a drastic difference in age is ofcourse not reccomended. i would agree that a similar age would be the best for a healthy marriage. if your spouse is 1 or 3 yrs older doesn't make that much of a difference. But then again one could argue that love btw the couple is all that matters, age shouldnt. it really depends on an idividuals values and prefrences i would personally think age makes a difference in a partner.

cause they were angry at the time and didn't think of how dumb that would sound why are somalians so proud?

wasn't this debate about the osmaniya script?? you guys are getting a little of topic arent you? anyway, i think thats its great we, at a time, had our own writin language and sad that we lost it. i think it would be best to bring it back not as the national writing language but as something to know as part of our culture. it is unfortunate that we replaced this script with latin letters or in my opinion western writing but a little fortunate too because latin writing will benifit us more in this Western dominated world. somalis will not only learn english easier but can use the internet which are becaming important skills in todays society. in conlusion it is best to accomadate both languages in our lives but to keep in mind which one is the most important.

i think its good for those who have difficulty in understanding af soomaali. How does this negatively affect you, nafta? i don't see what the problem is to seperate two different languages; english and somali. It would be far less confusing this way. although you are right to say somalis should know their language you can't subject them to writing in a language they don't know how to!! that would defeat the whole purpose of communicating and that is the ultimate goal here it is not seperation merely accomadation

my fav movies: A Beautiful Mind(russel) Lord of the Ring the trilogy Silence of the Lambs (hopkins) The Others (kidman) Green Mile princess mononoke (anime) Losing Isaiah(berry) and many more...

some great books that haven't been mentioned yet and that are also my favorites are: THE PLAGUE by albert camus-great book about survival in a time of disease heartbreaking and graphic aswell CALL OF THE WILD by Jack London- amazing discription of the life of a wolf and the struggle for survival; protrays a wolfs life much like a human one; touching 1984 by orwell- great book about a "utopian" world gone wrong THE CLASH OF CIVILAZIATION (forgot author!)- quite and old book but still worth the read. for those of you who love politics and world affairs this is the book for you. talks about the superpower america its inevitable decline and the next possible power, china. it also talks about the west and islam, and describes the possible wars, and how they will be made, in the future THE GOOD EARTH by pearl s. buck- fantastic book set in olden time china. it is about a simple man sucked into the world of drinking,gambling,and sex, that is the rich life. it is his struggle to get back to whats most importan to him, the earth

i always noticed that in my school!! Asians are always ahead in math and science. They always get the best test scores and highest grades. i guess its because they study harder and are more determined when it comes to their studies.

he was truly a great man not only for his people but for all of Islam. his legacy wont be forgotten. may Allah ease his journey to paradise Longl live palestine!!

my ideal wedding would also be on the quite side. Just family and close friends. i would want it to be cultural and modern at the same time(impossible? :confused: ) . i would want it on a beautiful location, maybe near the beach somewhere with nice senery. I would like it to be men and women is that haram? anyone considering a wedding in somalia? or is that taking it to far

i would have never thought somalia to have historical data from so long ago. i would also like to know how long ago it was? im guessing it was before Islam came to Somalia

but you guess seem to forget that beauty or brains is not the only good quality in a person. Although i would say that brains are more important than beauty, What about there personality? (assuming that when you say brains you mean intelligence vs a brainless beauty) Remember being smart isn't everything

i see where your coming from Qac but the rest of you have a point. it is a uncomfortable issue to talk about sex let alone homosexuality to your kids. i can't imagine doing it with ease. But it needs to be done. if your kids learn it form you they are less likely to engage in such activities at an early age(if you scare them enough ) But them again they can easiy learn about it elsewhere . by the time you tell them about it they know more about it than you do!!: Dad: son we have to talk about sex Son: sure dad what do you want to know

i have had this question for a while. What fields of sciences are accepted in islam and what are considerd as haram? what possible advances in science do islamic scholars fear? But what about genetic enginnering and the theory of evolution. Do we reject these views? if so why? because there is substantial amount of evidence like skeletons for evolution and its still a theory.but it is also conterdictory of the koran! and genetic engineering of foods could help out humanity significantly. is it haram? Your thoughts?

khat should not be consumed anyway wether its causes fertility or not. its disgusting, and only makes you forget your troubles for a while.

i heard the same story about polygamy too besbasso. i think it made sense then but now it doesn't. there really is no need to have more than one wife and it is pretty uncommon anyway because its so hard to provid for four wives and their children. i think it would cause jeoulosy and conflict b/w the different wives and children. i couldn't imagine a family like that ever living in peace.

i totally agree that the elderly are very important to society and educating our youth. I associtate them with culture and wisdom, especially the old somalis. They have experience, hence their wisdom. The children of today would probably be different if they listend to their grandparents.

i was sadly surprised that bush won. i agree with his social polocies aganist abortion and gay laws but disagree with his foreign policy it will be interesting and scary to find out how these next four years will turn out. i hope another war is not in our future

i belive that sex education can go both ways. it can spark interest in the student about sex and it can inform him or her of its dangers. it is good to be aware of the shortcomings of sex before marriage and the consequences of it. But is it really necessary for muslim girls and boys? shouldn't it be obvious by now that such practices are wrong?a muslims guide to sex education is the quran and basic concious. there really is no need for knowing about condoms and STD's when you can't have premarital sex anyway!!