General Issues / Questions

Can Taxation Cure Obesity? Michael Rivero ? What Really Happened? August 21, 2006 The New Scientist carried an article recently, Can Taxation Cure Obesity?, in which the writer wondered if taxes on food and drink would help combat the global epidemic of obesity. Here's Michael Rivero's reply Food and drinks high in sugar should be taxed just like cigarettes, say economists who believe it is the only way to combat the global crisis in obesity. Leave it to an economist to be ignorant of science. The Obesity "epidemic" is the result of the chemicals added to food that make people want to eat MORE, to increase the profits of food companies. First is MSG, or Monosodium Glutamate. This compound is actually prescribed for eating disorders, and used to create overweight rats for lab tests (rats normally will not over-eat). Disguised under numerous names to conceal its presence, MSG is found in almost all processed foods and is billed as a "flavor enhancer". But the reality is that it makes you want to eat more food, which means you BUY more food. That is why food companies love it so much and resist public calls for discontinuance of it. Another chemical villain is Aspartame, the artificial sweetener. Billed as a diet-aid, in point of fact use of Aspartame creates cravings for carbohydrates. This is why supermarkets will often have bundled product deals where you purchase diet soft drinks together with various corn and potato chip products. Finally, there are the growth hormones fed to farm animals to increase their growth which get into the meat and dairy products, and from those products into humans. Humans react to those hormones as do the farm animals. They put on weight. I have avoided MSG for years because it triggers migraines, but earlier this year I quit all aspartame and use only hormone free meats and dairy products. So far, I am down 25 pounds without changing my exercise level or otherwise altering my eating habits.

Peace all check out the following . http//www.spychips.com/index.html Peace Salim

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ihad and the Wolfowitzes of the World Gilad Atzmon ? July 27, 2006 Jihad Abu Az Zamman So, how did it really happen? How could a tiny paramilitary group such as Hezbollah manage to shake the almighty, American-supported Jewish state; something that the Arab states have relentlessly failed at doing for almost six decades? In fact a similar question may be raised in reference to Iraqi insurgency. While it is rather evident that Saddam?s army was defeated by the overwhelming Anglo-American destructive power, Islamic resistance is winning the battle on the ground both in Iraq and Afghanistan. Neither America nor Britain seem able to come up with a reasonable excuse for the growing number of deadly attacks against their invasion forces. Though the armies of Arab states are occasionally defeated in the battlefield, though too many Arab statesmen happen to follow the path drawn by Washington with resolute determination, Islamic resistance, which is not recognised in any national form, is there to fight back. Moreover, Islamic defiance is unbeatable. The Israelis have been watching the growing wall of Muslim resistance for over two decades. In Palestine it is the Hamas and in Lebanon it is the Hezbollah. In this theatre, Islamic militants deliver one blow after the other to Israel. Similarly, the American army is chased on a daily basis by insurgency both in Iraq and Afghanistan. As much as the far more powerful Soviets failed in Afghanistan, neither Israel, nor America nor Britain have the capability of responding effectively to the emerging Islamic guerrilla warfare. Once and for all we better face it. Arabs are far from being at their very best if they are operating in the format of a ?national state?. The Arab soldier may lack the necessary will to die for an idiotic flag. Both in the case of Saddam?s Iraq or Nasser?s Egypt, once within a conflict, a growing gap reveals itself between the charismatic, assertive, far over the top demagogue leader and some serious malfunctioning performance in the battlefield. Unlike the American, British, French, and Israeli soldiers who have proved throughout history to have some real tendency towards collective suicide for some empty promises shaped as ?ideology?, the Arab platoon is slightly behind in exhibiting this kind of idiotic national patriotic militant zeal. He may as well be just too clever for those kind of deadly games. Should it be a big surprise? Not at all. Nationalism is a European concept, it has very little to do with the Arab mentality, history and general affairs. National patriotism has never made serious headway into the Arab psyche. The division of Arabia and the Middle East into small national states with borders and flags has never been a natural evolvement of the indigenous Arab people themselves. Instead it was the outcome of some international political manoeuvring imposed upon Arabs by the superpowers. The slicing of the near east into small national states was intended to serve the interests of Western imperial forces. In practice it was Britain and France who drew up the borders of the Middle East already in 1916 (The Sykes-Picot Agreement) and it was America who joined in later just to reshape those borders to guarantee Israel?s safety as well as a constant oil supply. With the lack of crude nationalist zeal, it isn?t a big surprise that Arab state armies fail to provide the goods in the battlefield. Yet, the Hezbollah, the Hamas and the insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan are agonising the Western armies. They manage to do so just with light weaponry without tanks, without cruise missiles, without satellites, without a navy. They win without airplanes and without the support of a superpower. All they have at their disposal is merely a belief, namely Jihad. Looking at Iraq (or what is left of it), at Bin Laden (the myth), at the Hamas (the democratically elected Palestinian government) and the Hezbollah (the ultimate success story) it is rather clear. The Arab wins when and only when he fights as a Muslim, as a believer. Unlike the shallow Westerner soldier who gives his life for empty manmade slogans, the Muslim would give his life for a divine cause. I will spit it out if there is any meaningful notion behind ?Arab nation? this notion is Islam. The Muslim takes orders from the Almighty Lord. I may admit that if I myself, being a secular had to choose between the call of a retarded American president and the Lord, I would obviously go for the latter. However, it is rather obvious that the Wolfowitzes of this world fail to realise that Arab nationalism as defined in independent states is basically a myth. They mistakenly consider the Arab territorial landscape as a genuine national reflection of some real authentic ethnic aspiration as well as geo-political considerations. In fact, such a perception has nothing to do with reality. Lebanon and Syria are one country, at least in the eyes of very many Syrians and Lebanese. The north of Palestine is no different from Lebanon and the West Bank has been long considered a unified territory with Transjordan. When Lebanon is demolished by the Jewish state?s air might and around a third of its population is displaced, the Syrians would be the first to provide humanitarian support. When Gaza is murderously and indiscriminately bombarded by the IDF, the Hezbollah would be there to open a second front and to ease the pressure on their Palestinian brothers. When American and British expansionist forces insist upon robbing Iraqi oil, it is the Muslim brotherhood who would stop them rather than the Iraqi army. Arab resistance is in practice an exercise in Islamic brotherhood. For those who still fail to get the picture, Jihad goes far beyond any Western sense of local national patriotism. Jihad is cosmic, yet it is personal. While the Wolfowitzes of this world would insist upon dominating the Arab world in the name of democracy and some other quasi liberal ideas, it is the Islamic freedom fighter who crosses lands and seas just to serve the American GIs with the ultimate performance of human devotion. While the Wolfowitzes of this world insist upon transforming Britain and America into an Israeli mission force, it is the Muslim brotherhood that gives us good reason to believe that eventually, when the time is ripe, peace will prevail. For those amongst us who refuse to acknowledge what Islam is all about, I will mention that the Arabic ?root? of the word ?Islam? is Salama which originates from the words Peace and/or Submission, a submission to God and peace to all humanity. Indeed Jihad itself is a word that bears further analysis. It stems from the Arabic root word J-H-D, which means ?strive.? Other words derived from this root include ?effort,? ?labour,? and ?fatigue.? Essentially Jihad is an effort to practice religion in the face of oppression and persecution. At its highest form it is fighting the enemy of Muslims and Islam. Certainly, Condi, Bush, Olmert and his Jewish state are the bitterest enemies of Islam. And yet, Islam defines the boundaries of Jihad. The Quran tells us ? Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loves not transgressors. ? And slay them wherever you catch them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out; for tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter; but fight them not at the Sacred Mosque, unless they (first) fight you there; but if they fight you, slay them. Such is the reward of those who suppress faith. ? But if they cease, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. ? And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah; but if they cease, let there be no hostility except to those who practice oppression. (Quran 2190-193) In short, unlike the brutal Israeli aggression and the murderous American zeal that know no limits, Islam restricts violence, furthermore, its aim is not domination, but peace. This will obviously happen when Israeli occupation is ended and Palestinians return to their land and home. This will happen when Zionised Anglo-American colonialism is totally defeated. This message is clear and not open to negotiation. Looking at the Hezbollah, at the Hamas and the insurgent war in Iraq doesn?t leave much room for doubt. While many Arab nations have been defeated, Arab brotherhood, i.e., Islam is winning. If I were an Israeli who lived in occupied Palestine I would be rather worried. The excessive use of power and indiscriminate killing of Lebanese, Palestinians and UN peace keeping soldiers is the direct outcome of deep Israeli anxiety. The Zionist tactic is failing and they all know it. Their army doesn?t provide the goods anymore. By now, you may be able to guess why. Nationalism is foreign to Jews almost as much as it is foreign to Arabs. In fact, Zionism ceased being a local national movement a long time ago. Since the Balfour Declaration (1917) more and more Zionists operate as a Jewish Ethnic lobby promoting Jewish global interests. For more than a while Zionism is not interested solely in Eretz Israel i.e., ?promised land?, instead, it intends upon transforming our universe into a ?Promised Universe?. This idea is known as Neoconservatism and its largely Elder Zionist messengers who spread it are active in London, NYC and Washington. But time is running out for Neocon philosophy as well as its practitioners. I do not know whether history repeats itself in general but somehow, as far as Jewish History is concerned, the same tale keeps rewriting itself it is a story of an obsessive relentless will to power that always ends in tragic circumstances. It happened in the Middle Ages in Spain, it happened in17th century Poland and Ukraine (Bogdan Chmielnitzki), it happened in 20th century Europe and it seems as if something dramatic is about to happen in America. When the American Jewish Committee (AJC) is manifestly engaged in dragging America into war in Iran all in the name of world Jewry. When the Wolfowitzes of this world happened to be the architects behind the criminal war in Iraq, one may find oneself wondering whether Jews themselves ever learn anything from their own history. I really prefer not to think about what is going to be the outcome of the current blunt Jewish war waging. Considering the emerging American defeat in Iraq and growing international isolation, it is just a question of time before a charismatic American figure points the finger at the Israeli lobby. Devastatingly enough, it isn?t only Jews, many of them totally innocent, who are going to suffer when that happens. By the time all the Wolfowitzes of this world realise that it is time to evade the American vengeance (what may evolve into a new Jewish tragedy namely Coca Colacaust), they will probably try to escape to Palestine, God Forbid. Clearly, Zionists and their Jewish state are highly engaged in perpetrating a new world war, we have a good reason to believe that Olmert didn?t rule out the possibility that the current conflict in Lebanon may lead towards a further escalation with Syria and Iran. It obviously didn?t stop him. Why should it stop him? As soon as the Israelis started to drop bombs on Beirut Bush and Blair rushed to support Israel?s right to defend itself. The Wolfowitzes of this world have different names for the conflict they themselves created. They often call it a cultural clash and they are pretty good in wrapping their naked murderous zeal with some quasi humanist reasoning. More than anything they love to present themselves as the messengers of democracy. Yet, if indeed their notion of democracy is anything like the ?single- race Democracy?, practiced in their dearly beloved murderous Israel, it isn?t that surprising why their ideas do not gain ground anywhere. Seemingly, for the sake of keeping their little racist Jewish state alive, the Wolfowitzes are happy to wage an all out war against Islam. So far Condi, Bush and Blair are showing support. The Wolfowitzes are over the roof but how to say it, half a million Lebanese have lost their homes as a result. Somehow, the Wolfowitzes of this world always fail to internalise that human beings are morally orientated creatures. Indeed nations and people can live through some evil phases. Not that many years ago it happened in Germany, it now happens in America. Yet, human beings have something the Wolfowitzes lack. They have an ethical correction mechanism; humans regret their wrongdoing, they have a conscience. America lived through McCarthyism but recovered, it still tries to deal with its racist past and current racial discrimination, it has been dealing with its war crimes in Vietnam. America, no doubt will shake itself of its Zionist murderous phase. It just doesn?t have any other choice. When this happens the Wolfowitzes of this world will have to hide behind the rock and tree, and the rock and tree will say ?oh American, there is a Wolfowitz behind me, I am scared, take him away! Help, help!?

Salaams Br. Ayman, here are the hunting restrictions - which you may not agree with though. Quote The issue is about using natural cosmic phenomena and not manmade calendars for the timing of the hunting restriction (see 51, 594-96) for the preservation of wildlife, which is solar in nature. There aren?t any animals-but is anything of value which you take by force when you aught not to. 51 O you who believe fulfil obligations (which) are lawful to you, (be) courageous/ clean in beneficence, except of what is recited to you, not prowess/ contrive through pride and prey (of/on) forbidden verily Allah decrees what He wills. 594 O you who believe surely will try you Allah with something of/ from value/ you seek to take which can be taken (by)your hands and your judgments of blame so that knows Allah who fears Him the unseen then whoever transgressed after that for him torment (is a ) painful . 595 O you who believe (do) not you fight for of what you seek when you are forbidden and whosoever fights of you intentionally then penalty (is) like what he fought (for) from/of the blessing judged by two just men among you guiding to a conclusion (of) prominent thing/ the transgression or ?????. E.t.c The law of Qasaas is being applied to anything of value Salaams.

http//www.mises.org/story/1662 http//www.mises.org/journals/essays/marcus.pdf The Spectrum Should Be Private Property The Economics, History, and Future of Wireless Technology "The human right of a free press depends upon the human right of private property in newsprint."?Murray N. Rothbard Is the radio spectrum a unique resource that belongs to the public, or can it be privately owned like any other good or service? Most people assume that public ownership is axiomatic?a starting point rather than the historical consequence of special interests pretending to misunderstand economics. This is wholly incorrect. And given the mass clamor for wireless services, the full-scale privatization of this resource is essential. In this essay, I will review, from a Rothbardian perspective, the history, economics, and potential future of American wireless technology, and explain why we must abandon current policy. The Conspiracy Murray Rothbard made the following distinction between shallow and deep conspiracy theories the shallow theorist asks cui bono??who benefits??and then assumes the hidden beneficiaries were responsible; the deep theorist also asks cui bono? but then looks for documentary evidence that the beneficiaries really were pulling the strings. "Scholarship," Rothbard quipped, "is essentially confirming your early paranoia through a deeper factual analysis." the rest of the article you can find here http//www.mises.org/story/1662 http//www.mises.org/journals/essays/marcus.pdf

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Peace all, Kids in the summer give me not much opportunity to sit behind the computer! tonight was my chance! group some more thoughts to share There are two subjects to throw our attention upon while diving into the ocean of FAITH. Object one is our SOUL! , This is a state of FEAR! One is critical of her state of being or doing and HER MOTIVES! One needs to transcend herself to be able to look at IT! THE RESPONSIBILITY is all ours! It is a SERIOUSE MATTER! It is not a ROMANTIC CHOICE! It is a demand from the CREATOR to avoid living like sub-animals , and avoid to act like them or communicate like them. This FEAR is the blessing which brings responsibility and sense of urgency! A clear vision of discovering our LOWS and reprogramming them is A MUST. Purpose is building A DIVINE CHARACTER! subject two is the CREATOR, this is a state of LOVE or even super-LOVE or call it HAMD! This is WHERE our souls comes from THE UNLIMITED OCEAN OF COMPASSION AND MECRY. THE ORIGIN AND THE DESTINATION! We are blessed! We are created by THE DIVINE, We will be trained by TH DIVINE and we will go back to THE DIVINE! Development of a clear view of THE CHARACTER OF HIS MAJESTY IS A MUST! The beautiful names of ALLAH are all adjectives which describes THE VISION OF GOD! A clear sense of how THE OCEAN looks like!!! We are a drop of that ocean and are privileged to attain THE COLOURS of THE OCEAN! During salaat all these aspects are entertained. We start with HIS thought, then change over to thought of ourselves and then finish again with HIS thought and sense HIS presence. As prophet Mohammad(pbuh) said Stand before HIM as if you see him, knowing that HE certainly sees you. Howal 'Adl The Just, The Equitable 29 'Af?w The Forgiver, The Effacing 82 Ahad The One, The Only One 67 ?khir The Last, The End and Ultimate 74 'Al? The Highest, The Exalted 36 'Al?m The All-Knowing, The Omniscient 19 Awwal The First, The Pre-Existing 73 'Az?m The Supreme Glory, The Most Grand 33 'Az?z The Mighty, The Eminent 8 Bad?' The Wonderful Originator, The Awesome Inventor 95 B?'ith The Awakener, The Resurrector 49 B?q? The Everlasting, The Ever-Present 96 B?ri' The Maker from Nothing, The Evolver 12 Barr The Gracious Benefactor, The Source of Goodness 79 Bas?r The All-Seeing, The All-Perceiving 27 B?sit The Expander, The Unfolder 21 B?tin The Hidden, The Inner 76 D?rr The Corrector, The Distresser 91 Dh?-l-Jal?li wal-Ikr?m The Lord of Majesty and Generosity 85 Fatt?h The Opener, The Revealer 18 Ghaff?r The All-Forgiving, The Absolver 14 Ghaf?r The Forgiving, The Pardoner 34 Ghan? The Self-Sufficient, The Independent 88 H?d? The Guide, The Leader on the Right Path 94 Haf?z The Preserver, The Protector 38 Hakam The Judge, The Arbitrator 28 Hak?m The Perfectly Wise, The Most Judicious 46 Hal?m The Forbearing, The Calm-Abiding 32 Ham?d The Praiseworthy, The Laudable 56 Haqq The Truth, The Only Reality 51 Has?b The Accounter, The Reckoner 40 Hayy The Ever-Living, The Alive 62 Jabb?r The Restorer, The Repairer 9 Jal?l The Majestic, The Glorious 41 J?mi' The Gatherer, The Uniter 87 Kab?r The Greatest, The Most Great 37 Kar?m The Generous, The Bountiful 42 Khab?r The Inner-Aware, The Reality-Knower 31 Kh?fid The Humbler, The One who Softens 22 Kh?liq The Creator, The Planner 11 Lat?f The Subtle, The Gracious, The Refined 30 Maj?d The All-Glorious, The Majestic 48 M?jid The Noble, The Generous 65 M?lik al-Mulk The Master of the Kingdom 84 Malik The Ruler, The King 3 M?ni' The Preventer, The Defender 90 Mat?n The Firm, The Steadfast 54 Mu'akhkhir The Delayer, The Postponer 72 Mubdi' The Starter, The Beginner, The Originator 58 Mudhill The Disgracer, The Dishonorer 25 Mughn? The Bestower of Wealth, The Fulfiller of Needs 89 Muhaimin The Protector, The Bestower of Security 7 Muhs? The Reckoner, The Appraiser 57 Muhy? The Giver of Life, The Reviver 60 Mu'?d The Restorer, The Renewer 59 Mu'izz The Bestower of Honor, The Strengthener 24 Muj?b The Fulfiller of Prayers, The Responsive 44 Mu'min The Remover of Fear, The Giver of Tranquility 6 Mum?t The Creator of Death, The Life-Taker 61 Muntaqim The Avenger, The Inflictor of Retribution 81 Muqaddim The Expediter, The Promoter 71 Muq?t The Nourisher, The Sustainer 39 Muqsit The Equitable, The Just 86 Muqtadir The All-Determining, The Prevailing 70 Musawwir The Fashioner, The Bestower of Forms 13 Muta'?li The Supremely Exalted, The Most High 78 Mutakabbir The Supremely Great, The Perfection of Greatness 10 N?fi' The Creator of Good, The Auspicious 92 N?r The Light, The Illuminator, The Enlightenment 93 Q?bid The Withholder, The Restrainer 20 Q?dir The Able, The Empowered, The Capable 69 Qahh?r The Ever-Dominant, The Conqueror 15 Qaw? The Inexhaustible Strength, The Supremely Strong 53 Qayy?m The Self-Existing, The Self-Subsisting 63 Qudd?s The Holiest, The Most Pure 4 R?fi' The Exalter, The Uplifter 23 Rah?m The Most Merciful, The Most Compassionate 2 Rahm?n The Lovingly Beneficent, Most Kind and Gracious 1 Raq?b The Watchful, The All-Observing 43 Rash?d The Appointer to the Right Path, The Director 98 Ra'?f The Kind, The Tenderly Merciful and Consoling 83 Razz?q The Supplier, The Provider 17 Sab?r The Patiently-Enduring, The Long-Suffering 99 Sal?m The Source of Peace, The Flawless 5 Samad The Satisfier of All Needs, The Eternal 68 Sam?' The All-Hearing, The Ever-Listening 26 Shah?d The Witness, The Testifier 50 Shak?r The Most Grateful, The Most Appreciative 35 Taww?b The Acceptor of Repentance, The Oft-Forgiving 80 Wad?d The Loving-Kindness, The Most Affectionate 47 Wahh?b The Liberal Bestower, The Giver of Gifts 16 W?hid The One, The Manifestation of Unity 66 W?jid The Finder, The Resourceful 64 Wak?l The Trustee, The Advocate 52 W?l? The Sole Governor, The Friendly Lord 77 Wal? The Protecting Friend, The Nearby Guardian 55 W?rith The Inheritor of All, The Supreme Heir 97 W?si' The All-Embracing, The All-Pervading 45 Z?hir The Manifest, The Evident 75 peace, Peace, .

Peace, I have included my un-finished article. It is not finished yet as every day i find out new things. This version is now a month old, and already it is outdated. But i have included it, so maybe it can clear up some views. I'm not going to discuss on the forum yet, as it is not finished. Any feedback can go through PM or msn. Any advice or views are certainly welcome. I'm already revising a lot of parts. Peace

For those of you who want to donate to charity but aren't sure what to donate to, a great site is http//www.charitynavigator.org/ It breaks down thousands of charities by region/subject/etc. Most importantly, it ranks charities so that you know where the money is going. For example, certain charities waste way too much money on "administrative expenses" and this site lets you know exactly what percentage of the money goes to what, what the CEO makes, etc. It's a great tool. Peace all.

Jihadists & the US Elite Anatomy of a farce In order to create an enemy to justify their many politico-economic motives, the US elite have blown the reality of these ragtag "Jihadists" way out of proportion, given them worldwide media coverage and presented them as equal opponents. This has not only created an image among the poverty stricken masses in the ?third-world? of a Robin Hood like group, battling an empire, it has provided direct legitimacy when the US treats them as a foe it is on an official war with (on the mass media). The "Jihadists" and the American elite thus have a symbiotic relationship with each other, they mutually feed and grow in their perversions based on each other?s actions. Islam is not described by what its alleged followers do or do not do; you can find them doing anything under the sun. Rather it is described by what is contained in its only authoritative text, the Quran. The agenda-driven corporate media picks on the acts that it can capitalize on while ignoring the vast majority of the rest of the acts of Muslims. That is like saying that America is defined by the acts of the rapists that rape, attempt to rape or sexually molest around 1 million women a year in this country . . We wouldn?t use that criteria for the latter case but use lower numbers and instances to describe the former. That is the nature of subjective agenda-driven reporting. Islam had as its source from the beginning the Quran. Other items, like the hadith whose volume and content grew with every succeeding generation, is not its source, and can never be its historical source. The political/economic elite in order to justify their perversions attributed them by hook or by crook to the prophet so they could justify them to the people because religion was the most influential institution in society. Take the present-day case of how the US media presents Muslim women. As fact, women in Western societies are oppressed, as much or more (given social indicators of rape and domestic abuse) than Muslim women (who are oppressed more by their traditions than anything Islam or the Quran teaches). The West makes a big deal (for propaganda reasons) of the "Muslim veiling of women" (even though there is no such ruling concerning that veil in the Quran) yet it is busy veiling its own women by making everything about them invisible (about their personalities) both to themselves and to others, except their physical appearance judged by male standards of attractiveness. If all that is valuable about you is your physical appearance, everything else about you is effectively veiled from social consciousness, from others and from yourself. Social psychologists describe personality development similarly The ?looking glass self?; you see yourself as others see you. In order to understand the US elite's methodology of the "war on terrorism", let us move back to the 'cold-war' era The Soviets lost 20 million in World War II, defeating Hitler, the US lost less than a fraction of that, after the war, an ally was transformed into a potential foe with which a continuous war, with no end was to be fought (note the similarity with the Jihadists in this transformation, regardless of divergent philosophies). This "Cold War" not only ensured US domination and hegemony over the globe, gearing its economy on similar war footing, the end was known in advance to these Neo-Colonials that the Soviets were in no position to outspend or outsmart them. They affectively altered the agenda of the Soviets to international militarism, rather than what they should have been concerned with at home, transforming them into a bureaucratic monstrosity of state capitalism. The Soviets thus lost the 'cold war' to capitalism at the very start. They became a tool to strengthen global capitalism with and little else. After World War II, when the allies ganged up against the Soviets, having lost so many, their reactionary nature was to be expected. The structure that existed in most areas of the world gave a greater advantage to the former colonizers and the new hegemonic power, the US that consolidated these spoils. The US and the Soviets were unequal opponents but not as unequal as the rag tag ?Jihadists? are compared to the US. The "war on terrorism" is a bigger farce than the "cold war", playing out in the grand theatre of the 21st century world. Lives will be lost, personalities and 'realities of existence' distorted, and much human potential squandered, all caused by a numerically tiny power-elite following their narrow agendas backed by an ideology that considers the vast majority of humanity, disposable goods. The 'Cold War' helped the US elite, the commanders of the capitalist world system to more effectively install a Neo-Colonial setup and combat and contain the desires of the majority world to free themselves from their domination, while benefiting immensely from the militarism that resulted, towards which the US economy was geared, and still is. World War 2 was pivotal in this form of a ?permanent war based economy?. Before that, these elite were forced to bring socialist principles into the working of their economy, which was very distasteful to them. There was no communist threat to the US; there was a threat of the US losing its hegemony (not to the Soviets but to individual countries) and its domineering economic standing if peace was allowed to prevail. Thus peace was not tolerated. Just like the CIA played a crucial role designing propaganda to convince the Afghans of the countryside that fighting the Soviets was a sure ticket to heaven and in their interest, these elite are now using this "war on terror" farce to steal massively from their public by a paranoid atmosphere of fright. According to the 2006 US budget, the government?s discretionary spending on defense, almost $450 billion, is greater than its discretionary spending on all other programs combined. Add to this discretionary spending the non-discretionary part and you come up with a whopping $800 billion figure, according to some calculations of a line-by-line analysis of the budget. 9/11 has been highly publicized, used and abused by the US elite for their many motives, there is no threat from "political Islam" either or any external enemy. Factually 9/11 is a non-issue compared to even the murders committed in the US every year that exceed those killed in 9/11 by over 10,000. There is certainly no threat facing the US comparable to the scale of destruction it brings upon whole countries or the chokehold it has placed upon the majority world through its economic domination. Only fools would believe that a country (US) with the most massive military power in the world is "threatened" by a few people roaming around in caves brandishing ak-47s and (world war 2 vintage) RPGs, yet this farce has been sold not only to the US public but world wide as poor countries busy themselves to fight a "war on terror" on the behalf of the US while ignoring their overwhelming domestic problems. We must reject this lie, and reject it in totality.

So here is what i think, ?Be Godly? The secret of spiritual protection is through the spiritual forces that protect and watch over us called the attributes.When judgements are decreed against us these forces can safeguard us from their influence .We begin drawing the protection to ourselves at the very moment we begin to put them to use. BE GRACIOUS,BENEFICIENT BE KIND BE POLITE BE HELPFUL BE FAVOURABLE BE MERCIFUL BE FORGIVING - EVEN IF ANGRY BE THE SOVEREIGN COMPETE TO BE THE HIGHEST IN AUTHORITY BE HOLY BE FREE FROM ,SIN,TRANSGRESSION,OFFENCE BE THE SOURCE OF PEACE THE SOURCE OF HARMONY AND FREEDOM FROM WAR. BE THE SOURCE OF SECURITY THE SOURCE OF PROTECTION AND CAUTION BE THE SOURCE OF SAFETY THE SOURCE OF FREEDOM FROM RISK. BE ABLE TO GIVE FAITH AND BESTOW SECURITY GIVE FAITH ?With a concrete PLAN. e.t.c Fa-itha sawwaytuhu wanafakhtu feehimin roohee faqaAAoo lahu sajideena "When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My spirit, fall ye down in obeisance unto him." Fa-itha sawwaytuhu wanafakhtu feehimin roohee faqaAAoo lahu sajideena "When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My spirit, fall ye down in obeisance unto him." Do we have his spirit inside ?Then which of his attributes do we lack , - try to embody/awaken them in yourself and . Quranic Dictionary Abada ? to accept the impression of a thing/to serve/worship/adore Ibadat ? The impress of divine attributes and imbibing and reflecting them on one?s own person. Hence QD agrees. 002.138 YUSUFALI (Our religion is) the Baptism of Allah And who can baptize better than Allah? And it is He Whom we worship. PICKTHAL (We take our) colour from Allah, and who is better than Allah at colouring. We are His worshippers. SHAKIR (Receive) the baptism of Allah, and who is better than Allah in baptising? And Him do we serve. Sibghata = Baptism =Religion/Nature/Attribute e.t.c; in the quran the attributes of God and his law are called Gods Sibgha. Innama taAAbudoona min dooni Allahiawthanan watakhluqoona ifkan inna allatheenataAAbudoona min dooni Allahi la yamlikoona lakumrizqan faibtaghoo AAinda Allahi alrrizqa waoAAbudoohuwaoshkuroo lahu ilayhi turjaAAoona "For ye do imbibe/reflect idols besides Allah, and ye invent falsehood. The things that ye imbibe/reflect besides Allah have no power to give you sustenance then seek ye sustenance from Allah, serve Him, and be grateful to Him to Him will be your return. Why not Obey God by using God?s attributes as cues for action.? I think we should be serving each of the attributes , as we serve the name Allah because those are his characteristics aren?t they? But obviously with the limits he has set in mind. Here is something http//www.free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=3218.0 Salaams.

Law does not rule rather it is a person that rules by law. No matter how perfect a system is, if there is no Just leader, the community is a misguided community. There has been a great deception that LAW can rule. Nay! It is man that rule by law. Law is dead that it can neither enforce nor defend itself. Allah says "Whoever does not judge by the Book of Allah" and did not say "Whoever does not allow the book of Allah to judge him" Allah did not talk about establishing perfect laws on earth but talked about establishing righteous servants that will rule by His laws. Where is it in history that law ruled? Is it not Might that has ruled most part of the time? Therefore, a Muslim must not accept anyone as his/her ultimate leader until he/she is convinced that such a leader is immune from sin ? that he has absolute control over himself and he is sincere. A Muslim must be vigilant to ascertain that his leader remains just. He/she has to be on the watch to ensure that he/she is obeying Allah and not the wishes of anyone. The promise of Allah is to establish His righteous servant on earth ? those just people that are very careful and highly considerate of others. Indeed such are the best community raised up for mankind. They enjoin right conduct and forbid indecency; and they believe in Allah. A just leader rules by standard principles and procedure that are apparent to the members of his community. The leader has to be seen to be just. A Muslim community is highly dynamic and unstable. There is no any assurance that a member will continue to be a member ? it depends on how much such member maintains his or her personal Taqwa. Ignorance, negligence and following the crowd are not qualities and as such a person does not need any effort to acquire them unlike wisdom, vigilance and sense of direction. To remain a Muslim, a person must remain vigilant and struggle against his carnal and irrational desires ? this is difficult for many. It is not where a person starts his journey that matters but the direction he is going. Since there is free entry and exit, the existing community can collapse all at once or it can change so drastically that there is need to start all over again in matter of educating the members. The leader is also at very high risk of enmity. Human beings easily turn enemies when their interests are touched no matter how long and close they have been to the leader. Some are not bold to announce their disloyalty. They remain hypocrites working dangerously against the leader from the background while pretending to be friends ? for others, it is cleverness. If there has to be orderliness, learning and progress, there must be standard laws. Along the standard laws, the Just leader customises and makes necessary adjustments to handle exceptions. The size of the 'body of law' of a community is inversely proportional to the level of trust in that community. Where the level of trust is higher the size of law is lower because the convention (which is the context) would have taken care of many things. In an ignorant community, law is made to regulate the masses while the arrogant rulers are mostly above it or twist it as they wish. After all, they are the interpreters. Any Muslim leader who is prevented (by the enemies) from ruling his community must fight to remove the persecution if he is able if not he is considered weak. A Muslim does not need to go to any Jurist to give him verdict. There are the guidelines outlining the wisdom of affairs from which every individual can draw and interpret according to his/her specific situation. Public laws must always be made known to the public.

peace be upon everyone, yeah here's the conversation between Sir Rabindranath Tagore and Albert Einstein. It's interesting. TAGORE I was discussing with Dr. Mendel today the new mathematical discoveries which tell us that in the realm of infinitesimal atoms chance has its play; the drama of existence is not absolutely predestined in character. EINSTEIN The facts that make science tend toward this view do not say good-bye to causality. TAGORE Maybe not, yet it appears that the idea of causality is not in the elements, but that some other force builds up with them an organized universe. EINSTEIN One tries to understand in the higher plane how the order is. The order is there, where the big elements combine and guide existence, but in the minute elements this order is not perceptible. TAGORE Thus duality is in the depths of existence, the contradiction of free impulse and the directive will which works upon it and evolves an orderly scheme of things. EINSTEIN Modern physics would not say they are contradictory. Clouds look as one from a distance, but if you see them nearby, they show themselves as disorderly drops of water. TAGORE I find a parallel in human psychology. Our passions and desires are unruly, but our character subdues these elements into a harmonious whole. Does something similar to this happen in the physical world? Are the elements rebellious, dynamic with individual impulse? And is there a principle in the physical world which dominates them and puts them into an orderly organization? EINSTEIN Even the elements are not without statistical order; elements of radium will always maintain their specific order, now and ever onward, just as they have done all along. There is, then, a statistical order in the elements. TAGORE Otherwise, the drama of existence would be too desultory. It is the constant harmony of chance and determination which makes it eternally new and living. EINSTEIN I believe that whatever we do or live for has its causality; it is good, however, that we cannot see through to it. TAGORE There is in human affairs an element of elasticity also, some freedom within a small range which is for the expression of our personality. It is like the musical system in India, which is not so rigidly fixed as western music. Our composers give a certain definite outline, a system of melody and rhythmic arrangement, and within a certain limit the player can improvise upon it. He must be one with the law of that particular melody, and then he can give spontaneous expression to his musical feeling within the prescribed regulation. We praise the composer for his genius in creating a foundation along with a superstructure of melodies, but we expect from the player his own skill in the creation of variations of melodic flourish and ornamentation. In creation we follow the central law of existence, but if we do not cut ourselves adrift from it, we can have sufficient freedom within the limits of our personality for the fullest self-expression. EINSTEIN That is possible only when there is a strong artistic tradition in music to guide the people's mind. In Europe, music has come too far away from popular art and popular feeling and has become something like a secret art with conventions and traditions of its own. TAGORE You have to be absolutely obedient to this too complicated music. In India, the measure of a singer's freedom is in his own creative personality. He can sing the composer's song as his own, if he has the power creatively to assert himself in his interpretation of the general law of the melody which he is given to interpret. EINSTEIN It requires a very high standard of art to realize fully the great idea in the original music, so that one can make variations upon it. In our country, the variations are often prescribed. TAGORE If in our conduct we can follow the law of goodness, we can have real liberty of self-expression. The principle of conduct is there, but the character which makes it true and individual is our own creation. In our music there is a duality of freedom and prescribed order. EINSTEIN Are the words of a song also free? I mean to say, is the singer at liberty to add his own words to the song which he is singing? TAGORE Yes. In Bengal we have a kind of song-kirtan, we call it-which gives freedom to the singer to introduce parenthetical comments, phrases not in the original song. This occasions great enthusiasm, since the audience is constantly thrilled by some beautiful, spontaneous sentiment added by the singer. EINSTEIN Is the metrical form quite severe? TAGORE Yes, quite. You cannot exceed the limits of versification; the singer in all his variations must keep the rhythm and the time, which is fixed. In European music you have a comparative liberty with time, but not with melody. EINSTEIN Can the Indian music be sung without words? Can one understand a song without words? TAGORE Yes, we have songs with unmeaning words, sounds which just help to act as carriers of the notes. In North India, music is an independent art, not the interpretation of words and thoughts, as in Bengal. The music is very intricate and subtle and is a complete world of melody by itself. EINSTEIN Is it not polyphonic? TAGORE Instruments are used, not for harmony, but for keeping time and adding to the volume and depth. Has melody suffered in your music by the imposition of harmony? EINSTEIN Sometimes it does suffer very much. Sometimes the harmony swallows up the melody altogether. TAGORE Melody and harmony are like lines and colors in pictures. A simple linear picture may be completely beautiful; the introduction of color may make it vague and insignificant. Yet color may, by combination with lines, create great pictures, so long as it does not smother and destroy their value. EINSTEIN It is a beautiful comparison; line is also much older than color. It seems that your melody is much richer in structure than ours. Japanese music also seems to be so. TAGORE It is difficult to analyze the effect of eastern and western music on our minds. I am deeply moved by the western music; I feel that it is great, that it is vast in its structure and grand in its composition. Our own music touches me more deeply by its fundamental lyrical appeal. European music is epic in character; it has a broad background and is Gothic in its structure. EINSTEIN This is a question we Europeans cannot properly answer, we are so used to our own music. We want to know whether our own music is a conventional or a fundamental human feeling, whether to feel consonance and dissonance is natural, or a convention which we accept. TAGORE Somehow the piano confounds me. The violin pleases me much more. EINSTEIN It would be interesting to study the effects of European music on an Indian who had never heard it when he was young. TAGORE Once I asked an English musician to analyze for me some classical music, and explain to me what elements make for the beauty of the piece. EINSTEIN The difficulty is that the really good music, whether of the East or of the West, cannot be analyzed. TAGORE Yes, and what deeply affects the hearer is beyond himself. EINSTEIN The same uncertainty will always be there about everything fundamental in our experience, in our reaction to art, whether in Europe or in Asia. Even the red flower I see before me on your table may not be the same to you and me. TAGORE And yet there is always going on the process of reconciliation between them, the individual taste conforming to the universal standard. http//www.schoolofwisdom.com/tagore-einstein.html

SELF-AWARENESS Think about yourself; your history and what you are doing presently. Project yourself into future and imagine what you could become ? this is self-awareness ? a special endowment. Every human being enters into this world without knowing anything about himself. Learning begins in this world. As a child, every human being develops the concept of self. The learning (upon which this concept is based) is not done attentively. At adulthood, a person begins for the first time to discover himself. This is the time that we talk of actual self-awareness. At this stage, a person who does not know what he does and why he is doing it is but a fool. An adult is expected to be in charge of himself. As an adult, a person is blessed with the rational sense (al-Aql) by which he discerns Truth from Falsehood. He is also blessed with accumulation of facts which he gathered throughout the period of childhood and he is still gathering. Am adult is expected to use his Aql to extract meanings out of the facts. This is how an adult becomes wise and grows in the world of awareness. ?He it is Who created you from dust, then from a drop (of seed) then from a clot, then brought you forth as a child, then (ordained) that you attain full strength and afterward that you become old men though some among you die before; and that ye reach an appointed term, that haply you may use your Aql.? Self-awareness therefore, is the first and the central pillar that an adult has to erect in his life. There is no how an adult can learn wisdom without self-awareness. How can a person know God and yet he is not aware of himself? What will that God be? Whosoever knows himself indeed has known his Lord. KNOWLEDGE OF GOD Every human being (by nature) is created to believe in a god. There is no creature of love and memory that does not build his life into a hierarchy of beliefs and values. God is the name given to anything that has the highest value in a person?s life. A person can not do but to learn. As he is learning, he can not do but to attach values to somethings in exclusion of others. The things he value are not without basis. The basis (whatever it is) is the one referred to as god. Therefore, every human being compulsorily has at least a god. Al-Islam does not preach that there is god because there is no need for that. What al-Islam preaches is monotheism - that there is just a God instead of gods; otherwise, that there is just a nature. The god of a person determines the shape of his life. The adoration shown to the god (which is also a natural process) is known as worship. Every human being worships at least a god. Monotheism is to understand and be convinced that there is just a single Lord behind all the creatures and activities in life. There is just a NATURE/LAW/MEANING in life. We acknowledge this pretty well in science though we pretend to be ignorant sometimes. Learning, without this acknowledgement, would not have been a possibility. The universal law of existence must be complete enough to take care of the hierarchy of creation if not; there will be the need for a parallel law. When there is a parallel law to the first law, there will be two independent lines of existence. That might have been an indication that there are two sources of existence or two 'gods.' There is no evidence for this. The wise God would not have reason to create two parallel laws. In that case, all the laws are based on a single mother law of existence. Because of the orderliness in existence, it has become unavoidable to run into the organisational structures and the complexities as we find them today. Instead of the billions of organised cells in the body, God could have made the body just a single entity that do not need the integration of components. That would have called for a parallel law in existence. Since there must be no parallel law, here we are with all the structures and the complexities as found today. There is truth and there is conduct that is in conformity with the Universal law ? such is the right conduct. Indecency is injustice or a deviation from the truth. A Monotheist does not give regard, love or obey anything that is not in line with the Truth. A Monotheist understands that God (the only Lord) is absolutely Aware, Wise, Just and Powerful. A Monotheist therefore go after God as the absolute TRUTH and does not give regard to anything that stands on his way (be it his lower desires or other creatures). A Monotheist only knows and gives allegiance to God as against the selfish and rebellious governments in the world today. Whosoever does not judge by what God has revealed (and he is aware) is indeed a rebel. The Sunnis and Shias announce loudly in their Call to Prayer daily that they do not recognize any authority but God and also say in their prayers 5 times a day that they worship and seek help from God alone whereas they continue in their practical life to be part and parcel of nationalist governments. What a joke! Shariati laments We see that the teaching of monotheism ends in the schools of the traditional centers of learning and, if, after this, any mention is made of it, it is discussed only in the groups of Divine sages and spiritual Gnostics and that, in the form of words, philosophical and subjective conversations removed from life and alien to the people; the emphasis is more upon proving the existence of God and not monotheism. In practical terms, ?Monotheism means nothing. It is a subject which has been solved,? and solved at the command of the enemy, or, at least, to his benefit! Hajj by Ali Shariati p. 4 COMMUNICATION WITH THE LORD A Monotheist knows and understands that the Wise Lord can not leave him without guidance - so, he seeks for His guidance. It is in this search of a Monotheist that he comes across or hears of people who claim to have brought or are preaching the messages of God. Those people are known generally as the prophets of God. A prophet is a person appointed by God to promulgate His messages to the servants. The duty of the prophets (being human beings themselves) is to advice their people against superstitions and unscientific approach to life and invite them to the use of their INTERNAL GUIDE (AL-AQL) that is embedded in every adult among them. A prophet does not come with any new reality rather he explains the existing reality which everyone can verify and confirm by his brain. A prophet does not impose explanation or acceptance on anyone; everyone has the choice to disregard the prophets but then the consequence of the other side of the stick. Anyone who picks up a stick has consequently picked up the two sides of it. A prophet is an extra favour from the Wise Lord to the servants. When people accept a prophet and they become a community, the prophet becomes the leader of the community. Leadership is human control and coordination of activities of two or more people that are relating and their interaction needs coordination. Where there is no interaction, there is no leadership. While every just person is a guide, not all just people are prophets. A Monotheist, knowing the justice of God, understands pretty well that the Lord would not leave any community without at least a guide. There is no moment in life of which there is not at least a guide. It is left for whoever is thirsty to discover where the water is. God sent his prophets with messages for humankind when they were living in villages and were quite far from each other. To believe in all the previous prophets is to believe in the justice of God and to understand that the line of message had remained the same throughout history. It must be understood at this juncture that by prophets, I am only referring to the true prophets. They all preached the same message which is no servitude to anyone but the TRUTH. Now that the world is one, God sent Muhammad with a complete and protected message. It is because the message is protected from adulteration unlike the previous books and it is because it is meant for all humankind that there is no need for any prophet again - Muhammad was the last prophet of God. Al-Qur?an therefore, is the prophet of all human beings for all time. A prophet was either sent in the past to bring the message of God or to clarify the message where it had been adulterated. There is no need now for a messenger or a prophet because al-Qur?an is enough. The holy prophet lived his life according to the Qur?an and warned that everything must be judged according to al-Qur?an alone. There are permanent values and principles in life that are not subject to space and time. God enumerated them in Al-Qur?an. They are the bases of Jurisprudence. There are issues that can only be determined or are conditioned by circumstances; God gives discretion to human beings in such issues though under the fundamental principles. HEREAFTER A Monotheist knows and understands that life without Hereafter is totally meaningless. A drama that does not end up in a complete cycle of desire and satisfaction is meaningless therefore the drama in life can not be terminated abruptly. If everything in life is meaningful as we inherently believe, we must of necessity understand that life as a whole is meaningful. What meaning can we see in life if there is no continuation to Hereafter? To regard anything as meaningful, it must make a complete cycle of desire - satisfaction. It must be a complete event. Therefore, the fundamental beliefs after SELF-AWARENESS are MONOTHEISM; THE MESSAGE; HEREAFTER. The belief in the message necessitates the belief in the Messengers (Angels and Men) and necessitates the belief in the Apostles generally because they all preached the same message.

Peace All, Some words of Osho on this subject is worth to ponder on (Part One) The Sanskrit word for falling apart is PAT ? PAT means falling apart, to fall. From PAT comes the Hindi word PATAN ? PATAN means fall. He fell in two. And because of the word PAT, a husband in India is called PATI and a wife is called PATNI. He fell into two parts ? one part became PATI, husband, the other part became PATNI, wife. The words PAT, and PATNI are derived from PAT ? he fell in two. And since then, the myth says, they have been trying to reach each other again, because now they are feeling very much separated and divorced. Hence the desire for love, the immense desire for love, the search for the other ? to find someone with whom you can be one again. When you are together with a beloved one you lose identities. You cannot feel who you are because the other is involved, intimately involved, in your being. In love, ego disappears. When you hate, when you fight, when you struggle, ego arises. When you are sitting with your enemy you are perfectly well-defined because you are not overflowing, he is not overflowing. You don?t meet anywhere. There is distance. So the whole thing is that when you struggle, it is not for truth. When you struggle, it is not for nirvana, enlightenment. When you struggle, the deep urge is to declare yourself ? that you are powerful, that you are against the world, against existence. But then there is trouble also. Once you declare ?I am?, there arises a great fear that if ?I am? then there is every possibility that one day ?I may not be?. You have to understand this. This is one of the basic, fundamental problems each intelligent person has to face. First you try to declare ?I am? and you feel very good that ?I am?, that ?I am somebody, someone special.? So for your whole life you try to become special, extraordinary in some way or other become a famous painter or a poet or a politician; have more money than anybody else has; make a palace to live in so everybody feels jealous; in some way prove that you are special, you are not in an ordinary rut, you are not of the crowd, you are above the crowd; or become an ascetic, renounce the world; or stand on your head and become a yogi ? but do something so that the whole world comes to know that you are not ordinary, you are special. People do so many things so different from each other, but the motive is the same. If you go deeper you will find the same motive. They want to declare to the world ?I am?. But then a problem arises. First you have to struggle to prove that you are, and then once you have proved it, anxiety comes in. The anxiety is that if you are, you can disappear too. Anything that is, is going towards annihilation. The tree was there yesterday, now it is gone. The flower was there in the morning; in the evening it has gone, withered away. The child was alive and now the child is dead. Everywhere you see that birth is continuously followed by death. - Existence is surrounded by non-existence. Life seems to be always provoking death ? they seem to be parallel. peace

This topic has been moved to Health & Fitness. http//www.free-minds.org80/forum/index.php?topic=5700.0

http//www.judeoscope.ca/breve.php3?id_breve=1212 Ahmed Subhi Mansoor, among others, has been named as apostates by these hadith-lovers.

You will like to know this man. Who is he? Cartoonists make mean caricatures of him. Wise men revere him as a great man. Over a billion bear witness he is the Messengr of God. Encyclopaedia Britannica says "Muhammad is the most successful of all Prophets and religious personalities." It states ".. A mass of detail in the early sources show that he was an honest and upright man who had gained the respect and loyalty of others who were likewise honest and upright men." (Vol.12) Sir George Bernard Shaw in "The Genuine Islam" (Vol.1, No.8, 1936) says "I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation because of its wonderful vitality. It is the only religion, which appears to me to possess that assimilating capacity to the changing phase of existence, which can make itself appeal to every age." "I have studied him - the wonderful man and in my opinion far from being an anti-Christ, he must be called the Savior of Humanity." "I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness." "I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be aceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the Europe of today." "If any religion had the chance of ruling over England, nay Europe within the next hundred years, it could be Islam." Yes .. he was Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). He was by far the most remarkable man that ever set foot on this earth. He preached a religion, founded a state, built a nation, laid down a moral code, initiated numerous social & political reforms. He established a powerful and dynamic society to practice and represent his teachings and completely revolutionized the worlds of human thought and behaviour for all times to come. His Mission impossible .. He was born in Arabia in the year 570, started his mission of preaching the religion of Truth, Islam (submission to One God) at the age of forty and departed from this world at age sixty-three. During this short period of 23 years of his Prophethood, he completely changed the Arabian peninsula. From paganism and idolatry to submission to the One True God. From tribal quarrels and wars to national solidarity and cohesion. From drunkenness and debauchery to sobriety and piety. From lawlessness and anarchy to disciplined living. From utter bankruptcy to the highest standards of moral excellence. Human history has never known such complete transformation of a society or a place before or since. All these wonders in just over two decades. Rev. Reginald Bosworth Smith states "He was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without Pope's pretensions, Caesar without the legions of Caesar without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a palace, without a fixed revenue, if ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by the right divine, it was Muhammad, for he had all the power without its instrument and without its supports." Michael H. Hart, when he ranked Prophet Muhammad 1st in t list. The 100 A ranking of hte most influential persons in history, New York, 1978, p.33 "My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels." Napolean Bonaparte, quoted in Christian Cherfil's Bonaparte et Islam - Paris 1914 "I hope the time is not far off when I shall be able to unite all the wise and educated men of all the countries and establish a uniform regime based on the principles of Quran which alone are true and which alone can lead men to happiness. Lamar Tine, the renowned historian, speaking of the essentials of human greatness. (Alphonse de Lamar Tine, Histoire de la Turquie, Paris - 1854, Vo.II, pp 276-277 "If greatness of purpose, smallness of means and astounding results are the three criteria of human genius, who could dare to compare any great man in modern history than Muhammad?" "The most famous man created arms, laws and empires only. They founded , if anything at all, no more than material powers which often crumbled away before their eyes. This man moved not only armies, legislation, empires, peoples and dynasties, but millions of men in one-third of the then inhabited world, and more than that, he moved the altars, the gods, the religions, the ideas, the beliefs and souls .." His forbearance in victory, his ambition, which was entirely devoted to one idea and in no manner striving for an empire; his endless prayers, his mystic conversations with God, his death and his triumph after death; all these attest not to an imposture but to a firm conviction which gave him the power to restore a dogma." "Philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator, warrior, conqueror of ideas, restorer of rational dogmas, of a cult without images, the founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire, that is, Muhammad. "As regards all the standards by which Human Greatness may be measured, we may well ask Is there any man greater than he?" The world has its share of great personalities. But these were one-sided figures who distinguished themselves in but one or two fields, such as religious thought or military leadership. The lives and teachings of these great personalities of the world are shrouded in the mist of time. There is so much speculation about the time and place of their birth, the mode and style of their life, the nature and detail of their teachings and the degree and measure of their success or failure that it is impossible for humanity to reconstruct accurately the lives and teachings of these men. Professor Hurgronje says "The league of nations founded by the Prophet of Islam put the principle of international unity and human brotherhood on such universal foundations as to show candle to other nations." He continues "The fact is that no nation of the world can show a parallel to what Islam has done towards the realization of the idea of the League of Nations." Edward Gibbon and Simon Ockley History of the Saracen Empires, London, 1870, p.54 "I believe in One God, and Muhammad, an Apostle of God is the simple and invariable profession of Islam. The intellectual image of the Diety has never been degraded by any visible idol; the honor of the Prophet has never transgressed the measure of human virtues; and his living precepts have restrained the gratitude within the bounds of reason and religion." Thomas Carlyle, in his book 'Heroes And HeroWorship' "The lies (Western slander) which well-meaning zeal has heaped round this man (Muhammad) are disgraceful to ourselves only .. How one man single-handedly, could weld warring tribes and wandering Bedouins into a most powerful and civilized nation in less than two decades .. A silent great soul, one of that who cannot but be earnest. He was to kindle the world, the world's Maker had ordered so." Nothing more than a human being ... Muhammad (pbuh) was nothing more or less than a human being. But he was a man with a noble mission, which was to unite humanity on the submission to One and Only God and to teach them the way to ideal and upright living based on the commandments of God. He always described himself as 'A servant and Messenger of God,' and so indeed every action of his proclaimed to be. The world has not hesitated to raise to divinity, individuals whose lives and missions have been lost in legend. Historically speaking, none of these legends achieved even a fraction of what Muhammad (pbuh) accomplished. And all his striving was for the sole purpose of uniting mankind for the worship of One God on the codes of moral excellence. He achieved so much in such diverse fields of human thought and behaviour in the fullest blaze of human history. Mahatma Gandhi says in 'Young India' "I wanted to know the best of one who holds today's undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind ... I became more than convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for pledges, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission .." Sarojini Naidu, the famous Indian poetess says "It was the first religion that preached and practiced democracy; for, in the mosque, when the call for prayer is sounded and worshipers are gathered together, the democracy of Islam is embodied five times a day when the peasant and king kneel side by side and proclaim 'God Alone is Great' ... Annie Besant in The Life & Teachings of Muhammad says "It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and character of the great Prophet of Arabia, to feel anything but reverence for that mighty Prophet, one of the great messengers of the Supreme. And although in what I put to you I shall say many things which maybe familiar to many, yet I myself feel whenever I re-read them, a new way of admiration, a new sense of reverence for that mighty Arabian teacher." Today after a lapse of 14 centuries, the life and teachings of Muhammad (pbuh) have survived. They offer the same undying hope for treating mankind's many ills, which they did when he was alive. This is not a claim of Muhammad's (pbuh) followers but also the inescapable conclusion forced upon by a critical and unbiased history. Muhammad (pbuh) was a teacher, a social reformer, a moral guide, an administrative colossus, a faithful friend, a wonderful companion, a devoted husband, a loving father and grandfather - all in one. No other man in history ever excelled or equaled him in any of these aspects of life - but it was only for the selfless personality of Muhammad (pbuh) to achieve such incredible perfections. Lane-Poole in 'Speeches and the Table Talk of the Prophet' "He was the most faithful protector of those he protected, the sweetest and most agreeable in conversation. Those who saw him were suddenly filled with reverence; those who came near him loved him; they who described him would say, 'I have never seen his like either before or after.' He was of great taciturnity, but when he spoke it was with emphasis and deliberation, and no one could forget what he said." Washington Irving says "His military triumphs awakened no pride nor vain glory as they would have done had they been effected by selfish purposes. In the time of his greatest power he maintained the same simplicity of manner and appearance as in the days of his adversity. So far from affecting regal state, he was displeased if, on entering a room, any unusual testimonial of respect was shown to him." Prof. Jules Masserman of USA Psychiatric Association says "People like Pasteur and Salk are leaders in the first sense. People like Gandhi and Confucius, on the one hand, and Alexander, Caesar and Hitler on the other, are leaders in the second and perhaps the third sense. Jesus and Buddha belong in the third category alone. Perhaps the greatest leader of all times was Muhammad, who combined all three functions. To a lesser degree, Moses did the same." The least one can do as a thinking and concerned human being is to stop for a moment and ask themselves Could these statements sounding so extraordinary and revolutionary be really true? It will cost you nothng but it may prove to be the beginning of a completely new era in one's life, even of a Muslim! It is impossible to cover Muhammad's accomplishments, quoting just 15 most famous people of the world and putting them up on a few pages .. the essence of what God told to this man in 6000+ verses. Thank you for your time.