London is empty. Almost like a ghost town. But there is no backlash and I genuinely don’t expect any. Ignorance isn’t the norm in London or for that matter among the British masses. I think you’ll feel what you want to feel… don’t be paranoid. People are as normal as they were two days ago. Just stay out of the way of the usual ASB displaying yobs n chavs (chav = council house and vulgar…that’s what I read it stands for…!! ) etc.

Heh. (said in Classy NGONGE style). Now, Zeph… theres nothing I could add or deduct from your reasoning. You make perfect sense. However, bear with me as I need to run home and wanna sum up a few things. NGONGE’s point about War etiquette ma aha wax macquul ah. Its like saying ‘I’m coming to beat u up and beating you up’ is more justified than ‘attacking you from behind and beating you up’. Either way, none is justified. Some1 is getting beaten up. Life for life. Secondly, by saying ‘driven to it’, I’m not in anyway excusing their foolishness. But a drowning man will cling onto a straw. You’re purely underestimating the desperation the Iraqi insurgents feel in their own home - the helplessness, the inability to fight back with equal force, the oppression… Lastly, the girl who is going around in circles – you must really blv I follow you around or care about what you say. No.

I beg to differ my dearest NGONGE. Wars are not justified, not the war on Iraq. It wasn’t a war...it was an invasion (whether informed beforehand or not is irrelevant)! A bullying of sorts! A show of power! Lets stop the denial and hiding behind fancy words like ‘war etiquettes’ ha! America bullied its way into Iraq and continues to cause civilian casualties on a daily basis. The argument that its Iraqis who blow themselves and do the most damage to their people albeit true is not an answer. They are driven to it..yes I said it (call me dim all you want ) out of desperation and seeking independence. Its better to die standing than to live upon your knees (as Tupac said). Secondly, as for those hesitant in condemning the London bombings and camouflaging their real opinions with subtle words like ‘frown upon’ – be true and say what it is you want to say. ‘Frowning upon something’ means disliking it YET finding it ACCEPTABLE. These cowardly acts against the civilian population of London are UNACCEPTABLE and should be CONDEMNED. Being concerned about a backlash against Muslims alone is selfish and shows the divided mentality in addressing this issue. Seems to me like we are willing to tolerate it as long as it causes us no harm. We(Muslims and non-muslims alike) should stand united and strong against terrorism.

Lemme just say that SomaliaOnline has been a great help & a medium for communication and talking to like minded somalis in the same situation today. *Thumps up SOL owners*

I knew every1 reporting fine was too good to be true...considering atleast 700 people were injured. I pray for Diamante and wish for her a swift recovery.

Viking, Yacquub, Rookie, Shujui...east london crew..where are you?

This is misplaced anger leading to indiscriminate counterattack on anyone and everything possible. Not for Muslims. Not against Muslims. And we should firmly stand united on that thought.

Afro, thanks luv. A colleague is giving me a lift home. So I'm sorted. Now gotta figure out how to get my mum home as she is stuck in some hospital. Zeph and the rest..please be safe. Hope you all reach home well.

I don’t see how this is an argument and I’m saddened that some are looking to start it for their own whims and entertainment. This is wrong. One wrong doesn’t justify another and the British public have stood high and tall against the war on Iraq. There is simply no justification to attack British civilians and specially ethnic London.

Here is something I read in an arab forum for the anti-Oprah clan . A letter to Oprah Dear Oprah, We are writing you this letter in response to your show on women around the world, in which there was a lady from Saudi Arabia who was abused by her husband and you addressed the rights and freedom of women in Islam. We believe that you are in a very influential position to clarify stereotypes and misconceptions about the Middle East and we are writing this letter because we have the utmost respect for you and really believe that your intentions were positive. However, as we are sure you and your producers are aware, Saudi women are not the only battered women and Rania al-Baz was more a representative of a battered women from anywhere around the world - there are women also in America as well as China who are abused and battered- and it was unfortunate to link it with her being a Saudi and a Muslim. There is a serious misconception in the West about Islam as a religion, and the cultural practices in some countries that are predominantly Muslim. We think it would be extremely educational for your audience to learn a bit more about the rights of women in Islam, which is in fact one of the most liberating religions for women, however through the media it has been portrayed as quite the opposite - primarily due to a lack of understanding and political interest in maintaining an "enemy" in order to justify America's foreign policy with regards to the Middle East. It is a similar brainwashing of the masses as with the negative portrayal of African Americans in order to maintain slavery and dominance in the past. There are two distinct issues that we would like to address; the first being the negative portrayal of Saudi Arabian Culture, and secondly, the link of these cultural practices to Islam. Let us first address the Saudi Arabian culture. There is no denying that some of the practices in countries like Saudi Arabia do indeed seem bizarre to the Western world, however we can look at Western practices and also view them as bizarre and immoral. There is a famous anthropological article written in 1956 by Horace Miner entitled "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema", which discusses how the Nacirema people are so obsessed with their physical appearance that "they have extensive mouth rituals... the women bake their heads in small ovens for about an hour... and the men scrap and lacerate their faces with sharp instruments." The author of this article was describing North Americans and the primary message was to demonstrate that you can make any culture seem bizarre if you are looking at it as an outsider. Most international cultural practices will differ from those in your home country. Different races have different traditions and as we have experienced over human evolution, that unfamiliarity breeds contempt. If we were to go back 40 years to the sixties, and imagine there was a famous talk show host, such as yourself, who had a show on different races with the aim of 'familiarizing Americans on what other people live like', the Caucasians were happy go lucky, but the African Americans were portrayed as dirty, immoral and barbaric. How would you have felt? Would you not have thought that it was a false accusation? That of course there are some African Americans who are dirty, immoral and barbaric, but is that message representative of the majority? Does that message help bring peace to the world? Or does it reinforce negative stereotypes that result in discrimination, racism, oppression and violence? We would have expected your show to dig deeper into the different cultures and explain why certain traditions exist, in order to increase awareness and understanding, to explain the unknown, and to truly break down barriers between Arabs and Americans. The question 'why?' was never asked on your show. To give you another example of Middle Eastern way of living is our lives. We come from the Sultanate of Oman, a neighbouring country of Saudi Arabia, where the entire Omani population is Muslim. In Oman we have female Ministers, female ambassadors, female Directors of mutli-billion dollar businesses in addition to full time mothers, engineers and bankers. If we compare the way of life in Oman to Saudi Arabia it is quite different, however, we are still Arabs, and still Muslims. The second point we would like to make, which is that we must differentiate between culture and religion. For some reason, Western media has decided that Muslims and Arabs are one and the same, regardless of the fact that according to CNN Islam is the fastest growing religion. One would question why this would be the case, why are so many people embracing Islam if it is a religion of terrorists who oppress women? The reason is because most of the people who convert do their homework, and learn to differentiate between Islam and some poor practices of individuals. In particular for females, through their homework, they come to realise that Islam is one of the most liberating religions to have ever existed for humanity, and it explicitly values femininity and the female. If we look at thousands of years of history from the Ancient Chinese, Hindus, Pharaohs, Babylonians, Assyrians, Pagans, Romans, Persians, Jews, Christians and current Western Civilisation - there is certifiable evidence that none of these civilizations or religions respected and protected women to the same extent as Islam does. This is because Islam recognised all of the oppressing behaviours of prior religions and civilizations and prescribed rules in order to abolish them. Furthermore, Islam is a religion for all time and its content is relevant to all generations, those of the past, the current and the future, as the human instinct does not change with time. To give you a brief overview of some of the rights of women in Islam: 1. The rights of a wife - In order for a marriage to be valid in Islam, a man must first provide the woman with a wedding gift called the "mahr" which should be cash and could additionally include property, jewellery and clothing. This gift is to ensure that the woman is financially secure regardless of divorce. Even if they divorce the day after they consummate the marriage the gift is for her to keep. Furthermore, a husband is obliged in Islam to financially provide for his wife and cover ALL household and clothing bills for his family. If he does not do so it is considered a sin. In return the wife is obliged to take care of his children and be intimate with him. She is not obliged to cook, clean and stay at home, it is her choice to do so if she wishes. In Islam there are 5 core goals that a husband and wife should strive for in their marriage: 1. Tranquillity, 2. Affection, 3. Mercy, 4. To protect and give comfort (the direct translation is to be each other's clothing) and 5. To have and raise children. Everything that a husband and wife do in a marriage should have these goals in mind - therefore, physical abuse does not comply with mercy, adultery and arguing does not comply with tranquillity, abstaining from sex and ignoring one another does not comply with being affectionate. And of course the most controversial topic of all, polygamy does not comply with 3 of them, in fact, in Islam it is made clear to man that he can have up to four wives under certain conditions and only after he gets permission from his wife. Even if she agrees, he MUST treat them equally in all aspects - emotionally, financially, physically, which for a human is impossible and Islam recognizes this impossibility and says that those men who cannot fulfil that criteria will be punished -therefore discouraging polygamy as opposed to encouraging it. Furthermore, a woman is not obliged to marry anyone she doesn't want to and the Sheikh (religious man) asks for her consent before conducting the wedding ceremony. In addition a woman in Islam does not take the name of her husband, but retains her own name and identity, and this is symbolic of the marriage in that it is a joining of two individuals who come together to enhance each others lives and not to become one. 2. The rights of women in divorce- There are clear rules with regards to divorce, conditions in which it is allowed, what the process is and the rights of the woman who is divorced. Most of these rules are there to protect the woman. An example is that a man who wants to divorce his wife has to leave the house and he cannot kick her out, it is her choice if she wishes to remain in the residence. 3. Financial independence - Any money that a woman earns in her employment or inheritance is hers and she is not obliged to pay or contribute a cent to her husband or parents, it is her choice if she wants to lighten their financial load. If she financially contributes she is granted blessings from God, but if a man requests her to financially contribute he has committed a sin. 4. Inheritance rights of a woman- In Islam inheritance rights are stipulated in great detail in order to avoid arguments and disappointments. Furthermore, it is the first religion to clearly state the inheritance rights of women. This is in order to ensure her financial security. If we look at the UK just over a century ago women were kicked out of their homes upon the death of their fathers or husbands and were not allowed to inherit. Islam prescribed these rules to protect her over 1400 years ago. 5. Mothers in Islam- Motherhood is seen as one of the most important roles of humans and mothers are given great importance and respect. In fact the Prophet says that "paradise is under the feet of mothers". Children are obliged to show the utmost respect for their parents. In fact in Islam it says that first you must show respect and obedience to God, secondly his Prophet, thirdly the mother, fourth the mother, fifth the mother, sixth the father. 6. The Hijab (headscarf)- Women in Islam are seen as jewels that should not be exploited for the satisfaction of men. The Islamic dress code demands respect and preserves your self worth. It is in fact an interesting dichotomy that in the West the headscarf is seen as an oppression of women and we find it a liberation of women. In Islam, a woman has many different dimensions to her all of which have a time and place. When she is in an intimate relationship with her husband she is obviously sexual and hence her beautiful and seductive attributes are exposed, but there is no need for her to be sexy anywhere else. At work or in public she is viewed to have integrity, a mind, a voice, it is her soul which is displayed to the world as that is what they should be focussing on, not her sexuality. Perhaps it is a very simplistic way at looking at life, but we all joke that men can't multitask, and if they see a sexy woman they will certainly be thinking of one thing, instead of focussing on what she is actually there for, to work, to contribute, to think, to converse with. The Islamic dress code simplifies interaction between males and females and makes it clear what your purpose is through your dress. The dress code is also significantly correlated to the self esteem of a women. When a woman dresses modestly in public there is no confusion as to whether she is given attention or opportunities because or her rights and capabilities or because of her sex appeal. Therefore the primary purpose of the Islamic female dress is to ensure that woman are not seen sexual objects to be exploited or manipulated into believing that their only value comes from their sexuality. 7. The value of female capabilities as opposed to trying to be like a man- On a spiritual level men and women are considered equal, however on a physical level there is a difference between them and their strengths and weaknesses. In Islam a man and a woman are two different entities that have been created to complement one another. Both should be equally valued. The prime focus is that a woman does not need to behave like a man to be successful, worthy or valued. If she chooses to she could, but why would she want to? She has her own strengths and capabilities and that is what makes her valuable. Furthermore, men should also not behave like women. In Islam, a woman is not restricted to what type of job or role she can take on, but she is asked to give priority to being a mother if she has been blessed with children to ensure that her children receive the love and nurturing that they require. 8. Education- The first word of the Quran brought down to the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) was 'Read!'. Education, reading, acquiring knowledge, travel and exploring and appreciating what the world has to offer is one of the fundamental values in Islam, and its importance is demonstrated by being the first thing that God communicated of the Quran. All Muslims are required to educate themselves regardless of being male or female, in fact the Prophet emphasised that women have a right to education. 9. The story of Adam and Eve. In the biblical story of Adam and Eve, Eve is portrayed as the temptress, who tempted Adam to eat the apple and hence they were expelled from heaven. In Islam, the story is quite different and symbolic. It states that they both ate from the apple, neither tempted the other and hence were equally guilty. Above are just a few items we thought we should highlight, there are dozens or rules and examples in Islam that demonstrate the liberation and importance of women and one could write many volumes. Of course in practice, not all of these rules are applied all the time. Similarly, just because you are a Christian or a Jew, doesn't mean you won't lie, steal or kill. But there is a major distinction between the religion of Islam and the implementation of the religion by humans. It seems as though the media only focuses on poor implementation, but never looks at what is really expected of Muslims. It never focuses on the people or groups of people who correctly implement Islam. What was most disappointing about your show is that you reinforced this negative stereotype, when the purpose of that show was to create awareness. We truly believe that you had no negative intentions, and that it was either a miscommunication or a lack of education, hence we have written this letter to help you see a side that is rarely exposed in Western media. For the many years of watching your show, we have seen that your goal is to try to help people, improve and change lives, a very noble cause, and we have seen that you have already had shows on Islam and on Muslim women, however this must be a continuous positive process, and one negative statement about Islam can nullify all the positive messages previously communicated. We believe that your help in clarifying some of the misconceptions about the Middle East and Islam will help spread peace and understanding across the world instead of perpetuate hatred and misunderstanding. If you are interested, we could arrange some speakers for you on the topic to help clarify some of the misconceptions, we could write an article for your magazine or even make a short documentary with the aim of clarifying misconceptions. It would be a pity for so many people to be left in the dark and it would be unfortunate if you did not share these learnings with your audience. Like you said on your show, you believe that peace will probably come through the work of women, let us turn that into a reality.

Quite frankly, I dont even want to think about the 'consequences'... I just wanna snuggle under my blanket and hope to wake up to protests against poverty and celebrations for winning the olympics.

Olympics? WHY? And incase no1 has noticed, the blasts went off in ethnic minority concentrated areas. Seems very puzzling. :confused: London is such a beautiful cosmopolitan city with a huge muslim populace. I simply dont understand. This is very disheartening.

This is too shameful.

... glad ma working London friends are all ok

Guys, I truly blv Ilaahay is on my side. I missed getting on the piccadilly line by mere minutes (I was running late...imagine getting stuck there). I took a cab instead thinking it was my station only... and my father called me all the way from Africa to ask if I was ok, then I realized the magnitude of the situation (wanted to run back home n get under ma blanket). Bless him. Glad to know you two are fine. Hope NGONGE made it to work safe.

WTF is the problem here? And why has "god", not Bono or Clinton or some big shot celebrity, not come to the aid of the most religious mofos on earth? Yeah I said it, goddammit! Africa has the most religious people (of any religion) anywhere. Is he enjoying this shit? Or just can't do shit about it? If he's really out there, he's got a lot of f%cking explaining to do! I consider myself a muslim for the most part You've alot of nerve. Forget ur evident lack of iimaan, you dont even have basic manners. :rolleyes: Here's a though - You dont blv in God and his power, right? So lets leave God out of this. What are you - the man - gonna do? You seem convinced there is no help coming from Him...so whats ur solution? To complain about a God who's power you question? Thats kinda silly ma istidhi?

One’s faith is a private matter. However, when one chooses to discuss Islamic issues or go under the guise if Islam, they need to state where they are coming from. Other than that, Ofleh’s comments were offensive and inappropriate. I for one don’t appreciate the wording.

All good suggestions but there are tens of ways to skin a cat. And not every1 has a choice. Buying a property in London is like no other. I assure you.

Originally posted by Discreet1: ^^ ...I thought majority of the ladies in SOL claimed to be 21... :confused: Who says I cant be 21 now?

I was excited... honestly, I was holding ma breath... until it dawned on me that I'd be near 30 when it happens... carez n shyte! :rolleyes: :mad: Then I thought, atleast great efforts will be made to improve transport and that should atleast be kewl... ..... but would I be a 30yr old with no car? :eek: :eek: ......... carez n shyte! :mad:

Taking regular showers could pose a health risk and even result in permanent brain damage, it has been claimed Maybe this is why americans are such airheads.

^ Thanks.

The way I see, there is simply no way to go around interest in today’s society. Whether they call it ‘interest’, ‘service money’ or ‘rent while you buy’. The only way to avoid it all is to forgo owning your own property i.e. renting out for life. But this poses its own problems – you could loose your job, retire, etc and be unable to keep the rent up. So should you buy when you have the chance and afford yourself some sort of security? Or risk being damned? Where I live i.e. UK, if you’re renting a home…you’re actually buying some1 else’s property for them. So when you’re done paying for the whole house (20yrs or so)…and the house is theirs, they kick you out. So you technically paid for the whole house yet it isn’t yours! And you’re out on the street (prolly near retirement) and you’ve spent your entire life’s savings on some1 else’s property. There is gotta be an alternative solution to renting. Besides, isn’t securing a roof over your head a necessity?

He is closer to the spectrum of ugly than to anything else. Unless you want a fight, you will retract ur damn words. :mad: :mad: ...and looking at that thing is nauseating me. [E] c...even the remote site wont allow such unsightly creature to be seen outside its premises. *thank GOD for that* ...while Brad stays there in all his glory for all to see and admire.

^ I guess its safe to assume he adores Brad too. Its difficult to imagine some1..any1...wouldnt appreciate such beauty. He is indeed every inch the paragon of perfection they portray him to be. *slowly drifts off into la la land where Brad is hers to claim* Sky, This is the last time That I will say these words I remember the first time The first of many lies