الاثنين، ديسمبر ٢٥، ٢٠٠٦

Merry Christmas! (and a white one at that!!!)

Merry Christmas to all the brothers and sisters in Christ celebrating today.

It seems someone prayed and wished very hard for a white Aussie Christmas...and what d'ya know...they got their wish!

In Victoria today temperatures plumetted to around 11 degrees, and it rained and even hailed at times. For brief minutes, the grass was covered with white making the picture look positively "Northern hemisphere" kind of Christmas......in the middle of summer!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, I hope you had a great Christmas, whatever the weather was for you :)

الجمعة، ديسمبر ٢٢، ٢٠٠٦

Auguri Cannavaro!







Italy's World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro has been named Fifa World Player of the Year.
The award polls votes from national team coaches and captains and Cannavaro beat three-time winner Zinedine Zidane and reigning champion Ronaldinho.
Real Madrid central defender Cannavaro, 33, was crowned European Footballer of the Year in November.
"It's a great honour for me to be here because it has been an incredible season," said Cannavaro.
He added: "The competition is scary, so strong. It's not usual for a defender to sit between Ronaldinho and Zidane.
"Of course it must be a great compliment for the coaches I've had this year.
"It also underscores the way I am playing - and look at the matches we are playing in the teams I've had, and at Real.
"I can't ask for anything else, with the World Cup and Golden Ball award - you can't do any better than that."
Brazil's Marta won the women's award ahead of Germany's Renate Lingor and Kristine Lilly of the USA.



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Me thinks this verrry good year for Italian football!!! Me happy!! Verryyy Happy :)


The Free Copts: Back and Stronger Than Ever

SOURCE

The Free Copts is back online. Our resolve is even stronger to speak up against injustice and hatred.

And a note of thanks goes out to thise who hacked the site:
You have proven that we are effective and strong...you have admitted that we are a force to be reckoned with. You have shown the world how incapable you are of defending your views rationally.

Thank you whoever you are, you have done us a great service!
God Bless :)

الخميس، ديسمبر ٢١، ٢٠٠٦

Frederik; There's a Quran Under the Xmas Tree!!!

OK! I know it's absolutely ridiculous...but I've just spent the past two hours trying to verify this report by Alarabiya.net. They are claiming that "Danish Chrostians" are going absolutely bananas buying copies of teh Quran as Xmas gifts!!!!!!!!!

Yes I know, it's hillarious...it doesn't make sense! But I thought I'd Google it anyway...in Arabic and in English (damn it I wish I knew Danish)...and couldn't find anything.

Of course, Danish people could very well be buying the Quran. But what made me laugh so hard that I almost fell off my chair, is teh way Alarabiya reported it. And of course the readers comments.

It was reported and commented on as a victory of Islam over the infidel Danes who dessecrated the prophet of Islam by the infamous cartoons, and their steadfast defence of this...this...thing...they call "freedom of expression"?!!

Many readers launched into Quranic verses and pleas to Allah to guide the infidels to the truth of Islam. A couple of readers who were "switched on" warned their bretheren not to fall for this obvious trick by the Danes to buy the affection of the Muslim world and put an end to the boycott (ooohhh you're a clever bunch! couldn't pull the wool over your eyes!)

Whether this is true or not...and no matter what the reason Danes ar going crazy over the Quran...the main thing I came out with:
I really...really...pityy the naive ignorance of those who do not see outside the boundaries of their own world!

الأربعاء، ديسمبر ٢٠، ٢٠٠٦

Copts Need Not Apply

A couple of days ago I read something in an Egyptian newspaper that made me rub my eyes...look around in confusion...and ask my husband "what year is it??"

The newspaper: Al Masry Alyoum (The Egyptian Today)
The news item: Islamic Fayssal Bank Refuses To Allow Copts To Buy Shares

For some reason, I felt life go black and white around me, and I expected to see a band with a Coptic cross on my arm, and the word "Copts" garffitied on my house.

Then I remembered it's 2006
and humanity has supposedly moved on from this kind of hatred and discrimination


Here's an article written in the same newspaper about this very same subject..by Ahmed Al Sawy. In it he condemns the Egyptian government for allowing this absurdity to take place, at a time when sectarian tension is already at a boiling point.

"
لا أعتقد أن البنك السعودي يستطيع أن يفعل ذلك في أي بلد يحترم قانونه ودستوره، وربما لا تستطيع كل البنوك السعودية المتعاملة بنظام المعاملات الإسلامية داخل أراضي المملكة حرمان غير المسلم من التعامل معها، إلا أن بنك فيصل علي ما يبدو وجد في مصر نظاماً قانونياً رخواً،وحكومة لا تملك القدرة أو الرغبة، أو الإرادة لحماية مواطنيها ضد الانتهاك الصارخ لحقهم في المواطنة داخل الوطن الذي يحملون جنسيته.
"
I do not believe that the Saudi bank could do this in a country which respects the law and the constitution. I don't even believe that Saudi Islamic banks operating within the Kingdom (of Saudi Arabia) can prevent non Muslims from dealing with them. But it seems Fayssal Bank has found in Egypt a weak legislative system and a government lacking interest in protecting her citizens against such blatant violation of their rights, in their own country!

"
تأسس بنك فيصل الإسلامي في مصر عام ١٩٧٧، وتم تسجيله لدي البنك المركزي المصري كبنك تجاري يخضع لأحكام قانون البنك المركزي، ومع ذلك فرض المادة ١٢ من نظامه الأساسي علي قانون البنك المركزي المنظم لعمله، تلك المادة تنص علي عدم جواز قبول مساهمة غير المسلمين، وعدم جواز نقل ملكية أسهم البنك إلا للمسلمين
"
Islamic Fayssal Bank was established in Egypt in 1977, and was registered as a commercial bank with Al Bank Al Markazy Al Massry (The Egyptian Central Bank), and it (Fayssal Bank) is supposed to be governed by the same regulations as the Central bank. However, Fayssal bank succeeded in enforcing a part of its own regulatons...the part which states refusal of non Muslim shareholders
.

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This was also reported by alarabiya.net...but nevermind the actual report, as always the readers comments are more shocking.


2 - النصاري في مصر واخدين حقهم وكفايه اللي هم ما بيدفعوش الجزية
محمد بلال من مصر 18/12/2006 م، 08:20 مساء (السـعودية) 05:20 مساء (جرينيتش) النصاري في مصر واخدين حقهم وزيادة


Mohammad Bilal-Egypt
The Christians in Egypt have their rights. It's bad enough they aren't paying "jizya" (the Islamic tax forced on the non-Muslim inhabitants of the lands invaded by the Arabs)


5 - بنك فيصل الاسلامى
احمد على احمد 18/12/2006 م، 08:25 مساء (السـعودية) 05:25 مساء (جرينيتش) هذا اسمه والمسلمين يقوموا بلايداع فيه بعيد عن البنوك الاخرى حتى يبتعدوا عن شبهة الربا وهذا ما يجدونه فى هذا البنك وبالطبع اذا تم بيع اسهمه لغير مسلم سوف يقوم عدد كبير من المسلمين بانهاء تعاملاتهم مع البنك وهذا يكون خطرا عليه. وشكرأ والسلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
.


Ahmad Ali Ahmad
This is an Islamic bank...Muslims deal with it to get away from other non Islamic banks. If the shareholders are not Muslim..Muslims won't put their money there and this will harm the bank's interests! Thank you and Assalam alaykom wa rahmatu Allah wa barakato (the Islamic greeting)

and many more that I honestly felt too sick with disgust from their mentality to have to force myself to translate...

Although to be fair there were great comments also from Muslim readers who said this was attrocious and reaffirmed their belief in equal rights for all Egyptians and no discrimination based on faith.

Yet, such fair and tolerant Muslim mentalities seem to be a minority in the midst of the raging hatred and ignorance.


This isn't my Egypt! This can't be my Egypt!

الثلاثاء، ديسمبر ١٩، ٢٠٠٦

If You Can't Beat'em, Hack'em

In a demonstration of just how morally and intellectually banckrupt they are...a group of Islamists who call themselves "The Islamic Warrior Crew" have hacked yet another website. This time it's personal...they hacked the Free Copts website!

You see, they had previously hacked into some sites which contained a religious forum where Islam was discussed as a religion and ideology. In fine Islamic fashion, they were outraged by the fact their religion is being discussed and debated...so they did the only thing they know how: shut them up!

Although the religious dialogue section of the Free Copts forum, and indeed the whole forum, was regulated by the admin group so that no insults to any faith, race or person were tolerated...it seems our juvenile group of warriors found something that lead to this dummy spit.

So after I got over the initial surprise, then the fits of laughter at the public tantrum, then finally the pitty for those who possess no means of dealing with different opinions except to try to eliminate them...

I got thinking....

I thought about how in this day and age, we advocate tolerance and co existence. We talk about living harmoniously together in this ever shrinking world of ours. We put checks and balances to guarantee the rights that we enjoy are protected. We teach our children to be accepting of others and not to generalise...never to generalise.

But I ask, and I especially ask those who say "The image of Islam on the world stage has been corrupted"....I ask you to take a moment to consider...

Who exactly do you believe is harming the image of Islam?

And how do you expect Islam to be accepted by the world, when Muslims do not accept the world....or I should say the do not accept anyone or anything that is different to them??

الجمعة، ديسمبر ٠١، ٢٠٠٦

Impending attack on Archangel Michael church, Alexandria

My first post in a very long time...and unfortunately, bad news!
Please see below for the details of the planned attacks (The Free Copts).
May the Lord protect His church and keep the peace in our Egypt.

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Written by Rasha Nour
Thursday, 30 November 2006

What is happening to Alexandria? The city we call “Bride of the Mediterranean”…the melting pot of so many cultures. The city that so awed Alexander the Great, that he bestowed his name on her…her glory immortalizing his name.Today, this beautiful city is trampled with hatred and intolerance…even smeared with the hands of terrorism. After the distant years of glory where Christians, Muslims and Jews lived harmoniously…Italians, Greek and Egyptians co-existed peacefully.

I’ll never forget the day my grandfather died in Upper Egypt, and my mother left us with our Greek neighbor. Auntie Nickilous treated us with love and kindness, until our parents returned…never complaining to them about our antics…how we mocked her children and made fun of her name.That was Alexandria! Where we sat at the beach…breathed in her glorious history and the spirit of love and strength of youth.

But what do we see in Alexandria today?After the incident of Moharram Bek, where the church of St. George and St. Antonious was surrounded by mobs of angry Muslims, after a CD of a church play “I was blind and now I see” was leaked to them by the State Security…who are obviously colluding with the Islamic groups, and have obviously been successful in using the groups to fulfill their agenda and terrorizing the Coptic church.

And after the events surrounding the murder of the elderly Coptic man, Sobhi while he was praying in church during Passion week 2006, and the setting of a church on fire…

Last Friday 11/24/2006, another attack was planned, this time the target is the Church of Archangel Michael in Moustafa Kamel, Raml Alexandria.The attack was planned by the following parties’ involvement:

Sheikh Moustafa Mohammad of “Al Fatih Al Islami” mosque, which is considered a hotbed of extremism in Alexandria’s mosques. He also owns an Islamic publishing center called “Nashr Al Fatih Al Islami” His mobile number is 0105013151,

Sheikh AbdulNasser Hussein,

Sheikh Khaled El Khateeb, a Palestinian businessman.

Islamic preacher, Sheikh Makram Abdul Raziq Kharrob, a lecturer of Islamic Jurisprudence at Al Azhar university, Samoha, Alexandria.

Sheikh Gaballa Abu El Makarim Gaballa, also a a lecturer of Islamic Jurisprudence at Al Azhar university, Samoha, Alexandria.

Sheikh Hisham Mohammad Mekkawy, a dentist and the president of Qasr Rawan hospital, Salsabeel medical center, and the charitable center for dentistry in Alexandria. His mobile numbers are 0125745602, and 0123782366.

The agreement is to surround and attack the church of Archangel Michael after the Muslim Friday prayer on 12/01/2006. The reason for this planned attack is the leaking of some rumors by the State Security to these Islamic groups, that the church is involved in preaching Christianity to Muslims, and the name of Father Augustinous Morris was specifically mentioned.

The church is indeed active in serving the Coptic youth and providing spiritual support to them, especially in universities…thereby laying the foundation to produce good, loyal Egyptian citizens.

It is noteworthy that there are signs being prepared for the planned action, with “No to Preaching to Muslims” and “No to Baptizing Female Minors”!This is a call to president Hosni Mubarak, and those in charge at State Security, …enough is enough,

Rasha Nour11/29/2006

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Isn't it ironic? A preacher whose job is to call others to Islam, plans an attack on a church he suspects of doing the very thing he does: preaching!!!!
Link