April 2013

قبل النظر الى الوصف التفصيلى فى تجارب العرب الأمريكيين ، يمكن ان نستفيد من نظر عامة سريعة فى الهجرة العربية لأمريكا الشمالية و ما شكل الجاليات العربية هناك.

هناك فوجين رئيسيين من الهجرة العربية فى امريكا الشمالية ، الأولى دامت من 1870 حتى الحرب العالمية الثانية، و الثانية من الحرب العالمية الأولى حتى وقتنا الحاضر ، لكلا الفوجين خصائص مختلفة و المشاكل التحديات التى واجهتم مختلفة ايضا سواء كانت فى المجال الأجتماعى او السياسى. اى فحص فى مجتمعات المهاجرين يجب ان يأخذ فى الحسبان هذه الأختلافات. و ذادت الأعداد فى الستينات خاصة بعد 1967 و الحرب مع اسرائيل.

لفظ “العرب الأمريكيين” يشير الى العرب المهاجرين الى امريكا الشمالية من الدول التى تتحدث اللغة العربية فى الشرق الاوسط ، البلدان الناطقة بالعربية اليوم تتضمن مصر و الجزائر و البحرين و العراق و الأردن و الكويت و لبنان و ليبيا و موريتانيا و المغرب و عمان و فلسطين و السعودية و السودان و سوريا و تونس و الأمارات و اليمن.

معظم المهاجرين العرب من الفوج الأول من سوريا و معظمهم مسيحى ، المهاجرين بعدهم جاؤوا من كل اجزاء العالم العربى خصوصاً من فلسطين و لبنان و سوريا و مصر و العراق و اليمن. بالرغم من أن أكثر المهاجرين العرب المسلمينِ كَانوا سنّةُ هناك أقلية شيعيّة ، المهاجرون مِنْ البلدانِ الناطقة بالعربيةِ أُشير اليهم و اشاروا الى انفسهم بأسماء مختلفة فى أوقات مختلفة.

من المستحيل تحديد عدد العرب فى امريكا الشمالية لأن مسؤولي الهجرةِ الأمريكيينِ والكنديينِ استخدموا مخططات تصنيف مختلفة مع اختلاف الوقت. حتى 1899 في الولايات المتّحدةِ ، على سبيل المثال كوّمتْ إحصائياتَ هجرةِ العرب مَع اليونانيين و الأتراك لهذا وغيره من الأسبابِ يمكن ان نخمن فقط.

طبقاً لأرقام الهجرة الأمريكية التي عموما تعتبران تكون منخفضة ، حوالي 130،000 عربي هاجروا إلى الولايات المتّحدةِ بنهاية الثلاثينات ، تخمينات حجم الجالية العربية الأمريكية من قبل العلماء وزعماء الجاليات تتفاوت بشكل كبير. هناك تخمين بأن هناك تقريباً 350،000 شخص عربى فى الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية بعد الحرب العالمية الثانية. فى التسعينات حجم الجالية العربية فى امريكا قدر ب1،000،000 على الأقل و 2،000،000 على الأكثر.

تجادل معظم العلماء بأن اكثر الأسباب اهمية للهجرة كانت اما ضرورة اقتصادية او تقدم شخصى.

طبقا لوجهة النظر هذه ، هذا التقدم كان غير مستوى فى تأثيره و لم يظهر نفسه.

اقتصاد لبنان تعطل بشكل كبير فى وسط الثمانينات من القرن الثامن عشر، اولاً عند فتح قناة الويس التى جعلت السفر العالمى من سوريا لمصر غير مُجدى و اصبح السفر الى الشرق الأقصى سهل و سريع و اصبح الحرير اليابانى منافس رئيسى للصناعة الحريرية اللبنانية. ثم جاءت الضربة الثانية فى التسعينات من القرن الثامن عشر عندما تعرضت مزارع العنب اللبنانية لغزو ذباب العنب الذى خرب المزارع.

ساهم ايضا فى المنطقة الداخلية السورية الزيادة السريعة فى التعداد السكانى بدون زيادة متعادلة فى الزراعة او الصناعة. العديد من العائلات وجدت ان الاقتصاد يمكن ان يدعم طفل واحد فقط الذى يرث والديه.

الأطفال الآخرون كان لابد ان يعتمدوا على انفسهم و اصبح السفر الى العالم الجديد حيث الثروة و الرفاهية اختيار لا يقاوم.

العديد من المسيحيين اللبنانيين الذين شكلوا اغلب القادمين من العرب الأوائل فى امريكا الشمالية يؤكدون انهم واجهوا اضطهاد دينى و انعدام الحرية السياسية و المدنية. حيث كان السبب الرئيسى فى الهجرة هو الحكم العثمانى المستبد فالمسيحيين لم يكن لهم نفس مكانة جيرانهم المسلمين. و خضعوا الى العديد من القيود على سلوكهم و عانوا من الاضطهاد فى اغلب الاحيان. هذه الشروط المستبدة ساءت و التميز بين المسيحى و المسلم ذادت عندما اصبح الحكم العثمانى اضعف.

بعد ان هبطت قوة السلطان بدأ الحكام المحليون بالسيطرة و فرض السلطة و كانوا يضطهدون عامة الشعب خاصة المسيحيين. هذا الاضطهاد حدث ردا على زيادة اعداد المسيحيين فى اوروبا

بالاضافة الى الأسباب الأجتماعية و الأقتصادية و السياسية للهجرة العربية لأمريكا بعض العوامل العرضية، مثلاُ تحسن وسائل الأتصال و النقل حول العالم. بالرغم من ان المبشرين الأمريكان ثبطوا عزم السوريين و العرب لكى لا يهاجروا الى أمريكا الا ان حضورهم كنموزج امريكى و نشاتطاتهم التربوية و حديثهم حول الحياة الأمريكية اشعلت رغبة للهجرة لأمريكا خصوصاُ خريجى المدارس و الكليات الأمريكية.

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Mengapa Babi Dilarang Dalam Islam?

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Islam adalah agama yang sangat sederhana untuk dianut. Semua yang kita harus laksanakan adalah menyembah Allah SWT dan tiada yang lainnya, serta mengikuti ajaran Al-Qur’an dan Rasulullah SAW. Ada hal-hal tertentu yang dilarang dalam Islam, seperti perjudian, perzinahan, serta mengonsumsi alkohol dan babi. Semua tindakan yang dilarang dalam Islam memiliki beberapa penalaran logis. Artikel ini akan menjelaskan mengapa babi/daging babi dilarang dalam Islam. Di dalam Al-Qur’an, telah disebutkan empat kali bahwa daging babi dilarang bagi umat Islam. Dikatakan bahwa Allah SWT melarang hamba-Nya supaya tidak memakan daging babi. Perintah ini juga dapat ditemukan di dalam Alkitab.

Daging babi dilarang dalam Islam dikarenakan menyebabkan berbagai macam penyakit. Mengonsumsi daging babi dapat menyebabkan berbagai penyakit hingga 70 jenis penyakit, sebuah fakta yang telah terbukti secara medis. Seseorang yang mengonsumsi daging babi mungkin akan mendapati cacing kremi, cacing tambang, helminth (cacing parasit), Taenia Solium (cacing pita babi) dan banyak jenis cacing lain yang dapat melalui perut, usus besar, dan usus kecilnya. Cacing-cacing ini dapat menjangkau darah dan menuju berbagai organ dalam tubuh. Mereka dapat menyerang organ otak, jantung, hati, dan organ lain yang terbukti dapat berakibat fatal. Orang tersebut bisa jadi mengalami serangan jantung, kehilangan memori, tuli, kebutaan, kondisi mental serius, neuropsychosis, dan banyak penyakit lainnya dari mengonsumsi daging babi.

Menurut penelitian medis sebagian orang yang mengonsumsi daging babi mengatakan bahwa jika daging babi terlalu matang pada suhu tinggi maka semua cacing dan bakteri tersebut akan mati. Sebuah penelitian telah dilakukan mengenai hal ini yang telah membuktikan bahwa bahkan jika dimasak pada suhu tinggi, bakteri dan cacing yang ada di dalam daging babi tidak mati. Daging babi itu mengandung lebih sedikit daging dan lebih banyak lemak. Lemak ini menyebabkan obesitas dan mereka yang mengonsumsi biasanya menderita serangan jantung karena lemak yang disimpan di pembuluh dan katup darah. Babi adalah salah satu binatang paling kotor di bumi. Babi itu buruk rupanya dan mereka memakan feses, kotoran, dan lumpur. Feses ini mungkin berasal dari manusia atau hewan lain atau bahkan dari babi sendiri.

Babi juga merupakan salah satu binatang yang tidak menghormati pasangannya. Babi jantan memungkinkan babi jantan lain untuk kawin dengan pasangan mereka. Allah SWT menciptakan binatang ini agar dapat menguji hamba-Nya atas berapa besar iman yang mereka miliki. Itulah salah satu dari sekian banyak alasan mengapa babi dilarang dalam Islam. Daging babi secara luas dikonsumsi di Eropa dan Amerika Utara, yang merupakan salah satu dari banyak alasan mengapa penyakit seperti cacing kremi, cacing tambang, helminth (cacing parasit), dan Taenia Solium (cacing pita babi) sangat umum di negara-negara tersebut.

You can also read this article in English Here

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Western Culture and Its Effect on Muslims

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Muslims all over the world, especially over the last decade or so, have found themselves in the middle of a grave identity crisis. This is more applicable for Muslims living amidst the western culture. Which identity should they take up for themselves: The Western or the Muslim? Few youngsters have the inborn ability to discern right from wrong and good from bad. Add to this, the confusion that the definitions of right and wrong and good and bad vary from a person to the other, and you have a fine concoction for going down a confused pathway.

Western culture seems to be presented to the world as the superior culture which advocates personal freedom, freedom of speech and freedom of thought. It seems the Muslim culture is presented to people as being ‘backward’ or ‘unyielding.’ This is understandable as the West had advanced in technology far faster than Muslims. A hold over technology allows the West to spread its views faster, and create a public opinion in favor of itself. By no way does this mean the West can be held in contempt; quite the contrary, in fact. The West should be admired in the way it effectively spreads its messages: either in favor of itself or against Islam. Muslims should pick the pace a bit when it comes to defending their religion against the millions of anti-Islamic misconceptions circulating the world.

These Western views have started to erode the Muslim minds into believing that the Western civilization is better, with more opportunity for development and that it is the only way to realize personal freedom. More and more Muslims these days are getting deviated from the traditional Islamic model. Let us look at just one of the most vital differences between the Western world and the Muslim world. It is that of ‘purdah.’ The covering up of the female body, how this is interpreted by the West; whereas, purdah actually applies equally to men, as well as, women. No doubt, the extent of purdah varies between the genders. The West interprets this as discrimination against women, violating their right to expose themselves or be fashionable. They think of the purdah as being a cage.

In reality, the differences in purdah between the two genders exist in Islam because a woman needs protection more than a man. It is not a cage, but a fortress of which the woman alone is the queen. Any woman, who has no idea of the special place Islam gives her in a society, will undoubtedly opt for the Western idea of freedom. The man, in Islam, is left to shoulder every burden and to deal with the dust and dirt and grime of everyday life, while he must treat his woman with the utmost respect, and shelter and protect her like the most precious and delicate flower.

While more and more of Muslim youngsters are being convinced into the Western way of life, there are those that have been through the Western stage. Many Muslims are converting back to the ways of Islam. There are more conversion to Islam in the world as compared to all the other religions combined.

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Converted Muslim Found Guilty in the Act of Terrorism

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Richard Dart a Muslim convert was jailed by the judge in England as he was found to be involved in preparation of acts of terrorism. Richard Dart and his collaborators Jahangir Alom and Imran Mehmood were declared “Committed Fundamentalist” by the judge.

All three men were sent to jail, one of which is a former community support officer . A teacher’s son from Dorset Richard Dart and his allies Jahangir Alom and Imran Mehmood confessed their crime between July 2010 and July 2011, stating that they have been involved in activities that are directly related to terrorism. After the previous hearing last month all of three men were sentenced to jail by old bailey.

All three extremists were sentenced for different periods of time, Richard Dart was given six years in jail, while Jahangir Alom and Imran Mehmood were jailed for four years and six months, and nine years and nine months respectively. Mr. Justice Simon said to a television network that all of these men were given punishment because they were found to have extreme believes that ultimately resulted in the act of preparation of terrorism. He added that they were committed to doing the crime, and it will not be allowed at any level as they have already confessed that they were trying to act.

As the announcement came up to the seen by the judge, Dart and Mehmood were given extended sentences as it was not expected to have the duration of the sentence so long. When Dart was asked to stand up in front of the judge, when the judge was about to make an announcement of the sentence, Dart refused to stand up saying “ I don’t wish to stand up. I believe ruling and judging is only by Allah”.

Mr. Simon added that he is satisfied with the sentences that were given to all three men, as he called them “Committed Fundamentalist”. He added that they never ruled out the fact that they were not indulged in the criminal activity.

Mehmood was trying to arm himself with a bomb, Art and Alom went to Pakistan to get the basic training about the bombing and was later joined by Mehmood. The reported target of their plans was Wootton Bassett.

Later on, investigation by the police revealed that Dart and Alom were using text conversation in a word file in order to avoid any surveillance as they were mistaken that the deleted document cannot be retrieved from their laptop.

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Muslim Community in Russia

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Last year in November, Russian Grand Mufti’s denial to the media and observer’s allegations dubbing Russian state machinery as “Islam’s number one enemy” must or must not have sink in well with the critics, but there is no deny to the fact that Russian Muslims must be facing some apprehensions from the majority group, and there are good reasons for it.

The Eurasian state Russia is not merely known for its Cold War legacy, it is a state with claims to being the biggest in terms of area, inhabited by over 143 million souls. Although a pluralist secular state, Russia has been tolerantly fostering its three of the oldest religions Christianity, Islam and Buddhism among various minority religions for centuries. Most Christians are descendants to the Slavic race and Muslims are kin to the Turks, so the ethnic division other than belief systems exists in Russia. Islam’s advent in Russia occurred after the 8th century Arab conquests in the region, since then the Muslims have held an important place among minorities of Russia.

Since the Soviet Union’s disintegration in late 1990s, Islam has been witnessed as the fastest growing faith in Russian Federation. This growth is attributed to many events:

The first reason, for instance, is the fact that the Former Soviet Union being a communist state exercised great control on immigration laws. It was only after Soviet disintegration that the influx of Muslims from former Soviet unions (Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan etc) and Middle Eastern countries gave a sudden boost to the strength of Muslims in the region. The immigration laws have been rendered flexibly, despite the concerns over disproportionate ethnic demography. Since in Russia “Flight of Talent” has created a huge vacuum, it can only be filled by seeking services of the capable and skilled immigrants (most of which are Muslims).

Second factor for the favorable demographic changes with regards to Muslims could be that the native Russian population, which was showing progressive trend before Soviet’s demise, has undergone deep plunge in the post-Soviet world. With high mortality rate, low average life span and decreasing birth rates, the majority Orthodox population is speculated to be on a run for becoming a minority by 2050. Muslims make up over 20 million out of 143 millions state population. It might be an encouraging speculation for the Muslims, but the majority cannot help feeling apprehensive.

Thirdly, apart from the above mentioned reasons the dip in the Christian numbers and the high birth rates in Muslim communities could be another factor for the rise in Muslim population. Muslims are encouraged by clerics for having many children.

Muslim population is concentrated mostly in the region near Ural Mountains, Moscow, St. Petersburg and Siberia and North Caucasus. The Russian Muslims are said to be having three sects; Sunni, Shea and Sufis, with around 95- 98 % of them following the Sunni teachings. The dubbed “Muslim Renaissance in Russia” is the cause which has resulted in an incredible increase in the Muslim activities. For instance, the number of mosques has risen from mere 300 in early 1990s to 8000 presently, which is no small achievement, notwithstanding the reality that even present number is not sufficiently meeting the demands. Also from 40 in 2001, the number of Russian Muslim pilgrims to the Holy city of Mecca has soared to 20,000 per annum; with under consideration request for raising the quota to 25,000 per year.

It gives every Muslim a twinge of pleasure to come across such encouraging statistics, but one can not overlook the problems that such speculations are causing for the Russian Muslims. Although in general most Russian Muslims are coexisting in mutual harmony with the Christians, there occur minor skirmishes occasionally. These skirmishes may leave in their wake some loses of lives, physical injuries and heartbreaks.

While the politicians and policy makers are worried about the fast changing demographic dynamics, the local Muslim clerics or muftis are assuming the leadership role and are trying to relieve the tensions between the two communities. Imagine yourself are coming face to face with elegantly dressed clean shaven Muslim clerics convincing the poverty stricken, disillusioned Russians masses to embrace Islam. Such young clerics are very much active in bring converts into the fold of Islam. It can be stated as another source of the fast spread of Islam.

The Russian state administration has pretty much reconciled itself to the factual dynamics and is trying to play its part in keeping up with the challenges posed by these changes. Government sanctioned increase in number of mosques, opening of popular halal food outlets and freedom to practice Islamic rituals with due zeal are some of the many measures that the Russian government has been undertaking in order to avert any cause for Muslim alienation.

Muslims in Russia, being still a minority, live in the form of communities. The two Muslim sects, Sunni and Shiaats, mingle freely with the other ethnic groups and mostly there’s an exhibition of mutual respect from all sides. It is only occasionally that the radical forces on either side resort to confrontation. For instance, the demand by Muslims for licensing the construction of more mosques has not been getting a very appreciative response; the Orthodox Christians are opposing it with violence.

Though the liberties granted to Muslims in Russia are better than many Western democracies, there are obstacles hindering this freedom from being rated as 100%. Muslims may, however, respect the Russian pluralism and celebrate Easter and Christmas alongside their Christian brethren, they are not granted leave to observe Eid ul Azha (animal sacrificing ritual) openly. Muslim girls, going for attaining education, face the ban on wearing hajabs (head covering) to educational institutes. I somewhere read about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s dislike for hijab, which pretty much explains the hajab ban. These restrictions seem all the more out of place because of Russia’s professed “secular state” status. Critics of these policies slam them as undemocratic, but then aren’t the other democratic champions following in the same kind of policies?

While Russian Federation is a blooming ground for Muslim demography, the rising radicalism of Christians and government policies, aiming at keeping in check the Muslim influence, are causing disparities among the dominant ethnic groups. The stereo typed mentality prevalent in West labeling every second Muslim as an “extremist” is also a source of discontent. Let’s hope that Moscow learns lessons from its past and gives due liberties to the Muslims, so that there’s no repetition of Pre-Soviet disintegration scenario.

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North Korea gets closer to the Nuclear Weapons

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North Korea has been claiming that they are now closer to be one of the nations that have nuclear weapons, but still there are external pressures on North Korea to immediately stop their nuclear weapons program.

North Korea is one of those countries that have been working on their nuclear program quite a while ago. According to their standing on the Nuclear weapon issue, the government of North Korea is not in a mood of quitting their nuclear program.

The media have been covering this issue for quite some time and the western countries, particularly the United States of America, have shown quite deep concerns over the nuclear program of North Korea. They have been talking about imposing sanctions as the US wants North Korea to dismantle their nuclear weapons.

South Korea is equally concerned with the experiments made by North Korea in recent times. South Korea is offering to have table talks on this issue as the United States is also looking forward to having talks with North Korea.

As far as the North Korean government is concerned, they don’t want to postpone their nuclear testing. There have been tension between North Korea and South Korea, but the experiment of nuclear weapons from the North Korean side has made enough impact on South Korea that require at least table talks with North Korea.

On the other hand, North Korea is constantly demanding that they should accept a nuclear weapon state before proceeding for any talks. Yet, there have been no response on this matter from South Korea or the United states.

It is made clear in the statement, by the North Korean government, that the talks could only be possible when there is an acknowledgment from the United States that North Korea is now a nuclear state.

There have been posters seen in North Korea representing that they would be doing more missile testing in the coming months. News agencies have rejected the condition by the United States to immediately dismantle their nuclear weapons.

North Korea believes that no one can force them to dismantle their nuclear weapons as they have made lots of efforts to reach the point where they would be called a nuclear state. North Korea is seeking to have recognition from all parts of the world that they are a nuclear state not only the US.

The Spokesman of the white house thinks that the talks will be meaningless if North Korea is not stopping their nuclear program before getting to talk. In 2005, North Korea signed a deal in which it was assured that they would not be continuing their nuclear program, but later that deal was cancelled by the North Korean government stating that it is their basic right to have nuclear weapons. The number of tests from North Korea resulted in sanctions from the United States.

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الدراسة فى أمريكا

no-reply@blogger on Sunday, April 28, 2013

العديد من المهاجرون يسافروا للولايات المتحدة الأمريكية بغرض التعلم ، فأفضل عشر جامعات فى العالم أمريكية ماعدا واحدة فقط بريطانية و هى جامعة كامبردج ، المراتب الثلاث الأولى تحتلها جامعات أمريكية ثم تأتى كامبردج البريطانية فى المرتبة الرابعة و تتوالى بعد ذلك الجامعات الأمريكية. فإذا قمت بالبحث عن افضل الجامعات العالمية فى الإنترنت سوف تجد العديد من المواقع التى تقييم الجامعات حول العالم سواء المستوى التعليمى او مستوى النفقات و فى كل المواقع و التقييمات سوف تجد هيمنة الجامعات الأمريكية.

فى امريكا يمكنك ان تختار دراسة اى شىء بالجامعة بعد شهادة الثانوية. مرونة الدراسة هناك هى ما جعلت للتعليم هناك اهمية كبيرة و ايضا لأنهم لديهم الكثير من التخصصات الأدبية و العلمية حتى لنهم لديهم تخصصات لا توجد فى اى مكان فى العالم غير امريكا. و غير حرية اختيار المادة الدراسية هناك حرية اختيار توقيت الدراسة و هذا مناسب جدا للأشخاص الذين يعملون و يدرسون فى نفس الوقت.

إذا كانت شهادتك الامريكية غير معترف بها فى امريكا فهى معترف بها فى الكثير من البلدان إن لم نقل كل البلدان ، و إذا كنت بشهادتك فمن المؤكد ان لك مكان للعمل. ليس كباقى البلدان و خاصة البلدان العربية.

فى امريكا يمكنك ان تكسب خبرة التعامل مع جميع الاجناس ، سوف تجد فى المدارس و الجامعات فى امريكا الفرنسيين و الهولنديين و الآسيويين و الروسيين و الاسبانيون و الهنود و السود الامريكيين او السود الافارقة و المسلمين العرب و غير العرب. و هذا طبيعى فى امريكا بشكل عام ليس فى مجال الدراسة فقط.

و السبب فى الهجرة للدراسة فى الولايات المتحدة بالأخص هو طريقة التعليم و مستوى التعليم و استخدام التكنولوجيا. لكن فى أمريكا الدراسة باهظة لذلك تعد من من اكثر الأشياء التى تشغل الأمريكان من الناحية المادية فهناك الكثير من الأمريكيين يقوموا بإدخار الأموال حتى يكونوا قادرين على تحمل نفقات الدراسة. و هناك من يدرس و يتعلم فى نفس الوقت او يتلقى معونات مالية من الحكومة. حتى الرؤساء يستغلون هذه المشكلة فى الترويج لحملاتهم الإنتخابية.

لكن هناك العديد من الطرق لحل هذه المشكلة بالحصول على المساعدات المالية للدراسة فى الجامعات الامريكية. يمكن ان تكون دراستك فى أمريكا عن طريق بعثة بمعنى ان تقوم دولتك بإرسالك الى امريكا للتعلم ثم بعد التخرج تعود لبلدك و هناك بالفعل من فعل ذلك بجدارة و استحقاق.

يمكنك ان تأخذ قرض من اى بنك من بنوك الولايات المتحدة بغرض الدراسة ، وهناك الكثير من البنوك تقدم هذه الخدمة حتى إنه توجد بنوك لا ربا فيها و لا فوائد. كما يمكن أن تعطيك الحكومة مساعدة مالية للدراسة لكن يجب ان يراجعوا الملف الخاص بك و ظروفك المادية

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How Can We Remove the Differences between Islam and the West?

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The differences between Islam and the West seem to be increasing. Currently, it has reached its peak. Is it really impossible to bring the two to understand and accept each other? Who is to blame for this increasing mutual dislike, even hatred in some cases? What can we do to from our small positions to make the sharply contrasting ideologies come together?

Even the West, at one point of time, considered women’s voting rights a taboo until some time back, but now it is as natural as breathing. So, why can’t the West embrace Islam the way it has readily accepted many ideas that they considered taboo once. May be the West needs to open its doors a little wider. Let their fellow Muslim brethren breathe a little. It might help to stop the harassment of anyone with a Muslim name such as Ahmed, Mohammad, Hossain or Abdullah at every airport. It might also help if increasing regions in the UK did not ban the use of burqa or hijab by Muslim girls. If someone has the right to show their body, as the West claims, then it is only fair that others have the right to cover theirs. If it is fair that the Japanese women wear kimono while walking on French streets, then why can’t an Iranian Muslim wear hijab to school? If we stare at a black person because he is black then it is labeled racism. Then why isn’t it considered racism when a Muslim is stared at for being a Muslim?

Would it be too much, to ask of the West, to not look at each Muslim as if they were all Osama bin Laden reincarnated? All Muslims are not terrorists, contrary to popular belief.

I am a Muslim. I can see that the extremists of Islam have gone so far out of the Islamic way of life that it is impossible to call them Muslims any longer. If a Muslim kills an innocent human being, it is as if he had killed all of the humans on earth. If a Muslim saves an innocent human being then, it is as if he had saved all of the humans on earth. This is a verse from The Quran itself. Notice here that it says “innocent humans,” it does not say innocent Muslims. But do the people bombing hospitals or schools or any other establishment give value to this one simple verse alone? It doesn’t seem so. Then can they be called Muslims? Yet, Quran-abiding Muslims all over the world have to carry the burden of their sins. It is true that the extremists have stemmed from Islam, but they are Muslims no more.

I have seen people say hateful things against the religion I follow. While I admit that these extremists are no less, in fact more perhaps, to be blamed for the prejudice the West bears against Islam, the West is not exactly helping either. What we need is to understand each other: the West and Islam. The West should try to find out what true Islam is, and Muslims should get back to their original religion which teaches nothing if not tolerance.

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Muslim Stereotyping in Broadcast News

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The way in which the world perceives the Muslims depends on the window through which they see them. In other words, the reason for which a number of stereotypes are used against Muslims can be linked to the way they are being presented by the media. When President G. Bush initiated the operation desert shield by transferring more than 200,000 soldiers to Saudi Arabia, New York Times Magazine pointed out towards the increase in the anti-Muslim approach of the American Government. It also mentioned that the present bigotry is thriving on the use of slanderous stereotypes against Islam. Soon after the war, General Norman told the American soldiers they should take home a new concept i.e. Islam is not a religion that you should fear, and you should always respect it as you all are Americans. It is quite unfortunate that through the use of the broadcast news, a new wave of anti-Muslim views had spread out across the US, the UK, Canada, France, Italy, Germany and many other countries. The consequences of the role played by the broadcast media are still evident. Till now, millions of Muslims all over the world have been affected by this prejudicial and harsh treatment.

When the World Trade Center was bombed in the year 2001, it was never revealed that only Muslims were involved in it. But still, all the Muslim Nations had been targeted in response to these bombings. James Brooke, who used to be a reporter for New York Times, asserted that it is quite unfortunate that the reports that have been released about the bombings have linked all the Muslims to domestic terrorism. Immediately after the bombing had been carried out, top TV channels and broadcasters claimed that Islam is to be held responsible for these acts.

Moreover, the suspects who had been arrested in this regard where also shown to have a religious affiliation. In other words, the police preferred to arrest those individuals who in their view were religious. What’s more unjust is the fact that most of the arrests had been made without any substantial evidence, which indeed elucidates a prejudicial approach towards Islam.

These reports completely ignored all other Mafia and extremist groups that are still active in the US and Canada. Richard Cohen, a well know columnist of those times, stated that an unknown fear of Islam lies rooted deep in the western cultures. What the world needs to know is the fact that America and Canada have a history of being the centers of extremist acts and terrorism. Contrary to what most of you might be thinking, most of these acts had been carried out by the Americans militants and right wing extremists themselves. Derrick Z. Jackson, a reporter in America, also stated that most of the countries make use of a double standard approach when it comes to Muslims as they place a number of stereotypes against all Muslims, but not for all the Christians, Jews and Hindus. From all this, it is clear that Islam is being stereotyped in a planned and systematic manner.

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Places To Go From Madrid

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Want to know what are the greatest places near the center of Madrid? Just a few minutes drive away, and you have access to some of the most beautiful places that Madrid has to offer!

Not too far from Madrid, the village of Manzanares en Real, has a lot to offer to the average tourist. Situated only 55 km to the north of Madrid, the castle of Mendoza and the hills of La Pedriza are a sight to see indeed. It is a beautiful blend of the 16th century with the romanticism of a serene lake and a village that is proud of its heritage festivals.

To the northwest of Madrid, about an hour drive away, is the historical city of Segovia. The impressive aqueduct system acts as a roof of the family-owned restaurant of Mesón de Cándido. As a starter, you may pick the white bean soup, the granja, which is a creamy, wholesome delight. For the main dish, you can have the house specialty which is the conchinillo, Spanish for roast suckling pig. It is cooked in huge, traditional ovens. Finally for dessert, you may pick their famous sorpresa, a gorgeous combination of cakes and eggs and ice-cream.

45km to the northwest of Madrid is the village of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. The monastery is really a site to see, whether from nearby or from the top of the mountains called La Cilla de Fillipe II. Don’t forget to try out the refreshing granizado de limón while you’re walking past the monastery. If you get tired trekking up the mountain, don’t worry, there’s a nice little café waiting for you up there.

Right at the end of San Lorenzo de El Escorial is the captivating yet fearsome memorial built in the memory of those that gave their lives to the civil war, Valle de los Caídos basilica. Built with the labor of many political prisoners, it houses the remains of General Franco.

If you just wanted to get away for a couple of hours, tours to someplace away from the hustle, and bustle of the city of Madrid, taking a walking trip to the Sierra region of Cercedilia would be your best bet. Just ride the local train to 50km northwest and follow the circles marked on the trees. It is truly a tranquil walk.

Also to the northwest of the main city, is Ávila. Take a day off to see the bars and taste the roast lambs (Cordero asado) and drink the vino Tinto. Visit the Santa Teresa cathedral or walk around the medieval walls of the city, if you will.

Now, head to the northeast of Madrid, to a town called Alcalá de Henares. It is steeped in religion as much as it is steeped in culture. Housing the one of the oldest universities in Europe, the Miguel de Cervantes, the town has two museums and the oldest surviving theatre in Europe.

You may also try your luck and take a stroll through Toledo or visit the beautiful churches of Chinchón!

But what you absolutely cannot miss is the strawberry train! Take a ride down to Aranjuez, and feast on strawberries on the way there, served by uniformed staff of the train itself. The train only runs on weekends on the months of May, June, September and October, so plan ahead!

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A portrait of the Muslim community in Uganda

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Latest data of the Ugandan National Census revealed in 2002 that 12% of the population were Muslims. Most of them were Sunni, but Shia were 7% and Ahmadi Muslims were 4%. Almost ten years later, the number of Muslims in the country was estimated to six million (35%). Despite this sharp growth, Islam is still a minority religion in Uganda, where Christians represent about three quarters of the population.

Faith in Uganda is especially marked by the colonial period. Since then, most of the inhabitants have become Roman Catholics and Anglicans (Pentecostal churches are less frequent, but growing). However, geographical distribution also conditioned religion. Roman Catholics predominate in the North and Western regions, where the percentage of Muslims was 8.5% and 4% respectively in the last Census. On the contrary, Iganga District (Central Uganda) and the East reached almost the amount of 20% of Muslims inhabitants.

Respect between these faiths apparently seems to be possible. Religious freedom is safeguarded by Ugandan Constitution, and both Christian (Good Friday, Easter Monday, Christmas) and Islamic (Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha) festivities are officially recognized as holidays. Though, their coexistence does not seem to be exempt from tension.

According to the report “The World’s Muslims: Unity and Diversity” (conducted and published by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, on August 2012), 93% of the Muslims in Uganda think that their religion is “very important in their lives”. Similarly, 74% of Muslims believe that Quran should be taken in a literal way, which may lead some believers to adopt radical approaches.

The recent case of Umar Mulinde, a Muslim convert and now Pentecostal preacher, is one of the cases that illustrate this conflict. Mulinde, known for his strong criticism towards Islam, has convinced thousands of Muslims to join Christianity. On the Christmas Eve of 2011, some extremist Muslims threw acid to his face under the Arabic cry of “God is great”. The attack was considered a symptom of the interreligious disrespect in Uganda, as well as the lack of a true freedom of worship.

Conversion attempts by Christians and Muslims are the main reason behind the incidents. These have intensified in the last years, mainly due to public speeches where the speakers give their reasons for converting anyone from the audience. When claiming that the other religions are false, their contempt is fomenting interreligious hate.

Sowing discord in a minority community, whose creed is still being tested, could add a collateral damage to the existing conflicts: Islamophobia would knock down all the efforts to integrating Muslims in the sociopolitical life. While the Muslim graduates in the immediate post-independence where just two, the struggles in last decades have led to the creation of a higher number of schools. The Islamic University of Uganda has become the first private university in the country, encouraging many Muslim students to continue their studies. Since the education is any country’s engine, these achievements are expected to reduce the poverty in the community and increase the political presence.

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Boston Terrorist Slipped

no-reply@blogger on Saturday, April 27, 2013

Don’t you think strict detective organizations of the USA failed to trace the Boston Bomber? Well, you might be thinking, how? One of them had already died, another is under interrogation, how come they failed? The Sherlock Holmes, I mean FBI and CIA have clearly slipped up tracking those bombers before the massacre took place though he has been under the suspecting eye of both the agencies since two years. The warning came first from Russia!

The story starts from the year 2011. On 4th March, Russian international security service knocked FBI for the first time saying that, Tamerlan Tsarnaev was a supporter and believer of radical Islam, but acute changes are taking place with him since 2010. The FBI started their investigation and put his name on TECS (Treasury Enforcement Communication System) where US officials keep an eye on borders to know who are immigrating and departing the country. The FBI investigated every option that can relate Tsarnaev with any kind of terror-related activities. They asked family and friends of him, searched out all internet but find out nothing. Case closed by June 2011.

Six months later when FBI closed the case, Tamerlan left for Russia on January 2012 for about six months. Three days before his flight, alert from the TECS created to the Borders and Custom Protection Officers. But it was unfruitful as FBI didn’t find anything against him! Unbelievable luck supported Mr. Tsarnaev at that time. Generally all the Airlines need to submit the names of every passenger to government so that, they can screen and stay informed about the criminal or suspect watch list. While the particular Airlines submitted information, they are mistaken the spelling of his name. This misspelling lead the Government to misdirection, they overlooked Tsarnaev.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev came back from Russia six months later, July 2012. Another alert rang on Border while he returned as before. Again the same thing, as the FBI closed the case on him one year before, his coming back to the USA wasn’t harmful to them.

Looking a bit back, on the September 2011, FSB also knocked CIA about the same topic of Tsarnaev. They also suggested CIA with a different name spelling including the Russian pattern of spelling, different possible birthdays. Then, the CIA told the National Counter Terrorism Center to put his name on the TIDE (Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment) database, but the spelling included in this database was different from the FBI spelled the name. IRONIC!

So, these things are nothing new. The same kind of incidents happened previously with other people. Another side of the coin is, a family has been stopped in departing the USA 3 times due to the resembles of their little kid’s name with a suspected terrorist in the TIDE database. It proves that, a huge number of names are enlisted in this database. The information says that, approximately 700000 people are enlisted in this suspect database. But what is the real connection in arresting or recognizing the terrorists with this huge list? It is obvious that a large amount people suspected in the list are neither a real terrorist nor has any connection with terrorism. Rather, this kind of practice may hamper the citizen liberty to some extent. Moreover, it is proved that terrorists already have slipped out from this radar!

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أزمة القضاء في مصر

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المشكلة الاساسية في مصر بعد بدايات استعلان الثورة المجيدة في 25 يناير 2011 ان قوي الثورة لم تكن واضحة في اطار سياسي محدد ولكن كانت عبارة عن قوي شبابية وشعبية صعدت الموقف الثوري بكل تلقائية وبدون اي اطماع سياسية في الحكم او اي شئ وكانت كل ما تطمح اليه هو تحقيق المطالب التي تعتبر مجرد حقوق اساسية لكل مواطن في اي دولة محترمة. الناس خرجت لتطلب العيش والحرية والعدالة الاجتماعية وللاسف لم تنلها حتي الان. والسبب هو نفسه السبب الكامن خلف كل مشكلات مصر بعد الثورة كلها وهو ان من تولي السلطة والحكم في مصر كيانات عسكرية ومن بعدها دينية لا تعرف عن الديموقراطية الا القشور والوسيلة للحكم والصندوق ولكن لا تعرف الضمانات والنسق الديموقراطي والحريات بالاضافة الي ان المجلس العسكري الذي حكم لمدة عام ونصف ومن بعده جماعة الاخوان المسلمين يتشاركان في ان كلاهما جاء بأجندة خاصة تتوافق مع مصالح الاجندة الامريكية في المقام الاول ومن ثم مصلحة اصحاب السلطة في المقام الثاني ثم فلتذهب احلام الثوار الي الجحيم فهي لا تعنيهم في شئ واقصي ما قد يفعلون مجرد صرف تعويضات مالية لاسكات الافواه ، اما اقامة العدل والقصاص من قتلة الشهداء والابرياء فهو وهم فكيف لقاتل ان يقتص من قاتل؟ وكيف لكاذب ان يقتص من كاذب؟ وماذا سيفعل الفاسدون الا الالتفاف حول بعضهم البعض لينسقوا ويقسموا كعكة الثورة علي بعضهم والبصق علي الاخرون الحالمون

وعندما استتب الامر في دوائر الحكم للاخوان المسلمين سارعوا بأخونة الدولة ومعناها ان يدسوا اعضاءهم وكوادرهم بمختلف انواعها في خلايا وانسجة اجهزة الدولة المختلفة من وزارات وهيئات واجهزة امنية وحتي الداخلية والجيش والمخابرات وذلك بهدف السيطرة علي مفاصل الدولة وضمان استقرار حكمهم وامتداده والتحكم في نتائج الانتخابات وسريان الامور كلها بعد ذلك وقدموا في سبيل ذلك الكثير لاسترضاء الادارة الامريكية والغرب فقدموا ضمانات كبيرة لامن اسرائيل ولمصالح الاجندة الامريكية في المنطقة وغيرها مما لا نعلم. وعندما انتهوا من عملية اخونة الاجهزة العادية مثل وزارات التعليم وادارات المناهج التعليمية ووزارات الري والاستثمار والصناعة والتجارة ووضعوا النائب العام الذي اختاروه لخدمة اهدافهم بدأوا يدقون الطبول لخطوة هي الاهم في اعتقادي والاخطر علي وجودهم انفسهم في الحكم الا وهو مؤسسة القضاء.

خلال الاسبوع الماضي قدم احد الاحزاب التي تقف في خندق الاخوان بشكل مستتر وهو حزب الوسط مشروع قانون السلطة القضائية الجديد والذي في بند رئيسي ينص بخفض سن التقاعد الي 60 سنة وبالتالي يتقاعد حوالي 3500 قاض في مذبحة تتعدي مذبحة القضاة التي قام بها عبد الناصر بعد ثورة يوليو 1952 وكانت وقتها قضت علي مسيرة 400 قاض فقط ، وهدف الاخوان هنا هو تعويض العدد بقضاة جدد ينتمون الي تيار قضاة من اجل مصر المشكل بشكل سري من قضاة ينتمون للجماعة وكشفت وسائل الاعلام عن زيارة رئيس التيار لمكتب الارشاد وهناك دلائل اخري علي قربهم من اتجاه الاخوان ومواقفهم بالاضافة الي افراد جدد من النيابات والمحامون الذين ينتمون ايضا للجماعة اما فكريا او حتي منهجيا ، ومن ثم يتاح لهم السيطرة علي مفاصل القضاء والتحكم في عملية الاشراف علي الانتخابات في المستقبل والاطمئنان الي عدم فتح القضايا المقلقة لهم والتي تفتح ملفات سوداء يريدون انهائها بأي شكل خشية الافتضاح فهذه الجماعة عدوها الحقيقي القانون ولا شئ غير القانون. هو العامل الرادع لهم في دولة مؤسسات مثل مصر واحتفاظه بهيئته وتطهيره لنفسه عامل مهم لمقاومة الاخونة والتدخلات الخبيثة للجماعة في كواليس المؤسسة القضائية. المحاولات الاخوانية ستستمر والقضاء سيقاوم والشعب دوره حاسم في هذا الصراع..

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Being Arrogant doesn’t mean I am a Racist

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Many people are confused about those words. Being arrogant doesn’t necessarily mean that you are a racist even when you are directing that arrogance to other race people. This confusion is nurtured by governments and allows us to direct our feelings to people that might need our help.

There are many manifestations of arrogance in the world. This manifestation is born out of our so called supremacy over other races. This is more like politics and religion based behavior, and clearly this is not a good behavior for a person in the 21st century. We have to get rid of our primitive beliefs and have a normal approach to people from other races. I read on the internet about a case in the US where in a National Convention, some people have thrown peanuts to a camerawoman from CNN telling her “this is the way we feed animals”.

This is not a normal behavior for a human. Imagine that you travel to Africa, for example, and the locals are calling you names or speak their native language in the shops deliberately. How do you feel about that? Do you feel comfortable about it? This behavior is known among the white population too. For example, in Romania there are places where Hungarian minorities live. They are deliberately speaking their language and won’t speak Romanian even if they know it. When you go to a shop in those areas and ask about a product in Romanian language they will reply in Hungarian that they don’t understand what you said. This is not a normal behavior because normal laws state that minorities have to know and speak the language of the country where they live. As you see, arrogance has many faces, and it’s difficult to fight against it. Instead of wars and abnormal fighting, politicians can come up with laws that restrict arrogant manifestations against members of other races. Racism is a bad behavior and arrogance, towards other races, is abnormal. When you want to feel arrogant towards other race member, think if you will like or enjoy being a target of a joke or mistreatment. You probably won’t like it. When you see a black guy or an Asian, please treat them with dignity as you want to be treated. Willing to take that step can make this world a better place.

Arrogance and racism can be considered sins. Maybe in the future, religion will have the courage to fight against this behavior. Jesus said that we should love each other and be united. Besides arrogance, another part of racism is ignorance. Why ignorance? Because people can’t think outside the box, outside the system that is provided by politics and religion. Why to think that other is superior just by skin color? To be superior without being arrogant is good and normal. To be superior by intellect or creativity, to actually use your brain and thoughts in the benefit of human kind is normal behavior. Be superior to racism and arrogance. Be superior to abnormal behavior. Be a normal human being.

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Syrian Government Behind the Bloodbath

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There are hundreds of people killed in Syria resulted in an activity that was initiated by the government of Syria. According to the reports by Al-Assad group, there are almost 350 people that have been killed in Damascus. It is said that all of these people were killed by the army brutally. The reports came up to the scene when Iran and Russia supported the government on such kind of killings.

The Syrian government has been criticized by the western media as they are condemning this kind of killing by the government. The opinion of William Hague foreign secretary, on the report of the killings, is that these killings have reminded the killing done by Al-Assad regime. It’s been now over two years that there is a conflict going on between Al-Assad group and the Syrian government. He added that this has to end as it has already cost a lot of lives. The co-ordination committees founded by anti-regime activists that have been working effectively in different regions have also reported that there are hundreds of people killed in Artouz. A lot of foreign media and journalists have been covering this massacre by the government, and the number of killings has been verified by these journalists and other human activist organizations like NGO’s have also confirmed these killings.

UK based human rights activists’ organization is having a closer look on the killings in Syria. According to the statement made by the organization in the UK, all of the killings are related to one another, and there are some signs that are found in the killings that have led to the conclusions that all of the people that have been killed by the government are summarily killed. There have been the videos posted on to the web from which one can have an idea about the killings that were made. All of the dead bodies were wrapped, videos showed. There are as many as 250 people found wrapped. From the corpse, one can have an idea of the way they were killed. It seems that latest weapons have been used in the killings.

The conflict between the army and the opposition group who were also supported by the Lebanese fighters resulted in heavy loss. Syrian state has been showing the videos on the national television that there are hundreds of dead found on the streets which were claimed to be the rebels. Armies have been patrolling onto the streets which may result in people getting more scared of the army and not to try anything against the government. The army, on the other end, is constantly denying all of these facts about the killings, claiming that they have been protecting the people from the rebels and their activities. President of Syria has received supporting messages from his closest allies which could result more instability in the region.

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أين تذهب فى كارولينا الجنوبية ؟

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من افضل الاشياء الجذابة فى ولاية كارولينا الجنوبية ان بها مجموعة واسعة تشغل جميع انحاء الولاية من المتاحف و الحدائق المائية و المجارى المائية لأحواض السمك الى الشواطىء الجميلة و الجبال الوعرة و الأسواق المفتوحة على الهواء. سوف نعرض احدث الأماكن السياحية و اكثرها اثارة فى جنوب كارولينا. و يبقى الجزء الاصعب هنا هو تحديد اين يمكنك ان تذهب.

روك هيل هى الان موطن لواحد فقط من 20 فيلودروم (مضمار للدارجات الهوائية) فى امريكا.
و يطلق عليه جيوردانا فيلودروم و هو مضمار عالمى مائل طوله 250 متر و يميل بمقدار 42.5 درجة. انه مثل ديزنى وورلد لراكبى الدراجات.

انه وقت الرحلة لإكتشاف الالوان فى شمال الولاية. فهناك سوف تجد اكثر من 85 لوحة رسمت على المنازل و المبانى التاريخية. و تستمر اللوحات لتسافر شمالا عبر التلال المرتفعة فى ولاية أوكونى و أندرسون و بيكينز. وتلك اللوحات تمثل التراث الغنى فى شمال الولاية.

متحف مارت للرقيق القديم فى تشارلستون قد اعيد فتحه و بسرعة اصبح اكثر الأماكن زيارة من قبل السياح فى ولاية امريكا الجانوبية. المتحف يروى قصة دور تشارلستون كمركز لتجارة الرقيق فى المناطق الحضرية خلال فترة تجارة الرقيق. المتحف تدور عروضه دائما حول قصص و مساهمات و ارث هؤلاء الذين شكلوا نتائج تجارة الرقيق. و تعرض الرسائل المختلفة فى وسائل الإعلام المختلفة ليعرف الناس كيف كانوا يعيشون و كيف نجد إرثهم اليوم.

فى موقع بنيامين ميس التاريخى يمكنك القيام بجولة فى منزل الطفولة لدكتور بنيامين ميس.
كان بنيامين ميس رئيس كلية مورهاوس و كان معلم الدكتور مارتن لوثر كينج. الموقع التاريخى يتضمن ايضا مركز الزوار و بيت المدرسة.

من اهم الوجهات السياحية فى كارولينا الجانوبية هى ميرتل بيتش. موقعها مناسب للإسترخاء و الهدوء لذلك يأتى الناس من جميع انحاء العالم للإستمتاع بالشمس والرمال الذهبية و نسمة هذا الشاطىء الجميل. و بها العديد من ملاعب الغولف و أحواض السمك و مجموعة مغرية من المواقع السياحية. حتى التنزه على شواطئها يعد سببا كافيا لقضاء الإجازة فى ولاية كارولينا الجانوبية.

هناك العديد من الحقائق التاريخية التى تصف فورت سمتر و اهمها انها موقع الطلقات الأولى التى اطلقت خلال الحرب الاهلية. فالإشتباك الرئيسى اهذه الحرب الامريكية إتخذ موقعه فى فورت سمتر و منذ ذلك الحين اتخذت كنصب تذكارى وطنى.

إذا كنت من محبى الفن فيجب عليك ان تذهب إلى مدينة سبارتانبورغ حيث يمكنك رؤية متحف مقاطعة سبارتانبورغ للفنون و الإستماع بصالات العرض الثلاث التى تقدم عروض يقوم بها فنانيين محليين و امريكيين و اقليميين و مجموعة من امهر أساتذة القرن العشرون

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The Iron Dome Will Stand or Will It Not?

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As tensions between Israel and Palestine are on the rise, it is only sensible to inquire if Israel has enough defense mechanism to completely protect itself and its citizens in the event of an all-out war. It seems the citizens themselves believe so. But Major General Eyal Eisenberg, head of home front command, seems to disagree, in an interview with Haaretz.

It is common knowledge that an operation by the name of Operation Pillar of Defense was launched against Israel on the 14th of November 2012 by Gaza. It has been said that, although the data is conflicting, nearly 1500 rockets were deployed onto Israeli soil by Gaza. Of these, 58 directly landed in Israel’s urban area, where population is most dense. For the first time after, Tel Aviv, second most populated city in Isreal, was hit by missiles after the Gulf War of 1991. The horrors of war are unimaginable. If we look at these statistics, we should almost be certain that thousands of Israeli civilians should have died, but the truth is different. Only 6 Israeli civilians died, and 240 were injured. The answer to this miracle was The Iron Dome. Declared operational in 27th of March 2011, it has managed to successfully intercept more than 420 rockets that were aimed for civilian areas during the eight days of the war. The war ended with a ceasefire mediated by Egypt and both parties claiming to have emerged victorious.

While The Iron Dome affords protection against short range rockets and artillery shells from a radius of 4km to 70 km, it is pretty much useless against the warheads of Hezbollah, Lebanon. Currently five Iron Dome units are operational, and if a war is announced, they may need to be taken away from defending civilians to defending key points such as military, air force bases and power plants. This may result in a huge number of casualties. In the last state of war, in November, the minimum number of casualties may have lulled the civilian population into believing that the Iron Domes are an infallible wall of protection. Major General Eisenberg warns the public not to believe so. The decisions, which have to be made in the near future, have to keep in mind the country’s well-being and not just preventing civilian casualty, if war is announced on Israel. It is advisable to all to act as if the Iron Dome did not exist. That way, even turning the Dome away from civilian defense, the casualty might be kept low.

Currently to ensure safety of the civilian lives, the number of batteries needs to be increased. Israel needed ten batteries to ensure a death toll of 6 in 2012, and now only 5 are operational. It will be another 2 years before 5 more can be obtained. While developments are under way to ensure that the maximum distance of 70 km improves to 250 km, and that the Dome can destroy missiles being fired from 2 directions, it would not be intelligent to assume that it will be able to defend lives against the 5000 superior rockets present in Hezbollah arsenal.

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The Shape of the Earth in Quran

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The holy Quran is laden with scientific facts and proves that humankind has only discovered recently. This series attempts to highlight some of those scientific facts such as the proof of the spherical shape of the earth, proof that the moon light is reflected, thereby proving and validating the Quran’s authenticity.

The Geo Spherical Shape of the Earth

In the prehistoric times, people were conceived that the earth was flat and it had remained a widespread fear that one may not go too far, lest he would fall off. The first person to have proven the earth’s spherical shape was Sir Francis Drake who, in 1597 sailed around the earth.

However, the Quran had declared so in the 7^th century verse:

“Do not you see that Allah merges Night into Day and Day into Night?” [Quran 31:29]

By merging, it is meant that the night gradually shifts into a day and vice versa. If one were to pay attention, this could happen only if the earth were spherical. In case the earth was flat, the night would suddenly change into a day and vice versa.

Here is another verse that also refers to the same point.

“He (Allah) created the heavens and earth in true (proportions): He makes the ight Overlap the Day, and the Day Overlap the Night.” [Quran 39:5]

The actual word used in Arabic here is Kawwara, which means ‘to coil’ or ‘to overlap’. Its literal meaning is to coil as a turban wound around a head. The overlapping of the night and day can only happen if the earth is spherical. Hence, these verses from the Holy Quran provided references to the true shape of the earth fourteen hundred years ago when none of the scientists or astrologists had the slightest hint of it. Not only this, today we all know that the earth is not perfectly round. Rather, it is geo-spherical, meaning flattened at the poles The Holy Quran even mentions this very fact in the following verse:

“And He (Allah) has made the earth, egg shaped.” [Quran 79:30]

The Arabic word used here is dahaha, which precisely means an ostrich-egg in Arabic. If one were to look at an ostrich egg, on would observe that an ostrich-egg is exactly geo-spherical in shape. It is neither perfectly round nor spherical. Rather, geo spherical i.e. flattened at the ends. Hence, all these verses are a clear proof of the authenticity and divinity of the Holy Quran. If, nauzubillah, the Quran were to be a man made book and not a revelation, how could somebody have mentioned the earth’s exact geo spherical shape whilst the popular notion remained that it was flat even until the time of Christopher Columbus in the late fifteenth century? Not even the most learned man in the entire Arabia knew about this fact back then. Therefore, after reading the scientific discovery of this very fact alone, there should remain no doubt in anyone’s mind that the Quran is indeed a book of Allah; the one and only.

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Why Western Countries are ahead of Muslim Countries?

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Any non-traveler gets his primary description of a place he has not been to via words that come from people who have visited this place or the media. If these are considered to be the main sources backed up with almost bare facts, there is no doubt that when we say Western countries we imagine places with sky scrapers and an average man earning way more than the average of the developing nations.

At the same time, the image that Muslim countries portray are usually those of a weaker economy coupled with an uncertain danger to lives; an uncertainty that bars up way too high than usual. However, we all are well acquainted of the dark sides of both of these regions, the poverty and life threats to an average man of the west as well as the rare but bedazzling glitter of the wealth possessed by the few of the Muslim countries. Although these other sides exist; when a comparison is made we compare the average and when an average is taken, the western countries are way too ahead than the Muslim countries.

There are many theories explaining this state of difference and almost all of these theories are intricately connected to each other. However, the primary cause of this difference can be considered to be something way more different than the usual bullet points like politics, war or influence. The primary cause might be a reason that has thorough scientific holds.

The world today is moving towards a unifying trend, a trend where we are constantly separating our differences not by eliminating those that do not share similarities but by adapting the differences. Take for example, how an Indian concept of Yoga is so well incorporated in the western regime. We are taking parts of each culture that benefits us and adapt it into our daily lives. What this is leading to can be called as a Planetary system – a concept very well defined by renowned Physicist Michio Kaku.

Kaku explains how we are all moving towards a core planetary system where our culture, language and finance will be no more factors that distinguish us, but all these will be shared throughout the world. He further explains that the planetary language would most probably be English which should not come as a surprise, considering the fact that English is the most spoken language in the world way ahead than any other language present.

If this is true, then it is easy to find that those countries that lead this process would be ahead in all aspects than those who oppose it. Today, the world’s economy fluctuates when something bumps up in the western economy, the language of the west – English is considered as the international language, cultural occassions and festivals of the west are celebrated almost everywhere. Hence, when it comes to having a strong hold on the market the west already have it made with their hands spreading out in all directions.

On the other hand, Muslim countries are primarily reserved when it comes to inter-cultural communications. Even today, we have Muslim countries that oppose and stand against many aspects of fashion, lifestyle and trade that the world now follows. Some parts of these countries also are involved directly in terrorism, as Kaku puts it – Terrorism even though a fight against religious ideologies in the detailed aspects, but if taken a macro-perspective then it is a direct resistance to a planetary culture.

We can attribute the difference in financial status between the two regions to wars and terrorism but the primordial reasoning to all of this would be very simple and is, in fact, an explanation to all these activities and their consequences. There is always rebellion against any change, and so is the resistance against a vast and gradually accelerating change towards a planetary culture. Those who are with the change survive better, and any resistance will be slowly left alone without a support from others.

Thus, it should not welcome doubt when we see the western countries with their globalizing facts ahead than yet reserved Muslim countries.

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Tread Lightly, Speak Carefully

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My father’s birthday last week brought us to Fudrucker’s for a celebratory dinner and eventually to the most trending topic of conversation: the Boston _______. That is exactly how we alluded to the tragic events that transpired at the marathon. Living in a not so colourful suburb of Massachusetts, our brownness tends to stick out. Add our distinctly non-English, non-Spanish conversation into the equation, and we illicit wary sidelong glances from the Caucasian diners over to the right (though to be fair, they may have just been appalled by my dreadful table manners). Imagine their horror if in the middle of this foreign babble, they were to hear the word “bombing.”

Many Muslims, myself included, have dealt with the repercussions of that horror. It leads to unjustified suspicion. It leads to interrogation, detention, and expulsion. It leads to ruined lives.

Enough stories have been told among the members of the community to warrant such hushed conversations over dinner at a restaurant or any other public arena. We tried, unsuccessfully, to discuss the event by eliminating words that may be flagged: bombing, explosion, terrorist, Muslim, and Islam. Our hypersensitivity even made us hesitant about saying “Boston” or “marathon,” clear giveaways to what we were talking about. Eventually, my father said, “Bas kerro.” That’s enough.

However, worse than our heightened awareness or how restrictedly we express ourselves is the mental re-wiring we’ve undergone.

When I heard about the explosion, my first thought, like anyone else’s, was “How awful!” My second thought, which happened in quick succession, in sync with many other Muslims, was “Please don’t let the criminal be a Muslim.”

As a Muslim in this country, that is all I am allowed. A fleeting moment of undiluted sadness over the tragedy, and then apprehension over how soon my people, as a whole, will be put on the defensive.

They have robbed us of the dignity to collectively mourn for humanity.

I watched the man on the news talking about his father, who had to be put on a wheelchair to be taken in an ambulance, whose wife was frantic over his injuries and wanted to accompany him. I thought about how easily that could have been my mother, who had been volunteering at the marathon, and how narrowly my family avoided destruction. I ached for the poor man speaking about his parents.

Then he said, “I’m so upset, I’ll probably end up saying something I shouldn’t.”

The guards come up, perhaps unnecessarily so, I admit, but that is what years of trained hypersensitivity will accomplish. What did he mean? Does he think that terrorists are behind it? He must be thinking that Muslims did it since terrorist is synonymous with Muslim nowadays.

The rift was created. I was no longer a child, like him, worried about the fate of parents. I was the perpetrator.

I feel as if I’ve been corrupted. I should have the right to feel uncontaminated sadness and solidarity when I see humanity suffering. I should not feel like a culprit.

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The Hidden Relationship Between Jawaharlal and Edwina

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The talk about the relationship between Nehru and Lady Edwin Mountbatten is not a new thing. Everyone who knows about history and has a deep knowledge of it, would know a little bit about the secret relations between the two, but who allows the Gandhi controversies to go public. The people of Congress have kept such talks away from the public, and have never wanted such things to be a part of public talks. However, despite the care taken by the people of Congress, the thing is in public. The relations mentioned, are now in view of public eye, spreading in the form of a book that anyone can read.

Alex Von Tunzelmann is the author who has written a book and explains the bond between Lady Mountbatten and her husband in a strange way. He explains how Lois Mountbatten, the husband of Lady Edwina played an important role in saving their relationship and encouraging it, making it stronger. People agree that there is no age limit for falling in love. One can fall in love even in old age. The thing that is needed is the connection between the two hearts. What is needed is the mutual understanding and the spiritual connection. This connection was found between Nehru and Edwina, as Edwina says that it was a treasured bond.

Edwina had some affairs in her relationship before as well, but as mentioned by the author, her husband, Louis had been trying to keep the relationship stronger. However, later Edwina had her affair with Nehru, and Nehru was at that time a widower. The thing is that both were empty, and both were seeking love and understanding, and found it with each other.

The author mentions how the two used to write letters to each other on a daily basis, and these letters increased the feeling of love for each other, in each other heart. The deepness of their love and relationship increased with the letters. The strange thing is that Edwina entrusted these love letters to her husband. Those letters were passed on, and people started learning about these. It is said that Jinnah even got these letters. The letters were discussed by some people. It is said that Jinnah even discussed them with Fatima, and later concluded that the letters be returned to whom they belong.

Moreover, Nehru and Edwina once stayed in the mountainous foothills of Nainital. A man was sent to entertain these guests, who saw the two together. However, he never discussed it with anybody. Such stories have always been going on, but none of them actually was known to the public.

The love between Edwina and Jawaharlal was so great that when even Jawaharlal travelled to any part of the world, he sent gifts to Edwina from there. For instance, he sent cigarettes from Egypt, sugar from the US and a book of pictures from the temple of Sun in Orissa.

Edwina died in 1960 and left nothing but some letters that were her most precious belongings. It is said that she was probably reading the letters when she died. She is known to have died of heart failure.

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من هم العرب الأمريكيين

no-reply@blogger on Friday, April 26, 2013

فى الخمسينات من القرن التاسع عشر اصبحت الزيادة فى تعداد السكان فى الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية ثابتة نسبيا. نمو اعداد العرب المسلمين هو الأسرع بالرغم من انهم اقلية فى الجالية العربية فى أمريكا. العرب المسلمين فى أمريكا لديهم الكثير من التقاليد و الممارسات الدينية الفريدة التى قد تتنافس مع السلوك و الثقافة الأمريكية . تضع اعتقادات الأسلام اهمية كبيرة على التواضع و ترفض الزواج بين الأديان المختلفة و ترفض ايضاً التقاليد الأمريكية السائدة فى الأرتباط او التكامل بين الجنسين . الممارسات الدينية التى توجه سلوكا شخصيا كالصلاة خمس مرات يوميا او الصيام لمدة شهر كامل فى شهر رمضان و لحى الرجال و التزام النساء بالحجاب تتطلب اماكن خاصة سواء فى العمل او المدرسة او الجيش مما جعل المسلمين اكثر وضوحا من الاقليات الدينية الاخرى الاكثر ضعفا و هكذا فى اغلب الاحيان عرضة للتعصب. و قلق المسلمين على الحفاظ على هذه العادات الدينية بين اولادهم حديثى الولادة فى الولايات المتحدة قد دفع المسلمين العرب فى الجاليات الكبيرة لفتح مدارس اسلامية خاصة.

الحافز الاخر للتعليم الخاص هو انه يمكن ادراج اللغة العربية فى المناهج الدراسية.

وحيث انه يلزم لدراسة القرآن الكريم دراسة اللغة العربية اصبحت العائلات المسلمة تبحث عن المدارس الخاصة او برامج نهاية الاسبوع للحفاظ على اللغة العربية عند اولادهم.

فى عام 1998 انضم الى نظام المدارس العامة فى مقاطعة فيرفاكس فى ولاية فيرجينيا مدينة ديربورن بولاية ميشيغان فى تقديم اللغة العربية كلغة اجنبية معتمدة.

الطباعة و اجهزة الاعلام المذاعة التى تحملان المادة العربية او ثناشئية اللغة بدأوا بالتوسع فى المراكز الكبيرة كديترويت و لوس انجليس و شيكاغو و نيو يورك و واشنطن.

اصبحت الأولى لأنتاج و اذاعة برامج عربية. (ANA) فى 1991 الشبكة العربية فى امريكا

بينا تختفى ثنائية اللغة فى مجموعات فرعية اكثر استيعاباً.

السياسة مجال اخر حيث يتنوع العرب الأمريكان حيث ينقسموا بالتساوى بين الجمهوريين و الديموقراطيين و المستقلين. و تحسن تسجيل الناخبين و جهود التعليم المبذولة فى السنوات الأخيرة مع استطلاعات الرأى التى تظهر العرب الأمريكيين اكثر ميلاً الى التصويت (69%) من المواطنين ككل. جلبت مجموعات فى الولايات الحاسمة مثل اوهايو و ميشيغان الانتباه الى دائرة غير مرئية خلاف ذلك . فى عام 2000 عقد كل من المرشحين الرئيسيين للرئاسة اجتماعاُ مع قادة العرب الأمريكيين و الحزبين الديموقراطى و الجمهورى برعاية كل النداءات العربية للناخبين فى ولايات رئيسية.

يشغل العرب الأمريكان منصبا عاما على كل المستويات . اربعة خدموا فى مجلس الشيوخ الأمريكى و حاليا ستة فى مجلس النواب . العرب الأمريكان خدموا فى الخزانات و المكاتب العليا من الإدارات الجمهورية و الديموقراطية . من ضمنهم رئيس هيئة اركان جون اتش و سنونو تحت الرئيس جورج بوش و وزير الصحة والخدمات البشرية لدى الرئيس بيل كلينتون و مؤخرا جدا وزير الطاقة سبينسر ابراهام و مكتب الإدارة و مدير الميزانية ميتشيل دانيالز لدى الرئيس جورح بوش.

العرب الأمريكان كانوا حكام اوريغون و نيو هامشير و خدموا فى السلطات التشريعية الرسمية.

اكثر من ثلاثون كانوا رؤساء البلدية فى مدن كبيرة بينهم بريدجبورت و تكساس و مينيسوتا.

معظم الأمريكيين العرب فى الوظائف العامة ينحدروا من فوج سابق من مهاجرين لبنانيين و سوريين.

شكل و كثافة الهوية العرقية يختلف على نطاق واسع بين الافواج الأولى و الثانية من العرب الأمريكيين . لجميع الأجيال تقارب العرقية هو مرونة فى المواد الغذائية و الطقوس الممتدة بين افراد الأسرة و الزمالة الدينية. هؤلاء المهاجرون من الخمسينات و الأسر المسلمة من المحتمل الا يتعلقوا بالثقافة البيضاء المنشرة بل مع الثقافات الفرعية التى تحافظ على التقاليد الدينية و الوطنية تجاه بلدهم. و اللغة بالنسبة لأولئك الذين يعيشون فى جيوب عرقية ويتزوجون من داخل الجالية غالبا ما تحد خارج التفاعل الاجتماعى.

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