Brother are you sure it was prophet Musa, concerning the five dailies? Cheers Mbye Sey --- Momodou S Sidibeh <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Hi All, > > I have received a number of private mails related to > this topic, but came to the conclusion that it would > probably be best to deliberate publicly, a little > bit more on the issue at hand in order to straigthen > out a number of misconceptions inherent in those > mails. Also, this will accord me the chance to clear > the air about my raising the question in the first > place. > > Given the exchange that preceded my asking the > question about the occurence of condemnation of > slavery in the Holy Quran, it was probably a case of > bad timing. One ought to have suspected that it > could be perceived as offensive. My sincere > apologies to all who felt that way. > > I reasoned that injecting such a question into the > tail end of an important but degenerating exchange > would not only bring that to an end, but would also > provide a radical twist to the overall issue of > racism and Islam as we Africans understand it. > > Those who responded to my question publicly or > privately, with the exception of Kabir, all went on > the defensive, placing the spotlight on other > religions, making the case for slavery as a > universal historical institution, or making > comparative racial analogies. > > But defending Islam in this way has the unfortunate > consequence of making it suspect in the first place. > Muslims ought to have the courage for unfettered, > severe introspection, unpolluted by scriptures of > other faiths. Islam has been perfected for us > (remember?) and must therefore be able to stand on > its feet. Besides, IT is the religion that most of > us practice in Gambia. So, naturally it IS Islam we > should explore, research, and question, and we > should not worry about ANY attempt to question > Islamic teachings because ALLAH placed it upon us to > seek the TRUTH. > > That is the reason why questions raised about our > religion should not translate into automatic > assaults at our faith. Fearing that questions raised > by agnostics and even oursleves as believers may > dent our faith in our religion is normal, but it is > a fear we ought to overcome if we are to evolve into > better muslims. We must open up our minds if we > should expect ALLAH's radiance to guide us; we must > ask questions - even uncomfortable questions to mere > mortals like oursleves - if we should receive wisdom > about our deen? And given that we are the worst off > on earth, is it not we Africans who ought to have > the most questions to ask of our creator? > > In moments of despair and darkness, we should take > inspiration from prophet Musa, who through > negotiation or argument or prayer (call it what > suits you) landed us with the five dailies instead > of fifty, as Allah had initially proposed. > We will make improvements in our imperfections by > being fearless at the world and the heavens, through > asking questions, doing research and praying for > guidance. Not by being afraid and putting up > irrational defenses. > > Sincerely, > Sidibeh > > Comrade Kabir, many many thanks for the links. > > いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい > To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of > postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface > at: > http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html > > To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: > http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l > To contact the List Management, please send an > e-mail to: > [log in to unmask] > いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい > Let modesty be the rule of observance. ____________________________________________________ Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい