Muslim

• Most Topular Stories

• It Wasn’t Me!!!!!

  Soliloquies of A Stranger

  ummadam

  6 Mar 2010 | 11:50 am

• Deadly blasts rock Afghan city

  AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)

  13 Mar 2010 | 11:36 am

  A series of co-ordinated explosions kill at least 35 people and injure 45 in Kandahar.

• Moneza – new social media marketing platform

  IslamCrunch

  Mikael Pittam

  10 Mar 2010 | 1:38 am

  So what is a social media marketing platform? From the private webinar we were invited to, it looks like a place to network with your contacts and advertise your content. Moneza is still in closed beta registration. Based on the image on their homepage, Moneza will be gathering all the major social networks to be used on their site. Sign up here: http://bit.ly/monezabeta

• Book: "The Future of Islam": A pluralistic prescription

  altmuslim

  editor@altmuslim.com

  12 Mar 2010 | 6:00 am

  For better or worse, Islam has been at the forefront of domestic and international affairs for at least the past decade. It’s truly a wonder, then, that according to a recent Gallup poll a majority of Americans still have little to no knowledge of the religion’s basic tenets. More disheartening, if not outright frightening, is that even given this avowed lack of knowledge, a sizeable percentage of US citizens nonetheless maintain a negative perception of Muslims. So, either an informed, nuanced understanding of Islam is being obscured by the voluminous – and venomous – misinformation…

• It’s a boy!

  Rickshaw Diaries

  Baraka

  9 Mar 2010 | 8:33 pm

  Just a quick update as I’m still in the hospital recovering from 89 hours of labor & a C-section: Basil & Baraka became the blessed and proud parents of a healthy son on Sunday, March 7th at 2:51 pm mash’Allah! Thank you for all your prayers  – you were in mine during labor. [...]

• 

  AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)

• Deadly blasts rock Afghan city

  13 Mar 2010 | 11:36 am

  A series of co-ordinated explosions kill at least 35 people and injure 45 in Kandahar.

• Iraq vote count too close to call

  13 Mar 2010 | 11:28 am

  The votes tallied so far suggest weeks or months of horse-trading ahead.

• Marine life trade tops Cites agenda

  13 Mar 2010 | 11:21 am

  Ban on export of sharks and tuna likely to be the most contentious at Doha conference.

• Clashes break out near Jerusalem

  13 Mar 2010 | 8:06 am

  Israeli forces use tear gas against Palestinian women amid 48-hour closure of West Bank.

• Deaths in Pakistan Swat blast

  13 Mar 2010 | 8:00 am

  Fourteen killed in attack on security checkpoint a day after suicide bombers hit Lahore.

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  IslamCrunch

• Moneza – new social media marketing platform

  Mikael Pittam

  10 Mar 2010 | 1:38 am

  So what is a social media marketing platform? From the private webinar we were invited to, it looks like a place to network with your contacts and advertise your content. Moneza is still in closed beta registration. Based on the image on their homepage, Moneza will be gathering all the major social networks to be used on their site. Sign up here: http://bit.ly/monezabeta

• Prophetic Characteristics Course – Know Your Prophet

  Mikael Pittam

  3 Mar 2010 | 8:36 am

  The Zaytuna Distance Learning program is having a Know Your Prophet promotion during this blessed month of Rabiu’ Awwal for Sidi Yahya Rhodus’ course: “The Prophetic Characteristics“. Description: A four-part study of the inward and outward characteristics of the Prophet Muhammad from his lineage to his names to his physical stature to his noble attributes, taking from the text of the late scholar Shaykh Yusuf al-Nabahani, Wasa’il al-Wusul ila Shama’il al-Rasul (The Means of Arrival to the Characteristics of the Messenger). Studying the characteristics of…

• Twitter Trend Campaign – #MalcolmX – Febuary 21, 1965

  Mikael Pittam

  21 Feb 2010 | 1:57 am

  Today commemorates a universal day of mourning by Muslims, social activists and lovers of peace. On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated in New York. His death was a tremendous loss for many communities. Here are some ideas on how you can honor Malcolm X on his death anniversary, during Black History Month and throughout the year. On Twitter: make #MalcolmX as the trending topic. Encourage all your followers to share a quote of Malcolm or link to some of his resources and include the hashtag #MalcolmX. Here’s an example – http://twitter.com/sueetness/status/9420396588…

• Special Salawat during Rabi al-Awwal

  Mikael Pittam

  19 Feb 2010 | 2:57 pm

  Shaykh Abdulkarim Yahya has initiated his own blog – The Interpreter’s Path! He has shared with his readers and students a special gift for the month of Rabi al-Awwal, the Islamic month which has been honored with the birth of the Last Messenger, Prophet Muhammad sal Allahu alayhi wasalam. Shaykh Abdulkarim’s beloved teacher, Habib Umar bin Hafidz, taught him the following salawat: Please visit the original post to read more about Habib Umar’s advice.

• The Eminent Morality of the Last Prophet with Shaykh Afeefuddin Al-Jailani – Bay Area lecture series

  Mikael Pittam

  27 Jan 2010 | 5:17 pm

  IslamCrunch presents The Eminent Morality of the Last Prophet with Shaykh Afeefuddin Al-Jailani Bay Area Lecture Series The final messenger of God, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of God be upon him), had excellent behavior with his congregation, his family, his community and those in his contemporary society. God describes the last Prophet in the Quran: “And indeed, you are of a great moral character” [68:4] Muslims and those of other faiths regard the Prophet with high esteem. His actions, speech, deeds and confirmations were precise and impeccable. Learn more about the…

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  altmuslim

• Book: "The Future of Islam": A pluralistic prescription

  editor@altmuslim.com

  12 Mar 2010 | 6:00 am

  For better or worse, Islam has been at the forefront of domestic and international affairs for at least the past decade. It’s truly a wonder, then, that according to a recent Gallup poll a majority of Americans still have little to no knowledge of the religion’s basic tenets. More disheartening, if not outright frightening, is that even given this avowed lack of knowledge, a sizeable percentage of US citizens nonetheless maintain a negative perception of Muslims. So, either an informed, nuanced understanding of Islam is being obscured by the voluminous – and venomous – misinformation…

• Obituary: Remembering Sister Aminah Assilmi

  editor@altmuslim.com

  10 Mar 2010 | 7:30 am

  It was a confusing time in my life. I had struck out on my own - going to college - for the very first time in my life. All of the support structures that sustained me throughout my adolescence were now gone, and I had to fend for myself. And the fortress that I thought was my faith turned out to be a castle of salt and sand. When confronted with a different faith view, namely that of my fellow classmates and dormmates at Marquette University, I began to seriously doubt my the veracity of my own faith. I had not yet chosen to become a Muslim at that time; the choice had been made for me…

• Dr. Muhammed Tahir ul-Qadri: A fatwa that might work

  editor@altmuslim.com

  8 Mar 2010 | 10:45 am

  On March 2nd, 2010 Dr. Muhammed Tahir ul-Qadri, a very prominent religious scholar from Pakistan has issued a Fatwa, which he himself described as historic, against terrorism and terrorists. This is neither the first, and may not be the last Fatwa against terrorism. But it certainly might be the longest and most comprehensive one. There have been several prominent Fatawah (plural) issued by Muslim scholars and institutions against terrorism in the past and Dr. Qadri summarizes many of the medieval and classical ones. The Fatwa of India’s most prominent Islamic madrasah Darul-Ulloom Deoband…

• Malaysian politician Anwar Ibrahim: “The Malaysian people will not easily be fooled”

  editor@altmuslim.com

  5 Mar 2010 | 9:45 am

  Back in 1998, when Anwar Ibrahim was deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, he was charged with sodomy in a case widely intepreted as an attempt by Prime Minister Matahir Mohamed to exploit the Malaysian justice system and prevent Ibrahim from gaining power. After a widely publicized (and criticized) trial, Ibrahim was sentenced to six years in prison - a conviction that was overturned by Malaysia's supreme court in 2004. Upon release, he immediately reentered politics and formed a coalition of parties that became the only effective opposition to the ruling UMNO coalition's hold on the…

• Musician Salman Ahmad: Rock and roll jihad for peace

  editor@altmuslim.com

  3 Mar 2010 | 10:59 am

  Salman Ahmad, founder of South Asia’s most successful rock band Junoon, has been on a rock and roll jihad (struggle) ever since his first concert at 18 – a medical school talent show in Lahore, Pakistan. Eyes closed, emotions pumped, he was ripping through Van Halen’s Eruption on his guitar, mesmerized by the crowd’s screams, only to discover that the yelling was coming from a group of bearded students from a religious group outraged by music they considered un-Islamic. One student tore Salman’s guitar from his hands and smashed it on the floor. From that moment, Salman vowed to…

• 

  Rickshaw Diaries

• It’s a boy!

  Baraka

  9 Mar 2010 | 8:33 pm

  Just a quick update as I’m still in the hospital recovering from 89 hours of labor & a C-section: Basil & Baraka became the blessed and proud parents of a healthy son on Sunday, March 7th at 2:51 pm mash’Allah! Thank you for all your prayers  – you were in mine during labor. [...]

• Labor’s sacred secret

  Baraka

  7 Feb 2010 | 2:52 pm

  During the many years we were told we couldn’t have children due to my auto-immune condition, at times I gave up on dua because resignation was easier than continually dashed hope. But my loved ones never stopped praying for me, even when I couldn’t do so for myself. Sometimes it was almost hurtful that they continued [...]

• Unleashing prayer

  Baraka

  13 Jan 2010 | 12:09 pm

  Too many religious folk use natural disasters as a way of spouting off about God’s wrath and judgment on “those people” and are content to leave it at that. While the divine reasons behind a tragedy may be inscrutable, what is demanded of us as humans is clear as day. Prayer, yes. But the real power [...]

• Charter for Compassion

  Baraka

  8 Dec 2009 | 10:39 am

  In 2008, Karen Armstrong was selected as a TED Prize Winner. Her wish? “I wish that you would help with the creation, launch and propagation of a Charter for Compassion, crafted by a group of leading inspirational thinkers from the three Abrahamic traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam and based on the fundamental principles of universal [...]

• On prayers answered

  Baraka

  3 Dec 2009 | 2:46 pm

  I was randomly clicking through my Facebook friends and stumbled across one who had excerpted a letter I’d written to God for my friend Sima to read aloud in Mecca during Hajj two years ago. Written with all sincerity at the time, I had forgotten some of the details of my prayer until I found it [...]

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  Mr Moo

• There was a young Imam from Leicester…

  Mr Moo

  22 Feb 2010 | 10:55 pm

  There was a young Imam from Leicester Who was known as a charming jester He wore fancy hats And ornate cravats (He made sure they were polyester) One Friday, during Jumah speeching The young Imam was bored of preaching ‘We should leave this fine place To the beach we should race Sun sand and sea will be my teaching!’ The Leicesterwalas were all aghast Surely he couldn’t last Sanity prevailed The musallis exhaled To Skegness they travelled en-masse The Imam was highly commended For the joy he brought unintended ‘Our mosques can be so dull But our day now is full’…

• The Muslim origins of Valentine’s Day

  Mr Moo

  13 Feb 2010 | 10:45 am

  There are plenty of naysayers who say Islam forbids celebrating Valentine’s Day, that we should be nice to our loved ones all year round.  However, it is all based on the premise that Valentine’s Day is a purely Christian festival.  The origins of Valentine’s Day are quite sketchy. Here is the true and definitive reason why Muslims should embrace Valentine’s Day in all its commercial, superficial glory The Muslim origins of Valentine’s Day There once was a village in Muslimistan, where a young boy called Wali Nuteen lived.  He was a kind, fun-loving adventurous boy, who was…

• Four Lions and the right to offend

  Mr Moo

  30 Jan 2010 | 9:45 am

  [This post first appeared on the Guardian Commentisfree site] Four Lions and the right to offend Some Muslims are gearing up to be offended by Chris Morris’ Four Lions. Others will be having a good old laugh “Muslim Protest at Jihadist Film” – I can see the headlines already. Despite no release date having been fixed, the predictions of a furore around Four Lions have already begun. For those that have not yet seen the clip or heard about the plot, Four Lions is a British farce about four suicide bombers from Sheffield. It isn’t surprising that one expects there to…

• Pigs may not fly in heaven

  Mr Moo

  22 Jan 2010 | 8:04 pm

  [This post first appeared on the Guardian Cif Belief section, in answer to the question: Do animals have souls.] Muslims’ complex relationship with animals in this life makes for uncertainty in the next A cursory look at Islamic scriptures would indicate that the souls of animals do not carry on into the afterlife. Islam however, has plenty to say on animals and our relationships with them. Animals are viewed as creatures that are deemed to be in a state of constant worship. In terms of their place in the earthly hierarchy, they are mentioned with humans and jinn. (Jinn being creatures…

• Awaiting reply II: UKIP if you want to

  Mr Moo

  18 Jan 2010 | 1:48 pm

• 

  Islam in China

• Chinese New Year – Year of the Tiger

  Wang Daiyu

  15 Feb 2010 | 5:39 pm

  Happy Chinese New Year to all the Chinese brothers and sisters. 恭喜发财 If the readers want to know how to greet Chinese people on this ocassion, here is link which can help you. http://blog.mangolanguages.com/2010/02/15/a-happy-chinese-new-year-at-mango-languages/ (Image Source: http://www.malaysiasite.nl/images/tigerchinese.gif)

• Transmission of the flamethrower from Greece to China

  Wang Daiyu

  7 Feb 2010 | 10:40 am

  The flame thrower was invented in the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) who used it against the Arab Muslims. It was later adopted by the Muslims who transmitted it to China. The Chinese author Lin Yu explained in his book in 919 AD that it was acquired by the Chinese from their Arab maritime trade contacts in the Indian Ocean. Wujing Zongyao (武经总要) written by prominent scholars Zeng Gongliang (曾公亮), Ding Du (丁度), and Yang Weide (楊惟德), in 1044 has the oldest description of the flamethrower. It is interesting to not how technology from one part of the world was…

• Muslims and Chinese Rocket Technology in the time of Kublai Khan

  Wang Daiyu

  8 Jan 2010 | 8:37 am

  While it is widely known that the Chinese were instrumental in inventing explosives and in advancing early rocket technology, it is less known that during the time of Kublai Khan Turkish Muslims were instrumental in helping the Mongols in conquering China and advancing this technology and building siege weapons. According to Muslim Heritage, between 1271 and 1273 Kublai Khan employed two Turkish Muslim engineers Alaadin and Ismail (I-ssu-ma-yin in Chinese sources). These two were instrumental in building ballistic weapons used in the siege and conquest of Hang-Chow and Hsiang-yang. The…

• Chinese pilgrims return home from Mecca

  Wang Daiyu

  16 Dec 2009 | 2:56 pm

  From the Xinhua news agency. Chinese pilgrims return home from Mecca YINCHUAN, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) — A plane carrying 323 Chinese pilgrims landed safely at Hedong Airport of Yinchuan, northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Saturday afternoon. They are the first batch of Chinese Muslims to return home after completing their pilgrimage to Mecca this year. Ma Junji, a 75-year-old pilgrim, said the hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia) is the most important religious task in his life. “Thanks to the government’s assistance, the pilgrimage went on quite well. As I…

• Rumi’s Masnavi in Chinese

  Wang Daiyu

  8 Dec 2009 | 9:22 pm

  Finally Rumi’s Masnavi has been translated into Chinese. Work on other languages like Korean translation is still ongoing. The link is in Turkish, you can use a translation utility like Google Translation to view the page in English.

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  Positive Muslim News

• Islamic Horizons Magazine wins 2010 DeRose-Hinkhouse awards

  Samana Siddiqui

  8 Mar 2010 | 6:54 pm

  The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) proudly announces that its flagship magazine, Islamic Horizons, is among the winners of the 2010 DeRose-Hinkhouse Awards presented by the Religion Communicators Council – an interfaith association of religion communicators. The Islamic Horizons won the awards in three categories: the “Best of Class” and the “Award of Excellence” categories for its March/April 2009 issue, and the “Certificate of Merit” category for the Nov/Dec 2009 issue.Islamic Horizons is published bimonthly and serves as the largest distribution English language…

• Faith inspires Muslim veterinarian's compassion for animals

  Samana Siddiqui

  25 Feb 2010 | 7:08 pm

  Dr. Zia Usman is a rarity within the U.S. veterinary profession.Not only does the Indian-born and -trained veterinarian own a companion animal practice on Chicago's North Side, Dr. Usman is also a Muslim.Such a combination is unusual among first-generation immigrants who are followers of Islam, according to Dr. Usman's colleague, Riaz H. Siddiqi, a professor at Truman College in Chicago and president of the Muslim VMA.The association believes approximately 500 Muslim veterinarians are in the United States. Dr. Siddiqi thinks most of them are employed in academia, research, industry, or…

• Montreal Muslim wins Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy award

  Samana Siddiqui

  19 Feb 2010 | 7:44 am

  The Muslim Council of Montreal (MCM) congratulates MCM director Kwasi Yeboah for receiving the 2010 Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy award.The award was presented to Mr. Yeboah on January 18th, by Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay and the Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Committee of Montreal. Mr. Yeboah was recognized for his outstanding work in coordinating the Open Mosques project among local mosques, to help foster bridges of cooperation, understanding and social harmony in the Montreal community.“It is an honour to see a young member of our community awarded for his efforts,” stated Salam…

• Muslim Malaysian court defends right of Christians to use the word "Allah"

  Samana Siddiqui

  7 Feb 2010 | 6:42 am

  (Plainfield, IN – January 4, 2010) The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) commends the landmark ruling by a Malaysian Court on December 31, 2009, that affirms the religious freedom of Malaysian Christians. The ruling asserts that Christians have the right to use the word “Allah” to translate “God” into Bahasa Melayu, the Malaysian language. It strikes down a government ban that was placed in 2007 on the use of the term in Christian literature.The opponents of the use of the word Allah in reference to God have argued that the term “God” is usually translated by Malaysians…

• Egypt restores world's oldest monastery

  Samana Siddiqui

  6 Feb 2010 | 6:51 am

  Egypt has completed the restoration of reputedly the world's oldest Christian monastery, called Saint Anthony's.The monastery is believed to be 1,600 years old. The government-sponsored restoration project cost over $14m (£8.9m) and took more than eight years.The monastery is a popular site for Coptic Christian pilgrims. Read the whole article at:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8500091.stm

• 

  Irshad Manji blog and official website

• A different kind of fatwa

  irshad

  6 Mar 2010 | 8:13 pm

  In the world of Islamic reform, the big news this week is that an eminent Pakistani sheikh has issued a 600-page fatwa against Muslim terrorism — with no qualifiers  attached. You’d think I’d be celebrating. Not really. The very notion that 21st-century Muslims need a fatwa confirming the immorality of blowing each other up is, well, infantile. Frankly, it’s just another relic of the tribal mentality, in which the higher-ups do all the thinking for the lowly peeps. The sooner Muslims wean ourselves off the fatwa fetish, the faster we’ll tap our potential to…

• “The Stoning of Soraya M.” now out on DVD

  irshad

  27 Feb 2010 | 12:14 pm

  Does this man go through with hurling his stone at Soraya?      Watch the movie… This week, among the most important movies of my generation, “The Stoning of Soraya M.,” comes out in DVD and Blu-Ray. You can order either version here. “The Stoning,” starring recent Emmy-award winner Shohreh Aghdashloo, dramatizes the true story of an Iranian village wife whose deceitful husband sets her up for execution so that he can marry an unsuspecting girl in the city. Ultimately, though, this isn’t a tale of female victimhood. Instead, it’s about moral…

• Tiger the Buddhist

  irshad

  20 Feb 2010 | 5:51 am

  When Tiger Woods apologized for having multiple extra-marital affairs, he confessed another sin: straying from his Buddhist upbringing. Seconds later, Twitter seized up with cynicism: “Did I just hear him say he’s a Buddhist or a boobist?” * “The guy calls himself a Buddhist! Try bootyist!” * “That’s like finding God in prison. Whatever, Tiger.” Not so fast, folks. There could be some serious spirituality behind his decision to delay professional golf and focus on restoring trust with his family. One of Buddhism’s core teachings is that…

• Iran & nukes: My analysis on MSNBC

  irshad

  11 Feb 2010 | 7:20 pm

  Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

• Iran & nukes: Irshad’s discussion on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”

  irshad

  11 Feb 2010 | 7:15 pm

  Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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  An Indian Muslim

• Empowering Eves or Elites: Will women's reservation work at ground level in India?

  10 Mar 2010 | 6:08 am

  A woman who was fed up of running from pillar to post, just to get the certificate that she was poor, attempted suicide in Ashok Nagar when the nation was busy celebrating the International Women's Day. For millions of poor Indian women [and men], these are the horrendous realities of life, which include corrupt officials not issuing BPL certificate and refusing to sanction widow pension [For those who may not be aware, BPL certification gets you basic commodities at a cheaper rate]. Even innumerable women working in Congress' scion Rahul Gandhi's pet NREGA scheme don't…

• Ashram Tragedy: Inefficient administration to be blamed, Media fails to fix responsibility for 63 deaths in UP's Pratapgarh

  6 Mar 2010 | 2:24 am

  Just when TV channels and media are expressing outrage over the unfortunate murder of a three-year-old Indian child in Australia, the apathy towards fixing responsibility of local administration in the tragic death of 63 persons including 26 children shows how dumb we are as a nation, especially our middle-class that has pretensions of knowing everything. The incident angers me because it reflects absolute failure of media, which not just failed in inform citizens as to who is the real culprit but instead goes ahead passes the buck on others including the hapless devotees. The news…

• Hoardings in Harmony: Hindu, Muslim billboards in India

  26 Feb 2010 | 12:33 pm

  Hoardings catch my eyes just like interesting posters, banners, wall graffiti and nameplates. I just spotted the two hoardings, one of a religious function on the eve of Milad-un-Nabi and the other of a politico-cultural event. The first is organised by Muslim organisations and invites for a Jalsa and subsequent Juloos [procession]. It is in Urdu and Hindi. The other hoarding calls for a massive Hindu gathering. One can identify the man visible in the hoarding. He is Keshav Bali Ram Hedgewar, the founder of RSS or Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh. RSS' core beliefs may not have…

• Blame the Bureaucrat, not just Politician: Corruption of IAS officers' ignored in India!

  19 Feb 2010 | 12:20 pm

  Chhattisgarh cadre civil servant BL Agarwal is just one among thousands of civil servants in India, but his name hit headlines briefly when the Income Tax department found that he had at least 220 bank accounts and had amassed wealth and assets to the tune of billions of rupees, yes billions, not millions. He didn't even have a 'reputation' of being an extremely corrupt officer unlike some other IAS and IPS officers. Still, he had accumulated so much unaccounted wealth in a tribal-dominated state where large section of poverty stricken populace barely gets to eat salt with…

• 'My Name Is Khan' film review: A Bold and Emotional Movie With A Message

  12 Feb 2010 | 12:50 pm

  I just watched the Shahrukh Khan-Kajol starrer, My Name Is Khan [MNIK]. Firstly, it is definitely a bold movie and the film-makers must be credited for coming up with a movie that sends a very strong universal message. MNIK is not an ordinary Bollywood flick. More than the innate goodness of the protagonist who suffers from Asperger's syndrome and has an innocent charm with which he wins his lady love and later goes on a journey across America, the film deals with civilisational and cultural faultlines to take a hugely moralistic stand. Yes,…

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  Life Thinking

• Famous Bloggers & MyBlogGuest Online Contest

  Hesham

  4 Mar 2010 | 2:59 pm

  Famous Bloggers is running a great gust blogging contest with it’s media partner MyBlogGuest.com through our special Famous bloggers group in a try to award our guest bloggers and have fun blogging together. Our guest blogging contest prizes are awesome, so be sure to check them on our blog, there is a big chance to win because we are awarding 5 winners, so take a look to our contest guidelines and participate now. Our Sponsors FamousBloggers.net – contest organizer MyBlogGuest.com our contest media partner WebmasterFormat.com - Webmaster Resource MMO social network – making…

• Top 5 SEO Articles on Famous Bloggers

  Hesham

  15 Feb 2010 | 10:43 pm

  Because SEO became important part of any internet businesses marketing plan, I have decided to pick all the important search engine optimization tips from Famous Bloggers to share it with you to get SEO benefits. Best SEO articles Importance of SEO search engine optimization SEO Theory and Practice Top 10 Marketing and SEO articles at MMO Bookmark site and Network Does Forum Posting Bring Backlinks? 13 Essential On-Page Blog SEO Tips

• Bookmark your Best Blogging Tips Articles and Profit from it

  Hesham

  8 Jan 2010 | 4:53 pm

  Is it the time! we finally and after a few months of hard work, we are glad to pronounce the launch of our new Making Money Online Social Network and bookmarks website that supports Google AdSense share revenue, now you can submit your money making and blogging tips articles and videos to our network and start making money and getting backlinks to your blog or website. mmosocialnetwork There is a post on Famous Bloggers blog I wrote earlier today telling more the New Social Network

• Making Money Online Social Network

  Hesham

  5 Jan 2010 | 5:07 pm

  MMO social network has a “dream” of making a good network of people who are interested in Making Money Online, and give them the ability to communicate through our website, so we must allow our members to submit contents on related topics to Making Money Online and make friendship with other helpful people.

• 10 days left for the Big Contest of Famous Bloggers

  Hesham

  18 Dec 2009 | 5:57 pm

  It’s not late to submit your best article to our $1200 worth contest,it’s basically a writing and popularity contest at the same time, means you write an aowsome article and submit it to the contest and then start to promote it to get votes and re-tweets! Who are the Sponsors: IBlogZone, Twitfever , DailyBlogTips, BlogEngage, ElagantThemes, My Life Thinking, Jena Isle’s Random Thoughts, Zebida World, Happy Making, Anne On Life, How to Make Money Online, StudioPress, Press75, Jaypee Online, Free PSP Wallpapers Who can participate? This contest is open for everybody who has the…

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  Popular islam Bookmarks on Delicious

• A nasty attempt to coerce Danish newspapers into apologizing for the cartoons of Muhammad. - By Christopher Hitchens - Slate Magazine

  samir.prakash

  8 Mar 2010 | 5:50 pm

• Slate Magazine - Yamani or Your Life

  collin.anderson

  8 Mar 2010 | 5:01 pm

• Weekend Interview with Mosab Hassan Yousef: 'They Need to Be Liberated From Their God' - WSJ.com

  Jozog

  7 Mar 2010 | 7:44 am

• Weekend Interview with Mosab Hassan Yousef: 'They Need to Be Liberated From Their God' - WSJ.com

  g6loq

  5 Mar 2010 | 4:41 pm

• 3. A web page that explains the Islamic teaching on what occurs after death and the appropriate way for burial of a Muslim

  bcemmedia

  14 Oct 2008 | 4:22 pm

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  Popular muslim Bookmarks on Delicious

• Jews leave Swedish city after sharp rise in anti-Semitic hate crimes - Telegraph

  12 Mar 2010 | 4:00 pm

• Boston Review — John R. Bowen: Nothing To Fear

  dolan_cummings

  30 Jan 2010 | 6:16 am

• Muslim inventions that shaped the modern world - CNN.com

  bubaker

  29 Jan 2010 | 2:30 pm

• I'mHalal

  lebnights

  31 Aug 2009 | 11:52 pm

• Islam Guide: Life After Death

  bcemmedia

  14 Oct 2008 | 4:22 pm

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  Muslim Torrents

• Bolestta na sarceto DvX

  Category: Lectures Size: 299.80 MB Status: 1 seeders and no leecher Added: 2010-03-08 22:28:40

• Meraj Rabbani - Achchhai Ki Taraf - Urdu Lecture

  Category: Lectures Size: 51.14 MB Status: no seeders and no leecher Added: 2010-03-08 19:52:24

• Meraj Rabbani - Aao Ramzan Ka Isteqbaal Karein - Urdu Lecture

  Category: Lectures Size: 57.67 MB Status: no seeders and no leecher Added: 2010-03-08 19:46:01

• Meraj Rabbani - Aqeedah Ehle Sunnah - Urdu Lecture

  Category: Lectures Size: 64.83 MB Status: no seeders and no leecher Added: 2010-03-08 19:43:26

• Meraj Rabbani - Auliya Allah - Urdu Lecture

  Category: Lectures Size: 143.74 MB Status: no seeders and no leecher Added: 2010-03-08 19:38:34

• 

  Spirit21

• “Love in a Headscarf” – announces Arabic edition

  shelina

  9 Mar 2010 | 2:37 am

  I’m extremely excited to announce that Arabic language rights for Love in a Headscarf were sold this weekend to Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing. They are a great outfit based in Qatar built as a venture between the awesome Qatar Foundation, and the fabulous Bloomsbury Publishing (of Harry Potter fame) in the UK. We’re in the process of working out the details, but it should be available in Arabic later this year, 2010. Now, our big challenge is working out a great Arabic version of the title – any ideas? P.S. I should add that I met the wonderful Nigel Newton, who is…

• Taking part in today’s Big Read world record attempt

  shelina

  4 Mar 2010 | 12:34 am

  This morning I’m off to take part in The Big Read, which is a world record attempt to get as many children reading with an adult as possible. It sounds like a lot of fun, and a great way to get children to realise that reading is enjoyable, and can be both a private and a shared experience. Here is the blurb from the press release about trying to get 3000 children involved:  Over 35 schools across London and from as far as Reading and Croydon will participate in this unique event, which seeks to highlight the importance of literacy, locally, nationally and internationally. The world…

• My name is Mohamed, Janmohamed

  shelina

  28 Feb 2010 | 4:20 pm

  I’ve just been featured on a BBC documentary called ‘My name is Muhammad’. For those of you in the UK, it will be on BBC iplayer for the next seven days. More from me on this tomorrow. Share on Facebook

• Spirit21 about to undergo upgrade…

  shelina

  25 Feb 2010 | 2:50 pm

  Dear readers Now that my blog has reached the grand old age of 4, it will be undergoing some upgrades over the next 24 – 48 hours. Come back to visit the new and improved spirit21 very shortly… Share on Facebook

• Echoes of a darker age for women – beware a new Jahiliyyah

  shelina

  23 Feb 2010 | 1:03 am

  This article was recently published in The National There are few concepts in the Muslim psyche that paint an image as vivid and forceful as the era of The Jahiliyyah, the Period of Great Ignorance, that preceded the advent of Islam. It is considered by Muslims to be a dark, ungodly, forsaken time when men and women believed in many deities, lived lives of tribal partisanship and warfare, showed immense racism, inflicted oppression on the poor and meted out gruesome treatment to women. Of the horrors of the Jahiliyyah that Islam eradicated, some of the most salient are about women. Women had…

• 

  islam « WordPress.com Tag Feed

• Understanding Islamic Revival In Its Proper Context

  yasserlatifhamdani

  13 Mar 2010 | 11:23 am

  By Yasser Latif Hamdani  My secular comrades and friends will probably disagree with me or maybe not

• AL- HAKIM- Ο Δικαστης

  xeniagreekmuslimah

  13 Mar 2010 | 11:18 am

  Read in English “Πες τους ω Μουχαμμεντ: Μηπως ζητησω αλλο Δικαστη εκτος απο τον ΑΛΛΑΧ; Ενω Αυτος ειναι που εστειλε σε εσας το Βιβλιο εξηγημενο, στις λεπτομερεις του”. Γνωριζουν πολυ καλα εκεινοι που τους δωσαμε το Βιβλιο οτι τουτο (το Κορανιο) εχει σταλει κατω απο τον Κυριο σου, με την αληθεια. να μην ριστε λοιπον απο τους…

• Older Women Face Death But The Young Are Blind

  clarita800

  13 Mar 2010 | 10:55 am

  I find this article, Afghan women dice with death to work, very interesting. It is talking about something that we’ve all heard before, Islāmic radicals who are trying to keep their strict moral beliefs intact through violence. Women like always are the first target. Majabeen Subhanzada, a middle-aged woman, who runs her own construction company and charity to help women become economically sufficient speaks about her experiences being threatened by Taliban and the death threats she’s received. The article makes a stark comparison between the young and old. Sunila Arzu, 16 ,…

• DOJ: CAIR's Unindicted Co-Conspirator Status Legit

  creeping

  13 Mar 2010 | 10:37 am

  Was there ever any doubt? via The Investigative Project on Terrorism. DOJ: CAIR’s Unindicted C

• Famous converts to Islam from America(USA) and the world

  falaque

  13 Mar 2010 | 10:35 am

  I was browsing through videos on youtube and came across some of the interesting video of famous converts to Islam. These are the people from United states and the world. Famous people who converted to Islam another one with title: Famous American Muslims – Dont be Shocked ! [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbOZcKhkfEA&feature=related] Interesting thing to notice is, they all are famous and very successful in there carrier. May Allah bless all of us.

• 

  walls come tumbling down

• Experts and Parliamentarians Together to Discuss Islamophobia

  wallscometumblingdown

  8 Mar 2010 | 6:23 am

  A report from the Muslim Council of Britain’s website about the closed Parliamentary meeting last week to discuss the establishment of an All Party Parliamentary Group on Islamophobia. Read the article below or by clicking here: ‘The formation of an All Party Parliamentary Group on Islamophobia would be a crucial step and one that would inspire [...]

• Towards an All Party Parliamentary Group on Islamophobia: expert witness transcript

  wallscometumblingdown

  5 Mar 2010 | 2:45 am

  On Wednesday 3rd March 2010, I was invited to give an ‘expert witness’ statement at a Parliamentary meeting to discuss the creation of an All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Islamophobia . APPGs include members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords from across all of the political parties who meet together [...]

• Islamaphobia, Islam and Education – BERA SIG Conference 4th March 2010

  wallscometumblingdown

  15 Feb 2010 | 3:30 am

  The British Educational Research Association’s conference, “Islamaphobia, Islam and Education” conference is taking place at the University of East London on the 4th March 2010. The flyer for the event can be downloaded here. As well as my own paper which will be entitled, “Islamophobia in an educational context” other papers will be presented by Arun [...]

• Telegraph Online: “The worrying rise of attacks fuelled by hatred”

  wallscometumblingdown

  12 Feb 2010 | 7:30 am

  New comment piece published today on the Telegraph Online’s ‘Comment’ section. To view the article, click here. The text of the piece is also reproduced below: The worrying rise of attacks fuelled by hatred Both anti-Semitic and Islamophobic incidents have risen recently as British society becomes more sharply divided, says Chris Allen. Published: 12:27PM GMT 12 Feb 2010 Last year [...]

• Support the Robin Hood Tax campaign

  wallscometumblingdown

  12 Feb 2010 | 6:22 am

  A good video starring Bill Nighy for an interesting campaign… more about “Robin Hood Tax“, posted with vodpod Tagged: bankers, banking, Bill Nighy, economy, Robin Hood Tax, society

• 

  Islamophobia Watch

• 'Pandering to Islam' – Express and Alan Craig attack NAMP

  Martin Sullivan

  13 Mar 2010 | 2:24 am

  Home Office chiefs were last night accused of pandering to Islam after it was revealed that they handed out a staggering 15 times more funding to a Muslim police support group than to its Christian equivalent. A furious backlash followed revelations that the Christian Police Assoc­iation received just £15,000 over the past five years while the National Association of Muslim Police was paid £90,000 in the past two years alone. The newly released figures revealed that the CPA received an average of £3,000 a year, while the NAMP received £45,000 a year, despite both…

• Dawn raids and draconian sentences for Muslim demonstrators

  Martin Sullivan

  13 Mar 2010 | 2:19 am

  Last year, during protests against the attack on Gaza, a mixed group of demonstrators clashed with police. But when the alleged culprits were arrested in dawn raids, nearly all those taken were young Muslims. Guardian, 13 March 2010

• Tory MP calls for veil to be banned in UK

  Martin Sullivan

  12 Mar 2010 | 12:25 am

  An MP has called for ministers to ban the wearing of burkas, branding it "offensive" and "against the British way of life". Philip Hollobone, Conservative MP for Kettering, told the Commons: "This is Britain. We are not a Muslim country. Covering your face in public is strange, and to many people both intimidating and offensive. I seriously think that a ban on wearing the burka in public should be considered." His call came in a debate on International Women's Day and follows previous comments by the MP that wearing a burka was like "going round with a paper bag over your head". Today, Mr…

• Review rejects ban on fascist teachers, says BNP and NF are 'legitimate organisations'

  Martin Sullivan

  12 Mar 2010 | 12:10 am

  Teachers in England should not be banned from membership of the British National Party or any group which may promote racism, a review has concluded. The government commissioned the report last September after a leaked list identified 15 BNP members as teachers. Review author Maurice Smith added his recommendation should be reviewed every year, which ministers have accepted. BNP leader Nick Griffin welcomed what he called a "common sense review" and said it was a great day for democracy. Mr Smith said: "I do not believe that barring teachers or other members of the wider school workforce from…

• Book launch in Birmingham

  Martin Sullivan

  11 Mar 2010 | 3:31 pm

  A new book with a radical approach to Christian engagement with Islam is being launched at the Queens Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education on Monday 15th March 2010 at 6pm. A Heart Broken Open – Radical Faith in an Age of Fear is the moving and insightful reflection by an Christian Minister of his grassroots engagement with Islam through relationships built from inner-city parish ministry in Leeds to the streets of Karbala, Iraq at a time of rising Islamophobia and the 'war on terror'. Read more here

• 

  Comments for Abdur Rahman's Corner

• Comment on The Space Between Heartbeats by Abdur Rahman

  Abdur Rahman

  13 Mar 2010 | 8:41 am

  Peace Emma Welcome to my online home. Thank you for your kind words. May God bless you always

• Comment on What is a Mountain? by Abdur Rahman

  Abdur Rahman

  13 Mar 2010 | 8:41 am

  Salams KQ Jazak Allah…I am glad you enjoyed it

• Comment on There is a Way Through by Abdur Rahman

  Abdur Rahman

  13 Mar 2010 | 8:40 am

  Peace Tess I am glad you found it comforting. It is very beautiful

• Comment on The Space Between Heartbeats by emma

  emma

  12 Mar 2010 | 1:50 am

  Very beautiful.

• Comment on What is a Mountain? by kids quran

  kids quran

  11 Mar 2010 | 12:34 pm

  mashallah loved the way you explained the poem

• 

  Indian Muslims

• Women’s Reservation Bill: Attempt To Stifle The Voice Of Muslims

  Guest Post

  13 Mar 2010 | 6:47 am

  By Navaid Hamid, Every new day has its own significance and if one goes into the history of human evolution, one finds that a good number of dates have left a mark on the history of civilisations. Some dates have dramatically changed the course of history while others have shamed humanity. If we scrutinise the ”9th of March” in the history of civilisations, we get the glimpse of its impact on human history. It was on 9th March 1496 when the Jews were expelled from Austria. State of Naples banned kissing in public with death for the offenders on this day. On this day in 1841, the US…

• Women’s Reservation Bill: What It Means For Muslim Representation?

  Guest Post

  10 Mar 2010 | 10:00 pm

  By Md. Mudassir Alam , March 9, 2010 is seen as a red letter in the history of democratic India as the long waited Women’s Reservation Bill (WRB) was passed in the Rajya Sabha by a majority of 186 to 1. Some see the bill as a rising sun for the women of country, while some say women got their right in the political set up. From here on the Women’s Reservation Bill will be presented in the Lok Sabha for approval. Most probably the bill will be passed in Lok Sabha and further tabled in 14 state assemblies. Finally the President of India will put stamps on Women’ Reservation Bill as the…

• Mohammad (PBUH) As Liberator

  Asghar Ali Engineer

  10 Mar 2010 | 1:17 am

  This month we celebrated the birth day of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). It is celebrated by Muslims with great devotion and reverence. But often it has been seen that devotees do not reflect on the message of the person whom they so venerate. It just becomes a tradition rather than occasion for deep reflection. Muslims also refer to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as Muhsin-e-Insaniyyat i.e. the benefactor of humanity but hardly care to know in what respect he became benefactor? In this limited space that I have at my disposal I would try to throw some light on revolutionary aspects of Muhammad’s…

• Pravin Mahajan And BJP’s Cupboard Of Skeletons

  Guest Post

  6 Mar 2010 | 8:43 pm

  By NM Sampathkumar Iyangar, Pravin Mahajan is no more. The younger brother of late Pramod Mahajan – top leader of Bhartiya Janta Party, known as its Chief Fixer – died on March 3 at Jupiter Hospital in Thane after a prolonged illness. He had been admitted there in mid December 2009 after suffering a stroke while on parole. That was eight months after he came out with a tell-all book titled My Album. Pravin’s book raised several shocking questions about his dead brother’s life and times. Pravin was serving life imprisonment and the book was written from the prison. A sessions court had…

• State And Liberal Ideas

  Guest Post

  5 Mar 2010 | 1:25 am

  By Irfan Engineer, Mobs on the streets of Shimoga and Hassan protesting against an article that appeared in Kannda Prabha allegedly written by Taslima Nasreen has once again kicked up a debate on freedom of expression and need to place some reasonable restrictions on that freedom. Taslima Nasreen has described the article Purdah hai Purdah to be distorted. She has in a statement clarified that she did not write any article for any Kannada daily. The article in Kannada Prabha carries statement that Prophet was against burqa and that she has called upon women to burn their burqas. Even if the…

• 

  Planet Grenada

• check both! / ¡chequea las dos!

  Abdul-Halim V.

  10 Mar 2010 | 5:49 pm

  CAMPAIGN TO INCREASE THE AFRO-LATIN@ COUNT ON THE 2010 CENSUS(New York, NY) In an effort to achieve an accurate count of Afro-Latinos in the United States Census, the nonprofit afrolatin@ forum has produced a series of public service announcements that call on Latinos of African descent to identify as both Hispanic and Black on the 2010 form. By proclaiming “Check Both!/¡Chequea las dos!” the bilingual spots highlight the importance for Latin@s of African descent to self-identify as such on the Census.The count has far-reaching implications, determining how $400 billion in federal funds…

• on joe (joseph) stack

  Abdul-Halim V.

  21 Feb 2010 | 12:21 pm

  The article Terrorism: The Most Meaningless and Manipulated Word by Glenn Greenwald takes a look at the Joseph Stack incident and uses it to underline some of the hypocrisy behind how the term "terrorist" is used today (to delegitimize Muslims).When I first read about Joseph Stack flying a plane into an Austin office building which housed the local IRS office I pretty much saw him as a Tea Party terrorist. After reading the Joseph Stack Manifesto I have to admit that he does have some left-wing elements to his "ideology" but on balance he seems more like an ordinary "Joe" who has had a series…

• more on tato laviera

  Abdul-Halim V.

  17 Feb 2010 | 6:54 pm

  It made me terribly sad to hear about Tato's condition and I'm passing this along in hopes that it does some good:Dear Colleagues,I write to you with some urgency. You may have heard about TatoLaviera’s condition. Recently, he had a brain operation to put a shuntin his brain. Since then, he has been asked to leave his currentresidence and is homeless. The attached New York Times articleexplains his condition. Please give whatever you can to help provideTato with an apartment.Send your contributions to:Jesus Lavierac/o Sanchez-Ramos225 E. 93rd St. Apt. 8 HNew York, NY…

• tato laviera

  Abdul-Halim V.

  17 Feb 2010 | 6:43 pm

  Poet Spans Two Worlds, but Has a Home in Neitherby DAVID GONZALEZFebruary 12, 2010His poems, in countless anthologies and five of his own collections, are considered part of the Latino literary canon. His plays and lectures have earned him honors etched in flowery superlatives on plaques. But Tato Laviera would rather possess a more prosaic document, written in legalese.A lease.Mr. Laviera has known his share of troubles in recent years, including diabetes, blindness and dialysis. But in December, life became infinitely more complicated when he underwent emergency brain surgery. Too unsteady…

• worst. company. ever.

  Abdul-Halim V.

  15 Feb 2010 | 6:07 am

  Just yesterday I thought I'd check out the online journal In These Times and instead got a Page Not Found error message from Comcast (I'm a subscriber). At first I started to wonder if In These Times had suddenly gone out of business but then I eventually realized that Comcast was deliberately blocking In These Times because because of the articles:Comcast Launches ‘TV Everywhere’: Say Goodbye to Free Web TV — In These Timesand also: Comcast: Worst. Company. Ever.It is a small reminder of the dangers of corporations and the limitations (and censorship) of corporate media. It makes me…

• 

  Borges Blogue

• Liberals: «A credible option for Québec»

  Borges

  26 Feb 2010 | 7:18 am

  The Liberals have gone on the offensive against the Bloc Québécois after a fire-storm has erupted in Québec over independence, sparked off by its founder's comments on the impossibility of sovereignty for Québec in the short to medium term. The Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff has called on the Québécois to take part in the governance of the federation, to make their influence felt in the country, by voting Liberal. These comments have been echoed by the Liberal chief for Québec, Jean-Marc Fournier.According to the Liberals, the Québécois share their views over various issues such as…

• Québécois put independence on the back burner

  Borges

  24 Feb 2010 | 11:03 am

  Nearly two thirds of Québécois agree that independence should not be on the order of the day, and is not a pressing concern when compared to economic recovery and other important issues. These sentiments echo former PQ Prime Minister Lucien Bouchard's pronouncements on the subject last week, where in a recent speech, he stated that Québec's priorities do not lie with sovereignty, but rather the state of the economy, social services, education, etc.The Parti Québécois has hit back saying that sovereignty is essential to the improvement of the Québécois society and economy, and that…

• Canada's aging population presents problems for future governments

  Borges

  19 Feb 2010 | 8:29 am

  Top economist throughout the Industrialised world have long given grave predictions regarding the future of counties' pension systems as the population ages and the birth-rate drops. Canada has now joined the ranks of those with severely negative predictions, with economists and demographers predicting that our healthy ratio of working people to those in retirement of 5:1, will drop to 2.5:1 over the next 25 years, raising questions as to how the system of pensions and social security for the elderly will be maintained.These questions arise as the Tory and Liberal policy to eliminate the new…

• Grits and Tories at parity in the polls

  Borges

  18 Feb 2010 | 7:31 am

  The Tories and Liberals are on parity according to the latest Harris-Decima poll, conducted last week, with Tories polling 32%, and Liberals 30%. If continued, this trend will almost certainly mean another minority government after the election, with the NDP and Bloc Québécois again holding the balance of power.Of course if the Liberals were to form the next minority government, one would think that they would be in quite a less stable position than the current Conservative government, as Tories are known to being less compromising, especially compared to the support that they have received…

• Differences of political culture: Why Ignatieff oppossed the coalition

  Borges

  17 Feb 2010 | 9:59 am

  In a new book by NDP campaign manager Brian Topp, titled «How we almost gave the Tories the boot» reveals in detail how the Liberals deliberately scuppered the chance to form an Opposition coalition with the aim of the Ignatieff grouping taking over the Liberal Party and calling elections later on in 2009.It must be noted that the majority of Canadians were opposed to this coalition, and didn't want yet another election, but it still raises the question as to why the Grits supported the federal budget in January 2009, stopping the idea of a coalition dead in its tracks. It clearly wasn't a…

• 

  Akram's Razor - Reflections on Islam, Muslims & America

• Jimmy Carter on misogyny and religion

  Svend

  9 Mar 2010 | 12:14 pm

  A snippet from a recent speech by Jimmy Carter on the place of women in contemporary religious life to the Parliament of the World's Religions:It is ironic that women are now welcomed into all major professions and other positions of authority, but are branded as inferior and deprived of the equal right to serve God in positions of religious leadership. The plight of abused women is made more acceptable by the mandated subservience of women by religious leaders.The truth is that male religious leaders have had – and still have – an option to interpret holy teachings either to exalt…

• A moment of silence at the passing of a great leader

  Svend

  20 Dec 2009 | 3:29 pm

  Don't have time to blog these days, but I have to note very sadly that Iran's most powerful voice for religious reform--and it's most illustrious contemporary religious scholar--Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri has returned to his maker. Inna lillahi wa innaa ilaihi rajioon. From Allah we come and to Him we return.In my view, the great man's passing is cause for mourning by Shia and Sunni alike, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, as for the last two decades he was truly a voice crying in the wilderness, speaking out eloquently qua a religious leader with impeccable scholarly and…

• Hamza Yusuf on the important work that needs to be done after Fort Hood

  Svend

  21 Nov 2009 | 6:00 pm

  So much to belatedly blog about (and mourn--almost as much that the killer survived as for those he murdered in cold blood--and rail against) and so little time to do so. Sigh...Anyway, here's some thoughtful and pragmatic post-Fort Hood advice to Muslim and non-Muslim alike from Sh. Hamza Yusuf.Muslims, critics have work to do, Islamic scholar says | courier-journal.com | The Courier-JournalShaykh Hamza Yusuf has strong medicine for American Muslims — and their critics.American Muslims “should really stop complaining,” start contributing more to society, get to know your neighbors…

• Jungle babble is anything but

  Svend

  7 Oct 2009 | 1:38 pm

  There's a fascinating article in The New York Times detailing the way some animals not only possess an animal-specific vocabulary for sounding the alarm about predators (e.g., one cry for a leopard; another for an eagle), and listen to each other's warnings (across species), but are able to filter out irrelevant alarms (e.g., a bird ignoring a monkey's shriek of "Leopard!", but taking note when it warns "Eagle!"). Olivia Jones/ The Wild Side - "Leopard Behind You!" (The New York Times, Oct 6, 2009) This isn’t a complicated vocabulary, with…

• Keep an eye out for armored cars in Jeddah this month

  Svend

  4 Oct 2009 | 10:38 pm

  I've mentioned my theory of Khaleeji Consumption Disorder before. This case takes the cake.There are filthy rich people around the globe who pour money into yachts, custom sports cars, alpine villas, tropical islands, gold plated bathroom fixtures, trips into space, and all manner of self-indulgent and eccentric luxuries, yet not even the kinkiest playboy tycoon ever had an idea so revoltingly wasteful and utterly gauche as this "historical benchmark for the adult novelty industry" dreamed up by some pathetic man in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. I want this freak's name published…

• 

  Bin Gregory Productions

• Datuk Haji Abdul Kadir Hassan

  bingregory

  8 Mar 2010 | 5:24 am

  By Abu Muhammad of Bahrus Shofah *** English Translation by Bin Gregory Productions *** Datuk Haji Abdul Kadir bin Hassan, may Allah have mercy on him, was born in Kampung Patingan (or Kampung No.... [More Inside...]

• Buah Macang Buah Kuini

  bingregory

  10 Dec 2009 | 8:20 pm

  Buah macang buah kuini, Masak sebiji dalam daun; Mengapa begini hatiku ini, Habis bulan berganti tahun. A pair of fruits, Machang and Kwini Each one ripening under its leaves Oh why does this poor... [More Inside...]

• Good News for Mixed Kids

  bingregory

  3 Dec 2009 | 8:18 pm

  Malaysia never stops changing. Controversial areas like race, religion, native privilege (bumiputera status), and national language are constantly in a state of flux. Most recently, when I... [More Inside...]

• Brass Crescent Awards

  bingregory

  28 Nov 2009 | 7:04 pm

  Eid Mubarak, Selamat Hari Raya Korban! The 6th Annual Brass Crescent Awards have been announced. Congratulations to all the winners. If you haven’t subscribed yet to Islam in China, Muslimah... [More Inside...]

• Fashion Week Malaysia

  bingregory

  22 Nov 2009 | 9:23 pm

  Photographs from the yearly Muslim Fashion Festival 2007, brought to you by AltMuslimah’s Photographic Campaign. [More Inside...]

• 

  Lantern Torch

• Ubuntu Java versions

  Tavis J. Hampton

  26 Feb 2010 | 8:19 pm

  Just a quick note. I discovered that the Ubuntu Jaunty (9.04) version of sun-java6 provided in one of their updates is a higher version than the base version provided in Karmic (9.10). This produces installation errors if you try to add any additional Java packages. The solution is to remove sun-java6 and its associated components and reinstall (You can also downgrade in Synaptic by using "force version" and selecting the Karmic version).

• Proper USB Portage

  Tavis J. Hampton

  6 Jan 2010 | 12:00 pm

  When will computer manufacturers finally get it right? For a serious computer user, four or even six USB ports is just not enough. In this day and age, I should not have to attach a HUB just so I can have all of my devices connected at once. Everyone is different, but let me give you an example of everything I need plugged in at once: 1. keyboard 2. mouse 3. graphics tablet 4. external hard drive 5. printer 6. game controller 1 7. game controller 2 Then, I need at least one free port for card readers and/or flash drives that I might attach. Is that really too much to ask? 8 to 10 ports on…

• KDE 4.4 and Tabbed Windows

  Tavis J. Hampton

  19 Dec 2009 | 9:57 pm

  KDE 4.4 Beta 1 has been released, and the talk of the town is the new “tabbed windows” feature. They completely slipped this one past me. I didn’t even know anyone was working on it. Anyway, it is exactly what the name implies: the ability to have multiple windows all tabbed in one window. You can even drag one window onto another window’s row of tabs. As a writer, I have long wished for tabbed word processing (outside of Google Docs), and now that will be possible with this KWin feature.

• Expressions Magazine Released

  Tavis J. Hampton

  9 Nov 2009 | 8:07 am

  Expressions Magazine, the official literary magazine of the Muslim Writers Society, has been released. Download it now in PDF format.

• The Year of the Linux Desktop Mobile Phone

  Tavis J. Hampton

  17 Sep 2009 | 10:05 am

  Since its creation, over fifteen years ago, free software and open source advocates have longed for the day when masses of people around the world would adopt GNU/Linux or Linux (depending on who you ask). There is little doubt that the past five years have seen tremendous strides in Linux desktop adoption. Some hardware vendors, such as Dell, now sell Linux desktop computers, although you have to page through their online catalog to find it, and their promotion of it seems spotty at best. The netbook craze has also seen the rise of several Linux offerings, but even the company that arguably…

• 

  From Clay

• News Flash, Literally

  fromclay

  17 Feb 2010 | 9:19 am

  I attended a town hall meeting here in Qatar, at Doha's Education City, in which Hillary Clinton took questions from an audience of mainly students and an Al-Jazeera moderator. The event started at 10 am and ended in an hour. After the event, many of us mingled for a bit to share our impressions. In about 20 minutes I was back in my office on the third floor of the same building. At my desk, I checked my email and then surfed to the New York Times, and, behold, it had a front page article about the town hall event I had just attended. The Associated Press around the same time shot around the…

• Covering Bombs, Heat, and other articles

  fromclay

  28 Dec 2009 | 3:30 am

  While we wax nostalgic for the good ole days when Nigerians dealt with spam and not bombs, I thought to pass along to you links to important articles that have appeared in the last few days. One of them is by Glenn Greenwald in Salon about the press coverage of airstrikes in (where else?) Afghanistan and Pakistan. He says,Each time the U.S. bombs a new location in the Muslim world, the same pattern emerges.  First, officials from the U.S. or allied governments run to their favorite media outlet to claim -- anonymously -- that some big, bad, notorious, "top" Al Qaeda leader "may have…

• "Usury" in Discussion

  fromclay

  14 Dec 2009 | 3:42 am

  I normally stop reading a blog post when it begins like, "It's been a while since I last posted." So I won't do it. Now to the point, I've always felt that we need to stop sounding all religious-like when we want to make a point about ethical or moral issues. Any discussion worth its sodium should really stand on the merits of its clear appeal. There's wisdom in the fact that we have to listen to a sermon only one day a week, and surely there's wisdom in having praise attached to a sermon's brevity. Well, if you're wondering, "usury" has been making a come back. I don't mean banks and credit…

• Doha Tribeca Film Festival

  fromclay

  3 Nov 2009 | 5:58 am

  The film festival came and went. For many of my friends and colleagues, it was a big deal, which I truly understand and respect. They teach film and film making, so they're happy that something like Tribeca would come here. I thought months ago that I should see a few of the flicks and perhaps run into Bob (that's Robert De Niro to the rest of you). But when it finally came, I couldn't find the enthusiasm to fight the traffic, ignore the pretense that often accompanies these things, and watch premiers of blockbusters and independents alike. In fact, I couldn't even reference the enthusiasm I…

• Woodstock, Group Think, and Neil Young

  fromclay

  21 Oct 2009 | 7:29 am

  Within 48 hours, “Woodstock” (the original) came up twice in conversations with two colleagues and friends, one here in Doha and one in Santa Barbara. They both were at Woodstock. I was alive when it happened but too young to do anything about it, and “getting high” still meant to me something that kites and clouds do. I make no secret about it, the music of that era moves me. The lyrics were raw (sometimes raunchy) and honest. They were bold and resistant to group think.    Neil Young (of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young) a couple of years ago was on the "Charlie Rose…

• 

  Ginny's Thoughts & Things

• You’re Not My Kind of Girl

  Ginny

  11 Mar 2010 | 4:02 am

  Had this song in my head this morning… Part of the chorus goes “you’re the kind of girl that a man’s dreams are made of”./”you’re the kind of girl that a man would be proud to call his own”, etc., but she’s just not “his”, i.e., the singer’s, kind of girl. So hmmm, if she’s so pretty, perfect, etc., then why isn’t she his kinda girl, and what is his kinda girl? Maybe looks don’t matter to him? Maybe she’s a vegetarian? Who knows… But I’m sure being told how fine/pretty you are, yet at…

• Now This Is More Like It!

  Ginny

  11 Mar 2010 | 3:56 am

  Current temperature, per my desktop weather program, is 65 degrees. I’ve been able to open up the windows which, strangely, is something that I’ve not been able to do too much this winter. And while we’re supposed to get some rain today and tomorrow, the forecast isn’t calling for it to get really cold like it has been. Yay! I was able to take Chloe out this morning and not wince every time I heard/felt a gust of wind coming my way. We were able to turn on the ceiling fans in the house and it felt good to get the air circulating. And getting rain, as we’ve been…

• Learning Arabic Braille to Read the Qur’an, Is It Necessary?

  Ginny

  10 Mar 2010 | 11:40 am

  Assalamu alaikum, this is, in a way, an offshoot of Yursil’s (and others) discussion regarding “suburban capitalist Islam”, though really, the discussion in some ways has kind of outstripped that label I think. And I’d wanted to comment on this when I first saw the comment, but the post is now gone and the comments were disabled at the time that I saw it so I wasn’t able to respond at the time. However, there were some issues that I wanted to touch on and some questions that I have, regarding how knowledge was traditionally gained and how this would affect blind…

• Yep, More old school…

  Ginny

  9 Mar 2010 | 6:16 pm

  Filed under: Music Tagged: Music, Old School, Videos, YouTube

• Huh? or “Islamic Center of Akon” / More Search Term Fun

  Ginny

  9 Mar 2010 | 5:43 pm

  Yep, more search term fun, first because I thought of it, and second because I actually have something that gave me a chuckle. First… before allah drop thee benie sigeal 1 Huh? Sounds like the name of an awful horror movie or something. islamic center of akon Wow, does one even exist? And if so, what kinda masjid is it? A “sufi”, “Salafi”, “progressive”, “Liberal”, etc. one? Hmmm… akon doesn’t drink 1 Still getting the Akon hits it seems. Ugh… I knew I shouldn’t have went on those rants a while back, hmmm, how long…

• 

  Inspirations and Creative Thoughts

• sharing of spiritual dreams | the Beloved's ways are beyond this heart

  Sadiq Alam

  11 Mar 2010 | 10:55 am

  1. Introduction to A New Series on Dreams Welcome to a new series on Dreams at Inspirations and Creative Thoughts. We are very much blessed that among those who are drawn near here, many of them are gifted with powerful spiritual visions and dreams. In this segment we will be sharing some of these original dreams with exclusive permission from the dreamers and where appropriate by preserving

• Lalon Song by Farida Parveen | Allah Ke Bojhe Tomar Opar Leele?!

  Sadiq Alam

  9 Mar 2010 | 12:23 pm

  Ke bojhe tomar opar leele? Allah! ke bojhe tomar opar leele?Tumi Aapni Allah, dako 'Allah' bole! Who can comprehend Your endless play!Allah! who can comprehend Your endless play?!From Your Lord-Self You cry out 'Allah' - Your Name Supreme! Nurer kare tumi NuriChile dimbo avatar e. You are 'Light upon Light',Without ceasing inevery incarnation. Shakare srijon korle tri-bhubanEshe akare chomotkar

• The Sufi Garden | Place of Many Meanings

  Sadiq Alam

  8 Mar 2010 | 12:03 pm

  1. Come to the garden in spring. There is light and wine And sweethearts In the pomegranate blossoms. If you do not come, These do not matter. If you do come, These do not matter. - Mevlana Rumi,  Coleman Barks (Recitation via Youtube) 2. For the Sufi the garden had many meanings. It was a place of repose, a centrally located space which allowed one to enter any number of buildings, a place

• Love for Fully Awakened Human Being

  Sadiq Alam

  5 Mar 2010 | 11:12 am

  1. Be a beauteous blossom of love. - Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti For every fully awakened master (human being who have mastered over his or her own selfhood) of every age, those who gathered around that luminous figure, there has been a common denominator. And that commonality being 'single pointed love' for that human being. We observe in every age, even in our time if we looked at the right

• The Gaze of Love is Something Else

  Sadiq Alam

  28 Feb 2010 | 12:16 pm

  1. Irshaad Hussain's resourceful website Islam from Inside recently published an inspiring talk by Professor William Chittick, one of the most prominent scholar of Islamic Mysticism of our time, may God accept his beautiful service. Delivered at the Carleton University, this fascinating talk explores the theme of "The Role of Love in the Qur'anic Worldview" and trust me, its one of the best 

• 

  islamicate

• Political Correctness Gone Mad

  islamoyankee

  12 Mar 2010 | 10:01 am

  Perhaps the recent terrorist outrage in the skies will bring the delusional opponents of group profiling to their senses. But I fear not. It should be a cut and dried case. A member of a group that is notoriously associated with terrorist violence and fundamentalist political beliefs tries to set off a bomb in a plane and only fails because of sheer luck. The nabobs of political correctness will try to convince us yet again that there are many strains of thought among these people, that most of them are non-violent, that compulsory cavity searches will alienate them and so on, and on, and on.

• ACLU challenges Obama to deliver on promised change

  islamoyankee

  12 Mar 2010 | 7:28 am

  nyt_ad_3 Originally uploaded by aclu. via Talk Islam

• Important piece about Syed Fahad Hashmi

  islamoyankee

  12 Mar 2010 | 5:56 am

  Important piece about Syed Fahad Hashmi by Chris Hedges: Syed Fahad Hashmi can tell you about the dark heart of America. He knows that our First Amendment rights have become a joke, that habeas corpus no longer exists and that we torture, not only in black sites such as those at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan or at Guantánamo Bay, but also at the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Lower Manhattan. Hashmi is a U.S. citizen of Muslim descent imprisoned on two counts of providing and conspiring to provide material support and two counts of making and conspiring to make a…

• Law and Cultural Purity

  islamoyankee

  12 Mar 2010 | 5:55 am

  Not all fundamentalism is about violence. Sometimes it's about using the law. Unfortunately, some of our elected representatives are aiming to use the law to define what it means to be "American" by excluding Muslims. They seek to turn back the clock on American inclusion, forgetting that when you can exclude one group, you can exclude any group. We must accept that we live in a global village. Without that basic premise, we miss many of the political patterns emerging both in the US and around the world. We can react to the "new" in two ways: embrace it or push it away. While the first is…

• One Chicago | Link TV

  islamoyankee

  10 Mar 2010 | 7:00 pm

  By harnessing the power of our nation’s diversity, One Chicago, One Nation unites people of all cultures, faiths, and social backgrounds to build communities for the common good through: digital storytelling, community conversations, leadership development and innovative philanthropy. SHAREThe One Chicago, One Nation Online Film Contest is open to individuals throughout the country to share their personal stories, based in or about Chicago, that demonstrate the importance of people of different backgrounds working together for the common good. EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORYJewish and…

• 

  Jamerican Muslimah's Veranda

• Sad, Happy

  Boss Lady

  3 Mar 2010 | 5:40 pm

  Last month I attended the sentencing for the girl who killed my ex-husband. In my opinion she didn’t get very much time- 4 years and 8 months (on Criminal Vehicular Homicide). Once she serves 1/3 of her sentence she will be eligible for supervised release (parole.) Even if she received a life sentence it wouldn’t change the reality- Moussa is dead, his family is grieving and this woman was negligent. When it was her time to say something she shrugged her shoulders and said “I’m sorry, that’s all.” I couldn’t believe it! You killed someone while…

• 10 things I didn’t do or think about before I was Muslim

  Boss Lady

  25 Feb 2010 | 10:31 am

  1) Strive to be G-d-conscious. Honestly, before I was Muslim I didn’t really think about God. I just lived life and never looked back. I couldn’t imagine a world where G-d was the central focus of life. Now the thought of living a life that isn’t G-d-centered sounds crazy. 2) Volunteer. Before I became Muslim I didn’t volunteer for any organization or any person. Volunteering sounded strange and unfamiliar to me. In my view, people who volunteered were either old (retired) or wealthy. Furthermore, I didn’t come from a community that valued “working for free” (which is how most…

• My Covenant with Allah

  Boss Lady

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:27 pm

  O Prophet! When the believing women come to you to take the oath of allegiance, take their pledge; that they will not commit shirk with Allah, that they will not steal, that they will not commit fornication, that they will not kill their children, that they will not give any cause for scandal which they may invent between either their hands or legs (a woman accusing another woman of an illicit relationship with a man and spreads such stories – or – a woman carrying an illegitimate child and makes her husband believe that it is his), and that they will not disobey you in any just…

• Okay ladies, I have changed my mind (again)

  Boss Lady

  21 Jan 2010 | 6:54 pm

  So, that thing about not wanting to have kids…well, it’s gone. I want to have a baby. More specifically a little girl (if Allah so wills). I want a sweet, cute, little [chocolate] dark brown girl. A child prodigy. What has changed? I don’t know. Allah has put it in my heart. Also, the love a good man can change many things. Yes, indeed… Posted in Self-Development

• 10 Things I learned this past year

  Boss Lady

  8 Jan 2010 | 7:30 pm

  This past year has been a blessing in more ways than one. Allah (s.w.t.) has put in a position where I have not only been able to have certain experiences but I have been able to observe the experiences of others and learn from them. As we enter into a new year, I am excited to see what else Allah has in store for me, insha’allah. Here is a list of 10 things I learned last year (in no particular order): 1) Watch the friends you keep. My grandmother always said this to me. It was drilled in me since I was a child. Yet, I have found myself in a position where I’ve had to question the…

• 

  Muslim Thought

• Prophet Muhammad part 1 (English)

  admin

  13 Mar 2010 | 4:54 am

  Muhammed, (ca. 570 Mecca — June 8, 632 Medina),[6] is the central human figure of the religion of Islam and is regarded by Muslims as the messe......click here to continue reading Related posts:Prophet Muhammad Cartoon Movie Part 5Prophet Muhammad Cartoon Movie Part 7Prophet Muhammad Cartoon Movie Part 2

• Imran N. Hosein - Tasawwuf (Islamic Spirituality) 7/8

  admin

  12 Mar 2010 | 8:47 pm

  Imran Nazar Hosein is a leading International Islamic Philosopher, Scholar and author, specialising in world politics, economy, eschatology , modern ......click here to continue reading Related posts:Imran N. Hosein - Tasawwuf (Islamic Spirituality) 1/8Imran N. Hosein - Tasawwuf (Islamic Spirituality) 6/8Joining a Muslim Chatroom in an Islamic Chat Site

• The Mahdi - Signs of The Day of Judgment (Part 2)

  admin

  12 Mar 2010 | 3:19 am

  This series of lectures by Sheikh Yasir Qadhi is being uploaded to youtube to help dispel many of the false allegations about the Islamic belief in t......click here to continue reading Related posts:The Mahdi - Sources of our Beliefs (Part 1)The Mahdi - Between Fact and Fiction (Part 1)The Mahdi - Between Fact and Fiction (Part 2)

• Islam and Muslims in Modern Society

  admin

  11 Mar 2010 | 7:54 pm

  Islam has been reported as being a very ancient or behind the times religion. Muslims who follow the faith of Islam feel very differently. Isla......click here to continue reading Related posts:Islam 101- What Do Muslims Believe?Modern Islamic Political ThoughtMuslim Legal Thought in Modern Indonesia

• The Acceptance of an Alternative Literary Text for the Teaching of Imagery

  admin

  11 Mar 2010 | 3:49 pm

  INTRODUCTION Quranic images of Heaven and Hell are appropriate vehicles for teaching imagery to students because these images are ......click here to continue reading Related posts:Islam’s Acceptance of Judaism and ChristianityAn Introduction to Literary Quranic StylisticsIslamic Thought in the Middle Ages: Studies in Text, Transmission and Translation, in Honour of Hans Daiber

• 

  MR's Blog

• Abu Amir – Inna Lillahi wa Inna Ilayhi Rajioon

  MR

  27 Feb 2010 | 10:58 pm

  Bismillah Alhamdulillah.  All praise is due to Allah.  There is nothing worthy of worship except Allah and Muhammad is his messenger. My father passed away on Saturday, February 27, 2010 at around 9:10 PM. InshaAllah the janazah will be at Masjid Darul Quran in Bayshore, New York on Monday, March 1 at 10 AM. There will be a gathering with relatives and friends at Masjid Darul Quran Sunday, Ferbruary 28, 2010 after Salat-ul-Maghrib. Address of the masjid: 1514 East 3rd Avenue, Bay Shore, NY‎ Related posts:The Last Ottoman (Could have been a Khalifah) Dies: Ertugrul Osman, grandson of…

• Not quite done yet…

  MR

  25 Jan 2010 | 8:44 am

  Click here to view the embedded video. Not here but here. Related posts:The Immigration Debate Syndication Updates and Get MR Posts in your E-Mail! Video Blogging at Pearls of the Quran with Al-Madina Institute

• The End – Mujahideen Ryder’s Blog (2000 to 2009) [UPDATED]

  MR

  31 Dec 2009 | 9:37 am

  It’s been a long time with lots of fun, educational, spiritual, controversial and outrageous posts over an entire decade. The blog was bound to come to an end as do everything. I ask Allah to forgive me for anything wrong I have said. I ask anyone who may have been hurt by my blog to forgive me. Anything good that I have written is from Allah. Anything bad is from myself and the whispers of the shaytan. May Allah take away any suffering from any Muslim. May Allah remove the injustice around the world. May Allah bring peace to war infested lands. May Allah forgive all the wrong doers.

• My father’s favorite ayat or the ones most often repeated to me

  MR

  29 Dec 2009 | 10:30 pm

  My father loved to repeat the following ayat to me almost every week or month. I’d thought I’d share them. Basically these ayat were his answer to almost anything happening to Islam, Muslims or the world in the news or in the masjid or in the family. Looking at the ayat now I can see how it gives the simple answer to almost any problem. “And hold firmly to the rope of Allah (His covenant and the Qur’an) all together and do not become divided.”Quran 3:103 “And indeed this, your nation, is one nation (in having a unified collective way of life and course of…

• FOX News guest forgot about 9/11

  MR

  29 Dec 2009 | 8:22 am

  Click here to view the embedded video. Dana Perino said: ‘We Did Not Have a Terrorist Attack on Our Country During President Bush’s Term’ LOL Of course we didn’t because 9/11 was an inside job organized by the CIA and Mossad to bring America into two unnecessary wars in order to crush the economy so all the wall street executives can get free money from the government to help them “bail out” without repaying it back. Related posts:Montel Williams keeps it real on FOX News! NBC News > FOX News FOX News on Zaytuna College

• 

  Sol Power Network

• Earth Apprecation Month in the Oasis

  C'BS ALife Allah

  12 Mar 2010 | 9:35 am

  All of March is Earth Appreciation month throughout the Nation. Here is just one stop during this month in the Oasis (Queens, NYC).Earth Appreciation

• 5% Language

  C'BS ALife Allah

  28 Feb 2010 | 10:29 am

• Go Support the God A-Sun!

  C'BS ALife Allah

  29 Jan 2010 | 11:02 am

  The God ASun Truth's business Twiketer has been featured on Killerstartups today.  Please go and show the God support by casting your vote.

• Two Horizons Press

  C'BS ALife Allah

  27 Jan 2010 | 10:05 am

  This is the other publishing endeavor that I am involved with, Two Horizons Press.  Two Horizons Press is an international publishing company focused on providing quality educational literature to groups traditionally neglected by other publishers. Two Horizons publishes children’s literature, handbooks for parents and educators, and reprints of classic works in history, philosophy and educational pedagogy. Our mission is to provide disadvantaged groups with books that are practical, informative, empowering, and sensitive to the specific needs of the communities they address. …

• Supreme Design Publishing

  C'BS ALife Allah

  26 Jan 2010 | 10:47 am

  As many of you know one of the businesses that I am involved with is Supreme Design Publishing.To find out more about it just go straight to the site. Don't be shocked at me promoting some of our good books through the blog. Also check out the whole Supreme Design Publishing world also by checking out the Supreme Design Publishing Blog and also the Supreme Design Publishing Podcasts. Also you can follow us on Twitter.

• 

  Margari Aziza

• Don’t Sleep

  Margari Aziza Hill

  1 Mar 2010 | 7:52 pm

  Sometimes I hear news that reminds me of the passing of an era and the fragility of our existence. The most recent natural disasters, the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, are obvious examples. But there are also personal reminders. The toddlers I used to carry on my hip are now in college and having their own children. My students pretty much consider the Space Shuttle Columbia, the first Gulf War, Glasnost, Reagan, and the Rwandan genocide ancient history. And stars that I danced and sang to as a little girl are passing away. Today was a chilling reminder for me, Guru is in a coma following a…

• Crockpot and Memories

  Margari Aziza Hill

  28 Feb 2010 | 7:32 pm

  My mother was an excellent cook and we almost always had home cooked meals. I grew up in a multi-cultural home ( a very interesting mix and sometimes clash of culture of Black American, West Indian, and White). We were used to sharing food with our neighbors and friends, living in Filipino immigrant and predominantly Mexican neighborhoods. My mother made soul food, West Indian food, and classic American dishes. Even now, she can throw together Vietnamese soup or Pansit (a Filipino noodle dish). As a little girl I remember the wide array of dishes, from fried or baked chicken, chicken…

• Lapses and Scourges

  Margari Aziza Hill

  25 Feb 2010 | 6:22 pm

  I’m not able to make a comment on a blog where I offended the blog owner. As a Muslim, I think it is important to apologize to your brothers and sisters if you say something that is harmful. I have offended my both Yursil and Aaminah on her blog post, Response to Some Responses to Yursil’s Series of Posts. Yursil’s original post can be found on his blog with the first in the series titled, Surburban Capitalist Islam-List of Beliefs. I did not comment on Yursil’s blog because I had little problem with his critique of various institutions and practices. But I did discuss…

• What do we ever do that’s right?

  Margari Aziza Hill

  22 Feb 2010 | 4:16 pm

  Your striving for what has already been guaranteed to you, and your remissness in what is demanded of you, are signs of the blurring of your intellect. Ibn Ata Allah, Kitab al-Hikam Being the consumate pessimist, I know all about the ways worrying and brooding can bring someone down. My first memories were shrouded in a profound sense of loss with the passing of several close family members months of each other. In the years following, I, like many other sensitive children, had learned to live with sadness and isolation. I was hard on myself and my family always had high expectations for me.

• “We Are the World 2010″ Takes on New Meaning…

  Margari Aziza Hill

  14 Feb 2010 | 7:12 pm

  …for me as it provides clear evidence demonstrating the demise of American Music. Video Gaga’s blog entry, “We are the world remake takes on new meaning,” left me quite shaken. The article states: Lionel Richie was rightfully hesitant to rerecord “We Are the World,” the 1985 global anthem he wrote alongside Michael Jackson to fight famine in Africa. More than 40 artists under the umbrella USA for Africa joined to record the tribute that raised more than $60 million. Richie felt the song was iconic and should not be revisited, With the state of music today,…

• 

  kameelahwrites

• 26/2010: march reflection.

  kameelah

  6 Mar 2010 | 10:29 pm

  i have been absent from this space for a while. in the past few months, word have not come very easily. photographs are much easier to produce and seem to better articulate my moods. it is quite difficult to write. i feel like i do not have the words to craft coherent sentences. i am always tired. all i can say at this point is that things are changing. it's a disorienting feeling. i want to be still and present, but it has become increasingly difficult. i am distant these days. i need to make a lot of decisions in the coming weeks and i am not sure what i am doing. inshaAllah, whatever i…

• 25/2010: air.

  kameelah

  6 Mar 2010 | 10:20 pm

  i love everything about this photo.

• 24/2010: 35mm.

  kameelah

  6 Mar 2010 | 10:16 pm

  (62) 365/2010: getting tacos.(53) 365/2010: 'do you feel like a remnant/of something that's past/ do you find things are moving/ just a little too fast'*(53a)

• 23/2010: i am here (with photos).

  kameelah

  5 Mar 2010 | 5:53 pm

  (52) 365/2010: forward.(51) 365/2010: lonely rotations.(50) 365/2010: burnt orange morning.(49) 365/2010:'i've been here before, dreaming myself/backwards, among grappling hooks of light.../hunger quivers on a fleshy string/at the crossroad.so deep in the lore,/ there's only tomorrow today where darkness/ splinters & wounds the bird of paradise...'* (* yusef komunyakaa's poem 'confluence' from his 'thieves of paradise' collection)(49c) 365/2010: POWER [lines](49b) 365/2010.(49a) 365/2010.

• 22/2010: competition.

  kameelah

  19 Feb 2010 | 9:43 am

  re: competition between artists.i think certain degrees of competition are natural because it pushes you to improve. however, i find competition between artists trite and counterproductive. i think art of any medium is about making your spirit visible and making yourself vulnerable. i am not sure why people think it is possible to compare spirits and create hierarchies of vulnerability. my work is just as much for me as it is for others. and in most cases, when we compare our work to others, we are comparing output (what we see), rather than looking at the input (what cannot always be…

• 

  MyAdhan Blog

• New Countries: Russia, Norway and Burkina Faso

  Blog Sheikh

  22 Feb 2010 | 10:32 pm

  We’ve had requests from three new countries since December 2009. Russia, Norway and Burkina Faso are now added to our list of 56 countries that have used our services. Thank you for your wonderful support! Here is the most recent Google Map.  

• Happy New Year 1431/2010 + Google Map Update

  Blog Sheikh

  22 Dec 2009 | 10:53 am

  Happy New Year (1431/2010)! We wish you all the best for the new year and hope that we can continue to provide more innovative services. May Allah bless you and your families. As an update we’ve had requests from 53 countries since Ramadhan 1430/2009. That’s 15 new countries since Ramadhan 1430/2009, which include: Egypt Syria Australia Sweden Sri Lanka Lebanon Turkey Italy New Zealand  

• Hajj and Eid Mubarak

  Blog Sheikh

  27 Nov 2009 | 1:34 pm

  Hajj Mubarak to all who have completed their Hajj and a big Eid Mubarak for Eid al-Adha to all Muslims. MyAdhan hopes Muslims can gain the wonderful blessings of this day. MyAdhan would also like to thank its partners, subscribers and users for their continued support. Look out for updates to our site in the new year!

• Eid Mubarak from MyAdhan.com

  Blog Sheikh

  20 Sep 2009 | 1:51 am

  Eid Mubarak from everyone at MyAdhan.com! This Ramadhan has been extremely important for us in the fact that we’ve moved from being a paid service to being a free service. Not only that we’ve also opened our service up to over 440+ mobile operators worldwide. Exciting stuff. In the next few weeks we are going to start adjusting our services to include a deeper and wider range of content along with other tweaks and and changes. We’ll keep you posted on our progress with regular updates. Have a great Eid and may Allah bless you and your families.

• Google Map of countries who have used MyAdhan.com services

  Blog Sheikh

  12 Sep 2009 | 3:30 am

  As promised here is a Google Map of countries that have used our services since the beginning of Ramadhan. In total we’ve had requests from 38 countries!  

• 

  Laila Lalami

• Reading at Book Soup

  Laila Lalami

  7 Mar 2010 | 3:00 am

  I’m back in Los Angeles for a reading at Book Soup. This will be one of only two events that I will be doing in L.A. to promote the paperback launch of Secret Son. Here are the details: Monday, March 8 7:00 PM Reading and Signing Book Soup 8818 Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood California If you’re around, stop by and say hello.

• Reading in Georgia

  Laila Lalami

  1 Mar 2010 | 2:00 am

  I’ve been to Georgia only once before, for a conference when I was in graduate school. I do remember, however, that I kept getting lost in Atlanta because nearly every street was named “Peach.” Peachtree Road. Peachtree Street. New Peachtree Road. Old Peachtree Street. You get the picture. I never got to see anything outside Atlanta, so I am looking forward to being back in the state this week for readings at North Georgia College and Georgia Southern University. Here are the details: March 1, 2010 8:00 PM Reading and Signing North Georgia College and State University…

• On The Road

  Laila Lalami

  25 Feb 2010 | 6:03 pm

  I am back in Los Angeles, but only briefly, as I have to be on the road again next week. You can listen to my appearance on BBC Radio 4 here. And my interview with Mark Coles on BBC’s The Strand has been archived here.

• In London

  Laila Lalami

  18 Feb 2010 | 9:14 am

  Greetings from London, where it’s really chucking it down at the moment. (”Chucking it down” is one of those wonderful Britishisms I’ve been picking up since I got here; it means “raining heavily.”) The event at the University of East Anglia on Tuesday night was a smashing success, with great turnout and wonderful questions from the audience. I had a great time. Then yesterday and today, I did a whole bunch of interviews, including one with the BBC’s Mark Coles for The Strand, which should be archived here. I will also be on Radio 4 on Saturday, so…

• Reading in the U.K.

  Laila Lalami

  14 Feb 2010 | 11:00 pm

  I’m in London this week for the launch of the U.K. edition of my book, Secret Son. I will be doing some interviews (details to come soon) and I will also be reading at the University of East Anglia, as part of their literary festival. Here are the details for the reading: 7:00 PM Reading and Discussion Lecture Theatre 1 University of East Anglia Norwich, England I don’t know if any readers of the blog are in the area, but it would be lovely to meet you if you are. I will try to post the interviews if/when they go online.

• 

  Soliloquies of A Stranger

• It Wasn’t Me!!!!!

  ummadam

  6 Mar 2010 | 11:50 am

  A sister contacted me and asked if she could talk to me via google talk. I downloaded it and she called me but in the chat box it had chats from me that I did not send. Shortly after, a man came on and told me that he that he knew my husband and for me not to contact him again under any circumstances…he ended the chat with ‘astaufirallah’. When I looked at the chat box it showed that I had been FLIRTING with him!!!! It had me saying that I was a 23 year old female from India and asking him…asl? If you get anything out of the ordinary from me…and if you do not…

• Poor Man’s Bidet

  ummadam

  23 Feb 2010 | 10:30 am

  I must have  lost my mind when I first saw this monstrosity. I’m use to a proper bidet [said with a fake British accent] My kids were afraid at first, because it looks like it could cause some serious damage if you know what I mean. However, turns out this thing works wonders – masha’Allah!

• Interesting Clash of Culture Burger King Promo That Gave Me More Food For Thought Than I Bargained For

  ummadam

  23 Feb 2010 | 9:38 am

  Disclaimer: Lying is haram. whether the one who does it is joking or is serious. Lying in jest is haram. just like other kinds of lies. It was narrated that Ibn ‘Umar said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘I joke, but I speak nothing but the truth.’” (narrated by al-Tabarani in al-Mu’jam al-Kabeer, 12/391) You can thank Sarah Palin for the geographical blooper. As far as living in a tent….I’m even asked this question! This was my favorite! I thought the guys played along great with this and the brunette had me rofl with her…

• Saf Thani Al Ibtida’e Dars Qirah (2nd Grade Primary School Reading Lesson)

  ummadam

  23 Feb 2010 | 7:31 am

  This is my daughter doing her reading homework. I love it! It wasn’t even in her religion class, it is in the reading class. I actually had this same book, because I went to night school and completed 1st and 2nd grade…lol As Muslims, our faith is not complete, and our worship is not sufficient, until we have built the strong bonds of brotherhood amongst ourselves. This fact is frequently forgotten by many Muslims, and these bonds are broken over minor disputes and arguments. This 2nd grade lesson in the Saudi school curriculum discusses the importance of brotherhood in Islam,…

• Ana Arif! Fahemt! Maloom! ROFL!

  ummadam

  18 Feb 2010 | 9:37 am

  I  just received the following message from a Saudi friend, When I first opened the email, I was like, ‘ O no it’s inArabic!   ‘.  Once  I read it I fell out laughing.  She simple wrote English in Arabic. I understood everything accept for the last word.  Any idea?  Here’s what I understood… You are welcome. Insha’Allah we can meet you and your children at Tara House soon (if possible?)

• 

  The Front Line

• We Will Not Go Down - Michael Heart

  Muhammad

  22 Feb 2010 | 1:36 pm

  This song continues to inspire me... Michael Heart's "We Will Not Go Down" www.michaelheart.com ------------------------------ The Front Line. The Thin Line Between Entertainment and War.

• How Israeli's are 'Helping' Iran

  Muhammad

  18 Jun 2009 | 10:38 am

  Everyone knows that Israel is most definitely NOT a friend of Iran in any way or form.  Given the current circumstances in the country and the media coverage around Iran and Election, in our information age, it goes without say that there would be spin from either side regarding the coverage.Case in point, from a social media perspective, is the website helpiranelection.com On the website it shows the man behind it all to be "Arik Fraimovich, friendly web-geek."and.. here's the guy's personal website...Notice... Israeli Military Consultant... You can't tell me this doesn't tarnish the…

• It's Amazing What Israel gets away with

  Muhammad

  19 Mar 2009 | 3:52 am

  Question: Which country alone in the Middle East has nuclear weapons?Answer: Israel. Q: Which country in the Middle-East refuses to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and bars international inspections?Answer: Israel.Q: Which country in the Middle-East seized the sovereign territory of other nations by military force and continues to occupy it in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions?Answer: Israel.Q: Which country in the Middle-East routinely violates the international borders of another sovereign state with warplanes and artillery and naval gunfire?Answer: Israel.Q:…

• Bush's Parting Gift to Israel

  Muhammad

  21 Dec 2008 | 3:05 pm

  Almost unnoticed, Israel and the White House signed a deal over the summer to station an early-warning missile radar system, staffed with US military personnel, in Israel’s Negev desert. The media here described the Joint Tactical Ground Station, which brings Israel under the US protective umbrella against missile attack, as a “parting gift” from President Bush as he prepared to leave office. Read the full article at AdBusters------------------------------ The Front Line. The Thin Line Between Entertainment and War.

• Just how bad is the Cholera Situation in Zimbabwe

  Muhammad

  6 Dec 2008 | 5:27 am

  A reader, Abdoul, of this blog who works for Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders in Londonh ad left comment on my previous blogpost on Blog Action Day, mentioned the deteriorating situation which they are facing in Zimbabwe with the Cholera situation.The situation is even worse for the lack of sanitation and water. There are also concerns with the start of the rainy season and the shortage of drugs.They are in desperate need of any help they can get, please contact him via their website which covers all their work in the area and the challenges they are facing. I feel this is…

• 

  The Manrilla Blog | Exploring Islam In America Through the Social Sciences

• Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship – An Example of Questionable Sufi Practices

  Marc

  7 Mar 2010 | 9:27 am

  The following is from a flier posted in South Philadelphia for the Bawa Muyaiyaddeen Fellowship: Sufism: The Path Beyond All Religions An Introduction to the wisdom of a Sufi Saint M.R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Sufis have existed long before the time of the Prophet Muhammad, the Rasul [Sal.]. They have existed even as far back in time as Adam [...]

• Return On Investment

  Marc

  16 Feb 2010 | 1:32 pm

  I have been blogging now for several years. It has been an interesting endeavor that has has its high moments of reward as well as its times when it has seemed not only a waste of time, but in complete opposition to the benefit I thought it might once bring. I have experienced the latter [...]

• Scourge of Secular Capitalist Islam – A Response

  Marc

  15 Feb 2010 | 10:39 am

  Brother Naeem wrote a passionate post over at his blog. As my comments were too long, I decided to write them here. as-Salaamu ‘alaykum, Naeem. I can see that you are indeed struggling to reconcile some issues that are very near and dear to you. Let me provide a bit of food for thought. I am often [...]

• The Trouble With Muslim Pundits Part Two

  Marc

  13 Feb 2010 | 9:39 pm

  Back in May of 2008, I wrote a post for this blog entitled, The TroubleWith Muslim Pundits Today, in which I, using Irshad Manji as an example, attacked and exposed the self-serving and selfish tendencies of many a Muslim pundit who would seek to “reform” Islam without actually contributing anything to it, let alone [...]

• If You’re Not Part of the Solution, You’re Part of the Problem

  Marc

  13 Feb 2010 | 10:28 am

  There has been, in my mind, a growing trend in Black America for the last 40-odd years: the rise in secularism amongst Blackamericans. By this I refer to the increasing tendency for Blackamericans to make religion, be it Islam or Christianity, irrelevant to their daily lives, public or private (I say private as [...]

• 

  Umar Lee

• A Parting Message

  Umar Lee aka/ Double H

  28 Feb 2010 | 12:56 pm

  Beginning of Blogging Before I began blogging in 2005 I had periodically written for a number of Muslim publications. However, after 9-11, when I felt so much personal stress due to the ordeals of good friends of mine like Ismail Royer and my beloved Sheikh Ali al-Timimi I focused more on writing for boxing sites and [...]

• Islam and Modernism by Sheikh Bilal Phillips

  Umar Lee aka/ Double H

  18 Feb 2010 | 5:27 am

• Bad Weather, Murder, and Death of a Young Muslim Brother

  Umar Lee aka/ Double H

  7 Jan 2010 | 1:52 pm

  It has been very busy since last night driving in the snow. The roads were in terrible condition this morning and add to that the fact that the cab has some cheap worn-out tires and I was slipping and sliding all day. Alhamdudilah, I made it through the day safe and sound. Driving in this [...]

• Letter From Ismail Royer “I Am Going to Super-Max”

  Umar Lee aka/ Double H

  21 Dec 2009 | 3:22 pm

  Brother Ismail Royer sent me a several page letter a few days informing me of his situation. I have been meaning to transcribe the letter but have no had the time. The situation is very bad for Ismail and his family so I request that you make duah for him. He had been housed at the [...]

• The Need For Social Structure: Bayah, Urban Muslims and What the Mainstream, Institutes and Progressives Will Not Do For Us

  Umar Lee aka/ Double H

  17 Dec 2009 | 12:25 am

  Over the past few months, I have come to the conclusion that urban Muslim communities – unlike suburban/progressive ones – need structure and order in order to survive into the next generation. I came to this conclusion once I noticed that the Muslims of America has been more successful at staying together and keeping their [...]

• 

  askMuslims.com

• OK! since you have personal relations with Jesus (...

  13 Mar 2010 | 7:37 am

  OK! since you have personal relations with Jesus (PBUH) then can you ask him where are all the original documents from his times are? What language he spoke and tell him to come to all the humanity and clearly tell us that "I am God" that shouldn't difficut for him and if you cannot do that then dude you have personal relations with satan who can't do those things. Peace.

• salam alaikum abdullah, Since I know Jesus person...

  11 Mar 2010 | 3:00 pm

  salam alaikum abdullah,Since I know Jesus personally, I doubt you can prove He doesn't interact with me. Nevertheless, please present any evidence you have that points to this supposed document.

• Yes, but is Allah changeable? Does his existence ...

  11 Mar 2010 | 2:58 pm

  Yes, but is Allah changeable? Does his existence vary, or is it always the same?

• Yes. Allah is eternal.

  8 Mar 2010 | 2:39 pm

  Yes. Allah is eternal.

• Robert, I will proof you that inshaAllah, but if I...

  8 Mar 2010 | 2:38 pm

  Robert, I will proof you that inshaAllah, but if I do will be accept Jesus (PBUH) to be the Prophet of God? (Before you answer YES or NO make sure what you reply because if you accept it then you as a true believe of God should accept it)

• 

  City of Brass

• Obama donates Nobel Peace prize money to charities

  12 Mar 2010 | 8:46 am

  As promised, President Obama has donated the money he was awarded from his Nobel Peace Prize to charity. The White House released a list of the charities chosen by the President to receive funds from the $1.4 million award money. See below for the full list. The biggest awardees were Fisher House, to provide housing for families of wounded military undergoing treatment at VA centers, and the Clinton-Bush Haiti fund. But the vast majority of the awardees are focused on education, with an emphasis on disadvantaged and minority students. I am particularly gratified to see the Central Asia…

• Cartoon controversies

  11 Mar 2010 | 2:05 pm

  My playwright friend Wajahat Ali writes about the Jihad Jane case, in the broader context of why the various cartoon depictions of the Prophet SAW are such a provocation to muslims. Wajahat affirms, but also puts into context, the imperative of free artistic expression, invoking his own experience writing a play about muslim characters: As a Muslim-American writer, I know firsthand that creating thought-provoking art about Islam and Muslims can be a thankless task. If one's fictional Muslim characters are not avatars of perfection or they happen to speak critically about certain Islamic…

• forget the public option - I want Medicare

  11 Mar 2010 | 8:48 am

  The public option is almost assuredly not going to be in the final package for health reform, and that's a good thing because it's existence imperils passage of this historic and incredibly progressive legislation. It represents a huge - and long overdue - leftwards shift for American social policy, despite the public option's absence. And note again that the PO would not have been available to everyone anyway, so how progressive was it really? The ultimate progressive health reform would have been single-payer insurance, but that was taken off the table (with good reason) by President Obama.

• profiling "Jihad Jane"

  10 Mar 2010 | 12:39 pm

  Here in a nutshell is why ethnic profiling is so fundamentally flawed as a means of protecting against terrorism: A petite, blond-haired, blue-eyed high school dropout who allegedly used the nickname JihadJane was identified Tuesday as an alleged terrorist intent on recruiting others to her cause, as federal prosecutors unsealed criminal charges that could send her to prison for life. Colleen Renee LaRose, 46, has been quietly held in U.S. custody since October on suspicions that she provided material support to terrorists and traveled to Sweden to launch an attack, according to federal…

• Shooting at the pentagon

  5 Mar 2010 | 7:46 am

  The trend of "white right" violence is definitely increasing - we've had the abortion doctor murder, the austin suicide plane, and now a shooting at the Pentagon in Washington DC: Officials said the man, indentified as John Patrick Bedell, 36, of the US state of California, died on Friday from head wounds recieved in a shoot-out with police near the US Pentagon building outside of Washington, DC. Police said Bedell pulled out a gun at the busy commuter rail subway entrance that serves the Pentagon, shooting and injuring two police officers. Police returned fire, shooting Bedell in the head.

• 

  Darvish

• Acquire Knowledge!

  darvish

  3 Mar 2010 | 9:03 pm

  Salaam and Greetings of Peace: To acquire knowledge is binding upon all Muslims, whether male or female. He who travels in the search of knowledge, to him God shows the way of Paradise. Acquire knowledge, because he who acquires it in the way of the Lord performs an act of piety; who speaks of it praises the Lord; who seeks it, adores God, who dispenses instruction in it, bestows alms; and who imparts it to its fitting objects performs an act of devotion to God. Knowledge enables its possessor to distinguish what is forbidden from what is not; lights the way to Heaven; it is our friend in the…

• Milad Un-Nabi – Birthday of the Prophet (pbuh)

  darvish

  27 Feb 2010 | 9:15 am

  Salaam and Greetings of Peace: “You have indeed in the Messenger of God a beautiful pattern of conduct for anyone whose hope is God and the Final Day.” (Al-Ahzab 33:21). Alhamdulillah! The moon is full, a reminder that this is Rabi a-Awwal, by the Lunar calendar the month of the blessed birthday (Milad Un-Nabi) of the Prophet Muhammad (the peace and blessing of Allah be upon him and his family). According to Sunni scholars, the Prophet’s birthday is observed on 12th Rabi al-Awwal, which falls on February 26, 2010, and 17th Rabi al-Awwal (March 3rd this year) according to Shia scholars.

• “Everything is Love!”

  darvish

  21 Feb 2010 | 6:38 am

  Salaam and Greetings of Peace: I read of a Christian woman years ago who went on a forty day meditation retreat in a monastic cell. When she finally came out, all she could say is: “Everything is love!” Surely those who open to faith and do beautiful wholesome works, for them the One Who is the Most Gracious will appoint Love.  -  Qur’an 19:96 A man once came to the Prophet (puh) and asked him about the hereafter. The Prophet asked him, “And what have you prepared for that time?” The man replied, “Nothing, except that I love Allah and I love you.” The Prophet (puh)…

• Islamic Writer Alliance Poetry Contest 2010

  darvish

  19 Feb 2010 | 4:25 am

  Salaam and Greetings of Peace: The Islamic Writers Alliance is sponsoring its Annual Poetry Contest for  2010 in April to coincide with National Poetry Month in the US. The theme of this year’s contest is ibadah, or worship. Submissions will be accepted from April 1st through April 30th 2010. For complete information about the Poetry contest and its guidelines, go to http://www.IslamicWritersAlliance.net and scroll down to the middle of the page. Ya Haqq! Note: The poetry is usually quite good, and inshallah  I will enter this year also :) Filed under: Books & writing,…

• One Chicago, One Nation – Short Film Contest

  darvish

  14 Feb 2010 | 6:33 am

  Salaam and Greetings of Peace: I received this email from Souheila Al-Jadda, a producer at Link TV, and promised to help get the word out about the “One Chicago, One Nation” short film contest (under 5 minutes). It is a worthy interfaith project, and I am from Chicago, although the contest is not limited to Chicago residents but open to anyone in the US The film just has to be about Chicago. There is No Entry Fee. Here are the details: One Nation is holding a short film contest to share stories in or about Chicago that demonstrates the social benefit of diverse individuals and…

• 

  Dunner's

• On Envy

  JDsg

  10 Mar 2010 | 9:32 am

  Photo source.Narrated Abu Hurayrah: "The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'Avoid envy, for envy devours good deeds just as fire devours fuel or (he said) grass.'" (Sunan Abu Dawud)Salim narrated on the authority of his father (Ibn 'Umar) that the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: "Envy is not justified but in case of two persons only: one who, having been given (knowledge of) the Qur'an by Allah, recites it during the night and day (and also acts upon it) and a man who, having been given wealth by God, spends it during the night and the day (for the welfare of others. seeking…

• Pericles

  JDsg

  10 Mar 2010 | 7:37 am

  "The brilliance of the present is the glory of the future stored up for ever in the memory of man."-- Pericles, Final Speech to the Athenians (430 BCE) as recorded by Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, 2:64 (Rex Warner translation)

• Tron Legacy

  JDsg

  9 Mar 2010 | 4:48 pm

  My reaction: "Oh, man! I've gotta wait till Christmas!!!" :) Below is the first official trailer in "good" quality, but you can watch the HD trailer here. If you're interested, here's Disney's official website for the movie and video game, but it's thin on content at the moment.

• "We know where you're going!"

  JDsg

  9 Mar 2010 | 9:05 am

  This is an amusing if unsurprising graph from Chris Blattman's blog, who snarkily writes:Edmonton’s water utility published this graph of water consumption during last Sunday’s gold medal Olympic hockey game. Roughly 80% of Canadians were watching.I believe the beer consumption picture looks exactly the same, but upside down.This reminds me of when I was a teenager; my family loves to watch ice hockey, and we went to many games at the local college. There was one character in particular (a season ticket-holder) who would get up in the middle of the second period during every freakin' game…

• Back to Driving School for this Clown!

  JDsg

  9 Mar 2010 | 7:16 am

  This video should be nominated for one of the best (worst) fail videos of the year. The driver is such a menace. And after three run-ins with the ladder, (s)he flips on the rear-window windshield wiper! Weird!

• 

  The Egyptian's Wife

• Now that sounds familiar...

  UmmLayla

  9 Mar 2010 | 10:03 pm

  I am at a seminar for early childhood teachers right now, Lifeways. It's Waldorf based if you haven't heard me say that 100x's already. Today we covered diversity, and a little analysis of how children come into their own ethnic identity through adolescence really struck a cord for me. "But why UmmLayla??? You're a white girl?" you say? Because I think that converts go through the same stages to some degree when they accept Islam. OK, maybe I'm crazy here... But I think you will see the similarity. It's like by accepting Islam puts you back to that struggle with identity that we all go…

• New ideas around our house...

  UmmLayla

  31 Dec 2009 | 11:12 pm

  I have been reading my notebook from the Waldorf seminar I went to (Lifeways) and I have been inspired to make some changes around my home. One of the articles that really struck me was about wearing aprons. Now, I know, it sounds silly... But I have been wearing the apron I made that you see pictured above, and I think my attitude changes. You have a uniform, and like any uniform it helps you get your head in the game. I have long heard programs about getting organised and extolling the virtues of getting up and getting dressed every day. Don't hang around in your PJs and expect to get…

• 24 Dec 2009 | 1:03 pm

  UmmLayla

  24 Dec 2009 | 1:03 pm

  Visit UmmLayla's BookshelfPlease join my book group if you like to read. It's basically an online book club, check it out!

• My nano wrap up post

  UmmLayla

  30 Nov 2009 | 11:02 am

  So nanowrimo is officially over, and I am still writing as of noon on the 30th, but have already validated. I am planning on finishing and re-doing the word count once I get to the actual end of the novel... Which I'm thinking needs another 3k or so words. I have learned many things in this month... Such as: the more you write the easier it is... I can actually find something to write 2000 words about every day... and the most shocking of all, DH is very supportive of my writing. You have to know DH and his snarky nature to know that he would tell me if he thought I was just a silly woman…

• And I thought I had no traditions!

  UmmLayla

  22 Nov 2009 | 6:55 am

  With Eid coming up it has occurred to me that I can stop complaining because I DO have Eid traditions even though I think I don't. Here they are in all thier glory:1) The Eid "argument with my SIL about Eid activities" where I discuss the merits of "Amazing Jake's" as an appropriate Eid activity. You see, I came from a warm family time and holiday dinners background and an indoor amusement park just doesn't scream holidays to me... Not to mention it's EXPENSIVE when you have 4 kids.2) The traditional "Denver or Laramie debate" where we decide whether or not to drive three hours to Colorado…

• 

  iMuslim (Wordpress.com)

• 10 Mar 2010 | 1:31 am

  iMuslim

  10 Mar 2010 | 1:31 am

  I just woke up from a dream where I got 83% for one of the exams I sat back in Jan. SubhanAllah wa Ameen?!!

• 5 Mar 2010 | 11:10 am

  iMuslim

  5 Mar 2010 | 11:10 am

  P.s., I know AhlulBayt refers to the family of the Prophet, sallalhu ‘alayhi wa salam. I just meant in context of groups who use that term.

• 5 Mar 2010 | 11:03 am

  iMuslim

  5 Mar 2010 | 11:03 am

  Sat in a Quran recitation event organized by the AhlulBayt ISoc. First AbSoc event I’ve ever attended. I’m assuming AhlulBayt = Shia?

• 4 Mar 2010 | 11:33 am

  iMuslim

  4 Mar 2010 | 11:33 am

  But I had a complete battery fail. Both my spares were flat – even though I charged them last week! Qadrullah, I guess.

• 4 Mar 2010 | 11:32 am

  iMuslim

  4 Mar 2010 | 11:32 am

  But there I had a complete battery fail. Both my spares were flat – even though I charged them last week! Qadrullah, I guess.

• 

  Indigo Jo Blogs

• Why get sanctimonious about Tantawi?

  Indigo Jo

  11 Mar 2010 | 1:25 am

  About 24 hours ago, Muhammad Tantawi, the shaikh of al-Azhar in Cairo, died of a heart attack at Riyadh airport. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’oon. Formalities over … I am somewhat taken aback by the tone of the comments on some of the Muslim message boards and blogs. People have seemingly forgotten that this was a man who was a symbol of the degeneration of al-Azhar, many of whose positions in fiqh would not have been taken seriously towards the end of his life, and was associated with two disgraceful public involving involving Muslim women, and are treating him like he was a…

• Erwin James on the Angola Three

  Indigo Jo

  10 Mar 2010 | 3:47 pm

  37 years of solitary confinement: the Angola three | Society | The Guardian I had heard of the Angola Three before today, but this article puts the whole case into very clear detail for anyone else not familiar (and I wasn’t). Two African American men, Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox, have been held in solitary confinement at the Closed Cell Restricted (CCR) block at Angola prison in Louisiana since 1973. The author, Erwin James, is a convicted murderer and spent his first year in prison in a high-security part of a prison where the cell doors were opened only for “slopping…

• Why I still blog

  Indigo Jo

  7 Mar 2010 | 10:45 am

  Last week, Umar Lee posted his parting message to the Muslim blogging community, after his blog had been offline for some weeks. His reasoning was twofold: one is that all the best blogs (Sunni Sister, Izzy Mo, Tariq Nelson, Amir of Mujahideen Ryder etc) have been closed down or become inactive and the medium and community are no longer as vibrant as it was, and the other is that all the people who stand for action in the Muslim community are actually out doing things and practising Islam in mosques, while the internet has long been the domain of irreligious and anti-religious modernist…

• Tory think tank compared to “madrasa”

  Indigo Jo

  6 Mar 2010 | 11:01 am

  Today the Guardian carried a front-page story about how various Tory MPs and activists are being given training by an offshoot of the party’s youth wing, Conservative Future, named the Young Britons’ Foundation ([1], [2]). The group’s leadership regards the NHS as a waste of money, disbelieves global warming and condones waterboarding on the grounds that it “doesn’t do the prisoner any permanent physical harm although he may be reluctant to shower or use a flannel again in the future when/if he is freed”. A number of senior figures in the party have spoken…

• Old wounds opened by Venables re-arrest

  Indigo Jo

  4 Mar 2010 | 3:51 pm

  One of the two men who were convicted of the murder of James Bulger as boys was recalled to prison about a week ago, something the public found out yesterday and was all over the papers today. There is a lot of speculation about why this happened; it could have been down to a breach of his parole conditions, but the Daily Mirror’s “source” tells us that the person formerly known as Jon Venables had a fight with a colleague at work who subsequently reported him to the police, presumably not knowing who he was. The Government will not tell us why he was taken back into…

• 

  The Laughing Muslim

• 11 Mar 2010 | 3:25 pm

  Edward Ott

  11 Mar 2010 | 3:25 pm

  hilarioushttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LIpAxjPt9U&feature=player_embedded

• 1 Feb 2010 | 4:12 pm

  Edward Ott

  1 Feb 2010 | 4:12 pm

  Hilarioushttp://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-july-1-2009/burka-ban

• 12 Jan 2010 | 8:09 am

  Edward Ott

  12 Jan 2010 | 8:09 am

• 10 Jan 2010 | 2:56 pm

  Edward Ott

  10 Jan 2010 | 2:56 pm

  6-year-old Hamza was asked where his grandma lived. "Oh," he said, "she lives at the airport, and when we want her, we just go get her. Then, when we're done having her visit, we take her back to the airport."

• 28 Dec 2009 | 3:28 pm

  Edward Ott

  28 Dec 2009 | 3:28 pm

• 

  Muslim Apple

• Stand In at D.C. Islamic Center

  Ify Okoye

  27 Feb 2010 | 1:27 pm

  Police Officer Barry Goodwin squatted next to a woman finishing her prayers inside the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C. He listened to her explain why she had a right to pray in the main hall of the mosque, while a mosque employee countered that she was violating the rules. “I don’t know the rules,” Goodwin, who’d been

• Dr. Ingrid Mattson: Words of Wisdom

  Ify Okoye

  24 Feb 2010 | 8:51 pm

  I’ve been re-listening to two lectures by Dr. Mattson today, they’re short but full of wisdom. I really enjoy listening to Dr. Mattson and wish she had a higher profile in the media because she is simply brilliant. Her paper Heaven’s Gate touches on many issues I have been turning over in my mind recently. Ingrid

• Gem

  Ify Okoye

  23 Feb 2010 | 9:34 am

  Former Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan from my beloved state of New York: If a person goes to a country and finds their newspapers filled with nothing but good news, there are good men (and women) in jail.

• Oursides: A Photoblog for change in sha Allah.

  Ify Okoye

  16 Feb 2010 | 10:54 am

  Introducing: Muslim Women’s Prayer Spaces: A photoblog for change, in sha Allah otherwise known as oursides.wordpress.com. All submissions welcome. Not yet, sure the best way for people to forward their submissions. There’s a contact page on the photoblog and in sha Allah, soon to be an email address.

• Outside the Box: A Beautiful Jumu’ah

  Ify Okoye

  16 Feb 2010 | 9:01 am

  Cross-posted on Muslim Matters. Last Friday after my Penalty Box post was published, I went to salatul-jumu’ah at a hotel. The usual space was reduced by a third due to a scheduling conflict with another group’s event. On a normal jumu’ah we have three rooms, two for the brothers and one partitioned off for the sisters.

• 

  MasudBlog

• Book: The Mantle Adorned

  Mas'ud Ahmed Khan

  20 Feb 2010 | 10:38 am

  The Mantle Adorned is a completely new translation of the Burda (‘Mantle Poem’) of Imam Sharaf al-Din al-Busiri (d.1297). Abdal Hakim Murad has consulted the classical commentaries to produce this clear and careful English version. Abdal Hakim Murad has added to each verse a further verse of poetry by another poet, which expresses a similar sentiment of love for the Blessed Prophet. The book therefore serves as the best collection currently available in English of poems in praise of the Seal of the Messengers, may Allah bless him and give him peace. Poets represented include…

• The Chickens have Landed!

  Mas'ud Ahmed Khan

  15 Feb 2010 | 9:19 am

  We received our Eglu Go and three chickens which my daughter has named Jamie, Lizabella and Audrey. Jamie and Lizabella are of the same breed – Ginger Nut Rangers – so telling them apart is going to be a challenge. Audrey is a “Miss Pepperpot” and is very shy, seems to run behind the other two when you approach. The van and the man from Omlet turned up at about 3pm and took about 45 mins to set-up everything up. Here is what it looks like on our garden: The Eglu Go Our Chickens We’ll be moving them off the lawn to a side area in the next couple of days. We are…

• Chickens! – update

  Mas'ud Ahmed Khan

  9 Feb 2010 | 3:12 am

  We just ordered an Eglu Go with three chickens from Omlet, we’ll receive the order on Monday 15th Feb (insha’Allah): [Image from omlet.co.uk] We’ve been thinking about having some egg laying chickens for a while now and decided to take the plunge. The Omlet Eglu range seems easy to maintain and look after and we’ll get on average 18-20 fresh eggs per week from organic, free range chickens. Chicken droppings will also be a great addition for our composter! The cost was £295 for the Eglu and run, £11 each for the chickens (£33) and a couple of bags of chicken…

• Swiss MP converts to Islam amid his party’s anti-Minaret stance

  Mas'ud Ahmed Khan

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:57 am

  Daniel Streich once a devout Christian and who was a member of the The Swiss People’s Party, noted for their anti-Islam and anti-Minaret stance, converted to Islam over two years ago but kept his conversion secret. The story was picked up by Pakistan’s “The Nation” newspaper but weaved fact with fiction, which seems to be typical Pakistani journalism, either they over-embellish the truth or they have a slap-dash and lazy approach to journalism. A generalisation? Perhaps, but as someone from Pakistani extraction, having been exposed to The Daily Jang, Nawa-e-Waqt, the…

• Sayyidi Habib Ali Jifri – website

  Mas'ud Ahmed Khan

  14 Dec 2009 | 1:30 am

  From the site: Praise belongs to God, The all Knowing, the Giver, the Generous, may the blessings and peace of God be upon the best of those who gave thanks for God’s gift and gave praise, the one who gave the gifts of God their due, our master Mohammad, who was sent as a mercy to creation and a guide, and upon his family and all his companions. By the success only God gives and by His help, the new website of Habib Ali Aljifri has been launched in its new format, including new parts, and additions. Enjoy! Related posts:Donate a Song Book – daw’ah opportunity Moosighting…

• 

  Naeem's Blog

• God and the Recent Spate of Earthquakes

  9 Mar 2010 | 6:08 pm

  That's six for those of you counting at home. All within a span of two months. All in (or close to) densely populated areas.First there was the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti (1/12), then 7.0 Japan (2/26), then 8.8 Chile (2/27), then 6.4 Taiwan (3/4), then 6.5 Sumatra (3/5), and now 6.0 Turkey (3/8).And of course the priests of our time, the scientists, are allaying people's fears by constantly telling us that earthquakes aren't on the rise according to their data."According to long-term records (which exist since about 1900), the U.S.G.S. expects that about 17 major earthquakes (magnitude…

• CNN video report on Hajj

  7 Mar 2010 | 9:58 pm

  Well, this video is not technically a CNN report. It was produced by Suroosh Alvi of VBS.TV, but CNN is hosting Part 1 (Part 2 is here). So it's close enough.Anyways, a friend forwarded me this video report and I must admit my ambivalence towards the overall tone. It's really geared towards the regular man on the street. The narrator takes extreme liberty in describing this most sacred rite in Islam, at one point comparing the crowds performing tawaaf to a mosh pit, but so be it. Such are the times we live in.At the same time, he seemed generally apologetic in presenting the Hajj rites to his…

• Sura al-Layl on Feminism

  28 Feb 2010 | 2:33 am

  I’ve been recently listening to Sh. Imran Hosein and I must say that I find many of his teachings very much resonating with my personal thoughts. And so, as part of my ongoing contribution to the world, I will write up some posts summarizing a few of his lectures. Let me begin with a most beautiful explanation he has given of the first four verses of Sura al-Layl: Consider the night as it veils in darkness, (92:1)and the day as it rises bright! (92:2)Consider the creation of the male and the female! (92:3)Verily, you aim at most divergent ends! (92:4)The night and the day are presented as…

• A Response to a Response on Secular Capitalist Islam

  20 Feb 2010 | 12:47 am

  My friend Marc Manley responded to my recent post on the scourge of Secular Capitalist Islam for which I’m greatly honored. Its always nice to get critical feedback, whether in the form of comments on my blog, emails in my Inbox, or dedicated blog posts.So I will respond to his response in kind – with a post of my own.I will begin with a clarification, one that I feel is a bit unnecessary. I made overarching generalizations in my original post. I realize that. But it should have been clear that everything I stated is applicable to those cases where the ‘shoe fits’. I am completely…

• Scourge of Secular Capitalist Islam - Part 1

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:40 pm

  As I was coming into my personal Islamic awareness many years ago, I was convinced that the light of Islam would reignite itself from within America, similar to how Prophet Musa (as) was raised and reared in the house of Pharoah. Back then, I viewed the Muslim world as backwards and in need of serious guidance – which American Muslims, stripped of cultural baggage and historical hiccups, would readily provide them.But recently, I’ve begun to feel serious disillusionment with this entire “American Islam”* project.Maybe it’s all the desperate talk of Islam being compatible with…

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  Children Make Life Normal

• When Your Mr. Man

  Nzingha

  26 Feb 2010 | 6:19 am

  Not only does Mr. Man get to be married to me the forever 17 year old Jersey gal and have five wonderful kids out of the deal he gets this.Call to Mr. Man"I lost my phone yesterday at the movies call and cancel the number" after calling him in a panic"What?" He asks confused as he is out on four wheelers with the kids in the desert.Taking deep breath "Yesterday when I went to the movies I thought something fell out of my purse but when I left I checked for my iphone and it was still there but I didn't check for the other one" Explaining this for you readers, I have two phones for two…

• Hey That is Me!!

  Nzingha

  23 Feb 2010 | 8:12 am

  I had an interview by Tara you can see how wonderful I am here

• What if Umar didn't have Down Syndrome?

  Nzingha

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:51 pm

  I get this question from the kids a lot, mostly it is Hannah but they are all curious of the answer. And my reply is simple "Then he wouldn't be Umar". Now I'm sure some will object that one isn't their disability, disease, or condition and this is true. Umar is not Down Syndrome Umar is Umar who happens to have Down Syndrome. But there is no denying that ones disability, disease, or condition does impact who a person becomes.The argument of others tends to be that Down Syndrome no more affects a persons personality than say blindness or deafness does and to that I differ. Down Syndrome…

• When a Man Decides for a Woman

  Nzingha

  30 Jan 2010 | 12:12 am

  So many times I've said on this blog that women driving is a minor issue to me. That it is in the front lines of women's rights in Saudi Arabia simply ignores a much larger issue regarding the rights and choices of women in this country. It is sort of like trying to put a band aid on a gushing wound and thinking it will heal someone. A much larger issue needs to be tackled before any woman in Saudi can claim independent rights for herself.As an American woman I have enjoyed the freedoms of my own choices since my adulthood. This isn't saying that I've made all the right decisions, but every…

• Flying With A Saudi

  Nzingha

  12 Jan 2010 | 7:30 pm

  After watching this clip (thank you Umm Omar) I had to wonder what if more regular folk got to sit next to and talk with total strangers on a plane. How much more understanding might we have about each other? How much better off might the world be in regards to tolerance and sympathy

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  Organica

• Can You Spot the Dog?

  Organica

  7 Mar 2010 | 6:59 pm

  Can You Spot the Dog?, originally uploaded by Organica-.

• I Fancy the Independent Genre

  Organica

  6 Mar 2010 | 9:27 am

  One of the coolest features of Netflix is the 'Watch Instantly' feature that comes with my account free. My favorite genre on Instant Play is the Independent genre. The films strike me as real, raw and genuine versus the traditional Hollywood setup (crappy).The following movies are some of my latest likings:1) Peter and Vendy Jason Ritter (son of Late John Ritter) gave a stunning performance in this intriguing film. If you've ever been in a relationship you will relate to this movie. It takes its audience on a journey of the up's and down's of Peter's and Vendy's relationship. It's a real…

• Flower Show

  Organica

  5 Mar 2010 | 6:40 pm

  Flower Show 2010, originally uploaded by Organica-.

• Office Pranks

  Organica

  4 Mar 2010 | 7:05 am

  I returned to my office after a meeting to find this done to my screen!I had to think for a minute. Who would do this to me? Could it be the tech guy at my job? He had mentioned the day before a prank he pulled on a coworker while she was away from her desk. Something about writing "I am a short plump tea kettle so drink from me" as a reply all email to a mass mailing list--including all our bosses and the mayor of our city! Anyways, she caught the joke and purged the email before it was too late.As a person well versed in office pranks thanks to my favorite characters Jim Halpert and Dwight…

• What Do Muslims Use to Wipe their Bums?

  Organica

  2 Mar 2010 | 5:30 pm

  As my good friend Suroor often writes "Muslims have the cleanest bums in the world!" As many of you know, or to some this might be a shocker, Muslims tend to clean themselves after using the toilet with water. The good old TP method isn't enough in this situation. Many Muslims resort to using a water canister to clean themselves which is convenient in a home setting. The toilet paper acts as a 'drying' agent NOT so much as a typical 'cleaning' tool as known to many people. Now, this method presents a problem in the Western world where proper bidets aren't installed in restrooms. So what is a…

• 

  Rolled-up Trousers

• Treasury says 'It's trains or Trident'

  Osama Saeed

  11 Mar 2010 | 6:34 am

  From today's Times about High Speed Rail: Treasury officials acknowledge that the project would compete for funds with Trident, prisons, an NHS database and other capital projects.So Trident becomes even more of an election issue than it was already. The UK government is acknowledging the negative impact it has on other investment the country needs.I am actually flabbergasted by today's announcement that the UKG is planning HSR to Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield, but not Glasgow. The biggest obstacle to HSR coming here was supposed to be cost - in the region of £30bn. What the…

• Tories in Northern Ireland show the power of smaller parties

  Osama Saeed

  9 Mar 2010 | 3:24 pm

  Labour and the Tories are keen to talk down the amount of influence the SNP are likely to have after the general election.David Cameron's manoeuvrings in Northern Ireland give the lie to this though. He has been wooing the Ulster Unionists assiduously and has entered into a pact with them. It's caused him a number of headaches but the hassle can't be for no reason.Analysts say it is because the next Parliament is going to be tight. How many UUP MPs are there? One. And she's not happy with the alliance. Lady Hermon is now standing as an independent meaning it's even…

• High Speed Rail – who pays for the Scottish leg?

  Osama Saeed

  9 Mar 2010 | 1:07 pm

  The UK government will shortly comment on its commissioned report into building a High Speed Rail line from London to Birmingham. The £7bn plan will cut journey times from the current 1hour 20min to just under one hour. Meanwhile there are only vague commitments towards the substantial shortening of distance that would be achieved by the line coming to Scotland. It may happen, say the UK government, at some stage but they are not examining the detail on this in the same way as with Birmingham. UK transport minister Lord Adonis has said if HSR is to come north of the border then the Scottish…

• Poll: Your Top 5 reasons Labour and the Tories are the same

  Osama Saeed

  25 Feb 2010 | 12:41 pm

  Angus Robertson, SNP leader in Westminster, has come up with "Gordon Brown's Tory Top Ten", a list of reasons that Labour are just like the Tories  Inspired by that I now offer you the chance to vote on this. This is not just for the sake of it - the five with the most votes will go on my election leaflets. Online Surveys & Market Research

• Stimulation

  Osama Saeed

  23 Feb 2010 | 3:25 pm

  Here's some figures for your consumption:   The UK is the only G7 country not to have a stimulus package this year. Out of the G20, the UK's only company is Argentina.The UK bosom that Labour and Tory politicans say that Scotland relies on is being shown more and more to have been made of cheap implants that have now been removed.Meanwhile, over 60 leading economists have come out strongly against cuts in public spending. The media have for some reason portrayed this as backing the Labour position. This is the same Labour government that have imposed an £814m cut on the…

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  ReflectOnThis

• Working on New "Monthly Word" of Habib Umar bin Hafiz

  Khalil

  22 Feb 2010 | 9:16 am

  Bismillah. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh . . . I am working on the translation of Habib Umar bin Hafiz's "Monthly Word" for the Month of Rabi' al-Awwal and will have it completed in the coming days, inshaAllah. Here is the Arabic for now: http://alhabibomar.com/MonthlyLetter.aspx?SectionID=4&RefID=113 Sincerely your brother, khalil abu asmaa

• New A.L.I.America Website and Classes!

  Khalil

  24 Jan 2010 | 12:32 am

  Bismillah. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh . . . I am very pleased and happy to announce the launching of A.L.I.America's new website! It took many days and very long hours to set up, but alas, here it is! http://www.aliamerica.com/ We humbly ask that you kindly promote this effort, through Twitter, Facebook, your personal blogs, etc. Although this is...

• "The Monthly Word" of Habib Umar bin Hafiz for Muharram 1431

  Khalil

  17 Jan 2010 | 7:55 am

  The Monthly Word for Muḥarram 1431: On the Importance and Methodology of Giving By the Erudite Spiritual Master: Ḥabīb ʿUmar bin Ḥafīẓ (may Allah be pleased with him) Translated by: Khalil Abu Asmaa (Christopher J. Moore) In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful Praise be to Allāh, Lord of the Worlds, the one who has honored us with...

• "The Monthly Word" of Habib Umar bin Hafiz for Dhul-Hijjah 1430

  Khalil

  30 Nov 2009 | 10:47 am

  The Monthly Word for Dhul-Ḥijjah 1430 By the Erudite Spiritual Master: Ḥabīb ʿUmar bin Ḥafīẓ (may Allah be pleased with him) Translated by: Khalil Abu Asmaa (Christopher J. Moore) In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful Praise be to Allāh, Lord of the Worlds, and may blessings and peace be upon his Chosen Servant, the Trustworthy (al-Amīn), our...

• Amusing Ourselves to Death & The Tyranny of Email

  Khalil

  25 Nov 2009 | 9:03 pm

  Ah, yes, with 140 unfinished email responses in my Drafts folder I figured it was now time to revisit and reread one of my all-time favorite books originally published back in 1985: Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business While stimulating my cerebral cortex and innermost being with that exquisitely profound and deeply reflective piece...

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  Sister Aishah's Islamic Journey

• In Honor of International Womens Day - from The White House

  9 Mar 2010 | 6:13 am

  The President and the First Lady speak about the achievements of women around the world at a reception marking International Womens Day. March 8, 2010. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• MUSLIMS PRAYING IN PUBLIC 'THREATENING'?

  8 Mar 2010 | 7:25 pm

  In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful Muslimah Writers Alliance Director, Aishah Schwartz, addresses post-9/11 Islamophobic climate of misunderstanding and labeling actions of Muslims... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• MWA Supports International Niqab Day, March 8, 2010

  8 Mar 2010 | 4:25 am

  A NOTE FROM INTERNATIONAL NIQAB DAY ORGANIZER, MARIAN VARGAS: Many many people don't understand yet why we (women) wear hijab, niqab. In many so-called democratic countries we find a persecution... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Gaza marks 1000th day of Israeli siege - Arab News

  7 Mar 2010 | 3:05 pm

  By HISHAM ABU TAHA | ARAB NEWS Published: Mar 7, 2010 10:51 PM Updated: Mar 7, 2010 10:51 PM ... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• MWA Joins Coalition Urging Appointments To Post 9/11 Privacy And Civil Liberties Oversight Board

  2 Mar 2010 | 2:23 pm

  Mechanism designed to protect American's from invasive privacy and civil liberties intrusions stagnated by empty Board seats. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PR Log (Press Release) – WASHINGTON, D.C.... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• 

  tabsir.net

• Picturing Yemen’s History

  tabsir

  13 Mar 2010 | 1:53 am

  View of a busy marketplace in Aden. Staggering unemployment rate of around 35% hampers serious socio-economic development of the nation. People finishing high school and possessing university degrees are affected the most and according to a government survey published in 2008, 54% of graduates are unemployed/under employed. (Photo: Swiatoslaw Wojtkowiak) There is an interesting historical study of Yemen through photographs on the Foreign Policy Journal website. Click here to see the full article and pictures. Here is the opening explanation: Recent events in Yemen have brought the country…

• Warren’s Geography #3: What a View of Race

  tabsir

  12 Mar 2010 | 4:25 pm

• A Muslim in the House and Praying

  tabsir

  10 Mar 2010 | 1:56 am

  U.S. Rep. David Price, left, meets with Duke Muslim chaplain Abdullah Antepli, his wife Asuman, and U.S. House chaplain Rev. Daniel P. Coughlin Antepli Delivers Opening Prayer at US House Duke Muslim chaplain begins Wednesday session (video) Duke University Press Release, Wednesday, March 3, 2010 Durham, NC — Duke Muslim chaplain Abdullah T. Antepli delivered the opening prayer for the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., this morning. Antepli served as guest chaplain at the invitation of Congressman David Price, D-N.C. Antepli, who joined Duke in July 2008, is one of only…

• If your name is Khan…

  dvarisco

  8 Mar 2010 | 9:22 pm

  Kajol Devgan and Shah Rukh Khan On Sunday I finally saw the new Bollywood film with Shah Rukh Khan, “My Name is Khan.” It is well worth seeing, although the minimalist dancing and singing in the film make it more Hollywood (not Fred Astaire’s) than Bollywood. Add to this the fact that many parts of the film were made in San Francisco and California and the Bollywood connection is even more estranged. The plot of the film has gaping holes, but it is not meant as a documentary. I walked away feeling good about two aspects of the film. First, it is a stirring educational lesson…

• Pakistaniaat: New Journal

  tabsir

  8 Mar 2010 | 5:59 am

  Current cover illustration by Amar Raza, “A Prayer for Protection” There is a new online journal for anyone interested in Pakistan studies. The first issue of the second volume is now available. Here is the journal description of focus: Pakistaniaat is a refereed, multidisciplinary, open-access academic journal offering a forum for a serious scholarly and creative engagement with various aspects of Pakistani history, culture, literature, and politics. Though several existing journals do pay a fair degree of attention to the issues of South Asia and Postcoloniality, we feel that…

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  Twenny-Two

• Disney

  Miss Two

  16 Feb 2010 | 11:41 pm

  assalamu alaikum, So, without giving away too many details (even though I suspect a great many people who know me in real life read this blog without telling me so...), we went on a field trip to Disney this long weekend. It was great! The trip began cold and wet- I mean, walking around in 50 degree downpours, cold and wet. But that first day was decent. Or, it would've been, if Delta hadn't

• Don't listen, plus, filling the bucket

  Miss Two

  10 Feb 2010 | 11:10 pm

  assalamu alaikum, I understand why people don't listen to music, I really do. I don't want to get into it though. Just sayin' that Chrisette Michelle (perfectly okay lyrics... well. Um.) got me understanding that a bit better. A sound I grew up on, with the synthesized soul. Had my life not gone differently it's how I'd be singing. I'm doing a 'Filling the Bucket' List. Someone over on

• When it isn't for you, and when it isn't for you: Building a bridge

  Miss Two

  7 Feb 2010 | 3:48 pm

  assalamu alaikum,So, my Brother from Another Mother (BAM) is getting married. He clearly is happy about it but also would be just as happy not to get married. To be writing this mere months after our conversations online and here in person on marriage is... wow. Life: The Great Unexpected Adventure.I, well, I acted all girly (sue me, it's not my norm) and squeed and such. Now, let me tell you

• That's why

  Miss Two

  1 Jan 2010 | 12:59 pm

  assalamu Alaikum, (My friend Isa sent me a card! I was so happy to hear from her mashaAllah. That sparked this conversation. Just a reminder... everyone has someone who loves them.) Sister: Aww! Your friends love you! Me: I dunno why. I can remember some times when I acted very unloveable. Sister: But you're so endearing when you do it! InshaAllah blessings of self-awareness and love

• Last I've heard from it...

  Miss Two

  31 Dec 2009 | 7:43 pm

  assalamu alaikum, Alhamdulillah. InshaAllah in about 2 hours, I'll be able to say I made it safely to 1431 AND 2010. WOW. 2010. No more zero in front of that last number. The people who were born in 1990 are about to be 20 years old! I REMEMBER 1990! How'd that happen? Seriously? 2009 has not been my best year. Every day that I"m breathing is a good day, alhamdulillah, and another

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  All I Have Is Now

• As Salaamu Alaikum!!!

  tru3woman

  16 Feb 2010 | 8:16 pm

  Been busy, something major is in the works. I’m excited about it. Oh yeah… Allah has blessed us with a baby! She is 7 months old! Stay tuned…

• Returning to Myself

  tru3woman

  10 Oct 2008 | 8:23 pm

  It seems as though I am coming out from a fog that settled over my life for the last twelve years. These last few weeks have been interesting as I have shifted from working mother to a stay-at-home mom and full time housewife…or homemaker, if you will. It is amazing how much clearer your thoughts are when you dont have to rush from one thing to another trying to fit everything into one day. I’m starting to notice and enjoy the little things… like putting lotion on my children. Or brushing my sons hair. Or actually setting the table for dinner. I have so much more time with…

• Eid Mubarak

  tru3woman

  29 Sep 2008 | 8:43 pm

  Insha Allah everyone had a blessed Ramadan. Things are settling with me. Will be back soon… I miss writing.

• Untitled

  tru3woman

  30 Aug 2008 | 6:31 am

  I lost the baby. I am very confused. Ramadan is coming and insha Allah my most important dua’s will be answered. I wont be around for a while.

• Changes

  tru3woman

  20 Aug 2008 | 5:51 pm

  As Salaamu Alaikum ladies… Been a minute I know. I took a pause to concentrate on my family and my marriage which insha Allah will prove to be beneficial. It was a nice summer… I spent it getting to know my new daughters and getting accustomed to having such a large family. Masha Allah, Allah has truly blessed us with a beautiful family. Several things happening… and happening rather quickly. I submitted my two-week resignation to my company Monday. Wow. I have been there for eight long years and have created so many relationships and I cant believe I am finally walking out…

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  ummSanaa :: a journey

• flat hair

  ummSanaa

  21 Feb 2010 | 7:53 am

  so we try to keep birthdays simple to avoid materialism and emphasize family. i asked my february-born child what one thing she wanted for her birthday. she explained that since she already had a tutu and butterfly wings that the only thing she really wanted was flat hair. she means hair that is straight. this she asks of a mama that has worn her hair natural for more than 10 years. a mama whose distant memories include a perm burning her scalp as a teenager – and even farther back – sittin between her mama’s legs while holding down her ear and cringing, without moving, away…

• my firstborn is seven

  ummSanaa

  20 Feb 2010 | 1:26 pm

  we’ve been looking forward to this since i came up with the idea that she’d get her ears pierced at 7. it’s at the age of seven that the muslim child is encouraged to pray, citing the hadith that says: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: Command your children to pray when they become seven years old, and beat [i.e. discipline] them for it (prayer) when they become ten years old; and arrange their beds (to sleep) separately. so, i wanted to make the occasion memorable, and have the earrings – usually just a form of adornment – be a reminder to remember…

• shuffle along

  ummSanaa

  13 Dec 2009 | 4:11 pm

  a worn, old man shuffles quietly from place to place. within his home, his house-shoes make a more pronounced shush-shush across the carpeted floor than the scuffed worked boots worn out in the street. he’s a worker bee: had his own small business then was forced into retirement by an on-the-job fall. he’s traded his normal walk that used the full length of his long, narrow frame for a stooped shuffle. during his days, in between cowboy movies, he lets the TV watch him, while a blaring radio is both sides of his conversation. he gives himself busy work in the garage with long…

• state of the family

  ummSanaa

  13 Dec 2009 | 3:36 pm

  since we’ve returned from abroad in july we’ve been house-hopping between relatives while searching for income and a home of our own. i feel like i’ve been gathering information to create a state-of-the-family address. each house has had its benefits along with its challenges – although we probably brought many of the latter with us. one house was physically detrimental to one member of our family; another was spiritually unhealthy to us all; another home helped us to reconnect with the rhythms of nature and the circle of life; in yet another, we livened up an…

• lemon, vinegar, cayenne and honey

  ummSanaa

  16 Nov 2009 | 7:38 am

  in the last four months i’ve been witness to the break down of two marriages. one, an older couple who’d been together around 7 years. the other, a young couple with a child as old as their marriage, less 9 months. it wasn’t the first time around for the older couple. they were both working on their second or third marriage. they were like roommates in a bad situation, most times ignoring each other when in each other’s presence. but when they did have to interact, the tension — let alone the actual altercations — was like steel slashing though steel. even…

• 

  Knocking From Inside

• A Victorian Elopement

  Tiel Aisha Ansari

  12 Mar 2010 | 11:12 am

  As escapes went, it was nonpareil.Not content with furtive fumblesbehind the ferns in the conservatorythey fled the grounds altogether:hand in hand, mirror-studdedcostumes flashing in the mist.Turquoise and magenta curtainsrattled at the motor-coach's window—"Strumpet! Strumpet, I say!"The chaperone threw down his cup in furyall too late.words courtesy of Read Write PoemCollection available! Knocking from Inside

• In Praise of Mountains

  Tiel Aisha Ansari

  11 Mar 2010 | 10:05 am

  I cannot live without mountains.I cannot live without looking upbut the sky is too high, and it hurts my neck.Praise God for mountains.There's clean water in the heightscombed from passing cotton clouds.Praise God for mountains.There's a black dog-tooth shapeagainst a flaming sunrise.There's a pale silhouetteunder a rising moon.There are shoulders lifting under green forests.Praise God for mountainsfor they rise above.From the steel canyons of the citythey rise aboveFrom the dusty sagebrush flatsthey rise aboveFrom the green valley of orchardsthey rise abovePraise God for mountainsfor they…

• Blades of Light

  Tiel Aisha Ansari

  10 Mar 2010 | 1:06 pm

  Collection available! Knocking from Inside

• Dead Grass Moon

  Tiel Aisha Ansari

  10 Mar 2010 | 12:45 pm

  Collection available! Knocking from Inside

• True Modesty

  Tiel Aisha Ansari

  10 Mar 2010 | 10:42 am

  3 Word Wednesday: Modify. Obedient. Veil.obedient soulsmodify their behaviorand don't need to veilCollection available! Knocking from Inside

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  UmmAli's Site

• Her husband forces her to tell him everything that she hears from her family and other people!

  7 Mar 2010 | 9:28 am

  My husband forces me to tell him the whole dialogue I had with my mother or brothers or anyone else. He justifies this by saying that my mother may say something that can spoil our relationship. It causes problems between us if I refuse to tell him. Shall I respond to his request?. Praise be to Allaah.   1- What this husband should do – if what his wife is saying about him is true – is fear his Lord with regard to this demand that he is making of his wife, and he should realize that he is sinning by doing this, and that it is not permissible for his wife to obey him in this…

• Why are there so many earthquakes?

  7 Mar 2010 | 9:24 am

  Praise be to Allaah. Praise be to Allaah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allaah, and upon his family, companions, and those who follow his guidance. Allaah is the All-Wise, All-Knowing in all that He wills and decrees, and He is the All-Wise, All-Knowing in all that He legislates and commands. He creates and decrees whatever signs He wills, to frighten His slaves and remind them of their obligations and duties towards Him, and to warn them against associating anything in worship with Him, going against His commands and doing that which He has forbidden. Allaah says…

• WHY DO I WEAR HIJAAB !!

  7 Mar 2010 | 9:22 am

  I probably do not fit into the preconceived notion of a 'rebel'. I have no visible tattoos and minimal piercings. I do not possess a leather jacket. In fact, when most people look at me, their first thought usually is something along the lines of 'oppressed female'. The brave individuals who have mustered the courage to ask me about the way I dress usually have questions like: 'Do you parents make you wear that?' or, 'Don't you find that really unfair?' A while back, a couple of girls in Montreal were kicked out of school for dressing like I do. It seems strange that a little piece of cloth…

• The 500 Most Influential Muslims

  7 Mar 2010 | 9:19 am

• Danish paper apologises for printing Muhammad cartoon

  7 Mar 2010 | 9:08 am

  A Danish newspaper has apologised for any offence caused when it reprinted a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad with a bomb-shaped turban in 2008. Politiken said it was apologising as part of a settlement with Muslim groups in the Middle East and Australia. Other Danish newspapers criticised Politiken for its move. Twelve cartoons of Muhammad were initially published in 2006, sparking widespread protests by Muslims in various countries. Politiken - and other papers - republished one in 2008 when police uncovered an alleged plot to kill cartoonist Kurt Westergaard. Editor-in-chief Toeger…

• 

  AMEinfo.com Latest News

• Gulf Craft CEO on regulations and 10 years of superyachts

  13 Mar 2010 | 9:00 pm

  In the second part of Face To Face with Nasser Al Shaali, CEO, Gulf Craft, he talks to Phil Blizzard about the manfacture of superyachts, the reducing economic advantages of having production facilities in the region and how 'red tape' associated with sailing is hampering the development of yachting in the Gulf.

• Countdown is on for Abu Dhabi's Yahsat

  13 Mar 2010 | 8:10 pm

  Yahsat has started the countdown for the launch of the first, of two satellites, which will go into orbit in 2011. The Abu Dhabi based company, part of Mubadala, with provide a number of services for both business and consumer use as Shawkat Ahmed, COO, Yahsat explains to Phil Blizzard.

• RERA introduces online registration rule for lease contracts

  13 Mar 2010 | 5:00 am

  The Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) has announced that from today all rental/lease contracts for Dubai properties must be registered through its new Ejari online portal. The announcement makes effective the provisions of Law No.26 of 2007 Regulating the Relationship between Tenants and Landlords in Dubai and requires all individuals and companies acting as landlords to register tenancy agreements.

• Emirates NBD launches Emirates Mena Fixed Income Fund

  13 Mar 2010 | 4:58 am

  Emirates NBD announced today the launch of the Emirates Mena Fixed Income Fund. The fund will be managed by Emirates NBD Asset Management Limited (Emirates NBD AM), a provider of a full range of investment products and services and the asset management arm of the Emirates NBD group, the largest banking group in the Middle East in terms of assets.

• Dubai Investments Real Estate completes handover of 'Ritaj' Phase 1

  13 Mar 2010 | 4:57 am

  Dubai Investments Real Estate Company (DIRC), the real estate arm of Dubai Investments PJSC, has completed the handover of Phase 1 of 'Ritaj'- a modern residential complex located in Dubai Investments Park which epitomizes the concept of affordable luxury.

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  Jahane Rumi

• Abr mi barad-o man shovm-e az yar-e judaa (The cloud weeps…)

  Raza Rumi

  13 Mar 2010 | 1:26 am

  Amir Khusrau's lofty couplet Abr mi barad-o man shovm-e az yar-e judaa Choon kunam dil becheneen roz zedildar judaa. Abr baraan wa man-o yar satadah ba-widaa Man judaa girya kunaan, abr judaa, yaar judaa The cloud weeps, and I become separated from my friend - How can I separate my heart from my heart's friend on such a day. The cloud weeping, [...]

• Karachi Literary Festival

  Raza

  13 Mar 2010 | 12:28 am

  Oxford University Press and the British Council are holding a literary festival - first of its kind. The programme can be viewed here. KLF programme I am off to Karachi next weekend to attend this moot.

• the two insomnias

  Raza Rumi

  10 Mar 2010 | 12:48 pm

  “When I am with you, we stay up all night. When you're not here, I can't go to sleep. Praise God for those two insomnias! And the difference between them.” * Jalal ad-Din Rumi

• Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – Man Kunto Maula

  Raza Rumi

  9 Mar 2010 | 12:31 pm

• Rumi – Guest House

  Raza Rumi

  8 Mar 2010 | 1:13 pm

  This being human is a guest house Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they are a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight. The dark thought, the [...]

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  MuslimMatters.org

• Labor of Love: Lessons Learned Overnight

  Ameera Khan

  11 Mar 2010 | 11:26 pm

  “Final year students are required to do two night shifts per week in their Obstetrics and Gynecology posting.” Ever since I heard my in-charge say those words, the apprehension started building up until it became a real bothersome issue. I tried to look for an escape route, anything, to be able to skip those night duties. Amazingly, I’d never had to do night duties in my clinical rotations so far but this being my final year as a medical student, all the loose ends would now have to be tied up. In other words, there was no escape. The reasons I was reluctant to experience the famous…

• 7 Good Reasons for Attending a Sisters’ Halaqah

  Guests

  11 Mar 2010 | 2:00 am

  From forging a sense of community to providing an iman boost, the benefits of attending a weekly halaqah are many. Umm Ismail shares seven good reasons to get you out of your house on the path of knowledge. When was the last time you attended an Islamic talk or listened to a khutbah? In many areas, mosques are not even accessible to women, while children and childcare may make some courses out of your reach. Learning is still an obligation on every Muslim, and your weekly sisters’ halaqa may be your solution and inspiration. The Arabic word ‘halaqah’ means a ring and it is used to refer…

• Some Advice for Muslim Husbands on Giving Your Wife a Break

  Siraaj

  10 Mar 2010 | 2:00 am

  A few months back, I wrote about a chili recipe I cooked during my week of “maternity leave.” I spent that time cooking, cleaning, and looking after my elder two children while my wife recovered and took care of our new daughter, Taymiyyah. Before her birth, I was pretty much a “hands-off” dad – diapers, babysitting, feeding, and cleaning up after them was taken care of primarily by my wife.  And since they didn’t like leaving her side, it was easy for me to say, “See, if I take them, they’ll just cry, so you keep them.” About the only…

• Female Wet Dreams: Islamic Perspectives & Regulations

  Umm Reem

  8 Mar 2010 | 2:00 am

  Some time ago, I gave a series of lectures on Taharah (cleanliness) to the sisters in my community. A number of questions were raised from the discussion. It was nice and a very open talk since the one giving the lecture was a female herself. The sisters felt quite comfortable asking questions, in detail, that they normally feel shy about. One of the matters that we discussed was about the exact nature of female wet dreams. I realized that this issue is not only complicated for sisters but also a much neglected subject. This is why, I decided to have a full entry on this topic, for a number…

• Sunday Open Thread – 3/7/10 – Upcoming Media Events

  Youssef Chouhoud

  7 Mar 2010 | 6:10 am

  A couple of weeks back, I highlighted an episode of the public radio series Inside Islam that examined the relationship of Islam & Science. The next episode in the program is scheduled to air this week on a topic that’s perhaps less academic, but likely more personally relevant – The Art of Quranic Recitation. A hat tip to the crew over at UW-Madison, where the show broadcasts from, for choosing to discuss a facet of Islam that’s 1) not rooted in political controversy, 2) rarely, if ever, acknowledged through any Western medium, and 3) so rich, both spiritually and intellectually.

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  Talk Islam

• Obama donates peace prize money to charity

  aziz

  12 Mar 2010 | 9:25 am

  Obama announces the list of charities to receive his Nobel Peace Prize money. I’m particularly gratified to see Greg Mortenson’s Central Asia Institute on the list – of Three Cups of Tea fame. This post: "Obama donates peace prize money to charity" was originally posted at Talk Islam - a crescent waxing eloquent. The RSS feed may not be used at other sites without permission. You can subscribe to this RSS feed for Talk Islam at http://talkislam.info/feed/

• the subtext to this piece about western …

  aziz

  12 Mar 2010 | 5:48 am

  the subtext to this piece about western jihadis seems to be that radicalized converts are rubes, when drawn from lower/struggling social classes. This post: "the subtext to this piece about western …" was originally posted at Talk Islam - a crescent waxing eloquent. The RSS feed may not be used at other sites without permission. You can subscribe to this RSS feed for Talk Islam at http://talkislam.info/feed/

• Glenn Beck is an American problem

  thabet

  11 Mar 2010 | 9:42 pm

  Glenn Beck is an American problem and has nothing to do with countries or people even remotely related to the ’stans’. Septics should create their own derogatory suffixes… This post: "Glenn Beck is an American problem" was originally posted at Talk Islam - a crescent waxing eloquent. The RSS feed may not be used at other sites without permission. You can subscribe to this RSS feed for Talk Islam at http://talkislam.info/feed/

• Muslim morons jailed, not for being Muslims, but for being morons

  thabet

  11 Mar 2010 | 8:49 pm

  Germany convicts home-grown militants. I seriously think the only suitable punishment for such people is that they are parachuted into the middle of a war zone so they can play out their stupid fantasies. This post: "Muslim morons jailed, not for being Muslims, but for being morons" was originally posted at Talk Islam - a crescent waxing eloquent. The RSS feed may not be used at other sites without permission. You can subscribe to this RSS feed for Talk Islam at http://talkislam.info/feed/

• Wajahat Ali on Jihad Jane and cartoon co…

  aziz

  11 Mar 2010 | 9:03 am

  Wajahat Ali on Jihad Jane and cartoon controversies. I love his closing point: As an artist who relishes creative freedom, I resist calls that advocate artistic censorship or pander to political correctness. However, art – whether it be through words or images – has never existed within an isolated vacuum, and generally draws upon and animates the existing cultural context of the day. Art can be used as a loaded cultural and political weapon to incite animosity amidst an already hostile climate dominated by foolish controversies–or it can be used wisely and bravely as a common language…

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  ArabCrunch

• Just Launched: Watch Al Jazeera English Live on your iPhone Without Downloading any AJ Apps and for Free.

  Gaith Saqer

  13 Mar 2010 | 4:11 am

  Aljazeera just launched a new free iPhone website version that enables users to watch Aljazeera English from live via m.aljazeera.net ( click on LIVE on the top menu bar or on the LIVE banner further down.) Aljazeera plans to add Arabic mobile website shortly with Live links. The only English news channel from the Arab world also plans to add different handset support in the coming future according to Safdar Mustafa head of AJ mobile unit. 11 days ago, the number 1 TV station in the Arab world has launched its Arabic channel Live streaming iPhone app for free and made its apps on Symbian and…

• Google CEO Eric Schmidt: Silicon Valley Companies Have big Interest in MENA as a Fast Growing Region #adms

  Gaith Saqer

  11 Mar 2010 | 12:28 pm

  Eric Schmidt CEO of Google (the only company than managed to compete with Microsoft in all fronts and lead) is now in Dubai for Abu Dhabi Media Summit an event ArabCcrunch was not invited to! ( I was invited a source confirmed seeing my badge at the event, and I just digged for the email invite and found it, i did not notice before, since I get over 100 emails per day!) However Twitter is not short in leaking news and content. Wael Ghonim Google MENA Marketing Director posted some updates about his speech at the conference on his Twitter timeline. Eric said in the summit that “silicon…

• Confirmed: Google Gmail Free SMS Chat is Also Enabled to Ghana and “Israel”

  Gaith Saqer

  11 Mar 2010 | 5:10 am

  As we update the news about Google offering Palestine free SMS chat via gmail with info from a trusted source that Google also offers this feature to the African country Ghana and “Israel”, Google spokesman just confirmed officially that update, here is the list of mobile operators list of operators Google Free SMS chat currently support: Ghana: MTN, Zain, Tigo, Kasapa. Israel: Pelephone and Orange. Palestinian Territories: Jawwal. United States: All operators. It is worth mentioning that in Palestine and Arab countries the person who sends the SMS is the one who gets charged…

• Updated: Google: Special Treatment to Palestine The Only Country in the World that has Free Gmail SMS After US!?

  Gaith Saqer

  11 Mar 2010 | 1:31 am

  Update: as per our suspicion it turned out that “Israel” and Ghana have the service too. Google has a neat gmail feature that lets user to send free text messages (SMS) to their friends directly from your Gmail account that works the same way gtalk works. Gmail SMS service was originally launched only for US mobile numbers in 2008. But now it has been available in Palestine for free via the palestinian mobile operator Jawwal (now owned by Zain) . Google verifies Palestine as the “Palestinian territories” which to them is West Bank and Gaza. We do not know why Palestine…

• Junaio 2.0 First Indoor Social Augmented Reality App at SXSW With Developers API

  Gaith Saqer

  9 Mar 2010 | 3:22 pm

  Call it web 3.0 or Augmented reality (AR), the technology that overlays digital content such as text, graphics, or 3D models on real objects through any video output. A Technology that is changing the face of life because of the way it makes life easier. In the last months of 20009 we saw a spike in startups and companies entering the AR space, however innovation is not near ending in this space as germany based metaio released a new version of its open augmented reality browser junaio 2.0 The version 2.0 is now available in the iPhone App Store offering Indoor usage, web- and user-based…

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  Inside Islam

• Hearing the Recited Qur’an: Drs. H.Hasan Basri from Sulawesi Indonesia

  admin

  11 Mar 2010 | 6:26 am

  This is a guest post by Anna M. Gade, Associate Professor in the Department of Languages and Cultures of Asia and the Religious Studies Program at UW-Madison, and the author of The Qur’an: An Introduction. She will be the guest of today’s Inside Islam radio show on Wisconsin Public Radio March 11 at 3 [...]

• Islam and Fashion: Style Islam

  Reem

  9 Mar 2010 | 1:43 pm

  Muslims have used fiction, poetry, and music to relay to the world the message that Islam is about peace and does not condone violence. Fashion is also a medium on that list. Melih Kesmen began Style Islam, an Islamic-themed clothing line, in Germany three years ago and now it is in high demand in Europe and the Middle [...]

• Caning in Malaysia

  Reem

  5 Mar 2010 | 12:51 pm

  Last month, three women were caned in Malaysia for extramarital sex. The Malaysian government said that these canings were carried out under sharia, Islamic law. These women were the first to receive this kind of punishment. Many in Malaysia and in human rights groups have condemned these canings and have called for Malaysia to stop [...]

• Painting the Qur’an

  admin

  4 Mar 2010 | 12:00 pm

  This is a guest post by Scott LeDanse, a visual artist in Madison. I made this painting in Konya and Uchisar in 1982 from a Qur’anic text I saw and loved in Konya. The verses in the painting are from Chapter 12, The Chapter of Joseph, verses 83-91. In 1978 I lived in and traveled across Turkey, [...]

• Should the Khutbah be in English?

  Reem

  2 Mar 2010 | 8:07 pm

  Growing up in the United States, I assumed that the language of the khutbah, the Muslim Friday sermon, was not an issue of serious contention. Since my community is very diverse, the common language is English. Arabic is used when the Qur’an is cited, hadith related, and supplications recited. However, the English translations are usually provided. [...]