The 2 Holy Cities - Makkah Mukarramah & Madeenah Munawwarah - are like a 2 sided coin. On the one hand they're both very calm, tranquil and peaceful because of the masaajid: the Haram in Makkah and the Masjid an-Nabawi in Madeenah. When you're near the Haram in Makkah you can't help but have this great feeling of awe because you're in the precints of a place full of majesty and glory. As you walk thru the masjid and get closer and closer to seeing the ka'bah - the centre of the city and the cause of the city's fame and honour - you're filled with suspense and longing. A longing to place your forehead on the cool marble floor and beg for Allaah's Mercy. Or a longing to kiss the ka'bah or to hold on to it's curtains and cry like a baby. I don't really know what that longing is for...I can't quite put my finger on it. Its a bit of everything, I guess.
Once you're in view of the ka'bah, everything goes silent and you're breath is taken away for a brief moment - literally. When I first saw the ka'bah, I think I gasped because I was amazed and humbled by its sheer greatness, simplicity and beauty. Greatness and simplicity: can these 2 qualities be contradictory? In fact, (its so cliched but..) words can't do justice man, they really can't.

So, I'll stop here and talk a lil about Masjid an-Nabawi ash-shareef in Madeenah. The mosque is so peaceful and quiet (the ladies-only section is anyways, the ladies-with-kids section echoes with screaming babies and kids during salaah...always during salaah..). Its great...and humbling.
I love these 2 masaajid, and thats why I love the 2 cities. Makkah is fulla busy, bustling streets and lanes, and dusty old pathways. Fulla life and vibrancy where one can't tell the difference between day and night. Madeenah: a peaceful place with quiet streets echoing the adhaan from the Masjid.

When I went 5/6 years ago, it was quite different to how I found it this time. The people back then seemed more cheerful, the guards seemed less harsh, the shopkeepers wouldn't rip you off, there seemed to be fewer beggars, everybody used to go for salaah and people seemed to stare less. Dunno...maybe its just me..but it seems to have changed subtly. The atmosphere inside the mosques is still the same, alhamdulillaah...apart from the crazy shi'as. Ya Allaaaaah! Them shi'as were so frustrating. Pushing and shoving as if their dads owned the place. In Madeenah they freaked me out, especially in the rawdah; rubbing and kissing the walls and bawling loudly. A lot of the time they were fake tears. You could tell man. The shi'as would go to Jannatul Baqi' (where the martyrs are buried, aswell as other noble Companions). There, they'd sit on the dusty ground moving back and forth, crying loudly and yelling and whatnot. Then, they'd make their way to the mosque, change out of their black shawls/chadors/whatever-they're-called's, into flowery ones. They travel in groups. When the time came for the women to say the salaams at the Prophet's [saw] grave and Abu Bakr's and Umar's [radiAllaahu 'anhum], the shi'as would leg it. Then they'd step all over you if you tried to pray the 2 nafl in the rawdah bit. Sheesh. I screamed at 'em once..lol..it was hilarious man..I'll relate the story some other time.
Right now tho, I'm famished.

Wa salaamun 'alaykum.

Most Terrorist Convictions are Non-Muslim
Source: MuslimNews

By Hamed Chapman

Despite the sweeping Police raids against Muslims, the majority of convictions in the UK under its anti-terrorist laws since 9/11 have been white loyalists and racists.

According to Home Office figures, 609 arrests of so-called terrorist suspects have been made over the past three years, but up until 30 June 2004, they have led to only 15 convictions. The majority were quietly released without charge in contrast to the high-profile raids.

It has now been found by a study of eleven of the convictions by the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) that only three were Muslims and of these two have been given leave to appeal against their convictions.

The other eight included six convicted of wearing or carrying symbols of outlawed pro-British loyalist groups in Northern Ireland. The two others were separate cases of sending letters containing “substances claiming to be noxious” and included one sent to Muslim MP, Mohammed Sarwar, containing white powder.

The IRR also found that out of attempted charges against Muslims, at least 21 cases were brought to court but were either subsequently dropped or could not be proven. The Institute said that it was continuing to monitor arrests under anti-terror laws in relations to how they affect minority ethnic communities and would be publishing a full report shortly.

The Muslim community is not surprised with the figures. “This confirms our suspicion the disparity between convictions and arrests is even greater than we were made to believe. A 0.5% conviction rate beggars belief. What message does this send to the Muslim community?”, Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee, Sadiq Khan, told The Muslim News.
* Eight British men arrested with five others in high-profile anti-terror raids two weeks ago appeared in court on August 18 were charged under the 1977 Criminal Law Act.

All eight, who are Muslims, were named as Dhiren Barot, Mohammed Naveed Bhatti, Abdul Aziz Jalil, Omar Abdul Rehman, Junade Feroze, Zia Ul Haq, Qaisar Shaffi and Nadeem Tarmohammed. All are charged collectively with conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to commit a public nuisance by using radioactive material, toxic gas, chemicals or explosives.

Only three, Barot, Shaffi and Tarmohammed, face charges under the Terrorism 2000 Act, including possession of a Terrorists Handbook and having a reconnaissance plans for buildings in the US.
The eight were remanded in custody to appear at London’s Old Bailey central criminal court on August 25.

A ninth man, a non Muslim, described as Matthew Monks, was charged at the same court with possession of a prohibited weapon, but was released on bail.

Two of the 13 arrested in nationwide raids on August 3 were earlier freed without charge. Two others were also released but were rearrested on suspicion of other offences.

As salaamu 'alaykum,

Yup. I'm back, alhamdulillaah. Yes, I made lots of du'aas etc. Though, I came to some very interesting realisations. I'll probably post 'em up in the coming entries, inshaAllaah. Right now, I'm tired...its not jet-lag, we arrived last week and I got plenty of rest over the last few days. Tomorrow is Thursday the 19th of August. A very important day. So, like, I'm off.

Peace Out.