Using mobile phone in Mosques
It has become a permanent trend and habit of our people to bring cell phones in mosques and not turn them off. As a result, the cell phones start ringing at any moment. It is painful to observe when someone’s mobile phone starts ringing in the mosque. People instead of turning it off immediately, start talking, which is not only disruptive for the people around offering prayer, but it is also degrading the prestige of the holy place.
Using mobile phones and not keeping them off in the mosque diverts proper attention needed and concentration in prayer. For me it disturbs the spirit and tranquillity of prayer. The Messenger (PBUH) forbade the people to distract one another from prayer by their prayer or Quran reading. Islam encourages focus and humility in prayer and encourages us to persist in that.
Forgetting to switch off mobile phones is not a sin; however, the sin starts from talking and answering the caller. It is essential to switch off the mobile phone instantly even in the state of prayer.
In order to overcome this menace, there is a great need to adapt a habit to switch off mobile phones before entering the mosque. By doing this, each and every time we pray, we can get rid of any mental disturbances, inconveniences and guilty feelings.
From Mr Mumtaz Hussain
UAE
Market possibilities
While the developed countries are on the highway of telecommunication infrastructure and service development and implementation, our local providers seem to be busy nit-picking on matters such as restricting applications like Viber (‘Viber free call service not licensed in UAE: TRA,’ Gulf News, September 4). Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), like the ‘cloud’, is the future. We have to stop holding, not only people and users back but also the developers from utilising the vast amount of possibilities, which will enrich the market.
Short-term profits are short-term - build a long term plan and let people rush to use the services and infrastructure rather than live in fear, doubt and skepticism about the services being offered.
From Mr M. K.
Dubai
Website comment
Other options
Why is there so much hype about Viber? It has been around for a long time and I found that the connectivity used to be quite poor a year ago. There are at least 25 other such VoIP applications, so why isn’t there any noise about those? The reason why these platforms are used is because the authorised providers are still too expensive to match the competition.
From Ms Jeny Michaels
Sharjah
Website comment
Positive experiences
I stayed in Saudi Arabia for many years and I had good experiences with the religious police (‘Saudi religious police reject foreign bias claim,’ Gulf News, September 4). They treated everyone the same. Once, near my house, one car dropped a trunk full of alcohol into an abandoned truck and fled away in the night. It was a distribution point, so I called the police and they did not respond on time. Then I called the religious police and they came within 15 minutes. The caught the distributor from that area and the case was solved. I think the people who want to damage the image of religious police are those who want to do illegal things, and not wanting to follow the law and culture of the society.
During prayer time, there is no restriction to non-Muslims, since they ask the name and identification of non-Muslims, then they leave them alone.
From Mr Mohammad Ali Khan
Dubai
Website comment
Respecting all
It is true that we should never justify mistakes. If it happens, the authorities should talk openly and deal with the officers in the service appropriately. I have never been into Saudi Arabia, but I have heard much about it.
Of course it is not the policy of Islam. Religion teaches us to respect all and help all. Authorities who are misguided should be punished though.
From Mr S. Ali
Dubai
Can’t blame the whole country
I have been in Saudi Arabia and I have always found them to be very good and respectful. I think that there are bad people in all countries and that it’s not just to blame whole country because of a few. If you are talking about crime, then I think that Europe and America probably have more crime than the Middle East. I think Saudi Arabia is a good place to live and that they fully respect women.
From Mr Siraj
Sharjah
Website comment
Selective Justice
The UN condemned the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) as well as Israel for their atrocities. Why are aerial bombings only being carried out on Isil?
The fact is that there is a lot of commotion around the world as a result of action of political leaders that have the power to make a difference on the global scale. That is because their actions are driven by personal or national interests and are not to establish justice.
Back in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, my brother-in-law was teaching engineering in a university in Iraq. There was security and peace all around, but because of the actions of the Western countries due to their vested interests, they have made a mess of the region and set off a chain reaction.
They have initiated and got involved and now they must take ownership and not leave until they have left the region in a better condition. In reality, the vested- interest driving their actions creates the breeding climate for extremism. The world is big enough to accommodate every community and allow them to engage with other communities in a mutually agreed framework. The problem begins when one forces its way on others without the other being willing to embrace the change. In my opinion we need to get talking.
From Mr Arish Ehsan
Dubai
Khan’s focus
Pakistan is going through the worst time since its inception. Nawaz Sharif’s party has been badly exposed, not only in front of the Pakistani masses, but also in front of the international media and countries. Imran Khan had done one big mistake by making it a personal issue over the resignation of Sharif: I believe that if Khan would have focused on the electoral reforms and re-election after three months, all the parties would be standing beside him.
At present, he is alone and fighting the war against the government. I pray that God will keep Pakistan in his grace.
From Mr Yasir Imtiaz Awan
Dubai
Peace is possible
The violence erupted since Khan ordered his followers to protest against Shariff. It is nothing but a continuation of its turbulent past. I don’t think that Khan has anything to offer to the people of Pakistan other than grabbing power.
Though both of them look united against a common enemy at the moment, it would be a different game if Shariff were to step down. The generation today in Pakistan is in a state of limbo, caught between modernity and orthodoxy. The autonomous tribal regions in Northern Pakistan disregard both federal and state law and are rendering to a situation where there are states within a state. The land has become a haven for jihadi groups to get training, even for those coming from other states.
A UN intervention, promoting democratic values with secular credentials along with long term awareness campaigns starting from school curriculum, might help Pakistan into building a stable nation. However, with a military force that is ready take over power, it would be a hard task to achieve normalcy.
A radical change in the collective thoughts of the people in Pakistan is the only way to make progress, but that is a utopian idea, so we have to look for the next generation to seek changes. It can come only through secularity, women’s education, efforts on the integration of tribal groups into mainstream politics, monitoring the operations of madrassas or religious schools, and, above all, decentralising the military through constitutional amendments in order to avoid recurrent coup attempts. It is a mammoth venture, but not an impossible one!
From Mr V. I. Mohammad Sageer
UAE
Stabilising Pakistan
Ever since Sharif came into power following the May 2013 general elections, the chairman of Pakistan, Muhammad Tehreek-e-Insaf, and Khan has accused Sharif of acquiring power through rigged elections. This led Khan to stage a protest and sit-ins in Islamabad that began from August 14, 2014.
Even though Khan has made his demands for the government, that includes the Prime Minister’s resignation and holding free and fair elections, the revolutionary marches have been hampering the growth of democracy in Pakistan. Although Pakistan came into existence only 67 years ago, true democracy is only six years old.
Now that Islamabad has been taken over by the revolutionary march, Khan must resolve the issue not for their personal interests, but for Pakistan’s sake. If Sharif is not going to resign, then Khan and him must live with it and devise a diplomatic strategy to tackle the situation. Public opinion states that the military might take over to dissolve the crisis, however the Chief of the Army Staff has spoken in favour of strengthening democracy. Therefore, a diplomatic stance will be the best option for a stable Pakistan.
From Mr Mohammad Omar Eftikhar
Karachi, Pakistan
Editors’ note: Is there a news report that you feel strongly about? Something that has to be addressed in the community and requires resolution? Email us on readers@ gulfnews.com. You can also post a comment on our Facebook page or tweet us @GNReaders.
