asalaamu alaykum, Mahathir's comments are nothing new, we hear them every year at the same conference. Last year Pakistan's dictator Musharraf said the very same thing. I'm posting an article written in response to Musharraf's comments. It's rather long, if you don't want to read the whole thing just skip to "Missing the point". Musharraf Gets It All Backwards uploaded 25 Feb 2002 Musharrafs Address In an address to a conference of science and technology attended by ministers from OIC Muslim countries in mid-February, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said Islamic countries will remain backward unless they concentrate more on scientific and technological development. Muslim nations are internally involved in fratricidal conflicts and perceived by the outside world as terrorists with little attention being given on their uplift, he said. Musharraf said the time had come for Islamic nations to take part in collective self-criticism. Once such an assessment is made, it would not be difficult to realise that the entire Islamic world was far behind the developed world, he argued. The Muslim Ummah, he said was presently living in darkness. "Today we are the poorest, the most illiterate, the most backward, the most unhealthy, the most un-enlightened, the most deprived, and the weakest of all the human race," he told the delegates. President Musharraf went on to make a comparison of the economic growth in Islamic countries with some developed countries. While the collective Gross National Product of the all Muslim countries stands at $1,200bn that of Germany alone is $2,500bn and that of Japan $5,500bn. He said one of the main reasons for this disparity was that none of the Muslim countries had ever paid any attention to educational and scientific development. He asked the countries participating in the conference to concentrate on scientific and technological development in order to compete with the developed world. The Pakistani leader suggested the setting up of a multi-billion dollar fund for such a purpose and a need for creating centres of excellence in the field of science and technology. He also called for the creation of scholarships for young scientists to seek knowledge from universities in developed countries. President Musharraf described it as the real jihad, or holy war. He warned that unless this was done, the Islamic world and Muslims would always be perceived as backward, illiterate - those who only indulge in extremism and violence. Missing the Point Although the conference was attended by Muslim countries it was without really acknowledging the significance of the bond on which they had gathered - that they were Muslim. Thus the real backward mentality lies in the unchallenged artificial divisions that the colonialists imposed upon the ummah not even more than a century ago. Therefore Musharrafs comparison of the collective Muslim world with individual developed countries is therefore misplaced. Whilst in such conferences the Ummah's commonality is indirectly acknowledged, in practice the absence of a centralised and unified political framework ensures that the resources of the Muslim world remain unshared, misused and underdeveloped. Similarly advocating scientific and technological development is one thing but the sharing of that knowledge and the fruits that result has been another. This can be seen in the simple example of Pakistan and its nuclear program which remains confined to the borders of Pakistan rather than being transferred for the good amongst the Muslim world. The nation’s selfish nationalistic interests and politicians personal selfish interests time and time again interfere with the progress of the ummah. But this is the type of collective criticism that Musharraf would rather not undertake. Yet whilst many of the attendees may argue that such propositions are not practical or achievable, one only has to look to history to be reminded of exactly what progress can and indeed was achieved when the Muslim world was a single indivisible entity. The truth of the matter is that scientific and technological development is all very well but it is not the fundamental building block that progress is built upon. For what is far more important is to address the thoughts a nation carries i.e. the process of thinking the majority of its individuals adopt in life affairs by which they make judgements and decisions. Although the Muslim world professes Islam, the Islamic Aqeedah today is not referred to as a comprehensive basis for a set of thoughts which they contrive to use in life. The West is productive (albeit only in the material sense) because it makes progress in a specific way i.e. according to the man made capitalistic thoughts. In contrast the Islamic Aqeedah are the true thoughts as they originate from the Creator and therefore they are the enlightened thoughts from which if used frequently and successfully, lead to the correct progress, i.e. a sound solution which is compatible with man’s innate nature . Therefore it is the establishment of the enlightened thought that should be pursued and concentrated upon above all else. This is because with regard to material wealth, scientific discoveries, industrial inventions and the like, all of these are of much lower importance than thoughts. In fact, to gain such matters depends on the thoughts, and preservation of these matters depends on the thoughts as well. After all it was only when the West agreed to separate religion from state and became convinced of capitalism as a way of thinking (referred to in the West as the period of enlightenment), that the Industrial Revolution steamed ahead. Even though they have decayed in all moral, humanitarian and spiritual dimensions, which highlights the dangers of adopting man inspired thoughts Similarly when the Arabs and thereafter large numbers of humanity embraced the Islamic aqeedah, the world witnessed the progress that resulted and no civilisation then and since has failed to be impacted by the achievements, scientific discoveries and industrial inventions borne from people and nations adhering to Islam as a way of thinking. Unlike today, where Muslims abandoned Islam as a comprehensive idea, and instead mimicked and experimented with other ideas like socialism / communism and capitalism. Thus even when the material wealth of the ummah was destroyed, it would have been possible for it to be restored quickly as long as the ummah preserved Islam as an ideology. Instead when Islam was abandoned as a complete set of thoughts, this wealth soon shrunk and the ummah fell down into poverty. If the Muslims had not lost its way of thinking, most of the scientific achievements which were once made could have been regained. But since it lost its specific way of thinking, it regressed and lost its discoveries and inventions. Therefore, it is necessary to take care of the thoughts first. Musharraf has failed to understand that sadly it is natural for this generation to be seen in poverty, despite the abundance of material resources in its lands. Likewise, it is natural to have no scientific discoveries and industrial inventions even though Muslims study the theories of these discoveries and inventions and are aware of them. This is because it is impossible to rush to gain them unless it has the Islamic thoughts and it is creative in using these thoughts in life. Therefore, the Muslims must establish for themselves thoughts based only on the Islamic Aqeedah and to abandon any and all ideas from socialism or capitalism. Only then will they be able to proceed, based on that, to acquire material wealth, make scientific discoveries, and industrial inventions. Unless they do this, they will not proceed a single step; rather they will continue to go around in a vicious circle, exhausting their mental and physical efforts, only to end up exactly where they began - at a similar conference next year. Abu Ayesha 25 February 2002 salaam!

asalaamu alaykum, For all of us who've had our hearts broken, lets take comfort in this : "And among His Signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquillity with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are Signs for those who reflect (30:21)." Love exists (bc Allah said so) and it's a mercy from Allah. InshaAllah, all we have to do is be patient and have faith. salaam

salaamu alaykum, If I may add one more sub-topic Darman ... And there are some people we love ... because they lift your mind and spirit to a higher consciousness. They strengthen your faith by being a constant source of inspiration. You strive to be like them and imitate their actions. You seek to be with them all the time bc you know when you are you will not miss your salaat, gossip or waste your time with idle talk. You know just by being around them you're in the company of angles and Allah is pleased with you. They are the people you love purely for the sake of Allah and they love you for the same reason. They are the people whom you wouldn't mind being raised with on judgement day and hope Allah will grant you a shade bc of them on that day (of the 7ppl given a shade on judgement day are those 2 who loved eachother for Allah's sake). If you are truely truely truely blessed, you'll be given one of these people as your spouse. As the prophet (scw) said the best you can have in this world is a pious wife (or a husband). May Allah count us all among the righteous, ameen! salaam

salaam folks! Keinaan is a conscious rapper, he's not about to get on stage and talk about how fun it is to dance around with your girl. In other words, he's not interested in entertaining you (he got offended once when I called him a performer bc the term implied "entertainer") but elevating you to a higher level. I suggest y'all check out "Unborn child" with Youssou N'dour (I'm not sure if this has been released yet). salaam

salaam folks! Keinaan is a conscious rapper, he's not about to get on stage and talk about how fun it is to dance around with your girl. In other words, he's not interested in entertaining you (he got offended once when I called him a performer bc the term implied "entertainer") but elevating you to a higher level. I suggest y'all check out "Unborn child" with Youssou N'dour (I'm not sure if this has been released yet). salaam

salaam folks! Keinaan is a conscious rapper, he's not about to get on stage and talk about how fun it is to dance around with your girl. In other words, he's not interested in entertaining you (he got offended once when I called him a performer bc the term implied "entertainer") but elevating you to a higher level. I suggest y'all check out "Unborn child" with Youssou N'dour (I'm not sure if this has been released yet). salaam

salaam folks! Keinaan is a conscious rapper, he's not about to get on stage and talk about how fun it is to dance around with your girl. In other words, he's not interested in entertaining you (he got offended once when I called him a performer bc the term implied "entertainer") but elevating you to a higher level. I suggest y'all check out "Unborn child" with Youssou N'dour (I'm not sure if this has been released yet). salaam

salaam, Hey I'm still an alien, ease up y'all! What happened to nomad love?? salaam

asalaamu alaykum, King_450, why don't you just ask her what's holding her back? What's her excuse? You know, it could just be that she's not ready to get married and would perhapes like to explore all her other options before she settles down. I hope it all works out for you. salaam

salaam y'all, Can anyone fill me on exactly where in Toronto these events will be taking place? thx salaam

asalaamu alaykum, I'm so delighted to hear that you've started praying. May Allah reward your efforts and grant you and all of us the patience we need to maintain our salaah. salaam

asalaamu alaykum, I think the reason why many sisters would like a man with a degree is because having a degree puts one in a better position of having a good job. It's the natural assumption that a degree earns you financial freedom. Of course we know this is not always true, but this is the reason why women like men with degrees. salaam

asalaamu alaykum, Malikaah I was told to use surigcal steel instead of gold... I think it's about time I gave gold a try though! THanks for your help. Opinionated, plzzz do let me know whatever the tatoo ppl tell you. Jzk for your help too

salaam, Here are my 3 qualities in order of importance: 1) Practicing Muslim (praying 5 times a day should come as natural as breathing) 2)Amazing personality, with a sense of Humor 3) My mother must love him! salaam

salaam, Hey I like Entrepreneur's ideas...Humble Horn (H&H for short), Nomad Oasis sounds good, maybe you could modify it to African Oasis (and decorate it with an african theme ) Whatever you choose to call it I'm sure your family's restaurant will be a huge success inshaAllah. salaam! btw there's an ethopian joint where I live called Horn of Africa when they're not even the horn of Africa!!! :mad:

asalaamu alaykum, That's almost a philosophical question and probably deserves a scholarly answer, which unfortunately I don't think I, or anyone here can provide (I apologize if I'm mistaken in my assumption). From what I understand, I don't think it's a matter of Allah "willing" Evil. I think evil is the by-product of man's actions or in some case lack of. Not only does Allah command good but He being All-Merciful has even provided us with a detailed manuscript of how we can achieve good - the Quran and the sunnah. Yes, it's true that everything is under Allah's control but we're given free will. It is us who choose whether or not we are evil or good. Allah the almighty does not make us act evil, however, if we choose to be evil we are given that option. It is the actions of those evil people that result in the horrible crimes in the world today. The duty of a Muslim is to enjoin what's right and forbid what's evil. We are given the task of sidelining those who want to plague the world in evil... this is why Allah describes as the best of mankind. It is when we Muslims fail to do our job that situations like Palestine arise. In short, it is not Allah who wills evil, evil results when people CHOOSE to act evil. We are given the task of forbidding evil, and when we can't do the job the world becomes filled with evil... until a worthy generation of Muslims come along and reverse the situation. salaam

salaam everyone! Some of my favorite songs over the years include: "I can love you like that" All-4-one... I first heard this song when i was 13-14yrs and loved it partialy bc i think it describes me. "Beautiful" by MosDef and Talib Kweli "Can't take my eyes off you" Lauryn Hill "I knew I loved you b4 I met you" Savage Garden "Everybody's got a story" Amanda Marshall... I never looked at ppl the same way since i heard this song. Many more i just can't think of them all now salaam

asalaamu alaykum folks, awww guys c'mon! why do we have to be so harsh and judgemental. SubhanaAllah, we're all suceptible to the whispers of shaitain, granted some of us more than others, but it is by the mercy of Allah that we don't fall into the very same sin the sister fell into. FIrstlady: Dear sister, first of all know that no matter how big your sins are Allah will forgive you if you repent sincerely and vow never to repeat them. Second, break off the relationship for the sake of Allah, because if you stay with the brother shaitan will tempt you again to commit more haram with him. Besides if the brother treats you the way you said he does, then he isn't worth your time so drop him. Drop him like a hot bomb in downtown tel aviv! Sister, do not despair for it is iblees who despairs. Know that Allah has more mercy for His slave than a mother does for her child. The best of Muslims are not those who commit the least amount of sin but those who sin and then repent for their sins. Repent for the sins you've committed, get rid of the guy for the sake of Allah, and inshaAllah Allah will forgive you and reward you with someone SOO much better. Slap shaitan in the face and use this incident to bring you closer to Allah then you've ever been. Take care sis salaam

asalaamu alaykum folks, awww guys c'mon! why do we have to be so harsh and judgemental. SubhanaAllah, we're all suceptible to the whispers of shaitain, granted some of us more than others, but it is by the mercy of Allah that we don't fall into the very same sin the sister fell into. FIrstlady: Dear sister, first of all know that no matter how big your sins are Allah will forgive you if you repent sincerely and vow never to repeat them. Second, break off the relationship for the sake of Allah, because if you stay with the brother shaitan will tempt you again to commit more haram with him. Besides if the brother treats you the way you said he does, then he isn't worth your time so drop him. Drop him like a hot bomb in downtown tel aviv! Sister, do not despair for it is iblees who despairs. Know that Allah has more mercy for His slave than a mother does for her child. The best of Muslims are not those who commit the least amount of sin but those who sin and then repent for their sins. Repent for the sins you've committed, get rid of the guy for the sake of Allah, and inshaAllah Allah will forgive you and reward you with someone SOO much better. Slap shaitan in the face and use this incident to bring you closer to Allah then you've ever been. Take care sis salaam

asalaamu alaykum folks, awww guys c'mon! why do we have to be so harsh and judgemental. SubhanaAllah, we're all suceptible to the whispers of shaitain, granted some of us more than others, but it is by the mercy of Allah that we don't fall into the very same sin the sister fell into. FIrstlady: Dear sister, first of all know that no matter how big your sins are Allah will forgive you if you repent sincerely and vow never to repeat them. Second, break off the relationship for the sake of Allah, because if you stay with the brother shaitan will tempt you again to commit more haram with him. Besides if the brother treats you the way you said he does, then he isn't worth your time so drop him. Drop him like a hot bomb in downtown tel aviv! Sister, do not despair for it is iblees who despairs. Know that Allah has more mercy for His slave than a mother does for her child. The best of Muslims are not those who commit the least amount of sin but those who sin and then repent for their sins. Repent for the sins you've committed, get rid of the guy for the sake of Allah, and inshaAllah Allah will forgive you and reward you with someone SOO much better. Slap shaitan in the face and use this incident to bring you closer to Allah then you've ever been. Take care sis salaam

asalaamu alaykum folks, awww guys c'mon! why do we have to be so harsh and judgemental. SubhanaAllah, we're all suceptible to the whispers of shaitain, granted some of us more than others, but it is by the mercy of Allah that we don't fall into the very same sin the sister fell into. FIrstlady: Dear sister, first of all know that no matter how big your sins are Allah will forgive you if you repent sincerely and vow never to repeat them. Second, break off the relationship for the sake of Allah, because if you stay with the brother shaitan will tempt you again to commit more haram with him. Besides if the brother treats you the way you said he does, then he isn't worth your time so drop him. Drop him like a hot bomb in downtown tel aviv! Sister, do not despair for it is iblees who despairs. Know that Allah has more mercy for His slave than a mother does for her child. The best of Muslims are not those who commit the least amount of sin but those who sin and then repent for their sins. Repent for the sins you've committed, get rid of the guy for the sake of Allah, and inshaAllah Allah will forgive you and reward you with someone SOO much better. Slap shaitan in the face and use this incident to bring you closer to Allah then you've ever been. Take care sis salaam

asalaamu alaykum y'all, I use to be a frequent user of Blackplanet back in the day but now I really don't like how it's all comercialized. You can't even visit the site without being bombarded with pop up ads. Not to mention the sleazy pictures and porn links left on your guestbook (which forced me to close my guestbook down). However, I still log on there when I'm bored online so feel free to drop me a note plz, my username is Angelmizt. InshaAllah I'll make every effort to reply within a reasonable time frame. salaam!

asalaamu alaykum y'all, I use to be a frequent user of Blackplanet back in the day but now I really don't like how it's all comercialized. You can't even visit the site without being bombarded with pop up ads. Not to mention the sleazy pictures and porn links left on your guestbook (which forced me to close my guestbook down). However, I still log on there when I'm bored online so feel free to drop me a note plz, my username is Angelmizt. InshaAllah I'll make every effort to reply within a reasonable time frame. salaam!

asalaamu alaykum y'all, I use to be a frequent user of Blackplanet back in the day but now I really don't like how it's all comercialized. You can't even visit the site without being bombarded with pop up ads. Not to mention the sleazy pictures and porn links left on your guestbook (which forced me to close my guestbook down). However, I still log on there when I'm bored online so feel free to drop me a note plz, my username is Angelmizt. InshaAllah I'll make every effort to reply within a reasonable time frame. salaam!

asalaamu alaykum y'all, I use to be a frequent user of Blackplanet back in the day but now I really don't like how it's all comercialized. You can't even visit the site without being bombarded with pop up ads. Not to mention the sleazy pictures and porn links left on your guestbook (which forced me to close my guestbook down). However, I still log on there when I'm bored online so feel free to drop me a note plz, my username is Angelmizt. InshaAllah I'll make every effort to reply within a reasonable time frame. salaam!