Recent Blogs
Maqamats, Sacred Geometry and the Celestial Worlds
By Ian Whiteman| 11/24/2011Sending good for the morrow
By Dr. Waffie Mohammed| 11/24/2011Three ingredients for a successful life
By Dr. Waffie Mohammed| 11/24/2011A conservative Turkish lad in London
By Sedat Ergin| 11/23/2011The Best of Planners
By Dr. Waffie Mohammed| 10/21/2011Recent News
Guyana Muslims meet President Ramotar
- Published 01/20/2012
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The organisation provides sanctuaries for youths in difficult circumstances through its Orphan and Vulnerable Children (OVC) programme at centres at East and West Berbice, East Coast and East Bank and West Demerara, Georgetown and Essequibo.
The orphans programme started in 1993 to provide financial, educational, medical and social assistance to orphans and vulnerable children. Additionally, the CIOG donates over $900,000 to these children on a monthly basis. Those successful at National Grade Six Assessment and the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) also receive bursary awards.
The CIOG operates four schools which many of these children attend free of cost and are provided with vitamins, clothing, shoes, housing assistance, spectacles and medical check-ups.
Alleged child molestation
A religious teacher from the East Coast of Demerara, is under investigations for allegedly molesting a number of boys under his tutelage, was sent on leave following the accusations, the Central Islamic Organization of Guyana (CIOG) said yesterday.The CIOG statement was one of two issued by the Muslim community, denouncing the alleged actions of the teacher, following startling allegations made by the victims and their relatives.
Police officials have since said that a police file could be submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutor as early as today for advice. In a press release the CIOG said “The individual in question is employed by this organization. Since the allegations have been made, this person was sent on leave pending the outcome of the investigation and any case in the courts,”.
According to the organization, which is the largest umbrella body for Muslims in the country, it has never and will never condone any unlawful act. “Our nation’s children are our hope for the future, and caring for them is one of our greatest responsibilities. Our commitment to preventing child abuse and neglect by promoting healthy families, protecting children, and supporting communities throughout this country, remains unblemished. We have reinforced initiatives that enhance the efforts of child protective service agencies to prevent and treat child abuse.”
CIOG said that it will continue work to ensure all children have the ability to live free from abuse and neglect by advocating for the safety of all young people.
Meanwhile, the Guyana Islamic Trust (GIT) is appalled by the news, alleging that a teacher molested young boys. “The GIT on behalf of the Muslim community wishes to state categorically that Islam clearly condemns and outlaws such abomination in the strongest possible terms and that the Muslim Authorities in Guyana in no way condone such disgraceful behaviour.”
The allegations would be shocking for Guyana, especially as it centers on religious teacher in the Muslim community, long considered one of the most conservative groups in the country.
Revolution in education: Digital textbooks
- Published 01/20/2012
IBooks 2, a free app for reading interactive full-screen digital textbooks that makes liberal use of video and animations, was unveiled Thursday in New York by Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president for worldwide marketing.
Apple also announced iBooks Author, a free software application for Macintosh computers with custom templates to help authors create and publish their own digital textbooks.
Apple is broadening its iTunes U program beyond audio and video lectures by adding an app for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch that allows professors to create full online courses, with assignments, books, quizzes and syllabi. Previously available only for the higher-education market, Apple is letting K-12 schools participate for the first time.
Featured Articles
Aashiq al-Rasul - Every Beat - Acapella Vol 1
- By Alim Ali
- Published 12/19/2010
- Culture, Music & Arts
- Unrated
| Aashiq al-Rasul - Every Beat - Acapella - Official Music Video, Voice Only, No Instruments used. |
Innovation (Bid`a) and Celebrating the Prophet's Birthday (Mawlid)
- By Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
- Published 11/25/2010
- Fiqh-Legal Understanding
- Unrated
Question: What is the concept of a “praiseworthy innovation” (bid`a hasana). How can an innovation be praiseworthy? Is the mawlid (celebration of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad) from this?
Answer: Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
I pray this finds you in the best of health and spirits.
The concept of “praiseworthy innovation” (bid`a hasana) is basically a specific form of applying a general sunna of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), in a manner not contrary to the principles of Prophetic guidance.
Words In Praise Of The Messenger Of Allah (s)
- By Shaykh Gibril Haddad
- Published 02/13/2009
- The Prophet (s)
- Unrated
Those who were the Prophet's contemporaries are the best source of direct evidence of who he (s) was, what experience they had when they were in his (s) noble presence. Here are just a few excerpts of their testimonial expressing their sentiments on Rasullullah (s) as translated by Shaykh Gibril Haddad
Recent Articles
Imam Hydal: "is T& T in danger of being run over by Islamic extremists?"
- By Super Admin
- Published 12/4/2011
- Ancillary Topics
- Unrated
The turban tradition in Islam
- By Shaykh Gibril Haddad
- Published 11/4/2011
- Culture, Music & Arts
- Unrated
'Imama, the turban, has been the most distinctive vestimentary sunnah — "way of life" — of Islam since the beginnings of the Religion. 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar said: "The Prophet used to wind the turban around his head and tuck it in behind him, letting its extremity hang down between his shoulders."
INSTITUTIONALISING ISLAM: COMMUNITY BUILDING AND CONFLICT IN THE CARIBBEAN
- By Halima Kassim
- Published 09/9/2011
- Our Region
- Unrated
ABSTRACT:
The Muslim community in the post-indenture Caribbean witnessed several changes that affected the character of its practices. As a way of institutionalizing the faith, the community had established masajid (mosques), schools and other organisations. As these physical manifestations and legal entities were being inserted into the local space, foreign missionaries who visited imposed their brand of Islam on the local landscape. The tension which arose resulted in the splintering of the Muslim community. Each strain, Sunnism and Ahmaddiyaism, vied for supremacy – territoriality - by supporting missionary visits from India and later Pakistan, and embarking upon da’wah (invitation to...). As these streams of Islam collided or solidified, organisations, either at the community or national levels, were established.
As part of forging the ummah (community) Muslim leaders established links with South American Islamic bodies, principally those of British Guiana and Suriname. This development of Islamic consciousness and cooperation culminated with a regional conference in 1950 in Trinidad that involved Muslims from Trinidad, British Guiana, Suriname and Barbados. This conference was the highlight of Islamic consciousness in the Caribbean and preceded the departure of two eminent Islamic scholars, Maulana Abdul Aleem Siddiqui and Dr. Fazl-ur Rahaman Ansari.
This paper, therefore, takes a look at the above issues and rethinks them in the context of interconnected networks and sometimes, through the lens of the local-global nexus. It views it as a noble attempt by the Muslims to assert the ummah beyond national boundaries and a forerunner to other efforts in the later twentieth century.
The Arrival of Islam in Guyana - The African Muslims
- By Shabnam Ali and Ray Chickrie
- Published 08/27/2011
- Guyana
- Unrated
As we approach the end of yet another holy month of Ramadan and prepare to welcome the Eid-ul Fitr celebrations, it is an appropriate time to reflect on the history of Islam in Guyana. According to geographer and historian, Al Bakri, Islam reached Africa by the 8th century through the trans-Sahara trade that included the Kingdoms of Mali, Kanem Bornu, Songhai and Ghana. By the 16th and 17th centuries Islam had firmly taken hold in North, West and other pockets in Africa. Al-Bakri “painted” the following picture of the Empire of Ghana (from where the majority of our Afro-Guyanese ancestors came from) – By the year 1068 Ghana was highly advanced, economically and a very prosperous country. The “city” of Ghana consists of two towns lying on a plain, one of which was inhabited by Muslims, and possessing 12 mosques (one was a congregational mosque for Friday Jummah namaaz), each with its own Imam, Muezzin and paid reciters of the Koran. Bakri also wrote about the later influence of Islam in the Malian Empire (which included Ghana) in the 13th century under Mansa Musa, whose fame spread to Sudan, North Africa and all the way to Europe. Musa was the wealthiest ruler during that period in Africa.



