A Letter from Rohingya

MYANMAR - A Letter from Rohingya

 

 

 

More than 270,000 Rohingyans, a large percentage of them women and children, have fled Myanmar in the last two weeks. [Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters]
 

A resident of Myanmar's Rakhine State discusses daily life and the abuses and attacks Rohingyans endure.

 

 

 

“For all my life, all 24 years of it, I've been a prisoner in this open air jail you know as Rakhine State. I was born in Myanmar, as were my parents, but my citizenship was snatched away before I was even conceived. We're facing extinction, and unless the international community stands with us, one of the most persecuted people in the world, we will face genocide and you, you will all be a party to it.

 

My movement, education, access to healthcare and career have been heavily restricted because of my ethnicity. I'm banned from working in the government, denied the right to pursue higher education, barred from visiting the capital, Yangon, and even stopped from leaving northern Rakhine State. I'm subjected to the worst form of discrimination, all because I'm a Rohingyan Muslim.

 

 

For years, my people, who have been denied their most basic rights, are killed on a near daily basis. Shot dead in plain sight, forcibly and systematically made homeless, our homes razed in front of our very eyes; we're the victims of a brutal state.

 

 

For you to fully appreciate what our conditions are like, I'm going to use an analogy: imagine a mouse stuck in a cage with a hungry cat. That's what it's like for the Rohingyans. Our only method of survival is to run, or hope someone helps us get out.

 

 

For those of us that have remained, there's a systematic campaign to separate us from the wider Rakhine community. We're called "Kalar" [a slur often used against Muslims] by Buddhists to our faces. Whether you're a child or an old man, no one escapes the abuse. We face discrimination at schools and at hospitals, and there's been a boycott campaign by Buddhists to avoid us at all costs.

 

 

"Only buy from Buddhists," they say. "If you give a penny to a Buddhist, they'll help build a Pagoda (temple), but if you give a penny to a Muslim, they'll build a mosque." These kinds of comments, they've become the norm and helped encourage Buddhist extremists to attack us.

 

 

When Aung San Suu Kyi, a Noble Peace Prize winner, won parliamentary elections in 2015 and ended half a century of dominance by the military, we had high hopes change was coming. We were confident that this woman, hailed as a beacon of democracy, would end our abuse and oppression. Sadly, it soon became clear that not only would she not be our voice, she would ignore our suffering. Her silence showed she was complicit in the violence.

 

 

In the end, she failed us; our last hope, failed us.

 

 

In 2012, a huge number of the Rohingya were slaughtered in one of the worst bouts of communal violence. Around 140,000 were internally displaced, an event that would repeat itself in 2016. Shot, slaughtered, and burned alive in front of their families, the violence last October would give rise to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a small group of men who decided to defend themselves and fight back. Armed with just sticks and stones, they knew they couldn't fend off the well-equipped Myanmar army but they tried nonetheless.

 

 

Still, now our sisters and mothers are forced to give birth in paddy fields as we run for our lives in this violence that you say is between two equal sides. It is not. Children being shot at as they flee and women's bodies floating in rivers is not an equal fight.

 

 

We're facing extinction, and unless the international community stands with us, one of the most persecuted people in the world, we will face genocide and you, you will all be a witness to it.

 

 

The author of this letter has requested anonymity due to fear of attacks from the government.

 

He spoke to Al Jazeera's Faisal Edroos. 

 

The plight of the Rohingyan Muslims has reached critical levels. Our URGENT appeal is to assist in providing aid to the refugees fleeing persecution. Kindly assist our Rohingyan brethren in their desperate hour of need. Jazakallah Khayr! 

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#ReleaseMoazzamBegg

The Muslim Lawyers Association has organized a picket calling for the
release of former Guantánamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg.
The picket is expected to take place on Jan Smuts Avenue in Sandton, North
of Johannesburg.

Begg has been remanded in custody after appearing in court in London
charged with terror offences related to Syria.When he appeared at Westminster magistrates’ court he denied the charges of providing terrorist training and of funding terrorism overseas.
Begg is due back in court on 14 March.

The latest planned action in South African comes as lawyers world-wide have
called for his release. A statement of support for Begg has been signed by around 60 prominent UK
and US lawyers, academics and human rights group leaders, asking the police to be vigilant over his treatment, given his experiences at Guantánamo Bay, where he was held for nearly three years.
He was never charged with any offence and returned to the UK in 2005. The Muslim Lawyers Association said they are calling for Begg’s release “in the name of justice”.

A strong social media campaign has been launched to force his release.
Social media users have used the hashtag; #ReleaseMoazzam to express their
anger at his imprisonment.

Cultivating one's Character

 CULTIVATING ONE'S CHARACTER

'A believer plants a palm tree and fears that thorns will grow'

We have to constantly search our behavior to insure its consistency with that of the believers. 

While walking in the market not so long ago, I happened to see a group of foreign Muslim sisters heading my way. Needless to say I was very happy, because it is not often that I run across other Muslim women when out and about.

From the manners of giving the salams, I greeted them first. To my dismay, they all looked at me from the top of my khimar-clad head to where my Abaya (outer garment) pooled around my feet with a look of total disgust, and walked away without uttering a word in response. I was so hurt and shocked that all I could do was stand there with my mouth wide open behind my niqab.

It never ceases to amaze me how many of us claim to follow the Qur'an and Sunnah, yet our actions are in total contradiction to what we say we believe. It was part of the manners of those who lived with the Prophet, Sal-lallahu alayhe wasallam, that they would constantly search their thoughts, hearts and behaviors, to make sure they were consistent with those of the believers, and to discard those things which were characteristic of the hypocrites.

For Allah Ta'ala says, "They say, 'We believe in Allah and in the apostle, and we obey:' but even after that, some of them turn away: they are not (really) believers." [24:47]

Along with this, Allah Ta'ala paints for us a complete picture of the believers when He says, "Those who turn (to Allah) in repentance; that serve Him, and praise Him; that wander in devotion to the cause of Allah; that bow down and prostrate themselves (in salah); that enjoin good and forbid evil; and observe the limits set by Allah - so proclaim the good tidings to the believers." [9:112]

Also, Yahya ibn Muadh, rahimahullah, talked about the believers possessing the following characteristics in one of his essays:

"It is to be full of modesty, and to be harmless too. To be full of goodness and not to be corrupt. For the tongue to be truthful, for the words to be little and to be plentiful in good actions. To have little slip-ups and not be excessive. To be good to one's relatives, building closeness between them. To be dignified and grateful, and to be full of contentment if Allah restricted some provision. To be forbearing and friendly to his brothers, and to be compassionate and chaste. Not to curse, swear, insult, backbite, nor to gossip. Not to be hasty, envious, hateful, arrogant, or vain, neither to lean towards worldliness or to extend long hopes and wishes. Not to sleep too much, nor to be absent-minded, nor to show off nor be hypocritical. Not to be selfish, but to be soft and cheerful and not servile. Loving for the sake of Allah, being pleased for His sake and being angry only for His sake. His provision is taqwa, and his worries are what will happen to him in the Afterlife. His friends remind him, his beloved is His Protector and Master, and his struggle is for the Hereafter."

How many of us possess these qualities? How many of us are striving to cultivate these characteristics within ourselves? How can we profess to be true believers when we don't even spread the salams, and protect each other from harm and hurt? We're not, for the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wasallam, said, "By Allah, he does not believe. By Allah, he does not believe. By Allah, he does not believe." He was asked, "Whom, O Messenger of Allah?" He said, "The one who does not safeguard his neighbor from his harms." (Bukhari)

Allah Ta'ala also says about the believers that, "The Believers, men and women, are protectors one of another: they enjoin what is just, and forbid what is evil: they observe regular salah, practices regular charity, and obey Allah and His Messenger. On them will Allah pour His Mercy: for Allah is Exalted in power, Wise. [9:71]

As Muslims, we must remember that Islam is not a religion based on theories, but it is something that is alive and practical, and must be implemented into practice in every aspect of our lives. Since we are striving to achieve true success, our attitudes should be as Allah Ta'ala says, "The answer of the believers when summoned to Allah and His Messenger, in order that He may judge between them, is no other than this: they say, 'We hear and we obey;' it is such as these that will attain felicity." [24:51]

As it was the practice of those who came before us, let us then too search our hearts, souls, thoughts and actions on a daily basis in order to cultivate the character of a believer, and stamp out any weeds of hypocrisy before they can gain root. Let us remember what Fudayl ibn Iyadh, rahimahullah, said, "A believer plants a palm tree and fears that thorns will grow. The hypocrites plant thorns expecting ripe dates to grow."

A Glimpse Through 5 Broken Cameras

by BUSHRA 

 

Caffeinated Muslim

Over the weekend, I spent a lot of time with my sister’s kids – my nephew and two nieces. I even more than willingly fulfilled some duties as a khala/aunt and read a few books to my four year-old niece. One book I read was about an anthropomorphic tractor named Otis that helped save the farm animals, including the bull that no one ever liked because he always seemed so angry, from a tornado that touched down on the farm where they were lived.  This was after I read my niece a book about Angelina, the mouse that was a ballerina and who was going to be a bridesmaid at a princess’s wedding (I know, right?).

 

A day after I read those books to my niece, I watched the Oscar-nominated documentary 5 Broken Cameras, which is now streaming on Netflix and available for rental/Amazon Instant Video/however it is you get your movies these days. This film takes place in the village of Bil’in in Palestine. Director Emad Burnat started filming during the time in which a separation fence that encroached further on the land of the Palestinians for the settlements began construction. From 2005-2009, Burnat follows the non-violent protests against this barrier held by his fellow villagers and their inevitable run-ins with IDF soldiers. On occasion, the villagers are joined by activists from all around the world, including some Israeli citizens as well, as they try to reclaim land that is rightfully theirs.

The beginning of the documentary also coincides with the birth of Burnat’s fourth son Gibreel so as the director films the people in his village and the protests, he also shows us his family and we see Gibreel grow from a newborn to 5 years old. When Gibreel is just a toddler, he accompanies his father and brothers to protests. In one particular instance, the tear gas is launched like clockwork and even though Gibreel is in a car, you hear him cough on the gas. Later, as he’s telling his mom about the protest, his mom calls him a hero. Gibreel continuously sees his dad’s friends getting hurt, family members arrested, and IDF soldiers setting off tear gas and also going through their village. Watching 5 Broken Cameras so soon after spending quite a bit of time with family, I couldn’t help but think that Gibreel’s reality is so different than that of my own nephews and nieces. By including his family into 5 Broken Cameras, Burnat makes this documentary stand out. He humanizes the occupation in a manner that even if we can’t relate to it because hopefully many of us do not deal with outside forces trying to take our land, we can at least come away with a better understanding of what the situation is and the effects it has.

Burnat is the objective cameraman in all of this and and so he grapples with what it means to not only be behind the lens, but to stay there despite what is going on in front of him. This is a much different documentary than say something like the excellent Occupation 101. The creators of Occupation 101 give a history of the occupation from its roots, talk to experts, and also interview several people in the occupied lands. 5 Broken Cameras is only about the people in Bi’lin and their unending quest to hold onto what’s theirs. Those of us who watch 5 Broken Cameras have now become witnesses to the plight. With the Oscar nomination, 5 Broken Cameras has a great opportunity to be the way in which many more people become aware of the ramifications of the occupation. Check it out.

Just a note – Although most of the documentary is composed of material filmed by Emad Burnat, 5 Broken Cameras is also co-directed by Guy Davidi.

 

 

Picture: http://www.newwavefilms.co.uk/assets/directory/80/5_Broken_Cameras_v5.jpg

http://caffeinatedmuslim.com/2013/01/24/a-glimpse-through-5-broken-cameras/

French rapper reverts

French RAPPER, Diam, announces reversion to Islam

A French rapper, Mélanie Georgiades, known as Diam, has bolstered the spirits of Muslims around the world, and in France in particular, with her announcement that she has reverted to Islam.

The once famous rap artist has been off the music scene for the last three years and made a surprise television appearance on French TV station TF1. The video uploaded to YouTube went viral within hours of posting and was then removed by the channel.
In the video she dispelled myths frequently promoted by western media about Islam as a religion of extremism, terrorism and violation of human rights.
Diam was forthright is setting the record straight. “I discovered a religion of wisdom of nonviolence, of peace, of sharing, of kindness. It is the religion of Jesus, Moses, Abraham, Solomon and of all the prophets.”
Wearing a full hijab, exposing only her face, she explained how she had discovered “serenity in Islam”.

European Muslims have had to fend off strong currents of Islamophoia and demonisation as the number of Muslim immigrants and natives reverting to Islam has increased phenomenally.

France is currently home to around 6 million Muslims, the largest Muslim population in Europe. Under the leadership of former president, Nicholas Sarkozy, the country adopted controversial laws outlawing the Muslim face veil or niqab.
Despite similar obstacles and religious intolerance spreading to other countries in Europe, people have been attracted to the beauty and peace inherent in the religion.
Explaining her decision to where the hijab Diam said: “I believe that I live in a tolerant society, and I don’t feel hurt by criticism, but by insults and stereotyping and ready-made judgments…I see it as a divine order or a divine advice, this brings joy to my heart and for me this is enough.”
Her previous life as a music superstar was riddled with depression, something not previously known to her fans.

“I was very famous and I had what every famous person looks for, but I was always crying bitterly alone at home, and this is what none of my fans had felt,” she told TF1.

She added: “I was heavily addicted to drugs, including hallucinating narcotics and was admitted in mental asylum to recover, but this was in vain until I heard one of my Muslim friends saying ‘I am going to pray for a while and will come back,’ so I told her that I want to pray as well.”
However, the greatest attraction to Islam seems to be the direction in life and the purpose of existence that it unravels for so many non-Muslims searching for credible answers.

“This has warmed my heart, as I know now the purpose of my existence, and why am I here on Earth.”2

On Palestine...

Did you Know?.. Facts - Palestinian/Israeli conflict.


1. Did you know that non-Jewish Israelis cannot buy or lease land in Israel? A Jew from any country in the world is guaranteed citizenship in Israel, while the Palestinians who have been there for centuries are oppressed and persecuted.

2. Did you know that instead of sewing an insignia on clothing to distinguish race, Palestinian license plates in Israel are color coded to distinguish Jews from non-Jews?

3. Did you know that East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza, and the Golan Heights are all considered by the entire world community, including the United States and the United Nations, to be occupied territory and NOT part of the State of Israel?

4. Did you know that Israel allots 85% of the water resources for Jews,and the remaining 15% is divided among all Palestinians in the territories? For example in Hebron, 85% of the water is set aside for about 400 Jewish settlers, while the remaining 15% is distributed among Hebron's 120,000 Palestinians?

5. Did you know that the United States awards Israel $5 billion in aid each year from American tax dollars?

6. Did you know that US aid to Israel ($1.8 billion annually in military aid alone) exceeds the aid the US grants to the entire African continent?
This aid is used both to buy American weaponry and to buy arms made in Israel.

7. Did you know that Israel is awaiting an additional $4 billion worth of American military hardware, including new F-16s and Apache and Blackhawk helicopters. As Israel's main ally and supporter internationally, the United States is committed to maintaining the Jewish state's "qualitative edge" in weapons over its neighbors.

8. Did you know that the U.S. administration has notified Congress on numerous occasions that Israel has violated the rules on how US-supplied weapons are used? (In 1978, 1979 and 1982 during fighting in Lebanon, and once after Israel's bombing of an Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981.)

9. Did you know that Israel is the only country in the Middle East that refuses to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and bars international inspections from its sites?

10. Did you know that high-ranking military officers in the Israeli Defense Forces have admitted publicly that unarmed prisoners of war have been summarily executed by the Israeli forces?

11. Did you know that Israel blew up an American diplomatic facility in Egypt and attacked a US warship in international waters (the USS Liberty), killing 33 and wounding 177 American sailors and the US did nothing about it? (Imagine if an Islamic country did this!)

12. Did you know that Israel stands in defiance of 69 United Nations
Security Council Resolutions?

13. Did you know that Israel is explicitly dedicated to the policy of maintaining a distinct Jewish character?

14. Did you know that Israel's current Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, was found by an Israeli court to be "personally and directly responsible" for the Sabra and Shatilla massacre in Lebanon where more than a thousand innocent Palestinian men, women, and children were axed to death or lined up and shot in cold blood?

15. Did you know that on May 20, 1990, a group of unarmed Palestinian laborers were lined up and murdered by an Israeli solider as they sat waiting for transportation back to Gaza? The terrified laborers who gathered in an area of southern Israel known as Rishon Lezion (known to Palestinians by its Arabic name Oyon Qara) handed their ID cards to the Israeli soldier.The soldiers ordered the distressed laborers to kneel down and face the ground and unexpectedly showered them with a barrage of bullets, killing seven and wounding many others. Needless to say, the soldier was not charged with any crime.

16. Did you know that until as recently as 1988, Israelis were permitted to run "Jews Only" job ads?

17. Did you know that the Israeli Foreign Ministry pays six US public relations firms to promote a "positive image" of Israel to the American public?

18. Did you know that Sharon's coalition government includes a party--Molodet--which advocates ethnic cleansing by openly calling for the forced expulsion of all Palestinians from the occupied territories?

19. Did you know that recently-declassified documents indicate that David Ben-Gurion approved of the forced expulsion of Arabs from all Palestininan territory in 1948?

20. Did you know that the former chief rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Ovadia Yossef, who is also a founder and spiritual leader of the religious Shas party (Israel's third largest political party) openly advocates a 'Final Solution' to annihilate the Palestinians? Speaking at the widely broadcast sermon marking the last Passover, he declared of the Palestinians: "The Lord shall return their deeds on their own heads, waste their seed and exterminate them, devastate them and vanish them from this world. It is forbidden to be merciful to them. You must send missiles to them and annihilate them. They are evil and damnable."

21. Did you know that Palestinian refugees make up the largest portion of the refugee population in the world?

22. Did you know that Palestinian Christians are considered the "living stones" of Christianity because they are the direct descendants of the disciples of Jesus Christ? And the Palestinian Christians stand united with their Muslim brethren in the struggle against the Israeli occupation.

23. Did you know that despite a ban on torture by Israel's High Court of Justice, torture has continued unabated by Shin Bet interrogators on Palestinian prisoners?

24. Did you know that despite every Israeli attempt to disrupt Palestinian education, Palestinians have the highest ratio of PhDs per capita in the world?

25. Did you know that the right of self-determination is guaranteed to every human being under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [December,1948], yet Palestinians were/are expected to negotiate for this right under the Oslo Accords?

26. Did you know that despite what is widely perpetuated and written in the history books that the Arabs attacked Israel in the 1967 war, it was Israel who attacked the Arab countries first, capturing Jerusalem and the West Bank, and called the attack a pre-emptive strike?

27. Did you know that, as an occupying power, Israel has a particular responsibility under the Geneva Conventions to protect Palestinian civilians?

28. Did you know that, despite Ariel Sharon's public call for a unilateral ceasefire, Israeli soldiers have not stopped shooting, killing or bulldozing Palestinian homes? The most recent example of this is the murder of three innocent women who were shot by an Israeli tank as they sat in their tent!

29. Did you know that the Zionists have been trying to destroy Masjid al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock for the last 50 years by digging underground tunnels beneath the sites to weaken its foundation causing it to collapse?

30. Did you know that the majority of Muslims have been sleeping for the past 50 years and have been unaware of most of the above facts?
NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE!

Request for Dua'as

As-Salaamu-Alaikum

Please remember our brothers and sisters of Burma in your Dua'as.

To read more about their plight ---> clink on the below link.

http://www.columnpk.com/muslim-massacre-in-myanmar-dr-asjad-bokhari/

First Muslim Model Agency Opens in New York

Fashion insiders believe that this agency can help remove the stigma heaped upon Muslim women

The launch of the world's first Muslim model agency, in New York's fashionable Tribeca district, offered an interesting alternative to the options presented at New York Fashion Week a few blocks uptown. A coming-together of a particularly stylish segment of the Islamic community in this cosmopolitan city, the event on Saturday night played host to everyone from a fully veiled woman in black abaya to dramatically coiffed fashionistas (and fashionistos) curious about a groundbreaking project.

The founder of the Underwraps agency, Nailah Lymus, is a born-and-bred New York Muslim with a love of fashion and a mission to prove Islam's worth and tolerance to a city whose inhabitants remain, in many cases, emotionally fragile and somewhat suspicious of Islam more than a decade after the tragic September 11 terrorist attacks.

"It's just always been about contradicting a lot of the negative stereotypes and misunderstandings about Muslims and our religion, as well as about Muslim females; there's a whole lot of other negative stereotypes that go with that," says Lymas at the launch, in the Rare salon on Church Street. "We can walk on the runway, we can wear colours, we can do things independently of our husbands ... It breaks down so many misunderstandings, even regarding nationalities of Muslim women; it's a religion that's international."

In fact, arguably, much of the fashion that has been shown so far in New York for autumn/winter 2012 would be perfectly at home on a Muslim model, with hats, high necks and long sleeves all crucial trends. One guest at the event, Ismail Sayeed, a Harlem-born blogger and artist otherwise known as The Calligrafist, argues: "Those things are incorporated into western fashion. People who are not Muslim can cover and still be fashionable. If you look at the runway a lot of models are covered, and designers especially play with veils."

The owner of Rare, Fatima Sheikh, agrees. "When I met Nailah, I didn't even realise she was wearing hijab. It just looked so hot that I was like, I love what you've got going on!"

Sheikh runs a monthly "hijab night", during which she blocks off the windows on the premises, allowing local Muslim women to enjoy the benefits of a beauty salon in the privacy required by their beliefs. A practising Muslim herself, she was attracted to Lymus's project from the start, and was happy to offer her salon for the buzzy event.

"We met and everything she was talking about, the femininity and mysteriousness, that there's more to being feminine than being naked all the time, I agreed with. Anything I can do to help out each other [in Muslim fashion] I'm down to do."

Judging by the eclectic crowd that gathered on Saturday night, there are plenty of people with the same approach: some were there out of curiosity, some were bloggers looking for the next big story and many were Muslim fashionistas wanting to be part of a bigger movement.

Mohammed Shariff, a New York-based fashion and entertainment lawyer, was there to support his fellow New York Muslims, but he also saw a business opportunity. This was, he thought, just the tip of a future iceberg. "When I saw this I thought it was a perfect fit for Muslims and non-Muslims who don't want to be so revealing. I know we're going to start catering for this international market in America, whether it's at Neiman Marcus or JC Penney," he argues. "It's happening."

Shariff also points out the issue that has been troubling for so many of those who would like to be Muslim models - and those who would employ them. "I work with models and modelling agencies," he says. "I do see Muslims in modelling agencies who suffer from the assignments; they feel that they compromise who they are for it."

Sayeed has a similar experience. "I personally know many Muslims who want to model but they don't want to take anything off; they want to stay within their faith. People have their different views on it, but if you look around the world, Muslims dress differently. Culture plays a big part in how Muslims dress."

It's nevertheless a thorny issue for Lymus, who inevitably finds herself "representing" the Muslim world in fashion. How has she dealt with the doctrinal and religious issues?

"I've spoken to two imams, and they seemed to be supportive of it as long as I'm representing the religion properly, once I explained the direction I'm going in, which is really to bring awareness to a fashion forum. The models know that I'm devout in my religion." Still, if, as she suggests, the agency does start to cater for an international market ("I would love for my girls to walk Lincoln Centre during New York Fashion Week"), there are going to be some serious backstage issues, in a world in which it is completely normal for models to change in front of a whole room of men and women.

"Our contracts are really detailed, to make sure everything is understood," she says. "I'm even in the process of designing a portable fitting room for the individual model, because we can't have men dressing us, and I don't want it to be a burden or inconvenience to designers who might want to use our models."

Whether the madness that occurs backstage at a mainstream fashion show will support such measures remains to be seen.

http://www.albawaba.com/editorchoice/first-muslim-model-agency-opens-new-york-412790

How Fortunate are we??

Assalaamu ‘alaykum

As human beings we forever complaining, never make shukr for what we have.

Especially here in ZA, we are so lucky that Muslims are recognised, we have Masjids that we can pray our five daily Salaah & Halaal Certified Food is easily accessible, shukran to organisations like the Jamiatul Ulama South Africa, SANHA & other Muslim Jamaats for their efforts.

I have just come back from Warsaw, Poland & it’s sad that I could not come across Masjid or hardly met Muslims. By co-incidence I met one Muslim man who was intrigued to meet a South African Muslim with a beard & he was overwhelmed. When I enquired about a Masjid, he said he reads his everyday Salaah at home with his family and for Jummah they have to travel over a few 100km's to the closet Masjid.

Shukr to Allah we have many Masjids in every city & town in South Africa.

May Allah grant us the taufeeq to make shukr & may Islam grow further in South Africa as well in every other country in the world, Aameen.

May Allah give us all Hidaayah & keep us steadfast on Deen! Aameen.

Was-Salaam