Radio Hoax Reveals US Anti-Muslim Sentiment

In U.S., fear and distrust of Muslims runs deep By Bernd Debusmann, Special Correspondent Fri Dec 1, 9:05 AM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters)- When radio host Jerry Klein suggested that all Muslims in the United States should be identified with a crescent-shape tattoo or a distinctive arm band, the phone lines jammed instantly. The first caller to the station in Washington said that Klein must be "off his rocker." The second congratulated him and added: "Not only do you tattoo them in the middle of their forehead but you ship them out of this country ... they are here to kill us." Another said that tattoos, armbands and other identifying markers such as crescent marks on driver's licenses, passports and birth certificates did not go far enough. "What good is identifying them?" he asked. "You have to set up encampments like during World War Two with the Japanese and Germans." At the end of the one-hour show, rich with arguments on why visual identification of "the threat in our midst" would alleviate the public's fears, Klein revealed that he had staged a hoax. It drew out reactions that are not uncommon in post-9/11 America. "I can't believe any of you are sick enough to have agreed for one second with anything I said," he told his audience on the AM station 630 WMAL (http://www.wmal.com/), which covers Washington, Northern Virginia and Maryland "For me to suggest to tattoo marks on people's bodies, have them wear armbands, put a crescent moon on their driver's license on their passport or birth certificate is disgusting. It's beyond disgusting. "Because basically what you just did was show me how the German people allowed what happened to the Jews to happen ... We need to separate them, we need to tattoo their arms, we need to make them wear the yellow Star of David, we need to put them in concentration camps, we basically just need to kill them all because they are dangerous." The show aired on November 26, the Sunday after the Thanksgiving holiday, and Klein said in an interview afterwards he had been surprised by the response. "The switchboard went from empty to totally jammed within minutes," said Klein. "There were plenty of callers angry with me, but there were plenty who agreed." Click here to read the entire story Thanks to Intifada Boy & Yahoo News Peace

Banat & Shabab Amman

Salam,

Here are 2 funny posters of Banat ew Shabab Amman.

Peace

Cut and Run, the Only Brave Thing to Do

Sunday, November 26th, 2006 Friends, Tomorrow marks the day that we will have been in Iraq longer than we were in all of World War II. That's right. We were able to defeat all of Nazi Germany, Mussolini, and the entire Japanese empire in LESS time than it's taken the world's only superpower to secure the road from the airport to downtown Baghdad. And we haven't even done THAT. After 1,347 days, in the same time it took us to took us to sweep across North Africa, storm the beaches of Italy, conquer the South Pacific, and liberate all of Western Europe, we cannot, after over 3 and 1/2 years, even take over a single highway and protect ourselves from a homemade device of two tin cans placed in a pothole. No wonder the cab fare from the airport into Baghdad is now running around $35,000 for the 25-minute ride. And that doesn't even include a friggin' helmet. Is this utter failure the fault of our troops? Hardly. That's because no amount of troops or choppers or democracy shot out of the barrel of a gun is ever going to "win" the war in Iraq. It is a lost war, lost because it never had a right to be won, lost because it was started by men who have never been to war, men who hide behind others sent to fight and die. Let's listen to what the Iraqi people are saying, according to a recent poll conducted by the University of Maryland: ** 71% of all Iraqis now want the U.S. out of Iraq. ** 61% of all Iraqis SUPPORT insurgent attacks on U.S. troops. Yes, the vast majority of Iraqi citizens believe that our soldiers should be killed and maimed! So what the hell are we still doing there? Talk about not getting the hint. There are many ways to liberate a country. Usually the residents of that country rise up and liberate themselves. That's how we did it. You can also do it through nonviolent, mass civil disobedience. That's how India did it. You can get the world to boycott a regime until they are so ostracized they capitulate. That's how South Africa did it. Or you can just wait them out and, sooner or later, the king's legions simply leave (sometimes just because they're too cold). That's how Canada did it. The one way that DOESN'T work is to invade a country and tell the people, "We are here to liberate you!" -- when they have done NOTHING to liberate themselves. Where were all the suicide bombers when Saddam was oppressing them? Where were the insurgents planting bombs along the roadside as the evildoer Saddam's convoy passed them by? I guess ol' Saddam was a cruel despot -- but not cruel enough for thousands to risk their necks. "Oh no, Mike, they couldn't do that! Saddam would have had them killed!" Really? You don't think King George had any of the colonial insurgents killed? You don't think Patrick Henry or Tom Paine were afraid? That didn't stop them. When tens of thousands aren't willing to shed their own blood to remove a dictator, that should be the first clue that they aren't going to be willing participants when you decide you're going to do the liberating for them. A country can HELP another people overthrow a tyrant (that's what the French did for us in our revolution), but after you help them, you leave. Immediately. The French didn't stay and tell us how to set up our government. They didn't say, "we're not leaving because we want your natural resources." They left us to our own devices and it took us six years before we had an election. And then we had a bloody civil war. That's what happens, and history is full of these examples. The French didn't say, "Oh, we better stay in America, otherwise they're going to kill each other over that slavery issue!" The only way a war of liberation has a chance of succeeding is if the oppressed people being liberated have their own citizens behind them -- and a group of Washingtons, Jeffersons, Franklins, Ghandis and Mandellas leading them. Where are these beacons of liberty in Iraq? This is a joke and it's been a joke since the beginning. Yes, the joke's been on us, but with 655,000 Iraqis now dead as a result of our invasion (source: Johns Hopkins University), I guess the cruel joke is on them. At least they've been liberated, permanently. So I don't want to hear another word about sending more troops (wake up, America, John McCain is bonkers), or "redeploying" them, or waiting four months to begin the "phase-out." There is only one solution and it is this: Leave. Now. Start tonight. Get out of there as fast as we can. As much as people of good heart and conscience don't want to believe this, as much as it kills us to accept defeat, there is nothing we can do to undo the damage we have done. What's happened has happened. If you were to drive drunk down the road and you killed a child, there would be nothing you could do to bring that child back to life. If you invade and destroy a country, plunging it into a civil war, there isn't much you can do 'til the smoke settles and blood is mopped up. Then maybe you can atone for the atrocity you have committed and help the living come back to a better life. The Soviet Union got out of Afghanistan in 36 weeks. They did so and suffered hardly any losses as they left. They realized the mistake they had made and removed their troops. A civil war ensued. The bad guys won. Later, we overthrew the bad guys and everybody lived happily ever after. See! It all works out in the end! The responsibility to end this war now falls upon the Democrats. Congress controls the purse strings and the Constitution says only Congress can declare war. Mr. Reid and Ms. Pelosi now hold the power to put an end to this madness. Failure to do so will bring the wrath of the voters. We aren't kidding around, Democrats, and if you don't believe us, just go ahead and continue this war another month. We will fight you harder than we did the Republicans. The opening page of my website has a photo of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, each made up by a collage of photos of the American soldiers who have died in Bush's War. But it is now about to become the Bush/Democratic Party War unless swift action is taken. This is what we demand: 1. Bring the troops home now. Not six months from now. NOW. Quit looking for a way to win. We can't win. We've lost. Sometimes you lose. This is one of those times. Be brave and admit it. 2. Apologize to our soldiers and make amends. Tell them we are sorry they were used to fight a war that had NOTHING to do with our national security. We must commit to taking care of them so that they suffer as little as possible. The mentally and physically maimed must get the best care and significant financial compensation. The families of the deceased deserve the biggest apology and they must be taken care of for the rest of their lives. 3. We must atone for the atrocity we have perpetuated on the people of Iraq. There are few evils worse than waging a war based on a lie, invading another country because you want what they have buried under the ground. Now many more will die. Their blood is on our hands, regardless for whom we voted. If you pay taxes, you have contributed to the three billion dollars a week now being spent to drive Iraq into the hellhole it's become. When the civil war is over, we will have to help rebuild Iraq. We can receive no redemption until we have atoned. In closing, there is one final thing I know. We Americans are better than what has been done in our name. A majority of us were upset and angry after 9/11 and we lost our minds. We didn't think straight and we never looked at a map. Because we are kept stupid through our pathetic education system and our lazy media, we knew nothing of history. We didn't know that WE were the ones funding and arming Saddam for many years, including those when he massacred the Kurds. He was our guy. We didn't know what a Sunni or a Shiite was, never even heard the words. Eighty percent of our young adults (according to National Geographic) were not able to find Iraq on the map. Our leaders played off our stupidity, manipulated us with lies, and scared us to death. But at our core we are a good people. We may be slow learners, but that "Mission Accomplished" banner struck us as odd, and soon we began to ask some questions. Then we began to get smart. By this past November 7th, we got mad and tried to right our wrongs. The majority now know the truth. The majority now feel a deep sadness and guilt and a hope that somehow we can make make it all right again. Unfortunately, we can't. So we will accept the consequences of our actions and do our best to be there should the Iraqi people ever dare to seek our help in the future. We ask for their forgiveness. We demand the Democrats listen to us and get out of Iraq now. Yours, Michael Moore www.michaelmoore.com mmflint@aol.com ---

Your Vote Needed at CNN website!

Salam, Here is the story about Muslims being kicked out for praying. Airline checks claim of 'Muslim while flying' discrimination POSTED: 10:42 p.m. EST, November 21, 2006 MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (CNN) -- US Airways said Tuesday it is investigating the removal of six Muslim imams who were passengers on a Monday flight heading to Phoenix, Arizona. Read more..... There is also a poll asking you to vote: QUICK VOTE Which statement best sums up your reaction to six imams being removed from a plane because of nervous passengers? Muslims should expect closer scrutiny. X Non-Muslims should be more understanding. Your vote is needed. We are loosing 31% to 69% Peace

I'm not on iToot :-)

I like this banner, Once I'm done with migrating to wordpress I'm gonna add it to my new (not good enough for iToot) Blog. Thanks Gr33n Data & Ha Ana Za! Peace

How to start your own blog (in Arabic)

Salam, For those who speak Arabic and not very good in English here is how to start your own blog. http://bmadvice.blogspot.com/

Peace

امتحان شهادة الدراسة الثانوية العامة لعام 2006-2007

اسم الطالب: والله لنطلعك ناسي اسمك صورة الطالب الشخصية: الفرع: علمي علمك التاريخ: 01/01/2006 المبحث: اللغة العربية هذا الامتحان برعاية كوكاكولا ملاحظة: اجب عن الأسئلة التعجيزية التالية و عددها ( 6 ) إجباري و ( 1 ) اختياري على أن يكون مجموع الأسئلة (7) ملاحظة: هذه الأسئلة لا علاقة لها بمسابقة - مـن سيـربـح المـلـيـون – لذلك تمنع مساعدة الصديق أو أي وسيلة أخرى (بضم الهمزة. السؤال الأول (20 علامة) قال كاظم الساهر معبرا عن مشاعره و أشواقه، وواصفا محبوبتة : 1- نزلت للبحــــر تتشمـــس الحلــــوة رفقــــا بالبشـــر بنــت حــــــــوا 2- نـزلت لبحــــر يا محــــلا مشيتـــها أنــــا و البـحـــر (نـتـمنى لمســــتـهـا) 3- موسيـقى بـيتـهـوفن عيــني يا ضـحكـتـها غزالــة عــالرمل (و بدلــع تتـلـــــــوى) 4- عـروس و تـريـد أمـي و سـيـدة لـبـيــتـي و علـى أيــدك أريــد اخــتـم عـزوبــتـي 5- أنـا قـصـدي شريـف و صـادقـة نـيـتـــي سكـتـي و السكـوت مــن الـرضـا هـــــو الأسئلة: 1-اشرح الآبيات الخمسة الأخيرة فقط من النص بما لا يقل عن 90 سطرا باختصار شديد (9 علامات) 2- لماذا أكد الشاعر على القصد الشريف و النية الصادقة ، و علام يدل سكوت المحبوبة؟ (3 علامات) 3- أعرب ما تحته خط إعراب دبكات، و ما بين قوسين إعراب فيدو كليب (3 علامات) 4- استخرج من البيت الثالث صورتين فوريتين مبينا نوع الكاميرا (3 علامـات) 5- ما هي صفات العروس التي تريدها ام الشاعر (2 علامـة) مساحة خالية للإعلان- ت: اثنين صفر وثلاثة خضر --------------------------------- السؤال الثاني ( 8 علامات) أعط أسباب ما يلي مع شرح وافي (إذا ما لقيت وافي، سمير ماشي حاله) : 1- تم نقل السوق المالي إلى سوق السمك ؟ (2 علامـة) 2- إقبال المشاهدين على قناة الجزيرة الإخبارية؟ (2 علامـة) 3- إغلاق شبكة الأخبار PNN بعد زواج شارون ستون ؟ (2 علامـة) 4- أسباب اندلاع الحرب بين ..... ما فيش فرق، اختر أي حرب، ماهو انت راسب راسب ؟ (2 علامـة) *** أخي الممتحن أقلب الصفحة: والله لتندم عالساعة اللي خشيت فيها المدرسة *** السؤال الثالث –اختياري- (5 علامات) اكتب الاسم المستوفى من السؤال ما اسم عم إيزابيل الذي هجرها في الحلقة السابقة من المسلسل المكسيكي الذي عرض يوم السبت ورد ذكره في مسلسل كاساندرا أيضا ؟ (5 علامــات( _________________________________________________________________ فاصل إعلاني: اشتري عبوة سير يلاك و اربح علبتين بامبارز مجانا العرض ساري حتى نهاية الامتحان _______________________________________________________________ السؤال الرابع (8 علامات) ورد في التلفزيون السوري دعاية "رقائق أبو اللبن" للمخرج فواز جابر: " عبالك اوزي، تنتين بتعوزي، عيار الرز و اللحمة مفرومة يا سوزي، بازيلا صنوبر و رشة بهار...." الأسئلة 1- اذكر وصفة الطعام المختلفة التي وردت في كافة دعايات "أبو اللبن" و "ساراميكس" (4 علامــات( 2- اضبط بالبهارات ما تحته خط (2 علامـــة) 3- أين تجد رقم هاتف سوزي في دليل هاتف يأخذ بأول الأسماء، متبعا القاموس المحيط؟ (2 علامـــة) --------------------------------- السؤال الخامس (20 علامة) موضوع تعبير قال أحدهم: "ام احمد، شو صار، واحد صفق واحد طار، أبو وصفي لا تحتار، اقعد و شوف عالمكشوف، ما حنقلك شو حتشوف. اكتب موضوعا عن عائلة ام احمد، و بين فيه علاقة فرحان بكل من سمر و ام احمد و تطورها قبل و بعد ربح جائزة اليانصيب (20 علامة( المشروب الرسمي لهذا الامتحان كوكاكولا *** أخي الممتحن أقلب الصفحة أحسنلك *** السؤال السادس ( 19 علامات) اجب عن أربعة فقط من الأسئلة التالية 1- ما رأيك بتصرفات "أبو طراقة" و "ابن الوهاج" في مسلسل الجوارح (5 علامــات) مبينا رأيك بمنجزات الباشق و أسامة و عقاب. 2- ما رأيك بموقف "الكاسر" من "شقيف" في مسلسل الكواسر (5 علامــات) 3- من برأيك أقوى وأفضل بوكيمون - هل هو – بيكاتشو ؟؟؟ (5 علامــات) 4 – اذكر أسماء أبطال كابتن ماجد، مع بيان فريق كل منهم. وما عدد الأهداف التي سجلها الكابتن ماجد في كأس العالم الأخيرة في فرنسا 1998. (4 علامـات) _______________________________________________________________________ عرض فاست لينك الجديد من سمعان أبو رنه ، اشترك في موبايلكم واربح ساعتين فاست لينك مجانيتين _______________________________________________________________________ سؤال المساعدة ( لرفع العلامة ) ( 20 علامــة) أ – اذكر أسماء 3 من رؤساء بلدية لقرية يوكوزوهريتاشاناتا اليابانية من ثلاثة مقاطع مع عدد السنوات التي ترأسوا فيها البلدية ب – أذكر أسماء زوجات 5 ممن ماتوا في قصف مدينة هيروشيما اليابانية عام 1945 بالقنبلة الذرية على أن تكون إحداهن شقراء.

Blog Under Construction

Beeee Arrrrr Beeeeeeee

Bush to announce the resignation of Rumsfeld!

Salam, Now that we are hanging Saddam, let's get rid of Rumsfeld as well.

Good Riddance!

Peace

The relationship between US elections and M.E major events!

Salam, Disclaimer: I'm happy to see Saddam gets his punishment on earth for all what he did towards his people. Now that I got that out of the way, have you ever wondered why major M.E events occur usually on the eve of major U.S elections?! In 2004 Presidential elections, the night before the major elections when the democratic party was gaining on the republican a video tape of Bin Laden comes out of the blue admitting for the first time that Bin Laden is the mastermind behind the September 11th, and with this new fact the American voters were reminded once again of the big bad guy and we all know when in fear vote for Bush. Back to 2007 primary elections, howcome it took the new Iraqi government all this time to hang Saddam?! Why on the week of the elections? is it another boost for the republican party? Don't mind me I'm just thinking loud, maybe it's all just a figment of my imagination. Peace

Let us take a one hour ride with Arundhati Roy

Wow!! Howcome I never heard of this lady before?! One hour long video.. Peace

Country Matters

Salam, Watch this ANIMATION created by Ahmad Ajouz a Lebanese graphic designer living in Phily. Peace

I love this guy (Family Guy- Will Ferrell - video powered by Metacafe)

LOOL. Family Guy- Will Ferrell - video powered by Metacafe

Help Unbloack Mohamad's Den

Salam, One of my first blogs (Mohamad's Den) to stumple upon has been blocked in Bahrain. And there are 3 things everyone can do: 1- Spread the word about this and post something about it on your blog. 2- For those in Bahrain you can read Moahamed's Den at this mirror site. 3- Everyone can help by signing the Petition online. Some of the Blogs that are talking about Unblocking Mohamad's Den: Roba IWantMyMTV HAMSA SandMonkey GlobalVoicesOnline Peace

FATHERHOOD

Salam, Jad had a post about World's strongest father, and Loay reposted the whole article about this clip. I like that song alot, and living in Alabama they play this song on the Radio all the time. now I watched the clip and it made me weep like a girl, I do think I'm getting old. Lately I get emotional easy .. I think. I guess it is an age thingy, I'm getting close to hitting 40. My best friend just hit 40 and guess what he do? he bought a brand new motorcycle! It is midlife crises no matter what you people try and say. Enjoy the Clip.

The story is incredibly awesome! Truly awesome, inspiring, and uplifting. -L. Strongest Dad in the World Sports Illustrated By Rick Reilly I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay for their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots. But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck. This love story began in Winchester , Mass. , 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs. “He’ll be a vegetable the rest of his life,” father, Dick, says doctors told him and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. “Put him in an institution.” But the Hoyts weren’t buying it. They noticed the way Rick’s eyes followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate. “No way,” Dick says he was told. “There’s nothing going on in his brain.” “Tell him a joke,” Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? “Go Bruins!” And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, “Dad, I want to do that.” Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described “porker” who never ran more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried. “Then it was me who was handicapped,” Dick says. “I was sore for two weeks.” That day changed Rick’s life. ”Dad,” he typed, “when we were running, it felt like I wasn’t disabled anymore!” And that sentence changed Dick’s life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon. “No way,” Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren’t quite a single runner, and they weren’t quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then they found a way to get into the race officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following year. Then somebody said, ”Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?” How’s a guy who never learned to swim and hadn’t ridden a bike since he was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick tried. Now they’ve done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii . It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don’t you think? Eighty-five times he’s pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he’s not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars—all in the same day. Dick’s also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right? Hey, Dick, why not see how you’d do on your own? ”No way,” he says. Dick does it purely for ”the awesome feeling” he gets seeing Rick with a cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together. This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time’? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992—only 35 minutes off the world record, which, in case you don’t keep track of these things, happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time. “No question about it,” Rick types. “My dad is the Father of the Century.” And what has Rick done for his father? Not much – except save his life. And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries was 95% clogged. “If you hadn’t been in such great shape,” one doctor told him, “you probably would’ve died 15 years ago.” So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other’s life. Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston , and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland , Mass., always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father’s Day. That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy. “The thing I’d most like,” Rick types, “is that my dad would sit in the chair and I would push him once.”

And here is the story: Peace

Does a leader have a right to bypass democratic institutions to ensure his people are fed and secure?

Our Question: Posted at 10:21 AM ET, 10/25/2006 Does a leader have a right to bypass democratic institutions to ensure his people are fed and secure? - Panelist Daoud Kuttab Daoud Kuttab has posed the following question on the Washington Post website PostGlobal (blog.washingtonpost.com/postglobal): LEDE: Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has said bread is more important than democracy, and he may be preparing to try to dissolve the Hamas-led Palestinian parliment. QUESTION: Does a leader have a right to bypass democratic institutions to ensure his people are fed and secure? We would love for your to weigh in. When you do, enter your name, location, and the email link of your blog in the name field and post a comment. Then notify us here and we'll feature your response on the PostGlobal page, and perhaps the mainpage as well if the piece can stand alone. Answer Here. Peace

"Habeeby"

LOL.

Eid Mubarak

Salam, Eid Mubarak for all, and I would like to take this time to ask forgiveness for anyone that I upset on this blog or their's.

Eid Mubarak

Meet another Palestinian Rapper

Salam, I found this song on MySpace it belongs to boikutt, You can check his songs along with others at Ramallah Underground. Here is my favorite song: Khaleni A3eesh. Peace

How to create a suicide bomber!

Thanks

Maz Jobrani

Salam,

Here is one of my favorite Middle eastern Comedians.

Maz Jobrani

His MYSPACE Maz on Craig Ferguson Add to My Profile More Videos

Nokteh

بيقولك واحد طفيلي محشش بيحكي لصاحبو..شو قصة الوالد من حد ما توفي بطلنا نشوفو

*Sigh*

Salam, My finals are tomorrow :-( I have a marketing project of 43 questions, power point presentation, HR group project, marketing group project and last but not least a 3 chapter Quantitative Analysis Exam. Why do I always wait till the last week to study I have no idea. I'm sitting at work looking at the passing cars and listening to THIS......

Welcome to Fascist America!

by Gene Callahan

My fellow Americans, it’s official now: We live in a fascist nation. Now, the term "fascist" has been thrown around over the last fifty years in a loose way that has drained it of much of its meaning. If someone wanted to cut 5% off of a leftist professor's favourite welfare programme, the professor would call his opponent a "fascist." I’m not using the word like that. I mean honest-to-goodness, old-fashioned, 1930s style fascism, featuring such old favourites as: -Secret prisons – they’re back! -Torture – we’re doing it. -Spying on all citizens. -Arrests and indefinite imprisonment without trial. -Rampant militarism. -Secret detention. -Enforced disappearance. -Denial and restriction of habeas corpus. -Prolonged incommunicado detention. -Unfair trial procedures. (This list was compiled partially based on the work of Amnesty International, available here.) An absolutely mind-numbing response to complaints that our traditional legal system is being torn apart is the question, "So, you want to protect the rights of terrorists?" Um, no, I want to protect the rights of non-terrorists who might be falsely accused of terrorism! That was sort of, you know, the whole idea of our legal system. I’m sure there was some neo-con around in the 1700s saying to Jefferson or Madison, "So, you want to protect the rights of murderers and robbers?" but luckily they ignored him. We’ve now gotten to the point where Nazi Germany was, say, in 1934. Remember, at that time, if you had told a typical German what his government would do over the next ten years, he would have looked at you as a madman. After all, his land had been civilized for over a thousand years. His was the nation of Albertus Magnus, Gutenberg, Goethe, Schiller, Beethoven, Bach, Kant, Hegel, Schelling, Fichte, Heisenberg, Reimann, Mann, Lessing, Herder, Handel, Dürer, Leibniz, Gauss, Helmholtz – he could have gone on, but you get the point. His nation could not possibly descend into barbarism! If you tried to tell him he was living in a police state, he would have pointed out that his government had used its vast new powers very judiciously, and only against a few trouble-makers. So far. It is interesting, in gauging the direction we are heading, to look at the proclamations of "respectable" opinion writers who support this administration. For instance, we have people at a "libertarian" think tank proclaiming that Moslems are not entitled to full civil rights in the US. (Perhaps we need to make them wear something special on their clothing like, say, a yellow star, so we know just who they are, hey?) But "conservatives" provide even more stunning examples of purely fascist reasoning. For example, conservative demagogue Ann Coulter has called for the editor of The NY Times to face the firing squad for his part in publicizing this administration's abuses of power. Let’s look at a recent column by Douglas MacKinnon at TownHall.com. MacKinnon considers all of those involved in revealing the sordid collection of secret programmes that have been launched by the Bush administration as "traitors" who have publicized these schemes "purely because they don’t like the policies of the new president." Well, he’s right in that "they don’t like the policies" that they consider unconstitutional violations of our rights. Far from "aiding the enemy," these revelations aided us, the American people, by letting us know what our government has in store for us. Consider what the point of classifying these programmes was in the first place, and who they were being kept secret from. The jihadists no doubt already knew about the secret prisons – their friends are in them! They surely knew that the war in Iraq has been helping their recruiting – it’s their recruiting! ("Praise be to Allah, Abdul, I read in The NY Times that it is the Iraq War that is sending us these thousands of new recruits – who knew?") They no doubt suspect they may be wiretapped – what they didn’t know was that all the rest of us are, as well. No, not one of these leaks helps terrorists, nor was one of them classified to stop terrorists from finding them out. We were the ones who weren’t supposed to find out about them. MacKinnon continues: "And if even one American lost his or her life because of a leak, then I would want that person to be executed for treason." So anyone who reveals our fascist government policies is a traitor who can be executed! This is obviously an attempt to intimidate the opposition so that our police state can be expanded without the annoying work stoppages caused by public outcry when the latest bit of construction is revealed. And just how does MacKinnon propose to show that some American lost his life because a journalist revealed that the US government tortures people across the globe, rather than, say, because the policies he supports have inspired a million new jihadists? Secret trial, perhaps? Or why even bother with trials for filthy traitors? Herr Goebbels – oops, I mean MacKinnon – writes, "Until we severely punish those who leak classified information, then the traitors among us will not only continue to flourish, but will grow more brazen with the secrets they reveal." Yes, what we ought to be able to do, you know, is simply seize anyone who even mentions our government’s "secret" prisons, and, without a trial, throw them in a secret prison! This is the logical conclusion of this fascist’s article, after all, since those who talk about the American Gulag are pretty much terrorists themselves. Folks, this is coming real soon, and, once it does, domestic opposition is pretty much over. One journalist – that will be about all it takes – will be seized as a "terrorist" and thrown in the Gulag. The government may release him, but then another will simply disappear in the night in Iraq or Afghanistan, and rumors will circulate that he is being kept in a cage somewhere and waterboarded. No journalist lacking heroic courage will any longer be willing to seriously protest government policy. America is full of decent people, who could never believe their own government could become fascist. So were Germany and Italy in the 1920s. But they became fascist anyway. They passed laws suspending civil liberties, but the government promised the frightened populace that those laws would only be used against targets like "Communist terrorists." And, a little bit at a time, the target kept getting bigger and bigger, slowly enough that the people who weren’t paying close attention never detected it. And, next thing you know, there were millions of people dead! So, it turns out, it would have been worth paying attention after all. October 4, 2006 Gene Callahan [send him mail], the author of Economics for Real People, is an adjunct scholar of the Ludwig von Mises Institute and a contributing columnist to LewRockwell.com.

His first novel, PUCK, has just been published. Copyright © 2006 Gene Callahan Gene Callahan/Stu Morgenstern Archives

MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE

I am pleased to announce the Off-Broadway premier of My Name is Rachel Corrie at the Minetta Lane Theater in Greenwich Village. As witnessed earlier this year through the swell of controversy surrounding the production, My Name is Rachel Corrie is a truly unprecedented theatrical event and a rare opportunity to experience Rachel’s personal courage through her own words. And for those of us who are committed to a just and peaceful resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, this play is a must see. Supporting truthful representations of the Palestinian reality in the US will open the door to more of these emerging projects…which will broaden the discussion and strengthen the “conventional wisdom” push for a lasting resolution. Please lend your voices of support by attending this limited run!

From the UK press:

"POWERFUL AND THOUGHT-PROVOKING THEATRE. Alan Rickman and Katharine Viner offer a fully rounded picture of this passionate, idealistic young woman." -Daily Telegraph

WINNER! BEST PLAY - BEST ACTRESS - BEST DIRECTOR - 2006 London Theatregoers' Choice Award

Sunday, October 15, 2006 - Sunday, November 19, 2006

Minetta Lane Theatre

18 Minetta Lane New York City, New York

(Yahoo! Maps, Google Maps)

Showtimes: Tuesday - Saturday at 8pm Sat & Sun at 3pm Sun at 7pm

Tickets: $45 - $65

http://www.ticketmaster.com/venue/24586/...

Synopsis: Taken from the words left behind in the diaries, letters and emails of American activist Rachel Corrie, MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE chronicles the human, social and political evolution in the life and controversial death of a young woman. The play traces the life of Rachel Corrie From her early days in Washington State, through her experiences as an activist seeking to learn more about the community within Gaza. Performed by Megan Dodds, MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE has been developed by Alan Rickman and Katharine Viner, in collaboration with Royal Court Theatre's International Department and produced with the kind permission of Rachel Corries's Family.

Peace

Anime Movies

Anime Movies

Umrah in Ramadan

Salam, I would like to share this blog with you, its a Kuwaiti Blogger (Hilaliya)trip to Umrah. The photos are breathtaking. Enjoy. Peace

"Heroes" Scifi Channel

Salam, One of my most favorite channels is Scifi Channel, I like to watch BATTLESTAR GALACTICA , but I also like the new show Heroes. Anyone watching these shows? Heroes "The epic drama Heroes chronicles the lives of ordinary people who discover they possess extraordinary abilities. As a total eclipse casts it shadow across the globe, viewers follow a genetics professor (Sendhil Ramamurthy, Blind Guy Driving) in India whose father's disappearance leads him to uncover a secret theory -- there are people with super powers living among us. A young dreamer (Milo Ventimiglia, The Bedford Diaries) tries to convince his politician brother (Adrian Pasdar, Judging Amy) that he can fly. A high school cheerleader (Hayden Panettiere, Ice Princess) learns that she is totally indestructible. A Las Vegas stripper (Ali Larter, Final Destination), struggling to make ends meet to support her young son (Noah Gray-Cabey, My Wife & Kids), uncovers that her mirror image has a secret. A prison inmate (Leonard Roberts, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) mysteriously finds himself waking up outside of his cell. A gifted artist (Santiago Cabrera, Empire), whose drug addiction is destroying his life and the relationship with his girlfriend (Tawny Cypress, Third Watch), can paint the future. A down-on-his-luck beat cop (Greg Grunberg, Alias) can hear people's thoughts, including the secrets of a captured terrorist. In Japan, a young man (Masi Oka, Scrubs) develops a way to stop time through sheer will power. Their ultimate destiny is nothing less than saving the world." (NBC's official description for the series.) This NBC series is executive produced by creator/writer Tim Kring (Crossing Jordan), Dennis Hammer (Crossing Jordan) and David Semel (House), who also directed the pilot. Heroes Gets Full Pickup NBC has given a full-season order for its hit superhero series Heroes, the network announced. Heroes is averaging a 5.7 rating among adults aged 18-49 and 13.5 million viewers overall, making it the number-one new series this fall in adults 18-49, tied with ABC's Brothers & Sisters, NBC said. "Heroes has delivered exceptional ratings since its premiere, and we're even more impressed with the quality of the upcoming episodes," Kevin Reilly, president, NBC Entertainment, said in a statement. "We have complete confidence in creator-executive producer Tim Kring. The best is yet to come over the course of a full season with this newest drama sensation." Heroes airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT. NBC is owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.

THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW YOUR CELLPHONE COULD DO.

Salam, I got this email and I heard of trick #3 before but not sure if it is true or not, can someone try it and let us know? Thanks!

There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies. Your mobile phone can actually be a life saver or an emergency tool for survival. Check out the things that you can do with it: 1. How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone? To check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following digits on your phone: * # 0 6 # A 15 digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. If your phone gets stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones. 2. The Emergency Number worldwide for **Mobile** is 112.* If you find yourself out of coverage area of your mobile network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. **Try it out.** 3. Have you locked your keys in the car? Does you car have remote keys? If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other "remote" for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk). 4. Hidden Battery power: Imagine your cell battery is very low , you are expecting an important call and you don't have a charger. Nokia instruments come with a reserve battery. To activate, press the keys *3370# Your cell will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell next time.

Mushrooms in my frontyard !

Loosing weight

Salam, I have gathered a few bad habits through the years. It took me a while but elhamdelah I got rid of them one by one. For the past couple of years I have gained few pounds, I'm 5'11 and 235lbs. I have huge belly and although I was OK with it before but now it's time for it to follow the rest of the bad habits. I have been researching most of the diets for a while now. There is no miracle fix! And I can't follow one strict diet, so I have decided on a plan, I'm going to diet and exercise. My Diet Plan: -Because I work from 10-8 I usually eat my big meal after 8 p.m. No MORE! I'm gonna stop eating after 7 P.M (After Ramadan inshalah). -No more leaving home without breakfast. -Drink a Gallon of water a day. -Fast food meals are limited to Sundays only. -No more candy bars. -No more Soda. -We are cutting down on sugar. -We are cutting down on Pita Bread. (One a day only). ____________________________________________________ Exercise: I already signed for a 6 months (and paid in full) Boxing Exercise. I spoke with a private trainer and he suggested boxing exercise. After looking into it I decided to go ahead and start tomorrow. Here is a description of this exercise (I won't be boxing anyone, just the Bag).

A knockout workout: boxing offers a unique, all-body cardio and strength-training workout. Here's how you can do it at home Personal Trainer - Men's Fitness, August, 2002 by Roy M. Wallack Whether it's dressed up as box-aerobics, cardiobox, slug-mania or one of a dozen other names, the sport of boxing has become a heavyweight in the fitness world. You can now find boxing classes, or some offshoot, in 21 percent of all U.S. health clubs, according to the American Council on Exercise. And that figure is rising. To discover what all the fuss is about, I went mano-a-mano with 100-bags for one week and learned what so many others before me have already discovered: Boxing delivers a peerless total-body workout--which you don't need to attend a class to get. BRINGING IT ALL BACK HOME Boxing alone? At home? It's not as silly as it seems. No sparring partner is needed, and the equipment requirements are elementary: a bag, gloves, jump rope, timer and music. And you'll get a workout that doesn't miss a spot: a 1,000-calorie-an-hour cardio bomb on par with running, and a superb all-body tuner that builds shoulders and forearms and works legs, hips, abs, upper back, triceps, biceps and lats. (Want to blast your delts? Try holding 14-ounce gloves at chin level for two rounds.) Moreover, a boxing-based workout offers you an opportunity to develop real-life skills during a cardio session, to learn the sweet science that many men think they should know, something that buoys their sense of their own manhood. For others (okay, for me), it's a chance to unleash their inner Ali, to trash-talk the hapless heavy bag with jabs like "You dumb gorilla!" or the Sonny Liston-inspired "I'll beat you so bad, you'll need a shoehorn to put your hat on!" In fact, as home workouts go, I'd say that boxing might just be The Greatest. THE RULE OF THREE First, find an instructor with genuine boxing experience and take a couple of days to learn the basics--jab, straight right, hook, footwork, etc.--either through private lessons or a small class (as low as $15 a session). Barring that, see the "Technique" sidebar (page 108) for a quick primer on boxing basics; sooner or later, though, you'll want to invest in a lesson to see how you're progressing and to stay motivated. Next, clear a space in your apartment, basement or garage (under a strong rafter) for a heavy bag and other gear itemized in the "Equipment" sidebar (below). And be sure to follow a good boxing-workout regimen, such as the one outlined here (opposite page). I took my lessons from former professional welterweight fighter Steve Petramale, owner of Shadow Boxing, a hard-core Hollywood boxing studio with its own roped ring. Petramale is a purist who cringes at the term box-aerobics; he teaches "boxing class." And he does everything by the book--the way pro boxers do. Petramale stresses the importance of the number three. Three-minute rounds on the heavy bag, to simulate a boxing match. Three rounds of hitting the bag, which, Petramale says, is "as much punishment as you can take without compromising form." Plus, everything you do, from shadowboxing to jumping rope, from sit-ups to stretching, do for three minutes. For the last 30 seconds of each three-minute period, you'll want to increase your intensity, just as fighters do in the last rounds of a close fight. (This focus on time requires a timer--anything from a $5 egg timer to a $150 programmable alarm bell featuring a 30-second warning buzzer, adjustable rest periods and multicolored flashing lights.) In between each three-minute burst, there's one minute of rest. Real rest. "You don't see a boxer jogging in place during rounds, do you?" says Petramale, not waiting for an answer. "He's sitting in his corner, resting, getting a drink, because he wants to be at his best when he goes back out. And how can he do that when he's out of breath?" Granted, most people don't go to a cardiobox class to rest; some instructors have their students sprint and do push-ups during breaks from flailing at the bag. And I do mean flailing; the emphasis appears to be on speed--in other words, quantity, not quality. It's a grueling cardio workout, but it may as well be Spinning. Remember: The objective here is to get a workout and hone your newfound boxing skills. If you must jog as you rest, take it easy. The workout schedule (page 111) sticks to the "three minutes on, one off' rule, and gives you a choice of a short (31-minute) or long (48-minute) version. All ab work or push-ups are done after a round of boxing; done earlier, they'll tighten muscles and compromise form, says Petramale. If you're superfit and desire a longer workout, just add more jump-roping at the start and more push-ups at the end. One more thing: Don't worry if you initially float like driftwood and sting like a gnat. According to Petramale, if you take a lesson and follow up two or three times, the butterfly and the bee will emerge within two weeks. BASIC TECHNIQUE To maximize your time on the bag, learn the fundamentals. 1 CLASSIC BOXING STANCE Stand almost sideways to your imaginary foe (or bag), feet more than shoulder-width apart. If you're right-handed, put your left foot forward and right foot back If you're left-handed, reverse your positioning. Line up your front foot, hip and shoulders, with your weight equally distributed on the balls of each foot and your knees slightly flexed. You should feel balanced and able to move easily, as if dancing: 2 HAND/ARM POSITION Keep your hands up in front of your mouth and chin, with the lead hand about six to eight inches ahead of the rear. Tucking the elbows in protects your ribs and recruits your hips into your punches for more power. The rear elbow should rest near your ribs. How will you know you're doing it right? When you can, use your lead-hand knuckles as a "sight." 3 THE PUNCHES Properly thrown punches snap straight out from the chin, then retract straight back. This provides maximum power and minimizes the time your fist leaves your chin unguarded. If you're throwing quality punches, the bag should not sway wildly when hit. "If you snap the punch," says Petramale, "you fee[ a solid thud and see the bag shudder." 3a Jab: Fire your fist out on a straight line like a bullet, twisting your thumb inward at full extension. Don't shift your body balance forward or move either foot forward; doing so restricts power. 3b Rear straight/ cross: Starting with your rear fist almost touching your chin, and your elbow tucked into your ribs, explode your arm straight out. Trying to keep your back leg straight, pivot on the ball of your foot and rotate your hip as far forward as possible. The punch will be longer, stronger, faster. 3c Lead hook: Your fist starts in the same place as with a normal jab. But instead of keeping your elbow angled down, pivot it outward so your forearm is parallel to the ground. Then snap your hip so that your upper body twists and your punch slams sideways into an imaginary cheekbone. SHADOWBOXING Don't dismiss this old-school training method. If your technique is off when you perform in front of a mirror--where you can watch yourself--it won't be correct when you're on the heavy bag or in the ring. "Shadowboxing is like watching a videotape of yourself and self-correcting," says former boxer Steve Petramale. "It's a great way to study and improve your form." In your boxer's stance, practice moving in all directions: forward, back and side-to-side. Next, incorporate some jabs with your steps, Throw your jab as you step forward with your lead leg. Shadowbox in slow motion to isolate troublesome combinations. HOME-BOXING EQUIPMENT For a good home-boxing workout, you need the right stuff. Try our recommendations: 1. Everlast 14-ounce leather training gloves with Velcro wrist closure ($50) 2. TKO wrist wraps ($6) 3. Egg timer ($10) 4. Leather jump rope ($12) 5. Century Wave Master 100-pound heavy bag ($100) THE SCHEDULE SHORT PROGRAM--ACTIVITY & DURATION * Jump rope, 3 minutes * Rest/jog in place, 1 minute * Jumping jacks/squats/stretch, 3 minutes: 20 seconds each, then rotate (See below for stretching exercises.) * Rest/jog in place, 1 minute * Shadow boxing, 3 minutes (See sidebar, opposite page.) Alternate 90 seconds each: 1) Be your own trainer. Watch yourself in the mirror to correct stance, hand position, punching mechanics, footwork. 2) Stick and move around an imaginary opponent. Don't punch hard; you can't knock out the air. * Rest/jog in place, 1 minute * Boxing: Round 1--heavy bag, 3 minutes One minute: Work on individual jab, hook and uppercut. Next two minutes: Throw combinations. Every 30 seconds: Throw flurry of punches for five seconds. (It's difficult if done right.) * Rest/jog in place, 1 minute * Boxing: Round 2--heavy bag, 3 minutes Pick up the pace. All combinations: double jab; triple jab; 1-2 (left, right); 1-2-3 (left-right, left hook to chin). * Rest/jog in place, 1 minute * Boxing: Round 3--heavy bag, 3 minutes All combinations; vary placement. Example: jab to chin, right to body; jab to body, right to chin; right to body; jab to chin, hook to chin; 1-2-3 jab to chin, right to body, hook to chin. * Rest/jog in place, 1 minute * Jump rope, 3 minutes * Rest/jog in place, 1 minute * Shadowboxing, 3 minutes. Cool down. Work the jab. * Rest/jog in place, 1 minute * Short program end: stretching, 3 minutes Shoulder/lat stretch: Put arm across chest, then push it toward the center with opposite hand on elbow. Triceps stretch: Put hand over shoulder and push elbow down with opposite hand. Hamstring stretch: Bend at waist; touch floor with palms. LONG PROGRAM (add these additional minutes to lengthen the program) * Abs/push-ups, 3 minutes Alternate the two. Use the following three abdominal exercises. 1. Crunch: With knees bent 90 degrees and feet flat, curl your sternum toward your pelvis.. 2. Bicycle: Bring opposite elbow to knee. (Petramale: "If you do 50, you're a bad dude.") 3. Jackknife: Raise hands from chest to straight-legged, airborne feet. Push-ups: Alternate hand width each set. Do each set to failure. * Rest/jog in place, 1 minute * Jump rope, 3 minutes * Rest/jog in place, 1 minute * Run in place fast, 3 minutes (Lift knees up high. Run hard.) * Rest/jog in place, 1 minute * Stretch, 3 minutes (See above.) * End: Go home! Oh, yeah. You are home. Peace

Islamic Nasheed

Salam, I like this Nasheed. Peace

Ramadan TV Shows (2)

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته صــــــادوه 4 ^^ حصريا ^^ على مكس كويت حصريــا -- خالد بن الوليد -- على مكس كويت حصريــا -- الامبراطورة -- على مكس كويت % حصريــا % حبـل المـوده على سيرفر مكس كويت حصريا مسلسل زارع المشموم** على مكس كويت حصريا على مكس كويت مسلسل *_* أولاد الشوارع *_* حصرياً طاش {14}: وعلى موقع غير محجوب خاص لدول الخليج شـــبــابــيــك %%حصريآ .. على سيرفر الموقع .. %% مسلسل الرحى @! حصريا @! على مكس كويت مسلسل بلا رحمة حصريا على سيرفر مكس كويت حصريا على مكس كويت مسلسل *_* الـفريـه *_* % عتيج الصوف % حصريا على سيرفر مكس كويت حصريا على مكس كويت مسلسل *_* بــاب الـحارة *_* % حصريــا % برنامج حيلهم بينهم على سيرفر مكس كويت والمزيــــد http://www.mixq8.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=169 مع التحيات إدارة منتديات مكس كويت http://www.mixq8.com

"Muhammad's Sword" by Uri Avnery

Muhammad's Sword by Uri Avnery 23.9.06 Since the days when Roman Emperors threw Christians to the lions, the relations between the emperors and the heads of the church have undergone many changes. Constantine the Great, who became Emperor in the year 306 - exactly 1700 years ago - encouraged the practice of Christianity in the empire, which included Palestine. Centuries later, the church split into an Eastern (Orthodox) and a Western (Catholic) part. In the West, the Bishop of Rome, who acquired the title of Pope, demanded that the Emperor accept his superiority. The struggle between the Emperors and the Popes played a central role in European history and divided the peoples. It knew ups and downs. Some Emperors dismissed or expelled a Pope, some Popes dismissed or excommunicated an Emperor. One of the Emperors, Henry IV, "walked to Canossa", standing for three days barefoot in the snow in front of the Pope's castle, until the Pope deigned to annul his excommunication. But there were times when Emperors and Popes lived in peace with each other. We are witnessing such a period today. Between the present Pope, Benedict XVI, and the present Emperor, George Bush II, there exists a wonderful harmony. Last week's speech by the Pope, which aroused a world-wide storm, went well with Bush's crusade against "Islamofascism", in the context of the "Clash of Civilizations". IN HIS lecture at a German university, the 265th Pope described what he sees as a huge difference between Christianity and Islam: while Christianity is based on reason, Islam denies it. While Christians see the logic of God's actions, Muslims deny that there is any such logic in the actions of Allah. As a Jewish atheist, I do not intend to enter the fray of this debate. It is much beyond my humble abilities to understand the logic of the Pope. But I cannot overlook one passage, which concerns me too, as an Israeli living near the fault-line of this "war of civilizations". In order to prove the lack of reason in Islam, the Pope asserts that the prophet Muhammad ordered his followers to spread their religion by the sword. According to the Pope, that is unreasonable, because faith is born of the soul, not of the body. How can the sword influence the soul? To support his case, the Pope quoted - of all people - a Byzantine Emperor, who belonged, of course, to the competing Eastern Church. At the end of the 14th century, the Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus told of a debate he had - or so he said (its occurrence is in doubt) - with an unnamed Persian Muslim scholar. In the heat of the argument, the Emperor (according to himself) flung the following words at his adversary: "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached". These words give rise to three questions: (a) Why did the Emperor say them? (b) Are they true? (c) Why did the present Pope quote them? WHEN MANUEL II wrote his treatise, he was the head of a dying empire. He assumed power in 1391, when only a few provinces of the once illustrious empire remained. These, too, were already under Turkish threat. At that point in time, the Ottoman Turks had reached the banks of the Danube. They had conquered Bulgaria and the north of Greece, and had twice defeated relieving armies sent by Europe to save the Eastern Empire. On May 29, 1453, only a few years after Manuel's death, his capital, Constantinople (the present Istanbul) fell to the Turks, putting an end to the Empire that had lasted for more than a thousand years. During his reign, Manuel made the rounds of the capitals of Europe in an attempt to drum up support. He promised to reunite the church. There is no doubt that he wrote his religious treatise in order to incite the Christian countries against the Turks and convince them to start a new crusade. The aim was practical, theology was serving politics. In this sense, the quote serves exactly the requirements of the present Emperor, George Bush II. He, too, wants to unite the Christian world against the mainly Muslim "Axis of Evil". Moreover, the Turks are again knocking on the doors of Europe, this time peacefully. It is well known that the Pope supports the forces that object to the entry of Turkey into the European Union. IS THERE any truth in Manuel's argument? The pope himself threw in a word of caution. As a serious and renowned theologian, he could not afford to falsify written texts. Therefore, he admitted that the Qur'an specifically forbade the spreading of the faith by force. He quoted the second Sura, verse 256 (strangely fallible, for a pope, he meant verse 257) which says: "There must be no coercion in matters of faith". How can one ignore such an unequivocal statement? The Pope simply argues that this commandment was laid down by the prophet when he was at the beginning of his career, still weak and powerless, but that later on he ordered the use of the sword in the service of the faith. Such an order does not exist in the Qur'an. True, Muhammad called for the use of the sword in his war against opposing tribes - Christian, Jewish and others - in Arabia, when he was building his state. But that was a political act, not a religious one; basically a fight for territory, not for the spreading of the faith. Jesus said: "You will recognize them by their fruits." The treatment of other religions by Islam must be judged by a simple test: How did the Muslim rulers behave for more than a thousand years, when they had the power to "spread the faith by the sword"? Well, they just did not. For many centuries, the Muslims ruled Greece. Did the Greeks become Muslims? Did anyone even try to Islamize them? On the contrary, Christian Greeks held the highest positions in the Ottoman administration. The Bulgarians, Serbs, Romanians, Hungarians and other European nations lived at one time or another under Ottoman rule and clung to their Christian faith. Nobody compelled them to become Muslims and all of them remained devoutly Christian. True, the Albanians did convert to Islam, and so did the Bosniaks. But nobody argues that they did this under duress. They adopted Islam in order to become favorites of the government and enjoy the fruits. In 1099, the Crusaders conquered Jerusalem and massacred its Muslim and Jewish inhabitants indiscriminately, in the name of the gentle Jesus. At that time, 400 years into the occupation of Palestine by the Muslims, Christians were still the majority in the country. Throughout this long period, no effort was made to impose Islam on them. Only after the expulsion of the Crusaders from the country, did the majority of the inhabitants start to adopt the Arabic language and the Muslim faith - and they were the forefathers of most of today's Palestinians. THERE IS no evidence whatsoever of any attempt to impose Islam on the Jews. As is well known, under Muslim rule the Jews of Spain enjoyed a bloom the like of which the Jews did not enjoy anywhere else until almost our time. Poets like Yehuda Halevy wrote in Arabic, as did the great Maimonides. In Muslim Spain, Jews were ministers, poets, scientists. In Muslim Toledo, Christian, Jewish and Muslim scholars worked together and translated the ancient Greek philosophical and scientific texts. That was, indeed, the Golden Age. How would this have been possible, had the Prophet decreed the "spreading of the faith by the sword"? What happened afterwards is even more telling. When the Catholics re-conquered Spain from the Muslims, they instituted a reign of religious terror. The Jews and the Muslims were presented with a cruel choice: to become Christians, to be massacred or to leave. And where did the hundreds of thousand of Jews, who refused to abandon their faith, escape? Almost all of them were received with open arms in the Muslim countries. The Sephardi ("Spanish") Jews settled all over the Muslim world, from Morocco in the west to Iraq in the east, from Bulgaria (then part of the Ottoman Empire) in the north to Sudan in the south. Nowhere were they persecuted. They knew nothing like the tortures of the Inquisition, the flames of the auto-da-fe, the pogroms, the terrible mass-expulsions that took place in almost all Christian countries, up to the Holocaust. WHY? Because Islam expressly prohibited any persecution of the "peoples of the book". In Islamic society, a special place was reserved for Jews and Christians. They did not enjoy completely equal rights, but almost. They had to pay a special poll-tax, but were exempted from military service - a trade-off that was quite welcome to many Jews. It has been said that Muslim rulers frowned upon any attempt to convert Jews to Islam even by gentle persuasion - because it entailed the loss of taxes. Every honest Jew who knows the history of his people cannot but feel a deep sense of gratitude to Islam, which has protected the Jews for fifty generations, while the Christian world persecuted the Jews and tried many times "by the sword" to get them to abandon their faith. THE STORY about "spreading the faith by the sword" is an evil legend, one of the myths that grew up in Europe during the great wars against the Muslims - the reconquista of Spain by the Christians, the Crusades and the repulsion of the Turks, who almost conquered Vienna. I suspect that the German Pope, too, honestly believes in these fables. That means that the leader of the Catholic world, who is a Christian theologian in his own right, did not make the effort to study the history of other religions. Why did he utter these words in public? And why now? There is no escape from viewing them against the background of the new Crusade of Bush and his evangelist supporters, with his slogans of "Islamofascism" and the "Global War on Terrorism" - when "terrorism" has become a synonym for Muslims. For Bush's handlers, this is a cynical attempt to justify the domination of the world's oil resources. Not for the first time in history, a religious robe is spread to cover the nakedness of economic interests; not for the first time, a robbers' expedition becomes a Crusade. The speech of the Pope blends into this effort. Who can foretell the dire consequences?

Love songs of the 1980's

Salam, I'm trying to collect all the love songs I grew up listening to, here is a umble list. can you peeps add to it (those of my age at least). Hello- Lionel Richie Endless Love- Lionel Richie Careless Whisper- George Michael crazy- patsy cline the winner takes it all- abba Lady-Kenny Rogers Making Love out of nothing at all- Air Supply All out of love- Air Supply Hotel calefornia- Eagles Let's stay together- Al Green Faithfully- Journey Open Arms- Journey Feelings- Morris Albert I drove all night to get to you- Cyndi Lauper I just want to be your everything- Andy gibb First time I ever saw your face- Roberta Flack I Want To Know What Love Is - Foreigner How Deep Is Your Love - The Bee Gees Total Eclipse Of The Heart - Bonnie Tyler You Don't Bring Me Flowers - Barbra Streisand w/ Neil Diamond You Are So Beautiful - Joe Cocker You Are The Sunshine Of My Life - Stevie Wonder Always On My Mind - Willie Nelson Peace

Ramadan TV Shows

Salam,

For those who have no access to Arabic TV.

Password is: www.mixq8.com

Peace

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

حصريــا -- خالد بن الوليد -- على مكس كويت http://www.mixq8.com/vb/showthread.php?t=32671

شـــبــابــيــك %%حصريآ .. على سيرفر الموقع .. %% http://www.mixq8.com/vb/showthread.php?t=32619 % عتيج الصوف % حصريا على سيرفر مكس كويت http://www.mixq8.com/vb/showthread.php?t=32628 إبن النجــار ** حصريـا ** على مكس كويت http://www.mixq8.com/vb/showthread.php?t=32644 % حصريــا % حبـل المـوده على سيرفر مكس كويت http://www.mixq8.com/vb/showthread.php?t=32612 مسلسل بلا رحمة حصريا على سيرفر مكس كويت http://www.mixq8.com/vb/showthread.php?t=32635 % حصريــا % برنامج حيلهم بينهم على سيرفر مكس كويت http://www.mixq8.com/vb/showthread.php?t=32608 وللمزيد من المسلسلات والأعمال الرمضانية قم بزيارة القسم الخاص للأعمال الرمضانية http://www.mixq8.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=169 مع التحيات إدارة منتديات مكس كويت http://www.mixq8.com

Fall CLASSES FOR MEN AT THE ADULT LEARNIGN CENTER

Fall CLASSES FOR MEN AT THE ADULT LEARNING CENTER REGISTRATION MUST BE COMPLETED BY Monday, October 2 , 2006 NOTE: DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY AND DIFFICULTY LEVEL OF THEIR CONTENTS, CLASS SIZES WILL BE LIMITED TO 8 PARTICIPANTS MAXIMUM. Class 1 How To Fill Up The Ice Cube Trays --- Step by Step, with Slide Presentation. Meets 4 weeks, Monday and Wednesday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM . Class 2 The Toilet Paper Roll --- Does It Change Itself? Round Table Discussion. M eets 2 weeks, Saturday 12:00 for 2 hours. Class 3 Is It Possible To Urinate Using The Technique Of Lifting The Seat and Avoiding The Floor, Walls and Nearby Bathtub? --- Group Practice. Meets 4 weeks, Saturday 10:00 PM for 2 hours. Class 4 Fundamental Differences Between The Laundry Hamper and The Floor --- Pictures and Explanatory Graphics. Meets Saturdays at 2:00 PM for 3 weeks. Class 5 After Dinner Dishes --- Can They Levitate and Fly Into The Kitchen Sink? Examples on Video. Meets 4 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM Class 6 Loss Of Identity --- Losing The Remote To Your Significant Other. Help Line Support and Support Groups. Meets 4 Weeks, Friday and Sunday 7:00 PM Class 7 Learning How To Find Things --- Starting With Looking In The Right Places And Not Turning The House Upside Down While Screaming. Open Forum . Monday at 8:00 PM, 2 hours. Class 8 Health Watch --- Bringing Her Flowers Is Not Harmful To Your Health. Graphics and Audio Tapes. Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:00 PM for 2 hours. Class 9 Real Men Ask For Directions When Lost --- Real Life Testimonials. Tuesdays at 6:00 PM Location to be determined. Class 10 Is It Genetically Impossible To Sit Quietly While She Parallel Parks? Driving Simulations. 4 weeks, Saturdays noon , 2 hours. Class 11 Learning to Live --- Basic Differences Between Mother and Wife. Online Classes and role-playing . Tuesdays at 7:00 PM, location to be determined Class 12 How to be the Ideal Shopping Companion Relaxation Exercises, Meditation and Breathing Techniques. Meets 4 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM . Class 13 How to Fight Cerebral Atrophy --- Remembering Birthdays, Anniversaries and Other Important Dates and Calling When You're Going To Be Late. Cerebral Shock Therapy Sessions and Full Lobotomies Offered. Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:00 PM for 2 hours. Class 14 The Stove/Oven --- What It Is and How It Is Used. Live Demonstration. Tuesdays at 6:00 PM, location to be determined. Upon completion of any of the above courses, diplomas will be issued to the survivors.

Ramadan starts Spetember,23rd 2006

مبارك عليكم الشهر

و تقبل الله صيامكم و قيامكم

مقدما

ثلاثين دعاء ... لثلاثين يوم في رمضان

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم دعاء اليوم الأول اَللّهُمَّ اجْعَلْ صِيامي فيهِ صِيامَ الصّائِمينَ وَ قِيامي فيِهِ قِيامَ القائِمينَ ، وَ نَبِّهْني فيهِ عَن نَوْمَةِالغافِلينَ ، وَهَبْ لي جُرمي فيهِ يا اِلهَ العالمينَ ، وَاعْفُ عَنّي يا عافِياًعَنِ المُجرِمينَ . دعاء اليوم الثاني اَللّهُمَّ قَرِّبْني فيهِ اِلى مَرضاتِكَ ، وَجَنِّبْني فيهِ مِن سَخَطِكَ وَنَقِماتِكَ ، وَ وَفِّقني فيهِ لِقِرائَةِ اياتِِكَ ، بِرَحمَتِكَ يا أرحَمَ الرّاحمينَ . دعاءاليوم الثالث اَللّهُمَّ ارْزُقني فيهِ الذِّهنَ وَالتَّنْبيهِ ، وَباعِدْني فيهِ مِنَ السَّفاهَةِ وَالتَّمْويهِ ، وَ اجْعَل لي نَصيباً مِن كُلِّ خَيْرٍ تُنْزِلُ فيهِ ، بِجودِكَ يا اَجوَدَ الأجْوَدينَ . دعاء اليوم الرابع اَللّهُمَّ قَوِّني فيهِ عَلى اِقامَةِ اَمرِكَ ، وَ اَذِقني فيهِ حَلاوَةِ ذِكْرِكَ ، وَ اَوْزِعْني فيهِ لِأداءِ شُكْرِكَ بِكَرَمِكَ ، وَاحْفَظْني فيهِ بِحِفظِكَ و َسَتْرِكَ يا اَبصَرَ النّاظِرينَ . دعاءاليوم الخامس اَللّهُمَّ اجعَلني فيهِ مِنَ المُستَغْفِرينَ ، وَ اجعَلني فيهِ مِن عِبادِكَ الصّالحينَ القانِتينَ ، وَ اجعَلني فيهِ مِن اَوْليائِكَ المُقَرَّبينَ ، بِرَأفَتِكَ يا اَرحَمَ الرّاحمينَ . دعاء اليوم السادس اَللّهُمَّ لا تَخْذُلني فيهِ لِتَعَرُّضِ مَعصِيَتِكَ ، وَلاتَضرِبني بِسِياطِ نَقِمَتِكَ ، وَ زَحْزِحني فيهِ مِن موُجِبات سَخَطِكَ بِمَنِّكَ وَ اَياديكَ يا مُنتَهى رَغْبَةِ الرّاغِبينَ . دعاء اليوم السابع اَللّهُمَّ اَعِنّي فيهِ عَلى صِيامِهِ وَ قِيامِهِ ، وَ جَنِّبني فيهِ مِن هَفَواتِهِ وَاثامِهِ ، وَ ارْزُقني فيهِ ذِكْرَكَ بِدَوامِهِ ،بِتَوْفيقِكَ يا هادِيَ المُضِّلينَ . دعاء اليوم الثامن اَللّهُمَّ ارْزُقْني فيهِ رَحمَةَ الأَيْتامِ وَ اِطعامَ الطَّعامِ وَاِفْشاءَ وَصُحْبَةَ الكِرامِ بِطَوْلِكَ يا مَلْجَاَ الأمِلينَ . دعاء اليوم التاسع اَللّهُمَّ اجْعَل لي فيهِ نَصيباً مِن رَحمَتِكَ الواسِعَةِ ، وَ اهْدِني فيهِ لِبَراهينِكَ السّاطِعَةِ ، وَ خُذْ بِناصِيَتي إلى مَرْضاتِكَ الجامِعَةِ بِمَحَبَّتِكَ يا اَمَلَ المُشتاقينَ . دعاء اليوم العاشر اَللّهُمَّ اجْعَلني فيهِ مِنَ المُتَوَكِلينَ عَلَيْكَ ، وَ اجْعَلني فيهِ مِنَ الفائِزينَ لَدَيْكَ ، وَ اجعَلني فيه مِنَ المُقَرَّبينَ اِليكَ بِاِحْسانِكَ يا غايَةَ الطّالبينَ . دعاء اليوم الحادي عشر اَللّهُمَّ حَبِّبْ اِلَيَّ فيهِ الْإحسانَ ، وَ كَرِّهْ فيهِ الْفُسُوقَ وَ العِصيانَ وَ حَرِّمْ عَلَيَّ فيهِ السَخَطَ وَ النّيرانَ بعَوْنِكَ ياغياثَ المُستَغيثينَ . دعاء اليوم الثاني عشر اَللّهُمَّ زَيِّنِّي فيهِ بالسِّترِ وَ الْعَفافِ ، وَاسْتُرني فيهِ بِلِِِباسِ الْقُنُوعِ و َالكَفافِ ، وَ احْمِلني فيهِ عَلَىالْعَدْلِ وَ الْإنصافِ ، وَ آمنِّي فيهِ مِنْ كُلِّ ما اَخافُ بِعِصْمَتِكَ ياعصمَةَ الْخائفينَ . دعاء اليوم الثالث عشر اَللّهُمَّ طَهِّرْني فيهِ مِنَ الدَّنسِ وَ الْأقْذارِ ، وَ صَبِّرْني فيهِ عَلى كائِناتِ الْأَقدارِ ، وَ وَفِّقْني فيهِ لِلتُّقى وَ صُحْبَةِ الْأبرارِ بِعَوْنِكَ ياقُرَّةَ عَيْن الْمَساكينِ . دعاء اليوم الرابع عشر اَللّهُمَّ لاتُؤاخِذْني فيهِ بالْعَثَراتِ ، وَ اَقِلْني فيهِ مِنَ الْخَطايا وَ الْهَفَواتِ ، وَ لا تَجْعَلْني فيهِ غَرَضاً لِلْبَلايا وَ الأفاتِ بِعزَّتِكَ ياعِزَّ المُسْلمينَ . دعاء اليوم الخامس عشر اَللّهُمَّ ارْزُقْني فيهِ طاعةَ الخاشعينَ ، وَ اشْرَحْ فيهِ صَدري بِانابَةِ المُخْبِتينَ ، بِأمانِكَ ياأمانَ الخائفينَ . دعاء اليوم السادس عشر اَللّهُمَّ وَفِّقْني فيهِ لِمُوافَقَةِ الْأبرارِ ، وَجَنِّبْني فيهِ مُرافَقَةِ الأشرارِ ، وَآوني فيهِ برَحمَتِكَ إلى دارِ القَرارِبإلهيَّتِكَ يا إله العالمينَ . دعاء اليوم السابع عشر اَللّهُمَّ اهدِني فيهِ لِصالِحِ الأعْمالِ ، وَ اقضِ لي فيهِ الحوائِجَ وَالآمالِ يا مَنْ لا يَحتاجُ إلى التَّفسيرِ وَ السُّؤالِ ، يا عالِماً بِما في صُدُورِ العالمينَ صَلِّ عَلى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آله الطّاهرينَ . دعاءاليوم الثامن عشر اَللّهُمَّ نَبِّهني فيهِ لِبَرَكاتِ أسحارِهِ ، وَنوِّرْ قَلْبي بِضِياءِ أنوارِهِ ، وَ خُذْ بِكُلِّ أعْضائِي إلى اتِّباعِ آثارِهِ بِنُورِكَ يا مُنَوِّرَ قُلُوبِ العارفينَ . دعاء اليوم التاسع عشر أللّهُمَّ وَفِّر فيهِ حَظّي مِن بَرَكاتِهِ ، وَ سَهِّلْ سَبيلي إلىخيْراتِهِ ، وَ لا تَحْرِمْني قَبُولَ حَسَناتِهِ يا هادِياً إلى الحَقِّ المُبينِ . دعاء اليوم العشرين أللّهُمَّ افْتَحْ لي فيهِ أبوابَ الجِنان ، وَ أغلِقْ عَنَّي فيهِ أبوابَ النِّيرانِ ، وَ وَفِّقْني فيهِ لِتِلاوَةِالقُرانِ يامُنْزِلَ السَّكينَةِ في قُلُوبِ المؤمنين . دعاء اليوم الحادي والعشرين أللّهُمَّ اجْعَلْ لي فيهِ إلى مَرضاتكَ دَليلاً ، و لاتَجعَلْ لِلشَّيْطانِ فيهِ عَلَيَّ سَبيلاً ، وَ اجْعَلِ الجَنَّةَ لي مَنْزِلاً وَمَقيلاً ، يا قاضِيَ حَوائج الطالبينَ . دعاء اليوم الثاني و العشرين أللّهُمَّ افْتَحْ لي فيهِ أبوابَ فَضْلِكَ ، وَ أنزِل عَلَيَّ فيهِ بَرَكاتِكَ ، وَ وَفِّقْني فيهِ لِمُوجِباتِ مَرضاتِكَ ، وَ أسْكِنِّي فيهِ بُحْبُوحاتِ جَنّاتَكَ ، يا مَجيبَ دَعوَةِ المُضْطَرِّينَ . دعاءاليوم الثالث و العشرين أللّهُمَّ اغْسِلني فيهِ مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ ، وَطَهِّرْني فيهِ مِنَ العُيُوبِ ، وَ امْتَحِنْ قَلبي فيهِ بِتَقْوى القُلُوبِ ،يامُقيلَ عَثَراتِ المُذنبين . دعاء اليوم الرابع و العشرين أللّهُمَّ إنِّي أسألُكَ فيهِ مايُرضيكَ ، وَ أعُوذُ بِكَ مِمّا يُؤذيكَ ،وَ أسألُكَ التَّوفيقَ فيهِ لِأَنْ اُطيعَكَ وَلا أعْصِيَكَ ، يا جواد السّائلينَ . دعاء اليوم الخامس و العشرين أللّهُمَّ اجْعَلني فيهِ مُحِبّاً لِأوْليائكَ ، وَ مُعادِياً لِأعْدائِكَ ، مُسْتَنّاً بِسُنَّةِ خاتمِ أنبيائكَ ،يا عاصمَ قٌلٌوب النَّبيّينَ . دعاء اليوم السادس و العشرين أللّهُمَّ اجْعَلْ سَعْيي فيهِ مَشكوراً ، وَ ذَنبي فيهِ مَغفُوراً ، وَعَمَلي فيهِ مَقبُولاً ، وَ عَيْببي فيهِ مَستوراً يا أسمَعَ السّامعينَ . دعاء اليوم السابع و العشرين أللّهُمَّ ارْزُقني فيهِ فَضْلَ لَيلَةِ القَدرِ ، وَ صَيِّرْ اُمُوري فيهِ مِنَ العُسرِ إلى اليُسرِ ، وَ اقبَلْ مَعاذيري وَ حُطَّ عَنِّي الذَّنب وَ الوِزْرَ ، يا رَؤُفاً بِعِبادِهِ الصّالحينَ . دعاء اليوم الثامن و العشرين أللّهُمَّ وَفِّرْ حَظِّي فيهِ مِنَ النَّوافِلِ ، وَ أكْرِمني فيهِ بِإحضارِ المَسائِلِ ، وَ قَرِّبْ فيهِ وَسيلَتي إليكَ مِنْ بَيْنِ الوَسائِلِ ، يا مَن لا يَشْغَلُهُ إلحاحُ المُلِحِّينَ . دعاء اليوم التاسع و العشرين أللّهُمَّ غَشِّني فيهِ بالرَّحْمَةِ ، وَ ارْزُقني فيهِ التَّوفيقَ وَ العِصْمَةَ ، وَ طَهِّر قَلبي مِن غياهِبِ التُّهمَةِ ، يارَحيماً بِعبادِهِ المُؤمنينَ . دعاء اليوم الثلاثين أللّهُمَّ اجْعَلْ صِيامي فيهِ بالشُّكرِ وَ القَبولِ عَلى ماتَرضاهُ وَ يَرضاهُ الرَّسولُ مُحكَمَةً فُرُوعُهُ بِالأُصُولِ ، بِحَقِّ سَيِّدِنامُحَمَّدٍ وَآلهِ الطّاهِرينَ ، وَ الحَمدُ للهِ رَبِّ العالمينَ منقول

Meet Roba Qewar

Salam, I first read about Roba through Qwaider. I was touched by her story and would like to share it with my readers. _________________________________________

Al Salamu Alaykom wa Rahmato Allah wa Barakatoh (Peace, Mercy and Blesses be Upon you from Allah) السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Arabic عربي

From the Churches to the Mosques!!! من الكنائس الى المساجد

I was born in Denmark and was raised Christian in Jordan all my life (Learn More), my father was a pastor of 4 churches, my mother is one of the strongest Christian woman leaders in the Jordanian society. I was a youth leader in the church and I was a supervisor in the church community for the Christian theology and I know a lot about it but never narrowed my mind and put that dark sheet on my eyes, I was seeking because I never found my peace till I became a Muslim. And it took me a long process to be convinced in Islam. It started since I was a kid, I hated Islam, when I was in the 10th grade, I saw one day a girl is praying, I kicked her and pushed her while she was kneeling down (sajedah), I have fought with girls in high school and I wanted to show them how educated I am, so I used to bring the Bible with me all the time and read in loud, or write a verse on the board as (today’s tip). When it’s Ramadan, I used to eat in front of the girls while fasting (I ask Allah to forgive me and give me Mercy), I was a serious trouble maker. In the eleventh grade, I remember one day we had an Islamic class in Zarqa High School, and I wanted to stay and listen to the teacher, they said that the Bible is Muharraf (interpreted and altered) I started to become mad and I explained to them that the Bible has been written as 4 different books in the same time different places from 4 different people (Mathew, Mark, Luke and John), so one of the girls said: “So you’re saying that the evil spirit have written the books!” I got really angry and I left the class and I didn’t want to talk to any of the girls. The girls in the class were wondering about me and they wanted to know what’s my deal, so they came and started asking me questions about my religion and I was answering them and showing them in the Bible and give them proofs to convince them about Christianity, until one day, the teacher called me and asked me to stop talking about my religion because it’s illegal, I told her that I have nothing to do with it, she said: “I have a recorded tape of your voice talking to the girls about it” that made me really mad, and I started to have not only hate but anger and I wanted to bring all the Muslims to Christianity, I even invited my Muslim friends to the church many times to convert them to Christianity. I graduated and went to study Chemistry in Muta University in Jordan, and I knew that this university is one of the strongest Islamic Movements in the whole Kingdom. I finished one year there and then registered for Islamic class as a requirement and I was so ready for it. I remember it was in a theatre contains 150 student, I am the only one Christian there proud of myself. Every time the Professor (Dr. Mohammad Rawashdeh) say something, I had to raise my hand and argue with him, I remember we talked about Hell and Heaven, we talking about the Women’s right, we talking about the Bible itself, and I used to bring the Bible all the time and get proofs for him to contradict his words. Until one day he called me to his office and he said that I have great knowledge and by now I supposed to be convinced about Islam, I told him: “listen Professor, I was born Christian, my father Is a pastor of 4 churches, my mom is a very important person in the Christian community, I was raised Christian, and I have a well knowledge about Christianity, so there is no way on earth can change me to Islam. No way!” he sighed and said: “Allah Yehdeeki” (May Allah show you the right path) After a while, I started to attack my Professor by judging on Islam and telling him how wrong he is and how wrong the Islam is. The students started to be curious about what I am saying and they were amazed of my braveness, so they started to come in private after classes and asking me about my religion, I used to sit down in a public place with them and argue about religious issues, until one day, my Professor called me back to his office. He said that I am doing fetnah (Division within Islam) in the university because I am talking to people about my religion and trying to convert them. I told him what do you mean?? He said: “Next semester, you will not be here anymore” I didn’t say anything and I just left, until I came next semester to register for my classes, and they told me that I am out of the college and I am not even exist in the system, I became really mad and I left the university because I knew that time, I am very close to go to the USA, and have a better opportunity than Jordan. Yes, I immigrated to TX, USA year 2002, trying to start from the scratch, I was going to the Arabic Dallas Baptist Church, and my uncle is the pastor of this church. I didn’t like living there so my family contacted a certain Christian family for me to go to Arizona and try to build myself, but once I couldn’t find a financial support, the family asked me to go back to Texas and stay with my family. So I went back home and my parents with my little brothers went back to Jordan in order for my father to continue his ministry in the churches, but I stayed with my brother and my sister and I am the oldest. I found a job and I started to study in the college. I kept myself going to the church, doing some activities, even sending some programs to the church in Jordan and help them out with the Bible studies for the Sunday Schools. In December 2003 my father died – diagnosed by the Cancer, but that didn’t stop me from keeping myself going in life. I tell you that I came to USA to make some Christian ministries .. and my aim was to reach the Arab Muslim and bring them to Christianity since the USA is a free country and you have the right of thoughts and talk So .. I met some friends in the college and we started to talk about Islam .. And I know the Bible from the beginning to the end, I was arguing hard trying to convince them about Christianity. Until they brought me the guy Mostafa Belhour - who is my husband now - to debate .. And it started to be like a race with him since he has great knowledge about Quran and Sunnah .. And I didn't like him at all. Most of the time, we were adding gas to the fire and sometimes we reach to dead ends, he was a real good speaker .. And I am the stubborn. I finally got tired and exhausted. Anyway .. My mom was coming on Sep 2005 and I thought it's a good excuse to get away from the debate because it started to make me so agitated .. For me it would be really insulting if I loose the debate .. So I told my friends .. I need to go!! but that guy called me by my name and said: "I need a proof" I asked: what are you talking about? He said: "search the whole Bible .. You will never find one verse that Jesus says about himself that he's God .. He never said(I am God)" .. I found that it's my opportunity to tell him about Christianity and bring him to Jesus (who I believed that he's the savior and the son of God) I asked with a sarcastic method: "what are you talking about.. Of course there is tens of verses say that Jesus is God" .. He said: "show me the proof" I went home and that question stuck in my mind. I opened the Bible and started to search, then I went to some internet resources, then to some books. Then I asked my mom and I went with her through a discussion .. she said: "well there is no specific verse laterally saying that Jesus said about himself he's God, but he said; (whoever saw me saw the father)" I said: "but the father and the son are not the same" she said: "but you know that they have the same level in power as they are a part of the Trinity (The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit)" So the 1st one has no proof .. Now let's go to the second one: Jesus is the son! I started to search more .. I found that it's written in the Gospel - in the Bible - called "John" this Equation: "in the beginning, the word was with God ..." ok?? So the word is Jesus who is created from the beginning and he was WITH God .. Then the same verse says: "and the word was God" John 1:1 so hold on!!! God = (equals) Jesus and God WITH Jesus ohuh .. Wrong mathematical statement .. How the heck would Jesus be God and with God at the same time? This is not something can make any kind of sense So I left that verse for a minute and went to another one .. To the 1st letter of john chapter 5 and verse 7 says: " 7For there are three that bear record (witness) in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three ARE ONE. " I said yeay .. Here is the proof, The Father=The Son=The Holy Ghost (Spirit) Then the next verse 8 says: " 8And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree IN ONE." The Spirit (Holy Spirit), The Water (The Father) and the Blood (The Son). How would it be 3=1 and 3IN1 at the same time .. It’s just completely different meaning. 3=1 means they are all in the same level, the same power, the same content (i.e. The water has 3 different mentalities liquid, solid and gas) and 3in1 is like 3 relative people carry the same family name but they are completely different people with different mentalities and personalities. In addition, if I believe that God is 3, then why would I have one creation? For example if I get 3 artists to draw a tree for me, each one will have his own style and way of drawing that tree according to his way of thinking, and if the 3 in one God are creating the creature, then each one of them will create it in a different way, even if they have the same aim, but they would create it in their own way! Anywho! I said there are some conflicts in this Bible, where did I get this book from?? I know that Jesus called himself the son of God because he's Jewish and it's not something new that the Jewish call themselves the "children of God" and they are humans Jesus was sitting by himself and pray! Who was he praying for? For himself? He was calling God, and the scripture of the Bible show that in different places, for example: “ 25At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent” Mathew 11:25 “39And going a little farther, He threw Himself upon the ground on His face and prayed saying, My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will [not what I desire], but as You will and desire.” Mathew 26:39 “42Again a second time He went away and prayed, My Father, if this cannot pass by unless I drink it, Your will be done.” Mathew 26:42 “23And after He had dismissed the multitudes, He went up into the hills by Himself to pray. When it was evening, He was still there alone.” Mathew 14:23 “44So, leaving them again, He went away and prayed for the third time, using the same words.” Mathew 26:44 “35And in the morning, long before daylight, He got up and went out to a deserted place, and there He prayed” Mark 1:35 “46And after He had taken leave of them, He went off into the hills to pray.” Mark 6:46 “21Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized, and [while He was still] praying, the [visible] heaven was opened” Luke 3:21 “16But He Himself withdrew [in retirement] to the wilderness (desert) and prayed.” Luke 5:16 “12Now in those days it occurred that He went up into a mountain to pray, and spent the whole night in prayer to God.” Luke 6:12 In additional I had that memory flashed in my mind when I was studying the Christian theology .. A British professor came to our college and he was teaching us the history of the Bible script .. And I remember he said exactly: "well ... I went to the museum in England to see the Bible manuscripts and all what I saw torn, burned lost papers spread allover the place" so what is that in my hand? And where all those words came from???? If I am going to worship A PERFECT GOD who is the complete of everything how would I believe in imperfect book??? This is not right!!! I started to think .. If one day lost all the holy books in the world .. and we asked people to get a new exact book. There is no body can get an exact book of the Bible because we have too many versions, and they are still discovering new different scripts till now .. But I can find may be a million Muslim can bring me an identical Quran who is kept from the beginning .. Isn’t that amazing!! Then I went through the theory of crucifying Jesus on the cross .. Did he really die?? I started to think of the Gospels that we have between our hands is it the real Bible?? The ones who wrote the Bibles are Jewish people who followed Jesus Christ and wrote a biography about him .. They saw him dying on the cross .. Is it necessary to be the same person on the cross?? The verse in Quran says: "shobbeha behi" “157. That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah.";- But they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:- 158. Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise” Quran 4:157-158 so the people who saw Jesus is someone who looks exactly like Jesus .. So what we have in our hands is only a biography of Jesus 75% or more of it is altered And now I got the result in my hands: Jesus is not God, not even the Son of God .. I got scared and I started to panic, All those years ... 24 years in my life that I was studying is only a theory 24 years worshipping the wrong God 24 years went as a lie!!! I wanted to kill myself and I felt that the ground that I am standing on is just shaking and I felt so scared I wanted to go back from the beginning and start my search all over again to prove the opposite .. I went so quiet .. Don’t know what next!! I am destroying my life .. I started to think .. I believe in Jesus now that he's only a human and he's a prophet from God and I believe in all the prophets .. I have one problem with Mohammad (Peace be upon Him) I never exposed about his life and all what I know is things that the Christian planted in my mind .. But how the people praise him all the time as the greatest prophet?? I said.. How could be a problem and the holy book Quran came from heaven through him (Peace Be Upon Him) .. He must be really special .. So it's not a problem to believe in one more prophet.. In addition that I know there is an illegal Gospel called Barnaby that the churches don't believe in it because there is the verse were Jesus talk about the next prophet called Ahmad!!! I left my room after great meditation and thinking about it and searching .. And called my old friends who didn't see me for 2 months .. I went to see them at home and I was praying to Allah and crying: "if that's the right way, you change my life .. If it's not so let me die now in an accident before I reach my friends and take me to heaven .. I am looking for the truth and I am calling you to take me to heaven whatever happens" So I reached to my friends and I have tears in my eye .. And they thought something happened .. And there were my husband (the debater) .. They were waiting a word from me to tell them what happened .. I said: اشهد أن لا اله الاّ الله .. واشهد أن محمد رسول الله Ash-hadu Anna La Elaha Illa Allah, Wa As-hadu Anna Mohammad Rasool Allah I declare that there is no God but only One Allah, and I declare that Mohammad is the prophet of Allah (Peace be upon Him) For 2 minutes they were quiet with no word They looked at me and my husband started to laugh like crazy He said: shut up .. Don’t lie It was October 3rd I believe I said I am not lying and I started to cry He said.. You said the other day that if you say the shahdatein (the Islamic declaration statement) with no believes that won't let you be Muslim!!! Don’t be lying I said: I am not lying .. Tomorrow is the first day of Ramadan .. You are going to teach me how to pray and make wodoo2 (The washing method) and everything When he heard me saying that .. He hugged me and started to cry like a baby And really I learned all that in one night .. And I bought a hijab (vail) and my other girl friend showed me how to put it on and everything I hide my Islam for two weeks .. During that time I went to imam and had the shaahdah (announced my Islam) and I was learning from the Quran and trying to make some comparison from both books and it was hard for me at the beginning to leave the Bible .. But il hamdullelah (Thanks Allah) I am over it now I hid my Islam from my family and I was praying at night 2am or 3 so no body can see me doing anything suspicious .. One day I was going to school and I had my backpack with me and have my Quran and hijab .. Suddenly my hijab fell down from the bag on the stairs at home and my sis was behind me, she saw it but didn't know what is it till night when she woke up and saw me praying, so she told my family members .. And here comes the trouble They yelled at me, insulted me, called me words and used the fraud language. They hit me to death and threatened me and I was calm, but leaved the house praying that Allah lead them to Islam. I lived about 2 months with my girl friend .. Until my husband Mostafa and I got married il hamdulellah (Thanks to Allah) .. I lost my family but I gained a new Muslim family at the mosque who took care of me and really helped me .. I went through a lot of depression aftermath because of that beating .. Till now I still receive at least 25 phone calls and emails – daily - from all over the world insulting me and threatening me and all that Other than the phone calls that I receive .. I even have debates with the biggest Christian Professors (in the Christian Theology) from Jordan and the USA on the phone .. debating about religions and trying to bring me back to Christianity. subhan Allah (The praises are for Allah) ... I used to hold the Bible in my hand and they have the Quran .. now the table has been turned around! However I learned a lot from this very short time .. I learned something called patience and humbling .. and I meditate now and think of the stories of the prophet Mohammad (Peace be upon him) who was insulted and how did he take all that .. my story is nothing to him and wow .. I learn a lot.. I probably lost my sharaf (The Noble honor of the family) and honor in front of some people but I am so proud and I have the sharaf coming from Allah .. and amazing! You can’t imagine what kind of happiness and peace that I am living in even all that insulting .. I really changed than before .. I am a completely different person .. even my husband noticed that. I learned how to be quiet and patient with people even to the ones who insult me all the time .. I learned how to smile in the worst and hardest times .. even if lost my jobs .. but Allah is compensating me with everything it's all about to have the intern peace inside you .. you really can't find peace from people around you, not even by your environment .. it has to be by your convention and by your mind .. by loving Allah and giving him your heart. If you worship Allah and follow his orders, you are certainly going to be happy because the sins make you feel guilty and they take your peace away I look at the people faces and see their tears, sadness; because they are away from the Creator.. sometimes I see their hearts are dark and they can't let that candle burn in them because they are so much caught with their problems and busyness in life. All what I know now, my aim in this life is to worship and pray for Allah and follow his orders and rules, and make good works for His Sake. I hope you enjoyed my story and be strength for your soul .

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You can read more about Roba from her website: http://www.creativeruba.com/islam/story_english.html