Nice article from another village www.zaytuna.org

Good point

well I guess whatever we can do here would be considered da'wa when it is something tolerable and within the laws of these societies.

T3mah, wonderful!!!! We need a thousand more activities like this. The extremist interpretation of Jihad is very limiting. We can struggle against injustice in many ways. Most importantly, with nonviolent protests, the protesters are alive to fight (and contribute to their families and communities) another day :)

ah yes...gota love those rhyming slogans...hehe :)

Alia, thanks for allowing the open discussion regarding a important issue for all of us Muslims.

I would like to share a positive Nonviolence example I experienced recently:

United American Committee along with college republican at UCI held an event last night at UCI to "promotes awareness of Islamic extremism."
These event organizers decided it is vital to show the Danish cartoons as well!!!

I was there protesting along with 800 others. Among the protesters were mothers with their babies in strollers. We were shouting ?Hey, Republicans! Stop the hate. All you do is instigate!" and some held signs as

"Yes to Freedom of Speech, No to Hate Speech," and my favorite was a repeated sign ?Freedom+responsibility= civilization. Freedom without responsibility= jungle?

The protest was organized and members or the community like CAIR L.A. answered media questions and talked about how this degradation to Muslims is what happened to Jews in Nazi Germany. Then all lined up for prayer until we peacefully parted.

I think the protest served to educate the Muslim community how to deal with ignorant people like the organizers by having one united voice and following the foot steps of our beloved prophet Mohammad ?peace be upon him- It was done in a civilized manner that I am proud I was there.

:)

that's very pleasant....for a change.

Here's a positive example of what happens when sabr exceeds outrage:

(PHOENIX, AZ, 2/28/06) - On Friday, February 24, representatives of the Arizona chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-AZ), the Muslim Students Association at Arizona State University and the Islamic Community Center of Tempe co-hosted an "Explore the Life of Muhammad" open house.

The event was part of a year-long campaign initiated by the Washington-based group as a constructive response to the publications of offensive cartoons depicting the prophet.

Almost 200 people of different faiths attended the open house. The program began with a presentation on Islam and the Prophet Muhammad by Imam Ahmed Shqeirat, followed by a question and answer session and light refreshments.

For many attendees it was their first time inside a mosque and they expressed a great interest in participating in more such open houses in the future.

"We are very happy with the turnout and are working hard at organizing similar events in order to build bridges and mutual understanding with our friends and neighbors of other faiths," said CAIR-AZ Communications Director Nure Elatari.

This whole thing has spun out of proportion and we're now the only one's losing. On the other hand, the protest on Danish goods (directed towards companies that advertised in the offending newpaper) was having a positive impact. What we need is more sabr and fewer sabers, IMHO

i wholeheartedly agree. :)