He taxes too much. If you vote for him you’ll be homeless. If you vote for the other one, your children will starve. But if you vote for the first guy, they’ll lose all their education and become stupid rejects, begging for day-old scraps behind the ghetto bakery. But the other guy will take your job. And the other one will tax your new raise so you actually come home with $5 less every week. One of them will date your mom. The other will shut down her nursing home. One will have dinner with terrorists at Arby’s while the other just sends him a check at Christmas, even though they don’t celebrate Christmas.

Here’s what I’m saying: There are bigger issues than whose face is on the front page. Every day 6000 kids are killed by mid-term or later abortion. They refuse to allow Bibles in schools, so Christian parents teach home school, allowing their children to learn math and moral values at the same time. While the schools are taking a massive dump when it comes to value and ethics and crime and teaching self-worth, the state of California just outlawed Christians from their God-given right to teach their own kids. Now they have to send them to the cesspool of a school that will teach anti-creation science, thereby infringing on the rights of students to practice their own religion freely (but don’t worry, they won’t attack Muslims, Buddhists, atheists, agnostics, pagans, wiccans, Scientologists, etc. Just the Christians.)

Let’s see, what else? Lets talk about gay marriage. I’m all for gays to have the right to choose their lifestyle- its their choice. (Just like my kids schooling used to be.) But I’m not for the whole gay-marriage thing. Sure, they can practice it, but that doesn’t really make it a marriage. I know, I know, they’ve redefined what “marriage” is, but it used to be a union before God between a man and a woman. Since most homosexuals don’t believe in or care for God, they can’t really have a union before Him that He will honor. But, what they hey, they ignored my right to practice my faith (only if it’s from the Christian Bible) by ignoring the 1^st amendment, why not ignore the other principals too.

So who is going to do what to help me out? Am I personally going to benefit from either party being elected? Maybe, but probably not. There aren’t a whole lot of things that are going to actually make a difference in the way I daily live my life. I could be wrong, but here’s how I look at it:

If one side is accused of overtaxing and the other of allowing abortions, I will sacrifice a couple bucks, even a couple hundred, per year to vote for the sanctity of life.

If one side is accused of sending jobs overseas and the other of limiting free speech, I’m probably going to have to go for free speech. There will always be a need for jobs on the US. They may not be the best, but we have too many people not to need a ton of jobs. We also have a lot of politicians going after free speech, even though the ones attacked are the churches and the right. Hmm.

If one side wants to build a thousand mile fence at the borders and the other wants to let gays marry, I will go for the fence. Those guys are great climbers and if they can get in through, over or under a military fence, then they deserve to stay. For those that can’t, they can still come here, but have to go through the legal process. Meanwhile, I stand up for what I believe regarding gay marriage. I’m not anti-gay, but I’m not pro-gay. I’m just ok-gay; they can do their thing, but I don’t want tax dollars going toward something I find immoral.

Bottom line, I can’t do anything about the politicians. But, then again, I will probably never have to answer to them. I will, however, have to answer to God. I will stand before Him and be able to say that I voted for the things and the principles that are on His side, His Law, and His eternal purpose. I will say that I stood up for hundreds of thousands of innocent children and supported their right to life. I will say that I voted against the activity that led to His destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, the activities that He calls an abomination. I will be able to say that I stood up for His Word, His teaching, for the right to exhibit by faith, to speak freely the gospel. I will say, “Jesus, I stood up for you.”

What do you stand for?

This report was filed by FOXNews.com on 10/10/2008:

2. One thing that struck me as missing from this article in the discussion of Qutb was the idea of Occidentalism. And mostly, that Qutb's demonizes the United States as a culture without moral character. In his view, the West is only a blind, inhumane dedication to applied sciences and not rich, substantive culture of original thought. Ian Buruma and Avishai Margalit wrote a book called Occidentalism that points out that this belief — the U.S.'s lack of a moral compass — does not originate in Islam or Sayyid Qutb. It was a definite school of thought in Japan pre-WWII and Nazi Germany. Buruma also brings this up in his book "Murder in Amsterdam." I would have liked to have seen some of this context to help break down the identification of extremist thought with Islam.

alongside the children in california who are learning how to practice buddhism, teachers in massachusetts are being advised by the Harvard University Center for Middle Eastern Studies to have children "memorize the 5 pillars of Islam". Harvard and 18 other schools receive government funding in exchange for helping teachers form curriculum  to teach children. But the US government is not the only source of funding. The Saudi government gave $20 million dollars to the Middle East Centers of both Harvard and Georgetown. In massachusetts, the teachers sought help from harvard in the aftermath of Sep-11, 2001 when there was an outcry for more education about islam in classrooms. there is a difference between education and indoctrination. this article by Erick Stakelbeck, cbn.com --

"We heard from a number of groups who were outraged because they didn't want what they called a 'Euro-centric' version of history," said Sandra Stotsky [commissioner of the Massachusetts board of education]. "They literally wanted an Islamo-centric version of history. Which means you look at the world from the perspective of Islam and you don't talk about any negative aspects of Islam."

After the 9/11 attacks, the Massachusetts board organized a special seminar for K-12 teachers to learn about Islamic history and the Middle East.

Harvard University's Center for Middle Eastern Studies helped organize the seminar. Stotsky  said she was shocked by the Center's suggestions:

"They ranged from having students make prayer rugs; describe what it would be like to go on a hajj--a pilgrimage; learn and memorize the five pillars of Islam; listen to and learn how to recite passages from the Koran; dress like a Muslim from a particular country.it was, to me, a clear violation of ethics involved in how one would expect children to learn about another culture. That they would literally go through the memorization and the learning of religious beliefs."

that is not education, that is indoctrination. pray...

for teachers and school administrators to have wisdom when selecting and forming curriculum

for children to receive unbiased education and the opportunity to know Christ in truth

Umat Nasrani di negeri asal mendiang Paus Johannes Paulus II itu mencapai 95 persen dari hampir 40 juta penduduk.

Namun Islam telah berada di Polandia sejak 600 tahun silam dan memiliki tempat dalam sejarah panjang di negeri yang pernah hilang 123 tahun dari peta politik Eropa itu.

Jumlah umat Islam di Polandia berkisar antara 25-30 ribu, umumnya penganut aliran Sunni, di antaranya sekitar 3.000 - 5.000 berdarah Tartar.

Seiring berkembangnya ekonomi, banyak kaum muda yang dinamis pindah dan menetap di wilayah utara, terutama di Gdansk. Kaum tua Tartar kebanyakan bertahan di permukiman asli mereka di kota-kota kecil di sekitar Byalistok.

Tidak banyak terdapat masjid di Polandia, cuma dalam bilangan jari. Namun seiring dengan berkembangnya jumlah penganut Islam dari Timur Tengah, Afrika dan Asia Selatan, rumah-rumah ibadah Muslim dalam bentuk mushalla juga berkembang pesat.

Di kota-kota besar seperti Krakow, Wroclaw, dan Gdansk yang memiliki masjid, tempat ibadah itu memiliki multifungsi, sekaligus sebagai Pusat Kebudayaan dan Informasi Islam.

Gdansk menjadi tempat yang khusus karena memiliki menara, meskipun azan tidak dikumandangkan. Namun, dalam peta Islam kota kecil Kryszyniany dan Bohoniki, di dekat Byalistok, memiliki tempat khusus bersejarah, karena di tempat itu terdapat dua mesjid tua yang kurang lebih sama tuanya dengan yang terdapat di Lithuania maupun Belarus.

Di Wroclaw, menurut Imam Ali Abi Issa yang menjadi Ketua sekaligus imam pada Pusat Kebudayaan Islam, suasana Ramadhan diisi dengan shalat tarawih, pengajian, dan shalat Ied bersama umat Islam setempat.

Imam Ali sangat aktif menggerakkan dialog antar-agama, termasuk antara Islam dan Yahudi berkembang baik. Mayoritas kaum Muslim berasal dari negara-negara Arab.

TKI yang berjumlah sekitar 15 orang juga sering hadir beribadah di mesjid. Dewan Kota Wroclaw sangat mendukung keberagaman dan toleransi yang pada gilirannya akan membentuk citra kota Wroclaw sebagai kota budaya internasional.

Maklum, Wroclaw ingin mengimbangi kedudukan unggul Krakow sebagai kota budaya yang banyak menarik wisata dan investasi, dan keduanya terletak di bagian selatan Polandia.

Iedul Fitri 1429 H merupakan kesempatan ketiga berlebaran bagi penulis sekeluarga selaku Duta Besar Republik Indonesia di Warsawa. Lebaran yang jatuh hari Rabu, 1 Oktober 2008, berdasarkan pengumuman dari Masjid Warsawa. Shalat Ied dimulai jam 09.00 pagi, dipimpin oleh Imam Emir Poplawski. Sang imam ini berdarah etnis Tartar, bangsa yang gagah berani dan telah bermukim di Polandia selama 600 tahun.

Masjid Warsawa yang terletak di daerah pemukiman elit di bilangan Wilanow di Jalan Wiertnicza dan umat Islam bolehlah berbangga. Di Polandia tak gampang menemukan masjid. Lebih dari 95 persen rakyat Polandia beragama Katolik, sisanya Protestan, Ortodoks, Yahudi dan Muslim.

Kehidupan beragama pada zaman Komunis menjadi pengamatan intelijen, dan tidak dianjurkan. Pada era keterbukaan, kehidupan beragama menjadi lebih bergairah, dan Islam semakin berkembang.

Idul Fitri di Byalystok

Ketika Mufti Tomasz Miskiewicz, Ketua Dewan Persatuan Agama Islam Polandia menyampaikan undangan beridul fitri di Byalystok, wilayah timur Polandia, penulis (redaksi ANTARA_red) langsung menyatakan akan datang, bersama isteri.

Tidak saja karena berteman baik dengan Mufti Polandia itu, tetapi lebih khusus lagi karena Byalistok merupakan kota bersejarah, di mana selama 600 tahun umat Islam bermukim di kota itu.

Masyarakat Muslim di kota itu adalah keturunan dari prajurit Tartar yang gagah-berani ketika berperang melawan Kerajaan Tetonik dalam pertempuran Grunwald di Malbork, utara Polandia pada tahun 1410.

Nenek moyang mereka turut berperang membantu Jan Sobieski, panglima perang yang kemudian menjadi raja Polandia, melawan pasukan Ottoman dalam mempertahankan kerajaan Austro-Hongaria sebagai bastion kerajaan Kristen, pada pertempuran Wina pada tahun 1683, sehingga Sobieski diberi gelar oleh Paus dan pemimpin Eropa sebagai "the Savior of Vienna and Western European civilization".

Itulah sebabnya, para pemimpin perang Tartar diberikan gelar kebangsawanan dan memperoleh tempat khusus di hati rakyat Polandia. Panglima-panglima perang dan perajurit Tartar juga dengan gagah berani membela Polandia, tanah air baru mereka, dalam pertempuran menghadapi serbuan Jerman dan Uni Soviet menjelang Perang Dunia II pada tahun 1939.

Mufti Tomasz selalu diundang oleh Presiden Polandia pada saat menerima tamu-tamu negara Muslim, dalam kunjungan ke Polandia. Beliau juga rajin mengunjungi acara-acara resepsi yang diselenggarakan oleh KBRI Warsawa. Mufti yang juga keturunan Tartar itu berusia 30 tahun, cukup berwibawa, lulusan Fakultas Hukum di Arab Saudi dan sangat aktif dalam memajukan masyarakat Muslim di Polandia.

Dia membangun tempat wisata agro di Byalistok, tempat tinggalnya.

Disambut meriah

Setelah menempuh perjalanan dari Warsawa sejauh 200 km diiringi hujan sepanjang hari pada hari Sabtu (4/9), kami tiba di Byalistok berkumpul dengan sekitar 500 masyarakat Muslim Tartar, tua-muda, termasuk anak-anak, yang datang dari berbagai penjuru Polandia, dan bahkan dari luar negeri.

Mereka memadati gedung Pusat Kebudayaan Bialystok, tempat acara berlangsung.

Masyarakat Muslim di Polandia keturunan Tartar menyebut Idul Fitri sebagai Hari Ramadhan Bayram (Dni Bayram Ramadan), mungkin bayram diambil dari bahasa Turki yang berarti perayaan. Orang asing yang hadir barangkali kami dari Indonesia dan Dubes Azerbaijan, yang datang menyumbang konser lagu-lagu Islam oleh grup kesenian dari negerinya.

Etnis Tartar, sebagaimana saudara-saudara mereka dari Asia Tengah dan Kaukasus, sangat ramah dan bersahabat. Semua hadir mengenakan pakaian terbaik, berwarna-warni. Sebagian ibu-ibu dan wanita muda berkerudung.

Demikian pula kaum pria Tartar. Kami bertukar salam. Tidak tertinggal kesan, bahwa kakek-moyang mereka adalah pasukan perang berkuda bersenjata panah dan pedang yang gagah berani. Sayang, cuma dua duta besar dari negara-negara OKI yang hadir, Indonesia dan Azerbaijan.

Delegasi Indonesia dan Azerbaijan diberi kehormatan untuk duduk di barisan depan, dan diperkenalkan kepada hadirin sambil mempersembahkan seperangkat kembang yang indah dan diberi kesempatan berpidato, memperkenalkan Indonesia, negeri yang jauh dan indah di mana sekitar 220 juta umat Islam di sana juga sedang merayakan Idul Fitri.

Penulis katakan, meskipun berjumlah kecil di Polandia namun jangan berkecil hati, karena umat Islam Indonesia adalah saudara-saudara kalian. Mereka menunggu kedatangan saudara-saudara Muslim dari Polandia. Sangat ramah, dan mereka memberikan tepukan meriah. Beberapa kaum ibu berbincang-bincang dengan Ny. Pohan yang senantiasa berjilbab untuk bertukar informasi mengenai tradisi Idul Fitri di berbagai suku-bangsa di Indonesia.

Mereka terkesan dengan kemajuan umat Islam di Indonesia dan tradisi Idul Fitri yang dimulai dengan berziarah ke makam leluhur, makan pagi dan berdoa bersama keluarga sebelum shalat Ied, dan saling-berkunjung dan memaafkan, termasuk dengan teman dan tetangga. Suasana Ied berlangsung selama satu bulan penuh.

Di kota lain

Suasana Idul Fitri juga bergema di kota-kota lainnya seperti Wroclaw, Krakow, Lublin, Poznan dan Gdansk pada pusat-pusat kebudayaan Islam sekaligus berfungsi sebagai tempat ibadah. Di samping berfungsi sebagai pusat ibadah, tempat-tempat ini juga bermanfaat untuk dialog dan pertemuan dengan masyarakat yang ingin tahu tentang Islam serta dengan penganut agama lainnya untuk menguatkan citra toleransi beragama yang tinggi di Polandia.

Shalat Ied di Warsawa, misalnya, dilakukan di pagi hari dengan suhu dingin 10 derajat celsius. Sebagaimana di Indonesia, dilaksanakan dua rakaat, dan dilanjutkan dengan khotbah dalam bahasa Arab dan Polandia.

Imam fasih berbahasa Polandia karena memang lahir dan besar di Polandia. Imam mengumumkan, sebelum shalat dimulai, umat dipersilahkan untuk membayar zakat fitrah dan bersedekah.

Jam 8.30 pagi mesjid telah penuh sesak, sekitar 400 jamaah pria dan wanita dengan ruang terpisah telah mengambil tempat. Ada pula yang mengabadikan suasana bersukacita itu dengan kamera telepon genggam.

Masjid Warsawa itu terdiri dari dua lantai: wanita beribadah di lantai atas sedangkan pria di lantai bawah. Sebagian ruangan dijadikan kantor, dan ruang depan dijadikan toko koperasi yang menjual berbagai keperluan umat Islam serta makanan kecil halal.

Pada hari-hari kerja, ruangan digunakan untuk pendidikan dan pertemuan sosial termasuk melayani tamu-tamu yang menginginkan informasi mengenai Islam.

Sudah lama masyarakat Muslim di Warsawa, berkeinginan untuk memiliki Masjid Raya, khususnya sejak zaman keterbukaan setelah runtuhnya Tembok Berlin, namun belum terwujud. Apalagi, di beberapa negara Eropa Barat tidak mudah urusan administratif untuk membuat rumah ibadah Islam, meskipun di berbagai kota besar Eropa terdapat ratusan ribu jamaah Muslim.

Ibadah dijalankan di rumah-rumah bahkan di bekas-bekas gudang. Masjid Warsawa itu baru dalam beberapa tahun terakhir berfungsi, karena sebelumnya merupakan rumah vila yang dibeli umat Islam dari warga setempat.

Di Polandia sekarang ini, umat Islam bebas menjalankan ibadah tanpa tekanan ataupun diskriminasi.

Menurut Emir Poplawski, imam pada mesjid di Warsawa, Islam tidak bermasalah dan bahkan disambut baik dengan hak dan kewajiban sosial yang sama dengan warga lainnya. Bahkan, karena peran yang bersejarah, Konstitusi Mei 1791 mengakui kedudukan etnis minoritas Tartar yang kebanyakan Muslim dengan posisi menjadi anggota parlemen. (drt ANTARA)

Which part is the man right about John McCain? That all Democrats are socialists or that Pelosi and Obama are "hooligans?"

And this guy is the least of the Palin and McCain supporters lately in terms of overall hatred for Obama and the Democrats.

Undoubtedly McCain was put in a tough spot by the question, he didn't want to make the comment bigger than it was, one angry old man in the audience, but the least he could of said was something to the tone of "Respectfully, I agree that they shouldn't be running the country..."

Instead he says, "Right," like, "that's exactly what I wanted you to say."

Mind you Palin and McCain rallies have only gotten this pitched since Palin and McCain have pulled Ayers out of the closet and accusations of Obama buddying up with terrorists. I'm not sure why McCain and Palin are stirring this pot, if there is a reason it certainly isn't the polls, which haven't swung down from an Obama 5 point lead since mid-September.

Are they really so unimiganitive that when nasty campaign tactics don't work the only thing they can think of is dig a deeper hole?

-Marc-

I learned from the NYC Students Blog that the question is on the table in the City Council as to whether Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha should become public school holidays. As the New York Sun article reports, Robert Jackson (who represents the 7th District in Manhattan) is pushing for the change because:

"There was a situation about two or three years ago where they held a big exam on one of the highest holy days and parents had to make a choice: Do I send my kids in to take this exam or do we celebrate our religious holiday? That should not be the case. It doesn't happen on Christmas, it doesn't happen on Easter, it doesn't happen on other major religious holidays."

Last year, there was a New York Times article about the trend in New Jersey. So why won't New York City follow suit? Apparently because Mayor Bloomberg just doesn't want to consider adding any more school holidays to the calendar. What do you think?

And while we're on this topic, there was an interesting study published a few months back about how comfortable Muslim students feel in NYC schools. According to the findings, it looks like Muslim students feel pretty safe in school, even though 17 percent report having been the object of bigotry in school. Not specific to the school environment, though, about one-third of Muslim public school students say that 9/11 made them feel uncomfortable about their religious identity, and 28 percent say they have been stopped by police as a result of racial profiling.

Amidst the financial wreckage around the world, one government is celebrating.

Watching the global gnashing of teeth, the Islamic Republic of Iran is enjoying the ride.

"We are very happy that America's economy is in jeopardy and they are paying the price for their misdeeds. God is punishing them."

That is the verdict from Ayatollah Jannati, one of the most senior clerics in Iran.

President Ahmadinejad has pronounced on the collapse of global capitalism, and announced that Iranians should stand ready to manage the world.

If there is a Persian word for "schadenfreude", this is it.

And for the moment, Iran does seem to be above the fray.

Shares on the Tehran stock exchange, while down slightly in recent trading, have increased in value....

Read the rest:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7663487.stm

Session Ident: Banker- (UNIX@203.81.207.194)
<Banker-> shame  on you
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> hi Banker-
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> how r u
<Banker-> I said shame on you on your
conversion
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> i said hi to u and
how r u
<Banker-> I said shame on you on your
conversion
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> i do not feel any
shame brother. so how r u
<Banker-> you are not my brother alright... mind
your language
<Banker-> why would you feel shame ? you are
absolutely shameless with no integrety
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> did not
muhammad teach in islam that all human
beings are brothers
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> and one should
respect the religion of others ?
<Banker-> bull shit... only muslims are brothers
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> so u dont like any
non-muslim?
<Banker-> pick up Islamic history and you will
know that people who converted from islam to
another religion were brutually punished in the
public
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> u find this  human
thing to do ?
<Banker-> yes absolutely... everything that Quran
and the Prophet Muhammad said is absolutely
human... nothing can be wrong with that ever
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> so it is human
according to islam to brutally punished those
who choose any other religion than islam ?
<Banker-> yes perfectly human ... this conversion
was highly disliked by our Prophet...don't you
know that you converted asshole ?
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> did the prophet
also use words like ass hole ?
<Banker-> that's my hatred for you ... you psycho
fucker
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> islam teaches
hatred?
<Banker-> don't tell me about islam you fucking
traitor
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> r u muslim ?
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> if yes, is it an
islamic way of conversing ?
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> r all muslims like
u ?
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> am i a traitor?
End of Banker- buffer    Tue Oct 07 19:00:09 2008

Session Ident: CuteCasper (~Casper@117.102.1.181)
<CuteCasper> then shame on u
<CuteCasper> that u left islam u must not be a
muslim before
<CuteCasper> if u were muslim before then u
never left
<CuteCasper> u always christian
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> hello CuteCasper
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> hope u r fine
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> god bless u
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> i was muslim for
the past 27 years of my life
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> now i am not
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> i have joined
christian
<CuteCasper> u lie if u were true muslime then
u never left
<CuteCasper> thats it
<CuteCasper> i dont wana talk to u so plz dont
reply
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> i was muslim and
i am not lying
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> it's the truth, if it's
bitter for u, i can't do anything
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> many muslims
are converting to christianism, not just me
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> brother
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> if u want to talk, u
can come anytime
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> god bless u
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> take care
<Ex_Muslim_Now_Christian> my best wishes
are for you
End of CuteCasper buffer    Mon Oct 06 18:32:34 2008

وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنكُمْ وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُم فِي الْأَرْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ وَلَيُمَكِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ الَّذِي ارْتَضَى لَهُمْ وَلَيُبَدِّلَنَّهُم مِّن بَعْدِ خَوْفِهِمْ أَمْناً يَعْبُدُونَنِي لَا يُشْرِكُونَ بِي شَيْئاً وَمَن كَفَرَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ

"Allah telah berjanji kepada orang-orang yang beriman dari antara kamu dan berbuat amal shaleh, bahwa Dia pasti akan menjadikan mereka itu khalifah di bumi, sebagaimana Dia telah menjadikan khalifah kepada orang-orang yang sebelum mereka: dan Dia akan meneguhkan bagi mereka agama mereka. yang telah Dia ridhai bagi mereka; dan niscaya Dia akan menggantikan mereka sesudah ketakutan mereka dengan keamanan. Mereka akan menyembah Aku, dan mereka tidak akan mempersekutukan sesuatu dengan Aku. Dan barangsiapa ingkar sesudah itu, mereka itulah orang-orang yang durhaka "(An-Nur, 24:56)

Rasulullah SAW-pun telah mengkhabar-ghaibkan bahwa akan ada empat periode yang mewarnai kepemimpinan Muslimin sepanjang perjalanan sejarahnya, yaitu masing-masing adalah : Masa Kenabian, Masa Khilafah yang mengikuti jejak kenabian lalu Masa kerajaan dan manakala masa kerajaan berakhir, kepemimpinan Muslimin akan kembali memasuki Masa Khilafah 'Ala Minhajin Nubuwah, Khilafah yang berpola/mengikuti jejak kenabian. Sebagaimana yang dapat kita baca dari hadits berikut:

"Dari Nu'man bin Basyir dari Hudzaifah bin al-Yaman ra, berkata: Rasulullah SAW, bersabda: Adalah masa Kenabian itu ada di tengah-tengah kamu sekalian, adanya atas kehendak Allah. Kemudian Allah mengangkalnya apabila Ia telah menghendaki untuk mengangkatnya. Kemudian adalah masa Khilafah yang mengikuti jejak Kenabian (Khilafah 'Ala Minhajin Nubuwwah), adanya atas kehendak Allah. Kemudian Allah mengangkalnya apabia Ia telah menghendaki untuk mengangkatnya. Kemudian adalah masa Kerajaan yang menggigit (Mulkan 'Adhan), adanya atas kehendak Allah. Kemudian Allah mengangkatnya apabila Ia telah menghendaki untuk mengangkatnya. Kemudian adalah masa Kerajaan yang menyombong ((Mulkan Jabariyyah), adanya atas kehendak Allah. Kemudian Allah mengangkatnya, apabila Ia telah menghendaki untuk mengangkatnya. Kemudian adalah masa Khilafah yang mengikuti jejak Kenabian (Khilafah 'Ala Minhajin Nubuwwah). Kemudian (Nabi), diam".
(Musnad Ahmad bin Hambal, jilid 4:273).

Lalu seperti apakah sebenarnya bentuk dari kekhalifahan Islamiyah yang dimaksud Allah dan Rasulullah tersebut? Apakah itu suatu lembaga yang bercorak politis ataukah lembaga yang hanya bercorak agamis?

Pada kenyataannya memang terjadi pemahaman dan penafsiran yang berbeda atas kedudukan Khilafah Islamiyah tersebut, dimana sebagian memahami bahwa Khilafah itu adalah suatu lembaga yang bercorak politis, namun sebagian lagi memahami bahwa itu hanya bercorak agamis semata.

Namun apabila kita mengingat bahwa Khilafah yang harus berdiri itu adalah Khilafah Ala Minhajin Nuhuwwah, maka itu artinya ke khalifahan ini coraknya adalah agamis, bukan politis.

Bila kita perhatikan, maka semenjak ke-khilafahan Turki Usmani runtuh (1924), upaya untuk mendirikan kembali Khilafah banyak dilakukan oleh para pemimpin dunia Islam, seperti misalnya:

Tahun 1926, di Kairo, Mesir, dan di Mekah, Saudi Arabia, berlangsung Kongres Islam Sedunia, atas prakarsa Ulama Al-Azhar dan Raja Ibnu Sa'ud. Mewakili Muslim Indonesia, hadir H.O.S. Tjokro Aminoto dari Syarikat Islam, K.H. Mas Mansur dari Muhamadiyah, dan H.A. Karim Amarullah. Tetapi, kongres ini tidak berhasil mewujudkan apa yang menjadi cita-cita.

Tahun 1974, di Lahore, Pakistan, berlangsung Konferensi Tingkat Tinggi (KTT) Islam, dihadiri 38 negara. Pesertanya terdiri atas Kepala Negara, Perdana Menteri, dan Menteri-Menteri Luar Negeri. Masalah Khilafah juga menjadi salah satu agenda pembahasan KTT. Tetapi, KTT tidak berhasil mewujudkan apa yang menjadi harapan dan cita-cita ummat Islam. KTT gagal mewujudkan Khilafah Islamiyah.

Hizbut Tahrir adalah satu diantara kelompok Islam yang tak pernah surut berjuang untuk menegakan kembali lembaga Khilafah. Hizbut Tahrir mengklaim sebagai partai politik idiologis dengan tujuan menjadikan idiologi Islam sebagai lampu penerang dalam kegelapan sekularistik yang membelenggu dunia saat ini. Tidak heran, jika ditengah krisis multi dimensi yang melanda dunia, termasuk melanda bangsa Inonesia saat ini, Hizbut Tahrir menawarkan sistim Khilafah Islamiyah, mengantikan sistim Demokrasi yang diusung Sekularisme dan Kapitalisme.

Lalu kenapa usaha-usaha untuk mendirikan kembali Khilafah Islamiyah selalu gagal? Bukankah Allah berjanji akan menjadikan Khilafah? Dan, bukankah dibawah panji Khilafah itu terletak kejayaan Islam dan umat Islam?

Adalah kelompok Muslim Ahmadiyah yang meng-klaim bahwa sebenarnya Khilafah 'Ala Minhajin Nubuwwah Itu telah berdiri, yang terwujud dalam Khilafah Ahmadiyah Dimana silsilah Khilafah ini berdiri semata-mata hanya untuk melaksanakan tugas Risalah An-Nubuwwah Muhammad Rasulullah SAW, yakni: لِيُظْهِرَهُ عَلَى الدِّينِ كُلِّهِ- memenangkan agama (Islam) diatas semua agama (Ash-Shaf, 61:9).

Selama 100 tahun masa ke-Khilafahan telah 5 kali berganti Khilafah. dengan susunan nama dan masa ke-Khalifahan, sbb: 1) Al-Haj Maulana Hakim Nuruddin. Khalifatul Masih I 1908-1914).2) AI-Haj Mirza Basyiruddin Mahmud Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih II (1914-1965). 3) AI-Hafiz Mirza Nasir Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih III (1965-1982). 4) Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IV (1982-2003). 5) Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad Khalifatul Masih V (2003-Sekarang).

Miserly people think that their money will decrease or that they will become poor by giving money to charity; but our belief says the contrary. Remember the Qur'an: "The likeness of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah, is as the likeness of a grain that sprouts seven spikes. In every spike there are 100 grains, and Allah multiplies for whom He will. Allah's will is embracing, all-knowing." (2:261)

The basic concepts in understanding Islamic philanthropy are:

1. Charity has to be from lawfully earned money; there is no concept of Robin Hood- like acts in Islam.

2. The concept of ownership of wealth in Islam is that all wealth, after necessary personal and family expenses, belongs to Allah. It is up to the individual to decide how much of this excess wealth he should give back to the cause of Allah; if lie does not give some of it, then it is claimed by Satan.

3. All philanthropy should be for the pleasure of Allah alone.
There are two types of Islamic charity:

There is zakah, which is obligatory, and is the right of the poor over the wealth of the rich, which amounts to 2.5% of the year's savings. The other is sadaqah, or voluntary charity, which depends on need and the amount of excess wealth. The word "zakah" itself means "purification", and the purpose is to purify legally earned wealth.

Charity should not be used as a tax shelter or to win personal recognition, but only for the love of Allah. "To spend of your substance out of love for Him - to your kin, orphans, the needy, the wayfarer, those who ask and for freeing slaves." (2:l77)

One of the reasons some Muslims cannot come up with charity is that they are not sure to whom the masjid belongs. Does it belong to the donors, to the officials of the organization, or to the users? There need not be doubts because a masjid belongs to all; but mostly it is the house of Allah - and He has given it for our use, so we must pay the rent. On a larger scale, a masjid belongs to the whole Muslim community.

The problems before Muslim fund-raisers are:

1. How to motivate people to open their hearts and their wallets?

2. Should the name of the donor and the amount of the donation be announced publicly?

3. If the names are announced should it be just for disclosure or should they be placed in a sort of competition with one another for personal glory?

4. Should they be given an incentive, like a gift or a lottery ticket?

Sometimes we do not want to part with our wealth due to love of our family and children - so that they might not suffer from poverty; but if we know that it is Allah Who is the Provider for all of them, we should not worry. Therefore, Allah asks us to send good deeds like this for the future before we reach it. It is like putting money in a savings account in this world and cashing it in the next world, multiplied many times.

2. Disclosure vs. secrecy. "If you disclose the act of charity, even so it is well; but if you conceal it and make it reach those who are really in need, that is best for you. It will remove from you some of your stains of wrongdoing, and Allah is well acquainted with what you do." (2:171)

If the charity is for a public cause, it must be known and concealment itself may be a fault of the official. The harm of publicity lies in the motive of ostentation (showing-off). When charity is to be given to an individual, it is better that it be given secretly.

Suatu kali ia merasa perlu menyebarkan kepercayaannya itu kepada murid-muridnya. Maka selama dua jam ia berusaha mengajarkan logika tentang mengapa ateisme itu benar --‘kenapa eksistensi Tuhan adalah sesuatu yang bertentangan dengan akal’, tentang ‘agama sebagai racun’ tentang ‘Tuhan sebagai sesuatu yang tidak bisa dibuktikan secara empiris’, dan seterusnya.

Seusai puas berpropaganda, ia pun bertanya kepada murid-muridnya: apakah ada di antara mereka yang juga ateis. Meski dengan tidak yakin, tapi karena merasa harus menyenangkan hati guru, hampir semua murid mengacungkan tangan.

Kecuali seorang murid. Nadia, begitu nama anak cantik itu, memilih tidak ikut dalam arus teman-temannya. Ia cuma diam. Sang guru pun bertanya mengapa ia memutuskan untuk berbeda.

“Karena... saya bukan ateis,” jawab Nadia.
“Jadi kamu apa?”
“Saya seorang Muslim”.

Sang guru merasa agak terganggu dengan jawaban itu. Wajahnya agak memerah. Ia bertanya mengapa Nadia adalah seorang Muslim.

“Well,” kata Nadia, “Saya dibesarkan untuk mengenal dan mencintai Allah. Ibuku seorang Muslim, dan ayahku adalah seorang Muslim, jadi aku juga seorang Muslim”.

Sang guru melihat celah dalam logika si anak. “Tapi, bukankan tidak seharusnya begitu,” ujarnya dengan nada agak tinggi.

“Bagaimana kalau ibumu adalah seorang tolol dan ayahmu adalah seorang yang tolol. Lantas kamu jadi apa?”

Nadia terdiam dan tersenyum. “Saya,” kata Nadia, “akan menjadi ateis”.

http://www.madina.co.id

The Permanent Committee for Islaamic Research and Verdicts was asked:

"A woman is grieving because she is not pregnant; And sometimes she cries and ends up thinking a lot and becomes withdrawn from life, so what is the ruling and what advice do you have for her?"

refer to the following url for the Committee’s response:

http://www.fatwa-online.com/fataawa/marriage/parenthood/par002/0080819.htm

]]> http://theblackcordelias.wordpress.com/?p=2229 Fri, 10 Oct 2008 06:34:03 +0000 asimplesinner http://theblackcordelias.no.wordpress.com/2008/10/10/st-francis-magazine-allah-no-longer-has-99-most-beautiful-names/ From the interestingly named Evangelical blog "St. Francis Magazine":

Allah no longer has 99 most beautiful names

During the last weeks, scholars at al-Azhar have agreed to dump some of Allah's most beautiful names. The firebrand sheikh Yusuf al-Badri has even started a courtcase in Egypt to forbid any singing of the 99 most beautiful names.

What is happening to Islam? Are the foundations shaking? Ah.. it is this Coptic-Orthdox priest Zakaria. On his daily TV program on LifeTV (owned by Joyce Meyer by the way...) he has been tearing these 99 names apart. And Islamic scholars had to agree with him. How can you call Allah, just to give a few examples, The Hurtful (al-Dharr), or the Useful (al-Nafia).

About 20 more names are now seen as too problematic to be used. A clear proof that the Christian TV broadcasts to the Arab World are not in vain; beside leading many to Christ (see HERE for instance), they are obviousuly impacting Islamic theology. Here the 99 names, on a Sufi website, as long as it lasts.

Thoughts?

****

Nanners has discovered the "true" list of books that Sarah Palin wanted to ban in Wasilla. In an effort to offend the crazed VP hopeful yet again, Nanners has taken it upon himself to find and read ALL of the books on that list, starting with Bill Clinton's "My Life."

It's gonna be a treacherous journey (have you read "My Life?" Ugh), but in the end, it's all for the sake of offending Sarah Palin. Morally, that is what is right.

Sarah Palin Video(s) of the Day --

Here's a rather funny swiftboat-inspired spoof ad:

And here's the story about the banned books, the true reason why Nanners fundamentally stands against Sarah Palin. This country does NOT ban books. Age restrict, yes. Outright ban, never:

U.S. is deliberately creating opportunities for terrorism inside Pakistan. The objective is to create a situation where a U.S. political and military intervention in Pakistan becomes inevitable. Segments of the Pakistani ‘leadership’ are part of this agenda, since it cannot be completed without inside help. Pakistani Pashtuns, the most loyal citizens of Pakistan, are being turned into rebels. If the present trend continues, we may eventually confront a civil war across the country. This is exactly the situation the U.S. is seeking so that it can intervene and establish a puppet regime in Islamabad. Is anyone In Islamabad or Rawalpindi paying attention?

By SHIREEN M. MAZARI

Wednesday, 9 October 2008.

WWW.AHMEDQURAISHI.COM

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—The big picture for Pakistan should be more visible now in terms of what the U.S. agenda is for this country. But that agenda has been carefully operationalized since the opportunity presented itself to the U.S. in the form of the terrorist attacks of 9/11 – in which, by the way, no Pakistani was involved. Some of us have been highlighting that agenda for some years since, and also pointing out how complicity of our leadership was a requirement for that agenda to continue moving ahead. And what is that agenda?

Clearly, it involves the U.S. creating space within the tribal areas to move in militarily and eventually restructure the whole Muslim nuclear entity of Pakistan. Attacking civilians and thereby creating chaos and panic which would inevitably lead to a mass displacement and add to the pressure on the central government in Islamabad. Also, knowing full well – after all if we can conclude that such killings will create more space for extremists and terrorists, one can assume the U.S. analysts and advisers must have done the same – that by unleashing a war against our tribals and abusing our sovereignty they will create more space for the terrorists; and thereby more reasons to further destabilize us from outside while we face increasing attacks from our home-grown terrorists. Let us not fool ourselves – the U.S. is no friend but a powerful enemy and its ultimate aim is to defang us in terms of our nuclear assets. Already the statements have become more honed in terms of our nuclear assets – both directly, in terms of a bizarre fear that our nukes will fall into "terrorist" hands even though it is the U.S. that seems to have a problem of loose nukes (remember the U.S. planes flying with such weapons only last year?); and, indirectly, by having their politicians and some international agencies build up a crescendo of Pakistan being the most dangerous country in the world and a new "war zone".

That was the first phase of the plan for Pakistan. As the U.S. war on terror has unfolded in our part of the world, we have suddenly seen the emergence of a Tehrik-i-Taliban, Pakistan and countless other militant groups – some of whom were raised and funded by the CIA in earlier years and may well have sustained that linkage. The most aggressively loyal Pakistanis of the tribal belt have now been turned into challengers of the writ of the Pakistani state. Is it not worth understanding why and how? We are being forced into accepting the U.S. war now as "our war" although in reality while we are facing a severe threat from extremists and home grown terrorists, our fight against these forces has to be different from the U.S. war on terror. That is still not our war but is in fact fuelling and aggravating our terrorist problems.

Now the U.S. has moved to phase two where it is actually seeking direct intervention on the ground before it finally puts international pressure on us to hand over our nuclear assets – showing the world how Pakistan has indeed become a "war zone" in which the international community must intervene to take charge of the nuclear assets. Of course, the U.S. would then offer to head such a mission. Seems far fetched? Then recheck what has been happening in terms of U.S. policy vis a vis Pakistan since 9/11 and the statements emanating from the U.S. at the official and media levels.

As for us Pakistanis, we are being confronted with a two-front war: against a qualitatively new terrorist threat in terms of suicide bombings and the growth of a violent extremism; and, against an indirect war being conducted by the U.S. against our long term survival as an independent nuclear state. But, as I stated at the beginning, none of the U.S. agenda would be feasible without the support of the Pakistani rulers. Unfortunately this support has been there from the start but now it has reached new proportions.

During the Musharraf government we were given many briefings to the effect that the U.S. and NATO/ISAF could only intrude aerially into our space with our permission. As a perturbed pilot informed me the other day, he was shocked to learnt that apart from the UAVs flying into Pakistani air space, NATO and ISAF aircraft are flying round the clock tactical missions in Pakistan. Apparently, they have been cleared by our controllers' to fly tactical in FATA, "Pukhtunkhwa" and Balochistan. The Musharraf government had also given unprecedented access to the U.S. in terms of bases and intelligence. But our democratic leadership has gone even further in affecting unilateral compromises, including it now appears permission to hit and kill our own people, which impact our very survival as an independent nuclear entity.

Regardless of how our own Goebbels tries to explain away the Zardari interview to the Wall Street Journal, the quotes speak for themselves and nor has a correction been sought or offered on either side. First there is the absurd style of reference President Zardari uses when talking of Pakistan and its institutions as his personal fiefdom, "my F-16s", "my security personnel" (that is the military) "my war" and so on. And of course he wants the world to "give me" $ 100 billion!

More damaging though is his declaration that not only is he "an American friend" but that the U.S. is carrying out Predator missile strikes on Pakistani soil with his government's consent. His logic for insisting the U.S. support his government also undermines Pakistan because he seeks to show that if he falls our nukes will fall into terrorist hands. Is this how he protects our national interests? Now if his wish of accessing our strategic institutions with his cronies and the like is fulfilled, we may as well hand over all our assets to the U.S. – and now, by default, given the Indo-U.S. strategic partnership, to India.

But then, they say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing and it seems our president has no understanding of our history since he declares grandly, "India has never been a threat to Pakistan". Please, Ms Rehman, at least teach him some basic history and you do not have to use Pakistani sources either! As for his comment on the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal – which even more rational U.S. analysts have decried as a factor in upping the nuclear arms' levels in South Asia, our ignorant President sees it merely as the "largest democracy" in the world "getting friendly" with the "oldest democracy" in the world!

In fact, he sees his own country simply as a backyard to serve Indian development. As for the poor Kashmiris, they have been labeled "terrorists" for seeking liberation from Indian occupation! To our shame, a Pakistani ruler's effigy was burnt for the first time since 1979, in Baramulla town in Occupied Kashmir with 400 Kashmiris defying curfew to express their anger at the Zardari labeling of the Kashmiri freedom fighters as "terrorists". So far, Zardari has certainly been good news only for the U.S. and India!

If Musharraf was forced to compromise with the U.S. – although now his compromises appear miniscule when compared to what the present government is giving to the U.S. – to ostensibly sustain himself in power then what is our present leadership so worried about in terms of the U.S.? Are there still some dangerous skeletons despite the NRO that the U.S. can utilize to keep the democratic dispensation in line with its eventual goal of ending the nuclear Pakistani state as we know it?

If the present trends continue we may well eventually confront a civil war across the country. This is exactly the situation the U.S. is seeking to come in fully and set up its own quisling set up. As we and the U.S. know, there have always been many in our leadership only too willing to play that role. As for the present leaders, their embarking on the road to power may well have been prepared in Washington, but it is Pakistan's realities that will ensure their stay in or removal from power. Can they manage to get out of the U.S. embrace to see their own realities?

The writer is a defense analyst. She can be reached at callstr@hotmail.com

YouTube - WHITEY TAPE - NO JOKE louis farrakhan Calls OBAMA the messiah Helter Skelter

Update: Worldnet Daily is also reporting this story.

Transcript: "You are the instruments that God is gonna use to bring about universal change, and that is why Barack has captured the youth.  And he has involved young people in a political process that they didn’t care anything about.  That’s a sign. When the Messiah speaks, the youth will hear, and the Messiah is absolutely speaking."

God help us.  There will be nothing left of this republic by the time Obama is done with it.

Or our liberties.

This guy is an American Hitler, amidst the banners of Alinsky Marxism and the banners of racial hatreds.

Proof Obama backed ruthless, foreign thug
Set up direct Senate contact for Kenyan opposition leader