Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Fwd: Lane's Arabic - English Lexicon -- online & pdf download



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dr. Akram Safadi <drakramsafadi@gmail.com>
Date: Sep 25, 2007 9:05 AM
Subject: Lane's Arabic - English Lexicon -- online & pdf download
To: Islamic Issues <Islamicissues@googlegroups.com>

Salam,

While checking some online resources, I came to see that Lane's Arabic - English Lexicon is available online and can be downloaded as pdf (image) files.  Anyone who dealt with scholarly translation of Arabic into English knows this master work as the ultimate Arabic-English dictionary.   It is so meticulous and comprehensive; it is to Arabic-English, as the (unabridged) Oxford English Dictionary is to English.

Edward William Lane (1801-1876) was an English man who studied Arabic and Islam and lived long time in Egypt.  He spent almost the last 30 years of his life working on his massive dictionary.  It is mainly based on the largest Arabic dictionaries, Lis an al-`Arab and Taj al-`Arus.  I find it amazing that he worked this in the 19th century when such huge Arabic dictionaries were still in hand-written manuscripts.  To have an idea how massive undertaking this was; Lisan al-`Arab is about 15 printed volumes while Taj al-`Arus is 20.  Lane's Lexicon was published gradually in 1863 through 1893 in 8 large volumes.  It is still available in print (copy of the original typeset), and in our times was made also available on CD-ROM.  It is great that it is now made available also online and can be downloaded as pdf (image) files.

Links;
The organization that has it online, studyquran.co.uk (and studyquran.org) seems to be a deviated group who consider The Qur'an as the sole source of Islam and exclude the Sunnah.  Too bad, but still it is good that they somehow made the book available online.  I didn't see it on any known Islamic website, not surprising since they generally tend to be unaware of academic-scholarly resources.

Attached are 3 pages in which the Arabic root SHIN-RA-`AYN is explained.  It is an example of the richness of the Arabic language and the excellence of Lane's work.  We all know the word Shari`ah, but I think learning the root expands your understanding of it.  For instance, Shari`ah, a manifest water source, a manifest religious way; Shari`, a street; Mashru`, a project--all are from the same root.  By orientation and convection, I think Arabic is the key to understanding The Qur'an.  "We have sent it down with a clearing Arabic tongue".  I like so much what is reported from Imam al-Shafi`i commenting on the spreading differences in religion in his time, "Nothing destroyed most people but the non-Arabism of their tongues."

I suggest download it (8 pdf files) and use as a resource for understanding key Arabic words.  http://www.studyquran.co.uk/LLhome.htm


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_William_Lane


Edward William Lane
Edward William Lane

Edward William Lane (September 17, 1801, Hereford, England August 10, 1876, Worthing, Sussex) was a noted scholar of the Arabic language and Arabic literature.

He was the son of an English clergyman, a prebendary , of Hereford, England. He was born in Hereford and sent to university at Cambridge, with the plan that he should enter his father's profession. However, he abandoned the university and moved to London, where he trained to become an engraver.

He was diagnosed with a mild case of tuberculosis , then known as consumption, and advised to remove to a warm dry climate. He sailed to Egypt in 1825.

While in Egypt, he devoted himself to the study of Arabic, Arabic literature, and Islam, observed Egyptian manners and customs, and adopted the dress and habits of an Egyptian man of learning.

He returned to England in 1828, with the draft of a travel book embellished with his own drawings. After many rejections, he finally found a publisher -- however, rather than putting the book through the press in its original form, he insisted on revisiting Egypt in 1833 to check or expand his earlier observations.

The resulting book, Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians, was published in 1836 and became a surprise best-seller.

From 1838 through 1840, he issued the several volumes of his translation of The Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights). This too was a great popular success.

He was married in 1840, to a woman of Greek descent.

After publishing a book of translations of excerpts from the Qur'an, he decided to assemble a dictionary and thesaurus of Arabic. He returned to Egypt in 1842 to work on his book. He stayed in Egypt until 1849, when he made his final return to England. Until his death in 1876, he worked unceasingly on his gigantic dictionary -- which was, unfortunately, unfinished at the time of his death. It was completed by his nephew, S. L. Poole and published in 1893 as the Arabic English Lexicon.








--
-- Akram Y. Safadi, PhD  د. أكرم يوسف ألصفدي

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Woman and her role in Islam, by Dr. Lina El Hemsy



http://www.muslimatonline.com/arz-web-v2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=55&Itemid=27

المرأة ودورها الفعال في الإسلام

بقلم: الدكتورة لينة الحمصي

تكتنف قضية المرأة اليوم شعارات برّاقة , وأصوات مزيفة , تقودها دعوات هدامة , منساقة لنداءات الشيطان وأعوانه ....

أفكار متضاربة متناقضة , تتناطح كل يوم , عبر شاشات التلفاز والإذاعات , وفي النوادي والمجتمعات .., لكنها رغم تناقضها تجتمع حول محور واحد , ألا وهو هدم الإسلام والقضاء عليه , عن قصدٍ أو غير قصد ...

فمن قائل يقول : إن المرأة لم تخلق إلا لتطيع زوجها , وتربّي أولادها , وتخدم بيتها , وأن ليس لها من بيتها خروج إلا مرتين , إحداهما من بيت أهلها إلى بيت زوجها , والثانية من بيت زوجها إلى مثواها الأخير , مستقلّة نعشاً يحملها , وهي تقول :

يا    قارئاً    كتابي       ترحّم  على  شبابي

بالأمس كنت  بينكم       واليوم تحت التراب

وهذه الفئة أناس متحجرون , وقد أعمى الجمود والانغلاق أعينهم عن رؤية الحق والحقيقة , فراحوا ينسبون إلى الإسلام ما هو منه براء , من تحجيم لدور المرأة , ومنع لتعليمها , وتغاضٍ عن رأيها , بحجة أنهن ناقصات عقل ودين , وهم يظنون أن لهم على ما يدّعون أدلة وبراهين , ويتذرعون بقول الله تعالى :( وقَرن في بيوتكن ولا تبرَّجن تبرج الجاهلية الأولى) - سورة الأحزاب الآية 33 -

وبالحديث الشريف الذي رواه سيدنا علي كرم الله وجهه قال : قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : أي شيء خير للمرأة ؟ فسكتوا , فجئت فقلت لفاطمة : أي شيء خير للنساء ؟ قالت : ألّا يراهن الرجال . فذكرت ذلك للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال : إنما فاطمة بضعة مني – أخرجه البزار في مسنده : 2 / 160 -

وفي مقابل هذه الجموع المنغلقة على جمودها , والتي رضيت بفهمها الأعوج لتلك الأحكام , وتطبيقها الأرعن لتلك المفاهيم , ظهرت في الاتجاه المعاكس مجموعة أخرى , راحت تنادي بالتحرر من هذه القيود حتى الانفلات , بحجة أن كل ما هو قديم تخلّف وانحطاط , وكل ما هو وليد القرن العشرين تحضر وارتقاء .

فأصبح الحجاب عندهم عائقاً يمنع المرأة من ممارسة دورها في المجتمع , وأصبح الالتفاف إلى أمور البيت والزوج والأولاد وأداً للمرأة وهي على قيد الحياة , أما التزام الأدب والاحترام في التعامل مع الأزواج , فأصبح عندهم ذلاً وعبودية , فما كان منهم إلا أن نادوا بملء أفواههم بالخروج عن تعاليم الإسلام التي بليت , ولم تعد – في رأيهم – صالحة لأبناء هذا القرن المتحضر , في عصر الذرة والإلكترون , فنادوا بالاختلاط الفوضوي , والسفور التحضري ... وأوصلوا المجتمع بتفكيرهم الإنسلاخي التبعي إلى شفا جرف هاو ٍ , متخذين من المرأة الغربية مثلاً أعلى ونموذجاً يحتذى ....

ومن بين أدعياء هذا الرأي – وللأسف – فئة من أبناء المسلمين , يتزعمهم أحياناً أناس يلبسون لباس الإسلام , ويتسربلون بسرباله , ليعملوا يد الطعن والتخريب فيه , ليصلوا إلى ما لا يمكن لأعداء الإسلام أن يفعلوه , متذرعين بأنهم مسلمون واقعيون , يريدون للإسلام أن يتطور ليواكب متطلبات هذا العصر !!! .

والطامة الكبرى في هذا أن كثيراً من أبناء المسلمين وبناتهم السذّج قد استولت على عقولهم هذه الدعوات البراقة , فراحوا ينعقون بها كمن ينعق بما لا يسمع إلا دعاءً ونداءً .....

ولكأني بهؤلاء قد ألغوا عقولهم , وأصموا آذانهم , وأعموا أبصارهم عن رؤية حقيقة ما عليه المرأة في الإسلام , وما هي عليه في الغرب ، ناسين أو متناسين أن وسائل الإعلام المغرضة والموجهة قد صورت لهم بعض الزوايا الضيقة جداً من جماليات المرأة في الغرب , وأخفت عنهم الكثير من مآسيها ومخازيها ....

ولو أن هؤلاء الأدعياء وأذنابَهم من المسلمين , درسوا وضع المرأة في ظل الإسلام , بعد أن أزالوا عنها كل ما اعتراها من تشوه وتحريف لرأوا ما يبهر الأبصار , ويثلج الصدر , ولرثوا لحال المرأة الأوروبية , ولما كان أمامهم إلا أن يدعوها لتطبيق أحكام الإسلام , ففيها البلسم الشافي لجروحها وآلامها التي أدمتها حضارة القرن العشرين بماديتها القاتلة .

ولو علمت المرأة في الغرب ما للمرأة المسلمة من دور فعال في مجتمعها , وما لها من حقوق وواجبات لما توانت لحظة واحدة عن الانضواء تحت جنحها , لتنال بعضاً من حقوقها ...

هذه الحقوق التي شملت المرأة الأم , والمرأة الزوجة , والمرأة البنت , تلك المرأة التي كانت مهيضة الجناح , ذليلة الكيان قبل الإسلام , فأتى الإسلام ليحوطها بكامل عنايته , وإذا ما ضاق الوقت عن إمكانية سرد تلك الحقوق الممنوحة للمرأة المسلمة , فإنه لن يضيق عن ذكر ما قامت به المرأة المسلمة من أدوار إيجابية في المجتمع الإسلامي , كانت نتيجة حتمية لتلك الحقوق التي منحها إياها الإسلام , من حقوق مدنية واجتماعية وسياسيّة , تلك الحقوق التي أرسيت على قاعدة هامة , ألا وهي مساواتها للرجال وفق الآية الشريفة : ( يا أيها الناس إنّا خلقناكم من ذكر وأنثى , وجعلناكم شعوباً وقبائل لتعارفوا , إن أكرمكم عند الله أتقاكم )- سورة الحجرات الآية 13 -

وقول النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم : " إنما النساء شقائق الرجال " – أخرجه أبو داود( 236) ، والترمذي ( 113 ) -

وقد استجابت المرأة المسلمة في عهد الرسالة إلى نداء ربها ونداء رسولها , فلم تكن منبوذة في بيتها , تعكف على خدمة البيت والزوج والأولاد , كما تدعيه هذه الشرذمة من الناس , بل لقد كان لها دور فعال في جميع الميادين التعليمية والإصلاحية والدعوية , والجهادية والسياسية ....

فكانت تخرج من بيتها متجهة إلى مجالس النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم , تحضرها مع الرجال , بل لم تكن تلك المجالس لتروي ظمأها , وتشبع فهمها إلى العلم , فكانت تريد حظاً أوفر من ذلك , تريد أن تخصِّص من دون الرجال بمجلس تحصل منه على مزيد من العلم , وتسأل فيه عما يخصها من الأمور بمعزل عنهم , ومن ذلك ما أخرجه البخاري : أن امرأة أتت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقالت : غلبنا عليك الرجال , فاجعل لنا من نفسك يوماً , نأتيك فيه , تعلمنا مما علمك الله . فقال اجتمعْن في يوم كذا وكذا , في مكان كذا وكذا , فاجتمعْنَ فأتاهنَّ رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم , فعلمهنّ ممّا علمه الله – أخرجه البخاري في العلم ، باب : هل يجعل للنساء يوم على حدة في العلم ( 102 ) -

ولم يكن دورها في هذه المجالس دور المتلقية فقط , بل كانت تناقش وتجادل , ولم يكن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم لينهاها عن حقها في حرية الرأي وإبدائه , بل كان يبتسم لها , مشجعاً ومؤيداً , ليرسم بهذا للمرأة طريقاً واضحاً في بناء شخصيتها الحرة المستقلة الفعالة . ومن هذا ما أخرجه مسلم في صحيحه أن أسماء بنت يزيد الأنصارية أتت النبي عليه السلام , وهو جالس بين أصحابه , فقالت : بأبي أنت وأمي يا رسول الله , أنا وافدة النساء إليك , إن الله عز وجل بعثك بالحق إلى الرجال والنساء كافَّة , فآمنا بك وبإلهك الذي أرسلك . إنّا – معشر النساء – محصورات مقصورات , قواعد بيوتكم , ومقضى شهواتكم , وحاملات أولادكم , وأنتم – معشر الرجال – فُضِّلتم علينا بالجُمَع والجماعات , وعيادة المرضى , وشهود الجنائز , والحج بعد الحج , وأفضل من ذلك الجهاد في سبيل الله عز وجل , وإن الرجل منكم إذا خرج حاجاً أو معتمراً أو مرابطاً , حفظنا أموالكم وغزلنا لكم أثوابكم , وربينا لكم أولادكم , أنشارككم الأجر يا رسول الله ؟

فالتفت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إلى أصحابه بوجهه كله , ثم قال : هل سمعتم مقالة امرأة قطّ أحسن من مسألتها في أمر دينها من هذه ؟ فقالوا : يا رسول الله ما ظننا أن المرأة تهتدي إلى مثل هذا ! فالتفت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وقال : انصرفي أيتها المرأة وأعلمي من خلفك من النساء , أن حسن تبعُّل المرأة لزوجها , وطلبها مرضاته , واتباعها موافقته , يعْدِل ذلك كله " – أخرجه البيهقي في شعب الإيمان ( 6 / 422 ) -

ولم تكن المرأة المسلمة لتقف عند حدود تعلم العلوم الإسلامية فقط , وهي ترى في قرآنها الكريم , وسنة المصطفى عليه السلام إشارات واضحة , تدل على وجوب تعلم الإنسان كل ما فيه صلاحه في دينه ودنياه , ومن ثم تعليمه لغيره , فخاضت غمار العلوم جميعها من متعلمة إلى معلمة , فكان من النساء الكاتبة والشاعرة والطبيبة والقاضية والأستاذة والمدرّسة .

أما دورها في الإصلاح الاجتماعي , فدور لا يستهان به على الصعيد العام والخاص , فكانت توجه وتقدم النصائح , تدعو إلى سبيل ربها بالحكمة والموعظة الحسنة امتثالاً لأمر الله عز وجل : ( والمؤمنون والمؤمنات بعضهم أولياء بعض , يأمرون بالمعروف وينهون عن المنكر ) - سورة التوبة الآية 71 -

حتى بلغ الأمر بإحدى النساء أن أتت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم مسلمة , ثم رجعت إلى قومها منذرة مبلغة ؟ لتأتيه في العام القابل , ومعها عشيرتها من رجال ونساء , يعلنون إسلامهم أمام النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم .

وهذه أم شريك القرشية , امرأة من أهل مكة , أسلمت في بدء الدعوة الإسلامية , والمسلمون يومئذ قلة مستضعفة , فجعلت تدخل على نساء قريش , تدعوهن إلى الإسلام وترغبهن فيه , حتى ظهر أمرها لأهل مكة , فزجروها قائلين : لولا قومك لفعلنا بك وفعلنا .. – أخرجه ابن حجر في الإصابة في تمييز الصحابة ( 8 / 239 ) -

أما امرأة ابن مسعود التي كانت امرأة صناعاً , فإنها قد جسدت دور المرأة في العمل , وذلك حين أتت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم , فقالت : يا رسول الله إني امرأة ذات صنعة , أبيع منها , وليس لي ولا لزوجي ولا لولدي شيء , فشغلوني فلا أتصدق , فهل لي في ذلك أجر ؟ فقال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم : " لك في ذلك أجر ما أنفقت عليهم , فأنفقي عليهم " – أخرجه البيهقي في السنن الكبرى ( 4 / 178 ) -

وكذلك زينب بنت جحش زوج النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم , فإنها كانت تعمل بيدها وتتصدق وأمام مرأى النبي عليه السلام , بل وبتشجيع منه , لتبرهن لمن بعدها من النساء , أن مشاركتهن في أعمال مهنية وحرفية , بما لا يتعارض مع مسؤولياتهن الأسرية , وبما لا يتنافى مع قواعد دينهن الحنيف , أمر جائز في الإسلام . – أخرج ابن حبّان في صحيحه ( 3314 ) قوله صلى الله عليه وسلم : " أسرعكن بي لحوقاً أطولكن يداً " فكان أطولهن يداً زينب لأنها كانت تعمل بيدها وتتصدّق _

أما الدور الأهم بين الأدوار , والذي يبرز لنا المكانة المرموقة التي أعطاها الإسلام للمرأة , فهو خوضها في أشد الأمور حساسية , وأكثرها تعقيداً وهي السياسة , فكان لها دورها الهام في الإصلاح السياسي , في حراسة قيم المجتمع وتنميتها , وتقويم الاتجاه العام ....

وقد أرسى النبي عليه الصلاة والسلام دعائم هذا الحق السياسي للمرأة , مؤكداً دورها الإيجابي , حين اعتبر المبايعة من طرف النساء أمراً ضرورياً , حيث أسهمن في بيعة العقبة الثانية , بالعهد السياسي على أنفسهن وأموالهن , ونصرة رسوله .

كما تحدثنا السنة الشريفة عن أم سلمة زوجة الرسول الكريم صلى الله عليه وسلم , وهي تشير عليه في صلح الحديبية , فكان لها الفضل الأكبر في إنقاذ المسلمين من كارثة كانت ستحل بهم لا محالة , لولا مشورتها الحكيمة , وعقلها الراجح الرزين , وذلك عندما تباطأ المسلمون في الانصياع لأمر الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم بالتحلّل من العمرة عام الحديبية , حزناً على عدم أدائها , فدخل النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم خيمته مغضباً , وهو يقول : " يا أم سلمة هلك المسلمون , أمرتهم فلم يمتثلوا !! فما كان من أم سلمة إلا أن هدّأت من روعه وهي تقول مواسية : يا رسول الله , إن الناس قد دخلهم أمر عظيم , مما أدخلت على نفسك من المشقة في أمر الصلح , ورجوعهم بغير الفتح , فاخرج إليهم ولا تكلم أحداً , حتى تنحر بُدُنَك , وتدعو حالقك , فيحلق لك , ففعل النبي عليه السلام ذلك , فلما رأى المسلمون ذلك قاموا فنحروا , وجعل بعضهم يحلق لبعض – أخرجه البخاري في الشروط ، باب : الشروط في الجهاد والمصالحة مع أهل الحرب وكتابة الشروط ( 2734 ) -

وتظهر على الساحة أيضاً نسيبة بنت كعب المازنية , وخولة بنت الأزور , وأم سليم , وغيرهن كثر , وهن يشاركن في الجهاد في سبيل الله , خدمة للقوم , وتضميداً للجرحى , وحثاً للمجاهدين وإعلاء لهممهم , بل إن منهن من كانت تستل سيفها , لتشارك في القتال , إذا ما دعت الحاجة , فتكون قدوة لمن بعدها من النساء – أخرج قصة نسيبة ابن هشام في السيرة النبوية ( 4 / 30 ) ، وقصة أم سليم بنت ملحان ( 5 / 114 ) -

هذه هي المرأة في الإسلام , امرأة فعالة منتجة على جميع الصعد , وفي جميع المجالات , وهي لا تقل شأناً عن الرجال , ولقد سمعنا جميعاً بنساء أمثال السيدة خديجة زوج النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم التي كانت عضواً هاماً , ومؤيداً قوياً للنبي عليه السلام في دعوته إلى الإسلام , حتى استحقت أن نطلق عليها لقب وزيرة النبي الكريم عليه الصلاة والسلام .

وهذه أم حرام المجاهدة التي خاضت البحار ... , والخنساء الصابرة على البلاء , كلهن قد فُقْنَ – شجاعة وعقلاً وإقداماً – الكثير الكثير من الرجال .

فلو  كان  النساء   كمن   فقدْنا       لفُضّلت النساء على الرجال   

فما التأنيث لاسم الشمس عيب       ولا  التذكير   فخرٌ   للهلال

أما ما يدعيه هؤلاء المتشدقون المتفيهقون , من أن الله عز وجل قد خاطب النساء بقوله : ( وقرن في بيوتكن ولا تبرّجن تبرج الجاهلية الأولى ) - سورة الأحزاب الآية 33 -

فحرموا على المرأة الخروج من بيتها وملاقاة الرجال فإنه تفسير مجتزأ للقرآن , ومثل هؤلاء كمثل الشيطان لما سئل عما يحفظ من القرآن فأجاب : ( فويل للمصلين) ولو أن هؤلاء رجعوا إلى سياق النص الكريم لعلموا أن هذا النص ما أنزل إلا خاصاً في زوجات النبي عليه السلام أمهات المؤمنين , حيث حرم عليهن الخروج من منازلهن إلا لحاجة , كما أوجب على المسلمين إذا أرادوا منهن حاجة – سؤالاً أو استفساراً – أن يخاطبوهنّ من وراء حجاب ( وإذا سألتموهنّ متاعاً فاسألوهنّ من وراء حجاب , ذلكم أطهر لقلوبكم وقلوبهنّ )

أما استدلالهم بحديث الزهراء لما سأل أبوها المصطفى عليه السلام عن خير حال المرأة , فأجابت بأن لا ترى رجلاً ولا يراها رجلٌ , فهو حديث ضعيف الإسناد , لا يصلح الاحتجاج به , كما ذكر أرباب علم الحديث ..

إضافة إلى أنه يعارض عشرات الأحاديث الصحيحة التي ذكرناها آنفاً , والتي تظهر لنا كيف كانت المرأة المسلمة على عهد النبي عليه السلام , تلقى الرجال , فتراهم ويرونها , دون أن يكون في هذا أي ارتكاب للحرام , ما دام كل من الطرفين يمتثل قوله تعالى : ( قل للمؤمنين يغضوا من أبصارهم ) وقوله جل وعلا : ( وقل للمؤمنات يغضضن من أبصارهن ) - سورة النور:30 ،31 -

وما دام كل هذا يتم باللباس الشرعي والاحتشام الكامل , والبعد عن مواطن الريبة والفجور ..

وكم حدثتنا السيرة النبوية أيضاً , والأحاديث الصحيحة عن الزهراء , سيدة نساء الجنة , وعن كثرة خروجها من بيتها , وملاقاتها للرجال في مجلس أبيها الرسول عليه السلام , مما يجعلنا نغض الطرف عن هذه الرواية المنسوبة إلى الزهراء عن خير أحوال النساء , الضعيفة السند والمضمون ..

لا يسعني في خاتمة المطاف إلا أن أتوجه إلى كل امرأة مؤمنة بالله , مرتدية لباس الإسلام , راغبة إليها وإلى أخواتها المسلمات في الرجوع إلى أحكام الإسلام , ففيها العزة والرفعة والكرامة , ولتكن صحابيات رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم , خير قدوة لهن , ولا يصدهن صدى تلك الصرخات المولية كغثاء السيل من أعداء الإسلام , عن القيام بدورهن خير قيام , ولا يكن ممن قال فيهن الشاعر :

طلع الدينُ مستغيثاً إلى الله          و قال    العباد    قد    ظلموني

يَتسَمَّوْن   بي   وحقك   لا          أعرف منهم أحداً ولا يعرفوني

 

Friday, August 10, 2007

NYTimes: Rewriting the Ad Rules for Muslim-Americans


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/28/business/28muslim.html?ei=5088&en=e2411c62d74607c7&ex=1335412800&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=all

Rewriting the Ad Rules for Muslim-Americans

Fabrizio Costantini for the New York Times

Alia Fouz and her son at the Ikea store in Canton, Mich. She said ads that included Muslim-Americans would grab her attention. "We should be included," Ms. Fouz said. "We live here."


Published: April 28, 2007

For years, few advertisers in the United States have dared to reach out to Muslims.

Either they did not see much potential for sales or they feared a political backlash. And there were practical reasons: American Muslims come from so many ethnic backgrounds that their only common ground is their religion, a subject most marketers avoid.

That is beginning to change. Consumer companies and advertising executives are focusing on ways to use the cultural aspects of the Muslim religion to help sell their products.

Grocers and consumer product companies are considering ways to adapt their goods to Muslim rules, which forbid among other things, gelatin and pig fat, which is often used in cosmetics and cleaning products. Retailers are looking into providing more conservative skirts, even during the summer months, and mainstream advertisers are planning to place some commercials on the satellite channels that Muslims often watch.

Marketing to Muslims carries some risks. But advertising executives, used to dividing American consumers into every sort of category, say that ignoring this group — estimated to be about five million to eight million people, and growing fast — would be like missing the Hispanic market in the 1990s.

"I think Muslims have had to draw into themselves," said Marian Salzman, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of JWT, a large advertising agency in the WPP Group that plans to encourage clients like Johnson & Johnson and Unilever to market to American Muslims. "It puts an increased burden on a marketer post-9/11 to say, 'Look, we understand.' "

Companies in the Detroit area, where there is a dense population of Muslims, are leading the change. A McDonald's there serves halal Chicken McNuggets; Walgreens has Arabic signs in its aisles. And now, Ikea, which recently opened a store in the suburb of Canton, Mich., that has had trouble attracting as many Muslim customers as it had hoped, has been touring local homes and talking to Muslims to figure out their needs.

The store there plans to sell decorations for Ramadan next fall and is adding halal meat to its restaurant menu, or meat that is prepared according to Islamic law. Catalogs in Arabic are being planned, and female Muslim employees are expected to be given an Ikea-branded hijab, to wear over their head if they wish.

Marketing to Muslims is, of course, mostly intended to increase sales, but advertising has also long been a mirror of changes in society.

Ms. Salzman pointed to ads in the 1960s that featured Jewish products like Levy's rye bread, which, she said, helped bring that group more into mainstream advertising. She also noted that ads from companies like McDonald's in the early 1990s portrayed busy mothers who admitted that they did not cook every night like their mothers did.

"Marketers have actually helped us to rewrite the rules about what we're comfortable with," she said.

Because the Census Bureau does not ask about religion, there is no authoritative count of Muslims in America. Some Muslim organizations provide estimates as high as 10 million. Others say it could be as low as three million.

Whatever the number, many Muslims have clustered in areas that include Orange County, Calif.; Houston; the state of Georgia; northern Virginia; New York City and Long Island; and the Detroit area.

Over the last few months, JWT conducted a large study of Muslims in the United States and Britain to determine whether they would be receptive to specialized advertising. There were 835 people in the United States study. Muslim Americans spend about $170 billion on consumer products, JWT estimates; this figure is expected to grow rapidly as the population expands and younger Muslims build careers.

Ms. Salzman said the study found that Muslims were buying many standard products but that they felt excluded from mainstream advertising. In particular, she said, they wanted companies to recognize their holidays.

Ms. Salzman said JWT had little trouble surveying Muslims in Britain, but found it had to clarify at the start of each phone call in the United States that it was not calling from a government agency.

Over the next few weeks, JWT plans to reach out to the chief executives of all of its major clients, including JetBlue, the Ford Motor Company and HSBC, to encourage them to market to Muslims in the United States and Britain.

"These advertisers have been in the Middle East and in the Far East Muslim countries for decades, so they're already dealing with the Muslim market," said Tayyibah Taylor, publisher and editor in chief of Azizah magazine, a Muslim-focused magazine in Atlanta. "They just haven't been dealing with the Muslim marketer here at home."

Almas Abbasi, a radiologist in Long Island who was one of the people interviewed by JWT, said she would be grateful for advertising that included Muslims.

"If Ramadan starts, and you see an ad in the newspaper saying, 'Happy Ramadan, here's a special in our store,' everyone will run to that store," she said.

Her daughter, Shaheen Magsi, a senior at the New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury, N.Y., said her family turned off their cable television three years ago after seeing too many negative stereotypes about Muslims. She said she quickly grew tired of telling people at school that, no, she did not agree with Osama bin Laden .

"It'd be really good to say, 'Oh, there's a Muslim on TV, and they're portraying something good other than Muslims killing people,' " she said.

Just what approach companies should take to reach Muslims is far from clear. The market is diverse, including African-Americans, South Asians, Caucasians and people from the Middle East, as well as people who are more or less conservative in their religious views. American Muslims disagree about whether the Muslim women in ads should wear the hijab, for instance.

Nationwide Financial Services has already been advertising to people from Pakistan and India, who are often Muslim. But it prefers to focus on their country of origin, said Tariq Khan, Nationwide's vice president of market development and diversity.

Still, religion is culturally relevant at times, he said, and Nationwide may run ads in print publications in June that feature Hindu and Muslim weddings.

Rizwan Jamil, director of beverages at Unilever in Pakistan, said Unilever often ran promotions there for Lipton tea and custard powders during Muslim holidays, using bright and festive packaging, and discounts. These sorts of gestures would appeal to a broad swath of Muslims in the United States, he said, without setting off discussions about religion.

"It's just like when you're advertising something for Christmas," Mr. Jamil said. "You're not talking about Christians or Christianity. You're talking about Christmas, the event. I would be careful — to the extent that I used religion. I wouldn't shout it out. I wouldn't shout out to the world that 'I'm talking to Muslims.' "

There is a genuine fear about how to market to Muslims — and whether to do so — at many big companies, executives at Muslim-focused media outlets and organizations said.

"United States companies don't want to risk alienating their domestic consumers," said Nasser Beydoun, chairman of the American Arab Chamber of Commerce in Dearborn, Mich., which is working with Ikea, Wal-Mart and Comcast to develop strategies to reach Muslim consumers. Other companies like Frito-Lay and Kodak have recently considered marketing to Muslims.

Publishers of Muslim women's magazines, like Azizah and Muslim Girl Magazine, said they had to dispel advertisers' concerns that they would feature articles that were radical or political.

Bridges TV, a cable and satellite network, has changed its sales pitch to make advertisers more comfortable. When it was introduced in 2004, Bridges TV presented itself as a Muslim television network, but lately the network has been having better luck labeling itself as "bridging the West and East," said Mohamed Numan-Ali, the network's advertising manager. Brands like Ford, Lunesta and Lincoln have signed on as advertisers, he said.

On the other hand, some Muslim-focused media companies that are courting advertisers highlight religion as their strength. Executives at QTV, a new satellite network centered around the Koran, tell advertisers that the focus on religion is what keeps its viewers tuning in, often five times a day for prayer calls.

Companies that advertise on QTV should not worry about backlash, said Mahmood Ahmad, president of Digital Broadcasting Network Inc., which produces QTV, because "Fox News viewers are not watching QTV anyway." He added, "QTV is the safest place to be because they won't know."

Advertising on satellite channels popular with Muslims and in the publications that focus on them would be inexpensive compared with mainstream media and might be highly effective because so few companies reach out to this group.

"People would flock to it," said Daisy Khan, executive director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement, a nonprofit group based in New York. "They would say 'I can't believe I'm being validated by Macy's. I can't believe I'm being validated by Whole Foods .' "

Even in mainstream advertising, companies may win over customers by including Muslims in some ads, said Razaq Baloch, a partner in Spicy Banana, an ad agency specializing in reaching customers from India and Pakistan.

Alia Fouz, a Palestinian-American who lives near the Ikea in Canton, said she never felt that ads were addressing her as a Muslim when she was growing up in Virginia. Sitting in the Ikea snack bar with her young son, she said ads that included American Muslims would grab her — and her son's — attention.

"We should be included," Ms. Fouz said. "We live here."

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs report on Muslim Americans: Strengthening America


http://www.thechicagocouncil.org/media_press_room_detail.php?press_release_id=68


MEDIA ADVISORY
 
Muslim American Integration Vital to National Interest
 
June 26, 2007
 

New Report Warns of Possible Muslim American Alienation

Contact: Susan Roth, 202-478-6145 Sroth@mrss.com

(June 26 - Washington, DC) Greater Muslim American civic and political engagement is urgently needed to prevent alienation in a community that is vital to U.S. security and relations with the Muslim World.  This is the main conclusion of an independent Task Force sponsored by The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. 

The Task Force, led by Farooq Kathwari, CEO of the Ethan Allen Interiors Inc., and former Secretary of Labor and Illinois Congresswoman, Lynn Martin, brought together a group of 32 distinguished Muslim and non-Muslim Americans to examine the Muslim American experience and provide a roadmap for accelerating Muslim American engagement in civic affairs and U.S. political life.

The report found that although Muslim Americans are a well-educated, diverse group that can make greater contributions to the nation, they lack strong institutions and sufficient recognizable public or political voices to gain regular access to government and media circles.

"There is a great need and opportunity for Muslim Americans to fully participate in American society and politics," stated Mr. Kathwari. "The recommendations of the Task Force provide sensible and implementable ways to achieve this objective."

Many Muslim Americans responded helpfully to September 11 and condemned other terrorist acts.  Despite this response, many Americans continue to view Muslim Americans with suspicion in the post September 11 environment.  The present climate of mistrust and the lack of engagement threaten to marginalize and potentially alienate some elements among Muslim Americans. 

To combat this trend it is critical that Muslim American leaders and institutions continue and amplify their condemnations of extremism and terrorism and continue to strengthen efforts to prevent radical activity within the community. National leaders and the media in turn need to communicate these endeavors to the public.

"The continued isolation and mistrust of Muslim Americans since 9/11 is a recipe for a national crisis," stated Secretary Martin. "It is in the interest of all Americans to build trust and rapidly bring Muslim Americans into the social and political mainstream to strengthen our democratic institutions and to improve homeland security"

To accelerate Muslim Americans' civic and political engagement, the Task Force recommends:

  • Muslim American leaders continue to take the lead in encouraging greater civic participation, leadership development, and institution building within their community.
  • Non-Muslim groups and government leaders work to better recognize Muslim American contributions to national security, improve collaborations with Muslim American institutions, and provide greater opportunities for young Muslim Americans in government service. 
  • Media organizations and Muslim American groups jointly sponsor seminars to address concerns and deepen relationships and understanding. 
  • Leading research and policy institutes deepen their work on Islam and Muslim communities and create partnerships with Muslim American institutions.
  • An American Diversity Dialogue be established among Muslim and non-Muslim leaders to examine critical issues in Muslim American integration. 

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, founded in 1922, is a leading independent, nonpartisan organization committed to influencing the discourse on global issues through contributions to opinion and policy formation, leadership dialogue, and public learning. 

Download the further information:
Full Report (PDF)
Executive Summary (PDF)
Written Testimony (PDF) for U.S. Senate Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

To view a Webcast of the June 26 Task Force release event with Task Force cochairs at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, click here.



###

Thursday, June 28, 2007

press: Rewriting the Ad Rules for Muslim-Americans



http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070428/ZNYT01/704280444/1002/business


Rewriting the Ad Rules for Muslim-Americans

Consumer companies and advertising executives are focusing on ways to use the cultural aspects of the Muslim religion to help sell their products.

For years, few advertisers in the United States have dared to reach out to Muslims.

Either they did not see much potential for sales or they feared a political backlash. And there were practical reasons: American Muslims come from so many ethnic backgrounds that their only common ground is their religion, a subject most marketers avoid.

That is beginning to change. Consumer companies and advertising executives are focusing on ways to use the cultural aspects of the Muslim religion to help sell their products.

Grocers and consumer product companies are considering ways to adapt their goods to Muslim rules, which forbid among other things, gelatin and pig fat, which is often used in cosmetics and cleaning products. Retailers are looking into providing more conservative skirts, even during the summer months, and mainstream advertisers are planning to place some commercials on the satellite channels that Muslims often watch.

Marketing to Muslims carries some risks. But advertising executives, used to dividing American consumers into every sort of category, say that ignoring this group — estimated to be about five million to eight million people, and growing fast — would be like missing the Hispanic market in the 1990s.

"I think Muslims have had to draw into themselves," said Marian Salzman, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of JWT, a large advertising agency in the WPP Group that plans to encourage clients like Johnson & Johnson and Unilever to market to American Muslims. "It puts an increased burden on a marketer post-9/11 to say, 'Look, we understand.' "

Companies in the Detroit area, where there is a dense population of Muslims, are leading the change. A McDonald's there serves halal Chicken McNuggets; Walgreens has Arabic signs in its aisles. And now, Ikea, which recently opened a store in the suburb of Canton, Mich., that has had trouble attracting as many Muslim customers as it had hoped, has been touring local homes and talking to Muslims to figure out their needs.

The store there plans to sell decorations for Ramadan next fall and is adding halal meat to its restaurant menu, or meat that is prepared according to Islamic law. Catalogs in Arabic are being planned, and female Muslim employees are expected to be given an Ikea-branded hijab, to wear over their head if they wish.

Marketing to Muslims is, of course, mostly intended to increase sales, but advertising has also long been a mirror of changes in society.

Ms. Salzman pointed to ads in the 1960s that featured Jewish products like Levy's rye bread, which, she said, helped bring that group more into mainstream advertising. She also noted that ads from companies like McDonald's in the early 1990s portrayed busy mothers who admitted that they did not cook every night like their mothers did.

"Marketers have actually helped us to rewrite the rules about what we're comfortable with," she said.

Because the Census Bureau does not ask about religion, there is no authoritative count of Muslims in America. Some Muslim organizations provide estimates as high as 10 million. Others say it could be as low as three million.

Whatever the number, many Muslims have clustered in areas that include Orange County, Calif.; Houston; the state of Georgia; northern Virginia; New York City and Long Island; and the Detroit area.

Over the last few months, JWT conducted a large study of Muslims in the United States and Britain to determine whether they would be receptive to specialized advertising. There were 835 people in the United States study. Muslim Americans spend about $170 billion on consumer products, JWT estimates; this figure is expected to grow rapidly as the population expands and younger Muslims build careers.

Ms. Salzman said the study found that Muslims were buying many standard products but that they felt excluded from mainstream advertising. In particular, she said, they wanted companies to recognize their holidays.

Ms. Salzman said JWT had little trouble surveying Muslims in Britain, but found it had to clarify at the start of each phone call in the United States that it was not calling from a government agency.

Over the next few weeks, JWT plans to reach out to the chief executives of all of its major clients, including JetBlue, the Ford Motor Company and HSBC, to encourage them to market to Muslims in the United States and Britain.

"These advertisers have been in the Middle East and in the Far East Muslim countries for decades, so they're already dealing with the Muslim market," said Tayyibah Taylor, publisher and editor in chief of Azizah magazine, a Muslim-focused magazine in Atlanta. "They just haven't been dealing with the Muslim marketer here at home."

Almas Abbasi, a radiologist in Long Island who was one of the people interviewed by JWT, said she would be grateful for advertising that included Muslims.

"If Ramadan starts, and you see an ad in the newspaper saying, 'Happy Ramadan, here's a special in our store,' everyone will run to that store," she said.

Her daughter, Shaheen Magsi, a senior at the New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury, N.Y., said her family turned off their cable television three years ago after seeing too many negative stereotypes about Muslims. She said she quickly grew tired of telling people at school that, no, she did not agree with Osama bin Laden.

"It'd be really good to say, 'Oh, there's a Muslim on TV, and they're portraying something good other than Muslims killing people,' " she said.

Just what approach companies should take to reach Muslims is far from clear. The market is diverse, including African-Americans, South Asians, Caucasians and people from the Middle East, as well as people who are more or less conservative in their religious views. American Muslims disagree about whether the Muslim women in ads should wear the hijab, for instance.

Nationwide Financial Services has already been advertising to people from Pakistan and India, who are often Muslim. But it prefers to focus on their country of origin, said Tariq Khan, Nationwide's vice president of market development and diversity.

Still, religion is culturally relevant at times, he said, and Nationwide may run ads in print publications in June that feature Hindu and Muslim weddings.

Rizwan Jamil, director of beverages at Unilever in Pakistan, said Unilever often ran promotions there for Lipton tea and custard powders during Muslim holidays, using bright and festive packaging, and discounts. These sorts of gestures would appeal to a broad swath of Muslims in the United States, he said, without setting off discussions about religion.

"It's just like when you're advertising something for Christmas," Mr. Jamil said. "You're not talking about Christians or Christianity. You're talking about Christmas, the event. I would be careful — to the extent that I used religion. I wouldn't shout it out. I wouldn't shout out to the world that 'I'm talking to Muslims.' "

There is a genuine fear about how to market to Muslims — and whether to do so — at many big companies, executives at Muslim-focused media outlets and organizations said.

"United States companies don't want to risk alienating their domestic consumers," said Nasser Beydoun, chairman of the American Arab Chamber of Commerce in Dearborn, Mich., which is working with Ikea, Wal-Mart and Comcast to develop strategies to reach Muslim consumers. Other companies like Frito-Lay and Kodak have recently considered marketing to Muslims.

Publishers of Muslim women's magazines, like Azizah and Muslim Girl Magazine, said they had to dispel advertisers' concerns that they would feature articles that were radical or political.

Bridges TV, a cable and satellite network, has changed its sales pitch to make advertisers more comfortable. When it was introduced in 2004, Bridges TV presented itself as a Muslim television network, but lately the network has been having better luck labeling itself as "bridging the West and East," said Mohamed Numan-Ali, the network's advertising manager. Brands like Ford, Lunesta and Lincoln have signed on as advertisers, he said.

On the other hand, some Muslim-focused media companies that are courting advertisers highlight religion as their strength. Executives at QTV, a new satellite network centered around the Koran, tell advertisers that the focus on religion is what keeps its viewers tuning in, often five times a day for prayer calls.

Companies that advertise on QTV should not worry about backlash, said Mahmood Ahmad, president of Digital Broadcasting Network Inc., which produces QTV, because "Fox News viewers are not watching QTV anyway." He added, "QTV is the safest place to be because they won't know."

Advertising on satellite channels popular with Muslims and in the publications that focus on them would be inexpensive compared with mainstream media and might be highly effective because so few companies reach out to this group.

"People would flock to it," said Daisy Khan, executive director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement, a nonprofit group based in New York. "They would say 'I can't believe I'm being validated by Macy's. I can't believe I'm being validated by Whole Foods.' "

Even in mainstream advertising, companies may win over customers by including Muslims in some ads, said Razaq Baloch, a partner in Spicy Banana, an ad agency specializing in reaching customers from India and Pakistan.

Alia Fouz, a Palestinian-American who lives near the Ikea in Canton, said she never felt that ads were addressing her as a Muslim when she was growing up in Virginia. Sitting in the Ikea snack bar with her young son, she said ads that included American Muslims would grab her — and her son's — attention.

"We should be included," Ms. Fouz said. "We live here."


Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Gulf Times: Islamic scholars call for ‘more attention to morals than law’


http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/printArticle.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=157584&version=1&template_id=48&parent_id=28


Islamic scholars call for 'more attention to morals than law'
Publish Date: Wednesday,27 June, 2007, at 01:59 AM Doha Time
KUALA LUMPUR: Islamic scholars working with banks to shape Islamic financial products should pay more attention to the moral rather than the legal aspects of Islamic law, scholars told the Third International Islamic Finance Forum yesterday.
Islamic and conventional banks are keen to develop and offer products in the fast-growing market for Islamic financing but some Islamic experts have criticised the banks and their advisors for not applying a stringent enough interpretation of Shariah, or Islamic law, when assessing the products.
They have also said that some banks are "Shariah shopping", that is, selecting scholars most likely to approve their product.
Most banks seek approval for Islamic products from either national Shariah boards or from individual scholars attached to banks to reassure investors that their choices conform to their faith.
For example, Islam bans investment in products that pay interest, considered usury, products where there is undue uncertainty, or where one party is deemed to be taking undue advantage of another.
Although scholars interpret much of Qur'anic law in the same way, there is still some difference in views, paving the way for disagreement over the viability of certain products or practices.
Mohamed Akram Laldin, chairman of the Shariah advisory committee of HSBC Amanah Malaysia, said scholars look at three basic areas when assessing the compliance of products: belief, legalilty and morality.
He said products could fairly easily comply with Islamic law but it is more difficult to ascertain whether they comply with the morals of Islam.
The price of a product may not be controversial from a legal perspective but if the product costs more than an equivalent conventional product, it may not fulfil Islam's moral obligations of fairness and social equity, he said.
"(We) need the realisation that they have the responsibility to fulfil the morals of Shariah," said Engku Rabiah Adawiah Engku Ali, head of the private law department at the International Islamic University Malaysia.
Although there is a plethora of Islamic scholars globally, the Islamic finance industry tends to rely on fewer than 50 individuals, who often sit on multiple advisory boards, to sign off on Islamic products and practices.
This has slowed the introduction of new products and, some say, allowed a limited number of scholarly views to dominate in Islamic finance.
"This is not a healthy situation for the (Islamic finance) industry or for the field of Islamic law," said Malik Muhammad Mahmud al-Awan, chief academic officer of the International Center for Education in Islamic Finance, noting there were currently around 1.5bn Muslims worldwide with a wide range of views on Shariah.
He called on financial institutions to engage younger Shariah scholars alongside more established ones to expand the pool of available advisers and to provide a broader array of viewpoints.
"It is the social responsibility of banks to have people who are well known globally and new scholars who can learn to avoid problems (of insufficient manpower) in the future," added HSBC Amanah's Akram.
Whether there should be greater effort to harmonise interpretation of Shariah is a more controversial subject.
Azhar Kureshi, State Bank of Pakistan's executive director for Islamic finance development, told delegates that standardising the "fatwas" - or approvals - given by scholars would lead to harmonisation of Islamic financial product documentation.
Many have blamed the failure of the financial community to create a global market for Islamic financial products on the lack of common documentation. – Dow Jones Newswires


KPMG papers on Islamic Finance


http://www.us.kpmg.com/microsite/FSLibraryDotCom/islamicfinance.aspx

Global FS Library

Islamic Finance Publications

Publication   Content

New!

Growth and Diversification in Islamic Finance
The purpose of this report is to explore current and future development of Islamic finance and to examine ways in which the sector is predicted to diversify and grow in the years ahead.
Publication Date: March 2007
PDF Cover Islamic Finance

The Islamic finance sector has developed into a global phenomenon which is highly dynamic and growing rapidly. At KPMG we are very conscious of the growing importance of the Islamic finance industry and are pleased to be contributing to its continued advancement.

Date: May 2006

PDF Cover Islamic Finance in the UK

Due to the complexities of the UK financial services environment, many of the challenges facing the global islamic financial services industry come eveben more acute.

Date: May 2006

PDF Cover

New!

Making the Transition From Niche to Mainstream - Islamic Banking and Finance: A Snapshot of the Industry and Its Challenges Today

In publishing this paper on challenges and opportunities in Islamic banking and finance our aim at KPMG's network of firms is to provide perspective on these issues and, hopefully, have it serve as a catalyst for a discussion on change, opportunity, and growth.

Date: 2006

If you are experiencing any difficulties in downloading these publications then please contact Natalie Jones at natalie.jones@kpmg.co.uk