THE 99 is an animated series featuring superheroes inspired by Islamic culture and society. The series was scheduled to launch in the US last week on the The Hub children’s television network, but producers have since announced the broadcast will be postponed indefinitely. Vicious anti-Muslim bigots everywhere are gleeful, boasting that their small but boisterous outcry may have prompted the delay.
The New York Post published a scathing article by outrage peddler Andrea Peyser criticizing the series and calling on anti-Muslim bigots to protest loudly so they can “cancel THE 99 before it starts.” Peyser says the series will indoctrinate impressionable young children with Sharia-compliant Muslim superheroes “masquerading as the good guys.”
For Peyser the Hateful, Muslims are always super villains, so characters who represent the 99 virtues of God in the Qur’an will naturally use their powers to wage the ultimate jihad. She conjures up fearsome images of Jabbar the Powerful dishing out a mean stoning, and Darr the Afflicter venting his rage on hapless dhimmis.
The looniest blogger ever, Pamela Geller, told CNN that THE 99 is unacceptable because Islam must be portrayed as misogynistic, violent, and oppressive to non-Muslims, and that there must be an emphasis placed on Islam’s bloody, violent history. She said anything else is just “dawah proselytizing.”
Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, the Kuwaiti-born, U.S.-educated psychologist who created THE 99, said he never expected to face his fiercest opposition to the series in the US, a country that prides itself on diversity and tolerance. The whole point of THE 99 was to bridge the gap between Islam and the West by promoting universal values and encouraging tolerance, cooperation, and mutual understanding. Al-Mutawa said he wants to provide positive role models to all children:
“I told the writers of the animation that only when Jewish kids think that THE 99 characters are Jewish, and Christian kids think they’re Christian, and Muslim kids think they are Muslim, and Hindu kids think they’re Hindu, that I will consider my vision as having been fully executed.”
Geller is not appeased, and continues to describe the series as an onslaught of cultural jihad aimed at radicalizing American children. She says the true superheroes are “counter-jihadists” like Ibn Warraq, Nonie Darwish, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, all of whom are in fact rabid anti-Muslim loons. She has also launched a crude online parody called THE 19, which features Spencerman and Gellerwoman as superheroes presumably fighting Muslim evildoers.
Last month, Geller and her fellow hate mongers must have been thrilled with the release of a comic series that suits their agenda perfectly. Frank Miller is a legend in the comic world for writing and drawing film noir-style comic book stories, including Batman: The Dark Night Returns. Influential in Hollywood, he directed the film version of The Spirit and co-directed Sin City. Miller also produced the 2006 American fantasy action film 300, which some critics described as psychological warfare against Iran.
Miller released a post-9/11 propaganda comic series to correspond with the ten year anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York City, and said he hoped it would ”really piss people off.” He was braced for a fatwa and seemed to look forward to a backlash that never came. Despite the underwhelming response from Muslims, Wired Magazine said:
“Holy Terror is a screed against Islam, completely uninterested in any nuance or empathy.” Miller has produced, “one of the most appalling, offensive and vindictive comics of all time. “
Outrage over the 9/11 attacks inspired Miller’s dark comic series steeped in insatiable rage and vengeance, but the same events also inspired Al-Mutawa, who said he wanted to take Islam back from the extremists who had hijacked it. He conceived of the idea for his series during a London cab ride with his sister in 2003.
Al-Mutawa envisioned THE 99 as a world-class comic book on a par with American classics, so he assembled a team of veteran writers and artists with experience creating comic icons like Spider-man, Power Rangers, and X-Men. In 2006, he launched his new series to audiences in the Middle East.
THE 99 quickly became the most popular comic book in the region, selling over a million copies per year, and prompting Forbes Magazine to declare the series as one of the 20 trends sweeping the globe. An English language version launched in the US in 2007 without opposition. Industry giant DC Comics gave the series a promotional boost in 2010 by producing a six-part limited edition crossover that paired THE 99 with classic American superheroes including Batman, Superman, and the Justice League of America.
In 2009, Al-Mutawa decided to turn his successful comic book into an animated series. His company, Teshkeel Media Group, partnered with a Dutch company to co-produce and distribute the new series. The cartoon version of THE 99 has also been a smashing success, and it is expected to reach viewers in over 50 countries by the end of next year.
THE 99 was initially banned in Saudi Arabia when critics expressed concern that Al-Mutawa was violating Islamic Law with characters that personified God. Al-Mutawa eventually won approval for the series after he convinced religious authorities that the characters are not manifestations of God, but merely extol the 99 virtues mentioned in the Qur’an.
Saudi Arabia has since signed on for merchandise deals and even plans to build its own Disney-style theme park based on the series. The 99 Village opened in 2009 in Kuwait, and several more theme parks are planned throughout the region. Today no Arab country bans THE 99, which is also broadcast in a growing number of Muslim countries outside the Arab world, including Turkey and Indonesia.
Not everyone is happy about the widespread acceptance THE 99 has received in the Muslim world. Phyllis Chesler, another rabid anti-Muslim bigot and friend of Pamela Geller, has criticized Muslims for what she describes as “disturbing double standards.” She says they are turning a blind eye to Al-Mutawa while he creates 99 images of God, but they terrorize Westerners with fatwas and violence for lesser offenses.
Chesler is apparently a fan of far right Dutch politician Geert Wilders, and she is outraged that the Moooslims want to stop him from “telling the truth about Islam.” Wilders is infamous for spreading vicious lies against Islam and Muslims, and he is still vigorously exercising his right to free speech.
She said Muslims (apparently all of them) have also terrorized American cartoonist Molly Norris for her Everybody Draw Muhammad Day hate fest, and Dutch cartoonist Kurt Westergaard for his infamous drawing of the Prophet Muhammad with a bomb-studded turban.
It is difficult to see the connection between these provocative events and the introduction of THE 99, but Chesler seems to think they should all inspire a backlash of equal proportions if the Muslims are to apply consistent standards. This is tortured logic, but in any case, shouldn’t it be a good thing that THE 99 didn’t cause a violent backlash?
Chesler and her loony friends certainly didn’t write any articles praising Muslims for their subdued reaction to Frank Miller’s provocative, hateful comic series. For them, Muslims always deserve only criticism, no matter what they do.
Batina the Hidden
Chesler also expressed concern over what sinister “Muslim values” the series might foist on non-Muslim children. She asks, “Will children learn about democracy, modernity, tolerance, Enlightenment, women’s and gay rights from these ‘Islamic’ figures?”
Spider-man doesn’t typically lecture children on democracy, modernity, and Enlightenment. Those seem like heavy topics for a cartoon series written for children.
As for gay rights, how many gay and lesbian characters can you name from the Justice League or any other mainstream comic series? If Chesler is really an advocate for gay rights, she needs to expand her focus to the entire industry.
THE 99 does promote gender equality, which Al-Mutawa has elaborated on during numerous interviews. Islamphobes like Chesler and Geller will simply not let facts stand in the way of their propaganda efforts, and continue to spread the lie that the female characters in the series are oppressed and forced to wear Islamic clothing.
On her website Atlas Shrugs, Geller quotes herself telling CNN:
“Because [THE 99] is mainstreaming the institutionalized oppression of women under Sharia, as exemplified by the burqa-wearing superhero. One would think that the male superheroes would have superpowers strong enough to be able to control themselves without the women having to don cloth coffins.”
Batina the Hidden seems to be the loons’ favorite obsession. The character is from Yemen, and her clothing accurately reflects what some women wear in that country. Al-Mutawa said the burqa is not Islamic, but it is a cultural tradition that is important to some people, adding:
“I believe that forcing someone to wear the burqa is despicable. But I believe that if somebody wants to choose to do it, that’s their right…And so, out of respect for people who choose to wear the burka, I have one character out of 99—one percent—that wears a burqa. “
Although nearly every one of their articles tries to generate hysteria about Batina, the Hidden, Islamophobes have yet to explain how merely seeing a cartoon character wearing a burqa will traumatize American children. Marvel already has two characters who are Muslim women. The character Dust is from Afghanistan, and she wears a black ensemble that covers her from head-to-toe, showing only her eyes.
Dust has been around since 2002, though it seems few of our hyper-vigilant hate bloggers have detected her “stealth jihad.” Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Aonso said,
“I don’t view a Muslim superhero as avant garde. Muslims comprise 23 percent of the world’s population, and we like our comics to reflect the world and its diversity.”
Despite all the controversy, Dr. Al-Mutawa remains optimistic. He has faced many hurdles in the last eight years, and his frustrations have been chronicled in the PBS documentary Wham! Bam! Islam! ”One way or the other,” he says, “‘The 99′ will get on air in the U.S.”
October 19th, 2011 at 8:50 am
Will the forces of evil indoctrinate young American children! Will Pigman be able to stop the dasterdly plots of the 99? Will obese sex crazed islamophobes living in their mothers basement ever get to see Batina the Hidden without her burka!!! Stayed tooned for the hairraising, spinetingling, and explosive conclusion next week!
October 19th, 2011 at 8:50 am
This reminds me an awful of that group in the X-Men series “Friends of Humanity” who’re hateful bigots stirring up hatred against mutants – portraying them in the same way every group has been demonized in the past.
October 19th, 2011 at 8:57 am
I think they should try another station, i’m sure someone would be willing to make it happen.
October 19th, 2011 at 9:21 am
ah frank miller his insanity is prevalent in the comic book world such as in works like all star batman a failiure of a comic that potrays batman of all people as an insane lunatic, but wow I know idiots like geller go crazy when muslims are potrayed in a positive light such as in “kingdom of heaven” but this is a kids show and because of this I am going to buy the dvds when I get the chance because well I feel like I am pissing them off buy or watch things that they would cry afoul because of such reasons.
October 19th, 2011 at 9:48 am
@Solid Snake
Don’t forget about Batmans Muslim sidekick and his nefarious plots
October 19th, 2011 at 9:58 am
Great piece Ilisha! This should get circulated a lot.
October 19th, 2011 at 10:00 am
I just read there “comic” and wow how very mature but spencers and gellers ugly mugs plastered on iconic superheroes is what takes the cake for me because they are and insult to everything superman and wonderwoman stand for.
October 19th, 2011 at 10:13 am
Awesome article. ’nuff said
October 19th, 2011 at 10:45 am
My grandchildren enjoy the animated serial. Before that, the comic books, from the first one that was in Indonesian. The charater “Wadid the loving’ (the one pictured here is the one most admired by the girls) is my favoriate.
Really, I do too, because although I am really no longer into cartoons, I use them to teach my grandchildren the values the ‘Noor stones” represent from the Qur’an.
I remember too, my personal love for animation as a young girl…and really throughout my teenaged years.
I was 13 when there was quiet in the land I live in. We dodnt have a chance to be children free of the dangers and sadness of war until then.
I loved the cartoons…yes, as a teenager, and well after I was married I watched the likes of Kimba the White Lion, or Gigantor, or Astro Boy or the Amasing Three…and my favorite The Thunderbirds…those taught good strong value of life, and humanity through the charaters.
We needed those things for a time to heal…I suppose that Pam Geller and her lot want to prevent humanity from beginning to heal by continuing to slice open the wound, or holding back the medicine of humanity.
After all, the anti Islamics dont have a job…because although the charaters of the 99 are fictional, they fight against the real hate of people like Pam Geller and Andrea Peyser. Perhaps the fictional charaters are fighting the Prophets of Hate who are unfortunatly real.
Funny how ironic they are for being against an animation and against the free expression of someone who promotes humanity and peace, but for the ‘freedom of expression’ someone to purposefully incite anger thirough thier writings.
October 19th, 2011 at 11:41 am
Geller is such an evil b***h. I despise her. I went to her blog and noticed that she has fewer than 10,000 fans globally, and some of them probably wish that they could uncheck their fanhood. That is not many fans for someone who makes so much self-promoting noise.
October 19th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
THE 99, whether you like it or not should be allowed to be seen on TV. If you don’t like it don’t watch it, I’m sure there are probably a lot of Muslims who won’t watch it for whatever reason.
It’s amazing how anxious Geller and co. get when anything Islam or Muslim related gets into the mainstream, they literally think it spells the doom of Western culture.
I echo the sentiments of the other commenters, nice piece Ilisha.
October 19th, 2011 at 12:16 pm
Oh my god the only comic that scared me to death was that one that Geller made “the 19″. I have to give her credit she gave me a good scare for this Halloween
October 19th, 2011 at 12:38 pm
This is both hilariously funny and overwhelmingly sad. I have not read any of the comics; I had never heard of “The 99″ before this. But from the way the article describes them, they represent virtues which are recognized universally (just as Dr. al-Mutawa intended) Any genuinely decent person should be delighted with what they represent (so long as the 99 characters are not viewed as “images” of God, but of virtues which the One approves).
But of course that is precisely the trouble which Spencer and Geller have with “the 99″: they display commonly recognized virtues as compatible with Islam (in fact, as part and parcel of Islam), and that totally undermines the bigoted viewpoint the Islamophobes wish to promulgate. We can’t have that, now can we?
According to haters of Islam, there is simply nothing good at all about Islam; any attempt to show otherwise is obviously lying propaganda! They complain that Muslims don’t wish to blend in to, and integrate with, ‘Western’ societies. But if a Muslim runs for Congress, or seeks to become a Congressional aid, it’s obviously Islamic Supremacists seeking to ‘take over the country’. If a Muslim is seen taking an active and leading role in an “Occupy Wall Street” movement in Florida, then “Occupy Wall Street” is clearly linked to the (supposedly) evil Muslim Brotherhood!
They are leading examples of what it means to be paranoid, and “witch hunters”. They are also outstanding examples of what Jesus the son of Mary meant when he told certain people “You are of your father, the Devil; and you do what your father desires”.
October 19th, 2011 at 2:18 pm
Strong in the Force, Ilisha is. Great things, she is destined to.
Great article, a very fine read. Nice to see some fresh blood on Loonwatch – this site seems to be one of few places where sane human beings can read about Islam and Mooslims for more than five minutes without feeling sick. Though there is one error that bugged me a little bit – 1 person out of 99 is not 1 per cent, it is slightly more – though still an insignificant percentage.
October 19th, 2011 at 3:14 pm
“I work for equality of all people” if you will excuse me I have to go fix my bullshit meter because any sane person knows thats not the case when it comes to pam “soup jihad” geller.
October 19th, 2011 at 5:17 pm
i found this comment about Bilal Asselah (Batman’s French Muslim sidekick) on a very well written article on comicsalliance.com: http://www.comicsalliance.com/2010/12/28/racists-batman-muslim-paris/
“Annata
A religion is a set of beliefs, if you don’t agree with those, why call yourself a christian or a muslim? The Qu’ran has direct incitements to murder and oppression in them, the earlier verses are abrogated by the later, if you don’t agree with the core doctrines of your pre medieval religion, why be part of it? If we had been this nice to Christianity 500 years ago, we would still live under it’s rule! France is the cradle of Voltaire and the criticism of religion. Everyone is free in France as long as they respect that religion is private, which is the only way for all people to live together, everywhere religion has to much power, there is no social peace or justice to be found! Of course Muslim are normal people, but that’s certainly not to the credit of the religion, which is archaic as the come and if followed in it’s entirety antithetical to Human Rights and democracy. It’s no coincidence that Europe doesn’t have problems with any other religion except Islam, that doesn’t recognize this seperation. Are there racists jumping on the bandwagon? Of course, but that doesn’t mean that Islam isn’t a real problem for European democracies, gender equality and tolerance.
March 27 2011 at 8:38 AM”
*sigh*
October 19th, 2011 at 7:03 pm
Actually, on that last point, There are indeed a surfeit of homosexual super heroes. I began to count one day, and I think Marvel comics has no fewer than 20.
October 19th, 2011 at 7:07 pm
Wow, apparently there are 97 gay Marvel comics characters, the majority of them being heroes.
October 19th, 2011 at 7:31 pm
The reasons why comic books don’t normally focus heavily on democracy, enlightenment, modernity, women’s rights etc. is that those types of comics usually suck, even putting aside the preachiness.
As for gay and lesbian superheroes, they exist in the minds of perverted fanboys, and girls, often making their way into fanfic websites. Then again, I’ve heard rumors about Xmen actually trying to push a secret gay agenda
October 19th, 2011 at 10:07 pm
Okay I’m definately not a fan of this. Firstly the female characters don’t wear hijab, nor (it seems to me) the loose clothing that doesn’t show off body parts.
In a way I see this as a mockery of our religion, and if we go to such lengths to prove to westerners we aren’t terrorists, now we’re just acting desperate. This is not the way, whether its for entertainment or educational purposes, to spread Islam.
October 19th, 2011 at 10:14 pm
Isn’t Green Lantern a Muslim? I mean, him being green and all…
October 19th, 2011 at 11:06 pm
Wait, have you guys heard about the killing of Al-awlakis 17 year old son in Yemen along with other teenagers and men??
October 20th, 2011 at 2:58 am
“France is the cradle of Voltaire and the criticism of religion. Everyone is free in France as long as they respect that religion is private”
Well thats not suprising coming from France. France for sure its a nut-case, aggresive secularist state who want to force its way of thinking and “ideals”(whatever that is) down the throat of its citizens who dare to differ in their way of thinking. The government mixed with Far-Right and militant Secularist nutters inventes bigoted new ways to counter religious freedom, and bunch of unjust laws have been put in place against human freedom to choose which is a recognized international human rights.
France has always been desperate in its competition with England who always assumed the influential role in Europe. But since the EU was created and England not part of it, its trying again desperately to assume the kind of influencial role it always dreamed of- for the rest of EU members. And in doing so, it have to portray itself as a ‘beacon’ for secularism and the leading example that puts religion at its place(i.e ‘home’) even by forced laws. But make no mistake, those unjust laws are designed solely for Islam, as the vast majority of politicians cozy-up with the Catholic Church when it suits their interests.
What annoys me the most though, its when people from the “west” conflates Islam with Christianity, just because in the past they have had bad experiences with Christianity doesnt mean that Islam have to pay the price now, as Islam and Christianity had a very different past. I dont want to speak for Christianity, but its well documented that the Islamic empire was a source of enlightenment. I always thought(as many do) the “dark age” theory baseless, sure parts of Europe did had a very difficult period at that time, but that wasnt the case for the East, the Islamic East was flourishing very well. I hope maybe one day Loonwatch will do a serious piece to shed the light on how those two religion influenced the people of the past, ’cause bigots always tried to distord that part of history.
October 20th, 2011 at 5:50 am
@ Skhan
Ive found that on these online forums there are also atheists who are quite militant and like their religious fanatic counterparts
October 20th, 2011 at 6:16 am
To my knowledge you can be a really good muslim woman without wearing the hijab or “loose clothing’. Would you dare tell the muslimin (women), who chose not to wear traditional clothing, that they are mocking the religion?
October 20th, 2011 at 6:40 am
@Ali – I’m new to the 99 but I don’t think its purpose is to “spread Islam” but rather to show the good side of Islam to Muslims and non-Muslims alike in order to promote peaceful understanding.
October 20th, 2011 at 10:29 am
@ betel
Um actually hijab is a requirement, not a choice. I’m all for Muslim women who want to be leaders and all, and men and women in Islam are equal, but hijab appears in numerous hadiths. Not a single scholar in history or commentator on Islam has ever said hijab is optional. Hair can only be shown to husbands, brothers, sons, fathers, grandparents, maternal and paternal uncles and to all women, otherwise its to be covered. They have to start wearing it when they reach the age of puberty and can take it off when they pass the age of marriage.
Sorry but I’m not one of those liberal secularist moderate Muslims who don’t know half the teachings of Islam.
October 20th, 2011 at 11:33 am
@Ali- hadiths are suggestions for Islamic living and by no means are compulsory. I think the 99 does a great job in showing the pluralistic nature of the faith and allows different interpretations as long as the characters are being true to the pillars.
The beauty of Islam is that it is an intellectual faith and that you can interpret it through your own connection with Allah and not through inconsistent notions. To contend that other Muslims don’t know “half the teachings of Islam” assumes that you know the other half. That is a very arrogant, and unlikely, proposition.
October 20th, 2011 at 11:34 am
It’s not for you to decide a woman’s issue. There are millions of muslim women out there who do not wear the hijab. The cartoon has a targeted audiance: children, both muslim and non muslim. It’s not even specifically orientated around islam as a religion. The cartoon, with drawings of fake-people with a lot of non-human skills, does not even represent real humans (since humans don’t generally have abbilites of superheroes). It’s a fantasy. Pure entertainment. So why would these herculian characters (made-up drawings) be representing real islam?
I find it ridiculous that someone would even suggest that islamic shari’ah should pertain to fictious cartoons. They are not real humans. And if they’d really be practicing islam, there would be a problem of religious propaganda. Everyone should be able to relate to the characters. Not just grown muslim men who think they got a say in what is islamic, and what’s not.
/Avraham
October 20th, 2011 at 7:57 pm
@ Noor,
“Ayesha (rad.i-Allahu `anha) reported that Asma’ the daughter of Abu Bakr (rad.i-Allahu `anhu) came to the Messenger of Allah while wearing thin clothing. He approached her and said: ‘O Asma’! When a girl reaches the menstrual age, it is not proper that anything should remain exposed except this and this. He pointed to the face and hands.” [Abu Dawud]
Well to me that seems kinda mandatory. Not a ‘suggestion’. Hijab has always been an integral part of Islam. Its because culture that makes us think its not Islamic. In my culture (Pakistani) it is seen as optional, and I don’t know how it got like that.
This is no joke, its a serious matter and should not be taken lightly. I’ll link to scholars (and feel free to post a scholarly source that says hijab is optional) that say a woman who does not wear hijab is sinning. And these aren’t Salafi hardline Saudi scholars, they’re from Al Azher, Canada and the US.
http://askthescholar.com/AskTheScholar.aspx?acID=14
http://www.onislam.net/english/ask-about-islam/faith-and-worship/aspects-of-worship/166970-hijab-recommended-or-mandatory.html
http://www.onislam.net/english/ask-about-islam/society-and-family/status-of-women/167513-hijab-an-insult-to-unveiled-women.html
http://www.onislam.net/english/ask-about-islam/ethics-and-values/muslim-character/166177-hijab-a-must-not-a-choice.html
Did you know not wearing hijab is double the sin during ramadan (as with all other sins)? See what this woman asked:
http://www.onislam.net/english/ask-the-scholar/acts-of-worship/fasting/conditions-of-a-valid-fast/169027-not-wearing-hijab-will-my-fast-and-prayer-be-accepted.html
(It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed into a plain error) (Al-Ahzab 33:36).
So to say hijab is not mandatory is completely ricidulous, and I repeat from before, every sinlge scholar, every single commmentator on the Quran and Hadith says hijab is 100% OBLIGATORY.
October 20th, 2011 at 8:06 pm
@ betel
Well I’m 19 (not necessarily an old man) and an excuse thats used all the time is that no one can say what is islamic, like how you just said. I’ve seen Muslim female models use this to go ahead with what they do, “oh those mullahs blah blah blah”. If something is CLEAR in Islam, then it should not be ignored, I don’t know if you’re a Muslim but we are not to reject what is made clear.
True, many Muslim women don’t wear hijab, and like I said before its cultural that hijab is viewed as optional. I go to university, I know many Muslim girls who don’t wear hijab, I’m not gonna judge them (and I NEVER said I judge ANYONE), hell they might know more things about Islam then me. But again, when something is OBVIOUS in Islam we cannot question it, like verse 33:36 I posted. At the same time I know many Muslim women who put on hijab when they found out its not a cultural piece of clothing but something thats deep rooted in our religion. And something I didn’t mention, the dress code appears five times in the Quran. So its not like clothing is not important, it IS. Its also our duty to help guide Muslims who sin, so your argument of ‘grown muslim men’ is completely negated.
October 20th, 2011 at 9:20 pm
@betel
betel, ali is correct in stating that the hijab is obligatory for Muslims. It is not optional. It is meant to safeguard the Muslim women’s modesty and identify her as a believing woman. In Islam, it is not permissible to disobey God (may he be exalted). And yes, it does appear in many ahadeeth and also in the Quran as well. The ahadeeth (plural for hadeeth) are the second source of legislation in Islam next to the Quran. When a hadeeth is declared authentic and contains a commandment on Muslims, Muslims do have to follow that commandment, as to not do so would constitue being disobedient to God.
You also mentioned that if the characters of that series would really be practicing Islam, then there would be a problem of religious propaganda. I disagree with you on this. Firstly, if the characters were practicing Islam, it doesn’t mean that they would trying to shove Islam down the throats of Non-Muslims. On the contrary, it might serve as a good tool to combat Islamophobia by clearing up misconceptions about Islam.
October 20th, 2011 at 9:38 pm
@Noor
Quote: hadiths are suggestions for Islamic living and by no means are compulsory. I think the 99 does a great job in showing the pluralistic nature of the faith and allows different interpretations as long as the characters are being true to the pillars.
The beauty of Islam is that it is an intellectual faith and that you can interpret it through your own connection with Allah and not through inconsistent notions. To contend that other Muslims don’t know “half the teachings of Islam” assumes that you know the other half. That is a very arrogant, and unlikely, proposition.
Reply: This is not necessarily true. Hadeeth are not only guidelines for the Islamic way of life, they also contain many articles pertaining to the obligatory, discouraged, forbidden, encouraged, permissible, and so forth. It details law, finance, prayer, and other obligations upon Muslims. To dismiss it simply as a ‘guideline for Islamic living’ is not taking into full account the authority of the hadeeth and their importance in Islam.
Your second-statement regarding pluralism and the different interpretations of the faith. Regarding pluralism, this is an essential part of Islam. Islam is an extremely tolerant way of life that details Human rights for Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Regarding your statement about the different interpretations of Islam. Your statement regarding this is half true. For example, there are different forms of interpretations with regards to trivial issues such as regarding the exact position of the feet during prayer and so forth. However, for example, it is not permitted to use interpretation so far as to interpret the verses and hadeeth that say it is obligatory for a woman to cover herself with hijab, since this action has been mentioned in the Quran, various hadeeth, as well as the consensus of Muslim scholars.
Concerning your last statement, you are also partially correct and partially incorrect. Yes, it is true that Islam is an intellectual way of life (deen) that encourages Muslims to study the signs around them and to think about matters rationally and so forth. However, regarding that Muslims who say that other Muslims are not very informed about Islam completely does not mean that those Muslims are wrong. Oftentimes people do need to be corrected with regard to Islam. Saying that some Muslims are getting Islam wrong does not mean that they are being arrogant; it simply means that they are correcting an invidual who has made an error(s).
October 20th, 2011 at 11:17 pm
Proud to be a kuwaiti, thank you Dr. AlMutawa
October 20th, 2011 at 11:33 pm
Muslim Comic ! cool..
October 21st, 2011 at 6:29 am
Amazing that the computer game “Assassins’s Creed” hasn’t been called into question for having an arab protagonist named Altaïr ibn-La’Ahad. and he gets to kill chirstian templars!
Surely this is treason of the highest order by Ubisoft.
October 21st, 2011 at 9:39 am
Robert Spinster: However, for example, it is not permitted to use interpretation so far as to interpret the verses and hadeeth that say it is obligatory for a woman to cover herself with hijab, since this action has been mentioned in the Quran, various hadeeth, the consensus of Muslim scholars
Based on your view, since “daraba” has been interpreted by Muslim scholars to mean “beat”, anyone who offers a different interpretation of the word is wrong. Your view also implies that it is not permitted for Muslims to, for example, object to the idea that women are inherently inferior to men, a notion that majority of the classical scholars have held; or for them to object to the death penalty for apostates on which there is a consensus among classical scholars, etc. Appealing to consensus is fallacious sine it is loaded with a number of presuppositions and biases. In reality, there is no “ijma” on the concept of “ijma” itself.
October 21st, 2011 at 10:15 am
@waqas
if you remember in the game none of the targets profess to having religious beliefs because of the “piece of eden” nor did altair though it may have something to do with the fact that the one who headed the project jade reymond isnt a muslim so I guess it didnt make headlines but I could only imagine the insanity that would befall if they did take a look at it.
October 21st, 2011 at 10:15 am
@Robert Spinster :You are a damned LIAR to state that Islam is tolerant towards Non-Muslims.Any evidence?
October 21st, 2011 at 11:47 am
Islamophobes will complain about anything and everything remotely Muslim like the predictable scum that they are. There was an article about “99″ on Altmuslim a couple of years back, and we had great discussion about it. Unfortunately with the overhaul of that site, all the comments are gone. I did go through a couple of issues of JLA/99 crossover, and it was garbage. The 99 are basically X-men meets Gen13, predictable and unimaginatively dull one dimensional characters. Naif Al-Mutawa is a secular business man trying to exploit and misrepresent the complex issues of the Middle East, and greater Islamic world. Granted its just a comic book, but our kids aren’t stupid and can tell what an apologist hack job is. Mutawa has definitely earned his degree in Psychology. His comments about the hijab are incorrect. He’s trying to make a fast buck, You don’t “bridge” cultures by defaming your own. Check this out :
http://www.ted.com/talks/naif_al_mutawa_superheroes_inspired_by_islam.html
The “super-hero” is an American concept, and one way past its prime. American comics were at their peak in the 60s and died by the early 90s. Muslims have no shortage of REAL heroes from our history and don’t need to invent them. Now if the comic was from a Muslim perspective THAT would be interesting, but Mutawa knows it wouldn’t sell in the West, and would be condemned as terrorist propaganda. How about a comic book about a Palestinian freedom fighter going up against occupation? THAT I would buy.
Brother Ali is on the money, except that he’s being way to generous to “liberal secularist moderate Muslims” who know very little and practice much less then that. If that’s how they want to be, fine but they will get called out when they act like authorities and spokespersons for the deen. The hijab is fard, and will NOT be reimagined and reinterpreted to pander to westerners. The premise is, a religion’s value can be measured in its appeal to white Western liberals. By this yardstick, Islam doesn’t cut it. Buddhism and Hinduism can work — hey, the Beetles were into it — as long as they are “cleaned up” and reassembled for Western consumption. It’s hip, it’s trendy, and it’s a status symbol of one’s cosmopolitanism, one’s “open mind”.
October 21st, 2011 at 5:18 pm
@Cartoon
In the Qur’an:
“Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabians — whoever believes in God and the Last Day and does good, they shall have their reward from their Lord. And there will be no fear for them, nor shall they grieve” (2:62, 5:69, and many other verses).
“…and nearest among them in love to the believers will you find those who say, ‘We are Christians,’ because amongst these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world, and they are not arrogant” (5:82).
Unfortunately, in practice, religious minorities do not always fare well in Muslim countries. The so-called Clash of Civilizations aggravates the problem for religious minorities everywhere, including Muslim minorities in Western lands.
There are some reasons for optimism as well:
“Late Sunday night, Christians — joined by Muslim friends in a show of solidarity — gathered at Cairo’s St. Mark’s Cathedral, in the orthodox neighborhood of Abbassia. There was an air of resilience and anger from a community that may finally be saying enough is enough.”
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2096639,00.html#ixzz1bSeiN9BM
October 22nd, 2011 at 2:16 am
Talisman ( and anyone else ) I always wondered who the sabians are /where ? Are these the same folks as the samaritans ?
October 22nd, 2011 at 10:02 am
@ Cartoon – Really, all one has to do to see that Islam calls for tolerance of “non-Muslims” is acquire a copy of the Qur’an (whether a print edition, or online) and start reading it – as opposed to just reading short out-of-context quotations from anti-Islam sites.
Several of my blog articles on the subject of Islam emphasize the religious pluralism of Islam. If you wish, you can check out these two as examples: http://mystic444.wordpress.com/2011/08/06/multiculturalism-religious-pluralism-and-islam/ and http://mystic444.wordpress.com/2011/10/15/the-east-and-the-west-belong-to-god/ .
Here I’ll just give a few out of the many references in the Qur’an which show the openness of Islam to “non-Muslim” religions (though in fact all who are devoted to the One God are considered to be “Muslims” – whether they lived before Muhammad [peace be to him and his family] or are among those who have lived since him but have not as yet – for whatever reason – come to recognize his Prophethood).
“[2:111] AND THEY claim, “None shall ever enter paradise unless he be a Jew” – or, “a Christian.” SUCH ARE THEIR WISHFUL BELIEFS! Say: “Produce an evidence for what you are claiming, if what you say is true!” [2:112] Yea, indeed: everyone who surrenders his whole being unto God, and is a doer of good withal, shall have his reward with his Sustainer; and all such need have no fear, and neither shall they grieve. [2:113] Furthermore, the Jews assert, “The Christians have no valid ground for their beliefs,” while the Christians assert, “The Jews have no valid ground for their beliefs” – and both quote the divine writ! Even thus, like unto what they say, have [always] spoken THOSE WHO WERE DEVOID OF KNOWLEDGE; but it is God who will judge between them on Resurrection Day with regard to all on which they were wont to differ. [2:114]
Hence, who could be more wicked than those who bar the mention of God’s name from [any of] His houses of worship and strive for their ruin, [although] they have no right to enter them save in fear [of God]? For them, in this world, there is ignominy in store; and for them, in the life to come, awesome suffering. [2:115] And God’s is the east and the west: and wherever you turn, there is God’s countenance. Behold, God is infinite, all-knowing.”
The second half of 5:48 says: “Unto every one of you have We appointed a [different] law and way of life. And if God had so willed, He could surely have made you all one single community: but [He willed it otherwise] in order to test you by means of what He has vouchsafed unto you. Vie, then, with one another in doing good works! Unto God you all must return; and then He will make you truly understand all that on which you were wont to differ.”
“[22:67] UNTO every community have We appointed [different] ways of worship, WHICH THEY OUGHT TO OBSERVE. Hence, [O believer,] do not let those [who follow ways other than thine] draw thee into disputes on this score, but summon [them all] unto thy Sustainer: for, behold, thou art indeed on the right way. [22:68] And if they [try to] argue with thee, say [only]: “God knows best what you are doing.” [22:69] [For, indeed,] God will judge between you [all] on Resurrection Day with regard to all on which you were wont to differ.”
“(3:64): Say: “O followers of earlier revelation! Come unto that tenet which we and you hold in common: that we shall worship none but God, and that we shall not ascribe divinity to aught beside Him, and that we shall not take human beings for our lords beside God.” And if they turn away, then say: “Bear witness that it is we who have surrendered ourselves unto Him.””
“[22:39] PERMISSION [to fight] is given to those against whom war is being wrongfully waged – and, verily, God has indeed the power to succour them [22:40] those who have been driven from their homelands against all right for no other reason than their saying, “Our Sustainer is God!”
For, if God had not enabled people to defend themselves against one another, [all] monasteries and churches and synagogues and mosques – in [all of] which God’s name is abundantly extolled – would surely have been destroyed [ere now].
And God will most certainly succour him who succours His cause: for, verily, God is most powerful, almighty.”
God even calls upon Muslims to fight for the defense of monasteries, churches, and synagogues – not just mosques!
You might google “Muhammad’s charter with St. Catherine’s monastery” as another example of this tolerant and pluralistic attitude.
I believe you owe “Robert Spinster” an apology for your slander in calling him a “damned LIAR”; because he most certainly was telling the truth, not lies.
October 22nd, 2011 at 1:49 pm
@ Noor,
“Ayesha (rad.i-Allahu `anha) reported that Asma’ the daughter of Abu Bakr (rad.i-Allahu `anhu) came to the Messenger of Allah while wearing thin clothing. He approached her and said: ‘O Asma’! When a girl reaches the menstrual age, it is not proper that anything should remain exposed except this and this. He pointed to the face and hands.” [Abu Dawud]
Well to me that seems kinda mandatory. Not a ‘suggestion’. Hijab has always been an integral part of Islam. Its because culture that makes us think its not Islamic. In my culture (Pakistani) it is seen as optional, and I don’t know how it got like that.
This is no joke, its a serious matter and should not be taken lightly. I’ll link to scholars (and feel free to post a scholarly source that says hijab is optional) that say a woman who does not wear hijab is sinning. And these aren’t Salafi hardline Saudi scholars, they’re from Al Azher, Canada and the US.
http://askthescholar.com/AskTheScholar.aspx?acID=14
http://www.onislam.net/english/ask-about-islam/faith-and-worship/aspects-of-worship/166970-hijab-recommended-or-mandatory.html
http://www.onislam.net/english/ask-about-islam/society-and-family/status-of-women/167513-hijab-an-insult-to-unveiled-women.html
http://www.onislam.net/english/ask-about-islam/ethics-and-values/muslim-character/166177-hijab-a-must-not-a-choice.html
Did you know not wearing hijab is double the sin during ramadan (as with all other sins)? See what this woman asked:
http://www.onislam.net/english/ask-the-scholar/acts-of-worship/fasting/conditions-of-a-valid-fast/169027-not-wearing-hijab-will-my-fast-and-prayer-be-accepted.html
(It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed into a plain error) (Al-Ahzab 33:36).
So to say hijab is not mandatory is completely ricidulous, and I repeat from before, every sinlge scholar, every single commmentator on the Quran and Hadith says hijab is 100% OBLIGATORY
October 22nd, 2011 at 1:50 pm
@ betel
Well I’m 19 (not necessarily an old man) and an excuse thats used all the time is that no one can say what is islamic, like how you just said. I’ve seen Muslim female models use this to go ahead with what they do, “oh those mullahs blah blah blah”. If something is CLEAR in Islam, then it should not be ignored, I don’t know if you’re a Muslim but we are not to reject what is made clear.
True, many Muslim women don’t wear hijab, and like I said before its cultural that hijab is viewed as optional. I go to university, I know many Muslim girls who don’t wear hijab, I’m not gonna judge them (and I NEVER said I judge ANYONE), hell they might know more things about Islam then me. But again, when something is OBVIOUS in Islam we cannot question it, like verse 33:36 I posted. At the same time I know many Muslim women who put on hijab when they found out its not a cultural piece of clothing but something thats deep rooted in our religion. And something I didn’t mention, the dress code appears five times in the Quran. So its not like clothing is not important, it IS. Its also our duty to help guide Muslims who sin, so your argument of ‘grown muslim men’ is completely negated.
October 22nd, 2011 at 2:15 pm
@Sir David: Wikipedia suggests that there is a lot of uncertainty about who the Sabians were/are: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabians.
The Samartitans are definitely a different group, with their origins claimed to be either as descendants of the tribe of Joseph (the Samaritan history) or a mixtue of those and other peoples who were settled in their area, what is now roughly the Northern part of the West Bank, following the conquest of the Kingdom of Israel in 722 BCE. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaritans, which accords with what I have seen elsewhere.
October 22nd, 2011 at 9:31 pm
@ Stephen G Parker
Top post mate. Mashallah
You pwned it!
October 23rd, 2011 at 11:38 am
Good work Ilisha, superb thank you.
I wouldn’t mind Batina the Hidden’s outfit though, It’s cute n sexy
October 24th, 2011 at 12:25 pm
Sir David
Talisman ( and anyone else ) I always wondered who the sabians are /where ? Are these the same folks as the samaritans ?
There are differing opinion on who the Sabians were. I’ll make it brief here but you can read the link below for more comprehensive details from the major Sunni Scholars. I’m not sure what the Shiite Muslims believe, maybe Zak or others here can add the Shia interpretation.
1. a sect of Christians.
2. a sect of Jews and Magians combined.
3. a monotheist religion that predated both Christianity and Judaism
4. a sect with monotheistic and polytheistic Sabians.
—————–
The Sabians are mentioned in several verses of the Qur’aan. Who were they? What was the religion they followed?.
There are two types of Sabians: the monotheistic Sabians (saabi’ah hunafa’) and polytheistic Sabians (saabi’ah mushrikoon). The monotheists are the ones who are saved and there were debates among them, and one group refuted the view of the other. These are the people of Ibraaheem as the Jews were the people of Moosa, and the monotheists among them were his followers.
read more here
http://islamqa.com/en/ref/49048
October 25th, 2011 at 5:12 am
Thanks guys and gals .
I was wondering about that
October 26th, 2011 at 1:20 am
@DrM, you state,
‘The “super-hero” is an American concept, and one way past its prime.’
Says you. The term ‘superhero’ is a universal concept. Who DIDN’T imagine themselves as a superhero ;flying through the air, fighting evil and saving the day? My nephews favorite hero is Spiderman. Everyone, both young and old, love to imagine themselves performing superhuman feats that exist only in the imagination. To claim it’s ‘past it’s prime’ is as inaccurate as it is ignorant.
‘Muslims have no shortage of REAL heroes from our history and don’t need to invent them.’
Well, as Al-Mutawa lives in a part of the world where extremists and radicals are given an open mic and power, he seems to believe they DO.
In this New York Times article, he explains how when he was pitching his idea in the documentary ‘WHAM! BAM! ISLAM!’
‘The Solotaroff documentary shows scenes of how Dr. Al-Mutawa, pitching the concept to investors, strengthened his case by talking about a sticker book created by an Arab businessman showing bloody scenes of the Israeli occupation of Palestine and of suicide bombers extolling the virtues of martyrdom. This sticker book, called an “Intifada Album,” was selling to thousands of children in the West Bank.
At the end of one scene, Dr. Al-Mutawa says: “My message was very clear to investors: Muslim children need new heroes.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/28/world/middleeast/28iht-M28C-ISLAMIC-COMICS.html?_r=2
The point of the comic was to appeal to young minds. They are written for THEM, not you. The heroes themselves may be fictional, but the ideals and values of justice, compassion and fairness are very real and cherished.
Who are you to deem it wrong?
November 1st, 2011 at 6:32 am
Ali writes: Okay I’m definately not a fan of this. Firstly the female characters don’t wear hijab, nor (it seems to me) the loose clothing that doesn’t show off body parts.
In a way I see this as a mockery of our religion, and if we go to such lengths to prove to westerners we aren’t terrorists, now we’re just acting desperate. This is not the way, whether its for entertainment or educational purposes, to spread Islam.
As muslims, it’s not our function to “spread Islam” ~ God does that. Our function is to “make Islam known” by being muslim. Not by preaching, not by proselytizing, not by “pushing” ourselves or our understanding on people, but by following God’s advice on how to live our lives and behave with others.
When all people see of Islam is intolerance, rejection, impatience, complaint, dogmatism, and other things that human beings are naturally disposed to reject, then the will not see the mercy, compassion, love, generosity, concern, neighborliness, and other human traits that Islam enables muslims to recover and restore in their own individual lives.
I, too, prefer moving in a society where the ladies are dressed modestly, because otherwise they are an attractive distraction from whatever it is that I might be doing and a tempting pursuit. That’s the way the human being is wired, it’s our nature.
But in many societies, human sexuality is so repressed that nudity ~ and clothing that is more “naked” than nudity ~ elicit responses that are totally unconscious, repressed, and expressed in ways that are not physically sexual. For those who have realized their original human nature, who would be rightly called “feral” human beings who have escaped their Skinner-box conditioned domesticity (that so many call “civilization”), the genetically-determined responses are conscious and often disturbingly so, when the sexual stimulus urges a response that we have to consciously suppress. But what a generosity it is to be able to exercise conscious self-control ~ while so many others are manipulated into doing things they wouldn’t dream of doing were they aware.
No, I applaud the work. It attracts people to the values identified by His Attributes with which He clothes us. It gives people an opportunity to see those values in other people, and appreciate them, and adopt them. It’s an invitation to human behavior ~ to our true humanity in which He creates all of us, which life in the world too easily takes from us. And when it uses our biological drives and inclinations to attract people, it’s more effective than preaching from a pulpit to people who’ve heard it all before, ad nauseum, from people who too often do not live up to or represent the ideals they preach.
We need to focus more on realizing our humanity ourselves, rather than on the struggles of others, or lack thereof, to regain theirs. The word “salama” (from which “salaam,” “Islam,” and all other “s-l-m” words derive) means “to restore a thing to its original condition.” That’s what we should work on ~ restoring our lost or diminished human nature for ourselves. Success in that endeavor is the only thing that will “spread Islam” as others see the fruits of our success in that.
The last thing we want to do is fail to realize that one or another way of inviting people ~ attracting people ~ to human values is likely to be a runaway success. The 99 looks to me like a winner ~ it “speaks to people according to their understanding,” which we have been told is a right way to help others.
Few people can understand “You have to pray five times a day, pay zakat, fast during Ramadan, and make Hajj if you can,” as an “invitation” to anything they want to reach. But people want to be friendly, loving, generous, kind, and peaceful ~ in a word, to be “good.” And the truth is that we don’t have to be superheroes to reach that ~ God helps those who pursue those desires for themselves.
So take another look at this project from this perspective. You don’t need to look at the pictures of cartoon characters …
November 1st, 2011 at 6:54 am
Sir David asks: Talisman (and anyone else) I always wondered who the sabians are/were? Are these the same folks as the samaritans?
No. The Samaritans are the Children of Israel who crossed the Jordan with Joshua and established altars on Mount Gerushim and did not follow a later renegade High Priest to the southern areas and eventually Jerusalem.
The Sabians are a much older religious order. They are named in the Qur’an, but what else is said about them in the Qur’an is not identified with the name. Certain passages in the Qur’an ~ marked with isolate letters representing specific numbers (that is, they have a horizontal line drawn over the letter, which makes it an “Abjad” number) are addressed to their attention. They are mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures, but not identified as “Sabians.” They are extant today, in plain sight, but are scarcely seen. The world knows virtually nothing about them, but they have been the real guardians of human liberty all along.
And that is more than enough information for anybody with no “need to know” anything about them at all. The last thing they are is any kind of “threat” to anything or anybody.
November 1st, 2011 at 7:03 am
Ali says: Um actually hijab is a requirement, not a choice.
That’s absolutely false. See The Straight Path and stop falsifying Islam.
November 1st, 2011 at 7:49 am
IbnAbuTalib writes (to a legalistic understanding): Based on your view, since “daraba” has been interpreted by Muslim scholars to mean “beat,” anyone who offers a different interpretation of the word is wrong. Your view also implies that it is not permitted for Muslims to, for example, object to the idea that women are inherently inferior to men, a notion that majority of the classical scholars have held; or for them to object to the death penalty for apostates on which there is a consensus among classical scholars, etc. Appealing to consensus is fallacious since it is loaded with a number of presuppositions and biases. In reality, there is no “ijma” on the concept of “ijma” itself.
That is all correct. Those legalistic understandings of Islam were forged by the Abbasid Tyranny and have little to do with what Allah ta’ala wrote on the muslims and mu’mineen of Medina two hundred years earlier. However …
“Law” ~ which is an “ordering” of the intellect essential to human understanding and human society ~ is a means by which individuals can reach a personal discipline that can enable them to see the reality with which we have been entrusted. Once the intellect ~ which cannot by itself determine reality from imagination ~ has been brought under control, such that it is rational and operating with clear reasoning, like the computer that it is, then its perceptions can be influenced from within, by the heart, rather than predominantly from without, by sensory perception and “inspiration.” A focus on “juris prudence” ~ judgment by law ~ is thus a good thing, not a negative except to the extent that “the law” is misunderstood, extrapolated, speculated, or otherwise imagined to reach beyond its province.
Thus in the early ages of humanity there was no “law” per se, other than the rudimentary elements of oath, contract, witness, etc., that are foundational to modern jurisprudence. Then we were given “law” ~ statements of inexorable consequence as unbreakable as the laws of mathematics and physics ~ by which we could differentiate beneficial and harmful behaviors. Later, the Children of Israel were given an elaborated “social contract” law that includes laws of mandate and prohibition, constituting Israel as a bounded and discrete society. And finally, their cousins, the children of Ishmael, were given a comprehensive law that includes federalism, comity, individual dominion, and some other elements absent from earlier law, that completed The Law of God and Nature for our comprehension and service.
And of course, being inveterate “rule-makers” just as many of us are today, our predecessors elaborated it all to suit their temporal purposes, confusing it for those who came after them.
What we need to do is “get back to the basics” ~ the fundamental understanding that God gives us with His Laws of human nature and existence ~ the “existential laws” if you will. There are four discrete sets of such laws, and comprehension comes from seeing the interrelationship of all four, each of which is sufficient for its defined people who subscribe to it, but no one of which is sufficient for all humanity without the other three.
You appear, prima facie, to be on that path. May God guide you on it to its “end,” which is not ever going to “end.”
November 1st, 2011 at 8:20 am
Stephen G. Parker quotes a number of passages from an English rendering of the Qur’an:
Mr. Parker: I have seen over 110 English “translations,” have more than a dozen of them on my shelf, and do not recall seeing what you quoted. Whose rendering is that and where may I obtain a copy?
Thank you.
November 1st, 2011 at 10:47 am
@ Shaykh al-Hajj Dawud Ahmad, M.S.J.D. – Peace to you. The English version I quoted from is that of Muhammad Asad. This can be found online at http://www.altafsir.com/ViewTranslations.asp?Display=yes&SoraNo=1&Ayah=0&toAyah=0&Language=2&LanguageID=1&TranslationBook=7 . I know you can order a hardback edition at amazon.com. I have the hardback edition, but its big and heavy due to the kind of paper used, as well as all the material, other than the Qur’an itself, which it contains. (It contains the English Qur’an, the Arabic, and a transliteration of the Arabic, as well as many and sometimes lengthy explanatory notations).
Usually I indicate the ‘translation’ I am using, as I don’t always use Muhammad Asad’s. I don’t know why I failed to make a note of it in my comment above; but I apologize for that.
I’m a bit surprised that you were not aware of that version, as it appears to be fairly popular; not as popular as Yusuf Ali’s, but still fairly well known. I believe it was the first English edition of the Qur’an I came across when I decided to ‘investigate’ Islam almost 2 years ago. (I found it online by ‘googling’ for English translations of the Qur’an). My ‘investigations’ came as a result of reading one of those Islam bashing e-mails which are mass mailed. I couldn’t really believe Islam could be as violent and vicious as was being claimed, so of course I wanted to check it out at the source (the Qur’an) as well as from the writings of reputable Muslim writers. It’s been a very interesting and enlightening ‘journey’.:smile:
November 1st, 2011 at 4:26 pm
Stephen G. Parker writes: I’m a bit surprised that you were not aware of [the Muhammad Asad] version [of the Qur'an], as it appears to be fairly popular; not as popular as Yusuf Ali’s, but still fairly well known.
Jazakullah khayr (“Thank you ~ May Allah return you better”). I have his 1980 edition, “The Message of the Qur’an,” from Dar al-Andalus, Gibraltar (printed in Dublin). I read his “Fatihah” and the first two verses of his “al-Baqarah” and added it to my collection of mistranslations (which I’ll explain presently), along with the Yusuf ‘Ali and the Saudis’ Hilali-Khan corruption (among eight or ten other widely-distributed mistranslations).
I believe it was the first English edition of the Qur’an I came across when I decided to ‘investigate’ Islam almost 2 years ago. (I found it online by ‘googling’ for English translations of the Qur’an). My ‘investigations’ came as a result of reading one of those Islam bashing e-mails which are mass mailed. I couldn’t really believe Islam could be as violent and vicious as was being claimed, so of course I wanted to check it out at the source (the Qur’an) as well as from the writings of reputable Muslim writers. It’s been a very interesting and enlightening ‘journey’.
I’m sure it has been. Even in the mistranslations, the Message is between the lines, and anyone with an atom of faith or common sense cannot remain unaffected. Forty years ago, when I had finished reading it for the first time (deferring my “questionings” until I had finished reading it), three thoughts came to mind: “Yes, this is The Book, without doubt;” “I need to learn to read Arabic;” and “This is a whole new world.” And all of my “questions” became meaningless.
Of course, by that time I had taken the brothers at their word and had learned to make the prayer, in Arabic that I just barely understood from English translations; and had abandoned eating pork six months before, so my brain was running at functional speeds; and had been made to feel “accepted” as a brother by muslims whose entire lives had conditioned them to distrust and fear people of my considerably lighter skin color ~ all of which made a difference, as ‘Umar said:
In the beginning people would come and learn to keep faith, and then be given the Qur’an; but today people come and read the Qur’an and never learn to keep faith.”
When I finished reading it the first time, I realized that I knew nothing at all beyond “God Is.” My university education in “political science” and history ~ nothing; my military service, equivalent to a Command and General Staff College completion ~ nothing; my ability to teach undergraduate mathematics and physics ~ nothing; my readings in law ~ nothing; my intuitive mastery of mystical sciences ~ nothing; nothing; nothing; not a thing, just a wealth of ignorance. For perhaps the first time in my life, I was ready to learn, with the doors of Knowledge opening before me.
And how did I get there? By answering a question, completely on a whim ~ “What is your religion?” (‘What stupid difference does that make?’, I thought; and to toy with the questioner, answered:) “Islam.” That utterly capricious whim led me to the door, bi-la kaifa ~ without “how.”
I never looked back. I staggered … walked … stumbled … ran … fell … into a ruins fourteen hundred years deep, and never looked back ~ I knew the diamond could be found.
When I find a new translation of the Qur’an, I look for the words “believer,” “unbeliever,” “interpretation,” and a few others, and when I find them, I put the book on “that shelf.” The Qur’an doesn’t open to those who “believe” in it ~ it opens to those who keep faith with it. There is no such thing as an “unbeliever” ~ there are deniers and falsifiers, and there is ignorance upon which they prey. “Interpretation” is a turning away from The Book ~ “those in whose hearts is a turning away, they follow the obscure of it, for the sake of argument and for the sake of their interpretation.” The Book is to be understood, comprehended, and attended, not “interpreted. It’s plain and clear, and explains itself, no one needs anything more to understand what he needs to understand.
What The Book provides is a way of understanding for every reader ~ fiqh for the fuqaha of every degree, those who seek the certain way of doing right, of meeting necessity, of being responsible for channeling His Love into the world at hand to grow and transform the life around us. It’s a universal recipe for self-salvation; a map of reality, inside and out, big and small; a world protected from haste, anger, doubt, envy, suspicion, ignorance, caprice, and error. It’s a gateway, a meadow of paths leading straight to the water of His Knowledge, of knowing Him, of being those among whom He resides, upon whom He comes to rest on this Seventh Day.
It’s a symphony, a dance, a garden of bliss, unendurable ecstacy indefinitely prolonged. And it’s a world that everybody lives in, knowingly or not, caring or not, believing or not ~ riding on the shoulders of those who keep faith. Without faith, fidelity, reliance and reliability, the will to persevere in the face of whatever may come, and the patience to wait for every storm to pass, there is only the fire, burning in the atoms of the expanding universe, the decay of entropy, and the death of the human spirit.
Forty years ago, Islam was a religion “good enough” to be acceptable to someone like me. Someday, I’m sure, I’ll find out whether I was ever, for the briefest moment of my life, “good enough” for Islam.
Meanwhile, I type, and then look to see what my fingers have done, now that they’ve touched the diamond half-buried in the sands of time.
Q13:17 He sends a rain from the sky; and as valleys wash to their destiny the flood bears a rising foam. And from what they smelt in the fire to forge adornment and wares, a froth of its kind: that is how ALLAH coins the true and the vain. Then as for the scum, it passes uselessly; and as for what serves the people, it remains in the earth. That is how ALLAH strikes images.
Be wary of riding the foam.
November 1st, 2011 at 4:56 pm
@Ali
Sorry for the delay. I had totally forgotten about this. Hope it’s okay.
The issue here is not whether or not the hijab is considered to be waajib or not, or whether the bulk of the ‘ulama has reached a legal concensus. That is not the angle I am approaching this from. It may very well be obligatory to wear it, however, these kind of issues are not and should not be discussed by men. Leave it to the party of people to whom these laws apply. As for the subject at hand: why would you even suggest that these fictious cartoons are to wear hijab? Even the hijab isn’t real for G-ds sake, if they were to actually paint one on their “heads.”
February 1st, 2012 at 2:21 pm
heres a list of DC muslim superhero (note they’re are all good guys):
http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Muslim?display=exhibition&sort=alphabetical