Yet more amazing pictures!

An amazing Sign! (AFP/Joel Saget)



The other post has been updated (again!) with a few more pictures. See the other post by clicking here.

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Third survivor found at sea!

He prayed: "Allah I seek your forgiveness and I seek your help for myself and my parents" and "Please give me life. Please give me life."



"I never got angry," Afrizal said. "I was grateful to be alive. The heat comes from God. The cold comes from God. Death and life also come from God."



Read the full story by clicking here.

Ari drifted on the Indian Ocean for two weeks, living on coconuts that he pried open with his teeth while floating on pieces of wood, then a broken boat, and finally a fishing raft.(AP Photo/Al Yamamah, HO)

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Reflections

Some reflections on the Tsunami:



An Audio by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf Hanson, an American Convert to Islam (please click here to listen - MP3 file)



An article by Imam Zaid Shakir, another American Convert to Islam (please click here to read the article)

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Propaganda

Some people, who have their own interests in mind, have been creating propaganda that the Muslims countries did not contribute as much as the non-Muslim countries to the victims of the Tsunami, even though many of the victims were Muslim.



The reality is that giving in charity is an Islamic obligation and when Muslims give, they do not give for the sake of publicity or fame and name, but to fulfil the command of God. So they will naturally not want to publicise what they have given to the extent of those countries who are giving just to get a good name in the media.



Here are a few things to bear in mind:

• Saudis responded enthusiastically to a telethon staged to raise money for victims of the Asian tsunami disaster, donating more than SR300 million ($82 million). (Arabnews)
• Tsunami Aid by OIC States Totals $561.7m (Article)
• �Saudi Arabia Highest Giver of Aid Per Capita� (Article)
• 'There are 20 nations who donate more than the US on a per-capita basis' (Interesting Link - please note that this does not take into account the final amounts donated by the Muslims countries, which increased in subsequent days, and nor does it take into account the donations by the general public, which was quite astounding in Muslim Countries.)
  
  

This is not in any way to take anything away from those non-muslims in non-muslim countries who gave without any selfish motives in mind. The charity by the normal people here in England was amazing! But really, why should we have to use a disater for any political mileage, as some segments of the media and press seem to do, using it as another chance to put-down Muslims in the eyes of the public?

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'Psuedo' Christians show true colours

Dozens of religious groups have moved in to Aceh, looking to help tsunami victims - and convert them and others, creating tensions in the disaster area.



The arrival of Western Christian groups with records of aggressive preaching risks confrontation with local Muslim leaders which could jeopardise the provision of aid to the 600,000 local people made homeless by the disaster. The death toll in Aceh stands at around 110,000 and is expected to rise.



Read the full article by clicking here. (From the Guardian Newspaper)

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Even in Sri Lanka!

It's not only in Indonesia! Even in Sri Lanka, the mosques remain as a Sign!

COLOMBO, 14 January 2005 � Despite heavy damages to men and materials, most of the mosques on the Western coast of the island were not affected as a result of the tsunami waves.



�Five of us were inside the mosque and we started reciting the Holy Qur�an when we noticed the waves becoming rough,� the mosque�s imam, Alim Alavi, told Arab News. �At the time the waves crashed, there were 47 students in the madrasa attached to the south wing of the mosque. They came running to me. I made them recite relevant stanzas from the Holy Qur�an which sought Almighty Allah�s protection from natural calamities,� Alavi added.



�I could see fishing trawlers drifting, buildings crumbling and even five-meter-high rocks floating. But the mosque stood unmoved despite the surging waves,� he recalled. �It was a miracle."



The Maggona Mosque, a couple of meters from the sea, was not even touched by the waves even though adjacent buildings on the Colombo-Galle Road have been severely damaged.

Read the full article by clicking here (ArabNews article, by Mohammed Rasooldeen)

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Pregnant woman finds her whole family!

As panic around them grew, her sister grabbed Haiwati's 10-year-old son and fled. Haiwati started running again with her terrified seven-year old boy, Sikno, but she was too weak and became separated from her sister. Seconds later the water caught up, washing her into the Lamteneung mosque.



She saw dozens of people clinging to the roof of the wooden village hall.



As the water rose, she lifted Sikno onto her shoulders. "Then I thought, 'okay, if I die at least I'll die with my boy," Haiwati said, Sikno standing shyly beside her.



At that moment, she said, a jerry can washed in through one of the mosque's windows and floated toward her.



"I had no energy left. I just stood there looking at it. Then I held onto it, with my son," she said.



"I guess yes, that was a miracle."

Read the full article by clicking here (Reuters article by Tomi Soetjipto)

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