Agnostic Jew on the Quran

The Magnetism Of The Ka'ba

Iron Fillings by Ahmad Mater

Here are some very beautiful artistic interpretations of the Kaba in this November 2010 issue of Emel magazine. I loved the various ways these artists depicted the same subject. All of them seem to capture some essence of circumambulating the Kaba.

Are you ready?

As Muslims, we sometimes fall into the trap that many groups fall into. We develop a feeling of superiority based upon our association with Islam. We often look at people who are different from us and we scoff at them. We ridicule them, and insult them. We neglect to even approach them with Islam, yet we say how they need Islam in their lives. This type of attitude is the one of blissful ignorance. It's just lame.

The question I ask is,"Are you ready?". Are you ready to embrace someone who looks like this man? What are you going to do if he enters our ranks? What will be your reaction if you saw him at Hajj, huh?

I ask this because, I ran into an interesting situation. A friend of mine met a man who had converted to Islam. In his past, he had engaged in homosexual activity, but he turned away from that. My friend appreciated the fact that this person was honest. This person divulged this info because of interest in marrying my friend.

When all of this was explained to me, I mentioned that although this person had a past, he has also taken on Islam. It's the questions...

"Does my friend reject this person because of his past?"

"Will rejection potentially cause this person to withhold this information the next time they wish to pursue marriage?"

"Is there a chance that this person sees marriage as a cure for his previous behavior?"

"How will such information play into the married life of this person? Will it be a cause for argument or enmity between spouses?"

"Should this person have even shared such information about past acts?"

"But isn't sharing such information the responsible thing to do? Especially in this day and age?"

"Would a better match be with another convert who also had similar behaviour in the past?"

Oh the list went on. No answers though. What I know without a doubt is that we need to decide whether or not we want to continue to ignore these issues? We need to decide if brother "Tat Face" will be judged by his character content and if brother "Past Life" will have space among his ranks during salat. What will be our reaction to such people? After all of our criticism, how will they be treated when people like these two men, enter the fold of Islam?

Brothers and the Blues

FREE. The Muslim. MAN.

BY DYNAMITE SOUL

They are the forgotten. Veiled from all who dare to notice them. Massive amounts of fabric is their daily wardrobe. Their's is a custom that goes back several hundred years. A custom many men in the United States of America are happy not to have inherited.


Imagine living your life as a man who only wears a few shades of blues, greens , purples, whites, and the occasional earth-tone. A brilliant red or festive orange may never be seen on these poor tribesmen. America is a country where men are free to pick and wear all of the colors of the rainbow.

While in the scorching heat of the desert sun, these men carry on their daily lives. They work, travel and play in massively hot garb. How can this be? Why must these men bear such a burden?

In the year 2006, men must be free. We recognize the freedom men should have. These men are no different. Why isn't anyone speaking out against their suffering?

Some weird people think that they like what they are wearing and value the tradition left to them. Others attribute their modest clothing to a more sinister plot, oppression of men.

Look to the men on the left. Their sadness is apparent. One man dares to reveal his face to the sun. Surely these men can not enjoy such a wardrobe. They need our help so that they can have wardrobe freedom. These men must know that they have choices and that we are here to make them make those choices. Before we get there, we must understand these victims and their plight.

For many years, these poor men have worn the veil, while their female counterparts are free to walk the earth without it. The women in their tribes don't even have to wear as much fabric as the men do. Is this not an unfair double standard?

How cool is it that the beauty and attractiveness of these men are kept away from most everyone? With all of those hot clothes, it is not cool at all. Will these victims ever know that they can wear red, white, & blue?

Will we ever be able to see those wonderful locks of hair on these men? When will they come out of the darkness and have their time to shine? When will they have the freedom to reveal their beauty? The world may never know.

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