“Some of us
Year: 2004
Mesut Kurtis, Salawat
A new nasheed artist by the name of Mesut Kurtis has launched his debut album called “Salawat”.
This album was produced by Sami Yusuf and a special track also features him.
This amazing album also contains the famous Burda by Imam Al-Busari. The songs on this album beautifully and seamlessly blend lyrics in Arabic, Turkish and English.
Mesut Kurtis was born in 1981 in Macedonia to parents of Turkish origins. He comes from a very religious and scholarly family. His great grandfather was a well known scholar at the time of the Ottoman Empire. He is fluent in 5 languages. He has recently finished his Islamic Law course at the European Islamic Institute in Wales.
For a sample compilation from the “Salawat” album, click here.
For more information, check out the Awakening website.
Yasser Arafat’s Condition: Dead or Alive?
There is a lot of speculation about Yasser Arafat’s condition going on these days.
The rumours and reports have been spilling out that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is clinically dead and that he’s being kept alive by machines.
Two U.S. officials are confirming these reports and saying that French, Israeli and Egyptian officials are already negotiating with Arafat’s family and aides over where he should be buried.
But the Palestinian administration and sources at the French military hospital deny these reports and say that his medical state is “complex” but reversible.
So, even in this world of media and news overload, the truth isn’t always obvious and out there.
Anyway, we’ve seen this same scenario a number of times in the past with King Hussein of Jordan and recently Sheikh Zayed of UAE, and that leads me to believe that the reports that Arafat is clinically dead are true and that it’s just a matter of time before they pull the plug and announce his death officially.
How long before they do it?
Well first they have to negotiate where he’ll be buried. He and his family have always wanted him to be buried in Jerusalem but Israel is fully against that. So a solution that is honorable to a leader of his caliber has to be found.
The Palestinian leadership will also have to organize themselves and coordinate with all Palestinian factions so that a successor to Arafat is chosen and the power transfer is flawless so that they don’t fall into a power void and maybe even some sort of civil war.
It’s a critical time for the Palestinian people and leadership, the loss of their leader and uniting figure, the end of an era and the beginning of a new one.
All precautions have to be taken so that things go on smoothly.
iRaq
Man tries to convert lions to Christianity
A man leaped into a lion
Four More Bush Years…
“If the president is reelected, it will be seen as a mandate for war
Four More Fears
“This may be the year when we finally come face to face with ourselves; finally just lay back and say it — that we are really just a nation of 220 million used car salesmen with all the money we need to buy guns, and no qualms at all about killing anybody else in the world who tries to make us uncomfortable.”
Hunter S. Thompson
Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail
November 1972
[Via: Billmon]
Google Desktop
I finally got around to installing and testing Google Desktop, and what can I say but WOW.
It’s very easy and straight-forward to install. It starts indexing files, emails and web history in the pc idle time and enables you to search through them all in lightning speed.
You can even let it index your chat sessions for future searches.
It’s amazing.
I’m already using it for all my searches through my emails and files. It’s so fast and effective, it beats any of the built-in search functionalities.
It’s Google doing it’s wonders on your desktop.
Another big thank you to the guys at Google for the great software they’re making for us.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan has Died
United Arab Emirates Founder and President Sheikh Zayid bin Sultan Al Nahyan has passed away at the age of 86 after a long struggle with illness, Abu Dhabi state television announced last night.
Sheikh Zayid was behind the unity of the 7 emirates that make up the UAE in 1971, and has been one of the greatest arab leaders throughout the years.
May he rest in peace.
Inna Lillah wa Inna Ilayhi Raji’oon.
The US Elections 2004 Today
So today is the day of truth.
Today the whole world will know who they’ll be hating for the next 4 years 😛
Just kidding, although it does turn out that way most of the times.
The person who wins the US election today gets to lead the world’s only super power for the next 4 years, and the rest of the world comes as an accessory of course.
We have really come to a stage where the US elections matter more to people than their own elections in their own countries, simply because the US elections affect them and their lives more.
The president of the USA is basically the president of the world as we know it today, even though most of the world don’t get anything to say about who they would like to see heading the world.
From where I stand, there is no difference between Bush and Kerry when it comes to the issues I care about most, those being the issues of peace in the middle east and this whole anti-Islamic movement.
So, the way I see it, the next 4 years will be more of the same stuff again and again, if not even worse.
I’m not being pessimistic, I’m just being realistic. I’ve watched what the 2 candidates have to say for a long time and there’s nothing I see that makes either one better than the other or that makes the vision of the world in the 4 coming years more optimistic.
Unlike in 2000 when I really thought Al Gore would have been a better president for the US and a better leader for the world.
Anyway, I’m generally more inclined towards the Democrats than the Republicans, so maybe if Kerry wins, the people around him will be better than the people around Bush.
Can’t wait to see who actually wins this time around.
I’m expecting Bush to win a second term, but well let’s just wait and see…