Group of Muslim organizations inform public about Islam

By Constance Jones, Feb 10 2013

MIAMI – A group of Muslim organizations say they have joined together to inform the public about Islam with billboards placed in South Florida.

Drivers may have seen these billboards along I-95 and 595 with a question written on them in bright letters — Why Islam?

There are 34 Islamic centers and about 200,000 practicing Muslims in South Florida.

The hope is to spark interest in the message of the Prophet Muhammad. A message Edimar Capella teaches every day.

“We are just like everyone else in what we believe in,” said Capella. “We have the same values that we share Jesus.”

Capella, a devote Muslim, said there are many misconceptions about her faith. She said she is happy the billboards are up, and hope it will spark conversation.

“We welcome all the questions because it’s an opportunity to describe our religion, describe our way of life and show how normal we are, and how similar we are to each other,” said Capella.

Abdul Rauf Khan is with the ‘Why Islam?’ campaign.

“We have 24 hour operations,” said Rauf Khan. “We have both English and Spanish.”

Rauf Khan said their job isn’t to convert.

“We wanted to give people proper information instead of going to the Internet and going other places,” said Rauf Khan. “We want them to call that number.”

For Marie Hernandez, she said there wasn’t anything like this when she was exploring the faith.

“I did not know anything about Islam,” said Hernandez. “I grew up as a Catholic. I really did not know anything.”

Hernandez feels this will open new doors for those interested in following the message of Islam.

“It’s a small step. We are new in the country as the immigrant community grows, and the converts grow,” said Hernandez. “I think we will see more of the organically teachings that call for goodness in all spheres of life.”

A group of Muslim organizations say they have joined together to inform the public about the Nation of Islam with billboards placed in South Florida.

Drivers may have seen these billboards along I-95 and 595 with a question written on them in bright letters — Why Islam?

There are 34 Islamic centers and about 200,000 practicing Muslims in South Florida.

The hope is to spark interest in the message of the Prophet Muhammad. A message Edimar Capella teaches everyday.

“We are just like everyone else in what we believe in,” said Capella. “We have the same values that we share Jesus.”

Capella, a devote Muslim, said there are many misconceptions about her faith. She said she is happy the billboards are up, and hope it will spark conversation.

“We welcome all the questions because it’s an opportunity to describe our religion, describe our way of life and show how normal we are, and how similar we are to each other,” said Capella.

Abdul Rauf Khan is with the ‘Why Islam?’ campaign.

“We have 24 hour operations,” said Rauf Khan. “We have both English and Spanish.”

Rauf Khan said their job isn’t to convert.

“We wanted to give people proper information instead of going to the Internet and going other places,” said Rauf Khan. “We want them to call that number.”

For Marie Hernandez, she said there wasn’t anything like this when she was exploring the faith.

“I did not know anything about Islam,” said Hernandez. “I grew up as a Catholic. I really did not know anything.”

Hernandez feels this will open new doors for those interested in following the message of Islam.

“It’s a small step. We are new in the country as the immigrant community grows, and the converts grow,” said Hernandez. “I think we will see more of the organically teachings that call for goodness in all spheres of life.”

Article Courtesy: Local10.com

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The literal meaning of interest is the money paid for borrowing money, or the rent on money, and it is always according to a fixed ratio. It is known by every living person and interest has become completely institutionalized and it is commonly accepted in every modern economy. Most of the people accept dealing in interest except for Muslims. Devout Muslims stay away from dealings that involve interest.

The reason why Muslims refuse to receive and pay interest is that Islam has strictly forbidden such practice. But this is not considered by Muslims like any kind of a harsh restriction, they know that staying away from interest dealing is directly or indirectly benefiting them. They believe that all Islamic teachings are based on wisdom, knowledge and justice and there are sound reasons for every single thing is Islam. So the forbidding of interest has some reasons, some of which we are able to see.

When you read the Islamic texts about interest, you will come to know how strict the warnings are against dealing in interest (both receiving and paying). Islam condemns many acts, like adultery, fornication, consuming alcohol, murder and homosexuality. But the extent to which interest is condemned in Islam is on another level and Sayyid Qutb has written that Usury is more strongly denounced than any other issue. It has even been compared to having sexual relations with your mother.

The Quran gives a strong warning to people who deal with interest and warns them of the hellfire.

The dealings of stock are permitted in Islam, Muslims can buy and sell shares in the stock market and make a healthy living through it. But it is important to note that not all types of share are allowed in Islam. Common shares are allowed in Islam but preference shares are prohibited. The reason being that common shares don’t have a fixed rate of return, and the shareholders will receive dividends according to the company’s profits. On the other hand preference shares are more like loans that companies take from the general public. Preference shares have a fixed rate of return and the profitability of the company does not affect the dividends. Furthermore there are two types of preference share, cumulative shares and non-cumulative shares, both of which are condemned in Islam. In case of cumulative shares if the company incurs a loss and cannot make dividend payments they will have to pay the accumulated amount next year. But in case of non-cumulative shares if the company incurs a loss and the company is not able to make the interest payment, they will not have to pay the accumulated amount next year.

Preference share dividends are more like interest payments because both have a fixed rate and the profit on both is guaranteed.

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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