The hallucinations of Eugenia [Archives:2004/769/Letters to the Editor]

Abdul Wahed Al-Zumor, Saadah
[email protected]
Globalization from the point of view of Muslims, should not necessarily entail imitating others to the extent that we discard some of our sacred beliefs. Astrology, as the study of stars and planets, and relating that sense to how some people think they influence people's characters and lives, can be heretical in our religion. This negative sense of the term has recently been adopted by Yemen Times.
Yemen Times has distinguished itself among other newspapers in Yemen as a favored source of news and useful information, and has been highly appreciated by the Yemeni intelligentsia. A part of its message that has to be maintained is to convey and express honestly the peculiarities of our culture. However, what Eugenia in her “the last word in astrology” inculcates is against the broad lines of the Yemen Times message. The content of Eugenia's words is utter nonsense, and leads to committing heresy by those unaware of the aftermath of believing her hallucinations. We are Muslims and our religion clearly states in the words of the prophet Mohammad (p.b.u.h) that “Whosoever approaches a foreteller and believes what he/she says, this implies that he/she rejects the prophet Mohammad's message”. We all believe that solely Allah the Almighty knows what the future is. Foretelling the way Eugenia and others in several newspapers do is beyond the capacity of humans, and if somebody claims he/she can foresee people's future, he/she is a liar. It is a very big sin as it endows humans with some of Allah's special attributes.
Consequently, it is hoped that the prestigious newspaper (Yemen Times) will remain clean and will rethink tainting itself by publishing the distorted hallucinations of Eugenia and the like, which are alien to our society and our cultural norms.
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