Islam and Spiritualism *Monday, 03 Aug 2009* Sufi Saint Sarmad Shaheed: The ‘Disbeliever’ Who Was Adored By Believers<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1592>
SARMAD HAD, ON one occasion, predicted that Dara Shikoh would inherit the empire. But after the bloody war of succession, it was Aurangzeb who captured the throne. The new emperor not only eliminated his rival siblings but actively pursued the partisans of his brother. … This was the background when Aurangzeb deputed his chief justice, Mulla Qawi to prepare the ground to punish Sarmad. Accordingly, inquiries were made and Sarmad was summoned to appear before the royal court. Apart from nudity, Sarmad was Shikoh with denying the night journey *[mairaj] *of the Holy Prophet, on account of what he had said in the following couplet: *The mullah says that Ahmad went to the heavens* *Sarmad says that the heavens were inside Ahmad*! -- *Arif Mohammed Khan* More...<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1592> Islamic World News *Six Christians burned alive in Pakistan riots<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1594> * Lubna Hussein: 'I'm not afraid of being flogged. It doesn't hurt. But it is insulting' Saudi man could face death for sex boast on TV Schools reopen in Pakistan after Taliban offensive Bloodbath rages as Afghan poll nears Nigeria: 700 Dead in Last Week's Clashes Iran Puts Opponents on Trial, Critics Vocal Obamamania fails to hit most Muslim nations BEIJING: Islam stands for peace: Imam Musharraf faces exile in Britain: Report Saudi Arabia rejects US pleas on Israel Islamists call to prosecute British Queen Compiled by *Syed Asadullah* More...<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1594> Books and Documents *The Self Of Man And Its Destiny: From Islam A Challenge to Religion by Allama Ghulam Ahmad Parwez<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1593> * For Islam the locus of value is the individual self and not society. Self-development of individual man is of supreme importance. Everything else must be subordinated to this end. The Qur'an aims at the production of free and good men, and such men spontaneously and of their own accord, will share their possessions with their fellow beings. A society composed of such men will be free from the evils of luxury in one class and poverty in the other. A powerful incentive to generosity and selfless service of others is provided by the belief in the Hereafter. The man who believes in the Hereafter will naturally attach far greater importance to the values that he can carry over to a higher plane than to the material goods which he will have to leave behind when he dies. Goth has expressed the idea beautifully thus: That man is dead even in this life who has no belief in another.18 The process of the development of human personality, the Qur'anic economic order and the life hereafter will all be discussed further in subsequent chapters. -- *Allama Ghulam Ahmad Parwez* More...<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1593> Islam and the West *The West and Islam: 1,001 Prejudices<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1591> * The North also believes the South rejects the other – non-Muslims at home and Westerners abroad – that it sacrifices dialogue to monologue, and has produced a culture based on exclusion instead of integration. This is supposedly the reason for the ongoing tension between religions and ethnic groups. Yet Islam is a religion of peace that honours the diversity of Creation and mankind. The other is regarded as a part of one's self. It is also widely believed that every European city has Muslim districts that follow their own customs and laws. But this is true of all religious and ethnic minorities. -- *Hassan Hanafi* More...<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1591> Islam and Pluralism *Islamic history and principles of pluralism<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1588> * ... history reveals that Islam – as preached in the Koran and exemplified by the life of the Prophet Muohammad and his companions – actually accepts, celebrates and even encourages diversity.... According to Islamic principles, everyone who lives in a Muslim state is entitled to enjoy the same rights of citizenship, despite the differences they may have in their religion or population size. In 622, when the Prophet Mohammad migrated from Mecca to Medina in the Arabian Peninsula and started to build the first Muslim state, he ensured that its Muslim and non-Muslim inhabitants could coexist in harmony. There was a substantial Jewish community in Medina, and the Prophet proposed an agreement of cooperation – between Muslims and the 11 Jewish tribes – called the Constitution of Medina, which Muslim historians and scholars generally accept as the first written state constitution. -- *Maher Y. Abu-Munshar*** 5 Comments More...<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1588> Islamic Culture *Islam: Adding Value To Humanity<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1589> * Seven centuries ago, Baghdad and Damascus were world financial hubs. The Arab world, under the Abbasid caliphs, had trade relations with all major nations from China to Italy. The Assyrians mapped out a road network to enable them to transport African ivory, Caspian furs and Indian spices across their empire. Two millennia before the advent of the dollar and pound sterling, the gold coin, Persian daric, introduced by Darius the Great, was the currency of choice from Greece to the kingdoms of India. The Silk Road to China, the Amber Route to the Baltic, and the evolution of trade-linked cities such as Petra, Baghdad, Mecca, Sidon and Damascus were the centres of Arab power politics for centuries. From ancient times till modern days trade activities have always flourished in the region. -- *Raza Elahi* More...<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1589> Islam and Pluralism *Partners in Humanity: Religious pluralism in today's Muslim world<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1587> * The discourse on religious pluralism and its political ramifications has roots in Islamic political and intellectual history and continues to be interpreted and re-evaluated today. For some, the core of this discourse lies in the definition of the *"People of the Book",* a Qur'anic term that refers to those to whom Muslims must extend full religious tolerance. Many Muslims assume it covers Christians and Jews only, as those were the People of the Book during the Prophet Muhammad's life in 7th century Arabia. However, as well-known South African Muslim scholar, *Farid Esack*, points out in his article, "Muslims Engaging the Other and the Humanum", throughout Islamic history the term was not defined in terms of who was considered a Person of the Book; rather, it defined how religious groups treated those in need. -- *Asma T. Uddin* 1 Comments More...<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1587> Current affairs *India-Pakistan Relations: Two PMs, One Big Idea<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1590> * Manmohan Singh is not a mass leader or public speaker to rival Vajpayee. But what Vajpayee had by way of political instinct and, what a senior American diplomat once described to me as, “this magisterial control over public opinion”, Manmohan Singh has in intellect. He is also as much of a patriot and, as we now know, risk-taker. That is why he stuck his neck out at Sharm el-Sheikh. That is why he is invoking Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the statesman. -- *Shekhar Gupta, *editor, Indian Express, New Delhi More.<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1590> -- Asadullah Syed --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Asalam o Alaikum, You Are Receiving This Message, Because You Are A Member Of FOCUS ON ISLAM, A Google Group [..:: The Best Group For Nice Islamic Mails ::..] \/<<<<>>>>\/<<<<>>>>\/<<<<>>>>\/<<<<>>>>\/<<<<>>>>\/<<<<>>>>\/<>\/ You can Post Your Comments and Suggestions to Me [Moderator of this Group] on this email address: [email protected] To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.google.com/group/focusonislam/ To post messages/mails to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] Please forward our Mails to Your friends, and convence them to join our Group. 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