the islamic prog Qudwah is on RTM1 … a live discussion with three panel speakers including the famous Ustaz Ravi (Farid Ravi Abdullah) … the audience comprising indian muslims. anyway, Ustaz Ravi was talking about the use of ‘tangkal’ in the indian muslim community (heck the malay community uses this too) to ward off evil, etc. he said it’s wrong, syirik … coz why would you need an intermediate between you and God? just ask God, berdoa.

incidentally, when i was younger … like still babies/toddlers, my mum got us tangkal to wear. some kind of thread bracelet or necklace thing. sometimes they put it on the baby’s ankle. it’s kinda cool … heheh … only if you wear is as fashion … but as an amulet … well, muslims can’t do this. but mum said that was her ‘zaman jahiliah’ … a reference to the age of ignorance in the Arab world before Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) arrived bringing the message of Islam.

(tangkal – amulet)

i think Madonna wore some kind of tangkal too …  a red thread on her wrist. personally, i think they shouldn’t allow her to adopt mercy until she gets over her middle aged angst. sure she has lots of money. but is she gonna do the child any good? who’s gonna be minding the baby? she loves to go on tour? what can she give? money? might as well provide a scholarship fund for these poor children. that would be more helpful. yeah, and maybe a food bank thing for babies so that they can get nutritious food and milk formula.