Islam does not justify Violence

Judaism, Christianity and Islam are all from the same God. We are all the children of Adam. There is no way on earth that God would want violence justified in any shape or form in his name...

I cannot deny that in Islam that is happening but it doesn't make it right. This isn't happening only in Islam, unfortunately, it's also happening with the Jews in Israel but that's a totally different story that I won't get into.

The point is this; Muslim leaders (not any leader of any Arab country because all they care about is power) are falling behind in what they should do to bridge the gap between Muslims and Non-Muslims. That's not the only problem though, for there are some Islamic scholars and Shaykhs who are trying their best to bridge the gap and show the true face of Islam but the western media doesn't concentrate on them... There are people like Amr Khaled, Tarik Swaidan, Habib Ali AlJifry, Shaykh Hamza Yusuf Hanson, Shaykh Yusuf Al Qaradawi, Imam Suhaib Webb, Shaykh Abdullah Adhami etc... etc... etc... Whoever is reading this, have you heard of ANY of these people?

Not only scholars and preachers that are working on showing the true image of Islam there are Islamic musicians like Yusuf Islam, Sami Yusuf and others who are working on that...

It's so easy to be take in what you're being fed and follow what you think is right because that is what is being told in the ridiculous propaganda of the western media. Search for the truth and you'll find the truth about Islam... The word itself is derived from Salam which means peace in Arabic and is one of the 99 names of God and it also mean complete submission to Him... Another words, complete submission to peace.

These people who act violently in the name of God in ANY religion are taking the meaning of their holy book in a serious shallow manner and really aren't understanding the content and what's behind the content.

Terrorism has no religion. I just saw that statement on an Islamic TV channel as I type this post. Unfortunately the west don't see this... I believe there should be amazing Islamic channels in English showing the true faith of Islam just like any other cable TV channel... Maybe people in the west get to see it without too much work to search for it.

People in the west if you truly search you'll find movies and other stuff that show the true face of Islam... Don't search on the internet because you'll find the bad as much as the good. Yes, there is me and other like me on the web but I still prefer to go search deeper. I mean seriously God hates terror in his name and how can a religion's name that means complete submission to Peace (Allah) supports violence? Doesn't make sense... It's not the religion that has the problem, it's the people. PEOPLE are the problem and they use religion as a means of violence... Religion doesn't ask us to be violent...

If you want to ask about Jihad? Well, I'll tell you this, it doesn't mean Holy war... That'll be in a whole other post... Probably right after this one...

What the Pope said...

I know this post is coming a little too late but I just wanted to think over the whole situation and type something when I'm not soo pissed of at the Pope and the idiots who burned down churches that weren't even Catholic.

Here's the thing... The Pope is suppose to be a man of religion, a man of hope, love and toleration. He didn't show what he's expected to be as a man of religion. Instead, he was talking about long gone history and hate... Why? He's a man of religion not a biased historian. If he wants to talk about Islam being the religion of the sword then what were the crusades all about? The Pope's appology isn't enough, it was very generlized and he didn't exactly explain himself. He just was sorry for being misunderstood which is another insult to us. Just like he made the speech, he needs to applogize fully to what he said.

What ever happened to John Paul's Peace message?

In my personal opinion he had no right to say what he said and that's all I have to say about that.

As for the some of the ignorant Muslims, I'll say.. WAKE UP for crying out loud... The Pope was merely saying "his" opinion it's not even majority of the other Catholics. Why burn down the churches that aren't even catholic and don't take the Pope as their religious leader? WAKE UP and learn that this act even if they were Catholic churches, isn't the way the Prophet (PBUH) would deal with it. WAKE UP from your deadly slumber. Stop being zombies and take Islam seriously and learn about the true ways of the Prophet (PBUH)... Demand the apology from the Pope, I agree but never cause destruction to those who are innocent. Even if they weren't innocent fight them back the exact same way they fight you. Never take a step further unless it is for peace. You have the right to be angery and even show it but do it peacefully.

I truly believe that Muslims are falling short on showing the true face of Islam... I don't want to blame anybody but again WAKE UP, MUSLIMS!! Be good Muslims not by only doing your ritual obligations there are other obligations and that treatment of others and the most important one is seriously getting to know our religion, the Qur'an, the way of the Prophet (PBUH)... Stop allowing your emotions take over and start using your heads that has been idle for way too long. Just WAKE UP!!!

The Prophet's (PBUH) companion, Omar (May Allah be please with him) refused to pray in a church even when a priest invited him to, just because Omar feared that Muslims after him would want to change the church into a masjid... Another words, respect other religions' places of worship. It's the Pope with the problem not the faith nor the Christians...

Peace to all who want peace.

Another Attack

As you all heard there has been another attack in Syria, this time; it's the US Embassy. The first thing that came to my mind when I heard that is "Oh boy, here we go again" As I said before in similar posts about the attacks on couple of European embassies in Syria, this is totally not acceptable Islamically or anything to do in the name of the Lord of the universe. I'm beyond aggravated at this act. As a Muslim to see this is done in the name of Islam, is totally an insult to me if it's truly done in the name of Islam.

If the Prophet (PBUH) were to see these acts, he'll probably outcast all these "so called" proper Muslims... They do nothing but give Islam a seriously horrifying name. Then whoever has gain from such acts would take advantage of the catastrophic situation to gain whatever they can from it all. It's all sickening... The really agonizing thing to Muslims like me, is that some of these acts aren't even done by Muslims but Muslims are framed so other people get their benefits. It's very easy to take advantage of simply because with the Qa'eda bombing everything they can that has to do with the US. It's extremely easy to add some fabricated acts or violence to the actual acts that are condemned by any descent Muslim worldwide .

I truly don't know what to do... When I feel the situation is getting better something messed up happens and things get worse than when they started... Muslims need to be a whole lot more pro-active, educated, and less secluded... They need to be part of the solution because staying silent is only being part of the problem. Muslims should be heard condemning the non-Islamic violent acts done in their name; bring our name and the teaching of the Prophet (PBUH) down to the ground. The question that I keep asking myself is, "Are we going to be heard, or are we wanted to be heard rather??"

I say no to all violent terrorist acts should be condemned. Though as there are many different point of views of what truly is terrorism... There's a difference between protecting and resisting and then there is terrorism... People have the right to protect their homes and live in peace without occupation. People occupy unjustly they'll get people resisting. It's only cause and effect.

Buying Stuff online...

Ever since I've been using the internet for as long as I remember, I've been buying stuff online. I rarely ran into trouble like frauds, people stealing my credit card info etc... Even with the little problems, I've always been able to resolve the issue. It didn't matter where I was in the world, either, the UAE, USA, Malaysia or Syria, everything was smooth until today.

In Sept 1st I ordered some stuff from Aimcraft everything seemed fine and everything... Then I get this email from Aimcraft telling me that my order is on hold. I'm thinking, why is that? I made sure there's nothing wrong with the credit card and everything. I tried to figure it all out and just today, I got the email telling that the order was canceled and the reason why it was cancelled from the online distribution center that allows the buyers to use credit card to buy from online establishment. This is what it says:

Message by cduncan on Fri, 8th Sep 2006 11:46 am
Greetings,

Thank you for contacting 2Checkout.com. I apologize for the delay in responding to your inquiry. According to our records, this order was canceled because of our OFAC regulations. This order will not be reinstated. If you have any other questions or concerns, please let us know.

I was like, what is this OFAC? This is what I came up with:

The Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") of the US Department of the Treasury administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on US foreign policy and national security goals against targeted foreign countries, terrorists, international narcotics traffickers, and those engaged in activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. OFAC acts under Presidential wartime and national emergency powers, as well as authority granted by specific legislation, to impose controls on transactions and freeze foreign assets under US jurisdiction. Many of the sanctions are based on United Nations and other international mandates, are multilateral in scope, and involve close cooperation with allied governments.

This is stupid... Just because I placed the order when I was in Syria, they refused it. Yes, I tell you, it's a real security threat to the US or anywhere in the world to buy skirts from India to be sent to the UAE?!?! Doesn't make sense to me but then again neither does the US foreign policy all together.

Anyways, now that I'm in the UAE, I've used a different credit card to reorder... Till now I've heard nothing, so I'm hoping that it'll work out... I believe there is good relations between the UAE and the US. I don't think I'll have the problem now. Let's see how it'll work though in these coming days.

The Importance of the Qiblah

I was reading something online about the Qiblah and I never really saw it put in a really beautiful sense. I, myself have wondered why does it exist and why Mecca? After reading this piece of info, it as clear to me...


When we begin our prayer, we not only face the House of Allah in Makkah, but we also connect ourselves along an invisible line, forming an axis that proceeds from every point on earth, to the spiritual centre of Islam. Whether we pray alone, or as recommended, we pray in a group, we do so as a part of the great Ummah. Standing and facing the qiblah in our prayers connects us along an invisible line, to every other Muslim on the planet. We become an important link in the huge chain of worshippers who face Makkah at least 5 times each day. If we could go up into space, and look down upon the earth and see all the Muslims praying, we would see a huge flower the size of the earth, opening and closing its millions of petals. Each of those petals represents a Muslim engaged in worship. As well as this, those of us who have been blessed with the invitation from Allah to perform pilgrimage will remember that remarkable sight inside the holy Mosque. There, at prayer times, it is as if a giant flower opens and closes its petals, as Muslims prostrate as one body, in neat and orderly rows, around the Ka`bah.

So, the qiblah is not only about degrees of latitude or longitude on the compass. It is about bringing together every nation, language, race and tribe on this planet, in regular acts of worship linked to a common centre. The qiblah lies at the very heart of the great Ummah of Islam it is the navigational axis that connects every Muslim through the Ka`bah and again to every other Muslim. This is the physical expression of monotheism and unity, the belief in AllahÂ’s oneness; AllahÂ’s Unity. Allah is One, so His Ummah is also one, and our qiblah; our direction for worship, is one.

Excerpted, with slight modifications, from: www.netcomuk.co.uk

A question may arise, why is the Ka`bah appointed as the qiblah? The answer should be that the Ka`bah is the place of the first Muslim community; it is the abode that witnessed the early days of Islam and the footsteps of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). In addition, it is the centre of the earth and it is the place wherein the first verses of the Qur'an were received.
Jurists have commented that the Ka`bah, although seen to a certain height, reaches up to the heavens and right down to the bottom of the earth.

Furthermore, the secret in facing toward the direction of the Ka`bah is the spirit of `ibadah (worship), and contentment and serenity of the heart. Without this contentment there would exist no spirit (ruh), which is the reason we are instructed to focus our sight on the place of prostration in prayer so that we may be able to concentrate with both heart and soul.

Taken from Islam Online

What I loved about this is the comparison of the prayer unity, facing the same direction to a flower closing and opening. It's quite romantic... There are a lot of things in Islam that seem very romantic to me. The relationship between the Prophet (PBUH) and his wife Ayesha is probably the most amazing love story ever... Forget Romeo and Juliet... It's not even comparable. Then of course, the relationship we choose with our creator can be the mosaffectionatete and loving of all relationships.

The Final Decision...

So here's the deal... I'm back in the UAE for now but to go to college but to see my family and organise some thoughts in my head... I was telling this lady in Syria who I totally look up to about my situation because I sincerely do not want to live in the UAE. I send her a text message telling her that things didn't really work out. They said that yes, I'm accepted in the company but not at the moment... They'll let me know once they have a job opening or at least create a position for me, or something of that nature. Anyways, she called me as soon as she read it and then she asked me if I wanted to work with her as a 3rd grade teacher. I was thinking, hey why not? It's a temp job for this year, and who knows I might LOVE it.

So I decided to go to the UAE to take care of my residency and then go back Syria to start doing what I need to be doing... That makes me happy because I'll be doing a lot of the things I love doing that don't get the chance to do here in the UAE. I'm going to be a Voice Over talent, I'll joining this motivtional volunteer program. Plus, I might have deal going with this Lebanese Islamic music band. I already compose a song for them so and the rest is still in the making. So it'll all be good... I'm looking forward to it all... I just feel that my dreams can come true in Syria and in the UAE, it's just cool to make good cash but that's not my aim.

That's it for now.... Wish me luck and I'm going to go pray and Thank God for my blessings...

PEACE!!!

Weird Job Situation...

It's been a while since I wrote something on here. It's just been an emotionally draining few months and I just couldn't get myself to post anything but here I am babbling some thoughts... At the moment I'm running only on 2 hours sleep. Well, let's hope that I'll be able to change my bio clock so if I get the new job I'll be awake all day long to actually do the work.

So I'm going back to the UAE on Tuesday. Here's the dilemma though, I don't know if I'm going move there, or just go for a visit... I'm traveling day after tomorrow and Hopefully today I'll get to see who I need to see from human resources at the company I'm applying for... It was all a last minute thing because my former boss told me about it a little too late for some odd reason. It's all good though... I believe everything is going to work out well, whether I get the job or not..

I've already done some work for these guys. I mixed some songs and did a voice over; plus my former boss used to work there and is tight with them so he has good things to say about me. Hehehe... Will find out today, at least I seriously hope...

It's really weird how things are happening at the moment... I'm meeting people that work there left and right... It's quite awesome actually, I just have a good feeling about this. My 2 hours prayer session today gave me some sort of sense of serenity for all this. I just want to get this over with because the one thing that I'm worried about is that I'm traveling day after tomorrow and I don't know if I have loads to pack or just the general traveling stuff. I pray that I'll find out today...

If I actually get this job at Star Animation, I believe it'll be amazing, because not only would I be an audio engineer, I'd be an English script editor, an English voice over talent and maybe even a English voice over director, doing shows that would be aired on Islam Channel in Europe and AlResala TV, an Islamic Satellite Channel in the Arab world. So all this is pretty exciting since it'll get me closer to my goal in life.

If all this doesn't work out, I'll just end up going back to the UAE and go back to get my BA in Recording Arts for a year and then figure out what I want to do afterwards.

Pray for me, as I pray all works out...

PEACE!!!