Bush congratulates Askari

January 29, 2008 — WASHINGTON  The most famous Bangladeshi-American, Khwaja Hassan Askari was honoured during President Bush’s State of the Union address to Congress on Monday.

“I never thought in my life that I would be able to meet the president. It was a good speech,” said subway hero Hassan Askari, 20, who fended off a pack of thugs attacking four fellow commuters for wishing them a “Happy Hanukkah.”

 Bush told Askari that he was familiar with his story and congratulated him for his selfless act.Than Askari took an autograph of the president.  

Earlier Askari made a whirlwind trip to the nation’s capital, the latest in a series of honors he’s received since the Dec. 7 “peace train” encounter.  Queens Rep. Joseph Crowley gave the US-born, Bangladesh-raised Askari his only guest ticket and flew him down to DC.  

It is to be noted that invitation to The State of the Union is a rare gesture and is the first time for any Bangladeshi-American.

To read in Bengali please click the link below:

http://www.prothom-alo.com/index.news.details.php?nid=MTM2OTc= 

Edited by Anas Khwaja

Exclusive interview with Khwaja Hassan Askari at DNF studio

View: http://www.vimeo.com/634865  

On behalf of the DNF website Anas Khwaja conducts interview with Khwaja Hassan Askari. See him live and hear his own words.

Govt yet to decide over eviction of land-grabbers

Wednesday, 23 January 2008 :The daily Independent staff correspondent  

….”A parliamentary committee report in 2004 revealed that most of the 25,000 acres land, donated to the forest department by the Bhawal Raja and Dhaka’s Nawab family who were the original owners, have been sold or leased out by a section of unscrupulous forest department officials. The report said that the land had illegally been grabbed by some real estate developers and individuals in the name various industrial units with the help of government officials of Dhaka and Gazipur districts. …..…..The interim government has decided not to issue environmental clearance certificates that allow construction of industrial units inside the Bhawal National Park, which lies north of Dhaka, where some factories have already been built flouting existing laws. The council of advisers, however, remained undecided at its weekly meeting over whether it would bring the existing industries inside the park under legal cover or have them demolished, as they were built encroaching forest land by a handful of influential people over the past years, according to an official. ….Click the link below to read more in details:

http://www.independent-bangladesh.com/20080123786/country/govt-yet-to-decide-over-eviction-of-bhawal-land-grabbers.html

Hassan Askari Honored at US Congress

December 19, 2007: US Congressman Joseph Crowley praised heroism of Hassan Askari on the House floor. Please click the link below to see the video.

Click me Fednet  

January 4, 2008: Hassan by now has become a household name for many Muslim families living in the Tri- State area. More than 150 Muslims from more than 35 Muslim Organizations congregated on Friday at Taj Mahal Restaurant in Jamaica, Queens. It was an appreciation dinner for Subway Hero Hassan Askari, for his valor and heroism from the Muslim community.

Council Member James F. Genarro, Rep.of Dist. 24 of Queens and Mizan Hassan,JMC President     

December 27, 2007 Representatives from the Bangladeshi community and state NY state senator John Sabini (D-Jackson Heights) hosted an awards ceremony in Jackson Heights for Askari. He was awarded a proclamation certificate from Sabini and a check of $250 from Hasanuzzaman Hassan, secretary of the America-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and son in law of Khwaja Rehan Bakht.  

  From L to R Hassanuzzaman, Md Aminullah, Senator Sabini, Hassan Askari &

AdlerAskari expressed his gratitude for all the gifts and said he’ll use the check to help defray the cost of his tuition at Berkeley College in Manhattan. 

 Syed G.K. Chowdhury with Hassan Askari

Check out Hassan Askari’s own website:

http://hassanaskari.com/

Donation for the cyclone Sidr Victims

NY Saturday August 27^th Khwaja Mizan Hassan president of Jamaica Muslim Center (JMC) presented a check of USD $30,000 on behalf of the JMC to Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury-the Consul General in charge of the Bangladeshi consulate at NY.

The check for the cyclone Sidr victims was handed over after the Friday prayer at the presence of 2,000 prayer attendees. The consul General thanked the community on behalf of the Bangladesh Government for their help. He also said, Allah tests our faith through calamity and we have passed this test.

Opinion: Search for leadership role model

 “There is hardly any denial of the fact that in Bangladesh we have been having dearth of capable, efficient, honest and selflessly dedicated leadership not only at the top level but also at other lower levels.”…… “We had politicians of high moral integrity just a generation or two ago who used to spend from their own pocket so much so that some of them like Nawab Salimullah, the founder of the All India Muslim League in 1906 in Dhaka, was known to have had gone bankrupt for organising the League before his premature death at 44 only in mid January 1915.

So had been selflessly dedicated Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, Shere Bangla A K Fazlul Haq and Maulavi Tamizuddin Khan etc. They had hardly any big house anywhere except the ancestral homes of old types, sometimes of semi permanent tin shed and nothing of costly built pucca ones. How about for the present generation leadership to follow the role model of those selflessly dedicated leadership?” … Please read the The New Nation article from Jan 18 by M.T. Hussain in detail.  http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2008/01/17/news0432.htm

Akd announcement

 

Assalamualikum.

I would  like you to add my niece’s Akd announcement. Fatima Qadri the eldest daughter of khadija (d/o late k.Sultan & Talat Alam) & Zubair qadri with K Ali Nasrullah (s/o late K Masood & nasreen Nasrullah) on the 5th of Jan 2008 in Dhaka. Asking all members of the family to make duwa for the couple & wish them luck. 

 Thanks

Regards

K. Md Alam

Vote for Sara Hassan

Dear Friends and family members,

Greetings and Salaam to everyone!!  
I have just entered a one-minute submission in a production competition online called “One Nation, Many Voices…Muslims in America: Stories, Not Stereotypes.” 

To view my piece you can go to the following link:  
http://www.linktv.org/onenation/films/category/6  

But if you have to find it from the homepage, it is in the category “Under 60 Seconds” and the piece is called “One Faith, Many Faces.”
 

The judges will only view the videos with the highest voter ratings, so check out my video, and don’t forget to vote for me!!! (To vote you have to register, but it takes about 30 seconds!) .Voting ends TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2008!!  

Thanks! and Happy Viewing!
 
Syeda Sara Hassan d/o S. Khwaja Moinul Hassan  

Good bye 1428, Welcome 1429

Off course, we all follow gregorian calendar but let’s not forget the hijri.

The bottom line is another year has gone by from our life. Let’s take moment to ponder over what we have collected so far that will accompany us after death.

The hijrat is a reminder of what tremendous sacrifice nabi (sw) went through just to ensure you and I see the light. Though we also have migrated for entirely different purpose, the opportunity to migrate to His total obedience is always open. Let’s take advantage of it before it is too late!

Wishing you best of health and luck!

Shofiqur Rahman

shofique@gmail.com

Amir Adnan: “The Tie Guy”

Amir Adnan is widely credited with re-introducing the sherwani into modern fashion, and known as Pakistan’s first international menswear label.

His father is an Afghan, from Herat. His mother comes from the Dhaka Nawab family, Sir Salimullah being her grandfather. After completing MBA from IBU Karachi and working in a bank, he gave up everything to pursue a career in fashion designing in 1990.

A little over a decade since its inception, The House Of Amir Adnan is now the largest network of designer wear in Pakistan today, and has international outlets in America, Dubai and elsewhere.

Amir Adnan’s upper class clientele list includes Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharaf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, India’s former Prime Minster Vajpayee, Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan, Paul Bringel, Prime Minister of Mauritius and Crown prince of Bahrain.

He was awarded President’s Pride of Performance (the highest award given to civilian in the field of arts in Pakistan) in 2005.

As descendant of Nawab Sir Salimullah, and heir to Bangladeshi traditions, Amir Adnan is looking to launch an outlet here in Dhaka. Please click the link below to read the Daily Star article in details:

 http://www.thedailystar.net/lifestyle/2006/07/03/back.htm

Amir Adanan’s website http://www.amiradnan.com/

Edited By Anas Khwaja, NY