“Oh, the Prophet (PBUH)* did it!”

A rich man 60 years of age visits his country (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Arab world etc.)  from abroad and weds a 16 year old girl?!?!?!

It’s becoming a trend in the so-called ”Islamic” Republic of Afghanistan, the Arab world and other South East Asian countries. It’s disgusting! The  worst part is that the world mistakenly believes it as being an Islamic act because oh, the Prophet (PBUH*) did it!

ENOUGH!! Enough of defaming Islam for their own desires! Extremism, sexism, mistreating their women, raping non-muslim women because it’s ”allowed” WHERE DOES THAT SAY IN ANY PART OF ISLAM? Islam is a great religion with many rights and liberation. Enough of destructing the religion!

I’m going to focus on one part, marrying more then one wife!

To those who believe that more than one wife is alright, because the Prophet* did. Well, guess what? The Prophet (PBUH*) also gave charity, fed the poor, visited the sick, was good to his wife, be faithful and loyal to your wife, believed in justice and not in the killings of civilians, he was a man of good thoughts and actions, he fought evil with good and the list goes on. Why won’t you follow those doings????

I’m appalled at men/women who choose what they like and leave out what they like and call themselves ‘a good Muslim’.

As for the multi-wife issue. Here’s my argument:

Permission to practice polygamy is not associated  with mere satisfaction of passion.  It is rather associated with compassion toward widows and  orphans. It was the Quran that limited and put conditions on the practice of polygamy among the  Arabs, who had as many as ten or more wives and considered them “property”. ^

And if you be apprehensive that you will not be able to do justice to the orphans, you may marry two or three or four women whom you choose. But if you apprehend that you might not be able to do justice to them, then marry only one wife. (Maududi, The Meaning of the Qur’an, vol. 1, p. 305)

The key clauses are “you will not be able to do justice to the orphans” and “you may marry two or three or four women whom you choose.” Maududi (d. 1979) is a respected traditional and conservative commentator on the Quran. So we should let him explain what they mean. He says that the clauses accomplished the following:

In pre-Islamic days men used to marry a limitless number of women and grab the property of their orphan nephews and nieces to support their wives.

In pre-Islamic days, men could marry as many women as they wanted and “treat them cruelly and unjustly” with impunity. So the Quran limits the number to four, and only if the man could keep care of them all: “But if you apprehend that you might not be able to do justice to them.”

Surah Nisa verse 129 says: ‘It is very difficult to be just and fair between women’. [Al-Qur’an (4:129)]

CAN IT BE ANYMORE BLUNT?

 Dr Zakir Naik has elaborated on this topic, of why Polygamy is allowed and it’s conditions. He concludes by saying,  it is mainly to protect the modesty of women.   

Unfortunately, men in our society today carry this act for their own pleasure and selfishness, not compassion. Further, I believe society today has created other alternatives of helping the orphans and the widows instead of marrying them and causing an unhappy family home where the first wife disagrees (come on, who would wanna share a man or a father???)

In today’s world, very few men would do this out of compassion. Maybe one in a million would turn out to do it out of compassion.

Look for yourself, the men who have more than one wife- were any of them orphans at the time of marriage? On the verge of becoming public property? No and no!

Case dismissed.

You might think otherwise, but Allah knows best.

* Peace be upon him.

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I’m back!

Back from my wedding shopping trip to Dubai and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It felt so good getting out of here, i feel revived and energised.

So, how was the trip? Great! I went with my other half, did a lot of shopping, sightseeing, relaxed on the beach, shopping, shopping and more shopping. Malaysia has always been one of my favourite places.

We bought a diamond engagement ring; a brilliant round cut, F clarity, Half a carat, on white gold, GIA certified. to be precise. It’s absolutely stunning!

Wedding dress- Off white, very ‘un-afghan’ and simple. No beaded embroidery. I love it! We got it from Dubai, a London based shop.

Veil- Cathedral length, just as good as the dress.

Bands- White gold, plain, around 5 mm wide.

I bought lots of shoes, watches, a new phone (Nokia, of course!) scarves, handbags etc.

Dubai was alright, not as good as i expected! There aren’t any historical sites or culture, it gave off a cold look. It’s just too new. and the shopping isn’t all that. Malaysia is better!

Malaysia, a beauty as always!

Will post pics soon. Have a lot of office work to deal with right now. Wedding is less than a month away, half way there.

Oh and afg new years, my in laws came to Afghanistan with pressies. It’s tradition that they bring the bride a few pairs of clothes, jewelry, fish and jelabee. The brides family buys presents for each member of the family that comes on that day so tthat they don’t leave empty handed.

So much to plan for the wedding… and so much office-work. So you’ll know why i’m lazy when it comes to posting.

As for Kabul airport, it’s still a joke! We flew KamAir Airlines (supposedly one of the ‘best’) to Dubai and then with Emirates to KL, Malaysia. I thought KamAir would drop any moment! Wasn’t so bad, wasn’t good either. Food sucked! No TVs either.

The luggage screening was a bigger joke. The uniformed guard sat with his legs crossed looking (staring, rather) at passer bys. Totally ignoring the screen, he probably missed a few prohibited items in the process. Ppl kept loading their bags one on top of the other (instead of putting it besides each other) for it to be screened. I watched on. Some luggages rope tied, others Glad-wrapped in plastic. They weren’t suitcases, most local passengers had their load in huge bed sheets.

It was then my phone rang… shocking news…

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Making peace with Shariah

“Is Sharia compatible with justice? The answer, of course, is yes,” he said. “But can it be abused? Also yes.”

 Keeping the Sharia Peace

Washington Post, United States, Posted by Jack Fairweather
February 29, 2008

Sharia law gets bad press in the West. It’s the body of law drawn from the Koran, reported sayings of the prophet, and centuries of jurisprudence, and in its most extreme form it prescribes punishments such as beheadings, amputations and stonings.

In Afghanistan, tribal law suffused with Sharia is the only form of legal redress for the vast majority of the country. (A central justice system has yet to take off anywhere other than the capital, Kabul). Terrorism aside, few would argue the sophistication of Afghan crime; most is gun battles between warring families, theft of livestock and land, and government brutality. Those offenses can be found anywhere.

But what’s remarkable about Afghanistan, and rural areas of countries like Jordan and Syria, is the degree of community and family cohesion. Terrorism again aside, crime is rarely committed by strangers. Tribal law, usually administered by elders or the local religious leader, is intended not as a form of public punishment but as conflict resolution.

This point was rammed home to me on a recent trip to Khost in Eastern Afghanistan. The town is nestled in a leafy bowl on the mountainous border with Pakistan, with a Californian climate and powerful tribal code known as Pashtun Walia. I was driving through the town with Afghan security forces last week, when they pointed out a man crossing the street ahead.

“He killed his neighbor last night,” said the driver.

“Why?” I asked.

“There was a dispute over land between their families. He’s crazy,” he said as we drove past the man.

“Why don’t you arrest him?”

“That’s not our job. Their tribal leaders will gather tonight to decide on how much compensation the man should pay,” he said.

That amount could range anywhere between $10 and $100 depending on the family’s demand, explained the driver. Once paid, the dispute is laid to rest.

This is how tribal justice works in many areas of the Middle East: traditional, influenced but not dominated by the Koran, and effective (in contrast to Khost’s criminal justice system, which has failed to prosecute a case in two years and has a medieval-style vault for a prison.) (Atash Parcha’s note: The present failing criminal system is that of the ‘western democratic’ system)

“No one is a loser in this system,” said Nasir Ahmed, one of two general attorneys in the city. “No one loses face, and that is important for keeping the peace.”

There is, of course, a more developed form of Islamic jurisprudence that constitutes Sharia. Centuries of Koranic interpretation have built of a vast body of legal precedents that have developed with the changing demands of society. At the core of Sharia,¬ in contrast to tribal law, is the principle of punishment for transgression. That’s where the stonings and beheadings come in.

“A far bigger issue for me, no matter the system, is whether there is justice,” he said. “That’s where the real problem lies.” For Nasir, the harsher Sharia punishments are often a response to failing judicial systems, although he does not doubt that groups like the Taliban use these punishments to create fear.

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Islams silent majority

Terrorism: Islam or Politics?

Samuel Harris said in the Washington Times (in 2004): ‘It is time we admitted that we are not at war with terrorism.

About 93 percent of the world’s 1.3 billion Muslims are moderates and only seven percent are politically radical, according to the poll, based on more than 50,000 interviews.

Meanwhile, radical Muslims gave political, not religious, reasons for condoning the attacks, the poll showed.

“Some actually cited religious justifications for why they were against 9/11, going as far as to quote from the Koran — for example, the verse that says taking one innocent life is like killing all humanity,” she said.

The poll has given voice to Islam’s silent majority, said Mogahed.

Source: (AFP) by Karin Zeitvogel,Wed Feb 27, WASHINGTON.

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OhMiGawd… they did it!

Taliban blow up phone tower in Afghanistan, fearing a technological betrayal

Media: The Associated Press, Byline: NOOR KHAN, Date: 29 February 2008

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan_Taliban militants blew up a telecom tower Friday in southern Afghanistan following a warning to phone companies to shut down the towers at night or face attack.

The militants fear U.S. and other foreign troops are using mobile phone signals to track insurgents and launch attacks against them. A Taliban spokesman on Monday said militants would blow up towers across Afghanistan if the companies did not switch off their signals overnight.

The tower was owned by Areeba, one of four cellular companies in Afghanistan. Company officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Thousands of customers will be affected by the tower attack, Serhadi said. Police have increased security around other phone towers, he said.

Militants have threatened mobile phone companies in the past, accusing them of collusion with the U.S. and other foreign military forces.

The U.S. has said it has killed more than 50 mid- and top-level Taliban leaders over the last year.

Mobile phones were introduced to Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban in 2001. They have become the principal means of communication and one of the fastest-growing and most profitable sectors in the country’s economy.

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