Did Abraham, Moses, King David and Jesus, peace be upon them, have a beard or not? Do observant faithful male followers of Judaism have breads or not? The beard is the natural God given sign of manhood, and the universal distinguishing mark of masculinity from femininity. This is why all prophets of God like Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, may Allah’s peace be upon them all, had beards and ordered their followers to keep their beards. Shaving the beard entirely or shaving the beard partially and prolonging the mustache, is only a recent innovation in mankind originating among the pagans and polytheists and then spreading among others and blindly aped by some of the believers of monotheism – the professed faith of many. Muslims seek to maintain the way of the prophets in this aspect of the God given appearance of masculinity. Its as simple as that.
Nobel Peace Prize winner “Tawakkul Karman,” ‘The mother of Yemen’s revolution,’ when asked about her Hijab by journalists and how it is not proportionate with her level of intellect and education, replied: “Man in early times was almost naked, and as his intellect evolved he started wearing clothes. What I am today and what I’m wearing represents the highest level of thought and civilization that man has achieved, and is not regressive. It’s the removal of clothes again that is a regression back to the ancient times.’
Buddhist parents praying for their children's success in the upcoming College Entrance Exam. In a special ceremony that begins at 6 PM and lasts until four in the morning, devoted parents complete three thousand bows.
A Salafi (Arabic: سلفي) is a Muslim who emphasises the Salaf ("predecessors" or "ancestors"), the earliest Muslims, as model examples of Islamic practice.[1] The term has been in use since the Middle Ages but today refers especially to a follower of a modern Sunni Islamic movement known as Salafiyyah or Salafism, which is related to or includes Wahhabism (a name which some of its proponents consider derogatory, preferring the term Salafism), so that the two terms are often viewed as synonymous.[2] Salafism has become associated with literalist, strict and puritanical approaches to Islam and, in the West, with the Salafi Jihadis who espouse violent jihad against civilians as a legitimate expression of Islam.[3] It's been noted that the Western association of Salafi ideology with violence stems from writings done "through the prism of security studies" that were published in the late 20th century, having persisted well into contemporary literature. [4]
Though the brutal murders of four U.S. officials in Libya may have had nothing to do with the film (White House officials and some analysts say the attack may have been planned in advance), the reaction in Muslim nations to the release of an anti-Islam movie by a Israeli-American filmmaker Sam Bacile is only intensifying. From banning YouTube in Afghanistan to nationwide protests in Egypt, the outrage cycle is far from over following. The movie Muslim Innocence may be a low-budget project "barely at the level of a high school play," as one pundit put it, but its depiction of an effete homosexual Muhammad has touched a serious nerve and social networks in the Middle East and Northern Africa are humming with calls for further demonstrations. Here's a glimpse of the impact this story has had around the world:
Afghanistan. For the first time ever, the Afghan government banned YouTube from the entire country in an attempt to prevent citizens from watching the movie. “Following instructions by the ministry of information and culture, the ministry of communication has ordered all service providers to block YouTube access,” a communications ministry official told AFP. The ban will persist "until YouTube removes this abusive film," the official said. An internet user in Kabul confirmed with AFP that the video site was indeed down, despite the fact that YouTube seems to have removed all results fro the Prophet Muhammad. “It seems YouTube has removed all searches for Prophet Mohammed," the official added. "We may lift the ban soon if it is confirmed that YouTube has banned access to this trailer." CBS reports that Afghan President Hamid Karzai attempted to preempt any violence saying the film was only the product of a "small radical minority" in the U.S. This is why we Afghanistan can't have nice things, apparently.
Haha, Muslim nations.You're only perpetuating the notoriety of this film every time you kick up a stink. If you'd just shut up and ignore it no one would know about it.Dingbats.
Anti-Islam film: Pakistan minister offers bounty A Pakistani government minister has offered a $100,000 (£61,616) reward for the death of the maker of an anti-Islam film produced in the US.Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmad Bilour said he would pay the reward for the "sacred duty" out of his own pocket.A government spokesman condemned the remarks and said it was considering taking action against Mr Bilour.The comments came a day after at least 20 people died in clashes between anti-film protesters and Pakistani police.Friday's violence occurred in cities throughout Pakistan, with Karachi and Peshawar among the worst hit."I will pay whoever kills the makers of this video $100,000," the minister said. "If someone else makes other similar blasphemous material in the future, I will also pay his killers $100,000.
Religion of Peace and Tolerance?
Christians would probably be after blood as well if the movie were about Jesus. Well... maybe no after blood, but they'd be very cross. Very cross indeed.
Oh this story gets better and better!http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19687386Religion of Peace and Tolerance?
Google vs. GodWhat’s causing all these Hasidic Jews to flee their community? Smartphones.Once upon a time—say, in the 1990s—a Hasidic Jew looking for escape from her blinkered world might have gone to the library. But by the time F. Vizel, a Satmar Hasid, learned that the public library existed at the age of 20, she’d already made a far more critical discovery. She’d found the Internet.Vizel, who grew up an hour and a half from New York City, started going online at 19 on her husband’s laptop. Within two years, she began exploring blogs by people who had left Hasidism, and had a huge realization: She wasn’t the only Hasidic Jew questioning what she now calls a "lifetime of indoctrination and being taught not to think." When she set up an anonymous Facebook account, she posted a painting of Eve in the Garden of Eden as her profile picture, implying that the Internet had become her tree of knowledge.In time, Vizel became so rebellious—she asked to stop shaving the hair she covered with a scarf, flouting the standards for married women in her community—that she says she was asked by community leaders to hand over the laptop. By then, though, it was too late. Two years ago, she and her husband split, and some months later she left their community in Kiryas Joel, N.Y., taking her son with her.
Foreskin's Lament: A Memoir by Shalom Auslander.Shalom Auslander grew up in the 1970s and 80s in Monsey, New York, in an Orthodox Jewish family, with all that entailed: the arcana of kosher dietary restrictions; the uniform of the Orthodox Jew--tzitzis and peyis and yarmulke; the mind-numbing bordeom of Sabbath, when most worthwhile human activitiy is forbidden by Jewish law."It was forbidden to watch TV, it was forbidden to write, it was forbidden to draw, it was forbidden to color. It was forbidden to play with trains because they used electricity. It was forbidden to play with Legos because it was considered building. It was forbidden to play with Silly Putty because if you pressed it against a newspaper it would transfer some of the ink to itself, and so it was considered printing."Quote
You may have seen this photo (or others like it) going around, posted on Facebook, etc, with a note that it depicts Burmese monks praying for world peace, or something along those lines. That’s not quite accurate.The actual story is that this is from a photoset of what some call a cult, based out of Thailand, whose “mass ceremonies,” we are told, “are inspired by the head abbot’s fascination with the Muslim hajj gatherings and Nazi parades…” That description and the photoset itself — called “Close Encounters of the Buddhist Kind” — come by way Foreign Policy, which hosts the photoset here. These photos do deserve to be seen — only, in context.
