₦airaland Forum

davidylan:
This is the basis for the instability in the middle east today between Jews and "palestinians".
There is nothing symbolic in stealing the history of the jews to score political points.

Funny how a rubbish heap suddenly became islam's third "holiest" site . . .

kosovo:
islam just surpassed the catholic church.
17% catholic , 19% islam.
islam just keeps growing.

davidylan:
- "rescued the temple mount" by promptly building a mosque on it?

The rest of this write up is a farce.

ISLAM: THE NEXT AMERICAN RELIGION?
BY MICHAEL WOLFE

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The US. began as a haven for Christian outcasts. But what religion fits our current zeitgeist? The answer may be Islam.

Americans tend to think of their country as, at the very least, a nominally Christian nation. Didn't the Pilgrims come here for freedom to practice their Christian religion? Don't Christian values of righteousness under God, and freedom, reinforce America's democratic, capitalist ideals?

True enough. But there's a new religion on the block now, one that fits the current zeitgeist nicely. It's Islam.

Islam is the third-largest and fastest growing religious community in the United States. This is not just because of immigration. More than 50% of America's six million Muslims were born here. Statistics like these imply some basic agreement between core American values and the beliefs that Muslims hold. Americans who make the effort to look beyond popular stereotypes to learn the truth of Islam are surprised to find themselves on familiar ground.

Is America a Muslim nation? Here are seven reasons the answer may be yes.

Islam is monotheistic. Muslims worship the same God as Jews and Christians. They also revere the same prophets as Judaism and Christianity, from Abraham, the first monotheist, to Moses, the lawgiver and messenger of God, to Jesus -- not leaving out Noah, Job, or Isaiah along the way. The concept of a Judeo-Christian tradition only came to the fore in the 1940s in America. Now, as a nation, we may be transcending it, turning to a more inclusive "Abrahamic" view.

In January, President Bush grouped mosques with churches and synagogues in his inaugural address. A few days later, when he posed for photographers at a meeting of several dozen religious figures, the Shi'ite imam Muhammad Qazwini, of Orange County, Calif., stood directly behind Bush's chair like a presiding angel, dressed in the robes and turban of his south Iraqi youth.

Islam is democratic in spirit. Islam advocates the right to vote and educate yourself and pursue a profession. The Qur'an, on which Islamic law is based, enjoins Muslims to govern themselves by discussion and consensus.

In mosques, there is no particular priestly hierarchy. With Islam, each individual is responsible for the condition of her or his own soul. Everyone stands equal before God.

Americans, who mostly associate Islamic government with a handful of tyrants, may find this independent spirit surprising, supposing that Muslims are somehow predisposed to passive submission. Nothing could be further from the truth. The dictators reigning today in the Middle East are not the result of Islamic principles. They are more a result of global economics and the aftermath of European colonialism. Meanwhile, like everyone else, average Muslims the world over want a larger say in what goes on in the countries where they live. Those in America may actually succeed in it. In this way, America is closer in spirit to Islam than many Arab countries.

Islam contains an attractive mystical tradition. Mysticism is grounded in the individual search for God. Where better to do that than in America, land of individualists and spiritual seekers? And who might better benefit than Americans from the centuries-long tradition of teachers and students that characterize Islam. Surprising as it may seem, America's best-selling poet du jour is a Muslim mystic named Rumi, the 800-year-old Persian bard and founder of the Mevlevi Path, known in the West as the Whirling Dervishes. Even book packagers are now rushing him into print to meet and profit from mainstream demand for this visionary. Translators as various as Robert Bly, Coleman Barks, and Kabir and Camille Helminski have produced dozens of books of Rumi's verse and have only begun to bring his enormous output before the English-speaking world. This is a concrete poetry of ecstasy, where physical reality and the longing for God are joined by flashes of metaphor and insight that continue to speak across the centuries.

Islam is egalitarian. From New York to California, the only houses of worship that are routinely integrated today are the approximately 4,000 Muslim mosques. That is because Islam is predicated on a level playing field, especially when it comes to standing before God. The Pledge of Allegiance (one nation, "under God" and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address (all people are "created equal" express themes that are also basic to Islam.

Islam is often viewed as an aggressive faith because of the concept of jihad, but this is actually a misunderstood term. Because Muslims believe that God wants a just world, they tend to be activists, and they emphasize that people are equal before God. These are two reasons why African Americans have been drawn in such large numbers to Islam. They now comprise about one-third of all Muslims in America.

Meanwhile, this egalitarian streak also plays itself out in relations between the sexes. Muhammad, Islam's prophet, actually was a reformer in his day. Following the Qur'an, he limited the number of wives a man could have and strongly recommended against polygamy. The Qur'an laid out a set of marriage laws that guarantees married women their family names, their own possessions and capital, the right to agree upon whom they will marry, and the right to initiate divorce. In Islam's early period, women were professionals and property owners, as increasingly they are today. None of this may seem obvious to most Americans because of cultural overlays that at times make Islam appear to be a repressive faith toward women--but if you look more closely, you can see the egalitarian streak preserved in the Qur'an finding expression in contemporary terms. In today's Iran, for example, more women than men attend university, and in recent local elections there, 5,000 women ran for public office.

Islam shares America's new interest in food purity and diet. Muslims conduct a month-long fast during the holy month of Ramadan, a practice that many Americans admire and even seek to emulate. I happened to spend quite a bit of time with a non-Muslim friend during Ramadan this year. After a month of being exposed to a practice that brings some annual control to human consumption, my friend let me know, in January, that he was "doing a little Ramadan" of his own. I asked what he meant. "Well, I'm not drinking anything or smoking anything for at least a month, and I'm going off coffee." Given this friend's normal intake of coffee, I could not believe my ears.

Muslims also observe dietary laws that restrict the kind of meat they can eat. These laws require that the permitted, or halal, meat is prepared in a manner that emphasizes cleanliness and a humane treatment of animals. These laws ride on the same trends that have made organic foods so popular.

Islam is tolerant of other faiths. Like America, Islam has a history of respecting other religions. In Muhammad's day, Christians, Sabeans, and Jews in Muslim lands retained their own courts and enjoyed considerable autonomy. As Islam spread east toward India and China, it came to view Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, and Buddhism as valid paths to salvation. As Islam spread north and west, Judaism especially benefited. The return of the Jews to Jerusalem, after centuries as outcasts, only came about after Muslims took the city in 638. The first thing the Muslims did there was to rescue the Temple Mount, which by then had been turned into a garbage heap.

Today, of course, the long discord between Israel and Palestine has acquired harsh religious overtones. Yet the fact remains that this is a battle for real estate, not a war between two faiths. Islam and Judaism revere the same prophetic lineage, back to Abraham, and no amount of bullets or barbed wire can change that. As The New York Times recently reported, while Muslim/Jewish tensions sometimes flare on university campuses, lately these same students have found ways to forge common links. For one thing, the two religions share similar dietary laws, including ritual slaughter and a prohibition on pork. Joining forces at Dartmouth this fall, the first kosher/halal dining hall is scheduled to open its doors this autumn. That isn't all: they're already planning a joint Thanks-giving dinner, with birds dressed at a nearby farm by a rabbi and an imam. If the American Pilgrims were watching now, they'd be rubbing their eyes with amazement. And, because they came here fleeing religious persecution, they might also understand.

Islam encourages the pursuit of religious freedom. The Pilgrim landing at Plymouth Rock is not the world's first story of religious emigration. Muhammad and his little band of 100 followers fled religious persecution, too, from Mecca in the year 622. They only survived by going to Madinah, an oasis a few hundred miles north, where they established a new community based on a religion they could only practice secretly back home. No wonder then that, in our own day, many Muslims have come here as pilgrims from oppression, leaving places like Kashmir, Bosnia, and Kosovo, where being a Muslim may radically shorten your life span. When the 20th century's list of emigrant exiles is added up, it will prove to be heavy with Muslims, that's for sure.

All in all, there seems to be a deep resonance between Islam and the United States. Although one is a world religion and the other is a sovereign nation, both are traditionally very strong on individual responsibility. Like New Hampshire's motto, "Live Free or Die," America is wedded to individual liberty and an ethic based on right action. For a Muslim, spiritual salvation depends on these. This is best expressed in a popular saying: Even when you think God isn't watching you, act as if he is.

Who knows? Perhaps it won't be long now before words like salat (Muslim prayer) and Ramadan join karma and Nirvana in Webster's Dictionary, and Muslims take their place in America's mainstream.

tpia:
are you referring to customary courts found in most major Nigerian towns?

NICHOLAS CECIL, JASON BEATTIE. "Sharia courts already in operation across London ; Senior clergy join attack on the Archbishop as it emerges that Islamic trial 'freed knife teenagers'." Evening Standard - London. Associated Newspapers Ltd. 2008. HighBeam Research. 9 Dec. 2008 <http://www.highbeam.com>.

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SHARIA law "courts" are already dealing with crime on the streets of London, it emerged today.

The revelation came after the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, called for an "accommodation" with parts of the Islamic legal code in a speech which attracted widespread condemnation.

Dr Williams is today under pressure to step down after he was attacked by his own senior clergy including the Bishop of Southwark, the Rt Rev Tom Butler.

The Archbishop said parts of civil law could be dealt with under the sharia system but already some communities have gone much further and it was revealed today that a teenage stabbing case among the Somali community in Woolwich had been dealt with by a sharia "trial".

Youth worker Aydarus Yusuf, 29, who was involved in arranging the hearing, said a group of Somali youths were arrested by police on suspicion of stabbing another Somali teenager.

The victim's family told officers the matter would be settled out of court and the suspects were released on bail.

A hearing was convened and elders ordered the assailants to compensate the victim. "All their uncles and their fathers were there," said Mr Yusuf. "So they all put something towards that and apologised for the wrongdoing." The Met said it could not find any record of an incident corresponding to the alleged Woolwich stabbing.

A spokesman said:"We pursue all investigations to a conclusion and do not defer to any other court system." The exact timing of the stabbing described by Mr Yusuf is unclear, which could explain the Met's inability to find a trace of it.

An Islamic Council in Leyton also revealed that it had dealt with more than 7,000 "divorces" while sharia courts in the capital have settled hundreds of financial disputes.

Today's revelations came as MPs suggested it was time for Dr Williams to step down amid condemnation from the Government and the Opposition.

Conservative MP Mark Pritchard said: "The Archbishop has many attributes but perhaps it's time for him to have a very long sabbatical." Dr Williams's comments have bitterly divided the Church and there has even been talk among some clergy of a bishops' revolt to oust the leader of the Church of England.

One vicar said: "It's like sending a postcard to al Qaeda saying we have lost the will to defend our western values." But others sprung to the Archbishop's defence, including the Bishop of Hulme, the Rt Rev Stephen Lowe.

He said: "The way he has been ridiculed, lampooned and treated by some people and indeed some of the media within this process, is quite disgraceful.

It is a shame on our nation." Along with the Islamic Council in Leyton, there are reports of at least two other sharia courts sitting in London.

There are also courts in other areas of the country with high Muslim populations, including Dewsbury in West Yorkshire, Birmingham and Rotherham, South Yorkshire.

Most are understood to concentrate on divorce cases although such judgments are not recognised in British law as well as financial disputes.

Those involved say the advantage of such hearings is they can avoid the need for formal, and expensive, litigation in civil courts and offer a relatively simple way of resolving disputes.

Suhaib Hasan, a spokesman for the Islamic Sharia Council in Leyton, said he and his colleagues dealt with more than 200 cases a year, ranging from inheritance to marriage and divorce.

"From the beginning, people have wanted our services. More and more come back to us. Each month we deal with 20 cases," he said.

Religious leaders, Cabinet ministers, equality chiefs and MPs all lined up to attack Dr Williams after his speech to the Royal Courts of Justice yesterday.

The Bishop of Southwark also spoke out against sharia law being brought into the country. He said: "It will take a great deal more thought and work before I think it's a good idea." Asked on BBC Radio 4's Today programme whether the Church of

England leader should have been more diplomatic, Dr Butler said: "The Archbishop has a way with language but this was a very heavy lecture." He admitted that Dr Williams had entered a "minefield" with his views on sharia and it was not clear whether he would start to backtrack. He said: "Like all bishops I'm waking up this morning to a shoal of emails from clergy asking what's going on." Culture Secretary Andy Burnham criticised the Archbishop's stance on giving sharia some form of legal status in Britain. He said: "This isn't a path down which we should go. You cannot run two systems of law alongside each other. That in my view would be a recipe for chaos, social chaos. British law has to be based on British values." Leading Christian Tory MP Peter Luff said the Archbishop should stick to promoting his Church's values. He added: "His job is not to make it easier for extreme Islam views to gain a foothold in the UK." Gordon Brown also intervened to say he believed "British laws should be based on British values".

Dr Williams claimed allowing sharia to be used to resolve family and financial disputes could help social cohesion in Britain and people should choose which legal system to use.

"Church of Scotland backs Islamic sharia law courts." The Scotsman. Scotsman Publications. 2008. HighBeam Research. 9 Dec. 2008 <http://www.highbeam.com>

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THE Church of Scotland last night welcomed the possibility of introducing sharia law courts in Scotland.

Rev Ian Galloway, convener of the Church and Society Council, said sharia courts had been unfairly portrayed following the Archbishop of Canterbury's comments in February that it "seems unavoidable" that parts of Islamic sharia law would be adopted in the UK.

Yesterday, The Scotsman revealed the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal, based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, was holding secret talks with lawyers and community groups about setting up sharia courts north of the Border.

Mr Galloway said: "What is being brought to us is not some kind of parallel jurisdiction that replaces our legal system; rather it is a space, within a given community, for disputes to be resolved."

But he added that sharia courts must meet three crucial standards - they must not preclude recourse to the courts, must not break fundamental tenets of the Human Rights Act and the rights of women must be respected.

8 Dec 2008, 0206 hrs IST, Roana Maria Costa & Mohammed Wajihuddin, TNN
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Muslims_denounce_Mumbai_attackers_as_enemy_of_Islam/articleshow/3805727.cms

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MUMBAI: Outraged at the recent terrorist attacks on Mumbai and terrorists who have painted a distorted image of Muslims in the name of Islam, 
hundreds of Muslim men, women and children publicly denounced all the killers of innocents as enemies of Islam on Sunday. The protesters, which included several members from Bollywood, also said that the enemies of India were enemies of Muslims too.

On Sunday afternoon, a silent march of the Muslims started from the CST station, one of the places the terrorists had chosen to create mayhem on 26/11, winding its way through Churchgate to the sea-front near the Oberoi-Trident. Similar protest walks, condemning terrorist outfits like the Al Qaeda, Taliban, ISI, LeT and SIMI and Huji were simultaneously held in cities like Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Indore, Hyderabad and Delhi.

"We disown and denounce all those who kill in the name of Jihad. Terrorists are fascists and enemies of Muslims since Islam doesn't preach killing of innocents," said poet-lyricist Javed Akhtar.

Akhtar said 26/11 attacks were unprecedented and were attacks on the dignity of the country. "Fascists are those who distort religion. There are bad elements in all religions. On 26\11 they didn't just place bombs and run, they entered our buildings, killed people and held hostages. No religion preaches killing of innocents," he said.

26\11 has changed the psyche of Indians, he said. "For the first time I've seen tears in so many eyes, people with so much grief," he said.

Perhaps for the first time liberal Muslims were joined by the clerics coming from organisations like Jamiat-ul-Ulema in expressing their anger against the terror outfits who have hijacked Islam. Actor-TV anchor Javed Jaffri said the Muslims had to speak out openly because after all it's Islam which is being maligned. "There is nothing called Islamic terrorists. Islam is being misinterpreted by some groups. They kill people in the name of jihad. A religion which asks its members to greet each other with Assalamu Alaikum (peace be with you) could never sanction killing of innocents," he said.

The rally walked the streets of Mumbai through DN Road, Hutatma chowk, passed by Churchgate station and ended near the Oberoi- Trident. Slogans like " Killers of innocents are enemies of Islam", "Our motherland's enemies are our enemies ", "Declare Pakistan a terrorist state" and "Close terrorists camps at once" were some of the slogans which screamed out from banners and placards.

Javed Anand of Muslims for Secular Democracy (MSD), the man who had galvanised several groups and individuals for the Sunday's peace march, said that for too long the terrorists had exploited the name of Islam and it is the duty of every Muslim to call the bluff of individuals and organisations who spread terror and violence in the name of Islam.

Actor Farooq Sheikh voiced similar opinions. "Terrorists are Muslims' number one enemy," he said.

Ad-man and activist Alyque Padamsee, who was instrumental in getting the famous Deoband fatwa against terrorism a couple of months ago, said there were two kinds of Muslims: Real Muslims and fake Muslims. "Terrorists are fake Muslims while peace-loving tolerant Muslims are real Muslims," he said. "99.9% of Indian Muslims believe the Quran which says killing of the innocents is wrong. Those who don't believe it are naqli (fake) Muslims," he said. "Committing suicide is a sin in Islam, so how can a suicide bomber believe he would go to Jannat (paradise)," he said.

Thou have choosen Evil, Thou shall see Violence

Water intoxication (also known as hyperhydration or water poisoning) is a potentially fatal disturbance in brain functions that results when the normal balance of electrolytes in the body is pushed outside of safe limits by over-consumption of water.

Normal, healthy (both physically and nutritionally) individuals have little to worry about accidentally consuming too much water. Nearly all deaths related to water intoxication in normal individuals have resulted either from water drinking contests, in which individuals attempt to consume more than 10 liters (10.5 quarts) of water over the course of just a few minutes, or long bouts of intensive exercise during which electrolytes are not properly replenished, yet massive amounts of fluid are still consumed.

But Bush refused to say whether he would have ordered the March 2003 invasion if he had known Iraqi's former leader, Saddam Hussein, did not have weapons of mass destruction, calling it "an interesting question".

GettysBurg:
I like it.Very cool.
Just that I would prefer just two countries where your Nigeria, Odua Republic and Biafra would form one country and become NAIJA
We will live in absolute peace and harmony. No more religious strife. Prosperity would reign supreme.
Seriously, it just a dream, but I hope it can happen peacefully.

diggler:
Arewa Republic will also contain the 9 states in Nigeria making it 20.

so like nuzo said the finally grouping will be more like;

Odua Republic
Arewa Republic/Nigeria (wonder how the middle belt minorities will take to hausa/fulani domination, possible strife)
Biafra
Niger Delta Republic (which will be embroiled in eternal strife as Ijaw will want their own nation or to dominate)

All in all, the above is a wet dream because it aint happening.
the ruling class of kleptoligarchs are comfortable with the present arrangement and therefore will do everything possible to make auwals wet dream remain just that a wet dream.

nuzo:
You are totally wrong on Biafra by including most states from the niger delta.
Everybody knows that the supposed new Biafra will be made up of the 5 Igbo speaking states and am sure that some of the states in niger delta would love to have their own sovereign state.