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PAS : KE ARAH PEMERINTAHAN ISLAM YANG ADIL
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Assalamualaikum,
Haris harap email yang haris panjangkan ini
dapat menjadi panduan bagi pentadbir-pentadbir
laman, senarai email dan juga Internet.
Satu yang patut dicontohi untuk kita umat Islam Malaysia.
yang baru hendak bermula dengan budaya Internet.
Wassalam.
: )
Subject:
ISLAM ON THE INTERNET: A PERSONAL ENCOUNTER
Date:
Tue, 18 Apr 2000 10:19:37 -0500 (CDT)
From:
Islamic News and Information Network <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Asssalamu'alaikum,
This article was recently published in a local Islamic newspaper here in
Montreal and I thought I would share it with you. I hope you like it.
Yahya
------------------------------------------
ISLAM ON THE INTERNET: A PERSONAL ENCOUNTER
Yahya Abdul Rahman
"Help Yahya!!!! It's urgent, I need information ASAP on the position of
women in Islam for a research paper I am doing," read the frantic
message
which flashed across my computer screen. I could sense the desperation
in
the poor student's words. He had a deadline and did not know where to
turn for help. I knew the feeling as I too was once a university student
and had to contend with frequent deadlines. But I also knew that he must
have been desperate to ask me such a question as I am no authority on
this
or any other Islamic topic.
But the student's inquiry is part of a much larger question than simply
looking for information on the status of women in Islam. It was the
method
he was using to get his information which was revolutionary. He was
turning to the internet for help, an option which was unavailable to me
when I was in university a mere six years ago. This is now standard
practice for most students nowadays.
My introduction to the internet
I remember that it was just over fours years ago when I was first
introduced to the internet. At that time the internet seemed liked some
strange beast which could never be understood by someone with an average
intelligence as I have. Nevertheless I gave it a try, and thus began my
fascination with this amazing field of technology.
It was the summer of 1995 and I was working at Johns Hopkins University
in
Baltimore. I was assigned my own personal computer and there was an
internet connection on it, so I decided to give it a try. I began to
look
for things related to Islam and, though by today's standards the
information was quite meager, I was at the time quite impressed. I
also
received my own e-mail account, and began to send out messages to other
Muslims. Before long I compiled more and more e-mail addresses, so I
started my own e-mail list. I then sent out one hadeeth per day to the
list members. The members, who too were just new to the internet, loved
the idea. I got a lot of positive feedback. Later I tired of the list
and
handed it over to my wife. The list still in operation until this day,
and
has over 1600 members from all over the world. If you are interested in
this list please send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
I next tried my hand at building a website. I first built a personal
website as an experiment , and then later built one for the Baltimore
Muslim community. It was not all that fancy, but I prided myself in my
accomplishment. I then began to expand my personal e-mail list and had
the
idea of sending out GOOD NEWS stories everyday. I sent out one message
per day about some good things which were taking place in the Muslim
community, such as a new Muslim or new mosques being built, etc. At that
time I had over 1400 subscribers and people were really excited about
the
list. I was referred to as the GOOD NEWS guy. I met a few brothers at
the
local mosque and they would say to me "oh, you're the GOOD NEWS guy!!!"
They would then introduce me to others as the GOOD NEWS guy. It was a
funny feeling.
It was difficult to keep the list going, so I changed directions. I
started to send out general news items to the list instead. From the
large
amount of feedback I received it was evident that many people missed the
GOOD NEWS, but it was very hard to find positive news items everyday.
The
Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) picked up my idea and placed a
GOOD
NEWS forum on their website which you can still subscribe to today.
Please visit the following website for details:
http://www.icna.org/forums.html
Something for new Muslims
While at Johns Hopkins, I also decided to set up a website for new
Muslims. Yes, there are thousands of us in the USA and Canada and most
are
women. I bought the domain name www.convertstoislam.org. I also started
up
a mailing list exclusively for people who have converted to Islam. We
had
daily discussions and the list was well received. I later handed the
list
over to a trusted friend, and the list is still very active with new
additions on a daily basis. Only those who have embraced Islam can join
this list. I personally know 4 people who took shahada from this list,
and three of them did so right on the phone when I called them.
In less than two years over 92,000 people, both Muslim and non-Muslim,
have visited this website. Many non Muslims have written me asking me
about Islam and how does one become Muslim. There was such a high volume
of e-mails from this website that I had to hand the responsibility of
answering them over to a trusted sister I know in the United States.
People are still writing her daily and asking about Islam.
News and politics, my real passion
I decided to establish the Islamic News and Information Network (ININ)
website and e-mail news list. The Islamic News and Information Network
is
based on the premise that most people don't have time to set in front of
a
computer screen all day and search for information. I scan the internet
and find stories of interest and send them to the list. I send out daily
news items which are related to the Muslim community. Many people have
written me and thanked me for this service because they are not able to
weave their way through the mass of information which is now on the
internet.
Not surprising, I get more fulfillment from this venture than any other
thing I have done on the internet up until now. The list presently has
about 1150 subscribers worldwide. The web address for that is
www.inin.net.
Since I have started this list several other people have begun similar
efforts.
Only one in a million
But I am only one in a countless number of Muslims who have also taken
on
similar initiatives. I am thinking of three individuals who, in my
opinion
have made significant contributions to Islam on the internet, and they
were all under 20 years of age when they started.
Suhail Niazi, a young brother from Montreal here, has built a remarkable
website which is meant for dawah. He calls his website "Be Convinced.
The
address is www.beconvinved.com. His website is jammed packed with
information for both Muslims and non Muslims alike. People have come to
Islam as a result of his efforts.
There is also sister Fareena Alam, who resides in Singapore. She is only
in her very early 20s and yet her website is one of the best and most
informative Islamic websites on the internet. If nothing else, her
website
will always give you something to think about each time you visit it.
She
calls her website "Islam, The Modern Religion." The address for that
website is http://www.themodernreligion.com/
And then there is a guy in England who I simply know as "Baba." He has
an
internet rsum which people twice his age would love to have. Baba is
only
14 but I would need a whole separate article to write about what he has
already accomplished in his short life. His most recent work involves
the
maintenance of the Palestine Chronicle website and mailing list, which
can
be found here: http://www.palestinechronicle.com/
It is heartening to know that young Muslims are making effort for the
sake
of Islam.
But what I have mentioned is only a small sample of the the people out
there who are making tremendous efforts to spread Islam.
All this activity has not gone unnoticed. In fact, the presence of
Islam
and Muslims on the internet is so prevalent these days that it has
attracted the attention of at least one American scholar to investigate
the issue.
Professor Yvonne Haddad, who has written numerous books and articles
about
the Muslim presence in America, is presently doing research on "Islam On
The Internet." "Many American Muslims are particularly Internet-savvy
and
well-prepared to take advantage of the online explosion of information
about their faith," said Haddad, who is history professor at Georgetown
University's Center for Christian Muslim Understanding.
In addition, there have been several internet conferences to discuss the
growth of the Islamic community online, and what opportunities and
challenges this new technology offers the Muslim community.
Advantages and Disadvantages
There are disadvantages from the internet for Muslims also. For example,
how does one evaluate the authenticity of the information on a web page?
This is not an easy task and one must be very careful before accepting,
or
rejecting what they read on the internet. Some reliable individuals have
taken the time to scan the internet and compile numerous websites which
can be trusted. The most famous of these compilations is sister Huma
Ahmed's "Mama List" which can be viewed here:
http://www.jannah.org/mamalist/
Another problem is that, although the internet has given us a voice in
cyberspace, it has also give our enemies a voice and they are taking
full
advantage of this. There are many websites which openly attack Islam in
a
hateful way, and these are almost impossible to control. Additionally,
there are numerous Christian websites which target Muslims for
conversion.
These sites are very sophisticated and if one is not grounded firmly in
the teachings of Islam they can be easily misled by their words.
Notwithstanding all these disadvantages many people are turning to the
internet for information on Islam, including non-Muslims. Perhaps many
may
be too shy to approach a Muslim to ask about Islam or to go to a Mosque,
but by turning to the internet they can maintain their anonymity. In
addition, I personally have found that during times of international
tension, where Islam and Muslims are prominent in the news, I get more
inquiries about Islam from non-Muslims. The number of visits to my
converts page goes way up during these times. For example, during the
Pope's recent visit to Palestine he mentioned the prophet Muhammad
(peace
be upon him) in one of his speeches. Shortly thereafter I received an
e-mail from a Catholic lady who admitted that she did not know much
about
the prophet and asked if could I explain further. I was happy to oblige
her in her request.
Although I have most certainly not even scratched the surface of this
huge
topic, Allah willing, beginning in the next edition of al Hijrah I will
begin a regular internet column which will highlight websites that may
be
of interest, and of usefulness to the Muslim community. Hopefully this
column will assist you in finding your way through the confusing maze
of
information which is currently out there. If you have any topic
suggestions or would like to have a website highlighted in this column
then please do e-mail me.
================================================================================
ININ List Archives Found Here: http://www.inin.net/list/
================================================================================
TO SUBSCRIBE:
To subscribe to ININ please e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
In the body of the message type in: "subscribe inin-net" (without the
quotation marks).
TO UNUSBSCRIBE:
To unsubscribe from ININ please e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
In the body of the message type in: "unsubscribe inin-net" (without the
quotation marks).
================================================================================
CANADA'S ONLINE ISLAMIC BOOKSTORE: HTTP://WWW.ISLAMICBOOKSCANADA.COM
ISLAMIC NEWS AND INFORMATION NETWORK: HTTP://WWW.ININ.NET
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