Rape is sadly so rampant today and leaves many women detected and hopeless in life. This is a problem which has existed and will continue to exist for as long as stern actions to deal with this issue are not applied. If you have ever interacted with a rape victim, then you probably understand its devastating impact to the affected party’s way of life. As a matter of fact, rape is a very serious offense which corrodes societal fabrics and cannot go unaddressed among Muslims, considering Muslims are as affected as any other people across the globe.

Many times, Islam criticized creating scenarios which allow men to rape and go scot free. While according to the Islamic law, rape is an acceptable crime, the burden of proof is misplaced and imposes a heavy burden on the rape victim. How often do rapists commit their monstrous acts in the presence of four men who could act as witnesses? Logically, any rapists would commit rape in secluded places where no one is able to see them committing the act. Consequently, the requirement that the victim produces four male witnesses in essence cripples the ability of the raped victim to prove his/her case. Recent events in Pakistan and some Muslim nations, refuse the use of DNA evidence as primary evidence, is no doubt a further obstacle to obtain justice by the affected women. Further interesting is the second option which requires that if four witnesses are not present, then only the rapist’s testimony is sufficient proof.

Let alone the aspect of the burden to proof, despite widespread opposition to this assertion, Islam treats women as lesser human beings. The fact that a master is allowed to sleep with a slave girl irrespective of whether the girl consents to it or not, is proof of these. As one would ask, does this slave girl have no dignity and the right to choose who she cohabitates with. What makes her lose this right? For as long as the master has success such a girl without her consent, then it amounts to a rape, and in this, rape is permitted under the Islamic law.

Worth mentioning is the fact that the law imposes a penalty on the woman in instances where she is unable to meet the four witness threshold, and the rapist is not willing to confess. In such an instance, the woman who alleges the rape will be considered as having admitted adultery or fornication and faces punishment. This explains the reason behind lesser case of rape being reported in Islam states. Women fear not being able to meet the threshold and face punishment, opt to keep quiet.

Why does Islam not allow DNA as primary evidence?

Well, this is a move meant to protect cases where women can falsely accuse men of raping them after having consensual sex. While this is as well not acceptable, when coupled with other evidence such as screaming, and signs of struggle, should be primary evidence. While protecting the alleged rapists from false claims is as well important, it should not be done at the expense of the capability of the victim proving that she was violated.

In essence, the Quran being known for its assertion of respect to human sanctity of human life irrespective of religion, gender, or social status, among others must not be selectively interpreted. It should cover all human life, and not exclude slave girls who are as well humans and deserve a chance for a better life. It would be a dark day if people were allowed to rape their slave girls, and then go scot-free.

The bottom-line

Muslim as a religion is against rape and believes in capital punishment to the offenders. Nonetheless, the measures put in place are insufficient and offer excessive leeway to the offenders. Additionally, the fact that fewer cases are reported should not be misconstrued as the act not being perpetrated as in many instances women shy away for fear of being victimized. The many women who suffer in the hands of rapists must be given fair avenues to seek justice and not to be punished. The world has gone  on a technological way, and hence the role of technology is seeking justice for rape cases must not be sidelined. Women should be treated with respect just like their male counterparts and their testimony should be treated as such.

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Islam is not merely a religion that asks to you worship and get closer to God. The religion guides humankind in each aspect of life. It is a way of life that is not limited to your relation with God, but also tells you how you should go about with other people, be it your parents, or your siblings, or friends or even your spouse.

Before the advent of Islam, ignorance and wilderness were spread everywhere. Women had no rights neither as sisters, nor as daughters and not even as wives. The religion of Islam came and elevated the position of women. Where it laid down a few rules and principles, it also laid down the basic rules of forming a good mutual understanding between husband and wife. As previously believed that women were much lower in status than men were, Islam raised women and said that both were equal. It gave rights and responsibilities to both husbands and wives. Where there were rights of husbands on wives, Islam also outlined the rights of wives on husbands. If each of them fulfills the rights of others and performs his duties, an amazing husband wife relation is formed that cannot be broken by anybody.

Islam asked wives to obey their husbands. They were asked to protect their husbands’ properties in their absence. A wife is also given the duty to bring up her husband’s children and protect his house. She is not allowed to allow anybody to enter his house without his permission. Islam also taught women that the respect and honor of their husband is actually their respect and honor. Islam also taught women to be thankful to their husbands for whatever they give them. They should be a source of comfort for their husbands. The Holy Quran says:

“Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient and guard in (the husband’s) absence what Allah would have them guard.”

(4:34)

On the other side of the coin, where Islam tells a woman how she should be with her husband, it also tells husbands how they should treat their wives. Husbands are ordered to be kind towards their women. The Holy Prophets (Peace be upon Him) is reported to have said: “The best among you is he who is most kind to his wife. “

Similarly, the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon Him) gave a lot of importance to the rights of women and the treatment of wives in his last sermon. He said that wives have rights over husbands and husbands have rights over wives. Husbands should treat their wives with kindness.

Among the rights of wives over husbands outlined by Islam, we see that a man should feed his wife what he eats and make her wear what he wears himself and should not mistreat her.

Similarly, it tells a woman to be obedient towards her husband. She should guard the reputation of her husband in his absence and cause him comfort. It is also narrated by Holy Prophet (Peace be upon Him): “A wife who dies while her husband is pleased with her will enter Paradise.”

Thus, the husband wife bond is a very precious bond. God has made the system of marriage such that both wives and husbands become a source of comfort and support for each other. They should live in peace and cooperation.

About the author

I love to write creative articles. I have been writing on different social and religious topics for 2 years now. Give me a creative topic and I will write it for you.

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My new home was a room in a small hotel just by the main road, but from my room I had a wonderful view over the coast and the sea. At the time of our arrival to the hotel, there was no traffic. Of course, it was too late and in a weekday.

We were supposed to have a pre-arranged room in this hotel, and my colleague had the money to pay for it. However, as it turned out the receptionist had no idea of what we were talking about, and he also couldn’t speak any language but Turkish. Luckily my colleague spoke some Turkish, and they agreed on something, of which she wasn’t actually quite sure about (this may sound funny, but later it happened to me as well, and not only once). What she did understand was that the receptionist, working during daytime, speaks at least one language – meaning German or English – and that he should know the details; they agreed I will spend the night, and she will come back in the morning, to arrange everything with the other receptionist, and of course to pick me up.

This is only a very brief description; I got into my room about midnight – so you have a general view over time and how it was passing. This is an important aspect because the biggest difference that you need to overcome is the slow-motion of the Turkish people. I bet they don’t know what high blood pressure is, or for that matter, a heart attack. They don’t know stress-related diseases. They have this relaxed way of doing everything slowly.

The hotel was nice; the ground floor had half of the walls made of glass, so you could see the dining room from the road and the reception too. It was probably the smallest of all hotels that I saw in Turkey. It was cozy, with wooden stairs and carpets everywhere. I forgot to tell you about the incredible vegetation. There are palm trees, there are bushes and flowers everywhere. The road is usually divided by green patch of grass and palm trees, or maybe some flowering bushes.

The hotel didn’t have much of garden due to the road, but there were many bushes and palm trees planted around, on green grass – I was astound. In Slovenia, the summer temperatures sometimes get as high as about 40 ̊C, but the grass is all burnt and dry, far from fresh green. So, while my colleague and the receptionist were discussing who is who and what we want from him, I wondered around a bit.

There was a system of irrigation installed that started spraying just as I wanted to step outside. You couldn’t notice it, because it was cleverly hidden beneath the plants, but later on while working I noticed they have developed quite a set of different techniques that they use to keep the gardens, and almost whole coastal region always green despite the burning heat. Well, here is the only way to keep your greens in such heat.

Turkey has good water sources and so everything is always green, especially around the hotels and the city – as far as any city has green patches here and there. Turkey is an amazing country but the lessons you should learn from my story, that when you go to Turkey,  you should take a learn Turkish language book to be able to communicate, double confirm your hotel reservation before arrival, enjoy the green grass but take care fo the irrigation systems.

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When a fetus is 4 weeks old, it develops a hearth and thus it becomes a living thing, as proved by medical research. In Islam, human life is very much valued, this is why suicide is declared as harem, and killing of another human being is also a great sin. It is mentioned in the Qu’ran that killing Allah’s creation (which can be any living thing, animal or human) is a very serious matter. In the Qu’ran it has also been mentioned that those parents who have killed their child will also be brought to trial at the Day of Judgement and their babies will be the witness against their own parents, this verse mentioned in the Quran refers to abortion.

Most of the time we hear that having more children leads to poverty as upbringing of a child costs a lot, in medical charges to educational charges. In the Quran it has been directed to parents, even with the fear of poverty do not slay your child, Allah will provide everything for the parents and for the child. The parents should only hope and ask everything for Allah, because He has already planned for everything. And is the best planner of all. Allah gives life to everything and no human should have the right of killing that life. With all this we come to the conclusion that abortion is prohibited in Islam.

A child is a blessing for the parents and they are a gift from Allah. A child brings happiness to the family and completes the meaning of it. Killing a child in the mother’s womb means killing it intentionally and ignoring the blessing of Allah. Islam is a very practical religion and there are some cases in which what is prohibited can be allowed, for instance if a woman is pregnant with a child and the fetus is life threatening to her than the abortion can be accepted. Daily, we hear many cases in which either the mother or the baby can be saved, in this case abortion is acceptable, while in other cases Islam doesn’t allow abortion. There is one more case in which abortion is involved, this is getting pregnant by rape, and in this case abortion is also acceptable. There is another option for the raped women, if she is alone and too poor, she can carry the baby and after birth can give it to orphan house or to a couple who cannot conceive a child due to medical reasons.

These days, respect for both women and men have been lost completely. The world is moving into a dark place, men and women are getting sexually involved before marriage which is resulting in pregnancy thus resulting in high  abortion percentage. Both getting involved sexually before marriage, and abortion is Haram.

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‘Islam’ is that Arabic word which means obedience and submission and is derived from a word which means ‘peace’. The follower of the religion of Islam is a ‘Muslim’. The central belief of Islam is that there is only one God who is called in Arabic, Allah. Muslims believe that Allah is the supreme ruler of the universe. It is believed that Islam was revealed more than 1400 years ago in Mecca. According to Muslims, a number of prophets were sent for humanity so that mankind could learn to live according to the law of God. Moses, Abraham, and Issa are revered as prophets of God. Muslims believe that Muhammad was the last in the line of prophets of God.

The holy book of Muslims is Qur’an on which they base their laws. They treat the Qur’an with great respect as they believe that the Qur’an is the words of Allah, and each and every word in Quran is highly valued. To become a Muslim, there are no special characteristics that are required. Anyone who is willing to become a Muslim can convert to Islam all alone, publically or with the help of a preacher. To enter the religion of Islam one has to pronounce the “Shahada” (Testimony) which is one of the most important pillars of Islam. He/She should believe that there is only one religion and one God.

Becoming a “Muslim” means that one has become pious, and whatever wrongdoings he had done earlier have been forgiven by the Almighty God - Allah. While accepting Islam, one should know the meaning of God. It may also be kept in mind that the God Himself has described that except thyself no other power has any right to be worshiped like him; which means that all kinds of worships should be done for the sake of God. Any other form of worship or prayer is against the ethos and ethics of Islam and hence is forbidden. In the context of worship, it is not only the prayer done to seek the blessings of God but all acts and deeds performed during the day-to-day activities of one-self. While pronouncing testimony of Islam one should keep it in the heart that there is only one God.

All the messages have been conveyed to the Prophet by God and are required to be strictly adhered. The Prophet Muhammad has all the characteristics as defined in the Qur’an itself. Islam means that any person who is in dire need of food, want directions to reach his desired destination then he should be provided with food and directions considering it as his sacred and utmost duty. Any kind of exploitation of old, children or women is forbidden in Islam. All the followers of Islam have to attend the Hajj every year which is their pious duty. The Muslim should be noble, reliable and trustworthy and should pay alms to the poor and needy people. Islam is also a religion of peace and love unlike what many people think.

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writer @Omniya_Fareed on Twitter
Hope you all enjoy my work! :)

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Black holes

A black hole is the region in space time from which gravity does not allow anything to escape. According to the theory of general relativity a black hole represents the compact mass in the space time. According to different researches the studies revealed that a black hole is surrounded by a surface called the event horizon that indicates the point of no return. Due to its ability to absorb all the light and reflect nothing, the black hole is given the sub name “black.” According the quantum field theory, event horizons produce radiations similar to the radiations produced by the black body at a certain finite temperature. This temperature has an inverse relation with the mass of the black hole. The greater the mass of the black hole, the less will be the temperature and the smaller the mass of the black hole, the greater will be the intensity of temperature.

John Mitchell and Pierre-Simon Laplace for the first time in 18th century considered the objects with high gravity field for light to escape. A black hole was first characterized in 1916 by Karl Schwarzschild. Later on the theoretical work on black holes in 1960 showed that they were the generic prediction of the theory of general relativity. The black holes with astral mass are supposed to form when the gigantic stars at the end of their life cycle are collapsed. Once a black hole is formed it can continue to grow its size by accumulating the mass form its surroundings. Millions of solar masses may merge together to form the super massive black holes. It is said that super massive black holes exist in the center of many galaxies.

The interior of the black holes is almost unseen then question arises that how their presence is felt. The existence of the black hole can be predicted through its interaction with electromagnetic radiations such as light and with other matters that exist around in the space time. If a black hole is surrounded by the other stars, then the orbit of these stars can be used to find out the location and mass of the black hole. The simplest black hole has the property of mass but does not contain angular momentum or charge.

When a black hole is created, it possesses only three properties. These three properties include the angular momentum, charge, and mass. According to the classical mechanics the two black holes are indistinguishable from each other even if they have the same properties. From here, you can access the complexity of this gigantic object. A charged black hole has the same properties that are possessed by the charged particles. For example, two black holes with similar charges attract each other, and if they have, unlike charges they repel each other. Such simple black holes are called Schwarzschild black holes. Any object outside the black hole when falls into the black hole then disappears from the view of outsiders. Without any doubt, the mysteries of the world still have to be explored when the man has covered many milestones of success.

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Passionate about writing, Muslim academy is perfect platform to get knowledge and Experience. Looking Forward for your feedback on my work.

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The United Nations has noticed NZ First MP Richard Prosser's "Wogistan" rant about Muslims.

Reports about his magazine article calling for young Muslims to be banned from Western airlines went around the world and now the UN's Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has had its say.

"The committee regrets the recent inflammatory remarks by a Member of Parliament vilifying persons from Central Asia or the Middle East based on their skin colour and country of origin as well as their religion," it says in the New Zealand section of its latest report.

"It welcomes the strong criticism of such statements by the Minister of Justice and Ethnic Affairs and the Race Relations Commissioner, among others."

Mr Prosser wrote in his column for Investigate magazine that most terrorists were Muslims. "Misogynist troglodytes from Wogistan are threatening our way of life and security of travel in the name of their stone-age religion," he wrote.

Mr Prosser was reprimanded by NZ First leader Winston Peters and apologised for his remarks. Justice Minister Judith Collins, Prime Minister John Key and MPs from all the parties in parliament condemned him for making them.

Mr Prosser says he wrote the column because he was annoyed when his penknife was confiscated at Christchurch Airport.

3 News, 4 March 2013

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EDL News reports that an English Defence League member named Diane Scrimshaw – one of the few in Essex who has remained loyal to the EDL leadership – has been boasting on Facebook about the damage she caused to a property in Westcliff-on-Sea owned by the Jaafriya Islamic Welfare Centre.

(The building has allegedly been used as a mosque without planning permission, and has already been the target of protests by both the British National Party and Britain First.)

First Scrimshaw appealed to her "edl friends" to inbox her as she had "something planned" for later in the week. She followed this up by posting a photograph of a flattened wall outside the Jaafriya Centre's building and added: "We went down Southend illegal mosque (just a shame the wall fell down PMSL)."

One of her Facebook friends commented "Vandal!", to which Scrimshaw replied: "I admit it Richard lol."

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Douglas Murray has followed up his ludicrous blog post accusing Hope Not Hate of inciting the attempted murder of Danish Islamophobe Lars Hedegaard with a puff piece in the Spectator based on an interview with the great man. "Lars was his usual calm, eloquent and forthright self", an admiring Murray gushes. "If anybody thought they could silence him, they've got another thing coming." (The admiration is obviously mutual – Hedegaard's Dispatch International has just published an article entitled "Soft-spoken Douglas Murray – razor sharp under the velvet surface".)

The tone of Murray's article is set in the opening paragraph, where he quotes Hedegaard as stating that he was attacked by an individual "looking like a typical Muslim immigrant" – though quite how Hedegaard could recognise someone's religious beliefs and country of origin from their appearance is unclear. Presumably he means that his assailant had brown or black skin. This was enough to identify him not only as a Muslim but also as an "immigrant" – a term that Hedegaard evidently applies to non-white inhabitants of Denmark, irrespective of their place of birth. While some us might think this provides an insight into the Danish Islamophobe's bigoted mind-set, Murray doesn't seem to find it objectionable in the least.

Murray tells us that "Hedegaard's profile rose after the mainstream media's capitulation in the wake of the Mohammed cartoons affair". The "capitulation" consisted in a refusal to re-publish Islamophobic caricatures commissioned by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, some of which bore more than a passing resemblance to classic antisemitic propaganda. One of the worst of them was a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad with a bomb as a turban, the purpose of which was to associate Muslims with violence by suggesting that Islam inspires terrorism. Murray boasts that when he addressed a meeting of Hedegaard's so-called Free Press Society in Copenhagen in November 2011 he was pleased to receive a mug with that very same cartoon on the side – "a Mo mug", in Hedegaard's phrase. Perhaps someone should present Murray with a mug featuring a Der Stürmer caricature of a hook-nosed Jew counting money, so he can add it to his collection.

Murray describes Hedegaard's Free Press Society as "an organisation which campaigns for the rights of journalists and cartoonists to express themselves without fear of murder", whereas its actual role has been to defend the rights of Islamophobes to incite hatred against Muslims. Back in 2007, for example, the Free Press Society gave an award to Jyllands-Posten editor Flemming Rose in recognition of his decision to publish the notorious cartoons. Hedegaard made a speech in which he compared calls for Rose and his newspaper to apologise for abusing and offending the Muslim community to the voices advocating the appeasement of Nazi Germany on the eve of World War II.

The real role of Hedegaard's organisation is also demonstrated by the fact that a leading figure in its global extension, the International Free Press Society, is one James Cohen, who was appointed head of the English Defence League's Jewish Division only a couple of months before Murray addressed the meeting in Copenhagen. Of course, Murray has in the past expressed his sympathy with the EDL and its stand against the threat of sharia law, acclaiming it as "a grassroots response from non-Muslims to Islamism", so he would hardly have a problem with the IFPS's links to this gang of far-right street thugs.

Hedegaard's own role in inciting hatred against Muslims led to criminal charges being laid against him in Denmark, which Murray summarises as follows: "Two years ago Hedegaard was put on trial for 'hate-speech'. He was unanimously acquitted." Hedegaard was in fact convicted of inciting hatred by the High Court and fined, only for the judgement to be overturned by the Supreme Court on appeal. Murray also omits to inform Spectator readers what it was Hedegaard said that led to his prosecution. Let us enlighten them.

In a video interview conducted by a sympathetic blogger, Asger Trier Engberg, which was posted on the Snaphanen website in December 2009 under the headline "Islam is an army", Hedegaard stated:

When a Muslim man rapes a woman, it is his right to do so.... A loose woman, a woman who is not under the protection and the guidance of her guardian is basically free to be raped. If she moves around in the city without any guardian, you can freely rape her. She is your slave.... Sweden I think is probably the most prominent example of this in the West, where Swedish girls are raped. Gang-raped etc. etc. There is nothing wrong in it, viewed from an Islamic perspective. This is your right. You are even obliged to do that.

When Engberg commented that it was difficult to understand how Muslims could morally justify this, given that their daughters could be among the victims, Hedegaard replied: "But they rape their own children." He continued:

You hear that all the time, that girls in Muslim families are raped by their uncles or their cousins or their father.... Women are basically, how can I describe it? They have no value. They are not human beings. They have a function as wombs. They bear the offspring of the warriors in order to create new warriors. Other than that – well, they can be used for sexual purposes, but they have no value. No human value.

Murray doesn't tell us whether he agrees with Hedegaard's views. However, the fact that he refers to this sickening anti-Muslim diatribe as "hate-speech" in ironic quotation marks indicates that Murray believes it to be a legitimate expression of opinion. Indeed, he wonders why "people keep trying to silence such defenders of free speech".

Murray also fails to mention that Hedegaard was acquitted on a technicality, with the Supreme Court accepting the defence's bizarre claim that Hedegaard participated in the Snaphanen interview with "no intention of disseminating his remarks to a wider audience". (And if you believe that, you'll believe anything.) Hedegaard himself was indignant that he should ever have been prosecuted in the first place. He denounced Article 266b of the Danish penal code under which he was charged as "a disgrace to any civilised society", claiming that it represented "an open invitation to frivolous trials". It's worth noting that Article 266B was originally introduced in 1939 in order provide Denmark's Jewish community with protection against hate-speech by far-right antisemites. Evidently Hedegaard thinks this was an outrageous attack on free speech. Again, it's unclear what Murray's position is.

Murray concludes by posing the question of whether the mainstream media played any part in encouraging the attack on the man he describes as a "mild-mannered scholar". After all, the media have published "smears around the failed prosecution" of Hedegaard and have (quite falsely in Murray's view) "regularly portrayed him as a bigot". Hedegaard himself concurs: "You can certainly say that if you are constantly presented as an enemy of the people, as I have been, then you are fair game for any lunatic.... Yes, of course I think it plays a role."

So we're back to the same fraudulent argument that Murray deployed against Hope Not Hate. According to this reasoning, Islamophobes like Hedegaard should be allowed to incite hatred against Muslims without restraint and bear no responsibility at all for the racist violence that results from their demonisation of a vulnerable minority community. But point out the indisputable fact that Hedegaard is an anti-Muslim bigot and you're directly to blame for any violent actions to which he might be subjected.

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A financial adviser who aimed grossly offensive tweets at Muslims and Pakistanis was told he had "thinking deficiencies and old racist views".

Ricky Lee Davies of St Thomas, Swansea, committed the Twitter offence after watching a television documentary about Muslim extremism.

Prosecutor Jonathan Coombs said Davies, who pleaded guilty to a charge under the 2003 Communications Act, told police he had wanted to get a reaction. Mr Coombs said: "He accepted his friends from ethnic minorities would not be too pleased, but that it was a bit of banter." He said the messages concerned "would seem to be directed primarily at the Muslim community and Pakistani nationality".

Defending, Dan Heard said his client had used extreme language but argued that its effect on recipients was minimal. People who responded to the tweets, he said, "referred to him as 'silly boy' and things of that nature". He said the 20-year-old had no particular issue with any religion or race, and that his tweets had been in regard to extremism, terrorism and poppy-burning.

He said: "What he has tried – but monumentally failed – to do is to enter into a debate. He used ill-advised language and failed to articulate what might otherwise have been a proper debate. And that has effectively reduced itself to name-calling."

Wales Probation officer Sharon Griffiths said Davies had let his anger get the better of him following the documentary. "He has made a concerted effort to increase his knowledge about other cultures," she said.

Swansea Magistrates' Court heard that Davies had a previous conviction when, as a juvenile, he referred to a man with a turban and beard outside Sainsbury's as "bin Laden" during an altercation.

The defendant, of St Leger Crescent, was yesterday handed an eight-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, with a supervision requirement for 12 months. He was also told to do 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £85 costs.

Chairwoman of the bench Chantal Patel said: "You clearly have thinking deficiencies and old racist views."

South Wales Evening Post, 29 January 2013

As we have previously pointed out, Davies tweeted his enthusiastic support for the English Defence League and its leader Stephen Lennon, who he described as a "hero".

The selection of vicious hate-filled comments that we identified from a quick trawl through Davies' Twitter account demonstrates that the defence's claim that he "had no particular issue with any religion or race" and his tweets "had been in regard to extremism, terrorism and poppy-burning" was an outright lie.

Davies expressed his relief at escaping a prison sentence in the following tweet:

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Islam is a very controversial topic, not because of its scripture, but because of the media’s portrayal of it.  Media and Islam go hand-in-hand and mostly not for good reasons.

Hollywood, the world’s largest film industry, has hundreds of films made each year. The topics related to Islam have also been given importance in them. Although, Muslims have often complained that the Muslim characters or the Arab men have been shown in a negative light. They are portrayed as greedy and womanizers. Many movies are made in Hollywood that portray the Islamic aspecst in a negative light.

Here are some of the names of movies which have portrayed Islam in negative light and manipulated the real Islam such as, “innocence of Muslims” which created outrageous violence across the world. Also, a number of efforts is done to convey the real message of Islam to the world. Hollywood made several movies to paint the right picture according to the scripture of Islam.

My Son the Fanatic (1997) R

Director: Uydayan Prasad

Starring: Om Puri, Rachel Griffiths, Stellan Skarsgiard, Akbar Kurtha.

A Pakistani taxi driver in England who drives to earn his livelihood  loves roaming around with prostitutes. But when he realizes his son is exploring Islamic fundamentals, his life is jinxed.

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) PG-13

Director: Kevin Reynolds

Starring: Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman.

Many Muslims have praised the positive portrayal of Morgan Freeman’s Muslim character, which played the friend of the movie’s main character “Robin Hood”

The 13th Warrior (1999) R

Director: John McTiernan

Starring: Antonio Banderas, Omar Sharif.

Set in A.D. 922, an Arab courtier (Banderas) has to help Vikings defeat a foe. The Islamic teachings were shown in the movie represented as a peaceful religion.

Malcolm X (1992) R

Director: Spike Lee

Starring: Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Albert Hall, Delroy Lindo.

Spike Lee’s biopic of the African-American leader chronicles his conversion to the Nation of Islam in the movie. Also later he adopts the section of Sunni in his life and performs pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

The Suitors (1998) Not Rated

Director: Ghasem Ebrahimian

Starring: Pouran Esrafily, Ali Azizian.

A group of Iranians living in New York decide to celebrate a marriage in a customary manner – sacrificing a lamb. How the traditional and religious ritual is observed by non-Muslims living in the neighborhood is portrayed.

The Message (1997) PG

Director: Moustapha Akkad

Starring: Anthony Quinn, Irene Papas.

Quinn played the uncle of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him), the founder of Islam.

Lion of the Desert (1981) PG

Director: Moustapha Akkad

Starring: Anthony Quinn, Irene Papas, Oliver Reed, Rod Steiger, John Geilgud.

When Italy attempted to capture Libya, a battle was fought in the name of Islam. This film covered those events.

Taste of Cherry (1997) Not Rated

Director: Abbas Kiarostami

Starring: Homayon Ershadi, Afshin Bakhtiari

Islam fundamentals are discussed such as regarding suicide. Film showed how an educated man needs to end his life but an Islamic man teaches him the real meaning in Islam.

 

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Life has given you wings to fly, why to crawl through your life !!
Freelance writer and an agony aunt to my friends.
Dreamer, Love my family and certainly a peaceful creature until pinched :) !!

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Two weeks ago the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported the results of an Allensbach Institute survey of German attitudes towards Islam (a rather clunky and not entirely reliable English translation of the article has been provided by the Russian journal Vestnik Kavkaza).

Respondents were asked to select from 21 statements those which applied to their view of Islam. 83% thought that Islam is characterised by discrimination against women and 77% that adherence to fundamentalist beliefs is typical of the faith, while 70% associated it with fanaticism and radicalism. Clear majorities believed that Islam is characterised by violence (64%), a tendency to revenge and retribution (60%), missionary zeal (56%) and the pursuit of political influence (56%).

Only 13% associated Islam with love for one's neighbour, 12% with charity and 7% with openness and tolerance.

Respondents were asked: "If someone says 'Although it's a private matter, I don't like it when I see women with headscarves here in Germany', do you agree or disagree with this statement?" 47% of people agreed with the statement and 34% disagreed.

The FAZ notes that the views expressed about Islam were slightly less negative than in a 2006 poll, also conducted by the Allensbach Institute, although it points out that the 2006 results may have been skewed by the controversy over the Danish cartoons.

Asked whether they expect serious conflicts in the future between western Christian and Arab-Muslim cultures, 44% said they did, compared with 55% in 2006. On the question of whether they saw Islam in general as a threat, or just certain radical groups, 74% identified radical groups as the danger while 19% said the threat came from Islam as a whole – down from 28% in 2006.

Another question concerned the idea of a "clash of civilizations" popularised by Samuel Huntington. In 2004 46% thought that such a clash was taking place, in 2010 the number increased to 58% and now it is down to 43%. However only 34% of respondents explicitly rejected Huntington's thesis.

We can take some small consolation from the fact that there is no majority for a Swiss-type ban on minarets in Germany, with 39% of respondents supporting such a ban. Given that much anti-Muslim prejudice is the product of ignorance arising from lack of social contact, perhaps the most hopeful finding is that in 2004 only 24% of non-Muslim Germans had Muslim friends, whereas today the figure is 38%.

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Organizations using fear and anger to spread negative messages about Muslims have moved from the fringes of public discourse into the mainstream media since the Sept. 11 attacks, according to new research by a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill sociologist.

Titled, "The Fringe Effect: Civil Society Organizations and the Evolution of Media Discourse about Islam since the September 11th Attacks," the study appears in the December issue of the American Sociological Review.

Christopher Bail, an assistant professor of sociology in UNC's College of Arts and Sciences, used plagiarism detection software to track the influence of 1,084 press releases about Muslims from 120 organizations on more than 50,000 television transcripts and newspaper articles produced from 2001 to 2008.

"I found that organizations with negative messages about Muslims captivated the mass media after the Sept. 11 attacks, even though the vast majority of civil society organizations depict Muslims as peaceful, contributing members of American society," said Bail, who also is a Robert Wood Johnson Scholar at the University of Michigan. "As a result, public condemnations of terrorism by Muslims have received little media attention, but organizations spreading negative messages continue to stoke public fears that Muslims are secretly plotting to overthrow the U.S. government."

Bail said the mass media has not only contributed to the spread of negative messages about Islam, but also given fringe organizations the opportunity to raise funds and build social networks within elite conservative circles.

"They are now so much a part of the mainstream that they have been able to recast genuinely mainstream Muslim organizations as radicals," he said.

Most importantly, Bail added, "The rising tide of anti-Muslim sentiment in the American media not only tests foundational principles about religious tolerance, but may also validate foreign extremists who argue that the United States is at war with Islam, since American media messages routinely travel to the Middle East."

Bail is working on a book that expands on this study. The book will explain how fringe groups not only create cultural change in the mass media, but also public policy and public opinion more broadly.

Science Codex, 29 November 2012

See also "Study: News stories aid anti-Muslim groups", UPI, 29 November 2012

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Human beings are the greatest creation of ALLAH Almighty. ALLAH created everything. Islam is the greatest holy religion, which provides unique characteristics and teachings about the status of humans. Equal rights are there for both men and women in Islamic teachings.  The mother is the greatest blessing of ALLAH Almighty. There is nothing important than parents in life. In addition, the most important factor is that the mother is the  relationship which cannot be replaced by any other relationship. Islam stresses more about the status of women and especially about mothers.  The home is not complete without the mother. We should respect our parents so that we can succeed in this life and the hereafter life.  For women being a mother is the greatest blessing. Nothing is more special than a mother’s love, devotion and simplicity.

Islam stresses a lot about the dignity and honor of a Mother. A mother loves her children very much. A mother’s love cannot be explained in words. Those children who have parents are very lucky and the bond with the mother, especially, is the most important for children. Children should respect their mothers in every matter. Muslims who do not respect their parents are very disgraceful and never succeed in life. ALLAH Almighty and His Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) are pleased with those who respect their parents. When the father tries to punish the child the mother comes to the rescue; this is due to the deep affection of a mother who cannot bear to see her child suffer in anyway. The Holy Qur’an stresses on the status of a mother. Women have to be respected whether she is a sister, a wife or a mother.

The choice of a nice wife is a critical decision. Every Muslim unmarried man wants an unmarried women with good morals. In the Islamic society, mother is the symbol of dignity, respect and affection. The status of a mother is emphasized on many occasions. ALLAH has given the highest status to a mother. One of the greatest sayings about the dignity of mothers is that “Paradise lies beneath the feet of a mother.” This is the great sign to get the chance to avail blessings of ALLAH by serving his mother in an efficient manner. A mother’s sacrifice is never forgotten. We have to listen to the the teachings of our parents. We should also obey our parents.

Some reasons to be grateful to our mothers and obey them are as follows:

• A mother sleeps less so she can care more for her children always.
• A mother faces all the difficult situations and teaches her children nice guidelines for spending life in an effective manner.
• She takes care of every choice of her children.
• She loves the child, and tries to fulfill all the needs of the beloved child.

We will go to paradise if we respect out mothers and take good care of them in old age.

About the author

I am running a freelance company to provide development, designing, seo and writing services.

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The war on terror, also known as the war on terrorism or the global war on terror, is an international military operation led by the United Kingdom and the United States. It is supported by the NATO and other non NATO countries. Initially, the campaign was conducted in order to eliminate the famous terror group al-Qaeda, which had indulged in many attacks of innocent lives. However, as the operation continued, it was discovered that the group had links with other insurgent organizations such as, al-Shabab and the Taliban. The first person to lead the operation against terrorism was George W. Bush, who encouraged many political, legal and military leaders to come together in order to eliminate these organizations completely.

Over the years, terrorism in Pakistan has been on the increase and has carried with it much destruction to the society. This is evident from the rise in the number of deaths in recent years. According to the Pakistan government, the war against these insurgent groups has cost the country over $68 billion. All the presidents who served the country have admitted that a lot of people have suffered the consequences. Many tactics have been employed to eliminate the Taliban group. The Pakistan government states that the main causal factors of terrorism in the country are the sectarian or religious violence, and nurturing of the terrorist proxies. The political leaders are following a strategy similar to a dictatorship to sweep off these insurgent groups. These insurgent groups operate both in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Two of the leading countries in the war against the insurgent groups are the USA and the United Kingdom. These two countries have provided their military soldiers, to assist the Pakistan government in their efforts to wipe out extremist groups in the country. Though, both United States and Pakistan have some common objectives and goals, they differ in terms of their priorities. United States declared war on these illegal groups after the September attacks. Since then, they have vowed to destroy the entire terrorist groups across the globe. Pakistan, on the other hand, has been struggling in fighting both the Indians and the Taliban at the same time. Possibly, the Taliban may have developed due to the fight between the Indians and the Pakistanis. The war started as a cold war after both countries became independent of the Britain regime, which left many people dead.

NATO has set up base near the Pakistan border, to conduct military operations against the Taliban and any other extremist group. This has been confirmed by many people who move across the Afghan towns such as, the Naushki, Shorawak, and Sar Lath; they reported having heard heavy gun fire at a distance. This proves that many nations are on a mission to eliminate the Taliban.

About the author

My name is Shoaib Ali and I am a professional article and content writer. I am currently doing my engineering and working on freelance as well. Writing is my passion and exploring new horizons in the field of writing is my aim.

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Heaven and hell hold a great importance in Islam. Allah has discussed the concept of both heaven and hell everywhere in the Quran so that the Muslims lead their life accordingly. According to the teachings of Allah, heaven is for those people who have spent their life with simplicity, loyalty, and according to the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah. Hell is for those people who are infidels, hypocrites and for sinful and wicked people who are preparing themselves to go to hell by doing bad deeds in their life .

According to the teachings of Islam, Jannah (paradise or heaven) is a very large and beautiful place. Its structure and walls is made of gold, silver and its cement is made of musk. It is the belief of Muslims that although heaven is a beautiful place but no one has witnessed the beauty of heaven. It is the home of Allah and Muslims cannot imagine its beauty. In heaven many beautiful places that are made by Allah can be witnessed , which includes various types of fruits, milk, honey, wine(sweet smelling without alcoholic) and different types of delicious food. It is an ideal place which no one can ever dream off.

The Quran speaks about heaven:

Verily, the dwellers of the Paradise, that Day, will be busy in joyful things. They and their wives will be in pleasant shade, reclining on thrones. They will have therein fruits (of all kinds) and all that they ask for. (It will be said to them): Salamun (Peace Be On You), a Word from the Lord (Allah), and Most Merciful. Quran 36: 55-58A.

As our Prophet (S.W.A) says:

(O Muhammad SAW) “Is that (torment) better or the Paradise of Eternity promised to the Muttaqun (pious and righteous persons – see V.2:2)?” It will be theirs as a reward and as a final destination. For them there will be therein all that they desire, and they will abide (there forever). It is a promise binding upon your Lord that must be fulfilled. Quran 2:25

On the other hand, jahannam (hell) is for munafiq Muslims who not believe in Allah and do not follow the teaching of the Quran and Sunnah. Allah has made hell as a punishment for every Muslim who does not believe in Allah. This is the place which is filled with complete darkness. There is a strong fire in hell which is very dangerous for a human being. It is believed that all the non-Muslims will be dropped into his this fire and they shall dwell in there forever.

As it is mentioned in the Quran about Hell:

“Those who have disbelieved in our signs – We will burn them in fire. As often as their skins are roasted through, we will exchange them for other skins so that they may taste the punishment. Indeed, Allah is exalted in Power, Wise.”[Surah an-Nisa, 4: 56]

About the author

Osama

I am 20 years old from Karachi, Pakistan. I am doing graduation from Karachi University. Right now, doing freelance writing for Muslim Academy.

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Are you fortunate?

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “How lucky is that man who adopts humbleness without having scarcity, who considers himself inferior without having to beg for anything, who spends his own earned money in the right causes without disobeying Allah, who is kind to those having little means, and who remains in the company of learned men”

Source: Tibrani

In this Hadith we are told that a person is fortunate if…

• he is humble regardless of having that which makes people proud.
• earns and spends in the path of Allah.
•  is kind to those less privileged.
• he benefits from the companionship of the educated.

Having wealth does not make one fortunate; but having earned it honestly, by one’s own hands and, having spent it on things which earn Allah’s pleasure, while obedient to Allah (subhana wa ta’ala), are what entitles one to be counted among the lucky. Wealth that is accompanied by egotism and ignorance (ignorance of what will earn Allah’s pleasure), is extremely ill-fated.

So, are you lucky?

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A girl who posted offensive comments in response to a man's Facebook rant about dead soldiers, has been sentenced by a court and told she can't hide behind the "virtual world" of the internet.

Amy Wilby, 20, admitting posting grossly offensive messages on the social networking site, when she appeared at Kirklees Magistrates' Court in Huddersfield. Her comments were made in response to Azhar Ahmed's rant that "all soldiers should die and go to hell", made two days after the deaths of six British soldiers in Afghanistan.

Wilby's comments are too extreme to print in full in a family newspaper. But they saw her slapped with a community order after District Judge Marie Mallon told her that she could not hide behind a "virtual world" when airing her views.

Wilby, of Gladstone Court in Dewsbury, was a teenager when she made the comments on her personal profile page on March 9. Vanessa Schofield, prosecuting, said that following Ahmed's comments numerous other people posted angry responses on Facebook. Many were cautioned but police decided to charge Wilby.

Judge Mallon was told that she posted five comments on her profile page under Amy Jane Wilby. In one she made a vile sexual statement regarding Ahmed and his religion. One statement that can be printed read: "I wasn't racist until I read this." Judge Mallon was told that following these messages police tracked Wilby down and looked at her phone.

She sentenced her to a 12 month community order, including 15 days of activity and 100 hours of unpaid work. Judge Mallon told Wilby that she would also have to pay £85 court costs.

Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 12 October 2012

Evidently Wilby is the individual who was bailed back in June on suspicion of inciting racial hatred.

Without seeing the offending messages it is difficult to say for certain, but based on the description in the Examiner report, which indicates that Wilby's posts were far more extreme than the comments made by Azhar Ahmed, and given that she herself stated that she was a racist, it is difficult to see why she wasn't charged with that much more serious offence.

So, as things stand, the outcome of all the online hatred and death threats provoked by Azhar Ahmed's arrest would appear to be that four people have been cautioned and just one has been prosecuted. When a well-known EDL supporter like Lacette Brooks, for example, posted the comment "Fuckin die cunt!" on the EDL's Facebook page, why wasn't she charged with any offence?

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Police are looking into whether or not to launch an inquiry into Facebook posts made by Finns Party municipal election candidate Amon Rautiainen. The Kotka candidate reportedly criticised Islam and said it would be "patriotic" to eliminate Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen and Finance Minister Jutta Urpilainen.

Among the more inflammatory comments allegedly made by the Finns Party standing for election in the southeastern municipality of Kotka was a call for Muslims to be cooked alive.

He was also said to have written that it would be "patriotic" to execute Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen and Finance Minister Jutta Urpilainen, leaders of the National Coalition and Social Democratic parties respectively.

Rautiainen however removed the provocative texts Monday, claiming that he did not know that they would be publicly available on the social networking site. He said that he regretted the posts and that they had been written on the spur of the moment.

"I wrote the posts with humour and in the heat of the moment," he said. The Finns Party member said that he was not opposed to any ethnic group but that he was extremely concerned about the spread of extreme Islam.

Police are currently considering whether to open an investigation into the updates.

Yle, 24 September 2012

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In Arabic, Jihad refers to the struggle to attain slated goals by persevering against all difficulties and obstacles that may come up in the process. Indeed, the term Jihad has been used both in the Qur’an and the saying of the prophet to mean the highest exertion in the cause of God. It never implied the attacks against non-Muslims.

It is the duty of every Muslim to strive in the way of God. Look, for instance, at a verse of the Qur’an which exhorts to the way of incessant striving. “And strive in His cause as ye ought to strive, (with sincerity and under discipline). He has chosen you, and has imposed no difficulties on you in religion; it is the religion of your father Abraham. It is He who has named you Muslims, both before and in this(Revelation); that the messenger may be a witness for you, and ye be witness for mankind! So establish regular prayer, give Zakat and hold fast to Allah! He is your Protector – the Best to protect and the Best to Help?” (H.Q. 22:78)

It is especially relevant that in this verse, which explains the nature of Jihad and exhorts the believers to come forward for the same, the statement “that the messenger may be a witness for you, and ye be witness for mankind” has been mentioned explicitly. The Muslims are those who, after Muhammad (pbuh), have been entrusted with the furtherance of the mission of all the earlier prophets. Therefore, Jihad is the struggle and sacrifice that becomes necessary in accomplishing the mission of witnessing to the true religion.

A Muslim must firstly prepare himself for the mission of witnessing to the true religion. An individual carries out Jihad with his own self by subjecting, and controlling, all his likes and dislikes to the dictates of the Divine commandments. Indeed, in accomplishing his mission a Muslim is duty-bound to subject his wealth, family, society and environment to a proper and apt preparedness. All these preparations come within the meaning of the term Jihad.

A Muslim fulfills his mission of bearing witness to the true religion by living his life according to the Divine religion and also by its propagation. It is also the duty of each Muslim to become part of the process of working for change in a situation wherein the freedom for carrying out both these objectives is curtailed. It is also his obligation to be an active member even of an armed campaign for the restoration of the freedom of religious practice in the event that such a situation comes up and, wherein, the Muslim society does decide that such a course of action is, indeed, imperative.

Jihad is never the battle waged against non-Muslims in a simplistic and general sense. It is, in fact, the nature of life that is lived in accordance with Islam and the exertions, sacrifices and struggle that will be necessary to throw aside the forces that disallow one to live as a Muslim. Only in such circumstances, therefore, will Jihad be in the form of an armed campaign. In all other situations it will remain only as the life that is lived according to Islam and as the struggle that goes with the propagation thereof.”

About the author

Momo Khan

Life has given you wings to fly, why to crawl through your life !!
Freelance writer and an agony aunt to my friends.
Dreamer, Love my family and is a peaceful creature !!

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