Elena, the Muslim, the mosque and cemetery
February 19, 2010
Source: Protagon.gr
© Translation: Muslim Association of Greece
I have never met Elena in person. We have been talking on the phone for the past two months. She has a bright smile, nice voice and is very polite. She is 23 years old studying Business in England. The only thing I knew about her is that she was wearing hijab. She started learning about Islam from stubbornness. She wanted to prove to her colleagues at university that they were wrong. She studied the Quran quickly to gain more arguments against it, but that made her change her own beliefs and religion.
The last emails we exchanged were regarding the French ban of religion symbols. Elena wanted to point out two things regarding that, the cemeteries and the worship places. I am copying what she wrote to me.
“Greece is the only European country that does not have a cemetery and a mosque. I am a Greek citizen and I pay tax as every other citizen in the country, I obey its laws, I defend its rights when they are correct. What hurts me is the behaviour of the reliable people regarding that matter. What we are asking for is to praise God in its place, to marry and die next to our families as every other human being on that planet.”
”The Muslims in Greece are a minority but not only in Thrace, the northern part of Greece, but also in Athens where they are almost 700.000 Muslims working and living. But except the everyday problems they have to deal with, they also have to consider what will happen with their bodies when they will die. And this is because in the European Athens today there is no cemetery, a basic need for a human being and especially a Muslim. And this is because in the Islamic tradition the body must be buried no more than 24 hours after death and under some conditions. Something that Muslims in Athens today cannot even think or dream of. Nowadays the bodies are sent to Thrace or to the country of origin, if that is possible. What happens though with the many Greek Muslims or with the second generation children that do not know any other country except Greece? Don’t they have that ‘luxury’ or they are excluded from the life circle.”
Muslim inventions that shaped the modern world
January 30, 2010
Source: CNN
London, England (CNN) — Think of the origins of that staple of modern life, the cup of coffee, and Italy often springs to mind.
But in fact, Yemen is where the ubiquitous brew has its true origins.
Along with the first university, and even the toothbrush, it is among surprising Muslim inventions that have shaped the world we live in today.
The origins of these fundamental ideas and objects — the basis of everything from the bicycle to musical scales — are the focus of “1001 Inventions,” a book celebrating “the forgotten” history of 1,000 years of Muslim heritage.
“There’s a hole in our knowledge, we leap frog from the Renaissance to the Greeks,” professor Salim al-Hassani, Chairman of the Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation, and editor of the book told CNN.
“1001 Inventions” is now an exhibition at London’s Science Museum. Hassani hopes the exhibition will highlight the contributions of non-Western cultures — like the Muslim empire that once covered Spain and Portugal, Southern Italy and stretched as far as parts of China — to present day civilization.
Hospitals as we know them today, with wards and teaching centers, come from 9th century Egypt
Here Hassani shares his top 10 outstanding Muslim inventions:
1. Surgery
Around the year 1,000, the celebrated doctor Al Zahrawi published a 1,500 page illustrated encyclopedia of surgery that was used in Europe as a medical reference for the next 500 years. Among his many inventions, Zahrawi discovered the use of dissolving cat gut to stitch wounds — beforehand a second surgery had to be performed to remove sutures. He also reportedly performed the first caesarean operation and created the first pair of forceps.
2. Coffee
Now the Western world’s drink du jour, coffee was first brewed in Yemen around the 9th century. In its earliest days, coffee helped Sufis stay up during late nights of devotion. Later brought to Cairo by a group of students, the coffee buzz soon caught on around the empire. By the 13th century it reached Turkey, but not until the 16th century did the beans start boiling in Europe, brought to Italy by a Venetian trader.
3. Flying machine
“Abbas ibn Firnas was the first person to make a real attempt to construct a flying machine and fly,” said Hassani. In the 9th century he designed a winged apparatus, roughly resembling a bird costume. In his most famous trial near Cordoba in Spain, Firnas flew upward for a few moments, before falling to the ground and partially breaking his back. His designs would undoubtedly have been an inspiration for famed Italian artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci’s hundreds of years later, said Hassani.
4. University
In 859 a young princess named Fatima al-Firhi founded the first degree-granting university in Fez, Morocco. Her sister Miriam founded an adjacent mosque and together the complex became the al-Qarawiyyin Mosque and University. Still operating almost 1,200 years later, Hassani says he hopes the center will remind people that learning is at the core of the Islamic tradition and that the story of the al-Firhi sisters will inspire young Muslim women around the world today.
5. Algebra
The word algebra comes from the title of a Persian mathematician’s famous 9th century treatise “Kitab al-Jabr Wa l-Mugabala” which translates roughly as “The Book of Reasoning and Balancing.” Built on the roots of Greek and Hindu systems, the new algebraic order was a unifying system for rational numbers, irrational numbers and geometrical magnitudes. The same mathematician, Al-Khwarizmi, was also the first to introduce the concept of raising a number to a power.
6. Optics
“Many of the most important advances in the study of optics come from the Muslim world,” says Hassani. Around the year 1000 Ibn al-Haitham proved that humans see objects by light reflecting off of them and entering the eye, dismissing Euclid and Ptolemy’s theories that light was emitted from the eye itself. This great Muslim physicist also discovered the camera obscura phenomenon, which explains how the eye sees images upright due to the connection between the optic nerve and the brain.
7. Music
Muslim musicians have had a profound impact on Europe, dating back to Charlemagne tried to compete with the music of Baghdad and Cordoba, according to Hassani. Among many instruments that arrived in Europe through the Middle East are the lute and the rahab, an ancestor of the violin. Modern musical scales are also said to derive from the Arabic alphabet.
8. Toothbrush
According to Hassani, the Prophet Mohammed popularized the use of the first toothbrush in around 600. Using a twig from the Meswak tree, he cleaned his teeth and freshened his breath. Substances similar to Meswak are used in modern toothpaste.
9. The crank
Many of the basics of modern automatics were first put to use in the Muslim world, including the revolutionary crank-connecting rod system. By converting rotary motion to linear motion, the crank enables the lifting of heavy objects with relative ease. This technology, discovered by Al-Jazari in the 12th century, exploded across the globe, leading to everything from the bicycle to the internal combustion engine.
10. Hospitals
“Hospitals as we know them today, with wards and teaching centers, come from 9th century Egypt,” explained Hassani. The first such medical center was the Ahmad ibn Tulun Hospital, founded in 872 in Cairo. Tulun hospital provided free care for anyone who needed it — a policy based on the Muslim tradition of caring for all who are sick. From Cairo, such hospitals spread around the Muslim world.
For more information on muslim inventions go to: muslimheritage.com. For more information about the exhibition at London’s Science Museum go to: science museum.org.uk
Convert to Islam – become poor?
December 29, 2009
There’s more to Islam than praying. We all know that. So, why am I posting about money? Isn’t that the root of all evil?
As a non-Muslim, I used to climb the corporate ladder. When I converted, I adopted this strange concept that pious people can’t be rich. And if you have money, you have to look like some poor person that is ready to beg for food. Hmm, I wonder where I got this concept.
Talk about a limiting belief.
As I learned more about Islam, I realized this concept is so opposite to what Islam says. Did you know that Uthman (ra), one of the khalifahs, was pretty much a millionaire of his time and that Abu Bakr (ra) was also rich?
And they supported the Islamic community in times of need – because they could.
Rethinking money in this economic crisis starts with rethinking this limiting belief that plagues the Muslim community today. I’m a big fan of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, so I was surprised to see him aired on Aljazeera.
Watch this video to find out how:
Greeks Rethink art pick: men at the bottom
December 10, 2009
Source: Office Offline
What do you think? Is this true for Muslim families? For Greek families?
Thursday for Dinner
November 18, 2009
(Sorry brothers, I just had to add this post. But hey, if you like cooking – or eating – it’s well worth it!)
At one point, I was searching desperately for Greek or Arabic recipes online. Not your usual stuff you encounter like the gourmet recipes with wierd twists to regular dishes that no one will ever eat. I just want to find videos showing me how to make popular Greek dishes. Like what’s the best way to make Giouvetsi (roasted lamb with pasta baked in the oven) or even just Greek salad.
After years of searching (on and off), and just about to give up, I finally found the perfect website: Thursday for Dinner. And you’ll love to meet Eva. She’s like this typical Greek mom just waiting for you to come home so she can fatten you up with her hearty recipes.
Take a look.
p.s. I omit any alcohol recommended in the recipes.
Rethink’s art pick of the week 2009-10-01
November 1, 2009
Spices at Egyptian market in Istanbul, Turkey.
Credits: Koukla
Please rate the photo below.
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Have an ‘Islam in Greek context’ photo you’d like to share? Email it to info@greeksrethink.com.
Sami Yusuf makes it to Greek news
October 18, 2009
My first thought was how in the world did Sami Yusuf make it into one of the biggest newspapers in Greece? But then on second thought, that’s some powerful stuff. Islamic nasheed artists are not only making a global impact on Muslims but also mankind in general. When looking at the big picture, this is a great step forward.
Source: Enet.gr
He is described as the biggest Muslim rock star of his generation. The songs of the young Sami Yusuf is not just words on paper, but lyrics that coordinate a role in the Muslims of his generation for their faith and their identity.
The 29 year old singer, songwriter and musician who writes his own songs and lives in Britain became known after September 11 for obvious reasons. The songs describe how hard it is to be a Muslim in today’s world and encourages his fellow man to be proud of it.
His first two albums, with bold rock sounds, sold since 2003 to now over 5 million CDs in the world and is seen by many as particularly charismatic.
Sami Yusuf’s new song, “You Came to Me”
Listen to it in Turkish, Farsi or Arabic.
Elena Pouliasi: my journey to Islam
September 26, 2009
The experiences of Greek student after her decision to accept Islam
Source: Kathimerini.gr
“Shall I write your name?” “Yes write it.” “And your parents?” “Eventually they will get to know the truth. I did not fall into drugs!”
Twenty-three year old today, Elena Pouliasi is young and beautiful girl – you can see that even under her hijab. It has been less than a year since her decision to accept Islam, decision that cost her enough friends and posed the risk of rupture with her family.” This is my truth though,” says to “K”.
For the past three years, Elena is in England for studies. In her neighbourhood and university, Muslim population outclass in number. “Like most Greeks, I had too grown with the mentality that the Muslims are strict and oppressed people. I saw women with headscarves and I thought that they do not have a life. But the people I met there were quite different.” Her two best friends in London were from Saudi Arabia – she describes them as “incredibly intelligent and talented.” They naturally wore the headscarf. Elena could not understand and neither wanted to challenge their religion. Herself from a little girl believed in God. “I began to read about Islam in order to convince them, to prove that in the subject of their religion they are misguided.”
She began to read the Quran in his Greek translation. “I began to realize that I had learned it… differently. I saw, as an example, love and respect for the women and mothers. Almost unconsciously I stopped drinking and eating pork. I did not know what the truth was and until I find it, I decided to remain open at all. This process lasted roughly eight months. “I lived as a Muslim. I was careful where I go out, I was more careful with the clothes I wore; I stopped swearing, and became more generous and polite.”
On May 15th she officially became a Muslim. The subject of hijab worried her. In the beginning, she wore it outside, but used to remove the scarf when she entered her office (alongside her studies in International Business and Management, she also runs a translation office). “I did not want the behaviour of my colleagues to change towards me. But now I wear hijab all the time. Why? Because it makes me feel better. I feel secure”.
Personal cost
Her decision did not come without personal cost. “It was something that affected my family too. Even though I have not announced it, my mother understands that I have changed. I lost also many friends. The only consolation is that they were not real friends, or if they were they would like to be with Elena as she really is, not only with Elena that used to go out on Friday night and get drunk.”
It is not that she does not understand them. “Most people have a tendency to believe that to become a Muslim you must have been brainwashed.
However, nobody put the Quran in my hands, it was my choice.
They say to me, “but you were born Greek!” I say to them, “but I am Greek.” Becoming Muslim does not mean that my life is over and that I should devote myself in reading Quran, bear children and become fanatical. On the contrary, I get angry with the Muslims who are extremists.” Before we close,” she points out, “They will ask you for sure, if I became Muslim because I fell in love. Answer them that I did not. Most women become Muslims before they meet their prince.”
Many are baptized Christian Orthodox
In www.greeksrethink.com, the global online community of Greek Muslims, you find enough testimonies of Greek Orthodox that at some point made the conscious decision of embracing Islam. Most are Greeks of abroad and, in their narrations, describe rather with gloomy colours the way that they were faced by their families. “This is an experiential, hard road to change your religion and which in any case should be treated with respect,” says in the “K” professor of Comparative Philosophy in University of Athens Mr. Marios Begzos. In Greece, however, we are open only in words; instead there is great difficulty in the assimilation of the ‘other’. Especially Muslims, who in our conscience are acknowledged as Turks therefore there are negative records in our subconscious.
The natural routes between the two religions have two directions. Many Muslims every year are baptized Christian Orthodox in a church of our country, although as emphasized in the “K” Chairman of the Board Movement Citizens’ Coexistence and Communication in the Aegean Mr. Stratis Potha, in most cases the reason is marriage.”For Muslims especially, that is something not easy to reveal to their family.
Οι «αλήθειες των άλλων» και η μαντίλα της Ελενας
September 26, 2009
Οι εμπειρίες μιας Ελληνίδας φοιτήτριας μετά την απόφασή της να ασπαστεί το Ισλάμ
Source: Kathimerini.gr
Read in English
«Μήπως να μη γράψω το όνομά σου;» «Οχι, γράψτο». «Και οι γονείς σου;» «Κάποια στιγμή θα το μάθουν και οι γονείς μου. Δεν έπεσα δα και στα ναρκωτικά!».
Η Ελενα Πουλιάση, στα 23 της σήμερα, είναι μια νέα και όμορφη κοπέλα -αυτό μπορείς να το διακρίνεις ακόμα και κάτω από τη μαντίλα που φορά. Εχει περάσει λιγότερο από ένας χρόνος από τότε που έλαβε την απόφαση να ασπαστεί το Ισλάμ, απόφαση που της στοίχισε αρκετούς φίλους και που εγκυμονεί τον κίνδυνο ρήξης με την οικογένειά της. «Αυτή είναι όμως η αλήθεια μου», λέει στην «Κ».
Τα τελευταία τρία χρόνια, η Ελενα βρίσκεται στην Αγγλία για σπουδές. Στη γειτονιά και το πανεπιστήμιό της, οι μουσουλμάνοι υπερτερούν σε αριθμό. «Οπως κι οι περισσότεροι Ελληνες, έτσι κι εγώ είχα μεγαλώσει με τη νοοτροπία ότι οι μουσουλμάνοι είναι αυστηρός λαός, καταπιεσμένος. Εβλεπα γυναίκες με μαντίλα και σκεφτόμουν ότι δεν έχουν ζωή. Οι άνθρωποι που γνώρισα όμως εκεί ήταν τελείως διαφορετικοί». Οι δύο καλύτερές της φίλες στο Λονδίνο ήταν από τη Σαουδική Αραβία -τις περιγράφει «απίστευτα έξυπνες και ταλαντούχες». Φορούσαν φυσικά μαντίλα. Η Ελενα δεν μπορούσε να το καταλάβει κι ούτε ήθελε να τις προσβάλει για τη θρησκεία τους. Η ίδια από μικρή πίστευε στο Θεό. «Ξεκίνησα να διαβάζω για το Ισλάμ, για να τις πείσω, να τους αποδείξω ότι στο θέμα της θρησκείας τους είναι παραπλανημένες».
Ξεκίνησε να διαβάζει το Κοράνι στην ελληνική του μετάφραση. «Αρχισα να συνειδητοποιώ ότι εγώ τα είχα μάθει… αλλιώς. Είδα, για παράδειγμα, αγάπη και σεβασμό για τη γυναίκα και τη μητέρα. Σχεδόν ασυναίσθητα σταμάτησα να πίνω και να τρώω χοιρινό. Δεν ήξερα ποια είναι η αλήθεια και μέχρι να τη βρω, αποφάσισα να παραμείνω ανοικτή σε όλα». Η διαδικασία αυτή διήρκεσε περίπου 8 μήνες. «Ζούσα σαν μουσουλμάνα. Πρόσεχα πού έβγαινα, πρόσεχα τα ρούχα που φόραγα, σταμάτησα να βρίζω, έγινα πιο ευγενική».
Στις 15 Μαΐου έγινε και επίσημα μουσουλμάνα. Το θέμα της μαντίλας την απασχόλησε. Στην αρχή, τη φόραγε έξω, αλλά την έβγαζε όταν έμπαινε στο γραφείο (σ.σ. παράλληλα με τις σπουδές της στις Διεθνείς Επιχειρήσεις, διατηρεί και ένα μεταφραστικό γραφείο). «Δεν ήθελα να αλλάξει η συμπεριφορά των συναδέλφων μου απέναντί μου. Τώρα πια όμως, τη φοράω πάντα. Γιατί; Γιατί με κάνει να νιώθω καλύτερα. Νιώθω πιο ασφαλής».
Προσωπικό κόστος
Η απόφασή της δεν ήρθε χωρίς προσωπικό κόστος. «Ηταν κάτι που επηρέασε πολύ την οικογένειά μου. Μπορεί να μην τους το έχω ανακοινώσει ακόμα, αλλά η μητέρα μου καταλαβαίνει ότι έχω αλλάξει. Εχασα και αρκετούς φίλους. Το μόνο που με παρηγορεί είναι ότι δεν ήταν πραγματικοί φίλοι, γιατί αλλιώς θα ήθελαν να είναι με την Ελενα όπως πραγματικά είναι και όχι μόνο με την Ελενα που μπορεί να βγαίνει τα βράδια Παρασκευής και να γίνεται λιώμα». Δεν είναι ότι δεν τους καταλαβαίνει. «Ο περισσότερος κόσμος έχει μια τάση να πιστεύει ότι για να γίνει κανείς μουσουλμάνος πρέπει να του έχουν κάνει πλύση εγκεφάλου. Κανείς όμως εμένα δεν μου έβαλε το Κοράνι στο χέρι. Μου λένε “μα γεννήθηκες Ελληνίδα!”. Τους λέω, “μα είμαι Ελληνίδα”. Το ότι έγινα μουσουλμάνα δεν σημαίνει πως τελείωσε η ζωή μου και πως πρέπει να αφοσιωθώ στο να διαβάζω το Κοράνι, να κάνω παιδιά και να γίνω φανατική. Αντίθετα, θυμώνω με τους μουσουλμάνους που φανατίζονται». Πριν κλείσουμε, επισημαίνει: «Θα σε ρωτήσουν σίγουρα, αν έγινα μουσουλμάνα επειδή ερωτεύτηκα. Απάντησέ τους πως όχι. Οι περισσότερες γυναίκες γίνονται μουσουλμάνες πριν βρουν τον πρίγκιπά τους».
Πολλοί βαπτίζονται χριστιανοί ορθόδοξοι
Στο www.greeksrethink.com, την παγκόσμια online κοινότητα των Ελλήνων μουσουλμάνων, βρίσκεις αρκετές μαρτυρίες ελληνορθόδοξων που κάποια στιγμή έκαναν τη συνειδητή επιλογή να «εξισλαμιστούν». Οι περισσότεροι είναι Ελληνες του εξωτερικού και, στις διηγήσεις τους, περιγράφουν μάλλον με μελανά χρώματα τον τρόπο που αντιμετωπίστηκαν από τους οικείους τους. «Πρόκειται για μια βιωματική, σκληρή πορεία η αλλαγή της πίστης και η οποία, σε κάθε περίπτωση, πρέπει να αντιμετωπίζεται με σεβασμό», σχολιάζει στην «Κ» ο καθηγητής Συγκρητικής Φιλοσοφίας της Θρησκείας στο Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών κ. Μάριος Μπέγζος. «Στην Ελλάδα όμως, είμαστε μόνο στα λόγια ανοικτοί, αντίθετα υπάρχει μεγάλη δυσκολία στην αφομοίωση του Αλλου. Ειδικά οι μουσουλμάνοι είναι στη συνείδησή μας ταυτισμένοι με τους Τούρκους, υπάρχουν αρνητικές εγγραφές δηλαδή στο υποσυνείδητό μας».
Οι διαδρομές φυσικά μεταξύ των δύο θρησκειών έχουν δύο κατευθύνσεις. Πολλοί είναι και οι μουσουλμάνοι που κάθε χρόνο βαφτίζονται χριστιανοί ορθόδοξοι σε κάποια εκκλησία της χώρας μας, αν και όπως τονίζει στην «Κ» ο πρόεδρος του Δ.Σ. της Κίνησης Πολιτών «Συνύπαρξη και Επικοινωνία στο Αιγαίο» κ. Στρατής Πόθας, στις περισσότερες περιπτώσεις η αιτία είναι ο γάμος. «Για τους μουσουλμάνους μάλιστα, αυτό είναι κάτι που δεν το αποκαλύπτουν εύκολα στους δικούς τους.
Xenia: my journey to Islam
September 22, 2009
Today I finally decided to write about my own journey to Islam.
A journey that started many many years ago. For those of you who do not know me, I was born in Athens in Greece. There is where I lived to the end of my high school years. My family was small but very loving, I only have one sibling (sister) and our parents gave us the best they could.
Religion did not play a big part in my life as I was growing up. When we were young we would go to church but that was not very often. The usual attendances maybe for Easter, weddings, baptisms, and the occasional Sunday. A few times I even went to Sunday school.
However God was at the back of my mind but as something very distant.
I used to be conscious that sometimes He was watching me but that did not stop me to at times act upon my whims and desires. I had this belief that He would understand and forgive me no matter what I was up to. The Christian belief of we will be forgiven as a result of the sacrifice of Jesus(as) was deep rooted in me.
Anyway, when I finished high school in Greece I came over to UK to continue my education. Here is where I met my husband who was a Muslim.
I was not compromising at all in any religious matters. So religion was something that we never discussed. I respected his faith and he, mine.
I had deep rooted negative beliefs and fear of Islam. In school we had learnt only very little about Islam and a very negative picture was embedded in me.
When our children were born, they would all go to the mosque for Eid and other Islamic occasions but I never joined them. Either I would stay in the car or stay at home. I was convinced that the Greek Orthodox religion was the only religion for me and it was the correct faith. Now how I had come to that conclusion, without even trying to research is a mystery. I think it was pure arrogance and ignorance all in one.
The years passed by and I carried on in my own world. I would also feel guilty for having married a Muslim and at times I felt like a traitor towards my parents, religion and country.
Then my husband passed away. He was abroad and my sons were at the airport travelling to attend the funeral. I received a text message from my youngest son saying, “Mum we love you and we do not want you to be different from us when you die and go to a different place. Please become a Muslimah.”
In my mind I was fighting the concept, but after 30 years I finally opened the Qur’an. Reluctanlty at first. But then I read and read and read on. Fascinating. The miracles of the Qur’an, the language (even though it was only a translation), the stories of the prophets. I knew I was reading the word of the Lord of the worlds.
Islam was not a new faith. Islam is the religion that all prophets(as) sent by Allah brought to humanity with Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) being the last and final prophet. It was easy to understand. Believe in One God Only with no partners and all the prophets.
No trinity and complicated concepts. So easy to explain to a child. No need for clergy to speak to Allah swt. Basically no middle men. Just me and my Creator. I could speak to Allah (swt) and He could hear me. I speak to Him during the five daily obligatory prayers. I speak to Him anywhere. In the car, in the supermarket. Anywhere. I do not need anybody to intervene on my behalf for forgiveness. I go straight t to Allah (swt), I repent and I know He hears me and hopefully forgives me. We believe that He is the best of judges, He hears the supplications and our sincere requests for forgiveness providing we abstain from the sin.
Islam is not only religious duties. It is s a wholesome and pure way of life. A perfect system. Allah (swt) not only sent us the Qur’an as a guidance but sent us Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) to show us how to apply the Qur’an in our lives and how to live in order to enter paradise. The road to paradise is full of obstacles. The only way we can get into paradise is by following the Qur’an and the prophetic sunnah. We will also need the mercy of Allah (swt).
Islam encourages us to find out things for ourselves. Islam does not say, ” This is it. Now follow it.” Allah swt says, “Look! Look around you, travel, look at your own bodies, the sky, the nature. Why can you not see?”
So I looked and looked again. I researched. I asked questions. The same questions again and again. It all came back as one thing. Islam is Allah’s true religion and I now was ready to become a Muslimah.
No guilt, no doubts just pure determination. I then accepted Islam as my religion. No need to feel guilty for following monotheism. For being on the straight path.
I thank Allah for taking me out of the darkness and into light.
