Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
‘Jesus predicted coming of Prophet Mohammad’ in Bible found in Turkey
A 1,500-year-old Bible in which Jesus is believed to have foretold the coming of the Prophet Mohammad to Earth has attracted attention from the Vatican this week.
Pope Benedict XVI has reportedly requested to see the book, which has been hidden in Turkey for the last 12 years, according to the Daily Mail.
The text, reportedly worth $22 million, is said to contain Jesus’ prediction of the Prophet’s coming but was suppressed by the Christian Church for years for its strong resemblance to the Islamic view of Jesus, Turkish culture and tourism minister Ertugrul Gunay told the newspaper.
Pope Benedict XVI has reportedly requested to see the book, which has been hidden in Turkey for the last 12 years, according to the Daily Mail.
The text, reportedly worth $22 million, is said to contain Jesus’ prediction of the Prophet’s coming but was suppressed by the Christian Church for years for its strong resemblance to the Islamic view of Jesus, Turkish culture and tourism minister Ertugrul Gunay told the newspaper.
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| The text, reportedly worth $22 million, is said to contain Jesus’ prediction of the Prophet’s coming but was suppressed by the Christian Church for years. (Photo courtesy of the Daily Mail) |
“In line with Islamic belief, the Gospel treats Jesus as a human being and not a God. It rejects the ideas of the Holy Trinity and the Crucifixion and reveals that Jesus predicted the coming of the Prophet Mohammad,” the newspaper reported.
“In one version of the gospel, he is said to have told a priest: ‘How shall the Messiah be called? Mohammad is his blessed name.’
“And in another, Jesus denied being the Messiah, claiming that he or she would be Ishmaelite, the term used for an Arab,” the newspaper added.
According to the report, Muslims claim the text, which many say is the Gospel of Barnabas, is an addition to the original gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John.
St. Barnabas is traditionally identified as the founder of the Cypriot Church, an early Christian later named an apostle.
Gunay said the Vatican has officially requested to see the book, which Turkey had discovered during a police anti-smuggling operation in 2000.
The gang was reportedly convicted of smuggling various items seized during the operation, including the Bible, and all the artifacts were kept in a safe at an Ankara courthouse.
It remained closely guarded by authorities before being handed over to the Ankara Ethnography Museum where it will soon be put on show.
A photocopy of a single page from the leather-bound, gold-lettered book, penned in Jesus’ native Aramaic language is reportedly worth about $2.4 million.
But skepticism over the authenticity of the ancient handwritten manuscript has arisen.
Protestant pastor İhsan Özbek has said this version of the book is said to come from the fifth or sixth century, while St. Barnabas had lived in the first century as one of the Apostles of Jesus.
“The copy in Ankara might have been written by one of the followers of St. Barnabas,” he told the Today Zaman newspaper.
“Since there is around 500 years in between St. Barnabas and the writing of the Bible copy, Muslims may be disappointed to see that this copy does not include things they would like to see … It might have no relation with the content of the Gospel of Barnabas,” Özbek added.
But suspicions could soon be laid to rest.
The real age of the Bible could soon be determined by a scientific scan, theology professor Ömer Faruk Harman told the Daily Mail, possibly clarifying whether it was written by St. Barnabas or a follower of his.
(Written by Eman El-Shenawi)
“In one version of the gospel, he is said to have told a priest: ‘How shall the Messiah be called? Mohammad is his blessed name.’
“And in another, Jesus denied being the Messiah, claiming that he or she would be Ishmaelite, the term used for an Arab,” the newspaper added.
According to the report, Muslims claim the text, which many say is the Gospel of Barnabas, is an addition to the original gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John.
St. Barnabas is traditionally identified as the founder of the Cypriot Church, an early Christian later named an apostle.
Gunay said the Vatican has officially requested to see the book, which Turkey had discovered during a police anti-smuggling operation in 2000.
The gang was reportedly convicted of smuggling various items seized during the operation, including the Bible, and all the artifacts were kept in a safe at an Ankara courthouse.
It remained closely guarded by authorities before being handed over to the Ankara Ethnography Museum where it will soon be put on show.
A photocopy of a single page from the leather-bound, gold-lettered book, penned in Jesus’ native Aramaic language is reportedly worth about $2.4 million.
But skepticism over the authenticity of the ancient handwritten manuscript has arisen.
Protestant pastor İhsan Özbek has said this version of the book is said to come from the fifth or sixth century, while St. Barnabas had lived in the first century as one of the Apostles of Jesus.
“The copy in Ankara might have been written by one of the followers of St. Barnabas,” he told the Today Zaman newspaper.
“Since there is around 500 years in between St. Barnabas and the writing of the Bible copy, Muslims may be disappointed to see that this copy does not include things they would like to see … It might have no relation with the content of the Gospel of Barnabas,” Özbek added.
But suspicions could soon be laid to rest.
The real age of the Bible could soon be determined by a scientific scan, theology professor Ömer Faruk Harman told the Daily Mail, possibly clarifying whether it was written by St. Barnabas or a follower of his.
(Written by Eman El-Shenawi)
Monday, February 13, 2012
Science of meat
Halal meat more tender, less cruel, say experts. Even as the UK Parliament refuses to serve halal meat at restaurants on its premises, fresh scientific opinion suggests halal is the better option. TOI investigates.
For Mohammad Salim, owner of a tiny meat shop in the Gurdwara Road Market of New Delhi's Kotla Mubarakpur area, business is just as it's been for the last 15 years since he moved to the capital from Agra. There seem to be more takers for mutton that Sunday morning than for the fresh batch of Rohu that's just arrived. The practising Muslim packs half kilo curry pieces of a leg of mutton in polythene. For this seller of halal meat, the recent debate over the UK parliament rejecting demands to serve halal meat in its restaurants, on grounds of cruelty, is pointless.
"We read a kalma (Quranic verse) before the meat is cut. Lekin, marta toh murga hi hai (Finally, it's the animal that pays the price). It's just a question of using different methods of slaughter," he shrugs.
Early this month, British newspapers had reported that Muslim MPs and peers were told they wouldn't be served meat slaughtered in line with Islamic tradition - slitting the animal's throat without first stunning it - since it was offensive to their non-Muslim colleagues.
Even as voices of dissent grow louder among furious UK parliamentarians, experts are speaking in favour of halal meat. According to fresh scientific opinion, halal - the method of slaughter that kills the animal with a deep cut across the neck - produces meat that's more tender, stays fresh longer, and is less painful to the animal than say, the jhatka method that involves severing its head in one powerful blow.
Dr V K Modi, head of department of meat technology at the Central Food Technology Research Institute in Mysore, says the halal method is effective in draining out most of the blood from a slaughtered animal, which is vital if its meat is to be soft. "In jhatka, chances of blood clotting are higher. This could spoil the meat if it's kept uncooked for a few days. It could also make the meat tougher to chew."
Halal has been the traditional method of killing animals for meat. It's only in the early 20th century that Sikhs of Punjab propagated jhatka as a 'less painful way' of killing the animal, although it would appear that the alternative way of slaughter was propagated more to differentiate it from the 'Muslim way' of killing the animal.
Halal involves a swipe with a sharp blade across the animal's neck, severing the windpipe, jugular vein and carotid artery. Contrary to popular belief, Dr Modi, who trains butchers in the art of slaughtering at the institute's abattoir, says evidence suggests that animals slaughtered through jhatka suffer more trauma than those killed by halal. "The less an animal struggles, the better the meat. When animals face trauma, the glycogen content in their muscles is activated, leaving the meat tough. Stored glycogen is the agent that leads to rigor mortis (or, stiffening of muscles on death)," Dr Modi says.
For the meat to be tender and juicy, the pH count in the animal should ideally be around 5.4 after slaughter. "Struggle leads to the utilisation of stored energy, making the pH count rise to as high as 7," In halal the struggle is lesser by at least 20 per cent, claims a Delhibased nutrition expert.
Dr Modi has support from Dr Karuna Chaturvedi, consultant nutritionist at Apollo Hospitals in New Delhi. "Halal is considered healthier because after slaughter, blood is drained from the animal's arteries, ejecting most toxins because the heart continues to pump for a few seconds after slaughter. In jhatka, not all the blood is drained, leaving the meat tougher and drier."
Tracing the origin of jhatka, Jodh Singh, editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia of Sikhism, says it was at the beginning of the last century that Sikh scholars compiled the faith's Rehat Maryada, or code of conduct. "It clearly prohibits slaughtering animals through halal," he notes. Chapter 13 of Section 6 of the Maryada mentions four taboos, including "eating the meat of an animal slaughtered the Muslim way".
Food is a vital marker of identity, believes Sikh scholar, chair and Crawford Family professor, department of religious studies at Colby College in Maine, Prof Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh. "Halal is prohibited in Sikhism to avoid both, the pain caused to the animal and the ritualistic dimension practised by neighbouring 'others'.
Ironically, in most Indian abattoirs, animals are first stunned with 70 volts of electricity in the brain, leaving them unconscious. "The animal's state of unconsciousness reduces its struggle," says Dr Modi. However, Islamic scholar Maulana Wahiuddin Khan argues that the Islamic code of slaughter doesn't approve of stunning. "According to Islam, the purpose of slaughtering is to release all blood from the animal's body, leaving no room for growth of micro-organisms. When stunned, only a part of its blood is released."
Saturday, February 11, 2012
scientific miracles in Quran human medical
scientific miracles in Quran human medical
history of embryology
The theory of the full dwarf embryo existing in man’s sperm or full dwarf embryo created out of the woman’s menstrual blood coagulation remained the dominant theory of embryo creation till 18th century.
On the other hand the holy Quran since the 6th century has described in full and accurate details the stages of embryo development which have been confirmed scientifically throughout the last century.
"Then We placed him as a drop in a place of rest.* Then We made the drop into a leech-like structure. Then of that leech-like structure, We made a chewed lump. Then We made out of the chewed lump, bones, and clothed the bones in flesh. Then We developed out of it another creature." (Quran 23:13-14)
Has anyone ever thought, before the Quran was revealed, that man’s nutfa, when ejected, is responsible for determining if the embryo will be male or female? Has this ever occurred to one’s mind? The Quran says;
( وَأَنَّهُ خَلَقَ الزَّوْجَيْنِ الذَّكَرَ وَالْأُنثَىِ . من نُّطْفَةٍ إِذَا تُمْنَى) ) (النجم 45-46 )
“That He created the pairs, male and female, from a fluid-drop sperm as it is emitted.” (Quran 53: 45-46), confirming that man’s gender as male or female is determined when the sperm drop is emitted. Who told the Prophet Mohammed that the sperm (nutfa) with one of its types (Y) or (X) is responsible for determining the sex of the embryo?
While hundred millions of these sperms (500 m.- 600 m.) enter through the vagina to the uterine cervix, only one sperm is able to fertilize the ovum.
Allah says
( الَّذِي أَحْسَنَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقَهُ وَبَدَأَ خَلْقَ الْإِنسَانِ مِن طِينٍ . ثُمَّ جَعَلَ نَسْلَهُ مِن سُلَالَةٍ مِّن مَّاء مَّهِينٍ ) (السجدة :7-8)
“He It is Who created all things in the best way and began the creation of man from clay, and made his progeny from an extract of despised fluid (Sulalah)” (Quran 32: 7-8)
The meaning of Sulalah is "extract", means the essential or best part of something. By either implication, it means "part of a whole" indicating that the origin of creation is from only part of man's fluid and not all of it.
Zygote
Allah says:
(إِنَّا خَلَقْنَا الإِنسَانَ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ أَمْشَاجٍ نَبْتَلِيهِ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ سَمِيعًا بَصِيرًا ) (الإنسان:2)
“Verily We created man of a fluid-drop (nutfa), mingling (amshaj), in order to try him: so We gave him (the gifts of) hearing and sight.” (Quran 76:2).
The mingled nutfa in this verse reveals the Quran miraculous nature. Nutfa, in Arabic, is a single small drop of water, but it was described here as (amshaj) , which means its structure consists of combined mixtures . This fits with the scientific finding, as the zygote is shaped as a drop, and is simultaneously a mixture of male fluid chromosomes and female ovum chromosomes. Alaqah (Leech)
"Then We made the drop into "alaqah" a leech-like structure." (Quran 23:14)
The word "alaqah" refers to a leech or bloodsucker. This is an appropriate description of the human embryo from days 7-24 when it clings to the endometrium of the uterus, in the same way that a leech clings to the skin. Just as the leech derives blood from the host, the human embryo derives blood from the decidua or pregnant endometrium. It is remarkable how much the embryo of 23-24 days resembles a leech.
Mudgha
"Then of that leech-like structure, We made "mudghah" a chewed lump." (Quran 23:14)
This statement is also from Sura 23:14. The Arabic word "mudghah" means "chewed substance or chewed lump." Toward the end of the fourth week, the human embryo looks somewhat like a chewed lump of flesh. The chewed appearance results from the somites which resemble teeth marks. The somites represent the beginnings or primordia of the vertebrae.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Actor Liam Neeson considering converting to Islam
HOLLYWOOD star Liam Neeson is considering giving up his Roman Catholic beliefs and becoming a Muslim.
The actor, 59, admitted that Islamic prayer "got into his spirit" while filming in Istanbul.
"The call to prayer happens five times a day, and for the first week, it drives you crazy, and then it just gets into your spirit, and it's the most beautiful, beautiful thing," he told The Sun.
“There are 4000 mosques in the city. Some are just stunning, and it really makes me think about becoming a Muslim."
Neeson was raised in Northern Ireland as a devout Roman Catholic and was named after the local priest.
But the star - whose wife, Natasha Richardson, died aged 45 in a skiing accident in 2009 - has spoken about challenges to his faith.
"I was reared a Catholic, but I think every day we ask ourselves, not consciously, what are we doing on this planet? What's it all about? I'm constantly reading books on God or the absence of God and atheism," he said.
His latest movie, The Grey, about an oil-drilling team that crashes in freezing Alaska, is set to be released on February 16.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/confidential/actor-liam-neeson-considering-converting-to-islam/story-e6frf96o-1226254420841
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/confidential/actor-liam-neeson-considering-converting-to-islam/story-e6frf96o-1226254420841
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