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Afghanistan/South Asia

Benazir and Zardari will meet Nawaz

2005-02-08

Former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif are expected to meet in Jeddah later this week to discuss the political situation back home and review the cooperation of their parties. ARD sources told Daily Times that Bhutto and her husband Asif Zardari had booked Emirates Airline tickets to Saudi Arabia for Wednesday. They will perform umra and also take the chance to visit Nawaz Sharif and condole the death of his father Mian Sharif, the sources said.

Raja Pervez Ashraf, the Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) secretary general, confirmed that Bhutto and Zardari would visit Saudi Arabia in the next few days. Sharif was exiled to Saudi Arabia after General Pervez Musharraf took power in October 1999. Bhutto has been living in self-exile since 1998. "It will be the first meeting between the two former prime ministers during their time in exile," said Siddiqul Farooq, the PML-N information secretary. Bhutto, the PPP chairperson, and Sharif, head of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), were once ardent political rivals. However, they were united by a common foe — Musharraf - and came together at the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD).

Posted by:Fred

#2 Nice pic. I was hoping for the legendary Jim Neighbors cover of Careful within that aix Nugene from the lost Umma Gomer album.

Oh Umra! Never Mind.

Posted by: Shipman 2005-02-08 3:50:26 PM

#1 definition: Umra

Pilgrimage in Islam going to Mecca, second to the main pilgrimage hajj. Umra is often referred to as the "little pilgrimage", and while the hajj is compulsory to a Muslim, the umra is not. However, the umra it is recommended by the Koran, and is a highly regarded practice in Islam.

KORAN
Chapter 2: 153
Truly, Safa and Marwa are among the landmarks of God, therefore anyone who performs the hajj or the umra he does no harm if he circumambulates them both.

There is a close connection between the rituals of the umra and the hajj, to the extent they are often mingled together. There are only minor differences between the first part of the hajj and the entire umra, and according to some views a hajj automatically include the umra, while according to other views, the umra is only performed when it is as an independent ritual.
The umra which is a strong symbol of Muslim piety, is a highly individual ritual, as there is practically nothing of its acts that requires the presence of other people. The only part which cannot be done all alone, is the shaving after all the other acts. But that is also not really a part of the umra â it only serves as a symbol of leaving the ritual of the umra.
The umra can be performed all through the year, with the exception of the days of the hajj.

etc...

Posted by: trailing wife 2005-02-08 12:28:01 AM

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