^ Kaagan yar ee madhan, waxba hays xiijin, shaw hal meel bay kaaga dhegtay. Bukhari iyo Muslin miyaad kala jeceshahay adigu, sow labaduba saxiixayn maaha? Dee haddaan kuu sharxo fahmi meysid, oo niiq iyo niic uun baad lasoo taagnaanaysaa; ma af carabi baan wax kuugu soo qoraa, mise luqaddaas baa iyana kugu yar? Bukhari buu ku yaal baan ku idhi, laakiin waxaan doonayay inaan idhaahdo Sharxul Bukhaari (tuu Ibn Xajar Al-Casqalaani qoray) buu xadiisku ku yaal, laakiin inuu masdarkiisa ee asliga yahay xadiis uu Muslin weriyay dadkoo dhan baa kuu soo qoray. Laf cad baad toobin ku heysaa, adeer. Orod oo timirtaadii iyo xabad sawdadaadii iska cantuug, wax badan sheegi meysid.

Amir Abu Zift inuu arrimahani ka hadlo may ahayn. Argagaxisadu waxay ku xeel-dheeryihiin inay ka faalloodaan fiqh al-xayd wa nifaas, ridaac al-kabiir, tayammum (boodh lays marmariyo) iyo wixii la mid ah.

If Oodweyne were an American, he would definately be a Republican, as he is ever in the midst of an origiastic, flag-waving jubilation. Nonetheless, more dispassionate and curious minds are not always gripped by such fervor. Queries about the exact conduct of this process, the checks-and-balances, electoral fraud-limiting procedures, and the like are hardly impertinent in this context. I suppose (and sincerely hope) that international election observers and another non-partisan organizations will publish some kind of report on the nature of the electoral process in Somaliland. P.S. Ultra-nationalists are said to be liable to confuse dissent with disloyalty; I would add that some confuse inquiry with idiocy.

I'm also very interested in the whole procedural apparatus. The democratic process is messy, so what precautions have the politicians taken against things like voter fraud, voter purging, equipment failure, and a whole slew of election nightmares. I previously said that SL is only mimicking the democratic process. Oodweyne promptly chastised me for this view. I'm still waiting for some SL politico to disabuse me of this opinion. Anyway, SL is hardly a developed country so their election will not be as transparent and reliable as, needless to say, the last presidential election in the US. All things considered, Somaliland, whatever the flaws, is one the verge of putting an end to the myth that Africans are democracy-averse due to their intrinsic "cultural inertia".

^ Good selection of poems.

LOL. Cowke needs to stick to his deluge of cut-and-paste articles. Sow kan dawakhay ee isku dhex yaacay.

The author claims that the source literature is unambigious with regards to the subject of apostasy - only a combatanat apostate will suffer capital punishment. In other words, unless an apostate picks up a rifle and literally wages war against muslims, capital punishment does not hold. Why do religious misfits like Al-Shabab, Taliban, and others hold a wildly different interpretation? Surely, they too have perused the scriptural sources. It ought to be patently obvious. The source literature is very ambiguous on these issues; this gives birth to both tolerant and intolerant interpretations. For instance, a literal reading of certain hadiths would suggest that anyone who renounces his religion be put to the sword. Moderate muslims are correct in eschewing such intolerant interpretations. To limit the punishment of an apostate to treasonous incidents is reasonable. But why is the apostate unique in this regard? Wouldn't a treasonous muslim also face the same consequence? And what's this nonsense about manipulating the hearts and minds of muslims? If an apostate writes polemical pieces about Islam, would this be construed as 'manipulating the hearts and minds' of muslims? His ecumenical pronouncments nothwithstanding, the author seems to be content in giving religious authorities alot of wiggle room when it comes to killing religious dissidents.

^ Why is Puntland slow to follow suit? I think it is about time PL devised political parties and a voter registry.

I'm surprised it's only 1-0. Ghana never had a chance.

The author of this article is a weasel, not because he spouts pure piffle, but because his attempt at lying is unbearably lackadaisical. Lying is not for lazy people. To do it right, you can't be so sloppy. Lamenting the sorry state of this once noble art, Mark Twain wrote, "No high-minded man, no man of right feeling, can contemplate the lumbering and slovenly lying of the present day without grieving to see a noble art so prostituted". Beenoow xaal qaado.

Lol. I was a tad bit nervous in the first half. I've already lost a few bucks with my ill-concieved predictions.

NGONGE, that's why this discussion, though seemingly provincial, is pertinent to Somalis. Historically, much of our cultural and religious influences have been imported from that country. Should the forces of progress and modertaion prevail in Saudi Arabia, the benighted tradionalists would run for the hills. The erosion of mullah authority and credibility would be complete. Bizarre disquistions about breast-feeding hadiths would become a thing of the past. The draconian rules of gender segregation, the scourge of Saudi society, as Blessed and Che-Guevera noted, would be ammended. Hail the cave dwellers, indeed. It is in the interest of Saudis (and Somalis) for these mullahs to continue to express their odd religious opinions openly, as it is a welcome contrast to the opinions of the forces of progress and moderation. xiinfaniin, fair enough sxb. Maaddeey, 'naaqusnimaad niiq la leedahay' ee waxan ku idhi cayaayirka intaad joojisid mawduuca ridaac al kabiir soo yara baadh waxa laga yidhi. Xadiisku inuu Bukhari ku yaal cidina dood kama qabto, waxase ii caddaaday inaad safiih tahay, marka adeer waad iga raali ahaanaysaa jawaab kale ma mudnid.

SeeKer, I have noticed that many SOLers (and I presume most muslims) do not even know about these exceedingly ackward narrations. When such matters are brought to their attention, they do not even express a hint of queasiness. Some muslims try to rationalize it; others brush off such criticisms as if such questions are inarguably illigitimate. Their defensive refelxes kick in: Oh, adult breast-feeding? Why are these bloody westerners sensationalizing such commonplace religious practices. Imbecilic islamaphobes. Asinine apostates.

^ After a laborious exposition of his intent and sentiment, a storied poet, chagrined by the astounding ability of his interlocutor to misapprehend so simple a message, replied: Dhankaan ka hadlay wakaa Qamaan, dhaafay hadalkiiye Ka rog oo haddana saar. Fiqhiga naas-nuujinta anigu macno wayn ii samayn meyso oo wakhti lumis baan u arkaa. Hadaayay anigoo is lahaa inanta Ibtisaam wax tusaalee waxan idhi culimo ay Albaani ka mid yihiin baa ku iftooday nin weyn oo gadh leh in toos loo naas nuujin karo, malaha wuu khaldamay sheekhu, laakiin waxaasi ma cudur daar caqli galayaa? Muu khaldamin sheekhu ee xadiis ay fari ku godantahay buu cuskaday. Dhibaata waxa sabab u ah sida axaadiista Bukhaari looga dhigo aayad quraan ah, dabadeedna qiil iyo ta'wiil loo raadiyo. Bukhaari wuu dadaalay laakiin markani wuu yara kufay miyaan la odhan karayn. Naas-nuujinta qof weyn oo dhan ayaa wax ka khaldan, taasi isweydiin ma leh; xadiis caynkan oo kale in dheg jalaq loo siiyo maaha. Qawlku waa intaa, awoowe, ee wax fahan, waa halkii NGONGE.

xiinow, arrinta meesha taali maaha xadiiska iyo sixadiisa, umaddu way wada ogtahay inuu xadiiskani iyo 'xigmadaha' la mida Bukhaari inoo soo tebiyay. Awoowe, su'aasha waxa weeyaan innagu ma wixii naloo sheego uun baynu iska qaadanaynaa mise wixii faa'ido leh oo macquul ah. Dooddu nuxurkeedu maaha sidii qofka loo naas nuujin lahaa: mubaasharatan miyuu qofku ibta uga cabayaa, ma hadhuub baa loogu shubi? Ula-jeeddadaydu waxa weeye in umadda casr taxajjur-ka laga saaro. Teeda kale, waxaad adigu ogtahay inuu khaldanyahay maxaad u difaaci? 'Fulaynimada fikirku', waa halkii qoraagii macruufka ahaa, ma wanaagsana, awoowe. "Diintaa meel lagaga dhacayaa" kaa dhegaysan maayo.

Originally posted by Che -Guevara: I was gonna say one doesn't even have to refer to religion to see somethings are silly. Common sense should prevail here and those Fatwa issuers should be karbaashid. The extreme segregation of sexes is causing all sorts of ill behaviors.I wonder when it comes to Saudis or Arabs in general, is it religion or culture determines how women are treated?

Khayr, I guess it depends on which scholar you accept as authoritative. Al-Albani not only refutes the idea that this was a particular incident or an abrogated one (makhsuus or mansukh) - that is inapplicable thereafter - he argued that it was a ruling of general import. In fact, he's even on tape saying that a man can suckle directly from the 'helma' or nipple. There's no shortage of weird dispensations by this or that mullah.

Ibti, Al-Albani et al defended this hadith simply because this hadith is recorded in Bukhari. Why should it be accepted that the compilation of Bukhari is unquestionable? Doesn't the Quran take precedence over Bukhari? Doesn't common sense take precedence over Bukhari? Surely, this hadith is a little too much to swallow - pardon the pun. Besides, doesn't this recent debate over whether a grown man should be suckled directly or indirectly highlight how ridiculously bizarre the whole discussion is?

At any rate, these mullahs must be forced to find a productive line of work. So untethered to reality are these men, so outrageously out of touch, so inanely impractical that they actually think grown men should run around requesting breast-milk if the 'need' arises. This is their contribution to Saudi society. No wonder the Saudi blogger was cringing with repulsion.

This piece in al-arabiya summarizes the ostensible basis of this ridiculous fatwa. Al-Watan also had this piece. Al-Obeikan actually edited his initial fatwa after a barrage of WTFs from many quarters. Now, he stipulates that such rituals should only be performed sparingly. Here's the arabic fatwa. As for the stark mad, raving lunatic fatwa, which insinuated that a man must be suckled directly from the breast, well, I guess I'll let Sheikh Abu Ishaq explain it in his own words. Chocolate, this story did not recieve much press attention in the West. However, in the middle east, it was the front-page story of many major newspapers. You should not feel slighted by this article at all. It's funny but sad. One female arab blogger (despite her scorn for these mullahs, she's Saudi) had this to say about the idiotic obessesion of men with women in Saudi Arabia.

xiin, sxb I will furnish you with plenty of references. Judging by your arabic signature, I think you probably read arabic, so I won't even bother you with second-hand translations. Initially, I read this on an arabic news site. You can find the actual fatwas by Obeikan and Abu Ishaq Al-Huweini online too. Therefore, you don't have to rely exclusively on arabic news reports. Embarrassing as this whole issue is, I have to admit that narrations about breast-feeding grown men are found in fine books like Bukhari. It's hardly revelatory. Give me a few minutes. I'll get the actual references. I had them saved somewhere.

Macne-laawiyo maangaab in lala murmaa, maaha maamuuse. Waar maanta gabay baa i hayya miyaaan sii wadaa inkastood tahay inan yar oo fahmi meysid naxwihiisa iyo nuxurkiisa

Adeer Soomaalidu waxay ku maahmaahdaa hubsiimo hal baa la siistaa. Cyber Jihad-kii iyo adigu halkaad kala maraysaan, waadigii lahaa aynu dadka shaarubaha ka jarno oo wixii caqli iyo cilmi leh aynu qisaasno.

SeeKer stated in another thread that she was surprised to discover that this adult breast-feeding buiseness isn't fiction. Some mullahs actually preach and believe this stuff. Most muslims probably have not even heard of this quaint and quirky fatwa, but mainstream arabic news websites and forums have been abuzz with this story for a few weeks. The whole issue of 'adult breast-feeding' is simultaneously risible and ridiculous. On the one hand, a group of Saudi scholars argue that a man can drink fresh breast-milk from a cup if he wishes to establish maternal relations. On the other hand, a rival group argues that the grown man must be suckled directly. Abu Ishaq Al-Huwaini even hurls invectives at people who argue that the breast-feeding should not be directly from the breast. Apparently, in his eyes, those people are not puritan enough. Rather, they are, he exhorts us, cravenly shying away from the pure sunnah so as to accomodate the sensibilities of non-muslims who would find such queer rituals worthy of pity and mockery. What planet do these people live on? :rolleyes:

Adult Breastfeeding Establishes "Maternal Relations" Sounds to Me Like Some Countries Have Mommy Issues... As many of us know, women and men in Saudi Arabia must be careful not to mingle, as the insanely strict Islamic law bans mixing between the sexes who are not related. Recently, the Saudis have issued a fatwa that forces women who come into contact with unrelated men on a regular basis to breastfeed them so that they can be considered “relatives” and not potential lovers. The strangest part is, this isn’t the actual issue at hand. The issue is, how do the men get the milk? I know, it just gets weirder. According to the Gulf News, Sheikh Al Obeikan, a consultant to the Ministry of Justice and an adviser to the royal court stated, “the man should take the milk, but not directly from the breast of the woman. He should drink it and then becomes a relative of the family, a fact that allows him to come in contact with the woman without breaking Islam’s rules about mixing.” This fatwa applies to men who regularly come into contact with the same woman, or men who live in the same house with a woman. The woman has to pump her breast milk into a glass and give it to the unrelated male. Doesn’t that sound appetizing? But, not all agree with giving the milk in such a way. Oh, no. Another high-profile sheik, Abi Ishaq Al Huwaini, believes that the men should suckle the breast milk directly from the woman’s breast. Now we are talking! How is it that you can get close enough to suckle, though, without getting thrown in jail? If the genders aren’t allowed to mix, how could you do this without the religious police on your ***? This is serious stuff! Under this strict Islamic law, women aren’t allowed to vote, drive, or leave the country without the consent of a male “guardian”. For example, in March 2009, a 75 years old Syrian widow named Khasmisa Mohammad Sawadi---I repeat---75 years old---was sent to jail for six months and given forty lashes after the religious police found out that two men (who were not her relatives) were in her home, delivering bread. Now, did they really think she was getting it on with these two delivery boys? Give me a break! And, even if she was, who cares? Why the obsession over what goes on behind closed doors between consenting adults? In order to escape punishment, one of the two men, Fahd, explained to police that Sawadi had breast-fed him as an infant, so he was allowed to be there. But, later, the judge ruled that it couldn’t be proven that he was her “breast milk son.” He was given forty lashes and received four months in jail. His friend received sixty lashes and six months in the slammer. Sounds like this judge needs his mommy. Someone’s a wittle cranky. But, how did this whole breast milk controversy start, anyway? The originator of the adult breast-feeding fatwa was issued in Egypt three years ago. Ezzat Attiya, an Egyptian scholar, was expelled from al-Azhar University (one of the top Sunni Islam universities) for advocating breast-feeding of men as a way to get around not being able to mingle with the opposite sex. Clever, clever. A year later, he was reinstated. Soon after the fatwa was issued in Saudi Arabia, a woman threatened to file a lawsuit against a bus driver in the country’s Eastern Region after he reportedly told her that he wanted to suckle milk from her breast. Great, just what the women of Saudi Arabia need. More men thinking they own the rights to women’s bodies, specifically, breasts. Under Islamic law, women are told to breast-feed their babies until they are two years old. It is common for sisters to breast feed their nephews so that they and their daughters will not have to cover their faces in front of them when they get older. The snazzy term for this is called “breast milk sibling.” However, breast milk siblings must be breast fed five times before the age of two for this to hold water...or in this case...milk. Islam forbids sexual relations between a woman and man that she breast fed as an infant. They can be alone together because he isn’t considered a potential mate. What’s with all the crazy rules inside of rules? No wonder people are constantly fighting and confused over there! They don’t even know which end is up! Blogger Eman Al Nafjan said that many in Saudi Arabia are disgusted by this fatwa. “The whole issue just shows how clueless men are. All this back and forth between sheiks and not one bothers to ask a woman if it’s logical, let alone possible to breastfeed a grown man five fulfilling breast milk meals.” She blogs. “Moreover, the thought of a huge hairy face at a woman’s breast does not evoke motherly or even brotherly feelings. It could go from the grotesque to the erotic but definitely not maternal.” Al Nafjan goes on to say to AOL News Friday, “We have many important issues that need discussing. It’s ridiculous to spend time talking about adult breast-feeding.” Thank you, Al Nafjan for pointing out the “glitch” in this absurd plan! How would breast feeding a grown man create a non-sexual relation? Have any of these sheiks ever watched porn? Men love breasts! They want to kiss them, lick them, suckle them, motorboat them...to assume that this would create a maternal feeling towards a grown man leaning down and sucking on a non-related woman’s breast is creepy. Not only does this new rule disturb me as a woman, it is also logistically impossible to implement and keep track of. First off, not all women breast feed. You have to have just had a baby to do that, usually. Some women are incapable of producing breast milk. And, perhaps, oddly enough, they don’t want to share this sacred moment between mother and child with random, grown men who have teeth! Yikes! When will the madness stop? Just another way to control women’s bodies, and confuse men into believing that women are nothing more than vessels to be used whenever they see fit. If this was a fictional novel, one of the saucier female characters would invite a high and mighty sheik to suckle her breast, but secretly she would coat her nipple with a poisonous, undetectable salve. Then, boom! One sheik down! Who’s next? My guess is that would stop the invasion of the boobie-sucklers.