My apologies for taking so long to post something new. It has been a very busy month, and I have been doing a lot of reading and listening. Insha'Allah, I will have another blog post...a more original post, in the near future. Right now, I would like to post something which I read on a Muslim forum. It really caused me to sit back and say, "Subhan'Allah!"
"Are We Truly Believers?
In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
“So do not weaken and do not grieve, for you will indeed be superior if you are truly believers.” [Al-Quran 3:139]
This verse was revealed to the Messenger (SAS) by Allah The Almighty from above the Seven Heavens, soon after the Muslims suffered a defeat in the Battle of Uhud and returned to Al-Madinah dejected and downtrodden. It was revealed as an encouragement to the believers after a victory that was in their grasp, was snatched away from them and turned into a defeat. And why should the Companions (RA) not have felt devastated at this defeat? Seventy of the best human beings on Earth at the time were killed and countless others were injured. Even the Messenger (SAS) himself was seriously wounded until blood flowed from his face and he said in great anguish whilst wiping the blood from his noble cheeks: “Allah’s Wrath is Great upon the people who besmeared His Messenger’s face with blood.”
However, this defeat was only a temporary setback so that the believers could reflect upon the reasons for the defeat, described in successive verses of Surah Ale-Imran. The mistakes and sins of a few believers had deprived the whole army of victory.
When Umar bin Al-Khattab (RA) despatched the army of Saad bin Abi Waqqas (RA) to the Battle of Al-Qadisiyyah, he advised him: “Fear your sins more than you fear the enemy as your sins are more dangerous to you than your enemy. We Muslims are only victorious over our enemy because their sins outnumber ours, not for any other reason. If our sins were equal to those of our enemy, then they would defeat us due to their superior numbers and resources.”
And so Saad (RA) proceeded to fight the Persians and, sticking to the advice of his leader, he imprisoned the alcoholic Abu Mahjan Ath-Thaqafi lest his presence in the army delays the victory. Until, Abu Mahjan lamented in his shackles and composed verses of poetry that touched the wife of Saad (RA) to temporarily release him so that he could participate in the battle with his brothers. Abu Mahjan thus went out riding the horse of Saad (RA) (as Saad (RA) was bedridden with fever) and performed unmatched feats of valour before returning to his cell in the evening and wearing his shackles back by himself. This continued for three days until, when Saad (RA) found out about the heroics of Abu Mahjan, he untied his shackles with the words: “By Allah! I will never imprison you again for drinking alcohol!” Upon this, Abu Mahjan replied, “By Allah! I will never again touch alcohol after this day!” The army was victorious and Saad (RA) appointed the ascetic Companion Salman Al-Farsi (RA) as the new ruler of Persia, who lived on a meagre salary of one dirham per day.
Victory and defeat, gains and losses, and successes and setbacks are not decided by money, resources, numbers or skills. Rather, they are decided by the balance of obedience and disobedience of Allah The Exalted. The more we obey Allah, both individually and collectively, the more we hasten His Victory. The more we disobey Allah, the more we delay the arrival of His Victory. One Muslim’s sins can delay the victory for everyone. It is very easy to blame Bush and Blair, the ‘West’, the ‘kuffar’ or simply ‘them’ for all our woes and worries. But it is not so easy to look in the mirror and point the finger at ourselves.
Look at us and our pathetic state. We have abandoned Salah or we delay it or rush through it. We are too stingy to give Zakah, let alone optional charity. We prefer to go on holiday than to go for the obligatory Hajj. We drink alcohol, we use and supply drugs (Muslims are amongst the biggest suppliers of drugs in the world today), we cohabit outside wedlock, we steal, we cheat. We eat haram, earn haram and sell haram. We beat our wives and force our daughters into marriages then use Islam to justify it. We are quick to spend on fashion and luxuries but slow to spend on orphans and the needy. We fail to utter a single word, let alone raise a finger, when we see our fellow Muslims imprisoned , tortured, house-arrested, extradited or slain for fear of being ‘linked’ to them. We waste our lives watching television and playing computer games then complain that we don’t have enough time to become better Muslims. We are too addicted to music to find time to listen to or memorise the Quran. We are too busy in fun and games to fulfil our responsibilities as vicegerents on Allah’s Earth. And after all this (and more), we have the audacity to wonder why Allah’s Victory has not yet arrived. With our paltry state, we should more likely expect Allah’s Wrath and Punishment rather than His Victory.
Every sin we commit delays the arrival of Allah’s Victory. Every Salah we delay extends the incarceration of a captive at Guantanamo Bay. Every drug we take allows another Quran to be flushed down the toilet. Every hour we waste watching TV allows another Muslim to be kidnapped and extradited into the hands of savage beasts. Every time we gaze at something forbidden, we place an obstacle in the path of Allah’s Victory. A sin is not a ‘private matter between me and Allah’ but one sin can make the difference between victory and defeat. Every sin we commit is one more reason why Allah should not grant us relief, safety and victory.
Allah has made us a Promise in the aforementioned verse: “So do not weaken and do not grieve, for you will indeed be superior if you are truly believers.” He promises us relief, assistance, superiority and victory on the condition that we are true believers. If we suffer defeats today then it does not mean that Allah’s Promise is false. Instead, the question we must ask ourselves is: are we truly believers?"
By British Political Prisoner Babar Ahmad MX5383
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Alhamdulillah! ...a Wonderful Story!
Assalaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakaatuhu,
On Sundays, I travel to another, much larger masjid for my "new Muslim" class. The class is from 2:00-4:00p.m. (CT-US), so it usually starts shortly after Dhuhr prayer. Today, after the prayer, the sheikh took the microphone and recounted a wonderful story which happened early this morning.
He said, "Usually a brother opens the masjid every morning prior to Fajr to unlock the doors, turn on the lights and call the adhan." The sheikh said that he and other brothers usually arrive about 10-15 minutes prior to the prayer. This morning when the sheikh arrived, he saw about 8-10 brothers standing outside. The doors were locked & lights off. Obviously the one brother was late.
As the sheikh walked up to open the doors, he and the other brothers clearly heard the last of the adhan being announced from inside the masjid. The sheikh looked at the brothers and asked them why they didn't bang on the windows and have the caller of the adhan let them in? After the sheikh unlocked the door and they all went inside the masjid, they found that nobody was there. Not only were the lights off, but the microphone was off and the alarm was still set as they entered. Yet, they all clearly heard the end of the adhan from outside the masjid.
The sheikh finished his story letting us know that not only were there good human beings in the masjid, but also good jinn and angels.
Masha'Allah, when I fully realized what the sheikh was telling us, I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
Allahu Akbar!!!
On Sundays, I travel to another, much larger masjid for my "new Muslim" class. The class is from 2:00-4:00p.m. (CT-US), so it usually starts shortly after Dhuhr prayer. Today, after the prayer, the sheikh took the microphone and recounted a wonderful story which happened early this morning.
He said, "Usually a brother opens the masjid every morning prior to Fajr to unlock the doors, turn on the lights and call the adhan." The sheikh said that he and other brothers usually arrive about 10-15 minutes prior to the prayer. This morning when the sheikh arrived, he saw about 8-10 brothers standing outside. The doors were locked & lights off. Obviously the one brother was late.
As the sheikh walked up to open the doors, he and the other brothers clearly heard the last of the adhan being announced from inside the masjid. The sheikh looked at the brothers and asked them why they didn't bang on the windows and have the caller of the adhan let them in? After the sheikh unlocked the door and they all went inside the masjid, they found that nobody was there. Not only were the lights off, but the microphone was off and the alarm was still set as they entered. Yet, they all clearly heard the end of the adhan from outside the masjid.
The sheikh finished his story letting us know that not only were there good human beings in the masjid, but also good jinn and angels.
Masha'Allah, when I fully realized what the sheikh was telling us, I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
Allahu Akbar!!!
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Wilders' Hate Film: Fitna
Yesterday, before the website LiveLeak pulled it, I viewed the hate film by Geert Wilders, "Fitna." Before I give my thoughts, I should add that even though the film was pulled from the one site, many people downloaded it and it could be found on YouTube and Google videos. I am not sure if they are still there, and I could care less. It really doesn't matter because there are many posts on Jihad Watch of people who have the video and some of them are hosting it.
Despite all the hype about this short film, Fitna was a run-of-the-mill Islamophobe propaganda film. It had all the usual components: video of 9/11 & 7/7, and the usual "it is not an anti-Muslim film without a beheading" video. Also, it had the usual cherry picked, partial ayahs (verses) of suras. It would have been amusing if it wasn't so maddening about these suras being taken out of context. The maddening part is something I have mentioned in the past, that is the ignorant people who view these incomplete verses as truth because they do not know any better...and they are being told this from a self-proclaimed "expert" of Islam. In this case, a Dutch politician who hates Muslims. Oh, I'm sorry, in a recent article, he stated that he "doesn't hate Muslims, he just hates Islam."
One of these ayahs was 4:56, where Allah is speaking, but the form being used is "We." Now, those who have some knowledge of the Qur'an, even the Islamophobic "experts" on Islam, know "We" means Allah, but for their purpose of inciting hatred against Muslims it is a clever way of misrepresenting a part of the Qur'an to people who do not have any knowledge of Allah's Book. To the uninformed, the "We" in this case means Muslims would do this to them. If the people had a chance to fully read the ayah and the ones before and after it, they would come to realize that this verse is talking about the Hellfire...and not actually about literally burning them in a fire.
Of course, it would not fit into anyone's anti-Islamic agenda to inform the people of this fact. Instead, Wilders couples this partial ayah with images of dead bodies to further mislead his audience and falsely lead them to believe that the Qur'an is filled with hate. The other ayahs/suras chosen for this hate film were equally misrepresented. One, which I didn't even write down, was so incomplete that it made no sense to me what point Wilders was trying to insinuate by even using it. It was closer to the end of the film so maybe he was running out of ideas.
The repercussions against Wilders are starting become known. The cartoonist, who blasphemed the Prophet (SAW), is bringing suit against Wilders for using the image twice in the film without permission. Copywrite charges are also possible by Dutch media for the headlines Wilders used without permission. Another of Wilders blunders was when he tried to show the murderer of VanGough, and instead showed the picture of a local rap artist. Ooops!
As usual, it is up to the Muslim Ummah (community) to do our best to prove that these lies against Islam are false. At times, this can seem like an uphill battle, one that is very discouraging. But if we keep our silence on these matters these lies will continue to spread to more and more ignorant people. We must continue to show our evidence to these people so, at the very least, they realize they are being misled by these "experts" and others in influential positions.
May Allah give the ummah the strength and guidance to help change peoples hearts. Ameen.
Despite all the hype about this short film, Fitna was a run-of-the-mill Islamophobe propaganda film. It had all the usual components: video of 9/11 & 7/7, and the usual "it is not an anti-Muslim film without a beheading" video. Also, it had the usual cherry picked, partial ayahs (verses) of suras. It would have been amusing if it wasn't so maddening about these suras being taken out of context. The maddening part is something I have mentioned in the past, that is the ignorant people who view these incomplete verses as truth because they do not know any better...and they are being told this from a self-proclaimed "expert" of Islam. In this case, a Dutch politician who hates Muslims. Oh, I'm sorry, in a recent article, he stated that he "doesn't hate Muslims, he just hates Islam."
One of these ayahs was 4:56, where Allah is speaking, but the form being used is "We." Now, those who have some knowledge of the Qur'an, even the Islamophobic "experts" on Islam, know "We" means Allah, but for their purpose of inciting hatred against Muslims it is a clever way of misrepresenting a part of the Qur'an to people who do not have any knowledge of Allah's Book. To the uninformed, the "We" in this case means Muslims would do this to them. If the people had a chance to fully read the ayah and the ones before and after it, they would come to realize that this verse is talking about the Hellfire...and not actually about literally burning them in a fire.
Of course, it would not fit into anyone's anti-Islamic agenda to inform the people of this fact. Instead, Wilders couples this partial ayah with images of dead bodies to further mislead his audience and falsely lead them to believe that the Qur'an is filled with hate. The other ayahs/suras chosen for this hate film were equally misrepresented. One, which I didn't even write down, was so incomplete that it made no sense to me what point Wilders was trying to insinuate by even using it. It was closer to the end of the film so maybe he was running out of ideas.
The repercussions against Wilders are starting become known. The cartoonist, who blasphemed the Prophet (SAW), is bringing suit against Wilders for using the image twice in the film without permission. Copywrite charges are also possible by Dutch media for the headlines Wilders used without permission. Another of Wilders blunders was when he tried to show the murderer of VanGough, and instead showed the picture of a local rap artist. Ooops!
As usual, it is up to the Muslim Ummah (community) to do our best to prove that these lies against Islam are false. At times, this can seem like an uphill battle, one that is very discouraging. But if we keep our silence on these matters these lies will continue to spread to more and more ignorant people. We must continue to show our evidence to these people so, at the very least, they realize they are being misled by these "experts" and others in influential positions.
May Allah give the ummah the strength and guidance to help change peoples hearts. Ameen.
Wow! Found this Story on Jihad Watch...
...well, actually this story would never show up on that Muslim-hating website. Why? Because it is a story about a Jewish rabbi calling for Muslim children to be hung from trees as a "deterrent" from even thinking about future attacks of retaliation on Israel.
The chief rabbi of Safed, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, is calling on the Israeli government to carry out "state-sanctioned revenge" against "Arabs." Here are some of the rabbi's own words from an article in Haaretz, which, of course, is not getting much air-time in the main stream media:
"In the newsletter, which was distributed to synagogues around the country, Eliyahu proposes "hanging the children of the terrorist who carried out the attack in the Mercaz Harav yeshiva from a tree."
...and...
"[The state] has to pain them [Palestinians] to the point where they scream 'Enough,' to the point where they fall flat on their face and scream 'help.' Not for the sake of satisfying the need for revenge but for the purposes of deterrence."
Full story: http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/968729.html
...and finally, from another article:
"A state that really respects the lives of its citizens would have hanged the 10 sons of the terrorist on a tree 50 amot [25 meters] tall, so that others would see it and be afraid," wrote Eliahu, according to the Jerusalem Post."
"Eliahu called on the Zionist state to take "horrible revenge" for the attack at the Yeshiva in Jerusalem. "We have to exact a revenge that is so painful, it will burn into the souls of all our enemies the message that Jewish blood is more valuable than gold and platinum."
I should add that the rabbi's words are going to be published in this weekend's edition of the newsletter "Eretz Yisrael Shelanu," which is dispersed at synagogues throughout Israel.
In fairness, the Reform Party in Israel did issue a statement of condemnation for the rabbi's words. But the problem is that this isn't the first time this same rabbi has issued inflammatory statements against Muslims. Israel's attorney-general has pressed charges against this rabbi, only to withdraw the charges later when the rabbi offered up a "shady" apology. If the government truly wanted to censor this rabbi, they could do so. I guess as long as they keep it as quiet as possible and issue a pseudo-condemnation, they have covered their behinds.
Now, my point is this: If a sheikh or an imam had said these very words, it would have been all over the internet and mainstream press. There would be denouncements of these words by heads of state, and calls for an apology. There also would have been calls for the Muslim community as a whole to denounce these words...but when they are directed toward Muslims, hardly a peep is heard. Sad...very sad.
May Allah continue to give the Ummah strength. Ameen.
The chief rabbi of Safed, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, is calling on the Israeli government to carry out "state-sanctioned revenge" against "Arabs." Here are some of the rabbi's own words from an article in Haaretz, which, of course, is not getting much air-time in the main stream media:
"In the newsletter, which was distributed to synagogues around the country, Eliyahu proposes "hanging the children of the terrorist who carried out the attack in the Mercaz Harav yeshiva from a tree."
...and...
"[The state] has to pain them [Palestinians] to the point where they scream 'Enough,' to the point where they fall flat on their face and scream 'help.' Not for the sake of satisfying the need for revenge but for the purposes of deterrence."
Full story: http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/968729.html
...and finally, from another article:
"A state that really respects the lives of its citizens would have hanged the 10 sons of the terrorist on a tree 50 amot [25 meters] tall, so that others would see it and be afraid," wrote Eliahu, according to the Jerusalem Post."
"Eliahu called on the Zionist state to take "horrible revenge" for the attack at the Yeshiva in Jerusalem. "We have to exact a revenge that is so painful, it will burn into the souls of all our enemies the message that Jewish blood is more valuable than gold and platinum."
I should add that the rabbi's words are going to be published in this weekend's edition of the newsletter "Eretz Yisrael Shelanu," which is dispersed at synagogues throughout Israel.
In fairness, the Reform Party in Israel did issue a statement of condemnation for the rabbi's words. But the problem is that this isn't the first time this same rabbi has issued inflammatory statements against Muslims. Israel's attorney-general has pressed charges against this rabbi, only to withdraw the charges later when the rabbi offered up a "shady" apology. If the government truly wanted to censor this rabbi, they could do so. I guess as long as they keep it as quiet as possible and issue a pseudo-condemnation, they have covered their behinds.
Now, my point is this: If a sheikh or an imam had said these very words, it would have been all over the internet and mainstream press. There would be denouncements of these words by heads of state, and calls for an apology. There also would have been calls for the Muslim community as a whole to denounce these words...but when they are directed toward Muslims, hardly a peep is heard. Sad...very sad.
May Allah continue to give the Ummah strength. Ameen.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Oh, the Hatred of Islam & Muslims
Lately, I have been inundated with stories, emails, media, etc., about how people hate Muslims and despise Islam. While I let some of the forwarded emails pass because of ignorance, I really cannot ignore them. Why? Because it is this misinformation that gets passed on to more and more ignorant people who believe it simply because the email came from a friend or family member. To make matters worse, these people spread these false accusations to neighbors and others who are not on their email list.
Lately, the talk in the media, both print and on television, has been on the upcoming release of an anti-Qur'an movie by a Dutch politician. No where has there been an oversaturation on this story as there has been on Jihad Watch. They love to champion this politician's cause, giving him their support and wishing more politicians in America were like him. For those who have not heard of the Dutch politician, Geert Wilders, here is part of an article from The Observer:
"A TV addict with bleached hair who adores Maggie Thatcher and prefers kebabs to hamburgers, Geert Wilders has got nothing against Muslims. He just hates Islam. Or so he says. 'Islam is not a religion, it's an ideology,' says Wilders, a lanky Roman Catholic right-winger, 'the ideology of a retarded culture.' "
...another part of the article:
"But he does want to create a stir. 'Islam is something we can't afford any more in the Netherlands. I want the fascist Koran banned. We need to stop the Islamisation of the Netherlands. That means no more mosques, no more Islamic schools, no more imams... Not all Muslims are terrorists, but almost all terrorists are Muslims.'
Free speech or hate speech? 'I don't create hate. I want to be honest. I don't hate people. I don't hate Muslims. I hate their book and their ideology.' "
Full Story: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/17/netherlands.islam
Hmmmm......how does one not hate the followers of Islam considering Muslims base their entire life on the Qur'an and the ahadith??? It reminds me of a verse in the Qur'an which I read recently on another blog: "Never will the Jews or the Christians be satisfied with thee unless thou follow their form of religion." [2:120]
Alhamdulillah for the Qur'an and it's guidance. This verse is so true. I see it everyday in the writings of the lemmings on Jihad Watch, and various other Islamophobe sites. This verse resonated in my head as I was listening to a conservative radio show over the internet this morning. During the show, there was an interview with author Brad Thor, who has an upcoming book due out in July. I knew where the conversation was going when the shows host's first question asked was "if the author was prepared to die when the book was published." I knew then it was an inflammatory book against Islam.
Here is a part of the transcript of the show where the author describes the book:
"THOR: In a nutshell the book is that Mohammed had -- the Qur'an is Mohammed's revelations and they are ordered not in chronological order in the Qur'an but -- and this is true. They are ordered from longest to shortest. And the problem with the Qur'an is that we've got peaceful verses throughout but the more violent verses, in particular number 9, the most violent verse in the Qur'an came from very much toward the end of Mohammed's life. It's one of the last kind of commandments to his followers and therefore a lot of the radical Islamists use it to justify violence against non-Muslims. So I said with this -- because Mohammed was assassinated. That's another true fact. I said what if Mohammed had one last revelation and his own companion, people within his closest cadre assassinated him to keep that final revelation quiet. That's the basis of the book: What if this revelation existed and what if it could completely alter the face of Islam if it became brought into the public eye."
Now, back to the author's reply about if he was prepared do die. He said, "THOR: Listen. I don't want to die for -- I definitely don't want to die for a book but at the end of the day if we keep backing off -- and that's what I said. We are experiencing Sharia inch by inch every time we cower and refuse to publish a book or something like that." ...followed by..."If the enemy we face today is not Islam, it's the Islamists. They are trying to tear this country apart from within. Groups like -- groups like CAIR and other groups. I think it's important that this information get out there and be told to people in a story like mine so they can learn about the threat that this nation faces."
There was another time in the past when people wanted Muslims to stop practicing their religion, and would only accept it if they started practicing their religion...and they did so with force! It was called the Inquisition. Are we headed towards another, a modern day, Inquisition? Insha'Allah, I hope not, but only time will tell. With more and more fear mongering books from authors with an agenda, and news media outlets which offers up one side of the story, and add an uninformed 'audience', who, instead of researching for themselves the truth about Islam, only takes the words of so called "experts" at face value, then it looks looks some rough times ahead for my brothers and sisters. May Allah give us Strength. Ameen
Lately, the talk in the media, both print and on television, has been on the upcoming release of an anti-Qur'an movie by a Dutch politician. No where has there been an oversaturation on this story as there has been on Jihad Watch. They love to champion this politician's cause, giving him their support and wishing more politicians in America were like him. For those who have not heard of the Dutch politician, Geert Wilders, here is part of an article from The Observer:
"A TV addict with bleached hair who adores Maggie Thatcher and prefers kebabs to hamburgers, Geert Wilders has got nothing against Muslims. He just hates Islam. Or so he says. 'Islam is not a religion, it's an ideology,' says Wilders, a lanky Roman Catholic right-winger, 'the ideology of a retarded culture.' "
...another part of the article:
"But he does want to create a stir. 'Islam is something we can't afford any more in the Netherlands. I want the fascist Koran banned. We need to stop the Islamisation of the Netherlands. That means no more mosques, no more Islamic schools, no more imams... Not all Muslims are terrorists, but almost all terrorists are Muslims.'
Free speech or hate speech? 'I don't create hate. I want to be honest. I don't hate people. I don't hate Muslims. I hate their book and their ideology.' "
Full Story: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/17/netherlands.islam
Hmmmm......how does one not hate the followers of Islam considering Muslims base their entire life on the Qur'an and the ahadith??? It reminds me of a verse in the Qur'an which I read recently on another blog: "Never will the Jews or the Christians be satisfied with thee unless thou follow their form of religion." [2:120]
Alhamdulillah for the Qur'an and it's guidance. This verse is so true. I see it everyday in the writings of the lemmings on Jihad Watch, and various other Islamophobe sites. This verse resonated in my head as I was listening to a conservative radio show over the internet this morning. During the show, there was an interview with author Brad Thor, who has an upcoming book due out in July. I knew where the conversation was going when the shows host's first question asked was "if the author was prepared to die when the book was published." I knew then it was an inflammatory book against Islam.
Here is a part of the transcript of the show where the author describes the book:
"THOR: In a nutshell the book is that Mohammed had -- the Qur'an is Mohammed's revelations and they are ordered not in chronological order in the Qur'an but -- and this is true. They are ordered from longest to shortest. And the problem with the Qur'an is that we've got peaceful verses throughout but the more violent verses, in particular number 9, the most violent verse in the Qur'an came from very much toward the end of Mohammed's life. It's one of the last kind of commandments to his followers and therefore a lot of the radical Islamists use it to justify violence against non-Muslims. So I said with this -- because Mohammed was assassinated. That's another true fact. I said what if Mohammed had one last revelation and his own companion, people within his closest cadre assassinated him to keep that final revelation quiet. That's the basis of the book: What if this revelation existed and what if it could completely alter the face of Islam if it became brought into the public eye."
Now, back to the author's reply about if he was prepared do die. He said, "THOR: Listen. I don't want to die for -- I definitely don't want to die for a book but at the end of the day if we keep backing off -- and that's what I said. We are experiencing Sharia inch by inch every time we cower and refuse to publish a book or something like that." ...followed by..."If the enemy we face today is not Islam, it's the Islamists. They are trying to tear this country apart from within. Groups like -- groups like CAIR and other groups. I think it's important that this information get out there and be told to people in a story like mine so they can learn about the threat that this nation faces."
There was another time in the past when people wanted Muslims to stop practicing their religion, and would only accept it if they started practicing their religion...and they did so with force! It was called the Inquisition. Are we headed towards another, a modern day, Inquisition? Insha'Allah, I hope not, but only time will tell. With more and more fear mongering books from authors with an agenda, and news media outlets which offers up one side of the story, and add an uninformed 'audience', who, instead of researching for themselves the truth about Islam, only takes the words of so called "experts" at face value, then it looks looks some rough times ahead for my brothers and sisters. May Allah give us Strength. Ameen
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Thoughts of a Revert...
"Alhamdulillah!"
Sometimes I don't know what else to say... Sometimes my heart is so filled of love for Allah, the deen, and my brothers and sisters that I do not know what else to say but "Alhamdulillah!" As I sit here now writing I am listening to the "Qur'an in Taraweeh." I am a bit overwhelmed by the beauty of the Qur'an, but why shouldn't I be as these are the words of Allah (SWT). If I wasn't writing I could watch the video feed and read the english subtitles, but just listening to the words is a spiritual experience.
I have been thinking about writing this blog post for some time. At times I think it is a good idea, then other times I wonder if I can convey into words how I am feeling, and if I can't, will readers just laugh? Well, I decided I don't care. It is my blog and in I will post my thoughts and if people don't care for it...well, there are countless other blogs to read.
What I have been feeling is a sense of calm, that finally I am at peace spiritually. It was a long road filled with many, many trials. None more trying than my own Islamophobia. Masha'llah, my heart was opened when I investigated and found the truth about Islam. But this is beyond my initial feelings about the deen, this is about the belief that everyone is born a Muslim. I truly understand that now. I feel that by reverting I am back in the religion I have been longing for all my life, the one I was born into.
But my thoughts go deeper than what I have been writing. I guess it is harder to convey that I thought. It is hard to express feelings of the heart when I hear a recitation of the Qur'an, or listening to nasheeds, or the feeling of brotherhood I have when praying with my brothers. It is an underlying contentment, an underlying self knowledge that this is my deen which has been in my subconscious all my life. The feeling of familiarity when I look at pictures of masjids, or pictures of the Ka'bah. I guess it is too hard to express into words.... Insha'Allah, maybe other brothers and sisters will understand and be able to help express the right words.
One thing is for certain, I will never say I am a 'convert' to Islam. I will proudly say I am a revert to the one true religion.
Allahu Akbar!
Sometimes I don't know what else to say... Sometimes my heart is so filled of love for Allah, the deen, and my brothers and sisters that I do not know what else to say but "Alhamdulillah!" As I sit here now writing I am listening to the "Qur'an in Taraweeh." I am a bit overwhelmed by the beauty of the Qur'an, but why shouldn't I be as these are the words of Allah (SWT). If I wasn't writing I could watch the video feed and read the english subtitles, but just listening to the words is a spiritual experience.
I have been thinking about writing this blog post for some time. At times I think it is a good idea, then other times I wonder if I can convey into words how I am feeling, and if I can't, will readers just laugh? Well, I decided I don't care. It is my blog and in I will post my thoughts and if people don't care for it...well, there are countless other blogs to read.
What I have been feeling is a sense of calm, that finally I am at peace spiritually. It was a long road filled with many, many trials. None more trying than my own Islamophobia. Masha'llah, my heart was opened when I investigated and found the truth about Islam. But this is beyond my initial feelings about the deen, this is about the belief that everyone is born a Muslim. I truly understand that now. I feel that by reverting I am back in the religion I have been longing for all my life, the one I was born into.
But my thoughts go deeper than what I have been writing. I guess it is harder to convey that I thought. It is hard to express feelings of the heart when I hear a recitation of the Qur'an, or listening to nasheeds, or the feeling of brotherhood I have when praying with my brothers. It is an underlying contentment, an underlying self knowledge that this is my deen which has been in my subconscious all my life. The feeling of familiarity when I look at pictures of masjids, or pictures of the Ka'bah. I guess it is too hard to express into words.... Insha'Allah, maybe other brothers and sisters will understand and be able to help express the right words.
One thing is for certain, I will never say I am a 'convert' to Islam. I will proudly say I am a revert to the one true religion.
Allahu Akbar!
Saturday, February 16, 2008
A Rant...
Originally, I was going to write about an ignorant article about Muslims and valentine's day, but as I thought more about it, the broader the topic became, hence the title: a rant.
I receive emails from a conservative political site called Human Events. For the most part it is a pretty decent site/weekly paper with the exception of a couple of columnists; one being the Islamophobic kaffir, Robert Spencer (ie: Jihad Watch). Once a week they send out a top ten political stories of the week along with a lead in article.
This weeks article was written by Spencer denouncing, that some countries in the Middle East, set some laws in effect regarding valentine's day. Of course, the fact that Muslims don't practice christian "holiday's" means nothing to Spencer, who used this incredibly trivial matter to spew his venom against Muslims. In his twisted mind, Spencer equates Muslim countries enacting laws not allowing Muslims to commit shirk as strapping on a bomb and killing people.
While most of his article is trying to make something out of nothing, it was maybe his final paragraph which sums up his stupidity best:
"But will there be any Western leaders willing or courageous enough to cast off their multiculturalist shackles and give those people heart -- during this Valentine’s Day week -- by affirming that our struggle is one for simple joy in existence, against those who would rob us of that joy?"
Give me a break! As I posted in a couple of replies: "So what? What effect does Saudi Arabia's, or Kuwait's law have upon anyone else in other countries?" Answer: it has no effect. For those who want to read the whole article, and the subsequesnt replies from the lemmings, here is the link:
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=24996 . Masha'Allah, there were several sane replies backing Muslims and their right not to participate in pseudo-christian holidays. I cannot wait until next month, when Spencer most likely will write how bad it is that Muslims do not get drunk in "honor" of the christian saint patrick. /sarcasm]
As I read the replies, I was getting angry at the ignorance of the statements. Here are a couple, which will emphasize a point I will get to afterwards:
"I am not expecting the Muslim World to "embrace" our holidays-- but to merely RESPECT them!" Uh, we do...in all non-Muslim countries. Why should Muslim countries have to "respect" christian holidays?
"This is NOT about Valentine's day!!! this is about FREEDOM!" Uh, this article is about valentine's day. Maybe that poster should read the title again: "No Valentines For You!"
Now, a couple of posts from people who get it:
"There is nothing in their culture or religion that would suggest that it mean anything to them. It's Christian-based. How many of their holidays do we celebrate?"
"I'm not sure why anyone would expect the Muslim world to embrace a Christian psuedo-holiday based on a person who may or may not have actually existed and of whose works we know almost nothing. It's like expressing surprise that they don't keep a Christmas tree in Mecca."
...and finally, one Islamophobic post which sums up a majority of the posts from the article:
"The only way Americans and the civilized world can get back their freedom and peace is to go into world war three, nuke the middle east and ban islam forever in the rest of the world. Hopefully this might happen as early as 2010 AD. Islam is nothing but trouble and has been imported in this country by the evil Saudi Arabian desert bunnies."
Not withstanding the post above, the point that seems to make me particularly angry is the point that these people want, and would, impose their imperialist point of views on Muslims. They claim they are a christian, God loving people, yet the intolerance and hatred of Islam and Muslims is mind boggling. It is also not very christian-like. One might say it is a very hypocritical attitude!
My head hurts from having re-read 12 pages of replies, most from Islamophobic lemmings. As I stop shaking my head in disbelief, I realize that some of the replies from that article, and the many others on Islamophobe sites, come from complete ignorance of Islam. To make my case, here is part of a post from the valentine article: "their religion gets in the way of every thing they do. ..." It is clear from that post that the author has no idea about Islam, and how it is a complete way of life.
I guess, as my rant comes to an end, my final words are these: Muslims should try and continue to educate the ignorant, insha'Allah. As we debate them in the streets, may Allah hold our tongues from tossing out insults, which only works against us. Insha'Allah, may we be able to articulate our love of Allah to the non-believers in such a way that their hearts may become open.
Allahu Akbar.
I receive emails from a conservative political site called Human Events. For the most part it is a pretty decent site/weekly paper with the exception of a couple of columnists; one being the Islamophobic kaffir, Robert Spencer (ie: Jihad Watch). Once a week they send out a top ten political stories of the week along with a lead in article.
This weeks article was written by Spencer denouncing, that some countries in the Middle East, set some laws in effect regarding valentine's day. Of course, the fact that Muslims don't practice christian "holiday's" means nothing to Spencer, who used this incredibly trivial matter to spew his venom against Muslims. In his twisted mind, Spencer equates Muslim countries enacting laws not allowing Muslims to commit shirk as strapping on a bomb and killing people.
While most of his article is trying to make something out of nothing, it was maybe his final paragraph which sums up his stupidity best:
"But will there be any Western leaders willing or courageous enough to cast off their multiculturalist shackles and give those people heart -- during this Valentine’s Day week -- by affirming that our struggle is one for simple joy in existence, against those who would rob us of that joy?"
Give me a break! As I posted in a couple of replies: "So what? What effect does Saudi Arabia's, or Kuwait's law have upon anyone else in other countries?" Answer: it has no effect. For those who want to read the whole article, and the subsequesnt replies from the lemmings, here is the link:
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=24996 . Masha'Allah, there were several sane replies backing Muslims and their right not to participate in pseudo-christian holidays. I cannot wait until next month, when Spencer most likely will write how bad it is that Muslims do not get drunk in "honor" of the christian saint patrick. /sarcasm]
As I read the replies, I was getting angry at the ignorance of the statements. Here are a couple, which will emphasize a point I will get to afterwards:
"I am not expecting the Muslim World to "embrace" our holidays-- but to merely RESPECT them!" Uh, we do...in all non-Muslim countries. Why should Muslim countries have to "respect" christian holidays?
"This is NOT about Valentine's day!!! this is about FREEDOM!" Uh, this article is about valentine's day. Maybe that poster should read the title again: "No Valentines For You!"
Now, a couple of posts from people who get it:
"There is nothing in their culture or religion that would suggest that it mean anything to them. It's Christian-based. How many of their holidays do we celebrate?"
"I'm not sure why anyone would expect the Muslim world to embrace a Christian psuedo-holiday based on a person who may or may not have actually existed and of whose works we know almost nothing. It's like expressing surprise that they don't keep a Christmas tree in Mecca."
...and finally, one Islamophobic post which sums up a majority of the posts from the article:
"The only way Americans and the civilized world can get back their freedom and peace is to go into world war three, nuke the middle east and ban islam forever in the rest of the world. Hopefully this might happen as early as 2010 AD. Islam is nothing but trouble and has been imported in this country by the evil Saudi Arabian desert bunnies."
Not withstanding the post above, the point that seems to make me particularly angry is the point that these people want, and would, impose their imperialist point of views on Muslims. They claim they are a christian, God loving people, yet the intolerance and hatred of Islam and Muslims is mind boggling. It is also not very christian-like. One might say it is a very hypocritical attitude!
My head hurts from having re-read 12 pages of replies, most from Islamophobic lemmings. As I stop shaking my head in disbelief, I realize that some of the replies from that article, and the many others on Islamophobe sites, come from complete ignorance of Islam. To make my case, here is part of a post from the valentine article: "their religion gets in the way of every thing they do. ..." It is clear from that post that the author has no idea about Islam, and how it is a complete way of life.
I guess, as my rant comes to an end, my final words are these: Muslims should try and continue to educate the ignorant, insha'Allah. As we debate them in the streets, may Allah hold our tongues from tossing out insults, which only works against us. Insha'Allah, may we be able to articulate our love of Allah to the non-believers in such a way that their hearts may become open.
Allahu Akbar.
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