Hats off to Br A Shabbir Ahmed, Ameer-e-Halqa and Br Jan Muhammad Nazim-e-Ijtema for the succesful execution of the training camp for the state and central leaders and also making foolproof arrangements for the sessions of Markazi Majlis-e-Shura.
There may have been a few minor lapses, deficiencies and inadequacies. We are all humanbeings and to err is human. But the fact is that Allah blessed us all and both the events were successful, upto the mark and incident free.
The Markazi and Riyasati Qayideen returned to their homes with fond memories, smiling faces and rejuvenated spirits. I could not count the number of persons - every one of them tall leaders of the Tahreek - who congratulated and complimented for the arrangements made.
Alhumdulillah! All praise, glory, acclamation, honor, adoration, adulation and thanks to Allah.
The Markazi Majlis-e-Shura of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind was about to begin in my grand mother's house. The atmosphere was that of bonhomie. You could find sherwani clad Moulanas everywhere. Where on earth you could find such a comraderie and mutual affection.
I was very much elated. I found myself running here and there. I was very much amused and excited. In my grandpa's room elderly Moulanas were staying. H Abdur Raqeeb Sahib's voice could be heard. I could not comprehend what is being said. Raqeeb Sahib was sitting in a chair and some Moulana was reclining in a bed. They were talking amicably.
Suddenly I found myself in the hall. It is the same hall where I used to play as a child. Grand pa used to listen BBC in his radio sitting in a easy chair in that very hall. They had converted it into a meeting hall.
Instantly I found myself moving towards the backyard. There people are taking their breakfast silently. Ameer-e-Halqa A Shabbir Ahmed was eating french toast. Somebody was placing a slice of a colourful fruit in someone's plate.
Then again I found myself in the passage between the hall and the backyard. At that instant Ameer-e-Jamaat in a bright blueish black Sherwani entered. He was moving confidantly like a bridegroom with a vibrant smile lit in his face. His steps are measured. He was flanked by two Moulanas. I could not recall their faces.
The hall is nearly full. Ameer-e-Jamaat and others were sitting in a row.
Suddenly I hear a feeble voice of my wife calling Rafia, my fourth daughter (who is doing her UKG). I look for Rafia. She was coming towards me. I move towards her to fetch her.
The Tamilnadu Jamaat-e-Islami Hind has planned to hold its state conferene in Trichy on 30th and 31st of January 2010, Insha Allah.
The ground work has already started. The cadre of the Jamaat has plunged into the conference activities and the state machinery has been fixed in top gear.
A thirteen member committee with the undisputableI Kareemullahas convenor has been set up. The committee works in war footing. It has so far conducted more than a dozen brain storming sessions.
The cadre is affected with the conference fever and the work is in full swing.
The mood of the cadre is upbeat and each and every one is eagerly anticipating the dawn of the historic Saturday ie 30th January 2010. It was evident in the cadre convention held in Coimbatore, last Sunday. More than 350 diehard activists connected with the tahreek attended this historic meet. At the end of the day when the Amee-e-Halqa asked the cadre, ''Tell me the number of the delegates which you plan to bring to Trichy?" The cadre thundered, ''More than 2500" When asked the lady Islamists politely said, "Not less than five thousand!" That's it. The spirit of the lady karkuns say it all.
Amidst this scenario, the state chief of JIH Tamil Nadu has written a open letter to the cadre motivating them to work indefatiguably. He has put forward seven point agenda before the cadre. They are as follows: 1) Have Ikhlas in all your endeavours. 2) Have faith in the theme of the conference. 3) Build strong rapport with Allah 4) Strive to cultivate good public relations. Reach out to the public with the message of the conference 5) Beautify you character. Moral strength is the main thing. 6) Make Hijrath from laziness to hard work. Make Hijrah from ignorance to knowledge.Shun away the shortcomings. Embrace virtues. 7) Compete with each other in conference activities. And lastly he has urged the cadre to wage Jihad against nafs. The gif images of the original letter written in Tamil are given below. Click the image to enlarge it and read.
I want to share with you an insight which I got from Moulana Muhammad Farooq Khan.
Moulana Muhammad Farooq Khan is the member of Majlis-e-Numaindgan (central council of representatives) of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind.He is one of the old vanguards of the Tahreek-e-Islami and resides in Delhi. He has written a lot of books in Urdu and Hindi. He is well versed in both the languages. He has translated Quran in Hindi. But his magnum opus is Kalam-e-Nubuwat, a collection of Ahadith in five, six volumes. He could be easily termed as the living legend in the field of Islamic literature. As I have been reading his books for the past two decades, I feel very close to him. For me, not a day passes without reading Kalam-e-Nubuwat. Besides I have been translating his works in Tamil. Chehal Hadhis has been published as Nabi mozhi Narpadhu. I have met him on two occasions. Once when he delivered a lecture in an all India SIO meet. Next in his room in the second storey of an non-descript building in Old Delhi. I had made up my mind to meet him when I boarded the train in Chennai. By the grace of Allah, we got ourself free at the last day. My colleagues wanted to roam the historic places in Delhi. I cajoled them and virtually dragged them to the room of Moulana Farooq Khan Sahib. It was a brief meeting but It was a memorable evening. Moulana was sitting amidst books. What he said could be summed up as the following:
There are three essential needs which mould a personality. Without fulfilling this needs one cannot become a wholesome personality. The three needs are as follows. First, You ought to have some thing to do. One cannot remain idle. It is not human nature to remain idle. Man has to do something. Idle mind is devil's workshop. Men do various things. Men get engaged in various occupations to keep themselves occupied. The list of trades, professions, crafts, jobs and careers never ends. But the best thing to do is to do dawah. The best career option is to get engaged in Dawah. Second, You ought to have some thing to love. One cannot live with profession, job or business alone. Day in and day out you do a lot of things. But that is not sufficient to nourish your inner soul. Your heart longs to love and to be loved. Naturally men love. Their love knows no bounds. Men love their wives, their sweet little children, their apparels, their face, their language, their organisation, their country, their matinee idol and the list goes on. But the best of them is the love towards God. Love of God is the supreme thing in life. It is the ultimate. You have to research and find out whom does God love? And strive to become one. Besides you should love your Creator more than anything and everything in this mundane life. Third, You ought to have some thing to hope. Man exists because of his hope. He may do a lot of things. He may love his job. He may be passionate about many things. But still he needs some thing to hope. Why does he work? Why does he go to faraway lands? Why does he do so many things? Because of Hope. Because of hope that one day he would get a beautiful palace overlooking the sea shore. Of hope that he would be driving in the latest model of car. Of hope that his offsprings would get decent education. The list of hopes and dreams is simply endless. But the best thing to hope is hope of falah in the Hereafter. I still remember the day when Moulana Farooq Khan Sahib conveyed this message in his own style; in his own choice of sweetest, chaste words in Urdu. Br Shabeer Ahmed, present Ameer-e-Halqa and Br Muhammad Yahya of AIITA were with me. I remember the haste with which I jostled down the words in an old diary.
Moulana gave me the diary as I asked him paper to take notes. The diary with notes is with me. I will share with you the other notes when next time, Insha Allah.
SAFE HOMES: Collector R.Palanisamy handing over the keys of permanent houses built by TNRC at Chinna Kottakuppam in Villupuram district on Saturday. He is flanked by H. Abdur Raqeeb, Gen. Secy IFT and K. Dhanraj, MP
A blessing to the Tsunami victims!! A report by T Azeez Luthfullah
The Tamil Nadu Relief Committee (TNRC) handed over 38 houses to the victims of Tsunami in the village Kottaikuppam near Puducherry today.
Mr A Shabbir Ahmed president JIH presided over the simple ceremony arranged in connection with the noble occasion. Dr. R. Palaniswamy I.A.S, Villupauram District Collector handed over the keys of the newly constructed houses to the victims. Mr. H. Abdur Raqeeb, General Secretary, Islamic Foundation Trust(IFT) and member CAC JIH felicitated the organisors and lauded their efforts. He said that the beneficiaries should have a resolve to educate all their children. He hoped a model colony would emerge shedding light of hope and wisdom to the whole of the Kottaikuppam as well as the state. Mr. P. Danraj local MP and Mrs Banumathi Jayamoorthy, local Panchayat Chief congratulated the people behind the mission and pledged all kind of helps to their similar efforts. Mr. Ahmed Meeran a self made man and a committed philanthropist from Chennai and Moulavi Faizur Rahman Madani, Principal, Women's Arabic College, Kottaikuppam also spoke at the occasion.
The TNRC had purchased 1.1 acre and constructed the houses, each measuring 325 sq.ft., at a total cost of Rs 1.25 crore.The habitation has been named as “Samarasam” (harmony/equality). The beneficiaries are fish vendors and petty shopkeepers.
The community hall would be utilised for imparting adult education, giving free tuition to students and counselling for livelihood measures.
TNRC owes its existence to Tsunami, the mass killer. Yes, TNRC was formed when killer waves attacked the shores of Tamil Nadu some years back. TNRC immediately sprung into action and established 100 temporary shelters in lightening speed in Nagapattinam, which was the worst affected town in Tamil Nadu. It also provided Relief Kits comprising of rice, foodgrains, bucket, utensils, soaps, blankets, mattresses etc to 7000 families. When the focus of the world deviated from Tsunami, TNRC continued its mission and got itself engaged in rehabilitation work. Under its innovative and progressive livelihood scheme 500 families were provided with assistance both in cash and kind. TNRC gave top class fibre boats with high power engine and world class fishing nets to sixteen families in Pulicat, a fishing village near Chennai. The smiles on the faces of the boat owners of Pulicat is the everlasting testimony of the pioneering efforts of TNRC. Similarly TNRC established a dairy farm with fifteen fat cows in pudupattinam as a part of its rehabilitation shemes. Keeping the future generations in mind TNRC diversified its efforts and provided educational aid and School kits to 2000 students. The greatest achievement of TNRC stands in the form of Samarasam Nagar in Nagore where it built 100 beautiful houses. Each and every house had been constructed in 400 sq. feet area in a 1300 sq. feet plot. It comprises a drawing room, a hall, a bed room, kitchen, toilet and bathroom with stair case to the terrace. A spacious verandah and sit out is an added attraction.The Tamil Nadu Water and Drainage department (TWAD) has constructed an elegant overhead tank with a capacity of 30,000litres of drinking water and has provided a street pipe for every fifteen (15) houses. The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) has provided prompt domestic connection and has also erected twenty eight street lamp posts.
The cluster of houses presents a glorious spectacle with the line up of similar looking, beautifully crafted and neatly painted glittering houses dotting the lines. The newly formed colony has been provided with a park and a play ground for the children with all the required facilities too. The colony has been named aptly Samarasam Nagar. Samarasam means peace and harmony.
Now TNRC has added another colourful feather to its crown by distributing 38 houses in Kottaikuppam..! Let us laud their effort and pray for them!!
To create awakening among the general masses about the need and significance of establishing Peace and Justice in this country. And also to highlight the gross injustice meted to the Muslim Community in the name of bomb blasts and the witch-hunt being carried out in Media. And also to ensure confidence among the much aggrieved Muslim masses.
The Task
To carry out a caravan for peace and justice throughout the state of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. To reach out the masses with the message of Peace and Justice throughout the nook and corner of the State.
To establish rapport with the cross section of the Media, officials of the Police & the bureaucracy.
To build close contacts with the Peace activists, social activists, religious heads, Hindu Heads of mutts, temples and Christian Missionaries.
The Tools
A fully airconditioned 14 seater van decorated with the message of Peace and Justice on all sides. It will criss cross the State spreading the message of Peace and Justice everywhere.
One lakh and ten thousand folders disseminating the message of Peace and Justice.
Three hundred copies of PRESS STATEMENT in Tamil exhorting powerfully the message of Peace and Justice.
One hundred placards made up of solid iron material depicting the soothing message of peace and Justice.
Fifty flags embedded with the message of Peace and Justice.
Lots and lots of locally prepared hand bills and print outs and colourful posters.
The Route
The caravan for peace and justice started its odyssey in Kanniyakumari on 9th Nov 2008 and reached Chennai on 22 Nov 2008 after visiting Nagerkoil, Thirunelveli, Kadaiyanallur, Virudhunagar, Madurai, Tanjore, Kumbakonam, Trichirapalli, Karur, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Kaveripattinam, Tirupattur, Vaniyambadi, Ambur, Vellore, Porur and scores of other places. It visited Puducherry on 23 Nov 2008.
The Response
Alhumdulillah! The response was overwhelming and exhilirating. Men and women, Muslims and non-Muslims, Officials and laymen, politicians and housewives, dalits and pundits, young and old, students and professors - each and every segment of the society whole-heartedly and warmly embraced the message of the caravan for peace and justice.
It was evident at the sea shores of Kanniyakumari a place at which the mighty waves of Indian Ocean, Arabian sea and Bay of Bengal converge, which is known as the southern most tip of the country viz Kumari Munai where the caravan started its odyssey with the noblest mission of spreading message of Peace and Justice.
It was visible at the heart of the State viz Karur where hundreds of brethren from other communities outnumbered the Muslims in receiving the caravan.
It was there at the entrance of the capital of the State viz Chennai when vast multitudes of men and women, arkaan and karkunaan, purdah clad ladies with tiny tots assembled at Porur. It was raining, raining and raining. But the incessant rain didn't dampen them and they - fully drenched in rain - raised slogans demanding peace and justice. It was heartening, heartrending and mellowing to watch the lovers of peace and justice garland the delegates of the caravan one after another.
And above all it was evident in Dharmapuri, when a poor farmer who came to the town for some other purpose after listening the speeches, silently approached the organisors and handed over a token amount of Rs 10/- as his contribution towards establishing peace and justice in this country.
And the point to be noted is that except Chennai, Jamaat is very weak in all the other three places. We do not have circles in Kanniyakumari and Porur. The circles in Karur and Dharmapuri are at their nascent stage. Inspite of that the response to our call for peace and justice is overwhelming. Alhumdulillah!
The Spectacle
The most memorable spectacle of the whole odyssey of the caravan is the reception accorded to it in front of the historic Victoria memorial near Chennai Central Railway station. It could be said as the climax of the whole journey. Mr. A. Shabbeer Ahmed, State President JIH held high a dove and let it fly over the sky as a gesture of promoting peace and Justice in the State amidst the thundering applause of the multitudes of people assembled at the historic occasion. Mr.S.N. Sikkander, the convenor of the caravan and State Secretary JIH gave a memorable speech. "The nation is proud that its tricolour flag is flying high over the moon. But, what is the use of Chandrayan if our society is divided and fragmented? These divisions and collisions always bring disrepute to the country. This was evident when Our PM was confronted with a heartrending question from the French Prez Nicholas Sarkozy. "Why are the Christians being massacred in India?" our Sardarji was compelled to mumble "I am ashamed of it!". So, let us be united, he exhorted.
The Impact
At national level the PM and Congress supremo have started singing different tunes. While the congress supremo has stressed that religion should not be mixed with terrorism, the PM has advised his police force to regain the faith of the people.
Jokes apart, the real impact of the campaign is the awareness it has created among the masses about the delicate issue of peace and justice. This surge among the masses towards the noble cause was evident every where.
It was there in Krishnagiri, where the Holy Fathers and nuns welcomed the caravan in their church. They garlanded each and every delegates with garlands made up of Jasmine and rose petals. They spoke about the need to work together and communal harmony.
It was evident in Vellore when the administrators of the Sri Sri Jalagandeswarar Temple situated in the historic fort of Vellore gave warm reception to the delegates of the Caravan in the 140 year old historic Shanmuga Adigal Sabai Temple.
It was there to see when the DSP of Dharmapuri district, Mr. Murugesan after hearing the speeches of the delegates of the caravan in Kaveripattinam, a sleepy town at the banks of Ponnaiyaru river asked the organisors to conduct such meetings more and more.
Above all the touching, heartening words were uttered by Mr. Jagan, the videographer who covered the caravan meetings for five consecutive days. When asked about his impressions, the young lad said unabashedly, "Nanum ungalodu vandhu vidugirane, Sir!" (I want to JOIN with you people, Sir!)
