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Intro to IFE
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Meadows of Paradise
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Press Statement: From the family of Shahara Islam |
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Ladies and gentleman,
?We are all from God and to Him we must all return.? (Qur?an, 2:157)
Today our dear daughter, cause of our joy and light of our eyes ? our Shahara is returning to her Lord ? an innocent and blood-stained martyr. She was an Eastender, a Londoner and British, but above all ? a true Muslim and proud to be so.
She was a simple girl, from a simple family who led a simple life. Unfortunately she was at the wrong place at the wrong time on that unfortunate day.
The flame of her life has been cruelly extinguished from this beautiful young woman in her prime, who had the whole world ahead of her. We are not finding it easy to come to terms to our immeasurable loss, our sorrow, our grief. It has been a painful week, not only for us, but for all those fellow Londoners who, like us, suffered similar loss of their dear ones, today our thoughts is with them all.
Yet, true to the teaching of Islam we face this calamity with dignity and patience, consoled by the Prophetic assurance that ?Allah compensates innocent victims with greater and nobler rewards?.
We take this opportunity to declare in no uncertain terms that Islam stands for the triumph of the humanity, peace and goodwill and utterly rejects mindless violence. If our supreme sacrifice results in unity and understanding in our society, it indeed will be a great reward.
May we also express our thanks and gratitude to all those fellow citizens, family and friends who have overwhelmed us with sincere condolences ? we are deeply touched and comforted by them at this most difficult time. We are grateful also to our community, the police and our Mosque here in East London for providing us with timely and valuable support.
Finally, we will request, very humbly, that our friends in the media respect Sahara?s dignity as a Muslim women and refrain from endless inquiry and analysis, some of which has already been found hopelessly inaccurate.
We would now wish to be allowed the space and the opportunity to mourn our loss without any further intrusion into the family?s privacy.
According to Islamic tradition, Shahara Islam will be laid to rest reciting the following Qur?anic prayer:
?From the [earth] did We create you, and to it shall you be returned. And from it [earth] you will be raised once again.? (Qur?an, 20:55)
Thank you
14:15 ? 15 July, 2005
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Article ref no: ATC252, 15 Jul 2005 |
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The Pilgrimage To Makkah |
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Never have I witnessed such sincere hospitality and overwhelming spirit of true brotherhood as is practiced by people of all colors and races here in this ancient Holy Land, the home of Abraham, Muhammad and all the other Prophets of the Holy Scriptures. For the past week, I have been utterly speechless and spellbound by the graciousness I see displayed all around me by people of all colors.
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