SHAIKHAN, Iraq (AFP) - At a mountainside temple in the heart of Iraqi Kurdistan, pilgrims from the minority Yezidi community come to worship the peacock angel, also known as Lucifer. ADVERTISEMENT As Iraq moves toward a new post- Saddam Hussein political order, the Yezidis, long regarded by Muslims as "devil-worshippers", are seizing on this key moment in history to enshrine their community's rights in a new constitution. "Discrimination against the Yezidis must end, and our political and religious rights must be recognized in the constitution," the faith's hereditary leader Mil (Prince) Hazem Tahsin Said told AFP. Wearing a yellow shirt and shiny brown tie, this supposed prince of darkness greets visitors to his expensive villa in the countryside north of Mosul with a wide smile. Two Kurdish militiamen stand guard at the door. "As Kurds and as Yezidis, we were doubly victimised by Saddam Hussein," says the 40-year-old chief, who doubles as tribal and religious leader to his people. The ousted president's Sunni Arab-dominated regime killed tens of thousands of Kurds, including Yezidis, during the Anfal campaign in the late 1980s. Saddam's regime persecuted the Kurds because of their desire to preserve their ethnic identity and the Yezidis even more so because they were also viewed as heathens. Yezidis follow a pre-Islamic religion, which some believe was founded in the 12th century by Sheikh Uday bin Masafel al-Amawi, although many scholars trace its origins to the Zoroastrian religion of ancient Persia. Sheikh Uday was born in Damascus but died in the town of Lalish, just 12 kilometres (eight miles) from Shaikhan, where his tomb has become the Yezidis' holiest shrine. The community is still largely based in the foothills north of Iraq's main northern city of Mosul and in the Sinjar mountains on the border with Syria. But followers of the 100,000-strong faith can be found throughout the Kurdish disapora, in neighbouring Syria and Turkey as well as the former Soviet republics of the Caucasus. The Yezidis do not believe in heaven or hell, and do not regard Satan as evil. In fact, they worship him. "Please excuse me, but I cannot say this word (devil) out loud because it is sacred. It's the chief of angels," said Mil Hazem. "We believe in Allah (God) and in (the chief of angels)," he explained. Unlike Muslims, Yezidis can eat pork. On the other hand, they are prohibited from eating lettuce or from wearing the color blue. Fierce guardians of their traditions, Yezidis do not permit outsiders to convert to their religion. The faith has six distinct levels of initiation -- princes, sheikhs, senators, seers, ascetics and the community of the faithful, which comprises about 70 percent of the Yezidi population. Marriage across classes is forbidden. Now, Yezidis count three members of the Iraqi parliament, all of them elected as part of the Kurdish alliance which came second in landmark elections in January, as well as two members of the Kurdish regional parliament in Arbil. The community's lot had already improved since the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf war, when Kurdish rebels established an autonomous administration in three northern provinces, including the Yezidi centres of Lalish and Shaikhan. But according to the head of security at the Lalish temple, Yezidis don't want to risk being oppressed again. "Our religion is taught in schools and since 1991, we have retaken villages we were forced out of during Saddam Hussein's Arabisation campaign," said Derman Racho, 52. "Now we want the constitution to guarantee that we can be Iraqis and Yezidis." Racho guards the Lalish temple, where two sculpted peacocks representing the "chief of angels" stand watch over the entrance. Worshippers remove their shoes and proceed inside, where seven pieces of vividly colored fabric are affixed to pillars, representing seven angels. In the heart of the main chamber, men, women and children offer prayers while knotting and unknotting strips of material that cover the tomb of their founding father, Sheikh Uday. In the courtyard, two men and two women dressed in white, who have taken an oath of celibacy, light 366 oil lamps. "So that we don't forget the souls of our saints and prophets," explained their superior, Pil Charo, 32. Most Yezidis speak Kurmanji, the most widely spoken dialect of Kurdish, but not all Sunni Muslim Kurds accept the Yezidis as part of their own ethnic group. Asked about the Yezidis by an AFP correspondent, several Sunni Kurds said they would not share a meal with a Yezidi because they considered the community "unclean". "Our parents told us that we could go to eat at the house of a Christian or a Jew, but not with them," said one Kurd.

Bismillah, Men having it easy out doors is expected given that traditional western dressing code for men covers their 'aura adequately(alxamdullillah). Also remember what Allah(subhana wa ta'ala)commanded the mothers of the believers and by extension all believing women. 32. O wives of the Prophet! You are not like any other women. If you keep your duty (to Allâh), then be not soft in speech, lest he in whose heart is a disease (of hypocrisy, or evil desire for adultery, etc.) should be moved with desire, but speak in an honourable manner. 33. And stay in your houses, and do not display yourselves like that of the times of ignorance, and perform As-Salât (Iqamât­as­Salât), and give Zakât and obey Allâh and His Messenger. Allâh wishes only to remove Ar­Rijs (evil deeds and sins, etc.) from you, O members of the family (of the Prophet SAW), and to purify you with a thorough purification. ((Al-azhab 33:32-33)) So those who believe in him (Muhammad SAW), honour him, help him, and follow the light (the Qur'ân) which has been sent down with him, it is they who will be successful[]. (((Al-a'raf 7:157)))

Bismillah, Most of these thoughts are just wispers of shaytan. I used to have the same thoughts about growing beard. --People will attack me in the streets --anti-terrorist police will trail me ---Employers will discriminate against me. ---etc. I just ignored this thoughts, grew thick beard and started dressing very islamically. There were strange looks initially beacuse there are no many muslims in my area. On the whole I feel much more respected by non-muslims now. Deep down none muslims actually look down on muslims who immitate them.

Bismillah, Sorry abayo to hear that. I over heard a somali lady asking last week "salada malagalay?" and we were in second raka'ah. So many children were making noise around her. The men can't tolerate that kind of children.They will confront the parents. The Imams should check the microphones before every salad supervise parents with children.

Bismillah SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico (Reuters) - Islam has joined a battle for the hearts and minds of Mexico's volatile Tzotzil Indians in Chiapas state, home of Zapatista rebels and a hotbed of sectarian strife between Christians. In an unlikely meeting of two worlds, an idealistic Muslim sect has converted some 300 Tzotzils, a Maya Indian group known for drink-fueled fiestas and religious fervor. "It was difficult to learn the prayers in Arabic at first but now I have them in my heart," said Muhammad Emin Lopez, 46, a Tzotzil fruit merchant who boasts that his conversion to Islam in 1995 was the state's first. He prays five times a day as required in Islam, has gone on the obligatory "haj" pilgrimage to Mecca and attends a small mosque in a cornfield on the outskirts of the hill town of San Cristobal de las Casas. Beside the mosque, a Tzotzil woman dressed in colorful Indian garb and known by the Muslim name Karima washes clothes in a stream near ramshackle wooden houses. The growth of Islam in such a restive area has raised the eyebrows of Mexico's intelligence agency, wary of possible terrorist activity aimed at the neighboring United States. But the Tzotzil Muslims have little interest in holy war, having seen religious and political conflict close up. Many are former evangelical Protestants who were thrown out of a nearby town by fellow Tzotzils who practice a mixture of Catholicism and ancient Maya Indian rites in a conflict that began in the 1970s. Some 30,000 Protestants have been forced from their homes and more than 100 have died in sectarian violence. "People are full of darkness in Chiapas," said Lopez. "The Catholics and Protestants have fought each other a lot and the Zapatistas only want to know about war, not Islam," he said. Several dozen Spanish missionaries who introduced Islam to Chiapas and still live here hold radical political and economic views such as wanting to do away with currencies, taxes and the nation state, but church leaders and academics say the group has no connection to violence. The missionaries, also active in the United States and Europe, suffered a blow when Lopez and some 80 other Tzotzils split from them several years ago in an argument over land and jobs and began worshiping on their own. NEVER ASSIMILATED Now numbering some 330,000, the Tzotzils in the mountains of Chiapas have never been fully assimilated into the Catholic, Hispanic world since Spain conquered Mexico in the 1500s. Along with other poor Maya Indians, they form the backbone of the Zapatista guerrillas, who staged an uprising in Chiapas in 1994 and have now retired to bases in the jungle. The Catholic Church has only a tenuous hold over the Tzotzils, some of whom sacrifice chickens in church and down moonshine known as "posh" during nominally Christian rites. The Tzotzils, like many of Mexico's 12 million indigenous people, have a hunger of the spirit. "They are people who become attached to religion no matter where it comes from. Islam presented itself just as any other option could have come along as well," said Felipe Arizmendi, Catholic bishop of San Cristobal de las Casas. Experts says the Maya have become adroit at adapting to different beliefs and allegiances as the outside world has encroached on their jungles and mountains. "That's why they have survived so long. They've been able to be at the forefront of whatever proposal or political project that's been offered to them for 500 years," said anthropologist Gaspar Morquecho. That said, surprised Zapatista rebel leaders turned down the Murabitun missionaries' invitation to convert to Islam during a meeting in Chiapas in February 1995. "They had an initial contact with the Zapatista army and failed," said Morquecho, author of an academic paper on the Chiapas Muslims. Since then, the Murabitun have kept a low profile in Chiapas, setting up a mosque, "madrassah" Islamic school and several small businesses. Headscarved indigenous women bake and bearded Mexicans serve at a pizzeria in San Cristobal de las Casas owned by Murabitun members. Pepperoni pizzas are off the menu, likely due to the Islamic prohibition on eating pork. Founded by a Scotsman who turned to Islam during a stay in Morocco in the 1960s, the Murabitun are from the orthodox Sunni branch of Islam but have incorporated some mystical Sufi practices. They are highly critical of the charging of interest rates as un-Islamic and advocate scrapping currencies, taxes and the nation state, to be replaced with Islamic emirates trading in gold coins. "Our model is not ideological or utopian but is based on the life of our Prophet Mohammad," reads a statement on the group's Mexican web site, http://www.islammexico.org.mx.

Bismillah, I think this is very disgusting. Human remains should be buried with dignity. They can destroy the tombs but the human remains should not be interfered with. The Islamic courts are doing a good job but they are wrong on this one. _______________________ Militias from the Islamic courts set up in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, are destroying a colonial Italian cemetery. They say that Islam does not allow tombs and are digging up the graves and discarding the human remains. The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu says that children have been seen playing with human bones. Somalia has not had a functioning national government since 1991 and rival militias have divided it into a patchwork of rival fiefdoms. Local radio reports say that there are thousands of graves at the cemetery, of which some 700 have been destroyed. The Islamic courts were set up by businessmen in Mogadishu to bring some semblance of law and order to a city without a police force. A new Somali government has been named in neighbouring Kenya and it is due to start relocating to Mogadishu on 1 February. During the 14 years of anarchy, much of the city has been destroyed by looters, who recycle and sell anything they can find - even the metal rods used to reinforce concrete. The looters mostly work for one of the warlords who takes a cut of their profit.

Bismillah, I posted a similar one last week who was against the dress code of the sisters. What comes to my mind is the Du'a of prophet Yusuf. Yusuf alaihis salaam who had been given the Leadership of Egypt, prayed to Allah that He gives him death in the state of a Muslim and be raised amongst the righteous. Although being a Prophet of Allah, yet Yusuf alaihis salaam feared that Allah would raise him amongst the leaders, as he was the Leader of Egypt. What extreme humbleness Yusuf alaihis salaam expressed! How lucky are those souls who after finding out about the signs of their death, turn towards Allah, ask His repentance for any previous sins and prepare for it by doing good deeds. Such people are the ones who are truly gifted with the kalimah or a good outcome before departing from this world. This tends to be the sign of their being fortunate and people witness a sign of their salvation from the punishment of the Hereafter. Intelligent students always prepare for exams. It is also a matter of intelligence to prepare for the account to be given after death. The Holy Prophet sallallahu alaihe wasallam has mentioned in a Hadith, "Clever is the one who prepares for life after death." The Holy Prophet sallallahu alaihe wasallam has also said, "Take importance of life before death." Behind every intelligence and cleverness is careful preparation. Intelligence is about thinking ahead, tests and preparation. The most ignorant of people are those who deny the hereafter, "professors" or not.

Bismillah, Do we really appreciate the gravity of the problems we face as somalis and muslims? Not from gaalo but somalis who claim to be well educated and enlightened. This man could be from your clan and from your home village/district.Many others are more hateful to the diin but are silent.And are found every where in Somalia. Interestingly there is no appropriate response and mechanism in place to counter this people. When are going to wake up from this complacency and self delusion that our Islam is untouchable? Remarkable Transformation in the Horn of Africa region My recent Somaliland visits have been quit an eye opener and an astonishing experience for me. The degree of Wahabi fundamentalist influx into our society is breathtaking. What was more stunning to see was the dress code of most residents in my hometown Borame that bear resemblance to Gandahar Afghanistan residents. I later realized that a well-organized and institutionally indorsed group is spearheading this societal makeover campaign from outside and already established strong bases in many towns throughout the region. A well-orchestrated transformation is underway in full speed. I’m not only talking about girls as young as 4 years old and women wearing Taliban designer female jalapa and full-face veils, or men wearing Afghani turbans and Afghani vests, it is a whole new world coming to live. Just so you taste little of what such transformation looks like, let me share with you readers a common practice among the practitioners of this new doctrine. When a couple go shopping in the market, customarily the man goes inside the store while his wife (completely covered with Jalapa with full-face veil) waits outside and do not go with him inside. So? What is wrong with that? Some borderline supporters of this new doctrine would say. OK, nothing is wrong about a woman waiting outside while her husband is conducting business inside, except, she is waiting for him outside facing the wall, yes, facing the wall away from the sins of other pedestrians until her husband comes out and then she starts following him. Case close. Following is the verses in the holy Quran that pertain to Muslim women’s dress code: "O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons...that they should be known and not molested." [Quran Karim, Chapter 33, verse 59] And say to the believing (Muslim) women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and adornments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers...(a list of exceptions)" [Quran Karim, Chapter 24, verses 30-31] Also, Islam blessed the people of the area and dominated the horn of Africa region since the 7 th century and was never challenged and never objected to by naturally faithful people of the region. Even during colonial era, the people in the region never felt that their religion was under attack. Since the independence and during multi party elections, religion was never politicized. And although not politicized thus far, yet, this rapid transformation is mystifying and the way I see it, it is just a matter of time. While the level of illiteracy is incredibly high, yes, people need to learn about their religion and be sanctified by its deeds. Yes, people need the benefits of being enlightened through the wisdom of the “Quran Karim†so that such knowledge may help ease their anguish and guide them out of ignorance. But, what happens when organized groups hijack the sanctity of our noble religion for their own well-planned political and economical interests? Somalis are naturally people who are quick to point out groups with a cynical agenda but these clever people found a good cover. A cover not so easy to probe into. A cover that makes any one that dares question their motives be censured for being with the infidel or being brainwashed by the West. And the cover they use is our Islamic believe. It is an assurance that those who do not share their religious viewpoint are not really "true Muslims" It is a tactic they mastered to put down even sincere critics and simply get away with it. You just have to let it go… is the attitude of the common man. They simply call them (Gadh dheerayaashii) or Al-Itihad. In practice, they emphasize those portions of our holy Quran Karim that suit their needs and trim their actions accordingly. All Muslims agree on the authenticity and inerrancy of the Quran Karim, they do differ on its interpretation, a task traditionally reserved for learned jurists and theologians for the past 1400 years. Over the course of time, literal or rationalist theory emerged to accommodate changing conditions and the growth of human knowledge has been challenging these theologians. But fortunately, those Muslim theologians were also getting enlightened through the developments of human knowledge and therefore corresponded their interpretations with their comprehension capacity. Look at places like Senegal and Indonesia where Islamic nations flourish without resorting to ancient customs. But this group is not about all that. They have a different set of agendas. First and foremost of their agendas? Complete transformation of society to medieval Arabia at any cost. No questions asked!! According to their view, any initiative that seems to interrupt them from their journey back to 7 th century Arabia is anti-Islam or Western orchestrated conspiracy against Islam. The leadership core is well-funded and well determined group of men who are the forefront of secret sociopolitical movement that has a confirmed political and economical agenda. Their best interest is not the well being of the society. They do not participate any communal activities unless they call the shots. They do not help other institutions unless it is one they fully control and therefore their membership only. This cult follows certain set of rules and instructional discipline that has been programmed into their psych in far away places. Because of human sinfulness, people of faith must constantly wrestle with themselves and strive to do what is right and good, but when such continued daily effort is disturbed by these extreme agenda followers, with their own interpretation of Islam, the common religious person often get confused and even questions the way they were practicing Islam for centuries. Were we uninformed all these centuries? What is more frightening is that these people hate healthy discussions and debates in civilized manners without calling you and I infidel for such a proposition. It is not an accident that they have flourished in a chaotic state of depressing conditions in regions they have succeeded so far ( Afghanistan, The Horn of Africa and parts of Pakistan). Like all religious traditions, Islamic history includes various schools of thought and legal structures. It is well understood that Islam constitutes an ideology which goes far beyond only praying or enforcing women’s behavioral conduct, it provides universal principles for all crucial aspects of social life including education and social development in different parts of the world. This Wahabi army of gloom and doom did not care to address the evils of society in the region such as wars, diseases, illiteracy and bad customs. As a matter of fact they seem to flourish in such state of horrendous human conditions. With organizational order like the one they have, they could do more then focusing only to brainwash and take our desperate societies back to the dark ages to fulfill their spiritual experiment and in search of their supposedly authentic Islamic society. This sorority is the first wave trained, programmed and empowered from outside the region and then unleashed into our society with purpose. It is noticeably evident that they are serving that purpose diligently, thanks to Saudi money and Saudi influence. Djibouti is the only area they did not succeed because of the continued existence of order and authority that do not welcome their madness plus a hostile climate that would not accommodate their Taliban designer garments, especially for women. The question that needs more serious deliberation is “whether “freezing the time capsule to 7-century Arabia†is the only way to practice true Islam†and if the role of women in Islamic society should be centered in the views of centuries ago Arabian men. If a woman fully covered with a heavy Jalapa in 100 degree heat with full-face veils, facing the wall, and away from the real world (that these strange people consider sinful world) is shocking enough to you, wait what these people have stored for us when they get their chance to reign over our way of live. Abdirahman Waberi

Bismillah, Although a husband has to consult his first wife when he desires to marry a second one, the chances of getting a positive answer is so small, there is no need bothering. If I was married to any of the negative sisters above I would simply over rule them and go ahead. Regarding jealousy, When the prophet(salalahu caleyhi wa salam) approached Umm salama for marriage: "O Messenger of Allah, I have three characteristics. I am a woman who is extremely jealous and I am afraid that you will see in me something that will anger you and cause Allah to punish me. I am a woman who is already advanced in age and I am a woman wh o has a young family." The Prophet replied: "Regarding the jealousy you mentioned, I pray to Allah the Almighty to let it go away from you. Regarding the question of age you have mentioned. I am afflicted with the same problem as you. Regarding the dependent family you have mentioned, your family is my family." A woman has no right to outlaw what Allah(subhana wa ta'ala) has permitted. If she is prone to jealousy, just pray for her as the prophet(salalahu caleyhi wa salam) did. No proposed marriage of the prophet(salalahu caleyhi wa salam) was vetoed by any of his wives. Jealousy or economic woes never had a place. All those sisters are single because we have become metrosexuals boys and deviated from the way of Allah(subhana wa tacala) and his prophet(salalahu caleyhi wa salam). Arab news recently reported a whole small town in saudi Arabia with all ladies married(no single lady). Do you think women went round accepting second wives?

Bismillah, Why is the preference heavily in favour of white converts? A good muslim/muslimah should treat a mushunguli and white muslim equally. it is embarassing there are so many willing somali ladies and few white converts to take. Yet somali jareers with probably higher taqwa are frowned upon. Are some somalis trying to climb the racial ladder?----very shameful for a proud people. Somali men are also on the other extreme. A lady was willing to convert and marry this somali dude. Another somali shouted: "war yanay ku gu muslimin." He refused flat out to marry her and she did not become a muslim!

Bismillah, Really interesting and informative. I am guilty of these abbreviations. May Allah(subhana wa ta'alla) forgive me.

Bismillah, Masha Allah, Wiilo, wiil bari ah ayaan kuu gu ducay. Allah(swt) forgives whatever he wills except shirk. mercy for those who die in a state of shirk has been ruled out. Now how can I avoid shirk before I seek Allah's mercy in the grave? This is the biggest question for every mumin. Tafsir ibn Kathir, states that surah al-kafiroon(109) is the surah of innocence from mushrikeen.It commands complete disavowal of shirk.You declare that you are innocent of all what they are involved(chrismas is around the corner). when it comes to shirk, the kufars are highly contagious.The worshipper must have a god whom he worships and set acts which he follows to get to him. The messenger and his followers worship Allah(swt) according to what he has legislated. They agree that there is none worthy of worship except Allah(swt), and Muhammad(saws) is the messenger of Allah(swt).The mushrikeen worship other than Allah(swt) with acts of worship that Allah(swt) has not allowed. This is why the messenger said to them; (((to you be your religion and to me my religion))) ***No mixing up acts of worship in the name of tolerance*** This is similar to the statement, ((and if they deny you, say "For me are my deeds and for you are your deeds; you are innocent of what I do and I am inocent of what you do" ((10:41))

Bismillah, My cousin sister went through a process like this and re-married. I am always worried if she went through the right process. My uncle was handling her divorce case.But I was also closely involved and accampanied them to the qadi several times. She told us, her husband was a violent man and showed us marks of beatings on her back! She was also the bread winner. The man did nothing for her Masaruuf. Her brothers and her parents were her neighbours but strangely enough, they supported their brother-in-law and beat her even more(according to her story). She was my cousin but we never met before and she was the only source of the story(different somali cities). To complicate everything, when we met the qadi, she never mentioned, the cruelty and lack of Masaruuf from her husband. She said her husband has abandoned her and she does not know where he is. She sought divorce on those new grounds and it was granted after three weeks. In reality we knew where he was but extremely hard to travel there(he was still where she left him). I am sure at least this point was a lie. I wonder if her divorce is valid. She just took advantage of the chaos to say her husband has abandoned her.That was the most common problem at the time. "My husband is missing, may be he is dead."

Bismillah, tick one answer out of three. Who is the best person to lead and guide somalis out of the present mess? a) a colonel trained to kill humans. b) a veterinary official trained to look after animals. c) A scholar who inherited the knowledge of the prophet(the Quran and sunnah). What have we done?????

Bismillah, Masha Allah, great list. Jazakallahu kheyr.