I think you had already read about me

[David Gould]

Hello,
One of your members pasted the article from the Cumberland News where I am pleading for more understanding. As you may know I lost my daughter Helen inthe London Bombs and saw the very sad sight of people taking it out on the Islamic population locally and across the country. It was wrong, very wrong.
I admit to a few feelings of anger early on...wouldn't be human unles I felt something. But I came to see that it was not the Islamic community that was to blame. This was a direct result of the policies of this country in blindly walking into other people's countries...univited. I started to make a few contacts within the Islamic community and have found my time to be inspirational.
I hope to read the Qur'an...not sure if I want to convert...early days yet. But I do want to learn and listen. So please be patient and teach me.
In love and friendship
David Gould

[Woodrow]

Glad to have you here David. You are a blessing to many people. Your willingness to show understanding is truly welcome in this world where so many seek to condem.

Don't worry nobody here will try to convert you. As Muslims we are forbidden to impose our religion upon anybody. We strongly believe and are committed to each person having free choice in religion.

[Ibn Abi Ahmed]

Welcome David. Nice to have you here on LI. Looking forward to reading more of your posts. I hope you stick around here :)

[F.Y.]

Hello David :)
Thanks for coming on here. I hope you have a great stay.
Peace always.

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[syilla]

:sl:

welcome to LI brother David...

will be patient don't worry...

Please don't be sad...and try to have a good time in LI

:w:

[Najiullah]

WELCOME TO THE FORUM

BRO

YOU WILL HAVE A GOOD TIME HERE

[Khayal]

Hi, :welcome: to the forum.





.

[rubiesand]

Welcome David. Thank you for extending the hand of friendship. I hope you will find your time with us beneficial.

[akulion]

S A L A M A L A I K U M
P E A C E B E U P O N Y O U

WELCOME TO THE FORUM

I Pray you find it benefical and helpful ameen

Feel at home and if you need any help, feel free to ask

[------]

Asslamu Alaikum (Peace be upon you)

:welcome: to the forums.

I'm really sorry to hear that you lost your daughter in the London bombings. I totally agree to the fact that the bombings were NOT Jihad in any way and they were totally wrong and claimed innocent lives.

Hope you will get the knowledge and information you need from this website.

If you need any help/support, ask the mods/admins on this site (or me!). They are seriously very helpful.

Welcome again.

[IbnAbdulHakim]

:peace: :)

:welcome: David (english for Dawud :p beautiful name mashALlah)
hope u learn lots, Allah does everything for the best and something which you may not like or even detest could be for the best and Allah knows best !

Glad to hav u among us ;)

:peace: :)

[MetSudaisTwice]

salam
welcome to the forums
wasalam

[DaNgErOuS MiNdS]

Hey David, sorry to hear about your daughter, i will remember here in my prayers to Allah.

Please stick around.

[S_87]

Hi David and welcome to LI

hope you enjoy your stay here and wed be pleased to answer any questions :)

[Kittygyal]

Greetings David.

welcome am sowiee for the lost of your daughter :'( please take care && if you have any questions ask okay we are all learning && i hope God leads you to the right path, there are many converts here am one of them && also bro Fishman so don't panic to ask anything :)

God bless ;)

[QuranStudy]

Welcome to the forum. Hope you have an enjoying and beneficial stay here.

[Al-Zaara]

Greetings David,

Welcome to LI Forum. :)

I'm very sorry for your loss... I pray for Allah (swt) to help you through life and give you strength...

Inshallah, you will benefit from this Islamic Forum and learn more about Islam.

You will sure like it here. We have alhamdulillah, many knowledgable members and moderators here. :)

Peace, :rose:

P.S. Nobody can beat brother akulion's welcome. :rollseyes :D

[The Ruler]

hi...:welcome: :peace:

[David Gould]

Well thank you everybody! What a great welcome. I asked Woodrow before I came on the site if it would be alright and he assured me that it would. He was right.
And yes Brother Akulion's welcome would be hard to beat...what a lot of work went into all of that and I like your personal stamp with "Paths -to - Peace.com" on it. I do hope we can create some of those because we really need them. If there is to be any hope of peace it is in our hands and in the hands of God. I find it difficult to trust our leaders as they have a cluster bomb in one hand and an olive branch in the other...which do they mean?
And thanks for all the offers of help, I am bound to ask some silly questions to start with.:)

[Fishman]

Well thank you everybody! What a great welcome. I asked Woodrow before I came on the site if it would be alright and he assured me that it would. He was right.
And yes Brother Akulion's welcome would be hard to beat...what a lot of work went into all of that and I like your personal stamp with "Paths -to - Peace.com" on it. I do hope we can create some of those because we really need them. If there is to be any hope of peace it is in our hands and in the hands of God. I find it difficult to trust our leaders as they have a cluster bomb in one hand and an olive branch in the other...which do they mean?
And thanks for all the offers of help, I am bound to ask some silly questions to start with.:)

:sl:
I'm glad that we have another non-Muslim member who understands Islam well, as opposed to people who just come here to fight. Welcome!
:D
:w:

[QuranStudy]

Mr. Gould is getting quite popular here. Only 3 posts and he get 48 reps!

[amirah_87]

Hi David,

Welcome to LI, hope you have a nice and beneficial stay!! :)

Peace :peace:

[Maimunah]

hello david
welcome to the forum
wasalaam

[snakelegs]

hi david - and welcome!
i wish more people would have enough sense not to judge a religion by some of its followers. maybe you will inspire others.

[lyesh]

hello..
Welcome to the forum!
May God show you the straight path always!
ameen!

[Woodrow]

Normally I do not like to post on old threads and bump them back up. I tend to believe that once a thread has been buried in the past, let it rest there.

I noticed David has been posting a few places in the past few days. David is a somewhat modest man and tends to shy away from publicity. But 5 years have past now and David's story may not be known to all here. For that reason I feel it is a good idea to let those who do not know David to read a few words about him, and this thread does contain pertinent information.

Not all non-Muslims hate us and there still are people in this world who seek peace.


Welcome Back David, it is very good and refreshing to see the new posts you have written in some other threads.

[Ramadhan]

salam,

Welcome back David!

I'm glad br. Woodrow bumped up this thread. Your story is very touching and your stance is inspirational.
I hope we hear more from you, and may Allah SWT guide you to the straight path. Amiin.

[David Gould]

Hello Woodrow,

Thank you for your very kind words. Much has happened in the last five and a half years from that terrible event that changed the whole way in which I saw life.

To summaries I joined my local Multicultural group that lays on a series of events aimed at cultures sharing with each other in social/educational ways. I rose from tea boy to be the chair of that and this year we plan our biggest ever cultural event with the most participation from community ethnic groups including many faith groups.
I joined our county Interfaith Forum and helped to organise a big event here in Carlisle (UK) in November...and I guess that I will be starting our own branch of the forum here in Carlisle. I have always held that it is only in talking to and understanding people of different faiths will we ever advance our knowledge and friendships.
I have also posted on numerous Islamic Sites and have become a moderator on two of them (as a Christian as well...perhaps I am there to control those Christians that just don't get it). I have been challenged several times to revert as my knowledge of Islam has increased. But I always say to people that I can be a far better friend to Islam from within the Church than from within the Mosque...and God will tell me if He needs me elsewhere...after all He leaves big enough clues about everything else He wants me to do.

And lastly just after the the famous Kursi verse I came across the following verse:-
"Allah is the protector of those that have faith: From the depths of darkness He will lead them forth into light.
Of those who reject the faith are the Evil Ones: from light they will lead them forth into the depths of darkness. They will be the companions of the fire, to dwell therein for ever." Qur'an 2:257

"...but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31

As a slave of God, He has never yet failed me or those that look to Him for their strength and guidance.

[Zafran]

welcome David to the forum

[selsebil]

Hello David,

Welcome to the forum.Hope you'd benefit from your stay here.

[Perseveranze]

Peace David,

I am extremely sorry to hear about your loss and more than that happy to see how you've come out strong despite that.

The Prophet(pbuh) said; "The greatest enemies of God are those who are entered into Islam, and do acts of infidelity, and who without cause, shed the blood of man."

He(pbuh) also said; “Every human being hath two inclinations - one prompting him to good and impelling him thereto, and the other prompting him to evil and thereto impelling him; but Divine assistance is nigh, and he who asketh the help of God in contending with the evil promptings of his own heart obtaineth it.”

[Cabdullahi]

Poem in memory of 7/7 victim tops site on peace

RNorris

Published at 00:00, Thursday, 22 March 2007
(c) CN Group

A POEM by the stepfather of one of the victims of the July 7, 2005 London bombings has been the featured poem on the World Peace website for nearly two months.

No Room for Hate was written by David Gould of Chapelknowe, whose step-daughter Helen Jones was one of the 52 people murdered in the terrorist attacks on the London transport network.

The 28-year-old, who worked at Phoenix Equity Partners in London, was travelling to work on the Piccadilly Line when she was killed in the Kings Cross bomb.

Since that time, David has worked with Helen’s mother, Liz Staffell, on a book of tributes to the victims of the July 7 attacks and compiled a personal collection of verse charting his experience of the grieving process, called Losing Helen.

He has spoken out against attacks on the Islamic community, saying we should not blame Islam for acts that were perpetrated by terrorists.

Since Helen’s death, Mr Gould has been researching the Islamic faith and studying the Koran and believes fear or blind prejudice should not be allowed to colour our view of the Muslim communities.

He said: “I would like the message to get out there to try to stop some of the negative feelings there are towards our neighbours.

“A friend of mine in the USA told me about the World Peace Society which is hosted from Australia. I stumbled on their poetry section and submitted two poems about peace. No Room For Hate was immediately accepted as their featured poem.

“My other poem was also accepted by the site and added to their growing number of inspirational poems.”

The World Peace website argues that lasting peace begins in the hearts and minds of everyone and, while there is still anger and hate within and between people, it will have to be vented, leading to conflict and war.

As well as inspirational poetry, the site includes a calendar of events, forums for like-minded people to network and philosophise, lesson plans on peace for school teachers and links to the on-line peace community.

The poem can be read online at www.worldpeace.org.au/poems.asp.

http://www.atasteofnorthumberland.co...028/farm-shops