Producer of Anti-Islam Film ‘Fitna’ Performs Hajj...
CAIRO – Accepting Islam months ago, a once anti-Islam activist who produced a derogatory film wrongly portraying Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said he has found peace and tranquility while performing hajj this year. “I found myself among these faithful hearts,” Arnoud Van Doorn, a former member of Wilders’ Freedom Party, was quoted by Saudi Gazette on Friday, October 18. “I hope that my tears of regret will wash out all my sins after my repentance,” he added as his tears flow. Doorn, a former member of the far-right Freedom Party (PVV) has embraced Islam earlier this year after an extensive study into the religion. He was among party leaders who helped produce an offensive film titled...
Abdullah Ibn Al Muqaffa: Words of Wisdom for the Kings...
One of the earliest contributors to the genre of “mirrors for princes” literature (Fürstenspiegel in German), Abdullah Ibn Al Muqaffa (720–757CE) perfected the art of political writing during the Early Middle Ages. A convert to Islam, he became a prominent writer, as well as an influential chancery secretary (katib). He penned key textbooks that instructed rulers on aspects of governance and behaviour, while he pioneered the emergence of classical Arabic literature. Best known for his translation from Farsi of the epic “Kalilah wa-Dimnah”, his real contributions lay in the use of literature to advise young and inexperienced princes at their accession. Although the best known (European) “mirror”, “Il Principe” [The Prince] (c 1513) by Machiavelli was universally appreciated,...
Muslim Americans More Popular than the Tea Party...
Tea Party favorites Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Sarah Palin and Larry Klayman spent most of last week bashing Muslims and introducing the “Quran” and “Allah” to the shutdown and debt ceiling debate that they are losing in Congress. Unfortunately for them, Muslims are in fact more popular and viewed more favorably by Americans than the far right movement. Having failed at governance and the basic task of securing an operational government, the Tea Party leaders had to retreat to ugly screams of Islamophobia in order to distract attention from their downfall and to drum up support with fear tactics. Larry Klayman, a clownish figure who started the Tea Party group Freedom Watch, brought a whole new dimension to...
Terrorists Distort Islam to Commit Their Grisly Crimes...
Over the years, I’m sad to say, I have become inured to news of bloodshed, murder and calamity. A massacre here, a car-bombing there, an attack on worshippers at a Christian church in Pakistan or a terrorist attack on shoppers, like the recent one at Westgate Mall in Nairobi. UAE officials have consistently condemned the acts of those who inflict terror in pursuit of cynical goals they falsely portray as not only justified but authorised by Islam. But am I shocked by each event? Rarely. The death toll is too great; the frequency of such attacks is, to a certain degree, no longer news. I usually read the stories briefly, scarcely moved by the death toll. Yet once...
‘Do Not Let Fanatics, Radicals Hijack The Religion Of Islam’...
I believe that tolerant and peace-loving Muslims should not keep silent over some of the atrocities committed in their name. Fanatics, extremists and sometimes fraudulent quacks exploit our Islamic culture, heritage and our Muslim identity to promote their twisted ideologies. We as Muslims are supposed to be always fair and just in what we do and what we say. For example, in Surah Al-Maeda, verse 8, God says: “O you who believe, stand up as witnesses for God in all fairness, and do not let the hatred of a people deviate you from justice. Be just: This is closest to piety; and beware of God. Surely God is aware of all you do.” Muslims are required to abide...
Saudi Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz: ‘Islam Forbids Terror’...
One of Saudi’s top Islamic clerics, the Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, came out in no uncertain terms to condemn terrorism during his Hajj sermon on Monday. “Islam does not allow terrorism at any cost. Islam condemns all violence and terrorism plaguing the world today. Muslims should demonstrate a love for peace and unity,” he said, reports Dawn News. Though he did not explicitly mention the turmoil of the Arab Spring, he called on the global Muslim community to avoid sectarianism and come together. “Oh Muslims be God-fearing, adopt the taqwa (fear of Allah), shun from earning money through unislamic means, hold fast the rope of Allah and don’t be divided into diverse schools of thoughts, get united...
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