Here are two blogs to keep an eye on, well may be in a few years... might as well get them starting early!
Reemo's World , and Abdullah's (aboodi) Galaxy... They would love to get a few comments, so stop by, if you can, and say "salam". Ignore that Aboodi is copying everything (almost everything) from his sister, and that "co-incidentally" they both have "dens"... Aboodi's only 6, and Reemo is not much older! Btw, they are Jana's siblings.
First, let us remember the story (source here), to rekindle our grief upon the murder of one of Islam's greatest-- Umar (RD), who even the Shaytan feared:
"When the year 644 A.D. dawned, that being the tenth year of his rule, Umar had the premonition that before the year ended, he would die.
Ayesha who was present on the occasion of the pilgrimage has left on record that as the party treaded the path between Mina and Mecca, some unseen person addressing Umar said:
"Upon such an Iman as thou be peace and blessings, With your deeds you have prepared for the journey to Heaven, In this journey no one can outstrip you. You brought glory to Islam, After you there will be distress, But so is the will of God. From God you came, and now to God return."
Ahu Musa Ashaari states that at that time he had a dream. In the dream he saw the Holy Prophet and Abu Bakr standing on a mountain. Umar stood at the base. Abu Bakr and the Holy Prophet asked him to come up and he climbed the mountain. The dream was interpreted to imply that the death of Umar was imminent.
On the last Friday in October 644, while presiding at the Friday Prayers Umar said that in a dream he had seen a bird peck at him and this implied that he was going to die. He said, "May be this is the last Friday prayer for me to preside, and thus ye faithful, farewell."
After the battle of Nihawand, many Persians, men, women, and children were taken as captives by the Muslims. The captives were sold as slaves. One of these slaves was Firoz alias Abu Lulu. He was purchased by Mughirah Shu'bah the Governor of Basra. This Firoz was a craftsman, a carpenter, an iron smith and a painter. Umar did not allow non-Muslim adult captives to reside in Madina. Mughirah sought special permission for the residence of Firoz in Madina on the ground that as he was a skilled craftsman, he would be of service to the people. Umar gave the permission as a special case.
One day, Firoz waited on Umar and complained that the tax which his master Mughirah was exacting from him was too high. He wanted the Caliph to reduce the levy. Umar enquired what work did he do. He said that he worked as a carpenter, painter, and an ironsmith. He added that he could make windmills as well. Umar next enquired as to the amount of the tax that he was required to pay to his master. He said that he had to pay two dirhams a day. Umar said that keeping in view the lucrative nature of the jobs done by him, the levy of two dirhams a day was prima facie not excessive. Umar said that he would, however, write to Mughirah, and examine the question further in the light of what Mughirah said. That did not satisfy Firoz, and he went away sulking. There were Persian children slaves in Madina. Seeing them, Firoz would say, "You have been enslaved at such a tender age. This Umar sees eaten my heart. I will take his heart out". He made for himself a dagger with a very sharp edge and smeared it with poison.
On the 1st of November 644 A.D. at the time of the morning prayer, Firoz went with his dagger to the Prophet's mosque and hid himself in a corner in one of the recesses of the mosque. When the faithful stood for prayer after straightening the lines, and Umar took up his position as the Imam to lead the prayer, Firoz emerged from his place of hiding and rushed at Umar. Firoz struck Umar six consecutive blows with his dagger, and Umar fell on the floor profusely bleeding.
Other persons rushed at Firoz, but he had the fury and frenzy of a desperate man about him. He struck right and left, and thirteen Muslims were wounded, some of them fatally [seven Sahabah died], before Firoz could be overpowered. At last realizing that he could not escape, Firoz stabbed himself to death with his own dagger. From the mosque Umar was carried home. When he regained consciousness he asked who was his murderer. He was told that his murderer was the Persian slave Firoz. Thereupon Umar said, "Praise be to God that I have not been murdered by a Muslim".
The physician administered him date cordial and milk. These could not be digested and gushed out of his wounds. That indicated that the wounds were fatal and that he could not survive for long.
The people around him praised him for his virtues and sterling qualities. He asked them not to praise him. He said: "All praise is to Allah. If all the treasures of this world were to be at my disposal, I would offer them as a ransom to be saved from the trial at the Day of Judgment." He then recited the Arabic verse:
"I have been unjust to my soul, Except that I am a Muslim, Say my prayers and fast."
Umar asked his son Abdullah to wait on Ayesha and beg her permission for his burial by the side of the Holy Prophet and Abu Bakr. Ayesha wept as she came to know that Umar was about to die. She said, "I had reserved this place for my own burial, but I give Umar precedence over myself. Let him be buried there". When Umar was told that Ayesha had given the permission, he felt happy and said, "God bless Ayesha. She has fulfilled my greatest wish. Now I can die in peace."
Then he asked his son to estimate the debt that he had to pay. He was told that the debt amounted to eighty six thousand dirhams. This included the salary that he had drawn from the Baitul Mal during the period of his caliphate. He instructed that the debt should be paid by the sale of his property. Thereafter Umar gave detailed instructions to his son regarding his funeral. He said:
"Be moderate in the expenses of my shroud, for verily if there is anything of good with God in my favor, He will give me in exchange what is better than it, and if I have been otherwise, He will strip me of all that I have. And be moderate in the grave that you dig for me, for verily if there be anything of good with God in my favor, He will widen it for me, and if I have been otherwise, He will make it narrow for me to squeeze my body. And let no woman go with my funeral. Praise me not for that which is not in me, for the Lord knows best what I am. Therefore when you carry me to the grave, hasten in your going for if there is anything of good with God in my favor you will speed me to that which is good, and if I have been otherwise, you will cast from your necks an evil that you bear."
Thereafter Umar turned his face to the Qibla and breathed his last. There was serene smile on his face as he lay dead."
That was the story of the Great Caliph Umar (RD). And the following is the story of the cowards who have elevated Abu Lulu', the Zorastrian murderer of Umar, to the level of saint, with a large shrine to celebrate this great crime. The following pictures were taken from two sources, one of them from Wikipedia (online encyclopedia). This is NOT a hoax. You can read more about it on Wikipedia here, and you can also see this shrine being defended on a shia forum here.
One guy at this shiachat forum comments (audhubillah mina shaytan-ul-ins), "It is your scholars abu hanifa and bukhari who are persian magis fire worshippers . Abu Lulu'a 
Why is this reminder important at this time? Because of what is happening in Iraq, because of what is happening in Lebanon. We cannot close our eyes to reality. Ali (who is influenced by pro-regressives) on his forum Eteraz.org asked his readers to support the call of a Shia Imam's editorial in a US newspaper. Read it for yourself here, and see how slick and wicked these people are. The guy (I am talking about the Imam) talks about "external" involvement by Saudis, Egyptians, Jordanians, but casually forgets Iran and the Mahdi-army terrorists. So, before we let the lore of Ahmadinejad among the Sunnis get out of hand, and tales of the great victories of the Shiite Hezbollah, let us remember Shiites really believe, and what they really think of the Sahaba, and what their banners and slogans really are. Let us not forget who betrayed Muslims in the recent wars... in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Notwithstanding that their allies from the West soon realized too on their accord, that their allies were not the best of allies, after all; betray one, and you will betray others. May Allah help us all, and guide us all to the truth.
(Added 2/13/07) I will add that the majority of Sunni scholars consider Shias to be within the fold of Islam. Furthermore, what happened in Afghanistan & Iraq does not mean ALL Shias have the same 'problem'. Wherever we can cooperate, we should do so. Wherever we can help each other to solve the bigger issues, and help to stop the destruction of life and property anywhere, we should encourage that. The killing in Iraq is haraam, of both Shias and Sunnis. The killing of any innocent person is haraam, let alone a Muslim. The terrorists exist on both sides, but for the most part, the objective view seems to say that Shias (having the upper hand) are the bigger instigators in Iraq, so the Shias who reject this violence need to redouble their efforts to help stop the bloodshed.
I call upon the Shias to tell the Sunnis on this blog that they the shrine of Abu-Lulu is not a 'mainstream' view among them. I HOPE to hear those voices.
Picture Stories on this Blog are being Collected HERE.
Here's a "private" taping of the last session at Texas Dawah 2006 "Islam: A Light for All Ages"
Maybe I should correct that... we are going to try to ski again tomorrow! Last time I went skiing in Colorado, it took me a few days to get over the aches and pains. I am not fat, but I ain't fit either. So, I expect to be quite sore for a few days, hopefully inshallah, without any injuries. I am more excited about the kids... Since we just moved up NE some months ago, they are going to the slopes for the first time!
The nearest ski resort is Blue Mountains, about 2 hours from home. Any ski-tips anyone? Anyone want to share good, bad or ugly experiences?
As some may have seen or heard it, CNN produced another shoddy attempt at a "balanced" view of Muslims. Other blogs talking about it here and here (you can see the videos here too). The only balancing real Muslim I saw on it was Suhaib Hasan and the Niqabi sister (who wasn't given the opportunity to say much at all as opposed to the babbling "I am just like all the rest of the whitees" pro-regressive "Muslim" comedian). Most of the other "moderates" seemed pro-regressive to me as well.
These journalists or soooo out of clue. Now every Muslim kid or vain adult who wants to get famous quick knows the trick. Become extremist-upid (hey that's a neat new word!) and you will be on CNN/BBC quick-- you'll be FAMOUS big-time! You don't have to kill anyone or commit any "real" crime or be a serial killer... just say stupid things like "Listen to me, I am a Muslim with a big beard, so I must know. I know a few verses of the Quran so I am REAL... so I tell you, and you have to believe me because I said so, Islam is NOT a religion of peace. We love to kill, and we are Draculas part-time, our favorite beverage is non-Muslim blood, esp. white women and little babies". That's about all that needs to be said for a guaranteed appearance on prime time TV. And you never know, this extremistupid guy may attract a few extremistupid "chics" who will be willing to be 2nd to 4th wife. I mean all the ugly rock-stars have screaming women, so an ugly extremistupid can also get quite a following! Please, Christine AmanPOOR, give me a BIG break!
Sorry, got carried away there... back to the real point of this post, which is why these "investigative" journalists don't show the other groups engaging in pretty much the same thing. Well, I kinda know why, but to avoid being a conspiracy theorist, I'll skip that discussion. Here is a little discussion that occurred on Sr. Ruth's blog, that gives another angle to the story. Christian Evangelists (whose ranks include President Bush) say about the same kind of things as were said in those undercover secret recordings, YET they face hardly any of the ruckus:
The following exchange is between Al-Ozarka (an average FOX-worshiping, Bush-loving, Muslim-basher with a wierd name):
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Ruth, do you feel comfortable with these Muslim brothers [referring to the videos of the Mosques-Undercover]?
Posted by: Al-Ozarka at January 18, 2007 12:54 PM
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Re: Ozarka... Dare I say "Here we go again"? I bet if I stayed 6 months undercover in a hard-core evangelical church, I'd catch a lot more of gay-bashing, discussions about end-time (including the killing/conversion of unbelievers) and the need to spank your children 'religiously' to keep them straight. And if I take some comments out of context, then it will be even more sensationalist!
Personally, I am sick of this topic. I think we need to start another topic instead: "Persecution of Muslims Around the Globe"... well, that doesn't fit this blog's purpose, but really we need to stop being defensive all the time, esp. considering that there are MORE Muslims dying at the hands of the non-Muslims than the other way around. Its nearly useless talking to these brainwashed individuals. Especially when there are so many open-minded individuals out there to listen and have a reasonable conversation with.
Posted by: Amad at January 18, 2007 09:24 PM
Its tough to go to work sometimes when this little one wants to stay in your lap... Dear readers, meet Jana.
I always believed that there were no guarantees in life... but hey, I could be convinced. Here are 60 ways Muslim husbands can keep their 'oppressed' wives loving them by Sheikh Ahmad Shehab (first time I heard of him but he seems pretty good). CLICK HERE. And those brothers who are not married, maybe this is a good start to start memorizing some tips.
The Sheikh did mention that it was not necessary to know every one of the 60, but you should aim to be a Champion... so, are YOU a champion Muslim guy? Or are you going to be wimpy and only learn 30 of them?
Want to earn some money?? Here's a challenge: the first one to list all 60 from the lecture (post under comments) gets $5! Paypal'd to you!
More challenges: List another valid 5 (beyond the 60 mentioned by the Sheikh), and you'll earn another $5. We'll stop at 100 so I can stop my wallet from bleeding, if we get there!
THE CHALLENGE IS ON...
For those who are completely ignorant of what goes on in American politics, you are probably thinking it was a typo, that I really meant Osama, not Obama. Well, I certainly don't mind that slant either, but here we are talking about the once-front-runner-for-President: Barack Hussein Obama. Yes, another surprise for some of you, his middle-name is Hussein. So, let's see here... his last name rhymes with Osama, and his middle is the same as Saddamenstein's last, hmm...
As if the that wasn't enough, another story surfaced over the last few days that Obama had gone to a "Madrassa", much like Misbah Rana's mystery enrollment in one. Of course, most Muslims know that "Madrassa" means school, and that there is nothing inherently evil, malicious, or terroristic about it, but nevertheless the word pushes a big hot-button created by the media to malign Muslim seminaries. In any case, the fact that Obama allegedly attended a madrassa when he was only 6 or 8 years old for only 2-4 years, the fact that he is now a self-proclaimed Christian, the fact that he has no Muslim views-- all the facts don't really matter! Currently, it stands at a triple-whammy--- two names that ain't right and then some time at a "madrassa"-- TOO MUCH for Americans to swallow. I could muse along, "so what if the guy is STILL Muslim, so what?" and obviously that question would be foolish in so many ways, starting with a complete naivety of current affairs. After all about half of Americans don't like Muslims too much anyway (courtesy the media, which is fighting Israel's proxy war)... even the slightest indication of any Muslim blood in a candidate is enough to keep him a long distance away from America's top post. In fact, people are talking about Obama as being a Manchurian candidate for Muslims! For God's sake, give me a BIG break! I mean some people give too much credit to Muslim planning. Muslims can hardly plan well for a few months, let alone have a plan that began 35 years ago with Obama; brainwashing and preparing him for his important assignment as the secret Muslim President of USA? Thanks, but no thanks.
Some readers may take offense to the my simplistic view of American people. I agree, there is no doubt sophisticated Americans exist, that many Americans are above this childish attacks... but there are enough, much more than enough, who will let this get in the way of sensibility. Mark my words!
Back to the Elections of 2008, there are (or were) four viable candidates: McCain, Guiliani (Republicans) and Hillary, Obama (Democrats). As far as I am concerned, Obama was a long shot, and is now not even that (unless he turns the Muslim to Christian conversion into a positive for the Evangelists-- who doesn't like a Muslim apostate these days??). I have to admit that Obama may actually have been the best cchoice for Muslims (on second thought, how many times have we said that and got bitten!). He is intelligent, fresh, and seems to have been above the political fray. He is also not on record for having a love-fest with Israel. Well, that's that...
As far as the rest of the pool, they are all about the same for Muslims. Democrats may be less inclined to use pre-emptive wars as a means of propping up their poll numbers, but America really can't afford another war for several years, so either party may not affect the war thing. The remaining Democrat, Hillary, doesn't have much of a real chance. Too many people hate her too much. Too many people have made up their minds about her, and since the difference is going to be a few percentile points, that sort of extreme love and hate is likely going to be her outdoing. That leaves the Republicans... the marriage of both Guliani and McCain to Israeli interests is well-known. McCain has written articles about America's deep bonds with the terrorist state of Israel, while Guiliani refused $10 million from the Saudi Prince Talal, because Talal mentioned the need for looking into the reasons for the 9/11 attacks (i.e. how Israel's terrorism is creating monsters). One of these two will be America's next president, that's my 2-cents worth prediction.
So, in my humble estimation, 2008 Presidential Elections is not going to be a watershed moment for Muslims. My advice to Muslims then: don't hold your breath!
Alhamdulillah, sanity has prevailed. The 12-yr Scotland-born girl will stay put with her father-- in 3rd world Pakistan. Here are some links on the story: here, here and here. It became more and more obvious that Misbah wasn't under any pressure or under any brainwashing to say to the rest of the world, I am a Muslim, and I want to stay with my Muslim father, in a Muslim country. The official line was that Misbah's parents reached a custody agreement. That may be so, but mind you, it wasn't out of any kindness or regard for Misbah's wishes that her mother let the matter go. But, rather as evidence and testimonies poured in from family members, Misbah's mom's case went from worse to worst. Had it been the reverse, as I have said before, there was NO case... it was only the prejudice and racism of the British media (as this link describes) and her mom's supporters that was providing the steam. There was even a recent story of Misbah's admission to a "madrassa" (which only means school of course but scares the living lights out of the bigots because all they see is Osama when madrassa is mentioned) to stoke the fires of racism further. But it was not to be, Misbah's mother is apparently a part-time druggie and mentally unstable , according to her children by the way.
Interestingly, another pro-regressive (well I don't even know if she calls herself a Muslim) in the league of Irshad Manji (in terms of her mental retardation) by the name of Zenab Eve Ahmed chimed in on "comments are free" here. Well, her comments were not only free, but quite worthless. She writes that oh, no, this isn't about a father wanting her daughter to grow up as a Muslim, this is all about protecting Misbah's virginity or in her words "Sajad Ahmed Rana, fighting over the intact state of his daughter's hymen". Really? Well, even if for one moment if we assume your premise is correct, Zenab Evel, what is exactly WRONG with that? If you want to live a promiscuous life, and want your own daughters to have their hymen "taken care of" at the age of 12, then go ahead. But, how dare you tell Muslims what they should or should not do! Even religious Christians are trying to teach their children to stay 'pure' until their marriage, and Islam, the highest protector of Muslim women's honor, should give up on one of the sanctities of marriage? Give me a BIG break! Another blog, by the way, completely rips apart the arguments from Zenab Evel (i.e. Evil).
In any case, Misbah is happy to be staying in Pakistan. And we couldn't be happier for her. May Allah preserve her, and keep her upon her religion, firm and steadfast.
Previous posts on this subject:
Contact Channel 4 and send in your protest:
E-mail Address: dispatches@channel4.com
Discuss it on their forums by clicking here
Call: Viewer Enquiries: 0845 076 0191
Write to: Channel 4 Enquiries
PO Box 1058
Belfast
BT1 9DU
Talking Points:
See the last few lines of my previous entry, which starts with Channel 4, "here's my message for you". You can get several other points from this forum.
| Yasir Qadhi delivers a right and a left to the documentary that has rocked the Muslim community in UK. The documentary that is sinister and evil in its intent to defame Muslims and divide them along lines of the so-called Wahhabi and non-Wahhabi! I have uploaded video now on video.google.com in addition to Youtube. | |
Further to my commentary on Channel 4's documentary, these are responses by two well-known Muslims, one Yasir Qadhi (not featured in the documentary), and Abu Usama (featured). I thought hard whether I should even provide the links, or promote this destructive, evil, and sinister videos. But I would be fooling myself if I think that I will prevent this Internet fire from spreading.
I was quite disappointed that Abdul Hakim Murad aka TJ Winters participated in this slanderous program against Muslims. You know personally I don't care "which" Muslims they were working against... it really doesn't matter. If we have a problem with other Muslims, we should talk about it between ourselves. "Keep it in the family"! I hope AHM will take some time out in the near future to clarify that his intent was not as portrayed. Because we would never see Hamza Yusuf or Zaid Shakir do such things? I doubt that they would ever be part of an incrimination against other Muslims, regardless of the differences and the disagreements.
The documentaries are on Youtube, some may have been removed, others in the process. Here is a link to another blog that has the videos.
Responses:
1) By Yasir Qadhi
2) By Abu Usamah
I love to smell my baby. I love to smell her baby-breath, her "bad" breath, her after-bath J&J shampoo smell, even her morning wake-up "awful" breath. The only smell I don't like of course is her "change my diaper now" smell. With my other two "grown" kids ... 6 and 9... the smell-factor is no longer the same. I mean their bad breath in the morning, for example, is not something I enjoy anymore.
So, what is it about little babies that make them smell SOOOO good? Why is it that I find myself taking deep whiffs with my little girl's face next to mine? SubhanAllah, Allah plants the love of these children right from the bat. In their BIG cheeks, in their cuddling, in their smiles, in their laughter, in their little fingers holding your thumb, in their super-fast crawling motions, and their stumbling all over the place. Those moments are so special, that when these little babies, who added so much to your work, and took away from your sleep, when they grow up... you miss it, you want it all over again! Of course fathers can't really compete with the mothers. Ever wonder why the mother wakes up to the crying sounds of the baby only to plant a big kiss on her, not that she didn't just wake her up for the tenth time in the night. And God forbid, if I wake up my wife one time in the night, I probably will be hearing about it for many days! (wife: if you read this, I am just kidding!). Well, lets not go into the mother-child lovey dovey stuff... let's stick to this fatherly instincts. Yes, REAL fathers also love their children... REAL fathers especially love their little girls... and REAL fathers usually love to smell their children. Did you know that the Prophet (S) used to smell and kiss Hussein (RD), his grand-child?
Forget about the Eternity for Men perfume, can't I bottle up that baby-smell and take it with me to work??? Any inventors out there???
Well, there is something special indeed about odors. Here is a nice article from Islamonline. Allah has indeed made our noses and our sense of smell quite a forensic tool! Interestingly, mothers find their own kid's poop less revolting than other kid's, no kidding, see for yourself here. And babies too can locate their food-source with their smell, read here.
Am I alone in this????
This is an interesting analysis, that is worth reading:
The following was the author's conclusion to give you a little taste of the content:
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Conclusion: A Dangerous False History
Like Johne, many of our friends on the American right who are upset with the recent actions of some Muslims would like to believe that Islamic peoples have been historically intolerant, crude, or ignorant. Unfortunately for them, history does not bear out their arguments. Indeed, a close assessment of just a few instances of Islamic history shows that tolerance, learning, and forgiveness are the historical hallmarks of Islamic civilization. Such are the facts of history; and to pretend otherwise, given the precarious situation in which the world finds itself today, is the historical equivalent of yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theater. The misrepresentation of history does not often such With the world at war, it is important to understand that the religion many Americans view as an enemy possesses the historical virtues of peace.
Two stories that I stumbled upon recently were particularly distressing. Both involved sisters, practicing sisters, who wore the hijab and by all accounts, were "good" Muslims. Yet both of them stumbled, may Allah guide them back to the truth. And stumbled mightily. One sister took to prostitution, in fact, she showed up to "work" on the first day with her hijab on! I grieve for her, I grieve for her naivety, her innocence, I grieve for her life in the brothels, where the body's hijab is stripped away for the pleasure of men acting like animals. The other sister, though she kept her worldly integrity, lost much more in the akhirah. She belied her own fitrah, and she took to the religion which denies God Himself. We should all grieve, we should all feel for these women who were misled by the denizens of sins and evils. But, while we grieve, we should learn, we should take away lessons to apply to ourselves, to our communities, and to our societies. So, after recounting the two stories, I'll put forward one out of the many lessons that I take away from this, and I'll count on the readers of this blog to put forward their thoughts and lessons as well. I am especially interested in lessons form a common thread in both stories:
--------------------------------------------------------
The Atheist
Narrated by Yahya Ibrahim in his lecture "Death is Near"
[distributed by Muslim Audio; highly-recommended buy]
I wish to begin by narrating to you a saddening story, that should fill your heart with sorrow and fear. It is the story of a Muslim story that I received an email from about 3 months ago. This Muslim sister writes: I have an older sister… alhamdulilah, we were raised as Muslims, and my sister was a very bright student, and she received a scholarship to the most prestigious engineering school in
She took off the hijab, didn’t inform the parents, and all the people she lived with, who by the way were non-Muslims, were overjoyed, “Now you can come out with us” So she used to attend their social gatherings. Three months ago, I told you the sister emailed me, she said that my sister has just sent us a hand-written letter, saying, and this story began 2 yrs ago, saying “I cannot live like this anymore, I cannot live a lie, I must inform you that I no longer believe in your God, in fact I believe in no god.” Inna lilah wa inna alahi rajioon. Say it, Inna lilah wa inna alahi rajioon. This is the greatest calamity. O Allah, the Prophet used to teach us, do not make our calamity in our religion. What causes more sorrow that the parents of this Muslim girl ask, “can you please ask the shayookh, could you please translate our questions and ask, is it permitted for us to marry her off with a Muslim man and not tell him of this deviance.. just make a contract, so maybe she would become infatuated with her new husband and forget all this stuff she is doing”. Look at how naive they are [in their grief]. “Do not die except you are in the state of Islam.”
The ProstituteBut when she later became pregnant and decided she would not have a baby in that loveless marriage, her husband was outraged.
"My husband told the sheikhs," she says. "And there was all this guilt trip, 'You are a Muslim lady, you shouldn't do that, you have killed a human being, how dare you … you are going to go to hell in this world and then to hell in another life.' "
Julie had the abortion and divorced her husband, later moving in with a friend who seemed inexplicably wealthy. "I saw guys dropping her off but they never came inside," she says. "I asked her where do you meet these people? Where do you go when you disappear for hours? Where do you get this money from?"
Her friend reluctantly told her she worked in the sex industry. "I thought if she can do it, then so can I," says Julie.
On her first night at the brothel she wore her hijab. "The owner said to me, 'Look, I know you are different and you have got a different belief, but in many ways we are a lot alike.'
"She gave me a room and told me I didn't have to do a job straight away, just to get comfortable. But it was so hard for me because, except for my husband, the most I had said to another man was 'Hi, how are you?'
"It took me six months to learn how to say 'Hi I am (Julie), how are you? I do sex, massage, oral with condoms."
Julie says shifts were soothed with methamphetamine, or ice, and she gradually became more comfortable.
Two years into the work she became pregnant again and decided to quit the industry — and the drugs.
She says it is tough. "You miss the money, so much … sometimes you think I will just go back to pay this bill off …"
--------------------------------------------------------This little article in the Chronicle really is an impressive one. I enjoyed reading it, I enjoyed how Jill has really given it on the chin of the right-wing nuts, straight-up. I love the punch-line, "Where are all the moderate Muslims? All around us." Read for yourself:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/4468083.html
STOP THE SCAPEGOATING
Where are all moderate Muslims?
An answer to what has become a ubiquitous question
I have given hundreds of talks and lectures throughout the Houston area in the past few years on issues of world religion and religion in public life. The question that always comes in the Q&A no matter what the topic, no matter if the audience is liberal or conservative, is "Where are all the moderate Muslims?"
The ubiquity of this question is deeply problematic. Not because the desire for so-called "moderate Muslims" is bad. (It isn't.) Not because the people who ask it are bad or bigoted. (They usually aren't.) The question is problematic because of what it assumes: that Islam is naturally predisposed to extremist interpretation; that most of the up to 10 million Muslims in the United States are not moderate, but radical; that those who claim to be moderate aren't because they don't stand up and denounce the extremists. None of these assumptions is supported by evidence. In fact, evidence exists to the contrary.
Muslim condemnations of terror abound, as even the most rudimentary Google search indicates. Plug in "Muslims condemn 9/11" and take an hour or so to just get started. Or read the Fiqh Council of North America's fatwa against terrorism declared in July 2005 and endorsed by 120 organizations and groups in the United States and Canada. Or go to the Council on American-Islamic Relations Web site to view the 30-second TV public service announcements they created and ran in English, Arabic and Urdu. "Why haven't we seen these things before?" you ask. You might direct that question to your local news outlets. And, given our access to the Internet, maybe we all could take more responsibility for being accurately informed citizens.
We have not had so much as a backpack bomb in this country since 9/11, and it's not because our security measures are so foolproof. Our largely terror-free experience comes because we have a free, prosperous society governed by a stable rule of law that offers tremendous opportunities for life and happiness, including religious expression. Muslims, like so many other religious, ethnic and racial groups in America, are integrated into all areas of life in all parts of the country, all sorts of neighborhoods, in all sorts of professions. They go to work, pay their taxes, raise their kids and participate in faith communities like most other citizens and residents of this country. They peacefully co-exist with others in this demographically pluralistic nation, just like almost everyone else does. They are our neighbors, co-workers, clients, friends and in-laws.
Yet, we act like they've come straight from the burning streets of Baghdad or the caves of Tora Bora with plans to blow us up. We see imams praying in the airport and have them taken off the plane. We see women wearing a hijab get on a bus or subway, and we feel ourselves tense up. Or, as happened recently when I attended a large interfaith dinner here in Houston and the well-known president of a respected Muslim organization got up to bless the food in Arabic, someone at a nearby table said, "We'd better hope he's not calling for jihad!" And in recent days we have seen the ugly episode in Katy with the pig races to protest the construction of a mosque in the area. While concerns about flooding, traffic congestion and building permits are legitimate, the Web site set up to protest the mosque is a virtual tutorial in Islamophobia.
Such things border on the hysterical. According to a recent USA Today article, more than a third of Americans think U.S. Muslims sympathize with al-Qaida and should have to carry special ID cards. This is just a hop, skip and jump from what we did to our Japanese residents and citizens after Pearl Harbor — we rounded them up indiscriminately and sent them to internment camps, a shameful and often hidden episode in our modern history.
We have to stop this. We in Houston and in America are bigger and stronger than to give in to such outlandish demon-izing and scapegoating. We must resist this irrational fear mongering with regard to our Muslim residents and citizens, as we must with all groups who for whatever reason become targets of hatred and bigotry. We cannot allow ourselves to be pawns in the manipulative hands of the most sensation-alist media outlets in our cul-ture. We must stand up for each other in the spirit of decency, tolerance and mutual respect. The very fabric and cohesion of our society is at stake.
Where are all the moderate Muslims? All around us.
Carroll is associate director of the Boniuk Center for Religious Tolerance at Rice University.
I am personally sick of the term "wahhabis" because everyone and his brother uses this term for practically everyone they don't like. It's pretty much become a cuss word. A long time ago I gave a khutbah for MSA-UH on campus about this phenoneman (I guess they couldn't find anyone for that day!); I intend to revisit that little sermon as well. You see the problem is that no one really follows Sh. Abdul-Wahhab, like for instance Qadiyanis follow Mirza Ghulam or like Mormons follow Joseph Smith, etc. So, you will be hard-pressed to find a Muslim that follows Sh. Abdul Wahhab in everything like someone would if they were to be rightfully called Wahhabis.
With that introduction, a little assignment: find references for everyone who calls anyone Wahhabis... for instance, I know Pipes calls CAIR and pretty much every Muslim in America Wahhabi, Braelwis call Deobandis wahhabis, etc... You get the point. Let's collect all a list of those called Wahhabis and those calling them such. Of course, with references. My purpose is to debunk this term's usage, so lend me a bit of your time...
Here is an article sent to me by a good friend, which appeared yesterday in one of the more Muslim-friendly newspapers in UK-- the Guardian. It seems to me that the media's attempt to continue thrusting a less than thrilling image of Islam is becoming almost desperate. Every time there seems to be the slightest lull, someone has to break it-- either one of our jihadi friends or the media with another "insider story" (NOTE: "jihadi friends" was meant to be sarcastic-- I don't have any jihadi friends; this disclaimer in itself is testimony to what positions we find ourselves in!).
So, it seems that the media cannot have enough of Islam/Muslim-related stories. Every outlet wants to break its own 'sleeper-cell' story! And I bet ya that the story sells each and every time. Of course, the good Muslim stories are never reported or buried somewhere deep, where no one can find it. Good stories, of course, don't sell. I mean a Muslim soup kitchen serving the hungry and desolate on Houston streets may be reported by one paper, but how much more attention does that deserve! On the other hand, the same soup-serving people, a bunch of barely-adults practicing to shoot arrows or guns for fun, in a camp owned by an Islamic society, is considered extremely news worthy, deserving of massive distribution since of course, stupid, they were members of a "sleeper-cell" and their "fun" activities was nothing but part of a "training camp". Remember Brandon Mayfield, the poor white-convert lawyer, who the media desperately wanted to be another John Walker Lindh? Remember how this guy had never left American shores, yet somehow his fingerprints were magically found on evidence in Spain? Well, remember how the story made front-page on all the papers? Now, fast-forward a bit, and his exoneration hardly made a dent in any of the headlines. So, what do you think the average American remembers? Another convert to Islam, with a fancy degree, out to get America!
Back to the Guardian story about the upcoming Channel 4 documentary (on UK TV). In 12 months of investigation (that is an awful long time), they found only one or two instances of what one might call outrageous and "break the law" type speech. Yet the whole commentary was labeled "Preachers' message of hatred". Some other examples of 'egregious' behavior (as defined by this journalist) were things stated by a preacher, directly from Islamic law, such as disciplining the children if they do not pray! Whoa... so, we can't even quote a hadith now? We can't even discipline our children now? To make them practice what is the most basic rights of Allah, i.e. to pray. I mean would we not hit our children if they did not study, or started to smoke, or do drugs? Most parents would answer in the affirmative. So, for Muslims, it is worse not to pray than to do any of these social wrongs. Please parents, don't get me wrong! Everything in Islam is in proportion, so hitting has its constraints: no hitting on face or head, not hitting so hard to leave bruises, etc. What is funny is that even the non-Muslim Western society is divided on the benefits/cons of child-spanking, and many religious Americans, esp. from the south, will tell you straight-up that a little spanking goes a long way. For Muslims, spanking of children is not encouraged, some say it is actually forbidden. But, the only place for its permissibility is for prayers, since prayers forms the minimum basis for a person's Islam.
What gets under my skin is that these dang investigative journalists (I assume there was more than one)... did they not see any good in 12 months? I mean they must have! Yet, to just ignore all the goodness for the sake of a few bad apples, for the sake TV ratings, at the expense of Muslim sentiments and Muslim image, is just plain incitement. What do they want?? A few lynchings? Will that satisfy their hunger for Islamophobic stories?
Channel 4, here's my message for you: The anti-Muslim sentiments are already resounding in the West, a large chunk of people already think Muslims are inherently violent or evil, Islamophobia is already rampant; so let me tell you straight-up that you have succeeded, that the media has ALREADY succeeded in destroying our image. Your "icing on the cake" with this documentary will now only serve to enrage those who already hate. That rage will lead to violence against Muslims: bodily or to property. And guess where the blame will squarely lie: at YOUR hands. As for the few Muslim extremists, they will continue preaching what they need to; they will just move around. Your story will neither bother them nor hurt them. In fact, it may embolden them. What you should have done INSTEAD, was to spend 12 months locating positive stories in the mosques. So, that you could help heal the wounds, not add insult to injury. So, that you could perhaps turn the heart of one of those bigots planning violence against Muslims, and perhaps even save a life. SHAME ON YOU, and shame on your channel, and shame on all those who support you with advertisement revenue. Prepare your hands for Muslim blood, I guarantee you that your story will lead to it, may Allah protect all our Muslim brothers and sisters. And Allah knows best.
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Here's the story:
Revealed: Muslim Preachers' messages of hate
