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On Pakistan and the Theory & Practice of the Islamic State: An Excerpt from the Munir Report of 1954
From REPORT of THE COURT OF INQUIRY constituted under PUNJAB ACT II OF 1954 to enquire into the PUNJAB DISTURBANCES OF 1953 "Munir Report"
It has been repeatedly said before us that implicit in the demand for Pakistan was the demand for an Islamic State. Some speeches of important leaders who were striving for Pakistan undoubtedly lend themselves to this construction. These leaders while referring to an Islamic State or to a State governed by Islamic laws perhaps had in their minds the pattern of a legal structure based on or mixed up with Islamic dogma, personal law, ethics and institutions. No one who has given serious thought to the introduction of a religious State in Pakistan has failed to notice the tremendous difficulties with which any such scheme must be confronted. Even Dr. Muhammad Iqbal, who must be considered to be the first thinker who conceived of the possibility of a consolidated North Western Indian Muslim State, in the course of his presidential address to the Muslim League in 1930 said:
"Nor should the Hindus fear that the creation of autonomous Muslim States will mean the introduction of a kind of religious rule in such States. The principle that each group is entitled to free development on its own lines is not inspired by any feeling of narrow communalism".
When we come to deal with the question of responsibility we shall have the occasion to point out that the most important of the parties who are now clamouring for the enforcement of the three demands on religious grounds were all against the idea of an Islamic State. Even Maulana Abul Ala Maudoodi of Jama'at-i-Islami was of the view that the form of Government in the new Muslim State, if it ever came into existence, could only be secular.
Before the Partition, the first public picture of Pakistan that the Quaid-i-Azam gave to the world was in the course of an interview in New Delhi with Mr. Doon Campbell, Reuter's Correspondent. The Quaid-i-Azam said that the new State would be a modern democratic State, with sovereignty resting in the people and the members of the new nation having equal rights of citizenship regardless of their religion, caste or creed. When Pakistan formally appeared on the map, the Quaid-i-Azam in his memorable speech of 11th August 1947 to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, while stating the principle on which the new State was to be founded, said:—
"All the same, in this division it was impossible to avoid the question of minorities being in one Dominion or the other. Now that was unavoidable. There is no other solution. Now what shall we do? Now, if we want to make this great State of Pakistan happy and prosperous we should wholly and solely concentrate on the well-being of the people, and specially of the masses and the poor. If you will work in co-operation, forgetting the past, burying the hatchet, you are bound to succeed. If you change your past and work together in a spirit that every one of you, no matter to what community he belongs, no matter what relations he had with you in the past, no matter what is his colour, caste or creed, is first, second and last a citizen of this State with equal rights, privileges and obligations., there will be no end to the progress you will make. "I cannot emphasise it too much. We should begin to work in that spirit and in course of time all these angularities of the majority and minority communities—the Hindu community and the Muslim community— because even as regards Muslims you have Pathana, Punjabis, Shias, Sunnis and so on and among the Hindus you have Brahmins, Vashnavas, Khatris, also Bengalis, Madrasis and so on—will vanish. Indeed if you ask me this has been the biggest hindrance in the way of India to attain its freedom and independence and but for this we would have been free peoples long long ago. No power can hold another nation, and specially a nation of 400 million souls in subjection; nobody could have conquered you, and even if it had happened, nobody could have continued its hold on you for any length of time but for this (Applause). Therefore, we must learn a lesson from this. You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed— that has nothing to do with the business of the State (Hear, hear). As you know, history shows that in England conditions sometime ago were much worse than those prevailing in India today. The Roman Catholics and the Protestants persecuted each other. Even now there are some States in existence where there are discriminations made and bars imposed against a particular class. Thank God we are not starting in those days. We are starting in the days when there is no discrimination, no distinction between one community and another, no discrimination between one caste or creed and another. We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one State (Loud applause). The people of England in course of time had to face the realities of the situation and had to discharge the responsibilities and burdens placed upon them by the Government of their country and they went through that fire step by step. Today you might say with justice that Roman Catholics and Protestants do not exist: what exists now is that every man is a citizen, an equal citizen, of Great Britain and they are all members of the nation. "Now, I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State".
The Quaid-i-Azam was the founder of Pakistan and the occasion on which he thus spoke was the first landmark in the history of Pakistan. The speech was intended both for his own people including non-Muslims and the world, and its object was to define as clearly as possible the ideal to the attainment of which the new State was to devote all its energies. There are repeated references in this speech to the bitterness of the past and an appeal to forget and change the past and to bury the hatchet. The future subject of the State is to be a citizen with equal rights, privileges and obligations, irrespective of colour, caste, creed or community. The word 'nation' is used more than once and religion is stated to have nothing to do with the business of the State and to be merely a matter of personal faith for the individual.
We asked the ulama whether this conception of a State was acceptable to them and everyone of them replied in an unhesitating negative, including the Ahrar and erstwhile Congressites with whom before the Partition this conception was almost a part of their faith.
If Maulana Amin Ahsan Islahi's evidence correctly represents the view of Jama'at-i-Islami, a State based on this idea is the creature of the devil, and he is confirmed in this by several writings of his chief, Maulana Abul Ala Maudoodi, the founder of the jama'at. None of the ulama can tolerate a State which is based on nationalism and all that it implies; with them millat and all that it connotes can alone be the determining factor in State activity.
The Quaid-i-Azam's conception of a modern national State, it is alleged, became obsolete with the passing of the Objectives Resolution on 12th March 1949; but it has been freely admitted that this Resolution, though grandiloquent in words, phrases and clauses, is nothing but a hoax and that not only does it not contain even a semblance of the embryo of an Islamic State but its provisions, particularly those relating to fundamental rights, are directly opposed to the principles of an Islamic State.
What is then the Islamic State of which everybody talks but nobody thinks? Before we seek to discover an answer to this question, we must have a clear conception of the scope and function of the State.
The ulama were divided in their opinions when they were asked to cite some precedent of an Islamic State in Muslim history. Thus, though Hafiz Kifayat Husain, the Shia divine, held out as his ideal the form of Government during the Holy Prophet's time, Maulana Daud Ghaznavi also included in his precedent the days of the Islamic Republic, of Umar bin Abdul Aziz, Salah-ud-Din Ayyubi of Damascus, Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, Muhammad Tughlaq and Aurangzeb and the present regime in Saudi Arabia. Most of them, however, relied on the form of Government during the Islamic Republic from 632 to 661 A. D., a period of less than thirty years, though some of them also added the very short period of Umar bin Abdul Aziz.
Maulana Abdul Haamid Badayuni stated that the details of the ideal State would be worked out by the ulama while Master Taj-ud-Din Ansari's confused notion of an Islamic State may be gathered from the following portion of his interrogation :—
"Q.—Were you also in the Khilafat movement ?
Q.—When did the Khilafat movement stop in India ?
A.—In 1923. This was after the Turks had declared their country to be a secular State.
Q.—If you are told that the Khilafat movement continued long after the Turks had abolished Khilafat, will that be correct?
A.—As far as I remember, the Khilafat movement finished with the abolition of the Khilafat by the Turks.
Q.—You are reported to have been a member of the Khilafat movement and having made speeches. Is it correct ?
A.—It could not be correct.
Q.—Was the Congress interested in Khilafat ?
A.— Yes.
Q.—Was Khilafat with you a matter of religious conviction or just a political movement ?
A.— It was purely a religious movement.
Q.— Did the Khilafat movement have the support of Mr Gandhi ?
Q.— What was the object of the Khilafat movement ?
A.— The Britisher was injuring the Khilafat institution in Turkey and the Musalman was aggrieved by this attitude of the Britisher.
Q.— Was not the object of the movement to resuscitate the Khilafat among the Musalmans ?
Q.— Is Khilafat with you a necessary part of Muslim form of Government ?
Q.— Are you, therefore, in favour of having a Khilafat in Pakistan ?
Q.— Can there be more than one Khalifa of the Muslims ?
A.— No.
Q.— Will the Khalifa of Pakistan be the Khalifa of all the Muslims of the world ?
A.— He should be but cannot be."
Throughout the three thousand years over which political thought extends, and such thought in its early stages cannot be separated from religion, two questions have invariably presented themselves for consideration : —
(1) what are the precise functions of the State ? and
(2) who shall control the State ?
If the true scope of the activities of the State is the welfare, temporal or spiritual or both of the individual, then the first question directly gives rise to the bigger question:
What is the object of human life and the ultimate destiny of man? On this, widely divergent views have prevailed, not at different times but at one and the same time. The pygmies of equatorial West Africa still believe that their God Komba has sent them into the forest to hunt and dance and sing. The Epicureans meant very much the same when they said that the object of human life is to drink and eat and be merry, for death denies such pleasures. The utilitarians base their institutions on the assumption that the object of human life is to experience pleasant sensations of mind and body, irrespective of what is to come hereafter. The Stoics believed in curbing and reducing all physical desires, and Diogenes found a tub good enough to live in. German philosophers think that the individual lives for the State and that therefore the object of life is service of the State in all that it might decide to undertake and achieve. Ancient Hindu philosophers believed in the logic of the fist with its natural consequence, the law of natural selection and the struggle for survival. The Semitic theory of State, whether Jewish, Christian or Islamic, has always held that the object of human life is to prepare ourselves for the next life and that, therefore, prayer and good works are the only object of life. Greek philosophers beginning with Socrates thought that the object of human life was to engage in philosophical meditation with a view to discovering the great truths that lie in nature and that the business of the others is to feed the philosophers engaged in that undertaking.
Islam emphasises the doctrine that life in this world is not the only life given to man but that eternal life begins after the present existence comes to an end, and that the status of a human being in the next world will depend upon his beliefs and actions in this world. As the present life is not an end in itself but merely a means to an end, not only the individual but also the State, as opposed to the secular theory which bases all political and economic institutions on a disregard of their consequences on the next life, should strive for human conduct which ensures for a person better status in the next world.
According to this theory Islam is the religion which seeks to attain that object. Therefore the question immediately arises : What is Islam and who is a momin or a Muslim ? We put this question to the ulama and we shall presently refer to their answers to this question. But we cannot refrain from saying here that it was a matter of infinite regret to us that the ulama whose first duty should be to have settled views on this subject, were hopelessly disagreed among themselves.
Apart from how these learned divines have expressed themselves, we conceive of Islam as a system that covers, as every systematic religion must, the following five topics :—
(1) the dogma, namely, the essentials of belief ;
(2) the cult, namely, religious rites and observances which a person must
perform ;
(3) ethics, i. e. rules of moral conduct ;
(4) institutions, social, economic and political ; and
(5) law proper.
The essential basis of the rules on all these subjects is revelation and not reason, though both may coincide. This coincidence, however, is accidental because human reasoning may be faulty and ultimate reason is known only to God, Who sends His message to humanity through His chosen messengers for the direction and guidance of the people. One must, therefore, accept the dogma, observe the cult, follow the ethics, obey the law and establish institutions which God has revealed, though their reason may not be apparent—nay even if they be opposed to human reason. Since an error by God is an impossibility, anything that God has revealed, whether its subject be something occult or preternatural, history, finance, law, worship or something which according to human thought admits of scientific treatment as for instance, birth of man, evolution, cosmology, or astronomy, has got to be accepted as absolute truth. The test of reason is not the acid test and a denial of this amounts to a denial of the supreme wisdom and designs of Allah—it is kufr. Now God has revealed Himself from time to time to His favoured people of whom our Holy Prophet was the last. That revelation is contained in the Qur'an and covers the five topics mentioned above. The true business of a person who believes in Islam is therefore to understand, believe in and act upon that revelation. The people whom God chooses as medium for the transmission of His messages are rasuls (messengers) or nabis (prophets). Since every action or saying of a prophet is, in the case of our own Holy Prophet it certainly was, prompted by Allah, it has the same degree of inerrancy as the formal revelation itself, because prophets are ma'sum, incapable of doing or saying something which is opposed to Divine wishes. These sayings and actions are sunna having the same infallibility as the Qur'an. The record of this sunna is hadith which is to be found in several books which were compiled by Muslim scholars after long, laborious and careful research extending over several generations.
The word hadith means a record of actions or sayings of the Prophet and his companions. At first the sahaba. i. e. people who had lived in the society of the Prophet, were the best authority for a knowledge of the sunna. Later people had to be content with the communications of the tabi'un, i. e. successors, people of the first generation after the Holy Prophet who had received their information from the sahaba, and then in the following generations with the accounts of the so-called successors of the successors (tabi'ul-tabi'un), i.e. people of the second generation after the Holy Prophet, who had concerted with the successors. Marfu' is a tradition which contains a statement about the Prophet ; mawquf, a tradition that refers only to the sayings or doings of the sahaba ; and maqtu' a tradition which does not at most go further back than the first generation after the Holy Prophet and deals only with sayings or doings of tabi'un. In some of the ahadith the actual word of God is to be found. Any such tradition is designated Hadith-i-Qudsi or Ilahi as distinguished from an ordinary Hadith-i-Nabvi.
A very large portion of sayings ascribed to the Prophet deals with the ahkam (legal professions), religious obligations, halal and haram (what is allowed and forbidden), with ritual purity, laws regarding food and criminal and civil law. Further they deal with dogma, retribution at the Last Judgment, hell and paradise, angels, creation, revelations, the earlier prophets. Many traditions also contain edifying sayings and moral teachings by the Holy Prophet. The importance of ahadith was realised from the very beginning and they were not only committed to memory but in some cases were reduced to writing. The work of compilation of hadith began in the third century after the Hijra and the Sihah Sitta were all compiled in that century. These are the musannifs of —
(1) Al-Bukhari, died 256/870,
(2) Muslim, died 261/875,
(3) Abu Dawud, died 275/888,
(4) Al-Tirmizi, died 279/892,
(5) All Nasa'i, died 303/915, and
(6) Ibn-i-Maja, died 273/886.
According to modern laws of evidence, including our own, the ahadith are inadmissible evidence of sunna because each of them contains several links of hearsay, but as authority on law they are admissible pro prio vigore. The merit of these collections lies not so much in the fact that (as is often wrongly stated) their authors decided for the first time which of the numerous traditions in circulation were genuine and which false but rather in the fact that they brought together everything that was recognised as genuine in orthodox circles in those days.
The Shias judge hadith from their own stand-point and only consider such traditions reliable as are based on the authority of Ali and his adherents. They have, therefore, their own works on the subject and hold the following five works in particularly high esteem—
(1) Al-Kafi of Muhammad b. Yaqub Al-Kulini, died 328/939,
(2) Man La Yastahdiruhu'ul-Fakih of Muhammad b. Ali b. Babuya Al-Kummi,
died 381/991,
(3) Tahdib Al-Ahkam,
(4) Al-Istibsar Fi-Ma'khtalafa Fihi'l-Akhbar (extract from the preceding) of
Muhammad Altusi, died 459/1067, and
(5) Nahj Al-Balagha (alleged sayings of Ali) of Ali b. Tahir Al-Sharif Al-Murtaza, died 436/1044 (or of his brother Radi Al-Din Al-Baghdadi.)
After the ritual, the dogma and the most important political and social institutions had taken definite shape in the second and third centuries, there arose a certain communis opinio regarding the reliability of most transmitters of tradition and the value of their statement. The main principles of doctrine had already been established in the writings of Malik b. Anas, Al-Shafi'i and other scholars regarded as authoritative in different circles and mainly on the authority of traditional sayings of the Holy Prophet. In the long run no one dared to doubt the truth of these traditions and this almost conclusive presumption of truth has since continued to be attached to the ahadith compiled in the Sihah Sitta.
We have so far arrived at this result that any rule on any subject that may be derived from the Qur'an or the sunna of the Holy Prophet is binding on every Musalman. But since the only evidence of sunna is the hadith, the words sunna and hadith have become mixed up with, and indistinguishable from, each other with the result that the expression Qur'an and hadith is not infrequently employed where the intention is to refer to Qur'an and sunna.
At this stage another principle, equally basic, comes into operation, and that is that Islam is the final religion revealed by God, complete and exhaustive in all respects, and that God will not abrogate, detract from or add to this religion (din) any more than He will send a fresh messenger. The din having been perfected (Akmalto lakum dinokum, Sura V, verse 3), there remains no need for any new code repealing, modifying or amplifying the original code; nor for any fresh messenger or message. In this sense, therefore, prophethood ceased with the Holy Prophet and revelation stopped for ever. This is the doctrine of the cessation of wahi-i-nubuwwat.
If the proposition that Muslim dogma, ethics and institutions, etc., are all based on the doctrine of inerrancy, whether such inerrancy lies in the Qur'an, the sunna, ijma' or ijtihad-i-mutlaq, is fully comprehended, the various deductions that follow from it will be easily understandable. As the ultimate test of truth, whether the matter be one of a ritual or political or social or economic nature, is revelation and revelation has to be gathered from the Qur'an, and the sunna carries almost the same degree of inerrancy as revelation and the only evidence of sunna is hadith, the first duty of those who desire to establish an Islamic State will be to discover the precise rule applicable to the existing circumstances whether that rule is to be found in the Qur'an or hadith. Obviously the persons most suited for the purpose would be those who have made the Qur'an and hadith their lifelong study, namely, among the Sunnies, the ulama, and among the Shias, the mujtahids who are the spokesmen of the hidden Imam, the ruler de jure divino. The function of these divines would be to engage themselves in discovering rules applicable to particular situations and they will be engaged in a task similar to that in which Greek philosophers were engaged, with only this difference that whereas the latter thought that all truth lay in nature which had merely to be discovered by individual effort, the ulama and the mujtahids will have to get at the truth that lies in the holy Book and the books of hadith.
The ulama Board which was recommended by the Basic Principles Committee was a logical recognition of this principle, and the true objection against that Board should indeed have been that the Board was too inadequate a mechanism to implement the principle which had brought that body into existence.
Ijma' means concurrence of the mujtahids of the people, i.e., of those who have a right, in virtue of knowledge, to form a judgment of their own, after the death of the Holy Prophet. The authority of ijma' rests on the principle of a divine protection against error and is founded on a basal tradition of the Holy Prophet, "My people will never agree in error", reported in Ibn Maja, By this procedure points which had been in dispute were fixed, and when fixed, they became an essential part of the faith and disbelief in them an act of unbelief (kufr). The essential point to remember about ijma' is that it represents the agreement of the mujtahids and that the agreement of the masses is especially excluded.
Thus ijma' has not only fixed unsettled points but has changed settled doctrines of the greatest importance.
The distinction between ijma' and ijtihad is that whereas the former is collective, the latter is individual. Ijtihad means the exerting of one's self to the utmost degree to form an opinion in a case or as to a rule of law. This is done by applying analogy to the Qur'an and the sunna. Ijtihad did not originally involve inerrancy, its result being always zann or fallible opinion. Only combined ijtihad led to ijma, and was inerrant. But this broad ijtihad soon passed into special ijtihad of those who had a peculiar right to form judgments. When later doctors looked back to the founding of the four legal schools, they assigned to their founders an ijtihad of the first rank (ijtihad-i-mutlaq). But from time to time individuals appeared who returned to the earliest meaning of ijtihad and claimed for themselves the right to form their own opinion from first principles. One of these was the Hanbalite Ibn Taimiya (died 728). Another was Suyuti (died 911) in whom the claim to ijtihad unites with one to be the mujaddid or renewer of religion in his century. At every time there must exist at least one mujtahid, was his contention, just as in every century there must come a mujaddid.
In Shia Islam there are still absolute mujtahids because they are regarded as the spokesmen of the hidden Imam. Thus collective ijtihad leads to ijma', and the basis of ijma' is divine protection against error—inerrancy.
Since the basis of Islamic law is the principle of inerrancy of revelation and of the Holy Prophet, the law to be found in the Qur'an and the sunna is above all man-made laws, and in case of conflict between the two, the latter, irrespective of its nature, must yield to the former. Thus, provided there be a rule in the Qur'an or the sunna on a matter which according to our conceptions falls within the region of Constitutional Law or International Law, the rule must be given effect to unless that rule itself permits a departure from it. Thus no distinction exists in Islamic law between Constitutional Law and other law, the whole law to be found in the Qur'an and the sunna being a part of the law of the land for Muslim subjects of the State. Similarly if there be a rule in the Qur'an or the sunna relating to the State's relations with other States or to the relations of Muslim subjects of the State with other States or the subjects of those States, the rule will have the same superiority of sanction as any other law to be found in the Qur'an or the sunna.
Therefore if Pakistan is or is intended to be converted into an Islamic State in the true sense of the word, its Constitution must contain the following five provisions:—
(1) that all laws to be found in the Qur'an or the sunna shall be deemed to be a part of the law of the land for Muslims and shall be enforced accordingly;
(2) that unless the Constitution itself is framed by ijma'-i-ummat, namely, by the agreement of the ulama and mujtahids of acknowledged status, any provision in the Constitution which is repugnant to the Qur'an or sunna shall to the extent of the repugnancy be void;
(3) that unless the existing laws of Pakistan are adapted by ijma'-i-ummat of the kind mentioned above, any provision in the existing law which is contrary to the Qur'an or sunna shall to the extent of the repugnancy be void;
(4) that any provision in any future law which is repugnant to Qur'an or sunna shall be void;
(5) that no rule of International Law and no provision in any convention or treaty to which Pakistan is a party, which is contrary to the Qur'an or the sunna shall be binding on any Muslim in Pakistan.
That the form of Government in Pakistan, if that form is to comply with the principles of Islam, will not be democratic is conceded by the ulama. We have already explained the doctrine of sovereignty of the Qur'an and the sunna. The Objectives Resolution rightly recognised this position when it recited that all sovereignty rests with God Almighty alone. But the authors of that Resolution misused the words 'sovereign' and 'democracy' when they recited that the Constitution to be framed was for a sovereign State in which principles of democracy as enunciated by Islam shall be fully observed.
It may be that in the context in which they were used, these words could not be misunderstood by those who are well versed in Islamic principles, but both these words were borrowed from western political philosophy and in that sense they were both wrongly used in the Resolution. When it is said that a country is sovereign, the implication is that its people or any other group of persons in it are entitled to conduct the affairs of that country in any way they like and untrammelled by any considerations except those of expediency and policy. An Islamic State, however, cannot in this sense be sovereign, because it will not be competent to abrogate, repeal or do away with any law in the Qur'an or the sunna. Absolute restriction on the legislative power of a State is a restriction on the sovereignty of the people of that State and if the origin of this restriction lies elsewhere than in the will of the people, then to the extent of that restriction the sovereignty of the State and its people is necessarily taken away. In an Islamic State, sovereignty, in its essentially juristic sense, can only rest with Allah. In the same way, democracy means the rule of the demos, namely, the people, directly by them as in ancient Greece and Rome, or indirectly through chosen representatives as in modern democracies. If the power of the people in the framing of the Constitution or in the framing of the laws or in the sphere of executive action is subject to certain immutable rules, it cannot be said that they can pass any law that they like, or, in the exercise of executive functions, do whatever they like. Indeed if the legislature in an Islamic State is a sort of ijma', the masses are expressly disqualified from taking part in it because ijma'-i-ummat in Islamic jurisprudence is restricted to ulama and mujtahids of acknowledged status and does not at all extend, as in democracy, to the populace.
In the preceding pages we have attempted to state as clearly as we could the principles on which a religious State must be built if it is to be called an Islamic State. We now proceed to state some incidents of such State, with particular reference to the ulamas' conception of it.
Legislature in its present sense is unknown to the Islamic system. The religiopolitical system which is called din-i-Islam is a complete system which contains in itself the mechanism for discovering and applying law to any situation that may arise. During the Islamic Republic there was no legislature in its modern sense and for every situation or emergency that arose law could be discovered and applied by the ulama. The law had been made and was not to be made, the only function of those entrusted with the administration of law being to discover the law for the purposes of the particular case, though when enunciated and applied it formed a precedent for others to follow. It is wholly incorrect, as has been suggested from certain quarters, that in a country like Pakistan, which consists of different communities, Muslim and non-Muslim, and where representation is allowed to non-Muslims with a right to vote on every subject that comes up, the legislature is a form of ijma' or ijtihad, the reason being that ijtihad is not collective but only individual, and though ijma' is collective, there is no place in it for those who are not experts in the knowledge of the law. This principle at once rules out the infidels (kuffar) whether they be people of Scriptures (ahl-i-kitab) or idolators (mushrikeen).
Since Islam is a perfect religion containing laws, express or derivable by ijma' or ijtihad, governing the whole field of human activity, there is in it no sanction for what may, in the modern sense, be called legislation.
Questioned on this point Maulana Abul Hasanat, President, Jami'at-ul-Ulama-i-Pakistan says :—
"Q.—Is the institution of legislature as distinguished from the institution of a person or body of persons entrusted with the interpretation of law, an integral part of an Islamic State?
A.—No. Our law is complete and merely requires interpretation by those who are experts in it. According to my belief no question can arise the law relating to which cannot be discovered from the Qur'an or the hadith.
Q.—Who were Sahib-ul-hall-i-wal-aqd
A.—They were the distinguished ulama of the time. These persons attained their status by reason of the knowledge of the law. They were not in any way analogous or similar to the legislature in modern democracy."
The same view was expressed by Amir-i-Shari'at Sayyad Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari in one of his speeches reported in the 'Azad' of 22nd April, 1947, in the course of which he said that our din is complete and perfect and that it amounts to kufr to make more laws.
Maulana Abul Ala Maudoodi, however, is of the opinion that legislation in the true sense is possible in an Islamic State on matters which are not covered by the Qur'an, the sunna, or previous ijma' and he has attempted to explain his point by reference to the institution of a body of persons whom the Holy Prophet, and after him the khulafa consulted on all matters relating to affairs of State. The question is one of some difficulty and great importance because any institution of legislature will have to be reconciled with the claim put forward by Maulana Abul Hasanat and some other religious divines that Islam is a perfect and exhaustive code wide enough to furnish an answer to any question that may arise relating to any human activity, and that it does not know of any "unoccupied field" to be filled by fresh legislation. There is no doubt that Islam enjoins consultation and that not only the Holy Prophet but also the first four caliphs and even their successors resorted to consultation with the leading men of the time, who for their knowledge of the law and piety could well be relied upon.
In the inquiry not much has been disclosed about the Majlis-i-Shura except what is contained in Maulana Abul Ala Maudoodi's written statement which he supplied to the Court at its request. That there was a body of men who were consulted is true, but whether this was a standing body and whether its advice had any legal or binding force, seems somewhat doubtful. These men were certainly not elected in the modern way, though their representative character cannot be disputed. Their advice was certainly asked ad hoc, but that they were competent to make law as the modern legislatures make laws is certainly not correct. The decisions taken by them undoubtedly served as precedents and were in the nature of ijma', which is not legislation but the application of an existing law to a particular case. When consulted in affairs of State, their functions were truly in the nature of an advice given by a modern cabinet but such advice is not law but only a decision.
Nor can the legislature in a modern State correspond to ijma' because as we have already pointed out, the legislature legislates while the ulama of Majlis-i-Shura who were called upon to determine what should be the decision on a particular point which was not covered by the Qur'an and the sunna, merely sought to discover and apply the law and not to promulgate the law, though the decision when taken had to be taken not only for the purposes of the particular case but for subsequent occasions as a binding precedent.
An intriguing situation might arise if the Constitution Act provided that any provision of it, if it was inconsistent with the Qur'an or the sunna, would be void, and the intra vires of a law made by the legislature were questioned before the Supreme Court on the ground that the institution of legislature itself was contrary to the Qur'an and the sunna.
The ground on which the removal of Chaudhri Zafrullah Khan and other Ahmadis occupying key positions in the State is demanded is that the Ahmadis are non-Muslims and that therefore like zimmies in an Islamic State they are not eligible for appointment to higher offices in the State. This aspect of the demands has directly raised a question about the position of non-Muslims in Pakistan if we are to have an Islamic Constitution.
According to the leading ulama the position of non-Muslims in the Islamic State of Pakistan will be that of zimmies and they will not be full citizens of Pakistan because they will not have the same rights as Muslims They will have no voice in the making of the law, no right to administer the law and no right to hold public offices.
A full statement of this position will be found in the evidence of Maulana Abul Hasanat Sayyad Muhammad Ahmad Qadri, Maulana Ahmad Ali, Mian Tufail Muhammad and Maulana Abdul Haamid Badayuni. Maulana Abul Hasanat on being questioned on the subject stated as follows :—
"Q.—If we were to have an Islamic State in Pakistan, what will be the position of the kuffar (non-Muslims)? Will they have a voice in the making of laws, the right of administering the law and the right to hold public offices?
A.—Their position will be that of zimmies. They will have no voice in the making of laws, no right to administer the law and no right to hold public offices.
Q.—In an Islamic State can the head of the State delegate any part of his powers to kuffar?
Maulana Ahmad Ali, when questioned, said:—
"Q.—if we were to have an Islamic State in Pakistan, what will be the position of the kuffar? Will they have a hand in the making of the law, the right to administer the law and the right to hold public offices ?
A.—Their position will be that of zimmies. They will have no say in the making of law and no right to administer the law. Government may, however, permit them to hold any public office".
Mian Tufail Muhammad stated as follows :—
"Q.—Read the article on minorities' rights in the 'Civil and Military Gazette' of 13th October, 1953, and say whether it correctly represents your view of an Islamic State? (It was stated in the articles that minorities would have the same rights as Muslims).
A.—I have read this article and do not acknowledge these rights for the Christians or other non-Muslims in Pakistan if the State is founded on the ideology of the Jama'at".
The confusion on this point in the mind of Maulana Abdul Haamid Badayuni, President, Jami'at-ul-Ulama-i-Pakistan, is apparent from the following: —
"Q.—Have you ever read the aforesaid speech (the speech of the Quaid-i-Azam to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on 11th August, 1947)?
A.—Yes, I have read that speech.
Q.—Do you still agree with the conception of Pakistan that the Quaid-i-Azam presented to the Constituent Assembly in this speech in which he said that thereafter there would be only one Pakistan nation, consisting of Muslims and non-Muslims, having equal civic rights, without any distinction of race, religion or creed and that religion would be merely a private affair of the individual ?
A.—I accept the principle that all communities, whether Muslims or non-Muslims, should have, according to their population, proper representation in the administration of the State and legislation, except that non-Muslims cannot be taken in the army or the judiciary or be appointed as Ministers or to other posts involving the reposing of confidence.
Q.—Are you suggesting that the position of non-Muslims would be that of zimmies or any better ?
A.—No. By zimmies are meant non-Muslim people of lands which have been conquered by an Islamic State, and the word is not applicable to non-Muslim minorities already living in an Islamic State. Such minorities are called mu'ahids, i.e. those people with whom some agreement has been made.
Q.—What will be their status if there is no agreement with them ?
A.—In that case such communities cannot have any rights of citizenship.
Q.—Will the non-Muslim communities inhabiting Pakistan be called by you as mu'ahids?
A.—No, not in the absence of an agreement with them. To my knowledge there is no such agreement with such communities in Pakistan."
So, according to the evidence of this learned divine, the non-Muslims of Pakistan will neither be citizens nor will they have the status of zimmies or of mu'ahids. During the Islamic Republic, the head of the State, the khalifa, was chosen by a system of election, which was wholly different from the present system of election based on adult or any other form of popular suffrage. The oath of allegiance (ba'it) rendered to him possessed a sacramental virtue, and on his being chosen by the consensus of the people (ijma'-ul-ummat) he became the source of all channels of legitimate Government. He and he alone then was competent to rule, though he could delegate his powers to deputies and collect around him a body of men of outstanding piety and learning, called Majlis-i-Shura or Ahl-ul-Hall-i-wal-Aqd. The principal feature of this system was that the kuffar, for reasons which are too obvious and need not be stated, could not be admitted to this majlis and the power which had vested in the khalifa could not be delegated to the kuffar. The khalifa was the real head of the State, all power vesting in him and not a powerless individual like the President of a modern democratic State who is merely to sign the record of decisions taken by the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. He could not appoint non-Muslims to important posts, and could give them no place either in the interpretation or the administration of the law, the making of the law by them, as already pointed out, being a legal impossibility.
This being the position, the State will have to devise some machinery by which the distinction between a Muslim and a non-Muslim may be determined and its consequences enforced. The question, therefore, whether a person is or is not a Muslim will be of fundamental importance, and it was for this reason that we asked most of the leading ulama, to give their definition of a Muslim, the point being that if the ulama of the various sects believed the Ahmadis to be kafirs, they must have been quite clear in their minds not only about the grounds of such belief but also about the definition of a Muslim because the claim that a certain person or community is not within the pale of Islam implies on the part of the claimant an exact conception of what a Muslim is. The result of this part of the inquiry, however, has been anything but satisfactory, and if considerable confusion exists in the minds of our ulama on such a simple matter, one can easily imagine what the differences on more complicated matters will be. Below we reproduce the definition of a Muslim given by each alim in his own words. This definition was asked after it had been clearly explained to each witness that he was required to give the irreducible minimum conditions which, a person must satisfy to be entitled to be called a Muslim and that the definition was to be on the principle on which a term in grammar is defined.
Here is the result : —
Maulana Abul Hasanat Muhammad Ahmad Qadri, President, Jami'at-ul-Ulamai-
Pakistan —
"Q.— What is the definition of a Muslim ?
A — (1) He must believe in the Unity of God.
(2) He must believe in the prophet of Islam to be a true prophet as well as in all other prophets who have preceded him,
(3) He must believe in the Holy Prophet of Islam as the last of the prophets (khatam-un-nabiyin).
(4) He must believe in the Qur'an as it was revealed by God to the Holy
Prophet of Islam.
(5) He must believe as binding on him the injunctions of the Prophet of
(6) He must believe in the qiyamat.
Q.—Is a tarik-us-salat a Muslim ?
A.—Yes, but not a munkir-us-salat"
Maulana Ahmad Ali, President, Jami'at-ul-Ulama-i-Islam, Maghribi Pakistan —
"Q.— Please define a Muslim ?
A.—A person is a Muslim if he believes (1) in the Qur'an and (2) what has been said by the prophet. Any person who possesses these two qualifications is entitled to be called a Muslim without his being required to believe in anything more or to do anything more."
Maulana Abul Ala Maudoodi, Amir Jama'at-i-Islami —
"Q.—Please define a Muslim ?
A.—A person is a Muslim if he believes (1) in tauheed, (2) in all the prophets (ambiya), (3) all the books revealed by God, (4) in mala'ika (angels), and (5) yaum-ul-akhira (the Day of Judgment).
Q.—Is a mere profession of belief in these articles sufficient to entitle a man
to call himself a Musalman and to be treated as a Musalman in an Islamic State ?
Q.—If a person says that he believes in all these things, does any one have a right to question the existence of his belief ?
A.—The five requisites that I have mentioned above are fundamental and any alteration in anyone of these articles will take him out of the pale of Islam."
Ghazi Siraj-ud-Din Munir—
"Q.—Please define a Muslim ?
A.—I consider a man to be a Muslim if he professes his belief in the kalima, namely, La Ilaha Illalah-o-Muhammad-ur-Rasulullah, and leads a life in the footsteps of the Holy Prophet."
Mufti Muhammad Idris, Jamia Ashrafia, Nila Gumbad, Lahore—
"Q.—Please give the definition of a Musalman ?
A.—The word 'Musalman' is a Persian one. There is a distinction between the word 'Musalman' which is a Persian word for Muslim and the word 'momin'. It is impossible for me to give a complete definition of the word 'momin'. I would require pages and pages to describe what a momin is. A person is a Muslim who professes to be obedient to Allah. He should believe in the Unity of God, prophethood of the ambiya and in the Day of Judgment. A person who does not believe in the azan or in the qurbani goes outside the pale of Islam. Similarly, there are a large number of other things which have been received by tavatir from our prophet. In order to be a Muslim, he must believe in all these things. It is almost impossible for me to give a complete list of such things."
Hafiz Kifayat Hussain, Idara-i-Haquq-i-Tahaffuz-i-Shia—
"Q.—Who is a Musalman?
A.—A person is entitled to be called a Musalman if he believes in (1) tauheed, (2) nubuwwat and (3) qiyamat. These are the three fundamental beliefs which a person must profess to be called a Musalman. In regard to these three basic doctrines there is no difference between the Shias and the Sunnies. Besides the belief in these three doctrines, there are other things called 'zarooriyat-i-din' which a person must comply with in order to be entitled to be called a Musalman. These will take me two days to define and enumerate. But as an illustration I might state that the respect for the Holy Book, wajoob-i-nimaz, wajoob-i-roza, wajoob-i-hajj-ma'a-sharait, and other things too numerous to mention, are among the 'zarooriyat-i-din' "
Maulana Abdul Hamid Badayuni, President, Jami'at-ul-Ulama-i-Pakistan :
"Q.—Who is a Musalman according to you ?
A.—A person who believes in the zarooriyat-i-din is called a momin and every momin is entitled to be called a Musalman.
Q.—What are these zarooriyat-i-din ?
A.—A person who believes in the five pillars of Islam and who believes in the rasalat of our Holy Prophet fulfils the zarooriyat-i-din.
Q.—Have other actions, apart from the five arakan, anything to do with a man being a Muslim or being outside the pale of Islam?
(Note—Witness has been explained that by actions are meant those rules of moral conduct which in modern society are accepted as correct.)
Q.—Then you will not call a person a Muslim who believes in arakan-ikhamsa and the rasalat of the prophet but who steals other peoples' things, embezzles property entrusted to him, has an evil eye on his neighbour's wife and is guilty of the grossest ingratitude to his benefector?
A.—Such a person, if he has the belief already indicated, will be a Muslim despite all this".
Maulana Muhammad Ali Kandhalvi, Darush-Shahabia, Sialkot —
"Q.—Please define a Musalman?
A.—A person who in obedience to the commands of the prophet performs all the zarooriyat-i-din is a Musalman.
Q.—Can you define zarooriyat-i-din ?
A.—Zarooriyat-i-din are those requirements which are known to every Muslim irrespective of his religious knowledge.
Q.—Can you enumerate zarooriyat-i-din ?
A.—These are too numerous to be mentioned. I myself cannot enumerate these zarooriyat. Some of the zarooriyat-i-din may be mentioned as salat, saum, etc."
Maulana Amin Ahsan Islahi —
"Q.—Who is a Musalman?
A.—There are two kinds of Musalmans, a political (siyasi) Musalman and a real (haqiqi) Musalman. In order to be called a political Musalman, a person must:
(1) believe in the Unity of God,
(2) believe in our Holy Prophet being khatam-un-nabiyin, i.e., 'final
authority' in all matters relating to the life of that person,
(3) believe that all good and evil comes from Allah,
(4) believe in the Day of Judgment,
(5) believe in the Qur'an to be the last book revealed by Allah,
(6) perform the annual pilgrimage to Mecca,
(7) pay the zaka'at,
(8) say his prayers like the Musalmans,
(9) observe all apparent rules of Islami mu'ashira, and
(10) observe the fast (saum).
If a person satisfies all these conditions he is entitled to the rights of a full citizen of an Islamic State. If any one of these conditions is not satisfied, the person concerned will not be a political Musalman. (Again said) It would be enough for a person to be a Musalman if he merely professes his belief in these ten matters irrespective of whether he puts them into practice or not. In order to be a real Musalman, a person must believe in and act on all the injunctions by Allah and his prophet in the manner in which they have been enjoined upon him.
Q.—Will you say that only the real Musalman is 'mard-i-saleh' ?
Q.—do we understand you aright that in the case of what you have called a political (siyasi) Musalman, belief alone is necessary, while in the case of a haqiqi Musalman there must not only be belief but also action?
A.—No, you have not understood me aright. Even in the case of a political (siyasi) Musalman action is necessary but what I mean to say is that if a person does not act upon the belief that is necessary in the case of such a Musalman, he will not be outside the pale of a political (siyasi) Musalman.
Q.—If a political (siyasi) Musalman does not believe in things which you
have stated to be necessary, will you call such a person be-din ?
A.—No, I will call him merely be-amal".
The definition by the Sadr Anjuman Ahmadiya, Rabwah, in its written statement
is that a Muslim is a person who belongs to the ummat of the Holy Prophet and professes belief in kalima-i-tayyaba.
Keeping in view the several definitions given by the ulama, need we make any comment except that no two learned divines are agreed on this fundamental. If we attempt our own definition as each learned divine has done and that definition differs from that given by all others, we unanimously go out of the fold of Islam. And if we adopt the definition given by any one of the ulama, we remain Muslims according to the view of that alim but kafirs according to the definition of every one else.
Apostasy in an Islamic State is punishable with death. On this the ulama are practically unanimous (vide the evidence of Maulana Abul Hasanat Sayyad Muhammad Ahmad Qadri, President, Jami'at-ul-Ulama-i-Pakistan, Punjab; Maulana Ahmad Ali, Sadr Jami'at-ul-Ulama-i-Islam, West Pakistan; Maulana Abul Ala Maudoodi, founder and ex-Amir-i-Jama'at-i-Islami, Pakistan; Mufti Muhammad Idris, Jami'Ashrafia, Lahore, and Member, Jami'at-ul-Ulama-i-Pakistan; Maulana Daud Ghaznavi, President, Jami'at-i-Ahl-i-Hadith, Maghribi Pakistan; Maulana Abdul Haleem Qasimi, Jami'at-ul-Ulama-i-Islam, Punjab; and Mr. Ibrahim Ali Chishti). According to this doctrine, Chaudhri Zafrullah Khan, if he has not inherited his present religious beliefs but has voluntarily elected to be an Ahmadi, must be put to death. And the same fate should befall Deobandis and Wahabis, including Maulana Muhammad Shafi Deobandi, Member, Board of Talimat-i-Islami attached to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, and Maulana Daud Ghaznavi, if Maulana Abul Hasanat Sayyad Muhammad Ahmad Qadri or Mirza Raza Ahmad Khan Barelvi, or any one of the numerous ulama who are shown perched on every leaf of a beautiful tree in the fatwa, Ex. D. E. 14, were the head of such Islamic State. And if Maulana Muhammad Shafi Deobandi were the head of the State, he would exclude those who have pronounced Deobandis as kafirs from the pale of Islam and inflict on them the death penalty if they come within the definition of murtadd, namely, if they have changed and not inherited their religious views.
The genuineness of the fatwa, Ex. D. E. 13, by the Deobandis which says that Asna Ashari Shias are kafirs and murtadds, was questioned in the course of enquiry, but Maulana Muhammad Shafi made an inquiry on the subject from Deoband, and received from the records of that institution the copy of a fatwa signed by all the teachers of the Darul Uloom including Maulana Muhammad Shafi himself which is to the effect that those who do not believe in the sahabiyyat of Hazrat Siddiq Akbar and who are qazif of Hazrat Aisha Siddiqa and have been guilty of tehrif of Qur'an are kafirs. This opinion is also supported by Mr. Ibrahim Ali Chishti who has studied and knows his subject. He thinks the Shias are kafirs because they believe that Hazrat Ali shared the prophethood with our Holy Prophet. He refused to answer the question whether a person who being a Sunni changes his view and agrees with the Shia view would be guilty of irtidad so as to deserve the death penalty. According to the Shias all Sunnis are kafirs, and Ahl-i-Qur'an; namely, persons who consider hadith to be unreliable and therefore not binding, are unanimously kafirs and so are all independent thinkers. The net result of all this is that neither Shias nor Sunnis nor Deobandis nor Ahl-i-Hadith nor Barelvis are Muslims and any change from one view to the other must be accompanied in an Islamic State with the penalty of death if the Government of the State is in the hands of the party which considers the other party to be kafirs. And it does not require much imagination to judge of the consequences of this doctrine when it is remembered that no two ulama have agreed before us as to the definition of a Muslim. If the constituents of each of the definitions given by the ulama are given effect to, and subjected to the rule of 'combination and permutation' and the form of charge in the Inquisition's sentence on Galileo is adopted mutatis mutandis as a model, the grounds on which a person may be indicted for apostasy will be too numerous to count.
In an earlier part of the report we have referred to the proscription of the 'Ashshahab', a pamphlet written by Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani who later became Sheikh-ul-Islam-i-Pakistan. In that pamphlet the Maulana had attempted to show from the Qur'an, the sunna, the ijma' and qayas that in Islam the punishment for apostasy (irtidad) simpliciter is death. After propounding the theological doctrine the Maulana had made in that document a statement of fact that in the time of the Caliph Siddiq-i-Akbar and the subsequent Caliphs vast areas of Arabia became repeatedly red with the blood of apostates. We are not called upon to express any opinion as to the correctness or otherwise of this doctrine but knowing that the suggestion to the Punjab Government to proscribe this pamphlet had come from the Minister for the Interior we have attempted to inquire of ourselves the reasons for Government's taking a step which ex hypothesi amounted to condemning a doctrine which the Maulana had professed to derive from the Qur'an and the sunna. The death penalty for irtidad has implications of a far-reaching character and stamps Islam as a religion of fanatics, which punishes all independent thinking. The Qur'an again and again lays emphasis on reason and thought, advises toleration and preaches against compulsion in religious matters but the doctrine of irtidad as enunciated in this pamphlet strikes at the very root of independent thinking when it propounds the view that anyone who, being born a Muslim or having embraced Islam, attempts to think on the subject of religion with a view, if he comes to that conclusion, to choose for himself any religion he likes, has the capital penalty in store for him. With this implication Islam becomes an embodiment of complete intellectual paralysis. And the statement in the pamphlet that vast areas of Arabia were repeatedly bespattered with human blood, if true, could only lend itself to this inference that even when Islam was at the height of its splendour and held absolute sway in Arabia there were in that country a large number of people who turned away from that religion and preferred to die than to remain in that system. It must have been some such reaction of this pamphlet on the mind of the Minister for the Interior which prompted him to advise the Punjab Government to proscribe the pamphlet. Further the Minister who was himself well-versed in religious matters must have thought that the conclusion drawn by the author of the pamphlet which was principally based on the precedent mentioned in paras. 26, 27 and 28 of the Old Testament and which is only partially referred to in the Qur'an in the 54th verse of the Second Sura, could not be applicable to apostasy from Islam and that therefore the author's opinion was in fact incorrect, there being no express text in the Qur'an for the death penalty for apostasy. On the contrary each of the two ideas, one underlying the six brief verses of Surat-ul-Kafiroon and the other the La Ikrah verse of the second Sura, has merely to be understood to reject as erroneous the view propounded in the 'Ash-Shahab'. Each of the verses in Surat-ul-Kafiroon which contains thirty words and no verse of which exceeds six words, brings out a fundamental trait in man engrained in him since his creation while the La Ikrah verse, the relevant portion of which contains only nine words, states the rule of responsibility of the mind with a precision that cannot be surpassed. Both of these texts which are an early part of the Revelation are, individually and collectively, the foundation of that principle which human society, after centuries of conflict, hatred and bloodshed, has adopted in defining one of the most important fundamental rights of man. But our doctors would never dissociate chauvinism from Islam.


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What can the US learn from Germany? Two veterans of the German renewable energy industry will be answer that question at the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) National Solar Conference in Baltimore, MD, April 16-20. Germany is moving rapidly towards a renewable energy economy and for years has been the world's top installer of photovoltaic systems.
Boulder, CO, March 14, 2013 — The American Solar Energy Society (ASES) welcomes Jochen Flasbarth, President, German Federal Environment Agency, and David Wedepohl, Markets & Communications Director of German Solar Industry Association at its annual National Solar Conference, SOLAR 2013, in Baltimore, April 16-20. ASES will explore the German policies and financial incentives that have led to rapid growth in the country's renewable energy installations, exceeding the expectations of policy analysts and investors around the world.
On Thursday, April 18, Jochen Flasbarth will join Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, in a plenary session on Climate & Resiliency. Other speakers include Alice LeBlanc, former head of the Office of Environment and Climate Change at American International Group (AIG) and Patricia Hoffman of the Department of Energy, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. Behind Germany's rapid development of renewable energy is a goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2020. That goal is linked to producing 35% of electricity from renewable sources by 2020 and 80% by 2050. German goals also include reduction in fossil fuel imports and sustainable economic growth.
David Wedepohl will speak on "Building the Solar Industry" on Friday, April 19, along with Rhone Resch, head of the Solar Energy Industries Association; Tony Clifford, CEO of Standard Solar; and Laura Jones, a partner at Hunton & Williams and an expert on tax incentives for renewable energy. Wedepohl will also participate in a panel session that explores which German policies might be appropriate in the United States.
The key driver behind the rapid expansion of renewable energy in Germany has been the Feed-In-Tariff (FIT), a long-term contract guaranteeing revenue for solar producers over a twenty-year time-period. The FIT, which pays more than the retail cost of electricity, has encouraged hundreds of thousands of German farmers and homeowners to earn income by owning grid-tied solar. Because the country has focused on eliminating red tape and cumbersome permitting requirements, the cost of a PV system in Germany is half what it is in the United States. Germany's solar industry now employs upwards of 300,000 people, more than its auto industry.
About the American Solar Energy Society
Established in 1954, the nonprofit American Solar Energy Society (ASES) is the nation's leading association of solar professionals and advocates. Our mission is to inspire an era of energy innovation and speed the transition to a sustainable energy economy. ASES leads national efforts to increase the use of solar energy and other sustainable technologies through the publication of the award-winning SOLAR TODAY magazine, the ASES National Solar Tour – the largest grassroots solar event in the world, and the the ASES National Solar Conference. For more information about ASES and the SOLAR 2013 conference please visit http://www.ases.org/solar2013.

subset: commoncrawl


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Pantone named Tangerine Tango the color of the year. Described as a provocative, attention-getting color, Tangerine Tango is a playful take on the traditional fall/autumn hue.
Inspired by the runway color trend, here are some top fitness fashions picks that span the spectrum of orange:
Are you always in the front row in the workout class? Try these daring looks:
You'll demand attention in these animal-inspired pieces: Adidas TECHFIT zebra print tank top ($32), the medium-impact TECHFIT Bra available in the zebra-orange ($30) and a solid orange ($25) along with the adizero Rush sneakers ($100). Available at shopadidas.com
Prefer to run with the wind against your legs? Try these chic looks:
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Scared of looking like a neon glowstick? Try this discreet look:
Show off your flare for fashion (without decking out in the sometimes-overbearing hue) with Mizuno women's aero breath thermo L/S tee ($74.99), which offers just a hint of red-orange. Available at mizuno.com
Not sure if orange is your color? Try these softer looks:
Nike offers a softer approach to the hue with their mango color (think of it a pink-orange-peach), which makes an appearance in their Pro Core Print capris ($45), Legend tank ($22) and Free Run+ 2 sneakers ($100). Available at store.nike.com
Want to look slimmer immediately? Try this contouring look:
Adding just a pop of color, the GapFit gFast Colorblock leggings in navy and orange ($54.95) feature the vivid hue in a sleek wrap around panel which immediately gives thighs a slimming look. Available at gap.com
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STORRS, Conn. — Scientific breakthrough could help restore the popular ornamental shrub Euonymus alatus, otherwise known as burning bush, to prominence in commercial marketplace.
Professor Yi Li's Laboratory in the University of Connecticut's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources has developed a seedless variety of the popular ornamental shrub Euonymus alatus, also called 'burning bush,' that retains the plant's brilliant foliage yet eliminates its ability to spread and invade natural habitats.
"The availability of a triploid seedless, non-invasive variety of burning bush creates a win-win situation for both consumers and commercial nurseries," says Li, head of UConn's Transgenic Plant Facility and director of the New England Invasive Plant Center on the UConn campus in Storrs, Conn.
"The bush is an extremely popular ornamental plant for landscapers and gardeners because of its intense red autumn foliage and robust ability to grow in a wide range of soils and environmental conditions. In addition, the plant has very few pest or disease problems."
Money maker
Also known as 'winged euonymus' because of its distinctive winged branches, burning bush is a top cash crop for the $16 billion ornamental plant industry.
It is especially popular in New England and along the eastern seaboard where the shrub is used as foundation plantings, hedges and along highways and commercial strips.
National sales of burning bush top tens of millions of dollars each year. The plant, however, spreads aggressively and has been listed as an invasive species in 21 states. It has already been banned in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and is on an invasive plant 'watch list' in many other states, including Connecticut.
The economic cost of invasive plants is estimated at more than $40 billion per year in the U.S. The creation of a non-invasive variety of burning bush should help restore the shrub's prominence in the commercial marketplace.
Professor Max Cheng, a horticultural plant biotechnologist at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, says Li's success in regenerating a triploid non-invasive burning bush "has great economic and environmental significance."
"Several universities and laboratories in the U.S. have been working on developing triploid or sterile burning bush for years," says Cheng. "Endosperm cells of angiosperms are naturally triploid but regeneration from endosperm cells, particularly from endosperms of woody species, is often very difficult."
Li's success represents a major breakthrough in developing sterile non-invasive Euonymus alatus, which is of great importance to the American ornamental horticulture industry and gardeners."
Burning bush's invasive characteristics stem from its prodigious seed production. The plant produces tens of thousands of seeds that are transported by rainwater and birds where they take hold in open woodlands creating dense thickets that displace native vegetation.
The plant's root system forms a tight mat below the soil surface and its broad profile (it averages 6 to 9 feet in height and is capable of reaching 15 feet) creates heavy shade that threatens the survival of plants living beneath it.
Native to eastern Asia, the deciduous Euonymous alatus was introduced in the United States around 1860. The shrub's natural ornamental features have been genetically improved over time, giving rise to its widespread popularity.
It can be found in the eastern U.S. from New England to Florida and as far west as Illinois. The new lines of sterile non-invasive burning bush plant — which were derived from a popular dwarf variety known as (E. alatus) 'Compactus' — took years to develop.
Members of Li's research team, Chandra Thammina, Mingyang He, Litang Lu and others, painstakingly removed thousands of immature and mature endosperm from deep inside the plant's seeds under sterile conditions and then treated them with special plant growth regulators.
The team carefully maintained endosperm tissue explants in Petri dishes so that a callus, bud, seedling and ultimately a new triploid seedless variety were grown.
"Finding the right combination of plant growth regulators, appropriate amounts for the treatment and repeatedly testing and re-testing the process to validate success was a lengthy, yet ultimately rewarding, process," Li says.
The process to produce triploid plants from endosperm tissues is so difficult that since endosperm regeneration of plants was first reported in the early 1950s, it has been successful in only 32 plant species.
The research team reports that it successfully produced twelve independently regenerated triploid plants of burning bush. Triploid plants are sterile due to uneven chromosome division as cells multiply.
Li is working with UConn's Office of Technology Commercialization to patent the process used to regenerate the burning bush triploid and ultimately bring the new plant variety to the commercial horticulture industry.
Up-to-date agriculture news in your inbox!


text:
Russia reconquers Eastern Europe via business
Russia's Kremlin-backed businesses are snapping up assets in former Eastern Europe, though governments are still wary.
| Prague, Czech Republic
More than 20 years after Soviet tanks and soldiers pulled out of then-Czechoslovakia in Eastern Europe, Russian influence is on the rise in what was once its imperial backyard. Where guns and bullets failed, rubles are succeeding.
Local governments are selling off state assets to plug gaping budgetary holes as the global financial crisis bites. Western corporations are tightening belts and selling off some assets in the region. Stepping into the void are eager Russian businessmen, some backed by the Kremlin, as money trumps lingering suspicions from decades of Moscow-led Communism.
From the downfall of the Soviet Union in 1991 until 2008, Russian investment to Eastern Europe totaled a paltry $2.4 billion over 17 years, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The total for just the past three years has already reached $2.8 billion.
"These firms are highly profitable now, and they've realized the Russian market is not enough," says UNCTAD researcher Kalman Kalotay. "They're looking elsewhere to grow their businesses. Plus they're getting support from the Kremlin, which realizes Russian business can help pursue the state's strategic interests."
Vaclav Petricek, the chairman of the Czech Chamber for Economic Ties with the Commonwealth of Independent States, says the Czechs and other Eastern Europeans have put aside grudges to pursue business interests.
"It's the free market at work," Mr. Petricek says. "Russian investors are benefiting from the current global financial crisis, which has caused problems to some European firms. Of course, we have to watch to make sure no one comes to dominate sensitive sectors, like energy."
Shopping spree
Russians have been on a shopping spree in the region.
In July, Russia's largest state-run bank, Sberbank, which has close ties to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, bought out the Eastern European division of an Austrian bank. Announcing the acquisition, German Graf, a former economics minister, boldly stated: "This is our first step in transforming Sberbank into a global bank."
Another state-held Russian bank is reported to be courting Czech magnate Petr Kellner to buy a 10 percent stake in one of the Czech Republic's very successful credit agencies.
Russia's second-biggest bank recently paid some $141 million for a majority stake in Bulgaria's state tobacco company. And Russian Railroads is eager to buy out rail-cargo businesses in Poland and Slovakia, according to Bloomberg. The Russian oil concern in Poland is in the running to buy the government's majority stake in a refinery in the Baltic port of Gdansk.
Spreading clout
Russians are also using their vast oil and gas reserves to spread clout. At the forefront is Gazprom, one of the world's largest energy companies. The Russian gas giant supplies about 25 percent of the natural gas sold in Western Europe. In Eastern Europe, the percentage is higher: Bulgaria and Slovakia alone depend on Gazprom for 90 percent of their gas.
Gazprom is also buying up energy infrastructure in the region. Through a subsidiary, Gazprom has bought a Czech natural-gas supplier and is expected to use its network to heat Czech homes.
A battle royal is brewing in the nuclear energy sphere, pitting Moscow against Washington for a project billed as one of Europe's biggest and most lucrative: The Czech Republic is planning to build more reactors at one of its two nuclear power plants.
Washington and Moscow are eager to win this deal. When President Obama visited Prague in 2010, the deal was high on the agenda of his talks with Czech officials.
The nuclear deal promises high financial gain. US diplomats in Prague reportedly put the value of the Temelin contract at $27 billion, and it could create up to 9,000 jobs in the United States, according to a leaked US diplomatic cable from 2009. (Bidder Westinghouse Electric Co., while based in the US, is owned and operated by Toshiba of Japan.)
Despite Japan's recent nuclear disaster, Eastern Europe still appears eager to tap the atom for power. Poland, especially, has ambitious plans to build nuclear power plants, and winning the Temelin tender could open doors there and elsewhere.
Tough competition
The Russian consortium may have an edge over Westinghouse and French competition.
A Russian engineering conglomerate owns a key Czech nuclear supplier. And last year, the Russians beat out Westinghouse as suppliers of nuclear fuel to the Czech Republic's two nuclear power plants.
"Purely on economics, the Russian bid will be tough to beat," says Petr Kratochvil of Prague's International Institute of International Relations.
"It is expected the Russian bid will be the lowest, plus the Russians are promising 60 percent of the work will be carried out by Czech subcontractors. However, politics may mean the Russians lose," says Mr. Kratochvil.
It is the fear of giving away too much control of a key energy source that could ultimately sour the Russian bid, says Kratochvil.
Similar sensitivities prompted Hungary recently to reexamine its energy relations with Moscow.
Budapest used some $2.7 billion of its bailout from the International Monetary Fund to buy out a Russian stake in Hungary's largest oil refiner.
Announcing the deal in May, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said, "a country can't be strong if it's completely dependent for its energy needs." It wasn't the first time a European leader has cited security concerns to rule out the Russians on a business deal.
In 2010, Russian airline Aeroflot was rebuffed from participating in the privatization of the Czech airline CSA. Prague feared handing over to the Russians a key industrial player.
And the Czech Republic's main security agency, Security Information Service, or BIS, has warned of growing cooperation in the Czech Republic between Russian intelligence agents and that country's business elite. BIS says Russian spies are the most "active" ones on Czech soil.
But, insists a BIS spokesman, "If any business activity is suspicious or could threaten Czech national interests, we will inform the government."


text:
Officer Who Killed Rekia Boyd Not Guilty Of All Charges
Posted by Xena
Posted on 04/20/2015, in Cases, Cops Gone Wild, Rekia Boyd and tagged Dante Servin, Dennis Porter, Rekia Boyd, trial. Bookmark the permalink. 44 Comments.
Here is the video that does not appear in the above News One reblogged article.
This pig is making 90K a YEAR?!!? this is disgusting!! OMG will it never end!??
I just downloaded the court's decision to the right-side border.
Click to access 262501080-dante-servin-ruling.pdf
Two sides to a story | 04/20/2015 at 6:57 pm
Sounds like another case of a luke-warm prosecution team not wanting to offend the PD.
Two sides,
More and more, I am hearing lawyers who are passionate about the law say that they wish they could change careers. The judicial system is nullifying laws by deciding cases based on favoritism.
mindyme62 | 04/20/2015 at 7:13 pm
"Boyd died from a gunshot wound to the head. Her mother received a $4.5 million settlement from the city for her death."
But the court didn't think Servin did anything wrong?? How does that happen?
When this country was founded, it believed that certain people were property. So, if Plantation owner A killed the property of Plantation owner B, Plantation owner A compensated Plantation owner B. The value of the property, replacement value, and what Plantation owner B loss in production labor were considered damages.
That general attitude still reigns today. They figure that as long as human live is replaced with money, then the person(s) taking that life should not be punished anymore than a person who wrecked another person's vehicle by accident.
Those settlements are seldom ever paid in full. So along comes J.G. Wentworth with an idea that those receiving financial redress can pay his company a percentage of the total settlement, to receive part of the settlement. (sigh)
yahtzeebutterfly | 04/20/2015 at 8:29 pm
It's absurd that the family of #RekiaBoyd was given $4.5 million for her wrongful death but NOBODY's held accountable pic.twitter.com/DB50piM1sD
— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) April 20, 2015
yahtzeebutterfly | 04/21/2015 at 7:34 am
Lisa Bloom @LisaBloom · 15h 15 hours ago
"Death of #RekiaBoyd resulted in massive civil liability but no criminal charges. Like so many others. Again and again. #BlackLivesMatter"
17yo suing the NYPD & City for beating him.
The teen is suing the city for compensation, as well as four named officers and five unnamed officers for punitive damages on the grounds they falsely imprisoned him and conspired to frame him, according to a complaint filed in Brooklyn federal court on April 14.
"Enrique Del Rosario's rights were violated when he was violently beaten and arrested by officers of the New York City Police Department, who unconstitutionally and without any legal basis seized, detained, and arrested him, and subjected him to excessive force and excessively and unreasonably prolonged, unnecessary, and punitive detention," the complaint states.
Shannon, I think it's time that law enforcement was required to carry their own liability insurance.
That's silly X, that would be like holding police at least financially responsible for violating our civil rights? We the tax payers have been perfectly willing to pay for our own abuse for all these years and look how well it's worked out?
HA! Looks like more people should attend their city council meetings and ask members where they stand on the issue.
This is an interesting point. When the cities pay out millions of dollars in wrongful death suits; excessive force claims, guess who is left holding the bag. It is the tax payers. You would think they would be calling for police reforms just on this basis. This is tax monies which could be better allocated, like for hiring more teachers.
scrodriguez | 04/20/2015 at 11:20 pm
You know what this has really been a crazy week, Month, Year, its best for the blog at this time that I reserve comment for another day….
BTW, Xena Sorry I didnt call you back was talking to my cousin turned the TV on the fights were re playing that I missed over the weekend and I hear that one was a for sure fight of the year candidate
Santiago, no problem. My phone continued to ring tonight. I'm just now getting back to the computer.
yahtzeebutterfly | 04/21/2015 at 9:20 am
TERRIBLE verdict in Chicago proves that the white imagination of a black threat sets cops free http://t.co/2JFxC9nxcs pic.twitter.com/H5FhGxWkCP
— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) April 21, 2015
here's another incident in Baltimore that left a 27yo w/severed spine then death. so scary.
yahtzeebutterfly | 04/21/2015 at 3:36 pm
Thanks for posting this, Shannon.
I think Freddie received his injuries from them before they put him in the van. That is why he is so limp and why they dragged Freddie. They should have called for an ambulance and not a van to transport him.
What? Call an ambulance at the scene, in front of witnesses???!! but that would've been an admission by police that they'd injured an innocent citizen while assaulting him in the street.
yahtzeebutterfly | 04/21/2015 at 6:49 pm
Protests are continuing in Baltimore. The police need to be held accountable. Cover-ups and unfair legal maneuvers need to stop.
yahtzeebutterfly | 04/22/2015 at 12:51 pm
"Justice 4 Freddie ~ We Need Answers" :
yahtzeebutterfly | 04/21/2015 at 8:17 pm
Photo of ticket for protesting:
#iThoughtThisWasAmerica RT @LEXercise: RT @deray RT @BmoreBloc: Citation for protesting pic.twitter.com/KXN7n7gAZ0
— Tamir Rice (@MollyCool5) April 22, 2015
yahtzeebutterfly | 04/21/2015 at 8:21 pm
#FreddieGray's spinal injury suggests 'forceful trauma,' medical experts tell @ssdance. http://t.co/kbdfwGgDIL pic.twitter.com/GQ1GqxWGqb
— Colin Campbell (@cmcampbell6) April 21, 2015
yahtzeebutterfly | 04/21/2015 at 8:39 pm
Excerpt from article linked below:
"The Baltimore police officer who led the initial chase of Freddie Gray, the young man who died after being arrested and suffering a broken neck, has twice been accused of domestic violence and was temporarily ordered by a court to stay away from a second person."
That doesn't surprise me. You have to be willing to inflict pain, verbal abuse, and kill in order to join a police force.
yahtzeebutterfly | 04/22/2015 at 8:23 am
This excerpt discusses police treatment of Freddie Gray:
He was placed alone, the police say, in the back of the van, in one of two chambers separated from the officers by metal dividers. Then the van drove for more than half an hour. Based on the timeline, there appears to have been at least three opportunities to have helped him. Four minutes into the ride, according to Rodriguez, the driver reported that he "believes that Mr. Gray is acting irate," and a minute later the van stopped. But the only result was that the officers did some paperwork and put leg irons on Gray. Thirteen minutes later, there was some sort of check on Gray, after which the police stopped to pick up another prisoner. (That prisoner was also separated from Gray by the dividers.) Before the van drove off, there was, the police say, "some communication with Mr. Gray"—whether it was verbal or not isn't yet clear.
One of the many questions yet to be answered is whether Gray was wearing some sort of seat belt, as is required. The injuries he had were not casual ones; the Sun spoke to medical experts who said that they would have been caused by serious trauma.
Was an injury to his back the reason that witnesses thought his legs didn't work, or was he injured in the van? At the very least, anyone trained as a police officer would—or should—know that a spinal injury can be exacerbated if someone is moved improperly, whether by being dragged or bumped around in a moving vehicle.
Gray was in far worse shape at the end of the ride than he was at the beginning, which makes the question of what happened in the van an urgent one. It was, in effect, a black box that Gray entered. For many people in this country, that is too often a summary of their experience with the criminal-justice system as a whole. It is one of the reasons that people run.
yahtzeebutterfly | 04/22/2015 at 11:22 am
" New video, angle on Baltimore man's mystery death"
Another cell phone video gives new perspective in the arrest of Freddie Gray, the Baltimore man whose family said suffered a fatal spinal-cord injury after he was handcuffed and put in the back of a police van, reports CBS News correspondent Chip Reid.
The new video, obtained by CBS Baltimore station WJZ, shows the police van, moments later, stopped a little more than a block from the arrest site.
Police say Gray was irate in the back of the van — so they briefly removed him to put on leg irons.
sidewinder50 | 04/21/2015 at 5:48 pm
I'm guessing the 6 suspended officers included the four bike police and maybe two drivers of the paddy wagon? Not sure where the extra two officers come in. Do paddy wagons have two police officers in the cab one the driver the other for assistance if needed?
Sidewinder, I am not sure. I've been so busy that I've not kept up with things but hopefully I can ferret out the names of the officers and what part they played in breaking Freddie's spine.
yahtzeebutterfly | 04/21/2015 at 7:26 pm
Natalie Jackson article:
"The Media Or The Police: A Choice Between Two Evils For Many Black People"
yahtzeebutterfly | 04/21/2015 at 8:19 pm
Sigh. Officer who shot & killed #AiyanaJones in a no-knock warrant returned to duty today. http://t.co/3lvOqzQq67 pic.twitter.com/U0KRPrmhE9
— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) April 21, 2015
ST. LOUIS — Pine Lawn, a tiny St. Louis County town notorious for corruption and predatory ticketing practices, is being sued by its 80-year-old former mayor, who alleges a successor used the police department to falsely arrest him and portray him as a criminal.
Adrian Wright, Pine Lawn mayor from 1993 until 2005, says in a federal lawsuit that ex-Mayor Sylvester Caldwell was the town's de facto police chief and used the force as a political weapon. Caldwell resigned last week when he pleaded guilty to federal extortion charges.
I think there's another issue w/pinelawn about a cop rapist, but i'll have to check on twitter to be sure.
But that whole area is a disaster. its bad. & we haven't even seen the tip of the iceberg.
yahtzeebutterfly | 04/22/2015 at 8:37 am
#RekiaBoyd's mother and brother standing in front of the Capital #March2Justice pic.twitter.com/4ur49UGnAS
— Jasiri X (@jasiri_x) April 22, 2015
yahtzeebutterfly | 04/22/2015 at 9:13 am
Michael Skolnik @MichaelSkolnik · 12h 12 hours ago
Martinez Sutton, brother of #RekiaBoyd, describes the moment the officer who killed his sister was…
yahtzeebutterfly | 04/22/2015 at 11:11 am
"A Judge Just Let a Cop Walk After A Deadly Shooting. Legal Experts Say The Reasoning Is 'Incredible' "
"This is incredible!" University of Illinois Director of Trial Advocacy J. Steven Beckett said. "It appears to me that a lesser included offense was ignored because the proof of the greater offense was obvious. This put prosecutorial decision-making under scrutiny beyond anything imaginable." In other words, the prosecutors were punished for not having charged Servin with a more severe crime. Even more remarkable, Porter came to this decision in what is known as a "directed verdict" before he even heard the defense's arguments.
"When a motion for directed verdict is made by the defense, the evidence must be considered in the light most favorable to the prosecution," Beckett points out. "What the judge did here appears to be just the opposite!"
yahtzeebutterfly | 04/22/2015 at 3:16 pm
"State appeals court decides to expedite Eric Garner grand jury case"
yahtzeebutterfly | 04/22/2015 at 3:18 pm
"New push to protect people who videotape police officers"
People who photograph cops are important. Hugs, Barbara
Hey Barbara! Yes, without photos and video, there would be no evidence of misrepresentations.
It is not a surprise that Ms.Boyd's family will not see justice through the criminal system. It is impossible for me to understand how an officer shooting a gun into a crowd is not reckless endangerment. This just points out that when a police officer is involved in a shooting or use of excessive force, that there needs to be an independent system to handle these cases.
Mr. Gray was hurt during the original interaction. They finished the job when they tossed him into the van without seatbelts as they rode hard through the streets. They killed him and they knew they were hurting him.
Prosecutors and judges are nullifying laws. It is not only in the realm of wrongful death, but also in employment discrimination laws. Congresses, both the U.S. and states, must legislate laws that provide requirements to prove cases.
Yes, Freddie was injured before he was placed in the van. He was a rag doll, unable to hold up his head, and unable to get his feet under him. But, today's law enforcement takes authority to make medical decisions according to their own biases, and anytime they take a person into custody, they are using biases that the person is unlawful and deserves whatever happens to them. That has to stop.


text:
University of Portland Nets Increased Sports Media Coverage
By: Heather Halsey
When Jose Nevarez was hired by University of Portland Athletics in 2014 his long-term goal was to increase exposure for the Pilots by broadcasting games on Comcast SportsNet.
Just 18 months later, fans throughout the Pacific Northwest were able to watch the Portland Pilots women's basketball team play the Boise State Broncos live on TV.
"It was really rewarding to hear from people that they were able to watch the game on live TV," Nevarez says about the game that aired Dec. 6, 2015. "We got a lot of recognition for that and I was happy we could make it happen in such a short time."
As the live video services program manager, Nevarez and Director of Video Services James Vega will oversee the production of eight Pilots home games for broadcast during the 2015-16 school year.
Their team also produces, "Portside With The Pilots," a monthly 30-minute show that airs on Comcast SportsNet Northwest, in addition to full games that are available online and clips for the school's YouTube and social media channels.
Closing the deal with Comcast was not only a slam dunk for the university but also part of an initiative established by the West Coast Conference to gain media coverage for its 10 member schools.
Preparing For a Wider Audience
The conference began preparing its members for increased media exposure in 2013 by issuing each school a flight pack with new digital video equipment, including a compact multimedia studio from NewTek.
The new video equipment replaced outdated analog equipment and was the first step toward preparing the University of Portland's in-house video department, Portland Sports Network, for broadcast.
Prior to signing their broadcast agreement, Comcast initially had some questions about the university's video equipment and asked Nevarez to send them a stream for review. He says they were immediately pleased with the quality of their video.
"The moment they saw it, they said it was great," he says. "All of a sudden the kind of equipment we were using didn't matter because they could see the quality was there."
To meet the infrastructure requirements to produce games for Comcast, the basketball arena and control room were re-cabled in winter 2015.
In preparation for expanded media coverage in the future, the university is in the process of building a control room and has already installed caging to provide a secure, enclosed workspace within the Chiles Center basketball and volleyball arena. The full enclosure is scheduled for completion in summer 2016.
An Adaptable, Easy-to-Use Workflow
To capture high-quality video, the team uses four Sony HXR-NX5U cameras that were provided by the conference. They also purchased a JVC GY-HM650 for additional coverage and use GoPro cameras to get unique shots behind soccer nets or above basketball nets during games.
All cameras are prewired and they only need to run about 25 feet of cable for all basketball, soccer, and baseball games. The campus' fiber optic cabling infrastructure is being installed and will allow Nevarez and his team to run all soccer and baseball facilities back to the basketball arena so all video can be managed from there.
"We will only need to have talent and camera men out at the games, which will really help with tight schedules," Nevarez says.
To bring it all together, the Portland Sports Network team uses a TriCaster 860 from NewTek as their multi-media studio. Nevarez says the TriCaster is the first switcher he ever used when he was a student at Lewis & Clark College.
"This year we upgraded to TriCaster Advanced Edition to use Mix/Effects (M/E's) and auxiliary outputs to give the coaches the information they need for their film," he said. "This year I also started using Macros—they make my life a little easier and keeps me from making mistakes."
Nevarez and his team use a NewTek 3Play 425 instant replay server that makes professional instant replay and slow motion available. Nevarez says the simplicity of it allows him to train a student worker to use it within 15 minutes.
For audio, they use Daltech Talkback boxes to communicate with announcers and a full IFB system so they can speak off the air. The team uses Sennheiser ME 66 shotgun microphones and headsets with MP66 microphone preamplifiers. Audio is run off a Yamaha 16-channel audio mixer, plus an additional 8 channels for a total of 24 channels of audio.
Delivering a High-Quality Broadcast
Whether it's basketball games at the Chiles Center or soccer matches at Merlo Field, the Portland Sports Network is there to catch all the action.
Nevarez says other schools have reached out to find out more about their video program so they can implement similar solutions to garner more media coverage for their teams.
He credits his entire team and their student workforce with the success they've had getting games on Comcast SportsNet in such a short time period. Nevarez says that although a journalism or broadcast major is not offered at the university, he's had more than a dozen students seek out the video program on their own.
"They're all really intrigued by our equipment and pick things up really quickly," he says. "Some of them hadn't even touched a camera when they began; now they can shoot and edit an entire show."
Since their equipment is easy to use, Nevarez says the students are able to pick things up quickly and he's seen many students flourish, alongside a few contract employees on the team.
"We have a really great crew with a lot of different talents," he says. "You'd never guess we only have about 18 people instead of the 40 person teams you see at production companies."
At a Glance
- The University of Portland is a private, four-year university located on 150 acres in a quiet residential neighborhood on a bluff above the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon.
- In Jan. 2016, there were 3,654 undergraduates and 469 graduates enrolled at the University.
- The Portland Pilots play six men's sports and eight women's sports.
- The women's soccer team won national championships in 2002 and 2005.
The university's mascot is Wally Pilot, a muscular riverboat pilot. Workflow
- The video control room is located in the Chiles Center where video is managed for all sporting events.
- Cameras are prewired and 25-foot cable is run for all games.
- Video from the Sony HXR-NX5U, JVC GY-HM650 and GoPro cameras goes into the TriCaster 860.
- A 3Play 425 instant replay server is used to make replays and slow motion available.
- Daltech Talkback boxes are used to communicate with announcers with a full IFB system.
- The team uses Sennheiser ME 66 shotgun microphones and headsets and MP66 microphone preamplifiers.
- Audio is run off a Yamaha 16-channel audio mixer, plus an additional 8 channels.
- Videos are aired on Comcast SportsNet Northwest and the conference's digital network, TheW.TV.
Clips and game footage are also posted on their website and YouTube channel. Gear
- 27" iMac, MacBook Pro, Mac Pro
- Marshall Video Monitors
- NewTek TriCaster 860
- NewTek 3Play 425
- NewTek LiveText
- Sony HXR-NX5U
- GoPro Cameras
- Daltech Talkback
- RTS Partyline System
- Sennheiser Microphones and Headsets
- ME66 Shotgun Microphones
- Sony ECM-44B Condenser Microphones
- Yamaha 16-Channel Audio mixer, plus an additional 8 Channels
- DJI Phantom 3 Drone
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- Live Production and Streaming
- Slow Motion and Instant Replay
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