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Thursday, June 24th, 2004
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8:40 pm - read this recently ..
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Ahead of Iraq Deployment, 37 Korean Troops Convert to Islam
I became a Muslim because I felt Islam was more humanistic than other religions. And if you can religiously connect with the locals, I think it could be a big help in carrying out our peace reconstruction mission." So said on Friday those Korean soldiers who converted to Islam ahead of their late July deployment to the Kurdish city of Irbil in northern Iraq.
At noon Friday, 37 members of the Iraq-bound "Zaitun Unit," including Lieutenant Son Hyeon-ju of the Special Forces 11th Brigade, made their way to a mosque in Hannam-dong, Seoul and held a conversion ceremony.
Captain Son Jin-gu from Zaitoon Unit recites an oath at ceremony to mark his conversion to Islam at a mosque in Hannam-dong, Seoul on Friday. /Yonhap
The soldiers, who cleansed their entire bodies in accordance with Islamic tradition, made their conversion during the Friday group prayers at the mosque, with the assistance of the "imam," or prayer leader.
With the exception of the imam, all the Muslims and the Korean soldiers stood in a straight line to symbolize how all are equal before God and took a profession on faith.
They had memorized the Arabic confession, " Ashadu an La ilaha il Allah, Muhammad-ur-Rasool-Allah," which means, "I testify that there is no god but God (Arabic: Allah), and Muhammad is the Messenger of God."
Soldiers from Zaitoon Unit pray after conversion ceremony at a mosque in Hannam-dong, Seoul on Friday./Yonhap
Moreover, as the faithful face the "Kaaba," the Islamic holy place in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, all Muslims confirm that they are brothers.
For those Korean soldiers who entered the Islamic faith, recent chances provided by the Zaitun Unit to come into contact with Islam proved decisive.
Taking into consideration the fact that most of the inhabitants of Irbil are Muslims, the unit sent its unreligious members to the Hannam-dong mosque so that they could come to understand Islam. Some of those who participated in the program were entranced by Islam and decided to convert.
A unit official said the soldiers were inspired by how important religious homogeneity was considered in the Muslim World; if you share religion, you are treated not as a foreigner, but as a local, and Muslims do not attack Muslim women even in war.
Zaitun Unit Corporal Paek Seong-uk (22) of the Army's 11th Division said, "I majored in Arabic in college and upon coming across the Quran, I had much interest in Islam, and I made up my mind to become a Muslim during this religious experience period [provided by the Zaitun Unit]."
He expressed his aspirations. "If we are sent to Iraq, I want to participate in religious ceremonies with the locals so that they can feel brotherly love and convince them that the Korean troops are not an army of occupation but a force deployed to provide humanitarian support."
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| Tuesday, June 22nd, 2004
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11:44 pm
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Since I don't have much to do at work I sit there and read. Right now I'm reading Dude Where's My Country by Michael Moore and find it really funny. I've been thinking these same ideas for years now. After I finish with this one I'm going to start on Michael's Wolfe's Hajj story which shall be interesting..
I went to my brother's 8th grade graduation ceremony today and then out to eat at this Chinese buffet, where I must have ate too much seafood because now I have a tummy ache. @-@
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| Saturday, June 19th, 2004
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11:00 am - haven't updated in agessss
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I missed you livejournal sniff sniff. My classes are over now and the other day I got a letter in the mail that said I made the president's honor's list for the semester yay. (much better than I did the semester before when I failed 2 classes.) I quit my old job at Hallmark(the pay was just too bad) and for the summer will be working at a refreshment stand at a retirement village. I'm supposed to work 4 days , but I only went in 2 days this week because of the iffy weather, not good for me. I have alot of things that I want to do this summer, wonder how many will actually get accomplished. I've been bad with doing my salat for the past month or so, but starting today I'm hopefully going to change that... :)
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| Saturday, March 27th, 2004
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10:37 pm
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| Friday, March 19th, 2004
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1:13 pm
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The children of Israel once said to Moses : O Moses we want to invite our Lord to a meal. Speak to God so that He may accept our invitation!
Moses angerily replied : Don't you know that God is beyond the need for food? But when Moses ascended to Mount Sinai God said to him: Why did you not inform me of the invitation? My servants had invited me, tell them I shall come to their feast on Friday evening.
Moses told the people and everyone began making great preparations for the day. On Friday evening an old man arrived weary from a long journey. I am so hungry, he said to Moses. Please give me something to eat. Moses said : Be patient. The Lord of all worlds is coming. Take this jug and fetch some water. You can also help serve. The old man brought water and again asked for food , but no one would feed him before the Lord arrived. It got later and later and finally everyone began criticizing Moses for misleading them.
Moses climbed Mount Sinai and said : My Lord I have been put to shame before everyone because you did not come as you promised you would. God replied: I did come. I actually approached you myself , but when I told you that I was hungry, you sent me to fetch water. I asked again but was sent away to serve. Neither you nor your people were able to welcome me with honor.
My Lord an old man came and asked me for food. But he was a mere mortal.
I was together with the servant of mine. To have honored him would have been to honor me. All of the heavens are too small to contain me but not the hearts of my servants. To care for them is to care for me.
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| Monday, January 26th, 2004
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7:32 pm
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I hate how I feel so overwhelemed at the beginning of each semester. ^-^ There's so much to do, having to buy expensive books, getting in tune with a new schedule. Ughhhh.
Oh my birthday is tommorrow :) , but I might be snowed in. I'm supposed to go to the Old Country Buffet and then to see The Return of the King for the 3rd time.
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7:30 pm - interesting
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Some of the Zoroastrian teachings,an ancient Persian religion, are
similar to Islam, e.g. the universe being created in six periods of
time. When the Muslims did conquer Persia, they came across quite a
few similar teachings and so some Muslims held the Zoroastrians in
the same respect as "The People of The Book". This shows that many
similarities were not forged for political purposes.
Zoroaster (The Parsi 'prophet'), prophesized the coming of
a "Soeshyyant", which means a "Mercy for the World". Remarkably, the
prophet of Islam MUHAMMAD (p.b.u.h) is referred to in Al-Qur'an as
a "Mercy for the World" (Surah 21:Verse 107). There are many
instances in both the main books of the Parsi religion of the coming
of an "Astvat-ereta", meaning the "Praised One". Again, it is
remarkable that the name Muhammad means the "Praised One".
In the "Dasatir", the Parsi epistle of Sasan 1, the following
prophecy occurs (translated from the old Pahlavi Language).
"When the Persians should sink so low in morality, a man will be
born in Arabia, whose followers will upset their throne, religion
and everything. The mighty stiff-necked ones of Persia will then be
overpowered. The house which was built, and in which idols have been
placed will be purged of idols, and people will start to say their
prayers facing towards it. His followers will capture the towns of
Madina, and Tus and Balkh and other sacred places. Their leader will
be a man eloquent and his message will be well connected. The wise
men of Persia and other places will join his followers"
The above is self-evident, from the beginning to the end, the
religion of Islam is predicted. No commentary is necessary as many
clear signs are mentioned in the quotation. The Kaaba (divine house)
becoming free of idols and being the Qibla, the Arabian prophet, his
companions and the Islamic conquest are precisely mentioned amongst
other signs. It is impossible for people to deny such a clear
prophecy.
The Epistle of Sasan I in Dasatir contains the prophecy about
Prophet Muhammad. Sasan I was a reformer of the Zoroastrian
religion. It is believed that this Epistle is a part of the
teachings of Prophet Zoroaster, to which Sasan I added his
explanatory notes. Some scholars have suggested that the
word `Dasatir' means ten (das) parts (tir) while others contend that
this word is derived from Dasatur, meaning religious law. The
Zoroastrians are also known as `Magians'.
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| Wednesday, January 21st, 2004
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8:53 pm
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Recently I saw the proud family episode that has a Pakistani Muslim family in it.
Even though the family seemed so stereotypical(Mom sews all of the time, daughter cooks dinner, Dad does nothing)it was still nice to see. Plus it was Ramadan for them. =p
I started my online courses today. I can't seem to log into one of them, but the other ones seem okay. I even did some homework assignments for one of them already. =p
current mood:  tired
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| Sunday, January 18th, 2004
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4:21 pm
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I had the weekend off from work and pretty much relaxed, read, shopped. =p When I was at the bookstore I saw this book called "The Trouble with Islam : A Muslim's Call for Reform in Her Faith" by Irshad Manji. I looked at it and then when I was home I checked out her website where she has a chapter by chapter summary, etc. I was thinking maybe she is writing about progressive Islam Amina Wadud style from an intelligent perspective, but Irshad seems to have no knowledge about what she is writing about. She takes Quranic verses out of context without looking at what was going on in Medina when these were revealed so that she can say ohh Islam says to kill Jews and pagans, not to take non Muslims as friends, etc. I really don't know how she wants to reform Islam because well she doesn't seem to like anything about it.
She talks about how Israel is a democracy always praising them, yet harshly critisizing the Palestinians :( , justifies the U.S. invading Iraq( she's a Canadian), etc. She might as well come out and say that she wants an Islam that will appeal to people like Daniel Pipes grrrrr.
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| Thursday, January 15th, 2004
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3:21 pm - from the book of proverbs in the old testament
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**A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteeemed is better than silver or gold.(22:1)
**Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down. (26:20)
**A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. (15:1)
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3:09 pm
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Last night it was supposed to snow 8 inches , but it looks like there's 4 out there. I wanna go and walk around in the snow, but I'm sick. :( I wake up at 6 with a sore throat, headache, weak stomach and couldn't get back to sleep for a few hours. Yuck, I don't feel like doing anything. In other news, I did buy some new speakers for my computer yesterday since my Hello Kitty ones don't work and got them hooked up today. =p
current mood:  sick
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| Monday, January 12th, 2004
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11:26 pm
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The speech of water,the speech of earth,the speech of clay-all are perceived by the folk of heart.(Rumi)
current mood:  happy
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11:11 pm
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| Saturday, January 10th, 2004
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11:01 pm
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Since my computer wasn't working for awhile I read lots of books on theology. Right now I'm reading "The Idiots Guide To The Bible" and comparing with stories of the prophets with the ones from the Quran. Quite interesting. I made my schedule out for this semester and after that I have an associates degree yayy. We shall see what I'll be doing after that...
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11:00 pm - stolen from poetargus
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You are naturally born with a gift, whether it be
poetry, writing or song. You love beauty and
creativity, and usually are highly intelligent.
Others view you as mysterious and dreamy, yet
also bold since you hold firm in your beliefs.
What Type of Soul Do You Have ?
brought to you by Quizilla
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| Thursday, September 25th, 2003
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10:17 pm
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I haven't updated here in awhile, even when I feel in the mood to write something. Isn't that weird. Well, there hasn't been any drastic changes over here. I go to school, work, think of Ars :), go shopping, read, go home and pray. lol Yesterday I went to a farm and picked vegetables. I don't know how my ancestors would work in fields all day. Spending 2 hours picking green beans is enough to make me exhausted.
I did drop my web development class since everything in the class would be a review to me and the teacher knows this, so now my schedule on Tuesdays and Thursday is from 10:50 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. Getting better! I don't know what I'm going to do with my photoshop course. I just cannot grasp the projects that we are doing in there(I feel like such an idiot) and I really don't want to drop this too. :/
I wish that there was a Muslim community around here that I could relate to. There's a few Muslims around here as it is. Whenever I go up to a girl in hijab at my college and salaam her she'll be nice to me but doesn't seem to want to become buddies. Wahhhh. Am I that unlikable? ;) Is it because I'm white, don't wear hijab, I dunno. It's hard to be alone on your spiritual path but if I want to look on the bright side I can think of some advatages too.
Being that I'm 21 yet look like I'm 16 I'm going to browse ebay and think of what I want to be for Halloween this year. The last few years I have transformed into a fairy, another type of fairy, and a medieval princess. Decisions, decisions.
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| Sunday, September 14th, 2003
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9:45 pm - I haven't posted here forever
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Let's see, on 9-11 I did watch the memorial on t.v. that
was held where the world trade center once stood since I was home sick that day. They
had the victims children read off all of the names of the people who
died and surprisingly most of those kids kept up a positive
attitude. I know that if I had to do that, I would be all teary.
Well, actually, for a very long time I tried to not think about
what happened and mostly concentrated on feeling bad for the
innocent people in Afghanistan and Iraq. It sounds terrible, but
only recently has it sunk in what actually happened on 9-11. I think
that I was in denial for a long time since:
1.my family has roots in N.Y.C. My mom was born in Brooklyn, my Dad
in the Bronx, and they actually met each other on wall street. Iwas
born up there too, but then we moved when I was a few yars old.
2. I was in N.Y.C. a week before this happened and actually ate in
the world trade center. Alhumduliilah I wasn't in there when the
plane struck the north building.
3. I always loved the world trade center =p
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| Thursday, September 4th, 2003
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1:50 pm
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It feels weird to be back in college. I really got to get used to the routine again. I have to be there Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:50 a.m. to 8:40 p.m. with a 3 hour break. lol
current mood: tired
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| Tuesday, September 2nd, 2003
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11:26 pm - what a beautiful quiz :)
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| Monday, September 1st, 2003
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9:37 pm
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Well, this Sunday and Monday have been so boring. I was off from work and I didn't even leave my house. @-@ One good thing that happened was that I just finished talking to Ars. That was great. I really missed not getting to talk to him for the past few days. <3 <3 <3
My classes begin on Wednesday and I'm kind of nervous about the programming class since I'm not too good at math. At least I have a friend who said she can help me out if I have any trouble.
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