Kool Kat, The surgery is straight forward and generally done by keyhole. If you are going to do the the op and you are uneasy, take someone with you. But first find out the options you have before opting for surgery. PS: If you do it, ask them to put the stones in a jar for you, they are pretty pebbles

Originally posted by xiinfaniin: ^^Kashafow, I agree with you on that adeer. I would go even further and say, in my opinion, participation in the system of governance in the west is no (at least it should not be) longer a matter of theological debate---it passed way beyond that stage. Today it’s considered the only practical course for those Muslims who called the West home. xiin, I remember reading a fatwa by Shaykh ibn Taymiyah saying that it is permissible (or was it obligatory) for Muslims to take part in a non-Muslim government in order to improve the lives of other Muslims living under that system. You'll see people taking a Qutbist stand against western systems; but they do not leave the land and in the end, we become large in numbers but with almost no representation. Laws unfavourable to Muslims are passed, innocent Muslims are harassed by authorities on the streets, in their homes and even at airports. Nothing can be done about it because we don't have a voice, representatives in politics and mass media.

JB, What are you suggesting Muslims to follow instead? Jantelagen? You will not convince anyone here with your antics and you know that no one here is capable of changing your mind. So why bother?

Henry was the best player to ever play in the Premiership. Maradona, Platini, Pele, Hagi, Papin, Ronaldo (even Weah in his prime) and Zidane never played in the Premier League. Neither have current top crop like Kaka, Ronaldinho etc so Henry is by a mile the best player ever in the PL. He will obviously be missed but this is a perfect opportunity for the youngsters at Arsenal to step forward and be counted. They usually played better without Henry because they sat back and hoped he'd get them out of every mess every time he played. So in a weird way, his presence was holding a large number of young players back from development. He was just too big for the young Arsenal squad. Imagine Adebayor, van Persie, Fabregas or even Walcott having the chance to be star of the team. I believe and hope they will step forward and dazzle the Premiership with the skills we all know they possess. Interesting times lie ahead!

Perhaps a first born appears brighter because parents spend more time with them.

Baashi, Lool, were you bird watching or bird watching? The geyser you went to qualifies as 'qulatain' (more than 200 kgs or was it litres of water). Bisinka intaad qabsatadid you could have done your wudu.

Castro, I missed you too mate, are you still on budonkadonks? Me and clan politics don't mix bruva.

How many fingers am I holding up? The Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe of China perform at the Chinese embassy in Berlin. The group will take part in the opening ceremony of the Olympic games in Beijing 2008. Source.

Those of us who grew up to the sound of beating drums might remember games that didn't require the use of electricity! - cha baba na cha mama - tapo - tangulia - bano - pah - gari ya waya - gari ya mkebe - mpira ya karatasi - keram - draft etc. ....oh and then there was... - Carnivore - Bubbles - Visions - F2 - Madhouse - Cascades - Boomerang - Brilliant etc.

Omer, Your enemy's enemy should not necessarily be your friend.

BOB, I usually tell my western counterparts that where I hail from, it is an achievement in itself JUST to be alive (life in Kibera and the whole Nairobbery is dangerous enuf man). So no need to make life "more exciting" by jumping of planes/cliffs/bridges, taunting a black mamba or a great white shark. BTW, I saw a piece on the news about teenagers in SA "train-surfing". Now that's some dangerous shyte there! Is life in the townships getting mundane? PS: I once put a green mamba in a class-mates desk, after I killed it!

Originally posted by *BOB: Mungu akupe kheri Insha Allah na afanye weddingyako never lasting one with wonderful watoto as many as you can have Insha Allah. Loool Bob. Are you sabotaging her marriage already? I hope it's a typo and not a Freudian slip! WOL, Congratulations sis! Mwenyezi Mungu akupe watoto wengi na mme wa kheri!

Celebrations? The damn smoking ban will be imposed in England on July 1st, no more shisha!

Ina Lilahi wa ina Ileyhi raajicun. May Allah rest his soul in peace.

Originally posted by xiinfaniin: Few years back I visited Nairobi and it was amazing how Somalis dominated in the business circles in that short span of time. Eastlight, or islii as Somalis calls it, seemed to be where Somali entrepreneurial magic produced its wonders; the hotels, the bazaars, ala Somali style, the restaurants, the Xawaala buildings, and the Internet cafes are places where Somalis run with their never dying spirit of renewal…only if that same peculiarly positive attitude is transferred [edit] to replace the negative tribalism that ruined their homeland! Adeer xiin, In Eastleigh one sees Somali entrepreneurship at its best! Unfortunately, just a few streets down, you also see the new lows Somalis have reached; from prostitution, begging, drug addiction, alcoholism etc.

Paragon, Why are you going around like a tourist? Get on the matatus and feel the pulse of the town. PS: Don't forget to get me some xalwa from Malindi, a few kilos would do! Elysian, Det var visst lange sedan! Allt ar val med mig gumman! I do wish I was in Mombasa, it is a place where "kuingia arusi kutoka matanga". F Brown, Bottled madafu wouldn't be the same would it? Has to be str8 from the shell. I miss all the fresh fruit juices man! Smoothies from the supermarket just aren't good enuf!

Paragon, No wonder you were out of range! While you are in Mombasa, go to the Lighthouse (shukaansi), Mamba Village (eat some crocs) and don't forget to visit Fort Jesus for a bit of history and see what the Portuguese did. After that, go for a walk on the white sandy beaches of the north coast.

Originally posted by Northerner: Who was suspended from the European Cup Final (now the Champions League Final) and the World Cup Final in the same year and what year was it? North, I think it's Micheal Ballack. I remember he missed the WC final of 2002 and the same year his Leverkusen lost the CL finals to Zidane (with a wonder goal). I don't remember him playing. But the fact that you called it European Cup means that I'm most likely off the mark. The person I had in mind was Maldini, when fit he always features in Milan's back line. Costacurta plays very rarely and I think has taken a coaching job at Milan.

Which defender (still active) has played against and even man-marked the likes of Maradona, Platini, Klinsmann, Stoichkov, Vialli, Pele (Abedi) Zidane, Kluivert, Ronaldo (both of them), Ronaldinho etc?

Originally posted by hodman: ^^ wasn't that "nomad" the prophet's (SAW)grandfather? hodman, That was Abdul Muttalib and he was talking to Abraha the leader of the Ethiopian army who had seized his camels because he was a guardian of the Ka'ba. Abraha looked at him with disgust when he demanded to get his camels back and said - You are worried about camels when the house of your Lord (Ka'ba - as described in Surah Fiil) is at stake? That's when he answered that...I am the owner of the camels...

Originally posted by Taliban: Ramadan's apologists would argue your example isn't valid. They would argue salat, zakat or hajj isn't hudud; it's something between a Muslim and Allah. However, I am with you; both zakat and capital punishment are Allah's commandments. Taliban, Zakat is not like other spiritual acts because if you abstain from paying it you are depriving others who need it to stay afloat. Again, you are using labels and assuming things without taking a moment to reflect. Zakat is a bad example because it is part of the five basic pillars of Islam, hudud is not. If you are able to pay Zakat then you have to pay it, nothing else to discuss! But with hudud, there are a lot of conditions and if they are not met then the whole point of the punishment is lost. When the main purpose is lost, it becomes a tool for oppression and injustice. Perhaps a much better example would be polygamy. It is a right, but a right without responsibilities is a nothing but a calamity. If you ignore the conditions that are set for this right (polygamy) to be practiced, then it becomes something that is loathed. Some men, especially Somalis, are happy to take full advantage of the right to become polygamous but neglect the responsibilities that are attached to it ("...marry such women as seem good to you, two and three and four;BUT if you fear that you will not do justice between them, then marry only one or what your right hands possess: this is more proper that YOU MAY NOT DEVIATE FROM THE RIGHT COURSE" An-Nisa verse 3). By the look of things, it seems most people stop reading this verse when they reach the part in bold. A man who has four wives, but does not provide for them and their children becomes an irresponsible husband and father. People who see his ilk eventually hate the thought of being polygamous. Ask any Somali female what she thinks of polygamy and she will cringe; not because she is forbidding what Allah SWT has made lawful (perhaps some few do consciously) but it is often because she will associate polygamy with neglect and maltreatment. The same thing is happening in some Muslim countries that apply hudud, since the goverments don't follow the basic requirements that ought to be fulfilled, it becomes despised by all non-Muslims and many Muslims will reject it in their hearts.

A.J., Islam is not rigid sxb, people make it rigid. For example, pork is haaram; but if you have nothing else to eat then it becomes halaal until you find something else to eat. It's not about "picking what suits you" but making sure that it is applied in the right way. And a secular or military dictatorship is not the right body to apply Shariah. If you can be picked up on the streets randomly, get tortured or killed, then how can this same body claim to apply Shari'ah? If you have impurity on parts of your body you cannot perform worship, you must first rid yourself of the impurities. This is what is being said here, not picking what we like.

There is a shocking video of a football player dying... http://jamattimes.com/MVP.jsp

Khalaf is right. It is not about compromising the Deen but knowing right from wrong. How can an unjust (secular or monarch) ruler apply Shariah and why do Muslims always support anything Islamic even when it used as a tool to oppress or confuse the masses? Abandoning the hudud in difficult or testing times is not compromising Islam. It is said that Caliph Omar suspended hudud temporarily at a time when the economy was in a crisis. How then can one support chopping off hands of those who steal in an impoverished country like Afghanistan or Somalia? How can someone stone an adulterer in Pakistan when some provinces have the pre-Islamic savage laws that result in rape and unjust killing of innocent people? Islam is justice and when it oppresses it is not Islam, but a garb used to conceal a malignant system. North, I'm around sxb, how's the ME treating you? PS: I remember reading somewhere that you have problems with internet censorship. You can use a circumventor to get past it, some are readily available on the net.

Interesting article. I guess a middle way between a metrosexual and an adrenosexual would be good. A good example is the Prophet and the Sahaaba, they were fearless in battle but gentle and even cried.