Islam for Women

Ramadan, the holy month of fasting is almost over. May God accept our fasting and show us His Wisdom!

In the News: A pastor of a small Church in Florida is planning a Quran burning event and has caused an international and national outcry.

Pressure rises on pastor who wants to burn Quran

By MITCH STACY, Associated Press Writer – Tue Sep 7, 7:50 pm ET
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The government turned up the pressure Tuesday on the head of a small Florida church who plans to burn copies of the Quran on Sept. 11, warning him that doing so could endanger U.S. troops and Americans everywhere.
But the Rev. Terry Jones insisted he would go ahead with his plans, despite criticism from the top U.S. general in Afghanistan, the White House and the State Department, as well as a host of religious leaders.
Jones, who is known for posting signs proclaiming that Islam is the devil’s religion, says the Constitution gives him the right to publicly set fire to the book that Muslims consider the word of God……

Clinton condemns 9/11 Quran burning

Hillary Clinton has added her name to a long list of those who have condemned plans by a Florida church to burn copies of the Quran on September 11 as “a warning to radical Islam”. The burning is planned to take place at the Dove World Outreach Centre, a 50-member evangelical Christian church in Gainesville, Florida. Its pastor, Rev Terry Jones, told CNN that he is taking the widespread criticism “seriously”, but refused to say whether the event would be cancelled….

Needles to say what happens if the event will be allowed. This is same kind of provocation as we witnessed in the Danish Muhammad Cartoon episode. Before that the cartoons were published in Egypt and in Jordan a few months prior to it nobody bothering to protest or even take notice. Both countries are predominantly Muslim (for the reference). Only after the Danish Newspaper Jyllands-Posten (responsible for the cartoons is their culture editor Flemming Rose) started a worldwide campaign in prime time news the local media in Muslim countries had to join in reporting about the turmoil. I was witnessing the hype in disbelief .
Only after BBC and CNN etc. were full of protest and flag burning coverage the Arab media joined in reporting, they had no other choice. And so it snowballed, for a few stupid cartoons. TV cameras were on the spot in remote places (how did they know?) when Danish flags were burning and these unforgettable pictures are still haunting many Muslim minds.

But my Muslim readers:
The Books they are planning to burn are nothing more than Paper! The Holy Quran is a Message from God which cannot be burned.

If the Muslim world agrees to be a tool of this provocation the consequences can be unpredictable.

We should keep our cool and take it as it is: an action of a simple-minded, misinformed fanatic and disturbed mind. Head of a small community of 50 souls. But it has gained a wider audience and people are sending him copies  Qurans from all over the country now.

I’m trying to imagine how the media in the Christian world would react if Muslims would start burning Bibles in front of their Mosques. I can assure my to Non-Muslim readers that will not happen, well, perhaps as here  a 50 soul extremist community could try to do it, but it would Never be in a wider scale.  Jews and Christians are considered as the “People of the Book”, meaning they have received the same Message from God prior to Muslims.

I am missing Common Sense here. Wishing Peace of Mind to my readers, nevertheless
Happy Eid to All!

Mona

SUPERHEROES for kids inspired by Islam, Videos 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) – download

Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship

April 26, 2010 | 16:17 | Public Domain

President Obama speaks at the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship, an event aimed at identifying how to deepen ties between business leaders, foundations, and entrepreneurs in the United States and Muslim communities around the world.  Download mp4 (327MB) | mp3 (15MB)

On CNN: Islam-inspired comic superheroes fight for peace

(Click the Picture to play the Video)

New York Times article: 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.

BLESSED RAMADAN to all my readers,
May God show us all the right path!
Mona

Yesterday we celebrated the International Woman’s Day.

The following news article, once again, one cannot read without wondering and getting really upset. This is NOT  Islam!

Saudis order 40 lashes for elderly woman for mingling

(CNN) — A Saudi Arabian court has sentenced a 75-year-old Syrian woman to 40 lashes, four months imprisonment and deportation from the kingdom for having two unrelated men in her house, according to local media reports.

According to the Saudi daily newspaper Al-Watan, troubles for the woman, Khamisa Mohammed Sawadi, began last year when a member of the religious police entered her house in the city of Al-Chamli and found her with two unrelated men, “Fahd” and “Hadian.”

Fahd told the policeman he had the right to be there, because Sawadi had breast-fed him as a baby and was therefore considered to be a son to her in Islam, according to Al-Watan. Fahd, 24, added that his friend Hadian was escorting him as he delivered bread for the elderly woman. The policeman then arrested both men.

Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islam called Wahhabism and punishes unrelated men and women who are caught mingling.

The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, feared by many Saudis, is made up of several thousand religious policemen charged with duties such as enforcing dress codes, prayer times and segregation of the sexes. Under Saudi law, women face many restrictions, including a strict dress code and a ban on driving. Women also need to have a man’s permission to travel.

Al Watan obtained the court’s verdict and reported it was partly based on the testimony of the religious police. In his ruling, the judge said it was proved that Fahd is not Sawadi’s son through breastfeeding.

The court also doled out punishment to the two men. Fahd was sentenced to four months in prison and 40 lashes; Hadian was sentenced to six months in prison and 60 lashes. In a phone call with Al Watan, the judge declined to comment and suggested the newspaper review the case with the Ministry of Justice. Sawadi told the newspaper that she will appeal, adding that Fahd is indeed her son through breastfeeding…

Please read on the right Panel also my other topics, like Women and Islam.

In Islam there is a punishment for adultery which must be witnessed by four people, a practical impossibility. But even then it is not a death penalty, or corporal punishment:

“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.” (Q.4:15)

The punishment by flogging comes from the Hadith’s and as my readers must know by now,  I am quite critical about  them.

Therefore modern scholars argue that Islam does not favor a harsh punishment, which was practiced before Islam. Like stoning to death was common as it was in  Christian Palestine, too.  We all are responsible for our deeds on the last day, when our good deeds are weighed against our bad deeds. Grandma mingling with two boys who go shopping for her is not a grave sin, in my humble opinion (sorry my sarcasm, cannot help it!)

BUT:  there is a hash punishment for accusing chaste women, and I wish these religious fanatics will get their share on the last day:

Qur’an 24:23: “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 24:2-4: “Those who accuse married women of adultery, then fail to produce four witnesses, you shall whip them eighty lashes, and do not accept any testimony from them; they are wicked.”

Qur’an 33:58: “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.”

While reading this article I had to think of the gravest sins in Islam:

an invention (which is NOT based on the Quranic teaching) to the practice of faith is one of them.

I cannot imagine that God would not allow women to drive or grandma to send her neighbor’s boys for shopping or stopping by for a chat -   a case like this, where she knows him all his life. In fact I believe the reason for not allowing women to drive  has not so much to do with them but much more with men, who harass women  – it is quite common in Saudi Arabia.

I pray to God to guide Muslims back to the right path!

HE gave us a free will and the ability think, and we should use that gift.  Common sense is all I wish.

Salaam