23 Year old Woman Grows Beard, Says She Feels More Sexy!

“I would never ever go back now and remove my facial hair because I’m happy with the way I am.” Meet the courageous Harnaam Kaur, a 23 year old woman who started growing facial hair due to her medical condition at the tender age of 11. See, Harnaam has a condition that is common in women but varies in severity. This condition is called “Polycystic Ovary Syndrome,” a condition in which a woman has an imbalance of a female sex hormones and the information we got reveals that she is a Sikh/Punjabi

What is the Islamic judgement of this?

Social media companies step up battle against militant propaganda

Facebook, Google and Twitter are stepping up efforts to combat online propaganda and recruiting by Islamic militants, but the Internet companies are doing it quietly to avoid the perception that they are helping the authorities police the Web.

On Friday, Facebook said it took down a profile that the company believed belonged to San Bernardino shooter Tashfeen Malik, who with her husband is accused of killing 14 people in a mass shooting that the FBI is investigating as an “act of terrorism.”

Just a day earlier, the French prime minister and European Commission officials met separately with Facebook, Google, Twitter Inc and other companies to demand faster action on what the commission called “online terrorism incitement and hate speech.”

The Internet companies described their policies as straightforward: they ban certain types of content in accordance with their own terms of service, and require court orders to remove or block anything beyond that. Anyone can report, or flag, content for review and possible removal.

But the truth is far more subtle and complicated. According to former employees, Facebook, Google and Twitter all worry that if they are public about their true level of cooperation with Western law enforcement agencies, they will face endless demands for similar action from countries around the world.

They also fret about being perceived by consumers as being tools of the government. Worse, if the companies spell out exactly how their screening works, they run the risk that technologically savvy militants will learn more about how to beat their systems.

“If they knew what magic sauce went into pushing content into the newsfeed, spammers or whomever would take advantage of that,” said a security expert who had worked at both Facebook and Twitter, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.

One of the most significant yet least understood aspects of the propaganda issue is the range of ways in which social media companies deal with government officials.

Facebook, Google and Twitter say they do not treat government complaints differently from citizen complaints, unless the government obtains a court order. The trio are among a growing number that publish regular transparency reports summarizing the number of formal requests from officials about content on their sites.

But there are workarounds, according to former employees, activists and government officials.

A key one is for officials or their allies to complain that a threat, hate speech or celebration of violence violates the company’s terms of service, rather than any law. Such content can be taken down within hours or minutes, and without the paper trail that would go with a court order.

“It is commonplace for federal authorities to directly contact Twitter and ask for assistance, rather than going through formal channels,” said an activist who has helped get numerous accounts disabled.

In the San Bernardino case, Facebook said it took down Malik’s profile, established under an alias, for violating its community standards, which prohibit praise or promotion of “acts of terror.” The spokesman said there was pro-Islamic State content on the page but declined to elaborate.
Activists mobilize

Some well-organized online activists have also had success getting social media sites to remove content.

A French-speaking activist using the Twitter alias NageAnon said he helped get rid of thousands of YouTube videos by spreading links of clear cases of policy violations and enlisting other volunteers to report them.

“The more it gets reported, the more it will get reviewed quickly and treated as an urgent case,” he said in a Twitter message to Reuters.

A person familiar with YouTube’s operations said that company officials tend to quickly review videos that generate a high number of complaints relative to the number of views.

Relying on numbers can lead to other kinds of problems.

Facebook suspended or restricted the accounts of many pro-Western Ukrainians after they were accused of hate speech by multiple Russian-speaking users in what appeared to be a coordinated campaign, said former Facebook security staffer Nick Bilogorskiy, a Ukrainian immigrant who helped some of those accounts win appeals. He said the complaints have leveled off.

A similar campaign attributed to Vietnamese officials at least temporarily blocked content by government critics, activists said.

Facebook declined to discuss these cases.

What law enforcement, politicians and some activists would really like is for Internet companies to stop banned content from being shared in the first place. But that would pose a tremendous technological challenge, as well as an enormous policy shift, former executives said.

Some child pornography can be blocked because the technology companies have access to a database that identifies previously known images. A similar type of system is in place for copyrighted music.

There is no database for videos of violent acts, and the same footage that might violate a social network’s terms of service if uploaded by an anonymous militant might pass if it were part of a news broadcast.

Nicole Wong, who previously served as the White House’s deputy chief technology officer, said tech companies would be reluctant to create a database of jihadists videos, even if it could be kept current enough to be relevant, for fear that repressive governments would demand such set-ups to pre-screen any content they do not like.

“Technology companies are rightfully cautious because they are global players, and if they build it for one purpose they don’t get to say it can’t be used for anything else,” said Wong, a former Twitter and Google legal executive.

“If you build it, they will come – it will also be used in China to stop dissidents.”
Trusted flagger

There have been some formal policy changes. Twitter revised its abuse policy to ban indirect threats of violence, in addition to direct threats, and has dramatically improved its speed for handling abuse requests, a spokesman said.

“Across the board we respond to requests more quickly, and it’s safe to say government requests are in that bunch,” the spokesman said.

Facebook said it banned this year any content praising terrorists.

Google’s YouTube has expanded a little-known “Trusted Flagger” program, allowing groups ranging from a British anti-terror police unit to the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a human rights organization, to flag large numbers of videos as problematic and get immediate action.

A Google spokeswoman declined to say how many trusted flaggers there were, but said the vast majority were individuals chosen based on their past accuracy in identifying content that violated YouTube’s policies. No U.S. government agencies were part of the program, though some non-profit U.S. entities have joined in the past year, she said.

“There’s no Wizard of Oz syndrome. We send stuff in and we get an answer,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, head of the Wiesenthal Center’s Digital Terrorism and Hate project.
Credit to Joseph Menn

2nd International Conference on Islamic Finance

Nigerian financial operators have identified Sukuk Islamic bond as a major tool that can be used in closing the country's gap on infrastructural deficit. Raising from the two days 2nd international conference on Islamic Finance which opened on the 30th Nov and closed 1st of Dec 2015 in Abuja, financial experts from the country's public and private sector having exhaustively deliberated with their international global counter parts, resolved to urgently turn up the volume on enlightenment campaigns so as to create the required awareness to investors and operators on the potentials of Sukuk. Sukuk as a tool in the Islamic Finance system has accrued an asset base of about $300 billion, while its mother body the Islamic Development bank peaks at $2.1 trillion dollars just within its existence of 2010 to 2014*.

The non interest policy of the Islamic banking system as prescribed from the Sharia law gives it an edge over the conventional banking system, this has also robbed off on Sukuk bond, where both the operator and investor of the bond take equal responsibility of the gains and losses of the infrastructure. The Financial Times defines it as "Islamic bonds, structured in such a way as to generate returns to investors without infringing Islamic law (that prohibits riba or interest).

Sukuk represents undivided shares in the ownership of tangible assets relating to particular projects or special investment activity. A Sukuk investor has a common share in the ownership of the assets linked to the investment although this does not represent a debt owed to the issuer of the bond. In the case of conventional bonds the issuer has a contractual obligation to pay to bond holders, on certain specified dates, interest and principal. In contrast, under a Sukuk structure, the Sukuk holders each hold an undivided beneficial ownership in the underlying assets.

Consequently, Sukuk holders are entitled to a share in the revenues generated by the Sukuk assets. The sale of sukuk relates to the sale of a proportionate share in the assets".

The Bond since the year 2000 has become an important Islamic financial instrument in raising funds for long-term project financing, such as in Malaysia were it was first issued in 2000, Bahrain followed suit in 2001. Since then, Sukuk have been used by both the corporate sector and states for raising alternative financing. Even though the 2011 global financial crunch affected the issuance of Sukuk its popularity has continued to soar- the United Kingdom in 2014 issued its first sovereign Sukuk of £200m,South Africa also cued in with $500m and its African brothers; Senegal, Gambia and recently Cote d'Ivoire is investing $244m.

Nigeria, the biggest economy in Africa unfortunately isn't commensurate in terms of infrastructure, worst still is the dwindling prices in the oil market which is its major source of revenue, suggests that it could do with alternative way of boasting the economy. At the opening ceremony of the conference, the emir of Kano who was also the former governor of the country's Central Bank of Nigeria, His Royal Highness Muhammad Sanusi II, made the first call "the fall in oil prices and the dwindling government revenues, coupled with the decay of our infrastructure and the long age inherited infrastructure deficit have joined together to necessitate the need to explore alternative sources of funding for capital projects. This is where the Islamic Finance with its asset class of Sukuk, the nomenclature equivalent of conventional bonds finds significant relevance".

Shaik Ziyaad Mahomed a world known expert on Islamic Finance and the founder of Islamic Institute of Southern Africa (IFISA) while presenting his paper titled: Islamic Wealth Management Trends; Driving social and financial Return, identified the Agricultural Infrastructure as a potential market for Sukuk in Nigeria saying that Nigeria could adopt a model which has worked in Malaysia and Sudan "with the success of agriculture-based Sukuk issuance in Malaysia (the largest Sukuk issuer in the world), innovative structures for this type of investment class are rapidly gaining ground. Indonesia as well as Sudan has experience in this agriculture-based Sukuk that can take a variety of forms through the application of underlying classical Islamic contracts.

For example, the use of Salam Sukuk allows for the forward sale investment in agricultural produce that will be harvested and sold at a later stage. This financing will allow farmers to meet their working capital requirements including seedlings and labor costs whilst providing investors (Sukuk-holders) with a return from the sale of the produce based on a spread in a parallel salam transaction. Besides Salam, equity-based options for agriculture Sukuk also exist. Muzara'ah Sukuk (land and farming skill partnerships) encourage the harvesting of fertile land whilst benefiting both the land-owners and the farmers, in turn providing a dividend to investors in the project".

Abdulkadir Abbas of the Security and Exchange Commission of Nigeria added that Sukuk is a strategy tool which Nigeria could use to improve the Power sector "for instance Kano state with its huge population can invest in Sukuk to improve electricity supply in the state". The conference moving forward agreed that Nigeria with a population of 80 million Muslims plus an organized capital market would achieve much more than the smaller countries, which have used Sukuk successfully. Attesting to this position the Security and Exchange commission of Nigeria pointed out that the commission has developed robust rules on Sukuk issuance which enabled one of the state governments, Osun state to issue the country's very first Sukuk. The Osun State bold initiative on Sukuk Islamic bond was in a way, a litmus test that proved that Nigerians were interested in Sukuk "the award winning issuance was oversubscribed to show the degree of appetite for such product in the country". The commission represented by Abdulkadir Abbas explained that it has being running sensitization campaigns across the region of Nigeria to stimulate growth of non investment banking and is also working with other Financial regulatory agencies which include the Central Bank of Nigeria with whom it is working to obtain liquity status for non -interest products such as Sukuk. With PenCom it is finalizing guide lines specifying non interest products as investible asset in order to attract substantial part of the N4.5 trillion of pension asset into the non-interest or ethical proodcuts.SEC also is in the works with the Debt Management office to get the federal government to issue a sovereign Sukuk to benchmark for other categories of issues.

Furthermore the conference veyed for a scientific and systematic team made up of financial experts, legal experts and Sharia scholars to come together and embark on market research for Sukuk, this team, participants at the conference believe will come out with a more effective action plan that will stimulate market growth faster than the government programmes.

Although commendation continued to flow on the contributions of Nigeria's only Islamic Bank, Jaiz Bank, the conference sought for more Islamic Banks to come into the industry, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab the chairman of Jaiz Bank pledge the Bank's unflinching readiness to help facilitate the Sukuk bond market "Jaiz Bank is strategically ready and positioned to play critical role in this direction" he told the conference through a representative. The conference also disabused the minds of Nigerians on the false notion that Islamic Finance is out to Islamized the country or that it was only meant for Muslims, Shaik Ziyaad of IFISA quoted the pope during his presentation saying "the ethical principles on which Islamic finance is based may bring banks closer to their clients and to the true spirit which should mark every service". Ummahani Ahmad Amin the convener of the conference simply puts that "Islamic banking is just a product that can be patronized by anybody irrespective of religion; Islamic Finance is striving in countries with less Muslims such as the USA, UK, Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea which all have just 0.4% of Muslims population".

The use of social media and mobile phones was also drummed up as means to be used to reach out to the public for awareness particularly the young adults between the age of 18 whom have lame information about Islamic finance, Modupe Ladipo of Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access made the charge based on the survey which her organization carries out every two years on non interest financial market in Nigeria. The conference also recognized and appreciated individuals whom have contributed immensely in Islamic banking in Nigeria and globally, they include; the Emir of Kano, His Royal Highness Muhammad Sanusi II, Prof Charles Soludo both former governors of Nigeria's Central Bank, Hajara Adeola of Lotus Capital Limited, Mr Chidi Izuwa of Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commision (ICRC) Nigeria, Dr Wale Bolorunduro of Sukuk Isuuance in Osun state, Alhaji Nuru Islam former MD Jaiz Bank.

Government finance agencies also got the awards; Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).The private institutions include Stanbic IBTC Bank, Jaiz Bank, Cornerstone Insurance, Albarka Microfinance Bank. Participants scored the conference high for having assembled experts such as: Dr Aishath Muneeza Maldives's deputy minister of Finance & Treasury whose paper gave Nigeria some lessons from the Maldives Islamic finance experience; Mr Michael McMillen's Americas, Europe, the middle East and Asian experiences; Omar Shaik of the Islamic Finance Council, UK and Dr Bashir Aliyu of the Centre for Islamic civilization, Kano among many others as paper presenters and panellists, exhaustively opened up the concept of Islamic Banking. Participants were drawn from Nigeria's public and private financial players; capital market, insurance, commercial banks, microfinance banks, academias.

The conference was put together by The Metropolitan Skills Limited and hosted in partnership with Islamic Financial Council (IFC) UK, Finance Institute of Southern Africa (IFISA), The International Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance, Bayero University-Kano (IIBU).

PRESS CONTACT

Ms Ummahani Ahmad Amin, CEO of Metropolitan Skills Limited ummahani@metlawfirm.com http://www.metskills.net/international-islamic-conference-2015/

Content provided by Metropolitan Skills Limited via Reuters.

Nigerian Shiite Leader Says "Boko Haram Not Responsible for Pilgrimage Attack"

Boko Haram was not behind a suicide bombing that killed at least 21 people near Nigeria’s second city of Kano during a Shiite Muslim procession, according to a prominent Nigerian Shiite leader, the Premium Times reported.

On November 27, a male suicide bomber detonated his device during the procession from Kano to Zaria, a site of pilgrimage for Nigerian Shiite Muslims. The Nigerian militant group Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the attack, which happened near the village of Dakasoye, south of Kano. In a statement released on November 28, the group warned that such attacks would continue “against Shia polytheists...until we cleanse the earth of their filth.”

But on Tuesday, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, the Shiite group that organized the procession, said the fundamentalist group was not responsible for the attack, despite its claims. “We know the names of...those contracted to commit the massacre, their identity is not hidden from us,” said Zakzaky in a statement. “We cannot be cowed by an imaginary Boko Haram tale. Let them tell it to the fools and the ignorant.”

The Islamic Movement in Nigeria also said that a second attacker was arrested before he could detonate his bomb. Zakzaky said the assailants in the procession attack belonged to the same group as those who have committed previous attacks on the Shiite movement, including an incident at a pro-Palestinian march in Zaria in July 2014, when 34 people were killed reportedly by military personnel. Three of Zakzaky’s sons were among the dead.

At the time, the Nigerian army’s public relations director said it was investigating the incident, but insisted the military was acting in self-defence after protesters shot at the soldiers.

Boko Haram espouses a fundamentalist interpretation of Sunni Islam and regards Shiite Muslims as heretics. The group has been blamed for attacks on Shiites in the past, including a suicide bombing in November 2014 at the Shiite festival of Ashura in Potiskum in Yobe state, northern Nigeria, that killed 20 people.

As well as Nigeria, Boko Haram has carried out frequent attacks in Cameroon, Niger and Chad in recent months. However, the militants suffered a blow in November when the Cameroonian army claims it killed around 100 Boko Haram fighters and liberated some 900 hostages in an operation on the Cameroonian-Nigerian border.

Credit to Conor Gaffey

Muslims In California Condemn 'Horrific' Mass Shooting And If It Was A Muslim Involved The Media Would Call It Terrorist Attack

Los Angeles - California's Muslim community expressed its horror on Wednesday at the mass shooting that killed at least 14 in San Bernardino, after a local Muslim man was widely identified as a suspect.

Syed Farook, a US citizen who worked for the town's health department, is believed to have been killed in a shootout with police hours after opening fire inside a Christmas party at a local social services center.

Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said its members "unequivocally condemn the horrific act that happened today."

"The Muslim community stands shoulder to shoulder with our fellow Americans in repudiating any twisted mindset that would claim to justify such sickening acts of violence," he added in a statement.


Authorities have drawn no connection between the attack and radical Islam at this stage in the investigation.

Farook's brother-in-law, Farhan Kahn, came forward at the press conference to voice his shock at the notion his brother could have committed mass murder.

"I have no idea why he would do that," a visibly shaken Khan told reporters, adding that he had last spoken with Farook about a week ago.

"I am in shock that something like this could happen," said Khan, who is married to Farook's sister. "I am very sad that people lost their lives.

Farook's father, quoted by the New York Daily News tabloid, described his son as a devout Muslim.

"He was very religious. He would go to work, come back, go to pray, come back. He's Muslim."

Muzammil Siddiqi, the religious director of the Islamic Society of Orange County, also condemned the killings saying they were contrary to the teachings of Islam.

"We have condemned all violence everywhere because human life is precious," he said. "And we respect and honor human life."

According to local news reports Farook was employed by the San Bernardino County health department which is believed to have organized the party at the Inland Regional Center.

The attack on the party triggered a massive manhunt that ended when police shot dead two heavily armed suspects -- a man, believed to be Farook, and a woman -- on a quiet residential street



Credit to - AFP

An Haven Calm Ballet School For Traumatized Girls in Gaza Created

The group of girls, ponytailed and dressed in pink, stretched their arms out to the sides and pivoted onto their toes, trying desperately to hold still. Eagle-eyed, the instructor surveyed Gaza’s latest crop of would-be ballerinas.

Fifty girls aged five to eight are now enrolled in the ballet school at the Al-Qattan Center for Children in Gaza, making it one of the most popular classes the arts institute runs, under the watchful eye of a Ukrainian teacher.

Amid the chaos and destruction that has shattered Gaza so often over the past five years, with repeated wars between Israel and Hamas, the school is a haven of calm and order, one many parents are eager for their children to enjoy.

“The ballet project was a dream for many families,” said Heyam Al-Hayek, the head of Qattan’s cultural activities. “They had been asking for ballet courses but we couldn’t find trainers. It was difficult to bring an instructor from abroad.”

The dream began to take shape when they found Tamara, a Ukrainian married to a Palestinian and living in Gaza, who had studied dance and was qualified to teach. She asked not to give her family name.

They started a pilot program in the summer, not sure how many parents would sign up given that Gaza is a conservative society and ballet is hardly a common pastime. Before they knew it, 50 children, all girls, were registered. There is now a waiting list that runs into the hundreds.




For many children in Gaza, childhood itself has been destroyed, having witnessed three episodes of conflict in six years. The school represents an attempt to change that reality. (Reuters)

In the tiled hall, 14 pupils lined up in unison along the wall, one hand clutching a long metal barre. As Tamara showed them the steps, they copied precisely, angling their feet, bending their knees, one arm outstretched, chins held high.

Some of the children have lived through four wars in their short lifetimes, with Gaza on edge since the Islamist group Hamas seized full control of the enclave in 2007. Since, Egypt and Israel have maintained a blockade on the territory, carefully monitoring the flow of goods and people to and fro.

For parents, the chance for a child to participate in something so removed from regular Gaza life is both educational and psychologically uplifting. The mother of six-year-old Maria said ballet had helped her daughter get over years of trauma.

“She had been suffering since the 2012 war and her condition got worse after last year’s war,” said Manal Abu Muamar, describing Maria’s nightmares and a fear of going to sleep.

“After the first ballet class, she came home as happy as a bird. She did the moves she had learnt and she was going around the house like a butterfly.”

Almost half of Gaza’s 1.8 million people are aged under 18 and UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, estimates that 400,000 of those need some form of psychological care.

But as well as an escape and a chance to try out what they may only have seen on TV, there are several students who the teacher described as “excellent” and “strong girls”, with a desire to go further with their dancing.

“I used to imitate ballet dancing that I saw on television or on YouTube,” said eight-year-old Bana Zuarub.

“Now I am learning it for real and I just love it.”
Credit to By Nidal al-Mughrabi

The Discovery of The Maturity of Aisha- Lesson for Wailing Wailers

I have been compelled to present the story and details of what I believe is my most significant historical, academic, religious and sociological discovery. The findings here change a lot and undoubtedly affects and has potential influence on billions of lives.

Background

It was sometime in 2007. I was on a then very popular forum among Nigerians in the diaspora: NaijaRyders. We used to engage in stimulating debates on all social, political and religious issues on the forum, no holds barred. This particular day was one of the discussions on young, so-called 'underage' marriage in Islam. It followed the typical course, with some saying Islam permitted pedophilia. Now I must say about myself that I am one who believes in the excellence of the Prophets. Studious in comparative religions by self interest I debate monotheism over atheism aggressively and seek the confluence of the various faiths over discord. I believe that all should be one and all faiths should strive for nearness to the One Lord. Unbeknownst to many, the Bhagavad Gita in no unclear terms declares Hindus as monotheists with only One God while discouraging the obeisance to other gods as I read in my personal copy. I fanatically find unity between faiths (in addition to ethnicities, nations and other human groups) with evidences that include the central role of Abraham to not only the Judeo-Christianity and Islamic faiths but even up to Hinduism, one of the oldest faiths. The Hindus call him Brahma and not by coincidence, Brahma's wife in Hinduism is called "Saraswati." Brahma and Saraswati is aBraham and Sarah, by all means.

Where some might say Islam copied these names from Christianity and Christianity copied them from Judaism and the Judists copied it from the Hindus. What I say is that the Holy books in all these faiths, the Quran, New Testament, Old Testament, the Bhagavad Gita, other originally true Hindu books, Zoroastrian books and more were simply inspiration from the same source. GOD sent thousands of prophets, messengers (those who brought books) and anointeds to all peoples.

He sent several to Africa among other regions. I understand that Judeo-Christianity and Islam is not foreign to Africa. Even if we do not remember names of several of Africa's prophets in this line, many being listed in the Bible but we may not have tracked most due to changed names of countries, I know that after-all the Ten commandments hit the earth in Africa's Egypt. So how much more an intricate part can Africa be? I have observed identical commandments in ancient Kemet (Egypt)–the 42 Declarations of Innocence/42 Admonitions of Ma'at as obtains in the Pyramid Texts of Unas (ca. 2375 BCE and 2345 BCE), in Iraq's ancient Mesopotamia, the Sumerian 2100–2050BC Code of Ur-Nammu; in the 1848-ish BC Code of Hammurabi and else where.

Islam for instance says definitively that there is nothing absolutely new of the characteristic "Contact prayers" Muslims are seen observing. Mary (Maryam) 19:58: "These are some of the prophets whom GOD blessed. They were chosen from among the descendants of Adam, and the descendants of those whom we carried with Noah, and the descendants of Abraham and Israel, and from among those whom we guided and selected. When the revelations of the Most Gracious are recited to them, they fall prostrate, weeping. [19:59] After them, He substituted generations who lost the Contact Prayers (Salat), and pursued their lusts. They will suffer the consequences."

I have discovered very much the same Islamic-time and physical ritual-type "Contact prayers" in Judaism, [http://www.rebjeff.com/blog/we-bow-we-prostrate-we-give-thanks] I bought one of the foremost Jewish prayer books, "To Pray As A Jew" by Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donim, to read more on this and view images. I also bought a primary Kemet book of prayer, Ashutat; Egyptian Book of Prayer, and saw what appeared to be the same 'Contact prayers' in it.

People of my school of understanding view all these as inspiration from the same source (GOD) though distorted and lost over time, hence the need for new reminders in new editions.

Prelude To My Discovery
So as we debated this particular day, with one side saying the prophet of Islam was a pedophile because he consummated with a 9 year old as is reported; I was confident that this could not be. Now I must underline the importance of my "discovery." In several Islamic nations, men marry women who are of such very young ages and not yet biologically mature. They justify this based on the account of the prophet of Islam without yet having the knowledge of my discovery. I searched far and wide and did not come across any popular Islamic text or scholar's rendition that had yet presented the discovery; of course I may be wrong, but thus far, this most vital piece of evidence is practically unknown. So you can appreciate the importance of my discovery and getting it known across the world.

Necessary Definition: Pedophilia
Pedophilia is defined as a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children.

Thus while to qualify to be a pedophile, your primary attraction is to prepubescent (un-mature) children, so a man who has a one-off with a prepubescent child does not actually fit the medical definition of pedophilia, we know it is still accepted by layman definition to castigate single activities with the label.

So the question was: is prophet Mohammed a pedophile and since Muslims are encouraged to emulate him, is pedophilia encouraged in Islam?

I had argued that it is not. I stated categorically that Islam does not permit marriage to any lady who is not yet mature. When the other party appreciated my "social, mental and biological maturity" clause before any man or woman ins allowed to marry, they intelligently quizzed me, "can you provide evidence about your 'maturity' claim and prove from the religious/historical documents that in the Prophet's example at that extreme of age, Aishawas mature?"

The Discovery Of Aisha's Maturity
I said, "no doubt." And then I went a-searching. I consider myself an internet research professional. I know how to optimally use search tools. While I do know that not nearly all information is online, in today's world we have come to accept that almost all is. I dug in and out and saw no reference to Aisha's maturity. I searched high and low and found nothing. Now typically, being what I consider, rather skilled in public dialogue and argument, I typically have ready responses and leave my opponents to take several-hour time-outs to go reconfigure and attempt to re-approach intellectual combat with me. "Come let's reason together," as the scriptures say (Isaiah 1:18) is my signature disposition; and I, being highly convicted, am always confident of logically superior arguments, supported with religious, scientific and commonsensical evidence.

But for a first time that 2007, I was unable to counter and back my claim. For a first time I had to take a time-out. I left the computer screen that night with reply field blank, after reading several Hadith (narrations of the Prophet of Islam's life) and being yet unable to find evidence of her maturity and went out.

As I was out that fateful night, as is written of Kekule and his "twinning serpents/monkeys" inspired discovery of the Benzene ring, I ruminated over the Hadiths I had read of Aisha and the consummation of the marriage to the Prophet(p), perplexed. What was I missing?

The Sahih Bukhari Hadith and personal account according to chief witness, Aisha(R) reads:

"The Prophet engaged me when I was a girl. We went to Medina and stayed at the home of Bani-al-Harith bin Khazraj. Then I got ill and my hair fell down. Later on my hair grew (again) and my mother, Um Ruman, came to me while I was playing in a swing with some of my girl friends. She called me, and I went to her, not knowing what she wanted to do to me. She caught me by the hand and made me stand at the door of the house. I was breathless then, and when my breathing became Alright, she took some water and rubbed my face and head with it. Then she took me into the house. There in the house I saw some Ansari women who said, “Best wishes and Allah’s Blessing and a good luck.” Then she entrusted me to them and they prepared me (for the marriage). Unexpectedly Allah’s Apostle came to me in the forenoon and my mother handed me over to him, and at that time I was a young girl."

Do you see it?

I didn't at first. I don't know anyone who had seen it. I had seen Muslim scholars give various defenses and excuses, sometimes even alluding, but no mention of the relevant aspect.

Perhaps my being a Medical Doctor had set me up to be the one who discovered this for our era and made it known in dignification of Aisha and towards the protection of young women around the world.

In any case as I believe is the source of all true knowledge and discoveries and how Kekule discovered the Benzene ring, rather than say, it hit me, I say, "I was inspired with the answer, right there in the innocent girl's miracle account.

So here it was:

"My hair fell off."

"Later my hair re-grew."

I thought, why mention your hair falling off in a documented account for the reading of the peoples of the world and billions of Muslims to inherit the planet? There must be something here. I started to tremble as I felt it. I must say, true inspiration gives you goose bumps. Indeed, whenever I am told something new and insightful, I tremble. Pure knowledge shines a light...more like radiation through the seeker of knowledge. Knowledge is a vibration, a real force and not just black and white arranged letters or words spoken. The way some feel when they get a new classy car is how I feel when I learn of something new, or get other intellectual breakthrough. Having felt the 'light,' the vibration, I already knew I had hit the secret before I confirmed it.

I trembled as I used my back-in-the-day, 12-digit phone keypad to browse for the link between hair loss and puberty.

You can imagine my excitement when I found the below. I had unravelled the DNA code for over a billion Muslims and most especially for potential young victims of ignorance.

“…Female hair loss can first show up at puberty. However, this may be due to normal hormonal changes and it invariably rectifies itself….” https://solutions0321.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/female-hair-loss/

“..The very first signs of the effects of androgens on scalp hair growth occur soon after puberty, which is the stage in the human life when the reproductive organs reach maturity. In boys, puberty occurs around age 13. After puberty, the front hairline above the temples may recede. In some men, this may be as far as the balding process will develop…” http://www.ehealthmd.com/library/hairloss/HL_causes.html

“…When blood levels of androgen decrease during puberty, patterned hair loss may begin its pattern….” http://www.aocd.org/skin/dermatologic_diseases/female_pattern_hai.html

“…Female pattern hair loss may begin as early as puberty…” http://www.aocd.org/?page=FemalePatternHair

Aisha gave us the code. She explained both aspects of the physiological reaction in one single Hadith. Note that hair does not fall off and re-grow in an instance. Wow! She was telling us quite explicitly that perhaps some months before, her hair had fallen off (which could have been disease) but that when it re-grew, which medically suggests puberty, the women, matrons, trained and skilled in evaluation and confirmation, seeing this as the sign of established puberty, held her, washed her face (no other pathological/medicinal cure was given, thus suggesting normal physiology and not disease) and said, "it is time."

I ran from where I was hanging out that night, back home to my system and proudly typed the evidence to the crowd.

Yes, Islam does not teach pedophilia. Maturity is a must for potential brides and grooms. Additionally as I have detailed in the past, potential brides must be fully consulted and freely give their consent. They further have the explicit right to terminate any marriage at anytime they desire, hence they can never be trapped. These fundamental rights of women must be ensured, supervised by the State and religious authorities and fully protected.

What I got right was inspiration from my Lord and what I got wrong is my error to which I seek forgiveness. Praise be to the Lord, Master of all knowledge.


Credit to Peregrino Brimah

Al Wefaq National Islamic Society Condemns Terror Attack in Kano, Nigeria

Al Wefaq National Islamic Society condemns the terror suicide attack in Kano, Nigeria. Terrorism has become the most hazardous threats that face humanity and coexistence in the world. It is a reflection of corrupt ideologies that are hostile to Islam. The form, size and method of atrocious killings demonstrate a huge destructive plan that crosses the red lines of humanity and ethics.

Our thoughts go out to the families of the victims, wishing the people of Nigeria security, stability and peace.

Credit to Al Wefaq

MUHAMMAD NURUL ISLAM QUITS HAS THE MANAGING DIRECTOR JAIZ BANK PLC

The Board of Directors of Jaiz Bank Plc has approved the appointment of Mahe Abubakar as the acting Managing Director/CEO of the bank. He succeeds Muhammad Nurul Islam, whose two-year contract ended on November 17, 2015.

Until his appointment, Abubakar was an Executive Director in charge of Business Development. A statement by the Head, Corporate Communications Department of the Bank, Idris Salihu described Abubakar as an astute banker with over 20 years cognate experience.

Before he joined Jaiz bank, he was a General Manager/ Group Zonal Head of Zenith Bank Plc in charge of the Northwest region. His wealth of experience is expected to impact greatly on Jaiz Bank's business development drive. Abubakar has a Master Degree in Business Administration from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and he is a qualified Dealing Clerk of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.


He had attended several trainings in and outside Nigeria including High Potential Leader: Accelerating Your Performance at Wharton School, Pennsylvania, USA; High Performance People Skills, London Business School; and Senior Management Programme, Lagos Business School.

Meanwhile, the Board had thanked Islam for his innumerable contributions towards the growth and success of Jaiz Bank Plc in the last two years. The outgoing MD joined Jaiz Bank in November 2013 and turned it around from a negative balance-sheet to a positive result in 2014.

The bank now operates in 21 locations from 10 locations prior to his assumption of office. Under Islam's leadership,Jaiz also obtained Approval-in-Principle a license from the Central Bank of Nigeria to operate nationwide. He led dedicated team of Jaiz Bank to obtain ISO-27001 and PCIDSS certification to render all sorts of e-banking on a robust platform.


Credited to By James Emejo

COURT HEARS APPELLANT MOTION AGAINST HIJAB BAN BY LASG THURSDAY

The ‎court of Appeal sitting in Lagos will on Thursday, November 19 hear the appellant motion seeking for extension of time to file a brief against the ban of Hijab in Lagos public schools.

The appeal with suit no CA/L/135/15 is expected to ‎be heard in court one.

The appellants are Miss Asiyat AbdulKareem and MSSN Lagos while Lagos State Government and others are the respondents.

‎The information concerning the case was contained in a notice signed by‎ ‎W. Lukman, AEO.‎

It would be recalled that Justice Grace Modupe Onyeabo earlier ruled against the use of Hijab (Muslim head-scarf) by students in Lagos public schools.

The judgement received lot of condemnation from notable personalities/people in the country as well as Islamic Organisations both home and in diaspora.‎

After the judgement, the MSSN decided to appeal before the present governor of Lagos state, Akinwunmi Ambode, who was then the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) promised to look into the matter if elected.

Also, the Deputy Governor of the state, Dr. Idiat Adebule, had asked principals not to punish any student for wearing Hijab on the school uniform outside the school premise pending the conclusion of the case in court.
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The appellants are in court to seek redress and protect Muslim females from being flogged, embarrassed, and victimised for using Hijab within and outside school premises.
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In one of the instances, an eleven-year-old student of Kadara Junior High School, Ebute Metta, Aisha Alabi, was on February 5, 2013, flogged forty three (43) strokes of cane on the assembly ground by her principal, Mrs. E.C Ukpaka, for not removing her Hijab after coming out of an Islamic Religious Knowledge class where it is ordinarily permitted to adorn Hijab. ‎
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Similarly, on February 20, 2013, Bareerah Tajudeen of Mafoloku Senior Grammar School, Oshodi had her Hijab removed and trampled upon by her principal, Mrs. Elizabeth Omidele, outside the school premises.
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Counsel to the Muslim students, Adetola Kassim (SAN), had in a 24-paragraph counter affidavit in Lagos High Court, said the use of Hijab was a compulsory religious obligation on Muslim ladies and not women alone.‎


While stressing that Hijab was not only religiously compulsory but constitutional, Kassim said, “Hijab, is Allah's injunction as stated in the Holy Quran, as well as a fundamental rights as fully established in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
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“We are not demanding for a full length Hijab, we have exhibited a photograph of a sample of Hijab, which still represents their school identity. The colour of the Hijab can conform to the school uniform. All we want is for the students to be allowed to use Hijab. If beret and caps are allowed for female students, Hijab shouldn't be an exemption."


On his part, ‎President of MSSN Lagos, Mallam Saheed Ashafa, expressed optimism that the appeal court would grant the right to put on Hijab by secondary and primary school students in Lagos State.


Ashafa in a press statement said, “We cannot afford to see our Muslimahs dress naked. Hijab is an apparel of honour, a garment of modesty and a shield against immorality. It is our pride. It is our dignity. We are neither seeking for a favour nor asking for a privilege; we are simply demanding our rights.


“Nigeria’s constitution grants Freedom of Religion, Conscience and Expression. It states clearly the rights to wear anything one feels comfortable with, so far as it is neither provocative nor irresponsible. We put our trust in Allah and pray that victory will be ours as the appeal court shall be hearing the case soon."


Also, the Amirah (Female President) of the MSSN Lagos, Hajia Hafsah Badru, explained that the group was not seeking that Hijab be compelled on all muslim students but be used only by those who want it.


"‎The issue of Islamising Lagos schools does not hold any ground since the mode of dressing in all government schools is already Christian (School uniform with beret for females and short for males as against Hijab and trousers for Muslims). Those who want to willingly obey God should not be victimised for wearing Hijab," she added. ‎


‎SIGNED
Mallam Saheed Ashafa,
Amir (President),
Muslim Students' Society of Nigeria,
Lagos State Area Unit.
+234 817 329 1878