date:20080717

Bismillah [IslamCity] Reflections on the Israel-Hezbullah Prisoner swap deal

2008-07-17 Thread Khalid Amayreh

  Reflections on the Israel-Hezbullah Prisoner swap deal  
  [ 17/07/2008 - 12:46 AM ]  

  By Khalid Amayreh



  The latest prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hezbullah is a healthy 
indicator that  at least some Arabs are beginning to understand the depraved 
Zionist mentality, and act accordingly. Such mentality is based on arrogance, 
insolence, and religious and ethnic superiority.

  Israel, a country whose collective mindset views non-Jews as virtual 
animals or at least lesser human beings, had to face a new enemy, an enemy that 
will not be scared by overwhelming brutality, but one that will meet Israel's 
state terror with toughness, resilience,  valor and defiance.

  This is a new reality that Israelis, especially Israeli leaders, have yet 
 to come to terms with, especially psychologically.

  This explains the deep frustration that is apparent in the tone of 
Israeli leaders reacting to the latest swap deal, especially the fact that 
Israel has been forced to release  the Lebanese guerilla Samir Kuntar.

  Israel, utterly ignoring her own countless murderous sins,  has come to 
view  Kuntar as the prototype of the ultimate terrorist as if the tens of 
thousands of Jewish murderers and terrorists who have enormous amount of 
innocent blood on their hands were the Lord's angels of love and mercy.

  Indeed, if Israel were a normal state, and its people a normal people,  
it would have adopted an  honest and just  approach toward its neighbors, an 
approach that would not discriminate between blood and blood and life and 
life.

  Undoubtedly, such an approach would have saved thousands of lives, Jewish 
and Arab, and spared the region and its peoples  decades of pain and suffering.

  But then Zionism would be losing its face, mind and heart, and would 
morph into something entirely different.

  Unfortunately, it is probably  futile to preach morality  to Zionism, a 
manifestly demonic  movement which experience shows is not capable of  behaving 
morally and humanely.

  Well, let us examine some of the statements and remarks Zionist leaders 
have been making with regard to the latest swap deal with Hezbullah.

  Shimon Peres, the hero of the Qana massacre of 1996, who is now Israel's 
President, has been quoted as saying that We don't want murderers to go free, 
but we have a moral obligation to bring home soldiers whom we sent to defend 
their country.

  Peres also reportedly said that my heart is torn over the decision to 
pardon Kuntar, adding that his decision to that effect in no way constituted 
forgiveness.

  Certainly, no one , Arab or otherwise, is particularly infatuated with 
what Kuntar did in 1979, although the Israeli army then was at least partially 
responsible for the killing  by the Lebanese guerilla of three Israelis, 
including a paramilitary policeman, a man and his daughter. 

  The three lives, like numerous other victims, Arab and Jewish, would have 
 been spared had the insolent Israeli military establishment behaved wisely.

  After all, Kuntar,  and his friends who were killed in that  rescue 
operation, didn't come to Israel to kill and shed blood  but to force Israel to 
release Arab prisoners. 

  Non the less, one is prompted to ask difficult questions, questions that 
most Israelis don't like to hear let alone answer, but when confronted with, 
they  either seek to  evade or prevaricate and quibble in their answers.

  Who has killed more innocent people, Shimon Peres or Samir Kuntar? Who 
has more blood, including children blood, on his hands, Shimon Peres or Samir 
Kuntar? Who has inflicted more terror, suffering and death upon innocent 
people, Shimon Peres or Samir Kuntar?

  If  honesty is to be the ultimate  arbiter among men,  then one can't 
escape the inescapable  conclusion that it is  mass murderers like Peres, Ariel 
Sharon and other Israeli leaders, dead or living, who really need forgiveness 
for their horrible crimes against humanity. 

  In fact, Israelis should be reminded on this occasion that a Presidential 
post, a business suit with neck tie, and the ability to speak eloquent 
sound-bites in several languages  and have audience with statesmen and VIPs 
from around the world, don't really  transform a criminal into a true human 
being.

  A criminal is a criminal especially if he refuses to come to terms with 
his crimes and if he refuses to apologize to his victims. Needless to say, 
Peres has done neither. 

  But then criminals are not concerned about their sins.

  One elderly Israeli woman interviewed by the Ha'aretz newspaper lashed 
out at Hezbullah for having refused until the very last moment to tell if the 
two Israeli prisoners were dead or alive.

  It's the saddest day for Israel. They kept us waiting until the last 
second to learn the fate of our sons, the woman was quoted as saying.

  I certainly

Bismillah [IslamCity] Reminding u to read Soorat AlKAHF on Friday

2008-07-17 Thread hossam kiwan

Reminding u to read Soorat AlKAHF on Friday

نذكركم بقراءة سورة الكهف كل يوم جمعة

وقال صلى الله عليه وسلم : ( من قرأ سورة ( الكهف ) في يوم الجمعة أضاء له من
النور ما بين الجمعتين ) [ صححه الألباني في صحيح الترغيب والترهيب / 736 ] ..

وقال عليه الصلاة والسلام : ( من قرأ سورة ( الكهف ) ليلة الجمعة، أضاء له من
النور ما بينه وبين البيت العتيق ) [ صححه الألباني في صحيح الترغيب والترهيب /
736 ] ..

Bismillah [IslamCity] a useful link

2008-07-17 Thread ***hajikhan***

 
 
 
 























 
 
Add your business today to www.MuslimWebPage.com
the fastest growing online Muslim,s business directory
 


 


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Bismillah [IslamCity] Waiting for freedom

2008-07-17 Thread waheedahsan

Jawayria Abbasi
Kashmiris along both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) with their 
brethren in Pakistan and around the globe will observe the 
77th 'Kashmir Martyrs' Day' on July 13 with a renewed pledge to seek 
their birth right of self-determination and for deciding their fate 
and destiny in a free, fair and judicious manner at all costs. 

This day is observed to highlight the importance of the day and to 
pay rich tributes to the Kashmiri martyrs, particularly those who 
laid down their lives while fighting against the Dogra rule in 1931. 
About 21 Kashmiris sacrificed their lives for the end of foreign 
occupation on this particular day. This day of Kashmiris' matchless 
heroism resets again with a dynamic tenacity to rupture the despotic 
fetters of the Indian tyranny in the same style in which they kicked 
off a crusade against the barbaric Dogra regime. 

Going by the index of history, it comes to light that July 13, 1931, 
was the virtual podium of the current struggle movement of Kashmiris, 
which was set off as a decisive step to free the soil of Jammu and 
Kashmir from the shackles of aggressors. This movement was an upshot 
with frequent episodes. For instance on April 29, 1931, a crowd 
assembled at the Municipal Bagh of Jammu to offer Eid-ul-Azha prayers 
but was ordered to stop it by a Hindu police officer, Khem Chand. A 
gory incident followed in Samba, where Muslims were prevented from 
fetching drinking water from a pool which resulted in a sectarian 
skirmish. On June 4, Fazal Dad, an aficionado, was attacked by yet 
another policeman, Lambu Ram, who desecrated the sacred Punj Surah. 

On June 25 the same year, another shameful event took place at Khanqa-
e-Mu'allah in Srinagar when over 60,000 people gathered to express 
their indignation over frequent ugly acts of the Dogra regime. The 
moot comprising 85 percent of the population of the Muslims was 
presided over by religious scholars. On this occasion Mujahid Abdul 
Qadeer told the people, It is time to act, we can in no way accept 
the monstrous acts of the Dogra regime, specifically towards our 
sacrosanct religion and the Holy Quran. Step up and put such 
horrendous acts of the cold blooded foe to an end. That day Mujahid 
Qadeer was put in jail and later on hearing of his case was shifted 
from the court to central jail. People of Kashmir censured the 
decision of Qadeer's trial in jail; with a call for open hearing. 
Then came the key day of July 31, 1931, when people from all segments 
of society made sure their presence to express their solidarity with 
Abdul Qadeer. The callous armed men, led by Hindu governor, opened 
ruthless firing on the defenceless demonstrators who were offering 
prayers and killed 22, including a lady. That incident was the take-
off point by the brave sons of Kashmir to bring a malevolent regime 
of Hari Singh to an end and inked the preamble of their freedom 
struggle history.

The year 1931 surfaced with a perilous course for Gulab Singh's 
heirs, who had made people's lives miserable. Masses irrespective of 
their gender were subjected to shameful atrocities, and multiple 
levies were imposed on them, like taxes on cooking stoves, windows, 
indoor gates and even on wives. The notorious motive behind this 
sadistic mindset was to mash the people financially so that no one 
could even raise their voice on the magnitude of the reign of terror. 
Since then, the tyranny continued to prevail over innocent Kashmiris. 

Observance of July 13 is not merely a tribute to the martyrs of 
Kashmir and pledging solidarity with them but also a cursor for India 
to immediately quit Jammu and Kashmir. The fortitude of Kashmiris to 
seek their right to self-determination at all costs speak volumes of 
the fact that India has miserably failed in its ploys and gambits to 
continue the seize of Jammu and Kashmir even by applying a military 
might of almost a million troops. It is time that New Delhi must 
eschew all types of repugnant paths and instead accept the ground 
realities, which clearly shows that if the Kashmir issue is not 
resolved strictly in line with the wishes of the Kashmiris, not only 
India but the entire region would continue to face risks and peril.

I will end this article by quoting the words of the then (1931) 
British Prime Minister of the state, Wakefield, who after having a 
look at the faces of the martyrs remarked: I feel stunned over the 
audacity and gallantry of even the juvenile and adolescents - as each 
of them has received bullets on their chest and none on the back. I 
am obliged to salute these unique souls for their courage and 
boldness. Undoubtedly, blood of thousands of martyrs will not go in 
vain and people of Kashmir will surely see the light of freedom.

http://www.thepost.com.pk/Arc_OpinionNews.aspx?
dtlid=171163catid=11date=07/09/2008fcatid=14

Bismillah [IslamCity] Guess who was at that Parade ??

2008-07-17 Thread raja chemayel






 









 


 



only the uniforms ,  differ...!!
 
 
 
Some French-politicians have expressed their dismay
and objection about the presence of President al Assad in Paris
recently during the Conference and the Parade of 14Th July.
 
I must accept their opinion,
first because of Freedom of opinions 
and secondly  , because I am not the owner of Paris.
 
 
But I wounder if those human-rights-activists
would have looked closely at the Presidential Tribune.
to see that President Assad was not the only dictator attending.
 
He was the youngest one ,
thus others would have done more naughty things in their lives
..n'est ce pas ?? mon cher ami.
 
 
But there was also a chosen-Tyrant  (or the chosen- human-rights-abuser)
and he was not  disturbing those same French-democracy-lovers.
Not only he was the chosen-guest.
he was the holder of 
the longest wall
the longest siege
the longest ethnic-cleansing
the longest expansion
the longest aggression
and longest occupation.
 
Funny !!
how could they have missed noticing him ???
were all, human-rights-activists, so short-sighted ??
or simply one-side-sighted ??
 
Sherlock Hommos
observateur des observations obscenes
observer of the obscene observations
17 July 2008
 
 


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Bismillah [IslamCity] The Christian-Zionists and that Muslem-Prophet called Jesus

2008-07-17 Thread raja chemayel



 
 

 
The West,
the Occident,
the Free World,
the Western-democracies,
Dass AbendLand,
El Gharb
 
has always blamed Islam for recognising
Jesus of Nazareth as being a Prophet
or rather , for being only-as-a-prophet.
 
 
While ignoring,on the other side, 
that Judaism does not even recognise Jesus,
more than being a charlatan or as an impostor,
regardless even to once crucifying him..or not.
 
And now ,
recently, we have a new phenomena
called :  Christian-Zionists
who do not know know that on the day
when the Crusaders have reached Jerusalem,
it has had more open churches than
Lisbon or Berlin.
neither do they know that when the first
Muslim who entered Jerusalem , 300 years earlier,
he was invited to pray inside the Holy Church
by the Bishop of Jerusalem , himself,
who gave him ,voluntarily ,the keys of the Holy City ??!!
(keys,which are still in pocession of a Muslem-Palestinian- family)
 
 
It is advisable for my brothers ,all the Christians,
to forbid to the Christian-Zionists , to call themselves:
Christians.
Zionists alone will suffice !!
and would be more accurate and honest.
 
 
 
Raja Chemayel
a christian so close to Islam.and to the Truth.
16Th of July 2008
 
 


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Bismillah [IslamCity] Sudanese Deplore ICC Bashir Charges by Isma'il Kushkush

2008-07-17 Thread Ismail Kashkash

Sudanese Deplore ICC Bashir Charges

By Ismail Kamal Kushkush, IOL Correspondent

Sudanese denounced ICC charges against Bashir as unfair. (Reuters)
KHARTOUM — Charges by the International Criminal Court (ICC)'s top prosecutor
against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on alleged war crimes in Darfur have
drawn fire from ordinary Sudanese as unfair with analysts saying the charges
are used by major powers as a 'tool' to achieve political goals in Sudan.
I think that the ICC is selective in its choice to prosecute cases, Hisham
Osman, an IT worker, told IslamOnline.net on Tuesday, July 15.
It has done nothing regarding cases brought to it about crimes committed in
Palestine or Iraq against Israel and the United States.
ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo on Monday charged Bashir of committing
genocide and war crimes in Darfur.
He said that Bashir has masterminded a plan to wipe out three ethnic groups
in the war-torn western province.
ICC investigators have not been to Darfur. All of their claimed evidence is
based on interviews outside of Darfur, said Osman.
If you say there is a crime, you need to visit the ‘crime scene’.
Sudan has already rejected the ICC prosecutor's charges, warning they would
damage the Darfur peace hopes.
The African Union also warned that indicting Bashir would create a power vacuum
that risked military coups and widespread anarchy.
Veto-wielding China, which has close ties with Sudan as one of the main buyers
of the African nation's oil and a key investor in its economy, also warned the
move might upset peace hopes in Darfur.
China expresses great concern and worry over the ICC prosecutor's accusation
against the Sudanese leader, foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told
reporters.
Measures taken by the ICC should be conducive to maintaining the stability of
the Sudanese situation, and to the proper resolution of the problems in Darfur,
not the contrary.
Grave

The ICC's decision and timing may have put the peace talks on hold, said
Mekki. (Google photo)
Sudanese warned that the ICC charges would have grave repercussions.
We want a solution for Darfur; but this (the ICC indictment) does not help,
Muhammadayn Al-Zayn, 20, a restaurant worker, told IOL.
I think this will open the gates for foreign intervention in Sudan.
The Darfur conflict broke out in 2003 when rebels took up arms against the
Khartoum regime accusing it of discrimination.
The UN estimates some 300,000 people have died in the conflict, while Khartoum
puts the death toll at 10,000.
Up to 2 million have been forced out of their homes in the region the size of
France, in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
The ICC charges are also feared to have an economic impact on Sudan.
This decision will have a negative impact on the current development trend in
Sudan, just when foreign investment has increased, a bank official said,
wishing not to be named.
Investors tend to stay away from countries that are perceived to be instable.
Tool
Analysts believe that the ICC charges against Bashir are nothing but a 'tool'
by major powers to achieve political goals in Sudan.
The ICC since its inception has been used as a tool by powerful states against
smaller countries to achieve political goals, said Dr. Hasan Haj Ali, a
political science professor at the University of Khartoum.
The ICC is tied to the UN Security Council which has members who are
antagonistic toward Sudan.
Ali opines that the charges are meant to pile pressures on Sudan to hand over
two indicted Sudanese nationals to the court over alleged war crimes in Darfur.
It is possible that pressure was exerted against Ocampo to bring charges
against al-Bashir at this time.
The ICC issued in April last year arrest warrants for Sudanese State Minister
for Humanitarian Affairs Ahmed Harun and militia leader Ali Kosheib on charges
of committing crimes in Darfur.
Sudan, which is not a party of the ICC statute, has refused to hand over the
two men.
The Darfur rebel groups will now perceive the Sudanese government as weak and
may escalate their war efforts in the region, said Ali.
They (rebels) will not negotiate with the government and this may affect the
entire region.
Professor Hasan Mekki of the International University of Africa agrees.
The ICC's decision and timing may have put the peace talks on hold.
He, however, believes that the Sudanese government should use the opportunity
to push harder for peace in Darfur.
The government should let Darfurian members of the [ruling] National Congress
Party (NCP) handle the Darfur file and negotiations with the rebels.
Abdallah Adam Khatir, a Darfurian writer, shares his view.
The Sudanese government now has a golden opportunity to reach a peace
agreement in Darfur.
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_Ccid=1216122873196pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout

Bismillah [IslamCity] india: Arrests shatter myth only Muslims behind blasts

2008-07-17 Thread Shahid

Arrests shatter myth only Muslims behind blasts: Chief Minister



By Prashant Rangnekar  Kavitha Iyer

THANE, MUMBAI: Maharashtra Police on Tuesday arrested two more members of a 
little-known radical Hindu group in connection with the crude bomb blasts at 
theatres screening a controversial Marathi play, close on the heels of Chief 
Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh saying the arrests in the case had blown a hole in 
the popular perception that Muslims are to be suspected for all such attacks. 



The two men arrested on Tuesday were members of the Sanatan Sanstha while the 
two held on Monday were members of the Sanstha as well as that of the Hindu 
Janajagruti Samiti (HJS). They have been accused of planting bombs in two 
auditoriums in Navi Mumbai and Thane two weeks ago and for one which went off 
during the screening of Bollywood film Jodhaa Akbar, also in Navi Mumbai, in 
February. 



Only two of the three bombs - crude, low-intensity devices -exploded and 
injured a handful of people. The two organisations have been quick to disown 
the men, saying they were acting on their own even though the HJS has been 
vocal about its opposition to the Marathi play, Amhi Pachpute, saying it 
insults Hindu mythologicals. 



But the arrests were enough for Deshmukh to point fingers at the possibility of 
Hindu groups being involved in subversive activities too. Normally, when such 
incidents take place a particular community is suspected, the Chief Minister 
said in a statement late on Monday. But the arrest of two people belonging to 
a Hindu organisation proves that such suspicions are baseless. Criminals don't 
belong to any religion. 



Although the HJS and the Sanatan Sanstha have vociferously proclaimed their 
innocence, the arrests have brought back memories of April 2006 when two people 
were killed in a blast in the house of prominent RSS activist in Maharashtra's 
Nanded town. Those men were believed to be members of Bajrang Dal according to 
Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) investigators and the ATS suspects Sanatan Sanstha 
and HJS may have links with or worked in the past with the Bajrang Dal. This 
week's arrests, they say, have thrown the spotlight on what are apparently 
shadowy organisations that have largely been operating in the hinterlands of 
Maharashtra and fuelling right wing extremism. 



HJS national spokesperson Dr Durgesh Samant was agitated when asked if his 
group was a Hindu terror organisation as investigators suspected. We are not 
just a Hindu nationalist organisation. We also take up nationalissues. All 
these allegations that we are a saffron group are incorrect and have been 
created by miscreants, he told The Indian Express from Goa where HJS is 
registered. 



On the other hand, the Sanatan Sanstha, set up in 1999, has an ashram in 
Sukhapur village near Panvel, about 50 km from Mumbai. Over the past week, the 
ashram on the banks of the Gadhi river saw several police teams visiting to 
question the sevaks and the management. The allegations against us are false, 
said Abhay Vartak, the spokesperson for the ashram. In fact, we condemn such 
incidents and this is not the way of protesting. 



Those at the ashram recollect Ramesh Gadkari, arrested for planting the bomb 
that exploded in Thane's Gadkari auditorium, as a quiet man living in the 
ashram with his wife for five years. They did menial jobs. He mostly looked 
after construction activities. He attended satsang only once a week, said 
Vartak. 



Through its newspaper Sanatan Prabhat, the ashram has condemned the blast with 
an editorial that said, Though we condemn the act, the mindset and the anger 
of these (arrested) people should be understood and the mocking of Hindu gods 
should be stopped. 



http://ummid.com/malegaon/arrest_shatters.htm

Bismillah [IslamCity] Re: Open ltr to Obama/ Middle East, Islam, Ends Means

2008-07-17 Thread salafi_sista

Salaam alaykum. Wishing Barack Obama salaam IN ANY LANGUAGE is beneath
me. He is not taking these trips for OUR benefit. {{Maryam}}

--- In islamcity@yahoogroups.com, visionaries4 wrote:

 Open ltr to Obama/ Middle East, Islam, Ends  Means


 Dear folks,

 I have already once posted this Open Letter to Obama on the
 Progressives for Obama list, but it has not appeared  at least not
 back to me, nor has there been any comment on it. So I am trying that
 again  also sending it to you-all. If you have any advice about how to
 make sure it gets sent to the whole list, I would appreciate it. Thanks.

 Shalom, salaam, peace -- Arthur

 Rabbi Arthur Waskow, director, The Shalom Center
 http://www.shalomctr.org http://www.shalomctr.org/ ; author  of
 Down-to-Earth Judaism  and a dozen other books on Jewish thought and
 practice, as well as books on US public policy; editor of  Torah of the
 Earth; co-author, The Tent of Abraham.  The Shalom Center   voices a new
 prophetic agenda in Jewish, multireligious, and American life. To
 receive the weekly on-line Shalom Report, click on --
 http://www.shalomctr.org/subscribe http://www.shalomctr.org/subscribe

 ^^

ttp://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/arthur_waskow/2008/07/open_ltr\
 _to_obama_middle_east.html

 Open Letter to Senator Obama:

 The Middle East, Islam, Ends,  Means

 Dear friends, I am writing this out of personal experience and my own
 individual ethical concern, not on behalf of any organization or
 campaign.  It comes with Martin Buber's teaching ringing in my brain:
 that he had no idea what it meant to say that the ends justify the
 means, but that for sure the means we actually use will become the ends
 that we actually achieve.

 Or as ancient Torah teaches, Justice, justice shall you pursue.  Why
 justice twice? To teach that just ends can only be achieved through
 just means.

 A lesson for all who work to change society.

 Shalom, salaam, peace -- Arthur


 Dear Senator Obama,  I met you at your talk with Philadelphia Jewish
 leaders in April. It was I who as you entered the room handed you a copy
 of the original Freedom Seder, which I wrote in 1969, and which bound
 together the freedom struggles of Blacks and Jews. And during Q  A, it
 was I who asked you how as President you would deal with the
 peace-obstructing settlement policy of this and many previous Israeli
 governments.

 I asked that question because one of the advance speakers for your
 meeting, Congressman Roth of New Jersey, had just asserted that you
 believe the failure of the peace process has been solely the result of
 the absence of a Palestinian partner for peace.


 Solely the fault of the Palestinians? I thought. Surely he doesn't
 believe that! So I rose to say that hundreds of rabbis and hundreds of
 thousands of American Jews see Israeli settlement policy as obstacles to
 peace, and asked what as President you would do about it.

   Your answer cited the vigorous debate on these questions in Israel --
 more vigorous than here; the recognition by most Israelis that for peace
 to unfold, there will have to be a shift in settlement policy; and your
 sense that most Israeli know that internal debate would be so wrenching
 that they want to know there is a partner for that decision before going
 through the debate.

 Though you avoided saying what you would do,  I was satisfied with your
 answer -- then.

 I was especially ready to be satisfied because I knew that earlier, when
 you met with Jewish leaders in Cleveland, you had gone even further,
 saying:

 I sat down with the head of Israeli security forces and his view of the
 Palestinians was incredibly nuanced because he's dealing with these
 people every day. He was willing to say sometimes we make mistakes and
 if we are just pressing down on these folks constantly without giving
 them some prospects for hope, that's not good for our security
 situation.

   It would be profoundly important to have a President who understands
 that! Yet more recently, in your speech to AIPAC, there was no such
 language. And you slid so far into simply repeating official shibboleths
 like Jerusalem undivided that you had to correct yourself the next
 day.

   No one knows better than I that many of the official Jewish
 organizations would go ballistic to hear a presidential candidate bring
 such ideas to the fore in, say, a major speech about making peace across
 the whole region that Abraham, Hagar,  and Sarah walked.

 And no one knows better than I that millions of American Jews ,
 Christians, and Muslims want exactly that kind of honest talk and
 vigorous diplomacy. They would support any President who insisted on
 exactly the kind of broad pursuit of peace you have sometimes affirmed,
 and the changes in not only Palestinian, Syrian,  and Iranian but also
 Israeli and American behavior it requires.

 I know some people who carry a strange mixture of cynicism and
 wish-fulfillment in their heads --

Bismillah [IslamCity] Book review: Mapilla Muslims-A Study on Society and Anti-Colonial Struggles

2008-07-17 Thread Abhiyya

The book's treatment of the period of Mapilla history till the exit of the 
British is excellent, dealing with critical aspects of Mapilla history and 
culture in a summarized and easily readable form. However, a detailed post-1947 
history of this fascinating Muslim community still waits to be written, a 
period that is equally fascinating, for it was then that the Mapillas took in a 
major way to modern education, which has made them among the most literate and 
economically prosperous Muslim communities in India today
Book review: Mapilla Muslims-A Study on Society and Anti-Colonial Struggles

By Yoginder Sikand
http://www.twocircles.net/2008jul15/book_review_mapilla_muslims_study_society_and_anti_colonial_struggles.html
The Mapillas of Malabar in Kerala are one of the oldest Muslim groups in South 
Asia. They also happen to be among the most well educated and economically 
prosperous Muslim communities in India today. The history of the Mapillas and 
the role of numerous various individuals and movements that shaped Mapilla 
identity and fortunes are neatly encapsulated in this well-researched book.
The book begins with a discussion about the history of Islam in Kerala. The 
author admits that the veracity of the traditional legend about a local Hindu 
king converting to Islam and then traveling to Arabia to meet the Prophet 
Muhammad is open to question, but, quoting from numerous early Sanskrit and 
Arabic texts, he shows that Islam arrived on the Malabar coast well before it 
reached other parts of India. He describes the evolution of the Mapilla 
community as resulting from conversions among Arabs who had settled in Malabar 
in pre-Islamic times, intermarriage of Arab traders with local women, and 
conversions, especially from the 'low' castes, as a result of the missionary 
efforts of a number of Arab traders, scholars and Sufis, whose egalitarian 
message served as a clarion call for liberation for those enslaved by the caste 
system and the Brahminical religion.

The author raises the interesting question of the rapid spread of Islam in 
Kerala (where Muslims account for over a fourth of the population today) 
despite the virtual absence of Muslim political rule in the region. One of the 
key factors for this, he says, were the cordial relations that the Arab traders 
settled in Malabar enjoyed with many local Hindu Rajas, especially the Zamorins 
of Calicut. The Rajas treated the Arabs with respect, for they played a crucial 
role in the local economy.
They allowed them full religious freedom, and some of them even encouraged 
conversions of local fishermen to Islam in order to man their navies, given 
that, at that time, orthodox Hindus were forbidden to cross the seas on pain of 
being excommunicated from their caste. Testifying to the harmonious relations 
between the early Muslims in Malabar and the local Hindus, the early medieval 
Portugues traveler Barbosa, the author tells us, writes that the Zamorins gave 
each Muslim trader a Nair guard and a Chetty accountant to help manage his 
business. Vasco da Gama, who invaded Calicut in the late fifteenth century, 
primarily to oust the Muslims from the Indian Ocean trade and to spread 
Christianity in the region, noted that the Muslims of Calicut, the principal 
Muslim-dominated trade centre in Malabar, 'lived in the city not like 
foreigners, but as natives', and that from them the Zamorin 'received much 
profit'.
Scores of Sufi missionaries also played a central role in the spread of Islam 
in Malabar, the author tells us. The first of these, Malik bin Dinar, was a 
disciple of the noted Sufi Hasan al-Basri. He is credited with having set up a 
number of mosques in the region. While Sufi orders such as the Chisthtiyya and 
the Suhrawardiyya were also active in Malabar, a central missionary role was 
played by the Qadris, particularly Syeds of the noted Makhdum family who were 
originally from Yemen, but, in addition to Malabar, had spread to south-east 
Asia as well, serving as traders, religious scholars and spiritual guides. 
These Sufis were among the pioneers of literature in the Arabic-Malayalam 
dialect, and, in contrast to much of north India, used mosques, instead of Sufi 
hospices or khanqahs, as centres of Islamic instruction.
The author devotes considerable space to the evolution of a unique Mapilla 
Muslim culture that combined Arab and local elements. Hindu and Buddhist 
converts to Islam in Malabar, as elsewhere in India, did not wholly abandon 
their pre-Islamic practices and institutions. Thus, caste rules continued to be 
followed, although with much less severity. Several customs associated with the 
Sufi shrines betrayed local influences, and many Hindus, particularly from the 
'low' castes, regularly visited these shrines. Hindu influence was (and still 
is) readily visible in Malabari mosque architecture and several life-cycle 
rituals of the Mapillas.
A major turning point in the history of the Mapillas was the arrival

Bismillah [IslamCity] Re: Request to all Group Members

2008-07-17 Thread salafi_sista

Ya'Allah, please bring the rains to Syed. Shukran. {{Maryam}}


--- In islamcity@yahoogroups.com, syed sadath wrote:

 As salam ale kum Members
 Â 
 I would request All members to pray for Mansoon Rains for our country

Bismillah [IslamCity] Kid awarded marks for foul language?

2008-07-17 Thread Shahid

This is what kids learn, these days, in the public education system, versus an 
Islamic school.




Student awarded marks for exam abuse - UK Education system!


A British student who scribbled an expletive on an English language exam paper 
was awarded 7.5 percent for accurate spelling and effective communication.The 
pupil, who wrote f*** off after being asked in an English exam to describe 
the room you are sitting in, got 2 marks out of 27 and would have got more if 
he had added some punctuation, chief examiner Peter Buckroyd told The Times.

It does show some very basic skills we are looking for, like conveying some 
meaning and some spelling, said Buckroyd, who works for the Assessment and 
Qualifications Alliance examinations board.

It shows some nominal skills but no relevance to the task.
If it had had an exclamation mark it would have got a little bit more because 
it would have been showing a little bit of skill.

According to the report, to gain minimum marks in English GSCE papers - an exam 
taken by hundreds of thousands of 16-year-olds across England every year - 
pupils must demonstrate some simple sequencing of ideas and an ability to put 
some words in appropriate order.


Source: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/200806...m-fa6b408.html

Re: Bismillah [IslamCity] Wake up Yah Muslimeen!

2008-07-17 Thread Maryam Ali

Salaam alaykum.  I couldn't reply via the webpost, so am replying here. Tis 
motivated me so much and was very gloriously written. I know that there are 
many brothers who are wiling to 'wake up, but I see the need for more sisters 
because there are not enough brothers who see the urgency. I see it.. I'm a 
sista and will gladly give up ever getting married for the sake of Allah swt.  
Pray fro me.  {{Maryam}}

--- On Tue, 7/15/08, Aqsa Jihad [EMAIL PROTECTED] Aqsa Jihad [EMAIL 
PROTECTED] wrote:
From: Aqsa Jihad [EMAIL PROTECTED] Aqsa Jihad [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Bismillah [IslamCity] Wake up Yah Muslimeen!
To: eGroup For Muslims Around The World islamcity@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tuesday, July 15, 2008, 7:56 AM











 
In The Name Of Allah Most Gracious Most Merciful
Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatuallahi wa barakatuhu
 
www.alkhilafah. net/jihad. html
Fight for Allah -Ar-Rahmaan( swt).
Sent By Hashir Tasleem Rehmani

Muslims of the World, where does your Glory lie?
Once a sun upon the World, to shed light far and wide.
And not from your own talents was this crown placed high,

But from Ar-Rahmaan-The Most High, yet weve left our glory dead.

This is not of mourning those wonderful days,
When the Praise of Allah was heard and lived our Prophet's Ways,
But I wish to impress upon you the reason for our decline,

Love of Wealth, Fear of Death, now! we're underneath their feet.

He told us before, that holiest of men,
He told us many things with words that Allah sent,
But we left them on the shelf and failed to take them to heart,

And now we cry dark tears of blood as our muslim lands are torn apart.

None of us were anything before Islaam made us real!
Glorify Ar-Rahmaan-The Most High and celebrate the Steel!

Islaam is our steed which if we ride we surely win!
Give Praise to Allah, put trust in Him and keep away from sin!

Qur'an is our battle plan, Revelation our fort!
We draw our water from the well of Allah and His Prophet's words!

Fear Allah young mujahideen and on His words take heed,
The enemy has no ground to stand, but surely we have pure Tawheed!

Wake up Yah Muslimeen! this world will surely pass us by,

And what will all your riches earn the day ordained to die?
Seek comfort with Allah, and not the evanescent,
Raise high the Flag of Jihad beneath the dying crescent!
 
ALLAHU AKBAR!!!
Allah knows best --
Surah Isra 17 verse 80 Say: O my Lord! let my entry be by the Gate of Truth 
and Honor and likewise my exit by the Gate of Truth and Honor; and grant me 
from Thy Presence an authority to aid (me).


Ameen
Transliteration :Wa qur rabbi adkhilni mudkhala sidqiw wa akhrijni mukhraja 
sidqiw wa-j'al li mil ladunka sulta_nan nasira_(n).

Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 2482 Narrated by AbuHurayrah (May Allah be pleased 
with him)

Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) used to say,  O Allah, grant me benefit 
in what Thou hast taught me, teach me what will benefit me, and increase my 
knowledge. Praise be to Allah in all circumstances. I seek refuge in Allah from 
the state of those who go to Hell.

Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it, Tirmidhi saying this is a tradition 
whose isnad is gharib.

Ameen

Bismillah [IslamCity] IslamOnline will host President Al-Bashir's advisor TODAY Thursday July 17, 2008 - 11:00 GMT