Group urges Muslims to avoid body scans

Source:  CBC.ca

An Islamic group is urging Muslim travellers to choose to be patted down by airport security rather than go through airport body scanners, a practice that it says violate religious and privacy rights.

The Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) said the scanners, which produce a three-dimensional outline of a person’s naked body, are “against the teachings of Islam, natural law and all religions and cultures that stand for decency and modesty.”

“It is a violation of clear Islamic teachings that men or women be seen naked by other men and women,” the group said in a statement last week.

“The Qur’an has commanded the believers, both men and women, to cover their private parts. Human beings are urged to be modest in their dress,” the group said.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations also issued a statement of support of the FCNA’s recommendation.

The United States began using the scanners capable of detecting items hidden underneath clothing at airports as part of new security protocols put in place in the wake of the failed bombing attempt on a Detroit-bound flight on Christmas Day.

Canada installing scanners

Halifax imam Dr. Jamal Badawi, one of 10 Muslim scholars on the council who made the religious ruling, said the only exception to the rules of modesty are medical necessity or another emergency.

“It has to be a clear and compelling case and only to the extent that it is absolutely needed,” said Badawi. “And that doesn’t seem to apply to these scanning machines.”

Canada is also in the process of installing 44 scanners to be used on U.S.-bound passengers selected for secondary screening at Canadian airports.

The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority has said the scanners would protect the privacy of the passenger, and that the officer viewing the image would do so in a separate room and never see the actual traveller.

Only people singled out for extra screening would be scanned, and they would have the option of getting a physical search instead, according to authorities on both sides of the border.

The Fiqh council, which in 2005 issued an Islamic legal ruling, or fatwa, against terrorism and religious extremism, said it appreciated the pat-down search option and recommended Muslims choose this option.

U.S. puts countries on watch list

Canada has not adopted the U.S. approach of requiring additional screening for anyone flying into the U.S. who is a citizen of or is travelling from any of the 14 countries deemed to be state supporters of terrorism or “of interest” to the U.S.

Most of the countries listed are predominantly Muslim, and civil liberties groups say the policy of targeting travellers from specific countries opens the door to discriminatory racial profiling.

Transport Minister John Baird has said that “100 per cent” of Canadian travellers bound for the United States could be subjected to secondary screening.

The focus on security measures stems from the failed attempt by a Nigerian man to set off a bomb on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, is accused of trying to ignite the bomb on the Northwest Airlines flight. Officials said he has told U.S. investigators he received training and instructions from al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen.

Euro camp: photos and reflections!

Two weeks have already passed by since the NEMA camp, but I still sense the strong family spirit amongst our Muslim brothers and sisters who attended.  Gosh, I didn’t even attend and I’m feeling the powerful vibes all the way from Canada!

Read a couple of their experiences and see the group photos below.

Well, putting feelings into words is not an easy task but mainly, I met my new family at Istanbul – brothers, sisters and even children and my father and mother. 

 

This event was heartwarming.  Even though I am not European, I felt as if  I am because that what is great about Islam despite the fact that we are 60 participants from different countries all over the world we managed to meet and agree, have fun and make each other smile while getting educated about how to live as a good Muslim in the West and how to be positive active part of the society.

 

In less than a few hours after we met, we clicked directly because we have something in common – we are all Muslim. We start to act like if we knew each other for a million years taking care of each other. We started to know the story behind the story the face behind the face.

 

This camp which was fully organized by NEMA as one of the associations of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE).  I will not talk about the organization because it was so professional and was so organized, actually perfect could be the word to describe it. I would like to take this chance to thank the NEMA team.  I will not mention names because I am sure I will miss someone and I don’t want to miss any.

 

The saddest day was the last day when people start leaving. We did not want to leave I can assure you that. We created a bond and as a family. I will share with you some of my photos even though it will not describe how we felt.

~ Fadi Hasweh

I was so eager to go to Istanbul because I was lucky enough to attend the previous NEMA gathering at the Training Course in Birmingham in August 09 and I met this unique team! That is why I recommended to  all others to attend this camp.

 

Where to start? Dr. Jamal Badawi? He is a brilliant professor with a sparkling mind, a true believer and I was always amazed to listen to him. So humble, so low profile and so effective, ma sha Allah, may Allah grant him a place in heaven.

 

As for the Muslim brothers and sisters from all over the world, this was really exciting and funny. Of course the Greek team that was the largest and was very noisy and full of joy!

 

The camp was very well organized so we had everything in the right proportions. Time for lecture, time for eating, time for chatting at the huge lobby, time for networking, sightseeing, and above all time for SHOPPING! (just teasing, ok?) Ok I shopped a little only because in Greece you cannot find jilbabs and stuff. Istanbul is a beautiful city, you can sense the history, the legacy behind these magnificent mosques and palaces, and of course our soul connection as Greeks.

 

We had a great time, I wish we stayed more!!! Looking forward for the next NEMA gathering!

 

~Anna Stamou

Have an experience you want to share? Post it in the comments. 

Have NEMA photos you want to share?  Email them to me.

 

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Greek Muslims majority at European camp

Source:  IslamOnline.net

Article:  EU Muslim Converts Sharing Experiences (at NEMA Camp in Turkey)

“Participants are coming from different European countries, but Greek Muslim participants represent the majority.”

Imagine 60 native European Muslims to gather in one place for four days to discuss, learn, and seek beneficial inspiration for overcoming any challenges facing them as European Muslim reverts – that is what the Native European Muslim Assembly (NEMA) current camp looks like.

As one of the associations of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE), NEMA organizes its second annual meeting for EU Muslim converts in Istanbul. The camp, which started on April 10 and lasted for three days, aimed at reinforcing a European-scale network for the new Muslims.

“NEMA has already held two important meetings; the first took place in Brussels which aimed at getting accurate view of new Muslims, determining the main challenges, and setting an action plan for NEMA’s task while the second one was in Birmingham, UK, where the reverts’ monitors had a series of training sessions,” said Dr. Hany El-Deeb, NEMA’s president.

“This project came very late as it should have been launched years ago,” said Dr. Ayman Ali, FIOE’s secretary general,referring to NEMA’s recent launch that was founded after the FIOE’s New Muslims Committee (NMC)’s workshop in May, 2007.

Inspiring Models

Over the four-day camp, EU reverts are presenting their successful experiences to set models for the other participants.

Nourdeen Wilderman, a Dutch lecturer within the Dutch Islamic Ummah, is one of the converted presenters who came to Istanbul to share his inspiring experiences with others. His range of activities included delivering speeches, interacting with the media and acting as a stand-up comedian.

Wildeman’s presentation was mainly tackling his well-developed project: “Masjid Finder”, which he hoped to expand with the help of fellow Muslims. Speaking about his project, which serves as a good example for a Da’wah effort carried out by a proactive revert according to NEMA, he says, “My project provides a detailed database of Mosques in the Netherlands.”

“By car, I have visited more than 250 mosques in the Netherlands to confirm their addresses, the services they offer, the languages they use in Friday khutbas, and more detailed information.”

Wildeman, who was officially converted to Islam in December2007, got his project’s idea from what he used to experience when googling the mosques in his region.

“I used to follow the information available online, but unfortunately it was usually out of date.”

Greek Muslims Rethink

Participants are coming from different European countries, but Greek Muslim participants represent the majority.

“The group of Greek Muslims who came here not only for the camp’s activities, but also to discuss serious issues of the Muslim affairs in Greece,” said Naim Al-Ghandour, president of the Muslim Association of Greece who takes part in the camp.

The Greek Muslim group has managed to create a team that would work hard on solving the Muslims’ problems in Greece. The meeting was coordinated by Greeks Rethink, member of the Muslim Association of Greece. “It is absolutely necessary for our team to act radically since the Muslim population in Greece is constantly increasing.”

Networking

While Dr. Jamal Badawi’s lectures were advantageous for many participants who came to learn from him how to respond to controversial questions and how to deal with other non-Muslims in general, networking also was of interest to many of the camp attendants.

“I am attending the camp to do networking with other European converts,” says Alser Ebroothaers, a Belgian Muslim convert. Ebroothaers, who has been a Muslim for almost a year, is looking forward to getting connected with new converts through the camp as she worked with a Belgian organization for converted women. She wants to see how her organization can expand and reach out to new converts in Europe through making use of others’ previous experiences and collaboration.

Non-Membership NEMA

As one of the projects that was founded and operated under the umbrella of the FIOE’s Da`wah department, NEMA camp’s organizers were keen to involve Dr. Jamal Badawi in the camp. Dr. Badawi is a prominent Muslim Canadian scholar and a member of the Islamic Juridical [Fiqh] Council of North America, the European Council of Fatwa and Research and the International Union of Islamic Scholars.

At the camp, a couple of lectures are given by Dr. Badawi on different issues that have to do with European Muslim converts, such as converts’ isolation and the way of integration, balanced Islam, how to deal with controversial questions about Islam, etc.

“This camp is our first experience in gathering Muslim converts from different European countries at the same place and time,” declares Wanees Mabrook, head of the Dua`wah department in the FIOE.

Both Mabrook and Al-Deeb insist that NEMA be a non-membership organization that offers services to any native European Muslims. “We felt happy when we knew that we helped any convert on an educational or a social basis.”

Converts’ challenges range from social, spiritual, to educational ones. Such gatherings are seen as “turning points” in their path to become active European Muslims who can serve their Muslim Ummah and their local European communities.

In your opinion, what are the challenges which the European Muslim converts face? How can they get encouraged to overcome those challenges? Do you think sharing experiences through such camps and events can help them positively?

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Radwa Khorshid is an editor in the Euro-Muslims Zone at IslamOnline.net. She is a graduate of the Department of English Studies, Faculty of Law, Cairo University. You may contact her at radwa.khorshid@iolteam.com.