Iran accuses Israel of abusing U.N. interfaith meeting

Reuters

Published: November 13, 2008

By Patrick Worsnip
Iran's U.N. envoy on Thursday accused Israel of abusing a Saudi-sponsored U.N. interfaith conference for political purposes and suggested the Jewish state had no right to take part.
Speaking on the second day of the meeting, which earlier heard U.S. President George W. Bush call for worldwide religious freedom, Iran's U.N. Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee did not name Israel but left no doubt what country he had in mind.
"The representative of a regime (whose) short history is marked with ... aggression, occupation, assassination, state terrorism, and torture against the Palestinian people, under the pretext of a false interpretation of a divine religion, has tried to abuse this meeting for its narrow political purposes," he said.
Khazaee was referring to Israeli President Shimon Peres, who took the rare opportunity of being in the same room as Saudi King Abdullah on Wednesday to praise a Saudi peace initiative that he said had brought hope to the Middle East.

"The participation of such a regime not only has no benefit to our common purpose, but, as proved in this very meeting, will give them a chance to try to disrupt the current process divert our attention from our mandate" to improve dialogue between different religions, Khazaee said.  more ; also 

Saudi Arabia Sponsors UN Inter-faith Conference

INTERFAITH – CONFERENCE – UN 

Washington, 12 November (IranVNC)—World leaders today gathered at the United Nations in New York City to launch a two-day interfaith conference sponsored by Saudi Arabia. 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hailed the Saudi initiative as “truly inspiring”, and said that countries should work to ensure that “our rich cultural diversity makes us more secure – not less.”

US President George W. Bush is also listed to address the conference. Spokesperson Dana Perino said that Bush “believes that the king of Saudi Arabia has recognized that they have a long way to go and that he is trying to take some steps to get there.”

Rights groups have criticized the conference sponsored by Saudi Arabia, an officially Sunni-Muslim state that prohibits public worship by those who do not practice the state’s Wahhabi Islam. 

“Dialogue is no substitute for compliance with universal human rights standards,” wrote the US Commission on International Religious Freedom in an op-ed published in the Christian Science Monitor today.

In his address to the145-member assembly, Israel’s President Shimon Peres praised a Saudi peace plan for the Middle East as a “serious opening for real progress,” the Jewish Telegraph Agency reports.

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Nation: Tercentenary commemoration of ‘Gurta Gaddi,’- appointment of the Adi Granth as the Guru of Sikhs.

Over 3 lakh pilgrims take part in ‘Gurta Gaddi’ in Nanded

Nation: 

Pithavu is one who ptotects not a gender based noun

Recently, I was watching Malayalam TV and in a play the word "Pithaavu' (Father) came up. In the play a boy describes his benefactress as his "pithaavu" (father). Others deride him and ask him how a woman can be his father (achan). The boy says, I said Pithaavu and not achan and quotes a Sanskrit sloka where the word pithaavu is defined. I do not remember all, but a pithaavu is one who bestows 'arivu'(Wisdom) give shelter/protection, (abhayam) sutains (paalikkuka) etc (5 traits of pithaavu)


">GSC Yahoo groups by Susan Eapen , Bangalore
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The serial she refers to is Guruvayoorappan in Surya TV channel. It is the boy Guruvyaoorappan who speaks of Kurroramma and later defend the usage with reference to a woman as right to a Brahmin pundit who chided the boy for the usage. Jt

GOD REVEALED TO MOSES: 

JEHOVAH RAPHA, JEHOVAH NISSI, JEHOVAH MEKADESH

http://islam-heart.blogspot.com/2008/09/info-about-islam.html

Interfaith marriages

Interfaith marriage: acid attack on Muslim TV anchor

Submitted by admin3 on 14 October 2008 - 5:33pm. 

• Crime/Terrorism
 
• Indian Muslim

By Mohammed Siddique, TwoCircles.net,

Hyderabad: A senior journalist and anchor person of Telugu news channel of TV5 Abdul Kareem was today seriously injured when unknown assailants threw acids at him and attacked him with a hammer on his head. His face was badly burnt in the acid attack and he has been admitted to Apollo hospital in a critical condition.

The attack is being seen as a fallout of discord over interfaith marriage as he had married Srisha another anchor person of the same channel. The girl from Brahmin community reportedly had love affair with Karim before they tied the knot. The police are questioning the relatives of the girl including her father and brother in connection with the incident. Shrisha was also injured in the attack. Earlier first wife of Karim and the parents of Shrisha had lodged a complaint with the human rights in connection with his second marriage.

While Karim hails from Ongole in Prakasham district, Shrisha belongs to Vijaywada.
Karim had earlier reported another girl working for another Telugu news channel where the two had worked.

In view of the nature of the case, the journalists' unions were staying clear of the controversy.

Karim is the second TV personality to be in the news in connection with the marital discord. Jhansi, another popular anchor, had married a Muslim boy and converted to Islam. But later she walked out of the marriage saying he was being forced to wear a veil.  read 

HMm ... Heavenly City..Rapture!

The Size of the City

The incredible size means the city would stretch from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and from the Atlantic coast of America to Colorado. It would also extend 1,500 miles into the atmosphere.

This tremendous extension of the city vertically into the air is a clue that the new earth may be considerably larger than the current earth. Otherwise, the city would not be proportional to its surroundings.

Would such a city be able to adequately accommodate all the Redeemed? That's a good question. The best answer I have ever run across is the one provided by Dr. Henry Morris in his book The Revelation Record.

Dr. Morris postulates the total number of Redeemed might be as many as 20 billion. He further guesses that approximately 75 percent of the new Jerusalem might be devoted to streets, parks and public buildings. Can 20 billion people be squeezed into only 25 percent of the space of this city?

The answer is yes! In fact, it can be done easily. Each person would have a cubical block with about 75 acres of surface on each face. We are talking about an immense city!

This assumes, of course, that our new glorified bodies will be immune to the current law of gravity, as are the bodies of angels. This is a safe assumption, for Philippians 3:2 says that our glorified bodies will be like the body of Jesus after His resurrection, and His body was not subject to gravity, as evidenced by His ascension into Heaven.

This is the reason the city will be so tall. We will be able to utilize and enjoy all levels of it. There will be vertical streets as well as horizontal ones.  R

Was Miriam Hebrew?

MIRIAM THE PROPHETESS

The song tells us nothing in particular about this person "Miriam" and verse 20 of the text only informs us that she was "a prophetess," that she was the "sister of Aaron" (oddly enough, Moses himself is not mentioned), and that she took up the leadership of many women, who in sang and danced, accompanied by the distinctive sound of the timbrel. From the place of this scene in context of the exodus-wilderness narrative we can guess that Miriam was among the "mixed multitude" that had recently come out of Egypt and fled into the desert of Sinai. Other biblical passages inform us that she was the sister of Moses and Aaron, ostensibly all members of the Hebrew speaking, Israelite tribe of Levi. However, strangely enough, none of these three people have a Hebrew name. Moses (properly "Mose") is a common element in Egyptian nomenclature -- even some kings had the syllable attached to their names (i. e. "Tutmose," etc.). Like that of her supposed brother, Moses, Miriam's non-Hebrew name appears to have come from the Egyptian language. The syllable "Meri" (loved one) was generally joined with that of some god to form a name such as "Meri-aten" (beloved of the god Aten) or "Meri-amun" (beloved of the god Amun).
Read it all

Participatory Bible Study Blog

a very good blog

Names of God

In christian tradition from 300 a.d. and on theologians began with N.T. about Father, Son and Holy Spirit to a teaching about God called the Triunity or sadly simplified to Trinity. They were well meaning, but lacked the foundation of the O.T. So let us start there. Then in almost no translation you can differentiate clearly between the names. So it is necessary to use the names in hebrew. You have good help of the COMPANION BIBLE and the Concordant Literal Version. The main names of God in the O.T are
1) Elohim. This is distincly the Creator God. He/She is both masculine and feminine. Man was created in the image of Elohim, male and female. All creation, all nations and all humans have a relationship with Elohim.
2) JHVH, the tetragrammaton (four-letter) name, that the jews dare not pronounce. It was wrongly translittered Jehovah in the reformation, but was probably pronounced Jahveh or Yahweh. He is male and the Covnant God of Israel. He is the God of OLAM, falsely translated eternity, Correctly THE AGE.Ex 3:15 Concordant version "And Elohim said further to Moses: Thus shall you say to the sons of Israel, Yahweh, the Elohim of your fathers,the Elohim of Abraham,the Elohim of Isaac and the Elohim of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name for THE EON, and this the remembrance of me for generation after generation.
3) Shaddai. This name comes from hebr. SHAD meaning a woman´s nurturing breast, so Shaddai is feminine,giving, sharing. In Ex 6:2-3 C.V. " Elohim spoke to Moses and said to him: I am Yahweh, and I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as the El-Who-Suffices ( El Shaddai); as to my name Yahweh I was not fully realised by them. So from Abram until Moses the young nation Israel was under his Mother. With Moses Israel came to "BAR-MITZVAH" and came under JHVH as a Father with new laws and rules. Shaddai is often used together with EL as El Shaddai. There is no difference from the single Shaddai.
4) ELYON or EL ELYON, meaning the HIGHEST. Melchizedec was a priest to Elyon Gen 14:18-24. ELYON is the possessor of the Heavens and the Earth. While JHVH is the God of Israel, ELYON is the God of all nations. Deut 32:8 C.V. When the SUPREME gave the nations allotments, when he parted the sons of Adam, He stationed the boundaries of the peoples According to the number of the sons of EL (Qumran) ISRAEL (Massorete). When God manifests to gentile kings in Daniel He is ELYON. The saints of ELYON shall possess the kingdom of God. Dan 7:18-22. Elyon is translated Hypsistos in N.T. The gergasene demoniac (a gentile) in Mark 5:7 C.V. is saying: "What is it to me and to thee, Jesus, Son of EL ELYON! I am adjuring Thee by God" Even Luke 8:28. In Luke 1:32 Jesus "shall be great, and Son of ELYON shall He be called." Luke 1:35 the messenger said to Miriam: "Holy spirit shall be coming on you, and the power of ELYON shall be overshadowing you". In Luke 1:76 John the Baptiser is called "Prophet of Elyon" He is greater than all O.T. prophets. Jesus is NEVER called "Son of the Lord" in N.T. NEVER Son of JHVH. Always Son of ELYON. This means that ELYON, not JHVH, is the FATHER of the Lord Jesus Christ. ELYON is the God of mercy; JHVH is the God of Justice. "AND NO ONE IS RECOGNIZING THE SON EXCEPT THE FATHER; NEITHER IS ANYONE RECOGNIZING THE FATHER EXCEPT THE SON AND HE TO WHOM THE SON SHOULD BE INTENDING TO UNVEIL HIM". Matth 11:28

Courtesy

Translated Bible rocks Jharkhand assembly

Translated bible rocks Jharkhand assembly

Posted October 5, 2008


September 23, 2008
DNA India
Source Link

RANCHI: Controversial lines in a translated version of the Bible in Jharkhand rocked the state assembly on Tuesday, leading to an assurance by the government that the book would be recalled.



Chandresh Oraon, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator, moved the motion to stop work in the assembly on Tuesday and demanded a debate on the lines in the translated Bible that call for destroying tribals' places of worship.

The book in Kuduk language, one of the main tribal languages in Jharkhand, has been brought out by the Bible Society of India (BSI).

The translated version reportedly says: "Destroy the trees and Sarna (tribals' worship places)."

"BSI has done a criminal act by publishing such derogatory remarks in the translated Bible. This is a conspiracy against the tribal society.

"We seek a probe and action against the society for publishing the book which hurt the sentiments of the tribal," said Oraon.

The BJP tribal legislators came in the well of the house and shouted slogans like "Stop hurting tribal sentiments".

Inder Singh Namdhari, former assembly speaker and independent legislator, said: "No one has the right to hurt the sentiment of any religion. Government should take suitable action on the issue."

Deputy Chief Minister Stephen Marandi said: "We admit the fault. Wrong translation of Bible has been done by BSI.

"The state government will recall the translated version of the book and take suitable action against the publisher," he added.

Marandi, however, did not clarify what action would be taken against the publishers. 

The BJP legislators were not satisfied with the reply and they shouted slogans. They demanded action against the publisher. 

The Congress legislators alleged that the BJP was politicising the issue.

A deep resentment is prevailing among the tribal scholars on the issue.

Tribal scholars demanded suitable action against the publishers. "The Christian missionaries have no right to hurt the sentiment of the tribal people. The issue could take a volatile shape if such things take place," said Karma Oraon, a tribal scholar.

On Monday, 11 tribals were arrested in Ranchi for trying to burn the copies of the Bible.

Less than a year back, another book published by the society had  insulted a local freedom fighter. The issue was also raised in the state assembly.   read

Marathon Bible Reading on Italian TV

Pope kicks off 7-day marathon Bible reading
Sun, Oct 5 11:16 PM
ROME (Reuters) - Pope Benedict on Sunday kicked off a seven-day, non-stop Bible reading marathon on Italian television.

The pope read for several minutes from the start of the Book of Genesis live from his apartments in the Vatican while other speakers read in the Basilica of Holy Cross in Rome.

In the next seven days and six nights, more than 1,200 people will read from the Bible until all 73 books of the Catholic edition is finished.

The second reader was from the Russian Orthodox Church and the third was an Italian protestant leader. Others on the first night included Italian politicians and artists, among them Oscar-winning actor and director Roberto Benigni.

Tenor Andrea Bocelli sang between readings.

Rome's chief rabbi, Riccardo di Segni, had originally agreed to read immediately after the pope but pulled out of the event last month, saying it had become "too Catholic". more

Ramadan: Benefits of night worship

Ramadan: Benefits of night worship

date		Wed, Sep 17, 2008 at 6:14 AM
subject		*Ar_Ruuh* Ramadan: Benefits of night worship
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THE special character, which distinguishes the month of Ramadan from the rest of the year is derived from the type of action we do during this month, be they obligatory or voluntary. We have spoken about fasting and the reasons for making it obligatory, as well as the role it plays in the building of the special character, which the nation of Islam has. We have pointed out that fasting has much to do with the preparation of Muslims for the task assigned to them by God, namely, conveying the divine message of Islam to mankind. Although fasting is the main thing, which we do in Ramadan, it is only the obligatory part. There are other aspects of worship, which we associate with Ramadan in one way or another and which contribute to its distinctive characteristics.

Every Muslim knows that emulating the Prophet (peace be upon him) in any action he did during the 23 years of his mission is strongly recommended. It goes without saying that some of these actions we must do, since they are Islamic duties. What is not obligatory and has been done by the Prophet constitutes a recommended practice, which earns reward if done by any Muslim. When we look at what the Prophet did in Ramadan, we find that he was exceptionally charitable in this blessed month. In order to appreciate his generosity, we need to remember that the Prophet was the most generous of people at all times. He never hesitated to give away whatever he had, trusting always that God will give him more for his charity. In Ramadan, however, he was exceedingly charitable, with no limits to his generosity.

Moreover, prayer, which is the mainstay of Islamic worship, and indeed the Islamic faith, receive even stronger emphasis in Ramadan. When you go anywhere in the Muslim world in Ramadan, you find that mosques witness some unusual activity in this month. Worshippers gather for a late congregational prayer, which is offered after Isha, the night prayer, and takes much longer than any of the five obligatory prayers offered daily. Nevertheless, this worship exercise is not obligatory. We do it, following the guidance of the Prophet. It is authentically reported that he came out into the mosque one night in Ramadan and a group of his companions joined him in a congregational prayer. He did the same on the following two nights with the congregation increasing every night. On the fourth night, the mosque was overcrowded, but the Prophet did not come out. In the morning, when he came out for the obligatory dawn prayer, Fajr, he said to his companions that he was aware of their presence. He simply did not want to come out because he feared that this worship might become obligatory to them. He wanted to keep it voluntary. However, the indication is clear that a congregational night worship in Ramadan is strongly recommended.

This understanding was put into practice by the second Caliph, Umar ibn Al-Khattab. He came out one night in Ramadan to the mosque and found that there were many people praying individually or in small groups. He thought that it was far better if they joined together in one congregation led by an imam who recited the Qur'an well. He chose Ubayy ibn Kaab who was known to be one of the best reciters of the Qur'an among the Prophet's companions. This was how the Taraweeh prayer started in congregation.

Prayers are a devotional practice, which is aptly described as an action, which breathes life into souls. This applies particularly to night prayers. At night, the worshipper feels himself much closer to God. Prayers help him to purify himself and strengthen his resolve to fulfill all the duties God requires of him, especially in relation to the conveyance of the divine message to mankind.

It is noteworthy that such long and late night prayers were obligatory in the very early period of Islam. The Prophet and his few companions in Makkah were required to stay up nearly half the night every night in total devotion to God. After a couple of hours sleep they would rise and offer their devotion. They continued to do so for a whole year. Later, the obligation was relaxed. The action itself remains strongly recommended. It does not require a far stretch of imagination to visualize the strong effect such night prayers have in educating the believers and building their characters. The self-discipline involved, the feeling of proximity to God night prayer imparts, and the acceptance of the supremacy of His will are all important factors which help to shape the character of the Muslim community. Hence, night prayers were made obligatory in the formative period of the first Muslim generation. When we consider the remarkable achievements of that generation, we have to remember that it was a generation molded by the Prophet himself, and that the fact that long hours were spent in worship every night was an essential element of the molding process.

The fact that obligation was later relaxed does not alter anything of the value of spending half of the night in honest worship. Indeed, Muslims have had to resort to this unique method to re-educate themselves in their faith and to rebuild their truly Islamic character every time that character was weakened by any particular set of circumstances. It remains today our invaluable training, which acquires for us the habit of opting for the hard but right course in preference to the wrong one, which may be easy, comfortable or even enjoyable.

There is no doubt that the month of Ramadan with its strong emphasis on night worship, in addition to the day worship of fasting, enables us to maintain our ideological character. It helps us to hold on to the standard of truth and evaluate everything through that standard. Hence, when Muslims say that Ramadan is a month of endless blessings they speak from personal experience, because they see the effects of this blessing in their daily lives. It is only natural, therefore, that we always thank God for giving us the month of Ramadan and for making it what it is in reality for our own benefit.

- By Adil Salahi

*Ar_Ruuh* Importance of Time

Shahid Khan

shahid@gmail.com

Importance of Time

MANY people forget or neglect the importance of time although man's life on earth is a span of time. Islam gives due attention to the issue of time because if people waste their time, they are actually wasting their life.

The Holy Qur'an gives due attention to the idea of time and this is clear in many verses of the Qur'an when Allah swears using the different places of times of the day to reveal the importance of time, "By the break of Day," (Qur'an, 1:89) "By (the Token of) Time (through the ages),' (Qur'an, 1:103) …etc.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) says in one of the Hadiths: "There are two things that people are not aware of how important they are: health and time." This Hadith stresses two facts: People are not aware of the importance of being in good health till they fall ill and people are not aware of the importance of time and therefore waste their time doing trivial things.

There was a nice research published in one of the magazines about how man spends his time. The research revealed that if man lives for 60 years, he spends one third of his life sleeping because man usually sleeps eight hours a day. Remaining years are spent in public transportation, watching TV, eating, in the bathroom…etc. This means that the larger part of man's life is spent in worldly matters. Thus man has to make the best use of the other part in obeying and worshipping Allah and winning His approval.

Karen Armstrong, one of the most important contemporary orientalists, refers to this aspect of time in Prophet Muhammad's (peace be upon him) life. She indicated that what the Prophet (peace be upon him) did in 23 years was miraculous and what he accomplished required thousands of philosophers, reformers, intellectuals and mentors to do in hundreds of years.

In other words, she said the most outstanding aspect of Prophet Muhammad's achievement is the human values, ideals, principles and ethics he introduced to the life of man in a short time. He made humanity re-discover the meanings of monotheism, faith, justice, tolerance, charity, and compassion etc…etc and realize that all people are equal and what distinguishes one person from another is deep faith in Allah and piety.

This means that he devoted all his time to reforming people and making them see life in a new light, that is, based on faith and noble human values.

Permission is granted to circulate among private individuals and groups, to post on Internet sites and to publish in full text and subject title in not-for-profit publications.