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| Great White North | |
| A fete for Muhammad, `best of prophets' | |
| 2006-05-08 | |
| Local Muslims stage rally, march defies traditional religious views BY NICHOLAS KEUNG IMMIGRATION/DIVERSITY REPORTER Interesting beat, Nicholas Milad an-Nabi — the birthday of the man Muslims regard as "God's final prophet" — has been celebrated in Muslim countries for centuries, but at times under disapproval from the sternest of Islamic conservatives. Many Muslims here want to encourage the tradition of happily celebrating the Prophet Muhammad's birthday in Canada. But it is often in defiance of what they call "extremist" brothers and sisters who frown on celebrations that were not specifically designated by the prophet himself and who, they say, try to take the joy and fun out of the religion. Yesterday, a coalition of two dozen Islamic organizations staged a parade and rally from Queen's Park to Nathan Philips Square, where the faithful celebrated the prophet's day with music, food and the indispensable halwa — sweets, the highlight for kids. "We'd like to bring the celebratory festivities back to the religion, which is more than just dogmatic thinking," said Faheem Bukhari, a member of the Canadian Council of Ahl Sunna Wal Jamaah, in explaining why the rally was organized. The 41-year-old Ajax mortgage specialist said he was particularly disturbed when one of his three daughters was told by a Muslim friend in school one day that she should not greet others at Christmas time because it was against Islam. "That's an extremist view of Islam. It's not my Islam, which teaches tolerance and peace," says Bukhari, who came here from Pakistan in 1988. Born in Mecca in the year 570, Muhammad (meaning "the praised one") was visited one day, according to Muslim belief, by the Angel Gabriel, who commanded him to memorize and recite the verses sent by God. These verses were later collected in the Qur'an. Muhammad died at age 62 in the Hejaz region of present-day Saudi Arabia. "He's the best of prophets," said Abdusamed Sheref, of Toronto's Association of Islamic Charitable Projects. "He couldn't read and write, but dictated such high-quality verses for the Qur'an. It just added to the mystery of his wisdom."
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| Posted by:ryuge |
| #2 Lost linky linked |
| Posted by: Steve 2006-05-08 11:50 |
| #1 Linky linky? |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2006-05-08 11:04 |