On the Dangerous Topics of Islam and Days of Celebration

I just got this email from a relative:

Love in Islam is a daily affair, love of Allah and his messenger,family friends and the like.

VALENTINE: A pagan and Christian ritual

Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

"You will certainly follow the ways of those who came before you, span by span, cubit by cubit, until even if they were to enter a lizard's hole, you would follow them." We said, "O Messenger of Allaah, (do you mean) the Jews and Christians?" He said, "Who else?!" (Bukhari: 8/151; Muslim: 4/ 2054)

What the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) spoke of; has indeed come to pass and has become widespread in recent times, in many of the Muslim countries. Many Muslims follow the enemies of Allah in most of their customs and behavior, and imitate them in some of their rituals and in celebrating their holidays. Valentine's day is one of them.

REALITY BEHIND VALENTINE

Pagan origins of Valentine's Day:

The first information about this day is found in pre-Christian Rome, when pagans would celebrate the "Feast of the Wolf" on February 15, also known as the "Feast of Lupercalius" in honour of Pastoral Gol Lupercalis (who had many love affairs with nymphs and goddesses), Februata Juno (the Roman goddess of women and marriage), and Pan (the Roman god of nature). On this day, young women would place their names in an urn, from which boys would randomly draw to discover their companion (without any moral restrictions) for the day, the year, and sometimes the rest of their lives. These partners exchanged gifts as a sign of affection and love for each other.

Likewise, virtually naked, arrow-shooting picture of Cupid on Valentine cards is a peculiar symbol of Valentine and according to Roman mythology, is the son of Venus (the goddess of love and beauty), who induces love in people by shooting his arrow at them.

Christian Influence:

When Christianity came onto the scene in Rome, it wanted to replace this feast with something more in line with its ethics and morality. A number of Christians decided to use February 14; a day on which the Italian Bishop St. Valentine was executed by the Roman Emperor Claudius II for conducting secret marriages of military men (forbidden to marry) in the year 270 CE. According to the details, during the time of the Roman Emperor Claudius II due to continuous infighting, Rome was the center point of wars. The declining figure of male fighters (as men would not want to leave their wives and go the battle front) in his army forced him to impose a ban on marriages. So that young men may be persuaded to go on the battlefront. St. Valentine started performing secret marriages at that time.

When his actions were revealed, Claudius threw him in jail and sentenced him to execution. In prison, he (St. Valentine) fell in love with the jailer's daughter, who would visit him, but this was a secret because according to Christian laws, priests and monks were forbidden to marry or fall in love. But he is still regarded highly by the Christians because of his steadfastness in adhering to Christianity when the emperor offered to pardon him if he renounced Christianity and worshipped the Roman gods. He also offered him to be his closest confidantes and he would make him his son-in-law. However, Valentine refused this offer and preferred Christianity. He was executed on 14 February 270 CE, the eve of February 15 on the festival of Lupercalis. Before he died, he wrote a letter to jailor's daughter and the closing of the letter read as, 'From your Valentine'. These very words are used on most of the Valentine's greeting cards in commemoration of the same incident.

There are at least three different Saint Valentines, all of whom are Christian martyrs of February 14. It was in the year 496 CE that Pope Gelasius officially changed the February 15 Lupercalia festival to the February 14 St. Valentine's Day to give Christian meaning to a pagan festival. Pope Gelasius ordered a slight change in the lottery for young women during the pagan festival. Instead of the names of young women, the box would contain the names of saints, men and women were allowed to draw from the box, and whoever drew the name of the respective saint, he would copy his (saint's) ways for the rest of the year.

(Source: Britannica / Catholic Encyclopedia)

ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE

1. In Islam, the festivals are clearly defined. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), while referring to Eid-ul-Fitr, said: "Every nation has its own Eid (festival) and this is our Eid" (Bukhari: 952, Muslim: 1892)

2. Celebrating Valentine's Day means resembling the pagan Romans and Christians. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Whoever imitates a people (nation), he is one of them." (Ahmad: 2/50, Abu Dawood: 4021)

3. The purpose of Valentine's Day in these times is to spread love between all people, believers and disbelievers alike, which is undoubtedly prohibited. Allah says: "You (O Muhammad) will not find any people who believe in Allah and the Last Day, making friendship with those who oppose Allah and His Messenger, even though they were their fathers or their sons or their brothers or their kindred (people)." [al-Mujaadilah 58:22]

4. The love referred to in this festival ever since the Christians revived it is romantic love outside the bonding of marriage. Which results in spread of zinaa (fornication and adultery) and immorality. Allah says, "For those who like that indecency should spread among the believers, they deserve a painful punishment in this world and in the Hereafter." [an'Noor: 19]

5. The very foundation of the society established by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was laid on the purity of bashfulness, in which not only the commission of adultery but the reasons leading to its propagation was also a crime. However, it seems that now the Muslim Ummah feels "overburdened" by carrying this weight. Hence they would do whatsoever they would feel like. A quotation of the holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) befits the situation: "If you do not show the bashfulness, you are free to do what ever you feel like." (Bukhari)

6. Furthermore flagrant disregard of Allah's commandments such as music, dance and drinking is the core of this tradition, which in no way has any role in Islam.

7. Valentine promotes the reasons to illicit infatuations, which keeps involved the brain and heart faculties of a human being unnecessarily. This not only becomes the reason of diversion from the Straight Path but also distances us from the teachings of our Deen.

8. Islam does not encourage flirting or suggestions of romantic relationships before marriage. Love between families, friends and married people does not need to be celebrated on a day with such un-Islamic origins. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has advised us that if we love (excluding forbidden relations) somebody we should let him know (Abu Dawood). For that very purpose he instructed to spread "Salam", the Islamic greetings (Muslim).

Alas! Those who believe in so pure and eminent teachings of Islam take the western culture as their ideal and derive a sense of superiority in celebrating their traditions.

Hence, this tradition reflects on our insensitivity, indignity and ignorance of Deen.

STOP NOW!

For those who are doing it out of ignorance try to make them aware of it, lest we fall prey to the wrath of Allah and our future generations might not be celebrating these days as the days of mourning.

It's interesting how things are suddenly so much less clearcut once religion gets involved. The email was very interesting in the detail of the history of Valentine's Day, and I think not many people were aware of the actual myth behind it.

More relevantly, to steer this monologue in the right direction, is this history relevant to us? Of course. History is always relevant, as history tells us where we've been and what mistakes we've made. However, does this mean that celebrating Valentine's Day is wrong?

The argument is always contentious, depending on how stolid you are in what you believe and how you believe. In my personal interpretation of Islam, I have always believed that Islam is a religion of intentions. Islam has always taught that if you pray and your heart and mind are not praying with your body, then there's no point in praying. This teaching has always been what I based my beliefs on.

For example, let's take the comment of the 'naked Cupids' that grace Valentine's Day cards. The Cupids are cherubs, depictions of a sexless child who are sexless because of the fact that they are children. This isn't pornography, and isn't intended to be pornography by the same reasoning that those young children who you always see running around Malaysian swimming pools and beaches topless/bottomless/clotheless aren't flashing people or "outraging a person's decency" because they're just young kids.

It is on this basis that, also, I think most Muslims today who may celebrate Valentine's Day are not celebrating Valentine's Day for the purpose of honoring a Christian Saint or the pagan history behind it. I don't contest that the practice of choosing a partner as per the history is wrong. However, I do think that the Valentine's Day celebrated today is substantially different.

Take the following description from Wikipedia, for example:

Valentine's Day or Saint Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14 by many people throughout the world. In the West, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine's cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery.

It doesn't say that it is a celebration of the deaths of saint so-and-so, or that it is a day dedicated to a pagan tradition, but just a holiday celebrated to express love. In this respect, I infer that Valentine's Day has evolved to mean to us just a day where we express our affection for our loved ones, be it our lovers, our mothers or our friends. How can a day that is dedicated to love be wrong?

Valentine's Day today is much like Chinese New Year or Deepavali in Malaysia, where the holidays become a time to gather together and celebrate a solidarity between races and friends. In a multicultural country like Malaysia, Eid-il-fitri is celebrated by non-Muslims not as a Muslim religious holiday, but as a national holiday where everybody celebrates the holiday together by visiting and gathering, regardless of religion. To the non-Muslims, it is a time that means , "I will share these special moments with you because you are a loved one. Today, you're happy. Let's be happy together." At least that's what it means to me.

To say that Valentine's Day is a pagan celebration or a celebration of a Christian saint is to turn back the clock and live in the past. While it may not seem like there's anything wrong with that, let's think about it. If I believed that, I think that I'd have to believe that the world is flat, but I don't, simply because science has come that far and instead of saying, "But the world is flat!!!", I say, "We used to believe that the world was flat. Now we know better."

To tie it back to the idea of intention, there is no intention of celebrating a pagan celebration, or of worshipping a Christian saint. Certainly there is a history that is honored, but history is not the present. It is a story of where we came from, and a salute to how far we've come. Valentine's Day is a day where we can look back and say, "How pagan. It's a good thing we don't do things like that anymore (so to speak) because we've found religion and learned morals. Instead, let's express our affection, not our lust."

Fires burn bright

All jokes aside, this is pretty horrific. From Reuters: Mass deaths feared in sealed-off Australia town:

KINGLAKE, Australia (Reuters) - Surviving residents of Marysville, where up to 100 more people are feared killed in Australia's bushfires, are still being kept out of town to shield them from traumatic scenes there, authorities said on Wednesday.

The rising death toll in Australia's deadliest bushfires now stands at 181, but could exceed 200, authorities say. If the Marysville deaths are confirmed, the toll may reach 300.

A firefighter who drove through Marysville only 10 minutes before the firestorm hit on Saturday night said people banged on the side of his water tanker, begging his team to help people trapped in burning houses.

"The toll is going to be massive," fireman John Munday said.

Victoria state Premier John Brumby said Marysville, which has been off-limits since the weekend fires, would remain so because of the likelihood of ghastly sights in the once idyllic town.

"There are still many deceased people in homes," he said, adding between 50 and 100 may be dead in Marysville.

"If people return to those areas ... and there are still deceased persons there ... the impact would be quite devastating."

Forensic police sifted through ash and the twisted remains of houses in Marysville, Kinglake and other towns razed by fires trying to identify the hundreds killed.

"You have to go street by street, house by house. There are many houses that have collapsed," said Victoria state Police Commissioner Christine Nixon, adding it would take weeks to complete the search.

Some of those killed were burned so badly by fires that reached four storeys high they may never be identified.

"In some of these cases, it will be weeks before positive identification can be made and, I'm advised by the coroner, it may be virtually impossible to officially identify the bodies," Brumby told reporters.

The fires tore through rural towns north of Melbourne on Saturday night, fanned by strong winds and heatwave temperatures. Melbourne's temperature on Saturday hit 46.4 degrees Celsius (115.5 degrees Fahrenheit), a record for the city.

Police have launched the nation's biggest arson investigation, "Operation Phoenix," and posted a A$100,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of anyone for deliberately starting a bushfire.

The tragedy is the worst natural disaster in Australia in 110 years. The previous worst bushfire was the Ash Wednesday fires of 1983 that killed 75 people.

I can't imagine what it would have been like to live through that or to have to go home to that. If it really is arsonists' work, then may God have mercy on their souls. And Reuters thinks they're likely to be young boys (Reuters: Australian arsonists likely to be young and male). It's a bit of a case of, "Um, duh!"

I think we all know the kind of kids they are. They're the kind of kids who'd try drugs just for bragging rights and who are just a step away from joining the Darwin Awards if you double dog dared them to. It's probably those kind of kids who started the London fire in 1666.

Google it!

More proof that Google is the Idiot's Guide to Anything and Everything and the answer to any and all questions is and will always be "Google it, Bitch!" or GIB for short. All answers to exams may now be answered with GIB! for a full mark.

Observe http://www.howtocallabroad.com/, which provides you with a foolproof guide on how to dial an international number from wherever you are to wherever you want to call.

It's pretty dope, actually. There's even a reverse country code lookup where you select the code and it tells you which country it is.

And that concludes this segment of the Internet, brought to you by suicide doors and whitewalls.

Tree of love?

From The Star: Sponsor a tree for Valentine's:

KUALA LUMPUR: Buy a tree for a mere RM60 as a gift to a loved one on Valentine’s Day and help to revive Taman Bukit Kiara – one of the few remaining green lungs in the city.

This is how the public can contribute to the “Hutan Kita – Kiara Our Forest” programme, a reforestation project to plant 50,000 rainforest trees and the brainchild of Malaysian Landscape Advisory Panel chairman Datin Seri Jeanne Abdullah.

It's a good idea, but if the trees are built to last as long as love does, they won't last very long. And then where will Taman Bukit Kiara be? It'll be a taman of dead trees. Think, DS Jeanne!

Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women

From BBC: Underwear protest at India attack:

Indians outraged at an attack on women for drinking in a bar have gathered together to send a provocative gift of underwear to right-wing activists.

More than 5,000 people, including men, have joined the Facebook group, which calls itself the Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women.

The group says it will give the pink underwear to Sri Ram Sena (Army of Lord Ram) on Valentine's Day on Saturday.

It was blamed for the bar attack in the southern city of Mangalore last month.

Pramod Mutalik, who heads the little known Ram Sena and is now on bail after he was held following the attack, has said it is "not acceptable" for women to go to bars in India.

He has also said his men will protest against Valentine's Day on Saturday.

'Shocking'

The Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women, which was formed on Facebook last Thursday, has also exhorted women to "walk to the nearest pub and buy a drink" on Valentine's Day.

A spokeswoman for the group, Nisha Susan, told the BBC it was gifting chaddis (Hindi colloquial for underwear) as they alluded to a prominent Hindu right-wing group whose khaki-shorts-wearing cadres were often derisively called "chaddi wallahs" (chaddi wearers).

"We chose the colour pink because it is a frivolous colour," she said.

Ms Susan said the group expected to collect at least 500 pieces of pink underwear from all over the country and send them to Mr Mutalik's office in the southern city of Hubli.

"It's a choice between ignoring a group like Ram Sena or respond to its activities. We have decided to give it attention, but it is attention which it will not like," she said.

The group has asked people to mail or drop underwear at "collection points" across the country.

The Ram Sena has not yet commented on the group's moves.

Last month's attack in Mangalore, which was filmed and then broadcast on national television, shocked many Indians.

Television pictures showed the men chasing and beating up the panicking women. Some of the women, who tripped and fell, were kicked by the men.

Around 30 people, including Mr Mutalik, were arrested following the attack.

Women's groups strongly condemned the attack which was described by the country's Women's Minister Renuka Chaudhury as an attempt to impose Taleban-style values.

The Hindu nationalist BJP government in Karnataka state distanced itself from the attack. It said that it had nothing to do with Sri Ram Sena.

But our correspondent says that right-wing Hindu vigilante groups loosely linked to the BJP are active in many parts of India and have in the past targeted Muslim and Christian minorities as well as events such as Valentine's Day.

I think what Malaysians frequently forget when they complain about how conservative Malaysia is, is that at least we don't have it as bad as India whose religions and traditions are far stricter and more conservative than ours.

That said, kudos to the Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women. I think it's a brilliant response to the actions of the extremists. Sure, it may not be what the families of the victims wanted (read prosecution and justice), but instead of inciting more hate and violence, it's a peaceful response.

I, for one, will be supporting the Consortium by heading over to the pub and having a drink on Valentine's Day. Or maybe a whole bunch of drinks. Most likely a whole bunch, as I mourn the loss of decent men from the face of the earth.

Chips

From BBC: Chips have sweet smell of success:

People drawn to the smell of a chip shop are being attracted by complex aromas including butterscotch, onion and ironing boards, scientists believe.

Food scientists at the University of Leeds unravelled the smell of the chip shop in the laboratory as well as using human noses to separate the aromas.

Dr Graham Clayton, who led the research, said that however they were cooked, chips had a complex aroma.

He said chip scents could be treated like wine aromas in the future.

The research, which was commissioned by the Potato Council for National Chip Week, showed chip aroma is made up of butterscotch, cocoa, onion, flowers, cheese and ironing boards.

Dr Clayton said: "Whether oven-cooked or fried, the humble chip doesn't smell of just chips - the aroma is much more complex and probably explains why chips are everyone's favourite.

"One might not expect to find butterscotch or cocoa aromas in chips, but it has to be remembered that these are one part of the overall aroma.

"Perhaps these findings will see chips treated like wine in the future - with chip fans turning into buffs as they impress their friends with eloquent descriptions of their favourite fries."

1. There's a Potato Council?
2. There's a National Chip Week?
3. Congratulations on spending time and money researching something that won't make people live longer or cure anything except a lean figure.

Hello, England

From The Star: Malaysians can visit and remain in Britain for up to six months:

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has retained its visa-free status with Britain.

This means that Malaysians can visit and remain in Britain without a visa for up to
six months.

The decision was announced in the House of Commons by British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith late yesterday (11.30pm Malaysian time).

British High Commissioner Boyd McCleary briefed Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim on his government’s decision yesterday.

“I am pleased with this result. It reflects the hard work that both we and the Malaysian Government have put into this issue over the last few months,” McCleary said.

A senior Wisma Putra official, when contacted, said Malaysia welcomed the decision and the challenge would be to further reduce the number of Malaysians who overstayed or worked illegally in Britain.

Malaysia was in a group of 11 non-European countries whose visa-exempt status was reviewed by Britain from mid-2008.

Nationals from these countries were said to pose a risk of illegal immigration, crime and security, and all 11 countries were given a six-month mitigation period to significantly reduce the risks.

Britain had given Malaysia until December to prevent illegal immigration and improve passport security, crime and anti-terrorism measures and cooperate in deporting Malaysians who overstayed.

Among the remedial measures taken by Malaysia was improved security at the KL International Airport to ensure that only genuine travellers flew into Britain, a move which was welcomed by the UK Border Agency, a shadow agency of the British Home Office.

Visa-free access for visitors for up to six months will also remain for Botswana, Brazil, Mauritius, Namibia and Trinidad and Tobago.

The countries which failed Bri- tain’s visa-waiver test were Bolivia, Lesotho, South Africa, Swaziland and Venezuela.

Cool. We're better than Venezuela. All the signs are pointing to a visit to the UK:

1. Visa-free access
2. Air Asia's new flight route to London
3. GBP so cheap

Too bad about the winter storms.