Regarless of how hard they try to damage and discredit Islam, it get more popular and grows fast. This verse comes to my mine whenever I see a news article calling Muslims evil and uncivilized. "Verily, those who disbelieve spend their wealth to hinder (men) from the Path of Allâh, and so will they continue to spend it; but in the end it will become an anguish for them. Then they will be overcome. And those who disbelieve will be gathered unto Hell." Anfaal 36.

Adnaan wrote: I'll actually tell you wat is dangerous and disruptive. it's to blindly jump on the bandwagon when ever u see a hadith or s/thing relegious. Am just wasting my time buy replying to u nevertheless go and reread wat I wrote and just think about it, and keep to yourself wat ever you make of it. Saaxiib xageed igala qaaday? I never said anything negative about reer waqooyi. Unlike you, I am not here on SOL to represent Ayad, Xadiis or flag of any kind. Sxb calm down. Everyone is allowed to express their opinion freely.

Btw, do you make it your business to censure everyone who posts a joke by analysing the religious validity of it? A joke is a joke, take it beyond that, and you're in dubious territory. Moth_To_A_Flame: No, it’s not my business to censor your joke but I wanted to give you advice on a joke you posted. Whoever wrote the joke either you or someone else said “God may have created man before woman but there is always a rough draft before the masterpiece!†Subxaanalaah, Allah does not need a rough draft. He says it and it is. You seem to be bothered by my reply. I was just trying to show you the joke from another angle. My apology.

I don't know why most of Somalis directly or indirectly represent their qabiil. Can someone say something about his/her or other Qabiil and not get labeled as "Against my Qabiil". I see this happens all the time. Perhaps they get paid to do so or feel obligated to their Qabiil. We Somalis tend to believe someone is personally attaching us if he/she states negative things about your Qabiil even if the things are true. This kind of belief is dangerous and disruptive. Sucdi: You said it well. It’s plain simple paranoia.

Models for National Council of Churches? uhuhu? Churches have models? Model pictures for Church worshippers? Yaabka Yaabkiis! Is this another tactic I'm not aware of. By the way, this remindes me of those two American missionaries that were arrested by Taliban. I have seen them on NBC Dateline documentary and the women, their paster, their parents all admitted they went to Afghanistan to spread Christianity under the banner of humanitarrian aid worker. They said they were doing what they're accused of which was converting Afghan children to Christianity. They show a clip of the president saying they went to Afghanistan to feed the children not the convert them. mission mary church models, humanitarian...........waxaan ma is raaci karaanee war kale maa la ii sheego. Sheekada xagee iska qaban la'dahay. I'm surprised SOL admins didn't delete this or take action. I'm sure they will do that if some Nomad posts some ads for their Halaal Meat. Please don't let SOL become like Somalinet.

Wow! You guys are on fire! Try these. Computer: Telephone (landline): Cellular or Mobile: Pager: Cake: (Don't say doolshe, it's Italian): Chair (Kursi is Arabic): OS/Database/programming: Find a Somali word/sentence that ends with the letter "j"

Sleeping Around? Men/women who sleep around are filthy, dirty, disgusting people, running around to spread diseases and disgrace to society, specially to Somali people. This is my opinion. If you get offended, so be it. It’s the truth and I am entitled to my opinion. Why is it ok for guys to womanize and not ok for girls? Are girls less of a men? I hate the double standard. My dad used to say in Arabic, "Laa Tusaaxib Al Ashraar" Do not be friends with bad people. This is one of the few advises from my parents that I acted on until today. I can’t recall a bad friend I had or that could influence me. I remember when I was in refugee camp in Kenya. I had a guy on my soccer team who used to womanize a lot. We gave him a name he deserved. He hated this name. We used to call him "MAN WHORE" or Dhileyste. Very disgusting name to be known for. I gave him advice a zillion time but he never listen me. Guys like me don't really care guy/girl as long as your Zaani, YOU ARE NOT TO BE FRIENDS WITH ME! Only bad guys who do such awful things want us to believe it’s different when girls do it. No way. Zaani is Zaani just like the Qur’aan says and Zaani deserve to be married to another Zaaniya. May Allah shows the path of guidance and lead us to it.

Najma, good point. I agree with you that some Somalis might use the word girl/boy friend differently. It confuses me personally because I don't know where they are going with it. Do you think your future wife/husband might feel confortable if you label him/her as GF/BF? I wouldn't want to use those words even if there's someone in my life because I don't want someone to think I am in sin. Not that I care but it's not good to use words that can mean different. There're plenty of ways to say it. GF/BF most of the time would mean two people doing things married people do including sharing same bed, kissing, hugging, having babies together, publicly open and taking care of each other. If they're ok with all these, why not just go one more step and take the title husband & wife. Is this what Somalis mean when they say my GF/BF. I don't know but I hope not.

What's wrong with surfing the web or SOL if you're married? I think most of SOL members aren't interested knowing your gender, status or tribe. To me SOL is a place to socialize, share ideas and perhaps learn new thing, not necessarily new people. To even think that a married person may meet someone on SOL or online and possibly cheat with his/her spouse is not only ridiculous but sickening. Why do you think some Somali man/woman might cheat? Somali men/women are not motivated by SHAHWA. They are strong and their family comes first regardless of the relationship. This is mareykan mentality, not Somali or Muslim. Ask yourself this question. How many married Somalis you know that you think they would cheat if they surf the net? I can't think of any. Cheating is not only XARAAM, but also the biggest sin after killing and shirk. We all know the strict Islamic ruling for married people if they commit such fawaaxisha. Casting stones at them till they dies. I would say Muslims/Somalis in general won't do xaraam even if they get a chance or can't stand their wife/husband. Their religion will play a factor & probably stop them. Mareykan people that cheat can’t contain themselves in the moment and Shahwa/Sheydaan wins. They also don't have strong morals and religious values that can stop.

There's a Somali saying, "Ma anigaa waalan mise Cadan baa laga heesayaa" Rag & dumar Soomaaliyeed oo leh boy friend amd girl friend!! Is this a joke? I hope so.

Moth_To_A_Flame Lol, it's a joke, A JOKE! Don't take it too seriously bro/sis! Words of advise, It may seem a simple joke to you but it is really not a joke. it's a BIG sin to make fun or joke about the creation of Allah. You need to make Towbah bro/sis. May Allah show us the guidance and lead us to it. If you know the Tafseer of the Qur'an, read Surah Towbah 63-66, Allah has talked about some of the Munaafiqiin who made fun of the prophet and his companion by saying they are fat and only good at eating. These munafiqiin claimed they made the comment while joking. Allah has revealed Quranic verses because of the danger it's to make fun of or question the religon or Allah.

Islamaphobia is a very contagious disease that's spreading in the West like a wild fire. Some believe the media is the root cause of the problem. Others think Muslims are partially to blame. Have you ever been a victim of Islamophobia? Did you ever encountered or saw any type of this problem? A friend of mine told me that he worked as a security dispatch operator a few years ago. A receptionist called him and told him there were two Middle Eastern men walking on the lobby of the executive floor. He dispatched a guard to the area to investigate and question the men. The guard called him a few minutes later and said the men are valid employees who were going to meet an executive on that floor. He added they were computer consultants from India. The guard said the two men didn’t properly displayed their ID badges. The security guy who was a Muslim from Liberia later told my friend that the men had business dress and there’s no way they could appear suspicious. The guard also said he is familiar with the men’s faces and work in different floor. He also said the lady is just paranoid about Muslims and Middle Eastern people. My friend joke with him and said the lady must watch Fox News too much. Here are some famous people who are suffering Islamophobia. In deed, they need some treatment. Franklin Graham, said [islam] "is a very evil and wicked religion". Anne Coulter in the 'National Review', suggested: "We should invade their (Muslim) countries, kill their leaders and convert them." Pat Robertson, the nationally syndicated Christian fundamentalist broadcaster describing Islam as, "Not a peaceful religion that wants to co-exist, but one that wants to co-exist until they can control and dominate and then, if need be, destroy." Steven Emerson is another prominent author accused of an anti-Muslim agenda. He received national attention for his 1994 PBS production, "Jihad in America" and is almost universally condemned by Muslims as a purveyor of defamatory and racist attacks on the Islamic community. He is also notorious for his "scatter gun" style of journalism and he falsely blamed Muslims for the Oklahoma City bombing in 1994, and the downing of TWA flight 800 in 1996.[1] Steven Emerson is regularly seen on MSNBC or FOX News as a terrorist expert. French Government thinks Muslim population will dominate the country and people will easily inhabit Islamic values so the government rushed to ban Hijab, a religious act of worshiping. This shows how Islam is a threat to French government, a form of Islamophobia. And The Secretary General of the UN Kofi says [islamophobia has left] “many Muslims around the world feeling aggravated and misunderstood, concerned about the erosion of their rights and even fearing for their physical safety.†I could not have said it better. Way to go Kofi. I truly believe Islam is the only religion that preaches and practices a policy of serving justice even if it is not in an individual’s interest to do so. Please share your experiences on this matter.

One thing that ALL Somali restaurants/businesses have in common is that they take you for granted. Regardless of their service to Somali customers, they think that another Somali will always bring money or conduct business with them so they don't focus much on customer relations or try hard enough to offer a pleasant service. One particular observation I made is Safari Restaurant in Minneapolis. I have been to that restaurant a zillion times and I know the owners but I never receive the service the non-Somalis or whites receive. A non-Somali customer will be greeted politely, welcomed, seated, given appetizers/snacks and later asked frequently if they are satisfied. Somalis don’t receive this kind of services. Why you might ask? The non-Somalis will not return if they aren’t treated that way. If you’re maryooleey you’re lucky if your order is taken or mistakenly given a wrong order. They try hard to win the hearts of other customers but Somalis are not important to them. This is wrong and I want to receive a good service since I am paying for it. Somali businesses make their money mostly from Somalis so they should value their people more than others or at least equally. Indian Ocean is good restaurant except that you will see a new waiter/chef every time you go there.

No doubt the guy deserves a break but there's something phony about the story. Most of the infected ones didn't get the disease from Ethiopia or Kenya and most Somalis who are addicted to Khat aren't HIV positive. I'm sure everyone agrees that people generally get the disease via STDs. It's also deceiving to say HIV/AIDS is white man's problem and it does not affect Muslims. Is he being a naive or a deliberate misleading? If I'm not mistaking there was a Muslim scholar in Saudia who was infected and later died. Many Somali Sheiks nowadays warn youngsters about this problem and advice them to go through testing before they marry. My local sheikh talks openly about this problem when the subject comes up and highlights the importance of testing both couples against HIV/AIDS before they marry. The only way to avoid this problem is to be a good practicing Muslim that stays away from FAWAAXISHA and not be friends with those who commit or easily fall into Fawaaxisha. Also to be aware and educate about the subject and some prevention guidelines. I think it’s very important for Somali communities in Somalia or abroad to adapt a culture where awareness and prevention of HIV is welcomed and valued. This is very important step to take. What do you think how many [innocent] Somalis will be infected [knowingly or unknowingly] in the next 10 years. Probably a lot since the number of those [infected] going back home for marriage is growing.

I personally find this article disturbing and disgusting. It insults Muslims and non-Muslim of the Middle East. It’s beyond belief that someone with no brain claims Muslims are opposed to science and the concept of learning and development while in fact Qur’an itself emphasizes and encourages reading, learning and seeing the “signs of Allah†in numerous times. The Qur’an is full of signs (scientifically proven) for humanity to understand. It’s very shameful for us (Muslims) to have a westerner (who has no clue as to what they’re talking about) tell you about your religion. It’s misleading to suggest that Islam or Muslims are somewhat opposed to the concepts of science and that they are uneducated about the matter. This is similar to saying Christianity and Judaism are in conflict with science and resistance to it. As a Muslim, I agree that Islam, Christinity & Judaism are [used to be] religions of God and have lots of similarities. Therefore, it’s wrong to say one of them is incompatible with science or feels threaten by it or Christinity does not support science therefore Christians are uncivilized people. This is just a personal bias or propaganda. After all, science is a concept that can/can’t be proven but religion is mostly not concept but rather belief system that’s followed. Few words of wisdom to the writer: Islam teaches and encourages the use of knowledge and Allah has repeatedly mentioned in the Qur’an for us to see & value “signs of the Creatorâ€. Jut to name a few, the existence of the universe, the development of the fetus, the origin of water in life, are some of the science that the Qur’an taught us more than 1400 years ago. Historically, Muslims advanced in science while westerners were living in darkness. May be the reads needs to read the ancient history of the world. Who invented the watch? Or Al-gebra? Read the history of ancient Iraq. Or more recently, who is the father of the nuclear of both India and Pakistan. Both of them were Muslims. The problem of the middle east is not religion. It’s the regimes that are opposed to the development of their nation. Who installed these regimes? I guess everyone knows the answer. I find it hard to believe that the writer didn’t bother to mention one science concept that’s incompatible with Islam. Read this article if you have the time http://www.islamicity.com/science/theamazingquran.shtml

Home is Somalia for me. It's a place where I was born, raised & spent all my childhood. A small town in the South called Kismaayo. I remember swimming in Indian Ocean at least 3 or 4 times a week. One of the memory I have is that I got caught swimming in the beach by bunch of ignorants who accused of being guilty because of the tribe I was born to (as if this was my fault) I was around 13 years of age & they told me the sea & the land it sits on belongs to their clan not mine. I should have told them that's God's decision and He didn't offer me an option or a consultation. I knew better not to get smart with them. They let me go otherwise I would not be posting on SOL. Off the topic uhuhu. Anyway, my dream is to build a beach house along side the seashores I used to play soccer almost every Friday. Kismaayo is definitely the place for me. Ten years ago, If you have mention my father's name to anyone in that city, they would have given you the direction to our house. Unfortunately today is not the same; I might get shot execution style if I pay a visit there. But I hope someday I will retire there and be buried in Qabuuraha Jabarti on jidka soconka.

The best feeling was when I first hold my son upon his birth in the delivery room. That moment was the greatest happiest, most joyful feeling I ever experienced. Off course he was crying, his mother was in a pain, and I was feeling the best. When I brought the news to my parents, they felt the same way. What a feeling. Maasha'alaah.