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Maryam Jameelah’s Open Letter to Her Parents

5 Nov 2012

Medina: Saudis take a bulldozer to Islam's history

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Three of the world’s oldest mosques are about to be destroyed as Saudi Arabia embarks on a multi-billion-pound expansion of Islam’s second holiest site. Work on the Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina, where the Prophet Mohamed is buried, will start once the annual Hajj pilgrimage ends next month. When complete, the development will turn the mosque into the world’s largest building, with the capacity for 1.6 million worshippers.

But concerns have been raised that the development will see key historic sites bulldozed. Anger is already growing at the kingdom’s apparent disdain for preserving the historical and archaeological heritage of the country’s holiest city, Mecca. Most of the expansion of Masjid an-Nabawi will take place to the west of the existing mosque, which holds the tombs of Islam’s founder and two of his closest companions, Abu Bakr and Umar.

Just outside the western walls of the current compound are mosques dedicated to Abu Bakr and Umar, as well as the Masjid Ghamama, built to mark the spot where the Prophet is thought to have given his first prayers for the Eid festival. The Saudis have announced no plans to preserve or move the three mosques, which have existed since the seventh century and are covered by Ottoman-era structures, or to commission archaeological digs before they are pulled down, something that has caused considerable concern among the few academics who are willing to speak out in the deeply authoritarian kingdom.

“No one denies that Medina is in need of expansion, but it’s the way the authorities are going about it which is so worrying,” says Dr Irfan al-Alawi of the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation. “There are ways they could expand which would either avoid or preserve the ancient Islamic sites but instead they want to knock it all down.” Dr Alawi has spent much of the past 10 years trying to highlight the destruction of early Islamic sites.

With cheap air travel and booming middle classes in populous Muslim countries within the developing world, both Mecca and Medina are struggling to cope with the 12 million pilgrims who visit each year – a number expected to grow to 17 million by 2025. The Saudi monarchy views itself as the sole authority to decide what should happen to the cradle of Islam. Although it has earmarked billions for an enormous expansion of both Mecca and Medina, it also sees the holy cities as lucrative for a country almost entirely reliant on its finite oil wealth.

Heritage campaigners and many locals have looked on aghast as the historic sections of Mecca and Medina have been bulldozed to make way for gleaming shopping malls, luxury hotels and enormous skyscrapers. The Washington-based Gulf Institute estimates that 95 per cent of the 1,000-year-old buildings in the two cities have been destroyed in the past 20 years.

In Mecca, the Masjid al-Haram, the holiest site in Islam and a place where all Muslims are supposed to be equal, is now overshadowed by the Jabal Omar complex, a development of skyscraper apartments, hotels and an enormous clock tower. To build it, the Saudi authorities destroyed the Ottoman era Ajyad Fortress and the hill it stood on. Other historic sites lost include the Prophet’s birthplace – now a library – and the house of his first wife, Khadijah, which was replaced with a public toilet block.

Neither the Saudi Embassy in London nor the Ministry for Foreign Affairs responded to requests for comment when The Independent contacted them this week. But the government has previously defended its expansion plans for the two holy cities as necessary. It insists it has also built large numbers of budget hotels for poorer pilgrims, though critics point out these are routinely placed many miles away from the holy sites.

Until recently, redevelopment in Medina has pressed ahead at a slightly less frenetic pace than in Mecca, although a number of early Islamic sites have still been lost. Of the seven ancient mosques built to commemorate the Battle of the Trench – a key moment in the development of Islam – only two remain. Ten years ago, a mosque which belonged to the Prophet’s grandson was dynamited. Pictures of the demolition that were secretly taken and smuggled out of the kingdom showed the religious police celebrating as the building collapsed.

The disregard for Islam’s early history is partly explained by the regime’s adoption of Wahabism, an austere and uncompromising interpretation of Islam that is vehemently opposed to anything which might encourage Muslims towards idol worship.

In most of the Muslim world, shrines have been built. Visits to graves are also commonplace. But Wahabism views such practices with disdain. The religious police go to enormous lengths to discourage people from praying at or visiting places closely connected to the time of the Prophet while powerful clerics work behind the scenes to promote the destruction of historic sites.

Dr Alawi fears that the redevelopment of the Masjid an-Nabawi is part of a wider drive to shift focus away from the place where Mohamed is buried. The spot that marks the Prophet’s tomb is covered by a famous green dome and forms the centrepiece of the current mosque. But under the new plans, it will become the east wing of a building eight times its current size with a new pulpit. There are also plans to demolish the prayer niche at the centre of mosque. The area forms part of the Riyadh al-Jannah (Garden of Paradise), a section of the mosque that the Prophet decreed especially holy..

“Their excuse is they want to make more room and create 20 spaces in a mosque that will eventually hold 1.6 million,” says Dr Alawi. “It makes no sense. What they really want is to move the focus away from where the Prophet is buried.”

A pamphlet published in 2007 by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs – and endorsed by the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz al Sheikh – called for the dome to be demolished and the graves of Mohamed, Abu Bakr and Umar to be flattened. Sheikh Ibn al-Uthaymeen, one of the 20th century’s most prolific Wahabi scholars, made similar demands.

“Muslim silence over the destruction of Mecca and Medina is both disastrous and hypocritical,” says Dr Alawi. “The recent movie about the Prophet Mohamed caused worldwide protests... and yet the destruction of the Prophet’s birthplace, where he prayed and founded Islam has been allowed to continue without any criticism.”

Mecca and Medina in numbers

12m The number of people who visit Mecca and Medina every year

3.4m The number of Muslims expected to perform Hajj (pilgrimage) this year

60,000 The current capacity of the Masjid an-Nabawi mosque

1.6m The projected capacity of the mosque after expansion

Source: www.independent.co.uk

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1 Nov 2012

Saudi Arabia to raze Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)’s tomb to build larger mosque

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The key Islamic heritage site, including Prophet Mohammed’s shrine, is to be bulldozed, as Saudi Arabia plans a $ 6 billion expansion of Medina’s holy Masjid an-Nabawi Mosque. However, Muslims remain silent on the possible destruction.

Work on the Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina, is planned to start as soon as the annual Hajj pilgrimage comes to a close at the end of November.

After the reconstruction, the mosque is expected to become the world’s largest building, with a capacity for 1.6 million people.

And while the need to expand does exist as more pilgrims are flocking to holy sites every year, nothing has been said on how the project will affect the surroundings of the mosque, also historic sites.

Concerns are growing that the expansion of Masjid an-Nabawi will come at the price of three of the world’s oldest mosques nearby, which hold the tombs of Prophet Mohammed and two of his closest companions, Abu Bakr and Umar. The expansion project which will cost 25 billion SAR (more than US $6 billion) reportedly requires razing holy sites, as old as the seventh century.

The Saudis insist that colossal expansion of both Mecca and Medina is essential to make a way for the growing numbers of pilgrims. Both Mecca and Medina host 12 million visiting pilgrims each year and this number is expected to increase to 17 million by 2025.

Authorities and hotel developers are working hard to keep pace, however, the expansions have cost the oldest cities their historical surroundings as sky scrapers, luxury hotels and shopping malls are being erected amongst Islamic heritage.

A room in a hotel or apartment in a historic area may cost up to $ 500 per night. And that’s all in or near Mecca, a place where the Prophet Mohammed insisted all Muslims would be equal.
“They just want to make a lot of money from the super-rich elite pilgrims, but for the poor pilgrims it is getting very expensive and they cannot afford it,”

Dr. Irfan Al Alawi of the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation, told RT.

A general view of the Prophet Mohammed Mosque in the Saudi holy city of Medina (AFP Photo / Mahmud Hams)

Jabal Omar complex – a 40 tower ensemble – is being depicted as a new pearl of Mecca. When complete, it will consist of six five star hotels, seven 39 storey residential towers offering 520 restaurants, 4, 360 commercial and retail shops.

But to build this tourist attraction the Saudi authorities destroyed the Ottoman era Ajyad Fortress and the hill it stood on.

The Washington-based Gulf Institute estimated that 95 percent of sacred sites and shrines in the two cities have been destroyed in the past twenty years.

The Prophet’s birthplace was turned into a library and the house of his first wife, Khadijah, was replaced with a public toilet block.

Also the expansion and development might threaten many locals homes, but so far most Muslims have remained silent on the issue.

“Mecca is a holy sanctuary as stated in the Quran it is no ordinary city. The Muslims remain silent against the Saudi Wahhabi destruction because they fear they will not be allowed to visit the Kindom again,” said Dr. Al Alawi.

The fact that there is no reaction on possible destruction has raised talks about hypocrisy because Muslims are turning a blind eye to that their faith people are going to ruin sacred sites.

“Some of the Sunni channels based in the United Kingdom are influenced by Saudi petro dollars and dare not to speak against the destruction, but yet are one of the first to condemn the movie made by non Muslims,” Dr. Al Alawi said.

Muslim pilgrims walk in the courtyard of the Prophet Mohammed Mosque in the Saudi holy city of Medina (AFP Photo / Mahmud Hams)

Source: www.rt.com

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25 Oct 2012

Researchers Are Taking Human Surveillance To Another Level By Developing Mosquito Sized Spy Drones

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With all the negative news flying around these days concerning drones – and the potential negative constitutional impact they will ultimately have on American society – now comes news that researchers are taking the surveillance society up a notch by shrinking the observation platform.

Dramatically.

It may sound like something out of the science-fiction hopper at your local DVD rental machine, but scientists are trying to engineer a drone that is no bigger than a bug. A team of researchers at the vaunted Johns Hopkins University – in conjunction with the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Arlington, Va. – is helping develop what they are calling an MAV (micro aerial vehicle) that will no doubt have loads of uses, up to and including the usurpation of privacy rights by the Leviathan State.

Initially though, it’s thought that MAVs will be incorporated for use by the military, for situations when stealth is of the utmost importance. The tiny drones could effortlessly infiltrate urban areas, where dense concentrations of buildings and people, along with unpredictable winds and other obstacles make it impractical, if not impossible, to use a standard-sized drone. Domestic uses include search-and-rescue operations and, of course, observation.

How small, exactly? Well, a graphic on the site of the Air Force research agency features what looks to be an electronic mosquito. That’s pretty small – though officially, the agency says such micro vehicles could be larger.

They’re not bug-sized yet, but they’re out there

“A MAV is a flight vehicle about two feet in length or smaller, capable of operating below rooftop level in an urban environment. It may have a fixed wing, rotary wing (helicopter), flapping wing, or possibly no wings,” the Air Force says. “One of the primary missions driving MAV development is the need to fill the covert close-in sensing requirement. This requirement demands that MAVs be able to covertly find, track, and target adversaries while operating in complex urban environments.”

How possible is it to build such machines? Very possible. In fact, according a 2009 Air Force press release, a French researcher funded by the European Office of Aerospace Research and Development, in London, and the French ministry of defense “has designed a rugged micro air vehicle (MAV) that is attractive to the U.S. Air Force because of its high aerodynamic efficiency, even in adverse conditions.”

Dr. Jean-Marc Moschetta, professor of aerodynamics at the Institut Superieur de l’Aeronautique et de l’espace in Toulouse, France created what he calls the MAVion – a 30-centimeter fixed wing MAV that can make a rapid transition between flight and hover, both features which are attractive for military and commercial use.

“The ultimate goal of the MAVion concept is to demonstrate a two-fold capability using the same vehicle: fast forward flight and hover flight,” Moschetta said.

Since then, the focus on MAVs has evolved. Student researchers Tras Lin and Lingxiao Zheng, who are leading the Johns Hopkins contribution to MAV research, are using high-speed video cameras to examine how a butterfly moves in flight. The cameras give the team the ability to separate one-fifth of a second movement into about 600 frames, showing them how the insect maneuvers and moves its body to make the kinds of sudden moves it can make.

Concept has long been studied

Other defense agencies are working on similar technology.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency just last year released photos of a small, mega-lightweight, remote-controlled flying vehicle called a Hummingbird that was designed to mimic the bird in flight. Specifically, the vehicle was designed to give American troops the capability to see around corners and look inside buildings to spot enemy forces.

That project likely stemmed from a 1999 report by the Foreign Military Studies Office at Ft. Leavenworth, Kan., detailing the military’s interest in improving combat conditions for U.S. forces in urban environments.

“From early history on, urban combat has required masses of dismounted infantrymen, a significant amount of time, combined arms and astonishing quantities of ammunition,” the report summarized. “The assaulting force runs the risk of its own attrition by combat, insufficient supplies and epidemic diseases. Assaults on cities have resulted in heavy military and civilian casualties and shattered cities. Modern, urban combat has often destroyed operations’ tempo, drained logistics stockpiles and ruined the reputations of promising commanders.”

MAVs may be under development for all the right reasons, but they sure carry with them the possibility they may be used for all the wrong reasons.

Sources:
http://cleantechnica.com

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22 Oct 2012

Our Angels and Our Society

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Just before I was about to leave the gas station, I had to put my foot on the brakes of my car. Next to my car was standing a little boy, age would be 12 years maximum. He was holding a drum which is usually used to keep edibles hot or cold. Before I would have had said anything to him, he came to me, knocked my window, I moved it down.

Do you want to buy a warm boiled egg? I kept staring at him, he was trying to convince me it`s very cheap and weather is cold, maybe you need it. The way he said this, had unexplainable effect on me. I felt like I was breaking from deep inside, a voice of breaking glass from thousand miles away. I had in my eyes the picture of my younger brother, who is his age. In a nano- second, I had an unintentional comparison between this child and my brother.

I still remember, that it was night time, around 10`o clock. I asked him how many eggs do you have to sell? He proudly told me that he has sold 20 and now has 5 left. I bought some of them and advised him not to beg for anything in his life, just hard work and you will get everything you want. I encouraged him and his eyes were sparkling. I will never forget those eyes.

Some days ago, a similar thing happened to me again on a signal, where a little boy of 10 or 12 years of age came and requested to clean my windshield. I allowed him, he cleaned it but I didn`t have change, I promised him that I would pay for his services and took my car to service lane, but he said, don`t bother, its fine and smiled.

The reason I am telling you this is not my personal projection; rather, there are some strong messages in these incidents. Let me put these in front of my readers.

How would you compare the behavior of these children with whom ruling our country? These little children work hard, sell stuff which costs us like next to nothing. They face hard weathers, unknown fears, fight with society and earn little just to feed their family and themselves. On the other hand, our ruling class travels in the convoy of 98 official cars, all fueled with our tax money. Unlike these hardworking children, they earn much with bribe, commissions and kickbacks. These children feed their families but our rulers make families die from taxes, inflation and worse law and order situation. BUT these little angels have a self respect, which our rulers don`t have, they earn while our rulers beg. They live legitimate but rulers make marry on our taxes. I don`t know how much respect we have for self respect but little children have self respect which our rulers lack.

Next thing, who is responsible for such a situation? If you ask me, I would always say, it`s us, who are responsible for the situation, we always elect incapable persons as leaders, we elect them so that we can use them in our personal affairs, like getting jobs, transfer postings etc. we never thought that by doing this, how are we contributing in slaughtering our own future with our own hands. Yes, such elected representatives do help us but in individual way, they never thought about a nation, which comprises of all parts of our society, including these small children. Our destruction consists of a simple cycle, we elect incapable people and they destroy us, we cry and cry and become victims, but at the end of the day, prioritize our personal interest over national interest and re-elect the same. I`ll not talk about remedies, we know each and everything, I am just elaborating our general behavior.

Last but not least, how should we take care of this delicate but neglected part of society. These children have lost their childhood, when our children play with toys, they walk on roads to find customers, when our children think of some outing and picnic, they think of the big problems which they try to solve with their innocent little minds and weak body and small hands. When our children don`t have any medical or security issues, we mobilize all public and private resources, but when these angels face these, they have no state assurance standing by them. We are together by our social status while they are alone. Our children go to schools and they stand out of schools selling pens and pencils. But still we don`t know whom we should call double faced.

We spend much money on useless things, but why don`t we have a generous heart to buy a pen or an egg from these angels. Please don`t make them watch dreams of living like our standards, because there is no one to fulfill their dreams, neither our state nor us. They cannot be us, because we would never allow them to be. Just help them to live and eat. Please buy their stuff, but do not give them money in shape of charity, otherwise it will take away from them a last worthy and precious thing, self respect.

Photo Credit: WikiMedia Commons

Syed Talal Hassan Bukhari
talal.hassan5@gmail.com

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17 Oct 2012

Is Media Playing With Our Thoughts And Beliefs?

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Media has now become an integral part of our life. There is no doubt on it being very advantageous and helpful as you are getting all kinds of information about happenings in the whole world by just sitting on your sofa and enjoying cup of tea while watching TV or reading a magazine or newspaper.

But I would like to draw your attention towards some of the aspects thereof which can cause misunderstandings and can also modify our overall beliefs and perceptions. I am just going to share what goes through my mind every time.

16 Oct 2012

IS PAKISTAN RIPE FOR A SOCIAL REVOLUTION?

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Is Pakistan ripe for a social revolution? My answer is ‘no’.

A former finance minister, Dr. Mahbub ul Haq (previously chief, planning commission at the world bank), advocated investment in people and on that basis presented the country’s budget as finance minister in the 1985-86. He even advocated a scheme of ‘each one teach one’ on the Chinese pattern. However, after his departure, the successive government paid little heed to the social sector namely education and health, except from lip service.

11 Oct 2012

ABC News: ‘October Surprise’ Could Decide Election

Close polling figures increase likelihood of an unexpected twist

Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com

October 1, 2012

ABC News has released a story suggesting that an “October surprise” will impact next month’s presidential election, with an incident involving Iran likely to decide the winner. In an article entitled Obama Vs. Romney: Will October Bring a Political Surprise?, ABC’s Russell Goldman speculates that an Iranian attack on American interests could swing the election one way or the other, even suggesting that Mitt Romney may have “cut a deal” with Iran to undermine Obama.

“Was something to occur in the days before the election, it’s impossible to know how it might affect the voting,” he writes.

The fact that polls show Romney and Obama are so closely tied, “increases the likelihood that an unexpected event can shape the polls,” writes Goldman, pointing to the Iranian hostage crisis on the eve of the 1980 election which helped Ronald Reagan defeat Jimmy Carter.

“You can term any unexpected event in late October or early November an ‘October surprise,’” said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. “The surprising thing is that we’re surprised by it every four years.”

As we covered at the time, the 2004 appearance of Osama Bin Laden in a videotaped message a few days before the presidential election in which he all but urged people to vote for Senator John Kerry was later acknowledged by both George W. Bush and John Kerry as the deciding factor behind Bush’s victory in that year’s closely fought election contest.

Bin Laden’s intervention was so controversial and crucial that veteran newscaster Walter Kronkite told Larry King at the time that he thought the whole episode was a “set-up” orchestrated by Karl Rove.

Geopolitical analysts have speculated that the recent uproar over the anti-Muhammad film is a pre-cursor to an October surprise that will be exploited by neo-conservatives to “Carterize” President Obama and ensure Mitt Romney, a closer ally with Israel’s Bibi Netanyahu, is installed in his place.

It has even been suggested that Barack Obama may have an October surprise of his own ready and waiting, taking a cue from Bush’s 2004 success by preparing to release long-awaited photos showing the dead corpse of Osama Bin Laden.

In the days following the announcement that Bin Laden had been killed, Obama enjoyed a significant bounce in his approval ratings - jumping 9 percentage points almost overnight.

Given the amount of flak Obama has been receiving over his foreign policy failure in the aftermath of the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, nothing is outside the realms of possibility.

*********************

Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a regular fill-in host for The Alex Jones Show and Infowars Nightly News.

Source: http://www.infowars.com/abc-news-october-surprise-could-decide-election/

10 Oct 2012

Why unequal treatment for the same crime?

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The west does not lose any opportunity to blow things out of proportion if things go wrong in the Muslim world. The latest example is that of a poor and sick Christian girl who has been accused of blasphemy for burning pages of the Holy Quran, a sacred book for the world Muslims. This case is sub judice. There are more avenues open for the Christian community up to the Supreme Court. This Court and the Provincial High Courts are independent. However, a campaign is on the way to seek the signatures on a petition for forwarding it to the President of Pakistan. Until this moment a million, including many Muslims, have signed it.

From the days of President Reagan, the west has been haunted by ‘Islamophobia’. No one knows its origin. Islam means ‘PEACE’. However, no religion in the world has been badly as maligned as Islam. And no other religion has been as widely discussed as Islam. Discussion on Islam is high on the agenda for US Congress debates. The case of the poor and under privileged Christian girl might become the number one topic of the US Presidential debates. Americans such as Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Newt Gringrich, Pat Robertson, Jimmy Swaggart etc. are rabid Islam haters. Not only that a woman in the USA ran away from the hospital shouting that Muslims are found everywhere in the country.

But why the west is provoking the Muslims by attacking them, their Holy Quran, their Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him), the rites and symbols. The latest is the judgment of the American court of acquitting American forces of defiling the Holy Quran. Incidents of burning the Holy Quran had taken place last year and this year. Caricatures of the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) were made in Denmark and a movie was made on him in the Netherlands.

Mahfooz ur Rahman

rahman.mahfooz.pk@gmail.com

8 Oct 2012

Imran Khan hails commitment of youth at Tank rally

PTI Chief Imran Khan (C) addresses supporters as he stands on a vehicle during a rally in Mianwali, northern Pakistan, on October 6, 2012. –AFP PHOTO

TANK: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Chief Imran Khan addressed crowds gathered in Tank on Sunday after being disallowed by authorities from entering South Waziristan.

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16 Sept 2012

A Self-Analysis: Why Isn’t The Spirit Of Islam Permeating Our Souls?

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I do not know how the Muslims in other countries live and the pattern of behaviour is in their lives and how they conduct themselves in various fields of human activity for example in homes, in the courts, in the markets, or the airports. However, two incidents happened in the space of a week. The first incident happened when a senior diplomat posted in Saudi Arabia told me on my visit there that the Saudi hosts told a trade delegation which he then was escorting that the people of Pakistan are liars and cheats. I underwent a similar experience in Jeddah.

The other day, my son, Saad, and I bought quality mangoes at a higher price. But when we tasted them at home, they were mostly mixed: some of them were sweet and some were sour and inferior. Lying and cheating has been the usual pattern of our lives since the country’s Independence.

I am not a scholar of Islam. I am an honest, upright and straightforward Muslim who values his integrity above everything less. I have no means of estimating the number of people who read, understood and followed the Quranic Injunctions. Suffice to say that given our tendency to be dishonest in everyday life, not many people adhere to them. Of late many reputed Islamic scholars decried this waywardness in an Islamic society particularly when it gained Independence on an Islamic slogan.

Two prominent Islamic scholars Mufti Nazeer and Mufti Zubair with the host Aneeq Ahmed were discussing a similar topic, which is very close to my heart, in a programme aired by the Dunya TV the other morning. Mufti Zubair counted many failings in our society, both of them agreed that:

Islam does not mean only prayers (Namaz or salaat), fasting, giving zakat or other forms of charity laid down in the Holy Quran.
Islam does not mean wearing a cap or any headdress to offer prayers and its removal when leaving the mosque.
Islam also means the way we conduct our daily lives: the way we deal in the markets as sellers and buyers, in the courts as judges and lawyers and as litigants etc.

Those Islamic scholars referred to the appropriate style of governance and the people governed in the west and compared to us.

In the recent past, I have written a series of articles on the topics namely:

“Why Am I Confused Part I?”
“Why Am I Confused Part II?”
”All Art Is A Mirror To Society.”
“The True Spirit Of Islam Somehow Escapes In Everything We Do; Pakistan, A Place Of Many Contradictions“

The next day following the night of Laila-tul-Qadar, a man mentioned to me how he enjoyed that night. I told him that a year has 365 days and for a devout Muslim each night is a special night. However, I told him that a society steeped in sin of which they do not know or do not care as adulteration in food, how is that when entering a mosque pangs of conscience do not prick them.

Prayers or Namaz (Urdu) As-salaat (Arabic) are means for avoiding evil. However, for the last sixty five years we have been praying for Divine Guidance. Allah is perfect. His Prophets are perfect. His Quran is perfect. His Prophet and His last Messenger (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) are perfect. His Injunctions contained in the Holy Quran are perfect. What are imperfect are man and his way of doing things.

There was a time when kings ruled the countries in Europe. Battles were fought by the kings or in the name of the king. The kings and their noblemen lived in luxury while the populace lived in misery. Robin Hood, William Tell and others were such folk heroes who struggled against the oppression of the gentry. The rise of fall of Oliver Cromwell and his Puritans in England and the French Revolution in France led to democracy in their respective countries. Of course, much blood was shed in the process. However, a process of evolution in the form of the Industrial Revolution was simultaneously taking place not only in those two countries but elsewhere in Europe. However, a reading of authors of that time for e.g. George Eliot’s “Adam Bede” and Charles Dickens’s “David Copperfield”, Thomas Hardy tells us that education was not common, Ordinary people could not read even The Bible. However, gradually educational institutions of renown such as Oxford, Cambridge, Eton and Harrow were established. European writers of the time, Voltaire, Rousseau, Carlyle, Mills, Ruskin and Locke helped to mould public opinion as did Sir Syed Ahmad and Allama Iqbal in India in the past centuries. Whereas Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Ahmed Nadeem Qasimi, Ahmed Faraz, Dr. Wazir Agha and Ashfaq Ahmed Who lived and died in our age. Now the present generation of thinkers like Orya Maqbool Jan, Bilal Qutab and Zaid Hamid are molding public opinion.

However, gone are those days when kings and nobility were powerful? After the end of the Second World War, a new thinking has taken over. Peace and cooperation has replaced wars. Initially there were six members of the European Common Market at various stages of economic development with Germany leading and Italy at the end. However, the fruit of economic development was visible in a few years to the six members of the ECM.

I am sorry for this detour in the realms of European history and literature. But I wanted to show that society in the west has evolved to the extent that an age of reasoning and enquiry has set. Education, health, quality of food and living standards are high. Licenses of doctors and lawyers are cancelled if they do not treat their clients properly.

The only charge that is leveled against the west is that of promiscuity and lewdness. That is the prevailing social norm. East is east and west is west. The twain shall never meet. Be it as it may, there is a method in the madness. All laws are meant to be followed whether the laws are governing personal laws or the laws of the state. If President Nixon or Clinton lies to the American people, they cannot escape punishment irrespective of the weak social norms.

We say that Islam is far superior to any religion whether revealed or man made. In this age of enquiry, we cannot even prove it practically unless we have glorious examples like the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) and his companions (May Allah be pleased with them) and his immediate followers. We have no such living example in Pakistan. In the Holy Quran, a mention has been made of major sins such the association of anything with the Unity of Allah. At the time of the Conquest of Mecca, 360 idols were found and destroyed. It is said that Hindus make ‘gods’ of anything which is powerful than them. We also make idols from the President of the country, to the USA and down the line.

A mention has been made in the Quran of the Scriptures which Allah, in His Divine Mercy, handed over to the Prophet Moses. These Injunctions are common to every religion, revealed or man made, Read it and compare its injunctions viz.a.viz. The situation in Pakistan since independence. ‘Human failings’ are going by leaps and bounds in every field. You just name it and it is found. Ego satisfaction, arrogance, conceit, adulteration in food and medicines, back biting, lies, stealing, perfidy, larceny, deceit, division of society from initially West and East Pakistan and later into provinces, cities, tribes, castes, have and have not feudal lords and serfs, the latter live in sub human conditions. Their situation reminds one of the conditions before the French Revolution. Everything Allama Iqbal in his Jawab-e-Shikwa warned us to avoid is going on in the country made in the Glorious name of Islam. Everything which Islam forbids is taken place.

TV channels and newspapers in Pakistan devote much time and space to fashions. Seeing the fashion shows it is difficult, for me at least, to decipher whether the dresses and models wearing those dresses, are made for the Pakistani market which is conservative. Ladies are posting their pictures on media channels such as Facebook which boggles the mind. It is difficult to reconcile the act with Quranic Injunctions.

Allah coineth a similitude: a township that dwelt secure and well content, its provision coming to it in abundance from every side, but it disbelieved in Allah’s favours, so Allah made it experience the garb of dearth and fear because of what they used to do.

Isn’t it time for all of us to seek Allah’s forgiveness and His Guidance?

By Mahfooz ur Rahman

Email: rahman.mahfooz.pk@gmail.com

20 Dec 2011

Which is better iOS or Android?

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I prefer android over apple for the reason that it is open-source, which means the majority of the applications (apps) are free, and you get more revolutionary and cutting edge apps, and do things that are rarely available on even a jail broken iphone.
The android market already has 250,000 apps- closing in on apple 500,000; some say it will surpass it before the year is over. Also any popular iphone game or game adaptation can be found in the android market for free.
Another great thing about android is that if you dont like something (keyboard, homescreen, etc.) it can easily be swapped without jail-breaking, unlike the iphones one-size-fits-all approach.

Despite the false rumors, The iphone is also just as, if not more, vulnerable to viruses as android .
http://www.pcworld.com/article/183763/ex…

Other features only on android
** Turn-by-turn voice GPS
** Better and larger screen
** No need to connect to computer to sync
** Here is a big one, add an sd card of whatever size
** Live wallpapers
** widgets
** 4g
** More customizable
** More powerful hardware
** Flash support, watch ALL the online videos

Apple lovers that say that the iphone is made of better quality material? They don’t realize that Samsung, an android phone maker, supply’s the screen, processor and memory for apple devices, so android has the advantage here.
The iphone is pretty, but not durable, drop it once- it breaks, all that glass around it? That was honestly a mistake. Android manufactures clearly saw that, and decided to do with something a little more durable.

And the iphones “retina display” is a huge scam. By definition a ‘retina display’ is one where the human eye cannot distinguish individual pixels. But this is determined by several factors; most important being the distance between the screen and your eyes. The iphones retina distance is 12in, move any closer than that- say 7in and it’s no longer a “retina screen” because your eyes can now see the pixels, by that same token, if I move my android phone back, to say 16-17in, amazingly, it becomes a retina screen as well! (feel free to google this)

Also apple never invents anything, they are never “the first”. All they do is steal old technology, give it a fresh coat of paint and mass advertise it as “magical” and “innovating”, thus fooling the mass of the population into believing that apple offers cutting edge technology, that in fact has been around for quite a few years.
So instead of innovating, apple actually hinders technology- after 4 years they still have low-power single core phones, while android, an example of technology in overdrive, has rumored that, after their second year, the release of quad core phones that will surpass even some desktop computers in shear processing power. (now any 2011 android is smoother and faster than the iphone)

Apple should now feel pretty worried; android has passed it in market share
http://www.businessinsider.com/android-i…

Then apple panics and sues
http://www.dailytech.com/Google+ExCEO+Ap…
The funny thing is that apple can’t sue for being the first touchscreen or tablet, because they weren’t,(Nokia fist touch screen, “archos” first tablet) so instead they sue for much more relevant things like, “the rounded icon corners” and “having a flat screen” or “the square shape of the phone”……..

To top it all, if you’ve seen apples 2011 presentation, they blatantly copied over five "new" features that were previously on android.
http://androidandme.com/2011/06/news/fiv…
http://www.droid-life.com/2011/06/06/app…
1. Notification bar
2. Twitter integration
3. No need to connect to PC to sync
4. Launch apps from lock screen
5. Tabbed browsing

And not only they copied, but apple didn’t even bother to improve, or change some of them in any way- some even have LESS features than their android counter parts, it’s basically a cheap imitation with the ever-popular iphone skin.
According to Steve jobs, these "revolutionary" new technologies that android users had since 2007 will be available on IOS5, and it would not surprise me to see some more android features from 2008 on IOS6.But the truly sad part is that due to apples marketing, in a few months, apple lovers will really think that apple invented those features and call android the copycats…yet again.

by Wheatly

Source: Yahoo Answers

7 Dec 2011

809 Area Code Scam (Don't Ever Dial Area Code 809)

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This long distance phone scam causes consumers to inadvertently incur high charges on their phone bills. Consumers usually receive a message telling them to call a phone number with an 809, 284, 649, or 876 area code in order to collect a prize, find out information about a sick relative, etc. The caller assumes the number is a typical three-digit U.S. area code; however, the caller is actually connected to a phone number outside the United States, often in Canada or the Caribbean, and charged international call rates. Unfortunately, consumers don't find out that they have been charged higher international call rates until they receive their bill.

If you call from the UK.U.S or Canada , you will apparently be charged a minimum of

$2425 per-minute.

And you'll also get a long recorded message. The point is, they will try to keep you on the phone as long as possible to increase the charges.

AT&T VERIFIES IT'S TRUE:http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=6045

SNOPES VERIFIES IT'S TRUE:http://www.snopes.com/fraud/telephone/809.asp

AT&T recommends the following tips to help avoid the 809 area code scam:

Return calls to familiar numbers only. As a general rule, return calls from numbers that contain familiar or recognizable area codes. You may call your directory assistance or long distance operator to check the area code location.
Carefully read your telephone bill. Make sure that you only receive charges from your provider of choice. Ensure you thoroughly understand charges listed on your phone bill, have chosen to do business with all of the listed providers billing for those charges and have authorized additional fees invoiced. If your local service provider has changed, you will receive a final bill from the former provider and a notice of service disconnection.

If you believe that you have been scammed:

Contact the carrier with whom the charge originated, whose name and toll-free telephone number should be printed on the same bill page as the charge in question. Often, the problem can be resolved with a single phone call.
If the carrier with whom the charge originated does not agree to resolve the problem, contact AT&T. AT&T will work with you and the carrier to help remove fraudulent charges from the phone bill.

Detailed Information about New Planet Discovered by NASA (Kepler-22b)

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This diagram compares our own solar system to Kepler-22, a star system containing the first "habitable zone" planet discovered by NASA's Kepler mission. The habitable zone is the sweet spot around a star where temperatures are right for water to exist in its liquid form. Liquid water is essential for life on Earth.

Kepler-22's star is a bit smaller than our sun, so its habitable zone is slightly closer in. The diagram shows an artist's rendering of the planet comfortably orbiting within the habitable zone, similar to where Earth circles the sun. Kepler-22b has a yearly orbit of 289 days. The planet is the smallest known to orbit in the middle of the habitable zone of a sun-like star. It's about 2.4 times the size of Earth.

Image credit: NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech

Kepler-22b is the first confirmed extrasolar planet which could be a Super-Earth orbiting in the habitable zone of a Sun-like star discovered by NASA's Kepler Space Telescope.

Discovery

The discovery was announced December 5, 2011. The planet was originally discovered on Kepler's third day of science operations in mid-2009. The third transit was detected in late 2010. Additional confirmation data was provided by the Spitzer Space Telescope and ground-based observations. The planet's radius is roughly 2.4 times the radius of Earth; it is 600 light years away from Earth, in orbit around the G-type star Kepler 22.

Composition and structure

To date, its mass and surface composition remain unknown. If it has an Earth-like density (5.515 g/cm³) then it would contain 13.8 Earth masses, while its surface gravity would be 2.4 times Earth's. If it has water-like density (1 g/cm³) then it would mass 2.5 times Earth's and have a surface gravity of 0.43 times Earth's. The planet may fall into the category of planets known as super-Earths, depending on what the actual mass is.

Possibility of life

The distance from Kepler-22b to its host star is about 15% less than the distance from Earth to the Sun, but the luminosity (light output) of Kepler-22b's star is about 25% less than that of the Sun. This combination of a shorter distance from the star and a lower stellar luminosity are consistent with a moderate surface temperature. Scientists estimate that in the absence of an atmosphere, the equilibrium temperature would be approximately -11°C. If the atmosphere provides a greenhouse effect similar in magnitude to the one on Earth, the planet would have an average surface temperature of 22 °C (72°F).

At 2.4 times the size of the Earth, Kepler 22b is substantially larger than Earth and may therefore have a different composition. For example, the newly discovered planet may not be Earth-like, but rather more like Neptune, which is mostly ocean with a small rocky core. Nonetheless, Natalie Batalha, one of the scientists on the project, speculated "it's not beyond the realm of possibility that life could exist in such an ocean.

Image Source: NASA

Source: Wikipedia