Global Conversation on Muslim-Christian Dialogue

Christianity Today and the Lausanne movement have been conducting Global Conversation on certain important global issues recently. In March 2010, the Conversation is on

How should Christians who have a passion for evangelization relate to Islam? For North Americans, the question took on new urgency in the wake of September 11. But Christians in Muslim-majority societies have dealt with the question far longer.

Chawkat Moucarry, World Vision International's director of interfaith relations describes his commitment and mission in A Lifelong Journey with Islam.

I have never understood why some people look at dialogue and mission in either-or terms. In my experience, these words belong so much to each other that they should never be divorced. Evangelical Christians (whose theology I share) have shown an unwarranted suspicion of dialogue, simply because some have used it as a substitute for mission. Not only are the two words compatible, but they must shape each other.

more here.

David Shenks has this to contribute "My life motto as I engage in dialogue with Muslims is the same that Moucarry has highlighted (1 Pet. 3:15): Be clear in my confession of faith—Jesus is Lord. Give account of this reality to all who ask. Bear witness with gentleness and respect." more here in Experiencing Dialogue.

While dialogue seems to be the way to go, there are concerns. Evelyne A. Reisacher who had served for over 20 years as the associate director of a church-based organization in France called l'AMI, dedicated to facilitate Christian-Muslim encounters and assist Muslim Background Believers. She is assistant professor of Islamic studies and Intercultural Relations at Fuller Theological Seminary has this to say in Dialogue Shaping Mission Shaping Dialogue.

In conclusion: Has my perception of dialogue changed? Yes and no. The questions I raised prior to my first experience of dialogue in 2003 are still relevant and must be revisited each time I engage in dialogue. My commitment to Jesus Christ and the gospel has not changed. But dialogue is a constant reminder of the human face of mission: It helps us encounter Muslims as equal interlocutors worthy of being listened to and with whom we should respectfully share our beliefs.

How then does this dialogue translate to realpolitik?

Dr Ng Kam Weng, director of Kairos Research Centre in Kuala Lumpur shares about the situation in Malaysia "to explain the ambivalence of Christian minority groups toward Christian-Muslim dialogue" as a response in Building a Common Society.

Dialogue beneath the Gothic arches of Western universities should be welcomed, but surely genuine dialogue would gain more credence if it took place at the ground level, especially in countries where Islamic authorities do not feel the need to modulate their power so as to present an acceptable face, as they would when dealing with their Western counterparts. If indeed dialogue takes place, the Islamic authorities typically set the terms of engagement, reducing it to social rituals to confirm the dominance of Islam rather than to promote mutual understanding and respect. Naturally, local Christians lose enthusiasm for "dialogue."

It is not often so cut and dry about inter-faith dialogue in Muslim-majority countries as has been pointed out by Dr Ng. Read more here.

Nigeria is another country where is there had been violence between Muslims and Christians. Sunday Agang who is dean of the School of Theology and Ethics, JETS Theological Seminary in Jos, Nigeria comments on The Audacity of Dialogue.

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More about Church Torching in Malaysia

Response from Rev. Ong Sek Leang, Senior Pastor of Metro Tabernacle Church. The administrative office of Metro Tabernacle in Desa Melawati was completely gutted.




HT: Sivin Kit's Garden

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) -

Sat Jan 9, 2010 11:57pm EST

Arsonists in Malaysia struck at a convent school and a fifth church on Sunday amid rising tensions between majority Muslims and Christians over the use of the word "Allah" to describe the Christian God.

Police in the sleepy city of Taiping, around 300 km (185 miles) from the capital Kuala Lumpur, said a petrol bomb had been thrown at the guard house of a Catholic convent school but had failed to go off.

They also said they had found several broken bottles including paint thinners outside one of the country's oldest Anglican churches, All Saints, Taiping, and said one of the building's walls had been blackened.

read more and watch the video.

Washington Post

By EILEEN NG

The Associated Press
Sunday, January 10, 2010; 12:37 AM

On Sunday, men, women and children from the Metro Tabernacle parish assembled in the cavernous, 1,800-seat meeting hall of the Malaysian Chinese Association party for the service. They lifted their hands and sang "We put all our faith in you," and "You are the God of love and peace" during the Sunday service.

"My wife was worried, but we want to be here to support the church," said Michael Chew, 40, who came to the service with two children, aged 1 and 6.

The service was in English, as are most Christian services in mainland Malaysia though some are in Chinese and Tamil languages. Such services do not use the word "Allah." Only the Malay-language prayers for indigenous tribespeople in the remote states of Sabah and Sarawak use "Allah," as they have for decades.

The Allah ban is unusual in the Muslim world. The Arabic word is commonly used by Christians to describe God in such countries as Egypt, Syria and Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation.

read more and watch the slide show

.

Mr. Zam who’s the president of the Parent Teacher Association of an Islamic School next to the Metro Tabernacle Church was very kind to share some of his thoughts in relation to church arson on Friday, January 8, 2010.

HT: Sivin Kit's Garden

Why? Why the Need to Resort to Violence?

.	Malaysia churches firebombed - Aljazeera.net Two Christian churches in Malaysia have been firebombed amid tensions over the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims in the country. ...

Two Christian churches in Malaysia have been firebombed amid tensions over the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims in the country.

Attackers threw a petrol bomb at church in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, and tried to set another ablaze in a nearby suburb in the early hours of Friday, witnesses and officials said.

A Malaysian court had last week overturned a government ban on non-Muslims using the word "Allah" in their literature, allowing Roman Catholic newspaper, the Herald, to use the term to refer to God in the Malay language.

The judge has since suspended the implementation of the ruling, after the government appealed the ruling and the Catholic church agreed to the suspension.

The fire in Friday's first incident gutted the administrative office on the first floor of the three-storey Metro Tabernacle Assembly of God church, shortly after midnight.

"There are witness reports two persons on a motorbike came near the entrance and hurled in something looking like a petrol bomb," Kevin Ang, a church spokesman, said.

Separately, Lawrence Andrew, the editor of the Herald, said a Molotov cocktail was thrown into the compound of the Roman Catholic Assumption church in Petaling Jaya, just outside the capital, around 4am on Friday.

other links from Sivin Kit's Garden who call for Mourning for Malaysia

Malaysian church fire-bombed ahead of Muslim protests

KL church torched

Malaysia church torched amid Allah row

Church damaged in midnight fire

Malaysian church set on fire: officials

Is this the right approach? When the due process of the law do not give you what you want, you resort to violence to get what you want? Then these "respect" you give to the "due process of the law" is just so much empty words. And the issue is about? The content and context of a word.

It is a sad day for Malaysia.

.

Christian Theology in the Islamic Context

Christian theology in Islamic Context - Upload a Document to Scribd

Read this document on Scribd: Christian theology in Islamic Context

HT: Hedonese

Christian Theology in the Islamic Context

Christian theology in Islamic Context - Upload a Document to Scribd

Read this document on Scribd: Christian theology in Islamic Context

HT: Hedonese

Encyclopedia of Islam and Iran

Ali Akbar Velayati, (2008), The Encyclopedia of Islam and Iran: Dynamics of Culture and the Living Civilisation, Petaling Jaya: MPH Publishing.

Ali Akbar Velayati is an interesting person. He is the Professor of Medicine in the University of Tehran since 1974. He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Islamic Republic of Iran from 1981-1997. He is also a historian. I love people who wears many hats and do many different things that interest them.

This book gives an interesting perceptive on the development of Islamic civilisation and the development the sciences in Islamic civilisation. Europe was in the dark ages and many of the sciences and philosophies would have been lost if to due to scholars and thinkers of the Islamic countries. Not only did they receive the sciences (mathematics, astrology, physics and mechanics, medicine, alchemy, geography and literature), they studied and improved on it.

This book, while not really an encyclopedia (there are many sections which I have hope he will expand upon) is a good introduction to Islamic civilisation. This reminds me of a course on Islamic civilisation I had to take during my first year in the university.

Encyclopedia of Islam and Iran

Ali Akbar Velayati, (2008), The Encyclopedia of Islam and Iran: Dynamics of Culture and the Living Civilisation, Petaling Jaya: MPH Publishing.

Ali Akbar Velayati is an interesting person. He is the Professor of Medicine in the University of Tehran since 1974. He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Islamic Republic of Iran from 1981-1997. He is also a historian. I love people who wears many hats and do many different things that interest them.

This book gives an interesting perceptive on the development of Islamic civilisation and the development the sciences in Islamic civilisation. Europe was in the dark ages and many of the sciences and philosophies would have been lost if to due to scholars and thinkers of the Islamic countries. Not only did they receive the sciences (mathematics, astrology, physics and mechanics, medicine, alchemy, geography and literature), they studied and improved on it.

This book, while not really an encyclopedia (there are many sections which I have hope he will expand upon) is a good introduction to Islamic civilisation. This reminds me of a course on Islamic civilisation I had to take during my first year in the university.

A Study of Islam for Christians in Malaysia

I always have the conviction that Christians should know more about Islam, the religion of the majority of their neighbours in Malaysia.

Anglican Rev. Albert Sundararaj Walters, Vicar of the Parish of St. Peter, Kuala Lumpur has just written such a book. He starts with a general survey of Islam in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Then he narrows his focus to issues between Christians and Muslims in Malaysia and concludes with some bridge building strategies.

you can order his books by writing to him at albertwalters@gmail.com




ISBN 978-983-43378-1-0 No. of pages: 428
Publisher: Council of Churches of Malaysia Year: 2007
Price: RM35.00 US$15 GBP£12 (postage & packaging extra)

KNOWING OUR NEIGHBOUR:
A STUDY OF ISLAM FOR CHRISTIANS IN MALAYSIA


CONTENTS

PART ONE
THE ISLAMIC FAITH: A SHORT INTRODUCTION
1 Arabia before Islam: Geographical and Human Setting
2 Prophet Muhammad and the Early Muslim Community
3 The Expansion of Islam
4 Christians under Islamic Rule
5 The Quran and the Hadith
6 Doctrines of the Islamic Faith
7 The Five Pillars of Islam
8 Islamic Law and Sunni Schools of Fiqh
9 The Emergence of Sunni Theology
10 Sufism: Development, Thought and Practice
11 Islamic Personal and Communal Life
12 Status of Woman in Islam
13 Modern Islamic Movements


PART TWO
MALAYSIA: THE MELTING POT
14 Islam in Southeast Asia
15 The Introduction and Spread of Islam in Malaysia
16 Malaysia: The Context
17 Islamic Resurgence and Islamisation in Malaysia
18 Christians Respond to Islamisation


PART THREE
CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM RELATIONS
19 Christian Attitudes to Islam
20 Muslim Perceptions of Christianity
21 Christians and Muslims in Malaysia
22 The Church in Malaysia: Issues and Challenges
23 Building Bridges: Celebrating Diversity

A Study of Islam for Christians in Malaysia

I always have the conviction that Christians should know more about Islam, the religion of the majority of their neighbours in Malaysia.

Anglican Rev. Albert Sundararaj Walters, Vicar of the Parish of St. Peter, Kuala Lumpur has just written such a book. He starts with a general survey of Islam in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Then he narrows his focus to issues between Christians and Muslims in Malaysia and concludes with some bridge building strategies.

you can order his books by writing to him at albertwalters@gmail.com




ISBN 978-983-43378-1-0 No. of pages: 428
Publisher: Council of Churches of Malaysia Year: 2007
Price: RM35.00 US$15 GBP£12 (postage & packaging extra)

KNOWING OUR NEIGHBOUR:
A STUDY OF ISLAM FOR CHRISTIANS IN MALAYSIA


CONTENTS

PART ONE
THE ISLAMIC FAITH: A SHORT INTRODUCTION
1 Arabia before Islam: Geographical and Human Setting
2 Prophet Muhammad and the Early Muslim Community
3 The Expansion of Islam
4 Christians under Islamic Rule
5 The Quran and the Hadith
6 Doctrines of the Islamic Faith
7 The Five Pillars of Islam
8 Islamic Law and Sunni Schools of Fiqh
9 The Emergence of Sunni Theology
10 Sufism: Development, Thought and Practice
11 Islamic Personal and Communal Life
12 Status of Woman in Islam
13 Modern Islamic Movements


PART TWO
MALAYSIA: THE MELTING POT
14 Islam in Southeast Asia
15 The Introduction and Spread of Islam in Malaysia
16 Malaysia: The Context
17 Islamic Resurgence and Islamisation in Malaysia
18 Christians Respond to Islamisation


PART THREE
CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM RELATIONS
19 Christian Attitudes to Islam
20 Muslim Perceptions of Christianity
21 Christians and Muslims in Malaysia
22 The Church in Malaysia: Issues and Challenges
23 Building Bridges: Celebrating Diversity

The Whys and Wherefores of Writing

"They enrich us with their knowledge concerning knowledge of the past, counsel, educate, honour and dignify us; if you say they are dead you are not wrong, and if you say they are alive you do not lie"

Ibn Tiqtiqa in 'Al-Fakhri'

The whys and wherefores of writing
IKIM Views
By DR MOHD ZAIDI ISMAIL
Senior Fellow, Centre for Science and Technology, IKIM
Insofar as Islamic intellectual tradition is concerned, the zest for books has often been described as all permeating.

APRIL 4 began with what by now is an annual affair, the 10-day long Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair at the Putra Trade World Centre. Although one of the very few events worth attending for book lovers, it remains essentially an event for players with stakes in the book industry. The occasion therefore, is more about writings being products to be marketed rather than as food for thought.

Writings – be they in such traditional forms as treatises, monographs, books, or in non-conventional modes – are media for the mind to express itself. As such, they play a significant role in the intellectual culture of any peoples.

Insofar as Islamic intellectual tradition is concerned, the zest for books has often been described as all permeating. Numerous anecdotes testifying to such enthusiasm have been narrated.

The 13th Century scholar ibn Tiqtiqa, for example, reported in his al-Fakhri that a certain Caliph had sent for a certain scholar merely to share his company. The servant who was instructed to meet the scholar later found him sitting surrounded by books which he was studying. Having been informed that the Caliph had summoned him, the scholar answered: “Tell him some learned men are with me, and I am conversing with them. Once I have finished with them, I will come.” The Caliph, upset as he was upon being informed of the scholar’s reply, asked his servant who those learned men the scholar referred to were. The servant gave a straightforward answer: “In truth, O Caliph, there was no one with him.” “Fetch him at once, regardless of what state he is in!” instantly came the Caliph’s command. When that scholar arrived, the Caliph angrily queried: “Who were those learned men with you?” “O, Caliph,” the scholar replied, “we have companions, trusty and trusted, whether absent or here to see, of whose talk we do not tire; they enrich us with their knowledge concerning knowledge of the past, counsel, educate, honour and dignify us; if you say they are dead you are not wrong, and if you say they are alive you do not lie.” With such a witty reply, the Caliph knew that the scholar was referring to books, and did not therefore mind his tardiness.

Books are indeed the product of the human mind; as such, like any other mental act or operation, they are intentional. There are always reasons for one to write a book.

Ibn Hazm of Andalusia (Muslim Spain) (d. 1064) in his al-Taqrib, a treatise on logic, enumerated seven reasons for one to compose in a meaningful manner. First, an author may have something original to write. Second, he may want to complete something that had been left uncompleted. Third, he may want to put right something that was erroneous. Fourth, he may want to clarify and explain matters that are mysterious, abstruse or complicated. Fifth, he may shorten, without omitting anything vital, a work by another person that is too long. Sixth, he may want to gather information from numerous independent sources. Seventh, he may want to assemble things that hitherto had been scattered like beads, and thread them together again.

In fact, ibn Hazm was alleged to have considered the above as the only categories for which scholars and perceptive people write.

That, however, is the opinion of a scholar of the 11th century in a place now part of Europe.

Eight hundred years later, in another part of the globe, the Indian Sub-Continent, we find the prolific Siddiq b. Hassan Khan al-Qinnawji (d. 1889) echoing the same sentiments in his three-volume Abjad al-’Ulum. Al-Qinnawji argued that composition is of seven types from which no intelligent scholar can escape. First, something having no precedence, which he therefore invents. Second, something deficient, which he therefore completes. Third, something abstruse, which he therefore explains. Fourth, something lengthy, which he therefore abridges without affecting any of its original meanings. Fifth, something scattered, which he therefore combines. Sixth, something mixed or confused, which he therefore puts into order. Seventh, something regarding which its author was in error, which he therefore corrects.

If ever we are writers with conviction, which of these groups do we consider ourselves?

read here

The Whys and Wherefores of Writing

"They enrich us with their knowledge concerning knowledge of the past, counsel, educate, honour and dignify us; if you say they are dead you are not wrong, and if you say they are alive you do not lie"

Ibn Tiqtiqa in 'Al-Fakhri'

The whys and wherefores of writing
IKIM Views
By DR MOHD ZAIDI ISMAIL
Senior Fellow, Centre for Science and Technology, IKIM
Insofar as Islamic intellectual tradition is concerned, the zest for books has often been described as all permeating.

APRIL 4 began with what by now is an annual affair, the 10-day long Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair at the Putra Trade World Centre. Although one of the very few events worth attending for book lovers, it remains essentially an event for players with stakes in the book industry. The occasion therefore, is more about writings being products to be marketed rather than as food for thought.

Writings – be they in such traditional forms as treatises, monographs, books, or in non-conventional modes – are media for the mind to express itself. As such, they play a significant role in the intellectual culture of any peoples.

Insofar as Islamic intellectual tradition is concerned, the zest for books has often been described as all permeating. Numerous anecdotes testifying to such enthusiasm have been narrated.

The 13th Century scholar ibn Tiqtiqa, for example, reported in his al-Fakhri that a certain Caliph had sent for a certain scholar merely to share his company. The servant who was instructed to meet the scholar later found him sitting surrounded by books which he was studying. Having been informed that the Caliph had summoned him, the scholar answered: “Tell him some learned men are with me, and I am conversing with them. Once I have finished with them, I will come.” The Caliph, upset as he was upon being informed of the scholar’s reply, asked his servant who those learned men the scholar referred to were. The servant gave a straightforward answer: “In truth, O Caliph, there was no one with him.” “Fetch him at once, regardless of what state he is in!” instantly came the Caliph’s command. When that scholar arrived, the Caliph angrily queried: “Who were those learned men with you?” “O, Caliph,” the scholar replied, “we have companions, trusty and trusted, whether absent or here to see, of whose talk we do not tire; they enrich us with their knowledge concerning knowledge of the past, counsel, educate, honour and dignify us; if you say they are dead you are not wrong, and if you say they are alive you do not lie.” With such a witty reply, the Caliph knew that the scholar was referring to books, and did not therefore mind his tardiness.

Books are indeed the product of the human mind; as such, like any other mental act or operation, they are intentional. There are always reasons for one to write a book.

Ibn Hazm of Andalusia (Muslim Spain) (d. 1064) in his al-Taqrib, a treatise on logic, enumerated seven reasons for one to compose in a meaningful manner. First, an author may have something original to write. Second, he may want to complete something that had been left uncompleted. Third, he may want to put right something that was erroneous. Fourth, he may want to clarify and explain matters that are mysterious, abstruse or complicated. Fifth, he may shorten, without omitting anything vital, a work by another person that is too long. Sixth, he may want to gather information from numerous independent sources. Seventh, he may want to assemble things that hitherto had been scattered like beads, and thread them together again.

In fact, ibn Hazm was alleged to have considered the above as the only categories for which scholars and perceptive people write.

That, however, is the opinion of a scholar of the 11th century in a place now part of Europe.

Eight hundred years later, in another part of the globe, the Indian Sub-Continent, we find the prolific Siddiq b. Hassan Khan al-Qinnawji (d. 1889) echoing the same sentiments in his three-volume Abjad al-’Ulum. Al-Qinnawji argued that composition is of seven types from which no intelligent scholar can escape. First, something having no precedence, which he therefore invents. Second, something deficient, which he therefore completes. Third, something abstruse, which he therefore explains. Fourth, something lengthy, which he therefore abridges without affecting any of its original meanings. Fifth, something scattered, which he therefore combines. Sixth, something mixed or confused, which he therefore puts into order. Seventh, something regarding which its author was in error, which he therefore corrects.

If ever we are writers with conviction, which of these groups do we consider ourselves?

read here

At the Crossroads-Malaysia

Journeyman Pictures is London's leading independent distributor of topical news features, documentaries and footage. We're like a video encyclopedia of the world.

Website: http://www.journeyman.tv/

At the Crossroads-Malaysia

Journeyman Pictures is London's leading independent distributor of topical news features, documentaries and footage. We're like a video encyclopedia of the world.

Website: http://www.journeyman.tv/

The Knights of Islam

James Waterson (2007) The Knights of Islam: The Wars of the Mamluks, London: Greenhill Books.

Many of us are aware of the formidable legendary armies of the Greeks, Romans, Mongols, and Persian. Few of us will have heard of the Mamluks, the legendary armies of Islam of slave soldiers. So, it was a pleasant surprise when I discovered a book on them at my local MPH bookstore.

The Mamluks were the greatest military force during the Islamic era of the Middle Ages. These soldiers were trained from boyhood when they are either purchased or kidnapped from the steppes of present day Turkey. From this tender age, they were brought up in a military lifestyle that rivals that of the Spartans. To ensure their loyalty to their sultans, they were isolated from the rest of society; living in their own cities and military camps. They developed their own caste system and had a military code that rivals that of Western chivalry and the Japanese Bushido.

They were the first army to defeat the Mongols and effectively contained and destroyed the armies of the Crusaders and the Ottomans. At the height of its influence, the Mamluks established a powerful Mamluk sultanate under Baybars.

Interesting reading.

The Knights of Islam

James Waterson (2007) The Knights of Islam: The Wars of the Mamluks, London: Greenhill Books.

Many of us are aware of the formidable legendary armies of the Greeks, Romans, Mongols, and Persian. Few of us will have heard of the Mamluks, the legendary armies of Islam of slave soldiers. So, it was a pleasant surprise when I discovered a book on them at my local MPH bookstore.

The Mamluks were the greatest military force during the Islamic era of the Middle Ages. These soldiers were trained from boyhood when they are either purchased or kidnapped from the steppes of present day Turkey. From this tender age, they were brought up in a military lifestyle that rivals that of the Spartans. To ensure their loyalty to their sultans, they were isolated from the rest of society; living in their own cities and military camps. They developed their own caste system and had a military code that rivals that of Western chivalry and the Japanese Bushido.

They were the first army to defeat the Mongols and effectively contained and destroyed the armies of the Crusaders and the Ottomans. At the height of its influence, the Mamluks established a powerful Mamluk sultanate under Baybars.

Interesting reading.

Hari Raya Haji

Hari Raya Haji literally means the ‘festival of pilgrimage’. It is the festival marking the day of pilgrimage to Mecca, the fifth tenet of Islam. Hari Raya Haji is known to many as Hari Raya Aidil Adha. This festival is celebrated by Muslims to honour pilgrims who have completed their Haj to Mecca.Hari Raya Haji falls on the 10th day of the month of Dzulhijjah.

The 10th of Dzulhijjah marks one of the most important events in Islamic history - an event which dates back to beginning of mankind, to the days of Adam and Eve. Just outside the holy city of Mecca at Arafah, Adam and Eve, the father and mother of mankind, were sent down to this world by Allah (God). After their expulsion from Heaven, Allah sent them to separate places. Adam was placed in India and Eve in Jeddah but eventually met on a wide open field and were reunited. Thus, the blissful reunion of the father and mother of mankind symbolises the reunion of the whole of mankind.

Hari Raya Haji is also known as Hari Raya Korban, the festival of sacrifice. As such, the sacrifice of a cow or goat as food offerings to the poor is done. This is not a compulsory religious duty for everyone, but considered an obligation for those who can afford it.

Celebrated by the Muslims on the tenth day of the last month of the Muslim calendar. This is an occasion celebrated marking the conclusion of the annual Haj - the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, when the pilgrims are given the title of Haji for men and Hajjah for women. Thanksgiving prayers are offered in the mosque.

source here

Hari Raya Haji

Hari Raya Haji literally means the ‘festival of pilgrimage’. It is the festival marking the day of pilgrimage to Mecca, the fifth tenet of Islam. Hari Raya Haji is known to many as Hari Raya Aidil Adha. This festival is celebrated by Muslims to honour pilgrims who have completed their Haj to Mecca.Hari Raya Haji falls on the 10th day of the month of Dzulhijjah.

The 10th of Dzulhijjah marks one of the most important events in Islamic history - an event which dates back to beginning of mankind, to the days of Adam and Eve. Just outside the holy city of Mecca at Arafah, Adam and Eve, the father and mother of mankind, were sent down to this world by Allah (God). After their expulsion from Heaven, Allah sent them to separate places. Adam was placed in India and Eve in Jeddah but eventually met on a wide open field and were reunited. Thus, the blissful reunion of the father and mother of mankind symbolises the reunion of the whole of mankind.

Hari Raya Haji is also known as Hari Raya Korban, the festival of sacrifice. As such, the sacrifice of a cow or goat as food offerings to the poor is done. This is not a compulsory religious duty for everyone, but considered an obligation for those who can afford it.

Celebrated by the Muslims on the tenth day of the last month of the Muslim calendar. This is an occasion celebrated marking the conclusion of the annual Haj - the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, when the pilgrims are given the title of Haji for men and Hajjah for women. Thanksgiving prayers are offered in the mosque.

source here

The Great Arab Conquests

Map of the Early Muslim Conquests (The Cambridge History of Islam)

In The Great Arab Conquests, Hugh Kennedy describes and convincingly analyzes the astonishing story of how the Arabs took over the Middle East. Beginning around 630, Arab forces burst initially into Syria and Mesopotamia, and then into Egypt and Persia. By 651, the Arabs had conquered the Persian Empire, which then stretched deep into the "stans" of Central Asia, and they were already pushing into Roman North Africa. Carthage fell in 698, Spain followed after 711. In 751, Arab forces defeated the Chinese in the struggle for Turkestan.

Why were they so successful? Muslims knew, of course, that God was guiding their victories, and many Eastern Christians agreed.

For the large majority of the Syrian and Egyptian Christians who belonged to sects condemned by the Byzantine Empire, the Nestorians and Monophysites, the Arabs were evidently God's scourge in the chastising of the vicious Orthodox regime. Kennedy offers other, more secular, explanations, above all the mutual devastation through which the Byzantine and Persian Empires had so weakened each other over the previous two centuries. And far from being crude barbarians crashing ignorantly into this alien world of civilization, the Arabs had ancient contacts with both Persia and Byzantium. These linkages are suggested by the extensive network of Christian bishoprics and shrines that stretched from southern Iraq deep into the Yemen. (Incidentally, Kennedy's maps are excellent.) The Arab leaders were skilled and worldly-wise, quite sophisticated in the ways of the civilized empires, and they made excellent use of diplomacy as needed. By the end of the book, we are much less inclined to see the Arab conquests as a near-miracle, but rather as something close to a foregone conclusion, and that shift of perception is vastly to the author's credit.

Kennedy summarizes his argument thus: "In the final analysis, the success of the Muslim conquest was a result of the unstable and impoverished nature of the whole post-Roman world into which they came, the hardiness and self-reliance of the Bedouin warriors, and the inspiration and open quality of the new religion of Islam."

Significantly, his very plausible list of factors ends rather than begins with the motivating power of Islam. His book gives no support to those who see the story of Islam as an incessant tale of bloodshed and massacre in the guise of holy warfare, and he is very fair in quoting contemporary observers who saw both the good and bad sides of the new regime. Christian critics easily distinguished between those Arab rulers, like the Caliph Yazid II, who were monstrous tyrants, and the others who were decent and just. The Arabs varied enormously in their treatment of Christians, Jews, and other conquered peoples, and it is hard to generalize over the whole region.

As Kennedy notes, however many people may have disliked the new regime, few moved to active resistance: "The fragmented nature of the response of the conquered was an important reason for the success of the Muslims, both in the initial conquest and in the consolidation of their rule."

read complete article

more on the Four Caliphs here

The Great Arab Conquests

Map of the Early Muslim Conquests (The Cambridge History of Islam)

In The Great Arab Conquests, Hugh Kennedy describes and convincingly analyzes the astonishing story of how the Arabs took over the Middle East. Beginning around 630, Arab forces burst initially into Syria and Mesopotamia, and then into Egypt and Persia. By 651, the Arabs had conquered the Persian Empire, which then stretched deep into the "stans" of Central Asia, and they were already pushing into Roman North Africa. Carthage fell in 698, Spain followed after 711. In 751, Arab forces defeated the Chinese in the struggle for Turkestan.

Why were they so successful? Muslims knew, of course, that God was guiding their victories, and many Eastern Christians agreed.

For the large majority of the Syrian and Egyptian Christians who belonged to sects condemned by the Byzantine Empire, the Nestorians and Monophysites, the Arabs were evidently God's scourge in the chastising of the vicious Orthodox regime. Kennedy offers other, more secular, explanations, above all the mutual devastation through which the Byzantine and Persian Empires had so weakened each other over the previous two centuries. And far from being crude barbarians crashing ignorantly into this alien world of civilization, the Arabs had ancient contacts with both Persia and Byzantium. These linkages are suggested by the extensive network of Christian bishoprics and shrines that stretched from southern Iraq deep into the Yemen. (Incidentally, Kennedy's maps are excellent.) The Arab leaders were skilled and worldly-wise, quite sophisticated in the ways of the civilized empires, and they made excellent use of diplomacy as needed. By the end of the book, we are much less inclined to see the Arab conquests as a near-miracle, but rather as something close to a foregone conclusion, and that shift of perception is vastly to the author's credit.

Kennedy summarizes his argument thus: "In the final analysis, the success of the Muslim conquest was a result of the unstable and impoverished nature of the whole post-Roman world into which they came, the hardiness and self-reliance of the Bedouin warriors, and the inspiration and open quality of the new religion of Islam."

Significantly, his very plausible list of factors ends rather than begins with the motivating power of Islam. His book gives no support to those who see the story of Islam as an incessant tale of bloodshed and massacre in the guise of holy warfare, and he is very fair in quoting contemporary observers who saw both the good and bad sides of the new regime. Christian critics easily distinguished between those Arab rulers, like the Caliph Yazid II, who were monstrous tyrants, and the others who were decent and just. The Arabs varied enormously in their treatment of Christians, Jews, and other conquered peoples, and it is hard to generalize over the whole region.

As Kennedy notes, however many people may have disliked the new regime, few moved to active resistance: "The fragmented nature of the response of the conquered was an important reason for the success of the Muslims, both in the initial conquest and in the consolidation of their rule."

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With Us

Even if you're not a seeker,

still, follow us, keep searching with us.

Even if you don't know how

to play and sing, you'll become like us;

with us you'll start singing and dancing.

Even if you are Qarun, the richest of kings,

when you fall in love,

you'll become a beggar.

Though you are a sultan,

like us you'll become a slave.

One candle of this gathering

is worth a hundred candles; its light is as great.

Either you are alive or dead.

You'll come back to life with us.

Unbind your feet.

Show us your rose garden-

start laughing with your whole body,

like a rose, like us.

Put on the mantle for a moment

and see the ones whose hearts are alive.

Then, throw out your satin dresses

and cover yourself with a cloak, like us.

When a seed falls to the ground,

it germinates, grows, and becomes a tree:

if you understand these symbols,

you'll follow us, and fall to the ground, with us.

God's Shams of Tabriz says

to the heart buds,

"If your eyes are opened, you'll see the things worth seeing."

Rumi

(translated by Nevit Ergin with Camille Helminski)