Alameda
Alameda's JournalOIC condemns Israeli desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque
Source: Arab News
JEDDAH: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Sunday urged the international community, particularly the UN Security Council, to take action against “repeated and dangerous Israeli violations of holy sites.”
In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the 56-nation group made the call after violence erupted on Sunday as Israeli security forces attacked Palestinians protesting access by Jews into the compound on an annual day of Jewish mourning.
OIC Secretary-General Iyad bin Ameen Madani denounced the “incursion into and desecration of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque by groups of extremist settlers under the protection of the Israeli occupation forces” as “an act of provocation and blatant violation of relevant international resolutions and instruments.”
He said the settlers blocked access to the mosque and “savagely attacked” the worshippers in the mosque's compound.
http://www.arabnews.com/featured/news/781936
wrong link, corrected
also on http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33667453
Read more: Link to source
Like in all religions
At it's most basic, anyone who to witnesses or "to testifies to the belief in the oneness of God and acceptance of Muhammad as God's prophet. is a Muslim.
As in all religions, there are many different interpretations. It would take a very long time to explain all of them. To simplify, think of the vast disparity in Christianity, such as: snake charmers, Christian Zionists, Unitarians, Trinitarians and all the various versions therein. Look at the Roman Catholic church and all the orders therein.
As I see it the main division in Christianity are between Protestant and Catholic, but it's more than that. It gets to the concept of the Trinity or Unity.
In Islam you have Sunni and Shi'a....which really only has become an issue recently. I know many Muslims who are both, and we didn't care or even question it, until the Iraq war started.
As for the idea that Sufism is a separate order or branch, I would not agree with that, it is an integral part of Islam. Rather that idea is an Orientalist concept that indicates that Islam does not have inner dimensions in itself. Even at that, people think of the Mevlevis as the Sufis, but there there are many different interpretations as well. At it's most basic, the word Sufi comes from the word Tasawwuf, which comes from the word purity. Thus those who seek purity are followers of tasawwuf....which became Sufi in the west.
We have seen the spread of the Salafist doctrines from Saudi Arabia growing and spreading in the last 40 years, primarily due to their oil wealth. The Salafis are like Christian "Fundamentalists".
You have Sunni & Shia, in that you have in the Sunni the Hanafis, Malekis, Shayfis, Hanbalis, and in each of these are different schools of jurisprudence, and in them things drill down even more.
In Shia leadership goes through hereditary lineage. It gets complicated....and I don't feel qualified to write a lot about it, but I hope this helps somewhat.
any advice regarding the best birth control methods?
Maybe this has been already discussed over and over, but a search didn't bring anything up.
I don't have to worry about this now, boy am I glad for that. I have a young friend who asked me for advice on birth control methods. I really should know the latest and best methods so I can offer information and advice to my younger friends.
In my time, I've gone through pills, IUD, diaphragm....all had problems and issues. The diaphragm didn't work. the IUD caused horrible problems, and the birth control pills had their own problems.
What do ladies do now? Are there any new wonderful methods?
interesting thread, filled with Islamaphobic content
I'd like to draw attention to this thread
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014544090
I find it amazing to read some of the ignorant biased comments here. It actually is very disturbing.
You know,
you would be amazed at how identifiable people are even when wearing a burqa. When wearing one of these garments other aspects are seen. One sees posture, mode of movement. Put three people in the same burqa and you will see three distinct different personalities, personalities you did, would not have seen otherwise.
new/old camera question
My camera has just about totaly expired. The one I got from eBay has problems, that showed up too late to be returned...But...my nephew i giving me his camera. It's more than he wants or needs.
It's a Fujifilm Finepix S6000fd . Anyone have any suggetions, tips or whatever on this?
Here is a review of it:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilms6000fd
My previous beloved camera was a Casio 10 megapixels XLM EX S10. I loved the simplicity of that camera, and it took really nice photos too.
This one will take some learning.
Hear about the "Exploding rhubarb chutney" ?
"A jar of exploding rhubarb chutney lifted the ceiling off of a retirement flat, causing a scene of destruction and shaking awake a 66-year-old pensioner.
The homemade preserve blew up in the fridge, ripping the door off of its hinges and rocking Margaret Goodwin’s flat as she lay asleep at 7am in the morning.
When she went to see what the "bomb" was she found that her family photographs has been smashed by the fridge door as it was flung across the kitchen, knocking a chunk from the wall.
The explosion had also temporarily lifted the ceiling, leaving cracks in the top of the wall, living room and porch, and blew the casing off an extractor fan.
The homemade preserve blew up in the fridge, ripping the door off of its hinges and rocking Margaret Goodwin’s flat as she lay asleep at 7am in the morning.When she went to see what the "bomb" was she found that her family photographs has been smashed by the fridge door as it was flung across the kitchen, knocking a chunk from the wall."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/10161647/Exploding-rhubarb-chutney-wrecks-retirement-flat.html
I do some fermenting an am careful, but I'll be extra careful now....LOL
cheap or inexpensive software for photographs
I've been using Thumbs Plus for years as my basic program. It allows me to easily catalogue things and do some basic processing. I've been using it for around 20 years, since version one..
http://www.cerious.com/thumbnails.shtml
I was looking at some other programs like Qimage
http://www.ddisoftware.com/qimage-u/index.html
and Focus Magic.
http://www.focusmagic.com/index.html
Does anyone here know anything about them? They look pretty interesting.
looking for a new camera, mine is dying.
My trusty little point and shoot is getting on and showing signs of dyeing. I had two, one has hit the dust, the lense doesn't close anymore, unless I do it manually with a toothpick.
I have been using a Casio XLMS600 and a Casio EX S 10. I particularly loved the EX S 10. Both had multi focus options. I got another Casio EX something, but it didn't have that option, it was cheaper, I gave it away as it was just not acceptable to me.
What I love about these little cameras is the small unobtrusive size. I find larger cameras intimidate people and cause things to freeze up. The small camera seems to be more friendly. I like to take walks and take photos, and these small cameras are great for my purpose, they fit in the palm of my hand, can be carried in my purse or pocket easily, thus it's always with me. I've had larger cameras, but found they were left home too often. I like haveing a camera with me all the time.
They say the best camera is the one with you, thus my choice is the smaller ones. My budget is limited to around $350., which puts a limit on things. Any suggestions
Profile Information
Gender: Do not displayHometown: SF Bay Area
Member since: Fri Mar 24, 2006, 02:19 PM
Number of posts: 1,895
