JaakiLLAH sister for the beautiful reminder and app ..

We should never stay silent in matters of our own interests and in protecting our image .. in doing so, we should not destroy our image nor should we allow others to paint degrading images of us .. ALLAH made a "just" Ummah!

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/4/9/ayaan-hirsi-ali-deniedhonor.html University says Somali-born author, who has been critical of Islam, would no longer receive honorary degree April 9, 2014 1:05AM ET Brandeis University on Tuesday canceled its plan to award Somali-born author Ayaan Hirsi Ali an honorary degree after campus criticism of the selection of an advocate for Muslim women who has made comments critical of Islam. The university said in a statement that Hirsi Ali would no longer receive the honor at the May 18 commencement. The university had offered her, and four other people, the honor eight days ago. Hirsi Ali, a member of the Dutch Parliament from 2003 to 2006, has been quoted as making comments critical of Islam. That includes a 2007 interview with Reason magazine in which she said of the religion, "Once it's defeated, it can mutate into something peaceful. It's very difficult to even talk about peace now. They're not interested in peace. I think that we are at war with Islam. And there's no middle ground in wars." Brandeis, outside Boston in Waltham, Mass., said it had not been aware of Hirsi Ali's statements earlier. "She is a compelling public figure and advocate for women's rights, and we respect and appreciate her work to protect and defend the rights of women and girls throughout the world," said the university's statement. "That said, we cannot overlook certain of her past statements that are inconsistent with Brandeis University's core values." The university, founded in 1948, describes itself as "the only nonsectarian Jewish-sponsored college or university in the country" and is named for the late Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis. The Justice, Brandeis’ student newspaper, on Tuesday described Hirsi Ali as "a Somali-born women’s rights activist who has campaigned against female genital mutilation but is also well known for her critical view of Islam; she has at various times called Islam a 'backwards religion' and a 'destructive, nihilistic cult of death' that legitimizes murder." A visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Hirsi Ali was raised in a strict Muslim family, but after surviving a civil war, genital mutilation, beatings and escaping an arranged marriage by immigrating to the Netherlands in 1992, she renounced the faith in her 30s. According to her AEI biography, while in the Dutch parliament "she worked on furthering the integration of non-Western immigrants into Dutch society and defending the rights of women in Dutch Muslim society. In 2004, together with director Theo van Gogh, she made 'Submission,' a film about the oppression of women in conservative Islamic cultures. The airing of the film on Dutch television resulted in the assassination of Mr. van Gogh by an Islamic extremist." More than 85 of about 350 faculty members at Brandeis signed a letter asking for Hirsi Ali to be removed from the list of honorary degree recipients, according to The Associated Press. An online petition created Monday by students at the school of 5,800 had gathered thousands of signatures from inside and outside the university as of Tuesday afternoon. "This is a real slap in the face to Muslim students," said senior Sarah Fahmy, a member of the Muslim Student Association who created the petition before the university withdrew the honor. "But it's not just the Muslim community that is upset but students and faculty of all religious beliefs," she said. "A university that prides itself on social justice and equality should not hold up someone who is an outright Islamophobic." Thomas Doherty, chairman of American studies, refused to sign the faculty letter. He said it would have been good for the university to honor "such a courageous fighter for human freedom and women's rights, who has put her life at risk for those values." Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation's largest Muslim advocacy group, said, "It is unconscionable that such a prestigious university would honor someone with such openly hateful views." The organization sent a letter to university President Frederick Lawrence on Tuesday requesting that it drop plans to honor Hirsi Ali. "This makes Muslim students feel very uneasy," Joseph Lumbard, chairman of Islamic and Middle Eastern studies, said in an interview. "They feel unwelcome here." Al Jazeera and wire services

many promises made but hardly any delivered ... 71% of Latinos voted for Obama (and their main concern been immigration reform ...) as a result, more Spanish immigrants have so far been deported under obama than any other president (2million and counting) ... http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26533046 my question is, what's obama good for?

Galbeedi and Alpha, I deeply appreciate your suggestions ... I'm (to an extent) aware of the risks of starting a business and the advantages to just been employed by a company etc. Just wanted to gather up ideas. i also wanted to seek suggestion and feedback from SOLers who might be operating their own businesses ... the more ideas/feedback, the better

we all know that paycheck-to-paycheck is not the best way to make a living .. are there any folks here currently engaged in any businesses? what are some business ideas that you have? please share ... thanks

her niqab has nothing to do with her character ...

Asc .. As long as the relationship is islamically legitimate (which it seems it's), then he should move forward it unless his mom or dad or her mom or dad are strongly against it and need to be pleased or farther persuaded. Islam encourages marriage and calls for the society to ease the process and help those who seek to marry to avoid illegitimate relationships between genders .. Unfortunately, our ppl these days do the opposite ... On the same token, The Prophet SAW encouraged caring for divorced women as well as marrying them cuz traditions have always put down divorced women .. The Prophet SAW changed this filthy tradition by marrying women who were divorced ... عن أبي هريرة قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: «الساعي على الأرملة والمسكين كالمجاهد في سبيل الله أو كالذي يقوم الليل، ويصوم النهار Abu Hureyrah RA narrated from The RasuuluLLAH SAW, "The care-taker of a divorced woman or one in need is like the one who fights in the path of Allah or like the one who stands during the night (in prayer) and fasts during the day ..." ومن كفل يتيما أو أرملة أظله الله بظله وأدخله جنته "... And whoever cares for an orphan or a divorced woman, Allah will shade him his shade and will enter him into Jannah" Lets strive in making positive changes within our societies ... JazaakumALLAH

Read about the story of this kid! it's implausible how some people can do!! http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12/06/a-terrible-lesson-to-learn/?iid=article_sidebar

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/17/world/global-slavery-index/index.html?hpt=wo_c1 A new report claiming to be the most comprehensive look at global slavery says 30 million people are living as slaves around the world. The Global Slavery Index, published by the Australia-based Walk Free Foundation, lists India as the country with by far the most slaves, with an estimated nearly 14 million, followed by China (2.9 million) and Pakistan (2.1 million). The top 10 countries on its list of shame accounted for more than three quarters of the 29.8 million people living in slavery, with Nigeria, Ethiopia, Russia, Thailand, Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar and Bangladesh completing the list. In terms of countries with the highest of proportion of slaves, Mauritania in West Africa topped the table, with about 4% of its 3.4 million people enslaved, followed by Haiti, Pakistan, India and Nepal. READ MORE: Mauritania -- Slavery's last stronghold The index, whose authors claim it contains the most authoritative data on slavery conditions worldwide, is the product of Australian mining magnate and philanthropist Andrew Forrest's commitment to stamp out global slavery. Forrest, ranked by Forbes as Australia's fifth richest man, with an estimated net worth of $5.7 billion, adopted the cause after his daughter volunteered in an orphanage in Nepal in 2008, coming into contact with child sex trafficking victims. Forrest is a signatory to the Giving Pledge started by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, whose members commit to donating at least half their wealth to philanthropic causes. The index, which draws on 10 years of research into slavery conditions around the world and was produced by a team of 4 authors supported by 22 other experts and advisers, is the inaugural edition of what will be an annual report into slavery. It ranks 162 countries according to the number of people living in slavery, the risk of enslavement and the robustness of government responses to the problem. Walk Free policy and research manager Gina Dafalia told CNN the report was intended to shine a spotlight on the issue, and quantify the extent of the problem in different countries before programs were put in place to tackle the problem. So far, she said, Walk Free -- and its partners Humanity United and the Legatum Foundation -- had pledged a total of $100 million to stamp out the practice. READ MORE: CNN's Freedom Project "When we started working in this area we realized that we didn't have a good understanding of what exactly the situation of slavery is in the world," she said. "We needed that information before we started doing any interventions." The index gives a higher estimate of the global number of slaves than other reports -- a report by the International Labor Organization last year pegged the number at 20.9 million. Dafalia said this was a result of the Global Slavery Index using a broader definition of slavery, which included human trafficking, forced labor, as well as practices such as forced marriage, debt bondage and the exploitation of children. "Our definition of modern slavery includes, for example, forced and servile marriage, a concept not included in the ILO estimate, given the focus on 'forced labor,'" she said. The explicit definition used in the report was "the possession and control of a person in such a way as to significantly deprive that person of his or her individual liberty, with the intent of exploiting that person through their use, management, profit, transfer or disposal. Usually this exercise will be achieved through means such as violence or threats of violence, deception and/or coercion." Asked why 30 million continued to live in conditions of slavery in 2013, Dafalia said the reasons varied from country to country, but one constant was that it remained a "hidden problem." READ MORE: No life for a child -- the grim reality of Nepal's child laborers In some of the worst-hit countries, the report said, the affected parties were citizens ensnared in endemic, culturally-sanctioned forms of slavery -- "the chattel slavery of the Haratins in Mauritania, the exploitation of children through the restavek practice in Haiti, the cultural and economic practices of both caste and debt bondage in India and Pakistan, and the exploitation of children through vidomegon in Benin." In other examples, including Nepal, Gabon and Moldova, it was migrants who were most vulnerable to exploitation. In many examples, noted the report, child and forced marriage was prevalent and child protection practices weak. It noted that in India, the country with the most slaves, the risk of enslavement varies markedly from state to state. The Middle East and North Africa, it said, showed the highest measured level of discrimination against women, with one result being a high level of forced and child marriages within the region, and widespread exploitation of trafficked women as domestic workers and prostitutes. Vulnerable male migrants also frequently found themselves in exploitative working conditions. Modern day slavery in the Gulf

beautiful advice ... Many Thanks

First of all, this isn't and shouldn't even be something of a discussion but to clarify in simple terms: Christian Trinity is THREE different beings been combined to ONE! (which is contradicting) ... The divisions of TAWHEED simply mean that ALLAH is: - The CREATOR of all things (this gives Him the title of RABB {literally meaning NURTURER]) - The One and only worthy of been WORSHIPPED (thus ILAAH [uLUHIYYAH]) - He has many NAMES and ATTRIBUTES (ASMAA = names ATTRIBUTES = sifaat) simply meaning that He is The all knowing ('Aliim), ever merciful (Rahman), all hearing (Samii') all seeing (Basiir) ..... One of the reasons why these three categories exist is because, anyone can/have claimed to be god and demanded to be worshipped. But no one can/have claimed to have created any creations thus, though anything/anyone might be worshipped, the One that is WORTHY of been worshipped is the same one that is the Creator of everything and has control over all. He is the all knowing which no one has claimed to be.

How much is enough to start a descent business these days? I know sometimes great ideas don't require much money but a solid business does ...

Assalaamu 'Aleykum all, Can we share potential business ideas ... They can range from anything (as long as its xalaal and doable) I live in Minnesota most Somalis here are concentrated into Halal Grocery, Daycare and Home care are now booming, ... But I like something different from that ... or anyone know anyone selling their business? Thanks

JAZAAKALLAH KHEYRAN BRO .. Please post more of this ...

Nothing wrong with the language. This lady at work the other day said to me "I got divorced" meaning that her husband divorced her (indicating that he was the holder of the marriage contract). In English, they say "she/he tied the knot" In Arabic, the nikaax is referred to as "Cuqdatun-nikaax" (The knot of the engagement). Waxa la furaayo waa "the knot"

Thanks for sharing

***Correction .. Omar bin Khattab was the Khalif during the battle of Yarmuk but was not the military leader. He was in Madina while the battle took place in Yarmuk (Jordan). Abu 'Ubeydah and Khalid bin Waleed were the top leaders in the field .. Also, Islam did not reach Somalia, east Africa, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc by force! and that's where a majority of the Muslims lived and continue to live. It reached through DACWAH. Where force was needed, it was used. It's hard to compare it to the mongols, persians and the romans. Their philosophy was simply destruction and rule.

Subxaanallah! Diinta iyo dadka culimada oo lagu ciyaaro wax sahlan ma'ahan. Joking has limits. Now your limits folks.

Thanks for this post sis ... Keep it up ...

When a Muslim commits a crime, his faith is questioned. When a Mexican commits a crime, his immigration status is questioned. When a white man commits a massacre, his sanity is questioned! --- They sentenced a dog to death in Minnesota yesterday cuz he bit 3 ppl in one month. No one said anything about the dog's state of mind and whether the dog was sane or not. Somehow, when a man arms himself, drives to his target, kills as many as he can, his sanity is questioned! They don't consider its the same sanity that he has been using the whole time!

WARNING: This so-called website "somalimemo" is known for literally making-up garbage that serve their purpose. In recent past, they made-up documents claiming that it was from THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS of certain groups saying those leaders sent TACSI to Meles Zenawi! (The religious leaders were some that opposed al-Shabab) ... That website is total garbage!

Great reminder .. Thanks much

These are signs of the end sis ... Not much else I can say.

Yunis, brother, I can actually spice it up a little bit for the maryooley and this is how ... I I live across the street from a "Pregnancy Crisis Center". I happened to go there one time for a project on abortion. I was sitting with the director of the place at her office when I noticed a book that looked like a copy of The Quran (The Classic green ones known as "Fahad") I looked closer and it was a copy of the bible translated in Somali--it read "Kitaabka Quduuska". Out of curiosity, I asked the woman, do you get Somali clients here. She responded "YES" with no surprise but to my shock and we give that to them in case they need spiritual help. I live about 20miles away from Minneapolis and the Somali population here is growing rapidly. I asked the woman how many Somali women come to you in a month and she said about 10 of them in a month seeking abortion and wanting help. Through this, I have come to find out that this problem within our community is much greater than we know it to be. Since then, I was interested in finding out more about adoption and abortion within our society. I later found out that Planned Parenthood (the biggest abortion clinic network in the US) was planning to open the third biggest clinic in Minneapolis/St Paul. Their main reason for choosing that area was because of high abortion rates among Somali women and teenagers. That's not just a guess from me but that was according to statistics. 23% of all abortions in the US are committed by black woman. In Minnesota, that number was double at 46% the last time I checked. According to some sources, it's because of the Somali population in Minnesota. I don't want to make this too long but that problem is and has been neglected by our society. Maybe one of us will bring it to light at some point.