 As the Islamic Calendar Year 1427, begins with this
month (MuHarram), NDF wish to urge Muslims to build a self
reliant community, which has the ability to acquire
knowledge, of high integrity and respected by the world. Progress and
regress of a community hinge on the values of life held and
practised by them.
Islamic calendar, the Hijra, begins with the migration of the Prophet
Muhammad from Makkah to Madinah. From Islam’s earliest days, Muslims
travelled to distant lands bringing with them learning, scholarship,
culture and cuisine. Large scale migration of Kerala Muslims to oil
rich Arabian Gulf have contributed tremendous growth in our
state'social life. Foreign remittances to the state have been 7 times
of what kerala received from the Government of India as budget support.
The majority of the world’s estimated 12 million refugees are Muslims.
And most of them take refuge in other Muslim countries. Even, the non
muslim countries like, US has an estimated 5.7 million Muslims –
roughly equal to its Jewish population!
The word ‘migration’ has acquired negative connotations with the rise
of narrow nationalism. It is used to describe people fleeing
wars, political turmoil, famine, poverty. Migrants are depicted in the
popular press are people who enjoy welfare benefits, while contributing
little in return.
In fact, migrants work hard, enrich the commercial and cultural life of
their adopted countries, and promote better understanding of people of
different races and different faiths. That’s certainly how Islam sees
migration. Kerala Muslims are coming out of their shell and
transcending the ghetto mentality of the first generation of gulf
immigrants. This is a reflection of the spirit of migration in Islamic
history. Muslims must come forward to lead the younger generation to
implore in them the love for knowledge and to acquire knowledge.
By changing the attitude, Muslims can see progress in their lives and
their sphere of influence. The process will enhance friendship and
enrich knowledge of our country.
 Muslim World
Thus, Muslims around the world are now busy forging alliances with
anti-globalization groups and organizations fighting against social
exclusion; and are taking an active interest in local politics.
Islamic economics challenges the prevailing dogma of free markets and
seeks to introduce regulatory regimes to safeguard public interest.
Islamic inheritance laws are designed to redistribute wealth; and
ownership of land beyond an individual’s or family’s capacity to handle
is discouraged. The escalation of protest against global inequity and
the growth of the ethical investment movement will provide platforms
for like-minded players from across faith and ideological boundaries to
come together. Probably, that would be the most important
message this Islamic Year has to proclaim.
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Sunday, 12 October 2008
