JAIHOON.COM

Mother Rediscovered

Thanks to the media, the commercial giants have spent heavily on defining motherhood through their products. Biscuits, stationeries, soft drinks, online gift vendors have all rediscovered a sudden fondness for the entity called ‘Mother’. Business as usual.

Hum Dil de chuke!

I had a fascinating Biology class today. The topic in discussion was the Heart transplant and other cardiac related issues. Many students asked questions about what they knew and what they didn’t. The teacher replied satisfactorily

The curtain has risen, its time to act!

Media is very important for the development of the Ummah. For it is the command of Islam to “verify the truth when someone brings you a news”. The “lie incident” which forms an integral part of ’sura Nur’ throws enough light on the importance of the ‘right information’ at the ‘right time’.

The Fifteen Century Hijri

The Calendar of Islam neither begins with the birth of the Prophet, nor with his death, but instead with his migration. This means that whenever a new Islamic century begins, it brings a Message for you. It does not remind you of any person or class of persons, but refreshes your memory of the great cause for which the Prophet (peace be upon him) left his hearth and home to settle down in a new city. It was undoubtedly a great cause — a great Message — which took him there, not meant for the safety of his own life nor that of his Companions. The step was taken to preserve and deliver the Message of God to the whole of mankind.

Tasawwuf: Comprehensive, Modern and Scientific

A critical essay by Shihab Thangal on the developments and present misconceptions about Mysticism in

Journalism in Egypt

Sayyed Shihab Thangal’s essay on the history and development of the Egyptian press. Translated by Jaihoon
Journalism has begun in Egypt since approximately a century and half. But press in those days was utilized was for publishing official notices.
In 1822, Muhammad Ali Pasha launched for the first time a paper called as ‘Journal View’ in both […]

To My dear Headmaster

Sayyed Shihab Thangal’s memoir on the headmaster and founding member of MM High School, PV Mohammed Translated by Jaihoon
Madrasathul Mohammadiyya (MM High School) in those days was popular in Malabar and elsewhere due to the combined education of modern and religious subjects.
As I completed my primary education from the DMRT UP school at Panakkad, […]

Unveiling the Veil

“Neither purdah nor education, be it new or old,
Man alone is the sentinel of female’s womanhood
Of the people who did not understand this living truth
The sun has set very soon.”
- Allama Iqbal
Although Eid has lost its previous glory due to the commercialization, it has not affected the sale of purdah. While there is no check […]

Indian Shalwar, Malaysian Scarf, Arabian Jewellery & a Wedding

Although nikah is the obligatory part and the reception a Sunnah (Prophetic practice, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), the amount of time and effort (and money) invested is far from balanced.
The preparations start almost a month before the event. The male members travel to all the four directions for inviting near and far (and farthest) relatives […]

Mother’s care @ MeraWatan

Exclusive interview with Sheikh Muhammad Karakunnu, Director of Islamic Publishing House, Kerala, on May 18th 2002
It was in midst of his busy schedule that Jaihoon was given an opportunity to meet face to face with the renowned writer and thinker whom other writers see as their honorable guru.
So here was a dot-com enthusiast
With questions he […]

Thunjath Ezhuthachan : The Father of Malayalam language

Thunjath Ezhuthachan was born around 450 years ago in Malappuram district. The story of his birth is mixed with myths and truths. His real name was Ramanujan and signs of brilliance were evident in his childhood. He traveled extensively in search of knowledge and returned to Thrikandiyur, his birthplace, after mastering the religious sciences.
The privileged […]

Malik bin Dinar

On arriving at Malabar, the Arab travelers who had travelled with Cheraman Perumal, built mosques. . .

PMSA Pookoya Thangal: The dazzling light of today’s daybreak

‘Today is the sound continuation of Yesterday’
The flowers of past used to blossom in Imam’s gatherings. These moments tied present with the past. He was particular that ‘Today was the sound continuation of yesterday’. Today’s daybreak acquired its light from the fading light of yesterday’s twilight. History is not meager tales of past events. It […]

Ponnani - Minor Makkah

The name Ponnani
According to some historical records, Ponnani’s history dates back to 2000 years. There are differences of opinion regarding the evolution of the name of Ponnani.
Legend has it that the Ponnana (meaning a type of elephant in Malayalam) was auctioned in the Brahmin temples here and thus came to be known as Ponnani. Yet […]

Syed Shihab: Arabia’s gift to India

‘The Indian Muslim minority has made valuable contributions to Islamic culture and world civilizations while living under the secular framework of the country’, said renowned scholar, orator and a member of the Rajya Sabha (upper house of Indian Parliament) representing the Indian Union Muslim League. He was speaking at the Asian Studies Center of the […]

Arabian Experience beyond 30 years

[Bavu Haji, a prominent Keralite living in Sharjah for the past 30 years, works at Sharjah General Post Office . He is an active social worker who helps the deprived, irrespective of race or religion, through funds and charities. He is also a honorary member in many cultural organizations. He retires on Dec. 31 2000. […]

The coming of Portuguese - The scourge of West

The coming
The Portuguese first arrived at Malabar in 1498 AD (940 AH). The time of trade had finished by then. They studied the economic and political climate of the kingdom and returned back to their country after staying a few months. Their man aim was to explore the markets of Pepper. Until then, they’re buying […]

Revival of Arab Kerala Ties

Centuries old cultural ties that the Arabs had maintained with Kerala should be revived, said KKN Kurup, head of Department of History, University of Calicut.
The professor is on a two-week lecture cum study tour in UAE. His paper, ‘Kerala-Arab relations until the advent of Portuguese’ presented at a seminar organized by the UAE University in […]

Kerala in Arabian Poetry

When we analyze the historical records, we find that in the pre-Islamic period, the ancient Arabian poet Umrul Qais (before the advent of Islam), has mentioned the relationship between Pepper, Kerala and Arabia in his poem. He has compared the bird droppings found on the courtyard of his lover to the pepper in Kerala.
The Greek […]

The fall of Ottoman Caliphate and the Indian Khilafat Movement

Introduction
A western critic once wrote that a visitor from Mars who arrived on earth during the sixteenth century would have probably concluded that the world was on the verge of becoming Muslim. No doubt, with the Mughal Empire in the Indian Subcontinent in the East, Safavid Empire in the center and the Ottoman empire in […]

Cultivating ‘paddy field creativity’ on Arabian sands

The wonderful experiences in the gulf, the different nature and geography and an entirely different milieu for writers available in the Gulf countries should be used for creative writing by Gulf-based Malayalees, the doyen of Malayalam literature urged. He also wondered how many expatriates living in the Gulf countries made use of this region for […]

Winning the rights @ MeraWatan

In what turned out to be a turning point for the efforts to solve decades-old problems faced by the NRI community worldwide, the present government of Kerala has taken bold steps to embrace a path of action shunning the bygone era of ‘empty promises, shouting slogans and holding seminars’.
Jiji Thomson, the secretary of the NORKA […]

MeraWatan: Not just about trade

“MeraWatan was there when Shah Bandar, the Arabian trader, was the chief tradesman of the Kingdom of Samudiri, the king of Calicut. The flow of petro-dollars gave another dimension to this relationship that was established even during the time of King Solomon. And now in the 21st century, the bond between the sand dunes […]

Genesis and Growth of the Mappila Community

Contributed to Jaihoon.com by Dr. Hussein Randathani. Posted on December 16 2005
The long-standing Arab contact

Vidyarambam at India’ first Masjid

Kodungalloor: ‘Vidyarambham’ broke religious grounds as a mosque followed suite. The Imam of the first mosque in India–the Cheraman Juma Masjid– here initiated Jisha Mol into the world of words by assisting her inscribe the first letter of Malayalam alphabet on a slate. This practice is usually prevalent in Hindu temples, at the time of […]

Cheraman Perumal

The First Indian to accept Islam
Cheraman Perumal, of Kodungallur, Kerala, was the first Indian to accept Islam. Many historians have recorded this fact in their writings. For example, M. Hamidulla writes in “Muhammad Rasoolullah” quoting some old manuscripts from India Office Library (ref no. Arabic, 2807, 152-173)
“There is a very old tradition in Malabar, South-West […]

CH Mohammed Koya: The Architect of Malabar

Architect of Modern Malabar
C.H. Mohammed Koya was the son of Ahmed Musliyar and Mariyumma. He was born on July 15 1927 at Attoli of Calicut district. His father was a countryside doctor and a specialist in Yunani Medicine. The family had to face many hardships in their life.
At high School was his primary experience of […]

Mothers use no calculator

[by sister ‘Ummi’. Posted with special permission]
[In an age when we calculate the profit and loss for every action we take, for every word we utter, for every emotion we feel… a mother of two children shares the love towards her children, ingrained in her heart by the Most Merciful, without giving a second thought […]

A change that veiled the body, but unveiled conscience

[Actress finds peace in the Holy Book by By Bassma Al Jandaly | 18-11-2002]
Beaming a broad, infectious smile, Abeer Al Sherqawi is eager to impart her newfound inner peace and serenity after rediscovering the Holy Quran.
The 32-year-old Egyptian screen siren, who used to wear skimpy outfits in the heyday of her career, recently came to […]

Don’t let machines rule your mind- Sheikha Jawaher

[By Eman Al Baik -Sharjah, October 10 2002, Gulfnews ]
Technology and technical knowledge must be used to foster youngsters’ love of history, heritage and a sense of belonging, Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Wife of His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, […]

Second Sharjah International women’s Conference

“My dear daughters, you should not imitate the non-Muslim Western women who have mistaken the concept of freedom as being able to behave badly.” - Sheikha Jawaher
Despite great advancements of the modern era in various fields, the world is dominated by a distorted concept of civilization which remains mute to famine, wars and killings in […]

The paradox of International Women Conferences

April 1st 2001, Khaleej Times
International women conferences are causing harm to structures and stability of families, instead of solving social problems, according to Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qassimi, wife of the Ruler of Sharjah and chairperson of the emirate’s Supreme Family Council.
Sheikha Jawaher made the remark during a recent meeting with the […]

Muslim women and the impact of Scientific and Cultural Globalization

An International conference for Muslim women was held at Sharjah Women’s Club from April 15 to 19. The first of its kind convention was held under the theme Muslim women and the impact of Scientific and Cultural Globalization.
It will be under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qassimi, wife of the […]

Unique pearls on the shore of Islam

This is an age where there are many struggles for the equality of women. Seminars, books, talk show demonstrations…what else not is used in propagation of the feminist agenda. And in this process, the apostles of feminism don’t waste any chance in painting Islam as a backward and discriminatory religion. Hijab is labeled as ‘an […]

Hindus protect mosque in Bihar

While Gujarat was burning, a small town in Bihar set an example of communal amity, when a group of Hindus got together and protected a mosque from being vandalised.
During Friday’s bandh in Muzzaffarpur, called by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to protest the Godhra carnage, a group of hooligans tried to enter the Company Bagh mosque […]

In U.S. Media, Palestinians Attack, Israel Retaliates

April 4, 2002
The numbers will have risen by the time you read this, but more than 300 Israelis and 1,200 Palestinians have been killed since the current Intifada began in September 2000 (Boston Globe, 3/31/02). Thousands more people have been injured.
U.S. media coverage of the conflict has been intense in recent weeks, as the […]

Super cop shocked at Gujarat Riots

Reuters | 07-04-2002
Julio Ribeiro, known as India’s “super cop” for his success in quelling religious riots, battling militants and fighting crime, says he has never seen communal hatred on the scale that exists in riot-hit Gujarat.
“If the world took notice of (massacres in) Rwanda and Bosnia, it should take notice of this,” he said, referring […]

“I am paid to be biased”

“I am paid to be biased”
Gulf News | 29-04-2002
The dramatic walkout by Thomas Friedman, the award-winning Foreign Affairs columnist for the New York Times, cast a temporary pall over the opening session of the second Arab Media Summit at the Emirates Towers hotel yesterday.
Friedman, whose appearance at the summit was a last-minute surprise, was the […]

Zamzam Cola and Muslim Barbie!

MANAMA, May 21, 2002 (IslamOnline & News Agencies)
Iran’s version of Coke has hit the shelves of Bahrain’s supermarkets as residents of the Gulf kingdom increasingly express their frustration at U.S. policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by boycotting American products.
“There is growing demand for substitutes to American soft drinks, which is what prompted us to import […]

Arab Women speak out!

[By Ambreen Syed Freelance writer - Washington D.C, May 19, 2002, IslamOnline.net ]
It was news when Queen Rania of Jordan led a rally of 400 women to hand over a protest note to the U.N. office in Amman over Zionist terrorism in Occupied Palestine. However, it was seen as an official attempt to tell the […]

All-American Osamas

[By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF -ALISPELL, Mont. [NYTimes 07 06 02 Editorial/Op-Ed]
We Americans have conjured so specific a vision of terrorists — swarthy, glowering Muslims mumbling fanatically about Allah — that we’re missing the threat from home-grown nuts, people like David Burgert.
Mr. Burgert, a 38-year-old who last made a living renting out snowmobiles here in this […]

Western sciences came from Eastern Civilizations: Amartya Sen

[An edited excerpt from Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen’s address to the World Newspaper Congress, held between May 26 and 29 in Belgium]
I knew Daniel Pearl a little. He came to a talk of mine in Paris about two years ago, and we chatted afterwards. He knew then that he was soon going to be based […]

‘Beautifying ourselves for ourselves !

[by Abd Al-Hamid Al-Bakkoush. An article calling for reform, written by former Libyan prime minister Abd Al-Hamid Al-Bakkoush, who is known for his liberal views, recently appeared in the London-based Arabic-language daily Al-Hayat. The following are excerpts from the article]
History shows us that problems and crises are a matter of routine for peoples and nations… […]

Godhra: Burnt from inside!

TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ WEDNESDAY, JULY 03, 2002 12:05:58 AM ]
AHMEDABAD: The mystery over the burning of the S-6 compartment of Sabarmati Express at Godhra on February 27, which killed 59 passengers and set off an unprecedented spate of communal frenzy all over Gujarat, has turned deeper with the forensic report on the incident discounting […]

Don’t ask me for that Love again.

[ Islamonline.net, By Anthony J. Aschettino Peace Activist – USA 21/06/2002]
Sometimes you go through an experience in life that leaves an indelible mark on your soul and an inerasable footprint on your mind. My trip through the West Bank as a participating member of the International Solidarity Movement for the Palestinian People was such […]

Some embarrassing truths!

[ Timesofindia.com, SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2002 AMERICA CALLING, by Nikhat Kazmi]
India. Ah! Bombay Dreams…Bollywood…Lagaan… A.R. Rahman. Pakistan. Yeah! Musharraf aka Busharraf aka our man in Islamabad. This is the stock response you get from the average American when he learns you are from India.
While Broadway already bears posters of Bombay Dreams, the All American […]

India: ‘Vedantic brain, an Islamic body and a Christian heart’

[TIMES NEWS NETWORK, WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 2002 ] Narayanan says onus of peace on majority
NEW DELHI: Taking a gentle but pointed swipe at those who have used ‘‘the poison of communalism’’ to cause ‘‘so much violence and hatred in some parts of our country’’, outgoing President K R Narayanan said on Wednesday that ‘‘the Hindus, […]

Give Respect to Earn Respect

[Dr. Hamoud Dhawi Al-Qathami/ Al-Madinah, 6 August 2002 ]
It was with obvious sense of pride that I answered in the affirmative to a question from an ordinary Indonesian at a hotel lounge in Jakarta. His question: “Is it not your country which is home to the holiest shrine to which Muslims the world over turn […]

Desert Culture and Artificial Superiority

[Coexistence with expatriates, Ali Saad Al-Mousa/Al-Watan, 5 August 2002]
At the end of the last academic year I attended a ceremony organized by one of the university departments, where I work, in honor of an American Muslim professor, who was leaving the Kingdom after spending about 10 years.
On this occasion, I wished him a happy life […]

7 reasons why America is ‘Muslim Nation’

[Islam: The next American religion? By Michael Wolfe , Arabnews.com]
The US began as a haven for Christian outcasts. But what religion fits our current zeitgeist? The answer may be Islam. Americans tend to think of their country as, at the very least, a nominally Christian nation. Didn’t the Pilgrims come here for freedom to practice […]