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Sunday, February 24, 2008

[chottala.com] India Muslims in terrorism debate

India Muslims in terrorism debate
Muslim religious scholars from all over India are meeting at a leading Islamic school to discuss issues related to terrorism.
The meeting is being held at the Darul-Uloom Deoband, a powerful Islamic school more than 150 years old.
Scholars from 6,000 religious schools - known as madrassas - are attending.
The Deoband school promotes a brand of Islam which some say was an inspiration to Afghanistan's Taleban, although the school denies this.
Reports say that the meeting is expected to denounce terrorism and declare acts of terrorism as "un-Islamic".
One of the scholars participating in the meeting told a television channel that it also aimed to shape popular perceptions.
"We want to make the public conscious [about terrorism]. The disease [of terrorism] has been diagnosed in a wrong way. Whenever there is a terrorist act, fingers are pointed at Muslims."
Another participant said that "terrorism negates the teachings of Islam".
Senior school official, Muhammad Usman, said the meeting will also advise Muslims to be "careful and cautious about conspiracies in the present situation".
"[We will demand] that Muslim community and people of madrassas or any particular community are not harassed and tortured in the name of terrorism."


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[chottala.com] KSU Names Research Chair After Nobel Laureate Yunus


Monday 25 February 2008 (18 Safar 1429)

 
RIYADH — A research chair at King Saud University has been established in the name of Grameen Bank of Bangladesh founder Mohammed Yunus, who won the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2006. Yunus was in the Kingdom yesterday for the Jeddah Economic Forum.
Fayez A. Al-Ghamdi, assistant professor of English at the College of Arts of King Saud University, said that the university has decided to establish the research chair as part of its R&D program. "There will be 15 international scholarships under his name," said Al-Ghamdi.
The Nobel laureates will serve as part-time faculty members at KSU, where they will make their own contribution to various programs in the university. Some of them participated in workshops on nanotechnology as well as the international conference on knowledge-based economy. They also provided valuable input in scientific programs and conferences, including the 7th Saudi Engineering Conference held in November last year.
He said the research program was set up almost six months ago and was intended to forge strategic alliances with prestigious international scholars.
"With this in view, we started contacting tens of Nobel laureates during August and September last year with the support of 25 sponsors," he said. "Five of the Nobel laureates have visited KSU and four of them signed service contracts with its rector, Dr. Abdullah Al-Othman."
Al-Ghamdi said that in the second semester the university would have eight laureates, with the number set to increase to 14 this year. "We have contacted 25 Nobel laureates," he said. "Through this program we would like to reap the benefit of their rich experience and expertise by sponsoring joint research projects in scientific fields."
The second objective, he pointed out, was to set up a training program for KSU's new faculty for nanotechnology. In addition, they will supervise post-doctoral and sabbatical research programs. All of these were part of the agreement signed with the Nobel laureates.
Al-Ghamdi said the laureates would be connected to their own scientific fields through the university's various departments.
The university will send another delegation from faculty members to visit the Nobel laureate's own university and get an idea of the research programs. In some cases, the students could also be trained there as well.
He said there would also be a student-exchange program.


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RE: [chottala.com] OPA observed Ekushey February

Hi Zobaid,
 
Thanks for forwarding me this picture of OPA's participation in the Shahid Minar on 21st feb, but where were you. glad that OPA participated and have seen most of the Literacyschool teachers.
 
With warm regards.
 
Errol Bhai



To: chottala@yahoogroups.com; khabor@yahoogroups.com; zobaid@walla.com
From: zobaidbd@yahoo.com
Date: Sat, 23 Feb 2008 23:10:29 -0800
Subject: [chottala.com] OPA observed Ekushey February

Note: forwarded message attached.

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--Forwarded Message Attachment--
From: mehraj@ctg.bbts.net
To: errol_alsiraj@hotmail.com; cipl@ctpath.net
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Subject: OPA observed Ekushey February
Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2008 01:49:50 +0600

From the desk of  Secretary - OPA
 
OPA President Muhammad Rafique along with his EC members, veteran OPNs & OPA Literacy School teachers & students had observred "Immortal Ekushey February" & "International Mother Language Day" on 21st February 2008 at 7: 30 a.m. in OPA office with short discussion on the special day and prayed for our martyred brothers Salam, Barkat, Zabber, Rafique and for other heroes who laid down their lives to establish "BANGLA" our Mother tongue as a National Language of BANGLADESH (then East Pakisthan) and latter on all the OPNs with Literacy School Teachers and Students went to "Central Shaheed Minar" with a big procession with wreath to convey our heartiest respects to the Martyrs.
 
The rally led by OPA President Md. Rafique, OPN Derick Randolph, OPN Mahbuber Rahman, OPN Sheikh Jobaid Hossain, OPN Hannan Meah, OPA Treasurer Omar Faruque Jewel & OPA Vice - President Razaur Rahman.     
 
Please find the pictures in attached files.
 
Thanks & regards,
 
Opn Mehraj Tahsin Shafi.
Honorary  Secretary - OPA
7, H. S. Suhrawardy Road.
Chittagong-4000
Telephone # 88-031-2854257 / 617133 / 613450 /0443-5014084
Fax # 88-031-610715
Mobile # 88-01711-747469
  


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[chottala.com] Re: [notun_bangladesh] Down with the elections

Dear Aslam Vhai,
 
Your poem is very interesting and witty.
 
THANKS

Syed Aslam <Syed.Aslam3@gmail.com> wrote:
Down with the elections!
Long live selections!
''Bangladesh isn't ready for democracy
So, continue with authoritarianism and autocracy.
  This argument is not new..
  Everyone believes it, except for a few ....
The masses are chotoloks and the voters are fools
So let the military and the police continue their rules.
The susil somaj will ensure
              That our privileges will endure ....
                                   So, No need to fear …
Justice Ruhul Amin is there….
 
Excerpt from "The People Yes" by Carl Sandburg
The people yes
The people will live on.
The learning and blundering people will live on.
    They will be tricked and sold and again sold
And go back to the nourishing earth for rootholds,
    The people so peculiar in renewal and comeback,
    You can't laugh off their capacity to take it.
The mammoth rests between his cyclonic dramas.

The people so often sleepy, weary, enigmatic,
is a vast huddle with many units saying:
    "I earn my living.
    I make enough to get by
    and it takes all my time.
    If I had more time
    I could do more for myself
    and maybe for others.
    I could read and study
    and talk things over
    and find out about things.
    It takes time.
    I wish I had the time."

The people is a tragic and comic two-face: hero and hoodlum:
phantom and gorilla twisting to moan with a gargoyle mouth:
"They buy me and sell me...it's a game...sometime I'll
break loose..."
.............................................
.............................................

In the darkness with a great bundle of grief
    the people march.
In the night, and overhead a shovel of stars for keeps, the people
march:
    "Where to? what next?"


On 2/22/08, Keya Mukherjee <keya1ind@gmail.com> wrote:
undoubtedly darun poem..........kotogulo terms direct use naa korley ektu bhalo hoto......but Mr. Rahman has drawn the true picture of the election .....of this subcontinent ......well done...


On 2/23/08, gopalsengupta@aol.com <gopalsengupta@aol.com> wrote:
Down with the elections
Muhammad Habibur Rahman


Down with the elections!
Down with the elections!
I will not surely vote to lend legitimacy
To the perpetrators of bastard democracy.
I have no zeal, enthusiasm, or gusto
To vote for the violators of election manifesto.
I won't vote for the gun-runners
Even if they carry the freedom banners. And surely not for the arms-smugglers
And surely not for the cheats and jugglers.
I won't vote for the traffickers of women and children
Rather I'll throw away the ballot paper down the drain.
I won't vote for the violators of parliamentary decorum
And those who are responsible for failure of quorum.
Who boycott parliament, but enjoy all the perquisites And sell their privileges in the black markets.
If I tear the ballot paper to pieces,
Won't that be deemed as a note of protest,
As in the American flag-burning cases?
As a law-abiding citizen, and not out of fear,
But for avoiding a hassle, I elect not to tear
The ballot paper to pieces, and instead I wait
For a lack-lustre candidate,
Who has got the least chance to win.
And no chance to harm me or ruin.
You may say it's a negative vote,
But you may kindly note
For casting a positive vote
I may have to wait
For a dream candidate
For a long time -- maybe for eternity,
Till someone appears riding on a white horse To build the golden city.
Meantime, let me vote on the polling day,
I am free on this only day.
Let me vote for the candidate
Who has got the least chance to win.
And no chance to harm me or ruin.
I will not surely vote to lend legitimacy
To the perpetrators of bastard democracy.
Justice Habibur Rahman is a former Chief Justice and Chief Adviser to the Caretaker Government.




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[chottala.com] Sorry Muhammad, Danish Youth Says


Sorry Muhammad, Danish Youth Says

By  IOL Staff

Image

"I'm 100% support the freedom of speech – but I also respect the religious views and feelings of other people," said Botter.

CAIRO — Provoked by the re-printing of a cartoon lampooning Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) by Danish newspapers, Danish young man Anders Botter has stood up and be counted, taking his case of defending the other's religious sensibilities to the popular social website Facebook to say "Sorry Muhammad."

"As an average Danish citizen, my primary goal with this Facebook group is to say that 'I'm sorry' to all those ordinary Muslims around the world, who have been offended by the cartoons of prophet Muhammed (sic)," Botter said in a live dialogue on IslamOnline.net.

Botter, 27, says he launched "Undskyld Muhammed" or sorry Muhammad in English to spark a constructive debate about limits of freedom of expression in a secular and democratic Denmark.

"I'm 100% support the freedom of speech – but I also respect the religious views and feelings of other people," he said.

"Denmark is a very secular society, where religions do not play a significant role. In my personal point of view the 'new religion' of Denmark is 'democracy' and 'freedom of speech.'"

Seventeen Danish newspapers reprinted on February 13 a drawing of a man described as Prophet Muhammad with a ticking bomb in his turban.

The move came following the arrest of two Tunisians and a Dane of Moroccan origin for allegedly plotting to kill the cartoonist who drew the caricature.

"I think it was a very wrong decision (to reprint the cartoon). It was their decision to make as the freedom of speech is fundamental for all Danish newspaper, but I strongly disagree with this decision and was very disappointed," Botter said.

He said he hoped that the chief editors would have wised up after the 2005 cartoons crisis, when mass-circulation Jyallands Posten first published a set of offensive cartoons ridiculing Prophet Muhammad, sparking a Muslim outcry.

"'Sorry Muhammed' critically questions the necessity of printing a picture of the prophet Muhammed, with a bomb in his turban. This picture has previously proved highly inflammatory in large parts of the Muslim world and can too easily be construed as denigrating and demeaning towards Muslims."

"I had hoped for a different kind of reaction, which was more diverse and brought new perspective to the debate," Botter added.

He said such a debate will be helpful in damping down fundamentalist and extremist voices on both sides.

Supporting Danes

Unlike the prevailing attitude, Botter said his Facebook group has received a torrent of support contributions from Danes.

"There have been very many different responses. However, the vast majority (we) re supportive and very positive for this initiative. It is of the utter most importance to Muslims around the world get a chance to see that not all Danish citizens support the publishing of the cartoons.

"And it is of the utmost importance to Danish citizens get a chance to see that not all Muslims are radicals or member of organizations that are against the freedom of speech and democracy in general," Botter noted.

Ironically, he says, Danes who strongly defended the right of newspapers to re-print the offensive cartoon out of freedom of expression are the same people who sent him hate mails and even threats for silence.

"However, I can happily inform you that every time I receive 1 hateful email, I receive 25 supportive emails. So I am very happy…I will not be silenced by threats."

Botter blamed Danish media for adding fuel to the flames by what he called their biased coverage of the cartoons crisis.

"Up until now the media has forgotten about the voice of the average Danish citizens and only asked politicians (who are for the Muhammed drawings) or the Danish Imams (who are against the drawings)," he said.

He said Danish media ruled out the other and depicted the crisis in "a very black/white manner where you are either for the cartoons or against them."

"Denmark needed more diversity in the debate. Therefore, I used my voice (my freedom of speech) to set up the Facebook group."

On his future plans to boost this diversity, Botter said he is planning to collect online signatures in his support of his fledgling group.

"This manifest is not written yet but it will emphasize that one can support freedom of speech, condemn violence and killing AND be against the publishing of the Muhammed drawings."

Aspiring to be a professional filmmaker, Botter did not rule out a movie about the noble messages brought by different prophets to humanity.

"I would like to make a movie, which contains traces of all major world religions. For example a movie where Jesus, Muhammed and Abraham all featured as historical figures and later holy prophets."

http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1203757331021&pagename=Zone-English-News%2FNWELayout

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[chottala.com] Thoughts on Metro, from a well-traveled resident

Thoughts on Metro, from a well-traveled resident
Yasmin Chowdhury
The recent decision to build a Metro (underground rail) system in
Dhaka has met with a range of responses. On one side is
the "halleluyah" response—at last, government is taking public
transit seriously, with plans to invest serious funds (at least $3.2
billion US dollars) into making life easier for the masses.
On the other side rises the practical question: how feasible is the
plan, how much will eventually get built, will it actually function,
and might not a different form of public transit—say, a tram or
trolley, or Bus Rapid Transit—achieve similar benefits for about a
hundred times less money per kilometer?
On the bright side, traveling in cities with a Metro is a far
different experience from traveling in those without one. Where I
grew up, there is no developed system for public transit, and it is
virtually impossible to get around without a car. Since I let my
driver's license expire about a decade ago, I feel like a child when
I visit, reliant on adults to take me places. Meanwhile, when I
visit big modern cities, like Boston, Washington D.C., Chicago, New
York City, or San Francisco, or any number of European cities, I can
easily move around on my own.
But while the independent mobility is a blessing, with it comes a
significant downside. When traveling underground, we fail to
experience the city we are in. Living in Boston and frequently
traveling by subway, I had many of the stops memorized, and could
easily get around underground—but I had no idea what was over my
head. When I finally got into the habit of walking through the city
following the subway lines but above ground, I realized that only
now was I gaining a perspective of where buildings, monuments, and
important parts of the city are in relation to each other—not in
terms of a subway map, but in terms of actual physical layout. In
the process, I realized how little I had actually understood, all
those years of living there, about the true layout of Boston—or of
what is to be found in various neighborhoods that I had ever only
passed under. The parts of the city I knew best were those I walked
in, or where the subway emerged into a street-level trolley, and
there was a sense of connection between the passengers and the
street life out our windows.
When traveling underground, we are unaware—and thus often
unconcerned—about the situation at ground level. Passing under a
slum, we don't pause to reflect on the lives of the people there,
and whether something couldn't be done to make it better, or on why
trash is thrown here and there, or how desolate some of the streets
look...but we do notice those things when traveling on the surface,
and there is the possibility that from noticing, we will go on to
change it.
This has a direct practical side as well for business owners; when
traveling at ground level, we can see shops and other amenities.
Oh, that's where I can buy that—or oh, that looks like a pleasant
restaurant! And knowing where it is and how to access it, there is
the possibility of going back someday. This is both a far more
amusing way to pass the time when traveling then in looking at
tunnel walls, but also is good for the businesses we pass.
Then of course there are the practical matters. I remember seeing a
map of the subway system in Washington, D.C. which showed
various "planned" routes. I remember seeing the same map year after
year, and being surprised that they were never built. Short on
funds? Similarly, I read in the newspaper in Bangkok that the sky
train was supposed to extend far beyond the existing network. That
hasn't happened, and the sky train itself took many years to build
in part, I hear, due to corruption. Meanwhile, the new Metro in
Bangkok doesn't go much beyond the sky train. What then are the
chances that Dhaka will succeed in building all it plans? If the
existing plans prove unaffordable, as the price of materials
continues to rise, how much will a very limited system do to reduce
traffic congestion or make traveling easier?
Meanwhile, building a subway system requires building a lot of
tunnels. The funny thing about tunnels is, they have to be accessed
from the street. This involves a lot of big holes, and while those
holes are in place, streets are closed down. So congestion will be
significantly worse for the years during which the Metro system is
built.
There is also the issue of crowding on the subway. I was in New
York City recently, and given the intense street-level congestion,
when going too far to walk, I tried the subway. It was certainly
better than being stuck in traffic, but of course I had no idea
where I was, and I couldn't decipher the thick New Yorker accent of
the conductor. On one trip, the train was so packed that I couldn't
see out the windows to read the names of the stops. This made
arriving at my destination a bit of a challenge, and left me as
clueless as ever about the geography of Manhattan.
The sky train is often packed in Bangkok, with barely room to
stand. Thais are polite, and I have never had a man grab me.
Unfortunately, I can't say that for my experience of riding in
crowded subways in Boston, and I have heard horror stories about the
system in Mexico, which apparently had to provide separate carriages
for women to prevent sexual harassment on the packed trains.
Then there are those lovely escalators down to the stations. Where
there are hills, or where the system must go under high rise
buildings, stations must be built far below ground. Some of those
escalators seem to go on forever. Stepping onto those moving stairs
with the ground so far below as to seem to belong almost to another
planet always makes my head spin. I was relieved, on a recent trip
to D.C., to discover that a Bangladeshi colleague had the same
experience, only worse. He insisted on taking the lift. Of course
the lifts are intended mostly for the disabled, those with small
children, or those with luggage, so one sometimes must wait a long
time for it. Between long lines for lifts and the crowded
situations of the trains, it sometimes feels as if we have simply
shifted a portion of our traffic congestion below ground.
Speaking of traffic congestion, it helps to remember that people
need to be able to get to and from the public transit stops.
Getting from one stop to another in little time is a great
convenience, but the benefits of that convenience are rapidly
diminished when it is difficult to get from public transit to one's
actual destination. I made a mistake in Bangkok once and got off at
the wrong subway stop. As I came up to the street, I realized that
where I needed to go was on the other side of a highway, with no
provision for crossing. I could either go back underground, pay
again, then wait for another train to come along to take me just one
more stop, or I could risk my life running across the highway.
Needless to say, I ran.
In cities with broken sidewalks, and sidewalks blocked by parked
cars, and barbed wire and cement medians to prevent people from
crossing the street, getting to and from public transit becomes a
daunting challenge. Anyone in their right mind would choose to
drive instead, if they had the option, thus defeating in large part
the point of the public transit in the first place: to woo people
away from their cars. That is, public transit doesn't exist in a
vacuum—it is part of the city, and it is meant to connect places not
just along the tracks, but throughout the city. If people can't
easily get to the stops on foot, or on rickshaw, then there is
little point in building the system in the first place.
Then there is that lovely dream of the uncongested streets of Dhaka,
once our Metro system is built. How many large, crowded cities with
crowded Metros have streets free of traffic jams? Let's face it,
moving through a city—even at a good pace—underground just isn't
that pleasant an experience. Subway stations are often hot and
smelly. Homeless people tend to use them as urinals, and there are
always those aggressive people who insist on smoking despite all the
signs. If subways freed up the streets, then all the passengers who
could afford a car or taxi would go back to riding in one.
I remember once being late for the airport in Boston and figuring
that rather than go all that way below ground, and change trains
twice, and move at the snail's pace the Boston subway often goes at—
it is the oldest subway system in the US and thus the least modern—I
would take a taxi. Oops. Of course it took even longer, thanks to
all the traffic, and I missed my plane. Yet Boston's subway system
is far more extensive than Dhaka's is likely ever to be, and it is
easy to walk in Boston, and there is a good bus system to complement
the subway, and the population is a fraction of Dhaka's. So why are
there still traffic jams, when the Metro is supposed to eliminate
them?
I'm sure the decision was made in good faith. Perhaps the planners
involved have not spent much time in the major cities of the world,
and experienced both their subways and the traffic situation above
ground. Perhaps they feel that people enjoy being below ground, or
that the city is best experienced as little as possible—that is,
either underground, or safely insulated in a steel box. No doubt
they consider the expenditure of a mere few billion dollars quite
reasonable, pocket change really. Perhaps they are too busy to read
the Strategic Transport Plan which was meant to map out the best
transport plan for the future, and which found that a Metro would
offer no significant improvements over surface public transit, and
thus there is no justification to build it.
Even allowing that a few billion dollars is a minor sum which should
involve little thought or planning before expending, I would still
suggest that when Dhaka's city planners make their final decision
about an efficient, fast, affordable, high quality system of public
transit, they should be careful not to miss the boat. It's a lot
more expensive and more technically difficult to build and operate
an underground system than a surface one.
We would get a far more extensive system, with far lower fares or
less government subsidy, if we built a surface rather than an
underground system. The system could be built a lot faster than a
Metro, and with a lot less disruption of traffic during its
construction. That issue of fares is important—around the world,
public transit tends to be expensive, and yet still highly
subsidized by government. The more expensive the system is to build
and maintain, the higher the fares and the subsidies, and the less
that will eventually get built.
People could see their city out the windows while riding, gaining
both a sense of perspective and of knowledge of what is happening
around them. A less expensive system could be started quickly, and
gradually expanded. Ensuring that people can walk around the city
would not only make the public transit system viable, but would help
reduce congestion by shifting some short distance trips to walking.
The money to fix our footpaths, and the political will to ban car
parking on them, should not be more difficult to find than the
billions planned for the Metro.
Public transit is definitely the way to go—but not all public
transit was created equal, and leaping onto the wrong train won't
help us reach our final destination.

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