PewDiePie Is Innocent

This is Part Two: the explanation.

So, I have reasons to believe that this is not as big a deal as people are making it out to be.

Sure, there is antisemitism, and that's wrong and evil. But PewDiePie isn't a racist. Did he

apologize for his comments? Yes, I believe so.

Was his show cancelled on Disney? Yes.

Is PewDiePie paying for his understanding of the freedom of expression? Maybe.

Is he 'bitching' in this video? Nah.

Does he believe that there should be 'truth'? It seems so.

So, I wrote some things about this in comments sections on some You Tubers' channels or on people's shared videos.

"The Media wants to paint me as some sort of villain"..."unless you really know me and what I do... they just want to put those labels out there... that's all that matters, because that's how they get paid."

And more, which he says in his defense, in the video.

I am totally against "labels" which everyone who read my posts or comments, knows. I go on and on, and write (probably too much) about "labels". My biggest 'problem' is the use of words that used to be Muslims words and have been misappropriated, like the word "salafi".

So since PewDiePie, has the guts to do what he wants, and say what he wants, I'm also going to go out on a limb (what, no way?) and say that I'm a salafi and proud of it. Salafi, as you all should know if you have read anything about this I've previously written, is just a way to say a Muslim who follows the original teachings. It isn't some evil "terrorist" or evil "Salafist" (Salafist is a word that uses the Arabic root and is Anglicized, a very big deal today). It is like when Christian evangelicals or the Orientalists before them, use the name Mohamed, as a root word, and add "dan" and you have the unsightly label "Mohamedan" and if you add an 's' it's Mohamedans, which is us!! Wow.

Why can't Christians just call us Muslims?? I call them Christians.

Why use a "label" that is not something we appreciate, except that you want to instigate hatred and promote your 'world view' that is an old world view from the Dark Ages??

Here are some of the things I said in defense of Pewds.(Can I call him that, even though I don't know him and I would never (probably) subscribe to his channel?)

N Word!!

Is this funny? I don't think it's funny, because there's not much context to it, I just put it out there, without context. (I was talking about not labeling people, and then said the evil "N Word".)

I don't think PewDiePie did that with his videos.

He isn't a racist, nor is he promoting racism.

I don't think it's wrong for black people to say 'nigga' or whatever they say to each other, or their 'homies' or whatever. (Excuse my ignorance on the subject)

but I see some Mexican sounding name doing it too, and I guess that's also okay, being that I don't think most Mexicans in America are racist either. Maybe he is a 'homie' so it's, again, okay.

I know Holocaust denial is a big subject. No one wants to deny the Holocaust, although some do. But I mean most people don't deny the Holocaust or the number of Jews who died in concentration camps. I won't get into this except to say that I have always sympathized with the Jews and the victims of the Holocaust for the loss of lives and the torture that they or their families went through, and even for any present day suffering that they suffer due to hate.

*****

I hope he never targets my channel, because I'm the mom using my kids in videos! Usually they appear to be enjoying themselves, but not always. I haven't posted much content yet, but one of my daughters has some really good ideas, and we have a series of stories she want to make into videos. 

Please, don't judge me!!

"I'm not actually trying to offend people" he says, in his self defense. I believe him. Many people beieve him, because they say they know Piewdiepie.

Karim, another YouTuber, posted his take on the controversy, defending PewDiePie. 

In some comments, people were talking about the meaning of  "Semitic" and concluded that "Arabs are also Semite". They said, they don't think it has anything to do with the Abrahamic religions, like Karim was saying. 

I wrote,  

"Salam I could tell Karim didn't exactly know what he was saying. But he's a good guy." in reply to someone's comment. 

I had this to say about Pewdiepie, "He is always making stupid jokes" 

"Karim, ur right. Piewdipie gives to charity and that will affect his good work (probably) somehow. But he is still really well off so don't worry about him too much."

And then, I added my own original thought, because I like to do that:

"Disney has racist stuff and don't apologize. Why should Piewdipie apologize for a couple jokes? He is always making stupid jokes.

 Let's address the fact that two Indian boys will do something for five bucks without questioning what they are doing. Are they impoverished or just really ignorant of the English language?" 

Many people mention that Piewds gives tonnes to charity and is a really good guy who is not racist as the "click-bait media" would have everyone believe. 

My point about the "poor Indians" if indeed they are "impoverished" is true, is also that PewDiePie (I have since learned to spell his 'name') is a good guy who "gives" a lot (millions in fact, or so it says in comments).

Comments run the gamut from friendly and cute to nasty and even racist, or bordering 'racism'.

Perhaps there is some racist antisemitic stuff being posted since PewDiePie's recent efforts (funny videos). 

"Let me summarise it, the world is run by jews and companies like disney are against muslims...they wouldn't comment as much when muslims are oppressed. I am a semite Muslim also but Disney and the media are corrupt." 

Someone more recently posted a long rant in the comments section there. His name is Borat (very European sounding name, obviously, not sure which part of Europe). He writes about the Talmud, the Goyim, and Ben Franklin, in five long paragraphs. (I didn't get to reading the whole thing because I was searching for my comments and a few others there).

Some of the comments if not racist, might border on racism or more specifically "anti-semitism". 

Lots of people are in part against the corrupt media (the "click-bait" media and that mentality in general). PewDiePie is one of those people who is against "censorship" of "humor", "comedy" etc.

Some of the comments, however, border on "hate" or "racism".

But this might be a matter of "interpretation". 

Are people permitted (by freedom of expression) to post comments about their views regarding "propaganda", or "censorship" or "Disney" or "the media" or "American foreign policy" or "Hitler" or "the Holocaust" or anything else that's bothering them or which they believe to be true? 

 Not everyone is just defending Pewdiepie, but they are also expressing their anger (in many cases, justified) against the media. 

Another comment said, "Conspiracy Theorist" "created by the CIA to discredit government dissident." in reply to one Arab (Semite) comment. Seems they are in agreement about government control. 

Someone commented, "If somebody joke about Muslims, nobody care, if another race or religion become sensation!" The reply that came back seems  less than supportive but could also be seen as "accomodating" (interpretation, is also important), "actually Muslims are sensitive lol... [elipses are his/hers]" I noticed the use of the capital "M", a good sign. As well, he seems to be joking, not insulting IMO.

The reason to examine the context, is because there is a lot of "joking" and "trolling" on YouTube. Some content, by uploaders, as well as comments  is really hateful but lots isn't.

I don't want to dwell on the "moslems" here, lol. In short, let's say that there has been a lot more support for all religions on YouTube by people in comments, recently. It could be because Muslims also are being more vocal and the effect is "rippling" outwards. 

Maybe this is a sign of good things to come. 

There could also be seen to be a rise in anti-Semitism, so it's hard to tell. Maybe racism in general is still on the rise in many parts of the world. Especially Europe.  

*****

On another channel, there was this, about the accusation of racism (that Pewdiepie is antisemitic):

"The people disliking this video should change their names to Suq Madiq". I have no idea why that's funny or smart, but anyway it got more than a few thumbs up. 

It should be noted, that people generally disagree that the video was racist, and they also say that You Tube is a forum for off color jokes, satire, parody, etc. I concur. I also agreed with this sentiment, and commented that YouTube is not TV and it is the parents' responsibility to watch what their children are watching on the internet, and that surely they are more responsible for their children's welfare than a comedian or popular YouTuber who doesn't even have kids of his own (EVEN though he had a Disney deal)? Where do we draw the line at personal freedom vs civic responsibility? 

Even "MILO", who is at the centre of a bigger controversy, has certain freedoms and that can be a double-edged sword. (Note that I have no opinion to express about Milo here, due to the debate about what he really said vs what people say about him.) Some people are committing professional suicide with that sword, unfortunately (There must be some excellent examples but I can't think of any, lol) I mean besides the obvious, are there any that really stick out? I guess, the first that comes to mind for me, a while back, was George Galloway. He kind of got into hot water all the time, because he is pro Palestinian.  Being on one side in one problem, and on another side in another issue, can lead to labels (again) like "hypocrite" or "drunk". It is not as easy as some think to strike a balance between what one sees is moral and what is politically correct or just obvious (to most people). 

America does the same thing, siding with Israel on the one hand while denouncing terrorism on the other. The same thing happened to Galloway, apparently, when he said some "nice things" about Saddam Hussein, as the late Christopher Hitchens pointed out at the time.

Whether we like it or not, our words or actions will have some effect on others. It could be negative or positive. And there's no way to know which it is sometimes. 

Does Freedom of Expression have to give way for there to be improved humans rights and less persecution of minorities or some groups?  It's not easy to distinguish freedom from hate all the time. Haters like to hate and will protect themselves, or the person they love most. They won't offer you a sympathetic ear or an apology!

*****

I recently also defended the Quran and other religious texts. I believe they should have special status as books, protections against hate speech because of their religious significance to many people. I wrote an article a long time ago and also posted it on my blog much later, where it still remains. It's significant (to me anyway) that the UN Special Rapporteur to Palestine also wrote something similar (as a lawyer of some status) about this same question. He has a website, Transnational.org, I believe.                   *

In my previous post maybe, there was something about Americans and/or Christians being hateful. I DIDN'T mean All Americans or ALL Christians. Sorry if anyone was offended. 

IN HIS OWN DEFENSE - And my Reaction, Next

I'm going to do a post and break down what has happened with Pewdiepie. 

"People just literally care" because he's Pewdiepie. That's true. But there are so many issues around this, that it's interesting to watch how people argued for or against his "message" recently. 

What was his message? Is he a racist, antisemitic? 

I want to go back over some comments I posted throughout my social media, so I can write a proper 

post about my feelings and thoughts, but *mostly* thoughts, because my feelings

aren't as "intense" as many of the youtubers or Pewdiepie's friends. 

Wait for edits, next time. 

Please support my "Bahrain Peace Drive" by sharing and/or liking my comments/posts on Twitter, Blogger and G+. Subscribe to  my channel or follow me on Twitter and G+ if you are interested. 

Peace. 

"Where is Allah?" videos

I had a few questions for a Sheikh, Mumtaz ul Haq. But as I don't have his official channel, or email I just posted it at a sharing site, where maybe someone will pass it on, because they are the Hanafi channel, according to them, and probably they can help me out. Also, there is a lot of debate among some about the need to follow a particular school as opposed to the hadiths only. What I think is that when a Muslim doesn't follow a particular school, still they learn to pray and do the other obligations and learn the aqeeda, etc. from scholars. I studied and so do many others at schools, which may teach Islam by following a curriculum; if the curriculum is decided by following one of the madhabs isn't a problem, and each madhab has scholars or teachers who at least know something about what the other madhabs (of which he isn't a follower) also teach. Not all the teachers are experts in religion, some are more like dais but if they don't know, they ask another more qualified teacher or scholar and help the students with their questions. In an ideal world we would all have the opportunities to study with many different scholars and learn the difference between all the different madhabs before we decide if we want to have a madhab or which madhab to follow. 

********

Sometimes, one has to admit that there is no way to know everything, and without proof, or without knowledge especially, we should admit that we just don't know (about something).

It is wrong to accuse others of insincerity, however.

I hope people will be more aware of how they address questions of religious differences, even if the people or group you are speaking about or criticizing are wrong or astray.

Do not use the word "salafist" because it is just a label and doesn't mean anything in Arabic or in Islam. And don't say that Muslims who are saying wrong things or teaching wrong or deviant ideas are "salafis" (from the Arabic word for salafi, in the plural form, or meaning people who follow the salaf, the early Muslims.)

'Salafis' are supposed to follow the Messenger, pbuh, and the example of the early Muslims, too.

Salafi is not a school of thought, so speaking about "salafis" and comparing them to "hanafis" is like comparing apples and oranges.

There are four schools of thought, the hanafi, hanbali, maaliki, and shafii, they are all Muslims and the early scholars after which these madhabs were named were also salafi.

Do we need to call ourselves other than Muslims, even if we have a school of thought or if we only ask the scholars for their advice when we don't know?

I call myself Muslim and don't feel the need to follow a particular madhab/school, but I understand why others do, and I don't think it is wrong at all to do so.

And Allah knows best about this and related matters. May He guide us all to what is just.

Jane Dughatir

 Can I ask, if someone can ask the Sheikh Mumtaz ul Haq also about the verse he mentions, which is "Allah Istawa ala'al arsh, yudabiru al amr." Thank you for the video. Does this verse mean, turn-ing to the arsh, okay I understand; what is the word to say when the Muslims turned their qibla to another qibla? is it istawa or something else? Jazakum Allah. And finally, to istawa ala'a samaa (to "turn to the sky") doesn't it actually translate better as "established Himself above the throne" (the verse being, “istawa a’ala al arsh”, I should say) which is how I have always heard it translated? Not 'on' but 'above', just as He, SWT, is above everything, or also above the heavens and above us? Jazakum Allah. Allah bless the Sheikh and also the uploader.

Jane Dughatir

Can I ask, again - that the hadiths say that there is a great distance between the different levels of the heavens, some people will be in the highest level, others will be in other levels, the highest being Firdaus al a'ala. Also, ahadith mention that the distance between the different levels, is like we look at the stars in the sky, or in space, or like so many years (away), e.g. 50,000 years - I no longer remember the description in a time sense. Is it not only a meaning of being in a more special or honored place. Is this the case; that maybe there is a physical or a time/space meaning also? Then we should perhaps only say that God knows whether or not it is in a physical sense or only in the sense of "degrees of honor". Can you tell the wording in Arabic or English so we can understand about the hadith mentioning the distance between the different heavens? I am being sincere. Jazakum Allah khairun. #ilm   #asking   #Allah  [revised]

Where is Allah? He is "stawa a'ala al arsh" and I believe that, even if I don't understand what it means or how it is best translated.

What is the Sunnah wa al Jamah? What do they say about Allah?


I'm not finished reading the material on this site but it seems to be a good one.
Insha Allah I will revise or add a comment, if there is anything which doesn't seem to be right with the site, or if I hear anything about the site from others, either positive or negative.


The video is Where is Allah? by Sheikh Mumtaz ul Haq, which is easy to search. And there are other good videos with similar names, but you have to be careful about some of the channels, or also the opinions expressed by some in the comments sections of these video channels.

Like Baba Ali?

http://ummahfilms.blogspot.com/2014/01/my-friend-new-baba-ali-video.html

When watching Baba Ali, make sure to adjust the volume, also, he gets "in your face"
sometimes, which is one of his "trademark" things to do, but be sure, he is often very funny, sometimes controversial, and yes, he's a Muslim convert. Baba Ali is probably the original funny Muslim on You Tube who has inspired others to do similar videos, but not quite like Baba Ali! He also created a board game and started his own marriage service for Muslims, a kind of speed dating, if you will,  called "Half A Date".

Getting in Your Face in his videos





Flickr Is Worth Browsing More Often

It's been a very long time since I have been to my Flikr account. Well, this morning I finally took the opportunity to see some amazing photos on Flikr. In particular, the first photostream I happened across was by Kijal. My favorites are some taken at the Masjid Al Haram, as well as many pretty photos of flowers. I'm not done browsing yet, but thought to do a quick write up on why I think browsing is a worthwhile activity. Browsing on Flikr is enjoyable and one is bound to come across many photos of interest and artistic value.

Browsing is something we can only do online. To make it a good experience and not something stressful, which it shouldn't be or you are not doing it right, you should have accounts in the best places for browsing which are of course, Flickr, for photos, Pinterest, I suppose (which I don't have) and places for videos, which might mean YouTube, but also might mean other online sharing, such as your email account/s and the useful and popular apps like SkyDrive or the Cloud apps. People complain that browsing videos takes a lot of time, which is true. Watching videos can take a lot more time than one anticipates as well (particularly if the internet connection is very slow). Every cloud has a silver lining, or in this case every action on the internet has it's good and bad. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kijal/

Many people prefer not to share their photos on Facebook, Twitter or the other usual places. They allow you to grab a link though (copy/pasted as above) and while you can't display the photo on your own site, you can still share it with others, which is an easy way of "sharing the love". You might be inspired to take more of your own photos, and publicly display those, which will showcase your own particular interests and any special talent you might have in photography. I haven't found many photos of my own which deserve special mention, the few I have shared from several different accounts (emails, Google+, Flickr) are noteworthy; on Flickr, perhaps the most memorable (possibly the ONLY photo I've ever posted there (a milenia ago) is of a pigeon. It was taken out our apartment's balcony and shows a pigeon, probably migratory, roosting on the corragated tin (or aluminum) roof above our parking space (at the time, we lived in East Riffa, in a third floor "flat" (Bahrainis say flat, not apartment). It fills me with nostalgia still, because around the same time it was taken, I started my first blog (My IslamFeed) which ended (and was removed).

For me putting myself out there (especially writing) is kind of like pulling off a bandaid. It has to be done, because I continue to want to write publicly, but also it isn't something I would describe as pleasant. I often feel ill at ease or trepiditious when posting something new; I suppose it comes from the desire to please others, and not disappoint, plus the fear of a public flogging (or readers scorn).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kijal/

[Revising: I couldn't find the pigeon, maybe I had two accounts and one is now obsolete, rather I forgot about it and created a second account, which is still there. (But that means no more pigeon photo, I will have to dig into my old digital photos to find it, which could take some doing!)]

American Soldier's Response To Anti-Muslim Comments

You Are Invited!

al Jazeera shares a link (recitation of Sura Yusuf in soosi style)  
I am doing an event today, which readers might not be aware of yet, though I hope it generates some comments (finally) on my blog. I only ask two things for the event to be a success, in any comments type "I was here" or if you prefer, type something nice. You don't even have to read a blogpost or share if you don't want to.
I don't know yet if comments will be visible, but they should work; I have been asked by someone on Youtube why they can't comment, and the answer is I don't know; I'm not positive if he was refering to the blog as well. I have not blocked anyone for a long time, if ever.
I had one comment from 'Libyan', who I suspect is my husband. Other than that, no comments yet.
People like to press the +1, which is nice.
Enjoy the event, or the blog, and don't forget to type "I was here" in the comments section of a random post.
People, don't all comment in the first post you see, that's the third and final rule.
Have a nice day!

A screenshot of a circle I was interested in joining.

Islam, the Quran, and the Five Pillars All Without a Flamewar

This  video has over 6,000 likes and is recommended on my channel, too.

How to Use the Link Button

# 1

For posting a link to your blog or document, left "click" continuously until you highlight the url of the website you want to post a link to from your blog. right click, choose copy. then drag the mouse position the pointer ( the cursor) where you want the link in the document, and right click, choose "paste."

Next you can change the link. Right click on it to show the options. Check either option. I used the 'rel no follow attribute option.


  FIG. 1

Link button is in the centre of your PC window North of where you compose.




# 2

For posting a link here: "http://www.arabyonline.com/?src=105" left "click" continuously until you highlight the url of the website you want to post a link to from your blog. Then right "click" choose ‘copy’. Then position the pointer (the cursor) where you want the link in the document, and right “click”, choose "paste."


The link will appear like so: http://www.arabyonline.com/?src=105
This type of link, you can change slightly or remove, etc by right clicking on the mouse and seeing the menu. Click on the option word which corresponds to what you want to do e.g. paste, delete, select all.
Only use "select all" to change the color of the entire page. Probably the links won't work, even if you deselect all of them individually??

Next you can change the link. Right click on it to show options. Check either option. I used the 'rel no follow attribute option.

Above, Fig. 1 illlustrates the location of the add Link button. This is one of the easy ways to do a quick link to a website. Using the Link button is the easiest way to add a link and change the look.

How to Link to a Website or Blog - A Practice in Technical Writing

This might seem simple and straightforward to most people, but when I first started blogging, adding links, and following links, sometimes  getting back to my website was confusing. That was about ten years ago when I first learned how to use internet, five years after I learned how to use the home computer! I was in my early thirties, and it seemed a little hard to grasp some of the technical things. Sometimes I thought I would just quit, because why bother about it, I already knew how to type; but I'm glad I persevered, it helped me to see a new world and now I can do searches with a few strokes of the keys, and I often use the mouse just as well, now. It wasn't as hard as I thought, though I still have no clues about programming languages like Java script. I'm not sure what it is about HTML that I'm supposed to know, and my blog doesn't have a look and feel I like extremely a lot; it's okay ;)

# 1

What you do -

First, you want to make a link or "left" "click" continuously on the url at the top of the window, and copy paste it to your document; then you dbl click on it and choose between different options. As it first appears, choose the option  'rel='nofollow' attribute by checking the appropriate box. An url will  be pasted where you point the cursor;an example is this long link,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eABo_nmrYI0&NR=1&feature=endscreen .

as above, which you change to the first link, as seen in the first purple link above. The second link can be improved as to the look of it, by clicking on "choose" after you "right click" use the right mousebutton - as follows - "right click" on the link in the long http;//.....format.  Either choose to "change" or "remove". Then save your changes to the document or post by clicking on "Save" button in your browser window.

This type of link can be placed anywhere in your blogpost where you desire to say something while/in addition to adding a link to another url e.g. video or another blogpost... the link can be a word in a sentence which you want to highlight. When doing this, "choose" 'rel='nofollow' attribute

[ I think this will prevent your link from being followed, duh?? It will probably not show up in data about your usage?? or others won't know who has a link to their site?? Maybe someone can answer me this question. I also don't what permalinks do and have never wanted to use one.

 :-/

I am learning more about science and religion, particularly  the verses about embryology in the Quran.

 Now your link is ready. when you are done just press Publish, (the orange button to the right in the dashboard area.)

If you're not sure the link works you can check it before finishing the link, or you can finish it and Save, the use the Preview window, to see your results. If the link doesn't work, try doing it again.

I usually use the other "...", instead of 'rel=nofollow' attribute. I don't know if there is a significant difference, both ways the link will work as well.

# 2

Another way to add an url -

For posting a link here: THE OTHER WAY IS TO CLICK ON THE LINK BUTTON AS IN FIG. 1. Then right "click" choose ‘copy’. Then position the pointer (the cursor) where you want the link in the document, and right “click”, choose "paste." Voila~  http://www.onereason.org/ Left "click on the mouse to reveal the menu of options; choose to "follow the link "change", or "remove".

If you choose to change the link, you will have an opportunity to change the look of the link, e.g. you can make the link say something else relevant to a document, or an idea in your post.
Here I have changed the url to read, "gimme a reason!" I also opted to "open in a new window" . This means ?? (lol, #it is what it is, it does what it does.)

Left clicking on any link will reveal the original url.
http;//www.what ever the link (clicking on different colored font, tells you if the word is a link or just colorful.

the link will appear like so:http://www.onereason.org/ if you don't change it. And tells people exactly where it's going to (e.g. the original url of the website it leads to).Dbl click on it with the left mouse button to visit the website.
Rule of thumb - left click is for the menu options, change or remove; right click is to paste, or delete or select all. You can also send to one note with right click.If you want to select everything but the links in the post, you can change the font for the entire page, except the links.

This type of link, you can change slightly or remove, etc by clicking on the left mouse button and seeing the menu. Click on the optional word (in blue font) which corresponds to what you want to do e.g. "go to link", "change" or "remove".


Next you choose how  the link works, there are only two options. Left "click" on it to show the options. Check either option. I used the (first)(other) option, "open this link in a new window" this time. and  If you read or understand  Arabic you might like this link, if not, but you've never seen Arabic online news before, this is a regional website, we have here in the GCC - in the Persian Gulf.
Wondering why I thought to do a post about creating links? For two reasons - it's practice in technical writing, as you probably noticed by the Post's Title, but also, it is fun to create documents with useful and funny urls, especially by changing the way they look and how that reflects your creativity will be benefits, which add interest to your writing and to you, the "creative" "genius".  Don't over do it though ;)

@comments

@Greenapple
 to you, hope you read this:

I encourage you to go to my blog. I often speak about the things being discussed by me in comments. There is more time and space in a blog post than there is in a small comment on YouTube. This is my email Diamondraw4Real@gmail.com.

If you have anything to add, or later send me your perspective on things, you're welcome. I find your attitude to Muslims (surprise, I'm Muslim!) kind of a downer. You sound brainwashed to me. I was born in Canada, and grew up Christian; my parents were very strict. I believe Islam is the truth. I know why ppl think the Qur'an tells Muslims to kill Christians, but that's not true. However, there is always going to be conflict. I rather there wouldn't be, but that is the nature of the world.

The Qur’an exhorts Muslims to strive in killing; to cut off, or amputate the enemy’s hands, or hit their necks. This is combat training, not “murder”. As soldiers in Afghanistan should know, the whole country is like a war zone, anytime they are going in they should beware of the ‘enemy’; yet they should also, not go into villages with the attitude that ever Afghan is an “enemy combatant”. They are the ones who came (voluntarily) halfway across the world, to “smoke out” bin Laden, and the rest of the terrorists. That doesn’t give them a free hand to do whatever they like in a sovereign country, even if they don’t agree with the religious or cultural practices of the majority of the people living there. I don’t agree with the attitudes expressed in the media that somehow these volunteer soldiers are anything than wholly responsible for maintaining a high level of professionalism. There should be no excuses for “bad apples”, no matter how miserable a situation they find themselves in. They signed up for “war” not a day at the beach. As such they should follow the rules (and military laws) in every situation, every task.

There are many aspects in Islam which non-Muslims don't get. You have to be Muslim to understand.Many people would consider me fundamentalist (my practice varies from day to day), but it only causes more confusion when ppl label others. You never know who is behind the veil, or the beard, that's for sure. But don't be spooked, most Muslims I've been around are normal ppl. Not all of them practice like me; maybe some are more "modern" than I am.

(Then also, some are more toward extremist; that means, they are doing some things wrong; like their preaching becomes very tough on other Muslims; some of them think, for example that Muslims like them (they pray on time, and follow the rules strictly, which is good, but they judge others more)shouldn’t supplicate in a certain form (say, “God bless you” for example) if one of the other Muslims who isn’t so strict about prayers, etc. but is not very bad, does something like give up a seat on the bus for him, he won’t say “God bless you” like he would for a Muslim like himself. The fact is, those guys have some wrong things in their ‘beliefs’ which makes them act this way.

Yet, they consider themselves Salafi, as I consider myself Salafi. It’s just the degrees to which we comply in some duties probably does vary. Some people pray at night, some people don’t. It’s not an obligation, but it was the “way” of the Prophet and his companions to do so. Many people wish they could pray at night, although they just haven’t gotten in the habit. Everything is usually a habit, or not. Most Muslims will also eat store-bought products instead of making from scratch, which some people think is wrong, because they believe that most of those product s probably have pork derivatives in them. I’ve taken readymade cake, from a shop, which is made in the stores kitchen, yet certain people still think it is not “halaal” enough. I would say they are being ‘cautious’ and I don’t mind, but I don’t want them to think badly of me for eating those things, either. But these same Muslims don’t mind buying phones for their kids, (maybe not a blackberry) or using internet for their work. (of course they panic if they get email with “haram” content, but then they usually have “computer savvy” friends, too, who will volunteer their time to help them out.) Many of their friends are professionals; esp. lots of doctors of medicine attend Islamic lectures, probably not surprisingly, because they are very caring and God-conscious (among the population) for the most part.

I consider myself a “practicing” Muslim, but here I am on the internet along with so many others. I don't believe we are being left behind. We are just a little slower, in some countries, because of lack of resources, sometimes. I am told Libya doesn't have internet everywhere, but I have spoken to relatives (in-laws) on Skype from Sirte or Bengazi, so it goes to show...

Any lack of education, modernity, or advances we are lagging in, may soon be just a think (or thing) of the past because soon there will be more Muslims from Western nations, either born Muslims; second generation, third generation, or newly converted Muslims, who will bring those things into the “tribe”.

My greater worry is that Muslims will not advance as much in their outlook on life (life is just “enjoyment for a time”) their duties to God and people, their duties to Muslims, their responsibilities to preach Islam in the best way. I’m afraid Muslims will not learn Islam properly, or else, if they are knowledgeable, they won’t put into practice their Islamic knowledge. Allah has warned us against ignorance as well as arrogance.

Sincerely wishing you a good day, D,J.

From Here to Eternity - Women - Part Two

-          The non-Muslim complains that women’s flirtations will be minimized, or non-existent or she will never be able to leave her husband for another man, if he is abusing her. This is very absurd on the surface, but if studied more in depth reveals unfounded criticism of Islam’s treatment of women…. How so?

Well, it suggests that men and women only marry to abuse or hate one another. In fact, the opposite is more than certain the reality. Men and women, in the short engagement period that precedes the marriage, usually find that they enjoy each other’s company, and find each other attractive. If the engagement lasts as long as one year, what is often the case these days, there is ample opportunity for either party to a marriage to quit because of “cold feet”. I’ve heard this happen more than once, in our circles of friends and acquaintances. In this situation, no harm is no foul.

Non-Muslims inevitably return to the scripted story of “unrequited love” which is an old idea (not necessarily only a Western one).There is a touch of the amoral, unknown danger, an evil villain, or conflict and the climax, or a resolution, such as the poor girl finding love and then tragically dying (suicide, or consumption are good for a tragic ending). Think Romeo and Juliette, or King Lear’s daughter, who though loving her father to death, literally, her love for her father is unrequited; one of those situations known in psychology which means she will never be able to love another man, or have a happy marriage. Contrast this to Islam, which honors the father daughter relationship, which requires men to treat their children whether male of female with equality. This means not favoring one child over another with more attention or material things.

 Non-Muslims often will discuss love and marriage of Muslims as something which must be against all social norms seen in other cultures. Much the way they see the relationship between fathers and daughters in Islamic or Middle Eastern or Asian cultures. Like their saying, “Muslim women are forced to marry someone they don’t want”.  I remember a program on television, which delved into the subject of Muslims’ marriages, including some insight into how Muslims go about finding someone to love. One man’s story told how he used to watch a woman (who would be completely covered in her Islamic dress) every day on her way to work, or school for six months. Even though he couldn’t see her, he might perhaps have known something about her or her family. Eventually, they did start some kind of conversation. This is obviously not going to be a typical story, in that it is often the family who encourage and arrange meetings between men and women seeking a marriage partner. In this case, though I don’t remember well, I think the man, and even maybe the woman were both mature, at an age where they should already have at least been seriously occupied with the task of who to marry. Rightly or wrongly, there are many ways for couples to meet and decide on marriage. The correct Islamic boundaries are well known, that men and women are never to be alone, for example. This is why even couples who are perhaps not so serious about Islam will at least put up a façade of socially acceptable behavior in public.

I discussed in Part One how previously married women have more right to conduct their own affairs. Even Saudi Arabia recognizes that mature women have more right over their own person, which is why the government has no qualms about giving women over fifty visas for entry to perform their religious duties, such as greater or lesser pilgrimage, or allowing them to travel without Mahram men.  Instead these women travel in groups of other women, to perform their Hajj or Umrah. The government still retains a sense of “parental protection” over all Muslim women, but believes that chances are that nothing untoward or even dangerous is likely to happen when many women are travelling in a group. These women generally will be past the usual age for marriage or sexual exploitation.

Also, women are permitted by Islam to reside in their own homes, if they own a home, or a domicile, whether someone or herself is paying the expense for her. Newly divorced women must wait three periods before they can return to their father’s home, or should be allowed to remain in their husbands’ home so as to determine if she is with child, or not. This is the case of women who are divorced with a chance for reconciliation. If the divorce is a final or third divorce, then the divorce is of the irrevocable type, and she can do as she wishes, either returning to her father, or in her own place. The treatment to women should in any case be kind, as mentioned in the Qur’an, because they have at one time been a married couple sharing the same bed. It becomes the duty of her male relatives to provide for her, if she has no husband.

In practice, many women do travel alone, and even some girls travel alone to other countries, but with friends, or to their relatives in another country. Some travel for school to European cities, or America or Canadian Universities, etc. Women who have studied are not afraid of anything, or meeting any challenge. They are completely free, in terms of life choices, and even in many Muslim majority countries, they are often times socially liberal. But this is none to do with Islam. Yes, Islam does encourage women’s education, just as it encourages men’s education. Islam does encourage women’s freedom as much as it encourages men’s freedom, but there are differences. Some Muslim women exert a lot of influence in their societies, which is much like what life was in pre-Islamic Arabian culture.

Just as the Qur’an stipulates who men and women can marry, it also stipulates, when, how and why. In other areas, such as education, Muslim women don’t feel anymore that they can’t study science or medicine. They are much like Western women in terms of their goals and aspirations. And many non-Muslim women might secretly envy Muslim women for the rights that they do have in Islam. Islam never sanctioned bad treatment of women. There is sufficient proof of this in the Qur’an and Islamic traditions.
http://www.idristawfiq.com/

Quran,] 2:235]

“There is no blame upon you for that which you] indirectly] allude concerning a proposal to women or for what you conceal within yourselves. Allah knows that you will have them in mind. But do not promise them secretly except for saying a proper saying.”

Quran,] 2:236]

“There is no blame upon you if you divorce women you have not touched or specified for them an obligation] dowry]”

Qur’an,] 2:237]

”And if you divorce them before you have touched them and you have already specified for them an obligation, then give half of what you specified – unless they forego the right or the one in whose hand is the marriage contract forgoes it. And to forego it is nearer to righteousness. And do not forget graciousness between you. Indeed Allah, of whatever you do, is Seeing.”

Women's Dress and Modesty

• RedShirt77 Practices of "modesty". As disproportionately applied to women are a practice designed to limit the sexual options of women. In societies where men are often the economic drivers it prevents women from forming even minimally flirtatious of relationships with men that might be alternatives should their primary love interest turn out to be abusive or mistreat them. Its common in patriarchal societies, particularly those that are religiously orthodox and/or allow polygamy. forgive me if I don't stand up to applaud the "modernization" of the practice of treating women like a sports car you keep under a cover to keep the neighbors from coveting it.

From a website and comments there about how the market for hiijab and “wrappings” for Muslim women are invariably turning into another source of discomfit for women, who do not want to be exploited, as objects, so others (even Muslim businesses) can make money.

I disagree with the comment above from that discussion, because it is not (as the non-Muslim believes) that the society insists on the women to be covered (although Saudi Arabia does), but that women choose to cover for religious reasons. Hiijab is first and foremost a religious duty, ordained by Allah in the Qur’an.

As for women’s “sexual options/promiscuity” being hindered, that’s exactly one of the results. If only some of the Muslim women cover and others don’t; esp. if those uncovering are wearing less and less modest clothing, what happens is that the same problems in the West with promiscuity, fornication, adultery, dating, date rape, and the list goes on, will happen to Muslims to the same degree it happens presently in non-Muslim countries. That would be a downward moral spiral, not a good thing, nor “freedom of choice”. Muslim women and men generally don’t want that.

Hiijab is not only to protect from harassment of a sexual nature, or cover the woman wearing the hiijab, but to protect the general society from these real dangers. I find this nothing short of a miracle, in this day and age.

For women who have been married, and then divorced or widowed, there is more freedom (her right to seek a spouse, not a boyfriend) than there is for the virgin girls. Mature women (those who have been previously married is the idea here), have the right to marry anyone of their choosing of the category of permissible men; Muslim, responsible age, similar interests and level of education,body type, and any other criteria she believes will help her to choose a compatible husband are all reasonable considerations.

As for the virgin women (or “girls”; a commonly used expression in Arab Muslim societies) they are given the choice to accept or reject the proposal of anyone within the category of permissible youth/men. “And her acceptance is her silence”, while her rejection must be said aloud, as clearly stated in the traditions.

- DD

http://www.youtube.com/user/DiscoverIslamTV

Get this Link, or else...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SmofZmpFFM&feature=related

I'm afraid sometimes, that YouTube will take over my life. I spend a lot of time on YouTube, and answering my Gmail messages.

Today, I have listened to the talks by two well-known Muslim women speaking on Islamic topics. This is one of the links (above, for Myriam Francois Cerrah). I haven't yet watched Myriam's entire speech, but the question and answer session proved quite rewarding, and she gives many examples which I have also realized upon reflection of Islam, and history. One example is the role of the Prophet, SAWS, and his extreme patience to deliver the message, and as the prime example of Muslim character in a perfected state. How he did not retaliate for himself, but only if the rights of God or other people were violated.

One might think though, that the Sahabah used to defend the Prophet, in the battlefield, therefore we should also defend him, in our own 'battlefields'; but I'm against any forms of physical violence. The most Islamic thing to do is debate the non-Muslims, so that at least some people among them will stop their attacks on Islam, or Islam's Prophet. We are law abiding citizens, if nothing else. We can aptly defend with our freedom of speech, and that is commendable. There are examples in the traditions when a companion of the Prophet Muhammad, would say, "I'll chop his head off for you" (something any capable man in those days would do in a split-second if ordered by his conscience); yet when Muhammad, SAWS, would request that they not, they would obey him.

It was only by the light of the Qur'an and the guidance of the Messenger, SAWS, Allah's true Prophet, that the warring Arabs were modeled into a cohesive and peace-loving society. Yes, they loved peace, despite that war was a fact of daily life. War was the last resort when peace efforts failed. It was not without pain, that fathers and sons fought and died, to preserve their way of life, or to defend their new religion. What, if no other reason is the reason that America sends troops to Afghanistan? Isn't it to defend their way of life? That's what they tell us.

She speaks about the rights of the victim. Muslims often forget, she notes, that forgiveness is better in the sight of Allah. For example, which happens in the Gulf States, and even Saudi Arabia, people are sometimes forgiven by the victim, or family of a victim, when the perpetrator has shown real remorse. Even in cases of quasi -  murder.

Arab unrest and the US response

(I will be publishing many posts I had written from the previous 6 months while I was away)

“The west ravaged and destroyed Afghanistan for years “, says Brzezinski in an interview with Fareed Zakaria of CNN.

Libya, and Yemen and Syria are thorny issues.

It has approached the Libyan crisis well”, he had said at the time about Obama administration’s role in the conflict before the lynching of the late leader (Gaddafi) by rebels.

ON the other hand, in other conflicts, the US should not be in the forefront of the military initiative.

“There can be a slight gap between (our) words and actions”, he had said.

The West totally ignored Afghanistan (after the end of the war with Russia) and then Taliban appeared, he explains.

Concerning future relations in the region; “Iran is more hostile while Egypt will be more difficult”, he says.

Fareed Zakaria explains, we approve of the Arab uprisings, but may make things more difficult for American foreign policy issues.

The masses are more driven and less patient, explains Brzezinski.

It’s in Israel’s interest to move forward (now).

I particularly have in mind Egypt and potentially Jordan.

The New York Times “story of a showdown likely in the UN” is worrying. Will the UN vote for Palestinian independence? He asks.

“The time is against us”, he said. US voted against UN resolution despite the wording being like the American position, “conveying that it is powerless,” but it is a “redeemable” mistake, he points out.

Islam and Jihad Query

Against “Refuting the Salafis”on YouTube

In regards to “refuting the salafis”, there are a few very simple points to make which easily show the mistaken belief of the brother/Sheikh Faisal.

First of all, just because the Salafi sheikhs tell an individual not to go make jihad, they are telling an individual, who they see before them, who they make the judgement about based on what they think about that person, his character, his attitude and his ability, and so on, does not make them insincere muslims.

There are also hadith about the Prophet telling ppl not to go make jihad, such as men he questioned about their parents, and would tell that person to serve his parents, and not to go make jihad, which also has a great reward from Allah.

The hadith is correct also, that one could be a new shahadah (convert) and not know much about Islam, but the basic belief Lailaha il allah, and Muhammadur rasoolallah (there is no god Worthy of Worship but the one True God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God), yet the Prophet, SAWS, allowed him to participate in the Jihad.

But, again, here the Prophet knows this person, or knows his situation, so lets him fight. Also, the Prophet SAWS, is among the Muslims at that time and won’t let them go astray without teaching them.

What many scholars today worry about in connection with the muslims and jihad, is that they may be swayed by different groups who are not following Islam correctly; these scholars do not want muslims, whether new or born muslims, or muslims of one, ten or twenty years, to be misled and used by group leaders  who may have unislamic ideas  such as massacre women, or massacre girls  who do not wear hiijab, and such ideas which are beliefs of the hawaraj, an example of an extremist group attitude. Those kinds of groups and any group which is not following the Sunnah (the way of the Prophet) are a danger to the faith of the regular muslims, if they were to be misled by them.

 I find the attitude of the Sheikh in this video quite arrogant; the ppl listening to his speech/lesson can be heard snickering, which is very annoying and shows their attitude of arrogance, or lack of intellectual maturity.

In reality, it doesn’t take very long for a person to learn the basics of Islam. A muslim can easily learn the basics in a month or two, depending how much he wants to learn to begin, but that doesn’t mean that he should immediately go make Jihad. In fact, that person might be a very weak muslim in the beginning and it may be that a situation where he puts his life on the line might be too much for him to bare.

Furthermore many groups such as mentioned above, like the hawaraj, which also existed in the past, do not teach their members proper Islam, and also do not have real love for their brothers and sisters in Islam, which is why they often call other Muslims ‘Kafir’, or non-believer for committing sins, which alone do not take one out of the fold of Islam according to most Salafi scholars. For them to laugh at and ridicule the scholars then is not surprising.

Also, the fatawa of some scholars to discourage some muslims from going to jihad does not prove that they do not believe in jihad as an important duty.

Instead of accusing the Salafis of hypocrisy, they should better educate themselves, because obviously even to a layperson such as myself, there are obvious flaws in their arguments. While brother Faisal has some level of knowledge, and quotes hadiths does not mean he is immune to mistakes, or going astray. I ask Allah, subhanahu, to guide him and me, and the truth seeking people everywhere.