Cure in natural things

Although the Prophet (peace be upon him) lived in one of the poorest and most ignorant nations 14 centuries ago, he was guided by Allah to teach Muslims and the whole world ever since that "There is no disease that Allah has created, except that He also has created its treatment."(Al-Bukhari)

At that time, when treatment with magic and the like was widespread all over the world, such a statement by the Prophet was a wide leap forward in human knowledge; a leap that could only emanate from the ever-Knowing Allah. The Prophet's guidance further inspired Muslims to search and discover effective medicines, when he said, in a more complete narration of the hadith:

Allah has never created a disease but created its treatment, that is known by some people and unknown to others, except death. (At-Tabarani)

No wonder then that the early Muslim scientists, during the third and fourth centuries of Islam, laid down the foundations of modern pharmacology. Their research and writings were the main source for the much later European Enlightenment.

The following is an interesting article about cures from natural things:

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Garlic

Colds, cuts, thrush

If you can get past its pungent aroma, avoid the chemist and reach for a bulb of garlic. This wonder food is used around the world for treating a whole host of minor ailments.

Medically proven to have antibacterial and antiviral properties, garlic can cure thousands of illnesses so long as it's used raw. Garlic expert Dr Ron Cutler, the deputy director of biomedical science at Queen Mary, University of London, says: "In its raw form it can treat colds, cuts, even thrush and MRSA, the list is endless. It's a very potent compound and the last thing you want to say is that it's an old wives' tale."

Allicin, the active chemical in garlic which kills bacteria and viruses, is created when the enzymes in two bulbs are crushed together. Although you need to eat about five cloves of raw garlic to get the same amount of allium as a concentrated capsule, it'll fight off a cold in no time. Dr Cutler also suggests making a poultice of crushed garlic gloves for any cuts or grazes and, if you can really stomach it, you can use a clove of garlic as a pessary to treat thrush. "It's one of the most tremendous cures for thrush I've seen," he said.

Bananas

Veruccas, hangovers

To banish a verucca, tape the skin of a slightly overripe banana to the surface of the afflicted area. Michael O'Neil, Consultant Podiatrist and spokesman for the society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists says: "This idea has been around for about 20 years and although it won't work on very resistant veruccas because their viral structure is too complicated, some people swear that it gets rid of them."

The science behind this slightly bonkers-sounding solution is that a banana skin produces an antiviral substance in its mucilage, the sticky layer inside the peel, which stops it going rotten. The riper the banana, the more potent the antiviral substance becomes and when applied to a verucca it can work to reduce its size and fight injection. Dr O'Neil suggests you change the banana dressing every day.

Bananas are also handy for shifting a hangover. Their three natural sugars – sucrose, fructose and glucose combine to give the body an instant energy boost and their high magnesium content will stop a pounding headache because it relaxes the blood vessels which become restricted through excess alcohol.

Honey

Infections

The Romans cottoned onto the healing power of honey 2,000 years ago and slapped it all over the fallen soldiers of the empire. While they were definitely on to something, scientists have since proven that only one particular type has enough medicinal properties in it to be as effective as over-the-counter medicine. Manuka honey, from New Zealand, is the most medicinal of all and if you buy it at "factor 10" strength it can be used on cuts and grazes to fight off infection.

There are three scientific reasons why the sticky stuff should be in everyone's medicine cupboard. Firstly, it's highly acidic, level four on the pH scale and just as acidic as a glass of orange juice or can of Coke, and its this acidity which helps destroy bacteria. Secondly, honey also contains the antibacterial substance hydrogen peroxide, which is made naturally in honey by the enzyme, glucose oxidase. This becomes active when honey is diluted with the fluid from a wound and also fights bacteria. And finally certain phytochemicals found naturally in the nectar that bees collect, are also antibacterial.

Tea

Hay fever, mouth ulcers

If you spend all summer bunged up with hay fever, pop two cold wet tea bags over your eyes to calm any itchiness or irritation. Tannic acid, the substance that stains your tea cups, helps reduce itchiness and calms streaming eyes. Tea bags can also be used to treat mouth ulcers because of their astringent quality, which dries out the ulcer and numbs the pain.

Dr Jerome Z Litt, a US dermatologist and contributor to The Doctors' Book of Home Remedies says that putting a dark wet tea bag on the affected area will give you instant pain relief.

Olive oil

Earwax

At home in most kitchens, a bottle of olive oil can also double up as a remedy for excess earwax. Dr Stephen Amiel, editor of The Doctors' Book of Home Remedies said: "I'm by no means an alternative practitioner but things like olive oil to tackle ear wax have been proven to really work."

A few drops of olive oil gently lubricates both the skin and the wax so that after a few applications any wax build-up should slide out of its own accord. More stubborn wax may need to be extracted by a doctor, but it's always worth softening it first with a few drops of olive oil. Plus, it's painless and a lot cheaper than over-the-counter ear wax solutions, which are usually oil-based anyway.

Cranberries

Cystitis

In the early 1980s scientists found that cranberry juice could help tackle urine infections because of its anti-adhesive properties, which stop the E coli bacteria (present in cystitis) from sticking to the walls of the urinary tract. But more recent research has cast doubt on this.

Dr Rav Naik, a Sheffield GP and sports physician said: "I'd always advise drinking water over cranberry juice because new research shows that drinking a lot of any type of liquid will flush out the infection – but if cranberry juice works for you then use it. You don't have to medically prove something if you think it makes you feel better."

If you want to give cranberry juice a try, it's best to drink between 300-500ml of unsweetened cranberry juice a day, or create a home-made solution by boiling up a pack of cranberries until soft and waiting until it cools to drink. This way you get all the goodness of the fruit and less artificial sugar which comes in commercial cranberry juice drinks.

Ginger

Nausea, inflammation, muscle pain

Even in the tiniest doses, ginger is one of the most powerful kitchen cupboard remedies as it's been scientifically proven to treat sickness and nausea. A 2009 study of pregnant women found that those who took ginger in the early stages of their pregnancy were less likely to suffer from morning sickness than those who didn't. Studies have also found that it helps alleviate the nausea experienced by cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Glenys Jones, a nutritionist with the Medical Research Council, is an enthusiastic supporter of the benefits of ginger. She said: "It reduces nausea and vomiting and an upset stomach. If you suffer from travel sickness, I'd advise that you chew on a bit of stem ginger and it'll help you feel better on a long journey."

Ginger is also an anti-inflammatory and can help relieve pain and reduce inflammation associated with arthritis, rheumatism and muscle spasms.

Bicarbonate of Soda

Indigestion, bloating, cystitis

This is one of the most widely useful of all kitchen cupboard remedies. Found to be effective against indigestion and bloating, it works because its alkaline properties help to neutralise the excess stomach acid that causes heartburn and indigestion. One glass of bicarbonate of soda in water soon puts a stop to that burning pain in your chest or a grumbling tummy. Mix a teaspoon into a glass of water and drink it slowly. If you look at the ingredients in chemist antacids they usually contain calcium and magnesium carbonate, the same minerals found in that tub of bicarbonate of soda you've got stashed in your kitchen cupboard.

It can also be used to treat urinary infections such as cystitis and Bupa recommends drinking bicarbonate of soda in a glass of water to make your urine less acidic, which stops bacteria spreading and can halt that painful burning sensation when you go to the loo.

Vinegar

Warts, jellyfish stings

The high acid content of household vinegar can be used to zap warts dead in just a few days. Dr Rav Naik said: "For generations apple cider vinegar has worked against warts. Put a dressing of vinegar over your wart overnight and the next morning the head will have gone black and drop off and then wait for it to disappear."

There's been no concrete research to back up the medicinal properties of vinegar, but Dr Naik says it can often work better than prescription ointments. And vinegar is also a fast and effective way to treat a jellyfish sting. Dr Naik explained: "It definitely helps because jellyfish squirt out an alkaline juice, which causes the burning feeling, so treating it with the acidic vinegar will definitely make it less painful."

Natural yoghurt

Thrush

Rather messy, but very effective, live natural yoghurt is a medically-proven kitchen cupboard remedy for thrush. Apply it to the affected area to reduce itching and redness. It works because yoghurt contains the alkaline bacteria lactobacillus, which helps to neutralise thrush, an acidic Candida fungus.

Dr Thomas Gray of the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield says: "This definitely works. It's simple science: alkaline neutralises the acid environment of the thrush infection and will relieve people of their painful symptoms."

No need to splash out on the supermarket's finest range, just go for basic live natural yoghurt free from colours or flavourings. At around £1 per pot or even less, it's far cheaper than visiting the chemist.

Islamic Super Heroes Comic Launched

New comic book created by Naif al-Mutawa and published by Teshkeel Comics features characters who develop extraordinary abilities after coming into contact with Noor Stones - ancient gems imbued with power and wisdom


The cover of the first issue of the 99, a comic featuring superheroes inspired by the qualities of Allah. The superheroes are 99 characters who develop extraordinary abilities after coming into contact with Noor Stones, ancient gems imbued with power and wisdom


More pictures here.

Church Sign Says 'Islam is of the Devil'

Shame! If only the person who put this sign up had studied Islam. How many haters have become Muslims this way.


The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Do not be people without minds of your own, saying that if others treat you well you will treat them well and that if they do wrong you will do wrong. But (instead) accustom yourselves to do good if people do good and not to do wrong if they do evil." - Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1325



The Prophet also said: "Blessed is the person whom God has made a key for good and a lock for evil." - Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1366

The Great Wall of Israel: Illegal but still growing

Five years ago, the international court of justice in The Hague published its advisory opinion on Israel's separation wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). The keenly awaited verdict, requested by the UN's general assembly, was clear: Israel's wall is illegal, it must be removed and adequate compensation paid.

The wall's illegality, and Israel's obligation to dismantle the structure and pay damages for the consequences of the wall thus far, were all agreed by the judges by a margin of 14-1. (The ICJ also accepted the use of the term "wall", since "other expressions" are "no more accurate".) There was also confirmation that Israel's settlements were "a flagrant violation" of the convention, established "in breach of international law" (contrast this with the mealy-mouthed nitpicking over outposts and "freezes" by Barack Obama and Binyamin Netanyahu). Overall, the court found that the route of the wall threatened to create "de facto annexation", with the wall itself described as severely impeding "the exercise by the Palestinian people of its right to self-determination".

At the time, the ICJ decision was hailed by Palestinians and dismissed by the Israeli government. As Yasser Arafat described it as a "victory for the Palestinian people", a spokesman for the then prime minister Ariel Sharon, Raanan Gissin, opined that "after all the rancour dies, this resolution will find its place in the garbage can of history".

Both the US and UK had opposed the entire process, on the odd grounds that the UN's main judicial body for settling legal disputes was not "the appropriate forum to resolve what is a political issue". In the words of Jack Straw, it was better not to "embroil" the ICJ "in a heavily political bilateral dispute".

This opposition was rare – later that same month, the general assembly voted by 150 to six in support of the ICJ opinion. The decision was also welcomed by the likes of Oxfam and Amnesty International, with Oxfam's director adding that the ruling was a "step in the right direction" but needed "further action" by the international community.

But meaningful "further action" was not forthcoming, and Israel pressed on with the wall. Five years on, the wall loops around the West Bank and cuts through East Jerusalem, isolating Palestinian communities and devastating lives, and has become an integral part of Israel's apartheid regime in the territories. About two-thirds of the 700km+ route, featuring a 8m-high wall, electric fences, sniper towers and "buffer zones" up to 100m wide, is completed or under construction. Of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, 8.5% will be on the "wrong" side of the wall. In terms of size as well as significance, this would be comparable to the UK losing Greater London and south-east England.

For Israel to consolidate its hold on the illegal colonies in the OPT, many Palestinians find themselves hemmed in and surrounded by the wall's contortions (pdf). About 35,000 Palestinians with West Bank IDs are to be caught between the wall and the Green Line – if you add (pdf) the East Jerusalem Palestinians in the same position, this figure increases to about 260,000.

These are the bare facts five years on from the ICJ opinion. Israel has ignored the judges' decision, but that's not a surprise. However, has the Palestinian leadership sufficiently exploited the opinion? Speaking to Palestinians involved in monitoring the wall's progress, or in directly resisting it on the ground, there is a feeling that Palestinian diplomats have not done as much with the ICJ result as they could have.

Palestinians in communities directly affected by the wall continue to put up resistance, sometimes at their cost of their lives: 18 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces during anti-wall protests, the youngest victim a 10-year-old boy. While they fight for survival, the wall has also played a key role in changing the big picture, delineating the borders of the Palestinian enclaves Israel will grant "statehood".

In 1994, the then Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin said that "we have to decide on separation as a philosophy". However, this is not separation on equal terms – the following year Rabin also made it clear that the Palestinian "entity" would be "less than a state". There is a term for unequal separation in international law – apartheid (I will talk about this tonight). The wall urgently needs dismantling; but it is only one part of a bigger whole.

Jameel prize (Turner prize of Islamic Art) winner announced

Afruz Amighi has been chosen as the winner of the Jameel international art prize, touted as the Islamic art world's equivalent to the Turner prize, for her painting 1001 Pages. Nine artists were shortlisted for the award, worth £25,000, whose work the panel judges to 'contribute to a broader debate about Islamic culture'. Zaha Hadid, patron of the Jameel prize, hopes the biannual event will inspire future generations of contemporary Muslim artists. Shortlisted works can be seen in a temporary display gallery at the Victoria and Albert Museum until 12 September 2009

You can see some of the work here.

Nick Griffin, not just an Islamophobe but a Racist as well

I generally tend to ignore people like him but Nick Griffin, leader of the far right BNP, has been elected an an MEP or a Member of European Parliament by the British people, so its just fair to highlight his views.

Boats carrying illegal migrants to Europe should be sunk Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National party, said yesterday.

In a provocative intervention, Griffin, elected to the European parliament last month, called on the EU to introduce "very tough" measures to prevent illegal migrants entering Europe from Africa.

"If there's measures to set up some kind of force or to help, say the Italians, set up a force which actually blocks the Mediterranean then we'd support that," Griffin told BBC Parliament's The Record Europe.

"But the only measure, sooner or later, which is going to stop immigration and stop large numbers of sub-Saharan Africans dying on the way to get over here is to get very tough with those coming over. Frankly, they need to sink several of those boats. Anyone coming up with measures like that, we'll support, but anything which is there as a 'oh, we need to do something about it' but in the end doing something about it means bringing them into Europe we will oppose."

Shirin Wheeler, the programme's presenter, interrupted him to say the EU did not murder people. "I didn't say anyone should be murdered at sea – I say boats should be sunk, they can throw them a life raft and they can go back to Libya," Griffin said. "But Europe has, sooner or later, to close its borders or it's simply going to be swamped by the third world."

Griffin's comments were especially controversial because many thousands of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa attempt to make the crossing to Europe on rickety boats during the summer. Many land on Lampedusa, the Italian island less than 100 miles from Tunisia. The BBC said 37,000 migrants landed on Italian shores last year, a 75% increase on the year before.

Italy gave Libya three patrol boats in May to help control the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean. The BBC reported that Roberto Maroni, the Italian interior minister, a member of the anti-immigration Northern League, had described the first 200 migrants returned to Libya as a "historic" moment.

Integration of EU Muslims and Islamophobia

Marwa El-Sherbini's tragic death recalls many thoughts on the Islamophobia towards Muslims in Europe versus Muslims integration. For years, Muslims in Europe have been encouraged to get integrated into their communities, empower their citizenships, and contribute to their European societies.

At the time when these European calls were getting heard by Muslims, their echoes were drowned in a blizzard of obstacles spin. From the Danish cartoons crisis, French hijab ban, the sequence of attacks on European mosques and cemeteries, Fitna movie, and up to El-Sherbibi's death, European Muslims have been moving out of the frying pan into the fire.

As a Muslim in Europe who is on his way to get fully integrated into his society, such Islamophobic obstacles can not be simply dealt with. The effect of each of these Islamophobic acts on Muslims in Europe integration process would in a way "bring them abruptly back down to earth," according to one of our British Muslim readers.

Surprisingly enough, while facing such hard times ─when Islamophbia was echoing round their daily lives─ Muslims in Europe were able to get a unique benefit from each experience, share it together, and learn how to move on.

"While our fellow Europeans are putting us under fire, I am still boasting about my European identity and I am still enjoying the European democracy. Thanks to the few people supporting our rights," wrote M.K, a reader from the Netherlands.

Since its launch, IslamOnline.net's European Muslims Page has been acting as a platform for European Muslim voices. During the crisis times, we have tried to hear from European Muslims, absorb their shocking defeats, and attempt to turn them into a counter chain of positive reactions.

Furthermore, we have been very keen to engage the European Muslims in healthy debates with other parties, including the European Governments, through unique dialogue opportunities.

And now that the right-wing anti-Islam European parties are on the rise, we thought of ringing the alert bells and pointing out to the threats facing Muslims' integration into Europe hopefully a wise observer would react appropriately before Muslims' depression become unalterable.

"I am quite depressed with the attacks against my hijab that I face on a daily basis. I am not aiming at offending people with my hijab, nor do I force any one to accept my hijab. But it's my right to be accepted as a human being," said S.Elianor, one of our German readers.

A lot of questions are now revolving in minds, such as why do many Muslims in Europe believe that it is "useless" to file a complaint against the day-to-day discrimination they face and why was murder the fate of El-Sherbini ─ one of those positive Muslims who respects the legal system they are living under and who dares taking abusers and attackers to court, where she faced her death.

Most importantly, will Muslims in Europe be able to hold on to their integration and loyalty to their countries while many European actions are driving them to the opposite direction?

Europe is now in need of reconsidering its attitude towards Muslims, analyzing the reasons behind the European Islamophobia, and defending Muslims' rights, rather than working mainly on combating terrorism, extremism, radicalism or issuing anti-terror laws and warnings that are likely to target Muslims only.

On the other hand, Muslims in Europe should continue to get engaged in their societies and prove their empowered citizenships through positive actions which always speak louder than words.

Radwa Khorshid is the editor of IslamOnline.net's European Muslims Section. You may contact her at radwa.khorshid@iolteam.com.

Race Riots in Secular France ... Again

France has been busy banning Hijab in Schools and now banning Burqa in public. The reason for this being that it wants to integrate all different sections and societies. How will it change the fact though that the majority of white people look down at the immigrants or the non-whites. Maybe it could adopt a compulsary scheme that there has to be a non-white in each family by law;)

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French riot police firing teargas and plastic bullets have struggled to contain three nights of rioting and arson by youths on suburban estates in the Loire, amid protests over the death of a 21-year-old in police custody.

High-rises in Firminy, a small town bordering countryside on the outskirts of Saint-Étienne, saw running battles between police and youths in the early hours of this morning after Mohamed Benmouna, a local supermarket cashier, was taken from his police cell in a coma and died in hospital.

Benmouna, who had been arrested on extortion charges, died on Wednesday. Police said he attempted to hang himself in his cell and fell into a coma. His Algerian family, sceptical of the official story, have filed a lawsuit to establish the circumstances of his death and whether police violence was covered up.

The local state prosecutor, Jacques Pin, said a postmortem confirmed Benmouna died of suffocation and his body showed no trace of violence or police abuse. But he said video surveillance equipment that would normally have filmed Benmouna's cell was not functioning properly. The police inspectorate has opened an investigation.

For three nights, youths have taken to the streets of Firminy to riot over the death, burning local shops, torching dozens of cars and stoning police, despite repeated pleas for calm from the family. Last night the family and 200 locals staged a peaceful sit-down protest outside their block of flats. But later groups of youths began torching buildings and cars and stoning police. The local bakers, chemist, tobacconist and hairdressing salon were razed. Two hundred riot police were brought in to control rioters with teargas and plastic bullets. Six arrests were made.

The Benmouna case has reopened France's festering sore - the dire relations between police and youths of immigrant descent on suburban estates. The case has echoes of the 2005 urban riots triggered by the deaths of two teenagers trying to escape from police in Clichy-sous-Bois, a Paris suburb. In November 2007, the death of two boys in a collision with a police car sparked violence and rioting in the Paris suburb of Villier-le-Bel, as youths railed against what they said was widespread police injustice.

Abdelkader Benmouna, Mohamed's father, who will lead a silent remembrance march tomorrow told reporters that he wanted to know how his son had time to make a noose in his cell. "Where were the police during all that time? That's the question, that's where I'm looking for the truth."

The case comes months after an Amnesty International report warned that France routinely failed to investigate police brutality including racial abuse, excessive force and unlawful killings. The study, which said the majority of victims of alleged cases of police brutality were from ethnic minorities or foreigners, confirmed an earlier United Nations warning of "allegations of persistent discriminatory behaviour" towards certain ethnic groups by the police.

The report focused on specific cases of alleged brutality, including cases of men of African or north African origin who died after alleged ill-treatment. In one case, a Malian, Abou Bakari Tandia, was stopped by police for an identity check and taken to a police station where he fell into a coma in his cell and later died from multiple organ failure. Police said he inflicted the injuries himself.

The French police union Alliance denounced the rioting in Firminy, rejecting accusations that officers at the police station could have been responsible for Benmouna's death.

Turks protest against China for East Turkestan

Enraged by images of beaten and bloody bodies of the Uighur Muslim minority in China's Xinjiang district, Turkish demonstrators poured into the streets following Friday prayers in Istanbul on July 10. Waving a huge East Turkestan flag, the old name of Xinjiang, protesters chanted slogans in support of East Turkestan, setting fire to Chinese flags. (Reuters' photos)

Earthquake and Injustice

Long back I heard this story from an authoritative person. During the time when Umer Ibn Khattab (raa) was Caliph, there was an earthquake in Mecca. Umar (raa) used to carry a small hunter with him. He immediately lashed the earth and said, "Have I done any injustice. If not why are you shaking". The earth stopped moving and the quake subsided. I couldnt find the reference or the exact story on the web. How would you compare this to modern world.

We can see that earthquakes are becoming quite common in China. Surprisingly they occur very close to when the geovernment opresses any of its minorities like the Tibetians or the Uighurs. Maybe these earthquakes are more than just normal phenomenas. Maybe its a warning from Allah.