There's no denying that poverty, unemployment, discrimination is schools, large families, urban culture, lack of role models, upbringing, etc, etc, etc... are all contributing factors. However, the bottom line is those boys choose to live that life. Many of them live double / confused lives where they are sweet shy boys at home and monsters in the streets. Honestly, I've worked in Behaviour Improvement Programmes and I used to get kids who'd ask to pray in our offices on Fridays but then I’d get reports from their teachers complaining about some the most unbelievable behaviours and attitudes. Most of them find the thuggery and ********* that we see as cool, they aspire to be bad men. On the other hand, their friends, brothers, cousins and sisters who were brought up in the same houses and neighbourhoods, have and do make the choice to take a different path, and succeed. I agree, that we should do our utmost to help these kids, failies to pay more attention, more youth clubs, involvement in schools and mentoring schemes but at the end of the day, you can't force a horse to drink.

Okay, what's the Suadi Sheikh on about? I've never come across an Islamic ruling preventing women from holding such posts, anyone? UAE to Have Women Judges Soon Arab News DUBAI, 7 January 2008 — Women in the United Arab Emirates will soon be allowed to become judges, breaking a male monopoly over the profession in the country, the justice minister was quoted as saying yesterday. Women are currently being trained at the Judicial Institute to become judges and prosecutors across the UAE once the law is amended, the English-language daily Gulf News reported, quoting minister Mohammad ibn Nakhira Al-Dhaheri. “At present the law states that only a Muslim man is entitled to assume the position of a judge,” he said. He did not say when the law will be changed. The proposed law, which should cover the judiciary in the seven-member federation, would make the UAE the second Gulf country after Bahrain to allow women to become judges. Women hold nine seats in the 40-member Federal National Council, with eight appointed by the UAE president to join the half-elected advisory body. Commenting on the move, Sheikh Abdulmuhsin Al-Ubaikan, a member of the Saudi Scholars Commission, said: “Women are prevented from being judges. There has not been one case throughout Islamic history from the days of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) until today where a woman was permitted to become a judge.” He added that men (judges) nowadays are facing difficult times as judges and that a number of them had requested to be relieved of their current positions because of the problems they face as judges. “Women should be relieved of such a burden out of mercy,” he added. On the other side, Wajeha Al-Huwaider, a Saudi woman activist, said the news from the UAE “is very promising.” She said the UAE government had been at the forefront of other Gulf states in many of its decisions. For example, she praised the law recently passed in the UAE preventing the arrest or detention of journalists. Al-Huwaider added that all fields of work should be open to women as “it is their right.” Besides, there are court cases that deal with women’s issues which men have little knowledge of. She pointed out that women always played a vital role in Islamic society. In Saudi Arabia on the other hand “when a woman has no guardian to represent her, she is prevented from revealing her identity (showing her face) to the judge.” Source

(LEWISTON (NEWS CENTER) -- Members of the Somali community in Lewiston say a poster put up in front of a local Somali owned store is an insult to their religion. The poster depicts a vicious "lost" dog named Mohammed. That's the name of the Muslim prophet. It says that the dog is not good with children and can't be trusted. Hussein Ahmed, the owner of the store, says the phone number on the poster is fake and that the only place it was put up was right near his business. "This is really a religious statement," said Hussein Ahmed, "that is an attack on our religion which we don't feel comfortable with. We see this as a very bad insulting situation." Rabbi Hillel Katzir of the Temple Shalom in Auburn says its the kind of incident that can't be tolerated. "Attacking or making fun of any religion," said Katzir, "is the same as attacking and making fun of all religions. If we don't stop it here, who's next? Someboy will be next. That's guaranteed. We know that from history." Lewiston Mayor Larry Gilbert says the poster gives the city an undeserved bad name. Gilbert met with members of the Somali community Friday afternoon to listen to their concerns. He says police are investigating. Source: WCSH6, Jan 05, 2007 video

LOL@ FB and NG. Faahiye, Somalia inama deeqeyso miyaa?

I'm sorry but am I missing someting? Why are you guys: Salah, Me and Nephthys wishing for war and anarchy on Kenya? We're messed up and so we wish the same for everyone else, miyaa? Acuudu Billah.

^I was talking about the female teacher not the stubidh, evil man. LOL. As for my perverted teacher, sorry, Khalaf. I meant, Bristol. He wasn't Somali, or Sunni, or even, Muslim. There!

I've two such 'boys' in my family and I'm in complete agreement with Cynical Lady. We're not talking about 5 year olds, here. p.s Indians are the richest ethnic minority group in the UK, so they don't live in ghettos, and they are generally a very hard working and dedicated people.

^Great stuff. If you have CELTA qualification, you can get a job almost anywhere, though you can get away with a degree in poorer nations. One of my nephews, who grew up in the UAE went and set up an English school back home. Useful sites: www.teachanywhere.com www.esflcafe.com

^Heh! You sound like one of those spoilt 'local kids' that Indian teachers fear. :eek: I'm glad most schools here, aren't like that now. I remember we had a perverted home tutor in Burco and my earliest memory was of him getting chased down the road by my dacas wielding mum.

^If he dies in this state, the country will remain in the same state. He'd probably appoint a close ally and the spineless 'parliment' will go along with it. However, if he corrects his ways and starts to make changes, at least wuu is qabtay. I doubt that it will happen, but Allah is giving this man so many chances.

I hope, he uses this time to reflect on his actions, reconsider his position and repent to Allah. ..does he want to leave this world for aakhira and be remembered as the man who brought an enemy state into Somalia, who helped kafirs kill innocent Muslims? May Allah guide him before his death.

Is it a bad thing? First world governments actually fund campaigns which encourage more political engagement from the masses.

Ghanima, visit the place, ***? I lived there for 5 years and have the injuries to show for it... p.s I'm seriously considering tagging along with hooyo, this year. pps.. yuou've got mail.

^Well done! You deserve a cup of this, Isseh.

Originally posted by Ghanima: AfricaOwn: you mean you are not a burcaawii after all. All these people laying claims. Where is Ngonge. LOL. Why call the Arab of all people? All of you 'Burcaawis' on this board are sheegads, you don't join this club just because your parents are from there. :rolleyes:

Originally posted by Ma'wa: I wasn't generalizing I was talking about the ones I came across who had everything going for them which made me wonder if the wife had something to do with their success. Err. Perhaps, she married him because of his success?

Khat will not be banned and here is why! If the UK government was to ban khat now, you’ll still have disengaged, underachieving, uneducated and under trained young men who resort to the use of stimulants to escape from their daily trials. The truth of khat is that as with all social drugs, it’s open to abuse. Alcohol abuse, khat abuse, abuse of prescription drugs in general are manifestations of more complex problems and they often (but not always) exacerbate these problems but they don’t create them. These social drugs merely increase their feelings of inadequacy, paranoia, ..whatever, it’s a vicious cycle which can lead to mental illness, divorce, loss of control over life, poverty but I think that it’s simplistic to lay the blame entirely on stimulants / khat. The are many who chew without facing the said social problems. However, I do feel that more control should be placed on the selling of khat, the marfish and an age limit should definitely be imposed (as with alcohol).

^A belated happy b-day hon. May Allah bless you with khayr always.

Marcas, How much research did you do on this subject? Somali Euro'trash', that is.. The biggest new group is from Somalia , a Muslim country. More than 10,000 Somalis have moved to Leicester over the past two to three years, according to city officials. Many have come from the Netherlands , where, they complain, they could not find work and faced dispersal under the strict housing policy. Some of the Somalis are highly skilled professionals and are integrating well into the business community, according to Odedra of the Asian business group. But others have moved into the poorest inner-city districts, such as the tatty streets behind the city railroad station, the usual destination for the poorest new arrivals, and where, according to Winstone, some have clashed violently with West Indians. Somalis from Europe, either arrive in Britain as professionals and contribute to society straight away. Or they have the same issues as those that have arrived in the UK during the late 80s and the 90s. Full article... Also, read this... Discussion i the House of Commons The responses available to manage mass migration are as many and varied as the circumstances that arise. Clearly, it is for Government to determine the extent to which it permits migration of persons from abroad to the UK. Thereafter, it is incumbent on the whole community to give a proper welcome to new communities and recognise them as an asset: we estimate that there are now 42 Somali-run businesses in Leicester. Once admitted to the UK it is in everyone's interests to give practical support through public, private and voluntary sectors and assist the rapid acceptance and integration of new communities for the benefit of all. This leads to the issue of costs.

This is the first generation of 20/30 somthing years olds that grew up in the west. They speak more English than Somali, their culture is more Western-Islamic than Somali and their parents having lived amongst a multi-ethnic Muslim community are more receptive to mixed marriages. Still, those that are married to foreigners are a very small minority. I personally, know more sisters who are married to wadaad Somalis than reverts or other Muslims. Having said that, I don't see why the nationality of the brother matters so much. Any marriage between any two Muslims, is a blessing. We shouldn't trivialise it. Also, on average, there are about 4 four Somali (xalimo marrying farax) weddings per weekend in London, love for Faaraxs is a plenty, there. Bottom line, we have more choice now, embrace it, enjoy it but lets not use it to score points against each other. As for Somali men lagging behind their women…Hmm! We'd have to look at university / employment percentages before making conclusive remarks, me thinks.

I've been reading about people who have already given up on their NY resolution and I'm left wondering if they even thought about how they would go about achieving it. It's only the 2nd. The main reason why NY resolutions fail is because for most, it doesn't come from within. It's merely an expected tradition to make new years resolutions.. so people make lists of things that they think they aught to be doing / changing without really giving much thought to the practicality, the consequences or even the point! This was me in my younger days. I usually set targets on my b-day, it's more personal then. BTW..are you on 43things.com, LOZ? You can set it up so that your past self, sends emails to your future self to ask how things are getting on. LOL. It's cute.

^That's a different topic, entirely. Come on people.. stop taking things to another level. :rolleyes: I don’t agree with Modesty’s generalisations and the delivery but apart from that, she has made a very good point. Diving in with your whole hand is nasty and nauseating. :mad: Honestly, I remember a man that used to visit us at my parents, it wasn't bad enough that he ate, no attacked food like he hasn't seen it for centuries, he insisted on talking whilst he was at it. And, to make matters worse I had to clean after him... There’d be lafo all over the place, greasy drinking cups, bariis on the table, bariis on the floor. I always had urge of beating him with my hooyos xalwad spoon and to stuff pages from albukhaaris book of food in his mouth. Uf!

^ . Cynic. I'm an angry feminist, hence the rant. What's your excuse? Sue, It's not about covering up, if you go to a Somali wedding today, you'll find more girls in khafiif dirac than you would a hijaabi. The hijaab is a fairly new phenomena for the Somalis. The critique of these women is about their body type...Iman always says that she considers herself ugly in the Somali context because tall and skinny is suuko, not qalanjo. I personally find Somalis (generally) to be very shallow about beauty. From our songs (some of them actually make me blush), riwayads, our art, the way girls are 'pimped' (not literally, ey) at weddings to the obsession with how they look and the lectures about spending three hours making yourself look sexy for hubby...

May Allah forgive her and have mercy on her soul and all those who died with her.

Woah @ Cynical. I see your approach is to fight ignorance with bitter ignorance. LOL. I think people were expressing their views on how she looked. I thought the debate was more about her being so skinny and lacking femininity due to her boyish looks. This critique is not exclusive to Somalis, your well aware of the size zero debate and the feminist argument that the industry is trying to make women more like men. As for your question, when people refer to hijabis / modest women as beautiful, they are talking about what they represent rather than their physical features, which obviously can't be seen. You see none Muslims say the say same about modest women, so it’s not exclusive to hijab and again, Somalis. I don't think the hijab makes a woman beautiful physically. In fact, most go from fab to drab which is why it's such a challenge for sisters to don the hijab. I don't think that this approach demonises sexuality at all, our religion teaches us to look after our bodies and to be sexy / sensual for our spouses. At the same time not flaunt your body so that every curve and angle is seen by the whole world. It calls for a balance in how women should be viewed; with respect in the streets and you can be as sensual as you want to be behind closed doors. And I think you find that to be how things are in the Muslim / Arab world. Lastly, at the risk of getting shot down by the liberals of this forum, I find the concepts that the modelling industry is generally built upon to be generally degrading to women. It's glorified prostitution that pushes unhealthy and perverse views of female sexuality. That is ugly! p.s It’s good to see you girl.