VIDEO: Should she be allowed to wear it?

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HUMOUR: Invitation from the Muslim Village Idiots ...

On 7 January 2011, I received the following e-mail from some dude calling himself "Jaaved":

Dear irfan,

Assalaamu Alaykum and Peace Be Upon You!

The Forum Guidelines for Muslim Village have been updated today, Friday 7 January 2011. It is your responsibility to read through and understand the rules as a whole and to ensure you comply with them.

For your convenience, you may access the Forum Guidelines here: http://muslimvillage.com/forums/index.php?app=forums&module=extras§ion=boardrules

If you have any questions about these new Forum Guidelines, you may do the following:

1. Contact Jaaved, the admin (http://muslimvillage.com/forums/user/1831-jaaved/)

2. Post in the relevant thread about the new Guidelines (http://muslimvillage.com/forums/topic/62569-updated-forum-guidelines/)

3. Contact any of our fantastic Moderators (http://muslimvillage.com/forums/index.php?app=forums&module=extras§ion=stats&do=leaders)

Thank you for your co-operation and thanks for your support thus far.

Wasalaam,
With Peace,
Jaaved and the rest of the Muslim Village Team

What a lovely surprise! A personal invitation!! I'd already been banned from the MV forums over the past 5 years for any number of reasons including:

1. Twice for criticising Shaykh Hilaly for his imbecilic comments, including his infamous catmeat remarks.

2. Thrice for questioning the dubious academic credentials of pseudo-imam Afroz Ali.

3. At least once for questioning the arguments of Hizb ut-Tahrir.

So anyway, I decided to join. Heck, why not?

Within 30 minutes, I was banned again. I was curious as to why. So I penned this e-mail:

To:

webmaster@muslimvillage.net

AA.

Thanks for inviting and then uninviting me.

Just out of curiosity, I'm wondering what reasoning was used to ban me.

Ma salameh

irfan

No response yet. I'll keep readers posted.

UPDATE I: Some dude named "Ahmad E" wrote this interesting comment:

You are merly using Islam to peddel your books, why don't you advertise your books elsewhere, we the Muslims here are not stupid to believe your lies.

So Irfan was once a radical "Islamo-fascist", yeah right, it shows how much credibility you've got by using a bull **** word once used by Mr. Bush our biggest enemy. He used that word when he made a speech after the attempted bombing of US and British airplanes by using chemicals stored in cans.

What is an "islamo-facist" anyway? It's a kind of oxymoron don't you think, becuase Islam and fascism are totally different and opposite.

He obviously didn't get the joke.

UPDATE II: A very kind person wrote this:

the collective IQ of that place can be measured in terms of average rainfall in Canarvon. Occassionally Irfan arrives and it floods

Thanks, OH!!

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REFLECTION: Why Christmas is an Islamic Time of Year ...

From the Aussie Mossie blog first published 05 December 2005.

Christmas is hardly a fortnight away, and already some people feel affronted. What puzzles me is that some of these people claim to feel this way because of their Muslim faith.

Yet anyone who understands what Christmas is about will see nothing in it offensive to Muslim sensibilities.

Muslims believe the Jesus Christ is the Messiah. They believe his birth occurred by immaculate conception to the Virgin Mary, an miraculous act of direct Divine intervention. Muslims do not dispute that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, presently a Palestinian town in the West Bank.

You cannot be regarded as a Muslim if you do not believe in these key events of Christmas. The nativity scene is as much part of the Qur’an (the Muslim scripture) as it is of the New Testament.

I have the benefit of being exposed to both Christian and Muslim religious traditions. I attended Sydney’s only Anglican Cathedral School. I studied the New Testament in Divinity classes and attended weekly chapel services. My Indian Muslim parents insisted I be part of all Christian activities of the school.

At the same time, as a child, I grew up with the Qur’an. I learnt about the chapter of the Qur’an named after Mary which describes the nativity scene in great detail. In that chapter, it states that Mary chosen above the women of all nations and ages for the sacred task of giving birth to God’s Messiah.

Today, Bethlehem is a city where Muslims and Christians celebrate Christ’s birth together. It is not uncommon to see Muslims seated in the pews of the Church of the Nativity. During the most recent Israeli incursion into Bethlehem, both Muslims and Christians sought refuge in the Church.

Both ancient and modern realities of Bethlehem bring the two communities of Christ together. It makes no sense for Muslims to oppose the celebration of Christmas. In this regard, comments attributed to the Forum of Australia’s Islamic Relations (FAIR) in the Sunday Mail on 4 December are cause for concern.

In a press release dated 5 September 2005, FAIR director Kuranda Seyit denied suggesting that Christmas should be phased out of Australian life. The comments attributed to FAIR are certainly not echoed by Muslim leaders in other parts of Australia.

Of course, some will argue against Christmas being used to sell products. Even some Christians feel that Christmas is becoming too commercial, with more emphasis being placed on storewide sales than church services.

I personally feel that the sales themselves are a reflection of a broader Christmas spirit. Christmas is about celebrating Christ’s mass, the birth of Christ. It is a time when God showed His divine generosity by sending His Messiah to spread a message of love and compassion.

The New Testament Christ is a man who made time for the most marginalised members of society – tax collectors, sex workers and lepers. The Christ of the Qur’an was a man who brought the message of God’s mercy and love. Both versions involve celebrating a man whose life was itself a celebration of human kindness and generosity.

It therefore makes sense that people exchange gifts during this time. Retailers who choose to cash in on people’s generosity by offering incentives and sales for people are hardly doing society a disservice.

Islamic teachings state that money should continue to circulate through the economy. Money grows when it is in motion. Like still water stagnates, hoarded wealth is a source of many diseases of the heart. The cure for such diseases is generosity.

So this year, as in every other year, I will be sending Christmas cards to all my clients, Muslim and non-Muslim. I will also be sending a package to a close Muslim female friend for Christmas consisting of books of poems by the Muslim mystic Rumi.

The message of the Muslim saint Rumi, like that of the Muslim Messiah Jesus, was one of Divine love. I hope my fellow Aussie Muslims show traces of that love to their fellow countrymen and women of all faiths and of no faith in particular.

Words © 2005-11 Irfan Yusuf


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