Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / March 4, 2004, edition 1 / Page 13
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5B RELIGION/tEte Charlotte $ot Thursday, March 4, 2004 On-line match beats arranged marriage Continued from page 8B involve parents helping to choose a mate for their chil dren, said Aminah McCloud, professor of Islamic studies at DePaul University. Naseeb is one example of how that tradition has evolved in the United States, said Ahmar Masood, Sheikh’s fiance. “It may actually allow for more people to connect on their own, versus only arranged marriage,” said Masood, a 26-year-old Reston, Virginia information technology consultant. “It definitely gives a little more control to the yoimger gener ation in how to meet people.” Others, like Geillan Aly, a 27-year-old New York City graduate student, are attract ed to the high-tech format. “I’m comfortable online,” said Aly, who turned to Naseeb as an alternative to the prospective spouses her mother invites to tea. “I can see who I’m talking to with out having to sit there and waste two hours of getting-to- know-you chitchat.” More than 45,000 Muslims have joined Naseeb.com since it went online last fall, some searching for a spouse, others looking to make fiiends. Sili con Valley entrepreneur Monis Rahman said he founded Naseeb, which means “destiny” in Arabic, Urdu, Persian, Malaysian, Indonesian, Turkish and Hindi, in response to a desire for community that arose after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. “A lot of the perceptions of mainstream America aroimd Muslims were largely nega tive and, as an American Muslim, I think it caused Muslims to look inward in many ways,” Rahman said. “We also felt the need to orga nize, and a natural need to kind of mingle with our own, basically for the support sys tem.” About 84 percent of Naseeb’s users are in North America and the United Kingdom, and most are invit ed to join by a fnend. Once online, they create a profile that includes links to their fnends’profiles, and so on, for up to four degrees of separa tion. Connecting with people who are fnends of fiiends is especially important in Mus lim culture, which frowns upon sharing personal infor mation with strangers. ‘You know that eveiyone in there can be verified through someone else,” says Saleemah Abdulghafur, chief operating officer at Azizah, an Atlanta,* Georgia-based lifestyle maga zine, for American Muslim women.. ‘You know that you don’t have any perverts, or someone who’s already mar ried, or someone who is com pletely unconnected.” Naseeb is often compared to Friendster, but it does have distinct cultural differences. For instance, Aly said Naseeb rejected a picture she tried to post of herself wearing a bathing suit while surfing, though Friendster did not. Naseeb also offers a reli gious compatibility quiz that allows users to display their responses to questions such as how frequently they pray, whether it is inappropriate to have dancing or music at weddings and how they’d react if alcohol was served at a company party. For Sheikh and Masood, Naseeb offered the chance to reconnect. The two met five years ago at a birthday party, but after they graduated he from Purdue University, she finm Rutgers they lost touch. When she saw him listed on Naseeb as friend of a friend. Sheikh invited Masood to join her online circle. They began exchanging e-mails, then talking on the phone. Last month, the two went on a ski and snowboarding trip with friends. As Sheikh snowboarded to the bottom of a snow-covered mountain, a group of friends gathered. Masood read a poem he’d written for Sheikh, then asked her to marry him. The wedding is set for this Greater Mt. Moriah & Nazareth Primitive Baptist Churches - Present to Charlotte - 'DcioMiAnc Suuc Wednesday, March 10, 2004 7:30pni ^ tAc Tt^UKC 0^ tAc Jlond i*t, 747 W. Trade St., Charlotte, NC 28202 Rev. Thomas W. Samuels, Pastor f'' Women’s Month at tj-'pup—fjl (1 Women’s Conference March 10th - I2th 6:30pm Guest Speakers: Wednesday, Rev. Dekota McCullough Friendship Baptist Church, Gastonia, NC Thursday & Friday, Dr. Carolyn Showell First Apostolic Church, Baltimore. MD Women’s Day Sunday March 14th Guest Speaker: Dr. Carolyn Showell > Ministers’ Wives Conference Saturday March 20th 8:00am Guest Speaker: Mrs. Delores Dickerson Ml. Olive Baptist Church. Canonsburg. PA Leading Lady Service Honoring Minister Kim Alexander Sunday March 21st 6:00pm Guest Speaker: Co-Pastor Susie Owens Greater Mt. Calvary Holy Church. Washington. DC Rev. Dekota McCullough Mm. Kim Alexander Dr. Carolyn Showell Mrs. Delores Nickerson Co-Pastor Susie Owens University Park Baptist Church Pastor Claude R. Alexander, Jr. 6029 Beatties Ford Rd., Charlotte. NC 28216 704-392-1681 www.theparkministries.org Producinj’ Kingdom Citizens ilirougli Evangelism. Discifileshij). Worshij). Eellowshil) & Service summer. Sheikh’s parents, who gave their blessing to Masood before he proposed, are delighted. “Marriage is a big responsi bility for them,” Sheikh said. “They don’t feel like they’ve finished their job as a parent until they’ve married their daughter off.” On the Net: hrtrp://w\vw. naseeb. com Ifwl haratioW To (§rter Jfuneral ^erbice - Since 1930 - “SERVING THE FAMILY WITH DIGNITY AND PERSONAL UNDERSTANDING” Mr. John A McCarroll, President & General Manager Mi: J.B. Humphrey; CEO 115 N. Cloudman St. Charlotte, NC 28216 (704)332-7109 Fax (704)332-5273 704 Walkup Ave. Monroe, NC 28110 (704)283-5423 Fax (704)282-4197 i I I I 0 I (Adnidtoxit- 7{/a*KCK 0^ SCe^dutce invites you to “A Day to Celebrate Women" 1 I I I I Come and enjoy fun, food, games, music, spiritual dancers, steppers & vendors I ^Greatest Moms of Charlotte Awards* *Go^el Choir Competition ■ This is a family affair ■ Saturday, May 1st, 2004 11am - 7pm @ Independence Park 300 Hawthorne Lane For vendor, performer or general information call: 704-333-I809 or 704-493-2536 VENDORS, food, accessories, books, beverage, and more, call to book your space today! HI fBMBEIHJBlBlHMBUMBEMHMBJHMHiHI HI i I We know how important it is to keep funeral costs within the budget of every family. Dr. Anthony L. and Harriet R Jinwright Certainly quality, comfortable facilities and professional, personal services are important, but so is price. A.L. Jinwright Funeral Service has consistently provided families with dignified funeral services at the best possible price. The best doesn’t have to cost you more. In fact, it may cost you less. Call A.L. Jinwright Funeral Service today for more'information. Funeral packages to suit every budget. 4300 Statesville Rd • Charlotte • (704) 599-5994 • www.aljinwrightfuneralservice.com eeocM Mxj MARKrriNU Ig . ADVERTISEMENT THE PROPHET’S COLUMN INC. 9626 FELDBANK DRIVE CHARLOTTE, NC, 28216-2131 “GOD REPROBATING A SINNER” - PART SIX J. M. LITTLE - TEACHER Hold on now! Many blinded teachers, even though they may have written a commentary on the whole Bible, will not have the truth of Romans 9:13. They try to explain it away this way;'“Oh, the Lord was talking about nations there, not two children.” Hold it now, you cannot take a Scripture out of con text. If you do, you can interpret any Scripture to get it to mean just what you want it to mean. God said this about the two children before they were born, before they did any good or evil. If you tell me God did not hate Esau I’ll tell you; “then you have to teach that God did not love Jacob.” Then let me deal with your statement where you said He was talking about two nations, not two children. Hold it! Who makes up nations? You see, you are blinded to the Sovereign God of the Bible. God said what He meant and meant what He said. A doctor, well it is said he had a doctor’s degree behind his name, taught that it applies to nations, not two children. I read more than one of his booklets. One of the booklets was just like reading after our modern day religious leaders. He never set forth Christ as a Living Reality to his heart, even though he wrote a commentary on the whole Bible. If it were possible he’d deceive the very elect. I want to tell you, my friends, Christ is a Living Reality to my heart. Back there when I was in the religious world Christ was not real to my heart. And I will tell you why Christ is not real to you preach ers, bishops, popes, priests, deacons, and Bible teachers, it is because Holy Spirit conviction (John 16:7-11) has never been real to you. Before you can know Christ experimentally, you have got to know Holy Spirit conviction experimentally. Everywhere I go and give my testimony folks call me crazy and the religious leaders don’t want me in their churches. They say I embar rass them by teaching like they are lost. Well, you are lost if that is your response. No saved person rejects my testimony. iMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilili
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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March 4, 2004, edition 1
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