In other news...

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!

...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!

—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.

The 15th day of May, 2008.

Today is the 15th of May, 2008. For many people who frequent this blog (as well as many who don't) it is turning out like just another day

Clouds against a blue sky,
Dotted by birds flying high,
Bright, sunny, airy and roomy,
This is my life, my life's free for me
—Abd elAzeez

... and so forth I may rap about the joys of living in a free country. The thoughts can keep going on and on and I could keep counting my blessings all the day long , saying Alhamdulillah (All praise is for Allah) like I try to do everyday.

But alongside this feeling of happiness and gaiety, is a throbbing pain in my side. A pain that's turning chronic now, since I really cannot remember when it actually started and neither can I see a relief in sight. Of course if Allah wills something He merely says "Be" and it is (which incidentally is the literal translation of the one-liner verse numbered 40 in Chapter 16 from the Holy Quran attached on the right side of this article), and that would definitely put an end to the pain InshaAllah, but, for now the pain persists in my side!

But brother Abd elAzeez why are you in pain? you might ask me; and I am quick in quoting the Hadith (i.e. teaching of Prophet Muhammed Peace Be Upon Him) when he (PBUH) said "The Muslim Ummah is like one body. If the eye is in pain then the whole body is in pain and if the head is in pain then the whole body is in pain". That, stands as one of the finest examples of proclaiming unity and brotherhood amongst people yet many of us do not know!

Today, my dear brothers and sisters, is the 15th of May 2008; today is the yawm al-nakba (an Arabic word meaning 'the day of the catastrophe'). Events around this day in 1948, –in simple human terms– saw the mass deportation of a million Palestinians from their cities and villages, massacres of civilians, and the razing to the ground of hundreds of Palestinian villages! In stark contrast to this, war is looked upon by Israelis as the "fulfillment of a historic ideal of the Jewish people to establish a homeland for the Jewish people." We've already posted something about the conflict a few posts back, here's what happened over the course of a few days surrounding 15th of May 1948.

• May 14: State of Israel proclaimed in Tel Aviv at 4pm.
• Haganah launches Operation Schfifon for capture of Old City of Jerusalem.
• May 15:
  
• British Mandate ends.
• Declaration of State of Israel comes into effect.
• President Truman recognizes State of Israel. First Egyptian troops cross border into Palestine and attack colonies of Kfar Darom and Nirim in Negev.
• Three Transjordanian Arab Legion brigades cross Jordan River into Palestine.
• Lebanese troops retake Lebanese villages of Malkiya and Qadas (on Lebanese border), attacked and captured earlier by Haganah.
• May 17:
  
• Haganah captures Acre

Plan Dalet, or Plan D was a plan that the Haganah had out during autumn 1947 to spring 1948; according to some sources it was conceived with the purpose of conquering as much of Palestine as possible and to expel as many Palestinians as possible. All events mentioned above (and sourced from here) are only executions of the infamous Plan D.

Today, is the 15th of May 2008; exactly sixty years ago, was laid one of the (most-fruitful, as I call it) seed of injustice, oppression, division, man-slaughter, rapes, genocides, carpet-bombings, invasions and the so-called war-on-terror in Israel!

Imagine, if tomorrow morning you were made to leave your homes, your property, your lands everything and leave your country under the the orders of a tyrant ruler who had laid foot on your soil just yesterday! Imagine what it would have been like had the British given the control of our beloved country India into the hands of say the Chinese, the Americans, or some other people who didn't even belong here... people whose sole intentions were to kick us out of our cozy little homes into a life of destitution and wandering... a life of trying to fight back against heavily armored tanks, thousands of fully armed soldiers, tyrant governments, unfair UN resolutions, automatic guns, powerful bombs, missiles, grenades, with only stones and swearing women on our sides! A life with absolutely no security... a life with no freedom as we feel it right now!

Today, on 15th of May 2008, I, Abd elAzeez Shaikh, say a silent prayer for the millions of innocent Palestinians driven out of their homes, the thousands killed, raped, tortured and put behind bars in their very own country as part of the execution of this notorious Plan D which continues its operations under various different names still.

I pray that Almighty Allah bless all those affected, and give them peace. I pray that Allah the most Merciful grant paradise to those martyred in trying to re-gain their own lands. I pray that Allah, the Creator, Cherisher and Sustainer of everything that we know of and everything that we do not, give these people the patience to withstand this great trial without losing their faith in HIS Divine Decree and in HIS justice to be served on everyone the Day of Judgement. I pray that we all realize the truth and I pray that we all see the blatant reality which is the very basis of the conflict in Palestine, just like these one hundred and six prominent British Jews who have proclaimed that they will not be celebrating the 60th Anniversary of Israel in this letter titled We're not celebrating Israel's anniversary. —Ameen

All that, is what brings the incessant pain in my side and the tears that drown my heart each time I see the word Israel on TV or in the papers...But then, all is still not lost, hope lies beneath the rubble of broken homes and dead bodies too. For we Muslims have been taught to have faith in Allah the Most Kind and the Most Loving, and to put our complete trust in HIM and whatever HE decrees. The verse 40 from chapter 16 of the Glorious Quran which I've quoted above, is succeeded by the following verses:-

41. To those who leave their homes in the cause of Allah, after suffering oppression,- We will assuredly give a goodly home in this world; but truly the reward of the Hereafter will be greater. If they only realised (this)!
42.(They are) those who persevere in patience, and put their trust on their Lord.
43.And before thee also the apostles We sent were but men, to whom We granted inspiration: if ye realise this not, ask of those who possess the Message.
44.(We sent them) with Clear Signs and Books of dark prophecies; and We have sent down unto thee (also) the Message; that thou mayest explain clearly to men what is sent for them, and that they may give thought.
45.Do then those who devise evil (plots) feel secure that Allah will not cause the earth to swallow them up, or that the Wrath will not seize them from directions they little perceive?-
46.Or that He may not call them to account in the midst of their goings to and fro, without a chance of their frustrating Him?
47.Or that He may not call them to account by a process of slow wastage - for thy Lord is indeed full of kindness and mercy.

---

Today is the 15th of May 2008, and I only say Alhamdulillah.

—Abd elAzeez

Liberated or Live::B-rated

[Yes, following my last post, there IS a pending announcement to be made out here on Katabaa! I'll be posting something out about it soon InshaAllah. Meanwhile, there's a quite serious thing that caught my eye this morning (and caused me to ask HIM for forgiveness instantaneously) and I thought it'd prudent enough to make a mention of the ramblings in my head.]

Well here I was this morning, trying to Login into AOL to check my emails, and after entering my username-password combo there appeared the 'Today on AOL' page —a webpage specially designed to give you a small peek into the plethora of information about what's going on in the world today (a.k.a. NEWS) and how well-versed AOL's servers are with it.

So I see 4 tabs on that page (I'm in the 'basic' view which doesn't hog too much of memory from my web browser, and hence I have tabs instead of a Next/Previous button toolbar) namely News, Sports, Entertainment and Videos. (See screenshot of content in the last tab here). Now, as if the link titled Austria's real-life sex horror story caught on amateur camera on the Videos' tab wasn't revealing enough of the America On Line mindset of 'sex sells' (fathom a news headline that spells P.O.R.N.), I decided I 'd rather check out the News that they have for today (news would definitely NOT mean free porn, I thought to myself ); and VOILA! with what are we greeted with on the very first page!


Astaghfirullah! (Forgive my sin Oh Lord!) THIS is what is news to the world? Women revealing themselves to the state of when there is NOTHING left to hide at all? I fail to realize how the 'Model way to protest...' can create awareness about anything at all (err... almost anything)? 'Sex sells' they say, but does it bring about any just cause if you're naked on the street calling for some attention? In doing so guaranteed a LOT of glances and attention (for all the wrong reasons!) from the passerbys, a lot of whom might even move closer just to have a better look (at your protesting-placards you might want to claim now? Who do you think you are fooling?), but does it help solve the problem you are protesting about? Are hungry kids being fed in Sudan? Homeless elders being taken back in? Rape victims given better treatment? Is G.W. Bush going to stop his reign of terror in Iraq and Afghanistan? OR are women now going to be given a better position in society??? (sheesh! the last one was a little too much of an irony BTW).

Think about it, a few years down the line, when your kids (that is, if someone marries you after all this and legitimately has kids with you) see these pics of yours on the internet or somewhere else, will they love you more, love you less or be downright ashamed of the worthless tramp you've been? And what about when they also discover these pics besides many similar others, hidden deep inside password-protected folders on their friends' hard drives and the likes?


Now there is an organization in this modern, liberated, non-conservative world that we live in today (if 'conservative' is being exactly the opposite of what they are doing here, let us proclaim conservativeness and atleast live a life that assures the dignity of our mothers and sisters!). An organization for ethical treatment of animals which has time and again used disgustingly cheap tactics (of course there is BIG money in it, but then money's not what actually defines cheap right?) like these to draw attention towards itself and its so-called heart-felt activities. 1.8 million members and still counting, this US-based organization (name withheld to prevent ANY advertising and also to save you people from doing a google search and getting pics like these in front of your very eyes!) seems to specialize ONLY in making women believe that they are doing excellent service to animals and humanity by taking off their clothes and posing (semi?) nude in front of people and their perverted cameras! They make women believe that if they do so, people will start treating animals more kindly because each time they see a mis-treated animal it will remind them of a naked woman?

Imagine your grumbly sweaty neighbourhood guy petting his doggy late morning tomorrow, giving it a nice juicy piece of bone and telling it in an unimaginably sweet voice “Coochie Coochie Coo... Today I'm gonna give you the love you deserve because a long-legged naked woman was holding a placard across her hand that said Love your doggie and be a better human in the eyes of God. If it weren't for her intriguingly nude anatomy, an heart-warming sight out there in the cold morning, I'd never have realized that there was a placard about being kind to dogs in her other hand. So go on eat this piece of bone my sweet little doggie; who knows that very lady might just be passing by and might chance to see me treating you kindly. Oh I'm gonna go to heaven for thinking of a naked woman while I'm feeding my dog. This life is simply great!”.

Wake up ladies, it ain't happening that way. Because the way I see it (and any other human being of sane mind would), the only animal that you're doing service to is the beast in the heart of the man! That's the only one which is going to derive gratification from the fact that he didn't have to do any effort at all in order to get you to drop your veils! What service to humanity indeed you have done! You say a free-minded, bold westerner you are eh? You think veiling up the woman is just part of an "old-fashioned fundamentalist religion" that's bent on degrading her status in society? Have you had the chance to have a read of your own scriptures? (Anyone making a claim from Judaism?).

Think about it, a world where Satan has spread his evil tentacles so far, corrupting the minds of men and women to such an extent that the women —the ones to be kept safe from evil prying eyes (for we all know how much damage even a casual glance you know where can cause to a woman's dignity and self-respect)— are themselves ready to take it all off in the name of liberty, freedom of speech, protests for equality etc. etc... In reality, all that these contaminated terms do is to degrade the woman's position in the society to mere objects of lust and sexual gratification. Is this the new idea of freedom and equality? Is this how we shall gauge our successes, on the basis of how easy it is to make a woman shed her clothes and still not let her feel bad about it? Are we progressing ahead towards uplifting the woman or are we going backwards into the dark ages again?

The Greek civilization is still considered the most glorious of all ancient civilizations by many a people. Under this very so-called ‘glorious’ system, women were deprived of all rights and were looked down upon. In Greek mythology, an imaginary woman called Pandora is supposed to be the root cause of misfortune for all human beings. The Greeks also considered women to be subhuman and inferior to men. Though the chastity of women was precious, and women were held in high esteem, the Greeks were later overwhelmed by ego and sexual perversions. Prostitution had become a regular practice amongst all classes of Greek society! Doesn't this seem a lot too closer to where our world is headed too?

As an emminent speaker Dr. Zakir Naik once put it, “the western talk of women’s liberalization is nothing but a disguised form of exploitation of her body, degradation of her soul, and deprivation of her honour! Western society claims to have uplifted women, but on the contrary it has actually degraded them to the status of concubines, mistresses and society butterflies who are mere tools in the hands of pleasure seekers and sex marketeers, hidden behind the colourful screen of ‘art’ and ‘culture’.”

Race towards the your recognition in society because of your talents and skills my dear sisters, and not because of how much of skin you are willing to show for some justifiable cause. An interesting >article has a very nice answer the oft-asked yet very rhetorical questions on why muslim women cover themselves up. It says “...by covering our beauty, we are evaluated for our intelligence and skills instead of looks and sexuality. Many women who cover are filled with dignity and self-esteem and are happy to be identified as Muslim women. By wearing hijab the woman is concealing her sexuality but allowing her femininity to shine...”

—Abd elAzeez
Feel free to reproduce/post this article anywhere you wish. Even if it be without giving any credit to me. Who knows, InshaAllah it might make someone think.