Tag Archives: Muslim

January 12, 2026 · 20:05

Your Faithful travel

That sounds like quite the statement, but it applies to this. We all have faith and some are more convinced then others and as I saw the news of registering for the Hajj 2026 (which is not until May 2026) I took a little gander. I found it essential as I wrote last year ‘About the setting of prayers’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2025/06/04/about-the-setting-of-prayers/) which I wrote on June 5th 2025. I covered (a little) “Last year, 1,301 pilgrims, most of them unregistered and lacking access to air-conditioned tents and buses, died as temperatures soared to 51.8 degrees Celsius (125.2 degrees Fahrenheit)” but the setting that some were unregistered didn’t sit well with me. So I wanted to know what was going on. As such I saw today a sight I never expected to see. I saw this mention in Al Arabiya and I took a small gander through the Nusuk Hajj screen and I was blown away, so I reveal a little to you all now. To be honest this is so much better then any travel agent ever gave me (my normal holidays as I am not Muslim) 

We are welcomed and you can register or just browse and I was not afraid to browse. As said this is so much better than any travel agent. You have got to be insane not to register here. And we start with 

I didn’t browse deeper, but the 10 steps as I see them show me much more than I have ever seen for any travel setting. And the Hajj pilgrims is taken trough these 10 steps The first 4 are shown and you can enter any setting at any times, having a clear required setting bestowed upon you. So as we start we get the option to create your account, uploading your document, fill the application and application verification. 

We then get select your preferred category, top up your wallet (I guess that family could top it up too from wherever they are), browse service providers and select your preferred package.

We then get the option to book your package and review your itinerary (I guess your could email that to yourself and family members. 

In a simple setting I see the most complete booking system ever viewed by me and there is reason for this. Over a million Hajj attendees from all over the world will come and this is be far the most complete setting I have ever seen. So I am amiss to see why anyone would want to go with some dodgy tour operator (I honestly do see that, and I’ll get to that) There are options to ask someone questions, there are frequently asked question and a whole range of other setting all in the right order as I see it, but the start ’10 steps closer to 1447 Hajj’ blew me away, this is a serious achievement and I get that was needed but I saw it with my own eyes. This is a serious achievement. In travel and it will help over a million get to the Hajj smoothly and I saw perhaps one thing that could be added:

I have this sling bag, which was from the video game ‘AC Shadows’, now imagine this bag in white with the green flag of Saudi Arabia and embroiled on this ‘Hajj 1447’ and perhaps a phrase from the Quran what might be the motto of the 1447 Hajj (if they have this), it has space for your Quran, a space for your mobile and space for perhaps a small bottle of water. Perhaps they have something like that, but I never saw this, so it came to me.

From what I can see Saudi Arabia is taking good care of the people coming to their Hajj or perhaps even Umrah. And let there be no doubt, those who attend unregistered did so for the clear reason to avoid registration and there should be nob doubt that this is done in a time where survival is unlikely to happen to those who are unregistered. 

But there is a second side and that is not on the organizers or on the government of Saudi Arabia. It was given to me by the Jakarta Globe (at https://jakartaglobe.id/news/indonesian-muslims-face-40year-hajj-wait-nu-chairman-tells-saudi-forum) where we see ‘Indonesian Muslims Face 40-Year Hajj Wait, NU Chairman Tells Saudi Forum’ and I get that, the solution I created a few years was for pilgrims and doesn’t include Mecca, as a non-Muslim I thought it was not my place to offer this and as a non-Muslim, I don’t really get that part. As a christian I saw Lourdes, but not as a faithful pilgrim, and I never got that part either. I understand the of the faithful, but I was never one of them. So I left Mecca in the open and perhaps that could solve this, I saw the equations that 900 million people will never see Macca, most of them cannot afford that trip and they are given that the act of seeing Mecca in one’s lifetime is a central tenet fulfilled by performing the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage. It is one of the Five Pillars of Islam and is a mandatory religious duty for all adult Muslims who are physically and financially able to undertake the journey at least once in their lives. It is the ‘and financially able’ even in those days they understood that not everyone could afford such a trip. Even as it seems now more and more affordable, over 20% of the world population is now Muslim, a setting never considered 1447 years ago, I don’t think they ever considered that the worlds population would grow to 8 billion people.

But there is a worry for Saudi Arabia as Indonesian muslims have up to 40 years to wait. I don’t think there is ever an easy solution for this, at least not that I can see. And when we consider that the act of Hajj needs to be performed from 8th to 12th of Dhul Hijjah, which gives us starting with the Day of Tarwiyah (8th) in Mina, the Day of Arafah (9th) for standing at Arafat, Eid al-Adha (10th) with animal sacrifice (Qurbani), and concluding with further rites in Mina and circling the Ka’bah until the 12th or 13th, marking a period of intense spiritual devotion, prayer, and unity, concluding the Hajj rituals and celebrating Eid. This is the opening that is available for Muslims, as such some will miss out. 

So have a great day today and rejoice, some people will consider a proper digital experience to give rise to your Hajj 1447. At least the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah are doing their best on making the even smooth, all covering and as I personally see it, the best travel platform ever offered to anyone. 

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September 29, 2025 · 15:24

And for today

That is what I was thinking. I saw the news (at https://www.arabnews.com/node/2617052/saudi-arabia) where I saw ‘KSrelief undertakes new food and medical initiatives in Africa’ and I was off to the races. It is mostly because the western media refuses to give us anything on what they do. They think the boobies of Kim Kardashian are much more news worthy. So as I see that they “The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) has launched and concluded several major relief initiatives across Africa this week, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

In Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, KSrelief inaugurated a large-scale food security support project designed to help the country’s most vulnerable communities.” I will make space for this (especially as the news worthy media does not). And for that the “SPA reported that the program will distribute 38,900 food baskets, each weighing 40 kilograms and containing essential food items, reaching approximately 233,400 individuals across multiple regions. The initiative forms part of Saudi Arabia’s pledge to support the Lake Chad region, a commitment made during the 2024 Jeddah Donors’ Conference.”The idea that this touches over two hundred thousand people in multiple regions is nothing short if miraculous. I initially would like to think the massive amount of drivers that were needed to bring this to the people as that is my expectation, but I have no idea how many drivers this would take to these trips. And when we see in that same setting giving us “According to SPA, an 18-member volunteer medical team performed 28 open-heart surgeries, 95 cardiac catheterization procedures, and three transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) operations.” We need to see the massive amount of good that KSrelief does to the world and in this case to Africa. 

As for the other news, it is a little more questionable. Irani News (at https://www.iranintl.com/en/202509284910) gives us ‘Khamenei adviser urges joining Saudi-Pakistan defense pact’ I have issues here. It is nice that they want to sit under the Atomic Umbrella it provides, but Iran has been Thumbing the nose towards Saudi Arabia (and others) by setting channels of. Communication with terrorist organisation like Hamas, Houthi and Hezbollah, making them proxy members to say the least. My personal setting is that Iran at the very least will disavow these connections and stops fueling the wars that they have been. Any settings found in the future makes them automatically no longer eligible for this Saudi-Pakistani defense pact. And with the setting of “Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi told state television on Saturday night that the agreement between Riyadh and Islamabad was positive and proposed Iran, Iraq and others also take part. “Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Iraq can reach a collective defense pact,” he said, while acknowledging that US influence over Riyadh and Islamabad may limit such moves.” We should realise that there are off course stabilizing benefits to this, but the danger that Iran poses with its ‘three terrorist allies’ is no guarantee that they have the stabilizing issues that they are proclaiming that Iran could face. As I personally see it, Iran was a seat on the Muslim-majority Defense pact and it wants a bigger seat on the Islamic table and that should never be allowed before their have adjusted the points of communication they invoked through terrorism. 

The world (and in particular the Muslim setting) of a stabilizing setting with Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Pakistan are much better served with Iran on the outside of that equation. Iran did this to themselves and now that Israel has had enough of the setting that Iran provided, Iran wants to hide behind a nuclear umbrella whilst it keeps on setting fires to the middle east. I don’t think it is a good thing and it should not be allowed. As I see it Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi will have to remove the coal coals it dispensed over the middle east and in a first setting needs to remove Hamas, Houthi and Hezbollah channels of support from the table. 

OK, it is clear that I am no person of interest to Saudi Arabia and I do not think they would ever see me as a party of influence here, but that is what I believe. And whilst we are at it, how much support has Iran given to these three parties in the last 5 years? 

I reckon that removing these three from the ‘free oil wells’ of dollars is a absolute first in this setting and any support found from Iran will without any delay thrust them outside the Saudi-Pakistani defense pact. 

That it for today, time to enjoy a lovely coffee and perhaps a small pastry, have a a great day.

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July 16, 2025 · 05:51

Two for two

That is the setting that I see overlapping. Now, if someone states that they have nothing to do with each other, I would disagree, but I see their point too. At times causality is as thin as the thread to a spiderweb. I just see that there is more then one thread connecting the two together. And those who disagree are allowed to do this. So it started with Kazinform International News Agency (a news agency in Kazakhstan) informing me of ‘Saudi Arabia retains top spot in MENA venture capital investment for first half of 2025’, in itself not terribly important to my scope of life, but it had mention of the MAGNiTT. I had not heard that term before and I get a lot of information, so I decided to check it out. It states “your go-to platform for verified Venture Capital & Private Equity data in Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, Türkiye and Pakistan” that I would have remembered, as such a new term came to me, from an unknown source. The part that got my intention was “Saudi Arabia maintained its first rank across MENA in terms of Venture Capital (VC) funding in the first half of 2025, witnessing a total VC deployment of $860 Million (SAR3.2 billion), surpassing the total VC funding of 2024 (full year)” as such, I am getting the impression that Saudi Arabia is stretching its financial influence in the world, when you see a near two for one deal spanning almost a billion, that ain’t hay (as the expression goes). 

The additional quote goes “The Kingdom’s leading position in the VC scene in the region comes as a result of many governmental initiatives launched to stimulate the VC and startups ecosystem within the Saudi Vision 2030 programs. We at SVC are committed to continuing to lead the development of the ecosystem by stimulating private investors to provide support for startups and SMEs to be capable of fast and high growth, leading to diversifying the national economy and achieving the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030, CEO and Board Member at Saudi Venture Capital (SVC) Dr. Nabeel Koshak commented.” As such there is a lot to be said for being thorough and Saudi Arabia isn’t tinkering on the corner. Now considering that I didn’t get that news from the Financial Times or Reuters, I had an issue with this. So, consider that it is missing from the Financial Times, a said to be thorough news agency for all matters linked to the channel of a “Ka-Ching” nature. 

This is setting the second phase of the issue being a (what some call) AI setting. You see, I was looking as American Tourism (a daily event) as I keep my eyes on this. Here we see “Tourism in the United States is experiencing a decline in international visitor spending, with a projected $12.5 billion drop in 2025. This downturn is attributed to a combination of factors, including perceived negative impacts from Trump administration policies related to trade and borders, a strong dollar, and weaker global economic growth. While domestic tourism remains strong, the US is seeing fewer international tourists compared to other countries, and some experts predict it may not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2030.” (Source: claimed AI) what connects this is Forbes giving us ‘U.S. tourism will lose up to $29 billion as visitors plummet amid Trump policies’ a mere week ago (at https://www.forbes.com.au/life/travel/u-s-tourism-will-lose-up-to-29-billion-as-visitors-plummet-amid-trump-policies/) a mere week ago. So is this (non) AI a mere 240% off? You see, one part is the “strong dollar” but sources give me “the United States Dollar has strengthened 0.62%, but it’s down by 5.38% over the last 12 months.” As such the second part came to me. Can these sources which I define as NIP (Near Intelligent Parsing) be given programmed issues that as not taken into consideration? And that thought gets strengthened through “While domestic tourism remains strong, the US is seeing fewer international tourists compared to other countries, and some experts predict it may not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2030”, the issue is that the term before directly clashes with the Forbes quote, which is “the U.S. is a notable loser this year as tens of millions of international visitors are choosing to travel elsewhere—costing the economy up to $29 billion—and risking millions of jobs” and there is data supporting the Forbes view. I am also considering that Forbes might have missed a setting or two. The amount of bed and breakfast places that will lose close to everything as tourists stay away. Florida who just expanded is seeing less tourists from both Canada and overseas tourists. The Trump administration has made America less interesting in 2025 and likely 2026 as well. That and as we now see that Saudi Arabia, Europe, Canada and the UAE are cashing in on that negativity is giving a much larger confidence in the losses that Forbes predict. 

So, how are they connected?
There is a larger setting to the folly of NIP (or what some call AI), you see NIP is based on DML and that only works on predicted data that has occurred and the setting America faces, other has never faced before and certainly not in this global economy where preparation is king. Last month, merely one travel agent is giving us ‘Flight Centre is facing a $100m hit as a result’, that is merely one travel agent and some sources give us that there are an expected 571,541 operating in 2025. So how many losses will America face? It is the groundling of questions, because that also gives us the amount of Venture Capitalists that are turning towards Saudi Arabia and the UAE (to name but two). This matters as it explains why Saudi Arabia it self is leading the charge. Wouldn’t you turn to your own borders to cash in on ventures happening before 2030? So as we saw “some experts predict it may not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2030” and this is happening around that same time. With the Trump administration giving folly at nearly every corner, I wouldn’t put my money there, I would feel a lot more secure putting it in Canada to say the least. 

Kazinform gave me the setting that is playing now. Through these links there is a thought that the internet and its habitants are being spanned to through what some call AI (which it is not) by engineering markers that are ‘managed’ through some forces as to what constitutes NIP at best. Deeper Machine Learning (DML) even with LLM (Larger Language Machine) in place can only work with what is, what it has ad the world has never been given these markers of folly before. As such DML is kinda useless. They can pretend the core remains the same, but everything that this core fuels is off (by a lot) and that is setting the fake premise that it can never keep. And the end of the Kazinform story is pretty much the best, it gives us “As reported previously, Saudi Arabia ranked first globally in growth of international tourism receipts in Q1 of 2025 compared to Q1 of 2019, according to the World Tourism Barometer published by UN Tourism in May.” That makes sense as the people are turning away from America in tourism and Saudi Arabia has worked hard to buff up on being the next tourism spot to be. People tend to forget that 20% of the world is Muslim and they are done with the world treating them as a second best option. Taking into account that Saudi Arabia is growing in the tourism direction as well as all the NEOM projects completing one by one. So when winter sport season comes near, do you really want to go to America at the present setting, or will it become Mt. Whistler (BC, Canada) or Trojena (Saudi Arabia)? The choices are tough, I get it, but with the waiting lines at Mt. Whistler I wouldn’t be surprised if Trojena will have its first year with numerous Canadians there. As some say, Aspen is so passé. And that is merely one reason why Saudi Arabia will grown into a new tourism behemoth. All that before we get to actually see Aquellum, which could be a global first, a community where the architecture is inward set. I cannot give credence to any of that, but if Saudi Arabia pulls it off, it will become the next world wonder and it will show Saudi Arabia to be the next powerhouse in the world with the bulk of the Muslims world wanting to live and grow there. 20% of the population of the planet seeking growth is not to be underestimated and that is before other realise that the bulk of eager Americans want a piece of that life too. All elements in what the next decade is shaping up to be and that is the setting that neither AI (or NIP for that matter) saw coming, because the current settings are all given to us be engineers (remember builder.ai). It doesn’t adjust for something never done before and that is where the hard parts come around the corner, there is no AI (at present).

So feel free to see me as incorrect, that is fine. But also adjust your views to views currently not given and there is an overlap of matters. What is and is filtered away for reasons ‘unknown’ and what is not given to us because some cannot see the impact. It is a two for two setting.

Have a great day, I entered the middle of the week, it is still yesterday lunchtime in Vancouver.

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June 27, 2025 · 18:59

Something learned

That happens, even to me. Sometimes I learn something new. Yesterday it was through a story in the Al Arabiya (at https://english.alarabiya.net/News/saudi-arabia/2025/06/26/on-islamic-new-year-saudi-arabia-unveils-new-goldembroidered-kiswa-for-kaaba) where we are given ‘On Islamic New Year, Saudi Arabia unveils new gold-embroidered Kiswa for Kaaba’ with the byline “Made from 670 kg of silk and 150 kg of gold and silver threads, the new cloth is installed in a centuries-old tradition as fragments of the old Kiswa are gifted to world leaders and preserved in archives” it gives us “Saudi Arabia unveiled the new Kiswa, the black and gold cloth that covers the Kaaba in Mecca, on the first day of the Islamic New Year in a sacred tradition that dates back to the Prophet Mohammed.” As such this is a tradition that goes back a long time. I reckon that the event has been in place for over 1390 years and this is the first I hear of this? I know I had my mind on other things during primary school, but I was not that asleep and even after that I do not remember being told this, as such I reckon that many in the west didn’t know this. So not only were we told lies in school that the crusaders were there to fight of the saracens as they invaded to lands of Christ, now I learn that we were withheld a lot more than that? And there is a rather large setting. Consider the byline telling us “fragments of the old Kiswa are gifted to world leaders”, as such did no world leader in the west ever get this? I would imagine that Queen Elisabeth II got one, optionally Queen Juliana and/or Queen Beatrix as well. But I never heard this. So who is this event silenced? Consider that the new kiswa “The new Kiswa is made of 670 kilograms of natural black silk and 150 kilograms of gold and silver-plated thread. It features 68 Quranic verses embroidered with 24-karat gold-plated silver, all hand-stitched by skilled artisans using traditional Islamic embroidery techniques.” And I reckon that this should be shown in every newspaper on the planet, no matter if we are Christian, Buddhist  or Hindu. This is an important world event and we aren’t told this. So, when was the last time that you were intentionally kept n the dark? I get that it might not make front page news in places like Munich, Rotterdam or London. But no mention at all? I reckon that if the internet has one job, it would be to inform the people. In addition we are given “It is produced annually at the King Abdulaziz Complex for the Manufacturing of the Kaaba’s Kiswa in Mecca, and its estimated cost is approximately $4.5 million (SAR 17 million).” I would state that the need for a YouTube video on this process is seemingly long overdue (that is if there is no taboo against filming the event. Not all religious tainted event welcome filmmakers. When in doubt, try to find film on the Vatican library (just saying).

And that part is now shown with “The Kiswa is replaced every year on the first day of Muharram – which falls on Thursday in the lunar calendar – in a carefully coordinated operation involving over a hundred specialized technicians. The installation is carried out using electric lifts and scaffolding to ensure that no part of the Kaaba is exposed at any time.” OK, I get that until the new year this is not shown, but after the new year. Could it be shown then? And we conclude this lesson with “To protect the Kiswa from damage during the Hajj pilgrimage, a white cotton covering known as the “Ihram of the Kaaba” is temporarily added to its lower portion. This barrier shields the cloth from being touched, torn, or stained as millions of pilgrims circumambulate the Kaaba during the peak days of worship.” OK, I get that, but all of this is new to me and I reckon new to a lot of non-Muslims. So why were kept in the dark? It might be a Muslim thing, but as I see the news in Al Arabiya, I doubt there was a religious reason to keep us in the dark and this has been going on for over a thousand years (plus more then 300 years in change). 

So, if my calculus is correct, every side gets cut into 14 pieces, which makes it one massive piece each. With the caption that the photograph has “The Kaaba’s Kiswa is replaced in an intricate ceremony.” I am merely given additional questions. None of this was known to me. I feel no guilt as I am not Muslim, but these elements give us a clear showing that the media is double guilty. To leave the people out of such an event is clearly the most near criminal event I have ever been a non-witness to. Even if people could not go to Mecca (non-Muslims are not allowed there). Is it so strange that no TV channel has muslims that could do this? The event is near boggling of unbridled proportions. 

As such I feel I learned two lessons. The first of the event of replacing the kiswa, the second of the discriminating media of avoiding this event and my logic is sound. Because if no media was allowed, Al Arabiya wouldn’t have covered this either.

Have a great day.

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April 3, 2025 · 07:27

Seeking the moon

I was surprised by awn article in the New Arab last night stating ‘Did Saudi Arabia announce the start of Eid al-Fitr a day too early?’ (at https://www.newarab.com/news/did-saudi-arabia-get-eid-al-fitrs-date-wrong). Now there is one little setting that needs vocalizing. I am not a Muslim, so I can hide behind ignorance regarding Muslim matters, but to accuse one of the more conservative nations like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of this seems a little wild. So I had to look up a few matters before regarding the outcome. So let’s get my non Muslim readers a little up to date. We know that Islam is set to five pillars. One of them is Ramadan, the time of fasting. It lasts for a month and that implies no food or drinks between sunrise and sunset. I think there are rules for some, so that they can have water during the day, mainly the old and the sick. The end of fasting is set at a specific date. 

“According to a certain hadith, these festivals were initiated in Medina after the migration of Muhammad from Mecca. Anas ibn Malik, a companion of Muhammad, narrated that when Muhammad arrived in Medina, he found people celebrating two specific days in which they entertained themselves with recreation. Muhammad then remarked that God had fixed two mandatory days of festivity: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.”

Eid al-Fitr begins at sunset on the night of the first sighting of the crescent moon. The night on which the moon is sighted. If the moon is not observed immediately after the 29th day of the previous lunar month (either because clouds block its view or because the western sky is still too bright when the moon sets), then the holiday is celebrated the following day. Eid al-Fitr is celebrated for one to three days, depending on the country. It is forbidden to fast on the Day of Eid, and a specific prayer is nominated for this day. As an obligatory act of charity, money is paid to the poor and the needy (zakat al-Fitr) before performing the ‘Eid prayer’.

That is as far as I got, so the festivities around the end of Ramadan is important and that is the debate, did Saudi Arabia call that mandate too early? And the byline from the New Arab is ‘showing’ “Reports and rumours online said Saudi Arabia got the timing of Eid al-Fitr wrong, but there has been no official statement from the kingdom saying this.” I cannot say that this is the case, but the fact that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia got this wrong is close to stunning. The Kingdom and its inhabitants live for Islam and such an accusation cannot be ignored, for me personally it seems not a biggie, but for an Islamic? It comes with the added “While some Arab countries announced Eid al-Fitr falls on Sunday, others said it was Monday. Egypt, Jordan, Syria and several other Sunni-majority countries broke with the Saudi announcement and celebrated on Monday. Shia-majority Iran also declared the festivities to begin on Monday, as well as Oman’s Ibadi religious authorities.” It comes with the added “Many astronomers and experts had rejected the idea that Eid al-Fitr could take place on Sunday, saying it was impossible to sight the moon on the preceding Saturday. The Abu Dhabi-based International Astronomical Centre said a Saturday sighting would be have been impossible from the eastern hemisphere using any type of method.

Saudi astronomer Bader al-Omaira also told Gulf News that the sighting of a crescent would have been impossible, largely due to a solar eclipse which took place on Saturday, after which sightings of the moon are not possible for several hours.” And the added setting gives it weight, according to some that the sighting of the moon was not possible for several hours makes it the debate. I for one seem to shrug at the accusation. But in the setting of not being a Muslim, I do not care that much and I am ‘heavily’ opposed to fasting, but then I need to turn every dollar around and sometime like a real accountant, I squeeze a dollar bill until it releases three 50cent coins. Life is hard at times. So I don’t celebrate too much. Yet I do understand the Muslims that have an issue with the setting of stopping their pillar of fasting a day early. Off course I do see the ‘accusation’ of “In 2011, there were reports that Saudi authorities who observe the skies to record the sighting of the moon mistook Saturn for the moon. This reportedly happened again in 2019.” That is the idea that I can see Saturn and mistake it for the pancake that hangs over our heads. I kinda find the idea to funny to ignore. There is the little setting that at the closest setting (we move in eclipses) Saturn is 746,000,000 km away, the moon I mere 360,000 km, as such I want to wonder who looks for the moon?  And that is before I’m ‘entertaining’ a few other parts. 

And here is the surprise I got, there is a difference between Sunni and Shia in Islam.

“As ritual dictates, Sunnis praise God in a loud voice while going to the Eid prayer:
Allāhu Akbar, Allāhu Akbar, Allāhu Akbar. Lā ilāha illà l-Lāh. Allāhu Akbar, Allahu akbar, wa-li-l-Lāh al-ḥamd.
Recitation ceases when they get to the place of Eid or once the Imam commences activities.”

It s the first time that I am made aware that there is a difference between the two versions of Islam. The other part is the detection of the moon, “While some countries use astronomical calculations and technology like telescopes, others insist that it must be seen with the naked eye.” I understand that in the past like pre 1650, we had to rely on the naked eye, and to some degree I am on board that it should be done with the naked eye, but is it a sin to let technology aid us, in these matters? I am merely voicing the question and perhaps there is an Imam giving us a resounding yes to that question, as I said I am not Muslim.

The fact that Saudi Arabia was accused of something so profoundly Muslim startled me to some degree and I am not on anyones side. I merely found the occasion strange and as such I devoted a blog page to the effect.

Have a lovely day and at present I don’t see a moon, the sun got in the way of that at 07:23

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December 7, 2024 · 01:24

The shame of neighbours

That is a little bit awkward. You see, you are you in your own eyes, but your neighbours might disagree. I know for a fact that in the past my neighbours thought of me as someone running in the light of insanity (as they saw it). I never saw it that way, but that is me. As such I looked at the BBC article (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp837p125ywo) with the headline ‘Muslim couple forced to sell house after protests by Hindu neighbours’ with a slightly tilted head. I reckon the Mahatma would be ashamed of this event. So as we see “A Muslim couple in India have been hounded out of their newly-purchased home by their Hindu neighbours who said they would not allow them to live there because of their religion.” It comes with the additional text “Hindu residents of the posh TDI City – an upscale residential bloc in the northern city of Moradabad – began protesting on Tuesday night after news of the sale became public.” So remember, when it comes to prejudice, there is no better place then Moradabad. And that is not all. Consider that you would consider barring the neighbours you have for the simple fact that they believe something different. And it is not out of this world. Consider that in America being Democrat (or Republican) might get you socially barred in places. They might not protest you living there, but the neighbours will ignore you ever after. And it is not because you did something really wrong (like chasing children) but because you have an altered faith. We have all seen the issues in the past. Being a protestant in Ireland might not get you the high fives, being an atheist in Vatican City might equally be wrongly viewed by the Catholics around you. And there has been a near forever issue between Hindi and Muslims people. On the other hand Muhammad Ali Jinnah solved this issue by creating Pakistan. As such it took me a little back. I had not expected that this issue was still major in India. And we are given “The backlash to the sale of the house, he said, “has come out of nowhere” as there are other Muslim families already living in the colony and that “we had always had a good rapport with our neighbours”.” With the more important part “Our intention was not to create any kind of unrest with this transaction,” he said, adding that “there is no law” against this transaction.” As such there was not a legality issue, it was merely discrimination. And we can see that in more than one way. There is a reason why there are no churches in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is completely Muslim, so I get it. But in India with its 14.2% Islam population, this news seems odd to say the least and I reckon that there are Mosques housing the 202,865,128 souls. So it is not a singular setting. It is my personal view that the area of TDI City are seeking a segregated life. I don’t know how to feel about that. On one side it is deplorable, on the other side this religious issue has existed in India for well over 90 years. So I cannot see why, how or what regarding this issue. It comes across as a blockage in my mind. The stupidity of certain values. Perhaps I was raised on the wrong standards in life and that is why I cannot see this blockage for what it is. 

Have a great weekend, Saturday started an hour ago for me.

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December 4, 2022 · 21:21

Driven to atheism

You might think that is false, you might think that there is Christianity, but it is all fake. It is a drive to extinction, some might have gotten the inkling when the movie Spotlight was released. Some might have thought it that it was when the hatred of the Middle East and the aggression towards places like Saudi Arabia were released through the media. Those evil Arabs! But you would have been wrong. Some of the data was available since 19 October 1099, about two months after the first crusade. You might want to see the data, but the Catholic Church stopped that, it stopped everything and it is still doing so in the western world, it is still doing so wherever they have a foot hold. The larger setting is that the Catholic church plays a long game, it has for the most always done this. You see rulers change and the moment of change is the moment the church makes moves, they have done this for the longest time. Yet the media lost control of matters and the people started to hand out information. Not all media lost control, some are very much about informing the people. Not the way ‘christian churches’ would want that, but they believe that the long game remains to keep them towards a winning streak. But now the game is starting to change. To see this, we need to see three numbers for the first part.

Christians—2.2 billion followers (31.5%)
Muslims—1.8 billion (23.4%)
Non-religious people—1.1 billion (16.3%)

And these are merely the big three, more important, in the last decade of lies and BS christians are giving us are making us more and more angry. Now a new situation exists, the christians are a minority to the Muslims and Atheists. Christians are no longer a majority, not even in the western world and now we get to thee stuff that matters. Two articles, one in the ABC, the other is the Dutch NOS, interestingly enough, we do not see that article all over the place and I leave you to wonder why that is. 

ABC
The article (at https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-03/catholic-hospitals-denying-womens-healthcare-australia-hospitals/101712558) gives us ‘In good faith’, it is followed by “It began with a simple request from a patient: an intra-uterine device (IUD). “I wrote up the report for her GP,” recounts that patient’s doctor, who worked at one of Australia’s public Catholic hospitals. “But then I was called over by my supervisor.” The doctor does not wish to be identified out of fear of speaking out against a major hospital. “[My supervisor] asked me to change the wording to say that we had supplied [the IUD] for acne, rather than birth control.”” We are then given “But like 20 other public hospitals around the country, it runs by a Catholic code of ethics.” A code of ethics? I think there is more credibility in the honesty of crack pushers. And if you wonder why I go there. The movie Spotlight shows us just how rotten the Catholic church has become. A code of ethics, whilst they nearly openly protect pedophelia. And there is a second side and that is where the Dutch NOS comes in. 

NOS
The article (at https://nos.nl/l/2454934) gives us ‘Pope John Paul II covered up abuse by priests’, as such we now see “As a bishop in Krakow, Pope John Paul II, who died in 2005, knew very early on that priests in his diocese were abusing minors. Even when paedosexual priests were sentenced to prison, he allowed them to continue working in another diocese. This is evident from Polish documents that a Dutch investigative journalist has tracked down. Vatican specialists call discovery “explosive”” This now implies that the transgressions were known at the very highest level of the Vatican and nothing was done. So why do we allow them to continue like this? Where did YOU sign up to knowingly endanger your children? How many children will you endanger to let this fly by? So when we realise the dangers that come with “Eventually, she says they convinced The Mercy to let a surgeon from another hospital tie her tubes during the operation. Two surgeons, one surgery.” In an age where there is a critical shortage of doctors and surgeons, when we see what the unacceptable code of ethics are doing endangering women who need surgery (read the article to see that) we start to see that the christian faith is sanctimonious, hypocrite and dangerous. It took over 900 years, but we are finally catching on that we were the evil party all along. And it now relies on the people to consider what to do. Yet with the implications of a pope and what I see as a sanctimonious setting of a code of ethics, the christians will start losing ground more and more. The long game has played most of its hands and now that they are a minority things will change faster and faster and with the events as they play in the US and some of the less intelligent members of the Republican Party, decrease of the christian faith is close to a given. The NOS and the ABC are showing you the things that should anger you. The Boston Globe showed us in 2001 just how angry we should all become and the Vatican better realises that there is only so much ethical BS we will take, by the code of ethics all those priests 6% of 141,382 almost 8,500 priests are to be fired and excommunicated and prosecuted by law. So what will the church do? I honestly do not care. What will YOU do, that is the question. 

I was born a catholic, but I questioned my faith in 2015, after that the travels of my soul took all kinds of twists and turns as anyone will find themselves in when it is their faith who betrayed them, the custodians of faith betrayed us all and as a lot of information is obscured by the media THEY control. What is our next step? Well, my vote is to make sure the churches start losing political and media positions. I cannot do this myself, but exposing those who keep us in the dark could force larger changes. Just a thought to consider.

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September 16, 2022 · 19:15

The one exception

I am not one to speak out against Islam, I am not islamic and I do not know the Quran, as such I tend to avoid Islamic issues. I also never read Salman Rushdie’s Satanic verses for the same reason. If it was an attack on the Bible, I might have picked it up, but it was an attack on Islam and without knowledge of the Quran and Islam it is a waste of my time. So I never read the book, even though many (with the same lack of knowledge) picked up the book and use it as gospel. Well the devil can recite the bible too, so I will not play that game. Today I am not attacking Islam, I am not speaking out against Islam. The Guardian and a few other papers made me aware of an issue. The Guardian gave me ‘Saudi Arabia: man arrested after Mecca pilgrimage for Queen’ (at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/13/saudia-arabia-yemeni-man-arrested-mecca-pilgrimage-the-queen). There we see “Saudi authorities have arrested a man who claimed to have travelled to the Muslim holy city of Mecca to perform an umrah pilgrimage on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II” here I was initially wondering what this was about, but then we learn “Saudi Arabia forbids pilgrims to Mecca from carrying banners or chanting slogans. While it is acceptable to perform umrah on behalf on deceased Muslims, this does not apply to non-Muslims like the Queen, who was supreme governor of the Church of England, the mother church of the worldwide Anglican communion.”

OK, I get that, and I will not oppose that rule of law, which is islamic in nature (all Saudi law is Islamic in nature as far as I can tell). But then I thought it through. You see, we all abide by law, whatever law it is and Islamic law is no less than any other law, but in this (towards any law) I believe that there will alway be an exception. In my lifetime I have known two exceptions. The first was Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874-1965), the man was one truly amazing exception and probably the primary reason why the Germans never got to England. He was given a 19-gun salute, by The Honourable Artillery Company, a unique event to say the lease, he was voted the greatest Briton of all time in 2002. The man was that unique.

Now there is Elizabeth Alexandra Mary (21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) who was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms, the second exception and in my lifetime I was aware of both. In every generation a truly exceptional person is born. OK, there was also the Mahatma Gandhi, so now we have three. But I challenge anyone who proclaims that these three were not unique and exceptional in almost every way.

Now we get back to the article. There we see that a Yemeni national transgressed those laws. I cannot vouch for the actions of this Yemeni national who is stated to have held a banner saying: “Umrah for the soul of Queen Elizabeth II, we ask God to accept her in heaven and among the righteous.” And now we have the issue, or perhaps the situation. What little I know I would state that God should accept her in heaven. I merely hope that the prosecution and the Islamic scholars see the event as a truly exceptional one. Queen Elisabeth II reigned for 70 years and 214 days. the longest of any British monarch, the longest recorded of any female head of state in history. And her reign was even as head of the church of England to be a reign of inclusion of any religion. Whomever this Yemeni national is, I hope that Islamic law recognises the exceptional person for whom the transgression was done and that leniency will be found. 

I also recognise that there is a need to avoid this situation and that in any generation an exception can be found, In my generation this is the one exception. Perhaps in the dusk of my life I see it differently and I might have reacted differently when I was young, but I lived through the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, and the twenty two years after those and Queen Elisabeth II was a true exception and revered by a lot more than the British. So I personally hope that this Yemeni citizen, hopefully knowing Islamic law would have seen this as this one exception as well. There is a point when any law can be intentionally broken, not for ones self, but to remind us all that there is a greater good, a greater need to recognise that there is an exception to a law, any law and for many that will be the recognition of Queen Elisabeth II and the exceptional life driven to follow the duties that were bestowed on her, she kept that oath and followed her path of duties for over 70 years, a task that well over 99.999% of all people would be unable to keep, that is true exceptional and that makes her the one exception and I reckon that millions will hope that she will be welcomed into heaven, any heaven. Whether it is Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Judaism or any other religion. Less then 5 in anyones lifetime ever make it to such a list, I truly believe that Queen Elisabeth II is one of those people. I truly believe that if she enters Islamic heaven, she will be enjoying tea with Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi – Ras Al Khaimah, Hussein bin Talal, Fahd bin Abdelaziz Al Saud, and Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud discussing whatever rulers talk about. I have no way of knowing that. I feel certain that they will welcome her in their midst as an equal in many ways. 

The one exception is not merely recognising that person, it will be the feeling of loss when that person is gone and it will be a rare moment when that feeling hits us when it is another nations ruler. It is a different person for most people, In case of Sir Winston Churchill, in 2002 456,498 voted him as the greatest Briton who ever lived, he won by getting 28.1% of the votes. If that same vote happens in 2030, there is no doubt that it will be Queen Elisabeth II who graces the number one spot and I predict that the vote count for her to win will be a lot higher, she might just get nearly all the votes there are and as the UK now has 67,508,936 people, I reckon she might end will well over 50 million votes. 

That is merely my point of view, and again I state that this is an Islamic stage on Islamic law and I accept that, but I also see that there will be that one exception and that is my point of view. So I can only hope that there will be leniency for this Yemeni man who intentional or not broke the law. 

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June 12, 2021 · 00:55

Changing perspectives

As I was about to lose sleep again, the BBC helped me out with an article in a very different direction. The headline ‘Actor Riz Ahmed wants to stop Hollywood’s ‘toxic portrayals’ of Muslims’. And he is right, for the most there has been too much toxic portrayals. When I try to find an alternative direction, my mind comes up with a title like Traitor, an amazing piece of work by Don Cheadle, I do not believe that to be a toxic movie, it stands out as a Muslim finds a way to stop bloodshed in a very innovative way, the end is to be seen again and again. I came up with ‘How to assassinate a politician’ which might be toxic, but I saw it as a response to ultra right discrimination and unacceptable levels of anti Muslim actions. Yet it is about Riz Ahmed, and when we see “The progress that’s being made by a few of us doesn’t paint an overall picture of progress if most of the portrayals of Muslims on screen are still either non-existent or entrenched in those stereotypical toxic two-dimensional portrayals” (at https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-57438750), he is right, there is another side given to us by Ali-Baab Khan “Muslims live all over the world, but film audiences only see a narrow portrait of this community, rather than viewing Muslims as they are: business owners, friends and neighbours whose presence is part of modern life”, there I see nothing new.

I have friends who are business owners, friends who were neighbours and still friends who live far away, they are Muslim and there is nothing wrong with that. Yet it is not merely about the narrow portrait, you see I have always considered myself well educated (three University degrees) and a whole range of experience all over the field, yet until a little after the Charlie Hedbo event I learned that the image if Mohammed was never to be displayed, it was a massive no-no in Islam, I never knew that, my schools never told me that. Now the era was out there that until I went to high school, I had never met a Muslim and even then I did not notice him for the fact that he was by himself a lot and I was in high school. Yet the knowledge behind Charlie Hedbo gave light to my version of ‘How to assassinate a politician’. Yet the stage was that I did not meet any Muslims until 1982 when I entered the Middle East, and in all that the teachings of the Catholic Church that was given to us in nearly all schools was about the evil saracens and us the good christians saving Jerusalem. So was it when Ridley Scott made Kingdom of Heaven (2005) that we woke up? Some woke up a little early, but a lot of us still haven’t woken up and those who rely on Lawrence of Arabia (1962) to give us the real news we will be up for a rude awakening. So as some give us “The film is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made. In 1991, it was deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry” we need to recognise that it comes with the added “Most of the film’s characters are based on actual people to varying degrees. Some scenes were heavily fictionalised, such as the attack on Aqaba, and those dealing with the Arab Council were inaccurate since the council remained more or less in power in Syria until France deposed Faisal in 1920”, and as we take notice that there is no real actual and factual representation and this was until way deep past 1991, we see that not only does Riz Ahmed have a case, it is a much larger case than anyone can fathom, even if he is that one Muslim downing the Empire (a Rogue One joke). For me the massive filtering by the media gave me the clue that things are not right for almost a decade, but that means that for the longest time I was not aware of the party that was playing and that bothers me a lot. Does that not bother you? If you are in a small village like Hilversum (Netherlands) and you lived there all your life and you never looked around you might miss it too and you would be forgiven, I take it harder because I am supposed to be intelligent enough to see things, but there too is the crux, the media is a much larger problem in all this and they are banking on people staying asleep for as long as possible, and that gives light to the movie Syriana, a movie with 5 stages and the more you know the more brilliant that movie comes across. Does this help Riz? No, I do not think it does, but it does show that his claim is a lot more solid than we would have given it credit, and that matters too.

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June 2, 2021 · 03:39

Genuinely puzzled

Yup it happens, the news at time makes little sense, it makes little sense for several reasons and that is fair, even for me. Consider the BBC headline ‘Saudi Arabia: Authorities defend mosque speaker restriction’,  which in itself outside of any Islamic nation might be treated with a simple ‘Meh!’ This would not be a negative response, merely a response that approaches the sentiment of ‘Whatever!’, so as I read “The country’s Islamic Affairs Ministry announced last week that all loudspeakers should be set at only a third of their maximum volume. Islamic Affairs Minister Abdullatif al-Sheikh said the measure was in response to complaints from the public. But the move in the conservative Muslim nation sparked a backlash on social media”, I initially wondered why the BBC even took time to give notice to the event, for the most, what does it inform us about? Is it to give visibility to Abdullatif al-Sheikh? Perhaps it was to alarm us to “the move in the conservative Muslim nation sparked a backlash on social media”? I actually do not know, but this news also gives us that there was no space for ‘WHO to start COVID-19 vaccination in Houthi-run north Yemen’ with “Houthi authorities in control have played down the impact of the pandemic, largely denying any outbreak there”, or perhaps it is ‘UAE shows last minute unity to host Asian Qualifiers as China baulks at covid outbreaks’ with “The remaining seven matches in Group A – which will qualify teams for both the next round of the AFC’s World Cup 2022 qualifying and directly into the Asian Cup China 2023 – will be now held at the Sharjah Stadium”, neither news is seen at the BBC, so whilst we accept that speaker settings for announcements are important to the people in the KSA, the western population would all like to know the impact of Football decisions (people in the UK are weird that way), oh I reckon that the people in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Italy would react in a similar fashion.

So whilst it is nice to read “the measure was in response to complaints from the public”, I personally would reckon that the rules of Islam have been clear in many Arabic nations, and as these speakers tend to be set, why would there be complaints now? So whilst some might know that the 5 moments are “Fajr (sunrise prayer), Dhuhr (noon prayer), Asr (afternoon prayer), Maghrib (sunset prayer), and Isha (night prayer). Each prayer has a specific window of time in which it must be completed”, the internet also shows us “In a mosque, the muezzin broadcasts the call to prayer at the beginning of each interval. Because the start and end times for prayers are related to the solar diurnal motion, they vary throughout the year and depend on the local latitude and longitude when expressed in local time”, when we see that, some (including me) might wonder why the speaker settings are suddenly cause for concern. The sound of a person calling to prayer the islamic people is part of Islamic heritage, I wonder who the complaining people would be. I would go as far as stating that unless these calls are lately a lot louder, who would complain on speaker settings and the part we read “the move in the conservative Muslim nation sparked a backlash on social media” gives rise to my puzzlement. It is fair that this news would be (and is) seen in Al Jazeera, but I saw no mention in Arab News, so Islamic news made it to the BBC and not to Arab News? What is going on? 

And when we see “Mr Sheikh said that those who want to pray do not need to wait for the Imam’s call to prayer” the wondering does not top and here I found that the news also made it to Radio Athens, they give us on their website with the added “In a country where there are tens of thousands of mosques, the decision was generally welcomed. However, it also provoked reactions on social networking sites, with the appearance of a hashtag calling for a ban on loud music in restaurants and cafes”, I could not rely on the radio as I haven’t spoken proper Greek since 3575BC. And more important the information on Athens Radio is seemingly the same as the BBC, but the paragraph comes across different due to “with the appearance of a hashtag calling for a ban on loud music in restaurants and cafes”, all whilst both sides give us the one side that is seemingly strange “The restrictions come as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman continues attempts to make Saudi Arabia more liberal and lessen the role religion plays in public life”, I am not sure how to react, optionally, I see in part a reason to disagree. I get that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia wants to make liberal moves and as we can see on YouTube, several tourists are showing the world just how pretty and how amazing Saudi Arabia looks. I have seen a few of these video’s and the view we see from the Sky Bridge Kingdom Tower is amazing. It was the first time I saw this and I wonder why other media have never given a clear view of an architectural marvel like that and what it offers. Yet even if I were to go to Riyadh, I personally feel that I would miss out on the call of prayer, not that I am Islamic, but it is part of Islamic life. As a visitor we would not want to see changes that are part of the foundation of a nation. Yet, I admit that this might merely be me. And in all this I am personally more stricken by “those who want to pray do not need to wait for the Imam’s call to prayer” I have no idea what to make of that, but I understand that as I am not Muslim, I might not get that part. Another source gives us “The decision has angered ultra-conservatives in the country”, it is fair that there are those in favour and those opposing any decision, yet the BBC (Radio Athens neither) gives us anything on the ultra-conservatives and who they are. This sparked a revisit to the Washington Post who gave us in 2018 ‘Saudi Arabia’s once-powerful conservatives silenced by reforms and repression’ with the addition of “these conservatives now tiptoe on social media outlets like Twitter. In mosques and at community gatherings, they reluctantly criticise recent changes they stridently oppose, such as the easing of social boundaries between men and women”, with that in sight we see certain patterns emerge and the BBC was not informing us of that, or perhaps they assumed we knew that, which in light of the Martin Bashir caper is massively silly on several levels. In all this the one part some people overlooked. If the speakers are to be set to 33%, what stops them from upgrading the sound equipment in Mosques from 100 Watt to 300 Watt? It is merely a thought. All parts the BBC is overlooking and I know for a fact that they have faced the ‘hardware upgrade’ in the past. So the lack of information in their article is calling for a few questions. In the end, the only useful information I got from the article was the existence of Islamic Affairs Minister Abdullatif al-Sheikh. From my personal point of view the BBC article was a blunder, one that the BBC should not have made. 

As such my genuinely puzzled setting is quite complete.

A new starts and breakfast is approximately 3 hours and 32 minutes away. Have a great Wednesday!

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