Hey I was checking out some youtube videos, and I happened to stumble on this Oromo video. It was a song, and basically a man singing to a woman who was wearing dirac. Some Somali posters were typing that the girl is Somali because she is wearing dirac. The Oromo ppl there were getting upset by this. I have noticed that Oromos copy some of our cultural clothing like the "gareys" or "dirac"...even songs. So, this one Oromo said , "Somalis are from Oromos, and Somalia belongs to Oromos". I was shocked I didn't think anyone thought this way. What do you think, do you think Oromos want to take over Somalia or something?

Whoever did it, Allah will judge them in the end. My heart goes out to those people who had to suffer for no reason. Their happiest day was turned into horror. So sad. I read reports that al-shabab has denied the attacks.

I just loved reading this story, it made my day brighter masha'Allah. Here is the link: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/12/03/convenience.store.compassion/index.html Shopkeeper Mohammad Sohail says he recited an Islamic oath over the would-be robber after he broke into sobs.STORY HIGHLIGHTS Would-be robber sends letter of thanks, $50 to shopkeeper who gave him food, money, let him go Man broke into sobs, said he was trying to feed family when Mohammed Sohail pulled out gun Letter begins with, "You change my life," says Sohail inspired him to become a "true Muslim" New York (CNN) -- Six months ago, a Long Island convenience store owner turned a would-be robbery into an act of compassion. On Wednesday, the shoplifter made amends with a $50 bill and a thank you letter for saving him from a life of crime. The story began in May 2009, when Mohammad Sohail of Shirley, New York, was closing his Shirley Express convenience store one night. Security camera footage from that evening shows a man wielding a baseball bat barging into the store and demanding money. Sohail had a rifle ready and quickly aimed it directly in the robber's face, forcing the man to drop the bat and lay on the ground. Unbeknownst to the man, Sohail never loads his gun. According to Sohail, the man immediately started to plead with him, tearfully saying, "I'm sorry, I have no food. I have no money. My whole family is hungry. Don't call the police. Don't shoot me." "When I see him starting crying [those] things, I really feel bad for him," said Sohail. "I say, oh man, this is something different." Sohail made the man pledge never to rob anybody ever again, then gave the man $40 and a loaf bread. Sohail, who is from Pakistan, said the man then wanted to be a Muslim like him, so he recited an Islamic oath and gave the would-be robber the name Nawaz Sharif Zardari. Sohail went to get some milk, but when he returned the man had fled with the money and food. Video: Robber returns a favor RELATED TOPICS Robbery Suffolk County Police Department Islam Both Mohammad Sohail and Suffolk County Police have no idea who the man is. After the May incident, Sohail explained that he will "absolutely not" be pressing charges, though police are still investigating the case. Over the past six months, Sohail's story of sympathy and kindness has inspired many across the country. The Shirley Express store has received numerous letters of admiration. "No person has ever moved my spirit the way you did. From your biggest admirer," one letter says. "Great men are capable of great acts. You are a great American," another reads. He has also received several checks with such messages for "a couple hundred dollars" in total, says Sohail. He has made a point to give this money "to the people" by offering free bagels, rolls and coffee in his store every night after 9 o'clock. But the envelope that arrived on Wednesday came as a surprise. Postmarked November 11 without a return address, it enclosed a $50 bill and a note apparently from the would-be robber. The typed letter begins, "You change My Life (sic)," and goes on to say that the man is sorry for his actions six months ago. "At the time I had No money No food on my table No Job, and nothing for my family. I know that it was wrong, but I had know (sic) choice. I needed to feed My family. When You had That gun to my head I was 100% that I was going to die," reads the letter. The letter says Sohail's acts inspired him to become a "True Muslim" and that his life has changed dramatically. "I'm very happy that somebody got to change his life," Sohail said. "If he is a maybe criminal, maybe is not anymore. So now he is a good person in this community and I'm very glad for that. He's staying out of trouble, he's not in a jail, he's taking care of his family."

I have this "psychic" ability to sense people's spirits,if I don't sense they have a good spirit, I don't even bother with them. Let them be...you don't have to change who you are for anyone Maxy. If you have good manners and consider yourself to be a nice person, don't associate with people that you sense aren't that way.Those are good traits to have.

Originally posted by Castro: quote:Originally posted by Gheelle.T: lol@ quote: The women are then inspected to see if the firmness is natural, or if it is the result of wearing a bra. If they are found wearing a bra, they are ordered to remove it and shake their breasts, residents said. Wonder who's doing the inspections? Do your boobs hang low? Do they wobble to and fro? Can you tie them in a knot? Can you tie them in a bow? Can you throw them o'er your shoulder Like a Continental Soldier? Do your boobs hang low? Do your boobs hang high? Do they reach up to the sky? Do they wrinkle when they're wet? Do they straighten when they're dry? Can you wave them at your neighbor With an element of flavor? Do your boobs hang high? Do your boobs hang wide? Do they flap from side to side? Do they wave in the breeze From the slightest little sneeze? Can you soar above the nation With a feeling of elevation? Do your boobs hang wide? Do your boobs fall off When you give a great big cough? Do they lie there on the ground Or bounce up at every sound? Can you stick them in your pocket Just like Davy Crocket? Do your boobs fall off? LOOOOOOOOOOOL

Al-Shabab doesn't want Somali women to wear BRAS, we gotta let it hang out "naturallY" Whipped for wearing a 'deceptive' bra: Hardline Islamists in Somalia publicly flog women in Sharia crackdown By Mail Foreign Service Last updated at 2:06 PM on 16th October 2009 Comments (59) Add to My Stories A hardline Islamist group in Somalia has begun publicly whipping women for wearing bras that they claim violate Islam as they are 'deceptive'. The insurgent group Al Shabaab has sent gunmen into the streets of Mogadishu to round up any women who appear to have a firm bust, residents claimed yesterday. The women are then inspected to see if the firmness is natural, or if it is the result of wearing a bra. If they are found wearing a bra, they are ordered to remove it and shake their breasts, residents said. Desperation: A woman feeds her child at a newly formed camp for refugees affected by drought in Somalia yesterday. Somalis are also contending with hardline Islamists seeking to impose a strict form of Sharia law on the country Al Shabaab, which seeks to impose a strict interpretation of Sharia law over all Somalia, also amputated a foot and a hand each from two young men accused of robbery earlier this month. They have also banned movies, musical ringtones, dancing at wedding ceremonies and playing or watching soccer. 'Al Shabaab forced us to wear their type of full veil and now they order us to shake our breasts,' a resident, Halima, told Reuters, adding that her daughters had been whipped on Thursday. 'They are now saying that breasts should be firm naturally, or just flat.' Officials of Al Shabaab, which Washington says is Al Qaeda's proxy in the failed Horn of Africa state, declined to comment. The group's hardline interpretation of Islamic law has shocked many Somalis, who are traditionally moderate Muslims. Some residents, however, give the insurgents credit for restoring order to the regions under their control. Al Shabaab, which means 'youth' in Arabic, control large swathes of south and central Somalia. Abdullahi Hussein, a student in north Mogadishu, said his elder brother was thrown behind bars when he fought back a man who humiliated their sister by asking her to remove her bra. 'My brother was jailed after he wrestled with a man that had beaten my sister and forced her to remove her bra. He could not stand it,' Hussein said. Men were not spared the' moral cleansing'. Any man caught without a beard was been publicly whipped. 'I was beaten and my hair was cut off with a pair of scissors in the street,' Hussein said. 'My trouser was also cut up to the knee. They accused me of shaving my beard but I am only 18. 'They have arrested dozens of men and women. You just find yourself being whipped by a masked man as soon as leave your house.' Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1220864/Whipped-wearing-deceptive-bra-Hardline-Isl amists-Somalia-publicly-flog-women-sharia-crackdown.html?ITO=1490#ixzz0U7OL3wQb

So how about you Che? Are you in the UK btw

Thanks Che, I'm so happy to have finished school. THat was my ultimate goal!

Thanks all! I really appreciate all your welcomes. Well in the past couple of years, I really focused on myself and where I want to be as far as career goes. I finished my BA degree, so I'm no longer a college student. I'm not married yet, unfortunately,mainly because I haven't found the "right" guy(typical excuse). I feel like I've changed soooo much since I first joined this forum...I'm no longer the "modest" girl I used to be:) @Faraax...lol I didn't know I posted that in 2008.

Hi Somaliaonline! I haven't been here for the past 3 years! I am back now,and would like to hear you all welcome me back:)

This story really inspired me. Here is the link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8299780.stm Around the world millions of children are not getting a proper education because their families are too poor to afford to send them to school. In India, one schoolboy is trying to change that. In the first report in the BBC's Hunger to Learn series, Damian Grammaticas meets Babar Ali, whose remarkable education project is transforming the lives of hundreds of poor children. At 16 years old, Babar Ali must be the youngest headmaster in the world. He's a teenager who is in charge of teaching hundreds of students in his family's backyard, where he runs classes for poor children from his village. The story of this young man from Murshidabad in West Bengal is a remarkable tale of the desire to learn amid the direst poverty. Babar Ali's 'school' has some 800 students Babar Ali's day starts early. He wakes, pitches in with the household chores, then jumps on an auto-rickshaw which takes him part of the 10km (six mile) ride to the Raj Govinda school. The last couple of kilometres he has to walk. The school is the best in this part of West Bengal. There are hundreds of students, boys and girls. The classrooms are neat, if bare. But there are desks, chairs, a blackboard, and the teachers are all dedicated and well-qualified. As the class 12 roll-call is taken, Babar Ali is seated in the middle in the front row. He's a tall, slim, gangly teenager, studious and smart in his blue and white uniform. He takes his notes carefully. He is the model student. Babar Ali is the first member of his family ever to get a proper education. HAVE YOUR SAY Everything I have and everything I am today is thanks to my education Mustafa Yorumcu, London"It's not easy for me to come to school because I live so far away," he says, "but the teachers are good and I love learning. And my parents believe I must get the best education possible that's why I am here." Raj Govinda school is government-run so it is free, all Babar Ali has to pay for is his uniform, his books and the rickshaw ride to get there. But still that means his family has to find around 1,800 rupees a year ($40, £25) to send him to school. In this part of West Bengal that is a lot of money. Many poor families simply can't afford to send their children to school, even when it is free. Chumki Hajra is one who has never been to school. She is 14 years old and lives in a tiny shack with her grandmother. Their home is simple A-frame supporting a thatched roof next to the rice paddies and coconut palms at the edge of the village. Inside the hut there is just room for a bed and a few possessions. Chumki Hajra, a pupil at Babar Ali's school, describes her day Every morning, instead of going to school, she scrubs the dishes and cleans the homes of her neighbours. She's done this ever since she was five. For her work she earns just 200 rupees a month ($5, £3). It's not much, but it's money her family desperately needs. And it means that she has to work as a servant everyday in the village. "My father is handicapped and can't work," Chumki tells me as she scrubs a pot. "We need the money. If I don't work, we can't survive as a family. So I have no choice but to do this job." But Chumki is now getting an education, thanks to Babar Ali. The 16-year-old has made it his mission to help Chumki and hundreds of other poor children in his village. The minute his lessons are over at Raj Govinda school, Babar Ali doesn't stop to play, he heads off to share what he's learnt with other children from his village. At four o'clock every afternoon after Babar Ali gets back to his family home a bell summons children to his house. They flood through the gate into the yard behind his house, where Babar Ali now acts as headmaster of his own, unofficial school. Lined up in his back yard the children sing the national anthem. Standing on a podium, Babar Ali lectures them about discipline, then study begins. Babar Ali gives lessons just the way he has heard them from his teachers. Some children are seated in the mud, others on rickety benches under a rough, homemade shelter. The family chickens scratch around nearby. In every corner of the yard are groups of children studying hard. Babar Ali was just nine when he began teaching a few friends as a game. They were all eager to know what he learnt in school every morning and he liked playing at being their teacher. Without this school many kids wouldn't get an education, they'd never even be literate Babar Ali Did school change your life? Now his afternoon school has 800 students, all from poor families, all taught for free. Most of the girls come here after working, like Chumki, as domestic helps in the village, and the boys after they have finished their day's work labouring in the fields. "In the beginning I was just play-acting, teaching my friends," Babar Ali says, "but then I realised these children will never learn to read and write if they don't have proper lessons. It's my duty to educate them, to help our country build a better future." Including Babar Ali there are now 10 teachers at the school, all, like him are students at school or college, who give their time voluntarily. Babar Ali doesn't charge for anything, even books and food are given free, funded by donations. It means even the poorest can come here. "Our area is economically deprived," he says. "Without this school many kids wouldn't get an education, they'd never even be literate." Seated on a rough bench squeezed in with about a dozen other girls, Chumki Hajra is busy scribbling notes. Her dedication to learning is incredible to see. Every day she works in homes in the village from six in the morning until half past two in the afternoon, then she heads to Babar Ali's school. At seven every evening she heads back to do more cleaning work. Chumki's dream is to one day become a nurse, and Babar Ali's classes might just make it possible. The school has been recognised by the local authorities, it has helped increase literacy rates in the area, and Babar Ali has won awards for his work. The youngest children are just four or five, and they are all squeezed in to a tiny veranda. There are just a couple of bare electric bulbs to give light as lessons stretch into the evening, and only if there is electricity. And then the monsoon rain begins. Huge drops fall as the children scurry for cover, slipping in the mud. They crowd under a piece of plastic sheeting. Babar Ali shouts an order. Lessons are cancelled for the afternoon otherwise everyone will be soaked. Having no classrooms means lessons are at the mercy of the elements. The children climb onto the porch of a nearby shop as the rain pours down. Then they hurry home through the downpour. Tomorrow they'll be back though. Eight hundred poor children, unable to afford an education, but hungry for anything they can learn at Babar Ali's school.

Islam grows in struggle and hardship, that's what these crazy people fail to realize

The thing about Somalis is that we tend to judge each other too harshly. I feel like Somalis expect everyone to have the same interests, same goals, dress the same and have similar beliefs. Any body who is an individual is completely shunned. I think this is the reason why a lot of successful, artistic, creative people tend to avoid the Somali community. There's too much looking for other's flaws or dirt. I agree with this, we don't like individuality...we must dress the same, talk the same, be the same...damn it I'm an individual, I don't need to be part of your qaxooti clan to be happy!!

I don't like the majority of Somalis as well, they all suck in my opinion...they have no national pride, they have issues all of them, they are evil, they are xasiids, they are always being jealous/haters of people. I think I'll do another topic on that in the future...insha'ALlah.

You guys are basically the typical somali asslickers, except Johnny. You know they don't like you, yet you are always around them ...think b/c we're all muslims that's all that matters.