They say, "Oh, poor girl, you're so beautiful you know
It's a shame that you cover up your beauty so."
She just smiles and graciously responds reassuringly,
"This beauty that I have is just one simple part of me.
This body that I have, no stranger has the right to see.
These long clothes, this shawl I wear, ensure my modesty.
Faith is more essential than fashion, wouldn't you agree? This Hijaab!
It's a shame that you cover up your beauty so."
She just smiles and graciously responds reassuringly,
"This beauty that I have is just one simple part of me.
This body that I have, no stranger has the right to see.
These long clothes, this shawl I wear, ensure my modesty.
Faith is more essential than fashion, wouldn't you agree? This Hijaab!
...and so goes the song by well-known poet, musician and singer Dawud Wharnsby Ali. Well needless to say, I love it!
Well, today went off to quite an amusing start; AOL had an intriguing news headline that read "Imams to help keep Muslims away from terror outfits". Hmm... —I thought to myself, as is obvioys— since when has joining a terror-outfit become such a thing of interest for us Allah-fearing Muslims that pious and knowledgeable Imams are being roped in to stop us from falling into the gutter of addiction that makes blowing up people look so irresistible!...? Somehow to me, the headline sounded more like "Pope's speech on helping people abstain from alcoholism" Now that would atleast make some news considering that Alcoholism is one of the worst things men & women indulge in and that we Muslims can easily lay an un-challenged claim (and win hands-down) at being the single largest community which abstains totally from Alchohol as if it were poison for us (yes there might be a few black sheep here and there in our midst, but then they stick out of the community like sore thumbs!), however the statement that Muslim Imams have to take extra efforts to keep Muslims away from turning into heartless monster-like killers looks like way too much of a desperate attempt by AOL in order to get people clicking on that one link!
I mean, doesn't it also quite suggestively-conceal the fact that
AOL (like MOST other western media) believes that Muslims have always been drawn towards terror outfits like frogs in the rainy season (which actually is also one of THE most amusing of metaphors that I've used to describe America's obvious colonization of Iraq: "...soon American soldiers, straight men and others, started pouring onto the land of 'opportunity' (read OIL) that is Iraq by the tonnes; their arrival most aptly described by the distinctly vivid metaphor spelt as 'frogs in the rainy season'")?
Ridiculous! The actual news-story we're talking about, is a bit too far from the misconception-generator of a headline that it came with on AOL; it speaks of a resolution by a board Muslim clerics and scholars in India who have sent letters to Imams in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh asking them to stress on the fact that Islam is indeed a religion of Peace which in no way promotes or legalizes terrorism and the killing of innocents in the most sacred of its scriptures that is the Holy Quran and the teachings and lifestyle of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH), in their sermons. A well-thought out move by the board I'd like to call it, to combat the mass-propaganda going on in labeling all Islamic institutions as pro-terrorist, Jihaadi and what-nots (By the way Jihaad means "to strive" or "to struggle", and not "Holy War", the Arabic word for which does NOT even exist in the Holy Quran. I bet most people didn't know that! Thank you AOL and friends!). Wouldn''t a headline on the lines of "Muslim Clerics resolve to fight inappropriate label by media" sound like a better and more decent proposition instead? I guess AOL is being a bit too AOL in its workings these days and we should learn to take its words with a pinch of salt rather than swallow everything it has to offer straight down in one big gulp!
Well, today went off to quite an amusing start; AOL had an intriguing news headline that read "Imams to help keep Muslims away from terror outfits". Hmm... —I thought to myself, as is obvioys— since when has joining a terror-outfit become such a thing of interest for us Allah-fearing Muslims that pious and knowledgeable Imams are being roped in to stop us from falling into the gutter of addiction that makes blowing up people look so irresistible!...? Somehow to me, the headline sounded more like "Pope's speech on helping people abstain from alcoholism" Now that would atleast make some news considering that Alcoholism is one of the worst things men & women indulge in and that we Muslims can easily lay an un-challenged claim (and win hands-down) at being the single largest community which abstains totally from Alchohol as if it were poison for us (yes there might be a few black sheep here and there in our midst, but then they stick out of the community like sore thumbs!), however the statement that Muslim Imams have to take extra efforts to keep Muslims away from turning into heartless monster-like killers looks like way too much of a desperate attempt by AOL in order to get people clicking on that one link!
I mean, doesn't it also quite suggestively-conceal the fact that
AOL (like MOST other western media) believes that Muslims have always been drawn towards terror outfits like frogs in the rainy season (which actually is also one of THE most amusing of metaphors that I've used to describe America's obvious colonization of Iraq: "...soon American soldiers, straight men and others, started pouring onto the land of 'opportunity' (read OIL) that is Iraq by the tonnes; their arrival most aptly described by the distinctly vivid metaphor spelt as 'frogs in the rainy season'")?Ridiculous! The actual news-story we're talking about, is a bit too far from the misconception-generator of a headline that it came with on AOL; it speaks of a resolution by a board Muslim clerics and scholars in India who have sent letters to Imams in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh asking them to stress on the fact that Islam is indeed a religion of Peace which in no way promotes or legalizes terrorism and the killing of innocents in the most sacred of its scriptures that is the Holy Quran and the teachings and lifestyle of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH), in their sermons. A well-thought out move by the board I'd like to call it, to combat the mass-propaganda going on in labeling all Islamic institutions as pro-terrorist, Jihaadi and what-nots (By the way Jihaad means "to strive" or "to struggle", and not "Holy War", the Arabic word for which does NOT even exist in the Holy Quran. I bet most people didn't know that! Thank you AOL and friends!). Wouldn''t a headline on the lines of "Muslim Clerics resolve to fight inappropriate label by media" sound like a better and more decent proposition instead? I guess AOL is being a bit too AOL in its workings these days and we should learn to take its words with a pinch of salt rather than swallow everything it has to offer straight down in one big gulp!
—Abd elAzeez
P.S. Besides the red underlines in the image show that the company is still bent on keeping its niche in 'the industry'.
P.S.2. The lines I quoted above, should actually have been two posts earlier but then again, its the song in your heart that comes out in your posts.
P.S.2. The lines I quoted above, should actually have been two posts earlier but then again, its the song in your heart that comes out in your posts.
