Another Muslim Who Gave Life For Christians

Late Riyanto Sukarmin and the uniform he was wearing

Islam is arguably the most scorned faith on earth largely due to all the  misinformation that have made the rounds since the turn of the 20th century demonizing the faith. Though, the actions of some Muslims have contributed. 

Arguably, the most proliferated misconception about Islam is that it preaches hate for members of other faiths. This has been refuted by several feats of heroics by Muslims with non Muslims being the beneficiaries.

On 10th December, a Twitter account, @KatolikG, inspired by comedy account @NUgarislucu, set up a fundraising effort for a martyr named Riyanto Sukarmin. Riyanto was killed by a bomb in Indonesia on the Christmas Eve of 2000 (December 24th).

On Christmas Eve in 2000, a series of explosions occurred in Indonesia as part of a large-scale terrorist attack by Al Qaeda and their allies. 

The attack involved a series of coordinated bombings of churches in Mojokerto, Mataram, Pekanbaru, Batam Island, Sukabumi, Bandung, Medan and the capital Jakarta. The bombings killed 18 people and injured many others.

Riyanto was a member of the youth wing of Indonesia’s largest Islamic group Nahdlatul Ulama’s (NU), Banser. 

He and four of his companions had gone out to protect Christian sites as all was in full gear for the Christmas celebrations when they got a call about a suspicious package at the Eben Haezer Church in Mojokerto, East Java. 

On getting there, they opened the package and found that it was a time bomb. They tried to evacuate the Church of worshipers but realized that the bomb was set to go off at any moment. That was when Riyanto showed what he was made of. 

He told his colleagues to back away from the bomb and take cover; he then lay down on the bomb covering it with his body till it exploded. It tore his body apart. 

Born on October 19th 1975, Riyanto was the eldest of seven children born to Sukarmin and Katinem (his parents). His remains were buried at the  Pra Pvtkulon cemetery in Mojokerto. 

The fundraiser was able to raise Rp 106 million (US$7,604), though the initial target was Rp 50 million.

Another group of Muslim duplicated this feat in Kenya on December 20th 2016. Read the story here. 

Imam Abubakar Abdullahi

On July 17th 2019, a Muslim cleric in Nigeria, 83 year old Imam Abubakar Abdullahi, was awarded the International Religious Freedom Award prize in America for protecting 262 Christians by hiding them in his house and mosque when their village came under attack by armed herders.

Atiqa bint Zayd: The Wife of Martyrs

Desert

Atikah bint Zayd bint Amr ibn Nufail was one of the most beautiful  women of Quraysh. She was a poet who is notable for having married Muslim men who died as martyrs. 

The Prophecy of Muhammad (SAW) On Mosques Is Coming Through

End Time

On December 17th, the Jigawa state government, under  Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, announced plans to build 95 new mosques across the state.  It was also disclosed in the announcement that doors have been open for construction companies to bid for contracts. 

What Does Islam Says About Tyranny?

Tyranny image

A good look at world politics today shows that a good number of  countries are ruled by despots. An even deeper look reveals that a lot of those countries are Muslim majority countries. 

This has driven many to think, 'perhaps tyranny is not really a crime in Islamic theology. 

Asma’a Bint Yazeed: The Orator of Women

Sahaba

The Sahaba learnt many things from Muhammad (SAW). They  asked him about the problems they  encountered in daily life and many others and The never failed to get them acquainted with the truth.  Not only men but also women went into the presence of the Prophet (SAW) to ask him about their

MISCONCEPTION 16: Rape Is Not a Crime in Islam

ALLEGATIONS

• Arabic has no word or term for rape
• No punishment for rapists
• Women are punished for being raped
• A woman needs to

Islam Protects the Girl Child

Since 2012, the 11th of October every year was designated  International Day of the Girl Child by the United Nations in a bid to draw the attention of the world to the sufferings of girls across the globe while promoting girls' empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights.

Islam Ensures an AIDS Free World

Campaign logo

The HIV virus, for all the wrong reasons, has been a household  name for decades. Several theories exist concerning the origin of the dreadful diseases which is not the essence of this write-up. 

December 1st is World AIDS Day on the United Nations calendar and below are some vital stats about the disease.

Embrace Islam Day: Why Maldives Has Remained 100% Muslim

Muslim girls celebrating

Embrace Islam Day is celebrated in The Maldives on the 1^st of Rabi al Thani (Rabi al Akhar) every year. 

The Maldives is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean southwest of Sri Lanka. Its capital is Male and it has a small population of 515, 696 which is 100% Muslim.

Buddhism was the predominant religion in the Maldives until the early 12th century. At that time, the last Buddhist king converted to Islam, adopting the Muslim title of Sultan. Islam is so prevalent in the Maldives today that the constitution states that anyone who does not adhere to Islam may not become a citizen of the Maldives. 

The day was first celebrated in the early rule of Sultan Mohamed Fareed in 1954. However, for 33 years after that, there was no celebration. It was reinstated by the then President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in 2000.

Legend Of The Conversion

Legend has it that Rannamaari, an evil sea-demon, arose from the sea each month threatening to destroy villages unless a virgin was sacrificed. Each month, a young girl was chosen by lottery and left in a temple overnight as sacrifice.

A Muslim traveler from Morocco, Abu'l Barakat al-Barbari al-Maghribi whose real name was Yusuf Shamsuddin-al Tebrezi, was staying with a poor family whose daughter was chosen for sacrifice. The Muslim traveler felt pity for the poor family and knowing how much Islam abhors idolatry, he resolved to help them out and end the practice.

He planned with the family and disguised himself as their daughter. The monks of the temple came for ‘her’ and took ‘her’ to the temple where ‘she’ was to be left for consumption by the demon. All night, Yusuf Shamsuddin-al Tebrezi recited the Qur’an. When the demon came to take its monthly meal, it heard the words of the Qur’an and miraculously turned away. The citizens arrived at the temple in the morning, they found Yusuf alive and still reciting the Qur’an.

Yusuf told the villagers that it was the powers in the Holy Quran that saved him. He asked the king to embrace Islam in order to keep the country safe from the demon’s return. The king took his advice, embraced Islam and ordered the entire country to do the same. The demon never returned.

What Happens On This Day

The day is meant to be a day of religious unity. Activities are arranged by the Ministry of Home Affairs which includes Qur’an recitation competitions, Islamic lectures and ceremonies. Villages also have their own celebrations that include telling stories about the history of the conversion in the Maldives. This year 2019, it will be celebrated on the 29^th of November.

Khubaib Ibn Adiy: A Hero on the Cross

Martyr

Khubaib Ibn Adiy belonged to the Aws tribe from Al-Madinah, he was an Ansari. His father was Adi Ibn Malik

Since the day of the Prophet's Hijrah to Madinah, he frequently visited the Prophet (SAW).

He was described by Hasan Ibn Thabit thus, "He looked like a falcon among the Ansar. Allah endowed him with noble

The Advice of Sa’id bin Amir to Umar bin Khattab

Advice

The statements of the Sahaba are not binding on Muslims but, they  are usually filled with wisdom worthy of implementing in one’s daily life. 

In an era where Muslim leaders always seem lost and ignorant of the duties of a leader, it might help to look back at what leadership meant to our pious predecessors, perhaps we will be better leaders when we get the chance the lead.

The World Needs Leaders Like Sa'id bin Amir

Leadership

His full name was Sa'id bin 'Amir bin Hudhaym b. Salaman b.  Rabi'a b. Sa'd b. Jumah b. 'Amr b. Husays b. Ka'b. His father was Amir bin Hudhaym and his mother was Arwa bint Abi Mu'yat of Banu Umayya. He had two siblings, Fatima bint Amir and Jamil bin Amir. Sa’id ibn Amir al-Jumahi was one of thousands of pagans who left for the region of Tanim on the

Attacks On Dr Zakir Naik Were Well Orchestrated

Dr Zakir in a car in Malaysia

As the burden of age grew on our father, Ahmed Deedat, Allah was nurturing a handsome replacement , the young Zakir Naik. The fame of Zakir Naik grew across the globe

Boko Haram Killed 113 Muslims in Two Months

Funeral Procession In Borno State

Boko Haram has remained one of the world's deadliest terror groups. 

According to the blog, Muslim Lives Count, among armed groups, Boko Haram killed the most number of civilians in the

Saudi Arabia Defends China’s Persecution of Uighur Muslims

MBS and Xi Jinping

The Uighur Muslims in the Xinjiang region of China are arguably the most persecuted Muslims in the world. 

Rohingya Muslims are being driven away and told to go practice Islam elsewhere but, Uighur Muslims are being

Man Proposes to Girl in Front of the Ka'abah: Is This Heresy?

Proposing in Makkah

A picture has surfaced on social media showing a man on his knees in the vicinity of the Ka'abah facing a woman with a ring box in his hand. In a nut-shell, he was proposing to the woman.

Coffee: A Great Muslim Contribution

Cup of coffee

After crude oil, coffee is the most sort after commodity in the world. Coffee is a beverage gotten from refining coffee beans; a type of seed from coffee plant. The two main species commercially cultivated are Coffea canephora (C. robusta) and Arabian coffee (C. arabica). 

What to Know About the First 10 Days of Dhul Hijjah

Islamic months

Dhul Hijjah (the Month of Hajj) is the 12th month of the Islamic lunar year. During this month the annual pilgrimage to Mecca is made by those who can afford to. However, the actual pilgrimage rites occur on the eighth to 12th days of the month.

Hakim ibn Hazm: The Only Person to Have Been Born Inside the Ka'abah

Hakim bin Hazm is the only person in the history of mankind to have been born inside the Kabah. On that particular day the Ka’abah was open because of a festive occasion. 

Sri Lanka: Easter Day Bombing Looking Like an Inside Job

A ravaged Church

On June 11th, the former Muslim governor of the Western province, Azath Salley, speaking to the Parliamentary Select Committe (PSC) reiterated that he warned

Thumamah Bin Uthal: The First Human to Recite the Talbiya Inside Makkah

The Holy Ka'abah

In the sixth year after the hijrah, the Prophet (SAW) decided to expand the scope of his mission. He sent eight letters to rulers in the Arabian Peninsula and surrounding areas inviting them to Islam, one of these rulers was Thumamah ibn Uthal.

Muslims of the World Betrayed Mursi

Late Muhammad Mursi

Islamic  media outfits have been inundated with news about the personality and passing of the martyr, Muhammad Mursi. 

It leaves one to wonder how important a figure the man was. Muhammad Mursi became the first democratically elected president of Egypt on 30th June 2012 after secularist dictator Hosni Mubarak was ousted by popular protest on 11th February 2011. 

The First Betrayal
It wasn’t an easy 12 months for Mursi’s Islam inclined government as all anti-Islam forces domestic and foreign, Arab and non-Arab came for him. 

He was overthrown in a coup by then defense minister, al Sisi, as Egyptian Muslims sat down at home watching TV. It was almost as if they felt they were doing Mursi a favour by voting for him and the Islamic party.

That was the first betrayal, leaving Mursi to face the insults and defamations of the rebels alone. 

The Muslims of Turkey learnt from this. When atheists and secularists attempted a coup on 15th July 2016, Turks poured onto the streets to defend their leaders and government. 

It wasn’t until the coup was announced that the Muslims of Egypt knew they had to come out to defend their government; it was too late.

All kinds of ludicrous and spurious allegations were leveled against Mursi just to keep him chained. All these, under the watch of the so-called OIC (Organization of Islamic Co-orperation). 

Only the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey stood solidly behind Mursi’s government; Iran spoke only little largely due to their falling out with Mursi over Bashar al Asad’s government in Syria.

The Second Betrayal
After the first two years of Mursi’s detention, the Muslim world went silent. Pro-Mursi rallies across the globe stopped, pro-Mursi warriors on social media went dormant, Masajid across the Muslim world that were constantly speaking against the atrocities in Egypt moved on to ‘other issues’, and even the Muslims who used to wake up for tahajjud just to pray for Mursi and the Muslims of Egypt went  back to their normal sleeping routines. 

Not even anniversaries of the overthrow were held.

Personally, I don’t remember making du’a for Mursi even once in the last Ramadan.

It is possible the Sisi regime saw this deafening silence as a green light to eliminate the head of the Egyptian Islamic revolution, Muhammad Mursi.

One has to have ambivalent feelings towards the events that have followed after the death of Muhammad Mursi was announced on 17th June 2019. 

All of a sudden, social media went on fire . The warriors were resurrected; showing their love and scorn for Mursi and Sisi respectively but, to what net gain?

Global pressure compels even the worst tyrant to acquiesce and listen. It turned out that the Muslim’s 1.8 billion population was of no use to Mursi.

We failed Muhammad Mursi, we can only pray for Allah’s forgiveness for indeed cowardice and laziness are very despicable qualities.

We should not forget that there are several members of the government of Muhammad Mursi who are still in chains under the Sisi regime, if we failed Mursi we should not fail the others too.

Prominent members of the Islamic government still in prison are:

• Mohammed Badie (Supreme guide of The Muslim Brotherhood)
• Mohamed Beltagy (Secretary of the Freedom And Justice Party)
• Mohammed Khairat Saad el-Shater (Deputy Supreme guide of The Muslim Brotherhood)
• Mohamed Saad Tawfik El-Katani (Speaker of the People’s Assembly)
• Essam Mohamed Hussein el-Erian (Vice chairman of Freedom and Justice Party)

To mention just a few.

May Allah grant ease to his loyal servants, Ameen.

Who Was The First Muslim To Die In Battle?

Ubaydah bin al-Harith was a relative and  companion of Muhammad (SAW).

Ubaydah was the son of Al-Harith bin Muttalib bin Abdmanaf bin Qusayy, hence a second cousin of Abd Allah bin

What Muslims Should Learn From Khashoggi

Late Jamal Khashoggi

World media has become inundated with name Jamal Khashoggi; an American resident Journalist from Saudi Arabia who was murdered by his own country. People have asked, what could it be about this man that made Saudi Arabia take the step of assassinating him?

Jamal Khashoggi was born to Ahmad Khashoggi and Esaaf Daftar in Madina in Saudi Arabia on 13th October 1958. 

Khashoggi received his elementary and secondary education in Saudi Arabia and obtained a BBA degree from Indiana State University in America in 1982. His religious views are mainstream Islamic views devoid of sectarian bias.

Khashoggi’s career as a journalist started in 1983 working as the regional Manager of Tihama Bookstores, his popularity in media surged in September 2017 when he became a columnist for the Washington post.

The upgrading of the status of Mohammed bin Salman to crown prince saw a dramatic change in Saudi policies from covert to overt. Relationships, deals and policies that were maintained and implemented in secrecy are now being exhibited for the world’s cameras. 

The massacres in Yemen intensified, arrests of Islamic clerics started, an Islamic scholar, Sheikh Suleiman Dweesh, was tortured to death in a Saudi prison to mention a few.

Jamal Khashoggi took to his duties as a Journalist which include speaking on behalf of those who cannot. In an article published on 11th September 2018 titled 'Saudi Arabia’s crown prince must restore dignity to his country — by ending Yemen’s cruel war', Khashoggi criticized the Saudi-led war on the people of Yemen. 

In another article titled 'Saudi Arabia wasn’t always this repressive. Now it’s unbearable' published on 18th September 2017, Khashoggi showed disdain for the state of freedom of expression in his country, Saudi Arabia.

On October 2^nd 2018, Jamal Khashoggi went to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain papers for his upcoming wedding; he never came out. On October 25th 2018 the Saudis finally admitted that Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate.

What they have refused to admit publicly is that he was assassinated on the orders of the King himself, Salman bin Saud, with his son MBS in position to take the fall.

Jamal Khashoggi was ardently abiding by the command of Allah: "O you who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest you swerve, and if you distort justice or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well-acquainted with all that you do." Suratul Nisa (4:135)

Khashoggi showed that being from a people, race, or nation should never be a reason to justify atrocities committed by them. Muhammad (SAW) said, "Whoever supports his people in oppression is like a dead camel that falls into a well and is pulled out by its tail".

Khashoggi didn’t even choose the option of silence, he stood his ground which had and still has solid scriptural backing even with knowledge that his life was in danger. 

Jamal Khashoggi was a soldier with a pen, a martyr. May Allah grant him the highest place in Jannah.

Tariq ibn Shihab reported: A man asked Muhammad (SAW) “What is the best jihad?” 

The Prophet said, “A word of truth in front of a tyrannical ruler.”

Muslims Defying Ulama: Giving Zakatul Fitr to Street Beggars

Muslim Street Beggars

Zakatul fitr is a compulsory charity that matured Muslims give to the poor either in the last three days of Ramadan or in the few hours preceding Salatul Eid. 

In recent years, scholars in Nigeria have been voicing their

Is Leroy Aziz Sane a Muslim?

Leroy Sane playing for Germany

The name ‘Leroy Sane’ began to make the rounds in the 2016/2017 season when the young ace made a 37 million pound move from Schalke 04 to English club, Manchester City, and has so far proven his worth winning the

MISCONCEPTION 15: Islam Belittles the Intelligence of Women

Male and Famale image

Points:

a) The testimony of women

b) The abilities of women are not considered

Letter to My Brother: Mehdi Hassan

Dear Brother,

I have always admired your abilities even though, I have had reasons to disagree with a number of

your views. A notable one is when you spoke to Mahatir Muhammad on UpFront before he became president of

Global Statistics: Muslim Women Are The Safest

Anti-Femicide march

Islam rightly boasts of granting women many rights a lot of which were granted to non Muslim women just in the last century, millions of women across the globe are still yet to gain these rights. These rights include widowhood rights, marriage rights, inheritance rights and a host of others.

Can Muslim Women Marry non-Muslim Men?

Interfaith Marriage

An Algerian woman named Zain Ameen posted on Twitter on March 5th that the Qur'an does not contain any verse that prohibits Muslim women from marrying non-Muslim men. She was trying to justify the 2017 move by the Algerian government to remove a long existing law that prohibited