This scarf covers my hair, not my brain!

Islam is the religion of the future: Hassan Tahsin

When it became clear that the Egyptian presidential runoff offered a
stark choice between an Islamist and a liberal, Israel and the United
States were restless for fear of the victory of an Islamist. Though
they held two meetings with a delegation of the Muslim Brotherhood,
the results of the meetings were not announced and it was not known
whether or not they were meaningful.
Here, the embarrassing question is: Why are Israel and the West afraid
of Islam? Is the real reason for this fear what they call "Islamic
terrorism" or is it because of religious hostility as a result of
Jewish superstitious myths that are believed by some poor Jews and
Christians?
While the children of Israel are spreading these myths, a Jewish rabbi
has spoken out about Islam and has said that it is the religion of the
future. He spoke about the three major religions of the modern world
and their ability to survive and about which one would eventually
prevail, and become the religion of the future.
In the beginning, the rabbi speaks about Christianity, saying that it
does not provide a clear governing system. The case, he says, is
similar with Judaism. Both of them have become […]

This scarf covers my hair, not my brain!

Saffiya Ismail talks about her religion and its treatment of women.
Got me thinking about my last blog piece, "right to opinions", how one
person's comment, shaped anothers perception of my faith.
Certain people will make the loudest noise about following religion,
yet probably hasn't done anything to further his religion; they would
rather spread hatred, rather than encourage peace. We encounter many
people like this in our daily lives, irrespective what they believe
in, like a poison arrow.
My answer : I am trying to change the way people view Islam and its
treatment of women. I might be a drop in the ocean, but at least I am
trying to change this misogynist view.
I read an article by, Arab-American journalist Mona Eltahawy, she
wrote a scathing critique of the state of Arab women in the context of
last year's Arab Spring. In an article entitled, "Why do they hate us?
The real war on women is in the Middle East," she asserts that Arab
and Middle Eastern culture and religion – primarily Islam – causes
Arab men to 'hate' women. She uses that premise to explain the cycle
of misogynistic behaviour in the region.
I understood her anger when I read […]

Voices of Faith: Can you be faithful to your faith without following
all the requirements?

By McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)McClatchy – published Thursday, June 28, 2012
ONE CARDINAL SIN
Syed E. Hasan, Ph. D., Midland Islamic Council: The religion of Islam
has two main requirements: belief in the unseen and practicing its
teachings.
A Muslim is required to believe in God — the unseen — the Day of
Judgment, the prophets and messengers who were sent to humanity from
time to time and the divine revelations in the Torah, Bible and
Qur'an. Muslims believe in the sole supremacy and oneness of Allah,
the creator of the universe and the one who alone has complete power
over everything.
In addition, Muslims must fulfill the requirements of the five pillars
that constitute the practice of the faith of Islam. These include:
declaration of the faith, performing five daily prayers, fasting in
the month of Ramadan, paying the zakah (charity) and for those who can
physically and financially afford it, pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca.
Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) is a perfect example of a faithful
Muslim; many people strive to come close to his level of piety.
On the other hand, there are Muslims who do not practice the faith
completely but would still be considered belonging to the faith as
long as […]

In Pakistan schools, 'B' for bandook, 'J' for jihad'
London: Citing stark examples from school curriculum, a prominent
Islamabad-based scholar has said that extreme religious and anti-India
views fed into children in schools reinforced the cycle of extremism
that showed no signs of receding in Pakistan. Pervez Hoodbhoy, nuclear
physicist and commentator on current issues, presented the examples at
a seminar in the King's College on the role of education in combating
terrorism, organized by the Democracy Forum. The examples showed by
Hoodbhoy, included images and text from a primer that mentioned the
Urdu equivalent of A as Allah, B as bandook, T as takrao, J as jihad,
H as hijab, K as khanjar and Z as zunoob. He also showed a college
going up in flames, containing images of things considered sinful:
kites, guitar, satellite TV, carom board, chess, wine bottles and
harmonium. http://www.indiatribune.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9140:in-pakistan-schools-b-for-bandook-j-for-jihad-&catid=121:general-news&Itemid=410
Islamist attacks on Sufi Muslim sites continue in Mali

Sacred Sufi Muslim sites in the city of Timbuktu have come under
attack for a second day by an al Qaeda-linked militant group . Mali's
government has called on the United Nations to take action.
Islamist militants in northern Mali attacked Sufi Muslim religious
sites for the second day on Sunday, despite growing condemnation from
the international community.
The militant group Ansar Dine, which means Defenders of the Faith,
destroyed the mausoleums of three saints from the more liberal Sufi
sect of Islam with pick axes on Saturday. On Sunday, the Salafist
group's spokesman threatened to destroy all the mausoleums in the
city.
"We are going to destroy everything before we apply Shariah law in
this city," Sanda Abu Mohamed said.
Mali's Culture and Tourism Minister, Fadima Diallo, has called called
on the United Nations to take action.
"Mali exhorts the UN to take concrete steps to stop these crimes
against the cultural heritage of my people," she told UNESCO's annual
meeting in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg.
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The
Hague told the AFP news agency that the attacks were war crimes and
those responsible would be held accountable.
"My message to those involved in these criminal […]

The Muslims' Ignorance /Disregard of the Qur'anic Guidance and Its
Colossal and Recurring Cost

"Will they not, then, ponder over this Qur'an? – or are their hearts
sealed"? (Al-Qur'an 47: 24).
- "The petal of a flower may pierce through the heart of a rock – but
the Noble Word has no effect on the ignorant." – Muhammad Iqbal, bale
jibrail, preamble
By Muhammad Yunus, New Age Islam
Co-author (Jointly with Ashfaque Ullah Syed), Essential Message of
Islam, Amana Publications, USA, 2009
This is not to suggest, let alone advocate any direct incorporation of
the injunctions of the Qur'an in statecraft, or to politicise the
Qur'an in any manner, as that will enable political bodies of diverse
orientations to legitimize their respective ideologies and aspirations
by interpreting the Qur'an expediently or by venerating their own
ideologies on the strength of the Qur'an. The object of this exercise
is to inspire the believers to study this eternal book of guidance as
it should be studied (2:121), seeking the best meaning in it
(39:18/55). This is a pressing need of the day in order to deliver the
hearts and minds of the Muslim umma from the domination of
historically evolved […]

Islam is the solution. Is it? Ask Egypt

Kanchan Gupta
A year-and-a-half after the 'Lotus Revolution' that led to Hosni
Mubarak's downfall, Egypt has a President but not a Parliament. Which
way shall it go?
Those who remember the dramatic uprising in Egypt in January-February
2011 would also be able to recall the angry faces of young protesters
who had gathered at Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo. But public memory
being notoriously short and media's attention span even shorter than
that, few would remember the 'Lotus Revolution' in Egypt which
followed the 'Jasmine Revolution' in Tunisia and was, in turn,
followed by the 'Shoot the Colonel Revolution' in Libya. A brief
recount, therefore, would be in order.
When tens of thousands of young men and women flooded the streets of
Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and other cities across Egypt, demanding the
ouster of Hosni Mubarak who had been President since Anwar Sadat's
assassination on October 6, 1981, everybody was taken by surprise.
Nobody had expected such a tidal wave of protest. But then, nobody had
expected Tunisia to explode into fury either. If the Mukhabarat
(secret police) was caught unawares in both Tunisia and Egypt, so were
the CIA and Mossad. It's immaterial whether other intelligence
agencies had an inkling of the […]