Category: Spiritual

Spiritual healing includes mental, physical and soul

CAIR, part of the theo-political Islamic movement, applauds a leading cleric for supposedly opposing terrorism. This cleric OK’s girls age 10 to marry adult men and blames the West for poverty, disease and unemployment in the middle east.

American Islamic Forum for Democracy exposes CAIR as a propaganda arm for the Saudi Arabia when depicting a leading cleric as supposedly anti-terrorist. In fact, the Saudi cleric blames the West for all the ills of the middle east: poverty, unemployment, disease. This is the same cleric that thinks it fine for 10 year old girls to marry old men. CAIR is the organization that was behind the firing of Juan Williams for a comment about being nervous flying with lots of Muslims. Best to keep a sharp eye on CAIR.

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Grand Mufti, Islamic cleric, a wolf in sheep's clothing, OK's marriage of 10 year old girls with adult men
CAIR, a propaganda tool for Saudi Arabia, got Juan Williams fired from National Public Radio (NPR) for a remark Juan made that flying with Muslims makes him nervous.

Now CAIR hides an Islamic supremacist wolf — Saudi cleric Sheikh Abdhl Azia Al Sheikh – in sheep’s clothing.

Supposedly this leading cleric opposes terrorism. This is the cleric that thinks it is just fine for 10 year old girls to marry old men. And this is the Islamic cleric that promotes shariah law. The following is from the American Islamic Forum for Democracy.

“Even Breitbart.com carried yesterday’s bizarrely ‘urgent’ press release from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which praised the leading Saudi cleric, Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Sheikh, on the most significant Muslim holiday of the year- Eid al-Adha (Holiday of the Sacrifice).

No previous single press release or statement by CAIR more clearly reveals its ideological ties and service to the Saudis, and their Wahhabi ideologues – and its willingness to use word games, deception and moral equivalence to avoid revealing its true objectives.

Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Sheikh

First, let us look at the substance of CAIR’s release:

CAIR today welcomed an anti-terror statement by Saudi Arabia’s top religious leader made in a sermon at the peak of the Hajj, the most important event on Islam’s spiritual calendar. In his midday sermon Monday to millions of pilgrims gathered on the plain of Arafah, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Sheikh called for religious moderation and said Islam prohibits terrorism, extremism and injustice.

CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
It is extremely significant that such a prominent Muslim leader would offer a clear statement condemning terrorism and religious extremism during the largest Islamic gathering in the world and on the most important day on Islam’s spiritual calendar. The importance of the Grand Mufti’s statement is made even more significant given the fact that it was delivered in the same spot as the last sermon offered by the Prophet Muhammad. This statement from Islam’s spiritual capital should put to rest once and for all the false claim that Muslim leaders do not condemn terrorism.

Awad urged Muslim leaders in America and worldwide to incorporate the Grand Mufti’s statement in Eid al-Adha prayers being offered Tuesday to mark the end of Hajj.

As a devout Muslim, I find any comparison by CAIR of the leading radical Saudi cleric, Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Sheikh, to the Prophet Muhammad to be deeply harmful to any attempt at true modern reforms. The Saudis have exploited the world’s Muslim populations with their billions in petrodollars that have given them the fuel to metastasize the cancers of their backward Wahhabi interpretations of Islam and dominate our communities. Many reformist, modern Muslims like me believe that if the Prophet was alive today, he would reject their backward, literalist interpretations for a more moral, humanitarian, modern westernized Islam. We are unable to have this debate because of the domination of the Saudi voice among Muslims in the west and globally.

The mere condemnation of terrorism in this CAIR promoted sermon means nothing – because the sermon is otherwise chock full of inflammatory Muslim supremacism (Islamism) and anti-Western hatred.CAIR’s assertion that this should “put to rest once and for all the false claim that Muslims leaders do not condemn terrorism” demonstrates, once and for all, that CAIR is part of the Saudi propaganda machine. Further, it should rather actually ‘put to rest’ any doubts that CAIR is, in fact, part of the theo-political global Islamist movement in the West and in the United States, hatched and nurtured by Saudi Arabia, the Muslim Brotherhood, and other Islamist groups from the Middle East.

Most revealingly, CAIR ignores the rest of the Grand Mufti’s sermon. The full transcript cannot yet be found online, but a number of reports discuss the other topics of this sermon. First, the Chief Sheikh did make headlines by “rejecting terrorism as a deplorable crime” but actually went on to say that “the problem is not just terrorism, but also poverty, unemployment, and diseases stemming from global crises.” True to his Islamist and Wahhabist creed, he ignores any need for Muslim reform, modernization, or separation of mosque and state. The reference to “stemming global crises” is based on the same old, tired Islamist propaganda: blame the West for all Muslims’ problems.

During this sermon, the Grand Mufti also “condemned Western occupation of foreign lands,” and went on to say:

Islam forbids the occupation of a country, and the unlawful shedding of civilian blood, and the destruction of crops and cattle…the rights of people in Third World nations is not as it is in other countries, and it is unacceptable that nations occupy these lands and rape them of their riches.

To a genuine American Muslim, this sounds more like a testimony toward radicalization and militancy, rather than any supposedly clear promotion of moderation and condemnation of terrorism, as CAIR would have us believe. Therein, lies a major indicator that the Grand Mufti is anything but moderate. CAIR not only voices no disagreement with this toxic anti-western narrative, but they use this sermon’s few lines condemning terrorism as a statement to “put to rest the claim that Muslims do not condemn terrorism.” Any wonder we are making no headway against radical Islam with these kind of vacuous Islamist condemnations of the tactic of terrorism couched in an anti-western, anti-American narrative?

On the subject of violence, his duplicity is also revealed in another statement the Grand Mufti made in the sermon:

Violence cannot be cured with violence and neither can terrorism be cured with force, but by lifting injustices levied on oppressed peoples.

This is again hardly a morally-clear condemnation of terrorism. Rather, it is a demagogic moral equivalency of barbaric acts committed by Al Qaeda, Hamas, and other radical Islamists, which this radical sheikh insinuates are understandable by the acts of America and the West.

According to Geo News, the Grand Mufti also said in his sermon:

“God sent the last and final Prophet with the complete code of conduct (Shariah), which, is in complete harmony with human nature, owing to the fact that it caters to all natural and material needs.” He also added that, “the human inner being (nafs) drives man to do evil.”

CAIR voices no disagreement on their part with the Mufti, about his interpretation of shariah here or anywhere. In fact, CAIR is now also suing the state of Oklahoma to protect their fellow Islamists’ “right” to use that same shariah, without interference from the state. To the contrary, Oklahoma voters by 70 percent voted last week to prohibit shariah law from taking precedence over state or federal law. That would seem quite prescient, in light of an organization like CAIR that, this week, uses the Grand Mufti’s sermon – which elevates the most extreme, repressive form of shariah – which dictates all aspects of life and society – as an exemplar for moderation.

For example, CAIR apparently thought that Americans are unaware of, or would not remember that less than two years ago, this “moderate” Grand Mufti expressed his grand approval of marriage of adult men to 10 year old girls. In a lecture at the mosque of Imam Mohamed bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, he stated:

A girl becomes ready for marriage at 10 or 12 according to Islam and stressed that Islamic law is not by any means oppressive to women…Our mothers and grandmothers got married when they were barely 12. Good upbringing makes a girl ready to perform all marital duties at that age. (Al-Arabiya)

A girl aged 10 or 12 can be married. Those who think she’s too young are wrong and they are being unfair to her.” (CNN)

This “moderate” Grand Mufti also disgracefully rebuked women for attending a conference without a veil stating, “I severely condemn this matter and warn of grave consequences,” and told Muslims at the Green Lane (U.K.) mosque that, “Muslim children should be hit if they don’t pray: ‘When he is seven, tell him to go and pray, and start hitting them when they are 10.’”

The Grand Mufti is one of the leading Wahhabi purveyors of Muslim supremacism (Islamism) around the world. Whether or not he condemns violence and the tactic of terrorism is of little consequence. Clearly, he believes in the Islamic state, and the domination of shariah law in governments where Muslims are a majority. As Alex Alexiev has noted, “the Saudi funding program is the largest worldwide propaganda campaign ever mounted-dwarfing the Soviets’ propaganda efforts at the height of the cold War.”

In fact, the Saudi’s own so-called “de-radicalization campaign” (Al-Sakeenah) has been prominently critiqued. For example Col. Jonathan Figuel writes:

It seems that the Sakeenah campaign is convenient to be presented by the Saudis as an external non-governmental independent initiative, rather than a governmental led operation. From past experience and analysis of the Saudi’s double game policy and conduct, one can assume that the Saudis on one hand use the campaign for propaganda purposes encouraging its existence for internal real threats, while on the other hand the campaign can be presented to the international political and the public opinion for political benefits without any formal or direct responsibility to the global aspects of the their radicalization influence and actions…The Saudi de radicalization campaign to “dry out the sources of terrorism thoughts” as declared by the minister of Islamic Affairs, corroborates the fact that the campaign is totally aimed to deal with domestic security threats on Islamic Wahhabi doctrine.

We must not be fooled by the “condemnation” of terrorism by the Saudi Wahhabi clerics and their tribal protectors in the Saudi royals. In reality, this further reveals the dangerous synergy and propaganda role of American Islamist groups like CAIR for Saudi Wahhabi fundamentalists like the Grand Mufti. Their ‘double game’ is manifested from their pulpits at the Grand Mosque in Mecca and from the press releases of their advocates like CAIR in the United States.

CAIR’s rush to highlight the radical Saudi cleric’s “condemnation” of terrorism was clearly based on its expectation, not without merit, that most Americans would not research how immoderate this cleric really is. A brief review of that sermon – in context, and in view of the Grand Mufti’s ‘other’ prominent radical ideas – reveals a dangerous, influential Islamist who uses Wahhabi interpretations of Islam and shariah to impose misogyny, child marriage, child abuse, Muslim supremacy, and spread hate-filled anti-American propaganda.

Shamefully, CAIR chose Islam’s holiest day of the year to spread this type of propaganda. We, modern reform-minded American Muslims and non-Muslims alike, must unite and speak with one voice against it.

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It’s OK for 10 year old girls to marry adult men according to Islamic law. These Islamic leaders are not joking. When is Islam going to get out of the Middle Ages?

It's just fine to marry girls age 10 says Islamic religious leader

There are some Muslim voices in America opposed to radical, Islamic, shariah law. But not many …. Let’s support the moderate voices… See the following…

[AIFD Commentary] “CAIR Spreads Propaganda for Radical Saudis on Islam’s Holiest Day” by M. Zuhdi Jasser, Big Peace.com, Wed. November 17, 2010

Reply |M. Zuhdi Jasser, MD to web_list
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The following column by M. Zuhdi Jasser appeared online today at Big Peace.com and can be found at this link.

CAIR Spreads Propaganda for Radical Saudis on Islam’s Holiest Daystrong>Posted by Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser Nov 17th 2010 at 10:13 am in Featured Story, Islam, Islamic extremism, saudi arabia, sharia | Comments (14)

Even Breitbart.com carried yesterday’s bizarrely ‘urgent’ press release from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which praised the leading Saudi cleric, Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Sheikh, on the most significant Muslim holiday of the year- Eid al-Adha (Holiday of the Sacrifice).

No previous single press release or statement by CAIR more clearly reveals its ideological ties and service to the Saudis, and their Wahhabi ideologues – and its willingness to use word games, deception and moral equivalence to avoid revealing its true objectives.

Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Sheikh
First, let us look at the substance of CAIR’s release:

CAIR today welcomed an anti-terror statement by Saudi Arabia’s top religious leader made in a sermon at the peak of the Hajj, the most important event on Islam’s spiritual calendar. In his midday sermon Monday to millions of pilgrims gathered on the plain of Arafah, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Sheikh called for religious moderation and said Islam prohibits terrorism, extremism and injustice.

CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:It is extremely significant that such a prominent Muslim leader would offer a clear statement condemning terrorism and religious extremism during the largest Islamic gathering in the world and on the most important day on Islam’s spiritual calendar. The importance of the Grand Mufti’s statement is made even more significant given the fact that it was delivered in the same spot as the last sermon offered by the Prophet Muhammad. This statement from Islam’s spiritual capital should put to rest once and for all the false claim that Muslim leaders do not condemn terrorism.

Awad urged Muslim leaders in America and worldwide to incorporate the Grand Mufti’s statement in Eid al-Adha prayers being offered Tuesday to mark the end of Hajj.

As a devout Muslim, I find any comparison by CAIR of the leading radical Saudi cleric, Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Sheikh, to the Prophet Muhammad to be deeply harmful to any attempt at true modern reforms. The Saudis have exploited the world’s Muslim populations with their billions in petrodollars that have given them the fuel to metastasize the cancers of their backward Wahhabi interpretations of Islam and dominate our communities. Many reformist, modern Muslims like me believe that if the Prophet was alive today, he would reject their backward, literalist interpretations for a more moral, humanitarian, modern westernized Islam. We are unable to have this debate because of the domination of the Saudi voice among Muslims in the west and globally.The mere condemnation of terrorism in this CAIR promoted sermon means nothing – because the sermon is otherwise chock full of inflammatory Muslim supremacism (Islamism) and anti-Western hatred.

CAIR’s assertion that this should “put to rest once and for all the false claim that Muslims leaders do not condemn terrorism” demonstrates, once and for all, that CAIR is part of the Saudi propaganda machine. Further, it should rather actually ‘put to rest’ any doubts that CAIR is, in fact, part of the theo-political global Islamist movement in the West and in the United States, hatched and nurtured by Saudi Arabia, the Muslim Brotherhood, and other Islamist groups from the Middle East.

Most revealingly, CAIR ignores the rest of the Grand Mufti’s sermon. The full transcript cannot yet be found online, but a number of reports discuss the other topics of this sermon. First, the Chief Sheikh did make headlines by “rejecting terrorism as a deplorable crime” but actually went on to say that “the problem is not just terrorism, but also poverty, unemployment, and diseases stemming from global crises.” True to his Islamist and Wahhabist creed, he ignores any need for Muslim reform, modernization, or separation of mosque and state. The reference to “stemming global crises” is based on the same old, tired Islamist propaganda: blame the West for all Muslims’ problems.
During this sermon, the Grand Mufti also “condemned Western occupation of foreign lands,” and went on to say:
Islam forbids the occupation of a country, and the unlawful shedding of civilian blood, and the destruction of crops and cattle…the rights of people in Third World nations is not as it is in other countries, and it is unacceptable that nations occupy these lands and rape them of their riches.
To a genuine American Muslim, this sounds more like a testimony toward radicalization and militancy, rather than any supposedly clear promotion of moderation and condemnation of terrorism, as CAIR would have us believe. Therein, lies a major indicator that the Grand Mufti is anything but moderate. CAIR not only voices no disagreement with this toxic anti-western narrative, but they use this sermon’s few lines condemning terrorism as a statement to “put to rest the claim that Muslims do not condemn terrorism.” Any wonder we are making no headway against radical Islam with these kind of vacuous Islamist condemnations of the tactic of terrorism couched in an anti-western, anti-American narrative?

On the subject of violence, his duplicity is also revealed in another statement the Grand Mufti made in the sermon:
Violence cannot be cured with violence and neither can terrorism be cured with force, but by lifting injustices levied on oppressed peoples.
This is again hardly a morally-clear condemnation of terrorism. Rather, it is a demagogic moral equivalency of barbaric acts committed by Al Qaeda, Hamas, and other radical Islamists, which this radical sheikh insinuates are understandable by the acts of America and the West.
According to Geo News, the Grand Mufti also said in his sermon:

“God sent the last and final Prophet with the complete code of conduct (Shariah), which, is in complete harmony with human nature, owing to the fact that it caters to all natural and material needs.” He also added that, “the human inner being (nafs) drives man to do evil.”
CAIR voices no disagreement on their part with the Mufti, about his interpretation of shariah here or anywhere. In fact, CAIR is now also suing the state of Oklahoma to protect their fellow Islamists’ “right” to use that same shariah, without interference from the state. To the contrary, Oklahoma voters by 70 percent voted last week to prohibit shariah law from taking precedence over state or federal law. That would seem quite prescient, in light of an organization like CAIR that, this week, uses the Grand Mufti’s sermon – which elevates the most extreme, repressive form of shariah – which dictates all aspects of life and society – as an exemplar for moderation.

For example, CAIR apparently thought that Americans are unaware of, or would not remember that less than two years ago, this “moderate” Grand Mufti expressed his grand approval of marriage of adult men to 10 year old girls. In a lecture at the mosque of Imam Mohamed bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, he stated:
A girl becomes ready for marriage at 10 or 12 according to Islam and stressed that Islamic law is not by any means oppressive to women…Our mothers and grandmothers got married when they were barely 12. Good upbringing makes a girl ready to perform all marital duties at that age. (Al-Arabiya)
A girl aged 10 or 12 can be married. Those who think she’s too young are wrong and they are being unfair to her.” (CNN)
This “moderate” Grand Mufti also disgracefully rebuked women for attending a conference without a veil stating, “I severely condemn this matter and warn of grave consequences,” and told Muslims at the Green Lane (U.K.) mosque that, “Muslim children should be hit if they don’t pray: ‘When he is seven, tell him to go and pray, and start hitting them when they are 10.'”
The Grand Mufti is one of the leading Wahhabi purveyors of Muslim supremacism (Islamism) around the world. Whether or not he condemns violence and the tactic of terrorism is of little consequence. Clearly, he believes in the Islamic state, and the domination of shariah law in governments where Muslims are a majority. As Alex Alexiev has noted, “the Saudi funding program is the largest worldwide propaganda campaign ever mounted-dwarfing the Soviets’ propaganda efforts at the height of the cold War.”
In fact, the Saudi’s own so-called “de-radicalization campaign” (Al-Sakeenah) has been prominently critiqued. For example Col. Jonathan Figuel writes:
It seems that the Sakeenah campaign is convenient to be presented by the Saudis as an external non-governmental independent initiative, rather than a governmental led operation. From past experience and analysis of the Saudi’s double game policy and conduct, one can assume that the Saudis on one hand use the campaign for propaganda purposes encouraging its existence for internal real threats, while on the other hand the campaign can be presented to the international political and the public opinion for political benefits without any formal or direct responsibility to the global aspects of the their radicalization influence and actions…The Saudi de radicalization campaign to “dry out the sources of terrorism thoughts” as declared by the minister of Islamic Affairs, corroborates the fact that the campaign is totally aimed to deal with domestic security threats on Islamic Wahhabi doctrine.

We must not be fooled by the “condemnation” of terrorism by the Saudi Wahhabi clerics and their tribal protectors in the Saudi royals. In reality, this further reveals the dangerous synergy and propaganda role of American Islamist groups like CAIR for Saudi Wahhabi fundamentalists like the Grand Mufti. Their ‘double game’ is manifested from their pulpits at the Grand Mosque in Mecca and from the press releases of their advocates like CAIR in the United States.
CAIR’s rush to highlight the radical Saudi cleric’s “condemnation” of terrorism was clearly based on its expectation, not without merit, that most Americans would not research how immoderate this cleric really is. A brief review of that sermon – in context, and in view of the Grand Mufti’s ‘other’ prominent radical ideas – reveals a dangerous, influential Islamist who uses Wahhabi interpretations of Islam and shariah to impose misogyny, child marriage, child abuse, Muslim supremacy, and spread hate-filled anti-American propaganda.
Shamefully, CAIR chose Islam’s holiest day of the year to spread this type of propaganda. We, modern reform-minded American Muslims and non-Muslims alike, must unite and speak with one voice against it.

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http://www.aifdemocracy.orgChild-Marriage and Pedophilia in Muslim Societies: Will It Come To an End
In my previous article, I have mentioned that aged and wealthy Arabs from the Gulf countries come to India, mainly to Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, to prey on teenage girls, by paying fat cash as dowry to their parents. They generally enter into temporary marriage contracts (Mutah) and return home after a brief stay. In January, 2007, a 60 year old Arab married 3 girls, Afreen, Farheena and Sultana, at a single sitting (within ten minutes), in Hyderabad.

In another incident in May 2004, an old man called Muhammad Zafer Yaqub Hassan al-Jorani came from Sharjah to Hyderabad to undergo a cataract operation. On May 7, he married Haseena Begum, a 19 year old girl and after two days he divorced her. On May 24, he married another 16 year old girl Ruksana Begum. Haseena, ignoring even threat to her life, went to a local police station to narrate her story and within an hour police arrested Jorani. Police also arrested someone called Shamsuddin who was alleged to have played the role of a mediator and received a cash of Rs 40,000 from Jorani and handed over the money to the parents of Haseena as mehr. It is to be mentioned here that Jorani, at his Sharjah residence, had two wives and 11 children.

While commenting on these affairs, a reader wrote, “In child marriage of the other type, where young girl marries an old man, is prevalent in Muslim society in India. I am an ex-Muslim from India and such facts I have seen in my own eyes. I tried to alert police but was threatened by police themselves with dire consequences, even death, and so I kept quiet.

In various cities, where there are Muslim ghettos, this happens regularly. Muslims condemn prostitution but allow legal prostitution through temporary marriage or Mutah. Young girls of16-18-year-old are married to aged Arabs, for a stipulated period, simply for money. Mullahs make the old Arab and young girls sign nikahnama and talaknama at the same time.

Parents get money and send their daughter as a prostitute to the Arab to be raped. The Arab then divorces her after a stipulated time that may vary from a few hours to a few days. Things move fast because the next victim is waiting in the queue. Generally, beautiful girls are entered in the waiting list and many of them have to entertain their (temporary) rapist husbands every year. The month of Ramadan is busiest period of this business when many Indian girls are sent to Dubai and from Dubai to elsewhere, to be sexually assaulted by the Arabs, after Ramadan fasting.

Generally, the girls earns anywhere from Rs 15,000 to Rs 500,000, depending on the skill of the negotiator (middleman) and also on the beauty of the girl. If she happens to be a virgin, she earns a lot more, as Arabs are ready to spend fabulous money for a first time sex.

Now-a-days, there are plastic surgeons, I know, are earning lot from the pimps by turning the girls virgin again by attaching a layer of fresh skin to their private parts and thus making an artificial hymen. This happens repeatedly for many girls till she gets tired or fails to find a new (temporary) husband.

Local police, political leaders and NGOs get their share too and keep silence. I can even spell names of some people, who are involved in the racket. But my life is already under threat due to disclosing the truth about Islam. I also don’t want annoy the local police because they may just shoot me in a false encounter and get paid by the racket leaders. Such an incident happened earlier. This is, indeed, another horrible face of Islam.”

Another reader commented, “Dear old Muslims in the Middle East who are planning to marry a girl as young as 6 yrs old to be your bride, kindly let me have the honour to ask you a very simple question. Try imagining that the young 6-year-old bride whom you’re going to marry soon, is your daughter or granddaughter or great granddaughter or great-great granddaughter and that you are going to penetrate her very small vagina with your big xxxxx. Do you feel it nauseating or disgusting at the very thought of it? I believe that for those old Muslims who have some human conscience or fear of God will be kind enough to let all these young girls go.”

Another reader commented “I believe that for those old Muslims who have some human conscience or fear of God will be kind enough to let all these young girls go. As for those old Muslims who still can’t let all these young girls go because of their super strong sexual needs, may I suggest a much better option for you which could help satisfy all your sexual needs or cravings and that is, to go and buy a sex doll from any sex shop and sell all these erotic products. Don’t you think that your Allah will be pleased with my kind suggestion here which is better than destroying all those young innocent girls’ life? Thank you in advance for heeding my advice to give all these young innocent muslimahs a chance to live life to the fullest.”

In this context, it should be mentioned that, in Islam, there is no place for ethics, morality or conscience. Islamic morality is quite different and stands on two notions – Halal (permitted) and Haram (not permitted). To a sane non-Muslim individual, marrying a 6 or 8-year-old girl by an over 50 man, may appear to be highly immoral, unethical and vulgar. But to a Muslim, such an act is Halal, as Prophet Muhammad had done it. So, application of personal sense morality and ethics does not play any role. Whatever the Prophet did is Halal and every Muslim has the right to emulate the Prophet.

Another reader wrote, “These old wolfs who practice such disgusting acts by following their Prophet are wild animals. They don’t even deserve to live. These innocent young brides should be given some poison by their mothers which they can mix with some food and feed their wonderful husbands on the first night and finish them off. The Human Rights activists can defend them saying these children are minor and they do not know what they are doing. Even few years of jail sentence is much better than living with these animals. If more and more child-brides start rebelling by giving the due punishment to these animals, this cruel practice will vanish.”

Out of court settlement allows Saudi girl 8 to divorce 50 year old husband:
As mentioned in the previous article that a Saudi judge refused to terminate the marital bond between an 8-year-old girl and her 47-year-old husband. The girl’s father, according to the attorney, took US$13,000 from the man and arranged the marriage in order to settle his debts with him, who is also a close friend of his. On the other hand, the girl’s mother expressed her determination to fight the case and continue to seek daughter’s divorce.

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Am I my brother’s keeper? How does the Muslim religion answer this question if posed by a woman?

From the perspective of a Muslim women, how much freedom can she have? Does the Islamic God hate women?

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Am I my brother's keeper? What about Muslim women - are they constrained like in a cage or what?

So if a Muslim woman tells her husband/ family that she wants to live a life apart from the Islamic faith, can she do so? Will she be 1) be “watched over” or ” 2) be “constrained”? Below are thoughts about what it means to be “my brother’s keeper….”

The Real Meaning of ‘My Brother’s Keeper’
By Matthew Eckel

“This is such an elementary point that I fear making it will seem silly. On the other hand, so many people seem so completely in the dark about it that it is worth stating the obvious. Claiming to be “my brother’s keeper,” as President Obama is so wont to spout, is an insult to the brother!

“I suppose the confusion is perfectly understandable since most of us encounter the phrase in its English translation and not the original Hebrew, and numerous otherwise-well-meaning organizations have taken it as their motto. See here, here, and here for examples.

“After all, Webster’s Third New International Dictionary defines “to keep” as “to watch over and defend esp. from danger, harm, or loss.” But Webster’s also defines “to keep” as “to restrain from departure” and “to retain or continue to have in one’s possession or power.” So which meaning does “brother’s keeper” have in its original usage?

“The phrase comes, of course, from Genesis, chapter 4 — God’s devastating interrogation of Cain after Cain killed Abel out of rank jealousy. God asks Cain innocently, “Where is your brother, Abel? [i]” Cain replies, “I don’t know,” and asks, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Now, some of us grew up aping that catchy margarine slogan, “it’s not nice to fool Mother Nature,” so we can immediately recognize that it is probably not a great idea to try to deceive the Creator of heaven and earth, especially just after you did something He warned you not to do. God, of course, is not amused and curses Cain, who ends up lamenting, “My punishment is more than I can bear.”

But what was Cain actually saying when he uttered those words to God? The Hebrew word used here for “keeper” means more than “protector” or “defender”; it is more akin to “overseer” or “master,” as in “keeping” sheep (1 Samuel 17:20, 22); royal wardrobes (2 Kings 22:14); the king’s forest (Nehemiah 2:3, 3:29); gates (1 Chronicles 9:19); vineyards (Song of Solomon 1:6); and the temple threshold (Jeremiah 52:24) [ii]. Although these jobs are foreign to most of us, we can get the sense of them by thinking “zookeeper” or “doorkeeper.”

Now, if you think that treating your brother like a dumb animal, a clothes collection, a tree, a gate, a vine, or a doorway is charitable, then consider the context — Cain was wise-assing God! Cain wasn’t responsibly pondering, “Am I my brother’s noble defender?” He was saying, “How the hell do I know where he is? It’s not in my job description to keep track of him!” It was meant to shame God into replying, “On no, of course you aren’t. I’m so sorry I asked.” Simply put, Cain’s rhetorical sneer is not the query of a loving, responsible brother, but the bald bluster of a brutal murderer.

“Look, the pages of American Thinker are hardly the place to get into a theological debate about the meaning of obscure biblical phrases, but you need to know that when a die-hard leftist appropriates a wise-ass remark made by the archetypal murderer, he is really showing you more about himself than he would like. He’s really saying, “It’s my job (because I take it upon myself) to keep these people in line because they are unthinking, inanimate, and helpless objects which are frankly more like property than equals.” If that is what Obama really thinks of the American people, then we can only hope we escape his brotherly affections.”

Back to Muslim women. How are Muslim women treated based on their religious writings? Are they in “a cage” or are they “free to go”?> How can American Christians, Jews and those interested in women’s rights assist Muslim women to be free?

DrCameronJackson@gmail.com

——————————————————————————–

[i] All bible quotes are taken from the New International Version, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, the International Bible Society.

[ii] W. O. Klopfenstein, Keeper, Keepers, III Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, 781 (Merrill C. Tenney et al. eds., 1976).
13 Comments on “The Real Meaning of ‘My Brother’s Keeper’

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Aptos, CA psychologist: The placebo effect is a healing effect based on suggestion. The effect is huge. This is mind affecting body. What we believe affects our bodies. How do atheists harness – use – the placebo effect?

How do young adults whose parents are atheists harness the placebo effect? The placebo effect accounts for about 1/3 of all healing per thousands of scientific studies. If you really believe — it will affect you.

Do atheists believe in the power of thought and how it can affect the body? What say you? What says the official site for atheists in the U.S.?

“Atheism is the lack of belief in a deity, which implies that nothing exists but natural phenomena (matter), that thought is a property or function of matter, and that death irreversibly and totally terminates individual organic units.

“This definition means that there are no forces, phenomena, or entities which exist outside of or apart from physical nature, or which transcend nature, or are “super” natural, nor can there be. Humankind is on its own.

The following definition of Atheism was given to the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Murray v. Curlett, 374 U.S. 203, 83 S. Ct. 1560, 10 L.Ed.2d (MD, 1963), to remove reverential Bible reading and oral unison recitation of the Lord’s Prayer in the public schools:

“Your petitioners are Atheists and they define their beliefs as follows. An Atheist loves his fellow man instead of god. An Atheist believes that heaven is something for which we should work now – here on earth for all men together to enjoy.

An Atheist believes that he can get no help through prayer but that he must find in himself the inner conviction, and strength to meet life, to grapple with it, to subdue it and enjoy it.

Question: What about the power of suggestion?? What is prayer but the hope and desire of help from without and within to help heal and make better ….?

“An Atheist believes that only in a knowledge of himself and a knowledge of his fellow man can he find the understanding that will help to a life of fulfillment.

“[An athiest] seeks to know himself and his fellow man rather than to know a god. An Atheist believes that a hospital should be built instead of a church. An Atheist believes that a deed must be done instead of a prayer said. An Atheist strives for involvement in life and not escape into death. He wants disease conquered, poverty vanquished, war eliminated. He wants man to understand and love man.

“He wants an ethical way of life. He believes that we cannot rely on a god or channel action into prayer nor hope for an end of troubles in a hereafter.

He believes that we are our brother’s keepers; and are keepers of our own lives; that we are responsible persons and the job is here and the time is now.”

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Aptos, CA psychologist: If you don’t like someone’s speech, correct it with more speech not suppression of speech. What about ad opposing Muslim honor killings?

Free speech OK about Muslim honor killings?

DrCameronJackson@gmail.com

Did any Muslim young women contact LeaveIslamSafely.com — the goal of the organization that paid for taxi cab ads opposed to Muslim honor killings? What says the group that paid for the ads: Stop Islamization of America?

Would Yellow Cab permit a more politically correct ad?

What about an ad showing the bruised, beaten face of an attractive young woman in Muslim clothing with hair covered that said “Stop Abuse!” contact ComeSafeHouse.com ? Would that be permissible by Yellow Cab?

How about an ad showing a Catholic priest with a young boy that says Stop Priest/BoyChild Abuse! Report & Help from KeepChildrenSafe.com Would that ad be OK in Chicago Yellow Cabs?

If you don’t like someone’s speech correct it with more speech – not by suppression of speech. See following article:

” Earlier this summer, the leader of the group “Stop the Islamization of America” took out ads on 25 Chicago taxi cabs–and as of Tuesday, all of them will be removed.

Pamela Geller, who has been dubbed the “Queen of Muslim Bashers” and leads the “Stop the Islamization of America” movement, claimed the ads were directed toward Muslim women wanting to leave Islam–but ended up offending both cab drivers and passengers.

Today, Yellow Cab CEO Michael Levine issued a statement announcing the removal of the ads:

“Recently, the head of the group ‘Stop the Islamization of America’ took out ads on Chicago-area taxis. The ads in question were carried by independent affiliates of Yellow Cab Affiliation. The fleet owner was contracted and paid by an independent advertising company specializing in taxi top advertising.”
“When Yellow Cab became aware of the ads three weeks ago, we immediately called the advertising company and asked to have the ads removed. We were told that they were taken down, but we found out today that three such ads were still running. They will be removed today. Yellow Cab does not regularly approve advertising content carried by our affiliates, but we do reserve the right to ask them to remove ads that offend either the drivers or the public.”

The ads, which denounced honor killings, showed pictures of young women who were allegedly killed by their Muslim fathers for “refusing an Islamic marriage, dating a non-Muslim or becoming ‘too Americanized,'” according to the Chicago Tribune. Below the photo, the ad reads “Is your family threatening you?” and is followed up with “LeaveIslamSafely.com.”

Those against the ads say they paint an ugly and misleading picture of Islam.

“People like Pam Geller have a horrendous record,” John Esposito, a professor of international affairs and Islamic studies at Georgetown University told the Tribune. “It’s a track record of not distinguishing between forms of religious terrorism and Islam itself.”

Geller is also one of the leading voices against the building of an Islamic center and mosque near the site of the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City.

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Moderate Islam voices in America? See list of names and organizations.

Are there “moderate” Islams that support the U.S. Constitution and freedom?

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I really like the following. Having for the fist time read most of Koran … simply reading the Koran … the Koran seems quite anti-Other and quite violent. I as a psychologist, a woman and an American citizen do not want to go back to life and values of the 7th century.

I’m glad that that there appears to be “moderate” Islam voices in America.

The following list of persons says that only the individuals — not the organizations — support the organization. Then why not just put the names of the persons and not list the organizations? I do not get that. Do you?

My next question: how many in the list are women and how many are men that support this organization. I tried to identify woman names by last letter -a which is not a very good way. I know that full well as my first name is Cameron. Not easily guessed as male or female.

I hope that the organization can tell me what proportion of women are listed below:

“We affirm the right of free speech for Molly Norris, Matt Stone, Trey Parker, and all others including ourselves.

As Muslims, we must set an example of justice, patience, tolerance, respect, and forgiveness.

The Qur’an enjoins Muslims to:
* bear witness to Islam through our good example (2:143);
* restrain anger and pardon people (3:133-134 and 24:22);
* remain patient in adversity (3186);
* stand firmly for justice (4:135);
* not let the hatred of others swerve us from justice (5:8);
* respect the sanctity of life (5:32);
* turn away from those who mock Islam (6:68 and 28:55);
* hold to forgiveness, command what is right, and turn away from the ignorant (7:199);
* restrain ourselves from rash responses (16:125-128);
* pass by worthless talk with dignity (25:72); and
* repel evil with what is better (41:34).

Islam calls for vigorous condemnation of both hateful speech and hateful acts, but always within the boundaries of the law. It is of the utmost importance that we react, not out of reflexive emotion, but with dignity and intelligence, in accordance with both our religious precepts and the laws of our country.

We uphold the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Both protect freedom of religion and speech, because both protections are fundamental to defending minorities from the whims of the majority.

We therefore call on all Muslims in the United States, Canada and abroad to refrain from violence. We should see the challenges we face today as an opportunity to sideline the voices of hate—not reward them with further attention—by engaging our communities in constructive dialogue about the true principles of Islam, and the true principles of democracy, both of which stress the importance of freedom of religion and tolerance.

SIGNATORIES:

1 Prof. Hassan Abbas, Quaid-i-Azam Chair, South Asia Institute, Columbia University
Anisa Abd el Fattah, Founder and Chairwoman, National Association of Muslim American Women (NAMAW)
2 Khaled M Abdel-Hamid, MD, PhD, writer
3 Ammar Abdulhamid, Executive Director, Tharwa Foundation
4 Imam Johari Abdul Malik, Director of Outreach, Dar-Al-Hijrah Islamic Center
5 Salma Elkadi Abugideiri, Co-Director, Peaceful Families Project
6 Aly R. Abuzaakouk, VP Minaret of Freedom Instit., Managing Editor “Democracy Watch” of CSID, Dir. of Foreign Relations: Network of Arab Journalists
7 Mehnaz M. Afridi, PhD, Adjunct Professor (Judaism, Islam & Genocide Studies) Antioch University
Asma Afsaruddin, PhD, Professor of Islamic Studies, Indiana University, Bloomington
8 Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, PhD, Director, Minaret of Freedom Foundation
9 Ahrar Ahmad, PhD, Professor of Political Science, Black Hills State University
10 Prof. Akbar S. Ahmed, PhD, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, American University
11 Osman Ahmed,PhD, President Islamic Society of Essex County, Newark, NJ
12 Prof. Parvez Ahmed, PhD, Fulbright Scholar & Assoc. Prof. Univ. of North Florida
13 Levent Akbarut, Steering Committee member, Islamic Congregation of La Canada Flintridge
14 Barbara Al-Bayati, Co-Founder, Orphan Whispers
15 Aman Ali, writer, stand-up-comedian
16 Javed Ali, founder and publisher, Illume magazine
17 Wajahat Ali, playwright, journalist, and producer of “Domestic Crusaders”
18 Sumbul Ali-Karamali, JD, LLM (Islamic Law), author of “The Muslim Next Door”
19 Shaykh al-Hajj Dawud Ahmad al-Amriki, Director, Muslim America
20 Salam al-Marayati, Pres., Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)
21 Shahed Amanullah, Editor-in-Chief, Altmuslim
22 Dr. Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law, Emory University School of Law
23 Patricia Anton, Board member, Muslim Peace Fellowship
24 M. Saud Anwar, Co-Chair, American Muslim Peace Initiative
25 Abdul Cader Asmal MD, PhD, Past President, Islamic Council of Mew England
26 Aref Assaf, PhD, President, American Arab Forum
27 Hussam Ayloush, Exec. Director, CAIR Greater Los Angeles Area
28 Robert Azzi, photojournalist, writer
29 Imam Yusuf Badat, Islamic Foundation of Toronto and Mathabah Foundation
30 Laleh Bakhtiar, PhD, Scholar-in-Residence, Kazi Publications
31 Hazami Barmada, Pres, American Muslim Interactive Network (AMIN)
32 Bahar Bastani, M.D., Professor of Medicine, S.L.U., Secy. General Shia Islamic Education Center, VP of IMANA-St. Louis
33 Victor Ghalib Begg, Senior Advisor, Chairman Emeritus, Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan
34 Zahra Billoo, Director, CAIR San Francisco Bay Area
35 Jannah bint Hannah, activist, al-Fatiha Foundation
36 Farah Brelvi, Board of Directors, ACLU-NC
37 Arsalan Bukhari, Executive Director, CAIR-WA
38 M. Ali Chaudry, PhD, President, Center for Understanding Islam (CUII)
39 Kamran Cheikh, Activist, Committee member, Muslims for Peace, Justice & Progress (MPJP), researcher for Deen Research Center (DRC)
40 Noor-Malika Chishti, Vice Chair, So. CA Committee for a Parliament of the World’s Religions, Representative, the Sufi Order International, Member, World Council of Muslims for Interfaith Relations
41 Sakina Cornell, Risk Management Coordinator, PSA Healthcare
42 Vincent J. Cornell PhD, Asa Griggs Candler Prof. of Middle East and Islamic Studies, Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies, Emory University
43 Robert D. Crane, JD, author of numerous books
44 Prof Golam Dastagir, PhD, Visiting Research Scholar, New College, University of Toronto, Canada
45 Almoonir Dewji, blogger – “That We May Know Each Other”
46 Mustafa Stefan Dill, blogger;/PR/social media analyst for Muslim issues; musician
47 Ramsey El-Moslimany, member, Board of Directors, Islamic School of Seattle
48 Lamia El-Sadek, political and human rights activitist
Mohamed Elsanousi, Director of Communications and Community Outreach for the Islamic Society of N America (ISNA)
49 Mona Eltahawy, journalist
50 Dr. Hashim El-Tinay, President, International Peace Quest Institute (IPQI)
Aziz Enhaili, Political analyst, columnist for Tolerance.ca
51 Yusuf Estes, Chaplain ret., author of many books, public speaker
52 Prof. Mohammad Fadel, PhD
53 Fatemeh Fakhraie, Editor-in-Chief, Muslimah Media Watch
54 Ali Galedary, Assistant Principal, University High School, Los Angeles
55 Mike Ghouse, President, World Muslim Congress
56 Iftekhar Hai, President, UMA Interfaith Alliance
57 Asma Hanif, Executive Director, Muslimat Al Nisaa
58 Rabia Terri Harris, Founder and Coordinator, Muslim Peace Fellowship
59 Hesham Hassaballa, M.D., author, journalist, blogger – “God, faith, and a pen”
60 Amir Hussain, PhD, Professor of Theological Studies, Loyola Marymount University
61 Iftekhar Hussain, Chair, Board of Directors, CAIR-PA
62 Arsalan Iftikhar, author, human rights lawyer, blogger – “The Muslim Guy”
63 Jeffrey Imm, Director, Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)
64 Ghazala Irshad, journalist, blogger – “The Floating Lotus”
65 Nakia Jackson, writer
66 Anjum Jaleel, writer
67 M. Zuhdi Jasser, MD, President, American Islamic Forum for Democracy
68 Safi Kaskas, President & CEO Strategic Edge
69 Mohja Kahf, PhD, Assoc. Professor of Comparative Literature, Univ. of Arkansas, author “The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf”
70 Dr. Asad U Khan, President, Islamic education Foundation of Manitoba
Mohammed Azhar Ali Khan, C.M., O. Ontario, President, Muslim Coordinating Council of the National Capital Region of Canada
71 Prof. Muqtedar Khan, PhD, author of several books, Blogger – “Globalog”
Farah Kinani, Journalist, blogger – “Global Voices”
72 Scott Kugle (Siraj al-Haqq), PhD, Prof. of Islamic Studies, Dept. of Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies, Emory University
73 Shaikh Ahmad Kutty, Resident Senior Scholar, Islamic Institute of Toronto
74 Faisal Kutty, Visiting Asst. Prof. of law, Valparaiso University School of Law and Adjunct Professor of Law, Osgoode Hall Law School (Toronto)
75 M. Junaid Levesque-Alam, writer, blogger – “Crossing the Crescent”
76 David Liepert, M.D., blogger and author of “Muslim, Christian AND Jew”
77 Afaun Mandol, Board of Directors, MuslimFest
78 Radwan A. Masmoudi, PhD, President, Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy (CSID)
79 Melissa Matos, President, Al-Ghazali Legal Society, Saint Louis University
Prof. Uzma Mazhar, writer
80 Shelina Merani, community activist, artist, blogger “Muslim Presence”
Ruxana Meer, Esq.
81 Yahya Merchant, Interfaith Worker, Outreach contact for Islamic Center of Conejo Valley CA
82 Melody Moezzi, JD, MPH, writer and attorney
83 Muna Abshir Mohamud, author, editor
84 Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore, author of many books of poetry
85 Ebrahim Moosa, Assoc. Professor of Islamic Studies, Dept. of Religion, Duke University
86 Ann El-Moslimany, PhD, Islamic School of Seattle
87 Lt. Col. Abdul-Rasheed Muhammad, U.S. Army Chaplain
88 Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid, President Sound Vision
89 Arman Musaji, artist
90 Sheila Musaji, Editor, The American Muslim (TAM)
91 Muneeb Nasir, President, Olive Tree Foundation, Editor IQRA Canada
92 Q. Amin Nathari, National Representative, Islam in America Movement (IAM)
93 Ahmed Naumaan, PhD, Director, Karsaz Inc.
94 Imam Abdul Hai Patel, Dir. Interfaith Relations, Canadian Council of Imams, Muslim Chaplain University of Toronto & York Regional Police
95 Aziz H. Poonawalla, PhD, scientist and blogger – “City of Brass” on Beliefnet
96 M.Waheed-uz-Zaman Rana, Imam, Prof. Emeritus, Dept. of Surgery, Saint Louis University
97 Hasan Zillur Rahim, PhD, journalist
98 Shaykh Ahmed Abdur Rashid, The Circle Group
99 Prof Hussein Rashid, PhD, blogger – “Religion Dispatches”
100 Shafi Refai, President, United Muslims of America
101 Irfan Rydhan, Co-Founder of Muslim Unity Foundation
102 Muhamed Sacirbey, lawyer, diplomat, writer
103 Louay Safi, PhD, Common Word Fellow, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Christian Muslim Understanding, Georgetown University
104 Ghulam Abbas Sajan, Director Islamic Ahlul Bayt Assembly of Canada
105 Robert Salaam, blogger – “The American Muslim”
106 Raquel Evita Saraswati, activist, writer, blogger
107 Sarah Sayeed, President of One Blue
108 Vernon James Schubel, NEH Distinguished Teaching Professor of Religious Studies, Kenyon College
109 Sophia Rose Shafi, MA, MTS, doctoral candidate (Islamic Studies), writer
110 Shahla Khan Salter, Chair of Muslims for Progressive Values Ottawa, Canada
111 T.O. Shanavas. MD, Vice President, Islamic Research Foundation, author
112 S. Abdallah Schleifer, Distinguished Prof., Dept. of Journalism & Mass Com, American University Cairo
113 Ricka Shorish, M.S., R.N., volunteer/consultant, Avicenna Community Health Center
114 Jihad Shoshara, community organizer and activist, Chicago
115 Jafar Siddiqui, blogger – “Penjihad”
116 Prof. Laury Silvers, PhD
117 Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons, PhD, Sr. Lecturer, Islamic Studies & African American Religion, University of Florida
118 Prof. Ibrahim B. Syed, PhD, President of Islamic Research Foundation International, Inc., author
Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed, Nat’l Director, Office for Interfaith & Community Alliances, Islamic Society of N America (ISNA)
119 Dr. Mahmoud Shawky Taman, Islamic Society of Northern Wisconsin
120 Haris Tarin, Director, Washington DC Office Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)
121 J.Tayeb, MD, President, CAIR-MI, ISNA founders committee member, Vice chair, HUDA free Clinic, Detroit
121 Pamela Taylor, Co-founder Muslims for Progressive Values, Panelist for On Faith
Tayyibah Taylor, Editor, Azizah Magazine
122 Mahdi Toourage, PhD, Assistant Prof., U of Western Ontaio
123 Tarik Trad, writer, humorist, photographer, artist and activist
124 Asma T. Uddin, Attorney, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and Editor, Altmuslimah
125 Joya Uraizee, Associate Professor of English, Saint Louis University
126 Wahida Valiante, President, Canadian Islamic Congress and Chair of Islamic History Month Canada
127 Jason van Boom, Host of “Islam and Authors”, writer
128 Amina Wadud, PhD, consultant on Islam and gender, visiting scholar Starr King School for the Ministry
129 Danya Wellmon, Co-Founder Women Transcending Boundaries interfaith group
130 Svend White, blogger – “Akram’s Razor”, activist, writer
131 G. Willow Wilson, author of “Butterfly Mosque” and “Air” graphic novel series
132 Ani Zonneveld, President, Muslims for Progressive Values

NOTE: If you are a Canadian or American Muslim and would like to add your signature, please send an email with your name, title, and organizational affiliation (if any) to tameditor@aol.com — The list of signatories will be updated daily and the most recent list can be found HERE.

NOTE: All signatories are signing as individuals and not on behalf of the organizations with which they are affiliated

Read more: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/09/29/good-news-north-american-muslims-take-a-stand-in-favour-of-free-speech/#ixzz12gAClWWu

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Aptos psychologist: In America we take exercise of religion for granted and yawn… see what happens in Egypt when a Christian mom has twins…

Egyptian Court Grants Custody of Sons to Coptic Mother
But twins will keep father’s Muslim identity in their records, creating future problems.
LOS ANGELES, July 1 (CDN) — A Christian mother in Egypt has won custody of her twin sons from her estranged husband, who had converted to Islam and claimed them according to Islamic legal precepts.

The now 15-year-old boys, however, will still be considered Muslims despite their desire to remain Christian.

On June 15 the Egyptian Court of Cassation ruled that Kamilia Gaballah could retain custody of her sons Andrew and Mario, even though the father converted to Islam and the boys’ religion also changed as a result.

If the court does not allow them to return to Christianity, the family will open up another court case, said their older brother George Medhat Ramses.

“Up until now the court said they would have the right to choose their faith,” said Ramses, 21. “But if they don’t, we will start another trial. This is the only way.”

The decision overturns a September 2008 ruling by the Alexandria Appeals court that had granted custody of the twins to their father, Medhat Ramses Labib, due solely to his conversion. During this time Gaballah lived in constant fear police would take away her sons.

The ruling also affirmed Article 20 of Egypt’s Personal Status Law, which states children should remain with their mother regardless of religion until age 15, over that of the Hanefi School of Islamic jurisprudence, which says that a child must be granted custody to the Muslim father in an inter-religious marriage once he or she becomes 7.

But the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) advocacy group noted that while the court ruled a woman cannot be denied custody of her children solely on her Christian faith if her husband converts, children can still be removed from her home if there are “fears for the child’s faith.” An ex-husband or his family could easily exploit this clause, the human rights group said.

According to Gaballah, the trial was not a matter of custody rights but was religious in nature from beginning to end.

“My opponent is not only my divorcee; my opponent is everyone who hears this story and wants Andrew and Mario to become Muslims,” said Gaballah, according to Copts United advocacy group.

Mario and Andrew turned 15 in June. On their 16th birthday, they must apply for Egyptian identity cards, which factor heavily into Egyptian daily life. Barring another court battle, their religion will still be registered as Muslim.

Because of this predicament, the court verdict that granted the twins’ mother full custody only solved half of their problems, said Naguib Gobraiel, a lawyer familiar with the case.

As registered Muslims, they could face harassment while attempting to practice their Christian faith. And while they could marry Christian women, their future children would be registered as Muslims, following the Islamic dictum that children take the religion of their father.

“The court didn’t give them the right of freedom to choose their religion,” Gobraiel told Compass. “We must ask ourselves how the children are permitted to stay with their mother but must follow the religion of another man.”

Until then the family is worried that the court will not allow Andrew and Mario to return to their Christian faith and are taking every precaution. Last Wednesday (June 24) they appealed to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to have their birth certificates state their Christian faith. They had been recently changed to retroactively show the boys’ birth status as Islam.

A Longstanding Battle
The controversy began in 2007 when a court ordered the twins to take Islamic education within the Egyptian school system due to the conversion of their estranged father from Christianity to Islam.

The twins refused to take their Islamic religion exam required to pass the next grade. “I am Christian,” each boy wrote on a make-up test in July. They turned in the exam with all of the answers left blank.

Their father converted to Islam and remarried in 2002. He changed the religion of his sons to Islam in 2006 and applied for custody even though he had not lived with the family. According to sharia (Islamic law) custody of minor children and influence over their religious status belongs to the Muslim parent.

The case reflects the tension in Egypt between civil and religious law. While Article 47 of Egypt’s civil law gives citizens the right to choose their religion, Article II of the Egyptian constitution enshrines sharia as the source of Egyptian law. The same tension has inhibited recent attempts by other converts to change their official religious status from Islam to Christianity.

Rights groups said the court order is good news for Gaballah and the twins, but it does nothing to address discriminatory policies of Egyptian law that attach a child’s faith to a parent who chooses to convert to Islam.

“It is regrettable, however, that the highest court of the country chose to treat the symptoms and ignore the root causes of the problem – changing the religious affiliation of Christian children whose parents convert to Islam without the slightest regard for their will or that of their Christian mothers,” said Hossam Baghat, director of the EIPR, in a statement.

Gaballah has fought with her ex-husband over alimony support and custody of sons Andrew and Mario in 40 different cases since he left her and converted to Islam so that he could remarry in 1999.

END

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President Obama issues proclamations like Emperor Augustus? “in those days a decree went out frm Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered…All went to their own towns…Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth …to the city of David called Bethlehem…”

Obama-Care requires all non-profits to register with IRS & give 1099's

DrCameronJackson@gmail.com

Is there is a resemblance between President Obama and Emperor Augustus who, 2010 years ago, required everyone to register where they were born?

Because the Emperor proclaimed they must, Joseph took pregnant Mary to Bethlehem…. And now, in 2010, Obama-Care tells every non-profit organization that they must trudge over to the government and register afresh with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

There are a million and a half non-profit organizations in the U.S. Because of Obama-Care all of them must register afresh with the IRS. And, all non-profits who do $600 of business with anyone must give that person a 1099. Did you know that failure to re-register with the IRS can result in lose of non-profit status and a huge fine?

So — if you support or know of any tiny non-profit out there be sure to tell them of President Obama’s proclamation: Go to the city of Washington and register with the government! Modern day Emperor Obama requires that you register! Or stand to lose non-profit status and pay a fine.

Only 63% of all non-profits are registered with the IRS. That means that 1/3 are not. So, because of Obama-Care, roughly 500,000 non-profits must — for the first time — journey to Washington and register with the IRS. And every non-profit must take the time — which means money — to fill out the new form.

Do you support repeal of Obama-Care? Vote out every Democrat — including Sam Farr — that voted for Obama-Care.

For some exact figures on non-profits go to:
urban org

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Therapy center rather than a mosque at Ground Zero proposed by Drums and Disabilities

Excellent idea to have a therapy center rather than a mosque at Ground Zero. See recent article in New Patriot Journal 9-19-2010 by Cindy Chafian reprinted from The Daily Right.

Bad idea to make therapy free — better to make it sliding scale and everyone pays according to an agreed on formula.

Instead of Hollywood stars and well known folks, get community involvement and require parent/family participation from all using the center.

It works fine to have some pay more. The proposed therapy center at Ground Zero needs to attract families with money and stability and connections who want to get behind the goals of the project. Get those people on the board.

Again — don’t make it “free”.

The above advise is based on my five years experience starting and running a child care center in Santa Cruz, CA to assist homeless families get on with their lives. The name is Calvary Childcare Center and – 20 years later – it is still serving the community.

I learned that children’s lives could be turned around with as little as 4 hours child care 2 days a week. I learned that ‘free-bees” are not the way to motivate people to change their lives.

The impulse and motivation of DAD’s offer are authentic. And the timing is right.

Just get the pricing right. And get personal involvement by every family served. I support the therapy center’s overall goals. And many, many people can get behind the idea. written by Cameron Jackson

See the following story about the proposed therapy center:

Non-Profit Organization Proposes Ground Zero Mosque Compromise

Written By: Cindy Chafian
Published: 9/19/2010
“New Jersey based Non-Profit organization Drums and Disabilities is prepared to move forward with plans to build a state of the art therapy facility in the location where the Ground Zero Mosque is currently slated to be built.

“Weeks ago, Pat Gesauldo, an accomplished, award-winning drummer and CEO of D.A.D. presented Governor Patterson, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Imam Faisal Rauf and property owners Sharif El-Gamal, and Hisham El-zanaty with his proposal, timeline and plan to build the center.

The State-of–the Art Therapy Center will offer free physical and cognitive therapy services for children whose parents were victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Police, Fire, and Rescue workers who might now be disabled, and for the wounded troops from the Tri-State Area.

As of yet, no one from Governor Patterson’s or Mayor Bloomberg’s office has even bothered to return calls from Gesualdo about joining efforts to reach a less controversial use of one of the last remaining buildings directly impacted by the attacks from 9/11. (The top of the building was damaged by the landing gear from one of the planes during the attack.)

Property owners Sharif El-Gamal and Hisham El-zanaty as well as Imam Faisal Rauf recently turned down Donald Trump’s offer of $6 million to purchase the building, claiming that the building was worth almost 4 times that amount.

Gesualdo respects the right to build the mosque in this location but feels that his idea would be a much more reasonable compromise for the community and country. He describes the facility as one that “will be funded by our own organization, our own community, and our own Government. Additionally it will offer free therapy services for special needs children whose parents were victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Police, Fire and Rescue Workers, and wounded troops.”

Gesualdo has reached out to Trump hoping to join efforts and his support as well.

Through private, state and federal grants and donations, Gesualdo is willing to come to the table with an offer of $12 million. This is double what Donald Trump came to the table with last week. and a 3 times the amount the current owners purchased the property for a little over a year ago.

Critics of Gesualdo and his plan have raised questions as to the timing, funding and motivation of his proposal. He addressed those concerns with me in an interview yesterday.

The Daily Right: There are those who would question why you have chosen now to get involved. Why have you chosen now to build the center? What motivated you to propose your center here vs. somewhere else?

Gesualdo: I have been searching for a building to build a DAD Program Therapy Center in the Ground Zero area and lower Manhattan for 3 years. What not a better location then to offer our free therapy services for 9/11 victims? This building is the last remaining building that was directly damaged by one of the planes as it flew into the twin towers. No one should tear it down, whether it be the mosque developers, or an American construction company.

My motivation for this purchasing this specific building is because I offer a truly healing opportunity for this location. We help children and adults with Autism, Dyslexia, ADD/ADHD, Tourette’s, Aspberger’s Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, ODD, OCD, and other disabilities, to develop retention, coordination, self-esteem, fine motor skills, and physical and cognitive functioning.

We currently offer our program, which is conducted by doctors, teachers, and special needs service providers in schools, hospitals, and community centers throughout the world.

TDR: You say that this facility will provide free therapy services for special needs children from those affected by 9/11 as well as military members and their family. How will your organization be able to provide these services free of charge?

Gesualdo: We plan to build a state-of the-art non-profit therapy center that would offer free therapy services for special needs children whose parents were victims of 9/11, free therapy services for the Police Officers, Firefighters, and Rescue Heroes who are now disabled as part of 9/11, and free therapy services for wounded troops from Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and the Wounded Warriors Project. We can offer our services to these victims for free, because we will offset the cost with other paid therapy services and income from this building. Additionally, we have a team of therapists willing to donate their services for free.

TDR: $12 million is a lot of money. How do you intend to raise the money if Trump or anyone else won’t get involved?

Gesualdo: I have countered Donald Trump’s original offer of $6,000,000.00 with my own offer of $6,000,000.00, to raise the purchase the mosque property at Ground Zero, with an offer of $12,000,000.00. I have recently invited Donald Trump to join forces with me in this effort, by using our combined donations. If he does not wish to join me, then I will raise the $12,000,000.00 through our own efforts of our non-profit organization, with part private and public funding.

TDR: You are hoping to raise the funds through the generosity of everyday American’s who are willing to support your vision. What happens if you raise the $12 million and those who currently hold the rights to those properties decide not to relinquish those right or move the Islamic center/mosque?

Gesualdo: I have put the offer on the table for mosque developers and leaders Imam Rauf, Sharif El-Gamal, and Hisham Elzanaty, and privately and publicly encouraged them to discuss this purchase price. I am not starting a fund raising effort now, and only will when the mosque developers accept my offer. At that time, and only at that time, will our fundraising campaign begin for the purchase of the mosque property. Our fundraising campaign and financial management is independently over seen from myself and the DAD Program, by a major CPA firm.

TDR: If those who claim to want to reach a reasonable solution to this controversial issue decide not to accept your generous offer, will you build your center in a different location? If so, won’t those who donated on behalf of the project being built at this specific location feel betrayed?

Gesualdo: I would be more then happy to build a therapy center, and offer the same services anywhere, and have been looking at different locations in NY, NJ, and CA. for the past few years. Each specific fundraising campaign will be focused for a specific location only. Therefore, the money raised from the fundraising campaign to purchase the mosque property, will be used to purchase the mosque property only. A fundraising campaign for the Mosque property will begin when the mosque developers agree to a purchase price with me, and at that time only.

TDR: How can you guarantee that the money donated by everyday American’s will be used for the purpose they intended?

Gesualdo: The nice thing about working on this specific project, is that I want all people to feel they have some part in saving this building. Since we are a 501 (C)(3) non-profit organization, anyone who donates can use their donation as a write off. It is mandatory that everyone knows exactly how much money we have raised, and the current amount at all times, which will be disclosed publicly, constantly. Donors may also wish to remain anonymous. The fundraising campaign and financial management for the purchase of the mosque property at Ground Zero is independently over seen from myself and the DAD Program, by CPA Michel Karu and the major CPA firm of Levine/Jacobs & Company. We will also have a separate Board of Directors for the Therapy Center, which will be comprised of many of the celebrities, sports stars, executives, and community leaders, and police officials who currently take part in our program.

If those who are currently in the middle of the controversial issue surrounding the Ground Zero Mosque truly are interested in achieving a compromise that all communities are satisfied with, it would appear as though Mr. Gesualdo’s offer would achieve just that.

What better use of this property than a non-profit organization who has a proven track record of giving back to the community? This offer would enable those currently holding the rights to the property to put their money where their mouth is, so to speak. It would truly show the American citizens, all of whom were affected by the attacks from 9/11 in one way or another, that this Imam and his associates really are about mending fences,healing and moving forward.

If they reject this truly altruistic offer by Gesualdo and the D.A.D. program then it will show America and the rest of the world that they really don’t care what they feel, rather they are only in it for themselves.

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Elaph, most respected electronic daily in the Arab world, says 58% readers object to building mosque at Ground Zero

Iman Iman Rauf returned early to the U.S. He asserts cancellation of the Ground Zero Mosque risks our soldiers, our troops, our embassies and American citizens in the Muslim world. So, is Rauf’s mosque project a matter of national security? Are his remarks largely a veiled threat by an Islamic militant radical?

“This self appointed bridge between America and the Arab-Islamic world is a false witness to the sentiments in Islamic lands” says Fouad Ajami in the WSJ 9-20-2010. Ajami says that Rauf’s sentiments do not match those of many in the Arab world.

A survey by Elaph, the most respected electronic daily in the Arab world, shows 58% object to building the mosque. Elaph asked its readers whether America was a “tolerant” or “bigoted” society. The split was 63% to 37% that America is tolerant.

There are problems with the above numbers. Elaph’s readers can read. In contrast, over 60 percent of the Arab world cannot read. And those millions of illiterate Arabs can be readily inflamed by militant, radicalized imams. such as Rauf.

If 58 % don’t support the mosque then the other 42% do — and these are educated Arabs. Add to that 42% the opinions of illiterate Arabs and probably more than a majority of Arabs do support a mosque — at Ground Zero and anywhere.

We have to stand up to veiled threats by immans such as Rauf. Discretely and prudently. The mosque is not a matter of national security. However, perhaps it is in our national interest that Arabs learn English and are exposed to Western values. What this country offers to the world is liberty and freedom.

How is the United States communicating directly with illiterate Arabs? Is there a modern equivalent to the Radio Free Europe of years ago? How about broadcasting over the Internet the great movie classics with English at the bottom to encourage learning our language? Why not use the Internet to broadcast our language, our values, our freedoms?

One Islamic conqueror who acted prudently:
In 638 A.D. the Caliph Omar went to Jerusalem to accept the city’s surrender. Patriarch Sophronius, the city’s chief magistrate is by Omar’s side. Prayer time comes for the Caliph Omar and he asked where he could put his rug. At the time he asked he was inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Told he could stay where he was Caliph Omar refused because his followers, he said, might then claim for Islam the holy shrine of the Christians. The right to put a mosque at Ground Zero is not prudent nor wise.

It is in our natioal interest that the world can read. When people can read the Koran they can learn for themselves what Mohannand said. This might reduce – or break – the power of the imams such as Imam Rauf who interprete the Koran for those who cannot read.

An example of do what I say, not what I do in the Koran:
Mohannand had 9 wives when he died. Yet, Mohannand told his followers that they can only have 4 wives. Those who read the Koran will discover that Islam is a man’s religion both in this world and the next.

Rather than send people like Imam Rauf overseas, better that the State Department spent money to reduce illiteracy. Then the 60% of illiterates in the Arab world can read the Koran for themselves.

Give Arab/ Islamic women a choice how they want to raise their families and what values they will follow. Make Arab/ Islamic literacy a top priority.

Cameron Jackson drcameronjackson@gmail.com

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