Salam Alaikum,
I am one of the moderators of this youth group. I usually don’t say much but I have been totally bombarded with forwarded messages this last week in my email about April Fool and the Muslims in Spain. I can’t believe how many people mindlessly forward emails without checking out the facts. I am a history major and I couldn’t find any historical facts to support this story. There are facts to disprove it.
Here are some websites you can check out:
"The Lies of April"
[note: The Following is NOT True - and Should Be Noted as Such]
http://www.hadaaya.com/april_fool.htm
April Fools? - Or "Muslim Fools"?
http://www.islamtomorrow.com/fools.asp
Muslims fooled by April Fool's Day Internet Urban Legend http://www.themodernreligion.com/misc/hoax/april-fool.html
APRIL FOOLS DAY commemorates overthrow of Muslims in Spain - hoax
http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/rumors_conspiracy_theories_urban_legends_hoaxes/
There is a popular story rotating among many of us that April Fool's Day is actually the celebration of Christians' victory over the Muslims of Spain. This story is not correct. http://www.karachiplus.com/kids/story1.asp
Secondly, our group has received several emails about the fatwa of April Fools Day. Can you believe these emails telling us about the great sin of lying contained the lie of the Muslims in Spain April Fools Day story?
The really sad part is this isn’t the first time I’ve received emails from Muslims containing fabricated stories. Nowadays it’s easy to reach the entire world with just one e-mail. Many people feel obligated to forward useful information to others. Before hitting the "forward" button in your e-mail, remember to verify the information first.
Allah (swt) revealed to us in the Qur'an in Surah Al-Hujjirat:""O ye who believe! If a wicked person comes to you with any news, ascertain the truth, lest ye harm people unwittingly, and afterwards become full of repentance for what ye have done." (49:06)
Forwarding untrue information can be very dangerous. What would happen if someone fabricated a phony fatwa, signed a fake Sheikh’s name (or even a real name) and sent it in an e-mail. This e-mail would get forwarded from person to person until it reaches the whole world.
If you receive an e-mail with information that doesn’t sound quite right, verify the information. Check with the source of the article. Check the archives of the Web site of the journal or newspaper where the article supposedly comes from to verify the information before passing it on to others.
If the email doesn’t contain a sources name or a website link, it’s even more important that you check out the information. Do an online search with key words used in the email. In the case of the April Fools Muslim in Spain email – using the key words april fool muslim spain would have given you the websites I listed about which tell you it’s an untrue story and an internent hoax. It's better to take a few minutes to double check the validity of some important news before sending out misinformation.
Salam,
Brit
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