Islam is the Way... Young British Muslims “more religious” – Poll

Young British Muslims are much more likely than their parents to follow the rules of the Islamic religion, a think tank survey showed.

Support for Sharia law, Islamic schools and wearing the Hijab is much stronger among younger Muslims, according to the survey by the centre-right Policy Exchange.

The survey of more than 1,000 Muslims from different age groups in the UK, found:

*71% of over-55s compared with 62% of 16 to 24-year-olds believe that they have as much, if not more, in common with non-Muslims in Britain than with Muslims abroad.

*19% of over-55s compared with 37% of 16 to 24-year-olds would prefer to send their children to Islamic state schools.

*17% of over-55s compared with 37% of 16 to 24-year-olds would prefer living under Sharia law than British law.

*28% of over-55s compared with 74% of 16 to 24-year-olds prefer Muslim women to choose to wear the Islamic headscarf.

However, the poll also found that 84% of Muslims believed they had been treated fairly in British society, while 28% thought that British authorities had gone "over the top" in trying not to offend Muslims.

The report’s lead author, Munira Mirza, blamed the policies of the British government for a growing split between Muslims and non-Muslims, urging ministers to engage with Muslims as citizens and stop emphasizing the differences between Muslims and non-Muslims.

"The emergence of a strong Muslim identity in Britain is, in part, a result of multicultural policies implemented since the 1980s, which have emphasized difference at the expense of shared national identity.

"Religiosity amongst younger Muslims is not about following their parents' cultural traditions, but rather, their interest in religion is more politicized.

"Islamist groups have gained influence at local and national level by playing the politics of identity and demanding for Muslims the 'right to be different'."

The Department for Communities and Local Government said the Commission on Integration and Cohesion was examining ways for communities to benefit from diversity and manage any tensions. It’s due to release its report later in the year.

Conservative leader David Cameron said the survey’s results were extremely worrying.

”It shows the extent to which multiculturalism has failed, because what the poll showed is that these young people feel more separated from Britain than their parents did," he told BBC News.

He said huge changes were needed to break down barriers of extremism, uncontrolled migration, poverty and poor education.

British Muslim leaders say the policies of the government after the 7/7 London bombings have "driven a wedge" between Muslims and the wider community rather than curb extremism, despite the authorities’ claims that they are trying to win the heart and minds of the country’s 1.8 million Muslims.

-- AJP and Agencies

How to Increase the Volume and Richness of Your Cellphone External Speaker

If you've ever been irritated by the tinniness of your cellphone external speaker, this How To is for you. Learn how to add volume and richness to your cellphone external speaker instantly and cheaply by building a "FunnelAmp"!!!

Steps

1. Find a small piece of paper, ideally, about 4x6 or even 8-1/2x11.
2. Roll it into a funnel shape, with a small end and a large end.
3. Hold the small end over your cellphone external speaker while it is turned on and you are listening to some boring conference call.
4. Hear the difference... Voila! It's miraculous and cheap!

Tips

• You might find that Funnel Amp makes your cellphone external speaker work too well. Turn down the volume a little so you don't pester nearby co-workers!
• You might find that this enhancement cramps your style. You might also find that it limits the "pocket-friendly" status of your cellular phone.

How to Decrypt Sony Encrypted DVDs

Sony DVDs are particularly hard to decrypt because of the extra layer of protection they use. In order to rip them, you must follow these steps:

Steps

1. Obtain a copy of RipIt4Me. You can find this by searching on Google. While you're at it, look for DVDdecrypter on MrBass.org.
2. Install DVDDecrypter FIRST. Then Extract and run Ripit4Me. Click on Wizard mode.
3. Follow the instructions. RipIt4Me will create a PSL (Protected Sectors List) and import it into DVDDecrypter and begin ripping.
4. Use DVDShrink to reduce the size of the movie unless you like paying 4 bucks a piece for Dual-Layer discs.

Tips

• Rip into ISO mode if possible (the newer version of Ripit4Me can handle this, or notify you if you have an older version)
• If you in File Mode, you'll need a copy of FixVTS to clean it up before importing into you DVD editing/burning software
• I recommend DVDShrink for creating the final ISO before burning if you ripped in File Mode
• If you want to be able to play the files on your computer you need to convert them using MediaCoder (Google for it)convert the .vob files to any format desired.

Warnings

• If you just burn the DVD files without using an appropriate program to create an ISO first, the DVD may only play on a computer.
• You'll know when a DVD is using Sony's copy protection: when ripping normally using DVDDecrypter, the rip will hang somwhere in the first 10%.
• If you imported the PSL into DVDDecrypter and the rip still seems to hang, DON'T CANCEL YET. The newer version of the copy-protection takes longer to recreate the protected sectors. You'll know because the message log will alternate between inserting and ripping sectors.

Things You'll Need

• DVDDecrypter
• RipIt4ME
• DVDShrink
• FixVTS (Optional)
• MediaCoder 0.5.1 (To Convert To Avi or MPEG-4)

Break a Bios Password

Have you ever been locked out of an old computer by a forgotten BIOS password? There's no need to get frustrated. It is relatively easy to bypass this safeguard.

Steps

1. Power off the computer and make sure that it is unplugged.
2. Open up your computer case. You need physical access to the motherboard to complete this procedure.
3. Find a circular, (mostly) silver metallic object on the motherboard. This is the CMOS battery.
4. CAREFULLY remove the CMOS battery and leave it out for about 120 seconds. This will flush the CMOS memory which stores the BIOS password and all other configuration. (See Warnings)
5. Set the battery back into place and power on the computer.
6. The computer should then warn you that the CMOS configuration could not be found. You can either reconfigure it yourself or restore defaults. Restoring the default configuration should be fine.
7. You will notice that the BIOS password has been cleared and you can boot without it. You may reset the BIOS password to something else by going into the BIOS configuration and setting a new User Password (The Supervisor Password controls access to the BIOS, NOT the computer!)

Tips

• Depending on the manufacturer of your motherboard, you may be able to use what it is called a "backdoor password" to bypass the password problem. Try looking at the external links for possible passwords.

Warnings

• In rare cases, the battery may be soldered into the motherboard and very difficult to remove. If this is true, you may need to find a jumper near the battery that achieves the same result. Do NOT guess which jumper it is. If it is not labeled, don't mess with it. You may risk damaging your computer.

How to Fix a Scratched CD

While compact discs (CDs) are remarkably durable, it’s nearly impossible to prevent scratches and scuffs from occurring from time to time. The resulting damage can be either a skip in your favorite Bob Marley track or, in the case of data CDs, the loss of that spreadsheet you worked on for two weeks. Don’t despair—repair! While commercial CD repair kits and CD refinishing machines are available, you may be able to repair the damage on your own with products you already have.

Steps

1. Clean the disc. Even if a CD isn’t actually scratched or scuffed, dust, oil, and other surface contaminants can prevent it from playing properly. Thus cleaning the disc should always be your first move. Run warm water over the damaged disc to remove dust. If there is stubborn dirt or grease on the disc, gently rub it with your finger while you are washing it, and use a gentle detergent or liquid soap (with the water) or rubbing alcohol (in place of water). Anytime you rub or wipe a CD, you should do so by starting at or near the center of the disc and rubbing straight outward toward the edge to prevent further scratching. Shake the water off and let the disc air-dry (do not dry it with a towel or cloth, and don't sun-dry it either).
2. Try to play the disc. Many times a good cleaning is all that is needed. If, however, problems persist after cleaning, try to play the disc in a different CD player. Some players handle scratches better than others; computer CD drives tend to be best.
3. Burn a new disc. If you can get the CD to work in one CD player—especially your computer’s—but not in others, try burning a new disc. The CD burning utility on your computer may be able to read the CD well enough to produce a perfect copy. You may wish to try this even if the CD doesn’t play correctly on the computer.
4. Locate the scratch. Actually repairing the disc will be easier if you can figure out where the offending scratch is. Visually inspect the CD’s playing surface for scratches or scuffs. Scratches that run perpendicular to the CD’s spiral—that is, those that run generally from the center to the rim—may not affect playing at all, and in any case are generally less damaging than those that roughly follow the direction of the spiral. If there are several scratches, but the CD only skips in one or two places, you may be able to approximate the location of the offending scratches based on which track skips. Keep in mind that the first track of a CD begins near the center, and the direction of play proceeds outward to the edge.
5. Polish the CD. Though counterintuitive, polishing a disc can repair a scratched CD by removing some of the outer plastic coating and thus making existing scratches shallower. A number of common household products can be used to polish the CD, but toothpaste—especially baking soda toothpaste—and Brasso are probably the most tried-and-true. You can also use a fine grit polishing compound that's used for cars or hard finishes. Apply a small amount of toothpaste (must be paste, not gel) or Brasso to a soft, clean, lint-free cloth: an eyeglass-cleaning cloth works well. Gently rub the cloth on the scratch or scuff in a radial motion (from inside to outside). Try to focus your efforts solely on the scratch or scratches you’ve identified (if possible). Polish in this manner for a couple of minutes, reapplying Brasso or toothpaste to the cloth as necessary. Be careful not to apply much pressure, although you will still be able to feel the cloth gently scratching the CD as it polishes.
6. Remove polishing product from disc. If you used toothpaste, rinse the disc thoroughly with warm water and let dry. Make sure to remove all of the toothpaste and let the disc dry completely before trying to play it. With Brasso, wipe off excess product and let the rest dry. Then, using a clean cloth, gently wipe disc again.
7. Test the disc. If the problem persists, polish again for up to 15 minutes or until the scratch is almost completely buffed out. The surface around the scratch should begin to look shiny with many tiny scratches. If you still don’t notice any difference after polishing for a few minutes, the scratch may be extremely deep, or you may be polishing the wrong scratch.
8. Wax the tracks. If polishing doesn’t work, apply a very thin coat of Vaseline, liquid car wax, neutral shoe polish or furniture wax to the CD’s playing surface. Wipe excess off using clean, soft, lint-free cloth in a radial (inside to outside) motion. If using wax, follow manufacturer’s instructions (some need to dry before you wipe them off, while others should be wiped off while still wet).
9. Test disc again. If the wax or Vaseline does the trick, burn a new copy of the CD immediately. The waxing method is only a temporary solution.
10. Bring the CD in to get refinished. If the disc still doesn’t play correctly, bring it in to a music store (especially one that sells used CDs) or a DVD rental store and ask if they can repair the disc for you. Many of these businesses have CD refinishing machines that do a remarkable job, and they’ll probably charge you less than five dollars to repair the CD.

Tips

• Severely damaged CDs may not be repairable. Very deep scratches will probably require an industrial-quality machine to repair, and cracks or scratches that reach the CD’s foil may render a CD forever useless. As a matter of fact, the Compact Disc Eraser (www.DiscEraser.com) adopts this method to securely destroy old or confidential CDs and DVDs. A great device to have if your backup or personal discs become outdated or no longer needed.
• To determine if the foil layer of your CD is scratched, hold the CD up to a fairly bright light and see if any pinholes are visible. Holes in the foil layer of a CD are generally not repairable, even for a professional.
• Practice repairing scratched CDs that you don’t care much about before you set out to repair your favorites.
• It’s a good idea to create a backup of any data disc before damage occurs.
• If a CD is scratched but continues to play correctly, make a backup, but don’t bother trying to repair it yet.
• Make sure the disc is indeed scratched. If the disc is not visibly scratched, the problem likely lies elsewhere. Other problems could be surface dirt or a malfunctioning CD player. The steps above should help you to clarify where the problem is.
• Deep gouges are not repairable. However, because of the way redundancy is used in the data on the disc and the way the data are distributed along the spiral track, cleaning a disc area away from a scratch can improve data recovery; a number of smaller defects distributed along the track can be as bad or worse than one larger defect.
• The polycarbonate bottom layer of the disk acts as a lens, which focuses a larger patch of laser light down to a smaller size needed to see the track on the data layer. This lets the laser look through some small imperfections on the plastic surface which are much larger than the track on the data layer. Removing a lot of plastic can affect the refractive property of the lens making the data unreadable. This means that even a visibly scuffed or spider-web of scratches may play well because, though the defects are visible to your eye, the laser sees around/through them. This is why waxing can help. A repair doesn't have to look perfectly polished to work.
• If the disc has important data on it, your best choice is probably to pay the money to get the disc repaired professionally before you try to repair it yourself. That way, you can make sure you don’t damage the CD any further in your repair attempts.
• A number of CD cleaning and repair kits are available for sale, but many users report that these don’t work any better than Brasso, and they’re far more expensive.
• To remove deep or stubborn scratches quickly, try using a dry “Mr. Clean Magic Eraser”. This is a sponge impregnated with a micro abrasive. Use light pressure, wiping from the center of the disk to the outside edge just as described with other polishing methods. The repaired area can be buffed until shiny using the other polishing or waxing techniques described.
• If you have a lot of discs to repair, you might want to buy a CD refinishing machine. These can cost as little as $25, but highly effective industrial machines cost anywhere from $300-6,000.

Warnings

• If you hold the CD up to a bright light to check for holes in the foil layer, remember not to stare at the light for long. A 60-100 Watt bulb should be more than enough to see pinholes in the foil layer. Do not use the sun!
• Keep in mind that it is possible to further damage a CD if you do this incorrectly (i.e. if you apply too much pressure while polishing or rub the CD in a circular motion).
• To prevent damage to your CD player, make sure CDs are completely dry and free of excess polishing products or waxes before you attempt to play them.
• If you are using Brasso, make sure to do so in a well-ventilated area, and avoid breathing in the fumes. Always read the safety instructions and warnings on any chemical product as many (such as rubbing alcohol) are flammable and / or can cause skin, eye, or respiratory irritation.
• When touching the CD do not use a circular pattern (like when a CD is spinning). Go from the inside to the outside in a perfect line so you prevent data loss.
• When polishing the disc, make sure the surface upon which the disc is laid is flat and firm but not hard or abrasive. Data is stored on the foil or dye layers on the top of the disc (label side) and the protective top layer is very thin by comparison to the polycarbonate plastic bottom layer you will polish. The thin top layer can easily be scratched or perforated. If this happens the data is lost forever as it is not repairable by any means. Pressing on disc upon too soft a surface may crack it or cause it to delaminate.

Things You'll Need

• Clean, soft, lint-free cloth
• Water (or rubbing alcohol)
• Brasso metal polisher, fine polishing compound or toothpaste
• Liquid car wax or Vaseline (optional)

Muslim woman police officer in UK sparks row for refusing handshake

Muslim woman police officer in UK had refused to shake hands with London's police chief during a graduation ceremony last month due to her religious beliefs, sparking a new debate in Britain over the integration of Muslims into the majority-Christian British society, Police said Sunday.

“Ordinarily the (police force) would not tolerate such requests. This request was only granted ... to ensure the smooth running of what is one of the most important events in an officer’s career,” said a Metropolitan Police spokeswoman, noting that the incident, which sparked top-level discussions at Scotland Yard, is still being looked into by the force.

She pointed out that the officer has completed all basic training, including the safety course "which requires recruits to come into physical contact with each other regardless of gender".

The incident occurred during a passing-out parade where Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair was inspecting a line-up of 200 recruits.

The woman, whose identity hadn’t been revealed yet, asked to be excused from the customary handshake with Metropolitan Police Commissioner during the ceremony, arguing her religious beliefs prohibited her from touching a foreign man.

She also refused to be photographed with him, justifying that by saying that she doesn’t want the picture to be used for ‘propaganda purposes’.

A senior police source said: “Before Sir Ian arrived she told her training supervisor that she was not going to shake his hand because it was against her religion.

“She also said she did not want her picture taken with the commissioner because they would only use it for propaganda.

“Sir Ian was informed on his arrival of the officer’s request.

The woman described as ‘a non-Asian Muslim’, who wore a traditional Muslim Hijab, could be sacked if it is considered that her religious beliefs will stand as an obstacle in her performing as an effective police officer.

But senior commanders raised concerns over the possibility of sacking the woman, who's assigned to a West London police station as a beat bobby after having completed her 18 weeks’ initial training, as it would increase the growing mistrust between the police and the Muslim community.

-- AJP and agencies

Sharp increase of Germans embracing Islam

A new Interior Ministry-sponsored study on Muslim life in Germany has found a noticeable surge in the number of Germans embracing Islam, according to the weekly Der Spiegel.

According to the study, conducted by the Islam-Archive Central Institute, based in the western town of Soest, the number of conversions between July 2004 and June 2005 reached 4,000, four times as many as in the prior period.

Salim Abdullah who heads the institute said that most of those who converted to Islam have been women and well-educated, stressing an interesting point that each time the German media launches a new campaign aimed at defaming Muslims, more people convert to Islam.

Mohammad Herzog, a Berlin-based Muslim leader, couldn’t cite a particular reason behind such increase in the number of Muslim converts, but he said that many of those who newly embraced Islam have been former devout Christians who had cast doubts about their faith.

There are approximately 3.5 million Muslims in Germany, the large majority of which is of Turkish and Yugoslavian origin.

Among the organizations that represent German Muslims, the Central Council on Muslims and the Islamic Council.

Like other Muslim communities in the West, Muslims living in Germany continue to suffer anti-Muslim discrimination that surged noticeably following September 11 attacks on the United States.

--AJP and agencies

HP congress bans religious conversions

The Congress government in Himachal Pradesh has quietly passed an anti-conversion law despite a written assurance by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to Christian organisations earlier that she had personally directed her party members to challenge similar laws passed by the BJP governments in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill was passed during the four-day winter session of the state legislature on December 29, while most Christians were still celebrating Christmas and the New Year.

The BJP in the state welcomed the bill, which is a first for the Congress Party.

The bill was passed very quietly, with the Congress leadership in New Delhi also silent about the decision of chief minister Virbhadra Singh to pass this anti-conversion law.

http://www.chennaionline.com/colnews/newsitem.asp?NEWSID=%7B26103823-0C4D-418F-9BCF-C83D4FD0E25A%7D&CATEGORYNAME=NATIONAL

Historical origin of the "Trinity" myth

In "The New Catholic Encyclopedia" (Bearing the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur, indicating official approval) we get a glimpse of how the concept of the Trinity was not introduced into Christianity until close to four hundred years after Jesus (pbuh):

".......It is difficult in the second half of the 20th century to offer a clear, objective and straightforward account of the revelation, doctrinal evolution, and theological elaboration of the Mystery of the trinity. Trinitarian discussion, Roman Catholic as well as other, present a somewhat unsteady silhouette. Two things have happened. There is the recognition on the part of exegetes and Biblical theologians, including a constantly growing number of Roman Catholics, that one should not speak of Trinitarianism in the New Testament without serious qualification. There is also the closely parallel recognition on the part of historians of dogma and systematic theologians that when one does speak of an unqualified Trinitarianism, one has moved from the period of Christian origins to, say, the last quadrant of the 4th century. It was only then that what might be called the definitive Trinitarian dogma 'One God in three Persons' became thoroughly assimilated into Christian life and thought ... it was the product of 3 centuries of doctrinal development" (emphasis added).

"The New Catholic Encyclopedia," Volume XIV, p. 295

http://wings.buffalo.edu/sa/muslim/library/jesus-say/ch1.2.5.html
http://members.aol.com/IslamTeam/trinity1.htm