Jewel good luck to wearing hijab. Secondly, When you do wear the hijab don't think of it as just a cloth covering your head(along with modest clothing) but think of it as a sign of showing the whole world that you're a muslim, that you have 100% confidence that the Quran is the absolute unadulterated word of Allah. 1. As to being in the west: Women are constantly depicted in the media to be sex objects without a voice, something to be dominated by men, that a women's self-worth is only based on her appearance and how much of her body she reveals. Alot of smart western women don't like to be viewed that way- the islamic women dress tells people non-verbally that you want to be respected not on your appearance but the content of who you are as a human being. It shows that you have confidence in your religion to wear the dress prescribed to you by Allah. 2. Peer Pressure: Peer pressure will always be there, but you have to be the leader and let your peers follow your good examples. These are people like you, they can't harm you, if they don't want to be your friend because you're wearing islamic clothing they weren't even worth it. 3.The Devil: The hijab is often depicted as a women losing her femininity. However, there is a difference between sexuality and femininity. When you wear the hijab(at least for me) you feel more feminine, while covering that sexual allure that might have men harrassing you. Plus, remember the devil is weak compared to you. We can beat the devil, we have the Power! We can DO IT!!! 4. Dating: Growing up in the west a young woman or man is very tempted to date, it's the social norm in this society. However, in Islam dating is haram, having boy/girl friend is haram, you're either married or not.Yet must of us have or are dating now, our mentality is how else will we find a mate. But, we should refrain from this because it is unacceptable to ALLAh, plus allah is the one who has the power to give success and good fortunes in this world and the next(may we all go there). Another thing about dating is that it's a never ending cycle, and the main blame is the media. The media tells us that Mr/Ms. Wonderful should look this way, have this and that, and other unrealistic characteristics.So people are constantly moving to the next boy/girl friend in line, it's just not worth it. I think what Allah destined for you will never be delayed. Asalaamu Alaykum and Power to our people!! :cool:

Subxanallah, if Riyadh was bombed I fear for the hajj.

Source: This article addresses Australia,but it applies to all muslims in the west. Why we need to preserve Islam and not immitate the enemies of Allah. Education The education system is typically where the indoctrination process begins. Muslim school children are sent off by their parents to Kafir schools with good intentions of an education and a chance at a better life (in this world, at least). The children are placed in an environment where the mixing of sexes is not only tolerated but encouraged through the placement of children in multi-gender sporting teams and class groups. These children grow up to believe such behaviour is normal. This leads, in most cases, to the m passing off the Islamic requirement of segregated sexes as 'old fashioned' or 'backward'. After years in an environment as free as this, it is no surprise that we see so many young Muslims with 'boyfriends', and 'girlfriends'. A major component of the education system is to turn the students into 'good Australians'. To be a good Australian means to obey the laws of the land even if they conflict with the laws of Allah (s.w.t). We see this from the earliest stages of the child's education in the form of flag-raising ceremonies each morning in which the children sing the national anthem and stand in respect as the flag of the non-Muslims is raised over their heads. In later stages, the indoctrination becomes more advanced through subjects such as politics and legal studies. In these studies, the 'benefits' of western-style democracy and the Westminister system of government are taught. The children are taught that S hirk is the best form of government. They are taught that being a "good citizen" is about voting and participation in this Shirk-based system. By the time the child passes through the digestive tract of the Kaffir educational system, he or she will probably see him/herself as an Australian first and a Muslim second. The effect on the Islamic identity is that it is replaced with, in best case scenarios, a watered-down Islamic identity, and in the extreme case, a total Kaffir identity. Every subject taught to the Muslim has a hidden agenda - to foster disbelief and moral decline. In Human Education, our children are being taught that being promiscuous is a 'natural part of growing up'. These enemies of Allah are even equipping our children with contraceptive devices, under our noses, giving them their tacit approval to commit adultery. These same classes teach that homosexuality is something that 'cannot be helped' and as such is a perfectly 'normal' kind of behaviour. In History, we see a euro-centric view of the world in which the Christians are viewed as the only people worthy of any respect or any admi ration. It is rare that mention is ever made of the great contribution made to the Occidental world from the Orient. It is even rarer that the names of the great Muslim scientists are mentioned. It is no wonder that many Muslim children end up with a sens e of shame in being Muslim. This shame is often shown in their refusal to use their 'Muslim names', e.g. suddenly Muhammad becomes known as 'Mike'. When all the "good things" have been done by the Christians (according to their curriculum) can you honestly blame them? These seeds of shame planted in the mind of the Muslim child will bear the sour fruits of disbelief in later life and serve to ensure the Islamic identity is destroyed. Despite Australia' s claims of being a secular society, the education system places a heavy, though largely invisible, emphasis on Christian beliefs and practices. In the lead up to Christmas it is not extraordinary for even government-run schools to hold nativity plays, or make the students engage in Christmas-based activities, s uch as making Christmas cards or so forth. This, coupled with the fact that the Muslim student is probably a minority in a school full of Kaffirs, serves to pressure the Muslim child into adopting practices that are clearly not from Islam. The Muslim chil d will see his or her friends exchanging presents at Christmas and may expect the same at home. Often the schools present these Christian practices in such a way that the child may even be unaware that they are acting out the behaviour of the disbelievers . It is important that parents are aware of this and take the necessary steps to prevent it or at least ensure it does not impact the child. Of course whilst the empirical source of this is the Kuffar and his puppeteer, the Shaytan, we cannot blame them entirely. We must also look to ourselves. Muslim families, having lost much of their Islamic values, have sold out to the West. By sending our children to kindergarten and child care centres we are sending our children to be suckled by the Shaytan. One need only look at the high number of child molestation' s that occur in these places to see the truth of this. It is out of neglect for our Islamic duties, and a love of dunia , that we neglect our children. Muslim mothers are choosing to work rather than stay home and ensure their children are educated Islamically. The so-called "woman's liberation movement" has indeed succeeded in " liberating women" - liberating them from the shackles of responsible parenting. Fathers, drunk on western commercialism, are emphasisi ng economic and material growth of the family unit over spiritual growth. If these children received the proper Islamic education at home, perhaps the wolves of disbelief would not find them such easy prey. Proper Islamic education should counter the lies and the corruption fed to the children in school. It should be presented in such a way as to engender a feeling of pride in Islam. Furthermore, it should cover Islamic history to offset the lies taught in H istory, Islamic law to offset the lies taught in Legal Studies. Parents must take responsibility for arming their students with correct Aqeedah and sound knowledge to defend themselves from these wolves and the decline of the Islamic identity. M E D I A The media plays a critical part in non-Muslim society. Not only does the television serve as a window to the outside world, but for many families it also serves as a defacto baby-sitter. Muslims need to be aware that the view of the world presented by the television and indeed other mediums is through the eyes of a non-believer. We can see this non-belief represented in a number of areas, particularly in the coverage of the news and in the moral bankruptcy of much of the media content. The news provides us with an insight into the world around us. A world where Mujahideen are called 'terrorists', where the Straight Path is called ' Islamic fundamentalism', and where all Muslims are misogynistic wife-bashers. Over time, this can engender a feeling of self-hatred in the adult and child Muslim viewer. It creat es a feeling of shame if constantly the word Muslim is used synonymously with everything bad in the world. When a Muslim no longer feels pride in Islam, then the progression to disbelief is easy. Adult Muslims should be sure to watch the news with a criti cal eye. They should be aware that what they are seeing is often far from reality, and they should use their understanding of Islam as a benchmark for determining the truth from falsehood. Perhaps, the television's most significant effect is to take filthy, evil and unIslamic behaviour and give it a cloak of respectability. It serves to convince the Muslim viewer that what they are seeing is the social norm. A good example is the so-called love scene that forms such a crucial element in the Kaffirs' movie o r TV show. They paint the picture that somehow in some sort of sick way that zina equates with love and is a 'natural' behaviour. It is only to be expected that after years of constant bombardment with this message that the initial disgust a Muslim feels subsides to acceptance. Next time your children have the television on, be warned that what they are watching contains messages designed specifically to enter the mind of the child or young person. In the case of many cartoons, for example, we see elements of idol worship couple d with the taking of partners with Allah Ta'ala. So many of these cartoons have a mythological underpinning with a focus on idolatry and false gods. All of these cartoons and so forth are laying the foundation for turning the children into Mushriks. For example Superman, where people in need call out to this caped Kafir in his underwear to save the day with his god-like powers. How many Muslim children spend their formative years acting out imagined scenes from Superman or other simila r cartoons? This is something in direct opposition to the principles of Tawheed that we, as Muslims, should seek the help of Allah alone. Many young people's shows also focus heavily on parental-child conflict and often attempt to paint this sort of behaviour as a 'normal' part of growing up. Typically, the solution to this conflict is either to fight back or to run away. In either case it teaches the children an Islamically inappropriate response to any conflict. Aside from showing us the outside world, the media dictates how we look at ourselves. It provides a benchmark for judging ourselves and others. The media shows us how others live, or how others behave. It defines how we view success, what qualities we see as admirable, what behaviour we see as normal. Take for example the so-called lifestyle shows that feature so prominently on TV. We see expensive houses, lavishly decorated with all the trappings of dunia and this is pushed onto us as the Australian ideal. If we are not strong in Islam then these media-generated standards get adopted as our own. We' ll start to equate success with owning an expensive car or living in a big house. We'll start to think that beauty is dependent on how we look. We'll start to forget about the paradise that Allah has promised those that believe, and we 'll start trying to create a 'paradise' right here in dunia. This is one of the major threats to our Islamic identity. The best solution to the threat of the media lies in active censorship and in education. Active censorship means to be aware that what we are viewing is not necessarily the reality but rather a Kafir view of reality. We should constantly be evaluating the message or the content of a particular piece of media against our understanding of Islam to determine if it is right or wrong. Contrast this to a passive approach where the viewer sees the media as an infallible source of information, accepting blindly the message being presented without questioning its appropriateness in an Islamic sense. As adults we shoul d likewise apply this to our children's viewing. We should pay close attention to the messages being fed to our children and be sure to counter anything unIslamic with sound evidence from the Qur' an and hadith as to why such-and-such is not good. This goes hand in hand with the education of the children to think Islamically and to know that what is Halal and Haram to a Muslim is not necessarily what is good and bad in a Kafir's view. Mixing With the Kaffirs It is a fact of life that we must, to some extent, keep close company with the Kuffar. This is almost unavoidable given that we work, study and, unfortunately, play with them. The Prophet (s.a.w.) said that whoever is with a people for 40 days or more begins to take on some of their characteristics. As su ch, we must be very careful of mixing with the Kuffar because, whether we realise it or not, we are assuming some of their behaviour and beliefs. Possibly this represents the biggest threat to the Muslim in this country because the media and education can easily be censored. Also, the indoctrination is far more open and direct, whereas through mixing, our Islamic identity' s erosion is far more sublime. There are many ways in which too much contact with the Kuffar will lead to us losing our identities. The taking of Kuffar for close friends is something that Allah has clearly warned out in the Qur' an yet it is something so many of us do. With any friends, Kuffar or Muslim, it is natural that we will seek to please them. Allah tells us that the Kuffar will o nly be happy once we disbelieve. It therefore follows that the way that a Muslim pleases his Kuffar friend is to exhibit signs of disbelief. The Kaffir is probably not even aware that he is leading his friend astray, and probably neither is the Muslim. If a Muslim associates with the Kuffar, he will make efforts to 'fit in' with this group. In order to 'fit in' we must act like Australians. Fitting in typically consists of adjusting our Islam to a religion more acceptable to the Kuffar we are associating w ith so intimately. It is this that gives rise to what Sayyid Qutb would call an apologetic mindset. Where Muslims feel inclined to explain every 'strange behaviour' to the disbelievers. " Well, those people who blow up busses in Israel.. they are not real Muslims". Often the first thing Muslims will modify is their style of dress. Whilst a seemingly trivial change, it often represents more than what it seems. When a Muslim sees the Kafirs dressed in a certain way, and chooses to imitate them to 'fit in ', it's a compromise. Once a Muslim has compromised once, it becomes easier to compromise again. The beard gets shaved. The Hijab comes off. Halal meat gives way to Haram meat. Perhaps even a drink with his 'mates' after work becomes permissible. Eventually the Muslim is left with a watered-down, Kafir-friendly Islam that often bears more resemblance to the beliefs of the Mushrik than the Mo'min. Muslims must be aware of the hidden effects of this. Furthermore, the best protection is to keep amongst other Muslims. Whilst it is a necessity for some contact with the Kuffar, we should limit it to the bare minimum and make sincere efforts to offset it with contact with other Muslims. This is an important part of keeping our Islamic identity and indeed keeping Islam alive in this country. The points mentioned are a few of many. Every aspect of Kafir society is designed to mislead us from the straight path, even if we cannot see it. CONCLUSION Narrated Samara bin Jundub, Allah's Messenger (s.a.w.) said: " Anybody (from among the Muslims) who meets, gathers together, lives, and stays with a Mushrik, and agrees to his ways, opinions, etc. and enjoys his living with him (Mushrik) then he (that Muslim) is like him (Mushrik)" [sunan Abu Dawud - The Book of Jihad] There is a def ence that can be applied that will render every effort by the Kuffar useless, and serve to keep our Islamic identity intact. This defence is knowledge. The Muslim should arm himself with a correct Aqeedah and an awareness of what it means to be Muslim. Any attack, any attempt to subvert or mislead will then be in vain. If the Muslim knows the true nature of this society and if he can see how it is designed to mislead, then he will not fall into its traps. This ability to distinguish from right and wrong and chose right, comes from a correct Aqeedah. The strength of the family unit is also a defence. The father is the shepherd of the household and like any other shepherd he should protect his flock from the wolves. In this case the wolves are the Kuffar, and the protection is to pass the knowledge ont o the children and his wives. The children should be provided with a sound Islamic education outside of their schooling. This is imperative if the children are to be strong enough to avoid the many pitfalls they w ill face. They should be taught that the only truth in this world is the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (s.a.w.) and that all else must be judged against these two noble criterion. Finally there is a solution guaranteed to remove the risks, and that is to remove oneself from amongst the disbelievers. It is therefore unavoidable that as long as we live here we will, through a process of cultural osmosis, take on some of the characteristics of the Kuffar. The likeness of Islam and Kuffar is like that o f fresh clear spring water and water brought up from the bottom of a suburban sewer. If even a drop of the filthy water enters the clear water, the clarity diminishes. Likewise it only takes a drop of the filth of disbelief to contaminate Islam in the West. If we have it within our means we should therefore consider moving to a Muslim lan d whereby we can at least live amongst our brethren and within an Islamic society free from the contamination of the disbelievers. By Br. Amir Abdullah

I actually believe that the Mahdi is alive today, but Allah knows best of course. I heard in a hadith that the signs before the Mahdi is when both Iraq and Syria are attacked by kuffar nations, and when muslims are oppressed in all corners of the earth(like now), but I never heard of a lunar eclipse until know. But I hope the Mahdi comes soon, because this world needs to be filled with justice.

The state of not just the Somalis, but of all the muslims in the world today are is in a dire situation. Somalia was destroyed by conspiracy, and what the enemy now wants to destroy every stable nation of Islam through conspiracy. We always talk us Somalis, everyday we just talk, but we never take action, we've become so dependant on the hand-outs of others that we've stopped using our brains. Instead of rebuilding our country, and helping the cause of Islam we only worry about our own selfish needs which will get us nowhere.

^ Tamina tell us!!

New Revelation to this story: I've just been told that this young man is in a coma at the hospital, and fighting for his life. For for info. please tune in to KARE 11 news today.

Flying_still I heard the security guard got arrested immediately because he had no right to shoot an unarmed minor!!

This is a breaking news. I just found this out. A young somali guy who lived at Cedar was fatally shot last night at 3:20a.m by a security officer at Skyline Towers located in St.Paul. If anyone has anymore information on this tragic event, please let us know. In the meantime, may Allah forgive him, and have mercy on him. This is truly a sad event, he was so young.

Salaam, Modern.I think that statement is modern. My defin. of modern is innovation, such as technological, clothing,and societal values. Alcohol is a modern concept of modernity, although it's wrong, that fits my concept of Modern. However, speaking Islamically, tradition and modernity don't describe Islam, Islam is in its own category. But, good modernity and traditions(eg. cultural dress, or foods)don't invalid Islam. :cool:

Opinionated I think we're not comprehending eachother precisely. I'm not trying to make an argument at all, because I don't really see anything to argue about. What I'm trying to say is that the terminology of the quran should be left unaltered. I'm not against the translation of the quran into any language. But, certain words for example like the term Muslim(thats the phonetical sound of the word from the quran into english) means "person who surrenders to Allah", now if the word is corrupted to sound like Moslem its loses its natural meaning. And if I was making an argument, I would say I have a problem with the phonetical translation of these terms into English because the meaning becomes corrupted.

I heard of this good muslim sister, totally hijabified who got married to this Qat chewing dude, and he didn't pray. Finally, he turned into a wadaad after living together. Like the saying goes, dariskaaga mar waala yabtaa, marwa ka darnataa, marna wa kaa darnata(Excuse me my somali is not very SOMALI :rolleyes: )But the translation is in the end you end up like your neighbor.Although I think its best if the hubby and wifey both pray, because it fills the house with NUur

Percisely NOT both of you! Yes why not talk about Prayer, it clearly stated the authencity of my point. Secondly,no I'm not suggesting we should write arabic. Masjid, Quran, and Muslim are duplications of the actual sound that they're pronounced in Arabic. The Quran doesn't say MOOOOOOOOOslem, MOOOOOOsque, or Kooooran. These words aren't just Arabic terminologies,they're from the Quran, and you don't have to speak Arabic to pronounce them in the correct way. We don't need to alter the pronounciations of the actual terms just because the English say so, we must discourage them from using these terms.

Opionated Yes of course you should understand the context of the Quran. The Quran is in classical Arabic, and its easy for anyone to read it in its original form. Anyways, the Quran is read in Arabic, but you can of course read the context in English. But, when you pray do would you read it in English? No, thats not how the Prophet and the sahaba did it. Nor should we use to describe our plays of worship, and us other than the way the prophet,and the Quran says. But, doesn't it bother you when someone misprounces your name, thats how it feels to me when somepeople use those terms, we should correct those individuals with all due respect. Masalaama

Ameenah thanks for the 411! Liqaye thanks for the info. as well, you know we get so caught up in everything that we forget our mother land so quick. And about the hospital it is a dream I have, but I guess something could happen, since everything starts with a dream as they say. Peace''

Rudy you are so sarcastic!

Arabic is the language of the Quran(not Koran) Opininated, and do you think we should read the whole quran in English now? :confused:

No response, huh, interesting. Silence speaks louder than words I suppose.

Ah, what can I say, in a Jewish controlled media anything goes. I wouldn't be surprised if the Jewish producers made this show to corrupt some more the American public into thinking that Homosexuality is Okay. What a world. Anyways, I seen the show once and it was okay with the decorating, but kind of icky.

If a muslim man(ummarried) dies in jihad-fighting for the cause of Islam, we will be granted the highest level of Jannah, and he will get I don't know the number(70?) horains(sp?), who become virgins everytime,and are so beautiful and bright as the sun. However, if married man who dies in Jihad, when is former wife dies(if she is granted heaven)she will be with her husband, and she will be even more beautiful than the 70(?) horains combined to live in eternal bliss. Ahhhh, may jannah be our final home!

Asalaamu Alaykum W.W.B Lately I've noticed some people in this forum(no names ) using words like: 1. Moslem 2.Mosque 3.Koran What! I just hate the way these sound, it just takes the beauty of the sound and dissolves it.Also some of these words were used in a deragatory sense to belittle muslims. For example, the word "Mosque" came from the Spaniards who used to say lets swat these muslims like a mosquito, and supposedly the word in spanish(mosquito) was shortened to 'mosque' to describe the masjid. Futhermore, the word 'Moslem' is still used today in some history books, because the Europeans called muslims "Muhammadan". The use was frowned upon because the word sounds as if we worship the prophet Muhammad(saw), but we don't unlike the Christians who worship Jesus or Isa(ra). So the "Mu" was changed to "Mo" to show the tie to the word "Muhammadanism". The Koran should be Quran, thats what the Quran says, get it! So please, I advice all of the nomads to refrain from using those terms. P.S. If I said anything bad or offensive it is from Satan. But anything good I said is from Allah.

Somalien- Alot of muslim countries don't use the crescent moon symbol, Saudi Arabia for example uses the Shahadah, and on the flag of Iraq it says Allahu Akbar. Although, the crescent is known as a symbol of Islam throughout the world, its an innovation. I believe the true symbol(s) of Islam is the Quran, our dress, our masjids, and so on.

Note to the above: WHEN IT SAYS 'THE FOLLOWING PAGE' THERE IS NO OTHER PAGE, THE WEBSITE JUST SAYS THAT, BUT THE MAIN POINT IS THAT THE CRESCENT IS NOT A SYMBOL OF ISLAM! PEACE''

THE CRESCENT IS NOT A SYMBOL OF ISLAM!!! "The crescent moon and star symbol actually pre-dates Islam by several thousand years. Information on the origins of the symbol are difficult to ascertain, but most sources agree that these ancient celestial symbols were in use by the peoples of Central Asia and Siberia in their worship of sun, moon, and sky gods. There are also reports that the crescent moon and star were used to represent the Carthaginian goddess Tanit or the Greek goddess Diana. The city of Byzantium (later known as Constantinople and Istanbul) adopted the crescent moon symbol. According to some reports, they chose it in honor of the goddess Diana. Others indicate that it dates back to a battle in which the Romans defeated the Goths on the first day of a lunar month. In any event, the crescent moon was featured on the city's flag even before the birth of Christ. The early Muslim community did not really have a symbol. During the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Islamic armies and caravans flew simple solid-colored flags (generally black, green, or white) for identification purposes. In later generations, the Muslim leaders continued to use a simple black, white, or green flag with no markings, writing, or symbolism on it. It wasn't until the Ottoman Empire that the crescent moon and star became affiliated with the Muslim world. When the Turks conquered Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453, they adopted the city's existing flag and symbol. Legend holds that the founder of the Ottoman Empire, Osman, had a dream in which the crescent moon stretched from one end of the earth to the other. Taking this as a good omen, he chose to keep the crescent and make it the symbol of his dynasty. There is speculation that the five points on the star represent the five pillars of Islam, but this is pure conjecture. The five points were not standard on the Ottoman flags, and as you will see on the following page, it is still not standard on flags used in the Muslim world today. For hundreds of years, the Ottoman Empire ruled over the Muslim world. After centuries of battle with Christian Europe, it is understandable how the symbols of this empire became linked in people's minds with the faith of Islam as a whole. Based on this history, many Muslims reject using the crescent moon as a symbol of Islam. The faith of Islam has historically had no symbol, and many refuse to accept what is essentially an ancient pagan icon. It is certainly not in uniform use among Muslims."

^Amiin! How many kitaabs have the acursed kafirs burned in the past? I think alot! Did it destroy Islam? Definately not! They might burn our book, but they can't burn the Quran from our memory, and hearts, they can't abolish Islam, Islam is under the protection of Allah until the end of time. And, this is by Hindus who drink cow urine to purify themselves!Allah didn't create Hell for nothing I'm sure,may they have a horrid time there.