In times of WAR, is a time for a terrorizing ACT... Be it to terrorized oneselves or be it to terrorised the World!!! And in times of terrorizing is a time to perform 'Jihad'!!!
"Is this a real life.. is this just fantasy
Caught in a landslide…. no escape from reality
Open your eyes… look up to the skies and see…I'm just a poor boy.. I need no sympathy.. because I'm easy come.. easy go…
"
— Freddy Mercury, Bohemian Rhapsody
MASKING as the new norm... A future with never ending wars... Survival of the Fittest as Man goes against Virus... Hell on Earth!!! Just need to take it on the Otherside!!!
Hitler was not the cause of anti-Semitism. He like many before him was the end product of 2,000 years of virulent Christian history, finally culminating in the holocaust. The holocaust is the end result of the beliefs in 'original sin' and messiahs, for it divides people into believers and non believers, and unleashes unrestrained proselytism on pain of death. The pre-reformation Christians, and the Muslims till today have been faithful to this dogma. In mild forms it is imperialism and ethnic cleansing, and in extreme forms it is genocides and jihad.
In the new norm Is a Brave New World Where Man and Robots Are One in Soul... But if the virus is Manmade Can Covid be pass on to machines? If the source is a particular species why vaccine only mankind? In a Brave new world an instant cure is found.... #coronaviruspandemic #newnormal #bravenewworld
Both Muhammad and Jesus propagated war, war against the system. In fact, the Jews had been at war with the Romans for quite some time. But Jesus was not only at war with the Romans. He was at war with those who collaborated with the Romans as well, the lackey of the Romans in the Jewish hierarchy.
TERRORIZING ONESELF
Al-jihad fi sabil Allah translates to struggle in the way of Allah. This has been clearly stipulated in Surah at-Tawbah verse 60 of the Qur’an. There is no dispute or compromise on this matter. This is mandatory for all Muslims, especially during this month of Ramadhan when Muslims are supposed to embark upon a war on themselves — not that they must not do so all year round.
Ramadhan is the month when you ‘declare war’ (jihad) on yourself, so to speak. You not only fight against thirst and hunger (from dawn to dusk), you also fight against all sorts of temptations that you are faced with. Christians would probably understand this concept very well, the fight against the Cardinal Sins — wrath, greed, sloth (laziness or apathy), pride, lust, envy, and gluttony.
Hence, Ramadhan is not only about abstaining from food and drink. It is also about fighting against anger, lust, greed, envy, pride, jealousy, etc. And lust has a wider meaning than just sex. Lust for comfort, wealth, power, position, recognition, etc., are also included.
Jihad consists of the effort one makes to do something good and to prevent or oppose evil. The effort may be directed towards oneself or the outside world. The struggle to control and refine one’s ego, to conquer ignorance, to discipline one’s base desires, and to excel in the work undertaken to the best of one’s ability is the jihad of the self (jihad al-nafs).
In a similar vein, the Sufi contemplation in combating the distractions of the soul is called mujehadah. To combat poverty and disease, to build houses for the poor, and to fight corruption and abuse would all qualify as jihad that serves a social purpose of great benefit.
We are cast into a world in which there is disequilibrium, externally and within ourselves, to which jihad serves as a corrective. For ordinary Muslims, praying five times a day all their lives, or fasting from dawn to dusk during Ramadan are certainly not possible without great effort, or jihad.
It is now common to hear Muslim intellectuals speak of jihad in business, jihad in the acquisition of knowledge, and jihad against social ills afflicting the youth, drug abuse and AIDS.
Understood in its comprehensive sense, jihad is an inherent aspect of the human condition in facing the imperfections of this world. Prophet Muhammad has said “the mujehid is one who wages a struggle against himself”.
The Jihadist - Jesus gives his Life likewise the Buddha gives away his kingdom...
Barlaam and Josaphat, also known as Bilawhar and Budhasaf, are legendaryChristian saints. Their life story was based on the life of the Gautama Buddha,[1] and tells of the conversion of Josaphat to Christianity. According to the legend, an Indian king persecuted the Christian Church in his realm. After astrologers predicted that his own son would some day become a Christian, the king imprisoned the young prince Josaphat, who nevertheless met the hermit Saint Barlaam and converted to Christianity. After much tribulation the young prince's father accepted the Christian faith, turned over his throne to Josaphat, and retired to the desert to become a hermit. Josaphat himself later abdicated and went into seclusion with his old teacher Barlaam.[2]
FROM the 11th century onwards, the Legend of Barlaam and Josaphat enjoyed a popularity in the medieval West attained perhaps by no other legend. It was available in over 60 versions in the main languages of Europe, the Christian East and Africa. It was most familiar to English leaders from its inclusion in William Caxton’s 1483 translation of the Golden Legend.
Little did European readers know that the story they loved of the life of Saint Josaphat was in fact that of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.
The ascetic life
According to the legend, there reigned in India a king called Abenner, immersed in the pleasures of the world. When the king had a son, Josaphat, an astrologer predicted he would forsake the world. To forestall this outcome, the king ordered a city to be built for his son from which were excluded poverty, disease, old age and death.
But Josaphat made journeys outside of the city where he encountered, on one occasion, a blind man and a horribly deformed one and, on another occasion, an old man weighed down by illness. He realised the impermanence of all things:
No longer is there any sweetness in this transitory life now that I have seen these things [...] Gradual and sudden death are in league together.
I'm just a poor boy nobody loves me
He's just a poor boy from a poor family,
Spare him his life from this monstrosity
Easy come, easy go, will you let me go
Bismillah! No, we will not let you go
(Let him go!) Bismillah! We will not let you go
(Let him go!) Bismillah! We will not let you go
While experiencing this spiritual crisis, the sage Barlaam from Sri Lanka reached Josaphat and told him of the rejection of worldly pursuits and the acceptance of the Christian ideal of the ascetic life. Prince Josaphat was converted to Christianity and began to practise the ideal of the spiritual life of poverty, simplicity and devotion to God.
To forestall his quest, his father surrounded him with seductive maidens who “tantalised him with every kind of temptation with which they sought to arouse his appetites”.
Josaphat resisted them all
After the death of his father, Josaphat remained determined to continue his ascetic life and abdicated the throne. He journeyed to Sri Lanka in search of Barlaam. After a quest lasting two years, Josaphat found Barlaam living in the mountains and joined him there in a life of asceticism until his death.
A great saint
Barlaam and Josaphat were included in the calendars of saints in both the Western and Eastern churches. By the 10th century, they were included in the calendars of the Eastern churches, and by the end of the 13th century in those of the Catholic church.
In the book we know as The Travels of Marco Polo, published around the year 1300, Marco gave the West its first account of the life of the Buddha. He declared that — were the Buddha a Christian — “he would have been a great saint [...] for the good life and pure which he led”.
In 1446, an astute editor of the Travels noticed the similarity. “This is like the life of Saint Iosaphat”, he declared.
It was, however, only in the 19th century the West became aware of Buddhism as a religion in its own right. As a result of editing and translating of the Buddhist scriptures (dating from the first century BCE) from the 1830s onwards, reliable information about the life of the founder of Buddhism began to grow in the West.
'Cause I lost it all Dead and broken. My back's against the wall. Cut me open. I'm just trying to breathe, Just trying to figure it out Because I built these walls to watch them crumbling down. I said, "Then I lost it all." Who can save me now?
Then the West came to know the story of the young Indian prince, Gautama, whose father – fearful his son would forsake the world – kept him secluded in his palace. Like Josaphat, Gautama eventually encountered old age, disease and death. And, like Josaphat, he left the palace to live an ascetic life in quest of the meaning of suffering.
After many trials, Gautama sat beneath the Bodhi tree and finally attained enlightenment, thereby becoming a Buddha.
Only in 1869 did this new-found knowledge in the West about the life of the Buddha lead inescapably to the realisation that, in his guise as Saint Josaphat, the Buddha had been a saint in Christendom for some 900 years.
Intimate connections
How did the story of the Buddha become that of Josaphat? The process was long and complicated. Essentially, the story of the Buddha that began in India in the Sanskrit language travelled east to China, then west along the Silk Road where it was influenced by the asceticism of the religion of the Manichees. It was then transposed into Arabic, Greek and Latin. From these Latin versions it would be translated into various European languages. Years before the West knew anything about the Buddha, his life and the ascetic ideal which it symbolised were a positive force in the spiritual life of Christians.
The Legend of Barlaam and Josaphat demonstrates powerfully the intimate connections between Buddhism and Christianity in their commitment to the ascetic, meditative and mystical religious life. Few Christian saints have a better claim to that title than the Buddha. In an era where the Buddhist spirituality of “mindfulness” is very much on the Western agenda, we need to be mindful of the long and positive history of the influence of Buddhism on the West. Through the story of Barlaam and Josaphat, Buddhist spirituality has played a significant role in our Western heritage for the last one thousand years.
A never ending War - Israel seals off ultra-Orthodox town hit hard by coronavirus
BNEI BRAK, Israel, April 3 — Israeli police threw up metal barricades and roadblocks on Friday to enforce a lockdown of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish town badly affected by coronavirus.
Emergency regulations approved by the cabinet late Thursday declared Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, a “restricted zone” due to its high rate of infections. The new designation allows authorities to tighten curbs on public movement.
Police units, wearing surgical masks and gloves, moved swiftly early on Friday to cordon off major intersections around the town and enforce the new rules.
“Bnei Brak is on lockdown, as of this morning, and police will prevent any movements in or out of the city,” police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
“People are only allowed in or out for medical reasons or medical support,” he added. Medical experts estimate that as many as 38 per cent of Bnai Brak’s 200,000 residents are infected with coronavirus and that the town could soon account for as many as 30% of cases in Israel’s 8.7 million population. This is due to Bnai Brak’s population density, which Israeli officials say is almost 100 times higher than the national average. Many residents are poor and some have heeded rabbis who, distrusting the state, spurned anti-virus measures. With the elderly especially prone to the illness, Israel’s military plans to evacuate 4,500 people aged 80 and above in the town, and place them in isolation in hostels requisitioned by the armed forces. Israel has reported at least 34 deaths and close to 7,000 cases of coronavirus. Tight curbs have confined Israelis to their homes, forcing businesses to close and sending unemployment over 24 per cent. In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday night extended a state of emergency for another month, starting April 4. The order was issued by presidential decree last month after a coronavirus outbreak in Bethlehem which forced closure of the Church of the Nativity, the traditional birthplace of Jesus. — Reuters
There seems to be a universal common denominator on Covid-19 clusters involving several 'generations' of infection, to wit, conservative religious groupings.
'Tis the same for Islamic and Christian conservatives who prize religious doctrines and teachings, and the questionable instructions and advice of clerics above scientific knowledge and medical advice.
Who knows, it might be one of the Almighty's 'strange workings' (as clerics would like to say to mask their own ignorance and cluelessness) to 'trim' off the weak so that only the 'strong' remain to do the Lord's work, or for the dead who were 'reincarnated just to atone for past sins'.
The late Ovadia Yosef, who was the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1973 to 1983, and the founder and long-time spiritual leader of Israel's ultra-Orthodox Shas party, was one of Israel's most revered clerics. The following was his attitude towards the Holocaust, as narrated by Wikipedia:
In 2000, he described the Holocaust as God's retribution against the reincarnated soul of Jewish sinners:
“The six million Holocaust victims were reincarnations of the souls of sinners, people who transgressed and did all sorts of things that should not be done. They had been reincarnated in order to atone”
Shas chairman Eli Yishai said criticism of the rabbi is unjustified, explaining, "Rabbi Ovadia weeps for every Jew who is killed ... but nobody, not even a saint, has not sinned. Everyone dies in a state of sin." It's even stated that he [Ovadia] declared that Hitler was a messenger sent to do God's work before the arrival of the Messiah.
according to the former Chief Rabbi of Israel, Hitler was a messenger of the Jewish God
In 2009, Yosef repeated his claims that the Holocaust was retribution for re-incarnated sinners:
“After all, people are upset and ask why was there a Holocaust? Woe to us, for we have sinned. Woe to us, for there is nothing we can say to justify it ... It goes without saying that we believe in reincarnation ... It is a reincarnation of those souls ... All those poor people in the Holocaust, we wonder why it was done. There were righteous people among them. Still, they were punished because of sins" So Ovadia Yosef would have Jews believe that the Jewish Almighty, YHWH, had 6 million Jews born (reincarnated) in order to be massacred after horrific torture and beastly brutalities just to atone for past sins unknown even to Ovadia himself?
In 2007, Ovadia said of Israeli soldiers killed in battle:
“It is no wonder that soldiers are killed in war; they don't observe Shabbat, don't observe the Torah, don't pray every day, don't lay phylacteries on a daily basis – so is it any wonder that they are killed? No, it's not" Religious people, especially of the Abrahamic faith, should watch out for some of their clerics. Covid-19 may well be the Lord's 'mysterious way' of showing the true disciples of his frustration, anger and disgust with his covertly-secular-minded, materialistic and kerbau-ish clerics, ??
another messenger of God?
The photo that sparked criticism towards GFriend’s member Sowon
Instagram/onedayxne
On Sunday, Sowon, whose real name is Kim So-jung, 25, had earlier uploaded two images of her with the mannequin, but deleted the images after "she understood the significance of the image." CNN reported today that the singer's label Source Music in a statement had said that Sowon was "very shocked and immediately deleted the image, (and) she is pained and feels deep responsibility for posting such image(s)." The company also noted that its staff "did not sense an issue with the outfit on a mannequin" when the images were initially taken in November, when the girl group were on-site at a filming location, a popular German-themed restaurant and filming spot in Paju. "We want to apologise for not being able to check for inappropriate props in the set and not being able to thoroughly filter them during the shoot and uploading and failing to give detailed attention to historical facts and linked social issues," the statement said. Among the criticism hurled at Sowon was a tweet that read: "Nazis are not friends or someone you can hug or look so lovingly at, they are killers, they killed 6 million Jews out of them 1.5 million Jewish children."
Simple minds see things simply. A conversation between a kampung Malay and his colonial mistress 100 years ago.
Why do you take leave from Thursday evening to Saturday morning, Osman? Why not take leave from Saturday evening to Monday morning? Tuan does not need you over the weekend.
I need to be home on Thursday evening, Mem. A husband has a duty to his wife on Thursday evening….malam sunat. Then, on Friday, I must go for Sembahyang Jumaat. It is compulsory.
But can’t you go to a mosque near here instead of going all the way back to your kampung 30 miles away?
No, Mem, I am not mastautin here. I am muzafir.
Mastautin?
Yes, I am not a resident here, Mem. I am muzafir…outsider. So I must go back to my own mosque in the kampung.
Why?
In case there are not enough jumaah, at least 40 people, and if I am absent, then I have sinned, Mem, because with less than 40 people they cannot pray Solat Jumaat. So it is my duty to make sure the jumaah is enough.
But can’t you bring your wife to live with you here and then make this your new kampung? After all we have given you your own quarters. You even have piped water and electricity, at least a few hours a day from 7.00pm to midnight. I am sure that would be more comfortable than your kampung house by the river. And you know how bad the cholera has been the last few months because of the river water you use to bathe and cook.
The cholera is not because of the river, Mem. It is the will of Allah. We came from Allah and we return to Allah. The cholera is only bersabit…err…the excuse…not sure what the English word is, Mem.
But surely with better hygiene conditions there would be no cholera.
Cholera came from Allah, Mem. If Allah did not want it to happen there would be no cholera. People who do not live by the river also die of cholera.
That is true, but the chances are much reduced. Would you not feel safer for your wife and children if they were not so easily exposed to cholera by living here?
It is the will of Allah, Mem. We die wherever we live.
We have a hospital and an English school run by the missionaries so there are better health and educational facilities here.
My children must go to Qur’an classes, Mem. That is more important than English classes. What is the point of learning English if they cannot read the Qur’an? In the kampung they go to Qur’an classes every day. They also study Fardu Ain, Tafsir, and so on. In an English school they cannot learn all that.
But would not studying English be better for their future?
The future Allah will decide, Mem. We cannot change the future. Furthermore, my wife must remain in the kampung to look after my mother. A daughter-in-law’s first duty is to look after her mother-in-law.
What about your other brothers and sisters? My two brothers are in the army and not married, Mem, while my three sisters died during childbirth.
That is terrible. What happened?
It was evil spirits, Mem. My sisters were not strong like we boys. So the spirit took them.
Evil spirits? Heavens!
Yes, Mem. Before they were born the bomoh already pagar the house. He jampi all round the house but they still got in through the atap roof, Mem. The evil spirits must have been hiding there before the bomoh came and when my mother gave birth the evil spirits took my three sisters.
You mean your mother did not go to the hospital to give birth?
No, Mem. There are no women doctors in the hospital, Mem. So my mother gave birth at home. The bidan helped deliver the baby. But it was Allah’s will they died. We cannot change Allah’s will, Mem. We must accept Allah’s will without regret.
But surely you cannot blame everything on Allah’s will and just accept it. You can always change destiny.
Destiny cannot be changed, Mem. It is like the railway line to Kota Bharu that Tuan just built. Destiny runs on a track and only in one direction. The train that runs on a track cannot change its direction. It just follows the track like we follow our destiny. Does your Christianity not also believe in the will of God, Mem?
Well, we do…but then we also believe that we can change our destiny. Humankind has control over their destiny.
So humans have will over God, Mem?
No, I did not say that. God still has the final say. But we can affect that will of God.
How can that be, Mem? Allah decided the British will rule over us. We Malays accept that. Even the Sultan accepts that. Are you saying we can change that?
I suppose you can change that if there is a will. It is like when you plant your rice. God will decide if your rice will grow but you must plant the rice. God will not plant the rice for you.
You speak like my ustaz, Mem. My uztaz said while Allah will decide, we must make the effort. Allah will not help us unless we do it.
Precisely! We English say God only helps those who help themselves.
I think my ustaz said something like that. We must tanam the benih and Allah will bring the rain. And sometimes too much train and everything dies. That, too, is Allah’s will.
I must say I admire you for accepting God’s will with grace. But you must not be so passive and accept everything. You must also struggle and try to change your future.
That is what Tok Janggut said, Mem. And they killed him.
I did not hear about that. When did that happen?
The British came to Kelantan in 1909 after taking over the state from Thailand. But Kelantan had no money. It is what you British say, bankrupt. So the British started taxing the padi farmers in 1915 to pay for the cost of running the state. The Sultan betrayed us and collaborated with the British. When Tok Janggut led a rebellion against the British and the Sultan, the British sent the Sikhs to murder Tok Janggut. The Sultan is a bad man, Mem.
I suggest you don’t repeat this to Tuan, Osman. You might get into trouble.
That is Allah’s will, Mem. If I am to die like Tok Janggut then I will die a mujahideen like Tok Janggut. Tok Janggut led a jihad, Mem, a holy war.
You mean like the Crusades?
Yes, Mem. It is the duty of all Muslims to fight a jihad and if we die we go straight to heaven. We do not even need to wash the body and we are buried in the clothes we died in with the blood still on it.
I think that is a bit extreme just to defend your beliefs.
Maybe, Mem, but one day the Malays will rise and will fight for independence from Britain. And then the Malays can take back our country and send the Chinese and Indians home to their own country. The British have brought in too many Chinese and they now own all the towns. There is going to be trouble one day, Mem. Even the Sultans will lose their power because they have betrayed the Malays.
But the Chinese are developing this country, Osman. Don’t you think you need the Chinese?
We do not need development, Mem. We were very happy before the British came. The British are developing our country for the sake of Britain. The British make so much money but it is all sent back to England. We Malays still live the way we have been living for a thousand years.
But you are now working for Tuan. You are not living the way the Malays have been living for a thousand years. You are now employed and not self-supporting.
That is true, Mem. But we have no more jungle to cari makan. Before this we collected durians and many other fruits to sell. Now all jungles have been turned into estates. So there are no more fruits to cari makan.
And you are happy collecting fruits in the jungle?
Sometimes, Mem. We make very little though. Now I make ten times more working for Tuan.
So do you want to go back to the life of collecting and selling fruits?
No, Mem. This life is better. It is very difficult to go back once you have tasted a better life.
And do you want the British to leave this country?
No, Mem. The old rulers are worse than the British, Mem. At least we cannot get killed if we upset the rulers like in the old days. I am happy working for Tuan. He treats me well, just like you do, Mem. You are better than my own Malay Tuans. The Malay Tuans are terrible people, Mem.
Yes, I have heard. Would you want independence for your country, Osman?
Only if the Sultans are not going to run the country, Mem?
Who should run the country then?
The people, Mem.
You sound like a republican, Osman.
I do not know what that means, Mem, but then if that is called a republican then I am a republican, Mem.
A SIMPLICITY
In her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura, penned by a US resident, which was posted on the Internet. It’s funny, as well as informative:
Dear Dr. Laura:
Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God’s Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination … end of debate.
I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God’s Laws and how to follow them.
1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighbouring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can’t I own Canadians?
2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of Menstrual uncleanliness – Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.
4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odour for the Lord – Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbours. They claim the odour is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
5. I have a neighbour who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?
6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination, Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don’t agree. Can you settle this? Are there ‘degrees’ of abomination?
7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?
8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?
9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev. 24:10-16. Couldn’t we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)
I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I’m confident you can help.
Thank you again for reminding us that God’s word is eternal and unchanging.
Your adoring fan,
James M. Kauffman, Ed.D. Professor Emeritus, Dept. Of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education University of Virginia.
PS. It would be a dammed shame if I couldn’t own a Canadian.
A FUTURE FAREWELL BEFORE ITS END...
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