Empiree:
JazakhaAllahu Khayran

Nothing further from the truth. Attempts by modern world is that religion must fit human sense of reasoning, not the opposite. They just don't want to admit the obvious. Everything you mentioned up there is crystal clear. In 2009 on New York highway, one would have thought that the sad incident would change the way lawmakers reason. But no, they brushed it aside like it's nothing.

A beautiful woman with 6 children in a car was driving more than the legal limit per hour in the wrong direction. She rammed upcoming car killing the occupants, killed herself and 4 of the children. The other 2 children were in critical condition. What's the reason?, ALCOHOL. The first report that surfaced was she was highly intoxicated. Later it was changed to she suffered 'acute brain damage' due to medical condition for unknown reason. And bunch of frivolous excuses were made up to digress attention of the masses from the real cause.

Exactly, Empiree. Thank you. May Allah guide us all to the right path, amin.

Islam: A Faith Full of Prohibitions?

www.muhsin.in
@muhsin234

Islam and its about 2 billions adherents suffer an acute ad hominem criticism in various places in the world today. The condemnations are wide and wild. While the notorious one centres on terrorism carried out by some Muslims, dubbed extremists; a salient other one is on the many prohibitions embedded in the religion. A non-Muslim friend of mine once told me, “I can’t practice Islam. There are more ‘Noes’ than there are ‘Yeses’ in it”. I didn’t quickly affirm or snub her allegation. I rather felt the need to study the whole thing thoroughly, and so I did.

There are of course many “noes”, which are, nonetheless, for the wellness of humankind. For instance, Islam bans all intoxicants (cigarette and alcohol deserve particular mention), pork meat, interest and usury, any sexual immodesty (adultery, fornication, incest, phonograph, etc); gay marriage, among others. Religion is religion. It must not always seem reasonable to a faithful before he (generic) abide by all its rules and regulations. Needless to say, though, is the simple fact that scores of medical, social, financial, etc discoveries confirm the rationale of these proscriptions. I will discuss this later after a brief digression.

Often, a Muslim, especially living in non-Muslim majority places, chooses to ‘belong’, hence disregards the ethics of Islam and ignores to uphold its core values. In the same vain, he might seldom be found observing some inconsequential religious duties, as a Muslim at least by identity. In this effort to be present in two places at once, he ends up pleasing no one; both Allah and the people he wants to be part of. Bollywood Muslim actors are a typical example. A few months ago, an influential BJP leader called on Hindus to boycott films of Khans. And it’s very apparent that they neither please Allah by their films.

So many scholars, both Muslims and non-Muslims such as Thomas Cleary in The Essential Koran (2011), have attested to the fact that Islam does not demand unreasoned belief. Rather, it invites intelligent faith, growing from observation, reflection and contemplation, beginning with nature and what’s around us. That, and not “Holy war”, as Jihad is wrongly translated, aided the widespread of the religion across the globe. That, too, made the religion to champion in the courses of human (social, moral, financial, political, technological, medical, etc) development. This was also what “nursed Europe out of Dark Ages” (Ibid: vii). As discussed, there’s nothing good for mankind in the aforementioned banned things and acts.

A few years ago in Nigeria, the ex-governor of the Central Bank and the current emir of Kano, Malam Sanusi L. Sanusi spearheaded the introduction of a Shari’ah-compliant, non-interest banking system. Although the same has been practiced in many countries, including the UK, some Christian groups stubbornly opposed it. He, or another person – I can’t recall exactly – advised them to bring forward a Christian-compatible system and it would be incorporated in the system the same way Islamic banking is. They couldn’t and still can’t.

There have been discoveries on the health risk and danger of eating pork meat. The hazard of cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption need no mention, for they are ubiquitous. That’s why a number of warnings and restrictions always accompany their adverts and selling everywhere. Islam, being a divine religion, already prohibits us from taking those poisonous substances.

On the polygyny issue, which often transcends to women rights, Islam champions this course as well. For over a thousand years, Islam gives women right to own property and to inherit, trade, work, etc. No religious book limits a man to marry one wife (two, three or four, max. on unequivocal conditions and guidelines) except the Qur’an. If women are not allowed to drive cars in Saudi Arabia, for instance, that’s their law, not Islamic.

There’s also a huge health risk in same-sex marriage. In fact no religion approves of it. Even the Vatican declares that the recent referendum result that gives a nod to gay marriage in Ireland is a defeat for humanity. It’s only Muslims’ rejection that’s a thorn in the flesh but for obvious reasons, I suppose.

What is more? Islam is a religion for humanity that contains a well-nourished, befitting message to meet the contingencies of all time: past, present and future. The media, which are largely controlled by non-Muslims who mostly have an entrenched hatred for Islam, largely concentrate only on the wrongdoings of Muslims. ISIS, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram and the like are contravention of Islam. We barely hear about the plight of Muslims in many places such as Myanmar/Burma, Sri Lanka, Central African Republic, etc. Muslims are portrayed only as the bad guys. This is why people think there are more negativities than there are positivities in the religion. Wrong. I urge you to research on Islam from authentic sources.

A7:


Human what? This could be another medium to distraught the already heated polity. Those scavengers better not toy with weight and sensitivity of this issue, overlooking the present ambiance of people's melancholy and displeasure is tantamount to invalidating Hizba's call to calmness and shunning jungle related justice.

The fact that Hizba leadership is able to make peoople cooperate to ensure the law take its course is indeed a miracle, and attempting to thwart the proceedings will definitely invoke bitter opposition.

Lol hakane bamuda yawa, Yarabawa da Inyamurai ne suke cin karensu ba babbaka anan. You are a hell of sturdy veteran bro, I learn a lot from your entries in the faith section, am a fan even before I join nairaland . My regards to uwargida and indian friends .

Ma sha Allah. I'm humbled. Thanks, and best wishes, Malam.

A7:


That's disappointing, scuttling promising initiatives like this would be paving ways for more unguarded utterances and continuance of intensification of peoples indignation.

Hope they review their standpoint soon, a delay will lead to more turmoils that'll beckone wreckage and chaos[heard they razed garkuwan faida's house already]. The outcome of such frenzies[faith related] is always very messy. Allah ya karemu daga fadawa tarkon shaidan.

Yes, some overzealous people burnt his house. But he's not there; he's arrested and arraigned to court. Kano Hizba charges him and one other guy for blasphemy. They face face possible capital punishment - in sha Allah. Interesting, however, is how some lawyers (perhaps from among the so-called 'Human Rights activists') have sprung up to defend him.

Amin to the prayers. Ashe ma namu ne kai; lol! As an old member of the forum, I know there are only a few of us here. Hence my amazement.

Thanks once again. Cheers.

A7:
Interesting.

I admire your bluntness bro especially your stand on our reluctance to totally uproot deviancies perpetrated by vagabonds within. The moral decadence in todays so-called mysticism is alarming and very disturbing, this must not be further accomodated and must not be allowed to continue to fester.

It's high time relevant authorities and the Ulamas start organising an open session debates fishing and confronting those demented self-acclaimed prophets. This barbaric unproductive uncultured tradition need to be repelled and burried forever.

Cc: maclatunji tbaba1234 albaqir lanrexlan sissie vedaxcool deols

Thank you very much, brother.

The state government (i.e Kano) had recently proposed to form a committee of Ulemas that would be screening any preacher and his preaching, but that was criticised very squarely. Thus, it had to be jettisoned. But that is needed now than ever. I fear what could happen if this trend continues unabated.

temitemi1:
Nonsense!

Can you be so kind and point to what's "nonsense" in the article?

Thanks.

Taylor86:
y

?

Buhari’s Handshake Uproar: It’s all about Politics, Nothing Islamic

Twitter: @muhsin234

Let me be categorically clear from the onset that I am not here to legitimize the president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari’s handshake with any non-maharam woman. The often cited instances of other Muslim leaders of, among others, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia doing the same is, at best, extraneous and at worst, clumsy. No amount of words, logic, wisdom, etc can make what’s already haram (forbidden) such as an unconditional body contact with a non-maharam woman by another man halal (legit). That is my understanding, firm belief and sturdy stand.

Buhari’s action is, however, purely personal between him and his Creator, Allah. I am very sure that Buhari, being a Hausa-Fulani and Muslim, knows that. He would, if he at all allows it, definitely frown at anybody shaking the hands of his wife, his daughter or his female wards. He did not grow up seeing the same being done in their house nor in his immediate environment. And yes, we didn’t elect him because he’s versed in Islamic knowledge and to establish Shari’ah – and if you did so, you are very wrong. Christian, Muslim, etc Nigerians voted for Buhari to salvage the country from the shackles of the PDP-led government under Jonathan. His sins have nothing whatsoever to do with the development and growth, security, corrupt-free public servants and employment for the youths Nigerians zealously anticipate to witness under his leadership.

Enough of that, I believe. The annual birthday celebration (i.e. Maulud) of ‘Sheikh’ Ibrahim Nyass took place in Kano a few days ago (in the same week Buhari shook the hand of Mrs. Oshiomole). A so-called Malam (scholar) among the invitees openly blasphemed against the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) in the crudest and unheard of language. That was a sacrilege worth a downright condemnation by the Nigerian Muslims and the entire Ummah. It’s, to me and to many others, far worse than the caricatures of the Prophet done by the infamous Denmark magazine, the Charlie Hebdo’s and anybody else that I know of in all my living days.

As a netizen, I expected to see a far more fuss and fume from among the Muslim brethrens who just a few days ago expressed their angst towards the President-Elect for going against the Prophet’s teaching. There’s however a loud silence. I wondered why? I then recalled that Buhari is a politician and who has a cult-like followers especially in the north. Thus, disparaging him especially by a fellow northerner and in these days while the adoration and admiration is still afresh stands you a good chance to become popular. It’s almost certain that that would attract attention, for the critic displays ‘brevity’, ‘dispassion’ and ‘candor’.

The criticism might be more political than seeking for a cheap popularity, I further discovered. Many among those detractors have once or twice doggedly defended their fave politicians (for example former and the current governors of Kano State, Malam Shekarau and Engr. Kwankwaso, respectively) for committing exactly the same sin (handshake with a woman). But due to a double standard, they now nitpicked on Buhari. I think we shouldn’t be selective in telling the truth. Say the truth even on your own self, Islam teaches us.

It’s apparently clear that but for dirty politics and holier-than-thou attitude of many of us, where the Prophet’s virtue and personality were dented is the best place to deploy our big grammar, to exhaust our Internet megabytes and spend our time in his defense. We should take it as a duty to inform and enlighten as many people as we can out there about what happened. And we should be not afraid to unreservedly slam those mystic bastards calling themselves ‘Yan Haqiqah (‘Realists’), under the umbrella of Tijjaniyya sect.

To say I am disappointed is an understatement. I feel an excruciating pain circulating in my nerves at present. What would be our reaction when the same or similar desecration of the Prophet is carried out by a non-Muslim? I think you would remain nonplus as you are now, for it’s not Buhari who errs, and any (peaceful) protest will not make you popular. Politics shouldn’t foray into everything such as religious issues.

May Allah guide us to the right path and protect the virtue of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), amin.

PapiWata:

Now, on a serious note, I want to ask our Northern Nigerian brethren why they have historically shunned the Pidgin English dialect.

They don't shun it just like that. Two reasons:

1, it's never spoken in the North the same way it is in the South.

2, the hegemony of Hausa. You may not believe it, but Hausa is a highly powerful language. Hence it's presence in the realms of scholarship and the media globally.

But, as I have said in the OP, a few Hausas speak it very well, my wife, for instance. But most of those acquire it after having been born or raised in an environment where the language is used.

Pidgin English: A Bridge for our Cleavage


www.muhsin.in
@muhsin234

Wait, the Pidgin I know? That’s for the uneducated folks only. Did you just say that? Then you are wrong. The importance of this debased language is far beyond what you think. This is not a new discovery. It’s a fact. That’s why many people campaigned for the pidgin (or, better, the Creole) spoken in their countries to be formalized, standardized and even officialised. But that was barely achieved in a few nations like Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Sierra Leon.

Although India is far more diverse than Nigeria, many Indians are often amazed that we speak English among ourselves, and not ‘Nigerian’. They think there is a popular language used in the country by that name the same way Hindi is in India. We only have Nigerian Pidgin English (NPE) spoken by a healthy minority, I would say, and scores of other languages. A detour: India’s other names are Hindustan (the root word of Hindi, a popular language, and Hinduism, a major religion) and Bharat.

Sometime ago, a Nigerian student from Edo state came hunting for an apartment in our neighbourhoods. While bargaining for the rent, she and her friends requested my intercession as I have a good rapport with the landlady. I couldn’t speak the Pidgin, or “broken” English they wanted us to use for discretion. Thus, while the Indians spoke Hindi, an incomprehensible language to us, among themselves, we couldn’t communicate in a similar coded way as a people from the same country. We had to speak English. This incident drew me into thinking why can’t I speak Pidgin, apparently a single language that would have uniquely identified me as their fellow Nigerians?

I envy many Africans here the majority of whom from the East. They have their language of unity: Kiswahili. Other students from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, etc also have their own distinct languages. And we, Nigerians have only English for inter-ethnic communication. The southerners, however, use Pidgin/broken English, and only a fewer others from the north can speak it fluently.

There have been calls by linguists, scholars and other conservative cum nationalists in Nigeria to kick English out as a national language, or to, at least, ebb its hegemony. All that failed, and more efforts will ultimately, surely fail. Thus, I am not advocating for the same failure-prone cause. But there’s every need for more Nigerians to learn NPE (and to learn the Standard English the more). It’s the only language that can assist in bridging our ever-widening cleavage. It also belongs to none. So, nobody will feel superior that his or her language is being learned; nobody will also feel inferior that he’s learning other’s language.

I love my language, Hausa a lot. I similarly admire the linguistic heterogeneity of Nigeria. But our overdependence on and overvaluing of English is way too much. We often idiotically align positivity with the comprehension of the language such as intellect, education, prospects in job or marriage, and so on. For instance, no doubt the utterances of the outgoing President’s wife, Patience, are largely silly, or worse, but the downright condescending remarks trailing them are too much. Ditto, the way some detractors poke fun at the English of the president-elect, Gen. Buhari. The latter is all the more uncalled for, I have to admit.

Nigeria’s indigenous languages equally suffer a lot from the tsunamic onslaught of English and other major languages like Hausa (in the North, for instance). Hence many are slowly dying including Igbo, one of its largest three. Some have already died and others extinct. Sociolinguists, anthropologists and others concerned should come for a rescue mission, please.

Being my wife was raised in a non-Hausa dominated area of Brigade in Kano, she acquired NPE since her childhood. She’s able to integrate more with our southern counterparts here than I. I wish it were the other way. I really envy her. She’ll soon start teaching me this awesome language. Would you join the class? Apply now for admission while there are still available slots.

Nigeria: Search for Union beyond Amalgamation

@muhsin234

The elections were over. The winners (and losers, too) are known, and Nigerians await their inaugurations on May 29th. However, the repercussion of the elections is far from over. Igbos, whose undaunted, though paranoiac, doubt of Hausa-Fulani leadership forbade them to vote for Gen. Buhari, are still being brazenly abused, esp. on cyberspace. And they respond in crudest kind by calling their attackers with unprintable names. This is but one case out of many that are raping Nigeria along ethnic lines.

It’s sadder that the indigene-settler dichotomy is still existent even within our constitution; mobility freedom of citizens seldom crippled by arrests of northerners in the south; the so-called quarter system truncating chances of getting job. I don’t forget the far more horrible, countless ethno-religious crises in many cities and villages like Jos, Zankuwa, etc that claimed lives of thousands. It tears me up inside. I am often left asking: are we truly amalgamated yet? Or at least, when can we get over this nauseating disunity and move on?

I was born and raised in Hausa populated vicinity in Kano. But since my childhood, I know we have neighbours who do not speak our language, or practice our religion, or share our culture, etc. I didn’t know all this by instinct. I learned about it from my parents and school. All Nigerians should have this 001 Cosmopolitanism basic education.

I was actually moved to compose this piece by a fresh experience I observed here in Punjab, India. As customary as it almost is, people from the same places abandon all the differences they have back at home and unite whenever in the abroad. But it’s largely not the same to Nigerian students here and, perhaps, elsewhere. Often, a Yoruba would befriend only his fellow Yoruba, ditto Hausa, Igbo and the rest. A few others are nonetheless detribalized. They have recently formed a Nigeria Students Union.

One World, Divided Country
Our university organizes a yearly festival called One World. As the name suggests, it aims to show our world as it is: ONE. Students from different countries exhibit their music and dance, arts, culture and cuisine. Moreover, paintings, sculptures, artefacts, maps, architectural designs, etc. are displayed in various stalls within the university for two days. Whereas several, if not all, countries have a common symbol appreciated by all of them, Nigeria has virtually nothing of the sort.

The snag arises when choosing what should be put on view and whatnot. The Hausas, for instance, would prefer their music to be played and not Yorubas or Igbos. As the theme of this year’s festival is women’s empowerment, Nigeria’s stall is stalled with a lot of women’s pictures including Chimamanda Adieche, Stella Obasanjo, Queen Amina, among others hanged atop. Needless to say, you can see the reflection of our ethnic consciousness in the select women. This, to my perception, kills the vitality of the festival. Tribalism is certainly one of the albatross of Nigeria at home and abroad.

We ought to find a common ground for a truly amalgamated Nigeria. This is what I call “union beyond amalgamation”. The sadistic and corrupt politicians and other top-ranking government officials fuel the ambers as we have seen in the campaigns of the just concluded elections, while they don’t care a bit about their ethnic or religious affiliation when it comes to thieving and sharing our wealth as ‘spoils’ among themselves. I think Nigeria Police Force pension scam is a clear-cut example.

Therefore, it is up to us, ordinary Nigerians to get over playing religious and ethnic cards. We know we can’t bury that as it is embedded in our psyche. But we can forget and forge ahead, especially in the foreign lands. We shouldn’t flash our nudity everywhere. Heterogeneity is intriguing and diversity is interesting. But for our differences, life would have been mundane. Nigeria is one and it belongs to us all. The country would love to see us belong to her (as sons and daughters from the same womb). We shouldn’t thus deny it the right.

The government has to intervene. Nigerians have a whole lot of hope for the incoming government of Gen. Buhari. Therefore, we expect it to do everything possible for the reconciliation of the all Nigerian citizens and for a genuine (re)unification of the country.

Long live Nigeria!

Nigerians Need Patience; Good Luck to Buhari

Muhsin Ibrahim
@muhsin234

I read and heard that no fewer than 100 souls were lost and dozens others injured in celebrations over General Buhari’s victory in the 28th March Nigeria’s presidential election. How sad and unfortunate! While telling my wife that people were euphoric to that extent, she rather inadvertently told me that when we returned to Nigeria in the middle of the year, there would be no more electricity outage, no more terror attacks by Boko Haram, and no more any other unpleasantness. That unrealistic wish left me transfixed, for I have heard and read many others expressing the same or similar expectations, as, to them, the ‘Messiah’ has attained power.

So much has been written on the election and on the way and manner the President Goodluck Jonathan conceded defeat. I have, however, yet to see any piece on that hankering of the 15 million plus electorates, most of whom are masses, who voted for Buhari. People yearn for Change—the slogan of his party, APC—in the country. They want a transformed Nigeria where lives and property of its populace are secured, its economy blossomed, its military might restored, its public office holders corrupt-free, and, as a whole, its worth and esteem revived. But I think, in fact believe that, only a miracle can do that within the four-year-tenure provided for Buhari by the constitution.

The destruction done to Nigeria by the outgoing government and the previous ones under the Peoples Democracy Party (PDP) is a well known phenomenon. Imagine the country as a house. It will take only a minute or less to demolish it with, for instance, a bomb; but rebuilding the same house will take no less than a week, no matter the technology. This is the condition of Nigeria today.

The President-Elect should carefully and conscientiously use the two-month period of the transition to organise his government; to focus and ponder; and do everything in no time, for he’s simply returning to the office he was once in. We have seen how the current governor of Kano state, Engr. Rabiu Kwankwaso did when he came back to power in 2011 after his defeat in 2003. The second tenure was by all parameters far more systematized, focused and purposed. That’s why he’s able to perform well and achieve remarkably.

Evidently enough, most of us were only endeared to Buhari after hearing how well he led Nigeria as a military Head of State in the 1980s. A few knew him as head of Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) during General Abacha regime, and saw how astutely and effectively he ran the office. But the Nigeria of today is not of those days. Likewise, the people he governed and with whom he governed are not the same. Although we cherish to see similar, if not surpassing, achievements, seeing the contrary is possible for many reasons.

General Buhari now lacks the power he had then, and the country is very, though regrettably, largely divided along regional and religious lines. Thus, executing many projects and policies are going to be tougher, if at all possible.

Moreover, the economy of the country is in a bad shape, though it’s said to be the biggest in Africa. Where, for instance, the US dollar was reportedly equivalent to naira during his leadership in 1984/85, a dollar is now worth more than 200 naira. Worse still, the price of petrol is at its lowest level in the world market, and our foreign reserve is depleted because billions of dollars, as exposed by the former apex bank governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, are, literally speaking, missing. Needless to say, nothing moves without money. Thus, Buhari needs a gigantic good luck to satiate the hunger of Nigerians, while Nigerians require an enduring patience to give him space and time to govern.

As Nigerians are people who believe and trust in God, we shouldn’t, therefore, forget to regularly wish and pray for the success of this incoming government. And prepare for the change we called for. General Buhari’s success is ours, for, after all, the country is ours now and always. I believe we would be happier if he records more success than the previous governments. That will set a pace for any other subsequent governments to see that they out-perform his, therefore putting themselves in the annals of history and in good light.

Long live the General! Long live Nigeria!

deanoffaculty:
Money is good! Before December, the face of GMB's sister would have become smoother and KIM KIRDARSHIAN will start envying her.......

March 28th Elections: Fears, Pessimism and Prayers

@muhsin234

Without digging deeper into the history lane in the Nigerian politics, many people know that last-hour relinquishment, nay betrayal, by swayers in a political journey often results to the success or failure of a particular candidate. For instance, Kano people saw that in 1999 when a comparatively more popular Engr. Magaji Abdullahi lost governorship election to Engr. Rabiu Kwankwaso. There was a similar scenario in 2011 at the presidential election. General Buhari’s Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) entered into an ill-advised alliance with Action Congress for Nigeria (ACN) at the last minute of the eleventh hour. It didn’t work as feared. ACN and its south-western supporters dumped CPC and the party’s candidate, too, Nuhu Ribadu for President Goodluck Jonathan (and his party, PDP).

Yesterday, a well-informed Yoruba friend of mine posted on Facebook that an experienced friend of his feared that opposition might yet again give in to PDP on March 28 presidential election. Needless to mention, by “opposition”, he means ‘their’ people, the south-western political bloc. Some among the respondents expressed more trepidation; others rejected the caution outright as baseless, for, according to them, the opposition of today is far more formed, firmed and formidable. Thus, it couldn’t and wouldn’t be sold out. I sincerely think otherwise, for, after all, Mr. Bola Tinubu and co. are not as honest as some Nigerians seem to think and believe.

Many people have a cotton-candy view of the opposition party, the All Progressive Congress (APC). They ought to wake up to the reality. Looking at the party as an entity and its members as individuals reveals a simple fact that most of them are no better than their counterparts in PDP. They are largely the same, if not even worse. During its embryonic days, I argued that deserted PDP members in APC are like an old wine in a new bottle, except a few. Numerous crooks saw APC as a heaven, or as a remedial niche, where a common membership cleanses them of any sins no matter how grave.

Tribalism aside, and fact be said, many Hausas trust Yorubas very little in politics and fewer can vouch for their pledge of allegiance. Where, for instance, the late Chief MKO Abiola, a Yoruba candidate, defeated Alhaji Bashir Tofa woefully in his own state, Kano, of all places; General Buhari has never won any state in the south-west, in all his three consecutive contests, even with an accord in 2011. Therefore, if, God forbid, it happens again on March 28, Nigerians should not be bemused, not even surprised, for it’s simply a history repeating itself.

No denying that the north suffers more in the hands of President Jonathan, but nobody is immune. The dreadful depreciation of Naira, for example, and the hiking inflation in the country affect everyone. Likewise insecurity does not kill only the northerners; many southerners are also plunged as armed robbers, kidnappers and cultists are increasingly having field days. Systemic failure, falling standard of education, corruption, etc are gnawing the fabrics of the country in the whole. Therefore, the continuation of Jonathan is not peculiarly a northern problem. It’s all ours.

I am not being pessimistic; I am rather a realist now and always. The earlier those south-western oligarchs rethink what they are musing, the better. They are not doing any good for their people, not for themselves. For now, it may yes seem that Jonathan’s corruption-ridden government may give them a plump reward, but that cannot sustain them forever. Only a better Nigeria can, and the simple way towards finding that is by kicking this government out and voting in a better (note: not the best, for he too is not) person, a little more committed party, the APC.

I hope and pray that should they refuse to heed the aforementioned, then their people should revolt against them. They are not God-sent nor must-obey; they are humans. It is high time Nigerian youth stood up for their right, for themselves and their future. We are the victims of Immigration Recruitment tragedy, of 2011 post-election violence, of Boko Haram insurgency and so on. What more motivation are we waiting for to be ourselves, to use our God-given conscience, to practice the kind of politics of non-violence we see in the developed world? It’s now or never!

Mgpaki:
may Allah make things easy for us and guide us to the straight path

Amin.

The Death of Common Sense
@muhsin234

It’s a familiar saying that common sense is not so common. Many people regard this saying as silly, or worse. However, evidently enough today, lots of happenings around the world are corroborating it. Common sense is indeed getting scarce and scarcer by the tick of a clock. Humans’ faculty is becoming faulty and faultier. Bad is considered good and good as bad. Right as wrong, wrong as right. Demarcation line between almost anything hitherto thought as positive and/or negative is being thinning, blurring and shall soon vanish.

A weirdest law was given a nod in South Korea in the pass week. Adultery is now legalized, and soon thereafter, condom maker's shares surge. Fornication has since been permissible in many countries, though, provided the persons involved have reached puberty and there’s no compulsion. Wonder; this new, lewd law was virtually nothing sensational, even on the social media as other, perhaps more pressing, news eclipsed it. It nonetheless remains a sensation is my sense. I couldn’t, and still can’t, put up with the irrationality and animalism of the law. This is doubtlessly a bad omen for the disappearance of Common Sense.

However, some may argue that decriminalization of same sex marriage is as much wrong. Yes, it is no less wrong, but not as much. Think about it. Now you have no case whatsoever with anybody you caught having an affair with your wife. Your wife! It’s now okay for either or both officially married partners to have extra-marital affairs even if either or both couples are aware of that. How obscene!

I am afraid but common sense is more than dying; it is going to extinction. Murder is literally okayed by some so-called jihadi extremist groups. Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram has in one of his video messages called on his disciples to simply kill whoever they see. ISIL have been doing the same. To them, murdering anyone that does not share their rogue ideology is lawful and even rewardful. At a state level, the Israel Defence Force can shoot dead Palestinians and hardly any punishment follow.

Again, in some countries and cities, smoking cannabis is approved. The recent in this horrible, anti-health campaign is the Washington DC, the capital of the U.S. Other countries like Czech Republic, Columbia, Costa Rica, Jamaica, etc have already legalized it and perhaps some other killing-drugs. Soon others will follow.

Inasmuch as I try to refrain being proselytizing so often, I believe it’s worth doing here. Being Islam a divine religion, it takes human’s physiology into cognizance and thus allows a man to have multiple wives under certain conditions such as an ability to judge fairly among them, wherewithal to cater for them and so on. Likewise, a day or days for each wife is/are stipulated, etc. Allah, our Creator, knows the psyche and the desire of His Creation. Had that been observed, no need to go to that extent as authorizing multiple sex partners; I am sure many people would not agree to this. It will create lots of conflict, for we are naturally jealous.

The earlier we realize the aforesaid, the better for the humanity. I hope and pray that someday murder will not be generally legalized. If it does, then our societies will be like a jungle: only the fittest can survive. Though I don’t think even animals will ever go down to that intellectual and moral bankruptcy of allowing others to have sex with their wives. But for us, humans, it’s really a heart-numbing and a very dire for the future. Rest in peace, Common Sense.

Bobbysworld28:

Can u pls give the correct context of those quotations or pls keep quiet! No single muslim on NL can defend the beast of a prophet. How pathetic

Hmm. Funny.

Ifeann:

Salam.
Its funny how u say the verses are out of context, pls give us the context.. Ur muslim lies are running out.
Again it is funny u give an article written by the huffpost.com.. Apparently ur imam didn't tell u those guys are heathens and atheists bent on promoting the securalist agenda and anti Christianity and even anti religious sentiments.
They are not a credible site but u Muslims don't care about credibility. U just disseminate anything that supports ur argument at the moment.
Shalom.

Even the Pope can say what's factual about Muslims. Ditto Richard Dawkins. It's not about the messenger, it's the message that matters.

Huffpost reports what's there. Nothing ideological. Not at all.

Did you please read the referred article to which the OP replied? Obviously no. So, go do that and then come back for a mature discussion.

And, who are you to interprete Qur'an just like that? I can as well qoute any religious book you know out of context... You sure will be amazed. There's this violence stuff in all. But it's only ignorant people who engage in that.

May the Almighty God guide us, amin.

The OP said he had never seen where followers of any religion kill in the name of their religion. Although that was silly, to say the least, I however responded, at least for the sake of other readers. Now another equally ignorant fella has come with his, quoting verses out of context. How funny!

People should know that no religion has manopoly of terrorism. The above links have clearly shown that.

And please reread the article the OP 'replied' to. And this one also:

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/6662460#

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2015/01/un-muslims-ethnically-cleansed-car-2015196546788288.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/02/13/why-does-this-buddhist-majority-nation-hate-these-muslims-so-much/

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/opinion/ethnic-cleansing-of-myanmars-rohingyas.html?_r=1&

You need more proofs?

By

@muhsin234

A lot happened last week. Least of all, my one terabyte external hard disk fell down and crushed; Ugh! From Nigeria, two major interviews by the president Jonathan and his number one contender, Gen. Buhari, and the fierce fight between Boko Haram and the Nigerian military in Gombe state got the media’s attention. That’s how media works: to report what’s happening and (should) do that irrespective of who is the victor or the vanquished. This is just an example; Nigerian media is far below the description of professional, unbiased or any desired standard.

All too often, Muslims are attached to terrorism. This is not a news, not any longer since 9/11 attacks. Prior to the attacks, many Muslim countries were in a relative peace: Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Libya. Now the story is markedly a contrasting a la scaring one. On daily basis, hundreds of Muslims are killed in those countries and others like Nigeria, Somalia, Myanmar, etc. And the deaths continue.

Muslims are always seen as inherently violent, intolerant, and as carriers of everything evil. I am not here to defend the action of anybody, much less of the so-called today’s Jihadists. But whether we believe it or not, and in spite of everything else, we all are human beings. Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Atheist, you name it, our physiology and anatomy are the same.

As many have seen in the news, three young, beautiful American Muslim students, including a much-recently married couple and a sophomore were murdered in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in an execution style by a Caucasian terrorist. However, much unlike we saw in the last month when the whole world ‘stood for humanity’ and ‘freedom of speech’ and the mainstream media brought to us #JeSuiCharlie, i.e. “I am Charlie”, the trio were largely unhumanized, for their murder was heavily under-reported.

Again, a few months back, a lone terrorist attacked a Jewish museum in Brussels, and then another attack was carried on in their (Jews’) kosher shop in Paris. Everything, I mean everything, was halted and every channel reported nothing but the attacks as they occurred. The same happened in other instances where the victims were non-Muslims, or Blacks, though less often. Thank God, the Internet has provided the voiceless with a loud voice. Netizens, mainly among Muslims, around the world trended a hashtag that #MuslimLivesMatter and voila, the story soon enough became a phenomenon.

It’s like wasting energy writing on the prejudice, stereotype and even hatred being meted out on Muslims today. But we cannot and will not get tired to say things as they are, for some people are left in a puzzle as to what is exactly going on in the Muslim’s world, which is in fact a diverse world. Islam is holistically alright, but large chunk of its adherents are not. No doubt or regret about saying this.

Many people, however, tend to be ignorant of one thing: there’s nothing like Muslim World. Is it that Indonesia or Bangladesh where females had been prime ministers or Saudi Arabia where they cannot even drive car? Or Nigeria, where Boko Haram insurgents say ‘Western’ education is prohibited and thus abducted hundreds of girl-children in their school, or Turkey where literacy rate is above 90% for both males and females? So, people should be judged for their individual actions.

As one writer aptly puts it, Muslims are only newsworthy when they are behind the gun, and not in front. Remember Gaza? Their situation is as dire as ever today. Do you hear about Rohingyas Muslims in Myanmar or those Muslims in CAR? In both countries, Muslims are being “ethnically cleansed” even by the definition of the U.N. The dreaded Islamic State or ISIS, ISIL, whatever, too, is being combated not for killing their ‘fellow’ Muslims. They have been doing that since their emergence. It’s only when they began their heinous campaign on Yazidis, Christians and some Westerners that they attracted the world’s superpowers' attention and the media.

All lives matter; not only Muslims’. This life of ours is sacrosanct and should be regarded as such. Likewise, perpetrators of any evil should be condemned and called by their appropriate name: terrorist. But, don’t be much surprised if, at the end of the day, the murderer of those students is merely called a crazy, misguided bigot who acted alone and later be sentenced to a few years in prison and then released.

As I type this article, there’s been developing story on almost all the world’s major media of an attack in Copenhagen, Denmark. The attack was on a ‘free speech’ event/conference on Islam and blasphemy. An infamous cartoonist of the Prophet Muhammad was among the conferees. He might be the target. You can see the difference clearly: now that the Muslims are apparently not in front of the gun, the media gets frenzied about the story.

May Allah guide and protect us, amin.

14:
Thanks Nigeria for putting us in limboo

On the Election Postponement and the Religious Bigotry in Nigerian Politics

www.muhsin.in
@muhsin234 (Twitter)

The much-awaited Valentine Day election, which is fondly called FeBuhari 14th by the supporters of APC presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari (GMB), was finally postponed yesterday, although the same had been predicted long ago by many observers. President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ) is ever since feared by many to be, directly or indirectly, behind the dreaded Boko Haram (BH) insurgency. This undoubtedly sounds implausible, but no one can refute the allegation hands down. Can you? What’s your verified fact? There’s none.

The (In)Dependent National Electorate Commission (INEC) was apparently forced to postpone the elections to March, 28 and April, 11. Two main reasons could be deduced and both are for a pure, however mischievous, political gains by the ruining, nay, ruling party, PDP.

First, taking the above hunch that President Jonathan has hands in the spread of the insurgency, this postponement is a clear vindication that he wants to elongate his tenure for only God knows how long. His death? He has had already tried other means such as proposing for a 7-year single tenure, etc. As all those failed, he deployed this latest one. This, too, will not pass, for other presidents before him were unsuccessful.

Secondly, discarding the above suspicion away, the Nigerian government wants to quash the insurgents, for, among other reasons, the opposition candidate, a retired military general, has been more popular as many believe he can get rid of BH in no time. Nigerians ought to know well that BH should and could have been quelled a long time ago, but it’s now, on the slotted Election Day, that an all-out-war is said to be waged on them. What has the military been doing all that while?

And, on the bigotry issue:

As almost everyone sees, the President has been touring churches, including the opposition vice president candidate’s, Professor Osinbajo in the recent days. Needless to say, he’s seeking for votes. There have been pictures of him kneeling in front of the clergies, like the prominent Pastor Adeboye and others. Some of those ‘God men’ have openly campaigned for him to their thousands followers.

In other instances, PDP’s chieftains like the prostituting secretary of the presidential campaign, Femi-Fani Kayode have more than numerous times said that APC is a Muslims’ party that wants to ‘Islamise’ the country. They plainly claim that it’s a BH party and it belongs to the northerners and all that. Surprisingly enough, a video of the VP, Namadi(na) Sambo describing the same opposition party as a Christian party recently went viral. He called on the electorates at the rally in Niger State to not vote them, for their PDP is more a Muslim party than APC.

No doubt, APC people too do somehow play the religious cards on the Nigerians, but not, in the least, that much. Imagine what would have been the case, especially in the southern-bloc media and on cyberspace, had GMB been visiting mosques in the North, kneeling before Imams and asking for people’s votes? What would have been the reaction of the people had he or his running-mate ever made a public speech calling on the followers of one religion to not vote PDP for its being a Christian or a Muslim party?

Simple, though shocking, fact be said: Nigeria is in terrible trouble. We are ruled by thugs, drunkards, crooks and bigots. Ruffians like Tompolo and Dokubo Asari treacherously and treasonably called for bloodshed should GEJ lose election. Others said they would not allow anyone to vote against him in their polling units. And the DSS and police can only ‘invite’ them. Impunity in broad daylight! No doubt he got 99% vote in the South-South states in the 2011 election! But mark my words; GMB can never get the same, for, in spite of all his cult-like followers, who unfortunately murdered people, allegedly, for his loss, in the north, voters have liberty to elect who they want.

May Allah save us and save our country from ruin, amin. God bless Nigeria, amin.

stag:
On the flip side, are you sure ur annoyance isn't the fact that 'Kannywood' (whatever that means) is not recognised much anywhere, even in Nigeria?

Not at all! This is the fact I know and, in fact, almost everybody knows. You too can guess the reason: language. While Nollywood uses an international, hegemonic English language, Kannywood uses Hausa, a regional language. So, no vex.

Africa, a Continent in the Limbo


www.muhsin.in
@muhsin234 (Twitter)

Stories of Africa being taken for a country or Nigeria for a city in an unknown country, perhaps ‘Africa’ do not have anymore newsworthiness. More than many ‘intellectuals’, politicians, organizations, individuals, etc from around the world have had, on several instances, such faux pas or something similar that point towards that. Notables and well-known, at least within the circle of my readers, of such include Sarah Palin’s interview, Chimamanda’s chilling speech, The Danger of a Single Story and Farooq Kperogi’s piece, ‘Is Nigeria the name of a City?’, among others. It has, nonetheless, gone far beyond that as I have recently discovered.

I attended the 17th International Theatre Festival of India, called Bharat Rang Mahotsav for a few days. The festival is still ongoing at the renowned [Indian] National School of Drama, Delhi. The school is disputably the best in the whole of Asia. The festival will be rounded off on the 18th of this month. There are theatre repertory groups from the U.S, Europe, Middle East and other Asian countries, but there was/is nobody from Africa, though Africa is the second largest continent on earth with over 50 sovereign nations. Absence of a single participant from Africa has more or less weakened the usage of the word: international.

For a long time prior to this festival, as a student of theatre and film studies, I have since noticed the ‘non-existence’ of Africa in the theatre and the cinema realms and discourses in India. Quote me anywhere, less than a few people know that Africans produce any films and stage any dramas of their own here. Notwithstanding that the university I study boasts calling itself international, there’s absolutely nothing African in their syllabi, nor reference thereof except, probably, in Geography department’s. This is incredible!

Today, the Nigerian film industry called Nollywood surpasses the Hollywood in terms of production and is now the second largest in the world after Bollywood, the Indian glamorous film industry. YET, it is largely in oblivion among the billion plus populace of India. Ditto the theatre of Africa, not only Nigeria’s, with all its richness, epoch and popularity in the UK, US and elsewhere. Professor Wole Soyinka is the first African to be awarded the Nobel Prize in 1986 and he got it in Literature (Drama!).

Recently, prominent Kannywood (i.e. Kano-based film industry) personal, including the ace actor, Ali Nuhu came to India for a short course, sponsored by Nigerian government, on film. First, their Industry was/is facing a dire challenge due to the so-called “Hausa-India films” (i.e. Hausa-dubbed and lips-synched Hindi films). Being they were not taken that serious here, they couldn’t do anything about that. Secondly, and on a lighter tone, they obviously couldn’t get any chance to meet with any Bollywood high-flying actor, director or producer, for we might have seen pictures of them together.

Enough of this whining, some might say. Yes, I can’t change the status quo. Africa is largely, erroneously and ridiculously though, known as no more than a forest that houses monkeys, or humans that resemble them. The North Korean government has lately described President Obama as such. Or, for Ebola. Or, in other instances, Indians know South Africa and Kenya as the two countries play cricket, their favourite game. And more, India’s number one statesman, Mahatma Ghandi ji once lived in the former.

But for Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and arguably the richest, is often remembered when any Black man committed, or is accused for committing, a crime. The dreaded insurgent group, Boko Haram has also popularized the name of the country. I discussed this ugly truth in one of my articles.

It is high time Africans started what I may call searching for ‘self-worth’. I am not advocating for egotism, high-handedness or anything of the sort. But knowing yourself, your merit and respect is needed now and always. Millions of Africans, particularly Nigerians, take Indians to the highest esteem. We think of our Bollywood fave actors as paragons of beauty, valour and value. Down here, you are not known, and in a few places you are known, you mean little or nothing. However, not all are like that. As I often say, we are individuals, so also they (Indians) are. But let’s know them for what they are, and know yourself for what you are.

Africa, a Continent in Limbo


www.muhsin.in
@muhsin234 (Twitter)

Stories of Africa being taken for a country or Nigeria for a city in an unknown country, perhaps ‘Africa’ do not have anymore newsworthiness. More than many ‘intellectuals’, politicians, organizations, individuals, etc from around the world have had, on several instances, such faux pas or something similar that point towards that. Notables and well-known, at least within the circle of my readers, of such include Sarah Palin’s interview, Chimamanda’s chilling speech, The Danger of a Single Story and Farooq Kperogi’s piece, ‘Is Nigeria the name of a City?’, among others. It has, nonetheless, gone far beyond that as I have recently discovered.

I attended the 17th International Theatre Festival of India, called Bharat Rang Mahotsav for a few days. The festival is still ongoing at the renowned [Indian] National School of Drama, Delhi. The school is disputably the best in the whole of Asia. The festival will be rounded off on the 18th of this month. There are theatre repertory groups from the U.S, Europe, Middle East and other Asian countries, but there was/is nobody from Africa, though Africa is the second largest continent on earth with over 50 sovereign nations. Absence of a single participant from Africa has more or less weakened the usage of the word: international.

For a long time prior to this festival, as a student of theatre and film studies, I have since noticed the ‘non-existence’ of Africa in the theatre and the cinema realms and discourses in India. Quote me anywhere, less than a few people know that Africans produce any films and stage any dramas of their own here. Notwithstanding that the university I study boasts calling itself international, there’s absolutely nothing African in their syllabi, nor reference thereof except, probably, in Geography department’s. This is incredible!

Today, the Nigerian film industry called Nollywood surpasses the Hollywood in terms of production and is now the second largest in the world after Bollywood, the Indian glamorous film industry. YET, it is largely in oblivion among the billion plus populace of India. Ditto the theatre of Africa, not only Nigeria’s, with all its richness, epoch and popularity in the UK, US and elsewhere. Professor Wole Soyinka is the first African to be awarded the Nobel Prize in 1986 and he got it in Literature (Drama!).

Recently, prominent Kannywood (i.e. Kano-based film industry) personal, including the ace actor, Ali Nuhu came to India for a short course, sponsored by Nigerian government, on film. First, their Industry was/is facing a dire challenge due to the so-called “Hausa-India films” (i.e. Hausa-dubbed and lips-synched Hindi films). Being they were not taken that serious here, they couldn’t do anything about that. Secondly, and on a lighter tone, they obviously couldn’t get any chance to meet with any Bollywood high-flying actor, director or producer, for we might have seen pictures of them together.

Enough of this whining, some might say. Yes, I can’t change the status quo. Africa is largely, erroneously and ridiculously though, known as no more than a forest that houses monkeys, or humans that resemble them. The North Korean government has lately described President Obama as such. Or, for Ebola. Or, in other instances, Indians know South Africa and Kenya as the two countries play cricket, their favourite game. And more, India’s number one statesman, Mahatma Ghandi ji once lived in the former.

But for Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and arguably the richest, is often remembered when any Black man committed, or is accused for committing, a crime. The dreaded insurgent group, Boko Haram has also popularized the name of the country. I discussed this ugly truth in one of my articles.

It is high time Africans started what I may call searching for ‘self-worth’. I am not advocating for egotism, high-handedness or anything of the sort. But knowing yourself, your merit and respect is needed now and always. Millions of Africans, particularly Nigerians, take Indians to the highest esteem. We think of our Bollywood fave actors as paragons of beauty, valour and value. Down here, you are not known, and in a few places you are known, you mean little or nothing. However, not all are like that. As I often say, we are individuals, so also they (Indians) are. But let’s know them for what they are, and know yourself for what you are.

Unbias:

LEAVE OUR PROPHET ALONE!

This article was written by BALA MUHAMMAD and first published by Weekly Trust (Nigeria) on Saturday, 22 September 2012. It’s however very relevant as ever. The recent attack on the French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdon’s office in Paris behooved me to reproduce it here. Inasmuch as I don’t condone the murder, the actions of the newspaper are downright condemnable.

His name is Muhammad. And all of us, now One and a Half Billion Souls and counting, love him beyond compare. In fact we so love him that others just can’t understand or comprehend. They don’t get it, and they can’t get it, for they know not this kind of love. We love him more than we love our parents; indeed we love him more than we love ourselves! The moment we hear his name invoked, we immediately add: “May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.” O we so love him, Muhammad!

He left us more than 14 centuries ago, yet it is as if he daily lives amongst us. There is no day that passes without his name being called, and praised, by each one of us. To us, he is inviolable, unjokable. He is leave-alonable. We don’t joke about him. To us, Muhammad the Prophet is serious matter. In anything concerning him, we are, we swear by Allah, fanatical, fundamental, impatient. We love him; you don’t, and you can’t understand. So we say to them, just leave him alone.

We are so many, and O how we so love him! A billion-plus loves! Yet some people who don’t understand us, or our Prophet, think they can just play with his name, and his person, and his dignity, and hide under ‘freedom of expression’ or similar Western jargon. We say to unto them: just leave him alone! May our fathers and our mothers be ransom for you, O Muhammad! O RasulalLah!

They have done it again! Filmmakers and cartoonists and writers who think they can make fun of our Prophet and go scot-free should know this fact: you may abuse a Muslim’s father, you may abuse a Muslim’s mother, you may abuse everyone abusable, but never poke fun or abuse our noble Prophet Muhammad. On that, we are fanatical, we are fundamental; end of discussion. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon you O RasulalLah!

But we should all remember that the forefathers of these insensitive filmmakers and cartoonists and writers were not like them. They acknowledged and praised our Prophet as the greatest person to have ever lived. His name Muhammad, indeed, means praiseworthy. SallalLahuala Muhammad.

Michael H. Hart in his book on ratings of people who contributed towards the benefit and upliftment of Mankind, chose Muhammad at the top of his list of the Greatest Hundred. He writes: “My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world’s most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels.” (The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History: New York, 1978).

George Bernard Shaw, the great philosopher, said about the Prophet: “He must be called the Saviour of Humanity. I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it much needed peace and happiness.” (The Genuine Islam, Singapore, Vol. 1, No. 8, 1936).

Historian John William Draper in his well-known work, ‘A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe’, observes: “Four years after the death of Emperor Justinian, was born at Makkah, in Arabia, the man who, of all men, has exercised the greatest influence upon the human race.”

Dr Annie Besant in her book, ‘The Life and Teachings of Muhammad’ (Madras, 1932) says: “It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and character of the great Prophet of Arabia, who knows how he taught and how he lived, to feel anything but reverence for that mighty Prophet, one of the great messengers of the Supreme. And although in what I put to you I shall say many things which may be familiar to many, yet I myself feel whenever I re-read them, a new wave of admiration, a new sense of reverence for that mighty Arabian teacher.”

David George Hogarth (1862-1927) English archaeologist, author, and keeper of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, says of Prophet Muhammad: “Serious or trivial, his daily behaviour has instituted a canon which millions observe this day with conscious mimicry. No one regarded by any section of the human race as Perfect Man has been imitated so minutely. The conduct of the Founder of Christianity has not so governed the ordinary life of His followers. Moreover, no Founder of a religion has been left on so solitary an eminence as the Muslim Apostle.” (Arabia, Oxford, 1922).

Edward Gibbon (1737-1794), considered the greatest British historian of his time, says of our Prophet: “The greatest success of Muhammad’s life was effected by sheer moral force without the stroke of a sword.” (History of the Saracen Empire, London, 1870). Gibbon adds elsewhere: “His (i.e. Muhammad’s) memory was capacious and retentive, his wit easy and social, his imagination sublime, his judgment clear, rapid and decisive. He possessed the courage of both thought and action.” (History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, London, 1838, vol.5, p. 335).

Professor Keith L. Moore, one of the world’s most prominent scientists in the fields of anatomy and embryology, and author of the book ‘The Developing Human,’ which has been translated into eight languages, was in Saudi Arabia in 1981 during the Seventh Medical Conference in Dammam. Professor Moore said: “It has been a great pleasure for me to help clarify statements in the Qur’an about human development. It is clear to me that these statements must have come to Muhammad from God, because almost all of this knowledge was not discovered until many centuries later. This proves to me that Muhammad must have been a messenger of God.” SallalLahuala Muhammad.

Thomas Carlyle, in ‘Heroes and Hero Worship and the Heroic in History,’ (1840) says: “The lies (i.e. Western slander) which well-meaning zeal has heaped round this man (Muhammad) are disgraceful to ourselves only.”

Mahatma Gandhi, speaking on the character of Muhammad said: “I wanted to know the best of one who holds today’s undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind…I became more than convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for his pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These, and not the sword, carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle. When I closed the 2nd volume of the Prophet’s biography, I was sorry there was not more for me to read of the great life.” (Young India).

Alphonse de Lamartine (1790-1869), French poet and statesman, says of our Master: “Philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator, warrior, conqueror of ideas, restorer of rational dogmas, of a cult without images; the founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire; that is Muhammad. As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than he?” (Translated from Histoire de la Turquie, Paris, 1854, vol. II).

They will continue to provoke us by mocking our Rasul. But we should be ahead of them by being circumspect in our protestations. We must remember that Allah says “Wa la taziruwaziratuwizraukhra” . The consequence of this blasphemy is a burden on those filmmakers, cartoonists and writers. And they will bear it, in sha Allah.

Please tell all of them: just leave our Prophet alone!

kepstone:
GTBank is becoming something else wit a lot of complaines from customers about their services. D bank has hld my money for sometime I can not withdraw but only deposit, d lady I lodge complain with jus abandoned my form I have to go back and strted raking before dey withdrew my form it has not been workred upon. Many branches of dis celebrated bank will soon close down, atleast I knw one that has closed down. Pls GTBank regain your lost glory by giving priority to your loyal customers and your customers generally.

Exactly. It's unfortunate. I have several accounts with the bank; but now I am preparing to close them all as soon as I return to the country. I hope they will do something to see that doesn't happen.

GTBank: the Bank You Shouldn’t Bank Upon
www.muhsin.in
@muhsin234 (Twitter)

A dictionary definition of the word “trust” says: “If you trust someone, you believe they are honest and sincere and will not deliberately do anything to harm you.” Many of us used to take the famous Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), Nigeria as such, for in addition to that word, its name includes another resolute, confirmatory word: guaranty. However, they have recently betrayed that name by acting in its exact opposite. We are now gravely harmed by them; and the bank’s handlers are consistently being insincere and dishonest to us.

It was and still is a bombshell, as a friend described it, for the GTB users living in India, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea and St. Kitts waking up with our Naira MasterCard as a little better than a piece of sh*t. Yes, for one cannot withdraw a Kobo with it from any ATM even if one has trillions in his/her account. The bank blocked all our cards without any deliberation on the consequence of the decision. No one was forewarned, nor alerted in whatever way. We just, literally speaking, woke up and saw our cards being rejected in ALL the ATMs around.

Imagine yourself on a medical trip in any of those countries. Imagine if the location of your hospital is not a metro, where, possibly, there might be other Nigerians using other banks around. And poof, this happened. And you need to pay for the hospital bills to be operated on, or be discharged, or other acute reasons. As per money laundering regulation, you can’t travel with certain amount of money in cash. Thus, you rely solely on your GTB Naira MasterCard. And you can’t receive money via Western Union Transfer from Nigeria as we are banned from this system. What on God’s earth do the GTB management expect you to do? To beg, steal or rob? Or to just lie down and die?

A few days later, after numerous, fruitless trials and retrials; futile emails and money-wasting phone calls to their Customer Services that they sent this message:

GTBank cards are enhanced with an advanced security feature known as EMV Technology. EMV is an acronym for Europay, MasterCard and Visa, a global standard for authenticating credit and debit card transactions which ensures that your funds are protected at all times.

Most countries have adopted the EMV Technology, however some other countries still process card transactions without the EMV Technology (i.e. countries where transactions are processed through magnetic stripe only). To further enhance the security of all your card transactions and ensure that your GTBank mastercard remains your secure and trusted payment option, please be informed that our Mastercards will NO longer work in the following non-EMV compliant countries effective immediately [aforementioned].

Ouch! Are you serious? Ask yourself these questions: Is GTBank the only bank in Nigeria that ‘care’ about its customers’ safety and all that? Why didn’t they, for once, send us a prior warning that they were taking ‘measures’ that might lead to the blockage of our cards? Why are they not being honest, instead their poorly-trained, deceptive customer services always give us some dim-witted links to locate some so-called “Chip and Pin ATMs”? Or tell you to use POS, which is not everywhere and you stand to be astronomically over-charged! Why, why and why?

This can barely happen anywhere but in Nigeria. Our problems are pathetically multiplying. Mediocrity has crept into almost everything Nigerian. Elsewhere, the bank would have tendered a sincere apology for this insensitive, cruel and heedless action and would have rescinded this decision for the fear of repercussions like customers suing them to courts for damage and the like. But being Nigeria what it is, the whole case may disappear into thin air. All the uncertainties, the fear and the hardship this pointless policy caused may go, most likely, unpunished.

However, I believe there are many customers out there like me who will close down their accounts with this unguaranteed, untrustworthy bank. GTB is now a bank you should never bank upon. And if you do, it is at your own risk. Six out of our seven ‘extended Nigerian family members’ here in India have accounts with GTB. We are so lucky that two have accounts with other banks. Therefore we first transfer our money to theirs and then withdraw it. Those are the banks we bank upon. Those are the banks I would recommend you to use, but not GTB. Not any longer. We too regret it.

Namady:
Jazak-ALLAH-khair mallam.

Dear brothers and sisters. Its time for us to pray day and night about how insecured a common man is in this country.

Jst heard a rumor dis noon dat a guy was caught wit exploisive stuffx at juma'at mosque behind convict prison In KD.
if it is true, may Allah expose them all. While
if it is a lie, May Allah protect us all.
#ma'assalam

Amin thumma amin.

amiskurie:
Rubbish writeup

You are association terrorism with Muslims instead of pointing out the fact that these terrorists are machineries on the payroll of international government covert operation.

Machineries fights for any cause as long as you reach a deal.
You are one of the problem in the world op

Again, what can you say about this hadith?

Abu Huraira (R.A) reported that: The Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) said: “By the one in whose hand is my soul, a time will surely come to people in which the killer does not know why he has killed, and the one killed does not know why he was killed”.

Source: Sahih Muslim (2908). Grade: Sahih (According to Muslim).