VOICE OF GLOBAL UMMAH

Volume 170, February 13, 2011
St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Editors: Mohamed & Rashida Ziauddin

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful

EDITORIAL:

In this issue (Part I) and forthcoming issue (Part II), we would like to discuss living arrangements of a Muslim couple in terms of living together as husband and wife VERSUS boyfriend and girlfriend. Needless to say, Islam emphasizes on marriage as a pre-condition before two heterosexual lovers live together. We found below article by Dr. Sherif Mohammed very helpful in terms of understanding the dynamics involved when we discuss of marriage in Islam.

(xeniagreekmuslimah.wordpress.com)

(www.maktabah.net)

(weddingdresses1212.com)

On Marriage in Islam

(jannah.org)

by Dr. Sherif Mohammed

By getting married you are not just getting a wife, you are getting your whole world. From now until the rest of your days your wife will be your partner, your companion, and your best friend.

She will share your moments, your days, and your years. She will share your joys and sorrows, your successes and failures, your dreams and your fears. When you are ill, she will take the best care of you; when you need help, she will do all she can for you.

When you have a secret, she will keep it; when you need advice, she will give you the best advice. She will always be with you: when you wake up in the morning the first thing your eyes will see will be hers; during the day, she will be with you, if for a moment she is not with you by her physical body, she will be thinking of you, praying for you with all her heart, mind, and soul; when you go to sleep at night, the last thing your eyes will see will be her; and when you are asleep you will still see her in your dreams. In short, she will be your whole world and you will be her whole world.

The best description that I personally have ever read describing the closeness of the spouses to each other is the Qur'anic verse which says:

"they are your garments and you are their garments"
(Surah Al Baqarah 2:187).


Indeed, spouses are like garments to each other because they provide one another with the protection, the comfort, the cover, the support, and the adornment that garments provide to humans. Just imagine a journey in the winter of Alaska without garments! Our spouses provide us with the same level of comfort, protection, cover, and support in the journey of our lives on this earth as garments would do in the Alaskan journey.

The relationship between the spouses is the most amazing of all human relations: the amount of love and affection, intimacy and closeness, mercy and compassion, peace and tranquillity that fills the hearts of the spouses is simply inexplicable. The only rational explanation for these most amazing of all human feelings is that: it is an act of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, "And Allah has made for you Mates (and Companions) of your own nature ..." (Surah Al Nahl 16:72) Only our Almighty Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala in His Infinite Power, Boundless Mercy, and Great Wisdom can create and ingrain these amazing and blessed feelings in the hearts of the spouses.

In fact Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala is reminding those who search for His signs in the universe that these feelings in the hearts of the spouses are among the signs that should guide humans to His existence as He says in the Qur'an, "And among His signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves that you may dwell in tranquillity with them and He has put love and mercy between your hearts: verily in that are signs for those who reflect." (Surah Al Rum 30:21)

But Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala knows that the human heart is not a static entity, it is sometimes weak and at times dynamic. Feelings can and do change with time. Love may wither and fade away. The marital bond might weaken if not properly cared for. Happiness in marriage cannot be taken for granted; continuous happiness requires constant giving from both sides. For the tree of marital love to remain alive and keep growing, the soil has to be sustained, maintained, watered and nurtured.

Remember that our Prophet Muhammad Salallaahu 'aliahi wa'sallaam had found the time to go out to the desert and race with his wife Aisha. She out ran him but later after she had gained some weight, he out ran her.

Remember that the Prophet Salallaahu 'aliahi wa'sallaam took his wife to watch the young Ethiopians playing and dancing their folk dances. The show of emotions is necessary to keep the marital bond away from rusting and disintegrating.

Remember that you will be rewarded by Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala for any emotions you show to your wife as the Prophet Salallaahu 'aliahi wa'sallaam said "one would be rewarded for anything that he does seeking the pleasure of Allah even the food that he puts in the mouth of his wife."

Never underestimate the importance of seemingly little things as putting food in your wife's mouth, opening the car's door for her, etc. Remember that the Prophet Salallaahu 'aliahi wa'sallaam used to extend his knee to his wife to assist her up to ride the camel.

Try to always find some time for both of you to pray together. Strengthening the bond between you and Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala is the best guarantee that your own marital bond would always remain strong. Having peace with Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala will always result in having more peace at home.

Remember that the Prophet Salallaahu 'aliahi wa'sallaam gave glad tidings for those couples who wake up at night to pray together. The Prophet Salallaahu 'aliahi wa'sallaam even urged the spouse who rises up first to wake the other spouse up even by throwing cold water on his/her face.

Always try your best to be good to your wife by words and by deeds. Talk to her, smile to her, seek her advice, ask for her opinion, spend quality time with her and always remember that the Prophet Salallaahu 'aliahi wa'sallaam said "the best of you are those who are best to their wives."

Finally, it is common that spouses vow to love and honor their spouses until death do them part. I do believe that this vow is good or even great, but not enough! It is not enough that you love your wife. You have to love what she loves as well. Her family, her loved ones must also become your loved ones. Don't be like my colleague who was unhappy about his wife's parents coming to visit for few weeks. He candidly said to her "I don't like your parents." Naturally, she angrily looked at him straight in the eye and said " I don't like yours either"... Also, it is not enough that you love her until death do you part. Love should never end and we do believe there is life after death where those who did righteousness in this world will be joined by their spouses (Surah Al Zukhruf 43:70) and offsprings.

The best example in this regard is the Prophet Salallaahu 'aliahi wa'sallaam whose love for Khadija, his wife of 25 years extended to include all those she loved and continued even after her death. It was many years after her death and he never forgot her and whenever a goat was slaughtered in his house he would send portions of it to Khadija's family and friends and whenever he felt that the visitor at the door might be Khadija's sister Hala, he would pray saying "O Allah let it be Hala."

MARRIAGE IN ISLAM.

Islam is a strong advocate of marriage. There are no religious clerical appointments where one must be celibate like for example a priest or nun. The prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said "There is no celibacy in Islam." The prophet has also said, "Marriage is my tradition whosoever keeps away from it is not from amongst us". Marriage is a moral safeguard as well as a social building block. Through marriage, families are established and the family is considered to be the fundamental unit of our society. Furthermore, marriage is the only valid or halal way to indulge in intimacy between a man and a woman. Islam takes a middle of the road position to sexual relations. It neither condemns it like certain religions, nor does it allow it freely. Islam urges us to control and regulate our desires, whatever they may be, so that we remain civilized and equity reigns in society. Marriage also acts as an outlet for physical needs and regulates it as well.

THE PURPOSE OF MARRIAGE

The word "Zawj" is used in the Quran to mean a pair or a mate. In general it's usage refers to marriage. The general purpose of marriage is so that men and women can love one another, provide company to each other, procreate and live in peace and tranquility to the commandments of God. Marriage serves as a means to emotional and physical gratification. It is also a form of worship because it is obeying God and His messenger - i.e. Marriage is seen as the only possible way for the sexes to unite under God. One could choose to live in sin but by choosing marriage one is displaying obedience to God.

Marriage is a "Mithaq" - a solemn covenant or agreement. It should not be taken lightly. It should be entered into with total commitment and full knowledge of what it involves. Your partner should be your choice for life. One should be mature enough to understand the demands of marriage so that the union can be a lasting one.

For a marriage to be valid certain conditions must be met: 1) Consent of both parties. 2) "Mahr" - a gift from the groom to the bride. 3) Witnesses. 4) The marriage should be publicized. (It should never be kept secret as this can lead to suspicion and troubles within the community.)

IS MARRIAGE OBLIGATORY ?

According to Imams Abu Hanifah, Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Malik ibn Anas, marriage is recommended, however for certain individuals it becomes Wajib (obligatory). Imam Shaafi'i considered it to be nafl or mubah (preferable). The general opinion is that if a person, male or female fears that if he/she does not marry they will commit Zina (sex outside of marriage), then marriage becomes obligatory. If a person has strong sexual urges then it becomes obligatory for that person to marry. Marriage should not be put off or delayed, especially if one has the means to do so.

A man, however should not marry if he does not possess the means to maintain a wife and future family, if he will not consummate the marriage, if he dislikes children, or if he feels marriage will seriously affect his religious obligation. The general rule is that the Prophet (pbuh) enjoined people to marry. He said "When one marries, they have fulfilled half of their religion , so let them fear God regarding the remaining half." This Hadith is narrated by Anas ibn Malik. Islam greatly encourages marriage because it shields one from wrongful actions and upholds the family unit.

SELECTION OF A PARTNER:

The choice of a partner should be the one with the most "Taqwa" (piety). The Prophet recommended suitors see each other before going through with marriage. It is unreasonable for two people to be thrown together and be expected to relate and be intimate when they know nothing of each other. The couple is permitted to look at each other with a critical eye and not a desireful one. This ruling does not contradict the Ayah which says that believing men and women should lower their gaze. - The couple, however is not permitted to be alone in a closed room or to go out together alone. As the hadith says "When a man and a woman are together alone, there is a third presence i.e. shaitan.

There is no dating or living in defacto relationships with each other before they commit to each other seriously. There is to be no physical relationship before marriage. The romantic notions that young people often have, have proven in most cases to be unrealistic and harmful to those involved. We only have to look at the alarming divorce rates to understand this point. e.g. the couple know each other for years, are intimate, live together and so on yet somehow this does not guarantee the success of the future marriage. "Romance" often dies out very quickly when we have to deal with the real world. Unrealistic expectations often contributes to problems within relationships. It is better to focus on compatibility of the couple and critical evaluation than solely physical attraction.

CONSENT OF PARTIES:

There is a halal arranged marriage and a haram one. It is OK to arrange marriages by suggestion and recommendation as long as both parties are agreeable. The other arranged marriage is when parents choose the future spouse and the couple concerned are forced or have no choice in the matter. One of the conditions of a valid marriage is consent of the couple. Marriage by definition is a voluntary union of two people. The choice of a partner by a Muslim virgin girl is subject to the approval of the father or guardian under Maliki school. This is to safeguard her welfare and interests. The Prophet said "The Widow and the divorced woman shall not be married until she has consented and the virgin shall not be married until her consent is obtained. The Prophet did revoke the marriage of a girl who complained to him that her father had married her against her wishes.

THE HUSBAND/WIFE RELATIONSHIP:

The wife's rights - the husband's obligations.

(1) Maintenance The husband is responsible for the wife's maintenance. This right is established by authority of the Quran and Sunnah. It is inconsequential whether the wife is a Muslim, non-Muslim, rich, poor, healthy or sick. A component of his role is to bear the financial responsibility of the family in a generous way so that his wife may be assured security.

The wife's maintenance entails her right to lodging, clothing, food and general care, like medication, hospital bills etc. He must provide for her where he resides himself according to his means. The wife's lodging must be adequate so as to ensure her privacy, comfort and independence.

If a wife has been used to a maid or is unable to attend to her household duties, it is the husbands duty to provide her with a maid if he can afford to do so. The Prophet is reported to have said: "The best Muslim is one who is the best husband."

(2) "Mahr" The wife is entitled to a marriage gift that is her own. This may be prompt or deferred depending on the agreement between the parties. A marriage is not valid without Mahr. It does not have to be money or gold. It can be non-material like teaching her to read the Quran. " Mahr" is a gift from the groom to the bride. This is the Islamic law, unlike some cultures whereby the bride's parents pay the future husband to marry the daughter. This practice degrades women and is contrary to the spirit of Islam. There is no specification in the Qur'an as to what or how much the Mahr has to be. It depends on the parties involved.

(3) Non-material rights. A husband is commanded by the law of God to treat his wife with equity, respect her feelings and show kindness and consideration, especially if he has another wife. The Prophet's Last Sermon stresses kindness to women.

THE WIFE'S OBLIGATIONS - THE HUSBAND'S RIGHTS.

One of the main duties of the wife is to contribute to the success and happiness of the marriage. She should be attentive to the comfort and wellbeing of her husband and vice-versa. The Quranic Ayah which illustrates this point is: "Our Lord, grant us wives and offspring who will be the coolness of our eyes and guide us to be models for the righteous" The wife should be trustworthy and honest. She cannot deceive her husband by deliberately avoiding conceiving. She should not have any sexual intimacy with anyone other than her husband. She should not receive or entertain strange males in the house without his knowledge and consent. She should not accept gifts from other men without his approval. This is meant to avoid jealousy, suspicion and gossip. She shouldn't dispose of his belongings without his permission.

A wife should make herself attractive to her husband and be responsive to his advances. The wife should not refuse her husband without reason as this may lead to marital problems and worse still - tempt the man to adultery. The husband, of course, should take into account the wife's health and consideration of circumstances.

OBEDIENCE:

The purpose of 'obedience' in a relationship is to keep the family unit running as smoothly as possible. Obedience does not mean blind obedience. It is subject to conditions:

(a) It is required only if what is asked from the wife is within the permissible categories of action.

(b) It must be maintained only with regard to matters that fall under the husband's rights.

PART II:

(ED: Have you ever wondered the consequences if a Muslim does not follow the gems of Islam revealed 14oo plus years ago as it pertains to heterosexual unions. Let's review below, few research studies indicating the impact of unmarried heterosexual couples living together upon the stability of their own relationship and its impact on the children that were born out of wedlock. While we love diversity and respect diverse value systems, we steadfastly urge the Global Ummah to hold on to the ROPE OF ISLAM and do the best to practice ISLAM to the fullest including in matters pertaining to relationship and marriage).

Cohabitation Ends in Separation 90% of the Time

(www.lifesitenews.com)

Hilary White
(condensed version)

New York:

A study published by the journal, Demography, has shown that cohabitation is not the road to happy marriage, or even to a happy relationship, but rather ends in separation 90 percent of the time. The study’s lead researcher, Daniel Lichter a professor of policy analysis at Cornell University said, “The common view of cohabitation as a steppingstone to marriage needs to be seriously questioned.”

The study showed that one-half of all cohabiting unions end within a year and 90 percent within five years.

The study showed that the common failure of cohabitation affects poor women more severely since they tend to rely financially on their live-in partners.

PART III:

Reality Says Cohabitation a Disaster for Marriage but Poll Shows Public Believes Otherwise

www.lifesitenews.com
Peter Smith
(condensed version)

Despite increasingly high divorce rates, nearly half of the US public now clings to the belief that pre-marital cohabitation will make divorce less likely according to a recent national poll.

A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll of 1,007 adults released for the weekend shows 49 percent believe living together reduces the chances of divorce. 13 percent said cohabitation makes no difference at all on marriage’s success. Only 31 percent held the view that shacking up before marriage increases the risk of future divorce. 7 percent had no opinion.

"If you’re living with someone, you actually get to know somebody more than you would not living with them," Christopher Sekulich, 37, of Melvindale, Michigan told USA Today.

Living together before marriage has skyrocketed since the 1960s, when Western cultures began to cast off traditional sexual mores; but the same period has seen a correlating upsurge of divorce.

The evidence has prompted a number of studies that have indicated that by trying to avoid divorce by cohabitation, unwed couples seriously compromise their marital success. A 2006 report published in the journal Demography indicated one-half of all cohabiting unions collapse within a year and 90 percent within five years.

"The common view of cohabitation as a steppingstone to marriage needs to be seriously questioned," commented Daniel Lichter a professor of policy analysis at Cornell University and the study’s lead researcher.

Most respondents also said they had little concern about the effect upon children of living in an unmarried cohabiting household. 47 percent insisted it makes no difference, and 12 percent believed there would be positive benefits.

However, the sentiments match up little with the reality that children suffer the brunt of collapsing marriages, and unmarried cohabitation creates an insecure situation for their development.

A study by the Vanier Institute of Family entitled "Cohabitation and Marriage: How Are They Related?" compiled results from hundreds of research papers that examined the social, emotional and financial effects of cohabitation and marriage on women, men, children and society.

Anne-Marie Ambert, the study’s author, concluded that cohabitation is inherently unstable and carries a high cost on children’s physical and psychological development.

Ambert noted, "Commitment and stability are at the core of children’s needs; yet, in a great proportion of cohabitations, these two requirements are absent."

PART IV

Study: Cohabitation Linked to Exponential Increase in Relationship Failure Risk

www.lifesitenews.com

Thaddeus M. Baklinski
(condensed version)

ANN ARBOR, Michigan:

Another new study has added to the compelling evidence that cohabitation before marriage significantly increases relationship instability.

Dr. Pamela J. Smock, a research professor at the Population Studies Center at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, has published a study in the Journal of Marriage and Family of data gathered on cohabitation in the United States and the implications of cohabitation on relationship stability.

“From the perspective of many young adults, marrying without living together first seems quite foolish,” said Prof. Smock. “Just because some academic studies have shown that living together may increase the chance of divorce somewhat, young adults themselves don’t believe that.”

“Cohabitation is increasingly becoming the first co-residential union formed among young adults,” the study said. “As a result of the growing prevalence of cohabitation, the number of children born to unmarried cohabiting parents has also increased.”

Prof. Smock found that the proportion of women in their late 30s who had ever cohabited had doubled in the last 15 years, from 30 to 61 percent, and that about half of couples who cohabit marry within three years.

However, the study revealed that, with differences based on race and ethnicity taken into account, children born to cohabiting versus married parents have over five times the risk of experiencing their parents' separation, showing an exponential increase in relationship failure for couples currently or ever cohabiting.

The study concludes that couples who live together before they get married are less likely to stay married than those who don't move in together until engagement or marriage.

HADITH ON MARRIAGE

STYLISH MUSLIM BRIDAL DRESSES - 2011 TRENDS



www.mbludak.com


www.mbludak.com


www.mbludak.com


www.mbludak.com

THE END

VOICE OF GLOBAL UMMAH

Volume 169, February 7, 2011
St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Editors: Mohamed & Rashida Ziauddin

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful

Editorial:

Current events in some of the Muslims countries such as Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen etc would be remembered in history of the Global Ummah as pivotal moments that brought out the best of the Ummah in their respective countries in terms of fighting against injustice and repression. We wanted to share with you interesting articles and photos on above countries.

TUNISIA

A Tunisian protester surrounded by barbed wire chants slogans by a police barricade near government offices in the Kasbah, the old city of Tunis, Tunisia. Police blocked several roads after a day of violent clashes Wednesday between demonstrators and security forces who fired tear gas and left several people injured. Zohra Bensemra/Reuters

A woman walks by a wall with graffiti that reads "long live freedom" in Tunis, Tunisia. Louafi Larbi/Reuters

Facebook and Arab Dignity

By ROGER COHEN
January 25, 2011
(condensed version)

SIDI BOUZID, TUNISIA

This is where an Arab revolution began, in a hardscrabble stretch of nowhere. If the modern world is divided into dynamic hubs and a static periphery, Sidi Bouzid epitomizes the latter. The town never even appeared on the national weather forecast.

The spark was an altercation on Dec. 17, 2010. It involved a young fruit-and-vegetable peddler named Mohamed Bouazizi and a policewoman much older than him called Faida Hamdy. What exactly transpired between them — who slapped or spat at whom, which insults flew — has already entered the realm of revolutionary myth.

Soon after — this at least is undisputed — Bouazizi set himself on fire in front of the modest governor’s building where protesters now gather around portraits of the martyr. Bouazizi would live another 18 days. By then, an Arab dictatorship with a 53-year pedigree was shuddering. Within another 10 days, it had fallen in perhaps the world’s first revolution without a leader.

Or rather, its leader was far away: Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook. Its vehicle was the youth of Tunisia, able to use Facebook for instant communication and so cyber-inspire their parents.

Anders Colding-Jorgensen, a Danish psychologist, conducted an experiment in 2009 in which he implied that Copenhagen’s Stork Fountain was about to be demolished and started a Facebook group to save it. The threat was fictitious but the group soon had two new members joining every minute.

The Tunisian revolution was that experiment on steroids. Castro spent years preparing revolution in the Cuban interior, the Sierra Maestra; Facebook propelled insurrection from the interior to the Tunisian capital in 28 days. How could a spat over pears in Nowhereville turn into a national uprising? No Tunisian newspaper or TV network covered it. The West was busy with Christmas. Tunisia was the Arab world’s Luxembourg: Nothing ever happened. Some poor kid’s self-immolation could never break a wall of silence. Or so it seemed.

That day, Dec. 17, a dozen members of Bouazizi’s enraged family gathered outside the governor’s building. They shook the gates and demanded that the governor see them.

“Our family can accept anything but not humiliation,” Samia Bouazizi, the dead man’s sister, told me, sitting under a bare light bulb in a small house near a trough where sheep were feeding.

Humiliation is an important word in this story. It was the “hogra,” or contempt, of the dictator’s kleptocracy that would cyber-galvanize an Arab people. The protests soon swelled. Participants uploaded cellphone images onto Facebook pages. “My daughter, Ons, who’s 16, started showing me what was going on,” said Hichem Saad, a Tunis-based entrepreneur. Al-Jazeera, the Arab TV network, was alerted through Facebook.

Along the way, Bouazizi, who did not even have a high-school diploma, cyber-morphed into a frustrated university graduate: that resonated in a nation where many graduates are jobless. This myth went round the world. Information moving this fast is inspired, rather than bound, by facts. When Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, the now ousted dictator, addressed the nation, as he would three times, Facebook-ferried fury was the response.

Ben Ali might have 1.5 million members in his puppet party; he soon faced two million Facebook users. By now Faida Hamdy, the policewoman, had slapped Bouazizi across the face. Perhaps she did. Her cousin told me he slapped her: more hurtling facts too good to check. Hisham Ben Khamsa, who organizes an American movie festival in Tunis, watched with his kids as Ben Ali made his last speech on Jan. 13.

Now, the strongman’s confrontational fury had gone. Like the shah of Iran in 1978 — too late — he had “understood.” He felt the people’s pain. Bread prices would come down. “He hadn’t understood a thing,” Ben Khamsa told me. “This was about dignity, not bread. His political autism was terminal. Everyone was live-commenting the speech on Facebook.” The next night, Ben Ali fled after 23 years in power, short of his predecessor’s 30 years. It’s said the average age of a Tunisian is one dictator and a half. That nightmare is over. Now the new youth minister, a 33-year-old former dissident blogger, tweets from cabinet meetings. Everyone is talking where everyone was silent. “Every Arab nation is waiting for its Bouazizi,” his sister told me.

Some observations: First, the old nostrum goes that it’s either dictators or Islamic fundamentalists in the Arab world because they’re the only organized forces. No, online communities can organize and bite. Second, those communities have no formal ideology but their struggle is to transform humiliation into self-esteem. Tunisia was a Facebook revolution. But I prefer a phrase I heard in Tunis: “The Dignity Revolution.”

EGYPT:

During Friday prayers in Tehrir Square, prayers are raised to those who lost their lives to the violence. Ann Hermes/The Christian Science Monitor

How Democracy Became Halal

Feb 7, 2011
www.nytimes.com
By Reuel Mauel Marc Gerecht
(condensed version)

Reuel Marc Gerecht, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former Middle Eastern specialist in the C.I.A.’s clandestine service, is the author of the forthcoming book “The Wave: Man, God and the Ballot Box in the Middle East.”

In the Western study of medieval Islamic history, the institution of iqta — land grants from the sovereign to his soldiers — once loomed large, because scholars searched for reasons behind the Muslim failure to develop feudalism, and with it the contractual relationships that eventually led to constitutional government. But looking for parallels between the West and Islam — especially the classical Islamic heartland from North Africa to Iran — has always been politically a sad endeavor, since the region seemed so resistant to the ideas and institutions that made representative government possible.

The secular intellectuals in exile, however, more forcefully embraced the democratic cause — their newspapers, books, magazines, Web sites and, increasingly, appearances on Al Jazeera — delivered their views back home. Intellectuals of such diverse viewpoints as Kanan Makiya, Edward Said, Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Burhan Ghalioun opened up an ever-increasing liberal, democratic space in foreign and Arabic publications. Yes, some mixed their message of liberty with other “Arab” priorities: anti-Zionism, anti-Americanism and anti-imperialism. But their support of democracy was clear, and became more acute after the 9/11 attacks.

Shariah law increasingly embraced the convulsive idea that only elected political leadership was legitimate. Islam puts extraordinary emphasis upon the idea of justice — the earthbound quid pro quo that a man can expect in a righteous life.

Democracy for the faithful has become a means for society to affirm its most cherished Islamic values.

The Brotherhood is trying to come to terms with the idea of hurriya, “freedom.” In the past, for the Muslim devout, hurriya had denoted the freedom of a believer to worship God; for the Arab nationalist, the word was the battle cry against European imperialism. Today, in Egypt and elsewhere, hurriya cannot be understood without reference to free men and women voting. The Brothers are trying to figure out how to integrate two civilizations and thereby revive their own. This evolution isn’t pretty. But it is real.

For the Egyptian people, the Brothers are not an enigma — they have been around since 1928. Unlike the revolutionary mullahs of Iran, who wrote books that almost no one outside the clergy read, the Brotherhood has spread its word to the Egyptian public for decades.

It’s also important that Egyptian Muslims are Sunnis. Unlike Iran’s Shiites, whose history revolves around charismatic men, Egyptians have no Ayatollah Khomeini. The Brotherhood is an organization of laymen. It has always had a tense relationship with Al Azhar, the great Sunni seminary of Cairo.

Although Hosni Mubarak has done his best to suck the life out of Egyptian society, the shadows of once great parties, like the Wafds of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and nearly forgotten forces like the Liberal Constitutionalist Party will try to resurrect themselves in fairly short order. Ayman Nour and his liberal Ghad Party are already established..




Protesters get the latest news at a makeshift newsstand in Tehrir Square. Ann Hermes/The Christian Science Monitor

New Service Lets Voices From Egypt Be Heard

CHRISTINE HAUSER

February 1, 2011

With the unruly sounds of protests in the background, the Egyptian man declared there were 50,000 demonstrators in the streets of Cairo.

“And the number is growing,” he said, raising his voice to be heard on the recording.

Unedited, raw, anonymous and emotional, Egyptian voices are trickling out through a new service that evades attempts by the authorities to suppress them by cutting Internet services.

There is still some cellphone service, so a new social-media link that marries Google, Twitter and SayNow, a voice-based social media platform, gives Egyptians three phone numbers to call and leave a message, which is then posted on the Internet as a recorded Twitter message. The messages are at twitter.com/speak2tweet and can also be heard by telephone.

The result is a story of a revolution unfolding in short bursts. Sometimes speaking for just several seconds, other times for more than a minute, the disembodied voices convey highly charged moments of excitement or calm declarations of what life is like in Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country, as it seeks to remove its leader.

The messages rolled out as Egyptians seemed to be approaching a crucial point, with hundreds of thousands of people crammed into central Cairo on Tuesday, as protests continued to demand the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.

Protesters have sought to use social media like Facebook and Twitter to muster momentum for attendance at demonstrations, even as the Egyptian authorities have shut off Internet access.

“Urgent news,” one caller to speak2tweet said. “The police have changed to serve the people. We are very happy.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, the account had more than 8,000 followers. On Tuesday, the service started to identify the country from which each recorded message came. While most were from Egypt, they included calls from Germany and the United States in Arabic and English, and messages from Arabic speakers in the Netherlands and Turkey.

It was clear that support for the uprising in Egypt had crossed borders.

“I live in Jordan,” said one man, urging on the demonstrators in a crackly recording. “I want to congratulate Egyptians on their popular revolution.”

One man calling from the United States criticized what appeared to him to be the double standard of democracies that support a “dictator who ruled for 30 years.”

“If you don’t stand with the people who are looking for freedom, they are not going to believe any more of everything you say about democracy and freedom,” the man said.

Another man, speaking for several seconds, introduced himself as an Egyptian engineer named Wael. Without a trace of irony in a message that could potentially be heard by millions, he voiced dismay over cuts to the Internet.

But no Internet connection is needed for speak2tweet, and in Egypt there was some phone service. Vodafone was working for text and voice on Tuesday, while AT&T BlackBerry users said MobiNil was working. Callers in Egypt had three numbers to leave recorded messages, based in the United States at 1-650-419-4196, in Italy at (39-06) 6220-7294 and in Bahrain at (973) 1619-9855.

Then the service will instantly send the recorded call as a Twitter message using the hashtag #egypt. They are subject to international calling charges, but Google and SayNow, which announced last month that it had been acquired by Google, are also exploring the possibility of setting up a local phone number in Egypt, a person close to the project said Tuesday.

“Like many people, we’ve been glued to the news unfolding in Egypt and thinking of what we could do to help people on the ground,” said a joint statement posted Monday by Ujjwal Singh, the co-founder of SayNow, and AbdelKarim Mardini, Google’s product manager for the Middle East and North Africa.

“Over the weekend, we came up with the idea of a speak-to-tweet service — the ability for anyone to tweet using just a voice connection,” the statement said.

“We hope that this will go some way to helping people in Egypt stay connected at this very difficult time. Our thoughts are with everyone there.”

U.S. Chickens Come Home to Roost in Egypt

Global Research E-Newsletter
www.globalresearch.ca)
By Prof Marjorie Cohn
(condensed version)

(Marjorie Cohn is a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and Deputy Secretary General of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers. Her anthology, “The United States and Torture: Interrogation, Incarceration, and Abuse,” was just published by NYU Press).

Global Research, February 2, 2011

Now with a revolution against Mubarak by two million Egyptians, all bets are off about who will replace him and whether the successor government will be friendly to the United States.

Mubarak’s “whole system is corrupt,” said Hesham Korayem, an Egyptian who taught at City University of New York and provides frequent commentary on Egyptian and Saudi television.

He told me there is virtually no middle class in Egypt, only the extremely rich (about 20 to 25 percent of the population) and the extremely poor (75 percent).

The parliament has no input into what Mubarak does with the money the United States gives him, $300 million of which comes to the dictator in cash each year.

Torture is commonplace in Egypt, according to Korayem. Indeed, Omar Suleiman, Egypt’s intelligence chief whom Mubarak just named Vice-President, was the lynchpin for Egyptian torture when the CIA sent prisoners to Egypt in its extraordinary rendition program. Stephen Grey noted in Ghost Plane, “[I]n secret, men like Omar Suleiman, the country’s most powerful spy and secret politician, did our work, the sort of work that Western countries have no appetite to do ourselves.”

In her chapter in the newly published book, “The United States and Torture: Interrogation, Incarceration, and Abuse,” Jane Mayer cites Egypt as the most common destination for suspects rendered by the United States.

“The largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid after Israel,” Mayer writes, “Egypt was a key strategic ally, and its secret police force, the Mukhabarat, had a reputation for brutality.” She describes the rendering of Ibn al-Sheikh al-Libi to Egypt, where he was tortured and made a false confession that Colin Powell cited as he importuned the Security Council to approve the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Al-Libi later recanted his confession.

The State Department’s 2002 report on Egypt noted that detainees were “stripped and blindfolded; suspended from a ceiling or doorframe with feet just touching the floor; beaten with fists, metal rods, or other objects; doused with hot or cold water; flogged on the back; burned with cigarettes; and subjected to electrical shocks. Some victims . . . [were] forced to strip and threatened with rape.”

In 2005, the United Nations Committee Against Torture found that “Egypt resorted to consistent and widespread use of torture against detainees” and “the risk of such treatment was particularly high in the case of detainees held for political and security reasons.”

About a year ago, an Italian judge convicted 22 CIA operatives and a U.S. Air Force colonel of arranging the kidnapping of a Muslim cleric in Milan in 2003, then flying him to Egypt where he was tortured.

Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr told Human Rights Watch he was “hung up like a slaughtered sheep and given electrical shocks” in Egypt. “I was brutally tortured and I could hear the screams of others who were tortured too,” he added.

A former CIA agent observed, “If you want a serious interrogation, you send a prisoner to Jordan. If you want them to be tortured, you send them to Syria. If you want someone to disappear – never to see them again – you send them to Egypt.”

So what will happen next in Egypt?

Scott MacLeod, Time magazine’s Middle East correspondent from 1995 to 2010, wrote in the Los Angeles Times. Korayem concurs. He says the Brotherhood, which has formally renounced terrorism and violence, is more educated and peaceful now. The Brotherhood provides social and economic programs that augment public services in Egypt.

Indeed, the Brotherhood supports Mohamed ElBaradei to negotiate with the Egyptian government. ElBaradei, the former U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency chief and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, recently returned to Egypt to stand with the protesters. He told Fareed Zakaria that the Brotherhood favors a secular state, and “has nothing to do with the Iranian movement, has nothing to do with extremism as we have seen it in Afghanistan and other places.”


We are seeing those consequences in the streets of Egypt and the likelihood of similar developments in Jordan, Yemen, and other Middle Eastern countries. Until the U.S. government stops uncritically supporting tyrants, torturers, and oppressors, we can expect the people to rise up and overthrow them.

Egypt: A Sleeping Giant Awakens

By Rannie Amiri

www.globalresearch.ca
February 5, 2011

The sleeping Egyptian giant has finally awoken.

The Arab world’s most populous nation—85 million strong—has been in political hibernation for 30 long years.

The deep slumber is now over. The reign of Hosni Mubarak will end, sooner or later, as a rejuvenated population sheds apathy’s blanket.

After Israel , Egypt is the second-largest recipient of United States foreign aid. Other than what was embezzled, the $1.5 billion in annual assistance has been spent entirely on the military and bolstering Mubarak’s internal security apparatus. It ultimately ensured the Camp David state remained complaint with the diktats coming out of Tel Aviv and Washington.

Indeed, as a result of peace treaties with its eastern and southern neighbors, Israel has had a free hand in continuing the repression and subjugation of Palestinians.

Take, for example, the crippling, inhumane siege imposed on Gaza . Even the most basic good and supplies were prevented from entering the tiny enclave. (This was the price Palestinians paid for holding democratic elections, which Hamas handily won.) Egypt, to no one’s surprise, enforced all embargo restrictions asked of it.

When Israel launched a vicious military campaign upon Gaza ’s destitute population in December 2008, Egypt again became a willing accomplice. Many will contend Mubarak was complicit in those war crimes. By keeping the Rafah border crossing closed, he prevented the evacuation of both malnourished and maimed from a war zone.

Although Egyptians may have quietly seethed at this, it does not compare to the anger and resentment built up over decades of corruption and abuse. The people have grown weary of Emergency Law, implemented and maintained since Anwar Sadat’s 1981 assassination, that prohibits all forms of free speech, expression and assembly. It allows for the indefinite detention of any person without charge. Arrested civilians are then put on trial in front of closed military tribunals. The regime is also notorious for turning a blind eye to routine police brutality and torture.

Because he assumed his son Gamal would succeed him, Mubarak also never appointed a vice-president, in violation of Egypt ’s constitution. That was until a few days ago when intelligence chief Omar Suleiman was hastily promoted to the job. Gamal has since fled to London .

In Tuesday’s protests, the scope of which was unprecedented in the history of modern Egypt , the world’s eyes were fixed on downtown Cairo ’s Tahrir Square . The hundreds of thousands gathered not only called for Mubarak’s ouster, but demanded he be put on trial. His hanging effigy conveyed to viewers that Egyptians will not be satisfied with a token cabinet reshuffle.

“ Cairo today is all of Egypt ,” said one. “I want my son to have a better life and not suffer as much as I did ... I want to feel like I chose my president.”

Feeling the pressure, Jordan’s monarch King Abdullah II fired his cabinet as demonstrations in Amman continued. The Palestinian Authority under the discredited president Mahmoud Abbas vowed to hold municipal elections in the West Bank . Bahrain is ripe with discontent, to say the least. The same is true for Yemen, where President Ali Abdullah Saleh—who has ruled for 32-years—now says he won’t run for another term. Tunisians have already taken matters into their own hands.

Despite the best efforts of Mubarak, Saudi Arabia, the United States and Israel, the sleeping giant has awoken. And the mass protests we are witnessing in Egypt today ... that is merely a yawn.
Rannie Amiri is an independent Middle East commentator.

A PICTURE SPEAKS MORE THAN A THOUSAND WORDS

Violence erupts in Tehrir Square as pro- and anti-Mubarak protesters clash in Cairo after a week of peaceful demonstrations. Ann Hermes/The Christian Science Monitor

Egyptian anti-government protesters pray in front of an Egyptian army tank during a protest in Tahrir square in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Jan. 29. Hundreds of anti-government protesters have returned to Cairo's central Tahrir Square, chanting slogans against Hosni Mubarak just hours after the Egyptian president fired his Cabinet but refused to step down. Lefteris Pitarakis/AP

A supporter of President Hosni Mubarak on a camel fights with anti-Mubarak protesters in Cairo. Several thousand supporters of the president, including some people riding horses and camels and wielding whips, clashed with antigovernment protesters as Egypt's upheaval took a dangerous new turn. Mohammed Abou Zaid/AP

A protester holds a placard depicting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak as Adolf Hitler in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Jan. 31. Yannis Behrakis/Reuters

An Egyptian mother hugs her child as she watches thousands of Egyptian protesters gather at Tahrir square in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Jan. 30th. Amr Nabi/AP

A demonstrator shakes hands with a soldier just outside Tahrir (Liberation) Square in Cairo. More than a quarter of a million people flooded into the heart of the city, filling the main square in by far the largest demonstration in a week of unceasing demands for President Hosni Mubarak to step down after nearly 30 years in power. Victoria Hazou/AP

An Egyptian anti-government activist kisses a riot police officer following clashes in Cairo. Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters poured into the streets of Egypt, stoning and confronting police who fired back with rubber bullets and tear gas in the most violent and chaotic scenes yet in the challenge to President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule. Lefteris Pitarakis/AP

A demonstrator yells out in Tahrir (Liberation) Square in Cairo where more than a quarter of a million people gathered for the largest demonstration in a week of unceasing protests to demand that President Hosni Mubarak step down after nearly 30 years in power. Ben Curtis/AP

Women adjust Hijabs while protesting in sympathy for those in Egypt calling for the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Saturday, Jan. 29, in San Francisco, California. Ben Margot/AP

YEMEN

A Yemeni demonstrator (c.) shouts slogans during a rally calling for an end to the government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa, Yemen. Tens of thousands of people are calling for the president's ouster in protests across the capital inspired by the popular revolt in Tunisia. Hani Mohammed/AP

RUSSIAN MUSLIMS:

Every big city is international and it is impossible to avoid that. Once a city has peopled and population limit exceeded at least several millions, a sea of immigrants in the search of work and easy money start flooding the city out and it becomes hectic and busy. As soon as such a thing has already happened, it would be hardly possible to prevent the collision of different religions because most of people around anyone of us are not alike.

These above (photo of Mosque in Tartar and below photo of Tartar women) are the earliest color photos of Russian places made with the the use of the “fotochrome” method by Swiss masters of photography.

(englishrussia.com)

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE OF LIFE:

ON MEN, WOMEN, MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE:

Forwarded by Dr. Lewis (condensed version)

(DISCLAIMER: Below content do not reflect our views)

By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher. - Socrates

All eyes were on the radiant bride as her father escorted her down he aisle. They reached the altar and the waiting groom; the bride kissed her father and placed something in his hand. The guests in the front pews responded with ripples of laughter. Even the priest smiled broadly. As her father gave her away in marriage, the bride gave him back his credit card.

For Sale: Wedding dress, size 8. Worn once by mistake.

I was married by a judge. I should have asked for a jury. - Groucho Marx

I have never hated a man enough to give his diamonds back. - Zsa Zsa Gabor

RUSSIAN I-PHONE

(www.englishrussia.com)

Today all the Internet communities discuss the iPhone that was announced by Apple. Many people are really sad that they can buy it only from June in USA and only at the end of the year in Europe. So Russian guys started getting their way of iphones already now.

THE END

VOICE OF GLOBAL UMMAH
Volume 168, January 29, 2011
St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Editors: Mohamed and Rashida Ziauddin

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful

EDITORIAL:

We would like to highlight selected parts (condensed version) of the last sermon by our beloved Prophet Mohamed (SAW) which was delivered on the Ninth Day of Dhul Hijjah 10 A.H. in the 'Uranah valley of Mount Arafat' (in Mecca).

• "O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore listen to what I am saying to you very carefully and TAKE THESE WORDS TO THOSE WHO COULD NOT BE PRESENT HERE TODAY.

• Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you.

• Remember that you will indeed meet your LORD, and that HE will indeed reckon your deeds.

• All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action.

• Remember, one day you will appear before ALLAH and answer your deeds. So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone".

• Reason well, therefore, O People, and understand words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the QURAN and my example, the SUNNAH and if you follow these you will never go astray.

• All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly. Be my witness, O ALLAH, that I have conveyed your message to your people".

Global Ummah's notorious Osama bin Laden WILL NEVER highlight gems of Islam including one of above statements of 'HURT NO ONE", Islam stands for PEACE, "Mankind is but One Community" and "killing of one human being is like killing of all humanity and saving one human being is like saving all humanity" et.c.

During the past several decades, it is clear that our Global Ummah lacked the needed leadership to guide the Muslims in the 21st century. Unfortunately, many of our Muslim leaders ended up either as ruthless, power hungry secular dictators or spearheaded a spirit of nationalism all at the cost of moving away from mainstream moderate Islam.

In such a vacuum of lack of proper Global Islamic Leadership, it is not surprising that it was easy for the mass murderer Osama bin Laden to quietly move in to awaken the Global Ummah. However his continued and repeated divisive tactics of spreading hate, killing innocents and creating chaos has most definitely hurt Muslims globally.

If you would have to select one single Muslim that not only brought the greatest hardship to the Global Ummah, but also responsible for the deaths of thousands of people worldwide, would you select Osama bin Laden ? There is no question that Osama has ruined the true peaceful spirit of Islam and the global Ummah continues to this day to lack proper leadership as far as the billion plus Muslims are concerned.

IN SUCH A BACKGROUND, ARE YOU NOW SURPRISED THAT THE MUSLIMS HAVE BY THEIR ACTIONS, CLEARLY STATED, "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH" AND THE MASSES HAVE TAKEN THE CHALLENGE TO FIGHT FOR JUSTICE AND TO START THE FIGHT AGAINST THEIR OWN MUSLIM OPPRESSIVE LEADERS.

IN THIS REGARD WE SALUTE THE TUNISIAN UMMAH FOR LIGHTING A SPARK TO FIGHT AGAINST INJUSTICE PERPETRATED BY THEIR OWN LEADERS. WHAT HAPPENED IN TUNISIA WILL BE REMEMBERED IN THE ISLAMIC HISTORY AS A POSITIVE SPARK THAT LITERALLY CAUGHT FIRE AND SPREAD TO OTHER MUSLIM COUNTRIES ULTIMATELY IN THE LONG RUN BENEFITING THE GLOBAL UMMAH.

In this E-Zine, our focus is on recent developments in Tunisia and we support the Tunisian demonstrations and ultimate overthrow of the ruthless dictator. Special thanks to Boston Globe for below photos.

We pray Allah, that He helps the Ummah of other countries to follow suit and topple other dictators who have suppressed, tortured, silenced and crushed the freedom of Muslim masses for too long. AMEEN.

TUNISIA:
(All photos below from www.boston.com)

A woman walks past a tank as flowers are displayed on it in the center of Tunis, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Smoke billows from a French and a Tunisian supermarket on January 15, 2011 in La Gazella city near Tunis. (FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

Protesters demonstrate against Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in Tunis January 14, 2011. (REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra)

Police disperse demonstrators in Tunis on January 18, 2011. (FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images)

Tunisian demonstrators, some standing on the windowsills and main door of the Interior ministry in Tunis, on January 14, 2011, rally demanding President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's resignation. (FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

Protesters greet soldiers during a demonstration against former Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in the center of Tunis, Monday, Jan. 17. 2011. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

A protester kicks a policeman during clashes with riot police in downtown of the capital Tunis January 14, 2011. (REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra)

Riot police officers detain a protester during clashes in Tunis, Friday, Jan. 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Police officer chases a tear gas canister he lost during a protest against the Constitutional Democratic Rally, RCD, party of Ben Ali in the center of Tunis, Tuesday, Jan. 18. 2011. (AP Photo/Salah Habibi)

A riot policeman faces off with a protester during a demonstration in downtown Tunis January 18, 2011. (REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi)

A rioter throws a tear gas canister, from the riot police, towards the riot police during clashes in downtown of the capital Tunis January 14, 2011. (REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra)

Protesters shout slogans during a demonstration against Tunisia's new government in Tunis on January 18, 2011. (MARTIN BUREAU/AFP/Getty Images)

A Tunisian demonstrator holds a cage and the national flag during a rally on January 14, 2011 outside the Interior ministry in Tunis, demanding President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's resignation. (FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

A man lies injured during a demonstration in Tunis on January 18, 2011. (FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images)

Rioters carry a woman crying during clashes with the police in downtown of the capital Tunis January 14, 2011. (REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra)

Family of Tunisian soldiers killed by snipers trying to defend deposed President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's iron-fisted regime, attend a ceremony in Tunisia, Tuesday Jan. 18, 2011 in Tunis. (AP Photo/Hassene Dridi)

A Tunisian woman steps on a picture showing ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on January 18, 2011 at the Kasbah in Tunis. (FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

PART B

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE OF LIFE
(You can't afford to be serious all the time)

Thanks to Dr. Lewis for forwarding below e-mail:

Starting to write a romance novel.

First Chapter

"He grasped me firmly but gently just above my elbow and guided me into a room, his room. Then he quietly shut the door and we were alone. He approached me soundlessly, from behind, and spoke in a low, reassuring voice close to my ear. "Just relax."

Without warning, he reached down and I felt his strong, calloused hands start at my ankles, gently probing, and moving upward along my calves slowly but steadily. My breath caught in my throat. I knew I should be afraid, but somehow I didn't care. His touch was so experienced, so sure. When his hands moved up onto my thighs, I gave a slight shudder, and partly closed my eyes. My pulse was pounding. I felt his knowing fingers caress my abdomen, my ribcage. And then, as he cupped my firm, full breasts in his hands, I inhaled sharply. Probing, searching, knowing what he wanted, he brought his hands to my shoulders, slid them down my tingling spine and into my panties. Although I knew nothing about this man, I felt oddly trusting and expectant.

This is a man, I thought. A man used to taking charge. A man not used to taking `no' for an answer. A man who would tell me what he wanted. A man who would look into my soul and say ...

"Okay, ma'am, All done." My eyes snapped open and he was standing in front of me, smiling, holding out my purse.

"You can board your flight now."

(Security check at airport)

THE END