ILM Blog is being closed down
Hello everyone. I loved this blog, but it’s time to move on.
I’ve created a new blog, with my own paid hosting that I will be using from now on. It will essentially be the same as this blog, but much, much better.
Please check out my new blog (and update your bookmarks) at Muslim-Religion.net.
I will soon be moving most of the posts from this blog to Muslim-Religion.net. Trust me on this…the new blog/site is going to be great!
Inshallah (if God wills).
Is the U.S. Funding Kurdish Terrorists?
I watched a very interesting show on Hulu last night. It was a program produced by Vanguard on the CurrentTV network.
The show was called “America’s Secret War With Iran.” The reporter was trying to find proof that the U.S. was supporting Kurdish groups like the PKK and PJAK. These groups are trying have committed attacks against both Turkey and Iran.
There was another group, that wasn’t Kurdish that the reporter interviewed. This group was an Iranian group but it was against the Iranian Islamic regime. I was amazed that the reporter showed Iranian smugglers transporting loads of vodka, whiskey and other alcoholic beverages into Iran from Iraq.
Watch the video below and see for yourself.
Time To Get Involved
I don’t normally create posts on this blog about political issues that don’t effect Muslims. But I’m going to have to express myself this time.
I am one of those tens of millions of Americans without healthcare. I do work. I have two jobs in fact. But one is part time and the other is contractual. Therefore, I do not get health insurance from either one.
For those of you that don’t know, buying healthcare on an individual basis is nearly impossible for most Americans. I’ve checked.
Individual healthcare can cost upwards of $300 per month. Even more if you want to insure your spouse also. Unfortunately, that is way out of my range of affordability.
I had to listen to the President’s speech on healthcare to get an idea of what he really proposes. I even listened to the GOP response afterwards so I could get an idea of what their concerns and issues are.
For the most part, it seems they agree with most of what the President wants to put forward. It is unfortunate the public option doesn’t seem viable any longer. However, I’ll take anything that would make healthcare more affordable for my wife and I.
Some politicians have stated they want to make this healthcare debate President Obama’s Waterloo.
To the uninformed, Waterloo was a famous battle between Napoleon Bonaparte and his French Army, and an allied force including the British, Prussians, and others.
Napoleon lost that battle, gave up his authority, surrendered to the British, was exiled, and eventually died in exile.
These politicians are only trying to score points. I do believe some, like John McCain, have serious concerns about the President’s plan. That’s fine. Rigorous debate and challenges will hopefully bring about the best possible solution.
But others in the GOP are just trying to dismantle the Obama administration.
Now, I live in a heavily Republican state. Alabama.
It doesn’t get much more redneck and ignorant than this state. Even though I live in the Birmingham area which is mostly black and Democrat, the rest of the state is pure GOP.
Furthermore, the two Senators leading the charge against Obama (not just healthcare but also on his Supreme Court appointment) are from this state.
Inshallah, they’re going to start hearing from me. As will the representative for my district.
I have never been politically active before. I’ve been politically aware. But not active.
That’s going to change from this point onwards, Inshallah. I’m going to make sure these politicians know how I feel.
I may be just one person.
But I’ll be one more person standing up for what’s right.
Israel Makes It Very Easy To Hate Them
In my last post I mentioned that I did not think boycotts against companies that do business with Israel was effective. I still stand by that notion, but something I read today makes me want to take it all back.
Israel does things that just forces you to hate them. I know hate is a strong word, but so is love. And Lord knows I could never love Zionism or Israel.
There’s an article today in Al-Jazeera talking about the number of civilian deaths there were in Gaza as a result of Israel’s 22 day war. The organization, named B’Tselem, says over half the casualties in Gaza were civilian.
Here’s how the numbers actually break down:
1387 total casualties.
773 civilian deaths.
330 combatant deaths.
248 policeman deaths.
Do you see that number? 773 innocent men, women, and children dead.
When terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and killed 3000 innocent people, the U.S. attacked Afghanistan resulting in 20000 deaths, and then Iraq resulting in 100000 deaths. And those numbers are still growing by the day.
When Hezbollah kidnapped 2 Israeli soldiers (that’s right, only TWO!), Israel attacked Lebanon resulting in the deaths of over a thousand civilians. Don’t believe me? Check out this link at Wikipedia for verification.
So what does the world do when 773 Muslim, Arab, Palestinian children and babies are killed?
Hear that noise? That’s the sound of crickets.
I know I shouldn’t hate anyone or anything.
I know that Allah will deal with Israel with justice.
I know that even if the world can do nothing to stop Israel, that Imam Mahdi and Isa (peace be upon them both) will right the wrongs.
I know the rocks and trees of Palestine will call out and expose their hiding places. (Every Muslim who has read the right hadiths knows what I’m talking about.)
The time for Allah’s justice will come. We all know that. But knowing this doesn’t make it any easier.
It only makes it easier to hate, okay dislike, Israel even more.
Boycott Israel, But Not the Corps
I read an article today in Al Arabiya comparing the idea to boycott Israel and the boycott against South Africa during the days of apartheid.
The article was written by a Jewish peace activist, who made the case that a boycott of Israel wouldn’t work. Also, that the situation in Israel today and South Africa in the 1980′s is very different.
For instance, the White South Africans depended on the Black South Africans for labor.
Israel does not need the Palestinian population at all, and in fact bars them at times from working in Israel.
Both White South Africans and Black South Africans considered themselves…South African.
Most Palestinians do not consider themselves Israeli and would find the thought reprehensible. Ditto for the Israelis.
Both White South Africans and Black South Africans wanted the nation to stay united. They may have quarreled over who would control the nation, but both agreed they did not want a Black South Africa and a White South Africa.
While many Israelis do not want a Palestinian state there are many that do. And certainly most Palestinians want a Palestinian state.
For these reasons and more, the author felt that a boycott of Israel would be pointless.
I am an African-American Muslim from Alabama, so I come from a legacy of boycotting. I never did it myself, but I grew up around people involved in the Civil Rights Movement in America who did.
And we are all familiar with the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955 led by Dr. Martin Luther King.
That boycott was successful because the bus system of Montgomery depended on the African-American population.
And while the Jim Crow system of the southern states of America back then was similar to Apartheid, it still cannot be compared to the situation in Israel and Palestine.
Neither White Americans nor African-Americans wanted a separate “Black” State.
Though there are some minor differences, White Americans and African-Americans share the same culture and for the most part, the same religion and values.
Both White Americans and African-Americans considered themselves American first, black and white second, maybe even third.
Alright, now that ends the historical perspective of this post. Now for the religious perspective.
During the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) before the Hijrah (migration) to Medina, there was a boycott in Mecca also.
Huh? What happened? Come again?
Yes. The majority pagan Quraish population of Mecca decided to impose a boycott against the clans that protected Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Banu Hashim and Banu Abdul Muttalib.
According to most sources, a boycott agreement was written up by the pagan Quraish leaders and nailed to the Kaaba. The boycott stipulated that no one in Mecca could trade or intermarry with either clan.
The two clans suffered a great deal from this boycott, some being forced to eat leaves from trees out of sheer hunger.
After about two years or so, the pagans decided to lift the ban.
So I ask my fellow Muslims…why should we follow the example of the pagans of the past and the non-Muslims of today?
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in all his battles and struggles against the pagan and Jewish tribes of Mecca and Medina, never imposed a boycott against them.
He made treaties. He negotiated. He preached. He compromised. And when it became necessary, he fought.
But he never boycotted. So why should we do that? Why do some Muslim governments choose to boycott Israel and companies that do business there like Coca-Cola and McDonalds and Starbucks?
And let’s not forget, that the Arab boycott against Israel of the 1980′s was largely ineffective and is pretty much dead now.
The U.S. government does a lot more for Israel than any of those corporations, yet every Muslim country in the world scrambles at America’s bidding.
And no one in their right mind is talking about boycotting America.
Over a thousand innocent people were killed in Gaza earlier this year, and not a single Muslim country lifted a finger to help.
And they want to talk boycott? Please.
Attention Muslim governments of the world: You have been officially PUNKED!
And Allah knows best.
Here’s the link to the article in Al Arabiya.
P.S. To clarify, the article was talking about a Los Angeles Times writer calling for a worldwide boycott of Israel, not necessarily Muslim countries alone.
Go Get ‘Em! Former Guantanamo Prisoner to Sue U.S.
I found this on Al-Jazeera today. A former Guantanamo prisoner is going to sue the U.S. for wrongful imprisonment.
I say: Go Get ‘Em!
First, the facts.
Mohammed Jawad was arrested seven years ago in Afghanistan for suspicion of throwing a grenade at U.S. military personnel.
He was then transferred to the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, set up specifically for suspected terrorists and enemy combatants.
Jawad claims to have been abused while in prison. He also says that while he doesn’t know his exact date of birth, he believes he was only 12 years old when he was arrested.
The Pentagon says bone scans show he was 17 years old at the time.
They also said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, so forgive me if I don’t take their word for it.
Those are the facts, now for the ranting and raving.
This just makes me sick. How can anyone, ANYONE, with sense and humanity condone locking up a young boy for seven years without trial. That’s just plain f****** crazy.
May Allah forgive me for my anger, but how many more Jawad’s are there? How many other innocent Muslims were locked up for most of their lives for being…Muslim?
Worse yet, how many were killed? We don’t know the exact answer, but we know thousands upon thousands of innocent Muslims have been killed by the U.S. and Israel in the past ten years.
President Obama talks about bringing reconciliation and understanding between the Muslim world and the U.S. I don’t think he can do that, but I believe that Allah can. And I hope Allah does.
But we all know that above all, Allah is just.
He is just.
Read this post to get an idea of the range and extent of His justice.
I fear the wrath that Allah may wreak upon this country (the United States) because of the wrong it has done.
The only hope this country may have is to accept Islam or at least cease its aggressive and arrogant ways.
Allah knows best, but I don’t think there’s a snowball’s chance in hell of either happening.
May Allah have mercy on the Muslims and bring honor and victory to Islam.
Ameen.
BTW, here’s the link to the video at Al-Jazeera:
It’s All Starting to Make Sense Now
Last week a Scottish court decided to release Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, the man convicted of carrying out the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988, also known as the Lockerbie Bombing.
Mr. Megrahi received a hero’s welcome when he returned to Libya with crowds of people cheering for him as he descended from his plane. Of course, the American public expressed outrage not just at his release, but also at his reception in Libya.
American politicians, including President Barack Obama also expressed their disapproval over the Scottish courts’ decision.
At first, I also wondered why this guy got such a welcome when he returned home. I don’t think Libyans are especially bloodthirsty or just so nationalistic they’ll even glorify and praise convicted terrorists.
And as is always a good thing to do, I tried to understand the situation from the Libyan point of view. I found an article in Al-Jazeera referencing the same event, and the tone was quite different.
Most Libyans (and many Brits also, for that matter) don’t think Mr. Magrehi is guilty of the bombing.
Well, this raised new questions in my mind. Why do they think he’s innocent? Did they not see that he was convicted? Didn’t the Libyan government accept responsibility? Didn’t they pay the victims of the bombing $2 billion?
So I did a little (very little) researching. I headed over to my favorite resource for quick information, Wikipedia.
And things finally started to make sense.
After reading the article on the Lockerbie Bombing in Wikipedia, I realized that Mr. Magrehi’s conviction was very superficial. Here’s how U.S. officials figured out that Mr. Magrehi was “responsible” for the attack. I’m going to condense the facts into a few lines to make it easier to understand, Inshallah:
- Fragments of a Samsonite suitcase believed to have carried the bomb was found in the plane’s wreckage.
- Pieces of baby clothing which were believed to have come from the suitcase, were also found.
- These items of clothing were traced to a shop in Malta.
- The shopkeeper identified Mr. Magrehi as the man who bought the clothes.
Now, if that sounds like shaky evidence to sentence a man to life for, wait until you hear the rest.
- The shopkeeper identified Mr. Magrehi after the media had reported him as being a suspect. This may have altered the shopkeeper’s judgment.
- A circuitboard fragment was found in the wreckage. It was identified as being similar to a circuitboard for an electronic timer found with another Libyan agent arrest while carrying materials for making a bomb. (Huh?)
- An engineer for Mebo, a Swiss company that manufactures similar technology, testified during Mr. Magrehi’s trial that he designed the timers and the fragment “could be” from the same timer.
- Twenty years later, that same engineer admitted to stealing a circuitboard from Mebo, selling it to officials investigating the bombing, and then lying about the whole thing in court.
There’s so much more I’ve discovered just from doing a little reading. Now I see it’s no wonder the Libyan people are celebrating Mr. Magrehi’s return.
It appears that he was a victim of injustice.
What I wonder is that if a fasting, broke, internet addicted, Muslim accountant like myself could figure this out…why can’t our Ivy League educated President?
Sex in Islam Part III
The third part of this series will be posted at my new blog, Muslim Men.
This time, I’ll be offering suggestions on what men can do to satisfy their wives more during sex.
And for everyone who comes by today, Ramadan Mubarak!
Sex and Islam Part II
Just about every Muslim blogger is doing a post on Ramadan right about now. Makes sense considering Ramadan is just a day or so away.
But there’s nothing new about Ramadan that I can tell you. Besides, I’ve already written articles about Ramadan on my website Islamic Learning Materials.
The articles are:
Lailatul Qadr (The Night of Power)
But, since I’m one to go against the grain, I’m going to continue my series on Sex in Islam.
And I might have a way to tie this post into Ramadan anyway.
A few days ago, I saw a question posted at Islam QA about a person masturbating during Ramadan.
I didn’t bother to check on the ruling, because I already know the answer.
I don’t really want to talk too much about whether masturbation is haram (forbidden) in Islam or not. Based on the evidence I’ve seen and the rulings of several scholars (including the one at Islam QA) masturbation is not allowed in Islam.
But it is still a big problem for many Muslim men. Mostly because of the internet and the perpetual availability of pornography.
My take on “the secret habit” as masturbation is sometimes called, is that is an addiction. Just like drugs or alcohol, a person becomes addicted to it, and it’s hard to stop.
I don’t have any magical cure all method to stop this problem. I can only give you brothers some advice about it.
First, and most important, never, ever despair of the forgiveness of Allah. Seek His forgiveness every time you slip up. Make it sincere. Make it often.
I repeat: Don’t despair of the forgiveness of Allah. For that is all you have. Allah IS the Most Merciful. He will forgive you when no one else will.
Say: “O ‘Ibaadi (My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allaah, verily, Allaah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful” Suratul Zumar 39:53.
Second, if you feel shame about doing it, that is a good thing. When you stop feeling ashamed about committing evil, then you have accepted the evil and are even more lost. So long as you feel ashamed, that means that you at least have the desire to stop.
Third, remember that it is an addiction. It is a disease. Most likely, you will not be able to stop cold-turkey. And unlike other addictions, you can’t join any support group. Your only support is Allah. So try to get close to Him.
Fourth, do not speak of your sins. Out of His mercy, Allah has hidden your sin for you. Do not boast about them, or publicize them, or confess them to anyone.
“All of my ummah will be fine except for those who commit sin openly. Part of committing sin openly is when a man does something at night and Allaah conceals it, but in the morning he says, ‘O So-and-so, last night I did such and such.’ His Lord had covered his sin all night, but in the morning he removed the cover of Allaah.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5721; Muslim, 2990)”
Now, how do you stop committing this sin. Here are some suggestions that may help.
Try your best to stay away from things that might arouse the desire in you. Cut back on TV. Avoid the movies. Stay away from places where there will be immodest women.
If you are married, have more sex with your wife. Try new things with her in order to spice up your sex life a little (but stay within the realm of righteousness).
For instance:
- Roleplay
- Talk dirty
- You can masturbate her and she can do the same to you
I apologize to anyone if this is too graphic. But I believe the sin and burden of masturbation is a problem that requires blunt talk and a dose of reality.
If she is menstruating and you cannot have sex with her, then try to fast for that time. If you cannot fast, then read as much Quran and hadith as you can.
Try to surround yourself with Islam. Listen to Islamic lectures. Watch Islamic videos. Read Islamic books.
Remember, that even though no one else may see you, Allah is alway s watching.
If you make a mistake and commit the secret habit anyway, make ghusl, make tawbah, and try again the next day.
And don’t make excuses. Don’t blame your mistake on your wife, or your job, or the “evil West”, or the weather, or the President.
Inshallah, I hope some of you find comfort in these words. Please continue to fight against your nafs (desires). Pray to Allah for success, and make sincere effort to change.
Ramadan is a good time to fight against this disease. There will be no Shaytan (devil) to whisper to you. Now, it’s all on you.
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Sex and Islam
Alright, we’re talking grown folks business. Get the kids out the room!
Seriously, I hear and read so many questions about sex in Islam, I figured I had to put up a post about it.
Besides, the word “SEX” is so alluring, I’m sure it’ll attract a lot of visitors. Got you, didn’t it?
I would just like to put up a quick list of what’s allowed and not allowed when it comes to sex in Islam. I would also like to give some…advice (mostly for men, since I am one also) that can make your sex life a little better, Inshallah.
First, I want all Muslims to understand one thing: Sex is good.
I should know. I have four kids.
Sex is so good, we even earn blessings for have relations with our spouse.
But like everything else in Islam, sex required moderation.
If we go too far to one side (no sex at all) we imitate the corrupt views of other faiths where they live in perpetual chastity. This is an unnatural state as our bodies and minds literally SCREAM for sensuality.
And if we go too far the other way, we lose all morals and decency. Allah knows best, but I believe this vulgar preoccupation with sex that is common in my country (the U.S.A.) leads to senseless violence and rampant dehumanization.
So Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him) has allowed a good thing, but within moderation.
How is it moderated? Sex is only allowed between married spouses. (And to be clear, marriage in Islam can only be between a man and a woman. Here’s what I think about so-called gay marriage.)
And even sex between spouses is limited, though the limitations are very few, common sense, and practically universal.
Well, let’s get to it, shall we?
I think the first thing to understand is who can actually have sex in Islam.
A man is allowed to have sex with his wife.
That pretty much sums it up.
- There can be no sex before marriage (even if the couple is engaged).
- There can be no sex with anyone outside of your marriage (even if your spouse agrees i.e. no swingers!).
- There can be no boyfriend/girlfriend relationship (even without sex).
This should be enough for now. Inshallah, I’ll continue this topic tomorrow.
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