Muslims-R-Us

What did Israel gain by appearing to "go crazy" in Gaza?

2009-01-27T10:40:00.002+03:00

A MUST read by Noam Chomsky

The checkpoints have no relation to security of Israel, and if some are intended to safeguard settlers, they are flatly illegal, as the World Court ruled. In reality, their major goal is harass the Palestinian population and to fortify what Israeli peace activist Jeff Halper calls the "matrix of control," designed to make life unbearable for the "two-legged beasts" who will be like "drugged roaches scurrying around in a bottle" if they seek to remain in their homes and land. All of that is fair enough, because they are "like grasshoppers compared to us" so that their heads can be "smashed against the boulders and walls." The terminology is from the highest Israeli political and military leaders, in this case the revered "princes." And the attitudes shape policies.

The ravings of the political and military leaders are mild as compared to the preaching of rabbinical authorities. They are not marginal figures. On the contrary, they are highly influential in the army and in the settler movement, who Zertal and Eldar reveal to be "lords of the land," with enormous impact on policy. Soldiers fighting in northern Gaza were afforded an "inspirational" visit from two leading rabbis, who explained to them that there are no "innocents" in Gaza, so everyone there is a legitimate target, quoting a famous passage from Psalms calling on the Lord to seize the infants of Israel's oppressors and dash them against the rocks. The rabbis were breaking no new ground. A year earlier, the former chief Sephardic rabbi wrote to Prime Minister Olmert, informing him that all civilians in Gaza are collectively guilty for rocket attacks, so that there is "absolutely no moral prohibition against the indiscriminate killing of civilians during a potential massive military offensive on Gaza aimed at stopping the rocket launchings," as the Jerusalem Post reported his ruling. His son, chief rabbi of Safed, elaborated: "If they don't stop after we kill 100, then we must kill a thousand, and if they do not stop after 1,000 then we must kill 10,000. If they still don't stop we must kill 100,000, even a million. Whatever it takes to make them stop."

Who are the Rohingyas?

2009-01-24T21:57:00.003+03:00

(Reuters)
The Rohingyas are Muslims from Myanmar. Many have fled the Buddhist-dominated, army-ruled country to escape repression and economic hardship,
\\
Rights groups say hundreds of Rohingyas were recently detained on a remote Thai island before being forced back to sea by the security forces with little food or water.

About 28,000 Rohingyas recognised as refugees are living in UNHCR camps in Bangladesh, many have been there since 1992 after fleeing persecution in their home country. A further 200,000 are unregistered, giving them uncertain legal status.
Frustration and desperation has prompted many Rohingyas to risk their lives in small boats sailing for Thailand and Malaysia , according to the UNHCR.

Imam Husen, one of the boat people who landed in Indonesia, told Reuters from his hospital bed in Aceh earlier on that he and about 580 other people had set off from Mundu, in Myanmar, in four boats on Dec. 9 since they wanted to flee the country.
He said that some members of the group had been beaten after landing in Thailand and then towed out to sea two days later and set adrift.
A non-government organisation dedicated to the plight of the Rohingya said Thai security forces detained around 1,000 Rohingyas on a remote tropical island in the Andaman Sea, after intercepting them in Thai waters.
They were kept under armed guard, given very little food and reported being kicked and beaten with sticks, the Arakan project said.
Then, in two separate incidents around Dec. 18 and Dec. 30, the military forced 992 Rohingyas onto boats without engines before towing them far out to sea and abandoning them, it said. Of the 992, 550 are missing and feared drowned, it added.

also read a recent article in TIME

Did You Wake Up for Your Children in Gaza?

2009-01-14T22:22:00.001+03:00

from a khutbah at Muslim Matters

We are all aware of the emphasis on brotherhood and unity in Islam. When you take a closer look at the Verses and Ahadith on the subject, there is an interesting point. Unity, brotherhood, and our compassion for our fellow Muslims are correlated to our Iman.
The Prophet (pbuh) said, “None of you truly believes till he loves for his brother that which he loves for himself.”
“The Muslim is one from whose tongue and hand the Muslims are safe.”
“He is not a believer, who goes to bed full, knowing that his neighbor is hungry.”
My treatment of others is a reflection of my Iman. My distress at the suffering of Muslims is an indication of the condition of my Iman. This is critical for us to understand not only in terms of our collective efforts to unify the Ummah, but also in our individual efforts to please Allah.
Now with more than 900 Muslims dead, almost 300 of them children and 100 women and over 4000 people injured, the question we all have to ask ourselves is:
What did I do about this and how did this impact me?

The importance and effectiveness of making Dua and asking Allah for his help is also known to everyone, and has been mentioned in other articles here. Have we taken full advantage of this powerful tool? I’ll go back to the original premise, if my own brother was sick or the lives of my own children were in danger, I would be up all night praying and crying before Allah, asking for his help and mercy. But how many times since this tragedy started did I wake up in the night and make Dua and beg Allah to shower his help and mercy upon the innocent people suffering?
So let’s start taking action for their sake and ours

What kind of sick people find war a spectator sport?

2009-01-10T12:12:00.002+03:00

Israelis Watch the Fighting in Gaza From a Hilly Vantage Point
GAZA BORDER -- Moti Danino sat Monday in a canvas lawn chair on a sandy hilltop on Gaza's border, peering through a pair of binoculars at distant plumes of smoke rising from the besieged territory.
An unemployed factory worker, he comes here each morning to watch Israel's assault on Hamas from what has become the war's peanut gallery -- a string of dusty hilltops close to the border that offer panoramic views across northern Gaza.
He is one of dozens of Israelis who have arrived from all over Israel, some with sack lunches and portable radios tuned to the latest reports of the battle raging in front of them. Some, like Mr. Danino, are here to egg on friends and family members in the fight.
Moti Denino and other residents of Sderot in Israel call themselves the "hill people", watching attacks unfold between Israel and Gaza from a hillside. Others have made the trek, they say, to witness firsthand a military operation -- so far, widely popular inside Israel -- against Hamas, the militant group that controls the Gaza Strip.
Over the weekend, four teenagers sat on a hill near Mr. Danino's, oohing and aahing at the airstrikes. Nadav Zebari, who studies Torah in Jerusalem, was eating a cheese sandwich and sipping a Diet Coke.
"I've never watched a war before," he said. A group of police officers nearby took turns snapping pictures of one another with smoking Gaza as a backdrop. "I want to feel a part of the war," one said, before correcting himself with the official government designation for the assault. "I mean operation. It's not a war."
The spectators share hilltop space with an army of camera-toting Israeli and foreign journalists, who have so far been banned by the Israeli military from entering Gaza to report on the conflict.
Mr. Danino has a personal link to the fighting. His 20-year-old son, Moshe, is a soldier in an infantry unit fighting somewhere below his hilly perch. From the sidelines, he is here to root for his son the soldier, he says, just as he once sat on the sidelines of soccer fields cheering for his son the high-school athlete.
"The army took all the soldiers' cellphones away before the attack, so this is my way of staying in contact," he says.

On another hilltop overlooking Gaza, Sandra Koubi, a 43-year-old philosophy student, says seeing the violence up close "is a kind of catharsis for me, to get rid of all the anxiety we have inside us after years of rocket fire" from Hamas.
Jocelyn Znaty, a stout 60-year-old nurse for Magen David Adom, the Israeli counterpart of the Red Cross, can hardly contain her glee at the site of exploding mortars below in Gaza.
"Look at that," she shouts, clapping her hands as four artillery rounds pound the territory in quick succession. "Bravo! Bravo!"

Why Do So Few Speak Up for Gaza?

2009-01-10T11:52:00.001+03:00

By Robert Scheer
Why are we so indifferent to the death and destruction in Gaza?
The major news outlets meekly accepted Israel’s banning of journalists from entering Gaza as an excuse for downplaying collateral civilian casualties, our president-elect, Barack Obama, has had little to say about an invasion that will much complicate his future Mideast peace efforts, and most commentators easily rationalize Israel’s many-more-eyes-for-an-eye killings.
Why is it that there is such widespread acceptance, beginning with the apologetic arguments of President Bush, that whatever Israel does is always justified as necessary to the survival of the Jewish state?
It is not.
While the Hamas rocket attacks are reprehensible, they are also an ineffectual challenge to Israel’s enormous security apparatus, and the severity of Israel’s response to them is counterproductive. Clearly, the very existence of Israel is not now, nor has it ever been, seriously challenged by anything the Palestinians did. Not back in 1948, when Israel was established as a state with insignificant Palestinian military resistance, nor at the time of the 1967 Six-Day War when Egypt, Syria and Jordan fought Israel.
The Palestinians were in no position to confront the Israeli army, because those whose lands were not already occupied by Israel were living under oppressive Egyptian control in Gaza and tough Jordanian rule in the West Bank. After the speedy Israeli victory, which demolished the myth of the new state’s vulnerability, the Palestinians became imprisoned as a people by Israel for crimes they had not committed.
Even if we accept the harshest portrayal of the tactics and motives of the Palestinian movements against Israel after the Six-Day War, at what point did that terrorism represent a serious challenge to the survival of the Jewish people or the state that claims to speak in their name? Yet that survival is invoked to justify the vastly excessive use of force by the Israeli war machine, with frequent allusions to the Holocaust previously visited upon the Jewish people, a holocaust that had nothing to do with Palestinians or Muslims, and everything to do with Central Europeans claiming to be Christians.
The high moral claim of the Israeli occupation rests not on the objective reality of a Palestinian threat to Israel’s survival, but rather on the non sequitur cry that “never again” should harm come to Jews as it did in Central Europe seven decades ago.

Read the complete article here

Why do they hate the West, will we (still) ask?

2009-01-07T20:22:00.007+03:00

By Robert Fisk

So once again, Israel has opened the gates of hell to the Palestinians. Forty civilian refugees dead in a United Nations school, three more in another. Not bad for a night's work in Gaza by the army that believes in "purity of arms". But why should we be surprised?
Have we forgotten the 17,500 dead – almost all civilians, most of them children and women – in Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon; the 1,700 Palestinian civilian dead in the Sabra-Chatila massacre; the 1996 Qana massacre of 106 Lebanese civilian refugees, more than half of them children, at a UN base; the massacre of the Marwahin refugees who were ordered from their homes by the Israelis in 2006 then slaughtered by an Israeli helicopter crew; the 1,000 dead of that same 2006 bombardment and Lebanese invasion, almost all of them civilians?
What is amazing is that so many Western leaders, so many presidents and prime ministers and, I fear, so many editors and journalists, bought the old lie; that Israelis take such great care to avoid civilian casualties. "Israel makes every possible effort to avoid civilian casualties," yet another Israeli ambassador said only hours before the Gaza massacre. And every president and prime minister who repeated this mendacity as an excuse to avoid a ceasefire has the blood of last night's butchery on their hands. Had George Bush had the courage to demand an immediate ceasefire 48 hours earlier, those 40 civilians, the old and the women and children, would be alive.
What happened was not just shameful. It was a disgrace. Would war crime be too strong a description? For that is what we would call this atrocity if it had been committed by Hamas. So a war crime, I'm afraid, it was. After covering so many mass murders by the armies of the Middle East – by Syrian troops, by Iraqi troops, by Iranian troops, by Israeli troops – I suppose cynicism should be my reaction. But Israel claims it is fighting our war against "international terror". The Israelis claim they are fighting in Gaza for us, for our Western ideals, for our security, for our safety, by our standards. And so we are also complicit in the savagery now being visited upon Gaza.
...And I write the following without the slightest doubt: we'll hear all these scandalous fabrications again. We'll have the Hamas-to-blame lie – heaven knows, there is enough to blame them for without adding this crime – and we may well have the bodies-from-the-cemetery lie and we'll almost certainly have the Hamas-was-in-the-UN-school lie and we will very definitely have the anti-Semitism lie. And our leaders will huff and puff and remind the world that Hamas originally broke the ceasefire. It didn't. Israel broke it, first on 4 November when its bombardment killed six Palestinians in Gaza and again on 17 November when another bombardment killed four more Palestinians.
Yes, Israelis deserve security. Twenty Israelis dead in 10 years around Gaza is a grim figure indeed. But 600 Palestinians dead in just over a week, thousands over the years since 1948 – when the Israeli massacre at Deir Yassin helped to kick-start the flight of Palestinians from that part of Palestine that was to become Israel – is on a quite different scale. This recalls not a normal Middle East bloodletting but an atrocity on the level of the Balkan wars of the 1990s. And of course, when an Arab bestirs himself with unrestrained fury and takes out his incendiary, blind anger on the West, we will say it has nothing to do with us. Why do they hate us, we will ask? But let us not say we do not know the answer.

Do something. Do MORE.

2009-01-07T00:25:00.004+03:00

Pass it on, send it around, shout it out. Anything. DO SOMETHING! DO MORE!
-- text message from Mads Gilbert, one of two Norwegian doctors toiling relentlessly alongside exhausted Palestinian medics in Gaza

Action Gaza>What you can do (comprehensive suggestions) at Muslim Matters

Gaza.

2008-12-30T22:32:00.003+03:00

Click here to view Palestine Aid Distribution Slideshow

Click here to read about Islamic Relief's efforts in its continued aid to GazaCurrent Crisis

• "The situation is absolutely disastrous." - United Nations official (CNN)

• First day of the Gaza crisis was the bloodiest in over 40 years (BBC)

• Over 310 killed and 1,400 injured in first two days alone

• Hospitals not able to cope with the injuries; desperate for supplies

• Severe shortage of food, fuel and other staple needs; majority of families rely on candles for lighting due to power blackout

• Aid groups say current humanitarian situation in Gaza the worst in 30 years (CNN)

• "The children are terrified. Adults are unable to provide them with security or warmth. Hospitals are stretched out of the limits. We need blood and medicine and surgical equipment." -Dr. Eyad El-Sarraj, Head of Gaza's Mental Health Program

Donate now to help the victims!

Updates and links: MuslimMatters

Muslims and Halloween...what's the deal?

2008-10-03T16:27:00.002+03:00

Repost from last year: On Halloween by A. Idris Palmer

Related read: A Muslim at Halloween

Where can I get hold of an Eid primer?

2008-10-01T15:40:00.003+03:00

from suhaibwebb.com:

For many of us, the ‘Eid prayer is a simple ritual that we observe twice a year. However, if one recently accepted Islam, or is dealing with the responsibility of his first ‘Eid khutbah, the ‘Eid prayer begins to seem as something truly daunting. With that in mind, I decided to compile a simple primer on the ‘Eid prayer. I hope this facilitates its observance, makes it easy for converts, their families, ones co-workers and first time preachers.

also see: Eid 101 designed by Muhammad Al Shareef

This has to be hands down, the most unusual and enjoyable Eid article by a scholar: Eid Greetings:Hugathon or Kissathon? by Yaser Birjas

What kind of people would deny Muslim meatpackers food break at sunset in Ramadan?

2008-09-12T15:40:00.002+03:00

DENVER (Reuters) - Meat processor JBS Swift & Co. has fired 130 Muslim workers after they refused to return to work in a dispute with the company over Ramadan fasting and meal breaks, company and union officials said on Thursday.

Manny Gonzales, spokesman for the United Food Workers Commercial Workers Local 7, said the employees were "unjustly terminated" from the meatpacker's plant in Greeley, Colorado, about 60 miles northeast of Denver.

"They (the workers) were not given adequate notice that they would be let go," Gonzales said. "We will file grievances for those who want their jobs back.

Swift, owned by Brazilian meat company JBS, the world's largest beef producer, had another dispute with Muslim workers last year at the company's Grand Island, Nebraska, plant. Several workers were fired after leaving their jobs to pray at sunset.

In announcing the firings, Swift spokeswoman Tamara Smid said the company adjusted its meal breaks to help workers concerned about observing the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Those dismissed, she said, lost their jobs for violating a collective bargaining agreement, not because of their faith.

"JBS is grateful to employ a multicultural work force and works closely with all employees and their union representation to accommodate religious practices in a reasonable, safe and fair manner to all involved," she said.

The dispute began when 220 Muslim workers -- mostly immigrants of Somalia and other East African nations -- walked off the job this week after supervisors denied them a food break at sunset.

During Ramadan, devout Muslims fast from dawn to dusk.

The workers were suspended for an "unauthorized work stoppage" and were told to return to the job or be fired, Smid said.

Despite the failure of negotiations between management and the union to resolve the dispute, some of the employees returned to work, but the 130 who did not were terminated.

Many of the African immigrants were hired at the plant after a 2006 raid by U.S. immigration authorities resulted in the detention of 1,300 Swift workers in six states. Most of those workers were Hispanics whom the government said were in the United States illegally.

What's cooking in Asian kitchens?

2008-09-12T15:36:00.002+03:00

SINGAPORE (Reuters Life!) - Aromatic beef porridge. Spicy snails. Rich mutton and wheat stew. Sweet vermicelli milk pudding, and lots and lots of dates. Ramadan may be a month of fasting, but for many Asian Muslims it's a gastronomical feast.

Food is as much a part of Ramadan, the holy month which began last week, as religious fervor, with Muslims devoting many hours to cooking the perfect meal to break the dawn-to-dusk fast.

The month is also a time for charity, with many mosques and

wealthier Muslims donating or cooking food for the poor.

"Ramadan is a big celebration for us in Asia, with a lot of special foods," said Ichwan Syam, secretary-general of the Indonesian Ulema Council, the leading Islamic legislative body in the world's most populous Muslim nation.

"Food is almost symbolic. It helps the poor, reminds Muslims of their social responsibility. It brings families together and it also brings joy after a day of fasting," he told Reuters.

During Ramadan, devout Muslims abstain from food, drink and sexual activities during daylight. A hadith, or saying, attributed to Prophet Muhammad tells Muslims they experience two joys: when they break their fast and when they meet Allah.

In a tradition harking back to Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, many Muslims initially break their fast with dates. The fruit, usually dried, is used in cakes, stews and sweets.

In Indonesia, no Ramadan would be complete without kolak, a refreshing dish made from coconut milk, starch, sugar and fruits which is eaten as an appetizer at the fast-breaking meal.

Kraca, a modest version of the French escargot, is also a favorite starter. It is made from fresh paddy-field snails, washed and shells pierced, that are boiled with lemongrass, spices and best enjoyed by sucking the fiery liquid and picking out the flesh with a stick.

To finish off the meal, most Indonesians eat timun suri, a tropical, pale yellow fruit shaped like a papaya but with white juicy flesh, which is chopped and tossed with a milky syrup and topped with shaved ice.

SPICY, SWEET AND SOUR

In mainly Muslim Malaysia, Ramadan means bubur lambuk, a special rice porridge cooked and distributed for free by the centrally located Kampung Baru mosque, one of Kuala Lumpur's most famous, for more than 50 years.

Every day, hundreds of Muslims queue for hours to get a taste of the famed porridge, which was originally made by one of the mosque's former imams.

"It's really nice, I can't wait for Ramadan to taste the porridge," said office worker Fareedah Hussein.

The exact recipe is a closely guarded secret but ingredients include coconut milk, beef, dried shrimps, ginger, cinnamon, star anise, cumin, Chinese celery, onions and fried shallots.

India's Muslims also enjoy similarly rich fare, including haleem, the months' most popular dish which hails from the south. Made from mutton or chicken or a combination of the two, the meats are stewed with spices, wheat and lentils until tender.

The dish is so popular that restaurants in big cities such as Mumbai and Chennai bring in chefs from Hyderabad to cook it. Mosques also provide a meat and rice porridge to the poor, which is usually funded by wealthy Muslims.

Sevian, made from vermicelli boiled in milk with almonds, pistachios, dried dates, saffron, ghee and sugar, is also cooked in large vats during Ramadan and eaten hot or cold.

"The season is unthinkable without the vermicelli preparation," said Pallav Singhal, executive sous-chef at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai.

According to Islam, fasting during Ramadan is meant to purify the soul and unify Muslims.

Although the month's feasting often borders on gluttony with people stuffing themselves, clerics say Ramadan meals are also good for the spirit as many people donate food to the poor and sit down for meals with family and friends.

"Hardly any one goes hungry during Ramadan," said Indonesian cleric Syam.

Where do Muslims in Paris break their fasts?

2008-09-12T15:27:00.005+03:00

PARIS (Reuters) - It's sunset in the French capital, and hundreds of hungry people are poised to begin their meals at the sounding of a Muslim call to prayer.

Elsewhere in the world, the call rings forth from the minarets of mosques, but inside a tent in a gritty part of north Paris, it comes from a tinny radio speaker.

For the holy month of Ramadan, a soup kitchen has opened outside Cite Edmond Michelet, a tough public housing project in Paris' notorious 19th arrondissement. On the menu is a traditional dinner, starting with yoghurt and dates.

"A lot of people can't make ends meet nowadays, but they'd never tell you," said Ali Hasni, 45, a volunteer for the non-profit group "Une Chorba Pour Tous" (Soup for Everyone).

France is home to Europe's largest Muslim minority and debate about the integration of these 5 million people into an avowedly secular society is a recurring theme in a political arena where only a handful of Muslims hold government posts.

The tower blocks surrounding the tent are a common sight in the French urban landscape.

Often run down, the forbidding high-rises are home to many Muslim immigrants who came here to work in the construction boom of the 1960s and 70s, as well as immigrants from other faiths.

Many tower blocks were on the frontline in 2005 when mainly immigrant youths rioted across France after two teenagers were accidentally electrocuted in a power sub-station after a run-in with police. Violence has flared sporadically in many such neighborhoods since then.

The 19th arrondissement tops Paris' violent crime statistics, and unemployment is rife. But the soup kitchen's organizers are unfazed by its reputation.

"We adapt to wherever the mayor lets us set up shop, tough neighborhood or not. But we'd really like a more permanent address since demand rises every year," said Farid Adjadj, a 34-year-old postal worker who's been a volunteer since 1994.

While fights between groups of Arab Muslims and young Orthodox Jews make the local papers in the 19th every few months, some residents say tensions are under control.

"This is one of the most populous parts of Paris, and we get along very well -- I just wish that were the same in the Middle East," said David Siksik, a Jewish volunteer.

BIG TOP

The tent, known as "the big top", stretches across several basketball courts. Most of those shuffling in are men on their own. Many speak in Arabic as they settle in at long tables set with plastic tableware.

The main dish is a spicy stew that is eaten -- in dozens of variations -- across North Africa, the Middle East, Southern Europe, Turkey and India. Here it's called "chorba" -- a French transliteration of the Arabic word for soup.

Une Chorba Pour Tous, which mostly targets poor Muslims, has been operating since 1992. Its 150,000 euro ($212,000) annual budget from private donations and public grants allows it to provide some 700 meals a day year-round.

But it is busiest at Ramadan when it serves an average of 2,000 meals per night. Charity is a religious duty in Islam.

"Charity is all the more important during Ramadan, and most of our volunteers are Muslim. But we don't exclude anyone who needs help or wants to help," said Fanny Ait-Kaci, 56, one of the group's founding members.

RICH COUNTRY

Food prices in France rose by 6.4 percent annually in July -- although overall consumer inflation eased 0.3 percent from the previous month -- and charities say many, especially the poorest, have been struggling to make ends meet.

Soup kitchen volunteers say most people who come to the tent are not homeless, but poor immigrant workers or solitary unemployed who, above all, miss living in a community.

"Many people come but wouldn't want their families to know they're here, especially since they might think they're living the high life in a rich country," Hasni said.

President Nicolas Sarkozy's government has angered many immigrant groups by cracking down on illegal immigration, but he has also championed labor reform as a way to fight poverty.

Unemployment has fallen almost a full point since he took office last year, but has since leveled off at 7.6 percent.

France does not keep official statistics on religion or ethnic background, so it's hard to see who is most affected by joblessness.

In the meantime, the soup tent fills.

"I live in a hotel and can't cook, so I came here -- if it weren't for this association I wouldn't be able to break the fast properly," said Karim, 32, an unemployed waiter who declined to give his last name.

"There's no real Ramadan spirit in my neighborhood in (more upscale) western Paris, but here, there's all we need," said Salima Hajjaj, a hairdresser who had come with her unemployed husband and three children.

Why do Muslims fast in Ramadan?

2008-09-02T04:59:00.001+03:00

Check out this book on Ramadan and fasting: Essentials of Ramadan, The Fasting Month by Tajuddin B. Shu`aib

for a shorter answer, look at old favourite: Ramadhan, what the heck is that?

hope everyone has a blessed Ramadhan!

Doesn't this lady deserve the benefit of doubt?

2008-08-29T09:06:00.003+03:00

Traumatized, shot-at, illegally detained and worst of all, in danger of being declared guilty without ever being brought to trial, doesn't Aafia Siddiqui deserve to be heard out?

background information and what you can do to help, from Cageprisoners.com:

Dr Aafia Siddiqui, the American educated Pakistani scientist and mother of three was detained for years by the US in Bagram. She has been the victim of the US programme of secret detention for five years since having been kidnapped in Karachi by Pakistan security services in 2003 along with her three children.

On Monday 4th August 2008, federal prosecutors in the US confirmed that Aafia Siddiqui was extradited to the US from Afghanistan where they allege she had been detained since mid-July 2008. The US administration claims that she was arrested by Afghani forces outside Ghazni governor’s compound with manuals on explosives and ‘dangerous substances in sealed jars’ on her person. They further allege that whilst in custody she shot at US officers and was injured in the process.

According to her lawyer, Elaine Whitfield Sharp, “We do know she was at Bagram for a long time. It was a long time. According to my client she was there for years and she was held in American custody; her treatment was horrendous.” Aafia’s claim is contrary to the heavily contested position of the US administration that she was detained in July by Afghan forces while attempting to bomb the compound of the governor of Ghazni. The US has previously denied the presence of female detainees in Bagram and that Aafia was ever held there, bar for medical treatment in July 2008.

Aafia Siddiqui now faces trial in the US in circumstances that can only be described as strange at best. Questions remain as to her own whereabouts over the last five years and still that of her children; the US government have recently acknowledged that her eldest son Ahmed, an 11 year old US national, is in Afghan custody. The whereabouts of her youngest two children remain unknown. Aafia's health has deteriorated since her transfer to the US on August 4th. She suffered multiple bullet wounds whilst in custody, loss of part of her intestine, and extensive surgical incisions resulting in multiple layers of external and internal stitching prior to her extradition. There are a number of other healths concerns and subsequently her medical condition condition needs to be fully investigated by several different specialists.

Physical injuries aside, Aafia’s psychological injuries obviously leave deeper scars. Her ordeal is heightened by the degrading and humilating strip and cavity searches she is forced to endure before every legal visit.

BACKGROUND Aafia Siddiqui was born in Karachi, Pakistan on 2nd March 1972. She was one of three children of Mohammed Siddiqui, a doctor trained in England, and Ismet. She is a mother of three. Having been based in Boston for a part of her life, Aafia and her family became the victims of harassment at the hands of the US authorities in a post 11th September 2001 environment when all foreign Muslims were considered suspected terrorists. During this period in the US, Aafia was the victim of domestic violence at the hands of an abusive husband. Not being able to take the profiling tactics being employed by the US authorities, Aafia’s husband moved the family back to Pakistan in 2002. Soon after their return to Pakistan, the couple became estranged and separated from one another.

In December 2002, Aafia decided to take the step of leaving her children with her family in order to work in the US. She moved to the Baltimore area where her sister was working. In March 2003 while on a short trip back to Pakistan, Aafia Siddiqui was on her way to Karachi airport with her three children in order to catch a flight to Rawalpindi. While at the airport the family were abducted by the Pakistani authorities and taken into custody.

Leaked reports to the media claimed that she was in FBI custody soon after that. Very soon after the Pakistani government denied any knowledge or involvement in her disappearance. After a year the FBI placed Aafia Siddiqui’s name on the list of seven Al Qaeda suspects. The FBI claimed that Aafia was in Liberia in 2001 buying conflict diamonds in order to help facilitate Al Qaeda operations. This was immediately picked up by her lawyer Elaine Whitfield Sharp who claimed that Aafia was in Boston the entire week that the FBI claimed she was in Liberia. Also – it was during this period that she suffered much of her domestic violence placing her nowhere near the African continent.

Aafia became one of the War on Terror’s disappeared for five years as she was held in secret detention away from any legal access or access to family. On 7th July 2008, a press conference led by Cageprisoners patron, Yvonne Ridley, and Director, Saghir Hussain, in Pakistan resulted in mass international coverage of Aafia’s case as her disappearance was questioned by the media and political figures in Pakistan. It was on 3rd August 2008 that an agent from the FBI visited the home of her brother and told him that she was being detained in Afghanistan.

Cageprisoners believes that Aafia Siddiqui was not arrested in Afghanistan as suggested by the US, but rather was already being detained there after her abduction in 2003. This has been confirmed Aafia herself who states she was held in Afghanistan for years and abused during her period of detention.

For more information about Aafia Siddiqui, please visit: http://www.aafiasiddiqui.org

TAKE ACTION FOR AAFIA SIDDIQUI

1. Write to Aafia:
AAFIA SIDDIQUI 90279-054 36 MDC BROOKLYN METROPOLITAN DETENTION CENTER P.O. BOX 329BROOKLYN, NY 11232
Aafia's lawyers advise that when writing you do not discuss or solicit information regarding her case or the charges against her, her whereabouts or those of her children for the past five years. You can send photographs along with your letters but no packages. You can send books, newspapers and magazines directly from the publishers (such as www.barnesandnoble.com or www.amazon.com). Aafia has requested a daily newspaper and books on nature. If you want to ensure that she has not already received a copy of the item you wish to send then please email Sarah Kunstler at sarah@fkolaw.com If you would prefer for Cageprisoners to forward messages to Aafia, please email us at contact@cageprisoners.com

2. Send a message of support to Aafia's family. Please email your letters to contact@cageprisoners.com

3. Sign the Online Petition http://www.petitiononline.com/aafia/petition.html 4. Download and print copies of the petition here. Please return all signed petitions to: Cageprisoners, 27 Old Gloucester Street, London, United Kingdom, WC1N 3XX 5. Attend protest actions and events for Aafia Siddiqui and her children. Organise an event in your community. Click here for details of the NYC Protest - 3rd September Click here for details of the London Protest - 12th September

6. Donate
Aafia can receive money for the purchase of snacks, toiletries, phone calls, etc whilst in prison. Please send funds to Aafia to the following address and in accordance with the directions provided below:
Federal Bureau of Prisons AAFIA SIDDIQUI 90279-054 36 Post Office Box 474701 Des Moines, Iowa 50947-0001
The deposit must be in the form of a money order made out to the inmate's full committed name and complete eight digit register number. Effective December 1, 2007, all non-postal money orders and non-government checks processed through the National Lockbox will be placed on a 15 day hold. The Bureau of Prisons will return funds that do not have valid inmate information to the sender provided the envelope has an adequate return address. Personal cheques and cash cannot be accepted for deposit.
The sender's name and return address must appear on the upper left hand corner of the envelope to ensure that the funds can be returned to the sender in the event that they cannot be posted to the inmate's account. The deposit envelope must not contain any items intended for delivery to the inmate. The Bureau of Prisons shall dispose of all items included with the funds.
In the event funds have been mailed but have not been received in the inmate's account and adequate time has passed for mail service to Des Moines, Iowa, the sender must initiate a tracer with the entity who sold them the money order to resolve any issues.
Western Union Quick Collect Program
You may also send funds through Western Union's Quick Collect Program. All funds sent via Western Union's Quick Collect will be posted to her account within two to four hours, when those funds are sent between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. EST (seven days per week, including holidays). Funds received after 9:00 pm EST will be posted by 7:00 am EST the following morning. Funds sent to an inmate through the Quick Collect Program may be sent via one of the following ways:
1) At an agent location with cash: The inmate's family or friends must complete a Quick Collect Form. Click here to view a sample Quick Collect Form. To find the nearest agent, they may call 1-800-325-6000 or go to www.westernunion.com.
2) By phone using a credit/debit card: The inmate's family or friends may simply call 1-800-634-3422 and press option 2.
3) ONLINE using a credit/debit card: The inmate's family and friends may go to www.westernunion.com and select "Quick Collect".
For each Western Union Quick Collect transaction, the following information must be provided:
1) Valid Inmate Eight Digit Register Number (9027905436SIDDIQUI entered with no spaces or dashes and immediately followed by Inmate's Last Name) 2) Committed Inmate Full Name entered on optional line (Aafia Siddiqui) 3) Code City: FBOP 4) State code: DC
Please note that the inmate's committed name and eight digit register number must be entered correctly. If the sender does not provide the correct information, the transaction cannot be completed. The Code City is always FBOP and the State Code is always DC.
Each transaction is accepted or rejected at the point of sale. The sender has the sole responsibility of sending the funds to the correct inmate. If an incorrect register number and/or name are used and accepted and posted to that inmate, funds may not be returned.
Any questions or concerns regarding Western Union transfers should be directed to Western Union by the sender (general public). Questions or concerns should not be directed to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
For additional information concerning inmate Commissary account deposit procedures, please see the Bureau of Prisons Trust Fund/Warehouse/Laundry Manual (PS 4500.04) or 28 CFR Parts 506 and 540. For information concerning a specific deposit, please contact Federal Bureau of Prisons' staff at 202-307-2712 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. ET. Further information about a fund to enable Aafia's family in Pakistan to visit her and to assist her legal defence will be provided shortly.

7. Write to the US authorities:
Demand that the state department fulfils their consular duties and provide assistance to Ahmed, the son of Aafia Siddiqui, and also locate her other children; all of whom are US citizens.
Demand that Aafia Siddiqui’s children, including her eldest son Ahmad who is Afghan custody, must be immediately placed in the custody of her relatives.
Demand that Aafia Siddiqui be given full and complete access to her lawyer without any impediments.
That she be given medical treatment and aid during her detention to not put any further pressure on her injuries and to help her recovery.
That she be transferred from prison to Bellevue Hospital.
That the unnecessary cavity and strip searches should be stopped by her US jailers due to her current medical condition.
Call for human rights laws and standards to be strictly adhered to in cooperation between US security forces and those of other countries, ensuring that torture and ill-treatment, incommunicado detentions and "disappearance" play no part in such cooperation. The Honorable Condoleezza Rice Secretary of State U.S. Department of State 2201 C Street, N.W. Washington DC 20520 Tel: + 1 202 647 4000 Fax: + 1 202 261 8577 Email: http://contact-us.state.gov/ask_form_cat/ask_form_secretary.html A sample letter is provided below. Download our Justice for Aafia Siddiqui Postcard to send to the US authorities. 8. Write to the Pakistani authorities:
Demand the immediate repatriation of Aafia Siddiqui back to Pakistani from where she was kidnapped.
Demand that her children be immediately placed in the custody of her relatives.
Demand that the best medical treatment be afforded her.
Demand a full investigation into her disappearance. His Excellency Ambassador Husain Haqqani Pakistani Ambassador to the US 3517 International Court NW Washington DC 20008 Tel: + 1 202 243 6500 Email: info@embassyofpakistanusa.org Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi Ministry of Foreign Affairs Islamabad Pakistan Tel: + 92 51 921 0335 Fax: + 92 51 920 7600 Email: spokesman@yahoo.com A sample letter is below. Download our Justice for Aafia Siddiqui Postcard to send to the Pakistan authorities. 9. Download and distribute the following campaign materials to raise awareness for the plight of Aafia Siddiqui and her children. Justice for Aafia Siddiqui Postcard Aafia Siddiqui Campaign Leaflet Justice for Aafia Siddiqui Banner Justice for Aafia Siddiqui Petition Sheet Poster 1 Poster 2 Postcard 1 front Postcard 1 back Postcard 2 front Postcard 2 back To get involved in the campaign for justice for Aafia Siddiqui please email freeaafia@cageprisoners.com
Template letter to Condoleezza Rice: Dear Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, I write to you in urgency regarding the case of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani national extradited from Afghanistan to the USA in August 2008 and currently in US custody. Dr Siddiqui was educated in the US and is mother to three young American citizens. Two of her children's whereabouts remain unknown; the eldest (11 years old) is in custody in Afghanistan despite being a US national. At the very least, their status as citizens of your country, and your position of authority, necessitates that you do whatever is within your power to locate her children, and return them to the custody of their family members residing in the US. Dr Siddiqui is currently in a poor physical state- as a victim of years of domestic abuse, she is certainly no stranger to violence and fear. She has suffered multiple bullet wounds, which may be infected, lost part of her intestine and endured extensive surgical incisions resulting in multiple layers of external and internal stitching. Dr Siddiqui's medical condition needs to be fully investigated by several different specialists. Physical injuries aside, her psychological injuries obviously leave deeper scars. Dr. Siddiqui's ill health is exacerbated considerably by the humiliating and degrading strip and cavity searches that she is forced to endure before every visit in prison and trip to court. So degrading is such treatment that she has subsequently refused visits. I ask you, as a human being who considers herself to work for the cause of justice; can the repercussions of such inhuman conduct towards an uncharged, weak-bodied woman be anything other than negative? It is hoped that human decency would secure for Dr Siddiqui the basic medical care and humane treatment that should be afforded to all detainees, much less those who have not been convicted of any crime. Dr Siddiqui’s legal team, who should theoretically be guaranteed complete access to their client (as is necessary to mount a credible defence), still face a number of obstacles in this regard. The aim of any trial is to reach the most objective outcome, and if current restrictions remain the case, then this investigation will neither ensure that integrity is maintained or that any battle of ‘hearts and minds’ will be won. Furthermore, any involvement and collaboration of US security forces in such illegal activities as torture, incommunicado detentions and “extraordinary rendition” fulfil the interests of no party in the long run. There is a great weight of responsibility on your shoulders, so consider deeply what has been mentioned, and ponder over what subsequent actions need to be taken for even-handedness to prevail. I look forward to hearing from you in due course. Regards, (Your name)
Template letter to Pakistani embassy in US/Pakistani governmental departments: To whom it may concern, I write to you in urgency regarding the case of Dr Aafia Siddiqui. Dr Siddiqui was born in Pakistan and educated in the US. She is mother to three young children. Yet despite this, she was kidnapped by authorities from your government and held incommunicado for five years- away from family, friends and legal access. Subsequently, she ‘conveniently’ re-appeared in Afghanistan, accused (without charge) of committing acts of terrorism, which expediently left the involved governments with no need to explain her whereabouts previous to that point. Furthermore, two of her childrens whereabouts remain unknown, whilst her eleven year-old son, a US national, remains in custody in Afghanistan. Dr Siddiqui is currently in a poor physical state- as a victim of years of domestic abuse, she is certainly no stranger to violence and fear. She has suffered multiple bullet wounds, which may be infected, lost part of her intestine and endured extensive surgical incisions resulting in multiple layers of external and internal stitching. Dr Siddiqui's medical condition needs to be fully investigated by several different specialists. Physical injuries aside, her psychological injuries obviously leave deeper scars. Dr. Siddiqui's ill health is exacerbated considerably by the humiliating and degrading strip and cavity searches that she is forced to endure before every visit in prison and trip to court. So degrading is such treatment that she has subsequently refused visits. Complicity of Pakistani or other national security forces in such illegal activities as torture, incommunicado detentions and “extraordinary rendition”, as have been evidenced by Dr Siddiqui’s case, not only violates International Law, but common human decency. As a daughter of the nationa, Aafia Siddiqui should be repatriated to Pakistan urgently, in light of her kidnapping from Pakistan in March 2003. Her children should also be placed in the custody of her family immediately until a time that they can be reunited with their mother. I look forward to hearing from you in due course. Regards, (Your name)

Why do Muslims grow beards?

2008-07-08T07:13:00.003+03:00

Short, jargon free answer by Yusuf Estes: Beards? Do we have to grow them?

More on Muslims and beards by Dr. Zakir Naik and Bilal Philips (video).

What's the implication of 'Inshallah?'

2008-07-07T07:51:00.002+03:00

Interesting article on the implications of something Muslims often say -- inshallah -- in the New York Times (link courtesy SunniSister)

When I was doing the CELTA, there were 'inshallah's aplenty in the air, because there were four Muslim ladies in our group. It was interesting to see how the other (non Muslim) trainees viewed 'inshallah'...someone asked me what it means, another trainee tried it out and found the words tripping on their tongue, one of the trainers used the word in an email and another during the course of the lesson.
A participant asked me whether using ''inshallah'' contradicts the divine commandment of ''not using the Lord's name in vain.
On the contrary, the Qur'an asks Muslims to say in sha Allah when they intend doing something:

وَلَا تَقُولَنَّ لِشَيْءٍ إِنِّي فَاعِلٌ ذَ‌ٰلِكَ غَدًا
And never say of anything, "I shall do such and such thing tomorrow."

إِلَّا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ ۚ وَاذْكُرْ رَبَّكَ إِذَا نَسِيتَ وَقُلْ عَسَىٰ أَنْ يَهْدِيَنِ رَبِّي لِأَقْرَبَ مِنْ هَـٰذَا رَشَدًا
Except (with the saying), "If Allah will!"
(Qur'an 18: 24-25)

How the CELTA course motivated me to be a better Muslim

2008-06-21T21:14:00.008+03:00

For those blissfully out of the loop, the CELTA is a month-long course touted as ''an internationally recognised teaching qualification, highly regarded throughout the world'' by the University of Cambridge.

It's also notoriously ''intense''.

Consider, for example, the 'Nature of CELTA', according to the Uni. of Technology, Sydney, that ends with the ominous ''although this course is very rewarding, it must be emphasised that the full time course is an intensive course and most people find that it demands 100% of their time, effort and psychological reserves. The part-time course appeals to people who work but it also requires a considerable commitment. You need to be in a good state of health and be able to manage the demands and stress produced by the course. ''

Consider also, a typical day in the life of a CELTA trainee:''The morning is devoted to learning about teaching - how to manage groups, how to analyse language for teaching purposes, different approaches to pronunciation and so on. The course programme is designed to reflect the syllabus as set out by UCLES. Each course will also take into account the needs of the individuals within the group, as reflected by negotiable sessions and regular revision of techniques. The afternoon is devoted to putting it all into practice. Trainees are divided into 2 or 3 groups and these teaching practice groups work with their trainer to advance the learning of practice students. Each trainee spends 2 weeks teaching each student group, guided each day by the trainer who is supervising them. The trainers endeavour to create a real-life teaching situation by having trainees work with contemporary published materials, keep attendance records and so on. After teaching there is group or individual feedback, the opportunity to comment on what has been more or less successful and why. As well as learn from the experience of teaching and watching their peers, trainees also observe 8 live lessons taught by an experienced teacher on the staff. ''

By virtue of having lived life in the 'intense' lane for the past decade and more, having got through days of maximum aggravation on minimum sleep and producing written work on laughably short notice, I had thought the course would be a cinch.

How wrong I was!

(to be continued, iA)

Meanwhile, check out this absolutely hilarious ELT glossary from a brilliant site...
Disclaimer: Makes complete sense only to CELTA trainees/trainers, though.

''A glossary of ELT
The word aerobics came about when the gym instructors got together and said: If we’re going to charge $10 an hour, we can’t call it Jumping Up and Down. (Rita Rudner)

This is a simple glossary. I have not included terms like inductive learning or procedural syllabus, as it would be far too boring and also I have no idea what they mean.

accuracy
Terribly old-fashioned concept, in which students worry their pretty little heads about boring grammar, etc. Not nearly as important as fluency.
authentic materials
An article or poem that the teacher raves on about and the students cannot understand.
Celta
Basic four-week ELT qualification. Impossible to fail unless you are really thick.
communicative approach
Prevailing ELT orthodoxy, in which students chat, play games, have fun and produce lamentable English.
contract
Satirical composition that the school owner rewrites whenever the fancy takes him.
Cuisenaire rods
Little ludicrous bits of wood which your more demented colleagues may use for a range of pointless demonstrations in class. Worth borrowing if your lesson is being observed.
Delta
Advanced qualification for misguided sad gits who want to make a “career” out of teaching English.
DOS
Director Of Studies. Pronounced “doss”, an informal British word that means “an easy task giving the opportunity for idling”. drilling
Useful tool for humiliating uppity students.
eliciting
Asking the students for information that they will not have, then dropping increasingly unsubtle hints until the nerdiest student finally gets the answer.
errors
As anyone with a Delta can tell you, not the same as mistakes (which see).
explaining
Utterly forbidden technique shunned by all good teachers, who practise only eliciting. (See also translation.)
feedback
By the teacher: telling the students that their mangling of the English language was brilliant, excellent, a great improvement, etc, but there are one or two teensy-weensy little areas that might need extra practice.By students: reporting back from a Find Someone Who with enthralling revelations such as “We found that Ari and Ria have never been waterskiing, Wawan, Dani and Sri think Titanic is a good film, and all the class want to go home.”
filler
Something meant to fill an unavoidable gap in a lesson. Typically lasts 90 minutes.
fluency
The ability to produce gibberish at speed. Far more important than accuracy.
FSW
Find Someone Who. Students stand up clutching bits of paper and gossip while the teacher sits down and wonders what to get them to do next.
Things like agreeing, suggesting, offering and insulting. For example, “Do you like hospital food?” is either asking someone their opinion or warning them to shut their gob.
Grammar
The G word. Once taught only by unimaginative fascists, but now possibly coming back into vogue.
hot correction
Pointing out a mistake immediately, instead of meaning to do so later and forgetting all about it.
jigsaw activities
Activities where students have differing and incomplete information, which they need to pool. For example, one has a map that shows only a garage, a hospital and a post office, while the other has a map that shows only a library, a school and a restaurant. This information gap is meant to reflect a real-life reason for communication. As in real life, students efficiently bridge the gap by showing each other their maps.
L1 interference
First language interference. The reason you give for your students speaking such dreadful English.
language aims
Something you need to write out at length on a lesson plan.
lesson plan
An over-ambitious document that you give your DOS before an observed lesson.
materials development
Photocopying pages from books and laminating them.
mingling
Pointless activity that uses up loads of time and gives you a chance to sit down.
mistakes
Quite distinct from errors (q.v.).
needs analysis
Pointless ritual you are meant to do when starting a new class, especially a company class. The students do not have a clue what they need—and will usually answer, “Grammar. And speaking. Oh, and writing.” But it looks good and keeps your DOS happy.
NLP
Neuro-Linguistic Programming™. Barmy and rather sinister methodology that teaches you how to “program your brain”.
noticing
Vogue word in ELT theory. In ELT practice, what teachers cannot help doing when (say) Irma comes into class wearing an extremely tight school uniform.
overteaching
Dangerous thing to do. Point this out to your DOS when he asks why you did not cover some crucial point in an observed lesson.
pairwork
Activities where students gossip animatedly in their native language and the teacher cannot work out what anyone is saying.
peer correction
Getting students to “correct” the errors (or mistakes) of their classmates, giving you a chance to nip out for a cigarette.
phonemic symbols
Those squiggles on the wall chart that neither students nor teachers understand.
PPP
Presentation, Practice, Production. Old-fashioned methodology, where you teach the students something like “be going to” for future plans, then they practise simple sentences (controlled practice), then they start using it all the time (free practice). The only problem with PPP is that it does not work.
prep
Lesson preparation. Fresh off the Celta this takes about 2 hours, after six months of teaching, 10 minutes, after 2 years of teaching, 0 minutes.
pron
Pronunciation, “that part of a student which is the same at the end of a language course as at the beginning.” (Tom McArthur)
realia
Things you can lug into the classroom to impress your DOS. For instance, if you are teaching the names of parts of a bicycle, you wheel in your old bike. Only done by teachers fresh off the Celta.
recent research suggests
Key phrase used in English teaching journals to justify the writer’s latest barmy idea. (The research is never cited.)
role play
Good time-consuming skive.
senior teacher
The lance-corporal of the ELT platoon. Earns fractionally more money in return for numerous thankless tasks like doing placement interviews, relabelling cassettes, laminating games, attending extra meetings and nodding sympathetically while teachers whinge about the timetable.
Silent Way
Barmy methodology, where the teacher rarely opens his mouth. Potentially useful ploy if you do not know what to say.
student-centred learning
Good phrase to use when you are trying to explain why you were out of your classroom having a fag, chatting up the front desk staff, etc.
study centre
Ill-lit cupboard with a few ancient books that nobody borrows, some dog-eared magazines with the pictures missing, and possibly a computer used by the school caretakers to look at pornography.
Suggestopaedia
Barmy methodology, where students lounge about listening to baroque music. Possibly worth trying, if you happen to like baroque music.
task-based learning
Brilliant skive. You and the students just sit about, writing a brochure or drawing pictures or building a website, and you never have to teach them grammar or anything. They just magically absorb English. Highly recommended, if you can get away with it.
teacher-induced error
This is when, in ignorance or drunkenness, you tell the class something like, “Use will for plans and be going to for spontaneous decisions.” It instantly becomes the one grammatical commandment they will never ever forget.
TOEFL
Bizarre American exam, in which candidates listen to robots intoning things such as, “Wow, I sure hope my meticulously assembled entomology collection has not gotten misplaced by the faculty janitors.” A deep-voiced robot then asks, “What does the woman mean?”
TPR
Total Physical Response. Barmy methodology, in which the students act out instructions from the teacher. Still in vogue, so worth droning on about if you want to look keen.
translation
Despicable practice abhorred by keen teachers and craved by all students.
TTT
Teacher Talking Time. What the students think they have paid for, but DOSes do not like.
Vulcan mind meld
As practised by Mr Spock on Star Trek. Not actually part of current ELT methodology, but probably the only way you will ever get your students to learn English.
workshops
Ordeals arranged by sadistic DOSes to sabotage the teachers’ mornings off.
zero conditional
A structure taught for no very good reason at a low level. Useful if you want to say conversation-stopping things like, “If you heat water to 100°, it boils.”
New terms
language bandit
Annoying student who arrives 10 minutes early or sticks around at the end of a lesson and engages you in meaningless banter just to get a few more minutes of “free” English. This species can also be found in their droves at Language Fairs. (Thank you, Fergus Crossen, who attributes this coinage to his uncle, Ernie Crossen.)
PEQ
Preparation/Execution Quotient: the time spent planning an activity divided by the time spent doing it in class. For example, the hour you spend searching the Internet for a ten-minute filler would have a quotient of 6. A fifty-minute role play that took you five minutes to dream up would be 0.1. Any activity that has a PEQ greater than 0.5 should definitely be avoided.

Why do Muslims stick their feet in the sink in public restrooms?

2008-04-12T06:20:00.008+03:00

It's called 'wudhu'/ablution and it's about cleaning up/purifying one's body before standing for prayer, not the other way around as bystanders might think!
I thought of putting up this post when I recently heard people denouncing the ritual (especially when performed in a public restroom) as ''gross'' and ''unhygienic''.

The method of performing ablution comes from directly from the Qur'an:

''O you who believe! When you prepare for prayer, wash your faces, and your hands (and arms) to the elbows; Rub your heads (with water); and (wash) your feet to the ankles. If you are in a state of ceremonial impurity, bathe your whole body.

But if you are ill, or on a journey, or one of you comes from offices of nature, or you have been in contact with women, and you find no water, then take for yourselves clean sand or earth, and rub therewith your faces and hands, Allah does not wish to place you in a difficulty, but to make you clean, and to complete his favor to you, that ye may be grateful.” (Chapter 5, Verse 6)

Before a Muslim performs his prayers, he carries out the ablution movements mentioned in the above verse as well as others, which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has added.
Thus, the ablution comprises of washing the hands, arms right up to the elbow, face, mouth, nostrils, and feet up the ankle, all three times each. The inside and behind the ears, as well as the part of the head above the forehead is wiped once.

Done five times a day, it not only cleanses these vital parts of the body from dust and dirt but also "softens" and refreshes them.1
Interestingly enough, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also encouraged doing ablution before going to bed. This same ritual is also encouraged by Yoga experts who say that washing important motor and sensory organs such as the hands, arms, eyes, legs, mouth and genitals before sleep using cool water relaxes the body preparing it for a deep sleep.2

Read the complete article here

So what happens when it's time for prayer and a Muslim's in a public place -- should they simply stick their feet in the sink and ignore all the horrified/disgusted looks they get?

This is being touted as an option:

I'm not sure how feasible / acceptable this would be, but speaking for myself, I'd rather perform my ablution in peace, somewhere private (since it is an act of worship as well) rather than show complete unconcern for other restroom users and perform it in full public view, knowing fully well that it might seem off-putting (to put it mildly) to some people.

What do 1.3 billion Muslims think?

2008-04-08T21:47:00.002+03:00

Can a Gallup poll really tell what a billion Muslims think?

The jury's still out on that one.

Are you on The List?

2008-03-25T18:39:00.002+03:00

Informative, interesting article by Ali Shehata on what to do if you're a Muslim on the DHS list in the USA, and how to get off it.

Makes for a slightly spooky, very sad read.

"The scenario is always chillingly the same with little variation. You – typically a Pakistani or Arab American (although generally any Muslim will do) - have just finished a grueling transatlantic flight where you may have been doing anything from taking a European vacation, to visiting family, to doing business, etc. You are excited to be “back home” in the United States of America, which in many cases is the only country where you have citizenship. You expect a warm welcome from fellow Americans at the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) who seemed like really nice, warm people with big smiles on the airline’s on-board video describing customs procedures.
You get in line where it says “US citizens” and await your turn to have your passport stamped by the Customs agent. As you come up to his cubicle you are relieved to see that the smiles really are there. The agent greets you with a “Welcome home!” as he takes your passport. As he scans it, he asks you the typical questions: “Where were you? How long did you stay? What was the purpose of your visit?” The problem is that all of a sudden the smile disappears and they don’t really seem to be paying attention to your rambling on about the crazy drivers in Rome. They seem taken aback by some ominous message which appears to have come up on their computer. The poor agent in fact looks very distraught at whatever it is he sees. He reads it again to be sure. Then he tells you in a very serious voice, the smile long having faded, that you need to step to the wall or to the side and wait for another “agent”.
“Is there a problem?” you ask in a concerned voice. “No, just a random check,” comes the traditional reply. You are then led to a room by a not-so-smiley “agent” who clearly appears to have no interest in small talk. About all he does is reiterate the “random check” line you were given before. He leads you over to the luggage claim area and stands back while you reclaim all the luggage they will soon pore over with a fine tooth comb. After a tense 15 minutes awaiting your bags, you are then led to a room off to the side – in some cases behind an ominous one-way mirror – where you discover several other Muslims who have also been selected for this “random” humiliation and degradation. Concerned eyes of other passengers you accompanied on the plane follow you all the way until you are behind the one-way mirror.
You are gruffly told to take a seat by your latest handler for what looks like a long wait. As you scan the room, you are saddened by the terrified looks of hijabis in their 50s and 60s who look like they could be your mother. What could they have possibly done to be treated like this? For that matter, what could any of us have done? The “war on terror” takes more collateral damage it appears.
After a wait of anywhere from 30 minutes to over an hour, the “agent” who brought you here asks you to come over to a steel table where they proceed to take every item out of your bags to do a thorough search. Any paper with any addresses, phone numbers, names or other information of a personal nature is taken for photocopying. God forbid you should have anything in Arabic other than a Qur’an because that too will need to be taken for photocopying and can increase your detention and interrogation time to hours. While they scour through your personal belongings, they do their version of “casual” interrogation. Every question is usually asked twice during the questioning to ensure that you aren’t lying or making anything up. They at last come to the contents of your pockets. Be ready to surrender your driver’s license and credit cards for “photocopying” as well. Don’t worry though – it’s all just “random”.
After that ordeal, which seems very adept at making most everyone who goes through it feel like a criminal even if they never even had a parking ticket, you are commanded to once again sit among the other randomly selected (read Muslim) passengers. It is not uncommon to have another agent come and request your connecting flight information, “because it looks like we will need to book you on a later flight”. You may be emboldened by this point, if not before, to ask why this keeps happening to you if you are a frequent international traveler, but you will only get the same “it’s random” response. You will not be offered any information to help make any sense out of this whole experience, nor a method for resolving whatever seems to be the issue.
Once everything seems to have cleared to CBP’s satisfaction, you are then “free to go.” Sorry if there are no more connecting flights and you have to spend the night in whatever city you are, or if your family is worried sick because you are several hours late because you can’t use your phone until after you pass the screening area. In fact, you should be grateful for this new addition to national security.
Those of you who have never experienced this may wonder if there is a wee bit of exaggeration in this article, but unfortunately the above-mentioned phrases are based on personal experiences of several Muslims in the past six months. This article is designed to make those of you not on the infamous “terror watch list” or “no-fly list” aware of what does happen to the rest of us and to help guide those who are wrongly on this list to a pathway to legally get off and feel human again."

Read the complete article at MuslimMatters

Is the Muslim reaction to the Danish cartoons understandable?

2008-03-20T17:47:00.003+03:00

Editorial aside: I thought posting this article was a better choice today, than going through the perennial to- celebrate-or- not-to-celebrate Mawlid wars.

I hope this gives readers an insight into why Muslims react at all to people vilifying their Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, when people from other faiths tamely accept their religious figures being transformed into figures of fun.

Those Danish Cartoons: Don't Be Fooled This Isn't an Issue of Islam versus Secularism
By ROBERT FISK
...let's start off with the Department of Home Truths.
This is not an issue of secularism versus Islam. For Muslims, the Prophet is the man who received divine words directly from God. We see our prophets as faintly historical figures, at odds with our high-tech human rights, almost cariacatures of themselves. The fact is that Muslims live their religion. We do not. They have kept their faith through innumerable historical vicissitudes. We have lost our faith ever since Matthew Arnold wrote about the sea's "long, withdrawing roar". That's why we talk about "the West versus Islam" rather than "Christians versus Islam"--because there aren't an awful lot of Christians left in Europe.
There is no way we can get round this by setting up all the other world religions and asking why we are not allowed to make fun of Mohamed.Besides, we can exercise our own hypocrisy over religious feelings. I happen to remember how, more than a decade ago, a film called The Last Temptation of Christ showed Jesus making love to a woman. In Paris, someone set fire to the cinema showing the movie, killing a young man.
I also happen to remember a US university which invited me to give a lecture three years ago. I did. It was entitled "September 11, 2001: ask who did it but, for God's sake, don't ask why". When I arrived, I found that the university had deleted the phrase "for God's sake" because "we didn't want to offend certain sensibilities". Ah-ha, so we have "sensibilities" too.In other words, while we claim that Muslims must be good secularists when it comes to free speech--or cheap cartoons--we can worry about adherents to our own precious religion just as much.
I also enjoyed the pompous claims of European statesmen that they cannot control free speech or newspapers. This is also nonsense. Had that cartoon of the Prophet shown instead a chief rabbi with a bomb-shaped hat, we would have had "anti-Semitism" screamed into our ears--and rightly so--just as we often hear the Israelis complain about anti-Semitic cartoons in Egyptian newspapers.
Furthermore, in some European nations--France is one, Germany and Austria are among the others--it is forbidden by law to deny acts of genocide. In France, for example, it is illegal to say that the Jewish Holocaust or the Armenian Holocaust did not happen. So it is, in fact, impermissable to make certain statements in European nations. I'm still uncertain whether these laws attain their objectives; however much you may prescribe Holocaust denial, anti-Semites will always try to find a way round. We can hardly exercise our political restraints to prevent Holocaust deniers and then start screaming about secularism when we find that Muslims object to our provocative and insulting image of the Prophet.

[...]
In any event, it's not about whether the Prophet should be pictured. The Koran does not forbid images of the Prophet even though millions of Muslims do. The problem is that these cartoons portrayed Mohamed as a bin Laden-type image of violence. They portrayed Islam as a violent religion. It is not. Or do we want to make it so?

so, what do people really want to know about Muslims?

2008-02-21T09:13:00.003+03:00

A couple of years ago when I started this website, I had a hunch and over the years the website counter has proved me right.

I had the feeling that people (non-Muslims) are naturally curious about Muslims and would like to know more about their customs, culture and yes, their faith and beliefs...they just don't want answers to their straightforward questions served up with huge dollops of incomprehensible religious arcana.

I feel quite vindicated in my belief when I see the top referral links to this website:

Why do Muslims dislike dogs?
Why can't Muslims keep dogs as pets?
Muslims and dogs
even Muslims are dogs :P

I'd like to carry over this spirit -- of providing honest, unambiguous information -- when we start printing, in shaa Allaah. I'm even thinking of having a regular Q & A column by and for non-Muslims. If we believe that Islam has all the answers, there is no such thing as an inconvenient /uncomfortable question.

How Muslim Pomaks in Bulgaria kept their wedding traditions alive

2008-02-08T17:39:00.000+03:00

By Tsvetelia Ilieva

RIBNOVO, Bulgaria (Reuters) - Fikrie Sabrieva, 17, will marry with her eyes closed and her face painted white, dotted with bright sequins. She lives 'at the end of the world', tending a hardy Muslim culture in largely Christian Bulgaria.

The remote village of Ribnovo, set on a snowy mountainside in southwest Bulgaria, has kept its traditional winter marriage ceremony alive despite decades of Communist persecution, followed by poverty that forced many men to seek work abroad.

"Other nearby villages tried the traditional marriage after the ban was lifted, but then the custom somehow died away -- women wanted to be modern," said Ali Mustafa Bushnak, 61, whose daughter came to watch Fikrie's wedding.
"Maybe we are at the end of the world. Or people in Ribnovo are very religious and proud of their traditions."

Some experts say clinging to the traditional wedding ceremony is Ribnovo's answer to the persecutions of the past.
Bulgaria is the only European Union nation where Muslims' share is as high as 12 percent. The communist regime, which did not tolerate any religious rituals, tried to forcibly integrate Muslims into Bulgaria's largely Christian Orthodox population, pressing them to abandon wearing their traditional outfits and adopt Slavonic names.

The wedding ritual was resurrected with vigor among the Pomaks -- Slavs who converted to Islam under Ottoman rule and now make up 2.5 percent of Bulgaria's 7.8 million population -- after communism collapsed in 1989.

But today it is still performed only in the closed society of Ribnovo and one other village in the Balkan country. Young men return from abroad to the crisp mountain snows, just for the winter weddings.
People in Ribnovo identify themselves more by their religion, as Muslims, than by their ethnicity or nationality, and the wedding ceremony is an expression of their piety. The village has 10 clerics and two mosques for 3,500 inhabitants.

Read the complete article and view the slideshow at the Reuters site

What's the difference between Sunnah as custom and Sunnah as an act of worship?

2008-01-31T10:41:00.000+03:00

Interesting article on how to distinguish between Sunnah (the practice/tradition of Prophet Muhammad) and Arab culture by Shaykh Al-Albani

The original Arabic article can be seen here and the translation is posted here.

Questioner: May Allah bless you, what is the criterion according to the Islamic legislation for distinguishing between the Sunnah which is considered custom and the Sunnah which is considered worship?

Shaykh Albani: The criterion requires a level of knowledge as relates to the one who wishes to distinguish between a Sunnah that is worship and a Sunnah that is a custom. And it has been mentioned that there are actions of the Prophet peace and blessings are upon him, that came from him and he did them seeking to get closer to Allah the Blessed and Exalted; this category is the Sunnah that is worship.

Its opposite is another category that also mentions actions of the Prophet, peace and blessings are upon him; and the least we can say is these actions dont have the ruling of worship, rather they have the ruling of customs or that the affair returns back to the desire of the person and they have no connection to worship. This category is clear that it has no connection to worship so it will be in the category of customs; and between these two are doubtful matters.

If we look at these doubtful matters from a particular angle then the person might lean towards connecting an action to worship, and if we look at these doubtful matters again we might lean towards connecting them to a Sunnah that is only a custom; according to the student of knowledge (who is investigating these issues). And it is sufficient for the student of knowledge to stop at the second category that is opposite the first category.

For example: The Prophet used to have sandals that had two straps , so what appears at first glance is that if the student of knowledge has sandals with one strap then they are opposing the Sunnah!! And the Sunnah is to have sandals with two straps!! It appears that this has a connection to worship, but it is only a custom of the Arabs, they used to wear this type of sandals. And they didn't wear the type of footwear known today as "shoes" or what resembles that with the different names according to the different countries.

And what is left as relates to the student of knowledge is the category that can be linked to the first group or the second group, and this requires knowledge to distinguish or to determine that it is from the first group and not the second group or the opposite, such that it is from the second group and not the first group. And with this we find the Scholars agreeing upon affairs that they are from the Sunnah of custom but differing upon the particulars of it, is it from the Sunnah of custom or from the Sunnah of worship.

An example of this is what is connected to the Hajj, and soon we shall be greeting the Hajj inshaAllah. It is related that the Prophet prayer and peace are upon him, descended at Al Batha so some of the companions said, and I think it was Aisha, "Staying at Al-Mahassab in not the Sunnah." And they only agree that he pitched a tent there and rested, but some of the people who arrive believe that resting at Al Batha is from the completeness of Hajj. And here there could be a difference of opinion because this affair requires something extremely clear in order to connect it to the first category or the second category.

Now we shall mention some current examples, because many of the youth and all praises belong to Allah, shorten their garments and don't allow their garments to flow long and they intend by this to follow the Sunnah, so is this a Sunnah that is custom or a Sunnah that is worship? If we looked at this action (shortening the garment) of the Prophet, prayer and peace are upon him, separately from some of his statements then perhaps we would waver between connecting this action to the Sunnah that is worship or the Sunnah that is custom. But when the hadith containing the statements of the Prophet, prayer and peace are upon, came such as the hadith where he said, "The izaar of the believer is to the midway point of the shin and if it is longer then let it go to the ankles and if it is longer then it is in the fire." This hadith cuts off the wavering between whether this action is a Sunnah of worship or a Sunnah of custom and it is certain that this is a Sunnah of worship because when he described the method of clothing as it relates to the believer he said it is to the midway point of the shin and if it is longer then it is no problem, if it goes to the ankle but as for what is longer than that then it is in the fire.

Opposite to this is a Sunnah that has been establish for the Prophet prayer and peace are upon him, and it is that he used to have long hair. Sometimes his hair would reach his earlobes and if it was longer then it would reach the top of his shoulders. Rather, it has been confirmed that when the Prophet, prayer and peace are upon him, entered Mecca he has his hair in four braids. Therefore is growing the hair long firstly, and then putting it into braids secondly, a Sunnah of worship or a Sunnah of custom? The answer as I see it, there is nothing here that calls to or justifies or can be construed to cause any wavering concerning this Sunnah of custom. Why? Firstly, because the Prophet, prayer and peace are upon him, was not the one who started this Sunnah, rather, this was present before the Messenger was born, not to mention before he became a Prophet, prayer and peace are upon him!!! This was the custom of the Arabs; they used to grow their hair long. And some of the youth to this day, some of the youth in the deserts of Syria that we have witnessed, some of them bunch their hair and put it into braids. So this is a custom that was not started by the Prophet, peace and blessings are upon him, rather he just continued upon the customs of the Arabs, and he let his hair grow and when he entered Mecca he put it into four braids. There is nothing here that would hurt us if we considered this Sunnah a Sunnah of custom, as opposed to a Sunnah of worship.

Another example: The Prophet peace and blessings are upon him used to wear white; is this Sunnah of custom or a Sunnah of worship? If his statement had not been narrated, The best clothes for you are white clothes, therefore dress your living in white clothes and bury your dead in white clothes; if it were not for this statement we would have said this was his preference. And the Messenger used to love white clothes just as he used to love honey for example and he used to hate lizard meat, this was his preference. But when his statement came, "The best clothes for you are white", and then he ordered with wearing it and at the least a command shows that it is recommended, so he said to dress your living in white clothes and bury your dead in white clothes, then this left from being a Sunnah of custom and it became a Sunnah of worship. And with this standard and with this criterion it is obligatory for us to weight the actions of the Prophet, prayer and peace is upon him. Therefore what he started and there is nothing in the context of it that can make us believe it is a Sunnah of custom then it is a Sunnah of worship.

But as for his actions prayer and peace are upon him, which are consistent with the customs of the Arabs then these actions are from the Arab customs and it is no problem for the one who does them and it is no problem for the one who leaves them. And also his actions peace be upon him, that dealt with his disposition or his personal taste then this also has no connection to the affairs of worship. And as for the aforementioned example, the Prophet peace and blessing are upon him, used to love honey and it's possible that we will find some people that hate honey, but we don't say they have opposed the Sunnah,because eating honey in its origin is not worship. Therefore if it is not easy for a person to eat honey or if they have no desire to eat honey then we don't say he has opposed the Sunnah, but he has opposed the disposition of the Prophet which was that he loved honey.

But from a different angle the Prophet peace and blessing are upon him, used to hate lizard meat and the Arabs used to find it pleasant. And when it was put on the table of the Prophet peace be upon him and it was said that it was lizard meat he didn't touch it. And in front of him was one of the famous companions, none other than Khalid ibn Walid. And Khalid ibn Walid used to eat with enormous desire such that it would cause people to look at him; he would eat and the juices would stream down his beard. So when he saw that his Prophet was not eating he said,"Oh Messenger of Allah is this (lizard meat) haram?" Because he felt a shock inside of himself, he's eating ravenously and the Prophet is not reaching his hand towards the food; so he said: "is this haram". The Prophet said,"No, but this was not in the land of my people so I find that I detest it." Therefore we don't say to the person that loves lizard meat, "You have opposed the Sunnah", because the Prophet peace and blessings are upon him, used to hate lizard meat and we also don't say this to the one who does not like honey. And you will find those who don't like honey, and I have found that one of my sons does not like honey. I love honey and I love all sweets in general, but one of my sons hates honey; but I don't say to him, 'you have opposed the Sunnah', because this has no connection to worship. And like this, it is incumbent upon us to look at the actions of the Prophet peace and blessings are upon him, and many of the people especially the students of knowledge during this time period are heedless of these specifics and some of them go to extremes. So you find some of the youth intending to grow their hair long believing that this is the Sunnah of the Prophet peace and blessings are upon him. So you find some of the youth intending to grow their hair long believing that this is the Sunnah of the Prophet peace and blessings are upon him. Yes, I can say this is from the actions of the Prophet peace and blessings are upon him, but there is no proof that this is better. Rather, the Prophet peace and blessings are upon him, announced as is found in Sahih Muslim, "Shave it all or leave it all". Therefore if the hair is grown long then it is not a Sunnah of worship rather it is only a Sunnah of custom. So if a person continues to shave his head his entire life it can not be said that he is opposing the Sunnah of the Prophet because the Prophet grew his hair his entire life; with the exception being during the Hajj and 'Umrah because he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to shave his head during this time. And you know the hadith that appears in Sahih Bukari and Muslim where the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "O Allah, forgive those who shave their heads, O Allah, forgive those who shave their heads, O Allah, forgive those who shave their heads", they said: 'And those who cut their hair short O Messenger of Allah?', and he said: "And those who cut their hair short. But those who only cut their hair short receive a lesser reward, and to shave the head is more virtuous.

Therefore if the person grows their hair long out of habit or because this is just his natural disposition then there is nothing preventing this, but as for the one who intends by this to get closer to Allah because the Prophet, peace and blessings are upon him, grew his hair long then we say indeed, this is in opposition to the Sunnah of the Prophet peace and blessings are upon him. And there is a detail that attention has to be given to, by the one who grows his hair long because the Prophet peace be upon him grew his hair long, so he believes that he is following the Prophet peace be upon him by growing his hair long. But I can say, with all frankness, that he is opposing the Prophet. But his opposition is not apparent; rather, it is hidden on the inside. So, from what is apparent, it seems that he is following the Prophet by growing his hair long, so what is the opposition? The opposition: It is obligatory upon us to pay attention to the statement of our Prophet peace and blessing be upon him, "Verily Actions are (judged) by intentions, so each man will have what he intended. Thus, he whose migration was to Allah and His Messenger, his migration is to Allah and His Messenger; but he whose migration was for some worldly thing he might gain, or for a wife he might marry, his migration is to that for which he migrated." So the one who goes out with the Prophet peace and blessings are upon him, as a Mujahid, then what is apparent? The apparent is that he is a mujahid in the path of Allah; but in reality he went out for some worldly gain or to marry a woman therefore he opposed the Prophet peace and blessings be upon him, in his intention. So will he be rewarded as a mujahid, when he opposed the best of the Mujahids; opposed him in what, in his intention, the answer is no.

Now the one who grows the hair on his head long, emulating his Prophet, his example is like the example of the mujahid that went out with the Prophet as a Mujahid, but his intention was opposed to the intention of the Prophet peace and blessings are upon him. (So the question may be) how is this related to the one who grows his hair long?

We say to him: Do you know that when the Prophet peace and blessings are upon him, grew the hair on his head long that his intention with this was to get closer to his Lord? If you believe that then your action is a blessing and if you dont believe this then you opposed the Messenger in his intention. He did not seek to get closer to Allah by loving honey, and he did not seek to get closer to Allah by hating lizard meat, and also he did not seek to get closer to Allah the Mighty and Majestic by growing his hair long!! So you seek to get closer to Allah (by growing your hair long)? Then you have opposed the Prophet peace and blessings are upon him, in the strongest condition from the conditions of worship. The first condition: The intention must be sincerely for the face of Allah the Blessed and Exalted. The second condition: It must be in accordance with the action of the Prophet. You are in accordance with him in his action, but you opposed him in his intention.

to be continued in sha Allah...

Want tips on dealing with Muslims in the workplace?

2008-01-24T16:25:00.001+03:00

hilarious!: I found this article while looking up information on the rights of Muslims in the workplace and educating prospective employers and employees about workplace diversity.

Good stuff!

***

Have a Muslim in your employ or as your co-worker? Feeling a little frightened? Alone? We at Satirical Muslim understand the situation will be different for various employers and co-workers. So in order to ease the oft-difficult teething process of bringing a Muslim into your team, Satirical Muslim offers its guide to dealing with Muslims in the workplace for both the Nervous Employer and the Overly-Accommodating Employer.

FOR THE NERVOUS EMPLOYER

The beliefs
Do not quip about your “infidel” status. We get it. Ha ha. You’re an unbeliever. But your employee works for you, not a renegade militia in the Afghan mountains. Don’t feel suspicious because of your differences. It’s dangerously possibly the Muslim man or woman is just working for you to earn an income to provide for their families — not unleash jihad on your infidel capitalist system. Put aside your disappointment and suck it up — and stop calling the terrorism hotline.
Finally, when asking your Muslim employee questions, it’s not a good idea to respond with, “That’s so stupid. Welcome to the 21st century!” Reactions to these kinds of judgments will vary. Although Islam is a religion of peace, the same can’t always be said for Muslims. Just something to bear in mind.

The halal food

It’s not discrimination to have both halal and non-halal meat available in Australia, so don’t make a fuss when your Muslim employee refuses the ham and cheese sandwich at morning tea. You’ll survive. This isn’t about you. Haven’t you seen Babe, you heartless carnivore?

The dress

Many Muslims adhere to a strict dress code. While many are familiar with the hijab and burqa, not many are aware that Muslim men are obligated to grow a beard. (Note, this means an actual beard, not a funky goatee with fancy designs.)
If a Muslim man in your employ has a moustache or a rat’s tail, find a way to fire him without it looking discriminatory. There’s no excuse for either. Ever.

Don’t be alarmed by a woman’s hijab. As frightening as fabric from Spotlight can be, nothing’s going to happen to you, and research indicates that the hijab-wearer’s brain size does not decrease due to the pressure of the material. This is good news for you when it comes to her work performance!

Asking questions is always a good place to start in finding out more about a person’s modest dress code. Be casual, not cagey.
We advise against the overused “Don’t you get hot in that?” Most likely the wearer is thinking that hell is a whole lot hotter. Also veer away from, “I know many Muslim women choose to wear it but that’s only because they don’t know any better”. You’ve just insulted many members of her family, and inadvertently told her that she and her belief systems are stupid. A no-brainer that that’s not very nice now, is it? (Following on from such a faux pas, you might want to check whether she has any brothers and gauge the level of closeness between them.)

The breaking-the-ice

No, Ahmed in shipping doesn’t “know where Bin Laden is”. Where’d you get your sense of humour — a cornflakes box?
Joking about the world’s most wanted isn’t going to endear your employer to you or your workplace. If it’s meant to ease your heightened and exaggerated sense of fear, maybe try a brain exercise, like throwing a ball, or writing your name out and admiring it. Anything that doesn’t involve you putting your foot in your mouth will do just fine.

The prayers

Muslims pray five times a day. Each prayer only takes about ten to fifteen minutes (including time for ablutions). The ritual won’t disrupt other employees and has nothing to do with Al-Qaeda.
However, if the employee is not back within those fifteen minutes, most likely he or she is off for a ciggie. It may be best to keep tabs on them. Note, however, that on Fridays Muslim men must attend prayer at a nearby mosque or prayer room. This can take up to an hour. Don’t question the time taken there. It will only get messy and you’ll have HREOC on your back quicker than you can say “jihad”.

The washing

Before prayer, it’s necessary to make ablutions (see above). This includes washing the feet. If you walk in to your restroom and see your employee mid-feet-wash in the sink, don’t be afraid. It’s just a foot, and that’s just water cleaning it. There is no anthrax involved in the process.
However, the employee may invoke the oft-used “I wash my feet five times a day so they’re cleaner than your face”. This is lame. Find a way to fire him or her without it looking discriminatory.

THE OVERLY-ACCOMMODATING EMPLOYER
The office Christmas party

Muslims don’t drink alcohol. By all means invite all employees to the Christmas party, but don’t bother being culturally sensitive about it. Muslims shouldn’t be attending it in the first place unless you’re willing to take away the band, the alcohol and segregate the men from the women. You would also need to arrange for halal food, a prayer room and washing facilities, and rename it the ‘Office End-of-Year Gathering’.
You can just have your annual booze-fest without your Muslim employees in attendance and that way everyone’s happy.

The teetotalling and gambling

Don’t feel guilty that your Muslim employee doesn’t fancy the idea of getting smashed off their face at the local pub every Friday after work. There’s no need to move “Friday drinks” to the local coffee shop or include them in the weekly email confirming said booze-up so that he or she doesn’t “feel left out”.
The employee doesn’t feel left out.
Nor do they feel sad when they don’t lose 50 bucks on Melbourne Cup Day in the office sweepstakes.
Pick your battles.

The world

We understand this is new to you. But don’t try to break the ice and show your high tolerance levels by discussing politics and/or religion with your Muslim employee without Muslim supervision — at least not until you’ve ascertained which sect your Muslim employee adheres to, and where exactly their sympathies and focus lie in the war against terror.
For example, is your employee from an area afflicted by the US’ “liberation” policies? Is your employee a traditionalist, modernist, progressive, liberal, modernist-progressive-liberal, moderate or extremist? Sometimes that person doesn’t even know until a smarty pants co-worker challenges their belief system.
If you make the mistake of offending your Muslim employee, assure them you don’t buy Danish anymore and take some annual leave until the incident is forgotten.

What really happened on 10th Muharram in Muslim history?

2008-01-18T15:52:00.000+03:00

from: A simple, succint article on the 10th of Muharram at ummah.com

"The 10th day of Muharram, known as Yawm Al-‘Ashura, is the most significant day of this month.

The Prophet (SAW) said: “Fasting on the Day of ‘Ashura is an expiation of sins for the previous year”[3]. Many events are attributed to this date such as that the Prophet Adam was born and his repentance was accepted on this day, the Prophet Abraham was saved from the Fire, the Prophet Ishmael was delivered from the Sacrifice, the Prophet Joseph was reunited with his father, the Prophet Job was cured of his illness and the Prophet Solomon was ordained as king on this day[4], but these assertions are not backed by accurate historical evidences

[5].

Ibn Abbas relates that when Prophet Muhammad (SAW) came to Madinah, he found the Jews fasting on the Day of ‘Ashura. When asked for the reason of their fasting, they replied that it was the day when Allah Ta‘ala saved the Prophet Moses and the Children of Israel from their enemies. Moses fasted to thank Allah and they fasted in emulation of him. So the Prophet (SAW) said “We have more of a right to Moses than you” and so he ordered the Muslims to fast on that day [6]. This fast was later abrogated with the fast of Ramadan substituted in its place but it was kept as an optional recommended fast[7]. However, in order not to follow the Jews, the Prophet encouraged Muslims by saying: “Observe the fast of ‘Ashura and differ from the Jews by fasting a day before it or after it”[8].

Martyrdom of Imam Husayn
The Prophet’s younger grandson Husayn was tragically martyred on 10th Muharram 61 AH/ 680 CE. As a result, the Shi‘ites commemorate Husayn’s martyrdom and give prominence to this day.

But it must be remembered that ‘Ashura was given significance by the Prophet himself- hence it is pointless to claim that this day is significant due to Husayn’s martyrdom which happened three decades after the Prophet’s death. However, the heroic martyrdom of Imam Husayn demonstrates to Muslims the need to uphold truth and justice and to fight against tyranny and evil and they should be prepared to give their lives in a similar cause if the need arises. Such situations are all too common in our own times when Muslims are being persecuted for their faith in many parts of the world.''

More information on the martyrdom of Imaam Husayn here (an excerpt from The History of Islam by Akbar Shah Najeebabadi) and here (contains the transcript of an address by Abdullah Yusuf Ali on the day of Ashura)

Why do Muslims love Moses?

2008-01-18T15:23:00.000+03:00

Nice article from beliefnet's 'A MidWestern Muslim' blog on why Muslims love Moses.

''Another year brings another season of Passover, during which Jews commemorate the bitterness of Egyptian bondage, the grace of having death pass over them on its way to claim each Egyptian first born, and the elation of freedom from bondage at the hands of God's mighty Messenger. [...]
Many may not know this, but Muslims also commemorate the Exodus of the Hebrews out of Egypt by fasting the ninth and 10th day of the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar. The event is called Ashura, stemming from the Arabic word for "ten."

While this may be surprising to non-Muslims, it's important to understand that Moses figures prominently in Muslim belief. The Exodus story is a happy one for Muslims; it is a tale of bitter bondage and hardship and the glory of God's deliverance from that hardship. The Qur'an speaks a great deal about Moses and his dealing with Pharaoh. In fact, about 73 passages--many encompassing several verses at a time--deal with Moses. More verses mention Moses by name than Muhammad (peace be upon them both).

The Qur'an tells of two miracles--Moses' staff turning into a serpent and his hand glowing when he places it under his arm--that God permitted as proof of Moses' prophethood. It details the plagues that were unleashed on the Egyptians for their refusal to believe in God and set the Hebrews free: "We (God) then sent upon them the flood, and locusts, and lice, and frogs, and blood as manifest signs; [as a result] they became arrogant and were a people steeped in crime" (7:133).
The Qur'an then speaks about a great affliction that befell the Egyptians and led them to finally let the Hebrews go. The text does not go into what sort of affliction it was; perhaps it was the death of every Egyptian first born, but this is speculation. My favorite part of the story, the splitting of the Red Sea, is mentioned at least twice in the Qur'an as well.
Thus, I am happy to fast on Ashura to commemorate this event.

[...]

The two (communities) have much in common. Both espouse a staunch monotheism. A great number of Hebrew prophets, whom Muslims love dearly, are mentioned in the Qur'an and highly honored. Muslims and Jews both trace their faith origin to Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him). These commonalities far outweigh and outnumber any differences there may be, and they should serve to bring both communities closer together.

How prejudiced can people get?

2008-01-17T12:05:00.000+03:00

from: Yahoo News

WASHINGTON - A high school track star has been disqualified from a meet because officials said the custom-made outfit she wears to conform to her Muslim faith violated competition rules.

Juashaunna Kelly, a senior at the District of Columbia's Theodore Roosevelt High School, has the fastest mile and 2-mile times of any girl runner in the city this winter. She was disqualified from Saturday's Montgomery Invitational indoor track and field meet.

Kelly was wearing the same uniform she has worn for three seasons while running for Theodore Roosevelt's cross-country and track teams. The custom-made, one-piece blue and orange unitard covers her head, arms, torso and legs. Over the unitard, she wears the same orange and blue T-shirt and shorts as her teammates.
The outfit allows her to compete while adhering to her Muslim faith, which forbids displaying any skin other than her face and hands.
"It's not special," Kelly said. "It doesn't make me perform better."
But meet director Tom Rogers said Kelly's uniform violated rules of the National Federation of State High School Associations, which sanctioned the event. Uniforms are required to be "a single-solid color and unadorned, except for a single school name or insignia no more than 2 1/4 inches," he said.
Rogers said that he knew Kelly was wearing the uniform for religious reasons and that he offered her several options to conform to the rules while still respecting her faith, including placing a plain T-shirt over her unitard and then wearing her team uniform over it.
Kelly's mother, Sarah, and Roosevelt Coach Tony Bowden disputed that account. They said officials made several demands of her daughter before Rogers made his decision.
"First, they said she had to take her hood off," Sarah Kelly said. "Then, they said she can't have anything with logos displayed. Then, they said she had to turn it inside out. When I told them that there weren't any logos on it, they said she had to put a plain white T-shirt on over it."
Juashaunna Kelly has worn the same uniform for three years without any problems, including at last year's Montgomery Invitational. Rogers said officials must have missed the uniform last year.
"It wasn't a problem last year, and it's a problem this year? Make me understand why," Bowden said.
Kelly, whose 1,600-meter time of 5 minutes 17.49 seconds and 3,200-meter time of 12:00.81 are the fastest of any D.C. girl, was hoping to run fast enough at the Montgomery Invitational to qualify for the New Balance Collegiate Invitational in New York on Feb. 8-9.
Bowden said the team has no other meets scheduled that would allow her to qualify for the event, which attracts dozens of college recruiters.

Why does the Muslim New Year come after Jan 1?

2008-01-01T11:47:00.000+03:00

No, it's nothing to do with Muslim Standard Time (inside joke on how Muslims are often late for interviews/appointments/functions/flights etc.)

The Saudi Aramco magazine carried this really informative article on the Islamic Hijri Calendar that should clear up the why's and wherefores for anyone who wants to know more about the calendar that Muslims follow.

Hamzah Moin's website 'ManiacMuslim' has more on following MST:

''When September 11th happened, news stations everywhere were starting to speculate that it was “Muslim”-like or something stupid like that.
I disagree.

The heinous acts of terrorism against the World Trade Center were too well-timed and organized to be run by Muslims. I’m serious. I worked for the Muslim community for the last 6 years of my life and there are some cold, hard facts about Muslims today:
1) we’re not organized enough to pull off a 9/11

2) we’re never on time.

If there was such a thing as a Muslim terrorist, he would have missed the flight.''

A Muslim guy saving a Jewish man from a hate crime: that's a miracle?

2007-12-13T22:51:00.000+03:00

Jewish man saved from attack by Muslim
NEW YORK, Dec. 12 (UPI) --
A Jewish man who allegedly was the victim of a hate crime in New York last week was saved from serious injury by a Muslim bystander, a report said.
The New York Post reported Wednesday that while Walter Adler was being attacked by several assailants on board a Q train, Bangladesh native Hassan Askari entered the fray and held off the attackers until police could board the train.
"A random Muslim guy jumped in and helped a Jewish guy on Hanukkah -- that's a miracle," Adler said of his rescuer during last Friday's attack.
Adler told police that a group of passengers allegedly attacked and insulted him and his friends after they responded to a Christmas greeting by wishing them a happy Hanukkah.
After police arrived, 10 people were arrested and six were charged with assault.
The Daily News said the individuals also face hate crime charges for their alleged actions, accusations at least one of the suspects has strongly opposed.

***

I found it funny that this is being touted as a ''miracle''...imho, that's a very Muslim thing to do.

What was Hajj like in the past?

2007-12-13T22:38:00.000+03:00

Makkawis Recall Haj of Yesteryears

Ibtisam Shegdar, Arab News

MAKKAH, 13 December 2007 — Although Haj used to be tough in bygone days — not only for pilgrims but also for locals who served pilgrims — the old-fashioned Haj was an enjoyable experience, something different to the high-tech Haj of today.

Arab News talked to number of old Makkans, who remember Haj of yesteryears. Muhammad Ba’arma has experienced the Haj for 40 years. “The season actually used to start in Rajab, which is five months before the beginning of the actual Haj. Makkans would go to Madinah in Rajab to visit the Prophet’s Mosque and would come back to Makkah to start preparing for Haj,” he said.
Acording Ba’arma, there used to be different pilgrim guides for different people according to their countries of origin. “There used to be different guides for Indians, Malaysians, Turks, Iranians, Egyptians, and so on. Each group would have a representative of the same nationality, who would arrange everything with the head pilgrim guide,” he added.
Ba’arma said that people in Makkah would prepare their homes to welcome pilgrims. “They would leave one room for themselves and the rest of the house would be prepared to house pilgrims,” said Ba’arma.
Womenfolk would prepare meals and snacks to serve the pilgrims. Mamoul (biscuits filled with dates) and Guraiba (almond biscuits) were especially popular. Pilgrims would often be served rice with potato and ice water, something that was pretty difficult to arrange considering the lack of freezers in those days.
Ba’arma said people, who would not be doing the Haj, would gather in the Grand Mosque and break the fast kept on the day of Arafat together. “In the evening, women and children would walk around the streets of Makkah, chanting songs,” said Ba’arma, adding that the alleyways of Makkah would be decorated with lights.
“Children would set up tables in the streets leading to the Grand Mosque. They would prepare drinks and snacks, and serve them to pilgrims,” he added.
Jawahir Abu Sulaiman said that Haj in the old days was a different experience. “Everyone, young and old, would serve pilgrims. Some people would not participate in Haj and would stay in Makkah. Most of those people would be women and children, who would walk around Makkah and sing songs to pass the few days until their men return,” he said.
Zainab Khashifati said pilgrims would travel to the holy sites on camels. “They would sit on a wooden chair known as a Shugduf, which would be placed on top of camels and which could carry three people,” she said.
“At the sides of the Shugduf, the pilgrims would tie their belongings, including food to eat during the few days of Haj,” she added.
“People, who wouldn’t be going for Haj, would eagerly buy sheep and sacrifice them the same way that the Prophet (peace be upon him) did. As part of their Haj, pilgrims would select their own animals, the meat of which they would distribute to people,” said Khashifati.
Muhammad Hafiz, a pilgrim guide, told Arab News that guides used to travel to the Islamic Port in Jeddah to welcome pilgrims. “Pilgrims would all arrive by Rajab. The pilgrim guide would pick them up and bring them to Makkah,” he said.
“The first thing that pilgrims would do when they arrive in Makkah would be to go to the Grand Mosque and complete their Umrah. Later they would be taken to their place of residence and be served food and drink,” said Hafiz, adding that after having remained in Makkah for a number of days, the pilgrims would travel to Madinah and be looked after by pilgrim guides there, who are known as Dalils.
“People used to travel by camel. Women used to be carried in Sugdufs, while only rich people could afford to ride in a special luxurious camel seat called Tukhturwan, which would be carried by two camels,” he said.
“Prior to Haj, the pilgrims would return to Makkah and prepare themselves for Haj. Each pilgrim guide would have a certain location in Mina. On the first day of Dhul Hijjah, the guides would begin preparing things in Mina,” he said.
Hafiz said that the guides would arrange for pilgrims to be brought to the different Haj sites with the help of camels. “Each guide would hold a particular flag that would make it easy for pilgrims to follow without being lost, and men would go around serving Zamzam,” he added.
After the Haj is completed the pilgrims would be brought back to Makkah and then to Jeddah to return to their home countries. “It’s a difficult job, but the guides would find their job satisfying. They wouldn’t get much money, but it was something they were proud to do,” said Hafiz.
“Although Haj is tough, it remains a great season. Fifty years ago traveling was hard. People used to walk and only a few people could afford camels. The tents used at pilgrim sites would be removable ones. The stay wasn’t as luxurious as it is right now,” said Hafiz.

What should be the most essential items on one's Hajj checklist?

2007-12-13T22:31:00.000+03:00

By Shaykh Yaser Birjas

"When I was giving a Hajj seminar a few weeks ago for a group of participants from our community, I noticed that every individual was concerned about his or her Hajj check list more than anything else. They were literally paranoid and afraid that they might miss something or that they might carry with them an unnecessary load which might be troubling.
The Hajj list usually includes things like: Hajj manual, Ihram, safety belts, slippers or flip flops, enough clothes, water bottles, umbrella, sun screen, cash money and Oh yah, your ticket and passport. And did I mention the Hajj visa?
Unfortunately, people become so busy in the last few days before they travel to Makkah preparing for their journey that they forget about the real Hajj check list. Besides learning the practical rituals of Hajj and the smart tips to ensure our safety and the safety of others while there -which are usually the main focus of any regular Hajj seminar- Have we ever thought of creating a Hajj list that ensures this -probably once in a life time experience- is done correctly with no flaws? After all, a faultless Hajj receives no reward other than Al-Jannah.
If you plan to go to Hajj then you need to prepare a special check list besides the regular one.
These are what I believe are the most essential items on your Hajj check list..."

Read the complete article (and sequels) at Muslim Matters

What's a group of Muslims called?

2007-12-01T20:20:00.000+03:00

The Laughing Muslim had a tongue-in-cheek take on collective nouns :

"A group of wolves is a pack,
A group of elephants is a herd,
A group of lions is a pride,
A group of fish is a school,
A group of birds is a flock,
A group of Muslims is ...an argument.''

:P

Will the real Muslims please stand up?

2007-11-14T20:24:00.000+03:00

These days, the internet's an immensely bewildering, veritable Tower of Babel of Muslim voices, most of them claiming to have the *real* exclusive take on Islam and what Muslims are/ought to be.

Who can blame an outsider (non-Muslim) for looking in and turning away completely confuzzled at the state of the nation? Who's a body to believe?

I tend to steer clear of people/blogs/websites that are steeped in negativity and pessimism or prone to recurrent self-indulgent rants on Muslims and their past, present, future state ...and that's what I'd recommend to others looking to learn about Muslims too.

Above all else, Muslims are supposed to be positive people, exemplifying good manners (adab)and a reasonable nature (akhlaaq) in the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings be upon him.

Exploring anything that falls short of that basic test, is not worth one's time, imho.

Like my favourite quote goes: ''Don't waste time debating who/what a good Muslim is, be one.''

Heard of the new 'Islamic' car?

2007-11-12T17:27:00.000+03:00

New Islamic car to have compass to find Makkah
Agencies

Published: November 11, 2007, 10:16
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Iran, Turkey and Malaysia are planning to build an "Islamic car" that will have a compass to find the direction of Makkah, Malaysia's state news agency reported.
The proposed car will also have a compartment for the Quran and prayer scarves, the Bernama agency quoted an official of Malaysian automaker Proton as saying.
"The car will have all the Islamic features and should be meant for export purposes," said Proton's managing director, Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir.
"We will identify a car that we can develop to be produced in Malaysia, Iran or Turkey," he said during a visit to Tehran.
Syed Zainal said the vehicle was an Iranian initiative. "What they (Iran) want to do is to call that an Islamic car," he said.

What's the Muslim position on Halloween?

2007-10-31T20:28:00.000+03:00

On Halloween

By A. Idris Palmer

Halloween is a Western celebration originated by Celtic pagans and traditionally applied to the evening of October 31. It is completely based on rituals involving dead spirits and devil worship. Moreover, it symbolizes the beginning of the ancient Druid new year, who hold that the dead revisit their homes at that time, thus in essence, Halloween represents the devil worshipper's New Year's celebration. Mexico, which has a similar celebration at the same time, calls the day, "El Dيa De Los Defuntos" (The Day of the Dead).

Therefore Muslim commemoration of such a day is absolutely haram; as it involves the worst elements of shirk and kufr. Indeed, participation in it is similar to one commemorating Christmas or Easter, or congratulating the Christians upon their prostration to the crucifix. In fact, it is worse than congratulating them for drinking wine, fornication and so on. Muslim parents therefore should advise their children accordingly and not allow them to participate in these celebrations.
Historically, Halloween precedes the Christian feast of Hallowmas, All Hallows, or All Saints' Day. The observances connected with Halloween originated among the ancient Druids, who believed that on that evening, Saman, the lord of the dead, called forth hosts of evil spirits. The Druids customarily lit great fires on Halloween, apparently for the purpose of warding off all these spirits. Among the ancient Celts, Halloween was the last evening of the year and was regarded as a propitious time for examining the portents of the future. The Celts also believed that the spirits of the dead revisited their earthly homes on that evening. After the Romans conquered Britain, they added to Halloween, features of the Roman harvest festival held on November 1 in honor of Pomona, goddess of the fruits of trees.
The Celtic tradition of lighting fires on Halloween survived until modern times in Scotland and Wales, and the concept of ghosts and witches is still common to all Halloween observances. Traces of the Roman harvest festival survive in the custom, prevalent in both the United States and in Great Britain, of playing games involving fruit, such as ducking for apples in a tub of water. Of similar origin is the use of hollowed-out pumpkins carved to resemble grotesque faces and lit by candles placed inside.

How therefore is the Muslim to understand this matter in the light of the shari‘ah? Firstly, the Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam said in an authentic narration: "Whosoever resembles a people is from them." This is a general statement prohibiting the Muslims from imitation of the kuffar. Any Muslim, who thereby, participates with the non-Muslims in their celebrations, particularly those which involve clear shirk and kufr— is asking for the wrath of Allah and misguidance to descend upon him like it has descended upon them. Allah ta‘ala says: "And those who do not witness falsehood, and if they pass by some evil play or evil talk, they pass by it with dignity." [Al-Furqan, 25:72]

According to the major Companions and their students such as Mujaahid, Rabi‘ ibn Anas and Adh-Dhahhak, the word "falsehood" used in above verse refers to "the holidays of the mushrikeen." Others like Muhammad ibn Sireen are more explicit, stating that the verse defines "the people of shirk practicing their shirk, and (the verse admonishes us) not to participate with them." Thus the believers are those referred to in the verse as "not witnessing falsehood."

At-Tabari explains this aspect, when he says: "It is not allowed for Muslims to attend their [the disbelievers’] holidays and festivals because they are a type of evil and falsehood. If the people of good mix with the people of evil without putting an end to what they are doing, then they become like those who are pleased and influenced by the evil. And we fear falling into Allah's anger because of their gathering." The resemblance referred to here includes all the aforementioned ways. At-Tabari further explains the above mentioned verse, (And those who do not witness falsehood), "They do not assist the people of idolatry in their idolatry, nor do they associate with them."

It was the sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam to differ from the non-Muslims, particularly in those matters which were specific to non-Muslims. In Sunnan Abi Dawud, Anas ibn Malik says that when the Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam came to Medinah, there used to be two festivals in which the people engaged in playing sports. So the Prophet asked, "What are these two days?," they replied, "We used to play sports during these in the jahiliyah (time period before Islam)." The Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam then said, "Verily Allah has given you two better days, the Day of Adha and the Day of Fitr."

This not only shows that the Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam did not acknowledge these days, but also shows that Allah has dignified the Muslims with days which are pleasing to Him and superior in merit. Indeed, the glorious companions understood this and applied its ruling to the fullest extent. Abdullah ibn ‘Umar said, "One who settles in the lands of the non-Muslims, celebrates their New Year’s Days, and behaves like them until he dies, will be raised with them on the Day of Resurrection."

I pray that this brief response clarifies this issue about the origin of Halloween and the Islamic position on it. And Allah knows best, and to Him is our return. Ameen.

(source: islaam.com)

***

Related read: A Muslim on Halloween by Dr. Hesham Hassaballa, who writes:" I'm no fanatic, but Islam is strictly monotheistic--and, for me, any holiday having to do with worshipping other gods is wrong."

Halloween is upon us, and scores of children dressed up as everything imaginable will soon hit the streets, going door-to-door for candy. This year my five-year-old daughter is old enough to go. Alas, I will not let her. This is not because I am afraid for her safety, or I do not want her to eat her body weight in candy (though these are legitimate concerns). My decision is based on Islamic principles.

Islam accepts the cultural traditions of a people as long as those traditions agree with Islamic values. Thus, blue jeans, baseball caps, hot dogs, and other quintessential American items are wholeheartedly accepted by Islam [...] And this is why I will not send my daughter trick or treating this year or any other year. Halloween honors Celtic and Roman gods. Islam is strictly monotheistic, and anything having to do with the worship of any other god besides the Most Holy One is out of the question.

Many will see this stance as "fanatic," but I take exception to that accusation. I will not parade the streets trying to prevent trick-or-treaters, Muslim or otherwise, from getting their candy. I will not put a sign on my door saying, "No candy here--Halloween is a pagan holiday and you will all burn in hell." My family and I simply will not participate in Halloween festivities."

read the complete article here

What do Muslims do on 'Eid?

2007-10-11T21:21:00.000+03:00

repost from last year, hope everyone has an especially blessed 'Eid!
****

Muslims are encouraged to dress in their best clothes (new if possible) and to attend a special Eid prayer that is performed in congregation at mosques or open areas like fields, squares etc. When Muslims finish their fast at the last day (29th or 30th Ramadan), they recite Takbir (Arabic audio clip with English meaning).Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbarالله أكبر الله أكبر الله أكبرla ilaha illa Allahلا إله إلا اللهAllahu akbar, Allahu akbarالله أكبر الله أكبرwa li-illahi al-hamdولله الحمدGod is the Greatest, God is the Greatest, God is the GreatestThere is no deity but GodGod is the Greatest, God is the Greatestand to God goes all praiseThe Takbir is recited after confirmation that the moon of Shawwal is sighted on the eve of the last day of Ramadan. It continues until the start of the Eid prayer. Before the Eid prayer begins every Muslim (man, woman or child) must pay Zakat al Fitr, an alms for the month of Ramadan. This equates to about 2 kg of a basic foodstuff (wheat, barley, dates, raisins, etc.), or its cash equivalent, and is typically collected at the mosque. This is distributed to needy local Muslims prior to the start of the Eid prayer. It can be given at any time during the month of Ramadan and is often given early, so the recipient can utilise it for Eid purchases. This is distinct from Zakat based on wealth, which must be paid to a worthy charity.The Eid prayer (salah) is followed by the khutba (sermon) and then a prayer (dua') asking for forgiveness, mercy and help for the plight of Muslims across the world. It is then customary to embrace the persons sitting on either side of oneself as well as ones relatives, friends and acquaintances.Muslims spend the day thanking the Creator for all their blessings, as well as simply having fun and enjoying themselves. Children are normally given gifts or money.

also see: Eid 101 by Muhammad AlShareef

How will Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor pray towards Mecca when orbiting the earth at 17,000mph?

2007-10-11T10:05:00.000+03:00

Malaysia's Islamic scholars spent a whole year finding solutions to these and other ticklish problems as Mr Muszaphar, a 35-year-old Malaysian doctor and part-time model, prepared for his nine-day trip to the International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket.

Read the complete article and see a picture of the astronaut in The Guardian.

When is one night equal to a thousand months?

2007-10-06T14:29:00.000+03:00

"Verily! We have sent it (this Qur'an) down in the Night of Decree (Lailatul-Qadr).

And what will make you know what theNight of Decree is?

The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months.

Therein descend the angels and the Rûh,[i.e. Jibra'íl (Gabriel ] by Allah's Permission with all Decrees. Peace! until the appearance of dawn." [97:1-5]

The Companion Abu Hurairah reported that Prophet Muhammad said, " .. There is a night (during this month of Ramadhan), which is better than a thousand months. Whoever is deprived of its good is indeed deprived (of something great). [Ahmad, Nisa'i and Bayhaqi]

also related: a message from Ustadh Muhammad al Shareef:

"The last ten nights of Ramadan are upon us. And soon after this the journey for Hajj will begin for Muslims around the world.
If you make the same dua, each day, for the last ten nights ofRamadan, it’s guaranteed that you would have made that dua duringLaylatul-Qadr. (A night worth 1000 months of reward in the sightof Allah).
********************************

So, prepare your dua from now!
********************************
Step 1: Ask yourself, “If Allah said to me, I’ll give youanything you wish, just ask!” What would you ask for? Make alist. (Try to fill 2 pages worth of dua, from the goodness ofthis life and the next.
Step 2: Pick about 6 of those things
Step 3: Make dua for those 6 things consistently every night forthe last ten nights of Ramadan.
Of course, make as much dua as you want, but make sure these 6things are consistent.
With best wishes to see you succeed at the highest level!

- Muhammad Alshareef

Ramadhan: a time for fasting or feasting?

2007-09-20T23:30:00.000+03:00

Muslims everywhere are fasting for Ramadan - and looking forward to the bigger than usual evening meal that ends each day. But can veering between such extremes be healthy?

The Guardian has an article on post-fast feasts 'Feast or Famine?' that also answers the oft-asked question: does fasting include eschewing water, chewing gum and smoking? (Yes)

***

Ed: Just for the record, Ramadan binges are more a reflection of personal and cultural preferences and are not Islamically induced, even if many Muslims are seen indulging themselves 'religiously' at sundown.

In fact, the Sunnah (tradition/practice) of the Prophet Muhammad was to break his fasts with a few dates and water.

The companion Anas bin Maalik reported: "The Messenger of Allah would break his fast with ripe dates before he would pray. If those were not available, he would eat dried dates. If those were not available, he woulddrink some water." [This hadith is related by Abu Dawood and by al-Hakim,who called it saheeh, and by At-Tirmithi, who called it hassan.]

Sulaymaan bin 'Amr reported that the Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: "If one of you is fasting, he should break his fast with dates. If dates are not available,then with water, for water is purifying." [This is related by Ahmad and by At-Tirmithi, who called it Hassan Saheeh.]

Is it ok for Muslims to congratulate each other at the beginning of Ramadhan?

2007-09-10T19:20:00.000+03:00

Every year Muslims all over the world wait in eagerness for the coming of the month of Ramadan. Ramadan, the month in which every night Allah has designated people to be freed from the hellfire, the month in which there is a night better than one thousand months, whoever fasts it with faith and reflection then all of his past sins will be forgiven.
Because of the status of this month and its importance, many of us greet each other in excitement with phrases such as “Ramadan Mubaarak” , “Ramadan Kareem”, “Kullu ‘aam wa antum bi khair” anticipating the great blessings of this month and wishing them for others.
Yet these phrases and greetings, even though we use them frequently, do they have a basis in our religion? Meaning: is there a precedent which has been set for such greetings?

Read the complete article that discusses various issues regarding the permissibility of this practice: Congratulating each other at the commencement of Ramadhaan.

Why is Debbie AlMontaser being defamed?

2007-08-29T19:20:00.000+03:00

The New York Times sets the record straight regarding Debbie AlMontaser, the principal of the Kahlil Gibran International Academy, who has been the victim of a particularly malevolent media smear campaign.

CAIR and various Muslim blogs are requesting 'people of conscience' to help spread the facts.

May we all see the truth for what it is, and follow it; and recognise falsehood for what it is, and avoid it.

Want an insight into moonsighting?

2007-08-26T11:11:00.000+03:00

The issue of moon sighting has never been as divisive as it has become today.

In the past, Muslim scholars agreed on a certain method to decide the start and end of the month of Ramadan. In the last few years, advancements in communications and media have turned the world into a small village creating a new context where matters concerning inter-countries relations are involved.

A second new context may also be related to the presence of many Muslims in countries that lack one single Muslim authority. Resultantly, readily understood issues related to a number of Islamic rituals have now become controversial and confusing. This confusion is further fuelled by the influence of a Western lifestyle upon Muslims; generally speaking, Muslims are often accused of being anti-Western or even unscientific in their spheres of life. This can influence them to react emotionally and unreasonably.

One such observable sphere in which many Muslims have reacted in this manner is with regard to moon-sighting and the establishment of the start of the month of Ramadan, ‘Id al-Fitr and ‘Id al–Adha. In this article, I would like to draw attention to specific principles in an attempt to remove misconceptions surrounding the ongoing debate.

Read the complete article by Shaykh Haytham Al-Haddad here

Why the world needs Muslim media

2007-08-19T09:30:00.000+03:00

I recently discovered UmmahPulse a UK-centric news and views website that "aims to provide a window onto the state and condition of the Muslim community - a regular "pulse-check" to gauge the health of the ummah. We are committed to highlighting those issues that are of relevance to British Muslims and that impact our brothers and sisters worldwide. We aim to represent the views of the mainstream - not the mythical "silent majority" that the neocons tout but the vocal that cannot be heard because they have no platform or outlet."

This is also where I read the distressing story of the brutal, unprovoked attack on an Imaam, Dr. Muhammad Sulaimani that (surprise, surprise) didn't make it to any of the mainstream media.

It just re-inforced the need to have more media sources manned by Muslims...may we all recognise the truth for what it is, and follow it; and recognise falsehood for what it is, and avoid it.

Why are Muslims in India finding security in a ghetto called Juhapura?

2007-08-15T21:20:00.000+03:00

from an article on the riot victims of Gujarat in OutlookIndia

"Our menfolk were lucky. They died. We die bit by bit everyday in the struggle to live, but we cannot afford the luxury of death. There are children to bring up." Soberly, Sahaliya Khatun sums up her life, and her sister-in-law Firoza Banu’s. Five years ago, police killed their husbands, and they joined the ranks of over 20,000 victims of the 2002 communal riots[...]

From retired judges and bureaucrats to the lowly handcart-wallah, Muslims find security here—but not much else. Five lakh people live here, twice the population of Gandhinagar, but squeezed into an area less than one-fourth the size of the state capital. Civic amenities are virtually non-existent, and even nationalised banks fight shy of giving loans here. Water comes largely through borewells, there is no drainage, and internal roads are virtually non-existent. Juhapura is a blot on the face of 60-year-old India.

What made an ex-BNP extremist turn to Islam?

2007-08-11T10:10:00.000+03:00

The story of an unusual convert:
From a white extremist to a devout Muslim
Wednesday, 08 August 2007

"Once I was a 100% sure that I wanted to become a Muslim, I immediately felt better,” said British Muslim convert Muhammad Islam. There can’t be more amazing stories of people converting to Islam as that of British citizen Muhammad Islam, formerly known as John Ord.

Now a devout Muslim, Muhammad used to be an active member of the far-right anti-immigration group, the British National Party (BNP)."Growing up, I was never particularly religious. I only went to church for weddings, funerals and baptisms,” he told the Eastern Eye Online. Raised in north-east England, Muhammad joined the BNP when he was 16 because his friends were members. The white extremists’ group quickly deceived him into thinking that all Asians and black people were a threat to his way of life. He said there were “only two policies the BNP had at the time”, which were to “beat them up”, and “kick them out”.

Muhammad described how he used to go “Paki bashing”; harassing Asian people. "We would find them and give them a good kicking and say stereotypical things such as, ‘Why are you in our country and why are you taking our shops and jobs?’" However Muhammad later became frustrated with the BNP policies and left the party in his early 20s. Still a racist, he went to London and befriended like-minded people who falsely considered Islam a threat.

He said that he and his friends were asked by the police to provoke Muslims in order to get them into trouble and help the police arrest them. "We would always get a response to our statements and this gave the police a reason to arrest Muslims. Often the police would use this method to target those Muslims who were wanted by other countries,” he said.

But Muhammad’s life totally changed when he unknowingly bought a copy of the holy Qur’an. He said: "I bought the book because of the picture on the cover – it was the most beautiful picture I had ever seen, with the most gorgeous colours and a beautiful building. I thought I’d buy a cheap frame and ended up with a nice picture. I had no idea I had bought the Qur’an until I got home." Muhammad then decided to read the holy book to find things to use against Muslims. "My mind was telling me that like any book written by humans, it would contain errors and contradictions. I had this view of Islam being this great bad religion." But when he read the Qur’an, Muhammad realised that Islam was totally opposite to what society had led him to believe.

In 1992, Muhammad left London and returned back to the north-east in 1992. There, he met a group of Muslims and discussed with them issues relating to the Qur’an and Allah (SWT). "Not only were they able to intellectually prove that God existed but also that the Qur’an was the word of God,” he said. The group also challenged Muhammad to try to prove that Allah (SWT) did not exist and that the Qur’an was not his word. If he succeeded, they would become Christians, but if he failed then he would have to become Muslim. Muhammad accepted the challenge without hesitation. He said he used to meet the Muslims “with what I thought were convincing arguments but they would always have answers. Eventually I got scared and backed off."

Four years later, he decided to become a Muslim. He took his shahadah in November 1996. "Because I knew I was about to make a momentous decision that would affect the rest of my life, I felt as if a big rock was crushing me and that I couldn’t breathe… Once I was a 100 per cent sure that I wanted to become a Muslim and took the decision, I felt as if everything just lifted and I immediately felt better,” Muhammad said. Most people close to Muhammad were not shocked by his conversion to Islam. "I had made the decision to convert a year before and had told people that I was going to become a Muslim."

However, his family didn’t support his decision. "My sister stopped talking to me and still does not talk to me. My father did not want to discuss it because Islam was a totally alien concept and an alien way of life to him. My mother seemed more concerned about what the neighbours would think. Initially she said I couldn’t pray in the house and I told her I’d pray in the garden. But my mother is okay about it, now."

Muhammad has lost all of his old friends. "My friends were going out drinking and chasing girls and I had absolutely nothing in common with them anymore,” he said. Now Muhammad has no difficulty in practising Islam because he had made a number of changes to his lifestyle a year before becoming a Muslim, such as not drinking alcohol. "Although becoming a Muslim has been a big step, it has not been a massive step in terms of practical issues,” he said. Since converting, Muhammad has married a Pakistani woman and moved to the Midlands. He said he’d like to get involved in social work and focus on the Muslim community and tackle problems that community leaders are not aware of or are simply ignoring. "I want to try and deal with these social problems that especially affect the youth, with an Islamic perspective."

source:siasat.com

Does the name Abeer Qasim Hamza ring a bell?

2007-08-11T10:03:00.000+03:00

from wikipedia:

The Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi murder (عبير قاسم حمزه الجنابي; concerns a 14-year-old Iraqi girl who lived in the village of Mahmoudiyah southeast of Baghdad who was gang-raped and killed by American troops. [1][2]

Hamza, her parents and her younger sister were shot and killed in their home in Mahmoudiyah on or around March 12, 2006. A discharged U.S. serviceman, Pfc. Steven D. Green, was arrested and charged on July 3, 2006 with raping and killing Hamza and killing her father Qassim Hamza Raheem, 45, her mother Fakhriya Taha Muhasen, 34, and her seven-year-old sister, Hadeel Qassim Hamza. Initial details published by American media reported that Abeer Qassim Hamza was 25 years old, and that the others killed were her husband and child, details which were incorrect. Others reported that her parents were killed before the soldiers raped Abeer. [3]

According to one witness, Omar, a 13 year old neighbour, Abeer's father was told that there were Americans in his house. Abeer always told her mother that she was afraid of the soldiers. Her mother was sending her to stay with a neighbor, but she didn't get there in time. Qassim Hamza entered the house thereafter to "see what was happening". Omar reports to hearing a sound "like beating a tin barrel with a stick a few times", and later saw five Americans leave the house, one of whom carried two guns.

Omar's mother claims that she and her son went to the neighbour's door, shouting through asking if they required assistance, but received no reply. She says she then noticed smoke coming from their window which led her to scream for help from neighbours, several of whom knocked down the door into the house. When she entered she found the remains of Abeer Qassim Hamza. [1]

In November, Specialist James Barker , 24, admitted rape and murder over the killings and was sentenced to 90 years. Paul Cortez broke down as he confessed to raping the girl as her parents and sister were shot dead in another room.The case is one of several in which US troops are accused of killing Iraqis.

--------

several vigils are being organised in memory of Abeer, details are available at this website

What really happened on Prophet Muhammad's Night Journey?

2007-08-10T22:19:00.000+03:00

Our discussion here – from a believer’s perspective - is about the essence of this journey. The subtle messages embedded with every bit of the story. Why did it happen? Why the Prophet Muhammad? Where was he taken during that journey? Why there and not somewhere else?
Why did he meet with the prophets and lead them in Salat (prayer)? Why did Musa (Moses), 'alayhi salaam (upon whom be peace), interfere with the divine command of Salat (prayer) for the benefit of the Ummah of Muhammad?

Lots of questions answered in an interesting article by Sh. Yaser Birjas on the Prophet's night journey from Makkah to Jerusalem (Al-Israa'), and the ascension to the Heavens (Al-Mi'raj).

Who morphed activist Shakeel Bhatt into "Islamic Rage Boy", an incarnation of the perennially angry Muslim?

2007-07-24T09:06:00.000+03:00

from: All the rage - victim of US bloggers' cartoon hits back

Typing his nickname into a search engine yields more than 75,000 results. He has inspired a cartoon character and merchandise.
But the 30-year-old Kashmiri activist is puzzled, not angered, by his overseas fame[...]

he says: "I am not happy with people joking about me or making me into a cartoon, but I have more important things to think about. My protests are for those Muslims who cannot go out onto the streets to cry out against injustice. This is my duty and I believe Allah has decided this for me."
[...]
Neighbours describe Mr Bhat as well-mannered, sincere and dedicated. He walks to a protest if it is within six miles (10 km) of his home and hitchhikes or catches a bus if it is further. Sometimes he is the only protester.
Thousands of miles away in the US, the two bloggers who re-imagined Mr Bhat as a cartoon character have put Islamic Rage Boy on T-shirts, beer mugs, hoodies and Valentine cards in a variety of bloodthirsty and furious poses, and copyrighted it.
The bushy beard, scowl and crooked nose bear an uncanny resemblance to Mr Bhat, but his creators deny the image is Islamophobic or based directly on him.
Buckley F Williams, from the "conservative leaning" satirical news blog The Nose On Your Face, says: "We're anti-Muslim-extremism, the loudest voice of the Muslim world right now, which would lead one to believe it is the dominant voice of the Muslim faith.
"Believe me, we want to be proven wrong. It isn't as though we were sitting around at our monthly Ku Klux Klan meetings and drawing religions out of a hat to see who would become the object of our scorn and ridicule next."
He and his co-blogger Potfry, both assumed names, have seen a significant rise in traffic to their site since the launch of Islamic Rage Boy, from 1,000 to 5,000 hits a day. They first spotted Mr Bhat last September.
Mr Williams says: "We didn't go looking for him because he was always in the news. We made him Islamic Rage Boy shortly after that and it became a sub-culture."
It was, he adds, less about Shakeel and more a composite representation. "We've seen so many pictures of Muslims protesting and there's a faction that's perennially angry."
The intention of the cartoon is, he claims, to open up debate. "Muslim fanaticism is the problem, not Muslims. Islam is not coming across, to the average person, as a friendly or inviting religion. There must be many Muslims who don't like what's going on, but we're not hearing it."
A spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Ibrahim Hooper, is unconvinced. Mr Hooper says: "I find the term Islamic Rage Boy offensive, as would anyone who applied the term to their own faith. It's an Islamophobic product by Muslim-bashers on internet hate sites."
He compares the cartoon to the anti-semitic imagery of 1930s Nazi Germany. "The cartoon is part of an overall growth of anti-Muslim rhetoric in this country. Someone is trying to link Islam with violence and anger and profiting from it."
He quotes a recent Newsweek poll, which paints a complicated portrait of US attitudes towards Muslims: 63% of Americans surveyed believe most Muslims do not condone violence and 40% believe the Koran does not condone violence, but 28% believe it does and 41% felt Muslim culture glorifies suicide.
Mr Hooper says: "While the majority is not hostile towards Muslims, there is a minority who are, and cartoons like this do not help. You cannot combat one form of extremism with another."

Mr Bhat, unaware of the row he has fuelled, vows to carry on protesting. Undeterred by being locked away or being laughed at, he says: "I do not like being called Islamic Rage Boy, it is not nice; but why should I care what people think of me in this life? The afterlife will decide my fate, not a mousemat."

Australian Muslims: Mice, not Men?

2007-07-22T13:34:00.000+03:00

Austrolabe has (as usual) an excellent post on why "the treatment of Dr Haneef has been deeply troubling for many Australians, of all political stripes..." and the perplexing "near universal silence of the plethora of Muslim organisations and their self-appointed leaders" on the issue.

Good stuff.

UPDATES: Haneef charge dropped...Lessons from the Haneef Case

Are Muslims under siege?

2007-07-15T06:15:00.000+03:00

By M. J Akbar (mjakbar@asianage.com)

Ed: A Muslim 'liberal' thinking aloud on the state of the nation...pertinent questions.

excerpts:

"Is the world under siege by Muslims or are Muslims under siege by the world? Now that the last hope of liberals, Indian Muslims, seem to have joined this world in Glasgow, or perhaps the world has reached their doorstep through Australia, the question has shifted yet further from an answer. Are we in that dark penumbra of history when the only response to a question is more questions?

Let me unburden myself of the one at the top of my mind. Which of the two is more self-defeating — the bruised breast of a self-flagellating Indian liberal who moans that all certainty has collapsed ever since Kafeel Ahmed drove a flaming Jeep Cherokee into Glasgow airport, or the crude fist of the zealot who gloats that you can put the Muslim anywhere but you cannot change his fundamental fanatic character?

On consideration, the first is the bigger problem if only because nothing better could be expected from the second. Both positions are based on the same fallacy. They lay the sins of a few upon the head of the community.

Must all Indian Muslims be punished with collective guilt because a Kafeel or a Shakeel, provoked by memories and images that could easily range from Babri to Basra, has chosen to vent his rage through unacceptable violence upon innocents? Do we blame Hinduism or Hindus for the malevolence of those who killed and terrorized Muslims in Gujarat five years ago? We do not, and must not. Is there any reason why Muslims converge so easily into a category?

[...]

A newspaper is life distilled into still life. If the siege we mentioned is global, then perhaps a good checkpoint is a global newspaper through which we might ponder the mysteries of cause and effect.
The top of the front page of the July 12 edition is a moving photograph of a woman, her head bowed beyond sight, her tears hidden in the cusp of an anguished hand, sobbing on the coffin of a lost son or husband, one of the over 8,000 Muslims massacred by Serbs in Srebrenica twelve years ago, during the ethnic cleansing that began on July 11, 1995. They have just identified a fresh lot of 465 victims.
Where is one of the principal leaders of this genocide, a mass murderer called Gen. Ratko Mladic. If you want to chat with him, down at the nearest cafe. If you are the European Union or America, then he becomes invisible. He cannot be found.

Below this picture is the story of Lal Masjid, a citadel of paranoia, xenophobia and terrorism masquerading as a mosque and madrasa. There are no Christians or Serbs in this battle in Pakistan, which has taken at least a hundred lives. This is a war between different attitudes to faith. And this is proof that terrorism is a fire that can also burn the hand of those who feed it.

To the left of this picture is a story about Wolfgang Schauble, Germany’s top security official, a heavyweight in Angela Merkel’s Cabinet. He is demanding the detention of potential terrorists in Germany and the extermination (death, in simpler language) of their leaders outside Germany. Schauble, but naturally, will determine the definitions of “potential” and “leaders”. He will not send anyone to exterminate Gen. Ratko Mladic. He is on the lookout for Lebanese Muslims.
Turn the page. A suicide bomber kills 10, wounds 35 at a military camp in Algeria.
Turkey complains about American arms in the possession of Kurdish secessionists. In Britain, four young Muslims, in their 20s, who “very nearly” succeeded in another outrage on the London Tube two years ago, are sentenced to forty years’ imprisonment at the very minimum. What will Iraq be like when they emerge from jail in 2045? Which passions will remain unspent four decades later?

Is the world under siege? Are Muslims under siege? If you know the answer, go collect your Nobel Prize for Peace, or at least an invitation to a seminar in Europe. To me, six of one looks suspiciously like half a dozen of the other."

Why don't Muslims shake hands with the opposite gender?

2007-07-14T18:43:00.000+03:00

Just as many people harangue "nothing is too trivial for the mullahs to pontificate/legislate over"...the converse is often true too...the most ordinary acts of Muslims are automatically imbued with "what-a-weirdo"undertones and unpleasant implications.

An opinion piece in a prominent Australian newspaper (incidentally by a Muslim) analyses the propensity of an increasing number of Muslims to refuse/shy away from shaking hands with the opposite gender...

"a small but growing number of young Australian Muslims identifying more with the intricacies of their religious beliefs, it is unacceptable to touch a member of the opposite sex to whom they are not related. Not only is pecking the opposite sex on the cheek a no-go to avoid temptation, even shaking hands is taboo. This extends to non-Muslims they come into contact with.
Recently I have been caught out several times on this issue in public. On each occasion I was left feeling awkward, if not a little embarrassed. By the time I had figured out that the man did not shake hands, it was too late: my hand was left hanging in the wind.
It was hard not to take this personally, even though for Muslims who take this position it is nothing personal at all. They simply do not want to shake hands because they believe it is against their religion. To avoid seeming disrespectful, these men will often touch their heart as a sign of goodwill."

[...]

"But this issue is not restricted to Muslims: Orthodox Jews do not shake hands with the opposite sex. Nor should it be assumed that only Muslim men take a strict approach, as some women take this position even when their husbands ignore it."

link: Austrolabe (don't miss the lively comments section!)

Are Doritos and Cheetos halaal or haraam?

2007-07-14T18:18:00.000+03:00

interesting read: Of Mice and Men where Abu Ammaar Yasir Qadhi makes sense of the often conflicting haraam/halaal fatwas (religious rulings) on the consumption of cheese products containing animal rennet.

***

Ed: I find this article interesting not just for the academic information and insight it provides, it gives the layperson a rare glimpse into the inner-life of a fatwa (religious ruling)...all the legal considerations and implications that go into what might seem like a "trivial" issue to most people.

Nice!

What does the Pew Report have to say about Muslim Americans?

2007-05-28T20:34:00.000+03:00

Muslim Americans: Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream
May 22, 2007
Download the complete report here
The first-ever, nationwide, random sample survey of Muslim Americans finds them to be largely assimilated, happy with their lives, and moderate with respect to many of the issues that have divided Muslims and Westerners around the world.

The Pew Research Center conducted more than 55,000 interviews to obtain a national sample of 1,050 Muslims living in the United States. Interviews were conducted in English, Arabic, Farsi and Urdu. The resulting study, which draws on Pew's survey research among Muslims around the world, finds that Muslim Americans are a highly diverse population, one largely composed of immigrants. Nonetheless, they are decidedly American in their outlook, values and attitudes. This belief is reflected in Muslim American income and education levels, which generally mirror those of the public.
Key findings include:

Overall, Muslim Americans have a generally positive view of the larger society. Most say their communities are excellent or good places to live.
A large majority of Muslim Americans believe that hard work pays off in this society. Fully 71% agree that most people who want to get ahead in the United States can make it if they are willing to work hard.
The survey shows that although many Muslims are relative newcomers to the U.S., they are highly assimilated into American society. On balance, they believe that Muslims coming to the U.S. should try and adopt American customs, rather than trying to remain distinct from the larger society. And by nearly two-to-one (63%-32%) Muslim Americans do not see a conflict between being a devout Muslim and living in a modern society.

Roughly two-thirds (65%) of adult Muslims in the U.S. were born elsewhere. A relatively large proportion of Muslim immigrants are from Arab countries, but many also come from Pakistan and other South Asian countries. Among native-born Muslims, roughly half are African American (20% of U.S. Muslims overall), many of whom are converts to Islam.

Based on data from this survey, along with available Census Bureau data on immigrants' nativity and nationality, the Pew Research Center estimates the total population of Muslims in the United States at 2.35 million.

Muslim Americans reject Islamic extremism by larger margins than do Muslim minorities in Western European countries. However, there is somewhat more acceptance of Islamic extremism in some segments of the U.S. Muslim public than others. Fewer native-born African American Muslims than others completely condemn al Qaeda. In addition, younger Muslims in the U.S. are much more likely than older Muslim Americans to say that suicide bombing in the defense of Islam can be at least sometimes justified. Nonetheless, absolute levels of support for Islamic extremism among Muslim Americans are quite low, especially when compared with Muslims around the world.

A majority of Muslim Americans (53%) say it has become more difficult to be a Muslim in the United States since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Most also believe that the government "singles out" Muslims for increased surveillance and monitoring.

Relatively few Muslim Americans believe the U.S.-led war on terror is a sincere effort to reduce terrorism, and many doubt that Arabs were responsible for the 9/11 attacks. Just 40% of Muslim Americans say groups of Arabs carried out those attacks.

Also read: What polls about US Muslims don't tell you, by Shahed Amanullah

Who's the Muslim woman who has ''thrown Denmark in turmoil''?

2007-05-16T19:02:00.000+03:00

From: The Guardian

In the land that launched the cartoons war between Islam and the west, Asmaa Abdol-Hamid finds herself on the frontline, gearing up for a new battle.
The 25-year-old social worker, student and town councillor describes herself as a feminist, a democrat, and a socialist. She has gay friends, opposes the death penalty, supports abortion rights, and could not care less what goes on in other people's bedrooms. In short, a tolerant Scandinavian and European.

She is also a Palestinian and a devout Muslim who insists on wearing a headscarf, who refuses, on religious grounds, to shake hands with males, and who is bidding fair to be the first Muslim woman ever to enter the Folketing, the Danish parliament in Copenhagen.

read the complete article here

What does a nonMuslim make of 3 million people gathered for three days of prayers, lectures, and ruminations on how to be a good—and peaceful—Muslim?

2007-04-19T07:35:00.000+03:00

A journalist from 'Slate' attends the bishwa ijtema in Bangladesh and files in a report on "a gathering, hosted by Tablighi Jamaat, a massive organization of Muslim missionaries that espouses a strict, yet nonpolitical, interpretation of Islam."

Interesting, if irreverent (so what else is new?), grassroots reporting on the Muslim-majority country of roughly 145 million people.

A sample:

"Tablighis, as the group's followers are known, shun bristle toothbrushes in order to clean their teeth with miswak, an aromatic stick used by the Prophet Mohammed. They also drink every glass of water in three sips, the same way the prophet did. They are fundamentalists in every sense of the word. But they are mostly harmless."

link courtesy: SunniSister

Guess who've been called "model citizens" in Britain in the latest Gallup poll?

2007-04-17T09:31:00.000+03:00

Poll reveals Muslims as model citizens
The Times

Contrary to popular stereotypes, Muslims in London have almost twice as much confidence in the Government as the general public and are noticeably more trusting of the judicial system, elections and the police.
More than half identify very strongly with Britain, and about four in every five believe that it is important for integration to master the English language, get a better education and find a job.
The findings, to be revealed tomorrow, are the result of an independent survey of Muslim attitudes by the Gallup Organisation, and point to a much more hopeful outlook for integration than recent reports of extremism, alienation and a ghetto mentality have suggested.
The poll also finds that almost nine out of ten Muslims in London believe attacks that target civilians are unjustified and morally wrong — only 4 per cent fewer than the view of nonMuslims. Some 81 per cent also condemn violence even if used in a noble cause — a figure that is 9 per cent higher than the general public’s view.
But Muslims are overwhelmingly more likely to identify very or extremely strongly with their religion than nonMuslims — 69 per cent compared with 30 per cent.
Only 13 per cent of Muslims say it is necessary to remove the face veil (niqab ) for integration in British society, compared with 55 per cent of nonMuslims who see this as essential. Even fewer, 6 per cent, believe it necessary to remove the headscarf (hijab) compared with 21 per cent of nonMuslims who do think so.
The findings are part of a global survey of Muslim attitudes carried out by Gallup, which conducted face-to-face interviews with individuals aged 15 or older in 40 Muslim countries. As part of this survey, Gallup looked last year at how integrated Muslims were in three European countries — Britain, France and Germany — and how much they identified with their nations, their faith and their ethnicity.

[...]

Loyalty to Britain was high: 74 per cent (compared with 45 per cent of nonMuslims). So too was respect for other religions: 82 per cent, compared with 54 per cent. Nevertheless, Muslims were twice as likely to say that they had experienced racial or religious discrimination in the past year, with 28 per cent reporting this. The 14 per cent of nonMuslims who suffered discrimination includes a cross-section of all London’s other ethnic and religious minorities.
Gallup found that there were still striking differences between London’s Muslims and nonMuslims on moral issues. Only about 10 per cent believed that sex outside marriage was acceptable, compared with more than 80 per cent of the general public. Even fewer — less than 5 per cent — found homosexual acts acceptable, compared with 65 per cent generally. Slightly more Muslims than nonMuslims accepted “honour killing” and crimes of passion, but the numbers in each case were tiny, at about 2 per cent. Abortion was acceptable to more than three times as many nonMuslims as Muslims, and there were similar big discrepancies on suicide and viewing pornography. Only on the death penalty were the figures fairly close, with about 36 per cent approval by Muslims and 43 per cent by nonMuslims.
The Gallup poll echoed similar polls which have shown that British foreign policy plays a large role in Muslim attitudes.

Gallup found that 59 per cent thought the ousting of Saddam Hussein’s Government by US and British forces was not justified, compared with 40 per cent of the general public. By contrast, only 14 per cent of Muslims thought that the invasion of Iraq was justified, compared with 23 per cent of the public.
The poll is financed by the Gallup Organisation, and so claims that it has no partisan interest in any of the findings. It will be welcome news to many British Muslims, who complain that they are misrepresented as insular, extremist, mistrustful of the police and unwilling to integrate into British society.

What do Muslims think about dogs?

2007-04-10T13:18:00.000+03:00

Muslims-R-Us has a site-meter that allows administrators to see the referral link that a visitor has followed to visit the site. Funnily enough, the maximum number of hits we get are for "Muslim dating" , following, I presume, an article from the New York Times that we linked to, that talked about pre-arranged marriages and likened them to blind dates.

Recently, I discovered that a visitor came to this site looking for an answer to "Why do Muslims dislike dogs?" A Google-search reveals all kinds of misinformation on the position of Muslims regarding dogs -- ranging from the outright malicious to the hilariously off key.

So, I thought it would be worthwhile compiling a coherent answer form various sources on what Muslims really think about dogs:

Fatwa (religious ruling)from Sh. Ahmad Kutty from islam-online.net, on owning dogs

“A dog can be owned for purposes such as the following:

1. A trained dog for hunting. Remember in Islam we are only allowed to hunt for food; there is no such thing as hunting for fun, for we are not allowed to kill or torture animals or drive them out of their habitats for the fun of it.

2. A trained dog as a guide. This would be the case if a person is blind and he/she has no choice but to keep a dog for essential services. In this case, it is permissible for him/her to keep a dog inside the house once it has been trained for service, but it is still recommended that the dog have its own sleeping arrangement. 3. A dog trained for police duties.

4. A guard dog to guard houses or property.

5. A dog used by farmers to shepherd cattle and sheep.

Do Muslims think dogs are dirty?

There's actually a difference of opinion among scholars on that, with some ruling that only the *saliva* of a dog is considered dirty, while the dry fur is not. God knows best.

Are dogs dirty by normal (meaning non-religious) criteria:

This is an enlightening article on zoonotic diseases -- diseases carried and transmitted by household pets, I'm quoting the part about dogs:

"Rabies is the disease most commonly transmitted from cats and dogs to humans. Saleh noted that pets should be vaccinated annually against the disease from the age of four years. Animals that are kept at home are safe from the disease. However, the problem can arise when they are taken outside, like when you take your dog out for a walk. "If the animal is bitten by another infected animal it can contract the disease," he explained.
When dealing with rabies, it is important to note two things, Saleh said. The first is that the disease is only transferable through biting. The second is that a quick response is vital should this occur.
"If you have a dog and notice any kind of behavioral changes such as mad behavior or lack of recognition of the owner, you need to immediately send the dog to a veterinarian hospital. If for any reason medical attention for the animal can't be sought, then it must be put to sleep immediately or it becomes a health hazard," he said.
Saleh explained that there are two kinds of rabies; furious and dumb. In furious rabies, the symptoms are evident. Dumb rabies is more dangerous because the infected animal does not show any symptoms but still carries the disease. "In both cases there needs to be a history of being bitten by another animal," he said.
So what should one do when bitten by an animal? This depends on the degree of laceration (tear) in the bite as well as its location. The disease enters through the nerve fibers that feed the area of the wound. Hence, the closer the bite is to the brain, the more dangerous.
As soon as the bite occurs, the wound needs to be flushed out with water. "When doing that, the patient is in fact doing two things: mechanically removing the virus or diluting it. Also, the wound should not be covered or stitched because the virus is more potent when isolated from air," explained Saleh.
The second step to take after being bitten is to receive rabies shots. The first shot against rabies should be taken immediately on the same day of the bite. The following shots are taken three days later, then after one and two weeks. The final shot is taken 28 days after the bite. The animal that bit the person should be located and placed under observation. If the animal is rabid then it will die within two weeks. At this point the person must take all five shots. If the animal lives, then the two remaining shots are not necessary.

[...]

Dogs can transfer roundworms to their owners. In some extreme cases these worms can cause damage to the liver, eyes or brain. Dogs need to be taken on a regular annual visit to their doctors for de-worming and their stool should be checked every six months, said Saleh.
A parasitic dermatological disease that could be passed on to humans from their dogs is mange (or scabies in humans). The parasites make tunnels under the skin. "Symptoms for dogs include itching, hair loss, wrinkling skin and a terrible smell. As soon as a dog contracts the disease, it needs to be treated in a pet hospital and to be isolated from people. If the disease becomes difficult to treat, the vet may need to put the dog to sleep in order to avoid contaminating humans and other dogs," he said.
If the dog or the owner show symptoms of itching, medical attention needs to be sought immediately. An important note, Saleh said, is that dogs normally shed hair twice a year and this should not be confused with mange. However, if circular or irregular patches of hair loss are discovered, a visit to the vet is a must."

I'm thinking of the distressing news that surface regularly about *pet* dogs viciously attacking their masters, members of the family...or even killing little children, as one more reason why it makes sense to keep a physical distance from dogs.

Interestingly, many *non-believers* consider dogs dirty because of their "disgusting" eating habits...read the comments on this blog...it's not only a Muslim thing!

The bottomline: there are numerous Prophetic narrations that exhort Muslims to treat animals with kindness...keeping one's physical distance does not equate cruelty.

What's the latest news on the Aishah Azmi case?

2007-04-02T15:06:00.000+03:00

VEIL ROW APPEAL LOST

from: The Mirror

31/03/2007

THE Muslim teaching assistant who sparked a nationwide debate by wearing a veil in class yesterday lost her discrimination case appeal.
Aishah Azmi, 24, was suspended last year after refusing to remove the veil despite pupils finding it hard to understand her.
She was later sacked when an employment tribunal rejected claims of discrimination and harassment. Yesterday her appeal against the tribunal decision - which ruled asking to remove her veil in class was not discrimination - was dismissed.
Kirklees Council said: "We were disappointed Mrs Azmi decided to pursue an appeal but satisfied the original ruling was supported."
Mrs Azmi, of Dewsbury, West Yorks, was originally awarded £1,000 for "injury to feelings" after the row at Headfield CofE junior school.
Local MP Shahid Malik said: "I was confident the school was right. I hope she leaves this alone now."

-----------

Ed: I'm wondering why do Muslim MPs and other Muslim 'spokespeople' come across as so patently unsympathetic to Muslim women's causes in the UK (read the local MP's statement above)?

Similar statements were issued in the Shabina Begum case, and in the sauna incident (below) that indicated discomfiture/embarrassment at Muslim women's insistence on dressing up in Islamically appropriate attire...what's up with that?

Is Canada's Passenger Protect Program nothing less than a “No-Fly” List?

2007-04-01T20:29:00.000+03:00

By Faisal Kutty

As the Canadian government forges ahead with its cleverly named Passenger Protect Program, the timing could not be better to seriously reconsider what is for all intents and purposes a no-fly list.

[...]

...hasty and ill considered national security initiatives which are essentially aimed at managing perceptions more than they are in really addressing legitimate and manageable security concerns are not harmless.

In fact, they cause disproportionate harm in return for very minor gains in terms of intelligence and law enforcement. The innocent and unintended victims of such initiatives are real human beings with lives, rights and dignity. When not properly designed to address the negative impacts such initiatives can significantly disrupt and even destroy lives.

[...]

...religious and racial profiling, no matter how vigorously it is denied, is too often the reality for a growing number in Canada’s Muslim and Arab communities at least in the national security context. In fact, this was confirmed by none other than the Department of Justice in a report leaked a couple of years ago.

The proliferation of government watch lists is a troubling development in the “war on terrorism.” The challenges of such lists include differences of opinion on who’s actually a security threat, consolidating information across agencies by making the computer systems communicate the with one another. In fact, Canada’s Auditor General Sheila Fraser found in 2004 that watch-lists used to screen visa applicants, refugee claimants and travelers seeking to enter Canada were in disarray because of inaccuracies and shoddy updating.
And now we have another list to worry about.

(read the complete article here

Does good news about Muslims often get buried under a barrage of bad news?

2007-04-01T09:19:00.000+03:00

Muslim cab drivers offer free rides to the blind accompanied by dogs as goodwill gesture

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, with hundreds of waiting taxi drivers behind a nearby SuperAmerica station, has become a focal point of the angst. Nearly 75 percent of the 900 licensed cabbies are Muslim, mostly Somali. And six prayer-leading imams are suing airport management after being pulled from a plane in November.
Airport commissioners have expressed concern about cabbies refusing to pick up fares because of Islamic prohibitions against carrying alcohol. They also worry that Islamic rules about dogs might prompt drivers to decline rides when 300 visitors with guide dogs attend the American Council of the Blind convention in Minneapolis this summer.
Abdinoor Ahmed Dolal, a Muslim cab driver from Kenya, was stunned by the commissioners' concerns. The Qur'an places high value on assisting the disabled, he said. So Dolal says Muslim cabbies have offered to give blind conventioneers free rides to Minneapolis, forgoing the $30 fares as a sign of good will.
"The issues we have are so simple and have nothing to do with extremism or fanaticism," Dolal said. "We are Muslims and we are Minnesotans and if we sit down and listen to each other, we can work things out."

Can someone who doesn't speak Arabic be trusted with the task of translating the Quran?

2007-03-30T18:30:00.000+03:00

New Translation Prompts Debate ...

excerpts from an article on what is being erroneously touted as 'the first translation of the meanings of the Quran by a woman' in The New York Times.

Laleh Bakhtiar had already spent two years working on an English translation of the Koran when she came upon Chapter 4, Verse 34.Ms. Bakhtiar spent three months translating a verse that addresses treatment of a rebellious woman. She nearly dropped the project right then.
The hotly debated verse states that a rebellious woman should first be admonished, then abandoned in bed, and ultimately “beaten” — the most common translation for the Arabic word “daraba” — unless her behavior improves.
“I decided it either has to have a different meaning, or I can’t keep translating,” said Ms. Bakhtiar, an Iranian-American who adopted her father’s Islamic faith as an adult and had not dwelled on the verse before

[...]

When she reached the problematic verse, Ms. Bakhtiar spent the next three months on “daraba.” She does not speak Arabic, but she learned to read the holy texts in Arabic while studying and working as a translator in Iran in the 1970s and ’80s.

well said: SunniSister's analysis: Saved by Bakhtiar

Is wearing a hijab to a sauna carrying political correctness too far?

2007-03-19T15:00:00.000+03:00

Row over fully-dressed woman in sauna

from:Oxford Mail

A health club has been criticised for allowing a Muslim woman to go for a swim and sauna while wearing traditional head dress and robe.The woman was admitted to David Lloyd Leisure, in Garsington Road, Cowley, on Sunday in contravention of the company's own rules on dress.The decision has been condemned by club member Ian Caldwell, who was in the sauna when the woman walked in and by Muslim community leader Taj Hargey, who said it was "political correctness gone crazy."

Mr Caldwell said: "The woman walked in wearing her head dress and robe down to the floor and I said 'do you think it's appropriate to wear all that gear in the sauna'."There were other women in there who felt threatened because they were wearing swimsuits while she was fully dressed."She then left and got into the swimming pool. I asked the manager why she was allowed to break the rules and he said they had to observe her religious customs.

"They've got a dress code but they are effectively making exemptions for religious dress. I don't think they should put religious custom over and above health and hygiene. It is customary in this country to wear swim gear in the swimming pool."Liam Macgilp, general manager at David Lloyd Oxford, said: "Whereas we respect the religious beliefs and customs of all members, the health, hygiene and safety of members is always the first priority."

The rules are that all members in the sauna or the wet areas of the club should wear swimwear that is less voluminous for the health, safety and hygiene of all its staff and members."He would not comment on the incident on Sunday which he said he did not witness but said he understood Mr Caldwell's description of the sequence of events to be correct.

Mr Hargey, chairman of muslim group MECO, said: "If this woman wants to wear this garb it's not Islamic custom, it's a cultural tradition which has nothing to do with faith."This is political correctness gone crazy and there should be one set of rules and regulations for everyone, regardless of their culture or religion."Perhaps she should consider wearing a new Islamic swimsuit that has been designed called the Burqini which covers all the necessary parts."That would be one way around it if she wants to preserve her modesty."

Muslim community leader Muhammed Khan said: "Muslim women who choose to use a facility do so through their own free will and hence need to uphold both personal safety, relevant Islamic injunctions pertaining to the matter, as well as the health and safety of other users."It seems Muslim women are being permitted to wear clothing, not a swimsuit, that is concealing yet non-voluminous. It would be advisable to clarify what types of clothing would be classed as 'less voluminous'."

Can you imagine discussing the inclination to sin with the Prophet of God?

2007-03-17T11:18:00.000+03:00

By: The Ed

I was reading the story of a young man who came to Prophet Muhammad, صلىالله عليه وسلم (peace and blessings be upon him) who agreed to abide by all the other Islamic principles, but requested permission to be allowed to practice fornication/adultery even after he embraced Islam, as he was strongly inclined to it, (possibly accustomed to practising it) and couldn't imagine living without it.

At the time, the Prophet was sitting with his Companions who loudly reprimanded the young man and rebuked him for daring to bring up such a brazen appeal.

What did Allah's Messenger صلىالله عليه وسلم do?

He called the young man closer to him and gently enquired: “Would you accept [to see] your mother [being a participant] in committing fornication/adultery?"

The young man replied: "No!" .

Allah's Messengerصلىالله عليه وسلم said:"Similarly, other people dislike to see their mothers indulging in fornication/adultery."

The Prophet صلىالله عليه وسلم further asked the young man: "Would you accept [to see] your sister [being a participant] in committing fornication/adultery?"

The young man replied: "No".

The Prophet صلىالله عليه وسلم said: "Similarly, other people dislike to see their sisters indulging in fornication/adultery as well".

Allah's Messengerصلىالله عليه وسلم finally asked: "Would you accept [to see] your daughter committing fornication/adultery?"

The young man again replied:"No"

The Prophet صلىالله عليه وسلم said: "Similarly, other people dislike to see their daughters indulging in fornication/adultery as well".

Then, Allah's Messengerصلىالله عليه وسلم prayed for the young man saying: "Oh Allah! Purify the heart of this young man, guard his private parts (from unlawful sexual contact), and enable him to lower his gaze".

The young man is later reported to have said:" By Allah! From that moment on, nothing was more hateful to me than seeking unlawful sexual relations ”

[A Prophetic narration reported by At-Tabaraani]

Notwithstanding the Prophetic precedent, can a young Muslim man or woman imagine going up to a respected leader of the community or a religious figure and discussing their inclination to sin, with a view to finding a solution?

If the answer is "no", then we are clearly failing to live up to the Prophet's example.

Muslim youth today need counselling, community and peer support and prayer if they are to emerge unscathed from their inclination to sin -- an inclination that threatens their well-being and happiness in this world and the next.

The factors that contribute towards Muslim youth being inclined to sin are numerous -- the means to combat them are pitifully few. Deploring the lack of hayaa/religiosity in "today's kids"; displaying an ostrich-like attitude and simply wishing the problems away; vague admonitions to the youth to "have taqwa" and "lower your gaze" without educating them about the "hows" and "whys" of the process, are proving to be completely inadequate methods.

How Muslims are challenging the blond, blue-eyed sunbronzed lifesaver stereotype

2007-03-10T10:08:00.000+03:00

Australian Muslims Go for Surf, Lifesaving and Burqinis

By RAYMOND BONNER, The New York Times (via SunniSister)

...Ms. Laalaa is a Muslim and has voluntarily worn the burqa, the traditional head-to-toe covering for Muslim women, since she was 14. It is hard to swim, she said, if your body is swathed in cotton, which is very heavy when wet.
Now, her clothing quandary solved by a novel fashion, the burqini, Ms. Laalaa, a vivacious 20-yearold, has become a Surf Life Saver, as volunteer lifeguards here are known, lured to the beach by a new outreach program for Australia’s Muslims.
The program, On the Same Wave, was started a year ago by the nonprofit group that organizes the volunteers, Surf Life Saving Australia, along with the federal Immigration Ministry and the local council.
The outreach was the response to an ugly episode on Cronulla Beach, about 20 miles south of downtown Sydney, in December 2005, when skinheads and neo-Nazis, many drunk and with racial epithets painted on their bodies and T-shirts, marauded through the area beating up Lebanese men.
Many here and abroad wondered if Australia was headed for a period of rising racial tension. The riots set off a round of soul-searching and left many Australians asking if the violence reflected an underlying racism in their society.
Among Australia’s population of roughly 20.2 million, fewer than half a million are Muslims, most of them in Sydney and Melbourne.
On the Same Wave was intended to promote cultural understanding, introduce people from minority groups — Chinese, Somalis, Sudanese — to beach culture and safety, and above all to increase and diversify the membership of Surf Life Saving, said Vanessa Brown, its membership director.
It has also challenged the public perception of a virtually sacred Australian icon, the Surf Life Saver, as someone who is always blond, blue-eyed and sun-bronzed. “It’s a stereotype, that’s accurate,” said Suzie Stollznow, diversity manager for Surf Life Saving New South Wales.
Under the program, 22 men and women, from 14 to 40 years old and including a woman with three small children, signed up to become Surf Life Savers. Most were ethnic Lebanese, but there was a Palestinian, a Syrian and a Libyan.
“But all proudly Australian,” said one, Suheil Damouny. “It’s important to mention that.”
Like most Muslim immigrants here, Mr. Damouny, 20, a sportswriter at The Torch, a weekly newspaper, does not like to be referred to by ethnicity. His grandparents fled Palestine in 1948 and moved to Lebanon, then to the United Arab Emirates, where he lived until moving to Australia seven years ago. He considers himself Australian.
Mr. Damouny said his friends could not understand why he wanted to be a Life Saver, especially in Cronulla. And they did not think he could pass the rigorous eight-week course. “But I did,” he said proudly. Seventeen finished; one woman dropped out after making the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, and coming back in a full burqa.
Nodding to where a yellow surfboard with the red letters “Surf Rescue” rested waiting to be paddled out in an emergency, Mr. Damouny, who is about 5 feet 7 and weighs 140 pounds, said: “The hardest was getting used to that big, ugly thing. It is quite heavy.”
One requirement was to be able to pull an unconscious swimmer on board, and then get him to shore, “through massive waves,” Mr. Damouny said.
Ms. Laalaa broke her nose when she was trying to paddle out through the crashing surf and the board reared up and kicked back into her. She also twisted both ankles, she said. “I have black-and-blue bruises all over my body,” she said. “But I’d do it all over again.”
She admits that she was an unlikely candidate. “I’m a girly-girl,” she said. “I like to walk on the street in high heels.”
But Ms. Laalaa said one reason she had joined the lifesaving program was to educate Australians about Muslims. “They don’t think Muslim women swim,” she said. “Or do anything,” she quickly added with an irrepressible laugh.
When people see women wearing the burqa, they think they are oppressed. “I am not oppressed,” she said. “I do have my own mouth. I am educated. I do make my own decisions.”
For her and other women, the biggest obstacle, she explained, was what they would wear. That was solved by a local fashion entrepreneur, Aheda Zanetti, who designs “dynamic swimwear and sportswear for today’s Muslim female.”
For Surf Life Savers, Ms. Zanetti, whose label is Ahiida, came up with a two-piece outfit made of spandex, form-fitting but fully covering, even the hair. Ms. Laalaa pulls her hair back into a bun and hides it under a bright red hood that is an extension of the long-sleeved yellow top.
Ms. Laalaa said her father, a welder, was completely supportive, as was her mother, a homemaker, and her three brothers and sister. She said her family was not that different from other Muslims in Australia. Most are moderate, she said. Experts here agree. It is the radicals who grab the headlines, they say.

How to make sense of the BlogRoll?

2007-03-07T13:57:00.000+03:00

I just realised there are over a 100 links (110 to be precise) on the blogroll of this site...which can be daunting and confusing for someone randomly surfing in.

The header they are compiled under is, I think, self-explanatory: Worldviews.
They are websites on Muslims, or by Muslims, or of interest to Muslims and those interested in getting to know them better. They represent the plurality of voices within the Muslim community and beyond. Some of these sites are based on news and analyses, others give insight into personal lives and places -- pretty much an eclectic mix.

However, one feature they all share is that they are about real life and real people -- all the websites feature real names, photographs, incidents and opinions, not phantoms in cyberspace.

I'd really like to recommend some of the sites as mandatory reading and make a list of the sites that are my personal favourites, but that would probably be counter-productive to the true purpose of having a huge blogroll: the joy of discovery.

- The Ed

What makes a sheikh a sheikh?

2007-02-18T10:34:00.000+03:00

What is authentic Islamic scholarship?

from Austrolabe

A brother once told me “Islamic knowledge is the most important thing one will ever receive, more precious even than the food one eats, so think carefully from whom you take it.”

The most overused and abused term in the contemporary Australian Muslim vernacular is Sheikh, in its broadest meaning it means an elder who possess wisdom, but in the most correct classical usage a sheikh is a religious scholar of the sacred sciences, from Quranic exegesis to medicine and beyond. In the secular world its meaning is confined to the sacred religious sciences.

After reading mainstream Australian media I am surprised to find that “Sheikhs” are everywhere, and everywhere absurd. All the while, they dishonour the title they have awarded themselves. They shame themselves but more importantly they shame our teacher the Prophet of Allah, Muhammad (pbuh).

Several religious personalities have awarded themselves the title of Sheikh unilaterally; others have merely falsified their qualifications. These “pseudo sheiklets” can be seen duking it out on chatrooms and Islamic forums, WWF style. Still others acquire the mannerisms and feign the gravitas of true scholars without ever learning the humility.

There are however some serious religious scholars in this country, but not many, perhaps even less than twenty.
The classical understanding is that an Islamic scholar possesses six qualities:

Personal piety, the core attribute of any religious leader. This was not merely a self-serving statement that one is a good egg, but rather observed behaviour, speech and action 24 hours a day over the period of many years by a live-in mentor who was already a Sheikh. The knowledge that one acquires in scholarship must be personally transformative for one to be a Sheikh. This is a core attribute of a Sheikh, those without personal piety and integrity must never be allowed positions of authority in our community.
Excellence in the sacred sciences, with a basic knowledge in all fields followed by specialisation in one. Although being a Hafiz of Quran was not an absolute, it was frequently present. All sciences were considered sacred. And excellence meant real excellence by any independent measure. Ibn Sina, a noted physician and philosopher, authored a textbook of Medicine that was used for 700 hundred years in Europe (his theology was less good).
Isnad (scholarly pedigree). An unbroken chain of teachers right back to the prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Serious scholars can recite their sanad from memory ( I have personally seen this done). This came with an Ijazaa, or a dispensation to teach the sacred sciences or a branch of them (i.e. a graduation license).
Adab; is another Arabic word that lacks one suitable English translation but conveys meanings of etiquette, excellence in manners and integrity. It also implies gravitas that comes with scholarship and modesty. In the early period of Islam when scholarship was at its height. “Oinking” to camera is not part of Adab.
Lifelong scholarship. A doctor is not simply one who has a medical degree but rather someone who is employed in medical practice. So it should be with the Shuyukh. It is therefore essential that professional associations are created as well as forms of peer review (e.g. a peer reviewed journal). Thus ones entire corpus of academic output is available for scrutiny by ones colleagues. In the past this was done formally, but in the online era a peer reviewed publication would appear to be more appropriate.
Peer recognition. One cannot be a Sheikh or Sheikha without the acknowledgement of other Sheikhs.

These qualities are in addition to an expectation that a Sheikh will have a mastery of classical Arabic and its grammar, not merely conversational Arabic gained from a university course.
The role of a Sheikh in society is as an individual transformed by their piety and their scholarship who can transform others . One does not create a scholar merely to be “moderate” or to be a community harmonizer, but these are consequences of authentic Islamic scholarship.
Islamic universities have gradually dwindled in both prestige and personal spiritual mentoring, and the Salafi universities have opened the Pandora’s box of institutionalizing formal western education rules on Islamic training. A glaring shortcoming of these institutions is in not training enough Sheikhas or women scholars. Islamic scholarship (the height of religious excellence) is open equally to men and women (indeed the greatest scholar is Islam was a woman, Aisha bint Abi Bakr). One would not know this from the sorry state of female Islamic scholarship today, something that we are paying for dearly.

More recently Muslims are surprised to see that western governments are eager to teach Islam in Western Universities for the express purposes of creating a form of religious worship that is convivial and pleasing to them. Whilst we are delighted to discover well-wishers who fret about the level of our religious education (as well as artistic expression) we are skeptical about the sincerity of their intentions.

If one can become a Sheikh or Sheikha merely by attending a western university and hustle a position of leadership in the Ummah, then why does one need even to be a Muslim? There is no requirement for spiritual mentoring, no observable personal piety, no demonstrated sincerity for the Muslim attending the course.

If we go down this path (of allowing others to recreate our religious education), I can see no reason why in the future, non-Muslims who have studied Islam in these courses won’t also give religious rulings to an increasing religiously crippled community.

Why would humans want to celebrate a day when every fowl chooses its mate?

2007-02-14T10:43:00.000+03:00

from: ReligionFacts

Valentine's Day is a "celebration of romantic love" occurring annually on February 14.
Although it is associated by legend with a Catholic saint named Valentine, Valentine's Day is not a religious holiday and never really has been. Valentine's Day has historical roots mainly in Greco-Roman pagan fertility festivals and the medieval notion that birds pair off to mate on February 14.

The custom of exchanging cards and other tokens of love on February 14 began to develop in England and France in the 14th and 15th centuries and became especially popular in the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries. Over the last decade or so, Valentine's Day observance has even spread to the Far East, India, and the Middle East.

Lupercalia, a precursor to Valentine's Day.
History of Valentine's Day
The association of the middle of February with love and fertility dates to ancient times. In ancient Athens, the period between mid-January and mid-February was the month of Gamelion, which was dedicated to the sacred marriage of Zeus and Hera.

In ancient Rome, February 15 was Lupercalia, the festival of Lupercus (or Faunus), the god of fertility. As part of the purification ritual, the priests of Lupercus would sacrifice goats and a dog to the god, and after drinking wine, they would run through the streets of Rome striking anyone they met with pieces of the goat skin. Young women would come forth voluntarily for the occasion, believing that being touched by the goat skin would render them fertile. Young men would also draw names from an urn, choosing their "blind date" for the coming year. In 494 AD the Christian church under Pope Gelasius I appropriated the some aspects of the rite as the Feast of the Purification.

In Christianity, at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of them martyrs, are mentioned in the early lives of the saints under the date of February 14. Two of the Valentines lived in Italy in the third century: one as a priest at Rome, the other as bishop of Terni. They are both said to have been martyred in Rome and buried on the Flaminian Way. A third St. Valentine was martyred in North Africa and very little else is known of him.

Several legends have developed around one or more of these Valentines, two of which are especially popular. According to one account, Emperor Claudius II outlawed marriage for all young men because he believed unmarried men made better soldiers. Valentine defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young couples and was put to death by the emperor for it. A related legend has Valentine writing letters from prison to his beloved, signing them "From your Valentine."

However, the connection between St. Valentine and romantic love is not mentioned in any early histories and is regarded by historians as purely a matter of legend. The feast of St. Valentine was first declared to be on February 14 by Pope Gelasius I around 498. It is said the pope created the day to counter the practice held on Lupercalia, but this is not attested in any sources from that era.

The first recorded association of St. Valentine's Day with romantic love was in the 14th century in England and France, where it was believed that February 14 was the day on which birds paired off to mate. Thus we read in Geoffrey Chaucer's (c. 1343-1400) Parliament of Fowls, believed to be the first Valentine's Day poem:
For this was on saint Valentine's day, When every fowl comes there to choose his mate.

It became common during that era for lovers to exchange notes on Valentine's Day and to call each other their "Valentines." The first Valentine card was sent by Charles, duke of Orleans, to his wife in 1415 when he was a prisoner in the Tower of London. Valentine's Day love notes were often given anonymously. It is probable that many of the legends about St. Valentine developed during this period (see above). By the 1700s, verses like "Roses are red, violets are blue" became popular. By the 1850s, romantics in France began embellishing their valentine cards with gilt paper, ribbons and lace.

Valentine's Day was probably imported into North America in the 19th century with settlers from Britain. In the United States, the first mass-produced valentines of embossed paper lace were produced and sold shortly after 1847 by Esther A. Howland (1828 - 1904) of Worcester, Massachusetts. Her father operated a large book and stationery store, and she took her inspiration from an English valentine she had received.
In the 19th century, relics of St. Valentine were donated by Pope Gregory XVI to the Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland, which has become a popular place of pilgrimage on February 14.
But in 1969, as part of a larger effort to pare down the number of saint days of legendary origin, the Church removed St. Valentine's Day as an official holiday from its calendar.

Valentine's Day Customs and Traditions
.
The primary custom associated with St. Valentine's Day is the mutual exchange of love notes called valentines. Common symbols on valentines are hearts, the colors red and pink, and the figure of the winged Cupid.
Starting in the 19th century, the practice of hand writing notes began to give way to the exchange of mass-produced greeting cards. These cards are no longer given just to lovers, but also to friends, family, classmates and coworkers. Valentine cards are often accompanied by tiny candy hearts with affectionate messages printed on them.
The Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentine cards are sent worldwide each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year, behind Christmas. The association also estimates that women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines.

In the last 50 years or so, especially in the United States, the practice of exchanging cards has been extended to include the giving of gifts, usually from a man to his girlfriend or wife. The most popular Valentine's Day gifts are roses and chocolate. Starting in the 1980s, the diamond industry began to promote Valentine's Day as an occasion for the giving of fine jewelry.

Valentine's Day in China and Japan
Thanks to a concentrated marketing effort, Valentine's Day has emerged in Japan as a day on which women give chocolates to men they like.
This has become for many women – especially those who work in offices – an obligation, and they give chocolates to all their male co-workers (especially the boss), sometimes at significant personal expense. This chocolate is known as giri-choco, which translates as "chocolate of obligation."

By a further marketing effort, a reciprocal day called White Day has emerged in Japan. On this day (March 14), men are supposed to return the favor by giving something to those who gave them chocolates on Valentine's Day. Many men, however, give only to their girlfriends. The gift should be white (hence the name) and is often lingerie.

Valentine's Day is also celebrated in China, as is the related Daughter's Festival. It is held on the 7th month and 7th day of the lunar calendar and celebrates a love story between the seventh daughter of the Emperor of Heaven and an orphaned cowherd, who were sent to separate stars and only allowed to see each other on this one day each year. The next Daughter's Festival will be on August 11, 2005.

Valentine's Day Controversy in India and the Middle East
Valentine's Day only arrived in India a few years ago, but it has quickly gained popularity among young urban people along with a great deal of controversy among conservative Hindus. Traditional Hindu culture discourages public displays of affection between the sexes, including hand-holding, which Valentine's Day encourages, and Valentine's Day is also resented by some as a Christian and western influence.

In 2004, militant Hindu nationalists threatened to beat the faces and shave the heads of those who participated in Valentine's Day customs. "We will not allow westernization of Indian culture as St. Valentine was a Christian and celebrating Valentine's Day would be a violation of Indian culture," said Ved Prakash Sachchan, of the militant Hindu organization Bajrang Dal, in Uttar Pradesh. Similarly, a leader of the radical Hindu group Shiv Sena has condemned the holiday as "nothing but a Western onslaught on India's culture to attract youth for commercial purposes." Members of the group have stolen Valentine's Day greeting cards from a store and ceremonially burned them.

Similar Valentine's Day backlash has occurred in many Muslim countries. In Pakistan in 2004, the Jamaat-e-Islami party, an Islamist organization, called for a ban on Valentine's Day. One of its leaders dismissed it as "a shameful day" when Westerners "are just fulfilling and satisfying their sex thirst." Also in 2004, the government of Saudi Arabia issued an edict declaring that "there are only two holidays in Islam - Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha - and any other holidays ... are inventions which Muslims are banned from." Police closely monitored stores selling roses and some women were arrested for wearing red.

Is $12.5 million adequate compensation for being tortured, kept captive in a grave for over 10 months for being a "suspect", without proof?

2007-01-31T08:47:00.000+03:00

from: altmuslim. com

In September 2002, Maher Arar was on a flight returning to Canada when he was detained in the United States, interrogated, and then deported to Syria where he was incarcerated and subject to torture for nearly a year. Last week, the Canadian government finally issued a formal apology and $12.5 million in compensation for its role in the Arar ordeal (background here).

But now critics are raising new questions about the compensation offered to Arar. Some complain that the money is too much, or that it isn't necessary. Others suggest political opportunism on the part of Arar. Certainly this is the largest sum offered to any single individual in Canada. But the amount is based on the Canadian government's assessment of what Arar would likely have won in a lawsuit. Moreover, this isn't simply a payout intended to appease Arar. It is compensation based on Canada's recognition of its commitment to the rule of law. When wrongs are committed, justice is pursued even if it means holding government officials accountable; in Arar's case, restitution came in the form of financial compensation.Arar's account of the ordeal is terrifying.

For months, he was confined to a grave-like cell and subject to repeated interrogation combined with physical and psychological torture. When he was finally returned to Canada – a broken man – he bore the burden of being considered a suspected terrorist, so much so that he found to his surprise that even members of the Muslim community were fearful of the social and political repercussions of being associated with him.

In fact, there remain sceptics who believe Arar is somewhat guilty despite the public inquiry that cleared his name after finding no evidence he was ever linked to extremist groups or was a threat to Canada's national security.

How Mohammad Yousuf found greater focus in knowing that "cricket isn't everything"

2007-01-28T10:15:00.000+03:00

Mohammad's mountain of runs
January 26, 2007

By Alex Brown from The Age

After the most prolific year in Test cricket history, Mohammad Yousuf could be forgiven for indulging in a little religious and cricketing triumphalism. Instead, the brilliant Pakistani batsman is more eager to discuss why Ricky Ponting is the world's leading batsman, despite his own 1788-run year, and his regret over his mother's reluctance to accept his shift from Christianity to Islam.

Yousuf is an unusual interview subject on several counts. Unlike many international batsmen, his moods do not seem dictated by runs scored, nor is his mind cluttered with personal statistics and batting theories. In fact, he gives the distinct impression that he derives as much personal pleasure from discussing his own batting as he does from a Brett Lee bumper - even after a stunning sequence of five centuries and a half-century in his final six innings of 2006.

Then there's religion. Whereas many converts and "born-agains" feel compelled to stand in judgement of all those who don't share their beliefs, the 32-year-old - whose decision to change his religion and name in 2005 dominated headlines in Pakistan and led to a split within his family - prefers to focus on the clarity of mind and inner peace he now feels as Mohammad Yousuf, as opposed to rubbishing his former life as Yousuf Youhana.
"I used to have so many things on my mind before, and now my mind is clear and my heart is peaceful," he told the Herald from Port Elizabeth, after Pakistan's defeat of South Africa in the second Test this week. "There is greater focus, but also knowing that [cricket] is not everything."

[...]

The fact remains, however, that, regardless of his attempts to deflect attention from his own efforts, Yousuf has still completed one of the more remarkable 12 months witnessed in cricket. And there is no avoiding the parallels between his embracing of Islam and the spike in his batting form.

A solid international batsman before 2005, Yousuf posted his highest Test score (223 against England) in his first series as a Muslim, then blasted 1788-runs over his next 11 Tests in 2006 to eclipse Richards's record, a mark many thought would never be bettered. In doing so, Yousuf set another record by scoring nine centuries, against India, Sri Lanka, England and the West Indies (the first three teams all ranked inside Test cricket's top five). ..."I never make too much out of getting 100, and never get too sad when I get zero," he said, attempting to explain the events of the past 12 months. "I used to always go to bat with failure on my mind. Now I work hard and give myself to Allah and everything is OK."

Yousuf presumably needed that clarity to deal with the emotive, and occasionally furious, response from country, family and media to his decision to switch from Christianity to Islam in 2005.

Almost from the moment Yousuf Youhana was seen in a mosque praying alongside his captain, Inzamam-ul-Haq, the rumour and scuttlebutt began. Some suggested he had been pressured by his Muslim teammates. Others wondered whether his conversion was motivated, in part, by a desire to win favour with those in power and improve his captaincy chances. Others, still, criticised the influence Saeed Anwar, the former batsman turned preacher, was exerting on Yousuf and the remainder of the team.

But undoubtedly the most wounding comment of all came from within his own family, when Yousuf's Christian mother told the local Daily Times newspaper: "I don't want to give Yousuf my name after what he has done." Their relationship remains strained, he admits, with a tinge of regret in his voice that is unmistakable.

"My mother is still not happy with me," he said. "I can still talk to my mother and it is very nice. But it is with religion that she is not happy with me."

That aside, Yousuf seems very much a man content. Dismissing any suggestion that he was coerced into accepting Islam, he says that the discipline of his new life - he prays at 5am, lunch, stumps, 8pm and 9.45pm during each Test match - will keep him balanced as he embarks on a new season.
"I went to the mosque twice in Port Elizabeth during the Test," he said. "There is peace there."

Does the 'fashionable' hijab scream: "Look at us" or "Please, leave us alone?"

2007-01-15T09:16:00.000+03:00

From: Comment is Free

Recently, I was strolling through Selfridge's in London when I saw something strange. At a make-up counter in the women's department, four young Muslim women dressed in the hijab, the veil that covers the head and hair but leaves the face on view, were trying on various shocking shades of lipstick and blusher, gaily chatting and giggling as they did so. "This shade makes my lips look fuller," said one, pouting in front of a mirror. Her friends agreed. "It's a must-buy," they chirped.

The hijab is meant to symbolise modesty and chastity. Yet here were four young veiled women, in their late teens or early twenties, painting their lips and reddening their cheeks, prettifying their faces for everyone to see. Even more strikingly, one of them had the word Fendi emblazoned in silver lettering across her black hijab - Fendi being the Italian fashion house best-known for its shoes, bags and furs, and which is beloved of those Sex and the City women. This was Muslim garb as high fashion. The girls' aim seemed to be to invite men's gaze, rather than repel it; they were screaming, "Look at us!", not "Please, leave us alone."

[...]
...Others discuss the veil in terms of fashion, saying how comfortable it makes them feel or how it compliments their body shape. And while they cover their hair and body, like the young women in Selfridge's, they often wear make-up, and even Calvin Klein sunglasses, on their faces. Forget the claims that these veiled women are covering up in order that people, especially men, don't stare at them; in fact, many of them are trying to look trendy and distinctive rather than bland and ignorable.
---------------
This article is written by a non-Muslim man, but often Muslims make the same point about whether the 'fashionable hijaab' isn't a contradiction in terms.

Umm Yasmin has an insightful post on how the 'One Veil Fits All' concept isn't necessarily true.

What's the Hajj all about?

2006-12-20T10:42:00.000+03:00

watch the breathtaking pictures of the annual Hajj pilgrimage (courtesy the Saudi embassy) and introduction by Michael Wolfe at beliefnet

Introduction:

The Hajj is one of Islam's five essential pillars. It has been taking place annually without a break for over 1,400 years. This pilgrimage is the ultimate act of worship to Allah (SWT`).

Today as before, every adult Muslim who is physically and financially able to do so is obligated to make this journey once in his or her lifetime.The high point of the annual Hajj is the pilgrimage to the plains of Arafat outside of Mecca, and it takes place on the ninth day of the month of Zul-Hijjah on the Islamic lunar calendar. On that day, falling this year around January 9 (depending on the sighting of the new moon), more than 2 million people will gather on a desert plain of Arafat outside of Mecca to stand together in prayer before their Creator. Days of feasting follow this. Other rites are performed in the days leading up to, and after it.

But performing the Hajj is more than answering a call to duty. Mecca, where the Ka'bah--or symbolic House of Allah (SWT) is located--marks the direction in which all Muslims pray. It is also the birthplace of The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), who defined Islam, and is strongly associated with the lives of Hagar, Abraham, and Ishmael, figures known to every Muslim child. For all these reasons, when the yearly time comes to make the pilgrimage to Mecca, Muslims yearn to go. Where the Hajj is concerned, duty and desire beautifully converge.

The Hajj is not a single event. It is a process that changes shape over many days.

It is by turns:

*A donning of simple clothes marking unity among all pilgrim

*A rite of arrival to a sacred land

*A circular, then a linear ceremony of mobile praye

*An exodus from an urban to a desert existence

*A spiritual camping trip among the dune

*A daylong collective gathering

*An all-night vigil

*A casting out of temptation

*A symbolic sacrifice

*A three-day feast

*A final circular round of farewell prayer.

In addition, with such large numbers of people representing more than 100 nations, it is a kind of unofficial United Nations general assembly, a chance for each pilgrim to represent his homeland, become part of a unique unity, and take the pulse of Islam throughout the world.

Pilgrims travel toward Mecca from every corner of the earth. Their routes converge a few miles short of Mecca, at the checkpoints marking the borders of the Sacred Territory. It is here at these special rendezvous points that the actual Hajj begins. Over the course of a handful of days, the pilgrims will perform (and re-perform) several rites, each with its own special meaning and significance.

The Asian Games' 200-m champion is a woman in a hijab?

2006-12-13T08:19:00.000+03:00

Veil no barrier, says Al Ghasara
Reuters
Doha: Winning the Asian Games 200 metres in a veil proves there are no barriers to Muslim women pursuing their sporting dreams, champion Ruqaya Al Ghasara said on Monday.

The 24-year-old wore a hijab a scarf which covers the hair and neck along with leggings and long sleeves, but still outpaced her more scantily-clad rivals to win gold for Bahrain.

"I want to say I'm very thankful for being a Muslim; it's a blessing," said the sports management student.
"Wearing conservative clothes has encouraged me. Wearing a veil proves that Muslim women face no obstacles and encourages them to participate in sport. This is a glory to all Muslim women."

Al Ghasara also said it was important that her Tunisian coach Noor Al Deen Tajin understood her culture. "He's a top-class coach, but he's also an Arab-Islamic coach who understands Muslim traditions," she said.

Why has Shahid Qurbanov walked all the way from Baku to Riyadh?

2006-12-11T08:42:00.000+03:00

Arab News

Narrowly escaping death six times and negotiating ferocious wolves and highway robbers, a modern-day Ibn Batuta has so far trekked 4,000 km on foot from his native Azerbaijan across Iran, Kuwait and then Saudi Arabia on the way to Makkah in time for the annual Haj, which is set to take place in a few weeks.

The Azeri man, Shahid Qurbanov, 39, gave a vivid description of his two-month-and-counting journey that has been marked with perils, adventures, road accidents and other hardships including terrible weather, wild animals and bandits. Qurbanov began his trek from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, and is currently in Riyadh awaiting permission from Saudi authorities to perform Haj.

“In my case, surviving the long journey became a larger test of endurance than the pilgrimage itself,” said Qurbanov in an interview yesterday with Arab News at the Azeri Embassy. Qurbanov will proceed to the holy city of Makkah once he receives permission for Haj.A journey such as Qurbanov’s to the holy land on foot while enduring the most difficult of hardships to partake in the annual Haj is something indicated in the Qur’an: “And proclaim unto all people the duty of the Haj pilgrimage. They will come to you on foot and on every kind of fast mount. They will come from the farthest locations (on Earth).”

When asked about the most memorable and fearsome moments of his journey, the fearless pilgrim described how he was stalked by wolves in Iran. “Wolves stalked me for nearly three hours, then suddenly they walked away... once the tire of a huge lorry burst on the Ahwaj Highway in Iran and it stopped just short of where I was resting on the side of the road,” he said, adding, “I also survived for three days and three nights without food and water.”Despite the dangers, Qurbanov said he has received considerable help from generous strangers in Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. He says that once he obtains his Haj visa, he will continue on foot to Makkah.

“With a target of walking 50 km every day, it will be easy for me to soon set foot on the soil of the holy city,” said the pilgrim, who says he is inspired by ancient Arab travelers such as Ibn Batuta. Qurbanov added that his journey highlights the importance of peace and love between the people of the Kingdom and Azerbaijan, as well as his love for the Islamic world. He also plans to write a book about his trip.

Qurbanov left Baku on Sept. 1. He carries a 16-kilogram bag full of daily necessities and an Azeri flag. He said he did not have a clear route planned and had set out for Iran and then Kuwait before entering the Kingdom on Nov. 25.A war veteran with a mission to repeal Armenian aggression, Qurbanov, who retired from Azeri military service in 2000, is an ardent supporter of Muslim causes worldwide. He comes from the small Azeri town of Sumquait near Baku.About 4,000 Azeri Muslims are likely to perform Haj this year.

Islam spread to Azerbaijan as early as the first century AH, making it one of the first countries in the region to embrace the faith. Azerbaijan was the first of the Central Asian republics, which seceded from the Soviet Union, to join the Makkah-based Muslim World League (MWL) and Islamic Development Bank (IDB). The Kingdom and Azerbaijan have forged close relations in all fields

***

An Azeri pilgrim Shahid Qurbanov, whose Saudi visa expired during his 90-day journey on foot from Baku to Riyadh, got a shot in the arm here yesterday with the Kingdom’s decision to issue a two-month Haj visa.
Armed with this new document, and with full support given by the Saudi government and the Azeri Embassy, Qurbanov is ready to resume the final leg of his marathon to the holy city of Makkah today.
“On behalf of the people and the government of Azerbaijan, the Azeri Embassy thanks the Saudi authorities for issuing a Haj visa and facilitating Qurbanov’s holy journey,” said a spokesman of the Azeri Embassy here yesterday. He added that although Qurbanov’s mission to trek the 5,000 km from Baku to Makkah was a private initiative, the embassy fully supported him.

In his arduous journey across four countries, Qurbanov narrowly escaped death six times. He crossed into the Kingdom from Kuwait on Nov. 25 and arrived in Riyadh on Nov. 30, after walking 50-60 km every day with a 16 kg bag full of daily necessities and an Azeri flag. A war veteran, Qurbanov’s personal mission is to serve Islam and pray at Makkah and Madinah to defeat Armenian aggression.
Asked about the routes of his trekking from Riyadh to Makkah and his return to Baku, Qurbanov said: “I will have to travel by car to cover some distance because of the time constraints. If I start trekking all the way from Riyadh to Makkah, I may not be able to reach in time to perform Haj.” He said he was determined to walk more than 5,000 km on foot again on the return journey. He added that he intended to take the same route via Kuwait and Iran to reach Baku.
Qurbanov is likely to join the first group of the Azeri pilgrims, who will arrive in the Kingdom on Dec. 14. According to a report, two groups of Azeri pilgrims will leave Baku for Haj on Dec. 14 — one by plane and another by bus. The plane will fly from Baku to Jeddah and from there the pilgrims will depart to Makkah by buses. The pilgrims, who chose the bus, will travel in via Iran, Turkey, Syria and Jordan.
This year, a quota of 4,500 pilgrims has been allocated to Azerbaijan. About 93.4 percent of the country’s population is Muslim, 2.5 percent are Russians and 2.3 percent are Armenians. Islam as a religion, which permeates the social life in Azerbaijan, is experiencing a renaissance at the moment.
Over the past few years, hundreds of new mosques have been built in Azerbaijan, former places of worship restored and dozens of religious organizations registered. New religious schools (madrasas) have opened and many young Azeris are now attending Muslim religious universities in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, and Pakistan.

What makes a white middle-class man, with a relatively privileged upbringing, turn to Islam?

2006-11-26T13:57:00.000+03:00

Question time'Islam is one of the world's great religions, not a cult': Yahya Birt, son of Sir John, on faith, family and the people who think he's a 'crank'

read the complete article at: The Guardian

Yahya Birt, 38, converted to Islam in 1997. A research fellow at the Islamic Foundation in Leicester, he is about to become director of City Circle, an organisation for Muslim professionals.

How would you describe yourself, faith-wise?
A mainstream Muslim who has liberal values.

How does your faith sit with your background ?
I like to say that I'm British and Muslim; I don't think that they have to be in opposition.

Which comes first?
That's a question I don't think we should ask. They are different things. I'm a citizen of this country, I'm a voter, I work in civil society, I take part in things, but my values are informed by my experience of growing up here and by my religion

[...]

Are people baffled by the fact you are a convert?
I expect that some people will be baffled and I'm happy for them to be baffled.

Are other Muslims welcoming of converts?
Yes, absolutely.

The image of a convert is typically young, non-white and working-class, but is this correct?
Probably not. Most converts still come from a Caucasian background - probably about 60%. They come from all classes and backgrounds and all kinds of different backgrounds of faith, or no faith. It's hard to find an absolute profile of a typical convert.

What makes a white middle-class man, with a relatively privileged upbringing, turn to Islam?
It seemed like a good idea at the time.
Does it still seem a good idea?
Yes, absolutely.

Is the faith of a convert stronger than the faith of somebody who grew up with the religion?
I think only God knows the answer to that.

...
What would you say to parents who might be worried if their child announced their conversion?
I would say, don't panic. They are joining one of the world's great religions, not a cult. But just make sure that they are part of the mainstream of the Muslim community.

Did your family panic?
No. [Laughs.]

Do people consider you a crank?
Possibly, quite possibly. I think there is a mood of, let's say sceptical atheism, which is saying that religion is on the march in British life, and in no shape or form is it a good thing. That strand of opinion is probably unhelpful. I'm sure all the faith communities have something positive to give, as long as they are doing it in the spirit of contributing to the common good.

Why are Muslims distributing Thanksgiving baskets to the needy?

2006-11-24T12:05:00.000+03:00

Muslim Thanksgiving Baskets For US Needy
By Sahar Kassaimah, IOL Correspondent

WASHINGTON — On Thanksgiving, an annual one-day holiday to give thanks to God celebrated in the US on the fourth Thursday of November, many Muslim communities distribute food baskets among low-income families and veterans.
"The program which started in November 2001 is meant to feed the needy during the Thanksgiving holiday," Ahmed Bedier, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Tampa Director, told IslamOnline.net.

The five-year program is sponsored by CAIR and fundraised by CAIR members in the region in tandem with the Muslim community.
The distribution of the food baskets will be handled by the United Way, a coalition of charitable organizations that have traditionally pooled efforts in fundraising.
Each of the 1350 United Ways has its own local governing volunteer board.

"When the program started, Ramadan and Thanksgiving coincided. So we called it the Ramadan-Thanksgiving food basket program," Bedier recalled.
"Since then local Muslims raise money every year, around $5000, and work with CAIR and the United Way to distribute food baskets for the needy around the Thanksgiving holiday."
According to the Muslim activist, a total of 200 baskets are usually distributed.

"Our goal is to seek the pleasure of God. Islam teaches us to help the needy in our society," Bedier said."The message we are sending is that Islam is a humanitarian religion and that Muslims care about their communities and will give back."Bedier said that distributing food baskets on Thanksgiving was the idea of a local member of CAIR.
"It was the idea of an American Muslim physician who was a local member of CAIR," he recalled.
"The needy people’s reactions and the public are very positive and we receive great praise."
The Muslim activist said the program started locally but has inspired other Muslim communities around the country to hold similar events, such as public dinners to feed the needy.
There are no official figures for the number of Muslims in the United States but CAIR estimates the number at around seven to eight million.

Is the Netherlands going to be the first country to ban the veil?

2006-11-11T09:22:00.000+03:00

Netherlands moves toward total ban on Muslim veils

Dan Bell

Saturday November 11, 2006

The Guardian

The Netherlands may become the first European country to ban Muslim face veils after its government pledged yesterday to outlaw the wearing in public spaces of the niqab, or veil, and the burka, or full-length cloak covering the head.

The right-leaning coalition said last night that it would look for a way to outlaw the wearing of all Muslim face veils. The grounds for a ban were laid last December when parliament voted in favour of a proposal to criminalise face coverings, as part of a security measure proposed by a far-right politician, Geert Wilders.

Rita Verdonk, the immigration minister, signalled that the government would now push for a total ban, even though the legislation would be likely to contravene Dutch religious freedom laws.
"The cabinet finds the wearing of a burka undesirable ... but cannot at present enforce a total ban," the Dutch news agency ANP quoted her as saying after a cabinet meeting.

Ms Verdonk suggested that existing legislation which limits the wearing of burkas and other full-body coverings on public transport and in schools did not go far enough, and that the cabinet would discuss as wide a ban as possible in the coming week.
"The government will search for the possibility to provide a ban," her spokeswoman told the Reuters news agency.

The announcement is in stark contrast to the laissez-faire image of the Netherlands. The country is known for its tolerance for drugs, prostitution and euthanasia, but in recent years has passed some of Europe's most unforgiving entry and immigration laws.

What's Wear A Hijab Day?

2006-11-09T09:57:00.000+03:00

'Wear a Hijab Day' to support Muslims
By Chris De Benedetti, STAFF WRITER

FREMONT — As many as 10,000 people are expected to participate in memorial services and other activities in coming days to honor Alia Ansari, an Afghan mother of six who was fatally shot last week in the Glenmoor neighborhood.

But amid the outpouring of grief, outrage and compassion for the Ansari family, there is disagreement among some over how best to reach out to the grieving Afghan and Muslim communities.

Some leaders are organizing "Wear a Hijab Day" — scheduled for Nov. 13 — as a symbolic gesture of solidarity with Muslim women. Ansari was wearing a hijab — a traditional Muslim head scarf — when she was shot, her relatives said.
"So many people have contacted us, and people wanted to do something beyond sending money," said Melanie Gadener, founder of Foundation for Self-Reliance, a Fremont nonprofit offering programs for Afghan immigrants.

Ansari, 38, was killed last Thursday as she walked on Glenmoor Drive with her 3-year-old daughter. Some of Ansari's relatives said the killing was a hate crime, but authorities have yet to establish a motive.
Racially motivated or not, the slaying has galvanized people to show support for Muslim women, said City Councilmember Anu Natarajan, a co-organizer of "Wear a Hijab Day."
"This has shaken the entire community," Natarajan said. "All of us want to say, 'We will not tolerate something like this in Fremont.' We want to do something visually symbolic."
The day's planners said they also have contacted local Muslim and Afghan leaders to avoid unwittingly offending the family or trivializing Ansari's death, Natarajan said.

But Bruce Green, a Fremont minister who has an office at Centerville Presbyterian Church, questions if there might be a better, more inclusive way to show solidarity. "I've talked with different Afghan women who don't want to embrace the hijab," Green said. "Not every Muslim wears one or thinks of it as a positive symbol."
Instead, he advocates an idea he calls "Ladies Only Hug a Hijab." It encourages women of all backgrounds to approach women wearing the Muslim head garment to offer an embrace and express sadness over the Ansari killing.
Green also wants to be sensitive to the tradition among most Muslims that prohibits casual physical interaction between men and women. So he urges men in the same situation to put their hands on their hearts and say, "As-Salaam-Alaikum (peace be unto you)."

Green has assisted Afghan immigrants in recent years, building bridges between Muslim and Christian communities. He bristles against what he calls the "premature framing" of the shooting as a hate crime.
"We want this community to be characterized by love, not hate; by an embrace, not a shove," said Green, also a board member of the Afghan Coalition. "We're not a perfect community, but (racism) is not endemic here."

But opinions expressed by Muslim women at a Fremont mosque's recent open house dispute Green's viewpoint, said Moina Shaiq, vice chair of Fremont's Human Relations Commission.
"They said they feel unsafe," said Shaiq, a Muslim woman. "I wear a hijab and now I'm scared, especially after this incident. I hope this is not race-related, but you don't know."

The custom of wearing a hijab or not — much like some Catholic nuns who do not wear a habit — illustrates the diversity within the Muslim faith, Shaiq said. Since 9/11, ignorance and the "fear of the unknown" are what hurts the Muslim community, she said. And "Wear a Hijab Day" can be an educational opportunity toward that end.
"Seeing another woman wear a hijab will make me feel good," said Shaiq, originally from Pakistan. "It will show that I'm accepted in this society."

A prayer service will be held in honor of Ansari at 2:30 p.m. Friday at the Swim Lagoon in Central Park, Fremont Mayor Bob Wasserman said.
Authorities estimate that between 2,000 and 10,000 people may attend the Central Park gathering, police Officer Dennis Madsen said. Open to the public, it is expected to last 15 minutes. People may park in the Swim Lagoon lot in the park's southeast end.
Wasserman visited Saturday with the Ansari family, who are Muslim. "They said they would be proud to see non-Muslims at the service on Friday to share in their grief," Wasserman said.

The mayor also announced that Fremont Bank has agreed to participate in a fundraiser to financially aid Ansari's six children, whose ages range from 3 to 13.
In addition, Green will host a second memorial service at 11 a.m. Saturday in honor of Ansari. It will be held at the Centerville Presbyterian Church gymnasium, just a quarter-mile from the site of the slaying. Churchgoers on Sunday morning found Ansari's name and the letters "R.I.P." spray-painted on the church walls.
If the church lot is full Saturday, people are encouraged to park a few blocks away at Flamingo Palace restaurant, 4100 Peralta Blvd.
Meanwhile, authorities have not arrested anyone in connection with the slaying. On the day of the killing, police arrested Manuel David Urango Jr. — a 27-year-old parolee who fit witnesses' descriptions of the assailant — on unrelated charges. A black or Latino man in a black Toyota Tercel or BMW with a rear spoiler was seen fleeing the scene, witnesses said.
Police are calling Urango a "person of interest," and he is being held at Santa Rita county jail in Dublin.

Donations made by check to the Ansari children's fund may be made payable to "Alia Ansari Memorial" at Fremont Bank, Account No. 55041477; and to "Ansari Family" at Washington Mutual, Account No. 3091558830.

Are women in veils the new WMDs?

2006-10-31T09:57:00.000+03:00

No veiled threat
The niqab is not for everyone — I took it off after an hour — but those who choose to wear it should be respected
By SHEEMA KHAN
Source: Globe and Mail

Last week, I stopped at a local mosque to offer my sunset prayers before heading off to a restaurant for an iftar dinner with friends (iftar is the meal for breaking the daylong fast during the month of Ramadan). I met a pleasant young woman, who had removed her niqab (face veil) in the privacy of the women's section. She was gracious to all, offering dates and milk to break the fast. Her demeanour exuded a generous spirituality. While we spoke, she gently exhorted her children to stop running, restraining her exasperation when they disobeyed. What mother hasn't gone through the same?

At the restaurant, a niqabi woman came up to me whom I did not recognize at first. Her eyes glistened with familiarity. "Assalaamu alaikum, Sheema. I see you more often on TV than in person," she joked. I immediately recognized her voice. We had first met 15 years ago and had struck an instant friendship. Life had taken us in different directions; now we were both married with kids. She had memorized the entire Koran during that time, and was now teaching women and children to do the same. I felt humbled in the presence of her knowledge.

I respect women who wear the niqab. At Harvard, after much spiritual reflection, I donned the hijab (headscarf) and also tried the niqab -- for all of one hour. I found it stifling and unnatural. Yet others don't. And their choice should be respected. In some places, women are forced by the state to cover up. In other places, some have exercised their own choice to do so. At a recent scientific conference in Dubai, I met intelligent, assertive niqabis who discussed current research with both genders. What is the big deal?

The niqab has been in the news recently, often in the most unflattering terms. These new WMDs (women in Muslim dress) seem to evoke the same fear once reserved for real WMDs (weapons of mass destruction). The most vocal critics are European men in positions of power, with feminists being equally vocal or mute. Few have taken the time to understand the issue from veiled women themselves.

The debate is eerily similar to the discourse that took place during the British occupation of Egypt in the late 1800s. Intent on controlling the natives, the Empire sought to weaken nationalist sentiment by stripping away indigenous Egyptian identity. In the colonial hierarchy, Victorian England was the pinnacle of civilization; the rest had to be civilized.

Lord Cromer (Evelyn Baring), the first British proconsul of Egypt, viewed Islam as the "other" -- a faith utterly devoid of any good. In particular, he focused on the dress (i.e. the veil) and seclusion of Muslim women as emblematic of their oppression and inferiority. They were in need of rescue -- by the Empire. He pushed the feminist envelope to ostensibly liberate Egyptian women. Yet during his rule, he greatly reduced women's access to education. When he returned to England, he opposed the women's movement at every turn. Feminism was good for the colonized, but not for the colonizer.

Many members of the Egyptian elite internalized the superiority of British civilization, and championed Lord Cromer's call. One such person was Qasim Amin, who published the controversial tract Liberation of Women in 1899. In it, he derided all of Egyptian society for its inferiority. Women were described in the most misogynistic terms. In contrast, the sycophantic Amin extolled the virtues of the European male.

Amin was not interested in substantive issues of equality, such as women's education, health or employment. His main focus was on the veil, as the symbol of all of society's ills. It represented backwardness. He called on women to discard it so that Egypt could join the ranks of the civilized. He had as much interest in the welfare of Egyptian women as did Lord Cromer.

The reaction was predictable. An uproar ensued, with the greatest outrage expressed by nationalists. While many of them were not particularly religious, they championed the veil in reaction to colonialist designs.

Thus began a series of chain reactions, wherein the veil became a symbol, acquiring new meanings that were never part of classical Islamic teachings. It was a banner of resistance in Algeria (against the French) and Iran (against the Shah), a response to autocratic rulers who banned the veil as a symbol of inferiority. These simplistic debates deflected attention away from examination of substantive issues. Complex problems could simply be solved by either donning or discarding the veil.

Which brings us to current events. In a Monty Pythonesque scenario, the British political establishment demands that a particular minority (Muslims) integrate into British society, by coercing a minority within that minority to change its appearance. British Prime Minister Tony Blair and House of Commons leader Jack Straw have appropriated the veil as a symbol of "separateness" and an impediment to integration. In the 1890s, it symbolized backwardness and an impediment to civilization.

Integration is a complex issue. It is disingenuous to think that discarding the niqab will engender a new path toward integration -- especially into a society as hierarchical as that of the British. In a recent study by the Home Office, Muslim students were found to be far more tolerant than their non-Muslim counterparts. By placing full onus on the Muslim community, the government has abdicated its responsibility in the integration impasse. It also has embarked on a dangerously divisive path.

If history is an indication, we can expect a counter-reaction.

Especially at a time when an increasing number of Muslims see the "war on terror" as a "war on Islam," it is critical that cooler heads (covered or not) prevail, so that issues can be discussed objectively and dispassionately.

What do Muslims do on 'Eid?

2006-10-18T20:31:00.000+03:00

Muslims are encouraged to dress in their best clothes (new if possible) and to attend a special Eid prayer that is performed in congregation at mosques or open areas like fields, squares etc. When Muslims finish their fast at the last day (29th or 30th Ramadan), they recite Takbir (Arabic audio clip with English meaning).
Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar
الله أكبر الله أكبر الله أكبر
la ilaha illa Allah
لا إله إلا الله
Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar
الله أكبر الله أكبر
wa li-illahi al-hamd
ولله الحمد
God is the Greatest, God is the Greatest, God is the Greatest
There is no deity but God
God is the Greatest, God is the Greatest
and to God goes all praise
The Takbir is recited after confirmation that the moon of Shawwal is sighted on the eve of the last day of Ramadan. It continues until the start of the Eid prayer. Before the Eid prayer begins every Muslim (man, woman or child) must pay Zakat al Fitr, an alms for the month of Ramadan. This equates to about 2 kg of a basic foodstuff (wheat, barley, dates, raisins, etc.), or its cash equivalent, and is typically collected at the mosque. This is distributed to needy local Muslims prior to the start of the Eid prayer. It can be given at any time during the month of Ramadan and is often given early, so the recipient can utilise it for Eid purchases. This is distinct from Zakat based on wealth, which must be paid to a worthy charity.
The Eid prayer (salah) is followed by the khutba (sermon) and then a prayer (dua') asking for forgiveness, mercy and help for the plight of Muslims across the world. It is then customary to embrace the persons sitting on either side of oneself as well as ones relatives, friends and acquaintances.
Muslims spend the day thanking the Creator for all their blessings, as well as simply having fun and enjoying themselves. Children are normally given gifts or money.

also: Eid 101 by Muhammad AlShareef

Ramadhan, what the heck is that?

2006-09-28T11:33:00.000+03:00

An Idiot's Guide to Ramadhan

By Adam Yosef, site user

courtesy: BBC

Lots of frequently asked questions answered by Adam, about the most important event in the Islamic calendar.

Ramadhan, what the heck is that?

Ramadhan is the 9th month of the Islamic calendar. It's when Muslims all over the world spend 30 days observing fast and bettering themselves in principles of faith.

Observing fast? Is that something to do with running, then?
No.

Oh, it must be driving, huh? You know, I can drive really fast, I've got an Escort...
Er...no.

Oh, what is it then?
Observing fast, or fasting, is when a person abstains (or keeps away) from eating and drinking.

What, you don't eat or drink anything? Don't you get hungry? I know I would.
Yes, that's the idea. We fast for 30 consecutive days during the month of Ramadhan.

30 days? Are you mad? No one can go 30 days without food and drink!
No, that's right, which is why Muslims only fast during daylight hours. Once the fast for each day ends, they are allowed to eat again.

Then, what's the point of fasting?
The reason Muslims fast is to discipline their body and mind. The absence of food and drink and other pleasures provides a perfect opportunity to concentrate on prayer and worship. Not having the luxuries of life to hand makes it easier to reflect on life and be grateful for what we do have. Muslims use this month to start afresh and give their life a new direction?

What kind of direction?
Many Muslims use Ramadhan to make resolutions, similar to New Year's resolutions. It is a time when they decide how they want to live their life for the next year and try their very best to adhere to their new commitments.

Commitments...?
Yes, like greater commitment to God and faith. Ramadhan is a time when Muslims can introduce practices into their life to reflect their religious identity. A lot of Muslims have a desire to pray more and learn more about Islam. Others wish to be better and nicer people while some want to learn Qur'anic Arabic to better their understanding of the Holy Book. For these people, Ramadhan is the best opportunity to begin this grand affair with something so personal and spiritually enlightening.

Can't they do it at any other time... why Ramadhan?
Ramadhan is a blessed month ordained by God. It is the month in which Satanand his minions are said to be locked away in Hell to prevent them from misleading, deceiving and whispering in the ears of believers.
This doesn't mean that sin and bad deeds will completely disappear for a month but itwill mean that if bad deeds are done and sins committed, they will be from the hearts of people alone and the devil cannot be blamed.
However, God has promised the people that the reward for good deeds and actions during the holy month will be multiplied greater than usual and this encourages many to increase their level of worship and prayer. Although, this also applies to sins and so any naughty actions only invite greater punishment than usual.
Ramadhan does make it easier for Muslims to observe their faith though, largely because all Muslims are following the same pattern and so they are always offering each other moral support and encouraging each other to do better. Ramamdhan brings people much closer than normal as they forgive each other for any misdemeanours of the past, forge new and positive relationships and treat each other with greater respect.

What else do Muslims do in Ramadhan?
Well, aside from fasting, they pray more. Muslims should pray five times a day anyway and go to the mosque but many find this difficult so Ramadhan helps them to fulfill these practices and in many cases, stick to them long after Ramadhan is over. Muslims also read the Qur'an more and understand and share their religious teachings. They also learn to abstain from bad habits and minor and major sins and hopefully continue with the effort when Ramamdhan is over too.

What kind of bad habits are we talking about, like picking yer nose?
Well, that could be one. Many people are always trying to give up things that they know are bad for them or things that make God angry. These are usually things that are not good for people and not good for those around them and so people use Ramadhan as the time to drop these ills. It is debatable as to what is considered a bad habit or deed but because Ramadhan is observed as a religious obligation, most use religious teachings to determine what is right and what is wrong.

So, what's the really bad stuff then?
A number of things. Practices like smoking, swearing, drinking alcohol and abusing drugs, treating people with disrespect and being mean, harming or hurting living things, being cruel, un-courteous and selfish. There's a whole host of things, many of them universally accepted as 'unhealthy'.

What else is banned during Ramadhan?
For Muslims, some things are prohibited all the time, not just in Ramadhan but if abstinence isn't being observed, Ramadhan is a good time to start or try and implement change in life. Other things are allowed but should be reduced in Ramadhan to make more time for prayer and worship. This could be things like watchingtelevision, playing board games, spending too much time dressing up, listening to music, shopping and messing around with mates and so on.

I heard you can't have sex in Ramadhan, is this true?
Sex is allowed in Ramadhan but not during the fast. Just like food and drink, a person's natural needs must be fulfilled. Muslims are normally allowed to eat, drink and have sexual relations so this would be the case in Ramadhan but not during the fast when all must be avoided or they could nulify the fast. When the fast is over for the day, those things that are halal (lawful) may continue but more time should still be spent on worship.
However, Islam doesn't allow extra-marital relationships so any sexual activity outside of marriage or contrary to Islamic teaching is prohibited and those who may indulge in any such activity are expected to try their very best in Ramadhan to abstain withintent to give up - the same applies to any haraam (prohibited) activitiesas mentioned before.

What about all that bowing 'yo-yo' stuff?
You what?
When you kiss the ground and things?
I think you're referring to prayer. Muslims don't kiss the ground, they prostrate to the Lord in submission. As I mentioned, Muslims must try to improve and excel in their prayer during the holy month, with extra effort on the regular prayers during the day, not just Friday services. Both Muslim men and women should make more effort to go the mosque and spend more time studying Islamic knowledge and the Qur'an.
Attending lectures and being involved in good work, whether it's helping out at the old folk's home or even attending a peace rally, all is encouraged. During Ramadhan, there are special prayers known as the 'Tarawih' service which are performed everyevening at the mosque in congregation.

When does the fast begin and end?
The fast begins just before dawn when Muslims eat a light meal (suhoor) and confirm their intention to fast for the day. The fast ends at sunset when the call to prayer (Adhan) is announced. Eating a date or some water are the recommended and most popular methods of concluding the fast. The time when the fast ends is known as 'Iftar'.

When you break the fast, do you have to eat Asian food?
Because Islam is not a culture, there is no restriction on what is eaten by Muslims provided it is prepared in the halal manner. Quite obviously, pork and alcohol are not allowed. Recommended food items for Muslims include dates, milk, water, honey, olives and figs - all for their nutritional properties and religious significance. With regards to main meals, anything from fish and chips and spag bol to curries and cous-cous is allowed.

Why do some people stuff themselves when the fast is over?
Those who are fasting should deprive themselves of the meals they would normally have during the times of fast but they shouldn't really eat all they missed once the fast is over as this defeats the whole objective of the fast. When breaking the fast (of having breakfast, I guess), they should simply have the meal they would on any other day. It is permissible to have a more elaborate feast if one if hosting a 'Iftar' meal for guests as this is considered a good and noble act, in which there is divine reward.

But don't you have to think about the poor?
Yes, Ramadhan is also about thinking about the less fortunate and needy although in a lesser degree to improving one's own character over the blessed month. Not eating and drinking does encourage Muslims do recognise how the poverty-stricken and starving people in the world must bear the burden of daily life and this is why, in Ramadhan, many Muslims donate more to charities and why mosques collect more so that people right across the world can have better life and those who donate can gain greater regard for well intentioned actions.

So who has to fast, is it everyone?
Not everyone. Young children are encouraged to learn about fasting but fasting is only obligatory (a must) for anyone beyond adolescence (or over the age of 10 according to some scholars). Muslims who have medical conditions that prevent or make fasting difficult, those who are not of sound mind or are going through a pregnancy or menstruation cycle as well as those who are too young or too old do not have to fast. In some circumstances, individuals who cannot fast for any number of reasons may make up the fast at a later date.

What if you need to train at the gym or do sports or something and you know you'll need water?
Ramadhan obviously should always be placed first as it is no doubt of greater benefit and only comes around once a year. It would be a missed opportunity if Muslims who wish to fast, and have the ability to do so, miss out while their brothers and sisters participate around them. If Muslims feel they can fast and still carry out any high energy activities, then that's fine but if they have to choose because they can't do both, then fasting would be the better option as they can always get in any recreationor exercise when the fast is over.

Some people call it 'Ramadam', what's that all about?
The month is correctly known as 'Ramadhan' or 'Ramadan', the latter being the more anglicised version. 'Ramadam' is incorrect and is mistakenly used. 'Ramadam-dam-dam', as pronounced by Ali G, is also wrong but you probably guessed that already.

When does the month begin, is it the whole of October?
Islamic months follow the lunar calendar, in the same tradition as the Jewish community. Therefore, in relation to the solar, or Gregorian, calendar, Islamic and Jewish months will annually differ by around 11 to 12 days. This means Islamic events will always fall roughly around the same time in the Islamic calendar but always on a different date in the mainstream solar calendar. This year, Ramadhan begins in the first week of October, depending on the sighting of the moon, and will end approximately 30 days after, sometime in the first week of November when Muslims conclude the month with festivities and celebrate Eid.

What's Eid?
Eid, or 'Id, means 'festival' or 'celebration' in Arabic and the festival following Ramadhan is known as 'Eid al-Fitr'.

Muslim boy meets Muslim girl = dating?

2006-09-19T12:14:00.000+03:00

It’s Muslim Boy Meets Girl, Yes, but Please Don’t Call It Dating
By NEIL MacFARQUHAR

Published: September 19, 2006
Complete article at The New York Times

CHICAGO — So here’s the thing about speed dating for Muslims.

Many American Muslims — or at least those bent on maintaining certain conservative traditions — equate anything labeled “dating” with hellfire, no matter how short a time is involved. Hence the wildly popular speed dating sessions at the largest annual Muslim conference in North America were given an entirely more respectable label. They were called the “matrimonial banquet.”

“If we called it speed dating, it will end up with real dating,” said Shamshad Hussain, one of the organizers, grimacing.

Both the banquet earlier this month and various related seminars underscored the difficulty that some American Muslim families face in grappling with an issue on which many prefer not to assimilate. One seminar, called “Dating,” promised attendees helpful hints for “Muslim families struggling to save their children from it.”

The couple of hundred people attending the dating seminar burst out laughing when Imam Muhamed Magid of the Adams Center, a collective of seven mosques in Virginia, summed up the basic instructions that Muslim American parents give their adolescent children, particularly males: “Don’t talk to the Muslim girls, ever, but you are going to marry them. As for the non-Muslim girls, talk to them, but don’t ever bring one home.”

“These kids grew up in America, where the social norm is that it is O.K. to date, that it is O.K. to have sex before marriage,” Imam Magid said in an interview. “So the kids are caught between the ideal of their parents and the openness of the culture on this issue.”

The questions raised at the seminar reflected just how pained many American Muslims are by the subject. One middle-aged man wondered if there was anything he could do now that his 32-year-old son had declared his intention of marrying a (shudder) Roman Catholic. A young man asked what might be considered going too far when courting a Muslim woman.

Panelists warned that even seemingly innocuous e-mail exchanges or online dating could topple one off the Islamic path if one lacked vigilance. “All of these are traps of the Devil to pull us in and we have no idea we are even going that way,” said Ameena Jandali, the moderator of the dating seminar.

Hence the need to come up with acceptable alternatives in North America, particularly for families from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, where there is a long tradition of arranged marriages.

One panelist, Yasmeen Qadri, suggested that Muslim mothers across the continent band together in an organization called “Mothers Against Dating,” modeled on Mothers Against Drunk Driving. If the term “arranged marriage” is too distasteful to the next generation, she said, then perhaps the practice could be Americanized simply by renaming it “assisted marriage,” just like assisted living for the elderly.

“In the United States we can play with words however we want, but we are not trying to set aside our cultural values,” said Mrs. Qadri, a professor of education.

Basically, for conservative Muslims, dating is a euphemism for premarital sex. Anyone who partakes risks being considered morally louche, with their marriage prospects dimming accordingly, particularly young women.

Mrs. Qadri and other panelists see a kind of hybrid version emerging in the United States, where the young do choose their own mates, but the parents are at least partly involved in the process in something like half the cases.

Having the families involved can help reduce the divorce rate, Imam Majid said, citing a recent informal study that indicated that one third of Muslim marriages in the United States end in divorce. It was still far too high, he noted, but lower than the overall American average. Intermarriages outside Islam occur, but remain relatively rare, he said.

Scores of parents showed up at the marriage banquet to chaperone their children. Many had gone through arranged marriages — meeting the bride or groom chosen by their parents sometimes as late as their wedding day and hoping for the best. They recognize that the tradition is untenable in the United States, but still want to influence the process.

The banquet is considered one preferable alternative to going online, although that too is becoming more common. The event was unquestionably one of the big draws at the Islamic Society of North America’s annual convention, which attracted thousands of Muslims to Chicago over Labor Day weekend, with many participants bemoaning the relatively small pool of eligible candidates even in large cities.

There were two banquets, with a maximum 150 men and 150 women participating each day for $55 apiece. They sat 10 per table and the men rotated every seven minutes.

At the end there was an hourlong social hour that allowed participants time to collect e-mail addresses and telephone numbers over a pasta dinner with sodas. (Given the Muslim ban on alcohol, no one could soothe jumpy nerves with a drink.) Organizers said many of the women still asked men to approach their families first. Some families accept that the couple can then meet in public, some do not.

A few years ago the organizers were forced to establish a limit of one parent per participant and bar them from the tables until the social hour because so many interfered. Parents are now corralled along one edge of the reception hall, where they alternate between craning their necks to see who their adult children are meeting or horse-trading bios, photographs and telephone numbers among themselves.

Talking to the mothers — and participants with a parent usually take a mother — is like surveying members of the varsity suddenly confined to the bleachers.

“To know someone for seven minutes is not enough,” scoffed Awila Siddique, 46, convinced she was making better contacts via the other mothers.

Mrs. Siddique said her shy, 20-year-old daughter spent the hours leading up to the banquet crying that her father was forcing her to do something weird. “Back home in Pakistan, the families meet first,’’ she said. “You are not marrying the guy only, but his whole family.”

Samia Abbas, 59 and originally from Alexandria, Egypt, bustled out to the tables as soon as social hour was called to see whom her daughter Alia, 29, had met.

“I’m her mother so of course I’m looking for her husband,” said Mrs. Abbas, ticking off the qualities she was looking for, including a good heart, handsome, as highly educated as her daughter and a good Muslim.

Did he have to be Egyptian?

“She’s desperate for anyone!” laughed Alia, a vivacious technology manager for a New York firm, noting that the “Made in Egypt” stipulation had long since been cast overboard.

“Her cousin who is younger has babies now!” exclaimed the mother, dialing relatives on her cellphone to handicap potential candidates.

For doubters, organizers produced a success story, a strikingly good-looking pair of Chicago doctors who met at the banquet two years ago. Organizers boast of at least 25 marriages over the past six years.

Fatima Alim, 50, was disappointed when her son Suehaib, a 26-year-old pharmacist, did not meet anyone special on the first day. They had flown up from Houston especially for the event, and she figured chances were 50-50 that he would find a bride.

When she arrived in Texas as a 23-year-old in an arranged marriage, Mrs. Alim envied the girls around her, enthralled by their discussions about all the fun they were having with their boyfriends, she said, even if she was eventually shocked to learn how quickly they moved from one to the next and how easily they divorced. Still, she was determined that her children would chose their own spouses.

“We want a good, moderate Muslim girl, not a very, very modern girl,” she said. “The family values are the one thing I like better back home. Divorces are high here because of the corruption, the intermingling with other men and other women.”

For his part, Mr. Alim was resisting the strong suggestion from his parents that they switch tactics and start looking for a nice girl back in Pakistan. Many of the participants reject that approach, describing themselves as too Americanized — plus the visas required are far harder to obtain in the post-Sept. 11 world.

Mr. Alim said he still believed what he had been taught as a child, that sex outside marriage was among the gravest sins, but he wants to marry a fellow American Muslim no matter how hard she is to find.

“I think I can hold out a couple more years,” he said in his soft Texas drawl with a boyish smile. “The sooner the better, but I think I can wait. By 30, hopefully, even if that is kind of late.”

What made Safia Al-Kasaby turn to "the hijackers' faith"?

2006-09-13T09:31:00.000+03:00

Tampa woman who lost eight relatives in the attacks converts to Islam as tensions simmer from the memories and new terror plots. But she presses on.

By SHERRI DAY

Published September 8, 2006

Her mother named her Elizabeth after the queen of England. More than four decades later, she took another name: Safia Al-Kasaby, reflecting her new identity as a Muslima.Safia, 43, is an unlikely candidate for conversion. She claims Jewish and Puerto Rican ancestry. She is a former sergeant first class in the Air Force National Guard. And she lost eight relatives — one uncle and seven cousins — in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.Back then, Safia did not imagine the faith professed by the hijackers would one day become her own.

“It didn’t really matter who did it,” says the Tampa woman now, reflecting on the 2001 attacks. “I just never hated Islam. I never hated Muslims. For me to be angry about what happened to the twin towers would be like me hating all the Germans that killed the Jews.”Safia embraced Islam last year, coming to the faith at a time when it is seemingly maligned anew with each new report of terror plots, wars in far away lands and dead American soldiers.

Like other Muslims, Safia feels the tension all around her: curious stares because she wears the hijab or head scarf and store clerks who ask for extra identification.Just last month , officials at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo turned down an initial request from Safia’s Egyptian fiance for a temporary visa. Safia was certain bigotry played a role.Her new faith also has widened the chasm among her Christian family. Her mother, three sisters and one of her daughters question her choice. Safia presses on.“For her to accept Islam, making that decision especially in this day and time, it says you’re ready to step up and deal with the challenges of this journey,” said Pat “Aliyah” Cruse, a fellow Muslima and 11-year convert.

Some demographers consider Islam to be the fastest-growing religion in the world. Of the 1.3-billion Muslims worldwide, 4.7-million live in the United States, according to the Association of Religion Data Archives.One of the world’s oldest religions, Islam has been in the United States for generations. But the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, thrust the religion and its adherents into the spotlight. Before the attacks, American Muslims largely kept to themselves. Now, many feel the public expects them to answer for the actions of those who commit heinous acts in the name of their faith.

Across the country, some Muslims complain of stereotyping, racial profiling and discrimination. Others pine for the days when Islam was rarely mentioned in headlines. Most dare not complain openly, religious and civic leaders say, for fear of being labeled unpatriotic or sympathetic to extremists.“There’s a certain sense of indignation to being treated the way they’ve been treated,” said Imam Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society’s Freedom Foundation in Washington, D.C. “There’s a kind of rage. The challenge is to make that a healthy rage.”

Many American Muslims say extremists misrepresent their faith. But convincing the public to separate Islam from terrorism at times seems an insurmountable hurdle.Opinion polls back up what American Muslims say they feel every day: Masses of the U.S. populace view them negatively. In a USA Today/Gallup poll released in August , 39 percent of Americans said they feel prejudiced toward Muslims. Nearly one quarter of Americans polled said they would not want a Muslim as a neighbor. Another 39 percent want Muslims to carry special identification at all times and undergo enhanced security checks when boarding airplanes.Anti-Muslim sentiment also has popped up in the Tampa Bay area, home to an estimated 45,000 Muslims. In 2002, federal agents arrested a Seminole podiatrist, Dr. Robert Goldstein, on charges of plotting to blow up a mosque.Fearing for their wives’ safety after Sept. 11, husbands of immigrant Muslim women pulled them out of leadership roles in Islamic women’s groups. Fathers encouraged daughters to remove their hijabs in public to avoid harassment. Muslim women complained of verbal abuse in retail stores. One woman’s hijab was ripped from her head by a customer in her husband’s store.Children get few passes. Last spring , athletic officials benched Temple Terrace’s Briana Canty when she refused to remove her head scarf in an amateur youth basketball league tournament. Rather than recognize Islamic holidays, the Hillsborough County School Board voted to rescind all religious holidays, a move it later reversed.

This is the new reality for American Muslims. Advances are often eclipsed by setbacks.Quoting Charles Dickens, Ihsan Bagby, a leading Muslim demographer and associate professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Kentucky, said this is the best and worst of times for Muslims in America.“This frustration, this pressure will ultimately produce positive results as Muslims continue to strive to become full members of this society,” Bagby said. “Overall, everybody will look back at this period, they’ll see this possibly as a turning point in the history of Islam in America."

Despite challenges for Muslims, Islam continues to grow, buoyed by births and new converts such as Safia.Raised by her grandparents in Puerto Rico, Safia grew up in a home of melded cultures and faiths. Her grandfather was a Jew, who fled Germany during the Holocaust. Her grandmother was Catholic. Safia ultimately chose Judaism, a faith she believed was her birthright.But Judaism eventually let her down, Safia said. In 1997, nearly destitute, she approached a North Tampa synagogue for help. Officials at the shul wanted to know if she was a member. She was not. They asked her if she was really Jewish.“They said just because I had a relative along the line didn’t make me Jewish,” said Safia. “That was the first wall. That I wasn’t pure.”Battling rejection, Safia left the synagogue. For eight years, she did not participate in organized religion.She found Islam in 2005 on the third day of a Moroccan vacation.“I just felt like God was there,” she said, recalling her visit to a mosque during the call for prayer. “I said, 'This is it. I believe there is only one God. His name is Allah, and his messenger is Mohammed.’”

At first, Safia’s family didn’t take her seriously. And some colleagues at her banking job looked askance at her new Moroccan-inspired Islamic attire. Safia quickly toned it down, wearing scarfs only around her neck. She dared not pray at work.Mostly, Safia kept her new faith at home, learning about her religion on Web sites and Islamic chat rooms.Safia went to the Islamic Society of Tampa Bay Area in June and asked for the imam. She wanted to renew her shahadah, the formal declaration of the Islamic Creed. Safia also was out of work. The imam gave her a job managing the society’s office. The group also stocked her refrigerator and paid her rent and electricity bill.At last, Safia said, she had found a spiritual family.

It helps blunt the sting of the rejection from her biological one.Safia’s eldest daughter, Sylvia, wants little to do with her. A Baptist and young military widow, Sylvia berated Safia when she showed up at her husband’s funeral wearing a hijab and carrying a Koran.

At home in Town 'N Country, Safia raises two daughters. Ten-year-old Natalia says her mother’s religion is cool. Ada, 18, appreciates Safia’s transformation and doesn’t put up with people who make fun of Islam or stereotype Muslims.“I say, 'Wait a minute. My mom’s a Muslim,’” Ada said. “She’s not a terrorist.”Safia hopes the world will see her as an example of what Islam really is. Still early in her conversion, she is a Muslima in transition.She studies the Koran and prays five times a day. She also wears makeup and has French-manicured acrylic nails. Sometimes she covers and sometimes — when she fears heckling or worse — she does not.There are victories: Her fiance received his visa and the two married Friday.She looks forward to the day when her religion is not an issue.“I don’t want to have whispers behind me, whispers in front of me,” she said. “I want to be able to blend in, keep my faith and blend in.”

(Times researcher Cathy Wos contributed to this report. Sherri Day can be reached at sday@sptimes.com or 813-226-3405.)

How to be an "ordinary, decent" Muslim ?

2006-09-04T09:14:00.000+03:00

How to be an 'ordinary, decent' muslim

You're a Muslim living in a Britain that has become hyper-sensitive to all hints of Islamist terrorism. So how do you convince people that their prejudiced assumptions about you are wrong?

Urmee Khan offers an irreverent insider's guide
The Guardian

For the fastest-growing religion in the world, there have always been a lot of prohibitions connected with being Muslim. Many of the sacraments of secularism have been forbidden to us, which is a shame, perhaps, because so many of them - bacon, booze and bingo - are almost definitions of Britishness. Still, these privations have always been straightforward, and self-inflicted, and so they have been cheerfully borne by us Muslims.

But things are changing. Britain's top Muslim police officer put his finger on it when, following the travel restrictions put in place after the Heathrow terror plot, Superintendent Ali Dizaei said, "We are in danger of creating a new offence of travelling while Asian." And a few days later the joke became real, when two Asian men on a flight bound for Manchester were removed from the plane after a passengers' revolt over their wearing big coats, talking in a foreign language which might have been Arabic and generally being shifty and not white. As one of the passengers said, "Everyone agreed the men looked dodgy."

I know, I know - there's a real threat of terror and everyone is frightened. But just as you didn't blame all Irish people for the IRA's bombing campaign, it doesn't seem fair to blame all us Muslims for al-Qaida.

Still, it is clear that what we need is a check-list of things to avoid if we want to be seen as "ordinary, decent Muslims", if we want to be seen as above suspicion, as normal citizens. This list will settle once and for all what Muslims in Britain can no longer do.

1: Don't wear a big coat
Terribly bad things, big coats. Palestinian suicide bombers during the intifada often wore unseasonal overcoats to hide their explosives. This has led to sartorial choices being forced on Muslims everywhere, and is a particular inconvenience in Britain, as in most English northern towns the sight of a grumpy-faced Muslim elder, fiercely wrapped up in a parka against the ravages of a perfectly mild day, is a very common sight.

In the aftermath of 7/7, the police asked the public to look out for people wearing unseasonal clothes. (The bombers were wearing jackets, and it was July, although not a particularly hot day - I myself remember wearing a jacket on July 7.) It would now take a Muslim from the lowest remedial class in the mosque to say to themselves any morning this summer that "things are a bit parky today".

The prohibition on big coats is so powerful that Scotland Yard's elite firearms unit let it be thought, after they had shot dead (the not-very-Muslim-looking) Jean Charles de Menezes, that he had been wearing a big coat. He hadn't, of course, so this otherwise cast-iron reason for shooting a chap in the head collapsed.

2: Don't go on holiday to Pakistan
What's the mantra that comes out whenever the police arrest someone for terrorist offences, the clinching final demonstration that, like the Mounties, they've got their man? "Thought to have spent time in Pakistan." That's how we know Siddique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer were the ringleaders in 7/7 - they had "spent time in Pakistan".

The problem is, spending time in Pakistan is what thousands of British Muslims do every year; it's the equivalent of white Britons trooping off to see old aunt Beryl in Bournemouth. It's a bit peculiar; going on holiday to see relatives in, say, Iran or Syria or North Korea won't raise the same eyebrows. It's Pakistan - where three-quarters of a million of British Asians have relatives - that signals you have been training in jihad. So, Muslims - holidaying in Pakistan? Do yourselves a favour and don't bring your holiday snaps into the office.

3: Don't have a beard
The beard is top of the "Watch out! Muslims about!" charts. We're not talking about designer stubble or a George Clooney five o'clock shadow - we mean scary Bin Laden bumper bum fluff. Think of those two Forest Gate lads. Yes, those two big bushy beards.
The beard is not an essential Islamic feature, yet any Muslim sporting one is instantly seen as a radical. And so, brothers (and a few sisters), get your razor out and shave it off!

4: Don't join groups or clubs
Somewhere there is a dusty office in Whitehall whose function it is to ban organisations (which are always labelled as being "proscribed"). The room is probably full of mildewed, dusty files about Northern Ireland's paramilitary groups, and there is no doubt a faded map of Belfast peeling from the wall. But now the dust has been blown off, because there is a use for the office again.
A couple of months ago, two organisations - al-Ghurabaa and the Saved Sect - were banned in the UK. Now maybe that is right. These were the kinds of groups which, in my university days, used to hang around by themselves having beard-growing competitions, and never seemed to have any female friends. Their views on Jewish people, in particular, made my eyes water. But it cannot have escaped too many people's attention that while some merchants of hate get a good hard banning, others are free to wander the length and breadth of the country, like troubadours of bile. For example, the leader of one such crazed sect, the BNP, who says that, "There is no such thing as a moderate Muslim."

If you are a barking mad, dangerous extremist, in a group prepared to countenance violence to get their way, then you better make sure that you are white. For Muslims, this is a no-no. So, to be a fully accredited ordinary, decent Muslim, you should join only the Scouts, the Brownies or - if force is your thing - the British army.

5: Don't wear the veil
The veil: up until the declaration of the "war on terror", when guns, bombs and bottles of Lucozade took over, it was the hijab which, to many white westerners, was the symbol of being Muslim. It meant oppression - but with a vaguely sexual undertone. Whole BBC2 documentaries were made about it. But now, never mind that veils are a great way of repelling lechers and economising on lipstick, they symbolise either a) a militant female jihadist or b) a male bomber in disguise. (Mind you, John Simpson in a burkha wasn't exactly convincing.)

Most Muslims feel hard done by - nobody tells Catholic kids to take off their crucifixes, or Sikhs their turbans. In fact, Sikhs don't even have to wear a motorbike helmet because of the turban!
But it is becoming difficult to justify the clobber we don. When the BBC asked some Muslims about this, a woman called Salikah from London said that, as a Muslim woman, "and visibly so because of my hijab", she had found people avoiding sitting next to her on the tube. "I've thus resorted to standing to try and avoid any tense atmosphere, reading books such as Harry Potter, and wearing my Make Poverty History band," she said.

So there you go - chuck out your salwar kameez and headscarves/jilbabs/veils, and dress like them next door - as long as they are not also "ethnics".

6: Don't live in High Wycombe/ Luton/Beeston/Walthamstow
Up until a couple of weeks ago, High Wycombe had a happily glum existence as one of Britain's many crap towns. But now, since several terror suspects were arrested there, it is vying for entry to the newly forming premier league of terrorist breeding grounds, along with Beeston, Luton and Walthamstow. Bad news for Muslims from those areas. I would advise packing up shop and going to live in, say, Lyme Regis, Wales or Cambridge. These days, it is perhaps best to live in an "integrated" way, as far away as possible from your family and friends.

7: Don't be apathetic
A funny one this - many Muslims make the mistake of thinking that what mainstream Britain wants from us is apathy, a withdrawal from presumptuous political comment, a retreat to the days of corner-shopkeeping and waggling our heads as we talk. But no, this is denial. My 13-year-old brother is more interested in the World Wrestling Federation than global jihad. But in a few years' time, his non-Muslim fellow citizens are going to start expecting some more cogent opinions from him on subjects other than muscular men in underpants. There seems to be a growing expectation that any vaguely coherent Muslim, certainly if they enter professional or public life, needs to take sides, make their position clear, constantly trim their views to incorporate the necessary ritual condemnation of extremists. However, it is a delicate balancing act - don't be too unapathetic, but don't, at the same time, be a community leader (see below).

8 Don't be a 'community leader'
The phrase "community leader" when used in Britain today is almost never applied to anyone who isn't a Muslim. Frequently it has "self-appointed" added to it. Almost anything can qualify; any form of elected office, of course, but even owning a business or shop on some fleetingly significant street. Being cast as a Muslim community leader is a thankless task. No other community is so replete with a similar cast of leaders, so be prepared for the calumny that will pile upon your head from those who say you are taking an insufficiently tough stance against extremism.

9: Don't be a successful sportsman/woman
Or, in fact, show any sporting prowess at all. It isn't worth it. A Muslim sports star nowadays carries a burden of representation that black athletes have long since sloughed off. To evade it, there is really only one course of action - wrap yourself in the union flag the way black stars did in the 1980s. Amir Khan now must follow where Daley Thompson trailblazed.

That said, you might still be called a "terrorist", the label applied to a South African Muslim cricketer of Asian origin, Hashim Amla, by the former Australian cricketer and (subsequently sacked) commentator, Dean Jones. Or "the son of a terrorist whore", as most believe Marco Materazzi labelled Zinedine Zidane in the World Cup final. (And you also might be labelled a "traitor" by Pakistani fans, as happened to England players Sajid Mahmood and Monty Panesar. And Monty ain't even one of us!) You also run the grave risk of falling into the old Orientalist stereotype of the haughty, touchy, slightly ridiculous Muslim martinet; think of how Prince Naseem used to be described, or the reaction to the Pakistani cricket team's behaviour last week.

10: Don't draw cartoons
Hold on, I've got that wrong - it was we who were trying to ban this after those crazy Danes drew the Prophet (may peace be upon him) in a series of offensive "comedy" depictions. But we can all get carried away.

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