Saudi Arabia deports ‘irresistible’ men deemed ‘too handsome’ to women

With news like this who needs entertainment? Saudi Arabia has been known for it’s outrageous laws and regulations, but this gives a new meaning to their brand of religious conservatism. Three men were denied the right to visit and deported back to the UAE after they were thought to be too ‘irresistible’ for women. It’s the ultimate compliment mixed with a slap in the face. While other countries are busy deporting people for illegal stay and employment and perhaps other valid reasons, Saudi Arabia is occupied in driving out awesomely good looking men! Because Saudi men ‘are worth it’ and they just can’t handle it!

Now as person who has a keen interest in religious and political matters of world, I don’t find this justified in any way, as I suspect anybody else in their right mind wouldn’t either. I cannot think of any religious or historical example which would approve the reason behind this deportation.

Of course this isn’t the first time we’re hearing Saudi pass a ridiculous decision, there are plenty more, but this has to be the funniest by far.

Beauty is subjective, some people might find them attractive and some might not. But so what if they’re ‘irresistible’? It’s not their fault. They have every right not be deported because of the way they look. Why only assume that women will become so attracted these men that they won’t control themselves? Who’s to say that a decent woman won’t approach one of these ‘irresistible’ males for marriage in an Islamic way? After all Islam does recommend to look for physical attraction along with other attributes regarding characteristics and faith in a potential spouse.

So I’m left thinking now, I might need to be careful on my futures visits to the Middle East, as I might be in for a surprise due to my awesomeness and looks that turn heads in awe!

Pardon my humorous vanity and cheap puns, couldn’t resist.

Posted from Saj’s Nexus

Praying for Boston

Earlier this week we learned of a disaster which took place in Boston. A number of bombs went off during the end of a marathon, in which a number of innocent people were killed and many injured.

My prayers go out to those who lost their lives, those that were injured and the friends and families and anyone else effected by this act of terror. I pray that the individuals responsible for this tragedy are brought to justice as soon as possible.

“The investigation is in its infancy, there are no claims of responsibility and the range of suspects and motives remains wide open.” – FBI Special Agent Richard DesLauriers

Innocent civilians were the target in this attack, whoever may be responsible is a criminal, a terrorist, a murderer in the eyes of the law, religion and God.

Until we hear from authorities to provide more information about who may have been responsible, I hope people hold off on making baseless statements and assumptions as to who might have been involved. I don’t think it’s fitting to speculate and blame without a  justified reason. 

Let’s not forget that this is happening in other parts of the world too. Just like in Boston, innocent people are being killed and tortured in Bangladesh, Palestine, Burma, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, etc… the list goes on. Just like we actively condemn this act of violence in Boston, we as decent people of society should condemn in the same manner; the violence and killings which are happening in other countries as well.

The Qur’an condemns such acts of violence in no uncertain terms, “Whoever kills an innocent life it is as if he has killed all of humanity…”.

Posted from Saj’s Nexus

Never judge a book by its cover!

Reblogged from bbeatriicee B:

I never really made a proper introduction of myself and I don't plan to do one. That's simply because I don't want to waste a post on that, or your time, and I couldn't tell you anything interesting or out of the ordinary (if you check my About page it says simple and that's how it is).
However, this post will be 2 in 1 haha.

Read more… 727 more words

In Defense of Prophets

Reblogged from islamwich:

This post is one that I wrote in September 2012 about the anti-Islam video "The Innocence of Islam" and subsequent murders and riots. I know that it is no longer a “current event”, but the issue remains and has been relevant since the first prophet, Adam.

One Muslim-American’s view of "Innocence of Islam" video: First of all, it was really poor quality and was kinda hard to follow but besides that:

Read more… 495 more words

Confessions of a lousy blogger #2

Praying

As most Muslims, I was taught to pray from a young age. I remember my father teaching and continuously reminding me, emphasising how important it is to be a praying Muslim, I have never doubted his advice to never neglect it, even till this day. I regard prayer as a valuable tool for a believer in today’s secular driven consumer society. But I’m going to confess. Some Muslims may feel too ashamed to say this, even I am myself, but I think addressing it rather than leaving it in the closet will benefit me and many others who read this. I am a part time prayer. By “part time” I mean not to boast, far from it. What I mean by it, is that I sometimes do not find the time as a person living and working in busy London, or even feel foolishly lazy on occasions. I understand these are lousy excuses and I am not hiding behind them, most Muslims have the same problem and it is something to talk about and deal with.

I have tasted the benefits of salah (prayer). When I pray, I feel light and humble, like there is no one more calm and easy than me in the moment. I recognise the wisdom behind the belief to pray five times a day. What better way is there to appreciate the Creator other than to devote a period of your day towards him, physically, mentally and spiritually. It fascinates me. To give up what you are doing for a moment and direct all your energy and thought onto a simple task like praying, simply out of free will.

“So how do I stop neglecting my prayers?” If I had a penny for every time I’ve heard someone say this. But I’ve been asking myself the same question lately and it got me thinking. The question is very common in today’s Muslim society, mostly asked in a rhetorical manner, as if to say “I am trying, what else can I do?” or “I am a Muslim but I’m not perfect”, hash tag – excuses.  What if as concerned fellow Muslims, we took to this question seriously? We need to. Because someone who has been a Muslim since birth, has now come to a point in life where he has to ask how he can pray five times a day, that’s worrying. And unfortunately the case for many Muslims in the UK, including myself.

The question isn’t about being lazy. To say to someone that they cannot be ‘bothered’ to pray is problematic, and I don’t think it helps at all in the first place. It gives the impression that praying is a chore, a duty, a task which we wouldn’t do if we had no need to do it. We can’t be bothered to take out the rubbish, to wash the car, clean the sink, but we do them because we need to. Praying shouldn’t fall in the same category. Praying is productive, its educational, its essential for iman to flourish within a Muslim. Through the example of the Prophet we learn prayer is a devotional act.

I was listening to talk by Sheikh Abdul Hakim Murad also known as Timothy Winter, a great Muslim intellectual in my opinion. He was talking about neglecting prayer and gave a great comparison of which I think speaks deeply about why we neglect our prayers. His comparison was this, imagine the most beautiful woman came up to you and you wanted to marry her, but she had one condition which you had to fulfil. Her condition was that you had to kiss her five times a day in order to keep her. Abdul Hakim said “which man would not put up with that to marry a beautiful woman?”

When we want something and desire it, there is a lot we will do to reach or achieve it. A person who wants a particular well paid job will sacrifice his time, effort and energy to get it. And if he doesn’t get it, he is sad and even regretful maybe.

Compare our worldly desires to our desire for Allah. How much is it? Can we even measure it? When a person completely loves and desires his Creator, the same principle applies, there is so much he will do to appreciate Him and love Him. So then praying becomes something very ordinary for him and he will priorities it without thinking twice. This is what I think we need to focus on, rather than asking how we can stop neglecting prayers, we need to ask ourselves a very simple question, ‘do I love my Creator? Do I appreciate Him?’. I believe this is an effective way to question our own iman (faith), to initiate the realisation that our iman maybe becoming weak and we need to do something about it.

I hope this of some use to anyone who reads it.

Posted from Saj’s Nexus

History channel’s Devil looks like Obama

Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni as Satan in The History Channel's 'The Bible'

The History channel has a new mini series named “The Bible”. And it comes as no surprise that viewers took to Twitter and Facebook and other social sites, when they noticed the actor who played the role of Satan in the series resembled the appearance of Barack Obama! Glenn Beck was the first to notice this resemblance, and tweeted a picture of the actor asking whether anyone else thought the same.

Okay,  let’s be clear. The actor cast as Satan, Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni, looks like Barack Obama, you cannot miss the striking resemblance. It’s a hilarious moment for the news and media, well at least I think so. But was it deliberate on the part of The History channel and the makers of “The Bible”? I doubt it. Ouazanni has starred in many faith related films even before Obama became president. The History channel and executive producers Mark Burnett and Roma Downey responded denying the likeness. “This is utter nonsense” Burnett said. “The actor who played Satan, Mehdi Ouzaani, is a highly acclaimed Moroccan actor… False statements such as these are just designed as a foolish distraction to try and discredit the beauty of the story of The Bible.”

Now I want to step aside from all this media hype for a moment.

“The Bible” has come under fire for other reasons, as well. A number of Biblical scholars have noticed that the show seems to be “Europeanizing” characters in the story. In particular, it seems as though characters with positive roles are being cast as white, while roles of characters engaging in evil are more likely to be filled by actors with darker skin.“ – The Huffington Post

“The History Channel is engaging in a systematic whitewashing of the Bible, its characters and narratives, with a few telling exceptions.” – Rev. Wil Gafney, Ph.D

One of the greatest problems I believe the West has with the Bible, is the constant need to westernise every part of it to meet the expectations of a western audience. We could just brush this aside and get on with the story, but I think accuracy in these stories matters in a multicoloured, multicultural, multi-religious society. I don’t think it’s beneficial when history, the Bible or any other holy book etc is misrepresented like this.

I mean come on! You’re the ‘History’ channel for crying out loud! How ironic is it that you cannot or won’t accurately present the courses of history.

The History channel’s “The Bible” presents Jesus with a European white appearance. While scholars are yet to agree on what colour Jesus actually was, and I doubt they ever will. We know for sure Jesus had African links, and so I think we can safely say that he definitely looked nothing like Boris Johnson.

Posted from Saj’s Nexus

Repost- Poem by Ammar AlShukry

Reposted from muslimmatters.org.

I had some fun writing this one. Purely fictional, no offense intended.
I met Ahmed, he was a dejected fellow,
I asked him why he was looking so mellow,
He told me, when I converted to Islam,
I was told that I was joining the brotherhood of man,
At the masjid I got hugs, felt so happy and serene,
It was the most beautiful gathering I’d ever seen,
For months they took me in, like a baby they would wean,
Then someone told me that marriage was half of my deen,
So off I went! Simple enough, when all the brothers loved me,
I felt my heart was one with my brothers, tied by the God above me,
I shyly walked up to the imām sat down and eloquently stated,
That I was doing well for myself, unattached and educated,
And ever since I accepted Islam I’ve gone through a lot,
Quite frankly this community here is now all the family I’ve got,
So I would appreciate his assistance in seeking out a better half,
Someone I could share a journey with, as well as a tear and a laugh,
His response was less warm than I had imagined in my mind,
Like he was burdened with locating someone impossible to find,
He said, “Brother Ahmed, I just want to alert you,
That this might take a while, so be easy, patience is a virtue”
I asked “How long ago was this?” Ahmed laughed and said, “BRO”
the conversation that I had with the imām was three years ago!”
I sat down next to him, wearing a painful grimace,
saying “so what was your experience, from start to finish!”
Ahmed leaned his head against the wall, to silently recollect,
And then looked at me and said, “This ummah isn’t what you expect.
Side by side and feet to feet, we may gather at a plate to eat,
but all of that will just retreat, when his daughter is why you meet,
So after meeting more than my share of parents insanely selective,
I have my own breakdown of the Ummah from a converts perspective,”
I interrupted “Hold on Ahmed” the story bringing me to focus,
“I’ll shout out the country, and you tell me your diagnosis”
“Sudan!” He said, “Y’all Sudanese have it rough..
“I thought we were all black but her father said I wasn’t arab enough “
I LOLed at his jab, and then went to the next country,
“Palestine” he laughed and said, “Maybe if you have 20K for a dowry”
“What about the people of the Nile?” He said, “You wont believe it,
They asked me if I was willing to buy an apartment out in Egypt..
I approached a Pakistani family, and they were really nice,
They said, not a chance..but we hope that you make it to paradise,
There was a Somali family and they didn’t hesitate to say no,
But said if only you were a WHITE convert, you would have been a go,
There was an Indian father who I still just wanna smack,
He said, “You are Muslim now, how do I know you will never go back?”
Like any of us really know, aren’t we all quite possibly,
liable to be misguided or astray by deviance or apostasy,
Its just frustrating when you hear that, like theyre trying to say,
That Islam for them is more engrained in their hearts, blood or DNA
When I am the one who faced my family and cultures antagonism,
To jump into an Ummah made prison, not at all what I envisioned,
His head, still resting against the wall tilted towards the sky,
“I haven’t given up on the Ummah, I just sit and wonder why?
Why is it that we can convert from our entire religion,
But all of these born Muslims can’t convert from tradition.”

By Ammar AlShukry

Posted from Saj’s Nexus