it just aired so it may be uploaded at a later date. To be fair the show was about the 20 young men who left the states to fly out to somalia and join shabab. But can't help but think he could have done a slightly better job in the PR section. After all this was on international tv viewed by millions. conclusion of the show was also utterly depressing. Somalis becoming more excluded from society. youths in the diaspora are ticking timebombs maybe i'm flawed in my analysis and i'm sensationalising the documentary and it was painting a sober and authentic image.

it didn't necessarily paint the Somali community in the US in a positive light. I didnt realise things were that bad for Somalis there. the narrative of the show from my perspective were war in somalia refugees in america brought their violence with them, gangs etc..... nursery school kids learing arabic and Quran in US school system, tax etc.... 2nd generation somali teens treason against US. alienated from greater society, just got the image of a community dogged by problems wherever they go Just bad news after bad. I had a different image of Somalis in USA from family members in North America.

Al Jazeera English @ 20:00 gmt

i meant uncomfortable in that it left you with the impressions that the somali community in USA were dire straits. The segment on nursery schools, was downright wrong. gave the impression that somalis werent bothering to join society and were ostracizing themselves.

did anyone just catch this one hour documentary. Made for some uncomfartable viewing.

^^from personal experience i know that South sudanese people hate Somalis. I don't tend to generalise lightly but this group really hate somalis alot. Why i don't know, we don't even come into contact? but the above topic is trajic, allah u naxriisto. its a sad fate Somalis have created for themselves. never lose hope BOB however difficult circumstance may seem. Wihtout hope, we have nothing. This is a difficult time for Somalis worldwide. You never know what Allah has planned for us as a community.

^^ yeah i've stopped 'giving her advice' and told her i only wish for the best. so one can only hope that as she gets wiser. inshallah she lives to see old age and regret her ways. NinBrown- this harks back to our conversation on society sheilding the realities of life and death from us. its all become too sanitised. she's a good gal, but been lead astray in her time at York.

JB i've added you on facebook. Please accept my request. It would be cool to have you as a buddy LOL.

Rhazes, i really don't know what your talking about. all the things i have said are facts. She wasn't religious, by that i don't mean observing prayers, but other aspects of her lifestyle choices. instead of putting words into my mouth why don't you so clearly articulate your views on Islam and religion in general. i'm willing to contemplate your 'ramblings' given the chance, so feel free. Are you the reincarnation of Peacenow? a sincere question without malice

She wasn’t religious before, but principally identified herself as a Muslim. I cannot convince her Islam is the true path. I can however try to query her dogmatic approach cultured from her studies. These so-called atheists have a lot in common with the religious zealots Ngonge speaks of. more thoughts of hers; Sue and Angelica - yes i agree that women have played very small but important roles in all the major religions but these are the exceptions. In all the holy books including the Bible women are the inferiors of men and don't have equal rights by any stretch of the imagination! As a feminist this is the one part of religion that i have a major ... See moreproblem with. Also, correct me if i'm wrong but doesn't Christianity say that Eve coerced Adam into eating the apple, therefore she's to blame and womenkind therefore have to suffer because of her? Or something to that effect....you two would definitely know. Hamze - why do i have to believe in a heaven and hell if i believe in God? Are they mutually exclusive? And why? You'd only believe in the concept of heaven and hell if you believe in religion which i don't really. I DO believe there is God, a creator of all things. Just because we've been conditioned by religion to believe in heaven and hell doesn't mean they exist. progress?

yes i have Malika but she's very stubborn. i've planted a seed of doubt using her own 'scientifically sound methodolgy' but it will take time.

she's intelligent but easily misled. i think Norf is right its a case of little knowledge being dangerous. She thinks her education has equipped her with the ability to fathom any situation and its caustaions and thus come to a conclusion. what she doesnt realise ofcourse is the inherent bias within her narrative. The entire discourse is laced with the western perceptions of Islam. At one point she even cites cultural deviations from Islam such as honour killings etc. as proof of Islams backwardness. she narrates the Quran but fails to add historical context. There is a culture of godlessness in universities from pseudo-intellectual, and this has clearly influenced her. what she fails to comprehend is that science and religion have alot in common in that i cannot prove god exists in the same way a scientist cant prove to me that antimatter is the main constituent of the universe. The similarities of the arguments at the core of religion and science is great. deep down i think its an inferiority complex she has.

^^ its sad but one has to let her go her own way. it seems more and more people are going down this route. she's not the first and certainly not the last.

Don't worry its the French

one of my friends from uni has just posted this on her facebook. Now i wont say who she is for obvious reasons. but this is her status: XXXXXX: Doesn't really believe in religion anymore. The older I get the more I think this stuff is all made up. I think when u die you just die, there's no heaven and hell. I do believe in God, just not religion as predicted all her muslim friends and non muslims have waged into the debate. she then goes on to claim: I just had a friend msg me to say my status is haram and unIslamic. This is what I meant by not being allowed to question Islam. If religion is going to stifle me and forbid me from exploring for myself then I don't want it. the debate remains good natured and informative as alot of brothers and sisters give her valuable advice. finally she says I've heard the the line "Islam gave women so many rights 1400 years ago". Yeah but what about now? I want equality in MY day. I don't see what Islam, or any other religion, has done for women. All three major religions are patriarchal, written by men FOR men. If Islam didn't give men more rights than women I'd be more inclined to have faith in it. it’s sad seeing an old friend take this route and she in part claims her enlightenment is a result of her Master’s programme which has instilled in her rigorous analytical skills. Looks like she's made up her mind about religion and Islam in general. Maybe its a midlife crisis as she's hit 31 this year. I know women go through it much earlier then men

i get back to cardio and resistance training tomorrow, God help with the initial pain barrier. :eek: you know that horrible feeling you get when you feel like your gonna pass out and puke at the same time. only silver lining is after usuallly 3 weeks you get that awesome post work out muscle fatigue. oooh lovely cant wait to get back in the gym Any of you going to work out during Ramadan? If so how you going to manage PS! Karl you are probably one of the most mystifying figures on SOL. I have actually clearly understood one of your posts for a change. Bananas are a super fruit and i make sure i get my 2 a day.

^^

you guys are good

god help us with all these shabab fanboys on Sol. :rolleyes:

^^so do you support the foreigners fighting alongside Shabab, still foreigners by your defintion. just a clarification please.

however unluckly this sounds one has to be open to the fact that this could be a false flag operation, which may serve one of the catalysts for opinions shifting on what to do about Shabab once and for all. comes a week after IGAD convene meeting on Somalia. who really know? :confused:

can't stand the 'cyber jihadisht' here on SOL. Shabab have form for this kind of thing as previously mentioned. so it wouldnt suprise me if they are the ones behind this atrocity. This only serves to further isolate Somalia and Somalis. fully expect a backlash on innocent Somalis across east africa courtesy of shabab.

Thanks Libaahe, finally someone talks some sense.

Does anyone know what the real age of the new president elect is. I'm getting some ridiculous numbers, some even claim he's in his 90's :eek:

^^LOL