Lassana Bathily, Muslim employee of Paris kosher deli. Photo by Screengrab from Buzzfeed
One of the unsung heroes after Friday’s hostage crisis at a kosher supermarket in eastern Paris was a Muslim employee, who hid shoppers in a basement walk-in freezer while terrorists seized hostages just upstairs.
The shop was busy on a Friday as Jewish customers bought specialties for the Sabbath, which began at sunset that night. But its clientele was as diverse as the neighborhood where it sat: Twenty-five-year-old French Muslim Malik Zaditold The Washington Post that “It’s a kosher store, but not only Jews go there. I go there… In this neighborhood, there are Muslims, Jews, Christians.”
Four people were killed Friday when the terrorist Amedy Coulibaly took several hostages inside a Kosher market in Paris, but that number may well have been higher were it not for a quick-thinking employee of the market named Lassana Bathily.
Bathily, a 24-year-old Muslim from Mali, was working in the store in the Porte de Vincennes neighborhood when the Islamist gunman burst in.
As panic ensued, up to 15 customers in the store hurried down to the store basement, when Bathily had an idea.
“When they ran down, I opened the door [to the freezer],” he told France’s BFMTV.
He quickly shut off the freezer and switched off its light. As he closed the door to shelter the customers inside, he told them,“Stay calm here. I’m going out.”
Eventually police raided the market, killing Coulibaly. As the hostages were freed from the freezer, they had a few words of thanks for Bathily. “They congratulated me,” he told BFMTV.
ON SOCIAL MEDIA, BATHILY WAS BEING PRAISED AS A HERO FOR HIS ACTIONS.
Lest we forget, there are also Muslims who wear “white hats.” The majority are good, productive and loyal citizens.
#JeSuisAhmed Reveals The Hero Of The Paris Shooting Everyone Needs To Know
In the hours following the deadly attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, much of the public support has been directed toward the victims that worked for the magazine, like editor-in-chief Stéphane Charbonnier, 76-year-old cartoonist Jean Cabut and economist Bernard Maris.
… but it’s equally important to remember that the lives of the victims extended beyond the confines of the magazine.
Two of those killed, 42-year-old Ahmed Merabet and 49-year-old Franck Brinsolaro, were police officers — the very people tasked with protecting Charlie Hebdo‘s staff. Merabet’s death was captured on film during a French television broadcast and shared quickly across social media. Two masked gunmen can be seen approaching him, ignoring his pleas to spare his life.
Who Was He? As information about the victims began to filter out, the world learned that Merabet worked at a police station in Paris’ 11th Arrondissement, near the location of Charlie Hebdo‘s offices. Reports also emerged that Merabet was himself Muslim.
He gave his life to protect Charlie Hebdo‘s right to ridicule his religion, a powerful fact that has now become a trending hashtag on Twitter
Merabet’s Sacrifice Matters: Each of the 12 victims deserves equal remembrance and respect. But given the Islamophobic backlash that has already ripped through France — several mosques were vandalized overnight, and many fear that the Charlie Hebdo attack is to blame — the country is in a dangerous place when it comes to anti-Muslim sentiment.
Instead of assuming that everyone who practices Islam is tied to the extremists who carried out Wednesday’s violence, we would do well to remember that that vast majority are, in fact, much closer to Ahmed Merabet.
Since the creation of the universe
God had already appointed his great faith-preaching man,
From the West he was born,
And received the holy scripture
And book made of 30 parts (Juz)
To guide all creations,
Master of all rulers,
Leader of the holy ones,
With support from the Heavens,
To protect his nation,
With five daily prayers,
Silently hoping for peace,
His heart directed towards Allah,
Giving power to the poor,
Saving them from calamity,
Seeing through the Unseen,
Pulling the souls and the spirits away from all wrongdoings,
Mercy to the world,
Transversing to the ancient,
Majestic path vanquished away all evil,
His religion Pure and True,
Muhammad,
The Noble High One.
منذ أن خُلق الكون،
قد قرر الرب أن يعيّن،
هذا الرجل العظيم الداعي للإيمان،
من الغرب قد ولد،
ليتلقى الكتاب المقدس (القرآن(
كتابًا يحتوي على ثلاثون جزءا
ليهدي جميع الخلائق،
ملك كل الملوك،
زعيم كل القديسين،
بدعم إلهي،
ليحمي أمته،
بخمسة صلوات يومية،
بصمت يأمل حصول السلام،
قلبه متجه نحو الله،
يقوي الضعفاء،
ينقذهم من الكارثة،
يرى من خلال الظلمة،
يسحب النفوس والأرواح،
بعيدًا عن جميع الذنوب/الاخطاء،
رحمة للعالمين،
سائرًا على طريق العظماء القديم،
طاردًا لكل الشرور،
دينه نقي وصادق،
محمد،
الشريف والعظيم.
Tulunids (868–905)
Ikhshidid dynasty (on behalf of the Abbasid Caliph, 935–969)
Fatimid dynasty (based in Ifriqiya 909–969, based in Egypt 969–1171)
Ayyubid dynasty (based in Egypt 1171–1250, based in Syria 1250–1341)
Mamluks of Egypt (Bahri Mamluks 1250–1382, Burji Mamluks 1382–1517)
Khedivian dynasty (1805–1952)
Independent kingdoms in Egyptian and Sudanese soils:
Banu Kanz (1004–1412)[17]
Sultanate of Darfur (1603–1874)
Ifriqiya (Eastern Maghreb)
Ifriqiyan dynasties:
Aghlabids (on behalf of the Abbasid Caliph, 800–909)
Fatimid dynasty (based in Ifriqiya 909–969, based in Egypt 969–1171)
Zirid dynasty (on behalf of the Fatimid Caliph 973–1048, independent 1048–1148)
Hafsid dynasty (1229–1574)
Muradid dynasty (1613–1705)
Husainid Dynasty (on behalf of the Ottoman Caliph 1705–1889, independent 1956–1957)
Independent kingdoms on Ifriqiyan soil
Muhallabid principality (771–793 CE)
Libyan dynasties (after 1551)
Karamanli dynasty (on behalf of the Ottoman Caliph, 1711–1835)
Senussi dynasty (in Cyrenaica 1918–1951, Kings of Libya 1951–1969)
Emirate of Nekor (710–1019 CE)
Barghawata kingdom (744–1058 CE)
Emirate of Sijilmasa (771–821 CE)
Independent kingdoms on Algerian soil
Rustamid principality (776–909)
Ifranid dynasty (790–1066)
Hammadid dynasty (1008–1152)
Ziyyanid dynasty (1235–1556)
Horn Of Africa
Sultanate of Mogadishu (10th–16th centuries)
Ifat Sultanate (1285–1415)
Warsangali Sultanate (1298–present)
Adal Sultanate (c. 1415–1555)
Walashma Dynasty (14th–16th centuries)
Ajuran Empire (14th–17th centuries)
Aussa Sultanate (16th century–present)
Emirs of Harar (1647–1887)
Mudaito dynasty (1734–present)
Geledi sultanate (18th–19th centuries)
Majeerteen Sultanate (mid-18th century–early 20th century)
Kingdom of Gomma (early 19th century–1886)
Kingdom of Jimma (1830–1932)
Kingdom of Gumma (1840–1902)
Sultanate of Hobyo (19th century–1925)
Dervish State (1896–1920)
Southeast Africa
Kilwa Sultanate (957–1513 CE)[18]
Pate Sultanate (1203–1870)
Sennar (sultanate) (1523–1821)
Sultans on the Comoros
Sultanate of Zanzibar (1856–1964)
Wituland (1858–1923)
Central & West Africa
Kingdom of Nekor (710–1019 CE)
Za Dynasty in Gao (11th century–1275)
Sayfawa dynasty (1075–1846)
Songhai Empire (c. 1340–1591)
Bornu Empire (1396–1893)
Kingdom of Baguirmi (1522–1897)
Dendi Kingdom (1591–1901)
Sultanate of Damagaram (1731–1851)
Imamate of Futa Toro (1776–1861)
Imamate of Futa Jallon (1727–1896)
Sokoto Caliphate (1804–1903)
Toucouleur Empire (1836–1890)
Europe:
Sicily
Aghlabid Sicily (827–909) CE
Kalbids (948–1053)
Iberia
Caliphate of Córdoba (756–1017 CE, 1023–1031)
Taifa of Alpuente (1009–1106)
Taifa of Badajoz (1009–1151)
Taifa of Morón (1010–1066)
Taifa of Toledo (1010–1085)
Taifa of Tortosa (1010–1099)
Taifa of Arcos (1011–1145)
Taifa of Almería (1010–1147)
Taifa of Denia (1010–1227)
Taifa of Valencia (1010–1238)
Taifa of Murcia (1011–1266)
Taifa of Albarracín (1012–1104)
Taifa of Zaragoza (1013–1110)
Taifa of Granada (1013–1145)
Taifa of Carmona (1013–1150)
Hammudid dynasty (1016–1073)
Taifa of Santa María de Algarve (1018–1051)
Taifa of Mallorca (1018–1203)
Taifa of Lisbon (1022–1093)
Taifa of Seville (1023–1091)
Taifa of Niebla (1023–1262)
Taifa of Córdoba (1031–1091)
Taifa of Mértola (1033–1151)
Taifa of Algeciras (1035–1058)
Taifa of Ronda (1039–1065)
Taifa of Silves (1040–1151)
Taifa of Málaga (1073–1239)
Taifa of Molina (c. 1080’s–1100)
Taifa of Lorca (1228–1250)
Taifa of Menorca (1228–1287)
Emirate of Granada (1228–1492)
Eastern Europe & Russia:
Volga Bulgaria (7th century–1240s CE)
Emirate of Crete (820s–961)
Avar Khanate (early 13th–19th century)
Khanate of Kazan (1438–1552)
Crimean Khanate (1441–1783)
Nogai Horde (1440s–1634)
Qasim Khanate (1452–1681)
Astrakhan Khanate (1466–1556)
Khanate of Sibir (1490–1598)
Pashalik of Scutari (1757–1831)
House of Zogu (1928–1939)
SEE ALSO:
Caliphate Historical powers Empires Timeline of Middle Eastern History Muslim conquests Muslim history Global Empire List of Sunni Muslim dynasties List of Shi’a Muslim dynasties Muslim World Organisation of Islamic Cooperation List of Muslim Countries Islamic Golden Age
VICE Mexico traveled to San Cristóbal—in the southern state of Chiapas, Mexico—to meet Cheb Cheb Ibrahim, one of the first Mexican Indians to convert to Islam and a member of the only indigenous Muslim community in Mexico. There, Cheb Cheb showed off the mosque he has built with the help of Muslim architect Percy Moranchel.
Omar ibn Said (1770–1864) was a writer and Islamic scholar, born and educated in what is now Senegal, who was enslaved and transported to the United States. There, while enslaved for the remainder of his life, he wrote a series of works of history and theology, including a subsequently famous autobiography.
Omar ibn Said was born in present-day Senegal in Futa Tooro, a region along the Middle Senegal River in West Africa, to a wealthy family.[2] He was an Islamic scholar and a Fula who spent 25 years of his life studying with prominent Muslim scholars, learning subjects ranging from arithmetic to theology in Africa. In 1807, he was captured during a military conflict, enslaved and taken across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States. He escaped from a cruel master in Charleston, South Carolina, and journeyed to Fayetteville, North Carolina. There he was recaptured and later sold toJames Owen. Said lived into his mid-nineties and was still a slave at the time of his death in 1864. He was buried in Bladen County, North Carolina. Omar ibn Said was also known as Uncle Moreau and Prince Omeroh.
Although Omar converted to Christianity on December 3, 1820, many modern scholars believe he continued to be a practicing Muslim, based on dedications to Muhammad written in his Bible, and a card dated 1857 on which he wrote Surat An-Nasr, a short sura which refers to the conversion of non-Muslims to Islam ‘in multitudes.’ The back of this card contains another person’s handwriting in English misidentifying the sura as the Lord’s Prayer and attesting to Omar’s status as a good Christian.
Additionally, while others writing on Omar’s behalf identified him as a Christian, his own autobiography and other writings offer more of an ambiguous position. In the autobiography, he still offers praise to Muhammad when describing his life in his own country; his references to “Jesus the Messiah” in fact parallel Quranic descriptions of Jesus (who is called المسيح ‘the Messiah’ a total of 11 times in the Quran), and descriptions of Jesus as ‘our lord/master’ (سيدنا) employ the typical Islamic honorific for prophets and is not to be confused with Lord (ربّ); and description of Jesus as ‘bringing grace and truth’ (a reference to John 1:14) is equally appropriate to the conception of Jesus in Islam. Given Omar’s circumstances of enslavement “among the Christians” and the possibilities of lobbying for his freedom that only came with confessing Christianity, his conversion can be argued to have been made under duress. In 1991, a masjid in Fayetteville, North Carolina renamed itself Masjid Omar Ibn Said in his honor.
Omar ibn Said is widely known for fourteen manuscripts that he wrote in Arabic. Out of all of his Arabic manuscripts, he is best known for hisautobiographical essay written in 1831. It describes some of the events of his life and includes reflections on his steadfast adherence to Islam and his openness towards other ‘God fearing’ people. On the surface the document may appear to be tolerant towards slavery, however Said begins it with Surat Al-Mulk, a chapter from the Qur’an, which states that only God has sovereignty over human beings.
Most of Said’s other work consisted of Islamic manuscripts in Arabic, including a handwritten copy of some short chapters (surat) from the Qur’an that are now part of the North Carolina Collection in the Wilson Library at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His Bible, a translation into Arabic published by a missionary society, which has notations in Arabic by Omar, is part of the rare books collection at Davidson College.[6] Transcribing from memory, ibn Said made some mistakes in his work, notably at the start of Surat An-Nasr. Said was also the author of a letter dated 1819 and addressed to James Owen’s brother, Major John Owen, written in Arabic and containing numerous Quranic references (including from the above-mentioned Surat Al-Mulk), which also includes several geometric symbols and shapes which point to its possible esoteric intentions.[7] This letter, currently housed in Andover Theological Seminary, is reprinted in Allen Austin’s African Muslims in Antebellum America: A Sourcebook.
Further coverage of Omar’s writings within the context of Slave Narratives and Muslim Slave Narratives can be found in Five Classic Muslim Slave Narratives by Muhammed Al-Ahari. The presentation of Africa, Islam and slavery in the American slave Narratives of Muslim slaves in the Americas is a topic that is often overlooked in discussing the genre of slave narratives and the birth of African American Literature. In fact the first biography was that of a former Maryland slave, Job Ben Solomon, published in 1730 in Britain. By reexamining these often overlooked narratives we can get insight into African Islam, the turmoil of integration into a foreign culture, life in Africa, and life as a slave in the Americas. The primary sources include: the narrative of Job ben Solomon, the two autobiographical pieces of Muhammad Said of Bornu, the Arabic autobiography of ‘Umar ibn Said, the Jamaican narrative of Abu Bakr Said, a discussion of coverage on Bilali Muhammad’s excerpts from the Risalah of Abi Zaid, Theodore Dwight’s articles on the teaching methods of the Serachule teacher slave Lamen Kebe, and a letter describing Salih Bilali.
* Islam is the only non-Christian faith, which makes it an article of faith to believe in Jesus.
* No Muslim is a Muslim if he does not believe in Jesus. We believe that he was one of the mightiest Messengers of God.
* We believe that he was born miraculously, without any male intervention, which many modern day Christians do not believe.
* We believe that Jesus is the Messiah translated Christ (The Anointed one)
* We believe that he gave life to the dead, healed those born blind, and the lepers with God’s permission.
* We believe that he was not killed nor crucified but Allah saved him and raised him to heavens.We believe that Jesus will return to bring peace in earth.
Some Of The Titles Given To Jesus In The Qur’an:
⋆ Ibn Maryam ⇨The son of Mary [5:75] ⋆ Al-Maseeh ⇨The Anointed One [4:171] ⋆ Abdullah ⇨Servant of God [19:30] ⋆ Rasullullah ⇨Messenger of God [5:75] ⋆ Kalimatullah ⇨A word from God [3:45] ⋆ Ruhallah ⇨A spirit from God [4:171]
Muslims do not believe that Jesus is God or Son of God.
If Allah really said that he had a son we “Muslims” would have submitted to whatever Allah said:
“Say, [O Muhammad], “If the Most Merciful had a son, then I would be the first of [his] worshipers.” Exalted is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, Lord of the Throne, above what they describe.” [Qur’an 43:81-82]
But, “it is not appropriate for the Most Merciful that He should take a son. There is no one in the heavens and earth but that he comes to the Most Merciful as a servant.” [Qur’an 19:92-93]
Aminatta Forna tells the story of legendary Timbuktu and its long hidden legacy of hundreds of thousands of ancient manuscripts. With its university founded around the same time as Oxford.
Timbuktu is proof that the reading and writing of books have long been as important to Africans as to Europeans.
cavalierzee 