Bloggers On Blogging In Pakistan....!

I am not arrogant enough to assume that the world will change dramatically just because a few of us are writing blogs. On the other hand, I am convinced that at least for those few of us who write and read these things, a world with blogs is different from a world without – at the very least, it is different in how we interact with that world.

To blog, at least for me, is about conversation and about community. The magic moment comes when you realize that there are others out there who want to be part of your conversation of your community. For us at ATP, that has always been out motivation. This is why I chose the photogrpah above (I do not have a full reference for it, but it is an AKRSP photograph from the Gilgit area). The photograph too – just like blogging in general and certainlyATP – is about conversation and about community.

As I said during the show, at the very least this becomes a way of catharsis – But when your thoughts echo back to you and you realize that there is someone out there who is not only listening to you, but maybe even nodding their head. It is then that you realize that this is more than just bhaRass nikalna. And it can be – not yet, but one day – it can be much more.

Easy steps to bring a revolution..

How to bring a revolution in ten easy steps:-

1) For starters, wear a lot of sunscreen if you plan to bring a revolution in the summers (because skintone is if not more, as important as the said purpose itself).

2) Wear either Nike’s or Adidas sneakers, Servis joggers don’t cut it when the cause has so much international importance.

3) Make sure you keep your latest iPOD in handy so that when the Naara’s go out of tune, you can listen to revolutionary songs by Lady gaga and Justin Beiber. John Lennon? John Lennon who?

4) Eenie meenie minie mo between Imran Khan and Zaid Hamid, one is a confused apologist, the other is a state of the art fighter sent to the world to rid the world of all Zionists, regardless of their nationality.

5) Watch a lot of star plus before you go out in the scorching heat to fight for justice.

6) Believe that everything wrong in the country is because blackwater wants it to be wrong. Yes, your alarm clock didn’t go off in the morning because blackwater wanted you to be late for class so you couldn’t learn and bring change in the world.

7) Revolution doesn’t come overnight, so ask your mothers to pack you supplies for at least two days, sandwiches, lollipops, orange juice and a good bedtime story.

8) Go to protests with the opposite sex in numbers, because while you’re ridding the world of evil and social disorder, you might even score, how cool is that?

9) Before heading out, twitter, facebook, text message your friends that you’re going on the mission of your life and if you don’t return, they should forgive you for all the wrong doings that you’ve done and return an hour later and re-do the process with, “I almost died for the country”…

10) After the protest, tell everyone that the country has gone to the dogs and then take your dogs out for a walk in the evening.

Tale of FBISE and the Online Result Inquiry

The result if Secondary School Certificate (SSC) Part I of Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE) is out. It means that the tense wait for the class ninth students, who had appeared in their final exams under the flag of Federal Board, is now over. Their result is out and their fates that whether they passed or not are written.

The good thing is that FBISE has a web site from where the kids (and their parents and relatives and all) can check the result. The web site is http://www.fbise.edu.pk/. The result can be searched out based on the Roll Number, Student’s Full Name or through the name of the institution. This can save everybody time and hassle of waiting in physical queues in the markets or at the school premises.

Thinking all this I also happily accessed the web site to look for the result of an acquaintance. The ordeal I had to go through in doing this was tremendous. The first was the “Server is too busy” blow that I got on my initial access. I kept getting this for quite some time. When the page with a field to enter in a Roll Number along with a Submit button appeared, I forgot all my troubles and considered the worst to be over. I entered in the Roll Number and hit the Submit button, only to be put through the torture of witnessing an “in progress” cursor which eventually ended on a “run time error”. Darn web site!

I did not lose hope and kept on receiving the “busy server” and “run time errors” for more than an hour. During that time I had tried all my options of searching the result; i.e. via the Full Name, the Roll Number and even the name of the institute. Alas! I failed again and again and AGAIN.

Just when I was about to pull out my hair, scream and punch the monitor, I was greeted by a surprise. The result page of that kid had mysteriously appeared on my screen without any errors. I thanked my stars, noted down the result and hurried away from the horrid web site.

I request the FBISE personnel to kindly take notice of this and get the web site upgraded so that people can actually benefit from it without going bonkers.

Mahmud of Ghazni

Sabuktigin's son Mahmud inherited the throne at his father's death (AD 997). He needed vast amounts of money to protect his central Asian empire, which was very profitable because the trade routes from China to the west ran through it.
 Whoever controlled these roads could tax the merchants. Mahmud made his capital the most beautiful city in the world after Baghdad. Craftsmen from all over Asia were paid to build huge mosques, palaces, universities and libraries. He encouraged artists, scientist, writers and poets to settle there. Although he raided many lands, he was very ing and loved beauty, learning and knowledge, Mahmud fought for the Islamic faith and tried to spread it wherever he could.

The Civilization of Islam, Arts and Buildings

Buildings

The central structure of Islamic architecture is the mosque. The larger mosques usually have one or more domes, arches and tall slender minarets. Although often quite plain on the outside, inside they are generally full of light and colour. Unlike the holy buildings of most other religions (such as Christian churches), mosques contain no statues or pictures of God or the prophets because these are forbidden by Islam. Instead there are often brightly coloured geometric patterns of flowers, plants, abstract designs and above all, quotations from the Quran written in the Arabic script in many different styles. The floor is covered with rugs, and the walls pierced with patterned or stained glass windows in a variety of designs. This blaze of color many have begun in the earliest religious buildings in Arabia, thereby providing a pleasant change from an otherwise drab wold of dry dust, sand bare rock and heat.

Gardens

For the same reason gardens, plants and water have always been important in Islamic art, both in real life and in paintings. Richer people had enclosed gardens with fruit trees, shrubs and flower beds arranged in geometric shapes, and there were always fountains or streams of running water.

Even the homes of poorer people had, whenever possible, a few plants, shrubs or vines, often in posts arranged round a small pool. Many Muslim emperors relaxed not only by resting in gardens, but also by designing and cultivating them.

Textiles

Fabrics were an important part of Muslim art. As wooden furniture was not part of Islamic culture, people sat, ate and slept on cushions or rugs on the floor. There were woven hangings on the walls, too, and all of these were covered with the rich designs and colours that decorated the mosques. Textiles were also a very unlike ceramics, fragile jewellery or decorative articles, they were unbreakable, light  and easily carried. Today, carpets from Islamic countries are still the most highly=-prized in the world.

Painting

Early Muslim art was limited by the ban on the painting of people and animals. In strict theory, this ban still exists, especially in the illustration of sacred works. But gradually animals and human beings began to creep in to paintings particularly after the 12th century AD. These paintings were not hugs like the ones in Europe but were generally small or appeared as illustrations in books. These were usually found in the homes of wealthier people. The paintings of Persia and of Mughal India glow like jewels and are among the most beautiful ever created.

Literature

Poetry seems to be the natural language of the Arab peoples, and we saw (p. 20) how the tribesmen held poetry competitions at Makkah before the time of the Prophet (PBUH). This tradition has been kept alive to this day.

In the early days of Islam there were some prose works, but these dealt largely with religion and were often commentaries on the Quran. From the 8th Century AD, animal stories appeared but were used for teaching rather than for entertainment. Slowly people began writing books for pure enjoyment. These were often a mixture of poetry and prose. Many were love stories or 'novels' as we know them today.

Music

Although music has nothing to do with Muslim religious ritual prayers, it has been present in Muslim societies, and the Sufis also adopted different forms of it. All kinds of instruments harps, lutes, guitars, trumpets, flutes, tambourines, drums and castanets were used from early times as entertainment and for warlike purpose. Musical notes were not written down as they were in the west. The tunes were played from memory.

Working for Others

Once there lived an old farmer in a small village. One morning the old farmer was busy digging holes and planting young mango trees. The king Nowsherwan passed that way. He watched the old farmer at his work. He stopped there for a few minutes. The he said to the old man.


King:        How old are you?
Old man:  Sir, I am eighty five (85) years old.
King:        How long do you think you will live?
Old man:  "Sir, that is in the hands of God."
King:        "How long will it be before these young trees give fruits?"
Old man:  "Sir, it may take as long as ten
years."


King:        "Ten years! that is a long period. You must be a fool."
Old man:  (In a low voice). "Why, my lord"?
King:        "You will hardly live two or three years more. But, these trees will bear fruits. after ten years. You are taking the trouble to plant these tree, the fruit of which you can never eat."
Old man:  "not such a fool, my lord. I have eaten the fruit of those trees planted by my father and his father before him. In my return, I should plant trees to bear fruit for my sons and grand sons."
King:         "Good; very good. You have taught me a good lesson." The king gave the old man two hundred gold coins.
Old man:  (who was very pleased). "My lord. I have got golden fruit of my trees on the very day they are planted."
                   The king was still more pleased and gave the old man another handful of gold coins from his purse.

The Golden Touch

King Midas loved gold more than anything else in the world. His grteatest pleasure was counting it. One day he was visited by Bacchus (pronounced BACK-us), one of the Greek gods. Midas had once helped Bacchus and in return Bacchus offered him a gift. 'What can I give you,' he said, 'that would bring you happiness?'

Midas thought for a moment and then decided. 'Let everything I touch be turned to gold.' he asked.

Bacchus laughed loud and long when he heard this but he agreed. He told Midas that as soon as the sun rose next morning, he  would have the 'Golden Touch''. When Midas woke up the next day, he found Bacchus 
had kept his word.

The first thought that came to him was that the bedclothes seemed heavier and much less soft than usual. Looking at them, he realised that they had turned into gold! So had his pillows. He stretched out his hand and touched the bedposts. They, too, immediately became pillars of solid gold. He jumped out of bed with a glad cry. He had been given the Golden Touch!

As he dressed, his royal robes of crimson and purple changed to cloth of gold. When he moved about the room, footprints on the floor showed the same precious metal. His sandals, as he slipped his feet into them, became golden. Overjoyed, he went from room to room, rouching things here and there. One and all they were changed into gold. Hangings, rugs, chairs, and tables, even a bird in its cage -- his magic touch transformed them all.

Going into the garden, he breathed deeply the scent of the roses and lilies and the other flowers. How lovely they looked with the dew upon them! Midas touched them lightly, thinking to make them lovelier still. The scent and the colour faded; but to Midas, the golden blossoms on their stiff golden stems seemed much more beautiful then they were before.

Well content, and beginning to feel hungry, he returned to the palace. One the way he picked up a handful of small pebbies from the path and rejoiced to see how they at once became nuggets of pure gold. Still clutching them, he sat down to breakfast. If the servants thought their master's dress dull and colourless compared with his usual brightly hued robes, Midas at least did not guess their thoughts.

Breakfast looked and smelt delicious -- fresh bread, butter, honey, little trout fried to perfection, juice in a tall flagon. Midas set to with good appetite. Alas! Alas! The instant the food touched his lips it turned into gold! So did the juice. It seemed he could no longer eat or drink. He grew more and more unhappy. To add to his distress, one of his little daughters, his favourite child, came weeping to him, a golden rose in her hand.

'Look!' she sobbed. 'Something dreadful has happened to the roses. They are faded and yellow, and they have lost their sweet smell,

'But this is a golden rose,' exclaimed Midas. 'It will never fade. It is worth more than a thousand roses.'

'I don't care,' cried the child, stamping her foot. 'I hate it! I hate it!' She threw it from her and came to sit on her father's knee.

Saddened by his child's tears, Midas put his arms around her, truiong to comfort her. Then the terrible thing happened. The soft, warm little body became hard and cold. Instead of his darling daughter, Midas held a little golden statur in his arms.

Then indeed was he in despair. His servants came running on hearning his cries of grief, but he commanded them to keep away, saying thathe was accursed.  Clasping his little daughter, his lips pressed to her cold cheek, he groaned in anguish.

'Satisfied, friend Midas?' murmured the mocking voice that he remembered.

The king threw himself on his knees before the god. 'Take away this curse from me,' he implored. 'I was mad to ask for such a gift.'

'But surely now you have all the gold you desire,' the mocking voince continued. 'Are you still not content?'

'I had forgotten that there are things much more precious than gold,' said Midas sadly, 'my little daughter, the flowers she loved, friends, even a cup of cold water.' He buried his face in his hands and wept.

'You have learnt wisdom,' said Bacchus in a kinder voice. 'Your heart has not become as hard and unfeeling as your gold. Had that happened then indeed I could not have helped you. Go now to Pactolus, the river that flows past your garden. Bathe in it and its water shall wash the curse from you, and restore what you have already changed to gold.'

Midas lost no time in carrying out the command. Without pausing to remove his golden robes, he plunged into the stream. As he rose to the surface, spluttering and panting, he saw that once more he was clothed in his usual crimson and purple robes. Anxiously he touched a flower on the river bank. It remained unchanged. Eagerly he filled a pitcher with the healing water and hurried to the place where his little girl lay. He poured so much of the river water over her that she was astonished and gasped, as she sat up.

'Are you tryihng to drown me, Father?'

Together they went out intot he garden where they sprinkled the roses and the lilies and the other flowers. Together they rejoiced to see how the natural colours and perfumes came back to them.

It is said that the love of gold and the desire for it left Midas along with the Golden Touch. Certain it is the that he destroyed his treasure house and spent his treasure for the good of his people. As if to remind him of his folly, however, his daughter's hair never lost its golden colour, and it is true that the sands of that river have a golden tinge to this day.

The Count of Monte Cristo

This story of adventure by Frenchman, Alexandre Dumans, has always been popular with young people all over the world. It can be obtained in a simplified form as in the passage below.

It tells the story of Edmond Dantes, a French seaman in the ninteenth century. He had just been made Captain and was about to marry the beautiful Mercedes, when he was arrested by soldiers. Enemies had accused him of wishing to overthrow the King and bring Napoleon back to power. Although he was innocent, he was imprisoned in the dreadful Chateau d'If, a prison on a small island off the coast of France. There he stayed until he had lost all count of time.

Faria, a prisoner in another cell, dug a tunnnel into Dantes' cell and they tried to find a way of escaping. One day Faria died and Dantes decided on a bold, desperate 
plan. The guards hadput Faria's body into a sack and left him. Dantes took Faria's place in the sack. He decided to let the guards lay him in the grave and cover him with earth. Then, since it was night, as soon as they had gone, he would work his way through the earth and be free.

He is the story of his escape. If you want to know what happened next, you must read the story of his escape!

At last, at about the hour which the Governor had fixed, footsteps were heard outside Edmond felt that the great time had come. He must be brave now, braver than ever in his life before. They stopped at the door. He could hear two men. He heard them put down some wooden thing on which they were going to carry his body.

The door opened, and a dim light reached Dantes, eyes through the cloth which covered him. He saw two shadows draw near to his bed; another man with the lamp remained at the door. One man came to each end of the bed, and they took hold of the ends of the bag.

'He is heavy for an old and thin man,' said one, as he raised the head.

'They say that every years adds something to the weight of the bones,'said the other, lifting the feet.

'Have you tied it on?' asked the first speaker.

'What would be the use of carrying so much more wight,' was the reply. 'I can do that when we get there.'

'Yes, you are right,' answered the other.

'Tied it on. Tied what on?'' thought Dantes.

They put the supposed dead body on the carrier. Then the party moved up the steps, the  man with the lamp going in front. Suddenly Dantes felt the cold and fresh night air. The men went forward some twenty yards, then stopped, and put the body down.

One of them went away. Dantes heard the sound of his shoes on the sone.

'Where am I?' he asked himself.

'Really he is a heavy load!' said the other man, sitting down on the edge of the carrier.

For a minute Dantes thought of making his escape now; but he did not try to do so.

'Give me some light, you,' said the other fellow, 'or I shall not find what I am looking for.'

The man with the lamp did as he asked.

'What can he be looking for?' thought Edmond. 'Is it something to make the grave with?

But surely that must be ready?'

'Here it is. I've found it.'

The man came towards Edmond. He heard some heavy objesct laid down beside him. Then something was tied around his feet.

'Is that tied strongly enough?' asked the man who was looking on.

'Yes, that won't come off, I can tell you,' was the answer.

'Move on then.'

Dantes felt himself liftesd up again, and they moved some yards forward. They stopped to open a door; then forward agtain. The noise of the waves beating against the rocks came clearly to Dantes' ears.

'Bad weather,' said of the man; 'not a nice night for going the last journey.'

'Why, yes; old Faria won't be able to keep dry!' said the other; and both laughed loudly.

Dantes could not understand this; but his hair stood on end.

'Well, here we are at last,' said on of them.

'A little farther, a little farther,' said the other.

'You know very well that the last one was stopped on the way -- fell on the rocks -- and the Governor told us next day that we were careless fellows.'

They went up five or six more steps. Then Dantes felt them take him by the head and by the geet.

'One!' said the men. 'Two! Three -- and away!'

Then Dantes felt himself thrown into the air and he was falling, falling. His blood ran cold. He was being drawn quickly down by some heavy weight, yet it seemed to him as if the time was a hundred years. At last, with a fearful noise he entered the cold water. As he did so, he gave a cry, which was stopped at once by the cold water as it closed over him.

Dantes had been thrown into the sea, and was drawn down towards the bottom by a great stone tied to his feet.

The sea was the gavce of Chateau d'If.

Story: Gulliver in the Land of Little People

When the king of the little people heard about the Man-mountain, he ordered his men to bring Gulliver to him as soon as possible. The little people made a big carriage with hundred wheels. Eleven hundred of the strongest men lifted Gulliver on to the carriage and fourteen hundred of the kings fines horses pulled the carriage along. Gulliver was still asleep. Guards rode on horses on each side. Some carried bows and arrows. Other carried torches.

The king, the Queen and many thousand of the citizen came out to see

the Man-mountain. Most of them were friendly to him. The king who was very king, ordered his officers to take him to the biggest temple in the country. No house was big enough for Gulliver to live in. The king ordered his tailors to prepare a big bed. They got eight hundred beds and sewed them together.

For many months Gulliver lived happily among the little people. The king set four hundred cooks to make his food and four hundred tailors to sew new clothes for him. Six of the Kings wisest men taught him the language of the land.

One day, one of the little people came to Gulliver. He looked very sad. He said to Gulliver, "The people of nearby island across the sea are going to fight us. They have gathered their ships together to attack us".

Gulliver said, "I will help you." He swam across the water to enemy island. He saw the ships getting ready. He took pieces of ropes and tied a piece of rope to each ship. He pulled the ships back across the sea to his  friends. The king declared Gulliver a National Hero.

One day a small empty boat came floating to the shore. Gulliver filled it with food and said good bye to the King, Queen and the little people. He set sail for home. A big ship found him and carried him back to the England.

Honesty Always Pays

Aftab was the son of a poor father. His father was an honest man. He sent Aftab to school and advised him to work hard. He worked very hard. He was a good student. His teachers taught him with love. He passed hi matriculation Examination, securing very good marks. As his father was poor, he could not send him to college. Aftab looked for a job. He went to the manager of a factory. The manager found him intelligent and respectful. He gave him a job of a clerk in his office. Aftab worked very hard at the factory. His father advised him to work hard and be honest. The manager was very pleased with his work. Aftab continued to study after office hours. He passed his Intermediate examination securing high marks. He was promoted as cashier. He continued his studies. He did his B.A. and was promoted 
as accountant.

 One day the manager decided to test Aftab's honesty. He sent one of his trust worthy men to him. The man offered to pay a large sum of money to Aftab if he could pass bogus bills. Aftab refused to do so and turned him out of his office. The man went back and told the manager. The manager told the owner of the factory. The owner was also very pleased with Aftab and gave him a big rise in pay.

The owner of the factory was an old man. He had a daughter only. He decided to make Aftab his son-in-law.

The owner of the factory made him the manager of a new factory. After the death of his father-in-law, Aftab became the Managing Director of both the factories. He became one of the richest men. All this was the reward of his honesty. 

Clever Roofi

This is an old story. There lived a wood-cutter and his wife in a small village. They had seven children, all of them were boys. The wood-cutter and his wife were very poor. The children always felt hungry.

Roofi was the youngest son. He was small but he was very clever. The wood-cutter loved him very much. The wood-cutter had nothing to give to his family. There was nothing to eat for the last two days.

The following night the wood-cutter said to his wife. "We can no longer feed our children. I cannot see them dying with hunger. There is only one thing that we can do. We must take them to the forest and leave them there. May (be some) rich man finds them and takes them home. I hope, he will take better care of them." The poor woman began to 
cry. She was so full of sorrow to hear this. But, at llast she agreed to her husband's plan. After all, she could not see her children die of hunger.

As the wood-cutter and his wife were talking, the little Roofi was not sleeping. He heard every word that they said.

For some time Roofi lay thinking what would be the best thing to do. He got up quickly and crept out of the cottage and ran the forest. He filled his pockets there with small white stones. Then he ran back to the house and was in bed again.

Mother called for her sons, "We are all going to the forest. You must all help your father to collect the firewood. "The boys were very happy and they forgot about their hunger. In no time

A Wise Caliph Story

The Caliph Haroon ur Rashid was a wise ruler. He often dressed in the clothes of a working man and walked through the streets of Baghdad at night. He always went alone because he wanted to see himself how his people lived. If they knew he was the Caliph, they would not speak to him freely.

One day the Judge brought two men before him. One was a respectable man, the other was a beggar. They were holding between them a beautiful white horse. The judge said to the Caliph "O leader of the faithful! I have brought a dispute which I could not settle. Each of these men claims the horse to be his. I request you to decide the case."

The Caliph said. "It is not a difficult case." He ordered 
the well dressed man to say what the matter was.

The well dressed man came forward to said. " I shall speak the truth. I was riding this morning to the city. I saw the beggar limping along ahead to me. He requested me to give him a ride up to the city gate. As he was lame, I took pity on him. When we reached the city gate, I stopped the horse and turned round to help him to get down. He refused saying that it was his horse".

Then the beggar limped forward and said, "O leader of the faithful! you are the helper of the poor. Take pity on me and save me from the cruelty of this rich man. I swear on the Holy Book the Quran that horse belongs to me. This morning, I was coming to the city on my horse. I saw this man walking along the road. When I came near him, he requested me to lend him my horse for he was in great hurry to reach the city. I lent him my horse and sat behind him. As we reached the city gate, he asked me to get down and leave the horse to him".

The Caliph said. "This is a very easy case". He ordered the beggar to place his hand on the body of the horse. When the beggar touched the horse, it winced as it did not like his hand. Then the rich man touched the horse. The horse neighed with pleasure. The Caliph decided the case in favour of the rich man.

Then the Caliph said to the beggar. "You are a liar and a wicked man. You tried to rob an honest and respectable man. I forgive you this time, beg forgiveness to this man".

The rich man forgave the beggar and helped him with a hand full of gold coins. This noble action of the rich man pleased every on in the court.

The beginnings of Islam

Islam began in the 6th century AD in what is now Saudi Arabia. This country was and still is for the most part of harsh land of scorching sun, baking deserts and bare mountains interspersed with a few oases. As there was a little fertile and near the coast which lay on the trading routes between eastern Asia and he west, a few small towns developed there.

The Early Makkah

The people were mainly nomadic Arabs who wandered with their camels and goats searching for water and food and raided other tribes and the rare fertile areas. The Arabs of the time had a highly exchange of goods. The city of Makkah was at one of the trading crossroads of the world. There could be no united country under one ruler as the people were always moving from place to place, but they did share of language and had common interests in literature 
and poetry.

These people worshiped many different gods, usually connected with water, crops and nature, but over all of these was a single chief god called Allah. The most sacred shrine for all the tribes of Arabia was a windowless room built by Hazrat Ibrahim (S) which contained in one corner of black stone given to Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) by the angel Hazrat Jibrail (AS). In the holy month all the tribes migrated to Makkah to worship their different gods at the Kaabah and to hold competitions in reciting poetry.

The Teachings of Islam

The teaching of Islam are based on the Quran, the last of the great religious books following the Torah (Tourat) of Hazrat Musa (AS), the Psalms (Zuboor) of Hazrat Daud (AS) and the Testament (Injeel) of Hazrat Isa (AS). It conains God's commands and supersedes all the earlier books. Islam is based on five 'pillars' which uphold the faith:

(a) Testimony (shahadah). Every one must belive that there is only one God, Allah, who is all-powerful and knows everything. He created everything that exist, and Muhammad (PBUH) is His prophit.

(b) Pray (Salat). Muslims must pray formally five times each day. When they pray they must be clean in both and mind and must face the Kaaba.

(c) Pilgrimage (hajj). Every Muslim has to make a pilgrimage to Makkah at last once in a lifetime, providing that they have the health and financial resources. They should also make sacrifice. Those who cannot make the journey themselves owing to ill health or other valid reasons may have someone else do it for them.

(d) Fasting (sawm). In the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims must not eat
or drink anything between just before dawn and sunset.

(e) Giving alms (zakat). Every eligible Muslims must give a certain proportion of income to the community as an act of charity.

The Spread of Islam

Meanwhile Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) started to preach in Makkah and began to win, first his family, and then other people to Islam.

Because the leaders of Makkah felt that Islam threatened their power and their heathen religion, they began to persecute those who believed in Islam. Some of the believers even fled as far as Ethiopia to escape the dangers. Finally in AD 622 the situation  became so bad that Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) sent the families who believed in Islam, one at a time, to the town of Yathrib some 450 kilometres north of Makkah. However, he himself waited for the command of Allah to leave Makkah. Interestingly, the people of Yathrib had already invited theProphet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) to settle some disputes that had arisen there and promised to protect his followers. Meanwhile the people of Makkah noticed that the Muslims were leaving so they planned to assassinate the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). He then received a command from Allah to leave Makkah. The Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) migrated to Madinah. This event marks the turning point in the Muslim religion, and it was decided to reckon this, the Hijrah (migration), as year 1 in the Islamic Calendar.

The Spread of Islam

The first wave

Islam spread in two main waves. Within two years of the death of the Prophet (PBUH) the whole of Arabia had embraced Islam. Less than forty years later, Muslim armies had conquered Persia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Libya and much of the north African coast. There was then a pause in the conquests because a conflict arose between Mo'awiya and his supporters and the followers of Hazrat Ali (RA). The Umayyad leader Mo'awaiya emerged victorious and moved the capital of the Muslim world to damascus in Syria. He attacked the Byzantine empire in Asia Minor but was driven back. Soon afer, the second wave of Expansion began.

The second wave

The Muslim arimies rushed along the northern coast of Africa, crossed into Europe and occupied most of Spain. In the east 
they conqured large areas of cntral Asia and moved into India as far as the Indus. At the battle of Talas (AD 751), not far from the Russia-China border, the Chinese army was defeated and parts of western China became (and still are) Muslim. However, the scorching deserts and the distance from the home base put a limit on further expansion eastwards.

The advance in the west had halted a little earlier. Leaders all over the Islamic empire were struggling for power and independence. Abdulrrahaman, the Muslim commander in Spain, invaded France in AD 732 and advanced almost 500 kilometres northwards. He was approching the Frankish holy city of Tours when he was faced by an army of Frankish knights under their king, Charles Martel. The Muslim army was weary from the long journey and many of theri soldiers were sick, but after a week of skirmishing the two met in a savage, inconclusive battle that lasted all day. Following this inconclusive battle Abdurrahman retreated first to Spain, and then to north Africa where the Berber tribes were in rebellion. Eventually the ARab Ummayad dynasy was overthrown by the Abbasids, who moved the capital to Baghdad in AD 762. For the

The Mosque

The centre of Islamic worship is the mosque. Outside there is normally a courtyard where people often meet and discuss matters. There is a fountain or pool or a washing area where people perform wudu before they pray as a symbol of their spiritual cleanliness.

The Badshahi Mosque

The prayer hall is bare of furniture but if often carpeted because Muslims kneel on the floor to pray. The generally decorated oening (mihrab) shows the direction of
the Kaaba, towards which they must face as they pray. Near this is a raised stand (mibar) from which anyone (but usually a religious teacher) may address the woshippers, or make announcements.

Outside the mosque is one, or more, slender towers (minarets) from which a religious leader calls the people prayer at the five times laid down. The mosque also offers space for a variety of religious and social duties. Teaching and prayer can all take place there.