Valentine's Day

Posted on February 15th, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

Below you will find an entry on Valentine among the Saudi’s. In this entry two stories, both reject Valentine’s Day but from an entirely different perspective:
FrontPage magazine.com :: Valentine’s Day Enrages Jihadists by Dr. Walid Phares

A weekend before Valentine’s Day, jihadist souls were not questioning the �commercialization� of romance, but inquiring about the ban on �being in love.� The �scholars� said human love is evil. The simple feeling of being attracted to or in love with someone is a terrifying sin if it is committed outside of their religious dogma — and it warrants serious punishment.

and: Valentine’s Day from The New Nation’s Opinion article Islamic perspective

Hence, commemorating that special day known as the Valentine�s Day is an innovation or bid`ah that has no religious backing. Every innovation of that kind is rejected, as far as Islam is concerned. Islam requires all Muslims to love one another all over the whole year, and reducing the whole year to a single day is totally rejected. Hence, we Muslims ought not to follow in the footsteps of such innovations and superstitions that are common in what is known as the Valentine�s Day. No doubt that there are many irreligious practices that occur on that day, and those practices are capable of dissuading people from the true meanings of love and altruism to the extent that the celebration is reduced to a moral decline.

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Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 15th, 2005 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

Below you will find an entry on Valentine among the Saudi’s. In this entry two stories, both reject Valentine’s Day but from an entirely different perspective:
FrontPage magazine.com :: Valentine’s Day Enrages Jihadists by Dr. Walid Phares

A weekend before Valentine’s Day, jihadist souls were not questioning the �commercialization� of romance, but inquiring about the ban on �being in love.� The �scholars� said human love is evil. The simple feeling of being attracted to or in love with someone is a terrifying sin if it is committed outside of their religious dogma — and it warrants serious punishment.

and: Valentine’s Day from The New Nation’s Opinion article Islamic perspective

Hence, commemorating that special day known as the Valentine�s Day is an innovation or bid`ah that has no religious backing. Every innovation of that kind is rejected, as far as Islam is concerned. Islam requires all Muslims to love one another all over the whole year, and reducing the whole year to a single day is totally rejected. Hence, we Muslims ought not to follow in the footsteps of such innovations and superstitions that are common in what is known as the Valentine�s Day. No doubt that there are many irreligious practices that occur on that day, and those practices are capable of dissuading people from the true meanings of love and altruism to the extent that the celebration is reduced to a moral decline.

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ABC News: Koranic duels ease terror

Posted on February 15th, 2005 by .
Categories: International Terrorism.

ABC News: Koranic duels ease terror

SANAA, YEMEN When Judge Hamoud al-Hitar announced that he and four other Islamic scholars would challenge Yemen’s Al Qaeda prisoners to a theological contest, Western antiterrorism experts warned that this high-stakes gamble would end in disaster.

Seated amid stacks of Korans and religious texts, Hitar explains that his system is simple. He invites militants to use the Koran to justify attacks on innocent civilians and when they cannot, he shows them numerous passages commanding Muslims not to attack civilians, to respect other religions, and fight only in self-defense.

For example, he quotes: “Whoever kills a soul, unless for a soul, or for corruption done in the land – it is as if he had slain all mankind entirely. And, whoever saves one, it is as if he had saved mankind entirely.” He uses the passage to bolster his argument against bombing Western targets in Yemen – attacks he says defy the Koran. And, he says, the Koran says under no circumstances should women and children be killed.

“Before the dialogues began, there was only one way to fight terrorism, and that was through force,” he says. “Now there is another way: dialogue.”

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A possible end to Egypt's Islamic jihad

Posted on February 15th, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism.

A possible end to Egypt’s Islamic jihad

A possible end to Egypt�s Islamic jihad

The decline of the militant Islamic movement in Egypt has ironically boosted the strength of the broader international movement coalescing around Osama Bin Laden.

By Khalil Gebara for The Jamestown Foundation (14/02/05)

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A possible end to Egypt’s Islamic jihad

Posted on February 15th, 2005 by .
Categories: International Terrorism.

A possible end to Egypt’s Islamic jihad

A possible end to Egypt�s Islamic jihad

The decline of the militant Islamic movement in Egypt has ironically boosted the strength of the broader international movement coalescing around Osama Bin Laden.

By Khalil Gebara for The Jamestown Foundation (14/02/05)

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Valentine in Saoedi Arabia: Despite religious restrictions, Saudis mark lovers' day

Posted on February 15th, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

Islam :: Despite religious restrictions, Saudis mark lovers’ day

Beyond the ban, it’s a challenge for couples to be together on Valentine’s or any other day because of strict segregation of the sexes. Dating consists of long phone conversations and the rare tryst. Men and women cannot go for a drive together, have a meal or talk on the street unless they are close relatives. Infractions are punished by detentions.

0 comments.

Valentine in Saoedi Arabia: Despite religious restrictions, Saudis mark lovers’ day

Posted on February 15th, 2005 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

Islam :: Despite religious restrictions, Saudis mark lovers’ day

Beyond the ban, it’s a challenge for couples to be together on Valentine’s or any other day because of strict segregation of the sexes. Dating consists of long phone conversations and the rare tryst. Men and women cannot go for a drive together, have a meal or talk on the street unless they are close relatives. Infractions are punished by detentions.

0 comments.