2. Quote: <<< " .... Mecca means "Sharab Khaana/(whisky house)" - unquote. >>>

The spelling of the name "Mecca", for most anglophones, Mecca has long been the
accepted spelling for the Holy City. The word is a transliteration of the
original Arabic, and has become part of the English language.

Where this claim is concerned, the word, Mecca, does not - for instance - mean
sharaab khaana! There are no such meaning/translation in any authentic Arabic,
English or foreign language dictionaries.

The common usage of the word Mecca - or mecca - in English (derived from the
position of Mecca among Muslims) implies 'centre' or 'important meeting point'
or a place to which people of a special group flock, as in "Wimbledon is the
Mecca of Tennis" and Hawaai is "the tourist mecca". Such derived usages in
English are common within the Western culture. For example, the Wisden Cricket
Monthly, Wisden Book of Cricket Law and Wisden Book of Test Cricket are often
called "The Cricket Bible" and Gibbon's is called the "Bible of stamp
collectors" are common similes used. Less used but seen in major writings are
phrases like "The holy grail of drug addicts ..."

The word Mecca now refers to more than just the geographical location (i.e. not
only the Holy City in Saudi Arabia) , and is used to describe any center of
activity sought or converged upon by a group of people with a common interest.
Las Vegas, for example, is sometimes described as 'the Mecca of gambling,' and
'Mecca Bingo' a division of The Rank Group Plc., which Muslims find these
out-of-context uses very offensive. There is no doubt in many minds that the
insensitivity displayed in the naming of the fairly old chain known as Mecca
Dancing Clubs (a very popular series of dance halls that may also house
drinking areas in the UK) was not entirely an act of naive usage of language.

Mecca is also used in the names of two towns in the USA, a soft drink and two
acronyms:

a.. Mecca, California, a town in Riverside County, California, USA.
b.. Mecca, Indiana, a town in Parke County, Indiana, USA.
c.. Mecca-Cola a cola-flavoured carbonated beverage[1]
d.. MECCA is also the acronym for Model Evaluation Consortium for Climate
Assessment and Missile Environment Computer Control Analysis that I know of ...
and there are bound to be others.
__________________________

[1] Mecca-Cola was launched in France, in November 2002, by entrepreneur Tawfik
Mathlouthi, as a means of aiding Palestinians by tapping into demand for
alternative products in European countries. He had been inspired by a similar
Iranian product, Zam Zam Cola, which was already successful in Saudi Arabia and
Bahrain, and in fact only decided to launch his own brand when he was unable to
agree on terms for a distribution contract with Zam Zam. Mecca-Cola in turn
inspired the creation of Qibla Cola in the United Kingdom.
__________________________


If Mecca means "whisky house," why was there no public condemnation from the
Saudi Arabian government when anglophones first started using the word "Mecca"
- for example when the British explorer Sir Richard Burton in 1853 disguised
himself as an Afghan Muslim to visit and write his "Personal Narrative of a
Pilgrimage to Al Madinah and Mecca?" (Whisky house? How utterly absurd!)

However, in an effort to distinguish between the metaphorical and official
references to the holy site, the Saudi Arabian government in the 1980s began
promoting a new transliteration, 'Makkah al-Mukarramah' ( مكة المكرمة), which
is closer to the original Arabic. While this new usage has been officially
adopted by the U.S. Department of State
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3584.htm, its spread is still incipient among
anglophones at large (i.e. it is not part of the active vocabulary of
English-speakers.)

3. Quote: <<< Many people, whose names start with MUHAMMAD, write in a short
form as "Mohd". This "Mohd" means "A dog which has a big mouth". - unquote. >>>

As for this other concocted description that the short form name "Mohd" for
Muhammad stands for "A dog which has a big mouth" - I could not find any
Islamic information to support this most absurd claim. Surprisingly, nor could
I find any refutation from any of the scholars.

Mohd is a non-word (the combination of letters has no possible base in any of
the Western Romance languages and gives away the inventor's illiteracy). I
think the people (non-Muslims or Muslims, only Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala
knows best) who 'invented' this definition - or, at least, gave currency to
this via email, to create alarm - is more guilty of 'blasphemy' than those he
or she deceptively accuses. Googling this in dictionaries or thesauri will not
offer up any such word, I assure you.

These claims are nothing more than a deliberate fundamentalist prank preying
upon bristling Muslim senitivities to further divide the growing chasm proposed
(and engineered, in some ways) by those who created and supported the so-called
'clash of civilization' theories. That this is not considered by the Muslims
who believe in such faked information and copy, paste and forward it here,
there and everywhere used to amaze me ... but nothing about anyone leaning
towards the right path does that any more. Muslims are responsible for checking
and setting things straight - by what they say, read, write and transmit,
inshaa`Allaah.

4. Quote: <<< "Guys please forward this message to Muslim brothers & Sisters as
possible." >>> Unquote.

Yes!!! Please forward this message too, so our Muslim brothers and sisters will
know the above facts and be duly informed not to transmit these deliberately
engineered misinformation about Islam and our Prophet sall Allaahu`alayhi wa
sallam, inshaa`Allaah.

"And do not follow (blindly) any information of which you have no direct
knowledge. (Using your faculties of perception and conception, you must verify
it for yourself). In the Court of your Lord, you will be held accountable for
your hearing, sight, and the faculty of reasoning." (Al Israa 17:36 -
interpretation of the meaning)

http://www.mail-archive.com/muslim@y.../msg01847.html

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