Islam- Opportunities for peace or doomed conflict??

Where ever an Arab, Afghan or Muslim from any other Islamic nation goes  today, people just call him by one name "TERRORIST ", We are threat to the world today. We are not welcomed any where, When we were fighting for AMERICA with the SOVIET UNION we were called "MUJAHIDEEN"  and another name was given "TALIB" but now we are the destroying the world, but ISLAM is beyond that, Arabia is beyond desert and oil, It has culture, values, heritage, its beautiful, its modern, flexible! The need in currently situation is for peace among Arab and other Islamic nations and the rest of the world.

Islam had Golden era, Arabia was hub for Education, tolerance, was land of equality, opportunities, life line between “West and East”.

           

Bearing in mind Middle Eastern history, I would like to focus on aspects of the Islamic Golden Age – The Arab-Islamic Renaissance the strengths of the period can be accredited to funding of scientific innovation, plurality of thought and free inquiry. These were the assets upon which Islamic civilization thrived from the 9th-12th century A.D.

The most important facet during the Golden Age of Islamic civilization was freedom for the people. People were encouraged to contest issues on the basis of knowledge, through the use of dialogue rather than by the use of the sword. This was an age of ideal people…of thinkers. In my opinion there are three tangible examples that can offer to depict the prosperity of the Islamic renaissance.

The first is the volume of recorded knowledge and information that is available even today in museums and libraries across the world from this era. Islamic scientists, scholars and engineers preserved Greek, Indian and Chinese philosophy and practice. At the same time thinkers such as Ibn Sina, Al-Kindi and Ibn Khaldun contributed their own innovation to the store-houses of human knowledge. As a result a vast number of books and manuscripts on various topics of erudition were published.

The second paradigm involves the amicable relations between Muslims and foreigners. I went through a book authored by a Jewish traveller from that age. He travelled to Palestine, Syria and Iraq and he described how the Jewish people lived amongst Muslims. This is an eyewitness report of Arab and Jewish interaction. The Jews enjoyed certain rights and liberties. They enjoyed the right to prayer (hence the freedom to practice their own religion). Examples such as these highlight the amicable relations shared by Arabs and their foreign inhabitants.

In my opinion, another influential factor that led to the strength of the Islamic civilization was trade. Through travel people from the Islamic world dealt with different cultures, places and view points. Hence travel developed an attitude of openness and inquiry. In those days the Middle East provided a point at which the East and West could connect. It provided a trade route for the exchange of raw materials between these two regions. Hence trade provided the foundation upon which cooperation between all these nations was established.

But then this period didn’t last for a long time and the factors for the decline of that period, In other words, something went wrong.

 Even till date their no single reason that can explain the decline of the Islamic golden age but rather it is a series of calamities that led to the eventual destruction of advancement in the Arab regions. The first and perhaps most obvious reason was the damage caused by war and combat. There was the Mongol invasion in the 12th century AD. They plundered many cities and destroyed centres of learning, irrigation facilities, hospitals and observatories that were never restored completely. Then there were wars between Muslims themselves ;( Even till date we have them) disputes instigated in efforts to gain a monopoly of power within the region. Civil wars such as these hindered the unity of the Islamic society and fragmented the Arab world causing many rival factions and states to appear. There were wars between Muslims and other countries, especially some Christian countries that attacked the Near East and created states in the holy land and Syria.

One can also account for the expansion of Europe and the fact that European states had started establishing colonies outside of Europe that disrupted Islamic thought and practices. Another reason for the decline was perhaps a social atrophy of sorts amongst the people. Many Muslims became preoccupied with concerns for their own relaxation and pursued several vices or bad hobbies instead of trade, travel and religion. (DUBAI IS EXCELLENT EXAMPLE)

 I think that it is important to live in peace and understanding with each other. Arab and Islamic nations should maintain good relations with each other as well as with foreign countries. It is important to establish a relationship through dialogue and cooperation; military action is not the solution. I think that need for Islamic movement is a necessity for the revival of an Islamic renaissance. The west has to understand that Muslim nations are not “BARBARIANS”. Education and equal opportunity  is badly required rather than the power of MILITARY MIGHT , respect and equal social status is the need of the hour and we as Muslims need to show the world what we actually are, what Islam is all about and we need to respect other religions at the same time. I hope to see a peaceful ARABIA and peaceful WORLD in this life of mine.

Why do we read Quran, even if we can’t understand a single Arabic word?

Why do we read Quran, even if we can’t understand a single Arabic word???? This is a beautiful story. 


An old American Muslim lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading his Quran. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him in every way he could. 
One day the grandson asked, “Grandpa! I try to read the Quran just like you but I don’t understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Qur’an do?” 
The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, “Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water. 
The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, “You’ll have to move a little faster next time,” and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead. 
The old man said, “I don’t want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You’re just aganot trying hard enough,” and he went out the door to watch the boy try in. 

At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got back to the house. The boy again dipped the basket into river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, “See Grandpa, it’s useless!” 
“So you think it is useless?” The old man said, “Look at the basket.” 

The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now clean, inside and out. 
Son, that’s what happens when you read the Qur’an. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be changed, inside and out. That is the work of Allah in our lives.”