Pope washes feet
of young Muslim woman prisoner in unprecedented twist on Maundy Thursday
Perhaps some of the hate and
aggression Muslims are being subjected to at the hands of right-wing Christians
will dissipate with the Pope’s recent gesture of washing the feet of a Muslim.
Perhaps Pope Francis sees the rise of Islamophobia amongst Christian
communities as a concern, hence his actions. Or maybe the Pope is trying to
make a statement to Western governments i.e. Muslims are humans and you should
stop bombing them.
I hope Pope Francis looks into
Islam and becomes a Muslim one day.
Pope Francis
continued his gleeful abandonment of tradition by washing the feet of a young
Muslim woman prisoner in an unprecedented twist on the Holy Thursday tradition.
Read more:
A wave of porn plague sweeps throughout the world affecting people from all walks of life creating havoc to almost everyone who sees it, with over 75 million porn addicts worldwide and growing fast, it has also reached the Muslim world. Porn Addiction has destroyed family's and society's. Not only is porn addiction a health issue, New research shows that porn has a devastating effect on the brain.
Shocking statistics show how a whole new society of problems has caused this growing world epidemic that has been blamed for high rates of divorce, child molestation, increase of rape cases and abuse against women and children.
So what can we do to prevent this?
Or if you are effected by it how can you stop?
Brother Alyas talks about internet porn addiction its adverse effects and how to deal with it from an Islamic prospective.
Stats on Pornography
$13.33 Billion was spent in the porn industry in 2006, U.S. porn revenue exceeds the combined revenues of ABC, CBS and NBC.
Every second . . . $3,075.64 is spent on pornography
Every Second . . . 28,258 people are viewing pornography.
Every 39 Minutes . . . A new pornographic video is created in the United States.
There are 116.000 searches for child pornography everyday
40 million Americans are regular visitors to porn sites
PORN ON THE WEB -
42.7% of internet users view pornography
1.5 Billion Pornographic downloads per month (peer-to-peer)
Over 420 million Pornographic pages
Over 13,000 porn movies produced every year (35% of total downloads)
4.2 Million Pornographic websites (12% of total websites)
68 Million Daily pornographic search engine requests (25% of total requests).
72 Million Worldwide internet users visit adult sites per month
34% of average users received unwanted pornographic exposure
The average child sees their first porn by the age of just 11. Between 60 and 90 per cent of under-16s have viewed hardcore online pornography, and the single largest group of internet porn consumers is reported to be children aged 12 to 17.
Sadly as Muslims we
are regularly insulted by misguided folk on the internet. Islam is regularly
insulted by the most depraved and crazed lies out there. Here is another one
of these anti-Islamic propaganda pieces, synopsis:
The propaganda piece
accuses Islam of raping virgin women before their executions. Their claim is that
in Iran
virgin women are not executed (I’m not sure if this is true) so in order to
execute them they forcefully marry them and rape them the night before the
execution. They present this as ‘Islamic’
It’s not Islamic. Forced marriage is not even allowed in Islam never mind rape! Only the most gullible will believe this anti-Islam propaganda piece. It’s so sad to see so many people willing to believe such malicious propaganda pieces without trying to verify the validity of such claims.
Muslims are falsely accused, insulted and persecuted
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. [Mathew 5:11-12 - NIV]
For those who are unaware, Usama Dakdok is a charlatan who
has ‘translated’ the Quran in English (being retailed on his site for ‘donations’
of $24.95 or $44.95) despite not having any qualifications at all nor any real
training in classical Arabic.
I was going through some of his material on ABN and this guy’s
brazen foolishness and lack of Arabic skills struck me. He even translated the
title القران الكريم as ‘the generous
Quran’. In his animated style he challenges folk to go and look in any
dictionary regarding the word كريم (kareem) convinced the meaning is generous
and not holy or glorious.
The man really makes himself look silly. كريم when used with
regards to a person can mean generous however when used with regards to a book
the meaning is going to be different. Common sense dictates this.
The Hans Wehr dictionary translates كريم in many ways
including 'decent', 'noble' and 'distinguished'. ‘Decent’ is a synonym for ‘good’ in
English – in turn this is a synonym for ‘holy’ so the translation of ‘holy’ is
no conspiracy Usama! The same applies to the translation of ‘glorious’ as the
word distinguished is a synonym of ‘glorious’ in English.
Usama Dakdok would do well to actually read the dictionary
definitions of the words he is going to comment on especially if he is going to
go against popular translations. I assume he knows how to use an Arabic
dictionary.
I guess the following construction in the mind of Usama
Dakdok will mean a generous stone and not a precious stone
حجر كريم
Usama Dakdok, we know you’re a charlatan sadly the Americans
in the churches and gatherings you frequent actually think you are a man in the
know. I’d imagine they are your cash-cows for now. Usama Dakdok, if you’re ignorance is highlighted on the
FRONT COVER of your translation through the TITLE we only worry as to the
accuracy of the contents…
Note: Dakdok does not fit ANY of Ahmed
Von Denffer’s educational requirements for translating the Quran in English.
There are remarkable prophecies in Islam. In this video, Sheikh Hamza Yusuf, discusses a tradition which he believes is referring to the Clock Tower of Mecca and also tunnels within mountain.
Until recently the people were not able to understand the real meaning of this Hadith, butnowthe meaning has become quite clear to them. It is narrated by Sayyidina Abdullah bin Umar (and signs about the Day of Judgement are expected to have come from the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), since that is knowledge of the Unseen) that:
"When the belly of Makkah will be cleft open and through it will be dug out river-like passage (i.e. tunnels) and the buildings of the Holy City of Makkah will rise higher than its mountains when you observe these signs, then understand that the time of trial is near at hand" (Kitab al-Fitan (1:43 no. 59) and Fath al-Bari (Kitab al-Hajj)).
"This Hadith has continued on records of the last fourteen centuries. The commentators of the Hadith felt baffled, while explaining this Hadith as they could not understand how belly of' the Holy City of Makkah could be cleft asunder nor could they understand the meaning of digging out river like passages. It was really very difficult to imagine the sense of all these predictions. But by seeing today's Makkah one feels that the Holy Prophet s.a.w. made these predictions, as if he e was actually seeing with his own eyes today's Makkahtul-Mukarramah. Previously the commentators (Muhaddithin) interpreted this Hadith by saying that in their times Makkah was a dry and mountainous city, but in some future age Allah may cause rivers and canals to flow in that city. However today one feels by seeing these (underground) tunnels how the belly of Makkah has been cleft asunder.
The other sentence which the Holy Prophet spoke out in this Hadith is that the buildings of the Holy City of Makkah will rise higher than its mountains.
A few years ago none could imagine that buildings would be built in Makkah which would rise higher than its mountains, as the city was surrounded by mountains on all sides. But go to Makkah and see for yourself how (high-rise) buildings higher than mountains have been built there.
It appears from this Hadith, as if fourteen centuries ago the Holy Prophet s.a.w. had seen these changes and conditions with his own eyes. All these things had been shown to him clearly through revelations and light of Prophetic knowledge which Allah had granted him The Holy Prophet s.a.w. has clearly mentioned one by one what trials and tribulations the Muslims will have to face in the times to come. He has also mentioned simultaneously what the Muslims should do at such a time.
(Source: http://www.central-mosque.com/signs/signsT.htm Adapted from Discourses On Islamic Way Of Life, Justice Mufti Taqi Usmani, Vol 7, page 233-235)
From these descriptions one can have a basic description of Jesus; his skin colour (color) was brown. He was of medium height and his hair was straight.
Abu Hurayrah said, “The Prophet (S) said , ‘On the night of the Isra’ (miraculous journey to Jerusalem) I met Moses – he was a slim man with wavy hair, and looked like a man from the Shanu’ah tribe. I also met Jesus – he was of medium height and of a red complexion, as if he had just come out of the bath.’” [Bukhair, Kitab al Anbiya’, 4/302. Muslim, Kitab al-Iman, 1/106, 107]
The Prophet (S) said, "Whilst I was asleep, I saw myself (in a dream) making Tawaf around the Ka’bah. I saw a brown-skinned man, with straight hair, being supported by two men, and with water dripping from his head. I said ‘Who is this’? They said, The son of Mary’…" [Bukhari, ibid]
Sourced from The Signs Before The Day of Judgement, Ibn Kathir, Dar al Taqwa Ltd, 1991, p76
May Allah send His blessings upon Prophets Muhammed and Jesus. Ameen
Note to those who debate this man. Why give him a platform when he is clearly bent on dishonesty? Surely choosing a debate opponent is a thing one should give serious consideration as one would not want to be seen as legitimizing or popularizing such folk. Surely there are others out there that you can debate (if you must) in his stead who happen to have some form of intellectual honesty and good taste?
So rumours coming out of media sources are suggesting Janet Jackson has converted to Islam. For me it seems they are coming to this claim of her being a Muslim due to 3 factors:
1. Due to her marriage to Qatari billionaire, Wissam Al Mana:
Last year we were married in a quiet, private, and beautiful ceremony. Our wedding gifts to one another were contributions to our respective favourite children’s charities. [DailyMail]
2. Janet Jackson being pictured in hijab (head covering) and jilbab (long dress worn by Muslim women)
3. Reported 'insider' claims that she s now a Muslim: “She’s gone. She married a billionaire. They’ve got houses in three countries. She’s spending time in the Middle East. She’s become a Muslim.”
Some may assume she has converted to Islam based on her marriage to Wissam al Ana but this not evidence that she has. As for her wearing Muslim clothing, this is not evidence either as other female celebrities have worn the hijab (of some sort); Princess Kate Middleton, Laura Bush, Queen Elizabeth, Madonna, Hilary Clinton and Angelina Jolie. Moving on to the quote attributed to an 'insider'; we do not know who it's attributed to so it's not something we should take as reliable.
However we do know Janet's brother Jermain Jackson is a Muslim - he became a Muslim in 1989. We do hope his sister has converted to Islam and we pray for her.
Allah knows best if Janet Jackson is a Muslim or not. We as Muslims should wait for confirmation from her or other reliable sources before we make firm conclusions on Janet's religious affiliation.
It appears Islamophobic rabble-rousers on the internet have been distorting the reason behind Prophet Muhammad allowing his grandchildren (Hassan and Husayn, ra) to suck his tongue. [1]
Sadly, these folk have very little research behind them and even less desire for the truth. They have twisted these actions of genuine devotion and concern for these boys to reflect their debauched minds by accusing the Prophet of homosexuality.
Christian Missionaries Deliberately Misdirecting People
What is the actual reason behind the tongue-sucking?
The answer lies in Ash-Shifa of Qadi Iyad. The reason behind the tongue-sucking was to quench their thirst and help settle them down. We must remember this was an arid environment (desert) where water was scarce, thus loving parents/guardians did go to such lengths in caring for children:
He gave al-Hasan and al-Husayn his tongue to suck. They had beenweeping from thirst and upon this they became quiet. [2]
This was a genuine act of devotion; had Jesus (p), Gandi, Guru Nanak or Mother Theresa carried out such an act of devotion to children they would have been praised for it. Sadly, this is not always the case for Prophet Muhammad (p) as malicious Islamophobes on the internet have dark agendas they are pursuing assiduously.
Outrageous Islamophobic spin on a genuine act of devotion!
Islamophobes who present Ahadith (narrations) of such a nature in order to promote the idea of homosexuality or child abuse should desist immediately as their spin amounts to nothing more than a fallacious and fanciful attempt at character assassination.
May Allah guide these people. Ameen.
Muslims and Non-Muslims should be alert…
If a hater does present a claim where this occurred between the Prophet (p) and his grandchildren or his daughter (Fatima) please realise there is nothing untoward and the action was a genuine act of devotion that any caring person would undertake for the betterment of the infants. Do not be swayed by such hollow and outrageous distortions.
We must also remember homosexuality is forbidden and sinful in Islam. [3]
The Prophet’s saliva
Prophet even used to spit in the mouths of suckling children in order to satisfy them until nightfall [4]. Further examples of the blessings within the Prophet’s saliva are given in footnotes [5], [6].
[1] A couple of narrations Islamophobes erroneously “use” in their efforts to degrade and dehumanize the Prophet (p) and Islam:
Bukhari, 1183. It is related that Abu Hurayra said, "I never sae al-Hasan without my eyes overflowing with tears. That is because the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, went out one day and I found him in the mosque. He took my hand and I went along with him. He did not speak to me until we reached the market of Banu Qaynuqa'. He walked around it and looked. Then he left and I left with him until we reached the mosque. He sat down and wrapped himself in his garment. Then he said, 'Where is the little one? Call the little one to me.' Hasan came running and jumped into his lap. Then he put his hand in his beard. Then the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, opened his mouth and put his tongue in his mouth. Then he said, O Allah, I love him, so love him and the one who loves him!'" [Al-Adab al-Mufrad Al-Bukhari by Imam BukhariTranslated by: Ustadha Aisha Bewley] From - http://www.sunnipath.com/Library/Hadith/H0003P0046.aspx
Also:
Musnad Ahmed Hadith Number 16245, Volume Title: "The Sayings of the Syrians," Chapter Title: "Hadith of Mu’awiya Ibn Abu Sufyan": "I saw the prophet – pbuh – sucking on the tongue or the lips of Al-Hassan son of Ali, may the prayers of Allah be upon him. For no tongue or lips that the prophet sucked on will be tormented (by hell fire)
[2] Muhammad, Messenger of Allah – Ash Shifa of Qadi Iyad, translated by Aisha Abdarrahman Bewley, Madinah Press, 2004 pg 184
[3] Imam Dhahabi’s list of enormities (sins), p17.0 he writes, “…There is consensus among both Muslims and the followers of other religions that sodomy is an enormity…” [From the list of enormities presented in Nuh Hamim Keller’s translation of Umdat as Salik, Amana Publications, 2008, p17.0 (page 644)]
[4] He used to spit into the mouths of suckling children and his saliva would satisfy them until nightfall [page 184 in Ash Sifa of Qadi Iyad, Madinah Press, 2004]
[5] He spat in a well that was in Anas’ house and there was no water in Madina sweeter than it – Al Bayhaqi [from page 183 in Ash Sifa of Qadi Iyad, Madinah Press, 2004]
[6] This narration is unclear as to whether the blessings were within the saliva of the Prophet (p) or not but it is of benefit to mention:
In the hadith of Hanash ibn Uqayl we find, “The Messenger of Allah would give me a drink of sawiq (a kind of mash). He would drink first and I would drink last. I always found that it filled me up when I was hungry and quenched me when I was thirsty and was cool when I was parched”
[from page 184 in Ash Shifa of Qadi Iyad, Madinah Press, 2004]
The great Mosque/University of al-Azhar in Cairo was founded by the same Fatimid
general, Jawhar, who had started building the city itself the previous year.
With the distinct feature of having three minarets, the mosque is thought to
have been named after the Prophet’s daughter Fatima
al-Zahra. Orignally built to serve only as a mosque for the new city, it gradually developed into a major
centre of Islamic scholarship, providing education for students of all ages. As
late as 1925, the subjects taught remained exclusively religious, based on the
Quran, the Traditions and their interpretations
[Taken from p271, A Chronology of Islamic History
570-1000CE, Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd, 2003]
Born in Uzbekistan while it was still part of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics, or as we called it here, the ‘USSR’ Sheikh Atabek Nasafi began his religious studies at the age of ten, in secret, which was the only way the heritage of a land which produced such luminaries such as Abu Laith As-Samarqandi, At-Tirmidhi, Imam Al-Bukhari and Imam Abu Mansur Al-Maturdi, to name a few could be preserved during the Communist era.
He completed his studies aged 21 in various subjects including Arabic Language, Hadith, Fiqh, Tafsir and Tajweed at Madrasa Abul Qasim and Jamia Islamia in Uzbekistan. Thus, he was already considered a scholar when he arrived in the Middle East for higher studies.
Along the way he studied under an unusually eclectic series of teachers, including Uthaymeen, Anwar Badakhshani
By 1998 he was residing in the historic city of Damascus where he continued his studies with some of the finest scholars of our time. Enrolling on the four year Al-Ijaza Al-Alimiyya programme at the Takhassus Institute affiliated to Al-Azhar University Egypt, his studies included: Sharh Ibn Aqeel with Sh. Atiyya, Sharh Fiqh al-Akbar with Sh. Adeeb Al-Kallas, Lubab fi Sharh Al-Kitab (also known as Quduri) with Sh. Abdullah Rabiah, Aqida with Sh. Saeed Ramadan al-Buti, Risala Qushariyyah with Sh. Abdul Fatah Bizm, Hadith with Sh. Sadiq Darwish, Da’wa with Sh. Tawfiq al-Buti as well as intensive private lessons with Shaykh Muhmd Adnan Darwish and covered Fath Bab Al-Inaya and Muwatta of Imam Malik. He also studied Shudhoor al-Dhab, Sharh Qatr Al-Nidah, Thufat Al-Mureed and Mukhtasar Al-Bukhari with Shaykh Rushdi Al-Qalam.
He graduated in 2003, spending the final year at Al-Azhar University, gaining certification from the Faculty of Theology and Philosophy. He went on to teach in prestigious universities across the Middle East before gracing these shores.
He is the founder of the Afiya Institute and Academy which seeks to promulgate authentic traditional Islamic teaching in Europe and is also affiliated with the Deen Institute which is an English apologetics and Dawah organisation.
Shaykh Atabek supervised one of his student’s translations of The Initiation of Abu Laith As-Samarqandi and its commentary.
Intriguingly, Sheikh Atabek is also a herbalist with a chain of teachers stretching back to none other than the iconic Ibn Sina.
These people would have described themselves as Hanifs. Ishmael and Abraham (pbut) introduced monotheism into the Arabian Peninsula. Outside of sources of Islamic tradition there is other documentation related to this Pre-Islamic monotheism in Arabia:
There are confirmations independent of Islamic tradition of the existence of the pre-Islamic Arab monotheism: as early as the fifth century, the Palestinian Christian historian Sozomenus sketched the outlines of a pre-Mosaic monotheism which he said, some Arabs had rediscovered and still practiced in his own day
[Sourced from p175, The Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity - Edited by John Mcmanners, Oxford University Press, 1990]
If anybody is interested in following the teachings of the Prophets - the most obvious start is to begin by practicing pure monotheism - Islamic monotheism.
If you are interested in Islam please do contact your local Islamic centre. If you are in a more isolated area, feel free to leave a comment asking for some sort of direction to help you learn more.
I’m writing to you with some great concern as I notice you
are still listed as a contributor on answeringmuslims.com.
Recently I visited the Answering Muslims blog and on the
front page I noticed two obscene postings which a regular Christian missionary
would find to be incompatible with Biblical teachings and evangelism. I assume
you are indeed somebody who is solely interested in discussion with Muslims
with an intent on Christian evangelism.
Now you may be wondering as to which posts on ‘your’ blog I
found distasteful and anti-Christian. Well the first was a post which contained
a video of a ‘gang rape’. I did not view the video at all and nor would I
recommend you or anybody else view such material. However, I did read about the
contents of this sexual assault video and denounced such postings – see here.
This is of course something that one would not expect to be
viewing on a site which is supposedly upholding and preaching the Gospel. I
trust you are with me on this assessment.
The other video was of a bikini model (who happens to be a Muslim).
Again, what is the purpose of such a posting? I understand your colleagues,
David Wood and Sam Shamoun, do go to extreme lengths to bash/goad Muslims but
surely this is not compatible with the Bible and is only undermining your
evangelical efforts.
In the blogosphere, folk such as David are heavily dependent
on viewers and attention as it’s directly linked to their earnings. There must
be a line drawn between indecency and attention-grabbing.
The two posts I have outlined to you are indeed indecent by
any definition and are not unprecedented as some while ago I did post about a similar incident
concerning ‘your’ site:
Rather perversely it reflects on the regard the
administrators of ‘your’ site hold their followers (largely Christians who are
anti-Muslim/Islam?). I mean, why in the world post such vulgar material if you
didn’t feel that’s something your viewership/readership would lap up? It speaks
volumes in how ‘your’ administrators view their supporter’s general level of
morality…don’t you think?
I know Mr Wood is not the most Biblically-observant
Christian – as evidenced by his flagrant disregard of Deut 22:5 here - however that’s no excuse for him to overstep
boundaries of decency and nor is it an excuse for other Christians (especially
other contributors such as yourself, Anthony Rogers and Hogan Elijah Hagbard) to at least have a word. It only takes folk to sit on
their hands for evil to go unchecked.
I would also like to point out –I haven’t seen such material
on sites governed by serious Muslim representatives/apologists. I mean, if I
was to frequent sites ran by Bassam Zawadi, Ali Ataie, or Dr Shabir Ally. I
would not see such videos.
I understand Dr Nabeel Qureshi has left that site – he from
what I recall would have at least had some sympathy for such concerns. I trust
you will have similar sympathies and hope you do offer some sort of action to
ensure posts such as these are no more.
I would also recommend you view two of the most outrageous distortions to simply insult the brother of Prophet Jesus (Prophet Muhammed
pbut) that I have come across in recent times – propagated by your colleagues. Nobody with any sort of commitment to truth and fairness would support support or propagate suchlike.
You see Samuel, as Muslims we understand that you may want
to discuss and even proselytize to us but there is no way base-lies and
distortions which are simply geared towards hurting Muslim sensibilities are going
to go un-rebuked or un-condemned.
PS I would try to communicate with Mr Wood but he seems to be one for keeping his viewers away from anything which is criticizing or refuting of him. I guess censorship is his shield for now. Whatever happened to having rebuttals, strong argumentation and logic as a response. He has censored at least two different individuals who have presented him with links showing his cross-dressing argumentation to be nothing but a mischievous stretch.
Again, I invite you to take a stance.
I would also like to take this opportunity to invite you to
Islam. Please think about this before going to bed tonight. I strongly
recommend you put any bias to one side and pray to God on this tonight.
The FBI is calling this a potential terrorist attack. It is
a terrorist attack regardless of whether Muslims perpetrated this attack or
not. Security has been stepped up in Boston,
I hope there are no further attacks.
3 people are confirmed dead and more than 100 are injured –
some seriously.
I hope the anti-Muslim camp on the internet do not jump to
any conclusions on this one and I really hope they do not use this as another
stick to beat Muslims and attempt their usual smears of the Islamic faith if
this does turn out to be a politically motivated terrorist attack perpetrated
by a Muslim.
I have witnessed the London
marathon and know first hand that marathons are family events all about camaraderie.
As a Muslim I want to condemn this act of terror and our thoughts are with the
people of Boston.
Update: Barack Obama criticised for not using the word 'terrorism'
He - apparently very deliberately - did not use the word terrorism even
though he has been criticised in the past for not being quick enough to use the
label. Indeed he has already been criticised for not using it now,
but apparently feels caution and certainty are more important than the barbs of
critics - particularly when, to many Americans, the word terrorism is
misunderstood to only mean action by foreigners. Nevertheless, a White House official was quick to stress after the statement
that this was being treated as an act of terrorism. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22162754
Not all terrorists are Muslims
On the FBI’s official website, there exists a chronological list of all terrorist attacks committed on U.S. soil from the year 1980 all the way to 2005
Erik Rush: Kill All Muslims in Response to Boston Marathon Attack
Earlier today, there was an apparent bombing near the finish line of the Boston Marathon that, according to preliminary reports, has left two people dead and dozens more injured.
In response, and utterly without any evidence, frequent Fox News contributor Erik Rush tweeted out a message blaming the bombing on Muslim terrorists, saying "Everybody do the National Security Ankle Grab! Let's bring more Saudis in without screening them! C'mon! #bostonmarathon."
That prompted another Twitter user to chastize Rush for making such unsupported accusations, which prompted Rush to respond with a call for all Muslims to be killed
As Muslim leaders representing Islam and Muslims worldwide, it is our duty to speak up and denounce terrorism and terrorist actions regardless of who is behind them. However, it becomes more incumbent upon us to do so when it is done in the name of Islam.
We strongly condemn the most recent terrorist attack in Boston, USA, and offer our sympathy to the victims. These types of attacks are but signs of cowardice and self-defeat.
Our goal as Muslims is to improve the image of Islam and establish a better understanding of our religion, culture, and history. Unfortunately, this attack, if it turns out that Muslims are behind it, will definitely be detrimental to this lofty goal.
Islam brings about mercy not cruelty, and spreads love not hatred. According to our Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, a true believer is "He who does not harm anyone, neither with his tongue, nor with his hand."
Ustadh Ali Ataie seems to be one of very few Muslims who
have a scholarly grasp of Biblical textual criticism, Christian history and Christian
theology. For any Muslim who wants to build up their knowledge base concerning
the Christian scriptures and theology I’d recommend Ali Ataie’s classroom lectures.
I will link to a YouTube channel which contains his material (classroom lectures)
here:
This is the description of Ali Ataie from Ta’leef collective
(we pray his PhD goes well and thank him for the good he is doing the Muslim
ummah, masha’Allah):
Ali Ataie
is the President and Founder of Muslim Interfaith Council and has been involved
in interfaith activities for over ten years. He earned his undergraduate degree in Accounting from CalPolyStateUniversity
in 2000, during which time he served as the President of the Muslim Students’
Association . He has been both a guest lecturer and guest instructor at several
colleges and universities such as CalPolyState ,
UC Davis , UC Berkeley, and CalStateEastBay . He studied various
Islamic sciences under local Bay Area scholars and has dialogued and debated
with several Christian scholars on a variety of topics ranging from the
historicity of the resurrection of Christ (upon whom be peace) and the
Prophethood of Muhammad (upon whom be peace and blessings). He is a graduate of
the Badr Arabic Language Institute in Hadramawt,
Yemen and
studied at the prestigious Dar al-Mustafa under some of the most eminent scholars
in the world. He holds a Masters’ Degree in Biblical Studies from the Graduate
Theological Union in Berkeley, (the first Muslim seminarian in the 143 year
history of the school to do so), and is working on a PhD in Islamic Biblical
Hermeneutics.
It seems a video of an attempt to gang rape Coptic Christian
girl/s by a mob of Egyptian Muslims is being banded around. I have not watched
the video and have no intention of doing so. I did notice it on a fundamentalist
Christian missionary blog (a blog that hates Islam) so I did a little digging.
I’ve read about it and from what I can gather it’s an old
video (from 2009). The motive of these men has been said to have been to
retaliate against an alleged rape of a Muslim woman by a Coptic Christian man –
however maybe just pure sexual perversion took hold of them. According to the
descriptions the men were chanting ‘Allahuakbar’ – this does not make sense as
rape is not allowed in Islam (see fatwa below). There are no excuses nor are
there any justifications for such assaults. Allah knows best what has happened.
Islamophobes Insensitively Using the Sexual Assault
At the end of the day our thoughts should be with the
victims. Sadly some anti-Muslim folk are taking the assaults as a rod to
tarnish all Muslims and Islam. Islam does not allow rape.
It’s really sad to see people using the sexual assault of
others to further their agendas of demonizing Muslims and furthering the hatred
against Muslims. It shows the shallow state of these people.
May Allah help the victims of rape around the world. Ameen.
Rape in Islam: Islam is Against Rape
“The Arabic word ightisaab refers to taking something
wrongfully by force. It is now used exclusively to refer to transgression
against the honour of women by force (rape).
This is an abhorrent crime that is forbidden in all
religions and in the minds of all wise people and those who are possessed of
sound human nature.”
Sam Shamoun, you were looking tremendously serious when
reading the Old Testament verse which condemned cross-dressers so I take it you
actually believe this portion of the Old Testament is still a ‘live’ teaching
for the Christians of today (i.e. it has not been abrogated by the New
Testament).
Sam Shamoun Ashamed of David?
No cross-dresser would pass you on the footpath (let’s
Americanize it for you…sidewalk) after seeing your passionate contortions of
the face and hearing you categorically condemn cross-dressers via Deuteronomy
22:5
I’m not too sure if you are serious though. Your partner,
David Wood, was agreeing with you and all that but he was found to be wearing
his wife’s pink nightie on camera.
Could you explain to the numerous readers of this blog (getting
closer to half a million visits since its inception) what is going on here.
Has Deut 22:5, according to your theology, been abrogated by
the NT? If it has not been abrogated then…
Have you rebuked this cross-dresser? If you have not rebuked
him….why not?
Sam Shamoun v David Wood: I bet Dr Nabeel Qureshi is Glad he Jamp Ship
A Lesson for the Haters
Sam, the lesson you can learn from this episode is, when people
of your ilk come out with one of those nutty lies to insult a Prophet of God,
you only wind up making yourself look foolish. Really…just have a gander at the
Sam Shamoun section or the David Wood section. With each year you become less
relevant…it’s time to change your ways!
This is the type of tonic the fight against anti-Muslim forces requires - two rabbis speaking out to protect Muslims against a well known Islamophobe (Pamela Geller). Here is the statement by Rabbi Michael White and Rabbi Jerome Davidson concerning Great Neck Synagogue's decision to give a platform to Pam Geller:
We write as rabbis devoted both to our faith community and to human rights for all peoples. We were disheartened to learn that the Great Neck Synagogue has invited Pamela Geller to speak on April 14. Geller has a long track record of hateful and virulently anti-Muslim views that seek to divide American Muslims and Jews, rather than unite them.
Rabbi Michael White and Rabbi Jerome Davidson
Both the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League have designated Geller’s “Stop Islamization of America” organization as a hate group. As was recently reported in the Jewish Week, Etzion Neuer, director of community service and policy for the ADL’s New York region, said that Geller “under the guise of fighting radical Islam, absolutely demonizes an entire religion. In directing her rhetoric at the entire Islamic faith, she fuels anti-Islamic bigotry. Geller doesn’t do us any favors,” he continued. “She muddies the waters because she hands the platform to the extremists in our midst. Instead of thoughtful, fact-based dialogue on the issues, we get incendiary rhetoric and xenophobia.”
We cherish our relationships and friendships within the local Muslim community. Both Temple Beth El of Great Neck and Temple Sinai of Roslyn share deep and abiding connections with the Islamic Center of Long Island. Our communities have broken bread together, studied together, engaged in social action projects together, and our children have learned from each other as well. The local Muslim community adds immeasurably to Long Island’s vitality, and we are blessed by their commitment to the betterment of our society. Their presence among us affirms the essence of America’s greatness, a nation founded on the principles of democratic pluralism.
We state unequivocally that Geller’s inflammatory rhetoric does not represent us or the great majority of Jews in Great Neck and on Long Island. Hate speech has no place in synagogues. Synagogues should be places for worship, positive dialogue and reasoned political debate. The right of free speech is vitally important, but Geller crosses the line from political to hate speech. In sharp contrast, Judaism teaches us to respect the traditions and values of other faiths.
Last fall the group T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights (formerly Rabbis For Human Rights-North America) echoed that sentiment with its effective New York City subway ad campaign that countered Geller’s offensive anti-Muslim subway posters. T’ruah’s message challenged: “In the choice between love and hate, choose love. Help stop bigotry against our Muslim neighbors.”
We share T’ruah’s vision, reflecting our faith’s mandate to work for understanding, unity and peace among all humanity. Geller’s messages seek to divide peoples, and fail to acknowledge that even with significant political differences, Jews and Muslims are working to build the world of justice and compassion that both faiths demand. Rather than trying to denigrate a diverse community and rich tradition, we must find ways of respecting one another and working together on shared concerns.
At this season of the year following the Passover festival, Jews study a tractate of the Talmud called Ethics of the Fathers. We are mindful of Hillel’s enduring words in the opening chapter: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?” The time is now to stand – for ourselves, for our fellow citizens, for our common humanity and kinship. We hope Great Neck Synagogue leaders will take a hard look at their decision and ask themselves why they are giving a platform to someone who has devoted her life to defaming fellow Americans of a different Abrahamic religion.
Rabbi Michael White is the Senior Rabbi at Temple Sinai of Roslyn. Rabbi Jerome Davidson is Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Beth-El of Great Neck and teaches at the Hebrew Union College, New York City.
By the middle of the 13th century Muslim control
in Spain
was greatly reduced, and Christian fervour, kindled also by the temporary
successes of the crusades in the holy land, led to persecutions, emigrations
and expulsion of Muslims from newly regained Christian territories. Those
Muslims who remained were forbidden from giving the call to prayer from
minarets, from going on pilgrimage and from publicly practising their faith.
High taxes led to an increasingly low standard of living for Muslims.
[p 320-321, The Oxford History
of Islam – Edited by John L. Esposito – OxfordUniversity
Press - 1996]
Hi Dr Bassim Gorial and Haifa Gorial, I have a few concerns
over the way in which your TV station – ABN Sat – is being utilized. I am
extremely pushed for time but do hope you look into the points and concerns I’ve
raised.
Unscholarly and Untruthful
Some of your employees (Sam Shamoun and David Wood amongst
others) who appear on your English version of ABN have been using your platform
to spout utter falsehoods and slanders against Prophet Muhammad.
The two employees of ABN (David Wood and Sam Shamoun) have
been documented to have used your platform to have spouted the thighing hoax,
the cross dressing lie and the perverted claim of necrophilia (sex with a dead
person) amongst other claims. These blokes seem to be plucking anything and
everything they find on the net and showcasing them on ABN as truths.
They have no credentials to speak on such subjects either.
In fact do any of the ABN employees have any real credentials to speak on
Islamic subjects? I mean, if you look at the Muslim dawah show, The Deen Show –
they do use some folk who have had some training in Christianity. With ABN it
seems anybody can pitch up and begin speaking about Islam…
You’ve had Kamal Saleem, a man who has more than one version
of his conversion story, on the English section of ABN. You’ve had the
discredited and dubious Walid Shoebat on there too.
It really does appear scholarly integrity and honesty goes
out of the window when folk use ABN as a platform to speak about Islam.
Utter hatred of Muslims = Christian Love?
Then we have the issue of sheer hatred for Muslims which
your employees show towards Muslims. Usama Dakdok is an evangelist who on your
channel labelled Muslims as ‘demons’. You’ve had Walid Shoebat wanting to nuke
Muslims…on ABN. Combine that with the tone of some of your callers as well as
the behaviour and comments of other ABN employees.
I would strongly recommend you go through the ABNSAT section
on this site which highlights a number of scandals (roughly 20) your employees
have been involved in whilst on ABN. Please take your time to peruse through
such posting here:
My question to you is thus: is ABN geared towards evangelism
OR hatred, unscholarly diatribes and deceit?
PS – Please educate one of your employees on the Bible
These are not photo-shopped pictures, they are of one of your
employees, David Wood, who is actually dressed in his wife’s nightie. Maybe he is unaware of
the Bible reference of Deut 22:5 - A woman shall not wear a man’s garment, nor shall a man
put on a woman’s cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the
LORD your God. ESV
ABN has gained an anti-Muslim and an untrustworthy reputation - it's basically scene as a hate-fest.
Here are two of their recent absurd lies. These are lies that the Christian
fundamentalist (David Wood) would NEVER bring to a live debate for the fear of
humiliation, yet he and his friend (Sam Shamoun) have an unchecked platform plus
a desperation for viewers on Bassim Gorial’s ABN that they have been exploiting assiduously in
spreading internet vile lies
ABNSat’s David Wood (with Sam Shamoun) bring ‘the sex with a dead woman’ lie
Why does Bassim Gorial give this type of hatred and deceit a platform on
ABN SAT? Is it because most of his audience are anti-Muslims and anti-Islam
lunatics who demand such material?
Christian fundamentalist, David Wood, presented this cross
dressing lie on ABN as well as his personal YouTube channel (on which he even
dressed in his wife’s nightie!):
As Muslims we are facing a malicious propaganda campaign from
Christian radicals. We are constantly bombarded by the most crazed insults yet
we continue to hold firm. The Christian radicals direct their insults at us as
their faith is questioned with our solid and more logical belief of Jesus (p)
being a Prophet rather than being God. These radical Christians would do well to contemplate on
Matthew 5:11
"God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you
and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are
my followers. New Living Translation
We as Muslims, indeed follow the teaching of Jesus - Only
God is worthy of worship.
Muslims, stay strong!
Sincere Christians, please help rebuke the mischief-makers
who are attention/fame-seeking amongst your communities.
May Allah bless His Prophets further and May Allah guide us
and bless us all further. Ameen.
By 1989 the Munster Institute for New Testamanet Textual Research had catalogued the number of manuscripts of the Greek New Testament at a total of 5488, in the customary categories: 96 papyri, 229 uncials, 2812 minuscules and 2281 lectionaries (containing selected passages arranged according to the liturgical year, for use in church services)
[p488, The Oxford Companion to the Bible, edited by Bruce M. Metzger, Michael D. Coogan, Oxford University Press 1993]
What’s the oldest NT manuscript found thus far?
The oldest known New Testament manuscript is a papyrus fragment, ca. 9 by 6.35 cm (3.5 by 2.5 in) dated to 100-150 CE, which preserves five verses from John 18. P52 as it is called is now kept at the John Rylands Library in Manchester, England.
The oldest substantial portions of the New Testament are the Bodmer papyrus of John (P66), now in Geneva, and the Chester Beatty papyrus (P46) in Dublin and Ann Arbor, which contains ten Pauline letters; both have been dated to ca. 200 CE
[p488, The Oxford Companion to the Bible, edited by Bruce M. Metzger, Michael D. Coogan, Oxford University Press 1993]
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