Saturday, February 13, 2010

Bad Fatwa by Muslim-American body about airport body scanners

Bad Fatwa by Muslim-American body against airport body scanners

Speak up Muslims

The word "Fatwa" is wrongfully associated with "death threats", it may be wise for us, until we educate the public that it is merely an opinion, and instead use the word "Opinion". The word Fatwa carries a negative perception and until it is removed, it is not wise to use the word in this context. After all, we are using the English language to communicate and let the language be in English.

Furthermore, this "Fatwa" will be wrongfully propagated as Anti-American, which it is not, but the right wing media thrives on it, hate is their food and they will spew it out in the media. I just want to assure you, the majority, indeed the overwhelming majority of Americans would understand and silently support it, but they are good for nothing, just like the majority of Jews, Christians, Muslims or Hindus are good for nothing, they do nothing about anything.

Our wisdom should prevail and as Muslims one of our roles is to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill, it was one of the first examples set by the prophet when he reset the Aswad stone back into the wall of Kaaba.

I would urge Muslims to use the word "Opinion", that is what it is, it is not a legal binding enforceable opinion, at least in America.

The question is the safety of 301 Million Americans and we cannot compromise that, if we take the opposite stance, it will become an instrument of wedge. We had better think about such pronouncements. Work with the system, the system will work with you. America is the best hope for mankind.

Rogue run states like France may take the cue from it, and just to piss off Muslims, they may go ahead and do it, the idiot Geert Wilders will feast on it. What are we going to do about it? Nothing! What have we done with Switzerland, France, Australia and some other nations, nothing! What have we done with the human rights violations in Sudan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iran, nothing! Then let's not give thoughtless opinions that affect the average Muslim, who is living his American dream of a home, a family, kids and retirement.

Did any scholar have had a chance to look at it and speak up against it? Let no opinion come out without any one opposing it, opposing has a corrective and tempering element in it that sets things right. Even the Prophet invited opinions, for what? To understand if there is another point of view.

Speak up Muslims, silent no more

Mike Ghouse
World Muslim Congress

Article Link: http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2010/02/bad-fatwa-by-muslim-american-body-about.html
~~~~~~~

Muslim-American body issues fatwa against airport body scanners
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Muslim-American-body-issues-fatwa-against-airport-body-scanners/articleshow/5564134.cms

IANS, 12 February 2010, 12:47pm IST

Text Size:


WASHINGTON: Some Muslim-American groups are supporting a fatwa issued by a body of Islamic scholars forbidding Muslims from going through full body scanners at airports, a media report said.

The Fiqh Council of North America issued the religious ruling this week that says going through the airport scanners would violate Islamic rules on modesty, Free Press reported.

"It is a violation of clear Islamic teachings that men or women be seen naked by other men and women," reads the fatwa issued Tuesday. "Islam highly emphasises haya (modesty) and considers it part of faith. The Quran has commanded the believers, both men and women, to cover their private parts."

After the Christmas Day bombing attempt in Detroit by a Muslim suspect from Nigeria, some US airports are now in the process of buying and using the body scanners to find explosives and other dangerous materials carried by terrorists.

But Muslim groups say the scanners, which show in graphic detail the outlines of a person's body, go against their religion. One option offered to passengers who don't want to use the scanners would be a pat down by a security guard. The Muslim groups are urging members to undergo those instead.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) says it endorses the fatwa. "We support the Fiqh Council's statement on full-body scanners and believe that the religious and privacy rights of passengers can be respected while maintaining safety and security," Nihad Awad, national executive director of CAIR was quoted as saying.

Currently, there are 40 full-body scanners at 19 airports in the US, including two in Detroit, said spokesman Jim Fotenos of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). There are plans for 450 more body scanners in US airports, he said.

In a statement, the TSA said it is committed to keeping passengers safe and also protecting their privacy.

"TSA's mission is to keep the travelling public safe. Advanced imaging technologies are an important tool in a multi-layered security system to detect evolving threats such as improvised explosive devices.

"TSA's use of these technologies includes strong protections in place to safeguard passenger privacy. Screening images are automatically deleted, and the officer viewing the image will never see the passenger."

The TSA stressed that the body scanners are "optional to all passengers". Those who turn them down, "will receive equivalent screening that may include a physical pat-down, hand-wanding, and other technologies".

"Physical pat-downs are performed by transportation security Officers of the same sex as the passenger in a private screening area, if the passenger requests."

Body scanners "do not produce photos", the agency said. Rather, the images "look like chalk outlines".

You are welcome to write your comments at this link:
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2010/02/bad-fatwa-by-muslim-american-body-about.html#comments
~~~

7 comments:

  1. This new technology using millimeter waves poses unknown health and psychological risks. Naked body scanners can also provide extra income for TSA workers with camera phones or other means to store and send scans. Scans of celebrities and children will fetch the highest prices. Blackmail and internet exposure are likely.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dear Ghouse Sahib:
    AA....
    I quite agree with your narrative below. We are so historically tuned to the word "Fatwa," as though it is the word of God. And we use the word so loosely--and not all must buy into any such verdict. It is merely an "Opinion" from some Islamic scholar (or some ingnorant 'mullah' in some corner of the Islamic world)--and the gullible accept it and act upon it as though the last word. You probably remember a mullah's 'fatwa' sometime ago in a remote village of India, whereby he declared a husband had in fact divorced his wife when he, the husband, had merely dreamed about it.
    The medieval Christian equivalent of 'Fatwa' would be 'cannon law' -- and hardly anyone uses that expression. We must abandon the word, indeed, for reasons that you eloquently mention. There is enough other negative concoctions about Islam/Muslims in the land.

    Best wishes.....
    Ghazi
    Dr. S.M. Ghazanfar

    ReplyDelete
  3. Salaam - The FCNA did not call its opinion a "fatwa." that word was introduced by the media.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your point is well taken Mike, right wingers will distort the position taken by FCNA and will present its statement as an attempt to undermine national security, as some of them have already done so. They have consistently attacked Muslims and Muslim organization, even when they were engaged in a charitable work on behalf of people of other faiths.

    FCNA didn't even use the word fatwa in its statement, but "expert" and "pundits" volunteered to provide the "proper" name for it.

    The question that matters most is what we are going to do about right-winger propaganda?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you Mr. Safi and Mr. Hooper for giving us this information, Mike and I will soon draft a letter regarding this issue and send a press release to the media.

    ReplyDelete
  6. what's the difference between an opinion and fatwa by the FCNA? both are non binding, both seem to use islamic references and is aimed at resolving questions of interest to Muslims. But wondered if there is some specific difference. just out of interest...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Bhaskar, the difference is the perception, turn on any bloody radio, these hungry jacks are having a hey day... these vultures feast on any thing hateful, truth or not.

    The word Fatwa is simply an opinion for an intellectual like you, but not for idiots like Bill O'Reilly, Limbaugh, Hannity and several others. They make money off of it, and shamefully a few of us Americans listen to them, that encourages them to stand their ground on falisities.

    I am glad to find the truth, about the usage of the word opinion by ISNA and CAIR. Now, it is every one's responsibility including yours and mine to correct where ever it appears. We owe it to the peace of mind of the people and peace in the world. ... See More

    I would request ISNA and CAIR to post the actual press release if there was one.

    ReplyDelete

MUSLIM SPEAKER

MUSLIM SPEAKER
Email to: SpeakerMikeGhouse@gmail.com

Voice of Moderate Muslims

Voice of Moderate Muslims
Voice of Moderate Muslims

Moderate Islam Speaker

Moderate Islam Speaker
Moderate Islam Speaker

quraan burning

Planned Muslim Response to Qur'an Burning by Pastor Jones on September 11 in Mulberry, Florida

PRESS RELEASE
August 19, 2013| Dallas, Texas

Mike Ghouse
Text/Talk: (214) 325-1916
MikeGhouse@aol.com

Mirza A Beg
(205) 454-8797
mirza.a.beg@gmail.com

www.WorldMuslimCongress.com


PLANNED MUSLIMS RESPONSE TO QUR'AN BURNING BY PASTOR JONES ON 9/11/13 IN MULBERRY, FLORIDA

We as Muslims plan to respond to pastor Terry Jones' planned burning of 3000 copies of Quran on September 11, 2013 in positive terms.

Our response - we will reclaim the standard of behavior practiced by the Prophet concerning “scurrilous and hostile criticism of the Qur’an” (Muhammad Asad Translation Note 31, verse 41:34). It was "To overcome evil with good is good, and to resist evil by evil is evil." It is also strongly enjoined in the Qur’an in the same verse 41:34, “Good and evil deeds are not equal. Repel evil with what is better; then you will see that one who was once your enemy has become your dearest friend.”

God willing Muslims will follow the divine guidance and pray for the restoration of Goodwill, and on that day many Muslim organizations will go on a “blood drive” to save lives and serve humanity with kindness.

We invite fellow Americans of all faiths, races, and ethnicities to join us to rededicate the pledge, “One nation under God”, and to build a cohesive America where no American has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of fellow Americans. This event is a substitute for our 10th Annual Unity Day Celebration (www.UnitydayUSA.com) held in Dallas, but now it will be at Mulberry, Florida.

Unwittingly Pastor Jones has done us a favor by invigorating us by his decision to burn nearly 3000 copies Quran on September 11, 2013. Obviously he is not satisfied by the notoriety he garnered by burning one Qur'an last year.

As Muslims and citizens we honor the free speech guaranteed in our constitution. We have no intentions to criticize, condemn or oppose Pastor Terry Jones' freedom of expression. Instead, we will be donating blood and praying for goodness to permeate in our society.

We plan to follow Jesus Christ (pbuh), a revered prophet in Islam as well as Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) – that of mitigating the conflicts and nurturing good will for the common good of the society.

We hope, this event and the message will remind Muslims elsewhere in the world as well, that violence is not the way. Muslims, who react violently to senseless provocation, should realize that, violence causes more violence, and besmirches the name of the religion that we hold so dear. We believe that Prophet Muhammad was a mercy to the mankind, and we ought to practice what we believe and preach. We must not insult Islam by the negative reactions of a few.

We can only hope it will bring about a change in the attitude of the followers of Pastor Jones, and in the behavior of those Muslims who reacted violently the last time Pastor sought notoriety – We hope this small step towards a bridge to peaceful coexistence would propel us towards building a cohesive society.

Like most Americans a majority of Muslims quietly go about their own business, but it is time to speak up and take positive action instead of negative reaction. May this message of peace and goodwill reverberate and reach many shores.

Lastly, we appreciate the Citizens of Mulberry, Florida, Honorable Mayor George Hatch, City Commissioners, police and Fire Chiefs for handing this situation very well. This will add a ‘feather of peace’ in the City’s reputation. We hope Mulberry will be a catalyst in showing the way in handling conflict with dignity and peace.

We thank the Media for giving value to the work towards peace rather than conflict.






URL- http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/08/planned-muslim-response-to-quran_18.html



Thank you.

CIVIL DIALOGUE

The people in Dallas are making an effort to understand and clean their own hearts first, when we are free from bias, it would be easy to share that with others. Islam teaches us in so many ways to "respect the otherness of others" and it is time we find simple practical ways of doing it.