The gymnastics of playing ball Doctor Who style Behind the Scenes of The Giggle with David Tennant as the fourteenth Doctor

Bonus: Ncuti's impressive one-handed cartwheel:

however I will say going from a show where the two black main characters were treated like absolute dogshit both on screen and by the fandom to having a black doctor........... blessed to be alive for this era of fifteen I hope rtd gives martha and mickey an appearance and rights some of the bullshit he put them through

What do you think will be Donna's arc in the 60th? And how will it end? Will she keep her memories or will she loses it again (but this time it's her choice)? Any theories?

i really am going back and forth on this. part of me wonders if rtd doesn't feel right about how he handled her ending and wants to give her more autonomy.

i do think she is going to remember, at least temporarily since we see them hug in the trailer which must be in the third special because (per rtd) the trailer doesn't have any scenes from the second one and a hug in the first one seems unlikely to me.

either the doctor figures out a way to undo her metacrisis for her (there is a big finish audio involving a metacrisis for the third doctor iirc, and he is able to save himself and the other person) or she still has to forget everything but temporarily remembers and is at peace with her life and everything they did together stayed with her subconsciously and gives him her blessing to make her forget etc.

tldr: i think it would be pretty redundant to bring her back and not do anything new, and rtd isn't redundant. all of his writing choices have meaning and i'm sure whatever this all is has value.

11: I never forget a face.

The Cutator: I know you don’t. And in years to come, you might find yourself revisiting some of the old ones.

So the Day of the Doctor, 11 confronts the Time War trauma and what it means to be The Doctor after all the atrocities they’ve comitted.

The past character arc of 12 and 13 has been more of the Doctor figuring out what it means to be themself, especially with a new set of regenerations and the drop of Timeless Child.

I know we wanted Ncuti but revisiting an old face for a little makes narrative sense. I feel like the specials with 10– espeically with RTD taking back over— could wrap up the past several years of lose ends or at least give some catharsis to several of them.

(And I mean from a real-world stand point, the BBC probably wants their ratings back. DW ratings have been pretty up and down, and going from a woman Doctor to a black Doctor will, unfortunately, freak a lot of bigots out. Putting a favorite in the middle will make a lot of people come back and be willing to stay if they get invested in the new plot. It isn’t pretty but it’s true. The bottom line is the money, which sucks, but the actors and all the cool people working hard deserve to get payed and get recognition as well. Ncuti coming in after David could be a blessing because he will be in the after glow of nolstgia which is a better set up than what many consider a mediocre era. That’s my hot take tho.

But yeah, David is 10.3 or something, fuck that shit, Ncuti is 14 all the way baby.

I hesitated GREATLY before dropping this word. I didn’t re-record it. It took all my strength from me 😪 It was that intense for me. I need a few days of rest babes.

With that said I felt soooooooooo strongly the love and your pain 🩸

I want you to know that the most important part of this message is the COVENANT aka the PROMISE God made to you… to love and restore you and to give you peace. He’s not backing down from that promise.

I forgot to mention this message is also (once again) for someone who was “trapped” aka imprisoned. You yellow canaries. See the script below:

This love and friendship and gift of restoration is not just double but triple. Seeing Drake 3x was confirmation.

The Lord also sent me this to say that I should bless everyone who he says this message is for. I received a few names. I will tag them at the end. If your name isn’t mentioned it doesn’t mean this isn’t for you. God will confirm this PLUS I hesitated cause I saw some people are SUPER BIG MAD about your incoming triple portion. Why? Guess you’re a triple threat haha. SN. I should become a rapper 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I told my son my new rap name was going to be Drake and he bussed out laughing telling me I was plagiarizing and everyone would be mad at me 😫🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

It’s interesting the LORD showed me the gloves 🧤 AND in this message the hand ✋🏾

The colour reminded me of the jeweller Tiffany’s which is confirmation of this blessing of abundance. I do have another message regarding this so stay tuned.

I wanted to mention these ties, these bonds of love are UNBREAKABLE 🪢 It’s interesting because when the man’s hand was underneath mine near my stomach I immediately thought of this scripture below:

It also reminded me of Adam and Isaac who both were ready for a wife 💍🩵 I know this is something someone is longing for and this promise will be kept.

I also believe a reconciliation will be taking place for someone 🔜🪢 🔜

Some may not have seen your worth and some may have tried to break you but babyyyyyyyyyy, God is about to show them why he chose you and why you’re unbreakable. What didn’t kill your trained you to be a warrior.

You deserve what’s coming next and I am THRILLED for you.

A TRIPLE portion for your shame

Someone reading this is going to be a champion 🏆

Congratulations 🥳 and praise God.

Now imagine seeing this man 3x standing with his hands on his pocket. It was like this.

The Love is real babes 🩵😭

PS. I also heard “Build a Super Team” 😯

PPS. I have a confession to make, everytime I see PJ I am reminded of my favourite cousin who was killed. He looks exactly like him it’s frightening 🫣🤯😅 and it hurts like hell hence why later when speaking on this, it further messed me up.

Because my cousin is not here, I will pass on the blessing and love I had for him to PJ. I can’t bless my favourite male cousin so I will bless him instead whose life was STOLEN. Jacob took both Joseph’s sons as his own and he blessed them. I have been instructed by the LORD to do the same (I got a new cousin adopted into the family) 🤣

✨May the LORD bless him (and YOU) with everything you could ever want, including a long and healthy life to see your children and grandchildren grow up to inherit your LEGACY while building theirs. It’s going to be EPIC 😎

Congratulations PJ 🏀 God’s timing is perfect. I didn’t know until last night this message included PJ 🥰😍🥰😍

Love your ppl while they are still here.

I also heard “there will be no peace for the wicked” NONE… more on this later when I feelz better.

Oh I forgot to share these

Here is the article about HOW SERIOUS God takes his oaths, bonds and vows. Remember this before you decide to break one.

https://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show/RTD/cgg/ID/19685/Hand-Under-Patriarchs-Thigh.htm

UPDATE:

After I wrote this I had a vision of PJ with olive oil being poured all over him from head to toe and then I heard 🏺

“A new King”

I am screaminggggggggggggggg 🥰🥰🥰 THAT WAS QUICK GOD!!! But for PJ, it’s long overdue! It is evident the LORD has anointed him as he did David, a shepherd boy, to become King 🤴🏽 This is MAJOR

Somebody coming for LeBron’s throne? Hahaha 😂

They did y’all wrong babes but God gon do you RIGHT‼️

So ummmm hold up… do I get to be apart of this Super Team? 🤔😂😂😂 I will be waiting for my contract and my signing bonus 💰🤑🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

OH MY GOSH why did I have a vision of a Father Goat dancing uphill and all his baby goats were dancing and following right behind him. If this isn’t confirmation idk what is!!! haha 😂 God is HILARIOUS yall.

PPPS: Thank you babes for your love and support. I appreciate you especially to the athletes who have been with me from the JUMP (see what I did there 😅)

Don’t Tell Me It’s Two Years!

The Rt Revd Dr Woyin Karowei Dorgu, Bishop of Woolwich writes...

On a nice and sunny day, 17 March 2017 at Southwark Cathedral something spectacular happened to me, too magnificent for words to describe. I am not sure if it was here or there on the seventh heaven. It happened and I know it because I am living proof of it.

On St Patrick’s Day, patron saint of Ireland and Nigeria, the crowds pressed into the Cathedral and every space was taken, 1400+ were there to see the service live and it was also live streamed, I was told, to overflow rooms for those who could not get into the main Cathedral space. It was awesome and the glory of the Lord was present in that place that day. Praise God.

The Most Revd Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury who led the service was assisted by the Most Revd Dr John Sentamu, Archbishop of York (The Preacher), The Rt Revd. Rt Hon Richard Chartres, Bishop of London (Presenting Bishop), Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, Bishop of Southwark (Receiving Bishop), Bishop of Winchester, Bishop of Durham, Bishop of Salisbury and the members of the College of Bishops, The Most Revd Dr Akinfenwa (representing the Province of Church of Nigeria), Bishop Wilfred Wood (rtd. Bishop of Croydon) who was a guest of the Diocese of Southwark because he is now living in Barbados in the West Indies and lots of Clergy colleagues from the past and present.

On that day, two years ago, I, The Revd Prebendary Dr Woyin Karowei Dorgu was ordained and consecrated Bishop in the Church of God by the Archbishop of Canterbury assisted by the College of Bishops present. I became the 13th Bishop of Woolwich. The Bishop of Woolwich is an Area Bishop in the diocese of Southwark. It is named after Woolwich, an area in Greenwich Borough. The office dates back to 1905 and has previous illustrious sons including Bishop Christopher (11th) now Bishop of Southwark.

A first BAME bishop appointed by the Church of England in 20 years since John Sentamu in 1998, there was a special surprise bit at the service courtesy of Bishops John and Wilfred. There was also a lot of pull in lots of different directions, BBC radio interview, TV interviews to mention. I had good support in my Diocesan bishop and many others who assisted me to find my feet and settled to some grounding.

The last two years of ministry in the Church of God has been a wonderful time during which we have seen the good, the bad and the ugly, and the challenges have been real and trying.

We set out our three most urgent priorities as;

Mission & Evangelism for growth in keeping with the Diocesan vision - Hearts on Fire and the five Marks of Mission of the Anglican Communion.

Celebrating our Children and Young People as today’s Church, as a real priority to develop today’s leaders and give them voice through a Children and Youth Forum in Woolwich.

Celebrating our Racial Diversity as a gift from God. A real priority is to embrace difference and love each other as beloved of God, not a situation of tolerating or putting up with each other. Celebration means rejoicing with each other for the special and unique gift that each of us brings to the table.

This has certainly kept me busy during these last two years of the ministry here.

During these last two years, I have been assisted by two extremely capable Archdeacons - Ven. Dr. Jane Steen (Archdeacon of Southwark) and Ven. Alastair Cutting (Archdeacon of Lewisham & Greenwich), they have been wonderful. In the Woolwich Team we have the Area Deans, Assistant Area Deans and the various advisers for different areas of interest. We have been pleasantly surprised by the Lord during my visit to the deaneries. There has been lots of shoots of life in our parishes and lots of sign of growth. Wait for it. 

By the grace of God, I have visited all ten deaneries in my Area. It was an encouragement to see so many signs of growth, Clergy and people committed to the values of the mission of the Church, a real intention to run with the Diocesan vision for growth - Hearts on Fire: Walking with Jesus Christ, Welcoming each other and those he is adding to us daily and Growing together in our deepening discipleship in Christ and also in numbers. 

Meeting people from all walks of life in my role as bishop has been a real blessing to me, in an Area so diverse as South London. The expectation to represent the Church of God at lots of Civic events is a real opportunity to speak for the voiceless and represent people who would otherwise not have a look-in. The corridors of power are just as welcoming as I expected for a bishop of the Church. 

During these two years there have been a number of interesting and challenging experiences that I won’t go into right now. I would speak only about some exciting highlights; meeting regularly on a one to one basis with Bishop Christopher, as my mentor, has greatly helped to shape my Episcopal ministry. I have also met regularly with Ruth Martin, the Diocesan Secretary for an hour, that has really blessed me too. 

I have been able to set a new personal record for Cathedral confirmation in one service, 70 wonderful candidates from 22 parishes. Who said this Church is dying? 

Messy Splash has been another highlight at the Cathedral. It was a really Messy Celebration with lots of children and parents from across the dioceses including 3 baptisms by full immersion and guests from our twin cathedral in Bergen. We were all greatly blessed at this special event. (See Photos on Diocesan website) 

My visits to the parishes gave me a chance to do some Prayer walking another highlight of my time, with our clergy and people. God was with us and we had fun in the rain, shine, hit or freezing cold. By the grace of God, I have visited most of the parishes in my Area including the Woolwich Barracks, (praying for them on their Tour of Duty abroad), as visitor, guest preacher, celebrant or baptising or confirming candidates. 

Some of the amazing work of the Spirit during these two years have been in areas of ‘unexpected grace’. This has involved a number of interesting projects in line with the Five Marks of Mission - Speaking for the Voiceless and Caring for God’s Creation and the Environment. We were blessed to be involved with packing food with Feed the Hungry for Children and Refugees in different parts of the world. At four church evenings in our Area, we, the people of God packed over 30,000 packs of nutritious food for distribution by the Charity-Feed the Hungry. Further to that, Mosun and I visited and spent a working week as Guests of African Mercy the flagship operation of Operation Mercy Ships berthed in Conakry, Guinea. We saw the mighty hand of God in meeting the needs of the poor and marginalised in our world. 

Other highlights of these two years include;

Clergy Study Days, Lay Conference, Thy Kingdom Come Events/Celebrations, Confirmation Services (shoots of growth), Area Deans/Lay Chairs Retreat, BAME Vocation Retreat, Diocesan CMEACC, CTSL knife crime event in Trinity House, London Churches Knife Crime Event at the Cathedral, Dr Martin Luther King (Jnr.) Golden Jubilee of Assassination - National Service at Westminster Cathedral (Preacher), Woolwich Area Youth Forum, Working In collaboration with other denominations. 

What shall I say, the Lord blessed me with an amazing staff in the Woolwich Area Office, I can’t finish this without mentioning them - Jane, Alastair, Emma, Richard, Jonathan, Ian. They have been wonderful at helping me navigate through these two years without much shipwreck. The Area Deans and their Assistants have been so supportive, the Clergy and people really amazing. Trinity House Reception Staff - Odette and her team have been amazing too. The Dean of Southwark and the Chapter have been so accommodating of my style and welcoming of my ministry. 

I must also thank my family and friends for their prayers and support. My wife, Mosun, has been phenomenally supportive especially when I was down with a nasty chest infection. She has blessed me so much by her unconditional love and support all these years of my ministry. 

I am aware that there are many of you that I have not mentioned in this blog but who deserve to be mentioned. I mention you now and this is for you, thank you for your labour of love and prayers. May God bless you too as you continue to bless me. I love you guys lots with the love of Christ and thank God daily for you.

If you’ve enjoyed this blog, don’t forget to sign up for regular updates at: http://eepurl.com/bDYJfL

late night yellin about the KSA dlc

(these images are not mine)

first off i did NOT expect them to do anything else other than add in the new characters so i was in for a pleasant surprise (sasuga HAL)

we got some n e w remixes

graphics and audio tweaks-- rendered cutscenes are less desaturated, and the last phase music of the final boss sounds cleaner

balancing-- apparently, giving continual damage to bosses no longer stalls their attack animations

they also changed the background in morpho’s arena, first off it looks gorgeous

(it seems to be referencing the whole “day of judgement” thing going on in the pause description, which from a lore standpoint is VERY intriguing)

marx is here. (i’m glad, but again, WHY IS HE HERE???)

there it is, that fucking face

the marx-crashes-into-nova-and-blows-up meme, redux

they made marx really cute and earnest-looking in this game, which is funny because the rest of the time he’s this unholy abomination

(this post is getting long but they did an AMAZING job getting all the little details in his moveset and animations, I will probably die when magolor inevitably gets the same treatment)

finally, gooey is here

i

love

him

so

MUCH

he stacc

a brave boy

im gonna die this is so cute and it has the little jingle from DL3

i’m glossing over rick-kine-coo but let me just say I love rick’s idle animation

we also got some more blessed celebration pictures

rather than being done by a guest artist, this artwork was done by HAL’s own Riki Fuhrmann (his tumblr!), the design director in recent games (he designed haltmann, for example) who is also known fondly as the “guy who made marxolor canon on an official livestream”. I kind of wish he did all of the collectible artwork, his style is so charming!

As for future updates, I think adeleine is extremely likely to come next as the rep for K64 and seeing how hal is going in order from DL2>SS>DL3. Naturally, magolor is pretty much guaranteed as RtD’s rep, with taranza as the logical choice to represent TD. Again, I’m not expecting a ton of new content other than more characters, but new bosses/cutscenes/story would be amazing

what a great update honestly.

What happened to cof? New to the utaite Fandom btw...

HOO BOYFirstly welcome to the utaite fandom! so Circle of Friends was once a beautiful group blessed by the presence of Ito Kashitaro, Hashiyan, un:c and Kony, lead by AmatsukiSome time in 2016, all cof activity stoppedI dont believe any members have openly talked about it (link me if im wrongAnd I’m pretty sure the five of them still interact on twitter sometimes (melost is still ‘active’ and kony hangs out with them too from time to time) apart froM KASHITSUK-ok a few months ago I think it was Amao who RTd Kashi’s new upload so idk maybe kashitsuki livesSo yeah this was just a long reply saying I can’t really give you an answer;;I guess all the members are doing what they do and the best thing to do is support them wherever theyre atUs cof fans are just going to have to wait for an explanation or a sudden surprise revival (pl ease) or maybe that was the last we ever saw of the cof bus

1,2,3,11,22?

1. Top 3 Doctors:

Eight (obvs) Eleven, and Twelve has actually managed to beat out Two over the course of the last two seasons

2. Top 3 companions:

Let’s just say Fitz and Anji can share the top spot because honestly there’s no way I could choose other wise, Amy, Clara (Bill and Jamie round out the top five, though choose top/bottom lists are super hard for me)

3. Favourite quote:

link here: http://gen-is-gone.tumblr.com/post/150431949438/but-you-havent-rebutted-my-argument-which-is

…this has also become my most reblogged post holy shit

11. First Doctor you saw: Nine, bless ‘em, about three years before I actually decided I was up for taking the plunge

22. Least favourite Doctor (why?)

…uh, hoo boy, this can of worms. Ten, because they’re the synthesis of RTD’s understanding of Who The Doctor Is and How The Doctor Works, and I find his particular view at best over-simplistic and a little grating, and at worst, absolutely the antithesis of why I like Doctor Who.

Can be summed up I think with the metaphor of the audience focus and The Pyramids of Mars: So in PoM, Sarah is rooting around in the TARDIS wardrobe and comes across a lovely antique dress that so happens to be one of Victoria’s that she left on the TARDIS probably decades ago, but obvs Sarah doesn’t know this. So she tries it on and wanders out to show the Doctor, and Four’s reaction is a bit of a low-level early-mid-life crisis, because Gah, it’s been years, Victoria’s been gone so long, you humans live such short lives etc. They say “But I’m Time Lord. I walk in eternity! You don’t understand the implications!”

To which Sarah, standing just outside of their line of sight, rolls her eyes theatrically and goes “Oh I know you’re a ~Time Lord~”

And I think one can easily sum up the difference between Moffat and Davies by imagining that while watching that scene as young boys, Little Russel saw the Doctor, walking in eternity, and Little Steven saw Sarah, refusing to be impressed by that. And so Davies’s era refuses to acknowledge the utter shit Ten pulls from literally day one, that disgusting piece of misogyny at Harriet Jones, and the narrative doesn’t bother to ever ask if what the Doctor is doing is ever wrong.

No, Ten gets to be tortured over Rose’s getting trapped in Pete’s World, never mind how she feels about it, never mind that they know damn well she would’ve sold her soul for them and they were too much of a dissembling coward to tell her one sentence, give her one thing to hold on to. Ten treated Martha terribly for an entire season and in the end all she could do was walk away with her dignity, because even after walking the earth to deliver legends of them being fucking Jesus, downplaying her own accomplishments the whole damn time, it still never entirely sunk in that they had something to apologize to her for. And Donna. I really don’t think any more needs to be said at this point, eight years later, about why the Doctor mind-raping a companion being written as a tragic but necessary sacrifice with Ten’s pain more narratively relevant than hers was a fucking appalling authorial choice. We’ve all had that damn discussion, way too many times. (And clearly Moffat hated it so much he spent the entire end of series 9 and the first and last eps of series 10 defying, deconstructing, and utterly destroying the very concept. Yes, at this point I should maybe just admit to being a teeny bit biased, but whevs.)

The Doctor was never meant to be a totally correct, always moral character. Hell, One was a consummate Trickster who had to be talked out of straight up murdering a dude in their first serial. And Ten provided a great deal to work with on that front. They’re likable, bubbly, beautiful, and certainly David Tennant is an enormously talented actor. But RTD couldn’t bear the thought of telling us that the Doctor was anything other %100 right at all times, even with vast evidence to the contrary. So no, even now, I don’t actually like Ten. But they are still the Doctor. Just a massive prick.

/sorry that got waaay too long and waaay too real

tulsi das Ramcharitmanas

Book Review

Ramcharitmanas: Love and Devotion By AVM (Rtd) V.P. Misra and Vibha Lavania Publisher: Beas, India: Radha Soami Satsang Beas, 2019. ISBN: 978-93-88733-18-2

Ramcharitmanas, by the sixteenth-century Indian mystic Tulsidas, tells the epic story of the battle between Lord Ram and the demon Ravan over the kidnapping of Ram’s wife Sita. The tale serves as a profound analogy for the plight of the soul in the human body and the spiritual path that leads the soul to God. It particularly dwells on the wondrous truth that God himself manifests in human form to lead souls to their salvation.

According to the book, Lord Shiva, one of the three gods in the Hindu triumvirate, relates the tale of Ram and Sita to his wife Parvati in answer to questions she asks about Ram:

If Ram is the son of a king, then how can he be the Absolute Lord? And if he is the Absolute, then why was he roaming about in the forest, lamenting the loss of his wife like an ordinary human being? When I see his actions on one hand, and on the other I hear his praises being sung, my mind is completely confused.

Throughout the narrative, Parvati’s questions are returned to again and again, not only in her dialogue with Lord Shiva, but also in exchanges between other characters in the tale. Characters express confusion about who Ram really is, as they struggle to “fathom the mystery of the incarnated Lord, who is at the same time both the pure and unlimited Absolute and completely human.”

The title Ramcharitmanas is comprised of three words: Ram, charit, and manas. Ram is a name for the Lord and charit means action or play; thus Ramcharit means the Lord’s play. The word manas refers to the inner eye, and can also mean a sacred body of water. It specifically refers to Mansarovar, a celestial lake encountered in subtle regions that, when bathed in, removes all impurities from the soul. Tulsidas says that Ram’s story is a “hidden inner lake shining with splendour.”

Tulsidas wrote Ramacharitmanas in a dialect of Hindi, the language of the common person, rather than in Sanskrit, the language of the elite classes. Not only that, but he chose to convey profound spiritual teachings through a popular and engrossing story that would appeal to ordinary people. In part his method is that of allegory – thus Ram is symbolic of the Lord who comes to this earth to rescue the soul; Sita is symbolic of the soul; and various characters represent different positive and negative human traits. The battle between the demon’s army and Ram’s forces is symbolic of the struggle we wage within our minds. Commentaries are interspersed throughout the book so that the modern reader can better grasp the deeper meaning of the story.

Tulsidas holds out Ram’s positive and compassionate actions as a model for how all humans should live. Ram faces the same challenges all humans do. He remains patient when confronting angry people, extreme loss, and family members going through shock and pain. He is compassionate toward his enemies, even to the point of giving them a place in the heavens after their death.

In Ramcharitmanas we also gain insights into true discipleship. Some lessons are conveyed through dialogue, such as when the eagle Garud, the king of the birds, asks the wise crow Kakbhushundi about the struggles faced by disciples trapped in the powerful grip of maya or illusion. The crow advises him that the most effective means for disciples to extricate themselves from maya is the path of unwavering devotion to Ram. Other lessons in discipleship shine through in examples. Although Ram’s wife, Sita, could have stayed in the comfort of the palace, she cannot bear to be separated from Ram and accompanies him into the dangers of exile.

Both of Ram’s brothers display deep devotion to him: Lakshman, also unable to bear the separation, follows him into exile, and Bharat, who becomes heir in place of Ram, humbly gives up the throne when Ram returns home. Hanuman, the valiant monkey warrior, and Jambavan, the king of the bears, are utterly devoted to helping Ram find Sita and conquer the demon Ravan.

The story of Vibhishan is particularly inspiring, because, though he is a demon and the younger brother of Ravan, he is unwavering in his devotion to Ram and plays a part in bringing about the death of Ravan. Ram later installs him as king in place of Ravan because of his nobility and devotion. In the character of Vibhishan we see the love that Ram had even for a demon, giving great hope to the common disciple: in the darkest moments the Lord can love, forgive, and accept us into his fold.

As a perfect disciple, Ram’s older brother Lakshman describes how a disciple comes to see the world as unreal:

Union and separation, the experience of happiness and pain, people who are for us or against us, and those who are indifferent to us are all but snares of delusion. They are not real – even birth and death, the entire network of the world, prosperity and adversity, destiny and time, lands, home, wealth, town, family, heaven and hell. Reflect that all the phenomena of the world, all that is seen, heard or thought of with the mind – all are rooted in delusion; nothing exists in reality.

Throughout Ramcharitmanas Tulsidas emphasizes Nam bhakti, devotion to the Lord’s name. He uses the word katha or tale to describe the story he is telling, the Ram katha. He says that “the katha of Ram brings forth blessings and wipes away the impurities of Kaliyug, the present age,” and that “wisdom develops in the minds of those who listen to the katha of Ram.” The Ram katha itself is a metaphor for Nam, the akath katha, “the story that cannot be uttered”: it is not just the story of the heroic deeds of the human being named Ram who lived in India, but also the ancient and eternal story of the Lord’s Name that reverberates through all time.

Tulsidas points out the true meaning and power of Nam when recounting several incidents in the story:

Ram broke the bow of Shiva with his valour, but the glory of Nam shatters the fear of the cycle of birth and rebirth. Ram purified the Dandak Forest and by his presence freed it from its curse, whereas Nam has purified the minds of countless devotees. Ram destroyed a group of demons, but Nam destroys all the sins of Kaliyug… Ram gathered the monkeys and bears and laboured hard to build the bridge connecting to Lanka to the mainland. But, Tulsi says, O wise one, reflect on the fact that Nam dries up the entire ocean of transmigration itself.…

Nam is greater than both the Absolute (Brahm) and Ram because it showers its blessings on those who confer boons on others…. It is with the grace of Nam alone that Shiva is immortal…. It is only by remembrance of the holy Name that Hanuman has won over Ram… I have no words to sing the praises of Nam. Even the incarnate Ram cannot sing its praises adequately.

It is through devotion to the transcendent Nam that the disciple bathes in the inner sacred body of water, the manas, and comes to understand who the human form of God really is. Tulsidas explains that Nam is the link between the formless Reality and the human form of the Lord:

Both forms are, however, inaccessible by themselves – it is only through the power of Nam that they are easily attainable. Thus I declare that Nam is even more powerful than either the Absolute or the incarnate Ram.

Tulsidas describes the relationship between Nam and God:

Nam and the Named are actually one and the same – both are lovingly entwined with each other. Wherever Nam is manifest, God invariably follows.

Volume 16 • Issue 2

March April 2020

Our Ch Navjot Sidhu by replacing his Jatt Qom with Sikh Qom, he became S... Our Ch. Navjot Sidhu Qom Jatt by replacing his Jatt Qom with Sikh Qom, he became SUPER BASTARD FANATIC DEVIL. . Navjot's Video:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LZXvCL3rR8 proclaiming Sikh Qom. https://youtu.be/O0iERZu_TyU Sikh is Second Panth/religious community into which all are welcome whilst Jatt is our Qom and they are people born of the seed of Jatt tribal father. This division of our Jatt Qom on the basis of Hindu, Sikh and Muslim spiritual self led people to kill each other during the 1947 and 1984 sectarian riots. Tribal father protects you and when we forsake our Tribal fathers in favour of Hindu, Sikh and Muslim, etc. then that tribal protection was lost and people of the same tribe killed each other fanatically or you become a political Orphan, a refugee. HOW THE DIRTY-HEARTED BRITISH IGNITED THE SECTARIAN CIVIL WAR IN INDIA? The British left India in 1947 but with a very dirty conscience. We Indians of the farming marshal tribes Jatt, Gujjar, Pathan, Arian, Saini, etc., the once-born simpletons served the British faithfully and made them win the two world wars but they colluded with the twice-born shrewd people of business tribes and hypocritically divided our Jatt tribal homeland, the Punjab plunging us into the sectarian civil war that could have been avoided. This is how they ignited this civil war:- 1.      They knew that the people kill each other frantically in the name of religion as Catholics and Protestants did in Britain and so, they supported the heads of religious parties financially and paid them money secretly under the table. 2.      There used to be elections held for the Parliament but no such election was held to hand over the Government into the hands of responsible political leaders in 1947. 3.      They just colluded with the heads of religious Parties; all clever shopkeepers - Lala M.K. Gandhi, a Baniya, Lala Tara Singh Malhotra, a Khatri and Lala Mohd. Ali Jinnah, a Babla Bhatia. These Lalas least served in the British Army. 4.      We Jatts of the Punjab served the British Army the best but we were divided into India and Pakistan like the deserted Christmas Puppy. 5.      And our Governments were told that when you fight with each other, then we will sell you weapons of mass destruction to kill each other. What a business idea out of misery? End times are not far away – Matt. 13v24-30 and the TRIBULATIONS have already started from 14/05/2018 when the child-like USA President Donald Trump pressed the TRIBULATIONS BUTTON by declaring Jerusalem to be the Capital of Israel. These world-wide TRIBULATIONS will last for FIVE YEARS to ATOMIC WAR EXPECTED ON 14/05/2023. So, let us join hands together to expose these hypocrites with the Gospel Truth of our Supernatural Father Elohim, Allah, Parbrahm, etc. Holy spirit, “common sense”, shatters the fetters of the dead Letters, the Holy Books and their Laws that have been corrupted. Remember that Law and Prophets were till John, the Baptist – Luke 16v16 and after that, the Narrow Gate to the Royal Kingdom of God has been opened by Christ Jesus and He has appointed St. Peter as the “Gatekeeper”. That is why Peter killed two hypocrites/Blasphemers Ananias and Sapphira for speaking against the Holy Spirit that rests in our own heart, the Treasury of the Gospel Truth Brewed through “Logical Reasoning”. Two Books; one in English; “FIRST GNOSTIC PRINCIPLES OF ONE GOD ONE FAITH” and the other in Punjabi; “KAKHH OHLAE LAKHH”. Search them on the internet. I need technical help to revise them for publication. FREELY RECEIVED; FREELY YOU GIVE. In “Agape”, our Father God blesses everyone alike and please do not miss your great opportunity to earn salvation by Preaching Gospel from the Rooftops. https://youtu.be/yTSYd_FujE4 Jatt is our Qom and not Hindu Jatt, Sikh Jatt, Muslim Jatt, etc. that has no link with Adam:- http://www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/jattparty.htm SATANIC KHATRIS TURNED MULLAHS AND KASHMIR AND WORLDWIDE TROUBLES:- http://www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/saintstn.htm BIRTH OF JOHN: - https://youtu.be/RNXvv-WwdI4 And the Proofs of the Virgin Birth of Jesus: - www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/bojes.htm We are the sons of Elohim for Salvation.https://youtu.be/dQ8pSqeFjQw Ch. Rajinder Nijjhar Jatt, M.Sc. Rtd Senior Lecturer in Metallurgy. Four Communities of Religion - One God One Faith:- www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/FourCom.htm Hajj www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/faithfat.pdf Punjabi http://youtu.be/9DqMvO1hb0U True Story. www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/Pathan201.pdf Four Loves:- www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/loves.htm Solitary Royal Priests. Twice-born:- Facebook has.. www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/antichrist.htm Flesh + soul = Once-born natural Disciple of the Rabbis Flesh + soul + spirit = Twice-born sensible Labouring son of God Fanatics Devils – John 8v44:- www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/seedterr.htm www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/fanbastards.htm John's baptism:- www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/johnsig.pdf Trinity:- www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/trinity.pdf

Every Nigerian has the legitimate and constitutional right to protest and demonstrate peacefully in a democracy. It is NOT an act of treason to march against the President and to protest about the insecurity in the country. The publisher of Saharareporters and a presidential candidate in the just-concluded presidential elections, Mr. Omoyele Sowore, expressed his desire to demonstrate peacefully against you (President Muhammadu Buhari) and your Government. He chose to call his protest a “revolution” in order to emphasise his zeal and the importance of the event. He has no arms, he has not threatened to conduct an armed struggle or engage in an armed insurrection or to kill anyone so this can only be a “revolution” in name and by words. Yet you are such a COWARD, you are so timid and you are so fearful of your own shadow that you storm his home in the middle of the night, arrest him and threaten to charge him and his supporters with treason if the demonstration holds. Meanwhile various murderous northern supremacist and hardline Fulani extremist groups, all armed and “fully loaded”, have stated their intention to kill every southerner in the north unless and until RUGA is accepted and implemented in the south. They are filled with hate, they have arms, they are racists, they are ethnic supremacists, they have a publicly-stated murderous intent and they have already killed many in the south, the Middle Belt and even in the north itself yet you did not see fit to arrsst even ONE of them or declare them as terrorists. It is those that do not kill, that do not have arms and that do not threaten to kill that you threaten with treason, detain, jail, kill and call terrorists like IPOB, IMN, the civil rights groups and activists and members of the official opposition. I am constrained to ask you, why are you such a coward? Why do you always target those that cannot fight back, that do not kill, that do not threaten the peace and that do not carry arms? The only thing they have are their words, their feet, their hands, their pen and the courage of their convictions yet you are so intimidated by them and so frightened of them simply because you cannot bear to be exposed for what you are. You silenced and clamped down on the official opposition, on IPOB, on IMN and on all the civil rights groups but you bow and tremble before the Fulani herdsmen and covertly protect and support them whilst you pamper Boko Haram, secretly empower them and fight against them with kid gloves. You do not even honor our gallant soldiers that fought Boko Haram in battle but instead you bury them like stray dogs in unmarked mass graves after they are killed on the frontline! Meanwhile your military commanders are openly telling Boko Haram fighters that if they put down their arms they can end up being President of Nigeria! That is the pitiful level thst you have dragged your nation and the Nigerian military to. I must ask you: why this glaring double standard? Why are you such a bully and why are you so hell bent on dividing and destroying Nigeria? I guess that you have already achieved that objective because I doubt that our country can ever be the same again but yet you are still not satisfied. You want to do more! You want even more turmoil, strife, division, violence, mayhem, confusion, slaughter, carnage and conflict and you are trying desperately to provoke a violent reaction from your targetted victims and those that you secretly hate and despise. This surely is the work of the devil and you sir are satan’s demonically-annointed and satanically-inspired emissary. I warned the country about you before and during the presidential election in 2015 but they would not listen. People like President Olusegun Obasanjo, General Ibrahim Babangida, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Chief Ernest Shonekan, Professor Wole Soyinka, Sheik Ibrahim El Zak Zaky, Mr. Omoyele Sowore, Pastor Tunde Bakare, Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Senator Bukola Saraki, Mrs. Oby Ezekwezile, Mr. Femi Falana SAN, Chief Dele Momodu and many others supported you then but I, by divine insight and prophetic perception, saw through you, knew what you stood for, knew what you planned to do and knew what you represented. So did my friends and brothers Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, Governor Ayo Fayose, Lt. Colonel Abubakar ‘Dangiwa’ Umar (rtd), Pastor Bosun Emmanuel and a few of our fathers in the Lord like Bishop David Oyedepo, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, Prophet T.B. Joshua and a number of others. Even the leadership of the PDP at the time and top members of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, with the possible exception of Prince Deji Adeyanju and Pastor Reno Omokri, did not see you for the great evil that you are at that time but now they all do. The bad news is that you are going to plunge Nigeria into a major crisis and conflict and a terrible, protracted and bitter civil war which most do not see coming and which no-one wants or prays for but which will come if you do not change your ways or if you are not stopped. This is very sad. It is a great tragedy yet that is precisely what you secretly crave for and want. Bloodshed, the suffering of others and turmoil brings you and your supporters pleasure and joy but permit me to tell you this: warmongers, bloodthirsty and blood-lusting sadists and evil men never end well. This matter and this story will not end the way you want or expect it to. Your power is not divine: it is temporal and temporary. Others have come and gone before you and you will go in the same way as them: in God’s way and in God’s time. We are not violent and lawless revolutionaries or irresponsible and reckless anarchists and neither do we believe in doing anything outside the constitution or the law. We are committed democrats and great believers in the rule of law, the constitution and the democratic process. We are also believers in the power and efficacy of the Lord of Hosts, the Alpha and the Omega and the Ancient of Days and we know that sooner or later, no matter how long it takes, He will honor His word and make all things beautiful in our country. In the end the forces of light and the children of God will prevail against your great wickedness, unconsciable malevolence and evil plan to destroy Nigeria and throw our people into a cauldron of raging fire. You can lock us all up and torment us for as long as you want. In the end you shall fail, you shall fall and you shall be ashamed and God’s counsel alone shall stand. Those of us that oppose you from the heart, spirit and soul have lost all sense of fear. We will stand against you until the end of time. We will sacrifice all, including our very lives, if that is what is required for us to break our chains of servitude and slavery and win our freedom. Our message to you is simple and clear: do your worse because we expect no less. God gives and God takes, blessed be the name of the Lord. Permit me to conclude this contribution with the following. It was brought to my attention that my friend and brother Governor Nyesome Wike of Rivers state condemned the planned demonstration and put the security agencies on full alert to arrest anyone that dared to come out to protest in his state. With the greatest respect to my brother I believe this was wrong and that it was a mistake. He and I both know that Sowore does not have the intention or the capacity to effect a violent revolution and that the planned protest would only have been a revolution in name. It would have been a harmless exercise, with relatively small numbers and an opportunity for the activists that often collaborate with Sowore to come out and express themselves. It would have begun and ended there without much drama and rather like the harmless protests about the Chibok girls at Unity Fountain in Abuja. There is not a hope in hell that it would have turned into a violent attempt to overthrow the Government and, as far as I am aware, neither was that ever the intention. I suspect that the reason Wike has taken the position that he has taken and the reason that so many other leading figures in the official opposition PDP has taken a queue from him and distanced themselves from the protest is because of their personal dislike and disdain for Sowore who really has very few friends in the political class or in the ranks of the official opposition party. Yet I believe that those that have fallen into the trap of not standing by Sowore or speaking up for him when they know that he is being treated unjustly, his rights are being violated and he is suffering persecution are being shortsighted and naive. In a time of crisis and especially when we are contending with a dangerous and merciless despot we all need each other regardless of how we feel about one another or whatever contentious issues, conflicts, disagreements and fights we may have had in the past. That is common sense! In a time of war my enemie’s enemy, out of expediency, necessity and good old-fashioned pragmatism, automatically becomes my friend. Failing to grasp that point and holding on to it could prove to be fatal to our collective cause and objective. No man can take on Government on his own: we all need each other. Permit me to go further. If anyone should have an axe to grind with Omoyele Sowore that person is me. He has never been my friend, I have never met him and I have never liked him. He has offended me on many occasions and he has also offended many of my closest friends, political associates, family members and relatives. Worse still his website, Saharareporters, which has a massive reach all over the world, has slandered, libelled, villified and defamed me and mine more than any other media outlet in the world and has consistently done so since 2005! There is no love lost between us but that does not mean that I will remain silent, sit back and gloat when his rights are being violated or when he is suffering persecution from a Government that can, at best, be described as paranoid, vicious, cruel, desperate, mendacious, relentless and dangerous and, at worse, genocidal, murderous and evil. When I was detained in a specially built Boko Haram terrorist facility (which only had Boko Haram suspects and convicts in it) at Kuje prison in 2016 and my life was purposely put in danger Sowore, his Saharareporters and some of his colleagues and activist friends made mockery of me. I was reliably informed that some of them were hoping and praying that I would be killed or maimed by the terrorists whilst I was there. I have little doubt that that was Buhari’s intention and desire as well and it would have surely come to pass had the Lord not been with me. Yet I will not repay Sowore in the same coin. Only fools mock others when they are going through hard times, challenges, difficulties and travails and this is especially so when they are going through those travails and hard times for a noble and worthy cause. It is enough vindication that the same people that he was once in bed with, that he once collaborated with, that he helped bring to power and that he once wined and dined with are now humiliating, demonising and terrorising him too. The same people that have continously insulted, persecuted, villified, demonised and denigrated me and mine for the last four years are now persecuting him as well. To hear about him being roughed up, dragged out of his home, arrested in the middle of the night and detained by the DSS and to hear that there is a possibility that he may be faced with a charge of treason or treasonable felony for doing no wrong does not give me joy. Instead it saddens me and confirms my greatest fear that the Buhari administration has lost its marbles, gone totally insane and is capable of doing absolutely anything to those that it perceives and it regards as being its critics, its adversaries and its enemies. It is Sowore today but it could be anyone else tomorrow. And neither do you have to break the law or do anything wrong before they come for you. As one of my tormentors and jailers eagerly and gladly told me when I was in detention for three months in 2016, he said, “We know you have done nothing wrong but we can keep you here for as long as we like and charge you to court for breathing air if we choose. Whatever it is you will spend the next few years trying to clear your name even though you have done nothing wrong”. He concluded by saying, “We are here to torment you and that is what we are going to do. In case you make it out of here alive and you are still whole, if you like keep criticising and abusing Buhari: we will bring you back and teach you the lesson of your life!” That is the deplorable and degenerate mindset of our collective oppressors and that is why it is important for us all to stand up and speak up for one another in trying times, whether we like each other or not. There is nothing illegal in conducting a peaceful protest, even if you choose to call it a revolution for the purposes of theater and drama. You don’t plan a revolution and an armed insurrection and sleep in your home! As long as it is only a demonstration and nothing more there is absolutely no reason why the Buhari Government should behave like the bunch of cowardly, paranoid, lily-livered and vicious Nazis that we know them to be. By arresting and detaining him they have only made Sowore more relevant and more popular. If that were not the case I would not be moved and honored to lend my humble voice to his cause and to join millions of others from all over the world to call for his immediate release. He is not my friend and I do not like him yet on this matter I stand shoulder to shoulder with him. May God guide and protect him and may he be returned to the land of the living at the soonest.

http://icechuks2.blogspot.com/2019/08/revolution-in-nigeria-sowore-and.html

National Taekwondo trials: Esuku, Anyanacho, Sanusi, others soar in ranking

New Post has been published on http://blueprint.ng/national-taekwondo-trials-esuku-anyanacho-sanusi-others-soar-in-ranking/

National Taekwondo trials: Esuku, Anyanacho, Sanusi, others soar in ranking

By Ikenna Okonkwo

Abuja

Barely one month after Nigeria Taekwondo Open championship (NTOC) made its debut, Athletes from parts of the country again squared up against each other during the just concluded National Open trials, with many carting away medals. Top on the list of those who picked up gold medals at the three-day event held in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria were Rukayat Jimoh of Savic club, 18-year old Nigeria Open winner, Elizabeth Anyanacho of Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), NTOC and Korean Ambassadors Cup champions, Abdulmajeeb Sanusi of Q-Madi and Charles Okon of Kebbi state. While Jimoh in the -46kg weight category defeated Commonwealth medallist, Josphine Esuku who tried to battle back to reckoning after not-too-impressive end of year 2017 outings, lanky Anyanacho who shot to limelight in 2017 for the first time in her fighting career with two African championship victories to her credit maintained dominance in the final of -67kg to defeat Ifeoma Dennis of Plateau state in the female corner. From the male spot, the rising profile of Sanusi was enriched the more after he posted spirited effort to beat Abdullateef Arinola of Lagos in the -54kg category. Another new sensation, Okon again showed his stuff and defeated Alexander Daniel of Nigeria Army after pulsating -58kg final battle. Also, upcoming Peter Itiku who represented FCT at the -80kg surprising beat NSCDC’s Raymond Tiamiyu in the final. The likes of Shola Olowookere, Oluwatosin Akande, Sunday Onofe, Sadiq Abdulrahman and Ifeoluwa Ajayi representing Q-Madi club, Classic Academy, NSCDC, Plateau and Q-Madi respectively in the male category won gold medals. In the female category, NSCDC athletes dominated proceeding with Sekiyat Adebayo, Chinazum Nwosu and Vivian Ndu getting on the gold medal standing. Other female including Mary Michael and Joy Ikpeamaeze of Kano and UNIAbuja also got the golden crown. Talking about how teams fared at the tare end of the competition which enlisted top athletes for the ongoing National camping in Kaduna, NSCDC, Q-Madi, Kebbi, FCT, Plateau, UNIAbuja, Kano, Classic Academy, FUTO emerged on the better side of the table just as the latest released ranking placed Sanusi, Okon, Ajayi, Olowookere, Akande, Itiku, Onofe and Abdurahman top ranked male athletes. Expectedly, in line with their current form, Esuku, Adebayo, Nwosu, Michael, Ndu, Anyanacho, Ikpeamaeze and Onomonu as leading female Fighters in Nigeria at the moment. A total of Ninety-nine (99) athletes from 26 teams drawn from 16 different weight categories were at the open trials. So far, Mrs Margret Binga-led executive Board of Nigeria Taekwondo Federation has organised three National competitions within two months, plus National coaching and Referees training programmes for over 200 coaches and Referees since its inauguration in the past five months. NFF mourns as Austin Mgbolu passes on The Nigerian Football family was again thrown into mourning on Wednesday after news spread of the death of one –time image –maker of the Nigeria Football Federation, Mr. Austin Mgbolu. Mgbolu, who served as public relations officer of then NFA between 1993 and 2001, was a highly conscientious, energetic and dedicated professional and left giant marks for predecessors to follow. Reports said Mgbolu had a major surgery last month and appeared to have regained good health, before complications early on Wednesday morning led to his being rushed to the hospital where he died. “This is very sad. I pray that God Almighty will protect the family and loved ones he has left behind and give them the fortitude to bear this big loss. “He was a thorough professional who did his job to the best of his ability and even as an analyst on television, he was forthright and provided wise counsel for the advancement of the Nigeria game. We pray that God will grant him eternal rest,” NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, said. Nicknamed ‘Booster’ for his magnanimity and encouragement of younger professionals, Mgbolu served with the administrations of Sampson Emeka Omeruah (of blessed memory), Abdulmumuni Aminu and Anthony Kojo Williams, and briefly with the board of Brigadier –General Dominic Oneya (rtd) who came into office when Williams was impeached in 2000.

ABUJA NATIONAL MOSQUE HAS APPOINTED IMAMS (1) This is in response to ‘Time to appoint Chief Imam for National Mosque’, written by my intimate writer-friend, Ustaz Muhammad Ajah, published in Daily Trust , among other publications, on April 1, 2017. How I qualified the author of the piece I am responding to tells you there is no malice in the piece you are about to read. Ustaz Muhammad Ajah earns my adoration in establishing himself as a writer of repute, exhibiting, in the process, critical thinking as a commentator on burning national issues. I am proud of being on his mailing list which enables me to read his articles prior to their publications. I met Ustaz Ajah at a public function recently where I intimated him of my desire to pen this rejoinder. I should declare, from the outset, that this is not an official response from either the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) or the Abuja National Mosque Management Board. Whatever you read here is what I felt compelled to write as an insider version of Ustaz Muhammad Ajah’s article, as one who has been within the vicinity of the Abuja National Mosque for more than 20 years. ‘Time to appoint Chief Imam for National Mosque’ does not have the DNA of the Muhammad Ajah I know; he must have written it in haste, and thus the product made an alarmist of the author, which he is not. For example, contrary to contents of the article, there is ‘no vacuum in leadership’ as far as the Abuja National Mosque is concerned, before or after the demise of Sheikh Musa Muhammad. And the ‘leadership of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA)’ has not failed in ensuring that the Abuja National Mosque satisfies Shariah conditions for the acceptance, in the sight of Allah, of people’s devotions and other religious ceremonies. The three co-equal deputy chief imams have been undertaking, with diligence, their duties of delivering Khutbah, leading prayers, conducting wedding faatihahs, expounding the teachings of Islaam in daily Magrib-to-Ishaa ta’leems, overseeing funeral arrangements, offering salaatul janaazah on a deceased person, and whatnot. That is the essence of imamship, not only in the Abuja National Mosque, but in all mosques in this Ummah. Once the officiating head of a religious ceremony (imam, deputy imam, or any learned taqiy) is qualified and accepted by the congregation, the ritual is whole and recompensed by Him whose countenance is sought in observing it. Also, I do not know ‘… Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Ibrahim…’ as contained in Ustaz Ajah’s article. For a good writer like my friend, this type of slip reinforces my belief that he wrote the article in haste, as information on such respected personages as Etsu Nupe, Alhaji (Dr)(Brig.Gen) Yahaya Abubakar rtd CFR, is just a click away on the internet. I got the full name here from his Wikipedia entry, by the way. I referred to the three deputy chief imams above as ‘co-equal’ because some people imputed false hierarchy to the trinity of the deputy imams. The appointment letters are identical; all of them are of one and the same position - no one is superior to the other - in so far as the spirit and letter of the appointment document are concerned, as signed and sealed by the late Secretary-General, NSCIA, Alhaji Abdullatif Adegbete, at the behest of His Eminence, the Sultan, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar. There was nothing like the first, second or third deputy chief imam as is being held and disseminated in some quarters. Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi is among the proponents of this alien idea of first, second and third deputy…. the NSCIA does not know this classification! Ustaz Muhammad Ajah has, with a marked preferment, chosen the respected Sheikh Makari, out of the three deputies, all of whom he, however, described as ‘exceptionally qualified’, as the most deserving to be the chief imam for, according to him, (a) being the one ‘who led the first Juma’a service after the death of the Chief Imam’ (b) conducting ‘the wedding of the daughter of President Muhammad Buhari, Zara.’ (c) his ‘uncommon’ Arabic accent, as ‘an associated professor of Arabic’, (may be the writer means Associate Professor). (d) ‘He conducts the Friday sermons without papers, a style of best Imams in the home of knowledge - Egypt, where he graduated from Al-Azhar University, Cairo.’ Let me also state that I maintain very cordial relation with all the deputy chief imams at the Abuja National Mosque. I spoke to all of them before the publication of this rejoinder. I do not prefer any of them above the other in line with the dictates of NSCIA in appointing them. Sheikh Ahmad Onilewura is the eldest of the lot, jovial in his manners, amenable and conscientious. If I were asked to endorse any among the trio, Sheikh Ahmad Onilewura would have been the one. However, I will not. Sheikh Muhammad Kabir Adam has experience in conducting the affairs of the Mosque for being the first Mu’azzin for about three decades, and has served as Acting Chief Imam in 2010 and 2011 when the late Chief Imam, Sheikh Musa Muhammad went for Umrah or Hajj trips. He has been a close friend since the ‘90s when I came to the mosque. We have been on hajj trips on a number of occasions. Sheikh Ibrahim Maqary is a bosom friend (and recently a brother in-law) whom I met in the 90s during my stint at Al-Azhar University for the Dauratul A’immah course. I have not met anybody in my life as humble, amiable, ebullient, and, - if I may add, unassuming - ever-willing to share, with others, the knowledge Allah has bestowed upon him, as Sheikh Ibrahim Makari. When the then candidates were subjected to intense interview and screening for the deputy imamship of the Abuja National Mosque, the late Sheikh Musa Muhammad was preeminently qualified to continue as the Chief Imam, and was thus not ‘requested to undergo’ any ‘thorough screenings’ as stated by Ustaz Muhammad Ajah. Late Sheikh Musa Muhammad it was that established the alternation of leading prayers by the three deputy imams in his absence, which has not been altered in the least till date. What Ustaz Muhammad Ajah listed, therefore, as his reason for advancing Sheikh Makari was just a coincidence that occurred on the first Friday after the late Chief Imam’s funeral in which Sheikh Makari delivered the khutbah and led prayers. Ustaz Ajah was oblivious of the fact that the late Chief Imam, on his death bed, called Sheikh Muhammad Kabir Adam, one of the three deputies, and instructed him to lead the Jumu’ah prayers, just as exemplified by the Prophet, blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, in similar circumstances, a deed among other considerations, that later led to the ascension of Abubakr As-Siddeeq to the Caliphate. There were two versions of Ustaz Muhammad Ajah’s piece - the one he sent by email to his contacts, and the other an edited and Daily Trust-published version in which his reasons (b to d) for preferring Sheikh Makari to others were expunged. Of course conducting the marriage of the President’s daughter should not merit mention amidst the reasons for preferring an imamship candidate. Unknown to Ustaz Ajah, Sheikh Makari led the Jumu’ah prayers on that Friday, but Sheikh Muhammad Kabir Adam conducted the wedding of the President’s daughter. In his self-effacing nature Sheikh Makari will not vie with anyone in trying to conduct marriage for anyone’s offsprings no matter how highly placed they may be. So, even though it was his turn to lead the prayers on that day, and he had, Sheikh Makari did not conduct wedding for the President’s daughter as claimed by Ustaz Muhammad Ajah. I cannot fathom what Ustaz Ajah was trying to emphasise by ‘uncommon Arabic accent’ because I have not heard him speak Arabic to judge his proficiency and what accent may mean to him. We converse in English. But I am sure of one thing: with all the years he spent in Cairo, Sheikh Makari does not speak like an Egyptian. There is no trace of the Misr dialect in his speech. This is not a weakness but a token of discipline and wide intellectual interaction with diverse scholars through their writings. He speaks fushah (classical Arabic) devoid of any accent other than that of an Arabist of northern Nigerian extraction. And delivering extempore (unscripted) khutbah cannot be a paradigm for preferment. Yes, it is the norm in Egypt; hardly will you see an imam with a written khutbah. It is more of a tradition in that citadel of knowledge. In Saudi Arabia or Nigeria for example imams prepare a written khutbah every Friday. We have copies of the Khutbahs of Sheikh Usman Bin Fodiyo and Sheikh Abdullahi Bin Fodiyo. They wrote and read their khutab (plural of khutbah). When I visited Senegal, the imam of Madinah Baye Mosque read one of the khutab of Sheikh Ibrahim Nyas. I hope Ustaz Muhammad Ajah does not place his anointed above Sheikh Usman Bin Fodiyo because of the former’s ad-lib rendering of the khutbah. Another dimension of this article that I found unsettling was the insinuation of politicisation of ‘the selection process’ which ‘has nothing to do with Islam’. I wish my respected brother will expatiate on this, rather than insinuate. It is enough crime to the credit of anyone that he should say what he has no knowledge of. The standard in Islam is to get all the facts before making any comment. Insha Allah, I will make my own observations and give my suggestions on how to go about running the National Mosque effectively. In doing so, I may write what others may disagree with and what may annoy others, still. What is of paramount importance to me in all this is not tribal, sectarian or even fraternal affiliations but the interest of the Ummah, so help me, Allah. http://www.abubakrsiddeeq.com/2017/04/abuja-national-mosque-has-appointed.html