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Lady, mother and sisters embrace Islam in Warri, Delta state

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Indeed, the promise of Allah is so real!

And whoever Allah guides, no one can misguide.

We became friends on facebook over 3 years ago,  February 2014 to be precise She hails from Warri, Delta State.

Like every other Christian friends on facebook, I once discussed with her on the need for her to embrace Islam.

She was at a point in time invited to Acadip Lecture held in Asaba, Delta State as well as the one held in Osogbo, Osun State with the support of Doctor Adeyemo.

As destiny would have it, she couldn’t make it to either of these Lectures.

And no problem, no fight, no hard feelings; as we still maintain our friendship on facebook.

Allahu Akbar!!!

Just 3 days ago I was surfing the internet and I saw her online, I decided to say hello to my old friend, Helen. She responded and we exchanged pleasantries.Then I got busy again after saying goodbye.

Monday 31st 2017, I received a message from our Sister with greetings and I responded.

Afterwards, I curiously asked, ‘Are you still in Warri?, When would you embrace Islam?’

SubhannaLLAH!!!

The response I got from our Sister got me so happy!

She told me, “I am now a Muslim. I embraced Islam,  I did this Month.”

She did not stop there, she continued, “Me, My Mum And My Younger Sisters.”

Allahu Akbar!

Allahu Akbar!!

Allahu Akbar!!!

I couldn’t hold my joy and I put a call to her immediately, behold, our Sister Helen is now a Muslimah along with her Mum and Siblings!

She is now Sister Khadijah and her  Mum is now Fatimah and her Siblings chose Aisha and Maryam respectively.

If you are a Christian and you are reading this piece, you still have the chance to follow the Noah’s Ark of our time, Al-Islam.

Paradise and Hell Fire has been created, make your choice now before death overtakes you.

All roads can’t lead to God.

Islam remains the only straight road to Allah {God}, follow it today and be at ease with your soul.

 

 

Listen to the audio below

 

 

AlhamduliLlahi Robbil ‘Alameen.

 

 

Eneye Ahmad Jamiu Emma @Knowislam.com.ng

 

Islam and Feminism

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Feminism….

Since we live in an age where everyone is free to subjectively define whatever concept they want to talk about , I will simply define feminism as an altruistic fight for the rights of females, if my definition stands then Islam itself is feminist , since the Quran campaigned for the right to life of the girl-child (Q16:58-59; Q81:8-9) and abolished the treatment of women as mere property to be inherited (Q4:19)
(So all those arab feminists need to show more appreciation to the Prophet , they wont even be alive by now if the Quran hadnt abolished killing females )
Secondly , we wont necessarily throw the entire concept into the dustbin since what we will only need to attack is extremist – feminism which is in itself ranges from women who want to make themselves equal to men, or women who deem even a Prophet irresponsible for following Allah’s instruction ( Amina Wadud ) and a particularly nasty review i read way back where the author of the initial paper was arguing that pronouns for God be feminized!

Fortunately ,in my part of the world ,these sort of extreme feminism is absent, at least for now ! You know crazy things in the west always find a way to reach Africa!
However we still have to deal with some form of hardline feminism.

My definition was deliberately chosen so as to let sisters know of our support and commitment to the rights of women ,perhaps more so than some of them.

Why wouldnt one sympathise with advocating for womens right when you see the appalling way in which some men treat women ? When it comes to sexual exploitation and molestation, brothers easily start questioning her being alone with her would be or eventual rapists, (absurdities like : why was she even doing classes with him in the first place ? ), criminals are left off the hook and the victim is the one who gets blamed for not following islamic etiquettes ! Am i missing something ?
Majority of the victims wont even come out because they wont be believed ,especially if the perpetrator is a close relative or publically revered, and this is repeated in diverse environments and different cultures …always.
Why wont one sympathise with advocating for womens right with the appalling record of domestic abuse women are subjected to ? You would sit at arbitrations or reconciliations and feel utter revulsion at the ‘brother’ sitting in front of you , people who have molested ,oppressed , abused their wives in ways unimaginable, so much so you look at your own imperfect relationship with your wife and say , ‘ man, what a great husband i am’, individuals who ,save that their biology indicates otherwise, ought not to be referred to as men, literally or figuratively.

Strangely enough a lot of sisters would still want to cope with men who have crossed all decent lines of moral behaviour , with arguments like : ‘its for the kids’ , she actually knows its a lie , but its a lie she must tell herself, No, force herself to believe, because she believes she has no where to go , society , african society frowns at once-married-daughters coming back home….
she is young , and her sexual hormones are still firing , she cant sleep around , her faith, her culture , her society doesnt support a sleep around mom, even with unspoken words she is condemned . So she’d continue coping with the sperm donor even if he commits major shirk.
Stranger still are those who are so broken that theyll even continue with one who will not carry out even the sexual duties, and she continues praying for a solution that Allah has kept right there in her grasp !

So I agree with training and teaching sisters when to quit inasmuch as its within the limits laid down by the sharia, I agree with any advocacy that intends the liberation of women from physically ,spiritually and emotionally killing relationships.

Perhaps we understand this more than some of our sisters who are cheerleaders of the so called women rights, infact i do believe some of these feminist cheerleading are shambolic and hypocritical…
When sisters advice and support their fellow sisters to leave such relationship ,they stop at that, what happens after the divorce ? None of the business of the cheerleaders!

More often than not, it is the students of knowlegde who face the post divorce blues … Woe betide that divorced sister if she so much makes repeated tasleem to the husband of the same sisters who were her divorce-right-activists , Wallahi , its so bad that a fellow sister told a recently widowed sister to steer clear of her husband because she wasnt the one who made her husband die ! Feminism ?! An altruistic advocacy for your fellow sisters right ? God!

Sisters symphatize , emphatize ,infact they suffer with the females in oppressive relationships , they pray and do tahajjud that their fellow sisters be saved by a good brother , a good brother that will save their fellow sister from this oppression and humiliation by marrying her, any good brother would do, any good brother… except their own husbands ! Our sister’s feminism obviously has limits.

How come we have so much formal and informal groups of sisters teaching sisters how to repel a mans oppression and we dont have groups advocating for plygyny for our husbands ? Dont you think the fact that you have a successful marriage should be an impetus for you to advise your suffering brethren to partake of your largesse ? Or our feminism isnt that altruistic ?

How many gruops do we have teaching pregnant women the rudiments of safe delivery? In Nigeria where the motarlity rate from childbirth is appalling ?!
What about sex education, breast and cervical cancer enlightment ? Do these not fall under the category of rights a woman needs to have ?

Perhaps we need to redefine our feminism, perhaps when next you pray, sister, against the oppression of them dictator brothers , please add a solemn prayer against the oppression of blind feminism. Amin..

-Kabir Al-Asfar

Misgoded reading continued

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Similarly, “convert” Jewish and Christian scholars believed Muhammad fulfilled Old and New Testament prophecies of the final prophet. Some readers would object on the basis of never having found the name Muhammad in the Bible. On the other hand, how many times have they found the name Jesus in the Old Testament in reference to the promised messiah? The answer is none. The Old Testament contains numerous predictions of prophets to come, but none by their proper name.

 

Some of these predictions are thought to describe John the Baptist, others allegedly speak of Jesus, and still others appear to be unfulfilled by any biblical personage. The Bible informs us that the Jews expected three prophets to follow, for the Pharisees are recorded as having
questioned John the Baptist as follows:

 

Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and
Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed, and didnot deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” And they asked him, “What
then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And
he answered, “No.” (John 1:19­21)
After John the Baptist identified himself in evasive terms, the Pharisees persisted by inquiring, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” (John 1:25).
So there we have it—“Elijah,” “the Christ,” and “the Prophet.” Not just once, but
twice. That was the short list of prophets the Jews expected according to their scripture.
Now, despite the fact that John the Baptist denied being Elijah in the above quote, Jesus identified him as Elijah twice (Matthew 11:13­14, 17:11­13).

Scriptural inconsistencies aside, let’s chalk up Elijah on the word of Jesus, not think too deeply over who “the Christ” refers to, and concentrate on what remains. Who is the third and last on
the Old Testament list of foretold prophets? Who is “the Prophet?”
Some Christians expect this final prophet to be Jesus returned, but others expect a different prophet entirely. Hence the reason why all Jews and many Christians are waiting for a final prophet, as predicted by their own scripture.

 

The Muslim believes this final prophet has already come, and his name was
Muhammad. Through him the Holy Qur’an was revealed by Almighty God (Allah).
Those who adhere to the Holy Qur’an as the revealed word of Allah, and to the teachings of the final prophet, Muhammad ibn Abdullah, are regarded to be Muslims both by literal definition and by ideology.

Venezuela constitutional vote marred by violence, death

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Four months of protests against Maduro have left more than 110 people dead [Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters]
Four months of protests against Maduro have left more than 110 people dead [Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters]

FAST FACTS

545: Strength of Constituent Assembly tasked with rewriting the constitution
364: Chosen by local constituency level
181: Chosen by members of seven social sectors
6,000: Number of candidates

At least nine people, including an election candidate, have been killed in the past 24 hours in Venezuela as the country voted for an all-powerful new legislative body tasked with reforming the constitution.

Country’s opposition parties boycotted Sunday’s polls, which they say is aimed at consolidating President Nicolas Maduro’s power.

Counting of ballots across Venezuela began on Sunday night after the voting was extended by an hour. Preliminary results were expected before the end of the day.

Shootings at protests killed a 13-year-old and a 17-year-old in the western state of Tachira. A soldier was also shot dead there. The death toll also included a 30-year-old regional leader of a youth opposition party in the northeast town of Cumana and two protesters in the western state of Merida.

Anti-Maduro activists wearing hoods or masks erected barricades on roads and scuffles broke out with security forces who moved in quickly to disperse the demonstrators.

Firemen extinguish a blaze at a police station inCaracas set on fire by protesters [Andres Martinez Casares/Reuters]

The president, elected in 2013, has faced months of protests for presiding over a debilitating economic crisis that has seen high inflation rate and shortages of food and other basic amenities.

He has pressed ahead with the vote to create the all-powerful constituent assembly or temporary parliament despite US sanctions and months of violence which has claimed the lives of around 120 people.

The US has condemned the violence, urging governments in “the region and around the world to take strong action to hold accountable those who undermine democracy, deny human rights”.

 

Al Jazeera’s Lucia Newman, reporting from the capital Caracas, said that it was a “sad and bloody day in Venezuela”. She said that half a dozen protesters with bullet wounds were rushed to neighbouring Colombia for treatment.

Maduro has accused right-wing governments of trying to sabotage “21st century socialism” created by his predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez. Several regional governments, including the US, have voiced opposition to the controversial election.

The US envoy to the UN, Nikki Halley, on Sunday called the election a “sham” and “step toward dictatorship”, adding that the US won’t accept “illegitimate government”.

“The ’emperor’ Donald Trump wanted to halt the Venezuelan people’s right to vote,” said Maduro, as he voted at 6am in a low-income area of Caracas.

“A new era of combat will begin. We’re going all out with this constituent assembly.”

Supporters of “Chavismo,” the movement founded by Chavez, said they wanted to halt the unrest.

“The (opposition) wants deaths and roadblocks and the government wants peace,” said Olga Blanco, 50, voting for candidates to the assembly at a school in Caracas.

Turnout will be key to determining the legitimacy of the election [Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters]

Maduro is gambling his four-year rule on the 545-member citizens’ Constituent Assembly empowered to dissolve the opposition-controlled congress and change laws as it reforms the nation’s constitution.

The voting started at 6am local time with almost 20 million Venezuelans registered to cast their ballots, according to Telesur, a pro-government pan-Latin American media network.

The opposition called for new protests on Monday and Wednesday against the inauguration of the powerful Constituent Assembly (CA).

“We do not recognise this fraudulent process,” senior opposition leader Henrique Capriles said on Sunday at the close of the controversial election, which was marred by violence.

Capriles spoke of a “black day” and blamed what he termed President Maduro’s “sick ambition”.

To show the massive scale of public anger, the opposition earlier this month organised an unofficial referendum over Maduro’s plan. More than 7 million voters overwhelmingly rejected the constituent assembly and voted in favour of early elections.

Capriles blamed what he termed President Maduro’s “sick ambition” [Christian Veron/Reuters]

 

The opposition’s bid last year to hold a recall referendum against Maduro was rejected, regional elections have been postponed and the president has repeatedly ignored the opposition-controlled Congress.

 

it was very difficult to get the exact figures on polling percentage. “The opposition claims only 15 percent went out to vote while the government is claiming it to be a major success,” she said.

“President of the ruling socialist party said it was historic and the biggest turnout ever, but the opposition members are not even showing at the polling centres.”

Javier Farje, a Latin America political analyst, said that Maduro government is not going to rewrite the constitution but they are going to “introduce nine reforms in the current constitution”.

“I believe the only solution is to restart the dialogue that was suspended in December 2016 when the opposition abandoned the dialogue because they disagreed with the government,” he told Al Jazeera.

“They have to go back to negotiating table. Constituent Assembly should not be seen as an obstacle for that. It is not going to replace the current National Assembly, let’s make it clear. The National Assemby can still do its job.”

 

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies

Saudi-led bloc 'cannot shrink list of demands on Qatar'

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Top officials from main countries boycotting Qatar meet in Bahrain to reiterate demand that Doha ‘stops funding terror’.

 

 

Four Arab countries boycotting Qatar will only enter dialogue to ease the dispute if Doha agrees to certain demands, and “fights terror”, the group said on Sunday as they met in Manama.

High-level officials from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt reiterated their positions on the Gulf crisis, condemning Qatar for what they perceive as Doha’s support for armed groups.

Qatar has repeatedly denied those allegations.

“The four countries are ready for dialogue with Qatar with the condition that it announces its sincere willingness to stop funding terrorism and extremism and its commitment to not interfere in other countries’ foreign affairs and respond to the 13 demands,” Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa said after meeting his counterparts.

The televised news conference in Manama came more than one month after the Saudi-led bloc cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed a land, sea and air blockade on the country.

As part of the boycott, the four countries also expelled Qatari expatriates.

The group on Sunday acknowledged that Qatari citizens had suffered as a result of their siege.

Refusing to negotiate

However, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir refused to negotiate on a list of 13 demands on Doha that was received by Qatar more than two weeks after the crisis broke out.

Scaling down relations with Iran, closing down Al Jazeera and shutting a Turkish military base, which is currently under construction, were included in that list of demands.

“[Qataris] speak of every issue except how to put an end to their support of terrorism,” said Jubeir, accusing Qatar of not being “genuine”.

“These demands are not negotiable. We cannot shrink [the list] down,” he said.

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani dismissed Sunday’s statement from the four countries and said sanctions were violating international laws.

“There isn’t a clear vision (from Manama’s meeting), there is only a stubborn policy from the blockading countries and refusal to admit that these are illegal actions,” Sheikh Mohammed told Al Jazeera.

“It’s a continuation of a policy of intransigence.”

 

The group also hit back at Qatar’s claims that the bloc was politicising the Hajj pilgrimage by restricting the journey to some Qataris.

The bloc is only allowing Qatari pilgrims to fly to Saudi’s Mecca from an airport in Doha, making the journey challenging for those who live or work abroad, such as students.

“I think this press conference confirms that we are at the first day of the crisis. We have not moved for the last 50 plus days, we haven’t moved anywhere,” Mahjoob Zweiri, professor at Qatar university, told Al Jazeera.

“It seems they are not convinced and are insisting on the list of demands. They are singing a different song. The international community has a very positive impression about Qatar in fighting terrorism, but the four countries are not sharing the same impression as the international community.”

Zweiri explained that the status quo is likely to prevail for now.

“We should expect reaction from Washington, Germany and the UK tonight or tomorrow. I think Tillerson will be upset after what he heard today,” he said, referring to Rex Tillerson, the US state secretary, who has previously voiced support for Qatar.

John Yearwood, the chairman of the International Press Institute, said that the latest information was “deeply disappointing”.

“We condemn it in the strongest terms possible – the new demand that Al Jazeera [Media] Network be shut down.

“Throughout the world Al Jazeera plays a very important role in getting information unbiased to citizens of the region. And any attempt to shut down Al Jazeera goes against free flow of information,” he said.

 

Source: Al Jazeera News

Russia expels 755 US diplomats in response to sanctions

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President Vladimir Putin orders reduction in staff and vows for additional measures in retaliation to new US sanctions.

Russia said the US had until September 1 to reduce its diplomatic staff in Russia to 455 people [Alexei Nikolsky/RIA Novosti/Kremlin/Reuters]

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Russia will expel 755 US diplomatic staff and could consider imposing additional measures against the United States as a response to new US sanctions.

Putin said in an interview televised on state television on Sunday that he ordered the move because he “thought it was the time to show that we’re not going to leave that without an answer”.

He, however, ruled out any immediate measure against the US. “I am against it as of today,” Putin said in an interview with Vesti TV.

Moscow ordered the US on Friday to cut hundreds of diplomatic staff and said it would seize two US diplomatic properties after the US House of Representatives and the Senate approved new sanctions on Russia.

Russia said the US had until September 1 to reduce its diplomatic staff in Russia to 455 people, matching the number of Russian diplomats left in the US after Washington expelled 35 Russians in December.

New US sanctions were in part a response to conclusions by US intelligence agencies that Russia meddled in the 2016 US presidential election, and to further punish Russia for its annexation of Crimea in 2014.

 

Worsening relations

The Russian president reiterated that the US sanctions were a step to worsening relations between the two countries.

“We were waiting for quite a long time that maybe something would change for the better, were holding out hope that the situation would change somehow. But it appears that even if it changes someday it will not change soon,” Putin said.

However, he said Moscow and Washington were achieving results on cooperation even “in this quite difficult situation”.

The creation of the Southern de-escalation zone in Syria showed a concrete result of the joint work between the two countries, he said.

Earlier in the day, a top Russian diplomat warned of retaliation by Moscow.

Speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov referred to a bill passed by Congress on Thursday to sanction his country as “weird and unacceptable,” and said it was “the last straw.”

“If the US side decides to move further towards…deterioration, we will answer. We will respond in kind. We will…retaliate,” he said.

The US-Russia relationship has become increasingly strained in the wake of US intelligence agencies conclusion that the Kremlin interfered in the US election to discredit Hillary Clinton and help President Donald Trump win the election.

Russia has denied meddling in the US election.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the former director of the FBI, is investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential race and whether or not Trump’s campaign may have colluded with Russia – an allegation that Trump and his associates have staunchly denied.

Source: News agencies

UAE prefers imposed “secular” governments over elected Islamic ones

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An ambassador for the UAE in Washington has admitted that “Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and Bahrain […] want strong, stable and prosperous secular governments” in the Middle East, as opposed to Qatar, which he claims wants the opposite.

In what seems to be a desperate attempt at salvaging dwindling support for the Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) besiegement of Qatar, he held that Qatar’s support of groups such as the “Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Taliban and the Islamic militias in Syria and Turkey” proves this.

Secular stability over representative democracy?

In the TV interview in which he made these remarks, there was no mention of the reason behind Qatar’s support for these groups which, according to Qatar, were supported due to their being democratically elected governments of their respective nations.

The Muslim Brotherhood, for example, was elected into government democratically and ratified by Egyptians on five consecutive occasions; the first constitutional change referendum in March 2011, the People’s Assembly vote in January 2012, the upper House of Parliament or Shura council vote in the same months, and the Presidential Election.

In January 2006, Hamas democratically won a dominating majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) while the ‘Taliban Embassy’ was set up to sponsor US-brokered peace talks between the group and the incumbent Afghani Government.

Instead, al-Utaiba’s government has, since the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy Egyptian protestors that killed over 3000 innocents, channelled tens of billions of dollars to the complicit coup government of Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi.

It has furthermore supported CIA-trained Khalifa Haftar in his attempts to overrule the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in Libya.

The UAE has since even been accused by US intelligence agencies of hacking Qatar state media, which sparked a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) sponsored siege on Qatar for the latter’s alleged support of ‘extremism’. The siege has had a significant humanitarian impact, particularly on Qatari citizens living in GCC states, including mixed-citizenship families facing the prospect of separation. The UAE has promised Qatar ‘sympathisers’ with up to 15 years in jail and a fine of at least 500,000 Dirhams (more than £100,000).

More recently, rights groups have accused the UAE, acclaimed aspirer to “strong, stable and prosperous” governments, of backing the torture and disappearances of dozens of people in Yemen. [4] A Human Rights Watch investigation found UAE operating two of 11 secret prisons in southern Yemen, where torture is rife, including heavy beatings, sexual assault and threats against detainees and their families.

This is not to mention its participation in the bombing of Yemen, one that has resulted over 18 million Yemenis requiring humanitarian assistance and created the largest food security emergency in the world according to the Emergency Relief Co-ordinator to the UN Security Council, Stephen O’Brien.

Notes:

[1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/10868522/Saudi-and-UAE-ready-20bn-boost-for-Egypts-El-Sisi.html

[2] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/07/17/uae-accused-hacking-qatar-state-media-publishing-comments-sparked/

[3] http://www.businessinsider.com/r-uae-bans-expressions-of-sympathy-towards-qatar-media-2017-6?IR=T

[4] http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/hrw-uae-backs-torture-disappearances-yemen-170622094158991.html

[5] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-34011187

credit: Ahmad Hammuda

Ibn [email protected]

Misgoded reading continued

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As for those born Muslim and raised in ignorance of their own religion, their
conversion to other religions cannot fairly be viewed as turning away from Islam—since the individuals never truly embraced Islam in the first place. And, of course, not every person born into a religion is an example of piety, even if knowledgeable of their religion.

 

Then there are those weak of faith, who find religious conviction pushed aside by worldly priorities or the allure of more permissive faiths. But the sum total of these apostates simply doesn’t match 1,400 years of Jewish and Christian clergy converting in the opposite direction. Conspicuously absent from the equation is the conversion of sincere and committed, educated and practicing Sunni Muslims, much less scholars (the Islamic equivalent of the convert rabbis and priests). 

 

Still, the question remains: Why do some Jewish and Christian scholars embrace Sunni Islam? There is no pressure upon them to do so, and significant worldly reasons not to things like losing their congregation, position and status, friends and family, jobs
and retirement pension. And why don’t Islamic scholars turn to something else?

Other religions are much more permissive in matters of faith and morals, and there is no enforcement of a law against apostatizing from Islam in Western countries.

 

So why have Jewish and Christian scholars embraced Islam, while educated Muslims remain firm in their faith? Muslims suggest that the answer lies in the definition of Islam. The person who submits to God and not to a particular ecclesiastical body will recognize a divine sense to revelation. Islam represents a continuum from Judaism and
Christianity which, once recognized, sweeps the sincere seeker down the smooth road of revelation. Once a person sees past Western prejudices and propaganda, the Muslim believes, doors of understanding open.

The Islamic viewpoint is that, between the missions of Jesus and Muhammad, those who recognized Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophesies bore witness to the one true God, and Jesus as his prophet. By Islamic definition, these early “Christians” were Muslims for all intents and purposes. Modern­day Muslims remind us
that Jesus could not have taught things that did not exist in the period of his ministry, such as the label of “Christian” and Trinitarian doctrine, which was to evolve over the,first few centuries in the post­apostolic age. What Jesus most certainly did teach was the simple truth of God being One, and of God having sent himself as a prophet. The Gospel
of John says it best: “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3), and “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in me” (John 14:1).

Hence, the Islamic viewpoint is that whatever this group of early followers called themselves during the forty years following Jesus (before the word Christian was even invented), they lived in submission to the truth  of God as conveyed in the teachings of Jesus. And despite whatever label they identified  with back then, today their character would be defined by a word attributed to those who live in submission to God via the message of revelation—that is, Muslim.

I became Muslim because of Jesus (PBUH)

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Love anchored me. Sincerity guided me.

I was born with an unshakable inquisitiveness that caused me to question everything, but there was one thing I never questioned, and that was the existence and power of God. My mother sometimes reminds me that as a young child my response to her requests for me to clean my room or brush my teeth was oftentimes, “You can’t tell me what to do; only God can tell me what to do!” And I meant it—even at the age of five.

I was raised in an Irish-Catholic family; home is where a Claddagh hangs over the door, sounds from my mother’s bodhran or fiddle resonate from the living room, and questions are returned with questions by my Jesuit-educated father.

What I know now is this: I was never able to fully accept Catholicism as my faith. I wanted so desperately to follow and honor both God and Jesus, but I couldn’t sincerely do that by being Catholic. To my surprise and over the course of 13 years, I found that Islam provided me the opportunity do both.

Over time, with equal parts reluctance and fervor, I learned that Islam supported my faith in ways that Catholicism could not. This is my conversion story.

My doubts pointed me towards new convictions.

I scrutinized many details about my assigned religion of Catholicism.

First, I never could bring myself to believe that Jesus was God. Yes, I love Jesus, and I wholeheartedly believe that we should proactively seek to obtain the extraordinary human qualities that he possessed, but in my eyes, there is only one God, and a man could never be God.

Secondly, I was unable to ever accept the concept of original sin (that newborns entered this world carrying sins that could be forgiven through the Sacrament of Baptism). I perceived this as an initiation ritual into Christianity; it felt more political than spiritual.

These doubts left my foundation as a Catholic impermanent, but I knew that I could never desert my eternal love for God and my ceaseless admiration for Jesus. I remained Catholic, while I searched for a place that allowed me to preserve what I would not abandon and provide me clarity for what I could not accept.

Where that was, I wasn’t sure. I genuinely hoped that it existed somewhere.

Saint Thomas More and Malcolm X gave me the courage to pursue the truth.

My chosen patron saint as a teenage Catholic was Saint Thomas More; he chose death over abandoning his faith—his loyalty to God remains an invaluable inspiration to me.

I was also inspired by Malcolm X. In my freshman year of college, I was introduced to the concept of Islam for the first time in the Autobiography of Malcolm X. It wasn’t the religion that grabbed my attention; it was the way Malcolm X used Islam to quench his continuous thirst for truth.

If Saint Thomas More’s dogged loyalty to God inspired me throughout my childhood, then it was Malcolm X’s unwavering search for truth that further inspired me in college. Taken together, it became a bit clearer to me that if I kept searching, I could possibly find a source for both connecting with God and finding the truth that I was seeking.

I discovered Islam’s Jesus in West Africa.

After college, I volunteered with an international nonprofit in West Africa. One afternoon, I was sitting outside in the sweltering heat with a Ghanaian volunteer. To avoid getting sunburned, I wrapped my favorite orange pashmina over my head.

Then, I heard my friend say: “You look beautiful in hijab.”

“Are you Muslim?” I asked him. He nodded, and with some prodding, revealed to me that Muslims both recognize and honor Jesus as a prophet. That detail caught my attention and got me thinking: Could Islam be the source of clarity that I was seeking? I wasn’t sure, and I wasn’t quite ready to explore the possibility just yet.

I resettled into metropolitan Miami life quite well. Years passed. Life was so easy and oh-so fun! I felt incredibly blessed, but just beneath the surface, I was very lonely, and far too often, I fell asleep with tears in my eyes and a growing heaviness in my heart, so I turned to my father for guidance. He listened to me intently and made one simple suggestion: Read.

DAVID GARY LLOYD FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY (2017)

When I started reading, Islam found me.

I used my alone time to explore books about philosophy, psychology, poetry, and religion. Little by little, I began gravitating towards books about Islam. The more I read about Islam, the more I realized that it was more than just a beautiful concept; it was a way of life.

I sought out a mentor who could show me what that life entailed, and I eventually found one. She was an established career woman, with a loving and supportive husband and two incredible children, and most importantly, she had an insatiable love for Islam. She was the kind of woman who I aspired to become.

We met weekly. She shared stories about Prophet Muhammad and his closest companions. She reiterated Islam’s belief in the prophhethood of Jesus and its denial of original sin. She showed me how to pray and gave me my most beloved copy of the Quran.

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Then, my mentor lent me a CD series called Purification of the Heart by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf. I listened to those CDs daily, deeply connected with its messages, and felt these incredible reverberations in my heart when the shaykh recited passages from the Quran in Arabic. I even felt the same reverberations in my heart when I recited the first chapter of the Quran, syllable-by-syllable. As I listened and I practiced my Arabic, I felt as if I was strengthening my communication with God.

DAVID GARY LLOYD FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY (2017)

As I prayed and fasted during my first Ramadan, I felt this magnificent closeness to an essence that I had never encountered before, and consciously nurturing that essence filled me with immense bliss. It was in those moments that I felt the most connected to myself; it was in those moments that I felt the most connected to God. I knew then that I was ready to accept Islam as my chosen faith.

Through God’s tremendous grace and my mentor’s tenacious planning, on the 27th day of Ramadan 2016, I found myself sitting alongside the scholar whose words in both English and Arabic transformed my heart into a Muslim one: Shaykh Hamza Yusuf. He led me through my Testimony of Faith, which were the sincerest words that I had ever spoken.

I nervously stumbled through it. Then, he asked me if I had been raised Christian. I confirmed that I was indeed raised Catholic. He responded by asking me to repeat these words: “Wa Ash’hadu Ana Issa Rasulullah Wa Kaleematahu. Wa Mariem Sadiqqah…I testify that Jesus is a messenger of God and his logos and that Mary is his righteous servant.”

My heart gleamed in those moments. For as long as I could remember, I searched for a place that felt like home, and as I sat next to Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, I realized that I had finally found it within Islam.

Over a decade has passed since I was first introduced to Islam, my true path.

What anchored me then, still anchors me now. The only difference is that I now have a place that allows me to honor my past, while I continue to seek truths from our greatest sources.

DAVID GARY LLOYD FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY (2017)

As a Muslim of Irish-Catholic descent, I’m not quite sure where I fit in just yet. But in the early morning hours, right before dawn, and as I pray alone, facing Miami’s Biscayne Bay, I feel right at home. For me, that’s all that matters right now.

Re-entering al-Aqsa: A bright day in the gloomy skies

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Thousands attend noon prayers after two weeks of protests over Israeli-imposed restrictions on entering the compound.

Israel’s measures of control at al-Aqsa compound were described as collective punishment for Palestinians [Mahmoud Illean/AP Photo]

Occupied East Jerusalem – Thousands of Palestinians attended noon prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem on Saturday, following two weeks of protests over surveillance equipment and other obstacles to free movement at the entrances and gates of the compound.

The compound was opened to worshippers of all ages, a day after Israel temporarily restricted men under the age of 50 from entering the holy site.

“For Saturday, this is a high turnout, but al-Aqsa needs the support of all Muslims,” Nabil Dumeiri, a resident of occupied East Jerusalem, told Al Jazeera.

“We owe this to the people [Palestinians] of Jerusalem, to the field and to the supporters who came from nearby areas … the Israeli police have backed down and removed the metal gates in order to absorb the anger,” he added.

Dumeiri was referring to Israel’s decisions to remove newly installed surveillance cameras and metal detectors from the entrances of the compound.

The Israeli restrictions were implemented nearly two weeks earlier after three Palestinians, citizens of Israel, shot and killed two Israeli policemen outside the compound on July 14.

The Palestinians responsible for the attack were chased inside the compound and shot dead.

The compound was closed for two days and reopened with the addition of newly installed metal detectors, angering Palestinians who feared Israel was attempting to alter the status quo and take full control of the holy site.

READ MORE: Has Israel’s security apparatus failed?

Surveillance cameras were also eventually added to the gates of the holy site.

Palestinians vowed to protest and pray outside al-Aqsa until the metal detectors and other surveillance equipment were removed.

1,300 injured

Over the course of two weeks, Israeli forces often met protesters with rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades. In some areas, live rounds were also used, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

At least six Palestinians were killed during the two weeks of protests across occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and at least four were killed in alleged attacks on Israeli forces.

According to the Red Crescent, more than 1,300 Palestinians have been injured during demonstrations since July 14.

Nearly 500 of the injuries took place in East Jerusalem alone.

Three Israeli settlers were killed last Friday when a 20-year-old Palestinian assailant jumped the fence of the Halamish settlement in the occupied West Bank and stabbed four members of a family.

Many of the Palestinian injuries took place last Thursday when religious leaders announced that worshippers should re-enter the al-Aqsa compound.

More than 1,300 Palestinians have been injured since the protests began on July 14. [Amir Cohen/Reuters]

Ahmad Abu Saloum, a Palestinian artist from occupied East Jerusalem, was in Baba al-Huta – a neighbourhood in the Muslim quarter of Jerusalem’s old city – when he spotted a woman with her child on the ground.

Abu Saloum said that moments earlier, Israeli police fired stun grenades of people who crowded at the Baba Huta entrance, trying to get into the al-Aqsa compound after the police had reluctantly reopened the gate.

“She was in danger of being trampled by large crowds … I barely lifted her off the ground when I felt a blow in my face and blood started gushing from my nose,” Abu Saloum told Al Jazeera.

OPINION – Al-Aqsa: One encroachment too many?

The 65-year-old, who said he had been hit with a stun grenade, was taken to Lion’s Gate, but police would not let him through. He was then taken to Herod’s Gate where an ambulance was waiting for him.

Abu Saloum’s suffered a broken nose and said he will need an operation soon.

Despite his injuries, the East Jerusalem resident was able to go to al-Aqsa for prayers on Friday.

Israel had initially barred men under the age of 50 from entering the al-Asqa compound on Friday, but later lifted the restriction, resulting in thousands of Palestinians re-entering the holy site.

“I have never seen anything like it,” he said. “It is like a bright day in the gloomy skies of the Arab world.”

‘Israel’s attempt to suppress the truth’

During the nearly two weeks of protests, more than 300 Palestinians were arrested, according to Amjad Abu Asab of the Prisoners Society Club.

Israeli police told Al Jazeera that it doesn’t have any immediate information regarding the arrests in East Jerusalem.
INSIDE STORY: Is Israel changing the status quo around Al Aqsa?

Abu Asab, himself, was briefly detained last Friday and later released.

He told Al Jazeera he was barred from entering Jerusalem’s Old City, including the al-Aqsa compound for 15 days.

“Since the crisis, Israeli police have barred people in three ways from the city,” Abu Asab said.

“Some were barred from residing in Jerusalem all together, others were barred from the Old City, and others were barred from al-Aqsa,” he added.

Among those banned from the city of Jerusalem was Adnan Gheith, a resident of East Jerusalem who is currently living in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

Gheith and other activists from the Fatah party were detained by Israeli police last Friday.

“I have been expelled from the city for 10 days,” Gheith told Al Jazeera.

“This is not the first time. I was ordered out in 2012 for a whole year,” he added.

“This is an attempt to suppress the truth and break the will of the Palestinian people.”

More than 300 Palestinians have been detained across occupied East Jerusalem [Ibrahim Hussenin/Al Jazeera]

Eighteen-year-old Mutaz Sa’eeda was also detained in the Wadi Joz neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem.

His father, Wael, told Al Jazeera that Israeli police beat his son before dragging him to Lion’s Gate in the Old City.

The elder Sa’eeda said his son is expected to appear in front of a judge on Sunday, adding that “he has not been charged yet”.

The al-Aqsa compound is known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount.

It is Islam’s third holiest site after Mecca and Medina, as well as what is believed to be the ruins of the Biblical Jewish Temple.

Questions over control of the compound have often led to outbursts of fighting.

Source: Al Jazeera News

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