Salam brothers and sisters


I have started this thread because i want everyone to think about women in islam. How they have had an impact on our religion? What women have gone through for our religion?


So lets see how many women you can post that have done something for Islam. This could be any women of any age and from any time.

My BODY is MY Own Business


By Naheed Mustafa, The Globe and Mail Tuesday, June 29, 1993 Facts and Arguments Page (A26)


MULTICULTURAL VOICES:


A Canadian-born Muslim woman has taken to wearing the traditional hijab scarf. It tends to make people see her as either a terrorist or a symbol of oppressed womanhood, but she finds the experience LIBERATING.



I OFTEN wonder whether people see me as a radical, fundamentalist Muslim terrorist packing an AK-47 assault rifle inside my jean jacket. Or may be they see me as the poster girl for oppressed womanhood everywhere. I’m not sure which it is.


I get the whole gamut of strange looks, stares, and covert glances. You see, I wear the hijab, a scarf that covers my head, neck, and throat. I do this because I am a Muslim woman who believes her body is her own private concern.


Young Muslim women are reclaiming the hijab, reinterpreting it in light of its original purpose to give back to women ultimate control of their own bodies.


The Qur’an teaches us that men and women are equal, that individuals should not be judged according to gender, beauty, wealth, or privilege. The only thing that makes one person better than another is her or his character.


Nonetheless, people have a difficult time relating to me. After all, I’m young, Canadian born and raised, university educated why would I do this to myself, they ask.


Strangers speak to me in loud, slow English and often appear to be playing charades. They politely inquire how I like living in Canada and whether or not the cold bothers me. If I’m in the right mood, it can be very amusing.


But, why would I, a woman with all the advantages of a North American upbringing, suddenly, at 21, want to cover myself so that with the hijab and the other clothes I choose to wear, only my face and hands show?


Because it gives me freedom.


WOMEN are taught from early childhood that their worth is proportional to their attractiveness. We feel compelled to pursue abstract notions of beauty, half realizing that such a pursuit is futile.



When women reject this form of oppression, they face ridicule and contempt. Whether it’s women who refuse to wear makeup or to shave their legs, or to expose their bodies, society, both men and women, have trouble dealing with them.


In the Western world, the hijab has come to symbolize either forced silence or radical, unconscionable militancy. Actually, it’s neither. It is simply a woman’s assertion that judgment of her physical person is to play no role whatsoever in social interaction.


Wearing the hijab has given me freedom from constant attention to my physical self. Because my appearance is not subjected to public scrutiny, my beauty, or perhaps lack of it, has been removed from the realm of what can legitimately be discussed.


No one knows whether my hair looks as if I just stepped out of a salon, whether or not I can pinch an inch, or even if I have unsightly stretch marks. And because no one knows, no one cares.


Feeling that one has to meet the impossible male standards of beauty is tiring and often humiliating. I should know, I spent my entire teenage years trying to do it. I was a borderline bulimic and spent a lot of money I didn’t have on potions and lotions in hopes of becoming the next Cindy Crawford.


The definition of beauty is ever-changing; waifish is good, waifish is bad, athletic is good — sorry, athletic is bad. Narrow hips? Great. Narrow hips? Too bad.


Women are not going to achieve equality with the right to bear their breasts in public, as some people would like to have you believe. That would only make us party to our own objectification. True equality will be had only when women don’t need to display themselves to get attention and won’t need to defend their decision to keep their bodies to themselves.


Naheed Mustafa graduated from the University of Toronto in 1992 with an honours degree in political and history. She is currently studying journalism.

Islam in the UK


Islam has been known in England for a long time; there are references to Islamic scholars in the Prologue to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (1386).



Following the anti-Islamic frenzy of the Crusades, Britain became friendly with some Islamic countries. Queen Elizabeth I, for example, asked the Ottoman Sultan Murad for naval assistance against the Spaniard Armada.


The first recorded Englishman to become a Muslim was John Nelson, who converted to Islam at some point in the 16th Century.


A 1641 document refers to “a sect of Mahomatens” being “discovered here in London”. There were also a few conversions to Islam during the period, and a few years later, in 1649, came the first English version of the Qur’an, by Alexander Ross.


In the 18th and 19th Centuries there were a number of converts to Islam amongst the English upper classes, including Edward Montagu, son of the ambassador to Turkey.


The first large group of Muslims in Britain arrived about 300 years ago. They were sailors recruited in India to work for the East India Company, and so it’s not surprising that the first Muslim communities were found in port towns.


Ships’ cooks came too, many of them from Sylhet in what is now Bangladesh. There are records of Sylhetis working in London restaurants as early as 1873.


Some Muslim sailors decided to stay in Britain and simply left their ships without going through any formal immigration procedure.


The next wave of Muslim immigration to Britain followed the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. The increase in trade caused a demand for men to work in ports and on ships.


Most of these immigrants came from the Yemen, probably because Aden was the main refuelling stop for ships between Britain and the Far East, and many of the seamen later settled in the port cities of Cardiff, Liverpool, South Shields, Hull, and London. There are now an estimated 70-80,000 Yemenis living in Britain, who form the longest-established Muslim group in Britain.


An example is the Yemeni community of South Shields, which began at the end of the 19th century when Yemenis working as stokers on steamships moved ashore and set up boarding houses in the dock area.


The first mosque in Britain is recorded as having been at 2 Glyn Rhondda Street, Cardiff, in 1860.


20th Century Muslim Britain


Britain’s Muslim population are almost all people who immigrated to Britain in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, or their descendants.



In 1915 there were 10,000 Muslims in Britain. Now there are between 1 and 2 million British Muslims (2% - 4% of the population), and over half of them were born in Britain.


The First Immigrants


Many of the immigrants in the 1950s and 60s came from India and Pakistan in search of a better material life. They could earn 30 times as much in Britain as they could in Pakistan.



While many planned to bring their families to Britain once they’d achieved financial security, others hoped to save money to buy land in Pakistan and then return to the families they had left behind.


Fear was another reason to come to Britain in the 1950s. Many left India because they wanted to escape the disruption and community violence that coincided with the division of British India into Pakistan and India. (During this partition, as many as 2 million people died in communal violence, ostensibly on religious grounds.)


A less-known reason why many Muslims left Pakistan was the construction of the Mangla Dam in the early 1960s. This submerged some 250 villages in the Mirpur District, and displaced 100,000 people; more than half the residents of some villages moved to Britain.


Most immigrants came from farming areas such as Azad Kashmir and the Northwest Frontier, which had close connections with Britain as established recruiting grounds for the British army and the merchant navy.


Almost all Bangladeshis came from Sylhet, which also had a long tradition of providing immigrants to Britain.


Women and Children Last


The first immigrants were men, who left their families behind. Once in Britain they tended to live in groups in communal houses until they had saved enough money to bring their wives and children to join them, or chosen to return to their birth-land.



The communal houses often contained men from the same village in Pakistan. Living like this made life easier for the new arrivals because it gave them a base, a community and friendship, and financial support while they found their feet.


Because they had no family or home comforts in Britain the new immigrants began a tradition of working very long hours that the present generation rejects.


Even when their wives joined them the early Muslim immigrants were still isolated from the host culture by language and prejudice. The generation of Muslims that have been educated in Britain have much stronger relationships with non-Muslims than their ancestors.


The Commonwealth Immigrants Act


Immigration was boosted briefly by The Commonwealth Immigrants Act of 1962, which removed the right of automatic entry for Commonwealth Citizens, restricting it to those who had a work voucher. People hurried to get into Britain before this new law made it too difficult.



The later Immigration Act of 1971 blocked immigration for single men.





Immigration from Africa


The next wave of immigrants came from Africa, mostly from Kenya and then Uganda.



As certain African regimes encouraged a policy of Africanisation, life became more difficult for those Asians already living there. Many of these Asians started moving to Britain until the Commonwealth Immigrants Act made it more difficult for them to do so. In 1972 60,000 Asians were expelled by President Amin from Uganda, many of whom were allowed to settle in Britain.


Although the immigrants from Africa were often traumatised and had lost most of their material possessions, they still had many advantages. They were better educated than the earlier immigrants, many of them were professionals or from skilled trades, and they already had experience of thriving in a minority community.


1990s


Islam is Britain’s second most popular religion.



Over 600,000 of Britain’s 1.5 to 2 million Muslims are active in their faith, which is a high proportion by Christian standards.


Most British Muslims belong to the Sunni tradition of Islam.


There are over 600 mosques in the UK and around 60 Muslim schools.


A recent surge in immigration in the wake of changes to the immigration laws in the late 1990s has had controversial results, with allegations that there has been an increase in enforced arranged marriages.


Home Office figures show that the number of Pakistani men using their wife’s status to gain entry to Britain increased from 1,740 in 1995 to 3,510 in 1997.


Islamic scholars say that freely given consent is as necessary for a valid Muslim marriage as for a Christian one, and the Muslim community believe that there are few compulsory marriages.

Ever Wonder…


<b>Why a nun</b> can be covered from head to toe and she’s respected for devoting herself to God, but when a Muslimah does that, she’s “oppressed”?


<b>Why a jew</b> can grow a beard and he’s just practicing his faith, and when a Muslim does that, he’s an extremist?


<b>When a western woman</b> stays at home to look after the house and kids she’s sacrificing herself and doing good for the household, but when a Muslim woman does so, she “needs to be liberated”?


<b>When a jew</b> practises his religion he is called “orthodox”, when a christian practices his he’s called “devout” - when a Muslim practises his he’s called a “fundamentalist”


<b>Why is it that when a child</b> dedicates himself to a subject, he has potential, and when a child dedicates himself to Islam, he is hopeless?


<b>When a christian kills someone</b>, religion is not mentioned, (i.e. IRA, Serbs) but when a Muslim is charged with a crime, it’s Islam that goes to trial?


<b>But then again, why is it after all that, Islam is still the fastest growing religion in the world?</b>

Of Fanatics and Muslims


Can We Be “Too” Into It?


We live in a society in which Western values dictate how we should live our lives. These external pressures, coupled with the inclination towards their desires, makes it increasingly difficult for people to practice their religion.



To become attached to Allah (swa) one must become detached from the world. That way even though our work may be on Earth, our hearts should always remain with our Lord.


Then why do we refer to those individuals who may spend all their time in the mosque and are not interested in the “normal” activities that “normal people” find pleasure in as “extremists”, “religious fanatics” or “too much into it”?


Too Much?



Were the blessed companions of the Holy Prophet (saw) “too much into it”, when they never let His (saw) blessed hair touch the ground and used to collect His (saw) sweat which smelt like musk for blessing?


Was Hadrat Awais Karni (ra) an “extremist” when he broke his teeth just because he heard that one tooth of his beloved Leader had broke in the battle of Uhud?


Were our pious predecessors “religious fanatics” because they used to travel to different countries on horseback just to listen a hadith?


Was Hadrat Fatima (raa) “too much into it” when she used to spend her winter nights prostrating on her musalla (prayer mat), and when called for the Fajr prayer she would lovingly complain that the nights were too short?


Are we not supposed to enter Islam fully, and not partially? Are we not supposed to submit our heart, body, mind, soul and spirit to the wishes of our Creator?


Unfortunately, being exposed for so long to elements which are harmful both to the soul as well as the intellect has created a “numbing down” effect amongst the Muslims.


We no longer aspire to follow in the footsteps of our pious predecessors but instead self-justify our actions by comparing them to members of our society and even go as far as criticising and condemning those who are trying their utmost best to do what they are supposed to be doing.


The Islamic Way


In today’s era truth is seen as falsehood and right is seen as wrong. We are heavily influenced by the currents norms and values of the 21st Century that the pure, unadulterated teachings of Islam seem somewhat alien to us; this highlights how far we have deviated from the right path.



The Islamic way is in sharp contrast to the current trends of our society. For instance, society teaches us to be wary and suspicious of others whereas Islam says that evil thinking springs from malignity of intent and wickedness of the character.


It is even said that if a deeds of a man are evil, then his thoughts regarding others are evil as a result he will believe whatever suspicion haunts him.


Society dictates that we should show arrogance and pride to others, otherwise people will walk all over us. Islam on the other hand places great emphasis on good manners; to be gentle and kind, tolerant and patient. We are even told that ‘whoever loses gentleness loses all good’.


Society says that one should not spend in the way of Allah (swa) more then what is obligatory (i.e Zakah) for it leads to financial hardships. Islam says if you spend in the way of Allah (swa) you will receive even more.


We are told that one should not unnecessarily inconvenience themselves by doing more then what is necessary.


Allah (swa) says that “My slave keeps on coming closer to Me through performing Nawafil (voluntary prayers or doing extra deeds besides what is obligatory) until I love him, (so much so that) I become his hearing with which he hears, and his sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he strikes, and his leg with which he walks; and if he asks Me something, I will surely give him, and if he seeks My Protection (refuge), I will surely protect him”.


We should have an “equal balance” regarding working for Islam and worldly affairs. A wise man once said “This life and the hereafter balance in the heart as if on scales. When one predominates, the other becomes lighter and less significant”.


The Answer


We are caught between the tempting influences of the West and the hidebound superstitions of some of our own Muslim communities.



Fortunately Islam has the answer to these external and internal conflicts that trouble mankind today. The answer lies in patience, persistence and perseverance.


Allah (swa) has told us that He is with those who have patience; this is a special “companionship” which means that He is protecting and supporting them. Furthermore, the rewards of enduring slander and difficulties for the sake of Allah (swa) are infinite and beyond the comprehension of the human mind.


A righteous man once said “This life and the hereafter are like a man with two wives. If he pleases one he incurs the wrath of the other. In reference to this point Sheikh Tahir ul Qadri has said that just like two enemies that cannot live together, the love of Allah (swa) and the love of this life cannot co-exist in one heart.


In conclusion, we should sort our priorities out and should realise that this world is worthless and perishable. We should aspire to follow in the footsteps of our pious predecessors and should place no limits on how much we do or how much others do for the sake of Allah (swa); true love for Allah (swa) has no limits and is infinite.


May Allah (swa) make it easy for us to transform ourselves into individuals whom He will be pleased with, and may He remove all obstacles and restrictions that we may encounter along the way; internal and external. Ameen.


By Alveena Salim


(The revival)

<b>Why Should I Study?</b>


By Muhammad Al Shareef


Many years ago in Uzbekistan, a baby boy was born blind. His Mother, the strong Mu'minah that she was, did not lose sight of He who had the Power to cure him. She prayed and prayed for her sons sight. And within a few years the boy regained his eyes.



She traveled with him to Makkah so that he could receive an Islamic Education. She arranged that he attend the circles of the scholars, and in those circles, he began excelling in the science of Hadith. He traveled to distant villages in search of the most authentic sayings of Rasul Allah (sallallahu 'alahi wasallam). He would pray two raka'at before accepting a hadith. His mother named him: Muhammad ibn Isma'il (Rahmatullah 'alaih). And many of us know him today by the book he compiled, the book that stands after the Quran in authenticity: Sahih Al-Imam Al-Bukhari!


In another land, in another time, chilly Baghdad winds would wake up another boy. Much before Fajr, his mother would bundle him in warm shawls and escort him through the darkness, making sure he reached the Masjid safely. After Fajr, she would wait for him as he read Hadith to the biggest scholars of the land. Then, long after the sun had come up, she would meet him outside and together they would walk home. She was a strong mother indeed, for her son grew up to become an Imam of the Muslim Ummah, an Imam by the name of Ahmad ibn Hanbal (Rahmatullah 'alaih).


- (Manaaqib Ahmad, by Ibn Al-Jowzee)


Imam Jallalludeen Suyuti (Rahmatullah 'alaih) authored his first book, Tafseer Bismillaah Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheeem, when he was in grade 2!


Dear brothers and sisters, why should we try to follow in the footsteps of these many stars of Islam? The information that we shall insha'allah learn is not like anything else. This knowledge is the law of Allah (Sharia) and the inheritance of the Prophets.



It is our duty to preserve and protect the estate of Rasul Allah (sallallahu 'alahi wasallam), something that cannot happen without there being serious and sincere brothers and sisters spending long days and nights reading, reflecting, and teaching others.


Every Islamic revival that takes place is built on something. Some revivals are built on emotions, others on politics. Do you know which shall remain firm when the wind of woe blows? It shall be the one that was built on sound knowledge of the words of Allah and the Sunnah of Rasul Allah (sallallahu 'alahi wasallam).


A sincere man once stood on the shore of a beach watching, to his dismay, the waves thrashing a fish up and down, left and right. The man concluded that he must save the fish. He thrashed into the water and grabbed the fish by the tail. He then thrashed back to shore and threw the fish on the beach, satisfied that he had saved it from the water!


Dear brothers and sisters, when we work for the sake of Allah without knowledge of what the path of Allah Ta'ala is, many times we do as that young man did.


We are living in an age of information.



We have lights in every corner of the house when only yesterday our ancestors read by the light of the moon. We have publishing houses when only yesterday our ancestors wrote the books they owned with their own hands.


We have CD's to search the Hadith archives when our scholars spent days upon days searching for proof and evidence in their libraries. Shouldn't the knowledge increase with all this ease? It should. But it has not.


Dear brothers and sisters, we know that when a prize is great, the responsibility, and the work required for that prize shall also be great. And because of this, we see the enormous reward promised to those scholars and students of Islam due to the heavy work required.


The Prophet (sallallahu 'alahi wasallam) said, "Whoever seeks out a path to acquire knowledge (of the deen), Allah makes easy a path for them to Jannah!" - Muslim


Shaykh Abdur-Rahman As-Sa'dee said, "Thus any path a person takes, whether physical or otherwise, something that will help them in acquiring knowledge of the Deen, they enter in the words of the Prophet (sallallahu 'alahi wasallam), "Whoever seeks out a path to acquire knowledge (of the deen), Allah makes easy a path for them to Jannah."


Rasul Allah (sallallahu 'alahi wasallam) told us that when a person seeks out a path to learn about Islam, this is a sign that Allah Ta'ala loves them and that He wants good for them in this life and the next.


From Mu'aawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan (Radi Allahu anhu), the Prophet (sallallahu 'alahi wasallam) said, "Whoever Allah wishes good for, he grants them Fiqh (understading) of the Deen."


And Rasul Allah (sallallahu 'alahi wasallam) told us that the sincere scholars have a place with Allah that no one else can reach, and that they are the inheritors of the Prophet's (sallallahu 'alahi wasallam) estate in passing it on to the world.


Rasul Allah said (sallallahu 'alahi wasallam), "The virtue of the scholar to a worshipper (Aabid) is similar to the virtue of the moon when it is full to the rest of the stars. And verily the scholars are the inheritors of the Prophets. Verily the Prophets did not leave behind dirhams and deenars, but rather they left behind knowledge. Thus whoever takes it, takes it as a bountiful share." - Authentic, narrated by Abu Dawood, tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah.


The position of the people of Islamic knowledge reached such a level that Allah (Jalla Thanaa'uhu wa taqaddasat Asmaa'uhu) and the Angels pray for them!


From Abu Umaamah (Radi Allahu anhu): Rasul Allah said (sallallahu 'alahi wasallam), "Verily Allah and His angels, even the ant in its hole and the fish in the sea, verily (they all) pray for he who teaches people good." - authentic, narrated by Tabraanee.


Rasul Allah (sallallahu 'alahi wasallam) prayed for them also. He said, as narrated by Zayd ibn Thabit (Radi Allahu anhu), "May Allah grant light (and happiness and beauty in the face) of someone who hears a hadith from us and memorizes it until he passes it on to others!" - authentic, narrated by Tirmidhi.


One of the hadith scholars that Imam Bukhari (Rahmatullah 'alaih) took from, Hisham ibn Ammar (Rahmatullah 'alaih) narrates a story that happened to him when he was 8 years old.


He says, "My father sold a house of his for 20 Dinars so that I could go for Hajj (and study Islam). When I arrived in Madinah, I went to the circle of Imam Malik. He was sitting amongst his students like a king. People would ask him questions and he would answer.


'When I entered the crowd and my turn came up I said, 'Haddithnee (recite to me)!' He said, 'Rather you read.' I said, 'No, you haddithnee!' Imam Malik said, 'No you read!' When I talked back and argued, he got angry and said to another student, go with this boy outside and smack him 15 times!'


That student took me outside and smacked me 15 times with a stick and then brought me back to Imam Malik. I said, 'you have Dhulm (wronged) me! My father sold his house so that I could come to you and be honored by listening to your teaching and seek knowledge from you. And you smacked me 15 times without any crime on my part, I shall not forgive you!'


Imam Malik then said, 'What is the expiation for this Dhulm (wronging)?' I said, 'You have to recite 15 hadiths to me, that is the expiation.' So Imam Malik began reciting the hadith to me until he completed 15. When he ended I told him, 'beat me more and read more hadith to me." Imam Malik laughed and said, 'be off.' - From the book Ma'rifat Al-Qurraa' al-Kibaar by Imam Adh-Dhahabi.


From the beginning of time, there has been a race between the doers of good and the doers of evil. Adam and Iblees, Musa and Fir'own, Muhammad and Abu Jahl. Today that race has not ended. Think: How hard are the doers of evil working and how hard are we?


Hadhrat Umar (Radi Allahu anhu) once said, "I seek Allah's protection from Jalad (the strength and enthusiasm) of the sinner, and the laziness of the God-fearer." Subhaan Allah, it is as if he is contemplating the time that we are now living in.


How can one of us be too lazy to pray 2 raka'at at night, when the people of the Dunya spend the entire night watching movies, some of which they have to read the translation on the bottom of the screen? How can we be too lazy to read for 2 hours, when the people of the Dunya - those who just want more money to continue their sin - spend days upon days of all-nighters studying for their exams? Why do we cringe at paying 6 dollars for an Islamic book, when the people of the Dunya spend hundreds, rather thousands in pursuit of their sin?

Bismillah


Salam dear members


pls do report any technical problem u may find on the board as soon as possible as Islam is in the process of upgrading and updating the board. He is willing to work on any serious technical problem in an effort to eliminate it and make your stay here as smooth as possible.


Waiting for your immediate feedback pls

(LA ILAHA ILAHA ILLAL LAHU MUHAMMADUR RASULUL LAH).


Muhammad Yusuf AbdulAziz / Joseph Morris


As Salaamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaatuhu


IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE MOST MERCIFUL , THE MOST KIND. I’M THE SERVANT OF ALLAH AND THE SERVANT OF MUHAMMAD (PBUH).


Assalamualaiku


My name is Muhammad-Yusuf Abdulaziz from the United States my mother and father from United States I hold degree in Business Management and Master in Business Economic, I don’t


come from Poor family nor Middle Class family in United States.


My family want to kill me after converting to Islam, I come from very strong Roman Catholic family. My father, my brother, his sisters son’s, My father brothers and their kids or all Free Mason’s, my family have been Free Mason’s for over 80 year. I have been trying to speak with my family over years about Islam, thy just have no interest their responds Islam is racial. I have been disowned by family till I return to Roman Catholic church. My friends and their family are very close to my family, my ex-girlfriend don’t come from poor nor Middle class family she come from very good Jews family close to my family this have been for years race don’t matter to them.


I convert to Islam after studying and reading Quran-Over and Over again reading about Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. (PBUH&HF) about (Sahabah’s—R.A) Reading about Bilal ibn Riban (RA) I was on business trip to Sydney Australia when in the airport I came upon Muslim brother and, I stop brother and , I started to questioning him about Islam we talk for about two hours then the brother had to leave for prayers but before leaving the brother offer his small Holy Quran as gift and his business card.


I started to asking myself was this right religion for me because Islam don’t discriminate this was second time that I was thinking about Islam as religion for me to establish a true relationship with (ALLAH) because Quran have not been change.


When my girlfriend came upon me reading Quran she became very angry and ask me about the book I was reading I show her the Holy Quran she became more angry ,she return in ten min with my friends.


My friends start talking about how Muslims discriminate how Muslim’s kill people for no reason how Muslims or Terrorize how Muslims don’t trust in the Quran how can I have faith when I was not born Muslim.


We could not travel that day for Japan because there was problem with Jet we was traveling on, we return to hotel and my heart was full of joy after speaking with brother just like when I was in Saudi Arabia, I remember that I could not stop reading Holy Quran, I could not place Quran down from reading on and on. My girlfriend had inform me that she will never marry a Muslim or be friends with a Muslim my fiends had same responds for me, and that night I could not sleep all night and the next day I call brother from Airport to inform him that I like to convert Islam.


I went over to his home and brother ask me to take shower then we talk with Imam for about 30 min I informed Imam and brothers after (MAGHRIB) prayers that I will like to convert to Islam Imam ask me to stand in front Mosque and say;


(LA ILAHA ILAHA ILLAL LAHU MUHAMMADUR RASULUL LAH).


I return to my hotel after three hours with brothers just to fine my girlfriend and friends had left the hotel an country, I could have travel to Japan and met up with them, I return to the Mosque and requested to learn more about Islam. I was in Australia for Three months traveling with (TABLIGH) when, I was requested to travel with a Australia (TABLIGH) to India for 49 days and Pakistan for 69 days, I was very happy.


I had decide at that time with Tabligh to leave and travel (MACCA) for (HAJJ), I had not learn about groupies in Islam like (SHIITES) and (Sunnah) because in my mine all Muslims was same. I had a visa to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and Iran, I decide to travel overland from Pakistan to Iran to Kuwait then to Saudi Arabia .


I was in Iran Two days and about to leave for Kuwait and onward to Saudi Arabia when in Iran Port city , I seen it was time for prayer’s I enter a mosque to pray an man came next to me and said I’m secret police come with me, I was question for two days then turnover to Iranian Intelligence who beat me and beat me for months. Iran Intelligence used electricity on my body for weeks I was request to sign documents that I could not read and when, I refuse thy used more electricity on my body.


I was beating and beating more an more electricity place on body, I was requested to speak on Iran television to say that, I work for the United States Government, I said to myself that this is


a lie how can My Muslim brother ask me to lie.


I was place into a prison (CELL) for 5 ½ months with out one person to speak too, the guards would not speak, not one, I was release from my cell only when Iranian Intelligence came interrogate me. I was return to my cell after being beat and beat by Iranian Intelligence, I was in much pain after beating , Electro shocks and one day ,I was in my cell about to give up on life when I was reading my Quran, I heard voice say to me live, live I turn around to see person in cell with me there was No one in Cell. I prayed and Fast doing Ramadan I had just little food to eat at nights.


One day I was very sick I call guard an remove all my cloths an turn them over to guard and said kill me now. This guard informed management next day management informed me I will be move to public area, I have to dress because I’m Muslim ,my question to management I’am Muslim why you treating me in this manner. I was move to area with other Muslims from countries like Emirates, Saudi, Iraq, and Jordan.


I was release after someone from Prison informed Swiss Embassy that American New Muslim was being held in Iranian prison call Evin, the Swiss Embassy informed State Dept then White House was informed President Clinton was speaking at United Nation his speech he talk about American Muslim being mistreated in Iran by next day it was all over news in Iran.


New Iranian President came into office after month his people came to speak with me and say that I will be release, that I’m Muslim brother, I was very, very sick I was move to new area prison after one month, after two months release to Swiss Embassy to leave Iran.


I was sent to Turkey Istanbul an on my arrival in Turkey not one staff member from U.S. Embassy had interest to met my plan at airport. U.S. Embassy was inform that I was traveling from Iran to Istanbul that day, reason no one came because I’ m Muslim. I return to U.S. very sick an for 12 months I was in hospital their was reports from Media requesting to speak with me about Iran an Islam. I disagree to till my story to media and be on T.V. because Image.


I said to my family I don’t dislike the Iranian people my family and friends came to question my plans to return church are stay Muslim after all most losing my life at hands my Muslim brothers. I informed my family and friends that it was not Islam that treat me in this manner and yes I will stay Muslim.


I return to my home with my girlfriend because we had purchase home together my family and friend kept speaking about returning to Church. I had been trying for months to tell my girlfriend that we could not live together without being marry. My girlfriend stated she will never marry Muslim she will marry as Roman Catholic. I said no to returning to church an, we have agree to sale home she said no to selling home, she was not willing to pay for my half home. I left home after one month my family her family and friends was on her said. My family and friends question I’am willing to loss my half 2.5 Million dollars for being Muslim.


I informed them once again that I will stay Muslim my family and friends said that I was mad to stay in Islam.


I move to Kuwait live in Islamic country around Muslims to be able pray in Mosque five times day to learn read Quran in Arabic. I have come to love living in Kuwait problem I have come upon Muslim’s don’t follow Quran and Sunnah like it say in Quran and Hadith’s, I have seen racism, its hard to find brothers that’s not trying to change you to their way.


It’s not a easy task being American Muslim Living among Westerns and its not ease being a American Muslim living in Islamic country, where their much discrimination, Arrogance, Ignorance, Hypocrisy, Backbiting, Lying etc, etc. Its not like it say in Quran an Hadith’s. I pray to my self and I am very happy to be a Muslim, its also very hard to follow Sunnah and Quran when its your brothers trying to pull you off right path and that is very sad.


I HAVE BEEN TESTED BY ALLAH ON MY FAITH TO BE MUSLIM I UNDERSTND THIS I FOLLOW THE LAW’S AND GUIDANCE OF THE HOLY QURAN AND HADITH


Jazakum Allah Khayran


Muhammad Yusuf AbdulAziz / Joseph Morris

Zieler received an email back from the paper's Sunday editor, Jens


Kaiser, which said: "I don't think Jyllands-Posten's readers will


enjoy the drawings. As a matter of fact, I think that they will


provoke an outcry. Therefore, I will not use them."


The illustrator told the Norwegian daily Dagbladet, which saw the


email: "I see the cartoons as an innocent joke, of the type that my


Christian grandfather would enjoy."


He said that he felt Jyllands-Posten rated the feelings of its


Christian readers higher than that of its Muslim readers.


But the Jyllands-Posten editor in question, Mr Kaiser, told


MediaGuardian.co.uk that the case was "ridiculous to bring forward


now. It has nothing to do with the Muhammad cartoons.


"In the Muhammad drawings case, we asked the illustrators to do it.


I did not ask for these cartoons. That's the difference," he said.


"The illustrator thought his cartoons were funny. I did not think


so. It would offend some readers, not much but some."


The decision smacks of "double-standards", said Ahmed Akkari,


spokesman for the Danish-based European Committee for Prophet


Honouring, the umbrella group that represents 27 Muslim


organisations that are campaigning for a full apology from Jyllands-


Posten.


"How can Jyllands-Posten distinguish the two cases? Surely they must


understand," Mr Akkari added.


Meanwhile, the editor of a Malaysian newspaper resigned over the


weekend after printing one of the Muhammad cartoons that have


unleashed a storm of protest across the Islamic world.


Malaysia's Sunday Tribune, based in the remote state of Sarawak, on


Borneo island, ran one of the Danish cartoons on Saturday. It is


unclear which one of the 12 drawings was reprinted.


Printed on page 12 of the paper, the cartoon illustrated an article


about the lack of impact of the controversy in Malaysia, a country


with a majority Muslim population.


The newspaper apologised and expressed "profound regret over the


unauthorised publication", in a front page statement on Sunday.


"Our internal inquiry revealed that the editor on duty, who was


responsible for the same publication, had done it all alone by


himself without authority in compliance with the prescribed


procedures as required for such news," the statement said.


The editor, who has not been named, regretted his mistake,


apologised and tendered his resignation, according to the statement.


· To contact the MediaGuardian newsdesk email


editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 7239 9857


· If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark


clearly "for publication".

How does Islam stand on Creation and evolution?


AFAIK Ishmael was Abrahams son, and was the founder of Islam therefore, pre-Abraham, all faiths of Christian, Islam and Jew share the same beliefs of the beginning of the world, and the world being created in seven days? If so, how does the Theory of Evolution fit in with it, is it accepted by Islam and in some way accomodated, or regarded as being plain wrong?