Benjamin and Sharon Vogelenzang were accused of launching a tirade against white British Muslim convert Ericka Tazi, 60, at their hotel in Liverpool where she had been staying while she attended a course at a local hospital in March.

Tazi, who converted to Islam 18 months ago, said they had laughed at her when she wore a hijab on the last day of her stay and Dutch-born Benjamin Vogenlenzang, 53, had called the prophet Mohammed a murderer and likened him to Saddam Hussein and Hitler.

Sharon Vogelenzang, 54, admitted suggesting that the hijab was a form of bondage but said her views were based on media references to Muslim women.

The couple also told the court that Tazi had insulted their religion by calling Jesus Christ a minor prophet and said the bible was untrue.

After a two-day trial judge Richard Clancy at Liverpool Magistrates Court dismissed charges the hoteliers had used threatening, abusive or insulting words which were religiously aggravated, the Press Association reported.

Mrs Tazi

He said Tazi’s claim she had been abused for up to an hour had not been borne out by other prosecution witnesses.

Prosecutors defended bringing the case, saying they believed there had been sufficient evidence for a realistic chance of a conviction.

“We would like to thank all those who have supported us over the last nine months — our family, our friends, our church, and Christians from all around the world and non-Christians,” Sharon Vogelenzang told reporters outside court after the verdict.”As Christmas approaches we wish everybody peace and goodwill.”

“Most certainly, you (O Muhammad!) have been created on a great character.”

Below is a list of praiseworthy chracteristics and attributes that all Muslims should try to adopt:

1. To believe oneself to be the most inferior. Its’ opposite is takabbur (pride).

2. Kindness to creation and to tolerate the difficulties and inconveniences they cause one.

3. Tenderness and cheerfulness and to abandon anger.

4. Sympathy for others and to give preference to them. This implies priority to the rights of others over one’s pleasures.

5. To be generous.

6. To overlook the wrongs of others and to forgive them.

7. To abstain from pretence.

8. To spend in moderation, without being miserly or wasteful.

9. To have trust in Allah.

10. To be contented with little worldly possessions.

11. To adopt piety.

12. To refrain from arguing, quarreling and being wrathful except for the truth.

13. To abstain from malice and envy.

14. To abstain from the desire of respect and fame.

15. To fulfill promises.

16. To be tolerant, far-sighted and supportive of brothers.

17. Gratitude to the benefactor.

18. To sacrifice reputation for the sake of Muslims.

A story which really showed the impact of a sincere naseehah from one brother to another in this blessed month is that related by our Shaykh Muhammad al-Arefe, an outstanding da’eeyah, mainly active in the Arab and Muslim world. I thought to share this beautiful story with you. (If you are interested and understand Arabic, you can listen to the entire lecture where he shared this story titled “Enni Sa’em” ["I am Fasting"] here).

The Shaykh says (paraphrased):

A couple of years ago, on one of the nights in the month of Ramadhan I was scheduled to do a television program with a topic related to this month. The location was a top floor of one of the hotels facing the Masjid al-Haraam in Makkah. So, the background was the Ka’ba and the Haram. The words being said (in the program) were touching and the background was moving. The environment was one full of Eman, so much so that the host teared up during the program. After an hour, the program was completed, Alhamdulilah.

Afterwards, the cameraman came to thank me and tell me that he was moved by what he heard. I immediately noticed in his hand a cigarette, which he had lit right after the program was completed. I held his hand and also thanked him for his work and asked Allah to reward him for being cameraman for Islamic programs and so on. Then I told him that; ‘I have a small word for you and I hope you will accept from me.’ He welcomed the advice wholeheartedly.

Just as I began to speak and the words ‘smoking’ and ‘cigarettes’ came out of my lips, he cut me off and said: ‘You will give me naseehah? Ya Shaykh don’t give me naseehah… there is no point….don’t waste your time….I have been smoking for over 40 years.….smoking is in my veins……if there was someone who could have stopped me, it would have happened before you!’
Seeing that this is was the situation, I said, ‘So there is no point in my naseehah?’ He replied, ‘No, go to the Haram and recite Quran.’ So I repeated, ‘Khalaas (that’s it), no naseehah then?’ He said, ‘Pray for us, Pray for us.’
At this, I held his hand and asked him to come with me. ‘Where?’ he said. I replied, ‘I’ll pray for you.’

I took him to the window facing the Ka’bah and we stood there looking at it. It was extremely crowded with worshippers in the Haram; a truly moving sight.

I told him, ‘Do you see all of these people?’

‘Yes’, he replied.

I said, ‘They came from all over… different nationalities, colors,
Arab, non-Arab, poor, rich…. all of them are here seeking Allah’s
forgiveness and mercy, right?’

‘Right’, he said.
I then said, ‘Do you not wish that Allah grants you from what he grants them?’

His reply was in the affirmative.
So I suggested that we stand right there in the window, face the ka’ba
and make du’aa. He agreed. I asked him to raise his palms in du’aa and
that I will make the du’aa and he should only say ‘Ameen’.

I began making du’aa for him.

I said, ‘O Allah forgive him.’ He said, ‘Ameen.’
‘O Allah raise his status.’
‘Ameen.’
‘O Allah join him with his beloved in Jannah.’
‘Ameen.’
‘O Allah grant him the company of the Anbiyaa (prophets) in Jannah.’
‘Ameen…. Ameen….. Ameen….’
I continued to make du’aa until his heart softened and he wept and wept whilst repeating ‘Ameen, ameen.’
When I saw this and I wanted to end the du’aa I said, “O Allah, if he gives up smoking, then answer this du’aa. And if he does not give it up, then do not grant him from it (the du’aa).’

The man was in deeply moved. Heavily weeping, he covered his face and exited the room.

I left him alone and did not follow him. (That was the end of this meeting).

Months passed, and I was again invited to do something with the same channel. So when I arrived at their place, a man came very happily approached me and began greeting me very excitedly; kissing me and so on. He seemed to be very touched about something. I did not know him or remember who he was. So I thanked him for his emotions, but informed him that I did not recall who he was. He replied that there was no problem and began reminding me of the man who I gave naseehah to 2 years earlier about smoking. I remembered. So I he said, ‘I am him!’ Then he continued, ‘And by Allah, ya Shaykh, I
did not place in my mouth a cigarette ever since that moment!’” Allahu Akbar!

This is the end of the Shaykh’s story.
The Prophet sallaAllahu alayhe wasallam said,
“By Allah, if Allah were to guide one man through you it would be better for you than the best type of camels.” (Agreed Upon).

And in another hadeeth,
“Verily Allah and His angels, even the ant in its hole and the fish in the sea, verily (they all) pray for he who teaches people good.” (Authentic, narrated by Tabraanee).

May Allah use us in good and righteousness and guide us and make us a cause for guiding others

All praise is for Allah and peace and blessings be upon the Prophet Muhammed, May Allah send peace and blessings upon him.
After Allah and his Messenger May Allah send peace and blessings upon him, the most beloved and respected person to a Muslim should be his mother! Allah has given the mother such status that He says,

Paradise lies under the feet of mothers.

Narrated Abu Huraira:

A man came to Allah’s Apostle and said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Who is more entitled to be treated with the best companionship by me?” The Prophet (pbuh) said, “Your mother.” The man said. “Who is next?” The Prophet said, “Your mother.” The man further said, “Who is next?” The Prophet said, “Your mother.” The man asked for the fourth time, “Who is next?” The Prophet said, “Your father.”
(Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 73, Number 2)
Obedience and respect towards your mother is a very important duty in Islam and is similar to performing Salaah and keeping fast. To hurt your mother in any way is the second biggest sin and those who commit this evil sin will be harshly punished by Allah in the hereafter or maybe even in this world!
Your mother is not a Prophet, nor is she an angel; she’s just a human like you and I, so why has Allah ordered you to be obedient towards your mother and why does your mother have such a high status in Islam?
Allah loves and cares for us more than anybody else, and he especially loves those people who love and care for others. Similarly, he becomes very angry with those people who hurt other people in any way. Allah the All-Knowing, knows that in this world nobody is more loving and caring towards another person than the way that a mother is towards her child. Only Allah and his Messenger May Allah send peace and blessings upon him love you more than your mother!
Only Allah knows what your mother does for you, He sees your mother feeling pain whilst she tries to give you whatever you want. He sees your mother’s love and kindness. Pleased by your mother’s actions, Allah has given her a very high status and many virtues and rewards.

Allah also sees that many of us are not thankful to our mothers. He sees many of us being disobedient towards them. Therefore, Allah has ordered us to be good towards our mothers; he has not advised us but ordered us; we have no choice; therefore we have to be good towards our mothers! To encourage us to do this, Allah Taa’la has promised paradise for those of us who are obedient towards our mothers. At the same time, Allah has threatened to severely punish those of us who do not listen to our mothers or hurt them in any way.

But what does your Mother do for you? She only cooks and cleans! So why do you need to be thankful to your Mother?
Apart from Allah, nobody knows what our Mother really does for us.

10 Wonderful reasons to be

grateful to your mother

1. Your mother carried you for 9 months bearing pain upon pain.

2. During this time, she could not eat becuase of you! She could not sleep because of you!
3. When you were a baby, she spent every minute of her life looking after you!
4. She only slept when you slept! She only ate after you had eaten!
5. She was patient and loved you even when you cried all night and when you cried all day !
6. She taught you how to walk, how to speak, how to eat, she taught you how to live!
7. When you fall ill, she looks after you!
8. She always cooks and prepared food for you !
9. She buys you whatever you ask for !
10. She loves you unconditionally !

These are just a few things that our Mothers do for us; they do so much more of which we do not know about. However, one thing that your Mother does for you, that nobody else in the world does, is that she worries about you from the bottom of her Heart.

So what is it she worries about ?

She WORRIES about your food!
She WORRIES about your clothes!
She WORRIES about your health!
She WORRIES about your education!
She WORRIES about your future!
She WORRIES about your whole life !

Allah has ordered us, in various places of the Holy Qur’an, to be good to our mothers. He has told us to look after them even more when they are old and weak. He has taught us to be gentle to our mothers and speak to them in a nice manner. He has also told us to supplicate to Him for our Mothers with this prayer,

RABBIR-HAMHUMA KAMA

RABBAYANI SAGHEERAH

Transalation :

My lord, have mercy upon my

parents, the way they had mercy

upon me when I was young)

The Prophet May Allah send peace and blessings upon him has also ordered us to be good to our mothers. He has told us about the great rewards for that person who is good to his mother. He has described the mother as being a ‘door of paradise.’ He has also warned us of severe punishments for that person who is disobedient to his mother.

10 Easy Ways To Enter Paradise

1. LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER
2. HELP YOUR MOTHER
3. SMILE AT YOUR MOTHER
4. BE THANKFUL TO YOUR MOTHER FOR WHATEVER SHE DOES FOR YOU
5. SPEND TIME WITH YOUR MOTHER
6. ALWAYS ASK YOUR MOTHER IF YOU CAN HELP HER WITH ANYTHING
7. BUY YOUR MOTHER GIFTS
8. BE GOOD TO YOUR MOTHER’S FAMILY AND FRIENDS
9. STUDY HARD AND LEAD A GOOD LIFE SO THAT YOUR MOTHER IS HAPPY
10. ALWAYS PRAY FOR YOUR MOTHER, ESPECIALLY AFTER EVERY SALAAH.

Warning :

Those who are disobedient to their

mothers will burn in hellfire.

However hard we try, we can never repay our mothers for what they have done for us, but we can at least try, and also ask Allah to repay them for us. Our mothers are indeed a great blessing from Allah. We should appreciate and value this blessing as much as we can. Whilst our mothers are alive, we have a golden opportunity to guarantee ourselves paradise and also success in this world.

Reminder :

We will only truly realise the value

of our mothers when they are no

longer with us – when they have

passed away, but then it will be too

late!

University of Calgary student Sheraz Ali Khan

It’s a place that brings children together — to laugh, learn and grow — and reminds these youngsters what it is to be a child.

Instead of working, over 25 Pakistani youth aged three to 13-years-old, are spending their youth alongside other children, learning English, math and Urdu in a small, one-room classroom.

Twenty-three-year-old University of Calgary international relations student, Sheraz Ali Khan, and 12 friends from the Pakistani Youth Organization started the initiative more than three years ago in their hometown of Karachi.

“It’s a large city, but there are so many areas where youngsters are deprived of quality education,” Khan explains. “…We went to the houses of every parent. It was one of the most difficult tasks, because each parent wanted their children to go and earn for them.”

Named after an ambitious young friend who died in a motorcycle accident at only 23-years-old, The Tauseef Memorial School is run out of Khan’s father’s home in Pakistan. Someday, the group hopes to move the school into a separate building.

So far Khan, who moved to Canada from Pakistan in 2007, has raised about $500. 

It’s less than half the amount ($2,500) he needs to move the school into it’s own building and register it with the government of Pakistan, yet he remains confident he’ll be able to raise the needed amount within a year.

One of the most pervasive underlying assumptions in the discourse on European Muslim integration is that Muslim religiosity is a threat to Europe. Those who believe in the irreconcilability of western and Muslim identity generally argue that Muslim piety, expressed in religious symbols and moral conservatism, contrasted against the backdrop of secular and sexually liberal Europe, is a recipe for increasingly insular Muslim communities and profound alienation from European national identity. These isolated communities, the argument continues, not only represent an illiberal island challenging western democratic values, but are a “cesspool” for radicalisation.

Integration, defined as conformity with majority culture, is therefore seen as a vital security measure and a defence against dual loyalty citizens.

However, the recent Gallup study paints a very different picture. While Muslims in three European countries are indeed highly religious and socially conservative, this neither leads to a sympathy for terrorist acts, a desire to isolate nor a lack of national loyalty.

The Gallup Coexist Index is a global study of public perceptions regarding interfaith relations spanning four continents. The sampled population in the UK included 1,001 respondents from all over the country interviewed by phone through RDD (random digit dial). In addition, 504 respondents who self-identified as Muslim were polled in face-to-face interviews in England, Wales and Scotland.

A major finding of the study, in a continent where religiosity often means social ostracism, is that Muslims in all three nations strongly identify with their country and their faith. In fact, overwhelming majorities of Muslims in France, Germany and the UK say that Muslims in their country are loyal to the nation in which they reside. Interestingly, only a minority within the general public of each nation share that view. In fact, British Muslims are more likely than the general public to say that they strongly identify with the UK Similar attitudes are expressed when asked about confidence in a variety of national institutions, where Muslim confidence levels mirror, if not exceed, the general publics’ with regard to the national government, local police, transparency of elections or the judicial system.

An issue of common concern throughout Europe is the prevalence of neighbourhoods in European cities which amount to ethnic enclaves. Yet when Muslims and the general public are asked about the type of neighbourhood they would prefer to live in, majorities in both populations choose to live in a neighbourhood which is ethnically and religiously diverse. In fact, British Muslim respondents were more likely to express this opinion than the general public. Yet in the UK, the Muslim employment rate, at 38% compared with 62% of the general public, implies that, similarly to minorities in the United States, where one lives is often dictated by socioeconomic realities rather than cultural preferences.

Such data clearly highlights the importance, particularly in the UK, of shifting the discourse on integration from an obsession with differences on moral questions to engaging the socioeconomic challenges that Muslims, like most minority communities, face in western societies. The importance that Muslims (and the general public) place in finding a job, coupled with their low employment rate means that many are not realizing their aspirations in contributing to the “national good”. Policies directed at the integration of Muslim communities should focus on increasing educational opportunities and at “job readiness” for a community, which the data indicates, is eager to contribute and play a more recognised role in advancing the best interests of their nation.

Some may argue with the reliability of the study with regard to measuring British Muslim opinion. However, an important logistical challenge that this study has overcome, is the difficulty in gathering a nationally representative sample of a community as small in numbers as Muslims in the UK. In 2001 the British census estimated that Muslims comprise 3-4% of the country’s total population. The challenges in devising a methodology, not logistically prohibitive, that randomly selects respondents of such a small population are not new to this area of survey research. To overcome this challenge, our study focused on areas where Muslims make up 5% or more of the local population which allowed for a representative study of British Muslims. Once these areas were identified, the process of data collection mirrored those applied by Gallup worldwide, using random route procedures rendering all Muslims in those areas with an equal chance for selection in the study.

Others have highlighted the racial, ethnic and cultural diversity of British Muslims as a reason to caution against examining them as one group. It is certainly true that the Muslim population in each nation focused on in this study, like the global Muslim population, is quite diverse. Yet it makes little sense to ignore Muslims as a group when conducting scientific research, yet obsess over them as such when discussing social issues such as barriers to social cohesion. If Muslims are similar enough to be “lumped in” as one group when discussing their attitudes on terrorism, or other hot topic issues in the public domain, it would seem disingenuous to suddenly highlight their diversity as a negation of scientifically gathered data on their views as a group. The notion that communities with diverse attitudes or histories cannot be compared statistically would negate the ability of researchers to study any group, including the British public, within which is also a diversity of opinion and regional history. British citizens of Wales, for example, are certainly not identical to those in Scotland or England.

Integration should not be a code word for ideological and aesthetic conformity but cooperation across communities to serve the national interest. The data clearly highlights that, while the discourse on Muslim integration continues to obsess over the moral conservatism of Muslim communities, British Muslims strongly identify with their nation and are eager to contribute to the national good.

You missed a spot!” The young girl said, pointing a finger at the window that her older sister was cleaning. Her sister did not look pleased. And why should she? Her hard work was being criticized by her idle sister.

Too many times we criticize our brethren, both in blood and in Islam, when we ourselves do not look at our own faults. How many times have we slandered our brothers, backbitten them, been harsh to them, and even boycotted them for something we could have easily done ourselves? And all this is usually done before any real attempt at naseehah is made.

The term ‘Qiil wa Qaal’ (he said and she said) can be defined with the following scenario:

‘Abdullah: I heard Hamza was with some girl last night, and it wasn’t his mother.
Zubayr: No way! But he’s got a beard falling down on his chest.*with distaste and a weird sort of passion* Hypocrite.

Zubayr: Hamza was spotted dating some girl last night! Probably wasn’t even Muslim.
Zubayr’s sister: Oh my Gawd! Really?! Not Hamza… he’s one of the good guys. *stares into space, as if with remorse* You know, I think I know her! There was this girl with him X number of days ago.

And so on…

Although the above scenario may seem somewhat comic, it happens all too often. Sometimes, sadly, the finger of blame falls on scholars. In these cases, the majority of the time, the rumourmongering and gossiping is initiated by overzealous youths with little or no knowledge about the matter with which they are accusing the other. Sometimes, however, it is started by older Muslims who should know much better. We see this fitnah taking place today on internet forums and Islamic websites that should be dedicated to praising Allah and His Messenger, not petty slandering.

Narrated Al-Mughira:
The Prophet (May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Allah has forbidden you to be undutiful to your mothers, to withhold (what you should give) or demand (what you do not deserve), and to bury your daughters alive. And Allah has disliked that you talk too much about others, ask too many questions (in religion), or waste your property.”[Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 73 (The Book of Manners), Number 6]

Do we not know that nameemah (rumourmongering) is one of the acts that cause a Muslim to be punished in the grave? I don’t know about you, but the thought of slandering another whilst one knows they will be punished in the grave seems nonsensical to me.

The saddest thing of all is that sometimes when we get caught up in all of this, feelings get stirred up, and sometimes we resort to making up lies. This is obvious when both sides are testifying that that the exact opposite thing happened. Alhamdulillah, our Prophet warned us of this:

Narrated Anas bin Malik:

Allah’s Apostle (May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said thrice, “Shall I not inform you of the biggest of the great sins?” We said, “Yes, O Allah’s Apostle!” He said, “To join partners in worship with Allah and to be undutiful to one’s parents.” Then the Prophet sat up after he had been reclining and added, “And I warn you about giving a forged statement and a false witness.” The Prophet kept on saying that statement until we thought he would never stop.
[Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 73 (The Book of Manners), Number 7]

All this can be easily avoided if we guard our tongues, and remember that we will be asked about what we did with them. Ask yourself, why am I saying this? Why am I listening to this? Allah knows our intention, and blessed is the saying of our Prophet:

Narrated ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab:
The Prophet (May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “O people! The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for Allah and His Apostle, then his emigration was for Allah and His Apostle, and whosoever emigrated to take worldly benefit or for a woman to marry, then his emigration was for what he emigrated for.”

Allah – The Most High – has Said:

O ye who believe! Avoid suspicion as much (as possible): for suspicion in some cases is a sin: And spy not on each other behind their backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, ye would abhor it…But fear Allah: For Allah is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful. [Al-Hujraat:12]

And He said:

Woe to every (kind of) scandal-monger and-backbiter.
[Al-Humaza:1]

So I shall conclude with this , and I pray that we may take this noble advice:

Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah’s Messenger (May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Avoid suspicion, for suspicion is the gravest lie in talk, and do not be inquisitive about one another, and do not spy upon one another, and do not feel envy with the other. And nurse no malice, and nurse no aversion and hostility against one another. And be fellow-brothers and servants of Allah.” [Sahih al-Muslim, Book 32, Number 6214]