^^ that put things into prespective! Sister Hasna may Allah grant ur neice a speedy recovery inshaAllah. May He also grant u and your family the patience to endure her illness.

I'm not proud of anything as nothing I have or am is of my own doing but I am GRATEFUL for a LOT of things.

asalaamu alaykum, Viking good analysis jzk, I didnt even have to read the speech Also who says islam and democracy are mutually exclusive. The democratic ruling system and Islam are mutually exclusive. Reasong being the source of legislation in democracy is man and that of Islam is Allah. In other words, one is legislation by the people for the people and the other is legislation by Allah for the people. If however by democracy you mean a system where the people elect their own leader, while this is one of the features of democracy it is not something that's exclusive to it. In the Islamic ruling system authority belongs to the ummah and a legitimate ruler would be one who has the approval of the ummah in the form of bay'ah (pledge of alligence).

asalaamu alaykum, NGONGE , You raise a lot of interesting points which we can inshaAllah benefit from by discussing. Why are the Saudis being singled out? There's nothing special about them in terms of oppressing the Muslims and aiding the enemies of Islam as many other nations in the Muslim lands have done. What is unique about the Saudis, however, is how they've managed to cloak themselves with the authentic teachings of the deen and distorted it to some how legitimize their existence in the eyes of the shair'ah. To the extend that sincere Muslims now believe the Kingdom of saudi is an Islamic state. Discussions like these are just attempts to dislodge this view from the ummah and challenge Muslims to use the correct Islamic criteria to determine whether or not a state is Islamic. The Saudi method of governing and any other system other than the Islamic ruling system is not ideal for the citizens of Saudi or for anyone else. This is due to the simple fact that the only system of governance for people is the shari'ah everything else is kufr and must be opposed. When I say oppose of course I don't mean a violent uprising (which is highly unlikely anyway) rather an intellectual challenge to the status quo. Concerning the current relationship between the kingdom and the West, I think the tensions we are seeing now is the result of the West loosing grip on the region this was bound to happen, sooner or later. On one hand you have the ruling family who, while previously successful in keeping a tight lid on dissent within the kingdom, is losing the battle to the "fundamentalists" who call for the implementation of Islam (Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia being one of them) and on the other hand, you have the West who is growing impatient with the ruling family for failing to curb these fundamentalists and who believe that by "modernizing" and appeasing the masses you will curb this call for Islam. Unfortunately for the West, the call for Islam is not reactionary and is not born out of desperation and while it can be subdued at times will never die because it is something deeply embedded in the psyche of the Muslim. Why is the integrity of the Saudi scholars being question? This comes bck to my first point, the Saudi Rulers just like the rest of the rulers in the Muslim world have always sought to legitimize their existence and actions in light of the shari'ah to do this they've elevated scholars who uphold their views to positions of public influence while silencing those who disapprove of their ways in places like Al-Ruwais prison in Jeddah. So who is truthful and who isn't? Hard to say, however suspicions do arise when we're bombard with fatwas condeming the wars against Muslims yet the fact that these wars are made possible only through the use of Muslim air space, water space and military bases on Muslim lands is not addressed. So how do you navigate through the world of political games and splinters of Islamic movements? Arm your self with knowledge! salaam

asalaamu alaykum, Interesting turn of events. TruthSeeker , I'm sure you're well aware of the historical affliation between the salafiyah movement and the house of Saud. Mainstream followers will always be loyal to the kingdom no matter what you or anyone else says. This is something you're just going to have to learn to live with. Salafi online , as the veil of deceit wears thin and as ordinary Muslims become more and more aware of what is Islamic and what isn't, anything that comes from the treacherous rulers of the kingdom and their "Ministries of Religious Affairs" will be subject to question and suspicion. In other words, not everyone is a fan and this is something you'll have to learn to live with. OG_Girl and Sahal, u guys lost me? What exactly r u arguging about? :confused: salaam

asalaamu alaykum, Yasmin, u made some very insightful points, jzk. This whole idea of "saudi imported Islam" and "arabanisation" is baseless. If some issues of deen are new to you and are unheard of in somali culture it does not mean they are unIslamic. When approaching issues of our deen we should not rely on adhering to the ways of our forefathers and "culture" but rather on rational understanding based on proof from Islam. Hijaab is the normal covering of female 'cawra'. Jalbaab is a specific type of hijaab...thats a little on the extreme end. With all due respect sister, that is your opinion and nothing more. What's "extreme" to you may not be so "extreme" to another Muslimah. In any case, the school is in no position to define what is or isn't Islamic. If the sister wants to wear the jilbaab then it is her right and we should be supporting and encouraging her.

asalaamu alaykum One has to ask, why are such government-backed committees and Sheikhs so ready to issue fatwa upon fatwa defending western interests? They were noticeably silent about the western invasion, occupation and mass bloodshed in the Muslims lands of Iraq and Afghanistan? In fact, some of them even issued fatwa to justify these evil actions, and backed their wretched rulers assistance of the western aims. I think this was the point of the article. I dont think it was to justify the actions of the militants as much as it was to question readiness of these "government-backed committees and Sheikhs" to issue a fatwa now that Westerners have been attacked when they have been known to be silent against the atrocities committed against the ummah both by the West and their own gov'ts.

salaam girls! OG_Girl I just recently got very irresistible (Givenchy) and let's just say it's very very irresistible

March 3, 1924 was the day the Islamic state was officially abolished by Mustafa Kamal in Turkey. Although intellectually/spiritualy dead a 100yrs prior, it was still a blow to the Muslims as it ended the official brotherhood/unity of the ummah. It was after the abolishment of the khilafah that the kufar took out their pen and started carving the Muslim lands to divide the ummah. They handed each "nation" a peice of cloth (a flag) to replace the Islamic flag (simple black or white with la ilah ila lah written on it) and told them to wave it and be proud for they are now an independent entity, seperate from the rest of the ummah. The detrimental effects can still be felt today in the Muslim lands (even on this forum as it is common to see nomads with pics of flags as their avatar) in the form of nationalism. The basis for unity in Islam has always been the Islamic aqeedah. The reason why there's a lack of unity in the ummah today is because we have either lost or watered down our aqeedah. If we want unity then of course we have to go back to our deen and work for it. We can start by liberating our selves from anything that detaches us from the spirit of brotherhood, this includes letting go of nationalistic tendencies and ignorant stereotyping of other Muslims of different ethnic backgrounds. salaam

asalaamu alaykum, Lakad, I'm just curious... if this video made you anti-arab did the iraqi abuse pictuers make anti-american? I agree with many of the other Nomads here, we don't know the full story so let's not pass judgement. What was this american doing in Iraq in the first place? If he was not with a credible humanitarian aid agenecy and was there for other purposes (cia, military, helping steal iraqi oil ect) then he's a legitamate target and deserves what he got. At least the Iraqis were decent enough not to torture and humiliate him which they could've easily done.

Tamina stay in touch hon! Look forward to meeting up with you again soon inshaAllah.

ÈöÓúãö Çááåö ÇáÑøóÍúãäö ÇáÑøóÍöíãöö Fighting for the soul of Islam It has been yet another tumultuous few weeks in the life of the Islamic Ummah. Added to the suffering we witness in Iraq, Afghanistan and Chechnia, we witnessed also the brutal and shameless murder of the wheelchair bound Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, by Israeli missiles. Reports are coming in of the killing of still more Muslims in Uzbekistan. We hear of reports of Muslims being arrested in the United Kingdom. In Palestine, there is further news that the Zionists have trapped Muslims in Al Aqsa mosque after Juma’ah prayers. Now, the kuffar are seeking to manipulate Islam in their own image. This round was sparked off by the former Archbishop of Canterbury’s address, ‘Christianity and Islam: Collision or convergence?” delivered at the Gregorian University in Rome on the 25th of March, 2004. Carey’s speech, thick with Christian orientalist overtones was a thinly veiled attack on Islam. A collection of condescending half-truths, he took no concrete stance on the rights and wrongs of the causes of the turmoil and anguish of the Islamic Ummah, relegating it to mere misperception. He even attacked the Aqeedah of Islam, questioning the authenticity of the Qur’an. Fighting for the soul of Islam Although Carey’s speech purports to ‘finding ways of living together in harmony and peace’ his true intention is revealed when he said, ‘We are presented therefore with a huge puzzle concerning Islam. Why is it associated with violence throughout the world? Is extremism so ineluctably bound up with its faith that we are at last seeing its true character? Or could it be that a fight for the soul of Islam is going on that requires another great faith, Christianity to support and encourage the vast majority of the Muslims who resist this identification of their faith with terrorism?’ He and the West are accusing Islam of being an extremist, violent Deen and Christianity might just save it’s soul. There’s some great irony at work here and even more incredible moral gymnastics, it must have been a matter of considerable skill to deliver the address with a straight and sincere face. Carey somehow fails to notice the fact that throughout the world, it is the Muslims who are on the receiving end of state terrorism, be it from the Russians in Chechnya, or the Indians in Kashmir, or the Zionists in Palestine, or the American-British coalition in Afghanistan and Iraq. He deliberately glosses over the fact that these so called ‘enlightened’ western nations and followers of the religion of compassion, have multi-billion dollar industries of death, manufacturing ever more barbaric and lethal weapons and systems with which to kill, maim and orphan Muslims and their children and destroy their lands and properties. Their so called ‘defence’ budget continues to grow ever larger despite the fact that there is NO Muslim army to speak of, let alone the complex state machinery and organisation even to match the former USSR’s red army. Carey’s address contains four main attacks against Islam. The first: he calls for the integration of ‘their faith and practice in democratic institutions’ he then goes on to point out the various dictatorships, kingdoms and generally authoritarian regimes – as evidence of Islam’s failure! Incredible as it may seem, Carey appears to be suffering from colonialist amnesia forgetting that the current cabal of illegitimate puppets who rule over us, were imposed, forced upon us by the benevolent West. Their objective has been to serve the interests of the West, suppress Islam at whatever cost. Accountability of the rulers, was never part of their brief! The existence of these traitors, is not because of Islam, rather it is the direct result of Islam’s absence. Secondly: The ‘disturbing social conditions that militate against stable civil society and undermine the values and ethics of great faith’ - he points to ‘demographic factors’ (Muslims are having too many children, too many wives perhaps), added to this without ‘universal education’ and ‘human rights’ (we have seen precious little of it from the US, UK and Israeli governments) would lead to ‘revolution or fan greater resentment of Western resources and excesses(!)’ Carey seems to be saying that the Muslims feeling of anger is misdirected against the West, and that it has nothing to do with the authoritarian regimes either (his earlier criticism) - instead it’s to do with the lack of education and human rights arising from too many Muslims! Thirdly: He challenges theological Islam to be more open to ‘examination and criticism’. He attacks the Qur’an, the aqeedah of Islam thus, ‘In the case of Islam, Mohammad, acknowledged by all in spite of his religious greatness, to be illiterate man, is said to have received God’s word direct, word by word, from angels and scribes who recorded them later. Thus, believers are told, because they have come direct from Allah they are not to be questioned or revised. …but during the past five hundred years critical scholarship has declined leading to strong resistance to modernity’. He goes on to encourage ‘theological dialogue between Christianity and Islam’ as well as the development of ‘rigorous scholarship’. This is the first of the most insidious points Carey makes – although it is evident that he does not appreciate the strength of the Aqeedah of Islam. He equates the Islamic Ummah’s adherence to the eternal and unchanging Al Qur’an with backwardness or un-modernity. The implicit message to the Muslims – ‘if you want to progress, you have got to allow the Qur’an (and therefore the Shari’ah) to be challenged and thus changed or corrupted even, as the Christian Bible has been. Unfortunately for Carey, there are two unassailable points marshalled against his lies: a. Al Qur’an is a mukjizat – it is an intellectual miracle, tangible and available to all to meet the challenge of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala the One who revealed the book. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala challenges all those who doubt the book, to produce an equal, ‘Say if you doubt…. Then produce one like it’ b. There has never been a conflict between reality and the noble Qur’an. For example, Islam and the Muslims, unlike Christianity have never burnt people alive for stating the fact that the earth goes around the sun. Therefore, unlike Christianity, where the West abandoned the religion in favour of secularism in order to progress, there is no such parallel ‘required’ in Islam. In fact, it was Islam that brought about progress and modernity. The acquisition of modernity (madaniyyah) has nothing whatsoever to do with corrupting the Qur’an, as the noble history of the Muslims in Al Andalus (Spain) testifies. His other insult that ‘it is sad to relate that no great invention has come for many hundreds of years from Muslim countries’ corresponds precisely to the Western colonialist aggressions and dismemberment of the Islamic Ummah and lands and not at all to the adherence of the unchanging Qur’an. The ‘bloody’ branding of Islam - from Huntington to Carey, from Carey to Blair The other of his most insidious comments relate to the main attack – the branding of Islam and Muslims with ‘terrorism’. Carey states, ‘A fourth challenge facing moderate Muslims is to resist strongly the taking over of Islam by radical activist and to express strongly, on behalf of the many millions of their co-religionists (note the subtle dishonest point that the Muslims are not actually united, hence ‘co-religionist’), their abhorrence of violence done in the name of Allah. We look to them to condemn suicide bombers and terrorists who use Islam as a weapon to destabilise innocent lives. … We need to hear outright condemnation of theologies that state that suicide bombers are ‘martyrs’ and enter a martyrs reward. There are a two important points that need to be noted here. First of all, the West are seeking to remove the Islamic basis for jihad in the legitimate defence and resistance against attackers, colonialist and occupiers. They wish to remove the only weapon left to the Believers – their Iman and their lives. Whether it is convenient for the West or not, the ahkam from the Shari’ah on repelling the invaders and those who attack us and our lands are clear. The ahkam on jihad are similarly unambiguous. The other, is that they are forcing the divide of the Islamic Ummah into 2 camps – either you are a moderate who will play the compliant victim, the subjugated slaves (therefore the kuffar label you ‘good’), or you are terrorists who clings to Islam and will not compromise the Deen, and will defend the Ummah and Muslim lands (and therefore the enemies of Allah, label you ‘evildoers’). The taunting and brow beating tone was set early on in his speech. Carey said, ‘However, wherever we look, Islam seems to be embroiled in conflict with other faiths and other cultures. It is in opposition to practically every other world religion – to Judaism in the Middle East; to Christianity in the West, in Nigeria, and in the Middle East; to Hinduism in India; to Buddhism, especially since the destruction of the Temples in Afghanistan.’ He then quotes Samuel Huntington’s ‘The Clash of Civilisations’, “Islam’s borders are bloody and so are its innards. The fundamental problem for the West is not Islamic fundamentalism. It is Islam, a different civilisation whose people are convinced of the superiority of their culture and are obsessed with the inferiority of their power” Carey then dramatically adds, ‘Penetrating and disturbing – even shocking – words’ and without exploring the true causes the realities behind these realities proceeds to conclude that Islam is indeed violent, unless we change it in accordance with his (the West’s) recommendations. The fact that Islam and the Believers, against all suffering and pain, are a lone voice in opposing the kuffar in their invasion and designs is not an argument against it. Most noble Prophets alaihi sallam were lone voices against their contemporary societies. No, in fact it testifies to the sincerity, clarity and truth of the message. Furthermore it shocks the kuffar, that despite their best attempts for over 300 years the Muslims all over the world, still hold unshakeably to their aqeedah and still act as one body against kufr. Furthermore, this man of religion, is disappointingly dishonest by deliberately ignoring the root causes of those conflicts he quotes. Unholy alliance, between Church and State Blair when challenged during a news conference by the Channel 4 (UK) news presenter on why was it that the West wasn’t as vociferous on the killings and deaths of Muslims at the hands of state sponsored acts of terror for example those carried out by Russia (Chechnya) and Israel (Palestine) – waffled out a strangled reply before concluding that ‘wherever these things happened, it (terrorism) was there’. Again, the implicit association of Islam (jihad) with ‘terrorism’. The echo of Carey was too loud to miss. Carey’s echo of Huntington in turn, was just as audible. All this in the week, when the British government launched it’s ‘fight for the soul of Islam. After a series of 9 arrests of British Muslims, the Blair governments propaganda machinery pushed the so called Muslim Council of Britain into prominence. They were Blair approved ‘moderates’ who wrote to Imams to speak out against terrorism and to turn in their fellow Muslims! The old British game of divide and rule. Dividing the Ummah In an article entitled ‘America to use "traditional islam" to divide ummah - Preventing a 'clash of civilisations'’, Paul Reynolds of the BBC (29/03/04) writes, ‘A strategy for the West to counter Islamic extremism by supporting Islamic moderates has been put forward in a report funded in part by a conservative American foundation. The report, called "Civil Democratic Islam: partners, resources and strategies", was drawn up by the Rand Corporation with financial help from the Smith Richardson Foundation … It is a contribution to a debate well under way in the West. The latest manifestation of this debate was a recent speech by the former Archbishop of Canterbury Dr George Carey, who wondered why Islam was "associated with violence throughout the world." … The recommendations have also come as the Bush administration is proposing to use the G8 summit in the American state of Georgia in June to push the issue of democratic and social reform in the Middle East. … … identifies four essential positions in Muslim societies: Fundamentalists who "reject democratic values and contemporary Western culture." Traditionalists who "are suspicious of modernity, innovation and change." Modernists who "want the Islamic world to become part of global modernity." Secularists who "want the Islamic world to accept a division of religion and state." … It suggests a strategy of supporting the modernists first. … by, for example, publishing and distributing their works at subsidised cost, encouraging them to write for mass audiences and for youth, getting their views into the Islamic curriculum ... It goes onto the say that traditionalists should be supported against the fundamentalists by publicising the traditionalist criticism of extremism and by" encouraging disagreements" between the two positions. It says that "in such places as Central Asia, they (traditionalists) may need to be educated and trained in orthodox Islam to be able to stand their ground." A third strategy would be "to confront and oppose the fundamentalists" by, among other things, challenging their interpretation of Islam and revealing their links with illegal groups and activities. …’ It is clear the ‘moderate’ type of Muslim the West would wish for. It would be like Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, the (American) Ruling Council Members of Iraq, the (so called) Muslim Council of Britain. These are ‘Muslims’ who would betray a fellow Believer, who would consider the Shari’ah only as one of the sources of legislation but not the source of legislation. Who would surrender our lands to invaders and colonialists without a fight. These are the Muslims who would accept the kufr and taghut of democracy and the corruption that arrives with Western culture. In other words, the moderate Muslims as defined by Bush, Blair and the Rand Corporation and Carey are the ones who would reject the Shari’ah of Islam and embrace kufr and taghut instead. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala warns us in the noble Qur’an, íóÇ ÃóíøõåóÇ ÇáøóÐöíäó ÂãóäõæÇú áÇó ÊóÊøóÎöÐõæÇú ÈöØóÇäóÉð ãøöä Ïõæäößõãú áÇó íóÃúáõæäóßõãú ÎóÈóÇáÇð æóÏøõæÇú ãóÇ ÚóäöÊøõãú ÞóÏú ÈóÏóÊö ÇáúÈóÛúÖóÇÁ ãöäú ÃóÝúæóÇåöåöãú æóãóÇ ÊõÎúÝöí ÕõÏõæÑõåõãú ÃóßúÈóÑõ ÞóÏú ÈóíøóäøóÇ áóßõãõ ÇáÂíóÇÊö Åöä ßõäÊõãú ÊóÚúÞöáõæäó O ye who believe! Take not into your intimacy those outside your ranks: They will not fail to corrupt you. They only desire your ruin: Rank hatred has already appeared from their mouths: What their hearts conceal is far worse. We have made plain to you the Signs, if ye have wisdom. [TMQ Al-e-Imran: 118] It is clear that the kuffar have no care for what is truth or what is right. The very fact that they wish to manipulate Islam to serve their objectives and needs, betrays their contempt for Islam and their loathing for the Ummah. Islam Although there will be no further Prophets after Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam, he left for us to guides, the Qur’an ul Kareem and his sallallahu alaihi wasallam sunnah. Islam is not a ‘soul’ that requires saving. Nor can it be manipulated in any direction the kuffar might wish. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala has determined His own Deen, One thousand fourteen hundred years ago, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala revealed, íõÑöíÏõæäó áöíõØúÝöÆõæÇú äõæÑó Çááøóåö ÈöÃóÝúæóåöåöãú æóÇááøóåõ ãõÊöãøõ äõæÑöåö æóáóæú ßóÑöåó ÇáúßóÜÝöÑõæäó - åõæó ÇáøóÐöì ÃóÑúÓóáó ÑóÓõæáóåõ ÈöÇáúåõÏóì æóÏöíäö ÇáúÍóÞøö áöíõÙúåöÑóåõ Úóáóì ÇáÏøöíäö ßõáøöåö æóáóæú ßóÑöåó ÇáúãõÔúÑößõæäó Their intention is to extinguish Allah's Light (by blowing) with their mouths: But Allah will complete (the revelation of) His Light, even though the Unbelievers may detest (it). It is He Who has sent His Messenger with Guidance and the Religion of Truth, that he may proclaim it over all religion, even though the Pagans may detest (it). [TMQ As Saff: 8-9] We are not terrorist, nor moderate, nor fundamentalist nor traditionalist nor secularist. We are Muslims, we declare, that there is only One God, One Power, Supreme that is Allah, and Muhammad is His messenger. We have surrendered completely, to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. Khilafah.com Journal 18 Safar 1425 Hijri 07 April 2004

code: maybe the girl had her Meher done earlier than october. Yup, very possible. Always give ppl the benefit of the doubt... better yet keep ur nose out of their biz!

salaam alaykum, Salaafi Online, wlcm to the site. Jzk for the article , look forward to reading ur posts. salaam

asalamu alaykum, I agree with Lander, it's naive to think that by voting we will be influencing american foreign policy especially towards the Muslims. It is also naive to think that american foreign policy changes direction every election, as someone else pointed out, it doesn't matter who is in office their goals and ambitions remain the same - world domination! Believe it or not America didn't get to be the super power it is today by yeilding to the pressures of lobby groups. They dont support Israel bc the jews are more politically organzied and lobby more efficiently they support israel bc America has a great interest in the middle east and the existence of Israel legitimizes their presence in the region. It has no interest what so ever in resolving the so called israeli-palestinian conflict. The sooner we realize this the better. As for Iraq, Kerry was asked if he intended to pull the US troops out and his response was as soon as we establish a stable gov'd (i.e. another puppet regime who will bow to our wishes). Which is exactly what they wanted to do all along. We will not change the situation of the ummah by voting. Our situation will only change when we go back to Islam, establish the rule of Allah and unite under the banner of Islam behind the amirul-mumineen like we were ordered to do. Until then we will continue to be expolited by ppl who never once dreamed they were our equal let alone our superior. May Allah guide us! salaam

salaam... The only thing worse than ppl like pipes are apologetic Muslims. If let these "moderate muslims" (i.e. devoid of Islam) be the voice of our community surely these ppl will have their way and Islam will be reduced to nothing more than rituals and eid stamps.

miskiin, Let's just say after watching this, I didn't want to drink milk!

asalaamu alaykum I -and no doubt-many others who are sensitive to the emperical realities of history do not yearn for Islamic Khalifa, because Khalifa or theocratic state that covers the whole Islamic world is hisorical impossibility, it never existed and its chances of existing is vary slim, however, federations and cooperations are possible among the Islamic nations, but we shoud be very carefull in idealising the Islamic past speicifically as it regards to the state, moreover, the west, is not our primary enemy, our enemy is domininat ruling classes and their cleint Islamic scholars who were and continue to be the agents of oppression and blanket exploitation First and foremost you are wrong in your assertion that Islamic state that covers the whole Muslim world is impossible bc it has existed for 1400 yrs! Granted it was not perfect... you forget that Islam is perfect while Muslims are not. The bay'ah aspect of the khilafah was mis-applied after the rule of Ma'awyiah when he basically coerced Muslims to give his son the bay'ah. However this was not always the case as we know during the time of Umr Abdul Aziz (may Allah be pleased with him), being the pious man he was he actually went and sought the bay'ah from the Muslims after he was elected by the "entourage" bc he realized these ppl did not represent the ummah. Regardless, even if the aspect of getting the bay'ah was mis-applied, the khulafah STILL applied Islam. Sovereignty was always with Islam, unlike today. The set up of the system remained the same until the very last khilafah in 1924. You make grave accusations against the sahaba, the noblest of Muslims when u accuse Uthaman (ra) of giving positions to ppl of his clan simply bc they were from his clan. Do u know the rank of Uthaman (ra)?! Moreover do u know he was elected by the most righteous and noblest of the sahaba including Ali (ra) to take the position of khilafah? Your version of history is not an accurate portrayal of him. As for nation states, this is not from Islam. When Rasoolulah (saw) established the first Islamic state in madina and he drew up a constitution in which he said something along the lines of "All Muslims are equal, their property, life and wealth is all scared... All Muslims are the same but different from the kufar" thus establishing that the only boundary between ppl is that between Muslims and non-Muslims. The idea of having separate heads of state is completely foreign to Islam, infact it's so haram that the prophet (saw) said in authentic hadith if there's a leader elected and another person claims the leadership the latter should be killed. To answer your question Jamaal , I think an Islamic revolution is possible and is bound to happen. InshaAllah as more and more Muslims gain knowledge about the deen and learn to differentiate between kufr and Islam the desire of the Muslims to implement Islam and rid themselves of kufr will increase and materialize into the re-establishment of the khilafah. How long will this take? Well, let's just say 20yrs ago ur average Muslim was not even aware of the Islamic ruling system let alone be discussing it. Today not only are we discuss but there are Muslims who are actively working for this. InshaAllah it'll be a lot sooner than we imagine!

salaam DA, The above terms were derived from the Quran and Sunnah. More speficially, from the the first part of suratul Mai'dah where it is established that anything that's not from Allah is kufr (regradless if the people are Muslim or not) and also from the hadith of the prophet(saw) in which he orderd the invading Muslim army to adivce those who embrace Islam living in non-Islamic (notice I didnt say non-Muslim) to leave and migrate to the land where Islam was established. Also from another hadith in which the prophet(saw) orderd the Muslim army not to kill anyone if they saw masjid or heard the adhaan in the land they were invading. The two above hadith indicate that regardless of who lives in the land if the laws are kufr, the land is considered darul kufr or darul harb (land of war). Unfortunetly I dont have access to the speficic narrations right now but inshaAllah I'll try to come back and post them. If I forget plz send me a PM and remind me. salaam

It is ironic how we praise our individuality and distinctiveness of our existence, when in fact laws set by the societies that we live in dictate us. If we examine closely we see that every single urge we get is defined and controlled by a certain rule. The very concept of freedom is a myth even in the most "liberated" societies. Your actions, thoughts and appearance are ALWAYS dictated by some law. So it's a matter of deciding which law you want to submit to. Alhamdulilah, we're Muslims and our "freedom" is in our obedience to Allah. Therefore any form of individuality we wish to display must be with in the context of these laws (Islam). God has indeed outlined our roles in our physical makeup but society altered it to a certain point to the satisfaction of the survivor of the fittest. The question then is, will we either taken on the role defined by society or by God? if a woman gathers the guts to ask a man out, she is labeled, as being “desperate” when in reality it’s actually empowerment We have the most prefect example in the most perfect life of our beloved Prophet(saw) where his wife, 20ys his senior proposed marriage to him. Imagine that happening today!

Happy B-day! may Allah (swt) give u a long life in which you live in complete obedience to Him. Ameen!

asalaamu alyakum, from what I understand Kufr Land (Darul kufr)is defined as any land that is ruled with Kufr (i.e democracy, communism ect) and the security of the land is with non-Muslims. Where as Islamic Land (Darul Islam) is any land that is ruled with Islam (i.e governed by the sharia in totality)and its security is with Muslims. So a land can be 99% Muslim and still not be darul Islam as the case with all Muslm lands today. Conversely, the inhabitants of a land can be 99% non-Muslim and the land can still be called Daru Islam bc it's maintained and ruled by Islam (i.e Muslim Spain, where the majority were non-Muslims). Btw, Ameenah, I agree with you fully when u say feminism is based on a kufr system, I think you're the first person on here I've heard say that. perhapes this is the core issue we should be discussing as it seems to be the most frequently used word around here these days. salaam

Question 1...NO Question 2... candidate A, something about C is fishy.

asalaamu alaykum Getting back to the topic... From what I understand the original poster intended to raise the following questions: R we losing ourselves in the West? Will the somali community become the equivalent of the african american community in Canada (African Canadians)? First, I think the reality of the Somalis in the West today is much different than the reality, of the A.Americans, that was so I don't think a fair comparison can be made. The A.Americans lost their culture and Identity by force (i.e their children were removed, forced conversions to x-tienity, prohibited from speaking in their native tongue ect) where as the somali community today is free from these factors and is struggling with the "normal" process of assimilation. Well from the current state of the majority of our youth one can say that the process of assimilation is in full motion and it's only a matter of time before the somalis in canada are reduced to "african canadians" (blck ppl in canada with no distinct language, heritage and culture). In Canada, somali youth make up one of the largest ethnic groups in detention centers (in Ottawa Canada, half of the prison population is young somali males), the high school drop out rate is astonishing and nearly not enough post-secondary graduates. Yes, so our situation is sad, very sad. What's worse is our lack of effort in trying to change this. Perhaps we feel as long as its not me or my loved ones then I have no need to be concerned. Or maybe we just don't know how to help and where to start. Since most of us who grew up in the west have had the unfortunate experience of being immersed in the westren/kufr culture and are familiar with situation of our youth why don't we use this to help them? Maybe, just maybe we can put this thread to good use and use it to exchange practical ideas on what each of us individually and with our respective somalis students' associations can do to contribute to the revival of our youth in the west. Here's one idea to start off: Forming a big brother/sister relationship with a youth in your neighborhood. Since they will relate to you better than their parents you have the potential of greatly influencing their life. Second idea: Holding a weekly halaqah (study circle) for the kids in your neighborhood... not an extensive study circle maybe 2hrs of just sitting around and watching an Islamic video or discussing a popular issue like dating. The idea is to foster a sense of belonging and identity. I hope you can all share your ideas too. salaam

asalaamu alaykum, Originally posted by somealien: ummm, im gonna rock the proper hijab from now on (accually im preparing my wardrobe), i need tips on some summer wear, basically the best materials to wear especially if you have oily skin in the t-zone area (forehead and chin spec.). also, are you/we allowed to wear sandals? this may sound silly but i had a discussion about this earlier. me? i think it is (in fact i assumed it) but this person said your feet must be covered and if it is true do you know why? oh, and btw, my decision to rocking the hijab is in due partly to you wonderful lot. peace and blessings. MashaAllah, I'm so happy for you sister, May Allah make it easy for you. The best clothes for summer I would say is loosing fitting cotton garments. However I personally find it very difficult to buy clothes during the summer as there are virtually no long sleeve shirts and long skirts. I find it's best to shop during the fall for these items or check out pakistani/arab stores SOMETIMES they have decent clothing. Of course the best option is to have clothes made, I know a pakistani lady who works miracles, you can pick out your own materials and have it made just the way you want it. As for sandals... I'm not too sure about this one I think there's a differences of opinion on the issue... research it and let us know inshaAllah. salaam