Islam takes root in 'carnival land'

Claire de Oliveira

"As-salam aleikum!" Omar greeted worshippers as he entered Mesquita da Luz, Rio's first mosque where he had just broken his Ramadan fast at dusk. Those are some of the only words Omar knows in Arabic, and he quickly continued his conversation in Portuguese with fellow Muslims who mostly, like him, converted recently to Islam in the world's biggest Catholic country.

In a land known more for its mini-bikinis and extravagant Carnival featuring scantily clad women, a small but growing number of Brazilians of various backgrounds call themselves Muslim. For decades, it was primarily families of Libyan, Palestinian and Syrian descent who practiced Islam in Brazil.

Omar, who until just four years ago officiated as Catholic priest at a local church, explained why he embraced Islam."I found in Islam everything I had always looked for. I met God as he is, with no adaptation," the 34-year-old graphic designer told AFP.

Wearing a traditional long djellaba robe, he refused to give his official name, instead only revealing his Muslim one: Omar Israfil Dawud bin Ibrahim.

"At the seminary, you learn that Islam is one of the monotheistic religions. There is no prejudice against this religion," said Omar as he stood by his wife Alessandra Faria, who goes by the name "Fatima" after converting and deciding to wear the veil.

"In the beginning, my mother was mortified at the thought of going outside with me. I wear the veil to show I am Muslim and aware that I am part of a minority," she said. Fatima's hijab may raise eyebrows in Rio, where it is more common to see women walking the streets in bikinis in seaside neighbourhoods, but she says her beliefs can find a place here.

"Brazil is a mix, made up of several different cultures. This mix makes Brazilians very adaptable and tolerant."

Like most practicing Muslims here, Omar and Fatima are only recent converts to Islam. They plan to travel to Saudi Arabia next year on a Saudi government grant to learn Arabic. Renovations on the mosque they attend in the suburb of Tijuca north of Rio got under way four years ago with donations from worshippers. It will soon hold up to 400 people during prayers, a major upgrade.

"The number of Muslims continues to grow, and most are Brazilians who are converting. We recruit members mostly online," said Sami Isbelle, a spokesman for the Beneficent Muslim Society (SBMRJ). "In Rio, there are about 500 Muslim families, 85 percent of them Brazilian converts who have no Arab links," Isbelle said.

Things are different in Sao Paulo state and southern regions of Brazil, where most Muslims were born as such and are often of Arab descent. Brazil's census does not count the number of Muslims, and only provides data on Catholics, evangelicals, Jews, spiritualists and followers of Afro-Brazilian religions.

"Muslims are listed in the 'other' category, along with Buddhists, for example, said Islam expert Paulo Pinto of Fuminense Federal University, who estimated Brazil is home to about a million Muslims. The best indicator of the growth of Islam in the country is the rapid increase in the number of places of worship, according to Pinto.

There are now 127 mosques, four times as many as there were back in 2000. After the September 11 attacks in the United States, "there was a growth of interest in Islam, and many people decided to convert," Pinto added. "Islam was seen as a new form of resistance." But it was a "telenovela" or soap opera launched just three weeks after the 2001 attacks, "The Clone," that sparked some Brazilians' infatuation with Islam.

Set in Morocco, the popular show showed a "positive imagine of that part of the world, with a benevolent Muslim hero," said Pinto. "There is a tendency to think that Brazilian culture, as liberal and sensual as it is, is against the rules of Islam. But in fact, there are many conservative rules that are part of moral and sexual control. Look at how many evangelicals are successful in Brazil!"

RIO DE JANEIRO, August 22, 2011 (AFP)

Alexander the Great - last words

*"Ice melts when heated"

*"Eyes melt when hated":

Alexander, after conquering many kingdoms, was returning home. On the way, he fell ill and it took him to his death bed. With death staring him in his face, Alexander realized how his conquests, his great army, his sharp sword and all his wealth were of no consequence. He now longed to reach home to see his mother's face and bid her his last adieu. But, he had to accept the fact that his sinking health would not permit him to reach his distant homeland.

So, the mighty conqueror lay prostrate and pale, helplessly waiting to breathe his last. He called his generals and said, "I will depart from this world soon, I have three wishes, please carry them out without fail."With tears flowing down their cheeks, the generals agreed to abide by their king's last wishes. "My first desire is that", said Alexander, "My physicians alone must carry my coffin." After a pause, he continued, "Secondly, I desire that when my coffin is being carried to the grave, the path leading to the graveyard be strewn with gold, silver and precious stones which I have collected in my treasury".

The king felt exhausted after saying this. He took a minute's rest and continued.

"My third and last wish is that both my hands be kept dangling out of my coffin". The people who had gathered there wondered at the king's strange wishes. But no one dared bring the question to their lips.. Alexander's favorite general kissed his hand and pressed them to his heart. "O king, we assure you that your wishes will all be fulfilled. But tell us why do you make such strange wishes?" At this Alexander took a deep breath and said: "I would like the world to know of the three lessons I have just learnt.

Lessons to learn from last 3 wishes of King Alexander... I want my physicians to carry my coffin because, people should realize that no doctor can really cure anybody. They are powerless and cannot save a person from the clutches of death. So let not people take life for granted.

The second wish of strewing gold, silver and other riches on the way to the graveyard is to tell People that not even a fraction of gold will come with me. I spent all my life earning riches but cannot take anything with me. Let people realize that it is a sheer waste of time to chase wealth.

And about my third wish of having my hands dangling out of the coffin, I wish people to know that I came empty handed into this world and empty handed I go out of this world". With these words, the king closed his eyes. Soon he let death conquer him and breathed his last...

Lessons to learn:

Remember, your good health is in your own hands, look after it.
Wealth is only meaningful if you can enjoy while you are still alive and kicking.
What you do for yourself dies with you but what you do for others, lives on. It is called 'Legacy'.
Happiness keeps you Sweet,
Trials keep you Strong,
Sorrows keep you Human,
Failures keep you humble,
Success keeps You Glowing,
But Only God keeps You Going!

'My body is my own business'

Naheed Mustafa

A Canadian-born Muslim woman has taken to wearing the traditional hijab scarf. It tends to make people see her , according to Western media,as either a terrorist or a symbol of oppressed womanhood, but she finds the experience LIBERATING.

I OFTEN wonder whether people see me as a radical, fundamentalist Muslim terrorist packing an AK-47 assault rifle inside my jean jacket. Or may be they see me as the poster girl for oppressed womanhood everywhere. I'm not sure which it is.

I get the whole gamut of strange looks, stares, and covert glances. You see, I wear the hijab, a scarf that covers my head, neck, and throat. I do this because I am a Muslim woman who believes her body is her own private concern.

Young Muslim women are reclaiming the hijab, reinterpreting it in light of its original purpose to give back to women ultimate control of their own bodies. The Qur'an teaches us that men and women are equal, that individuals should not be judged according to gender, beauty, wealth, or privilege. The only thing that makes one person better than another is her or his character. Strangers speak to me in loud, slow English and often appear to be playing charades. They politely inquire how I like living in Canada and whether or not the cold bothers me. If I'm in the right mood, it can be very amusing.

But, why would I, a woman with all the advantages of a North American upbringing, suddenly, at 21, want to cover myself so that with the hijab and the other clothes I choose to wear, only my face and hands show? Because it gives me freedom.

Women are taught from early childhood that their worth is proportional to their attractiveness. We feel compelled to pursue abstract notions of beauty, half realizing that such a pursuit is futile. When women reject this form of oppression, they face ridicule and contempt. Whether it's women who refuse to wear makeup or to shave their legs, or to expose their bodies, society, both men and women, have trouble dealing with them. In the Western world, the hijab has come to symbolize either forced silence or radical, unconscionable militancy.

Actually, it's neither. It is simply a woman's assertion that judgment of her physical person is to play no role whatsoever in social interaction. Wearing the hijab has given me freedom from constant attention to my physical self. Because my appearance is not subjected to public scrutiny, my beauty, or perhaps lack of it, has been removed from the realm of what can legitimately be discussed. No one knows whether my hair looks as if I just stepped out of a salon, whether or not I can pinch an inch, or even if I have unsightly stretch marks.

And because no one knows, no one cares. Feeling that one has to meet the impossible male standards of beauty is tiring and often humiliating. I should know, I spent my entire teenage years trying to do it. It was a borderline bulimic and spent a lot of money I didn't have on potions and lotions in hopes of becoming the next Cindy Crawford.

The definition of beauty is ever-changing; waifish is good, waifish is bad, athletic is good - sorry, athletic is bad. Narrow hips? Great. Narrow hips? Too bad. Women are not going to achieve equality with the right to bear their breasts in public, as some people would like to have you believe. That would only make us party to our own objectification. True equality will be had only when women don't need to display themselves to get attention and won't need to defend their decision to keep their bodies to themselves.

Sharp mind of young Abu Haneefah

Many years ago, during the time of the Taa'ibeen (Generation of Muslims after the time of Sahaabah), Baghdad was a great city of Islam. In fact it was the capital of the Islam Empire and because of the great number of scholars who lived there, it was the Centre of the Islamic knowledge.

One day, the ruler of Rome at that time sent an envoy to Baghdad with three Challenges for the Muslims. When the messenger arrived at the city, he informed the Khalifah that he had three questions which he challenge Muslims to answer.

The Khalifah gathered all the scholars of the city and the messenger climbed a high Platform and said: " I have come with Three questions. If you answer them, then I will leave with you a great amount of wealth which I brought from Rome ." As for the questions they! were:

"What was there before Allah? In which direction does Allah face? What is Allah engaged in at this moment?"

The Great assembly of people remain silent! (Can you think of answers to these questions?)

In the midst of these brilliant scholars and students of Islam, there was a man looking on with his SON. "O my Dear Father! I will answer him and SILENCE him!" said the youth. So the boy sought the permission of the Khalifah to answer the questions and was granted.

The Roman addressed the young Muslim and repeated his first question: "
What was there before Allah?"
The boy now asked,
"Do you know how to count?"
"Yes" said the Roman.
"Then count down from Ten!" said the boy.

The Roman started,
"Ten, Nine, Eight....." until he reached One and he stopped.

"But what comes before One?" said the boy.
"There is nothing before One. That is it!" the Roman replied.

"Well then, if there obviously is nothing before the arithmetic 'One', how do you expect that there should be anything before the 'one' who is absolute truth, all-eternal, everlasting, the first, the last, the manifest and the hidden?" said the boy.

Now the Roman was so surprised with this direct answer which he could not dispute. So he asked:

"Tell me in which direction does Allah face?"

"Bring a candle and light it" said the boy.

"And tell me in which direction is the flame facing?"

"But the flame is just a light, it spreads in each of the four directions-North, South, East and West. It does not face any one direction only." said the Roman in wonderment!

The boy cried: "Then if this physical light spreads in all of the four directions such that you can not tell which way it faces, then what do you expect of the Nurussamawati Wal Ard. Allah the light of the heavens and the earth? light upon light, allah faces all directions at all times."

The Roman was stupefied and astounded that here was a young child answering what he called challenges in such a way that he could not argue. So he desperately wanted to ask his final question.

But before doing so, the boy said, "wait! you are the one who is asking the questions and I am the one answering them. It is only fair if you come down to where I'm standing and I should go up to where you are right now, so that the answers may be heard as clearly as the questions."

This seemed reasonable to the Roman, so he came down to where the boy was standing, leaving the boy to go up to where he was.

The Roman repeated his final challenge,'

"Tell me What is Allah doing at this moment?"

The boy proudly answered:

"At this moment, when Allah found upon this platform a liar and mocker of Islam, he (Allah) caused him to descend and brought him low. And as for the one who believed in the oneness of Allah, he raised him up and established the truth. Everyday He exercises (Universal) POWER (Surah 55 Arrahman, v. 29)."

The Roman had nothing to say except to leave and return back to his Country, defeated.

Meanwhile, this young Boy grew up to be one of the Most Famous Scholars of Islam. Allah the Exalted, Blessed him with special Wisdom and Knowledge of the Deen (Religion). His name was: Abu Hanifah (Rahmatullah I Alaihi) may Allah have mercy on him and he is known today as Imam Abu Hanifah the great schorlar of Islam.