Thanks Bro. Nur, I appreciate your response in clarifying the matter for me.

Not to worry Nur, your secret hideout is safe with me. Insha Allah, will hijack a very bored Somalineters and bring them to the peaceful land of somaliaonliners.

Lucky, thanks walaal for your reply. Nur, Jazk. Khayr for your elaborate answer. I have really been thinking about this question for a while and your answer couldn't have cone at a better time. Again, Illahay Khayr haa ku siiyo! Another question though,(I hope I am not bothering u) What if this brother promises to pray and starts praying b4 marriage. As is the case with a lot of taariku salat they usually pray for a while and then stop and then resart( u know that cycle). I can't guarantee how long he will continue praying. Is it ok to get into this union with such a promise. I will never know if he will continue or will not.

Would appreciate if u guys could tell me if it's permissible for a muslim woman to marry a muslim man who doesn't pray or fast but who is otherwise a good person.

Nur, While Somalinet members are trying to figure out what happened to u, u were just hiding down here I know Somalinet is somewhat a crazy place but honestly Bro. your work is truly missed there. U were the voice of sanity there.

Jazakalla Khayr Br.

Well haven't been around for a while- some very interesting names here.... Mine comes from the song beerlula- loved the song so much that eventually some of my friends thought the name actually suited me and ended up calling me beerlula. Not only does it sound cute but it is very much SOmali too.

Naag-qawaan-very interesting article sis, it touches right to the heart of the problem. I think the HIV crisis is one that should not be overlooked and taken much more seriously than it appears. A lot of awareness raising campaigns should be undertaken in order to educate ppl of the dangers of this deadly disease. I am sure this would not be an easy task as most ppl. are in the denial stage about the existance of HIV in Somalia and most of UN agencies trying to introduce HIV eradication programs are met with a lot of hostility and are seen by most as introducing un-islamic values in the country. The only solution I think lies alone in the hands on the Somali community themselves in raising awareness of HIV.

caraysane maxaynu ku karbaashna- ma cilmi(aqoon) miise jeedal?

Ducaysane, war wanagsan ayaad i sheegtay, balse waynu eegi doona inay sidaas noqodo.

I agree with you sis AIDS is on the rise in Somalia but what hurts even more is that most of Somalis don't want to acknowledge this problem. I know we are muslims and this really shouldn't be happening if ppl follow Islam but muslims are humans too and they sometimes go against the will of Allah. And with so many Somalis living in all corners of the world and adapting life styles that were literally non existant back home you can imagine the risk Somalia must be in.

Somaliaonline just came to my notice this morning and you can say I was a little delighted... finally another forum and hopefully a more mature one this time. Well..it wasn't meant to be- the first topic I accessed and there were those same endless childish arguments. Can you guys atleast try not to trash this forum like Somalinet. And I think a lot of us who would like to exchange ideas like adults here could use a break.