(Source: , via modestfashions-deactivated20120)
Transsexuals in Iran
In 1976, the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini, imposed a fatwa to allow people with hormonal disorders to change sex if they wished, as well as change their birth certificates.
Last year, 70 transsexuals were registered at the Khomenei Relief Center, a non-governmental organization that loans money to transsexuals to help them pay for surgery and to provide psychological assistance.
Athena, 20, and Milad, 30, are one of many transsexuals in Iran. The pair, who met three years ago at the center, became good friends as a result of undergoing the same life experience.
Milad, a 30-year-old transsexual in conservative Iran, at home with his family. Milad underwent 23 operations to become a man.
Athena, a 20-year-old transsexual in conservative Iran. As a young boy, Athena used to play with her mother’s dresses and enjoyed wearing makeup. But he was badly treated by his father, afraid that his son was homosexual, which is illegal in Islamic culture. Two years ago, Athena became a she.
Kaifeng Jews (Chinese Jews)
The Kaifeng Jews are members of a small Jewish community that has existed in Kaifeng, in the Henan province of China, for hundreds of years. Jews in modern China have traditionally called themselves Youtai (Chinese: 犹太; pinyin: Yóutài, from Judah) in Mandarin Chinese which is also the predominant contemporary Chinese language term for Jews in general. However, the community was known by their Han Chinese neighbors as adherents of Tiaojinjiao (Chinese: 挑筋教; pinyin: Tiāojīnjiào), meaning, loosely, the religion which removes the sinew (a reference to kashrut, see also Genesis 32:32).
History of the Jews in India
The history of the Jews in India reaches back to ancient times.
Indian Jews are a religious minority of India. Judaism was one of the first foreign religions to arrive in India in recorded history. The better-established ancient communities have assimilated a large number of local traditions through cultural diffusion. The Jewish population in India is hard to estimate since each Jewish community is distinct with different origins; some arrived during the time of the Kingdom of Judah, others are seen by some as descendants of Israel’s mythical Ten Lost Tribes. Of the total Jewish population in India, about half live in Manipur and Mizoram and a quarter live in the city of Mumbai.
Unlike many parts of the world, Jews have historically lived in India without any instances of antisemitism from the local majority populace, the Hindus. However, Jews were persecuted by the Portuguese during their control of Goa.
The Jews settled in Kodungallur (Cranganore) on the Malabar Coast, where they traded peacefully, until 1524. Jews have held important positions under Indian (Hindu) princes in the past and even after independence from British Rule, have risen to very high positions in government, military and industry.
In addition to Jewish expatriates and recent immigrants, there are five native Jewish communities in India:
The Cochin Jews arrived in India 2,500 years ago and settled down in Kerala as traders. Large numbers became apart of the Syrian Malabar Nasrani people.
The Bene Israel arrived in the state of Maharashtra 2,100 years ago.
The Baghdadi Jews arrived in the city Mumbai from Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan, and Arab countries about 250 years ago.
The Bnei Menashe are Mizo and Kuki tribesmen in Manipur and Mizoram who claim descent from the tribe of Manasseh.
The Bene Ephraim (also called “Telugu Jews”) are a small group who speak Telugu; their observance of Judaism dates to 1981.
Naat/na’at - a song praising Prophet Muhammad. If you search this, you will mainly get songs from South Asia.
Hamd - a song praising Allah. If you search this, you will mainly get songs from South Asia. A hamd is usually written in Arabic, Persian, Punjabi, or Urdu.
Nasheed - a is Islamic vocal music that is either sung a cappella or accompanied by percussion instruments such as the daff. If you search this, most results will be Arabic songs.
Nasyid - This is the Malay/Indonesian way to spell nasheed. You will, obviously, get results from Malaysia and Indonesia if you search this term.
Nachid - This is the French way of spelling nasheed. If you search this, you will mostly get songs from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, etc…
Qawwali - a form of Sufi devotional music popular in South Asia, particularly in the Punjab and Sindh regions of Pakistan, Hyderabad, Delhi, and other parts of northern India.
Ghazal - Sufi songs of intoxication and yearning use secular metaphors to poignantly express the soul’s longing for union with the Divine, and its joy in loving the Divine.
Qasida - Islamic poetry.
Latmiya/Latmiyat - songs about the suffering of Ahlul Bait at Karbala. Most results will be in Arabic.
Nawha/Noha - a genre of Arabic, Persian, or Urdu prose depicting the martyrdom of the 12 Imams and Ahlul Bait.
Manqabat - a song in praise of either Imam Ali or one of the Sufi saints. Manqabats in praise of Ali are sung at both Sunni and Shi’a gatherings.
Nazm/Nazam - these are Islamic poems. If you search this though, the vast majority of the results will be Ahmadiyya.
Ilahi - Turkish and Albanian for nasheed.
Munadjaa - a song where the singer displays his thanks to Allah through a variety of linguistic techniques. It is often sung in Persia.
Ilahija/Ilahije - Bosnian for nasheed.
Mevlud/Mevlid - Not sure what type of Islamic songs/chants these are exactly. But if you search this term, it will be Bosnian or Turkish Islamic music.
Marsia/Marsiya -an elegiac poem written (especially in Persia and India) to commemorate the martyrdom and valour of Hussain and his comrades of the Karbala.
Ginan - a vast corpus of devotional literature in the form of lyrics and hymns worshiping and praising God, and has been the living tradition of Nizari Ismailis particularly from South Asia. These are also often sung to music.
Maulud - Islamic poetry of Sindh.
Kafi/Kafee - a classical form of Sufi poetry, mostly in Punjabi, Sindhi and Seraiki languages and originating from the Punjab and Sindh regions of the Indian subcontinent.
Kalam - another type of Sufi songs. If you search this, most results will be from South Asia.
“Every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved. For if a woman does not cover her head, she might as well have her hair cut off; but if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should cover her head.”
- 1 Corinthians 11:5-6
(Source: ohhcuppycakee.deviantart.com, via qalbesaleem-deactivated20120804)
