Bismillah.  The BBC has reported this here.

For London, the eclipse will begin around 7am, and thus only be visible from sunrise, around 8.12am, and end around 9.31am.  DO NOT LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN AT ANY TIME, WHETHER DURING AN ECLIPSE OR NOT, ELSE YOU RISK SERIOUS DAMAGE TO YOUR EYESIGHT, AND PERHAPS EVEN BLINDNESS.  The only exception to this is for the few minutes during a total solar eclipse when the moon totally obscures the sun.  Since this is a partial eclipse, that does not apply. The fact that we depend on the sun for all our light, warmth and energy needs and daily routine, yet go throughout life without ever looking at it, is a metaphor for the fact that we cannot see God in this world, being veiled from Him, although His creation and knowledge is everywhere around us.  We only get to see God in the next life, for those who deserve the Beatific Vision.

In the Islamic tradition, a solar eclipse, like any wonderful natural phenomena, is a Sign of God and therefore a good time for reflection, prayer, meditation and charity, etc.  Those who wish to observe the Islamic solar eclipse prayer at this time may wish to note the following:

1. The prayer is normally done when the eclipse is visible: in this case, from sunrise.  However, extra prayer is usually forbidden for the 5-10 minutes before and after sunrise to avoid imitating sun-worshippers.  My view is that it’s best to wait about 10 minutes after sunrise before offering the eclipse prayer.

2. It would be acceptable to offer or start an eclipse prayer an hour or so before sunrise, since the astronomical calculations are precise to within a minute or two, and hence one knows that the eclipse is taking place.  This would be similar to following Imam Subki’s fatwa that someone who knows astronomically that a visible crescent moon is present behind the clouds is permitted to observe lunar months on that basis, including Ramadan.  However, extra prayer is usually discouraged or forbidden after the dawn prayer and before sunrise, but in this case it would be acceptable as a special exception.  One could therefore, of course, begin the eclipse prayer before sunrise, continuing during sunrise and concluding afterwards.  Would that be acceptable?  The jurists may discuss it endlessly.  My view is that it would be acceptable, since it is not imitating sun-worshippers, like someone who begins the Dawn Prayer shortly before sunrise and concludes it afterwards.

3. The solar eclipse prayer consists of two rak’ahs (cycles).  In the Sunni tradition, three of the main schools have an extra ruku’ (bowing) in each cycle, making a total of two bowings and two prostrations in each cycle.  Before each bowing, the Qur’an is recited, with the jurists disagreeing over whether or not The Opening Chapter (Surah al-Fatihah) must be recited in each section, or simply once per rak’ah.  The Hanafi school holds that there are no extra bowings, so that it is a normal two-rak’ah prayer.  The other three schools accept this also as a valid form of the prayer.  All of these possibilities are valid forms of the prayer.

4. The Prophetic way was to observe a very long eclipse prayer, lasting the entire duration of the event, i.e. 2-3 hours.  This is not necessary, but recommended.  The minimum is a normal two-rak’ah prayer, as detailed above.

5. The prayer may be performed individually, or in congregation.  Congregation is better.  The jurists differ as to whether the recitation of the individual or the imam (leader of the congregation) should be aloud or quiet.  God-willing, all methods are acceptable.  Some jurists held that a lunar eclipse prayer has loud recitation whilst the solar eclipse prayer has quiet recitation since these are performed by night and day respectively, analogous to the loud recitation for the daily night and dawn (darkness) prayers and the quiet recitation in the daily afternoon prayers. For a long, congregational prayer, loud recitation may be best in both cases.  When I helped to revive the Sunnah of the solar eclipse prayer at Masjid Tawhid during August 1999 by spreading awareness and leading several hundred worshippers in a two-rak’ah prayer for over an hour, I recited loudly from the long mufassal surahs (roughly, parts 27-29) of the Qur’an.

The eclipse should be an awe-inspiring event, as usual, if we are blessed with clear skies.  Even if it is overcast or cloudy, we may be able to detect less sunlight than usual.  May we be showered with God’s blessings, internally and externally, during the eclipse and forever afterwards!

Bismillah.  Isn’t digital technology great? 🙂 Its basis (binary numbers) is implied in the verse, “By the Even and the Odd!” (Qur’an, 89:3), for even-ness and odd-ness are fundamentally a property of binary numbers, and of no other type of number.  Many thanks to the WordPress team for the review below.  – U.H.

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The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

The average container ship can carry about 4,500 containers. This blog was viewed about 23,000 times in 2010. If each view were a shipping container, your blog would have filled about 5 fully loaded ships.

In 2010, there were 66 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 146 posts. There were 21 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 2mb. That’s about 2 pictures per month.

The busiest day of the year was September 25th with 577 views. The most popular post that day was Free Jaafar al-Hasabi, a British-Bahraini human rights activist.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were facebook.com, mail.live.com, mail.yahoo.com, bahrainonline.org, and bahrainonline.info.tm.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for usama hasan, usama hasan blog, nahw al wadih, famous poems about unity, and unity1.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

Free Jaafar al-Hasabi, a British-Bahraini human rights activist September 2010
9 comments

A detailed fatwa about music and singing – by Sheikh Abdullah al-Judai February 2010
21 comments

Dawn and Sehri/Suhur/Suhoor Timings Confusion for Ramadan in the UK 1430/2009 September 2009
4 comments

Hasan Charles Le Gai Eaton departs this world February 2010
7 comments

Date of Ramadan 1431 / 2010 August 2010
4 comments

Bismillah. From the EU HR Commissioner.
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Read Thomas Hammarberg’s latest Human Rights Comment:

Austerity budgets will cause further child poverty

While the European Union promoted 2010 as the “European Year Against Poverty,” several member states presented austerity budgets which will inevitably push more people into destitution. There are already large numbers of children among the poor, and it is obvious that the struggle against child poverty will now face further difficulties.

Bismillah. John Pilger’s books, such as “Hidden Agendas,” and his documentaries such as “The War on Democracy” and several about the Palestinian struggle, are excellent. His latest film is on UK television tonight:

‎”The War You Don’t See” – Tuesday 14 December 2010, ITV1, 10.35pm-12.25am. John Pilger investigates the media’s role in war, tracing the history of ’embedded’
and independent reporting from the carnage of the First World War through to the destruction of Hiroshima, the invasion of Vietnam and the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. As the nature of war has changed, who is the real enemy today? Is it the people at home watching TV? And is the journalist’s job to
normalise the unthinkable? The film contains shocking, never-before-seen footage from Iraq and Afghanistan and revealing interviews with former BBC reporter Rageh Omaar, former CBS anchor Dan Rather and Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks.Subtitled.

Watch a trailer here:

From Leila Sansour:
—
My new film The Road to Bethlehem is finally complete. I would like to thank all of you who have contributed and helped in the making of this film and to invite you to join forces with me when we take the film to the wider audience in US and Europe.

This film is my own personal story so it is very different to all other films I have ever made but it is also a tribute to Bethlehem and, I hope, a real plea for Palestinian freedom. Many of you have followed my progress with this film over the course of the last 5 years. My road to Bethlehem has been a very long one but I am finally there.

The film will premier at the Dubai International film Festival next week and we intend to take it to other international festivals then the wider public throughout 2011. I hope the links below will give you all the information you might need.

You can see our new trailer on Youtube, here:

If you are in Dubai on Thursday 16th or Saturday 18th December, here’show to buy tickets:

http://www.dubaifilmfest.com/index.php/en/movie_details/the-road-to-bethlehem/8904/2010/1_a-t_i-313

And if you want further information – or want to help the outreach campaign and the film’s theatrical release, go here:

http://www.tippingpointfilmfund.com/projects/road-to-bethlehem/

‬

Bismillah. From the Tipping Point Film Fund:
—
Project News

The Road to Bethlehem is selected for Dubai International Film Festival

We are thrilled to announce that Leila Sansour’s film has been selected for the Dubai International Film Festival, with screenings on 16 & 18 December. This is a great opportunity to show the film to distributors who attend from all over the world.

Additionally, the film has also received an award from the Dubai Entertainment and Media Organisation, which is now a co-producer on the film. Leila and TPFF are now busily planning the festivals and distribution strategy, as well as the campaign outreach to accompany the film on its release.

The film would not have been completed without support from our funding partners, in particular Trocaire (Ireland), Development and Peace (Canada) The McCabe Educational Trust (UK), CBA-DfID (UK) and many other individuals around the world.

You can still support the film and the campaign outreach by donating now or by hosting your own fundraiser screening of Leila’s first film, Jeremy Hardy versus the Israeli Army.

Just do it

TPFF joined with many others to donate to Emily James’s recent and very successful effort to raise £20,000 for her new film Just do it. With Cancun at the fore of climate talks, this film will show just why activism makes a difference. Released in Spring 2011, free to watch and free to share.

When China met Africa

Recently screened at Sheffield DocFest, IDFA and CPH:Dox; it was the winner of best film at the Margaret Mead Festival in New York. This Marc and Nick Francis film, to be released next year, gets beneath the skin of the relationship between China and Africa – in particular Zambia. Be sure to find out about the release date by joining the Facebook Fan Page.

TPFF Film Club

Our Film Club kicked off in July to a full house for Oliver Stone’s film South of the Border. Since then, we’ve gone from strength to strength, screening Life and Debt, Inside the Revolution, Jeremy Hardy versus the Israeli Army and Robert Beckford’s Channel 4 documentaries, The Empire Pays Back and Great African Scandal. A very big thanks to our partners The Lexi Cinema, Inn on the Green and The Bernie Grant Arts Centre.

If you’re in London, watch out for alerts about our new year screenings. In mid-January in association with Jubilee Debt Campaign, we’ll mark the 50th anniversary of the assasination of Congo’s first democratically elected post independence leader, Patrice Lumumba – venue and date tbc. We’ll also be screening at The Lexi Cinema in February (new release – watch this space!) and early March to mark Fair Trade fortnight.

Newly Released Films – TPFF recommends

This Prison where I Live follows German comedian Michael Mittermeier as he embarks on a journey across Burma to try to understand and get closer to Maung Thura (better known as Zarganar), a Burmese comedian victimised by the military junta and now in prison.

In Enemies of the People the men and women who perpetrated the massacres of the Cambodian Killing Fields – from the foot-soldiers who slit throats to the party’s ideological leader, Nuon Chea aka Brother Number Two – break a 30-year silence to give testimony never before heard or seen. Due for release 10 December – find out if it’s screening near you.

Campaign Spotlight

Tax Justice

Find out about Action Aid’s new report Calling Time, which argues that Grolsch beer owner, SABMiller is dodging its taxes around the world – tax income that could provide education for up to 250,000 African children.

Climate change

The 2010 United Nations Climate Change conference is currently under way. Find out what’s going on right now and how you can have your say, check out tcktcktck.org

Fighting the Occupation

Check out War on Want’s new website disconnectnow.org, set up to highlight and demand an end to British Telecom’s alliance with Bezeq International – a telecommunications service operating in illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

A Christmas gift idea … Fairly Traded Palestinian gifts

For an excellent selection of Fairly Traded Palestinian goods – foods and crafts – that enable you to help boost the Palestinian economy at the click of a mouse, check out The Co-operative supported OliveCoop.com. And on that note … we want to send a very big THANKS to The Co-operative for their continued support throughout 2010. And to our supporters – donors and regular givers!

Bismillah. From the UCU:
—
I am writing to update you with the latest information regarding our joint actions with the National Union of Students (NUS) on Thursday 9 December. All members are invited to join the lobby of parliament at 1pm.

All members are also invited to join me at the peaceful mass rally from 3pm on Victoria Embankment in the shadow of the Westminster clock tower and Big Ben for a host of speeches and a ‘candlelit vigil’: http://bit.ly/dPPAdL

The list of speakers already confirmed is set out below, with more adding their names daily. The vigil will begin at approx 4:30pm when we intend to create 9,000 points of light to symbolise the proposed higher tuition fee. Please bring warm clothes.

To get to the rally please if possible travel by public transport –Victoria Embankment is very easy to reach. We have agreed with the police to recommend that you use Charing Cross or Embankment tube stations as we anticipate that Westminster tube may need to close.

If you are unable to be present, please contact your MP in advance of Thursday’s vote and urge them to vote against the fees increase using: http://www.writetothem.com – thank you to everyone who has let me know that they have done this.

Speakers confirmed so far for the UCU/NUS rally:

Sally Hunt, UCU
Aaron Porter, NUS
Rt Hon John Denham MP
TUC speaker – Brendan Barber/Frances O’Grady
Rt Hon Peter Hain MP
Bob Crow, RMT
Lisa Nandy MP
Lilian Greenwood MP
Jeremy Dear, NUJ
Emily Thornberry MP
Paul Noon, Prospect
Jon Trickett MP
Nina Franklin – Senior VP NUT
Carly McKenzie, UJS
Paul Blomfield MP
Jeremy Corbyn MP
Katie Dalton, President NUS Wales
Billy Hayes, CWU
Caroline Lucas MP
Zita Holbourn , PCS National Executive
Paul Farrelly MP
Sharon Holder, National Official GMB
Luciana Berger MP
Kevin Brennan MP
Nabil Ahmed,FOSIS
Unison speaker
BYC speaker TBC
Jonathan Reynolds MP
John McDonnell MP
Teresa Pearce MP
Rt Hon Frank Dobson

It promises to be a day to remember. I hope you can join me to help defend education. Full details, including advice about attendance, are available here: http://www.ucu.org.uk/rally_9dec10

Unions unite to save EMA – national day of action, 13 December

I’d like also take this opportunity to tell you about the Save EMA day of action.

Students, staff and trade unions are uniting for a day of action as part of their campaign to save the education maintenance allowance (EMA) – a means-tested allowance for 16- to 19-year-olds who stay on in education. UCU has joined with NUS, NUT, ATL, Unison, Unite and the GMB to call a national day of action on Monday 13 December. Colleges and sixth-forms around the country will be holding lunchtime protests against government plans to axe financial support that can often be the difference between some students being able to afford to continue their studies.

A new joint website has also been launched with all the latest materials, which you can view here: http://www.emacampaign.org.uk/

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

• Please contact your branch to see what is being organised for the day and find out how you can help. Make contact with colleagues in other campus unions and the Students’ Union or student reps to discuss local ideas for the day

• Sign the petition: http://emacampaign.org.uk/sign/.

• Contact your local MP via http://www.writetothem.com to ask them to sign the petition, attend and/or publicly support the day and the campaign

• Download and print out the new campaign materials: http://www.emacampaign.org.uk/

Yours,
Sally Hunt
UCU general secretary

PS: Travelling by coach or car? Due to expected numbers the police are now advising the following drop off points – in order of preference:

• York Road (SE1) – which is a short walk across Hungerford Bridge, turn left for easy access into Victoria Embankment.

• Lambeth Palace Road (SE1) – which is a short walk across Westminster Bridge, turn right for restricted access into Victoria Embankment (as the stage is at this end of the Embankment and will restrict the access we do not recommend that colleagues approach the Embankment from this end). ===

Bismillah. From Feisal Abdul Raouf, Imam of the “Ground Zero Mosque”:
—

Dear Friend,

I’m writing to inform you that tomorrow I am formally launching the Cordoba Movement: a multi-national, multi-faith organization dedicated to improving understanding and building trust among people of all cultures and faith traditions.

The new organization has grown from my work over the past 25 years leading my Muslim congregation in New York City and from the overwhelming expression of support Daisy and I have received for our defense of the planned construction of the Park 51 community center and mosque in lower Manhattan this past summer and fall.

The messages of the Cordoba Movement are simple:

We must retake the discourse among religions and cultures from the hands of the extremists around the world who benefit from hatred and violence.

We must stop this downward spiral of hatred, mistrust and misunderstanding if our world is to have a peaceful future.

Through the Cordoba Movement, I am broadening the work on our existing programs to expand learning and understanding among Muslims, Jews, Christians and people of all faiths, including the programs of which you may already be familiar — the Young Leaders program, the Women’s Empowerment program, the Cordoba House and the Shariah Project.

As part of the Cordoba Movement launch, I will be speaking with journalists this week in New York City. From there, I will expand my speaking tour around the United States and the world to spread our message of peace.

It is my belief that the Cordoba Movement is creating a new paradigm. From my perspective, the global battle isn’t between America and Islam. Instead, it is a battle between the 95 percent of people in the world who want peace and the extremists on all sides who benefit from hatred and violence. For too long, the 95 percent of people in the world who want peace have sat in the stands watching the extremists battle it out in the arena. We must enter the arena ourselves and retake control of this important global discussion. It is my fervent hope that you will continue to support this new and expanded effort, as you have loyally supported us in the past. If you would like more information about the Cordoba Movement, its mission and its programs, you may find it at http://www.CordobaMovement.org.

I look forward to hearing from you as I embark on this new and most important journey.

May God bless you and your loved ones during this special holiday season,

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf
http://www.cordobamovement.org

Bismillah. From SCC:
—
To commemorate World Chechnya Day 2011, the Save Chechnya Campaign shall be producing a retrospective on the music of Imam Alimsultanov.

We’re urgently seeking translators with an excellent mastery of the Chechen language to help translate the lyrics of his songs into English. The translations need not be in perfect English. However they should capture the full meaning of his words/lyrics which we can then work on together. Even if only one song can be translated then that would still be very helpful in moving this project forward.

Imam Alimsultanov was assassinated in 1996 in a political killing widely blamed on the Russian Security Services. His works – more than and unlike any other – vividly express the aspirations, ideals and sorrows of the Chechen experience in their long struggle for freedom. The ballads draw heavily on the verse of classical Chechen poets such as Umar Yarycheva and Musa Geshaev in an evocative style that’s deeply engaging. The sentiment expressed in Imam Alimsultanov’s work are quintessentially Chechen. Their translation would make the defining emotional experiences of Chechens accessible, and thereby more understood, to the wider world.

Interested translators should email:

info@savechechnya.org

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Save Chechnya Campaign
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