SANTOS ADVENTURE AND HIS LIFE

The Story of Mystery The End of 2011

2012-01-08T20:57:00.000-08:00

The end of December 2011, when the night comes, there's a week my friend comes home. Then, a new show at the time the nine nights. When would you like to enter the House suddenly my friend was shocked by some of the apparitions he saw that a pocong and kuntilanak. Simultaneously he shocked continues to go into my room. Then my friend contacted a friend of his who was able to repel the creatures. After waiting for about 30 minutes he finally came. He came up with a friend. When about to go home all of a sudden he intercepted the occupants supra 112. As if my friend is not allowed to go home. Finally my friend could overcome the appearance of supernatural beings with science prodigy.

Then we took the discussion along. One of my friend said her home should be cleaned of supernatural beings residents. My friend who also has the ability to more story to us all if the House I inhabit was grave, the massacre of the criminals there and buried his remains were only granted on the ground around the House that I inhabit. After discussion it was show time at 10 pm.

Finally my friend agreed house cleaning from residents-residents of the evil supernatural still living at home. My friend asked the media to be prepared in salt and cooking oil sparingly placed above a dinner plate. Then my friend looking for a place on the terrace behind the House to do meditation. After that he started to meditate and recite the prayers. We waited for him to meditate to time shows at 2 am in the morning. Once in a while I saw my friend burning paper that reads the spell inscribed with Arabic letters are already in the pray for last while mixed with salt, media and cooking oil that I put above the plate. When you're done meditating and praying, then the media have been burnt and mixed with salt and oil were turned into black ash. Then, my friend asked sprinkled ashes prayer last throughout the home that I inhabit. Upon completion of Eve home seemed cool, not hot anymore.

My friend said that the House has completed fenced in. Only certain people can see the invisible fence. My friend said that fence was installed in the form of supernatural light in the form of x-rays. when there is an unseen evil beings who are willing to approach the House that I inhabit, these creatures will run out of fear will burn down the drain because of the strength of the fence.

About Pocong Ngesot Movie

2011-07-11T09:21:00.000-07:00

Asep naive country boy but a very confident, challenged to find a decent job, to marry his beloved sweetheart, Lilis. Because, her father Lilis, Abah Dading never agree daughter only child in touch with Asep. Because it works only Asep herding buffalo and plow the fields. Her father wanted to marry a college student who is believed to have a bright future.

For the sake of proving himself capable of being successful and wealthy, Asep decided to go to the big city. Arriving in town, Asep lived in a rented house with swollen, Bonar, and Wanda. Asep do fast motion by filing job applications to various companies armed with his high school diploma. Confusion and despair began to hit Asep. Moreover Lilis got word that her father had found a rich man for her life companion. Lilis doesn't want to lose him. Eventually Asep urged to quickly get a decent job. Because, she had make an agreement with the direction that if within a period of 3 months Asep has not got a job, Asep willing to give up and accept her choice of Lilis father's proposal.

Meanwhile, Asep not also get a job and confusion finally Bonar and swelled the same shaman told Asep consultation. The Shamans also recommends Asep Nyepi in a tamarind tree (banyan tree) which is believed sacred. A shaman also provides a record of spells that must be read during Nyepi in a tamarind tree was sacred. Shamans are also reminded that the offerings were taken should be complete without one any less.

After doing Nyepi in sacred tamarind tree, strange happenings and even disturbing Asep ridiculous. Somehow, Asep often visited by an apparition of pocong ngesot. And not just Asep, swollen, Bonar, Wanda, Devina and Pretty pocong ngesot also disturbed appearance. Chaos is inevitable. The work is expected to Asep soon gained after undergoing penance and seclusion in a tamarind tree, is also still not there. In fact, Asep has had the misfortune continues. Not only that, each came to be applied to the company, Asep evicted for no apparent reason.
Finally, Asep and his friends went to another place which is believed sacred tamarind tree and apologized to the guardian spirits of the tree. Wanda suddenly possessed. When possessed, wanda unwittingly opened a secret murder of a widow named Susie that her spirit is curious to pocong ngesot result killed her boyfriend. As smart, good at keeping the carcass, someday surely will smell as well. Eventually they live their lives as they should.

Ichi

2011-05-02T23:25:00.000-07:00

Ichi is a Goze (female entertainer), but she was expelled from her group because she did not intentionally kill her guest when he wanted to rape her. After she was expelled to wander to establish his own life. Ichi though a blind woman she then roam around a small area that is Bito with her shamisen (Japanese three-stringed guitar), turns out she had extraordinary abilities. She could play the shamisen from blessing to learn from her biological mother. She also studied the sword from a mysterious blind man she saw as her father. With her sword she fought against the yakuza and other criminals with lively. The arrival of a beautiful woman carrying a shamisen (three-stringed guitar) to the Bito it attracts a lot of people there. It did not take long to know that beautiful girl was blind and soon exploited the fact that three hoodlums who intend to do evil.
However, a blind girl named Ichi (Haruka Ayase) is not a random girl. In a short time the three young men had made overwhelmed by Ichi swordsmanship. Since small-Ichi who live alone was always visited by a mysterious blind man who taught him swordsmanship one hand. And when the mystery man was no longer coming, Ichi determined to seek man she considered his father's. Due Ichi-hooligan hooligan finish it, finally arrested by the plotters Banki Ichi the fact that the hoodlums who killed Ichi is a member Banki. In actual prison Ichi met the man who considered his father's mysterious. Ichi and mysterious man who considered his father are both not knowing if they actually are in a prisoner in jail. Because the same situation is dying Ichi did not know if the time freed by the Toma while his father still in prison and eventually died of her illness.
That said, the loss of a mysterious man who is actually a Zatoichi is nothing to do with Banki (Shido Nakamura) and his gang in power in the area. Now Ichi and her new friend, Toma Fujihira (Takao Osawa), must prepare for battle with hordes of Banki. There was no Ichi feel the seeds of love that began to blossom when Ichi together with Toma. When Toma eventually dying and dead in the battle against gangs Banki, Ichi angry and rise up to fight to avenge her lover. Toraji Shirakawa (Yosuke Kubozuka) as a friend Ichi stand watching rage against Bangkito. Toraji sure if Ichi will definitely win. Facts prove that the battle ultimately won by Ichi. With his sword the ringleader Banki eventually killed by Ichi.
As might be expected from its title, this movie is the spin of the classic Zatoichi. Although not explicitly shown, but implied that the old man who trained swordsman Ichi play sword is legendary. His story is still not far from the standard story of Japanese swordsman though there are other nuances that try to offer the director through this film.
If the Zatoichi usually depicted as a blind swordsman who is always happy and spend time having fun, Ichi is described more murky. Nuances of color face looks sad Haruka Ayase, who played Ichi. Although hue Ichi's face be seen surrounded by a lot of willingness, she does have a very brave soul. Ichi The story is quite unique because it is not usually round Zatoichi bring nuances that bleak. It's a bit distorted but that's where the value of strength were compared.
Fumihiko Sori, the director, also further strengthen the impression of sadness and loneliness of this with a few times taking pictures of snow-covered landscape. And more interestingly, the sword fighting scene depicted is very short but nicely laid out so that makes this a visual treat as well as dramatic feels so real.

Coyo Spring (Sendang Coyo)

2011-03-27T17:50:00.000-07:00

The location of the Coyo spring is in the Mlowokarangtalun Village, Pulokulon District approximately 26 km to the east of Purwodadi. To achieve these tourist sites there are two paths that can be achieved, namely through the district and village Wirosari Danyang. Spring coyo is located in the forest of pulokulon district. Coyo spring water is very clear and trusted by the people bathing in the spring if it is then a shower would be ageless.

Api Abadi Mrapen (Eternal Flame)

2011-03-26T16:02:00.000-07:00

Visiting the attractions of Natural Fire Mrapen is not hard because this tourist attraction is located alongside a highway Purwodadi - Semarang. Mrapen (Api Abadi Mrapen) is the name of eternal flame that came out from the soil (stone). This natural phenomenon is located at Manggarmas village, Godong, Purwodadi Grobogan district, Central Java, Indonesia. This flame never died although there are rain and winds.

Many great sport events took flame from this place to fire the torch, such as PON (Indonesian National Sport Week) and GANEFO sport party on 1 November 1963। The flame is also used to celebrate Waisak or Vesak.

Not far from the location of the fire raged there is a stone weight, which according to the local population is believed to be able to grant all requests anyone who could lift the rock while seated. Stone itself is located in a cupola and locked tight. From outside we could still see rocks from the window glass are available. When I tried to look inside, look at all the sacred stone, seen with a sprinkling of flowers setaman on the rock and the smell of perfume that still smelled from outside the door slowly.
Besides the stone weights, in the Eternal Fire tourist sites there are also Mrapen small pond with green water and its gelegak water in the middle. It is not hot because the air bubbles coming from the gas in the soil. Explosion of gas / water bubbles it will burn when exposed to fire, maybe the gas is a gas similar to that of the Natural Fire Mrapen. From the results of research in the laboratory proved Dudo Spring water

According to legend, supposedly eternal fire came after Sunan Kalijaga stuck his stick into the ground. At that time, Sunan Kalijaga with their followers is doing a long trip and stay in the Village Mrapen. That night, many of his followers felt cold. Feeling pity, Islamic religious leaders were then stuck his stick into the ground. When the rod disconnected out of the fire never extinguished. Because it comes from the word meaning hearth furnace, the eternal flame was called mrapen.
Sunan Kalijaga On the other day asked for a keris heritage on Supa professor who lived not far from Spring Dudo. As the Mayor submit material for iron ore pellets hazelnut. Seeing such a small material Supa professor laughed because how could such a small metal can to be used as a keris heritage. Apparently the professor Supa forget that he faced was a Sunan Kalijaga the magic. Small iron over the fire that burned natural mrapen it turned out to be forged increasingly large fluffy. Supa masters quickly bring it to the spring smoldering iron Dudo to dipped into it to cool.
Once-hot iron inserted into the spring water that had been tanang Spring Dudo and clear all of a sudden menggelepak like boil and turn into turbid. Whether it is because the heat of a burning iron it or because the efficacy of the candidate's keris that later after the so called Kiai Sengkelat.
Since that event Dudo Spring water continues to boil like boiling though still cold.

The Wave

2011-02-06T20:52:00.000-08:00

A beautiful red-rock on the border of Arizona and Utah, The Wave is made from sand dune 190-million years has been turned into stone. This place looks like Wave Rock in Australia. But where this formation is not much known only accessible by foot through the increase of three miles and very organized.

Antelope Canyon

2011-02-06T20:42:00.000-08:00

Places most visited and photographed the canyon in the American Southwest, Antelope Canyon is located on Navajo land near Page, Arizona.
This canyon includes two separate, photogenic slot canyon sections, referred to as Upper Antelope Canyon individual - or "Crack" - and Lower Antelope Canyon - or "bottle opener."

Navajo name for Upper Antelope Canyon is Tse bighanilini ', which means "place where water flows through the rocks." Antelope Canyon is lower Hasdestwazi, or "spiral rock arches." Both are located in Chapter LeChee Navajo Nation.

Great Blue Hole

2011-02-06T20:40:00.000-08:00

This is part of the Lighthouse Reef System, The Great Blue Hole is located about 60 miles outside the mainland of Belize City. A large almost perfectly circular hole approximately one quarter of a mile (0.4 km) in, it's one of the most astounding dive sites to be found anywhere on earth.
In this hole, the water is 480 feet (145 m) deep and it is the depth of water that gives a dark blue color that causes such structures throughout the world known as the "blue hole."

Crystal Cave of the Giants

2011-02-06T20:37:00.000-08:00

This place is found deep inside a mine in southern Chihuahua Mexico. These crystals form in a natural cave totally enclosed in bedrock. Spectacular crystal cave full of tall pine trees, and in some cases the larger the circle, their colors like gold and silver are translucent and have a wonderful shape.
Crystal Cave of Giants found in the same limestone body. -zinc-silver ore bodies exploited by the mining of lead and may be dissolved by the same hydrothermal fluids that deposited the metals with the gypsum being crystallized during the phase of reduced mineralization.

Eye of the Sahara

2011-02-06T20:33:00.000-08:00

This is indeed spectacular landform in Mauritania in the southwestern part of the Sahara desert that is so big with a diameter of 30 miles visible from space.
Richat structure called - or Eye Sahara - formation was originally thought to be caused by a meteorite impact but now geologists believe is a product of the removal and erosion. The cause of a circle remains a mystery until now.

Blue Lake Cave

2011-02-06T20:27:00.000-08:00

In Brazil, especially the quiet town of Bonito offers many marvelous underground lakes: Gruta do Lago Azul ".
The one that became famous in the world is "Gruta do Lago Azul" (Blue Lake Cave) is a natural monument formed by the interior stalactites, stalagmites and a huge and beautiful blue lakes from this lake. Something that impressive. The Blue Lake Wave has various geological formations and very impressive, especially for blue water in it.

Giants Causeway

2011-02-06T20:23:00.000-08:00

Area of about 40,000 basalt columns each, the Giants Causeway is the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. Located in north-east coast of Northern Ireland, most of the hexagonal-shaped columns, although there is also a rectangular, pentagon, heptagon and octagon. The world is rich in magic.
The highest about 12 meters (36 feet) high, and lava crust on a cliff 28 meters thick in some places. In a 2005 poll of Radio Times readers, the causeway was named as the fourth greatest natural wonder in the United Kingdom.

Hell Gate

2011-02-06T20:19:00.000-08:00

Its called by locals Door to Hell, this place in Uzbekistan is located near the small town Darvaz. The fire that burns inside the hole will continue to remain lit even if drenched by rain water. When the geologists who do drilling for gas, 35 years ago, suddenly they found an underground cavern is so big.
No one dared to go there because the cave was filled with gas, so they lit it so that no poisonous gas could come out of the hole, and since then, has been on fire. No one knows how many tons of excellent gas is burned for years, but it seems to be unlimited.

Wave Rock

2011-02-06T20:11:00.000-08:00

One of the wonders of the world's most unique is the Wave Rock. The Wave Rock is a natural rock formation located in Western Australia. As the name of this stone shaped like a breaking ocean wave height. The extent of covering several hectares; Wave Rock has a height of about 15 meters long and about 110 meters.
One aspect of the Wave Rock is rarely shown in the photo is a retaining wall about half a stone. It follows the contours and allows rainwater will be collected in a dam. It was built in 1951 by the Department of Public Works.

Chocolate Hills

2011-02-06T20:05:00.000-08:00

In Philippine there are chocolate hills that consisting of about 1268 cone-shaped hills that have the same size, area of more than 50 square kilometers (20 square miles), geological formation is very unusual, called the Chocolate Hills, located in Bohol, Philippines. There are several hypotheses about the formation of the hills.

These include weathering limestone hills simple, sub-marine volcanism, which lifted from the seabed and a new theory which states that it is an active volcano that destroyed ancient, then spit a large stone which is then covered with limestone and then pushed out from the base sea.

The Strong Guy From England

2010-12-08T07:54:00.000-08:00

Excess John Evans, a British guy is he can balance the object or objects to balance the weight on his head like a brick, people, books and drink beer and even a car.
With almost 2 meters tall and weighs 155.7 kg, John already broke 30 world records in 11 different categories. One of the most deadly is his record of balancing a car that weighs about 159.6 kg above his head. John broke the record balance the car at The London Studios, UK, on May 24, 1999 for 33 seconds.

As the record-breaking version of the Guinness Book, John was the only person who frequently appeared on the show on TV Guinness, Guinness Primetime. Because the ability of John Evans, John frequently travels the world, such as appear 2 times on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
He also has appeared in French, Portuguese, Italy, Austria, Germany, Spain, Holland, Sweden, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, Korea, China and Hong Kong. When will he be about to Indonesia? I never knew about that.

The Car That Can Fly

2010-12-08T07:32:00.000-08:00

When I was a child I always confidented that the time will come when there will be a revolution in the drive for human beings. Probably still a very long time to imagine the cars that can fly like a science fiction film style in the movie Minority Report for example, but the car that can fly pretty much already made and really can walk and fly. Although the runway should look first to fly and land, but the car named Terrafugia Transition seems really OK . The concept originally was "roadable aircraft" or aircraft that can walk on the street, the wings can be folded, so not a car that can fly.

In America where the plane made it, it seems quite feasible to use, but if in a small town like Samarinda solid nan, it seems impossible can be taken as normal kenadaraan. But I will follow the continued development of technology on this one, who knows really could revolutionize the way we live.

Eruptive events of mount merapi

2010-11-08T05:19:00.000-08:00

On Monday afternoon 25 October 2010 Merapi erupted three times, spewing lava down its southern and southeastern slopes. Three major eruptions were recorded at 14:04, 14:24 and 15:15.[5] On 25 October 222 volcanic seismic events and 454 avalanche seismic events were recorded by Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation monitoring staff at Merapi.

The eruptions on 26 October started at 17:02. By 18:54 pyroclastic activity had begun to subside following 12 eruption associated events being recorded by CVGHM monitors. In the 24 hours of 26 October 232 volcanic seismic events, 269 avalanche seismic events, 4 lava flow seismic events and 6 heat clouds were recorded by Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation monitoring staff at Merapi. The eruptive events of 26 October were classified as an explosive event with volcanic bursts of ejected material, visible flame and pyroclastic hot air flows. A column of smoke rose from the top to a vertical distance of 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) from the summit of the Mount Merapi.

On Friday 29 October eruptive activity included lava ejection with hot ash clouds reported to be flowing 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) down the slopes of the mountain and lasting four to nine minutes. Ash falls reached as far as the Central Java town of Magelang. Scientists monitoring the volcano including Surono, chief of the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) were optimistic that the volcanic activity should decrease following the release of lava. Safari Dwiyono, a scientist monitoring Mt. Merapi for 15 years, said the volcanic activity appeared to be easing pressure behind a lava dome that had formed in the crater.

By early on the morning of Saturday 30 October the volcano was erupting again. Sri Sumarti, head of the Merapi section at the Volcano Investigation and Technology Development Institution (BPPTK), reported the eruptions were louder and stronger than the eruptions of the 26 October. Those earlier eruptions on the previous Tuesday killed 34 people. Ash from the eruptions on 30 October fell more than 30 kilometres (19 mi) away and now included ash falls upon the city of Yogyakarta. Soldiers and police posted nearest the volcano were seen fleeing along with hundreds of residents quickly clogging roads with cars and motorcycles. Black soot fell across a vast area. The morning eruptions lasted for 22 minutes and heat clouds flowed into the Krasak and Boyong Rivers also rising 3.5 kilometres (11,000 ft) into the air, westward toward Magelang. Yogyakarta’s Adisucipto Airport was temporarily closed from 05:00 to 07:00. On 30 October, Subandrio, head of the BPPTK suggested there would be further eruptions as lava continued to push it's way up into the volcano's lave dome.

On 3 November heat clouds travelled up to 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) away from the eruption forcing the government to evacuate people from within the refugee camps set up to accommodate those already dislocated by the volcano. Eruptions on the afternoon of Wednesday 3 November followed a morning eruption that sent hot gas clouds down the volcano's slopes. The volcano spewed clouds of ash and gas 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) into the sky for more than an hour on 3 November. The eruptions of that day were reported as being the largest since the eruptions commenced.

Surono, head of Indonesia's vulcanology agency announced on 3 November that he was moving the shelters to 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) away from the summit. Speaking on Indonesia's Metro TV network he said, "this is the first time that the eruption has continued for more than an hour, so I decided to move the shelters to 15 km away from the summit". The shelters had previously been set up 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) away. Surono added that the energy from the eruption on 3 November was three times greater than that of the first eruption in the previous week.[23] Bambang Ervan, a spokesman from the Transportation Ministry, said an official warning had been issued to all airlines to “use alternative routes for safety reasons due to the volcanic ash.” From 2 November several airlines including Garuda, AirAsia and Silkair international flights to both Yogyakarta and Solo were either suspended or re-routed due to the eruptive activity.

Heavy rain during the night of 3-4 November triggered lahars with mixtures of water and rock debris cascading down the Kuning, Gendol, Woro, Boyong, Krasak and Opak rivers on the slopes of the volcano. A bridge was destroyed and riverbanks damaged. The eruption at 05:55 on the morning of 4 November was reported as being five times stronger than the initial eruption on 26 October 2010. On 4 November Merapi had been erupting for 24 hours without stopping. Heat clouds of 600 to 800 degrees Celsius spread as far as 11.5 kilometers from the crater reaching toward the edge of the then 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) exclusion zone, and lava flowed into the mountain’s rivers.

Merapi erupted early on Friday 5 November 2010. Volcanic ash fell at Cangkringan village and its surroundings 10 kilometres (6.2 mi). Due to continuous large eruptions, the government extended the safety zone to 20 kilometres (12 mi) radius and Yogyakarta's airport was closed again for 3 hours in the morning.[26][27] Volcanologists reported the eruptions of Friday 5 November to be the biggest since the 1870s and officials announced by loudspeaker that the mountain's danger zone had been expanded to 20 kilometers from the crater. Bronggang, a village 15 kilometers from the crater, had streets blanketed by ash up to 30-centimeters deep. By 5 November more than 100,000 people had been evacuated and the scientists monitoring the events were withdrawn from their posts to a safer distance.

By Saturday, 6 November the eruptions and ash falls in the surrounding area of Central Java had led to the increase in prices of many vegetables, such as potatoes and water spinach . Schools were reported closed up to 120 kilometres (75 mi) west of Yogyakarta.[29] The Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation observation outposts reported high intensity ash falls on the slopes of Mt Merapi. At 23:51 a flash of smoke, hot air winds and flames as high as 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) occurred to the west, north and to the east.[30] The Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation observation outposts reported high intensity ash falls on the slopes of Mt Merapi. At 23:51 a flash of smoke, hot air winds and flames as high as 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) occurred to the west, north and to the east.

On Sunday, 7 November at 03:02 hot ash clouds flowed in the direction Gendol and Woro rivers. Volcanic earthquake and hot ash cloud events were reported to have increased from the previous day.

The story about mount merapi

2010-11-08T05:16:00.000-08:00

Mount Merapi is the site of a very active volcano monitoring program. Seismic monitoring began in 1924, with some of the volcano monitoring stations lasting until the present. The Babadan (northwest location), Selo (in the saddle between Merbabu and Merapi), and Plawangan monitoring stations have been updated with equipment over the decades since establishment. During the 1950s and early 1960s some of the stations were starved of equipment and funds, but after the 1970s considerable improvement occurred with the supply of new equipment. Some of the pre-1930 observation posts were destroyed by the 1930 eruption, and newer posts were re-located. Similarly after the 1994 eruption, the Plawangan post and equipment were moved into Kaliurang as a response to the threat of danger to the volcanological personnel at the higher point.

The eruption of 1930 was found to have been preceded by a large earthquake swarm. The network of 8 seismographs currently around the volcano allow volcanologists to accurately pinpoint the hypocentres of tremors and quakes.

A zone in which no quakes originate is found about 1.5 km below the summit, and is thought to be the location of the magma reservoir which feeds the eruptions.

Other measurements taken on the volcano include magnetic measurements and tilt measurements. Small changes in the local magnetic field have been found to coincide with eruptions, and tilt measurements reveal the inflation of the volcano caused when the magma chambers beneath it is filling up.

Lahars (a type of mudflow of pyroclastic material and water) are an important hazard on the mountain, and are caused by rain remobilizing pyroclastic flow deposits. Lahars can be detected seismically, as they cause a high-frequency seismic signal. Observations have found that about 50 mm of rain per hour is the threshold above which lahars are often generated.

The Roro Anteng and Joko Seger story

2010-10-03T09:38:00.000-07:00

Javanese folklore has it that during the 15th century, Princess Roro Anteng (daughter of the Majapahit King Brawijaya) and her husband Joko Seger fled marauding Islamic forces, ending up in safety at Mount Bromo. Here they developed a new kingdom, and named it Teng-ger using parts of their respective surnames.

The Kingdom of Tengger prospered and their religion flourished, but the royal couple were unable to produce an heir to the throne. In desperation they prayed and meditated on Bromo for many days before the crater opened and the almighty god Hyang Widi Wasa announced that they would be given children, with the condition that the last borne was to be sacrificed back to the mountain.

No less than 25 children were produced, but many years later Roro and Joko broke the condition and refused to sacrifice their last borne, Prince Kesuma. A dreadful eruption of Bromo followed and swallowed Kesuma into the crater. To appease the great God, Kesuma's brothers and sisters held an offering ceremony at the crater once every year, and this still happens today — the famous Upacara Kasada held on the full moon of the 12th month (Kasada) of the Tenggerese calendar.

Bali is the best Island in Indonesia

2010-10-03T09:30:00.000-07:00

Bali, is the Best Island Travel and Leisure 2010 The award presented in the show "World's Best Award 2010" in New York, Wednesday afternoon (21 / 7). Hotel Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran also received an award for the category of "World Best Hotel Spas in Asia 2010". Determination of winning this annual award was obtained through the survey results during the period December 15, 2009 until March 31, 2010 to experience travel magazine Travel + Leisure readers based on several criteria. Meet the criteria, the island of Bali as the best because its natural state is uniformly attractive (both mountain and coastal areas), tourism objects are diverse and spread out, the availability of restaurants / food (international and local) and local people are friendly to visitors.

Relationship between arbitrage arguments and expectation

2010-10-01T18:36:00.000-07:00

The expectation based relationship will also hold in a no-arbitrage setting when we take expectations with respect to the risk-neutral probability.
In other words: a futures price is martingale with respect to the risk-neutral probability. With this pricing rule, a speculator is expected to break even when the futures market fairly prices the deliverable commodity.

Early theories about life

2010-09-29T10:41:00.000-07:00

Some of the earliest theories of life were materialist, holding that all that exists is matter, and that all life is merely a complex form or arrangement of matter. Empedocles (430 B.C.) argued that every thing in the universe is made up of a combination of four eternal 'elements' or 'roots of all': earth, water, air, and fire. All change is explained by the arrangement and rearrangement of these four elements. The various forms of life are caused by an appropriate mixture of elements. For example, growth in plants is explained by the natural downward movement of earth and the natural upward movement of fire.

The meaning of love

2010-09-29T10:36:00.000-07:00

Love is the emotion of strong affection and personal attachment.[1] In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. In religious context, love is not just a virtue, but the basis for all being ("God is love"[2]), and the foundation for all divine law (Golden Rule).

The word love can refer to a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes, ranging from generic pleasure ("I loved that meal") to intense interpersonal attraction ("I love my wife"). "Love" can also refer specifically to the passionate desire and intimacy of romantic love, to the sexual love of eros (cf. Greek words for love), to the emotional closeness of familial love, or to the platonic love that defines friendship,[3] to the profound oneness or devotion of religious love. [4] This diversity of uses and meanings, combined with the complexity of the feelings involved, makes love unusually difficult to consistently define, even compared to other emotional states.

Love in its various forms acts as a major facilitator of interpersonal relationships and, owing to its central psychological importance, is one of the most common themes in the creative arts.

Cycle of Opposites Argument

2010-09-29T10:27:00.001-07:00

Plato based his arguments on the basic observation that everything in nature appears because of the two opposite forces which are already expressed on a subatomic level। What is known as the Yin and Yang is found on all levels of our material world. We find it as negative and positive, hot and cold, electron and proton, good and evil, just and unjust, up and down, and so on. If someone becomes unjust or evil, he must have been a good or just person before he turned bad, otherwise he was already bad and could not have turned bad. If someone turns into a good and just person, he must have been the opposite before. If something gets cold it must have been hot before. One enters sleep after being awake and vice versa.

Encyclopaedia Britannica 15th edition

2010-09-29T10:24:00.000-07:00

Soul: an immaterial principle or aspect that, with the body, constitutes the human person। The soul has also been conceived as the very essence of a thing and not a mere aspect or part.

Although now closely associated with such terms as mind, spirit, or self, with which it has become almost synonymous, the basic connotation of soul in ancient and primitive societies was life. Soul is the life of the body. ... At death the soul leaves the body, and all bodily processes cease.

Ghost Woman From Pasuruan

2010-09-28T19:18:00.000-07:00

Ghost Of A Woman abstract WHO makes the Arctic bank Pasuruan commotion was declared as citizens acquire a face like a cat. The woman consistently comes up with a shirt and has a atramentous abounding posture.

Some Ridho affiliation said if the beastly was never credible acid a ninja-style। "There's akin adventitious to activity with the creature," he said। Residents said he was abashed in the aftermost Few weeks. Ronda malampun done continuously. The bogeyman of issues actualization from the breach to mouth. The bogeyman annual there is' a woman got from Pasir Panjang Village, Desa Wates, District of winding.

BLEDUG KUWU

2010-07-22T09:08:00.000-07:00

The Indonesian natural resources are rich for its diversity in nature and culture. There are a lot of tourist spot; one of them is Bledug kuwu which is located in Purwodadi, central java.

The place is very unique; it is different from any other tourist object, it is named Bledug Kuwu. In United Stated there’s Salt Lake which came from the silting up of the sea and changed into land. In present time this land use as a testing place for the fastest vehicle in the world. It is different from the one that we have in Indonesia. It is also a nature wonder which no other countries have, it is called Bledug Kuwu. It is located in Kluwu village, kradenan district, Grobogan province. It is named Bledug Kuwu because of its sound that periodically make an explosion sound like Bledug (like an explosion of an artillery from the distance), from the mud bubble together with the coming out of the smoke, gases, and salty water. Through that process it became a land which it was from the bottom of the sea and now it became a mainland that reaches 53 meters height from the sea surfaces. The wide is 45 ha with the minimum temperature of 31° Celsius.

To be able to reach this place, we have to travel through the ground way from Semarang through Purwodadi until reaching the Kluwu village. During the journey we can see beautiful and fertile scenery of the nature, the spread of green rice fields and the blue sky. The beautiful view of the hills so fascinating so that the journey to this place won’t be quite boring, despite our eyes will be widely open and amaze by the scenery of the nature that green and amazing

When we reach this place there’s a distinction view which is opposite with the view that we saw on the way to get this place. During the journey we can see the beautiful view but when we reach to this place it is so fallow and unfertile. But this kind of condition make this place so special because there is two kinds of conditions that opposite from one to another. Meanwhile we enjoy ourselves with the beauty of the nature; we also can see the local people who earn money as a salt farmer. From the source of salty water of Bledug Kuwu the farmer make it into kitchen salt. The quality of the salt from this area is very popular and it is written down in the history of Surakarta Royal Palace. It can be prove by the statement from the local people. In this area there are small mountains which on top of them let out a yellow mud.

Bledug Kuwu has its own specialty, if you see from the geological site, Dr. AJ Panekoek, stated that all lands that consist of Bledug is belong to alluvial plains (sediment soil or silting up soil) together with the explosion of Bledug, smokes, gases and salty water will come out from it. The sound of explosion happened because the coming out of the volcano which form into mud with grey color or dark grey but if this liquid mix with water it will become white. If you silt up this water eventually it will become lime land. It used to be sea that changed into land because of the erosion of the lime mountain, so the land consists of lime.

THE STORY OF MY LOVE

2010-07-04T21:18:00.000-07:00

When we held fortieth days of my passing father away, I invited my friend Nyaman to come to my home in order that he could also give his praying to my father’s soul. After we finished our praying together he hung his cellular up and phoned some one. That one was a girl. He acquainted that girl by a phone to me. Then, I spoke each other with the girl. We share about ourselves. I know that girl is a widow, but without a child. The Indonesian usually called it “janda kembang”. Her name is Kuatningsih. That is an unique name according to me.

Kuatningsih lived in Sambirejo, Wirosari. It located in Purwodadi, a small town near Semarang. Sambirejo is one of a small village in central java. After fortieth days of my father was over, in the next three days when I was in Semarang she phoned me and said that she wanted meet me in Semarang. Then, we met at Jasa Raharja office in Semarang. We talked each other about something. She is a beautiful kind girl. In fact, we really love each other. Maybe God sent that girl to me. After we met from that office, she said goodbye to me home. Yeah, at last we parted. I also backed to my boarding home and she went home by bus.

In the next day, I got phone from Nyaman. He asked me that: “Hey...Dude, yesterday you had been met with Ningsih?” Of course, I replied it. Then he told me that she never answered my messages and hung up his callings after she met me. Yeah, I knew that he was jealous with me. He also asked me to keep me away from her without gave me his true reason. I just ignored it. In the next day, Nyaman has been threatening my girl by phone. He said to her that she had to stop our relationship. If she won’t obey him he wanted to use black magic to break our relationship. That’s so cruel. After Nyaman threat my girl, in the evening, he also called me by phone then he said the same words to me.

In the night day, I visited my first brother home in order that I could share my problems with him. Then, he gave me some advices to me in order not to let Nyaman call me and my girl anymore. He also said that to me in order to propose marriage to my girl after she wants to finish her bill of divorce. Then, I changed my number phone because of my first brother’s suggestion. I also shared my problems with my brother in law. So, we decided to fight and against all odds together. Oh, thanks God, I hope that she is the true girl who am I searching for. I never differed that she is a girl or widow. I just only knew that she is much loved and kind to me. Hopefully, we can live in a harmony and she is my real marriage partner in this world until in the next hereafter. Amin.

NO BODY KNEW WHEN MY FATHER WANTED TO SAY GOODBYE

2010-07-04T21:10:00.000-07:00

On May, 2^nd 2010, my father was gone. Whereas, we knew that he was still walking around our neighbor in that morning. In the evening after my mother did her afternoon prayer (ashar) like usual, suddenly my father was screaming and calling my mother. My mother was surprised then she came in my father. She told him: “What’s happened dad… My father said that:” My head felt very dizzy …”replied my father. Then my father had fainted for a moment.

After that a nurse came to my home. She examined my father and gave some medicines to my father. Then he got up from his unconsciousness for a while. After my mother did sunset prayer (maghrib) she would take a plate but she stopped it…she walked up to my father and she wanted to ask for him in order to have a dinner together. But, when my mother wanted to touch his back and wanted give some messages to him in fact my father couldn’t breathe anymore. Then my mother called my brother in law to come in. Unfortunately, my father was passing away. No body knew when my father wanted to say goodbye to us. Everyone was very sad at that time. I also couldn’t hide my sadness anymore.

About 11 p.m., I left Semarang and took a trip to Purwodadi with my nephew. About 11 a.m. my father took to the cemetery in the next day. Most of our families and relatives accompanied his body until his resting place. After we buried my father in the grave we went home together.

My father only gave some wills to my first brother in order to live in a harmony together, if we had some troubles we must solve together with our family members, etc. Yeah, that is the journey of life. We’ll never know when we will die. So just count your deeds when ever you are. In order that you don’t feel regret when God will suck your deeds in the next hereafter. You can believe it or not that just depends on your self. If you are a good Muslim, I think that you will trust it.

Met a Kuntilanak

2010-03-16T10:58:00.000-07:00

On the Thursday night, by March 2010, my friend Tofik came to my house like as usual. At that night we planned to go to warnet together. We wanted to use our facebook finding a new friend and gave a comment at the walls of our facebook’s friends. After we felt satisfied to use our facebook we decided home to my house. When we would get closer at my house, suddenly Tofik saw a long hair girl who wore white costume. She was standing around taxi area and she just kept silent. Tofik felt afraid, and he straight asked for me to enter my house immediately.

Then we entered home, we calmed down each other by talking another thing in order that we wouldn’t afraid anymore. When I felt very sleepy I would try to close my eyes but Tofik asked me in order not to sleep at first, I told him: “Fik, I want to sleep because I’m sleepy right now”. He forbade me not to sleep, because if you slept there would a ghost in your dream. After he said that to me, I worried to sleep. At last I couldn’t sleep, but whenever I looked at Tofik….yeah….he was sleeping, then I decided to go out from home. I would like to share our story to Mr. Abdul and his friend our security. I left Tofik all alone when he was still sleeping at home. After I shared our story with Mr. Abdul and his friend they said that they also had ever been met same kuntilanak before us. I also talked funny stories with Mr. Abdul. Suddenly, Tofik followed me and came to me. He would get permission to me that he wanted go home because the time is shown 03.30 a.m. When the Subuh pray came I did my pray then I try to continue my sleep again.

Prophet Muhammad's Birthday

2010-02-26T23:52:00.000-08:00

Milad-un Nabi or Maulid (Mawlid) is the birthday celebration of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (s.a.s.) and is celebrated by Muslims as Eid-e Milad. Prophet Muhammad was born Arabia in the city of Mecca on the 12th day of Rabi-ul-Awwal, which was Monday the 20th day of April, 571 A.C. This falls on Saturday May 25, 2002 and fell on June 4th last year (2001). This is also his death anniversary. The occasion is celebrated by remembering the favors bestowed on the ummah (community), the first is the revelation of the Holy Quran with its instructions, the second, the institution of an Everliving Guide who would advise the mu'mins (believers) according to the needs of the time. This is why Ismailis are called Ibn'ul Waqt (children of the time) as they are guided by the Imam of the time, Noor Mowlana Shah Karim Al Hussayni Hazar Imam (salwaat), His Highness the Aga Khan. He is the 49th Imam descended from the Holy Prophet's daughter, Fatima and Hazrat Ali (a.s.). For Shia Muslims, this occasion is of even more import and full of symbolism as this was also his death anniversary and, therefore, it endorses the Hablillah (Rope of Imamat) wherein Prophet Muhammad had chosen Hazrat Ali as his successor at Gadhir-e Khumm. What I am trying to say is that, this more than a coincidence. Prophet Muhammad's birthday coincided with his physical passing as was ordained by God. Hazrat Ali took over the spiritual reins from him and this chain has continued to the present. In every jomma (period of Imamat) the previous Imam appoints the following Imam and even though the previous Imam passes away physically, which could be a day of mourning, the ummah rejoices at the installation of the new Imam as the Covenant (promise of the Light of Allah) continues.

Regarding this, Mowlana Sultan Mahomed Shah (a.s.) said in one of his sermons:

We (the Imams) change the physical bodies in the world but our Noor (Divine Light) is eternal and comes from the very beginning. You should therefore take it as one Noor. The Noor (Light of Allah) is ever present, only the names are different. The Throne of the Imamat of Mowlana Murtaza Ali (a.s.) continues on and will remain till the Day of Judgment." (source: Ilm, Vol. 3, No. 2 - November 1977 pg 22)

The Eid-e Milad and Eid-e Gadhir are two very important celebrations for Shia Muslims. On this day every year, believers gather to recite special prayers for thanksgiving to Allah for sending Prophet Muhammad as a mercy to all nations, and speeches and lectures are made about the seerat (life) and instructions of the Holy Prophet. Poetry in the form of naats are recited and after the prayers, sweets are distributed and perfume is sprinkled or applied on everyone. The ladies and children gather for the mehndi (henna) application and everyone wears beautiful clothes for the occasion. Children get money or gifts and in East Africa we used to go to a fete, Eid Mela (fun fair) organized on this occasion by community members and we could ride on the swing merry-go round on which as children we had great fun.

In countries with Muslim concentration, the celebrations go on for the first twelve days of the month called Barah Wafah (twelve days before passing) and there are conferences and mehfils (gatherings) everyday.

Our beloved Prophet offers humanity a perfect example in all facets of life. The Holy Quran declares: "Verily, you have in the messenger of Allah, a most beautiful model (Uswa al-Hassanah)." Laqad kana lakum fee rasooli Allahi oswatun hasanatun Quran 33:21

Prophet Muhammad lived among his people and taught them about the belief in one God, ethics in everyday life and the importance of education in leading an exemplary life. In this regard, some of his famous sayings are "Seek knowledge even unto China", "acquire knowledge, for he who acquires it performs an act of piety; he who speaks of knowledge, praises God: he who seeks it, adores God." He also declared: "The ink of the scholar is more precious than the blood of the martyr."

Mowlana Sultan Mahomed Shah stressed this message of Prophet Muhammad and maintained that Islam by its very nature was dynamic and not rigid and spiritual faith should advance with along with material progress. In his Message to the World of Islam, he said:

"Formalism and verbal interpretation of the teachings of the Prophet are in absolute contradiction with his whole life history. We must accept his Divine Message as the channel of our union with the 'Absolute' and the 'Infinite' and once our spiritual faith is firmly established, fearlessly go forward by self sacrifice, by courage and by application to raise the scientific, the economic, the political and the social position of Muslims to a place of equality with Christian Europe and America.

"Our social customs, our daily work, our constant efforts, must be tuned up, must be brought into line with the highest form of possible civilization. At its greatest period Islam was at the head of science, was at the head of knowledge, was in the advance line of political, philosophical and literary thought."

Addressing the Seerat Conference, our beloved Mowlana Hazar Imam advised the Muslim World to make the Prophet's life the beacon light for achieving a truly modern and dynamic Islamic society. He said:

"The Holy Prophet's life gives us every fundamental guideline that we require to resolve the problem as successfully as our human minds and intellects can visualize. His example of integrity, loyalty, honesty, generosity, both of means and of time his solicitude for the poor, the weak and the sick, his steadfastness in friendship, his humility in success, his magnanimity in victory, his simplicity, his wisdom in conceiving new solutions for problems which could not be solved by traditional methods, without affecting the fundamental concepts of Islam, surely, all these are foundations which correctly understood and sincerely interpreted, must enable us to conceive what should be a truly modern and dynamic Islamic society in the years ahead."

His life and achievements are so wonderful and expansive that I cannot cover them in this short article and for this reason, I urge you to peruse the links at the bottom of this page for more material.

The following excerpts have been provided by my good friend, Courtney Kirshner, who encouraged me to get this article up even though I missed the birthday deadline this year. They are taken from Annemarie Schimmel's Mystical Dimensions of Islam:

"As early as the late eleventh century, and generally from the twelfth century on, the veneration of the Prophet assumed a visible form in the celebration of the maulid, his birthday, on 12 Rabi' ul-awwal, the third month of the Muslim lunar year. This day is still celebrated in the Muslim world. The number of poems written for this festive occasion in all Islamic languages is beyond reckoning. From the easter end of the Muslim world to the west the maulid is a wonderful occasion for the pious to show their warm love of the Prophet in songs, poems, and prayers." Page 216

The next material is from Schimmel's book "And Muhammad is His Messenger" it has a whole chapter devoted to this topic!

"It seems that the tendency to celebrate the memory of Muhammad's birthday on a larger and more festive scale emerged first in Egypt during the Fatimid Era (969-1171). This is logical, for the Fatimids claim to be the Prophet's decendants through his daughter Fatima. The Egyptian historian Maqrizi (d.1442) basing his account on Fatimid sources. It was apparently an occasion in which mainly scholars and the religious establishment participated. They listened to sermons, and sweets, particularly honey, the Prophet's favorite, were distributed; the poor received alms." page 145

The earliest Arabic sources, basing their claims on Koranic epithets like sirajun munir, a 'shining lamp,' tell that a light radiated from Amina's womb with the arrival of the newborn Proghet. Hassan ibn Thabit [poet, contemporary of Muhammad who joined him in Medina and eulogized important events in the Muslim community] sings in his dirge for Muhammad that his mother Amina of blessed memory had born him in a happy hour in which there went forth "a light which illuminated the world"

It is not surprising that this spiritual light was soon given material reality in the accounts of the Prophet's birth, as can be seen first in Ibn Sa'd's historical work in the ninth century. Yunus Emre [turkish sunni poet d.1321] sings like numerous poets in his succession in Turkey, Iran, and India:

"The world was all submersed in light
In the night of Muhammad's birth." page 149-150

"The first comprehensive work about the Prophet's birth, as far as one knows, was composed by the Andalusian author Ibn Dihya, who had participated in the festive maulid in Arbela in 1207. Written in prose with a concluding poetical economium , his work has the characteristic title Kitab at-tanwir fi maulid as-siraj al-munir (The Book of Illumination about the Birth of the Luminous Lamp), in which the light-mysticism associated with Muhammad is evident. Two Hanabilites, Ibn al-Jauzi and, a century and half later, Ibn Kathir, devoted treatises to the maulid. Poetical works about this important event were also composed relatively early." page 152

"Ibn al-Jauzi, without doubt a serious, critical theologian of Hanbalite persuasion and not a mystical poet - wrote in his maulid book, which is the first of this kind:

When Muhammad was born, angels proclaimed with high and low voices. Gabriel came with the good tidings, and the Throne trembled. The houris came out of their castles, and fragrance spread. Ridwan [the keeper of the gates of Paradise] was addressed: "Adorn the highest Paradise, remove the curtain from the Palace, send a flock of birds from the birds of Eden to Amina's dwelling place that they may drip a pearl each form their beaks," And when Muhammad was born, Amina saw a light, which illuminated the palaces of Bostra. The angels surrounded her and spread out their wings. The rows of angels, singing praise, descended and filled hill and dale." page 150

"It is also important to remember that Muhammad was born free from all bodily impurities." page 152

"The conviction that a maulud [song of the Prophet's birth] has a blessing power is not peculiar to Turkish Muslims. Its baraka is acknowledged everywhere in the Muslim world...From the Middle Ages onward it was believed that the recitation of the maulud would grant the listeners not only worldly but also heavenly reward." page 255-256

Celebrating Valentine's Day

2010-02-05T00:01:00.000-08:00

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his family and companions. Allah has chosen for us Islam as our religion and He will not accept any other religion from anyone, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers" [Aal ‘Imraan 3:85]

And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told us that groups of his ummah would follow the enemies of Allah in some of their rituals and customs, as it says in the hadeeth of Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), who narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “You will certainly follow the ways of those who came before you, span by span, cubit by cubit, until even if they were to enter a lizard’s hole, you would follow them.” We said, “O Messenger of Allah, (do you mean) the Jews and Christians?” He said, “Who else? !” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari in al-I’tisaam bi’l-Kitaab wa’l-Sunnah, Baab Qawl al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) La tattabi’unna Sanan man kaana qablakum, 8/151; and by Muslim in Kitaab al-‘Ilm, Baab Ittibaa’ Sanan al-Yahood wa’l-Nasaara, 4/ 2054)

What the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) spoke of has indeed come to pass and has become widespread in recent times, in many of the Muslim countries. Many of the Muslims follow the enemies of Allah in many of their customs and ways of behaving, and imitate them in some of their rituals and in celebrating their holidays. The matter has been made even worse by the opening up of mass communications between peoples, whereby the rituals and customs of the kuffaar are now transmitted with the glamorous adornment of sound and image from their countries into the Muslim countries, via satellite TV and the World Wide Web (Internet). Many Muslims have been deceived by their glamour.

In recent years, a new phenomenon has spread among the Muslim youth – males and females alike – which does not bode well. This is manifested in their imitation of the Christians in their celebration of the Valentine’s Day, which has led the scholars and daa’iyahs to explain the rulings of sharee’ah concerning that, out of sincerity towards Allah, His Messenger, the leaders of the Muslims and their common folk, so that Muslims may have a clear understanding of this issue and so that they will not fall into that which will undermine the belief (‘aqeedah) with which Allah has blessed them. This is a brief discussion of the origins, development and purpose of this holiday, and what the Muslim should do with regard to it.

The story of the Festival of Love (Valentine’s Day)

The Festival of Love was one of the festivals of the pagan Romans, when paganism was the prevalent religion of the Romans more than seventeen centuries ago. In the pagan Roman concept, it was an expression of “spiritual love”. There were myths associated with this pagan festival of the Romans, which persisted with their Christian heirs. Among the most famous of these myths was the Roman belief that Romulus, the founder of Rome, was suckled one day by a she-wolf, which gave him strength and wisdom. The Romans used to celebrate this event in mid-February each year with a big festival. One of the rituals of this festival was the sacrifice of a dog and a goat. Two strong and muscular youths would daub the blood of the dog and goat onto their bodies, then they would wash the blood away with milk. After that there would be a great parade, with these two youths at its head, which would go about the streets. The two youths would have pieces of leather with which they would hit everyone who crossed their path. The Roman women would welcome these blows, because they believed that they could prevent or cure infertility.

The connection between Saint Valentine and this festival

Saint Valentine is a name which is given to two of the ancient “martyrs” of the Christian Church. It was said that there were two of them, or that there was only one, who died in Rome as the result of the persecution of the Gothic leader Claudius, c. 296 CE. In 350 CE, a church was built in Rome on the site of the place where he died, to perpetuate his memory. When the Romans embraced Christianity, they continued to celebrate the Feast of Love mentioned above, but they changed it from the pagan concept of “spiritual love” to another concept known as the “martyrs of love”, represented by Saint Valentine who had advocated love and peace, for which cause he was martyred, according to their claims. It was also called the Feast of Lovers, and Saint Valentine was considered to be the patron saint of lovers.

One of their false beliefs connected with this festival was that the names of girls who had reached marriageable age would be written on small rolls of paper and placed in a dish on a table. Then the young men who wanted to get married would be called, and each of them would pick a piece of paper. He would put himself at the service of the girl whose name he had drawn for one year, so that they could find out about one another. Then they would get married, or they would repeat the same process again on the day of the festival in the following year. The Christian clergy reacted against this tradition, which they considered to have a corrupting influence on the morals of young men and women. It was abolished in Italy, where it had been well-known, then it was revived in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when in some western countries there appeared shops which sold small books called “Valentine’s books”, which contained love poems, from which the one who wanted to send a greeting to his sweetheart could choose. They also contained suggestions for writing love letters.

It was also said concerning the origins of this holiday that when the Romans became Christian, after Christianity had become widespread, the Roman emperor Claudius II decreed in the third century CE that soldiers should not get married, because marriage would distract them from the wars they used to fight. This decree was opposed by Saint Valentine, who started to perform marriages for the soldiers in secret. When the emperor found out about that, he threw him in jail and sentenced him to execution. In prison, he (Saint Valentine) fell in love with the jailer’s daughter, but this was a secret because according to Christian laws, priests and monks were forbidden to marry or fall in love. But he is still regarded highly by the Christians because of his steadfastness in adhering to Christianity when the emperor offered to pardon him if he forsook Christianity and worshipped the Roman gods; then he would be one of his closest confidantes and he would make him his son-in-law. But Valentine refused this offer and preferred Christianity, so he was executed on 14 February 270 CE, on the eve of February 15, the festival of Lupercalis. So this day was named for this saint. In The Story of Civilization, it says that the Church devised a calendar in which every day was designated as the feast day of one of the saints.

In England, Saint Valentine’s Day was to come at the end of winter. When that day came, according to them, the birds mated enthusiastically in the forests, and the young men would put flowers on the windowsills of the homes of the girls whom they loved. (The Story of Civilization by Will Durant, 15/23) The Pope designated the day of the death of Saint Valentine, February 14, 270 CE, as a festival of love. Who is the Pope? He is the “the archbishop, the supreme pontiff of the universal church, the successor of Saint Peter.” Look at this “archbishop” and how he prescribed for them the observance of this festival which was an innovation in their religion. This reminds us of what Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “They (Jews and Christians) took their rabbis and their monks to be their lords besides Allah (by obeying them in things which they made lawful or unlawful according to their own desires without being ordered by Allah)…”[al-Tawbah 9:31]

It was narrated that ‘Adiy ibn Haatim said: “I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) wearing a gold cross around my neck. He said, ‘O ‘Adiy, cast aside this idol.’ And I heard him reciting from Soorat Baraa’ah [al-Tawbah] (interpretation of the meaning): ‘They (Jews and Christians) took their rabbis and their monks to be their lords besides Allah.’ He said: ‘They do not worship them, but when they permit them something they accept it as permitted, and when they forbid them something they accept it as forbidden.’” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi and it is a hasan hadeeth).

Among the most important symbols of this holiday:

1 – Expressing joy and happiness on this occasion, as on their other major festivals.

2 – Exchanging red roses, which are an expression of love, the “spiritual love” of the pagans or the “love” of the Christians. Hence it is known to them as the Feast of Lovers.

3 – The sending of greetings cards. On some of these cards are pictures of “Cupid”, who appears as a child with two wings, carrying a bow and arrows. This was the god of love of the pagan Romans – exalted be Allah far above their fabrications and their association of others with Him.

4 – Exchange of words of love and desire in the greetings cards which they send to one another, in verse, prose and short phrases. Some of the cards contain comical pictures and funny words, and they often contain the phrase “be my Valentine”. This represents the Christian concept of this festival after it was taken from the pagan concept.

5 – In many western countries, parties are held during the day and in the evening, where there is mixing of men and women, and dancing. Many of them send gifts such as roses and boxes of chocolates to their wives, friends and those whom they love.

Anyone who looks at what is said above about the myths surrounding this pagan festival will clearly understand the following:

Firstly: That its origins lie in the pagan beliefs of the Romans, where it was an expression of the spiritual love of the idols which they used to worship instead of Allah. Whoever celebrates it is celebrating an occasion of shirk on which the idols are venerated. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, whosoever sets up partners (in worship) with Allah, then Allah has forbidden Paradise to him, and the Fire will be his abode. And for the Zaalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers) there are no helpers” [al-Maa’idah 5:72]

Secondly: That the development of this festival among the Romans was connected to myths and legends which no sound mind can accept, let alone the mind of the Muslim who believes in Allah and His Messengers (peace be upon them). Can anyone of sound mind believe that a she-wolf suckled the founder of the city of Rome and gave him strength and wisdom. Moreover, these myths go against the belief (‘aqeedah) of the Muslim because the One Who bestows strength and wisdom is the Creator, may He be glorified and exalted, not the milk of a she- wolf! The same applies to the myth that their idols could protect them from evil or keep wolves away from their flocks.

Thirdly: Among the ugly rituals of the Romans on this day was the sacrifice of a dog and a goat, the daubing of their blood onto two youths then washing the blood off with milk, etc… This is something that would cause revulsion in anyone of a sound nature, and it is unacceptable to the sound mind.

Fourthly: The connection between Saint Valentine and this festival has been questioned by many sources, and it considered to be far from definite. It would have been better for the Christians to reject this pagan festival in which they imitated the pagans. So how about us Muslims, who are commanded to be different from the Christians and the pagans before them?

Fifthly: this festival was denounced by the Christian clergy in Italy, the bastion of Catholicism, because it was spreading bad attitudes and having an adverse effect on the minds of young men and women. So it is better for the Muslims to reject it, warn others against it and to fulfil their duty towards it of enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil.

Someone may ask: why do we Muslims not celebrate this festival?

This question may be answered in several ways:

1. In Islam, the festivals are clearly defined and well established, and no additions or subtractions may be accepted. They are an essential part of our worship and there is no room for ijtihaad or personal opinion. They have been prescribed for us by Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Festivals are part of the laws, clear way and religious ceremonies of which Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): ‘To each among you, We have prescribed a law and a clear way [al-Maa’idah 5:48] ‘For every nation We have ordained religious ceremonies which they must follow’ [al-Hajj 22:67] like the qiblah (direction faced in prayer), prayer and fasting. So there is no difference between joining them in their festival and joining them in their other rituals. Agreeing with the whole festival is agreeing with kufr. Agreeing with some of their minor issues is the same as agreeing with them in some of the branches of kufr.

Festivals are the most distinctive things by which religions are told apart, so whoever celebrates their festivals is agreeing with the most distinctive rituals of kufr. Undoubtedly going along with them in their festivals may in some cases lead to kufr. Dabbling in these things, at the very least, is a sin. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) referred to the fact that every nation has its own festivals when he said: ‘Every nation has its own Eid and this is our Eid’ (al-Bukhaari , 952, Muslim, 1892).” (al-Iqtidaa’, 1/471-472)

Because Valentine’s Day goes back to Roman times, not Islamic times, this means that it is something which belongs exclusively to the Christians, not to Islam, and the Muslims have no share and no part in it. If every nation has its own festivals, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said – “Every nation has its Eid” (narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim) – then this means that every nation should be distinguished by its festivals. If the Christians have a festival and the Jews have a festival, which belongs exclusively to them, then no Muslim should join in with them, just as he does not share their religion or their direction of prayer.

2. Celebrating Valentine’s Day means resembling or imitating the pagan Romans, then the Christian People of the Book in their imitation of the Romans in something that was not a part of their religion. If it is not allowed to imitate the Christians in things that really are part of their religion – but not part of our religion – then how about things which they have innovated in their religion in imitation of idol-worshippers?!

Imitating the kuffaar in general –whether they are idol-worshippers or People of the Book – is haraam, whether that imitation is of their worship – which is the most serious form – or of their customs and behaviour. This is indicated by the Qur'an, Sunnah and ijmaa’ (scholarly consensus):

(i) From the Qur'an: Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And be not as those who divided and differed among themselves after the clear proofs had come to them. It is they for whom there is an awful torment” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:105]

(ii) From the Sunnah: the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.” (narrated by Ahmad, 2/50; Abu Dawood, 4021) Shaykh al-Islam (Ibn Taymiyah) said: “This hadeeth at the very least indicates that it is haraam to imitate them, although the apparent meaning implies that the one who imitates them is a kaafir, as Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): ‘And if any amongst you takes them (as Awliyaa’ [friends and helpers]), then surely, he is one of them’ [al-Maa’idah 5:51].” (al-Iqtidaa’, 2/722-725)

(iii) With regard to ijmaa’, Ibn Taymiyah narrated that there was agreement that it is haraam to imitate the kuffaar in their festivals at the time of the Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them), and Ibn al-Qayyim narrated that there was scholarly consensus on this point. (See al-Iqtidaa’, 1/454; Ahkaam Ahl al-Dhimmah, 2/722-725) Allah has forbidden imitation of the kuffaar; He has described it as hateful and has warned against the consequences of that, in many aayahs, on many occasions, and in various ways, especially imitation of the kuffaar. Sometimes He does that by forbidding following them or obeying them; sometimes by warning against them or being deceived by their plots, following their opinions, or being influenced by their actions, conduct or attitude. Sometimes He does that by mentioning some of their characteristics that will put the believers off from them and from imitating them. Most of the warnings in the Qur'an refer to the Jews and hypocrites (munaafiqeen), then the People of the Book in general and the mushrikeen. Allah tells us in the Qur'an that imitating and obeying the kuffaar may constitute riddah (apostasy). Allah also forbids following them, obeying them, or following their whims and desires and bad characteristics. Prohibition of imitating the kuffaar is one of the basic principles of sharee’ah.

Allah sent His Messenger with guidance and the true religion so that it might prevail over all other religions, and Allah has perfected His religion for mankind: “This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion” [al- Maa’idah 5:3 – interpretation of the meaning]. Allah has made Islam cover all (human) interests at all times and in all places and for all people. So there is no need to adopt the ways of the kuffaar or imitate them. Imitation causes defects in the Muslim personality, such as feelings of inadequacy, inferiority, weakness and defeatism, then it leads to shunning and keeping away from the path and laws of Allah. Experience has shown that admiration for the kuffaar and imitation of them causes people to love them, have complete faith in them and take them as friends and helpers, and to reject Islam and its people, its heroes, its legacy and values, and become ignorant of all of that.

3. The purpose of Valentine’s Day in these times is to spread love between all people, believers and disbelievers alike. Undoubtedly it is haraam to love the kaafirs. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “You (O Muhammad) will not find any people who believe in Allah and the Last Day, making friendship with those who oppose Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad), even though they were their fathers or their sons or their brothers or their kindred (people)…” [al-Mujaadilah 58:22] Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Allah tells us that there is no believer who takes a kaafir as a close friend. Whoever takes a kaafir as a close friend is not a believer. Outward imitation may be taken as a sign of love, so it is haraam.” (al-Iqtidaa’, 1/490).

4. The love referred to in this festival ever since the Christians revived it is romantic love outside the framework of marriage. The result of that is the spread of zinaa (fornication and adultery) and immorality. Hence the Christian clergy opposed it at some stage and abolished it, then it came back again. Most of the young people celebrate it because it lets them fulfil their desires, without thinking of the issues of imitation and resembling that are involved. Look at this tragedy, where they go so far as to commit major sins such as zinaa and the like, by imitating the Christians in something which is part of their worship and which may even be kufr.

Some people may wonder, and say, you mean to deprive us of love, but in this day and age we express our feelings and emotions – what is so wrong with that? We say:

Firstly: It is a mistake to confuse what they call the day with what the real intentions are behind it. The love referred to on this day is romantic love, taking mistresses and lovers, boyfriends and girlfriends. It is known to be a day of promiscuity and sex for them, with no restraints or restrictions… They are not talking of pure love between a man and his wife or a woman and her husband, or at least they do not distinguish between the legitimate love in the relationship between husband and wife, and the forbidden love of mistresses and lovers. This festival for them is a means for everyone to express love.

Secondly: Expression of feelings and emotions is not a justification for the Muslim to allocate a day for celebration based on his own thoughts and ideas, and to call it a festival, or make it like a festival or Eid. So how about when it is one of the festivals of the kuffaar? In Islam, a husband loves his wife throughout the year, and he expresses that love towards her with gifts, in verse and in prose, in letters and in other ways, throughout the years – not just on one day of the year.

Thirdly: There is no religion which encourages its followers to love and care for one another more than Islam does. This applies at all times and in all circumstances, not just on one particular day. Indeed, Islam encourages us to express our emotions and love at all times, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “If a man loves his brother, let him tell him that he loves him.” (narrated by Abu Dawood, 5124; al-Tirmidhi, 2329; it is saheeh). And he said: “By the One in Whose hand is my soul, you will not enter Paradise until you truly believe, and you will not truly believe until you love one another. Shall I not tell you of something that, if you do it, you will love one another? Spread (the greeting of) salaam amongst yourselves.” (Narrated by Muslim, 54)

Fourthly: Love in Islam is more general and more comprehensive; it is not restricted only to one kind of love, that between a man and a woman. There are many more kinds of love. There is the love of Allah, love of His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his companions (may Allah be pleased with them), love for good and righteous people, love and support for the religion, love of martyrdom for the sake of Allah. There are many kinds of love. It is a dangerous mistake to restrict this broad meaning to this one kind of love.

Fifthly: What these people think, that love before marriage is a good thing, is wrong, as has been proven in studies and by real-life experience. In a study conducted by the University of Cairo, on what they called “love marriage” and “traditional marriage”, the following was stated: In marriages which came after a love story, 88% of cases ended in failure, i.e., the success rate was not more than 12%. But in cases of what the study calls traditional marriage, 70% were successful. In other words, the success rate in marriages described as traditional was six times more than those described as “love marriages”. (Risaalah ila Mu’minah, p. 255).

Now let us look at the state of affairs in western societies where Valentine’s Day is celebrated, and ask, what is the state of marriage relationships in those societies, and do these celebrations have any positive effect on interactions between husbands and wives? Their own studies and statistics show the following:

1- In an American study done in 1407 AH/1987 CE, it states that 79% of men beat their womenfolk, especially if they are married…! (al-Qabas newspaper, 15/2/1988).

2- A study carried out by the National American Office for Mental Health states the following: - 17% of women who go to emergency rooms are victims of beatings by their husbands or boyfriends. - 83% of those who have previously been admitted to hospital at least once for treatment of injuries, were admitted as a result of beating. The study added that there are more women who do not go to hospital for treatment, but deal with their injuries at home.

3- In a report of the Central American Agency for Examination [FPT] it states that every 18 seconds there is a woman who is beaten by her husband somewhere in America.

4- American Time magazine stated that around 4,000 wives out of approximately 6 million who are beaten die as a result of that beating.

5- In a German study it said that no less that 100,000 women annually are exposed to acts of physical or psychological abuse on the part of their husbands or the men they live with. The real figure may exceed one million.

6- In France, approximately 2 million women face beatings.

7- In Britain, in an opinion poll in which 7,000 women took part, 28% of them said that they had been subjected to attacks by their husbands and boyfriends.

So how can we believe that Valentine’s Day is of any benefit to married couples? The truth is that it is a call for more permissiveness and immorality, and the forming of forbidden relationships. The husband who sincerely loves his wife does not need this holiday to remind him of his love. He expresses his love for his wife at all times and on all occasions.

The Muslim’s attitude towards Valentine’s Day

From the above discussion, the Muslim’s attitude towards this holiday should be clear:

(1) He should not celebrate it, or join others in their celebrations of it, or attend their celebrations, because of the evidence quoted above which shows that it is forbidden to celebrate the festivals of the kuffaar. Al-Haafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “If the Christians have a festival and the Jews have a festival, which belongs only to them, then the Muslim should not join them in that, just as he does not join them in their religion or their direction of prayer.” (Tashabbuh al-Khasees bi Ahl al-Khamees, al-Hikmah magazine, 4/193). Because one of the basic principles of the pious predecessors was al-walaa’ wa’l-baraa’ (loyalty and friendship vs. disavowal and enmity), it is obligatory for everyone who says Laa ilaaha ill-Allah Muhammad Rasool Allah to follow this principle. So he should love the believers and he should hate the disbelievers, oppose them, and be different from them. He should know that that will bring immeasurable benefits, just as imitating them causes far greater harm. In addition to that, when the Muslims imitate them it makes the kuffaar happy and fills their hearts with joy, and it leads the Muslims to love the kuffaar in their hearts. If any Muslim girl who celebrates this holiday because she sees Margaret or Hilary or whoever doing so, this undoubtedly reflects the fact that she is following them and approves of their behaviour. But Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians as Awliyaa’ (friends, protectors, helpers), they are but Awliyaa’ of each other. And if any amongst you takes them (as Awliyaa’), then surely, he is one of them. Verily, Allah guides not those people who are the Zaalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers and unjust)” [al-Maa’idah 5:51]

One of the bad effects of imitating them is that this makes it look as if there are more of them, as if they have more supporters and followers. How can it be appropriate for a Muslim who recites in every rak’ah, “Guide us to the Straight Way, The way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger, nor of those who went astray” [al-Faatihah 1:6-7 – interpretation of the meaning], to ask Allah for guidance to the Straight Path of the believers and to keep him away from the path of those who have earned His anger and of those who went astray, then go and follow their path by choice and willingly?

Statistics indicate that Valentine’s Day is second only to Christmas in popularity. So it is clear that the Feast of Love is one of the festivals of the Christians and that it is second only to the festival of Christmas, the celebration of the birth of the Messiah. So it is not permissible for Muslims to join in the celebrations of this date, because we are commanded to differ from them in their religion, customs and other things that belong exclusively to them, as is stated in the Qur'an and Sunnah and scholarly consensus.

(2) He should not help the kuffaar in their celebrations, because it is one of the rituals of kufr, so helping them and approving of what they do is helping them to manifest kufr and make it prevail, and approving of it. The Muslim’s religion does not allow him to approve of kufr or help others to manifest it and make it prevail. Hence Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “It is not permissible for the Muslims to imitate them in anything that is specifically part of their festivals, whether it is food, clothing, bathing, lighting fires, or changing a custom of daily life or worship… To sum up, they should not do any of the specific rituals of their (the kuffaar’s) festival on that day; rather the day of their festival should be just another ordinary day for the Muslim.” (Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 25/329)

(3) He should not help any Muslims who celebrate it. Rather it is obligatory to denounce them, because for the Muslims to celebrate the festivals of the kuffaar is an evil action which must be denounced. Shaykh al-Islam (Ibn Taymiyah) said: “Just as we should not imitate them in their festivals, so too we should not help a Muslim to do that; rather he should be told not to do that.” (al- Iqtidaa’, 2/519-520) Based on what Ibn Taymiyah said, it is not permissible for Muslim businessmen to deal in gifts for Valentine’s Day, whether they are particular kinds of clothes, red roses, or whatever. Similarly, it is not permissible for the one who is given a gift on this occasion to accept it, because by accepting it, he is showing approval of this holiday.

One of the daa’iyahs said: we went to a flower shop in one of the Muslim countries and we were shocked to find it completely prepared for this occasion, with red carpets at the entrance, red placards and red decorations. We were met by one of the people who worked there, and we asked him why they had done so much to decorate the place for this occasion. He said that these preparations had begun early, and that there had been very many orders… Then he told us that he had been amazed by that, because he was a new Muslim who had left Christianity. He had known about that before he became Muslim, so how come his customers were Muslims and not Christians?! Other shops ran out of red roses, which were being sold at high prices. When one of the female daa’iyahs entered upon the female students who were gathered in the lecture hall, she was dismayed to find them all carrying something red. One had a red rose, another had a red scarf, or a red handkerchief, or a red bag, or red socks…

Alas for the Muslim girls!

Among the things that have been seen among the Muslims on this holiday:

1- All the female students agreeing with their friends to tie a red ribbon on the right wrist.

2- Wearing something red (a blouse, hair clip, shoes…). This reached such an extent last year that when we entered the classroom we found most of the students wearing it, as if it was a uniform.

3- Red balloons on which are written the words “I love you”. They usually bring these out at the end of the school day, in an area far from where the teachers can see them.

4- Writing names and hearts on their hands, or just initials.

5- Red roses are widespread on this day. Groups of girls entered their lecture rooms on February 14, each of them wearing something red, with red heart-shaped stickers on their faces, wearing red make-up. They started to exchange red-coloured gifts and kiss one another warmly. This happened in more than one university in the Muslim world, even in an Islamic university. In other words they were celebrating Saint Valentine’s Day. On that day, secondary schools (high schools) were astonished by the large numbers of female students who brought red roses of the finest quality, coloured their faces with red cosmetics, wore red earrings, and started to exchange gifts and warm greetings, in celebration of this day. Al-Mawsoo’ah al-‘Arabiyyah (the Arabic Encyclopaedia) says that there are special customs for Valentine’s Day, such as printing love poems on cards to be given to relatives and those whom one loves. Some of them draw funny pictures on these cards, and the most common phrase written on them is “be my Valentine”. Parties are often held during the day, where they dance in their fashion.

The Europeans still celebrate this holiday. In Britain, sales of flowers reached 22 million pounds. More chocolate is consumed on this day, and companies offer free messages on their Web sites to advertise those sites.

Valentine’s Day has come to a number of Arab and Muslim countries, and has even reached the heartland of Islam (the Arabian Peninsula). It has reached societies which we had thought far removed from this insanity. In Riyadh the price of roses has risen in a crazy manner, so that a single rose costs 36 riyals (10 dollars), whereas before this day it cost 5 riyals. Gift shops and card shops compete in designing cards and gifts for this occasion, and some families hang up red roses in the windows of their homes on this day. In some of the Gulf countries, shopping centres and hotels have organized special celebrations of Valentine’s Day. Most of the stores and business places are covered with red.

One of the finest Gulf hotels was full of balloons and dolls. Following the customs of the Feast of Love and the pagan myths, the restaurant put on a dramatic production with “Cupid”, the idol of love in the Roman myths, nearly naked and carrying a bow and arrow. He and his cohorts were looking to select “Mr. & Mrs. Valentine” from among the people present. Less expensive restaurants also celebrated this day in their own way. Some stores replaced their regular plates with heart-shaped plates, used red tablecloths and linens, and put a red rose on each table for the man to present to his beloved. The latest Valentine’s Day craze was started by the owner of a gift-shop in Kuwait. He imports (live) French rabbits which are small and have red eyes. He puts a necktie around the neck of each rabbit, and puts it in a small box to be given as a gift! We must oppose these things by all possible means. The responsibility rests with us all.

(4) We should not accept congratulations on Valentine’s Day, because it is not a holiday or an Eid for the Muslims. If the Muslim is congratulated on this occasion, he should not return the congratulations. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “With regard to congratulating others with the congratulations used by the kuffaar on such occasions, it is haraam by scholarly consensus, such as congratulating them on the occasion of their festivals or fasts, wishing them a blessed festival, etc. Even if the one who says this is free of kufr, it is still haraam. It is like congratulating someone for prostrating to the cross. It is even worse with Allah and more hated by Him than congratulating someone for drinking alcohol, or committing murder or adultery, etc. Many of those who have no respect for religion do that, and they do not realize the abhorrence of their actions. Whoever congratulates a person for sin, innovation (bid’ah) or kufr exposes himself to the hatred and wrath of Allah.” (Ahkaam Ahl al-Dhimmah, 1/441- 442)

(5) We must explain the true nature of this holiday and other festivals of the kuffaar to those Muslims who have been deceived by them, and explain to them that it is essential for the Muslim to be distinguished by his religion and to protect his belief (‘aqeedah) from anything that may damage it. This should be done out of sincerity towards the ummah and in fulfilment of the command to enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil. Fatwas of Muslim scholars concerning Valentine’s Day The Fatwa of Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him)

Question: In recent times the celebration of Valentine’s Day has become widespread, especially among female students. This is one of the Christian holidays. They wear all red clothes, including their shoes, and they exchange red flowers… We hope that you can tell us the ruling on celebrating such holidays. What do you advise the Muslims to do with regard to such things? May Allah keep you and take care of you.

He replied: Celebrating Valentine’s Day is not permitted for several reasons:

1 – It is an innovated celebration which has no basis in sharee’ah.

2 – It calls for people to keep their hearts and minds busy with these foolish things that go against the guidance of the pious predecessors (may Allah be pleased with them), so it is not permitted on this day to do any of the customs associated with that holiday, whether that be connected to food, drink, clothing, exchanging gifts or anything else.

The Muslim should be proud of his religion and not be so weak of character that he follows everyone who makes a noise. I ask Allah to protect the Muslims from all temptations, visible and invisible, and to take care of us and give us strength. And Allah knows best.

The Fatwa of Shaykh ‘Abd-Allah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Jibreen concerning celebrating this day

He was asked: the celebration of the so-called Feast of Love (Valentine’s Day) has become widespread among our boys and girls. This (Valentine) is the name of a saint who is venerated by the Christians, and this day is celebrated every year on February 14. They exchange gifts and red roses, and they wear red clothes. What is the ruling on celebrating this day, or exchanging gifts on this day? May Allah reward you with good.

He answered: Firstly, it is not permissible to celebrate such innovated festivals, because this is a newly-invented innovation (bid’ah) which has no basis in sharee’ah. So it is included in the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever innovates something in this matter of ours (i.e., Islam) which is not part of it, will have it rejected” – i.e., it will be thrown back upon the one who innovated it.

Secondly, this involves imitating and resembling the kuffaar in venerating that which they venerate and respecting their festivals and holidays, and imitating them in some of their religious practices. In the hadeeth it says, “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.”

Thirdly, the things that result from that, such as partying, idle play, singing, music, insolence, impertinence, unveiling, wanton display, mixing of men and women, and the appearance of women before non-mahrams, etc., are all things which are haraam, or are means which lead to immorality. So it should not be justified as an excuse for relaxation and entertainment, or claims that they will not overstep the mark, because that is not right. The one who cares about himself should keep away from sin and all that leads to it. On this basis, it is not permissible to sell these gifts and roses, if one knows that the purchaser will celebrate these holidays, give them as gifts or otherwise use them to honour these days, so that the vendor will not be sharing in the guilt of the one who does this innovated action. And Allah knows best.

The Fatwa of the Standing Committee

The Standing Committee was also asked a question about this holiday: Some people celebrate the fourteenth day of February of each Christian year as the Day of Love (Valentine’s Day), where they exchange gifts of red roses and wear red clothes, and congratulate one another. Some the bakeries make sweets that are red in colour, with hearts drawn on them, and some stores have advertisements for their products that are especially for this day. What is your opinion?

The Committee replied: It is haraam for the Muslim to help with this festival or any other haraam celebration in any way, be it food, drink, buying, selling, manufacturing, corresponding, advertising or in any other way, because all of that constitutes helping one another in sin, transgression and disobedience towards Allah and His Messenger, and Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Help you one another in Al?Birr and At?Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression. And fear Allah. Verily, Allah is Severe in punishment” [al-Maa’idah 5:2]

So the Muslim must adhere to the Qur'an and Sunnah in all his affairs, especially at times of fitan (temptation and tribulation) and when corruption is widespread. He should be smart and be careful to avoid falling into the misguidance of those who have earned the anger of Allah and of those who went astray, and of the evildoers who hope not for reward from Allah and do not show any respect towards Islam. The Muslim should seek refuge with Allah and ask for His guidance and for help to adhere steadfastly to it, because none can guide except Allah and none can make us remain steadfast except Him. And Allah is the Source of strength. May Allah bless our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions, and grant them peace.

Al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah li’l-Buhooth al-‘Ilmiyah wa’l-Iftaa’

Finally, we offer our brothers the following advice:

1 – They should urge the khateebs of the mosques to tell the people and warn them. They should explain this matter to the imaam of the mosque and tell him when this day is approaching. They should give him a copy of the fatwas of the Standing Committee and of Shaykh Muhamamd ibn Saalih ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah forgive him). Every person should make the effort to contact the imaam of his mosque and tell him about this. Certainly there are imaams of mosques among the brothers so perhaps the responsibility of telling them about this will be discharged when they read this article.

2 – Every teacher should explain the reality of this holiday and warn his or her students about it. They will be answerable before Allah tomorrow. They should explain that it is haraam by quoting the Fatwaa of the Standing Committee. All that should begin a week beforehand in order to be of any benefit.

3 – Those who go around and check on people and the headquarters of organizations should be notified of any shops which are selling gifts for this day or which put up pictures showing what the gift is or how it is wrapped.

4 – Each person should make his family members aware of this. Whoever has sisters in school or brothers should tell them and warn them about this matter, because many people are unaware of this holiday and what it means.

We ask Allah to protect the Muslims from the harm of temptations and from the evil of their own selves and the plots of their enemies, for He is the All-hearing Who answers prayers. May Allah send blessings upon His slave and Messenger Muhammad, and upon all his family and companions.

Indonesian Habits

2009-12-19T08:55:00.000-08:00

The Indonesians are amazing. The differences between western and eastern culture are sometimes huge, sometimes tiny: I challenge anyone to define the Asian mentality, as much as I challenge anyone to define the western mentality. One thing's for sure: apart from a few bad eggs, Indonesians are a good people, always kind, considerate, interested and willing to chat. Yes, when the lonesome traveler is tired and wants some peace the overly keen Asian instantly becomes a pain, but compared to westerners, Indonesians are friendly beyond the call of duty.

Here, then, is a quick summary of face-value Indonesians, based purely on observation. Take it with a pinch of salt: I'm no anthropologist. Welcome to the eleven S's...

1. Smoking

The Indonesians smoke an incredible amount, and there are, of course, absolutely no rules or regulations when it comes to the national habit. You can smoke anywhere, and the butts go on the floor, out of the car window, wherever: it came as no surprise to me to learn that, when I arrived in Indonesia, there were bushfires raging all over Kalimantan and Sumatra, because when the weather is dry (as it had been in that El Niño year) it only takes one carelessly discarded cigarette butt to spark a disaster. And there's no shortage of butts flying out of car windows in Indonesia.

Smoking is incredibly cheap, at least by European standards. A packet of American cigarettes (as opposed to kretek, the clove cigarettes that the locals love so much) costs about 850rp, or around 18p, so it doesn't break the bank to smoke as much as everyone else does. Besides, without smoking there couldn't be as much of the following...

2. Spitting

Ah yes, smoking and spitting, two Indonesian hobbies that go hand in hand. Along with the sweet-smelling smoke is the universal soundtrack: it starts as a cough, a black-lung rattler that makes you really appreciate the effect of tar on the bronchial tubes. This is followed by that deep throat-clearing sound that even the boffins at the Oxford English Dictionary can't transcribe using the letters of the Latin alphabet, and then comes the inevitable spit. It's pretty foul, and as with the smoking, there are no social rules governing the sport of spitting: it's valid anywhere, any time.

It's not just a male occupation, either: women spit plenty, too. An added bonus is the effect of the betel nut, which a lot of Indonesians chew continuously, staining their lips red and giving their spittle a hue that Jackson Pollock would have been proud of. It's mainly a rural habit, chewing the betel, but that's a good thing: if everyone in the city chewed betel nuts, the sewers would run red.

3. Staring

Yes, as your bus burns rubber through the tiny villages of rural Indonesia, people just sit there and let their jaws drop. Children flock out of the houses to watch the strange shiny box rumble its way along the road... it's bizarre. And if you're a traveller wandering into a small village in the middle of nowhere, everyone stares at you, as if they're waiting for you to do something weird.

But this isn't rudeness; it's simply the locals being interested in seeing something unusual and different. Before long they'll be talking to you and trying to find out all about you, and this is where learning the language comes in handy – even a few words of Indonesian can make things that much more interesting, as the staring changes into conversation.

But it's bloody weird to be stared at all the time, believe me...

4. Sleeping

This observation doesn't mean that the Indonesians are lazy: far from it. In fact I've never seen such a hard-working bunch in my life. Up at the crack of dawn with the 4am Muslim call to prayer, working hard at jobs that would drive westerners to distraction... they're an astoundingly conscientious race. But with this physical burden comes an increased need to sleep.

The amazing thing about the Indonesians and their sleep is that they can sleep absolutely anywhere. On the buses, on the street, standing up, sitting down: shut-eye isn't the problem it seems to be in the world of nine-to-five and insomnia. I've seen people literally sleeping on concrete, curled up on thin reed mats and snoring in a way that no soft-boned white man could manage; I've seen men crashed out in their tiny becaks (bicycle rickshaws) in cities, grabbing a few minutes' rest after hurtling round the backstreets, legs and arms sticking out of the tiny compartment like an octopus in a bucket; I've seen men drifting off in a bus whose spine-shattering jolts would keep normal humans awake for the following three days; yes, the Indonesian talent is for being able to grab forty winks whenever and wherever, a skill that all of us could use.

5. Speeding

Not drug abuse, but road abuse: the speed at which they drive is simply scary. Probably the craziest thing is that even the drivers have no idea how fast they are going: a sizeable proportion of bemos I had the pleasure of riding in either had no speedometer, or had one that obstinately stuck at zero km/h when it was bloody obvious that there should be a hell of a lot more needle movement. I suppose ignorance is bliss, but with the tyre screeches echoing round the streets, there's no way the bemo drivers can convince me that they don't know they're speeding.

Of course, the definition of 'speeding' is important to make. Speeding, in the traditional sense, implies that there's a speed limit, and that you're breaking it, but I only saw a handful of '40' signs (which were heartily ignored), so it's debatable whether the drivers are speeding, or whether there is no speed limit anyway. The answer to this is that any speed where the tyres leave the road when cornering is too fast, but when you only learn to drive a car with the accelerator or the brake fully depressed, how can you drive any other way? Exactly.

6. Smiling

Infectious and irrepressible, the Indonesian smile is universal and a real joy to behold. The kids do it best, of course, but even adults spend a lot of time smiling, especially if you greet them with an ear-to-ear teeth rattler yourself. The Indonesian laugh is also pretty common, but without understanding the language, a group of Indonesians standing and laughing at you can make even the most confident person paranoid, but they're not being rude, they're just expressing their amusement and bemusement in the most natural way, something that the miserable bastards on the London Underground could do with remembering.

After all, a smile a day keeps the doctor away, something that's pretty damn useful when the doctor's probably on the other side of the island, and doesn't even know his plasters from his penicillin...

7. Selling

The Indonesians have an entrepreneurial streak a mile wide, and they've worked out that all tourists are rich and just love parting with their money. As a consequence, a large number of conversations end up with them trying to sell you something, but after a few of these you get the hang of sweeping the offer aside with an off the cuff, 'I'm not interested.' To be honest, most people who end up talking to you are interested in talking for the sake of talking, but some locals, especially in places like Bali's Kuta, are walking, talking salesmen.

8. Screaming

If you can't make yourself heard above the millions of other people in your crowded country, then shout louder then they do. Shout if you're at the market. Shout if you're on the bus. Shout if you're trying to talk English with a tourist. Shout if you're a becak driver who wants a customer. Shout if you're working in the kitchen. Or just shout for the hell of it.

Yes, Indonesia can be a very noisy place: the locals are either so laid-back they're mummified, or they're cackling around as if they were extras in a Shakespearian crowd scene. The women seem to be the worst culprits, shrieking across the road at other people, saying goodness only knows what: it's all in the delivery here. If you want quiet, go to the Australian outback.

9. Speaking

As already mentioned, the Indonesians just love to talk, especially if the object of their conversation is a tourist. I've come across a number of survival instincts in the westerners who have been subjected to endless hello-mister what-is-your-name where-do-you-come-from how-long-have-you-been-in-Indonesia conversations, such as telling them your name is 'Load of shit' or the name of some celebrity, and then carrying on the conversation regardless. It's a bit cruel – after all, 'Hello Mister' is what the Indonesians are taught in school to say to tourists to be polite, and most of them don't actually know what it means – but it's totally understandable if you've ever been subjected to hours of locals constantly being interested in you.

Another interesting runaround is to go up to complete strangers and go, 'Hello Mister,' in their faces: not too many locals bother with you after that. Or you can just ignore the small talk, but that's rude: after all, the reason that the locals want to talk is that they're genuinely interested in you, and the reason that it's an awful conversation is because you can't speak the language. Wearing or not, it's a part of Asia that you can't avoid, so you might as well revel in it. If you don't lose the plot first...

10. Singing

Not just the colourful and delightful way that Indonesians spontaneously burst into song – whether they're walking down the street, sitting in a hotel or killing time on a ferry – but also the bad side to Indonesian music, namely that it's terrible.

By Indonesian music I don't mean classical ballet or old songs: that's the equivalent of western classical music, and you don't get too many new pieces, in the same way that you don't get so many new symphonies or choral masterpieces back in Europe these days. I mean that the Indonesian pop scene is about as depressingly awful as you can possibly imagine: their most popular artists are terrible MOR¹ balladeers, inoffensive beyond belief, but simply depressing to anyone with a modicum of interest in modern music. Take Neil Diamond and suck out all his talent; or take the band from down your local pub and remove any vestiges of musical ability... and you're close. The best approximation to Indonesian rock that I've seen is the credit roll on Alas Smith and Jones from a few years ago, when they played a cringe-worthy electronic organ and bongo extravaganza to end the show. The difference is that, sadly, the Indo rockers are serious, and their records sell. Now that's what I call a culture gap.

11. Stamina

Indonesians have an astoundingly high boredom threshold, and are able to do things for hours that would send westerners totally round the loophole. They painstakingly tend rice fields. They carry heavy loads for hours up mountains, repeating the trip many times a week. They sit for hours, staring at westerners who are doing their damnedest to ignore them. They sit around when they're not tending the fields, talking and smoking lots. They make small talk to every foreigner they meet, repeating the same conversations every time, simply to practice English. Yes, you and I would lose the plot if we had to live the way the Indonesians live, and that's an important thing to remember when trying to comprehend a culture that is, effectively, so different that most westerners never really understand it.

Hijri Year

2009-12-19T08:43:00.000-08:00

The Hijra (هِجْرَة), or withdrawal, is the emigration of Muhammad and his followers to the city of Medina in 622, and marks the start of the Hijri year of the Islamic calendar. The year 2009 AD corresponds to the Islamic Year 1430 AH. While sometimes translated as pilgrimage, Hijra means something like a journey. It generally conotes a migration, specifically the migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina.
Alternate spellings of this Arabic word in the Latin alphabet are Hijrah, or Hegira in Latin
On the actual year the migration took place, there was already a functioning Lunar Calendar with named months. However, this calendar did not number the years, so for example, the year Muhammad and Ammar ibn Yasir were born was called The Year of the Elephant.

The actual event of migration started in Thursday 26 in the Month of Safar AH 1 (9 September 622) of that year.

That year was named The permission to travel. 17 years later, that year was chosen as the year to start counting from: first year of Hijra, 1 After Hijra or 1 AH. The first day of 1 AH, corresponds to Friday July 16th, 622 CE in the Julian Calendar.

The Muslim dates are in the Islamic calendar extended back in time. The Western dates are in the Julian calendar. The Hijra is celebrated annually on 8 Rabi' I, about 66 days after 1 Muharram, the first day of the Muslim year. Many writers confuse the first day of the year of the Hijra with the date of the Migration to Medina itself, erroneously stating that the Hijra occurred on 1 Muharram AH 1 or 16 July 622.

All dates given above may have occurred about 89 days (three lunar months) earlier in the Julian calendar. The calendar conversions quoted above may not have been corrected by early Muslims for the intercalary months (probably three) which had been inserted in the lunar calendar between the year of the Hijra and the year of Muhammad's last Hajj (AH 10), when intercalary months were forbidden.

Eid al-Adha

2009-11-04T23:57:00.000-08:00

Eid al-Adha (Arabic: عيد الأضحى‎ ‘Īdu l-’Aḍḥā) "Festival of Sacrifice" or "Greater Eid" is a Muslim Holiday celebrated by Muslims (including the Druze) worldwide to commemorate the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismael as an act of obedience to God.

Eid al-Adha is the latter of two Eid festivals celebrated by Muslims, whose basis comes from the Quran.[1] (Muslims who belong to the Shi'ite branch of Islam celebrate a third Eid.) Like Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha begins with a short prayer followed by a sermon (khuṭba).

Eid al-Adha annually falls on the 10th day of the month of Dhul Hijja (ذو الحجة) of the lunar Islamic calendar. The festivities last for three days or more depending on the country. Eid al-Adha occurs the day after the pilgrims conducting Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia by Muslims worldwide, descend from Mount Arafat. It happens to be approximately 70 days after the end of the month of Ramadan.

Miyabi Oh..Miyabi

2009-10-14T00:26:00.000-07:00

Miyabi plans will come to Indonesia on October 14, However, the arrival of artist Maria Ozawa owner's name canceled by the production house that will make Miyabi as a star in the film was produced.

"Miyabi not be coming. Because the situation may not be coming our Miyabi longer reset the schedule. I'm afraid with demos busy right now," said Ody Mulya Hidayat, Maxima Picture Producer VIVAnews when contacted, Tuesday, October 13, 2009.

Eid ul-Fitr

2009-09-27T21:04:00.000-07:00

Eid ul-Fitr (Arabic: عيد الفطر ‘Īdu l-Fiṭr‎), often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity", while Fiṭr means "to break fast"; and so the holiday symbolizes the breaking of the fasting period. It is celebrated after the end of the Islamic month of Ramadan, on the first day of Shawwal.

Eid ul-Fitr lasts for three days of celebration and is sometimes also known as the "Smaller Eid" (Arabic: العيد الصغير al-‘īdu ṣ-ṣaghīr‎) as compared to the Eid ul-Adha that lasts four days and is called the "Greater Eid" (Arabic: العيد الكبير al-‘īdu l-kabīr‎).

Muslims are commanded by the Quran to complete their fast on the last day of Ramadan and then recite the Takbir all throughout the period of

FASTING

2009-09-05T00:01:00.000-07:00

Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. A fast may be total or partial concerning that from which one fasts, and may be prolonged or intermittent as to the period of fasting. Fasting practices may preclude sexual activity as well as food, in addition to refraining from eating certain types or groups of foods; for example, one might refrain from eating meat. A complete fast in its traditional definition is abstinence of all food and liquids

In a medical context fasting may refer to (1) the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight, (2) to the metabolic state achieved after complete digestion and absorption of a meal, or (3) an unusually extended period of starvation. Several metabolic adjustments occur during fasting, and many medical diagnostic tests are standardized for fasting conditions. For most ordinary diagnostic purposes a person is assumed to be fasting after 8–12 hours. Many of the metabolic shifts of fasting begin as absorption of a meal is complete (typically 3–5 hours after a meal); "post-absorptive state" is synonymous with this usage, in contrast to the "post-prandial" state of ongoing digestion. A diagnostic fast refers to prolonged fasting (from 8–72 hours depending on age) conducted under medical observation for investigation of a problem, usually hypoglycemia. Finally, extended fasting has been recommended as therapy for various conditions by physicians of most cultures, throughout history, from ancient to modern.

RICE

2009-07-16T20:28:00.000-07:00

Most of Indonesians eat rice as their daily meals every day. People were thought to be growing it around 5000years ago. It needs a lot water to grow. In many countries it is the main or staple food. In Asia about25 million small farms grow it. 5,000liters of water are needed to produce 1 kg of it. There are more than 140,000 varieties of it. It is good for you as it is a good source of thiamin, iron, phosphorus, potassium and folic acid. Indonesians love it, averaging more than 200 kg per head each year compared to the average European who eats 5 kg. Hundreds of millions of the poor spend half to three fourths of their incomes on it. Malaysia is ready to import it from Indonesia if the Indonesia government decides to export the staple. There are an average of 36,590 grains of it in a kilogram and 1,829,500 grains in a 50 kg bag. And did you know that it was first grown commercially in Australia in Murrumbidgee area of New South Wales in 1924.

Every part of the rice plant is used!

The straw (jerami) is used as fuel, as bedding for animals, can be made into rope, handicrafts, shoes, toys paper and even bricks.

The grain (bulir) is cooked and eaten every day. It is also made into crackers, cereals, flour, and milk, processed into feed for animals, cosmetics and fermented into wine, beer and vinegar.

The bran (dedak/katul) is boiled for oil to make soap and cosmetics and added to foods for fiber and nutrition. It is also fed to fishes and chickens.

The hulls (kulit gabah/brambut) are used as packing material to protect delicate cargo, packed around ice as insulation and burned in simple stoves.

Ash (abu) from the hulls is sometimes used to clean teeth, and turned into cellulose products such as rayon and rice fuel.

Everyone eats bubur when they are sick but did you know it is used for other illnesses too? Drinking the water of boiled rice is often used to treat patient with diarrhea. Cooled boiled rice is mashed into a paste and applied to swellings and skin blemishes. And did you know RICE stands for Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation- the best method to recover from most sports injures. What would we do without rice?

How Does Someone Become a Muslim?

2009-07-15T23:38:00.000-07:00

Simply by saying with conviction, “Asyhadu alLa ilaha illa Allah, wa asyhadu anna Muhammadur rasoolu Allah,” one converts to Islam and becomes a Muslim. This saying means “I testify, there is no true god (deity) but God (Allah), and I testify, Muhammad is the Messenger (Prophet) of God.” The first part, “There is no true god but God,” means that none has the right to be worshipped but God alone, and that God has neither partner nor son. To be a Muslim, one should also:

-Believe that the Holy Quran is the literal word of God, revealed by Him.

-Believe that the Day of Judgment (the Day of Resurrection) is true and will come, as God promised in the Quran.

-Accept Islam as his or her religion.

-Not worship anything nor anyone except God.

The Prophet Muhammad said: {God is more joyful at the repentance of someone when he turns to Him in repentance than one of you would be if he were riding his camel in the wilderness, and it runs away from him, carrying his food and drink, so that he loses all hope of getting it back. He comes to a tree and lies down in its shade (awaiting death), for he has lost all hope of finding his camel. Then, while he is in that state (of desperation), suddenly it is there before him! So he seizes its halter and cries out from the depth of his joy, “O God, You are my servant and I am Your Lord!” His mistake comes from the intensity of his joy.}

In Indonesia, MOTORBIKES EVERYWHERE!

2009-07-14T16:10:00.000-07:00

Look around you. How many people own a motorcycle in your village? Motorbikes certainly are VERY important in Indonesia. The number of motorbike users in Indonesia is increasing every year. It is estimated that motorbikes make up 75% of all vehicles on Indonesia roads. This statistic is very high compared to other ASEAN countries. Honda sold almost 1.5 million motorbikes in 2002-the figure would be much higher now, don't you think? The Indonesian government and local authorities are concerned as the number of motorbikes is now causing more traffic jams and more accidents. Trucks and cars definitely add to the levels of air pollution and so do motorbikes. So many vehicles giving off exhaust fumes is not good for our environment.
How can people and the authorities cut down the levels of air pollution from vehicle exhausts, especially from older vehicles, in your city or town? Is this possible or not? What do you think?
Here's a common question. why do some people in Indonesia like to wear motorbike helmets even when they are not on a motorbike?
It is not usual to see people wearing bike helmets at the beach, inside the malls, while using the ATM machine, in buildings BUT so often not when riding on their motorbikes!

ENTERTAINMENT IN INDONESIA from traditional to the modern

2009-07-13T17:36:00.000-07:00

Indonesia is a country which is very rich in arts and culture, therefore Indonesians and their visitors have a wide selection of local entertainment for people to enjoy. They range from traditional to the very modern. Wayang, sendratari, gamelan, keroncong, tarian, layar tancep, are part of traditional entertainment. Apart from those there are traditional ceremonies like weddings, housewarming celebrations, cremation ceremonies in Bali and Tana Toraja and rice-harvest ceremonies.

Every area has its own set of traditional performances and ceremonies. In Bali, for example, every full moon and new moon there are traditional dances and gamelan performences by school children at Puputan Park in Denpasar. Most provinces also have annual festivals which are held at different times of the year like sekaten in Jogjakarta and Solo, layang layang festivals across the country and the Bau Nyale Festival in South Lombok.

Apart from traditional entertainment, there are some more modern activities that Indonesian people enjoy such as going to the movies, art exhibitions, nightclubs and parties. But the most popular are music concerts. Dangdut, pop, rock and jazz are some of the most popular. Many big companies sponsor these concerts as one way to sell their products. That's great for audiences.

We feel lucky living in Indonesia because we don't have to search for entertainment. Just look around you-the entertainment is everywhere! What's your favourite entertainment, traditional or modern, in your area?

About Preity Zinta in real life and the movie of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

2009-07-07T04:15:00.000-07:00

In real life, Preity Zinta is a very warm person. But in Karan Johar’s forthcoming movie Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna she plays an emotionally cold woman.

From the movie’s promos it is clear that KANK is a film about complexities of human emotions, about relationships not working out right, about differences between two people who are sworn to share their lives together.

The movie has Shah Rukh Khan paired with Preity Zinta and Abhishek Bachchan paired with Rani Mukherjee . But there is something basic missing in both the relationships, that is mutual love and understanding.

Speaking about her role in KANK, Preity Zinta told IANS agency that she plays a cold woman in the film.

“I play this cold woman, which wasn't easy for a warm person like me to do. I have just a few expressions to give away. And I think I have done them well,” Preity is quoted as saying.

Preity has seen few final cuts of the film and she seems pretty impressed with the way KANK has shaped up.

“KANK is unlike anything we have seen before and certainly unlike anything I have done.

Preity is full of praise for her co-stars, particularly for Abhishek Bachchan.

“Abhishek (Bachchan) is going to shock you. His expressions, his interpretation of his character have to be seen to be believed. I truly believe Abhishek is the star of tomorrow,” Preity is quoted.

Preity was with Karan Johar at the recently held Cannes Film Festival in France where the two promoted KANK and also got to tap a wider market for the film.

MY DARLING

2009-06-28T20:12:00.001-07:00

Your face always remembering me

Your shadow always passing at me

Your beauty always waking me up

Whenever and wherever am I

I can't breath when your smile haunting me

I can't stand when your love sucking my heart

I can't say anything when I'm falling in love with you

How long I can stand this feeling?

Oh..my darling

Would you mind to come with me

Would you mind to receive my genuine love

Oh..my darling

I hope God will bless our relationship from the world until in the next hereafter

I hope He will make my dreams to be come true

I hope I will get a true love in my life

Forever and ever

GLOSSARY

2009-06-28T19:31:00.003-07:00

Do you often read a text containing some or many unfamiliar words? what can you do if they are the key words without which it's impossible for you to understand the text thoroughly? One way to find the meaning of unfamiliar words is by looking them up in a dictionary. But sometimes there is no dictionary around you. Fortunately, contact always provides a special section in most of its articles to cover unfamiliar words, called a Glossary.

What is a Glossary?

A glossary is a list of key words taken from a text. These words often help you to understand the text better. Then, why would we want to do something else with a glossary? Well, because a glossary is an effective tool to further expand our vocabulary bank.

Be Creative

We can do several things in order to learn more from a glossary.
1. Find the other parts of speech of the key words in the glossary.
for example: from the root word develop (verb) we can have : development (noun), developing (adjective), developed (adjective), developer (noun), underdeveloped (adjective), undeveloped (adjective), overdeveloped (adjective).
The process of adding suffixes or prefixes to the root as in the above example is called derivation. Thus, instead of knowing only one word develop-you can enrich your vocabulary by looking at the other parts of speech of the word. You can also find the synonym and antonym of the new word.
2. Create Vocabulary Cards
A vocabulary card contains necessary information about a new word. You can include the meaning, the part of speech, the synonyms and the antonyms, common expressions using the new word, and of course, the sample sentences. Vocabulary cards are neat because you can carry them with you when you need to review the vocabulary. You can also bring a blank card so that you can write on it a new word that you hear or read at any time.

GUARDIAN ANGLE

2009-04-10T20:51:00.001-07:00

AN OWNER of a bookstore in a large city had been burglarized several times and forced to hand over the cash-register receipts. On day he went to a police department auction of old equipment. He bought a well –used motorcycle, took it in to the store and parked it out front. For the three remaining, years he was in business, he never had another robbery.

NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF MEDICINE

2009-04-10T20:43:00.000-07:00

Researchers at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital may have found a simple test that spots Alzheimeir’s disease before symptoms become obvious.

To date, no sure test exists for diagnosing the disease: Alzheimeir’s disease can be confirmed only at autopsy. Dr. Zaven Khachaturian, director of the Office of Alzheimeir’s Disease Research at the National Institute on Aging, calls the possibility of such a test “an exciting development”. However, experts caution that Harvard team’s results with 58 volunteers must be duplicated in larger studies.

GRAY AREA

According to a recent study, Boston University Medical Center researchers have found that individuals who had 50 percent of their hair turn gray by age 40 were four times more likely to develop osteoporoses. While more studies are needed to confirm these findings, researchers speculate that the link between the conditions may be related to genes that control premature graying and bone mass.

Says chief of the department of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism Dr. Michael F. Holick:”The association between premature graying and osteoporosis provides people with either premature graying or a family history of it with an opportunity to seek advice from the doctor on how to prevent the ravages of osteoporosis.

ASTHMA ALERT

Every year about 5000 Americans die of asthma-related complications. Looking into difference between those who survive and those who die, Japanese doctors found that people with asthma have reduced capacity to sense when they’re in danger.

Most asthma suffers automatically compensate for low oxygen levels in the blood (due to spasm of the airways) by breathing more deeply and more rapidly, but those who have near-fatal attacks fail to do so. They don’t recognize that they were in trouble until almost too late; thus they delay taking medication and seeking medical attention.

Severe asthmatics should know how to monitor their daily exhalation rate with peak-flow meters. If the rate falls by more than 20 percents of their personal best, they should know at what point to take extra medicine, to call the doctor or go straight to the hospital. They should also consider wearing a Medic Alert bracelet identifying their problem.

CANCER UPDATE

Lumpectomy. New data from breast cancer studies show that a woman who discovers the disease early and chooses a lumpectomy has as good survival chance as a woman opting for mastectomy. The information update was reported at a U.S. National Cancer Institute conference on the state of breast-cancer treatment. Last spring, falsified reports by a doctor participating in a large trial evaluating lumpectomy’s effectiveness raised questions about the study’s findings: lumpectomy, with follow-up radiation, produced survival rates as good as the more drastic mastectomy. Researchers said that conclusion is supported by reports from worldwide trial and from an audit of original lumpectomy trial. Says Dr. William Wood of Atlanta’s Emory University School of Medicine: “Lumpectomy’s effectiveness appears to stand on the basis of these data”.
Gene Flaw in Prostate Cancer. Johns Hopkins University researchers have found what appears to be most common genetic defect linked to prostate cancer. In nearly all of 91 prostate cancers studied, the defect apparently blocked the production of an enzyme that protects against environmental carcinogens. Earlier studies have shown that high level production of protective enzyme is stimulated by consumption of cruciferous vegetables such as Brussels sprouts and broccoli. “We can’t advice people to just eat Brussels sprouts,” adds Nelsons, but these vegetables are a clue we’ll chase after aggressively”.

OF MICE, KIDNEYS AND MEN

Polycystic kidney disease affects hundreds of thousands of people. Victims are born with thousands of microscopic cysts, the growths accumulate fluid and enlarge over three to five decades, and they can eventually destroy the kidney. In the last stages, patients need dialysis and kidney transplants. So far, no known treatment has stopped the disease’s progression. But now researchers, working with mice having naturally occurring form of the disease, have shown that the anti-cancer drug taxol halts the loss of renal function. Compared with untreated mice that died four to five weeks after birth, those that received taxol lived several months.

Though taxol is not yet practical for treating humans with disease, Dr. Jared Grantham, nephrologists at the University of Kansas Medical Center, says, “This is the first time a medication given to an animal with polycystic kidney disease has stopped the codition.

NOTES FROM ALL OVER

2009-03-08T05:01:00.000-07:00

UNITED STATE

PUBLIC SENTIMENT is clearly against the penny. Instead of lugging pennies around, many Americans toss their daily accumulation in a junk drawer or hoard them in old mayonnaise jars. Others indulge in the distasteful practice of conspicuously throwing them away. This sometimes leads to penny shortages. Last spring the Treasury asked Americans to circulate the coins. As an incentive, banks have offered as much as $1.10 per hundred to get them back.

JAPAN

THROUGH A SPECIALIZED AGENCY in Tokyo, people who live alone can hire trained “family members” to spend a few hours with them. These “relatives” are expected to play their part to perfection. A widowed grandfather, for instance, might spend 120,000 yen a day (about $1400) for a grandmother, a son, a daughter-in law and their child.
While the two women are busy in the kitchen, Grandfather talks business with “his son” and keeps an eye on the child doing his homework. At the end of the day, the guests, who met today for the first time, go their separate ways.
For those in need of temporary prestige, it is also possible to rent the services of a “subordinate” who can be severely reprimanded by his superior in front of other people.

INDIA

INDIAN TV PERSONALITY Prannoy Roy observed that people prefer handwritten notes to typewritten ones. So he and his NEW DELHI-based computer-software firm developed “MyScript,” a program that has the ability to scan, memorize and simulate an individual’s handwriting. The computer can then print out a message that looks as though it has been written by that person. “If you want to increase the simulation effect, “say Roy, “you can cross out a few words so that the note looks like the real thing.”

CANADA

GARDENS ARE SHORT-LIVED in the chill of Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada. But now residents of this mining town enjoy fresh fruits, herbs and roses-year round. The bounty grows 1170 feet beneath the surface in what was a vacant chamber of bustling copper and zinc mine.
The subterranean garden experiment was conceived by Wyne Fraser of the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co. and Brent Zettl of Prairie Plant Systems Inc. The mine installed high-intensity lights, a drip irrigation system and computers. The temperature is maintained at 25-degrees Celsius by day and 20 degrees at night and moisture and soil conditions are constantly monitored. Three months after planting, 80 rose plants produced 1100 flowers, instead of the normal 700. The results are sold in local markets and miners have dibs on any surplus.

JAVANESE TRADITIONAL CEREMONIES

2009-03-03T05:26:00.000-08:00

Welfare and happiness are needed by people to support their spiritual life. To obtain this, people had created norms which gradually became traditions. Each nation and tribe has different traditions, and Javanese tradition may be the most complicated in the world. From mother’s womb until three years after death, Javanese go through periods of certain ceremonies. Following are some Javanese tradition ceremonies:
1. Traditional ceremony held for a woman who has been pregnant for seven months is called mitoni or tingkeban. The ceremony is aimed at the education given to the baby to-be since it is in mother womb. The baby to-be receives the education indirectly through its mother emotion. The ceremony is always held on Wednesday or Saturday of the middle of the month at nine to eleven o’clock in the morning. In this event the mother to-be is bathed by her parents, grandparents, and other older relatives. The water used is mixed with any kinds of flowers called kembang setaman, flowers picked from one garden.
2. The first earth-touching ceremony is a ceremony for a baby who is allowed to touch the earth for the first time. It is called tedak sinten. Tedak means to step down from mother’s carrying and siten or siti means earth. This ceremony is held when the baby is about 254 days old, in the morning of his or her birthday, in the front yard.
3. Exorcism ritual. This rite is called ruwatan, a ceremony held to save children from any disturbances, accidents, and fatalities. Most Javanese believe that a family that has only one child, two children of different or same sex, five sons or daughters, and some others must hold such ceremony. Otherwise, the child will be swallowed by Divine Ogre. This belief and ceremony have been existed since the Majapahit Age.
4. Circumcision or Sunatan, or Tetesan is a ceremony for boys. Parents must circumcise their sons marking their readiness to become a fully grown person. It is originated from Jewish tradition. Jewish baby boys of eight days old must be circumcised as a covenant between God and His people. But now, teenagers are expected to do circumcision.
5. Wedding ceremony is held in series, from bathing the bride to-be and the groom to-be called Siraman, a day before the wedding party and is continued with Malam Midodareni, the night in which the bridge to-be is isolated from the groom‘s sight. In this event, the bridge to-be is treated as a goddess. Both ceremonies are perfectly prepared with prayers asking God’s bless and expecting the smooth and happy wedding. In the wedding, beautiful and elegant aristocratic ceremony is performed.
6. Funeral and commemoration of the dead people are the last ceremonies held for the sake of people’s welfare and happiness now, and in the hereafter. The commemoration after the death is held for the first day after one’s death continued to the third day, seventh day, fortieth day, one hundredth day, first year, second year and third year.
In all the traditional ceremonies, neighbors participate in ritual gathering. They involved in ritual prayers and eat ritual meals. One who holds the ceremony must offer flowers and food to spirits.

FUNERALS

2009-03-03T05:25:00.000-08:00

In big cities like Jakarta, Surabaya and Bandung, people may witness several kinds of funerals because of various citizens’ backgrounds. Islamic funeral is familiar to us since most Indonesian are Moslems. The mourner holds three religious ceremonies in home, mosque, and cemetery. The corpse is covered with a piece of cloth called “pocong” and carried to the cemetery in a bier. It is buried in a grave by orienting the corpse toward Mecca. The burial needs only short time and the funeral is simple.

Christian’s funeral is almost the same with Moslem’s. The dead person is fully dressed and beautified as if it is still alive. Holding a Gospel and rosary, the dead is placed in a coffin and buried. The religious ceremonies are also held in home, church and cemetery.

Some Moslems and Christians are still practicing a very traditional ceremony heavily influenced by Hinduism. They are telung dina, mitung dina, matang puluh dina, nyatus, nyewu or mendhak pisan, ngrong tahun or mendhak pindho, and nelung tahun or ngentek which mean the third, seventh, fortieth, one hundredth, three hundredth and thirty sixth, seven hundred and thirtieth and one thousandth days after the death.

Cremation is a Hinduism or Buddhism funeral. In this ceremony the corpse is placed in a heap of wood and burned. For not wasting time some people choose electricity use instead of wood. The ashes of the dead who has been ceremonially burned are sometimes put away in a funerary urn. Among the cremations, Balinese Hinduism ceremony costs the most. That’s why, it is hard for the poor people to cremate the dead directly. They must save their money until they feel that they are able to do cremation. Generally, to minimize the cost they cremate the dead together with some others. Waiting for the cremation day, the corpse is buried in a temporary grave.

A unique funeral is seen in trunyan, a very small village located on the shore of Lake Batur, Bali. Trunyan people, the native Balinese, are only about one hundred persons. When a native dies the fully dressed corpse is not buried or burned but laid on the ground under the Trunyan trees. Surprisingly, although decayed, the corpse is not odorous at all. A bier is used to shelter the corpse from being eaten by dogs or crowns. When the flesh is extinct the bones and the skull are placed on a provided altar. Only natives are permitted to be laid on this unusual cemetery. The dead of immigrants though they are husbands or wives will be sent to their homeland.

SUPERMARKET

2009-03-03T05:24:00.000-08:00

Market is the center of community life. It is the place where social and mainly economic activities of the community turn. Now there are old and modern markets. The old is called traditional market which is easy to be found in villages, towns, and big cities, and the modern one is called supermarket, shopping center or shopping mall.

A supermarket is well organized and is beautified with landscape gardening, facilitated with large parking lot and spacious clean air-conditioned room. It is so pleasant that attracts crown of people. The goods are arranged and displayed so attractively that shoppers feel relaxed to find and select the goods they needs. Shopping in supermarket is self-service. A customers may take the fixed-price good freely. Many kinds of people’s needs are on sale in separate departments such as shoes, shirts, watches, jewels, rice vegetables, fruits, flowers, TV sets, electricity, books, medicines, etc. selecting the goods the shoppers enjoy soft music. Escalators are installed to let them easy to reach other higher floors. When thirsty or hungry, they may have drink, snack or lunch at KFC, Pizza Huts, or at other fine restaurant. Shopping is not a must. A visitor may walk around the spacious room, mingling with the crowds, passing one hour or two without spending a cent. He may read books or magazines available just for killing time. For someone, visiting supermarket may be one of his hobbies as he can meet people from all walks of life such as employees, students, executives, housewives, and so on. It seems, for him, that supermarket is a place that is fun to be in. Now, there are dozens of supermarkets and mini markets are built in cities, it easy to find Matahari, Ramayana, Hero Supermarket, Carrefour, Alfamart, Indomaret, etc. in town or cities. However, traditional markets are still needed especially by villagers and low-income people.

WAGE RUDOLF SUPRATMAN

2009-03-03T05:22:00.000-08:00

Supratman, son of Indonesian colonial army instructor, was born on 9^th May 1903. He had five sisters, but no brothers. When his father retired from the army the family moved to Cimahi. At the age of seven, his father sent him to “Budi Utomo” elementary school, where he proves to be of the bright pupils. In 1912 his mother died. Two years afterwards he joined his eldest sister in Ujung Pandang. His sister added “Wage Rudolf” to his name so it became Wage Rudolf Supratman. She did this to enable her to send him to the Dutch elementary school (HIS). He joined in the second year.

Completing his elementary school he continued his study at the Teacher’s Training school. He graduated in 1920 and became a teacher. In 1923, the government appointed him to teach at Singkang another town in South Sulawesi, but his sister objected. At last he resigned. He worked in a lawyer’s office for a year, and then he went to Bandung and worked as a journalist. One year later he moved to Jakarta and worked for the “Sin Po” newspaper. He married Mujenah in 1926, but had no children. After ten years of marriage they divorced.

As a journalist, W.R. Supratman got in touch with many Indonesian nationalist leaders. Besides, Supratman was a musician and composer. His father taught him to play the violin when he was young and he continued playing when he was in Ujung Pandang and Bandung. He composed several pieces of music. “Indonesia Raya” or Great Indonesia was one of them. He composed it in 1928 when the Dutch ruler of Indonesia carried out a divide and rule policy, which stressed ethnic, linguistic, cultural and religious differences among the Indonesian people.

The birth of “Indonesia Raya” was closely related to the awakening of Indonesia’s nationalist and political movement. The song was first introduced by W.R. Supratman at the Indonesian Youth Congress held on 28^th October 1928 in Jakarta, when Indonesia’s Youth from different ethnic, linguistic, cultural and religious backgrounds adopted the now famous Pledge of Indonesian Youth. In this they state that they belong to one nation, the Indonesian nation, have one fatherland, Indonesia, and acknowledge one language, the Bahasa Indonesia. The pledge was later recognized as the Youth Pledge which is now commemorated every year.

The song stressed the call for unity among Indonesians, and it soon gained popularity. The song was the n sung at Indonesian political rallies where the participants stood up in solemn respect. It had really implanted a national consciousness among the population throughout the archipelago.

Wage Rudolf Supratman died on 17^th August 1938 and was buried at Kapas cemetery in Surabaya.

WHO AM I

2009-02-16T07:07:00.000-08:00

I don't know who am I
I don't understand who am I
Sometimes I look like possessed by the devil
Sometimes I look like the great boy
Sometimes I feel the most famous of all
Sometimes I feel the happiest person of all
But sometimes I feel my life is full of loneliness
Have I been living in the right way?
Or maybe I'm the worst of all
About my actions
About my attitudes
About my deeds
Are they useful for me and other?
God, please show me the right way...
In order that I can be useful for myself and other
Cause until now I don't understand who am I.

ONDEL-ONDEL

2009-02-07T06:06:00.000-08:00

DKI Jakarta will hold a festival of the Betawi art presenting Ondel-ondel and Tanjidor at opening ceremony of the Jakarta Fair on 4 June.

Ondel-ondel is represented by a couple of giant puppets which usually perform for individuals, companies or special event held by the municipality.

A MYSTICAL JOURNEY TO TRUNYAN VILLAGE

2009-02-04T05:38:00.000-08:00

Trunyan village is situated in the seam east of Lake Batur . It’s about 45 minutes from Kintamani when we want to go there by rowboat. Trunyan is one part of Bali Aga village (ancient Balinese). They called their people as Bali turunan, which means there was the first people who had been got down from the sky in Bali or the first people who staying in Bali Island. They also called the other people in Bali as the ethnic of Bali. They were the people who came from Java (Majapahit). Although most of Trunyan people are Hinduism, but they usually have another civilization each other.
One of interesting event which made the visitors felt amazing is the death of ceremony. Although they are the same Hinduism, in Bali, Trunyan people didn’t burn or burry the body when they took it in the funeral event. The Body was laid out under Taru Menyan tree. The body only covered with white cloth and put a fence along the edge of the funeral with bamboo. The death of ceremony in trunyan is called “mepasah”. The body was laid out in the grave which has been digging in the hole that’s not so deep without covered anything. There were seven graves which are used for the dead body by turns. That’s not so astonishing if we would see the skulls and bones were scattered around the cemetery.
Though trunyan people didn’t burry and burn the dead body, they just only put it under tree. But the body wasn’t making putrid odor around it. The Trunyan people believed that the putrid odor of the body was sucking up by Taru Menyan trees. Purportedly, taru menyan trees exuded a fragrant odor.
According to the folktale, the trunyan people believed that a fragrant odor which comes from taru menyan trees had ever been smelled by Danu Goodness who was staying in the heaven. Then, she got down on earth to try lokking for that odor sources where came from. After she got it then the people called it as trunyan.
The trunyan people had three kinds of “sema”(cemetery). Sema wayah (common cemetery) is a funeral only for people who died in properly. Sema muda (young cemetery) is a funeral for babies, children, and adults who had not ever been married. Anyway…sema bratas is a funeral for people who died in an accident or commit suicide.
Sema wayah become the object of interest to tourists. There are many foreign tourists who visiting there. To reach there the tourists must be road a boat to cross by way of the edge of abang hill in the side of Batur Lake. They would see beautiful scenery during along boat ridding to reach there. We can see beautiful scenery of the hills from north around the Batur Lake and we can also see the altar which built from stones from east. From there we usually see a mount of skulls and bones a rounding the altar that rowed under taru menyan tree. So, that’s all will be made a mystical senses for us.

Indonesia has the reached self-sufficiency of rice

2009-02-04T05:36:00.000-08:00

Rice is the major staple food for must of the Indonesian. The most striking impact of research over the past year ago is its contribution to the change in Indonesia’s rice production from the world’s largest importer of the major staple food to self-sufficiency. Increasing availability the seeds from new varieties, fertilizers and pesticides as well as favorable pricing policies influenced encouraged farmer to intensify their rice fields.

Indonesian farmers prefer to grow rice with good eating quality than select varieties for other characteristics such as high yield, early maturity, and resistance to certain pests and diseases. Therefore, only a few varieties are grow widely by farmers.
Increased production of palawija crops-food crops other than rice that includes corn, soybeans, peanuts, mungbeans, cassava, and sweet potatoes have been given a higher priority. One of the goals of agricultural development is to continue to obtain sufficient rice production, but at the same time substantially raise production of other crops to provide a more balanced diet for Indonesians and reduce costly imports. In addition, these crops play an important role as animal feed and raw material for industries.

The government hopes to reach self-sufficiency in these crops, especially corn and soybeans through intensification, densifications and diversification programmers. Production of corn and soybeans has begun to climb. Peanuts have shown a small increase but production of cassava and sweet potatoes has changed very little over the past years due mainly to marketing problem.

ABOUT MY FAMILY (part 8)

2009-02-04T05:26:00.002-08:00

In 2008 by December, my father took to the hospital. He took care there about two weeks. According to the doctor, he had a stroke and injured brain. After that my father took back to go home. Anyway…all members of my relatives were suspicious about my father diseases. About a week furthermore after from hospital he always felt hurt on his hands and legs. So, our family decided to discuss about our father condition. Finally, we tried to seek an indigenous medical practitioner (shaman) or kiai (a priest of Islam) who could treat sick people that coming mystically.

According to other relative’s advices, at last we got it. From the kiai we knew much about my father diseases. He said that there was a bad shaman who sent something in order that my father became sick. He told us that there was one of our neighbors who took himself to a shaman to get his problem cured. He also told us the reasons why my father got his sick in the beginning. Actually, my father felt strange sick in his body about one year but he has been postponed it. The kiai said to us in order to be patient to a person who has been acted so cruel to my father. Don’t be bearding a grudge. He asked for us in order that don’t take revenge with him. May God will sends the justices for us.

My father said to us that he had ever been angry to someone who had ever been wanted to press for payment of the debt. My father felt that he had been given that money. At first he gave it to my mother. He asked to my mom in order that she wanted to give it to that guy. Unfortunately, my mother has been forgotten about it. Yeah, because of a simple problem has been making a big case with my neighbor. Because of late in giving money to my neighbor and his wife had been got a mad from my father, then, the man went to a shaman in order that he could solve their problem. That’s very scary. Because his wife was offended, he asked to a shaman in order that he wanted to send something that made my father become sick. We hope that my father will get recover at soon. We also hope that God will give the best for our family. Couldn’t our problems solve in properly? And whoever you are, if you are staying in Java or other place that still try to solve the problems take to a shaman, just be careful, don’t be arrogant, don’t be selfish, and don’t be hothead. Let’s solve our problem properly. O.K, May God always blesses us forever and ever. Are you believe it or don’t believe it just try it in order that you can proof it. Be careful! O.K.

Custom and costumes

2009-02-04T05:26:00.001-08:00

A custom is behavior considered good and agreed in a group of living that is passed on from generation to generation without record. It’s considered taboo or impolite for someone to break the customs because from children or even babies indirectly have been taught about the custom. For example the children are trained to respect the older people in any occasions.
While a costume is the style of dress that about a certain group of people wear. The costume can represent an indication of where the style of costume comes from. In some areas the women wear sarong tied around the waist, a baju which is a loose blouse and a selendang, a scarf draped over one shoulder. The men wear loose shirts and trousers. A knee length sarong skirt, tied at the waist is often worn as informal attire. They also wear a peci, a black velvet cap.
Indian women wear saries (long, loose robes), Chinese women wear the pajama like sam-fao or the straight dress with side slits called cheongsam. Most Indian, Chinese, Malay and Indonesia wear western-style clothes in towns and cities. How about other country?

THE NATURAL BEAUTY OF INDONESIA

2009-02-04T05:12:00.000-08:00

Lake Toba is situated in the center of Bukit Barisan mountain range. It is an interesting mountain resort with Samosir Island in the center of the lake. It boasts many modern hotels and facilities for water sport such as boating, water skiin and swimming.

In west Sumatra, the center of culture and tourism is Bukit Tinggi, situated in the highlands north of the provincial capital of Padang. West Sumatra is a land of scenic beauty with green lakes and Blue Mountains.
Java has a great number of attractions including the world renowned Botanical Garden in Bogor, the wildlife reserve of Ujung Kulon on the south west part of the island. Borobudur, a gigantic Buddhist shrine is situated 42 kilometers northwest of Yogyakarta and the Ijen crater lies in East Java and display hot springs, waterfalls and free roaming dears as well as a sculptured crater. A three-hour drive from Surabaya and then a pony ride from the village of Ngadisari over the sea will take you to mount Bromo which is an active volcano with sulphur fumes and smoke still emitting from its depths. The inhabitants of the surrounding areas believe in the God of Bromo and bring offering to his deity.
Bali is different from the rest of Indonesia because of its unique form of Hinduism called “Hindu Darma”. Religion is the main source of traditional custom in family and community life. The soul of Balinese is religion, and it finds its expression in art. Many articles and books have been written on Bali.