100,000 COPIES OF QURAN FOR CAMBODIAN MUSLIMS IN NEXT 5 YEARS

[Abu Talib]

PHNOM PENH, July 28 (Bernama) -- The World Quran Endowment Programme

organised by the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) with the cooperation of Restu

Foundation will print 100,000 copies of the Quran with translation in the Khmer

language for distribution to Muslims in Cambodia in the next five years.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the effort was to

fulfil the need of the Muslim community in Cambodia and to ensure that each

Muslim family would have at least one copy of the Quran.

"There are about 500,000 Muslims in Cambodia and there is only one Quran for

every six families. So, we hope generous Malaysians can assist Cambodian Muslims

through this programme so that each family will have at least one Quran," he

told Malaysian journalists here Thursday.

Ahmad Zahid had earlier handed over 10,200 copies of donated Quran to the

president of the Cambodian Islamic Community Development Foundation Othsman

Hassan and Cambodia mufti Kamaruddion Yusof at Chrouk Romeat Mosque in Kampung

Chhnang and Amar bin Yazid Mosque at KM9, to be distributed to Muslims here.

The minister said the programme aimed to print and distribute 20,000 copies

of the Quran annually over a period of five years and this was expected to

commence from the month of Ramadan next year.

-- MORE

ZAHID-QURAN 2 (LAST) PHNOM PENH

"Translation of the Quran into the Khmer language has been completed and we

are only waiting for sufficient funds to print the copies of Quran," he said.

Earlier, speaking before 1,500 Cambodian Muslims at Chrouk Romeat Mosque,

Ahmad Zahid said the 10,200 copies of Quran given away today showed the concern

of the Malaysian government and people towards Muslims in Cambodia.

Kamaruddin said he was touched and thankful for the gift of the Quran,

adding that the Cambodian Muslim community depended on outside help for copies

of the Holy Book.

"We hope there will be enough Quran for us in future," he added.

At the two presentation ceremonies, Ahmad Zahid also handed over 500

Muqaddam booklets and 1,000 prayer rugs for use by the Cambodian Muslims.

-- BERNAMA

RHO NAK MO

 

[Abu Talib]

Cambodia's Muslims seek justice for genocide

Zakaria Bin Ahmad cannot forget the years of horror under the brutal Khmer Rouge when even praying was to risk death for Cambodia's persecuted minority Muslims.

Many others in his community did not survive the late 1970s reign of terror by the hardline communist regime, which executed Islamic scholars, destroyed mosques, forced Muslims to eat pork and forbade headscarves.

"People tried all kinds of ways to pray. Sometimes while they were driving an ox cart... sometimes in the jungle when we asked to use the toilet, and sometimes while we were washing," the 61-year-old recalled.

But mostly, he remembers people disappearing, never to be seen again.

"Many were killed," he said quietly in his modest home in the shadow of a modern blue-domed mosque, a source of pride for the town of Chraing Chamres, whose earlier place of worship was destroyed by the Khmer Rouge.

Cambodian Muslims, known as Cham, hope finally to see justice as the most senior surviving Khmer Rouge leaders stand trial for genocide at Cambodia's UN-backed court over the treatment of the ethnic and religious minority.

"Now we can tell our story," said Sales Pin Apoutorliep, the religious leader, or hakem, of the Chraing Chamres mosque.

"We fully support the trial to tell the truth and to say what happened under the Pol Pot regime," he said, referring to the regime's main founder, who died in 1998 having escaped justice.

The high-profile genocide trial, which opened in late June, carries particular poignancy for the Cham, whose bloody persecution is an often overlooked chapter of the country's "Killing Fields" era.

Before the genocide charges were filed against the former Khmer Rouge leaders, the treatment of the Muslim minority was rarely discussed.

"In the past, there was little mention about the suffering of the Cham under the Khmer Rouge regime," said Farina So, an expert at the Documentation Centre of Cambodia (DC-Cam), which researches Khmer Rouge atrocities.

"The Chams' suffering has not been investigated much," she added. "They need recognition from the people."

Nobody knows exactly how many Muslims died under the totalitarian movement, which wiped out nearly a quarter of the population.

But the DC-Cam estimates that somewhere between 100,000 and 500,000 of the country's 700,000-strong Cham community died at the hands of the regime.

"It's still fresh in our eyes," Sales, who lost his parents and four of his siblings under the Khmer Rouge, told AFP after finishing his midday prayers. "Every family has pain."

The mass killings of Muslims, along with an estimated 20,000 Vietnamese, form the basis of the genocide charges against the four Khmer Rouge defendants, who include "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea and former head of state Khieu Samphan.

The four also face a string of other charges including war crimes and crimes against humanity for the deaths of up to two million people through starvation, overwork or execution in a doomed bid to create an agrarian utopia.

Most of those deaths do not fall under the charge of genocide, which is defined by the United Nations as "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group".

The indictment file against the four elderly defendants states that "the Cham were systematically and methodically targeted and killed" and that the Khmer Rouge sought to eliminate Cham culture, traditions and language.

Today, there are around half a million Cham in Cambodia, the majority of them followers of Sunni Islam, and they enjoy full freedom of religion.

But like so many in the southeast Asian nation, they remain haunted by the past.

"They reconstructed mosques, they revived their religious and ethnic identity, they opened Islamic schools and taught Islam," Farina So said. "They are trying to recover from this trauma but it's a slow process."

Ahmad's daughter-in-law Yakin El, wearing a traditional, long-sleeved dress with matching headscarf, said she was "shocked" when as a young girl she first learned of her relatives' ordeal under the Khmer Rouge.

"I'm pleased that they will bring up the Cham suffering during the trial," the 24-year-old said. "It's the past but I can't forget it because most of the Muslims were killed at this time. We have to remember them."

 

[queenislam]

:salam2:


:ma:
Alhamdulillah!


Thank you brother
for sharing the News.

~May Allah swt help,protect and guide us~Amin!
Take care!
~Wassalam .

 

[rachamim]

The programme is non-sensical. Very few Cambodian Muslims speak Khmer, let alone read it. They use the Cham alphabet and language, completely unrelated to Khmer. The 3 Muslim ethnicities in Cambodia would surely benefit from socio-economic programmes since they are amongst the poorest in a very poor nation. Malaysia is doing this through governmental agencies and it seems to be little more than a gambit to curry influence in its home region.

 

[Abu Talib]

The programme is non-sensical. Very few Cambodian Muslims speak Khmer, let alone read it. They use the Cham alphabet and language, completely unrelated to Khmer. The 3 Muslim ethnicities in Cambodia would surely benefit from socio-economic programmes since they are amongst the poorest in a very poor nation. Malaysia is doing this through governmental agencies and it seems to be little more than a gambit to curry influence in its home region.

Ok president of the world.

 

[rachamim]

I reckon a "President" would be someone who tries to avoid plurality of opinion. Only one of us is doing that, and it isn't me.

 

[Abu Talib]

Yes a president is someone who always tries to prove he is innocent with blood on his hands like Bush and only one person here has that trait.

 

[rachamim]

Let's see...You intiate a thread about the Malaysian Government handing out Qur'ans to destitute people, written in languages they cannot understand, and instead of discussing my comment you insult me. Brilliant. Is this your blog? You posted this as a thread and therefore it is open to discussion. If you don't wish to discuss it you would be better served by not posting it at all, or else bowing out after posting and keeping your mouth closed. It may suprise you but the world is a diverse place with diverse opinions.

 

[Aapa]

Assalaam walaikum,


You know brother the thing about Muslims. We multiply. We are worse than roaches. You see one of us and bingo another ten thousand around the corner.

I hope they have plenty of paper. You will need more Qurans, Insha'Allah.

 

[Asja]

:salam2:

Mashallah this is very good news for our Cambodian Muslim brothers and sisters, but is as well good for all our Muslim Ummah. Alhamdulillah. :tti_sister:

May Allah reward you dear brother for sharing this news with us.

 

[Abu Talib]

Well you don't represent the Cambodian nor Malaysian people so who are you to say they don't understand it?? So its better to stop acting like you represent them and know what is good and bad for them. They aren't destitute they have Allaah with them its you who needs to understand the purpose of life.

lol dude first accept others opinion on Palestine then do the talking. Please don't occupy the thread like how you occupied our lands

 

[rachamim]

AbuTalib: One doesn't need to be Cambodian to develop an opinion OR express it. I do spend a lot pof time in the country, with Chams, and therefore have a knowledgeable take on the issue...unlike someone who doesn't even know that Cham can't speak or read Khmer. However, even if I had never been to the country I am entitled as anyone to form an opinion and express it.

Let me educate you. The Chams are NOT Cambodian. They are from the country of Champa, which sits where southcentral Vietnam sits today. The Champa who converted to Islam (some retain their original religion, Hinduism) migrated into Cambodia during the French Era to avoid violence from the Vietnamese. Since then they have lived apart from the Cambodians (Khhmer). Until 12 years ago they didn't even attend Cambodian schools so the language is entirely foreign to them. For the last 20 years the Saudis have led the effort to educate them about Islam but very few even know how to perform salat so even the Arabic portion of those bilingual Qur'ans will mean little to them.

As for the other 2 Muslim ethnicities in Cambodia, the Javanese and the Yui, it is exactly the same situation.

As for the rest of your comments, you should stop disrespecting others as well as yourself. You are obviously a young person (using the ridiculous term "dude" is a dead giveaway), so I can forgive your brashness but you really need to think about how you act. Why do other opinions scare you?

 

[ShahnazZ]

Ok president of the world.

I'm sorry but that just made me burst out in laughter.

 

[Seeking Allah's Mercy]

Ok president of the world.

That put all "26" of my teeth on display lol.

Let's see...You intiate a thread about the Malaysian Government handing out Qur'ans to destitute people, written in languages they cannot understand, and instead of discussing my comment you insult me. Brilliant. Is this your blog? You posted this as a thread and therefore it is open to discussion. If you don't wish to discuss it you would be better served by not posting it at all, or else bowing out after posting and keeping your mouth closed. It may suprise you but the world is a diverse place with diverse opinions.

hey again Rachamim!

Just wanted to know, do you even know why this website was created? Please, No offense. Just asking!

and an off topic P.S. Why do Jews write G-D and similar stuff for GOD or Allaah? (Out of interest)

 

[Abu Talib]

You should be happy atleast I called you dude! I know being alone you love to be respected but remember respect is earned not demanded.

The next time your friend calls you ''dude'' do sure ask his age. Stop with all your distorted lies when you can distort your own scriptures do you expect me to believe you? let alone even give a thought.

Thank them they gave you refuge since the world war so respect them . You need to accept others over you, I know its hard all these years forcing yourself on innocent people made you habituated.

Anyways hows the organ harvesting & trafficking going on ?

 

[rachamim]

SeekingAllah'sMercy: This website was created to helf inform non-Muslims about Islam and to invite non-Muslims to convert. I am not offended by your question as it was asked in a civil and polite manner. However, when you feed into insults ("all 26 of my teeth") it as if you have insulted the person yourself. Insults are ugly and demaning and because this website is designed to enlighten non-Muslims ABOUT Islam, insulting any non-Muslim is especially wrong.

On the 2nd question...The Creator is Holy beyond Holy. One should never write the full word unless it will remain as is. If there is a chance that something could be erased, defaced, or thrown in the garbage it would blaspheme the Creator. There is a bit of debate over doing so on the computer because nothing is ever really erased in cyberspace. Even if this site went offline the information remains in one form or another. Most Jews prefer to err on the side of safety, so as not to take a chance on blaspheming.

 

[Aapa]

Ok...

Why did you leave Israel. That which you killed for..why did you leave it?
This one is easy to answer.


Hey this is one for everyone: why can we not discuss why Allah loves the Taliban. I need to know why Allah loves them. I am very serious.

 

[rachamim]

AbuTalib: You must be a new convert to Islam. Ironic that a Jew must instruct a professed Muslim in Islam. Respect is not "earned," it is given as an inherent right to all mankind and ESPECIALLY all Agl al Kitab. How much more so when you have been treated respectfully.

My friends and I converse in Arabic and Hebrew so I won't be called "dude" anytime soon. It is a silly word but no harm to me either way.

I haven't distorted anything. Jewish Scripture isn't distorted (though Muslims believe it so), BUT IF it was it would have been at least 3,000 years ago. You are addressing ME, not someone from that era. Ergo treat me as you yourself wish to be treated.

As for the rest of your insults, hiding behind fictitious screen names can embolden some people. However the Creator sees all.

 

[Abu Talib]

Ok...

Why did you leave Israel. That which you killed for..why did you leave it?
This one is easy to answer.


Hey this is one for everyone: why can we not discuss why Allah loves the Taliban. I need to know why Allah loves them. I am very serious.

He left Israel for this http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquir...sraeli-organ-traffickers-bring-business-to-RP

 

[Aapa]

Assalaam walaikum,

Brother,

If you could on this blessed day give me a link to my question regarding the men who love Allah and Allah loves, it would be more beneficial for us.

I read the link. I am in need of good, this day day.

As to this poor wretched man..for the fear of the meeting with Allah I invite you to abandon evil and come into the fold of good.