SUPERHEROES  inspired by Islam, a Video to Watch! 

(Click HERE to play the Video)

In “THE 99,” Naif Al-Mutawa’s new generation of comic book heroes fight more than crime — they smash stereotypes and battle extremism. Named after the 99 attributes of Allah, his characters reinforce positive messages of Islam and cross cultures to create a new moral framework for confronting evil, even teaming up with the Justice League of America. 

President Obama commends THE 99 for Spreading Tolerance

President Obama made a special mention about THE 99 superheroes and its creator, Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, in his speech given recently at the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship held in Washington. The President commended THE 99 for capturing the imaginations of young people through the message of tolerance. Entrepreneurs from all over the globe are attending the summit, including Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, creator of THE 99 superheroes.

See  the full White House video (16:17)  

http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/presidential-summit-entrepreneurship

On CNN:  Islam-inspired comic superheroes fight for peace

New York Times article (January 22, 2006): Comics to Battle for Truth, Justice and the Islamic Way

I wish Dr. Mutawa the best of success!  

God’s Blessings to You and your family.

The creator of these Superheroes inspired by Islam is a Psychologist  (among The 500 Most Influential Muslims - 2010),  from an openminded new generation of Muslim, who has found the ultimate tool for todays kids to learn about Islamic values and a most brilliant way to eradicate negative attitudes towards Islam.

Download your  Free copy of The 99  Origins  by klicking this line!

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BLESSED  RAMADAN  to all my readers,

May God show us all the right path!

Mona

Hello my dear readers!  Sorry being away from my blog so long, I have been somehow busy otherwise.

Here we go again, Ignorance is the root of all evil.

What can I say.  I will quote the whole article, I hope Al-Jazeera doesn’t mind:

“ Churches firebombed in Malaysia 

January 10, 2010

Two more churches and a Catholic convent school in Malaysia have been targeted by arsonists, amid a row over the use of the word “Allah” by non-Muslims.

Police said there were no reports of injuries in Sunday’s incidents, which brought the total number of churches attacked since Friday to six.

Molotov cocktails were hurled at the All Saints church and the school in Taiping in Perak state.

“There were black marks on the wall [of All Saints]. We believed there was a small fire earlier but there was no damage as the wall was intact,” Zulkifli Abdullah, the state police chief, said.

He said a broken bottle filled with the inflammable liquid paraffin was found inside the compound of St Louis Catholic Church.

Muslims protesting

Muslim groups have staged protests in response to a court ruling last week that gave a Catholic newspaper the Herald the right to print the Arabic word for God, Allah, following a long-running dispute with the government over the issue.

Thousands of Malaysian Christians turned up to Sunday services, despite the recent tensions.

Four churches in the Kuala Lumpur area have been hit by firebombs since Friday, leaving one badly damaged with its ground floor gutted, and prompting Najib Razak, the prime minister, to promise to crack down on race crime.

Hermen Shastri, secretary-general of the Council of Churches, said officials had stepped up security in the wake of the attacks.

“The attacks show they are more just a prank as it does not appear to be a major [attack], someone is trying to send a signal that they are unhappy,” he said.

The word Allah has been used by Malay-speaking Christians for centuries, as well as by Christians in Arabic-speaking countries and in Indonesia.

Rev Lawrence Andrew, editor of the Herald, has said there is no other appropriate term for God in Malay.

About 10 per cent of Malaysians are Christians, including about 850,000 Catholics. Around 60 per cent of the population are Muslims.”

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The same news article on BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8447450.stm .

Allah is the word Jesus used to address God in his mother tongue Aramaic and there is still a small community speaking that language in today’s Syria. They were also engaged as actors for the well known 2004 Movie   “The Passion of the Christ”.

Arabic speaking  Christians do not have another name for God, either.  Aramaic, Arabic and Hebrew are all Semitic languages and very close to eachother.

There is only One God, The Almighty, The Merciful  no matter with what names we call and pray to  Him.

Hoping this drop of information in the ocean of Ignorance could do some good.

Salaam,

wish my readers a prosperous and happy 2010.

Mona

Ramadan Eid Greetings!

May God, the Merciful, accept our fasting and show us all the right path! 

While searching what to write about today I read an article saved for times like this. I’ve been quite busy lately and still am.  So I just recommend you, my dear visitors,  to go and read for yourself.

Where is the Moderate Islam?

Undercover Mosque: The Return 

A year-and-a-half after the critically acclaimed film Undercover Mosque was first screened, Dispatches goes undercover again to see whether extremist beliefs continue to be promoted in certain key British Muslim institutions.

They are right. In my opinion things are just like they are described in this article and there is nothing for me to add to it.

Quote:

  The film also features interviews with Islamic academics who condemn these messages of intolerance and segregation and warn of the impact this version of Islam is having on British society. One imam at a leading university accuses the Saudi religious establishment of the: “distortion of Islam itself, the abuse and misuse of this great faith of mine and not only mine but of my children as well.”

 Islam is an easy religion!

“Say: ‘We believe in God, and the revelation given to us, and to Abraham, Ismael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all) prophets from their Lord; We make no difference between one and another of them, And we submit to God.” (Qur’an 2:136)

 “… (God) has not laid upon you in religion any hardship.” (Qur’an 22:78) 

Salaam,

my readers who keep coming back here!

After reading the book I should give some kind of final recommendation from my side. It is marvelous reading, skillfully written bringing Islamic history close to Muslims and non-Muslims alike. I appreciate the amount of time and research the author has invested in it. Only if  there were not the one thing I have been writing in my previous posts and am quite unhappy with.

After having some serious concern about Lady Aisha’s age at her marriage since it is not known, all speculation is based on Hadiths only,  I think that the positive aspect of information and positive image it gives about Islam weighs more and therefore I recommend it for interested readers.

But readers should always keep in mind that it is a fiction novel after all and not everything what the vivid imagination of Mr. Pasha (which I envy – to be honest) brought to life here is necessary word by word true.

I could not find any historical errors since for most of the events exist surviving documents around which the author has woven this historical novel. 

Ramadan Greetings

Mona

Ramadan Kareem to all my readers! 

May God accept our fasting, give us guidance and save us from all harm.

 I am reading this book very carefully and  taking notes. It is a wonderfully written colorful peace of research  and until page 110 I have not found any historical mistakes expect the one I’ll discuss today. History coming alive!

            I trust it would be a great basis for a new movie about the birth of Islam like the well known masterpiece “The Message” by Mustafa Akkad . Since the author is an accomplished screen writer I am especially worried about this. Once a MOVIE is made about (any) events it becomes the truth to most of the people.

            In the shoes of Mr. Kamran Pasha I would be really careful what to allow to be done in his name. In Islam we are accountable for our deeds and intentions, and one of the worst sins in  Islam are inventions into the faith.

            If there were not the ONE thing I oppose strongly since there is NO  REAL  evidence of the date of birth of Lady Aisha. Only one or two Hadiths, which were collected as late as 250-300 years after the death of the Prophet (pbuH). Until then they were mere traditions remembered orally. The Prophet himself discouraged writing down his every word because he feared they would be confused with the Quran. 

            Needles to tell my Muslim readers how Islam is portrayed on internet forums whenever the topic Islam comes up. The Prophet (pbuH) is routinely called “a pedophile caravan bundit”! 

            I have the strong suspicion that the author had to make a few changes, probably only one (since to book is powerful reading!) to his manuscript so that it would be accepted for publication. The one about Lady Aishas age.  It would explain hastily made changes in the text about it and the from it resulting unmatching dateline.  Muslim readers know what I am talking about, the opponents do not hesitate to use all means to tarnish the image of Islam. They are mostly powerful media owners and editors in chief in major publications. 

Why do I believe so?

             On page 9:   Aisha is claimed to be born in 613 A.D.

            On page 92:  is claimed that Aisha  “counted over 40 most powerful men not only of Mecca  but the Bedouin tribes…” at the age of tender age of 3 years?! 

            On page 96:  in  619 A.D  Aisha is claimed to be 6 years old almost 10 yrs after  the 1. Revelation” in 610 A.D. when driven out of Mecca into exile

            Page 105:   Her sister Asma is 16 yrs  old in 621 A.D  when boycott ends  meaning  that Aisha would be  STILL  6 yrs  old (after spending 3 years in exile, and not 9!).  Asma was 10 yrs her elder.  According to Adel Salahi the boycott lasted for 3 years “Muhammad, Man and Prophet” by M.A. Salahi, page 160  (not 2 yrs as in this book) .

            For other events in this novel there are surviving documents and scriptures to rely on and they are largely accepted as accurate, historically correct. The early Muslim community had many literate people who recorded events and in one of them is said that Aisha was a young girl when converting with her elder sister to Islam (among the first 80 Muslims to do so), in 610 A.D. That would make her at least 11 years old when returning home from exile from the desert outside of Mecca even if she was a newborn baby back then.  And if we believe this to be  correct,  since it was recorded in the lifetime of the Prophet (and not 250-300 years later!) then she was at least in her late teens when marrying the Prophet! 

Salaam for later commentary,

Mona

About two months ago I was asked to review a book of which I was quite curious about.  RenownedHollywood screenwriter Kamran Pasha has written a novel about the birth of Islam titled Mother of the Believers. 

Now that I had the chance actually to start reading it I finally realized what had bothered me all the time.

It is the Title of the Book!

I just finished the fist chapter but as a reader I take the opportunity to make this my opinion clear before actually reading it.  Two things bother me after the author’s note. First is the title  and secondly that he chooses to use the most controversial age of Lady Aisha at her marriage -  six years old when engaged, married at nine.

I am afraid he is ignorant of the newer historical research. From different other accounts we can reconstruct Aisha’s age to late teens or perhaps early twenties compared to the ages of Prophet’s older daughters and other Hadith’s and surviving documents.

I cannot help but thinking that Mr. Pasha is not doing a favor for Islam especially while he knows the controversy around this subject and that it is used widely against Islam as anyone surfing the internet about critical articles about Islam must have noticed. Perhaps through controversy about this he hopes to gain exposure.. bad critic is better than no critic?

On the first pages is looks to become a promising tale, worthy of a successful Hollywood writer familiar with flowery language. And please, pardon my broken English, I myself struggle living in four languages in every single day!

The Title:

The title Mother of Believers Prophet Mohammed gave to his first wife of 25 years Khadija as she was the first person to convert to Islam and was the only supporter of the Prophet at his crisis after receiving his first revelation.

Quran 33;6  “THE PROPHET IS CLOSER TO THE BELIEVERS THAN THEIR OWN SELVES, AND HIS WIVES ARE THEIR MOTHERS.”  

I believe this means  that the Prophet’s wives were like mothers to the believers and after his passing away they could not be married by anyone else later.

The Age of Aisha:

Mr. Pasha, the Marriage to Lady Aisha lasted 10 years.  6 + 10 = 16 years. Aisha was the youngest of Prohpet’s wives (the daughter of his best friend and companion) while others were in their late fifties and early sixties, mostly war widows.   His first wife Khadija as we know was 15 years his senior and the marriage lasted for 25 years with 6 children. From all his  other wives he married later he received only one boy who died very early.

For me personally it hard to believe that the early Muslim community would have accepted her as THE Mother Figure ( “I am the Mother of the Believers and this is my tale.” Aisha at the end of the first chapter)  and as far as I know Aisha’s role after the death of the Prophet  was somewhat controversial because she tried to take a role others opposed.

Pardon my Planet, I had to bring this to my readers attention. From Amazon I can see that the book is selling well and receiving good feedback. 

Salaam, for later commentary

Mona

Practices according the Hadith’s  vs. teaching in the Quran 

 Pakistan deal enshrines sharia law 

Quote:  “As retaliation for the military presence, the Taliban carried out a series of deadly attacks, beheadings and destruction of girls’ schools. They also continued to gain ground, setting up checkpoints throughout the area.”

No matter what the reason for the confrontation in Northern Pakistan is, there is no justification for attacking Girl’s Schools. The Taliban (extreme Wahhabi branch of Islam and Taleban) object them as un-Islamic although education and gathering knowledge (even from “as far as from China”) is one of the most important duties for both sexes in Islam.

 “And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his punishment is hell; he shall abide in it, and God will send His wrath on him and curse him and prepare for him a painful chastisement. (Q.4:93)

“And do not kill any You shall not kill any person - for God has made life sacred - except in the course of justice, and whoever is slain unjustly, We have indeed given to his heir authority, so let him not exceed the just limits in slaying; surely he is aided.” (Q.17:33)

“…… You shall not kill - God has made life sacred - except in the course of justice. These are His commandments to you, that you may understand.” (Q.6:151)

“The true servants of The Merciful are they who walk gently on Earth, and who, when the foolish address them, reply with (words of) peace.” (Quran 25:63)

……………………………….

On woman rights Qur’an gives also women a substantial role in choosing their own life partners:

 “Do not prevent them from marrying their husbands when they agree between themselves in a lawful manner.” (Q.2:232)

According to the Qur’an, the accusation (of unchastity) must be proven by four eyewitnesses, a practical impossibility. Even then a death penalty is not ordered in the Qur’an. The occasional stoning to death as punishment for adultery is a an ancient tradition also in the pre-Christian era as mentioned in the Bible. An unjustified accusation is a grave sin:

“Surely those who accuse chaste believing women, unaware (of the evil), are cursed in this world and hereafter, and they shall have a grievous chastisement.” (Qur’an 24:23)

“And those who speak evil things of the believing men and the believing women without their having earned (it), they are guilty indeed of a false accusation and a manifest sin.” (Q. 33:58)

Q.4:15 “And as for those who are guilty of an indecency from among your women, call to witnesses against them four (witnesses) from among you; then if they bear witness confine them to the houses until death comes close to them or God opens some way for them.”

The logical conclusion from these Verses of the Holy Quran is that a harsh punishment is not advised,  but immorally behaving woman should be kept at home or  until God shows a solution for the  situation.  The stoning of women  IS  NOT  mentioned in the Quran  but it was quite common in the pre-Islamic Middle East, as it was at the time of Jesus, a Prophet to Muslims, too.    Quoting the Bible, John 8:1-3  “If any of you have not committed a sin you can throw the first stone at her.”

Obama reaches out to Muslim world       

Pres. Obama gave in Turkey a remarkable speech .   

What can I say, there is still hope that things will turn better in the future!  Please watch the video  which is behind that  link.

Quote:    Barack Obama has declared that the US “is not at war with Islam”, in a major speech during his first visit as president to a mainly Muslim country.

Addressing the Turkish parliament, Mr Obama called for a greater partnership with the Muslim world and said the US would soon launch outreach programmes.

“America’s relationship with the Muslim world cannot and will not be based on opposition to al-Qaeda,” he said…

“Let me say this as clearly as I can: the United States is not and will never be at war with Islam,” he stated.  ”In fact, our partnership with the Muslim world is critical in rolling back a fringe ideology that people of all faiths reject.”

He said: “The United States has been enriched by Muslim Americans. Many other Americans have Muslims in their family, or have lived in a Muslim-majority country - I know, because I am one of them.”

“And when people look back on this time, let it be said of America that we extended the hand of friendship,” he said.

“There is an old Turkish proverb: ‘You cannot put out fire with flames.’” …

It was about time. The longer the so called war on terrorism continues the way it was done till today the more terrorist will be created.  In countries like Afghanistan or Iraq they fighting invading foreign forces on their own soil and that kind of war cannot be won militarily (it’s common sense!). It was lost in Vietnam and it will be lost in Iraq as it is seen as a Crusade.  Pres. George W. Bush said so himself. Until yesterday I thought the word “Crusade” was a propaganda invention until I was told to search for a  quote.  

 “This crusade, this war on terrorism is going to take a while.”    – George W Bush, using a loaded term which recalls the Christians’ Medieval wars against Muslims in the so-called Holy Land, after stepping off the presidential helicopter on Sunday, September 16, 2001, quoted from Jonathan Lyons, “Bush enters Mideast’s rhetorical minefield ” (Reuters: September 21, 2001). Bush later apologized for this remark. 

“God told me to strike at al Qaida and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East. If you help me I will act, and if not, the elections will come and I will have to focus on them.”       — George W Bush, according to Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, from minutes acquired by Haaretz from cease-fire negotiations between Abbas and faction leaders from the Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular and Democratic Fronts (circa, June, 2003), quoted from Arnon Regular, “‘Road map is a life saver for us,’ PM Abbas tells Hamas” (Haaretz.com: June 27, 2003), quoted from EvilOz (The Iterative Record)

Pres. Barack Obama is a new kind of US leader and I wish him success, I know I’m not alone!

Salaam, Mona

News from the small Scandinavian country Finland (yet well known for NOKIA and Mika Hakkinen).  It used to be a hidden tolerant island and cultural conflicts sounded like echoes from overseas.

The Lebanese born Imam Chehab Khadr  of the local Helsinki Muslim community 

defended in an  Aamulehti  newspaper interview the notion that girls as young as nine years old could be wed into marriage with parental consent and that what is against the law some countries is permissible in others.  It followed on outcry in the country with unbelievable amount of feedback, blogger comments and phone calls what made him change his position the next day. 

Nobody could be fooled; words are cheap and even cheaper by the dozen. The damage is done and once again the image of Islam was badly tarnished in a place which is known to be very welcoming and tolerant.  They have for centuries a small Muslim community originating from the east with no problems whatsoever with human rights or marrying little girls. Today Muslim immigrant youth is causing trouble and controversy, mostly through the growing rape rate in bigger cities (mostly by Somalis) and  small time criminality like snatching ladies handbags in broad daylight. People do not walk in the streets at night time anymore!

My first reaction was that this man is mega stupid!  But he is a regular guest at state banquets, and TV talk shows. This middle aged man probably close to his fifties has been living large part of his life in a Western country with an excellent human and especially women rights record. Finland was the 1^st country in Europe to grant women voting rights and women make up almost half of the parliamentarians and they have a woman president in her second term already. I would have wished at least a little more openness of mind and some critical thinking.  

From a man in his position one would expect more common sense. How can he advocate Stone Age practices marrying little girls when there are lots and lots of unmarried young women waiting to get married?  A grownup man wishing to marry a six or even a nine year old girl is a man with sick fantasy, a pervert and a pedophile, there is no way around it.

This Imam went so far as saying that in Western societies youngsters at that age are involved in sexual acts but in Islam he is accepting it in a marriage. Not to mention that elsewhere hardly any 6 yr. or 9 yr. old girl is sexually active, so he was simply lying.

There is a HUGE  difference here: the first one is not acceptable although it happens occasionally  (mostly rape by someone close) - the latter one is sanctioned by higher authorities, and what is worse: sanctioned by God itself?!I went to find facts from Wikipedia.    What I found very shocking that Lebanon which is trying to appear the most modern and advanced Middle Eastern Muslim country has the worst record of women rights! Nine year old girls are children and sexual acts with them is pedophilia, married or not.  It makes me sick, this is not Islam.

From the list  of some countries with marriageable ages for male/female I pick up Lebanon, the former home country of this Imam: Lebanon: 18 for males and 17 for females; scope for judicial discretion on basis of physical maturity and wali’s permission from 17 for males and 9 for females; real puberty or 15/9 with judicial permission for Shi’a; 18/17 or 16/15 with judicial permission for Druze.   Nine years minimum age for little-girl-wives and this country is bragging to be a model to the Muslim Middle Easterners.    HOW can a 10-year old be a mother to an infant, or perhaps this possibility is not taken into consideration in those male chauvinistic minds?

In a few days I will write, Inshallah,    about the Prophept’s young wife Aisha. The Hadith’s suggest, that she was married to him at the age 6 yrs.  By Hadith’s  of which I am very critical about. They were collected as late 250-300 years after the death of the Prophet (p.b.u.H.). From 600 000 stories f.e. Bukhari selected 7,397 based on their truthfulness. Truthfulness? How can a lengthy recitation transmitted by word of mouth over half a dozen generations be truthful in every single word? Human mind is not a computer, it can err with the best of intentions.  

Prophet Mohammad discouraged in his lifetime writing down these stories in fear they would be confused with the Quran itself. Well, yes, it looks like it happened after all.There are several surviving written document from the lifetime of the Prophet from which we can reconstruct the events and we find that Aisha was in her late teens, probably early twenties when marrying as it happened in Medina after he Hijjra (emigration). Especially the shia-Muslims (most Iranians, half of the Iraqis, Persian Golf Emirates, part of Saudi Arabia, and Southern Lebanon) still hold on to this practice and what disturbs me most is that the media and especially the internet is full of hate speech regarding this matter and Islam is regularly called a “Pedophile Religion”. Opponents are using a very powerful image,  and it is working.

One of my favorite quotes is from the late  Dr. Lila Fahlman,  founder of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW):   “Hadith’s have ruined Islam. “

I am trying my very best to shake up and wake up the Muslims themselves into critical thinking ( it is our duty trying to change things we think are wrong) and at the same time trying to build bridges.

There is no other way. 

Mona