Prophet Mohammed's Name Found On Bull's Forehead In NIgeria-

The latest religious phenomenon is taking place in Nigeria. We heard about people flocking to see the Virgin Mary in a tree trunk in New York last year, but this year it's not Christian-themed, and it's not an inanimate object, it's a bull in Nguru, Yobe State, Nigeria. Yes, a big black bull.  Apparently Muslims are claiming they see their Prophet's name "written boldly with white hair" on the bulls forehead, and believe it's a message from God. According to Sheik Hud Mohammed Yusuf- the head Imam of the Yobe Central Mosque:

"..... God has promised to show his existence, supremacy and truthfulness of Islam as the only religion of truth.

"So, people should not consider this as something different, and they should be firm in their faith because the bull is not different from other cattle we use to have in our homes and ranches," he said.

He also warned people against attaching any spiritual importance to the cow which is capable of affecting their faith in God. "Ours is to be more firm in our faith and use this as a source of Da'awa," he said.

Sheikh Yusuf added that "It is telling that the name of the Prophet appeared in white even though the cow is completely black skinned. More so, it was written on the face. This is enough for us to appreciate and preach that Islam is the religion of God," he said.

The bull is now in a local zoo after State government officials had to force the owner, Alhaji Bala, to sell it. For a hefty sum, that is. The owner apparently purchased it at a market for N25,000 and sold it for N200,000, but only after the Emir of Nguru intervened. 

Yobe State Commissioner for Religious Affairs Alhaji Auwal Goyo Kura said it was necessary for government to keep the cow under its custody to prevent people from attaching unnecessary beliefs to the cow.

"Government will keep it in the zoo to be used for Da'awa (preaching), as well as tourist attraction," the commissioner said.

I wonder if they realize the symbolism of the Prophet's name being written on a bull. Perhaps they are unaware of the slang definition of the word. I'm not sure I'd want that association- Islam = Bull.

Source: AllAfrica

Saudi Grand Mufti Says Okay For 10-Year-Olds To Marry

If marrying a child is good enough for the Prophet Mohammad it's good enough for Muslims so says Sheikh Abdul-Aziz Al al-Sheikh (Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti). Well, he didn't quite put it that way, but it was certainly implied when he stated (in response to some woman's question about forcing underage girls to marry) that according to Islam 10 and 12 year-olds are ready for marriage.  Mohammad married his prized child-bride Aisha at the tender age of 9. He probably thinks 10 is ancient, in comparison. And he definitely does not support those who are trying to make the legal age for marrying 25.

"Those who call for raising the age of marriage to 25 are absolutely mistaken," al-Sheikh said in a lecture he gave at the faculty housing mosque of Imam Mohamed bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh.

"Our mothers and grandmothers got married when they were barely 12. Good upbringing makes a girl ready to perform all marital duties at that age."

Good upbringing? More like ignorance and lack of education.

Of course it matters not that Saudi Arabia is a party to the UN Child Rights Treaty which prohibits child marriages. Their religious laws and interpretations of those laws take precedence over anything else. At least young girls have a reprieve of one year.

The Child-Bride Problem In Iran- Over 716 Girls Under the Age of 10 Married Off In 2011

Mohammed's child bride Aisha (bint Abu Bakr) was only 6 years old when she was betrothed to the Prophet by her father.  She was still playing with dolls when they finally consummated the marriage when Aisha was only 9 and Mohammed was 52, and old enough to be her grandfather. Apparently, she was his favorite wife, that's probably because as young as she was she was malleable and controllable.

You'd think that with the progress of civilization, and the fact that we now consider sex with underage children 'pedophilia', the practice would have ceased.  But it's still thriving in many regions of the world, including Iran, because many believe that if it was good enough for their Prophet, it's good enough for them.

In fact, according to activist Farshid Yazdani (of Association for the Defense of Children's Rights) the number of child brides in Iran under the age of 10 has been increasing at an alarming rate.  They jumped from 449 in 2009 to 716 in 2011. But that's not all:

Yazdani added that the number of marriages for girls under 15 years of age has increased from 33,383 in 2006 to 35,931 in 2007, 37,996 in 2008, and 43,459 last year (please note that the dates are approximate as the statistics were given according to the Iranian calendar, which begins at the start of the Persian New Year).

According to Yazdani, the rate of marriages of girls under the age of 15 has had a 45% increase compared to marriages in other age brackets. He added that these figures are based on the statistics released by Iran’s Civil Registrations Office, and they should set off alarms for social activists and policy makers.

We can thank Sharia Law for the legalization of the practice in many Muslim countries.

Saudi Who Faces Execution For Tweets About Mohammed Arrested In Malaysia

23-year-old Saudi writer/journalist/columnist Hamza Kashgari (aka Mohammad Najeeb A Kashgari) who fled the Kingdom after his tweets about Prophet Mohammed caused a furor, including calls for a death sentence, was arrested in Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur Airport. I'm not sure what possessed him to fly to Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country that isn't as moderate as it claims to be, because even though the Saudis and Malaysians have no 'formal' extradition treaty, it looks like he will probably be extradited under other security agreements.

Malaysia's Home Minister, Hishammuddin Tun Hussain, said:

“The police have been in contact with authorities in Saudi Arabia to determine further action.”

It all started after Kashgari tweeted:

"I have loved things about you and I have hated things about you and there is a lot I don't understand about you." [then added] "I will not pray for you."

Oops. Not something you want to say in country where apostasy is met with calls for death. Demands for his trial as an "apostate" have come from top clerics and others who want his head for having insulted their beloved prophet. Of course, that's exactly what Shariah law calls for, so no surprise there.  And even though the lad apologized, people were having none of his contrition, even though Shariah law clearly states that someone gets 3 days to repent before his/her head gets chopped off.

The usual suspects have already created a Facebook page: "The Saudi people demand Hamza Kashgari's execution". It apparently has almost 10,000 fans, and the administrators were calling for efforts to increase the number.

"Our page has almost 10,000 members... but we need you to work harder. The prophet deserves more respect," said one post.

Top Saudi clerics, calling him an "infidel" and "apostate" want him tried in a Shariah court (that's so they can execute him).  Their statement said,

"Muslim scholars everywhere have agreed that those who insult Allah and his prophet or the (Muslim holy book) Koran or anything in religion are infidels and apostates."

After a meeting of The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Religious Edicts (Ifta), the Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh also called for action, stating that mocking Mohammad was apostasy, sacrilegious and kufr (infidelity).

"Whoever dares make a mockery of Allah, the Prophet or the Holy Book undermines the religion and displays enmity toward it. It is the duty of the rulers to try such a criminal," the committee said, warning Muslims to stay away from such practices so as to avoid exasperating God.

Then the website, The Prophet's Sunnah and Sciences, piped in:

"This is a sacrilegious action necessitating harsh punitive measures to deter others who might think of doing the same thing," supervisor of the website Faleh Al-Saqeer said. He expressed confidence that the rulers of this Islamic country would not allow the culprit to get off scot-free.

Of 30,000 plus tweets in response to Kashgari's so-called transgression, only a lone voice here and there asked for forgiveness:

"Brothers, the man has repented. If the prophet himself was here he would have forgiven him and ended this," said tweeter Saleh al-Ghamdi.

It's rather telling that most Muslims are calling for his execution or, barring his head, at least some serious form of punishment.  So much for mercy in Islam.

Sources: GulfNews, Breitbart,  ArabNews,