To keep you busy on a Tuesday...


Tip from Open Culture

It's been a busy summer, but it's been a fun one. In the midst of it all, we moved. I wish I could say that we're settled in.

I mean, we're happy and spread out. Which counts for a lot.

But we're nowhere near unpacked and put away.

The neighborhood is wonderful and the people are great. Everything you hope for in a home for your children. There's one set of neighbors that we haven't met yet. They have a dog and drive a minivan, cut their lawn and go to work. I've exchanged hello's with the woman a few times--usually before sunrise on my return from a sweaty and out-of-breath hard run. But nothing more than that.

Until yesterday.

Anna had woken up early that morning, so we were dressed and fed and on the driveway with sidewalk chalk by 8a.

Anna was puttering around, chalk in one hand, a stick in the other. Talking about bikes and birds and pointing to "peens" (airplanes). It was a beautiful morning. Quiet and bright, but soft-feeling.

Ava was sitting on the pavement, describing the picture she was drawing. This will be hugely relevant in a minute. It was a very intriguing and moving picture, one that you wouldn't expect from a four-year-old. Hearts and flowers and people, sure. But not this.

As Ava and I were talking about her picture, I hadn't noticed that our neighbor (I'll call her Jane) had gotten into her car and began backing out of her driveway.

Ava and I were still discussing her picture when I looked up to wave to Jane, only to see her out of her car now, walking up to our house.

"I'm so sorry I haven't been over to meet you or your girls yet," she began.

I immediately put her at ease, reminding her that we hadn't exactly been over to meet her yet, either.

Then we got to talking about the girls and preschool and our decision to send Ava to our Catholic parish preschool. She said that she and her husband had made the same decision for their children and didn't regret it for a minute.

Then, we started talking more about her kids. I had seen two college-age boys and asked her how the transition from K-8 school to competitive high schools was for them. She answered me and then hesitated for a minute before beginning again.

"But for my daughter...do you know about my daughter?" she asked.

I shook my head sensing there was pain there.

This is when she started to tear up, telling me the story that would break my heart right there on that perfect early summer morning: her 14 year old daughter had died from a brain tumor less than two years ago. She attended high school for two weeks before falling too sick to continue. She passed away two months later.

She admitted that the loss was a big reason why she had not been over to see us yet, "one of the first questions that people usually ask is how many children we have. I dread having to answer that."

I touched her arm, "Faith must be a very important part of your life now."

"It is," she said. "Every week Father Donald tells me something that I need to hear. Like last week, he told us all that we are reunited with our loved ones in heaven. I've heard it over and over and I can't hear it enough. I've been holding onto that all week. I have to."

Then I began to tell her about the picture that Ava had just drawn, was in the midst of drawing.

"Jane" I started, "do you know what Ava started drawing while you were walking to your car this morning and then was finishing as you were walking up our driveway?"

She looked at me, intrigued.

"She was drawing Jesus on the Cross. When I asked her why she was drawing Jesus, she told me because she 'thinks about him a lot'...about how he died and then came back to us. As you were parking your car in front of her house, we were talking about His spirit. That even though we can't see him, He is always with us."

There was more discussion after that. About heaven. Ava understands that heaven is a beautiful place, "a place where you get to do all of your favorite things all of the time." It's not a scary place for her at all. Thunderstorms she'll run from and scream at, but heaven is peace to her.

I can't convey in words the experience that Jane and I and our daughters--all of them--had that morning,  but we were all together on that driveway, among the bikes and the birds and the "peens."

May God Bless You Today too...and may you feel His spirit and love all around you.

Hello from Long Lane Honey Bee Farms we are David & Sheri Burns, beekeepers, husband and wife team, here to bring you another lesson in beekeeping. Today, we’ll look at the greater wax moth that slips into our hives this time of the year and can be a challenge.
Before we begin our lesson, let me remind you that Sheri and I posted a new podcast. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN.
LESSON 81: Pests & Diseases Part 2 The Great Wax Moth
Wax Moth: Friend or Foe?
David Burns, EAS Certified Master Beekeeper
Finally you have some time to fire up the smoker, put on your hat and veil and inspect your hive. It has been over a month since your last inspection. You are hoping to find lots of bees, lots of stored honey and a laying queen. But as soon as you lift up the inner cover, much to your surprise you find this strange looking webbing, like condensed spider webbing, all throughout your comb. The bee population is greatly reduced. And you notice these small 3/4" grubs in the comb and cocoons everywhere. You panic!
To a new beekeeper, seeing this for the first time is overwhelming. Everything was going so well and now your hive appears to be lost. What's going on? All beekeepers will experience this from time to time. What is it? It is Galleria mellonia L. Sounds terrible, doesn't it? The more common name is wax moth.
It is known as the greater wax moth and yes, there is a lesser wax moth, but typically it is the great wax moth that attacks our hives. Wax moth larvae are friends to fisherman, but to the beekeeper they are our foes.
In this article I want to describe the wax moth's activity in the hive, what to do when your hive is attacked and how to keep it from happening.
WAX MOTHS IN THE HIVE
Almost all beekeepers have experienced wax moths in the hive. It happens to the best of us. Wax moths can destroy colonies but typically only colonies that have become weak due to other issues. A strong colony does well to kill the adult wax moth if she enters the hive. A strong colony is quick to destroy wax moth eggs and larvae, preventing their take over. This is not the case when a hive is weak or if a strong colony has too much unprotected comb.
Let's sneak out into the apiary and figure out how the wax moth can take over a hive. Let's choose mid August to do our investigation. It was a hot and humid day and now it is a warm August night. The adult wax moth is flying around dodging car headlights and finally flies into our apiary, attracted to the smell of wax. The adult wax moth only lives a few days (at summer temperatures) and does not eat or drink. She flies into our test colony and slips past the guard bees and finds her way to a vacant corner inside the hive. There she begins to lay her eggs. She lays her eggs about 4-10 days after she emerges as an adult moth and lays around 300-600 eggs. Wax moth Larvae can crawl and enter surrounding hives as well.
Once in the larva stage the wax moth tunnels its way through the comb eating honey, pollen and sometimes beeswax, preferring darker comb, and finally spins its cocoon about 19 days later. These cocoons burrow into the wood slightly and once removed will leave small, striped indentations in the wood. As the population of wax moths grow, the remaining bees will finally abscond.
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU SEE WAX MOTHS IN YOUR HIVE
The damage can be mild to severe. It looks worse than it is. You can see wax moth droppings in the webbing and the webbing will sometimes make the frames difficult to separate. When you first saw wax moths in your hive it was because your hive became weak and could not defend itself from the wax moths. Perhaps you hive became queenless and bee population dropped. Little can be done once the wax moths have taken over your colony. The bees will eventually leave and you'll be left with bad looking comb. But don't despair. Fortunately you can kill all the larvae and eggs by freezing your combs and reusing them. 20 degrees (f) for 5 hours will kill all stages of wax moths in comb. Or only two hours at 5 degrees (f). Here in Illinois we have winter working with us to kill all left over wax moths in our stored comb. Stack your hive bodies and supers on a queen excluder to keep out mice and set them in an unheated out building for the winter. Your problems are solved. No more wax moths until next summer when new ones fly back into your hives.
HOW TO PREVENT WAX MOTHS
Your best control against wax moths is to have a strong colony. Be careful not to place more hive boxes on than what is necessary to control swarming. Too much empty space will give small hive beetles and wax moths room to spread. Weak colonies in large hives are very inviting to wax moths. Keep your colonies tight and strong.
COMB HONEY
When selling comb honey, the comb can contain eggs and small wax moth larvae, which can grow in a warm environment. This can be very alarming to a customer. Comb honey should be frozen to kill any potentially unseen wax moth eggs or small larvae.
Bullet Points:
· Wax moths occur around the world wherever bees are kept.
· Bees will not rebuild comb on plastic foundation where there has been wax moth damage unless the foundation is recoated with beeswax.
· Wax moth larvae can travel over 150 feet to a new hive.
· Sealed bee brood can become trapped by wax moth silken threads of webbing and die from not being able to emerge.
· Moth balls (Naphthalene) can no longer be used to protect stored comb not on the hive. Para-moth (paradichlorobenzen) is a more acceptable fumigant for use with comb stored off the hive.
I hope you have enjoyed our lesson today and Sheri and I want to thank you for viewing our beekeeping lessons and hope they are helpful to you. Please consider sending your beekeeping business our way. We know you can go to much bigger beekeeping companies so we appreciate you keeping us in mind.
Check out our complete teaching video on wax moths at:
http://www.honeybeesonline.com/video.html or view it below:

OUR WEBSITE: http://www.honeybeesonline.com
PHONE: 217-427-2678
EMAIL: david@honeybeesonline.com
Until next time, BEE-have yourself!

Long Laney Honey Bee Farms
David & Sheri Burns
14556 N 1020 E Rd
Fairmount, IL 61841

This is a weekly post by Nidhal Guessoum (see his earlier posts here). Nidhal is an astrophysicist and Professor of Physics at American University of Sharjah

The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre in Amman, Jordan, has issued its second annual list of the 500 most influential Muslims, which it lists and briefly describes in 15 categories:

1.       Scholarly

2.       Political

3.       Administrative

4.       Lineage

5.       Preachers

6.       Women’s Issues

7.       Youth

8.       Philanthropy

9.       Development

10.    Science, Technology, Medicine, Law

11.    Arts and Culture (with a special subcategory for ‘Qur’an Reciters’)

12.    Media

13.    Radicals

14.    International Islamic Networks

15.    Issues of the Day

The list, and its sub-lists, is (are) highly interesting, surprising in many ways, and would elicit all kinds of comments from any reader/observer. I will focus on the “Science, Technology, Medicine, Law” category (why was ‘Law’ lumped into this group??), but before that I would like to make a few comments.

First, as I’ve just noted, the categories themselves are quite unusual. The authors of the list do offer a few lines of description for each category, for example that ‘Lineage’ refers to “individuals [who] exercise influence in the Muslim world and global society by virtue of their lineage. They are from some of the oldest existing dynasties and thriving scholarly traditions that link directly to the Prophet Muhammad.” Also, if you’re wondering who is supposed to be included in the ‘Issues of the Day’ category, the authors tell you that “Within the past year the world has witnessed natural disasters, international political developments, environmental crises, destructions and revolutions. These are the key figures that have been exceedingly influential on these issues.” Oh, why are ‘Qur’an Reciters’ listed in a special sub-category, you ask? Because, we are told, “The recitation of Qur’an is a special art that is valued by Muslim communities across the world.”

The document also gives us the Top 50 Muslim people of influence across all categories, plus 11 “runners up”. Here are the first 5:

1. King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia

2. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey

3. Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran

4. King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein, King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

5. King Mohammed VI, King of Morocco

and the next 5:

6. Sultan Qaboos bin Sa’id, Sultan of Oman

7. Professor Sheikh Ahmad Muhammad al-Tayeb, Grand Sheikh of the Al Azhar University, Grand Imam of the Al Azhar Mosque

8. Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hussein Sistani, Marja of the Hawza, Najaf, Iraq

9. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of Indonesia

10. Sheikh Dr Ali Goma’a, Grand Mufti of The Arab Republic of Egypt

OK, so 7 political leaders and 3 religious figures make up the Top 10 most influential Muslims in the world today… I invite you to comment on this (and other aspects of the list) and to check out the rest of the Top 50 (spoiler: more of the same…).

Now, interestingly, among the “runners up” are a number of high-caliber and eminently respectable intellectuals (Tariq Ramadan, Ingrid Matteson, Timothy Winter, A. Q. Khan, Mohammad El-Baradei), but I doubt how much influence they can be said to have, especially when put right alongside leaders like Sheikh Muhammad bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, vice-president and prime minister of the UAE…

Let us look at the Science, Technology, Medicine, and Law category. First, here’s the full list; interestingly, these scholars are listed by “region” (‘Middle East and North Africa’, ‘Asia’, ‘North America’); no ranking is apparently implied:

1. El-Naggar, Zaghloul (Egyptian geologist and scholar who writes and speaks on science and the Qur’an)

2. Ansari, Anousheh (the first privately-funded woman, and the first Iranian, to explore space in 2006; businesswoman who co-sponsored the ‘Ansari X Prize’…)

3. Salehi, Ali Akbar (head of the Atomic Energy Organization in Iran since July 2009)

4. Abdul Kalam, A P J (engineer and former president of India)

5. Mumpuni, Tri (She and her husband have promoted a system that combines heat and power as a basis for more sustainable sources of electricity in rural Indonesia.)

6. Khan, Abdul Qadeer (the father of the ‘Islamic Bomb’ in Pakistan)

7. Rahman, Atta-ur (coordinator general of COMSTECH—the Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation for the promotion and cooperation of science and technology activities among the member states of the Organization of the Islamic Conference)

8. Marsoof, Saleem (a judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, prolific author and proponent of legal reform)

9. Shukor, Muszaphar (orthopedic surgeon, first Malaysian astronaut)

10. Dahlan, Winai (director of the Halal Science Center in Thailand, has written more than 30 original research articles published internationally and locally, and produced more than 2000 scientific and nutritional articles; writing weekly in 3 magazines since 1989)

11. El-Fatatry, Mohamed (Finland-based Egyptian entrepreneur, chairman and CEO of Muxlim.com, the social networking website for Muslims)

12. Guiderdoni, Bruno Abd Al-Haqq (French astrophysicist, director of the Lyon Observatory)

13. Al-Hassani, Salim (former professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, and the celebrated author of 1001 Inventions: Muslim Heritage in Our World)

14. Khalid, Fazlun (founder and director of the Birmingham-based Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences)

15. Qureshi, Khawar (one of the world’s leading experts on public international law, the youngest advocate ever to have appeared before the International Court of Justice in 1993 for Bosnia’s genocide case against Yugoslavia)

16. Kutty, Faisal (outspoken lawyer on issues of human rights, Islamic thought and anti-terror legislation)

17. Oz, Mehmet (cardiothoracic surgeon who was made famous by regularly appearing on Oprah’s show and now has his own TV show)

18. Qazi, Mahmood Ahmad (chemical engineer, entrepreneur, writer, and founder of Kazi publications)

19. Zewail, Ahmed (1999 Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry)

First, I must confess that I had never heard of 9 of these 19 “most influential Muslims” in Science, Technology, Medicine, and Law. (How about you, Salman, and our dear readers; please tell us!) Secondly, I have added next to the names a very brief description of the person’s credentials, as given by the Center’s document. 

The list is surprising? It was to me, but that may just reflect my personal lack of knowledge of Muslim achievers far and wide. And hey, at least this year they did not include Harun Yahya, who was on the list (of 14 names) last year – and is no doubt influential in some unwanted ways!

Are there any names that you would have included, and which of the listed ones would you take out if, let’s say, we wish to have no more than 20 names?

Alhamdulillah!

Segala puji dan syukur hanya milik-Nya.
Dengan izin-Nya Majalah Sinergi Edisi ke-2 telah berjaya diterbitkan. Kali ini dengan lebih banyak kolum dan perbahasan-perbahasan menarik. Semoga bermanfaat buat semua.

Dapatkan segera!
Boleh hubungi saya untuk tempahan.
umairzulkefli - 0135014774
umairzulkefli@gmail.com
musafirdamai@yahoo.com

~End Of Post~

Here is an excellent talk by Eugenie Scott of the National Center for Science Education (NCSE). Some of the things in here are specific for the American context, but it still provides a nice overview of evolution. Perhaps, most importantly, it highlights the way debates within the scientific community often get misrepresented in the media. Check it out - it is about an hour long.



Want more? Well you can check out Eugenie Scott's lecture as part of our Hampshire College Lecture Series on Science & Religion: Evolution and Creationism

If you are looking for a fun, creative, and a very smartly written film, then check out Scott Pilgrim vs the World. And it is very funny! I was hesitant to go see it because the previews made it look like a teen comic-book movie (yes, it is based on a series of graphic-novels). However, it is much more interesting than that. It is directed by the Edgar Wright, who also did the fantastic Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz - and it has the same humor full of pop-culture references. The movie has not done well - and it may be because of the advertising campaign. Instead of a teen movie, this is closer in spirit to Quentin Tarantino - especially Kill Bill Vol. 2 - with its nod to popular culture, other films, as well as Japanese comics. If you can find it in a theater near you, give it a shot. (Also, listen to this Fresh Air interview with Edgar Wright)

Here is a trailer for the film (but remember, it is much more than this):

Religions can do good and religions can do bad. Here is a Fresh Air interview with Eliza Griswold (about 20 minutes long), the author of The Tenth Parallel: Dispatches from the fault-line between Christianity and Islam. This looks like a fascinating book about hot places where Islam and Christianity meet and compete with each other. Often times the outcome is not very pretty (listen to the bit about Nigeria). She looks at places like Sudan, Nigeria, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, etc. In the interview she makes an interesting comment about evangelicals and how they may be defining the way the world looks at religion in US:

In the winter of 2003, writer Eliza Griswold traveled to the northern capital of Sudan with Franklin Graham, the evangelical leader and son of Billy Graham, to meet with Omar al-Bashir, the president of Sudan.

There were several reasons for making the trip. Graham wanted to ask Bashir for the right to preach to Muslims in Khartoum and in northern Sudan. (Bashir denied his request.) Griswold, meanwhile, wanted to see how Christian evangelicals had come to play such a large role in U.S. foreign policy, a topic she was researching for her book The Tenth Parallel, about the collisions between Islam and Christianity in certain parts of the world. 

She says that when someone like Graham travels to Sudan to meet with an official, he is seen as representative of what all Americans believe.

"That is one of the more dangerous realities of how conservative evangelicals abroad can shape the perception of the West," she says. "This is especially sensitive in the Muslim world. ... [And then we see] this kind of defensive posturing of Islam — that Islam is under threat by the West. Unfortunately, a handful of evangelicals can misrepresent what the West is about and make Muslims feel very much under threat."

Ideological conflicts like these are not limited to Sudan, but many of them take place along the 10th parallel, the line of latitude 700 miles north of the equator. More than 60 percent of the world's 2 billion Christians live along the 10th parallel — along with half the world's 1.3 billion Muslim population. Griswold spent the past seven years traveling along the latitude line and researching the places — like Sudan, Nigeria, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines — where Christianity and Islam collide.

Also, read the New York Times review of The Tenth Parallel here. Here is a bit about Indonesia and Malaysia:

In Indonesia, home to the world’s largest Muslim population, the religious ferment mostly occurs between conservative and moderate Islam. Bouts of violence shocked the quiescent majority into defending a traditionally tranquil version of its faith and, happily, the moderates may now have the upper hand. Griswold trekked from Jakarta to the province of Aceh, meeting all sorts of Indonesians, from a terrorist leader to a bride-to-be worried she would be found not to be a virgin. Those unfamiliar with Asia may be surprised to learn that a much more draconian legal system defends and promotes Islam in tiny, prosperous Malaysia, whose oil wealth and skyscrapers coexist with measures that ban usury and ensure compliance with Shariah or Islamic law; make it illegal for a Muslim to leave the faith and forbid proselytizing by other religions — all to preserve the Malay culture and Muslim religion in this melting pot of Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and aboriginal tribes like the Orang Asli, who practice animism.

But then it seems that these fights over religion and the urge to proselytize may not be that easy to explain:

The same might be said of the itinerant and intrepid author, who candidly admits that she has discovered no neat theory to explain why people fight over religion or why someone like the self-proclaimed Reverend Abdu, a former Muslim Fulani nomad, lives his life as an unpaid proselytizer or why a missionary couple in the Sudan persist although they have not converted a single soul. Sitting in Abdu’s sweltering hut one day Griswold experienced the paradoxically cooling effect of the hot tea he serves her and realizes that some mysteries cannot be solved.

Read the full review here.

There is no reason to think why there won't be any earth-sized planets orbiting other stars. The detection techniques so far have been sensitive to the detection of large planets usually orbiting close to the parent star. We now have the detection of a solar system containing at least 5 Neptune-size planets - and may be two more planets, with at least one comparable to the size of the Earth (about 1.4 times the mass of the Earth). This system is located about 127 light years away and the host star is similar to the Sun. If you want to impress your friends, the name of the host star is HD 10180 (you can find details of the star and the planets if you click on the link to the name of the star).

Yes, this is very cool - especially if the detection of the smaller planet(s) is confirmed. However, couple of cautionary notes: This planetary system, despite all the planets, is quite different than our own solar system. The five Neptune-sized planets are all located within the distance of the orbit of Mars - and that makes it quite a bit crowded than the place we live in. Second, presence of the smaller planet(s) has not been confirmed yet (the detection technique does not involve images - rather, the presence of the planets is inferred from the slight wobble of the parent star - and model-fits to this wobble pattern. This is a very successful method of detecting planets, but as you can imagine, it also gets hard to infer the presence of small planets in a multi-planet system). And even if the detection of earth-size is confirmed, the planet may not be much like our own Earth as it is expected to be orbiting really really close to its sun - with a period of only 1.2 Earth-days! (For comparison, Mercury takes 88 days to around the Sun).

Nevertheless, we are getting closer to detecting earth-like planets. If you want to keep track of the number of extrasolar planets, you should check out The Extrasolar Planets Encyclopedia (488 planets from their count) and  Planet Quest (473 planets around 402 stars from their count). In fact, download this cool widget that will let you keep track of the count just like your computer clock and weather.

It is only a matter of time before we start detecting earth-like planets...

Read the full story here.

Remaja adalah aset yang cukup berharga. Kerana mereka adalah pemimpin masa hadapan. Syaidina Umar Al-Khattab pernah berkata, "Jika kamu ingin melihat kekuatan sesebuah negara, lihatlah kepada remajanya sekarang." Soalnya, bagaimanakah remaja kita? Majoritinya bagaimana?

Lihat sahaja ke mana-mana, remaja kita, terutamanya remaja melayu yang menganut agama Islam kita tercinta ini, bagaimanakah keadaannya?

Merempit

Berzina

Berkhalwat

Buang bayi

Persoalannya bagaimana semua ini boleh terjadi? Apakah mereka tidak mengenal erti dosa pahala? Mereka tidak diajar di sekolah-sekolah? Tidak mungkin. Puncanya boleh saya simpulkan, kerana mereka tidak dididik dengan jati diri Remaja Akhirat.

Siapakah Remaja Akhirat itu?

Remaja Akhirat adalah mereka yang berusia belasan tahun yang hidupnya bermatlamatkan akhirat. Tutur kata serta perilakunya berorientasikan akhirat sebagai hala tuju.

"Alah, akhirat pula. Susahlah kalau nak kena jadi ustaz saja!"

Siapa kata bila fikir akhirat kena jadi orang masjid sahaja? Sebagai muslim, kita dituntut untuk mengejar kejayaan duniawi mahupun akhirat dengan bersungguh-sungguh, bukan hanya menjadi golongan ustaz sahaja. Kita boleh sahaja menjadi jurutera, juruterbang, polis, saintis, doktor dan lain-lain profesi. Tetapi mulakan dengan asas Remaja Akhirat. Matlamat yang akan menghasilkan:

• Menjadi Jurutera yang beriman
• Juruterbang yang menjadikan redha Allah sebagai matlamat hidup
• Polis yang takut dengan azab Allah
• Saintis yang sentiasa memikir dan mengagungkan kebesaran Allah
• Doktor yang mampu mengubati hati pesakit agar semakin dekat dengan Allah

Inilah hasil daripada menjadi Remaja Akhirat. Golongan remaja ini disebutkan sebagai salah satu daripada tujuh golongan yang akan mendapat naungan Allah SWT di hari akhirat kelak. Pada hari yang tiada lagi naungan selain daripada naungan Allah SWT. Iaitu golongan remaja yang membesar dalam keadaan mengabdikan diri kepada Allah.

Ciri-cirinya

Remaja Akhirat akan sentiasa mempuyai daya kawalan diri. Mereka sedar bahawa setiap tindak tanduk mereka akan berbuah pahala ataupun dosa. Sehingga mereka sangat berhati-hati dalam tindak tanduk mereka.

Mereka tidak akan mudah terpengaruh dengan keseronokan dunia. Mereka tidak dengan semberono sahaja melalukan perbuatan tidak bertanggungjawab. Mereka amat tahu apa yang dilakukan mereka sekarang akan dipertanggungjawabkan di akhirat kelak.

Remaja Akhirat tidak sesuka hati menggunakan nickname 'anonymous' lalu mengutuk orang sana sini.

Remaja Akhirat tidak selamba badak membuka laman-laman lucah dengan melupakan yang Allah sentiasa melihatnya.

Remaja Akhirat tidak sesuka hati menggunakan kebijakan tutur katanya untuk menggoda pasangan demi kepuasan nafsu.

Remaja Akhirat adalah mereka yang amat menginginkan kebahagiaan abadi di syurga Allah dan amat takut dengan siksa abadi di neraka Allah. Mereka tahu dan sentiasa berfikir bahawa setiap kali mereka penat lelah melakukan ibadah pahala, kepenatan itu akan hilang dan pahala daripada ibadah  itu akan kekal. Mereka tahu setiap kali ingin berseronok melakukan maksiat, keseronokan maksiat itu akan hilang dan dosa daripada kemaksiatan itu akan kekal selamanya.

Remaja Akhirat di zaman Rasulullah SAW

Sebuah cerita tentang sahabat Rasulullah SAW. Seorang remaja yang berusia 17 tahun yang sering menemani Rasulullah SAW ke mana sahaja Rasulullah pergi. Dia sering diminta oleh Rasulullah untuk mendapatkan barang-barang keperluan baginda. Tsa'labah ibnu Abdurrahman nama diberi.

Pada suatu hari seperti biasa Rasulullah memintanya untuk mendapatkan sesuatu. Lalu pergilah Tsa'labah untuk mendapatkan permintaan Rasulullah tersebut. Dalam perjalanannya Tsa'labah melintasi sebuah rumah. Pintu serta tingkap rumah tersebut hanya ditutupi oleh tirai yang diperbuat daripada guni. Tiba-tiba angin bertiup kencang dan tirai yang menutupi jendela rumah itupun tersingkap. 

Saat itu pandangan Tsa'labah sedang dihalakan ke arah rumah tersebut. Lalu dengan tidak sengaja terlihatlah Tsa'labah akan wanita yang sedang mandi. Tsa'labah segera mengalihkan pandangannya dan menyebut, "A'uzubillah!!" "Aku berlindung kepada Allah!"

Tsa'labah dihantui rasa bersalah yang amat sangat kerana telah terlihat aurat seorang wanita yang tidak halal baginya. Di dalam benaknya dia berfikir-fikir tentang dosanya tadi.

"Ya-Allah, aku takut kalau malaikat Jibril turun memeritahu kepada Rasulullah SAW bahawa aku telah melakukan maksiat! Aku takut kalau nanti akan turunnya ayat Al-Quran yang menyenaraikan aku sebagai salah seorang pemaksiat! Ya-Allah sungguh aku telah melihat aurat seorang wanita yang tidak halal bagiku!"

Tsa'labah terus dengan rintihannya sehingga dia terlupa akan tujuan asalnya untuk mencari keperluan Rasulullah. Dia berlari menyembunyikan diri kerana takut dan malu untuk bertemu dengan Rasulullah. Terus-terusan dia merintih.

"Ya-Allah, aku tak mahu masuk neraka! Ya-Allah, aku tak mahu diazab atas dosa yang aku lakukan. Ya-Allah ampunkanlah aku!"

Tsa'labah terus berlari sehingga ke kaki bukit di pinggir kota Madinah. Tsa'labah memanjat bukit itu dan bersembunyi di dalam gua di puncak bukit tersebut. Sementara Rasulullah terus menunggu Tsa'labah sehingga berhari-hari. Kerana tidak ada khabar mengenai Tsa'labah, Rasulullah meminta Umar Al-Khattab untuk mencari di manakah Tsa'labah.

Ketika Tsa'labah ditemui, Umar berkata, "Wahai Tsa'labah, marilah bertemu Rasulullah. Baginda mahu bertemu denganmu."

Tsa'labah dengan ketakutan berkata, "Mengapa Rasulullah mahu bertemu denganku? Sudahkan turun ayat Al-Quran yang menceritakan tentang kemaksiatanku? Jibril sudah beritahu Rasulullah apa yang aku lakukan? Aku tidak mahu masuk neraka! Aku takut!"

Tsa'labah terus berkata-kata dalam ketakutan seperti orang gila. Oleh kerana sudah beberapa hari tidak makan, melainkan beberapa teguk susu kambing yang diberikan oleh pengembala kambing di kaki bukit tersebut, badannya menjadi sangat lemah. Lalu Umar memapah Tsa'labah ke pulang ke rumah.

Setelah mengetahui Tsa'labah telah dijumpai dan berada di rumah, Rasulullah datang menziarahinya. Rasulullah lalu meriba kepala Tsa'labah, namun Tsa'labah mengalihkan kepalanya. Rasulullah bertanya, 

"Wahai Tsa'labah, mengapa engkau mengalihkan kepalamu?"

"Wahai Rasulullah, kepala yang penuh dosa ini tidak layak untuk berada di atas ribamu yang mulia itu."

Rasulullah memandang Tsa'labah dengan wajah sayu, dan bertanya,

"Wahai Tsa'labah, apakah yang kau mahukan?"

"Aku mahukan keampunan Allah.." Suaranya semakin lemah.

"Apakah cita-citamu wahai Tsa'labah?" Rasulullah kembali bertanya.

"Cita-citaku adalah untuk menginjaki syurga..Tolonglah doakan kepada Allah agar Dia mengampunkan dosaku.."

"Wahai Tsa'labah, aku menjadi penjamin di atas kemahuanmu dan cita-citamu itu. Sesungguhnya ini adalah bukti taubatmu."

Akhirnya Tsa'labah telah menghembuskan nafasnya yang terakhir di atas riba Rasulullah SAW.

Ketika pengebumian Tsa'labah, Rasulullah tiba agak terlambat. Para sahabat telah terlebih dahulu mengerumuni kuburan Tsa'labah. Apabila Rasulullah tiba, para sahabat membuka laluan kepada Rasulullah untuk melihat jenazah Tsa'labah. Namun Rasulullah SAW kelihatan berjalan susah payah bagaikan diasak-asak. Para sahabat bertanya akan keadaan baginda itu. Rasulullah menjawab,

"Sesungguhnya kamu tidak melihat betapa ramainya malaikat yang menghantar Tsa'labah ke kuburnya."

Itulah kisah salah seorang Remaja Akhirat di zaman Rasulullah. Kita boleh mencontohinya. Remaja seperti inilah yang akan membangkitkan kembali kegemilangan tamadun Islam. Remaja-remaja yang sempurna iman dan taqwanya kepada Allah.

Soalnya bagaimana?

Usaha. Perjalanan berjarak beribu-ribu batu bermula dengan langkah yang pertama. Mulakan langkahan. Mulakan mendidik diri dengan nilai-nilai Islam yang mengakar dalam jiwa. Bentuk lingkungan tarbiyah bersama-sama dengan mereka yang sama-sama berusaha untuk menjadi Remaja Ahirat. Dengan lingkukan ini kita akan saling ingat-mengingati dan baiki-membaiki kualiti diri sesama kita. Dan pada masa yang sama kita terus menjalani kehidupan sepereti rakan-rakan yang lain.

Hidupkan halaqoh, tadarus, tadabbur, qiamullail dan pengajian-pengajian agama. Laksanakan kehidupan Islam dalam seluruh kehidupan kita. Mulakan dengan diri kita dan bimbing rakan-rakan. Insya-Allah, kita sama-sama mampu mencapainya.

Kesimpulan: Mari Tanamkan Azam dan Mulakan Langkahan

Banyak yang kita dengar dan baca, maka banyak yang perlu kita laksanakan. Marilah mulakan langkahan kita bermula saat ini. Mulakan dengan bertaubat, kemudian meningkatkan amalan serta kefahaman kepada agama. Jalan itu pasti akan kelihatan, jika kita berusaha berusungguh-sungguh untuk mendapat redha-Nya.

Dan orang-orang yang berjihad untuk (mencari keridhaan) Kami, benar- benar akan Kami tunjukkan kepada mereka jalan-jalan Kami. Dan sesungguhnya Allah benar-benar beserta orang-orang yang berbuat baik.
[Q.S. Al-Ankabut, 29:69]

Mari jadi Remaja Akhirat! Cinta Allah, Rasul, Dakwah dan Jihad!

~End Of Post~

Next year will officially mark one-hundred years since scientific management, the first great management paradigm, burst into the national consciousness. It invented many concepts we now take for granted: efficiency, productivity, and the idea of management itself. We owe that movement an incalculable debt of gratitude. Have you decide already how to celebrate this centennial? I have: I'm going to mark the occasion at SXSW Interactive in March, 2011. You're invited (details below).

I'm starting to experiment with new ways of talking about the Lean Startup movement and the impact you all are having on the practice of entrepreneurship across countries, industries, and even sizes of companies. We are collectively bringing a new level of scientific rigor to the act of innovation itself, and our revolution is just beginning. We still have much to learn. So take a look at the ideas below, and please leave your thoughts as a comment. As always, I welcome your feedback.

The seed of this idea was planted by many of you on Twitter over the past few weeks. In fact, both I and the SXSW organizers got many emails and tweets about the necessity of having Lean Startup be part of SXSWi. As a result, they were kind enough to allow a very late Lean Startup submission to their user-generated PanelPicker system. They use crowdsourcing to figure out which speakers to invite and what topics are of interest to their audience. Even if you've never been to SXSW or don't know what I'm talking about, you can still go vote - it takes less than five minutes. Because we're getting a very late start on the other panels, our submission is way behind. We only have a few days to catch up, as voting ends on August 27 - just three days from now. So please vote, comment, tweet, and help make this happen. Thank you.

Here's the submission itself, with my first attempt at a new framing for Lean Startup as a rebirth of scientific management. I'd love to know what you think:

The Lean Startup: innovation through experimentation

2011 will mark the one-hundredth anniversary of Frederick Winslow Taylor's "Principles of Scientific Management." The tremendous material abundance we enjoy today is the result of the productivity revolution he unleashed by bringing the tools of science to the study of work itself. Management today is rigorous, scientific, and effective -at the production of physical goods. 

In other areas the picture is bleak, especially for innovative new products. We fail spectacularly in startups and big companies alike. Too often we're building something nobody wants. There is a movement that is trying to eradicate this disease. 

We are at the beginning of a second scientific management revolution that will bring science, rigor, and discipline to the process of innovation itself. It has already begun to transform the way startups are built around the world. It is called the Lean Startup. 

All entrepreneurs face these challenges: 

How do we know if we’re making progress? 

How do we know if customers will want what we’re building? 

How do we know what kind of value we can create? 

Answering requires more than just disciplined thinking at the whiteboard. It requires the coordination of people. In other words, it requires management. The Lean Startup is a management science for entrepreneurs of all kinds. It enables rapid customer-centric iteration. It helps startups test their vision before it's too late. It is a tool for people who want to change the world.

Regardless of what the SXSW organizers decide, I intend to host an event in Austin to coincide with the conference. I'm hoping we'll be able to top last year's Lean Startup Smackdown, which was put on by the Austin Lean Startup Circle. I don't know if it will be more like a party, or more like a mini-conference. In fact, I encourage you to weigh in with a comment. Would you be interested in attending? Co-sponsoring or co-organizing? Or just getting drunk? Let me know.

Most importantly, I want to continue to send you all my thanks for your tremendous support and encouragement. I can honestly say this is something I would never have imagined attempting on my own, and it is the latest in a series of amazing experiences you've all made possible. Thank you. 

14 Ramadhan baru sahaja berlalu. Walaupun bukan 14 Februari, tetapi tanggal 14 mengingatkan saya tentang Valentine. Saya ingin berkongsi sebuah dokumentari daripada National Geographic yang dikongsikan oleh teman saya, Ahmad Ibrahim Yahaya. Dengan sebuah tajuk; 'Valentine Hidupan Liar.' Mungkin anda sudah mula menggambarkan seperti apa tajuk perbahasan kita daripada tajuk tersebut.

Cuma beberapa idea daripada dokumentari tersebut yang bakal dikongsikan, harap kita sama-sama dapat mengagak apa yang akan disimpulkan di akhir post ini. Semoga bermanfaat, insya-Allah.

Terdapat pelbagai cara haiwan mengawan...

Tahukah anda, 'saudara' rapat kita, En. Chimpanzi adalah haiwan yang hampir seluruh kehidupannya dalah herbivor, pemakan tumbuhan? Namun apabila tiba musim mengawan, tanpa disangka-sangka En. Chimpanzi yang 'comel' ini tiba-tiba menjadi karnivor dan mula memburu haiwan lain hanya untuk menarik perhatian chimpanzi betina. Semakin ganas 'saudara' kita itu, semakin besar peluangnya untuk mendapatkan pasangan hidupnya.

Buaya Amerika atau American Alligator menggunakan paru-parunya untuk mengawan. Semakin besar kapasiti paru-parunya untuk bernafas, semakin hebatlah 'aksi'nya. Dan buaya betina menyukainya. Tambahan, buaya jantan akan membuat sejenis getaran di dalam air untuk menunjukkan kehebatan paru-parunya. Menarik bukan?

Rusa pula memikat pasangannya dengan ngaumannya yang aneh. Bunyinya sukar untuk diterangkan. Nadanya halus, tetapi nyaring.

Pernah tengok leemer? Sekali pandang nampak seperti skunk, malah tindak tanduknya juga sama seperti seekor skunk. Leemer jantan akan mengangkat tinggi ekornya dan kentut! Kentut itu sebenarnya adalah sejenis bauan yang menjadi signal yang bermaksud, "Mari mengawan dengan saya!"

Burung Albatross pula dikenali sebagai penari yang hebat. Dan mereka mengawan dengan menari sehebat-hebatnya.

Sotong di Laut Casablanca menggunakan cahaya matahari untu menukar warna kulitnya. Dengan itu ia dapat menarik perhatian sotong betina.

Ketam pula menggunakan sepitnya. Ia mengetap-ngetapkan sepitnya untuk menunjukkan,"Saya lebih baik daripada ketam yang lain!" Saiz sepit tidak menjadi masalah. Kadang-kadang ketam jantan akan bergaduh sesama sendiri untuk berebut ketam betina yang menawan. Cukup memalukan!

Dan yang terakhir, Burung Bower. Boleh dikatakan haiwan paling romantik. Ia mengawan dengan membina 'pelamin pengantin' dan menghiasnya dengan bunga-bunga berwarna biru dan apa-apa sahaja yang mampu dicarinya, yang penting warnanya biru...

Menarik kan?

Mari berfikir, mengapa haiwan mengawan? Atau dalam kata lain, 'Mengapa haiwan menarik perhatian lawan jenisnya?'

Jawapannya terletak pada kitaran hidup dan tujuan hidupnya sendiri. Mudah sahaja, kerana itu adalah tujuan hidup mereka! Kerana mereka adalah haiwan! Binatang!

Secara umumnya, terdapat 2 tujuan hidup yang utama bagi seekor binatang,

MAKANAN

SEX --> BERKELUARGA

Mereka akan berusaha bersungguh-sungguh untuk memenuhi 2 tujuan hidup tersebut, walaupun terpaksa menyabung nyawa bertarung untuk makanan dan sex. Demin menjamin kemandirian spesisnya dalam ekosistem yang seimbang.

Saya cuba berfikir mengapa Allah berfirman di dalam Surah Al-A'raf, ayat 179,

"Dan sesungguhnya Kami jadikan untuk (isi neraka Jahannam) kebanyakan dari jin dan manusia, mereka mempunyai hati, tetapi tidak dipergunakannya untuk memahami (ayat-ayat Allah) dan mereka mempunyai mata (tetapi) tidak dipergunakannya untuk melihat (tanda-tanda kekuasaan Allah), dan mereka mempunyai telinga (tetapi) tidak dipergunakannya untuk mendengar (ayat-ayat Allah). Mereka itu sebagai binatang ternak, bahkan mereka lebih sesat lagi. Mereka itulah orang-orang yang lalai."

Apa yang saya dapati adalah, apabilaa kita menyimpang daripada tujuan hidup kita, kita akan menjadi lebih buruk daripada binatang. Haiwan hidup menurut apa yang diinginkan Allah SWT sebagai matlamat hidupnya, iaitu mencari makanan, mengawan, dan membiak. Seterusnya menstabilka ekosistem kita.

Namun sekarang, kita manusia melakukan sebiji seperti apa yang haiwan-haiwan ini lakukan. 

Kita bergaduh untuk mencari rezeki seperti chimpanzi.

Kita bersaing mencari pasangan hidup seperti buaya Amerika.

Kita bergaduh berebut kuasa sperti ketam.

Kita membeli kereta mewah untuk menunjuk-nunjuk seperti sotong.

kita menari-menari untuk mencari perhatian orang seperti Burung Albatros.

Kita menjadi materialistik dengan menghiasi rumah dan harta benda kita untuk menarik perhatian orang seperti Burung Bower.

Kita memakai pewangi-pewangi mahal untuk menarik perhatian pasangan seperti leemer.

Kita melunakkan suara untuk menggoda orang lain seperti rusa.

Apa yang istimewanya kita menjadi manusia sekiranya tujuan hidup kita hanya untuk mengumpulkan lebih banyak wang, menggoda wanita, membesarkan rumah, memiliki kereta mewah, dan lain-lain? Kita meniru perilaku haiwan!

Jadi, apa yang istimewanya kita menjadi manusia? Apa yang menjadi keistimewaan kita, apabila kita mempunya tujuan hidup hanya seperti haiwan? Mencari makanan, mengawan dan membiak? Apa tujuan hidup kita? Soalan ini dibiarkan agar kita sama-sama fikirkan. Jawapan yang mungkin kita semua sudah ada skemanya namun belum ada praktikal kehidupan.

Yang lebih buruk, kita bukan sahaja mempunyai tujuan serta matlamat hidup seperti binatang, malah kita yang dianugerahkan akal untuk berfikir ini malah menjadi jauh lebih teruk lagi daripada binatang.

Sebodoh-bodoh dan sehina-hina binatang, mereka tetap tidak pernah 'tercicir' atau membuang anak-anak mereka merata-rata, apatah lagi sengaja membunuhnya!

Tepuk dada tanya iman...

Wallhua'lam...

~End Of Post~

It is no surprise that factors such as religion, ethnicity, and politics all play a role in shaping the interaction of a society with science. I was in Malaysia to conduct interview-surveys about the acceptance of evolutionary biology and to see how Muslim Malaysians view modern science and its relation to their interpretation of Islam. It has been absolutely fascinating to learn about the complex ethnic and religious interactions there. Earlier this year, I had also read about the controversy regarding the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims in Malaysia. But until I went to Malaysia, I did not truly appreciate the complex history and the political motivations behind it. Now, Kevin in a comment on another post has pointed to this fascinating report by Al-Jazeera on this controversy:


Couple of things to note here:
The political motivations are quite obvious and it is almost funny to watch it alongside the Islamic Center controversy in NYC (and no, you still cannot defend the idiotic political opposition to the Islamic Center). While the first part of the video is good in highlighting this particular controversy, I think the interviews in the second part are more instructive in showing the struggle taking place within Islam in Malaysia (and similar debates elsewhere). One of the key points raised by the host (who did a nice job in keeping the discussion on track) is the notion of private versus state-enforced religion. This issue is not limited to Malaysia - but it takes a particular political turn there because of the presence of sizable non-Muslim minorities.

Not surprising at all, but another thing to note is the significantly different interpretations of Islam by the three guests - all the way from a fatwa-driven society to the notion of religion as a private matter. Similarly, it was interesting to note the mention of the differences of interpretation of Islam in Malaysia versus in places like Saudi Arabia or the rest of the Middle East. And I also loved the fact that one of the guests, Yusri Mohamad, expressing displeasure over mixing religion and politics - despite of him doing just that in the whole interview.

In many ways, Malaysia has done quite well in the last few decades. It is possible that the challenges it is facing these days are the result of these changes - perhaps the last hurrah of those against modernization and religious pluralism. But how it deals with its religious and ethnic minorities now may shape the direction of its future.

Check out the above segment from Al-Jazeera. And here is a bit from a BBC article about the recent controversy from earlier this year:

The results of the 2008 elections ramped up the tension.

The ruling coalition still won, but with a much reduced majority in the worst result in 50 years. 

Norani Othman, a professor at the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS) at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, says that after independence, there was a national emphasis on consensus-building and equality.

That was adapted, after race riots in 1969, to more overtly pro-Malay policies.

As Muslim nations around the world struggled to modernise, yet not lose touch with their traditional roots, the influence of Islamist parties expanded.

In Malaysia, that pitted the ruling United National Malays Organisation (Umno) against the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) with the result that the 1980s saw a deliberate process of Islamisation.

What were once affirmative action policies geared to help Malays "catch up" with other Malaysians became policies enshrining Malay primacy or ascendancy, and being Malay meant being Muslim.

Institutions deemed to conform with Islamic principles and values were created - Islamic banks, Islamic insurance, Islamic university - there was even talk of "Islamising knowledge".

The list of matters judged to be under the jurisdiction of Islamic laws has expanded over the decades.

Just as the so-called race riots of 1969 were in fact a sign of systemic breakdown, as Australian academic Clive Kessler argues, so do the current tensions pose a direct challenge to Malaysia's founding aspirations of a diverse and democratic nation, argues Prof Othman.

Read the full article here.