According to Islamic governments there are over 1.2 billion Muslims in the world today. The Muslim population of Russia alone is over 50 million. In other words, at least one out of every six persons in the world is Muslim, which is one of the reasons why the name “Muhammad” is the most common name in the world...

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The very first muezzin (caller to prayer) of the Islamic religion was an African. His name was Bilal ibn Rabah, or Bilal the Abyssinian...

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At least one of Prophet Muhammad’s wives was African. Her name was Maria the Copt. Two of the Prophet’s wives were Jewish...their names were Raihanah and Safiyah...

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Albania is the only European country whose population is over 90% Muslim. It is on the Adriatic Sea, and borders Greece and Yugoslavia...

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Former pop star Cat Stevens is an Islamic scholar currently living in England. His Muslim name is Yusuf Islam.

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The Islamic lunar calendar has 12 months based on lunar phases, producing a year that is 10 or 11 days shorter than a solar year (i.e., 365.24 days). Since no extra month is intercalated, the Muslim New Year (1 Muharram) moves backwards through the seasons, returning to the same place every 32½ years.

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To find the Gregorian equivalent to any Muslim calendar date (i.e., 1 Muharram of any year), multiply 970,224 by the Muslim year, point off six decimals, and add 621.5774. The whole number will be the Gregorian year and the decimal multiplied by 365.24 will be the first day of the Muslim year.

I thought Mary was Egyptian. are you saying her religion was copt. Was she given to muhammad from the Egyptian government as a gift??

Dre...Egypt is in Africa...

Bilal the Abyssinian, the first muezzin (caller to prayer) was an African. Abyssinia is the ancient name of the East African country of Ethiopia, which is a Greek word meaning, "land of the burnt faces." The English word "abyss" is derived from Abyssinia, and it means "a deep, dark hole."

'' Abyssinia is the ancient name of the East African country of Ethiopia, which is a Greek word meaning, "land of the burnt faces." The English word "abyss" is derived from Abyssinia, and it means "a deep, dark hole."

Actually the word abyss is neither a english word nor refers to Abyssia,which is modern day ethiopia.


Abyss is actually a ancient Sumerian word that comes form the word Abuzu,which means a river within an ocean. To the Sumerians there was a spirtual connection to this place that was believed to be in a place called Dilmun.

From the AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY:

abyss n. 1. a. The primeval chaos. b. The bottomless pit; hell. 2. An unfathomable chasm; a yawning gulf. 3. An immeasurably profound depth or void; the vast abysses of space anfd time [Lat. abyssus < Gk. abussos, bottomless: a-, without + bussos, bottom.]

''From the AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY:

abyss n. 1. a. The primeval chaos. b. The bottomless pit; hell. 2. An unfathomable chasm; a yawning gulf. 3. An immeasurably profound depth or void; the vast abysses of space anfd time [LLat. abyssus < Gk. abussos, bottomless: a-, without + bussos, bottom.]''


Yeah,but like most linguist admit greek,latin and other indo e3uropean words have loan words. Much of the vocabulary of English is dervied from greek,latin,and other pharases.

Abyss happenes to be a loan word from the Sumerians

reference

Abyss (Ancient Mesopotamia Sumerian) a deep dark hole.

http://www.feedback.nildram.co.uk/richardebbs/essays/loanword.htm

Other loan words in english include adboe from the kemetians,oasis,desert,and other words as well.

I'll concede your point, as the extent of my knowledge of the word "abyss" comes from the dictionary, which makes Latin and Greek the root languages of the word...not the ancient Sumerian language...

Originally posted by Sopdet:
Other "loaned" words in English include: adobe from the Kemetians, oasis, desert, and other words as well.And Sopdet...Muslim contributions to civilization are evident in the Arabic words that passed into the English language directly or through French, Spanish, and especially Latin. Here are a few examples and their related fields: albatross, gazelle, giraffe and popinjay in zoology; azimuth, nadir and zenith in astronomy; alfalfa, apricot, artichoke, coffee, cotton and lemon in agriculture; alcohol and alkali in chemistry; muslin and sash in textiles; candy, sherbet and syrup in foods; algebra and cipher in mathematics; elixir in drugs; almanac, monsoon and sirocco in meteorology; lute and timbale in music; alcove and minaret in architecture; caliber and magazine in firearms; tariff in trade; admiral and arsenal in war; mattress and sofa in furniture; genie and kismet in literature.

These and many more words we use everyday find their origin in the Arabic language...

And shokran for this very informative website, Sopdet...

http://www.feedback.nildram.co.uk/richardebbs/essays/loanword.htm

Also, the word "assassin" is Arabic in origin. In English it means "a hired killer." The word is derived from the Arabic word "hashshshin," meaning "addicted to marijuana," and was applied to warriors who would smoke it before battle...

Also, the words "candy" and "caramel" are Arabic in origin. Candy, which is crystallized sugar, was named after the Qandi sugar refinery built by the Arabs on Crete around 1000 AD...

Caramel, a sticky kind of sweet, was invented by Arab-speaking people in the Middle Ages - originally "kurat al milh," meaning a "ball of sweet salt"...

....Aqil, are you aware that many African slaves that were brought to the "New World" were Muslim....???....most estimates say at least 10% that were brought to the U.S. were Muslim, and out of all the Americas, 30%....the percentages of Muslim captives brought to the U.S. is said to have been highest in the early stages of the slave trade, but dropped off as time progressed (because of a shift in where the slaves were coming from).......at one point, it may have been up to 40%....


....Kunta Kente was a Muslim..

...and have you seen the movie 'Amistad'...???...if so, did you pick up on the main African character being able to speak Arabic...???...he too was most likely Muslim....yea, it was was a movie, but it was based on documented historical facts, and that conversation actually took place....

.....the following was written by Muslim Africans (in Arabic) to the French governor of New Orleans in 1789:

"We are warning you that all those who will come to our land to trade in slaves will be killed or massacred if you do not send our children back. Would not someone who was very hungry abstain from eating if he had to eat something cooked with his blood?

We absolutely do not want you to buy Muslims under any circumstances. I repeat that if your intention is to buy Muslims you should stay out and not come to our country anymore. Because all who will come can be assured that they will lose their life."


....although they too were divide by ethnic/tribal lines, the Muslim Africans all united under Islam, thereby making them stronger....

....many people think that Arab invaders forced Islam onto west Africans, but I wouldnt nessecarily say that was true.....the Fulani (concentrated around Mali) were the ones responsible for spreading Islam troughout West Africa....

Originally posted by DreamFunk:
Aqil, are you aware that many African slaves that were brought to the "New World" were Muslim??...Yes I am, DreamFunk. What many of our people don't know is that none were Christian...

....some African slaves even re-wrote the Quran from memory while in captivity....
...some of the writings from these African Muslims are still perseved today....here are some:


The 23rd Pslam, 1855 (http://filebox.vt.edu/users/tdjones/photos/23Psalm.jpg)

Pages 11 and 10 of Bilali's Book, Sapelo Island, Georgia, c. 1840 (http://filebox.vt.edu/users/tdjones/photos/Biliali.jpg)

Surah 110, 1857 (http://filebox.vt.edu/users/tdjones/photos/Surah110.jpg)

Fatiha, Surahs 114 - the Last, 113, 112, 110 by "a Negro Slave of Capt. David Anderson," South Carolina, 1768. (http://filebox.vt.edu/users/tdjones/photos/Surahs.jpg)

...if anyone is interested about the African Muslim slaves brought to America, check out these books:

~African Muslims in Antebellum America: Transatlantic Stories and Spiritual Struggles, by Allan D. Austin
~Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved in the Americas, by Sylviane A. Diouf

This is powerful information, DreamFunk...thank you so much for posting it...

....one of the most fascinating stories of a Muslim slave in America is that of Abd al-Rahman....he was born in 1762 and was the son of a Fulani king in the region of Guinea....he was sent to Timbuktu (Mali) to learn and to study the Qur'an around age 12...while there, he became a leader of a military unit...while in battle, he was captured by the Mandingo and sold into slavery....he was brought to America through a New Orleans port, then he eventually ended up in Natchez, Mississippi...

...later, an Irish doctor that had traveled in Mali, saw him in Natchez and was shocked that the Prince was a slave....and to make a long story short, the Prince appealed his slavery, and went back to Africa about 40 years after he was brought to America....

portrait of Ibrahim Abd ar-Rahman
~drawn by Henry Inman, 1828 (http://filebox.vt.edu/users/tdjones/photos/Rahman.jpg)


....the "Prince" (like many of the other Muslim slaves) was literate, highly educated, and very proud and dignified....those that were well versed in the Qur'an had a better understanding of 'Jesus' than their White slavemasters ever could have had.....imagine how they must have felt when the missionaries tried to "wow" them with the works of Jesus....do you think they would have been 'impressed'...???....not at all....

The very first muezzin (caller to prayer) of the Islamic religion was an African. His name was Bilal ibn Rabah, or Bilal the Abyssinian...

At least one of Prophet Muhammad’s wives was African. Her name was Maria the Copt. Two of the Prophet’s wives were Jewish...their names were Raihanah and Safiyah...

Dream Funk, Im reading African Muslims in Antebellum America right now!

Two of the Prophet’s wives were Jewish...their names were Raihanah and Safiyah...Aqil, if this is true, why do you seem to dislike Jews so much? Shouldn't you embrace them like the Prophet did?

:heart:

Destee

I am not anti-Jewish, Destee...I am anti-Zionist...

Zionist Jews did not exist during the time of Prophet Muhammad (saw)...

How does a Zionest Jew differ from any other kinda Jew?

:heart:

Destee

Zionism is the ideology that is central to the existence of the state of Israel, which was established in the country of Palestine on May 14, 1948. In previous centuries Zionism had been inextricably linked with a specifically religious orientation, expressed in the hope that God would redeem “His people” by bringing them back to the Holy Land. Since the late 19th century, Zionism has underwent a more nationalistic, racial and political transformation...

In 1917 the Balfour Declaration, by which British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour pledged to Lord Lionel Rothschild – leader of the British Zionists – Britain’s support for the establishment of a “national home” for the Jewish people in the country of Palestine, “provided nothing was done to prejudice the rights of the indigenous inhabitants.” But this was not to be, for the native Palestinians revolted as a result of the forceful takeover of their homelands by the Ashkenazi Jews of Europe. Thousands were uprooted and killed, and millions more fled into exile. They are presently dispersed throughout the Middle East, but mainly in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the West Bank and Gaza Strip – where they live under illegal Israeli military occupation.

In 1975 the UN adopted an anti-Zionist resolution that equated Zionism with racism. Seventy-two member-nations signed the resolution, including Russia and China. Racism finds its roots in Zionism because in the religion of the Zionist Jew God is separate from humanity...He does not live in His creatures...He is infinite egoism. This thought is also rooted in Judaism, and is the reason why the Zionist Jew thinks that he can do anything he wants to do in this world with impunity. He is “God’s chosen,” so he says, and is therefore better than everyone else. This is pure racism, and it finds its roots in Judaism and Zionist ideology...

Uhhhh ... okay Aqil ... but can you look at a Jew and tell if they are a Zionest Jew? Or is this label directly related to how they think?

:heart:

Destee

Sorry, i didn't say thank you for the answer to my question. Thank you Aqil. :)

Tell me, is there a comparsion you can provide in other groups of folk, better illustrating the difference between Jews and Zionest Jews? For example, is it like the division between light-skinned Black folk and dark-skinned ones?

Thanks again.

:heart:

Destee

Uhhhh ... okay Aqil ... but can you look at a Jew and tell if they are a Zionest Jew? Or is this label directly related to how they think?

:heart:

Destee
:lol: @ "Uhhhh...okay Aqil..."

Re: your query...yes, in many instances you can. The Hasidic Jews (i.e., the diamond-cutters and merchants) in NYC all look the same...and most of them are Zionists. The name is representative of their philosophy...

Sorry, i didn't say thank you for the answer to my question. Thank you Aqil. :)
You're welcome, Destee...


Tell me, is there a comparsion you can provide in other groups of folk, better illustrating the difference between Jews and Zionist Jews? For example, is it like the division between light-skinned Black folk and dark-skinned ones?

Thanks again.

:heart:


Destee
There are many American Jews (and some Israeli Jews) who disagree with Jews establishing homes on Palestinian land...whereas the Zionist Jews promote and build Jewish settlements there...

(Their differences are both religious and philosophical...sorta like the differences between AA Christians and members of the Nation of Islam...)

....Zionism is a 'non-religous' idealody endorsed by non-religous Jews.

Links:
Jews Against Zionism (http://www.jewsagainstzionism.com/)
Jews Not Zionists (http://www.jewsnotzionists.org/)

^5 DreamFunk...and thanks for the links...

Notable jazz musicians who are Muslim include flautist Yusef Latif, keyboardists Ahmad Jamal and Suleiman Saud (formerly McCoy Tyner), percussionists Art Blakey (aka Abdullah ibn Buhaina), ldris Muhammad and Rashid Ali, and jazz vocalist Aliyah Rabia (formerly Dakota Staton)...