concept of security is a very comprehensive one, more comprehensive than any of the other existing systems. It looks at humankind in relation to the universe and the factors influencing it. It encompasses physical, mental, psychological and spiritual domains as integral parts of an overall societal security system. Islamic teachings do not merely provide solutions to exceptional instances of criminal behavior, but emphatically focus on measures that halt their existence. In other words, Islam executes as many means as possible to avert temptation. While modern societies flaunt temptation – liquor, pornography, violence, etc. – before the people, a true Islamic society removes the sources of these temptations, and when the need for correction emerges, the punishment is serious and effective.
Crime has prospered in modern society because a completely contradictory approach is followed to controlling it. All forms of temptation are prevalent and easily accessible and when the time comes for correction or punishment of a crime, it is done leniently and without seriousness. Sentencing is often biased and protective of the criminal's rights over those of the victim.
Through the various practical forms of worship like Salaah (the five daily prayers), fasting and Zakaah (obligatory charity), Islamic teachings aim at implanting feelings of inner peace and security, responsibility towards others and mutual respect. In a video film by the Christian Science Monitor about Islam in America, a large portion was devoted to describing the lives of maximum-security prison inmates before and after becoming Muslims. Before reverting to Islam, many were serial killers, drug smugglers, addicts and professional criminals. When they embraced Islam while in prison, they turned into dignified, secure and contributing citizens. Western statistical indices show that in the majority of maximum-security prisons, the criminals get involved in criminal acts and end up back in prison. Such statistics are reversed when those inmates become Muslims. The success of Islam in providing the best solution to crimes in the midst of the American society, where all types of correction programs have failed, is strong contemporary evidence for the universality of Islam and the pressing need for adopting its teachings.
Note: Most of the statistical data collected are about Western societies that are due to the availability of documentation on the matter. We realize that crime is prevalent in all societies -- Eastern and Western alike. The main thrust of our topic is that adopting the Islamic solution is more fruitful than man-made solutions.
Friday, April 27, 2007
veils in uk courts
UK courts told to allow veil
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Muslim women should be allowed to wear the veil in British courts, senior judges said in guidelines published yesterday. Muslim women should be permitted to wear the full facial covering, known as the niqab, as long as it does not interfere with the administration of justice, the Judicial Studies Board's Equal Treatment Advisory Committee said.
Such decisions, however, should be made on a case-by-case basis, the committee said.
The guidance was issued after an immigration judge adjourned a case in Stoke-on-Trent, central England, in November because he could not hear a Muslim lawyer who refused to remove her veil. The case resumed after her firm sent another lawyer to represent her client in court.
Forcing a woman to choose between participating in a court case or removing her veil could have a "significant impact on that woman's sense of dignity" and could exclude and marginalise her, the guidelines said.
Judges should not automatically assume a victim appearing in court wearing the niqab creates problems, the committee said. Nor should they assume it is inappropriate for a woman to testify wearing the full veil, it said.
If a judge felt it necessary to ask a victim to remove her veil, he or she should consider the request carefully, and be thoughtful and sensitive. The courtroom could be cleared of anyone not directly involved in the case for her to proceed with her evidence, the guidelines said.
The issue of face-covering veils has stoked debate over religious tolerance and cultural assimilation in Britain, which is home to 1.6 million Muslims.
Former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw provoked a stir in October when he said he requested - but did not insist that Muslim women remove face-covering veils during one-on-one meetings.
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Muslim women should be allowed to wear the veil in British courts, senior judges said in guidelines published yesterday. Muslim women should be permitted to wear the full facial covering, known as the niqab, as long as it does not interfere with the administration of justice, the Judicial Studies Board's Equal Treatment Advisory Committee said.
Such decisions, however, should be made on a case-by-case basis, the committee said.
The guidance was issued after an immigration judge adjourned a case in Stoke-on-Trent, central England, in November because he could not hear a Muslim lawyer who refused to remove her veil. The case resumed after her firm sent another lawyer to represent her client in court.
Forcing a woman to choose between participating in a court case or removing her veil could have a "significant impact on that woman's sense of dignity" and could exclude and marginalise her, the guidelines said.
Judges should not automatically assume a victim appearing in court wearing the niqab creates problems, the committee said. Nor should they assume it is inappropriate for a woman to testify wearing the full veil, it said.
If a judge felt it necessary to ask a victim to remove her veil, he or she should consider the request carefully, and be thoughtful and sensitive. The courtroom could be cleared of anyone not directly involved in the case for her to proceed with her evidence, the guidelines said.
The issue of face-covering veils has stoked debate over religious tolerance and cultural assimilation in Britain, which is home to 1.6 million Muslims.
Former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw provoked a stir in October when he said he requested - but did not insist that Muslim women remove face-covering veils during one-on-one meetings.
Destruction of Hospitals....ethiopian army in somalia, what a human heart they hold
Shells hit hospital in Mogadishu
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A hospital has been hit in Somalia's capital in fighting between insurgents and pro-government Ethiopian forces.
Relatives and medical staff ran from the SOS hospital after at least four missiles hit. Casualties are unclear.
The BBC's Mohammed Ibrahim Moalimo says many of the patients have been transferred to another hospital.
Other Mogadishu hospitals have already been hit by shells during the week-long Ethiopian advance and are struggling to cope with the casualties.
An estimated 340,000 people have left Mogadishu since February, the UN says.
This is the eighth consecutive day of clashes between Ethiopian troops backing the interim government and insurgents and fighters from the city's dominant Hawiye clan.
Ethiopia's prime minister says he hopes to have routed the insurgents within a fortnight.
Obstructive
The interim government is being accused by diplomats of preventing aid from reaching people fleeing the clashes.
Western diplomats say demands to inspect all aid shipments was adding to the misery, AP news agency reports.
Earlier, the UN humanitarian chief said insecurity, checkpoint harassment and new administrative directives have all obstructed humanitarian efforts.
UN, EU and US diplomats in the region have all appealed to the government to stop complicating aid delivery.
"The efforts of international agencies to come to the aid of these stricken people are being thwarted on the one hand by militia looting relief supplies, demanding 'taxes' and violently threatening aid workers, and on the other by administrative obstacles imposed by the transitional federal government," AP news agency quotes a letter written last week by the German ambassador to Kenya.
Earlier, US Ambassador Michael Ranneberger wrote that "these practices are unacceptable and undermine the legitimacy of your government".
In a meeting with the government, the UN's humanitarian chief John Holmes received promises that things would change.
"They have assured us of full support for humanitarian access and humanitarian workers," he said.
'No food; no shelter'
A doctor just outside Mogadishu told the BBC about the difficulties of running her own maternity clinic.
"Around my hospital there are 2,000 families, mostly children and women," Hawa Abdi told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
"There is no food or shelter. We have a small quantity of water, but we aren't able to get water from the well. The UNHCR reached us and gave us small plastic shelters, but it is not enough."
Dr Abdi said she is trying to care for all who come to the clinic, both those who come to give birth, and those wounded in the fighting.
Other medical staff have arrived from hospitals that have been damaged in the fighting in the centre of the capital.
"Some people are injured, and they are coming to my hospital. I am not practising clan-discrimination as others are. If there is land where they can live, I will give them my land, and water free. Also medical tests I do free," she said.
"Other doctors are coming from Mogadishu where there was heavy shelling of the Hayat hospital, and also from the Arafat hospital they are coming to help me."
Somalia has not had a functional government since 1991. A transitional government was formed in 2004, but has so far failed to take full control of the country.
Ethiopian troops announced they had begun to withdraw, to be replaced by an African Union peacekeeping force, but only 1,200 of the 8,000 troops the AU says it needs have been deployed.
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A hospital has been hit in Somalia's capital in fighting between insurgents and pro-government Ethiopian forces.
Relatives and medical staff ran from the SOS hospital after at least four missiles hit. Casualties are unclear.
The BBC's Mohammed Ibrahim Moalimo says many of the patients have been transferred to another hospital.
Other Mogadishu hospitals have already been hit by shells during the week-long Ethiopian advance and are struggling to cope with the casualties.
An estimated 340,000 people have left Mogadishu since February, the UN says.
This is the eighth consecutive day of clashes between Ethiopian troops backing the interim government and insurgents and fighters from the city's dominant Hawiye clan.
Ethiopia's prime minister says he hopes to have routed the insurgents within a fortnight.
Obstructive
The interim government is being accused by diplomats of preventing aid from reaching people fleeing the clashes.
Western diplomats say demands to inspect all aid shipments was adding to the misery, AP news agency reports.
Earlier, the UN humanitarian chief said insecurity, checkpoint harassment and new administrative directives have all obstructed humanitarian efforts.
UN, EU and US diplomats in the region have all appealed to the government to stop complicating aid delivery.
"The efforts of international agencies to come to the aid of these stricken people are being thwarted on the one hand by militia looting relief supplies, demanding 'taxes' and violently threatening aid workers, and on the other by administrative obstacles imposed by the transitional federal government," AP news agency quotes a letter written last week by the German ambassador to Kenya.
Earlier, US Ambassador Michael Ranneberger wrote that "these practices are unacceptable and undermine the legitimacy of your government".
In a meeting with the government, the UN's humanitarian chief John Holmes received promises that things would change.
"They have assured us of full support for humanitarian access and humanitarian workers," he said.
'No food; no shelter'
A doctor just outside Mogadishu told the BBC about the difficulties of running her own maternity clinic.
"Around my hospital there are 2,000 families, mostly children and women," Hawa Abdi told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
"There is no food or shelter. We have a small quantity of water, but we aren't able to get water from the well. The UNHCR reached us and gave us small plastic shelters, but it is not enough."
Dr Abdi said she is trying to care for all who come to the clinic, both those who come to give birth, and those wounded in the fighting.
Other medical staff have arrived from hospitals that have been damaged in the fighting in the centre of the capital.
"Some people are injured, and they are coming to my hospital. I am not practising clan-discrimination as others are. If there is land where they can live, I will give them my land, and water free. Also medical tests I do free," she said.
"Other doctors are coming from Mogadishu where there was heavy shelling of the Hayat hospital, and also from the Arafat hospital they are coming to help me."
Somalia has not had a functional government since 1991. A transitional government was formed in 2004, but has so far failed to take full control of the country.
Ethiopian troops announced they had begun to withdraw, to be replaced by an African Union peacekeeping force, but only 1,200 of the 8,000 troops the AU says it needs have been deployed.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
internet
Users force Dell to resurrect XP
Windows XP made its debut in 2001Responding to customer demand Dell has restarted selling new PCs with Windows XP installed on them.
The decision reverses a policy begun in January that meant Windows Vista was the only operating system available on almost all new home machines.
The change came after Dell's feedback site was swamped with calls for the return of the venerable software.
Now customers can opt for the Home or Professional version of XP on six models of Dell machines.
Customer clamour
The four consumer versions of Windows Vista went on sale on 30 January and since then many PC makers have sold most of their machines with the software pre-loaded.
Since January Dell has been gradually phasing out the XP option on new PCs. By March Dell only sold two models in its extensive range with the XP operating system installed.
Dell is currently the second-largest PC seller in the world and has a 15.2% share of the overall PC market.
Dell changed the policy in response to pleas posted on its Ideastorm website which invites customers to post suggestions about how the PC maker can meet their needs.
The suggestion saying "Don't eliminate XP just yet" got almost 11,000 votes. In response Dell said it would offer the operating system on four models of Inspiron notebooks and two Dimension desktop PCs.
"This is really odd," said Michael Silver, research vice president at analysts Gartner. "On new PCs, consumers usually do want the latest and greatest."
Other analysts speculated that the reason consumers were keen on XP was because it was familiar and it worked well with many of the digital peripherals they owned.
In response Microsoft said that Dell was responding to a "small minority" of customers who had a very "specific" request.
It is not clear how long Dell will be able to keep its offer to install XP going. From the end of January 2008 PC makers will no longer be able to buy new licences for the operating system.
Windows XP made its debut in 2001Responding to customer demand Dell has restarted selling new PCs with Windows XP installed on them.
The decision reverses a policy begun in January that meant Windows Vista was the only operating system available on almost all new home machines.
The change came after Dell's feedback site was swamped with calls for the return of the venerable software.
Now customers can opt for the Home or Professional version of XP on six models of Dell machines.
Customer clamour
The four consumer versions of Windows Vista went on sale on 30 January and since then many PC makers have sold most of their machines with the software pre-loaded.
Since January Dell has been gradually phasing out the XP option on new PCs. By March Dell only sold two models in its extensive range with the XP operating system installed.
Dell is currently the second-largest PC seller in the world and has a 15.2% share of the overall PC market.
Dell changed the policy in response to pleas posted on its Ideastorm website which invites customers to post suggestions about how the PC maker can meet their needs.
The suggestion saying "Don't eliminate XP just yet" got almost 11,000 votes. In response Dell said it would offer the operating system on four models of Inspiron notebooks and two Dimension desktop PCs.
"This is really odd," said Michael Silver, research vice president at analysts Gartner. "On new PCs, consumers usually do want the latest and greatest."
Other analysts speculated that the reason consumers were keen on XP was because it was familiar and it worked well with many of the digital peripherals they owned.
In response Microsoft said that Dell was responding to a "small minority" of customers who had a very "specific" request.
It is not clear how long Dell will be able to keep its offer to install XP going. From the end of January 2008 PC makers will no longer be able to buy new licences for the operating system.
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