Islam: Empire of Faith - documentary film

Islam: Empire of Faith -Part 1
This part deals with the life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), his early life and the birth of the Islam. Islam would become the revitalizing force of Arabia, returning people to God and bringing back the monotheistic message: Islam. Women were given rights, racism was annihilated and the rich were made equal to the poor. This religion is the solution to all of humanities problems and it is important to learn about it today.




Video: Part 2
This part relates the golden age of Islam. A time of great learning when Europe was steeped in the Dark Ages. The building of great works of architecture, reading, writing, mathematics, medicine, and astronomy. Even before the printing press Muslims would have hundreds of scribes writing all at once so they would learn and reproduce the writings.

Video: Part 3
This portion deals with the growing Ottoman Empire, which would control the bridge between 3 continents: Africa, Europe and Asia. This empire would begin at the close of the Crusades until World War I, from the 1300s to 1923. They would rule the entire Middle East and make there way into Europe. Before there was the state of Israel, there was great peace in the Holy Land regulated by the Ottomans.

When the Moors Ruled in Europe - documentary film

This documentary describes the glorious rule of Muslim Moors in what is now Spain.

Our way to Islam - Muslims in Australia - Video clip

DVD "Muslims in Australia" Available Now:

Buy it now at:
www.muslimsinaustralia.com

New Documentary Film - Muslims in Australia - official screening info

Muslims in Australia
Synopsis

Take a journey and discover how deep Muslim history runs in Australia. Discover the earliest contact that dates back to the 1600s, their connection with the indigenous population and the rich contribution they made.

Meet People, visit places, learn about Islam and witness how knowledge turns stereotypes and misconceptions around.

The film covers the following topics: Level of knowledge on Islam and Muslims, Early Indonesian contact, The Afghan cameleers, First Mosques in Australia, Islam and Aboriginals, Muslims of Today, Islam and new Muslims, The Hijab issue, Halal economic impact, Uniting against Racism, and more…


Watch other clips:
http://www.youtube.com/MUSLIMSinAUSTRALIA

Official website:
http://www.muslimsinaustralia.com/

Morning of Eid-ul Fitr in Masjidil Haram

John Pilger: The War On Democracy - Film -

The film is a rebuke of both the United States' intervention in foreign countries' domestic politics, and its war on terrorism.(Read more)

The War On Democracy Film Trailer by John Pilger


Watch it now:
John Pilger - The War on Democracy - ALL 10 parts

Ramadan Audio and Video lectures

Moon Sighting & the Beginning of Ramadan
by sheikh Abu Ayman
Download

Other Ramadan Audio and video lecture from www.SheikhOmran.com

Dick Cheney '94: Invading Baghdad Would Create Quagmire

In this interview from April 15th, 1994, Dick Cheney reveals the reasons why invading Baghdad and toppling Saddam Hussein wouldn't be a great idea. He also stipulates that "not very many" American soldiers' lives were worth losing to take out Saddam during the Gulf War.

US Presidential Candidate Wants to Bomb Mecca and Medina

Rep. Tom Tancredo just won’t quit. He is a Colorado Republican congressman and presidential candidate, and he seems determined to bomb Mecca and Medina. On a recent trip to Iowa he said:

“If it is up to me, we are going to explain that an attack on this homeland of that nature would be followed by an attack on the holy sites in Mecca and Medina. Because that is the only thing I can think of that might deter somebody from doing what they would otherwise do. But as I say, if I am wrong, fine. … I would be happy to do something else. But you had better find a deterrent or you will find an attack. There is no other way around it. There have got to be negative consequences for the actions they take. That’s the most negative I can think of.” read full article

The Philippines forgotten war

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front have been fighting for self-determination for years and says it has millions of supporters and members.

Polygamy row in Indonesia

In Indonesia a political row has flared over the taboo topic of polygamy, after Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was accused of being secretly married.

Despite being the world's largest Muslim nation, polygamy is forbidden by law for government officials.

Sheikh Omran is now 'Online'

Welcome to the new website for Students of Knowledge. Here you can find all the latest lectures, khutbahs, interviews by Sheikh Abu Ayman in different formats - video, audio or just articles. All Sheikh Omran's Friday Khutbas will be published here as well as the latest instalments in very popular series of lectures - "The Book of Marriage".
www.SheikhOmran.com

US Muslim charity on trial

A leading Muslim charity is going on trial in the United States, accused of indirectly funding Hamas.

Discussion about Imaan (faith)

New lecture by sheikh Abu Ayman (mp3)
Description: Discussion about Imaan (faith) according to the Quran and Sunnah (Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamaah) and as viewed by different sects (Khawaarij, Mutazilah, Murjiites of the Jurists, Jahmites, etc). Danger of looking at Imaan as "one part" and why we have "modern" Muslims today.

Download audio, 16MB
or Watch Video

Zawjati - My wife

The Book of Marriage will, insallah, continue from next week (22nd July 2007)...In the mean time you can listen to this beautiful nasheed or visit our new site for students of knowledge – www.SheikhOmran.com

Zawjati (My wife)

TRANSLATION - Zawjati (My wife)

I love you the way you are,
I love you the way you were,
No matter what did or will happen,
You are and will be my darling.

You're my rightful wife, I care not about
Those who like to reproach and irritate me.
It is our destiny to be
Together eternally.

In my heart you instilled love
With grace and good deeds.
Happiness vanishes when you disappear,
Life brightens when you're there.

Hard is my day
Until you return home.
Sadness disappears
When you smile.

Life turns black
When you're upset,
So I work hard
To make your wish come true.

You're my happiness.
May you be happy forever.
Our souls are united
Like soil and plants.

You're my hope, my peace
My good company and inspiration.
Life is good, no matter how hard it is,
When you're fine.

Islamic Lectures in Arabic language by sheikh Omran Abu Ayman

- Fruits of Marriage
- Problems of the Ummah
- HellFire
- Last minutes of your life are the summary of your life

The Book of Marriage - part 4

Sheikh Omran Abu Ayman talks about prohibition of temporary marriage (Mut’a) and other kinds of unlawful marriage contracts...

Government admits oil is the reason for war in Iraq

Hot from the ABC news...

ASWJ Activities 2006/07

Our activities during the past year...

The Book of Marriage - part 3

The Fruits of Marriage, khutbah

The Book of Marriage, part 2

History of the Arab-Israeli conflict

Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land: Media & the Israel-Palestine Conflict


The Arab-Israeli conflict is a modern phenomenon, which dates back to the end of the 19th century. The conflict became a major international issue after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1917, and in various forms it continues to this day. The Arab-Israeli conflict has resulted in at least five major wars and a number of "minor conflicts". It has also been the source of two major Palestinian intifadas (uprisings) and is cited by al-Qaeda, a largely Arab organization, as one of the reasons for its conflict with the Western world.

Before 1947
Tensions between the Jews and Arabs started to emerge after the 1880s, when European Jews began to immigrate and augment Palestinian Jewish communities by buying land from Ottoman and individual Arab landholders, known as effendis, and establishing agricultural settlements in the historic lands of Judea and Israel, which were then part of the Ottoman Empire.[1] At the time, Arab Palestinians lived an almost feudal existence on the effendis' land in what was known as Palestine.[2] The population in 1880 of Palestine west of the Jordan River was estimated at "under 590,000, of whom 96 percent were Arabs (Muslim or Christian); roughly 4 percent of the population was Jewish"
Read more about: History of the Arab-Israeli conflict

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is often claimed to be at the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict, is an ongoing dispute between two peoples, Jewish Israelis and Arab Palestinians, who both claim the right to sovereignty over the Land of Israel/Palestine in whole or in part.

Learn more about:
Fatah
"Palestinian National Liberation Movement"
Yasser Arafat
was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (1968–2004) and President[2] of the Palestinian National Authority (1993–2004).
Hamas
"Islamic Resistance Movement"
Ahmed Yassin
was the co-founder and leader of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement group Hamas.
First Intifada
was a mass Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule
The State of Israel

Related videos:

Palestine is Still the Issue by John Pilger

The Book of Marriage, part 1

Islamic classe at IISCA every Friday and Sunday night afer Isha (8pm)
Friday - Tafseer of Qur'an
Sunday - Fiqh (The Book of Marriage)

The Fall of the Ottoman Empire

Plea to take in Chinese Muslims

AUSTRALIA has been asked to grant asylum to a group of Chinese Muslim men who have been released from detention at Guantanamo Bay, amid fears that they would be executed if they are sent back to China.

Australia's Chinese Muslim community is urging the Howard Government to settle the men following a request from the US, which no longer considers them a terrorist threat.

According to a report in The New York Times, Australia is one of nearly 100 countries that have been asked by the US to settle the men — with little success.

Chinese officials have pressured many countries to refuse to settle them and want them returned to China, the paper reports.

Only Albania, a staunch ally of the US, has agreed to accept five of the men, who are now languishing in a squalid refugee camp in the former communist country.

International human rights groups say China's communist Government has led a heavy-handed campaign of religious repression against the Uighur ethnic Muslim minority in western China.

Read full article

Read about
Islam in China
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hellfire - Friday Khutbah

MOVIE: The World According to Bush

WORLD ACCORDING TO BUSH, A VERY EDUCATED AND WELL RESEARCHED DOCUMENTARY, LEADERS, POLITICIANS AND BIG GUYS TALKS ABOUT MR.PRESIDENT ABOUT HIS PRESIDENCY. ITS FUNNY TOOO.

Riz Khan: Turkey

Riz Khan looks at the increasing tensions between Turkey's secularists and Islam

USA Terrorism. Destroy Mosque In Iraq

2nd video

1967 Israeli attack on the USS Liberty

Six days of war, 40 years of secrecy

Tim Fischer
May 27, 2007


>> Watch documentary film <<

Was the 1967 Israeli attack on the USS Liberty deliberate? The US is morally bound to find out.

FORTY years ago in a quiet corner of the Mediterranean off the Sinai Desert, an extraordinary attack was launched by Israeli jet fighters and torpedo boats on the USS Liberty.

It was the fourth day of the Six-Day War. The large intelligence-gathering ship was in international waters, proudly flying the US flag and clearly marked as the USS Liberty. Conditions were calm and clear, but by day's end 34 American sailors were killed and 172 injured.

The USS Liberty struggled back to Malta with several gaping holes and a US Navy Court of Inquiry team on board. The president of this inquiry was Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, and Captain Ward Boston jnr was counsel assisting, but under Pentagon orders the court was not permitted to travel to Israel to complete its investigations.

There is still a fierce debate over the question of whether the attack by Israeli forces was deliberate, allegedly mounted to disrupt US intelligence collection and provide cover for the day-five invasion of Syria and capture of the Golan Heights. Against this serious accusation, a book by retired US judge A. Jay Cristol, The Liberty Incident, contends that the attack was undertaken by Israeli jet fighters and Israeli torpedo boats, but was accidental.

read all

Noam Chomsky interview Al Jazeera 1

Part 2

U.S. Economic Collapse?

The estimated population of the United States is 301,919,481

U.S. NATIONAL DEBT
so each citizen's share of this debt is $29,167.26.

At the Precipice of Economic Collapse

The U.S. government is broke! It must borrow more than $2 billion per day to fund its programs at home and its military operations around the globe.
...
At the current spending rate, North Americans buy $810 billion more in goods and services each year than they sell overseas.
...
But American foreign policy has made the nation an international pariah; at some point, if a country with large dollar holdings decides that the planet would be better off without the U.S., it can "pull the trigger" and quickly bring about America’s economic destruction.
...
America owes a significant portion of its debt to nations it defeated in World War II. God warned that if His people did not obey Him, they would have to serve their enemies.
read full article

Who Is Stealing Iraq's Oil?

It took quite a while, but it appears that the Bush Administration has finally gotten around to acknowledging that Iraq has an oil problem. The Government Accountability Office is about to release a report that estimates 100,000 to 300,000 barrels of oil goes missing every month. According to the New York Times, the GAO will not offer a conclusion about what specifically is happening to the missing oil, other than it is probably lost to corruption, smuggling or just bad accounting.
read all

Funny video: Chasers War On Everything - Americans

Chasers war on everything: Evangelicals

500 Terror Attacks in EU in 2006 - But Only 1 by Islamists

There were almost 500 acts of terrorism across the European Union in 2006 -- but only one, the foiled suitcase bomb plot in Germany, was related to Islamist terror, a new EU report reveals. Meanwhile the trial of one of the main suspects in the German plot has been adjourned in Lebanon.

Almost all the terrorist attacks in the European Union in 2006 were unrelated to Islamist terror, a new report reveals -- but the potential impact of an attack aimed at mass casualties made Islamist terrorism a top priority for European investigators nonetheless.

According to a report released Tuesday by Europol, the European Union's law enforcement organization, 498 attacks were carried out in the EU in 2006. Of them, only one -- the failed suitcase bomb attacks in Germany -- was perpetrated by Islamist terrorists.

Full article

Do you Know Allah? Lecture by young child

Beautiful Recitation

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Atatürk ("Father Turk" — the name he adopted in 1935) now embarked on an ambitious and radical programme to turn Turkey from a Muslim polity into a modern state. The Republic was proclaimed in 1923, with Ankara as its capital, Kemal as executive President, and a single political party. An elected Parliament was added by the 1924 constitution. The dominance of Islam in public life was ended when the Caliphate was abolished in 1924; religious orders were disbanded; religious property was seized; religious instruction was curtailed and a secular educational system established; the Islamic legal system was replaced by a European one; and, in 1928, Islam itself was disestablished. The fez and the veil were forbidden, the Latin alphabet was substituted for the Arabic, and, in 1934, women were enfranchised. Ataturk revitalized the economy, created mixed state-private banks, protected domestic industry and, on étatiste Kemalist principles, responsibility for investment and preventing foreign capital entering Turkey was assumed by the state.
Link

Get more info irom Wikipedia:


It is evident from his personal journal that Mustafa Kemal began to develop the concepts of his social revolution very early. Mustafa Kemal constantly discussed with his staff on issues like abolishing the veiling of women and integration to females to social life and developed conclusions.
...
Mustafa Kemal acquired the consent of İnönü, Çakmak and Özalp before abolition of the caliphate. March 1, 1924 at the assembly; "The religion of Islam be elevated by ceasing to be a political instrument, as had been the case in the past."[
...
Fez symbolized the tie to the past to Mustafa Kemal.[42] He was determined to force its abandonment and finalize a series of dress reforms which its history starts by Mahmud II.[42] Like the Mahmud II, and other Ottoman reformists, fanaticism and reaction had raise obstacles in his path.[42] Mustafa Kemal first made the hat compulsory to the civil servants.[
...
The visual and the plastic arts, whose development had on occasion been arrested by some Ottoman officials claiming that the depiction of the human form was idolatry, were highly encouraged and supported by Atatürk, and these flourished in the new Turkish republic. Many museums were opened; architecture began to follow modern trends; and classical Western music, opera, and ballet, as well as the theatre, also took greater hold.
Read full article
&
Turkey - factbook

ANZAC Day info

In 1915 Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the Allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula to open the way to the Black Sea for the Allied navies. The plan was to capture Istanbul, capital of the Ottoman Empire and an ally of Germany. They landed at Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Turkish defenders.
Read about it from Wikipedia

ASWJ Camp 2007, Advice For Youth by sheikh Omran (Abu Ayman)

Pictures from Camp and Lecture about patience and manners in working for Islam.

Nasheed for Children

More Islamic nasheeds

SOMALIA: HEARTS, MINDS & HOLY WAR

Channel 4: Unreported World: Somalia

Q: Is it permissible for him to cheat government and take money from them?

Question:
Here in one of the western countries they give a monthly allowance to everyone who comes and seeks to settle here. They say to everyone who applies: If you find work, you must tell us, so that we can stop the monthly allowance and you will have just the salary from your work. They take 30% in taxes from salaries. Is it permissible to avoid the taxes by not telling them that I have found work, thus getting both the monthly allowance and a salary? I am here for the sake of work and study, and do not plan to settle permanently.


Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.

If a Muslim enters such a country, he must adhere to the conditions that have been stipulated. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“O you who believe! Fulfil (your) obligations”

[al-Maa'idah 5:1]

It is not permissible for a Muslim to betray them or cheat them. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Render back trusts to the one who entrusted you, and do not betray the one who betrays you.” Narrated by Abu Dawood, 3534; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.

And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) described one of the attributes of the hypocrite as being: “When he enters into a covenant, he proves treacherous.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 34; Muslim, 58.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to send his companions to fight the mushrikeen, and one of the things he advised them was: “Do not be treacherous.” Narrated by Muslim, 1731.

This is something which demonstrates the greatness of Islam and the perfection of its laws, for it forbids its followers to be treacherous or to cheat even its enemies.

This state has allowed you to stay there, subject to certain conditions, so you are obliged to fulfil them.

Based on this, it is not permissible for you to conceal your work from them so that you can avoid paying taxes and take the monthly allowance when it is not permissible for you.

And Allaah knows best.

Islam Q&A

Muslim Media Watch 2, An Inconvenient Truth - Sheikh Omran

Compare what media reported and what sheikh Omran said about Climate change

Nothing sinister in Muslim call for divine help

Dr Amjid Muhammad
Link

THE debate on the water crisis in Australia has been explored from meteorological, political and economic points of view. The recent commotion caused by a certain section of the media regarding Sheikh Mohammed Omran's comments ( The Age, 12/3) has brought into consideration a different perspective: the religious one.

Sheikh Omran's comments made during a Friday sermon have been greatly misconstrued to mean that the current drought Australians are experiencing is due to their lack of belief in Allah — the name given to God in the Islamic faith. (The sermon can be watched in its entirety on the internet at www.aswj.com.au — and I strongly urge readers to listen to it and draw their own conclusions.)

Even though the sermon was grossly distorted — one of the underlying themes to this episode is the continual exercise by certain sections of the media to portray Muslims in the most negative light possible — the issue of whether a divine being has a part to play in our present climatic crisis remains a pertinent one.

Muslims believe that all events can only occur by the will of Allah. If a calamity strikes them at a personal or communal level, then they should engage themselves in a process of self-appraisal and examine their relationship with the Creator. One usually looks at one's own transgressions and seeks forgiveness. This relationship between natural calamities and sins is not something unique to Islam. All three major monotheistic religions — Judaism, Christianity and Islam — preach about the cataclysmic flood that destroyed the people of Noah due to their disbelief and transgressions against God. The Koran captures Noah's advice to his people: "Ask forgiveness from your Lord for He is oft-forgiving and He will send rain to you in abundance" (Noah 71:10).

Islam, unlike many other religions, has divine legislation that prevents abuse of the environment. The Prophet Muhammad prohibited the excessive use of water even when performing core acts of worship such as purification. It is also prohibited to urinate in natural bodies of water such as lakes and ponds.

It may be argued that Sheikh Omran and Muslims in general are insensitive to the drought-affected community when making such comments. As a riposte, I would like to highlight the yearly communal prayer that is held by Muslims seeking rain for all of Australia. And late last year, many religious leaders and the broader Muslim community gathered in a park in Brunswick beseeching Allah for rain. Sheikh Omran's followers made up a good number of the congregation.

Australian Muslims are in need of water just as much as any other Australian. They will do whatever is necessary to conserve it, and will as a community seek Allah's mercy, plead with him to drench our country's soil with rain.

Dr Amjid Muhammad, Ahlus Sunnah wal Jam'ah Association of Australia

What Sheikh Omran said about climate control...

What media said:

PREMIER Steve Bracks has ridiculed comments by a radical Islamic cleric that blamed global warming on Australians' lack of faith in God.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21363664-661,00.html

What sheikh Omran said???

Sheikh Omran:(7th minute)

..."What we have nowadays? As the most important scientists, when they meet last month, they call them scientists of the day of judgement... did you hear about that meeting? It was the conference in Europe... And when they reveled curtain they put three minutes to twelve. Like three minutes left to the world to finish. Finish because of what? Because of our deeds. Because of our science. Because of our experiments. This Experiments went so wild because there is no control, fear of Allah is not there. So we have now polluted air, polluted water. a waste land..."

(9th min)

..."Real civilised person (is the one) who lives harmoniously with the surrounding around them. Who is good, as same as to other human as same to the fish in the water. As same to the bird in the air, as same to the plant in the ground. This is the real civilised person.

This is why you see in our sharia you are not allowed to cut the tree for no reason. Or, to harm bird without reason. But water is must to be looked after. "...

watch full video here

Canberra: Muslims and the non-Muslims, chance to hear all sides of the issue

A SPECIAL opinion poll has found a dramatic drop in concern about Muslims in Australia following detailed discussions about terrorism and other issues.
...
Those who believed Muslims coming to Australia had a bad impact on national security nearly halved from 44 per cent to 23 per cent. The 49 per cent who said the incompatibility of Muslim and non-Muslim values was a big contributor to terrorism fell to 22per cent. Just under a third originally thought that Muslims who come to live here made Australia worse but this shrunk to just 7 per cent.
...
Before the discussions, those polled consistently exaggerated the Muslim proportion of the population, with under 30 per cent giving the correct answer of 1.5 per cent. At the end of the weekend, this rose to 95 per cent.
...
Melbourne sheik Mohammed Omran, who has attracted criticism for his teachings and his radical followers, presented himself as a loyal Australian and "grassroots person" who had been misinterpreted by the media.

He argued that the non-Muslim majority in Australia had the prime responsibility to make the Muslim minority feel welcome.

One of the participants, 30-year-old Perth mother of two Kimberley Marshall said the weekend had convinced her that there was "no huge problem" between Muslim and non-Muslim Australians. "We're all Australians, I think," she added.

Link

Fear of Muslims declines when all sides put their case
AUSTRALIANS' worries about the threat of terrorism posed by Muslims falls dramatically once they have a chance to hear all sides of the issue.
...
That figure fell to 22 per cent when the same people were polled yesterday, after spending two days hearing views ranging from hostile to sympathetic about the presence of Islam in Australia.
Link

Prejudices and preconceptions were challenged, misunderstandings and misapprehensions clarified.
The microcosm of Australia that attended did not emerge with knowledge about every last detail of Muslim attitudes and actions. But they did come to base their views on a much better understanding of the issues.
...
It would be a worthwhile government investment in informed decision-making. In the absence of that, the Government could offer leadership in promoting the findings of such research. But the Howard Government, which did not bother to turn up, obviously feels it is easier to pander to perceptions and prejudices.
Link

PUSHING for more Muslim integration into the Australian mainstream will only promote additional barriers and further isolate the Islamic community, according to a prominent Muslim leader.
Link

Ms Marshall, 30, from Mullaloo, on Perth's northern coast, said she learned more about Muslims in three days then she had in her lifetime. For her, the confidence in the information she now possessed about the religion was enough for her to debunk some of the myths and misconceptions held by people she knew.

"I'm now more confident to say, 'They are good people'," she said.
Link

The participants in the deliberative poll in Old Parliament House in Canberra were exposed to a weekend of analysis and arguments from academics and religious leaders. But it was discovering what many Muslims are really like - that they are just as diverse as many other Australians and just as similar as other human beings - that probably was the main factor in Newspoll measuring a shift in opinion less hostile to Muslims.
...
"Ninety-nine per cent of Australians have a great responsibility to let this little number (of Muslims) feel they are part of this society," Omran said.
Link

"The issue that we have is an artificial created problem between the Muslims and the non-Muslims," Sheikh Omran
Link

Sheik Omran said Australia had a responsibility to make Muslims feel welcome.

"You are the host. When I come to your house as a guest and you welcome me with an open heart, I see your generosity as a human - it doesn't matter what I believe in, I will love you and care for you as much as you care for me," he said.

Muslim countries had been great allies of the West during the fight against "our first enemy", communism, and Australia still had a close alliance with Indonesia, which has the world's biggest Muslim population, Sheik Omran said.

Link

Muslims and Non-Muslims in Australia, Survey

Survey tracks fear of Muslims syndrome

Australians feel less threatened by Muslims once they have had the chance to talk about issues of potential conflict, a new survey shows.

Australia Deliberates: Muslims and Non-Muslims in Australia was the first attempt to survey non-Muslims' attitudes to Muslims and their culture, values and any perceived threat to national security.

"Before the deliberations, an initial survey by Issues Deliberation Australia (IDA) and Newspoll, showed nearly half of Australia thought that incompatibility between Muslim and Western values was a big contributor to terrorism," IDA managing director Pam Ryan said.

"After an intense weekend of ... discussions, information from a vast array of points of view and persuasions, and the opportunity to ask questions of competing experts, the Australians surveyed shifted their opinions dramatically.

"On the question of terrorism, the number who thought an incompatibility between values was a big contributor dropped from 49 per cent to 22 per cent."

Opposition multicultural affairs spokesman Laurie Ferguson said the forum enabled many voices to be heard.

"Most importantly Australia Deliberates provided members of the Islamic community with a forum in which they can debate and discuss many of their trials tribulations with other ordinary Australians," Mr Ferguson said.

"This was done with the spirit of an open mind and wanting to gain greater mutual understanding."
Link

Muslims in Australia - trailer (documentary film)

First time in Australia - documentary film about Muslims made by Muslims...

It's purpose is to show deep history and constructive contribution of Muslims in Australia.


Direct link:
http://video.google.com.au/videoplay?docid=1386694383458957263

The rise and fall of the ’salafi dawah’ in the US

From http://umarlee.com/ blog
Over the next few days, weeks or however long it takes, I will be writing a series about the rise and fall of the “salafi dawah”, the accomplishments, mistakes and ultimately, its fall amongst US converts from my perspective and consulting with some other brothers on the scene at the time.

I’m not going to open comments on these posts until the end because I’d like for everyone to have the full body of information - at least from my perspective - before commenting. This is part one.

The Beginning…

In the early to mid 90s, we witnessed a period in which lots of people were becoming Muslim after the new interest in Malcolm X brought on mostly by Spike Lee’s X hats and the movie.

This brought on a short period of revived black consciousness in which we saw many black bookstores open that sold books such as “The Isis Papers” and “Stolen Legacy” promoting myths of a black super civilization that used to exist that had 25th century technology buried beneath the Saharan desert to protect their super knowledge from the evil of the white man. There was so much hope that ‘knowledge of self’ would finally bring blacks out of the rut they’d fallen into. This “hope” is what leads African-Americans into different movements. The strong yearning to be a part of something positive. Many of you will not understand this yearning, but it is very strong. I cannot understand it as well as a black person, but I do know what this yearning is like. This point is important because many of these new Muslims from the influx would find that their next “great hope” was in the salafi dawah.

The black consciousness period basically ended with the disappointment in lack of substantive response in aftermath of the “Million Man March”. Lots of people showed up, lots of good feeling, lots of money made for some, but nothing happened in the black communities after that.

After the Malcolm X bio-pic and the new black consciousness movement, this led to a lot of interest amongst black youth (even white youth like me at the time) in “returning to their roots” which eventually led many of them to Islam. I became Muslim myself during this period after reading the ‘Autobiography of Malcolm X’. The same is the case with others I know.

On top of pointing out the influx of Muslims that came in from the short black consciousness period in the early 90’s, it must also be noted that the internet was taking off. This is important to note as the internet would feed much of the growth of the salafi movement and, ironically, eventually contribute to its current decline.

Before this time, in the late 80’s, some of the forbearers of salafi dawah that were already here in the US, used to drive hundred of miles to give lectures in which there would only be like a dozen people who all knew each other. This was a “big gathering”. There were few converts that were salafi at that time. These speakers would form part of the backbone of the salafi speakers circuit along with those that were about to graduate from the University of Madinah (Abu Muslimah and Abu Usamah). It is these individuals, along with Dawood Adib, that really took “the dawah” to the converts where it was originally mostly a Gulf Arab thing.

link

Warning on Muslims

Academic's warning on Muslims causes stir
Barney Zwartz
February 16, 2007
Link

THE fabric of Western nations is at risk when the Muslim population reaches about 10 per cent, as in France, a Jewish commentator on Islam said yesterday.

Raphael Israeli, an expert on Islamic history from Hebrew University in Jerusalem, told The Age that Australia was at risk of violence if its Muslim population increased.

"When the Muslim population gets to a critical mass you have problems. That is a general rule, so if it applies everywhere it applies in Australia," he said.

His views were last night dismissed as extreme by Muslim leaders.

But Professor Israeli distanced himself from a report in yesterday's Australian Jewish News that quoted him as saying Australia should cap Muslim immigration or risk being swamped by Indonesians. Professor Israeli has been brought to Australia by the Shalom Institute of the University of NSW. The Australia-Israel Jewish Affairs Council is co-hosting many of his activities, including a proposed visit to Melbourne next month.

Professor Israeli said Muslim immigrants had a reputation for manipulating the values of Western countries, taking advantage of their hospitality and tolerance.

"Greeks or Italians or Jews don't use violence. There is no Italian or Jewish Hilali (controversial Sydney cleric Sheikh Taj al-din al-Hilali) Why?"

The head of the Federal Government's Muslim advisory taskforce, Dr Ameer Ali, condemned the comments as being "totally inflammatory". He said Professor Israeli was pushing an Israeli Government line and betraying his discipline as an objective academic.

Islamic Council of Victoria spokesman Waleed Aly said some of the comments attributed to Professor Israeli came close to the sort of remark Sheikh Hilali was condemned over. He said the professor was conflating complex and separate issues.

Professor Israeli said that when the Muslim population increased, so did the risk of violence.

"Where there are large Muslim populations who are prepared to use violence you are in trouble. If there is only 1 or 2 per cent they don't dare to do it — they don't have the backing of big communities, they know they are drowned in the environment of non-Muslims and are better behaved."

In Australia, Muslims are 1.5 per cent of the population.

In France, which has the highest proportion of Muslims in Europe at about 10 per cent, it was already too late, he said. There were regions even the police were scared to enter, and militant Muslims were changing the country's political and cultural fabric, and demanding anti-Semitic and anti-Israel policies.

"French people say they are strangers in their own country. This is a point of no return. If you are on a collision course, what can you do? You can't put them all in prison, and anyway they are not all violent. You can't send them all back. You are really in trouble. It's irreversible."

Professor Israeli said that in Australia a few imams had preached violence and influenced young people.

"You should not let fundamentalist imams come here. Screen them 1000 times before they are admitted, and after they are admitted screen what they say in the mosque."

Link

Signs of the Hour - Sheikh Feiz

Putin blasts U.S. for 'very dangerous' foreign policies

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the United States of making the world a more dangerous place by trying to impose its will through an "almost uncontained, hyper use of force."

U.S. foreign policies are prompting countries around the world to develop nuclear arms, Putin told a security conference in Munich on Saturday in what many observers said were the strongest verbal attack that Putin has made on Washington.

Putin, speaking through a translator, said countries were "witnessing the almost uncontained, hyper use of force in international relations."

"One state, the United States, has overstepped its national borders in every way. This is very dangerous. Nobody feels secure anymore because nobody can hide behind international law," Putin told the annual Munich Conference on Security Policy.

"It is a world of one master, one sovereign.… It has nothing to do with democracy," he told the gathering of senior security officials from around the world.
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US mayor converts to Islam

MACON, Georgia: Macon Mayor Jack Ellis has converted to Islam and is now working to legally change his name to Hakim Mansour Ellis.

Ellis, who was raised Christian, said Thursday that he became a Sunni Muslim during a December ceremony in the west African nation of Senegal.

"You do it because it feels right," said Ellis. "To me it's no big deal. But people like to know what you believe in. And this is what I believe in."

Ellis said he has been studying the Quran for years and that his new religion was originally practiced by his ancestors before they were brought to North America as slaves.
...
"If anybody wants to know about Islam, I can hold an intelligent conversation," Ellis said. "What I've found is how little we know about the religion."
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Bush seeks $700bn for military

Only World War II has cost the US taxpayer more than the conflict in Iraq.
...
George Bush, the US president, has asked Congress for an extra $700bn to spend on the military, funded by curbs on spending on health and domestic programmes.

The request, totalling a record amount of $2.9 trillion, provoked immediate criticism from Democrats who now control congress.

Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat leader of the house, said: "Democrats will not give the president a blank cheque on Iraq."
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Elements of Iraq 'civil war'

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence concluded that key elements of Iraq's violence rose to the level of "civil war" in a report on Friday that the White House said justified a troop increase and Democrats seized on as proof of a failed strategy.

Escalating violence between Iraqi Sunnis and Shi'ites met the definition for a civil war, but the politically charged term did not describe all the chaos in Iraq, the report said.

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Church's 'Jesus loves Osama' sign

JESUS does indeed love Osama bin Laden - it is just that he does not approve of him or his line of work.

The head of the Anglican church in New South Wales has said "there is a truth" to a Baptist parish's billboard declaration that "Jesus loves Osama", but love does not necessarily translate to approval.

The Central Baptist Church on George St in Sydney's CBD yesterday defended the sign - outside its front doors and facing the street - and said it was designed to convey that Jesus Christ taught the importance of loving everyone.

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'It's like a Nazi camp': Hicks

Accused terrorist David Hicks has told his lawyers that conditions at Guantanamo Bay, where he has been held for five years, are "like a Nazi concentration camp".

...Hicks has been detained by the US military without trial since he was captured with Taliban forces in Afghanistan in December 2001.

He was sent to Guantanamo Bay the following month.

"He continues to be locked up 22 hours a day," Mr McLeod said.

"He has seen the sun three times since he has been at Camp Six in early December.

"He has no privacy whatsoever in Camp Six - his toilet paper is rationed, he hasn't been able to comb his hair since going there because he's not provided with a comb or brush.

"The guards can see into his cell 24 hours a day.

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Canada 'sorry' for citizen's ordeal

Canada has apologised to a software engineer and paid him $8.9m in compensation after he was deported to Syria by US agents because Canadian police had mistakenly said he was an Islamic extremist.

...He has said he was repeatedly tortured during the year he spent in detention in Damascus, the Syrian capital...

The deportation has strained diplomatic relations between the USA and Canada.

Stephen Harper, the Canadian prime minister, once again urged Washington to remove Arar from its security watch list as he announced the settlement on Friday.

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Jewish leaders welcome new $8 million Islamic studies centre

...Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) president Grahame Leonard said the initiative, which has the backing of the Federal Government “has objectives we very much applaud”.

The National Centre of Excellence for Islamic Studies, which will receive $8 million in funding from the Federal Government, will be a shared resource of the University of Melbourne, Brisbane’s Griffith University and the University of Western Sydney.

Leonard said the appointment of Professor Abdullah Saeed, an acclaimed Islamic educator at the University of Melbourne, as the centre’s director “is comforting and a good appointment ... we have had dealings with him and find him to be a moderate”.

...“If the centre allows non-Islamic people to learn about Islam and allows young Muslims to learn about their religion and culture, it can become a counterpoint to extremism.”...


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EU training of Imams & European values

...Wolfgang Schaeuble suggested that the EU should promote the training of imams to encourage Muslim leaders who were comfortable with European values.

He compared parts of the Islamic world to pre-Enlightenment Europe, and criticised both the burka veil and traditional Muslim attitudes to women.

He pledged to use his country's EU presidency to promote integration.

He wanted training for imams that could "strengthen those who can live with the European rule of law, universal rights and the achievements of the Enlightenment", he said, referring to the 17th Century European movement that put reason and universal rights ahead of tradition.

"There are still parts of the Muslim world where historical enlightenment still needs to be implemented," he told Brussels-based journalists on Thursday.
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Hezbollah Strike Brings Beirut to a Virtual Halt

By NADA BAKRI and HASSAN M. FATTAH
Published: January 23, 2007

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Jan. 23 — An opposition protest turned violent today as thousands of Hezbollah supporters blocked roads leading into Beirut, burning tires and cars and clashing with government loyalists. The escalation brought the Lebanese capital to a virtual standstill and heightened fears that the nearly two-month long political crisis could burst into sectarian conflict.

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"Australian-friendly Islam"

Teaching Muslims moderation
By Lachlan Heywood

YOUNG Muslims will be taught Australian-friendly Islam under a Federal Government plan to stop them falling prey to extremists.

An approved Islamic curriculum will be rolled out by a consortium of universities, including Griffith University in Brisbane, to counter the teachings of Muslim firebrands who preach intolerance and hate.

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Mufti asked to run for parliament

NSW Premier Morris Iemma has challenged controversial Islamic cleric Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali to stand in the March state elections so Muslims can "reject his lunacy".

The mufti's spokesman Keysar Trad yesterday played down reports Sheik al-Hilali may stand against Mr Iemma in the Premier's electorate of Lakemba, but said he might help the Muslim community nominate candidates in Sydney.

Muslims are tired of getting picked on whenever incidents of violence or racial abuse occur in Sydney, Mr Trad said.

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Presidential campaign Conspiracy theory

Right-wing media figures claim Clinton behind Obama/Muslim smears

...The sources said the background check concerned Mr. Obama's years in Jakarta. In Indonesia, the young Obama was enrolled in a Madrassa and was raised and educated as a Muslim. Although Indonesia is regarded as a moderate Muslim state, the U.S. intelligence community has determined that today most of these schools are financed by the Saudi Arabian government and they teach a Wahhabi doctrine that denies the rights of non-Muslims.

Although the background check has not confirmed that the specific Madrassa Mr. Obama attended was espousing Wahhabism, the sources said his Democratic opponents believe this to be the case -- and are seeking to prove it. The sources said the opponents are searching for evidence that Mr. Obama is still a Muslim or has ties to Islam.

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Mixing up Barack Obama and Osama bin Laden



Senator Obama on The Today Show


Barack Obama - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Howard's greeting for 'anti-Muslim' group

PM defends 'Catch the Fire' message

Misha Schubert
January 19, 2007 - 3:36PM

Prime Minister John Howard has defended his decision to record a goodwill message for an Australia Day prayer event organised by a controversial group involved in an anti-Islamic court case.

The prime minister will appear in a DVD message for Catch the Fire Ministries, which is sponsoring a multi-denominational gathering in Melbourne on January 26.

Critics say Mr Howard should not be affiliated with the group while it is facing court proceedings for alleged racial vilification of Muslims.

In the DVD Mr Howard says Christianity has been an enormous force for good and he congratulates Catch the Fire Ministries for organising the event, to be held next Friday.

"Today is, of course, Australia Day,'' Mr Howard says on the DVD.

"It's a time when we celebrate the freedom and privileges we enjoy as citizens of a great, prosperous and peaceful nation so blessed with an abundance of natural beauty.

"It's also a time to reaffirm our commitment to shared values and our abiding loyalty to our nation, Australia.

"Christianity has been an enormous force for good and has done more than anything else to shape the lives, not only of millions of Australians, but the character of our nation.

"I congratulate Catch the Fire Ministries for bringing Christians from many denominations together for this celebration and I wish you all a very happy Australia Day.''

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The Virtues of Knowledge by Abu Bakr Zoud

The manners of seeking knowledge - Sheikh Khaled Eissa

Would the minister for the mushy M-word stand up?

...Consider, after all, the comic irony that abounds when the de facto minister for multiculturalism, parliamentary secretary Andrew Robb, avoids using precisely that word beginning with "m", which defines his portfolio. In fact, he's on record as favouring scrapping the term "multiculturalism" entirely from the Government's revamped ethnic policy...

And so here we are: navigating through the fog of a new cultural battlefield, as the earth reverberates from the shockwaves of Islamist terror elsewhere in the world.

There's fog because the words that frame this still-tentative debate — "integration", "values", "cultural diversity" and so on — are necessarily nebulous. And precisely why we must have this debate in the first place is yet to be properly explained.

...Yet the Government insists the new measures are not aimed at Muslims. Is this all an elaborate dog-whistle, an appeal to the would-be Hansonites whose support can sway elections? Whatever the truth, it surely leaves the public feeling something less than relaxed-and-comfortable.

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Eritrea blames Washington for Somalia war

ASMARA (Reuters) - Eritrea accused the United States on Monday of being behind the war in Somalia, but said Washington could never thwart the will of the Somali people.

Diplomats across east Africa agree that Washington almost certainly gave tacit approval for Ethiopia to provide the forces which allowed Somalia's weak interim government to roll into the capital Mogadishu and send the hardline Islamists packing.

Washington has accused Eritrea of providing arms and men to the Islamists. The government in Asmara denies that.

"There is a misrepresentation in the media. This war is between the Americans and the Somali people," Eritrean Information Minister Ali Abdu told Reuters by telephone.

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ASWJ Eid Festival - Melbourne & Sydney

Eid Mubarak!