How pornography destroys lives, interview with Pamela Paul about ‘Pornified’ — Beliefnet.com

“Porn is for everyone,” says author Pamela Paul, whose new book, “Pornified,” details how the widespread use of pornography is changing American culture and relationships. Paul expected to find pornography use mainly in the realm of “losers who couldn’t get a date” when she started researching the book. Instead, she found that it was mainstream, bridging religious, ethnic, educational, and socio-economic barriers. She was even more surprised, however, by how often pornography use ruins relationships, increases sexual dysfunction, and changes what men expect from women. Paul spoke with Beliefnet recently about pornography addiction, how the internet has changed porn consumption, and what secular culture can learn from the way religious groups confront pornography use. Paul will also lead a three-week dialogue group to answer questions and discuss with readers how pornography has transformed their own lives.

See also:

Pornified America–The Culture of Pornography
Pornified - New York Times Review

Why Your Coffee Sucks (and How to Drink Great Coffee for a Fraction of What You’re Paying Now) | LifeRemix Blog

For more than a millenium now, people have been drinking coffee. You can hardly drive down a major street (in the US, anyway) without encountering one or more Starbucks establishments. For all of it’s forms and varieties, it’s one of the most-consumed beverages in the world. I’m sure many of you reading this are probably doing so with a hot cup of joe within arms’ reach - which is what makes what I’m about to say all the more meaningful and pointed: Your coffee is, most likely, crap. [Read on…]

Acting upon this useful “knowledge,” a good friend and I–seekers of Beauty in the joys of this life–went to the downtown store of Green Beanery. We picked up:

(a) a coffee grinder (we settled on a Bodum Antigua Electric Burr Grinder); and
(b) a really wonderful, cool, simple, an reasonably-priced coffee press: the Aerobie AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker.

This Aeropress really does make, “… a remarkably good straight espresso and an excellent Americano-style taller cup. In fact, it produces a better espresso shot than many home machines that cost twenty or thirty times as much.” Kenneth Davids – Author of: Coffee: A Guide to Buying Brewing and Enjoying Espresso.

A video on how the Aeropress works. And another.

Some history of coffee - Wikipedia: The History of Coffee.

Sufism and Coffee: Coffee - The Wine of Islam.

Aramco World: Yemen’s Well-Traveled Bean.

Comment is free: It’s in his kiss

A psychologist has confirmed something I’ve long suspected: when a man kisses a woman he’s thinking about sex, sas Cath Elliot.

Hot on the heels of the double bombshell that not only do women prefer pink, they also have a preference
for more feminine men over Neanderthals when it comes to choosing their
life partners, along comes another piece of research, this time
confirming something I’ve long suspected: when a bloke kisses a woman
there’s only one thing on his mind - sex.

Dr Gordon Gallop’s report
(pdf) Sex Differences in Romantic Kissing doesn’t phrase it quite so
crudely of course, but once you cut through the evolutionary
psychologists’ jargon it’s all pretty straightforward: when the
smooching begins, no violins wail; no husky crooner stokes up the
snogging male’s fevered imaginings with his quavering tones; no fields
of gently waving poppies or host of golden daffodils dance across his
amorous vision; Cupid’s arrow barely even grazes its target. No, he’s
thinking one thing and one thing only: “Is this the kiss that will get
her into bed?”

Guardian Unlimited | Comment is free | Thanks a million, Ayn Rand, for setting the greedy free

The trickle-down theory beloved of Greenspan and his ilk is less a philosophy than a handy excuse for avarice, says Naomi Klein

The tall graduate student, visiting the US from Sweden, would not be
satisfied with a quip. He wanted answers. “They cannot only be driven
by greed and power. They must be driven by something higher. What?”
Don’t knock power and greed, I tried to suggest - they have built
empires. But he wanted more. “What about a belief that they are
building a better world?”

Since I began touring with my book The
Shock Doctrine, I have had a number of exchanges like this, revolving
around the same basic question: when hard-right political leaders and
their advisers apply brutal economic shock therapy, do they honestly
believe the trickle-down effects will build equitable societies - or
are they just deliberately creating the conditions for yet another
corporate feeding frenzy? Put bluntly: has the world been transformed
over the past three decades by lofty ideology or by lowly greed? [Read on]

DeenPort - Qasida Muhammadiyya of Imam Busiri

Audio: Qasida Muhammadiyya
http://www.n…h.mp3

06/09/2007

Translation:
http://hquk….h.pdf

The 9/11 survivor no one can remember | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited

Tania Head’s story, as shared over the years with reporters, students, friends and hundreds of visitors to ground zero, was a remarkable account of both life and death.

She had, she said, survived the terror attack on the World Trade Centre despite having been badly burned when the plane crashed into the upper floors of the south tower.

Crawling through the chaos and carnage on the 78th floor that morning, she said, she encountered a dying man who handed her his inscribed wedding ring, which she later returned to his widow.

Her own life was saved, she said, by a selfless volunteer who extinguished the flames on her burning clothes before she was helped down the stairs. It was a journey she said she had the strength to make because she kept thinking of a beautiful white dress she was to wear at her coming wedding to a man named Dave.

globeandmail.com: Let’s not write off sharia banking

When we learn that Muslim Canadians want to start a sharia bank (a financial institution governed by Islamic religious law), our immediate reaction does not have to be that it’s one more assault on the Canadian way of life. Nor must we write it off as unpractical because Islam’s social ethic forbids charging interest on loans.

Let’s remember that chartered banks are already not the only options we have for financing ourselves. There can be room for one more. As well, let’s note that a ban on interest was imposed for centuries in Europe by both church and state. That ban is even as old as the Old Testament, which forbids Israelites from charging other Israelites interest.

So, this alternative way of financing one another has a long and diverse pedigree.

Subtle philosophical arguments against interest were advanced long ago by some of the West’s most respected thinkers, such as Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas. Medieval popes and church councils inveighed against it for more than 1,000 years. Penalties were often imposed against usurers, as all financiers were labelled if they charged interest. The idea may come as a shock to us in an age when paying interest is as much part of everyday life as borrowing money is. But if it’s new to most of us, it’s not new to history… [Read on]

Qur’an:
{(159) It was by the mercy of Allah
that you were easygoing with them (O Muhammad), for if thou hadst been
stern and fierce of heart they would have dispersed from round about
thee. So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult with them
upon the conduct of affairs. And when thou art resolved, then put thy
trust in Allah. Lo! Allah loveth those who put their trust (in Him). (160)
If Allah is your helper none can overcome you, and if He withdraw His
help from you, who is there who can help you? In Allah let believers
put their trust.

These are the characteristics of dealings between believers–between humanity, as a whole…

(1) Being easygoing;
(2) Gentleness, avoiding sternness and harshness;
(3) Being quick to forgive and overlook others’ errors;
(4) Consulting others–and what that entails, such as respecting others’ views and taking them seriously–especially when it comes to community affairs and matters that affect others;

And Allah alone gives success.

Our Moral Footprint - Vaclav Havel - New York Times

OVER the past few years the questions have been asked ever more forcefully whether global climate changes occur in natural cycles or not, to what degree we humans contribute to them, what threats stem from them and what can be done to prevent them. Scientific studies demonstrate that any changes in temperature and energy cycles on a planetary scale could mean danger for all people on all continents. [Read on]

Vaclav Havel is the former president of the Czech Republic. This article was translated by Gerald Turner from the Czech.

Cognitive Daily: What’s the best way to praise a child? Be specific.

In 1999, Melissa Kamins and Carol Dweck made a striking discovery about the best way to praise children. When you are helping a child learn to read, saying “you are a smart girl” as opposed to “you did a good job reading” results in very different behavior when she has trouble reading in the future. Children who have received praise about their abilities (”you’re smart”) rather than specific praise about a task (”you did a good job ___”) are more likely to exhibit “helpless” behavior when they encounter problems. Even though they were praised in both cases, telling kids they are “smart” just didn’t motivate them the way specific praise did.

It’s hard to deny the child’s logic in this case. “I am a smart girl,” she may think. “But I can’t read this sentence. Therefore it must be impossible.” But if she believes that she was able to do a good job reading in the past, then maybe if she just tries a little harder, she will eventually be able to surmount the current problems.

The lesson seems to be that generic praise is less effective than specific praise. But how generic is too generic? A new study led by Andrei Cimpian makes a subtler distinction between the generic and specific praise to see if the effect persists. [Read on]

The Prophet Muhammad’s Sandal (Allah bless him and give him peace) - Shukr Online

There is not a civilization that has loved and celebrated its leader as Islamic civilization has loved and celebrated its Prophet, our master Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace). Love is the strongest of all human attachments, and is the greatest thing that distinguishes the relationship of Muslims with their Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), who said, “None of you [truly] believes until I am more beloved to him than his very self, wealth, and all people.”

Motivated by this love, as
well as by an understanding of the immense importance of the personal
example of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), the Muslim
community recorded and preserved his entire life in the most exacting
detail. The Islamic scholars did not limit their attention to the moral
and legal example of the Prophet alone (Allah bless him and give him
peace). Rather, they also focused on his daily life, like his habits of
eating, drinking, and sleeping, as well as other matters that do not
have immediate legal implications. From that time, until this present
day, Muslims have sought to imitate the example of their Prophet (Allah
bless him and give him peace) in all its details, unless they were of
the particular matters that Allah Most High chose only for him.

The
Prophet’s (Allah bless him and give him peace) external, physical
appearance was also among the matters that Muslims paid great attention
to, as were his habits of dress. Among the matters of external
appearance, the Prophet’s noble sandals received particular
attention… [Read on….]

Metroblogging Karachi: McDonald - Desi version

Zaytuna Institute & Academy :: Multimedia : Audio : Reflections on Surah Al-’Asr & Surah Al-Rahman - Imam Zaid Shakir & Shaykh Hamza Yusuf

Reflections on Surah Al-’Asr & Surah Al-Rahman |
By: Shaykh Hamza & Imam Zaid
MP3: Listen

KO :: The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
(Faraz notes: Reading it now… I agree with Khalid…)

The most interesting book I’ve read in a while, and one all species who eat should read. It’s an eye opening account of the food chain which feeds us all. The basic gist is that all food is not equal, and vegetables and animals provide very different nutritional values depending on how they’re grown. The author in an interview said “Socrates said that the unexamined life is not worth living, but what about the unexamined meal? Industrial agriculture depends upon us not examining-in fact, knowing as little as possible about-the food we eat.”

This really is a staggering simple concept, and is obvious that the real wonder is that after a lifetime of evolution how a few decades of frankenfood much of humanity completely forgot to think about one of the most important activities we do - eating. Industrial farmings over reliance on fertilizers and pesticides is destroying the very food grown, along with destroying the environment and weakening those who eat it, whether man or animal. Fast Food Nation told the horribly sad story of the modern industrial animal, but this book tells the entire story of how food reaches you.

The surprising answers Pollan offers to the simple question posed by this book have profound political, economic, psychological, and even moral implications for all of us. Beautifully written and thrillingly argued, The Omnivore’s Dilemma promises to change the way we think about the politics and pleasure of eating. For anyone who reads it, dinner will never again look, or taste, quite the same.

It’s not just that what we eat affects us, the production chain starting from out stomachs all the way back to the fields where it grew affects not only our bodies but in a fashion defines the world we live in.

more

* NYTimes: Deconstructing Dinner
* More reviews linked to on the book website
* An open letter to Micheal Pollan from the Whole Foods company :: This is one of the largest industrial-organic company in the US, and thus comes under a lot of criticism in the book.

The cost of living extremely well | Free exchange | Economist.com

SURE, incomes for the wealthiest are rising at a faster rate than for the rest of us, but before you unleash your virulent class resentments, stop and ask yourself, “Do I really know how hard it is to be immensely rich these days?” Well, do you? According to Forbes’ “Cost of Living Extremely Well Index” the price of luxury goods rose by six percent this year, twice the rate of inflation. Living it up has never cost so much, its seems. Sad, really.

However, the Forbes’ representative in this Reuters report raises a fascinating question:

“The bottom line is, if you have money and you want to spend it you’re going to spend it,” said Scott DeCarlo at Forbes.

“A normal consumer may pull back, but if you’re buying any of these items I don’t think the cost of inflation will have any effects,” he also said.

Just as the recent spike in energy prices may be seen as a natural experiment testing assumptions about the elasticity of demand under a carbon tax, perhaps we may see the increasing real cost of luxury goods as providing a test for assumptions about elasticity for demand under a progressive consumption tax. As Dana Thomas, author of “Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Lustre”, complains (strangely enough), mass-fabricated, democratised luxury goods are losing their status-signaling cachet. So, for her, surely the Rising Cost of Living Extremely Well must come as a good omen! If the goal is to signal that “cost is no object”, then what could strengthen that signal better than an increase in costs. Such is the nature of the exotic Veblen good, which becomes more desirable as its price increases.

Alas, it is unlikely anything so weird and wonderful is at play. Mr DeCarlo is right that this rate of luxury inflation is likely irrelevant. From 2000 to 2007, the fortunate denizens of the 95th percentile of the income distribution saw their real wages increase about 9 percent—compared to an average around 3 percent. The rich are getting richer so much faster than the rest of us that luxury goods with a price tag that rose in line with inflation would swiftly become a bargain, requring a rapidly decreasing portion of a world-beating budget to buy. Indeed, with the rate of recent top-end real wage gains, luxury goods with prices that rise at twice the rate of inflation still require an ever-smaller part of a top yearly income.

Not that we’re jealous, or anything.

Paradise One » Blog Archive » To the Atheist

Heres an interesting story related to us by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani:

(So an Egyptian grad. student is sitting at the da’wah table at the University of Toronto, when a fellow student walks up to him..)

Atheist: “I don’t believe in god”

Egyptian grad student: “I do not believe in the god that you don’t believe in, but I believe in a God that you do not know about”

..SubhanAllah, this is definitely something to ponder over.

Imam Zaid Shakir’s New Islamic Directions

Hold fast to the Rope of Allah, all together, and be not divided. (Qur’an, 3:103)

Surely, those who have made divisions in their religion and turned into
factions, you have nothing to do with them. Their case rests with
Allah; then He will inform them of what they used to do. (Qur’an,
6:159)

In light of the Divine Word, we recognize that the historical nature
of Sunni Islam is a broad one that proceeds from a shared respect for
the Qur’an and Sunnah, a shared dependence on the interpretations
and derivations of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), and
a shared respect for the writings of a vast array of scholars who have
been identified by their support for and affiliation with the Sunni
Muslims and have been accepted as the luminaries of Sunni Islam - as
broadly defined.

Likewise, detailed discussions in matters of theology are the
specific domain of trained specialists, and proceed on the basis of
well-defined principles and methodologies, which are beyond the
knowledge of the generality of Muslims.

Our forebears in faith, with all the dedication, brilliance and
sincerity clearly manifested in their works, have debated and discussed
abstruse and complex issues of creed and practice, and have failed in
most instances to convince their opponents of the veracity and accuracy
of their positions.

The average Muslim is only responsible for knowing the basics of creed
as they relate to a simple belief in Allah, His Angels, Scriptures, the
Prophets and Messengers, the Last Day, and the Divine Decree.

Recognizing that the specter of sectarianism threatens to further
weaken and debilitate our struggling Muslim community at this critical
time in human affairs, and recognizing that Allah, Exalted is He, has
given the Muslim community in the West a unique historical opportunity
to advance the cause of peace, cooperation, and goodwill amongst the
people of the world, we the undersigned respectfully:

- Urge Muslims to categorically cease all attacks on individual Muslims
and organizations whose varying positions can be substantiated based on
the broad scholarly tradition of the Sunni Muslims. We especially urge
the immediate cessation of all implicit or explicit charges of
disbelief;

- Urge Muslim scholars and students of sacred knowledge to take the
lead in working to end ad hominem attacks on other scholars and
students; to cease unproductive, overly polemical writings and oral
discourse; and to work to stimulate greater understanding and
cooperation between Muslims, at both the level of the leadership and
the general community;

-Urge Muslims in the West, especially our youth, to leave off
unproductive and divisive discussions of involved theological issues
that are the proper domain of trained specialists, and we especially
discourage participation in those internet chat rooms, campus
discussion groups, and other forums that only serve to create ill-will
among many Muslims, while fostering a divisive, sectarian spirit;

-Urge all teachers to instruct their students, especially those
attending intensive programs, to respect the diverse nature of our
communities and to refrain from aggressive challenges to local
scholars, especially those known for their learning and piety;

- Urge our brothers and sisters in faith to concentrate on enriching
their lives by deepening their practice of Islam through properly
learning the basics of the faith, adopting a consistent regimen of
Qur’anic recitation, endeavoring to remember and invoke Allah in
the morning and evening, learning the basics of jurisprudence,
attempting to engage in voluntary fasting as much as possible, studying
the Prophetic biography on a consistent basis, studying the etiquettes
that guide our interactions with our fellow Muslims, and the
performance of other beneficial religious acts, to the extent practical
for their circumstances;

- Finally, we urge the Believers to attempt to undertake individual
and collective actions that will help to counter the growing campaign
of anti-Islamic misinformation and propaganda that attempts to portray
our religion as a violence-prone relic of the past unsuitable for
modern society, and by so doing justify indiscriminate wars against
Muslim peoples, occupation of Muslim lands, and usurpation of their
resources.

Saying this, we do not deny the reality of legitimate differences and
approaches, nor the passionate advocacy of specific positions based on
those differences. Such issues should be rightfully discussed observing
established rules of debate. However, we urge the above measures to
help prevent those differences from destroying the historical unity and
integrity of the Muslim community, and creating irreparable divisions
between our hearts. Further, we do not deny the urgency, especially in
light of the situation in Iraq, of efforts to foster greater
cooperation between diverse Muslim communities. Hence, this document
should not be seen as negating any statements, or declarations designed
to foster greater peace and harmony between diverse Muslim communities.
However, we feel, as Sunni Muslims, a pressing need to first set our
own affairs in order.

In conclusion, having called our brothers and sisters to act on these
points, we, the undersigned, pledge to be the first to actively
implement them in response to the Divine Word:

Do you enjoin righteousness on the people and refuse to follow it
yourselves and all along you are reciting the scripture!? Will you not
reflect? (Qur’an (2:44)

We ask Allah for the ability to do that which He loves. And Allah alone is the Grantor of Success.

Signed,

Abdelrahman Helbawi

Abdul Karim Khalil

Abdullah Adhami

Abdurraheem Green

Abdur-Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera

Abu Aaliyah Surkheel Sharif

Abu Eesa Niamatullah

Aisha Faleh AlThani

Asma Mirza

Cheikhna B. Bayyah

Dawood Yasin

Ebadur Rahman

Faraz Rabbani

Fuad Nahdi

Gul Mohammad

Haitham al-Haddad

Hamza Yusuf

Hasan al-Banna

Ibrahim Osi-Efa

Jihad Hashim Brown

M. Abdul Latif Finch

M. Afifi al-Akiti

Mehdi Kader

Mokhtar Maghroui

Muhammad Alshareef

Muhammad Ash-Shaybani

Muhammad ibn Adam

Omar Qureshi

S. Abdal-Hakim Jackson

Shamira Chothia Ahmed

Siddique Abdullah

Suhaib Webb

Tahir Anwar

Talal Al-Azem

Tanveer Hussain

Tawfique Chowdhury

Usama Canon

Usama Hasan

*Note: New Islamic Directions Supports the Amman Initiative to encourage greater respect and cooperation between Sunni and Shi’i Muslims.

BBC NEWS | UK | Magazine | Beyond the pale?

One of Bollywood’s biggest film stars is being criticised by Asian campaigners for promoting a skin-lightening cream - a product that is now on the shelves of British shops.

The 40-second advertisement from India starts like so many others promoting razors or hair dye - but it’s an ad with a very big difference.

Islamic banks apply to set up shop in Canada | Breaking City News | Reuters.co.uk

Canada’s banking regulator said on Monday it has received two applications from groups wanting to set up the first Islamic banks in the country, a small but growing industry in Western nations.

“In terms of formal applications, this would be the first two,” said Normand Bergevin, managing director of approvals and precedents at the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI).

Islamic finance complies with the religion’s ban on charging interest — a key facet of traditional banking — and on investing in products associated with alcohol and gambling.

Islamica Magazine - Calling the Turning Falcon

Can the center hold against the blood-dimmed tide? Prince Ghazi Bin Muhammad writes…

SunniPath: The Online Islamic Academy

Discover more of SunniPath Academy

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New Muslims can take advantage of our free courses to learn the basics of belief and practice.

» Learn more about these courses

MotherJones.com | MoJoBlog - Social Issues and Political Commentary: Why Banks Want Your Checks to Bounce

Back in the day, writing bad checks used to be a criminal offense. Now, it’s a profit center. Banks make an eye-popping $17.5 billion a year by encouraging us to overdraw our checking accounts. Banks hold on to deposits and clear checks in a way that ensures the maximum number of bounces, regardless of when the checks were actually cashed. They let us use ATM and debit cards even when there’s no money in our accounts. Then they charge us $34 a pop for the favor. Some banks even charge extra fees for every day an account is in the red, turning overdraft “protection” into a form of loansharking, with interest rates that would make Tony Soprano blush. Except when banks do it, it’s all legal.

Tomorrow, the U.S. House Financial Services Committee will vote on a
bill that might change some of this. Among other things, H.R. 946
would prohibit banks from manipulating check-clearing to enhance
overdraft fees and require banks to warn customers that their accounts
are overdrawn before allowing them to make a purchase with a debit card
or make an ATM withdrawal. Seems sensible enough, but expect a major
fight over this one, given the money involved. You can read more about
overdraft abuses here.

Jail for 172mph Porsche driver | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited

The fastest speeding motorist ever caught in Britain was jailed for 10 weeks today after he admitted driving a Porsche at 172mph.

Tim Brady, of Harrow, north-west London, was caught in a random speed check as he drove a £98,000 3.6-litre 911 Turbo, Oxford crown court heard. Brady was also given a three-year driving ban and ordered to pay £474 costs.

“Your driving was criminally self-indulgent and utterly thoughtless of the danger you might be creating for the innocent,” Judge David Morton Jack said.

Disabilities and autism - Answered by Ustadha Zaynab Ansari

Question: Please forgive me for asking you the same question, I am quite desperate for an answer and this is why I am asking you once again. Please will you kindly find time to answer my question - jazak Allah khairun; I would very much like to know the opinion of the shaykhs about what the Quran and the Sunnah say about disabled or special-needs children. My knowledge about Islam is average and I have learnt a great deal from your site, as this is a personal area for me and as my family (particularly my mother) is very upset that both my children are autistic. Although I have explained that they are indeed a test from Allah I need more than this to console her, I have also said that this is probably Allah’s way of telling us that their condition could have been worse but Alhamdolillah it isn’t and we have to abide by Allah’s decisions. Please will you kindly explain to me why Allah has chosen every one to be different (in my mind I know why) but I need the words of someone who is greater in knowledge.

Answer: As the mother of an autistic child, I can truly understand what you’re going through. [Read on….]

This gets my vote for Best Islamic Answer of the Year. Don’t Miss.

Why I don’t engage in madhhab superiority games :: Shar‘ī Perspectives

During the first year or two of studying fiqh I engaged in madhhab superiority games. It still amazes me how many reasons I came up with for the superiority and grandness of my school. After a while I realised a few things