Today's Messages (OFF)
| Unanswered Messages (ON)
| Forum: General Discussions |
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| Topic: A proposal... What do you think? |
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| A proposal... What do you think? [message #47607] |
Tue, 01 July 2008 17:05 |
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Dear sisters and brothers:
I invite you to get involved more actively in communicating the liberating and peaceful message of the Quran with public.
Personally, I decided to get more active and allocate some time for public lectures and debate. So, I will have two proposals.
1. Contact universities around you, to invite me to discuss Manifesto for Islamic Reform (See: www.islamicreform.org and the appendix section of Quran: a Reformist Translation). The invitation could be through a department, center or student club. I would welcome one-to- one debate format to lectures, but a lecture followed by a discussion session would be fine.
As for the second proposal, its about creating an efficient network of activists, and I will inshallah share the details of my proposal later.
Please let me know what you think. You may use 19@19.org or yuksel@yuksel.org for email.
Peace,
Edip Yuksel
[Updated on: Tue, 01 July 2008 17:56]
Edip Yuksel; J.D.
www.yuksel.org
www.19.org
www.islamicreform.org
19@19.org
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| | Topic: First contact. Roam strange new lands and seek out new life. |
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| First contact. Roam strange new lands and seek out new life. [message #47430] |
Fri, 30 May 2008 12:12 |
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Look at the pictures below. If tribes like these existed for so long why are their existence being revealed only from today?
God is informing everybody of a horrendous punishment. This could be as worse as annihilation. Like living a death. Living like creatures worse than animals.
"First photos of uncontacted tribe
ITN - Friday, May 30 08:56 am
Painted warriors from one of Brazil's last uncontacted tribes have been photographed for the first time.
(Advertisement)
They were spotted in Brazil's far western Amazon jungle near the Peruvian border
The photos were taken on flights over the Ethno-Environmental Protected Area along the Envira River in the remote Acre state, the National Indian Foundation or Funai said.
The photos show "strong and healthy" warriors, six huts and a large planted area. But it is not known to which tribe they belong.
"Four distinct isolated peoples exist in this region, whom we have accompanied for 20 years," Funai expert Jose Carlos Meirelles Júnior said.
Funai does not make contact with the Indians and prevents invasions of their land, to ensure total autonomy for the isolated tribes, Funai said.
"We did the overflight to show [the tribe's] houses, to show they are there, to show they exist," said Mr Meirelles.
"This is very important because there are some who doubt their existence."
UK based charity Survival International said the Indians are in danger from illegal logging in Peru.
This is driving uncontacted tribes over the border and could lead to conflict with the estimated 500 uncontacted Indians now living on the Brazilian side.
There are more than 100 uncontacted tribes worldwide, most of them in Brazil and Peru, the group said.
Survival director Stephen Corry called for their territory to be protected by international law."
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/itn/20080530/twl-first-photos-of-un contacted-tribe-41f21e0.html
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20080529/img/pts-members-of-an -unknown-a-edf70be466ec0.html
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/20080530/img/psc-brazil-native- 118f5f0-c0675d7f08370.html
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/20080530/img/psc-brazil-native- 118f5f0-c0675d7f08370.html
[27:69]
Say, "Roam the earth and note the consequences for the guilty."
[6:11]
Say, "Roam the earth and note the consequences for the rejectors."
[30:42]
Say, "Roam the earth and note the consequences for those before you." Most of them were idol worshipers.
[47:10]
Did they not roam the earth and see the consequences for those before them? GOD destroyed their works; all disbelievers will suffer the same fate.
[16:36]
We have sent a messenger to every community, saying, "You shall worship GOD, and avoid idolatry." Subsequently, some were guided by GOD, while others were committed to straying. Roam the earth and note the consequences for the rejectors.
[3:137]
Precedents have been set for you in the past; roam the earth and note the consequences for the unbelievers.
[7:179]
We have committed to Hell multitudes of jinns and humans. They have minds with which they do not understand, eyes with which they do not see, and ears with which they do not hear. They are like animals; no, they are far worse - they are totally unaware.
[7:166]
When they continued to defy the commandments, we said to them, "Be you despicable apes."
[5:60]
Say, "Let me tell you who are worse in the sight of GOD: those who are condemned by GOD after incurring His wrath until He made them (as despicable as) monkeys and pigs, and the idol worshipers. These are far worse, and farther from the right path."
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| | Topic: Invitation to meet at Paltak this Sunday (May 18) morning 7 AM |
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 Invitation to meet at Paltak this Sunday (May 18) morning 7 AM [message #47168] |
Fri, 09 May 2008 20:14 |
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I will open the room Islamic Reform at Paltalk this Sunday morning 7 AM Mountain time. It will be a test for a permanent room and schedule to meet each other through voice and video.
Please download free paltalk program (paltalk.com) and get a microphone and join us that morning.
Peace,
Edip
[Updated on: Sat, 10 May 2008 16:44]
Edip Yuksel; J.D.
www.yuksel.org
www.19.org
www.islamicreform.org
19@19.org
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| | Topic: JINN: Al Khidr response to Arnold research |
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| JINN: Al Khidr response to Arnold research [message #47021] |
Sat, 29 March 2008 00:38 |
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 Al Khidr
Messages: 10
Registered: June 2006 |
Beginner |
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As Salaamu Alaykum:
I would like to share my response to Arnold's research on the JINN:
http://www.freewebs.com/tawhiyd2/jinn.htm
Salaam
[Updated on: Sat, 29 March 2008 00:50]
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| | Topic: Ayam= days or stages? |
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| | Topic: Celebrate Free Expression Day (Carl Lavin) |
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| Celebrate Free Expression Day (Carl Lavin) [message #46995] |
Tue, 11 March 2008 19:57 |
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Celebrate Free Expression Day
Carl Lavin 03.11.08
There are places in the world where no one will be allowed to read this article. There are places in the world where people who have criticized their government in online posts have been arrested and put in jail.
To honor those cyber-dissidents, March 12 is being celebrated as International Online Free Expression Day. A group advocating for global press freedoms, Reporters Without Borders, announced the campaign against government censorship of the Internet and said that 63 cyber-dissidents are now in jail around the world "for using their right to free expression on the Internet." The country with the most online journalists and bloggers in jail? China.
On Tuesday, the U.S. State Department released its annual country reports on human rights. China, although no longer on the list of the worst rights abusers, is stepping up efforts to control the Internet. The report said:
"As in previous years, citizens did not have the right to change their government. The government tightened restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, particularly in anticipation of and during sensitive events, including increased efforts to control and censor the Internet."
The list of worst abusers still includes Belarus, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, and Zimbabwe. The State Department added Sudan, Syria and Uzbekistan.
What about the countries Vice President Dick Cheney is visiting next week? President Bush is sending Cheney to the Middle East to advance a peace plan and maybe to lobby Saudi Arabia on oil prices. (A slight increase in Saudi production could ease prices--and political tension--back home.)
Here are excerpts of remarks from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice about the report, followed by the sections from the report about Internet freedoms in each of the countries on Cheney's itinerary (Oman, Saudi Arabia, Israel and the West Bank and Turkey).
I asked Megan Mitchell from Cheney's office if he was planning to raise issues of press freedom or Internet censorship. "I expect him to bring up a wide range of issues," said Mitchell, who will be traveling with Cheney.
Comments from Condoleezza Rice (March 11):
In too many countries, champions of human rights are denounced and persecuted, vilified as traitors or targeted for repression--just for insisting upon the freedoms enshrined in the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In other countries, even in those that have recently begun transitions to democracy, human rights are not fully secured, perhaps because of weak institutions or corruption, which undermine the rule of law; perhaps because of conflict or insecurity, which intrude upon the liberty of individuals; or perhaps because of crushing poverty and disease, which can cause even the most stalwart citizens to lose hope that their lives will improve.
A nation's path to a future of human rights protected by law is neither smooth nor straight. Along the way, there are bound to be stumbles and setbacks. Even under the best of circumstances, it is not easy to transform democratic ideals into effective democratic institutions. Yet despite every challenge, the courageous champions of human rights persevere. They are an inspiration to their fellow citizens and to all of us. The high standard that they set continues to give hope to people everywhere who work peacefully for their liberty, their dignity, and their rights.
We gather today to support them, and it is our hope that this human rights report will highlight the obstacles that still stand in their way, so that they may bear the mantle of justice at least--at less risk to themselves and to their families. This document is collected and written with the optimism that no corner of the earth is permanently condemned to tyranny. As President Bush has said, "Freedom can be resisted, and freedom can be delayed, but freedom cannot be denied."
From the State Department report:
Oman
The government's national telecommunications company made Internet access available for a fee to citizens and foreign residents. However, it blocked numerous Web sites considered pornographic, culturally or politically sensitive, or competitive with local telecommunications services. The criteria for blocking Internet sites were not transparent. Growing use of the Internet to express views normally not permitted in other media led the government to take additional measures to monitor and censor it. The government reportedly questioned some chat room contributors critical of government officials or policies, or whose postings precipitated criticism, after tracking the contributors through their Internet service provider addresses.
In January, police arrested the founder of the country's most popular chat room site, al-Sablah al-Omania, and 10 of his associates for publishing comments critical of government officials. After a four-month trial, a court of first instance acquitted the site's founder and three co-defendants on charges of slander but sentenced six other defendants with fines ranging from $780 to $10,400 (300 to 4,000 rials), with one co-defendant sentenced to one month in jail. Prior to the trial, the founder of al-Sablah al-Omania shut down the site to "avoid further legal complications." The site remained closed at year's end.
The government placed warnings on other Web sites, saying that criticism of the sultan or personal criticism of government officials would be censored and could lead to police questioning, which increased self-censorship. While several sites served as replacements for al-Sablah, all were rigorously cautious concerning content, and moderators reportedly deleted potentially offensive material quickly. The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority blocked establishments from offering voice over Internet Protocol services without a TRA license.
Saudi Arabia
The government restricted access to the Internet, and Saudi Telecommunications Co. reportedly monitors e-mail and Internet chat rooms. During the year, more individuals and groups exchanged views via the Internet, including by electronic mail and blogs. The government continued to block access to Web sites it deemed sexual, pornographic, politically offensive, "un-Islamic" or disruptive because of controversial religious and political content.
Access to the Internet was available only through local government-monitored servers. According to the Communications and Information Technology Commission, there were approximately 2.3 million subscribers and users. Some citizens circumvented controls by accessing the Internet through servers in other countries. The government had a process through which citizens could request reconsideration of a decision to block a particular Web site, and authorities reportedly unblocked some Web sites partially.
The law criminalizes defamation on the Internet, hacking, unauthorized access to government Web sites and stealing information related to national security. At year's end there were no reported prosecutions.
Early in the year, according to press reports, a Web site managed by Ra'if Badawi dealing with alleged transgressions of the religious police was closed.
Several times during the year, according to a foreign press report, telecommunications authorities blocked www.menber-alhewar.com, the "Dialogue and Creativity" Internet forum of Ali al-Dumaini, a political-reform activist, where members sought to discuss issues of human rights, tolerance and democracy.
On Dec. 10, 2007, security agents detained Fouad Ahmed al-Farhan, a blogger with the popular, pro-reform Web site Alfarhan.org, and questioned him "about violating non-security regulations." In one of his last posts before his detention, al-Farhan sharply criticized 10 influential business, religious and media figures.
Israel And Occupied Territories
There were no restrictions on Internet access or reports of the government monitoring e-mail or chat rooms. On Dec. 5, 2007, survey results published in the Globes newspaper indicated that Israelis averaged 37.4 hours per month using the Internet. Approximately 4 million persons had Internet access.
Turkey
The Internet was widely available in the country. It is used in schools, libraries, private Internet cafes and other public locations, and the government encouraged its use. There were some restrictions on Internet access.
On May 4, the government adopted a new Internet law governing criminal and civil law violations. The law allows the government to ban a Web site if there is sufficient suspicion that one of eight crimes is being committed via the site: encouraging suicide, sexual abuse of children, facilitation of drug abuse, provision of dangerous substances for health care, obscenity, prostitution, gambling or crimes regulated in Turkish Code 5816 (crimes against Ataturk).
Upon receiving a complaint or as a result of personal observations, a prosecutor may file an application for a ban on access to the offending site, or, in an urgent situation, the prosecutor or the Telecommunication Presidency may impose a ban. In either case, a judge must rule on the matter within 24 hours. Following a judicial ban order, the Internet service provider (ISP) must block access within 24 hours. If the judge does not approve the block, the prosecutor must ensure access is restored.
The ISP may face a penalty ranging from six months' to two years' imprisonment for failing to comply with a judicial order. The law also allows individuals who believe a Web site violates his or her personal rights to request that the ISP remove the offensive content.
On March 7, an Istanbul court banned access to the YouTube Web site to block a cartoon video that lampooned Turkey's founding father, Ataturk, as gay. The court ruled that the ban was necessary because "Ataturk and Turkey were insulted with swearwords written in English on Ataturk's photos and to protect freedom of expression." On March 8, the court ruled in a new decision that it would lift its prior order if YouTube removed the offensive video. On March 9, after YouTube removed the video, the ban was lifted, and users were again able to access the site.
On Aug. 17, a court prohibited all postings on the wordpress.com Web site in response to a petition filed by lawyers for Adnan Oktar, a controversial Turkish Muslim author best known as an ardent anti-evolutionist and author of the book Atlas of Creation. Letters from Oktar's lawyers claimed that Edip Yuksel, a popular Turkish Muslim author who has defended evolution and criticized Oktar, posted offensive and illegal content on his wordpress sites.
Oktar's lawyers initially applied to have only several postings blocked but later applied for a blanket prohibition after authors moved the allegedly defamatory content to other sites hosted on the wordpress.com domain. The government said that, pursuant to the court order, all wordpress sites were blocked because it did not possess the technology to block just one site. All wordpress sites remained blocked at year's end.
Earlier, on April 17, an Istanbul court granted Oktar's petition to block access to the electronic dictionary Web site Eksi Sozluk for allegedly insulting him; access to the site was restored one week later without the offensive links.
On Sept. 17, a Sivas court issued an order to block access to YouTube after the court determined that content on the site insulted Ataturk and the leaders of the government. Reporters Without Borders issued a statement calling the blocking of the entire Web site a disproportionate measure and urged the government to reverse the decision. YouTube removed the offensive content, and the government did not block access.
Government authorities have on rare occasions accessed Internet user records to protect "national security, public order, health and decency" or to prevent a crime. Police must obtain authorization from a judge or, in emergencies, the highest administrative authority before taking such action.
PS: Originally published at: http://www.forbes.com/opinions/2008/03/11/press-freedom-cens orship-oped-cx_cl_0311dissidents.html
Edip Yuksel; J.D.
www.yuksel.org
www.19.org
www.islamicreform.org
19@19.org
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| | Topic: Some Remedies |
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| Some Remedies [message #46942] |
Sun, 24 February 2008 15:49 |
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In these days of great stress, anxiety and bad health I have put some verses from the Quran so that we may get some relief. There are all kinds of problems people may have but the underlying cure is the same. Unlike man made medication and surgical operations God offers a complete cure.
I'll try keeping it breif and remember: Everything is God willing.
One relief comes from dates. Dates are almost anaesthetic like and can cure sleeping problems. The effect is naturally very slow to an injection. Consume between 10 to 15 dates in the morning supplementing your normal breakfast. Repeat this for three days and you will sleep heavy during the night. I advise not to consume these amount of dates during the evening because you will be very sleepy in the morning NOR if you intend to drive a vehicle. Eat them in the morning to take effect by night time. Have them as much as you may need.
| Quote: |
19:25
"If you shake the trunk of this palm tree, it will drop ripe dates for you.
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Honey is good for stiff joints. Stiff back, knees, fingers, hands, shoulders etc. You will find advertised that glucosomine tablets are good to sooth joint problems. Honey is a natural sugar digested from the bee as it flies around and chews on some flowery plants. Just like cows make milk from chewing grass. Honey is without the high sugary contents or ordinary white sugar granules. Honey is a good source for glucose. The root for glucosamine is glucose.
| Quote: |
16:69
Then eat from all the fruits, following the design of your Lord, precisely. From their bellies comes a drink of different colors, wherein there is healing for the people. This should be (sufficient) proof for people who reflect.
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I am advising high caution on the following. Intoxicant is good ONLY IF IT IS TAKEN ON SHORT TERM unlike the other cures. You can find ethanol in some cough remedies sold on the Internet. Ethanol is an ingredient of wine/khamri. Wine in paradise is Khamra. Look for remedies like cough medicine and the % volume of ethanol. It could read 'alcohol vol' on some packets. If its is around 7.7 % then it should be effective enough. You may not have cough but finish the complete bottle of cough medicine and you will feel relief. Here is a link, read point 7 located at the bottom of the page. http://www.covonia.co.uk/FAQ/faq.cfm?ccs=98
| Quote: |
2:219
They ask you about intoxicants and gambling: say, "In them there is a gross sin, and some benefits for the people. But their sinfulness far outweighs their benefit." They also ask you what to give to charity: say, "The excess." GOD thus clarifies the revelations for you, that you may reflect,
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Sunnis idolise zam zam water from the city of mecca thinking it has curing properties. I think they are confused with the spring that appeared from Ishmael's heels and with that of Ayub's heel. The spring at the heel of Ishmael is to provide an unlimited source of water to quench the thirsts of Pilgrims to Kaaba. The water from Ayub's heel is thought to have healing properties too but this too would be idol worship. Water contains nothing healing within it other than to replenish lost water in our bodies. The are no verses which says that water is a relief. You may refer to Ayubs story in the quran and object. But read it carefully.
| Quote: |
2:219
"Strike the ground with your foot. A spring will give you healing and a drink."
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From Ayub's heel came a healing and water. Two items not one. The process of striking his heel caused a water spring to gush out one or two meters away from him. At the same in a different place one or two meters away a geyser or a hot spring gushed out. Drinking fresh water from the spring would heal him. He may have been drinking water which was contaminated ie from a pond or a well that caused him to be very ill. He may not known the water source was bad and confused about why he was so ill. Drinking fresh water is better for his health.
The other item, the hot spring may have gathered into a pool somewhere. When the hot water gathered he will have been inspired to bathe in it. Bathing in hot/warm water has many reliving effects on the body. It revives the outer skin and relaxes the muscles and bones. It also helps praying and meditation on God as all the stress from the mind eases. Job would not have been cured over night but bathing and drinking fresh water routinely over a period of six months or more would have lead to a complete cure for him.
Therefore I would advise drinking plenty of water and also going to saunas which provide mush stress relief after a gym work out. Or hot spas. Doing this on and keeping to a good schedule over a year will get you the relief.
Just like honey, drinking milk is also good and have lots of it. Milk according to the Quran is made from a cows blood and the food it digests. Therefore any milk process which reverses milk creation should be avoided. Many believe that sucrose, milk sugar is good. Sucrose is extracted from milk. Turning milk back to its main ingredients will separate it back to blood and its other item. Consuming blood is forbidden. Consuming blood causes the disease diabetes. Diabetes is a blood malfunction on the human body. Foreign blood inside a humans body causes its own immune system or anti bodies to attack the foreign blood. It gets to a stage when the immune system begins to attack the humans own blood but not on large scale. Its a slow process and as many of you are aware people with diabetes have many ill health problems. They may need to take insulin when the anti bodies eventually attack the sugar levels in the blood. Avoid any sweet delicacy which containing sucrose and being straightforward by consuming normal sugar created by God and as God intended is better.
| Quote: |
16:66
And in the livestock there is a lesson for you: we provide you with a drink from their bellies. From the midst of digested food and blood, you get pure milk, delicious for the drinkers.
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Always keep good hygiene. Wash your clothes more often than regular and wear them clean. Don't be afraid to ask at the shops for cleansing items like hair head lice, ear drops. Treating your hair annually with head lice lotion even though you may not have lice is soothing and cleaning than just hair shampoo alone. Ear drops keep the inner ear free from dirt. Also gurgling with mouth wash reaches the back of the mouth than toothbrushing does.
| Quote: |
2:222
They ask you about menstruation: say, "It is harmful; you shall avoid sexual intercourse with the women during menstruation; do not approach them until they are rid of it. Once they are rid of it, you may have intercourse with them in the manner designed by GOD. GOD loves the repenters, and He loves those who are clean."
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A cure for metal stress is meditation. Meditation should not be taken as a complicated task that it will put you off doing it again. According to the Quran meditation is just pondering on God, For example, His blessings, His punishments, Things to expect in Hereafter, your wants and your worries. There will be some nights when you cannot sleep at all. This is when meditation takes place. You have to speak to God, during the night. He is the Hearer. Talk to Him like you would talk to Him on Judgement Day. No one should be shy nor see it as blaspheme to talk to God. To find things to implore Him about my advice is to read the psalms. In this scripture David talks to God all the time about everything and anything. There is nothing sublime about the way David talks, maybe the simplest things are the most important to us.
| Quote: |
17:79
During the night, you shall meditate for extra credit, that your Lord may raise you to an honorable rank.
50:40
During the night you shall meditate on His name, and after prostrating.
73:2
Meditate during the night, except rarely.
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| Quote: |
17:55
Your Lord is the best knower of everyone in the heavens and the earth. In accordance with this knowledge, we preferred some prophets over others. For example, we gave David the Psalms.
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Don't ask God for money or children or He will retest you again on everything. No one wants to go through school again. If you ask for money and children it will be like sitting through all your exams again when you were young. Money and children do not provide wealth. They are simply and ONLY a test for us. May God forgive me if I keep asking Him to test me.
| Quote: |
8:28
You should know that your money and your children are a test, and that GOD possesses a great recompense.
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An action toward relief is simply denouncing things of the devil. Denounce the devil at the first instance and then denounce words that are made by the devil. It is the 21st century way of smashing idols. Sometimes I can tell good words from bad - sounding words. Eg marruana is a bad sounding word because of the way I have to pronounce it. Whereas flowers is a good word. So denounce maruana. It is most likely a word from the devil as it is associated with a bad drug. Denounce the word psychosis. Most people who take maruana/ganja have psychotic behaviour. Denounce sijjeyeen as opposed to elleyeen. Denounce the ego with respect to righteousness. Denounce the mind as opposed to the brain. Denounce whisper as opposed to inspiration. Seek out all beautiful sounding words and reject the ones that are horrible sounding. It may seem funny to some but you'll feel the difference giving it a go.
| Quote: |
2:256
There shall be no compulsion in religion: the right way is now distinct from the wrong way. Anyone who denounces the devil and believes in GOD has grasped the strongest bond; one that never breaks. GOD is Hearer, Omniscient.
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| Quote: |
7:180
To GOD belongs the most beautiful names; call upon Him therewith, and disregard those who distort His names. They will be requited for their sins.
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If you can't help getting angry with those who are close to you and it becomes a great matter speaking to someone becuase you get tongue tied all the time, remember Moses' prayer and repeat to God.
| Quote: |
20:25-27
He said, "My Lord, cool my temper.
"And make this matter easy for me.
And untie a knot from my tongue.
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| Quote: |
43:52
"Which one is better; me (Pharaoh) or that one who is lowly and can hardly speak?
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All of these will need patients and may take a long time but I am sure they will provide a cure. If there any other things anyone would like to add please feel welcomed....
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| | Topic: Basic Statistics for the US Imperialism |
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| Basic Statistics for the US Imperialism [message #46932] |
Sun, 17 February 2008 19:43 |
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The attached document has the lists!
Edip Yuksel; J.D.
www.yuksel.org
www.19.org
www.islamicreform.org
19@19.org
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| | Topic: here are some funny (non-intentional) lines by Mr G Bush |
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| here are some funny (non-intentional) lines by Mr G Bush [message #46815] |
Tue, 29 January 2008 11:00 |
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God's favoured one, Bush the bani israel:
"There's an old saying in Tennessee - I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee - that says, fool me once, shame on...shame on you. Fool me...you can't get fooled again."
"Rarely is the question asked: is our children learning?"
"Will the highways on the internet become more few?"
"I understand small business growth. I was one."
"Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream."
"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully."
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."
http://www.virginmedia.com/news/inpictures/bushisms.php
(Look for the 'Next' link and click)
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| | Topic: Pagans exposed |
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| | Topic: Cheering for the Bully to Save the Victim! Pakistan and Beyond |
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| Cheering for the Bully to Save the Victim! Pakistan and Beyond [message #46640] |
Sat, 29 December 2007 00:11 |
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Cheering for the Bully to Save the Victim!
Edip Yuksel
I have been a skeptical and analytical person especially when dealing with issues involving theology, philosophy, politics, and conventions. However, I have usually been rather naïve regarding human beings; I usually assume good faith and intentions of people when I first encounter them.
This good will sometimes includes the individuals leading organizations. When I was first led to the website of freemuslims.org, after reading one or two pages, I got excited and immediately contacted the founder of the organization and sent him the following email on October 16th, 2006:
"Dear brother Kamal: I recently visited your organization's website and browsed some articles. It seems we share major concerns and goals. Perhaps, we should get to know each other. I would like to invite you to read the Manifesto for Islamic Reform published at: www.islamicreform.org You may find my other articles and books at: www.19.org and www.yuksel.org Peace, Edip"
After a round of emails and telephone conversations, learning a little more about the political position of the organization, I had some reservations, and I wrote back to him:
"Thank you for asking me to join FreeMuslims. I am not yet ready to join your organization since I made a decision not to join any organization until the Quran: A Reformist Translation is published. I am rejecting some media requests for interviews for the same reason, which was also advised to me by my editor. Though I publish my articles at my internet site, it does not put me in the limelight beyond my control."
Today, I received an article from Kamal entitled "Who Killed Benazir Bhutto?" Unlike Kamal, being familiar with the global politics, I am not much interested in learning exactly who killed Bhutto. To me, the more important and useful question is a different one: who would benefit from such a killing? Knowing how nation's secret services conduct covert operations, how they engage in propaganda, misinformation, how they commit assassinations and atrocities even through "hostile" organizations, I am not interested in the "who pulled the trigger" part. To me, the environment and policies that incubate and create such assassin's fingers are more telling. What the poor teenager shouted when he blew himself up is important, but it may not tell us anything about the "real" killer that created those who brainwashed him and trained him.
That said, I would like to question the real mission of an American organization led either by an extremely uninformed and gullible individual or … you fill in the blank. I will intersperse my response within his short article.
KAMAL NAWASH: While there is no conclusive answer to who killed former Pakistani prime minister Bhutto, so far the only claim of responsibility has come from an Al Qaeda leader in Afghanistan, who posted the claim of responsibility on an Italian Web site. Al Qaeda posted the following message: "We terminated the most precious American asset which vowed to defeat the mujahideen. (holy warriors)"
Bhutto was an outspoken critic of Al Qaeda and other extremist Islamist groups. Consequently, Al Qaeda and other Islamist groups hated her for her rhetoric, for supporting secularism and for being a woman.
While we can't know for sure who killed Bhutto, on two occasions, Al Qaeda also tried to kill Pakistani president Musharraf. This brings us to the state of emergency that was enacted by Musharraf in November to "defend" Pakistan from extremists and terrorists." At that time the United States and much of the world criticized Musharraf and pressured him to lift the state of emergency and to resign as the army chief, a position he held alongside the position of president.
Currently, the only force that can keep Pakistan intact and safe from terrorists is the Pakistani military. The Pakistani military and president Musharraf know better than any outsider what it takes to keep Pakistan from failing and falling into the hands of terrorists and extremists. It is a mistake for the United States or any other country to interfere in the internal affairs of Pakistan by pressurizing the Pakistani government to take any action that Pakistan does not want to take. It should be left up to the Pakistani people to decide whether emergency rule stays or not, whether the president wears an army uniform or not and when and whether elections are held.
EDIP YUKSEL: Though the article does not deal why and how Musharraf came to power, I accept it as background information.
NAWASH: The wrong interference by the United States and the weakening of the Pakistani military's control over Pakistan may produce a repeat of the disaster that brought clerical rule to Iran. In 1979, the Shah of Iran was deposed when the military refused to back him and the country fell into the hands of religious fundamentalists who continue to rule the country. This must not happen in Pakistan. The United States needs to be more emphatic to the particular circumstances of Pakistan and not to pressure Pakistan to do anything that is a threat to the stability and security of the country. If president Musharraf abuses his powers it is up to the majority of the Pakistani people to stop him and not foreign governments. The Pakistanis have a long democratic tradition and are capable of protecting their rights and institutions. An example is when Pakistani lawyers took to the streets to demonstrate against the weakening of the judiciary.
EDIP: In the paragraph above a diabolic propaganda and disinformation screams. Mr. Nawash accuses the US of not supporting the Shah and thus unknowingly contributing to the rise and victory of mullahs in Iran. The author either lacks elementary knowledge about the subject, or he is intentionally hiding and distorting the facts. What led to the theocratic fascism in Iran was not the USA's lacking support for a corrupt dictator, but to the contrary, USA-Inc's support of a dictator and his corrupt and oppressive policy led to the mullah's victory in 1979. For those whose knowledge of history cannot go beyond 1979, I would like to recommend the following key words to google: Iran, Musaddiq, CIA, 1953, and coup.
NAWASH: While democracy is a great ideal, Pakistan is currently facing turmoil and the Pakistanis need a strong president, a strong central government and a strong military to keep order. This remains the case despite allegations that the Pakistani military has been infiltrated by extremist elements. The United States should take no action to undermine the power of the central government, the military or president Musharraf, who has been a great ally in fighting Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Currently, the Pakistani military has more than 100, 000 troops fighting extremists on the Pakistani/Afghanistan border at a miniscule cost to the United States.
EDIP: The paragraph above exposes the so-called freemuslims.org like smell exposes the presence of a skunk. Nawash and his ilk, hide the obvious fact that suicide bombers and terrorists are generated by dictatorships, military regimes and occupations. Just look at the pattern: USA-backed fascist Israeli regime incubated and generated suicide bombers. USA-backed Saudi dictatorship incubated and generated 15 of the 19 terrorist bombers and their leader Ben Laden. USA-backed mujahids incubated and generated al-Qaida. USA-backed generals incubated and generated Taliban (who later took control of Afghanistan). USA-backed Shah incubated and generated mullahs. USA-backed Saddam incubated and generated mass murderers. The list is long and it includes numerous countries in three continents.
The fruits of USA-Inc helping dictators and military thugs have been the following: wars, atrocities, repression, oppression, poverty, civil wars, destruction, torture, tragedies, regression for the citizens of third world countries AND enormous profits for the USA's "military industrial complex" and other big multinational corporations such as Oil and Construction companies.
Abacha of Nigeria, Hugo of Bolivia, Batista of Cuba, Botha of South Africa, General Humberto of Brazil, Vinicio of Guatemala, Roberto Cordova of Honduras, Alfredo of El Salvador, Ngo Dihn of Vietnam, General Samuel of Liberia, Duvalier of Haiti, King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, General Franco of Spain, Hassan II of Morocco, Ferdinand Marcos of Phillippines, Mobuto of Zaire, General Montt of Guatemala, General Noriega of Panama, Shah Pahlavi of Iran, Papadopoulos of Greece, Chung Hee of South Korea, General Pinochet of Chile, Pol Pot of Cambodia, Salazar of Portugal, Somoza of Nicaragua, Suharto of Indonesia, General Videla of Argentina, General Zia ul-Haq of Pakistan, Mubarak of Egypt, and now General Musharraf… What these former and current USA-Inc stooges offered to their people? And who gained from the their dictatorship?
Al-Qaida might be the enemy of a civilized world (whatever it means), but now we can be sure that al-Qaida is the enemy of Muslims AND the biggest benefactor of American Weapon, Oil and Construction industries. Arm dealers and the filthy rich are not morally better than used-car sales people, and they care neither about the American taxpayer nor the world, except their bottom line, which is: MONEY. Al-Qaida is the biggest bonanza for the USA-Inc after they lost the Communist bogeyman. And dictators and Muslims with a slave mentality are petty stooges to justify their plunder and hegemony.
More than ONE MILLION dead and MILLIONS of orphans, wounded and displaced Iraqis should be sufficient to show the intelligent the identity of the biggest threat to the world, including the American people who lose money and blood and now owe $30,000 per capita to debt created by corpolititans: USA-Inc and its stooges!
For the short term, continuing to support the dictator Musharraf might be the only choice to stop the escalation of violence and chaos in Pakistan. But, considering the history and pattern of the USA-Inc, we should all try to stop its policy of supporting dictators around the world.
The bully smacked a poor boy in the head with a bat. The poor boy gets disoriented and is going to fall on the concrete. The poor boy's friend cheers for the bully: "Bully! Save the poor boy; hit him with the bat on the other side!" Ironically, the bully has been smacking many poor boys all along, and people like Kamal Nawash have always cheered for the bully to save the victim!
No, muslims do not need friends like Nawash!
[Updated on: Sat, 29 December 2007 00:12]
Edip Yuksel; J.D.
www.yuksel.org
www.19.org
www.islamicreform.org
19@19.org
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| | Topic: Real Ýslam is reverse of Spiritualism |
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| | Topic: Poem from Mohammad Iqbal( Mine or Yours?) |
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| Poem from Mohammad Iqbal( Mine or Yours?) [message #46508] |
Sat, 08 December 2007 01:10 |
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Onur
Messages: 97
Registered: December 2002 |
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Gabriel's Wing Ghazal No. 1
If the stars wander from their path- is heaven mine, or Yours?
Should I care how the world goes? is the world then mine, or Yours?
If all eternity be void of passion's storms, whose fault,
God! that eternity should be so barren- mine, or Yours?
How could an Angel dare, in time's first dawning, to rebel?
Should I know that? whose confidant was Satan- mine, or Yours?
Gabriel is Yours, Muhammad Yours, Yours the Quran: yet in their Gracious words, whose inmost soul is written- mine, or Yours?
And Man, that thing of dust, that star whose shining lights Your World-
To whose loss will it be if his race sicken: mine, or Yours?
Mohammad Iqbal
What a powerful poem!!
Onur
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| | Topic: a translation suggestion to Edip Yuksel |
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| a translation suggestion to Edip Yuksel [message #46488] |
Thu, 06 December 2007 00:12 |
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Onur
Messages: 97
Registered: December 2002 |
Reader |
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Dear Edip,
After reading your endnote about the verses dealing with inheritance(4:11-12), I have been looking in more depth about new ways to translate the verses so as to give a linguistic ground to the method you propose. To remind the readers of your method with an example, if there are two inheritors with shares 1/2 and 1/3, you make the denominators equal under 6. When we do this we get 3/6 and 2/6. You then add the nominators 3+2=5
5 becomes the new denominator. One gets 3/5 and the other gets 2/5. If there are 50 golds one(who initially had the share of 1/2) gets 30 and the other(who initially had the share of 1/3) gets 20. The basic assumption for this method is that we can use the shares Quran gives, compare them to each other and create new shares. In other words, according to this method, when the Quran is saying that someone will get 1/2, it is not literally and strictly saying that he will get 1/2 of the whole inheritance. As your solution shows, when there are 50 golds, the person with the share of 1/2 got 20 instead of the half of 50 which is 25. Notice that I have underlined the word "of". The reason for this will become clearer.
As I have been looking for a translation to support this method, I encountered a translation by Mohammad Ahmad and his daughter Samira Ahmad. This is a quite literal and good translation. It is in fact close to your translation in many respects. You may check http://www.studyquran.co.uk/Q1-22.pdf Here is how they translate the verses.
4:11-12
God directs/commands/recommends you in your children, to the male equal (the) fortune (share
of) the two females, so if they are/were women more/over two, so for them two thirds (from) what he left,
and if she was one, so for her the half and to his parents, to each one from them the sixth from what he left,
if for him was a child (son), so if (there) was not for him a child (son), and his parents inherited him, so to his
mother the third, so if brothers were for him, so to his mother the sixth, from after a bequest/will he bequeaths*
with it or a debt; your fathers and your sons, you do not know, which of them (is) closer to
you (in) benefit/usefulness, a religious duty/command from God, that God was/is knowledgeable,
wise/judicious.
And for you half (of) what your spouses/wives left, if (there) was/is not for them a child, so if
(there) was/is for them a child, so for you the quarter from what they left from after a bequest/will they
bequeath/direct with it or a debt, and for them the quarter from what you left, if was not for
you a child, so if was for you a child, so for them the eighth from what you left from
after a bequest/will you bequeath/direct with it or a debt, and if was/is a man to be inherited without a
child or father or a woman (wife), and for him (is) a brother, or a sister, so for each one from them the
sixth, so if they were more than that, so they are partners in the third, from after a bequest/will is
bequeathed/directed with it or a debt not harming, (a) direction/command* from God, and God (is)
knowledgeable clement.
Notice that these translators almost everytime use the word "from" instead of the word "of" They use the word "of" one time but it is in paranthesis meaning that the word does not exist in the actual Quran. My argument is that: When you use the word "from" instead of the word "of" you may have some ground for the method you propose.
Suppose that I tell two people: One of you will get 1/2 and the other will get 1/3 from the money(50 golds)
Remember that in your method the one with the share of 1/2 is getting 20 instead of the half of 50 which is 25. But this is acceptable because I did not tell him that he would get 1/2 of 50 meaning 25.
In other words, if we use the word "from" rather than "of" we can have a ground for comparing the shares to each other and then changing the shares. If we establish that, we can then remove the problem of the case in which the total of shares exceeds one.
What do you think about this?
Peace,
Onur
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| | Topic: If Conservatism Is The Ideology of Freedom, I’m The Queen of England (By David M Green) |
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| If Conservatism Is The Ideology of Freedom, I’m The Queen of England (By David M Green) [message #46450] |
Mon, 26 November 2007 08:48 |
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If Conservatism Is The Ideology of Freedom, I’m The Queen of England
by David Michael Green
I wish I had a nickel for every time a conservative told a lie in order to sell an ideology that would otherwise be hopelessly unappealing.
But, then, what the hell would I do with ten kazillion, trillion, dollars? I wouldn’t know how to spend that much loot.
These lies are legend, and they’re endlessly retold. Everything from the one about the liberal bias in the media, or the one about Ronald Reagan ending the Cold War, to the one about how the private sector is so much more efficient than the government. And how about Saddam’s arsenal of WMD, eh? Or the tax cuts that weren’t going to drive the federal government into deficit? Or remember when George Bush told us that the war in Iraq was over, before it had even really started? Or the bit about how global warming is just a great big conspiracy among those noted well-known cabalists, er … climatology scientists?
I’m only just getting started here, but you get the point. If you’re a conservative you basically have two choices - lie or lose. ‘Cause if you tell the truth, no one in his or her right mind would buy the garbage you’re peddling.
The list of lies is endless, but my personal favorite is the one about how conservatism is the ideology of freedom, and specifically freedom from an overweening, intrusive, liberty-stealing, nanny-state government.
Sometimes when I hear that howler, I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not off in some virtual reality world (like ‘Liberty’ University, or the Republican national convention) somewhere. Because, clearly, between me and the well-programmed fool mouthing these hopeless inanities, one of us is, that’s for sure.
But I’ll tell you what, if conservatism is the ideology of freedom - then I’m the Queen of England. And, one thing you can be sure of is that I’m not the Queen of England. I don’t even have the right parts and pieces, and the only crown I’ve ever worn was given to me forty years ago by some pimply-faced teenager working the cash register at Burger King. Somehow, I don’t think that counts.
Meanwhile, here’s what I’d like to know:
If conservatism is the ideology of freedom, how come they’re the ones who fought against the American Revolution?
If conservatism is the ideology of freedom, how come they’re the ones who are always trying to take that freedom away from us, especially women and minorities? Why did they fight against the effort to end slavery, or to give women and minorities the vote, or to protect them from discrimination? Why are they still supporting efforts to disenfranchise minorities?
If conservatism is the ideology of freedom, how come they’re the ones who bitterly opposed the New Deal at a time when Americans were ravaged by the Great Depression and the only freedom they were desperately seeking was from unemployment, starvation, humiliation and death? We should give thanks for their efforts ever since then, though, as they’ve been kind enough to keep trying to liberate seniors from the hell of receiving their Social Security benefits, bravely volunteering Wall Street to carry that burden instead.
If conservatism is the ideology of freedom, how come they’re the ones who are always propping up foreign dictators, like Saddam, Musharraf, Mubarak, Marcos, Pinochet, the Shah, Batista, the House of Saud and apartheid South Africa? Why did they, in some of these cases, secretly topple democratically elected governments to install repressive regimes, which they then assisted in the torturing of their own citizens? Exactly which definition of ‘freedom’ does that fall under?
If conservatism is the ideology of freedom, how come they’re the ones who are always trying to control other people’s sexuality? Why are conservatives always telling us whom we can sleep with and what we can do in bed, even including whether we can use birth control?
If conservatism is the ideology of freedom, how come they’re the ones who are always trying to make sure that the state takes control of women’s bodies, denying them reproductive choice and freedom?
If conservatism is the ideology of freedom, how come they’re the ones who are always trying to tell us who we can marry? How come they believe that the state - which they always seem to hate, except when it is at war - should be able to make that most personal decision for us?
If conservatism is the ideology of freedom, how come they’re the ones who are always blocking the environmental regulations which are the only hope to keep our bodies free from carcinogens and other harmful effects?
If conservatism is the ideology of freedom, how come they’re the ones who refuse to allow us to use medical marijuana when we are suffering the effects of chemotherapy, and even perhaps at risk of dying from the wasting it causes?
Indeed, if conservatism is the ideology of freedom, how come they’re the ones who are limiting the freedom of individuals to use drugs of any sort? If people want to use these substances and can do so without harming others, why do conservatives insist on restricting that freedom?
If conservatism is the ideology of freedom, how come they’re the ones who refuse to allow us to die with dignity when we have a terminal disease, instead thrusting the state into the most personal and private decision a human being can make?
If conservatism is the ideology of freedom, how come they’re the ones who passed an act of Congress intervening in the personal family tragedy of Terri Schiavo, with the president of the United States - the same one who couldn’t be bothered to come off vacation to deal with the 9/11 threat or the Katrina disaster - flying across the country to sign it?
If conservatism is the ideology of freedom, how come they’re the ones who are denying many of us the freedom to live by forbidding the stem-cell research that would likely produce cures to all manner of diseases now killing of millions of us every year?
If conservatism is the ideology of freedom, how come they’re the ones who are loading up our children with mountains of debt that the federal government has borrowed under the stewardship of such notorious liberals as Ronald Reagan (who quadrupled the national debt) and George W. Bush (who borrowed more money from foreign governments than all 42 of his predecessors, combined)? Right now, every eighteen year-old just starting a payroll job owes $60,000, and rising, plus interest, as their share of the nine trillion dollars conservatives have been especially instrumental in running up as national debt. What kind of freedom, exactly, does that represent? Assuming (quite ‘conservatively’) that that number rises to $100,000 before it is paid off, and that our young friend earns ten bucks an hour, it is the freedom to work five solid years, bringing home zero dollars after taxes, to do nothing whatsoever but paying off his share of the conservative binge.
If conservatism is the ideology of freedom, how come they’re the ones who have taken the very lives of four thousand of our soldiers for a war based completely on lies? This same war has left tens of thousands of Americans gravely wounded, likely more than a million Iraqi civilians dead, and well over four million more Iraqis as refugees from the violence. What kind of freedom is this? The freedom from having to be alive and well? The freedom to serve three and four rotations of extended tours in the hell of Iraq, keeping our military personnel safe from their nagging mothers-in-law at home?
If conservatism is the ideology of freedom, how come they’re the ones who are so anxious to take away our civil liberties, the most important of American freedoms, as enshrined in one of the greatest statements of freedom ever, the Bill of Rights? What happened to habeas corpus - a freedom dating back almost a thousand years - or the right to an attorney, or to have a trial, or to be protected from search and seizure without a judicially-issued warrant based on probable cause, or protection from torture? What happened to all those freedoms? What happened is that conservatives came to town and erased them.
If conservatism is the ideology of freedom, how come they’re the ones who are always trying to have the government jam their religion down our throats, in direct opposition to the intentions of the Founders? The United States Constitution makes precisely the same number of references to the Christian god as it does to the Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Zoroastrian. That would be none. What kind of freedom is it for everyone’s tax dollars to support one group’s religion, or for our government to impose a single religion on all of us?
If conservatism is the ideology of freedom, how come they’re the ones who are always telling me I should leave the country if I don’t approve the latest war for lies they’ve cooked up? How exactly does ’shut-up or leave’ qualify as freedom of speech?
If conservatism is the ideology of freedom, how come they’re the ones who are constantly attempting to turn the executive branch of the federal government into a monarchy? By using signing statements, endless claims of executive privilege, lack of congressional oversight when they controlled Congress, thwarted oversight when they didn’t, and unprecedented levels of secrecy, they have shredded the fundamental doctrine of separated powers checking and balancing against each other. Since those ideas - the most basic concept of the Constitution - are intended to keep us safe from governments that would steal our liberties, just how is it that conservatism is the ideology of freedom?
Any one of these inconvenient truths, let alone the sum of all of them, demonstrate the absurdity of this claim. Not only is it ridiculous to call a conservatism that at every turn seeks to limit you - in what you can say, what you can ingest, who you can sleep with, marry, and even when you can end your own life - the ideology of freedom, but the only real conclusion that one can honestly come to on the basis of this historical record is of course just the opposite: Conservatism is, and has almost always been, the ideology of oppression - the very opposite of freedom.
When Americans wanted liberty from the British crown, conservative Tories not only in Britain but here as well fought to block that freedom. When ‘radicals’ sought to emancipate the slaves, conservatives fought to keep them in chains. When progressives later sought equality for women and blacks, it was conservatives who stood in the doorways blocking entrance. And, today, as we seek justice and fairness for all people regardless of their sexual orientation, it is - wait for it, now - the conservative movement which not only resists that effort at every turn, but in fact shamefully turns their homophobia into a tool used to win elections, just as they have been doing with racism for forty years now.
Indeed, you have to be more or less deaf, dumb and blind - or perhaps simply watching Fox every night for your ‘news’ (which produces the same result) - to buy into this rhetoric from the theater of the absurd. Let me reiterate: If you think these monsters who are depriving you of your liberties at every opportunity represent freedom, then you need to bow, scrape and walk backwards in my presence, as a sign of respect for the British crown. I’ll take a bunch of your money, too. Palaces aren’t cheap to maintain, buddy.
Yeah, sure, it’s true that conservatives will be right there for you if you want the freedom to buy guns and ammo, including ‘cop-killer’ bullets, assault rifles (to nail those most obstinate of pheasants, of course), or a fifty caliber rifle capable of bringing down a jumbo jet, and advertised as such in its sales literature. Of course, along with the freedom to buy these weapons (and how come, if the Second Amendment protects the bearing of “arms”, not ‘guns’, I can’t also legally buy cannons, napalm and tactical nuclear warheads - just in case the neighborhood gets a little rowdy?), also comes the lovely ‘freedom’ to join the 35,000 or so Americans every year who become very stiff corpses as a result of the massive proliferation of weapons in which America uniquely specializes. Perhaps you’d rather live in Europe, eh, enjoying being alive? Well, for the rest of you non-sissies out there, conservatives have made sure that you have the freedom to take your bullet along with you when you’re buried. What cheese-eating Frenchman ever had that freedom?
Conservatives are also busy making sure that there is plenty of freedom for corporations to pollute the land, water and air we depend on for survival. Regulation is bad, you see. Very bad. It’s much better to have freedom - including your freedom to get sick, or to live in a world careering toward global disaster - than it would be to impede on the freedom of the super-rich to make themselves super-duper-rich.
No need to worry too much about the health implications of global warming, arsenic or radioactive waste, though. Chances are you won’t live long enough to get killed this way, or to be shot by somebody whose freedom to own a gun has been well protected by nice right-wing people. That’s because conservatives are also on the front-lines in the lonely battle fighting to make sure that you have the opportunity to join the more than 47 million Americans free from having healthcare coverage, or the many tens of millions more whose policies are insufficient to keep them alive. Don’t you feel good knowing you’re free from the evils of ’socialized’ medicine? Isn’t profit-driven corporate non-care so much better? Forget about “Give me liberty or give me death”. Now you can have both!
One thing you can’t argue about, however, is that it is conservatives who will keep your taxes down. Right? Well, yeah, if you mean this year. And if you mean nickels and dimes. But then, by applying the same logic, making your house payment on a credit card would be defined as keeping your monthly expenses down. (Of course, since you’re about to lose your house anyhow, as a result of conservative economics, that may be a moot point.) But there’s just these two little problems. One is that the nice people who loan you money invariably want to be paid back. And, two, they want interest on the loans as well. I don’t know who middle-class Americans dreamed would be paying for their meager tax cuts, which - along with massively increased government spending by those paragons of fiscal responsibility, you guessed it, conservatives - were funded by charging it all on the federal plastic, but you can bet America’s creditors know all our addresses. They’ll find us when the bill comes due.
Of course, this is only the beginning. What the tax cuts were really about was shifting the burden of funding government from the wealthy to the middle class, and from today’s generation to tomorrow’s. So, not only will middle class Americans, or their kids, have to pay back everything borrowed these last six years to fund their piddly little tax cuts, plus interest accrued, but they will also be paying for the massive tax cuts that were given to the massively wealthy.
Which, of course, is really what the whole elaborate kabuki dance of conservative ‘freedom’ was ever all about, from the beginning. As one of the greatest political marketing ploys of all time, it used pathetic middle class tax cuts plus supremely ironic restrictions on social and personal liberties to sell a bunch of frightened naifs on the notion that conservatism is the ideology of freedom, all so that the ubër-class could realize their dream kleptocracy in place of a government actually devoted to public service. And, remarkably, it worked - at least for a time.
Don’t you feel better now that you’re free after decades of Reagan, Gingrich, Bush, Cheney, DeLay and Scalia? You’re free to shut up with your unpopular ideas. You’re free from having to make difficult decisions when you’re pregnant. You’re free to be arrested for smoking a joint to keep from vomiting while you’re doing chemotherapy. You’re free from having to worry about which sex you’re going to sleep with or marry. You’re free from protection against guns or from long life in a healthy environment. And when you do get shot or sick, you’re free from adequate medical care. Moreover, should you find yourself stuck with a painful and terminal illness, you’re also free from either stem-cell remedies or your own choice to end your suffering and die with dignity.
You’re also free to fall through the tattered safety net of government programs during a recession or a depression, and you’ll likely be free from making those pesky house payments very much further into the future either. You’re free from wondering whether the rest of the world hates you and your country because it’s been undermining democracies, propping up dictators, and invading oil-rich countries on the basis of completely fabricated war rationales. You’re free from having to pay your taxes today. But you’ll also be free from buying those things you wanted tomorrow, as you’ll instead be paying today’s taxes, interest on those taxes, tomorrow’s taxes, plus the share that the wealthy used to pay.
So whattaya think? Ain’t conservative freedom great?
Next time you hear a conservative ranting about the wonder and joys of freedom, tell them: “Yeah, no kidding, freedom is a really good thing. You’d like it even better if you actually tried it out some time”.
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David Michael Green is a professor of political science at Hofstra University in New York. He is delighted to receive readers’ reactions to his articles (mailto:dmg@regressiveantidote.net), but regrets that time constraints do not always allow him to respond. More of his work can be found at his website, www.regressiveantidote.net.
Published at http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/11/23/5395/
Edip Yuksel; J.D.
www.yuksel.org
www.19.org
www.islamicreform.org
19@19.org
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| | Topic: Islamic Reform? When Camels Fly! |
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| Islamic Reform? When Camels Fly! [message #46381] |
Mon, 29 October 2007 19:29 |
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The following article is another criticism directed at the Reformist Translation. It is ironic, so far the two major criticism I received come from Christians. Is this a good sign or bad sign?
Inshallah, I will post my response to the following article whenever I have a chance to write it.
Peace,
Islamic Reform? When Camels Fly!
By Louis Palme
Sep 17, 2007
http://www.annaqed.com/en/content/show.aspx?aid=15887
Most people are optimists. They believe that, generally, the world is moving toward a better state of affairs and that people can ultimately solve the major problems they confront – including epidemic disease and even global climate change. They believe that there is such a thing as “good” and that it will ultimately prevail over anything that is “evil.” And, above all, they believe in change as a positive occurrence.
That is why people are optimistic about Islam. The religion must have some good elements because there are many truly good Muslims. While it is acknowledged that there are a number of problematic issues with Islam – touching on basic human rights, tolerance, and separation of religion from politics -- the optimists of the world are confident that these can ultimately be overcome. After all, these are simply issues that need more attention by people who will seek the “good” and make changes for the better.
Such was the sentiment of Daniel Pipes in a recent article about calls to ban Islam or the Koran: “My take? I understand the security-based urge to exclude the Koran, Islam, and Muslims, but these efforts are too broad, sweeping up inspirational passages with objectionable ones, reformers with extremists, friends with foes. Also, they ignore the possibility of positive change.” [1]
Likewise, in the Muslim world, there are optimists like Irshad Manji who are yearning for a new Islam. She has actually launched “Operation Ijtihad” to open once again the door to independent thought, initially through economic empowerment of women. “When people are indoctrinated to believe that any aspect of the founding moment is sacred, then the faith is destined to become static, brittle, inhumane.”[2] She goes on to say:
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Before democracy can have legs in Arab Muslim countries, these countries need to be exposed to a competition of ideas. As I’ve been arguing, alternate interpretations of Islam can hold their own against the desert, even on the all-important symbolic level. That’s if we can get alternate interpretations disseminated, debated, aired, re-aired – popularized.[3]
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In the light of this optimism, how can someone cogently argue that Islamic Reform is little more than a hookah pipe dream? The answer boils down to three issues: the nature of religious reform, the impediments to reform in Islam, and the inability of contemporary reformists to overcome those impediments.
Religious Reform
Whenever one thinks of religious reform, the Protestant Reformation touched off by Martin Luther comes to mind. What drove the young priest to nail his 95 theses to the door of the Wittenburg Castle Church in 1517 were the extra-Biblical excesses of the church of the day – including the selling of indulgences (get-out-of-purgatory-free passes) to sinful but well-heeled believers. Luther devoted himself to getting back to the truth of the Bible and making it available to all people, initially via a translation of the Bible into German. Today, the disagreements between Protestantism and Catholicism are not so much over that sacred text as they are about some extra-Biblical “traditions” that are still practiced by the Catholic Church, such as the veneration of Mary and the celibacy of priests.
When the Protestant Reformation is taken as a model, Islamic Reform would involve a re-emphasis on the sacred text of the Koran along with stripping away any practices or traditions which are not associated with the Koran. In fact, there are today several “Koran Only” movements which would have Muslims abandon the Hadith (the recorded sayings and acts of Muhammad) and Shari’a (the system of laws guiding Muslim activities). These movements include the United Submitters International, the Ahle Qur’an Group, and the Bazm-e-Tolu-e-Islam (Resurgence of Islam) Group. Their critics argue, however, that the Koran is unintelligible without the contextual information found in the hadith. Also, some of the basic practices of Islam including the statement of faith, the pillars of Islam, and the five daily prayers offered by Sunnis and Shiites aren’t fully defined in the Koran.
Even more problematic, with regard to human rights, religious tolerance, and the separation of religion from politics, is the fact that the Koran itself provides the sacred mandates for these issues. Without belaboring this point with an exhaustive list of texts, here are a few examples:[4]
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Inequality of women: God charges you, concerning your children: to the male the like of the portion of two females. (Surah 4: 11) And call in to witness two witnesses, men; or if the two be not men, then one man and two women, such witnesses as you approve of, that if one of the two women errs the other will remind her. (Surah 2:282)
Physical abuse of women: And those [women] you fear may be rebellious admonish; banish them to their couches, and beat them. (Surah 4:34)
Protection of children: O Prophet, when you divorce women, divorce them when they have reached their period . . . As for your women who have despaired of further menstruating, if you are in doubt, their period shall be three months, and those who have not menstruated as yet. (Emphasis added.) (Surah 65:1 – 4)
Inequality of non-Muslims: Fight those who believe not in God and the Last Day and do not forbid what God and His Messenger have forbidden – such men as practice not the religion of truth, being of those who have been given the Book -- until they pay the tribute [jizya] out of hand and have been humbled. (Surah 9:29)
Cruel and abusive punishment: And the thief, male and female: cut off the hands of both, as a recompense for what they have earned, and a punishment exemplary from God. (Surah 5:38)
Beheading captives: When you meet the unbelievers, smite their necks, then, when you have made wide slaughter among them, tie fast the bonds. (Surah 47:3)
Taking of hostages and booty: It is not for any Prophet to have prisoners until he make wide slaughter in the land . . . Eat of what you have taken as booty, such as is lawful and good. (Surah 8:70)
Freedom of thought, including religion: [Hypocrites] wish that you should disbelieve as they disbelieve, and then you would be equal; therefore take not to yourselves friends of them, until they emigrate in the way of God; then, if they turn their backs, take them, and slay them wherever you find them. (Surah 4: 89)
Intolerance of other religions: O believers, fight the unbelievers who are near to you, and let them find in you a harshness; and know that God is with the godfearing. (Surah 9:125)
Separation of religion and politics: That which you serve, apart from Him, is nothing but names yourselves have named, you and your fathers; God has sent down no authority touching them. Judgment belongs only to God. (Surah 12:40)
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Consequently, any reform movement based simply on going back to the sacred text of the Koran only could lead to a religion which is no less inimical to 21st Century values regarding human rights, multi-culturalism, and the separation of church and state than the Islam currently practiced is such countries as Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Islamic Impediments to Reform
The Prophet of Islam told the believers that every word of the Koran is from God and a transcript is kept by God and is inscribed on an imperishable tablet.[5] Clearly, any attempt to alter or edit this sacred book would be the height of blasphemy. Beginning in Muhammad’s time, however, non believers have suggested that the Koran was compiled by Muhammad himself, that it is full of errors and contradictions, and that it is theologically shallow.[6] When the Koran is subjected to the same types of historical, linguistic, and textual analyses that the Bible and the Torah undergo on a daily basis, Muslims go ballistic. They accuse scholars of being Orientalists, irreverent, Islamophobic, and blasphemous.
A few years ago, Dr. S. Parves Manzoor authored a diatribe against Western studies of the Islam and the Koran titled “Method Against Truth.”[7] He accused scholars of “an unholy conspiracy to dislodge the Muslim Scripture from its firmly entrenched position as the epitome of historic authenticity and moral unassailability.” While he totally rejected what he called Orientalism, he acknowledged that “sooner or later, authentic Muslim effort will have to approach the Koran from methodological assumptions and parameters that are radically at odds with the ones consecrated by our tradition. . . . The only proper method for the study of the Koran is the one that allows its truth to speak for itself. “
What are those methodological assumptions and parameters that are so onerous? First among them, according to Dr. Manzoor’s article, is any attempt to put the Koran into chronological order. He writes:
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If the Koran itself may be understood as a chronological sequence of events, then whatever truth that it proclaims cannot be but temporal, and hence fallible. To introduce the category of “secular” time in the “sacred” event of revelation is, thus, to “con-fuse” temporality with eternity. . . Given its ideological commitment, it may not be unfair to assume that the ultimate objective of the Orientalist chronological exercise is not to pronounce any judgment on the “truth” of the Koran, but to spread confusion concerning its temporality and hence confound the unperceptive believer.
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In actuality, most translators of the Koran -- including Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall and Muhammad Asad -- provide approximate dating of each surah. The most elementary step taken by anyone trying to understand a set of information (whether it is a jigsaw puzzle or evidence in a crime) is to put the information into some sort of logical order. That the Koran is compiled according to the length of the surahs is a logical order but not a particularly useful one with regard to understanding the “truth” of the message contained within. If the Koran were truly a timeless and eternal holy text, then any sequence of the surahs and their coincidence with historical events in the life of Muhammad would be random and uninteresting. Actually, the opposite is true. This insight leads to two troubling possibilities: 1) that verses in the Koran were created by Muhammad in response to real, instant situations he was facing; 2) that an analysis of contradicting statements would generally lead to discarding the former in favor of the latter.
There is today an English rendering of the Koran in chronological order published by the Center for the Study of Political Islam. Not only are the verses in order and cross-referenced with historical events, but an Abridged Version eliminates the numerous redundant texts, thereby reducing the volume by 50%.[8] The point of this particular rendering of the Koran is to demonstrate that Islam is a Political ideology, and the Koran along with the hadith and the histories of the life of Mohammed provide coherent chronology of Mohammed’s rise to political power.
Another concern of Dr. Manzoor has to do with studies tracing the origins of the Koran. Clearly, there is a great deal of Biblical “name dropping” in the Koran, but usually minus the moral messages of the original text.[9] To the scholars’ conclusion that much of the Koran was borrowed, Dr. Manzoor responds, “Inasmuch as the Koran and the scriptures exhibit overlapping themes and motifs, even of linguistic expressions, it is due to the identity of the Transcendent Source of this knowledge and not attributable to any vagaries of its human recipients.” Of course, this explanation would not account for the numerous errors by the Transcendent Source, most notably, confusing Mary with Miriam (who lived 1500 years apart) or Gideon with Saul (who lived 170 years apart).[10]
A final general “no go” area regarding the Koran has to do with the meaning of obscure words in the Koran. After all, the source of the Koran says, “We have revealed the Koran in clear verses.”[11] Unfortunately, when it was originally compiled after Muhammad’s death, there were no vowel markings in the Arabic script. Many consonant combinations could be read differently, as “f_t” could be either fit or fat. Some of the words may have been derived from foreign sources, and so their meanings would be different depending on the original language. A good example of this is the dispute over whether the promise of paradise was 72 virgins or 72 raisins. To contest the “traditional” interpretations, however, is fraught with danger.
Attempts and Failures to Reform
There have been many attempts to reform Islam going back to Ibn Rushd (“Averroes”) in the 12th Century. Often the reformists were banished or killed, their writings destroyed, and their followers dwindled away. In more recent times there have been two reform movements which showed promise -- Mahmoud Mohamed Taha who wrote The Second Message of Islam and an American Islamic Reform movement led by Edip Yuksel who recently published Quran – A Reformist Translation.
The Second Message of Islam is described as a “humane and liberating understanding of Islam as an alternative to the cruel and oppressive interpretation underlying recent events in Iran, Pakistan, and Sudan, and equally negative traditionalist view prevailing in Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Muslim world.”[12] What Taha observed is that prevailing Islamic practices, particularly Shari’a law, reflect the harsher mandates of the Medina Surahs in the Koran. (All but the last citation in the sampling of Koranic texts earlier in this essay were from the Medina period.) The portion of the Koran “handed down” in Mecca was much more tolerant, humanitarian, and spiritual.[13] He concluded that the latter was the true message of Islam, but the people had rejected it. Consequently, Muhammad had to first restore discipline and authority over the people until they reached the level of submission necessary to receive the true message, which was “the Second Message of Islam” and was contained in the Mecca surahs. This ideal Islam was so superior to anything that existed, Taha concluded, that it has never been achieved by any nation to the present time.
Mahmoud Taha was arrested for apostasy in Omdurman, Sudan, in December, 1984. In a trial that lasted barely two hours, he was condemned to be hanged. After the perfunctory appeals process, he was hanged, and his body was carried off by helicopter to be disposed in an undisclosed location in the desert. A small group of loyal followers continue to preach his ideology, but it has gained little traction in the Muslim community. No one, for example, has compiled a Koran containing only the Mecca surahs.
As a reformed Islam, however, the Second Message of Islam would promote greater tolerance of non-Muslims, more respect for human rights and equality, and peaceful coexistence within a diverse community. But the movement failed to excise the offensive Medina verses from the Koran, and it didn’t manage to establish a community (much less, a country) that modeled the true message they espoused. Granted, the Sudan could hardly be called a place of religious or even racial tolerance.
This year a team led by Edip Yuksel published Quran – A Reformist Translation in the United States.[14] It is described as a progressive translation, resonating powerfully with contemporary notions of gender equality, progressivism, and intellectual independence. Say the authors:
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By presenting a peaceful and unifying message of the Quran, we hope to increase understanding and reduce tensions between the “Muslim World” and people of other religions, especially those whom the Quran calls the People of the Book (Jews and Christians). . . We explicitly reject the right of the clergy to determine the likely meaning of disputed passages. . . [W]e did not refer to books of Hadith and Sunnah, since they are commonly idolized and associated partners with the Quran. Their perceived value |
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