As we speak the final opposition held areas of Eastern Aleppo are falling in the face of a massive onslaught of Russian air power, Syrian armed forces and their alliwed Lebanese and Iraqi shia militias.
Even before the final onslaught there were many reports that from civilians that had fled Aleppo, the men had been stripped out and disapeared. No doubt many of these will have been tortured and many murdered.
Is celebrating Christmas Blasphemy?
Blasphemy
noun: blasphemy; plural noun: blasphemies
The action or offence of speaking sacrilegiously about God or sacred things; profane talk.
"he was detained on charges of blasphemy"
Synonyms: profanity, profaneness, sacrilege, irreligiousness, irreverence, taking the Lord's name in vain, swearing, curse, cursing, impiety, impiousness, ungodliness, unholiness, desecration, disrespect; formalimprecation; archaicexecration
"he was condemned for his blasphemy"
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I have been looking for an upgrade for my mum for a few months now and a few weeks ago I finally purchased the Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime. (in most of the contents below, the 3s and the 3s Prime are used interchangeably – the only difference between the models is that the prime model also has a finger print reader.).
The Xiaomi Redmi 3 series of phones (I will explain the wording better later) have 5 inch displays, come in 2GB RAM/16GB storage or 3GB RAM/32GB Storage variants and more or less identical design, 720p IPS displays, 13 mega pixel camera and the later models also come with fingerprint readers. They use the MIUI variant of android. My phone came with MIUI 8 pre installed.
Have you heard about the one where a (Muslim) teaching assistant was sacked after raising an objection toshowing special needs students a video from youtube of people jumping from buildings on 9/11 - a video which was labeled as for adults only by Youtube’s filters?
I am not sure though whether it is a good idea for her to reject the settlement as UK law is often something that uses money to settle disagreements.
If the tribunal rules in her favour (saying that the school was at fault) but gives an award less than what they offered (without admitting fault or apologising), she may be in financial trouble.
Its pretty damning about our behaviour and how those less well off are far more hospitable of others.
Here is another one from last year:
*Urgent - Muslim Foster Carers Needed!*
Given the current closure of the Calais camp, there is a huge need for muslim foster carers to care for children from Syria and other Muslim countries.
Most of the children are male and aged 14+* who have been through a very difficult journey in their lives.
If you could open up your house to a Muslim young person and fulfil this great need please get in touch with Foster Care Link, the only dedicated muslim fostering agency in the UK.
*London:* 020 8880 5387
*NorthWest & Yorkshire:* 0161 633 5000
*Midlands:* 0116 210 2248
God does not want me
God does not want me, at least not at the moment. Having had a growth removed from my abdomen, I have been told that it is benign and nothing to worry about.
Having found a lump in my abdomen area I went and saw my GP. Who had a look and said, “Yes that is definitely a lump, we shall get you booked in for a scan,”
Six weeks later I go for a scan, to be told yet again yes I do have a growth in my abdomen. Approx 5cm x 4cm x 2cm. We won’t do a biopsy, we will arrange for you to come in and have it removed as an urgent case. [5cm is the stage when the decision to remove it is made]
Islam or Submission.
The Arabic term "Islam" itself is usually translated as "submission"; submission of desires to the will of God. It comes from the term "aslama", which means "to surrender" or "resign oneself". The Arabic word salaam (سلام) ("Peace") has the same root as the word Islam.
Islam or Submission
But what do we submit to? Is it to God or people who say that they speak for [interpret the Scriptures, Bible, Torah or the Quran/Hadiths]?
In Christianity, Judaism and yes Islam we have had religious leaders who say that they
1] They, and only they have studied the above religious books sufficiently to understand them.
2] Their interpretation are the correct ones and as such are not up for discussion.
Last year, when my parents went to Pakistan for a couple of months there were times when I felt very alone. My loneliness led me to an incredibly stupid mistake, no a sin, that I vowed not to repeat. But as I find myself in a similar position today, I want to walk on the same dirty path, towards the mirage that is contentment due to sin, all over again.
That’s the thing about sins, most of the times they’re not completely void of reasoning. Not all sins require calculated thought but there is a sense of purpose to them, an end goal which we believe will elevate us. Maybe elevate our status, or simply elevate our state of mind. Alleviate our problems and make us happy.
Interesting and thought provoking Utube video about the conflict in the Middle East.
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. We all end up blind and toothless, but History rolls on.
Very little changes one despot takes over from another, while the little people try their best to survive.
