Clipmarks | arifsali's 'muslims' clips

Say No To Terrorism

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 22:05:45 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

The Yeh Hum Naheen Foundation is a Pakistan based non-profit organisation that was established under the Societies Act of Pakistan in October 2007, with the following key aims:

To reinforce the point that Islam is a peaceful faith that promotes tolerance and harmony.
To develop an awareness among people regarding the issues of the growing radicalization of Pakistani youth.
To promote better understanding and co-existence of Muslims around the world among non-Muslim communities.
To convey that the majority of Muslims do not support the rise in terrorism, and to deny Muslims the opportunity for involvement in terrorist activities.
To show the positive impact of Pakistan and Muslims around the world, and remove the distance between east and west through media education.

Tags: pakistan, terrorism, muslims

Al-Qaeda faces Islamist backlash

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 22:01:51 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: Slowly and surely...

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Al-Qaeda's violent methods and tactics have been coming under mounting criticism this year from Islamist scholars who once supported it.

One by one they have been coming out in public to denounce the organisation's actions as being counterproductive.

But at the same time, a leading British de-radicaliser says the number of young British Muslims attracted to violent extremism is growing - and, he claims, the UK government is partly to blame.

In the living room of his London home, the Libyan former jihadist Nu'man Bin Othman reads out part of the open letter he sent recently to al-Qaeda's no 2 and chief strategist, Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri.

He tells him that al-Qaeda's tactics have been a failure and - most damningly - its methods un-Islamic.

He even questions its very claim to speak for Muslims.

Tags: muslims, fundamentalism

They make a lot of children!

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 20:23:58 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.usatoday.com

Islam has surpassed Roman Catholicism as the world's largest religion, the Vatican newspaper said Sunday.

"For the first time in history, we are no longer at the top: Muslims have overtaken us," Monsignor Vittorio Formenti said in an interview with the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano. Formenti compiles the Vatican's yearbook.

He said that Catholics accounted for 17.4% of the world population — a stable percentage — while Muslims were at 19.2%.

"It is true that while Muslim families, as is well known, continue to make a lot of children, Christian ones on the contrary tend to have fewer and fewer," the monsignor said.

Formenti said that the data refer to 2006. The figures on Muslims were put together by Muslim countries and then provided to the United Nations, he said, adding that the Vatican could only vouch for its own data.

Tags: muslims, catholics

The Islam you don't hear about

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 05:27:04 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: blogs.usatoday.com

A trip to Indonesia — home to more than 200 million Muslims — reveals a faith that hardly resembles the one Americans have come to know in the blood-soaked years since 9/11.

After the 9/11 attacks, Americans put out a call for moderate Islam. Many Muslims answered that call, but few Americans heard them. Early this month, I traveled to Asia to see what Islam looks like on the ground there, and to listen to what Muslims themselves have to say about their religion, terrorism and the United States. What I found surprised me.

I went to Asia because Islam is by no means a Middle Eastern phenomenon. In fact, Asia is home to most of the world's Muslims. I focused on Indonesia because there are more Muslims in Indonesia than in any other country — roughly three times as many as in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Iraq combined.

Tags: indonesia, islam, muslims

Indonesians use Koran to teach environmentalism

Tue, 06 May 2008 18:52:18 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: Whatever works!

Clip Source: www.iht.com

Sitting cross-legged in the dirt beneath a canopy of jungle vegetation, Nasruddin Anshory, with his Koran open in front of him, was telling a group of visitors about their ordained responsibility to protect the environment.

"As a Muslim," he said, "you have to do something."

His visitors were a mix of people from universities and mosques all over the island of Java, seeking to broaden their understanding of Islam. Off to the side were several students from Gajah Mada University nearby, eagerly taking notes in preparation for their dissertations, all of which will focus on promoting conservation through Islam.

Nasruddin founded Ilmu Giri, an Islamic school devoted to environmentalism, five years ago. But in the past couple of years, as global awareness of climate change and related problems has increased, interest in the school has swelled.

Tags: environment, muslims, islam, quran, indonesia

Practising Muslims 'will outnumber Christians by 2035'

Fri, 09 May 2008 22:01:55 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: Go ahead, get scared!

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Practising Muslims will outnumber worshipping Christians in Britain within 30 years, according to research published today.

By 2035, there will be about 1.96 million active Muslims in Britain, compared with 1.63 million church-going Christians, according to calculations by Christian Research, a think- tank.

The figures are published in the latest in a series of reports entitled Religious Trends.

The think-tank has warned that 4,000 churches could close by 2020 if congregations continue to shrink at current rates.

According to the most recent figures from the Church of England, regular Sunday, weekly and monthly attendance each fell by one per cent in 2006.

Fewer than a million people attend church every Sunday.

Although at the last count there were only 1.6million Muslims living in Britain – compared to 41million Christians – experts have suggested Muslims are more likely to practise their faith.

British Muslims perform their traditional prayers

Tags: muslims, britain, christian, religion

See what Arab women are up to...

Thu, 22 May 2008 22:50:58 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: Via Eboo Patel's blog

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

What are Arab women up to? Well, every day they're making bold choices. Their participation in the workforce is increasing, and the fields that they are going into are sometimes even groundbreaking...

[Video]

Tags: arab, islam, muslims, women

Muslim true/false

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 17:54:00 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: What you think you know about them is likely wrong -- and that's dangerous.
By John L. Esposito and Dalia Mogahed

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

Winning hearts and minds -- the Bush administration, foreign policy wonks, even the U.S. military agree that this is the key to any victory over global terrorism. Yet our public diplomacy program has made little progress on improving America's image. Few seem to recognize that American ignorance of Islam and Muslims has been the fatal flaw.

How much do Americans know about the views and beliefs of Muslims around the world? According to polls, not much. Perhaps not surprising, the majority of Americans (66%) admit to having at least some prejudice against Muslims; one in five say they have "a great deal" of prejudice. Almost half do not believe American Muslims are "loyal" to this country, and one in four do not want a Muslim as a neighbor.

Why should such anti-Muslim bias concern us? First, it undermines the war on terrorism: Situations are misdiagnosed, root causes are misidentified and bad prescriptions do more harm than good

Second, it makes our public diplomacy sound like double-talk.

Tags: muslims

Saudi king wants inter-faith talks to include Judaism

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 18:51:03 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.middle-east-online.com

King Abdullah asks Christians, Jews to meet Muslim counterparts for dialogue among civilizations.

RIYADH - Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah on Monday proposed inter-faith talks between Muslims, Christians and Jews in a first for the ultra-conservative kingdom, the official SPA news agency reported.

"I ask representatives of all the monotheistic religions to meet with their brothers in faith," the king told delegates to a seminar on "Dialogue Among Civilisations between Japan and the Islamic World."

SPA reported that top Saudi clerics had given the green light for the idea, and that Muslim leaders from other countries would now be consulted.

"If God wills it, we will then meet with our brothers from other religions, including those of the Torah and the Gospel... to come up with ways to safeguard humanity," the king said.

Tags: muslims, jews, saudi arabia

Muslim Scholars Issue Statement to World`s Jewish Community

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:41:43 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: Jewish Representative Body Welcomes Muslim Call to Dialogue
http://www.wfn.org/2008/03/msg00012.html

Clip Source: www.woolfinstitute.cam.ac.uk

Muslim scholars and leaders from across the world have issued a Letter to the international Jewish community calling for 'peace and understanding'.

This Letter, which has been facilitated by the Muslim scholars of the CMJR is intended as a gesture of goodwill. Its aim is to build upon existing relations in order to improve mutual understanding and to further the positive work in building bridges between Muslims and Jews.
Full letter (in pdf)
List of Signatories (in PDF)

The Letter was announced following a lecture by Prof. Tariq Ramadan at the CMJR in Cambridge on Monday 25 February. Professor Ramadan added his blessing to the Letter, describing it as 'a signal that we are ready to call for dialogue' and advocating that from this we can achieve 'mutual knowledge and mutual respect'.

Tags: jews, muslims

Most Muslims 'desire democracy'

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 18:17:35 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The largest survey to date of Muslims worldwide suggests the vast majority want Western democracy and freedoms, but do not want them to be imposed.

The poll by Gallup of more than 50,000 Muslims in 35 nations found most wanted the West to instead focus on changing its negative view of Muslims and Islam.

The huge survey began following the 11 September 2001 attacks in the US.

The overwhelming majority of those asked condemned them and subsequent attacks, citing religious reasons.

The poll, which claims to represent the views of 90% the world's 1.3 billion Muslims, is to be published next month as part of a book entitled Who Speaks For Islam? What A Billion Muslims Really Think.

According to the book, the survey of the world's Muslim community was commissioned by Gallup's chairman, Jim Clifton, shortly after US President George W Bush asked in a 2001 speech: "Why do they hate us?"

Tags: muslims, survey

Hit them back!

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:41:48 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

Lebanon cleric advises 'modern Shiites'

Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah's liberal fatwas, or edicts, have shocked conservative Muslims around the world.

The ayatollah has a simple piece of advice for any Muslim woman being abused by her husband: Hit him back.

"A woman can respond to physical violence inflicted on her by a man with counter- violence as a self-defense measure," Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, Lebanon's senior-most Shiite cleric, wrote in a fatwa late last year that shocked conservative Muslims around the world.

Tags: muslims, women

AN ISLAMIC CONSCIENCE - Op Ed

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 05:10:53 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: agakhanfilm.blogspot.com

For years, the Western world has watched atrocities committed in Islam’s name from New York to Baghdad, from Kabul to Bali, and the same perplexing questions keep getting asked: “Why can’t Muslims just accept democracy? Why do so many Muslims kill in the name of religion?” A survey of Muslims would surely yield some interesting answers – but no answer would be complete without a discourse on Muslim leadership.

An important, but often misunderstood, form of Muslim leadership is the office of the imam, often stereotyped as a hate-preaching, anti-Western cleric with a prominent beard and the Quran in-hand. While we often see religious figures (not just Muslim ones) being demonized and discredited by the media, what we often misunderstand is the scope of their influence.

Tags: islam, muslims, shia, ismailis

‘Allah made me funny’

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 21:29:11 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

LONDON: One-hundred-and-fifty people are crying tears of laughter in the darkened auditorium in the bowels of the fortress-like US embassy in the British capital. A huge bearded Indian-American is on stage and he’s being fantastically funny and very rude about desi accents, Indian dads, Asian Auntyjis, Pakistani pretensions to importance, Bollywood movies, modern Muslim culture and the world’s erroneous belief that Muslims can never ever be funny.

"Indians smell, let’s face it...it’s all the masalas in our food, we literally sweat it out, but there’s a great branding business opportunity out here – a new fragrance, ‘Paseena’ from Calvin Klein", deadpans US-born-and-bred Patna boy Azhar Usman, sniffing his armpits.

And then there’s the one about the stereotypical world view that Muslim men are terrorists and Muslim women oppressed. "Don’t believe that," yells Usman, aka ‘bin Laughin’, "Have these people ever been in a Muslim household? It’s the other way round, believe me".

Tags: comedy, muslims

Tariq Ramadan: Come back to Islam, come back to Justice, please!

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:03:34 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: while a British teacher is jailed because her students decided to name a teddy bear “Muhammad”! Where are we heading?

Clip Source: www.tariqramadan.com

It would be possible, of course, to say that the media are always covering damaging stories about the Muslims and the Islamic majority countries. It would be possible, of course, to blame this ongoing campaign against Islam, its Book, its Prophet and its values and practices

Of course…and not everything is illegitimate in the feeling that there is a kind of campaign in the hands of some populist politicians and sensational medias

But there comes a time where one should look at the state of affairs of the legal system in the Islamic majority countries and draw some imperative (and constructive) conclusions

It is simply a shame! In the name of Islam, innocent, poor people and women are accused, jailed sometimes beaten and sometimes executed with no evidence and, moreover, no way to properly defend themselves

The honest and embarrassing judges are fired in Pakistan; a woman, victim of a rape, becomes the accused in Saudi Arabia and is asked to prove her innocence

Tags: islam, muslims, justice