Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Middle East and North Africa	A pray for Meriem	it will be soon! i am excited for you meriem!!!!!!!!!!! god bless	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-22 13:04:00
Middle East and North Africa	Is this the right Forum?	hello yasmine welcome to VJ.. i was wondering has rashid received his packet 3 yet and has he completed his medical exam?	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-25 13:44:00
Middle East and North Africa	Let the babysitting begin	i am glad everything is going so well for you and good luck with your pregnancy.... i hope you dont have morning sickness	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-25 13:41:00
Middle East and North Africa	Hachemi has set foot on US soil!!!	wooooooooooohoooooooooooo meriam!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-24 22:00:00
Middle East and North Africa	got an interview date !!!!!!1	Thank you for all of the good wishes. I will be praying too. I will be at work while he goes. I dont know how i will be able to concentrate!!!!! hope i dont hand out the wrong medicines hahahahahhah	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-30 10:33:00
Middle East and North Africa	got an interview date !!!!!!1	the big day is on the Sept. 3rd (next sunday) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! only 5 days away!!!!!!!!!!!! what great news!!!! CONGRATS!!! my husband and i were just there about a week ago and they are really very very nice, so i am sure you will have no problem!!!! good luck thank you holly! i am so excited	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-29 09:13:00
Middle East and North Africa	got an interview date !!!!!!1	the big day is on the Sept. 3rd (next sunday) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! only 5 days away!!!!!!!!!!!!	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-29 09:08:00
Middle East and North Africa	Flying while arab/muslim	is this page still going ??? LOL	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-29 22:50:00
Middle East and North Africa	Flying while arab/muslim	Chit chatting with your good pal..me ..isn't as much of a waste of time as.....POST BOOSTING!!!! Hehehehe just had to get one last one in there. Have a good one! Good luck with Samir Arab/Muslim boys make for fun toys don't they? well i had time when i did that and you know what? dont ever call samir a toy. you are talking about my fiance and i dont appreciate it. you must not be muslim or even christian for that matter because look at how you act? you have nothing better to do than to be hateful to me when i have done nothing. leave my fiance out of it.	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-24 11:05:00
Middle East and North Africa	Flying while arab/muslim	well i need to get ready to go to work.... i am ashamed of myself for wasting my time talking about a watering can in the bathroom...............................goodness. hopefully one more month to go (if that) and he will be here.	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-24 10:53:00
Middle East and North Africa	Flying while arab/muslim	On that note (which would really make an interesting thread in and of itself), one thing that I looooove about my husband is how he is open to accepting and embracing the good in american culture/society. We both have little pins with the Egyptian and American flags that we wear proudly. On his Egyptian message boards, he has both flags in his signature with the phrase "egyptian american muslim." He'll defend this country against unfounded accusations and theories spouted about the board, and still engage in critique of this government. I try to make our home a blend as well, although I need to try a little harder to bring in the egyptian flavor, since the overwhelming default is midwest america, which is quite different from delta egypt. The blending of the two cultures is one thing I love about our relationship. I'm not simply an american anymore, and he isn't just an egyptian. We're an egyptian-american family. If you're reading this sweetie (and I know you're lurking there somewhere), I you i totally agree rahma.. thanks it is just i cant stand mean people like her and the way they speak to me.... she is just wanting to start trouble. sounds like a miserable person to me. sad really I do not want to get in the middle of any wars. My post should have also highlighted how I am also willing to embrace Egyptian culture. Even though my husband came here, he's still an Egyptian, and I do my utmost to respect and embrace his cultural/religious habits, be they wearing sandels in the house, learning arabic, keeping a watering can in the bathroom, or waking him up for fajr prayer. The respect of culture in the relationship is a two way street, but for those of us here in the United States, we need to be extra sensative to the needs of our loved ones who give everything up back home to join us here. It's a huuuuuuuuuuge adjustment to move to the United States, and doing everything we can to embrace his culture will help him adjust much better here. We want to do everything we can to make the adjustment easier, not harder by ignoring things that are important to him. i can totally understand that ... i twould be very hard for me to adjust to algeria. i will do my best to make him comfortable.	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-24 10:47:00
Middle East and North Africa	Flying while arab/muslim	Oh but I do know what I'm talkin' about in regards to stuff you've posted about yourself. I'm not making stuff up here. At any rate...sometimes ppl annoy me and if they happen to be in a public forum I say what's on my mind. Sorry if you took it as an attack. Sometimes I get tired of blowing sunshine up everyone's azz, ya know? It's just too nicey nicey around here sometimes for my taste. Rebecca (Bosco) is right in what she said. She's far more eloquent than myself. oh really like what things? i am not on VJ much anymore.... i dont have much time. i havent posted anything about myself that is so bad... there are some things i disagree with in islam and such, but, i dont hide things from my friends or my fiance. so what? thats the beauty of the relationship we sit down and talk about things. you learn alot of things that way. i might not agree with islam, and post my opinions, but, there are some things in the islamic culture i do like. i have met many wonderful muslim people at VJ not to mention the ones i met in algeria. i have opinions like anyone else and i tell people how i feel about things and they tell me how they feel . thats life. and if you want to be rude to people just cos you think this site too rosey for you then maybe you should go take out your anger and frustration on someone else.	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-24 10:41:00
Middle East and North Africa	Flying while arab/muslim	Is it morally right that people judge everyone who is Islamic on the actions of the fanatical few? NO! Of course not! But it is human nature and human nature is flawed and not always fair/rational. Some people are scared ( some OVERLY so), so soon after all that has happened. Is that a good excuse? NO-but there are often NO good excuses for human nature ( especially frightened human nature). It's awful that the good people of the Islamic faith are not as high profile as the extremeists/fanatics/fringe element! More Islamic clerics/scholars who represent the mainstream need to be reaching out more to the " frightened and not so rational/uninformed" masses. Is it fair to you and the rest of the mainstream? NO! Unfortunatly the mainstream are forced to "pay" for the choices of the FEW extremists. The problem lies in seeing/reading too much of the fanatical few ( and what they are trying to do) in the mainstream media, and not enough of the moderate majority of Islamic people; in an effort to get people to understand their religion...etc ( and I don't mean the constant diatribe on here over whats happening in Lebanon etc.... I mean an effort to get people to understand Islam and that those few fanatics do NOT represent the basis of Islam) There needs to be understanding from BOTH sides here. I don't know what else the mainstream is supposed to do. They have signed petitions, gone on television, had numerous campaigns, advertising campaigns, had open houses at mosques, engaged in interfaith dialogue and activities, etc. The person who makes these generalizations also bears responsibility in how they choose to let their mind be formed. When the Prophet cartoon protests were going on, CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) chose a peaceful approach. They offered (and continue to offer) a free DVD or book about the life of the Prophet. You don't hear people talking about that response. What should they do? first of all you have a smart mouth. got it? i am not intolerant of my fiance and we have a good relationship. i went to algeria and followed his culture when i was there. second, my fiance knows i am not a muslim and we have been together for almost 3 years. and you feel sorry for him? do you have any idea what i have done for my fiance? so let me get this straight you see me post my OPINIONS and you think because of what i post on VJ you can judge me and my whole relationship with my fiance. i wasnt saying for her not to wear it because other people didnt like it. i was saying dont wear it to save her some trouble and have an easier trip thats all. i wore a hijab there in algeria just because it would keep people from staring at me and it was thier culture. samir has to adjust to american life as i have to adjust to algerian life when i am there. and for your information you seem to be intolerant. just because i am engaged to someone from algeria doesnt mean that i am in that culture, he loves me for who i am and understands i am not a muslim and he has been able to accept that. i fell sorry for your bad attitude. and if you think i am one to take your ####### you picked the wrong one............... Sharon, With respect to you, there is a difference between "following his culture" and having an appreciation and respect for it -- and out of that respect and appreciation, a desire to incorporate some of that into your life. You are right, " just because i am engaged to someone from algeria doesnt mean that i am in that culture". I think for many of us, we have willingly and happily chosen to take a part of our husband's culture into our lives because we recognize its beauty. This is certainly a choice that you don't have to make. Peace, Rebecca thanks rebecca and i do understand that... there are plenty of things that we plan on doing. i am learning how to cook algerian food so i can surprise him at ramadan by the way do you know of any sites in english that might have various recipies? On that note (which would really make an interesting thread in and of itself), one thing that I looooove about my husband is how he is open to accepting and embracing the good in american culture/society. We both have little pins with the Egyptian and American flags that we wear proudly. On his Egyptian message boards, he has both flags in his signature with the phrase "egyptian american muslim." He'll defend this country against unfounded accusations and theories spouted about the board, and still engage in critique of this government. I try to make our home a blend as well, although I need to try a little harder to bring in the egyptian flavor, since the overwhelming default is midwest america, which is quite different from delta egypt. The blending of the two cultures is one thing I love about our relationship. I'm not simply an american anymore, and he isn't just an egyptian. We're an egyptian-american family. If you're reading this sweetie (and I know you're lurking there somewhere), I you i totally agree rahma.. thanks it is just i cant stand mean people like her and the way they speak to me.... she is just wanting to start trouble. sounds like a miserable person to me. sad really	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-24 10:34:00
Middle East and North Africa	Flying while arab/muslim	it would be nice if Mrs Z knew what she was talking about before she attacks someone. kind of hypocritical for her to call me intolerant and she jumps on me for mentioning i didnt want to put a watering can in my bathroom and that i was just giving that girl some advice. not to mention i cant even remember how long ago i said that about the watering can but, if i do recall others in that forum mentioned they didnt either. seems like to me if you remember that from that far back you need to find somethnig to do cos girl you are totally out of line. and not to mention even tho this is a public forum that doesnt mean you can say whatever you want. i know this from experience. so keep that in mind when you attack people.	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-24 10:27:00
Middle East and North Africa	Flying while arab/muslim	This is a public forum so yes, I have a right to say anything I want. The fact that you put info about yourself and your fiance also makes it up for grabs...sorry. Anyhooo....many of your statements point to intolerance. Remember this one?....my fiance will use TP, I will not put a watering can in my bathroom..something to that effect. Everyone knows Muslims use water to clean after the toilet. Will you also tell him he's not allowed to eat Algerian food because he's in the states now? Boy do I feel sorry for him. Now women shouldn't wear higab because other ppl don't like. We live in a big, big world full of all different kinds of ppl. Deal with it. I'm me...that's who the hell I think I am! I've noticed that you're quite intolerant of change. Is your fiance Muslim? Cuz if he is..you're in for a real treat in the long run. If ppl are a afraid of a simple piece of cloth on a woman's head that's just sad. I am flying out next month with the Hijab on. Will say if they give me a trouble... well dont wear one then.........problem solved. hold on a minute... u dont have no right to say i am intolerant of change. who do you think you are? i was simply saying if she thinks she will have a hard time because of it then dont wear it. and my relationship with my fiance is none of your business first of all you have a smart mouth. got it? i am not intolerant of my fiance and we have a good relationship. i went to algeria and followed his culture when i was there. second, my fiance knows i am not a muslim and we have been together for almost 3 years. and you feel sorry for him? do you have any idea what i have done for my fiance? so let me get this straight you see me post my OPINIONS and you think because of what i post on VJ you can judge me and my whole relationship with my fiance. i wasnt saying for her not to wear it because other people didnt like it. i was saying dont wear it to save her some trouble and have an easier trip thats all. i wore a hijab there in algeria just because it would keep people from staring at me and it was thier culture. samir has to adjust to american life as i have to adjust to algerian life when i am there. and for your information you seem to be intolerant. just because i am engaged to someone from algeria doesnt mean that i am in that culture, he loves me for who i am and understands i am not a muslim and he has been able to accept that. i fell sorry for your bad attitude. and if you think i am one to take your ####### you picked the wrong one...............	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-24 10:08:00
Middle East and North Africa	Flying while arab/muslim	I've noticed that you're quite intolerant of change. Is your fiance Muslim? Cuz if he is..you're in for a real treat in the long run. If ppl are a afraid of a simple piece of cloth on a woman's head that's just sad. I am flying out next month with the Hijab on. Will say if they give me a trouble... well dont wear one then.........problem solved. hold on a minute... u dont have no right to say i am intolerant of change. who do you think you are? i was simply saying if she thinks she will have a hard time because of it then dont wear it. and my relationship with my fiance is none of your business	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-24 09:50:00
Middle East and North Africa	Flying while arab/muslim	Oh well, better to die on your feet, than to live on your knees......... That's exactly why I don't believe in any of the major religions; I refuse to live on my knees. Cian trust me there is a God.....but religion can be a terrible thing... i am very careful about doctrine and i pray to God to give me guidance. one thing that bothers me is when one thinks ones religion is perfect... let me remind people that anything touched by man isnt perfect.for example.. catholic doctrine. some of it was made by man. then you take islam. a man who calls himself a prophet says ok here are the NEW rules and the promise that was given to the christians isnt true. comeon . thats why i pray pray pray and do what Jesus said when he said beware of the false prophets that will come. and the false prophets are not just from islam but there are false prophets in christianity and judaism. i will tell you this and i believe this from my heart......in heaven i think we are all going to be very surprised. there wont be any secular things there. i think there will be muslims jews and christians there. its all about Gods judgement. It seems profiling passengers that are traveling by air is not just limited to those wearing hijabs or who simply " look middle-eastern" ( for want of a better expression--apologies if this is not PC) ...ladies/anyone traveling with infants and baby formula are forced to drink the baby formula to prove there is no liquid explosives in the bottles, NO ONE is allowed to take any carry on luggage into the cabin ( apart from wallet and passport)-it seems ALL passengers regardless of religion or ethnic background or sex are profiled as possible terrorists. Just my opinion edit-spelling and grammar and its still wrong, but no matter well said	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-24 09:30:00
Middle East and North Africa	Flying while arab/muslim	I am flying out next month with the Hijab on. Will say if they give me a trouble... well dont wear one then.........problem solved.	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-24 09:18:00
Middle East and North Africa	NVC Touches	ok you need to get your tax returns, affidavit of support documentation, pics, letters, phone records, chatconversations,emploment letter, birth certificate, any divorce decrees, etc together. get it done ahead of time. he will go for his medical and after he gets his results he can call the embassy (or you can email) and make the appoinment for the interview. good luck !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-30 10:47:00
Middle East and North Africa	finally back from Algeria...	Holly tha tis AWESOME. Samir goes on sunday for his interview and i am hoping everything goes well Congrats on your approval !!!	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-29 23:02:00
Middle East and North Africa	Yalla Algerian Embassy Yalla !!!	thats great. they were very nice to me when i got my visa in january. congrats and have a great trip.	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-30 14:29:00
Middle East and North Africa	Interview date in Casa!!!	congrats. isnt it an awesome feeling to finally get the news you have been waiting to hear? it comes at a time when you least expect it.	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-30 10:38:00
Middle East and North Africa	Interview Date set in Morocco!!	Great news Jersygal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! looks like we have alot going on in sept!!!!!!	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-30 10:34:00
Middle East and North Africa	Hahahaha...funny video regarding red flag on marriages...	HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA that was good	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-31 08:37:00
Middle East and North Africa	Thursday's Child has far to go...	happy birthday to your daughter. sounds like it will be a wonderful party. i wish you a great trip to algeria. i really liked it there.	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-31 08:39:00
Middle East and North Africa	Guilt	Hey everyone, I'm the woman with the Algerian fiancee living in Spain. We are facing a long road ahead of us for a K1 visa, and just getting started with the process. This week has been a rough one for the both of us. He has been saying to me repetedly "Please drop/delay medical school and come here, live with me till I get the papers." Besides the fact that I do not want to give up my dream of being a doctor, there are so many practical issues this. He is not working over there, has no papers, and lives with his sister. I would be able to go to Spain on a tourist visa, and at best get a job under the table as a waitress. With no income I would need a co-sponsor for any kind of visa to the US and my parents certainly will not help me out if I drop out of medical school. I have a lease, student loans and insurance payments and very little money in my bank account. I have no doubt that if all our other options fail I will figure out a way to move to Spain or Algeria. However, I want to leave this as the last option, not the first. I feel so horribly guilty for not being there for him. Honestly I feel bad enough without him telling me about it. If things continue this way I will not even be able to study. Just looking for some support. Thanks, Christina Hi Christina. congrats first of all on all of your success with your education. This will work itself out. This process isnt too bad. It shouldnt take too long. There isnt anything i can tell you because you have to work this out yourself but, you would be giving up alot to move there when you really dont have to. You can have him come here and go through the process. Good luck and we will be here for you!!! Edited by samir_shannon, 29 August 2006 - 10:57 PM.	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-29 22:57:00
Middle East and North Africa	Skyping Algeria....	i go to the site mychitchat.com and for $10 i get an hour to call a mobile in algeria and you can program your phone number into the account so you dont even have to type in a pin hope this helps oh i forgot... samir uses voipbuster to call me for free .... he can use the pc to call my home phone. its like yahoo and you make an id and get 300 free mins a week. the connection was good. we cant call there tho with it for some reason. you can make several screen names and if the 300 mins runs out, log on with a different screen name.	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-31 16:12:00
Middle East and North Africa	HAHAHA.... only read if you dare!	noura i have to say your silly post give me a big even tho we are probally going to have a big flood from that storm ernesto tonight	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-31 13:52:00
Middle East and North Africa	Thank God Thank God Thank God	congrats Kelly!!!!!!!!!!!! that is wonderful news. i used to wait tables a long time ago before i went into nursing... i Hated it but i have met some very interesting people lol and i never got a 10,000 tip like that one woman just did (	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-31 16:16:00
Middle East and North Africa	Nervous, Scared, Excited, Butterflys, Jitters, Dreams	i pray you have a very joyful reunion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-31 14:18:00
Middle East and North Africa	Visa in hand !!!	congrats !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-31 16:07:00
Middle East and North Africa	only 3 days till interview...	Yea Shannon, Hachemi is schooling Samir as we speak. I got bananshed to my son's slooooowwwww computer. Oh well, its a small price to pay to help Samir get his visa. GOOOOOO SAMIR, bring home the visa!!!!!! Meriem awwwwwwwwwwwww you are a wonderful friend meriam!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!love ya girl!	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-31 20:38:00
Middle East and North Africa	only 3 days till interview...	inshaAllah everything will go smoothly. I think most of our Algeria cases go pretty easily through the interview, right? hello rahma actually i havent heard yet of a case going bad at the algeirs embassy. they say they are very nice there. samir is talking to hachemi now to make sure everything is straight. thanks to everyone for the good wishes. god bless	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-31 16:14:00
Middle East and North Africa	only 3 days till interview...	wishing u loads of luck what a cute little boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-31 14:26:00
Middle East and North Africa	only 3 days till interview...	Ok the interview is on sunday.... i am not too nervous , i am pretty much at peace with everything. i have to work all day on sunday so i will find out when samir calls me at work if they kept the passport or not. i hope we get the big yes. its been a long wait. i havent seen him sonce February the 3rd. .. i will never forgot leaving him in that airport. i was on the plane and it was like 3 am and i stared out the window as slowly algiers faded away. all i could do is cry. now maybe i can cry tears of happiness. pray for me	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-31 14:23:00
Middle East and North Africa	~~~ GOOD NEWS LADIES ~~~~wmoonshine69	that is wonderful news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!i hope to be sharing the same news soon	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-09-01 15:26:00
Middle East and North Africa	Thank God (or Goodness) It's Friday...	have a good time Henia and happy birthday to your daughter . I work every weeknd so thats where i will be	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-09-01 15:27:00
Middle East and North Africa	Islam For All Time?	uh-oh i have to ahve my arms waxed i had no idea	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-09-01 15:36:00
Middle East and North Africa	Islam For All Time?	I think you guys are over complecating thing. No offense. Basically We do believe that islam is the Religion of Adam. We believe that Judiasim in its origins was Islam, Chirstianity was Islam in it's Orgins and Adam as the first person came witht Islamic Message. As Time went by the two previous religions where changed by man and therefore corrupt. So Islam has been here throughout all time. When the Prophet Mohamad Brought back the message, we where promised that this will be the las Messenger and the message with stay in tact. This is what we believe, and it is simple. Some are trying to make aspects of the faith complex and make it Muhammad and Arab centered, despite their claims otherwise. Islam is not measured by the time of the Arabs, it has existed for all time. Shannon, the word "Islam" derives form the word "Salaam", which means peace. Islam means "submission". Does Samir speak Arabic? yes, arabic is his first language. he told me that it meant peace thank you so much for sharing that with me. i was confused when someone else said it meant submission. i remember samir telling me it meant peace. samir speaks arabic, french, and english. Henia that was very insightful. The old testement in our religion is the old law. the law of Abraham and Moses. ( the ten commandments given to moses). the new testement is the birth, baptism, life, crucifixion, and resurection of Jesus. Also the book of revelation that was written by the apostle John. the old testement and the torah are very similar of course because it ws Jewish law. we as christians do not have the same law anymore because of the covenant. when Jesus died everything was cleansed and made clean. i dont know very much about islam, but i recall someone telling me it started with Ishmael the son of Abraham and Hagar. god promised Isaac (the chosen child the son of Abraham and Sarah) a great nation and people. as far as i know i dont think islam started from adam.. because if it did then i dont think we would have had Jewish law in the old testament. i want to add i am not trying to be offensive, just found what Henia posted was very insightful and wanted to contribute. Henia forgot to mention, as far as the Quran goes about christians and jews, it is very confusing to a non-muslim to understand because those examples it is contradictary. some parts of the quran show love and respect for the people of the book and some parts just show hate and bitterness. maybe thats why some radicall islamists feel the way they do. i have never personally had a muslim treat me bad at all. (in person) one thing i am confused with is Samir cant eat meat slaughtered by a christian but, he can marry one. that part i REALLY dont get but, oh well... such is life. goodnight everyone. i was asleep earlier and a bad thunderstorm woke me up. pray for us in north carolina because ernesto is on its way here. the last tropical storm we had terrible flooding in this area. ( I am interested in knowing about the source of the contradictions I see in the postings of some of the converts here. Do you believe that Islam began with the Quran and Muhammad, or do you believe that Adam was the first prophet of Islam and that there were many between him and Muhammad? If you believe that, then why is when the Message was given to the Arabs the only measure you seem to relate to when talking about Islam? I'm asking this because I see this time and time again, and was inspired to ask when I kept seeing posting about how Christians and Jews who died BEFORE the Quran and Muhammad were exempt from hell, but those during and after the period of Arab Islam were not. This implies that Islam did not exist prior to its delivery to the Arabian pennisula. It is but one example, but it serves to demonstrate to me, at least, how ethnocentric the vision of Islam is for some of you. You measure the time of Islam by one place and time and ignore how it has existed forever and that there have been Muslims forever. Is this what you are being taught? Thanks for your input! wow... Ehhhh. What do you believe???(out of curiousity). to give my opinion this is what i believe...... no one in the Earth can tell me you or anyone else here who is going to hell and who isnt. that is only answered by God. he is the judge. not any of us. goodnight. Shannnon: In an earlier post I had, I had stated my stand on this (who goes to heaven and who goes to hell) and so again I will rewrite it here... The Qur’an has very strongly negated the idea that the Jannah or the bliss in the life hereafter – the Paradise – is the right of any particular religious group. Whether one ascribes oneself to the Muslim or to any other belief, the criteria for success in the hereafter is going to be his true faith in the Almighty and in the Day of reckoning. According to the Qur’anic view about life, each individual who lives on the face of this earth is put in a test by the Almighty. Whether born to Muslim or Jewish or Christian parents, each individual is being tested for his honest and unbiased search for and surrender to the Truth, as he sees and understands it. To go through this test, God has set upon us the sense and the intellect to judge right from wrong. A close look at our general attitude towards religion and religious beliefs shows that we normally go through life with the beliefs that we inherit from our parents. If we are born in a Muslim family, there is a greater chance that we shall remain Muslims through out our lives. The same holds true in other cases as well. But unfortunately, this passive belief shall have absolutely no importnace on the Day of Judgment. Whether we attended the Sunday Church or the Friday Congregation shall only have a secondary importance. The first thing that would be judged is whether the individual truly searched for the Truth or not and then, whether he lived his life in accordance with that Truth or not. In the light of the above explanation, in my opinion, success in the hereafter is not dependent on ascribing to any one or the other group. It is basically dependent on my attitude towards searching for and submitting to the Truth. Thus, those Christians who, without any prejudice, had searched for the Truth and had submitted to it, shall be among those who are successful in the hereafter. While those who called themselves Muslims in this world, might fail in the hereafter on the account that they did not seriously and without any bias, seek the Truth or that even after knowing the Truth, did not submit to it or lived their lives in accordance with it. This is the general principle of success and/or failure in the test of the life of this world. Thus, the criteria of success or failure is one that depends purely on the internal mechanism of the human soul and intellect. Because we cannot say that a particular person has rejected Islam (or whatever we hold to be the Truth) after being thoroughly convinced that Islam is the divine truth, we therefore, cannot pass a judgment regarding his success or failure in the hereafter. It is only the Omniscient God who really knows whether a person rejected after being truly convinced of the Truth or whether his rejection was because of some misunderstanding or unanswered questions, regarding that Truth. On the day of reckoning, God shall give His decision on the basis of His absolute knowledge about the reasons of the rejection of the individuals. According to the Qur’an, when a messenger of Allah (Rasu’l as distinct from Nab’i) is sent towards a people, he removes all doubts that lie in people’s minds regarding the Truth. He answers all their questions. Truth becomes evidently distinct from falsehood. Those who accept his message, accept it with full knowledge of what is right and what is wrong; and those who reject his message, reject it after gaining full knowledge that it is the Truth they are rejecting. It is because of this particular position of the messengers (Rasu’l) of Allah that it becomes evident that those who are rejecting his call are rejecting the Truth, and those who are accepting his call are submitting to the Truth. The former are, thus, bound to be thrown in the hell fire and the latter are promised the bliss of paradise. So in short, the God is the one to judge us as humans, worthy or not, to enter into heaven or hell... thank you for you post Henia. i have read it and have to say i agree with someof your points. thank you again	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-31 20:37:00
Middle East and North Africa	Islam For All Time?	Wha? did you see your name mentioned anywhere? well Mrs. Z i kinda felt it ws very obvious that it was directed to me. if it wasnt then please excuse me. Edited by samir_shannon, 31 August 2006 - 02:15 PM.	samir_shannon	Female	Algeria	2006-08-31 14:14:00