A little girl wearing hijab? -From Oprah's website

This is interesting. Would you guys (muslim or non-muslims) let your little kid wear a scarf at a young age (what's the youngest you would let them? 9? 8? 11?)


Your request is being processed...

http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Choosing-to-Wear-the-Muslim-Headscarf

Bear hugs: spreading the love, one cartoon at a time

It's May 20, "Everybody Draw Muhammad Day."

If I had to leave every or page on Facebook except for one, it would be the "It's not that serious" page.

So you've probably heard about South Park controversy where South park depicted Prophet Muhammad as a bear. South Park then censored the episode after the creators were threatened by some guy who claims he's a Muslim and thinks he's tough, apparently.

I found the cartoon offensive. Other Muslims had found the cartoon offensive. But it's South Park. Doesn't the show poke fun at everything and everyone? Including Jesus and Moses. So why didn't Mr. Chester (of Revolution Muslim Website who posted the warning), say something a long time ago when they were being made fun of? All prophets are created equally and we should respect all. People watch South Park because of its satirical, profane humor. It's just a cartoon, therefore it's not that serious to threaten people's lives.

But Mr. Chester took it personally and threatened to kill the creators of South Park, which the media loved and made a big deal out of anything relating to such "Muslims are evils, see I told you" type of news stories because that's what people want to watch and read about.

So, on behalf of bunch of other Muslims who were flabbergasted at what Mr. Chester had said, let me clarify a couple of things. Be warned: the media might not like what I may have to say and maybe even ignore it.

A Jewish woman once brought a lamb that was poisoned to the Prophet Muhammad and he ate it. Afterward, people suggested they kill the woman. But the Prophet refused, although he felt the effects of the poison for years. The Prophet was a forgiving person. In another story, Prophet Muhammad had stones thrown at him by the people of Al-Taif. He bled from head to toe. He could have then asked cursed the people or punish them, but no. He prayed for them. In another example, Prophet Muhammad had sheep intestines thrown at him while he was prostrating in prayer, and he just prayed for justice.

See? It was all not that serious to the Prophet Muhammad. Did he threaten to kill anyone who harmed him? His acts were peaceful, just like a Muslim's acts should be. Just like any human being's acts should be. And if you did find the cartoon offensive because our beloved Prophet was mocked, then express your feelings in other ways. Blog about it. Create dialogue with others. Write a letter to the editor. Send the creators a message telling them it was offensive to you and other Muslims. But it will still go on. People will make fun of prophets and have been making fun of prophets and religion for a long period of time. There are other ways to let the anger out. In a peaceful way.

Prophet Muhammad would give a bear hug (no pun intended) to his enemies if he could, because he was so merciful and just.

As for the Facebook group "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" on May 20, it's your freedom to draw whatever you wish, if it makes you feel good about yourselves. However, Muslims will not threaten to kill you. We will just invite you to read about who Prophet Muhammad really was.

So on a final note to Mr. Chester, South Park Creators, creators of the Facebook group, and the media: I'll quote the Joker: "Why so serious?"

Because it's not that serious. It's just a cartoon, get over it. Now let's just give each other bear hugs and spread love and peace throughout the world! And draw non-offensive cartoon, as well.

What are your opinions and thoughts?

Athan ring tone, haram?

Okay, so a new fatwa was made that ringtones that are the Muslim's call to prayer "athan" and even Quranic verses are haram (forbidden). It can be "misleading." I think they are cool, some times. What if at that moment you were about to do something "bad" and then suddenly someone calls--and not your average Akon rington--rather a verse from the Quran or Athan. Would the person rethink what he or she was about to do? On the other hand, are some people just using these types of ring tones for showing off? Is it disrespectful to use Quranic verses as ring tones? I don't see any harm in it. But God knows best. Obviously there were no ring tones at the time of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), but it is widely known that the Quran should always be respected, as well as other holy books and other religious beliefs, not just Islam. Here's the link: Oh, and I like the picture on the top--so typical of Egyptians on the streets.




CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's top cleric wants Muslims to answer the call to prayer, but not when its ringing on their cellphones.

Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa issued a fatwa, or a religious edict, on Wednesday urging Muslims to do away with a popular fad — Quranic verses or the five daily calls to prayer as cellphone ringtones. The government-appointed cleric says such ringtones are inappropriate, misleading and demeaning to God's words.

"God's words are sacred. ... He ordered us to respect them and glorify them," Gomaa said.

Muslims are required to pray five times a day, and the time for this is announced solely with calls to prayers from mosques, Gomaa said. "The calls to prayer are to announce it is time ... using it as a ringtone is confusing and misleading."

Edicts, or fatwas, serve as advice for the pious who observe them closely. Gomaa's edict, published on the official website of Dar al-Iftah, one of Sunni Islam's earliest institution for interpreting religion, is not binding.

FAITH & REASON: The less we know, the more we fear

Islamic ringtones are ubiquitous in this country of 80 million. They are also making the rounds in Baghdad, Saudi Arabia, the West Bank and to a lesser degree, multi-sectarian Lebanon. A group of Saudi clerics recently made a similar plea to Saudis not to use Quran for ringtones.

In Egypt, verses or calls to prayer from the holy book of Quran are not only popular as ringtones. They have become the rage with screen savers and text messages in holiday greetings. The tones can be downloaded from the Internet, mobile phone company websites and are advertised on TV stations.

With a rising tide of Islamic conservatism, Egyptians are increasingly peppering their lives with religious symbols, and turn to fatwas to regulate their day-to-day lives.

Head scarves are predominant among the country's Muslim women and men increasingly sport traditional beards. Quranic verses can be seen plastered as posters or stickers on cars, offices and homes. Even daily greetings have become Islamized, with people starting and ending their conversations by invoking God's name or words.

The majority of Egyptians are Sunni Muslims. There are nearly 50 million mobile phone subscribers.

For those insisting their ringtones have an Islamic character, he suggested they use Islamic hymns or religious prose.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


link: http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2010-01-22-egypt-fatwa_N.htm
----

What do you guys think? Do you have such ring tones? Do you think they're wrong?