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In the Name of God بسم الله

Ali Zaki

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  1. Asalaamu alaikum. Where are you?

  2. wonderful feelings, seen clearly in these words.

  3. Many Many Happy Returns of the Day.

    May Allah Bless you.

    Have a blast....Enjoy !!!

  4. salam, happy birthday to you and eid mubarak

  5. Just posting a link does not count as engaging in a dialogue, or even a "book report". It is good to back up YOUR OWN comments with a source, however, just posting a link by itself without making a point or posting a comment is about as memorable as a chalk mark in a rainstorm. P.S.- The arguments made on the article are interesting...., too bad they are 100% someone elses.
  6. (salam) Good point! In my opinion, some of the biggest problems we have in many Muslim communities worldwide (including my own) are directly attributable to parents and other older people encouraging young people to delay marriage. This is the exact opposite of what they should be doing (i.e., encouraging and facilitating young people to get married). This behavior is causing young people to be attracted towards the haram, because noone is encouraging and helping them to be attrachted to what is halal. It also encourages young men and woman who are mature to act as if they have no responsibilities and to spend their time foolishly out of the irrational fear of poverty if they got married. This fear is being implanted (unfortunately, in many cases) by their parents and elders. Sad.
  7. (salam) Bismillah " Allah does not impose upon any soul a duty but to the extent of its ability" 2:286 If a person was in a position in which is was IMPOSSIBLE for them to get married, then Allah (swa) would not cause them to desire nikah (or things related to it). If a person DESIRES nikah, then Allah (swa) would have to provide a way for them. Of course, in some situations one must have patience, however, if marriage (in the long term) was impossible then a person would not have the desire for it....otherwise Allah (swa) would be unjust (astafirAllah!), which is impossible.
  8. (salam) So by "dodgy business" you obviously mean he is involved with or connected to something distasteful or haram. So that IS an accusation. Hence, my original post. If you mean something else by it, please enlighten us.
  9. Making an accusation against someone (who didn't do anything to you) when the person is not present and without evidence is called GHREEBA (Gossip). So tell us, how does dead flesh taste to you?
  10. (salam) Good point. We know that dysfunctional families have always existed, however, what we DON'T know is how prevelant (or how rare) they were in other ages and socieities. This is because, as you pointed out, these things were generally not discussed long ago and (in fact) were often deliberately hidden. It is just more difficult now to hide them (primarily because of the volume and speed of information these days). However, the primary issue here is not dysfunctional families...it is the coorelation between dysfunctional families and religious "fundementalism". Are "fundementalist" familes (of any religion) more likely to be disfuctional then "liberal" ones? Does the "tradiional" parent who attempts to mold their children in the cast of religious laws and regulation contribute to or ditract from dysfunctionalism in the family? The editors and producers in the mainstream news media in the West believe that relgious "conservatism/fundementalism" of any flavor contributes to dysfunctionalism in families and limits the "freedom" of the chidren of such families. They then go about looking for evidence to support their foregone conclusions. When the evidence is found, they report these stories (which support their conclusions) and ignore other stories (which may contradict this view). Then, they look for people to argue about the implications of the stories they report. This is called "framing the debate", and is the root of the problem. You rarely even hear about stories that contradict the world view of the producers, editors and owners of these large media organizations. Instead, a sincere religious person is forces to always play "defense" when such stories are blasted through "the machine". This, again, is the real problem (not any individual story or debate about it).
  11. (salam) I agree that the unspoken message seems to be similar to your understanding. Disfunctional families seem to have become the norm these days (unfortunatley), and Muslim's families are certainly not immune from this. However, when a paper chooses to report a story like this they are also choosing not to report other stories which are equally (if not more) tragic. While sad, domestic violence is common both in the U.K and the U.S. and their are also many stories like this that don't involve Muslims or hijab. The unspoken message is similar to the one on terrorism. Although terrorists are much more likely to be non-Muslim then Muslims, the only thing that comes to mind when non-Muslims (especially in the West) here the word "terrorist" is a bearded man in an immama carrying the Quran in one hand and an AK-47 in the other. I think this story is a subtle attempt to link the hijab with violence and abuse of women.
  12. (salam) You bring up many good points! The only comment I wanted to make (from the perspective of a married man with 2, soon to be three children) is that after trusting in Allah (swa) one must work, work, work. Certainly Allah (swa) will not abandon a young couple that marries to protect their deen, if that is their intention. However, what both husband and wife must remember is that marriage (especially when one marries very young) will require (in most cases) hardship, sacrifice and mostly alot of "sweat equity" in the family building process. May Allah (swa) bless those who spend their youth in the difficult yet rewarding task of building a marriage and family.
  13. Salam!

    Happy Birthday, brother!

    All the best duas for you!

    Salawat!

    :)

  14. (salam) I think what is being discussed is not whether or not a Muslim Ummah exists in the U.S. or elsewhere (as it certainly does, whether we like it or not), but rather, the possibility of having a "strong", "influential" and "active" Ummah. If one studies Muslim communities throughout history, one finds that for most of history (except the last 100 years) a Muslims primary social identification has been with their village, their village mosque, their village Imam. Their identity as a Muslim took on the overpowering hue of their local religious institutions. What has changed (and is still being sorted out) is that Muslims now are identifying more with "boundless communities " (such as online communities), rather then geographically bounded ones. This change is bringing about an new social order. New social orders take time to solidify. During the process, it creates alot of chaos and uncertainty. So if a strong, vibrant and active Muslim Ummah is to materialize in the U.S., the foundation will inevitably be some type of "boundless community" that will manifest itself at the local level. Currently, the problem is that no suitable boundless community exists for this (i.m.o.). If one is to be formed, it must be done by a group of fiercely dedicated individuals who are so driven to accomplish this that they will sacrifice everything else in their life toward this end. Also, they must be wise enough to be able to "execute" properly. So the problem is (as usual) leadership. Historically, the leaders of this type have come from the community of Muslim scholars. That is not to say that a leader cannot emerge from elsewhere, but the most likely candidate would be a mujhtahid. From my experience, the scholars in the U.S. (in general) are not interested in this, and still have one "foot" elsewhere. The few who may be interested in this (apparently) have not been able to execute properly....Allahu Alim. Also, from the perspective of this world I think it's important to have a clear goal/plan first. Then take a "personal inventory" of your strenghs and weaknesses, your personal/family situation, etc first. After you have completed this "inventory" (i.e., self assesment/freflection), you should think about how you can use what you have to accomplish you're goal. At this point, you may have to revise your goal or s[Edited Out] it all together. This planning process can be done at either the personal or community level, but it's neccessary for success in any endevor. From the perspective of the ahira, this world is nothing but a "sharpening stone" designed to allow the indivdual to build/perfect themselves on their journey towards Allah (swa). So this turns the definitions of "success" or "failure" from a worldly perspective on it's head. Indeed, it's very possible that a "successful" community (from a worldly perspective) may benefit the indivdual community members less then a "failed" one. Also, the burden of leadership is a heavy one and many people who may be able to successfully "lead" a community may find that it does not benefit them in terms of the next life (for a variety of reasons, too complicated to go into now). It's also possible that, despite one's desire to be an active member of the community, it may actually benefit a person (and their family )more for that individual to "stay in their homes" and attend to the needs of their near and dear ones rather then the needs of the larger community....Allahu Alim.
  15. (salam) and Peace, Having heard the show before (unfortunately), and being familiar with Mr. Savage I would say that it's very obvious to me that Mr. Savage simply see's this lawsuit as another vehicle to promote himself and his show (i.e., it's a function of his marketing department, not legal department). Passages like this from the text of the lawsuit make it obvious. "'The Savage Nation' is unique among so-called 'Talk Radio' in that it combines serious intellectual analysis with dramatic and emotional soul baring that the show advertises as 'Psychological Nudity'. This performance aspect of the show is critical in that it conveys an emotional power and a fundamental honesty to the programming that is meaningful to the listening audience," the lawsuit said. Of course, despite hearing the show before I have never heard any intellectual analysis on it. He is cut from the same cloth as Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Howard Stern, Pat Robertson, Don Imus, etc. These show appeal to the "angry white men" in the U.S. who are primarily angry that their world view is no longer shared by the majority in the U.S. and long for the return of the era where "Men were Men" (by "Men", they mean "White, Christian Men), and everyone else was jealous (of them). So, from a business point of view, they have cleverly tapped into an undeserved market in the U.S. and their alchemy has changed anger into advertising dollars. Also, they seem to be somewhat amuned to criticizm by the "mainstream" media because the only thing that would cause their listeners (and viewers) to abandon them is if they actually listened, pondered and responded intelligently to what their critics have to say.
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