Thanks for sharing the link; it will prove useful while browsing the web. This is one of the best links I have come across. Jazak'Allah kheyr.

Originally posted by Hibo: Tell me the father you have seen who helps his wife, when she is sick or pregnant? I went to somalia walaalkiis and wat I saw there was worst than wat I saw in the West.. Like I said, it doesn't mean he didn't provide help when there was a need for help. Emphasis: when there was a need for help. Most Somali families live with extended family members, some playing the role of father/mother figure. A substantial families also have maids who help. There's no shortage of someone who helps the family. That's not to say there're no husbands who don't help when there was a need for help, and they represent the exception like the one you saw.

Originally posted by Hibo: He was not expected to change diapers or give his wife any moral supports. He was not expected to change diapers, because his role in the family didn't require it, as each one in the family had unique responsibilities. That doesn't mean he didn't provide help when there was a need for help, like when no one was there to help and the wife was sick or pregnant. I don't know what you mean by moral supports, but a Somali husband did provide any needed support towards his wife. His attention was rarely needed in disciplining his children. Maybe this applies to a few families you have observed firsthand, but I have observed otherwise. Most families had a father who was present most of the time, only few families had a traveling father. A father did discipline his children. Your personal observation cannot even apply to 5% of Somali husbands. we need centers called, “Transition to the western world†that prepares families for the cultural shock as well as equips them with skills required to survive the hardships while still retaining the values they inherited from the ancestors. This isn't a bad idea, but it's not practical, as it requires resources and personal sacrifices. What's more, you have to understand this is only meant for temporary solution, because this is a hostile environment for Muslims. It's not practical for Muslims to make this environment a permanent home.

Zool I have lived a number of years in Egypt & Libya, and never heard the above term used. All I can say is, if the term exists, it can never be used by practicing Muslims (Islamists).

Originally posted by OLOL: But would it not make more sense for the youth in the Diaspora to join together and step out into the world as a unified force to bring about peace in their native country? That's an interesting question. One would assume being in the Diaspora would lead to unity and harmony, but I don't think so. I believe one's condition at home reflects one's condition in the Diaspora. This is evidenced in the numerous incompetent Somali organizations, associations, clubs and etc in the Diaspora. Take for example the postings on the Banadir Public Forum by Libangedon who has been preaching a united Somali youth to fight the villains at home who ruined our country and reduced our people to paupers and corpses. I have debated with Libangedon for a number of years; his ideas and proposals are weird and fanciful, he's also a diehard secularist and far from being any semblance of a uniter. As usual, M.M. Afrah's articles and talking points are thought-provoking, eloquent & inspiring.

Originally posted by ADNAAN: zool when written in English sounds like zoolu which is a barbaric African tribe The Zulus weren't barbaric. If anything, they were one of the bravest African tribes. I don't know where you got the idea they were barbaric.

Originally posted by Sky: the VP tho. yes he can be mistaken for a somali. but his oversized nose would make him an exception among somalis. So, I gather from you, oversized nose is what determines how close other ethnics are to Somalis? Garang certainly meets your criteria.

Originally posted by Sky: haddad, the sudanese foreign minister on that pic looks more like a reer xamar or barwaani than a mainstream somali. What about the vice president? And what about the Southern leader, Garang, whose people are said to be related to Somalis?

Originally posted by Modesty: I would advice your friend not to marry to a non-somali, because Lebanese and arabs don't like blacks like us, so they are against it just as the somali parents are. How are Somalis different from the Lebanese and arabs? Do Somalis like blacks like the jareer? Would a Somali allow his/her son/daughter to marry a black? I say Somalis are similar to the Lebanese. Wait, Somalis are Arabs!

A readable article. I must admit that after reading many articles (both pro, anti) about the late general Aideed, my opinions/impressions about him have changed during the past few years. I no longer view him as how I used to. I have come to grasp the facts that things happen for a reason, what has been alleged about someone can totally be inaccurate, and nothing is what seems.

Originally posted by bilan: whether you belong to prophet's race or not is irrelevent, abu-lahab was his uncle, and that did not save him from going to hell. Well said.

Originally posted by Modesty: (even though we aren't dogs). Of course. I don't believe desecrating the Bible or other holy books could cross a Muslim's mind.

Originally posted by Xoogsade: Leaders are important as they represent their people. Once you got leaders like the ones we have today or the aspiring losers who want to be in leadership, we are basically screwed as Muslims. Well said.

I don't know why SomaliaOnline members are mum about this issue. This is serious stuff. This calls for an outrage.

Muslim Arabs asking why their leaders keep mum on alleged 'desecration' of Koran by Americans at Guantanamo. By Habib Trabelsi - DUBAI Muslim Arabs on Friday expressed anger, both with Washington and their own leaders, over the alleged desecration of the Koran by Americans at Guantanamo Bay as Palestinians took to the streets in protest. At the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, around 2,000 demonstrators held aloft copies of the Koran and Hamas flags as they marched through the streets in a protest organised by the radical Islamist group. American and Israeli flags were burnt during the demonstration following the main weekly Muslim prayers, while 400 mounted a similar protest in the West Bank city of Hebron. The United States has promised action against soldiers who allegedly defiled copies of the Koran by leaving them in toilet cubicles and even stuffing one down a lavatory to rattle Muslim prisoners being held in Cuba. More than a dozen people have died in Pakistan and Afghanistan during three days of rioting over the alleged incident, with protests continuing Friday. Nizar Rayan, a Hamas political leader, said Palestinian demonstrators were outraged by "the profanation of the Koran by the enemies of God at Guantanamo, and by the Zionist enemies in the prison of occupation". Egypt's Islamist opposition condemned the reports and blamed Arab leaders' impotence for the fact that they arose at all. "The Muslim Brotherhood has been shaken by news of the desecration of the Koran by American interrogators at Guantanamo," the movement's leader Mohamed Mahdi Akef said. The banned but tolerated group "expresses its extreme anger, firmly condemns and deplores this odious and humiliating act, and calls on the American government to publicly apologise". Calling for the toughest punishment to be meted out on the perpetrators, the Brotherhood blamed regional weakness for the disputed event. "If it wasn't for Arabs' paralysis and impotence, these criminals would not have committed this act," it said. One-time US foe Libya condemned the "irresponsible and immoral acts", saying they would likely nourish "terrorism". In Iraq, Sunni and Shiite imams alike spoke out against the alleged desecration in their sermons. "We condemn the desecrations of the Koran carried out by American soldiers at Guantanamo," said Sheikh Abdel Zahra Suyaidi, a follower of Shiite radical leader Moqtada al-Sadr. Sunni cleric Sheikh Ahmed Abdel Ghafur al-Samarrai complained: "In Guantanamo, the Koran is torn up and thrown in toilets while Muslims don't lift a finger." Saudi Arabia, a staunch US ally but guardian of Islam's holiest places, urged Washington to carry out a speedy investigation and punish those responsible. "(Riyadh) calls on the competent authorities to implement a swift enquiry into the cases," a foreign ministry source said. "If the cases turn out to be true, the Saudi government underlines the necessity of taking dissuasive measures... against those responsible (for the desecration) to prevent its repetition and to respect Muslims' feelings around the world." An editorial in the London-based daily Al-Quds al-Arabi complained that "the Arab world is totally submissive to the United States". "Authorities, clerics and official media only react once they have the green light from Washington. From now on, the Arabs are like a corpse. They will not react, even if Mecca is occupied," the paper said. The director of the London-based Islamic Observatory, self-proclaimed defender of Muslim rights around the world, poured scorn on Arab leaders. "Arab and Muslim rulers are apostates. Their people are scorned, frustrated and tied up," Yasser Serri said. A number of Arab Internet surfers also asked themselves why there had not been a more angry response to the allegations, originally made in US-based magazine Newsweek, outside of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Saying that similar allegations had been made by Arab satellite news channel Al-Jazeera last year, a surfer calling himself Osama Amin asked: "Do we think that American media are more credible than the others?" "The Abu Ghraib prison scandal only got widespread attention after American media broadcast the images (of Iraqi prisoners being abused by US troops), while numerous reports from the International Committee of the Red Cross and human rights organisations had already mentioned the violations. "Does the idea of credibility and neutrality always have to be connected with American media and the image of freedom with America?" Source

Originally posted by hibaq: point being that al qaeda would stand out so fast that anyone could trail them, and trail them fast. You have missed a lot. Al-Qaida has splintered and localized. Al-Qaida is no longer about Osama bin Laden and his close associates; it has become an ideology. Each Al-Qaida formed has its own central command, and manages its own finances. Osama bin Laden is looked at as a spiritual leadership. This is what has led to forcing them to go underground. An enemy is more lethal when forced to go underground. You can say more Somalis identify and sympathize with Osama bin Laden than George Bush or the US.

Man, there's too much talk, and very little or null action. For many years, Ethiopia (and lately the US) has been talking about an Al-Qaida presence in Somalia, especially in Mogadishu. Everyone knows the US military is thinly stretched, and an adventure in Somalia could prove costly and disastrous. One thing the US (and Ethiopia) need understand: talk is cheap.

Originally posted by HALIMA ABDUL: dating is haram so why do somalis date The answer is simple: those Somalis who date know very little about Islamic teachings, or do not practice it. For example, they might not even know how to pray the Eid salat. A Somali who knows about the fundamentals of Islam and practices it knows dating is haram, and- thus, he/she wouldn't dare to date. Practicing Islam is akin to lifting weights to stay fit and build muscles- if you don't practice, your muscles (iman) become soft.

Originally posted by sudanes: ARE TRYING TO SAY WE WERE ONCE LOOKED LIKE JAREER..HELLO I DONT ACCEPT. Why not? What's wrong with the idea of Somalis who could once have looked like JAREER? I gather from your tone you despise the JAREER; you have to understand that kind of mentality is incompatible with Islam. Originally posted by sudanes: FIRST SUDANES ARABS ARE COMPLETLY DIFFERENT FORM US You're wrong. The Sudanese look like Somalis. Look at how their foreign minister looks like: Originally posted by juba: WHO HAS EVER HEARD/SEEN SOMALIS BEING GROUPED IN THE ARAB RACE!?? Now, that's simple. But, there's no need to shout.

Originally posted by juba: Whos ever seen anyone group somalis in the Arab race? You tried a simple question, but it's not. Reread it, and restate what you meant. Try not to complicate what you want to express.

Ethiopian refugees in Borama camp. Somalia. 1980

Originally posted by SOO MAAL: Borame people are most peaceful I have two Borame friends, and share with you the above observation. This article doesn't make a sense. It's too Medieval, as it talks about a curse may have slowly creped into their veins and already circulating in their blood and probably disturbing their emotions and mental wellbeing.

Originally posted by armani: I would like to see how many of the somaliaonline members can come up the right answer. Who? Nowadays, all what it takes to get an answer is 2-3 clicks and a few seconds. I highlighted the quote, right-clicked it (Firefox), and pressed the Search Web for option. The result. My point is, it's different when you ask it online and when you ask it in real life.

Originally posted by Ay Kutubeeey: I say why even bother asking such questions.... If you're suggesting not to bother with asking such a question, you also have to suggest what kind of question you recommend to be asked.

Originally posted by *Afronaut*: Have you been thru all these three? Nope. Insh'Allah, there will be only nikaax plus a humble qaddo in the near future.