Friday, April 24, 2009

Muslims As Co-Citizens of the West . . . Rights, Duties & Prospects

By Murad Wilfried Hofmann - Muslim German Thinker
One major side-effect of the current process of economic and cultural globalization seems to be that our world is becoming multireligious. In particular, this results from the accelerated spread of Islam. There are already six million Muslims in the United States, virtually all of them American citizens, with an impressive and growing infrastructure. In Europe, due to labor migration, foreign students, war refugees, and asylum seekers, the number of Muslims is around four million in France, perhaps three million in the United Kingdom, and 2.5 million in Germany. Altogether, including Bosnia-Herzegovina, there may be about twenty million Muslims in western and central Europe today.1
Due to its structural tolerance vis-à-vis "peoples of the book,2 the Muslim world has always been multireligious. Islam expanded into formerly Christian territories-the Near East, North Africa, Spain, Byzantium, the Balkans-without eliminating the Christian communities.
Nowhere is this more evident than in Cairo, Damascus, and Istanbul, and in countries like Greece and Serbia. This situation was facilitated by the fact that the Qur'an contains what may be called an "Islamic Christology.3 Coexistence with the large Jewish populations within the Muslim empire-aside from the Near East in Muslim Spain, and subsequently in North Africa and the Ottoman Empire-was facilitated, in turn, by the extraordinary focus of the Qur'an on Jewish prophets in general and Moses in particular.4 On this basis, Islamic jurisprudence developed the world's first liberal law called al-siyar for the status of religious minorities (al-dhimmi).5 In the Western world, developments were entirely different. Here, reli-gious intolerance became endemic, even between Christian churches; many sects were outlawed (as during the first Ecumenical Council in Nicaea, in 325), massacred (e.g., the Donatists in North Africa in the 5th century and the Albigenses and Cathari in the thirteenth century), subdued as victims of a "crusade" (Constantinople in 1205), or deserted (like Orthodox East Rome during the siege by Sultan Fatih in 1453). In Germany, a war lasting thirty years between Protestant and Catholic princes decimated the population (1618-1648).
Under these circumstances and fueled by the Church dictum extra ecclesia nullum salus (no salvation outside the church), even minimal tolerance of Muslims could not be expected. The expulsion of both Muslims and Jews from Spain in the sixteenth century-the first case of "ethnic cleansing" in modern history-made Europe virtually "Muslim-free." There was interaction between the two camps-trade, scientific penetration, diplomatic missions-but no living Muslim presence in the Occident until the twentieth century. Against this background, it is not surprising that Muslims find it difficult to be accepted as fellow citizens in the West. There simply is no historical precedent for such a coexistence. Worse, collective memories dating from the Crusades and the Ottoman campaigns into central Europe linger below the surface. The Catholic Church, too, has not fully amended its negative attitude toward Islam. Although the Church (since the Second Vatican Council) has come to accept Islam as a way to salvation, it still shuns Muhammad as the guide on this way and refuses to acknowledge the Qur'an as God's Word. This unfavorable climate has of course been reinforced by events inside the Muslim world-not least of them being the Salman Rushdie affair, the second Gulf War, and massacres in Algeria. Therefore, what appears as discrimination against immigrant Muslims is frequently a result of real fear of a fast growing foreign population seen as potentially aggressive and culturally very different. In the process, Islam risks becoming more the victim of ethnic prejudice than religious prejudice. To put it crudely: The man in the street in Cologne does not see Islam as the religion which opposes the notion of Trinity-he couldn't care less about that!-but rather, as the civilization which makes Turks so strangely Turkish.
Under these conditions, contemporary Muslims may well pose themselves the question already posed in Spain 500 years ago, i.e., Is it permissible for a Muslim to take up residence in what has been labeled dar al-harb or dar al-kufr? This question was discussed in considerable depth when Spanish Muslims, overrun by the Reconquista, chose to stay, and even before this event, because the Prophet sent a group of Makkan Muslims to Christian Ethiopia (615-622). Some of the 'ulama, including Imam Abu Hanifa, disapproved of permanent Muslim residence in non-Muslim territory. Imam Shafi'i, on the other hand, believed that Muslims could stay behind in former Muslim lands, provided that they could practice Islam and were not subject to Christian missionary efforts. In contrast to that, already in the eighth century, Imam Jafar al-Sadiq underlined that Muslims might serve Islam better when living among non-Muslims than when living only with Muslims. Al-Mawardi concurred with this opinion in the eleventh century. Later on the Hanifa madhhab became even more liberal. It accepted the idea that there might be pockets of dar al-Islam inside non-Muslim territories; in addition, they were ready to exempt emigrant Muslims from observing certain parts of the shari'ah if this seemed necessary because of ikrah (compulsion), durura (hardship), or maslaha (benefit).6
Today, during the third Industrial Revolution-the communications revolution-there can be no doubt that Muslims in non-Muslim countries are not prevented or discouraged by fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) to maintain their residence there. In fact, (non-Qur'anic) concepts like dar al-Islam and dar al-harb have virtually lost their relevance.7 Most Muslims in the West find it rather easy to practice the essentials of their faith for the following two reasons: First, the West has become irreligious to a point where it tolerates almost anything posing as religion, assuming that it is a "private matter." Second, freedom of religion has become part of the human rights bills and conventions universally applicable today.8 Indeed, Islamic research institutes are now flourishing in the West uncensored 9; mosques are being built from Zagreb via Rome to Lyon; and Islamic communities enter into treaty relationships with their countries of residence. 10 Should this trend continue, as it is my wish and my hope that it will, then sometime in the twenty-first century, Islam in Europe might become part of what is considered "normal." And there is a model to be followed: German Catholics at the end of the nineteenth century were still suspected of being disloyal citizens because of their links to Rome. Because of the bitter division between the two Christian denominations, in many German cities and even villages one still finds a Protestant church facing a Catholic church in the very center of town. 11Today, this architectural confrontation no longer makes sense, and it is only logical for mosques, too, to be added.
The prospect of normalization of the Islamic presence in the West raises the issues of integration and assimilation. To what extent can Muslims be integrated without losing their identity (and their faith with it)? As it is, Muslims-whether foreigner or citizen (born outside the West or born in the West)-are seen as different in four respects:
1. Appearance: Men wearing large beards and caftans or other national dress, and women abiding by the traditional Islamic dress code, more often than not without any redeeming touch of fashion. Many of the Muslim population, even of the second generation, speak the local language with an accent.
2. Eating habits: The Muslims refuse alcohol and other drugs as well as pork and blood-sausages and demand halal slaughtering, thus clashing with local legislation.
3. Rituals: The Muslims want to interrupt their work for prayer, celebrate their own religious holidays, go on pilgrimage during specific days, build mosques with minarets (used for the adhaµn), and bury their dead in a particular way, also frequently clashing with local legislation.
4. Faith: The Muslims deny major tenets of Christian dogma (divinity of Christ; the trinity; original sin; Jesus dying on the cross); in addition, their ideal of the relationship between men and women, inside and outside of marriage, clash with what is considered politically correct. Also Muslims are seen as having second thoughts about democracy and human rights.
It is obvious that normalization, let alone integration, hinges on whether the Occident is willing to compromise with such features, and to what extent the Muslims are able and willing to compromise.
As far as the Muslims are concerned, there is room for flexibility, but only to the extent of what is considered "Islamic" civilization and not Islamic creed. Looking at the four points just listed, obviously there is no room for compromise as far as points 3 and 4 are concerned; there is no leeway within aquida and 'ibadah. In particular, the old Hanafi idea of exempting emigrant Muslims from parts of the shari'ah should be rejected; otherwise, there would be no end to this process of assimilation, leading the Muslims to compromise their din. A case in point is riba. If the Muslims allowed it, how could they propagate their scheme of profit and risk-sharing as a panacea for some woes of Western economies in which people increasingly refuse to accept risks, a behavior bound to destroy the essence of entrepreneurship? However, by this I do not want to argue against the possible development of what might be called a madhhab al-urubi, a fiqh for Muslim dhimmi (!) as developing from fatawah issued by Western 'ulama for specific Western problems-if there is such a thing at all.
Concerning points 1 and 2, however, there is considerable room for adaptation. Hardly anybody will deny that a Muslim in the West is not obliged to eat with his hand, sit on the floor, or clean his teeth with a siwwak after eating. But it should be equally obvious that Western Muslims are under no obligation to wear the national dress from their countries of origin and-regarding Muslim women-to dress without any attempt at making their Islamic attire aesthetically pleasing. Nor is it indispensible that Muslims spice their everyday language with exclamations in Arabic-from subhana Allah to masha' Allah. In fact, anything which reenforces the misconception that Islam is the specific religion of the Arabs (as Judaism has become for ethnic Jews) should be avoided. The result of such attempts should not be a "European Islam" or "American Islam," let alone a French or Belgian Islam, but an eternal Islam practiced by people who in some other respects adhere to a particular culture. Indeed, as long as a Moroccan Muslim can easily be distinguished from a Pakistani one, and a Turkish Muslim from a Senegalese one, why not a German Muslim from an Emirati one?
In the process of helping the West to become acquainted with Islam, Western Muslim intellectuals have a large role to play. Foremost is making the extremely important point that Islam, far from being a religion for obscurantists, is a religion for rationalists. Is there any holy script that appeals to man's power of reasoning more often and more emphatically than the Qur'an? Is Islam not the religion which began with the appeal "Read"?12 In contrast, Christian dogma is based on "mysteries" and extrarational Gnostic concepts. It is Islam which-like (later) European philosophy (especially Hume and Kant)-has always denied the existence of a natural law of causality,13 and it is Islam which has remained conscious of the philosophically insoluble dilemma between predestination and responsibility: features of rationality which the Western intellectual world should positively appreciate.
Muslim intellectuals should help also to respiritualize Islam in the West.14 All too many immigrants from the Muslim world practice their religion in a rigid, legalistic fashion which impresses by its routine more than by its spiritual content so that Islam is not recognized, in a Christian environment, as a living creed which satisfies the spiritual aspirations of an "emancipated" individual.
Local Muslim intellectuals have an additional, indispensible task: Only they can develop the organizational infrastructure necessary for the Muslim communities in the West in their legal dealings with local authorities at the highest level15; and only they can provide the literature indispensible for effective da'wah. Time and again, it is proven that Islamic books coming from the Muslim world are usually unsuitable for Western audiences. There are many reasons for this, such as faulty printing and translation; however, the major reason for this failure is that only a Western Muslim, raised within Western culture, can fully know how Western people "tick," what their hang-ups are, and what makes them anxious. In this context, it is essential-and possibly decisive for the future of Islam in the West-that Western Muslim intellectuals explain the Islamic position on the following three points: women's rights, human rights in general, and democracy.
As far the the gender roles are concerned, Muslims cannot and will not abandon God's own dictum that boys are not like girls (Al-Imran:36).Concerning human rights and democracy the matter is different. There never has been a valid justification for Islamic jurisprudence to absent itself from the universal human rights discourse. It is entirely possible to make a case, based on the Qur'an and Sunnah, for the legitimacy of an Islamic democratic republic which practices division of power and judicial control over the rule of law, enforces a human rights bill, encourages a multiparty parliamentary system with free elections of an amir and shura council. Prestigious Western Muslims and Muslim fuqaha living in the West have defended this position-from Muhammad Asad to Fathi Osman and Rashid al-Ghannoushi.16 But such voices tend to be discredited and drowned-out by statements-as in Germany by Bassam Tibi-about the incompatibility of Islam with democracy.17 For this, European and American Muslims are paying the price.
To some extent, we have surveyed the historical background and a bit of the present situation of Islam in the West. The question is, Under the given circumstances, what are the prospects? Will Islam become the dominant religion of the next century? Will it fade away in a process of assimilation, engulfing the third generation of immigrants who, like the previous two, have found themselves mesmerized by the paradise of Western consumerism? Or, as a third alternative, Will Islam be forcibly ejected from Europe? I submit that all of the above are possible.18 Superficially, prospects seem good for Islam, thanks to the prevalent ideology of postmodernism (provided it is prevalent!).
Modernism is the arrogant conviction that man is the measure of everything, that his reason is capable of solving everything, and that the resulting Western culture means everything to everybody and therefore rings in the end of history (the Fukuyama-Huntington syndrome which was, and is, most inimical to Islam). This kind of thinking threatens to relegate the Muslim world to a sort of zoological garden, a marginalized reservoir of obscurantism, fanaticism, and bigotry.
In contrast, postmodernism promises to honor whatever wants to remain particular, seeing to it that "small is beautiful" and "black is beautiful." Also, postmodernism-the ideology of the so-called green movements-emotionally favors the Third World and its cultures. There are other trends that seem to come to the aid of Islam: Re-enforced by food scandals and animal diseases, many Western people are now more conscious than ever of the need to eat healthy food and to stay away from pork. The addiction to drugs of all kinds has started to frighten many people. Even the all-powerful American tobacco industry is heading for financial disaster. All this might help westerners to appreciate the Islamic position on food and drugs. Western feminists have recognized that it is was a mistake to seek, be-yond equal opportunities, an equality with men that borders on the impossible, i.e., identity. But their basic aim-to protect the dignity of women and to save them from male sexual exploitation-is identical with the Islamic concern. So, there too, prospects seem to be bright for better understanding. Finally, not only in the United States-which hardly practices atheism-but also in Europe-which largely practices a de facto atheism-there now is a remarkable resurgence of anti-establishment religion at the grass roots level.19 In addition, the dogmas of the Incarnation and the Trinity have rapidly been losing credibility, even within the Christian churches. Both factors could create a more favorable attitude toward Islam.
Nevertheless, in spite of such silver linings on the horizon, there are quite a few black clouds as well. As far as postmodemism is concerned it seems, alas, that all minorities might profit from it except Islam. It is the one minority that is considered dangerous, aggressive, and intolerant.
While concern about drugs has grown, it is also true that the police consider the "drug war" virtually lost. The green movements, the great proponents of postmodernism, favor drug legalization and the "right to drug oneself," a position in direction opposition to Islam. While more women than men convert to Islam in the West, it is also true that the average Western woman continues to be lslam's most fervent foe, considering Islam an unacceptable threat to the very hard fought freedoms Western women have only recently gained.
While religious resurgence is a good thing, it has also produced fanatically anti-Islamic Christian groups whose professed aim is the elimination of Islam from Europe.20 Even the president of the Protestant Church of the German State of Hesse, Dr. Steinacker, in writing and on TV continues to maintain that Christians and Muslims "do not have the same God," implying that Allah is a mere idol.
Which of the contradictory trends will prevail will largely depend on the acceptance of Islam as part of European heritage. When reference is made to it, people speak of Europe's "Christian-humanistic" heritage, which may include Judaism but definitely is meant to exclude Islam. Therefore, it is essential to remind the Occident that all three monotheistic religions were born in the Near East and that Christianity has absorbed many more elements of Oriental thought and speculation than Islam. The Occident should also be reminded that
the largest city, by far, on the European continent-Istanbul-is Muslim;
Spain has been Islamic longer than it has been Catholic;
the European Renaissance would have been unthinkable without the Muslim "input"; and
the absence of a "church" in Islam saved the Muslim world from a situation that required Voltaire's and Lessing's confrontation (the Enlightenment) with a stifling Church; Islam therefore had no need for reenacting the European experience.
In other words, Western Muslims have to bring home the idea that not only is Islam there to stay, both in Europe and the United States, but also that it belongs there as much as Christianity. They have to convey the idea that it is not an Arabic or a Turkish religion but the universal religion of submission to God as first practiced by Ibrahim, our common forefather.
Unfortunately, this task will be made more difficult by the effects of economic globalization on the employment possibilities in Europe. Resulting from the free flow of capital, technology, industrial products, and labor, all European countries currently experience structural crises which lead to a decline of the standard of life and demand severe cut-backs in all fields of social State intervention. It is almost certain that the present high level of unemployment will become structural, and it looks as if Western democracies cannot effectively cope with the unpopular measures thus required. All this spells possible disaster for the Muslim work force in Europe, which is already effectively accused of taking away jobs from local workers. It does not take much for a populist leader like Le Pen in France to focus public frustration in such a way that economic anxiety and racial phobia combine to make Islam in Europe the victim. However, I admit this is the worst case scenario. Wa Allahu 'alim.

Averroës - The Great Muslim Philosopher

by Habeeb Salloum
Abû al-Walîd Muhammad Ibn Rushd, better known in the West as Averroës, but also in medieval times as Avén Ruiz and Averrhoes, was born in 1126 A.D. in Cordova, once the illustrious capital of Moorish Spain. The descendant of a distinguished Cordovan family of scholars, he was the third generation of his lineage to hold the office of qâdî (judge). One of the foremost figures of Arab civilization, he became known as the 'Prince of Science’ - the master of jurisprudence, mathematics, medicine and, above all, philosophy.
The twelfth century produced some of the most outstanding scholars of Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain), like the neo-Aristotelian school developed by Avempace (Ibn Bajja), Ibn Tufayl and Maimonides (Ibn Maymûn) which was to have considerable influence on Christian Europe. However, Ibn Rushd, who it is said never missed reading or writing except the day he married and the day his father died, in medieval intellectual thought, was to overshadow them all.
In the Middle Ages, his ideas influenced the transformation of thought in medieval Europe. The last of the great Muslim thinkers, his beliefs were to have an affect of the minds of many of the Middle Ages intellectuals, living well beyond the borders of Moorish Spain.
As was the practise of the well-known families in his time, Ibn Rushd acquired his education within the family, excelling in Qur'anic studies, jurisprudence, theology and tradition. In addition, he became versed in astronomy, literature, mathematics, music and zoology, but his most outstanding accomplishments were in the areas of medicine and philosophy.
Ibn Rushd owes much of his success in life to his ardour for learning and to patronage by the two enlightened Almohade, (the ruling dynasty 1145-1269 A.D.) caliphs Abû Ya'qûb Yusûf (1163-1184) and Abû Ya'qûb al-Mansûr (1184-1199). Under their rule, toleration and friendship were generally experienced by intellectuals in contrast to the hostility to philosophy by the Almoravides, 1056-1145 A.D., and the Malikite school in Islam which was the main intellectual faction of Islamic thought in Al-Andalus.
After appointing Ibn Rushd in 1169 as qâdî in Seville, the Almohade Caliph Abû Ya'qûb, two years later, brought him to Cordova and, bestowing on him favours and honours, made him chief judge and his personal physician. Under his sponsorship, Ibn Rushd took on the task of commenting on Aristotle’s works. From their first meeting, arranged by their free-thinking companion Ibn Tufayl, Ibn Rushd and Abû Ya'qûb became great friends. Livermore writes describing this encounter:
“Averroës, the great reviewer of Islamic thought, tells how, on first being presented to Abû Ya'qûb, he found him alone with Ibn Tufayl and 'after a few friendly enquiries about my family, the Emir suddenly asked my opinion about the nature of Heaven and Creation’. Aware of the narrow views of the faqihs, Averroës cautiously replied that he had not given much thought to these matters, whereupon Abû Ya'qûb opened the discussion by stating the opinions of Plato and Aristotle.”
Thereafter in private, Ibn Rushd was able to discuss Greek philosophy freely with Abû Ya'qûb who encouraged him to write his commentaries on the works of Aristotle.
Early in his life Ibn Rushd greatly admired Aristotle and considered him a giant who had attained the truth. He regarded Aristotle as embodying the highest development of the human intellect. It is said that Ibn Rushd understood, and interpreted and analytically discussed Aristotle’s true thoughts more than any of his Muslim predecessors or contemporaries.
Ibn Rushd maintained that the deepest truths must be approached by means of rational analysis and that philosophy could lead to the final truth. He accepted revelation and attempted to harmonize religion with philosophy without synthesizing them or obliterating their differences. He believed that the Qur'an contained the highest truth while maintaining that its words should not be taken literally. He argued that as the milk-sister of religion, philosophy confirms and does not contradict the sharî'ah (revelation).
To Ibn Rushd, the supremacy of the human intellect did not allow for the possible contradiction between science and revelation. He gives religion an important role in the life of the state, considering that the scriptures when philosophically understood are far more superior to the religion of pure reason. Striving to bring the two together, he wrote that in case of differences, provided scriptural language does not violate the principles of reason, that is, it does not commit a contradiction, science should give way.
Ibn Rushd is also noted for developing a theory of the intellect, which greatly influenced the history of Aristotelian scholarship. Many Aristotelian scholars, past and present, believe that it represents a correct understanding of Aristotle. It, however, goes beyond Aristotle and is rightly identified with Ibn Rushd. The theory is difficult and there has been controversy in interpreting it. It has been understood, in a general way, to mean that he envisaged the human soul as part of an all-embracing divine soul. Like a number of others in his time, he attempted to draw a picture of the ultimate truth by a mixture of analytical arguments and innate intuition derived from man’s participation in the world soul.
He contended that philosophy is nothing more the systematic probing into the phenomenon of creation, revealing God’s wisdom and might. Hence, revelation dictates the study of philosophy. Ibn Rushd tried to reconcile the Aristotelian precept of the eternity, which seemingly denied the creation of the world, to the creationism in Jewish, Christian and Muslim theology.
Ibn Rushd believed that God was timeless and His creative effort is continuous. He theorized that the world is continuously developing on what existed before and taking on new shape. According to Ibn Rushd, God created time as well as the world, and He may have created it from all eternity inasmuch as He is Himself without cause.
Chejne explains further some of Ibn Rushd’s ideas. He writes:
“To Averroës, the world has been moving from eternity and has an Eternal Mover (Muharrik), which is God. Matter and form are inseparable except in the mind; there is a hierarchy of existing beings and forms. Matter is always in motion, whereas the intellect is motionless and perceives itself. The soul is one in all men, but is maintained separately by bodies, and its relation to the body is like the relation between form and matter.”
Better still, the views of Ibn Rushd are best expressed by himself:
“The world and its workings were necessary and invariable because God Himself, by definition, had to be and did not change. Informed by the active intelligence of the deity, they could be scarcely be otherwise. The fantastic flight of the mind into a realm of the ultimate, immaterial reality was thereby arrested. A world which had to be could not be at the bottom of the scale of being. The qualities which were the laws of its nature were realized in the physical objects they found from the matter of the elements. Seen by the eye as fleeting individual shapes, perceived by the intellect as permanent generalizations, they remained locked into these things as the stamp of the die in the metal was locked in an Almohad coin. Here lay knowledge, for the mind, being itself a necessary part of the natural order, could be absolutely sure of its logic was that of creation, and that it could in consequence learn the final truth. The disclosures of revelation, the highest secrets of God, were susceptible to rational explanation. In a law-abiding universe, that was as much an article of faith as the converse, that rational explanation must be believed.”
On the other hand, Ibn Rushd believed that the words of God express truth in imaged symbolic language that the non-philosopher majority can understand.
Aware of the inconsistency between those who believed through religious faith and others who believed by use of reason, Ibn Rushd held that both philosophy and revealed religion were true, arguing that truth is comprehended on different levels. He contended that even if philosophers were mistaken in their interpretation of scriptures, their error is permissible.
One of the greatest exponent of Arab philosophy, he tried to modify philosophical ideas to harmonize with those of religion. In an essay, The Harmony of Religions and Philosophy, he asserts that “since philosophy is true and the revealed scriptures are true there can be no disharmony between them.
Ibn Rushd proposed a dual method of expounding theology, one for intellectuals and another for the masses in general. Further, he wrote that Muslim leaders should prohibit books of religious science for those not versed in these works.
To him, the holy texts are clothed in perceivable images and their truths can be reached by exercising the process of thought. His views, in the intellectual world of medieval Christendom, earned him the undeserved reputation of having preached a 'double truth’, a theory which he did not teach, namely 'a proposition may be true in theology while its opposite is true in philosophy’.
Ibn Rushd explains that there are three types of men: the first and largest in number, is receptive to ideas that can be expressed logically; the second is amenable to persuasion and the third, few in numbers, will only be convinced by conclusive evidence. He believed that to the simple masses, one must speak of religion, but to the enlightened few one may disclose scientific truth.
In his daily life Ibn Rushd did not like power or possessions and was humble and generous, believing that a virtuous person is one who gives to an enemy. A compassionate and tender human being, he decried the position of women in society, who he said only lived for childbearing and suckling. Moved to compassion for their misery, he wrote that women were so reduced in servitude that all their capacity for higher pursuits had been destroyed. He was saddened by their fate, stating that they only live like plants, looking after their men. This compelled him to write:
“Our society allows no scope for the development of women’s talents. They seem to be destined exclusively to childbirth and the care of children, and this state of servility has destroyed their capacity for larger matters. It is thus that we see no women endowed with moral virtues; they live their lives like vegetables, devoting themselves to their husbands. From this stems the misery that pervades our cities, for women outnumber men by more than double and cannot procure the necessities of life by their own labours.”
Besides writing some 38 philosophical works, Ibn Rushd’s works spanned a wide field of knowledge which included: a commentary on Galen’s writings; and books in connection with astronomy, music, poetry and rhetoric. He was also a distinguished physician, having studied medicine in Seville under the famous physician, Abû Harun al-Tajali. His writings included 16 excellent medical works, topped by Kulliyat fî ‘l-tibb, a medical encyclopedia of seven volumes dealing with anatomy, diagnosis, materia medica, pathology, physiology and general therapeutics.
The volumes were translated, in 1255 A.D., into Latin under the title Colliget. This work was reprinted several times and surpassed all other medical works in the Middle Ages. As a memorial, Ibn Rushd’s statues have been placed in the vestibule of the University of Barcelona and along the ancient walls in the city of Cordova.
In the Muslim world, Ibn Rushd is known, above all, for his Tahâfut al-Tahâfut al-Falâsifa (The Collapse of Collapse of the Philosophers) and Mabâdi ‘l-Falâsifah) (The Beginning of Philosophy). In Tahâfut al-Tahâfut, al-Falâsifah, Ibn Rushd bitterly attacked Al-Ghazâlî’s - Tahâfut al-Falâsifah (Self Destruction of the Philosophers), a work in which the l2th century theologian Al-Ghazâlî sought a strengthening of piety by attacking the philosophers.
Ibn Rushd, point by point, discussed the error in Al-Ghazâlî’s approach. He asserted that the evidence brought out by Al-Ghazâlî’s attack on philosophers arise when isolated parts of philosophy are taken out of context, appearing to contradict the remainder. He goes on to say that the only acceptable way would be to show the entire system in question contradicting reality as it is.
In the Christian and Jewish worlds, Ibn Rushd is renowned for his important commentaries on Aristotle; and in his works, namely Talkhîs (resume), Jâmi' (summary), and Tafsîr or Sharh (a long commentary). These had an important hand in paving the way for the European Renaissance. Strange as it may seem, even though Ibn Rushd’s Great Commentary left a deep impression on western students and caused an absolute upheaval in the West, it had hardly any effect on eastern Islamic thought.
Many of his commentaries have been lost. The only ones which still exist are a number of his translated works which have survived in Latin. Yet, even these few give us an idea of how outstanding were the thoughts of that renowned Muslim philosopher.
When, in 1184, Al-Mansûr took over as caliph, like his father, he kept Ibn Rushd as his physician and advisor. In the same fashion as he had with Abû Ya'qûb Yusûf, Ibn Rushd enjoyed great favour with the new caliph who always called him brother and gave him in marriage to one of his daughters.
In the ensuing years, Ibn Rushd was prolific in his literary output. The upper classes appreciated his controversial writings, but to the masses he was an enemy. He came under attack by fundamentalists for his vigorous defence in reconciling the tradition of Greek philosophy with the teachings of Islam. His views were so offensive to the zealots that once they had him stoned in the Great Mosque of Cordova. Referring to fanatics destroying a famous library in Cordova, Ibn Rushd is reported to have exclaimed, “There is no tyranny on earth like the tyranny of priests.”
Even though Al-Mansûr was an enlightened ruler, seeing the dangers facing Islam and wishing to appease the conservative scholars, he accused Ibn Rushd of heresy and ordered the burning of some of his books. He needed the support of the Malikite jurists in his fight against the Castilians. To maintain appearance, Al-Mansûr had to remove Ibn Rushd from his post as qâdî and exile him for a time from his court in Marrakesh to Al-Isalah, now known as Lucena, near Cordova.
However, another story has it that Ibn Rushd, in one of his works on zoology, referred to Al-Mansûr as 'King of the Berbers’ - a derogatory expression among the Arabs in Muslim Spain. This is supposed to have greatly displeased the caliph and was the reason for his exile.
After Al-Mansûr, in 1195, won the Battle of Alarcos, Muslim Spain relaxed and fanaticism subsided. Ibn Rushd was pardoned, but he was by this time utterly disillusioned. He returned, a short time before he passed away on December 10, 1198, to once again serve in the caliph’s court.
Nevertheless, his death did not sweep away his ideas. In the subsequent centuries, they were to ignite the fire of change in Christian Europe. It was through the translations of Ibn Rushd’s Commentaries on Aristotle into Latin in the 13th century by Michael Scotus, a Scot, and Hermannus Alemannus, a German, that the revival of true Aristotelianism took place in the West. In fact, Roger Bacon acknowledged that Scotus was largely responsible for the most important change in the history of medieval thought which resulted from the introduction of Ibn Rushd’s Aristotle to the Christian West.
Through these translations of Ibn Rushd’s works, the subject of harmony between reason and faith was passed on to Christian Europe, giving impetus to the development of rationalism. This new thought moving into Christian Europe, bringing about the West’s emancipation from the thoughts of Plato which was much less evident in the Muslim East.
In the previous centuries, before Ibn Rushd, there was much confusion among Muslim thinkers in understanding Aristotle and, hence, a good number distorted his thoughts. More than any other Muslim philosopher before him, Ibn Rushd was able to recover the genuine Aristotle which the West, by way of the translations, was later to discover.
In the ensuing centuries Ibn Rushd’s works were taught in the universities of Christian Europe, unleashing a movement in the West that led to the victory of Aristotelian ideas over the once prevailing Platonic thought. Through his commentaries on the works of Aristotle Ibn Rushd, now known in the West as Averroës, played a leading role in the revival and development of Christian scholasticism.
In spite of the fact that many Muslim scholars found his approach too rationalistic, his writings were a mine of ideas and information for Christian philosophers, creating turmoil in the minds of many medieval European intellectuals. For four centuries - from the 12th to the 16th - his works were subject to heated dialogue among the scholars in Christian Europe, forcing the Church to modify its teachings.
From among the medieval Latin religious literature, St. Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologia was to a great extent inspired by the views of Averroës, even though it also took issue with some of these views. Many of the free-thinking Latin-Christians of Europe felt him to be one of their own, even Hispanizing his name to Avén Ruiz.
However, his commentaries held views unacceptable to Orthodox Christians and caused much perplexity for these traditional Christians since many of Averroës’s theories ran counter to the hallowed teachings of the Church. Yet, his views had a very profound effect on medieval Christian theology.
On the other hand, a number of Christians studied his works solely to comment on his errors. Some, like Arnold of Vila Nova (1240-1311), decried the reliance of Christian thoughts upon infidel teachings and, in order to defeat them, openly altered Ibn Rushd’s ideas. At about the same time, a group of scholars, in the 13th century, known as Averroists, whose principal exponent was Siger of Brabant, openly declared themselves as adherents of Averroës, incurring the fury of the Church leaders.
Also, a number of European scholars misunderstood some of his teachings and this led to a line of thought called 'Averroism’ which was once thought to mean that philosophy was true and revealed religion false. This Averroism was discredited by Aquinas, but which, also, Averroës himself would have disavowed. This false interpretation of Ibn Rushd’s doctrine was considered as sacrilegious by the Church and universally denounced by its leaders.
Yet, the Averroist conception of the eternity of matter and God’s communication with things through the medium of an active intellect, continued to be a vital factor in European belief until the dawn of modern experimental science. Averroës and Averroism, for hundreds of years, provoked intense arguments in the academic circles of Christian Europe.
Although the Islamic and Arab world were to see other great thinkers (Ibn Khaldun, d. 1406, Mulla Sadr, d. 1641, for example), Averroës remains one of the greatest of the Islamic philosophers. He became known in both East and West as the Shârih (the Commentator) because of his explanation and comments on the works of Aristotle. The most genuine and last of all the Aristotelian philosophers, his ideas affected much of the philosophical and theological ideas in medieval Europe, strangely with the exception of the Christians in the Iberian Peninsula.
Endowed with powerful logic, a keen understanding and an sharp mind, he believed in the ability of reason to fathom the utmost secrets of the universe. However, he came too late to bring about any revival of philosophy in the eastern Islamic countries - there, the theories of Al-Ghazâlî, whose books were banned in Al-Andalus by the Almoravides, were to reign supreme.
With Averroës, philosophy reached its epitome in Muslim Spain. But his ideas were far too advanced for the world of his time. The sophistication of his teachings can be seen by the ease with which his thoughts and interpretations can be adapted to include even the notion of evolution.
A convinced Aristotelian, his admiration of Aristotle never wavered all through his literary career. One must agree with Read when he writes:
“The great virtue of Averroës’ work was that he did not allow later thinkers to obscure the original; deeply imbued by Aristotle’s thought, he transmitted his writings for the first time in genuinely Aristotelian fashion.
With the passing away of what some historians say was the most eminent philosopher who wrote in Arabic, the long practised toleration of the Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula came to an end. Yet, thanks to Averroës, the seeds of the Renaissance were sown in Europe.
Habeeb Salloum is a writer from Ontario, Canada.

دليل بعض الجمعيات الخيرية المصرية وارقام حساباتها البنكية


كتبت : صفاء شاكر‏-‏عبيـر غانـم الاهرام
علي مدي سنوات عديدة اعتدنا ان نقدم دليلا للجمعيات التي تستحق أن توجهي اليها زكاتك وأنت مطمئنة واثقة أن هذه الزكاة بالفعل سوف تذهب إلي مستحقيها‏,‏ سواء من الأطفال الأبرياء الذين قست عليهم ظروف الحياة فحرمتهم من الأهل وجعلت منهم أيتاما مشردين‏,‏ أو من المرضي الفقراء الذين لم يجدوا ثمن الدواء ليخفف عنهم آلام المرض‏.‏ كما يمكنك التبرع بأي شيء من بطاطين وسراير ومراتب وملاءات وكراسي أدوات مطبخ قديمة وأغذية ومعلبات أو أغذية أطفال رضع أو ملابس وأحذية وشنط أو أدوية ولعب أطفال أو حتي كتب قديمة أومساحيق نظافة‏...‏ وهناك بعض الجمعيات نشرنا دليلا عنها من قبل‏,‏ ونشير اليها مرة اخري لأنهم ما زالوا في حاجة الي يد العون من أصحاب القلوب الرحيمة‏..‏ وبعض الجمعيات يمكنك الاتصال بها للتبرع بأي شيء ليصلك مندوب عنها بإيصالات رسمية معتمدة وخطاب تفويض للمندوب لتلقي هذه التبرعات‏.‏جمعية اصدقاء المرضي ومستشفي أورام الدلتا مسجد النور المحمدي بشارع حسني بميت غمر ت‏:0506959486‏ أو‏05069629999‏ حساب رقم‏:1077770‏ البنك الأهلي ورقم‏593000‏ البنك المصري المتحد حيث تواصل الجمعية استكمال مبني المستشفي وتأمل من أصحاب الخير معاونتها لشراء باقي الأجهزة الطبية‏.‏جمعية تنمية المجتمع المحلي بالمعتمدية‏:1‏ ش المدارس أمام مركز الشباب ت‏:3251502‏ حساب رقم‏:101/73/5556200009‏ بنك مصر فرع القاهرة‏.‏ تقوم بتوزيع رواتب شهرية للأسر الفقيرة‏.‏جمعية أحبائي الخيرية‏6‏ ش عبد اللطيف حمزة المنطقة السادسة مدينة نصر ت‏:6713557‏ ترعي الجمعية الفتيات اليتيمات بدءا من الشهور الأوليدار أيتام الكمال‏6‏ ميدان بقطر الألف مسكن ت‏:6203077‏ أو‏0101011852‏ رقم الحساب‏:7464‏ بنك مصر اكستريور فرع مصر الجديدة‏.‏جمعية قافلة الخير‏6‏ ش ميت غمر ميدان سفير مصر الجديدة خلف الحزب الوطني‏.‏ ت‏:6360061‏ترعي الجمعية‏16‏ طفلا وتقوم برعاية الأطفال الأيتام وتجهيز العرائس‏.‏جمعية فجر الإسلام للخدمات الاجتماعية‏:‏ مسجد فجر الإسلام ش المنوفية المنيرة الغربية امبابة‏.‏ ت‏:7111350‏ تقوم الجمعية بتوزيع رواتب شهرية لأسر الأيتام طوال العام وتوزيع تموين شهري للأسر المحتاجة‏.‏الجمعية الاسلامية للخدمات الاجتماعية‏:8‏ ش حسني دير الملاك ت‏:6858613‏ حساب رقم‏:37/30/1/3‏ بنك مصر حدائق القبة‏.‏جمعية اقامة الشعائر الدينية‏:17‏ ش الخندق متفرع من مصر والسودان بحدائق القبة‏.‏ ت‏:4840544‏ حساب رقم‏37/857/6‏ بنك مصر فرع حدائق القبة‏.‏ تكفل الجمعية‏60‏ طفلا وطفلة وتقوم حاليا بإنشاء مقر جديد ليسع المزيد من الأطفال‏.‏وحدة المهندسين بالحزب الوطني‏3‏ ش الغزل والنسيج من ش الفلاح ت‏:3475815‏ أو‏0122145230‏ ترعي المرأة المعيلة والأسر الفقيرة وذوي الأمراض المزمنة والأيتام‏.‏الجمعية المصرية لعيوب القلب الخلقية‏9‏ ش بستان الخشاب خلف مستشفي أبو الريش ت‏:3640649‏ ترعي أطفال مرضي القلب سواء من القاهرة أوالمحافظات للإقامة الكاملة بالجمعية‏,‏ وتناشد شركات الأدوية واهل الخير التبرع بالأدوية والأجهزة الطبية للقلب بالإضافة الي التبرعات العينية‏.‏ حساب رقم‏:6433‏ بنك مصر فرع المنيل الجامعي‏.‏جمعية أنصار السنة المحمدية بأسوان بجوار كوبري السيل الجديد ت‏:097266394‏ أو‏097267321‏ حساب رقم‏3235/1/7‏ بنك مصر فرع أسوان حيث يضم المشروع أكثر من‏1400‏ يتيم وأكثر من‏600‏ امرأة معيلة وحساب رقم‏3235/6‏ بنك مصر فرع أسوان‏*‏ دار صلاح الدين لرعاية الأيتام‏:‏ مدينة‏15‏ مايو مجاورة‏12‏ حي ن‏.‏ ت‏:5509528‏ حساب رقم‏30/501/18522‏ بنك القاهرة فرع عدلي‏.‏ تكفل الدار‏30‏ طفلا من سنتين حتي‏18‏ عاما‏.‏جمعية النور والأمل للكفيفات فرع طنطا شارع مبارك والنادي عمارات منتصر الدور الأول ت‏:0122226575‏ حساب رقم‏5874‏ بنك مصر فرع علي مبارك تتكفل الجمعية بالفتيات الكفيفات وتناشد أهل الخير مساعدتها في التوسعات التي تقوم بها‏.‏جمعية كفالة اليتيم ورعاية المرضي‏:‏ قرية شبرا بخوم قويسنا المنوفية ت‏:0482537388‏ أو‏048577333‏ حساب رقم‏:9/1280‏ بنك مصر فرع قويسنا تكفل أكثر من‏250‏ اسرة من الأيتام وأكثر من‏50‏ طفلا من ذوي الاحتياجات الخاصة‏.‏جمعية روضة الابرار لرعاية الايتام ش عبد المنعم سند خلف نادي التوفيقية المهندسين ت‏:3032056‏ أو‏3034641‏ تتكفل الأطفال الايتام من عمر عامين‏.‏جمعية دار الحسن الخيرية لرعاية الطفل اليتيم‏11‏ ش‏314‏ المعادي الجديدة‏,‏ خلف شركة جابكو للبترول ت‏:7041362‏ حساب رقم‏1891‏ بنك القاهرة فرع المعادي الجديدة‏,‏ الجمعية في حاجة إلي استكمال الدار وشراء ميني باص لنقل أطفال الجمعية إلي مدارسهم‏.‏جمعية حبات القلوب لمتعددي الاعاقة‏112‏ ش عين شمس ت‏:4911430‏تناشد الجمعية أهل الخير في مساعدتها في استكمال القسم الداخلي نظرا لزيادة الاقبال وعدم توافر مكان مناسب‏.‏جمعية المعصرة البحرية لتنمية المجتمع‏59‏ ش عبد العزيز الحكيم المعصرة المحطة ت‏:3698263‏ ترعي الجمعية الايتام وذوي الاحتياجات‏.‏الجمعية العلمية لتنمية الأسرة‏38‏ ش المساحة الدقي ت‏:010752557‏ ترعي الجمعية المرأة المعيلة‏.‏جمعية شموع لرعاية الحقوق الانسانية للمعاقين‏8‏ ش سيد عامر المريوطية الهرم ت‏:7403472‏ أو‏101403817‏ رقم الحساب‏35500/0‏ البنك العقاري المصري العربي المهندسين تجهز الجمعية‏3‏ قاعات لتدريب المعاقين علي الكمبيوتر وقاعة للانشطة التعليمية والدينية وأخري سمعية وبصرية‏.‏جمعية الريحان للمساعدات الاجتماعية‏1‏ عمارات أول مايوت‏:2708908‏ ترعي الايتام‏.‏جمعية رعاية مرضي السرطان بالمنوفية‏:‏ ش الورشة الهندسية البر الشرقي شبين الكوم‏.‏ ت‏:0482315351‏ حساب رقم‏:563770‏ البنك الوطني للتنمية فرع المعاملات الاسلامية شبين الكوم‏.‏الجمعية المصرية لصعوبات التعلم‏:63‏ ش النادي المعادي ت‏:3596740‏ حساب رقم‏01000012953‏ البنك الأهلي فرع المعادي السرايات‏.‏ تقوم حاليا بإنشاء مدرسة لرعاية الأطفال الذين يعانون من صعوبات التعلم‏.‏دار الهنا لاستضافة الفئات الخاصة‏130‏ ش مصر والسودان ت‏:6833268‏ أو‏68599014‏ تناشد الدار أهل الخير بمساعدتها في شراء سيارة لتنقلات ابناء الدار إلي مراكز تلقي العلاج والتدريب‏,‏ كما انها في حاجة ماسة إلي ماكينة تصوير مستندات‏.‏جمعية اختر اسرة‏:26‏ ش محمد يوسف سليم مصر الجديدة ت‏:6384629‏ أو‏6347858‏ اذا كنت ترغب في مساندة احدي الأسر المتعففة المهددة بتوقف ابنائها عن التعليم نتيجة ظروفها المادية القاسية فيمكنك اختيار الأسرة التي ترغب في مساعدتها من بين أكثر من‏600‏ حالة مدروسة من قبل الجمعية وفي انتظار المساعدة‏.‏ او يمكنك مساعدة الجمعية بإرسال عناوين اسر متعففة تكون غير قادرة لتقوم الجمعية بدراستها‏.‏ جمعية تبارك ــ بيت الحمد‏:‏ مدينة المقطم أمام مسجد المقطم ت‏:5081498‏ ترعي ايتاما وتتبني الجمعية مشروع شقة لكل طفل يتيم رقم الحساب‏:01000010109‏ البنك الأهلي فرع المقطم‏.‏المعهد الأكاديمي لجراحات القلب المفتوح اكاديمية هدي طلعت حرب ت‏:6845174‏ او‏4823438‏ سوف تقوم الأكاديمية بعمليات القلب المفتوح للأطفال والكبار بعد اتمام انشائها لذا فهي تحتاج للدعم المادي‏.‏ رقم الحساب‏:5131‏ بنك مصر فرع جامعة عين شمس‏.‏جمعية الزهايمر مصر كلية تمريض ج عين شمس ت‏:3920074‏ حساب رقم‏8053‏ بنك مصر فرع ج عين شمس الجمعية في حاجة إلي مساعدة لاستكمال مشوارها في رعاية المسنين‏.‏مستشفي أطفال عين شمس ت‏:6852990‏ ويضم وحدة الحساسية والمناعة للأطفال ووحدة الدم والاورام ووحدة أمراض الكبد في الأطفال ووحدة الرعاية المركزة ت‏:4830693‏ ووحدة الصدر والقلب للأطفال بمستشفي عين شمس ت‏:6839685‏ ـــ‏6834881‏ ترعي الوحدات الأطفال الفقراء والمرضي وهي في أمس الحاجة إلي التبرعات المادية والعينية بالإضافة إلي الأجهزة الطبية والأدوية‏.‏ وتقدم التبرعات إلي خزينة مستشفي الأطفال بكلية طب عين شمس لحساب كل وحدة‏,‏ أو حساب رقم‏132‏ بنك مصر فرع جامعة عين شمس مع ضرورة تحديد الجهة المراد التبرع لها‏.‏ وحدة الكلي الصناعية للأطفال بجامعة عين شمس‏.‏ ت‏:6852990‏ تقوم بالغسيل الدموي والبريتوني لمرضي الفشل الكلوي للأطفال مجانا‏,‏ كذلك تتحمل الوحدة تكاليف المواصلات لمرضي المحافظات‏...‏ والوحدة في أشد الحاجة الي التبرعات النقدية لمساعدتهم‏.‏ رقم الحساب‏:132‏ وحدة الكلي الصناعية للأطفال بنك مصر فرع جامعة عين شمسجمعية اصدقاء معهد الأورام القومي حساب رقم‏57357‏ بنك قناة السويس فرع جاردن سيتي‏.‏مؤسسة ابرار مصر لذوي الاحتياجات الخاصة‏7‏ ش مسجد الرحمن الرحيم النزهة الجديدة ت‏:6202066‏ أو‏0105142255‏ تقوم الجمعية بتجهيز غرفة علاج طبيعي واستكمالها وقاعة للتخاطب‏.‏الجمعية الشرعية للعاملين بالكتاب والسنة‏11‏ ش د‏.‏محمد فؤاد شكري العباسية تيسر الجمعية زواج الفتيات اليتيمات وترعي طالب العلم الفقير طوال العام رعاية كاملة‏.‏جمعية لقاء الأحبة في الخير‏:35‏ ش محمد كامل حسين‏-‏ النزهة الجديدة ت‏:6226377‏ حساب رقم‏:37/23626/6‏ بنك مصر فرع روكسي ترعي الجمعية‏20‏ طفلا من سن الرضاعة حتي سن الزواج‏,‏ ومقر الجمعية بإيجار جديد وقيمة الإيجار باهظة‏,‏ لذا تناشد الجمعية اهل الخير مساعدتها بإيجاد مكان بإيجار مستديم منخفض السعر او التبرع بمكان لمقر دائم‏.‏جمعية الفتح الاسلامية‏11‏ ش الدكتور محمد والي متفرع من الحجاز ميدان هليوبوليس ت‏:6446805‏ــــ‏6363643‏ تؤهل الجمعية المعاقين للمشاركة في الحياة ولديها أيضا مستشفي لعلاج المرضي الفقراء وتقدم لهم الأدوية مجانا‏,‏ كما تقدم مساعدات شهرية للأطفال الايتام‏.‏ رقم الحساب‏:423111/1‏جمعية أملنا لرعاية الايتام‏5‏ ش الخليفة الراضي متفرع من امتداد ش الطيران مدينة نصر الجمعية بها دار لكفالة البنات اليتيمات من عمر يوم إلي سنتين رقم حساب‏1490105614‏ البنك التجاري الدولي فرع عباس العقاد‏.‏جمعية البسمة الخيرية لخدمات المعاقين‏6‏ أش حسين كمال عمارة ميلاكو خلف مرور بين السرايات ت‏:7498534‏ تقيم الجمعية مشروعات حرفية للمعاقين وتسويق منتجاتهم‏,‏ بالإضافة إلي حضانة للصم والبكم والمكفوفين‏,‏ وتشغيل مكتبة صوتية دراسية لمساعدة الطلبة المكفوفين‏,‏ كما تقوم بصرف أجهزة تعويضية مجانا‏.‏ رقم الحساب‏:423111‏ مسلسل‏1‏ البنك الوطني الوطني للتنمية فرع عبد المنعم رياض ــ المهندسين‏.‏جمعية مثقفي المعادي‏91‏أ طريق مصر حلوان أمام ابراج عثمان ت‏:5256282‏ تساعد الجمعية الأسر الفقيرة والايتام والطلبة غير القادرين كما تقوم بتدريب السيدات المحتاجات علي بعض الحرف اليدوية‏.‏ حساب رقم‏4/19946‏ بنك مصر للمعاملات الاسلامية فرع المعادي حساب رعاية الايتام‏.‏جمعية دار الحسن الخيرية‏11‏ ش‏314‏ المعادي الجديدة خلف شركة جابكو للبترول ت‏:7041362‏ ترعي الأطفال من عمر يوم واحد‏,‏ والأطفال في حاجة الي سراير‏,‏ ويمكنك كفالة اليتيم لدي الجمعية‏,‏ وتقوم الجمعية الآن بإنشاء مقر أكبر وتحتاج الي المساعدات رقم الحساب‏1891‏ بنك القاهرة المعادي الجديدةالجمعية المصرية لأصدقاء مرضي أنيميا البحر المتوسط‏6‏ ش المرسي بالمنيرة امام مستشفي أبو الريش ت‏:5314533‏ حساب رقم‏:11530‏ بنك مصر فرع المنيل الجامعي‏.‏الجمعية المصرية لأصدقاء أطفال مرضي السكر والغدد الصماء بمستشفي ابو الريش ت‏:3683802‏ أو‏7489969‏ حساب رقم‏:4629‏ بنك مصر فرع المنيل الجامعي‏.‏الجمعية المصرية للأمراض العصبية والصرع للأطفال بمستشفي ابو الريش ت‏:3922585‏جمعية أصدقاء المرضي ولجنة زكاة النور المحمدي بميت غمر ت‏:050/69099486‏ او رقم‏050/6912999‏ تقيم الجمعية مستشفي للأورام بميت غمر وتحتاج للمساعدة لاستكمال هذا الصرح الطبي حساب الأورام بالبنك الأهلي بميت غمر‏77770‏
جاءنا عن طريق الميل من الاستاذ محمد فضلى
السيد الدكتور / حسام أحمد فؤاد رئيس التحرير
بعد التحيةارجو تسجيل بيانات الجمعية الخيرية " جمعية عهد الأحبة " بموقع دليل الجمعيات الخيرية و بياناتها كالتالى :-الأسم : " جمعية عهد الأحبة الخيرية " المشهرة برقم 5734 مديرية الشئون الاجتماعية بالوايلى - القاهرةرئيس مجلس الادارة : م/ محمد عهدى فضلىالعنوان : 423 شارع رمسيس - أمام مسجد النور - العباسية القاهرةتليفون : 4834006 و 4822303رقم الحساب : 149 البنك الأهلى - فرع الدمرداش بالعباسيةنشاطها : مساعدة و رعاية المعدمين و خريجى الجامعات من الشباب محدودى الدخلللاستفسار عن أى بيانات اضافية يرجى الاتصال برقم 5806300

Israel Nazi crimes against the defenseless people of Palestine


Israeli soldiers stand guard next to a blindfolded Palestinian man at the Beit Eiba checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus November 18, 2008.

أكثر من نصف الأمريكيين: الإسلام دين سلام


أظهر استطلاع للرأي أن أكثر من نصف الأمريكيين يعترفون بأنهم لا يفهمون من تعاليم الدين الإسلامي إلا النذر اليسير، وأن نسبة مشابهة أيضا يعتقدون أن الإسلام دين سلام. وبحسب الاستطلاع الذي أجرته صحيفة "واشنطن بوست"، وقناة "إيه بي سي" الأمريكيتين، فإن 55% من المستطلعة آراؤهم أفادوا بأن لديهم نقصا في الفهم الجيد لتعاليم ومعتقدات الدين الإسلامي، برغم أنهم يدعمون خطط الرئيس الأمريكي باراك أوباما لـ"تقوية العلاقات مع دول العالم الإسلامي".

وعبر 58% عن اعتقادهم بأن الإسلام دين السلام، مقابل 48% قالوا إن لديهم نظرة غير إيجابية عن الإسلام، فيما أفاد نحو ثلاثة من كل 10 أشخاص، وهو ما يمثل 29% أن الإسلام يؤيد استخدام العنف ضد غير المسلمين".

وكان أوباما قد حث الاتحاد الأوروبي على قبول تركيا كعضو كامل في التكتل الذي يضم 27 دولة كبادرة "للتقرب من المسلمين"، وذلك خلال زيارته للتشيك لحضور القمة الأوروبية الأمريكية الأولى أمس الأحد.

وقال أوباما في كلمة أمام القمة: "يتعين على الولايات المتحدة وأوروبا الاقتراب من المسلمين كأصدقائنا وجيراننا وشركائنا في مكافحة الظلم وعدم التسامح والعنف وإقامة علاقة مبنية على الاحترام المتبادل والمنافع المتبادلة".

ويأتي دعم الرئيس الأمريكي لتركيا في الوقت الذي من المقرر أن يلقي فيه خطابا موجها إلى العالم الإسلامي من العاصمة التركية أنقرة التي وصلها مساء أمس في زيارة تستمر يومين ضمن مشاركته في قمة تحالف الحضارات.

"مد اليد"

شق آخر من الاستطلاع، تناول سياسية الرئيس أوباما التي أعلن عنها في خطابه الافتتاحي، لدى تنصيبه في 20 يناير الماضي، والتي عرض فيها "مد يده" إلى دول العالم الإسلامي، إذا كانوا على استعداد لقبول ذلك.

وحول هذه السياسة، أظهر الاستطلاع أن ما يقرب من الثلثين قالوا إن أوباما سيتعامل مع هذه السياسة (بناء العلاقات مع المسلمين) بشكل جيد، فيما أشار ربع المشاركين في الاستطلاع إلى أنه من المحتمل أن يذهب إلى أبعد من ذلك (في تعامله مع المسلمين).

في السياق ذاته، قال الاستطلاع: إن "9% أفادوا بأن أوباما لن يذهب (في مد يده للعالم الإسلامي) أبعد من انتهاج نفس سياسته الحالية".

وكان الرئيس الأمريكي الذي أقسم اليمين باسمه الثلاثي باراك حسين أوباما، قد تعهد في خطاب تنصيبه بفتح صفحة جديدة مع العالم الإسلامي قائلا: "بالنسبة للعالم الإسلامي.. نسعى لنهج جديد للمضي قدما استنادا إلى المصلحة المشتركة والاحترام المتبادل".

وكان استطلاع حديث للرأي في الولايات المتحدة قد أظهر أن واحدا من كل عشرة أمريكيين يعتقدون أن أوباما مسلم يخفي إسلامه، وذلك بعد مرور شهرين على أدائه اليمين الدستورية على الإنجيل.

مفتي الديار السعودية يجلد الوليد والابراهيم وكامل: فلوسكم حرام!


أصدر المفتي العام ورئيس هيئة كبار العلماء ورئيس إدارات البحوث العلمية والإفتاء في السعودية الشيخ عبد العزيز بن عبد الله آل الشيخ فتوى رأى الكثيرون أن المقصود منها الامير وليد بن طلال صاحب فضائيات روتانا ووليد الابراهيم صاحب الإم بي سي والشيخ "شيخ ماذا؟" صالح كامل صاحب فضائيات الإيه أى تي. وعلمت "وطن" ان هذه الفتوى جاءت بعد تذمر الكثيرين من المتدينين مما تعرضه هذه القنوات مما شكل ضغطاً على المفتي وخصوصاً أن الحكومة السعودية تدعم تلك القنوات.
وجاء بالفتوى
أشار سماحة المفتي العام إلى أن من صور المكاسب الحرام إنتاج الأفلام الهابطة والمتاجرة فيها , وإنتاج الأغاني , وما يكسبه الكتاب المتطاولون على الإسلام عن مقالات وكتابات خطوها للإساءة للإسلام , كلها مكاسب خبيثة محرمة , كذلك الغش والاحتكار والتدليس , وأخذ الرشوة من أجل إعطاء الحقوق لأصحابها , وما يأخذه المسلم من شفاعة نظير إعادة الحق لصاحبه , لأن الواجب على المسلم الإحسان لأخيه , وتفريج همه وكربه . وعد المفتي العام ما يحصل عليه المتسولون , الذين يدعون الفقر ويظهرون الآفات والمصائب من المكاسب المحرمة , ومن يعتدون على الأموال العامة , والتهاون بها والتسلط عليها بأية وسيلة كانت , من المكاسب المحرمة لأن واجب المسلم أن يحافظ على الأموال العامة .

وقال سماحته : "إن للمكاسب الخبيثة أضراراً في الدنيا والآخرة , فهي سبب رد الدعاء وعدم الاستجابة من الله للعبد , وأن الله لا يبارك فيها بل تكون أموالاً ممحوقة , وقد تكون مصدر بلاء وابتلاء صاحبها , لذلك على المسلم أن يسعى للكسب الحلال ويحذر من الوقوع في المحرمات".

فعلها في قبرص .. استنسخ جينات بشرية وصدم العالم!


حطم الطبيب الأمريكي، القبرصي الأصل، زافوس بانايوتس ذروة المحرمات الأخلاقية والعلمية اثراعلانه استنساخ 14 من الأجنة البشرية وزرعها في أرحام عدد من النساء، بغية وضع أول طفل مستنسخ لكن الأجنة فشلت في التطور والنمو داخل الأرحام والتحول إلى حمل طبيعي.

وكان الطبيب الأمريكي قد تعمد إجراء التجربة التي تعد جريمة جنائية وعملا غير مشروع في العديد من الدول، في ممختبر سري في بلد شرق أوسطي، لأن عددا كبيرا من الدول تحظر قوانينها زرع الأجنة المستنسخة في رحم بشري.

وقالت صحيفة الاندبندنت البريطانية إن هذه ليست المرة الأولى التي يجري فيها زافوس مثل هذه التجارب، وكان نجح عام 2004 بزرع جنين مستنسخ في رحم إمرأة عمرها 35 عاماً، لكن تبيّن بعد مرور شهر أن المحاولة لم تنجح في جعلها تحمل.

وعلى الرغم من التبعات الأخلاقية والقانونية لهذه الخطوة فإن بانايوتس عبر بتفاؤل وعزم شديدين على نجاح محاولاته في المستقبل القريب. وقال الطبيب"أستطيع استنساخ كائن بشري.. إننا سنتوصل إلى تخليق جنين في غضون عام أو عامين" لاسيما وقد تجاوزت أبحاثه مرحلة "تخليق" أجنة هجينة من خلايا الموتى إلى العمل على إمكانية تحويلها إلى أطفال.

والاستنساخ هو عملية تكوين كائن حي باستخدام خلايا غير جينية، أي دون الاعتماد على الحيوان المنوي والبويضة، وهذا الكائن المتكون يكون مطابقا من حيث الجينات "للمصدر" الذي أخذت منه الخلية دون أن يؤثر دور البويضة على التكوين الجيني لأنها منزوعة النواة و لا تحتوي على الكروموسومات الوراثية وإذا كانت الخلية مثلا المأخوذة مصابة بالسرطان أو بالشيخوخة يحمل الكائن المستنسخ نفس العوارض لأن عملية الاستنساخ ترتكز على خلية واحدة.

ولا تزال عمليات الاستنساخ في الوقت الراهن محدودة جدا بسبب القيود التي تفرضها الحكومات على هذه الأبحاث لما لها من مشاكل تهدد الجيل البشري خاصة وأن الحيوانات التي تكونت عن طريق الاستنساخ تعاني من ضعف شديد في جهاز المناعة وكذلك سرعة الإصابة بالأورام وخاصة الخبيثة منها وأمراض أخرى تصيب الجهاز العصبي.

ويعتقد العلماء أن الاستنساخ يسبب وجود مشاكل في القابلية العقلية والتي يصعب إثباتها بالنسبة للحيوانات المستنسخة لعدم حاجتها للقدرات العقلية مثل الإنسان.

كذلك وجد بعض الباحثون في اليابان أن الحيوان المستنسخ يعيش بحالة صحية رديئة والكثير منها يصاب بالموت المفاجئ.

وقبل أيام أعلن أطباء في دولة الامارات العربية المتحدة أنهم نجحوا في استنساخ جمل غير أن الشكوك مازالت تحوم حول مصيره في المراحل القادمة أثناء نموه.

والجدير بالذكر أن النعجة "دولي"، وهي أول كائن حي يتم استنساخه، قد تم قتلها في شباط عام 2003 بإبرة خاصة بعد إصابتها بسرطان الرئة وعوق شديد والتهابات في المفاصل بعمر 7 سنوات رغم أن أقرانها قد تصل لعمر 11-12 عاما.

وتثير عمليات الاستنساخ التي طبقت بنجاح الى حد الآن على النباتات والحيوانات جدلا أخلاقيا وقانونيا واسعا بين العلماء والمنظمات الانسانية.

وعلى الرغم من المنع الصريح من قبل غالبية الدول لتجارب الاستنساخ على البشر الا أن شكوك قوية تشير الى وجود محاولات مختبرات سرية كثيرة في العالم.

ولزافوس نفسه وهو أمريكي بالتجنس عيادات للخصوبة في كنتاكي بالولايات المتحدة وقبرص حيث مسقط رأسه.

ويجادل المؤيدون لفكرة الاستنساخ على البشر بأنها تمثل ثورة في مجال الهندسة الوراثية من شأنها أن تمكن الانسان من السيطرة على عدد كبير من الأمراض غير أنه لم تسفر أي من عمليات نقل المضغ البشرية عن أي حمل قابل للاستمرار.

ونجح علماء مؤخرا في استخلاص خلايا جذعية من أجنة مستنسخة تستطيع أن تنتج أي خلايا أو أعضاء كالكلية والكبد والخلايا الدموية التي يرجى استخدامها لعلاج الكثير من الأمراض المستعصية

الكاتب سمية مرزوقي القيزاني - العرب اونلاين
الخميس, 23 أبريل 2009