Islam for Women

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) 

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

Muslims hate dogs?

In the news, again, are Muslims and how “narrow minded they can be!”:    “Muslims outraged at police advert featuring cute puppy sitting in policeman’s hat.”

A postcard featuring a cute puppy sitting in a policeman’s hat advertising a Scottish police force’s new telephone number has sparked outrage from Muslims.   Tayside Police’s new non-emergency phone number has prompted complaints from members of the Islamic community.The choice of image on the Tayside Police cards - a black dog sitting in a police officer’s hat - has now been raised with Chief Constable John Vine.

Tayside Police caused uproar in the Muslim community after they released this advertisement featuring police puppy Rebel sitting in a hat         

“The advert has upset Muslims because dogs are considered ritually unclean and has sparked such anger that some shopkeepers in Dundee have refused to display the advert.   Dundee councillor Mohammed Asif said:  ’My concern was that it’s not welcomed by all communities, with the dog on the cards.  ‘It was probably a waste of resources going to these communities.  ’They (the police) should have understood.   Since then, the police have explained that it was an oversight on their part, and that if they’d seen it was going to cause upset they wouldn’t have done it.’   Councillor Asif, who is a member of the Tayside Joint Police Board, said that the force had a diversity adviser and was generally very aware of such issues…..”

Since beginning of time, well since man started to domesticate animals for company, for protection, as working animals, milk and meat produces  dogs were first domesticated  from wolf ancestors about 15,000 years ago.    It is widely  known as mans best friend as it defends its owner unconditionally.

In my experience and understanding/knowing dogs are not filthier or dirtier or anything worse than other animals either.  The same goes for pigs.  

Animals should not be kept in houses, because the daily prayers are done on a clean floor or a mat.  At least that one room should be kept out of reach of  pets. The floor must be clean, also of  toddler’s waste (“accidents” happen) and other impurities .          “Cleanliness is part of faith” (Quran)  

Muslims are not allowed to eat dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine. Also animals that eat other animals or especially dead meat are forbidden as are meat eating birds.  Only grass eating animals having hoofs and only one set of jaws are allowed. In fact in the Jewish religion the food law is even stricter.

Anyone who ever visited the Middle East must have seen shepherds wandering around with their flock of sheep and a dog or two guarding them. You must have noticed, how friendly there are with their dogs and the vast majority of them are Muslims.

As far as I know most Muslims in Britain are of Pakistani origin. I have heard some strange beliefs from them which have nothing to do with Islam but very much with Culture and their own tradition.  Only recently I read a newspaper article mentioning, that the most radical Muslims preachers in British mosques are of Pakistani origin.

I do not know what to say. May God grand them wisdom and insight.  From the article above I understood that the British police  is aware of the problem with Cultural sensitivities, but they are human and make mistakes.

In this case, I think they did not do any mistake. The majority of the British love cute little dogs and there is nothing wrong in putting a puppy in a police hat.  And if a Muslim finds the postcard offending he or she does not need to look at it,  as simple as that. 

The Adoration, by Domenico Ghirlandaio. 

Newborn Jesus child surrounded by animals, a donkey, a cow and most probably  by sheep and  a sheep dog.T

.

As the Christmas Holiday nearing I would like greet my Christian readers with wishes of peace and tolerance!

Eidkum  Mubarak,

Festive  Greetings  to  all  my  readers!

It  is  Hajj  time  again,  once  in  a  lifetime  obligation for Muslims   to  visit   the   holy  places  in  Mecca  and  Medina ,   if  they  can  afford  it. 

May  God,  the  Almighty,  show  all  human  kind  His  Wisdom,  bring  us  together,  and  forgive  us  our  mistakes.

Mona  

  Since the latest feedback from the Wahabi corner I started thinking, that maybe I am doing more harm than good. Although I still think we cannot ignore criticism and should examine our behavior  and interpretation of Islam in a changed world.   Today I received a heartwarming Email, that I wish to share with you:  

Assalaam Alaikum!

I’ve found your blog browsing blogcatalog and it is one of the best muslim blogs I’ve found so far!

I’m from Moscow, Russia and it is not easy to find information about islam because of the fact that muslim community here is divided into several ‘tribes’ by which I mean that nationality is more important for them then religion. Me and my husband are jewish but we feel that Islam is the religion that suits our views the best.

Back to your blog: I wanted to comment your latest post about provocative writers and such, but unfortunatelly didn’t find a comment form so I’m writing it here.

About 2 month ago on the second day after my marriage I was arrested by police (forunatelly for 1 night only). I was placed in a waiting caged room with some illegal immigrants from muslim countries (both men and women, but mostly men). After a while a policeman came to us and started abusing islam and prophet Mohammad. One of the men replied to the policeman telling he shouldn’t say such words. After a short conversation the muslim guy shrugged his shoulders and went silent. Later on he explained that it is useless to explain smth to an ignorant person…

With best regards,

Alexandra.

May God, the All-mighty  and Creator of all mankind show us all the right path and bring us Peace!  

Feedback

I should mention a short Email I received the other day from a reader: 

  ”Quite a terrible site, may Allah guide you back to the truth.  Regards M. “ 

By looking closer I found out, that it came from a very conservative corner of Islam. Where i.e. stoning of women is standard punishment.

It hit a sensitive nerve, because that is exactly what I always ask from my Creator – to show me the right path. And I am confident.

I think Islam’s image in the rest of the world is so tarnished and misinterpreted, that we cannot bury our heads in the desert sands. We must confront the accusations and look at the things like they are, and yes, it can be painful.

There is no other way.

While reading latest comments to the Queen Rania’s award winning Youtube Video one of them  made me think, is he/she right or wrong?

“zeppelinsteen In Malaysia where I come from, there is approx. 60% Muslims. We have a lot of Christians as well. But the Muslims here are totally different from the Middle East. For example we don’t have any problem with women rights or whatsoever. Yet, other religions are going well with Islam. I think it’s not about challenging stereotypes, it is changing attitudes of the ARABS! “

Yes, he or she is right: the Problem is not Islam.

The problem is,  that some Muslims do not realize that what they believe to be Islamic teaching is in fact tradition. The Hadith’s  (traditions) sometimes clearly contradict the Holy Quran. The best example is the stoning of adulterous women as it still happens in some areas  in the Middle East. It was common practice before Christianity, which Jesus abolished (pls. read the article below “Stoning of a child” ).   

In the Quran there is NO mentioning of it but a sura, that cannot be misinterpreted:  

“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.” (Quran 4:15) 

They somehow manage to distort the Original Message of  Righteousness, Tolerance and Humanity.  It was Islam,  that introduced 1400 years ago all these virtues to then pagan Bedouins, who were warring each other in bloody tribal conflicts.  And it is not solely the problem of the Arabs, who count only around 15 % of  the Muslims worldwide.

The reason  is that many preachers still prefer the Hadith’s,  even if there are clear instructions of tolerance, forgiveness, human rights, even animal rights and  “do not kill” in the Quran. 

Please read the passages of the Quran on the right panel, No. 7  “What the Quran has to say..”

Traditions change last, unfortunately.

The Youtube Video

Queen Rania to win first YouTube Visionary Award

… ” The YouTube Visionary Award was established to highlight those who use YouTube as a global platform for positive social change.

As the site has become a destination for humanitarianism, philanthropy, education and public service, this award pays tribute to individuals whose videos advance these principles in innovative, thought-provoking ways.

“Queen Rania sets the standard for breaking down stereotypes and her YouTube videos are nothing short of inspirational,”   said YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley, adding   “It is both a pleasure and an honor to present her with this much-deserved tribute.”

” Queen Rania launched her YouTube channel in March 2008 to foster an open dialogue and combat ignorance and stereotypes.

Her YouTube videos bridge the gap between Eastern and Western cultures by examining the increasing involvement of women in the Middle East workforce and by debunking misguided assumptions about Muslims and Arabs.

To date, Her Majesty’s channel has generated nearly 3 million video views and received more than 43,000 messages from users around the world.

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CONGRATULATIONS, Her Majesty Queen Rania !

It is the time of the year again -  Ramadan is approaching,  every year 11 days earlier. Islamic calendar is a  Lunar Calendar having 12 lunar months in a year of about 354 days. The Month of Ramadan is the month of fasting and reflection.

I wish to my readers a peaceful and spiritually rewarding Ramadan, may God accept our fasting and bestow His grace upon us.

Greetings to all my readers, regardless of faith or ethnicity!    

What is Islam?