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Q&A on Islam and Arab-Americans Q: What is Islam? A: Muslims believe in one God and in the Day of Judgment and individual accountability for actions. Muslims believe in a chain of prophets beginning with Adam and including Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Issac, Jacob Joseph, Job, Moses, David, Solomon and Jesus. God's message was reaffirmed and finalized by the Prophet Muhammad. Islam is a religion of peace, mercy and forgiveness. Muslims pray in a mosque in the same way that Christians pray in a church. Q: What is the Koran? A: The Koran, or Quran, is the Muslim holy book, like the Bible is to Christianity. It is the record of the exact words revealed by God to the Prophet Muhammad. It was memorized by Muhammad and then dictated to his companions. Q: What does 'Islam' mean? A: The Arabic word "Islam" means "submission," and it derives from a word meaning "peace." In a religious context it means complete submission to the will of God. "Allah" is the Arabic name for God, which is used by Arab Muslims and Christians alike. Q: What are the 'Five Pillars' of Islam? They are the framework for Muslim life:
Q: Who are the Muslims? A: People who follow the Islamic faith come from all over the world. No more than 20% of Muslims live in the Arabic-speaking world. The country with the largest Muslim population is Indonesia. Q: What about the American Muslim community? A: An estimated 7 million Muslims live in the USA. They are made up of people from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds and national origins. Islam is one of the fastest-growing religions in the United States and around the world. Q: What is the role of women in Islam? A: Under Islamic law, women have always had the right to own property, receive an education and otherwise take part in community life. Men and women are to be respected equally. The Islamic rules for modest dress apply to women and men equally. Q: Why do Muslim women cover their hair? A: Islam teaches modesty for women and men. Women are
required to cover their bodies so that their figure is not revealed and only
their faces and hands are shown. The head scarf is called a hijab or chador.
The long, robelike garment is called an abayah, jilbab or chador.
This requirement is designed to protect women and give them respect. The dress
of Muslim women is similar to that of Christian nuns, who also cover their
bodies and hair. Muslim women are not required to cover their faces as is done
in some Middle Eastern countries. Q: Some Arab men wear a checked garment on their
heads. What is that? A: It is called a kafiyyeh, and it is traditional,
not religious. Wearing the kafiyyeh is similar to an African-American
wearing traditional African attire or an Indian wearing a sari. The kafiyyeh
shows identity and pride in one's culture. Q: What is jihad? A: Jihad does not mean "holy war." Literally, jihad in Arabic means to strive, struggle and exert effort. It is a central and broad Islamic concept that includes struggle against evil inclinations within oneself, struggle to improve the quality of life in society, struggle in the battlefield for self-defense or fighting against tyranny or oppression. Q: What does Islam say about Christianity? A: Islam teaches that Christians and Muslims are both "people of the book." By that it means that the two religions share the same basic beliefs articulated through the Bible and the Koran. The main difference between Christians and Muslims is that Muslims do not believe that Jesus was the son of God. Muslims believe that Jesus was a prophet who was granted special powers by God to show people the power of God. Q: What does Islam say about Judaism? A: Islam teaches that Jews and Muslims are both "people of the
book." By that it means that the two religions share the same basic beliefs
articulated through the Torah and the Koran. The main difference between Jews
and Muslims is that Jews do not believe in the prophets after the Jewish
prophets, including Muhammad and his teachings. Muslims, on the other hand,
believe in all the prophets including Moses, Ibraham, Jackob, Ishmael, Issac and
Jesus. Q: How does Islam view terrorism? A: Islam does not support terrorism under any
circumstances. Terrorism goes against every principle in Islam. If a Muslim
engages in terrorism, he is not following Islam. He may be wrongly using the
name of Islam for political or financial gain. Q: Does Islam tolerate other beliefs? A: Yes. It is one function of Islamic law to protect the privileged status of minorities. Islamic law also permits non-Muslims to set up their own courts, which implement family laws drawn up by the minorities themselves. Q: What is an appropriate way to greet an Arab-American? A: This is not difficult or tricky. Remember that most Arab-Americans grew up in the USA and do not require special greetings. Be yourself, and let them be themselves. If they are practicing Muslims or recent immigrants, watch for cues. A smile, a nod and a word of greeting are appropriate in most situations. Some Muslims feel it is inappropriate for unrelated men and women to shake hands. Wait until the other person extends his or her hand before you extend your own. Source: USATODAY.com research |
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World Trade Center Attack Memorial - September 11, 2001 Breaking News From GOD: April 17, 2006 11:23 AM
Send mail to Webmaster (at) Twin-Towers.net with questions or comments about
this web site. On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, at 8:45am New York local time, One World Trade Center, the north tower, was hit by a hijacked 767 commercial jet airplane, loaded with fuel for a trans-continental flight. Two World Trade Center, the south tower, was hit by a similar hijacked jet 18 minutes later at 9:03am. (In separate but related attacks, the Pentagon building near Washington D.C. was hit by a hijacked 757 at 9:43am, and at 10:10am, a fourth hijacked jetliner crashed in Pennsylvania.) The south tower, WTC 2, which had been hit second, was the first to suffer a complete structural collapse at 10:05am, 62 minutes after being hit itself, 80 minutes after the first impact. The north tower, WTC 1, then also collapsed at 10:29am, 104 minutes after being hit. WTC 7, a substantial 47 story office building in its own right, built in 1987, was damaged by the collapsing towers, caught fire, and later in the afternoon also totally collapsed. The list of collapsed buildings (as confirmed by the New York Times through Saturday, 2001.0915) included all seven buildings of the World Trade center complex — including WTC 6, the U.S Customs House to the north; WTC 3, the 22 story Marriot World Trade Center hotel just west of Tower Two; and WTC 4 and 5, the Plaza Buildings to the east (although satellite images suggest much of WTC 5, the north Plaza Building, was still standing). Other nearby buildings were significantly damaged, including the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, and One Liberty Plaza, a 54 floor, 743' tall building across Church Street to the east. About 2800 people died in the attack. The recovery and site clearing process officially concluded on May 30, 2002 with 1796 people still remain unrecovered. 1.8 million tons of debris was removed from the disaster site. Yahoo! Buzz Index Overall Leaders 1. Jennifer Lopez 2. Britney Spears 3. Euro 2004 4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 5. Usher 6. 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Buzz Index Music Movers 1. Johnny Ramone 2. Ryan Cabrera 3. 98 Degrees 4. Alanis Morissette 5. Aretha Franklin 6. The Ramones 7. Justin Guarini 8. SWV 9. William Hung 10. Dave Navarro 11. Tim McGraw 12. Tragically Hip 13. Diana DeGarmo 14. Los Lobos 15. Lionel Richie Yahoo! Buzz Index Sports Leaders 1. Euro 2004 2. Detroit Pistons 3. NBA 4. Los Angeles Lakers 5. NASCAR 6. MLB 7. Kobe Bryant 8. NBA Finals 9. U.S. Open 10. David Beckham 11. Chicago Cubs 12. NFL 13. New York Yankees 14. Olympics 15. PGA Yahoo! Buzz Index Sports Movers 1. Jeanie Buss 2. Marion Jones 3. Olympic Torch 4. New York Marathon 5. Triple Crown 6. Chauncey Billups 7. Detroit Pistons 8. Larry Brown 9. Cristiano Ronaldo 10. Darko Milicic 11. Richard Hamilton 12. Jennie Finch 13. Tayshaun Prince 14. Karl Malone 15. Gary Payton Yahoo! Buzz Index Actors and Actresses Leaders 1. Jennifer Lopez 2. Lindsay Lohan 3. Ryan Reynolds 4. Ashlee Simpson 5. Hilary Duff 6. Pamela Anderson 7. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen 8. Carmen Electra 9. Orlando Bloom 10. Johnny Depp 11. Daniel Radcliffe 12. Courteney Cox 13. Angelina Jolie 14. Jennifer Aniston 15. Emma Watson Yahoo! Buzz Index Actors and Actresses Movers 1. Jennifer Lopez 2. Ryan Reynolds 3. Sylvester Stallone 4. Owen Wilson 5. Jay Mohr 6. Gael Garcia Bernal 7. Elle MacPherson 8. Linda Blair 9. Rachel Weisz 10. Fran Drescher 11. Samaire Armstrong 12. Jenna Elfman 13. Alexa Vega 14. Joaquin Phoenix 15. Kristanna Loken Yahoo! Buzz Index Movies Leaders 1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 2. Shrek 2 3. Michael Moore 4. Spider-Man 5. Spider-Man 2 6. Lord of the Rings 7. Troy 8. Shrek 9. Fahrenheit 9-11 10. Star Wars 11. Batman Begins 12. The Day After Tomorrow 13. Stepford Wives 14. Alien vs. Predator 15. Chronicles of Riddick Yahoo! Buzz Index Video Games Leaders 1. Pokemon 2. Final Fantasy 3. GunBound 4. Sonic 5. Halo 2 6. EverQuest 7. Manhunt 8. The Sims 9. Resident Evil 10. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City 11. Star Wars Galaxies 12. Halo 13. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas 14. Zelda 15. Mega Man Yahoo! Buzz Index Video Games Movers 1. NBA Live 2004 2. SOCOM 2 3. EverQuest 4. Pokemon Crater 5. Starcraft Cheats 6. Silent Hill 4 7. Battlefield 1942 8. Command and Conquer 9. Fire Emblem 10. Mortal Kombat 11. Final Fantasy X-2 12. Sonic 13. Counter-Strike Hacks 14. FFX 15. MVP Baseball 2004 Yahoo! Buzz Index Networks Leaders 1. ESPN 2. Cartoon Network 3. Nickelodeon 4. BBC 5. CNN 6. Disney Channel 7. MTV 8. Weather Channel 9. Food Network 10. CBS 11. QVC 12. Fox News 13. Univision 14. MSNBC 15. PBS Yahoo! Buzz Index Baseball Leaders 1. Chicago Cubs 2. New York Yankees 3. Houston Astros 4. Boston Red Sox 5. Los Angeles Dodgers 6. San Francisco Giants 7. Texas Rangers 8. San Diego Padres 9. St. Louis Cardinals 10. Cincinnati Reds 11. Philadelphia Phillies 12. Atlanta Braves 13. Chicago White Sox 14. Milwaukee Brewers 15. Anaheim Angels Yahoo! Buzz Index Basketball Leaders 1. Detroit Pistons 2. Los Angeles Lakers 3. Dallas Mavericks 4. Chicago Bulls 5. Indiana Pacers 6. Sacramento Kings 7. Minnesota Timberwolves 8. San Antonio Spurs 9. Boston Celtics 10. Houston Rockets 11. New Jersey Nets 12. Orlando Magic 13. Memphis Grizzlies 14. New York Knicks 15. Phoenix Suns Yahoo! Buzz Index Football Leaders 1. Dallas Cowboys 2. Oakland Raiders 3. Green Bay Packers 4. San Francisco 49ers 5. Chicago Bears 6. Washington Redskins 7. Pittsburgh Steelers 8. Philadelphia Eagles 9. Indianapolis Colts 10. Miami Dolphins 11. Cincinnati Bengals 12. Detroit Lions 13. Seattle Seahawks 14. Cleveland Browns 15. New York Giants Yahoo! Buzz Index Hockey Leaders 1. Tampa Bay Lightning 2. Detroit Red Wings 3. Calgary Flames 4. Philadelphia Flyers kate faber Paris Hilton Sex Video TapeWORLD TRADE CENTER TERRORIST ATTACK IN NEW
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