Popular Science Debunks Sixteen 9/11 Myths

This article linked to below is well worth a read. As with any complex and catastrophic event, no one is ever going to be able to make all of the pieces of the 9/11 puzzle fit together. This is especially true of average citizens who get their information third-hand after it's been censored by the government and filtered through the media. However, it's become rather clear to me that most, if not all, of the conspiracy theories that have been conjured up are based on a misrepresentation or misinterpretation of the sources that they reference. On that note, I'll say that I think this article does a good job of exposing a great deal of that:

9/11: Debunking The Myths
Popular Science - March 2005

Several years ago when I was reading A Peace to End All Peace, which is probably one of the best books on the origins of the current problems in the Middle East, I recall that it made light of the fact that in the early stages of the First World War the Ottoman Turks spent so much time worrying about phantom-like conspiracies that they ignored real (and much more relevant) events that were happening right in front of their paranoid faces. In the end, their empire paid the ultimate price for being so out of touch with reality. Personally, I think before anyone buys into a conspiracy theory they should be required to read a psychological study about the various aspects of such theories and how they're a mental refuge for the military powerless, politically frustrated and economically oppressed. This is not to imply that I don't smell a rat out there once in awhile, but most of this speculative and flimsy rubbish is really just that.

Enjoy...

The Latest by Norman Finkelstein

I was happy to see that not only has Norman Finkelstein's website been updated, but his latest book is also available.

Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History
by Norman Finkelstein
Hardcover: 253 pages
Publisher: University of California Press (June 1, 2005)
ISBN: 0520245989

Here are some excerpts from the detailed book description:

In this long-awaited sequel to his international bestseller The Holocaust Industry, Norman G. Finkelstein moves from an iconoclastic interrogation of the new anti-Semitism to a meticulously researched expose of the corruption of scholarship on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Bringing to bear the latest findings on the conflict and recasting the scholarly debate, Finkelstein points to a consensus among historians and human rights organizations on the factual record. Why, then, does so much controversy swirl around the conflict? Finkelstein's answer, copiously documented, is that apologists for Israel contrive controversy. Whenever Israel comes under international pressure, another media campaign alleging a global outbreak of anti-Semitism is mounted.

Finkelstein also scrutinizes the proliferation of distortion masquerading as history.

The core analysis of Beyond Chutzpah sets Dershowitz's assertions on Israel's human rights record against the findings of the mainstream human rights community.

Thoroughly researched and tightly argued, Beyond Chutzpah lifts the veil of contrived controversy shrouding the Israel-Palestine conflict, enabling readers in search of a just and lasting peace to act on the basis of truth.

If you haven't already, Finkelstein's exposé of Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz is a must read. If you're wondering why, a quick answer can be found in the answer to the rhetorical question "What if a Harvard Student Did This?": he'd be kicked out for plagiarism and Norman Finkelstein demonstrates this very meticulously and effectively. This entire saga is entitled The Dershowitz Hoax and if you read it in detail like I did, the next time you see Alan Dershowitz appear on TV you'll wonder why he's not wearing a bag over his head (or even appearing at all). Now that's chutzpah.

The interesting thing about Norman Finkelstein is that not only is he Jewish, but his parents were Holocaust survivors. In spite of this, he's still sometimes accused of being anti-Semitic. Not only that, but due to his often misunderstood book The Holocaust Industry, he's been accused of being a "Holocaust denier" even though this book does nothing of the sort since its sole intent is to defend the memories of the Holocaust. All of his books are worth reading, by the way.

My final comment is one I always like to make whenever the subject turns to the Holocaust. We all know, since we seem to have a never ending stream of documentaries, movies, museums, books and news casts to constantly remind us, that about six million Jews perished in the Holocaust—and indeed this was one of the greatest tragedies of human history. However, if you do some research you'll learn that in reality roughly nine million people perished in the Holocaust: about six million Jews and about three million non-Jews. My question is: Why are these three million non-Jews almost never mentioned? Don't they matter? Seemingly not to some people who only want to remember their own dead. Food for thought...

By the way, chutzpah is a Yiddish word meaning audacity, insolence, unbelievable gall, shameless impudence, brazen nerve, effrontery, etc. Not to mention any names, but that is a pretty good description of a certain Middle Eastern country (i.e. the one with the blue Star of David on its flag).

Watch your back, Microsoft

The Firefox Explosion
It's fast, secure, open source - and super popular. The hot new browser called Firefox is rocking the software world.
by Josh McHughPage
Wired 13.02 - February 2005

If this guy was a Muslim, they'd mention his religion...

But since he's a Christian, we'll have to settle for him being called (no religion mentioned) a "knuckle-dragging buffoon". I think this is a good choice of words since we need to carefully avoid calling such people "animals", because that's slanderous and unfair to animals. Well I hope this little story will rekindle your disgust over what's going on in Iraq. Other than the fact that the wedding party massacre was committed in the first place, I'm not sure what's the most disgusting aspect of this story after that. Is it their facile attempts to make it sound like the wedding party wasn't really a wedding party? Is it their unspoken, but still rather obvious, feeling that killing these people is no big deal? Is it the fact that no investigation was ever undertaken? Is it the fact that this "knuckle-dragging buffoon" Marine general is a hero to many Americans? Is it the fact that most Americans still consider their military to be the moral and compassionate "Good Guys"—except when they're not, in which case they just explain it all away?

"It's Fun to Shoot Some People"
A General as Knuckle-Dragging Buffoon
by Brian Cloughly

O Muslims, take comfort in the fact that history remains in good hands and, inspite of all the propaganda to the contrary, what really matters is living a God-fearing, God-conscious and moral life. I was tempted to add "these people are doomed" to my list of things to take comfort in, but we should take no comfort in that. For one, we don't know the ultimate destination of anyone since the door of repentence is always open and it's been said that if you knew what Hell was really like, you wouldn't wish it on anyone. Although I don't know the source of this saying, it sounds like pretty good advice. "Let not your hatred for others cause you to act unjustly" (Qur'an 5:8).

Bush May Have Cheated in the Debates

I'm generally not too big on conspiracy theories, but there seems to be something (albeit just a little something) here:

The Emperor's New Hump
The New York Times killed a story that could have changed the election—because it could have changed the election
by Dave Lindorff
Extra! - January/February 2005

No Peace Without Justice

Even though the title of this article is stating something that's painfully obvious, it seems lost on a lot of people. For some reason, unlike any other people in the world, the Palestinians are supposed to accept a peace settlement that is fundamentally unjust.

There will be no Middle East peace without justice
by Robert Fisk
The Independent - February 9th, 2005

Forgotten Islamic Influence on U.S. Buildings

Architectural Mecca
Building design flavored by Islam
Most U.S. cities have buildings with echoes of Islamic design
by Jonathan Curiel
San Francisco Chronicle - November 28, 2004

It's clear from the layout of the World Trade Center that (the architect) incorporated aspects of Islamic design into the towers.

"The idea of a pointed, ribbed arch was beautifully replicated in the World Trade Center...It's ironic it was used in the World Trade Center, which is then understood by the hijackers as a symbol of Western capitalism."

In fact, the history of Islamic-influenced architecture in the United States hasn't been given its due for many years. It dates back at least to the late 19th century -- longer if Moorish architecture (a blend of Islamic and Spanish) is considered.

Southwestern buildings were often made out of adobe, a sun-dried brick that takes its name from the Arabic word for brick, al-toba.

"Supporter of Terrorism" Slanders Win Yusuf Islam Monetary Damages

Singer Islam gets libel damages
Yusuf Islam, the singer formerly known as Cat Stevens, has won substantial damages by two UK newspapers which falsely claimed he supported terrorism.
BBC News - 15 February 2005

After he was awarded the libel damages on Tuesday, Mr Islam said: "It seems to be the easiest thing in the world these days to make scurrilous accusations against Muslims".

"I have been supporting orphans and needy families for many years now," and I don't intend to stop," he said.

"I have never knowingly aided any terrorist group or any charitable organization that equips or supports terrorists."

"I will continue working for peace and supporting the poor and destitute around the world."

"Six months after the fiasco of my deportation from the USA, my formal requests for clarification from the authorities there are seemingly being ignored," he said.

Our Existence is Rather Mercurial

The article below contains information about the hazards of mercury that everyone, especially pregnant women, should be aware of:

Our Preferred Poison
A little mercury is all that humans need to do away with themselves quietly, slowly, and surely
By Karen Wright, Illustration by Don Foley
Discover Magazine - March 2005

I recently read that salmon raised on farms usually have much higher mercury levels since, instead of feeding on krill in the open ocean, they are fed chum made up of in-shore bottom-feeding fish that tend to contain greater amounts of mercury than fish found in the open ocean. If you're interested in keeping up with nutrition and health issues such as these, I strongly recommend subscribing to the Nutrition Action Healthletter, which is published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. I heard Shaykh Nuh Keller recommend it a couple of years ago (possibly on the 1998 Virginia Suhba CDs), and I must admit that my wife and I have found it very informative.

Eat less salmon and enjoy...

Website Just for the Miswak

Confirming that there seems to be a website or weblog about nearly everyone or everything these days, here's one that I came across today:

MiracleBrush.com - Miswak Literature & Free Miswak

I haven't had a chance to read the articles, but it certainly looks like a useful website.

Enjoy...

Unveiling Hijab Hatred

Please check out the two articles linked to below. It seems that those secular, tolerant and open-minded Europeans are at it again. Saying this as an American, I certainly don't mean to imply that the same thing's not going on over here, since it certainly is. Actually it's somewhat scary, since if Europeans (who are certainly more open-minded, informed and tolerant, generally-speaking, than Americans) are acting this way, then what is our redneck population really thinking? Anyway, what I really find interesting is how a lot of people out there (on both sides) aren't living up to the values that they often pay lip-service to. Isn't this entire issue, along with the so-called "War on Terrorism", just one giant case study in double-standands?

The first article, below, is by Yvonne Ridley, an English journalist who embraced Islam a couple of years ago. Recently, she decided to start wearing the hijab and the article documents her experiences. The second article is about death threats and hate mail that a Belgian man has received simply for hiring a woman who wears a headscarf.

'It's only a piece of cloth'
Can a woman in a hijab still get a taxi? asks Yvonne Ridley
The Observer - December 12, 2004

Headscarf hate mail shocks Belgium
"You are a bad Belgian and you have signed your own death warrant."
by Alan Quartly
BBC News - 31 January 2005

Also, check out BBC's Viewpoints: Europe and the headscarf, which contains the opinions of various people, both Muslim and non-Muslim, about the hijab ban in French schools and for French civil servants. I enjoyed reading Fareena Alam (Managing Editor of Q-News magazine) taking some of the "liberated" Muslim women to task for having double-standards. Not only do these women always seem to claim that all Muslim women wear the hijab because they're forced to (which contradicts what many women who actually wear it say), but they, as Sister Fareena points out, compromise their "own secular principles of freedom and choice". A fine example of such myopic double-standards is the viewpoint of Rachida Ziouche, an Algerian journalist living in France, who says: "I strongly believe that people coming from the Middle East to live in Europe must adhere to the law of the land and respect the traditions of the country they have come to live in". I think it's fair to guess that her zeal for adhering to the "law of the land" is a one-way street for "people coming from the Middle East to live in Europe", but not vice versa. I'm confident that if she traveled to Saudi Arabia, Iran or any other country that has a dress code that she disagrees with, her encouragement to "respect the traditions of the country" would lose steam rather quickly. Hey, we've all got issues with our nafs, but I find such overt hypocrisy somewhat disturbing since that's a really bad situation to be in. I pray that Allah frees all of us from self-delusion!

Just in case anyone out there has never met, heard of, or heard from a Muslim woman who willingly wears the hijab (a.k.a. headscarf), then you can read some of their blogs here, here, here and here, as well as a nice set of Hijab Articles.

I case you're wondering,"So why do Muslim women wear hijbab anyway?" The short answer is...because God said so. However, if you want a more detailed explanation, please read the excellent article Why Hijab?, which was recently written by Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim Keller.

Enjoy...

The Superiority of Fiqh Over Hadith

The article linked to below discusses and demonstrates an important point that seems lost on quite a number of Muslims today. Indeed, we live in an age where the hadith sciences, for all of their importance, are seen as a be-all and end-all in some quarters. Unfortunately, much less attention is paid to the requisite knowledge required to interpret both the Qur'an and the source materials of the Prophetic Sunnah and then derive sound rulings from them. As anyone who has studied textual interpretation and heresiology should know, most errors come from weak, forced and otherwise invalid interpretations, not from differences over the validity of the sources themselves. Thus proper interpretation is quite often the key, not just textual veracity.

I recall that I once heard a scholar say that: "All heresies are based on the Qur'an and Sunnah, but by overemphasizing certain verses and narrations at the expense of others". This is very true, since every innovated group and astray sect has their set of so-called textual proofs, thus the problem doesn't lie within the texts themselves, but rather in flawed understandings of them. A pick-and-choose approach, where one downplays any ayah or hadith which foils one's preconceived notions, coupled with the very shallow and presumptuous readings of the Qur'an that we often hear today, are ultimately interpretive (a.k.a. hermeneutical) errors—thus even when only dealing with authentic source materials, the danger of falling into erroneous understandings still looms large.

Once one realizes that the hadith sciences are only concerned with authenticating and verifying the textual sources of Islam, then it logically follows that the next step is determining how to interpret and understand these sources. Traditionally, as the following article makes clear, only a scholar who is a faqih (i.e. one with a deep understanding of the source methodologies of Islamic jurisprudence) was considered qualified for such a task. In this regard, our four Imams and a few other towering scholars of Sunni Islam were uniquely qualified in their expertise since they were both hadith masters and faqihs (and they were the former before they became the latter), which is one of the reasons why their legacies are still alive and preserved for us today.

Unfortunately, this error of exalting the merits of hadith scholars over the fuqaha has lead to some of our greatest scholars and Imams not only being ignored today, but being maligned as well (and in the not-too-distant future, I plan to post some observations about nascent "Salafi" disparagements of such illustrious scholars as Imam an-Nawawi and and Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, insha'llah). For example, our great Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, may Allah be pleased with him, who is known as the "Proof of Islam" (Arabic: Hujjat al-Islam) amongst the overwheming majority of Sunni Muslims due to his profound insights and deep understanding of Islam, is considered by some Muslims today to be, at a minimum, "controversial"—if not an outright reprehensible innovator (and may Allah save us all from both slander and reprehensible innovation in the Deen). One reason for this is because Imam al-Ghazali's skills in the hadith sciences were, as most scholars readily admit, somewhat less than stellar. The error behind the attempts to devalue Imam al-Ghazali seems to be allowing an overemphasis and emotional attachment to one particular Islamic science lead one into discounting valuable scholarly achievements in other equally important areas. This is important to comprehend, since such facile and shallow approaches to Islam are not only damaging our Ummah, but tainting the reputation of our great scholars as well.

I hope that the article linked to below will serve as a useful antidote to the narrow literalism and lack of respect for fiqh that seems to be on the rampage today. I often wonder how many Muslims don't pray in the masjid regularly because they're tired of being harrassed by self-appointed muftis who know a few hadiths but are completely devoid of fiqh and usul al-fiqh (not to mention adab and hikmah). Many of us have probably heard some of these delusional "Insta-Scholars" say, "But there's a hadith that says such-and-such" whenever a derived ruling from one of the four accepted madhahib is mentioned which contradicts their own abject opinion. One should realize that in order for these types of quibbles to have any value, the zealous faqih wannabe would need to demonstrate that not only are there no other hadiths that relate to the topic in question, but which of these hadiths should take precedence and whether the Arabic language of the hadith is as clear and unambiguous as seemingly claimed (and that's just the beginning). This being understood, one should be able to readily see that Muslims who offer such unqualified opinions in order to contradict the rulings of highly developed schools of jurisprudence, whose positions have been refined by generations of eminently qualified scholars, are diving into an ocean without even knowing how to swim. May Allah Most High save us all from such a disaster!

The Superiority of Fiqh Over Hadith
by G. F. Haddad

Ibn Abî Zayd al-Mâlikî reports Sufyân ibn `Uyayna as saying: "Hadîth is a pitfall (madilla) except for the fuqahâ'", and Mâlik's companion `Abd Allâh ibn Wahb said: "Hadîth is a pitfall except for the Ulema. Every memorizer of hadîth that does not have an Imâm in fiqh is misguided (dâll), and if Allâh had not rescued us with Mâlik and al-Layth [ibn Sa`d], we would have been misguided."

Al-Shâfi`î narrated that Mâlik ibn Anas was told: "Ibn `Uyayna narrates from al-Zuhrî things you do not have!" He replied: "Why, should I narrate every single hadîth I heard? Only if I wanted to misguide people!"

Are Bloggers Protected as Journalists?

This article addresses some interesting questions:

Are bloggers journalists? Do they deserve press protections?
An Apple lawsuit against the operators of fan websites stirs debate on whether bloggers can claim legal protections.
by Randy Dotinga
The Christian Science Monitor - February 02, 2005

A Humorous Look at Islamic Finance

There's a very original posting on Islamiblog that offers a cynical critique of Islamic finance. I don't think the author is trying to say that all so-called Islamic finance schemes are disingenuous, trying to flout the shari'ah or tainted by riba. However, I think there certainly are some out there that do, or are, just that. Personally, I appreciated this little piece since it really does parody the ridiculous lengths that some Muslims will go to in their never ending quest for fabricated halalness. The main point being, as I took it, is that if you use the methodology of some people, you can make just about anything appear halal. An important point to note is how the author portrayed various details being presented to the Sheikhs piecemeal (i.e. "...halal to wrap a string around a glass...to lay down on a floor...to open a door") in order to get each part approved in isolation. From what I've heard, that's how some (although certainly not all) of these halal financing schemes manage to get approved—they leave out some of the nasty little details. Please keep in mind that this is not a critique of Islamic finance in general and certainly not the scholars who have approved such financing sincerely believing that it adheres to the highest standards of the shari'ah. Rather it's simply a critique of the unfortunate mentality of some Muslims...so lighten up and prepare laugh a little (or a lot)...

BOOK: Sufis and Sufism: A Defence

I just noticed that a new book has been released entitled Sufis and Sufism: A Defence. It's written by two of the leading 'ulama of Morocco, Shaykh 'Abdu'l-Hayy al-'Amrawi and Shaykh Abdu'l-Karim Murad, and is translated by Aisha Bewley. The full information on this book is as follows:

Title: Sufis and Sufism: A Defence
Author(s): Shaykh 'Abdu'l-Hayy al-'Amrawi and Shaykh Abdu'l-Karim Murad
Translator: Aisha Bewley
Publisher: Madinah Press (2004)
Pages: 238 Binding: Hardcover with dust jacket
ISBN: 0620319208

If you've read this book, either in the Arabic original or the English translation, please leave some comments...

---

Update: This book is now available from BookWork at:

http://www.angelfire.com/ab2/bookwork/

The Secret History of the Credit Card

I just found out that PBS Frontline recently did an investigative report called the Secret History of the Credit Card. This report shows how slimy this industry is and how many people become financially enslaved to these companies.

Damage Control - "Schwartz on Sufism"

Yusuf Smith (a.k.a. Indigo Jo) has posted some excellent comments entitled Schwartz on Sufism, so please have a look. I hope his comments serve as damage control for my earlier posting on Schartz's article which, I now realize, I probably shouldn't have posted in the first place. In my own defense, however, sometimes I read an article and post it with a "Look at what this guy's saying" frame-of-mind (i.e. I find the article interesting although I don't necessarily agree with it). However, I now realize that I should be more careful since I'd hate for someone to become misinformed because of an article that I linked to under the false assumption that I'm endorsing it. While I think that I made it rather clear that I was not endorsing the views in Schwartz's article (i.e. I said that his article was "worthy of both clarification and correction" and put a "Sort of" in the title), since some people are notoriously bad readers, it's probably better to play it safe...so I thank Brother Yusuf Smith for the wake up call.

The only comment that I'd like to add to Schwartz on Sufism is further addressing Schwartz's claim that "Sufis follow teachers ... but they resist the notion that religious authority should be based on titles and offices". Well this is rather nonsensical since even Islamic scholars of the outward sciences (i.e. hadith, fiqh, tafsir, etc.) don't believe authority should be "based on titles and offices". Rather, they believe that it should be based on demonstrated expertise in a field—and traditionally that's how Islamic scholars in all fields have established their reputations. One should note that Schwartz's article makes it clear that Sayyid 'Alawi al-Maliki was a scholar of the Maliki school of fiqh. This is worthy of attention because many Muslims and non-Muslims today have bought into "the Sufis-versus-the-'Ulama" myth which portrays Sufis as being rather apathetic towards the outward Islamic sciences. Nothing is further from the truth, since many of the greatest scholars of the Ahl al-Sunnah have been Sufis of varying degrees. Indeed, it is reported that Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "He who practices tasawwuf (Sufism) without learning the shari’ah corrupts his Deen, while he who learns the shari’ah without practicing tasawwuf corrupts himself. Only he who combines the two proves true." Islam, unlike other religions, strikes the perfect balance between one's outward works and one's inner faith...wa Allahu 'alim.

Stealing for the Sake of Da'wah: Violating Islam in Order to Save It

Linked to below is a set of interesting articles that not only all honest bloggers should read in order to stay informed, but all of the plagiarizers, content stealers, book bootleggers and copyright violators need to ponder as well. Sariji Umm Zaid has compiled a nice set of links and fatwas, which she has entitled Copyright and Islam, and I encourage everyone to take a look at it. It's a grand exposé of those who reject qualified Islamic scholarship and instead opt for the "ijtihad of the ignorant", as she so rightly puts it. While visiting her site, you should also read about Umm Zaid's personal frustrations with flagrant, rude and (until now) unrepentant copyright violators. The actions of some of these people are pretty disgusting to say the least. Personally, I continue to find it very frustrating that I never come across such people in dark alleyways (I've been out of the Marines for over ten years, but I have to admit that such thoughts still sneak in once in awhile...audhu bi-Llah). Based on my personal observations, one's respect for copyright laws tends to go way up as soon as one develops or writes something that's worthy of being copyrighted. Until that time comes (and it often never does with such shameless and uncreative people), then they seem to have a "What's mine is mine, but what's yours is ours" mentality.

Personally, I've never worried too much about other sites "borrowing" my material, since I've always felt that it wouldn't do much good to try and fight it and most (but not all) of my material was written for public consumption in the first place. Actually, quite a number of webmasters do ask permission before they borrow, so there certainly are plenty of honest Muslims out there. It does get frustrating, however, when some of them alter an article or format it poorly, but still leave my name at the top. Since it's good for one's nafs to eat a slice of humble pie once in awhile, I try (and that's sometimes all it ends up being) not to worry too much about that.

However, I recently came across a website that made me feel even more violated, which really increased my sympathy for what Umm Zaid has experienced. Not only had the "author" (and I use the word loosely) posted articles that didn't belong to him without giving any due credit, but he had edited and slightly re-written quite a number of articles written by myself and others but had inserted his name at the top as the purported author (without any credit going to anyone else other than the authors mentioned in the references—these references, for the most part, having been "borrowed" from us as well) . In these plagiarized articles, the titles were changed slightly (ostensibly so it wouldn't be a blatent and exact copy of the original), but the basic line of reasoning, nearly all of the references and most of the arguments employed were cookie-cutter plagiarizations taken from an article originally written by someone else. In spite of the rather obvious cut-and-paste job, the so-called “author” still had the gall to put only his name up at the top. Giving such people the benefit of the doubt and assuming that they do care about such things as honesty, fairness, justice and Islamic fatwas, I wouldn’t be surprised that they have a fatwa from some “scholar” which says that stealing material and attributing it to yourself for da’wah purposes is okay. Heck, I've heard of so-called fatwas that declare that murdering women and children is okay (actually, I think they considered it highly courageous and commendible), dealing in interest (riba) is okay (since how are you going to be "successful" if you don't?), marrying while intending to divorce is okay (as long as the women isn't a Saudiah, since deceiving blonde Western women to achieve short-term sexual gratification is okay) and cheating on tests is fine (as long as they're not on Arabic and Islamic subjects), so I guess I shouldn't be suprised by any of this. Like Umm Zaid, I'm not really suprised but just rather disgusted. And they wonder why the Ummah is in the state that it’s in…and "none of you truly believe until you love for your brother what you love for yourself".

Arabic Morphology Tool

This Java-based Arabic Morphology Tool can be very useful.

Traditional Islamic Sciences Under the Ottomans

The Tradition/Text-Based (Naqli) Sciences:

1. The Qur’an and Its Sciences (Qur’an, Hifz, Tajwid)
2. Qur’anic Exegesis (Tafsir)
3. Hadith and Related Sciences (Hadith)
4. Jurisprudence (Fiqh)
5. Theology (‘Ilm al-Kalam)
6. Grammar (Nahu)
7. Rhetoric (Balagh)
8. Literature (Adab)
9. Sufism (Tasawwuf)

The Reason/Intellect-Based (‘Aqli) Sciences:

1. Philosophy
2. Geometry
3. Astronomy
4. Medicine (Botany/Biology)
5. Chemistry
6. Mathematics
7. Physics

Atom Site Feed / RSS Digest

Near the bottom of this blog's right-hand column, I've added an icon and link for my new Atom formatted XML site feed. In this same vein, I've taken advantage of RSS Digest and added a site feed to the What's New? page of my Muslim-Answers.org website. Now that this is complete, the What's New? page will be automatically updated (within 60 minutes) with a link to my new blog entries, insha'llah. I've set it to display the twenty most recent entries.

Getting to Know the Sufis (Sort of)

There are assumptions running through the following article that are worthy of both clarification and correction. However, most of it is accurate enough and since it's pretty much a standard Western view of Sufism, it's good to be aware of it:

Getting to Know the Sufis
There is a tolerant, pluralist tradition in Islam. We can't afford to ignore it.
by Stephen Schwartz
The Weekly Standard - 02/07/2005, Volume 010, Issue 20

The article mentions that Shaykh Sayyid Muhammad ‘Alawi al-Maliki passed away in Mecca this past Ramadan. May Allah bless and forgive our noble Shaykh Sayyid Muhammad Alawi al-Maliki al-Makki—and grant him Jannah without reckoning, Ameen! To Allah we belong and unto Him do we return! The obituary of this noble scholar can be found here—and please take a few minutes to read it. The other day, I came across an article written by the Shaykh in defense of the Ash'ari school and here are a couple of nuggets from it that are very worthy of reflection:

I ask you, is there a single Islamic scholar of the present day, among all the PhD.'s and geniuses, who has done what Ibn Hajar 'Asqalani or Imam Nawawi have, of the service rendered by these two noble Imams (May Allah enfold them in His mercy and bliss) to the pure Prophetic Sunnah?

If Imams Nawawi, 'Asqalani, Qurtubi, Baqillani, al-Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, Haytami, Zakariyyah Ansari, and many others were not among the most brilliant scholars and illustrious geniuses, or of the Sunni Community, then who are the Sunnis?

Modesty: For Muslim Men and Muslim Women

Thoughts on Modesty

The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, "Every religion has its characteristic, and the characteristic of Islam is modesty".

Using the Koran to Fight Terrorism

I was quite happy to come across the following article which proves not only what many of us have been saying all along, but confirms the traditional Islamic position as well: that the best way to fight militant and extremist Islam is to educate Muslims about what Islam really teaches. Even though we can't fully comprehend what's going on in these dialogues without knowing all of the details, even a cursory look shows that they seem to be a step in the right direction. As usual amongst journalists, however, the author offers a rather simplistic view of Islam, since he seems to assume that the Koran is the only source of Islamic Law. The problem with this is that without tying the Koran to the Sunnah and anchoring both of these sources to the consensus ('ijma) of qualified Sunni scholars, it's open to the far-fetched and one-sided interpretations that the militants often use. The ironic thing is that many "Western antiterrorism experts" have been duped by these unqualified Koranic interpretations as well. This is why, based on their erstwhile assumption that the Koran is the problem and Islam is inherently violent, they thought that trying to refute the militant ideology would "end in disaster". Insha'llah, this dialogue program will make more people, both Muslims and non-Muslims, realize that if they want to defeat extremist Muslim militants, then the best way to do it is through a proper classical Islamic education—not by droppings bombs. Not only would this be beneficial to the Muslim World as a whole, but it would probably save a lot of lives on both sides as well. As someone once said, "Jihad, properly understood, is really a war against terrorism".

Koranic Duels Ease Terror
By James Brandon
The Christian Science Monitor - February 04, 2005

When Judge Hamoud al-Hitar announced that he and four other Islamic scholars would challenge Yemen's Al Qaeda prisoners to a theological contest, Western antiterrorism experts warned that this high-stakes gamble would end in disaster.

"If you can convince us that your ideas are justified by the Koran, then we will join you in your struggle," Hitar told the militants.

Now, two years later, not only have those prisoners been released, but a relative peace reigns in Yemen.

"Since December 2002, when the first round of the dialogues ended, there have been no terrorist attacks here, even though many people thought that Yemen would become terror's capital," says Hitar, eyes glinting shrewdly from beneath his emerald-green turban. "Three hundred and sixty-four young men have been released after going through the dialogues and none of these have left Yemen to fight anywhere else."

He says that most militants are ordinary people who have been led astray.

Orientalism and the Qur'an: "Born of Spite, Bred in Frustration"

Below is a link to, as well as some excerpts from, S. Parvez Manzoor's powerful exposé of Orientalism's on-going attempts to undermine the Qur'an. Anyone familiar with the attempts of John Wansbrough et al to cast doubts upon the early sources of Islam should find this lively essay a pleasure to read. It might be a bit late in the game and a tad triumphalist to still be kicking this dead horse, since these revisionist neo-Orientalist attacks on the Qur'an have been all been exposed as mere (and often very dishonest) conjecture that tried to proceed without solid facts (such as a wealth of 1st century Hijra manuscripts) getting in the way. In that regard, I can't help but mention a recently published book by Shaykh Muhammad M. Al-Azami entitled The History of the Qur'anic Text from Revelation to Compilation: A Comparative Study with the Old and New Testaments [Amazon.co.uk], which is a detailed, passionate, scholarly and uniquely illustrated refutation of Orientalist attacks on the Qur'an. I very, very highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this important discussion since this certainly is by far the best book on this subject in English—thus I suggest purchasing a copy as soon as possible, insha'llah. In the mean time, getting back to the original article, I also highly recommend pondering the following poignant vindication of the Qur'an:

Method against Truth: Orientalism and Qur'anic Studies
by S. Parvez Manzoor

“The Orientalist enterprise of Qur'anic studies, whatever its other merits and services, was a project born of spite, bred in frustration and nourished by vengeance: the spite of the powerful for the powerless, the frustration of the ‘rational' towards the ‘superstitious' and the vengeance of the ‘orthodox' against the ‘non-conformist'. At the greatest hour of his worldly-triumph, the Western man, coordinating the powers of the State, Church and Academia, launched his most determined assault on the citadel of Muslim faith.”

“That Orientalism was a naked discourse of power and that its epistemology was a crude charade of legitimizing ethnocentric arrogance, is no longer a point of contention with any knowledgeable student of Islam or of modern history.”

“Undoubtedly, within the matrix of linguistic, textual and chronological studies, the most ambitious project of Orientalist scholarship was to produce a ‘critical' text of the Qur'an. To a Muslim, uncompromisingly conditioned by the authority of the mutawatir tradition, such scholarly hubris strikes as suicidal, if not downright blasphemous. Such, however, is the lure of the ‘critical' approach for the Orientalist that everything that is normative and axiomatic for the Muslim tradition has to be rejected with impunity, even if it tolls the death of impartiality or of ‘scholarship'.”

“With Wansbrough, the triumph of method over truth is complete. Along with the bath water of Orientalist chronology, one now throws the baby of Islamic history as well. The Qur'an, thus unanchored from its historic moorings, now becomes amenable to any kind of methodological torture and the Orientalist scholar absolved of any chronological responsibility.”

“The divorce of history and method that is the seed of Wansbrough's literary analysis, however, is bringing mixed harvest to the, now largely abandoned, manor-house of Orientalism. If, on the one hand, there is a vanguard assault to pulverise the mansion of Islamic history into the rubble of ‘salvation history', most notably in the works of Patricia Croone and Michael Cooke, there is also, on the other hand, the growing evidence of reliability of the Muslim tradition.”

“Because of its foreign origin, its missionary trappings and its colonial designs, we have, rightly, dismissed Orientalism as the pathological fallacy of the Western religious, political and cultural megalomania. Nonetheless, we cannot remain immune forever against the claims of its method that are being proffered in the name of ‘universal' reason itself.”

Click here to read this entire article...

New Website: SarajiUmmZaid.info

Our friend Saraji Umm Zaid has established a new website complete with links to her writings, poetry, websites and more. We've linked to it at the bottom of our links page and we pray that she continues to maintain her output of quality content...

A Humorous Look at Narrow Sectarianism

I have to admit that I laughed out loud the first time I read this joke. As they say, the best jokes tell us something about reality. Indeed, this joke, in which we're supposed to imagine the two participants becoming increasingly enthusiastic as they discover their mutually-held beliefs, speaks volumes about the narrow sectarian outlook of some people. Unfortunately, it could just as easily be about Muslims as about Christians:

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I was walking across a bridge one day and I saw a man standing on a ledge, about to jump off. So I ran over and said, "Stop! Don't do it!"

"Why shouldn't I?" he said.

"Well, there's so much to live for."

"Like what?"

"Well, are you religious?"

He said, "Yes."

I said, "Me too! Are you Christian or Buddhist?"

"Christian."

"Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?"

"Protestant."

"Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?"

"Baptist."

"Wow, me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?"

"Reformed Baptist Church of God."

"Me too. Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1789 or Reformed Baptist Church of God, 1915?"

He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915."

I said, "Burn in Hell, heretic scum!" and pushed him off the bridge.

(St.) Paul from the Muslim Perspective

In regards to some comments that I received, I recently posted the following remarks:

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As far as a "book on Paul which is written from a Muslim perspective", well Hyam Maccoby's The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity remains my favorite although, strictly speaking, it's not written from a Muslim perspective. However, this book, along with James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls, by Robert Eisenman, offer a wealth of information about the formative years of Chrisitanity that don't fit into the one given by Christian orthodoxy. The latter book, which spans 1000+ pages, is a bit of a taxing read not only because it's so voluminous but because the author takes some (rather ignorant) swipes at Islam as well. Overall, the question of the relationship of Jesus' true non-Trinitarian followers, lead by James in Jerusalem, and the Essenes community at Qumran remains a fascinating, although somewhat obscure, one. From a Muslim perspective, there's certainly enough evidence to demonstrate that Jesus' followers, as described in the Qur'an, existed and survived as a true monotheistic community. However, if you're just looking for a good study on Paul and how he lead Christianity astray, then The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity is as good a place to start as any.

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As far as useful books, I probably should have mentioned From Jesus to Christ: The Origins of the New Testament Images of Jesus, by Paula Fredriksen, as well. I read both From Jesus to Christ and Maccoby's The Mythmaker with great interest years ago when I was beginning to question my Christian beliefs after first coming into contact with the pure monotheism of Islam.

Enjoy...

New Links Added - "Wardah Books" and "The Hijab Store"

I've added links to Wardah Books and The Hijab Shop to the bottom of my new links page. Wardah Books, which is based in Singapore, is a new publisher of "English Books on Traditional Islam" and they have some unique and interesting looking titles. The Hijab Shop, which I was unaware of until they contacted me about being added to my links page, offers a wide array of hijabs and acccessories for Muslim women. I really liked their Hijab Articles page, which clearly demonstrates that Muslim women can be productive and active members of society even though they happen to be modestly dressed. Even though I don't necessarily condone all of the activities that the women were depicted as taking part in, I think the list of articles is a powerful response to the detractors and critics of modest dress and the hijab.

Comments on "Protestants" and "Pharisees"

So that they don't remain hidden in the comments section, here is some feedback that I recently posted in regards to some comments that I received on my recent Muslim-Answers.org - Main Page Update post:

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Well I'm disappointed that no examples were provided to demonstrate my "childish descriptions" (a potentially valid subjective opinion) and "half-truths" (which borders on slander if not substantiated). However, if one has to ask "what on earth is our author talking about", then I guess I should be faulted for assuming that readers would actually know something of the subject that I was writing about. If you think that "Protestant Islam" and "Pharisee like literalism" (personally, I really liked that one!) are inaccurate or illegitimate descriptions, then you need to explain why. I'm certainly not the first one to employ the "Protestant Islam" analogy. Like any analogy, this one should only be taken so far, although it does seemingly offer a valid critique of their invalidation of tradition, often shallow hermeneutics and forced ahistorical outlook. As someone who spent the first twenty-eight years of my life as a Protestant Christian and then about the first eight years of my Muslim life (four of it in Kuwait) as a so-called "Salafi", my former insider's view has caused me to see these descriptions as perfectly valid, at least on a certain level. I'll probably continue to see them as such until an informed and articulate person demonstrates to me why they're not. I'm standing by...

Based on what I know and what I've seen, there's no doubt that the so-called "Salafis" and "Wahabis" (and let there be no doubt that's who I was criticizing) have fallen into the error of excessive literalism and mixed-up priorities. It's often said that the Pharisees (at least as described in the New Testament) put the "letter of the law before the spirit of the law", which is quite often the error of the so-called "Salafis" as well. While keeping in mind that invoking the "letter of the law" is often used by liberal Muslims as an excuse for side-stepping the requirements of the Divine Law, I think that letter versus spirit is a legitimate criticism of the "Salafis/Wahabis". What's the point of having a long beard or a short thawb, both of which are undeniably from the Sunnah, but your heart is a mess, you believe in your own self-righteousness and you look down on almost all other Muslims as misguided? Ultimately, the essential error of the "Salafis/Wahabis" is believing that they're the only ones who are right while everyone else is wrong. Interestingly, this is not only what many scholars put forward as a characteristic of a misguided sect, but it's a classic characteristic of Protestantism as well.

As far as "illegitimate and dehumanising terminology", well I never used any of that. Labels and descriptions for certain groups have been used throughout the history of Islam. Not only did 'Ali Ibn Abu Talib, may Allah be please with him, call the Khawarij the "dogs of Hellfire", but the Prophet himself, may Allah bless him and give him peace said that the "Qadariyyah are the Magians of this Ummah". This was obviously because their denial of Divine preordainment (al-Qadr) forced them into the same essentially Manichaean theological position as the fire-worshipping Magians (Majus). My overall point being that such labels, in and of themselves, are permissible and in order to be called "illegitimate" they must be logically demonstrated to be as such. I'm still not sure where your "dehumanising" accusation came from, since both the "Protestant" and "Pharisee" labels that I employed come from groups that are all too human. Perhaps, and I feel that this might be the case, you're just against any type of intra-Muslim religious criticism at all. It would be nice if we lived in an Islamic utopia, but unfortunately there is such a thing as religious misguidance. Indeed, our noble Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, went to great lengths to warn us about such misguidance, so even though it might be distasteful to some, it certainly isn't something that's inherently erroneous or uncalled for.

I was expecting that my new introductory essay on my Muslim-Answers.org page would spark some controversy, so your comments certainly didn't come as a surprise. Even though my Muslim friends, in spite of our disagreements, continue to range from strict "Salafis" to liberal "Progressive Muslims", I just can't allow my website to sit idly by while ideas that I see as Islamically harmful and divisive continue to run rampant amongst our often ill-informed communities. Although I certainly don't revel in undue controversy, I think that more Muslims need to be aware of what's going on...wa Allahu 'alim.

Muslim-Answers.org - Main Page Update

I've finally gotten around to updating, re-writing and de-Wahabizing the introductory essay on the main page of my Muslim-Answers.org website. The essay is riddled with links which point to various books and articles that are referenced in the essay. Please let me know what you think...

Americans: "In the Thrall of Talking Heads"

This article confirms what I've often suspected. It poignantly points out that Americans are "in the thrall of talking heads", which is certainly true since far too often they uncritically accept the hate-mongering rhetoric that is spoon-fed to them by the media, their pastors or so-called "experts" on Islam.

A Nation of Faith and Religious Illiterates
by Stephen Prothero
Los Angeles Times - January 12, 2004

"The Dutch are four times less likely than Americans to believe in miracles, hell and biblical inerrancy. The euro does not trust in God. But here is the paradox: Although Americans are far more religious than Europeans, they know far less about religion."

"But, according to a 1997 poll, only one out of three U.S. citizens is able to name the most basic of Christian texts, the four Gospels, and 12% think Noah's wife was Joan of Arc. That paints a picture of a nation tha