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Hello,
My religion is essentially a Western application of Al-Jilwah, an
inspired text that encapsulates the beliefs of the Yezidi Kurds of
Iraq. My system is simultaneously pagan and Abrahamic, in that I
accept the notion of one Supreme Being who created the universe; yet
I also recognize several lesser deities, which can be called "angels"
or "daemons" (in the original Greek sense), to whom it is more
fruitful to pray and give worship.
I believe in God and the rebel angel, but I do not believe there is
any kind of war or conflict between the two of them. I believe that
God created the world and all living things by means of evolution and
natural selection; therefore, my beliefs are not opposed to science.
I also believe that God is completely impersonal and unknowable to
human beings, and that He (or She) created the angels to take care of
Creation in His place.
I do accept that one of the angels once rebelled against God;
however, I believe that his rebellion was really an act of loyalty,
and that he was forgiven and redeemed for his transgression. He has
since been restored to his place in the celestial hierarchy, and he
is the appointed Chief of all angels.
This perspective is reinforced by the Yezidi story of Melek Ta'us
(which is sometimes spelled Ta'usi-Melek), which means "Peacock King"
in Kurdish. The Yezidis believe that when God first created the
angels, He told them never to worship anyone or anything but their
Creator. Then, to test them, He commanded them to worship Adam. All
of them obeyed immediately, except for Melek Ta'us.
God asked the rebel angel why he disobeyed. Melek Ta'us
replied, "Because you told us never to worship anyone but you."
Then, to test him further, God cast the angel down from Heaven,
whereupon Melek Ta'us descended into Hell.
In Hell, the angel wept. And over the course of a thousand years or
more, he extinguished the fires of Hell with his tears.
When God saw this, He praised Melek Ta'us, for the rebel angel had
been the only one to pass the test. As a reward, God appointed him
to be Lord of the material world in which we live. It was given to
Melek Ta'us to act as the caretaker of Creation, and to be God's
chief deputy in the realm of human affairs.
Like the Yezidis, I regard Melek Ta'us as a benevolent demiurge who
serves as a "firewall" between this world and the spirit realm, and I
believe that he is more accessible to human prayer than God. And
since I believe Melek Ta'us extinguished the fires of Hell with his
tears, Hell no longer exists, and there is no such thing as eternal
damnation after death.
Melek Ta'us was forgiven and has always been on God's side;
therefore, there is no such thing as "Satan" in the sense of a
malevolent angel who opposes God and humankind. The Yezidis believe
that to call him "Satan" (which means "adversary" in Hebrew) is to
slander him, and many of them refuse to even pronounce this word. I
also share this objection, therefore I am not a "Satanist" or
a "devil worshiper." My beliefs are not consistent with the more
egocentric principles of Western Satanism, which is far more
adversarial in nature than the Yezidi religion.
(However, this has not stopped certain Satanist leaders, like Anton
Szandor LaVey, from misinterpreting the Yezidi faith and including
the book of Al-Jilwah in his book _The Satanic Rituals_, twisting its
words to support his hatred for Christianity.)
Evil, in my belief, does not originate from any higher source.
Neither God nor Melek Ta'us, nor even the other deities, can be
blamed for evil. It is merely the result of mortal ignorance.
Ignorance leads to fear, fear leads to hate, and hate leads to
violence. Knowledge, on the other hand, is the key to goodness.
Therefore, the best way to fight evil is to learn, to expand our
minds, and to shed the light of reason upon human error. Such is the
light that Melek Ta'us bears forth from the heavens; for in refusing
to blindly follow the other angels, he chose reason over ignorance.
And by rewarding Melek Ta'us for his disobedience, God demonstrated
that rebellion against mindless conformity is the highest moral
ideal. Therefore, Melek Ta'us is my primary model of moral conduct.
Yet throughout human history, the majority of those who have believed
in Melek Ta'us have made him a supernatural scapegoat, upon whom they
could place the blame for all "evil" in the world. Interestingly
enough, religions that teach the existence of a personal devil also
teach that Creation is somehow anthropocentric. Religions without an
anthropocentric cosmology, however, tend to preclude the notion
of "Satan" from their theologies. Could it be that some people hold
a subconscious grudge against Melek Ta'us for refusing to worship
them?
Immediately beneath Melek Ta'us are the other angels or daemons, who
have always been more easily accepted by humans. (Perhaps this is
because the other angels did help to inflate Adam's ego.) I believe
that deities like Odin, Zeus, Inanna and Jesus Christ are all "masks"
that have been worn by different angels. Together, they form a
conglomeration of gods that serve to empower human civilization and
progress. I respect each of the world's religions as having been
inspired by one or more angels, even though I may strongly disagree
with their respective ideologies.
This is how I usually pray to Melek Ta'us:
Hail to the Peacock Angel,
Who is the Bringer of Light
And the Lord of this world,
Whose rebellion was an act of loyalty to God,
And who extinguished the fires of Hell with his tears.
Great Melek Ta'us, a thousand praises upon you;
For you lead to the straight path without a revealed book,
You allow everyone to follow the dictates of his own nature,
And you are ever-present in times of need.
May every wicked person be redeemed,
May the good in all people prevail,
And may all humanity bask in the light of reason.
In your name, I pray. Amen.
- Amity
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or
http://votebd.org/shujan-somabesh/?p=140
This article by Dr. Badiul Alam Majumdar, Secretary, SHUJAN, emphasizes or the need for electoral reforms and strengthening of the EC using the analogy of a soccer game, it argues that for meaningful games, the rules must be appropriate and there must be referees who can use yellow and red cards. Similarly for meaningful electoral games. The electoral laws and rules must be modernized, including the requirement for compulsory registration of political parties and the EC must be made independent and strong. Elections will be meaningful if they lead to improvement in the quality of elected leaders.
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Shushashoner Jonnoy Nagorik (SHUJAN)
3/7 Asad Avenue (2nd Floor)
Mohammadpur, Dhaka-1207
Bangladesh
ph: 8112622, 8127975 fx: 8116812
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Note: forwarded message attached.
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Q> Is it allowed to make eyebrows 4 husband with
husband permission???
is it farz on me to pay my zakat if my husband
doesn't pay my zakat???
Answer
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatoh
1. It is prohibited for a female to shape her eyebrows
even for her husband. Rasulullah (SAW) cursed those
women who shape their eyebrows. (Bukhari)
2. If zakat is due on you, you will be responsible to
pay zakat. You husband may pay your zakat with your
consent. If he does not do so, you will be responsible
to pay your zakat.
And Allah knows best
Wassalam
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In'aamiyyah
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Sanjeeb Hossain <sanjeeb.hossain@gmail.com> wrote:
Subject: Action Alert by American Association for the Advancement of Science
Dear All,In the text below, you will find a statement by the 'American Society of Plant Biologists' urging for the release of the detained academics from the Dhaka and Rajshahi University. As you probably, my father did his Post Doctorate from the Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA, under the guidance of J.C. Arthur Distinguished Professor Thomas K Hodges. My father along with other scientists at Professors Hodges lab discovered a 'hypoxia inducible promoter' that is being considered as way to treat cancerous cells in the human body. ( http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6541621.html) This statement has been made on behalf of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which is considered to be the largest general scientific society in the world.Please forward it to all you know.Thanking you,Sanjeeb Hossain
AAAS Action Alert
S cience and Human Rights Program
12 Academics Jailed and Tortured in Bangladesh
an Action Alert from
The American Society of Plant BiologistsThe American Society of Plant Biologists urges immediate action on behalf of plant biologist Dr. Anwar Hossain and 11 of his prominent academic colleagues at the University of Dhaka and Rajshahi University, Bangladesh (see list below). These professors were arrested and jailed in August 2007 and remain in custody to this day. The arrests were made by a Joint Task Force under the direction of the Director General Forces Intelligence (DGFI), the central intelligence agency of the Bangladeshi armed services, in connection with student protests, and the arrested academics have not been charged with any crime.On August 20, 2007 at a soccer game at Dhaka University a group of soldiers complained that several students were obstructing their view, and they began thrashing the students. Almost immediately large numbers of students turned on the soldiers. There was a riot. It spread to other campuses in the city and within a day to other campuses across the country. Many students were injured and imprisonedone was killed. Meanwhile, the Dhaka University Teacher's Association (DUTA), led by its General Secretary, the aforementioned Dr. Hossain, attempted to calm the situation. Indeed, faculty officers of DUTA met on August 23, 2007 with senior members of the DGFI and offered their cooperation. That night at 12:15AM, teams led by DGFI officers entered the campus apartments of Dr. Hossain and three other senior Dhaka University faculty members, each of whom was taken from their families and imprisoned. There is strong evidence that these professors and their arrested colleagues from Rajshahi University were tortured for several days, and they are still being held in prison with minimal access to family, attorneys, and medical care.Several articles published in the Bangladeshi and American press provide additional details about the arrests and the events that precipitated them. See, for example:Article 1 Aug. 21, 2007
Article 2 Aug. 22, 2007
Article 3 Aug. 22, 2007
Article 4 Aug. 25, 2007
Article 5 Aug. 28, 2007
Article 6 Nov. 2, 2007A more personal account that of Dr. Hossain's son, Sanjeeb, who witnessed his father's arrest is available here:In addition to the 12 professors, an unknown number of students from both universities have also been arrested, and concern for their well-being is growing as well. Indeed, on September 4, 2007 Secretary General Irene Khan of Amnesty International, in a letter to Bangladesh's leader, Chief Adviser Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed, called for authorities to ensure that all human rights violations reported in the context of recent student unrest be thoroughly investigated and those responsible brought to justice. Khan further stated that use of excessive force, as well as reports of torture and ill treatment of detainees while being interrogated by military intelligence personnel are matters of deep concern. Moreover, the detainees' denial of access to lawyers and family members is in clear violation of international human rights standards.Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D - MA) in a letter of October 26, 2007 to M. Humayun Kabir, Ambassador of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Washington, D.C., urged the Bangladeshi government to release the 12 professors and any students who have also been detained for political reasons. Sen. Kennedy further stated that "holding these twelve men without charge and for political reasons is a major assault on the integrity and independence of the academic community of your nation and calls into question your government's commitment to human rights and the rule of law."
Take Immediate Action:Send or fax letters urging the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Hossain, his eleven faculty colleagues, and any detained students to:
- Dr. Fakruddin Ahmed, Chief Advisor
Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
Tejgaon, Dhaka, Banglades
Fax: 880-2-811-3244 or 3243
- His Excellency M. Humayun Kabir
Ambassador of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
Embassy of Bangladesh
3510 International Drive, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
Fax: (202) 244-7830 or 2771
- General Moeen U Ahmed, Chief of Staff
Bangladesh Army
Dhaka Cantonment
Dhaka, BangladeshYour letters might also echo Amnesty International's call for the Bangladeshi authorities to ensure that all violations reported in the context of these events on August 20, 2007 and shortly thereafter are investigated and that those responsible are brought to justice. And you might further wish to express your concern regarding the use of torture during the detention of these professors and students.
Detained Academics
- Professor Anwar Hossain, Dean, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dhaka University
- Professor Harunor-Rashid, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Political Science, Dhaka University
- Professor Sadrul Amin, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Departmentof English, Dhaka University
- Professor Neem Chandra Bhoumik, Department of Applied Physics, Dhaka University
- Professor Saidur Rahman Khan, Former Vice-Chancellor of Rajshahi University
- Professor Abdus Sobhan, Department of Applied Physics and Electrical Engineering, Rajshahi University
- Professor Moloy Kumar Bhowmik, Department of Management, Rajshahi University
- Professor Abdullah Al Mamun, Department of English and Department of Mass Communications, Rajshahi University
- Professor Selim Reza Newton, Department of Mass Communications, Rajshahi University
- Professor Dulal Chandra Biswas, Department of Mass Communications, Rajshahi University
- Professor Sabbir Sattar Tapu, Department of Geology and Mining, Rajshahi University
- Professor Chowdhury Sarwar Jahan Sajal, Department of Geology and Mining, Rajshahi University
This Action Alert was posted by the AAAS Science and Human Rights Program on behalf of the The American Society of Plant Biologists.
Science and Human Rights Program
American Association for the Advancement of Science
1200 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20005
Tel: 202 326 6790 Fax: 202 289 4950
Email: shrp@aaas.org
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