Friday 11 October 2013

Hindus flock to mosques for circumcision

Chennai: While his friends spent the summer enjoying the sights of various holiday locations, 13-year-old Surendar headed for a mosque – not for religious reasons, but for  undergoing ‘khatna’, otherwise known as ‘sunnath’ (circumcision), to overcome a medical problem.

“We were told it would take about three weeks for him to recover from the surgery and so we thought the summer vacation was the best time to get it done,” says Surendar’s father  K G Shanmugam, who lives in  Kolathur , North Chennai with his family.

He explains that his son, a class 8 student, suffered from severe pain when urinating and although admitted twice to hospital for treatment, found no relief. “My brother told me his son too had a similar problem and sunnath provided a permanent solution. We approached the mosque and they were kind enough to do the procedure for the boy last week. He is much better now,” he adds, sounding relieved.

Unani practitioner Syed Nawaz , who has been performing khatna for several years, says the number of Hindu boys coming for the procedure is steadily growing. “Almost 40 per cent of the boys I have attended to so far since  this summer vacation began were Hindus. When a Hindu family approaches me for help, I first explain the surgical process, the healing time and its health benefits,” the  hakeem adds.

S. Sulaiman, 62, of the Masjid-ur-Noor says his mosque on ECR Road in Thiruvanmiyur has been organizing free khatna camps during the summer vacations for the last five years. “We are happy that several Hindu families have understood the health benefits of khatna and are coming to us to have their sons undergo the procedure . We arrange for it with love and care, irrespective of religion”, he says.

Mosque vice-president, R Noorullah says the summer vacation is a busy time for hakeems specializing in khatna procedures. “Of course, they are busy during the other months too as several Hindu adults are opting for the procedure for health reasons. Many men from the film world too undergo khatna to protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases”, he reveals.
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130524/news-current-affairs/article/hindus-flock-mosques-circumcision

Tuesday 8 October 2013

Muslim front to protest in Mumbai today

MALEGAON: The Muslim Reservation Federation (MRF) here has demanded the state government to announce a suitable quota for the Muslim community by October 31 or face agitation.

Accusing chief minister Prithviraj Chavan of not keeping his word, MRF volunteers will hold a 'dharna' in Mumbai's Azad Maidan to remind him of the promise he had made to them around three months ago.

When the MRF volunteers met Chavan on May 27, he had promised that the Dr Mehmud ur-Rehman committee's report would be made public within a month. He also promised that based on the committee's findings, the government would initiate action to provide the Muslim community reservation in government jobs and educational institutions for admissions, said Asif Shaikh, president of the MRF. "But nothing constructive happened at the state secretariat on the subject. This, despite the fact that Dr Mehmud ur-Rehman had submitted the final report to the government," Asif Shaikh said.

"We are giving the state government time till October 31. If it fails to release the report and initiate action on our demand, we will start a 'jail bharo andolan' from the first week of November," he said. The Mehmud ur-Rehman committee was set up in 2008, at the behest of then chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, to look into the socio-economic and educational status of the Muslims in Maharashtra. The government had asked the committee to submit its recommendations for the empowerment of the community, which according to the Sachar committee, is lagging behind others in all fields.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nashik/Muslim-front-to-protest-in-Mumbai-today/articleshow/23669152.cms