Muslim Congress - 12/25/07

Christmas :: Hijab ::Women Scholars ::Spain ::Modi :: Indian Express

Membership is open all, send an email to:
WorldMuslimcongess-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Alhamdu Lillah, We are about 1400 Members now...
in addition to 2000 who are on a non-public list.

MERRY CHRISTMAS and
VERY HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Members share, opinions are your own.

Marylou : MuslimAgenda :: Christianity::Salaam:: Launch of Quraan today ::
Moderator - Thanks Marylou, I welcome, as long as it is engages the mind to think. Insha Allah, I will guard this group from becoming a senseless talk group. The delete rate has gone down now

Faiz : Salaam :: Reform :: Interfaith :: Verses ::
Moderator: Irfan, you have two names one in the email ID and what you sign, please make both the same, it would be easy, either you are Faiz or Irfan, not both. To conclude on this issue - yes, you can wish peace to every one without blinking an eye, that is what God wants.

Shariq Khan - Women Scholars of Hadith Part-I ::
Moderator - Shariq, there is an issue with a statement "unlike Christianity" - in your write up. You are mistaken on this one. God is usually referred to as "he" even in Qur'aan and Torah, as in Bible. Although it specifies that God is gender less, the use of language is otherwise. Please take that phrase "Unlike Christianity" from your Website.

Dr. Javed Jamil - The Economics of Hijab ::
Moderator - Javed, your focus on religion and economics in interesting, and any time I see this combo, I think of you.

Waleed Kavalec - Devout worshipper
Moderator - to buy his own mosque in Spain - This is an interesting new piece, thanks Waleed for sharing the same.

Gujarat Elections 2007 :: Congratulations to Modi -
Moderator - It is a difficult situation, especially to address the families who have lost their loved ones, and those who were inhumanely treated. I have done the best, I could do in writing commentaries on the subject and welcome input, how best to handle the situation that will not leave any residual hate, lingering hate.

Ghulam Muhammed - TIMES OF INDIA DOES IT AGAIN -
Moderator - Ghulam keep it up, another possible suggestion, if they have a calendar, send the info at least 30 days in advance and write a short letter about every festival and send it to the editors in advance so they can schedule. Get a few more friends to write to the same people. I will be happy to simply copy and send to the editor. Ghulam, by the way, we wish greetings to people of all faiths on our forum here. No one will be excluded, if we miss it, we will publish it by some one great like you reminds us.

Soharwardy - 10th Annual Seminar on Jesus Christ -
Moderator :: Glad to see this effort, in Dallas we have done several events like this - How is Jesus, Moses and Mohammed viewed by each religion. There is a real fine piece about Hindu Prophets - Gurus and spiritual teachers, I will study that and post it in a few days.
Reform, Punishment and Qur'aan - I have modified the article and have reposted below for your comments.

Inayat Lalani :: Re: Salaam :: Reform :: Interfaith :: Verses :: Christianity
Moderator - All holy books contain text that seems to be in variance with co-existence. However, as I have written without punishment for the crime, things will be chaotic. As far as the carrying out of punishment, we may have to apply the most powerful aspect of God - Kind and merciful. Please feel free to post, but for informational purpose and not to keep a score. As Muslims, our role is to mitigate the conflicts and nurture a culture of goodwill, Islam is peace, each one of us is responsible to carry out this task.

Faiz:: Re: Salaam :: Reform :: Interfaith
Moderator - Ifran, agree and would you mind taking up the research, effects and what process it takes to undo the hudood laws in Pakistan.

Mike:: Launch of new blog - http://quraan-today.blogspot.com/
Please take a look at this new blog, launched exclusively to address mis-quotes of verses from Qur'aan like "Slay the idolaters" be "ruthless to infidels" and "on Jews and Christians in particular but other faiths in general. Change begins with a small group of people. Let's join together and start fixing things. Take a look at the material on panels of the blog.

Feel free to write precise comments on each item, only selected items will be published.

http://quraan-today.blogspot.com/2007/12/slay-idolaters-95.html
http://quraan-today.blogspot.com/2007/12/ruthless-to-infidels-4829.html
http://quraan-today.blogspot.com/2007/12/not-like-jews-or-christians.html


Jazak Allah Khair

Mike Ghouse
World Muslim Congress

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


From: Marylou
Date: Mon Dec 24, 2007 8:48 am
Subject: Re: MuslimAgenda :: Christianity::Salaam:: Launch of Quraan today.

In a message dated 12/23/07 9:29:53 PM, MIKEGHOUSE@aol.com writes:

The reasons for this unwillingness to fight fire with fire are well known to us Musims but not to non-Muslims, namely, we are expressly forbidden by the Quran (at the pain of being condemned to eternal hell-fire) to criticize the Torat (the Old Testment) and Injeel (the New Testament) even though Islamic beliefs maintain that those two documents, originally revealed by Allah, have been tampered with.
Now I am willing to risk going to hell in order to systematically point out to the hate mongering in the Bible. will you make room for those in this forum?
Inayat Lalani

Mike, I would think Christians would welcome this with conditions, such as not criticism, but questions seeking understading about what certain verses mean .... peaceful dialogue ..... no more than one question at a time .... can we agree we are not dialoguing to prove who is right or wrong, but to understand and have more peace? Jesus also taught not to fight fire with fire - that's what his teaching of nonresistance is all about. Thank you Inayat for speaking up. Blessings, Marylou

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Faiz"
Date: Mon Dec 24, 2007 8:16 pm
Re: Salaam :: Reform :: Interfaith :: Verses :: Chri... ikfirfan

Salam Dr. Taseer Sahib,

Greeting someone is to extend good wishes to fellow human beings. It is a brief prayer "peace be unto you" for anyone who comes across a believer. That is the essence of the philosophy of greeting. It puts an immediate smile on the face of the person who is being greeted, and the greeted feels good about the greeter also. It spreads a good cheer all around.

The height of this simple greeting philosophy comes from another verse of the Qur'an whereby the believers are asked to say "Salamun alaikum" to even those who annoy them and debate with them with malicious intentions (28:55).

Even little things such as how to greet are discussed with some detail in the Qur'an which, unfortunately and sadly, get ignored and glossed over in our daily Qur'an recitation routines.

Wassalam,

Irfan

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: "http://www.shariqkhan.page.tl"
Date: Tue Dec 25, 2007 1:18 am
Subject: Women Scholars of Hadith Part-I


Women Scholars of Hadith
Part-I

By Dr Muhammad Zubayr Siddiqi
Excerpted with some modifications from: www.studyislam.com


Forward By : http://www.shariqkhan.page.tl



History records few scholarly enterprises, at least before modern times, in which women have played an important and active role side by side with men. The science of Hadith forms an outstanding exception in this respect. Islam, as a religion which (unlike Christianity) refused to attribute gender to the Godhead,1 and never appointed a male priestly elite to serve as an intermediary between creature and Creator, started life with the assurance that while men and women are equipped by nature for complementary rather than identical roles, no spiritual superiority inheres in the masculine principle.2 As a result, the Muslim community was happy to entrust matters of equal worth in God’s sight to both men and women. Only this can explain why, uniquely among the classical Western religions, Islam produced a large number of outstanding female scholars, on whose testimony and sound judgment much of the edifice of Islam depends.
In the Early Days of Islam

Since Islam’s earliest days, women took a prominent part in the preservation and cultivation of Hadith, and this function continued down the centuries. At every period in Muslim history, there lived numerous eminent women scholars of Hadith, treated by their brethren with reverence and respect. Entries on very large numbers of them are to be found in the biographical dictionaries.

During the lifetime of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), many women were not only the instance for the evolution of many hadiths, but were also their transmitters to their sisters and brothers in faith.3 After the Prophet’s death, many women Companions, particularly his wives, were looked upon as vital custodians of knowledge, and were approached for instruction by the other Companions, to whom they readily dispensed the rich store which they had gathered in the Prophet’s company. The names of Hafsah, Umm Habibah, Maymunah, Umm Salamah, and `A’ishah, are familiar to every student of Hadith as being among its earliest and most distinguished transmitters.4 In particular, `A’ishah is one of the most important figures in the whole history of Hadith literature—not only as one of the earliest reporters of the largest number of Hadith, but also as one of their most careful interpreters.
In the Period of the Successors

In the period of the Successors, too, women held important positions as scholars of Hadith. Hafsah, the daughter of Ibn Sirin,5 Umm Ad-Darda’ the Younger (d. AH 81/700 CE), and `Amrah bint `Abdur-Rahman, are only a few of the key women scholars of Hadith of this period. Umm Ad-Darda’ was held by Iyas ibn Mu`awiyah, an important scholar of Hadith of the time and a judge of undisputed ability and merit, to be superior to all the other Hadith scholars of the period, including the celebrated masters of Hadith like Al-Hasan Al-Basri and Ibn Sirin.6 `Amrah was considered a great authority on traditions related by `A’ishah. Among her students, Abu Bakr ibn Hazm, the celebrated judge of Madinah, was ordered by the caliph `Umar ibn `Abdul-`Aziz to write down all the traditions known on her authority.7
After them, `Abidah Al-Madaniyyah, `Abdah bint Bishr, Umm `Umar Ath-Thaqafiyyah, Zaynab the granddaughter of `Ali ibn `Abdullah ibn `Abbas, Nafisah bint Al-Hasan ibn Ziyad, Khadijah Umm Muhammad, `Abdah bint `Abdur-Rahman, and many other women excelled in delivering public lectures on Hadith. These devout women came from the most diverse backgrounds, indicating that neither class nor gender were obstacles to rising through the ranks of Islamic scholarship. For example, `Abidah, who started life as a slave owned by Muhammad ibn Yazid, learned a large number of hadiths with the teachers in Madinah. She was given by her master to Habib Dahhun, the great Hadith scholar of Spain, when he visited the holy city Jerusalem on his way to the Hajj. Dahhun was so impressed by her learning that he freed her, married her, and brought her to Andalusia. It is said that she related 10,000 hadiths on the authority of her Madinan teachers.8

Zaynab bint Sulayman (d. AH 142/759 CE), by contrast, was princess by birth. Her father was a cousin of As-Saffah, the founder of the Abbasid dynasty, and had been a governor of Basrah, Oman, and Bahrain during the caliphate of Al-Mansur.9 Zaynab, who received a fine education, acquired a mastery of Hadith, gained a reputation as one of the most distinguished women scholars of Hadith of the time, and counted many important men among her pupils.10
The Compilation of Hadith


This partnership of women with men in the cultivation of the Prophetic Tradition continued in the period when the great anthologies of Hadith were compiled. A survey of the texts reveals that all the important compilers of Hadith from the earliest period received many of them from women teachers: every major collection gives the names of many women as the immediate authorities of the author. And when these works had been compiled, the women scholars themselves mastered them and delivered lectures to large classes of pupils, to whom they would issue their own ijazah (permission to transmit hadiths or a book of Hadith).
In the fourth century we find Fatimah bint `Abdur-Rahman (d. AH 312/924 CE), known as As-Sufiyyah on account of her great piety; Fatimah, granddaughter of Abu Dawud of Sunan fame; Amat Al-Wahid (d. AH 377/987 CE), the daughter of distinguished jurist Al-Muhamili; Umm Al-Fath Amat As-Salam (d. AH 390/999 CE), the daughter of the judge Abu Bakr Ahmad (d. AH 350/961 CE); Jumu`ah bint Ahmad, and many other women, whose classes were always attended by reverential audiences.11

The Islamic tradition of female Hadith scholarship continued in the fifth and sixth centuries after Hijrah. Fatimah bint Al-Hasan ibn `Ali ibn Ad-Daqqaq Al-Qushayri, was celebrated not only for her piety and her mastery of calligraphy, but also for her knowledge of Hadith and the quality of the isnads (chains of narrators) she knew.12 Even more distinguished was Karimah Al-Marwaziyyah (d. AH 463/1070 CE), who was considered the best authority on the Sahih of Al-Bukhari in her own time. Abu Dharr of Herat, one of the leading scholars of the period, attached such great importance to her authority that he advised his students to study the Sahih under no one else because of the quality of her scholarship. She thus figures as a central point in the transmission of this seminal text of Islam.13 As a matter of fact, writes Goldziher, “her name occurs with extraordinary frequency of the ijazas for narrating the text of this book.”14 Among her students were Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi15 and Al-Humaydi (AH 428/1036 CE–AH 488/1095 CE).16
Aside from Karimah, a number of other women scholars of Hadith occupy an eminent place in the history of the transmission of the text of the Sahih.17 Among these, one might mention in particular Fatimah bint Muhammad (d. AH 539/1144 CE; Shahdah “the Writer” (d. AH 574/1178 CE), and Sitt Al-Wuzara bint `Umar (d. AH 716/1316 CE).18 Fatimah narrated the book on the authority of the great scholar of Hadith Sa`id Al-`Aiyar; she received from the Hadith specialists the proud title of musnidat Asfahan (the great Hadith authority of Asfahan).
Shahdah was a famous calligrapher and a scholar of great repute; the biographers describe her as “the calligrapher, the great authority on Hadith, and the pride of womanhood.” Her great-grandfather had been a dealer in needles, and thus acquired the sobriquet “Al-Ibri” (needle-seller). But her father, Abu Nasr (d. AH 506/1112 CE) had acquired a passion for Hadith and managed to study it with several masters of the subject.19 In obedience to the Sunnah (the Prophet’s way and teachings), he gave his daughter a sound academic education, ensuring that she studied under many Hadith scholars of accepted reputation.
She married `Ali ibn Muhammad, an important figure with some literary interests, who later became a boon companion of the caliph Al-Muqtadi, and founded a college and a Sufi lodge, which he endowed most generously. His wife, however, was better known: She gained her reputation in the field of Hadith scholarship, and was noted for the quality of her isnads.20 Her lectures on Sahih Al-Bukhari and other Hadith collections were attended by large crowds of students; and on account of her great reputation, some people even falsely claimed to have been her disciples.21
Also known as an authority on Al-Bukhari was Sitt Al-Wuzara, who, besides her acclaimed mastery of Islamic law, was known as the musnidah (the great Hadith authority) of her time, and delivered lectures on the Sahih and other works in Damascus and Egypt.22 Classes on the Sahih were likewise given by Umm Al-Khayr Amatil-Khaliq (AH 811/1408 CE–AH 911/1505 CE), who is regarded as the last great Hadith scholar of the Hijaz.23 Still another authority on Al-Bukhari was `A’ishah bint `Abdul-Hadi.24

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1- Maura O’Neill, Women Speaking, Women Listening (Maryknoll, 1990CE), 31: “Muslims do not use a masculine God as either a conscious or unconscious tool in the construction of gender roles.”
2- For a general overview of the question of women’s status in Islam, see M. Boisers, L’Humanisme de l’Islam (3rd ed., Paris, 1985), 104–10.
3- Al-Khatib, Sunnah, 53–4, 69–70.
4- See above, 18, 21.
5- Ibn Sa`d, VIII, 355.
6- Suyuti, Tadrib, 215.
7- Ibn Sa`d, VIII, 353.
8- Maqqari, Nafh, II, 96.
9- Wustenfeld, Genealogische Tabellen, 403.
10- Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi, Tarikh Baghdad, XIV, 434f.
11- Ibid., XIV, 441-44.
12- Ibn Al-`Imad, Shadharat Adh-Dhahah fi Akhbar man Dhahah (Cairo, AH 1351), V, 48; Ibn Khallikan, no. 413.
13- Maqqari, Nafh, I, 876; cited in Goldziher, Muslim Studies, II, 366.
14- Goldziher, Muslim Studies, II, 366. “It is in fact very common in the ijazah of the transmission of the Bukhari text to find as middle member of the long chain the name of Karimah Al-Marwaziyyah” (ibid.).
15- Yaqut, Mu`jam Al-Udaba’, I, 247.
16- COPL, V/i, 98f.
17- Goldziher, Muslim Studies, II, 366.
18- Ibn Al-`Imad, IV, 123. Sitt Al-Wuzara’ was also an eminent jurist. She was once invited to Cairo to give her fatwa on a subject that had perplexed the jurists there.
19- Ibn Al-Athir, Al-Kamil (Cairo, AH 1301), X, 346.
20- Ibn Khallikan, no. 295.
21- Goldziher, Muslim Studies, II, 367.
22- Ibn Al-`Imad, VI. 40.
23- Ibid., VIII, 14.
24- Ibn Salim, Al-Imdad (Hyderabad, AH 1327), 36.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dr. Javed Jamil

Article carried by Daily Muslims

http://www.dailymuslims.com/Opinion/economicsofhijab.html

The Economics of Hijab

By
Dr Javed Jamil
Executive Chairman
International Centre for Applied Islamics
India

Hijab is surely one of the major social issues in discussion these days particularly in the West. Is this issue merely an indicator of the growing feelings of hatred against Muslims after 9/11? Is it merely because the Hijab is believed by many to have become a symbol of Islamic revivalism and assertion of Muslim identity? If people tend to think that to be the case they are awfully mistaken. It can be true that the campaign against Hijab has gathered momentum after 9/11. But the truth is that Hijab is a constant thorn in the flesh of the corporate world. Recent events have only given it a fresh reason to press the campaign against modesty with a renewed vigour. But the real motive behind this campaign remains economic, not the religious or political.

With the beginning of Industrial Revolution and its capture at the ideological level by what I call economic fundamentalism, the feminist movements in the West and elsewhere spawned a socio-cultural milieu that encouraged women’s participation in social activities. Feminism imbued their minds with a falla­cious sense of euphoria over their newly found liberty and free­dom. Freedom was too fantastic a slogan to resist and the prospects of riddance from the ennui of routine menagerie was a dream come true. Hardly did they realize that the freedom they were being made to achieve was but a mirage and the movement for women’s liberty was a calculated move initiated or supported by the cunning merchants. Having excelled in misusing fascination between men and women to further their business, it was now time to sexually abuse women for money. The economic fundamentalists had pretty well recognised the big potential of sex as market. The desire for cars, scooters, fashionable garments and other items of luxury could be wanting in a number of human beings, but sex is a universal human urge and even the most pious tends to succumb to sexual advances of a member of the opposite sex. Man longs to have as many partners in bed as he can lay hands on. The immanence of this human tendency throughout the world is an irrefutable fact of life. The commercialisation of sex there­fore was expected to generate massive dividends, unparalleled in any other business. Furthermore, sex could be used for boosting other markets as well. A number of stumbling blocks in the path of merchandising of sex had already been crushed or made defunct. The women were now willing to be active participants in any dispensa­tion. Their longing for luxurious life was rapidly intensifying; they had smelled economic independence. Unfortunately however, women failed to exercise their wisdom in distinguishing between true freedom that would elevate their social and economic status without turning them into victims of savage exploitation and fake freedom that was advertently inculcated in them by the merchants in order to expand their financial empires. Little did women understand that their personal rights would be used as instruments for their abuse.

The first necessity for the commercialisation of sex was that women must get accustomed to revealing their anatomy before others. This could not be accomplished overnight. The first step in that direction was popularisation of 'fashion' which soon became a word most dear to men and women of all ages and groups. Fashion as an industry developed by leaps and bounds; and corresponding to its growth, the size and volume of clothes adored by women got shortened. Covering the heads had always been regarded both by men and women in almost all the faiths that flourished anywhere on the globe a sign of virtue. It indicated the decency of personali­ty and righteousness of character. Head-kerchief was the first casualty of the storm of fashion. This led to the display of dozens of attractive hairstyles. Then the arms and shoulders were bared and the neckline started descending. Skirts began to shrink, and miniskirts and shorts steadily marked their presence on the fashion scene. Swimming suits were then popularised through sports--women had the right to play--and films. Within a short period of time the topless blondes and brunettes could be seen on hundreds of beaches all over the world. The business through beaches reached great heights. The nude poses of women--even an ugly woman could be made sexy by an expert photographer--started regularly appearing in some maga­zines and newspapers. The films excelled in showing them taking bath or changing clothes. The portrayal of sexual acts was soon to follow.

In this background, it can be easily understood that Purdah or Hijab (veil) was the most abomi­nable sight for the economic fundamentalists donning the garb of feminism. It must be clarified here that purdah (covering of body) was not limited to the Islamic world, as is often believed. Almost all the races, communities and sects, except some tribes, insisted on covering most parts of the body. Women, especially belonging to the upper class, usually covered their heads and put an extra cloth on their bosoms. The difference in the case of Islam was that it had assumed the shape of burqua. The campaign of the pseudo feminists was therefore directed against all such societies that prescribed some code of dressing. How a woman re­luctant even to show her face and hair could be persuaded to bare her breasts, thighs and buttocks! The unholy war against the 'veil' in the countries, where it was still in practice, got intensified. It was condemned as the greatest obstacle in the development of women. Acrimonious debates ensued in newspapers, magazines, social circles and public platforms. Army personnel and policemen could cover their bodies with thick uniform and head with heavy helmets, and yet the heat in the atmosphere and density of clothes would not interfere in their normal functioning; advocates and judges could don jet black robes, even at the height of summer, and yet the travails of weather would not impede their work; doctors could put thick white aprons without feeling uncomfortable; nurses and nuns’ head-kerchiefs would not hinder their movements; bishops could perform all their celebrated duties wearing extra robes and covering their heads; but women’s freedom of movements would be severely jeopardised, as the feminists believed, if they covered their body with some additional piece of cloth. If women wore a hat to cover their head, it was not unwelcome, as it normally did not indicate a desire on her part to practice some piety. Hijab on the other hand was not acceptable as it demonstrated a conscious conviction and effort on the part of the woman to lead a chaste life. Chasteness was and is not acceptable to the economic fundamentalists; chasteness does not bring money.

Nudity is an antidote to chasteness. Nudity needed glorification in order to be popularised; the shame attached to it was to be mercilessly ravished if society had to “develop”. The “Operation Nudity” began with the glorification of nude paintings and graffiti. The artists who marvelled in eroticism were admired as some of the greatest ar­tists of all times for the reason that their compositions were portrayals of “reality” and “beauty”. Films also started presenting woman in her full naked glory in the name of art or reality. The opponents were spurned as the enemies of truth and art. When the money poured in as the result of depiction of truth, truth was eulogised; when it required falsehood, it was adored as a work of fiction or creative imagination. With the beginning of the globalisation, which meant that now Muslim countries too would be globalised, the forces of the corporate world have realised that the true picture of globalisation cannot emerge unless the Islamic practice of Hijab is challenged and abolished.

Islam the balanced social system

During the life-time of Prophet Muhammad and in the early part of the Post-Muhammad era, the dress code that was applicable to men and women did mean neither a specific type of dress like burqua for women, nor total segregation. Women, with their heads covered and their bodies adorning simple, non-provocative, decent garments and their bosoms further protected by chadars, used to offer congregational prayers in mosques along with men. Their participation had been remarkable in almost all the battles that Muslims had to engage in. While some women took arms and fought valiantly at the battle front, most of them worked behind the ranks nursing the injured with religious fervour and passion. The advent of Muhammad (PBUH) brought education at the top of the agenda of the activities of his followers; women did not lag behind. They used to furnish themselves with knowledge along with men in the classes conducted by Ali, the most acknowledged expert of the religious sciences. But all these assemblies stuck to certain regulations to prevent any mischief. In the mosques, women's row would be behind those of men and children; they would be the first to leave mosques, and when all of them had left; men would come out. In the classes, women would sit on one side and men on the other. With the passage of time however, the provisions of purdah took the form of a specific robe, bruqua, for women going out of their houses; their participation in congregational prayers was forbidden by the latter clerics and segregation became too impervious to allow any scope for their participation in educational and other pursuits that could require going out of their houses. Islam has wonderful counterpoise in its social system; it has no scope for feminism or male chauvinism. It gave women extraordinary rights and at the same time took extremely effective steps to safeguard them from all types of exploitation. It bestowed on them economic rights comprising the right to inherit (in proportion to their economic obligations), share in the properties of their fathers, mothers, husbands, sons and daughters, made a provision of dower for them (in consideration of their marriage) that was obligatory on their husbands to be given before consummation of marriage and the right to own properties. It awarded them, like their male counterparts, the right to earn but did not make it obligatory for them, thus giving them not only the choice to earn but also the choice not to earn; in that case, the husbands were duty-bound to maintain them in a way befitting their status. Besides the economic rights, Islam also excelled in giving them equal rights in social life, such as the absolute right to choose their spouse, the right to seek from their husbands or sue them for divorce, the right to receive maintenance from husbands till their divorce was formalised and maintenance for their children till they were looked after by her, the right to remarry after divorce and after her husband's death the right to have or not to have children in consultation with their husbands, and the right to look after their children, in case they are divorced, till a certain point of time. Islam not only endowed women with the right to learn, equal rights in religion, education and prayers were made obligatory on them, just in the same way as they were on men. Of still greater social significance is the fact that Islam imposed such restrictions on men (and women) as would ensure physical and mental security of women. These include total ban on alcohol, gambling and adultery. Purdah was not obligatory, as is commonly understood, on women alone; men also could not reveal most parts of their bodies and would preferably cover their heads. Unfortunately however, several of these rights were compromised with in successive Muslim societies. This provided the economic fundamentalists an opportunity to malign Islam as anti-women. Their aim was obviously to incite women against their religion. The game-plan met with partial successes, especially in those countries that either had either a foreign rule or rulers influenced by the West or Westernism. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many governments in Muslim countries including Iran, Tunisia, Egypt and Lebanon strove to impose western values on their people. The purdah was forcibly abolished, and the women of these countries, willingly or unwillingly, started participating in the same form of activities as the western women were engaged in. At one time, night clubs flourished in Tehran, Cairo and Beirut. But the roots of faith were too strong in Muslims to allow it to continue for long. Within half a century, men and women in these countries in increasing numbers developed aversion for the new values. The on-going nakedness stopped, and women again started wrapping themselves in the garb of purity; they continued to engage in the educational and other social pursuits in a way as would not make them vulnerable to exploitative practices. In some countries however, like in Taliban’s Afghanistan, the Islamic shariah was interpreted too rigidly to allow women to get higher education.

I have been advocating for several years that if Deen is to be established, Muslims should wage an aggressive ideological war against the ideology of economic fundamentalism, Westernism being its most visible face in today’s world. We should stop just keeping on defending Islam and Muslims. We must attack the false ideologies. If Hijab is to be protected, the only way to do is to wage a full-fledged attack on nakedness and all forms of its commercialisation. Women of the West must be made aware of the designs of the forces of economics. This has to be done through a well-orchestrated collective effort, which has been missing now. I find it very hard to get my books published and distributed, as they attack the designs of the market forces. I have also not got the support of the Muslim organisations. When my book, “The Killer Sex” was published, several American women who read it via Net opined that every western girl of more than 12 years must be given this book to read. But how? I had no answer.

To sum up, Hijab is a “grim” reminder to the West particularly the corporate world that a lot has to be done if the expansion of the global sex market is to be intensified; and Islam will be hard to beat if Muslims and Muslim countries are to be trapped. This cannot be done without manoeuvring the psyche behind Hijab.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


From: "G.Waleed Kavalec" <>
Date: Mon Dec 24, 2007 10:47 am
Subject: ... to buy his own mosque in Spain
Devout worshipper

By Phil Minshull
in Madrid

Malian striker Frederic Kanoute has splashed out more than US$700,000 to buy his own mosque in Spain .

The mosque is located in the Spanish city of Seville , where Kaounte plays his club football for Sevilla.

The privately owned mosque was due to be sold after a contract to use the premises by the local Muslim population had expired.

But Kanoute, one of the finalists for the 2007 BBC African Footballer of the Year award, stepped in to purchase the building.

Most of Seville's Muslims who will benefit from Kanoute's gesture are immigrants from north and west Africa.

The Islamic Community of Spain confirmed that a last-minute appeal was made to Kanoute after the mosque had been put up for sale.

"The worshippers at Ponce De Leon are quite diverse but if it had not been for Kanoute then we would not have had a mosque on Fridays, which is the most holy day of the week for Muslims," a spokesman for the Islamic Community of Spain told the local paper Diario de Sevilla.

The 30-year-old striker has not made any comment on the matter.

But city authorities have confirmed that the property has been registered in Kanoute's name.

It is estimated that Kanoute has spent almost a year's salary to buy the mosque.

"We haven't got anything to say about the matter. It was a property up for sale; it's in a good area and it's a normal investment," added a Sevilla club official.

Kanoute is a devout Muslim, having made a public conversion 10 years ago.

At the start of last season, he controversially taped over the logo of the Sevilla club's shirt sponsors - internet gaming company 888.com - because he said his religion forbade the promotion of gambling.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/low/football/africa/7141005.stm


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------





Gujarat Elections 2007 :: Congratulations to Modi

http://www.mikeghouse.net/Articles/Gujarat-Elections-2007-Congratulations-to-Modi.asp

Mike Ghouse, December 24, 2007


Congratulations to Modi for winning the elections, he now has an opportunity to win the heart of every Gujarati regardless of his or her affiliation.
Before the elections, I wrote about forgiving as an act of kindness and praischit to ease every Gujarati into a moral comfort zone and look forward to bringing comprehensive progress; material, moral and spiritual to all its citizens

The Jain community sets an examples of practicing one of the most beautiful principles, “Michami Dukadam”, meaning forgiving and asking for forgiveness. This helps clean the slate of the mistakes one has made and help clean others slate, so every one can start the year with a clean heart. Why should one do that? Simply for purification of one’s heart and soul and live an enriched life. Nothing beats the feeling of being a good human being.

Hate, malice and anger eat away one’s peace of mind. It has to be brought to an end for living a serene life.

My appeal to every Gujarati is to pause and seriously consider the option of forgiveness. Let it not hinge on others doing it first or not doing at all, the forgiveness benefits the forgiver more than the forgived. Be selfish and reap the benefits of forgiveness and see your own demeanor become admirable.

Be good to yourselves and your soul.

I have selected a few pieces that extol him, as well as those turn the amber light on and those that and vindictive. In an open society, all the cards have to be put on the table to understand the full picture and play a decent game.

It's time to show large-heartedness, says Modi

Figuring out Gujarat

NRIs raise a toast to Modi's victory

I'm jewel in India's crown: Modi

Narendra Modi and Adolf Hitler

Modi's Victory: Portents for Indian Democracy

Time to build an inclusive Gujarat: British NRIs to Modi

If Modi wins on Sunday

Full articles at: http://www.mikeghouse.net/Articles/Gujarat-Elections-2007-Congratulations-to-Modi.asp

Mike Ghouse

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Ramesh Patel
Date: Mon Dec 24, 2007 9:52 pm
Subject: RE: Dallas Indians :: Gujarat 2007-Congratulations to Modi

Mike

I think enough of Modi, media has done enough one sided campaign.. In democracy, public spoke, and it is time to close the chapter and hope for best and coopration from all community.

Best Regards,

MODERATOR: Ramesh, thanks for the note, our group is a matured bunch, each one has a different point of view, but they can also see another point of view. Every now and then, we do get people who do not understand that we have to learn to live with difference, but over all, it is a good group. Even in Gujarat, Modi has both supporters and opposers, we are a part of that India, and we should have similar expressions and live with it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: AMRIT LAL RAWAL
Date: Tue Dec 25, 2007 6:54 am
Subject: Re: Dallas Indians :: Gujarat 2007-Congratulations to

Thanks for having sent your message of congratulations to Modi. Some journalists are dubbing it as `How to elect Fascism' (banglavision@yahoo.com) . Modi has won a well-deserved victory. Congress only ate up money for forty years and did not do anything. Modi said :I do not eat money and will not allow others to eat.This approach is needed in all third world countries which are suffering from corruption of their leaders.
Three cheers for Modi.
AL.Rawal

MODERATOR : Amrit, yes three Cheers for Modi and I sincerely wish, he would focus on earning the cheers from every one of the 51 Million people. Let the progress stand on all the 4 legs of Gujarat and bring prosperity to Gujaratis without any one left out. He needs to consider saying Michami Dukadam , and restore faith and confidence of people, reach them out, he would be bigger than life, if he choses to apologize to all the victims of Gujarat -and start Gujarat on a clean slate. A mere acknowledgement would be good for his own spirituality and spirit of the people. The bus needs to have all its tires (communities) the air pressure to carry the bus forward and ensures a smooth journey. We have to uplift those who are down, fill the tire if it has low air pressure in it. It is in the interest of the community as a whole. May God bless him and give him the mind to respect every one of his desh.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Salil Tripathi

Well done, Ashok, on your sweepstakes victory. I had not doubted that Modi would win. I did not want him to win. There's a difference there, which you know. Gujarat's polity is too polarized, and the state's defensive mentality is way too aggressive, if I can put it that way. So anyone who honestly disagrees with what's taken as "Gujarat's" view, is smothered. Witness what happened to Mrinalini Sarabhai over Narmada, for example. The visceral hatred I get even from my people I know well and some of whom are related to me, when the topic of post-Godhra riots comes up, is unique. When you criticize Modi you aren't criticizing Gujarat; when you object to his policies you aren't insulting the state. So in the only piece I wrote recently on this topic, I had said that Modi was likely to win. And I've never doubted your political interpretation/acumen!

Cheers;

Salil

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Firoz Vohra

Mr. Mike there is no remorse for the 2002 Genocide and instead the perpetrators and Modi himself brag about the killings and fake Encounters of Innocent's,how do you expect to start the process of forgiveness. The preparators should be punished for the crime against Humanity and the impunity should end. There should be accountability and Justice should be served before any one preach about Forgiveness.

My immediate family had been victim of 2002 Genocide.Still today the families are suffering and the daughters and sisters of that family was raped in front of there Father and Brother and still the rapist taunt the family in the small village of Kheda district. As if 2 weeks before one of the rapist brag about the fun he had raping the sister in front of his brother. This is still happening and there is no remorse.

How can even one think about forgiveness when the perpetrators are at large and have no remorse. The Larger Society even had no Remorse in those small villages were these rapes had happened.

Firoz Vohra.

Firoz,

MODERATOR: Feroze, I understand the pain and suffering. What are the choices? What can be done to those who are being humiliated daily in the Kheda District? What options do you propose to bring about a resolution? A long term resolution, where the fire is put out, and no sparks are left to burn on their own again.

Without any doubt, the CM's first job should be reconciliation, and punishment to those who do not believe in repentance.I sat on this for two days, it is very painful to me to see humans violating other humans and the arrogance of score keeping is even more painful.

With the limited knowledge I have, the only solution that seem to have strength and long term sustainable peace is the forgiveness route. Forgiveness recoups the lost moral energy in those who are suffering that may be the first step. Forgiveness ought to be
voluntary and non-conditional.

MY apologies, if this is offending you, you have lost your family members, and the humiliation is painful, please help us take an approach that brings peace to both the offenders and the victims. That is only way to bring a durable solution in the long run.
My apologies again, I do feel your pain, please make an attempt to forgive.
I care about every human being on the earth, and certainly my own fellow Indians.

Mike Ghouse
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: "Ghulam Muhammed" <>
Date: Tue Dec 25, 2007 3:00 am
Subject: TIMES OF INDIA DOES IT AGAIN - By Ghulam Muhammed ghulam_muham...

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

TIMES OF INDIA DOES IT AGAIN

I think, I should make this my by-line. Neither The Times of India will not relent from its benign neglect of Muslim community in Mumbai and India, nor shall I relent speaking against its patent anti-Muslim editorial policy line.

To be fair, it was a delight to see that Time of India, in Bakr Eid day, celebrated the Eid festival with Indian Muslim readers, by adopting the Crescent as a substitute to O in its Times of India mascot on the Front page. It was a very subdued, very classy, but never the less a reluctant acknowledgement by the Jains, that India's 200 million Muslims, who form about 20% of the population of India, do have an existence in India and their joys and their grief should be some interest to the rest of the people, if the India has to nurse and survive as a multi-cultural, multi-polar, multi-religious, multi-language rainbow nation.

However, as an Indian Muslim, I was taken back, when I see that Times of India (Mumbai Print Edition) has devoted full FOUR pages on this Christmas day, to project a numerically very small minority and that certainly contrasts with how Time of India has treated Muslims of India in its news and editorial pages. I do not begrudge the extensive coverage of Xmas in Times pages, though I would strongly feel that there is a unexplained bias against Muslims, when they are so routinely ostracize from mainstream society. Times of India, is most diligent, in reporting all crimes that is committed by people with Muslim names and while reporting those crime news, one can easily make out, that the TOI writers, whoever they may be, are not willing to pull out any punches, when Times of India has to demonise the Muslims. That points to a deliberate editorial bias against the community.


The Four-page, wall to wall coverage of Christmas festivities, was certainly not a commercial advertising supplement to go with the main issue. In that case, Times of India would have certainly carried some note of the FOUR page coverage, being a paid insertion. It cannot be assumed, that Times of India, was paying loaded homage to our nation's Catholic Bahu, Sonia Gandhi, who is now acting as surrogate royalty. The editors cannot afford to be so crass and so undiplomatic. After all they have to keep looking over their shoulders for the immediate reaction of the Saffron Brigade. Neither, it may be surmised that Times of India, with its corporate advertisers from foreign lands, now camping in Mumbai city and in India to invest billions of dollars, intends to make them feel at home in this Shiv Sena city, with all the Xmas festivities publicly celebrated through one single TOI gesture of 4-page coverage taking the sting out of any unpleasant taste of re-entering the land again, from where they had been booted out, after a couple of centuries long high of ' koi hay' life of opulence and luxuries.

The real problem lies with the prevailing Brahmin resolve to marginalize and ostracize Muslims in their own home land. The same clever manipulation when a mere handful of British colonialists ruled over millions of Indians, is hijacked and successfully implemented by 3% Brahmins, who have made a mockery of India's democracy and secularism, by subverting all strings of power and societal leverages.

The Jains are merely dancing to their tune. While at one level, India's economic progress is being organised with active partnership of the elites of India and the West, on the other hand the great majority of people are suffering from abject poverty and discrimination. Cutting across the divide of wealth and poverty, there is a further delineation between castes, religions, ethnicities and languages. The political parties thrive on injecting hate and division in the society to build up their captive vote banks. The result is the constant boiling of the pent up public outrage against the elites of the society.

Recently, the Catholics of Bandra organised 'Festival of Bandra'. It is a fact, that Bandra has a history of early settlements of Christians that has given Bandra its distinct charm and colour and catholicity. It is a tolerant and very inclusive society. However, not many people are aware that Bandra has a Muslim presence too. The Bandra Jama Masjid, bang on the main road connecting Bandra to the Island of old Mumbai, is over hundred year old. Prior to the age of high-rises it was the landmark of Bandra for all train travellers that passed through to the yonder city. The Muslims were centered on Bandra slaughter house and had a very thriving and happy community life in Bandra. Muslim elites started populating the 'queen of suburb' at the very start of last century. Even Mohammed Ali Jinnah had a beautiful bungalow on the Carter Road waterfront, where his sister, Fatima Jinnah used to stay and its known that Jinnah used to make the journey from the city on horseback to meet his sister. The Dargah of Maulana Baba, next to Jama Masjid was the most popular spiritual center for Parsis of Mumbai and suburb. Parsis thronged to the Dargah regularly. It was and is something of a wonder how the Parsis, could intermingle religious ceremonies of Zoroastrian and Muslim and remain spiritually fulfilled.

The organisers, including Darryl D'Monte, the most secular of them all, who as Editor of The Times of India, at the time of Mumbai riots, and who stood out in full support of Muslim victims of the riots, has scant regard to the feelings of Bandra Muslims, whose votes overwhelmingly supported the five times Member of Parliament, late great Sunil Dutt, and whose stature as a secular leader of cosmopolitan Bandra, was unsurpassed by any other Mumbai leader. One will not accuse the organisers of an anti-Muslim bias, as that would be grossly unfair and untenable. But the fact remains, that in all the festivities of the Bandra festivals, except of a Ghazal performance, there was no attempt made to trace the history of Muslim presence in Bandra.

As in Bandra, so in Mumbai and more so all over India, Muslims are marginalized and ostracized. The neo-Brahmins have made them the new outcasts. I feel media has a big role in perpetrating this curse of benign neglect and/or active demonization. As the premier English daily with tremendous influence on the city's political and social life, Times of India stands guilty of perpetrating injustice and discrimination with Indian Muslims.

Ghulam Muhammed, Mumbai


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

10th Annual Seminar on
Jesus Christ

(Peace be upon him)


Friday, December 28th, 2007 at 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Al Madinah Calgary Islamic Centre, 5700 Falsbridge Drive, Calgary, NE

Then will Allah say: "O Jesus the son of Mary! Recount My favour to thee and to thy mother. Behold! I strengthened thee with the holy spirit, so that thou didst speak to the people in childhood and in maturity. Behold! I taught thee the Book and Wisdom, the Law and the Gospel and behold! thou makest out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, by My leave, and thou breathest into it and it becometh a bird by My leave, and thou healest those born blind, and the lepers, by My leave. And behold! thou bringest forth the dead by My leave. And behold! I did restrain the Children of Israel from (violence to) thee when thou didst show them the clear Signs, and the unbelievers among them said: 'This is nothing but evident magic.' (Holy Qur’an, 05:110)

Speakers: Rev. Fr. Leighton Lee
Rev. Dat Nguyen
Prof. Syed B. Soharwardy

The love and respect for Jesus Christ (Peace be upon him) is one of the most important commonalties between Christians and Muslims. Let us talk and help each other for establishing peace on earth.

This is a free program. Calgarians of all faiths are invited. Refreshment will be served. For information, please call 403-208-7148 or email contact@iscc.ca

Sponsors:

Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, Calgary

Al Madinah Calgary Islamic Centre

Al Makkah Calgary Islamic Centre

Muslims Against Terrorism, Calgary

Islamic Association of Canadian Women

Canadian Association of Muslim Youth

Chestermere Lake Musallah



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Punishment, Reform and Qur’aan
Mike Ghouse, December 21, 2007



There is a group called “Muslims against Sharia” with the slogan “Islamic reform movement”, seeking to take their movement forward and are in the process of publishing a reformed Qur’aan. They believe that “The verses in Qur'aan promote divisiveness and religious hatred, bigotry and discrimination and as such they must be either removed from the Koran or declared outdated and invalid, and marked as such.” Like many other Muslims, I was asked to review if we can remove additional verses on top of the nearly 300 verses. Most of the verses provided in the link http://www.reformislam.org/verses.php reflect a common theme; Punishment. I am pleased to render my opinion on this point. I believe that reforms must be applied to our understanding, rather than removing the words of God. They are welcome to call the new book any name they wish, but not Qur’aan. It will not be the same book.

Qur'aan certainly talks about punishment and hell fire for those who violate the rules of a smooth functioning society. If there were no punishment chaos will be the order of the day.


One can find ‘punitive’ verses in every holy book. However, the critical elements these reformists overlooked are the most powerful and dominant aspect of the creator; merciful, kind and dispenser of grace. This verse is repeated 113 times in Qur’aan, more than any other verse. It is the punitive verses that drive the self proclaimed reformists to “discard” them.


For societies to function on equilibrium there must be law and order. When there is justice in a society, peace is a natural outcome. The Criminal and Civil laws are designed to bring net-peace to the society. For every violation of a rule, punishment is determined. If there were no punishment, then crimes go un-checked creating chaos in the society. If every one drove 60 MPH in a school zone without any consequence to it, you and I may not have been alive to read this.

God is a loving God and wants us to get along with each other. He has given us the guidance as well as the temptations and the freedom to choose the right from the wrong and live in peace or go the wrong way and regret it. Ultimately, it is God's grace that brings justice to an individual and the society based on one’s Karma.



The law of Karma is the simplest formula to understand. Every child is born with a clean balanced spiritual slate. As the child grows, that fine balance is altered every moment with his deeds. A positive balance indicates a happy and serene life where as the negative balance indicates the opposite. Ultimately something dramatic has to happen to restore the negative balance and it can be achieved through repentance, apology or punishment, all are God’s formulae in every practicing faith. God's justice ultimately prevails with his (her or it) grace.



Let's pick the first one of the three hundred plus verses the reformists want to remove, “1.6: The path of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed favors. Not (the path) of those upon whom Thy wrath is brought down, nor of those who go astray."

From a common man’s perspective, the word ‘wrath’ appears to be cruelty coming from a kind God. Well, then what should hold any one from murdering and butchering the other. If you are a good guy who holds the temptations to steal someone else's hard earned goods, and the bad guys steal with no consequences to it, then every one may resort to stealing. What will happen to a society when every one is stealing, lying or cheating? No one would trust and everyone is frightened of the other.





Imagine the nightmare in America, if we were to remove the punishment aspect from the US Constitution, our civil and criminal laws.



We know that God is just and his goal is peace to his creation at large, indeed his jurisdiction is the universe and beyond infinity. Qur'an, Al-Hujurat, Surah 49:13: "O mankind! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. The noblest of you, in sight of Allah, is the best in conduct. Allah Knows and is Aware."

God is aware of our conduct and understands our temptations, he is closer to us than our jugular veins says the Qur’aan -50:16 “It was We Who created man, and we know what dark suggestions his soul makes to him: for we are nearer to him than (his) jugular vein.” A few theologians say, we are God’s representation and he is very close to us, indeed we are his manifestation, and are created in his image. God understands our intent before it becomes a thought and before it leads one to act.

Those who do not believe in God, at least they can follow the guidelines in the law books of civic society provided the books are an expression of the collective wisdom of the society and not a dictators law or law of the few. It is naïve and immature to think that God’s laws are whimsical.

Indeed, it is our comprehension that is limited and we see what is good for us for that moment, where as the creator has the whole planet and its habitants to take care of. It is his creation and he knows best.

Removal of any verses from the Qur'aan is motivated by short term appeasement to someone for some gains or saving their tail for that moment. Instead I suggest the men and women study the impact of such removal and the consequences that ensue. The wrongs of some individuals or Islamic societies should not be ascribed to Qur’aan; rather it is their mis-understanding of the Qur'aan that led them to do wrong.

In the interests of peaceful co-existence, there is no doubt about reforming our understanding of Qur'aan, and there is resistance to it either. Please retain the integrity of God’s words and do not attempt to change or remove them. God is indeed kind, just and graceful.


Mike Ghouse is a Speaker, Thinker and a Writer. He is president of the Foundation for Pluralism and is a frequent guest on talk radio and local television network discussing interfaith, political and civic issues. He is the founding president of World Muslim Congress with a simple theme: Good for Muslims and good for the world. His comments, news analysis and columns can be found on the Websites and Blogs listed at his personal website http://www.mikeghouse.net/. Mike is a Dallasite for nearly three decades and Carrollton is his home town. He can be reached at MikeGhouse@gmail.com

Please send your comments to: wmcarchives@gmail.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Inayat Lalani
Date: Sat Dec 22, 2007 8:25 pm
Subject: Re: MuslimAgenda :: Re: Salaam :: Reform :: Interfaith :: Verses :: Christianity


When people like Michael Savage start excoriating Muslims (as he does daily) and start calling the Quran a most violent and hatre provoking document by taking some verses out of context (and fabricating some 'quotations'), the Muslim audience usually gets tongue tied and is unable to answer the way these charges should be answered, namely, by not only refuting the scurrilous assertions but pointing out some of the most violent, virulent, vitriolic passages in the Bible (and there are literally hundreds of them in both the Old as well as the New Testament). The reasons for this unwillingness to fight fire with fire are well known to us Musims but not to non-Muslims, namely, we are expressly forbidden by the Quran (at the pain of being condemned to eternal hell-fire) to criticize the Torat (the Old Testment) and Injeel (the New Testament) even though Islamic beliefs maintain that those two documents, originally revealed by Allah, have been tampered with.

Now I am willing to risk going to hell in order to systematically point out to the hate mongering in the Bible. will you make room for those in this forum?
Inayat Lalani


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: "Faiz"
Date: Sat Dec 22, 2007 9:37 pm
Subject: Re: Dallas Pakistanis :: Re: Salaam :: Reform :: Interfaith :: Verses :: Christianity ikfirfan

This refers to br. Naseer Tahir's post. The problem is that most of us do not know what the Qur'an--a completely detailed book (6:114) has to say regarding greeting from anybody--Muslim or non-Muslim. This is what the Qur'an says about the ethics of greeting:

<"When a (courteous) greeting is offered you, meet it with a greeting still more Courteous, or (at least) of equal courtesy. Allah takes careful account of all things." [Al-Qur’an 4:86] >

Thus, when we are greeted—by anyone regardless of creed, ethnicity or skin color—we should return the greetings with equal import or better. That’s what the Qur’an tells us to do. Those ahadith that advise otherwise are certainly false and were put out to discredit and defame the exalted Prophet.

Ibraheem (pbuh) was a Muslim, a Prophet, and a Messenger, was he not? In fact, he is the “father” of all believers according to the Qur’an (22:78). He addressed one of the staunchest disbelievers of his time—his own father, Azur with “salamun alaikum” and even promised to pray for him (19:47). Shouldn’t we follow the Sunnah of Ibraheem (as) in our daily lives?

Ahmadis pray to their Lord the same way other Muslims do, they act upon the same 5 pillars other Muslims do, they believe in the same Qur’an, and yes, they do believe in the Finality of the Prophethood—like all other Muslims. They were accepted Muslim for more than 80 years all over the world--until they were declared non-Muslims in Pakistan for political reasons. If they have given some special religious status to some individual, they have interpreted the Scripture and ahadeeth they see fit. Those differences will always exist among different sects of Islam. I don’t see the reason of treating anyone a pariah on the basis of different intpretations of scriptures and other religious books.

Pakistan government must retract the unQur’anic Hudud laws and all these illogical punishments and jail terms on the basis of how one greets other human beings.

Irfan



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://quraan-today.blogspot.com/2007/12/not-like-jews-or-christians.html
Not like Jews or Christians
An Apology to people of all faiths


If you are a Jew or a Christian and happen to pick a free copy of the Qur'aan and happily open the book to read and understand it, you will go through a pleasant trip but will come to rude shock.

You may start from the first chapter and go to the very first page and read the first line: "In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful", it sounds good, may be you would say Yahweh or Jesus, but Allah is fine, it is another name of the same God.

Then you go to the second verse “All praise is due to God alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds" you may get excited and say “Wow, Praise the lord!” Brother, that's' right, all praise is due to God alone.

The third verse sounds similar to the first one, but the first one is really not first one, that is an introduction for every chapter, Ok the third verse is an integral part of the chapter 1, Fateha, the opening or the beginning which reads 1:3 “The Most Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace,”

So far, it is going good.

What comes now is the verse 1:4 “Lord of the Day of Judgment!” You may say, that sure is interesting, it sounds like the Moslems also believe in the day of reckoning.

You saw all the good and continue to the 5th verse 1:5 “Thee alone do we worship; and unto Thee alone do we turn for aid.” You nod in agreement and feel good that you picked another good book to read.

Here comes the next verse, 1:6 “Guide us the straight way.” – You may or may not ponder but you are eager to finish the first chapter and go to the next line.

1:7 "The Way of those on whom you have bestowed Your Grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger (such as the Jews), nor of those who went astray (such as the Christians). You may spill your coffee from the rude shock you get…and offended, close the book and look again on the cover, it said Qur’aan.

Depending on who is in your family, you may call your dear one to come and see this, it is disgusting!

That would be my response too.

Peace be upon you my friends.

Actual verses in Arabic, transliteration and translations along with 16 different translations are presented here below.

For thousands of years, Muslims like Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhist, Zoroastrians or others simply recited the verses in Arabic, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Pali or Avesta without paying attention to what it really meant. It was a ritual, it was needed to be read, you read it and off you went.

A few years ago, one of my best friends gave me the looks of disbelief, when I said the word Islam meant peace. Later on he pointed out to me that the very first page of the Qur’aan he had. I was completely taken back. I knew some thing was not right about that translation, God could not have said that, but I could not deny the fact of what I saw. I had no words and my mind was racing.

Just then, Sheila Musaji had sent me a discovery she has made about the same verse and several others.

It was a rude awakening at least to me, as it would have been to those Jews, Christians, Hindus and others who may have read the verse or sixty other verses that had similar tone.

I became acutely aware of the different translations that were available and also became conscious of the fact that most of the average people do not pay attention to the meaning of the words of the holy book.

Now, with all my humility, I apologize to my Hindu, Christian, Jewish friends in particular and all others in general for not doing my part in becoming aware of the flaws in our own understanding of the holy books.

Please keep your translation, rather mis-translated Qur’aan you have on your hands, but know for sure that, what you have read was not what God meant. Give me a few months to accumulate funds to place all the translations for you to ponder and get the real sense of goodness Qur’aan and all other holy books have.

My recollection of asking a question to my father in law came alive, he pulled the Qur’aan out and pointed the translation, and it was what it was. I did not feel right about it and my heart sunk, the idea of staying away from it grew strongly and I stayed away for a while.

I owe my gratitude to Karen Armstrong, who has helped me develop and do research in understanding Islam, the Prophet and the Qur’aan. I read her book “Mohammad” and that truly changed my relationship with Mohammad (pbuh). He was a divine figure, remote and removed from me when I learned about him, through Armstrong's book, I knew the man I could relate with, some one who was as human as I was and he became my mentor. Thank to her for giving me this bridge.

I have been studying the pluralism models Prophet Muhammad had created for good citizenship and the world of justice and peace. I must also acknowledge the reinforcing I got from hearing Imam Feisal Abdul Raouf and Dr. Assani of Harvard in opening the windows of knowledge for me. Although Imam Zia Shaikh of Irving is much younger than me, his dialogue with me was more like an affectionate father talking to his son giving full value. Dr. Yusuf Zia Kavakci's advise relating to Unity Day USA and a few other issues leave a deep impression of the man's commitment to be just. I appreciate all these affections and I thank God for these people and my friend Bernie Mayoff for sharing his genuine feelings about verse 1:7.

Islam to me is a about striving for justice and working towards creating peaceful societies, it means our words and actions are to reduce conflicts, and foster goodwill among peoples of different faith.

The mission of World Muslim Congress is driven Qur'an, Al-Hujurat, Surah 49:13: "O mankind! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. The noblest of you, in sight of Allah, is the best in conduct. Allah Knows and is Aware."

On this Blog http://quraan-today.blogspot.com/ we will continue to address those verses in particular that seem offensive to others and are not.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1:1 In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace: [1]

Bismi Allahi alrrahmani alrraheemi

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ (1:1)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1:2 All praise is due to God alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds, [2]

Alhamdu lillahi rabbi alAAalameena

الْحَمْدُ للّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ (1:2)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1:3 The Most Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace,

Alrrahmani alrraheemi

الرَّحْمـنِ الرَّحِيمِ (1:3)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1:4 Lord of the Day of Judgment!

Maliki yawmi alddeeni

مَـالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ (1:4)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1:5 Thee alone do we worship; and unto Thee alone do we turn for aid.

Iyyaka naAAbudu waiyyaka nastaAAeenu

إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ (1:5)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1:6 Guide us the straight way.

Ihdina alssirata almustaqeema

اهدِنَــــا الصِّرَاطَ المُستَقِيمَ (1:6)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1:7 The way of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed Thy blessings, [3] not of those who have been condemned [by Thee], nor of those who go astray! [4]

Sirata allatheena anAAamta AAalayhim ghayri almaghdoobi AAalayhim wala alddalleena

صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنعَمتَ عَلَيهِمْ غَيرِ المَغضُوبِ عَلَيهِمْ وَلاَ الضَّالِّينَ (1:7)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17 Translations below

Qur’aan – Surah Fatiha. 1:1 – 1:7

‏1:1 سورة الفاتحة بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Transliteration
Bismi Allahi alrrahmani alrraheemi

Literal: By God's Name, the Merciful, the Merciful/Most Merciful .

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yusuf Ali
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

Pickthal
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

Arberry
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate

Shakir
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

Sarwar
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

Khalifa
In the name of GOD, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

Hilali/Khan
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

H/K/Saheeh
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

Malik
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful. [1]

QXP
With the Glorious Name of Allah, the Instant and Sustaining Source of all Mercy and Kindness.

Maulana Ali
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

Free Minds
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Most Merciful.

Qaribullah
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful

George Sale
In the name of the most merciful God.

JM Rodwell
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Asad
In the name of God, the most gracious, The dispenser of grace:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

al-Fatihah 001:002
‏1:2 الحمد لله رب العالمين
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Transliteration
Alhamdu lillahi rabbi alAAalameena

Literal
The gratitude/thanks/praise to God, the creation's altogether's/(universe's) Lord.

Yusuf Ali
Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds;

Pickthal
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds,

Arberry
Praise belongs to God, the Lord of all Being,

Shakir
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.

Sarwar
All praise belongs to God, Lord of the Universe,

Khalifa
Praise be to GOD, Lord of the universe.

Hilali/Khan
All the praises and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of the Alameen (mankind, jinns and all that exists).

H/K/Saheeh
[All] praise is [due] to Allah, Lord of the worlds

Malik
All praise is for Allah, the ‘Lord’ of the Worlds. [2]

QXP
All Praise is due to Allah, the Sustainer of the Worlds. (The marvels and the profound harmony in the Universe are the living witness that its Creator, Sustainer is truly worthy of all Praise).

Maulana Ali
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds,

Free Minds
Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds.

Qaribullah
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds,

George Sale
Praise be to God, the Lord of all creatures;

JM Rodwell
PRAISE be to God, Lord of the worlds!

Asad
ALL PRAISE is due to God alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds,

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

al-Fatihah 001:003
‏1:3 الرحمن الرحيم

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Transliteration
Alrrahmani alrraheemi

Literal
The merciful, the merciful/most merciful.

Yusuf Ali
Most Gracious, Most Merciful;

Pickthal
The Beneficent, the Merciful.

Arberry
the All-merciful, the All-compassionate,

Shakir
The Beneficent, the Merciful.

Sarwar
the Beneficent, the Merciful

Khalifa
Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

Hilali/Khan
The Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

H/K/Saheeh
The Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful,

Malik
The Compassionate, the Merciful. [3]

QXP
He is the Instant and Sustaining Source of all Mercy and Kindness (as He showers His Bounties on all creation indiscriminately and without return).

Maulana Ali
The Beneficent, the Merciful,

Free Minds
The Almighty, the Most Merciful.

Qaribullah
the Merciful, the Most Merciful,

George Sale
the most merciful,

JM Rodwell
The compassionate, the merciful!

Asad
the Most Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace,

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

al-Fatihah 001:004
‏1:4 مالك يوم الدين
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Transliteration
Maliki yawmi alddeeni

Literal
Owner/possessor (of) the Judgment Day/Resurrection Day .

Yusuf Ali
Master of the Day of Judgment.

Pickthal
Master of the Day of Judgment,

Arberry
the Master of the Day of Doom.

Shakir
Master of the Day of Judgment.

Sarwar
and Master of the Day of Judgment.

Khalifa
Master of the Day of Judgment.

Hilali/Khan
The Only Owner (and the Only Ruling Judge) of the Day of Recompense (i.e. the Day of Resurrection)

H/K/Saheeh
Sovereign of the Day of Recompense.

Malik
Master of the Day of Judgment. [4]

QXP
He is the Absolute Owner of the Day when all creation shall have completed their journey of existence, evolution and action to the Ultimate Just outcome. And He is the Supreme Law-Giver to humans to enable them to live by the System of Life that He has ordained. People will be ultimately judged according to how well they tried to live by His Laws.

Maulana Ali
Master of the day of Requital.

Free Minds
Possessor of the Day of Judgment.

Qaribullah
Owner of the Day of Recompense.

George Sale
the king of the day of judgement.

JM Rodwell
King on the day of reckoning!

Asad
Lord of the Day of Judgment!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

al-Fatihah 001:005
‏1:5 اياك نعبد واياك نستعين

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Transliteration
Iyyaka naAAbudu wa-iyyaka nastaAAeenu

Literal
(Only) You we worship, and (only) You we seek help from .

Yusuf Ali
Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek.

Pickthal
Thee (alone) we worship; Thee (alone) we ask for help.

Arberry
Thee only we serve; to Thee alone we pray for succour.

Shakir
Thee do we serve and Thee do we beseech for help.

Sarwar
(Lord), You alone We do worship and from You alone we do seek assistance.

Khalifa
You alone we worship; You alone we ask for help.

Hilali/Khan
You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything).

H/K/Saheeh
It is You we worship and You we ask for help.

Malik
O’Allah! You Alone we worship and You Alone we call on for help.[5]

QXP
(Realizing these facts), we affirm to obey Your Commands only and ask You to help us as we do that.

Maulana Ali
Thee do we serve and Thee do we beseech for help.

Free Minds
You alone we serve, and You alone we seek for help.

Qaribullah
You (alone) we worship; and You (alone) we rely for help.

George Sale
Thee do we worship, and of Thee do we beg assistance.

JM Rodwell
Thee only do we worship, and to Thee do we cry for help.

Asad
Thee alone do we worship; and unto Thee alone do we turn for aid.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

al-Fatihah 001:006
‏1:6 اهدنا الصراط المستقيم
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Transliteration
Ihdina alssirata almustaqeema

Literal
Guide us (to) the way/road, the straight/direct .

Yusuf Ali
Show us the straight way,

Pickthal
Show us the straight path,

Arberry
Guide us in the straight path,

Shakir
Keep us on the right path.

Sarwar
(Lord), guide us to the right path,

Khalifa
Guide us in the right path;

Hilali/Khan
Guide us to the Straight Way

H/K/Saheeh
Guide us to the straight path

Malik
O’Allah! Guide us to The Right Way. [6]

QXP
Guide us to the Straight Path (by providing us with faculties that listen more than hear, observe more than see and analyze more than process).

Maulana Ali
Guide us on the right path,

Free Minds
Guide us to the straight path.

Qaribullah
Guide us to the Straight Path,

George Sale
Direct us in the right way,

JM Rodwell
Guide Thou us on the straight path,

Asad
Guide us the straight way -

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

al-Fatihah 001:007
‏1:7 صراط الذين انعمت عليهم غير المغضوب عليهم ولاالضالين

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Transliteration
Sirata allatheena anAAamta AAalayhim ghayri almaghdoobi AAalayhim wala alddalleena

Literal
(The) way/road (of) those You blessed on them, not (those) the angered on them, and nor the misguided.

Yusuf Ali
The way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, those whose (portion) is not wrath, and who go not astray.

Pickthal
The path of those whom Thou hast favoured; Not the (path) of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray.

Arberry
the path of those whom Thou hast blessed, not of those against whom Thou art wrathful, nor of those who are astray.

Shakir
The path of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed favors. Not (the path) of those upon whom Thy wrath is brought down, nor of those who go astray.

Sarwar
the path of those to whom You have granted blessings, those who are neither subject to Your anger nor have gone astray

Khalifa
the path of those whom You blessed; not of those who have deserved wrath, nor of the strayers.

Hilali/Khan
The Way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace , not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger (such as the Jews), nor of those who went astray (such as the Christians).
(This is the one - The words Jews and Christians are not in Arabic text - Hilali/Khan has injected this on his own)

H/K/Saheeh
The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray.

Malik
The Way of those whom You have favored; not of those who have earned Your wrath, or of those who have lost The Way. [7]

QXP
This has always been the Way of those whom You rewarded. And not the path of those who had to face Your Requital (for blind following and arrogance), and not the path of those who faltered and deviated from the Straight Path.

Maulana Ali
The path of those upon whom Thou has bestowed favours, Not those upon whom wrath is brought down, nor those who go astray.

Free Minds
The path of those whom You have blessed, not those who have incurred the wrath, nor the misguided.

Qaribullah
the Path of those upon whom You have favored, not those upon whom is the anger, nor the astray. (Amen please answer)

George Sale
in the way of those to whom Thou hast been gracious; not of those against whom Thou art incensed, nor of those who go astray.

JM Rodwell
The path of those to whom Thou hast been gracious;-with whom thou art not angry, and who go not astray.

Asad
the way of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed Thy blessings, not of those who have been condemned [by Thee], nor of those who go astray!

Mike Ghouse is a Speaker, Thinker and a Writer. He is president of the Foundation for Pluralism and is a frequent guest on talk radio and local television network discussing interfaith, political and civic issues. He is the founding president of World Muslim Congress with a simple theme: Good for Muslims and good for the world. His comments, news analysis and columns can be found on the Websites and Blogs listed at his personal website www.MikeGhouse.net. Mike is a Dallasite for nearly three decades and Carrollton is his home town. He can be reached at MikeGhouse@gmail.com