Salaam

As part of a project I'm working on I decided to write some short pieces. Snapshots of life that are useful to see. I call them, 'lifebites'.

This is #1. I wrote it after thinking that the...

...difference between a painting and a photograph is that they both capture something beautiful, But a photo locks it away forever like a bird in a cage or a butterfly under glass. Whereas a painting captures but also sets free like a beautiful lifechanging moment that whilst intense is fresh every time its experienced.

Hope its useful. Enjoy.

I love spring. It is a wonder to behold Allah's Creation coming to life again. I remember before I had converted, but was reading about and contemplating Islam, it was spring time. I sat in the park next to my work and watched the pigeons chasing each other in circles. This was one of the things that convinced me of God, and that all of creation has not occurred by some random accident.

So the hard part is over. I've told my mum, dad and brother that I am converting to Islam, alhamdulliah, and am going to wear the hijab asap. Coming from a family of agonostics (my mum and brother) and a new revert to Islam ( my Dad) this wasn't as hard as I thought. Now it came to telling everyone else.

My mum and Dad came from a very strong Pentecostal church- which I used to go to in my search for God- where Christianity was the [b]only[/b] religon and if you mentioned another one prayer immediently followed. To my aunties, grandmother,uncles and cousins, Islam was a made up religon which was all about violence etc. I never thought this even when I was a christian, I knew Islam came from the word Salaam which meant peace ( I had a lot of muslim friends).

www.majedsblog.wordpress.com

By Majed Iqbal- “They appeared normal, just like any other family,” Guenter Prameiter, who runs a bakery just down the street, said. “They had a swimming pool in the garden. We would hear them [the children] laughing, the three of them,” said a third.

These were the comments raised by neighbours describing the Austrian father who kept captive his daughter Elisabeth, now 42, in three windowless underground rooms ever since she disappeared in 1984.

www.majedsblog.wordpress.com

By Maqsood Ahmed and Majed Iqbal-

Borat approached a passer-by in a New York street and said in the style of his Kazakh alter ego: “I like your clothings. Are nice! Please may I buying? I want have sex with it.” But the target of his joke didn’t see the funny side and punched Cohen repeatedly in the face.

This is not the first time Americans failed to get the Borat joke. Two US students who appeared in the Borat movie are suing Sacha Baron Cohen, the architect and player of the notorious Kazakh Borat character claiming they have suffered “mental anguish” after they were filmed making racist and sexist remarks.

www.majedsblog.wordpress.com

By Majed Iqbal-

It was on September 30, 2005, when the Danish daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten’s, published cartoons depicting the Prophet of Islam in an attempt to “test the level of tolerance of Muslims” living in Danish Society.

Two years on from the international furor created by these publications, a sequel with an even more loaded message to this issue is about to re-kindle another international situation.

Dutch lawmaker, MP Geert Wilders, who last summer called for the Quran to be banned in the Netherlands has now made a movie, entitled “Fitna”, to support his contention that the Koran inspires “intolerance, murder and terror.”

im an 18yr old whos struggling with life. nothing seems to be going right for me. iv started to read namaaz on a regular basis and cut down on sinning for example, controlling my tongue, anger etc. but iv noticed one thing about myself and im sure others will agree, that we only turn to allah swt when we want something or are in pain. we pray to allah to ease the pain and once we have overcome that period we forget about him. this shouldnt be the case. we should be turning to him whatever the situtaion, good or bad. i have promised myself that i will continue reading namaaz and act the way a muslim should. insha allah i will succeed. i make dua for everyone who is struggling to overcome their difficult time and request you to do the same for me.

Bismillah

All praise to Allah and peace and blessings upon Rasulullah Muhammad (s).

Shaykh Hamza Yusuf- A living example of the pious

A city, famous in history for its sweet onions and agriculture, gave birth to a little boy who had a great future ahead for him which compensated for his great efforts and struggle for mankind.
In the year 1960, in a Greek orthodox family, Mark Hanson was born to a US academic world war two veteran father and an activist mother in Walla Walla, Washington which is in the southeastern region of Washington, approximately five hours by car from Seattle, Washington and thirteen miles from the Oregon border.

Was just reading the artical, "RIP: Rest in peace or ripped into pieces?" from issue 10 and it reminded me a little of this poem that I wrote.

[b]5 Minutes Left To Live [/b]

You have 5 minutes left to live
Says the whisper, I wish was a lie
You were fatally wounded
And now its time for you to die......

I slowly turn my head up towards the sky
Keep asking one question, why god why?...
But God doesnt reply.

I lay still in the darkness
Never have I felt so hopeless
No matter how much I try
No one comes to the call of my cry

I feel alot weaker now,
Not long left to go,
My vision becomes a blur
And slowly my mind begins to stir

I watch as my whole life
Flashes before my eyes,
Highlighting all the good deeds and the bad

Who writes the articles for this magazine?
How old are they (on average)?
How old is the target audience for this magazine?