Muslims in the Caribbean

There are 31 countries in the Caribbean, which are classified
linguistically into four regions, such asEnglish speaking, French
speaking, Spanish speaking and Dutch speakingIslands. There are 19
English speaking countries; five French speaking countries;
threeSpanish speaking countries and four Dutch speakingIslands.
Muslims from different parts of the globe have settled in these
regions. Immigrants vary from medical students to traders, from
Indo-Pakistan to Indonesian and African countries. Some are very
active they even reach the media inBahamas, whereas in other places,
they are still in economical weakness.
Most of them have a common problem of getting permanent work permit
for their imaams and Islamic workers. Some of the countries aregetting
a lot of pressure from the government, which is characterized as the
most hostile to Islam in the whole ofCaribbeanas in Dominico. Most of
these countries have no mosques with the exception of some mosques
built in few of them. They have just a prayers place or prayer house.
Let us first describe in brief the socio-demographic backgrounds of
the different islands of theCaribbean:
SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC BACKGROUND
Country Total Population Muslim Population
English- speaking 5,836,601 172,250
French- speaking 7,178,572 2,600
Spanish- speaking 20,537,000 3,500
Dutch- speaking 635,415 121,000
There are 19 countries of theCaribbeanwhere people speak the English
language. These are, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize,
Bermuda, Monsterrat, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Trinidad, Tobago, Virgin
Islands – US.
Among the English-speaking countries,Jamaicahas the largest population
in theCaribbeanwhere more than 2,450,000 people live, among whom 5,000
are Muslims. They constitute 3.75 percent ofthe total population of
the English-speaking countries of theCaribbean, but this variesfrom 5
to 15 percent. The largest Muslims concentration of those speaking
English is foundinGuyana,Trinidad and Tobago)i.e. 100,000(, where they
constitute 13.33 and 8.10 percent ofthe total population respectively.
Muslims fromIndiaandIndonesiacame here first as indentured servants
and farm labourers respectively. They have preserved their Islamic
Identify and culture but have developed not many community
institutions such as schools or Awqaaf.
Christian missionary activity has, on the whole, failed to convert
Muslims to Christianity. But some youths have been neutralized: low
commitment to Islam while remaining nominally Muslims. Over the past
30 years, Afro-Caribbeans have been converting to Islam.Many Islamic
organization have been formed since the 1970s, which are active in
various endeavours.
The most well-organized Muslim community in the Caribbean region is
the one in theCaribbean. TheIndian community is well-established and
has been here for over 150 years. There are many mosques and Islamic
schools. The Afro-Caribbean community of new converts is still very
small and weak. The main organizations are :)Caribbean Islamic
Organization of Guyana Islamic Trust respectively(, the Guyana Muslim
Mission , and the Guyana Islamic Institute.
Trinidad is the most important island in theCaribbean, politically,
economically and in terms of propagation of Islam. Local Islamic work
is well developed, and local organizations are handing it well.
International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations )IIFSO(
whose coordination is inPort of Spain, the capital of Trinidad
earmarked some resources forTrinidad. Its work consists mainly of
supporting education, managing revolving credit fund for new Muslims,
and providing support to an Islamic book and video center.
In theFrench-speakingIslands, such
asGuadeloupe,GuyanaFrancaise,Haitiand Martinique, the Muslims
community is mainly made up of African Muslims immigrants fromWest
Africa,SenegalandMali. The total population of these five countries is
7,178,572 outof which 2,600 are Muslims. The Muslim figures for Guyana
Francaise andHaitiare not known.
InMartinique, there is a wealthy immigrant Palestinian community with
an Islamic center and full time Imam. Native converts are struggling
to preserve their Islamic identify. IIFSO has been helping with
material that propagates Islam.
In the Spanish-speaking island, such asCuba,Dominican
RepublicandPuerto Rico, a fact finding mission was sent and contact
was established with Muslim community. Total population of these
countries are 20,573,000 out of which 3,500 are Muslims. The Muslims
figure forDominican Republicis not known though the total population
of the country is around 7,000,000. It is expected that the Cuban
intellectuals would listen to Islam sympathetically. The Communist era
has weakened the Catholic Church.
InDominican Republic, Pakistani Muslims have well established efforts
for the propagation of Islam. There is a 2,000-strong Palestinian
community inPuerto Ricowith two mosques. They are economically strong
and are thus able to pay for a full time Imaam. Islamic books were
sent and visited these islands. With the expected fall of Communist
regime IIFSO expects to do a lot of work in propagation of Islam.
In the Dutch-speaking countries, such as Curacao,St. Martin,Surinamand
Nethfral, Antilles, the population figures for Curacao andSt.
Martinare not available. But we have the figure for the other two
countries of the Dutch-speaking islands which are as follows:
Countries Total Population Muslim Population
Surinam425,000 120,000
Nethfral andAntilles210,415 1,000
There are Arab and Indo-Pakistani immigrantcommunities. Arabs have a
mosque and a full time Imaam and are better organized.
They can self-finance many of their projects. InSurinam, there is a
large number of Muslims where they constitute 28.23 percent of the
totalpopulation of 425,000 of the country. Three distinct Muslim
communities are living inSurirnam. The Javanese from the Indonesian
Archipelago have been living in the island for more than 50 years;
Indo-Pakistanis came as indentured labour for more than 100 years
ago.Besides, there is a growing Afro-Surinamese community here.
There is a Caribbean Islamic Secretariat which was set up in 1988 with
an Executive Director anda Board of Directors to carry out the efforts
of propagating Islam, Islamic literature distribution, provision of
Islamic education and catering to economic development.

Bulgaria: the sufferings of one million Muslims

For the past century, Muslims in the Balkans are the victims of many
episodes of ethnic cleansing by the crusaders and later by the
Communists inMacedonia,Albania,Bosnia,Kosovo,Serbia,Montenegro,BulgariaandGreece.
As Communism collapsed, the Muslims inEastern Europeare still facing
suppression, discrimination, harassment and intolerance.
In this context, we will highlight the sufferings of one million
Muslim Bulgarians who are uprooted and forced to flee from their
country before giving up their property. Despite all this, Islam's
presence inEuropeis likely to grow and to bring about social,economic
and political changes.
Historical Dimension:
The Balkan Peninsula has strategic geographic position, controlling
the access to the Silk Road, the ancient trade route linkingChinaand
imperialRome. Therefore, it was a battlefield for the competing
superpowers since medieval times. Theregion that is nowBulgariawas at
one time included in theRoman Empire.
Muslims managed to gainfootholds throughout theBalkans since the
Abbasidera in the 9th century. By 1396, the armies of the Ottoman
Empire controlled all ofBulgaria. During the next five centuries the
Islamic culture dominated inBulgaria. The presence ofMuslims in the
Balkan Peninsula at that time was so great when thousands of Turkish
Muslims had immigrated and settled inWestern Anatolia.
The Christian kingdoms in Western Europe launched many crusades to
take overJerusalempassing through theBalkan Peninsula. On their way
they had exterminated the Muslimsliving there. In 1878, coinciding
with the expansion of Great Serbia, Muslims inBulgariawere the
expelled and a killing spree took place with Russian backing.
After the dissolution of theOttoman Empire, Muslims in the Balkans
have been severely persecuted. By the end ofthe First World War, the
Bulgarian nationalists continued the hostile policies of the Serbs by
destroying schools and mosques in the Muslim areas. Muslims are told:
'Become Christians if you wish to remain inEurope.'
Who Are the Bulgarian Muslims?
Muslims inBulgariabelong to various ethnic groups, such as the
Turks,Pomaks, Gypsies and Tatars. The Pomaks are the main Muslim
ethnic group inBulgaria. There are many contradicting views, regarding
the origin of Pomaks. According to some historians, they are the
descendants of the ancient Slavic or Slavized inhabitants of the
Balkans. Some of them converted to Islam at the time of the conquest
and during the years that followed. Other groups converted to Islam
during the period of the Ottoman Caliphate.
The number of Pomak population changed several times due to the
suppression policy by theChristian and communist governments. During
andafter the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, the biggest waves of Pomak
migrated toTurkey.
Bulgaria's population is approximately 7.9 millionaccording to a 2001
census. Approximately 13 percent of the Bulgariansare Muslims.
Bulgarization of the Muslims:
Since the Bulgarian independence in 1908, the nationalist regimes
marginalized the Muslimsand traditionally considered them as
foreigners, even if they were ethnically Bulgarian. The Orthodox
Church is very influential and with the help of the Bulgarian
nationalists they forced the Muslims to convert to Christianity. All
the resisting Muslims were wounded, imprisoned, killed or deported.
Thousands of them fled toTurkeyandGreece. In the summer of1989 more
than 300,000 Muslims were deported fromBulgaria.
Mosques were converted into churches. Out of the 44 mosques
inSofiaonly one remained as a historical monument. Thelargest mosque
inBulgariawas the Tumbul Mosque inShumen, built in 1744. Muslims were
coerced to go to church every Sunday. Circumcision was prohibited, and
the people who circumcised their sons were severely punished.
There are pressures on Muslims to change their names, vestment and
language. Since 1942 a new law was passed which commanded Muslims to
change their names to Bulgarian ones.About 2000 Turkish and Pomak
village names were also changed to Bulgarian. Pomaks were banned from
attending Turkish schools or use theTurkish language and they were
forbidden to open private schools. Then Muslim school boards were
abolished and unified with Bulgarian school boards. Thus all their
non-Bulgarian daily life was subjected to censure.
In 1944, the Communist regime came into power and launched the
assimilation campaigns against the Muslims. Pomak villages from the
Rhodopes region were forced to resettle inNorthern
Bulgariaduring1948-1952. In 1949, the agricultural lands were
expropriated affecting many Bulgarian Muslims. For more than 40 years
the Bulgarian government promoted atheism. Muslims were treated as
second-class citizens with no rights to become members of the
government or officers.
In April 1956, the Bulgarian Communist Party decided to create a
unified socialist Bulgarian republic. Further they proceeded in
changing the names ofMuslims to Bulgarians by terror. Pomaks have
developed a strategy to `compromise name and behaviour'. A Pomak, who
was born before 1912 and lived until after 1990, has been forced to
change his Muslim name nine times for instance.
During most of the Communist period, underthe leadership of Todor
Zhivkov-secretary of the Communist Party from 1954, the country's
premier from 1964 to 1971 and head of state from 1971 to late 1989-the
policy of forceful assimilation continued under the so-called `Process
of Rebirth'. After their 'success' with the Pomaks, the Bulgarian
authorities started to work in the same way onthe other ethnic
Muslims. Therefore, in practice Communism is equivalentto Bulgarian
extreme nationalism which aims to Bulgarize the significant Muslim
minorities.
Post Communist Era:
With the fall of the racist regime of Todor Zhivkov in November 1989,
the religious restrictions inBulgariawere loosened somewhat. But still
there is discrimination, harassment, and general public intolerance of
non-Christian Orthodox religious groups.
In each Bulgarian village there are still some former Communist Party
members or local securityforces that had persecuted the Muslim in the
past. Therefore, Muslims are still afraid to speak about their harsh
experiences. They still feel threatened by the Socialist Party )former
Communist Party( members, fearing that one day Communists will be in
power again and then they will be persecuted again.
It is still impossible to find a single Muslim in the Bulgarian army
as a regular soldier. Most of the Muslim Bulgars are uneducated and
work as laborers, shepherds, haymakers and the like. Muslims are
discriminated against in jobs and education. While the Pomaks want
their children to learn Turkish, which is now theoretically possible,
in practice local education directors don't allow them to do so.
Inequalities still exist in practice and those who are dissatisfied
with theirpoor conditions continueto migrate toTurkey. Rumors and
aggressive propaganda against Muslims as terrorists continue to
receive large-scale media coverage. The Government still restricts the
religious freedom of non-Christian Orthodox religious groups. These
restrictions are manifested primarily in a registration process that
is selective, slow, and nontransparent. The Government prohibits the
public practice of religion by groups that are not registered.
However, after 1987, Bulgarian Muslims are allowed to reconstruct
their mosques and new mosques are built in many cities and villages.
Now there are about 1,267 mosques. The Muslim hierarchy was headed by
one chief mufti and eight regional muftis who interpret Muslim law.
The study of the Quran had been completely forbidden under Zhivkov and
now Quran classes are organized. Muslims also began publishing their
own newspaper, Miusiulmani, in both Bulgarian and Turkish.

Muslim women in New Zealand

Brief Introduction
New Zealand is an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean, located
south of the equator in the Southern Hemisphere, and marking the
eastern boundary of the Tasman Sea, a portion of the Pacific Ocean
that separates New Zealand and the nearest large landmass, Australia,
by a distance of about 1,600 km )1,000 mi(.New Zealandincludes two
large islands that constitute most of its landmass, as well as
numerous small islands.New Zealandadministers two overseas
territories, Tokelau and Ross Dependency )inAntarctica(. The
self-governing entities ofNiue and the Cook Islandsare in free
association withNew Zealand, whichhandles their foreign affairs and
defense as requested.
New Zealandis known for its scenic landscapes of snowcapped mountains
and rolling green pastures. Its image as a farming outpost stems from
the traditional importance ofagriculture to the economy as well as the
low population density inmost areas. However, the majority of New
Zealanders live in urban areas, and many now earn a living in service
industries such as tourism. The capital ofNew ZealandisWellington. The
largest and most cosmopolitan city isAuckland.
New Zealandis part of thePacificIslands, or Oceania, a grouping of
thousands of islands in thePacific Ocean. The South Island and the
North Island of New Zealand areOceania's second and third largest
islands, respectively.New Zealandis considered part of Polynesia, one
of three major divisions of thePacificIslands.
The total land area ofNew Zealandis 267,990 sq km )103,470 sq mi(,
about the same size asJapanor theBritish Isles. The North and South
islands make up almost the entire area of the country. Separating
theseislands is Cook Strait, a channel between the South Pacific Ocean
on the east and theTasman Seaon the west. The islands stretch along a
predominantly northeast by southwest axis. Their length from north to
south is about 1,600 km)1,000 mi(, and their maximum width from east
to west is 450 km)280 mi(
Land is one of the country's most valuable resources. Much of the soil
is not naturally fertile, however, and has to be supplemented with
fertilizers for crop cultivation. More than half of the land area is
either cropland or pastureland. Most of the arable land is found on
the east coasts of both islands, in particular the Canterbury Plains.
Pastures for livestock grazing dominate in north-central and
westernNorthIslandand southernSouth Island.
About 30 percent of the land area is forested. The country has 6.4
million hectares )15.8 million acres( of old-growth forest, much of
which is designated for preservation. In addition,some forests are
plantations of imported species such as the radiata pine. The
westernSouthern Alps of theSouth Islandconstitute the largest forested
area of the country and include extensive areas of native forest.
TheNorthIslandhas native forest mainly in more remote areas, notably
aroundMountTaranakiand in isolated pockets ofNorthland.
In 1840,New Zealandwasde-linked fromAustralia, but in 1907 it became a
separate, independent country, under the BritishCrown, and when the
British Commonwealth ofNations was set up in 1931 it became one of the
founding members and is still a member.
The majority of the population )74 percent( is Anglo-Saxon, with the
indigenous Maoris making up only 10 percent of the population, others
who neither Maoris nor Anglo-Saxons make up four percent, an ethnic
group that is made up of ethnic Indians and Chinese.
Seventy percent of the population is Christians, and the rest belong
to different religious denominations.
Muslims inNew Zealand
Muslim migration toNew Zealandstarted in 1910, when the first waves of
immigrants from the Indian subcontinent started to arrive, as workers
in search of livelihood.
Since they were not allowed then to bring their wives and other family
members with them, they remitted theirearning to their families back
home, visitng them from time to time.
However, in the mid-1940s, the Muslims living inNew Zealand, for the
first time, began to bring their wives from the subcontinent.
These womenfolk were mostly housewives, though some of them took up
employment as menial workers or domestic helpers, when their husbands
were at work.
But while the first generation of Muslim women inNew Zealandhad to
contend with loneliness and confinement to the home, the second
generation is faced with a different set of problems, namely
maintaining a balance between Islamic tenets and precepts, and the
secular education that is imparted on them at schools, with all its
concomitant moral and religious implications.
One result of the latter is the loss of respect for parents, who, the
youth consider as backward and unschooled.
Other problems faced by the Muslim woman inNew Zealandinclude the
preservation of the Islamic identity, racial discrimination, absence
of Islamically lawful food,inability to be married to the right
person, and even in wearing the proper school uniform.
None the less things are beginning to improve forthe Muslim women
ofNew Zealand, in that they have started to organize themselves,
andare, in fact, holding an annual assemblies, during which they are
able to project some of the problems facing themin the society.
They also hold regular seminars and camps, at which they are able to
learn more about their Muslim faith, and debate some of the issues
affecting them.
Though some of the Muslim women have made worthwhile academic
accomplishments, and some of them have established themselves
invarious fields, generally there is a tendency toward trying to
achieve more in the field of religion, so that they could preserve
their Islamic identity.

Dought & clear, - She stipulated that in order to marry her he has to memorize Soorat al-Baqarah or Aal ‘Imraan or take her for Hajj.

I want to know can memorization of Holy Quran or part of it be made
into a condition for marriage as one sister(she is a Hafiz) has put
this condition out tome to either memorize Surah al-Baqarah or Surah
ale-Imraan and her third option was Hajj after nikah. I can pick
either of the three. If I pick one of the first two what bothers me
then is I wouldn't be doing it for Allah swt it would be exclusively
to gain her hand. Please explain if this is allowedor not.
Praise be to Allaah.
If you want to marry her because she is religiously committed and you
agree to the condition, seeking thereby the pleasure of Allah and to
achieve this aim, and to marry someone who will help you to obey Allah
and you can help her, then there is nothing wrong with that and this
is partof striving for the Hereafter. Allah says (interpretation of
the meaning):
"And whoever desires the Hereafter and strivesfor it, with the
necessaryeffort due for it (i.e. does righteous deeds of Allaah's
obedience) while he is a believer (in the Oneness of AllaahIslâmic
Monotheism) — then such are the ones whose striving shall be
appreciated, (thanked and rewarded by Allaah)"
[al-Isra' 17:19].
Al-Nasaa'i (3340) narrated that Anas (may Allah be pleased with him)
said: Abu Talhah married Umm Sulaym and the dowry between them was
Islam; Umm Sulaym became Muslim before Abu Talhah. He proposed to her
and she said: I have become Muslim; if you become Muslim I will marry
you. So he became Muslim, and that was the dowry between them. Classed
as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh al-Nasaa'i.
So strive to memorise the Holy Qur'aan as an act of worship and
obedience towards Allah, and seeking His reward and His pleasure.There
is no reason not tolet the request of this sister be what motivates
you to do this act of worship, because it is not contrary to
sincerity.This is like those who enter some religious competitions and
let that a motive to memorise the Holy Qur'aan. So there is nothing
wrong with thatand it is not contrary to sincerity.
The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas were asked:
Taking part in religious competitions that offer cash prizes: are
these prizes halaal orharaam?
They replied: There is nothing wrong with accepting the prizes thatare
donated by people in authority or other doers of good, because that is
encouragement to acquire knowledge and memorise the Book of Allah, may
He be glorified and exalted. In these and similar matters, the
believer should be sincere towards Allah and be happy to have
something that helps him in that, and his motivation should not be
only to get the money. End quote.
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah, 15/188
And Allah knows best.