Trip to Pakistan

In November I had another trip to Pakistan; first one with my daughter. I traveled with Qatar Air which is known as the only 5-Star airline in Gulf and surrounding regions. The flight was as usual, however, the staff was very good, even at airport. They asked us to hand the stroller (baby-pram) at the gate of the plane. Folding the pram was a long effort since I was doing it for the first time and the staff also struggled with it. My daughter was presented with a stuffed plane model with vibration feature. Older children were given small school bags with coloring stuff. We had to change plane at Doha, Qatar.

The first flight was from Munich to Doha. It took us 4 hours even with the fastest train to reach Munich airport. The airport is cleverly designed in that there are two runways on both sides of the terminal, so they can be used simultaneously. And passengers have to walk less because of reduced building size. However, the small walk between terminal 1 and terminal 2 is bad on a rainy day. Food on the plane was as usual German style. They provided us a basinet for my daughter in the plane. It is a rectangular box fitted on a table in front of the front seats. A child can easily jump out of the basinet, so constant care was to be taken, but still it was very helpful.

Doha airport is a small one lacking boarding tunnels. After a small security check, we went upstairs to wait, only to come downstairs on the other side and board a bus to the next plane. It was going to Lahore and thus completely full with a lot of families. Hence we couldn't obtain a front seat and so no basinet. We were given two seats from a row of 4 seats. Another lady was sitting beside us with her baby. The steward moved her somewhere else, since this row had only 5 oxygen masks and thus only one baby could sit there. We landed in Lahore at about 3 am. There was a banner there that passengers from some Swine Flu infected countries can get tested here.

Our return flight also started at about 4 am. Changing the plane again at Doha, we landed on Frankfurt airport. Then we went underground to the fast trains (ICE) station. They have separate train stations for fast and for normal trains at Frankfurt airport. There we tried to board a fast train, but it was full. Then we waited for half an hour for the next train, but it was full too. I went to the booking office to reserve seats, but it was not possible for the next two train connections, since it was Friday afternoon and everybody was travelling for the weekend. So we boarded the next train and stood in the aisle. After reaching our city, we asked multiple big and small taxies, but noone would take us since we had luggage, a pram and a baby. Some didn't have a baby-seat and some thought the luggage was too much. Finally we got a minibus from a company and reached home.

Why we do not progress

I remembered an old bad happening with me. When I came to Germany in 2005, I got in contact with a Pakistani named Kashif Ghani. He was running a company called Magnus Multimedia. He told me that he got the project of translating a website into multiple languages and he wanted me to get this translations for him and he would pay me for each translation. I started my hunt for translators and found a French and an Italien translator as per his requirement. I got the text translated by them and sent it back to Mr Kashif in good faith. I didn't get any reply. When I checked the Deewan Farooq website, the Italien translation was uploaded. I intimated Mr. Kashif about it. He replied that they had uploaded both of the translations and I would soon get the payment in my Pakistani Bank account. At the urging of my translators, I asked him again about the payment. His reply was: "Our accounts manager is in England these days, he'll return after 10th August. We'll deposit the agreed amount in your account as soon as he returns". After one month, I again asked him and he said that the account manager has returned and my payment will be transferred soon. But as expected, no payment. I kept emailing them for 6 months, but there was no reply. I paid the translator from my own pocket in Euros. To this day, there is no reply from Mr Kashif Ghani (kghani@magus-multimedia.com), and the Italien translation is still visible on the website: http://www.dfsml.com/Italian/. I do not know why the French translation does not show up.

Now this is the attitude that beats us. The guy had such an opportunity with me as I had people of almost all languages. We could have been progressed a lot in translation business. But all he saw was his temporary gain, and removed my faith from freelance employers.

Yahoo Geocities closing its free service - a saga comes to end

Yahoo is closing its free web hosting service Geocities. It will, however, continue providing paid web hosting services. I don't remember when I started using Geocities service, but it was a long time ago. I really utilized it extensively when I became my batch's representative (2001), I put all information about my university on it. Later I put my teaching materials on it (2003). I also registered a domain www.yasirniaz.com and pointed it to it.

There were some good points in it and some bad. Good point was that it was one of the earliest and most reliable free web hosting. Bad point was uploading of html pages, which I had to do file-by-file, and since I used a desktop tool to make pages, I always had to upload many files related to its theme. One bad thing was also, that they were not increasing their webspace, unlike their email. Still it was the best solution available then and it served its purpose good. Even now I still come across many private websites using this free service. I guess the finanical problem is the reason for this closing. They also closed Yahoo Briefcase earlier, which was a free online storage service since a long time. It also had the same problems, but was the best service available and I also used it for a long time.

Now the question is: where to get free web hosting? The first name coming to mind is of course, Google. Google's web hosting is different, as it lets host multiple sites. However, they strip the html that is imported into a page, so much that most of the good dynamic features are gone. Is there any other reliable free web hosting service?

Gujranwala Light Rail Project

Here I propose a light rail project for the city I spent my childhood in. It is not as good as a tram system, but it would certainly ease mass transit until a tram system is built. In western and central Europe, cities with more than 200,000 people have trams. Gujranwala has at least 8 times that population (2009 estimate 1.6 million).
Blue markers indicate existing stations, while yellow markers indicate new proposed stations:

View Gujranwala Light Rail in a larger map

Nationalism in Germany

Yesterday I went to a foreign language class at the university packed with more than 50 students. The teacher required everybody to state their names and the country they come from in that language. Most of the students came from Germany so they said this. However, one of the German students said "I come from Bavaria". (Bavaria=Bayern, a Southern state in Germany). This was followed by a laughter from the class. Next time around, he stated that he came from Germany.

I heard before that people from Bayern are very proud of themselves and consider themselves to be true (or the only) Germans. I thought that was a thing of the past. But still, even the youth has that mindset. In Pakistan too, some people from some provinces think that way :)

Moving to another city in germany

I had to shift to another city this summer. It seemed like a very big task, but two of my friends helped in packing. The city where I was to shift was about 2 hours away by car and 4 hours by train. The first option was to hire a small truck and ask someone to drive it with my luggage. This was very expensive. Second option was to pack all the stuff in boxes and post it through a packet service (Hermes Packetservice). This option was cheaper so I chose this one. I collected some packing boxes. But later, a close friend suggested that some of my friends can travel with me on train to deliver my luggage. Although I was reluctant to bother my friends, they agreed. So we started packing stuff into suitcases. We pack everything inside clothes and put them in suitcases. I collected a couple of suitcases from friends, as there was not much stuff to pack. But as soon as we started packing, we needed more and more suitcases. I kept running to friends to borrow their suitcases. When we finished packing, we had 9 suitcases and 2-3 boxes. We decided to leave the boxes and big items like microwave at a friend's and then contacted 8 friends to go along.

So our journey started with 10 persons, 9 suitcases and a pram. We had to change trains 2-3 times. It was really funny watching people stare at us. My friends ate lunch at the destination and then departed back. Thanks a lot to all of them.

btw, when we reached the departure train station with all the suitcases in two rounds of a big taxi, the taxi driver, an Arab friend, asked me why I didn't contact them before planning. They would easily transport all my luggage to the other city in a small truck. Tough (late) luck!!

Unity of Muslim world in starting Ramadan and Eids

For long, we have had this problem of multiple Eids and Ramadan starts in almost every country of the world. Scholars are also divided on this. The debate is on whether to rely on scientific data or physically see the moon. However, there is already a solution. All Muslim countries came together around 1978 in OIC and decided upon a common criteria for starting moon calendar. Their decision was to start the new lunar month on the "first possible moon sighting anywhere in the World". This means they decided to rely on scientific data. Sadly, very few countries follow this decision. Germany has also started implementing this decision since 3 years. I present the following topics in this article:


Why rely on scientific data?
Why not leave it as it is?
But Prophet (pbuh) asked to see the moon!!!
What about scholars?
What happened in Germany?
Eid-ul-Fitr
What to do:
More examples from Sunnat:

Why rely on scientific data?

If we calculate a little, it is very easy to understand the decision of 40 Muslim countries in the OIC, that is why they rely completely on scientific data. Suppose they decide that Ramadan will start with the first moon sighting in any part of the world. Then on Thursday (20-Aug), the moon is sighted in South America (or Hawaii). At this time, day time/Fajr time has already started in Japan, Australia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Malaysia, India and even in Pakistan. Which means Muslims cannot eat Sehri (eat) in these countries for the first roza (fast). Even in Middle East and Europe, if there is time to eat Sehri, there is no time for Taraweeh prayer.

Similarly, if the OIC decides that Ramadan will be started with a moon sighting in Saudi Arabia, then it is still too late for Muslims in Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Philippines, Eastern China, Eastern Russia and even Indonesia. It is also possible that the people in South America and South Africa have already seen the moon on the previous day. So unity of Ramadan start is not possible based on Moon sighting.

Why not leave it as it is?

Current situation is that every country sees its own moon. Well, we know how the situation is right now. There are disputes every year among Muslims living in non-muslim countries. Even in Muslim countries, Muslims are divided whether to follow their govt or Saudi Arabia. A brother from Indonesia told me they have the similar problem there, just like the moon problem in NWFP (Pakistan) etc. The solution is for all the Muslim countries to sit together and find a solution which is acceptable to everyone. This is exactly what was done in 1978 in OIC that Muslim countries sat together to solve this issue. There is a city in North (maybe Essen), where 7 mosques of arabs and turks started ramadan together on friday. If they can unite, why can't others?

So, is there any other solution to world's moon calendar problem?

But Prophet (pbuh) asked to see the moon!!!

There is an excellent example of this OIC decision. At an occasion, Prophet (pbuh) sent a group of Sahabah to a place and asked them to rush quickly and pray only after reaching that city. Sahabah got late in their way, the prayer time was expiring. Now some of them wanted to follow the words of Prophet (pbuh) as it is, and not pray till they reach that location. But some of them wanted to act on the logic of His command, not only the words, so they said that we should pray. Later, the Prophet (pbuh) declared both to be correct. Even the group which didn't follow the exact words of the Prophet (pbuh), but its logic. So, decisions can also be taken based on logic of Hadiths, not just their words. And this principle forms the basis of Hanafi Fiqh. Hanafi Fiqh is mostly based on the logic of Hadiths, that's why it is difficult to find good quality Hadiths with exact words as the Hanafi rules. On the other hand, Maliki Fiqh is mostly based on the exact words of quality Hadiths. Shafai and Hanbali Fiqhs fall between these two extremes. And it is our belief that all of these 4 Fiqhs are correct.

What about scholars?

Decision is to be taken always by scholars. But our definition of a scholar is a very relative one. Pakistanis consider Pakistani scholars. Arabs take arab scholars, Turkish will accept Turkish scholars, etc. In this way, we can never find a common solution. We need to see the big picture and listen to all scholars of Muslim world, and ask them to find agreement on these issues, and currently only OIC provides such a forum.

What happened in Germany?

Two years 4 Muslim organizations in Germany came together to decide on a common starting date for Ramadan. These organizations then announced agreed upon dates and about 200 mosques followed them. This is the start of the unity in Muslims (at least in Germany) that has been awaited for decades. This year, they have again agreed upon a common date for Ramazan to begin on Friday 21 August 2009. You can see the announcement here (German): http://islam.de/13657.php. There are four Muslim organizations including Turks, Arabs, etc, which have formed KRM (Coordination Council for Muslims, in Germany). The criteria for their decision making is the 1978 decision of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Conference) on Ramadan and Eid. KRM gave a clarification of their announcement for starting Ramadan on Friday 21-08-09 (http://islam.de/13704.php).

I am also a very strong believer in physically seeing the moon. But if the Muslims agree upon one method or the other, I'll be more than happy to follow. If their decision is against my belief, the correct way for me is to talk to them and try to convince them, but still follow the decision of the majority. So we should make an organization and go to this meeting of Muslims in Cologne (Köln) and present our opinion. This is the correct way of differing, rather than create small groups in religion. This is the concept in all religious movements of our country, including Tableeghi Jamaat, which says that if you have a different opinion, come to the meeting (mashwarah), present your opinion, and then follow the decision made in that mashwarah. They even state that there should be no gossip after a mashwarah is complete. And this pattern is followed by all preaching groups.

Eid-ul-Fitr

Hence, according to them, Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated on 20-09-09 inshAllah.

What to do:

Please try to convince your local mosques and Islamic centers to follow this decision of OIC so as to unite us. I know it is difficult, but not impossible. Last year we also put some pressure on our mosque and they did it. However, please don't be harsh and fight. If they don't accept it this time, maybe they'll accept it next year, or the next year. Just keep on trying in the best way and keep changing public opinion.

More examples from Sunnat:

It is also stated by the Prophet (pbuh) that the majority of Ummah can never be wrong. Even the Prophet (pbuh) changed many of his decisions based on the majority opinion. And I am certainly not more right than the Prophet (pbuh). e.g. Umar (RA) recommended to kill the prisoners of Badar War, and this was also the will of Allah, but Prophet (pbuh) released them based on majority opinion. Then, it was the will of Allah and also of Prophet (pbuh) to stay and defend in Madinah during Uhud War, but Prophet (pbuh) decided to go out of the city based on majority. Prophet (pbuh) wanted to rebuilt Kaaba as Prophet Abraham (pbuh) had built it, but taking care of majority opinion, he never did it. (One Muslim ruler attempted it later on, but there was a lot of chaos, and the reconstruction was reversed). etc, etc. All of these wrong majority decisions angered Allah but he forgave the Muslims since their decisions were based on majority opinion. This means, that if Muslims take a decision based on majority opinion, then they won't be punished even if they are wrong.

We know how Europeans used to brutally fight amongst themselves and kill thousands of each other. Then, they all came together and formed a Union to compete with their rivals. Is it not time for Muslims to form such a union?

Karachi Circular Railway

There is new life in KCR project with federal government's funding promise. I attempted to create a Google Map of the Karachi Circular Railway based on maps from Wikipedia etc. This map gives an idea of the railway routes. Since I don't live in Karachi, the map may not be correct. I am improving it with time as more info becomes available.

Wikipedia article with map


View Karachi Circular Railway in a larger map

Unity in Muslim World in sighting Moon

OIC (Organization of Islamic Conference) decided in its multiple meetings in 1974, 1978 and 1984 upon the issue of moon sighting and starting of Islamic months. All member countries (including Saudi Arabia and Pakistan) agreed that an Islamic month will start on the "earliest possible calculated sighting of moon anywhere in the whole world."

Germany:

Last year 4 Muslim organizations in Germany came together to decide on a common starting date for Ramadan. These organizations then announced agreed upon dates and about 200 mosques followed them. This is the start of the unity in Muslims (at least in Germany) that has been awaited for decades.

This year, they have again agreed upon a common date for Ramazan to begin on Friday 21 August 2009. There are four Muslim organizations including Turks, Arabs, etc, which have formed KRM (Coordination Council for Muslims, in Germany). The criteria for their decision making is the 1978 decision of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Conference) on Ramadan and Eid.

To my inquirey, www.islam.de gave a clarification of their announcement for starting Ramadan on Friday 21-08-09 (http://islam.de/13704.php). It is better to read their clarification, however, for non-German-speaking Muslims, here are some imp points they mentioned:

- the OIC decided in 1978 that an Islamic month will start on the "earliest possible calculated sighting of moon anywhere in the whole world."
- about 57 member countries agree to this decision and thus removed the doubt in physically seeing the moon. However, most of these countries are not acting on their promise.
- Turkey is one of the few countries that has been following this decision for many years now. http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=month-of-fasting-commences-2009-08-19. (the issue was resolved in three conferences ... of OIC, in 1974, 1978 and 1984)
- The majority of Muslims in Germany are of Turkish descend. So their opinion carries a big weight in meetings for issues related to Muslims in Germany.
- European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) decided upon this matter in 2007 in Sarajewo.
- Because of the lack of unity, the issue of a holiday for Muslim children in German schools on Eid day is unresolved.

Eid-ul-Fitr

Hence, according to them, Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated on 20-09-09 inshAllah.

What to do:

Please try to convince your local mosques and Islamic centers to follow this decision of OIC so as to unite us. I know it is difficult, but not impossible. Last year we also put some pressure on our mosque and they did it. However, please don't be harsh and fight. If they don't accept it this time, maybe they'll accept it next year, or the next year. Just keep on trying in the best way and keep changing public opinion.

You can see the announcement here (German): http://islam.de/13657.php

Jazak Allah khayran

Lahore Light Rail Proposal Phase 2

It was a while ago that I posted a proposal for a Light Rail project in Lahore until LRMTS project is developed. So here is the second phase of this proposal. This phase also makes use of the existing railway line in Lahore and makes some stations on it. This will use two existing stations and add four new stations. Additionally, it proposes extending the railway line just a few kilometers to reach the airport which is visited by a large chunk of population and is an important part of travel. This new line would be 6.5 kms and include 3-4 new stations.


View Lahore Light Rail Phase-2 in a larger map

Afraid of flying? Well, you should be...

... when they are making three planes take-off at once!!!

This is Frankfurt airport with 3 planes taking off (along with their shadows):



I don't know how long will they keep this current view of Frankfurt airport on google maps, as I have been seeing it for an year or so. So enjoy...


View Larger Map

Lahore Light Rail Proposal

The Lahore Rapid Mass Transit project has been on the table for many decades now, but is as far from implementation as ever. Probably, the government could try a much cheaper and faster solution first. By using the existing rail line running through Lahore, a light rail project could be started, where small (and thus fast) trains could run frequently on the existing train lines providing commuter service to the huge population. This project can teach valuable lessons and its success could trigger more support of the Rapid Mass Transit project. Using Google maps, I created a rough sketch of such a project. This would use 6 existing stations (blue markers) and require 7 new stations (green markers) to be constructed. So here is the proposal:


View Lahore Light Rail in a larger map

Lahore Tram Project

The detailed google map of Lahore enabled me to create a route of the first tram line (Green line) of the long planned Lahore Rapid Mass Transit System. The route maps available around the internet are not very clear and differ from each other. So I just created a combined route map to get an idea of the first line. So here is my attempt:

Green Tram Line of Lahore



View Lahore Rapid Mass Transit in a larger map

Pakistan detailed maps on Google Maps

Today when I opened Google maps, I was pleasantly surprised to see the detailed map of Lahore. Not only Lahore, it has all the major roads of Pakistan and also many large cities like Gujranwala, Sialkot, Rawalpindi, Islamabad and of course, Karachi. At least, I have been waiting for this for a long time and it was at time frustrating. But now this is excellent development. What is more amazing is that it shows bus-stops in Lahore. Also it shows mosques, schools, hospitals, markets, etc.


View Larger Map

My daughter

On Saturday, I did an Aqeeqah party for my daughter. She was born on 14th of January 2009 at 2:55 pm. We named her Hadia Yasir. She is a real cuty. At the time of birth, she weighed about 2885 grams and had a length of 49 cm. Actually I inquired about her weight and height only after I met my friends who have children. They started asking me such questions making me realize that I am supposed to know such stuff.

The city hospital was really nice and took great care of us.