------------------------------------------------------ IN THE NAME OF ALLAH ------------------------------------------------------ >>>>>>>>>> I N N O V A T I V E M I N D S <<<<<<<<<< NEWSLETTER 17 Febuary 2000 http://www.inminds.com ------------------------------------------------------ Assalaamu Alaikum Welcome to our newsletter. This month we celebrate the 21st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. CONTENTS ~~~~~~~~ 1> 21st Anniversary of the Islamic Revolution 2> Visit to Imam Khomeini's House 3> What I think of Imam Khomeini- by a Christian minister 4> The Islamic Revolution - Quranic Viewpoint 5> Art of the Islamic Revolution CDROM 6> Interview with Sister Gul Aslan 7> Interview with Sister Huda Kaya 8> Islamic Audio Lectures 9> Childrens Art Competition - Final Reminder 10> Quds Day Rally Photo-report 11> Baqir Project update 12> Thought for the Day 21st Anniversary of the Islamic Revolution ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On 11th February 1979 the victory of the Islamic revolution was achieved. This great event of the 20th century - destroyed the most significant, secure and trusted base of american imperialism in the region and established the rule of Islam, away from the influence of the east and the west in Iran. The Islamic revolution in Iran inspired hopes in the hearts of the muslims and the oppressed of the world and proved to them that without reliance on the east and the west, they can hold their destiny in their own hands and form their desired government. For this 21st Anniversary, we have featured several interesting items on our website. The index is at : http://www.inminds.com/khomeini.html Visit to Imam Khomeini's House ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is a first hand account of a participant at a womens conference in Iran who had the oppertunity to visit Imams house and talk to his wife. Read of the simple life Imam Khomeini lived, truely a reflection of the lifestyle of the Prophet of Islam(SAW). Visiting the Imam's house was another surprise for us. The main door is a simple iron door, leading to a yard about six meters long. It has three rooms, inside each of which you will find a mattress and a cushion, and a simple sofa used by the Imam for sitting and sleeping on. The kitchen is under the stairs. There is a small room for him alone for studying, praying, reading and listening to the news; it is furnished with a chair, a small table, and some book shelves. The foreign press correspondents were surprised when they saw the house of the leader of the Ummah. They were even more surprised when they saw the Imam's food which was composed of a boiled potato, an orange, and a small chunk of bread. They asked the Imam's wife: 'Where do you sleep?' She answered simply, 'Just where we sit.' Read the full account at: http://www.inminds.com/imams-house.html "What I think of Imam Khomeini" by a Christian minister ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Imam Khomeini championed the cause of all the oppressed people of the world, not just the Muslims. His message has found listeners well beyond the Muslim community. Read what Tina Conlon, a canadian Christian Lay-Minister has to say: President Carter prayed for the success of his mission. He demanded that church bells ring throughout America. The leader of the Islamic Revolution prayed to Allah, for the deprived nations whose existence has fallen under the boots of the powerful oppressors. The irony was that the president of the USA and the leader of the Islamic Republic were not praying to two different Gods. This was not a contest of whose God was better. Each recognized that their God is One God. There is only one God and God is not on the side of the oppressors. ... ... I joined Muslim brothers and sisters in demonstrating in front of the US Embassy. As we marched in front of the US Embassy, I was the happiest, the proudest Christian, to march alongside a group of people whose battle cry was simply, "Allahu Akbar GOD IS GREAT." Some people who recognized me at the seminary where I was a student admonished me from joining the march. One of my classmates said that I was joining the fight of non-Christians . "No", I said, I am marching with those who say that "GOD IS GREAT!" and you know what, I agree. Read her full account at: http://www.inminds.com/christian.html The Islamic Revolution - Quranic Viewpoint ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Recently Ayatullah Mesbah Yazdi visited the UK. In a lecture given at the Islamic Centre, he examines the Islamic Revolution in Iran - its roots and factors that led to its success, purely from the Quranic perspective. Listen to the english translation of the lecture at: http://www.inminds.com/islamic-revolution-2000.html Art of the Islamic Revolution CDROM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Experience the Islamic Revolution through the glorious art it has inspired. Nearly 200 paintings spanning two decades of the Islamic Revolution are presented on this cdrom. Two separate applications are provided, one allows you to set this presentation (with sound and animation) as your screen-saver whilst the other allows you to view individual paintings as a photo album, with full functionality to export, print or set as windows wallpaper any painting. All this for the bargin price of UK Sterling £12. Check it out at: http://www.inminds.com/art-of-islamic-revolution.html Interviews with released Turkish Prisoners of Faith ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Courtesy of Selam Weekly, we bring you two interviews: Interview with Sister Gul Aslan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In May 96, Gul Aslan then aged 21 with a six month old baby, was arrested after visiting her husband Tamer in Prison. Tamer is being held for his Islamic beliefs. She was imprisoned for over three years without charge. After intense international campaigning, Gul Aslan was released on August 20 1999. Her husband Tamer is still imprisoned. In the interview she was asked: What is the effect of your captivity on your daughter ? "She was living with her grandmother. I could see her once in two or three weeks. When she came to the prison I took her to my cell, and we had breakfast together. I tried to make something together with her. Indeed my daughter doesn't know me as a mother. She has been staying with her grandmother for three and a half years. She knows her as a mother. She also knows me as a mother but I am the one who can be seen once in two or three weeks. Her grandmother is permanently with her all the day and the night. So the child sees the one closer to herself who is always by her side. When I was back she did not say, " Mama came back! ". But this is not abnormal indeed. I believe that it would be alright. " When asked about the ban on wearing hijab in universities : "Some think that when you take off your hijab the oppression would end. But we have to understand the logic behind all of this. Their (the Kemalist rulers) aim is to eradicate Islam. " The full interview is at: http://www.inminds.com/aslan-interview.html Interview with Sister Huda Kaya and her daughters ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Huda Kaya, and her three daughters Intisaar, Nurilhaq & Nurcihan last year faced the death penalty for various 'treasonable crimes' relating to their peaceful participation in a demonstration against the hijab ban in Turkish universities. After extensive international campaigning on their behalf, the four women and others facing the death penalty were sentenced to short prison terms, and paroled. In the interview, when asked about interaction with other prisoners: "We were developing our relations by telling them about the teachings of Islam. We had a good atmosphere. Some learned to pray, some began to pray and began to wear the headscarf. We tried to tell them about Tavhid. Our Lord was so merciful to us. Some of them wanted to learn Quran and my daughters helped them. It seemed like you were in a Quran Course. Some prisoners began to read Quran." So even in prison, they were winning the battle for hijab and Islam! Read the full interview at: http://www.inminds.com/kaya-interview.html Our main index for the Turkey campaign is: http://www.inminds.com/hijab-ban/index.html Islamic Audio Lectures ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We are gradually creating an audio library of Islamic lectures in english. The first is entitled "Islamic Society between Dogma, Reaction and Realism" by Hujjatal Islam Kazerooni. The 50 minute lecture is followed by an excellent 60 minutes of Questions and Answers - highly recommended! Both sections can be listened to on-line or downloaded for later. http://www.inminds.com/islamic-society.html If you have recorded any worthy Islamic lectures in english that you feel would find a suitable home on our website, please contact us or send us the audio tape. We will return your original tapes to you after digitising them. Childrens Art Competition ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Final reminder, the deadline for entries for our "Illustrate an Ayat" competition is 1st March. To enter, all your child needs to do is select any ayat from the Holy Qur'an and then create a picture to illustrate it. The picture can be drawn, painted, or created on the computer... its up to them. For full details follow the link: http://www.inminds.com/draw-contest.html Quds Day Rally Photo-report ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Did you attend the Quds Day rally? Check out our photo report at: http://www.inminds.com/quds2000.html We've even included a real audio recording of Dua Wahda (prayer of unity) from the rally: http://www.inminds.com/quds2000.html#dua Baqir Project Update ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ About 18 months ago we developed the Baqir Islamic Screensaver in order to raise funds for a 2 year old iraqi refugee, Baqir, who is suffering from Thalassaemia. As of Feb 13th the total collected for young Baqir is £ 3789.50. We thank all those who have contributed. It is planned that with your continued support the scope of the project will be extended to help other children suffering like Baqir in the refugee camps. We would like to share one example of the generosity people have shown. One kind sister upon hearing of Baqirs plight removed her gold ring and donated it to help Baqir - what a selfless act, may Allah reward the sister. If you would like to help, full details are on the website : http://www.inminds.com/baqir/index.html For non-UK donations please send cash (preferably US $) as it costs a lot to convert a foreign currency cheque to UK pounds sterling. The Baqir Fund is collected by World Wide Welfare, a registered charity. Every penny donated is spent on Baqir, all expenses incured in visitng the refugee camps, etc. are NOT payed from the Baqir fund. Please be generous, may Allah reward you. Thought for the Day ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We are not in the habit of quoting from the Jerusalem Post. But an interesting article in a recent issue was brought to our attention. The article entitled "Islam’s sober millennium" by Martin Kramer appeared in the 31 Dec 99 edition. Excerpts from the article are given below for your reflection: A thousand years ago, the world revolved around the Middle East and Islam.. What a difference a thousand years can make. In the year 1000, the Middle East was the crucible of world civilization. One could not lay a claim to true learning if one did not know Arabic, the language of science and philosophy. One could not claim to have seen the world's greatest cities if one had not set eyes upon Baghdad and Cordoba, Cairo and Bukhara. This supremely urbane civilization cultivated genius. Had there been Nobel Prizes in 1000, they would have gone almost exclusively to Moslems. One laureate certainly would have been the brilliant polymath Biruni (973-circa 1050) - astronomer, mathematician, mineralogist, botanist, linguist, and historian. Among his numerous accomplishments, he determined almost precisely the radius and circumference of the earth. Moslem preeminence in astronomy lasted until the 15th century, and was symbolized by the prestige of Arab astrolabes in European navigation. Medicine also inspired Moslem genius, most notably in the person of the philosopher Ibn Sina, or Avicenna (980-1037). He championed the science of the Greeks, and the practice of medicine in Europe rested upon his Canon of Medicine right through the 15th century. European universities taught anatomy in Arabic terminology for nearly that long. Global trade flourished in the fabulous marketplaces of the Middle East as nowhere else. The scientific scholarship cultivated in its academies was unrivaled. An Islamic empire, established by conquest four centuries earlier, had spawned an Islamic civilization, maintained by the free will of the world's most creative and enterprising spirits. A thousand years later, the Middle East sulks on the margins of a world civilization forged in the West. The region's languages are hardly known abroad; they convey no vital science. Most Middle Eastern cities teem with rural migrants and lack the basic refinements of cultural capitals. The markets of the Middle East are local exchanges, not international hubs, and the region draws hardly any international investment. The region's best scholars and scientists go abroad to study, and most never return. It is one of the least congenial places in the world for creative and enterprising spirits. The year 2000 is not the Islamic millennium. By the Islamic calendar, this is the year 1420, and orthodox Moslems profess an indifference to the millennium hype. But the fact that the entire world counts its years from the birth of Jesus, and not the hegira of the Prophet Mohammed, speaks volumes about the relative fortunes of Islam - and the Middle East. When Christendom marked its first millennium, the rest of the world took no notice. The Islamic counting of the years mattered far more, from the Atlantic to the Indus. Today, the Islamic counting does not govern any part of the world, and the Christian counting has become the secularized, universal marker of time. Reflection, not celebration, will be the response across the Middle East to the new millennium, and it begins with a sense of lost primacy." Wassalam Innovative Minds _________________________________________________ TO UNSUBSCRIBE Visit: http://www.inminds.com/unsubscribe.html and enter your email address. TO SUBSCRIBE Visit: http://www.inminds.com/index.html#sub and enter your email address. 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