The Bride’s Presence inside Mosque Lights up Wedding, Sets Trend in Kerala; The Brides Also Have The Right To Witness Their Wedding
New
Age Islam News Bureau
02
August 2022
• Iran
Bans Women from Appearing In Ads after Fury over 'Sexy' Rules
• Girls
Islamic Organization of India Elects Its First President, General Secretary, Sumaiya
Roshan, Samar Ali Respectively
• 3
Scholars Gather for a Female-Led Interfaith Conference in the North Carolina
Mountains
• A
Glorious Summer of Women’s Football Gives Arab Nations Something to Dream About
• Saudi
Arabia among Four Countries Interested in Hosting Women’s Asian Cup
• Pakistan
Elderly Woman Gets Married To Her Servant; He Faints After Getting Proposal,
They Call Each Other 'Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif'
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/bride-mosque-wedding-kerala-witness/d/127630
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The
Bride’s Presence inside Mosque Lights up Wedding, Sets Trend in Kerala; The
Brides Also Have The Right To Witness Their Wedding
For
representational purposes. (File Photo)
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02nd
August 2022
By
Pooja Nair
KOZHIKODE:
The presence of a Muslim bride along with the groom, her father and other men
from both the families at her wedding, has set a new trend in the community.
Usually in Muslim weddings, brides do not attend the marriage function since it
is a contract between the father of the bride and the groom.
However,
KS Ummer from Parakadavu, whose daughter got married on the day, chose to think
differently. “Both our families wanted my daughter Bahaja to witness her
wedding along with us at the mosque,” said Ummer. “It is high time that we
discarded such practices that have no place in Islam. The brides, including my
daughter, have the right to witness their wedding,” Ummer said. “Once we had
this thought, we approached the mahal committee and after discussing it, they
accepted our appeal and congratulated us on thinking differently,” he added.
At
another wedding in Parakadavu last week, the bride was allowed to witness her
wedding, but the function was held on the mosque premises and not within.
“Hence, Bahaja’s wedding became the first ceremony in our locality, where the
bride was able to witness the ceremony inside the mosque,” Ummer said.
“There
was no difference of opinion among the mahal committee members when the family
made such a request,” said mahal secretary E J Niyas, adding,” In the future
also, we will be happy to make space for the bride inside the mosque to attend the
marriage ceremony, if the family wants”.
But, reformist Muslim scholar C H Musthafa Moulavi, who initiated such
marriages in Malabar over a year ago, had a hard time on account of this.
“There was a hue and cry when I conducted a marriage in the presence of the
bride and other women in the family,” Moulavi said.
“One
preacher termed the marriage fornication and others took to social media to
voice their opposition. The preacher later apologised for the remarks after the
family threatened him with legal action,” he said.
Musthafa
Moulavi said the changes that have come over were due to girls in the community
coming out against such practices. “But, I don’t think there is any change in
the mindset of the majority,” he said.
Source: New Indian Express
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Iran
Bans Women from Appearing In Ads after Fury over 'Sexy' Rules
A
commercial featured a woman in a loose-fitting hijab suggestively biting into a
Magnum ice cream (Image: Newsflash)
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Aug
02 2022
IRAN:
Iran's conservative Under the state's rigorous chastity laws, female actors in
advertisements are forbidden by Islamic officials. The announcement followed a
commercial that showed a woman in a loose-fitting hijab eating a Magnum ice
cream suggestively.
According
to reports, Iranian clergy were incensed by the advertisement and pushed
authorities to prosecute local ice cream producer Domino. The advertisement,
according to authorities, was "against public decency" and
"insulting to women's morals."
Now,
as per reports, Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has informed
the nation's art and film institutions that women are no longer permitted to
appear in advertisements due to "hijab and chastity laws."The restriction complies with decrees made by
the Cultural Revolution's Supreme Council.
It
is also based on Iran's long-standing laws and regulations that forbid the
"instrumental use" of men, children, and women in commercial
advertisements.
However,
depending on how rigid the ruling administration is at a particular moment,
"instrumental usage" is defined in different ways.
Source:
News Track Live
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Girls
Islamic Organization of India Elects Its First President, General Secretary,
Sumaiya Roshan, Samar Ali Respectively
August
1, 2022
New
Delhi, August 01 (KMS): The Girls Islamic Organization (GIO), a leading women
organization of India, elected its first National President and General
Secretary.
The
Girls Islamic Organization is a non-profit organization wing of Jamaat-e-Islami
Hind and has been actively engaged on various issues regarding women in general
and Muslim women in particular in India since 1984.
Advocate
Sumaiya Roshan, Karnataka, became the first President of the National
Federation of GIO, and Samar Ali, Kerala, became the General Secretary.
Source:
KMS News
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3
Scholars Gather For A Female-Led Interfaith Conference In The North Carolina
Mountains
August
1, 2022
By
Yonat Shimron
(RNS)
— Summers have long been a time for camp meetings and religious revivals, a
week of preaching, singing and soul-saving in the great outdoors.
That
tradition has faded some over the years, but a form of it still exists on a
western North Carolina mountain off the Blue Ridge Parkway. Wildacres, a scenic
retreat at an elevation of 3,300 feet, has always combined a bit of rustic
Appalachia with a progressive religious streak.
This
year it is breaking ground again as its Interfaith Institute, a 40-year-old
summer tradition, convenes a three-day meeting beginning Monday (Aug. 1), led
entirely by female scholars — a Christian, a Jew and a Muslim.
The
Interfaith Institute, which has long been hosted by the Greater Carolinas
Association of Rabbis, was initially intended as a summer retreat where rabbis,
ministers and priests could learn more about other traditions in a relaxed
setting.
Increasingly,
it is attracting lay people and this year is scrapping the traditional lecture
format for a more relaxed conversational workshop in which scholars interact
with participants.
The
theme this year is breath, and the three scholars will explore it beginning
with the Genesis creation story where “God formed a man from the dust of the
ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” (The Quran includes
two related passages.)
“When
we gathered on Zoom to plan it, one participant said, ‘I just want time to
catch my breath,’” said Amy Laura Hall, associate professor of Christian ethics
at Duke Divinity School and this year’s program director for the Interfaith
Institute. “We kept gravitating back toward that as a theme.”
The
Interfaith Institute has not met in person for two years because of the COVID
pandemic. Recognizing that many people are easing back into older ways of
connecting, the theme of breath seemed appropriate.
“The
idea was to hit reset after the stressors of the pandemic and to think about
that in a bodily way,” said Anathea Portier-Young, professor of Old Testament
at Duke Divinity School and one of the three featured speakers. “What does it
mean to reconnect with self, with community, with God? The breath is a kind of
metaphoric, metonymic focal point.”
Women,
in particular, may be have felt like they were holding their breath this summer after the Supreme Court
overturned Roe v. Wade and states began rolling back abortion without
exemptions for rape, incest and the health of the woman, Hall said.
And
then there are those who have also feverishly worked on racial justice in the
wake of the “I can’t breathe” killing of George Floyd in 2020, she said.
“One
key definition of life is respiration,” said Laura Suzanne Lieber, a professor
of religious studies at Duke. “But it’s never just physical; it has a
connotation of soul. Breath is a connective tissue.”
Wildacres,
with its panoramic views of the Appalachian Mountains, is literally
breathtaking. The 76-year-old resort, with its rustic stone lodges (sans TV and
phone), is also testament to the changing social and religious landscape of the
South.
Its
1,200 acres were originally bought by Thomas Dixon Jr. (1864-1946), a white supremacist
Baptist minister, lawyer, writer and filmmaker. His book, “The Clansman: A
Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan,” was adapted by film director D. W.
Griffith into a movie, “Birth of a Nation,” considered one of the most racist
Hollywood movies for its depiction of Blacks. In the 1920s Dixon bought
Wildacres, but after the stock market crash of 1929, he went bankrupt.
A
Texas bank ultimately sold Wildacres to I.D. Blumenthal, a successful
Charlotte, North Carolina, businessman who was also Jewish. Blumenthal began
inviting groups of artists, musicians and writers to spend a week each at
Wildacres throughout the summer. In 1972, the resort became an independent
nonprofit dedicated to “the betterment of human relations.”
While
several Christian groups also met there each summer, Jewish groups from across
the Southeast have adopted Wildacres as their favored getaway. B’nai Brith, the
Jewish service organization, holds an annual retreat there, as do several
synagogues in the region.
The
Interfaith Institute retreat was originally intended for rabbis who planned to
attend their own retreat a few days later. When there were openings, lay people
were allowed to register, too. These days, it’s open to all.
The
first Muslim speaker was invited to speak about 10 years ago.
“Some
of the older Jewish rabbis were very concerned about it,” said Rabbi Edward
Friedman, chairman of the Interfaith Institute. “A few of them said, ‘If you’re
going to have Muslims there, I’m not going to be there.’ But that was the minority.
Most people were open to learning about Islam.”
This
year’s Muslim speaker, its first woman, is Mona Hassan, associate professor of
Islamic studies and history at Duke University.
The
Interfaith Institute would like to draw more Muslims as participants, too. This
year’s 40-plus in attendance (a COVID low) doesn’t include other Muslims.
“We
are not seeking religious Esperanto,” said Hall, the program director,
referring to the international language of communication. “We don’t shy away
from real differences in the three world religions. There are definitely
politically pointed conversations. But overtly political conversations happen
alongside conversations that are textually based.”
In
keeping with the changing religious landscape, the institute also draws a good
number of Unitarian Universalists as well as people of no faith who are curious
to learn about different traditions.
“It’s
an opportunity to catch your breath,” said Hall, “and leave some of the burdens
behind.”
Source:
Religion News
https://religionnews.com/2022/08/01/in-the-carolina-mountains-a-breath-taking-interfaith-conference/
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A
glorious summer of women’s football gives Arab nations something to dream about
August
01, 2022
DUBAI:
For sports fans across the Arab world, the announcement on Monday of Saudi
Arabia’s intention to bid for the 2026 Asian Football Confederation Women’s
Asian Cup was a fitting finale to one of the most exciting weeks in the history
of women’s football.
Just
hours earlier, the confetti drifted across the Wembley sky as the curtain came
down on a triumphant UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 for hosts England. A 2-1 win on
Sunday after extra time had seen the Lionesses claim their first ever title and
a first trophy for England since the men’s 1966 World Cup win, infamously
against West Germany at Wembley as well.
It
has been a glorious summer, indeed year, for women’s football around the globe.
A
day before England’s triumph, the Brazil women’s team had won the Copa America
Femenina title after beating Colombia 1-0. And only two weeks ago, South Africa
had defeated hosts Morocco to win the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
In
January, China had been crowned AFC Women’s Asian Cup champions after beating
South Korea 3-2 in Mumbai. Women’s football continues to smash barriers.
Eyes
are already turning to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup taking place in
Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to Aug. 20 next year. Not everyone has
joined in the fun and games, however. Not yet, at least.
As
positivity sweeps the women’s game, these tournaments — even their
qualification stages — have shown the challenges that Arab female footballers
must overcome before they can join the party.
Only
Morocco, courtesy of reaching the last four in the Women’s Africa Cup of
Nations, have qualified for next year’s World Cup.
The
reasons for lack of Arab involvement at the highest level are many, be they
political, sporting or cultural. The time to compare the women’s game in this
part of the world to Europe and the Americas is not here yet.
But
there is room for cautious optimism, as football federations, according to
their means, are increasingly embracing women’s football.
In
terms of participation and performances, African Arab nations remain clear of
their Asian sisters. Hosts Morocco were joined by Tunisia in 2022 Africa Cup of
Nations, while no Arab nation took part in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in India
last January.
FIFA’s
latest world rankings back up the trend. Africa’s top Arab nations are Tunisia
at 72, Morocco (77), Algeria (79) and Egypt (94).
Meanwhile,
in Asia, the top three women’s teams are Jordan at a very creditable 65,
Bahrain at 84 and the UAE at 106.
So
far, results — and subsequently, rankings — have generally correlated to
longevity and history. But even there, official participation by Arab African
nations preceded their Asian counterparts by a matter of years.
Morocco,
Algeria and Egypt all played their first women’s international matches in 1998,
while Tunisia followed as recently as 2006. In Asia, Jordan’s women made their
bow in 2005, as did Bahrain’s, while a UAE team made up mostly of expats played
their first ever international in 2010.
Considering
the fact that those matches were all held fairly recently, great credit must go
to these pioneering women for blazing a trail for those who followed.
Going
forward, however, things are likely to change, with footballing history
becoming less of a factor. Increased funding, establishment of programs and
accessible training facilities are the future.
This
is where Saudi Arabia, not yet a FIFA member, is looking to accelerate the
women’s game. The Women’s Football Department at the Saudi Arabian Football
Federation (SAFF) was only established in 2019, but has since overseen an
impressively brisk agenda.
In
2020, as the world emerged from lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the
Saudi Sports For All Federation launched the Women’s Football League, involving
several long-established ladies teams that nonetheless had not previously taken
part in any regular organized competition.
But
it was in November 2021 that SAFF officially established the Regional Football
League, a 16-team competition that would see the country’s best eight clubs —
mostly from Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam — advance to a knock-out National
Championships in early January.
The
league was split into three regions: A six-team Central region, a six-team
Western region and a four-team Eastern region, with matches played in a
round-robin, home-and-away format.
The
top three teams in the Central and Western regions, as well as the top two from
the Eastern region, would progress to the National Championships, with a prize
of $133,000 awaiting the eventual winners.
Al-Yamamah,
Jeddah Eagles and Eastern Flames were crowned champions of the Central, Western
and Eastern divisions, respectively, and were joined in the quarter-finals by
Miraas, The Storm, Sama, Al-Mamlaka and Challenge.
At
almost 11 p.m. on January 8, Al-Mamlaka became Saudi Arabia’s first ever
National Football Championship winners after a 7-0 victory over Challenge at
King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah.
It
was a landmark day for the fledgling women’s football scene in the Kingdom. The
competition was not without its challenges, but was an undoubted overall
success.
Another
important step taken by the SAFF was to hire 12 top Asian female referees to
officiate at women’s football league matches, and also to train local women who
wish to go down that path. Now there are qualification courses established for
new female referees, with 63 officials approved under the SAFF so far.
But
perhaps the most significant appointment came when German coach Monika Staab
was tasked with leading the newly established (2021) Saudi women’s
international team, and to oversee the development of the game at all levels
across the Kingdom.
Staab
has had a successful career, which saw her play in France and England before
returning to Germany and to the women’s Bundesliga. As a coach, she led 1. FFC
Frankfurt (now Eintracht Frankfurt) to four German league titles, four German
Cups and, famously in 2002, the UEFA Women’s Cup (now the UEFA Women’s
Champions League).
After
a coaching journey that had seen her visit over 80 countries in the past four
decades — including Bahrain, Iran and Qatar — Staab was the perfect candidate
for SAFF. So far, it has proven a wise choice.
Staab
oversaw the Saudi Arabian national women’s team first-ever international match,
a 2-0 win over the Seychelles in a friendly at held at the National Stadium in
the Maldives on Feb. 20.
The
historic occasion drew acknowledgment from leading football figures around the
world, including Brazilian legend Pele, who tweeted a message of
congratulations for the female Falcons.
Encouragingly,
nationwide training programs, set up by Staab and her team, are looking to
unearth Saudi female talent to take part in the Regional Football League and
eventually the national team.
Additionally,
40 D-License coaching courses have been delivered at schools across the
Kingdom, awarding 857 teachers their coaching certificates, while 15 refereeing
courses will enable 544 teachers to officiate at the Girls Schools League set
to launch in September 2022.
Several
players are already making names for themselves. Al-Bandari Mubarak sc ored Saudi Arabia’s first ever goal in that
win against the Seychelles and is seen as an integral part of the national
team, as is goalkeeper and captain Sara Khaled, who plays for Al-Mamlaka.
Farah
Jafri, of Jeddah Eagles, is another talent marked out for stardom. Meanwhile
Leen Mohammed has emerged as the star of the Saudi Women’s Futsal National Team
(established in 2019), which hosted and finished as runners-up in the 2022 West
Asian Football Federation (WAFF) Women’s Futsal Championship.
There
are others. Staab’s first target is to get the Saudi national team into the
FIFA world rankings, and then to take part in official competitions, regionally
and internationally.
And
it looks like this could come sooner than expected with the SAFF announcement
on Monday of its intention to bid, making Saudi Arabia one of four nations,
including Jordan, looking to host the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
A
host is expected to be confirmed by the AFC next year.
“Saudi
Arabia has embraced women’s football. When I speak to girls across the Kingdom,
I see their excitement for the game,” said Staab.
“The
2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup is an unprecedented opportunity to inspire a
generation of girls to achieve their football dreams.”
No
doubt that there is plenty of hard work to be done in the coming years. But
should Saudi Arabia be successful in its bid to host the tournament, we might
just see the joyous scenes at Wembley repeated closer to home in three years’
time.
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2134001/sport
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Saudi
Arabia among four countries interested in hosting Women’s Asian Cup
August
2, 2022
KUALA
LUMPUR: Saudi Arabia, Australia, Jordan and Uzbekistan have submitted
Expressions of Interest to host the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup, the Asian Football
Confederation (AFC) said on Monday.
If
selected, Saudi Arabia, whose women’s football team only played its first match
in February this year, will host its first official international women’s
tournament.
Although
recent reforms have given women in Saudi Arabia more freedoms, many of their
rights remain restricted. Saudi women were banned from attending fixtures in
stadiums until 2017.
Australia
last hosted the Women’s Asian Cup in 2006, while the 2018 edition was played in
Jordan. Uzbekistan have not previously hosted the tournament.
“The
AFC will now work with all Bidding Member Associations on the delivery of the
necessary bidding documentation in accordance with the bidding process with a
decision to be finalised and communicated in 2023,” the AFC said.
The
winning bid will be announced next year and the AFC hailed the growing
popularity of the tournament.
China
claimed a record-extending ninth Women’s Asian Cup title after beating South
Korea in the final of the 2022 tournament, which was hosted by India and
expanded from eight to 12 teams.
The
2026 edition “is expected to build on the solid foundations of the tournament’s
celebrated legacy”, the AFC said.
Source:
Dawn
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Pakistan
Elderly Woman Gets Married To Her Servant; He Faints After Getting Proposal,
They Call Each Other 'Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif'
Aug
02, 2022
Everything
is fair in love and war. And love is all u need to live, if you find the love
of your live, for it sees no age, gender or social status.
In
one such care, an elderly woman in Pakistan fell for her servant and got
married to him, reports Times Network.
Nazia,
a resident of Islamabad, used to live all alone until she found the love of her
life in Sufiyan. To begin with, a friend had introduced her to Sufiyan for
daily household work. She hired him for a salary of Rs 18,000, a month.
Soon,
Nazia fell for Sufiyan’s simplicity and good nature, says Pakistani content
creator and YouTuber Syed Basit.
He
said that his simplicity had won her heart and she started liking all his
habits. After which she proposed to her servant.
“Sufiyan
had fainted after hearing the proposal,” Nazia said. Sufiyan ended up saying,
"I love you, too”. According to Nazia, Sufiyan takes care of her when she
falls sick. He even cooks for her and also gets her medicines. Nazia has
compared him to Salman Khan while to Sufiyan, is his Katrina Kaif.
Even
when the public spoke of their relationship outside marriage, it hardly
mattered for the lovers who stood by each other.
Source:
Tribune India
The
landowner says she might even transfer ownership of her house to her man.
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