Jalal

Are there any places I can purchase the translation of his works? I just googled his name, he sounds like an extremely interesting person. Its too bad that the status quo try to suppress great minds. Edit: Interesting bit I found: "a pluralistic political system . . . where elected officials, not the ulama, would wield . . . power, and where the clergy would interfere in politics only when the state grossly violated the Sharia" (Abra-hamian, 1989, p. 45). It actually made me cry given the people systematically murdered and tortured in the name of a corrupt regime.

*Jalal looks up* the apocalypse is near! It reminds me of a person who had something like 12 hire purchases, and he was still getting credit offered to him - he could barely pay the 12 hire purchases he already have. There needs to be interest charge, and money is loaned on the basis of personal responsibility - but at the same time the lending company need to take responsibility for their actions. The best way to counter this; make bankruptcy a lot easier for individuals, then these companies might think twice before lending out money.

I assume you're being sarcastic - well, I hope you are.

Interesting story, I was thinking of becoming a Jew, but after finding out I would my tip nipped, I decided against it. I guess that is the one thing for a lot of people not to consider Judaism because of its high bar of entry. Right now I'm sitting in Sufi land with my Tanakh in one hand, Quran in another, and balanced ontop of my head is a variety of books from other religions.

Chocaholic. I used to be a Turkish Delight-a-holic (my parents bought back 1kg of Turkish Delight from Turkey the last time they went).

I love the video from the non-Muslim; she sounds like my sister :P she gave up in the end and just went to a guys shop. I remember when she came back with a huge smile saying, "all the clothes fit me! they hide all my bad features!" lol

I stand corrected :) It was one or the other :)

Nor do we 'need' half what is on the shelf shops or at the local food places; should all foods except the basic's be considered haraam?

Hmm, mind me injecting, but isn't the more important point that we open our hearts to God when we pray rather than whether we're standing, sitting, twirling in a circle or standing on our head? Goodness knows I've seen people in prayer and they seem to be just going through the motions without any genuine attempt at a connection with the divine.

Question: why not allow these people to run and disclose what ever allegations are against them? If there is a democracy, then let the public decide.

Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. If there was an Islamic republic, I'd be more than happy to have an enlightened and moderated person such as him running it. "Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness. We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love." Martin Luther King (1958)

Before even that; common currency and free trade; it would be simplest process, and yet, not a single country has been willing to stand up and implement it. The problem is, each want to control their own piece of turf; inter-tribal BS and all that. I don't think it would work, even Rome failed because people eventually want autonomy over their own people, and don't like the idea of being controlled by a foreign power who doesn't share the same cultural background as they do.

Just to throw my 5 cents in, what I've see being passed off as 'Islamic Economics' has been nothing more than Socialism in drag; socialism by any other name is still socialism. In Muhammad H. Haykal's 'Life of Muhammad' (if you read it, take what he says with a grain of salt, he seems to love ranting against the system) he talks about the 'Islamic Economic System' where he uses words like brotherhood, community, comrade, the responsibility of the collective, etc. Basically socialist terms with religious overtones. Basically he sounds like the sort of theology one can see when you hear left wing Christians talk when they refer to the Acts of the Apostles. People giving what they can, taking what they need - those who have the abilities caring for those who are unable to care for themselves. Whether wrapped in atheism as with the case of Communism or in the case of Liberation Theology, wrapped in Catholicism, there has always been an attempt by man to create the 'ultimate system' which can some how bring 'heaven to earth' - a utopian like vision which can make everyone happy. The problem is that all the systems ignore basic human nature - human nature is to continuously desire, religion tries to curb that desire, and money tries to curb that desire by pricing it out of the reach of most people to ensure there isn't over demand and not enough supply. Unless we all become buddhist monks tomorrow and reliquish all desire in favour of meditating on the emptiness - this attempt to find the perfect system will continue to the end of time. During this time we'll swing from right to left, with a couple of people every few decades jumping up and claiming to have *the* system to solve all of lifes problems. It just so happens that we're on a Muslim forum and there are people here claiming that there is a solution today for all of lifes problems - and in 10 years time, there will be a new Islamic economic model proclaimed to be divinely mandated. Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat.