in fact one of the great grandsons of Gool Mohamed Khan, and the connection was made – a wonderful development in our family history and reconnection.
Here’s a brief biographical sketch of Husanara Khan Hakam, eldest daughter of Gool Mohammad Khan and Mussamat Rahima Khan, since she left the land of her birth, British Guiana, settled in India, and later in Pakistan after the Partition of the Indian subcontinent.
Husanara Khan was born on 7 June 1887 in Georgetown, British Guiana and left with her father for India when she was eighteen. Gool Mohammad Khan belonged to a Yusufzai Pathan family of Swat but they settled in Calcutta. In 1907 Husanara (from hereon she is known as Husan Ara Khan Hakam) was married to Mukhlesur Rahman Abul Hakam who belonged to an orthodox Muslim family and was a Zamindar (landlord) of Calcutta. He was learned and highly respected in the society. Unfortunately, Mr. Hakam died in 1924. They did not have any children and Husan Ara Khan Hakam remained a widow for the rest of her life.
Husan Ara Khan Hakam became an active member of the Pakistan Movement and was one of the few Muslim women who worked with Mohamed Ali Jinnah and with the other members of the All India Muslim League Council that was actively involved in the creation of Pakistan. Mrs. Hakam played a pivotal role in the emancipation of Muslim women in India and Pakistan including East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). She dedicated herself to the uplift of their social and moral standards and to the cause of their education. She was a remarkable and extraordinary woman who selflessly dedicated her life for the good and welfare of people, particularly the poor and orphans.
Husan Ara Khan Hakam was the first lady Honorary Magistrate in Calcutta (1927) and an elected Member of the Bengal Legislative Assembly (1946). She was the founder of the M. A. O. Girls Scout in Calcutta, the Jamiat Khawateen for women in Pakistan, and the only female member of the All India Muslim League Council for Bengal. Widely travelled and respected, she was the founder and office-bearer of a number of social and cultural organizations. Together with her sister, Gulshanara (Mrs. G. A. Wahab), Gulshanara’s husband (Dr. A. Wahab) and her daughter (Begum Akhter Jahan Khan), they were active members of many benevolent and charitable women’s organizations and played dominant roles in promoting education bringing about radical changes in Muslim women’s attitude towards modern education.
Husan Ara Khan Hakam was a highly educated and courageous woman. She received many honours for achievements in her distinguished career. Based on her life and legacy, this brave woman could be profiled as an exemplary citizen for all humanity. Born in obscurity in British Guiana, South America, she entered the world stage in India, actively participated in the formation of Pakistan, and devoted her life to the caring of indigent people, especially women and children. She left a “legendary portrait” of herself and a profile of great courage and compassion.
Husan Ara Khan Hakam died October 30, 1985 in Karachi, Pakistan at 98 years of age.
[The editor of The Arts Forum column, Ameena Gafoor, can be reached on E-mail: theartsjournal@live.co.uk or ameenagf@guyana.net.gy or by telephone: 592 227 6825 or Fax: 592 225 0712]
http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2009/11/01/gool-mohamed-khan-and-husanara-khan-hakam/
Another article on Caribbean Muslims
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
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