Mutakalim, May Allah SWT reward you for your efforts.

It was quite suprising that Muslims preferred Saudi Arabia to USA. I am a big fan of Nkrumah and Nyerere and used to see myself as a Pan-African.

It's carbon-dioxide poisoning.

Somali politics is so clan-based that I have difficulty sympathising with any individual or group. I hope that the dark ages are behind us and a path of peace and prosperity lies ahead.

raula, Niliona zingine noma huko mashada... Ati wee m-black mpaka ukiingia kwa dinga, dirisha zinakuwa tinted! Ati wewe ni mdark ukitoka nje usiku giza inasema "aarrrgh we ishia" Kama akili ni nywele, huo upara wako unatwambiaje? Kwenyu nyinyi ni mababi mbaka dogi yenyu hu-bark na tweng. ati kwenu nyinyi ni wagesi mpaka munakula ugali na picha ya kuku.. Kwenu kuchafu mpaka mende zinatema mate, ati tu! hii hao ni noma Vile wewe mfupi, ukipigwa picha ya passport inatokea full. Kwenu nyi wakristu hata dogi zenu zikiona mwizi anaiba zinamshow wee iba tu Mungu anakuona. ati nyinyi ni wachafu hata mkitoka nje mnajipanguza miguu. ati wewe ni fala sana ulienda movie ukaambie ni "18 ONLY" alafu uakarudi na mabeste 17! nyumba yenu ni chafu mpaka cockroach huvaa slippers ati hao yenu ina gate lakini hakuna fence We' ni mshort mpaka ukikalia kwa pavement miguu ina hang kwa hewa. we mjinga mpaka ulifail blood test. Wewe ni mblack mpaka mosquito ikitaka kukuuma lazima itumie torch. we ni mrefu mpaka ukikunywa maziwa inafika kwa tumbo ikiwa mala. Wewe ni mweusi ukikanyanga makaa unawacha footprint za blak kwa makaa. Unapenda kuvaa nguo za color mingi mpaka chameleon ikianguka kwa nguo yako inapata black-out. nyinyi wengi kwenu mpaka ule mtu amelala vizuri ame jifunika na ngumi Budako uhepa job kwenda kuswing na gate. Ati wee ni mrefu mpaka unafunga kitambaa ya red kwa toe usiku mathako fala alipokuwa akikupeleka airport akaona sign "airport left" akarudi home... Nyanyako mzee mpaka chawa za nywele yake hutembea na bakora. Budako ni fala, aliingia disco akasema "nani huyo anacheza na stima". ati nyinyi ni wengi nyumbani kwenyu yaani buda yenu hajui majina mpaka huwa address kama wananchi

Originally posted by Qac Qaac: I see this as a mercy from Allah, if u didn't feel guilty u would be just like gaal, who don't even know whether u did sin or not... Qac Qaac, Even gaalo suffer guilty conscience. They can feel guilty for infidelity, lying, cheating etc. For them, it might not feel as if they have gone against what is ordained by the Creator, but that they have done something that is deemed to be WRONG and their self realises this.

"Also, you don't come forward with any solution as to how this conflict can be ended." --"Short answer: stop blowing urselves up."-- So now you think that Palestine is occupied because they resist occupation? When your freedom, integrity, sovereignty, and existence is in peril, one uses, as Malcolm X said..."any means necessary to bring about freedom". You don't like their methods? Give them some F16's and Abraham tanks and some nuclear warheads and you'll see the conventional war you prefer. Ho Chi Minh was a leader who was determined to bring freedom for his people. He fought the French and later the "mighty" Americans. He told the French, "You can kill 10 of my men for every one I kill of yours, yet even at those odds, you will lose and I will win." The Americans who later invaded Vietnam faced the same determination from a people who resisted being occupied and dictated upon by another foreign and aggressive nation. When asked (after the war and America was defeated) about how long he would have resisted the American onslaugh he answered, "Twenty years, maybe 100 years — as long as it took to win, regardless of cost." Three million Vietnamese soldiers and civilians were killed in that war, but they won in the end, because they never gave up. I know this conflict is not of the same nature, but the point is, any determined people can not accept being deprived of their freedom.

Some time back, I was having a discussion with a friend of mine regarding the issue of guilty conscience. I see it as a mechanism that Allah SWT has bestowed upon us as a means to physically feel the sins we indulge in. I see it as an essential tool in helping us to seek repentance and as a means for guidance and striving to be a better person. I feel that without it, a human is left without knowledge of wrong-doing and will inevitably go astray. Suprisingly (to me) my mate, on the other hand saw it something negative which we should rid ourselves of. He sees it as something that brings us nothing but anguish, a bad feeling we should avoid. He insisted that we should use our brains in deciding what path we ought to take, and that feelings should not be a guide for us. I agreed that it was a bad feeling one should rid themselves of, but didn't share his thought on that it is generally bad. He didn't see it as a mechanism for guidance, but merely an emotion that is heartaching, which is negative, period. I see guilty conscience as a blessing, for it shows you, through psychological and physiological channels, that the actions (or decisions) one has taken is wrong. The only way to rid ourselves of this pain is by always striving to do what is right, but we humans are not without sin, therefore we are bound to get this feeling at one point or another. Allah SWT says in the Holy Qur'an in Surat Al-Imran, 3;135... And those who, when they do an evil thing or wrong themselves, remember Allah and implore forgiveness for their sins. Who forgiveth sins save Allah only?. and will not knowingly repeat (the wrong) they did . A prolonged or continuous feeling of anguish is painful therefore one (by using guilty consience as a guide) does what is right and abstains from what is sinful and discouraged by our Creator. The sinner who ignores the call by his conscience to do what is right darkens his heart by pursuing what is sinful. A totally darkenned heart is that that is oblivious about morals, divine laws etc. This person does not feel that he/she is doing something wrong, for the signs have been ignored for a such a long time that the mechanism has become disfunctional. Everytime somone ignores the feeling of guilt, a call made from the inner self alarming about the dangerous path one is pursuing, the subconscious takes a beating. If we supress it (instead of dealing with it), the subconscious takes all the heat and eventually a feeling of agitation and anxiety builds inside us. I wonder if any nomads have given this a thought, and I would also be interested to hear how different people view the role of this emotion. Peace and Ramadan Kariim.

Originally posted by Qac Qaac: Islam i picked question: how many surahs in the quran are Makki or madini. i need numbers... Makkan - 86 Medini - 28 Science...If you are locked in room that is airtight, completely sealed, what will you die of?

Originally posted by Cawralo: I'm all for the right of the occupied, but there are different ways of fighting back. Blowing yourself up, firing at children, deliberately targeting civilians is something that I will never sympathize with. Civilians? There are no civilians in Israel! Why do you think Qaradawi sympathises with the Palestinians means? I asked you how you wanted the Palestinians to fight back, they don't get billions and weaponry from USA every year like the Israelis do. What if the israelis ceased building settlements, lets say they even went out and said that they would pull back from some of the occupied areas, and some arabs saw that as an opportunity to launch new attacks? If the only answer was for the israelis to be less aggressive, how come then every israeli pullback (IDF) is followed by even more arab violence? You must be unfamiliar with this conflict dear. Those places they "withdraw" from are the few settlements they are unable to protect or sustain. They are those surrounded by hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. They are merely a few square kilometres and not even close to the area they ought to give back as granted by international law. Plus, they are expanding the settlements on the Golan Heights, does that sound like a nation that is striving for peace with its neighbours? It is the Israelis tanks that roam the Palestinians streets and not vice versa, how do you expect them to have peace when they (their govt) clearly don't want it? Look at the situation in Iraq, it is the Americans that are the occupiers, but the neo-cons and the american govt think that the insurgence is wrong in fighting back (irresponsible of their means). Being a zionist is in these days. Even a certain Arafat (who's a someone here is smitten by) is a zionist. I thought he was a terrorist :confused: I've heard of it yes. The point being that Israel has its roots in fishy circumstances. And here I thought that palestine was a land without ppl for a superior ppl! Sounds a lot like politics, which seldom is about fairness. [/QB] Without fairness, we are animals dear. If you don't know where your rights end and mine begin, then conflict becomes inevitable. I see that you support the Jews and think they are justified in their actions. Also, you don't come forward with any solution as to how this conflict can be ended. Surely, is there any point of taking this discussion any further? I see not.

Sakina, I think Somalis are mainly Shafi'i and Hanbali (those who follow the teachings of Muhammad AbdulWahhab). The govt seems all too secular but I doubt if people in general will accept i.e. the Ja'fari school, the Sufis are already having a hard time, most of what they do being called Bid'a (vis-a-vis belief in saints, gnosticism etc.).

Salafi_Online, This is the most spectacular and amazing defence I have ever seen of tyranny. What you are saying is that a ruler can do as he wishes with his people as long as he is not a "kufr"? This goes against my logic, and I am not the only one who feels that way. I wonder how much of these stem from the Ummayyads, that was the only way they could hold on to power, by claiming that it is a sin to depose them. May Allah SWT guide us.

Cawralo, You have sympathy for the Jews not allowing people back to their homes, but don't understand why the Palestinians are fighting the occupation? For me the main goal is that as many ppl as possible on both sides can live in peace without having to see the blown up remains of their dead children in a Cafè in Tel Aviv on public broadcasting. Well, almost every decent human being in the world thinks that this could be achieved if the Israelis ceased building settlements and withdrew from Palestinian lands, but you seem to think that the solution lies in the Palestinians not fighting back. 21sqkm is a small area, these refugees could easily re-settle in neighbouring arab countries, who have land and sometimes even wealth - assuming the other arab-countries really care as much as they claim. You must be a Zionist to say something so heartless in defence of Israel. The arabs back them weren't occupied by the jews. Palestine was under the control of the british, remember? Do you know the story of how the British came to give Palestine to the Jews? The Zionists led by Chaim Weizman promised to drag USA in WW1 (after the Germans, Austrians and Ottoman Turks had won and Germany had offered a deal to Britain, which was favourable for the Brits but the Zionists derailed the deal) and they were in return offered Palestine and the Balfour declaration was issued. As I've already stated, I dont put all the blame on arab leaders. I put most of the blame on them. Let me ask you an absurd question, do you by any chance feel that the Israelis have done any injustice to the people of Palestine?

as for you second question, no scholar has declared Saudi government to be disbelievers! SAlafi_Online, I was just wondering, does a govt have to be declared "disbelievers" in order to depose them? What about IMMORALITY, SECULARISM, GREED, UNHOLY ALLIANCES with the enemies of Islam, CORRUPTION, NEPOTISM, EXTRAVAGANCE etc? Are these criteria for deposing a govt and replace it with an Islamic one?

Even Prophet Ibrahim (AS) used the faculty of reason to convince the polytheists. I am referring to the time when (while the polytheists were away) he went and destroyed all the idols except one, the biggest. He then laid the axe he used on its shoulder and left. Upon the return of the polytheists, he was asked about the destruction (they suspected him because he had previously challenged their beliefs) and he referred to the big idol with the axe on the shoulder. He said that the big one must have destroyed all the others. One cannot opt for speculative philosphy and disregard practical philosophy (or v.v.), best results are achieved when the two are combined.

Khat drug may improve male fertility 13:43 29 June 04 NewScientist.com news service A plant banned as an illegal drug in some countries could help boost men’s fertility, say UK researchers. The leaves of khat, a plant cultivated in East Africa and the Arabian peninsula, contain a chemical that peps up sperm and increase their chances of fertilizing an egg. The researchers suggest the chemical could one day be produced as an over-the-counter treatment for couples experiencing problems conceiving. Khat (Catha edulis) has been known for centuries for the euphoria its leaves induce when chewed. The stimulant, cathinone, is not very stable and breaks down to produce cathine and norephedrine. These belong to a group of chemicals called PPAs, which are similar to amphetamines and adrenaline. Lynn Fraser and her team at the Centre for Reproduction, Endocrinology and Diabetes at King’s College in London, UK, decided to test the effects of PPAs on sperm. They were studying the final stage of sperm development called capacitation, where sperm "switch on" and develop the ability to fertilise an egg. Accelerated effect The team placed mouse sperm in four different PPA compounds: cathine, norephedrine, adrenaline and noradrenaline and tested to see how they affected capacitation. All four accelerated capacitation even at low concentrations. The team also tested the effects of cathine on human sperm, with similar results. This means that cathine can pep up a man’s sperm, increasing the number able to fertilise an egg. The team then tested the effects of PPAs on the final stage of capacitation where the sperm’s head pops open and releases the enzymes it needs to burrow into the egg. This "acrosome reaction" is triggered by chemicals produced by the egg, but can also happen spontaneously. Fraser’s team found that cathine prevented this spontaneous reaction, but did not affect the reaction prompted by the egg. So cathine can both turn sperm on and stop them peaking too early, maximising the chances of fertilisation. But Fraser says: “I certainly wouldn’t advocate anyone going out and chewing khat leaves.†A consistent, measured dose, as would be found in a commercially-prepared drug, would be preferable, she says. Undiagnosed problems Many men experiencing fertility problems have normal sperm counts. The cause may be undiagnosed problems with sperm function, explained Fraser, but no-one knows how prevalent this problem is. A drug based on cathine might help. “We are not suggesting that this would be a panacea for infertile couples,†she told New Scientist. However, couples trying to conceive often take steps to improve their chances by altering their lifestyles, such as stopping smoking, she added. Taking an over-the-counter drug containing compounds such as cathine could just be an extension of this, especially if conception were taking longer than expected. “Anything that reduces the need to go for assisted reproduction would be valuable,†said Fraser. The research was presented on Monday at the 20th conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Berlin, Germany. Source: http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996086

All of this useless arab violence in the occupied areas are working to the advantage of the political right. Cawralo, So how do you think the Palestinians ought to defend themselves? Since they have no F16's and Abraham tanks, what other weaponry do you suggest they should use? How is this crisis to be solved? Do you think that the refugees should be allowed back to their homes (Israelis won't let them return and this has been the main obstacle to peace in the region)? How much land do you think the Israelis have right to?

Cawralo, Are you saying that it's the Palestinians' fault that they are occupied, downtrodded, humiliated and butchered on a daily basis? The only people who can come up with such absurdities are the Zionists themselves with the support of neo-cons (who are also Zionists). Do you know how many UN resolutions awarding more rights to Palestinians have been ignored by the Israelis and a constant backing of the US veto? That doesn't sound so peace-lovin does it? There is a difference between Jews and Zionism, we respect the former but abhor the latter for its ideology and policies. Didn't the Israelis kill the only leader who was close to bring them the peace you claim they want? You are under the impression that the Israelis want peace. They haven't wanted peace since day one, if they had chosen peace, they would be unable to annex as much land as they have in the last 50 years. If they wanted peace, they would stop bringing any subhuman who claims to be a Jew and offer them Palestinian lands. If they want peace, they'd stop expanding their settlements and holding the people of Palestine hostage. If they wanted peace, they SHOULDN'T HAVE STARTED HAMAS AS A MOVEMENT, which they did in case you didn't know. How did Hizbollah manage to kick them out of southern Lebanon, through dialogue? NO! It was because most of the Yahuudi boys on the frontline were returning home in body bags. Muslims are not humiliated by Zionists because they are stronger, it is becasue we have abandoned our religion. Allah SWT says that all that is bad, comes from ourselves.

Originally posted by Cawralo: Yes the arab/palestinian violence is idiotic...Sharon has idiotic arab violence to thank for his power...Zionism is alive and here to stay, Israel is the most powerful force in the mideast, why challenge it? WOW, the Zionists don't need to do a damn thing when they have Muslims thinking along these lines.

However, when you’re going to criticise (not question) the scholars of Islam, you do have to say who you are and what gives you the authority to do so. NGONGE, Are you claiming that scholars are untouchables in the sense that a non-scholar cannot critisize their decisions? What support do you have in the Quran and Hadith that a person needs some sort of "authority" in order to critisize fatwas given by scholars? Hell, I've heard that Napoleon had some scholars in Al-Azhar declare him to be the long awaited Mahdi...what level of education do I need to have so that I can disregard and critisize such ********* ?

Most interesting: Physiology and anthropology Boring: Radiophysics

raula, Mlango Kubwa? Nikona memories mingi kutoka huko, not to mention the Pumwani swimming pool where I was forbidden to go by my mum (but still went anyways) and learnt a valuable lesson when one time some dude stole my trousers and I had to walk ALL the way home in my underwear, lol. How was I to explain the situation? Nakumbuka nikicheza kwa viwanja za pale that later came to be Juja Rd estate. I even used to peleka zile gari za kurutu at a tender age PS: If you want to brush on your sheng and swa then you should visit the forums at www.mashada.com Some people there are just too damn funny.

Legend, The macalin dugsi from D****land sure made me laugh! I was empathising thinking your hopes had ended up in ruins We'll be in touch inshaAllah. Garissa has a costline? :confused: :confused:

Islam is not about monarchy and I don't think that our scholars should fight to defend the Saudi monarch. Alas, the relationship between the 'ulama in Saudi Arabia reminds one of the Sasanians with their Zoroastrian clergy men, their symbiotic realtionship is very striking to say the least. Islam's future is in abandoning these kinds of liaisons between religious leaders and gluttonous monarchs (including the khaliji type of sheikhs' or Egyptian style secular presidents). The borders that the colonialists drew seem to have been carved on the minds of many Muslims today and their unity is destroyed because of that. The goal should be to unify the Ummah and seeking one leader just like it was during the time of the Khalifas. No matter how far we may seem to achieving this goal today, surely anyone who is against the concept is fighting against the unity of Muslims worldwide.

NGONGE, It doesn't take a genius to see that some of our scholars act like puppets of the neo-cons. Take the example of Kuwait's invasion, Usama offered the Saudi govt protection from an imminent attack from Saddam but they opted for Americans, with the blessings of their 'ulama. They are still paying the bills (in the billions) for the american soldiers and have invited kufar to Islamic lands, where they seem to have decided to settle for a long time. You don't need a degree in theology to see that that was wrong! You seem to be hooked on the author's merits, if you want to know more about the credentials of the author, a search engine might be a good place to start. It also seems that many here think that Usama was behind the Sept 11 attacks, sad indeed. If you follow the life of Usama, you'd realise that he probably has done more for poor Muslims worldwide than the US govt has (keeping in mind that aid ALWAYS comes with strings attached). Usama isn't bad just because Bush and Blair tell you so, one has to realise that the war that is being waged is done through the media and therefore one ought to filter the garbage that comes through it.